The Sentry, by Robert Crais

It’s a routine Southern California day when former cop and sometime mercenary Joe Pike intervenes to break up the gang shakedown of a sandwich shop. The shop is run by Dru Rayne and her uncle, Wilson, two refugees from Katrina starting a new life. The chemistry between Pike and Dru is immediate, prompting him to keep an eye on the store; the gang leader, Venice Trece, will surely return to deliver revenge. But as Pike and his sidekick, private detective Elvis Cole, soon learn, nothing about Dru and Wilson adds up. Even as he’s negotiating a truce with the duplicitous leader of the gang, Pike learns that Dru is likely not the innocent she seems.

The Judas Gate, by Jack Higgins

Sean Dillon, the former IRA soldier who now works for the British government, has another tough case on his hands. In Afghanistan, a unit of American soldiers and British medicos were ambushed. Some of the attackers were British-born Muslims, which is bad enough, but it appears their leader might be a mysterious Irishman who calls himself Shamrock. Against his better judgment, Dillon reaches out to an expert on the Irish element: Daniel Holley, an assassin who once nearly killed Dillon. This is an especially dialogue-heavy novel—much of the action is implied, or takes place off camera—perhaps because the author is interested in exploring the relationship between Dillon and Holley. Like the previous Dillon novel, The Wolf at the Door (2010), this one is slower paced, more introspective. Fans, however, will want to see Dillon through to the end.

The Red Garden, by Alice Hoffman

The lush and haunted wildlands of Massachusetts provide fertile ground for Hoffman’s endlessly flowering imagination. The Red Garden, a sequence of beguiling, linked stories, is rooted in colonial times and reaches into the present. The first foolhardy white folks—the Motts, Partridges, Starrs, and Bradys—to settle in this land of blackflies, bears, eels, and harsh winters in 1750 only survive because Hallie Brady, the first of a line of determined and adept women in what becomes the small town of Blackwell in Berkshire County, goes out into the snowy wilderness to find sustenance. As spring allows the founding families to cultivate the strange red soil in the village’s first garden, Johnny Appleseed stays for a spell, and, later, Emily Dickinson happens by. Generation by generation, humans and animals form profound bonds; women’s lives change, somewhat; men go to war; people are poor and in despair; illness and violence rage; strangers find refuge; and love blossoms impossibly, extravagantly, inevitably. In gloriously sensuous, suspenseful, mystical, tragic, and redemptive episodes, Hoffman subtly alters her language, from an almost biblical voice to increasingly nuanced and intricate prose reflecting the burgeoning social and psychological complexities her passionate and searching characters face in an ever-changing world.

Dead Zero, by Stephen Hunter

The idea that Stephen Hunter could write a Bob Lee Swagger novel in which the legendary Vietnam sniper doesn’t pull a single trigger seems inconceivable. Not that there isn’t plenty of trigger-pulling by others in this tale of a contemporary marine sniper gone rogue. Swagger, now in his 60s, is drafted by the FBI to find Sergeant Roy Cruz, who was presumed dead after his attempted assassination of an Afghan warlord went awry. The warlord has now changed sides and is being groomed as “our man in Kabul,” but the resurfaced Cruz isn’t buying the conversion and appears determined to finish his original mission. Swagger, charged with stopping any attempt on the Afghan leader’s life, soon finds himself sympathizing with his fellow sniper and convinced that CIA generals are behind a secret program to ramp up the war on terror. It’s a juicy premise, and only the revelation of a connection between Swagger and Cruz seems a bit artificial, but this is a top-notch thriller all the same.

