New books from Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, and Ben Coes made July a special month for thriller fans. Thankfully, August has a bunch of great titles too, including new offerings from Lisa Scottoline, Steve Hamilton, and J.T. Ellison—three of the best writers in the game today.
On top of all new titles coming out in hardcover, one of the all-time most popular political thrillers ever written—by one of the most famous thriller writers the genre has ever known—is being re-issued with a tie-in cover for an upcoming new television show that debuts later this month on Amazon. . . and it looks pretty awesome.
As a bonus, I’ve included that book into my top August picks below, along with two other great action thrillers that previously came out in hardcover but are set to be released in paperback for the first time.
Happy reading, everyone!
The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer
Release Date: August 7th (Minotaur)
For years now, Olen Steinhauer has been churning out solid thrillers, but nothing quite like his latest standalone, The Middleman, which serves up a relevant plot that follows a domestic terrorist group called Massive Brigade.
Led by Martin Bishop, the self-proclaimed social justice warrior, Massive Brigade thrives because of their ability to organize and move as one unit—something that law enforcement officials find both frustrating and disturbing. Things worsen after the group is featured in a popular magazine who ran a profile on Bishop, causing membership numbers to surge upward, ultimately prompting a response by the FBI.
In an effort to evade the authorities, Bishop and several hundred of his followers suddenly disappear. On the surface, it looks like a win for the FBI, as if Massive Brigade disbanded, but Special Agent Rachel Proulx investigates deeper into the group’s movement, fearing a calculated attack may be in the works. Aiding her is Kevin Moore, the only FBI agent to successfully infiltrate the terrorist organization, who happens to be one of the few hundred members that went to ground with Bishop and the other leaders. Reporting back to the FBI on the inner workings of the group’s forthcoming plans, Moore’s on-the-scene reports are troubling. It becomes clear that someone else is pulling strings behind the scenes, setting up a big, shocking reveal that puts this book over the top, making it an easy pick to for anyone craving a little action and whole lot of suspense this month.
Ripped straight from the headlines, Olen Steinhauer holds nothing back with his latest novel, The Middleman, a timely thriller that follows characters on both sides of a domestic terrorist plot.
Feared by Lisa Scottoline
Release Date: August 14th (St. Martin’s Press)
Before she was one of America’s favorite authors, Lisa Scottoline clerked for judges at the state and federal appellate courts, then went on to become a litigator at a Philadelphia law firm. That experience bleeds through on every page of her latest legal thriller, Feared, the sixth installment in her New York Times bestselling Rosato and DiNunzio series.
This time around, Bennie Rosato and Mary DiNunzio find themselves on the wrong end of a sex discrimination lawsuit after three men claim that the female-driven law firm refused to hire them based solely on their gender. Forced to defend themselves against the frivolous accusations—which becomes harder after their lone male associate, John Foxman, quits and tells the opposition that the claims have merit—Bennie and Mary fight back against Nick Machiavelli, the cutthroat attorney representing the accusers. Machiavelli, who is easily the best antagonist in the series so far, holds a high-profile press conference laying out his clients’ case for reverse-discrimination. In the aftermath, clients begin fleeing Rosato and DiNunzio, who’ve clearly lost in the court of public opinion. Thankfully for them, though, the real battle is set to take place in the actual courtroom—where Bennie and Mary thrive.
As Rosato and DiNunzio quickly discover, it might be great to be loved, but sometimes . . . it’s even better to be feared. Lisa Scottoline holds nothing back with her latest high-octane thriller, proving yet again why she’s one of the most talented and versatile authors working today. If you’re a fan of John Grisham and haven’t yet tried any of Scottoline’s books, don’t wait a second longer.
Dead Man Running by Steve Hamilton
Release Date: August 21st (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Until now, Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight series has been based primarily in Paradise, Michigan, dealing with local issues that rarely take the former Detroit police officer turned private investigator out of the mitten state. That all changes with Dead Man Running, which has McKnight traveling around the country in search of a deranged killer in his most high-stakes case yet.
It all starts when Frank Thompson takes time away from his blissful Mediterranean cruise to check the security cameras inside his Scottsdale, Arizona home. At first, things appear to be in order. Satisfied, Thompson is seconds away from logging off and joining his wife on the sun deck when a mysterious stranger suddenly walks through his family room. After Thompson calls the police, FBI Agent Roger Halliday assumes control of the scene in Scottsdale, convinced that the man captured on camera is the serial killer he’s been hunting across the U.S. through California, Utah, and Nevada in relation to at least six kidnappings and murders. Hoping they finally caught a break in the case, Halliday lays a trap for the UNSUB, who has a penchant for returning to the scene of the crime over the course of several days to revisit his victims and engage in disturbing acts. The trap works, but once in custody, the suspect, who is identified as Martin T. Livermore, flips the script on the FBI.
