Saturday, August 15, 2026
Tuesday, August 04, 2026
Sunday, August 02, 2026
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Monday, July 20, 2026
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Deadly Odds 9.0 by Allen Wyler
Allen Wyler
is a retired neurosurgeon who lives in Seattle. He’s taken up writing thrillers
as a second career, first publishing seven medical thrillers and then using the
technology-rich environment of Seattle as the basis for the Deadly Odds series
about a reformed computer hacker named Arnold Gold. Three titles in the series
have been finalists for Best Thriller awards, www.bestthrillers.com. The ninth book Deadly
Odds 9.0 was released in mid-July.
Gold has
established a strong reputation as a trusted IT security specialist for the
most sensitive of systems. He and his small team are booked for weeks to come,
often for security testing of crucial networks and data centers. The most
challenging of this kind of testing is to determine how easy the network in
question is to break into, both digitally and physically, and to formulate
recommendations for strengthening the system’s defenses. In the background the
artificial intelligence network Gold developed privately is always working,
monitoring financial markets and assessing political threats.
A terrorist
cell Gold helped take down years ago has revitalized. Its members have learned
about Gold’s powerful AI tool and they are determined to acquire it as well as take
revenge against Gold himself. Gold juggles the workload of his company to
maintain its public status while collecting data on the terrorist organization
to hand off to law enforcement and bolstering his AI network against theft. The
latter includes dismantling his back-up network in Hawaii and shipping it to
Seattle for establishment in a safe location.
A fast-moving
techno-thriller with geopolitical overtones. The story is replete with
technological references, as should be expected, with concise explanations of
more obscure aspects that are worked smoothly into the narrative flow. The
occasional references to character ethnicity, although within the context of
terrorism, can be jarring. Readers who enjoy political thrillers or
technology-driven plots will want to consider this series for their reading
lists. In particular fans of the Monkeewrench novels, 11 books about another
group of technology gurus set in Minneapolis by P. J. Tracy, will want to look
at these stories.
·
Publisher: Stairway Press
·
Publication date: July 14, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 264 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1960405713
·
ISBN-13: 978-1960405715
Amazon
Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fnS5bF
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Publication Day Review: River Deep: A Bitterfrost Thriller by Bryan Gruley
River Deep: A Bitterfrost
Thriller
by Bryan Gruley takes readers back to the town of Bitterfrost on the shore of
Lake Michigan. Like the first book of the series, Bitterfrost,
this new book is also marketed as a “thriller.” This reader would label it a “mystery.”
Regardless of label, this second book in the series lives up to the very good
first read in every aspect.
Before going further, I am being very careful
not to reveal background details here that tie into that first book. Like in his
other series, this second book should be read after reading the first book. Some
storylines continue, characters develop,
things have happened because of the first book, etc. Read in order.
There are repercussions and unfinished business
from the first book as River Deep begins. The glory of hockey is
back in this read as is another major trial. Devyn Payne has returned full
time, at least for now, to her roots. A former criminal defense lawyer, she has
her reasons for coming home, and going to work as a prosecutor. It was supposed
to make her life easier.
So much for that idea. Tragedy has again
struck. She is standing on a dark and cold riverbank watching late one night as
a crane pulls a SUV from the frigid river waters. The river, the Jako, leads
into Lake Michigan. It has taken two lives this night—twin boys that will not
see their first birthday.
That cold river water barely released
the parents back to dry ground. Catriona Delaney is on a medical helicopter
headed to Grand Rapids. The father, Sammy Hardt, fared better in the crash into
the river, and is in decent shape, all things considered. He apparently got
Catriona out. Unfortunately, he was unable to save the kids.
As the police begin the crash investigation,
the case is led by Detective Garth Klimmeck. A year older and that much closer
to retirement, he is eyeballing the increasing need for a hip replacement, and other
things. Local politics played a major role in the case last year. He is fully
aware that with the people involved, local
politics will definitely play a role in this situation, no matter what he
uncovers.
It certainly does, but politics and familial
history is not even half of it. Much is going on here. Before long, there is a full-scale
murder trial with twist after twist. Much like real life, this fictional world
is full of chaos, grief, and unpredictability.
As previously noted, the events of the
first book, Bitterfrost, play a significant role in this read. I
strongly recommend reading this very good series in order. The author continues
to develop a complicated world which gives this reader hope that the series
will continue. A mighty good read and very much well worth your time, as are
his other books.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dRFnCw
My digital ARC reading copy came from
the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a
positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Monday, June 29, 2026
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: McKenna's Guy by Mike Lawson
Mike Lawson
is a consistently good author whom I wish were better known. His stories have
been shortlisted for Edgar, Barry, and Shamus awards. His political thrillers
with unofficial fixer Joe DeMarco skewers the Washington establishment
thoroughly while giving his resourceful hero yet one more problem to solve. Lawson
branches out into a stand-alone in his newest book, McKenna’s Guy,
scheduled for release by Blackstone in early July 2026.
