| The Butterfly Girl by Rene DenfeldWhat it's about: survival and resilience in the face of harrowing circumstances; the hunt for a killer who continues to evade the authorities while children's bodies pile up; the failures of the legal system to protect those who need it the most.
Who it's for: fans of private-eye mysteries; readers who can handle darker topics such as life on the street and child abuse.
Series alert: The Butterfly Girl is the second entry in the Naomi Cottle series, which follows the titular detective as she looks for missing children, including the cold case of her own younger sister. |
|
| The Nugget by P.T. DeutermannWhat it is: a compelling historical thriller, unfolding in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor and following the exploits of Navy Ensign Bobby Steele on land, at sea, and in the sky.
Why you might like it: The story hits the ground running, deftly combining the action and adventure of modern military thrillers with the exciting historical setting.
Try this next: The Saboteur by Andrew Gross; Hell's Gate by Bill Schutt. |
|
|
The heart keeper
by Alex Dahl
What would you do to get your daughter back? It's been three months since Alison's world fell apart when her six-year-old daughter, Amalie, died in an accident. Three months of sympathy cards, grief counselling and gritting her teeth, but it's still only the vodka and pills that seem to help. Across town, Iselin's life is finally looking up. Her seven-year-old daughter, Kaia, has survived a life-changing operation. After years of doctors, medication and hope, they can now start thinking about the future. These two mothers couldn't be more different, but fate will bring them together. And when it does, the consequences will be devastating.
|
|
|
Black Sun
by Owen Matthews
The premise: It's 1961, and deep in the Russian countryside in a city that technically doesn't exist, scientists have developed a weapon so powerful that it could turn the Cold War hot.
The problem: Days before a final weapon test, a physicist dies suspiciously. Major Alexander Vasin is sent to investigate, only to stumble upon a conspiracy that seems large even by Soviet standards.
Author alert: Historian and journalist Owen Matthews has also published nonfiction about the Cold War, such as the critically acclaimed Stalin's Children.
|
|
|
Never have I ever : a novel
by Joshilyn Jackson
Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it, teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbours, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy's sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night. Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it's naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way, a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.
|
|
|
Almost midnight
by Paul Doiron
While on vacation, Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch receives a strange summons from Billy Cronk, one of his oldest friends and a man he had to reluctantly put behind bars for murder. Billy wants him to investigate a new female prison guard with a mysterious past, and Mike feels honor-bound to help his friend. But when the guard becomes the victim in a brutal attack at the prison, he realizes there may be a darker cover-up at play and that Billy and his family might be at risk. Then Mike receives a second call for help, this time from a distant mountain valley where Shadow, a wolf-hybrid he once cared for, has been found shot by an arrow and clinging to life. He searches for the identity of the bowman, but his investigation is blocked at every turn by the increasingly hostile community. And when Billy's wife and children are threatened, Mike finds himself tested like never before. How can he possibly keep the family safe when he has enemies of his own on his trail? Torn between loyalties, Mike Bowditch must respond in the only way he knows how: by bending every law and breaking every rule to keep his loved ones safe and the true predators at bay.
|
|
|
Word to the wise
by Jenn McKinlay
Lindsey Norris is finally getting married to the man of her dreams but it's not all roses for Briar Creek's beloved library director, as gardening enthusiast and town newcomer Aaron Grady gives the term "book lover" a whole new meaning. Inappropriate looks and unwelcome late-night visits to Lindsey's house have everyone from the crafternooners to Lindsey's fiancé, Sully, on edge. When Grady's dead body is found staged outside the library and all the clues point to Sully, Lindsey knows it's up to her to dig through the hidden chapters of Grady's previous life to find the real culprit and clear Sully's name. But becoming a thorn in the killer's side is not without its consequences, and the closer Lindsey gets to the truth, the more determined the murderer is to make her just a footnote.
|
|
|
Lethal Agent
by Vince Flynn
A toxic presidential election is underway in an America already badly weakened by internal divisions. While politicians focus entirely on maintaining their own power and privilege, ISIS kidnaps a brilliant French microbiologist and forces him to begin manufacturing anthrax. Slickly produced videos chronicling his progress and threatening an imminent attack are posted to the Internet, intensifying the hysteria gripping the US. ISIS recruits a Mexican drug cartel to smuggle the bioweapon across the border, but it?s really just a diversion. The terrorist organization needs to keep Mitch Rapp and Irene Kennedy distracted long enough to weaponize a deadly virus that they stumbled upon in Yemen. If they succeed, they'll trigger a pandemic that could rewrite the world order. Rapp embarks on a mission to infiltrate the Mexican cartels and track down the ISIS leader who he failed to kill during their last confrontation. But with Washington's political elite increasingly lined up against him, he knows he'll be on his own.
|
|
| Somebody's Daughter by David BellBye bye baby: Michael and Angela Frazier are enjoying a quiet dinner at home when Michael's ex-wife Erica unexpectedly appears at their door, saying her daughter Felicity has been kidnapped and by the way, Michael is the girl's father.
The search begins: Michael takes off with Erica to look for the child that he's secretly always wanted, but each step towards Felicity reveals secrets that threaten the future of his marriage to Angela.
What sets it apart: the intensifying, intricately plotted narrative unfolds over the course of a single high-stakes 12-hour period. |
|
| The Temp by Michelle FrancesThe Queen Bee: Carrie Kennedy, a successful television producer who is about to go on maternity leave after an unplanned pregnancy.
The new arrival: intern Emma, a wannabe screenwriter who seems like a perfect fit to fill in while Carrie is out of the office with the new baby.
What goes wrong: Everyone on set loves Emma! In fact she might fit into the position a little too well, collaborating with Carrie's screenwriter husband so effectively that Carrie begins to wonder what other parts of her life the young woman might be after. |
|
| You Were Made for This by Michelle SacksPicture it: a charming cottage in rural Sweden, where Sam and Merry Hurley have recently settled with their infant son Conor, leaving behind their fast-paced Manhattan lives.
Beneath the surface: Sam is keeping secrets from Merry, Merry is keeping secrets from Sam, and nobody's secrets can stay buried after a visit from Merry's captivating childhood friend Frank.
Reviewers say: This "unblinking look at beautiful people with ugly secrets has the voyeuristic fascination of a Bergman film" (Booklist). |
|
|
The nanny : a novel
by Gilly Macmillan
Seven-year-old Jocelyn loves her nanny more than her own mother. When her nanny disappears one night, Jo never gets over the loss. How could she vanish without saying goodbye? Thirty years on, Jo is forced to return to her family home and confront her troubled relationship with her mother. When human remains are discovered in the grounds of the house, Jo begins to question everything. Then an unexpected visitor knocks at the door and Jo's world is destroyed again as, one by one, she discovers her childhood memories aren't what they seemed. What secrets was her nanny hiding, and what was she running away from? And can Jo trust what her mother tells her? Sometimes the truth hurts so much you'd rather hear the lie.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|