Ace

From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) by Charlaine Harris (Ace 06 May 2008 / $24.95) - From back of book: The supernatural community in Bon Temps, Louisiana, is reeling from two hard blows--the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the man-made horror of the explosion at the vampire summit the month before in the up-north city of Rhodes. Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, yearning for things to get back to normal. But that's just not happening. Too many vampires--some friends, some not--were killed or injured, and her weretiger boyfriend, Quinn, is among the missing.

It's clear that things are changing, whether the Weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie--friend of the pack, blood-bonded to Eric Northman, the leader of the local vampire community--is caught up in the changes.

In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death...and, once more betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood flowing, her world will be forever altered.... (see review)

Night Child by Jes Battis (Ace 27 May 2008 / $6.99) - From Author's website: What would a vampire courtroom look like? How do you test a demon's DNA? Tess Corday answers these questions as an OSI (Occult Special Investigator) working in the city of Vancouver. Using a mixture of cutting-edge forensics technology and old-fashioned magic, Tess solves all manner of violent crimes within the supernatural community. If someone unlawfully kills a goblin or a warlock (and there are plenty in the seedier districts of town), she gets the call. But when a routine murder investigation leads Tess to a thirteen-year-old girl named Mia Polanski, her life is plunged into chaos. Mia is trapped in the middle of a turf-war between vampires and necromancers, and as she struggles to protect the innocent girl, Tess finds herself getting closer each second to a conspiracy that could rock the mystical world. All she has to do is stay alive. But first she needs to unravel the mystery of the NIGHT CHILD. (see review)

Avon

Index to Murder: A Miss Zukas Mystery by Jo Dereske (Avon 01 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: No one could be more orderly or organized than dedicated librarian Helma Zukas. No one could be more rash and raucous than avant-garde artist Ruth Winthrop. Yet the two women are best friends and a resourceful, ingenious, crime-solving team. So when two of Ruth's latest paintings—each depicting an ex-lover who met a very untimely and mysterious end—are stolen, the amazing amateur detectives get to work.

But digging through Ruth's romantic rendezvous turns up more than broken hearts. There's an angry ex-wife, a jealous fellow artist, and a rampaging group of local tree-huggers. There's trouble brewing in Bellehaven . . . and only Helma and Ruth can make certain that mayhem doesn't lead to murder.

(see review)

Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell (Avon 01 May 2008 / $7.99) - Product Description: On what at first appears to be an ordinary day, everything changes for private banker Kayla Shaw when she barely escapes a brutal kidnapping attempt and finds herself accused of a shocking crime: the illegal laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars. Damned by lies and false "evidence," she is trapped with no place to run.

After five agonizing years, landscape painter Rand McCree has finally been offered what he desires most: the name of his twin brother's murderer. Hungry for vengeance, he accepts a job that will place him in the killer's orbit . . . and tantalizingly close to Kayla Shaw. The cold-blooded international criminal responsible for Rand's brother's death has targeted Kayla as his next victim—and only Rand can stop him from killing again.

Suspicious of each other, needing each other, they are two against the world as the violence of the past erupts in the present. And now innocence alone will not be enough to keep Kayla Shaw alive. . . .

No One Lives Forever by Jordan Dane (Avon 27 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: Nothing Is What It Seems: Born to a childhood pitted by violence, Christian Delacorte is desperate for peace when he embarks on a new life with the woman he loves, Detective Raven Mackenzie. But soon his old life comes calling—in the tempting form of a mysterious woman assassin.

When a Deadly Seductress Comes Calling: Jasmine Lee is determined to collect an old marker from Christian. He owes her—big time—and she needs his help freeing her kidnapped lover, Nicholas Charboneau—a powerful mogul linked to Chicago's underworld. Christian doesn't trust her, but Jasmine entices him to leave Raven behind when she reveals his shocking connection to Charboneau.

And a Lethal Race Against Time Begins: Christian has seven days to attempt an impossible rescue of the father he never knew. And when a woman assassin with ulterior motives makes a lousy ally, Christian is alone to face the stark reality that no one lives forever . . . and he might be the next to die.

