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From the publisher:

Tense, gripping and with a twist you won’t see coming, The Split is an explosive new stand-alone thriller from Sharon Bolton about a woman on the run.

No matter how far you run, some secrets will always catch up with you…

The remote Antarctic island of South Georgia is about to send off its last boat of the summer – which signifies safety to resident glaciologist Felicity Lloyd.

Felicity lives in fear – fear that her ex-husband Freddie will find her, even out here. She took a job on this isolated island to hide from him, but now that he’s out of prison, having served a term for murder, she knows he won’t give up until he finds her.

But a doctor delving into the background of Felicity and Freddie’s relationship, back in Cambridge, learns that Felicity has been on the edge for a long time. Heading to South Georgia himself to try and get to her first is the only way he can think of to help her.

The author presents a very well done story of the results of a split personality. That is the inhabiting of one body by two or more separate identities that may not be aware of the existence of the others. The setting for the novel includes the Antarctic island of South Georgia, among the most remote and lonely places on the earth.

Felicity is a young woman living a complicated life which has just become more complex when she learns that her ex-husband has just been released from prison where he was incarcerated for murder. She is under the belief that he is coming to kill her and lives in terror that he will find her and do just that.

Felicity works for an agency that administers details involved in working for an island located in Antarctica and has been consulting with a psychiatrist due to the many fears that she confronts. Among these is the possibility that she has killed two people that were inhabitants of a homeless group living on the streets. By coincidence Joe, her psychiatrist, does pro bono work with homeless people trying to get them back into a normal routine.

In spite of the many constraints involved in the doctor-patient relationship between Felicity and Joe, each is beginning to develop feelings for the other. But a separation between the two comes up when Felicity, in order to escape her ex-husband lands a position working on South Georgia for two years.

The second half of the novel involves her ex-husband taking a cruise to Antarctica in order to find her. Felicity, now working on South Georgia, keeps her eyes on cruise ship passenger manifests and when she spots her ex-husband’s name on one docking shortly runs away from her South Georgia base towards an outlying camp about 60 miles out from it.

Bolton has obviously done a great deal of research on glaciers and glacial movements in setting up one of the most exciting final sequences for this book that one will find. The ending is a surprise as indicated in the publisher’s description of the novel’s events, but it is logical coupled with the remainder of the book. And yes, it is certainly an exciting all-nighter and another reason to continue to search for Sharon Bolton’s books.

4/2020 Paul Lane

THE SPLIT by Sharon Bolton. Minotaur Books (April 28, 2020). ISBN: 978-1250300058. 400p.

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Memory Man, Book 6

From the publisher:

Amos Decker — the FBI consultant with a perfect memory — returns to solve a gruesome murder in a booming North Dakota oil town in the newest thriller in David Baldacci’s #1 New York Times bestselling Memory Man series.

When Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are called to London, North Dakota, they instantly sense that the thriving fracking town is ripe for trouble. The promise of a second gold rush has attracted an onslaught of newcomers all hoping for a windfall, and the community is growing faster than houses can be built. The sudden boom has also brought a slew of problems with it, including drugs, property crimes, prostitution — and now murder.

Decker and Jamison are ordered to investigate the death of a young woman named Irene Cramer, whose body was expertly autopsied and then dumped in the open — which is only the beginning of the oddities surrounding the case. As Decker and Jamison dig into Irene’s life, they are shocked to discover that the woman who walked the streets by night as a prostitute was a teacher for a local religious sect by day — a sect operating on land once owned by a mysterious government facility that looms over the entire community.

London is a town replete with ruthless business owners, shady government officials, and religious outsiders, all determined to keep their secrets from coming out. When other murders occur, Decker will need all of his extraordinary memory and detective skills, and the assistance of a surprising ally, to root out a killer and the forces behind Cramer’s death. . . before the boom town explodes.

David Baldacci has many positive qualities in his profession as a novel writer. Possibly the most outstanding of these is his ability to create a wide variety of characters for his books and make them come alive. He has the knack to hold onto the various natures assigned and keep them reacting in the unique manner such types would always exhibit.

