Best of
Suspense

1989

Rules of Prey


John Sandford - 1989
    You are about to meet Lucas Davenport, the police detective in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who does it his way. The "maddog" murderer who is terrorizing the Twin Cities is two things: insane and extremely intelligent. He kills for the pleasure of it and thoroughly enjoys placing elaborate obstacles to keep the police befuddled. Each clever move he makes is another point of pride. But when the brilliant Lieutenant Davenport--a dedicated cop and a serial killer's worst nightmare--is brought in to take up the investigation, maddog suddenly has an adversary worthy of his genius.Librarian's note: the first five books in the Lucas Davenport series are #1, Rules of Prey, 1989; #2, Shadow Prey, 1990; #3, Eyes of Prey, 1991; #4, Silent Prey, 1992; and #5, Winter Prey, 1993.

A Time to Kill


John Grisham - 1989
    In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence, as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town, Clanton, Mississippi. The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. That is, until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes matters into his hands.For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life, and then his own.

Straight


Dick Francis - 1989
    A jockey becomes the sole inheritor of his late brother's business, horse, mistress, and enemies.

Painting the Darkness


Robert Goddard - 1989
    When the creak of the garden gate heralds the arrival of an unexpected stranger, he is puzzled but not alarmed. He cannot know the destruction this man will wreak on all he holds most dear.The stranger announces himself as James Norton, but claims he is in reality Sir James Davenall, the man to whom Trenchard's wife Constance had been engaged, and who had committed suicide eleven years ago. Sir Hugo, James's younger brother, and his mother, Lady Catherine, refuse to recognise Norton and force Trenchard - who fears the loss of his wife's affections - into an uneasy alliance against him. But Trenchard must plumb the depths of his own despair before the dark secrets of the Davenall family can finally, shockingly, be revealed...

The Day Before Midnight


Stephen Hunter - 1989
    They want Jack Hummel to cut through it--so they can unleash a devastatingly brilliant plot that threatens global disaster.Now a Delta Force veteran and a think-tank defense wizard must get inside South Mountain--by defeating their own super-security systems and a darkly ingenious enemy leader . . .. . . while Jack Hummel's torch burns closer and closer to the launch key . . . while the clock ticks closer to midnight--and Armageddon.Praise for The Day Before Midnight"Rockets toward a shattering climax like an incoming missile."--Stephen Coonts, author of Flight of the Intruder and Final Flight"Nonstop action and mounting tension."--The New York Times Book Review"Slam-bang action and relentless suspense."--The Washington Post"The novel crackles and jolts."--Chicago Tribune"The one to beat this year in the nail-biter class . . . an edge-of-the-seat doomsday countdown thriller."--Daily News, New York

The Flight of Flamingo


Elizabeth Darrell - 1989
    Leone Kirkland, who inherits the business from her father, finds herself caught in the middle of a family feud involving her lover, which will only be resolved by World War II.

The Temple Dogs


Warren Murphy - 1989
    He heads to Japan to find Nagoya, leader of the Yakuza, the only mobsters capable of destroying the DeSantos clan. Originally a spoiled, feckless WASP, Miles is transformed into a fierce warrior of the Yakuza, whose greatest challenge is to survive the pathological hatred of Sato, Nagoya's heir apparent. Sato is jealous of the American's influence with the other warriors, not to mention his fiancee, the porcelain-complexioned--what else?--Tomiko.This situation occasions the most bizarre episode in the novel--a brawl in a heap of manure. Afterward, Miles returns to New York to lead the Yakuza against the DeSanto mob and the fun begins: heads are decapitated, arrows fly, necks are snapped, knives with oriental tassels are thrown at the faces of unsuspecting mafiosi, hands chop spinal cords. The final shoot-out in Central Park is a muddled orgy of mindless bloodletting.

The Negotiator


Frederick Forsyth - 1989
    Only one man--Forsyth's most  unforgettable hero yet--can prevent the plan from succeeding.  His name is Quinn. He is the  Negotiator.President Cormack is  bent on a signing a sweeping U.S.-Soviet  disarmament treaty, and the master conspirator is  determined to stop him. The kidnapping of a young man on a  country road in Oxfordshire is but the first  brutal step in the explosive plot engineer the  president's destruction. Enter  Quinn.  Quinn plays the  kidnappers like a master musician. . . until, in a shocking  tumabout, he discovers that ransom was not their  objection after all--and that he has been lured  into a cunningly woven web. Now he must draw upon  his deepest strengths--to save not only the victim  but the entire free  world.

Incident at Badamya


Dorothy Gilman - 1989
    Her knapsack holds $100 US, a slingshot, a magical Burmese puppet, and the New York City, USA address of an unknown aunt. Imprisoned with six other lost travelers by Red Chinese, she vows to escape; never dreaming who will come to her aid.

Chances Are


Erica Spindler - 1989
    . . Free spirit Veronique Delacroix has a reputation for being reckless and for thumbing her nose at society’s rules. But her wild ways mask the vulnerability she keeps hidden. After all, with an impenetrable wall around her heart, how could it be broken?Brandon Rhodes is New Orleans’ version of royalty, his life steeped in the traditions of high society, Mardi Gras and privilege. His father’s sudden death leaves him in control of his family’s retail empire, but also with a vague restlessness. A sense that something is missing in his life. Veronique and Brandon’s chance meeting leads to a seductive game of one-upmanship. Their flirtatious sparring seems harmless enough until it becomes a passionate winner-takes-all game in which their hearts are the ultimate prize.

Death Roll


Sam Llewellyn - 1989
    In shark-infested seas and in the heat of bitter rivalry, the last thing needed is a man in the water...