Latest Books: July 2010 Archives

In Aileen G. Baron's The Scorpion's Bite, it is 1943 and the world is at war. Archaeologist Lily Sampson has been sent to Trans-Jordan, to do an archaeological survey for the OSS, along with Gideon Weil, the famous director of the American School of Archeology in Jerusalem, in the beautiful, silent, Trans-Jordanian desert where the indelible presence of Lawrence of Arabia still lingers.

Two oil pipelines run from Iraq through the desert to the ports on Mediterranean, one through one through Trans-Jordan that supplies the Allies, the other through Syria that supplies the Nazis. Syrians and Vichy French are raiding across the border, threatening to destroy the Trans-Jordan pipeline.

Lily discovers their real mission is to help safeguard the Trans-Jordan pipeline and to prevent oil from reaching the Nazis through Syria. At the same time Lily learns of a Nazi plot to kidnap and kill the eight-year old King Faisal of Iraq and take over Iraq. Now, Lily and Gideon must act to protect the Trans-Jordan pipeline, sabotage the Syrian line, and rescue Faisal to prevent the Nazi takeover of Iraq.

Wealth of action and fascinating setting...(Michele Leber, Booklist)

A retired Near Eastern archaeologist, Aileen G. Baron is the author of A Fly Has a Hundred Eyes, and The Torch of Tangier, set in the Middle East during WW II, featuring archeologist Lily Sampson. In The Scorpion's Bite, the third book in the Lily Sampson series, out in August, 2010. Lily is doing an archaeological survey of Trans-Jordan for the OSS. The Gold of Thrace, also published by Poisoned Pen Press, is a contemporary stand-alone about the intrigue and deceit in the antiquities trade. She is currently working on another book featuring Tamar Saticoy, the protagonist of The Gold of Thrace.

Proof of Life, the third installment of Misty Evans's award-winning Super Agent Series, is available this month in print. The story features CIA Deputy Director Michael Stone, who first appeared in OPERATION SHEBA. In this story, Stone must become the one thing he despises - a terrorist - in order to save the woman he loves.

When his niece, the daughter of the Republican candidate for President, is kidnapped just days from the election, CIA Deputy Director Michael Stone vows to do whatever it takes to get her back and bring the kidnapper to justice.

Dr. Brigit Kent, a consultant for the Department of Homeland Security, knows this particular kidnapper well. Exposing him, however, will reveal her sister's secret ties to a terrorist group. The only way to keep her sister safe is to blackmail the sexy, rock-solid deputy director--a move that puts her directly in his line of fire.

Brigit is undeniably beautiful, brilliant, and cunning, but is she friend or foe? The answer to that question could break Michael's personal code of honor--and his heart.

"Evans takes readers on an edge-of-your-seat thriller into the secretive world of CIA operatives." ~Cindy Himler, RT Reviews

"...an intense ride...the subplots and family dynamics really deliver." ~Single Titles Reviews

"...Evans weaves in her own brand of intrigue and conspiracy layered with emotion and conflicts." ~Romance Junkies

"...I can easily see [Evans] side by side with authors such as Clancy and Gerritson." ~The Romance Studio

The first two books in the Super Agent Series have won several awards for Best Romantic Suspense. Evans is currently at work on the next trilogy in the series. Proof of Life is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores everywhere.

Misty Evans is an award-winning author of romantic thrillers and paranormal comedy. Her debut novel, Operation Sheba, won the 2010 New England Reader's Choice Bean Pot contest for best Romantic Suspense, a CAPA nomination in 2009, and a CataNetwork Reviewers' Choice Award in 2008.

Misty lives along the Mississippi River with her husband and twin sons. A member of Romance Writers of America and Thriller Writers International, she teaches creative writing and speaks at local schools, encouraging young writers to pursue their dreams.

Visit her at www.readmistyevans.com or www.twitter.com/readmistyevans .

Gary C. King's Rage tells the story of Darren Mack, a man who had it all. A Beautiful home in Reno. A lovely wife. Three children. And a million-dollar business. Then his wife Charla filled for divorce, winning a large settlement in a heated courtroom battle.

