Tess Gerritsen

Have you ever wondered were CIA spooks go when they are pensioned off? Tess Gerritsen tells us that a number of them have settled down in the tiny Maine harbour town of Purity. Among them is Maggie Bird, once a stone cold killer for the Company, but now just a chicken farmer with the common ailments – such as aching joints – shared by all senior citizens. Her neighbours are mostly of a similar age and background – particularly Ben Diamond, Declan Rose and the elderly couple Lloyd and Ingrid Slocum.

When Maggie is visited by a current CIA operative, a young woman who identifies herself only as Bianca, she is reminded of an unwelcome part of her past, in the shape of a fellow agent called Diana Ward. Ward is still active, but has gone missing, her bosses are concerned, and are offering to pay Maggie to help trace the missing woman. Maggie rejects the offer, saying she does not care if Ward is dead or alive.

Why the indifference? It is, as they say, complicated, and we learn that Ward and Maggie go back a long way, with the pivotal point in their professional relationship being an attempt, years earlier to take out a British wheeler-dealer – and international gangster – called Phillip Hardwicke. Long story short, the end result was a CIA sting that ended in disaster for Maggie. Her doctor husband, Danny, had been working as Hardwicke’s personal physician, and a private jet they were were traveling in left Malta, only to explode mid-air and crash into the sea with the loss of all on board.

Back in present day Maine, Maggie is with her friends, discussing the mysterious visit of Bianca, when she hears that police have surrounded her house. Rushing home to investigate, she finds there is a corpse lying in the frozen snow of her driveway. It is the woman who called herself Bianca, and she has been tortured bt then professionally despatched with two bullets to the head.

Maggie realises that the carnage is all about her and her past and so reluctantly she packs a few things, arranges some chicken-sitters, and goes back on the road to see if she can exorcise the ghosts of her past. Her travels take her into immediate and present danger, in Thailand and across Europe. My copy of the book came with a couple of cocktail recipes (above). The Spy Coast has all the hallmarks of a classic mainstream American thriller – taut as piano wire, danger round every corner and with convincing portraits of exotic locations.

NOBODY’S AGENT by Stuart Field

This thriller is set in Finchley – not Mrs Thatcher’s old baileywick but a fictional (I believe) small town in upstate New York, where three bodies are discovered in an old mine. The local Sheriff is out of his depth, and asks the FBI for help. They persuade a former agent, Ronin Nash to take the case, but he discovers the town has a big secret which powerful people will go to any lengths to protect. The author tells us:

“Born in the West Midlands, Great Britain. Later I joined the armed forces where after 22 years of fun and adventure I left to start as a writer. Married with a daughter I still have not grown up which helps with the imagination. Love to travel and experience other cultures. Love to love life.”

Nobody’s Agent is published by Next Chapter and is available now.

LISTEN TO ME by Tess Gerritsen

Detective Jane Rizzoli and Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles are, I think, crime fiction’s only female duo of investigators. They are certainly the best known, and the Massachusetts pair have a twelve book series (this is the thirteenth) and a popular TV show behind them. Here, they investigate the murder of a much loved nurse, Sofia Suarez, a woman much loved in the community and – seemingly – no enemies. In a parallel plot strand, Jane’s mother Angela is embarking on an investigation of her own, and it is one that will plunge both her and her daughter into danger. Published by Bantam (hardback) this will be out on 7th July.

HAWK MOUNTAIN by Conner Habib

Described as a literary thriller, Hawk Mountain tells the story of a thirty-something man – Todd – who is accidentally re-united with his high school tormentor. The Jack of old seems to be a reformed character, warm, radiant and sorry for his youthful misdemeanours. But is he? And was the chance reunion accidental at all? Cue a spiral of menace and entrapment which plumbs the very worst parts of the human psyche. Perhaps I don’t get out as much as I should, but I think this is the first thriller written by a former adult movie performer. He says:

“I’m the host of the podcast Against Everyone with Conner Habib, an author, a lecturer, and a sex workers’ rights advocate. I give lectures around the world about sexuality, spirituality, pornography, science, and art.”

Hawk Mountain is a Penguin book and will be out as a Kindle, audiobook and paperback on 21st July.

UNDER THE MARSH by GR Halliday

I missed From The Shadows, the first book in the DI Monica Kennedy series, but thoroughly enjoyed and reviewed the second, Dark Waters. Now, DI Kennedy returns with a case involving a serial killer – Pauline Tosh – who is jailed for life. When Tosh requests a visit, and hands Kennedy a sketch map of a remote marshy area with crosses marking the last resting places of more victims, the police officer is forced to take it seriously. What ensues creates a nightmare for the police and the relatives of long lost victims. Halliday creates a Scottish highlands which is a far cry from the glorious mountain vistas and the romantic skirl of the pipes. It is a place of dark secrets, bestial human behaviour and a landscape where the very stones are steeped in blood. Under The Marsh is a Vintage publication and will be on sale from 21st July.

THE WILL by Rebecca Reid

‘The Reading of the Will’ used to be a standard trope in crime fiction years ago. Picture the scene, preferably in black and white. The fusty old solicitor addresses the family, gathered in the library of a stately old house. What he announces sets up the plot of the novel/film, and pitches different family members against each other. Rebecca Reid revives this chestnut, and gives it a modern slant, when the family of the recently deceased Cecily Mordaunt gather in Norfolk at Roxborough Hall, each hoping to leave the scene as significant beneficiaries of the old lady. Of course there is disappointment and joy – which will lead to chicanery and revenge. Rebecca Reid is a freelance journalist. She graduated from Royal Holloway’s Creative Writing MA in 2015. She is the author of Perfect Liars, Truth Hurts, Two Wrongs and The Power of Rude. The Will is her latest book, and joins two of the other novels in this post in being published on 21st July.