Best of
Thriller

2008

Here After


Sean Costello - 2008
    LOSS. OBSESSION. REDEMPTION.Following the death of his ten-year-old son, physician Peter Croft embarks on a desperate, seemingly random search for a missing child, risking his sanity, even his life in a grief-induced quest. His journey propels him into the darkest reaches of human suffering, and pits him squarely against an adversary whose own obsession defies all reason.Here After is a story of love, loss, obsession and redemption, with gripping action sequences and a subtle paranormal underpinning. A compelling read from a seasoned storyteller, Costello’s sixth novel will keep you reading deep into the night.

Billie Jo


Kimberley Chambers - 2008
    Kimberley Chambers is a talent to match Martina Cole.From the Paperback edition.

Dirty Game


Jessie Keane - 2008
    Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante.For longer than she cares to remember Annie Bailey has lived in the shadow of her older sister Ruthie. Now Ruthie has her hands on Max Carter, the much feared head of the Carter family and a top class villain.Seducing Max wasn't a problem, but the guilt, shame and anger of rejection afterwards was.Thrown onto the streets Annie finds herself living with Celia, a wayward aunt with a shocking secret. As the months pass Annie's resourceful nature sees her mature and carve out a life for herself, albeit not legal. But if you play with fire, you can expect to get burned and her lavish new lifestyle and connections may be about to come crashing down around her.Annie has unwittingly placed herself between two rival gangs and upset too many people, and these kind of people don't forget. But as everyone knows, Annie Bailey is no ordinary woman.

Scarecrow / Seven Ancient Wonders


Matthew Reilly - 2008
    For a shadowy consortium of staggering power and wealth has included his name on a list of fifteen targets to be eliminated without fail by noon that day. Now every high-powered bounty-hunter on the planet is on his trail, while he must simultaneously track down the perpetrators of a conspiracy about to reduce many of the major cities of the world to ashes.SEVEN ANCIENT WONDERSFour and a half thousand years ago, a magnificent golden capstone sat at the peak of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was a source of immense power, and reputedly capable of bestowing upon its holder absolute global power. But then it was divided into seven pieces and hidden, each piece separately, within the seven greatest structures of the age.Now it's 2006 and the coming of a rare solar even means it's time to locate the seven pieces and rebuild the capstone. Everyone wants in—from the most powerful countries of Earth to gangs of terrorists...and one daring coalition of eight small nations. Led by the mysterious Captain Jack West Jr., this determined group enters a global battlefield filled with booby-trapped mines, crocodile-infested swamps, evil forces and an adventure beyond their imagining.

Divine Justice


David Baldacci - 2008
    Men in the highest circles of power want him dead, and quickly, because he knows too many of their deepest secrets. On the other hand, the members of the secretive Camel Club not only want Stone alive, but they are willing to risk their own lives to save their leader and friend. Get ready for a David Baldacci thriller with relentless intensity, a perfect follow-up to his acclaimed "Stone Cold" - Camel Club #3.We begin with Oliver Stone taking drastic action to deal with individuals who have imposed injustices on him in his past life. He soon resorts to necessary flight and lands accidently in Divine, Virginia with a new young friend, Danny Riker. It's a strange place, fraught with secrets, criminal activities, and so much danger for Stone.Librarian's note: this is one of five volumes in the author's Camel Club series.

An Innocent Client


Scott PrattScott Pratt - 2008
     A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused. In this Mystery Readers International finalist for "Best Debut Mystery," criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he's tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can't resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer's, but Dillard's commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him. "Pratt's richly developed characters are vivid and believable, especially the strong Southern women who fight their male-dominated culture from behind a facade of vulnerability in this brilliantly executed debut." -- Publisher's Weekly. "It’s Scott Turow and Grisham... The opening chapter is maybe the most compelling I’ve read in a decade.” – Ken Bruen. Smart and sophisticated, with a plot twist that will leave you shaking your head in wonder, "An Innocent Client" -- the first in the acclaimed Joe Dillard series -- will also leave you wanting more.

The Perk


Mark Gimenez - 2008
    But he's been a full-time lawyer and a part-time father, so their lives soon fall apart. To save his children, he returns to his small hometown in the Texas Hill Country, reunites with his estranged father (a goat rancher turned winemaker), and soon becomes the local judge. He finds himself trying to pay off an old debt by solving the cold case murder of his high school buddy's teenage daughter—and discovers that a small-town judge's life isn't such a simple life.Best-seller lists:No. 6, IrelandNo. 11, AustraliaNo. 17, UKEditorial Reviews:"Remember when John Grisham exploded on to the courtroom drama market with novels of breathtaking brilliance? Lightning just struck twice." - The Daily Record (Scotland)"Gimenez returns to the complex legal thrillers where he seems to be at his best. The Perk has mystery, humour and history along with well-drawn characters that the reader will actually care about. As is often the case in legal thrillers, there is a mix of those characters that take the moral high ground and those who seem just out for their own good. Unusually, there are also a few comic and slightly caricatured figures here as well—but they all fit well together in the plot. Together with great characters and a strong plot there is also lots of interesting historical information. The ending may not be what is expected but it is all the better for it and proves to be a good finish to an excellent book. As ever, Gimenez is highly recommended, impossible to put down and definitely not to be missed." - CrimeSquad.com (UK)"Just as well I started The Perk on the weekend, as I couldn't put down this book. . . . This one's a cracker—neatly woven subplots, a taut thriller and a wonderfully current statement on American popular culture. And yes, Gimenez may possibly be the next Grisham." - Kerre's Book Reviews (UK)“Gimenez fills the John Grisham hole in the legal-thriller genre so well there may be no room left for Grisham.” – The Sunday Times (Perth) "Gimenez's novels are gripping, intense thrillers. Guaranteed to keep you up well into the night, The Perk is an exceptionally well crafted novel, populated by a cast of characters that are realistically-drawn and appealing. As always, thought-provoking, intelligent, and addictive. Highly recommended." - Civilian-Reader (UK)Top Ten of 2008—"We read lots of thrillers and they can tend to merge into one another. The Perk stood out by a mile as an excellent example of the genre and a stunning, well told tale in its own right. Gimenez' stature continues to grow." - CrimeSquad.com (UK)

A Prisoner of Birth


Jeffrey Archer - 2008
    But when the four prosecution witnesses are a barrister, a popular actor, an aristocrat, and the youngest partner in an established firm's history, who is going to believe his side of the story?Danny is sentenced to twenty-two years and sent to Belmarsh prison, the highest-security jail in the land, from where no inmate has ever escaped.However, Spencer Craig, Lawrence Davenport, Gerald Payne, and Toby Mortimer all underestimate Danny's determination to seek revenge, and Beth's relentless quest to pursue justice, which ends up with all four fighting for their lives.Thus begins Jeffrey Archer's most powerful novel since Kane and Abel, with a cast of characters that will remain with you long after you've turned the last page.And if that is not enough, prepare for an ending that will shock even the most ardent of Archer's fans.

