ROGUE LAWYER BY JOHN GRISHAM

Sebastian Rudd is inconceivably poles apart from the other central characters in John Grisham’s novels. He is impatient, contemptuous and dangerous but he’s also smart and resolute – someone you’ll easily root for. Or for that matter, he's someone you’ll instantly find repulsive. He’s divorced, with negligible parenting concerns for his young son, except that occasional visits. Yet, he has strong concerns veering toward madness for the cause of justice, and most of his clients are people with cases the average lawyers would hesitate to touch. With a bodyguard who bundles up as his driver, bodyguard and all-in-one, Sebastian Rudd, the rogue lawyer in Grisham’s latest thriller is unlike anything you have read before.

Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham follows Sebastian Rudd’s legal battles as he works out of a van after his office was bombed. Our legal ace has a lot on his hands as he battles for others as well as himself. One of the cases involved the molestation and drowning of two little girls. The accused Gardy was once a member of a satanic cult with a history of sexual perversion. With this fact known to the prosecution, Sebastian has much work to do. There’s also a case involving a crime lord who killed a judge and is facing death row, and a retired homeowner who opens fire on a SWAT team. Sebastian is also confronted with the daunting prospect of losing his visitation rights with his young son as his ex-wife is mounting a legal challenge to cancel it.

When John Grisham spins his brand of fascinating legal thriller which is a cocktail of a swiftly paced thriller, twisted tales and legal rudiments, you are in for an exciting ride. There’s the excitement and the huge anticipation. But Rogue Lawyer fails to meet my expectation. Though a huge, huge fan of the author, and someone who really wanted a massive blockbuster of read, this is more like Sycamore Row and a notch of an improvement upon Gray Mountain. Having said that, let me make it clear my appetite for Grisham’s legal thrillers will never wane. I largely enjoyed the book but it is nowhere near the intensity and appeal of A Time to Kill. The character development, pointedly that of Sebastian Rudd, was polished and finely done. And I really enjoyed the first-person narrative. Though the different stories, or rather the different cases, were all tied in together at the end, the climax was a bit flat and rather disappointing. Yet, I’d try out a John Grisham thriller any day than any other book for the simple fact that he's the best out there.

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The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

Almost a century ago in January 1920, the famous fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot was introduced by Agatha Christie in the novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. After forty-two adventure-filled novels set between World War I and World War II, with some of the later novels set in the 1960s, The New York Times splashed an obituary on its front page when he died of heart complications in the final novel Curtain which was published in September 1975.

Almost forty years later, detective Hercule Poirot is resurrected and makes a triumphant return in The Monogram Murders: The New Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Mystery by poet and crime novelist Sophie Hannah. Best known for relying on his `little grey cells' for solving crimes, the story is set in the early years of Poirot's career and is told from the perspective of a new character, Inspector Edward Catchpool of the Scotland Yard, from whom Poirot takes over a case concerning a troubling series of murders as it's "a diabolically clever puzzle that can only be solved by the talented Belgian detective."

The Monogram Murders is a classic Christie novel and begins on an ominous note when one February evening in 1929 a distraught woman named Jennie enters a London coffee shop where Hercule Poirot is having a quiet supper. With a disheveled appearance and strange look, it's not difficult to guess she's terrified. When Poirot offers to help her, Jennie made cryptic and puzzling remarks and was adamant that no one can help her because she's as good as dead and that the crime must never be solved. When two women and a man are found murdered in three separate rooms about the same time in a hotel with monogrammed gold cuff links inserted into their mouths that same night, it becomes all too apparent that no ordinary sleuthing work will help solve the case.

Detective Poirot is unable to make sense of the murders and wonders if it has any connection with the woman he encountered at the coffee shop. While he tries to piece together the jigsaw puzzle, the murderer is preparing to snuff the life out of a fourth victim. The story follows Poirot as he wades through layer after layer of baffling clues and mysteries in his quest to solve the strange murders and it will require all his wit, wisdom, brilliance, subtlety, creativity and deductive prowess if he is to find the murderer before it's too late.

Bestselling author Sophie Hannah's fine writing and the compelling plot line are the strong points of this new Hercule Poirot mystery. Recreating and resurrecting an iconic detective who has been laid to rest by the queen of crime is a daunting task, yet Sophie has done a commendable job by going back to the early years of Poirot's career which has allowed her the freedom to toy around with her characters and at the same time avoid the pitfalls of having to deal with his death. What we have in the end is an absorbing story true to the legacy of its original writer, and in the process created a major event for crime fiction lovers the world over.

SOPHIE HANNAH

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The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky by David Litwack

The daughter of the Sea and the Sky by David Litwack is a stunningly constructed story of a young girl who is deeply troubled but goes out of her way to help others. Tender yet tense, it is a story that explores the issue of faith and reason, and the wisdom and discernment to choose between right and wrong. David Litwack's exquisitely crafted story is thoughtful, passionate and simply delightful.

