Historical Noir. In 1921, silent-film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle is at the height of his career when an actress dies, apparently from injuries sustained during one of his wild, booze-fueled parties. An enormous scandal erupts, and Arbuckle is accused of murder. Young Pinkerton detective Sam Dashiell Hammett becomes responsible for sorting out fact from fiction, but in addition to an array of conflicting witness testimonies and accusations of perjury, powerfully influential William Randolph Hearst is using his paper to demand a guilty verdict. It goes without saying that if you've enjoyed Hammett's books (like The Maltese Falcon), you'll likely enjoy Ace Atkins' take on him.

Historical Thriller. In his 3rd appearance, adventurer Ethan Gage slips out of France (after seducing one of Napoleon's sisters) and heads back home to the U.S., accompanied by a Norwegian freedom fighter named Magnus Bloodhammer. Magnus is looking for an ancient and powerful Norse artifact, but the two are traveling across the unmapped Northwest (it's 1801, after all) on behalf of newly elected president Thomas Jefferson, who wants them to look for woolly mammoths and a tribe of blue-eyed Indians. Unfortunately, there are several less-than-friendly types on their trail. Booklist likens Ethan Gage to Indiana Jones; fans of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books might also see similarities in terms of action and rich historic detail, despite the latter's utter cravenness.

Police Thriller. Thirty years ago, Jonathan Stride was a teenager in love with his soon-to-be wife, Cindy Starr, when her sister Laura was murdered. Though the police determined that a transient was responsible, both Jonathan and Cindy thought it unlikely. Now himself a detective in the Duluth police force--and a widower--Jonathan's past is brought home to him when a former friend of Cindy's returns with the intent to write a book about Laura's murder. As Jonathan investigates the long-ago crime, he's forced to re-evaluate what he knows--not only about the murder, but about his relationships with his wife and his current lover, PI Serena Dial. In the Dark is the 4th book to feature Jonathan Stride.

Psychological Suspense. As a London bike messenger, Astrid Bell is used to sore muscles, but when a neighbor opens a car door at precisely the wrong moment, she gets pretty banged up. Hours later, the neighbor is beaten to death, and as other murders follow--all of which are somehow linked to Astrid--the atmosphere in her formerly friendly six-person shared London house gets increasingly tense. Narrated in the first half by Astrid and in the second by the killer, Until It's Over features suspense that "never falters" (Publishers Weekly).

Legal Thriller. If you enjoy Lisa Scottoline's Rosato & Associates series for its staff of female lawyers, you may want to check out Rose Connors and her series starring Marty Nickerson, a female attorney who, like Scottoline's lawyers, tackles seemingly impossible cases with a sense of humor. In False Testimony, the 4th in the series, Marty struggles with questions of ethics during a case involving a U.S. senator suspected in the disappearance of a female staffer and with a second client who is on trial for the murder of a priest--and who insists on defending himself. Check this one out for courtroom drama and a "plucky, energetic heroine" (Publishers Weekly).

Legal Thriller. Michael Kahn's books featuring St. Louis attorney Rachel Gold may be a bit raunchier than most of Scottoline's, but readers who don't mind that should give them a try. In this, the 7th in the series but a good place to start, Rachel takes on the case of Angela Green, a former housewife serving time for killing her husband. Though she's been hired to represent Angela in a lawsuit over proceeds from a book she's writing, the closer Rachel looks the more she begins to wonder if her client, ten years behind bars, is even guilty. With a multitude of cases on her plate and a busy personal life, Rachel Gold is sure to appeal to fans of Scottoline's female characters.

Legal Thriller. While Steve Martini's novels may feature a male attorney, they still offer the investigative details, sense of place, and desire for justice that Scottoline's fans might be looking for. In The Arraignment, the 7th of a series that now numbers nine, attorney Paul Madriani takes a case that he hopes will let him learn why a friend and colleague was gunned down in front of the courthouse. Though Madriani is based in San Diego, his search for answers takes him from California to Mexico and on to the Guatemalan border. If you want to see just how far Madriani's character has come, start at the beginning of the series, with Compelling Evidence.

Legal Thriller. If you like Lisa Scottoline's focus on female lawyers seeking justice, look no further than Perri O'Shaughnessy's series starring attorney Nina O'Reilly. Like Scottoline's novels, this series features suspenseful stories with a touch of humor and a strong sense of place. In Case of Lies, Nina O'Reilly's 11th appearance, she's returned to her South Lake Tahoe law office after a stint in Monterey and becomes caught up in a complicated two-year-old homicide case involving the murder of the wife of a new client. Publishers Weekly calls Case of Lies "the most intriguing yet"; a 12th entry, which treats readers to Nina's backstory, was published in December.

Thriller. Daniel Pell is a psychopathic killer who's just escaped from prison; Kathryn Dance is the California Bureau of Investigation interrogator and body language expert assigned to help recapture him. But Pell doesn't just want to escape--he wants to rebuild his cult, and in order to protect himself, he's going to have to kill the people who threaten his future...including the nine-year-old girl who survived the mass killing that landed Pell in jail in the first place. If you follow the Lincoln Rhyme/Amelia Sachs series, you might recognize Kathryn from an appearance in The Cold Moon, but she comes into her own here. Look out for her 2nd star turn this summer in Roadside Crosses.

Thriller. Anyone who doubts that the past indeed comes back to haunt us should read this layered thriller, in which both recent and long-ago events have repercussions. When Miami cop Charlotte Monroe realizes that the young Cherokee man visiting her husband is on the FBI's most wanted list, she calls the authorities, only to have her schizophrenic teenage daughter, Gracey, disappear soon after he takes off. As she fights to reclaim Gracey she also must face other secrets bubbling up in both her husband's past and, in the mountains of North Carolina, among the Cherokee and their neighbors.

Thriller. After killing an inmate, sadistic Lamar Pye flees Oklahoma's McAlester State Penitentiary and embarks on a bloody flight across the Southwest. He's accompanied by his retarded giant of a cousin Odell (who would do anything for Lamar) and artist-turned-felon Richard Peed (whom Lamar allowed to live because he likes Peed's crude artwork), and is pursued by Trooper Bud Pewtie (who blames himself for the death of his partner at the hands of this murderous group). Their next face-off can have only one survivor. "Powerful and gripping," says Publishers Weekly.

Suspense Fiction. It's winter on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and under cover of a snowstorm, Norman Haas simply walks away from his prison's work detail. Two frozen days later he arrives at the farmhouse of a middle-aged woman who helps him but feels bound to turn him in. After she falls in the snow and can't rise, Norman leaves her for dead and heads home, back to the people who betrayed him and into a web of family intrigue and deception. As he escapes once more with the woman he loves, dedicated Sheriff Del Maki is on his trail; things eventually come to an explosive head at an isolated cabin. Read Cold if you're looking for a "well-plotted and well-written tale fueled by a sense of impending disaster" (Booklist).