New and Recently Released!

Interred with Their Bones: A Novel - by Jennifer Lee Carrell

Publisher: Dutton
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/20/2007
ISBN: 9780525949701
ISBN-10: 0525949704

Literary Thriller. Kate Stanley is directing Hamlet at the Globe theater when old friend and advisor Rosalind Howard drops by to give her a mysterious box; when Rosalind is murdered in the same way as Hamlet's father, the contents of the box compel Kate to discover Roz's killer, a lost Shakespearean play, and the truth behind the master playwright's identity. Meanwhile, victims continue to pile up, each killed in a way that mimics a Shakespearean death. This debut (which The New York Times calls "feverishly paced") is sure to appeal to fans of the Da Vinci Code and Shakespeare scholars alike.

Dance with the Dragon - by David Hagberg

Publisher: Forge
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/18/2007
ISBN: 9780765308344
ISBN-10: 0765308347

Spy Fiction. In his 10th appearance, ex-CIA director Kirk McGarvey has his hands full with ruthless killers and double crosses when the body of a CIA agent is discovered at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. The agent's last known operation had something to do with the Chinese, but no one seems to know what he was looking for--or why he was killed--and it's up to Kirk to prevent disaster on U.S. soil. More than one reviewer has noted that author David Hagberg is known for his prescience when it comes to terrorist attacks, so if you're looking for something to truly keep yourself up at night, try Dance with the Dragon.

Dexter in the Dark: A Novel - by Jeff Lindsay

Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/18/2007
ISBN: 9780385518338
ISBN-10: 0385518331

Thriller. For those new to Dexter Morgan, he's a forensic pathologist based in South Florida. Of course, he's also a serial killer--but he only preys on those who deserve it (i.e., other serial killers). Those familiar with Dexter and his "Dark Passenger," the homicidal inner voice that directs him, will understand just how unsettling it is when Dexter's death-dealing guide deserts him at the scene of a murder. Something more evil has driven it away, and now Dexter must stay alive and find his mojo--and get married and raise his stepchildren to be just like him. This 3rd entry in the series is "perversely enjoyable" (Booklist).

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Flawless - by Joshua Spanogle

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/28/2007
ISBN: 9780385338547
ISBN-10: 0385338546

Medical Thriller. In Isolation Ward, Dr. Nate McCormick was up against a viral outbreak; now, in Flawless, he's facing something worse. Women are dying of a disease that gives them horribly disfiguring facial tumors--but they are being murdered before they can attract anyone's attention. Who's trying to keep this disease secret? And what's causing it? Nate, who's unemployed and in the midst of a failing relationship with the woman he moved West for, gets ever more deeply involved after an old friend is murdered. With "well-drawn characters, a smart story, plenty of suspense, and even a little commentary on the nature of the medical profession" (Booklist), fans of medical thrillers will be well pleased.

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If You Like: James Patterson

Whether it's a standalone title or part of a series, James Patterson's novels of hard-edged suspense are often fast-paced and violent. They're also compulsively readable, with the action starting on the first page and rarely letting up. While Patterson often features details of both the criminal and his (or her) activities as well as police procedures--letting us see into the minds of both the good guys and the bad guys--he also brings in some element of social or racial tension, or a moral issue upon which the story hinges. Patterson's latest, Double Cross, has a mid-November publication date--if you're waiting for a chance to read it, try one of the following suggestions in the meantime.

Pyro: A Novel of Suspense - by Earl Emerson

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 4/26/2005
ISBN: 9780345462893
ISBN-10: 0345462890

Thriller. What Patterson does with investigative detail, author Earl Emerson does with fire-fighting in this fast-paced, suspenseful story of a man's search for himself. Lieutenant Paul Wollf is still tormented by his childhood--his father died in a fire, his mother was killed, and his brother was imprisoned. When his Seattle fire department begins fighting a series of deliberately set fires, he investigates a pattern in the fire locations that leads him to discover that he himself is being targeted--and that the pyromaniac may be the very one who caused Paul's father's death. "Everything works in this engrossing story," says Kirkus Reviews.

