The Kingdom of Fantasy by Elisabetta Dami (2005)

"The Kingdom of Fantasy" is a children's novel written by Italian author Geronimo Stilton. The book follows the adventures of Geronimo, a mouse journalist who is magically transported to a fantasy world called the Kingdom of Fantasy. In the story, Geronimo receives a mysterious invitation to visit the Kingdom of Fantasy from a queen who is in danger. He sets off on a quest to save her, encountering various magical creatures along the way, including fairies, trolls, and dragons. Throughout his journey, Geronimo must overcome challenges and use his intelligence and bravery to complete his mission. The book is filled with vivid descriptions of the Kingdom of Fantasy, including its landscapes, creatures, and culture. It also teaches valuable lessons about friendship, courage, and perseverance, making it an engaging and educational read for children.

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (2007)

Fiona Sweeney wants to do something that matters, and she chooses to make her mark in the arid bush of northeastern Kenya. By helping to start a traveling library, she hopes to bring the words of Homer, Hemingway, and Dr. Seuss to far-flung tiny communities where people live daily with drought, hunger, and disease. Her intentions are honorable, and her rules are firm: due to the limited number of donated books, if any one of them is not returned, the bookmobile will not return.But, encumbered by her Western values, Fi does not understand the people she seeks to help. And in the impoverished small community of Mididima, she finds herself caught in the middle of a volatile local struggle when the bookmobile's presence sparks a dangerous feud between the proponents of modernization and those who fear the loss of traditional ways.

A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr (2010)

They've been best friends since seventh grade. But this summer, teetering on the threshold of thirty, four women are going to need each other more than ever. Cassie is still looking Mr. Forever ; Julie married her highschool sweetheart too young. Marty's firefighter husband has forgotten all about romance, and Beth, a busy doctor, is trapped in a body that has betrayed her again. Life can change in an instant ... or a summer. Having old friends to lean on can only up the chances of happily ever after.

Kraken by China Miéville (2010)

Kraken is a fantasy novel by British author China Miéville. It is published in the UK by Macmillan, and in the US by Del Rey Books. The book bears the subtitle "An Anatomy" on the title page. It was the winner for the 2011 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Miéville has described the book as "a dark comedy about a squid-worshipping cult and the end of the world. It takes the idea of the squid cult very seriously. Part of the appeal of the fantastic is taking ridiculous ideas very seriously and pretending they’re not absurd."

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows (2008)

Miri is the only single child in the middle of a family with two sets of twins--older brothers and younger sisters. When the family moves to an old farmhouse Miri accidentally travels back in time to 1935 only to discover Molly, a girl in need of a real family to call her own. A very satisfying classic-in-the-making, with spine-tingling moments, this is a delightful family-friendly middle grade time-slip novel. (From the author of *Ivy and Bean*.)

No safe house by Linwood Barclay (2011)

Seven years ago, Terry Archer and his family experienced a horrific ordeal that nearly cost them their lives. Today, the echoes of that night are still haunting them. Terry's wife is living separate from her husband and daughter. Terry is just trying to keep his family together. And the entire town is reeling from the senseless murder of a local retired couple. But when daughter, Grace, follows her delinquent boyfriend into a strange house, the Archers must do more than stay together. They must stay alive ...

Private Paris by James Patterson (2016)

When Jack Morgan stops by Private's Paris office, he envisions a quick hello during an otherwise relaxing trip filled with fine food and sightseeing. But Jack is quickly pressed into duty after a call from his client Sherman Wilkerson, asking Jack to track down his young granddaughter who is on the run from a brutal drug dealer. Before Jack can locate her, several members of France's cultural elite are found dead - murdered in stunning, symbolic fashion. The only link between the crimes is a mysterious graffiti tag. As religious and ethnic tensions simmer in the City of Lights, only Jack and his Private team can connect the dots before the smouldering powder keg explodes.

Hit and Run by Lawrence Block (2008)

Keller's a hit man. For years now he's had places to go and people to kill.But enough is enough. He's got money in the bank and just one last job standing between him and retirement. So he carries it out with his usual professionalism, and he heads home, and guess what?One more job. Paid in advance, so what's he going to do? Give the money back?In Des Moines, Keller stalks his designated target and waits for the client to give him the go-ahead. And one fine morning he's picking out stamps for his collection (Sweden 1-5, the official reprints) at a shop in Urbandale when somebody guns down the charismatic governor of Ohio.Back at his motel, Keller's watching TV when they show the killer's face. And there's something all too familiar about that face....Keller calls his associate Dot in White Plains, but there is no answer. He's stranded halfway across the country, every cop in America's just seen his picture, his ID and credit cards are no longer good, and he just spent almost all of his cash on the stamps.Now what?