What The Night Knows, by Dean Koontz

In the late summer of a long ago year, a killer arrived in a small city. His name was Alton Turner Blackwood, and in the space of a few months he brutally murdered four families. His savage spree ended only when he himself was killed by the last survivor of the last family, a fourteen-year-old boy. Half a continent away and two decades later, someone is murdering families again, recreating in detail Blackwood’s crimes. Homicide detective John Calvino is certain that his own family—his wife and three children—will be targets in the fourth crime, just as his parents and sisters were victims on that distant night when he was fourteen and killed their slayer. As a detective, John is a man of reason who deals in cold facts. But an extraordinary experience convinces him that sometimes death is not a one-way journey, that sometimes the dead return. Here is ghost story like no other you have read. In the Calvinos, Dean Koontz brings to life a family that might be your own, in a war for their survival against an adversary more malevolent than any he has yet created, with their own home the battleground. Of all his acclaimed novels, none exceeds What the Night Knows in power, in chilling suspense, and in sheer mesmerizing storytelling.

In Too Deep, by Jayne Ann Krantz

When it comes to finding a logical pattern within chaos, private detective Fallon Jones can’t be beat, but Isabella Valdez has him completely baffled. Not content with just efficiently organizing Fallon’s office, Isabella insists on learning the detective business, too, and she quickly has her own first case, investigating a “haunted” house. Once Isabella senses the house is troubled by more than a ghost, she calls Fallon for backup, and that’s when Fallon realizes his new assistant has not only a few unique talents of her own but also a mysterious past that could come back to haunt them both. In Too Deep, the first in the Looking Glass Trilogy as well as part of Krentz’s ongoing Arcane Society series, is the perfect mixture of paranormal-flavored suspense and sexy romance. Krentz’s flair for creating intriguing, inventive plots; crafting clever dialogue between two perfectly matched protagonists; and subtly infusing her writing with a deliciously tart sense of humor are, as always, simply irresistible.

Damage, by John Lescroate

Wes Farrell, the lawyer who appeared in A Certain Justice (1995) and Guilt (1997), has a new job: he is San Fransisco’s new district attorney. And his first case looks like it’s going to be a doozy. Ten years ago, Roland Curtlee, scion of a wealthy and powerful family, was convicted of the rape and murder of a family employee. Now he’s been let out pending a retrial (on what seems an especially nit-picky technicality). When the first trial’s chief witness appears to be killed in a house fire, and someone else involved in the case dies under similar circumstances, Wes must fend off pressure from the Curtlee family and find the truth in a case that’s full of confusion and lies.

The Inner Circle, by Brad Meltzer

In this political thriller with historical-conspiracy overtones, Meltzer creates his most engaging protagonist in years. Beecher White is an archivist with the National Archives, who stumbles upon an old book hidden away in a room used exclusively by the president. But did the president know that the book (a spelling dictionary that once belonged to George Washington) was there? And—almost impossible for Beecher to imagine—could it be that the president or someone close to him is willing to kill to regain possession of the book? Meltzer teams Beecher with an equally strong character, Clementine Kaye, a woman from the archivist’s past whose estranged father is, perhaps not coincidentally, the man who tried to kill the current president’s predecessor. Meltzer expertly develops the story, throwing in twists and turns at appropriate intervals, and he does an excellent job of putting us in Beecher’s corner and making us care about what happens to him. The story has a surprising and satisfying conclusion, and Meltzer leaves the door wide open for a sequel.

Home Free, by Fern Michaels

United by a desire to overcome their personal misfortunes, seven very different women formed an indelible bond and vowed to right wrongs wherever they found them. They’ve succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. After years known as the Vigilantes, Myra, Annie, Kathryn, Alexis, Yoko, Nikki, and Isabelle are enjoying their hard-won freedom and the chance at a normal life. As it turns out, once you’re a part of the Sisterhood, normal is a relative term. President Martine Connor, their long-time ally, has announced the formation of a top-secret organization. Officially, the CIC won’t exist. Unofficially, they’ll report directly to the president and tackle the jobs no one else can handle. For the Sisterhood, it’s the end of an era – and the beginning of a whole new adventure.

