Thriller

Linda Reads: Deadline by Sandra Brown

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sandra

Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown is an award winning author of romance novels and suspense thrillers of which sixty have made it to the New York Times bestsellers list.

She is a lifelong Texan and attended Texas Christian University where she majored in English.  In 1968, she married her husband, Michael Brown, a former television news anchor.  Before starting her writing career in 1981, she worked as a model, did TV weather casting and was a feature reporter on “PM Magazine”.   Her episode on truTV’s “Murder by the Book” premiered the series in 2008 and she helped launch Investigation Discovery’s new series, “Hardcover Mysteries”.

Ms. Brown recently received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University.  She was name Thriller Master for 2008 – the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association.  She also received the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Deadlineis a mystery/thriller/romance that is well-written with a lot of twists and turns that keeps you thoroughly entertained.

Dawson Scott is a well-respected journalist recently returned from Afghanistan. Haunted by everything he experienced, he’s privately suffering from battle fatigue which is a threat to every aspect of his life. But then he gets a call from a source within the FBI. A new development has come to light in a story that began 40 years ago. It could be the BIG story of Dawson’s career one in which he has a vested interest.

Soon, Dawson is covering the disappearance and presumed murder of former Marine Jeremy Wesson, the biological son of the pair of terrorists who remain on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. As Dawson delves into the story, he finds himself developing feelings for Wesson’s ex-wife, Amelia, and her two young sons. But when Amelia’s nanny turns up dead, the case takes a stunning new turn, with Dawson himself becoming a suspect. Haunted by his own demons, Dawson takes up the chase for the notorious outlaws. . .and the secret, startling truth about himself.

A stimulating multi-layered story with great characters, sharp dialogue and a few surprises thrown in!

USA Today Picks This Fall’s Coolest Books

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USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg and Bob Minzesheimer share their picks for 30 of the coolest titles for fall.

September Releases:

  1. Never Go Back by Lee Child
  2. W Is for Wasted by Sue Grafton
  3. Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
  4. Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
  5. Wilson by A. Scott Berg
  6. Who Asked You? by Terry McMillan
  7. Simple Dreams by Linda Ronstadt
  8. Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon
  9. Local Souls by Allan Gurganus
  10. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
  11. Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
  12. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

October Releases:

  1. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
  2. One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson
  3. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
  4. Camelot’s Court: Inside the Kennedy White House by Robert Dallek
  5. The House of Hades: Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
  6. Solo: A James Bond Novel by William Boyd
  7. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
  8. Identical by Scott Turow
  9. We Are Water by Wally Lamb
  10. Sycamore Row by John Grisham
  11. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
  12. The Most of Nora Ephron by Nora Ephron
  13. The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy

November Releases:

  1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney
  2. Double Down: Game Change 2012 by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann
  3. The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
  4. This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
  5. The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Author Tom Clancy Dead at Age 66

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Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy

Prolific writer Tom Clancy died Tuesday night, Oct 1st, at the John Hopkins Hospital in  Baltimore, Maryland.  The cause of death has not been released.

He was best known for his technically detailed espionage and military thrillers.  Several were made into movies including The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger.  The first Net Force book was made into a television movie and the first Op-Center book was made into a mini-series.

He was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1947.  He attended Loyola College as a physics major, but switched to English in his sophomore year.  Before becoming an author, he ran an independent insurance agency.

In 1979, he began writing Patriot Games where his hero CIA agent Jack Ryan was introduced.  In 1982, he set aside that book and started The Hunt for Red October which was based on a real incident in November 1979 about a Soviet missile frigate attempting to defect.

Seventeen of his novels have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list.  Besides his stand-alone novels, he has written several series available in paperback format.  They are:  Op-Center, Net Force, Net Force Explorers, Power Plays, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, and EndWar.

He was a part owner of a baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, author of several non-fiction books, developed three board games, and co-founded the video game developer Red Storm Entertainment.  He is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing (other two – J.K. Rowling and John Grisham).

His newest book, Command Authority, is due out in December.

Mystery/Thrillers Coming This Fall

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book leavesThe days are getting shorter, nights longer.  Soon you’ll be looking for that perfect book to curl up with.  Here are some great mystery/thrillers to look forward to this fall.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King – Stephen King returns to the character and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.

Sycamore Row by John Grisham – John Grisham’s A Time to Kill is one of the most popular novels of our time. Now we return to that famous courthouse in Clanton as Jake Brigance once again finds himself embroiled in a fiercely controversial trial-a trial that will expose old racial tensions and force Ford County to confront its tortured history.

The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly – Defense attorney Mickey Haller returns with a haunting case in the gripping new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.

The Spook Lights Affair by Marcia Muller – Fans of Marcia’s Muller’s bestselling Sharon McCone novels and Bill Pronzini’s Nameless Detective series will applaud The Spook Lights Affair and future exploits from the annals of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services.

The Death Trade by Jack Higgins – The master of suspense returns with a cutting-edge tale that pits his heroes Sean Dillon and Sara Gideon against the nuclear ambitions of Iran.

Ask Not by Max Allan Collins – Fifty years after JFK’s tragic death, Collins’s rigorous research for Ask Not raises new questions about the most controversial assassination of our time.

Accused by Lisa Scottolini – New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author Lisa Scottoline revolutionized crime fiction when she introduced her all-female law firm of Rosato & Associates, thrilling readers with her twisty, fast-paced plots and capturing their hearts with her cast of strong and relatable female characters. Now Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy are back with all cylinders firing in Accused.

Critical Mass by Sara Paretsky – New York Times-bestselling author Sara Paretsky’s brilliant protagonist V.I. Warshawski returns in another hard-hitting entry, combining razor-sharp plotting and compelling characters with a heady mix of timely political and social themes.

Other titles debuting this fall:  W Is For Wasted by Sue Grafton, Innocence by Dean Koontz, Hazardous Duty by W.E.B. Griffin, Police by Jo Nesbo, Going Dark by James W. Hall, The Mayan Secrets by Clive Cussler, Never Go Back by Lee Child, Second Watch by J.A. Jance. The October List by Jeffery Deaver, White Fire by Lincoln Child, Tatiana by Martin Cruz Smith, Silencing Eve by Iris Johansen

For the Kings, writing is all in the family

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The New York Times recently published an article about Stephen King and his rather literary family. King, of course, is the best-selling author of over 50 novels and dozens of short stories. His wife Tabitha is also an author with 8 published novels to her name.  Perhaps it was inevitable, with writers for parents, that 2 out of the 3 King children would also pursue a career in fiction.

Eldest son Joseph Hillstrom King, writing under the pen name Joe Hill, published an anthology of his short stories in 2005, and his first novel Heart-Shaped Box in 2007. His second novel Horns is being make into a feature film starring Daniel Radcliffe. Younger son Owen King (whose wife, Kelly Braffet, is also a writer) joined the family business this year with his debut novel Double Feature. No one can doubt that talent runs in the King family!

Next time you’re in the library, check out some of the books by the prolific Kings:

Stephen King:

http://ibistro.libraryconnection.info/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/57/5?user_id=CHESHIREPUB&password=PUBLIC&searchdata1=9781476727653

Dr. Sleep (coming Sept. 24)

Under the Dome (2009)

Joyland (2013)

Tabitha King:

The Book of Reuben (1995)

Survivor (1998)

Candles Burning (2006)

Joe Hill:

Heart-Shaped Box (2007)

NOS4A2 (2013)

Horns (2010)

Owen King:

Double Feature (2013)