Thrillers with a python-like grip: The 10:12 by Anna Maloney, The Burning Library by
The 10:12 by Anna Maloney (Raven Books £16.99, 320pp)
A fiftysomething female lecturer in art history is the heroine of this full-throttle thriller set on a train from Manchester to London.
No sooner is Claire Fitzroy aboard than a group of armed men take over, telling the passengers bombs will explode if anyone pulls the emergency brake.
Claire decides to fight back, and kills one of the hijackers with a kitchen knife she’s just been given as a present.
But what might look like heroism in the heat of the moment could be interpreted differently when the case is presented in court. Could she be an attention-seeking vigilante?
Maloney is an experienced TV writer and this reads like the outline for a six-part series. It grips like a python.
All aboard for a deadly, explosive mission
The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan (Baskerville £18.99, 304pp)
Talented young palaeographer Dr Anya Brown possesses an eidetic memory, which means she can recall images with extraordinary precision after just a few seconds.
It has made her a great reputation as an interpreter of ancient manuscripts and attracted the attention of the Institute of Manuscript Studies at St Andrews University which has invited her to translate age-old texts.
What she does not know is that she is being recruited to work for the ancient Fellowship of the Larks, determined to stealthily put women in positions of power. They are opposed by the secretive Order of St Katherine, which believes women should pull the strings in the shadows and whose members are prepared to kill.
This is The Da Vinci Code territory – and Macmillan is every bit as thrilling a writer as Dan Brown.
The Persian by David McCloskey (Swift £20, 400pp)
Former CIA analyst McCloskey has established himself as one of the world’s best spy novelists, but this, his fourth story, confirms his position at the top of the espionage tree with its brilliant insight into modern tradecraft.
Kamran Esfahani, known as Kam, is a Persian Jewish dentist from Stockholm who dreams of a new life in California. But to finance the fantasy he agrees to spy for Israel’s Mossad in Iran.
But when he is captured and tortured, he is forced to write confession after confession. Is he telling the truth, or is this just another lie? Utterly gripping.