Berkley

Final Run by David E. Meadows (Berkley 06 May 2008 / $7.99) - Book Description: In the Cold War, nuclear submarines lead the fight. But the USS Squallfish is one of the old school—as is her skipper, Captain Chad Shipley. While on a routine patrol, he is ordered to infiltrate the heart of the Soviet Northern Fleet to spy upon the enemy’s nuclear sub capabilities.

But the first Soviet nuclear sub is already under way, and has found its first prey—the Squallfish.

Hooked on Murder: A Crochet Mystery by Betty Hechtman (Berkley 06 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: When bookstore event coordinator Molly Pink stumbles across the dead body of a crochet group’s leader, her complicated past with the woman makes her a prime suspect.

But while Molly’s fending off a detective with a personal grudge and navigating the pitfalls of crochet group politics, the real killer remains at large. And it’s up to her to catch the culprit—before she winds up in a tight knot.

Perfect Poison: A Peggy Lee Garden Mystery by Joyce and Jim Lavene (Berkley 06 May 2008 / $7.99) - Product Description: Deadly duckweed! When drowned bodies start surfacing with an unusual plant caught in one of the victims’ hair, forensic botanist and detective’s widow Peggy Lee is on the case.

Pointe and Shoot (Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mysteries, No. 3) by Natalie M. Roberts (Berkley 06 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: Keeping readers on their toes: the new Jenny T. Partridge dance mystery. Studio owner Jenny needs her girls to win the Ultimate Dancer Championship—and the prize money—to expand her business. But first she’ll have to do some fancy footwork to stay alive.

Strip For Murder by Max Allan Collins (Berkley 06 May 2008 / $14.00) - Product Description: Manhattan, 1953. Hal Rapp’s Tall Paul, one of America’s most popular comic strips, is now a Broadway musical, infuriating Rapp’s long-time rival Sam Fizer, creator of the once beloved boxing strip Mug O’Malley. Adding insult to injury is the casting of Misty Winters, Fizer’s wife, as one of Rapp’s hillbilly gals. Then Fizer is found murdered––with all evidence pointing to Rapp.

Starr Syndicate has distribution deals with both cartoonists, but V.P. Jack Starr and his stepmother (and company president) Maggie believe Rapp’s been framed. Between loan sharks, jealous husbands, bitter artists, and Fizer’s widow, there are more colorful characters with murderous motives than in a month of Sunday funnies. (see review)

The Cracked Pot (Clay and Crime Mysteries, No. 2) by Melissa Glazer (Berkley 06 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: When the body of a new potter with a mysterious past is found in Carolyn Emerson’s raku firing pit, she calls upon her studio’s pottery club, The Firing Squad, to dig up evidence and crack the case.

The Ghost and the Femme Fatale (Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, No. 4) by Alice Kimberly (Berkley 06 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: The local Film Noir festival takes a dark turn when a legendary femme fatale is nearly killed. Now, bookstore owner Penelope Thornton-McClure enlists the help of Jack Shepard, P.I.—even though he and his license expired more than fifty years ago.

Capital Crime Press

Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption by Robert Fate (Capital Crime Press May 2008 / $14.95) - From back of book: When Kristin and Otis are hired to deliver the ransom for readheaded Savannah Smike, the mysterious and gorgeous piano-playing girlfriend of an Oklahoma bootlegger, they find themselves involved in more than theye bargained for. It is kill or be killed form day one. (see review)

Five Star (ME)

Murder Aboard the Choctaw Gambler (A Jancy Dewhurst Mystery) by Sharon Ervin (Five Star (ME) 16 May 2008 / $25.95) - From Publisher's website: Baffled by random killings of people once connected, Jim Wills and Jancy Dewhurst again combine their special skills - his expertise and common sense, her powers of observation - to unravel murders and attempted murders. The sorting out of suspects and motives is complicated by the couple's evolving romantic attachment and their conflicting career goals. (see review)

Harper

Black Hats: A Novel of Suspense by Patrick Culhane (Harper 01 May 2008 / $7.99) - Product Description: The world has changed around Wyatt Earp since his glory days as a lawman in the wide-open towns of the Western frontier. Now in his golden years, he's a private detective in Los Angeles—and the mistress of his late partner Doc Holliday wants him to help turn Doc's errant son away from the shady path he's chosen to walk in New York City. And there's another good reason for Earp to mount an iron horse headed for the wild, wild East: a reunion with his old friend Bat Masterson, who's traded in his shooting iron for a sportswriter's pen.

