Recreation

New Titles Fiction May 2013 (arrived in April)

Adventure

Black mountain, Greig Beck.
Alex Hunter, code named Arcadian, wakes up with no knowledge of who he is, in the care of a woman he doesn't recognise, in a country not his own.
Pandemonium, Warren Fahy.
A ruthless Russian tycoon lures biologists Nell and Geoffrey to his underground metropolis, where they are confronted by a vicious menagerie of biological horrors that are rising up to consume the world.
Rules of honour, Matt Hilton.
Latest Joe Hunter thriller has him stopping a friend who is out for vengeance after a Japanese honour killing.
Ghostman, Roger Hobbs.
First novel - in the Lee Child vein - about a loner who specialises in disappearing and "cleaning up" crimes. Full of double and treble crosses.
Prophet of bones, Ted Kosmatka.
A dazzling young scientist runs for his life and searches for answers after being chased away by paramilitaries from an archeological dig where bones belonging to a puzzling, new species were discovered.
The persona protocol, Andy McDermott.
Adam Gray, lead agent of top American secret government project, can take on the memories of anyone and must use this skill to hunt a terrorist.
Robert Ludlum's The utopia experiment : a Covert-One novel, Series created by Robert Ludlum ; written by Kyle Mills.
When Dresner Industries unveils the Merge, a device that is destined to revolutionize the world and make the personal computer and smartphone obsolete, Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith is assigned to assess its military potential.
The tsunami countdown, Boyd Morrison.
One man. One hour. One million people to save. Over the remote central Pacific, an airliner is rocked by a massive explosion and plummets into the ocean, leaving no survivors. Twelve hundred miles away in Hawaii, Kai Tanaka, the acting director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu, notes a minor seismic disturbance but doesn't make the connection with the lost airplane.
The whiteness of the whale, David Poyer.
Marine adventure of men, women and whales with a group of activists sailing into Antarctic waters.
Frozen solid, James M. Tabor.
His second action thriller has microbiologist Hallie Leland facing intrigue, conspiracy and murder at the South Pole.
Angelopolis, Danielle Trussoni.
Now a decade has passed since Verlaine saw Evangeline alight from the Brooklyn Bridge, the sight of her wings a betrayal that haunts him still. The Nephilim are again on the rise, scheming to construct their own paradise the Angelopolis and ruthlessly pursued by Verlaine in his new calling as an angel hunter.
The intercept, Dick Wolf.
Four days before the dedication of the new Freedom Tower at ground zero in New York City, five passengers and a flight attendant bravely foil the hijacking of a commercial jet en route to the city.

