From Random House, the first of a new series of detective stories: 13 Hollywood Apes: A Layla Remington Mystery, by Gil Reavill (Amazon link). Oddly enough, this is the second such thriller involving apes that I’ve reviewed this month at The North Country Review of Books. I wish I could say that it is as good as the first one. Parts of it are, and it is certainly an original plot idea. It all starts with a California brush fire, and the murder of 13 chimpanzees at an animal care facility in the hills of Malibu. It ends with a series of gruesome murders of the staff there. Sheriff deputy and assistant district attorney Layla must unravel the twisted twine of the who and why that ties all of the killings together.

Around here, I consider a “Grand Slam” to be a book that earns top ratings in every category.  Solomon’s Freedom, by Dennis Meredith, (Amazon link) is a grand slam. It’s a thriller with fabulous characters, witty dialogue, plenty of action, and most importantly, it raises questions about whether man’s closest neighbor in the animal kingdom should be granted any rights.

New, from Bantam Books, this is the third book in the FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare  and wanted criminal (*wink*) Nicolas Fox series. The Job, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (Amazon link) is fast paced and fun, with nicely breezy dialogue. O’Hare and Fox team up again and hatch a plot worthy of the best from Mission: Impossible. Indeed, The Job would make a terrific movie.

You’re just a teenage boy, doing the things boys love to do. Then, someone tries to poison you. You’re framed for a fire that injures your friend, and further attempts are made on your life. The killer? It’s you!  Copied, by S.M. Anderson, from Curiosity Quills Press (Amazon link) is a first-rate thriller with science fiction overtones that explores several ethical questions including the issue of genetic engineering, human cloning, and the prospect that a corporation can “own” a clone because they own the DNA of that person.