Corsair
by Clive Cussler
Published 2009 by Putnam Adult

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780399155390

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REVIEW:  Publishers Weekly

Subduing a band of Somali pirates is just the warmup for Juan Cabrillo and the valiant crew of the supership "Oregon" in the rousing sixth Oregon Files thriller from bestseller Cussler and Du Brul (after "Plague Ship"). Cabrillos main mission is to locate U.S. Secretary of State Fiona Katamora, who's been kidnapped en route to important international peace talks in Libya. Katamoras abductor, the terrorist Al-Jama, wishes to disrupt the talks. It is only through conflict that we are truly the beings that Allah intended, Al-Jama asserts. A major subplot involves the search for an ancient corsair, a sailing ship that contains writings that could bring peace to the Mideast. The hunt for a pendant known as the Jewel of Jerusalem and a mystery surrounding Al-Jamas actual identity also figure in, but these are minor diversions. As ever, the principal draw for the series faithful readers is the clever, indefatigable Cabrillo along with his merry band of tough, tech-savvy, fighting men and women.

True Detectives
by Jonathan Kellerman
Published 2009 by Ballantine Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780345495143

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REVIEW:  Booklist

Instead of the usual Delaware/Sturgis investigative duo, Kellerman returns to two new crime solvers, stepbrothers who appeared briefly in last year's Bones. Though both are sons of cops, they couldn't be more different. Biracial Aaron pulls in a sweet six figures as a PI, which allows him to indulge in Ferré shirts and Magli shoes; younger Moses, a forthright, muscle-bound blond, does things by the book for the LAPD. Childhood rivalries, misunderstandings, and different personalities have kept them at odds throughout their lives. Then, suddenly, they find themselves working on the same case: the disappearance of a young college student. Competitors at first, the brothers gradually become a kind of team, each one adding bits and pieces to a sprawling case that morphs into something completely different from what it was to begin with—involving a washed-up celebrity, an abusive Hollywood director, a drug pusher, a couple of prostitutes, and a missing baby. Kellerman continues to play fast and loose with his plotting, but everything eventually comes together here, with a few surprises. What's best, though, is seeing Kellerman step outside of the all-too-familiar he relies on in the Delaware novels and introduce a couple of characters that have the potential to take his work in fresh directions.

Dead Silence
by Randy Wayne White
Published 2009 by Putnam Adult

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780399155406

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 REVIEW:  Publishers Weekly

Bestseller White's high-octane 16th thriller to feature Marion Doc Ford (after "Black Widow") opens with a splash as Ford deep-sixes serial rapist Bern Heller into the ocean a mile off Sanibel Island, Fla. Killing Heller is a sidebar to Doc's primary mission: rescuing Will Chaser, a 14-year-old Indian boy from Oklahoma, from two Cuban psychopaths who in a bungled kidnapping attempt wound up with Will instead of their intended target, a U.S. senator. Will is the real star of the show--a tough, resourceful juvenile delinquent with rodeo skills and a propensity for rage that make him a pretty even match for the two demonic kidnappers, who are demanding valuable information found in the belongings of the now-deceased Fidel Castro. Despite some confusing backstory and an unnecessarily complicated plot, White drags in many of Doc's sidekicks from earlier books for not much apparent reason--the action roars along as Doc does what Doc does best: kick butt.

Pursuit
by Karen Robards
Published 2009 by Putnam Adult

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780399155420

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REVIEW:  Booklist

Jessica Ford is a smart, quiet, and ambitious young lawyer working for one of the largest firms in Washington, D.C. Her boss, John Davenport, is a high roller in politics and good friends with the First Lady, Annette Cooper. When he can t make it to a bar where Annette is hiding from her Secret Service detail, he calls Jess and sends her over to bundle Annette into a cab. The next thing Jess knows, she's the sole survivor of a fiery car crash. As the country mourns the First Lady, Jess begins to think the car crash was a cover-up for more than just a drug deal. Suddenly she and Secret Service agent Mark Ryan are on the lam and unsure of whom they can trust. Everyone they know is a suspect, and Jess can't rely on anyone, not even Mark, as they try to evade the government agents on their tail who have only one goal: to make sure Jess keeps her mouth shut. Who can Jess turn to, and how far up does this conspiracy go? A tense and erotic political thriller sure to be as popular as Robards previous novels.

