Saturday 15 December 2012

Books to look forward to from Headline



 The Hunters is the first in a brand new series from the international bestseller Chris Kuzneski - "If you seek, they will find" The Hunters: a team of renegades - an ex-military leader, a historian, a computer whiz, a weapons expert and a thief - financed by a billionaire philanthropist are tasked with finding the world's most legendary treasures.  The Mission: recover a vast Romanian treasure that was stolen by the Russians nearly a century ago.  Fearing a Germany victory in World War 1, the Romanian government signed a deal to guarantee the safety of the country's most valuable artefacts until after the war.  In 1916 two treasure trains full of gold and the most precious objects of the Romanian state - paintings, jewellery from the Royal family, ancient Dacien artefacts - were sent to the underground vaults in the Kremlin only to be lost to the Romanian people forever as Russia severed all diplomatic relations with the country and scattered the treasure to its outlying regions.  With a haul valued at over $3.5 billion dollars, everyone wants to claim the vast treasure but its location has remained a mystery, until now.  Can the Hunters succeed where all others have failed?  The Hunters is due to be published in January 2013.


Peg always felt a little blurred, a little lacking in definition.  Her mother died when she was six, her father simply disappeared, and she was brought up by her grandparents and her obese, bedridden aunt.  But, despite all this, she never developed the habit of asking questions.  At least, not until she met Loz, her straight-talking, psychotherapeutically literate girlfriend, who urges her to confront her demons.  But as the skeletons come tumbling out of the family closet and the full horror of the past begins to reveal itself, Peg starts to wonder whether her youthful lack of curiosity might not have been a good thing.  A very good thing indeed…. Tarnished is by Julia Crouch and is due to be published in March 2013.

When Inspector Cetin Ikmen is invited to a murder mystery evening at Istanbul's famous Pera Palas Hotel he finds himself embroiled in a deadly game of life imitating art.  Halfway through the evening, one of the actors is found actually dead in the room where Agatha Christie used to stay when she was in Istanbul.  Walking in the steps of the great, Ikmen experiences fear and hatred, which have echoes deep in his own and his country's past.  Deadline is by Barbara Nadel and is due to be published in January 2013.

 Black Irish is by Stephan Talty and is due to be published in February 2013.  Harvard-educated Detective Absalom 'Abbie' Kearney has returned to 'The County' - an Irish enclave in Buffalo, NY - to take care of her ageing father, legendary former cop John Kearney.  In one of America's most deprived and dilapidated cities, tensions run high and Abbie's day job is never easy.  However, when it becomes apparent that a relentless and merciless killer has set to work, it's about to get a lot harder.  Faced with scenes of inconceivable violence, Abbie's investigation takes her to the heart of this fiercely closed community.  And the darkness she finds there will affect her life in ways she could never have imagined...

Deadly Business is by Quintin Jardine and is due to be published in January 2013.  It is the Fiesta de San Juan in Spain, the national celebration of the Summer Solstice, and there's much excitement about a huge firework display in the village of St Marti.  But Primavera Blackstone is more inflamed by the appearance of a mysterious writer, Duncan Culshaw, who is determined to rake through the ashes of her past.  Moreover, when extortion and blackmail are mentioned, Primavera realises the heat is on.  Duncan has his fingers burned, playing fast and loose with the fiercely protective Prim, but when he marries a dying woman for her money, threatening the inheritance of Prim's son Tom, things are going to get explosive... but happily, there is a new guardian angel in town.

