 15 Seconds
By Andrew Gross
When a random act of violence plunges him into a nightmarish world, Henry Steadman, a successful surgeon accused of murdering two people, must clear his name and discover who is trying to destroy him in order to save himself and his family.
The After Wife
By Gigi Levangie Grazer
Pouring out her grief and questions to an avocado tree in her backyard after her husband’s death, reality-show producer Hannah is astonished when the tree appears to respond, prompting Hannah’s discovery that she can communicate with the dead.
Albert of Adelaide
By Howard Anderson
After escaping from Australia’s Adelaide Zoo, a duck-billed platypus encounters a number of Australian animals, including a pyromaniac wombat, drunken bandicoots and a wrestling Tasmanian devil as he embarks on a journey through the outback, searching for liberty and peace.
Alif the Unseen
By G. Willow Wilson
Forced underground when his ex-lover’s new fiancé breaches his computer, putting him and his clients in jeopardy, young Arab-Indian hacker and shielder Alif discovers the secret book of the jinn and uses its insights to enable life-threatening developments in information technology.
 Backfire (FBI Thriller)
By Catherine Coulter
When a San Francisco judge is shot at the same time a once-relentless federal prosecutor turns cautious, FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich receive an ominous note from the culprit that blames them for the incident.
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
By J. D. Mason
When the illegitimate daughter of an oil baron is released from prison 25 years after being convicted for his murder and promptly inherits millions from his estate, a famous true-crime reporter is given an exclusive interview revealing what happened on the fateful night of the man’s death.
The Bellwether Revivals
By Benjamin Wood
Feeling apart from the privileged students who roam Cambridge’s colleges and spires, nursing home assistant Oscar Lowe is drawn into the opulent world of the charismatic Bellwether siblings and falls in love with medical student Iris before realizing the dangers posed by troubled Eden Bellwether, who believes he can heal people with his music.
Black List (Scot Harvath)
By Brad Thor
When his name is added to a top-secret government list of individuals slated for assassination, counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath engages in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game of survival while struggling to prevent a cataclysmic terrorist attack and learn who has framed him for treason.
 Bloodline (Sigma Force)
By James Rollins
After a young pregnant woman is kidnapped by Somali pirates, Sigma Force, with the help of former army ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog Kane, finds this seemingly straightforward rescue mission turning into a conspiracy of epic proportions involving genetics and immortality.
Brand New Human Being
By Emily Jeanne Miller
Leaving his wife after discovering her with another man, stay-at-home dad Logan packs up his 4-year-old son and embarks on a journey of rash decisions before landing in his late father’s cabin, where he seeks unexpected redemption at the side of his father’s young widow.
Capital
By John Lanchester
Residents of Pepys Road in London receive odd, anonymous postcards demanding “We Want What You Have” during the financial meltdown of 2008.
Castro’s Daughter (McGarvey)
By David Hagberg
Forced by a Cuban Intelligence Service colonel, who also is a dying Fidel Castro’s illegitimate daughter, to help her find the fabled Seven Cities of Gold, former CIA director Kirk McGarvey tackles the deadliest and most bizarre mission of his career while trying to decipher the truth behind the colonel’s deceptions.
 Close Your Eyes
By Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
Using carefully honed sensory skills gleaned from a childhood spent without the sense of sight, music therapist Kendra Michael is tapped by former FBI agent Adam Kyle to help solve cases, including an investigation of the work of a serial killer who may be responsible for the disappearance of Kendra’s ex.
The Collective
By Don Lee
Three aspiring Asian artists, a painter and two writers, meet in college and form a strong friendship after banding together against an act of racisim that has lasting repercussions into their adult lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Creole Belle (Dave Robicheaux)
By James Lee Burke
A continuation of the events revealed in The Glass Rainbow finds Robicheaux in a New Orleans recovery unit where he is introduced to a country blues song by a Creole girl whose subsequent disappearance prompts his search for the girl’s sister, against a backdrop of a bayou-threatening oil well rupture in the Gulf of Mexico.
