A Hollywood movie company has come to Paradise, Massachusetts, and brought with it a huge cast, crew, and a troubled star. Marisol Hinton is scared out of her wits that her estranged husband's jealousy might take a dangerous turn. When she becomes the subject of a death threat, Jesse and the rest of the Paradise police department go on high alert.

A Hollywood movie company has come to Paradise, Massachusetts, and brought with it a huge cast, crew, and a troubled star. Marisol Hinton is scared out of her wits that her estranged husband's jealousy might take a dangerous turn. When she becomes the subject of a death threat, Jesse and the rest of the Paradise police department go on high alert.

Summer in Paradise, Massachusetts is usually an idyllic season --- but not this time. A Hollywood movie company has come to town and brought with it a huge cast, crew, and a troubled star. Marisol Hinton is very beautiful, reasonably talented, and scared out of her wits that her estranged husband's jealousy might take a dangerous turn. When she becomes the subject of a death threat, Jesse and the rest of the Paradise police department go on high alert.

And when Jesse witnesses a horrifying collision caused by a distracted teenage driver, the political repercussions of her arrest bring him into conflict with the local selectment, the DA, and some people with very deep pockets. There's murder in the air, and it's Jesse's reputation as an uncompromising defender of the law --- and his life --- on the line.

Caren Gray manages Belle Vie, a sprawling antebellum plantation that has turned into an eerie tourist attraction. Outside the gates, a corporation has been snapping up land from struggling families who have been growing sugar cane for generations and replacing local employees with illegal laborers. Tensions mount when the body of a female migrant worker is found in a shallow grave on the edge of the property, her throat cut clean.

Caren Gray manages Belle Vie, a sprawling antebellum plantation that has turned into an eerie tourist attraction. Outside the gates, a corporation has been snapping up land from struggling families who have been growing sugar cane for generations and replacing local employees with illegal laborers. Tensions mount when the body of a female migrant worker is found in a shallow grave on the edge of the property, her throat cut clean.

In BLACK WATER RISING, Attica Locke delivered one of the most stunning and sure-handed fiction debuts in recent memory, garnering effusive critical praise, several award nominations, and passionate reader response. Now Locke returns with THE CUTTING SEASON, a riveting thriller that intertwines two murders separated across more than a century.

Caren Gray manages Belle Vie, a sprawling antebellum plantation that sits between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where the past and the present coexist uneasily. The estate's owners have turned the place into an eerie tourist attraction, complete with full-dress re-enactments and carefully restored slave quarters. Outside the gates, a corporation with ambitious plans has been busy snapping up land from struggling families who have been growing sugar cane for generations, and now replacing local employees with illegal laborers. Tensions mount when the body of a female migrant worker is found in a shallow grave on the edge of the property, her throat cut clean.

As the investigation gets under way, the list of suspects grows. But when fresh evidence comes to light and the sheriff's department zeros in on a person of interest, Caren has a bad feeling that the police are chasing the wrong leads. Putting herself at risk, she ventures into dangerous territory as she unearths startling new facts about a very old mystery --- the long-ago disappearance of a former slave --- that has unsettling ties to the current murder. In pursuit of the truth about Belle Vie's history and her own, Caren discovers secrets about both cases --- ones that an increasingly desperate killer will stop at nothing to keep buried.

Taut, hauntingly resonant, and beautifully written, THE CUTTING SEASON is at once a thoughtful meditation on how America reckons its past with its future, and a high-octane page-turner that unfolds with tremendous skill and vision. With her rare gift for depicting human nature in all its complexities, Attica Locke demonstrates once again that she is "destined for literary stardom" (Dallas Morning News).

Agatha has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, and will do anything to get her man --- including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up. Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap. Murder is definitely afoot, but this killer chose no ordinary weapon: A poisonous snake delivered the fatal strike.

Agatha has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, and will do anything to get her man --- including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up. Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap. Murder is definitely afoot, but this killer chose no ordinary weapon: A poisonous snake delivered the fatal strike.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of everyone's favorite sleuth, M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin is as feisty as ever --- armed with her famous wit and biting sense of humor. This time, though, there's some biting of a whole other sort going on. Agatha has fallen head over heels in love --- again. This time, she has her eye on the local gardener, George Marston, but so do other women in their little Cotswold village. Shamelessly determined, Agatha will do anything to get her man --- including footing the bill for a charity ball just for the chance to dance with him. And then George doesn't even show up. Only partly deterred, Agatha goes looking for him, and finds his dead body in a compost heap. Murder is definitely afoot, but this killer chose no ordinary weapon: A poisonous snake delivered the fatal strike.

