Featured Books - Archive
Section 2: 2006
True Crime
A Perversion of Justice by Kathryn Medico
"The explosive case that riveted a nation is now the true crime book of the year -- a shocking, spellbinding account of innocence destroyed, blood spilled, and ... A Perversion of Justice." Publishers Review
Family Blood by Lyn Riddle
"Sometimes the perfect town is the perfect setting for an act of perfect evil". Publishers review
Dunblane by Mick North
"It is 10 years since the tragedy of Dunblane where sixteen children were gunned down – this is the story of one father whose five year old daughter was killed".
A Plague of Murder by Colin Wilson
"A plague of murder recounts the stories of some of the world’s most infamous serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer, Beverly Allit, The Moors Murders. This book explores who they are, where they have come from and why do they do it."
No One Can Hurt Him Anymore by Carol Rothgeb and H Cupp
"The true, heart wrenching story of a 10 yr old boy whose life was cruelly ended by his stepmother, co-written by the prosecutor who successfully convicted her, and saw her sentenced to 70 years in prison".
Body Count – Burl Barer – The tale of true murder in this book highlights how you can never tell who is truly evil – the murderer here was a father of five, National Guard helicopter pilot and Desert Storm veteran. He is now serving 408 years in prison for 13 murders. This book shows the extraordinary detective work undertaken by the Homicide Task Force to bring this man to justice.
Bonded by Blood by Bernard O’Mahoney
"Bernard O’Mahoney was part of the notorious Essex Boys, one of the most violent gangs in Britain. This story chronicles the murders and violence that was his life as part of the gang".
Section 1: 2005
The series of Jack Reacher stories by Lee Child
One local reader - Gary - expressed his feelings about these novels with these comments,
"Jack Reacher? What a man.
All of his books are very enjoyable and once you start one you can't put it down".
Lee Child has built up quite a body of work and popularity, but generally not the media attention of some of other thriller writers.
Originally from England he made a home and reputation in America with the stories of Jack Reacher, an ex-military policeman with a "talent for finding trouble", to use a cliche
Unlike many modern similar novelists, Child is conservative with many of the things present in many novels, but that many readers dislike. There isn't much bad language and violence is present, but (with a few exceptions) isn't too graphic.
Instead of we get lots of plot and action and a hero who, while not conventional is interesting.
Child's is inventive within a popular genre. The character and stories have similarities with the classic Raymond Chandler crime novels and later work by writers like Ross MacDonald.
The stories are very strong. The twists can be genuinely unexpected and generally convincing. The style varies so that - in some senses - the author maintains a freshness.
If you like readable "pacy" thrillers you will probably love at least one of these books.
If you try one and are not sure, try one of the others before giving up on them (not that we expect that you would)
It helps to read them in order, but you can get away without doing so (despite an underlying story) and one of the novels "jumps back" to an earlier period in Reacher's life before he decided to try to disappear from society and travel.
Killing Floor - Brutal murder in a small town. The first and in some ways the most violent.
Die Trying - Abduction, captivity and revenge
Trip Wire - The past meets the present with explosive results
The Visitor - Who killed the two female soldiers and why?
Echo burning - Avoid hitchhiking
Without Fail - Can the assassination be stopped?
Persuader - Who saw a dead man?
The Enemy - Another can of worms
One Shot - Six shots rang out
Try one soon - we have the books and audio books.
Visit the Lee Child official site here