But a new breed of big city badmen roars in the '20s—organized cold-killers toting machine guns in lieu of six-shooters. And in the midst of the Jazz Age glitter, two aging, legendary enforcers could be headed for their final showdown with a brutal, hot-headed young gangster . . . named Al Capone.

Gone, But Not Forgotten by Phillip Margolin (Harper 01 May 2008 / $9.99) - Product Description: Darkness has fallen on the city of Portland, Oregon. One by one, the wives of affluent and respected men are vanishing from their homes. The only clues to their disappearance are a single black rose and a note that reads, "Gone, But Not Forgotten." It is the rebirth of a horror that has already devastated a community at the opposite end of the country—and, as it did then, terror and death will follow.

Defense attorney Betsy Tannenbaum is trapped in a nightmare as the shadows of a killer darken her world. And she will soon be risking everything she has and everyone she loves to defend a cold, powerful, and manipulating client who may be a victim . . . or a monster.

Strike Force by Dale Brown (Harper 01 May 2008 / $9.99) - Product Description:

A new era appears to be dawning in the Middle East. But the free world must be wary of old enemies . . .

Rebel Iranian General Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi is launching a coup that could destroy Iran's theocratic regime, and must turn to his old nemesis, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, for help. On presidential authority, McLanahan sends a new, top-secret fleet of XR-A9 Black Stallion spaceplanes into the fray. The strike force, capable of virtually instantaneous global reach—led by test pilot and astronaut Captain Hunter Noble—could change the course of history in the Middle East for generations to come.

But the reactivation of America's first military space station has rekindled fears of a space arms race. And with McLanahan caught in a furious political battle with those secretly working to undermine his military initiative, it falls to Noble and his dedicated space engineers to halt a growing insurgency in Iran that threatens to erupt into a devastating worldwide jihad.

The Sacred Bones by Michael Byrnes (Harper 01 May 2008 / $7.99) - Product Description: A brazen and violent crime occurs at the crossroads of the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish faiths—the shocking theft of ancient artifacts hidden for many centuries in a secret vault beneath Jerusalem's Temple Mount. In its wake, thirteen Israeli policemen and soldiers are dead—and the fuse is lit on a volatile Mideast powder keg, threatening an explosion that could devastate the world.

In Italy, American forensic scientist Charlotte Hennesey has answered a Vatican summons asking for help. Joining with Italian anthropologist Giovanni Bersei, she embarks upon a perilous journey down a twisted path of revelations prowled by sinister zealots and relentless cold killers. For they must expose the astonishing secrets locked in the ancient bones resting in a newly unearthed burial box—the skeleton of a man who lived and died in the first century; a man who was scourged and stabbed . . . and crucified.

(see review)

The Witches' Hammer by Jane Stanton Hitchcock (Harper 01 May 2008 / $7.99) - Product Description:

A respected surgeon and rare book collector is brutally murdered in his elegant Manhattan home, just hours after showing a book dealer the fifteenth-century manual of black magic—a grimoire—he'd received from a grateful patient. Now the healer's blood is everywhere—and only the priceless grimoire is missing.

The horrific death of her beloved father has shattered Beatrice O'Connell's quiet, sane, and orderly world. Only by tracking down the vanished malevolent tome—with its dark spell and salacious illustrations—can she hope to put things right. But the search is leading Beatrice, her ex-husband, and a mysterious occultist into an expanding labyrinth of powerful evils, a tangled web that reaches as far as the Vatican itself. What coveted secrets are hidden in the missing volume that threaten to turn Beatrice into precisely what her unseen and unrelenting enemies are determined to destroy?

