Fiction review: four thrillers

THRILLERS
If you're the kind of person who gets a little antsy at the sight of blood, then Roger Smith's gritty Mixed Blood (320 pages, Henry Holt, $25) isn't for you. Smith sets his tale in South Africa, and the pages are haunted by the violence and hatred of the country's history.

Jack Burn runs with his family to Cape Town after being reluctantly involved in a bank robbery gone bad. Jack escaped with millions and took his wife and son with him to South Africa. But Jack soon finds that his family is anything but safe. When two junkies break into their home, Jack's swift action draws attention from the local police inspector, Rudi Barnard. Soon, Jack is battling for his life, as well as that of his family, as a cast of characters seek to destroy everything he loves.

While Jack plays the overly familiar stoic role, the rest of the book is populated by wildly colorful characters. In some ways, Smith's Cape Town is Dickensian in its presentation of thugs and murderers. Rudi -- an obvious holdout from the days of apartheid -- is an especially wonderful villain whose deeds help the reader fly through the pages.

. . .

Sean Doolittle's Safer (352 pages, Delacorte Press, $24) dives head-first into suburban life. But the deeper the characters delve into life behind the picket fence, the uglier things get.

The Callaways are new to Clark Falls, Iowa, having just moved from Boston. Paul and his wife, Sara, are professors at the local university and are, at first, welcomed into their community with open arms. Roger Mallory -- their next-door neighbor -- is an ex-cop and a leader of the local community watch. After a scary break-in, Paul realizes that everything isn't quite what it seems and that the air of safety that surrounds his cul-de-sac is lined with suspicion. Paul soon realizes that Roger has the entire community under surveillance.

When Paul confronts Roger, he is soon accused of a horrible crime. Paul knows Roger has set him up and begins an investigation into their so-called perfect neighborhood. While Doolittle's plot is intricate and undulates with vicious crimes, its denouement is far too sweeping and appears to involve nearly everyone in Clark Falls. The read is still ultimately rewarding and will go nicely at any beach or poolside.

. . .

Those who miss Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly's repeat detective, will be a little disappointed with The Scarecrow (448 pages; Little, Brown; $27.99). But what disappoints the purists actually makes for a better read for newcomers to Connelly.

The author's fans will be familiar with Jack McEvoy -- the reporter from "The Poet," arguably Connelly's best book to date -- and those who are familiar with today's plunging economy will be able to relate to his problem. Because of budget cuts and a shrinking market share, McEvoy is laid off from his job at the Los Angeles Times. McEvoy is given two weeks to train his replacement and seems resigned to his fate.

But instead of going quietly, McEvoy decides to write the best murder story of his career. Alonzo Winslow is a 16-year-old drug dealer who has confessed to the murder of a young woman. To the cops, the case is cut and dried. But McEvoy thinks differently. A little digging shows the confession to be false and the killer still on the loose. Before McEvoy knows it, he is onto a bigger case than "The Poet."

Connelly breathes new life with McEvoy into "The Scarecrow." The voice is sharp and new, and his problems are more interesting than those of Bosch, whose shtick -- after many, many adventures -- is a bit old.

. . .

Like Connelly, James Grippando takes a break from his favorite character -- Jack Swyteck -- in the stand-alone Intent to Kill (368 pages, Harper, $25.99). Ryan James was on the fast track to become a major-league baseball player when his wife, Chelsea, was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Three years later, James winds up the host of a sports-themed talk-radio show. James battles alcoholism and depression as he raises their only daughter on his own.

On the anniversary of his wife's death, James receives a call informing him that the accident was not an accident after all. The caller also claims to know the killer's identity. James is soon submerged in a conspiracy that he must get to the bottom of if he's going to survive. Grippando's book is incredibly readable. The plot and mystery sustain it, making the reader race to the ending.

Francis W. Decker teaches literature at Trinity Episcopal School.