"Never Say Die" by Tess Gerritsen

Willy Maitland wants to find answers regarding the apparent death of her father twenty years ago. He was reknowned pilot "Wild Bill" Maitland, whose plane crashed in the jungles of Vietnam. However, Willy isn't entirely convinced that he is really dead, and has promised her dying mother she will uncover the truth. She is forced to rely upon the help of mercenary Guy Barnard, who has his own reasons for wanting to find out the truth.

As Willy becomes subject to threats on her life, and the people they interview wind up dead, the two soon realise that there are people out there who want the truth behind the plane crash to remain a secret.

Even going all the way back to 1992, when this romantic thriller by Gerritsen was first released, it was clear that Gerritsen had more talent than her romance novelist counterparts. Sure, the usual cliches of Willy and Guy finding each other "damnably" attractive are present, as are the insecurities both have over what might happen if they gave in to their desires, but Gerritsen also has a sure grip on plotting and pacing. She is able to set the scene in Vietnam quite nicely without going overboard in her descriptions, providing a nice, light travelogue. There is plenty of action as Willy avoids numerous attempts on her life, and even a little genuine intrigue as to the mystery behind the plane crash. It all builds to a pretty decent climax in the jungles of Vietnam. Don't be mistaken - this is strictly romantic suspense fodder, but it comes in at the top end of the scale, and it's not hard to see why Gerritsen went on to much bigger, better things.

"Die For You" by Lisa Unger

Isabel Raines believes she has a marriage that is pretty close to perfect. Sure, there have been rough patches along the way, including a miscarriage and infidelity, but all in all things are pretty rosy. Until Marcus Raines simply doesn't return home. Until his office is stormed by a fake FBI team who tear the place up, conk Isabel over the head and take off. Until she discovers that she never really knew her husband at all - he has cleared out their bank accounts and is seemingly up to his head in all sorts of nefarious business. Seemingly driven more by ego than common sense, Isabel shifts heaven and earth to find out WHY this has happened to HER? Why why why? Oh yeah, and one of the cops investigating Marcus is having marriage woes. And Isabel's sister Linda is having an affair with an art critic. And both Isabel and Linda remain haunted by the suicide of their father when they were children.

There's an okay if conventional and unoriginal thriller buried here somewhere amongst the internal musings frequented upon by Isabel and Linda regarding the suicide of their father. Sure, it all sounds psychologically insightful and perhaps provides a reason why as adults they're such absolute numbskulls, but it really does get to be a bit much. If Unger wants to explore the damage done to the psyche when a child loses a parent through an act such as suicide, why is she doing it within the context of a thriller in which a woman eventually globetrots to Prague to track down her treacherous husband? If she wants to explore what drives a successful, happy wife and mother to embark on a sexual extra-marital affair, why is she doing it in a book about that woman's sister embarking on a quest for truth and justice? Linda's affair has nothing to do with Isabel's betrayal at the hands of her husband nor her search for answers. All it really does it take up space and paint her as a selfish whore repeatedly running the risk of needlessly destroying her family.

The fact is, Unger's character development is extremely well-crafted and believable. The characters and their actions make sense in regards to what they have been through. Unfortunately, their actions are constantly bone-headed and stupid. Isabel may be a well-developed character, but I didn't particularly like her. Nothing else really mattered to her except finding out WHY she was betrayed. Why her? How dare Marcus?!? She seems to believe she's far more well-equipped to find answers than the police or anybody else and frequently puts herself into near-suicidal situations, while also bringing danger and suspicion to her otherwise innocent extended family. She's the most egotistical, whining, moronic douche to be portrayed by the author as some sort of strong, moral heroine. Actually, I seem to be saying that a lot about female protagonists, and it makes me sound bad, but seriously....is it that hard to create a female character with a strong, steady head on her shoulders who isn't prone to endless introspection, ridiculous choices and self-entitled whining? Just asking.

