Private: Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, London, Chicago, Paris, Frankfort, Tokyo, Rome

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Mary

Intrigue is three levels deep in James Patterson’s new novel, Private: Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, London, Chicago, Paris, Frankfort, Tokyo, Rome. Jack Morgan, owner of Private, a renowned investigation company, is searching for the murderer of his best friend’s wife while an NFL betting scandal involving referees is a priority case taking him to Las Vegas. Now another schoolgirl in the area has been murdered making her number twelve and Private is working on the case pro bono in a controversial arrangement with LAPD.

Jack is suffering from demented dreams as he has flashbacks from a helicopter crash in Vietnam. There is something regarding the helicopter crash that he cannot recall that plagues his waking hours.

Action and multiple storylines keep the pages turning quickly in this thriller.

Deeper Water by Robert Whitlow

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Mary

Robert Whitlow, a practicing attorney in Georgia, has written a legal thriller series, The Tides of Truth, with Deeper Water as the first novel. This series is now complete with the second and third titles being Greater Love and Higher Hope. He has been mentioned as Christian fiction’s John Grisham.

In this first book in the series, Whitlow shares the deep spiritual convictions of law student, Tammy Lynn Taylor, who wins a summer internship in Savannah and ventures far from her protective homeschooled family to experience the challenges of big city law. She is given a case involving a poor fisherman arrested for tying his johnboat to private docks every night. This seemingly simple case for an intern becomes much more complicated and sinister leading Tammy to suspect collusion between senior law partners in a young child’s death. Tammy’s strong convictions generating from a deeply religious family shine through in every situation and are an enlightening aspect of Whitlow’s novels.

Robert Whitlow is also the author of Jimmy, the subject of the previous blog post.

Books of the Undead

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Rhonna

If the movies or the upcoming holiday have gotten you in the mood for zombies, check out the latest in action-filled zombie fiction.

In Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, Zeke Wilkes braves the underworld of 1880s Seattle in an attempt to save his father’s name. The underworld contains a vein of toxic gas that turns people into zombies. Zeke’s mother is his only hope for survival.

Manhattan N.Y. becomes Monster Island in the novel by David Wellington. A plague has turned most of the world into zombies. Only one couple has managed to stay alive in New York. They are joined by a group of well armed teenage girls from the Free Women’s Republic of Somaliland, searching desperately for medicine.

In Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry, Baltimore detective Joe Ledger discovers terrorists that have created a bio-weapon that can make zombies. He must lead a team of elite fighters against them in order to save the world.

Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Judi

If you are looking for an exciting page-turner, look no further than Linwood Barclay’s new novel Fear the Worst. The plot is compelling–this is the story of an ordinary father, Tim Blake, whose teen-aged daughter does not come home after a shift at her summer job. When he goes to her workplace to find her, there is no record of her working there and no one knows her. This begins Blake’s hunt for his daughter. Blake is an ordinary middle-ages car salesman caught in extraordinary circumstances, making his fear, anger and obsession very believable. Barclay’s characters are realistic and the plot is filled with twists and turns, adding to the suspense. The pace of the story is relentless–plan to lose some sleep while reading this thriller–it’s hard to put down!

Barclay has several other novels at Manhattan Public Library ( Too Close to Home and No Time for Goodbye among others) and I plan to read them all!

Knockout by Catherine Coulter

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Linda

If you like plenty of action combined with the paranormal—you’ll like Knockout! “Coulter’s riveting 13th FBI thriller (after TailSpin) opens with a bang as psychic FBI agent Dillon Savich thwarts a gang of gun-totting robbers attempting to hold up the First Union Bank of Washington, D.C. Three days later, seven-year-old Autumn Backman, who sees Dillon on TV, sends him a telepathic message that she’s in danger. Though eager to help Autumn, Dillon is busy tracking a bank robber who escaped, a teenage girl now leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. Meanwhile, in Titusville, Va., Autumn’s mother reports her daughter missing to Sheriff Ethan Merriweather. After finding Autumn, Ethan discovers her sinister uncle, Blessed, has evil designs on his psychic niece. Before Dillon and his fellow FBI agent and wife, Lacey Sherlock, can get to Titusville, Autumn and her mother flee.” Publisher’s Weekly

Angels & Demons Read-Alikes

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Rhonna

I heard a rumor that the new flick Angels & Demons, based on the book by Dan Brown, is pretty good. If you already read the book and loved it, you might try these titles:

The Burning Road by Ann Benson – A medical thriller that alternates between medieval France during the plague and 2007 America where genetic engineering has gone mad.

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears – Called a “whopping good read” by Newsweek, this literary thriller goes back to 17th century England. There has been a suspicious death at New College and a young woman is blamed.

The Confessor by Daniel Silva – A search for the truth about Pius XII’s role in the Holocaust leads to murder, ambition, greed, and revenge. Gabriel Allon, a master art restorer and part-time Israeli agent searches for the truth.