Rising to the occasion, Agatha rallies her little detective agency to find the killer, only to learn that George had quite a complicated love life. But murderously complicated? Well, if she can't have George, at least Agatha can have the satisfaction of confronting the other women and solving the crime. With Hiss & Hers, once again, "M. C. Beaton has a foolproof plot for the village mystery" (The New York Times Book Review) in the irresistible adventures of the irrepressible Agatha.

After more than 120 years, the regalia worn by Arapaho Chief Black Heart in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show were supposed to be returned to his people. But the cartons containing the relics were empty when they arrived at the Arapaho museum. Vicki and Father John suspect rancher and Indian artifact collector Trevor Pratt knows more about the theft than he’s telling --- a suspicion that’s confirmed when they witness a car speeding from his home and he’s found murdered inside.

After more than 120 years, the regalia worn by Arapaho Chief Black Heart in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show were supposed to be returned to his people. But the cartons containing the relics were empty when they arrived at the Arapaho museum. Vicki and Father John suspect rancher and Indian artifact collector Trevor Pratt knows more about the theft than he’s telling --- a suspicion that’s confirmed when they witness a car speeding from his home and he’s found murdered inside.

In October 1962, JFK needs businessman Nate Michaels’ help opening a back channel to defuse the threat posed by Soviet missiles in Cuba. In both the Pentagon and the Kremlin, pro-war generals want a showdown, not a humiliating compromise. As the world races toward nuclear holocaust during a fine and dangerous autumn, Michaels finds himself spinning in a maelstrom of statecraft, espionage, love and betrayal.

In October 1962, JFK needs businessman Nate Michaels’ help opening a back channel to defuse the threat posed by Soviet missiles in Cuba. In both the Pentagon and the Kremlin, pro-war generals want a showdown, not a humiliating compromise. As the world races toward nuclear holocaust during a fine and dangerous autumn, Michaels finds himself spinning in a maelstrom of statecraft, espionage, love and betrayal.

The phone rings in the California home of businessman Nate Michaels before the sun is up on October 24, 1962. An hour later he’s on an Air Force jet to Washington. Michaels hasn’t seen or spoken to President Kennedy since they met at Stanford in the fall of 1940, but now JFK needs his help opening a back channel to defuse the threat posed by Soviet missiles in Cuba. In both the Pentagon and the Kremlin, pro-war generals want a showdown, not a humiliating compromise. As the world races toward nuclear holocaust during a fine and dangerous autumn, Michaels finds himself spinning in a maelstrom of statecraft, espionage, love and betrayal.

It is 1973, and Lucy Painter is a children's book illustrator and a single mother of two. She leaves New York and the married father of her children to live in a tightly knit Washington neighborhood in the house where she grew up and where she discovered her father’s suicide. Lucy hopes for a fresh start, but her life is full of secrets. As the new neighbors enter their lives, her family’s safety and stability become threatened.

It is 1973, and Lucy Painter is a children's book illustrator and a single mother of two. She leaves New York and the married father of her children to live in a tightly knit Washington neighborhood in the house where she grew up and where she discovered her father’s suicide. Lucy hopes for a fresh start, but her life is full of secrets. As the new neighbors enter their lives, her family’s safety and stability become threatened.

An investment firm asks former Wall Street hotshot Jason Stafford to look into possible problems left by a junior trader who died recently in an accident. What he discovers are the kinds of problems that can get you killed. But Stafford has another quest as well: to reclaim his five-year-old son, “the Kid,” from his unstable ex-wife. When the two threads of his life come together, the results are unforgettable.

An investment firm asks former Wall Street hotshot Jason Stafford to look into possible problems left by a junior trader who died recently in an accident. What he discovers are the kinds of problems that can get you killed. But Stafford has another quest as well: to reclaim his five-year-old son, “the Kid,” from his unstable ex-wife. When the two threads of his life come together, the results are unforgettable.

Sometimes a man can be redeemed. But not in the way he expects.

Jason Stafford is a former Wall Street hotshot who made some bad moves, paid the price with two years in prison, and is now trying to put his life back together. He’s unemployable, until an investment firm asks him to look into possible problems left by a junior trader who died recently in an accident. What he discovers is big --- there are problems, all right, the kind that get you killed.

But it’s not his only concern. Stafford has another quest as well: to reclaim his five-year-old son, “the Kid,” from his unstable ex-wife, and then learn just what it means to make a life with him. The things Stafford discovers about himself in the process are every bit as gripping as his investigation, and when the two threads of his life come together --- the results are unforgettable.

BLACK FRIDAYS marks the arrival of a remarkable new writer.