Laura Lippman's eighth Tess Monaghan novel, "By A Spider's Thread" is a provocative, savvy, challenging thriller.

Precise plotting, an economical cast of realistic characters (some appealing, some detestable) and a plausible resolution make the pages disappear in a trice.

Mark Rubin, a wealthy Jewish furrier whose wife (Natalie) and three children have vanished, hires Tess to locate them.

Mark and Tess get off to a rocky beginning as Mark withholds information about his family and omits details about contacts that could illuminate Tess's search.

Tess is resourceful and they gradually warm to one another. As Tess learns more about Mark's family, marriage and religious identity, the reasons for Natalie's disappearance start to materialize.

Family secrets underlie the plot and provide the motive for the mastermind behind the disappearance.

The story is told from multiple points of view...that of Tess and the parallel view from the observant and bright eldest child.

This works and leaves enough blanks to fill in to keep you guessing and on your toes.

Laura Lippman is masterful at filling in the pertinent background with the backwards and forwards story telling.

Equally important is the way she builds the tension, suspense and impact with character development rather than gratuitous violence.

The multilayered, absorbing narrative has enormous momentum and clever details.

Easily the best in the Tess Monaghan series and a powerful follow-up to last year's spectacular "Every Secret Thing."

Told in the first person, Lee Child's "The Enemy" is the prequel in his electrifying Jack Reacher series. The pace of this intricate tale crackles from page one and accelerates from there.

It is New Year's Eve, 1990 and the Berlin Wall is crumbling and Reacher is still a rising star in the Military Police.

Reacher gets the call to "control the situation" of the death of a two star general found in a fleabag motel. Soon the general's wife is found murdered, his briefcase (containing the agenda to a high level meeting) missing, and a Delta Force soldier murdered,. The convoluted clues point to Reacher!

A deceitful CO, a Psy-Ops officer and meddling civilians complicate Reacher's progress.

Laconic loner Reacher is joined by the ambitious, resourceful, aggressive Lt. Summer in the quest for the truth.

"The Enemy" is the least violent Reacher novel...relying on mystery and astute police procedural techniques to move the plot with speed and strength.

This is the career crunching case that infuses cynicism into Reacher's psyche and transforms him into a dangerous man.

The cover-ups and political conspiracies compel him to perform a surreptitious investigation with no patience for rules.

The investigation ends in a staggering, unexpected showdown.

While the bad guys get their comeuppance, the degenerates who actually are in charge still rule the roost. It is no wonder Reacher eventually leaves the military for his lone wolf existence.

"The Enemy" is an intelligent, thoughtful, suspenseful, hard charging narrative that will enthrall you from page one.

Perhaps Lee Child's finest effort.

While Joseph Finder's "Paranoia" is a formulaic thriller (complete with a hard to buy premise), populated with stock characters, needless cliches and many too many lucky coincidences, I could not help but enjoy it.

It is pop culture eye candy...an easy reading Silicon Valley techno-espionage plot with built in momentum.

Underachiever deluxe, Adam Cassidy is forced into going to work for his employer's biggest rival as a corporate mole.

Adam is placed in the midst of a dangerous maze on his double-dealing mission filled with encrypted messages, blind drops and key tracking devices. Naturally his peculiar sense of justice kicks in as he finds "a home" at his new company.

"Paranoia" provides an interesting and wickedly amusing look at corporate culture from the cube farms to the executive conference rooms...and the high-tech shoptalk and buzzword lend credibility.

In fact, Adam's voice, outlook and situation will captivate anyone who has been a wage slave.

Like the John Grisham novels, Adam is a naive and ambitious young guy enticed by temptation...and we observe how he comes to terms with it.

A harmless diversion...it is fun while it lasts, but leaves no lasting impression.

Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus, two sharp street detectives, comprise the newly formed, Mobile, Alabama Psychological and Sociopathological Investigative team in Jack Kerley's astounding debut novel, "The Hundredth Man." Nautilus is the wizened veteran on the "psycho-crimes" pair.

When two headless corpses, inked with puzzling and bizarre messages turn up, the chase is on. The beheadings are clean and precise, indicating a pro. The crimes are at once reprehensible as well as cool, calm and deliberate.