Criminal (Will Trent)
By Karin Slaughter
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation search into a shocking crime from 1975 poses unprecedented personal and professional challenges for top agent Will Trent, who encounters threats against his life and everything he thought he understood about his past.
 Dare Me
By Megan Abbott
After a suspicious suicide, the members of the high school cheerleading squad, along with their new, perfectly cool coach, Collette French, are drawn into the investigation.
Die a Stranger (Alex McKnight)
By Steve Hamilton
When the murders of five people and the mysterious landing of an airplane on a deserted Upper Peninsula air strip implicates his missing Ojibwa friend Vinnie, Alex McKnight races against time to find Vinnie, who also is being sought by a mysterious stranger.
Domestic Affairs
By Bridget Siegel
Tapped for a Georgia governor’s presidential campaign, fundraiser Olivia Green, believing she has landed her dream job beside a candidate of unimpeachable values, unexpectedly falls for the governor on the exhausting, decadent campaign trail, and is forced to keep their subsequent affair a secret at all costs.
East of Denver
By Gregory Hill
Arriving at his family’s farm in eastern Colorado to discover his widowed and senile father’s home in a terrible state because of the dishonest machinations of a corrupt banker, Shakespeare Williams falls in with an unlikely clique of former classmates in a haphazard plot to rob the bank that cheated them.
 The Empty Glass
By J. I. Baker
A tale inspired by true historical events and infamous conspiracy theories follows Los Angeles Deputy Coroner Ben Fitzgerald’s investigation into the alleged suicide of Marilyn Monroe, whose diary describes a doomed love affair and suggests a high-level cover-up.
The Fallen Angel (Gabriel Allon)
By Daniel Silva
When the body of a woman is found beneath Michelangelo’s dome, Gabriel Allon is summoned by Monsignor Luigi Donati to secretly investigate this mysterious death that has been ruled a suicide – a case that brings about an unthinkable act of sabotage that will plunge the world into a conflict of apocalyptic proportions.
Fireproof (Maggie O’Dell)
By Alex Kava
When an arson fire in Washington, D.C., results in a casualty, special agent Maggie O’Dell disregards profiler theories to pursue her own suspicions and is targeted by an ambitious reporter who digs up aspects of Maggie’s private life, a situation that is further complicated by Maggie’s firefighter brother.
Flight from Berlin
By David John
As Berlin welcomes the world to the Summer Olympic Games in 1936, British journalist Richard Denham and American reporter Eleanor Emerson, after meeting at a reception thrown by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, are drawn into a deadly game involving the Gestapo and the British Secret Intelligence Service.
 Friends Forever
By Danielle Steel
Forging inseparable bonds in childhood that are reinforced throughout their teenage years, two girls and three boys go their separate ways as adults and encounter respective tragedies and transformations.
Gold
By Chris Cleave
Sharing a close friendship and rivalry throughout their Elite training, world-class athletes Zoe and Kate find the limits of their physical and emotional realities tested on the eve of the 2012 Olympics in London, where they consider difficult sacrifices and weigh their senses of mortality.
Gun Dealers’ Daughter
By Gina Apostol
A Filipino woman living in New York City recounts her youthful indiscretions as a university student in Manila whose boyfriend turned her into a communist rebel and the fatal act she committed that continues to haunt her.
Heaven’s War
By David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt
The refugee population of humans who have colonized Keanu, an asteroid, discover that their living space is actually an interstellar spaceship being brought home by its creators, The Architects, in the sequel to Heaven’s Shadow.
 Homesick
By Fernando Roshi
Set in southeast London in 1982, contemporary immigrant life is illuminated when Victor and Nandini host a New Year’s Eve party for extended Sri Lankan family members and friends who remember the events that inspired their shared lives, difficult struggles and haunting choices.
House Blood (Joe DeMarco)
By Mike Lawson
Conducting an investigation into the murder conviction of a lobbyist while struggling with wrenching personal issues, political fixer Joe DeMarco unexpectedly frees the lobbyist only to become the target of two of the most callous killers he and the infirm Emma have ever encountered.
I, Michael Bennett
By James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Detective Michael Bennett takes his family to upstate New York in an effort to escape a lawless crime wave erupting in Manhattan only to find themselves immersed in another nightmare, one that endangers his relationship with his wife.
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln
By Stephen L. Carter
The best-selling author of The Emperor of Ocean Park imagines a world where the 16th President survives his 1865 assassination only to be charged with overstepping his Constitutional authority during the Civil War, a case that is aided by a black college graduate who is entangled in a violent political conspiracy.
 The Infinite Tides
By Christian Kiefer
Achieving the goal of a lifetime when he arrives aboard the International Space Station, astronaut and math genius Keith Corcoran is shattered to receive news that his wife has left him and that his 16-year-old daughter has died in a car accident. Corcoran is able to gradually recover through the help of an unlikely friend.
Innocent Victims: Two Novellas
By Minette Walters
Two short tales written as contributions to the Quick Reads initiative include Chickenfeed, a story in letters inspired by the 1924 “chicken farm murder” in 1924 East Sussex; and The Tinder Box, in which a woman risks her community position to prove a murder suspect’s innocence.
The Investigation
By Philippe Claudel
A dystopian critique of the darkly comic nature of the human condition follows an unremarkable man’s investigation into a series of suicides in a sprawling complex of an unnamed town, where he is hampered by rudeness, regulations and a growing sense that he is being watched.
Juliet in August
By Dianne Warren
An award-winning first novel profiles the interconnected lives of residents in a sandy hill community where a rancher fears the responsibility of his family’s land, a bank manager struggles with inadequacy, and a shy couple confront their feelings for each other at the same time as a lost camel emerges from the sand.
 Kill Decision
By Daniel Suarez
When her sophisticated research into ant social structure is conscripted by unknown forces to promote the design of unmanned weaponized drones, scientist Linda McKinney teams up with Special Ops soldier Odin to halt the progression of a faceless enemy that is preparing for an attack on American soil.
The Last Minute
By Jeff Abbott
Ex-CIA agent Sam Capra is contacted by kidnappers to find and murder the one man who can expose them in exchange for his son’s freedom.
Leader of the Pack (Andy Carpenter)
By David Rosenfelt
Believing that a client whose case he lost nine years earlier is innocent, lawyer Andy Carpenter visits the man’s aging uncle, who imparts knowledge about a dangerous, secret-ruled world where the key to Andy’s client’s freedom may be found.
Let the Devil Sleep (Dave Gurney)
By John Verdon
Consulting with a young documentary producer only to suffer a bizarre series of accidents shortly afterward, decorated NYPD detective Dave Gurney discovers links to a serial killer cold case that pits him against the nation’s top law enforcement experts.
 The Line Between Here and Gone
By Andrea Kane
When Amanda Gleason discovers that her husband, who was brutally murdered, might still be alive, she hires Forensic Instincts, a team that pushes ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means, to find the only person who can save her newborn son from a rare immune deficiency.
Long Time, No See
By Dermot Healy
Drawn into a series of misadventures with his aging uncle and neighbor, a young man finds himself surrounded by a group of innocent, wounded and broken misfits in an isolated region of coastal Ireland, where he discovers ancient grudges and dark secrets.
The Messenger
By Stephen Miller
Raised in an impoverished Iraqi refugee camp, Daria is sent to the United States on a terrorist mission that makes her doubt everything she has been taught. Meanwhile, discredited scientist Sam Watterman, rendered an expat in his own country for telling the government what they didn’t want to hear, discovers the human face of evil.
Mountains of the Moon
By I. J. Kay
Struggling through a series of dead-end jobs after a 10-year stint in prison, Londoner Lulu Adler recalls her violent childhood, battles with mental illness and survival-driven entry into the criminal world before receiving an unexpected settlement that enables her healing relocation to central Africa.