American Fiction

Harvard Square, André Aciman.
A tale of love and assimilation as a young Jewish Harvard graduate meets a brash Arab cab driver and their lives change.
Tapestry of fortunes, Elizabeth Berg.
Top motivational speaker sells her home and goes off to another city, takes in roommates and the four women go off on a road trip to find again the people and the things they miss.
Traps, Mackenzie Bezos.
Four very different women, disaffected in very different ways, set off on journeys that will bring them together.
The smart one : a novel, Jennifer Close.
Weezy and her husband become increasingly perplexed by life challenges that compel their first daughter to move back into her childhood room, their second daughter to cancel her wedding, and their son to become enmeshed in a relationship disaster.
A quilt for Jenna, Patrick E. Craig.
Jerusha has spent months making the most beautiful quilt anyone in Apple Creek, Ohio, has ever seen, and she knows it's going to take first prize at the Quilt Fair in Dalton. The prize will be her ticket out of the Amish way of life - away from the memories of her dead daughter and her tormented husband.
You and I, me and you, MaryJanice Davidson.
The final book in her zany trilogy about an unconventional FBI agent who finds love in the most unexpected places.
A thousand pardons, Jonathan Dee.
Forced back into the working world after her lawyer husband's downfall, Helen discovers a talent for public relations and is tempted away from her dysfunctional family by her childhood crush, who needs her professional assistance. A very astute and entertaining look at American urban life.
Z : a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Therese Anne Fowler.
A tale inspired by the marriage of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald follows their union in defiance of her father's opposition and her abandonment of the provincial finery of her upbringing in favour of a scandalous flapper identity that gains her entry into the literary party scenes of New York, Paris and the French Riviera.
Schroder, Amity Gaige.
Ensconced in a correctional facility at the height of a custody battle with his estranged wife, Erik, a first generation East German immigrant who changed his name as a youth, surveys his life to consider the disparity between his original and assumed identities.
The midwife of Hope River, Patricia Harman.
As a midwife working in rural poverty during the Depression, Patience Murphy's only solace is her gift: the chance to escort mothers through the challenges of childbirth. Just beginning, she takes on the jobs no one else wants: those most in need-and least likely to pay.
The sweetness of forgetting, Kristin Harmel.
Heartwarming family tale of secrets and revelations that stretch back to wartime Paris.
Friendship makes the heart grow fonder, Lisa Verge Higgins.
A widow is left a bucket list of things to do by her late husband and decides to follow the list.
Walk me home, Catherine Ryan Hyde.
Carly and her little sister Jen are walking. Something terrible has happened. Something that has left Carly in charge, her faith in humanity shattered. She knows they need help but she is terrified of her sister being taken away from her. All they have is each other. Carly wants them to find their way back to the last person she knew she could trust, their stepfather.
The unchangeable spots of leopards, Kristopher Jansma.
Inventive and witty novel about a young man's quest to become a writer and his misadventures in life and love. Promising and likeable first novel.
Double feature, Owen King.
A young man comes to terms with his life in the process and aftermath of making his first film, in particular with his relationships with family, friends, lovers, and adversaries.
The chance, Karen Kingsbury.
Vowing to meet eleven years after sealing letters they wrote to each other in an old metal box, best friends Ellie and Nolan both have reservations about seeing each other again as loneliness, personal tragedies, and a lack of faith haunt both of them.
The guardian, Beverly Lewis.
After schoolteacher Jodi Winfield finds a little girl on the side of the road, she delves into the isolated community of the Lancaster Old Order Amish to find answers.
The fun parts, Sam Lipsyte.
Presents a collection of stories featuring such characters as a deranged male birth doula, an aerobics instructor trying to save her soul, and a doomsday hustler. Described by critics as sharp, witty and sometimes hilarious.
Songs for the butcher's daughter, Peter Manseau.
Summer, sweltering, 1996. A book warehouse in western Massachusetts. A man at the beginning of his adult life and the end of his career rope becomes involved with a woman, a language, and a great lie that will define his future. Most auspiciously of all, he runs across Itsik Malpesh, a ninety-something Russian immigrant who claims to be the last Yiddish poet in America.
Life after life, Jill McCorkle.
The residents, staff, and neighbours of the Pine Haven retirement center (from twelve-year-old Abby to eighty-five-year-old Sadie) share some of life's most profound discoveries. What they eventually learn about themselves and one another will transform them all.
Reconstructing Amelia, Kimberly McCreight.
Excellent first novel about a busy lawyer trying to cope with guilt after her daughter commits suicide after being caught cheating in school.
The accursed, Joyce Carol Oates.
Has Joyce discovered vampires??? The daughters of early 20th century families start vanishing and a bride to be runs off with a diabolical man.
In the land of the living, Austin Ratner.
A story of fathers, sons, and brothers bound by love, divided by history: part family saga, part coming-of-age story, a kinetic, fresh, bawdy yet earnest shot-to-the-heart of a novel about coping with death, and figuring out how and why to live.
Miss Julia stirs up trouble, Ann B. Ross.
In the latest in the series, the housekeeper of Hazel Marie has an accident and Miss Julia steps in to help. Madcap comedy ensues.
All that is, James Salter.
Lots of pre-publication interest in this novel by veteran author and screenwriter. The story of a World War II veteran, now a book editor, who's enjoying the excitement of the publishing world but losing out in his private life.
Autobiography of us, Aria Beth Sloss.
Set in 1960s California where two girls long for exciting lives and one night everything changes for them but it is some decades before the truth is revealed.
Tomorrow there will be apricots, Jessica Soffer.
Expert debut about two women - an Iraqi Jewish widow and a chef's latchkey daughter - who find solace and a new kind of family in New York through their shared love of cooking.
American dream machine, Matthew Specktor.
The story of two talent agents and their three troubled boys, heirs to Hollywood royalty, based on author's own experiences in LA.
Torch, Cheryl Strayed.
Grounded in the everyday particulars of life in a small town, leavened by earthy humour, this book presents the saga of a family coming to terms with death, a tale of love and loss, grief and redemption set in rural Minnesota.
The Burgess boys, Elizabeth Strout.
Catalyzed by a nephew's thoughtless prank, a pair of brothers confront painful psychological issues surrounding the freak accident that killed their father when they were boys, a loss linked to a heartbreaking deception that shaped their personal and professional lives.
The Paradise Guest House, Ellen Sussman.
A touching tale of one woman's journey to Bali in search of love, renewal and a place to call home.
We live in water : stories, Jess Walter.
The first collection of short fiction from New York Times bestselling author Jess Walter, is a suite of diverse, often comic stories about personal struggle and diminished dreams, all of them marked by the wry wit and generosity of spirit that has made him one of the top US literary authors.
Battleborn, Claire Vaye Watkins.
Stories unfold in Watkins's home state of Nevada, from down south in Nye County and Las Vegas, to Reno, Lake Tahoe, Virginia City and the Black Rock Desert, the site of Burning Man. We are introduced to a very specific small-town America, to those homes and lives off the highway, the ones travellers and writers usually bypass on their way to somewhere else.
The interestings, Meg Wolitzer.
A wide ranging novel about what becomes of early talent and the roles of art and money in the lives of six characters from their time at summer camp to their lives later.