Roger Smith
is a retirement age widower living quietly in a modest neighborhood in
Washington, DC. He is closing in on a pension from his civil service job, the
only job he’s had in his adult life. Smith has one daughter who is married with
a child of her own. Predictable and inoffensive to the point of dullness. So
why a masked man dressed in black should break into Smith’s house one night and
attempt to kill him is a mystery to everyone, especially Smith. Had Smith still
been asleep, he would not have survived, as the assassin fired four or five bullets
into the bed. Smith fortunately heard the intruder break in and had time to find
a baseball bat and retreat behind the bedroom door before the killer entered
the room shooting. Then Smith hit the man as hard as he could with the bat,
knocking him to the floor. Fear bolstered Smith’s swing, the single blow killed
the intruder.
Even in his
shock Smith knew he needed a lawyer despite acting in self-defense. He called
his friend John McKenna, who had an extensive network, and asked for help, then
he called the police. Detective Grace Lillinthal of Homicide was sent to the
scene. She assumed she was dealing with a home invasion until she learned that
the lawyer that showed up was referred by McKenna, when all her antennae went
straight up. McKenna had a reputation as a criminal middleman. No matter what
devious or illicit act someone might need assistance with, McKenna knew a guy
who could help. That Smith thought to call McKenna first made his entire story
suspect in Lillinthal’s mind.
While she relentlessly
sought to establish the illicit connection between the two, Smith was trying to
find out who cared enough about him to hire a professional hitman and why.
This is
another fast-moving, well-written thriller with a unique spin, great characters,
and a clever resolution. Readers unfamiliar with Lawson’s work might find this
book a good place to start. Recommended!
Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.
·
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
·
Publication date: July 7, 2026
·
Edition: Hardcover
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 272 pages
·
ISBN-13: 979-8228358188
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4oR3k0j
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Monday, June 08, 2026
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Every Lie I Told by Hilary Davidson
Hilary
Davidson is a Toronto native now living in New York City. Her first work of
crime fiction The Damage Done (Forge Books, 2010) won the 2011 Anthony
and Crimespree awards for best first novel and was shortlisted for the Arthur
Ellis and Macavity awards for best first. She’s written dozens of short
stories. Every Lie I Told (Blackstone, June 2026) is her eighth work of
crime fiction.
Jackie Swift
is just another hamster on the enormous wheel of New York, running endlessly
trying to reach the next rung on the ladder of success. Her parents died when
she and her sister Madi were young, leaving them to the questionable care of an
uncle. Jackie has been trying to overcome the disadvantages of her early life
ever since, while pretending to have the upper-crust life that she wants. She
learned early that her lack of family connections and resources would keep her
out of her chosen field of journalism, no matter how hard she worked. She slid
sideways into a dubious public relations firm with some credible clients and a
lot of shifty ones. Her habit of shading the truth about her life quickly
expanded to covering up for wealthy people behaving badly. Dissembling about
everything, from her customers’ actions and intentions to the store where she
bought today’s outfit, became routine.
Jackie is
overwhelmingly protective of Madi, who dabbled far too often in drugs and made
other unwise decisions. Jackie had come to keep Narcan on hand for emergencies
so when Madi called in the early hours of Monday morning that she needed help,
Jackie scrambled for the naloxone and drove to an Upper East side townhouse.
She could not find Madi but she did find the quite dead body of her former
mentor and employer. The police focus early on Madi as the likely killer and as
they search for her, Jackie does everything she can to throw suspicion on
others, including an ex-wife who tried to kill the dead man more than once.
The story delivers
credible insight into the inner workings of publicity firms and marketing
psychology, which I found thought-provoking. With a driving pace and one
surprise after another, the story held my attention to the end despite my lack
of sympathy with most of the characters, who were singularly unpleasant. Fans
of contemporary psychological thrillers and unreliable narrators will love this
book.
·
ISBN-13: 979-8228475151
·
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
·
Publication date: June 16, 2026
·
Edition: Hardcover
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 371 pages
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fv3o3j
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Tuesday, June 02, 2026
Monday, May 25, 2026
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Storm Warning: A Dez Limerick Thriller by James Byrne
Storm
Warning (Minotaur, May 2026) by James Byrne is the latest in the very fine
thriller series about Desmond Aloysius Limerick (Dez to his mates), a military
veteran with unusual skills, a smart mouth, and an irresistible ability to make
friends wherever he goes. He’s in New York when this book opens, learning how
to cook in a high-end restaurant and enjoying life when the FBI asks him to
accompany a Department of State executive, her security guard, and a hostage
rescue team to a scientific research center in an isolated part of coastal Newfoundland.
