<p><b>Winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel</b></p> <p>John Hart's <i>New York Times</i> bestselling debut, <i>The King of Lies</i>, announced the arrival of a major talent. With <i>Down</i><i> River</i>, he surpassed his earlier success, transcending the barrier between thriller and literature and winning the 2008 Edgar Award for best novel. Now, with <i>The Last Child</i>, he achieves his most significant work to date, an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope, and courage in the face of evil.</p> <p>Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he'd been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain.</p> <p>Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.</p> <p>Then a second child goes missing . . . </p> <p>Undeterred by Hunt's threats or his mother's pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.</p> <p>Traveling the wilderness between innocence and hard wisdom, between hopelessness and faith, <i>The Last Child</i> leaves all categories behind and establishes John Hart as a writer of unique power.</p> <p>This edition of the book is the deluxe, tall rack mass market paperback.</p>
<p>A promising young singer is found dead in a clearing in a forest, gruesomely murderedher larynx cut out, and an antique music box placed carefully atop her body, playing a mysterious lullaby that sounds familiar, but that no one can quite place. Chief Inspector Odd Singsaker, of the Trondheim Police Department, still recovering from brain surgery, is called in to investigate.</p> <p>Singsaker, now married to Felicia Stone, the American detective he met while tracking down a serial killer, fears the worst when another young girl, also known for her melodic singing voice, suddenly goes missing while on a walk with her dog one night. As the Trondheim police follow the trail of this deadly killer, it becomes clear that both cases are somehow connected to a centuries-old ballad called "The Golden Peace," written by a mysterious composer called Jon Blund, in the seventeenth century. This lullaby promises the most sound, sweet sleep to the listenerand as time ticks by, the elusive killer seems as if he will stop at nothing to get his hands on this perfect lullaby. </p> <p>Jorgen Brekke returns at the top of his game in this nonstop thrill ride through placeand time.</p>
<p>Baltimore police officer Fia McKee is put on leave for excessive use of force after interfering in a crime that turns deadly. Given a second chance, she is sent to work undercover for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) at the Gulfstream Park in Florida, where she works as an exercise rider. Her assignment is to watch and report back on two racetrack workers who have been suspected of illegal activities and whose horses continue to outperform all expectations, winning their owners unseemly amounts of money in the races. </p> <p>To complete her cover story, Fia moves in with her semi-estranged brother, Patrick, who lives near the racetrack. Her investigations are complicated when her niece, Jilly, disappears after a shadow gang takes Jillys beloved horse. Now Fia must work two anglesfirst to find out whats really going on with the men who might or might not be gaming the system, and second to bring the men who prey on horses to justice. Along the way, Fia encounters Cuban gangs living off the grid, a (very handsome) do-gooder whos close on their trail, and a cabal of super wealthy gamblers who will stop at nothing to ensure they always win.</p>
<p>In <i>The White Mirror</i>, the follow-up to Elsa Harts critically acclaimed debut, <i>Jade Dragon Mountain</i>, Li Du, an imperial librarian and former exile in 18th century China, is now an independent traveler. He is journeying with a trade caravan bound for Lhasa when a detour brings them to a valley hidden between mountain passes. On the icy planks of a wooden bridge, a monk sits in contemplation. Closer inspection reveals that the monk is dead, apparently of a self-inflicted wound. His robes are rent, revealing a strange symbol painted on his chest.</p> <p>When the rain turns to snow, the caravan is forced to seek hospitality from the local lord while they wait for the storm to pass. The dead monk, Li Du soon learns, was a reclusive painter. According to the family, his bizarre suicide is not surprising, given his obsession with the demon world. But Li Du is convinced that all is not as it seems. Why did the caravan leader detour to this particular valley? Why does the lords heir sleep in the barn like a servant? And who is the mysterious woman traveling through the mountain wilds?</p> <p>Trapped in the snow, surrounded by secrets and an unexplained grief that haunts the manor, Li Du cannot distract himself from memories hes tried to leave behind. As he discovers irrefutable evidence of the painters murder and pieces together the dark circumstances of his death, Li Du must face the reason he will not go home and, ultimately, the reason why he must.</p>
Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter spends as much time as he can working on his true passion, the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs. Lately, Andy has been especially involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable, benefiting both the dogs and the prisoners. One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a 5-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. Brian and Boomer are clearly a terrific match. In fact, Andy hopes that Brian will adopt Boomer himself, once his sentence is up. But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape, and man and dog are both in the wind. The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence. Suddenly, Andy finds himself with a new client in Brian and a new dog in Boomer. And as he starts to dig deeper into the murder and the events leading up to it, Andy realizes he might be putting them all in far more danger than anyone had realized.