Don't Look Twice
by Andrew Gross
Published 2009 by William Morrow & Company

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780061143441

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 REVIEW:  Publishers Weekly

At the start of bestseller Gross's twisty second thriller to feature Ty Hauck (after "The Dark Tide"), the Greenwich, Conn., police detective gets caught in a shooting at a local service station. A young man wearing a red bandana leans out a car window and fires: he nicks Hauck; kills David Sanger, a federal prosecutor; and wounds others. Was Hauck the target? Was it a hate crime directed at the Pakistani who owned the gas station? Or was Sanger the target? As Hauck investigates, potential leads evaporate or end in blind alleys. When the triggerman is shot dead in the Dominican Republic, the Greenwich police chief suggests Hauck should consider the case closed. Hauck decides to continue, despite increasing pressure to desist from many quarters, including the FBI and the owners of the Pequot Woods Resort and Casino. Hauck does look twice, with results that will change his life radically, though some readers may doubt the wisdom of the choice he makes at the end.

Execution Dock
by Anne Perry
Published 2009 by Ballantine Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780345469335

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 REVIEW:  Publishers Weekly

Set in 1864, bestseller Perry's outstanding 16th novel to feature William Monk (after "Dark Assassin") finds Monk suffering from a series of hard knocks, including memory loss. Now superintendent of the Thames River Police Force, Monk is on the verge of closing the books on Jericho Phillips, a particularly nasty villain who specializes in child pornography. Monk and his team catch Phillips, but what appears to be an airtight murder case springs leaks and ends with the accused's acquittal. Many in authority view the judgment as a rebuke to the river police, whose existence as a separate force is threatened. Convinced that he got the right man, despite the jury's verdict, Monk devotes himself to setting the record straight. Monk's wife, Hester, who works with London's downtrodden, provides support. Rich in plot development, believable characters and period detail, this entry will only add to the already sizable ranks of Perry's admirers.

The Birthday Present
by Barbara Vine
Published 2009 by Shaye Areheart Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780307451989

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 REVIEW:  Publishers Weekly

British master Vine (the pen name of Ruth Rendell), a life Labor peer who used her knowledge of politics in 2002's "The Blood Doctor" to explore the personal rather than the political ramifications of power, does both in this intricate novel, which charts the wreckage caused by Ivor Tesham, a Conservative member of Parliament, who concocts a kinky present for his married mistress, a mock kidnapping that results in a mixup of identities and murder. While nothing links the MP to the crime, the elitist Tesham, with his callous attitude toward people and public service alike, realizes justice may eventually catch up with him. Vine knows how we walk all the time on that thin crust that covers terrible abysses. The consequences for the innocent victims of Tesham's recklessness provide the books deep and genuine pathos. Full of psychological insight, this is an absolute must for Vine/Rendell enthusiasts and those who have yet to encounter her genius.

Lowboy
by John Wray
Published 2009 by Farrar Straus Giroux

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780374194161

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REVIEW:  Booklist

Whiting Award–winner Wray's third novel is the surpassingly strange story of Will Heller, a 16-year-old paranoid schizophrenic who has gone off his meds. Called "Lowboy" for his moods and for his fascination with New York subway trains and deep-sea diving, Will is on a largely subterranean quest to save the world from an imminent, global warming–caused death. How he plans to accomplish this feat involves his former girlfriend, Emily, whom he may have previously attempted to murder. In pursuit of him are a missing-persons detective, Ali Lateef, and his mother, Violet. Wray's third-person point of view shifts among Will, Ali, and Violet, none of whom is necessarily a reliable—or completely forthcoming—narrator. Though the denouement and a promised revelation about Violet are sadly predictable, Wray is an obviously gifted writer, whose treatment of Will is a tour de force of empathy, style, and imagination.