Ejected from his latest tortuous relationship when she stabs him, famous reclusive artist Ross Mateau escapes into hypnotic monotony of moulding flattering sculptures of trophy wives. His creative eye is revitalised by the arrival of two beautiful, enigmatic (though decidedly weird) sisters. Intrigued, he accepts their commission to sculpt the stunning but deformed Leda.

Lindsey enchants with his expertly crafted details of Ross's well-ordered life in San Rafael and convinces with the specifics of the artistic process. The triangular dynamic between Ross, the sculptor; Leda, the troubled, hunchbacked model of his newly testing sculpture; and Celeste, gorgeous lover with her lurking problems of a grievous marriage, appears to settle into a predictable, if awkward routine.

Then, all is shattered by the brutal murder of his lover's husband and it becomes clear that Ross's life will never be the same again.

Lindsey continues to prove that he is a superior thriller writer in this departure from the routine police/murder investigation that provides the bread-and-butter plotting of most thriller writers. His imagination, characterisation and plotting yet again earn him the acclaim, if not the popularity, that he deserves.

Set a seemingly simple find-and-deliver task by odious politicians, eminently likeable private investigator duo Kenzie and Gennaro have more on their hands than it first seems.

With their superior detection skills, tracing the woman comes relatively easily: delivering her and the documents and untangling the maelstrom that erupts once they find her are much more complicated. Thrown into a scenario involving gang war, drugs, child abuse and blackmail they can only rely on their wits and wit, and a friendly sociopath, to get them out in one piece. Along the way the pair have to battle their personal demons of unrequited lust, a violent spouse and a dead but not forgotten abusive father in a frantic race to emerge with their lives intact, but not without blood on their hands.

Written with style and wit, a solid, fast-moving plot and an eye for interesting supporting characters, this first in the Kenzie and Gennaro series proves that our heros are two to watch.

Two sets of murders, seemingly unconnected; two sets of cops, small-town and inner-city; a suspicious group of misfits, authors of the copycat killer's blueprint; and a whole bag of twists in the tale. Published as 'Want to Play?' by Penguin in the UK, Monkeewrench introduces PJ Tracy to the thriller genre in a blaze of glory. With her first novel, Tracy earns all sorts of awful cliches like "pageturner" and "unputdownable". (It is).

The characters are sympathetic, from cops to victim/suspects, and actually have personalities, none of them from the thrillerwriters' identikit book - there's not a divorced, slighty maverick, recovering alcoholic in sight. The plots have punch and intrigue, the pace is steady, the twists and subplots assured. The descriptions are witty, seductive and prosaic without being self-conscious, gratuitous or flowery.

This is a bloody good debut book and PJ Tracy undoubtedly has much more to show us. Can't wait for her next game.

Family disruption, hormones and peer pressure: Tracy wants to be in with the popular crowd. Initial forays into shoplifting and drink to impress Evie - THE coolest girl in the school - quickly descend into stealing, sex, drugs and self-cutting. Everything rapidly gets out of control, scaring Tracy and all those around her.

With the Stephanie Plum series Evanovich brings us fast-moving entertainment, though ulimately, an unsophisticated agent of the thriller genre.

Reminiscent of Hamilton's Anita Blake vampire series in sassy, slick style and sexy, superficial characterisation, the Plum series is an entertaining diversion rather than cerebral education.

The plot is thin and fast like an early Patterson novel, and the bad guy is evident from half way in. This doesn't spoil the ride though and it's impossible not to hang on with Stephanie and her diverse stereotyped sidekicks for a rollercoaster of fun!

Family disruption, hormones and peer pressure: Tracy wants to be in with the popular crowd. Initial forays into shoplifting and drink to impress Evie - THE coolest girl in the school - quickly descend into stealing, sex, drugs and school failure. Everything quickly gets out of control, scaring Tracy and all those around her.

This book is from the literary equivalent of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer genre. Think humourous and light-hearted and you won't go far wrong. I expect this will appeal to lots of teens and twenty-somethings and anyone else who doesn't want to be bogged down by any book that takes itself too seriously. This series is a perfect read for those times when you don't have the stamina required for a Booker prize nominee.

Like many in the Lecture Notes series this book provides reasonably comprehensive coverage of its subject. The important syndromes and most of the undergraduate syllabus are dealt with in a clear and straight-forward manner making this as good a text for a first look as for last minute revision. More interested readers will find it a good launch pad for more in-depth studies. I recommend it to undergraduate medics as a book that should get you through finals with room to spare.

This is one of a growing genre of "true life" hospital stories. Like fictional TV shows, these accounts tend to give a skewed view of what life in the ER is really like. This book is no exception and tends towards tales that shock, amaze and appall. The reader becomes a voyeur into the lives of medical and nursing staff of the department and sees the best and worst, though primarily the worst, that the job brings. Yes, this book has a frission of excitement and transports you to the centre of the scene, and there are some truly humorous segments, but overall I found that the balance was tipped to the depressing angle of destruction that people wreak on the lives of themselves and others. That said, and taking into account this caveat, I expect that most fans will find plenty of stories to entertain them and rather than being put off, will be drawn further into the ghoulish detail.

This stands out in the field of medical literature. By definition, there are a very select number of people who could have written this book. Firstly, the number of brain surgeons is strictly limited (duh) for reasons that become apparent as the book progresses. Secondly, and most importantly, I think only a small minority of them can be as bloody good writers as Vertosick.

The book conveys pathos, humour and a dramatic shift in mindset experienced by our author as he is initiated into neurosurgery...from intern to surgical psychopath. This journey takes him several years and a number of lifetimes to complete. The lifetimes are those of the patients and their relatives that he (and we) are priviledged to be invited to share. Naturally, not all the stories have a happy ending and whilst it is clear that Vertosick cares, so, you will find, do you.