Mystery / Thriller
Plot/Idea: Juiced leans into traditional mystery/thriller novel territory while providing a thoroughly enjoyable adventure.
Prose: Mulcahey’s prose is dialogue-heavy, with characters working out the mystery aloud, making readers feel like they’re standing right alongside the action. At times, the dialogue can feel ever so slightly forced, but overall it contributes to the effectiveness of the story.
Originality: Juiced is a fun, thrilling adventure involving secret, breakthrough research and the sudden death of a neighbor, though fans of the genre may find some expected plot turns.
Character Development/Execution: Protagonists Kevin and Jenne are believable and likable, while the antagonists range from classic villains to crooks with hearts of gold.
Plot: Life is upended for 45-year-old Joshua Devin, a First Nations Ojibway hedge fund manager, when his friend--a Yale professor--goes missing. A sign of a struggle is apparent in his friend's hotel room, and his severed finger is left behind in the bathroom. Pill establishes an intriguing premise with a multilayered protagonist taking on the role of sleuth.
Prose: Pill shows a knack for developing tension and lays out a rich framework for a mystery that reaches dangerously close to the protagonist's front door.
Originality: Joshua's unique background--as well as that of the victim--brings a particular freshness to the story that will keep readers engaged.
Character/Execution: In addition to Joshua, side characters, including Joshua's artist wife Annie, have depth and personality that greatly enhances the storytelling.
Plot: A cow named Kyma's life forever changes after she strikes up a conversation with a chicken named Jerry, travels to the State Fair, and consumes a top-secret blue formula that gives her mutant cow powers. Taylor Kent hatches a charmingly ridiculous barnyard story that young readers will flock to.
Prose: Taylor Kent nails the comedic tone, while the illustrations provide a comic-like feel perfect for the intended readers.
Originality: It's hard to get any more ludicrous (or delightful) than a man transformed into a giant chicken or a cowboy named Cowboy Sparkleboots. Taylor Kent knows how to make kids (and adults) laugh, and does so with wild abandon.
Character/Execution: Taylor Kent introduces a menagerie of likable and ridiculous characters. Readers will eagerly look forward to the next installment.
Plot/Idea: Traymore's Killer Motives offers an irresistibly compelling premise, as a married art dealer, reeling from her husband's infidelity, finds herself embroiled in far more disquieting circumstances.
Prose: Traymore's prose is sound and propels the story effectively.
Originality: The setting infuses the story with fresh air. Traymore's integration of the history of the Hudson Valley area, and of details of its artwork, provide an additional layer of interest and novelty.
Character Development/Execution: Though certain character traits lean toward stereotypical, the cast is generally well established on the page. Traymore keeps readers guessing about the culprit until the unexpected conclusion.
Plot/Idea: This family drama set during a treasure hunt in the Virgin Islands is engaging and creative, balancing plot and subplots well, although there is a little trouble with pacing as the novel races to a sudden conclusion.
Prose: The writing style is accessible and strong, and the dialogue is full of energy. The flashbacks, in the form of diary entries, are an interesting addition and add another layer of nuance to the story.
Originality: Though it may not surprise readers at every turn, this story boasts several distinctive elements that make for a compelling, interesting read.
Character Development/Execution: Glaze uses perspective shifts and a large cast to develop the story, managing to enhance their points of view rather than clutter the novel. The main players are well drawn and fascinating overall.
Plot/Idea: Oliver has penned a solid plot with a unique protagonist as amateur sleuth. However, there are various subplots that seem to meander and fade away and this detracts from the overall enjoyment of the novel.
Prose: Told in first-person narrative by Jacques, the prose style is very reminiscent of Rex Stout and is aptly suited to the 1930s setting of the novel.
Originality: The setting, Dallas in 1930 with a young, blind Chinese woman serving as the detective protagonist, brings a different hue to the cozy genre.
Character Development/Execution: Whether intentional or not, Dai never really comes across as fully formed and remains opaque. The rest of the characters are fairly one-dimensional, and leave the reader desiring something more tangible.
Plot/Idea: In this work of historical fiction, a sequel to Helena's Orphans, Fritsch establishes numerous strong plot points that, while predictable by their nature, will captivate many readers.
Prose: Who Killed Coriolanus overuses perspective switching when balancing the two main characters' viewpoints, leading to rich texture, but an occasionally distorted storytelling style. Readers may be sidetracked by various awkward moments and stiff prose.
Originality: Fritsch adds novelty to familiar historical events by spotlighting legendary relationships in new ways.
Character Development/Execution: The enticing circumstances are the primary strength of Who Killed Coriolanus. Those with a passion for mythology and Greek and Roman history will savor the historical details Fritsch provides.
Plot: Kendrick introduces several different leads, leaving it up to Interpol operative Dominic to unravel them in his race to stop terrorist Fahid’s machinations—and his jilted fiancée, Gayle, to get to the bottom of her role in the mess. The plot hints at some exciting twists, but their delivery is never fully realized, leading it to feel more anticlimactic than settled.
Prose: The prose jumps to conclusions quickly in places, leaving readers little space for imagination to connect the dots, and there are several instances where it tries too hard to keep up with the fast pace of the story. Nevertheless, The Paris Conspiracy is an exciting thriller with a formidable protagonist.
Originality: Kendrick has a solid handle on the thriller genre and doesn't substantially deviate from conventions. A dash of romance, while it doesn't entirely jive with the rest of the story, provides an additional layer of depth.
Character/Execution: Supporting characters lean towards the predictable, often fitting too neatly into the plot. Gayle is appealing, although she gets caught up in superficialities, and her somewhat double life will intrigue fans of spy thrillers. Dominic’s role suits him, with a nicely developed backstory that lends him a degree of complexity.
