The Bad Beginning

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The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky.
In the first two books alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, a lumpy bed, a deadly serpent, a large brass reading lamp, a long knife, and a terrible odor.
In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Never before has a tale of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or quite so uproariously unhappy. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Wee Sir Gibbie of the Highlands

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Wee Sir Gibbie of the Highlands by George MacDonald

After the death of his titled but penniless father, a mute young boy in nineteenth-century Scotland finds himself a witness to a violent murder and flees the city in hopes of discovering a new life in the Highlands. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

The Glass Wall

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The Glass Wall by Clare Curzon

One freezing February evening, a Filipino barman named Ramon witnesses someone plunging from the seventh story of a luxury penthouse. Instead of calling the police, he heads straight for the apartment from which the body has fallen. It belongs to an old woman with a mysterious past, who could not get out of bed by herself.

Superintendent Mike Yeadings and Sergeant Rosemary Zycynski lead the investigation. Searching for a link between a teenage drug victim, a missing care assistant, and an unidentified corpse, they discover further mysteries behind the glass wall of the penthouse. Other lives are threatened and the circle of menace widens to involve the dead woman's unhappily married doctor and estranged granddaughter.

Clare Curzon's latest mystery masterfully unpicks the events and motives that lead toward the apparent murder of a woman already mortally frail. Her brilliantly fast-paced style keeps the pages turning as the chilling truth is gradually revealed. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Deja Dead

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Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Bagged and discarded, the dismembered body of a woman is discovered in the grounds of an abandoned monastery. Dr Temperance Brennan, Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, has been researching recent disappearances in the city. Soon she is convinced that a serial killer is at work. But when no one else seems to care, her anger forces her to take matters into her own hands. Her determined probing has placed those closest to her in mortal danger, however. Can Tempe make her crucial breakthrough before the killer strikes again? (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Naked Prey

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Naked Prey by John Sanford

Lucas Davenport Þnds some changes-and some nasty surprises-in store, in the chilling new novel by the number-one-bestselling author.

In Naked Prey, John Sandford puts Lucas Davenport through some changes. His old boss, Rose Marie Roux, has moved up to the state level and taken Lucas with her, creating a special troubleshooter job for him for the cases that are too complicated or politically touchy for others to handle. In addition, Lucas is now married and a new father, both of which are fine with him: he doesn't mind being a family man. But he is a little worried. For every bit of peace you get, you have to pay-and he's waiting for the bill.

It comes in the form of two people found hanging from a tree in the woods of northern Minnesota. What makes it particularly sensitive is that the bodies are of a black man and a white woman, and they're naked. "Lynching" is the word that everybody's trying not to say-but, as Lucas begins to discover, in fact the murders are not what they appear to be, and they are not the end of the story. There is worse to come-much, much worse.

Filled with the rich characterization and exceptional drama that are his hallmarks, this is Sandford's most suspenseful novel yet.  (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Party To Murder

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Party To Murder by Betty Rowlands

A Sukey Reynolds mystery Sir Digby Kirtling, self-made millionaire and would-be member of the landed gentry, has commissioned talented artist Philip Montwell to copy an impressionist painting. During the unveiling party, celebration turns to tragedy when his estate manager, Una May, is found dead, strangled with her own gold neck-chain. Sir Digby quickly becomes the prime suspect and Sukey Reynolds, Crime Scene Investigator, is reluctantly drawn into an attempt by his housekeeper to prove his innocence.  (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Heat Lightning

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Heat Lightning by John Sandford

The second Virgil Flowers novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford

On a hot, humid summer night in Minnesota, Virgil Flowers gets a call from Lucas Davenport. A body has been found near a veterans’ memorial in Stillwater with two shots to the head and a lemon in his mouth—exactly like the body they found two weeks ago.

Working the murders, Flowers becomes convinced that someone is keeping a list—with many more names on it. And when he discovers what connects them all, he’s almost sorry. Because if it’s true, then this whole thing leads down a lot more trails than he thought it did—and every one of them is booby-trapped. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

The Tunnels

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The Tunnels by Michelle Gagnon

An old, abandoned tunnel system beneath a prestigious New England college becomes the gruesome stalking ground of a serial killer…
The crime scenes are both grim and otherworldly. The bodies of two female students are found mutilated and oddly positioned in the dark labyrinth beneath the school—haunting symbols painted on the walls above them.
In her decade tracking serial killers, FBI special agent Kelly Jones has seen some of the worst humanity can inflict. Yet the tragedy unfolding at her alma mater chills her to the bone. Evidence suggests that the connection between the victims—daughters of powerful men—and the cryptic message behind the killings is rooted in a dark, ancient ritual. As the body count rises, so do the stakes. The killer is taunting Kelly, daring her to follow him down a dangerous path from which only one can emerge. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Mr. Shivers

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Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett

It is the time of the Great Depression.

