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Reviews

Reviews

by Max Brooks - Fiction, Horror, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined...until now. The journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing --- and too earth-shattering in its implications --- to be forgotten. In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it. If what Kate saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us --- and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

by Joyce Carol Oates - Fiction

NIGHT. SLEEP. DEATH. THE STARS. is a gripping examination of contemporary America through the prism of a family tragedy. When a powerful parent dies, each of his adult children reacts in startling and unexpected ways, and his grieving widow in the most surprising way of all. Stark and penetrating, Joyce Carol Oates’ latest novel is a vivid exploration of race, psychological trauma, class warfare, grief and eventual healing, as well as an intimate family novel in the tradition of the author’s bestselling WE WERE THE MULVANEYS.

by Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell - Adventure, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Ten years ago, a chance meeting at the Lighthouse Café in Redondo Beach led Sam Fargo and Remi Longstreet on the adventure of a lifetime, hunting the legendary riches stolen from the Persian King Croesus in 546 B.C. But someone else is after the gold and is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. When Sam and Remi run afoul of a criminal drug-running operation, their hopes of finding the treasure are dashed. Years later they return to Greece on a mission to locate the cache of gold. Time becomes their enemy when the kingpin they helped send to prison over a decade ago is released --- and he has two goals in mind. Find the legendary hoard of King Croesus, and kill Sam and Remi Fargo.

by Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land - Fiction, Mystery

Still staying at the Hill House hotel while her beloved home is being rebuilt, Jessica Fletcher finds herself sharing the space for a weekend with a dozen members of a wedding party who have gathered there for a rehearsal dinner. The families of the bride and groom can't stand each other but have agreed to put aside years of long-simmering tension to celebrate the nuptials. Unfortunately, weather forecasters underestimated the severity of a storm that turns into a historic blizzard that dumps nearly five feet of snow on Cabot Cove, leaving everyone stranded. But the hotel guests have bigger things to worry about than bad weather conditions, because a murderer has shown up uninvited --- one who has vowed to take them down one by one.

by Kimberly McCreight - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Grueling hours are standard at elite law firms like Young & Crane, but they’d be easier to swallow if Lizzie Kitsakis was there voluntarily. Until recently, she’d been a happily underpaid federal prosecutor. With that job and her brilliant, devoted husband, Sam, she had everything she’d ever wanted. And then it all fell apart. The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help --- even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. His wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach is the primary suspect. As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed --- and that their friends might be protecting troubling secrets of their own.

by Gail Godwin - Fiction, Historical Fiction

In 1958, Feron Hood and Merry Jellicoe are roommates at Lovegood Junior College for Girls. Feron, who has narrowly escaped from a dark past, instantly takes to Merry and her composed personality. Surrounded by the traditions and four-story Doric columns of Lovegood, the girls --- and their friendship --- begin to thrive. But underneath their fierce friendship is a stronger, stranger bond, one comprised of secrets, rivalry and influence --- with neither of them able to predict that Merry is about to lose everything she grew up taking for granted, and that their time together will be cut short. Ten years later, Feron and Merry haven't spoken since college. Life has led them into vastly different worlds. But, as Feron says, once someone is inside your “reference aura,” she stays there forever.

by Scott Turow - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

At 85 years old, Alejandro "Sandy" Stern, a brilliant defense lawyer with his health failing but spirit intact, is on the brink of retirement. But when his old friend Dr. Kiril Pafko, a former Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, is faced with charges of insider trading, fraud and murder, his entire life's work is put in jeopardy, and Stern decides to take on one last trial. In a case that will be the defining coda to both men's accomplished lives, Stern probes beneath the surface of his friend's dazzling veneer as a distinguished cancer researcher. As the trial progresses, he will question everything he thought he knew about his friend. Despite Pafko's many failings, is he innocent of the terrible charges laid against him? How far will Stern go to save his friend, and --- no matter the trial's outcome --- will he ever know the truth?

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

In the wilderness of Washington State, expert tracker Colter Shaw has located two young men accused of a terrible hate crime. But when his pursuit takes a shocking and tragic turn, he becomes desperate to discover what went so horribly wrong and if he is to blame. Shaw's search for answers leads him to a shadowy organization that bills itself as a grief support group. But is it truly a community that consoles the bereaved? Or a dangerous cult with a growing body count? Undercover, Shaw joins the mysterious group and risks everything. He soon finds that some people will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden…and to make sure that he or those close to him say "goodbye" forever.

by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch - History, Nonfiction

Everyone knows the story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, but few are aware of the original conspiracy to kill him four years earlier in 1861, literally on his way to Washington, D.C., for his first inauguration. The conspirators were part of a pro-Southern secret society that didn’t want an antislavery President in the White House. They planned an elaborate scheme to assassinate the brand new President in Baltimore as Lincoln’s inauguration train passed through en route to the Capitol. The plot was investigated by famed detective Allan Pinkerton, who infiltrated the group with undercover agents. Had the assassination succeeded, there would have been no Lincoln presidency, and the course of the Civil War and American history would have been forever altered.

by Andrew Taylor - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

London, 1667. In the Court of Charles II, it’s a dangerous time to be alive --- a wrong move may lead to disgrace, exile or death. Therefore, the discovery of a body at Clarendon House, the palatial home of one of the highest courtiers in the land, could have catastrophic consequences. James Marwood, a traitor’s son, is ordered to cover up the murder. But the dead man is Edward Alderley, the cousin of one of Marwood’s acquaintances. Cat Lovett had every reason to want her cousin dead. Since his murder, she has vanished, and all the evidence points to her as the killer. Marwood is determined to clear Cat’s name and discover who really killed Alderley. But time is running out for everyone. If he makes a mistake, it could threaten not only the government but the King himself.