 The Neruda Case
By Roberto Ampuero
Meeting a dying Pablo Neruda at a party in 1970s Chile, rogue Cayetano Brule is recruited to help Neruda solve a last great mystery in the poet’s life, prompting a whirlwind expedition across the world before Brule encounters Neruda’s hidden agenda and the elements of Pinochet’s coup as they impact the poet’s last days.
The Next Best Thing
By Jennifer Weiner
Believing she is realizing her dreams when her sitcom is picked up by a network, television writer Ruth Saunders finds her happiness threatened by demanding actors and executives as well as an unrequited crush on her boss and her septuagenarian grandmother’s upcoming wedding.
Night Watch (Alex Cooper)
By Linda A. Fairstein
A thriller set against the backdrop of New York City’s most elite and storied restaurants follows the machinations of wealthy and powerful individuals who dine with corrupt police officials and criminals from the city’s dark and glamorous underside.
The Nightmare
By Lars Kepler
An international best-selling sequel to The Hypnotist follows Detective Joona Linna’s investigation into two mysterious murder cases in Stockholm that have been staged to look accidental, scenes that prompt Joona to discern a link between the crimes and a more sinister operation.
 Odd Apocalypse (Odd Thomas)
By Dean R. Koontz
Odd Thomas confronts deadly adversaries in a decaying estate. The novel’s release is timed in advance of a much-anticipated film starring Koontz’s beloved character.
The Operative (Ryan Kealey)
By Andrew Britton
After a terror attack during a charity gala in downtown Baltimore claims dozens of innocent lives, including the wife of CIA Deputy Director John Harper, Ryan Healey is called in to investigate and is swept into an unimaginable conspiracy that suggests America may, in fact, be its own worst enemy.
Office Girl
By Joe Meno
At the end of the 20th century, two 20-somethings start a visionary, yet doomed, art movement.
A Pimp’s Notes
By Giorgio Faletti
Set in the seedy underworld of 1970s Milan, against a backdrop of politician Aldo Moro’s kidnapping by the Red Brigades terrorist group, Bravo, a caterer to the wealthy, has an affair with a mysterious woman, only to find himself pursued by the authorities and organized crime bosses.
 The Queen’s Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile
By C. W. Gortner
A tale inspired by the life of the Spanish warrior-queen traces her rise from a defiant daughter of an exiled widow to a powerful monarch who risks her life to marry her true love before advocating for education and the arts, financing Columbus’s journey to America, and healing her fractured kingdom.
The Red Chamber
By Pauline Chen
An epic reimagining of the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber is set against a backdrop of 18th-century Beijing and follows the intersecting lives of three women, including orphaned Daiyu, who leaves her home in the provinces only to be tangled in a web of intrigue with ties to the Emperor’s palace.
Red Star Burning: A Thriller
By Brian Freemantle
Hiding his marriage to a Russian intelligence colonel while realizing that discovery would result in her execution, his imprisonment and their daughter’s abandonment in a Russian state orphanage, MI5 field agent Charlie leads a frantic mission to outwit both governments and save his family when their secret is exposed.
The Renegades
By Thomas W. Young
Joining fellow troops to deliver aid to an earthquake-decimated region of Afghanistan, Air Force adviser Lieutenant Colonel Michael Parson and his interpreter, Sergeant Major Sophia Gold, confront a Taliban splinter group that is shooting aid workers and everyone who accepts help.
 The Sandcastle Girls
By Christopher A. Bohjalian
A historical love story inspired by the author’s Armenian heritage finds early 20th-century nurse Elizabeth Endicott arriving in Syria to help deliver food and medical aid to genocide refugees, a volunteer service during which she exchanges letters with an Armenian engineer and widower.
Sarah Thornhill
By Kate Grenville
A final entry in the trilogy that began with the best-selling The Secret River continues youngest daughter Sarah’s efforts to uncover the Thornhill family’s hidden legacy, which is complicated by the brutal origins of her father’s fortune and Sarah’s maturing love for handsome Jack Langland.