The Elephanta suite by Paul Theroux (2007)

"This startling and satisfying book captures the tumult, ambition, hardship, and serenity that mark today's India. Theroux's characters risk venturing far beyond the subcontinent's well-worn paths to discover woe or truth or peace. A middle-aged couple on vacation veers heedlessly from idyll to chaos. A buttoned-up Boston lawyer finds succor in Mumbai's reeking slums. And a young woman befriends an elephant in Bangalore" -- publisher website (September 2007).

Slow Burn by Julie Garwood (2005)

Living a successful life just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, Kate MacKenna has always been able to turn her challenges into triumphs. But now the fates seem to be lining up against her...in lethal fashion. While attending a reception at a friend's estate for a controversial artist, Kate is nearly killed by an explosion. Once home, Kate is hit with the news that the prosperous fragrance company she has nurtured from the ground up is in jeopardy: It turns out that her late mother used the business as collateral for a huge loan, and full payment is due in three weeks. Kate's still reeling from this devastating news when her younger sister's volatile ex-boyfriend shows up and threatens her. Then Kate receives a call from her best friend, Jordan Buchanan, who is hospitalized and scheduled for surgery in Boston. Though stretched to the limit, Kate immediately rushes to her side. Once she knows that Jordan is going to be fine, Kate abandons her calm facade and allows herself a major meltdown, doing something that is totally uncharacteristic: She has a one-night stand with Jordan's brother Dylan. Coming to her senses, Kate returns home determined to get back on track and save her business. But the mishaps keep coming. At Jordan's insistence, Dylan checks up on Kate. He's convinced that she's merely having a spell of bad luck, until he discovers how many people want Kate MacKenna dead. (From the Author's web-site.)

The Minotaur by Ruth Rendell (2005)

As soon as Kerstin Kvist arrives at remote, ivy-covered Lydstep Old Hall in Essex, she feels like a character in a gothic novel. A young nurse fresh out of school, Kerstin has been hired for a position with the Cosway family, residents of the Hall for generations. She is soon introduced to her "charge," John Cosway, a thirty-nine-year-old man whose strange behavior is vaguely explained by his mother and sisters as part of the madness that runs in the family. Weeks go by at Lydstep with little to mark the passage of time beyond John's daily walks and the amusingly provincial happenings that engross the Cosway women, and Kerstin occupies her many free hours at the Hall reading or making entries into her diary. Meanwhile, bitter wrangling among Julia Cosway and her four grown daughters becomes increasingly evident. But this is just the most obvious of the tensions that charge the old remote estate, with its sealed rooms full of mystery. Soon Kerstin will find herself in possession of knowledge she will wish she'd never attained, secrets that will propel the occupants of Lydstep Old Hall headlong into sexual obsession, betrayal, and, finally, murder.Also available in a Random House Large Print edition and as an eBookFrom the Hardcover edition.

Judy by Temple Bailey (2006)

Missing by James Patterson (2015)

Craig Gisto has promised Eliza Moss that his elite team at Private Sydney will investigate the disappearance of her father. After all, as CEO of a high-profile research company, Eric Moss shouldn't be difficult to find--except it's not just the man who's gone missing. Despite the most advanced technology at their disposal, they find every trace of him has vanished, too. And they aren't the only ones on the hunt.

The Judas Gate by Henry Patterson (2010)

A disturbing tape has made its way to British intelligence, and from them to the new President of the United States: battlefield chatter from an ambush in Afghanistan, in which twelve U.S. Army Rangers and a British medical team died. Most of the Taliban voices are Afghan; however, the voice of the commander bears an Irish accent. The idea that one of their own could be responsible for such a massacre is appalling, and Sean Dillon is put in charge of hunting the traitor.

Que serais-je sans toi ? by Guillaume Musso (2009)

Gabrielle tiene dos hombres en su vida. Uno es su padre; el otro es su primer amor. Uno es un famoso policía, el otro es un reconocido ladrón. Ambos se conocen y ambos se odian. El destino los alejó de ella durante mucho tiempo, pero un día, a la misma hora, ellos reaparecen pero Gabrielle se negará a elegir... Le gustaría protegerlos, mantenerlos juntos y amarlos a los dos, pero hay conflictos cuya única solución es la muerte. Excepto si...