The other annoying trait is having Isabel be an author. We get lots of musings about what the author does, what they see, what they capture, their role, ad nauseum. It makes the author seem highly self-aware and displays an off-putting sense of self-importance. Lisa, honey, you're writing a mass-market paperback about a woman chasing her husband across the world to Prague to find out why he betrayed you and cleared out your bank accounts. If you want to write literature, drop the ridiculous globe-trotting and the conspiracies and sign up with a smaller publishing company and produce books with poetic, meaningful titles that people in turtleneck sweaters read while drinking some hard-to-pronounce latte at a bohemian coffee shop. "Die For You" is one-third standard betrayed-woman yarn, and two thirds psychological and emotional turmoil. Decide for yourself which interests you more.

"Chillwater Cove" by Thomas Lakeman

Peggy Weaver is an FBI agent still haunted by an incident when she was ten years old, in which her best friend Samantha was kidnapped by a child sex predator. Peggy managed to get away because she ran for her life While Samantha was eventually returned, it was clear she had suffered greatly, and wouldn't share her experiences with anybody. It's twenty-five years later when Peggy discovers horrifying pictures of Samantha from the time she was abducted, during the course of another investigation. When she learns that Samantha - now married with a child - has received the same set of pictures, Peggy returns to her hometown to discover the truth.

Her return opens up a can of worms. Her father is the chief of police, and they've had a rocky relationship over the years. When Samantha is once again abducted, Peggy's presence in the investigation causes further friction with her father. While it is almost certain that Samantha is once again in the clutches of her original abductor, several other factors complicate the issue. Samantha's rich-boy husband is keeping secrets and hiding facts from the authorities. Samantha's book about the Melungeons, a race of people descended from slaves and who live in the mountains, seems to have made a lot of people uncomfortable, and appears inextricably tied in with current events. On top of that, it's apparent Peggy's own father has secrets to hide.

"Chillwater Cove" is the sort of book that restores your faith that every now and then, a thriller can come along that just completely blows you away. This is one is tightly-plotted, twisty, fast-paced, action-packed, suspenseful and scary, with believable three-dimensional characters, complex relationships and snappy, witty dialogue. I don't think anything you would find within the pages of this novel could be called new or inventive, but then not a lot in this genre is. However, what you will get is a novel where the non-crime, non-action elements are just as gripping as the main narrative. The relationship between Peggy and her father Russell is at the core of the story and it rings true from start to finish. Through their interactions, you understand how Peggy came to be the person she is and how his presence continues to influence her actions. Russell is a character you really want to hate, but is written so well that his unlikeable characteristics actually contribute to the story and the father-daughter conflict. The relationship between Peggy and her colleague-cum-former-fiance Mike Yeager is also explored, and never at the expense of the story. In fact, this is one of those rare occasions where more focus on that relationship would not have hurt the main plot. Mike Yeager is not just some love interest - there isn't even a sex scene! How often do you see that? Even secondary characters get terrific personality arcs. For example, Officer Ripley (I'm not sure we even learn his first name) experiences huge personal growth as the story progresses. It's this sort of attention to detail that draws you into the story and has you caring about everybody involved.

Plot-wise, there are several different strands running concurrently, each contributing to the book as a whole. Since Samantha's original abduction and her current abduction are part of a much larger picture, this leads to numerous interesting plot twists as the story nears its conclusions. Characters are revealed to have varying degrees of motivation. Characters thought to have little bearing on the plot become much more important later on down the track. My only minor quibble would be that the Melungeons too often engage in that hokey Native American Spirit-Speak, i.e. "you're surrounded by men made of lies, Weaver's daughter" etc. They seem civilized enough - would they really talk like that? But it's not enough to really take anything away from the effectiveness of everything else.

