Library Journal - Audio
★ 12/01/2022
Narrator Shazia Nicholls's resonant voice, spot-on characterizations, and excellent pacing immerse listeners in the twists and turns of this suspenseful police procedural by British novelist Toyne ("The Sanctus Trilogy"). North London Murder Squad Detective Chief Inspector Tannahill Khan, already dealing with a rash of violent crimes, comes under immense pressure from his superiors and the press when a wealthy woman is brutally murdered in her posh mansion. The killer has bizarrely staged her body, placing strange objects around her, including the book How To Process a Murder by Laughton Rees, the estranged daughter of Police Commissioner John Rees. Because her book is at the scene, Laughton reluctantly agrees to help Tannahill investigate. Although she is a forensics expert, Laughton focuses on cold cases, rather than current ones, because current cases remind her too much of her mother's horrific death at the hands of the serial killer whom her father couldn't keep behind bars. Nicholls perfectly interprets the intense action of this psychological thriller, and her empathetic portrayals help listeners connect with Toyne's well-developed characters. VERDICT Adeptly weaving in discussions of racism and income inequality, Toyne's latest (hopefully the start of a new series) is essential for all mystery and suspense collections.—Beth Farrell
Publishers Weekly
★ 05/30/2022
British author Toyne, who has produced some offbeat thrillers (the Sanctus trilogy), may have found his true calling with this excellent police procedural. Det. Chief Insp. Tannahill Khan of the North London Murder Squad investigates when a wealthy woman is stabbed to death in her home and her husband can’t be found. The body is staged with several mysterious objects placed around it, including the book How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees. That Laughton is the daughter of Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Rees immediately adds an unwanted complication to Tannahill’s inquiry. As it becomes evident that the killer’s actions are directed in part toward Laughton, Tannahill brings her into the case as a consultant, not only to provide fresh insight but also to protect her from a deranged murderer who may be connected to her own painful past. Tannahill and Laughton make a superb investigative team, and how Tannahill deals with the prejudice he encounters (“When I was growing up I was called all sorts—Paki, camel jockey, raghead. My dad was Pakistani, you see, Irish mum but I got his skin and hair”) helps illuminate his character. A skilled storyteller, Toyne has upped his game with this one. Agent: Alice Saunders, Soho Agency. (July)
From the Publisher
"A stunning novel! Part wily procedural, part relentless psychological thriller, Dark Objects will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. And what a masterful voice, Toyne brings to his fiction." — Jeffery Deaver
"A fun, crafty thriller.... I love how [Toyne] interwove a clever serial killer plot with a taut family drama. Definitely a one-sit read!" — Lisa Gardner
"There are times when I read another author’s novel and it’s so darn good I just want to put down my own pen and retire because I can’t match it. This is that book. I was riveted, flummoxed, and completely captivated by these fascinating characters." — Tess Gerritsen
"[An] excellent police procedural.... Tannahill and Laughton make a superb investigative team…. A skilled storyteller, Toyne has upped his game with this one." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Dark Objects
"An edgy psychological thriller that makes excellent use of its police procedural foundation....Toyne pulls out all the stops for a deliciously creepy, believable story that makes sharp turns with realistic characters.... Toyne’s plotting — and delving deep into the psychological aspects — make Dark Objects shine." — Florida Sun-Sentinel
“It was the premise that lured me into reading this novel and it didn’t disappoint.” — Globe and Mail (Toronto) on Dark Objects
"The pacing is superb and as the suspense ratchets up you will find it impossible to put the book down." — Peter Robinson on Dark Objects
“Dark Objects delivers a fascinating thriller that features an intense murder investigation while highlighting family relationships.... The twists and turns provide an unexpected shift that illustrates how cleverly the author laid the foundation.” — Novels Alive on Dark Objects
"An intense, compelling page-turner." — Steve Cavanagh, author of Thirteen on Dark Objects
