Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell

Publisher: Little, Brown
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/01/2009

ISBN-13: 9780316032223
ISBN-10: 0316032220

This first novel by Josh Bazell is funny, gross, violent, and profane (in almost equal measure). And it has footnotes. If you’re not bothered by the violence and can overlook what some call--always with quotation marks--“language,” you’ll find a novel--in addition to all those other qualities--that is also touching and a little bit sad. But don’t read it unless you have a strong stomach. And don’t start it late in the afternoon, because you won’t be able to put it down until you finish it, which doesn’t augur well for a productive work experience the next day. One way of describing the plot is to think of it as House meets Dexter in the world of The Godfather. At one point in the recent past, Peter Brown, born Pietro Brnwa, a young man with a checkered past, turned state’s evidence against his former friends, and was sent to college and med school as part of the Witness Protection Program. Now he’s a resident at a hospital in Manhattan. And he’s having a really, really bad day. He discovers that one of his patients is a former, shall we say, colleague (now dying under an assumed name), who threatens to make Peter’s whereabouts known to all and sundry. Great fun, rather gruesome (Jaws, anyone?) and compulsively readable.

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The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly

Publisher: Warner Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/01/2006

ISBN-13: 9780446616454
ISBN-10: 0446616451

Mickey Haller is a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter-variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands his first high-paying and possibly innocent client in years. However, what initially appears to be a straightforward case with a big money payoff swiftly becomes complicated by sinister events and a crisis of conscience for Haller.

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Gone Girl: A Novel - by Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Crown
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/05/2012

ISBN-13: 9780307588364
ISBN-10: 030758836X

Psychological Suspense. When beautiful Amy Dunne disappears from her Missouri home, it looks as if her husband Nick is to blame. But though he protests his innocence, it's clear that he's not being entirely truthful. Worse, her diary reveals a woman desperately frightened of her husband. Told from Nick's point of view -- with excerpts from Amy's diary -- Gone Girl is not only the story of a disappearance, but a truly frightening glimpse of a souring marriage. We can't say too much more without saying too much, but this isn't your standard novel -- there are slowly revealed layers you'd never have guessed at, making for a complex tale that's "compulsively readable, [and] creepily unforgettable" (Publishers Weekly).

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Bad Glass - Richard E. Gropp

Publisher: Del Rey Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2012

ISBN-13: 9780345533937
ISBN-10: 0345533933

Dark Fantasy. After Spokane is evacuated and shut down by the military, disturbing rumors and scary, leaked images of strange creatures and humans fused with inanimate objects find their way onto the Internet. Dean Walker, an aspiring photographer, sneaks into the quarantined city in search of fame. Hooking up with a group of outcasts led by a beautiful young woman named Taylor, Dean embarks on a journey to document the mystery in the ever-shifting maze of the city, while trying to hold onto his tenuous sense of reality. This debut, which received a starred review from Library Journal, has drawn comparisons to Danielewski's House of Leaves and the television show Lost.

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The Lock Artist - Steve Hamilton

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/05/2010

ISBN-13: 9780312380427
ISBN-10: 0312380429

Crime Novel. After miraculously surviving an unspeakable tragedy at the age of eight, Mike Smith stopped talking. Indeed, he hasn't said a word in almost two decades, nine years of which have been spent in prison. Writing down his history, Mike skips back and forth through time, sharing how he learned that he could pick any lock, how his special skill got him mixed up with some not-so-nice people, how he fell in love with a girl, and how he ended up in prison. The Lock Artist, by Edgar Award-winning author Steve Hamilton, will please mystery fans looking for something fresh and different.

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They're Watching - Gregg Hurwitz

Publisher: St. Martin's
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/01/2010

ISBN-13: 9780312534905
ISBN-10: 0312534906

Suspense Fiction. Screenwriter Patrick Davis was flying high after selling a screenplay, but it all went to hell when he was fired from the movie and sued by both the lead actor and the production company. His marriage isn't doing too well either. But life's about to get worse--way worse. A series of short DVDs delivered one by one to his house let him know that he and his wife have a very serious stalker--one whose actions are about to go from merely watching to directing as well. We'd rather not give anything else away--suffice it to say that They're Watching is full of scary "twists and turns and unexpected revelations" (Booklist).

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The Ridge - by Michael Koryta

Publisher: Little, Brown
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/08/2011

ISBN-13: 9780316053662
ISBN-10: 031605366X

From the lighthouse he built on top of a ridge in eastern Kentucky, a man named Wyatt French makes two rambling phone calls about murder and suicide. When Officer Kevin Kimble and journalist Roy Darmus find him dead in the lighthouse and discover old photographs and maps with names written on them, they realize Wyatt has been collecting information that relates to mysterious and deadly events in the area going back to the 19th century. After Wyatt's death, the disturbing phenomena intensify, and Kimble and Darmus find they are confronting an old evil. For another supernatural thriller by author Michael Koryta, try So Cold the River or The Cypress House.

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Split Images - Elmore Leonard

Publisher: HarperTorch
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/27/2009

ISBN-13: 9781442080966
ISBN-10: 1442080965

Quintessential Elmore Leonard (Rum Punch, filmed as Jackie Brown; Out of Sight), Split Images stars Palm Beach playboy Robbie Daniels. Robbie has discovered something that gives him even a bigger kick than his palatial homes in Detroit and Palm Beach: homicide. He’s tried it, he likes it, and he’d like to keep doing it—as often as possible—with the help of a really bad ex-cop who quit the force one step away from prison. Motown Detective Bryan Hurd strongly suspects that Daniels has been getting away with murder and figures a little Florida R&R might be an ideal way to keep a close eye on him. But Daniels has money, power, no fear, and an awesome collection of guns—and Hurd might be getting a little too close to the action. Almost all Elmore Leonard books share the same appeal: whipsmart dialogue; compelling, often morally ambiguous characters; and stylistically twisty plots.

The Straw Men - Michael Marshall

Publisher: Jove
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/01/2002

ISBN-13: 9780515134278
ISBN-10: 0515134279

Marshall's thriller is essentially two seemingly independent stories that meet in the middle. In Dyersburg, Mont., narrator Ward Hopkins, attempting to make sense of the accident that killed his parents, discovers a note and videotape that lead him to believe their lives (and deaths) were not as they appeared. Meanwhile, the abduction of 14-year-old Sarah Becker renews the search for a serial killer who scalps his victims, embroiders their names into sweaters using their hair and then delivers the clothing to the victims parents. As Ward and his CIA buddy slowly unravel the mystery surrounding Wards parents, FBI agent Nina Baynam and former LAPD homicide detective John Zandt search for the elusive killer. Their paths cross when a series of connections is made between the victims. This dark, compelling, and fast-paced thriller keeps you guessing until the end.

The Ruins - Scott Smith

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/01/2006

ISBN-13: 9781400043873
ISBN-10: 1400043875

Horror. After graduating from college, best friends Amy and Stacy (and their boyfriends Jeff and Eric) travel to Cancún, Mexico for a summer they'll never forget--that is, if they survive. On arrival, the Americans meet German tourist Mathias, whose brother Henrich is missing. Last seen heading into the jungle with a beautiful woman to join an archaeological expedition to some Mayan ruins, Henrich hasn't been heard from since...although he did leave behind a crudely drawn map. The rest of the group sets out into the wild to find him, but instead come face to face with an insidious, horrific "other." Fans should also check out Scott Smith's excellent psychological suspense novel A Simple Plan.

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