Maybe it was the fact I've read so many so-so crime novels lately. Maybe it was the fact I bought this for $5 from a discount newsagency and didn't have high expectations. But I think "Chillwater Cove" leaves many full-priced novels by popular, established authors well in the dust. It's one of the best books I've read in ages and I can't recommend it highly enough.

"Three Weeks To Say Goodbye" by C.J. Box

Jack and Melissa McGuane are the parents of adopted nine-month-old baby Angelina, since they are unable to have children of their own. However, an unlikely legal snafu has occurred in that the birth father - a snotty over-privileged 18 year old called Garrett - never signed away his rights. Conveniently, his father is the powerful Judge John Moreland, and there's no question of who will get custody. The title refers to the amount of time Jack and Melissa have before handing over the baby, and to find out why the Judge and his son want to get hold of Angelina so desperately, since it's clear that Garrett has no interest in looking after her. They soon find they're willing to go to any lengths to hold on to their child.

The bond that exists between the parents and their daughter is the glue that holds together this otherwise ridiculous thriller. Box seems to be aiming for the same sort of territory as Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay, in which ordinary people go to extraordinary lengths to defend their family and loved ones. However, he seems to lose grip of what would really make for a tense and exciting story and instead lets the narrative veer off into all sorts of bizarre and unlikely scenarios. One of the more intriguing elements involves Garrett basically knowing he has the parents by the balls - they're willing to do anything in the hope he might sign away his parental rights. Garrett is portrayed as a sociopath, and it's not clear why he doesn't exploit this situation to its full advantage. After some juvenile pranking and one nasty act, he pretty much disappears from the plot. A really gripping thriller could have been fashioned from the vise he has Jack and Melissa trapped in. Instead, the writer seems more interested in exploring the moral consequences of good people being forced to do bad things. This is all well and good, but the situations the characters find themselves in to bring them to that point of questioning their actions are so ludicrous that it all becomes rather moot. For example, the sequence in which Jack, Melissa and their detective friend Cody Hoyt call upon Cody's crazy uncle Jeter to "scare" Garrett into signing the papers results in a bar shoot-out that leaves several dead, but has no impact on the plot other than for Jack to question his morals over standing by and watching it go down.

The themes of grief and personal loss are also muddied by the ending in which Melissa is left sedated at home while Jack and Cody gather up the "guys" for some justified vengeance. Rather than using the mountain of evidence they have which would easily put everybody away, it instead becomes a macho gung-ho mission in which Jack can further examine his slide into moral questionability as he shoots and kills a bad guy - simply for that purpose! Putting the focus on the antagonistic relationship between Jack, Melissa and Garrett could have explored moral choices in the same way - what would they be willing to do to both keep a sociopath happy and keep their baby? Instead, we get a convoluted conspiracy mystery filled with non-sensical events and actions (why does Jack keep calling the judge and giving away his game plan?), capped off with a suspenseless, underwhelming shoot-out.

C.J. Box is a good writer in that he creates believable, likeable characters that quickly get you on side. He shows skill in being able to manipulate the reader's emotions. But the situations he creates to do this go too far beyond the realm of credibility and frequently don't make any sense. Which is a pity, since the premise of this one showed so much promise.

"Phone Calls" by Ann Reit

Juliet Gibson is an aspiring poet who is in love with Timothy Thornton from afar. She has plenty of other boys in her life, including fellow poet Oliver, who has recently returned to town after four years away. Not to mention philosophical Cliff and sporty Mike. However, none of them except Tim send that special tingle down her spine. Juliet is despairing that she'll never find that special boy when she receives a mysterious phone call in which an anonymous male voice quotes "Did my heart love till now?" from Shakespeare's classic play. Being a poet, Juliet finds this wonderfully romantic, and not creepy the way the rest of her family and friends do. In fact, it gives her the confidence to start growing out her hair and wearing pink sweaters. Her mysterious Romeo calls the same time each week and, as all the boys in her life suddenly start showing romantic interest in her, she must figure out which one of them it is.