According to friends, Mack was 'angry'. They had no idea how far his fury would take him. Over the next year, the rage only intensified. Finally, Darren Mack snapped, stabbing and killing his ex-wife in her condo. Hours later, he stalked and shot their divorce judge in broad daylight.

Before the blood had even cooled and law enforcement could react, he fled to Mexico, eluding police hot on his trail. The case made headlines nationwide, propelled by lurid details of Mack's wild 'swinger' lifestyle, the shocking discovery of explosives in his apartment, and the chillingly prophetic remark made by his wife: 'Someday he's going to kill me'. Catching him was the hardest part.

Gary C. King, a freelance author and lecturer, is regarded by readers and critics alike as one of the world's foremost crime writers, a reputation he has earned over the last 28 years with the publication of more than 400 articles in true crime magazines in the United States, Canada, and England. King's stories regularly appeared in True Detective, Official Detective, Inside Detective, Front Page Detective, and Master Detective magazines, until those magazines' demise in the mid-1990s. More recently he has found alternate venues for his stories, including truTV Library. He is also the author of several true crime books including: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, Driven to Kill, Web of Deceit, Blind Rage, Savage Vengeance (with Don Lasseter), An Early Grave, The Texas 7, Murder in Hollywood, Angels of Death, Stolen in the Night, Love, Lies, and Murder, An Almost Perfect Murder, Butcher, The Murder of Meredith Kercher, Mr. Perfect (U.K. reprint of Blind Rage), and Rage.

In Richard L. Mabry's newest thriller, Medical Error, Dr. Anna McIntyre's life was going along just fine until someone else started living it. Her patient died because of an identity mix-up, her medical career is in jeopardy because of forged prescriptions, and her credit is in ruins. She thought things couldn't get worse, but that was before she opened the envelope.
With the help of Dr. Nick Valentine, a cynic who carries a load of guilt, and attorney Ross Donovan, a recovering alcoholic, Anna tries to discover who's behind the identity thefts, only to find that her determination to clear her name might have been a prescription for trouble.

"If you like medical suspense, this one will keep you glued to your favorite reading chair!" --Angela Hunt, author of When Darkness Comes.

"Compelling story and characters with fascinating medical detail. Move over Robin Cook! Mabry has a bright future." --Colleen Coble, author of Lonestar Homecoming and the Rock Harbor series

Richard L. Mabry is retired physician and medical school professor who achieved worldwide recognition as a writer, speaker, and teacher before turning his talents to non-medical writing after his retirement.

His debut novel of medical suspense, Code Blue, garnered rave reviews and was repeatedly ranked in the top 50 medical thrillers on Amazon. Medical Error is the second in his Prescription For Trouble series.

In Book Two of Dakota Bank's Mortal Path series: Sacrifice, Maliha Crayne, once a demon's enslaved executioner--a ravager of lives and souls-- has been reborn. She's willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom and salvation. She has the opportunity to prevent the deaths of thousands to make up for the countless lives she's obliterated over the centuries.

To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power--and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood.

"Chilling, thrilling, and a page turner!" - Heather Graham

"Action packed. Tons of fun. Dakota Banks slams you through a wild tale of mayhem and murder. You'll love every page." - Mario Acevedo

Dakota Banks writes dark paranormal thrillers without the usual trappings that "paranormal" has come to mean lately: no vampires, etc. Her stories are based on ancient Sumerian mythology brought to life in the current time blended with action-filled thriller stories.

In Ryan A. Span's novel Street: Clairvoyance, stranded in a hostile country, separated from her friends and haunted by terrible visions, telepath Gina Hart is in a bad position.

Worse, she might be the only one capable of stopping an all-out war between the people who want her for their own purposes.

Now it's just a question of how much more she can take.

"STREET will take you on a ride that leaves you begging to go again!" -- Cynthia Witherspoon

"Ryan A. Span has crafted a well written, brilliantly paced story of adventure, mystery and explosive action." -- Eli James

Dutch SF author Ryan A. Span is the creative mind behind the STREET trilogy of cyberpunk novels; Empathy, Clairvoyance and the upcoming Precognition. He wears many hats as an avid reader, writer, gamer, sport fencer and video game designer.