Thousands have left their homes looking for a better life, a new life. But Marcus Connelly is not one of them. He searches for one thing, and one thing only. Revenge.

Because out there, riding the rails, stalking the camps, is the scarred vagrant who murdered Connelly's daughter. No one knows him, but everyone knows his name: Mr. Shivers.

In this extraordinary debut, Robert Jackson Bennett tells the story of an America haunted by murder and desperation. A world in which one man must face a dark truth and answer the question-how much is he willing to sacrifice for his satisfaction? (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Obsession in Death

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Obsession in Death by J.D. Robb

Lieutenant Eve Dallas walks the thin line between love and hate in the 40th In Death thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb…

Eve Dallas has solved a lot of high-profile murders for the NYPSD and gotten a lot of media. She—and her husband Roarke—are getting accustomed to being objects of attention, of gossip, of speculation.

But now Eve has become the object of one person’s obsession. Someone who finds her extraordinary, and thinks about her every hour of every day. Who believes the two of them have a special relationship. Who would kill for her—again and again…

With a murderer reading meanings into her every move, handling this case will be a delicate—and dangerous—psychological dance. And Eve knows that underneath the worship and admiration, a terrible threat lies in wait. Because the beautiful lieutenant is not at all grateful for these bloody offerings from her “true and loyal friend.” And in time, idols always fall… (From Amazon.com product listing.)

The Whistler

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The Whistler by John Grisham

We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity and impartiality are the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the orderly and efficient flow of justice.
     But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe? It’s rare, but it happens.
     Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.
     But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout U.S. history.
     What’s the source of the ill-gotten gains? It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash. The judge is getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.
     But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy Stoltz, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous.
     Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.
(From Amazon.com product listing.)

Camino Island

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Camino Island by John Grishman

A gang of thieves stage a daring heist from a secure vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library. Their loot is priceless, but Princeton has insured it for twenty-five million dollars.
     Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts.
     Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer’s block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious woman working for an even more mysterious company. A generous offer of money convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Bruce Cable’s circle of literary friends, ideally getting close enough to him to learn his secrets.
     But eventually Mercer learns far too much, and there’s trouble in paradise as only John Grisham can deliver it.
(From Amazon.com product listing.)

Turbo Twenty-Three

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Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the heart of Trenton, N.J., a killer is out to make sure someone gets his just desserts.

Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again. Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body—frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans.

As fate would have it, Stephanie’s mentor and occasional employer, Ranger, needs her to go undercover at the Bogart factory to find out who’s putting their employees on ice and sabotaging the business. It’s going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. It’s also going to be hard to explain to Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, why she is spending late nights with Ranger, late nights with Lula and Randy Briggs—who are naked and afraid—and late nights keeping tabs on Grandma Mazur and her new fella. Stephanie Plum has a lot on her plate, but for a girl who claims to have “virtually no marketable skills,” these are the kinds of sweet assignments she does best.
(From Amazon.com product listing.)

44 Cranberry Point

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44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber

Olivia Lockhart-Griffin
Cedar Cove, Washington

Dear Reader,

Jack and I are just back from our honeymoon, and I'm eager to catch up with my friends Bob and Peggy Beldon, who run the Thyme and Tide bed-and-breakfast at 44 Cranberry Point. It's a popular place but (needless to say!) things haven't been the same since a man died there. Turns out his name was Max Russell, and Bob had known him briefly in Vietnam. Nobody has any idea why he showed up or—most important of all—who killed him. Because it now appears that he was poisoned. I sure hope, especially for Bob and Peggy's sake, that somebody figures it out soon!

Not that they're providing the only news in Cedar Cove these days. Romance seems to be everywhere among my family and friends. I'm pleased to report that Grace Sherman has more than her share of interested men. Her daughter Maryellen is getting married to Jon Bowman. And my mother, Charlotte, seems to have a man in her life, too. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet….

There's lots of other gossip I could tell you. Join me at Peggy's place for a cup of tea and one of her fabulous blueberry muffins and we'll talk.

Olivia
(From Amazon.com product listing.)