Australian fiction

A world of other people, Steven Carroll.
Set in 1941 during the Blitz, tracing the love affair of an Aussie pilot and a forthright Englishwoman who shares firewatching duties with T.S. Eliot.
The great deception, Joy Chambers.
New South Wales, 1947: when Shelly Wareing's husband Cole vanishes into the night, leaving only a note to say that he will come back no matter how long it takes, Shelly is bewildered. What could be the reason for his sudden disappearance? Searching for clues, Shelly discovers a box containing Nazi medals, an SS ring and a photo of a radiantly beautiful woman signed for her husband.
Redstone Station, Therese Creed.
Mix of romance and rural life as a strong young woman returns to her grandfather's farm and may take it over but one of the stockmen has other ideas.
The railwayman's wife, Ashley Hay.
A widow, a poet and a doctor living in a small town find their lives converge in love and acceptance.
Into my arms, Kylie Ladd.
A couple fall instantly in love and it becomes an all consuming relationship but what happens afterwards tears them apart and wreaks havoc on their lives.
My beautiful enemy, Cory Taylor.
A married soldier with an infant son becomes infatuated with a Japanese youth he encounters in an enemy alien camp during World War II.
The farmer's wife, Rachael Treasure.
The sequel to "Jillaroo," from the top Aussie rural fiction author.

British Fiction

Life after life, Kate Atkinson.
What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life?
Night of triumph, Peter Bradshaw.
On VE night, 1945, the then teenage princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, were allowed to leave the palace incognito and join the parties and festivities with their subjects pretending to be ordinary people for the first and only time in their lives. Peter Bradshaw takes this nugget of history as the basis for this brilliantly comic crime thriller/historical novel.
Nostalgia, Jonathan Buckley.
A small Tuscan town's pageant has a leading role for a self-exiled English painter who has his enemies. A story of art, love, folk heroes, past and present.
On the floor, Aifric Campbell.
This is the story of a life in crisis, set in the world of high finance. At the age of twenty-eight, Dubliner Geri Molloy has put her troubled past behind her to become a major player at Steiner's investment bank in London, earning $850k a year doing business with a reclusive hedge fund manager in Hong Kong. Then things start to unravel.
Me and you, Claudia Carroll.
Tale of female friendship, tough choices, romance and what happens when your past catches up.
How I killed Margaret Thatcher, Anthony Cartwright.
In 1979 Sean Bull, a bright nine-year-old lives an untroubled childhood with his extended family in the heart of the industrial Midlands. His dad and granddad, role models, work hard at the local steel foundries, while his young uncle dabbles in politics and painting. Sean enjoys his school and football, and caravan holidays in Wales, but can't help listening in to the increasingly worrying conversation of the adults around him.
Jellybird, Lezanne Clannachan.
Woman who is happily married with a good career and family gets a new friend who she later catches with her husband. She returns to the town she grew up in and faces some dark unsettling secrets of her past. Impressive first novel.
The loveliest chocolate shop in Paris, Jenny Colgan.
Mouth-watering recipes inside! As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf, and the cobbled alleyways of Paris come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris.
The wish list, Jane Costello.
There are six months left of Emma Reiss' twenties and she has some unfinished business. Emma and her friends are about to turn thirty, and for Emma it's a defining moment. Defined, that is, by her having achieved none of the things she'd imagined she would.
Home fires, Elizabeth Day.
Tale of a family dealing with loss after their son is killed in Africa. Author of the much praised "Scissors, paper, stone."
The things we know now, Catherine Dunne.
Couple marry and the daughter of the first wife, knowing how badly her mother was treated, is unforgiving and it takes a terrible family tragedy to test family bonds.
Not without you, Harriet Evans.
Actress suddenly becomes an A-lister and then starts to feel she's past her prime, linking her situation to what happens to a 1950s star.
Last friends, Jane Gardam.
Third volume in the triology about the former Hong Kong lawyer and his retirement in England. Beautifully written novels by one of Britian's best.
The night rainbow, Claire King.
First novel. The tale of a child faced with the baffling world of adult grief in a village in Southern France.
The first book of Calamity Leek, Paula Lichtarowicz.
Story of a group of kidnapped girls, imprisoned by a cult. An extraordinary tale of the girl of the title, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.
The fields, Kevin Maher.
Energetic and funny novel (in the spirit of Roddy Doyle) of young Jim Finnegan and five raucous sisters growing up in 1980s Ireland.
Constance, Patrick McGrath.
Story of a new York woman who discovers at 30 that the man who raised her as his daughter not only isn't her father but in fact is the murderer of her real father, something that happened before she was born. Or so she believes.
What have I done?, Amanda Prowse.
Headmaster's wife seems to have the perfect life as wife and mother but she's not happy and is about to do something desperate to change it.
Amity & Sorrow, Peggy Riley.
Title characters are sisters whose mother escapes with them from their father's polygamous religious compound. The girls have no idea of what the wider world holds.
Red Joan, Jennie Rooney.
Part World War II thriller, part love story. The gripping story of a woman who embraces new ideas at Cambridge in the 1930s and ends up becoming a spy for Russia during World War II and the Cold War.
The twins, Saskia Sarginson.
Until the unthinkable tore them apart Isolte and Viola are twins. Inseparable as children, they've grown into very different adults: Isolte, a successful features writer for a fashion magazine with a photographer boyfriend and a flat in London, and Viola, desperately unhappy and struggling with a lifelong eating disorder.
With all my love, Patricia Scanlan.
The lives of three generations of women are set to change forever as the past is revisited.
The complete short stories, Muriel Spark
From the cruel irony of "A member of the Family" to the fateful echoes of "The Go-Away Bird" and the unexpectedly sinister "The Girl I Left Behind Me", in settings that range from South Africa to the Portobello Road, Muriel Spark coolly probes the idiosyncrasies that lurk beneath the veneer of human respectability.
Muddy boots and silk stockings, Julia Stoneham.
It is England, 1943. The country is at war with so many men away fighting, it is the women left behind who must keep the country going, and when Alice Todd is abandoned by her husband, she must find a means to provide for herself and her young son.
Love in the afternoon and other delights, Penny Vincenzi.
From her sweeping novels to her searing journalism, Penny Vincenzi has been writing all her life, and this is a collection of her work brought together in a single edition for the first time. As well as ten stunning short stories, Penny also shares some of her thoughts on a range of subjects from love and relationships to work and families, making this collection a must-read for any Vincenzi fan.
Melting the snow on Hester Street, Daisy Waugh.
The Golden Age of Hollywood, 1929, and the most glamorous couple's marriage is crumbling and their house is about to be repossessed.
Diving belles, Lucy Wood.
Along Cornwall's ancient coast, the flotsam and jetsam of the past becomes caught in the cross-currents of the present and, from time to time, a certain kind of magic can float to the surface. Straying husbands lured into the sea can be fetched back, for a fee.