Shutter Island


Christian De Metter - 2008
    Marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner, Chuck Aule, are sent to Shutter Island to find a mass murderer who has escaped from Ashecliffe Hospital, a fortress-like federal institution for the criminally insane. As an intense hurricane bears relentlessly down on the island, the marshals are forced to piece together clues to a shocking puzzle hidden within Shutter Island, taking them on a dark, twisted journey, where paranoia assumes an air of cool rationality and the line between sanity and madness disappears...Filled with his trademark grit, insight, and pathos, "Shutter Island" is vintage Dennis Lehane. Now adapted for the first time as a graphic novel by internationally renowned artist Christian De Metter, this riveting story brilliantly captures our capacity for depravity and deliverance.

Blindsighted / Indelible / A Faint Cold Fear / Kisscut / Triptych / Faithless


Karin Slaughter - 2008
    

Singularity


Kathryn Casey - 2008
    As a single mother and one of the few female Rangers in Texas history, she has had to work twice as hard to rank among the best cops in the Lone Star State. But when megawealthy businessman Edward Lucas III is found murdered along with his mistress, their bodies posed in grotesque ways, Sara quickly senses that this will be the deadliest case of her career. While others focus the investigation on Lucas’s estranged wife, Sarah disagrees and hunts a suspect only she believes in. Yet nothing in her career could have prepared her for the horror of a young man who believes he has been sent from heaven to massacre innocent people. When Sarah picks up on the killer’s elusive trail, following his scent all over Texas, the psychopath makes her his next target. And as Sarah closes in, the madman sets his sights on all she holds dear. Singularity features a feisty, funny, and tough heroine and a truly creepy killer, as it races along to a chilling and unexpected climax.

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Volume 1: Prodigal Son


Dean Koontz - 2008
    Victor Frankenstein brought his notorious creation to life, but a horrible turn of events forced him to abandon it and slip away from the public eye. Two centuries later, a serial killer is on the loose in New Orleans, gruesomely salvaging body parts from each of his victims, as if trying to assemble a perfect human being. Detective Carson O’Connor is cool, cynical, and every bit as tough as she looks. Her partner, Michael Maddison, would back her up all the way to Hell itself–and that just may be where their new case leads. For as they investigate the strange killings, O’Connor and Madison find themselves drawn into a weird underworld of deception and secrets where a man named Victor Helios has created an entire race of perfectly engineered people who are meant to take humankind’s place one day. But something is happening to some of Helios’s creations, and it may be that this bizarre serial killer is the least of the detectives’ worries.From the masterly pen of New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz–and featuring an adaptation by legendary comic book writer Chuck Dixon and gorgeous illustrations by acclaimed artist Brett Booth–Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son is a story filled with fast-paced action, gripping horror, and thrilling adventure.

Child 44


Tom Rob Smith - 2008
    He arrests whomever he is told to arrest. He dismisses the horrific death of a young boy because he is told to, because he believes the Party stance that there can be no murder in Communist Russia. Leo is the perfect soldier of the regime. But suddenly his confidence that everything he does serves a great good is shaken. He is forced to watch a man he knows to be innocent be brutally tortured. And then he is told to arrest his own wife. Leo understands how the State works: Trust and check, but check particularly on those we trust. He faces a stark choice: his wife or his life. And still the killings of children continue...

Blood Ties


Sophie McKenzie - 2008
    The clues lead him to the lonely Rachel, who has problems of her own, including parents who compare her unfavourably to her long-dead sister. But when Rachel and Theo are attacked by men from RAGE - the Righteous Army against Genetic Engineering - at Rachel's school disco, they are rescued by strangers and taken to meet a mysterious figure. There, they both make some startling discoveries about their identities, which will affect their past, present, and future in dramatic and life-altering ways...

Killing Fear


Allison Brennan - 2008
    . . both on his victims and on those who later find the mutilated corpses. At his trial seven years ago, Glenn vowed vengeance on Detective Will Hooper, the cop who nabbed him, and beautiful Robin McKenna, the stripper whose testimony put him behind bars. When a catastrophic disaster sets Glenn free, he blazes a freshly bloodied path across San Diego County. But the death he craves most is Robin McKenna’s. Putting aside their past troubled relationship, Will rushes to protect Robin, now a savvy businesswoman operating an upscale club. As the killings mount and Glenn proves a master manipulator, Robin and Will become snared in a twisted web of horror. But the shocking truth is even worse: The evil they are to face is even deadlier than they fear.

First to Kill


Andrew Peterson - 2008
    Now he utilizes his unique skill set in the private sector—until the night Frank Ortega, former director of the FBI, calls in a favor. A deep-cover federal agent has vanished, along with a ton of Semtex explosives, and Ortega needs them found—fast. Because for him, this mission is personal: the missing agent is his grandson. And Nathan McBride is the only man he trusts to save him.But it quickly becomes clear that something bigger than even Ortega could have imagined is at stake. Within days of accepting the assignment, McBride finds himself trapped between a ruthless adversary hell-bent on revenge and a group of high-ranking federal officials who will stop at nothing to reap their own brand of justice. Here there are no rules, no protocol, no backup. Only McBride…

Confessions


Kanae Minato - 2008
    Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation. But first she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that upends everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge. Narrated in alternating voices, with twists you'll never see coming, Confessions explores the limits of punishment, despair, and tragic love, culminating in a harrowing confrontation between teacher and student that will place the occupants of an entire school in danger. You'll never look at a classroom the same way again.

Paul Auster: Moon Palace


Wolfgang Hallet - 2008
    In an exemplary interpretation of the novel, this volume integrates theoretical concepts from narrotology, visual culture and cultural history into a close reading of the aesthetic and structural features of the novel. Interpretative insight into a postmodern novel is thus combined with the provision of transferable conceptual knowledge.

Omnibus: Prince Of Fire / The Messenger / The Secret Servant


Daniel Silva - 2008
    Hastily recalled home to Israel, drawn once more into the heart of a service he had once forsaken, Allon finds himself stalking an elusive master terrorist. The Messenger: Gabriel Allon is recovering from his grueling showdown with a Palestinian master terrorist, when terrorism comes to find him once again. An al-Qaeda suspect is killed in London, and photographs are found on his computer - photographs that lead Israeli intelligence to suspect that al-Qaeda is planning one of its most audacious attacks ever, straight at the heart of the Vatican. The Secret Servant: Gabriel Allon is summoned once more by his masters to undertake what appears to be a routine assignment: travel to Amsterdam to purge the archives of a murdered Dutch terrorism analyst who also happened to be an asset of Israeli intelligence. But once in Amsterdam, Gabriel soon discovers a conspiracy of terror festering in the city's Islamic underground, a plot that is about to explode on the other side of the English Channel, in the middle of London.

