The It Girl by Ruth Ware

This was my first Ruth Ware thriller but it won't be the last. Good prose, engaging plot, 3D characters. 

Blurb:

Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide… including a murder.

No Plan B

 Jack Reacher. Men want to be him, and women want to be with him.

I've lost count of how many times I've started a book review with the words, "A vintage Jack Reacher thriller". No Plan B adheres to the patters. The writer may have changed, but the winning formula hasn't: there's action, there's humour, and the good guys win at the end.

Here's the blurb for those who need it before opening the book simply because it's a Reacher:

In Gerrardsville, Colorado, a woman dies under the wheels of a moving bus. The death is ruled a suicide. But Jack Reacher saw what really happened: A man in a gray hoodie and jeans, moving stealthily, pushed the victim to her demise—before swiftly grabbing the dead woman’s purse and strolling away.

When another homicide is ruled an accident, Reacher knows this is no coincidence. With a killer on the loose, Reacher has no time to waste to track down those responsible. 

But Reacher is unaware that these crimes are part of something much larger and more far-reaching: an arsonist out for revenge, a foster kid on the run, a cabal of powerful people involved in a secret conspiracy with many moving parts. There is no room for error, but they make a grave one. They don’t consider Reacher a threat. “There’s too much at stake to start running from shadows.” But Reacher isn’t a shadow. He is flesh and blood. And relentless when it comes to making things right.

For when the threat is Reacher, there is No Plan B.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Very clever, with an emotional ending.

Blurb:

It's every parent's nightmare. Your happy, funny, innocent son commits a terrible crime- murdering a complete stranger. You don't know who. You don't know why. You only know your teenage boy is in custody and his future lost. That night you fall asleep in despair. Until you wake . . . . . . and it is yesterday. Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. Another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lie the answers, and you don't have a choice but to find them . . .

The Devil's Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

The characters are realistic, the plot full of surprises, the theme of American small-town-ness on point. Steve Cavanagh gets better and better. This is the 6th book in the Eddie Flynn series, and I can't wait to read number 7. (Watch this space.)

Blurb:

When a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found murdered in Buckstown, Alabama, a corrupt sheriff arrests the last person to see her alive, Andy Dubois. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone that Andy is innocent.

The Curfew

 The Curfew by T.M. Logan is a fast-moving heart-gripping thriller. Probably the author's best one yet.

The Nature of Fragile Things

 A beautiful title, a beautiful book. "The Nature of Fragile Things" by Susan Meissner is captivating and gentle, a slow-burner that feels like it's over too fast, seeped in history yet modern in plot. You will fall in love with the protagonist and come away hushed, feeling cherished and full of wonder.

Yeah, it's that kind of book.

For a few hours

 Please visit me on another blog to read about my collection of short fiction, "For a few hours".