October’s Best New Thrillers

The Whistler, by John Grisham
The Master returns with a story centered on judicial corruption—specifically, a Florida judge accused of stealing more money than any other corrupt judge in the country. The accuser is a lawyer operating under the new identity of Greg Myers after being disbarred some years ago—and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, an investigator on the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. The judge in question is in bed with the Coast Mafia and helped clear the way for a casino built on Native American land—and is now getting a cut of the casino’s profits on a regular basis. Myers has a client who wants to blow the whistle and collect millions, plunging himself and Stoltz into a case she quickly realizes could turn deadly.

Order to Kill, by Kyle Mills
Taking over the Mitch Rapp series after Vince Flynn’s death is a daunting task, but one that Mills handles with aplomb, offering up a fifteenth entry that crackles with ideas and energy. Most promisingly, Mitch Rapp is pitted against a foe almost as smart and skilled as he is, meaning you can’t just bet on Rapp this time. Russia’s number one assassin kicks off a complex plan to destabilize world oil production with the goal of bolstering Russia’s economy and clout. Watching the two men pit wits and bullets against each other is incredibly entertaining, and the equal matchup means the tension you’ll feel while reading is real.

Escape Clause, by John Sandford
Sandford cleverly twists expectations in the ninth Virgil Flowers’ novel, spinning a thriller in which the kidnapping victims in need of rescue are rare Amur tigers. The tigers have been snatched so they can be processed into the ingredients used in certain Chinese medicines, and Flowers has to move fast if he’s going to have any hope of saving the endangered animals from this cruel and wildly illegal fate. Flowers doesn’t ever get it easy, however, and his life is further complicated by the arrival of girlfriend Frankie’s sister, Sparkle, whose investigation into migrant workers leads to a Frankie’s beating at the hands of thugs—which Flowers can’t let slide. With this smart, funny, and fast-paced novel, Sandford has once again hit it out of the park.

The Obsidian Chamber, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Any Agent Pendergast story that kicks off with Pendergast missing at sea and presumed dead catches a reader’s attention. In mourning, Pendergast’s ward Constance and his factotum Proctor gather at his New York mansion—where Constance is kidnapped. Proctor takes possession of a very well-stocked Go Bag and pursues, only to run into difficulties. Without Proctor’s protection, Constance find herself approached by Pendergast’s presumed dead brother Diogenes—presumed dead because Constance herself pushed him into a volcano not long ago. Meanwhile, Pendergast is far from dead…but we knew that. Sixteen books in and Agent Pendergast remains a fascinating character surrounded by other fascinating characters, and this complex thriller hits all its marks with expert accuracy.

Sex, Lies, and Serious Money, by Stuart Woods
Woods returns to the delightful and often dangerous universe of Stone Barrington, jet-setting lawyer and former cop. Returning home, Barrington’s barely off the plane when he finds himself engaged by a man desperate for his assistance. Almost immediately, Barrington discovers his new client isn’t exactly as he seemed—and neither was the turn of good fortune that brought him to Barrington’s door in the first place. Woods keeps the mystery simmering as Barrington’s work once again takes him on a whirlwind journey halfway across the world, all the while reveling in the sort of lifestyle most people can only dream of living. In the end Stone discovers something he already knew: easy money is usually never all that easy.

Night Watch, by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
In a novel cowritten with her son, Johansen spins a story around a fantastic character: Kendra Michaels, a woman who was born blind. By the time her sight was restored at age 20 by her mentor and friend Charles Waldridge, she had developed nearly superhuman senses of smell, hearing, and a sixth sense for simply noticing tiny details others take for granted. After a dinner with Waldridge that leaves her feeling like he’s hiding something, he goes missing—and Michaels enlists Adam Lynch, formerly of the FBI, to help her investigate. The pair find their way through threats, clues, and a growing attraction on their way to a surprising and unexpected resolution to the mystery. Johansen once again delivers a taut, satisfying thriller that will leave both longtime fans and newcomers equally excited.

Pharaoh, by Wilbur Smith
Smith returns to his popular series of novels set in Ancient Egypt, with the latest entry finding former slave Taita leaving the ailing Pharaoh behind in Luxor to lead his armies against invaders. Returning triumphant, Taita learns the old Pharaoh has died—and he has been branded a traitor by his successor, the weak Utteric. Imprisoned, Taita appeals to Utteric’s noble brother Rameses, who must decide not only what is right, but what is necessary for the good of the kingdom. Smith once again finds an ideal balance between historical accuracy and entertainment.

Treason, by Newt Gingrich
Gingrich once again uses his decades of real-world experience at the highest levels of government to provide a sense of gritty verisimilitude to his fiction. In Treason, Major Brooke Grant has dedicated her life to fighting back against the morally bankrupt terrorism that claimed her parents in 9/11. After the President is attacked at a public event she makes the dreadful realization that the world’s most dangerous terrorist, known only as the Falcon, has a mole deep within the United States government—an American-born traitor who uses the freedom they seek to destroy as a shield. Their game of chess turns deadly when the Falcon, recognizing his opponent, issues a fatwa against not just Major Grant but her family as well. Can she unmask the traitor before it’s too late?

The Tourist, by Robert Dickinson
After a near-extinction event, the human race evolves and rebuilds, crafting a dystopian future ruled by augmented militaristic departments—but sporting some impressive technological advances. Case in point: time travel, which is so easy and cheap it’s used to ferry tourists back to the 21st century to ooh and aah over our primitive and somewhat disgusting existence. This clever setup takes a turn into thriller country when a tour guide loses one of his charges on a routine trip into the past—and in pursuing his lost charge plunges into a mind-bending maze of time loops, double identities, and conspiracies. You won’t see the twists coming, and the sense of dread that settles on the story as things slowly crystallize is addicting.

A Soldier’s Revenge, by Matthew Dunn
In the tense sixth Will Cochrane novel, the former MI6/CIA agent wakes up in New York’s famed Waldorf Astoria hotel with no memory of the night before. As anyone who has ever read a thriller knows, lost memory is always bad, and sure enough, Will discovers the bloody corpse of a strange woman in the room’s bathtub. With only a few vague clues to go on, Will grabs his twin sons and flees from the frame-up, forced to divide his time between protecting his children and investigating the murder and his own role in it. Dunn brings back a few beloved supporting players and references earlier books, but this is a thrilling ride all on its own, filled with twists and turns and shocking moments that will keep the pages turning.