2. Red on Red by Edward Conlon. Muscular prose, powerful storytelling sets apart this novel about two New York cops. Meehan is intellectual and aloof; puzzles interest him, connecting with people is difficult. Esposito is sensuous, impulsive, and intuitive, he touches people quickly. Esposito has no middle ground. They remind me of Dostoevsky’s Ivan and Dmitri, I see Ivan in Meehan, with his yearning to understand. Esposito has Dimitri’s wild, passionate nature. The plot is complex and deftly brought together.

4. Snowman by Jo Nesbo. Is there a fjord in Scandinavia not being combed by hopeful publishers seeking the next Steig Larsson? An author being lauded as a successor is Jo Nesbo and boy can he write. Nesbo’s detective is Harry Hole, troubled by drink, driven to win, a guy with a good heart who gives his all. If you want to be scared witless, this should do it.

6. Terror of Living by Urban Waite is taut, fast paced, and gripping.. Phil keeps his horse ranch afloat by guiding the occasional shipment across the border in the rugged North Cascades. This time they sent him a courier who is trouble. Bobby is a lawman with a family history, his Dad made a few dollars just like Phil. Bobby and Phil’s paths will cross on a trip gone horribly wrong.

8. The Informationist by Tayolor Stevens. Perhaps publishers should skip Scandinavian fjords and check out Africa where Vanessa Michael Munroe is set to give Salander a run for her money. This girl takes no prisoners! She is all action right from the start.

10. The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld is filled with historical detail. In1920 a bomb blasted a crater in Wall Street, the crime remains unsolved. Rubenfeld builds his story around this event and the kidnapping of a beautiful French radio-chemist. Dr. Younger and Captain Littlemore return from The Interpretation of Murder.