Livermore calmly explains that he intended to get caught, then drops a bomb on his interrogators. There’s another victim somewhere, tied up and left for dead, and the only way he’ll take them to her is if a man named Alex McKnight is brought along for the ride.
As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that McKnight, who agrees to help any way that he can, has no connection whatsoever to the killer. So why, then, does Livermore want him there? That’s the million-dollar question. Livermore might not mean anything to McKnight, but he definitely means something to the killer . . . and before he knows what’s happening, Alex is pulled into a dangerous game that twists and turns from one side of the country to the other, leaving a trail of dead bodies along the way as Hamilton sets up a final act that will leave readers breathless.
Between his newer Nick Mason series and the longer-running Alex McKnight franchise, nobody has two stronger protagonists going right now than Steve Hamilton, who’s completely outdone himself with this one. Alex McKnight is back with a bang, and Dead Man Running is far and away the top crime thriller coming out this month.
Assassin’s Run by Ward Larsen
Release Date: August 21st (Forge Books)
Israeli assassin David Slaton returns for another action-packed adventure in the latest thriller from Ward Larsen.
Pyotr Ivanovic, a high-profile Russian oligarch who’s known for being close with Russian President Petrov, is just about to sit down and enjoy a nice steak dinner on his yacht when a large-caliber, subsonic round slams into his chest, throwing him overboard and into the Tyrrhenian River, killing him before his body hits the water.
Four days later, while hiding out in the Italian township of Vieste, David Slaton is paid a visit by a woman with the CIA. Anna Sorenson informs Slaton that the Russians aren’t taking Ivanovic’s murder lightly. Her theory is that Petrov’s personal intertest in the matter suggests that Ivanovic might have been planning something big, and she wants to know what. That’s where Slaton comes in. According to intel, the Russians believe that it was Slaton who carried out the hit on Ivanovic, which means that it’s only a matter of time until they track him down themselves.
Though innocent, Slaton realizes that someone has done a bang-up job framing him for the kill and is smart enough to know that whomever Petrov sent after him isn’t interested in getting his side of the story—they’ve been sent to kill him. If he’ll help the CIA find out the truth behind the Russian’s death, Sorenson promises the agency will use their considerable resources to help Slaton and his family disappear forever, where they can live off the grid without fear of his enemies ever finding them. With no better options on the table, the former assassin dusts off his trusty H&K for one more mission and quickly discoverers a huge conspiracy lurking behind the scenes. Once again, it’s up to David Slaton to save the day, and this time, he might just be too late.
For years, David Slaton has been one of the most underrated heroes in the action thriller genre, and I have a feeling that will all change this year. I fully expect Assassin’s Run—which has everything from hard-hitting action to a timely plot involving Russia—to be Ward Larsen’s breakout book. If you’re a fan of Robert Ludlum or Mark Greaney, this thriller is perfect for you.
Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison
Release Date: August 28th (MIRA)
Last year, J.T. Ellison dazzled readers with her Gone Girl-like thriller, Lie to Me. Now, the veteran New York Times bestseller stuns again with her most shocking novel to date.
Mindy Wright has spent her entire life working towards one goal: qualifying for the Olympic ski team. Now, the seventeen-year-old prodigy is days away from making her dream a reality when disaster strikes. During a downhill race, Mindy wipes out hard, breaking her leg in the process. It’s a heavy blow for her to weather, and yet, little does she know, it’s only just the beginning.
After waking up from surgery to repair her mangled limb, doctors inform Mindy and her parents that she has a very rare, aggressive form of cancer, and that her only chance at survival is to immediately undergo a stem cell procedure. First her dreams were crushed, and now she’s fighting for her life.
Sadly, the hits keep coming, and just as Mindy begins to wrap her brain around everything already thrown at her, the hospital informs her that after DNA testing her family while looking for a viable match, they’ve confirmed that her mother and father—the two people who have always loved and supported her, shuttling her to the slopes year after year—are her not her real biological parents.
Thankfully for Mindy, she does have her big sister, who happens to be a DNA technician for a state law enforcement department, to help her make sense of things and maybe even locate her biological family. But as the blows keep landing, Ellison saves one final twist for late in the game. Just when you think you have this one figured out, she yanks the rug right out from underneath your feet . . . showing once again why she’s one of the premier suspense writers working today.
If nail-biting suspense is your thing, look no further than J.T. Ellison’s Tear Me Apart, one of the most twisting, never-see-it-coming, can’t-put-it-down thrillers since Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once.