It seems all communications with the town and the research center have been
lost and the assumption is the group is being held hostage, possibly for the sensitive
information held by the multinational scientists working there. Dez’s skills as
a gatekeeper are expected to be needed to enter the facility.
The night
before the rescue team leaves, Dez is approached by a group of thugs who offer
him cash not to go on what was supposed to be a highly secret rescue mission. He
declines but worries about this open indication that someone has a vested
interest in keeping the research center sequestered and has learned about their
plans.
A pair of
competing blizzards with the Canadian east coast as their target complicate the
flight to the remote village where the center and the scientists are. The plane
with the hostage rescue team falls behind and only a small group of diplomats
and security guards reach their destination. Once they land, the action never
stops. As with all of the books in this series, Dez is relentless in his focus
and endlessly creative in achieving his goals.
He's
particularly challenged here as people are not always who they seem to be,
right up to the end of the book. I found my belief of who were the good guys
and which ones were the bad guys was constantly undergoing revision.
Dez does have
a tendency to think he knows what’s best for everyone around him. I was amused
to see his arrangements for one character were politely but firmly declined,
setting him back on his heels for a bit. It was no doubt a salutary experience
for him.
Highly
recommended! This book can be read as a stand-alone but since Dez tends to
acquire friends in each adventure and take them with him from one story to the
next, the reader who wants to fully understand the back story of every title
should probably read the books in order.
Starred
review from Publishers Weekly.
·
Publisher: Minotaur Books
·
Publication date: May 26, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 400 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1250319811
·
ISBN-13: 978-1250319814
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4e1byiA
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Friday, May 08, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: The Foggy Past: C.M.B. vol. 11-12 by Motohiro Katou
Saturday, May 02, 2026
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder in the Tomb (1937) by Lucian Austin Osgood
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Publication Day Review: The Lost Angels: A Thriller by Michele DomÃnguez Greene
The Lost Angels: A Thriller by Michele
DomÃnguez Greene is a direct sequel to the Hollywood Hitmen novel
of last year. Like that book, this read is not really a thriller though it is a
bit grittier. This read is more like an actual police procedural as well.
The plight of young children and teens
on the streets is a nationwide problem. It is also the main storyline of The
Lost Angels: A Thriller. Evie Peacock is one of those teens on the
streets of Los Angeles doing almost anything to survive. As the book opens on a
rainy night, she is seventeen, and very worried about her friend, Layla Waters.
The same friend, Layla Waters, who had called her a couple of days earlier, and
said the guy she had been living with was bad news after all. She had promised come
back to Evie and the others in their small group who all look out for each other.
She also wanted to show Evie something so they could figure out what to do and
who to tell about it.
That was not to be.
Soon, Officer Cassidy Clarke, just back
at work in the LAPD after a stress leave due to recent events, will be part of
the hunt for the missing Layla. So, too will her father, Bill Clarke, who is on
a better mental footing these days, thanks to the medication he is now on and
other things. It would be helpful if the killer languishing in prison would
stop calling for him.
Then there is Melinda Drake, director of
the Kidz Club house, who is just about at her wits end. She runs a resource center
and overnight shelter for homeless teens and runaways. Her place is a sanctuary
for those living on the streets. It is a
well-known refuge and sorely needed.
She flags down Cassidy and Officer Sean Riley
while they are on patrol. She wants to follow up on numerous phone calls she has
made regarding several missing kids. She knows of at least five kids who used
to be frequent guests and now have seemingly disappeared. She also knows of a
very low-level pimp, Aiden Howe, who used to be around all the time, and now is
not.
She’s called in repeatedly to report
these situations. She’s talked to Captain Dykstra of the Hollywood Station, who
promised somebody would come by and take a report. Nobody ever did, no matter
how many times she called. So, she flagged down Cassidy and Riley to ask,
again, that somebody listen and do something.
Using her data terminal in their patrol
car, Cassidy files a report for each of the missing kids so that the
investigative ball gets rolling. Cassidy isn’t about to just file the reports
and move on either. Neither will her former detective father, now retired and
working as a private investigator, as he never lets anything go. Both of them
and others will work the cases of the missing kids while also working other
cases and dealing with past and present events in various storylines.
While an incredibly depressing topic
when one thinks about the thousands and thousands of kids living on the streets
of this country, the topic is handled well in The Lost Angels: A Thriller
by Michele DomÃnguez Greene. Plenty of action and mystery are present in this
read that also concludes several over arching storylines from the first book.
The resulting read is far more of a police procedural than the cozy style first
book. That fact made it, for this reader, a far more entertaining and enjoyable
read.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/42vms9L
My digital ARC came from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
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