Publisher: Forge
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/08/2012
ISBN-13: 9780765331465
ISBN-10: 0765331462

Military Thriller. Based on plenty of research -- and eerily timed -- this exciting thriller focuses on Navy submariner Jerry Mitchell, who's to participate in a SEAL mission to extract Iranian nuclear scientists from Iran. The prevention of a disastrous war hinges on getting the information they possess to the right people in the U.S., but during the mission, something goes wrong; the submarine is essentially dead in the water, and chances of rescue are small. An "unstoppable page-turner" (Publishers Weekly), this adrenaline-fueled adventure features well-realized characters and plenty of action.

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Publisher: Little, Brown
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/08/2012
ISBN-13: 9780316129534
ISBN-10: 0316129534

Legal Thriller. Marcia Clark may originally have landed in the spotlight thanks to her role as prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial, but she's finding fame of a different sort as a successful author. In this 2nd novel starring Rachel Knight, the L.A. District Attorney teams up with Detective Bailey Keller to investigate the murder of a homeless man...only to find that it's connected to the brutal ax murder of an LAPD police officer two years earlier. Fans of legal thrillers and police procedurals will enjoy this suspenseful read, which combines interoffice politics, legal wrangling, and Rachel's own damaged past with her search for a dangerous killer.

Publisher: Oceanview
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/16/2012
ISBN-13: 9781608090389
ISBN-10: 1608090388

Suspense Fiction. After a war veteran and the son of a councilman critical of the Los Angeles police are found dead in a gang-ridden neighborhood in Venice, California, Detective Ash Levine's romantic weekend with his wife -- meant to heal a separation -- is over before it begins. Once a paratrooper in the Israeli Defense Forces, Levine's now a cop with LAPD's Special Felony Squad, and he'll likely need all his training to deal with the conspiracy surrounding the men's deaths -- and the killer on his trail. Adrenaline-pumping fights and chases share space in this novel with quieter moments, making for a "superb" (Booklist) read.

Publisher: Grand Central
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/08/2012
ISBN-13: 9780446574624
ISBN-10: 0446574627

Crime Thriller. This prequel to The Godfather, based on unproduced scripts by author Mario Puzo, continues the saga of the Corleone family as they -- and other organized crime families -- brace for the power struggles sure to be a consequence of the end of Prohibition. It's 1933, and while Don Vito Corleone is at the height of his power, he's worried about his family -- especially hotheaded Sonny, who wants in on the family business. For fans of Puzo's original novel, the release of a new book is sure to raise as much fear (will it be any good?) as excitement, so let us calm your fears: Booklist says "it channels the original so well" you'll think you're reading Puzo himself.

Bestselling author Alan Furst writes intelligent, atmospheric historical spy fiction set all over Europe during the tense period before and during World War II, from about 1933 to 1945. He features ordinary men who become reluctant heroes by dint of doing the right thing; his spare style powerfully evokes both the time and place, and while it's a dangerous time to be resisting evil, violence happens off-stage. His latest novel, Mission to Paris, is sure to have many fans; if you're waiting to get your hands on it, perhaps one of the books listed below, which share certain similarities with Furst's work, will help you pass the time.

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2008
ISBN-13: 9781569474952
ISBN-10: 1569474958

Spy Fiction. Like Alan Furst, British author David Downing writes intelligent, atmospheric spy novels that take place during World War II. For example, Zoo Station, which kicks off a series starring British journalist John Russell, is a "smooth, scary wartime thriller drenched in period atmosphere" (Kirkus Reviews). It's 1939, and Russell is in Berlin -- and trying to stay there so that he can be near his son. He's also trying to stay out of the way of the Nazis while earning a living, but a new gig writing pro-Nazi articles for the Soviets (despite his dislike of their politics) puts him squarely in the middle of a three-sided game of espionage. The 5th and latest book in the series, Lehrter Station, came out in May.

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Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/18/2010
ISBN-13: 9780399156151
ISBN-10: 0399156151

Spy Fiction. "As rich in historical atmosphere as any Alan Furst thriller" (Library Journal), this Bernie Gunther novel (the 6th of eight thus far) is set in 1954 in Havana, but events there force Bernie to relive his experiences in 1934 Berlin. Back then, as the Nazis prepared to host the 1936 Olympics, Bernie had a choice: join the Nazi party, or lose his job. He quit, and also agreed to help a beautiful American organize a U.S. boycott of the Olympic Games. Things didn't end well. And in 1954, she reappears, along with a vicious killer -- an American mobster -- from Bernie's past. If the Dead Rise Not fills in a lot of Bernie's backstory, making for a fine entree into the series; purists may want to start with March Violets.

Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/15/2011
ISBN-13: 9780374299132
ISBN-10: 0374299137

Historical Thriller. Set in 1936 in Berlin and Barcelona, this historical noir thriller is the last in a trilogy that started with Rosa. Starring former Chief Inspector Nikolai Hoffner, who's lost his elder son to the Nazi regime and has been forced out of the Kriminalpolizei for his half-Jewish heritage, it centers on Hoffner's desperate search for his younger son, a journalist who has gone missing in Spain, where civil war has broken out. While both the setting and the noir atmosphere will resonate with fans of Alan Furst, this trilogy will also appeal to readers of Paul Grossman's Willi Kraus novels.

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Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/12/2004
ISBN-13: 9780312326012
ISBN-10: 0312326017

Historical Thriller. Set in 1948 rather than the 1930s, this novel's time period doesn't match up to Alan Furst's novels, but it is still richly evocative of time and place and dramatically conveys the consequences of brutal governments -- and of doing the right thing. The Bridge of Sighs takes place in an unnamed Eastern European country recently liberated from the Germans, where hopeful, dedicated Emil Brod has just become a detective in the People's Militia. Thought to be a spy, he's given a potentially career-ending case and left to hang in the wind. If this intelligent, atmospheric debut appeals to you, there are four more in a loosely linked series.

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