The 10:12

The 10:12 by Anna Maloney, 320 pages

Retired art professor Claire was on the titular train between Manchester and London when it was hijacked by a group of armed men. When she encounters one of the hijackers near the restroom, she's faced with a choice: stand by passively or fight back. Claire chose to fight, and for the first half of the book, we have a fast-paced thriller akin to Speed in a train. But once the train reaches London, the pace slows down as Claire navigates the legal proceedings afterward in which she is seen as both a hero and a villain, depending on who's talking. It's an interesting way of presenting a hijack story, and one that I'm not sure I fully enjoyed, especially with the rapid slowdown. Meh.

This book will be published Oct. 20, 2026.

Clean hands

Clean Hands: a novel by Patrick Hoffman, 280 pgs.

Corporate power lawyer Elizabeth Carlyle is under pressure.  A junior associate has his phone stolen...the phone has a LOT of very sensitive documents on it and no pass code.  If that information gets in the wrong hands, the whole firm may be in jeopardy.  She calls in her "fixer" ex-CIA agent Valencia Walker who manages to get the phone back.  Unfortunately, the information was stolen and the firm is being blackmailed.  Walker doubles back and finds the blackmailers and stamps out that issue but as she does, anonymous information is leaked to the Wall Street Journal. How did this grow so big so quick? Well, I'm certainly not going to add a spoiler, if you like fast moving intricate thrillers, this one might be for you.

The Holdout

The Holdout by Graham Moore, 322 pages

Maya is a successful defense attorney in Los Angeles. But 10 years ago, she was an idealistic writer and a juror on the trial of the decade: Bobby Nock, a young black man, was accused of murdering Jessica Silver, the 15-year-old blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter of a billionaire real estate magnate. Maya wasn't convinced of his guilt, and over four excruciating weeks, convinced her fellow jurors to return a verdict of not guilty, to much outcry from the public. When the jurors gather for a tenth anniversary documentary, Maya's most vocal critic among her peers turns up dead, in Maya's hotel room, and she's suddenly trying to solve two murders in a race against the clock.

This is a tightly woven thriller that also manages to discuss racial, social, and judicial disparities intelligently without making it seem like a lecture. It's a gripping read.

The Lincoln Lawyer: A Novel

The Lincoln Lawyer: A Novel by Michael Connelly, 404 pages.
I have really been enjoying the fact that between Overdrive and Hoopla we seem to have the bulk of the works of Michael Connelly available on audio. While Titus Welliver and Len Cariou are among the best of all possible narrators, the others that you come across reading the Connelly collection are quite good, too.
This is the book that introduced Connelly's new character, Mickey Haller, back in 2005 and became a movie starring Matthew McConaughey in 2011. Micky Haller is a criminal defense attorney who advertises on bus stop benches, works out of his Lincoln Town Cars instead of an office, and has frequent run-ins with the California Bar Association. When he lands a wealthy client, a real estate broker, seller of exclusive Bel-Air homes, who has been accused of a heinous crime, Haller must figure out a way to get his client acquitted and keep himself safe. A good solid legal thriller.

Narrated by Adam Grupper.

The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly

The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly, 387 pages.

The fifth book in Connelly's "Lincoln Lawyer" series, featuring defense attorney Mickey Haller, doesn't disappoint. Fans of Connelly's Harry Bosch novels will be happy with the same style, pacing, and sudden twists. Fans of legal thrillers will enjoy reading one of the best writers in that sub-genre. Haller has to defend a man who may have killed a former client, while dealing with the interpersonal messes he continues to make in his everyday work and family lives. A good solid read.

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