Thriller Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Azabu Getaway by Michael Pronko

Michael Pronko delves back into the grit, greed, and mystery of Tokyo in his latest novel, Azabu Getaway, the fifth book in his Detective Hiroshi Mystery series.

In this moody, high-stakes thriller, a desperate father kidnaps his own daughters in the hope of escaping back to America, while the vicious murder of a wealthy financial manager sends shockwaves through Tokyo’s shadowy banking sector. Though the two cases initially feel unrelated, the sinister link between money, violence, and power is hard to shake – for readers and investigators alike.

Hiroshi continues to shine as one of the most unique and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-29T16:39:41+02:00September 13th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Automatic Stay by Mark Shaiken

Author Mark Shaiken delivers a character-driven battle between history and finance in Automatic Stay, the second installment of his 3J Mystery series, a nuanced legal thriller that is also a love letter to Kansas City, celebrating the diversity of history, architecture, music, and culture that makes the city shine.

In an attempt to revitalize the music scene of Kansas City, the wealthy Rapinoes boldly invested in jazz clubs and the money kept rolling in, until Covid crippled the country and shuttered stages – a setup for an incredibly timely mystery. Their ambitious businesses and venues took a major hit, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-29T11:03:33+02:00September 12th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Point of Murder by Lorne Kent

Author Lorne Kent delivers a twisted mystery that puts deadly pressure on a “nice neighborhood policeman” in his intro to a new investigator series, The Point of Murder, an engrossing, well-researched, globe-hopping thriller.

When a thirty-year-old Russian activist attempts to flee the oppressive motherland, his escape sets in motion a murderous drama that plays out on the typically quiet streets of Ottawa. Driven by a stellar cast of three-dimensional characters, including a masterful assassin who kills without remorse, this is a gripping dive into evil.

DI Brian Golding is the rule-bending cop who catches the case when bodies start […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-10T12:28:40+02:00September 10th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Old Sins by Lynne Handy

Author Lynne Handy weaves a dark and stormy tale in Old Sins, the third ominously addictive novel in the Maria Pell Mystery Series.

Maria Pell once again finds her new home ominously plagued by death, which then draws her into the tangle of solving a spreading cliffside mystery. Despite being focused on summoning new words and poetic emotions in a much-needed cottage escape, Maria is pulled into the murder of a young woman, Bridget, which dredges up her own past trauma of discovering “Baby Doe.” What follows is an investigation of coincidence with diligence that would make Miss […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-23T09:19:28+02:00August 23rd, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: A Disturbing Nature by Brian Lebeau

A deep, character-driven mystery, A Disturbing Nature by Brian LeBeau is a patient maze of a novel, leading readers on a grim journey through suspicion, murder, and obsession.

Mo is a quiet and mysterious young man with a mind that never caught up to his impressive size, and a lifetime of taunts and tragedies that never leave him. Even as he starts a new chapter at Bryant College as a groundskeeper, where for the first time “independence is not equated with exile,” the jagged pieces of his past are impossible to leave behind. Unfortunately, new surroundings don’t mean an end […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-05T05:38:04+02:00August 4th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Bravely and Faithfully by Edward M. Hochsmann

A third high-seas thriller from the creative mind of Edward M. Hochsmann, Bravely and Faithfully adds stormy new flavor to his Cutter Kauai Sea Adventures series.

The fearless crew is tackling another covert mission near the Bahamas, in the aftermath of a violent storm, fresh off another heroic rescue. This time around, there is a new CO at the helm, and Captain Reardon’s introduction is a character shift that shakes up the bonds between crew members to keep the interpersonal dynamic fresh. Whether they are protecting the integrity of NASA rocket launches, intercepting high-payload drug drops, or acting as getaway […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-01T03:35:28+02:00August 1st, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Action and Adventure Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Reluctant Assassin (The Covid Chronicles) by Peter Moore

The exceptional and exciting life of the mysterious Delphine continues in The Reluctant Assassin by Peter Moore, the closing tale of his ambitious series, The Covid Chronicles.

A great deal has changed since Delphine’s dramatic exit from the world of high-class escorts, including being a mother of twins, but intrigue inevitably follows in her footsteps. After innocently offering her info-extracting services to one of her closest friends – and one of the most powerful men in England – Delphine is triggered by her past trauma and finds herself on the guilty side of a corpse.

Her instincts for self-preservation […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-08T16:41:41+02:00July 13th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Lucky Tom by Federico Muchnik

A crime thriller that feels ripped from the crises of today’s headlines, Lucky Tom by Federico Muchnik is a fast-moving and gritty peek into the streets.

The drug market in Boston is filling up with fentanyl, and bodies are beginning to drop on college campuses, bringing in Detective Del Vecchio to sniff out the murderous link in the chain. Lamont is a misguided young kid grief-stricken over his drug-sharing role in his own stepsister’s death. Tom is just an Uber driver who wants to make some extra cash dropping off deliveries for a slick French criminal named Francois Laax. Their […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-07-22T01:43:02+02:00July 5th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|