Publisher: Harper
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/17/2012
ISBN-13: 9780061876769
ISBN-10: 0061876763

Spy Fiction. Enthusiastically referred to as "as express-train read" by Booklist, Waiting for Sunrise is the curious story of Lysander Rief, a young English actor who travels to Vienna in search of Sigmund Freud's talking cure for a problem of a sexual nature. But he also begins an affair with beautiful Hettie Bull, who eventually accuses him (falsely) of rape. Thanks to British diplomats, he avoids punishment but is instead forcibly recruited into deadly spy missions, which has him trusting no one as World War I erupts around him. Author William Boyd is deservedly praised for his historical accuracy and atmospheric writing; you'll want to try this if tales of derring-do in WWI-era Europe intrigue you.

Publisher: Forge
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/27/2012
ISBN-13: 9780765327376
ISBN-10: 0765327376

Thriller. Coauthored by a retired U.S. Senator and a bestselling novelist, Blowout offers a premise that could come straight from a newspaper headline, for it starts with climate-change science and the search for clean energy before adding in the potential collapse of the U.S. economy, a mercenary for hire, a battle for supremacy, and non-stop action. Pitting bad guys (greedy businessmen who benefit from the country's oil dependence) against good (scientists, military men, and ordinary people), this hard-hitting novel is a fascinating counterpoint to the similarly energy-themed Darkness Falls by Kyle Mills.

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Publisher: Ecco
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/20/2012
ISBN-13: 9780062088086
ISBN-10: 0062088084

Spy Fiction. Having lost Afghanistan and watched the U.S.S.R. collapse, certain factions in Russia don't want to let Ukraine remain independent and plan to "repossess" it by destabilizing the country politically. Working at cross purposes are the blind Russian spy of the title and former KGB agent Anna Resnikov, now with a commercial firm called Cougar Intelligence Applications, which has more in common with the CIA than just its acronym. Written by the pseudonymous Alex Dryden, who displays a wealth of familiarity with Russian landmarks and skill with an intricate plot, this thriller will appeal to fans of Resnikov's appearance in earlier books and to spy fiction fans in general.

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/29/2012
ISBN-13: 9780399157899
ISBN-10: 0399157891

Thriller. Friends and recent college graduates Pender, Sawyer, Mouse, and Marie are finding that the U.S. job market offers little in the way of actual jobs, so when one of them jokes about making money by kidnapping wealthy men for ransom, they consider it seriously. And for a while things go very well indeed -- until they abduct the wrong target and capture not only the attention of the Minnesota state cops and the FBI, but also a vengeful organized-crime ring. Praised for its breakneck pace, intriguing premise, and fully realized and sympathetic characters, this debut will be followed by at least two more starring the Minnesota cop and the FBI agent hot on the trail of Pender and friends.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/02/2011
ISBN-13: 9780312573539
ISBN-10: 0312573537

Suspense Fiction. Four years ago, best friends Nicky Horn and Patrick Hanratty went on a disastrous rock-climbing expedition on Alaska's Anarchy Ridge. Only Nicky survived, and he's been plagued with guilt ever since. He's also been avoiding the hitman Patrick's father hired, until one night when they come face to face outside Nicky's apartment. At the last moment, he's rescued by a wealthy stranger, Robert McKendrick, who whisks him off to safety in a fortified English country castle. But that's when the real story starts, for who is McKendrick and what does he really want from Nicky? For more of the thrills and chills of a dangerous rock climbing adventures, try Jeff Long's suspenseful The Wall.

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Publisher: Bantam Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/09/2011
ISBN-13: 9780553807189
ISBN-10: 0553807188

Suspense Fiction. Both devastated and baffled when his wife, who never drove under the influence, dies in a drunk-driving accident that she allegedly caused, Glen Garber is desperate to find answers. His construction company, hard hit by the recession, is struggling, and he's got an eight-year-old daughter to care for, but the inconsistencies in his wife's death -- and her friends' curious reactions to it -- absorb him. The more he questions it, however, the more he realizes he had no idea what his wife was up to. What he finds out leads to confrontations, more deaths, and a dangerous conspiracy involving seemingly everyone he knows.

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Publisher: Penguin Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/27/2009
ISBN-13: 9780143114765
ISBN-10: 014311476X

Thriller. Samuel Carver makes a living by killing people and making their deaths look accidental -- but he's picky about what jobs he takes on. He'll only kill bad guys, so you can imagine his surprise when the accident he orchestrated in a Paris tunnel one hot August night turns out not to have killed a terrorist but the much-loved Princess Diana -- and now his handlers have hung him out to dry. While on the run, he's got to figure out why he was set up and why the princess was targeted. This "first-rate, breakneck adventure" (Kirkus Reviews) starring a likeable hired killer was the 1st in a series, and is followed by No Survivors.

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/29/2009
ISBN-13: 9780312937768
ISBN-10: 0312937768

Suspense Fiction. Well-respected physician Petros Sperelakis is comatose, the victim of a hit and run. His daughter Thea, a brilliant doctor herself in spite of her Asperger's (which makes for challenges in comprehending interpersonal dynamics), has rushed home to Boston to care for him, though two of her siblings feel he can't be helped. It's not until she figures out that he is communicating with her by the blinking of a single eyelid that she realizes that the "accident" was no accident -- and that she may be in danger herself. Because Thea's character is particularly well drawn, this novel offers both an unusual perspective and a very suspenseful plot.

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Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/15/2011
ISBN-13: 9780312598365
ISBN-10: 031259836X

Suspense Fiction. Journalist Richard Kilmer is happy with life -- he's just proposed to his girlfriend, Jen, and she's accepted. So when they are in a car accident, his first thought is of her. But she's nowhere to be found -- and that's just the beginning. Her parents' home, where they'd spent the previous night, is completely different, and the woman there claims her daughter died 20 years ago. His friends claim they never met her. So he does what any journalist would and writes a series of investigative articles that not only bring him attention but the arrival of a woman claiming to be Jen's twin sister. "Mind-boggling," says Library Journal, while Kirkus Reviews proclaims that "no one who picks up this greased-lightning account will rest till it's finished."

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Publisher: Dell
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/25/2010
ISBN-13: 9780440244455
ISBN-10: 0440244455

Psychological Suspense. If you're a Karin Slaughter fan, you'll recognize several of the characters in Undone, as she's brought together -- with "electrifying results" (Publishers Weekly) -- Dr. Sara Linton (first seen in 2001's Blindsighted), Will Trent, and Faith Mitchell, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents previously in Fractured. They meet in an Atlanta ER when a torture victim arrives after being accidentally hit by a car; when Will goes out to search for her abductor, he finds that she's not the only victim -- nor is she likely to be the last. Slaughter is known for making each of her characters thoroughly believable, and that continues to be true here; don't miss it if you're looking for a realistic, if graphic, depiction of crime-fighters and the violence they try to prevent.

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