Blue Heaven


C.J. Box - 2008
    Retired cops from Los Angeles, the killers easily persuade the inexperienced sheriff to let them lead the search for the missing children.William and Annie’s unexpected savior comes in the form of an old-school rancher teetering on the brink of foreclosure. But as one man against four who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses, Jess Rawlins needs allies, and he knows that one word to the wrong person could seal the fate of the children or their mother. In a town where most of the ranches like his have turned into acres of ranchettes populated by strangers, finding someone to trust won’t be easy.With true-to-life, unforgettable characters and a ticking-clock plot that spans just over forty-eight hours, C.J. Box has created a thriller that delves into issues close to the heart: the ruthless power of greed over broken ideals, the healing power of community where unlikely heroes find themselves at the crossroads of duty and courage, and the truth about what constitutes a family. In a setting whose awesome beauty is threatened by those who want a piece of it, Blue Heaven delivers twists and turns until its last breathtaking page.Blue Heaven is the winner of the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

Dexter: An Omnibus


Jeff Lindsay - 2008
    Which makes his job as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami PD a little tricky. But it means that he's very tidy when it comes to his hobby: murder. After all, even though Dexter only ever kills bad people, he doesn't want to draw attention to it. But now there's another killer out there who's being a whole lot less subtle...Dearly Devoted Dexter: Miami's best-dressed serial killer is getting twitchy - he hasn't killed for months. Ever since their paths first crossed, Sergeant Doakes hasn't let Dexter Morgan out of his sight. Then a body turns up, mutilated and barely alive. To trap the torturer, Doakes and Dexter will have to work together, if they can trust each other. It's a devil's pact and one of them will have to be the bait.Dexter in the Dark: When Dexter is brought in to analyse a charred headless cause, it seems he's dealing with a killer even more sinister than he is, and one with a personal interest in him. And with Dexter now having a family to protect, the stakes are high. As he realises his step-children might share his blood-lust, if he's ever to help them target it, Dexter will first have to stay alive himself.

Vengeance


A.J. Scudiere - 2008
    It was the last thing he did. In retaliation for his efforts, his mafia bosses laid waste to his family. Only the youngest - Cynthia - came up fighting.Three years ago, Lee Maxwell made the same error. His wife and daughter paid for his mistake. In a haze of booze and regret, Lee disappeared.Now, Owen Dunham is following the trail of the 'Grudge Ninja' - only all the evidence is false and the profilers can't get their heads around anything except the obvious fact that the Ninja is extracting a deadly revenge for an old wrong.As the Ninja gets bolder and far more dangerous, Owen is forced to recognize that he hasn't always made the best decisions - he's spent far too much time trying to be right. Even as he questions whether bringing in the ninja is the right thing to do, the voice in the back of his head is telling him it will make his career . . .

The Whole Truth


David Baldacci - 2008
    "Matt" is Mathew Pender, of Pender Associates--a shadowy organization that specializes in managing seemingly impossible situations for its clients. Sometimes, those services extend to managing--and creating--armed conflict. When Matt Pender is asked by his client--the largest defense contractor in the world--to manipulate two nations against each other, a shocking and surprising series of events are set in motion that will possibly bring the world to the brink of World War III.*In this epic thriller with a global backdrop, David Baldacci delivers all the twists and turns, compelling characters, and can't-put-it-down pacing that readers have come to expect from this master storyteller.

Left To Die


Lisa Jackson - 2008
    . .One by one, the victims are carefully captured, toyed with, then subjected to a slow and agonizing death. Piece by piece, his exquisite plan takes shape. The police can't yet see the beauty in his work--but soon, very soon, they will. . . Than Being Left Alone. . . In the lonely woods around Grizzly Point, Montana, four bodies have been discovered. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have been hoping for a career-making case, but this is a nightmare. Even with the FBI involved, Selena and Regan have nothing to go on but a killer's cryptic notes, and the unsettling knowledge that there is much worse to come. . . To Die. . . When Jillian Rivers opens her eyes, she's trapped in a mangled car. Then a stranger, claiming to be a trail guide named Zane McGregor, pries her free. Though she's grateful, something about him sets Jillian on edge. And if she knew what lay out there in the woods of Montana, she'd be truly terrified. Because someone is waiting... watching... poised to strike and make Jillian the next victim...

Secret Histories


F. Paul Wilson - 2008
    You'll meet his mother and father, big sister Kate and his bully of a brother Tom. While aimed for young adults, F. Paul Wilson doesn't write down and the book is as enjoyable for adults as it is for teens. And, as you can see from the above description there's plenty of foreshadowing of events that were to overtake Jack as an adult (i.e. An old woman with a dog making herself known to Jack when he's just fourteen!)

The Complete Ripley Novels


Patricia Highsmith - 2008
    Its publication reflects the fact that Patricia Highsmith, "no more a practitioner of the murder mystery genre... than are Dostoevsky, Faulkner and Camus" (Joan Smith, Los Angeles Times), has finally entered the American literary canon. Marginalized throughout her career as a mere thriller writer, Highsmith has experienced a remarkable renaissance since her death in 1995. Now Highsmith fans and new readers alike can find these five novels - The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley's Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley, and Ripley Under Water - all housed under one roof in this brilliantly designed, highly collectible edition.

Silent Predator


Tony Park - 2008
    The government minister in his charge has been abducted.Furey, and his local counterpart, Inspector Sannie van Rensburg, go against official orders and track the kidnappers to the coastal waters of Mozambique, and then north to the shores of Lake Malawi. Sannie can't resist becoming involved in Tom's mission, even risking her job to help him.Africa is a land of danger as well as beauty, and soon lives are at risk. The hunt spirals into a fight to the death, and involves a crime beyond anyone's worst imaginings...

Smoke Screen


Sandra Brown - 2008
    The blaze left seven people dead, but the death toll would have been much higher if not for the bravery of Jay and three other city officials who risked their lives to lead others to safety.Firefighter Raley Gannon, Jay's lifelong friend, was off-duty that day. Though he might not have been a front-line hero, he was assigned to lead the investigation into the cause of the fire. It was an investigation he never got to complete. Because on one calamitous night, Raley's world was shattered.Scandalized, wronged by the people he trusted most, Raley was forced to surrender the woman he loved and the work to which he'd dedicated his life. For five years his resentment against the men who exploited their hero status to further their careers -- and ruin his -- had festered, but he was helpless to set things right.That changes when he learns of Jay Burgess's shocking death and Britt Shelley's claim that she has no memory of her night with him. As the investigation into Jay's death intensifies, and suspicion against Britt Shelley mounts, Raley realizes that the newswoman, Jay's last sexual conquest, might be his only chance to get personal vindication -- and justice for the seven victims of the police station fire.But there are powerful men who don't want to address unanswered questions about the fire and who will go to any lengths to protect their reputations. As Raley and Britt discover more about what happened that fateful day, the more perilous their situation becomes, until they're not only chasing after the truth but running for their lives.Friends are exposed as foes, heroes take on the taint of criminals, and no one can be trusted completely. A tale about audacious corruption -- and those with the courage to expose it -- Smoke Screen is Sandra Brown's most searing and intense novel yet.