Publishers Weekly,Finch fails to deliver on the promise of the intriguing setup of his 10th Charles Lenox mystery (after 2015's Home by Nightfall). In 1877, Gerald Leigh writes gentleman sleuth Lenox, his only friend at Harrow 30 years earlier, a vague letter stating that he's in some kind of trouble. Lenox's fears are heightened when he's unable to find Leigh at his former classmate's London hotel. Lenox eventually tracks the man down, only to learn that he recently survived two attempts on his life. Leigh, now a renowned scientist who has been living in France, returned to England after being contacted by a solicitor, who informed him that he's the heir to a large fortune. The solicitor refused to identify Leigh's benefactor. This revives for Leigh and Lenox the puzzle of who the mysterious person was who funded the former's education at Harrow. A subplot involving one of Lenox's partners in his enquiry agency dilutes the main action, which builds to an unsatisfying resolution. Agents: Kari Stuart and Jennifer Joel, ICM. (Nov.) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.,Publishers Weekly,Publishers Weekly,Finch fails to deliver on the promise of the intriguing setup of his 10th Charles Lenox mystery (after 2015's Home by Nightfall). In 1877, Gerald Leigh writes gentleman sleuth Lenox, his only friend at Harrow 30 years earlier, a vague letter stating that he's in some kind of trouble. Lenox's fears are heightened when he's unable to find Leigh at his former classmate's London hotel. Lenox eventually tracks the man down, only to learn that he recently survived two attempts on his life. Leigh, now a renowned scientist who has been living in France, returned to England after being contacted by a solicitor, who informed him that he's the heir to a large fortune. The solicitor refused to identify Leigh's benefactor. This revives for Leigh and Lenox the puzzle of who the mysterious person was who funded the former's education at Harrow. A subplot involving one of Lenox's partners in his enquiry agency dilutes the main action, which builds to an unsatisfying resolution. Agents: Kari Stuart and Jennifer Joel, ICM. (Nov.) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly,Gabe Traylin, the hero of this well-paced mystery from Hawvermale (The Discretionist), works at a research outpost in the Chilean Atacama Desert and has managed to cover his inability to recognize human faces by relying on voices, clothing, and other signals. While walking one night, he sees a mysterious figure who seems to get murdered, but when he calls in the authorities, the body has vanished, and his further investigations only anger his employers and bring more questions from the authorities. He eventually crosses paths with Mira Westbrook, who has traveled to Chile with her severely dyslexic twin brother, Luke, to find a reclusive science fiction author, Ben Cable, with whom Luke, who can't read, has become inexplicably obsessed. Hawvermale throws in plenty of action while allowing characters time to discuss and explore the series of mysteries they face. If the plot gets decidedly muddled-and it seems unnecessary for Gabe's condition to be the focus of the title-the unusual setting and well-drawn characters still intrigue. Agent: Jonah Straus, Straus Literary. (Aug.) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.,Publishers Weekly,Publishers Weekly,Gabe Traylin, the hero of this well-paced mystery from Hawvermale (The Discretionist), works at a research outpost in the Chilean Atacama Desert and has managed to cover his inability to recognize human faces by relying on voices, clothing, and other signals. While walking one night, he sees a mysterious figure who seems to get murdered, but when he calls in the authorities, the body has vanished, and his further investigations only anger his employers and bring more questions from the authorities. He eventually crosses paths with Mira Westbrook, who has traveled to Chile with her severely dyslexic twin brother, Luke, to find a reclusive science fiction author, Ben Cable, with whom Luke, who can't read, has become inexplicably obsessed. Hawvermale throws in plenty of action while allowing characters time to discuss and explore the series of mysteries they face. If the plot gets decidedly muddled-and it seems unnecessary for Gabe's condition to be the focus of the title-the unusual setting and well-drawn characters still intrigue. Agent: Jonah Straus, Straus Literary. (Aug.) