Best of
Thriller

1996

The Two Dead Girls


Stephen King - 1996
    No one understood their brutal deaths, not even the man who killed them. But John Coffey is about to gain a new insight, about his life in prison, and about the one man who will walk him down that green mile . . . toward destiny.Prepare yourself for Stephen King's boldest exercise in nerve-twisting suspense. A multi-part serial novel that begins on death row and goes on from there to realms of revelation that make death seem sweet. This is Stephen King's most irresistible journey ever. To be continued . . . --back cover

Choosers of the Slain


James H. Cobb - 1996
    

The Unlikely Spy


Daniel Silva - 1996
    The Nazis, however, have also chosen an unlikely agent: Catherine Blake, a beautiful widow of a war hero, a hospital volunteer - and a Nazi spy under direct orders from Hitler to uncover the Allied plans for D-Day...

The Poet


Michael Connelly - 1996
    So when his homicide detective brother kills himself, McEvoy copes in the only way he knows how--he decides to write the story. But his research leads him to suspect a serial killer is at work--a devious murderer who's killing cops and leaving a trail of poetic clues. It's the news story of a lifetime, if he can get the story without losing his life.

To the Hilt


Dick Francis - 1996
    From the acclaimed master of mystery and suspense comes the story of a self-imposed outcast who must refresh his detection skills in order to save himself and his family.

Total Control


David Baldacci - 1996
    A husband she loves. A job at which she excels, and a cherished young daughter. Then, as a plane plummets into the Virginia countryside, everything changes. And suddenly there is no one whom Sidney Archer can trust. Jason Archer is a rising young executive at Triton Global, the world's leading technology conglomerate. Determined to give his family the best of everything, Archer has secretly entered into a deadly game of cat and mouse. He is about to disappear - leaving behind a wife who must sort out his lies from his truths, an aircrash investigation team that wants to know why the plane he was ticketed on suddenly fell from the sky, and a veteran FBI agent who wants to know it all. From Seattle to Washington, D.C., from New Orleans to Maine, the hunt for Jason Archer follows a trail as complex as the world he lived and worked in - a world of enormously powerful computers, a multimillion-dollar takeover deal, titanic financial standoffs, artificial intelligence, and the Internet. With brilliant minds colliding, ruthless men waging battles of intimidation, rainmakers going toe-to-toe with killers, and security specialists making a fortune trying to plug the holes, the startling truth behind Jason Archer's disappearance explodes into a sinister plot with the murder of the country's single most powerful individual. And soon Archer's wife, Sidney, aided by the relentless and sharp-eyed FBI agent Lee Sawyer, will plunge straight into the violence that is leaving behind a trail of dead bodies and shocking, exposed secrets...

Nathan's Run


John Gilstrap - 1996
    Beginning with a savage killing at a suburban Virginia juvenile detention center, Nathan's Run hurtles 12-year-old Nathan Bailey through a terrifying gauntlet. Accused of murder and branded a cop killer, Nathan becomes the target of a nationwide manhunt even as a vicious hit man is closing in on him. Orphaned and alone, Nathan has nowhere to turn for help. To stay alive he can count only on himself: on his agility, natural cleverness and honesty. Ironically, the latter proves a formidable weapon as the boy endears himself to a national radios talk show host and, along the way, pleads his case to a rapt nation. Still, "justice" will not be denied, and as an army of police and a dogged contract killer draw closer, Nathan is tested to the very limits of his endurance.

Dark Rose


Mike Lunnon-Wood - 1996
    At first, no one could see what was happening. By the time the alarm was raised it was too late. Ireland had been seized: a financial assault consolidated by a military one. But as the island is overrun, it’s soon clear that the invaders did not anticipate the fierce resolve of of their Celtic opponents. Nor the determination of the country’s powerful allies to throw out the occupiers. While a strengthening Irish resistance mounts a fierce guerilla campaign to take their country back, the British bring to bear the full might of the Army, Royal Navy and RAF to liberate their friend and neighbour across the Irish Channel. Dark Rose takes a bold premise and weaves it into a breathtaking, action-packed military thriller. If you like Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsyth, Andy McNab, Chris Ryan, Larry Bond, Dale Brown or Damien Lewis then you’ll love Mike Lunnon-Wood. Perfect for fans of Red Storm Rising, Sniper One or Bravo Two Zero or movies like Red Dawn, Dunkirk or The Siege of Jadotville.