Too Close to Home


Linwood Barclay - 2008
    Promise Falls isn't the kind of community where a family is shot to death in their own home. But that is exactly what happened to the Langleys one sweltering summer night, and no one in this small upstate New York town is more shocked than their next-door neighbors, Jim and Ellen Cutter. They visited for the occasional barbecue, and their son, Derek, was friends with the Langleys? boy, Adam; but how well did they really know their neighbors? That's the question Jim Cutter is asking, and the answers he's getting aren't reassuring. Albert Langley was a successful, well-respected criminal lawyer, but was he so good at getting criminals off that he was the victim of revenge ? a debt his innocent family also paid in blood? From the town's criminally corrupt mayor to the tragic suicide of a talented student a decade before, Promise Falls has more than its share of secrets. And Jim Cutter, failed artist turned landscaper, need look no further than his own home and his wife Ellen's past to know that things aren't always what they seem. Suddenly the Cutters must face the unthinkable: that a murderer isn't just stalking too close to home but is inside it already. For the Langleys weren't the first to die and they won't be the last.

Compulsion


Jennifer Chase - 2008
    But that hasn’t stopped her from tracking down some of the West’s most dangerous child-killers. Armed with a digital SLR camera, laptop computer and her trusty Beretta, Stone uses her innate gift for detective work to identify the perps — and then anonymously e-mail the evidence to the cops.Now, the hunt for two brazen serial killers on the loose right in her own coastal California town threatens to expose Stone’s identity — unraveling her carefully constructed cover and jeopardizing her life’s work. But when she gets too close to the action, this razor-sharp hunter becomes the hunted. Cooperating with the handsome local police detective could be the only hope for stopping the rampage directed at unsuspecting young women — and saving herself. Can they piece together the clues in time?Compulsion mixes CSI-style investigation with a ripped-from-the-headlines plot and a dose of romance for a keeps-you-guessing, fast-paced and savvy thriller, right up until the shocking finale.

The Family


Martina Cole - 2008
    He worships his old mum; he takes care of his siblings who help run his business empire in Southend; he dotes on his two young sons who will one day take over the reins. And then there's his wife and saviour Christine, whom he loves with a vengeance. Christine has always understood this about her husband; it was one of the things that first attracted her to him. But there is another side to Phillip, and it's a side he never wanted his wife to see. Though, even if she did, could she do anything but stand by him? Because Phillip has rules, and he expects loyalty from his nearest and dearest.

Switch


Grant McKenzie - 2008
    He returns home one night to find his house blown up and two body bags being removed from it. He assumes the bodies are those of his wife and daughter, until he receives a call from a man saying they are alive, but will only be spared if Sam follows instructions and completes the increasingly violent tasks set out for him.When he meets Zack Parker, also a victim of the kidnapper, they realize their pasts are connected, and the two of them must race against time to discover the identity of their sadistic tormentor—staying one step ahead of the police—to save their families.Set in Portland, Oregon, featuring the spooky and labyrinthine tunnels underneath the city, this is a fantastically commercial, brilliantly paced read from a debut author.

Shake Down


Joel Goldman - 2008
    Kate Scranton, whose job is spotting lies for high-priced courtroom lawyers, is convinced that mild-mannered Latrell Kelly knows something about the crime. But Latrell is hiding far more than Kate can guess. And with Jack half-blinded by an imploding personal life, and someone on his own side leaking crucial information, they're headed straight for the ultimate danger zone...

Reconstruction


Mick Herron - 2008
    But Jaime Segura isn't there on a homicidal mission, and he's just as scared as those whose lives he holds as collateral. As an armed police presence builds outside the school's gates, the only person Jaime will talk to is Ben Whistler, an MI6 accountant who worked with Jaime's lover, Miro. Miro's gone missing, along with a quarter of a billion pounds allotted for reconstruction work in Iraq. Jaime refuses to believe that Miro is a thief - though he's always had his secrets. But then, so does Louise, so do the other hostages - and so do some people on the outside, who'd much rather Jaime was silenced.

Breaking Cover


J.D. Rhoades - 2008
    Did he go native, or was he discovered and killed? When Tony Wolf is finally driven out into the open, torn from deep cover during the rescue of two kidnapped children, he becomes the number one target of both the vicious biker gang he double-crossed and a massive Federal manhunt.But Tony’s tired of being the hunted, and as both the gang and a traitorous FBI agent converge on a small southern town, they’re all about to learn a hard lesson: When the Wolf breaks cover, he doesn’t always run away.Sometimes he comes straight at your throat.J.D. Rhoades has written his most compelling thriller to date--a pulse-pounding novel that leaps off the page and will leave readers begging for more.

The Dawn Patrol


Don Winslow - 2008
    The author of The Winter of Frankie Machine is back with a razor-sharp novel as cool as its California surfer heroes, and as heart-stopping as a wave none of them sees coming.

Troubleshooters CD Collection: Flashpoint/Hot Target/Breaking Point


Suzanne Brockmann - 2008
    They must track down a missing laptop computer that may hold secrets vital to national security. Nash may have met his match in Tess Bailey, an operative with all the right instincts - and zero field experience.Hot Target:When Navy SEAL Chief Cosmo Richter finds himself facing a month's leave, he offers his services to Troubleshooters Incorporated. High-profile maverick movie producer Jane Mercedes Chadwick hasn't quite completed her newest film, but she's already courting controversy. Nervous Hollywood associates call in Troubleshooters. Chadwick hasn't counted on the bond she'll form with the quiet, capable Cosmo Richter. When all hell erupts, desire and desperate choices will collide on a killing ground that may trap them both in the crossfire.Breaking Point:As commander of the nation’s most elite FBI counterterrorism unit, agent Max Bhagat leads by hard-driving example. When the shocking news reaches him that Gina Vitagliano has been killed in a terrorist bombing, nothing can keep Max from making a full investigation - and retribution - his top priority. At the scene of the attack, however, Max gets an even bigger shock. Gina is still very much alive - but facing a fate even worse than death.