Kailani is a young girl who is only nine years old. She is fleeing the Blessed Lands across the forbidden ocean on a tiny boat when it crashes against a rock and starts to sink. She is saved in the nick of time by Helena and Jason, children of the Republic. When the two learned that Kailani is "the Daughter of the Sea and the Sky" they are resolute in their determination to protect her and make it possible for her to get back home. They embarked on journey that will change not only the course of their destinies but also that of the Blessed Lands and the Republic.

David Litwack's sweeping novel The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky is a powerful story that follows the journey of a mysterious but charming little girl whose mere presence seems to have changed the lives of those people around her. In more ways than they bargained for, even troubled souls like Helena and Jason have seen major transformation in their lives. Superbly imagined with a tense plot which makes it difficult to put down, David Litwack has another bestseller to his name.

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The urge to write first struck when working on a newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the night when lightning flashed at sunset followed by northern lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was the newsletter's editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean. But he was inspired to write about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic.

Using two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life intervened. He paused to raise two sons and pursue a career, in the process becoming a well-known entrepreneur in the software industry, founding several successful companies. When he found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned. His novels include: There Comes a Prophet, Along the Watchtower, and the newly released The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky.

David and his wife split their time between Cape Cod, Florida and anywhere else that catches their fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages a day and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word processor.

The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The Alphabet House, published in its original language in Danish in 1997 as Alfabethuset, is a psychological suspense thriller that brings to the fore not only author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s life and experiences as the son of a senior consultant in psychiatry but also as one who witnessed firsthand how life is in psychiatric hospitals in Denmark.

This novel which contains two parts set in different time periods and places is an absolutely fascinating and riveting thriller. One part is set in Nazi Germany during the World War II while the other part is set in England of the 1970s. Two British pilots James Teasdale and Bryan Young, who are childhood friends, are on a photo reconnaissance mission over Nazi Germany when they are shot down. With enemies hot in pursuit, they escaped their pursuers by boarding a train reserved for senior SS soldiers wounded on the Eastern Front. When desperate situation calls for desperate measures, the two RAF pilots assumed the identities of two mentally ill SS officers whose bodies they threw off the train. They are taken to a psychiatric hospital for senior SS officers near Freiburg in Southwestern Germany.

But the Alphabet House is not a safe place either. It holds more than the obvious concerns for the two escaping but caged RAF pilots. The condition is horrifyingly despicable as the inmates are subjected to various forms of shock treatments and experimental drug. There are also others like them who are feigning madness, and they are suspicious of James and Bryan. Their friendship, spirit and physical endurance are put to the severest test as they experienced horror unimaginable. Bryan managed to escape but James is not so lucky. He returns to find out what happened to his closest friend.

The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen is powerful, suspenseful and delightful. It sucks you in without letting go. While some may be incline to believe this novel is about war, it is not. It is only partially about war. But as a whole, it is a psychological thriller set in the secure mental hospital in the heart of Germany, with the chances of escape very remote. So real and intense is the imagery of the horrors of mental institutes that readers will feel physically transported to witness it. A compelling read by all means, this story of friendship, love and survival is a perfect thriller you won't want to miss.

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The Secret Place by Tana French

St. Kilda’s School, an Irish boarding school, which is brimming with teenage girls serves as the setting for the latest mystery thriller of New York Times bestselling novelist, Tana French. Located in the suburbs of Dublin, it was here over a year ago that a 16-year-old boy, Chris Harper, from a neighboring boys' school was murdered. His killer remained untraced, and the case remained unsolved. When Detective Frank Mackey’s daughter, sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey, shows up one morning at the police station with a postcard that reads, "I know who killed him," the cold case takes a dramatic turn.

The Secret Place by Tana French is the fifth book in the Dublin Murder Squad series and follows Detective Stephen Moran and Detective Antoinette Conway as they delve deep into a crime which has refused to die down, and yet couldn’t make much headway. After Holly’s unexpected appearance Detective Stephen quickly questioned her and heads to St. Kilda's School where the boy was murdered and the postcard found. It was found on a pin-board called The Secret Place where girls can privately share their secrets without anyone else knowing.

Detectives Stephen and Conway wade their way through the secrets, lies, relationships, rivalries and gossips of teenage girls, and must meticulously sift fact from rumor to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the postcard and find the killer of Chris Harper. As the detectives whittled down their list of suspects to four – Selena, Becca, Julia and Holly - who usually hang out together, Detective Stephen begins to suspect that the truth might be something he doesn't want to hear.

Author Tana French masterfully crafted a superb story that is stunning both in details and prose. Her keen sense of observation and attention to details turn this simple unsolved murder case into a fine mystery suspense thriller. Her knowledge of human behavior and the psychology that comes into play in the situations described in the novel are displayed in abundance through her characters and how she planted them into the story. What is particularly striking is the atmospheric nature of the author’s storytelling which leaves one with a feeling of being transported right where the action is taking place.

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