This book is set in 1974 in Atlanta at a time when when the police department was in a state of transition from being an all white male institution into something more diverse.  As in any time of change, those who hold power are more adamant than ever that they will retain control, so racism, anti-semitism, and gender discrimination are at their height.

This story documents a week in the lives of two female police officers who are trying to track down a serial cop killer, and it does a fine job of showing how their personal and professional lives are shaped by the prejudices of the times  This novel was an Edgar nominee for 2015, and it goes beyond the average mystery by making important social points within the context of an exciting story.  Some readers may find the conclusion a bit implausible or unsatisfying, but overall the book is well worth reading.

THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST is the first book in a series of four called The Belfast novels.  The fourth, THE FINAL SILENCE, was nominated for this year’s Edgar Award for best novel.  The protagonist in his book is Gerry Fegan, a long-time member of the IRA in Belfast who is haunted by the ghosts of those he has killed. These specters are demanding that he destroy those who were responsible for giving the orders that led to their deaths.  This obviously puts Fegan at cross purposes with his former associates who want to let the past bury the past and get on with making money in the new. more peaceful, Northern Ireland.

Neville accomplishes the doubly difficult task of making a morally reprehensible, borderline schizophrenic an appealing character.  This is possible because many of the other characters are even worse and because we come to understand the forces that shaped Fegan, making him into the flawed misfit that he is.

This is not a mystery in the sense that there is a puzzle to be solved, but the tension builds as we wonder whether Gerry will survive in these last days of Irish terrorism.  This is an excellent novel and will be enjoyed by all those who are not made uncomfortable by its gritty realism.

Everyone lies – at least some of the time.  This seems to be the message in Hawkins very popular thriller.  From the unreliable narrator, who suffers from drunken blackouts that make all her memories suspect, to those who tell stories intentionally to conceal what they have done, no one is to be believed.

This is a well written, exciting book that slowly develops the details of a crime by following the dogged efforts of our flawed heroine to recall what has happened to her and work out the implications.  Even if you guess who did it before she does, you will be cheering her on as she travels down the rocky road to redemption.  A nicely done story that deserves to be a best seller.