7th Son: Obsidian


J.C. Hutchins - 2008
    Hutchins invited the biggest names in podcast fiction — and 7th Son fans across the globe — to contribute to 7th Son: OBSIDIAN, an innovative audio and video fiction anthology set in the 7th Son universe.OBSIDIAN, an innovative “in world” addition to the 7th Son trilogy, tells the tale of the nationwide blackout seen briefly in 7th Son: Destruction. More than 100 authors and fans contributed content to this project. OBSIDIAN was a history-making experience; it was the first time in podcast fiction where the lines between author and audience were fundamentally blurred in this way.While these tales of survival were crafted as stand-alone stories, J.C. Hutchins recommends listening to the 7th Son trilogy in its entirety before experiencing OBSIDIAN.

Smash Cut


Sandra Brown - 2008
    Wheeler’s mistress, Julie Rutledge, who is also a suspect, believes that Creighton is the killer, despite his rock-solid alibi, and she’ll do almost anything in her quest to prove his guilt—even ruin Derek’s career. But the more Derek learns of Creighton’s darker side, especially his bizarre fascination with movie murders, the more he comes to believe Julie is right. The clock ticks down to a shocking ending as Derek and Julie join forces to find the truth. Has Creighton begun reenacting cinema’s goriest scenes? And who will be his unwilling costars? They won’t know until the final SMASH CUT.

Ghost Recon


David Michaels - 2008
    Army's Special Forces are known for their highly specialized training and courage behind enemy lines. But there's a group that's even more stealthy and deadly. It's comprised of the most feared operators on the face of the earth-the soldiers of Ghost Recon.

The People Traders


Keith Hoare - 2008
    The People Traders follows the young girls abduction and preparation for her new life. However, not all is going well for the trafficker, when a bizarre set of events gives the girl her freedom. Now she's on the run in a hostile country and her new owner wants her back, no matter what the cost! Will she give up, accept her new life or fight for the most converted of all human possessions - her freedom?

Blue Horizon / The Dark of the Sun (Omnibus)


Wilbur Smith - 2008
    

The God of War


Chris Stewart - 2008
    super- jet named after the Greek God of war. With its ultra powerful laser and ability to easily outmaneouver anything else in the sky, the Ares opens a new era in warfare. But when it is stolen before of a crowd of international dignitaries, the President and his defence staff must use outdated technology to try to stop their creation from sparking a war between civilizations.It's up to Colonel "Jesse" James to save the world from impending doom. But, the obstacles will be numerous. He faces suspicion from the President's chief advisor, a romantic interest with unknown allegiances, and a terror plot that seems too obvious to be true. In his fourth novel, Stewart is in top form- fusing a high octane plot with hair raising flight scenes drawn from his career as a fighter pilot.

Jesse Stone: Night Passage


NOT A BOOK - 2008
    Parker, the story picks up after Jesse Stone is fired from the Los Angeles Police Department. He becomes an unlikely candidate recruited by the town board of selectman to become police chief of Paradise, a small town on Boston's North Shore. The board hopes his failed experience will keep him from digging too deep into the town's secrets. Hungover on his first day on the job, he must investigate a domestic abuse case that ends up leaduing to a money laundering scheme perpetuated by a manager of a local bank.

River Bones


Mary Deal - 2008
    Despite battling the memory of the drowning deaths of her younger sister and alcoholic parents, Sara is determined to make peace with her past. However, she soon learns that the elusive psychopath is now stalking her. Sara's attempt to rebuild her life is hindered even more by the discovery of skeletal remains on her property. As the investigation focuses on several suspects, Sara discovers critical clues and bravely volunteers to be a decoy for the sheriff's department. Sara Mason is a woman whose destiny has brought her back home... but her decision leads her down a path lined with danger, and straight into the arms of a madman.

The Other Side of Midnight and Sands of Time


Sidney Sheldon - 2008
    

Just One Look / The Innocent / Promise Me


Harlan Coben - 2008
    And though Jack denies it's him, he disappears that night, taking the photo with him. Now, to save her family from a fierce, silent killer who will stop at nothing to get the photo, Grace must confront the dark corners of her own tragic past...

Greg Iles CD Collection 3: Dead Sleep, Sleep No More, True Evil


Greg Iles - 2008
    Minutes later, she stumbles upon a gallery containing a one-artist exhibition called "The Sleeping Women." Collectors have come to believe that the canvases depict female nudes not in sleep but in death. When Jordan approaches the last work in the series, she freezes. The face in the painting seems to be her own. In fact, the face in the painting belongs to her murdered twin sister. Sleep No More John Waters is a husband and father happy with his lot in life, though he has not always felt that way. Years earlier he escaped an obsessive love affair, which he feared might consume him. The woman in question disappeared after Waters married, and later he heard that she was killed in New Orleans. But now, Waters has an uneasy feeling that she has resurfaced to trouble him—and entice him—once again. True Evil Dr. Chris Shepard is thirty-six years old, newly married, and well on his way to a perfect life. Or so he believes. But that future is forever cast into doubt the day Special Agent Alexandra Morse walks into his office and drops a bombshell: Dr. Shepard’s beautiful new wife is plotting his murder. Chris agrees to act as bait to help Agent Morse unravel a divorce lawyer’s scheme, which may already have cost nine unsuspecting spouses their lives.

The Ice Bridge


Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2008
    She’ll fall in love again…with a man and the island. Charlotte returns to her Aunt Bess and Mackinac Island, a quaint retreat that welcomes summer tourists and allows no cars, to renew herself and write about the island’s ghosts. She’s come to help Bess with her heartache, an ended love with Shaun, and to renew a friendship with neighbor Hannah. In winter Mackinac closes down and everyone looks forward to the ice bridge that freezes across the Straits of Mackinac. Until Hannah disappears into the icy waters crossing it. Everyone says it’s an accident. But Charlotte and her admirer cop friend, Mac, don’t think so. Something isn’t right. Hannah was too smart to go off the path. So it’s murder…but why…how…by whom? In the end, it’s Mac–and perhaps Hannah’s ghost–who saves Charlotte and Bess’s lives when the killer decides they’re too close to the truth and tries to kill them, too.

The Chemist


Janson Mancheski - 2008
    Nothing linked the cases except a frustrating lack of clues or motive. Then, one of them turned up headless in Lake Michigan pumped full of date rape drugs. Detective Cale Van Waring doesn't have proof, but he knows that girls are being abducted. Now, spring has returned, and so has Van Waring's invisible kidnapper. Another girl is missing, but this time Van Waring finds a spotty trail. With his boss on his back and his girlfriend threatening to leave unless he commits, Van Waring struggles to put the pieces together before another girl ends up missing or dead.