Fantasy

Queen Victoria's book of spells : an anthology of gaslamp fantasy, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.
Historical fantasy tales set in the 19th century (gaslamp fantasy). Authors include James Blaylock, Elizabeth Bear, Tanith Lee and others.
Shattered pillars, Elizabeth Bear.
Exiled heir Re-Tamur and his wizard friend Sarmarkar take on the dark forces that are determined to conquer the great Empires along the Celedon Road. Second book of her "Eternal sky" fantasy triology and sequel to "Range of ghosts."
Bloodfire quest, Terry Brooks.
Second in a new Shannara trilogy.
The gate thief : a novel of the Mither mages, Orson Scott Card.
Here on Earth, Danny North is still in high school, yet he holds in his heart and mind all the stolen outselves of thirteen centuries of gatemages. The Families still want to kill him if they can't control him and they can't control him.
The city of silk and steel, Mike Carey, Linda Carey and Louise Carey.
Author of the Felix Castor novels teams up with wife and daughter to tell the fantasy tale of 365 concubines of an overthrown sultan who are exiled to the desert.
The age atomic, Adam Christopher.
The Empire State is dying. The Fissure connecting the pocket universe to New York has vanished, plunging the city into a deep freeze. The people are demanding a return to Prohibition and rationing as energy supplies dwindle. Meanwhile, in the real 1954 New York, the political dynamic has changed.
Nightshade, Shea Godfrey.
In a land where two countries have been torn by war for generations, Princess Jessa is sent as a peace offering to the country of Arravan, understanding all too well that she is being sacrificed upon the altar of her father's ambitions and condemned to an uncertain and possibly short-lived future.
Wolfhound century, Peter Higgins.
A darkly weird debut about the life of investigator Vissarion Lom in an alternate 1940s Russia where the stone bodies of a dead angels are harvested and repurposed.
Rebellion, Ian Irvine.
Second in "The tainted realm" trilogy.
River of stars, Guy Gavriel Kay.
Sequel to "Under heaven." Fantasy inspired by China's Tang Dynasty, set four centuries later.
Without a summer, Mary Robinette Kowal.
Regency-era glamourists Jane and Vincent Ellsworth hope to bolster Melody's chances for a good marriage by accepting a commission from a prominent London family, a job that embroils them in an international crisis.
Wild invitation : a Psy-Changeling collection, Nalini Singh.
Four novellas based in the Psy-changeling universe include "Stroke of Enticement," in which a young teacher arouses the animal from a leopard changeling; and "Declaration of Courtship," in which a shy wolf finds herself pursued by a SnowDancer.
The golem and the djinni, Helene Wecker.
In the tradition of "The night circus" and "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell." The story of the golem, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi, arriving in 1899 New York and paired with a djinn, once trapped in a copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago.

