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Reviews

Reviews

by D.W. Buffa - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

When Robert Constable, President of the United States, dies in bed with a woman in a New York hotel room, the public is told that he died suddenly and peacefully of natural causes --- and alone. The President’s wife, Hillary Constable, asks young senator Bobby Hart, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, to find out who had her husband murdered and why. As Hart begins to learn more about the President’s shady dealings, he uncovers a massive global criminal and financial conspiracy, headed by a secret underground organization. Yet the closer Hart gets to the truth, the more shocking secrets are revealed that could threaten his life, American Democracy, and the future of the nation.

by Joe Ide - Fiction, Mystery

Someone in East Long Beach has taken it upon himself to help solve the cases the LAPD can't or won't touch. They call him IQ. He's a loner and a high school dropout, his unassuming nature disguising a relentless determination and a fierce intelligence. He charges his clients whatever they can afford, which might be a set of tires or a homemade casserole. To get by, he's forced to take on clients who can pay. This time, it's a rap mogul whose life is in danger. As Isaiah investigates, he encounters a vengeful ex-wife, a crew of notorious cutthroats, a monstrous attack dog, and a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic.

edited by Jim Fusilli - Anthology, Fiction, Mystery, Noir, Short Stories

CRIME PLUS MUSIC collects 20 darkly intense, music-related noir stories by world-renowned mystery authors Brendan DuBois, Alison Gaylin, Craig Johnson, David Liss, Val McDermid, Gary Phillips, Peter Robinson, and, from the music world, Galadrielle Allman, author of PLEASE BE WITH ME: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman and award-winning songwriter-novelist Willy Vlautin. Edited by novelist and Wall Street Journal rock and pop music critic Jim Fusilli, CRIME PLUS MUSIC exposes the nasty side of the world of popular music, revealing it to be the perfect setting for noir.

by John Sandford - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota zoo. Two large, and very rare, Amur tigers have vanished from their cage, and authorities are worried sick that they’ve been stolen for their body parts. Traditional Chinese medicine prizes those parts for home remedies, and people will do extreme things to get what they need. Some of them are a great deal more extreme than others --- as Virgil Flowers is about to find out. Then there’s the homefront. Virgil’s relationship with his girlfriend Frankie has been getting kind of serious, but when Frankie’s sister Sparkle moves in for the summer, the situation gets a lot more complicated.

by Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Covert operative Mitch Rapp is used to winning. But thanks to several scheming and unscrupulous members of the Pakistani secret service, he finds himself chasing false leads from continent to continent in an effort to prevent Pakistani nukes from falling into the hands of terrorists. Together with friend and colleague Scott Coleman, Rapp struggles to prevent the loss of these lethal weapons. Soon it becomes alarmingly clear that the forces in Moscow are bent on fomenting even more chaos and turmoil in the Middle East, and Rapp must go deep into Iraqi territory, posing as an American ISIS recruit. There, he uncovers a plan much more dangerous and insidious than he ever expected --- one that could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences.

by Peter Ames Carlin - Biography, Music, Nonfiction

The grandchild of Jewish immigrants from Hungary, Paul Simon has not only sold more than 100 million records, won 15 Grammy Awards and been installed into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame twice, but has also animated the meaning --- and flexibility --- of personal and cultural identity in a rapidly shrinking world. He has lived one of the most vibrant lives of modern times --- a story replete with tales of Carrie Fisher, Leonard Bernstein, Bob Dylan, Woody Allen, Shelley Duvall, Nelson Mandela, drugs, depression, marriage, divorce and more. Peter Ames Carlin's HOMEWARD BOUND is the first major biography of one of the most influential popular artists in American history.

by Ron Hansen - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Western

Born Henry McCarty, Billy the Kid was a diminutive, charming, blond-haired young man who, growing up in New York, Kansas and later New Mexico, demonstrated a precocious dexterity at firing six-shooters with either hand --- a skill that both got him into and out of trouble and that turned him into an American legend of the old West. He was smart, well-spoken, attractive to both white and Mexican women, a good dancer, and a man with a nose for money, horses and trouble. His spree of crimes and murders has been immortalized in dime westerns, novels and movies. In THE KID, Ron Hansen breathes life into history, bringing readers back into Billy’s boyhood as a ranch hand just trying to wrest a fortune from an unforgiving landscape.

by James Patterson and Kathryn Fox - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Craig Gisto has promised Eliza Moss that his elite team at Private Sydney will investigate the disappearance of her father. After all, as CEO of a high-profile research company, Eric Moss shouldn't be difficult to find. But despite the most advanced technology at their disposal, they find every trace of him has vanished too. And they aren't the only ones on the hunt. Powerful figures want Moss to stay "lost," while others just as ruthlessly want him found. Meanwhile, a routine background check becomes a frantic race to find a stolen baby and catch a brutal killer --- a killer Private may well have sent straight to the victim's door.

by Camilla Läckberg - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Detective Patrik Hedstrom is no stranger to tragedy. A murder case concerning Fjällbacka’s dead financial director, Mats Sverin, is a grim but useful distraction from his recent family misfortunes. It seems Sverin was a man who everybody liked yet nobody really knew. His high school sweetheart, Nathalie, has just returned to Fjällbacka with her five-year-old son. Perhaps she can shed some light on who Sverin really was. However, Nathalie has her own secret. If it’s discovered, she will lose her only child. As the investigation stalls, the police have many questions. But there is only one that matters: Is there anything a mother would not do to protect her child?

by Nicci French - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

A bloated corpse turns up in the Thames, throat slashed, and the only clue is a hospital wristband reading Dr. F. Klein. Frieda is taken to see the body and realizes with horror that it is Sandy, her ex-boyfriend. She’s certain that the killer is Dean Reeve --- the man who has never stopped haunting her. But the police think he has been dead for years, and Frieda is their number one suspect. With few options, Frieda goes on the run to save herself and try to uncover the truth.