“Walk the Wire” brings together two different sets of the characters created. The first group involves Amos Decker and his partner Alex Jamison. Decker is a huge bear of a man; tall and weighing close to 300 pounds. He began a career as a pro football player but was injured in a practice. Physically knocked into a coma he finally came to and found that he had somehow gained a photographic memory as well as distorted views of various colors. He uses his unusual skills to advantage in his job as an FBI agent.

The other set of characters are Will Robie and Jessica Reel. They both are professional assassins employed by the U.S. government and very skillful in their work. One of the novels featuring Will and Jessica had them meet when each was in receipt of an order to kill the other. Great way to start a relationship, right?

Amos and Alex are sent to the town of London, North Dakota to investigate a murder. London is at the center of the oil drilling industry known as fracking and due to the boom this industry has created is very much in the wild character of Alaskan towns during the gold rush of the 19th century. A young woman was killed and then literally autopsied and left in an open field with her entrails outside the body. It appeared that whoever did the job knew how to do an autopsy. While horrible in its aspect, Amos wonders why two FBI agents were assigned to look into the killing when it should have really fallen into the jurisdiction of the local police.

Trust Baldacci to supply some fascinating answers. He incorporates the arrival of Robie and Reel with the existence of an air force base watching for missiles launched by enemies of the U.S., the private preserve of a cult, and two wealthy individuals fighting for more and more property in the boomtown. More murders with a slew of suspects and the other factors mentioned create the typical David Baldacci book one fine all-nighter, and of course, a five-star novel.

4/2020 Paul Lane

WALK THE WIRE by David Baldacci. Grand Central Publishing (April 21, 2020). ISBN: 978-1538761465. 432p.

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From the publisher:

What makes Simon Fitch so perfect?

-He knows all her favorite foods, music, and movies.
-Her son adores him. He was there when she needed him most.
-He anticipates her every need.
-He would never betray her like her first husband.

The perfect husband. He checks all the boxes.

The question is, why?

Nina Garrity learned the hard way that her missing husband, Glen, had been leading a double life with another woman. But with Glen gone―presumably drowned while fishing on his boat―she couldn’t confront him about the affair or find closure to the life he blew apart.

Now, a year and a half later, Nina has found love again and hopes she can put her shattered world back together. Simon, a widower still grieving the death of his first wife, thinks he has found his dream girl in Nina, and his charm and affections help break through to a heart hardened by betrayal. Nina’s teenage son, Connor, embraces Simon as the father he wishes his dad could have been, while her friends see a different side to him, and they aren’t afraid to use the word obsession.

Nina works hard to bridge the divide that’s come between her daughter and Simon. She wants so badly to believe her life is finally getting back on track, but she’ll soon discover that the greatest danger to herself and her children are the lies people tell themselves.

D.J. Palmer is a pen name for Daniel Palmer, an author of many highly engrossing novels and the son of Michael Palmer, who was noted as a writer of engrossing medical thrillers. In this current book, Palmer skillfully introduces several flawed characters that are more realistic than many protagonists that have no faults. His people are faced with an overwhelming crisis and working to face them while in the process of convincing themselves that they are correct in what they are doing in spite of the pressure of others.

Nina Garrity married with two children is faced with the desertion of her husband Glen and also the possible fact that he may have left to be with another woman. They have had their differences as do most couples but had stayed together. Almost two years after her husband has left, she accepts the advances of Simon Fitch, a man that coincidentally teaches at the middle school that her daughter attends. Her reason for accepting Simon’s advances is that in spite of never finding her husband’s body, she considers herself a widow. Glen, her husband, had apparently drowned while out fishing when the boat he was on was discovered with Daisy, the family dog, sitting covered with blood and muddied up.

Simon convinces Nina that he recognizes that it is too soon to marry, but suggests they buy a house together and move into it in order to move towards becoming a family. In spite of the advice against this move as being too soon by both Nina’s parents and two of her best friends, they move in. Nina’s son is a football player at the school and immediately becomes friendly with Simon. Her daughter does not, quickly finding fault with him and claiming that she has secretly seen him with a very dark look on his face that frightens her. Simon on his part begins to court Nina in earnest to solidify their relationship by getting married.

