Some recent reads in September

Persuader by Lee Child

This is book #7 in the Jack Reacher series.   I find this series is very easy reading and this one was no exception.  The one thing that stood out for me in this novel was the amount of technical information that was included about guns – not my cup of tea but the story was thrilling nonetheless.

“Jack Reacher.

The ultimate loner.

An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, he’s moved from place to place…without family…without possessions…without commitments.

And without fear. Which is good, because trouble–big, violent, complicated trouble–finds Reacher wherever he goes. And when trouble finds him, Reacher does not quit, not once…not ever.

But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. And Reacher is a man who hates unfinished business.

Ten years ago, a key investigation went sour and someone got away with murder. Now a chance encounter brings it all back. Now Reacher sees his one last shot. Some would call it vengeance. Some would call it redemption. Reacher would call it…justice.”

The story breaks into two plots at some point but this doesn’t detract from the main plot.

The Moscow Sleepers by Stella Rimington

 “The latest thriller in Stella Rimington’s bestselling espionage series sees Liz Carlyle investigating a sinister Russian plot.

A Russian immigrant lies dying in a hospice in upstate Vermont. When a stranger visits, claiming to be a childhood friend, the FBI is alerted and news quickly travels to MI5 in London.

Liz Carlyle and her colleague Peggy Kinsolving are already knee-deep in conspiracies, and as they unravel the events that landed the man in the hospital, Liz learns of a network of Russians and their plot to undermine the German government. Liz and Peggy set out to locate and stop this insidious network, traveling the world from Montreal to Moscow.

The latest expertly plotted thriller is a white-knuckle ride through the dark underbelly of international intelligence, simmering political animosities, and global espionage.”

I have read six of Stella Rimington’s novels plus her autobiography.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

I love all Ann Cleeves’ work in the Shetland and Vera series.  Ann has now introduced a new detective in her latest novel set in Devon.

“In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.”

I devoured this in one sitting.  Already looking forward to the next book when published.

Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

This novel did exactly as it says on the cover.  “It sucked me in.”

Beautifully written and compelling reading.

“It is 1945, and London is still reeling from years of war. Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel and his older sister, Rachel, seemingly abandoned by their parents, have been left in the care of an enigmatic figure they call The Moth. They suspect he may be a criminal and grow both more convinced and less concerned as they come to know his eccentric crew of friends: men and women with a shared history, all of whom seem determined now to protect and educate (in rather unusual ways) the siblings. But are they really what and who they claim to be? And how should Nathaniel and Rachel feel when their mother returns without their father after months of silence—explaining nothing, excusing nothing? A dozen years later, Nathaniel begins to uncover all he didn’t know or understand during that time, and it is this journey—through reality, recollection, and imagi­nation—that is told in this magnificent novel.”

This novel was long listed for the Man Booker Prize.  I highly recommend this one.