Silent Run


Barbara Freethy - 2008
    Her memory is gone, her baby missing. All she has is the gripping certainty that she is in mortal danger. Then a handsome, angry stranger barges in and makes a terrible accusation. He was her lover - and her child's father - until she disappeared seven months ago.Jake Sanders swore he'd never forgive Sarah Tucker, but he isn't about to let her get away again--especially not with his daughter still missing. If he has any chance of recovering his baby, he must help the woman who betrayed him retrieve the pieces of her shattered memory--without letting his feelings get in the way.Haunted by troubling flashes of memory, Sarah begins to realize she's lived a life of lies. But what is the truth? And where is her baby?SILENT RUN is the first book in a romantic suspense duo featuring two brothers. SILENT FALL is book #2 and is also available.PRAISE FOR SILENT RUN"Freethy hits the ground running as she kicks off another winning romantic suspense series...Freethy is at her prime with a superb combo of engaging characters and gripping plot." Publishers' Weekly"If you love nail-biting suspense and heartbreaking emotion, Silent Run belongs on the top of your to-be-bought list. I could not turn the pages fast enough." Mariah Stewart"Hooked me from the start and kept me turning pages throughout all the twists and turns. Silent Run is powerful romantic intrigue at its best." JoAnn Ross"Freethy's star continues to gain luster with another stellar romantic thriller. Hang on!" Romantic Times

Firefight


Chris Ryan - 2008
    A killer on the loose. And a final, desperate mission . . .Former SAS Captain, Tom Jackson, is a man with nothing to lose. A veteran of the most dangerous missions the Regiment could throw at him, his life was torn apart the day a terrorist attack killed his family. Now he grieves in obscurity, the world of warfare nothing but a distant memory.However, people higher up the chain of command have other plans for Jackson. They are in a mess of their own making, and make him an offer he can’t refuse — an offer that will take him back into the brutal theatre of war. There’s a disaster waiting to happen, which only one person can help prevent, and that person is being held by the Taliban insurgency in the depths of a harsh Afghanistan winter. As Tom reluctantly prepares for this final mission, he does so in the knowledge that it will stop a devastating terrorist attack — as well as satisfy an ulterior motive of his own. But as events begin to unfold, Tom suspects that someone is playing a game with him; that nobody can be trusted; and that in the murky world of international terrorism, things are seldom what they seem . . .From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Violin Man’s Legacy


Seumas Gallacher - 2008
    He is sent to investigate a murderous diamond heist in the Netherlands, but swiftly learns that there is a very strong Far East connection. He then travels to Hong Kong where he meets the glamorous chief of ISP’s local bureau, May-Ling. Together they begin to unravel a complex web of corruption. The twin spiders at the centre of this web are the Chan brothers, leaders of one of Hong Kong’s most ruthless and powerful triad gangs. The trail of death and mayhem coils across Europe, Hong Kong and South America until all the scores are settled. A Jack Calder Novel.

Dead Witness


Joylene Nowell Butler - 2008
    While visiting Seattle, she becomes the only witness to the brutal seaside murder of two FBI agents. When she flees to the nearest police station to report the crime, she becomes caught up in a web of international intrigue and danger. Suddenly, she and her family are in the sights of ruthless criminals bent on preventing her from testifying against the murderer. Even with FBI protection, Valerie is not safe. Whisked away from her family and all that is familiar to her, Valerie fights back against the well-intentioned FBI to ultimately take control over her life with every ounce of fury a mother can possess.

Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon


Lori GentileMartin Powell - 2008
    The city of angels. Just beneath the surface is a city stinking of corruption with criminal bosses and politicians squeezing the life out of the city. Stunned by the murder of her crusading politician father, socialite Ellen Patrick determines to bring her father's killers to justice at any cost! Donning a distinctive white dress and a black domino mask, she becomes The Domino Lady, one of the sexiest and most elusive crime fighters of all time. Nine tales of one of the world s first female masked crime fighters."

Hold Tight


Harlan Coben - 2008
    But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his classmate Spencer Hill - the latest in a string of issues at school - they can't help but worry. They install a sophisticated spy program on Adam's computer, and within days they are jolted by a message from an unknown correspondent addressed to their son - 'Just stay quiet and all safe.' Meanwhile, browsing through an online memorial for Spencer put together by his classmates, Betsy Hill is struck by a photo that appears to have been taken on the night of her son's death and he wasn't alone. She thinks it is Adam Baye standing just outside the camera's range; but when Adam goes missing, it soon becomes clear that something deep and sinister has infected their community. For Tia and Mike Baye, the question they must answer is this: when it comes to your kids, is it possible to know too much?

The Trojan Project


Eileen Thornton - 2008
    A mist descends, shrouding the hills and valleys. Is it a natural phenomenon or something more sinister? In a remote farmhouse, Sarah worries about Pete, her missing husband. When she and her two young children go in search of him, she makes a terrifying discovery. She reports the incident to Andy, a disbelieving, young policeman. However, he is forced to think again when the military suddenly appear at the police station asking for Sarah by name. How do they know she's there? Why do they want her so desperately? Only Andy's cunning allows them time to escape. So begins a nightmare journey to her parent's home in London. But as the net grows ever wider, how long will they stay out of the clutches of the Military? Meanwhile, what of Pete?

Dark Summer


Iris Johansen - 2008
    When a man arrives with his wounded black Lab, Ned, she has no idea that she is about to be plunged into a whirlwind of terror and destruction.Jude Marrock is out for revenge and has no choice but to involve Devon in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with an escalating body count. She doesn’t trust him one bit, but when the shots start flying and friends start falling, she finds herself with nowhere else to run. And there are innocent lives, both human and animal, at stake, including Ned and his mysterious pack. Is Jude her salvation or her damnation? Are the secrets he’s protecting worth killing for . . . or dying for?With a lightning-fast pace, unforgettable characters, and gut-wrenching action, Dark Summer is compelling new terrain for this master storyteller.

A Stabbing for Sadie


Wednesday Lee Friday - 2008
    A Stabbing for Sadie is a wonderful journey through the twisted mind of a casualty of abuse, who lives with her own monsters, and fights to survive every day. It delves into notions and nightmares that haunt this strong and sometimes funny woman as she copes with false accusations and true horrors. This is a riveting, edge of your seat thriller as told from the other side. A Stabbing for Sadie will leave you breathless, wondering what you would do, and wondering what's on the mind of the person standing next to you...

