I WAS a bit taken aback when Sidney Sheldon's latest novel landed on my desk because I didn't think he was still with us.

But no, he is going strong at the grand old age of 87 - and writing better than ever.

Sheldon, whose novels include Windmills Of The Gods, If Tomorrow Comes, and The Sands Of Time, has been writing for decades, and his books have sold in the millions.

He also won an Academy Award for the screenplay of The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer in 1947.

Are You Afraid Of The Dark? (HarperCollins, £17.99) is a rollercoaster of a read, with more pace than Great Britain's Olympic gold-winning relay team. It begins with the deaths of four people in different parts of the world.

In Berlin, a woman is found dead in a hotel bath. In Paris, a man plunges from the Eiffel Tower. In Denver, a plane crashes into the mountains, killing the pilot. In Manhattan, a body washes ashore along the East River.

At first these seem to be random incidents, but the police discover that all four victims are connected to Kingsley International Group (KIG), the largest think tank in the world.

Kelly Harris and Diane Stevens, young widows of two victims, are asked to meet the boss of KIG, Tanner Kingsley, at the headquarters in New York. He assures them he is using all available resources to find out who is behind the deaths of their husbands.

Soon they realise someone is out to kill them too; but who and why?

Although wary of each other, the two widows embark on a terrifying game of cat and mouse against these unknown forces.

With twist after twist, and shock after shock, Sheldon keeps you on your toes until the last page.

His fellow compatriot, James Lee Burke, has done what few crime writers manage by creating two strong leading characters.

Louisiana Detective Dave Robicheaux is the star of 13 books, while lawyer-turned crime fighter Billy Bob Holland has four novels under his belt.

In Burke's latest, In The Moon Of The Red Ponies (Orion, £12.99), he treats us to a haunting, suspense-filled thriller set in savage Montana.

At the end of Bitterroot, the last Billy Bob Holland saga, cowboy Wyatt Dixon was jailed for 60 years for murder. Now, a year later, the man who once tortured and almost killed Holland's wife is out, due to the prosecution's failure to disclose a piece of evidence.

Dixon swears he is a reformed character who needs help in a venture to raise rodeo livestock. But how can Billy Bob believe him?

Meanwhile, one of Holland's clients, Johnny American Horse, is caught carrying a gun. He tells Holland he needs it for protection. In a dream he saw two men coming for him.

Soon Johnny is in big trouble and there is only one man he can turn to, Holland. But is our hero too busy battling against Dixon and the US government?

Filled with unforgettable heroes and villains, In The Moon Of The Red Ponies is an exceptional, intelligent and engrossing read, which puts Lee Burke at the top of the crime-writing league.

Dean Koontz has produced some of the weirdest books of all time, and he continues in that vein with The Taking (HarperCollins, £17.99), a sort of War Of The Worlds meets the book of Genesis.

Molly and Neil Sloan wake to the drumbeat of rain. Strange luminous rain. Rain which never stops. As the hours pass they hear news of extreme weather and bizarre incidents across the world.

By nightfall, the Sloans' small mountain town has lost all communication with the outside world.

The couple realise that what is happening to their community is not of this world and they are powerless to stop the invisible creatures hunting them with ruthless efficiency.

Terrifying, but brilliant. Don't read it after dark or when it's raining.

In Dark Justice (HarperCollins, £17.99), Jack Higgins reunites us with former IRA enforcer turned British Agent Sean Dillon, who works for an ultra-top secret agency.

When an assassination attempt on the US president is foiled, Dillon and his team are called in to trace the would-be killer's history. It appears the assassin is British with Muslim connections.

Fast paced and action packed, but predictable. Dillion is likeable, but he's no James Bond.

Updated: 08:47 Wednesday, September 08, 2004