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DI Jamie Johansson is still in shock about how things went down on the oil rig and is trying to come to terms with what she knows. Howver, she has little time to figure it out, as her superior appears to commit suicide, though the reason is weak. Could this be a warning not to look into her father's murder? With a new partner, DI Johansson tries to stay out of the limelight, but someone is targeting her.. to die.

Mary Roach is back and at it once again, pulling the reader into some of the oddest and most unique scientific explorations ever. This time, it is the criminal activities of animals and how humans have tried to react, both privately and through government organizations. From bears roaming in the Canadian wilderness to killer elephants in India, Roach explores it all and comes up with some humerous anecdotes as well.

On the even of a Canadian federal election, I 'got my geek on' and begin exploring this collection of essays on the country's electal system and sentiments around changing it. The opening chapters tackle issues around what politicians and the public have voices as desire for change, contrastiing it with the robust nature of the current system in place. Is reform as important as it seems, when many bemoan outcomes?

Dectective Harney discovers a mark on the shooting victim, a specific tattoo. He's able to follow this lead to a number of other women, prostitutes all, who have been marked in a similar way and come from a foreign land. Might the shooting have more to do with the sex trade than a drug beef? Harney learns that those in power hail from Europe, while also making some stark revelations in his own life. Troubling indeed!

As Madison travels to help young Eva, he learns that this is more than just a rescue mission, but rather a way to keep someone out of the clutches of an evil organisation with no sense of decency. While Madison tries to speak with Eva and explain that he can help her, she inadvertently shuns him and chooses another to release her from captivity, only to send her into a new prison. There, more trouble awaits. Horror!

The Patterson-Ellis collaboratve effort is back, assuring readers of something great. Detective Billy Harney has seen a great deal while working for the Chicago PD and has a shot to the head to prove it. When he's asked to join an eliite force, the Special Operations Section, he's ready to give it his all. A youngh girl is shot and killed in a drive-by shooting and Harney is ready to blow the case wide open. Onwards!

Adam Southward returns with another chilling thriller that the the reader on quite a ride. Dr. Alex Madison has suffered a lot, but is trying to keep it together for his family and patients. A forensic psychologist, Madison is used to dealing with some of the darkest files around. When a woman approaches him to help a young woman trapped on a psych ward, Madison soon learns someone wants to stop anyone from knowing.

Ross Greenwood entertains readers by recounting a story to which he can directly relate. Jim Dalton has worked many years in HMP Peterborough, one of the few prisons that houses both men and women. While he's worked on the men's side for years, he's transferred over to handle some of the female young offenders. All the while, his home life is falling apart and he cannot understand why. Dalton does all he can at work.

While Gamache tries to better understand what’s happened at the auditorium, the end of the year creeps up. With New Year’s celebrations in Three Pines comes the traditional activities. The following morning, a grim discovery of a body halts everyone in their tracks. Gamache begins investigating, seeking to find a suspect and motive, which will prove harder than expected. A mistaken identity might be key to it all!

Trying to help a struggling mother, Mabel agrees to do some undercover work at a rave, where young girls are being groomed to join an illegal operation, or at least being pulled away from their families. Barely escaping from a group of skinheads, Mabel reports back to a less than helpful DEA agent. Fueled with what she's discovered, Mabel refuses to stand down, with a snazzy camera and eager niece to help her. Ooh!

Penny dazzles in her latest thriller. When Chief Inspector Gamache is asked to provide protection to a controversial lecturer who is attending the university, he agrees, though cannot support her politics. At the event, a number of people arrive to hear what she has to say, though no one expects it to be a calm setting. When shots ring out, Gamache does all he can to protect the professor, noting a failure by others!

Mabel Davison is back, full of love for those around her, but also worry. Mabel is approached by a lawyer with an interesting case. A teenage girl has gone missing and may be with a local drug kingpin. Mabel is asked to use her PI skills to locate the girl and help bring her home, as the mother is up on charges of assaulting an officer. Mabel promises to do her best, but this is well outside her comfort zone.

McKenzie pushes forward in his tome to discuss the discrepancy between what the Founding Fathers creatd and what today's citizens (and textbooks) denate as 'American democracy'. The differences are stark to the attentive reader. As a bridge, McKenzie explores the rise of Andrew Jackson as "the people's candidate" and how he was scorned for the 1824 presidency. This exemplified a need for change, which came in 1828!

In the fourtheeth instalment of the Hunt for Reacher series, Diane Capri takes readers on a chilling tale. Kim Otto has been assigned a new partner and is headed to South Dakota on a hot lead about Jack Reacher. While she is trying to acclimate to her partner, the two arrive on the scene, where an airplane has crashed near a prison and inmates have begun to flee. Otto is to interview a local lawyer and her client...

Many bemoan the fall of confidence in American democracy by its citizens, but Robert McKenzie feels it is the original message, that America is good, that is the true issue. He looks back to the core creation period of the United States to see what the founders felt and why they created the political system in such a manner, trying to peel back the falsehoods of 'expected superiority' and that it was a needed thing

This makes me so happy: https://www.cbc.ca/books/louise-penny...

