Thriller. In the 3rd book to feature stunning serial killer Gretchen Lowell and Archie Sheridan, the Portland detective she's got a sadistic grip on, Archie's in a mental hospital convalescing after his last interaction with Gretchen. Meanwhile, spunky reporter Susan Hunt (there's no telling what color her hair is this time around) is following the public's obsession with Gretchen, and it appears that there are copycat killers out there. Bodies--and body parts--continue to appear around the city, and it's only a matter of time before Archie and Gretchen come face to face again. Susan's fans will appreciate her larger role here, but as always, the gruesome manner in which Gretchen kills may be too much for the faint of heart.

Spy Fiction. This complex thriller unfolds not rapid-fire over the course of a couple of days, but rather over a drawn-out period of years instead. When they first meet, Anna is a KGB agent assigned to seduce her MI6 counterpart, Finn, who is fully aware of her goals. But surprisingly, they fall in love and together seek to discover--and prevent--a Russian plan that threatens the rest of the world. Narrated by the beautiful Anna, Red to Black is an "absorbing debut" (Publishers Weekly); fans of Le Carré's The Little Drummer Girl shouldn't miss it.

Legal Thriller. Lost in grief and guilt after the death of his wife and daughter, attorney Jason Kolarich has been hired by the pseudonymous "Mr. Smith" to defend his best friend from childhood, Sammy Cutler. Sammy's been charged with the murder of the man whom he believes kidnapped and killed his sister 26 years ago. But who's Mr. Smith? And why, when Jason starts to pull away from Mr. Smith's legal strategy, do things suddenly start to go wrong? With believable characters, rising tension, and dialogue that's "smart and edgy" (Booklist), The Hidden Man is sure to appeal to fans of smartly written legal thrillers. It's also reputedly the 1st in a new series by Edgar Award-winning David Ellis.

Thriller. In the 4th Dexter book, we find blood-spatter analyst (and serial-killer-with-a-manufactured-conscience) Dexter Morgan back from his honeymoon and ready to get to work catching a killer who decorates his victims with suntan lotion, beach towels, and sunglasses. Of course, for Dexter, this literally means catching--and not letting go. Dexter's mix of sociopathy and humor is irresistible--as proven by the popularity of the Showtime television show based on him--and this entry is no different: Booklist refers to him as a "lightly comic version of Hannibal Lecter" and a "genuinely memorable, disturbingly compelling antihero."

Financial Thriller. Hedge fund operator Charlie Keleman's gruesome murder took place in front of hundreds of shocked party-goers. The victim's best friend, investment expert Grove O'Rourke, is trying to help Charlie's widow figure out Charlie's financial dealings. But the more Grove digs in, and the more he uncovers, the more he realizes that Charlie had a lot of dark and dangerous secrets. And the consequences of those secrets are starting to taint Grove himself, which is just the beginning of a desperate fight to save his name--and his life. Suspenseful and well-versed in financial-speak, Top Producer is author Norb Vonnegut's debut; look for his second book to come out next year.

Thriller. Jonathan Quinn is a professional "cleaner"--after a hit, he's the one who goes in to dispose of bodies and clean up loose ends. But his latest task is to eliminate all traces of Steven Markoff, a former CIA agent and one of his best friends. Determined to do right by his friend, Quinn risks everything to find out what happened to Markoff--and to find Markoff's girlfriend Jenny, an aide to a congressman, who has disappeared. With plenty of action worldwide, lots of tradecraft, and nonstop pacing, The Deceived is every bit as good as the 1st in the series, The Cleaner. The 3rd, Shadow of Betrayal, came out earlier this year.

Psychological Suspense. It's going to be difficult to talk about this book without giving too much away, but here's the basic setup: detective Lieutenant Steve Markarian is in charge of finding the person who killed beautiful Terry Farina, despite the lack of clues conclusively pointing to murder. Steve's marriage is falling apart, and he's got a bit of an alcohol problem, but as more beautiful women die in the same peculiar manner, Steve begins to realize that not only may his own wife be a potential future victim, but that he himself may somehow be involved. Don't miss this latest from an author "who gets better with each book" (Booklist).

Psychological Suspense. Lucky Special Agent Karen Vail: the first female profiler in the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, she's been assigned the case of the incredibly creepy Dead Eyes Killer, who uses steak knives to forcibly remove his female victims' eyes. While the serial killer gets increasingly confident, Karen struggles with a personal life that threatens her investigation and her career, especially after the seventh victim points to the possibility that Karen herself might be the eighth... Look for this story to hit theaters eventually, as film rights have already been sold.

Thriller. A recently widowed Canadian Mountie retrieves a drowning girl from a river, but is unable to save her life--her dying words suggest that she and her family were murdered. A mother in California discovers that her husband, an Iraq war contractor suffering from untreated PTSD, has disappeared with their son. Then there's the Iraqi aid worker bent on revenge for the loss of her own husband and child. The three are seemingly unconnected, but they are drawn together as a terrifying plan of destruction comes into being. Heart-pounding and heart-breaking, Six Seconds will have you on the edge of your seat; readers who haven't yet discovered Canadian author Rick Mofina will be pleased to know that he is the author of several other books, the most recent of which is Vengeance Road.

Suspense Fiction. Recovering alcoholic Harry Hole, an Oslo detective, has woken up with a raging hangover and no clear memory of the previous evening, during which he'd had dinner with ex-girlfriend Anna Bethsen. When he's called to a death scene, he finds Anna dead, apparently by suicide. But Harry's gut tells him that there's foul play involved, and his investigation into her death seems to connect with a bank robbery and fatal shooting days earlier. As the complexities of the two cases deepen, Harry's in danger of being blamed for murder, and must depend on an unlikely ally for help.

Legal Thriller. Early one morning, popular Toronto radio show host Kevin Brace opens the door to his newspaper deliveryman with blood on his hands and the confession, "I killed her." But what should have been a simple case (the suspect did confess, after all, and he's refusing to talk to his lawyer) becomes more complicated when the police and lawyers involved start noticing that things don't quite add up. Readers who enjoy police procedurals or legal thrillers will enjoy this book, and those of you who are familiar with Toronto will appreciate the standout role that the city's neighborhoods and multiculturalism play. And fans are in luck--this debut is said to be the start of a series.