Supernatural Thriller. Like your thrills to come with a few chills? You won't want to miss this story of travel writer Michael Wolfe, who's gone to Antarctica in an attempt to let work assuage his grief over a recent personal tragedy. There's a second story in Blood and Ice, too, that of a soldier and a nurse who meet and fall in love in the mid-1850s. They too are headed to Antarctica when their ship founders and they fall overboard. But their story's not over--not by a long shot, for Michael discovers their bodies, chained together and submerged in ice, and that's when the fun really begins...

Psychological Thriller. When clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin fails to prevent a naked woman sobbing on a cell phone from jumping off a bridge to her death, he is suspicious as to why the woman--by all accounts not suicidal--would have killed herself. Though the police rule her death a suicide, O'Loughlin's suspicions about the cell phone call are proved prescient when the woman's business partner is found dead under similar circumstances. Relying on retired detective Vincent Ruiz for help, O'Loughlin races to prevent his own family from becoming the killer's next target. This is Australian author Michael Robotham's fourth novel; each features members of the Metropolitan police force, and O'Loughlin and Ruiz first appeared in Suspect.

Crime Fiction. Jack Burn fled to Cape Town, South Africa, after a bank robbery he was forced to participate in went horribly wrong and a police officer was killed. He, his pregnant wife, and their four-year-old son are settling in well until their home is broken into by gang members, whom Jack is forced to kill in order to protect his family. Since Jack's a wanted man, calling the cops is out, so he hides the bodies, which in turn puts him in the sights of a psychopathic and very corrupt cop. If you like Deon Meyer's novels, which are also set in South Africa, you're sure to appreciate Roger Smith's skill at bringing Cape Town's racial tensions and menacing underworld to life.

Spy Fiction. Six years ago, Milo Weaver (though perhaps that's not his name) was a "tourist"--a top-secret black-ops CIA agent without a life of his own; now he's got a wife, a kid, and a desk job with the CIA. But it's hard to retire for good from a career as intense as his was, and he's been drawn back into it one last time after the death of a colleague. Betrayed by both those he counts as enemies as well as by those who should be allies, Weaver goes on the run to save the life he's fought so hard to build. Though there's no word on a sequel as yet, George Clooney has apparently bought rights to the film, and plans to play the lead character.

Suspense Fiction. With a sympathetic main character (in this case, attorney Dana Hill) and a fast-moving plot, Damage Control might be a good option for fans of David Baldacci. Dana's twin troubles--breast cancer and a formerly loving husband grown distant--are thrown into perspective when her twin brother is mercilessly beaten to death in what looks like a robbery gone wrong. Dana throws herself into the investigation, sure that there's more to her brother's death than meets the eye. She's aided by a rather attractive detective, but there's a killer out there who will stop at nothing to prevent Dana from learning the truth. Nothing--and perhaps no one--is as it seems in this twisty thriller.

Legal Thriller. Like David Baldacci's, James Grippando's novels feature non-stop pacing, political intrigue, and likable characters, though Grippando's suspense fiction usually contains more violence. In When Darkness Falls, Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck's friend Theo Knight is among those taken hostage by Jack's latest client, a homeless man who was nevertheless able to come up with $10,000 in bail. Is Falcon a crazy innocent, a murderer (there is, after all, a dead body in the car he calls home), or is he part of a much bigger puzzle? And where do the mayor and his daughter fit in? Jack finds himself racing against the clock to find the answers and save his best friend's life.

Legal Thriller. If you're interested in legal and political issues, this might be the book for you. Irreverent JAG attorney Sean Drummond has been loaned out to a prestigious law firm, but it's neither a welcome nor a cushy post for the sharp-tongued lawyer. When his predecessor in the loan-out program is murdered and Drummond notices the many shady dealings that the law firm--or its clients--might be tied to, things start heating up. With a serial killer on the loose, this 4th Sean Drummond novel "matches David Baldacci for Beltway intrigue" (Booklist).

Political Thriller. FBI agent Mark Beamon is in trouble--suspended from duty and perhaps about to be prosecuted by the bureau itself, his only chance to redeem himself is to find a girl who does not want to be found. An explosive, top-secret file (containing information pertinent to the presidential candidates now running for office) has disappeared--the young man who unearthed it has been killed, and his ex-girlfriend, a world-class rock climber, is on the run from the killers. Beamon's legal troubles necessitate accepting payment to find the girl, but even if he does, who can he trust with the file? Free Fall is the 3rd in a series featuring maverick agent Mark Beamon.

Bibliothriller. If you're interested in ancient history, this thrilling tale, the 2nd to star spy-turned-bookseller Cotton Malone, might be just what you're looking for. Cotton's son has just been kidnapped by a group of men determined to force Cotton to tell them what he knows about the location of the lost library of Alexandria, the contents of which could pitch the Middle East into turmoil. Since he can't share what he knows, Cotton is forced to find and save his son on his own, while trying to figure out which higher-up in Washington is leaking top-secret information. Readers who like connections between ancient history and current events, as in The Da Vinci Code, will enjoy this rousing thriller.

Psychological Suspense. Cal Cunningham has always wanted to be a writer, but he's been spending most of his energy finding sleazy women to sleep with, then sharing tales of his escapades with his rather boring roommate, Stewart. So when Stewart dies in a bike accident and Cal finds his wonderfully written novel--about Cal's own life--submitting it to publishers under his own name doesn't really seem all that bad. Instant acclaim follows, but soon Cal learns that somebody out there knows what Cal has done, and is about to give him a very messy comeuppance. As Cal tries to save what by rights never should have been his, his story is "by turns, witty, sly, harrowing, and above all, true to life" (Booklist).

Bibliothriller. A fire in an antiquarian bookstore leads to the discovery of encrypted 17th-century letters that reveal the existence--and whereabouts--of a never-produced and completely unknown Shakespearean manuscript. The bookseller who finds the letters takes them to a professor, who places them with lawyer Jake Mishkin for safekeeping; when the professor is tortured and killed by Russian thugs, Jake takes off for England to find the manuscript himself. With double-crosses, shootouts, and a bit of romance, this is one "gripping, satisfying read" (Publishers Weekly).

Historical Thriller. In the summer of 1660, unassuming London bookseller Isaac Inchbold is offered a large sum of money to discover the whereabouts of a particular book, which is of interest to a noble lady. The manuscript, which may contain any number of secrets of interest to treasure seekers or power-hungry politicians, is also being sought by a menacing trio of men who don't particularly care about those who get in their way. An unlikely adventurer, Isaac nevertheless gets caught up in a dark conspiracy of spies, smugglers, secret codes, and forgery. Fans of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose and other literary stories will not want to miss Ex-Libris.