"Phone Calls" is one of those treasures I managed to find for just 1o cents during an Op Shop trawl. I was attracted to the so-bad-it's-good cover in which a blandly pretty girl (with what can only be called a mullet) clutches a phone to her ear as if she's just been told she's won the Lotto as opposed to having cheesy Shakespearean sonnets recited to her. I like grabbing these books from decades past to see how far such things as attitudes and technology have progressed since the book was published. Alas, I couldn't find anything outrageous within the pages of "Phone Calls". Even though it was written before the advent of mobile phones, it doesn't change things. And the message the book puts out is largely along the lines of most modest teen romances: be yourself and like you for who you are. It avoids cliches such as the "mean girl", and is actually kind of bland. The identity of Juliet's secret admirer is a foregone conclusion and the resolution is a bit pat and overly convenient. There is some mild humour in the descriptions of Juliet's house and her fashion choices (they're all horrible), but otherwise "Phone Calls" isn't exactly something you should go out of your way to find.

"Breakneck" by Erica Spindler

Detectives Mary Catherine "MC" Riggio and Kitt Lundgren are back (after "Copycat"), this time when first MC's fiance Dan and then her cousin Tommy are murdered. Different weapons and methods had been used for both, so they are unsure whether the deaths are related. However, Tommy's murder certainly seems connected to a series of other deaths, most of them impressionable young college students who shirk socialising for excessive computer use. Each have a reputation for being a "cracker" - a computer hacker who uses their knowledge to illegally obtain others' funds over the Internet. Certainly, the victims exhibit wealth beyond their means, including Tommy, even though MC refuses to believe he could be involved.

The detectives' meeting with FBI Special Agent Jonathan Smith alerts them to the existence of a skilled hitman named "Breakneck", whose signature is that he never uses the same weapon twice. Ah, a possible connection to Dan's murder! However, MC must also deal with the fact that Dan might not have been the man he claims he was - the youth centre he worked at with good buddy Erik Sundstrom seems connected to the events as well. So what secret did all these victims share that got them all killed?

Interestingly, this offering from Spindler is not courtesy of usual publisher Mira Books. Was there not enough romance in her books anymore? Because certainly, Spindler is showing a refreshing tendency to move away from "terrifying situation brings about true love" and towards the issues faced by couples once they're in a relationship. The focus here is on Kitt and her partner Joe's relationship and the difficulties it faces after the death of their child and the demands of Kitt's job. Of course, I didn't really give a shit about any of this, especially since I got tired of Joe banging on about it all being Kitt's fault. However, the more Spindler writes, the more she seems to be abandoning the strict genre formula conventions, when the opposite is usually the norm.

Disappointingly, "Breakneck" is not one of her better efforts. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it was never gripping enough, and just didn't seem to hold together from start to finish. Basically, young folk are dying, they were all "crackers", and a deadly assassin was offing them all over some stolen money. There are a few loose strands in which you wait and see how they connect to the proceedings, but it was not enough. Not to mention one strand which seems to exist solely so a gay character can be revealed as a sick pervert, but which has nothing to do with the main plot. He's outed, exposed as a freak, kills himself, and that's the end of that. Never mentioned again. It was so offensive I nearly put the book down right there. The other maddening element is MC's constant hand-wringing over what sort of person Dan really was. He's dead now, honey, it doesn't matter too much anymore! Part of the problem was the forced nature of MC and Dan's relationship. Spindler has to repeatedly ram down our throats just how much they're in love in only a short time before he's murdered for the sake of the plot. At the end of the day, the relationship could have been removed entirely and not affected events all that much. It also presents the problem of how MC stays on the case with not one, but two, people close to her being the murder victims. Despite the chapter in which Kitt effectively blackmails the police chief into letting MC remain involved, it is unconvincing at best.

