Recreation

Fiction New Titles February 2012 (arrived Jan 2012)

Adventure

Larry Bond's red dragon rising : shock of war, Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice.
Trapped behind enemy lines after fulfilling a mission to sabotage a Chinese invasion fleet intent on starting a war against America, U.S. Army Major Zeus Murphy and erratic fellow officer Win Christian make their way into Vietnam, where Murphy defies orders to save a woman he loves.
Hard target, Howard Gordon.
Follow-up to his "Gideon's war" which involves a harrowing attempt to stop a terrorist who plans to destroy the American government.
Covert warriors, W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.
When a hostile Third World country begins to receive military training and nuclear technology from foreign nations, Charley Castillo and his team investigate only to be abandoned by the U.S. government and placed on hit lists throughout the world.
A devil is waiting, Jack Higgins.
A new Sean Dillon thriller about murder, terrorism and revenge.
Nightmare, Stephen Leather.
Jack Nightingale, a cop who was unable to save a child, lives in a nightmare world where he has to face the powers of the police and South London gangs.
A very murdering battle, Edward Marston.
The latest in the Captain Rawson series, set in 1709 Europe where Rawson is on a dangerous mission risking capture and life.
The immortalists, Kyle Mills.
Microbiologist's daughter has a genetic defect causing her to age at a very fast rate and now time is running out. The miracle they hope for could, however, be very sinister.
Hard target, Chris Ryan.
Faster - Stronger - Deadlier. Former SAS Warrant Officer Joe Gardner has fought the Regiment's deadliest enemies, in some of the most desolate places on earth. And he's always won. Now he's about to face his toughest challenge yet.
The innocent, Taylor Stevens.
Author of "The informationist" returns with a second action thriller featuring the fearless Vanessa Michael Munroe.
The Pacific, Peter Watt.
As a war correspondent covering the Second World War, Ilsa Stahl isn't afraid to be on the front line. But when her plane goes down in a terrible storm over Papuan waters and she is taken prisoner by the Japanese, she has every reason to be terrified.

American fiction

A sister's secret, Wanda E. Brunstetter.
After finishing her "running around years," Grace Hostettler returns to Holmes County and joins the Amish church, but when an English man who knows too much about her past appears, his interest in Grace threatens to destroy more than one life.
Love in a nutshell, Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly.
Romance with a bit of suspense featuring out of work and just separated Kate Appleton who's on the trail to discover who's been sabotaging the brewery owned by a man she's sweet on.
Trading Christmas, Debbie Macomber.
Through an internet site, Charles and Emily arrange to swap houses for the holiday. Emily goes to Boston and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. Charles arrives in Leavenworth to discover that it's not the prison town, it's Santa's village!

Australian fiction

What remains, Denise Leith.
Follows the life of Kate, a journalist in war zones and Pete, the legendary photographer who shares her journey. Strong tale of war, love, and friendship.
Currawalli Street, Christopher Morgan.
A story of one street across the generations and starting from pre war innocence of 1913 to the grim consequences of the Vietnam War.

British fiction

Two cows and a vanful of smoke, Peter Benson.
A witty celebration of life in the English countryside where a young labourer gets into trouble.
Married love : and other stories, Tessa Hadley.
In this collection there are domestic dramas, generational sagas, wrenching love affairs and epiphanies - captured and distilled to remarkable effect. Has been very well reviewed in Britain.
Jubilee, Shelley Harris.
The photo of a 1977 street party for the Queen's Silver Jubilee becomes iconic and thirty years later a reunion picture is planned but it unravels a lot of tensions and secrets from 1977.
Bird brain : a novel, Guy Kennaway.
Poacher versus gamekeeper in this rustic comedy about country sports, murder, intrigue and talking pheasants.
Before she was mine, Kate Long.
The story of Freya and her two mothers: Liv, her adoptive mother, and Melody, her birth mother, wildly different women.
Knit one pearl one, Gil McNeil.
Third in series featuring Jo MacKenzie who manages three lively kids, a busy new shop and café, the antics of her friends as well as family and romance.
Me before you, JoJo Moyes.
The lives of two people change dramatically when she loves her job and he has a motorcycle accident and they are brought together.