(see review)

Ties That Bind by Phillip Margolin (Harper 01 May 2008 / $9.99) - Amazon.com: Bestselling author Phillip Margolin brings back Portland lawyer Amanda Jaffe for a repeat performance (after Wild Justice) in this mystery about a group of college killers who grow into a cadre of powerful political and business leaders bent on keeping their boyhood adventures concealed--as well as their present-day connection with a gang of cutthroat South American drug lords. There's big biotech money involved, enough to keep the so-called Vaughn Street Glee Club intent on making sure anyone who knows about their plans is silenced. Permanently, if necessary. It's up to Amanda to unmask the reason why the Glee Club is so anxious for her client Jon Dupre, the accused killer of a U.S. senator, to go down for murder. And what she learns about the lengths to which they'll go to keep their secrets, including killing members of their own family, threatens her life as well. Margolin strings a clumsy plot on a weak thread--why three affluent college boys become killers is never adequately explained--and the heroine, whose dogged perseverance is admirable, is otherwise too boring to capture the reader's interest. --Jane Adams

Up in Honey's Room by Elmore Leonard (Harper 01 May 2008 / $9.99) - Product Description: Sweet Honey Deal's not sure what compelled her to marry Walter Schoen, possibly the most boring man on Earth. So she quickly rectified the situation by leaving the dour German-born butcher to start a new life. A good thing, too, now that America's at war with Adolf Hitler and Walter's loyalty to his adopted country was always questionable. Even better, now U.S. Marshal Carl Webster wants to come up to Honey's room for an official "chat" . . . and for something more intimate, if Honey has anything to say about it.

The feds' legendary "Hot Kid," Carl's hunting two German POWs who escaped from an Oklahoma internment camp. Maybe Honey's estranged hubby knows something. Maybe Honey knows something. Maybe Carl can stay faithful to his wife. Or maybe they're all about to get tangled up—along with a sultry Ukrainian spy and her transvestite manservant—in a nutty assassination plot that can't possibly succeed . . .

(see review)

Juno Books

Blackness Tower by Lillian Stewart Carl (Juno Books 15 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: For years, Lauren Reay has experienced vivid dreams of a castle keep and a chapel overlooking the sea. Then she finds the real place: a restored 16th-century Blackness Tower on the coast of northern Scotland. Inside the tower, owned by handsome but reclusive Douglas Sutherland, she finds a 19th-century portrait of a 16th-century woman... who has Lauren's face. Blackness Tower holds strange powers and elemental presences that will change Lauren's life forever. (see review)

Killeena Publishing with RJ Communications

Rock & Roll Homicide by RJ McDonnell (Killeena Publishing with RJ Communications May 2008 / ) - Product Description: Just as the rock band, Dobermans Stub, was about to reach stadium tour status, its leader was brutally murdered when his headphones exploded during a recording session. The widow, who inherits $5 million, is the San Diego Police Departments number one suspect. She hires Jason Duffy, a 27-year-old PI and former musician, in his first year of private practice. Jason learns that the victim was in the middle of an acrimonious renegotiation with the record company at the time of his death. He also finds that the record company has a very unhealthy tie to the Russian Mafia.

As an inexperienced detective, Jason does not yet have the contacts within the police department to gather vital information. He is forced to mend fences with his estranged father, an opinionated ex-SDPD detective.

While Jason investigates the record company, he also takes a close look at the three surviving members of the victims band. One is an alcoholic/drug addict drummer, on the verge of being kicked out of the group. The second is a bass player who camouflages his rock star status by living in an ordinary house in a lower middle-class neighborhood. Third is a lead guitarist and writer of half of the bands songs, who lives well beyond his means.

Jason has not yet become hardened to the very real dangers of his new profession. We experience his inner conflict as his girlfriend, staff, and family are drawn into the danger zone.

After Jasons part-time employee is severely beaten during a stakeout, he sells the story of the Russian Mafias involvement in the record business to a tabloid journalism TV show in a misguided effort to protect his employer and coworker. This serves to drive the case to new heights of danger and suspense. Jason goes behind the industry veneer of sex & drugs & hedonistic lifestyles. He shows us how the 21st Century world of downloads, file sharing, and image demographics need to be considered in a case of Rock & Roll Homicide.