Say Nice Things About Detroit
By Scott Lasser
After losing his son and divorcing his wife, a Detroit native returns home after 25 years and becomes involved with the sister of his murdered high school girlfriend, as he tries to put back the pieces of his life.
Shine Shine Shine
By Lydia Netzer
When fabricated aspects of their picture-perfect world are embarrassingly exposed by a car accident, Sunny Mann, an everyday woman longing for an ideal life, and Maxon, her savant astronaut husband, attempt to work through blame and fear before confronting realities about their deep bond.
 Skios
By Michael Frayn
While foundation organizer Nikki falls for a charismatic keynote speaker during a science retreat on a private Greek island, her longtime friend, Georgie, finds her plans for a romantic weekend shattered by the appearance of a pompous and temperamental scientist who has lost his luggage along with his senses.
Some Kind of Fairy Tale
By Graham Joyce
Returning to her English family home on Christmas day, twenty years after her inexplicable disappearance, young Tara Martin, who seems not to have aged a day, imparts a fantastical tale that her brother Peter is unable to believe.
Strong Vengeance (Caitlin Strong)
By Jon Land
Nearly 200 years after pirates attack a slave ship carrying an invaluable treasure, fifth-generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong investigates the murder of an oil-rig crew that had discovered evidence of an imminent terrorist attack among the long-lost wreckage.
The Summer House
By Marcia Willett
Puzzled by his mother’s photograph collection, which reflects elements he does not remember and omit his sister altogether, Matt learns about a much-loved summer cottage before discovering a tragic secret that affected his entire life.
 Swimming to Elba
By Silvia Avallone
Enthralled with a failing industrial town on the coast of Italy during a summer when they discover their budding sexuality, adolescents Anna and Francesca are separated by a test of their friendship and eventually discover that they must reconnect to escape small-town destinies.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home
By Carol Rifka Brunt
Her world upended by the death of a beloved artist who was the only person who understood her, 14-year-old June is mailed a teapot by her uncle’s grieving friend, with whom June forges a poignant relationship.
Tigers in Red Weather
By Liza Klaussmann
Old secrets are revealed and lives become unraveled when the children of a well-heeled New England family discover the body of a murder victim near Tiger House, their estate on Martha’s Vineyard.
True Believers
By Kurt Andersen
Withdrawing herself from consideration for the Supreme Court, distinguished judge Karen Hollander reflects on the reasons for her decision while remembering her coming of age in 1960s America, a time in which she experienced a formative event that reverberates in the cultural landscape of her present-day life.
 Tuesday’s Child
By Fern Michaels
When nurse Sophie Lee, who has spent 10 years in prison for a crime she did not commit, is exonerated and released, she retreats to her attorney’s home to avoid the media frenzy that surrounds her and must learn how to make her way back into the world and adjust to her freedom.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
By Rachel Joyce
Jolted out of emotional numbness by a letter from an old friend who wants to say goodbye before she dies, Harold Fry embarks on a 500-mile hiking journey to his friend’s side without supplies, an endeavor that stirs up memories of his unhappy marital and parenting experiences.
When In Doubt Add Butter
By Beth Harbison
Dedicating herself to her culinary patrons including an old-fashioned fussy eater, a seriously overweight woman and a neurotic diner who believes she is allergic to everything, private chef Gemma Craig goes home every night to boxed cereals, until an unexpected event compels a confrontation with the past and an unexpected romance.
Where We Belong
By Emily Giffin
Her carefully constructed life thrown into turmoil by the appearance of an 18-year-old with ties to her past, New York City television producer Marian Caldwell is swept up in a maelstrom of personal discovery that changes both of their perceptions about family.
Where the Bodies Are Buried
By Christopher Brookmyre
Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod’s investigation into the murder of a small-time heroine dealer is challenged by numerous suspects and an unexpected tie to the disappearance of fledgling private investigator Jasmine Sharpe’s mentor. |
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