Terrific thrillers & tantalizing travel

Hold Tight

By Harlan Coben

Dutton, $26.95

Coben tackles a subject aimed squarely at parents who fear their kids may be venturing into dangerous territory on the Internet but are afraid to confront them directly.

That’s the situation facing Dr. Mike Baye (pronounced “bye”) and his attorney wife, Tia, when their 16-year-old son, Adam, becomes withdrawn following the suicide of a friend. Reluctantly, they resort to having spyware installed on Adam’s computer, allowing them to see every keystroke he makes and the mail he’s received.

Days later, they are alarmed by a mysterious message from an unknown sender: “Just stay quiet and all safe.” Shortly afterward, Adam disappears.

Subplots involving the Baye’s neighbors create more tension but are neatly tied up at book’s end. Coben’s books never disappoint and this one is especially first-rate.

True Evil

By Greg Iles

Scribner, $25.95

Dr. Chris Shepard, a successful surgeon, married to a beautiful woman whose son he loves and has adopted, has everything going for him, until one day FBI Special Agent Alexandra Morse walks in and informs him his wife is planning to have him murdered.

Furthermore, it seems she’ll get away with it with the help of a fanatic virologist who has developed an undetectable method of inducing cancer in unsuspecting spouses. It takes about a year for the victim to succumb to the disease, so no foul play is suspected, and it eliminates the complications of divorce and sharing wealth.

Shepard finds this so incredible he threatens to report the agent to her superiors until she presents him with convincing evidence that this is real and, in fact, was the method used to cause her sister’s death, he’s convinced. From that point on, in typical Greg Isles fashion, the action begins and never lets up until its fiery conclusion.

Compulsion

By Jonathan Kellerman

Ballantine Books, $27

Dr. Alex Delaware, “the Sherlock Holmes of the psyche,” is back in another of Kellerman’s fast moving, intricate mysteries. And when he and LAPD detective Milo Sturgis collaborate in collaring a serial killer, you can bet there’s plenty of action, mystery and the culprit, no matter how clever, will be found out.

The killer’s first victim, a tipsy young woman who runs out of gas on a lonely road, accepts a ride in a passing Bentley, one of the luxury cars preferred by the killer, and is seen no more. He next takes the life of a schoolteacher in broad daylight, followed by butchering two women in a beauty shop.

There are more twists and turns than old U.S. Highway 90, so hang on. This is a perfect beach book with pulse-pounding energy, mysterious characters and situations to keep you guessing.

Journeys of a Lifetime, 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips

By National Geographic Writers

National Geographic Books, $40

Stalwart travelers undaunted by crowded airports, planes, escalating air fares and surging gasoline prices, may find themselves leaping up from their armchairs and booking one of these fabulous trips, photographed and described by Geographic writers.

Travel from pub-crawling in Australia to the Normandy beaches in France; from the treasure trove of English gardens in Sussex and Kent, to the glaciers of Switzerland on the Glacier Express. And if you’re seeking excitement closer to home, National Geographic suggests Acadiana: with colorful pictures of boiled crayfish so real you can almost taste them; tour Avery Island’s gardens and taste the Tabasco, then find a good zydeco club.

But, then, you knew that. There’s a perfect trip for every taste.

This beautiful, oversized coffee-table book is ready to take you anywhere in the world you want to go, suggest the best ways to get there and what to do and see when you arrive. Start packing.