NEW TO PAPERBACK
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
Re-issued Jack Ryan tie-in paperback available on August 7th (Berkley)
This book is special for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it launched Tom Clancy’s career, who then went on to become one of the most prolific and beloved novelists of our time. Likewise, it introduced the world to John Patrick Ryan, who over the last couple of decades has gone from America’s favorite CIA analyst to America’s favorite CIA director to America’s favorite president—as Jack still occupies the Oval Office in the current books. It’s not often that a debut novel hits #1 on the New York Times list, and it’s even rarer for that book to birth not one, but two, legends. . . and yet that is exactly what this book did.
First published on October 1, 1984 by the Naval Institute Press (who had previously never published a fiction novel), Tom Clancy’s first book features a daring plot about a cutting-edge Soviet submarine that goes rogue and begins heading towards the United States. While everyone pegs the sub as a massive threat, an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency named Jack Ryan believes the submarine’s captain, Marko Ramius, is actually trying to defect to the United States. The story then follows Ryan’s attempt to prove his theory correct, as Clancy (who passed away in 2013) meticulously builds a rising crescendo of suspense in the way that only he could seem to pull off.
The reprint rights for The Hunt for Red October were later purchased by Penguin, who in partnership with Clancy’s estate continues publishing the Jack Ryan books today (the next book, Tom Clancy Oath of Office by Marc Cameron, comes out on November 27th). Interestingly, part of the book’s popularity may have been spurred by President Ronald Reagan, who was spotted with a copy and called it his “kind of yarn.” A movie was later made starring Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as the Soviet submarine captain, which came out in 1990.
The latest re-issued copy (published by Berkley) features a tie-in cover for the new Amazon television show Jack Ryan, which stars John Krasinski as the young CIA analyst.
If you’ve never read any of the Jack Ryan books before, now’s the time. Pick up this classic thriller, now fitted with a slick-looking new cover, and experience the story that made Tom Clancy a household name.
Enemy of the State by Kyle Mills
Paperback Release Date: August 28th (Pocket Books)
Since continuing Vince Flynn’s (who passed away in 2013) Mitch Rapp series beginning with 2014’s The Survivor, Kyle Mills has proven to be one of the most well-rounded writers in the thriller genre today.
While his portrayal of Rapp is both authentic and true to who Flynn created, Mills has still found ways to improve the series from top to bottom. Mitch Rapp is my favorite character ever created, and I’d argue that he’s risen to all-new heights during the four books (his next one, Red War, comes out September 25th) Kyle has written.
In Enemy of the State, American President Josh Alexander discovers that a nephew to the king of Saudi Arabia is funding ISIS operations, and tasks CIA counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp with finding out just how much the royal family knows about it. Held back by all the bureaucratic red tape aimed to hold the CIA in check, Rapp quits the agency and heads out on his own to get answers, ready and willing to do whatever is necessary. But without his trusted backup—normally provided by Scott Coleman and his crew—Rapp is forced to assemble his own team of assassins and mercenaries, none of whom can be fully trusted.
The plot is timely and action-packed, and Flynn’s longtime fans will love seeing a number of familiar faces that Mills brought back from earlier in the series. The hardcover came out last year, but the paperback is set to come out at the end of the month. If you never got around to reading this one—or have put off reading any of the Mills titles in the franchise—pick up Enemy of the State the second it hits store shelves. Trust me, you’ll be so glad that you did.
Vince Flynn was a master and absolutely deserves a place on the Mount Rushmore of thriller writers. . . but while this might be an unpopular opinion, I actually prefer the way Mills portrays Mitch Rapp, who is still the biggest badass the genre has to offer. If you don’t like this book, you might not be a fan of thrillers.
Agent in Place by Mark Greaney
Paperback Release Date: August 7th (Berkley)
Courtland the “Gray Man” Gentry might be back with the CIA, but this time around he’s running an operation for a team of expats who hire him to kidnap the Syrian president’s mistress in Paris. Court takes the gig, only to find an ISIS cell attacking his location right as he’s trying to extract Bianca Medina, President Azzam’s secret lover. Gentry manages to escape with Bianca in hand, only to find out that she has a child with Azzam and refuses to cooperate with the people who paid him to snatch her unless someone heads to Syria, gets her son, and brings him back to her.
Gentry eventually agrees to go to Syria, and if there’s anyone who possesses the skills to evade dozens of guards, grab the baby—and the kid’s nanny—and then get out of the country before armed forces descend upon him, it’s the Gray Man.
Mark Greaney brings the action in a big way here, as Court throws lead early and often while facing impossible odds. If you’re on the fence about this one at all, I dare you to go into a store and pick up the paperback, then read just the first chapter. After those first few pages, I guarantee you’ll be running to the nearest checkout so that you can buy the book, go home, and settle into your favorite reading chair.
