Six thrillers for summer’s end

On Mondays, MPR News host Kerri Miller shares her latest book recommendations on MPR’s Morning Edition. This summer, she’s been catching up on thrillers, and passed along her list of favorites. Here’s what Kerri had to say about six books both old and new:

“The Other Woman,” by Daniel Silva

“Mossad super-spy Gabriel Allon is tracking the love child of the British traitor Kim Philby because he’s convinced the child has been raised by the Russians to follow in her father’s footsteps. The novel is chock-full of delicious detail about how the real Kim Philby operated for years as a Russian spy and was finally unmasked by a close friend.”

“Black Out,” by John Lawton

“Inspector Troy dodges Luftwaffe bombs and Yard politics to investigate a murder that the killers tried to conceal in the destruction of the Blitz. He’s taciturn, inventive and relentless.”

“Lola: A Novel,” by Melissa Scrivner Love

“The story is set in an impoverished South Central L.A. neighborhood where Lola has risen – through a combination of cunning and savagery – to run a small cadre of drug dealers and cartel wannabes. But Lola is also intelligent, compassionate and moral in the survival-of-the-fittest world she exists in.”

“Zero Sum,” by Barry Eisler

“I’m a big Barry Eisler fan. He created the John Rain series about the Japanese American assassin who operates in the Pacific Rim, and my favorite novel of the series is titled “Killing Rain.” But I thought I’d read the whole series, and I found out I’d missed “Zero Sum.” It’s an excellent addition. Rain has been working in the Philippines and he’s headed back to his home base of Tokyo where he’ll encounter the new thug-in-charge and many more scores to settle.”

“An Untamed State,” by Roxane Gay

“If you’ve read Roxane Gay’s essays and memoirs, you may not know that she wrote a thriller set in Haiti called “An Untamed State.” It features Mireille Duval Jameson, the wealthy, cossetted daughter of one of Haiti’s richest men and the standoff between her kidnappers and her father when he hesitates to pay the ransom. Gay really knows how to turn the screws on the tension and the descriptions of Haiti are magical.”

“My Lovely Wife” by Samantha Downing

“This book was so disturbing in places that I put it down for a few weeks and had to think twice about finishing it, but even though the plot line of this novel is wildly far-fetched, the husband’s narration is twistedly persuasive and I just couldn’t leave the ending unread.”

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