What Lies Within  is a tightly spun, atmospheric and powerful psychological suspense novel by Tom Vowler that is due to be published in April 2013.  Living in a remote Devon farmhouse, Anna and her family have always been close to nature, surrounded by the haunting beauty of the moor.  But when a convict escapes from nearby Dartmoor prison, their isolation suddenly begins to feel more claustrophobic than free.  Fearing for her children's safety, Anna's behaviour becomes increasingly irrational.  But why is she so distant from her kind husband Robert, and why does she suspect something sinister of her son Paul?  All teenagers have their difficult phases...Meanwhile, a young idealistic teacher has just started her first job, determined to 'make a difference'.  But when she is brutally attacked by one of her students, her version of events is doubted by even those closest to her.  Struggling to deal with the terrible consequences, she does what she can to move on and start afresh.  As the two narratives converge, the tension builds to a devastating denouement, shattering everything you thought you believed about nature, nurture and the true meaning of family.

When a family of three are kidnapped from their exclusive Boston home, private investigator Tess Leoni must find out why they have been taken and if she is going to get them back alive.  Justin and Libby Denbe have it all: a beautiful daughter; a gorgeous house; a great marriage, admired by all.  Arriving at the crime scene of their home, investigator Tessa Leoni finds no witnesses, no ransom demands or motive - just a perfect little family, gone.  However, Tessa knows that flawless fronts can hide the darkest secrets.  Now, she must race against the clock to uncover the truth.  Who would want to kidnap such a family?  Moreover, how far would they be willing to go?  Touch & Go is by Lisa Gardner and is due to be published in February 2013.

Things are getting better for Jess Harris.  Newly appointed as Deputy Chief of Birmingham, Alabama’s major crime division, she’s hoping to leave the troubles of her past behind.  The only problem is that her ex-lover, Police Chief Dan Burnett, is now her boss.  Evil will follow you...When a celebrated ballet instructor is found dead, the court rules that it was a tragic accident.  But new Deputy Police Chief, Jess Harris, isn't convinced, and she can't rest easy until she's discovered the truth, however horrifying it may be.  Wherever you go.  Jess has not long been appointed to her new role and she was hoping to leave the troubles of her haunted past behind.  But with the possibility of a killer on the loose, she has no choice but to risk everything.  Can you find a way to hide?  As she delves deeper into the seedy underworld of Birmingham's gangs and their powerful allies, Jess finds herself targeted.  With so much at stake, does she already know too much?  Power is by Debra Webb and is due to be published in March 2013.

He will hurt those she loves... until she is his.  Special Agent Jess Harris is the only person to have come close to The Player, a terrifying serial killer.  And now, as she tries to rebuild her life in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama - with the offer of promotion and the prospect of love - The Player has other ideas...Until she is his.  He is fixated on Jess, on how close she came to catching him and on the terrifying revenge he plans to enact when he finds her.  As it becomes clear that he is targeting those closest to her, Jess realises that the only way to save them is to sacrifice herself.  But can he be stopped?  Jess is determined to protect those she loves and defend her way of life.  But will she be strong enough?  And how high a price might she have to pay?  Impulse is by Debra Webb and is due to be published in February 2013.

The Persona Protocol  is by Andy McDermott and is due to be published in March 2013.  Adam Gray is the ultimate spy...As the lead agent of the US government's top-secret Persona project, he is its most valuable weapon in the War on Terror.  Experimental technology enables him to take on the personality - and memories - of anyone; be it a Russian arms dealer, a high-stakes gambler or a nuclear scientist.  Whatever secrets they know, he knows.  But the most dangerous secrets of all...are his own.  When Adam hunts a terrorist plotting to murder millions, he begins to realise that, although he can delve into the minds of others, his own memories are a mystery.  Hidden in his past is the key to a deadly conspiracy - and its masterminds will stop at nothing to conceal their crimes...
  