The Overseer by Jonathan Rabb – A ruthless group obtains a plan for world domination written by a 16th century monk. Sarah Trent, a government agent, and Xander Jaspers, a young political theorist from Columbia University, seek to subvert the deadly game.

Down River

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Judi

In his Edgar Award-winning novel Down River, John Hart has created a novel about family relationships as well as a thriller complete with murder, vengeance, suspense and revenge. Adam Chase reluctantly returns home after years away. Although acquitted of murder several years before, he is still viewed with suspicion and fear by both many local people as well as some members of his own family. He returns home at the request of a childhood friend whom he discovers is missing and becomes embroiled in another murder, a struggle between economic progress and those wanting to preserve the land and the past problems and secrets that have divided his family. Hart is an exceptional writer and has created characters that are vivid and realistic with faults, virtues and divided loyalties. The story is engrossing, exciting and well-deserving of the awards won by the author.

The Cove by Catherine Coulter

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Linda

I’m going to scare you; treat you to mysteries that will, hopefully, confound you—Grab hold tight and come into a world where illusion becomes reality and truth is a disguise.” Catherine Coulter

“The Cove is a quaint little postcard town made up only of old folk who sell the World’s Greatest Ice Cream, a secret recipe that brings lots of tourists into town. Into the Cove comes Sally Brainerd, daughter of murdered Amory St. John of Washington, D.C., seeking sanctuary and also Special Agent James Quinlan who’s undercover and after her. He’s got a murder to solve and he believe’s she’s the key. But is she really?” Catherine Coulter

The Cove is the first book in a thirteen book series titled “The FBI Series.” The latest book is Knockout. The story begins when Ethan Merriweather, a small Virginia town sheriff, goes looking for a missing girl. When he finds her, he realizes that Autumn has brought him a huge problem–a relentless madman who can control others simply by looking at them—a madman who is after her and her mom.

The Associate

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Judi

John Grisham’s latest entry into the legal thriller genre, The Associate, will initially remind fans of his earlier book The Firm. In this story, Kyle McAvoy is a law school student about to graduate when he is confronted with a videotape of a crime that could send him to jail and end his dreams of becoming a lawyer. McAvoy is blackmailed into joining a high-powered law firm enmeshed in a huge lawsuit involving defense contractors, where he is asked to pass on inside information about the aircraft involved. The suspense builds as the story unfolds and Grisham fans will appreciate his latest work.

Cross Country by James Patterson

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Linda

The new Cross Country, another in James Patterson’s Alex Cross series is a minute-by-minute thriller. The chase is on–is Alex Cross the hunter or the hunted? When Alex Cross’s oldest friend and her family are murdered–it is the worst murder scene Alex has ever seen. The destruction leads him to a horrible new breed of killer. Entangled in the deadly Nigerian underworld of Washington D.C., he discovers a stunningly organized gang of lethal teenagers headed by a powerful, diabolical man–the African warlord known as the Tiger. Just when the Cross thinks he’s closing in on the elusive murderer, the Tiger disappears into thin air. Tracking him to Africa, Alex knows that he must follow. Alone.”–“

Political Intrigue on CD

Posted on October 11, 2008 by Mary

While we are deep into the current political scene and after you have done your research and made your choices, why not enjoy a novel of political intrigue. I found the hours just evaporated along with the miles as I listened to the audio book Dead Watch by John Sandford on a recent road trip to Colorado. This is not his most current book, but the story couldn’t be more timely with it’s political scandals and time bombs. A former Virginia senator is missing and the current governor and political rival may have a hand in his disappearance. Or did he?

If political scandal is a little too close to home, why not try one of our other audio books. Some of our new titles are:

Fiction

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, Sail by James Patterson and Howard Roughan, Plague Ship by Clive Cussler, Swan Peak by James Lee Burke, Faces of Fear by John Saul, Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs, Forbidden by Elizabeth Lowell, The Gypsy Morph by Terry Brooks.

Non-Fiction

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart, (an interesting addition to our One Book/ One Community reading list of Central Asia titles) and The post-American World by Fareed Zakaria.

Another option is to download an audio book to your computer through our website and burn it to cd’s or load it onto your IPod or mp3 player. Use the following link to get started.

http://www.manhattan.lib.ks.us/find/intro.shtml

We all lead busy lives but technology is helping us enjoy reading while on the go.

"Fractured"–a Thriller!

Posted on August 24, 2008 by Judi

I picked up a copy of Karin Slaughter’s new book Fractured and found it hard to put down! This bestselling suspense novel is set in Atlanta, GA. A murder and kidnapping start off the book and the pace never slows. Believable, complex and interesting characters combined with an intense story line creates a suspensful page-turner. Plan on some late nights to finish this once you start!

Little Apple Bookworm

Category Archives: Thrillers