The book also attempts a subplot over the relationship between MC and Kitt and how much they trust each other. I'm sorry, but their friendship never seemed real enough for me to be invested in the betrayal Kitt felt whenever MC would race off and do something without her. Especially when most said transgressions were pretty damn piddly.

Nevertheless, "Breakneck" provides a bit of mindless entertainment. Despite the shaky, padded plot, there are one or two decent twists along the way, and MC and Kitt, despite minor faults, are fairly likeable. Nice to see two reasonably strong female characters as the leads. And the novel is another example of the evolution of a writer who has enough talent to try something different and move her writing in another direction. It's worth sticking around to follow her progress.

"Double Exposure" by Bonnie Hearn Hill

Reebie Mahoney is adrift in life after losing the vineyard she co-owned with her ex-husband. She does a variety of different jobs, but none mean much to her. However, in her latest job as a newspaper temp, she is chosen by the mistress of a dead ex-president to be the recipient of a big exclusive. Unfortunately, the mistress is shot and killed before any juicy interview can take place. Reebie becomes the main suspect, even though it makes absolutely no sense that she could have done it - she had a co-worker witness right with her for f***'s sake.

The president's mistress - Jeanette Sheldon - has actually been presumed dead all these years, so what really happened the night she was supposedly killed? Why has she been living a secret life? Why did she choose an absolute numbskull to confess all her secrets to? Reebie teams up with hunky journalist Leo Kersikovski to find out the truth, but everybody has secrets to hide - Jeanette's best friend Marcus (a closeted TV star), her other lover Ed Palacios (a sort-of mobster), the president's wife, the president's retarded son, the president's former aide and Dorothy The Dancing Donkey. Okay, I'm kidding about that last part.

It's hard to know where to start in trying to describe how awful this book is. How any editor could have slogged through it and thought: "Wow! Let's get this on the shelves, pronto!" is a mystery to last beyond time itself. For starters, the plot is all over the place, despite there not really being any plot. By the end of the book, you're left wondering why everybody went to so much trouble to do what they did. Characters die for very little reason at all. Motives make little sense.

But then again, I suppose that would have something to do with how terribly the characters are written and conceived. As is typical for the romantic suspense genre, the main character is the main culprit. What. A. Moron. The absolute nadir for me was when she asked the hitman who's trying to kill her to help out the other lady he's just whacked over the head. Sure honey, the hitman will put away his weapon and check to make sure she's okay. Then again, the hitman isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Instead of killing a witness, he's happy to crack them on the noggin and provide them with the opportunity to later escape. Savvy.

When Reebie isn't being a total tool, she's being an exasperating whinger. How dare her ex-husband take possession of the winery in the divorce! I mean, it belongs to him and his family, but he had a moral obligation to hand it over to her because she did such a great job running it! She bangs on and on about this, and it often gets to be too much to take. What planet is this idiot from? I would have been rooting for the folks who wanted her dead, but considering they were all too stupid to successfully off such a dippy drip (I'm really running out of adjectives for "stupid person"), that was also difficult.

The icing on the cake is the terrible writing. Check this out: "his polish-black hair was so silky that my first impulse was to stroke it. That's what beauty does to us. Our first thought is that of the child. Touch it. Make it mine. But the child grows up and learns what happens when you reach for those bright balloons bursting with colour." Okay. Sure. What the f*** does that mean? Either my brain can no longer register metaphors and similes through too much exposure to romantic suspense garbage or....I'm reading romantic suspense garbage.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

What really sealed the deal was when we learnt that the ex-president's aide shot and killed Jeanette. Interestingly, he also bit her on the ankle. Right down to the bone, apparently. WOULD THIS NOT BE OF INTEREST TO THE CORONER AND DETECTIVES WHO COULD MAKE A TEETH MOLD AND IMMEDIATELY RULE OUT THEIR PRIME SUSPECT????? Hands down, "Double Exposure" wins my award for the stupidest book I've ever read, so now I'm actually looking forward to see if anything can top it.