More beguiling criminal diversion from the ever-dependable Janet Evanovich, Metro Girl may not introduce any new elements into the quirky Evanovich universe, but fans won't give a damn-all the usual fingerprints are well in evidence. Previously, her carefully numbered Stephanie Plum novels offered real delight for those who could get past the arch name of the heroine, and her brilliantly drawn New Jersey settings were counterbalanced by machine-tooled plotting and a cherishable sardonic wit. Metro Girl has a slew of unlikely elements stirred into a heady brew: treasures sunk beneath the ocean, bloody murder and (believe it or not) a highly sensuous stock car racer. The unreliable `Wild' Bill Barnaby has vanished, and his not-to-be-messed with sister Alex makes her way to Miami to track him down. Alex fights to keep body and soul together in the sultry climate, as both unmanageable coiffure and vicious thugs threaten her equilibrium. She discovers that Bill unwisely appropriated the yacht of the formidable Sam Hooker, and Sam realises that keeping close to Alex may lead him to Bill, with a little score-settling on the menu. Soon, both are heading into dangerous waters (both literally and figuratively) with Cuban gold and leftovers from the Cuban missile crisis making things very hot for the protagonists. Alex is one hell of a heroine, and the perfect conduit for the reader through the unlikely (but strangely plausible) narrative. You've heard books described as a wild ride before-this is one time where that description really fits the bill. Get your ticket and climb aboard-and don't forget your hairspray. [+]

John le Carré's Absolute Friends is his best in years, capturing the verve and mastery of the magnificent early work. In fact, as a prelude to the book, you could do worse than reread The Spy Who Came in from the Cold again, and be forcibly reminded how le Carré transformed the spy thriller 40 or so years ago. And the consolidation of his achievement came with the George Smiley sequence (inaugurated with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy). As the Cold War came to an end, le Carré seemed to be in need of a new focus for his literary universe, but this was soon to come as the author explored newer social threats, with The Constant Gardener utilising the power of the pharmaceutical companies as nemesis, and producing yet another critical and popular success. Absolute Friends, even before publication, had some of the best word of mouth any le Carré novel had enjoyed, and every word of it was justified. As a penetrating character study, it's nonpareil, with the (very different) friends of the title brilliantly realised. Ted Mundy is the son of a British Infantry officer who left India under a cloud after partition, while Sasha is the crippled son of a religious German family who became a star of Far Left politics in the 1960s, at which point he encounters the ungainly Ted, taught by his father-and a committed girlfriend-to loathe British imperialism and all its current offshoots. In the present, Ted finds himself acting as an eccentric tour guide at Ludwig's palaces in Bavaria. When the two men meet again, they once more become involved in clandestine activities-with lethal results. If the author's own anti-Blair/Bush feelings are sometimes foregrounded, this is still le Carré at his considerable best, and a reminder of what a great talent the UK has in this writer. [+]

In this latest from bestseller Elizabeth George, A Place of Hiding, recuperating from a failed love affair, agrees to accompany her ne'er-do-well brother Cherokee to the Channel Islands to hand-deliver a set of architectural drawings to an expatriate millionaire whose plans to fund a museum commemorating the war-time exploits of his Guernsey neighbours comes a cropper after he's found dead under suspicious circumstances. George spins an intricate and lively plot that spotlights the efforts of series regulars Deborah and Simon St John to help Deborah's old friends free themselves; in the process, she introduces a fascinating cast of secondary characters, many of whom had much more obvious motives to wish Guy Brouard dead than the California siblings who seem tailor-made for a frame up. A fine addition to George's ouevre, this 13th outing in her popular series will delight her fans. -Jane Adams, Amazon. com.

It's always good to welcome a Michael Connelly novel, and The Lincoln Lawyer is a strong addition to the Connelly bookshelf. This stand-alone legal thriller has all the adroit plotting and no-nonsense prose that are Connelly's trademarks, with a particularly strong protagonist. In the hierarchy of American lawyers, `Lincoln lawyers' are not held in the highest esteem. These are criminal defence attorneys who run their practices from a travelling Lincoln car, traversing the county of Los Angeles to hoover up whatever work is available, however basic. Connelly's tarnished hero is Mickey Heller, who has fine-tuned this less-than-impressive side of the legal profession to such a degree that few can match him: he knows all the ins and outs of the system, including precisely who to slip a back-hander to when appropriate. But Mickey finds a way to move upmarket when he acquires a well-heeled client. A rich young man from Beverly Hills has been arrested for savagely assaulting a woman, and the case falls in Mickey's lap. And though the lawyer is used to defending clients who are guilty as sin, it actually looks (for once) that his client is innocent. But Lincoln lawyers like Mickey are fully aware of the lottery that is their profession, and he isn't too surprised when the case goes pear-shaped. But (to his dismay) Mickey slowly learns that neither his client nor the victim in the case is quite what they seem to be, and soon there's a lot more than a penny-ante case at stake, with Mickey's life quite as much at risk as any reputation he might have. [+]