Fiction from the rest of the World

Five star billionaire : a novel, Tash Aw.
In this stunning new novel, Tash Aw charts the overlapping lives of migrant Malaysian workers, forging lives for themselves in sprawling Shanghai.
The people of forever are not afraid, Shani Boianjiu.
Three girls, schoolfriends in a small Northern Israel town, know they'll be conscripted in the army at 18. The author, born 1987, served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years.
Manuscript found in Accra, Paulo Coelho
A story of philosophical reflection set in Jerusalem at the time of The Crusades.
All the way, Marie Darrieussecq
A much praised French novel about an adolescent French girl discovering her sexuality.
Apocalypse for beginners, Nicholas Dickner
Mickey is your average teenage boy, until he meets 17 year old Hope Randall. Living in what was once an exotic pet shop with a bathtub for a bed, Hope is anything but average. For every member of her family, the onset of puberty seems to bring with it a prophetic vision of the world, which when Armageddon fails to materialise invariably tips the expectant prophet over the edge. A witty romantic comedy from French Canadian author.
Oleander girl, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
Enjoying a sheltered childhood with adoring grandparents but troubled by the silence surrounding her parents' deaths, 17-year-old Korobi is prompted by a love note among her mother's possessions and a fiance's shattering revelation to travel from India to post-September 11 America in search of her true identity.
The hired man, Aminatta Forna.
Strong novel about the lingering effects of war and the memories that lie behind the silence of a quiet Croatian town.
How to get filthy rich in rising Asia, Mohsin Hamid.
From impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, our nameless hero amasses an empire built on that most fluid, and increasingly scarce, of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else: the pretty girl whose star rises along with his, their paths crossing and recrossing, a lifelong affair sparked and snuffed and sparked again by the forces that careen their fates along.
Before I burn, Gaute Heivoll
Late 1970s and a pyromaniac wreaks havoc in a peaceful farming district. A fictional exploration of Norway's most famous arson case.
A winter book : selected stories, Tove Jansson
A collection of some of Tove Jansson's best loved and most famous stories. Drawn from youth and older age, and spanning most of the 20th century, this translated selection provides a showcase of the great Finnish writer's prose, scattered with insights and home truths.
Faces in the crowd, Valeria Luiselli
In Mexico City, she is a mother and wife who no longer leaves the house. In New York City, she was a young editor who rarely slept in her own bed. As her new existence begins to disintegrate around her, she thinks back to her life on the fringes of the literary scene, the strangers who became lovers, the poets who became ghosts. Translated from the Spanish.
I am forbidden, Anouk Markovits.
Two sisters born at the onset of World War II to insular orthodox Jewish sect begin to question their religion in this strong and moving novel translated from the French.
The town that drowned, Riel Nason.
Living with a weird brother in a small town can be tough enough. Having a spectacular fall through the ice at a skating party and nearly drowning are grounds for embarrassment. But having a vision and narrating it to the assembled crowd solidifies your status as an outcast. Winner of the Commonwealth Book Prize for Canada and Europe.
Journey by moonlight, Antal Szerb.
A major classic of 1930s literature, Hungarian author Antal Szerb's novel is the fantastically moving and darkly funny story of a bourgeois businessman torn between duty and desire.

French titles

L'assassin à la pomme verte : roman, Christophe Carlier.
Le dictionnaire de Laurent Baffie.
L'atelier de la brodeuse : broderie et cartonnage, Sophie Delaborde
Comme vache qui pisse : et autres expressions animales, Francois Lasserre