Plot/Idea: Fischer's character-driven mystery is evenly paced, with several subplots interwoven within it.
Prose: The tale is told in the first person voice by Pepper Rose, a retired 9-1-1 dispatcher, in a self-deprecating and charming manner.
Originality: This novel is firmly placed in the cozy mystery/thriller genre with little gore or violence in its pages, and more focus on secrets and clues.
Character Development/Execution: The characters in Fischer's novels prove well developed and varied. Pepper is a strong female lead and imminently likable, and the few antagonists the reader encounters are authentic and well placed.
Plot: Talk has a lot of promise, with an intriguing plot, mystery, an exploration of Indigenous roots, and lots of fascinating American history.
Prose: Dialogue features heavily in Talk. In fact, sometimes the dialogue goes on for paragraphs, without any descriptions of what the characters are doing or how they are reacting. This can make it very difficult to follow the plot of the story, or to fully connect with the characters. A few more cues for the readers to break up these passages may benefit the text overall.
Originality: It is not particularly common to find a book that centers on Indigenous history. Talk does just this, intertwining fascinating Indigenous cultural lore with imaginative fictional and true American history.
Character/Execution: Despite the intriguing characters, a number of interactions come across as unnatural with somewhat forced dialogue.
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Plot: Gorsky novel tackles multiple complex plotlines that are interconnected in a whiplash of twists and turns that will have readers strapped to their seats. From narcotics to serial killers, Gorsky doesn't shy away from all the themes of a great thriller.
Prose: Jeffrey Gorsky moves a complex and multi-layered story effortlessly from start to finish without missing a beat in a fast-paced prose rich with details.
Originality: Gorsky relied heavily on common thriller story themes like CIA conspiracies and serial killers but the connection to a well-known children's rhyme loved by many was a nice and original touch.
Character/Execution: Gorsky skillfully develops a somewhat stereotypical protagonist-hero that readers will love to root for as his line of work forces him from being compliant with the government into becoming a disrupter of the status quo.
1 Last Betrayal: Third Book in the Angeline Porter Trilogy (Angeline Porter Series 3)
by Valerie J. BrooksRating: 6.75
Plot/Idea: One Last Betrayal is rippling with action, although some tense moments lack buildup, and the ending feels a bit underdeveloped. Thriller fans will embrace the story’s twists while finding themselves caught up in the dark underbelly of the mob—and the tangled web of rogue agents that Brooks weaves throughout.
Prose: This is a story of ruthlessness and shadows, and Brooks’s prose mimics those themes throughout, drawing out the novel’s settings subtly and with ease. Dialogue is effortless and rolls instinctively across the pages.
Originality: Brooks has crafted an exciting mix of suspense, thrills, and loads of intensity—and the added hints of sexual chemistry between the main characters boosts the storyline.
Character Development/Execution: Brooks shines with skillfully drawn characters who naturally fit into the story’s themes. Angeline is teeming with internal conflict while trying to protect what’s most important, and her blend of distrust and naivete sets up the novel’s surprises perfectly. The book has plenty of villains to go around, some predictable and others more unexpected, but Brooks suitably intertwines their relationships in a way that meshes with the storyline.
Plot: Starting off moving swiftly, the reader is thrown into the action. The author keeps the tension high through intense characters, members of an ancient order who are tasked with saving the world from demons.
Prose: The prose is propulsive and engaging, if at times overly exuberant in its tone.
Originality: Though demons are hardly an original subject matter, the author creates an intriguing, atmospheric blend of urban fantasy and thriller, and offers some unique worldbuilding throughout.
Character/Execution: Steven is passionately devoted to his cause, which is readily conveyed through the prose and the tense events that transpire. The antagonist in the story is similarly well-portrayed.
Plot/Idea: This is a well-plotted and charming cozy mystery that dips its toes into the supernatural with steady pacing, though the inclusion of George the ghost feels forced at times.
Prose: Breezy and approachable, Tesh's novel moves the plot along with bits of humor and a nice amount of character background.
Originality: A fairly standard cozy mystery, the supernatural elements feel both intriguing and can have a jarring effect in lighter moments.
Character Development/Execution: Tesh has crafted a likable and relatable amateur sleuth in Teddy, and the supporting characters are spot-on for the genre.
Plot/Idea: On the one hand, this novel takes the reader on a wild, genre-blending ride, while the layering of genre and plot (mystery/ supernatural and quest/crime novel) muddies the main thread of the novel.
Prose: The prose is clear and enjoyable, with classic noir influences.
Originality: This novel integrates a number of recognizable tropes as it introduces ancient relics, supernatural agency, and Nazi foes.
Character Development/Execution: Richter's War is highly inventive and great fun. However, with its blend of high adventure and a character drawn from hardboiled detective fiction, the novel sometimes verges on caricature.
Plot: Sahade’s trilogy is ambitious in its efforts to unite several seemingly unrelated stories, each one characterized by intrigue, suspense, and betrayal. The storyline suffers in the mix, jumping between perspectives with little warning and stark transitions. Readers may find the sheer breadth of the trilogy overwhelming and challenging to track through to the conclusion.
Prose: The writing style, while often deeply enjoyable, also fluctuates in much the same way as the plot, and the prose is liberally sprinkled with awkward phrasing and stilted moments. There are distracting sections in the novel that dedicate too much time to exposition, in the process detracting from the narrative.
Originality: Sahade’s attempts to combine various characters and storylines into one cohesive narrative lend the novel individuality, but it comes at a hefty price—in the end, the book and its prose are unable to keep up with the demanding plot.
Character/Execution: Sahade introduces multiple characters, each mired in distinctive circumstances that eventually tie back together, but they quickly become difficult to follow. Although the story attempts to keep them connected, the trilogy’s scope results in a sense of disconnection.
