A selection of great thriller reads

Bury Your Dead
by Louise Penny, Sphere, $30.99
History is less dead and buried than it appears in the sixth novel of the Chief Inspector Gamache series. While recovering from the physical and mental scars of a police operation gone horribly wrong, Gamache discovers the quiet haven of Quebec's Literary and Historical Society - an anglophone refuge in the French-speaking city. But it doesn't stay quiet long. The body of a man obsessed with finding the missing remains of one of Quebec's hallowed founders turns up in the building's basement. Gamache is not officially on the case, but rediscovers his investigative mojo as the investigation intertwines with the cases of the missing historic figure, a murdered hermit and a young officer who died under Gamache's command. This whodunit moves at a rate that fits the cold weather, historic influences and Gamache's recovering body and mind.
Zero Hour
by Andy McNab, Random House, $38.99
Ex-SAS operative Nick Stone is back and this time he has nothing to lose. After finding out he has a terminal brain tumour, Stone takes on one last job - hoping to go out with a bang instead of fading away. When he engages the help of a friend, Anna, he realises he has more to live for than he first thought. But this is not some soppy, romantic deviation for ex-SAS operative turned author McNab. Stone still gets "on-target" to rescue young girls from human traffickers despite skinheads, the Russian mafia, a knife in his buttocks and serious doubts about the intelligence agency he is supposed to be working for. Enthusiasts will appreciate the detail with which McNab describes Stone's situation, while readers just along for the ride will get what they need from the storyline that leads the "Zero" hero from London to Amsterdam through Moldovia and Denmark.
Secrets to the Grave
by Tami Hoag, Hachette, $39.99
Hoag serves up another solid dish of her usual fare: death, detectives and a dollop of romance. The lead characters, former FBI profiler Vince Leone and teacher-turned-child advocate Ann Navarre (now also Leone), are back to battle a new foe - one who has killed and mutilated a young mother and tried to strangle her 4-year-old daughter. The couple are backed by a strong team including Detective Tony Mendez, who is struggling to maintain a professional relationship with the wife of a suspect. The team were all involved in the "see-no-evil" murders of a previous book in the series. Maintaining links to characters from earlier cases is a strength of Hoag's writing - it builds the reader's feel for the community and works through the longer-term impact such events have. If you haven't read Deeper than the Dead, spoil yourself and read both novels back-to-back.