MIDNIGHT INK

Murder Talks Turkey: A Yooper Mystery by Deb Baker (MIDNIGHT INK 01 May 2008 / $13.95) - Book Description: It's spring in Michigan's Upper Peninsula — an exciting season of rising temperatures, budding romances, and the turkey-hunting opener. But for sheer adrenaline value, neither love nor turkeys can compete with the Credit Union being held up at gunpoint. It's not the best planning to commit a robbery in a town where everyone is armed for combat, and the gunman is shot dead in a room full of witnesses — but the stolen money has disappeared right in front of their eyes.

Faster than you can say "Tom Turkey," Gertie, Cora Mae, and Kitty are on the case, in this hoot of a whodunit.

NAL

Clubbed to Death: A Dead-End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets (NAL 06 May 2008 / $21.95) - Product Description: Helen Hawthorne’s latest dead-end job is in a country club’s complaint department, dealing with the gripes of the rich and spoiled. Then Rob, her deadbeat ex-husband, sails back into her life aboard the yacht of his new lady, Marcella—known as the Black Widow for her string of dead spouses. The next day Rob’s reported missing. If the Black Widow has such a murderous reputation, then why is Helen led from the club in handcuffs?

When Marcella helps Helen get released, the two form an uneasy alliance to find out what really happened. Helen’s barely begun digging when a club patron is discovered beaten to death with a golf club —his membership permanently expired. Someone got more than a little teed off and it’s up to Helen to get to the truth—without getting clubbed herself… (see review)

Putnam Juvenile

Mariah Mundi: The Midas Box by G. P. Taylor (Putnam Juvenile 29 May 2008 / $17.99) - From back of book: The Price Regent is no ordinary hotel. It's the biggest in the world, and it's carved into a cliff hanging over the sea. When Mariah starts his job as Magician's assistant, he learns that all the boys before him have vanished mysteriously. Now he's a pawn in an evil plot so full of twists and turns that even the labyrinth of hidden tunnels and caverns beneath the hotel can't contain it.(YA, ages 12 and up)

Roc

Cruel Zinc Melodies by Glen Cook (Roc 06 May 2008 / $7.99) - From back of book: In the series praised as a "lively homage to Chandler and campany (Locus)", Glen Cook's popular P.I., Garrett, uncovers the dark side of the fantasy city of TunFaire, where no one is to be trusted--especially not beautiful women.

Garret's P.I. instincts warn him that the knock on his door one winter morning means trouble. He's not wrong. His visitors are a pack of young lovelies led by his main squeeze, Tinnie Tate, and her friend ALyx Weider, the spoiled, sassy daughter of the largest brewer in town.

Alyx's father needs Garret's help. He's building TunFaire's biggest theater, but the workers are being attacked by all manner of creepy things--from giant insects to shadowy ghost. Garrett takes the case because, after all, working for the Weiders means free beer. But as Garrett will soon learn, taking a job at this theater also means serious drama. (see review)

Scholastic Press

The Calder Game by Blue Balliett (Scholastic Press 01 May 2008 / $17.99) - Product Description: When Calder Pillay travels with his father to a remote village in England, he finds a mix of mazes and mystery- including an unexpected Alexander Calder sculpture in the town square. Calder is strangely drawn to the sculpture, while others in the village have less-than-friendly feelings toward it. Both the boy and the sculpture seem out of place...and then they dissapear!!!!

Calder's friends Petra and Tommy must fly to England to help Calder's father find him. But this mystery has more twists and turns than a calder mobile caught in a fierce wind-with more at stake that meets the eye. (see review)

Signet

Criminal Minds: Killer Profile by Max Allan Collins (Signet 06 May 2008 / $6.99) - Product Description: An elite team of FBI profilers is called in to help Chicago detectives investigate a series of bizarre murders. Though all are violent and disturbing, the crimes seem unrelated—until profiler David Rossi makes the connection. He recognizes each grisly tableau as one modeled on the crime scenes of three of the country’s most notorious serial killers: David Berkowitz, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer.

