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Stand-Alone Thrillers

If  you would like to see a brief list of everything, by series, in strict chronological order, please click here.

 

Turncoat

"For everybody else in America it was the day JFK was killed in Dallas. For me it would always be the day Lily's father turned up on our doorstep."

So begins TURNCOAT. Until then, Pete Simon's all-American life had been everything he ever wished for: a good home, a satisfying career, and a marriage still strong and loving after nearly twenty years. But in the days following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, everything is about to change. And it begins with the appearance of a disheveled stranger at his door, an unwelcome visitor madly ranting in French about money, death, forgiveness ... and what he did or didn't do during the terrible days of the Nazi Occupation.

"One of the many joys of reading Elkins comes from sorting through his myriad plot layers. In his latest . . . Elkins masterfully weaves both back-story about his characters' lives and WWII history into a highly suspenseful plot. Elkins is best known for his fine series starring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, but he also excels at WWII-era thrillers. An outstanding novel."- Booklist (Starred Review)

Loot

April 1945: In the last convulsive days of World War II a convoy of Nazi trucks loaded with Europe's greatest art treasures winds its way through the Alps toward a cavernous Austrian salt mine. With the Allies closing in and chaos erupting, a single truck silently disappears into a mountain snowstorm with its cargo of stolen art, its greatest treasure a priceless Old Master painting by the great Diego Velasquez.. The loot vanishes and is assumed lost forever. Then, more than five decades later, the door of a seedy Boston pawnshop opens to admit a shifty, down-at-the heels Russian.  "You think you could maybe give me a hundred dollars for this?" he asks, offering a roughly wrapped old painting.... 

"A tale of greed, deception, and murder ...Elkins is a master.... In Ben Revere he has created a detective with ample knowledge of his subject as well as a conscience that drives him to an honest, satisfying conclusion."- The Dallas Morning News

"Enthralling...A fast-paced and tightly written thriller."- The Seattle Times

 
 

The Worst Thing

"The Worst Thing is an intriguing novel of suspense as well an evocative portrayal of the inner workings of a mind tormented by terror.” Jonathan Kellerman, NY Times #1 best-selling author of Mystery

:Aaron Elkins delivers a mind-bending, heart-pounding read. Count me as a lifetime member of his fan club. I'm in awe." Ridley Pearson, NY Times best-selling author of In Harm's Way

"(A) taut standalone from Edgar-winner Elkins....Elkins excels at maintaining tension throughout and in making his hero's difficulties accessible."
Publishers Weekly

"A well-calculated change of pace for normally laid-back Elkins, with mounting thrills, a heavy emphasis on self-therapy and a nice surprise at the end." Kirkus Reviews

"This is the kind of novel that gives pop-lit a good name. High energy, smart characters, classy writing, suspense, and one whopper of a surprise ending.,,,It's a joy to read."
Booklist