Historical Suspense. In 1954, criminals had the run of Phenix City, Alabama, both on the streets and in the government. It took the murder of the recently elected crime-busting attorney general to get the town's anti-vice citizens to band together to bring the law back to Phenix City. Led by the AG's son and his friend, family man Lamar Murphy, the townspeople must take on brothel madams, professional gamblers, and corrupt cops. Challenging the underworld is always a dangerous proposition, but what adds extra oomph to this gripping story is the fact that it's based on real events.

Literary Thriller. Chaz Wilmot is by all accounts a very talented painter whose style is comparable to the Old Masters. When he's asked to restore--or perhaps reproduce--a ceiling painted by an 18th-century artist, he jumps at the chance, but soon finds his grip on reality slipping. Is he going crazy--or is someone trying to make him think he is? Or is he truly remembering events from the 17th-century life of another painter? Does the drug trial he's participating in have anything to do with it? For the answers to these questions--and more--check out author Michael Gruber's latest, a tale that is "fast, frightening and, as usual, richly imagined" (Kirkus Reviews).

Thriller. Jin Li is a beautiful, reticent Chinese immigrant to America who supervises a successful office-cleaning and paper-shredding operation, which she uses as a front to steal sensitive information that she then passes on to her brother in China. But it seems that someone has discovered what she's up to and is determined to stop her. After two of her employees are killed in an absolutely horrific way, she goes on the run, and her ex-boyfriend, a former fireman, has to find her--or else. Too bad he has absolutely no idea where she is. The New York Times calls The Finder a "chilling, high-speed roller coaster of a ride."

Suspense Fiction. During a Civil War reenactment in Mississippi, Minnesotan Paul Edin is killed by a sniper's stray bullet, though his death is ruled an accident. Prompted by Paul's widow (who also happens to be his own ex-lover), news photographer and former cop John Rane travels to Mississippi to team up with the intended victim, Deputy Sheriff Kenny Beeman, and find the sniper. They are immediately drawn into a mess of feuding families; the upcoming reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh could very well be as fatal for its participants as the original battle. If you've got the slightest interest in the Civil War, you won't want to miss this thrilling tale.

Adventure. This sequel to The Queen Jade finds bookstore owner Lola Sanchez swept up in the adventure of her life when she comes across a centuries-old document that contains clues to the location of Montezuma's stolen gold. That Lola's famous archaeologist father died seeking the treasure just adds more fuel to the fire, so off she goes on a fast-paced race across Italy, solving riddles and staying one step ahead of other, more dangerous treasure seekers. She's aided in her search by her fiancé and other family members, making for an "entertaining adventure" (Publishers Weekly).

Historical Suspense. Detective Zeke Bannon is recuperating from wounds received in World War II when he is handed the tantalizing file of a murder he and his partner dealt with in the days before the war. The victim, a quiet widow who had been electrocuted in her bathtub, had been receiving substantial anonymous checks each month, had nearly $100K in the bank--and had no history prior to 1924. Cutting between the present (1945), the time of the murder (1941), and the long-buried past (1900), Zeke and his partner, Ski Agassi, find themselves digging through the sinful early days of shantytown Eureka, California. A combination of mystery, political intrigue, and long-kept secrets will keep you turning the pages long past bedtime.

Psychological Suspense. Bobby Dodge, a sniper with the Massachusetts State Police, is used to dangerous situations, and when he shoots and kills an armed man threatening his wife and child, people understand that he did what was necessary. But as he and others look more closely into the death of Jimmy Gagnon, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. Jimmy's beautiful widow, Catherine, has a terrible past, a son who's often sick, and a powerful father-in-law who blames her--and Bobby--for his son's death. Soon Bobby is being accused of murder, Catherine's past has come back to haunt her, and it's unclear just who is manipulating whom, making for a tense, terrifying read.

Suspense Fiction. "Dreams don't just get crushed in L.A., Simone. They crush you." These slightly overdramatic words come from aspiring journalist Simone Glass' older sister, and though at first Simone brushes them off, after arriving in L.A. she starts to wonder if her annoyingly perfect sister might not be right. Finally finding employment with a bottom-feeding tabloid, Simone sets out to dig through celebrity trash (literally) but ends up catching the eye of a serial killer preying on Hollywood's female stars. If you're looking for a fun, suspenseful read with all the juicy glee of a supermarket tabloid, look no farther than this entertaining tale.

Legal Thriller. Now working solo after leaving a prestigious law firm, Boston lawyer Scott Finn (first seen in Dark Harbor) has been asked to do some pro bono work for an illegal El Salvadoran immigrant who has spent the last 15 years in prison for a crime he may not have committed. True, Vincente Salazar has ties to a South American gang, but when a lawyer connected to the case is brutally murdered, Finn and his cohorts are convinced that Salazar is as innocent as he claims to be. So who set him up--and why? And why are the police being so obstructive? Check out this clever story to find out.

Historical Thriller. Not long after the end of World War II, former war crimes investigator Adam Miller arrives in Venice, where his mother continues to live the grand life of a wealthy American expatriate. But although Venice was physically untouched by war, the city, its politics, and its denizens remain unsettled, and Adam himself cannot let things rest when he begins to suspect that his mother's enigmatic new beau is hiding something. Soon enough, somebody dies, and Adam finds himself in the thorniest of moral dilemmas. Add in a haunting love story and some evocative writing, and you have a tale that is truly atmospheric.

Police Thriller. In Michael Robotham's 2nd book featuring psychologist Joe O'Loughlin and Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz, it is Ruiz who is under suspicion after he wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how he got there--or of anything that occurred in the preceding week. As Ruiz relies on O'Loughlin to help him restore his memory, he learns that he had been investigating the three-year-old closed case of a missing girl whose death has been pinned on a sex offender, but things really start to heat up when he discovers £2,000,000 in diamonds--a ransom apparently paid by the girl's gangster father. With "top-notch pacing, plot, and characters" (Booklist), this is one thriller you won't want to miss.