The Birthday Girl


Stephen Leather - 1996
    Now she's his adopted daughter, the perfect all-American girl, and it seems like her past is another country.But Mersiha has been trained to kill. And when she discovers that Freeman's company is being subjected to a sinister takeover bid, she decides to help - whatever the risks.The consequences of her actions are lethal, for Mersiha has unearthed a conspiracy of terrifying proportions . . .*********PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER'A master of the thriller genre'Irish Times'A writer at the top of his game'Sunday Express'In the top rank of thriller writers' Jack Higgins

Exclusive


Sandra Brown - 1996
    Then, suddenly, she receives an invitation from First Lady Vanessa Merritt for an off-the-record conversation. Barrie's reporter's instincts are instantly aroused. During a furtive, emotionally charged meeting, Barrie sees that the President's beautiful wife is stunned by grief after the crib death of her infant son. Vanessa's motive for meeting Barrie seems to be to share her heartache with another woman. What Barrie overlooks in her excitement at hearing the confidences of the First Lady are the questions she should be asking: Why would Vanessa Merritt call her? And why would the President's wife hint to an unknown reporter that her child may have been murdered? Blind to everything but getting her exclusive, Barrie is determined to investigate the death of the President's child. But she soon realizes that getting her story will test her ethics and her patriotism. Would she expose information that could topple the presidency? She confronts this problem when she tracks down Gray Bondurant, a former presidential aide and war hero who shunned the politics of Washington in favor of life on a remote Wyoming ranch. And when they both begin to follow a trail of lies and intrigue right to the White House door, Barrie's exclusive puts at least three people on the firing line: the First Lady, Gray, and herself - as crimes and ambitions combine to endanger their lives and the future of the nation.

The Runaway Jury


John Grisham - 1996
    In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake begins routinely, then swerves mysteriously off course. The jury is behaving strangely, and at least one juror is convinced he's being watched. Soon they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an anonymous young woman suggests she is able to predict the jurors' increasingly odd behavior. Is the jury somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If so, by whom? And, more importantly, why?From the Trade Paperback edition.

Icon


Frederick Forsyth - 1996
    From the master of the novel of international intrigue comes a riveting new book as timely and unsettling as tomorrow's headlines.It is summer 1999 in Russia, a country on the threshold of anarchy.  An interim president sits powerless in Moscow as his nation is wracked by famine and inflation, crime and corruption, and seething hordes of the unemployed roam the streets.For the West, Russia is a basket case.  But for Igor Komarov, one-time army sergeant who has risen to leadership of the right-wing UPF party, the chaos is made to order.  As he waits in the wings for the presidential election of January 2000, his striking voice rings out over the airwaves offering the roiling masses hope at last--not only for law, order, and prosperity, but for restoring the lost greatness of their land.Who is this man with the golden tongue who is so quickly becoming the promise of a Russia reborn?  A document stolen from party headquarters and smuggled to Washington and London sends nightmare chills through those who remember the past, for this Black Manifesto is pure Mein Kampf in a country with frightening parallels to the Germany of the Weimar Republic.Officially the West can do nothing, but in secret a group of elder statesmen sends the only person who can expose the truth about Komarov into the heart of the inferno.  Jason Monk, ex-CIA and "the best damn agent-runner we ever had," had sworn he would never return to Moscow, but one name changes his mind.  Colonel Anatoli Grishin, the KGB officer who tortured and murdered four of Monk's agents after they had been betrayed by Aldrich Ames, is now Komarov's head of security.Monk has a dual mission: to stop Komarov, whatever it takes, and to prepare the way for an icon worthy of the Russian people.  But he has a personal mission as well: to settle the final score with Grishin.  To do this he must stay alive--and the forces allied against him are ruthless, the time frighteningly short....

