Historical Suspense. In late-Victorian London, 16-year-old Jane Wilbred, the daughter of a rather notorious murderer, has just gotten a position as maid to the genteel Bentley family. But the Bentley house is no more safe or secure than the streets, for Jane's not the only one with secrets. Before long, Jane is drawn into the deceptions and manipulations of the residents both upstairs and down. The Dark Lantern features an "intricate and surprising plot" (Publishers Weekly) and an atmosphere sure to appeal to fans of historical fiction as well as classic suspense.

Spy Fiction. Freeman Lockhart is a worn-out Arabic-speaking humanitarian worker planning to retire with his wife to a peaceful Greek island. But somebody out there wants Lockhart to spy on a former colleague, a Palestinian named Omar al-Baroody, and blackmails him into agreeing. Meanwhile, halfway across the world in Washington, D.C., a Palestinian-American surgeon is plotting revenge for his daughter's death--and it's a revenge that may shake the very core of the U.S. government. Publishers Weekly says that "Freeman may be an amateur spy, but Fesperman proves once again that he’s a consummate professional."

Psychological Suspense. The students in Winchester University's class on logic and reasoning have only one assignment--to find, in six weeks, a missing girl who will otherwise be murdered. Hypothetically, of course. But three of the students come to believe that the clues given out piecemeal by their enigmatic professor are real--and that the unidentified girl is definitely in danger. As their search for the truth starts to take over their lives, Mary, Brian, and Dennis find themselves caught up in a "brilliant fictional web of lies" (Kirkus Reviews). Plenty of red herrings complicate matters and ratchet up the suspense, making for a complex, captivating read.

Legal Thriller. Attorney Charlie Bowen has disappeared, and his open cases have landed in San Francisco defense attorney Dismas Hardy's lap. One such case is the appeal of National Guard reservist Evan Scholler, who was convicted of murdering a private government contractor named Ron Nolan while both men were in Iraq. When Dismas and deputy chief of police Abe Glitsky dig into the case, they discover that not everything is as it seems. Lescroart fans will enjoy this fast-paced and timely tale of corruption and betrayal; the scenes in Iraq have been praised as "wrenchingly realistic" (Booklist).

Spy Fiction. First published in 1983, Berlin Game is the 1st in a series featuring Bernard Samson, an intelligence agent in the British Secret Service. He's been asked to help an undercover agent code-named Brahms Four, who is deep in the East Berlin banking community. Back home, however, it's apparent that the KGB has infiltrated the Secret Service, and Bernie sets up a plan to discover who the high-level mole might be. But the East Berlin Brahms spy network (for Brahms Four is only one of several agents) is uneasy, leading to...well, you'll have to read this classic work of compelling espionage to find out.

Spy Fiction. In the Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning Eye of the Needle, a German undercover agent has learned that the Allies' invasion on D-Day will be at Normandy, not Calais, as Hitler has been led to believe. This information is priceless, so of course the German spy must get it to the Nazi leader, but his efforts are hampered by British intelligence agents and a lonely Englishwoman--and possibly his own conscience. Although Ken Follet had published several books by the time he wrote Eye of the Needle, this is the one that brought him recognition as a master of the espionage thriller.

Spy Fiction. Praised for its realism--both for its depiction of France in the 1960s as well as for its descriptions of intelligence and covert operations--The Day of the Jackal is one of well-respected author Frederick Forsyth's best-known works, as well as his first full-length novel. As the story "builds to breathtaking suspense" (Booklist), the Jackal, an assassin extraordinaire who possesses many fake identities, plots to kill French president Charles de Gaulle. Meanwhile, a French detective must do whatever he can to stop him. This Edgar Allan Poe Award winner was published in 1971; a film adaption by the same name was released two years later.

Spy Fiction. In the first of three books in the Karla trilogy (and the 4th of 7 to feature intelligence officer George Smiley), there's a Soviet mole high up in the British Secret Service, and George Smiley is one of the few who can be trusted to find out just who that mole is. Long regarded as a master of spy fiction, John Le Carré is an author whose work has withstood the passage of time (Tinker, Tailor was published in 1974); Newsweek has called him "the world's greatest fictional spymaster."

Spy Fiction. The Old Boys, a group of retired CIA colleagues, have come together once more to find Paul Christopher (star of several earlier McCarry novels--the first was published in 1973), who has disappeared in a remote area of China. Despite the ashes that the Chinese government returned to the U.S., neither his cousin Horace, a member of the Old Boys, nor his daughter Zarah believes that Paul is dead. As they search, they become entangled with U.S. government agents, Muslim extremists, terrorists, ex-Nazis, double-crossers, and more. "Tremendous fun," says Booklist.

Spy Fiction. Inspired by a graphic novel series that was in turn inspired by a British television series from the 1970s and early '80s, A Gentleman's Game follows agent Tara Chace of Great Britain's Secret Intelligence Service. Following a devastating terrorist attack on London, Tara goes back into the field to assassinate the man responsible for the deaths of the 372 civilians, but problems arise when a Saudi prince is killed as well. This highly praised novel features gripping action, high suspense, well-drawn characters, and "echoes of Le Carré" (Booklist).

Spy Fiction. After the murders of his wife and daughter, former Israeli intelligence agent Gabriel Allon devoted himself to art restoration. Until, that is, Ari Shamron, the head of Israeli intelligence, calls on him to thwart a Palestinian agent out not only to destroy the Middle East peace negotiations but also to assassinate Yasser Arafat. The agent, a sociopath named Tariq, has ties to Gabriel's own past, as well as dangerous designs on his future. The Kill Artist is the 1st in a series that now numbers 7 (the most recent, The Secret Servant, was published in 2007).

Spy Fiction. After being accused of sabotaging a mission, agent Brano Sev (of an unnamed Eastern European country) has one chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his employers, but his assignment--to interrogate a potential defector--is complicated by a murder. Himself a suspect, Brano gets no help from his colleagues. Featuring an intriguing mix of espionage and mystery, 36 Yalta Boulevard is the 3rd in a loosely knit series chronicling Eastern Europe over approximately 40 years; the 1st was The Bridge of Sighs.