Mystery

Dead heading, Catherine Aird.
When Jack Haines reports a break-in at his greenhouse, the motive of the intruder is unclear. Other than the destruction of some expensive orchids, no damage has been done and nothing seems to be missing. But Detectives Sloan and Crosby sense something sinister, and soon their suspicions are confirmed.
Widow's tears, Susan Wittig Albert.
Herbalist ex-lawyer China Bayles investigates the murder of a teller at the Pecan Springs bank and follows the clues to a haunted bed and breakfast.
The catch, Tom Bale.
How far do you go for a friendship? That's the question Daniel Wade is forced to ask when a simple favour has fatal consequences. For the sake of his old schoolmate, Robbie and more importantly for Robbie's sister, Cate Dan agrees to go along with a lie. But soon he's sucked into a conspiracy that threatens to consume them all.
Deadly virtues, Jo Bannister.
The town of Norbold, England is famous for its low crime rate, thanks to the zero-tolerance policy of Chief Superintendent John Fountain. And the newest police recruit, Hazel Best, is happy to help keep it that way. But numbers never tell the whole story, do they?
The perfect ghost, Linda Barnes.
Required to complete a celebrity biography on her own after the suspicious death of her charismatic partner, agoraphobic ghost writer Em Moore struggles through the job's required interviews with alluring film director Garrett Malcolm, who alludes to dark family secrets and trouble with a fellow star.
The beauty of murder, A.K. Benedict.
A serial killer on a spree spanning centuries and walking a sinister line between truth and madness. A weirdly original debut that crosses genres.
Truth stained lies, Terri Blackstock.
Three sisters, an investigative blogger, a cab driver, and a stay-at home mum investigate to try and clear their brother's name after he is accused of murder.
Breaking point, C.J. Box.
Joe Pickett investigates the disappearance of a local businessman, who recently had his intended retirement property declared wetlands and is suspected in the murder of two EPA employees.
Speaking from among the bones, Alan Bradley.
It is almost Easter in Bishop's Lacey, and the villagers are holding their collective breath as the tomb of St Tancred in the church that bears his name is about to be opened after five hundred years. And as luck would have it, it's inveterate eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce who is first at the scene.
A decent interval : a Charles Paris novel, Simon Brett.
After some years absence, Brett brings back to his delightful character, actor Charles Paris, for another sprightly tale of murder in the theatrical world.
Code white, Scott Britz-Cunningham.
As neurosurgeon Ali O'Day is about to implant a microcomputer into the brain of a blind boy, the hospital receives a bomb threat which means sabotage. A debut medical suspense thriller.
The dance of the seagull, Andrea Camilleri
Inspector Montalbano sees a seagull fall from the sky, is perplexed and sees it as an omen in the latest of the Italian (with Mafia trimmings) detective fiction.
Daddy's gone a-hunting, Mary Higgins Clark.
A dark secret from a family's past threatens the lives of two sisters.
Six years, Harlan Coben.
Six years since the love of his life married another man haven't lessened his feelings so when the husband dies our hero goes to the funeral only to find the widow isn't the woman he knew.
Cold killing, Luke Delaney.
Debut from former Met. Detective introduces DI Sean Corrigan whose grim childhood gives him the ability to intuit darkness in others and chase a dangerous killer.
The frozen shroud, Martin Edwards.
Daniel Kind, specialist in the history of murder, investigates strange cases of murder in the Lake District.
Alive!, Loren D. Estleman.
Third in the series with Hollywood detective and film archivist Valentino.
The Swedish girl, Alex Gray.
Eighteen-year-old Kirsty Wilson can't believe her luck when she lands a room in a luxury Glasgow flat owned by the beautiful Eva Magnusson, a wealthy fellow student from Stockholm. But her initial delight turns to terror when Kirsty finds the Swedish girl lying dead in their home and their male flatmate accused of her murder.
The last king of Brighton, Peter Guttridge.
Brighton's murderous past and criminal present combined in a thriller about a murder, a missing vicar and some sinister grave robbing.
The carrier, Sophie Hannah.
When her plane is delayed overnight, Gaby Struthers finds herself forced to share a hotel room with a stranger: a terrified young woman named Lauren Cookson - but why is she scared of Gaby in particular? Lauren won't explain. Instead, she blurts out something about an innocent man going to prison for a murder he didn't commit, and Gaby soon suspects that Lauren's presence on her flight can't be a coincidence.
Looking good dead, Peter James.
Latest in the Detective Supt. Roy Grace series.
Ordinary grace, William Kent Krueger.
Looking back at a tragic event that occurred during his thirteenth year, Frank Drum explores how a complicated web of secrets, adultery, and betrayal shattered his Methodist family and their small 1961 Minnesota community.
The golden egg, Donna Leon.
Latest in the Brunetti series has the strange death of a good natured simple minded man linked to crime and corruption.
Death by beauty, Gabrielle Lord.
How far would you go to look young and beautiful? A young woman in attacked, she claims, by a vampire. Two more are found dead and hideously disfigured. A journalist goes missing after visiting Sapphire Springs Spa. And it's up to Gemma Lincoln, PI, to find out what is going on.
The necessary death of Lewis Winter, Malcolm Mackay.
First in projected "Glasgow trilogy" is a tough tale featuring a loner who is asked to become an assassin.
Sleight of hand, Phillip Margolin.
While on the trail of a stolen relic, P.I. Dana Cutler is called back to Virginia where she must stop Charles Benedict, a criminal defense lawyer, amateur illusionist and professional hit man, from framing a millionaire for the murder of his much younger wife.
Lifetime, Liza Marklund
Police officer Nina Hoffman discovers her fellow officer murdered and his wife traumatised in this against the clock Scandinavian crime thriller.
Peril on the royal train, Edward Marston.
The latest in the Railway Detective series featuring Inspector Colbeck. This one even features a guest appearance by Queen Victoria.
Three graves full, Jamie Mason.
Suspenseful crime debut about a man who buries a man in his back yard then is on the run from police, landscapers and others.
Deadline, Barbara Nadel.
Inspector Cetin Ikmen goes to a murder mystery evening at an Istanbul hotel and life ends up imitating art.
Ghost child, Caroline Overington.
On 11 November 1982, police were called to a housing estate an hour west of Melbourne. In the lounge room of an otherwise ordinary brick veneer home, they found a five-year-old boy lying on the carpet. His arms were by his sides, his palms flat. The paramedics could see no obvious signs of trauma other than an almost imperceptible indentation to the boy's skull, but he died the next day.
Midnight at Marble Arch, Anne Perry.
When the bodies of two high-profile women are discovered, bearing signs of rape, and an innocent man is accused of the crime, Thomas Pitt's quest for the truth forces him to play a dangerous game of international politics and murder.
The killing pool, Kevin Sampson.
The first in planned series about Detective Chief Inspector Billy McCartney who polices the gangs and drug smugglers of Liverpool.
Don't go, Lisa Scottoline.
Fleeing home from his military service in Afghanistan when his wife dies in an apparent freak household accident, Dr. Mike Scanlon struggles with the tragedy, his inability to bond with his new baby daughter and a downsizing in his medical practice only to discover a shocking secret that changes his understanding of everything.
The Christmas wassail, Kate Sedley.
Christmas 1483 and Roger the Chapman looks for peace and quiet but two gruesome murders of venerable citizens of the town change everything.
Bleed like me, Cath Staincliffe.
Woman recklessly causes fatal accident and has to cope with a nightmarish time before a trial. A strong tale of courage and compromise and guilt in a situation that could happen to any of us.
The Andalucian friend, Alexander Soderberg
The first in "The Brinckmann trilogy" which has been described as "The girl with the dragon tattoo" meets "The Sopranos".
The ghost riders of Ordebec, Fred Vargas
'People will die,' says the panic-stricken woman outside police headquarters. She has been standing in blazing sunshine for more than an hour, and refuses to speak to anyone besides Commissaire Adamsberg. Her daughter has seen a vision: ghostly horsemen who target the most nefarious characters in Normandy.
Leaving everything most loved, Jacqueline Winspear.
London, 1933. Two months after the body of an Indian woman named Usha Pramal is found in the brackish water of a South London canal, her brother, newly arrived in England, turns to Maisie Dobbs to find out the truth about her death. Not only has Scotland Yard made no arrests, evidence indicates that they failed to conduct a full and thorough investigation.
Unintended consequences, Stuart Woods.
Stone Barrington finds intrigue abroad and learns that the bright lights of Europe hide a sinister and shadowy underworld.