Someone is taking the cult of true crime to terrifying extremes, and with so many killers left to emulate, Rossi wonders how he can possibly profile a killer who’s hiding within the killer profiles of others… (see review)

Murder Can Crash Your Party: A Desiree Shapiro Mystery by Selma Eichler (Signet 06 May 2008 / $6.99) - From back of book: Her love affair with her boyfriend, Nick, is in jeopardy, and her career is in free fall. So, when full-figured Manhattan PI Desiree Shapiro is invited to speak at a mystery writers' convention in Connecticut, she figures a few days away will do her good, and she accepts (even though the very idea of speaking in public shakes her to the roots of her glorious hennaed hair).

To Desiree's surprise, her talk is a hit. But she receives an even bigger surprsie the following morning when eccentric author Belle Simone approaches her with a truly bizarre proposition: If Desiree can solve the mystery in Belle's unpublished novel, she'll be paid $24,940. A tantalizing whodunit and an astonishing payout -- how can she possibly resist?

Desiree soon becomes engrossed in Belle's story of adultery and murder in a wealthy New York family. But there's a much larger mystery to be resolves: Why would anyone pay her such an exorbitant sum to solve a homicide that exists only on paper?

Soho Constable

Lost by Roberts Kray (Soho Constable May 2008 / $24.95) - Book Description: Little Grace Harper disappeared over twenty years ago. Has she returned? PI Harry Lind's investigation leads him into a web of deceit and betrayal.

Roberta Kray's two previous novels are The Debt and The Pact.

The Rough Collier by Pat McIntosh (Soho Constable May 2008 / $24.95) - Book Description: Gil Cunningham, a young notary, has escaped a life in the Church to become the archbishop's questioner, only to be accused of causing a man's death by witchcraft. Gil and his young wife must solve the mystery to save him.

Soho Crime

Deadly Paradise by Grace Brophy (Soho Crime May 2008 / $24.00) - Book Description: In the peaceful Umbrian village of Paradiso, the shocking murder and mutilation of an elderly German woman is barely credible. That is, until Inspector Alessandro Cenni of the State Police discovers that this retired cultural attach was not just a difficult tenant, but also a bisexual swinger with an African lover recently in residence, as well as a blackmailer. The dead woman grew up in occupied Venice, and some of her secrets may have been acquired that long ago, during World War II. And the bucolic village is not that innocent: It was the site of a famous, scandalous murder fifty years earlier.

Cenni's boss wants a scapegoat, and the young African lesbian is the obvious target, but Cenni cannot bring himself to close a case without solving the crime and bringing the actual perpetrator to justice.

Grace Brophy, a native of New Jersey, lived in Umbria for many years. She now resides in Maine. The Last Enemy, her debut novel, featuring Inspector Cenni, was published to acclaim.

The Last Enemy by Grace Brophy (Soho Crime 01 May 2008 / $13.00) - Product Description: Rita grew up in Brooklyn, the only child of a narcissistic Italian mother and the GI she married at the end of World War II. After her mother's death, she quits her teaching job and descends upon her poor but aristocratic relatives, the Count and Countess Casati, in Assisi. It takes a while before they realize, to their chagrin, that Rita has come to stay. When the family assembles to watch the penitentes procession in the town square during Easter Week, Rita does not join them as planned. Her corpse is later found in the family mausoleum.

Alessandro Cenni, a commissario in the State Police of Umbria, must penetrate the secrets of the Casati family and their circle if he is to discover who killed Rita and why. But he is blocked by their powerful right-wing connections, and by a superior who prefers to arrest a scapegoat rather than risk political suicide. Aided by a loyal staff in his quest for that rarity-justice-he still must acknowledge that no one can defeat the last enemy, death itself.

Soho Press

Silesian Station by David Downing (Soho Press May 2008 / $24.00) - Book Description: Summer, 1939. British journalist John Russell has just been granted American citizenship in exchange for agreeing to work for American intelligence when his girlfriend Effi is arrested by the Gestapo. Russell hoped his new nationality would let him safely stay in Berlin with Effi and his son, but now he's being blackmailed. To free Effi, he must agree to work for the Nazis. They know he has Soviet connections and want him to pass them false intelligence. Russell consents, but secretly offers his services to the Soviets instead-not for anything too dangerous, though, and only if they'll sneak him and Effi out of Germany if necessary.