What strange magic lies behind the spark of genius? When director Kate Stanley takes on Shakespeare's witch-haunted play of Macbeth in Jennifer Lee Carrell's Haunt Me Still, it doesn't take long for a legendary curse to stir. A murder arranged to look like pagan sacrifice ambiguously marks Kate as either suspect or future victim, and propels her into the search for a lost version of Macbeth, said to contain ancient rituals of witchcraft. However much Kate would like to dismiss such rituals as superstition, someone else is clearly willing to kill for them, and for Shakespeare's darkest secret.

"Thrill after thrill...This lively and fact-filled novel would do nicely for a rainy day at the beach." --The Washington Post

Jennifer Lee Carrell was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Arizona. After earning a Ph.D. in English from Harvard, along with degrees from Oxford and Stanford, she taught literature and writing at Harvard. Jumping ship from academics, she moved back to Arizona and wrote arts criticism for the Arizona Daily Star and articles on such topics as horses, firefighting, and alchemy for the Smithsonian Magazine. Her first thriller, Interred with Their Bones, was nominated by ITW in 2008 for Best First Novel. Haunt Me Still is her second thriller, and third book. She lives in Tucson.

In Debra Webb's newest, Colby Velocity, former Equalizer Leland "Rocky" Rockford doesn't have a problem working with Colby Agent Kendra Todd. As far as he is concerned, partnering with her is one of the benefits of their agencies' merger. Something about her calm and composed air makes him want to ruffle her feathers--until they're assigned to a murder case. In full professional mode, Rocky will do whatever necessary to support Kendra--and to keep her safe.

But as the case starts cracking, so do the walls around her guarded heart. With questions and the bodies piling up, they must outmaneuver the shadowy element that not only wants them to fail, but wants them dead....

Debra Webb wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn't until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain and within the confining political Walls of Berlin, Germany, that she realized her true calling. A five-year stint with NASA on the Space Shuttle Program reinforced her love of the endless possibilities within her grasp as a storyteller. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Debra has been writing romantic suspense and action packed romantic thrillers since!

In Heather Graham's newest, Ghost Night, A slasher movie turns real when two young actors are brutally murdered on a remote island film set. Their severed heads and arms are posed in macabre homage to a nineteenth-century pirate massacre.

Two years later, survivor Vanessa Loren is drawn back to South Bimini by a documentary being made about the storied region. Filmmaker Sean O'Hara aches to see how the unsolved crime haunts her...and Sean knows more than a little about ghosts.

Lured by visions of a spectral figurehead, Vanessa discovers authentic pirate treasures that only deepen the mystery. Are the murders the work of modern-day marauders, the Bermuda Triangle or a deadly paranormal echo of the island's violent history? As Vanessa and Sean grow closer, the killer prepares to resume the slaughter...unless the dead can intervene.

"Unrelentingly suspenseful" - Book List on Ghost Walk

Heather Graham is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of over a hundred novels including suspense, paranormal, historical, and mainstream Christmas fare. She lives in Miami, Florida, her home, and an easy shot down to the Keys where she can indulge in her passion for diving. Travel, research, and ballroom dancing also help keep her sane; she is the mother of five, and also resides with two dogs, a cat, and an albino skunk. She is CEO of Slush Pile Productions, a recording company and production house for various charity events. Look her up at theoriginalheathergraham.com, writersforneworleans.com or eheathergraham.com.

In One Tough Marine, by Paula Graves, when masked men making impossible demands threaten the life of Abby Chandler's young son, she runs to Luke Cooper for help, a man she hasn't seen since he vanished after an earth-shattering one-night stand. If anyone knows the secrets her husband was keeping, it's Luke. But what Abby doesn't know is that Luke's disappearance was the only way to keep her alive. And though he's determined to protect her from the ruthless men threatening her, Luke knows that reawakening the passion between them may be the most dangerous risk of all.

