10 Page-Turning Thrillers to Read this Father’s Day

Shot Clock by Andrew Bourelle

Basketball star Garrett’s brother has been kidnapped—and if he doesn’t fix the NBA championship, Jake will be dead before the final buzzer.

In his desperation, he turns to his ex-girlfriend, small-town cop Caitlin Glass. Can Caitlin find Jake . . . before the clock runs out?

“A slam-dunk of a thriller”
JAMES ROLLINS, New York Times bestselling author

“Shot Clock has all the electrifying energy and intensity of a tied Game Seven in its final minute”
MICHAEL KARDOS, author of Bluff

Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley

Thirteen years ago, ice hockey star Jimmy Baker quit the game after almost killing an opponent. Now, as the Zamboni driver for the amateur team in his hometown of Bitterfrost, Michigan, he’s living his penance. Until the morning he awakens to the smell of blood . . .

Arrested for a brutal double murder, Jimmy can’t remember the night in question. And as the evidence racks up against him, his defence attorney, Devyn Payne and prosecuting detective Garth Klimmek race to uncover the truth.

“Never mind that it’s a crime novel, Bitterfrost is all heart”
The Washington Post

“Immerses readers in a chilly — and chilling — world of lost dreams and deadly feuds”
MEG GARDINER, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Calico by Lee Goldberg

A disgraced former LAPD detective in Barstow, California finds herself presented with two logic-defying cases: an unidentified man run over by an RV, who seems to be not of this time, and a skeleton found in a shallow desert grave.

Over a century ago, not too far from Barstow, a stranger arrives in the struggling mining town of Calico. Where has he come from . . . and how can he get home?

Unfolding across two parallel timelines, Calico is a genre-defying mash-up of police procedural, Western and science fiction that will leave your jaw on the floor.

“I guarantee you’ve never read a crime novel like it. The X Files meets Deadwood. Totally gripping”
IAN RANKIN, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author

“Seamlessly blends a present-day police procedural with a Western from the 1880s. The results are a genre-bending, gripping read”
HARLAN COBEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Ice Islands by Humphrey Hawksley

On an inhospitable frozen island, Major Rake Ozenna must gain the trust of a young woman fleeing a Japanese crime empire and caught in the crosshairs of the Russian government.

But when the secret son of the Russian leader is executed and Rake’s target, Sara Kato, is implicated in the murder, a political crisis between Russia, Japan and the US is set in motion.

“Another outstanding geopolitical thriller in Hawksley’s excellent Rake Ozenna series . . . carefully researched, action-packed, and suspenseful”
Booklist starred review

“[Hawksley] once again combines fast-paced storytelling with the background of an informed reporter”
Financial Times

Death at Dead Man’s Stake by Nick Oldham

Former Metropolitan Police firearms office Jessica Raker returns to her home town in Lancashire following a botched robbery response that put a black mark against her name.

But when she arrives in the Ribble Valley, she’s thrown into dealing with a deadly hostage situation at Dead Man’s Stake Farm . . . 

“The build-up of tension is ominous and terrifying . . . Oldham has produced a superb first book in his new series”
Booklist starred review

“Suspenseful . . . Oldham heightens the tension”
Kirkus Reviews

The Dead Years by Jeffrey B. Burton

A serial killer, dormant for years, reawakens after viewing a docuseries depicting his string of homicides. He is not happy with his portrayal and no one in the cast and crew is safe . . .

As the bodies stack up, Chicago PD Detective Crystal Pratt and her brother, police dog trainer Cory, investigate (along with the help of some K9 friends). But it’s not long before the killer has turned his sights on them . . .

“A mighty impressive thriller”
Booklist

“The twists and turns will keep you reading”
King’s River Life Magazine

Cold Fire by  Matt Hilton

Hunted and reviled, ex-nanny Joanne Mason turns to her sister, Detective Karen Ratcliffe. Torn between duty and family, Ratcliffe asks Tess Grey and her partner Nicolas ‘Po’ Villere to bring Joanne in safely.

A winter cyclone forces Joanne into hiding on the Canadian border – but she can’t stay put for long. In close pursuit, Tess and Po head north into the heart of a storm, but they’re not the only ones: the real murderer is also hot on Joanne’s trail, trying to kill the only living witness to their crime.

“[An] action-packed chase thriller”
Library Journal

“Hot conflicts rage in the freezing cold”
Kirkus Reviews

Low Pastures by Bill James

A well-dressed corpse found shot in the sand and gravel wharf sparks trouble for Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his unpredictable boss, Assistant Chief Constable Iles.

“War games that will . . . delight fans”
Library Journal