Another excellent Deaver book (2018). Plenty of surprises.

In the early hours of a quiet, weekend morning in Manhattan’s Diamond District, a brutal triple murder shocks the city. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs quickly take the case.

Curiously, the killer has left behind a half-million dollars’ worth of gems at the murder scene, a jewelry store on 47th street. As more crimes follow, it becomes clear that the killer’s target is not gems, but engaged couples themselves. …

… the Promiser makes a dangerous mistake: leaving behind an innocent witness, Vimal Lahori, a talented young diamond cutter, who can help Rhyme and Sachs blow the lid off the case.

They must track down Vimal before the killer can correct his fatal error. …

jefferydeaver.com

The life story of a loveable jewel thief.

… Who is Nora Roberts?

Now 70-years-old and still publishing 4 books every year?

She writes one novel at a time. Eight hours / day, every day.

And most are huge books like Nightwork (2022). Sprawling. Emotional. Well researched.

Yes, this one is a bit of a romance novel. But Roberts’ storytelling is on par with the best: Stephen King, James Michener, John Grisham, Jeffrey Archer. Authors who keep things moving while making you care about the fictional characters.

Harry Booth started stealing at nine to keep a roof over his ailing mother’s head, slipping into luxurious, empty homes at night to find items he could trade for precious cash.

When his mother finally succumbed to cancer, he left Chicago—but kept up his nightwork, developing into a master thief with a code of honor and an expertise in not attracting attention? … Or getting attached.

Until he meets Miranda Emerson, and the powerful bond between them upends all his rules.

But along the way, Booth has made some dangerous associations, including the ruthless Carter LaPorte, who sees Booth as a tool he controls for his own profit. Knowing LaPorte will leverage any personal connection, Booth abandons Miranda for her own safety—cruelly, with no explanation—and disappears.

But the bond between Miranda and Booth is too strong, pulling them inexorably back together. Now Booth must face LaPorte, to truly free himself and Miranda once and for all.

fantasticfiction.com

Peter Grainger is an under-appreciated, great writer.

Still — I couldn’t get through the second book in this series ➙ One-way Ticket.

Arcadia the 3rd book in the Willows and Lane series.

They are an unlikely couple of detectives:

Emily Willows is middle-aged, widowed, wealthy, and bored.

Summer Lane is a new neighbour. It turns out she’s a skilled former police D.I. — but wants to remain anonymous, if possible.

Emily wants to form a Detective Agency with Summer, … who is reluctant.

In this book they are somehow convinced to investigate the disappearance (?) of a wealthy couple’s daughter. She’s reportedly out of communication in an eco community on a Welsh island.