5964 books
Irène by Pierre Lemaitre (2014)
For Commandant Verhoeven life is beautiful: he's happily married, and expecting his first child with the lovely Irene. But his blissful existence is punctured by a murder so savage that even the most hardened officers on the force are shaken to the core. In the face of the seemingly motiveless horror, only Verhoeven makes the vital connection - the crime scene resembles one described in a James Ellroy novel too closely for there to be any coincidence. As the stylised murders continue, Verhoeven traces the crimes' literary inspirations, and risks his superiors' ire by taking out adverts to inform the killer of his progress. Before long, the case develops into a personal duel, with each man hell-bent on outsmarting his opponent. There can only be one winner - whoever has the least to lose ...
The Ask by Sam Lipsyte (2010)
After he loses his job as a development officer at a university, family man Milo Burke is given a chance to regain his position, but only if he can reel in a potential donor, one who has requested his involvement and turns out to be his sinister college classmate.
The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier (2014)
Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.
Mouse Guard Fall 1152 by David Petersen (2007)
From the cover flap: Mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world's harsh conditions and predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed. They are not simply soldiers that fight off intruders; rather, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden mouse village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways [sic] and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predators. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. Follow the adventures of three of the Guard's finest--Lieam, Saxon, and Kenzie--as they seek to uncover a traitorous plot against the Guard...
Dead Heat by Joel C. Rosenberg (2008)
2009 Retailer's Choice Award winner! The stage is set for war. Oil prices are surging to record highs. A new dictator is rising in Iraq. China is threatening Taiwan. North Korean forces appear ready to strike south. Israel is feverishly trying to complete the Third Temple. And in the midst of a world ready to explode, American president James MacPherson’s second term is ending. The battle to succeed him is heating up into the most fiercely contested presidential election in American history. Who will lead a bitterly divided country over the next four years? And just what role—if any—does the US play in history's last days? As the presidential campaign narrows to a dead heat, the Secret Service learns of a catastrophic terrorist plot to assassinate one of the candidates—but which one? Whom do they want dead? And can US forces stop the terrorists before millions lose their lives? From New York Times best-selling novelist Joel C. Rosenberg, this explosive political thriller is sure to provoke discussion, along with fervent hopes that this frightening vision of the future will not come true. (From the Amazon.com Book Description)
The Nightmare Place by Steve Mosby (2014)
Sometimes, there's a thin line between love and hate. Or at least that's one theory for DI Zoe Dolan, who's been tracking the Creeper--a stalker who's been breaking into women's homes and attacking them. But the Creeper's violence is escalating and there's no pattern, no clue as to how he's getting in, and no clue as to who's next--until Jane Webster gets a call to the helpline where she volunteers. It's meant to be a confidential service and Jane is torn: it could be a hoax, but the soft voice at the end of the line has the ring of truth about it.
Tatiana by Martin Cruz Smith (2013)
"In Tatiana, Martin Cruz Smith, 'the master of the international thriller' (The New York Times) creates the most compelling heroine of his career and the most realistic, damning portrait of modern Russia in contemporary literature. One of the iconic investigators of contemporary fiction, Arkady Renko -- cynnical, analytical, and quietly subversive -- has survived the cultural journey from the Soviet Union to the New Russia, only to find the nation as obsessed with secrecy and brutality as was the old Communist dictatorship. In Tatiana, Martin Cruz Smith's most ambitious novel since Gorky Park, the melancholy hero finds himself on the trail of a mystery as complex and dangerous as modern Russia herself. The fearless investigative reporter Tatiana Petrovna falls to her death from a sixth-floor window in Moscow the same week that a mob billionaire, Grisha Grigorenko, is shot and buried with the trappings due a lord. No one makes the connection, but Arkady is transfixed by the tapes he discovers of Tatiana's voice, even as she describes horrific crimes hidden by official versions. The trail leads to Kaliningrad, a Cold War "secret city" and home of the Baltic Fleet, separated by hundreds of miles from the rest of Russia. Arkady delves into Tatiana's past and a surreal world of wandering dunes and amber mines. His only link is a notebook written in the personal code of a translator whose body is found in the dunes. Arkady's only hope of decoding the symbols lies in Zhenya, a teenage chess hustler. More than a mystery, Tatiana is a story rich in character, black humor, and romance, with an insight that is the hallmark of Martin Cruz Smith" --
Shadowplay (Shadowmarch, Vol. 2) by Tad Williams (2007)
NOW,THE EPIC FANTASY CONTINUES WITH SHADOWPLAY!NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR TAD WILLIAMS'S SHADOWMARCH WAS HAILED AS…
A Seaside Christmas by Sherryl Woods (2013)
As the only child of a single mom, Jenny Collins wanted nothing more than to be part of a large, rambunctious family like the O'Briens. Ironically, though, when her mother married into that family, Jenny found herself feeling more like an outsider than ever. Now, after years in Nashville as an established songwriter, Jenny's drawn back to Chesapeake Shores to collaborate on a Christmas production…and to make peace with the past. As if that's not challenging enough, Caleb Green, the singer who broke her heart, has followed her to town, determined to win her back. With the help of a little O'Brien holiday magic, will Jenny and Caleb find a way to make sweet music forever?
