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Reviews

by Ramsey Campbell - Fiction, Horror, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Coral and Allan Clarendon have just moved to the seaside town of Barnwall with their young son, Dean. If an uncommon number of children have died unnaturally in Barnwall throughout history, surely Dean must be safe with his parents. Could their house be a source of peril? Allan and Coral seem to think so, since they call for an exorcism. Allan’s father, Thom, believes his wife is wrong to think the ceremony has left Dean in worse danger. But if she’s alone in seeing the terrors that are gathering around him, how desperate will her solution have to be?

by Dan Brown - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Robert Langdon, esteemed professor of symbology, travels to Prague to attend a groundbreaking lecture by Katherine Solomon --- a prominent noetic scientist with whom he recently has begun a relationship. Katherine is on the verge of publishing an explosive book that contains startling discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and threatens to disrupt centuries of established belief. But a brutal murder catapults the trip into chaos, and Katherine suddenly disappears along with her manuscript. Langdon finds himself targeted by a powerful organization and hunted by a chilling assailant sprung from Prague’s most ancient mythology. In a thrilling race through the dual worlds of futuristic science and mystical lore, Langdon uncovers a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.

by Mick Herron - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

David Cartwright has left his library to the Spooks’ College in Oxford, and now one of the books is missing. Or perhaps it never existed. River, once a “slow horse” of Slough House, MI5’s outpost for demoted and disgraced spies, starts investigating the secrets of his grandfather’s library. Over at the Park, MI5 First Desk Diana Taverner is in a pickle. An operation carried out during the height of the Troubles laid bare the ugly side of state security, and those involved are threatening to expose details. But every threat hides an opportunity, and Taverner has come up with a scheme. Jackson Lamb, the enigmatic and odiferous head of Slough House, has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they’re his clowns. And if they don’t all make it home, there will be a reckoning.

by Joanne Harris - Fiction, Women's Fiction

On the evening of July 4th, a young woman scatters her mother’s ashes in New York and follows the call of the changing winds to the French coastal city of Marseille. For the first time in her life, Vianne feels in control of her future. Charming her way into a job as a waitress, she tries to fit in, make friends, and come to terms with her pregnancy, knowing that by the time her child is born, the turning wind will have changed once again. As she discovers the joy of cooking for the very first time, making local recipes her own with the addition of bittersweet chocolate spices, she learns that this humble magic has the power to unlock secrets. And yet her gift comes at a price. And Vianne has a secret of her own --- a secret that threatens everything.

by William Kent Krueger - Fiction, Mystery

A few nights before Halloween, as Cork O’Connor gloomily ruminates on his upcoming birthday, he receives a call from his son, Stephen, who is working for a nonprofit dedicated to securing freedom for unjustly incarcerated inmates. Stephen tells his father that decades ago, as the newly elected sheriff of Tamarack County, Cork was responsible for sending an Ojibwe man named Axel Boshey to prison for a brutal murder that Stephen is certain he did not commit. Cork feels compelled to reinvestigate the crime, but that is easier said than done. Not only is it a closed case, but Axel Boshey is, inexplicably, refusing to help. The deeper Cork digs, the clearer it becomes that there are those in Tamarack County who are willing once again to commit murder to keep him from finding the truth.

edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene - Fantasy, Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Stories

Since its initial publication in 1978, THE STAND has been considered Stephen King’s seminal masterpiece of apocalyptic fiction. Generations of writers have been impacted by its dark yet ultimately hopeful vision of the end and new beginning of civilization, and its stunning array of characters. Now for the first time, King has fully authorized a return to the harrowing world of THE STAND through this original short story anthology as presented by award-winning authors and editors Christopher Golden and Brian Keene. Bringing together some of today’s greatest and most visionary writers, THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT features unforgettable, all-new stories set during and after (and some perhaps long after) the events of THE STAND.

by Sulari Gentill - Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Crime fiction author Joe Penvale has won the most brutal battle of his life. Now that he has finished his intense medical treatment, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are boarding the glorious Orient Express in Paris. Meredith hopes that the literary ghosts on the train will nudge Joe's muse awake, and he'll be inspired to write again. After their first evening spent getting to know some of their fellow travelers, Joe pulls out his laptop and opens a new document. The next morning, Joe and Meredith are shocked to witness that the cabin next door has become a crime scene. They soon find themselves caught up in an Agatha Christie-esque murder investigation. But when the steward guarding the crime scene is murdered, it marks the beginning of a killing spree that leaves five found dead --- and one still missing.

by Donna Leon - Memoir, Nonfiction

Donna Leon’s memoir, WANDERING THROUGH LIFE, gave her legions of fans a colorful tour through her life --- from her childhood in New Jersey to her adventures in China and Iran, to her love of Venice and opera. Nowhere, however, did she discuss her writing life. In BACKSTAGE, Donna reveals her admiration for, and inspiration from, the great crime novelists Ruth Rendell and Ross Macdonald, examining their approach to storytelling as she dissects her favorite books of theirs. She expresses her love for Charles Dickens’ GREAT EXPECTATIONS and her appreciation for Sir Walter Scott’s generosity of spirit. And she chronicles the amount of research she undertakes to be able to present authentically, through Guido Brunetti and his colleagues, places and characters far from her own experience.

by Nicholas Meyer - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

London, 189–: While the great city is brought to a standstill by a series of blizzards, a landlady complains that her artist tenant is behind on rent. The next thing you know, there are several corpses, and Sherlock Holmes and his biographer, John H. Watson, MD, find themselves drawn into one of the most bizarre cases of the great detective’s career. And into the cutthroat big business of Art, where chicanery and mendacity (and cut throats) proliferate. What makes a work of art worth killing for? Is it the artist, his mistress, his dealer or his blackmailer? The cast of characters is large. But are they perpetrators, accomplices or victims? And just who is Juliet Packwood, with whom Watson has become infatuated?

by Brian McAuley - Fiction, Horror, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Hannah has been running from her demons ever since she emerged from a harrowing wilderness trip without her fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah would like to keep it that way...even if his ghost still haunts her with vivid waking nightmares that are ruining her life. So when her friend group gets an exclusive invitation to a restorative spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, Hannah reluctantly agrees in search of a fresh start. Despite her skepticism of the strange Guru Pax and his belief in the supernatural world, Hannah soon finds healing through all the yoga, sound baths and hot springs offered at the tech-free haven. But this peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways.