The Best New Thrillers of October 2017

The Rooster Bar, by John Grisham
Grisham proves he’s still got his finger on the pulse in his newest, telling the story of idealistic but broke law students Mark, Todd, and Zola, who mortgage their future in the form of student loans to attend a third-tier law school. In their third year, the trio realizes they’ve been victims of the Great Law School Scam: the graduates of their school rarely pass the bar and almost never get jobs—and the school’s owner also owns the bank that wrote the paper on their loans. Naturally, smart nearly-lawyers go for the only option they have available: revenge. It’s going to take planning and risks (like dropping out before earning your degree) but it’s the only option if you want a little justice—and the result is an Ocean’s 11 for the LSAT crowd.

Origin, by Dan Brown
Brown returns to his most successful character with an all-new Robert Langdon adventure, this time centered in Spain and focusing on more modern art. Langdon starts off the book as the guest of former student-turned-billionaire Edmond Kirsch, who is staging a provocative presentation at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and hinting at the answers to two of the fundamental questions of human existence. Naturally, things go very, very wrong, and Langdon soon finds himself fleeing to Barcelona with museum director Ambra Vidal and working desperately to discover a password Kirsch left behind that will unlock all of the billionaire’s secrets. Their opponent, however, seems to be all-knowing, and firmly rooted in the Spanish royal palace—but there’s no one on Earth more equipped to deal with codes and symbols than Robert Langdon.

Two Kinds of Truth, by Michael Connelly
Connelly returns to the world of Harry Bosch with a pair of mysteries. Three decades ago, Bosch was convinced a man named Preston Borders was guilty of raping and murdering three young women, but the district attorney only pursued one case, convicting Borders of the murder of Danielle Skyler. Borders has been on death row ever since, but suddenly new DNA evidence seems to exonerate him, so he files a habeas corpus petition and seems determined to sue everyone involved. Bosch has nine days before the hearing to figure out what went sideways, but his efforts are complicated by the current murder he’s investigating, that of a pharmacist and his son, which has set off a chain reaction of revelations involving faked prescriptions. As Bosch prepares to go undercover as an addict for the first time in his life, even he might not be able to keep all of the clues straight.

Deep Freeze, by John Sandford
Sandford’s tenth Virgil Flowers story finds the Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent’s life complicated by another small town murder in Trippton, and the arrival of an agent of chaos. The murder victim is Gina Hemmings, who inherited her parents’ bank—and plenty of the potential suspects’ debts. Making things more complicated is the arrival of Margaret Griffin, a Los Angeles investigator who lands in town with the governor’s request that Virgil assist in finding Jesse McGovern, who is supposedly manufacturing sex dolls in Trippton—though no one seems to have ever met her. Virgil’s path to solving each mystery is as enjoyably bumpy as ever, but it’s Sandford’s grasp of small town culture that makes this entry sing.

Quick & Dirty, by Stuart Woods
A cool $12 million inspires Stone Barrington to engage in what amounts to old-fashioned detective work in the 43rd installment of Woods’ bestselling series. After some spirited vandalism puts Stone in contact with Morgan Tillman, wealthy widowed wife, Stone is contacted by an insurance firm trying to avoid paying the settlement on a priceless painting stolen from the Tillman residence, and offered a bounty to prove the painting was a skilled replica. Taking on the job doesn’t stop Barrington from having a typically steamy adventure with the widow Tillman, of course.

Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier, by Mark Frost
For those who watched the original television phenomenon and Showtime’s crazy sequel, Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier is an opportunity to fill in the blanks. Detailing the events that occurred in the 25 years between series, series co-creator Frost offers details that illuminate and explain many of the events of the new series, and offer at least some hope the ultimate mysteries of both series might yet be understood. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to learn more about the characters fans have come to love, and the town of Twin Peaks itself.

What the Hell Did I Just Read, by David Wong
Wong’s third entry in the series that began with John Dies at the End starts with what passes for normal in the universe he’s created: John, Amy, and Dave are living in the town of Undisclosed, and when they start investigating a shape-shifting pedophile, it barely registers on their weirdness scale—but they slowly start to realize there really is something strange going on. What follows is a surprisingly complex, paranoia-laden thriller of comedy-horror, with Dave dropping hilarious deadpan commentary as events, including a porn star made of bugs, a T-shirt cannon that shoots the Shroud of Turin, and a literal level boss named Millibutt, spiral out of control. In short, it’s exactly what Wong’s fans have come to expect.

Mind Game, by Iris Johansen
The 21st Eve Duncan novel focuses on Eve’s daughter Jane, in Scotland helping Lord Duncan in his search for a treasure linked to an ancient woman. Jane begins to see the woman in her dreams—as well as a second woman, who seems to be held captive. She identifies this woman as Lisa, Seth Caleb’s sister, and soon finds herself working with the arrogant, infuriating man to both locate the treasure and free Lisa from her captors. Eve Duncan finds her way back into the story in a surprising, unexpected way even as Jane fights to save Seth from a nefarious plot.

Act of Betrayal, by Matthew Dunn
The latest Will Cochrane adventure sees Cochrane going underground when a botched job from three years ago rears its head—Will was brought in for an assassination by a Delta Force colonel who later vanished. A CIA agent involved in the operation doesn’t like the look of things, and reaches out to Will for assistance in figuring out what happened—and winds up poisoned. Will is framed for several murders, and goes dark, but naturally can’t stop himself from investigating. When a determined FBI agent catches his scent, she launches an all-out manhunt to bring him to justice. Will must use every bit of his training and expertise to remain free while he gets to the bottom of the mystery.

Righteous, by Joe Ide
The brilliant Isaiah Quintabe, known as IQ, returns, still haunted by his brother’s hit-and-run death, and still carrying a torch for his late sibling’s former girlfriend Sarita. IQ is also still using his significant brainpower to try to solve the riddle of his brother’s death, and finds disturbing evidence that the hit-and-run wasn’t random. His life is complicated when Sarita asks him to help her sister, a Las Vegas DJ in over her head with gambling debts. The emotionally-grounded deductive brilliance that made IQ such a must-read debut is back, as IQ and his neighbor Dodson—Watson to his Holmes—wade into a Chinese mafia cesspool that eventually circles back to his brother’s death in a confluence of events even a genius couldn’t see coming.