If You like Mystery and Suspense, You'll Love Michael Robotham

Australian author Michael Robotham has published two of the best mystery/psychological thriller novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading. His third book, due out in the US in June, should be just as enjoyable.

I'll admit, I caught onto Robotham only recently. I am a readers' advisor for the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library, and as part of my job, I help determine how many copies of braille and cassette books produced by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH) we want to receive. Also, being blind myself, I have to wait until a book becomes available in either an audio or braille format before I can get my hands on it. I recall thinking to myself when I first saw "Suspect", Robotham's first novel, on our copy allotment, that it definitely looked like something I'd want to read. Recently, both Suspect and Lost (also published as Drowning Man) were made available via NLS's Web Braille program, a service which allows users to download braille books to portable braille devices or to their computers, similar to your public library's ebook programs. After reading both novels, I have to say that Michael Robotham is the best non-British writer of British-setting mysteries since Elizabeth George and her Inspector Thomas Lynley series.

Robotham has done something fairly unique in his novels. Though the players are basically the same in both Suspect and Lost, he changes the protagonist/narrator from one book to the next, and will also be doing the same with his upcoming release, The Night Ferry. Many mystery fans and publishers tned to enjoy reading books in a series, but Robotham wanted to create stand-alone novels, so that a reader could pick any of them up and start with later material, and not feel lost as to what's happening in the book. With these books, Michael Robotham has satisfied both his desire to write stand-alone novels and the mystery readers' desire to follow a set of characters through a series.

In Suspect, published in 2002, our main character is London psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin. The book tells his story, starting with his learning that he has a debilitating, terminal illness. Then, he is asked by Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz to help him analyze a murder and come up with a profile of who they might be looking for. Unfortunately for O'Loughlin, it turns out he knows the victim. Through a bizarre set of circumstances, Joseph finds himself accused of murder, and trying to find out who the real killer is before the Crown Prosecutors can charge him with the crime. All the while, he's dealing with his illness, trying to hide the true nature of it from his family, and hiding a secret that nearly destroys his marriage. It's a great mix of mystery, suspense, and psychological thriller. The book is very fast-paced, and leaves the reader wanting more.

In Lost (or, The Drowning Man), the narrator is Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz. The book starts with Ruiz having been shot, being pulled out of the Thames. He wakes up in a hospital after several days with no memory of the past several months, and no memory of why he's investigating a 3-year-old kidnapping case, in which a suspect is already serving a prison sentence for kidnapping and murder. But, is the kidnapped girl really dead? No body has been found. Ruiz enlists the help of Joseph O'Loughlin to regain his memory and piece together the events of the last few months, and why he was shot in the leg and found in the river. Between O'Loughlin and Ruiz's partner, Alisha (Ali) Barba, they help piece the inspector's memory back together. Though forced to turn in his badge, Ruiz conducts his own investigation despite threats of arrest and forced resignation. In the end, not only does Ruiz solve the case, but events help him to change his relationships with his own mother and adult children. Again, like Suspect, Lost is a great read.

In his upcoming novel, Robotham has said on his website that Alisha will be the narrator/main protagonist. It'll be interesting to see how he continues to develop these characters, and to see what new directions he may go in when and if he gets tired of this series. Keep your eye on this guy; we can expect great literature to come.