Carson and Harry's investigation is undermined by the police department political circus and the secrets that abound in the Medical Examiner's office.

In fact, most everyone has a secret and a past to protect. The back-stories make for fascinating characters thrown together with startling results.

The action is fast paced, moving between crime scenes to the autopsies in the morgue...with sidebars where Harry and Carson outwit the police brass and the perp.

Snappy dialogue and intriguing characters help propel the unpredictable plot. It is a spectacular ride---a journey so gripping, it is easy to overlook the way over-the-top finale.

A captivating debut...I look forward to more from Jack Kerley.

"Ice Run" is Steve Hamilton's sixth Alex McKnight novel...and the first that failed to electrify me.

Just as the first major blizzard of winter pelts Michigan's UP, Alex is off for a romantic weekend with his newly found love, Ontario Provincial Police officer, Natalie Renaud.

Things get weird as soon as Alex arrives. An immaculately dressed elderly man approaches Alex and joins him in the elevator. The man shows Alex his out-of-date homberg, asking Alex to guess how old it is. Trying to ignore him, Alex remains silent.

Later that evening, the old man is found frozen to death...and the hat placed in front of Alex's hotel room filled with ice, snow and a note that says, "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE."

This incident restarts a generations old blood feud...Natalie's past being as scarred as Alex's. As usual, Alex will go to the mat for a friend in jeopardy.

He gets beaten within an inch of his life...and remains far from any answers. I felt Alex pulled so many stupid moves, that all credulity was stretched...and found his girl friend totally unsympathetic---slowing the plot.

On the plus side, we see quite a bit of Leon Prudell (Alex's former PI partner) as well as Vinnie LeBlanc, Alex's Ojibway comrade. These two are outstanding and well defined supporting characters.

The usual wonderful sense of place that is a Steve Hamilton hallmark transports you into the middle of the frozen landscape.

A C+.

Harry Bosch is asked by a friend's widow to investigate her husband's death. She suspects that it was murder, not a heart attack.

Concurrently, tarnished FBI agent Rachel Walling (on a "hardship posting" in South Dakota) receives a late night phone call from Quantico indicating that a demonic serial killer, assumed dead, is back in business.

The simultaneous plots converge at the Zzyzx Road exit on Highway 15 between Las Vegas and LA.

Harry's quest and Rachel's investigation eventually lead to a partnership that adds tension to the story.

The characters are well drawn and believable; their strengths and weaknesses probed.

Mr. Connelly is a master at quietly producing continuous action that explodes exponentially into a white-knuckle ride.

His ability to hide clues in plain sight is extraordinary

Taut suspense, intricate plotting and the captivating premise propel Harry and Rachel in their pursuit of the diabolical villain.

It is "cat and mouse" at the highest level.

The overriding struggles and characters are potent and persuasive, the plot labyrinthine, the twists logical yet unforeseen.

Michael Connelly is the magical virtuoso of present day crime fiction. He defines and refines the genre---never playing it safe.

"The Narrows" is the most peerless example of contemporary noir writing imaginable.

I am certain one can enjoy "The Narrows" without having read "The Poet"---but if one does, it will spoil one's reading of "The Poet."

With no Cold War, the agents of globalization are the central foes in ï¿The Coilï¿ by Gayle Lynds.

Former CIA agent, Liz Sansborough and undercover MI6 agent Simon Childs cross over England, Scotland and France attempting to recover the secret files of the ï¿Carnivore,ï¿ one of the most successful and infamous Cold War assassins. The files are said to contain details on many high profile hits ordered and paid for by powerful politicos and industrialists.

The ï¿Carnivoreï¿ also happens to be Lizï¿s father.

Whoever currently possesses the long lost files is using the info to blackmail eminent world figures and leaders---not for money, but to promote a secret agenda.

Liz and Simon are not alone is chasing the files. There are the kidnappers who have her cousin, a shadowy group of powerful corporate leaders known as The Coil, and eventually the CIA and MI6 disavow Liz and Simon and leave them twisting in the wind.

