Mystery, Espionage, Crime & Punishment: 5 Hot New Books

Cynthia Ross Cravit | November 1st, 2014

From the classic police procedural to a ripped-from-the-headlines espionage thriller, here are five books for perfect fireside reading.

THE BEAT GOES ON (Hachette Group Canada) by Ian Rankin

For over two decades, Ian Rankin’s brilliant and incurably cranky DI John Rebus has made a home of Edinburgh’s grittiest and darkest places. From his start as a young Constable to his not quite retirement in “The Very Last Drop,” Rebus has been the subject of nearly fifty novels and short stories. Rankin’s latest book The Beat Goes On combines much-loved classics as well as previously unpublished pieces, notably two new stories he wrote specifically for the collection.

BONES NEVER LIE (Simon & Schuster Canada) by Kathy Reichs

In the latest (#17) in the successful Bones series, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan and her ex-lover, Sûreté du Québec cop Andrew Ryan, take on a cold case in Charlotte, N.C. which forces them to face a dangerous demon from their past. Years ago, in Montreal, they worked the case of psychopath Anique Pomerleau, who kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, and then narrowly eluded capture. Now Pomerleau has resumed her reign of terror against young girls, this time south of the border. Can it be a coincidence that she resurfaced in Brennan’s own neighbourhood?

THE GEORGETOWN SET (Knoph)by Gregg Herken

In the years following the Second World War, a colourful and close-knit group of Washington D.C. journalists, spies, scholars and government officials waged the Cold War over martinis and hors d’oeuvres. This WASP-y, well-connected band of brothers who helped steer American policy included such luminaries as Phil and Kay Graham, publishers of The Washington Post; Joe and Stewart Alsop, the odd-ball brothers who were also powerful political pundits; and Frank Wisner, who directed CIA covert operations. From the Oval Office to the salons of Georgetown, from the formation of foreign policy to love affairs and petty jealousies, The Georgetown Set is an historical account that’s as juicy as a gossip column.

CHAOS IN KABUL (Random House) by Gerard de Villiers

Afghanistan is the setting for French author Gérard de Villiers (1918–2013) ripped-from-the-headlines espionage thriller Chaos in Kabul. As U.S. troops begin withdrawing – and the Taliban is poised to resume control – the CIA calls upon veteran Austrian aristocrat, freelance spy and notorious womanizer Malko Linge to execute a dangerous plan to restore stability. Surrounded by the usual dangerous characters – Taliban leaders, President Karzai’s entourage, a renegade element of the CIA – Linge teams up with an ex-flame in Kabul before finding himself alone and on the run in a hostile city.

MEAN STREAK (Hachette Book Group) by Sandra Brown

In best-selling author Sandra Brown’s new thriller, Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician, disappears while training for a marathon on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband reports her missing, the trail has gone as cold as the wintery weather. In this page turning, gone-girl narrative, a husband’s betrayal may go beyond adultery; an abductor may be a protecto;, a lover, a murderer — and following the law could mean walking away from justice.