Reading Ahead: July 2016, part 2

If you've read here for awhile, you know that one of the genres I read regularly is suspense. There's something about a well-paced plot and the nerve-jangling build of tension that is hard to beat. If you're in agreement, here are a few titles to look forward to this summer.

Reckless Creed, by Alex Kava. Book three in Alex Kava's crossover series featuring Ryder Creed (with his K-9 search-and-rescue dogs) and FBI agent Maggie O'Dell (following Breaking Creed and Silent Creed) finds our heroes at center of a mysterious set of seemingly unconnected deaths. In Chicago, a young man jumps from his thirtieth-story hotel room; along the Missouri river, a hunter and his son stumble upon a lake whose surface is littered with snow geese, all of them dead; and in southern Alabama, Ryder Creed and his search-and-rescue dog Grace find the body of a young woman who went missing in the Conecuh National Forest...and it appears she filled her pockets with rocks and walked into the river. Before long Ryder Creed and FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell will discover the ominous connection among these mysterious deaths. What they find may be the most prolific killer the United States has ever known.

Night and Day, by Iris Johansen. Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan risked it all to protect Cara Delaney from the enemies who want her dead. The journey has led them from California to a remote mountain in the Scottish highlands--and earned Eve the distinction of becoming their next target. When, despite all precautions, Cara is taken, Eve must hunt down the very people who want to kill her in order to save the young girl. At a time in her life when she has more at stake than ever before, she unhesitatingly puts it all on the line in a pulse-pounding mission of rescue and survival.

Among the Wicked, by Linda Castillo. Eighth in Castillo's popular Kate Burkholder series (following 2015's After the Storm) finds Chief of Police Burkholder called upon by the sheriff's department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing situation that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl. Unable to penetrate the wall of silence between the Amish and "English" communities, the sheriff asks Kate to travel to New York, pose as an Amish woman, and infiltrate the community. Kate agrees, but quickly finds herself alone in a world built on secrets and lies, fighting for a way out.

You Will Know Me, by Megan Abbott. How far will you go to achieve a dream? That's the question a celebrated coach poses to Katie and Eric Knox after he sees their daughter Devon, a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful, compete. For the Knoxes there are no limits--until a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community and everything they have worked so hard for is suddenly at risk. As rumors swirl among the other parents, Katie tries frantically to hold her family together while also finding herself irresistibly drawn to the crime itself. What she uncovers--about her daughter's fears, her own marriage, and herself--forces Katie to consider whether there's any price she isn't willing to pay to achieve Devon's dream.