The Triumph of the Sun / Wild Justice (Omnibus)


Wilbur Smith - 2008
    (The two fictional British families have provided character fodder for least half of Smith's 30 novels.) Bloodthirsty legions of Arab dervish troops under the command of the Mahdi, or ruling successor to the Prophet Muhammad, have surrounded (but not taken) Khartoum, trapping comely 17-year-old Rebecca Benbrook; her consul general father, David; and her younger twin sisters, Saffron and Amber. The appearance of a cargo boat owned by the dashing, entrepreneurial Ryder Courteney, as well as the subsequent appearance of Capt. Penrod Ballantyne of Her Majesty's 10th Hussars, give hope. Naïve Rebecca falls in love with Ballantyne, who deflowers her before racing off to warn the rescue force commander that the commander is outnumbered 25 to one. The dervish, led by the fearsome Emir Osman Atalan, overrun Khartoum, and Rebecca's father is brutally butchered; the saga continues with Penrod heroically leading troops against Osman. Steamy romance alternates with gore, and it's all done by-the-numbers in a good way—like a junky, absorbing miniseries. Fans will not be disappointed.Wild Justice - As he ducked he heard the familiar sound, like a giant ripping heavyweight canvas, an automatic weapon throwing bullets at a cyclic rate of almost two thousand rounds a minute, and the bullets tore into the side of the Maserati, beating in the metal with an ear-numbing clangour, while glass exploded in upon Peter like the glittering spray as a storm-driven waves strikes a rock. Glass chips pelted across his back, and stung his cheek and the back of his neck. They sparkled like a diamond tiara in his hair.’ The hijacking of a jumbo jet off the Seychelles galvanises anti-terrorist chief Peter Stride into the action for which he has spent a lifetime training. But even in the hail of bullets which follows, he knows that this is only the beginning of a nightmare. Stride is the one man who might find the twisted genius who holds the world hostage – if only his every move were not anticipated by the enemy . . .

The Silent World Of Nicholas Quinn: And "Service Of All The Dead"


Colin Dexter - 2008
    Now he is dead…And his murder, in his North Oxford home, proves to be the start of a formidably labyrinthine case for chief Inspector Morse, as he tries to track down the killer through the insular and bitchy world of the Oxford colleges…Service of All the DeadThe sweet countenance of reason greeted Morse serenly when he woke, and told him that it would be no bad idea to have a quiet look at the problem itself before galloping off to a solution.Chief Inspector Morse was alone among the congregation in suspecting continued unrest in the quiet parish of St. Frideswide’s.Most people could still remember the churchwarden’s murder. A few could still recall the murderer’s suicide. Now even the police had closed the case. Until a chance meeting among the tombstones reveals startling new evidence of a conspiracy to deceive…

Chat Room


G.S. Hitchcock - 2008
    Unfortunately, Drake isn't the man he used to be. After the murders of his wife and son, and subsequent trial as their killer, Drake retreats to the Adirondack Mountains to escape the guilt and persecution. Knowing he's the only person who can help, Winston returns to the FBI and reunites with Laura Anthony, the agent he had once mentored. After a fifth woman's body turns up, Drake stumbles on an internet clue that leads him to a small town outside Syracuse, New York. There, he unearths the stories of a young woman found strangled to death, and her obsessed, ex-boyfriend who reportedly died in a car wreck two weeks prior. Drake proves the man is still alive and embarks on a hectic race to stop the murderer before he kills again.

Midnight on Mourn Street


Christopher Conlon - 2008
    He's quiet, polite, solitary. He doesn't call attention to himself. Ever. Reed Waters has a secret.... Mauri Dyson is a teenaged runaway, impetuous and explosive. She lies, she steals, she prostitutes herself. Whatever it takes to survive. Mauri Dyson, too, has a secret.... When Mauri bursts into Reed's life one rain-soaked night she sets in motion a series of events that will spiral out of control, taking the two of them through tears and terror to the brink of madness--and a confrontation that will change them both forever.

Five Thrillers


Robert Reed - 2008
     Joe Carroway is mostly human, handsome and smart and peculiarly equipped for violence. He is the hero that this future needs, and you don't dare stand in his way. "At four in the morning, the animals slept -- which was only reasonable since this was a zoo populated entirely with synthetic organisms. Patrons didn’t pay for glimpses of furry lumps, formerly wild and now slumbering in some shady corner. What they wanted were spectacular, one-of-a-kind organisms doing breathtaking feats, and doing them in daylight. But high metabolisms had their costs, and that’s why the creatures now lay in their cages and grottos, inside glass boxes and private ponds, beautiful eyes closed while young minds dreamed about who-could-say-what." "Five Thrillers" was considered one of the best novelettes of 2008. It has been reprinted several times, but this is its first single performance.

Exit 22


P.M. Terrell - 2008
    After meeting a beautiful but mysterious woman, he is pulled into a shocking double homicide. Now he's a fugitive on the run, racing to escape detectives closing in and a sociopathic assassin determined to kill him... and time is running out.p.m.terrell's most popular contemporary suspense, Exit 22 has spawned the Black Swamp Mysteries series. Second book in this series, Vicki's Key, will be released March 2012. Third book in the series, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, to be released September 2012. And Dylan's Song to be released March 2013.

Chasing the Wind


Norma Beishir - 2008
    All of them are between the ages of five and six, all conceived by in vitro fertilization, and all extraordinarily gifted. In the Sinai, archaeologist Lynne Raven searches for proof of the Exodus and finds a papyrus proclaiming the emergence of a prophet sent to defeat the darkness that threatens to consume the world. In London, a powerful cartel manipulates politicians and industrialists and controls a think tank with an unthinkable agenda. One thing connects them all: the truth about Connor Mackenzie...Revised, updated edition of the 2009 novel, now in multiple first-person points-of-view.Norma Beishir is the bestselling author of fourteen previous novels. Collin Beishir is the author of the upcoming novel E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event).

A Ticket To Tewkesbury


Neal James - 2008
    Revelations in the secret files to which it led, threatened the very foundations of democracy in Britain. The love story of Roger Fretwell and Madeline Colson weaves its magical course through the story and draws together the forces of MI5 and ""The Organisation"", in a struggle for the secret documents kept hidden for nearly fifty years. George Watkinson, head of the secret service is locked in fierce conflict with Detective Alan Mason, ""The Organisation"" front man; he discovers a mole within MI5, but there could be others. Intrigue and murder follow in the wake of a race for supremacy from which only one winner can emerge.

Don't Ever Tell


Brandon Massey - 2008
    But nothing could be farther from the truth. For the deadly secrets she thought were long-buried are now on the brink of being exposed…Have A Way…Someone has a vendetta against Rachel. Someone whom she betrayed a long time ago. Someone who is determined to make her pay—no matter the cost …Of Coming Back With A Vengeance …Now Rachel knows it’s just a matter of time before her dangerous past meets up with her present—and destroys everything she’s worked so hard for. Because if there’s one thing that can be counted on—her enemy never forgets or forgives and will do whatever it takes to see Rachel suffer…

Sudden Threat


Anthony J. Tata - 2008
    But as he sifts through the wreckage of a downed C-130 in the tangled jungle, he finds a dead U.S. Special Forces paratrooper who is not supposed to be there and is thrown into a contest of wits and resiliency in the uncharted rainforests of Mindanao. Manipulated by the secret plans of a powerful quartet of upper-echelon Rolling Stones groupies in Washington, DC, Garrett and U.S. Armed Forces establish their bona fides as true patriots on the cutting edge of freedom as they struggle for survival against the rising tide of Islamic extremism and the reemergence of the Empire of the Sun in the ever-expanding Global War on Terror. In the stunning prequel to his award-winning novel Rogue Threat, A.J. Tata creates an uncanny sense of presence on and off the battlefiel

CybrGrrl


Maxwell Cynn - 2008
    She leads her users, Adrian and Haley, through an erotic adventure as she processes what it is to be alive. The search leads her onto the Internet, and a virtual-world community where she can live an independent existence unfettered by the limits of her server - alive in the cloud - then back into the real world as a sexy robot. Along the way she teaches Adrian and Haley what it means to live and love beyond the confines of the merely physical and liberates her sister programs from their dull desktop existence.