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Dark Horse - by Tami Hoag

Publisher: Bantam Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 6/1/2004
ISBN: 9780553583571
ISBN-10: 0553583573

Thriller. Like Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, which features four women involved in law enforcement or journalism who investigate crimes, Dark Horse stars ex-cop Elena Estes, an outcast after her actions cost a fellow officer in the Palm Beach County sheriff's office his life. Seeking refuge in rural Florida, she agrees to help search for a young girl's missing sister, and ends up deep in the muck of ruthless international equestrian competitions. Dick Francis fans will also find much to like in this behind-the-scenes look at another angle of horse-related crime.

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Rules of Prey - by John Sandford

Publisher: Berkley Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/2/2005
ISBN: 9780425205815
ISBN-10: 0425205819

Thriller. Like Patterson's Alex Cross novels, John Sandford's Prey series emphasizes suspense with a hard edge to it, along with graphically portrayed violence, quick pacing, a menacing atmosphere, and a mystery to solve. In Rules of Prey, the 1st in the series starring computer war-game designer and police lieutenant Lucas Davenport, Davenport is determined to track down a diabolically clever serial killer who carefully selects his female victims and taunts the police with notes signed "Maddog." "Irresistibly readable," says Publishers Weekly.

Derailed - by James Siegel

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/1/2004
ISBN: 9780446613729
ISBN-10: 044661372X

Thriller. Before it was a blockbuster movie, Derailed was a riveting book that mixed narrative points of view and moved its lead, ad man Charles Schine, from a normal middle-class life to one that goes nightmarishly bad--fast. As the story twists and turns, the pacing takes off, which will please Patterson fans (Publishers Weekly notes that Siegel "seems to have learned at his feet") and many others as well. In addition, Siegel uses a similar writing style--short chapters and paragraphs--to keep the tension high.

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Focus on: Road Trips

Mad River Road - by Joy Fielding

Publisher: Atria Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1/3/2006
ISBN: 9780743488020
ISBN-10: 0743488024

Suspense Fiction. While single mothers Lily and Emma are trying to start new lives in Dayton, Ohio, flighty Jamie is in Florida, chafing under the thumb of her perfectionist sister. But when Jamie takes off on a cross-country road trip with a seductive man she meets in a bar, it's more than just one more reckless decision in a lifetime full of them--it might mean the end of her life, as well as the end of Lily, Emma, and their sons. The trip to Mad River Road is "packed with breathless twists and turns" (Publishers Weekly) as Jamie's attraction turns inexorably to terror and three women unknown to each other are brought together under the worst circumstances.

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No Man's Land - by G.M. Ford

Publisher: Avon Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 7/1/2006
ISBN: 9780060554842
ISBN-10: 0060554843

Thriller. Prison inmate Timothy Driver has taken control of a maximum security prison, has released the other prisoners, and is holding 163 guards and workers hostage. He's going to kill one every six hours until crime writer Frank Corso, who once wrote a sympathetic portrayal of this stone-hearted killer, is delivered to him. When Frank agrees to negotiate, and as troops attempt to retake the prison, Timothy escapes along with one murderous companion--and with Frank, who is towed along on a cross-country killing spree. The action in this 5th thriller featuring Frank Corso is utterly unpredictable.

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Dirty White Boys - by Stephen Hunter

Publisher: Island Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/1/1995
ISBN: 9780440221791
ISBN-10: 044022179X

Thriller. After killing a black inmate, sadistic Lamar Pye flees Oklahoma's McAlester State Pen and embarks on a bloody flight across the Southwest. He's accompanied by his retarded giant of a cousin Odell (who lives for Lamar) and artist-turned-felon Richard Peed (who was allowed to live by Lamar, who likes his 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.

Dead Run - by P.J. Tracy

Publisher: Signet
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 4/4/2006
ISBN: 9780451218155
ISBN-10: 0451218159

Thriller. As Monkeewrench computer company employees Grace MacBride and Annie Belinsky and Sheriff's Deputy Sharon Mueller are taking the scenic route from Minneapolis to Green Bay, their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Out of cell phone range, they walk into the nearby hamlet of Four Corners to find the place completely deserted--though the cafe still smells strongly of recent cooking. What they don't know might kill them--an extremist paramilitary group has surrounded the town, bent on keeping what happened there a secret...

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