It's a good plan, but soon things become complicated. A Jewish girl has vanished, and Russell feels compelled to search for her. A woman from his past, a communist, reappears, insisting he help her reconnect with the Soviets, who turn out to demand more than Russell hoped. Meanwhile, Europe lurches toward war, and he must follow the latest stories-to places where American espionage assignments await him.

David Downing is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children, including Zoo Station, the first novel featuring John Russell. He lives in Guildford, England.

(see review)

Zoo Station by David Downing (Soho Press 01 May 2008 / $14.00) - Product Description: By 1939, Anglo-American journalist John Russell has spent fifteen years in Berlin, where his German-born son lives. He writes human-interest pieces for British and American papers, avoiding the investigative journalism that could get him deported. But as war approaches, he faces the prospect of having to leave his son and his longtime girlfriend.

Then, an acquaintance from his communist days approaches him to do some work for the Soviets. Russell is reluctant but ultimately unable to resist. He becomes involved in other dangerous activities, helping a Jewish family and an idealistic American reporter. When the British and the Nazis notice his involvement with the Soviets, Russell is dragged into the world of warring intelligence services.

[Editor's Note: Read our review from our June 2007 issue.]

Sony Pictures

Untraceable by Gregory Hoblit (Director) (Sony Pictures 13 May 2008 / $28.95) - Product Description: UNTRACEABLE (DVD MOVIE)
SYNOPSIS: Within the FBI there exits a division dedicated to investigating and prosecuting criminals on the internet. Welcome to the front lines of the war on cybercrime, where Special Agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) and Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks) have seen it all...until now. A tech-savvy internet predator is displaying his graphic murders on his own website and the fate of each of his tormented captives is left in the hands of the public: the more hits the site gets, the faster his victims die. When this game of cat and mouse becomes personal, Marsh and her team must race against the clock to track down this technical mastermind who is virtually untraceable.

Actors: Diane Lane, Zachary Hoffman, Joseph Cross, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks

St. Martin's Minotaur

Mighty Old Bones (Thistle & Twigg Mysteries) by Mary Saums (St. Martin's Minotaur 13 May 2008 / $23.95) - Book Description: Jane Thistle and Phoebe Twigg are as different as two best friends can be. Phoebe has never seen any reason to leave her small Southern hometown, while Jane, the urbane widow of a career military officer, has traveled all over, only recently putting down roots in Tullulah, Alabama.At times, Tullulah can be a sleepy little town, but no one sleeps through the thunderstorm that knocks down a tree on Jane's property and uncovers a pile of skeletal remains buried underneath. Jane has some archaeological experience, thanks to all her travels, and knows a few experts. She invites an old friend to come down to Tullulah to have a look and catch up on old times. When tests discount their best theories and point to a far more recent death, Jane and Phoebe find themselves in the midst of some strange happenings.Mary Saums's Mighty Old Bones, the second in this delightful series, rattles Alabama with two of the newest and unlikeliest sleuths throughout the southlands. (see review)

Quiver by Peter Leonard (St. Martin's Minotaur 13 May 2008 / $24.95) - Product Description: Kate McCall's husband has been killed by her son, Luke, in a tragic bow-hunting accident. While Kate struggles with her son's surly guilt, her first love, Jack, an ex-con, reappears, along with a crew of his former "colleagues". While Jack must convince his partners in crime that he really did lose the heist money, his appearance sets into motion a series of events culminating in a life-and-death confrontation with a gang of killers.

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Tell No Lies by Julie Compton (St. Martin's Minotaur 13 May 2008 / $24.95) - Product Description: Jack Hilliard has the perfect life. A family man with two young sons and a supportive wife that he has loved since the day they met, he's also on the verge of being elected District Attorney of St. Louis. As secure at home as he is in the courtroom, he has plenty to fight for and nothing to hide.

But everything in Jack's life is not nearly as perfect as it seems, as he learns when he finally admits to being attracted to one of his old friends and colleagues, Jenny Dodson. Jack tries hard to put his feelings for her aside, but his attraction develops into an obsession that he can't control. What should have been a terrible mistake never to be repeated turns into even more when Jenny is accused of the murder of one of her clients, and Jack is her only alibi. Now Jack's in the painful and precarious position of being trapped between saving a friend and protecting his family.

