Five Crime Fiction Novels I Plan to Read this Summer...

When I have any kind of leisure time, my first choice for reading is crime fiction.  A few of these choices will be released during the summer and I plan on curling up with them as soon as I can get my hands on a copy!  Here is a sample of what is on top of my summer reading pile:

Into the Darkest Corner (M)
by Elizabeth Haynes

This is a first novel for British writer Elizabeth Haynes but it has received a lot of attention on this side of the pond.  The story centers on Catherine Bailey who meets the man of her dreams, or so she thinks.  What he turns out to be is her worst nightmare.  Years after their relationship ends she is still struggling to regain her sanity and cope with the debilitating aftereffects of the abuse she suffered.  Just when she thinks she may be turning the corner, the phone rings.

The Beautiful Mystery (M)
by Louise Penny

This newest in the Armand Gamache series is due out at the end of August and I can honestly say that I am looking forward to the end of summer because of this and this alone!  In this installment Penny takes us out of Three Pines (a small village in Quebec’s eastern townships and one of the most dangerous places in Canada) to a monastery deep in the wilderness.  There, two dozen cloistered monks live a peaceful life with prayer and music the mainstays of their days.  When their choir director is found murdered , Chief Inspector Gamache,  his right hand man Jean-Guy Beauvoir and the rest of his Surety du Quebec crew push back the closed doors and discover the many things can happen in this quiet world.

Stray Bullets (M)
by Robert Rotenberg

Is there anything more Canadian than a crime in Tim Hortons in Toronto?  Rotenberg is taking us on a walk on a snowy November night when cold customers are ordering their double doubles and donuts when gunshots ring out and a young boy is critically injured.  Does anyone know how many shots were fired?  Was there more than one shooter?  What do the witnesses remember and what did they see?  These are all questions facing Detective Ari Greene when he arrives on the scene.  Toronto’s citizens demand justice and a conviction for the accused in this horrible crime.  But can Greene and defence counsel Nancy Parish put the pieces together and reveal the truth?  I can’t wait to find out!

Afterwards (M)
by Rosamund Lupton

Last summer, fellow blogger Lynne Legrow had Lupton’s first novel Sister on her summer reading list.  This year I am adding her second novel Afterwards.  The story takes place in a London school where a fire breaks out and injures many of the students.  The last thing mom Grace can remember is trying to reach her daughter Jenny who is trapped in the school.  While recovering in hospital from burns, Grace and Jenny learn the fire was deliberately set to harm Jenny.  The only thing worse than imagining her child as a target of violent crime is watching her younger son Adam accused of the arson.

Bones are Forever (M)
by Kathy Reichs

No summer would be complete without an installment of Kathy Reichs’ popular Temperance Brennan forensic mystery series.  This one promises to be tension filled as Dr. Brennan is asked to examine the remains of three dead babies.  As if that isn’t tough enough, her long-time on and off  boyfriend Detective  Andrew Ryan is investigating the babies’ mother for murder.  It appears the mother may have been a prostitute at one time and is now on an RCMP list of missing women in Edmonton.   Was she the victim of a serial killer targeting prostitutes?  Can’t wait to find out!

Louise