Contest


Matthew Reilly - 1996
    A silent sanctuary of knowledge; a 100-year-old labyrinth of towering bookcases, narrow aisles and long marble hallways. For Doctor Stephen Swain and his daughter, Holly, it is the site of a nightmare. Because for one night this historic building is to be the venue for a contest. A contest in which Swain is to compete - whether he likes it or not.The rules are simple: Seven contestants will enter, only one will leave.With his daughter in his arms, Stephen Swain is plunged into a terrifying fight for survival. The stakes are high, the odds brutal. He can choose to run, to hide or to fight - but if he wants to live, he has to win. For in this contest, unless you leave as the victor, you do not leave at all.Readers all over the world have been cheering about Matthew Reilly’s lightning fast adventure thrillers. Contest, the action-packed extravaganza that launched this international bestselling career, is vintage Reilly at his explosive best.

Sabre


James Follett - 1996
    Sabre 005, a synergetic, air-breathing rocket engine, will revolutionise air travel as the world knows it. Paul Santos, a French engineer, developed the aircraft. A jet in the atmosphere and a rocket in space, Sabre 005 is set for its first ever-commercial test flight- and its first fare paying passengers are already scheduled for one year's time. Joe Yavanoski, a compulsorily- retired union boss, knows that the threat Sabre 005 poses. Its success will spell the death of his country's former great aircraft industry and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. Including that of top engineer Jean Lesseps. Together, Yavanoski and Lesseps hatch a plan to shatter the publics' confidence for ever- the perfect, undetectable bomb that will wipe out Sabre 005 its passengers and its crew, once and for all. All they have to do is get it on board.

Stand By, Stand by


Chris Ryan - 1996
    Geordie Sharp, a sergeant in the SAS, is struggling to pick up the threads of his army career. Wounded in the Gulf War, he returns to Hereford to find his home life in tatters. As he trains with Northern Ireland Troop, a murder in his family fires him with personal hatred of the IRA. Posted to Belfast, he discovers that his adversary is Declan Farrell, a leading player in the Provisional IRA. Sharp sets out to stalk and kill his man.Relentlessly exciting and completely unoutdownable, Chris Ryan's Stand By, Stand By is as exciting as the military thriller can be. .

Cobra Trap


Peter O'Donnell - 1996
    Including 'Bellman', 'The Dark Angels', 'Old Alex', The Girl With the Black Balloon' and 'Cobra Trap', this collection reveals the untold tales of the world's most famous agent.From her youth in the criminal underworld, to fighting rebels in the jungles of central America and pitched battles on board a moving train, this collection featuring the classic duo of Modesty Blaise and her loyal lieutenant Willie Garvin is an essential part of any Modesty fan's library.

Society of the Mind


Eric L. Harry - 1996
    Laura Aldridge, a young Harvard psychology professor, is offered one million dollars by billionaire computer-genius and inventor Joseph Gray to assist on a mysterious project, she leaves her comfortable existence to live on his beautiful island in the South Pacific. The centerpiece of his world empire is a massive, artificially intelligent neurocomputer buried deep under the island. Its life has grown troubled and Laura must psychoanalyze and cure Gray's all-too-human computer before its malfunctions lead to global catastrophe. What she learns is information that some men--and governments--would kill to keep from being exposed.

Java Spider


Geoffrey Archer - 1996
    His kidnapping does not fall under British jurisdiction and the authorities in Jakarta claim that he has been seized by a guerrilla movement. But their investigation makes no progress as horrific satellite pictures of him are released on national television. The government sends one man to rescue him - Nick Randall has served in the Far East before. He knows that nothing is as it seems in the land of masks. Greater forces are in play than even he suspects. Together with a lone woman TV reporter he penetrates a remote island, where a powder keg of armed local rebellion is threatening to explode under the repressive regime.

Windswept House


Malachi Martin - 1996
    With a scope and daring not possible until now, an unlikely international alliance of top-level political, financial, and religious interests sees the way clear at last to its ultimate goal: the establishment of a single global society. Utopia.These are men with nothing in common but immense power and a towering ambition for still more. With world unity and prosperity as their slogan--and with betrayal, scandal, and murder as their ready weapons--they have the means and the will to capture as their own the perfect global machinery for their plans: the oldest, wiliest, and most stable political chancery in the world--the Vatican.At the vortex of this lethal struggle stands the embattled Pope, a geopolitical genius whose elimination is the short-term solution to a long-term goal, and two American brothers, Paul and Christian Gladstone, one a lawyer and the other a priest, who appear to be the perfect pawns. One falls prey to the sharp teeth of greed for power. The other will become one of the Slavic Pontiff's closest allies...and will discover the darkest secrets at the very heart of papal Rome.From America to Europe to Russia, in broad landscapes and clandestine corridors, a rich and varied cast--presidents and politicos, simple saints and savvy sinners, popes and pope-makers--clash with one another amid dramatic and sometimes bloody events that will affect the destiny of every person alive today.