The Actress by Elizabeth Sims (St. Martin's Minotaur 27 May 2008 / $24.95) - Product Description: Aspiring actress and single mother Rita Farmer has gone from struggling to find work to downright desperate. If she doesn't land a paying job soon---horror movie, soap commercial, anything---she's afraid her ex-husband will use her dire financial straits to take away Petey, her cherished four-year-old son.

While she's charming the crowd at storytime at the L.A. public library, a celebrity defense attorney approaches her with an unusual job offer: So long as she's discreet, Rita can rake in a thousand dollars a day preparing his client for her appearance in court. Easy money? Hardly. His client, Eileen Tenaway, is not only a wealthy heiress and a queen of the tabloids but she's been charged with the murder of her own child. The attorney needs Rita to coach Eileen secretly to help her seem more sympathetic, more human. He needs the jury to believe not only her words but the subtle cues of body language, facial expressions, even vocal style. Rita knows she can do it, but what she doesn't know is how determined she'll become to find out what really happened to Eileen's family---once her own life and Petey's life depend on it.<

The Triumph of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Steven Saylor (St. Martin's Minotaur 13 May 2008 / $24.95) - Product Description: The Roman civil war has come to its conclusion – Pompey is dead, Egypt is firmly under the control of Cleopatra (with the help of Rome's legions), and for the first time in many years Julius Caesar has returned to Rome itself. Appointed by the Senate as Dictator, the city abounds with rumors asserting that Caesar wishes to be made King – the first such that Rome has had in centuries. And that not all of his opposition has been crushed.

Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of 'Finder' but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar's wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. But that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead – murdered -- on her doorstep. With four successive Triumphs for Caesar's military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies -- to protect Caesar's life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar's, Gordianus agrees to help – but only to find the murderer who killed his friend. But once an investigation is begun, there's no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, and where it will end.

Viking Adult

A Voyage Round John Mortimer: A Biography of the Creator of Rumpole of the Bailey by Valerie Grove (Viking Adult 29 May 2008 / $27.95) - From back of book: Novelist, playwright, and barrister Sir John Mortimer has led an extraordinarily rich and daring life, privately and professionally, much of it in the public eye. His own writings, form the play "A Voyage Round My Father" to his wildly popular books in the Rumpole series, to his three acclaimed volumes of autobiography, and his screen play for Brideshead Revisited, have rewardedreaders and viewers with insight and humor.

Now, for the first ime, biographer Valerie Grove has been given full access to Mortimer, A Voyage Round John Mortimer traces Mortimer's legal and literary career, form his first attempts at writing novels and plays, and the early help he offered his barrister father, through his great triumphs in court, to the creation of Horace Rumpole, one of the most popular characters in contemporary fiction and television. Mortimer's personal life--including his marriages to Penelope Mortimer and to Penny II, and his many affairs--is as colorful as any fiction he's written. Correcting the many errors and half-truths found in a previous biography by Graham Lord, Valerie Grove's book is essential reading for Mortimer's many fans. (see review)

William Morrow

The Body in the Gallery: A Faith Fairchild Mystery by Katherine Hall Page (William Morrow 01 May 2008 / $23.95) - Product Description: Faith's catering business has been slow with the downturn of the economy, so when her friend Patsy Avery proposes that she take over the café at Aleford's Ganley Art Museum, it seems like a not-to-be-missed opportunity. And Patsy has an ulterior motive—she discovers that the Romare Bearden piece she lent the museum has been switched with a fake and wants Faith to snoop around to find the culprit.

Life at the museum doesn't stay calm for long and Faith is soon enmeshed in the Ganley's murky past and present as she struggles to make connections among apparently disparate items: the fake Bearden, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, and a Jane Doe corpse that turns up as an unintended part of an art installation. At home, son Ben, now in the hell known as middle school, becomes involved in a cyberbullying escapade and husband Tom wants his wife to morph into June Cleaver.

Her investigation takes Faith into Boston's art scene and historic Beacon Hill, as well as into the lives behind the façade of the Ganley's very proper board of trustees. She is at her wit's—and almost dead—end, as the killer strikes again, and again.

(see review)

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