Bear is Broken is the debut novel by Lachlan Smith and is due to be published in February 2013.  Leo Maxwell grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Teddy, a successful yet reviled criminal defense attorney who racked up enemies as quickly as he racked up acquittals.  As children, their father was jailed for the murder of their mother, and Teddy was left to care for Leo who tried to emulate his older brother, even following him into the legal profession.  The two are at lunch one day when Teddy, supposed to give the closing argument of his current trial that afternoon, is shot: in public, in cold blood, the shooter escaping without Leo being able to identify him.  As Teddy lies in a coma, Leo comes to the conclusion that the search for his brother's shooter falls upon him and him alone, as his brother's enemies were not merely the scum on the street but embedded within the police department as well.  As he begins to examine the life of a brother, he realizes he barely knew, Leo quickly realizes that the list of possible suspects is much larger than he could have imagined.  The deeper Leo digs into Teddy's life, the more questions arise: questions about Teddy and his ex-wife, questions about the history of the Maxwell family, even questions about the murder that tore their family apart all those years ago.  And somewhere, the person who shot his brother is still on the loose, and there are many who would happily kill Leo in order to keep it that way.

Guilt is the latest novel by Jonathan Kellerman and is due to be published in February 2013.  When a young couple take possession of their dream home, they make a gruesome discovery of a metal strongbox containing two rotting leather doctor’s bags.  And inside, swaddled in sheets of sixty-year-old newspaper, lies a tiny human skeleton.  The most likely culprit is a mysterious woman, employed as a private nurse to wealthy L A families during World War Two.  Lt Milo Sturgis consults Alex Delaware for insight into the perpetrator’s motives.

It started with an anonymous text: How did your mother die?  Private Investigator Wyatt Hunt has never been interested in finding his birth parents, but the discovery that his mother was murdered and the main suspect was his father leaves him with no choice but to take on a case he never knew existed.  With the trail of the forty-year-old case long gone cold, Hunt's first priority is to find out who the mysterious texter is and that person's connection to him.  But in confronting his past, could Hunt find himself up against a killer who's still very much alive and very dangerous?  From the dark streets of San Francisco to the Jonestown massacre in the remote jungles of Guyana, thriller-master John Lescroart weaves a shocking tale about the skeletons inside family closets and the mortal danger outside the front door.  The Hunter is due to be published in March 2013

Paris, 1909: a city of contrasts and of ambition, of beauty and of treachery Maud Heighton came to Lieberman's famous Academie to paint, and to flee the constraints of her small English town.  It took all her courage to escape, but Paris eats money.  While her fellow students enjoy the dazzling joys of the Belle Époque, Maud slips into poverty.  Quietly starving, and dreading another cold winter, she finds a job as companion to young, beautiful Sylvie Morel.  But Sylvie has a secret: an addiction to opium.  As Maud is drawn into the Morels' world of elegant luxury, their secrets become hers.  Before the New Year arrives, a greater deception will take her to the very edge of the darkness beneath this glittering city of light.  The Paris Winter is by Imogen Robertson and is due to be published in March 2013.

The Lost  is by Claire McGowan and is due to be published in March 2013. Not everyone who's missing is lost.  When two teenage girls go missing along the Irish border, forensic psychologist Paula Maguire has to return to the hometown she left years before.  Swirling with rumour and secrets, the town is gripped by fear of a serial killer.  But the truth could be even darker.  Not everyone who's lost wants to be found Surrounded by people and places she tried to forget, Paula digs into the cases as the truth twists further away.  What's the link with two other disappearances from 1985?  And why does everything lead back to the town's dark past- including the reasons her own mother went missing years before?  Nothing is what it seems.  As the shocking truth is revealed, Paula learns that sometimes, it's better not to find what you've lost.

It has been twenty-five years since the four friends left school, burdened with the dark secret of a game that ended in tragedy.  Now, driven by love, loss and loyalty, they meet to play Tony's game once more.  Tony, the mastermind, has planned the moves that will take each player across continents.  The rules are the same, but they have grown up, and the stakes are much, much higher.  They will be forced to open a forgotten page of history: the Crimea conference of 1945, where three world leaders divided up the world and created a new map of Europe after the Second World War.  How are the secret talks of those leaders connected with this dangerous new game?  And why has Tony decided to play again?  The Game is by A V Shevchenko and is due to be published in February 2013.

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