Things Hoped For

Things Hoped For by Andrew Clements (Contains Affiliate Link)

"They say a sudden shock makes your whole life pass before your eyes..." This attention grabber will lure even the most reluctant reader! Author of Things not Seen and Frindle. All excellent and critically acclaimed books. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Corsair

Corsair by Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul (Contains Affiliate Link)

For five novels, Clive Cussler has brought readers into the world of the Oregon, a seemingly dilapidated ship packed with sophisticated equipment, and captained by the rakish, one-legged Juan Cabrillo. And now the Oregon and its crew face their biggest challenge yet.

Corsairs are pirates, and pirates come in many different varieties. There are the pirates who fought off the Barbary Coast in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the contemporary pirates who infest the waters of Africa and Asia, and the pirates . . . who look like something else.

When the U.S. secretary of state’s plane crashes while bringing her to a summit meeting in Libya, the CIA, distrusting the Libyans, hire Juan Cabrillo to search for her, and their misgivings are well founded. The crew locates the plane, but the secretary of state has vanished. It turns out Libya’s new foreign minister has other plans for the conference, plans that Cabrillo cannot let happen. But what does it all have to do with a two- hundred- year-old naval battle and the centuries-old Islamic scrolls that the Libyans seem so determined to find? The answers will lead him full circle into history, and into another pitched battle on the sea, this time against Islamic terrorists, and with the fate of nations resting on its outcome.

“Readers will burn up the pages following the blazing action and daring exploits of these men and women and their amazing machines,” writes Publishers Weekly of the Oregon Files series. And they’ll do it once again, with Corsair. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Among the Free

Among the Free by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Contains Affiliate Link)

"Enough games," the man said, raising the gun yet again. "And enough of the Population Police, I say."

This time he cocked the gun and aimed carefully.

This is real, Luke thought. This is really going to happen.

"No, don't!" he screamed.

Luke Garner is a third-born in a restrictive society that allows only two children per family. Risking his life, he came out of hiding to fight against the Population Police laws. Now, in the final volume of Margaret Peterson Haddix's suspenseful Shadow Children series, Luke inadvertently sets off a rebellion that results in the overthrow of the government. The people are finally free. But who is in charge now? And will this new freedom be everything they had hoped?

With all of the plot twists and excitement Haddix's fans have come to expect, Among the Free brings the Shadow Children sequence to a chilling conclusion. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Dr. Jekyll land Mr. Hyde and Other Stories of the Supernatural

Dr. Jekyll land Mr. Hyde and Other Stories of the Supernatural by Robert Louis Stevenson (Contains Affiliate Link)

The classic, chilling tale of a legendary double life, with an introduction from best-selling author Garth Nix.

Respectable citizen by day . . . killer by night? This is Robert Louis Stevenson's harrowing tale of good and evil -- caught in the same person. (From Amazon.com product listing.)

Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn (Contains Affiliate Link)

Vince Flynn's thrillers, featuring counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp, dominate the imagination of the readers everywhere. In them, Flynn captures the secretive world of the fearless men and women who, bound by duty, risk their lives in a covert war they must hide from even their own political leaders.
     Now, Rapp and his agency colleague Mike Nash may have met their match. The CIA has detected and intercepted two terrorist cells, but a third is feared to be on the loose. Led by a dangerous mastermind obsessed with becoming the leader of al-Qaeda, this determined and terrifying group is about to descend on America.
     Rapp needs the best on his assignment, and Nash, who has served his government honorably for sixteen years- first as an officer in the Marine Corps and then as an operative in an elite counterterrorism team run by Rapp- is his choice. Together, they have made careers out of meeting violence with extreme violence and have never wavered in the fight against the jihadists and their culture o death. Both have fought the was on terrorism in secret without accolades or acknowledgement of their personal sacrifices. Both have been forced to lie to virtually every single person they care about, and both have soldiered on with the knowledge that their hard work and lethal tactics have saved thousands of livers.
     But the political winds have changed in America and certain leaders on Capitol Hill are pushing to have men like Rapp and Nash put back on a short leash. And then on spring afternoon in Washington, D.C., everything changes.
     Using his insider knowledge of intelligence agencies and the military, Flynn once again delivers no all-too-real portrayal of a war that is waged every day by a handful of brave, devoted souls. Smart, fast-paced, and jaw-droppingly realistic, Extreme Measures is the political thriller of our time. (From cover flap of book)

Blood Sport

Blood Sport by James B. Stewart (Contains Affiliate Link)

Discusses the truth about Whitewater, Vince Foster's suicide, and other White House scandals, explaining how these episodes have been exploited, White House reaction, and the future of the presidency. (From Amazon.com product listing.)