"Simon Toyne...really has outdone himself with Dark Objects. It’s intelligent, insanely paced and brimming with fresh ideas – I doubt I’ll read a better book this year." — M. W. Craven
“Simon Toyne is one of my favorites, bringing a lean muscularity and textured richness to his thrillers. He has an eye for the unusual and the unsettling, shading his stories with moral complexity while never letting his foot off the pedal. In Solomon Creed, he’s created a hero for the ages. A word of warning: if you have anything else to get done, don’t crack open a Toyne thriller.” — Gregg Hurwitz on The Boy Who Saw
“When you read Sanctus, you’ll see just how frightening, ruthless and relentlessly entertaining an order of monks can be. Haunting in the best way.” — Brad Meltzer
"Top-shelf writers aren’t made—they’re born, and you can tell in two pages when you’ve found one. Simon Toyne has got the gift, and The Searcher proves it—his imagery, his language, and the cool mystery surrounding Solomon Creed and where he’s going. I think you’ll love this one.” — Greg Iles
“Brains beat brawn in this engrossing yarn, and a mind without a memory makes Toyne’s hero a hard character to—well, to forget.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on The Boy Who Saw
"How do you create suspense?... That’s the defining strategy of The Searcher, as Simon Toyne holds information tantalizingly out of reach over the course of his wild, mysterious novel… Toyne grabs our attention, and he keeps it… The book moves so swiftly in part because it’s told roughly in the span of a day…the stakes escalating while mysteries pile on top of mysteries… I read it in a two-day fever.” — New York Times Book Review
“Not a dull page to be found anywhere. A thriller gem. Simon Toyne is a first class talent, speeding in the fast lane to the top of the genre.” — Steve Berry on The Searcher
Toyne has turned out a subtle yet compelling religion-flavored thriller that engenders a “one more page, one more chapter” urgency, much like his previous trilogy.” — Library Journal (starred review) on The Searcher
“Toyne’s descriptive skill makes for a story that is cinematically vivid. . . . The relentless pace makes the action addicting.” — Publishers Weekly on The Tower
“If you like your secrets deeply hidden and your action breakneck, then Toyne’s sophomore thriller is just the ticket.... As in his debut, Toyne delivers a gripping, intricate story of religious and political intrigue that's sweeping yet somehow intimate and very personal. Wow.” — Booklist (starred review) on The Key
“Remarkable . . . intrigue befitting an action thriller . . . . Toyne has written a well-developed, exciting debut, the first volume of a projected trilogy, that doesn’t tip off the ending midnovel like so many of its kind. Its ‘just one more page, one more chapter’ urgency keeps you reading into the night, and the final revelation of the Citadel’s secret is haunting.” — Library Journal (starred review) on Sanctus
Brad Meltzer
When you read Sanctus, you’ll see just how frightening, ruthless and relentlessly entertaining an order of monks can be. Haunting in the best way.
New York Times Book Review
"How do you create suspense?... That’s the defining strategy of The Searcher, as Simon Toyne holds information tantalizingly out of reach over the course of his wild, mysterious novel… Toyne grabs our attention, and he keeps it… The book moves so swiftly in part because it’s told roughly in the span of a day…the stakes escalating while mysteries pile on top of mysteries… I read it in a two-day fever.
Tess Gerritsen
"There are times when I read another author’s novel and it’s so darn good I just want to put down my own pen and retire because I can’t match it. This is that book. I was riveted, flummoxed, and completely captivated by these fascinating characters."
Jeffery Deaver
"A stunning novel! Part wily procedural, part relentless psychological thriller, Dark Objects will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. And what a masterful voice, Toyne brings to his fiction."
Gregg Hurwitz on The Boy Who Saw
Simon Toyne is one of my favorites, bringing a lean muscularity and textured richness to his thrillers. He has an eye for the unusual and the unsettling, shading his stories with moral complexity while never letting his foot off the pedal. In Solomon Creed, he’s created a hero for the ages. A word of warning: if you have anything else to get done, don’t crack open a Toyne thriller.
Steve Berry on The Searcher
Not a dull page to be found anywhere. A thriller gem. Simon Toyne is a first class talent, speeding in the fast lane to the top of the genre.
