“Galveston” by Nic Pizzolatto (Sphere)

An interesting, if flawed debut thriller

Roy Cady is by his own admission “a bad man”. With a snow flurry of cancer in his lungs and no one to live for, he’s a walking time-bomb of violence. Following a fling with his boss’s lover, he’s sent on a routine assignment he knows is a death trap. Yet after a smoking spasm of violence, Roy’s would-be killers are mostly dead and he is mostly alive.

Before Roy makes his getaway, he finds a beaten-up woman in the apartment, and sees something in her frightened, defiant eyes that causes a crucial decision. He takes her with him on the run from New Orleans to Galveston, Texas, permanently entwining their fate along a highway of seedy bars and fleabag hotels, a world of treacherous drifters, pick-up trucks, and ashed-out hopes, with death just a car-length behind.

Only after finishing this novel, did I learn that Pizzolatto is the creator of HBO’s critically-acclaimed True Detective series (starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConnaughey). I can certainly see it, now, though. This is a good thriller: very well-written and fast-paced. However, it also left me slightly dissatisfied at the end.

“Con Law” by Mark Gimenez (Sphere)

Another great Texan political thriller from Gimenez

John Bookman – “Book” to his friends – is a tenured professor at the University of Texas School of Law. He’s thirty-five, handsome and unmarried. He teaches Constitutional Law, reduces senators to blithering fools on political talk shows, and is often mentioned as a future Supreme Court nominee.

But Book is also famous for something more unusual. He likes to take on lost causes and win. Consequently, when he arrives at the law school each Monday morning, hundreds of letters await him, letters from desperate Americans around the country seeking his help. Every now and then, one letter captures his attention and Book feels compelled to act.

In the first of a thrilling new series from the author of international bestsellers The Colour of Law and Accused, Book investigates a murder in the corrupt world of deepest, darkest Texas.

I’m a big fan of Gimenez’s novels. In the early years of his career, he was (too) often compared to John Grisham (another of my favourite authors – and I will admit that’s why I first tried Gimenez’s novels). Personally, I think he carved out an authorial identity all his own far quicker than some other critics. From The Perk onwards, at least, he has been producing some highly addictive, well-crafted thrillers. Con Law, the first in a new series featuring Book, is another excellent example of the author firing on all cylinders. I blitzed through this, and can’t wait for the next book.

“The Governor’s Wife” by Mark Gimenez (Sphere)

A Texas Political/Action Thriller

Have you ever wondered how one split-second decision could change your life for ever?

The Bonners are the most powerful couple in Texas. Bode Bonner is the Republican Governor and his wife, Lindsay, is always by his side. From the outside everything looks rosy.

But the Bonners are not happy. Bode is bored – he longs for more excitement in his life. Lindsay is at the end of her tether. She’s had enough of Bode’s womanising and of playing the dutiful wife. She is desperate to break free of her bland, wealthy lifestyle.

Then Lindsay makes an impulsive decision that helps save the life of a poor Hispanic boy. From that moment on, nothing will be the same for the Bonners. Everything is about to change...

I’m a fan of Gimenez’s thrillers. I’ve read a couple of his previous novels, and they struck me as well-paced and addictive thrillers. The Governor’s Wife is no different (I read it in three sittings), and has the quick plotting I remember from his past work. This latest book is a little unusual, though, in that around the half-way mark it seems to change its mind about what sub-genre of thriller it wants to be in… Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read.