Kathy Reichs can be relied upon to deliver the sort of thrills that her fans want.  Her novels about forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan always provide a good dose of authentic forensic detail, twisty plots and an endless supply of diabolically clever serial killers for Temperance to hunt down.

In Bones Never Lie she pursues a killer of teenage girls who had previously eluded her and who had almost succeeded in killing Temperance last time they met.  The story moves quickly between North Carolina and Montreal and there is plenty of action and suspense to keep the reader interested.   There is a good final twist and Temperance is a far more engaging character than Cornwell's stodgy Kay Scarpetta.

Dishonour,  by Gabrielle Lord.  Hachette.   $29.99

Lord is the Queen of Australian crime fiction and is far ahead of recent rivals such as Katherine Howell and Kathryn Fox.

Dishonour is the start of a new series featuring Sydney detective Debra Hawkins.  Head of a new police unit targeting violence against women, Hawkins is drawn into the city's gang warfare when she tries to help a young woman who is being pressured into a planned marriage in Iraq.  At the same time she has to uncover the secrets about her father's killing 20 years ago.

Topical and compulsive reading, this is another powerful novel from Lord, who is still turning out great, meaningful crime fiction decades after the appearance of her first novel, Fortress, in 1980.

One Kick,  by Chelsea Cain.  Simon & Schuster.    $29.99

Twenty-one-year-old Kick Lannigan is a survivor.   Kidnapped at age six it took another six years before she was rescued and reunited with her family.  Determined to never be a victim again. Kick learnt how to defend herself and became an expert in shooting and martial arts.  When two children in her home town of Portland go missing in suspicious circumstances Kick is reluctantly dragged into the investigation and back into her terrifying past.

This is a rollicking, exciting novel that grabs attention from the opening pages and never relinquishes its hold.  The subject matter is very grim, and some suspension of disbelief is required, but overall this is a gripping thriller.