New Zealand Fiction

We four : and the stories we told, Henry Lapham
A collection of short stories written during the heyday of the Switzers (Southland) gold rush in the 1870s and was first published in the Otago Daily Times in 1880.
Anticipation, Tanya Moir.
Janine's mother had an obsession: her ancestry. But what she uncovered was a colourful assortment of characters and their penchant for cruelty and abuse. When her mother dies, Janine continues the genealogical search.

Romance

Little cowgirl on his doorstep, Donna Alward.
Evie's bombshell, Amy Andrews.
Why resist a rebel?, Leah Ashton.
The cost of her innocence, Jacqueline Baird.
The sinful art of revenge, Maya Blake.
The wallflower's secret, Susan Carlisle.
First time for everything, Aimee Carson.
Count Valieri's prisoner, Sara Craven.
Island of secrets, Robyn Donald.
The last doctor she should ever date, Louisa George.
The guy to be seen with, Fiona Harper.
A game with one winner, Lynn Raye Harris.
Cora's heart, Rachael Herron.
The girl in the hard hat, Loretta Hill.
Unmasking Dr. Serious, Laura Iding.
Waking up married, Mira Lyn Kelly.
A scandal, a secret, a baby, Sharon Kendrick.
A date with a Bollywood star, Riya Lakhani.
Mission - soldier to daddy, Soraya Lane.
The taming of a wild child, Kimberly Lang.
Master of her virtue, Miranda Lee.
Sparks fly with the billionaire, Marion Lennox.
Reputation for revenge, Jennie Lucas.
Heiress's baby scandal, Janice Lynn.
Three sisters, Susan Mallery.
Playing the dutiful wife, Carol Marinelli.
Redeeming the playboy, Carol Marinelli.
The merciless Travis Wilde, Sandra Marton.
The prince who charmed her, Fiona McArthur.
Saving grace, Fiona McCallum.
Winning back his wife, Melissa McClone.
Their most forbidden fling, Melaine Milburne.
A daddy for her sons, Raye Morgan.
A taste of the forbidden, Carole Mortimer.
Ryders Ridge, Charlotte Nash.
Marriage in name only?, Anne Oliver.
The proposal plan, Charlotte Phillips.
The fallen Greek bride, Jane Porter.
Taming the last Acosta, Susan Stephens.
Guardian to the heiress, Margaret Way.
An accidental family, Ami Weaver.
Captive in the spotlight, Annie West.
The notorious Gabriel Diaz, Cathy Williams.
Along came twins, Rebecca Winters.
Heir to a desert legacy, Maisey Yates.

