Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




The Best Mysteries of 2010


Cover art for THE JANUS STONE
FICTION
Released: Jan. 21, 2011

"Ruth's second appearance (The Crossing Places, 2009) is an enthralling page-turner that delights in complex characters."
A forensic archaeologist's murder investigation puts her and her unborn child in mortal danger. Read full book review >
Cover art for EDGE
FICTION
Released: Nov. 2, 2010

Deaver's latest nail-biter features a blank-faced hero from a shadowy federal agency whose job is to protect menaced innocents from kidnappers and killers who don't want them to be protected. Read full book review >
Cover art for WORTH DYING FOR
FICTION
Released: Oct. 19, 2010

"It's hard to imagine a single white-collar wage slave who won't thrill to this latest Robin Hood fantasy of righteous vengeance."
Whatever business Jack Reacher has in Virginia will have to wait till the world's most distractible soldier of fortune cleans up the mess he's stumbled into amid the cornfields of the Midwest. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE CHARMING QUIRKS OF OTHERS
FICTION
Released: Oct. 12, 2010

"A powerful demonstration of Smith's ability to dramatize the ways everyday situations spawn the ethical dilemmas that keep philosophers in business."
Edinburgh moral philosopher Isabel Dalhousie's seventh round of adventures among ethical conundrums (The Lost Art of Gratitude, 2009, etc.) marks her finest hour to date. Read full book review >
Cover art for BURY YOUR DEAD
FICTION
Released: Oct. 5, 2010

"Gamache's excruciating grief over a wrong decision, Beauvoir's softening toward the unconventional, a plot twist so unexpected it's chilling, and a description of Québec intriguing enough to make you book your next vacation there, all add up to a superior read. Bring on the awards."
The sixth appearance of Armand Gamache, North America's most humane detective. Read full book review >
Cover art for CRYSTAL DEATH
FICTION
Released: Sept. 1, 2010

"Kipps (Hell's Kitchen Homicide, 2009, etc.) pairs his genuinely original protagonist with a cheeky, charming partner. The results are refreshing."
Conor Bard, the NYPD's singing detective, makes a second page-turning appearance in the case of the blood-red diamond. Read full book review >