Call Me Irresistible, by Susan Phillips

Phillips crafts a laugh-out-loud and romantic story. Onetime PGA star and smalltown mayor Ted Beaudine is about to marry Lucy Jorik, the daughter of a former president, when she’s persuaded to break it off by her best friend, Meg Koranda, the aimless daughter of Hollywood royalty. Everyone in Wynette, Tex., loves Ted, but Meg feels Lucy deserves a passionate partner, not a god of self-control. After the disaster of calling off the wedding at the last minute, Meg’s parents cut her off, stranding her in the hostile town. As Meg finds her own path and helps Ted discover his heart, the townspeople stoutly (and hilariously) defend their golden boy. However, some readers may not appreciate that Meg’s good deed is punished so often and severely en route to happiness.

To Fetch A Thief, by Spencer Quinn

When Peanut, the elephant star of the Drummond Family Traveling Circus, goes missing, along with elephant tamer Uri DeLeath, Uri’s tearful clown partner, Popo, seeks the help of canine detective Chet the Jet and Chet’s human partner in cracking crimes, Bernie Little of the Little Detective Agency, in Quinn’s terrific third Chet and Bernie mystery set in “the Valley” of an unnamed Western state. Sgt. Rick Torres of Missing Persons adds his considerable expertise, but it’s Chet’s fearless nose for clues that leads them on a strange odyssey that becomes downright hairy after Uri is found dead in the desert from the bite of an illegal African puff adder. Quinn radiates pure comedic genius via Chet’s doggy bright narrative. You don’t have to be a dog lover to enjoy this deliciously addictive series.

Strategic Moves, by Stuart Wood

Stone Barrington has a lot to celebrate: he’s received a million bonus from Woodman & Weld, the prestigious New York City law firm of which he’s “of counsel”; he can expect to make partner in the firm within a year; and he meets a beautiful widow, whom he’s soon romancing. A murder close to home and a request from the CIA to help transport a fugitive, Erwin Gelbhardt, from Spain to the U.S., bring him back to earth. Gelbhardt, who becomes Barrington’s client, reveals he knows the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, but as the attorney works to get him the best possible deal from the American government, the bin Laden business goes nowhere.

The Romanov Prophecy, by Steve Berry

Miles Lord, a workaholic African-American lawyer from Atlanta, is in Moscow to help Stefan Baklanov, the Romanov claimant his high-powered firm is backing. Since the new tsar will reign as an autocrat like his ancestors, both big rubles and big bucks are at stake—not to mention access to nuclear weapons. Lord soon discerns that Baklanov is corrupt, a tool of the mafiya. While digging through old files on the Russian Revolution, Lord comes to believe Baklanov is the “raven” Rasputin predicted would help save the royal house in 1916. Teaming with a beautiful acrobat, Akilina Petrov of the Moscow Circus, Lord attempts to discover whether any children of Nicholas II escaped Lenin’s executioners. A series of exotic clues propel the pair on an international scavenger hunt. Berry uses Russia—past and present—to excellent effect and makes sharp observations about the contemporary Russian scene.

Flora Fyrdraaca, by Ysabeau S. Wilce

In her first novel, Wilce imagines a living castle—a kind of blending of Gormenghast and Hogwarts—and she breathes life into her tale with a wry sense of humor. The book opens as narrator Flora Fyrdraaca, the heroine of the title, is about to turn 14, a rite of passage that qualifies her to enter military training. She spends her days mostly alone inside her family’s castle, Crackpot Hall. Its 11,000 rooms have started to decay since Flora’s mother, the Warlord’s Commanding General, fired the magical Butler. Flora’s father seldom comes out of his Eyrie. Rushing to avoid being late to school, Flora takes the forbidden Elevator and ends up lost within her home—and meets the banished magical Butler, Valefor, in a forgotten library. Valefor convinces Flora to give him some of her “Anima,” her “magickal essence,” and he grows stronger. The plot detours into a convoluted back story about warring kingdoms; this leads to the tale of the “Dainty Pirate,” whom Flora and her friend Udo then rescue from the gallows. Ages 12-up.