In this complex tale of international conspiracy, espionage, blackmail, deceit and conniving few are what they appear to be.

Trust is impossible, self-reliance the best weapon.

At times the more Liz and Simon learn, the less they know. After many misdirections, the parallel plots of the search for the files, the kidnapping and the incredible power and reach of The Coil converge for a powerful ending.

ï¿The Coilï¿ is high-octane suspense with imaginative and intelligent protagonists versus determined villains with unlimited resources.

Suspend some disbelief and enjoy a smart, complicated novel of international suspense.

Peter Duchin's "Good Morning Heartache" is a most entertaining mystery-lite set in 1965 LA.

A gig at the Cocoanut Grove brings Philip Damon and his orchestra to the West Coast.

Recovering junkie Buddy Bixby subs for the ailing trumpet player and is working out well when he turns up dead with a needle in his arm. His is the second suspicious death since the band's arrival.

Damon and his ex homicide detective/sax player know foul play they encounter it.

Who stands to benefit from these deaths---a financially stressed "B" movie studio head, an embittered former child actor, a surfing legend/stunt man, a despised paparazzo, Buddy's sister, a highly regarded publicity agent, a remarkably beautiful ingenue or her mother?

It is a great cast interspersed with real life pop icons of the time. Toots Shore, Joe DiMaggio, Gloria DeHaven, Rock Hudson, Art Pepper and the like share the pages with the fictional players.

Accurate attention to details of the mid 1960's layout and life styles of LA and environs add to the pleasure of the novel.

The plot moves seamlessly. Told in the first person, the reader has the same insight and frustration as Philip Damon as to whodunit.

I had strong suspicions (correct) as to the culprit, but was never 100% certain and kept bewildered as to why until the end---always a positive sign.

Robert Ferrigno's "Scavenger Hunt" is a subtle, darkly mesmerizing Hollywood tale of murder, ambition, frame-ups, set-ups, double-crosses and clever sleuthing.

After serving seven years, Oscar winning producer Garrett Walsh is determined to prove his innocence. His vehicle is what he terms, the "most dangerous screenplay in Hollywood." Walsh wants SLAP magazine's cynical, skeptical, irreverent, high profile reporter Jimmy Gage to publicize the screenplay, before someone attempts to silence him permanently.

Jimmy fails to buy in. But, when Walsh is found floating in his koi pond and the screenplay missing, Jimmy doubts it was the accidental death the police claim.

No one shares Jimmy's thesis except his nefarious pal Rollo. Together they work their way thru a colorful cast of quirky Hollywood types, and around the cops who consider the case closed.

The plot is superb: sophisticated, solid, circuitous and overflowing with scintillating dialogue.

Mr. Ferrigno withholds enough info to keep surprises coming and the pages turning. The pace never slackens, and the accelerating danger of the killer keeps the tenseness at a high pitch.

A delightful read. Hooray for Hollywood!

Shady characters, brilliant dialogue, irony, masterful writing and a lively and humorous story line are what we expect from Elmore Leonard. "Mr. Paradise," a Runyonesque tale, has all this and more...it does not disappoint.

Eighty-four year old retired mob lawyer Tony Paradisio's favorite pastime is watching tapes of classic Michigan football victories with an escort or two cheering topless in ways not athletically encouraging.

After learning that he has been eliminated from Mr. Paradise's will, Montez (Mr. P's main man) arranges a hit that is supposed to look like a home invasion gone wrong.

The perps and Montez are members of the criminal mindless.

Throw in two corpses, a Victoria Secret model witness, an identity switch, assorted lowlifes, a safe deposit box full of loot, the hitmen's "agent" and Frank Delsa (a resourceful Detroit homicide detective)---and the chase is on.

The bad guys feel a sense of entitlement---leading to their demise. Getting caught being the real crime. Double-crosses, scams and deceptions propel the plot.

The tight prose is filled with accurate conversation in the colorful vernacular of the urban scene.

"Mr. Paradise" is a stylistic, unforgettable, witty, fast-paced read. Elmore Leonard is a consistently entertaining writer---do not under rate him just because you like him.