Saga & Historical

Sunlight on the Mersey, Lyn Andrews.
The Great War is over and sisters Iris and Rose are adjusting to life in Liverpool after their brother returns from the front.
The chalice, Nancy Bilyeau.
England, 1538, and Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, risks arrest when she's caught up in a conspiracy against Henry VIII. Second in series.
Palisades Park, Alan Brennert.
Sharing a family life in the 1930s near the legendary Palisades Amusement Park, a family of dreamers explores ambitions and cultural boundaries that are challenged by the realities of the Great Depression, multiple wars, and the park's eventual closing in 1971.
The Nightingale girls, Donna Douglas.
Three very different girls sign up as student nurses in 1936, while England is still mourning the death of George V. Dora is a tough East Ender, driven by ambition, but also desperate to escape her squalid, overcrowded home and her abusive stepfather. Helen is the quiet one, a mystery to her fellow nurses, avoiding fun, gossip and the limelight.
Disaster was my God : a novel of the outlaw life of Arthur Rimbaud, Bruce Duffy.
Novel based on the scandalous and astonishing life of the pioneering, proto-punk poet Arthur Rimbaud.
The forget-me-not summer, Katie Flynn.
Miranda's mother disappears after a blazing row and Miranda won't give up searching for her. Set in 1930s Liverpool.
Shakespeare's rebel, C.C. Humphreys.
London 1599 is on the brink of revolution and the Earl of Essex and John Lawley vie for the heart of the monarch.
Equilateral, Ken Kalfus.
1880s Western Desert in Egypt is the setting for a shrewd satirical novel about an astronomer who's been given worldwide backing to excavate a huge equilateral triangle from the desert as a signal to the Martians!
Fever, Mary Beth Keane.
The story of Mary Mallon, once described as "the most dangerous woman in America", an Irish immigrant in turn of the century New York who became cook to wealthy families and left death and disease in her wake.
His dark lady, Victoria Lamb.
Secrets, lies and dangerous plots abound in this tale of Shakespeare in love at the court of Elizabeth I.
Flora and Grace, Maureen Lee.
In 1944 an Englishwoman is waiting for a train in Switzerland when she's handed a raggedy bundle, a boy named Simon.
Silver clouds, Fleur McDonald.
Tessa, a London marketing executive, arrives in Australia for her aunt's funeral and a proviso in the will means she has to stay. Outback tale from the author of "Purple clouds" and "Blue skies."
Tyringham Park, Rosemary McLoughlin.
Tyringham Park is the Blackshaws' magnificent country house in the south of Ireland. It is a haven of wealth and privilege until its peace is shattered by a devastating event which reveals the chaos of jealousy and deceit beneath its surface.
The master of Bruges, Terence Morgan.
Master painter Hans Memling is without peer in the artistic world of fifteenth-century Bruges. But when he falls in love with the Princess Marie, daughter of his powerful patron, the Duke of Burgundy, his life begins to unravel.
The sunburnt country, Fiona Palmer.
Jonelle Baxter is a young woman in a man's world - a tough, hardworking motor mechanic from an idyllic country family. But lately things in her perfect life have been changing, and her workshop isn't the only local business that's struggling.
The edge of the earth, Christina Schwarz.
The story of a young wife in early 20th century who moves to a remote and forbidding lighthouse where she uncovers a life-changing secret.
A place to belong, Lauraine Snelling.
The conclusion to Wild West Wind series, a tale of faith and romance.
Bristol House, Beverly Swerling.
A tale set in modern day London and 16th century London, a supernatural thriller with a vivid historical background.
When Jesus wept, Bodie & Brock Thoene.
The story of Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead.
Secrecy, Rupert Thomson.
Florence 1691, a dark repressive place, and Zummo, an artist in wax, is given a challenging commission by Cosimo III.
Long live the king, Fay Weldon.
1902: London Society is in a frenzy of anticipation for the coronation of the new king, Edward VII. The Earl and Countess of Dilberne are caught up in the lavish preparations, yet Lady Isobel still has ample time to fret. Her sixteen-year-old niece, Adela, tragically orphaned, has run off with a troupe of fake spiritualists; her plain yet clever daughter, Rosina, is threatening to elope to Australia of all places and her new daughter-in-law is pregnant with a potential heir.
The Ashford affair, Lauren Willig.
Epic tale moving from World War I-era British society to Manhattan today and the secrets of Kenya.
She rises, Kate Worsley.
1740 and an Essex dairymaid gets a job as maid to a rich captain's daughter while Luke, a teenager, is pressganged to the Navy. Their worlds will eventually come together. Debut novel.

Science Fiction

Halo. Silentium, Greg Bear.
Third in the Forerunner series.
Protector : a Foreigner novel, C.J. Cherryh.
Fourth book in the "Foreigner" series.
Seoul survivors, Naomi Foyle.
The end of the world approaches but in the mountains above Seoul an American/Korean bio-engineer thinks she's found the way to save humanity. Cyber-thriller debut.
Awakening, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
A confrontation between General Adolphus and the fleets of Diadem Michella Duchenet is compromised by a shadow-Xayan mental blast, an imminent asteroid collision in the outer Candela system, and a fanatical band of rogue telemancers. Second in the Hell Hole trilogy.
Doughnut, Tom Holt.
Wacky SF tale about a man on a quest that will rewrite the law of physics and how he will find his destiny - a doughnut.
The disestablishment of paradise : a novel in five parts plus documents, Phillip Mann.
Something has gone wrong on the planet of Paradise. The human settlers - farmers and scientists - are finding that their crops won't grow and their lives are becoming more and more dangerous. A standalone ecological hard SF thriller.
Red planet blues, Robert J. Sawyer.
Alex Lomax is the one and only private eye working the mean streets of New Klondike, the Martian frontier town that sprang up forty years ago after Simon Weingarten and Denny O'Reilly discovered fossils on the Red Planet.