Now and Then by Robert B. Parker

Now and Then by Robert B. Parker

Synopsis

Spenser knows something’s amiss the moment Dennis Doherty walks into his office. The guy’s aggressive yet wary, in the way men frightened for their marriages always are. So when Doherty asks Spenser to investigate his wife Jordan’s abnormal behavior, Spenser agrees. A job’s a job, after all.

Not surprisingly, Spenser catches Jordan with another man, tells Dennis what he’s found out, and considers the case closed. But a couple of days later, all hell breaks loose, and three people are dead. This isn’t just a marital affair gone bad. Spenser is in the middle of hornet’s nest of trouble, and he has to get out of it without getting stung.

With Hawk watching his back and gun-for-hire Vinnie Morris providing extra cover, Spenser delves into a complicated and far-reaching operation: Jordan’s former lover Perry Alderson is the leader of a group that helps sponsor terrorists. The Boston P.I. will use all his connections–both above and below the law–to uncover the truth behind Alderson’s antigovernment organization. Alderson doesn’t like Spenser poking around his business, so he decides to get to him through Susan. But what Alderson doesn’t realize is that Spenser will do anything to keep Susan out of harm’s way; nothing will keep him from the woman he loves.

⇒ Via: BN.com

Ffast read, but sketchy on storyline and plot !. Typical mass produced crap written only to complete the contractual obligation to his publisher. Skip this !!

Written in Bone by Simon Beckett

Written in Bone by Simon Beckett

Synopsis

“I took the skull from its evidence bag and gently set it on the stainless steel table. ‘Tell me who you are. . . .’ ” With this silent plea, forensic expert Dr. David Hunter ignites a harrowing murder investigation on a windswept Scottish island, and a tale of menace, sexuality, and revenge unravels—along with the chilling message that a killer has…

Dr. David Hunter should be in London with the woman he loves and a past he can’t quite shake off. Instead, as a favor to a beleaguered cop, Hunter travels to a remote island in the Outer Hebrides to inspect a baffling set of remains. A forensic anthropologist, he has seen bodies destroyed by all forms of violence, but even he is surprised at what he finds: human remains burned beyond recognition—all within the confines of an otherwise undamaged, unoccupied cottage. Local police want to rule the death accidental. But Hunter’s examination of the victim’s charred skull tells him that this woman, no doubt a stranger to the close-knit island of Runa, was murdered by someone nearby.

Within days, two more people are dead by fire. Hunter’s job is to coax the dead into telling their stories—but now that he’s beginning to hear them, he is staggered by the truth. Working with only the barest of clues, he peels back the layers of mysteries past and present, exposing the tangle of secrets at the heart of this strange community—from the deceptions of a wealthy couple to the bitterness of an ex-cop and the secrets of a lonely single mother—as a tale of rage and perversion comes full circle…then explodes in a series of violent actsand shocking twists.

⇒ Via: BN.com

Forensic scientist finds himself on an Scottish island in midst of an murder investigation. The spate of murders triggered by his investigation becomes too dangerous for himself. Engrossing even if a little farfetched.

Restitution by Lee Vance

Restitution by Lee Vance

Synopsis

Peter Tyler seems to have it all—a beautiful and accomplished wife, a high-powered Wall Street career, a sprawling house in the suburbs. But beneath this perfect surface, things are not what they seem. Haunted by an unhappy childhood, Peter drifts from his wife and her ideal of family life, and eventually seeds solace in a one-night stand.
Before Peter can fully come to grips with what he's done, his house is broken into and his wife brutally murdered. when the police discover that a mysterious package from Peter's best friend, Andrei, is the only thing missing, they rule out random robbery. And when they discover Peter's infidelity—combined with his refusal to reveal the identity of his lover—he becomes their prime suspect. To complete the nightmare, Andrei has disappeared without a trace.
Forced to run, Peter will have to question everything he has ever believed as he struggles to unravel the truth before the police catch up with him. Along the way he'll encounter embittered, conniving foes and a spectacular act of revenge that will take your breath away.
Whip-smart and adrenaline-fueled, this is an audiobook you won't be able to stop listening to until you know everything.

⇒ Via: BN.com

Gripping story about a wall street investment banker who is embroiled in a frameup. Chased by the police, he uncovers the mystery that ultimately clears his name.

Turpentine by Spring Warren

Turpentine by Spring Warren

Synopsis

A comic glance at the old American West and a serious story about transformation and redemption, Turpentine is a bold, inventive novel about a young man’s attempt to make sense of the past while unsteadily growing into adulthood. In 1871, Edward Turrentine Bayard III, sick and restless, leaves his Connecticut home to recover out west. But when the private sanitarium in which he is to stay proves to be nothing more than a rickety outpost on the Nebraskan plains, he becomes a buffalo skinner. After returning to the East, Ned teams up with Phaegin, who earns her money rolling cigars, and Curly, a fourteen-year-old coal miner, but the newfound trio is wrongly accused of triggering a bomb at a labor rally, and they must flee. With a Pinkerton agent following their every move, the gang of winsome ne’er-do-wells takes flight on a circuitous escape through northern outposts into Indian country, past the slums of Chicago, and into the boundless Great Plains. En route they become witness to the transformation and growing pains of a burgeoning nation. A picaresque novel of wonderful energy and unforgettable characters, Turpentine is a comic, prescient look at the growth of an individual and a country.

⇒ Via: BN.com

Debut novel by the author placed in early nineteenth century America. The story follows the travails of main character Turpentine as he struggles to life and his travels.