During the ongoing hunt for Jack Reacher, FBI Agent Kim Otto makes her way to Mississippi, where Reacher spent his final days in the Army, before he was tossed. While trying to work out what happened to him there, some troubling events take place, including the death of a woman. Was it an accident or something premeditated? Otto divides her time looking at both and begins to wonder if this is another adventure.

Vincent’s summer is filled not only with learning the ins and outs of building, but also fraternizing, both with his high school friends and work buddies. When he can, Vincent learns small ‘tips from Vietnam’ when his coworker, William, is forthcoming. Journal entries from William’s 1968 time in Asia enrich the story as well, proving as raw as they are insightful. And adult Vincent struggles with his son’s epiphany.

Robert Dugoni offers up another stunning standalone novel. It's 1979 and Vincent Bianco just wants to kill some time and earn money before going off to college. He takes a job as a labourer and meets two Vietnam vets, who fill him with stories of thier time away. In a present narrative, Vincent is coming to terms with his own son going to college and how that will change things. With diary entries from 'Nam to boot!

Claudia Castro wakes up from a drunken haze and something's wrong. The burning sensation leads her to believe she’s been violated, but she has no idea what happened. It’s Spring Break and she’s at her dorm, with few students around. Trevor is one, a hook-up of her roommate’s, but he treats Claudia with respect and helps her through whatever’s happened. When a video of her rape emerges, it turns into a blame game.

Allie and Danny keep working together, exposing a series set of financial crimes that could rock the upper echelons of the Scottish business community. However, this is not their only lead. Danny discovers a plot to add a violent flavour to the upcoming Scottish devolution vote, with a fringe group ready to work with the IRA to purchase bombs. While Danny finds himself as an undercover source, his safety is at risk.

Val McDermid is back with a new and intriguing series that takes readers into the heart of Scotland and adds a few curious twists. Allie Burns enjoys being an investigative reporter, but cannot stand the way she’s treated. It’s 1979 and she is tired of working ‘women’s issues’, preferring something a little grittier. When she teams up with fellow journalist, Danny Sullivan, they begin to uncover some great stories...

Jilly prepares a solid defence, feeling that the case might not be as open and shut as some would believe. Balancing the thin line of the 'right to die' debate, which has been strictly legislated by the Canadian Parliament, Jilly learns more about the victim and her desire to die, as well as some of her thoughts as they pertain to a will. Jilly has a few names of possible suspects, but her client will have to agree.

As Poe and Bradshaw delve deeper, they are accompanied by agents with the FBI and MI5, both of whom have expressed an interest in the case. Now, it's a matter of getting to the root of the issue and discovering who might be behind the murders. That takes things into a dark part of the British military and a group of men whose connection was strong. Might someone be trying to enact some form of revenge for actions?

Former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin brings her skills from the legal world in Canada to this amazing legal thriller. Jilly Truitt has spent a while building up her practice so that she can be picky about the cases she chooses. Howwver, when Joseph Quentin asks Jilly to defend his wife on a case of murder, Jilly is not sure. Two previous lawyers quit and the evidence points to a mercy killing. But Jilly caves...

Whashington Poe is back for another high-stakes adventure in Cumbria. After being brought to court for a local matter, Poe and his trusty colleague, Tilly Bradshaw, are whisked off to a secret location for a consult. It would seem that there's been a murder ahead of an important international trade meeting and Poe's been seconded by MI5 to take the lead. Working alongside an American investigator, Poe does his best.

Rosenberg continues to dazzle as he explores interactions with the leadership of both Egypt and Jordan, bringing along Christian Evalgelical delegations to explore peace in the region and particularly with Israel. The writing is detialed and yet easy to comprehend, allowing the reader to see how things have progressed in recent times with more understanding leaders in the Arab world. Rosenberg shows his connections.

Rosenberg, an author whose political thrillers I thoroughly enjoy, has penned another of his pieces about the Middle East. Here, he uses many of his insider contacts to interview those who matter and can recount detailed accounts of the history and current political goings-on in the region. There is much to learn and Rosenberg, whose novels are full of foreboding, offers readers a stellar view, albeit pro-Trump.

As Cray and Blackwood take in the scene, they make their way to Thailand for some deeper investigation into what might have been the real reason for the ‘Void’ across three cities. What looks like data collection on the surface has an eerie look of new-age soldier when a number of chimpanzees are taken from a local zoo. What comes of it is more than horrific and sends the pair to Europe for more intel. Something big!

When Manhattan is plunged into an odd darkness, FBI Agent Jessica Blackwood is called to the scene, though she is just as baffled. She’s sure it is tied to an old nemesis, but cannot be sure. When a list emerges of potential suspects helping The Warlock, one stands out. Jessica travels across the globe and extricates Dr. Theo Cray from a prison, only to take him to witness another oddity in Korea. Same pattern there!