| While Justice Sleeps by Stacey AbramsThe situation: law clerk Avery Keene has just been appointed the legal guardian of Supreme Court justice Howard Wynn, who has fallen into a coma.
What's at stake: Justice Wynn was the swing vote for a major upcoming case, and it's not long before Avery learns how far some people will go to ensure the court rules in their favor.
About the author: Politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams has previously published the nonfiction works Our Time is Now and Lead From the Outside, and eight romance novels under the pseudonym Selena Montgomery including Secrets and Lies and Hidden Sins. |
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| The Photographer by Mary Dixie CarterWhat it's about: Party photographer Delta Dawn is used to being around elite New Yorkers, but there's something about the Staub family that sticks with her after photographing 11-year-old Natalie's birthday party. Soon Delta befriends Natalie's parents Fritz and Amelia, neither of whom realize the destructive force they've just let into their lives.
For fans of: twisted, unreliable narrators and character-driven stories.
Want a taste? "People want me to photograph their children because in one photograph I'm able to give them the life they want to believe they already have." |
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| In the Company of Killers by Bryan ChristyWhat it is: a thought-provoking spy thriller, starring a flawed but introspective wildlife journalist who teams up with a CIA agent to bring down a notorious ivory smuggler.
Reviewers say: "Fans of both espionage and global crime thrillers will find a gem here" (Booklist).
About the author: Bryan Christy is an award-winning journalist best known for his work with National Geographic and his nonfiction book The Lizard King, which is being adapted into a film. |
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| Maxwell's Demon by Steven HallThe premise: Thomas Quinn's writing career isn't going great, something that would be true even if he weren't the son of Stanley Quinn, a war correspondent and poet many laud as the best writer of his generation.
The problem: Thomas has just received a voicemail message from his dad, which is troubling because Stanley has been dead for seven years.
Is it for you? Although the witty writing and intricate plotting are sure to engage all readers, the experimental structure may not be for everyone. |
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Books You Might Have Missed
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| The Safe Place by Anna DownesThe premise: Aspiring London actress Emily Proudman has just bombed an audition and lost her office temp job in the same day, but the CEO of the company makes her another offer -- to work as a housekeeper and babysitter at his family's beautiful French vacation home.
The problem: The family's quirks spark Emily's curiosity, but once she starts snooping she makes a discovery that, if revealed, might put her life in danger.
For fans of: Ruth Ware's The Turn of the Key, which also follows a domestic worker who uncovers dark truths under the surface of her employers' deceptively glamorous facade. |
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Afterlife
by Marcus Sakey
Where it's set: an alternate Chicago, populated only by those who died violently -- some of whom have learned that their power grows when they kill others.
What it's about: FBI agent Will Brody is hunting down a sniper when he's killed by a bomb; waking up in this other Chicago, he remains determined to stop the sniper, who seems to have connections to the deadly inhabitants of the afterlife.
Why you might like it: Smart writing, a powerful love story, plenty of action (and violence) and an intriguing, disturbing premise combine for a "noodle-bender of the first order" (Kirkus Reviews).
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Blood Wedding
by Pierre Lemaître; translated by Frank Wynne
Psychological Suspense. Sophie Duguet is a depressed young Parisian with a sad past and blank spots in her memory. First she can't remember where she parked her car, then she can't remember shoplifting, and now she can't remember killing the six-year-old boy she was babysitting -- though he's clearly been strangled with her own shoelace. Knowing what's in store for her, she goes on the run, creating a new identity and trying to figure out why so many bad things happen to the people around her. But about half way through Blood Wedding, another character takes over narrating, and the story gets creepier, more claustrophobic, and more depraved in a way that fans of seasoned French author Pierre Lemaître will appreciate.
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| Eddie's Boy by Thomas PerryWhat it's about: Retired mob hit man Michael Shaeffer has just survived a murder attempt, and to find out who wants him dead after years out of the business, he'll have to return to his old stomping ground and reacquaint himself with the past that he can't seem to escape.
Read it for: the balance between intricate plotting and brisk pacing; the humanity that author Thomas Perry is able to find in characters despite their morally questionable thoughts and actions.
Series alert: This is the 4th entry in the Butcher's Boy suspense series. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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