Fiction from the rest of the world

Waiting for Robert Capa, Susana Fortes
Award winning Spanish author's tale about young idealists who met and worked with war photographer Robert Capa.
Sanctuary line, Jane Urquhart.
Entomologist Liz Crane moves back to her family's now deserted farmhouse by Lake Erie and is haunted by the family secrets that unfold. Impressive novel by this much praised Canadian author.
Queen of America, Luis Alberto Urrea.
After a bloody rebellion a beloved healer flees with her father to Arizona but her plans fail when she becomes spiritual leader of the Mexican revolution, embarks on a journey across America and falls in love.
Pao, Kerry Young.
A Chinese family whose father has died during the Revolution arrives in Jamaica in this tale of race, class and colour in a country at a historical crossroads.

Mystery

Sacrifice, Karin Alvtegen
A tragic accident brings two women together, forcing them to confront their darkest fears in this Scandinanvian psychological thriller.
A charitable body, Robert Barnard.
Set in one of Britain's stately homes and featuring Yorkshire cop Charlie Peace.
Finders keepers, Belinda Bauer.
In Exmoor, children are being kidnapped from cars with a note left behind. P.C. Jonas Holly investigates.
Death benefit, Robin Cook.
Medical mystery about a life insurance scam which allows investors to benefit from the deaths of others.
Miles off course, Sulari Gentill.
In early 1933, Rowland Sinclair and his companions are ensconced in the superlative luxury of the Hydro Majestic, Medlow Bath, where trouble seems distant indeed. When Harry Simpson vanishes, croquet and pre-dinner cocktails are abandoned for the High Country where Rowland hunts for Simpson with a determination that is as mysterious as the disappearance itself.
Believing the lie, Elizabeth George.
Detective Inspector Lynley is approached by a business magnate to look into the "accidental death" of his nephew.
Down the darkest road, Tami Hoag.
Third in the series following "Deeper than the dead" and "Secrets to the grave."
The silver stain, Paul Johnston.
Private eye Alex Mavros is hired by a movie company to trace a missing employee in Crete and discovers that what happened there in the war is resurfacing in murder.
The hunter, John Lescroart.
Raised by loving adoptive parents, San Francisco private investigator Wyatt Hunt never had an interest in finding his birth family--until he gets a chilling text message from an unknown number: "How did ur mother die?" The answer is murder, and urged on by curiosity and the mysterious texter, Hunt takes on a case he never knew existed, one that has lain unsolved for decades.
Birthdays for the dead, Stuart MacBride.
A character the tabloids call Birthday Boy is snatching girls and harming them in the latest from this very gritty Scottish author.
Nor all your tears, Keith McCarthy.
1977 and Lance Elliott, a London doctor, is investigating the murders of teachers at a local school.
Breakdown, Sara Paretsky.
When the teenage daughters of some of Chicago's most influential families discover the body of a ritually murdered victim, investigator Warshawski explores theories that the killing is linked to a hostile media campaign against a senatorial candidate or a wealthy patriarch's childhood in Nazi-occupied Lithuania.
Private games, James Patterson and Mark Sullivan.
London 2012, Olympic Games, a key member of the organising committee is found decapitated in his own back garden.
The Judas blade, John Pilkington.
1671 and war looms between Holland and England. Actress Betsy Brant is working as a spy in the Low Countries when a killer strikes.
Sleepwalker, Karen Robards.
When rookie cop Micayla Lange arrests a man she discovers breaking into her old family friend Nicco Marino's mansion, her troubles have only just begun. Because, as she pulls a gun on professional thief Jason Davis, he drops the bag he's stolen - and it spills open to reveal photographs of Micayla's genial 'uncle' Nicco handing money to a number of Detroit's most powerful politicians and law-makers
Silent court, M.J. Trow.
Second historical mystery featuring Christopher Marlowe, Cambridge scholar and novice spy, here investigating the murder of a player in a troupe.
D.C. dead, Stuart Woods.
Stone Barrington, his former NYPD partner Dino Bachetti and CIA agent Holly Barker investigate a possible serial killer with ties to the White House.