Greg Iles
"Top-shelf writers aren’t made—they’re born, and you can tell in two pages when you’ve found one. Simon Toyne has got the gift, and The Searcher proves it—his imagery, his language, and the cool mystery surrounding Solomon Creed and where he’s going. I think you’ll love this one.
M. W. Craven
"Simon Toyne...really has outdone himself with Dark Objects. It’s intelligent, insanely paced and brimming with fresh ideas – I doubt I’ll read a better book this year."
Tessa Gerritsen
"There are times when I read another author’s novel and it’s so darn good I just want to put down my own pen and retire because I can’t match it. This is that book. I was riveted, flummoxed, and completely captivated by these fascinating characters."
Booklist (starred review) on The Key
If you like your secrets deeply hidden and your action breakneck, then Toyne’s sophomore thriller is just the ticket.... As in his debut, Toyne delivers a gripping, intricate story of religious and political intrigue that's sweeping yet somehow intimate and very personal. Wow.
Brad Meltzer on Sanctus
When you read Sanctus, you’ll see just how frightening, ruthless and relentlessly entertaining an order of monks can be. Haunting in the best way.
Library Journal
12/01/2021
In Barclay's Take Your Breath Away, Andrew Mason is suspected of murdering wife Brie after she disappears, and further complications arise when someone resembling her shows up at the couple's old address before vanishing again (100,000-copy first printing). First seen in Brown's 2021 New York Times best seller, Arctic Storm Rising, former U.S. Air Force officer Nick Flynn now faces a Countdown to Midnight, with Midnight the code name for a secret project between Russia and Iran involving a lethal new weapon (125,000-copy first printing). In Burke's Every Cloak Rolled in Blood, novelist Aaron Holland is guided by the ghost of his recently deceased daughter when his do-gooding efforts draw him into a shady crowd that includes a former Klansman, a not-so-saintly minister, some scary fake-evangelical bikers, and a murderer (100,000-copy first printing). In Carr's In the Blood, a Mossad operative known to former Navy SEAL James Reece is killed in a plane explosion (she herself had just completed a targeted assassination), but searching for the culprit might mean walking into a trap (200,000-copy first printing). In Horowitz's third James Bond outing, as yet Untitled, 007 is starting to question his role as the Cold War wears on but agrees to act as a double agent so that he can infiltrate a newly hatched Soviet intelligence organization (50,000-copy first printing). Unfolding 15 years after events in Iles's "Natchez Burning" trilogy, Southern Man reintroduces Penn Cage, back in action as shots fired at a Bienville music festival nearly kill his daughter, a militant Black group takes responsibility for the torching of antebellum mansions, and a close friend is shot to death by a county deputy (200,000-copy first printing). Her career stumbling, lawyer Nicole Muller gladly complies when she's asked by the exclusive women's professional group Panthera Leo to Please Join Us, but as author McKenzie soon reveals, membership comes at a price (60,000-copy first printing). Demoted from the elite Hawks police unit for being too keen on uncovering state corruption, Meyer's stalwart detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido await transfer from Cape Town to dull duty in Stellenbosch when an anonymous warning and a missing-student assignment reveal that The Dark Flood of corruption they knew was there is worse than they imagined. On a business trip with her new, much younger husband, Pavone's latest heroine, Ariel Price, can't enjoy her Two Nights in Lisbon; she awakens one morning to find her spouse missing and begins to realize that she hardly knows him (200,000-copy first printing). Edgar-nominated for The Impossible Fortress and also the editor behind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Rekulak returns with Hidden Pictures, featuring a nanny whose five-year-old charge draws increasingly creepy and sophisticated pictures (shown in the text) hinting at a long-ago murder (250,000-copy first printing). A woman lies murdered, surrounded by Dark Objects that include the book How To Process a Murder by forensics expert Laughton Rees, who's of course immediately called to the scene; the latest from "Sanctus" author Toyne (50,000-copy first printing).