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (2011)

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die. At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

A Wanton Woman by Vanessa Vale (2016)

Celia Lawrence can’t show her face in her conservative, small town. First, she discovered her husband in bed with another man’s wife, and then she witnessed both their murders. While she didn’t pull the trigger, small town gossip is not forgiving and everywhere she goes she is chastised for not being woman enough to keep her straying husband at home. Eager to flee her old life, Celia heads to Colorado as a mail-order bride. As mayor of Slate Springs, Colorado, Luke Benson is expected to set the example. Their small town is hidden away in a remote mountainous region where few women have the courage or desire to tread. As mayor, it falls to him to test out their newly passed law and share a wife with his brother. The truth is, Luke has no interest in a woman of his own, and agrees to a mail-order bride out of duty, not anticipation. His brother, Walker, is jaded and hard after the death of his first wife. For Walker, loving again is out of the question. But a man has needs, and he’ll eagerly take his pleasure from their new bride while expecting Luke to provide the tenderness and caring a woman expects. A marriage based on everything but love should be doomed. But Celia, Luke and Walker discover one thing they have in common: desire. Will that be strong enough to survive the danger that follows Celia from Texas? Will desire be strong enough to teach three broken souls that sometimes you have to risk everything for love?

Los señores del tiempo by Eva García Sáenz de Urturi (2015)

Kraken is enjoying life as a family man, content to spend his days with Alba and their young daughter Deba. But there’s no rest for the weary, especially when you’re the most famous investigator in Vitoria. Kraken and Esti are charged with investigating the mysterious disappearance of two sisters and finding it hard to make any headway when a wealthy businessman’s murder appears to shine a light on the case. The man was poisoned with a medieval aphrodisiac–a crime that has eerie similarities to one detailed in the novel everyone in Vitoria is buzzing about. When the two sisters are discovered trapped behind a wall–bricked up alive–the parallels to the novel are undeniable. With the author’s identity a closely held secret, will Kraken be able to track down the killer before they can strike again? Or will Vitoria’s sordid underworld finally break Kraken, and his family, apart.

The Wrecker by Clive Cussler (2009)

In The Chase, Clive Cussler introduced an electrifying new hero, the tall, lean, no-nonsense detective Isaac Bell, who, driven by his sense of justice, travels early-twentieth-century America pursuing thieves and killers . . . and sometimes criminals much worse.It is 1907, a year of financial panic and labor unrest. Train wrecks, fires, and explosions sabotage the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascades express line and, desperate, the railroad hires the fabled Van Dorn Detective Agency. Van Dorn sends in his best man, and Bell quickly discovers that a mysterious saboteur haunts the hobo jungles of the West, a man known as the Wrecker, who recruits accomplices from the down-and-out to attack the railroad, and then kills them afterward. The Wrecker traverses the vast spaces of the American West as if he had wings, striking wherever he pleases, causing untold damage and loss of human life. Who is he? What does he want? Is he a striker? An anarchist? A revolutionary determined to displace the "privileged few"? A criminal mastermind engineering some as yet unexplained scheme?Whoever he is, whatever his motives, the Wrecker knows how to create maximum havoc, and Bell senses that he is far from done—that, in fact, the Wrecker is building up to a grand act unlike anything he has committed before. If Bell doesn't stop him in time, more than a railroad could be at risk—it could be the future of the entire country.Filled with intricate plotting and dazzling set pieces, The Wrecker is one of the most entertaining thrillers in years.

Rien ne s'oppose à la nuit by Delphine de Vigan (2011)

The pain of Lucile, my mother, was part of our childhood and later adult life for my sister and me, but any attempt at an explanation was doomed to failure. Writing about it cannot heal it, but at least it allows me to ask questions and query memory. This is about family memory, where moments of brightness and joy can live side-by-side with grief, wounds and the most hidden of family secrets. "La douleur de Lucile, ma mère, a fait partie de notre enfance et plus tard de notre vie d'adulte, la douleur de Lucile sans doute nous constitue, ma sœur et moi, mais toute tentative d'explication est vouée à l'échec. L'écriture n'y peut rien, tout au plus me permet-elle de poser les questions et d'interroger la mémoire. La famille de Lucile, la nôtre par conséquent, a suscité tout au long de son histoire de nombreux hypothèses et commentaires. Les gens que j'ai croisés au cours de mes recherches parlent de fascination ; je l'ai souvent entendu dire dans mon enfance. Ma famille incarne ce que la joie a de plus bruyant, de plus spectaculaire, l'écho inlassable des morts, et le retentissement du désastre. Aujourd'hui je sais aussi qu'elle illustre, comme tant d'autres familles, le pouvoir de destruction du Verbe, et celui du silence. Le livre, peut-être, ne serait rien d'autre que ça, le récit de cette quête, contiendrait en lui-même sa propre genèse, ses errances narratives, ses tentatives inachevées. Mais il serait cet élan, de moi vers elle, hésitant et inabouti. Dans cette enquête éblouissante au cœur de la mémoire familiale, où les souvenirs les plus lumineux côtoient les secrets les plus enfouis, ce sont toutes nos vies, nos failles et nos propres blessures que Delphine de Vigan déroule avec force"--Amazon.com, viewed January 12, 2012.