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly,Set in 1665, Calkins's debut brings London on the eve of the Great Plague to vivid life. Lucy Campion, a chambermaid, is fortunate to be employed by a benevolent magistrate named Hargrave, who's eager to help her better herself. The discovery in a nearby field of a near-naked woman who has been stabbed to death piques Lucy's interest. Hargrave links this crime to another murder. Following the killing of a fellow female servant, Lucy turns detective. She only intensifies her sleuthing efforts after her brother, William, who knew one of the dead women, is charged with the servant's murder. When members of her household begin showing signs of having been infected with the Black Death, Lucy must deal with other life-and-death matters. The solution isn't quite at the same level as the other aspects of the plot, but the high-quality writing augurs well for future outings. Agent: David Hale Smith, DHS Literary. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.,Publishers Weekly,Publishers Weekly,Set in 1665, Calkins's debut brings London on the eve of the Great Plague to vivid life. Lucy Campion, a chambermaid, is fortunate to be employed by a benevolent magistrate named Hargrave, who's eager to help her better herself. The discovery in a nearby field of a near-naked woman who has been stabbed to death piques Lucy's interest. Hargrave links this crime to another murder. Following the killing of a fellow female servant, Lucy turns detective. She only intensifies her sleuthing efforts after her brother, William, who knew one of the dead women, is charged with the servant's murder. When members of her household begin showing signs of having been infected with the Black Death, Lucy must deal with other life-and-death matters. The solution isn't quite at the same level as the other aspects of the plot, but the high-quality writing augurs well for future outings. Agent: David Hale Smith, DHS Literary. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly,The people of Washington County, Maine, are in an uproar in Doiron's fourth novel starring game warden Mike Bowditch (after 2012's Bad Little Falls), the best yet in the series. Hippie-turned-millionaire Betty Morse has spent some of her fortune to buy 100,000 acres of woodland that she intends to give to the federal government for a national park. Morse now has a long list of enemies, including hunters and forest-product workers whose lives and finances would be adversely affected. The first manifestation of the hostile reaction to Morse's purchase may be the shooting of five moose on her property. The state of the carcasses suggests that whoever gunned down the animals didn't do so for their meat. Bowditch is first on the scene of the moose slaughter, but his unpopularity with his superiors soon relegates him to spectator status, even as the violence escalates. An unusual lead investigator, thoughtful plotting, and lyrical prose add up to a winner. Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.,Publishers Weekly,Publishers Weekly,The people of Washington County, Maine, are in an uproar in Doiron's fourth novel starring game warden Mike Bowditch (after 2012's Bad Little Falls), the best yet in the series. Hippie-turned-millionaire Betty Morse has spent some of her fortune to buy 100,000 acres of woodland that she intends to give to the federal government for a national park. Morse now has a long list of enemies, including hunters and forest-product workers whose lives and finances would be adversely affected. The first manifestation of the hostile reaction to Morse's purchase may be the shooting of five moose on her property. The state of the carcasses suggests that whoever gunned down the animals didn't do so for their meat. Bowditch is first on the scene of the moose slaughter, but his unpopularity with his superiors soon relegates him to spectator status, even as the violence escalates. An unusual lead investigator, thoughtful plotting, and lyrical prose add up to a winner. Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.