Stealing Atlanta


Cary Allen Stone - 2008
    They said the only way to financial freedom was the con. Brandyn did small cons at first and found he was good at it. He recruited his own crew, the best in the business. Brandyn attempts a highest-stakes con. Will he succeed, or die in a plane crash? Will he spend the rest of his life in Supermax? Will the Russian Mafyia kill him? Will Mai ever forgive him? Would you bet your life on Brandyn?

The Pond


Tamera Lawrence - 2008
    Murky water filled his boots, becoming as weighted anchors. Numbing cold squeezed his limbs as he tried to scream for help. But his chest hurt. It was hard to breathe. His heart beat wildly in his thin chest. Water seeped inside his clothing, his skin turned to ice. He stared up at the sky. The ice cracked again, creating fragments of drifting sheets. As his glove caught on the jagged edge, his hand slid out. Dark water swirled over him as he began to sink into the frigid depths of the black void."Twenty-five years have passed since eight-year-old Carl Weber drowned in Gray's Pond, and now one member of the Adams family has returned to Kimberton, Pennsylvania, to reside once again in the old mansion. It is time for Mark Adams to revisit his past, and for his wife Donna and daughter, Kim, to become acquainted with their neighbors, a rather odd old couple who own the farm next door.Each day, however, brings strange occurrences, increasing paranormal activity, till it becomes agonizingly clear that ghosts of the past are trying to make their presence known. As the search for the truth be.

A Pure Double Cross


John Knoerle - 2008
    The horrors of war have left him bitter and cynical. The FBI recruits him to infiltrate the Cleveland mob and conduct a series of sting operations targeting crime boss Teddy Briggslavski, alias, Mr. Big. Hal signs on, planning to double cross the feds, pocket their front money, and disappear. He struggles to walk the double cross tightrope between the G-men and the mobsters until the FBI gives him the final sting, a huge payroll heist. Hal Schroeder goes to his long-sought meeting with Mr. Big; confident he can turn the heist plan to his advantage and make off with a bundle. But he gets a very unpleasant surprise.

Hard Evidence


Mark Pearson - 2008
    Her body lies in a pool of blood in the north London flat where she worked as a prostitute. Deep knife wounds have been gouged into her corpse and her hands and feet are tied with coat hanger wire. For Detective Inspector Jack Delaney this is no ordinary case. He was a friend of Jackie's and she left desperate messages on his answer phone just hours before she was killed. Despite no immediate leads and no obvious suspects, the fear in her voice tells him that this was not a random act of violence. Just as Delaney begins his investigation, a young girl is reported missing, feared abducted, and he is immediately tasked with finding her. Delaney knows he must act quickly if there is any chance of finding her alive, but he is also determined to track down Jackie's killer before the trail goes cold. However, his tough and uncompromising attitude has made him some powerful enemies on the force, and Delaney soon finds that this case may provide the perfect opportunity for them to dispose of him, once and for all...

Cold Streak


Lewis Aleman - 2008
    Will her own lust for vengeance consume all that is left of her?

Harmonica and Gig


R.J. Astruc - 2008
    Initially the three hacks choose to work separately on the case, but as they continue their investigations they discover clues leading to some of the most powerful figures in the qverse. Soon the hacks realise they are more than just investigating the crime, they are part of it, and part of an even greater scheme to unbalance the long established foundations of the qverse itself.

The Shadow Cabinet


Harol Marshall - 2008
    buried deep beneath FEMA headquarters on Mount Weather, a mysterious doppelgänger organization known as THE SHADOW CABINET prepares for the unthinkable. Secretly appointed by Congress, members of the Continuity of Government initiative prepare to carry on government functions in the event of a catastrophic national emergency. But Shadow President Fred McGuire has other ideas. His unhappiness with the current Administration translates into a cold-blooded plot to overthrow the executive branch and seize control of the White House. McGuire's co-conspirators include high-ranking government officials, a wealthy corporation, and a notorious private military contractor. Tensions mount when CIA analyst Malcolm Hall stumbles across evidence of the conspiracy, a discovery that costs him his life. Acting on clues Malcolm left behind, Dan Chavez at the National Counterterrorism Center, and Henry Larson, Director of the CIA's National Clandestine Services, begin a secret investigation that extends from Washington to Hawaii and beyond. Determined at all costs to disrupt the planned coup d'état by tracking down the homegrown terrorists and preventing high-level assassinations, Dan and Henry place their lives and those of their colleagues in mortal danger.

Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders


John Howard Reid - 2008
    Sergeant Manning debuted in "Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island" in 2008. Although the characters are entirely fictitious, the plot itself was adapted from several factual incidents that occurred in Mexico, Chile, Peru and other mountainous areas of South America. The geographical details relating to Blackheath and Govett's Leap are accurate in every detail, although the "atmosphere" attributed to the town is purely imaginary. The health ideas touted in the book, however, are based on the advice of several highly respected nutritionists, including Mary C. Hogle and C.E. Clinkard.

Northstar


Windstar - 2008
    The only survivors are a few thousand Tiri who happened to be on board a few huge spaceships (think flying aircraft carriers, but about 20x bigger) that were already in space when the plague hit. They've managed to find a refuge on Earth where they rebuild, repopulate and set bases on the moon and Mars, everything in total secrecy until an accident blows off their cover. But something is amiss. There are traitors in their midst. If they don't find out who it is and stop him on time, they risk bringing the entire Bak'ra juggernaut onto Earth.Parts: 1. North Star 2. Southern Cross 3. Battle for Mars (short story about one of the battles)Links: http://xenafiction.net/scrolls/windst...http://xenafiction.net/scrolls/windst...http://xenafiction.net/scrolls/windst...

The Judas Apocalypse


Dan McNeil - 2008
    Gerhard Denninger, a German archeologist is approached by infamous Grail seeker Otto Rahn who tells him a fantastic story of Templars, Church scandal, a long-buried manuscript, and the key to finding the famous lost treasure of the Cathars. In 1944, with the help of a group of American soldiers, Denninger continues his quest for the secret of the Cathar treasure. With dangers dogging them at every step, will they find what they're seeking? And will they be prepared for the shocking discovery that awaits them?

Carpet Ride


Norm Brown - 2008
    Norm Brown joins the ranks of suspense masters in this riveting thrill ride.