2014 books, #96-100

Dead cold, by Louise Penny [audiobook]. Read by Adam Sims. Oxford: Isis, 2006.

The rather dreadful CeCe, an incomer who has made no effort to make friends in Three Pines, is fatally electrocuted at the annual Boxing Day curling match.  Armand Gamache returns to the village to discover a history of secrets and enemies, and a connection in the dead woman's past to Three Pines.  This is the second of the Gamache books, and many of the same characters as before reappear; while I guessed the murderer early on, there were many twists and turns which led me to doubt my judgment.  A good one to listen to at this time of year, and an excellent reading by Adam Sims.

Fury, by G M Ford [audiobook]. Read by Jeff Harding. Whitley Bay: Chivers, 2004.

Frank Corso is a pariah—a journalist once vilified for making up "facts" on a major crime story. Yet slow, sheltered Leanne Samples trusts no one but Corso to tell the world that her courtroom testimony that put Walter Leroy "Trashman" Himes on Death Row was a lie. Convicted of the savage slaying of eight Seattle women, Himes is only six days from execution, unless Frank Corso and outcast photographer Meg Dougherty into a struggle that goes far beyond right, wrong, truth, and justice. Because the lowly and the powerful alike all want Himes dead at any cost—despite startling new evidence that threatens to devastate a city once again.

The gods of guilt, by Michael Connelly. London: Orion, 2014.

Micky Haller unexpectedly gets a call to a murder case; and then discovers he's about to defend a man accused of the murder of  Glory Days, a prostitute he'd known several years before as a client and friend. As his investigations continue, Micky realises he may have been responsible for what happened to Glory, and acts principally through a sense of guilt.  Another excellent thriller by Connelly, with a tiny cameo appearance by Harry Bosch.

The affair, by Lee Child [audiobook]. Read by Jeff Harding. Whitley Bay: Soundings, 2011.

Finally, this one's the account of how Jack Reacher left the army.  A woman has had her throat cut in a bar in Carter Crossing, Mississippi.  Reacher, still an Army major, is sent undercover to investigate; and meets the local sheriff, a stunningly beautiful ex-Marine.  As the case progresses, Reacher realises that if he does what the Army wants, he may not be able to live with himself, or the Army with him.  An excellent book, and as ever with a great deal of humour mixed in...

The taxidermist's daughter, by Kate Mosse. London: Orion, 2014.

A book group book; this time sent by the publisher which was terribly nice of them!  Sussex, 1912: and in the churchyard, a group of men gather on St Mark's Eve (April 24). Sinister birds fly out of the church, but a more sinister act is taking place while the men are distracted. Constantia Gifford, the taxidermist's daughter, is about to discover a body.  This is a very sinister tale of murder, revenge and dark deeds.  There are a couple of holes in the plot you could drive a coach and horses through, but it can't be faulted for atmosphere and giving a shiver down the spine...