Publisher: Dutton
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/21/2012
ISBN-13: 9780525952893
ISBN-10: 0525952896

Suspense Fiction. In this sequel to The Keeper of Lost Causes, Copenhagen police detective Carl Mørck is still looking into cold cases while navigating the rather chilly waters of his department. The latest case to land on his desk concerns the 20-year-old murders of a brother and sister -- the confessed killer may actually be innocent, paid to take the rap for his much wealthier (and now quite powerful) friends. And just to add interest, the "absent one" of the title refers to another friend -- one who is now living on the streets, plotting revenge. You needn't have read the 1st in the series to enjoy The Absent One, but you might prefer to in order to more fully comprehend Mørck's gloomy disposition.

Publisher: Mulholland Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/14/2012
ISBN-13: 9780316204200
ISBN-10: 031620420X

Spy Fiction. This complex espionage novel, which is as much about human relationships as it is about spycraft, will appeal to readers who enjoyed the classic novels of Graham Greene. It concerns Michel Khoury, a young operative for the PLO who lives an isolated life in London. It isn't until he begins a relationship with a pretty English girl that he realizes how much he misses the companionship of others, but it leads to complications for Michel, who is tasked with finding a site for a secret meeting between Israelis and Palestinians. Set in the 1980s, this novel offers well-drawn characters, believable depictions of the world of spies, and atmospheric details of several international cities.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/21/2012
ISBN-13: 9780312625511
ISBN-10: 0312625510

Thriller. Traumatized Army veteran Nate Overbay has had better days, but isn't anticipating any more -- dying from Lou Gehrig's disease, he's decided to accelerate the process by jumping from the 11th floor of an office building. But the sound of gunshots brings him back inside, where he foils a bank robbery and becomes a reluctant hero. Unfortunately, he also becomes the target of the Ukrainian mobster behind the robbery, who uses Nate's daughter to force him into completing the heist he interrupted. A new novel from author Gregg Hurwitz is usually cause for celebration, and this one's no different. Fast-paced and full of action, and with a unique hero to boot, The Survivor "succeeds on every level" (Kirkus Reviews).

First Chapter  

Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/07/2012
ISBN-13: 9781451678536
ISBN-10: 1451678533

Suspense Fiction. Virgil Cain is a laconic New York farmer. He's also always had the uncanny ability to find trouble. In his 2nd appearance, he hooks a steel cylinder while fishing in the Hudson River. Though Virgil doesn't know it, it's full of pure South American cocaine and linked to an old crime, and once he's drawn the attention of a crooked cop, Virgil quickly finds his boat and the cylinder confiscated. Rather than let the (non-bent) cops handle it, Virgil goes off in search of his boat and gets rather more than he bargained for. Author B.J. Smith gives self-reliant Virgil (and his new friend, a single mom) the will and wits he needs to survive; not for nothing is Smith compared to "Elmore Leonard at his best" (Publishers Weekly).

First Chapter  

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 08/02/2012
ISBN-13: 9780399158049
ISBN-10: 0399158049

Thriller. Monkeewrench Software partner Grace MacBride thwarts an assassination attempt on retired FBI agent John Smith in the Florida Keys; Native American girls are going missing from their reservations; Somali men have been found killed, execution style, in Minneapolis. Taking center stage, homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth team up to link all these crimes together to uncover a far-reaching and dastardly plot. The Monkeewrench books are a great, well-plotted series with wonderful characters, and while you can read this 6th installment on its own, to get the full history of Grace and her delightfully eccentric colleagues, you should really start with series-opener Monkeewrench.

Eight books were chosen for the Crime Writers' Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for the best thriller of the year; the winner will be announced on October 18th. While we've included only four for your reading pleasure, the others can be found here: http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2012/steel.html

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/21/2012
ISBN-13: 9780399158292
ISBN-10: 0399158294

Thriller. At the behest of the CIA's Director, former undercover operative John Wells has traveled to Kabul to determine whether rumors of a leak and a drug-trafficking operation involving American soldiers there are true. Wells is almost immediately menaced by several people who wish him no good, and he clearly has his work cut out for him when it comes to ferreting out information about the drug-smuggling operation. With a riveting and all too plausible plot, terrific action, and well-drawn characters, The Shadow Patrol (6th in the John Wells series) is "highly enjoyable" and "rock-solid" (Kirkus Reviews).

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/31/2012
ISBN-13: 9780307957931
ISBN-10: 0307957934

Thriller. Having designed a self-evolving algorithm that monitors fear to make investment decisions, artificial intelligence researcher and hedge fund manager Alexander Hoffman and his colleagues are making a mint -- until a series of events makes Hoffman suspect that someone's out to get him and makes others think that he may be losing his mind. Increasingly paranoid, the reclusive genius takes off to defend himself and get to the bottom of the insidious plan to discredit him. Intricately plotted and intensely compelling, this novel from bestselling author Robert Harris offers science and philosophy in equal measures.

First Chapter  

Publisher: Penguin Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/28/2012
ISBN-13: 9780143120919
ISBN-10: 0143120913

Psychological Suspense. In England, 12-year-old Daniel Black has brutally murdered 11-year-old Felicity Forbes. No one doubts Daniel's guilt, yet solicitor Leo Curtice feels compelled to defend him despite pleas from his wife and daughter to pass the case up. Defending the indefensible soon turns out to be the worst thing he could have done, as no one supports his choice -- and the threats against his family quickly escalate. Based on a real-life crime, The Child Who takes on complex questions of responsibility and guilt as it explores the weighty issue of children who commit outrageous crimes. In addition to the Steel Dagger, it was also longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of 2012.

Publisher: William Morrow
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/20/2011
ISBN-13: 9780061977961
ISBN-10: 0061977969

Techno-Thriller. To wreak havoc on international currency markets, mercenaries have hacked into the world's most popular MMPORG (massive multi-player online role-playing game)...but that's just for starters. Game designer and full-time geek Richard Forthrast lands in a real-life power struggle for world domination against an overwhelming horde of ruthless enemies -- the Chinese, the Russians, and more. Can his intrepid, athletic, cheerfully violent niece (think Uma Thurman in Kill Bill) keep him alive long enough to save the world? Reamde gives nothing away until its violent end, while offbeat characters, superb pacing, plausible technology, and masterfully woven subplots make this amped-up techno-shocker all too short, even at 800+ pages.

First Chapter