Jeffery Deaver is probably my favourite author these days.

Especially his Lincoln Rhyme series, a quadriplegic detective, and NYPD Detective Amelia Sachs.

This 2024 book is NOT Lincoln Rhyme. It’s intended to launch a new series featuring Carmen Sanchez, a tough Homeland Security agent and Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert.

The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favour — and she drags him into investigating  a series of murders across Southern California.

Deaver Fans like it. But, for me, this book was inferior to his usual work.

There are some plot holes.

And a lack of fact checking. One character is a Rhythmic gymnast on scholarship in the NCAA. There are no scholarships for Rhythmic gymnasts.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Surprisingly good.

Invisible was published 2014.

A sequel — Unsolved — published 2019.

Emmy Dockery is an FBI research analyst on leave.

She has been obsessed with a large number of fires in which a single person always died, including one involving her sister.

Local authorities, finding no foul play, ruled all these fires were accidental. …

… a preliminary investigation is launched by the FBI …

The New York Journal of Books provided a positive review, saying, “Invisible is a difficult book to read because of the sheer horror and mayhem, but it’s even tougher to put down.”

Unsolved, the sequel, is equally good.

Twists and turns.

The weird and impossible relationship between Emmy and her ex-fiancé Books continues. Somehow.

Excellent.

The Instruments of Darkness (2024) is the 23rd book in the Charlie Parker series.

Connolly is Irish, but these books are set in the USA.

In Maine, Colleen Clark stands accused of the worst crime a mother can commit: the abduction and possible murder of her child.

Everyone—ambitious politicians in an election season, hardened police, ordinary folk—has an opinion on the case, and most believe she is guilty.

But most is not all. Defending Colleen is the lawyer Moxie Castin, and working alongside him is the private investigator Charlie Parker, who senses the tale has another twist, one involving a husband too eager to accept his wife’s guilt, a group of fascists arming for war, a disgraced psychic seeking redemption, and an old, twisted house deep in the Maine woods, a house that should never have been built.

A house, and what dwells beneath.

Reviews said the first third of the book was confusing — but finally started to make sense towards the end.

True. But — for me — this stand alone book was a big letdown after Osman’s excellent Thursday Murder Club series.

It’s somewhat amusing. Slightly entertaining as an absurd cozy mystery.

BUT I never did start to care much about any of the characters.

Amy Wheeler is a private security officer for Maximum Impact Solutions, a private security company, currently protecting Rosie D’Antonio, “the world’s bestselling novelist, ‘if you don’t count Lee Child’”. 

Her husband, Adam Wheeler—Steve’s son—works in finance and also spends most of his time traveling; they view their relationship as a long-term bet and don’t mind not seeing much of each other for now. 

Amy’s father-in-law, Steve Wheeler, is a widower and retired police officer who loves to stay at home. Talks to Amy by phone every day.  

The plot’s confusing. Somebody seems to want to kill Amy. She’s under suspicion in the deaths of others who have been killed in 3 separate incidents, each murder occurring when Amy was nearby. 

Amy’s suave boss, Jeff, seems to have disappeared. His former partner and best friend, Henk, might be responsible.

The foibles and eccentricities of the characters are interesting. But ultimately I can’t recommend this book.

Read the Thursday Murder Club series instead.

31st in the John Sandford Prey Series featuring Lucas Davenport.

Ocean Prey (2021) is interesting in that the author brought in his other book series character — Virgil Flowers — to investigate the murder of three members of the Coast Guard in Florida.

Personally, I like Virgil much better than Lucas Davenport.

I found the book too slow. But it was interesting to see how the murdering drug smugglers operated in moving their dope from South America into the USA.

The novel reached number one an Amazon’s Most sold list April 24, 2021

Virgil’s love interest Rae is the most interesting character of all.

Click PLAY or learn about Sandford on YouTube. He didn’t publish his first book until age-47.