7 Of This Year’s Most Riveting Mystery Novels

The three main characters in Macmillan’s third thriller flit across the book’s first three pages, to devastating effect. First come Noah and Abdi, 15-year-old best friends, the former chased by the latter after dark in a Bristol scrapyard and ultimately pleading — for what? — when they reach the edge of the canal that runs through the city like a “black ribbon.” And then comes Detective Inspector Jim Clemo, who kisses his therapist at the end of his last mandatory session — maybe because he’s so happy to be out of there, or maybe because her slim elegance makes him forget himself… In any case, you’re hooked.