‘Murders and Acquisitions,’ by Thomas Dunne (Blackstone Publishing)
“Murders and Acquisitions” is a doozie. Dunne is a seasoned insider who has had his own imprint at St. Martin’s, where he published such writers as Dan Brown, Dan Winslow, Rosamunde Pilcher and the celebrity writing team of Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm and Arnold Grossman.
The plot centers around Omnium International, a century-old conglomerate that owns, among other things, a German bank that a group of Russian thugs and a collection of Russian oligarchs are so anxious to buy that they resort to murdering each other. They want the bank for money laundering. Omnium also owns small-town newspapers and television stations that Russia hopes to acquire for a disinformation campaign.
Dunne introduces a dozen different plots. There’s Randy, the ambitious young executive, married to Omnium’s major shareholder, who wants to run the company. His nemesis is Betty, the dowdy and broke descendant who hopes to bring him down. Two old-style publishing executives, Charlie and Virginia, are pushed out in Randy’s Elon-Musk-style reorganization. Filled with plenty of inside information, “Murders and Acquisitions” also includes a few of what must be Dunne’s jibes at well-known figures. He writes that Mar-a-Lago is hit by a category-four hurricane and has become a Hilton, and that Jeff Bezos dies in a bizarre space accident.
All these stories are linked in a brilliantly written work that is both a literary novel and a commercial thriller.
‘Clive Cussler Cold Fire,’ by Graham Brown (Putnam)
A C-17 plane carrying a cutting-edge laser that can shoot down an enemy aircraft hundreds of miles away completes its test run, then disappears from the sky. The crew is murdered by the traitorous co-pilot, and the plane drops off radar somewhere between Norway and the North Pole.
So who do you call to find a hijacked plane with a payload of scientific equipment that could destroy the world? The National Underwater and Marine Agency, of course, and since Dirk Pitt isn’t available, NUMA sends Kurt Austin and sidekick Joe Zavala. But they aren’t the only ones looking for the missing aircraft. Russia and China are hot on their trail, as Austin discovers the hijacking was orchestrated by a murky villain named Ahab, who wants to use it to start a war between China and the U.S.
“Cold Fire” is filled with the daring escapades and death-defying footwork of Austin and Zavala, just perfect for a Clive Cussler thriller.
‘Too Close to Home,’ by Seraphina Nova Glass (Park Row Books)
When her car blows up, killing a friend, Regan Hoffman knows she was the intended victim. Someone is out to get her, but why? She’s just a single mom trying to cope with the death of her husband. Or did he really die? Regan turns to her two friends for help when someone who looks just like him shows up. Andi, who is just learning to shoot, fires into the darkness — and discovers the body of her nemesis, the woman who stole Andi’s husband. She’s frantic to dispose of the body. Sasha is married to her second husband, but is still emotionally tied to the first one, a drunk and a drug addict. The plot thickens for each of the three as their secrets come out.
‘A Murder in Springtime,’ by Martin Walker (Knopf)
Nobody doesn’t like Bruno, chief of police. The amiable gentleman charged with keeping the citizens of St. Denis safe roams the delightful French village, greeting people and ordering endless croissants and cups of coffee in charming cafes. He is loyal to his friends and rarely has enemies. He donates his time to worthy causes. And he occasionally solves a murder.
“A Murder in Springtime” is about the vicious bludgeoning of a tenant of Bruno’s friend, Pamela. He recuses himself, and the case is assigned to Fabian, a new character. Bruno is not far from the investigation, of course, but meanwhile, he takes on the task of reviving the tourist economy in St. Denis. Bruno mysteries are filled with so many old friends that itap a bit difficult for a new reader to figure out who’s who, but itap worth it to stick with the book. And Bruno fans will love this latest.
‘138 Main,’ by Gavin Bell (Scout Press)
Somebody is killing people who live at the country’s 7,000 or so 138 Main Street addresses. Other than that tie-in, the murders have no pattern: They occur in California, Alaska and even Colorado. The FBI is so frustrated that it adds a cop who investigated an Illinois 138 Main murder to its task force. Zoe Hill is told to search through historical data to find similar killings, but all she can come up with is a Canadian case for which the perpetrator is in prison.
Hill, analyst Matt Brodie and task force head Agent Ben Walker try to predict the next killing, but they’re wrong. Until they’re not. Meanwhile, a nut-job professor (who seems to be uncannily like the Unabomber) is writing a treatise on whatap wrong with America, what he wants changed, and what he’ll do if his demands aren’t met. “138 Main” is a heck of a thriller, well-written, suspenseful and a tough case to solve for both the FBI and the reader.