New Zealand fiction

Rangatira, Paula Morris.
Auckland, June 1886. Ngati Wai chief Paratene Te Manu spends long sessions, over three days, having his portrait painted by the Bohemian painter Gottfried Lindauer. Hearing of Lindauer's planned trip to England reminds him of his own journey there, twenty years earlier, with a party of northern rangatira.

Romance

The playboy's gift, Teresa Carpenter.
How to win the dating war, Aimee Carson.
Playing his dangerous game, Tina Duncan.
Flirting with Italian, Liz Fielding.
Jewel in his crown, Lynne Graham.
The call of the desert, Abby Green.
In bed with a stranger, India Grey.
The tycoon who healed her heart, Melissa James.
In a storm of scandal, Kim Lawrence.
The man every woman wants, Miranda Lee.
Once a good girl, Wendy S. Marcus.
Interview with the daredevil, Nicola Marsh.
Firefighter under the mistletoe, Melissa McClone.
Once a Ferrara wife, Sarah Morgan.
Not fit for a king?, Jane Porter.
The night before Christmas, Alison Roberts.
New doc in town, Meredith Webber.
Orphan under the Christmas tree, Meredith Webber.
Snowbound with her hero, Rebecca Winters.
The inconvenient laws of attraction, Trish Wylie.

Saga & historical

The last nude, Ellis Avery.
American woman in 1927 Paris meets art deco painter Tamara de Lempicka and becomes his model and lover.
At the mercy of the queen, Anne Clinard Barnhill.
Sweeping tale of sexual seduction and intrigue at the court of Henry VIII, a debut historical novel about Madge Shelton, cousin and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn.
Losing you, Susan Lewis.
Two lives. Two families. A tragedy when the boy from one makes a bad decision and both families have to confront things they never expected.
The twelfth enchantment, David Liss.
Regency-set novel with the well-bred Lucy Derrick forced to live with her ungracious uncle after the death of her father.
Where wildflowers bloom, Ann Shorey.
Faith Lindberg longs to go west on the Oregon Trail until she realises the love of her life may not be the right one for her.

Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror

Grantville gazette VI, Eric Flint
The sixth anthology of tales set in his particular universe of alternative history.
Halo. Primordium, Greg Bear.
Continues the story of the ancient Forerunners engineering race, who are worshiped as gods by the Covenant while their mysterious connection to humanity slowly unfolds. Second in the series.
Dark Eden, Chris Beckett.
Eden: a world of perpetual darkness, lit by fluorescent vegetation and headed by geothermal trees. Five hundred humans - the Family - live in an isolated valley. They are all descended from the same couple, Tommy and Angela, astronauts stranded on Eden one hundred and sixty years ago. As a result, genetic deformities and aberrations amongst the Family are commonplace. The Family is held together by the dream that one day Earth will send a rescue ship to pick them up and take them home.
Power play, Ben Bova.
Recruited by an ambitious senatorial candidate, astronomer Jake Ross is directed to promote a new innovation for cheap energy, a situation that is complicated by the technology's hazards and the extreme tactics used by both political rivals.
Saints astray, Jacqueline Carey.
Follows "Santa Olivia" with another tale of post-pandemic America and dystopian visions of the future.
The bride wore black leather, Simon R. Green.
John Taylor is marrying Suzie Shooter, the Nightside's most fearsome bounty hunter. But before he can walk down the aisle he has one more case to solve as a private eye - a case that has him on the run, with his bride-to-be looking to collect the bounty on his head. Latest in the Nightside series.
Sisterhood of Dune, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
83 years after the last of the thinking machines were destroyed, anti-technology fervour continues to sweep across the human settled planets.
To protect, Mickey Zucker Reichert.
The first in a new series "inspired by" Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot."
Blue remembered Earth, Alastair Reynolds.
Follows the Akinya family over more than 10,000 years of history in a future where the leading world power is Africa.
Skirmish, Michelle West.
Fourth in the "House War" fantasy series.
Count to a trillion, John C. Wright.
Space opera set after the collapse of the world economy where a young boy grows up as a gun for hire in earth and in space.