Thrillers and Suspense
January 2023

New and Recently Released
The Mountain in the Sea
by Ray Nayler

Rumors begin to spread of a dangerous species of hyperintelligent octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. The marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them. The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed off the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, from the rest of world. Dr. Nguyen travels to the islands to join DIANIMA’s team: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android. The octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence. The stakes are high: there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of the octopuses’ advancements, and as Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves. But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. Or what they might do about it.
Hide
by Kiersten White

The challenge: Spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught. The prize: enough money to change everything. Even though everyone is desperate to win—to seize a dream future or escape a haunting past—Mack is sure she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that. It’s the reason she’s alive and her family isn’t. But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes that this competition is even more sinister than she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive. Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide but nowhere to run. Come out, come out, wherever you are.
Malice House
by Megan Shepherd

Of all the things aspiring artist Haven Marbury expected to find while clearing out her late father’s remote seaside house, Bedtime Stories for Monsters was not on the list. This secret handwritten manuscript is disturbingly different from his Pulitzer-winning works: its interweaving short stories crawl with horrific monsters and enigmatic humans that exist somewhere between this world and the next. The stories unsettle but also entice Haven, practically compelling her to illustrate them while she stays in the house that her father warned her was haunted. Clearly just dementia whispering in his ear . . . right? Reeling from a failed marriage, Haven hopes an illustrated Bedtime Stories can be the lucrative posthumous father-daughter collaboration she desperately needs to jump-start her art career. However, everyone in the nearby vacation town wants a piece of the manuscript: her father’s obsessive literary salon members, the Ink Drinkers; her mysterious yet charming neighbor, who has a tendency toward three a.m. bonfires; a young barista with a literary forgery business; and of course, whoever keeps trying to break into her house. But when a monstrous creature appears under Haven’s bed right as grisly deaths are reported in the nearby woods, she must race to uncover dark, otherworldly family secrets―completely rewriting everything she ever knew about herself in the process.
Oath of  Loyalty
by Kyle Mills

With President Anthony Cook convinced that Mitch Rapp poses a mortal threat to him, CIA Director Irene Kennedy is forced to construct a truce between the two men. The terms are simple: Rapp agrees to leave the country and stay in plain sight for as long as Cook controls the White House. In exchange, the administration agrees not to make any moves against him. This fragile détente holds until Cook’s power-hungry security adviser convinces him that Rapp has no intention of honoring their agreement. To put him on the defensive, they leak the identity of his partner, Claudia Gould. As Rapp races to neutralize the enemies organizing against her, he discovers that a new type of assassin is on her trail. Known only as Legion, the shadowy killer has created a business model based on double-blind secrecy. Neither the assassin nor the client knows the other’s identity. Because of this, Legion can’t be called off nor can they afford to fail. No matter how long it takes—weeks, months, years—they won’t stand down until their target is dead. Faced with the seemingly impossible task of finding and stopping Legion, Rapp and his people must close ranks against a world that has turned on them.
Sign Here
by Claudia Lux

Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul. When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion. But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.
Desert Star
by Michael Connelly

A year has passed since LAPD detective Renée Ballard quit the force in the face of misogyny, demoralization, and endless red tape. But after the chief of police himself tells her she can write her own ticket within the department, Ballard takes back her badge, leaving “the Late Show” to rebuild and lead the cold case unit at the elite Robbery-Homicide Division. For years, Harry Bosch has been working a case that haunts him—the murder of an entire family by a psychopath who still walks free. Ballard makes Bosch an offer: come volunteer as an investigator in her new Open-Unsolved Unit, and he can pursue his “white whale” with the resources of the LAPD behind him. First priority for Ballard is to clear the unsolved rape and murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. The decades-old case is essential to the councilman who supported re-forming the unit, and who could shutter it again—the victim was his sister. When Ballard gets a “cold hit” connecting the killing to a similar crime, proving that a serial predator has been at work in the city for years, the political pressure has never been higher. To keep momentum going, she has to pull Bosch off his own investigation, the case that is the consummation of his lifelong mission.
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six
by Lisa Unger

What could be more restful than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s generous brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It'll be three couples on this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R. But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep. How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?
No Plan B 
by Lee Child

In Gerrardsville, Colorado, a woman dies under the wheels of a moving bus. The death is ruled a suicide. But Jack Reacher saw what really happened: A man in a gray hoodie and jeans, moving stealthily, pushed the victim to her demise—before swiftly grabbing the dead woman’s purse and strolling away. When another homicide is ruled an accident, Reacher knows this is no coincidence. With a killer on the loose, Reacher has no time to waste to track down those responsible. But Reacher is unaware that these crimes are part of something much larger and more far-reaching: an arsonist out for revenge, a foster kid on the run, a cabal of powerful people involved in a secret conspiracy with many moving parts. There is no room for error, but they make a grave one. They don’t consider Reacher a threat. “There’s too much at stake to start running from shadows.” But Reacher isn’t a shadow. He is flesh and blood. And relentless when it comes to making things right. For when the threat is Reacher, there is No Plan B.
Upcoming @ Your Library!
For Youth
 
Weekly Wednesday Storytime
Every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.
Join Ms. Laura for stories, songs, and fun Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. in the children's room.
 
 
Thursday Crafternoons
Thursdays, 3:15 - 4:30 p.m.
 
Get your creative juices flowing and drop by the library's Maker Space after school every first Thursday of the month for a new craft! Any supplies left over will be made available for Take-and-Make crafts the following Thursdays of the month.
 
Second Saturday Storytime
Saturday, January 14 at 11:00 a.m.

 
Join us in the Children's Area every second Saturday of the month for stories, play and more for kids of all ages!  
 
 
For Adults
iPhone 101 Basics
 
Tuesday, January 24 at 11:00 a.m.
 
Learn all about how to use your iPhone or iPad!  In this workshop we will discuss all the new features and benefits of iOS 16 along with the general uses of an iPhone! No experience is  necessary but it is recommended to have an Apple iPhone or Apple iPad to attend this workshop.  Register Here
 
 
Regular Events
 
Spinning Yarns
Tuesdays, January 3 and January 17 at 6:30 p.m.
 
Join us for an hour of knitting, crocheting, crafts and conversation. All levels welcome. This group will meet in person in the new library. 
 
 
Evening Book Discussions
Tuesday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m.
 
This month we are discussing  Horse by Geraldine Brooks.  This discussion will be in person in the new library.
 
 
Interfaith Book Discussion
Thursday, January 19 at 11:00 a.m.
 
Join this new interfaith book group to discuss spiritual reads, memoirs and similar books. The discussion will be led by Rev. Hannah Lovaglio, Senior Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury.  The group will be reading authors from a variety of faith traditions and meet once a month on the third Thursday at 11:00 a.m.  Register Here
 
 
Tech Talk @ the Library
Call to make an appointment
Learn how to use our online catalog, download digital materials, and more! Call the library (609-722-6992) and speak to Dean at the Information Desk. 
 
Library Hours and Closings
Monday thru Thursday - 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Library Closed January 16, 2023
 
Cranbury Public Library
30 Park Place West
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
609-722-6992

www.cranburypubliclibrary.org/