Anyone concerned about the future of horror will find plenty of reassurance in this outstanding reprint anthology showcasing short fiction by todays best writers in the genre. Straub (The Throat) skillfully varies tempo and style, mixing stories of psychological terror with more traditional ghostly tales. Thomas Tessier puts a fresh spin on the empty old house theme in the memorable In Praise of Folly, in which the lonely protagonist pursues his fascination with bizarre structures to the Adirondacks.
Lincoln Rhyme is back... This spine-chilling new thriller pits renowned criminalist Lincoln Rhyme against the ultimate opponent — Amelia Sachs, his own brilliant protégée.
In this sardonic collection of essays, Rakoff (Don't Get Too Comfortable) plays the role of a naysayer who tries to convince the reader, with humorous asides and sarcastic one-liners, that the world is going to hell in a hand-basket and the nerds and geeks will someday be the globe's financial and political tyrants. His topics are a hodge-podge lot that covers hopes and dreams, the meaning of a Jew who eats pork, optimism, a stunted childhood, and the New York City Exotic Erotic Ball and Expo. While his wise-cracking humor isn't always on target, he shines when discussing the acceptance of grief and mortality in "All The Time We Have," and "the bohemian myth" of artists.
It begins at a prestigious music school in New York City. A killer flees the scene of a homicide and locks himself in a classroom. Within minutes, the police have him surrounded. When a scream rings out, followed by a gunshot, they break down the door. The room is empty. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to help with the high-profile investigation.
The Empty Chair by Jeffery Deaverby Jeffery Deaver
Unlike earlier volumes, The Empty Chair takes place outside of New York City in the bucolic but sinister environs of Paquenoke County, North Carolina. Rhyme - accompanied by his long-suffering physical therapist, Thom, and his beloved forensic assistant, Amelia Sachs - has just been accepted as a patient at the Medical Center of the University of North Carolina, where he is scheduled to undergo an experimental procedure that might increase the range of his mobility but might, on the other hand, result in his death.