White Viper


Terence Strong - 1996
    Infiltrator, investigator and sometimes executioner. A freelancer to be used whan all else fails. Uniquely qualified to operate in dangerous territory where even government agencies fear to tread - against state tyranny, terrorism and narcotics traffickers. Reaching out beyond the arm of international law to dispense justice, however rough. Working for Amnesty International, the Red Cross, the DEA and several intelligence agencies. And for the anonymous organisation to which he has made a very personal pledge. A man driven by a hatred if intimidation and an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Pursued by a dark demon from his past. So when vast quantities of WHITE VIPER - an exceptionally pure and branded cocaine - threatens to flood Britain, Europe and the USA, Mallory is the natural choice to head up a deniable search-and-destroy operation. One that is to plunge him into deadliest, most harrowing and unnerving mission of his life. In his tenth bestselling thriller, Terence Strong has created a startling different anti-hero and a stunning page-turner of a story that is inspired by real people and events.

The Final Reckoning


Margaret James - 1996
    The killer was never found. Traumatised by what she saw, Lindsay had no choice but to leave her home village of Hartley Cross and its close-knit community behind. Now, years later, she must face up to the terrible memories that still haunt her. But will confronting the past finally allow Lindsay to heal, or will her return to Hartley Cross unearth dangerous secrets and put the people she has come to care about most at risk? A gripping thriller from this successful historical novelists and creative writing tutor. Perfect for fans of Erin Kelly, Linda Green and Laura Marshall.

A New Collection of Three Complete Novels (A Perfect Spy / The Russia House / The Secret Pilgrim)


John le Carré - 1996
    This hardcover trilogy features three of the masters most exciting and best-selling stories: The Russia House, The Secret Pilgrim. and A Perfect Spy. A perfect set-up for his millions of fans.

The Fragile Peace


Paul Anthony - 1996
    A Provo hitman in the pay of the British Intelligence Service is under orders to kill Billy and Liam - each on opposing sides of the conflict - before they destroy the fragile peace.

By My Hands


Alton Gansky - 1996
    Who's healing these patients? And why do they suddenly disappear? As the hospital, the media, and the police all scramble to answer these questions, Pastor Adam Bridger launches his own investigation--and finds himself in harm's way in the process.

Pandora's Helix


Ken McClure - 1996
    The biotechnology company involved believes that it has come up with a treatment for malignant tumours, and the hospital administrators, reeling after a recent bout of bad publicity, see this as an opportunity to get some good press coverage for a change.But as the trials progress, the press - largely in the form of journalist, Eve Sayers - becomes more interested in the deaths of two young girls. Originally thought to have died from viral pneumonia, post-mortem examinations reveal the presence of an underlying cancer, so severe that only recent exposure to a powerful carcinogen can account for it.As more deaths follow and the city's Public Health Deapartment fails to trace the source of the carcinogen, all the signs point towards a horrifying scenario, though the powers-that-be refuse to take any of the evidence seriously. Alarm bells ringing, it is up to Neef, with the aid of Eve, to set about trying to find the cause of this deadly - and seemingly infectious - disease before any more fall victim to it. And it would appear that someone is determined he won't live to find out . . .Ken McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council.This book was first published by Simon & Schuster Ltd. (UK) in 1996.

Bushfire


Paul Anthony - 1996
    The action spans the oceans, from Colombia to the British Isles and is set against the inferno of a raging drugs' culture. Cumbrian undercover detective Boyd, and the covert power of the State, battle against globally organised crime syndicates unaware that some amongst them have different plans: Private and personal revenge... A gripping tale from Paul Anthony. Paul Anthony is the pseudonym of a policeman. As a detective, he served with Cumbria CID, the Regional Crime Squad in Manchester, the Special Branch, and other national agencies in the UK

Kara's Game


Gordon Stevens - 1996
    And they made her a promise. We will never forget. Anything you want, you have. Anything you need you have!