The actions and reactions of the persona towards events is a major factor of the novel making it a great read and one continuing the Palmer family’s legacy of superb books. Very well done.

4/2020 Paul Lane

THE NEW HUSBAND by D.J. Palmer. St. Martin’s Press (April 14, 2020). ISBN: 978-1250107497. 384p.

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Sigma Force Novels, Book 15

From the publisher:

To save the world and our future, Sigma Force must embark on a dangerous odyssey into an ancient past whose horrors are all too present in this page-turning thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins that combines cutting-edge science, historical mystery, mythology, and pulse-pounding action.

For eons, the city of Troy—whose legendary fall was detailed in Homer’s Iliad—was believed to be myth, until archaeologists in the nineteenth century uncovered its ancient walls buried beneath the sands. If Troy was real, how much of Homer’s twin tales of gods and monsters, curses and miracles—The Iliad and The Odyssey—could also be true and awaiting discovery?

In the frozen tundra of Greenland, a group of modern-day researchers stumble on a shocking find: a medieval ship buried a half-mile below the ice. The ship’s hold contains a collection of even older artifacts—tools of war—dating back to the Bronze Age. Inside the captain’s cabin is a magnificent treasure that is as priceless as it is miraculous: a clockwork gold map imbedded with an intricate silver astrolabe. The mechanism was crafted by a group of Muslim inventors—the Banū Mūsā brothers—considered by many to be the Da Vincis of the Arab world—brilliant scientists who inspired Leonardo’s own work.

Once activated, the moving map traces the path of Odysseus’s famous ship as it sailed away from Troy. But the route detours as the map opens to reveal a fiery river leading to a hidden realm underneath the Mediterranean Sea. It is the subterranean world of Tartarus, the Greek name for Hell. In mythology, Tartarus was where the wicked were punished and the monstrous Titans of old, imprisoned.

When word of Tartarus spreads—and of the cache of miraculous weapons said to be hidden there—tensions explode in this volatile region where Turks battle Kurds, terrorists wage war, and civilians suffer untold horrors. The phantasmagoric horrors found in Homer’s tales are all too real—and could be unleashed upon the world. Whoever possesses them can use their awesome power to control the future of humanity.

Now, Sigma Force must go where humans fear to tread. To prevent a tyrant from igniting a global war, they must cross the very gates of Hell.

James Rollins has created an elite, secret U.S. government operating unit known as the Sigma Force. His books about them tell stories of daring deeds in situations that are more than a little beyond normal activities and touch on the fantastic.

In the afterward, the author presents various facts that he indicates bring proof that the story is based on his interpretation of what did occur. For many years it was thought that the great poet Homer’s poems, the Illiad and the Odessey, which tell the story of a major prehistoric war taking place in the Mediterranean area and involving the city of Troy, were not true. In the 19th century, archaeologists digging beneath the sands discovered what were the remains of Troy. If this were true, how much more of Homer’s poetry was also based on fact.

In a dig in Greenland, a modern day group of climatologists and archaeologists discover an ancient ship buried a half-mile beneath the frozen tundra. Even more astonishing is the discovery of artifacts held on the ship dating further back to the Bronze age. An ancient map discovered with these items shows the path of the ship in prehistoric days outlining the travels of Odysseys returning from Troy to his homeland. It also shows the site of what in modern days is called Hell. When word of this find spreads war escalates between ancient enemies pitting Kurds against Turks and terrorists gaining traction in their fight against the world. The ancient day miracles held for safekeeping in “hell” cause Sigma force to journey to the possible site of that city and attempt to prevent a tyrant using these items from taking over the world.

The novels revolving around Sigma force are all action-oriented and blend more than a little of the surreal into the story. In that sense, nothing is different in this current novel by Rollins. If based on fact or not, the books are all filled with excitement and action guaranteed to keep the reader glued to the pages. The events depicted are all outlined and made part of a mesmerizing plot that creates a fascinating read.

4/2020 Paul Lane

THE LAST ODYSSEY by James Rollins. William Morrow (March 24, 2020). ISBN: 978-0062892898. 464p.

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