"...a roller-coaster story of action, romance and personal growth." - RT Book Reviews

Raised in the American South, Paula Graves knows Southerners don't hide their crazy people--they showcase them. Eccentric people make for the best stories, and Southerners love their stories. The need to tell stories has been a driving force in Paula's life from a young age.

As a girl, her favorite books were mysteries and romances. When she realized there were books that featured both romance and mystery, she knew she'd found her calling. Now Paula writes for Harlequin Intrigue, where she gets to play both matchmaker and murderer and get paid for it.

In Dee Davis's Desperate Deeds, as the demolitions expert for A-Tac, a black-ops CIA unit masquerading as Ivy League faculty, Tyler Hanson has two great loves: literature and explosives. She lives by the motto "duty first" and doesn't have time for personal attachments . . . until a steamy one-night stand turns into a professional partnership.

Award winning author Dee Davis worked in public relations before turning her had to writing. She is the author of eighteen books and three novellas, including the A-Tac series. When not frantically trying to meet a deadline, Dee spends her time with her husband, daughter, cat and Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Visit Dee at www.deedavis.com

 In Annelise Ryan's second book in the Mattie Winston series, Scared Stiff, Mattie and her boss/best friend, Izzy, are called out on Halloween night to the home of waitress and part-time model Shannon Tolliver, They find the ghoulish decorations just a bit too authentic. For among the fake blood and skeletons is the corpse of Shannon herself - and the evidence screams murder.

Shannon's estranged husband, Erik, is suspect #1 for tall, dark, and blissfully blue-eyed homicide detective, Steve Hurley. Mattie believes Erik is incapable of such a brutal act and, determined to unearth the truth--and maybe spend a little quality time with Detective Hunky--she puts her scalpel-sharp medical skills to work and digs a little deeper. In order to solve a case that gets more dangerous by the minute, Mattie will have to risk everything. And this time it's not just Mattie's life that's on the line...

"When shocked trick-or-treaters discover the body of model Shannon Tolliver one Halloween night, Mattie Winston investigates in Ryan's sharp second mystery to feature the Sorenson City, Wis., deputy coroner (after 2009's Working Stiff)." -- Publishers Weekly

Annelise Ryan is the pseudonym for the author of three previously published suspense novels. She currently lives in Wisconsin, where she works as an ER nurse.

  In Brenda Novak's new novel, Body Heat, the heat is on...

Twelve people have been shot at pointblank range and left to rot in the desert sun. It's Sophia St. Claire's job to do something about it. She's Bordertown, Arizona's new chief of police--and she's out of her depth.

Help arrives in the form of Department 6 hired gun Roderick Guerrero. As far as Sophia's concerned, his involvement only makes things worse. Maybe he's managed to turn his life around. And maybe he's a good investigator. But as the bastard son of a wealthy local rancher, he has a history he can't get past. A history that includes her.

Rod refuses to leave town until the killer is caught. He's not worried about the danger posed by some vigilante. It's Sophia who threatens him. Because he's used to risking his life--but his heart is another story.

Brenda Novak writes with a "skillful blend of poignantly real characters and gut-gripping suspense." --New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Rose

New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has three novels coming out this summer--WHITE HEAT, BODY HEAT and KILLER HEAT, all part of her new Department 6 Series. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she's raised over one million dollars. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.

In her newest novel, White Heat, by Brenda Novak, Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop, two members of a private security company called Department 6, are hired to infiltrate a dangerous cult that has recently settled in the former ghost town of Paradise, Arizona. Members of this cult worship at the feet--and in the bed--of its charismatic leader, Ethan Wycliff. But with one woman claiming to have been stoned, and another missing, Wycliff might be more of a devil than the prophet he claims to be....

Brenda Novak writes with a "skillful blend of poignantly real characters and gut-gripping suspense." --New York Times Bestselling Author Karen Rose

New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has three novels coming out this summer--WHITE HEAT, BODY HEAT and KILLER HEAT, all part of her new Department 6 Series. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she's raised over one million dollars. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.