Hide and Seek by Clare Sambrook (2005)
Meet Harry Pickles, aged nine and a bit. Harry is the fastest boy runner in the world (probably), first son of Mo and Pa (the best-looking parents in the school car park), big brother to Daniel (who runs like a girl but is, in his own twerpy way, a star). His life is good. He's premier league. At least, that's the way it was before the school trip...Clare Sambrook's unforgettable first novel captures with startling truth and clarity the perspective of a confused nine-year-old. Poignant and personal, Hide and Seek resonates with authenticity and a brutal honesty that manages to be harrowing, life-affirming and funny.
The moth catcher by Ann Cleeves (2015)
"Life seems perfect in Valley Farm, a quiet community in Northumberland. Then a shocking discovery shatters the silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house-sitter to look after the place while they're away. But he is found dead by the side of the lane into the valley. DI Vera Stanhope arrives on the scene with her detectives Holly and Joe. When they look round the attic of the big house, Vera finds the body of a second man. As Vera is drawn into the claustrophobic world of this increasingly strange community, she realizes that there may be deadly secrets trapped here ... The Moth Catcher will be episode three of ITV's Vera series 6, coming in 2016"--
Dancing in the dark by Mary Jane Behrends Clark (2005)
Teenage girls are disappearing from this town where an idyllic beach community is terrorized, and where one reporter must get to the truth to protect her family. Trying to mix business with pleasure, KEY News correspondent Diane Mayfield has brought her children and her sister to the New Jersey shore town of Ocean Grove to investigate a story on "girls who cry wolf" for the season premiere of Hourglass, television's highly rated news magazine. Diane lands an exclusive interview with a troubled young woman whose tale of being abducted and held against her will for three terrifying days had been disbelieved by the authorities. No sooner does Diane finish taping the interview, though, than a second victim disappears. The small community, already in the grip of a record heat wave, is now wracked by fear and terror, no one knows who could be next. With only the first victim as eyewitness, Diane and the police turn to her for clues. But it may be too late to save Diane and her loved ones from the mortal danger that lurks in Ocean Grove.
Duchess By Night by Eloisa James (2008)
A Mischievous Charade...Harriet, Duchess of Berrow, is tired of her title and the responsibilities that come along with it. Enough with proper tea parties and elegant balls; what Harriet really wants is to attend an outrageous soiree where she can unleash her wildest whims and desires. But to attend such an event—especially if the event in question is Lord Justinian Strange's rollicking fete, filled with noble rogues and rotters, risque ladies and illicit lovers—would be certain scandal. That's why she must disguise herself...Looking forward to a night of uninhibited pleasure, Lord Strange is shocked to discover that beneath the clothes of a no-good rake is the most beautiful woman in the room. Why is a woman like her risking her reputation at his notorious affair? And can he possibly entice her to stay...forever?
Blue Lilly, Lilly Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (2014)
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (2019)
*Girl, Woman, Other* follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years. Joyfully polyphonic and vibrantly contemporary, this is a gloriously new kind of history, a novel of our times: celebratory, ever-dynamic and utterly irresistible.