Publisher: Minotaur Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/07/2012
ISBN-13: 9780312619787
ISBN-10: 0312619782

Thriller. In this 5th installment of the series featuring Archie Sheridan (and serial killer Gretchen Lowell), the Portland detective is having some success with his struggle to move past his traumatic encounters with "the Beauty Killer," who's back behind bars. But during his investigation of a series of murders involving brutally tortured victims, he learns that Gretchen may have a connection to the case -- one he could never imagine. Without giving anything away, let's just say that this full-steam-ahead entry offers insight into Gretchen's history and continues to add new twists to the dynamic between her and her favorite victim, Archie.

First Chapter  

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/07/2012
ISBN-13: 9780312591335
ISBN-10: 0312591330

Spy Fiction. When the newly appointed Chief of MI6 -- Amelia Levene, the first woman ever to take the post -- disappears just before taking office, disgraced former MI6 officer Thomas Kell is offered a chance to redeem his career by conducting a discreet operation to find her. He accepts, not expecting that in the course of his search he'll unearth a shocking conspiracy. Author Charles Cumming is known for a vast insider's knowledge of spycraft, well-crafted prose that's on the literary side, and engaging, intricate plots; A Foreign Country offers all of these plus lead characters who make realistic, if sometimes flawed, choices.

Publisher: Little, Brown
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/07/2012
ISBN-13: 9780316122610
ISBN-10: 0316122610

Suspense Fiction. In Chambers, Ohio, two very different brothers, estranged since their sister's abduction and murder when they were teens nearly 20 years ago, are forced into a reunion when another teenage girl is killed. While Kent is the well-respected coach of a winning football team, Adam is a bail bondsman, and the guilt-ridden, unwitting cause of both his sister's death and the more recent murder. His desire to find -- and kill -- the person responsible for the latter may push him over the edge he already teeters near. Like John Hart's Iron House, this is a "compulsively readable" (Kirkus Reviews) novel about brothers, family ties, and morality.

Publisher: Hyperion
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/17/2012
ISBN-13: 9781401324575
ISBN-10: 1401324576

Legal Thriller. It's 1976, and assistant D.A. Dani Fox is her jurisdiction's only female attorney. During the next two years, she works to put child molesters and rapists behind bars, her take-no-prisoners style frequently earning the enmity of the male-dominated police force and even her own department. Nevertheless, she's soon the head of the new Domestic Violence unit, where she takes on the case of Carmen Gonzalez, whose father, a respected pillar of the community, is also a cocaine dealer and a rapist. Debut author Jeanine Pirro has a similar background to her star, allowing for realistic scenes and a fascinating look at the progress of women's rights in the 1970s.

Table of Contents  

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 07/19/2012
ISBN-13: 9780399158469
ISBN-10: 0399158464

Military Thriller. In the aftermath of a terrible earthquake in Afghanistan, American aid workers immediately get to work doing what they can. But an offshoot of the Taliban is attacking not only the aid workers but also anyone who accepts their help -- and kidnapping children to use them as suicide bombers. Joining fellow troops, Air Force adviser Lieutenant Colonel Michael Parson and his interpreter, Sergeant Major Sophia Gold, devise a plan to stop them. As a war veteran, author Thomas Young offers military details and well-depicted battles as well as great characters and smooth prose. This is the 3rd thriller to star Parson and Gold and should appeal to fans of Larry Bond.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Soho
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/01/2010
ISBN-13: 9781569476406
ISBN-10: 1569476403

Thriller. Living on the edge of a Chinese city in a decaying high rise, Iraq war veteran Ellie Cooper has created an aimless sort of life for herself after catching her husband in bed with another woman. Though self-medicating with Percocet, she's in a relationship (of sorts) with a Chinese artist. But when a chance encounter with one of his acquaintances, Uighur fugitive Hashim, drops her down a rabbit hole of conspiracies, the emotionally damaged Ellie flees Chinese and American agencies alike as she attempts to learn who can be trusted among the artists and operatives claiming to be on her side. Her use of an online role-playing game as a trusted form of communication adds an extra element of interest to this tense, intriguing debut.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Grand Central
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/08/2010
ISBN-13: 9780446580830
ISBN-10: 044658083X

Thriller. In this sequel to the bestselling The Lion's Game, Libyan terrorist Asad Khalil, known as "The Lion," has returned to the U.S. to take care of unfinished business. Meanwhile, his former hunters, NYPD cop turned anti-terrorist agent John Corey and his FBI trainer, Kate Mayfield, have gotten married -- and are hot on his trail, with Corey especially eager for a confrontation. Combining terrifically gripping action scenes (Khalil's entry into the U.S. is one to remember) with the terrorist's ruthless attacks, this fast-paced thriller is the 5th and most recent of the John Corey novels, but a new one, The Panther, is due out in October.

First Chapter  

Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/17/2009
ISBN-13: 9780061650727
ISBN-10: 0061650722

Supernatural Thriller. This 3rd and final entry in the Jimmy Paz trilogy finds the former homicide detective cooking in his mom's restaurant when the Miami cops ask him to figure out who (or what) is behind a series of strange killings that appear to have been committed by a giant jaguar. Meanwhile, a Colombian shaman has made his way (1,000 miles by canoe, then on a freighter) to Miami in order to protect his tribe's rainforest, under threat by Miami businessmen. What's the connection? The spirit animal of the shaman, Moie (one of the most interesting characters in this book), is a giant jaguar. Mixing spiritualism, Santeria, and the scary, symbol-laden dreams of both Paz and his daughter, this "highly entertaining" (Publishers Weekly) thriller offers an intriguing take on the genre.

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/13/2011
ISBN-13: 9780307595874
ISBN-10: 0307595870

Suspense Fiction. If you like your crime fiction dark and gloomy, with haunted, morose protagonists (think Henning Mankell's now-complete Kurt Wallander mysteries or Steig Larsson's trilogy), you shouldn't be missing out on recovering alcoholic Harry Hole, an Oslo detective currently drowning his sorrows in opium and Scotch in Hong Kong. Lured home by his father's ill health, Hole reluctantly gets involved in a search for yet another disturbed serial killer while also dealing with interdepartmental politics and his own internal struggles. Intricately plotted with plenty of red herrings and false starts, The Leopard, like the rest in this "consistently superior" (Booklist) series, is a winner.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Dutton
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/10/2012
ISBN-13: 9780525952572
ISBN-10: 0525952578

Thriller. In this penultimate Charlie Hood novel, the L.A. sheriff is called upon by a corrupt deputy whose songwriter wife, Erin, has been kidnapped by a Mexican drug lord (a rival to the one the deputy's been working for). The ransom is one million U.S. dollars and a narcocorrido, or folk ballad glorifying the outlaw's crimes, written by Erin. If these demands are not met, she will be skinned alive. Forming a tense partnership, Hood and the corrupt deputy enter the Yucatan to rescue Erin, but their journey is complicated by lepers and priests, natural disasters, a menagerie of wildlife (including a jaguar), and armored convoys.