The Beach


Alex Garland - 1996
    (Nancy Pearl)

The Truth and the Lies (The Legionnaires Book 1)


Douglas Boyd - 1996
     Raised as an orphan, Jon never knew his true parents. Now, he is determined to discover the truth about Koenig, even if it means embarking on the most lethal news story of his career. He travels to France to stay with his lover Regine and with her help sets to work on his investigation. She introduces him to Admiral Bonnard, a shady figure in French counter-intelligence. Bonnard tells them that Koenig was a political hit-man, wanted for desertion, cowardice. And that he could have been a political assassin, killed in an attempt on de Gaulle’s life in 1962. King’s instinct for truth tells him that this is a lie, and his search for the truth reveals that Bonnard has plenty to hide... When a man who knew Koenig is brutally tortured and killed, it seems the murderous game in which Jon’s father was a player years before is still fought. He starts to learn things wishes he hadn’t… Now, trapped in the cross-fire of a civil war in Algeria, Jon is face-to-face with an impossible deadline...and faces the toughest decision he has ever had to make. Whichever way he decides, someone close to him will die... 'The Truth and the Lies' is an action-packed thriller rich in military detail. Praise for the author: ‘Well-crafted, convincing and intriguing’ - Tony Geraghty, author of MARCH OR DIE After serving as an RAF Russian monitor in Berlin, Douglas Boyd did time in a Stasi political prison. Traded back to the West through the Red Cross, he avoided court martial and imprisonment, entering the film industry before moving to the BBC and becoming a TV producer. A full-time writer for the past 25 years, his best-selling books include ‘The Eagle and the Snake’ and ‘The Honour and the Glory’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Summit


Charles D. Taylor - 1996
    -- Due to errors in the original version, a revised version has been published. On the still waters of the Mediterranean, a critical peace conference convenes … It's an unprecedented moment in modern history: fourteen world leaders have gathered for a secret summit aboard the CALM SEAS, a palatial, high-security yacht. Under the guidance of the U. S. President, and the protection of U. S. Navy SEALs, sworn enemies have agreed to put their differences aside. From the deep, a killer rises … in the storm-tossed Atlantic, a lethal, heavily-armed submarine is seized — and a cunning terrorist plot is silently begun. The frantic warnings of the CIA are too late. Through the Strait of Gibraltar, a brilliant, ruthless commander runs a deadly gauntlet, torpedoes locked on his prize: the CALM SEAS. With deadly precision, the rogue submarine is ready to ignite a conflagration of terror and bloodshed … and to realize a terrorist's furious dream: to plunge the world into war!

Red


Jack Ketchum - 1996
    He smells gun oil too, too much oil on a brand-new shotgun. These aren't hunters, they're rich kids who don't care about the river and the fish and the old man.Or his dog. Red is the name of the old man's dog, his best friend in the world. And when the boys shoot the dog -- for nothing, for simple spite -- he sees red, like a mist before his eyes. And before the whole thing is done there'll be more red. Red for blood...

Sub Zero


John T. Campbell - 1996
    A heavily armed assault team from a North Korean Kilo class submarine is about to shift the balance of power in the Far East and leave the United States also vulnerable to a missile attack. The death ship known as "Master Three" must be prevented from returning to North Korea with its load of top secret documents and a kidnapped Amercan engineer whose head is filled with missile secrets. On an isolated Pacific atoll, an undermanned, outgunned band of civilians, servicemen, engineers and civilians is America's last line of defense . . and her final hope. They must fight the ultimate battle - against an enemy few could have imagined.

Unnatural Acts


Dylan Jones - 1996
    He calls the sole person he can communicate with, his older brother Lou, a homicide detective. Lou has to deal with the possibility that his brother is the woman's killer, which keeps him from digging as deeply as he should into other suspects. This in turn angers his new partner, an ambitious woman with family secrets of her own, and the victim's brother, who comes over from Wales to collect her body and winds up at the center of a ferocious struggle for truth and survival. Jones, a Welsh ophthalmologist, also wrote the terrific thriller Outside the Rules.

Incubus


Joe Donnelly - 1996
    Ginny Marsden, a young woman leading a quiet, uneventful life, inextricably disapears. Two apparently ordinary cases for police officers David Harper and Helen Lamont to investigate.