Reading Ahead: July 2017, part 2

Summer and thrillers go together like peas and carrots. Here are a few to add to your beach bag next month.

Down a Dark Road, by Linda Castillo. Castillo's new novel, ninth in her popular Kate Burkholder series (following Among the Wicked, 2016), finds Chief of Police Burkholder in pursuit of a convicted murderer. Two years ago, Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a “fallen” Amish man and a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped, and he’s headed for Painters Mill. Kate, who grew up with Joseph, must stop him before he can kill again. For Kate, the situation is as dangerous as it is personal. New to the series? Start with the series opener, Sworn to Silence.

Paradise Valley, by C.J. Box. Third in a slated quartet featuring Investigator Cassie Dewell (after The Highway, 2013 and Badlands, 2015), Box's latest finds Cassie on the hunt for the Lizard King, a killer she almost caught...once.Working for the Bakken County, North Dakota sheriff's department, Cassie has set what she believes is the perfect trap and she has lured him and his truck to a depot. But the plan goes horribly wrong, and the blame falls on Cassie. Disgraced, she loses her job and investigation into her role is put into motion.

At the same time, Kyle Westergaard, a troubled kid whom Cassie has taken under her wing, has disappeared after telling people that he’s going off on a long-planned adventure. Kyle's grandmother begs Cassie to find him and, with nothing else to do, Cassie agrees―all the while hunting the truck driver. And Kyle's disappearance may just be more sinister than first glance might suggest. Fans of Box's Joe Pickett novels (Vicious Circle, 2017, etc) won't want to miss this series.

Collared, by David Rosenfelt.

Lawyer Andy Carpenter’s true passion is the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs with his friend Willie Miller. All kinds of dogs make their way to the foundation, and it isn’t that surprising to find a dog abandoned at the shelter one morning, though it was accompanied by a mysterious anonymous note. But they are quite surprised when they scan the dog’s embedded chip, and discover that they know this dog. He is the “DNA dog,” his hair linked to a kidnapping two and a half years ago--neither dog nor child had been seen since. With the reappearance of the dog, however, the case is brought back to light, and the search for the child renewed. But what they start to uncover is far more complicated and dangerous than they ever expected.