fiction / crime

"The Crenshaw Six are a small but up-and-coming gang in South Central LA who have recently been drawn into an escalating war between rival drug cartels. To outsiders, the Crenshaw Six appear to be led by a man named Garcia. but what no one has figured out is that the gang's real leader (and secret weapon) is Garcia's girlfriend, a brilliant young woman named Lola. Lola has mastered playing the role of submissive girlfriend, and in the man's world she inhabits she is consistently underestimated. But in truth she is much, much smarter--and in many ways tougher and more ruthless--than any of the men around her, and as the gang is increasingly sucked into a world of high-stakes betrayal and brutal violence, her skills and leadership become their only hope of survival."--Provided by publisher.

"Cleveland, 2003. A young man is just a college freshman when he meets Emily. They share a passion for Edward Albee and ecstasy and fall hard and fast in love. But soon Emily has to move home to Elba, New York, and he flunks out of school and joins the army. Desperate to keep their relationship alive, they marry before he ships out to Iraq. But as an army medic, he is unprepared for the grisly reality that awaits him. His fellow soldiers smoke; they huff computer duster; they take painkillers; they watch porn. And many of them die. He and Emily try to make their long-distance marriage work, but when he returns from Iraq, his PTSD is profound, and the drugs on the street have changed. The opioid crisis is beginning to swallow up the Midwest. Soon he is hooked on heroin, and so is Emily. They attempt a normal life, but with their money drying up, he turns to the one thing he thinks he could be really good at--robbing banks"--Provided by publisher.

"It's been twenty years since Elisabeth's twin sister, Jacqueline, disappeared without a trace. At thirty Elisabeth is living in a small Alaskan town; she's in a loveless marriage and has a young daughter she loves but who reminds her too much of her long-missing sister. Elisabeth clings to the impossible belief that her sister is still alive and that they'll be reunited. Then Alfred, a stranger, arrives in town and claims to know exactly what happened to Jacqueline. He'll reveal the truth... but only if Elisabeth fulfills three requests. Requests which mean putting herself--and her family--in danger"--OCLC.

"When Julia Rodriguez and her teenage daughter, Beatriz, fled El Salvador, they escaped bloodthirsty gangs, random violence, and Julia's abusive husband. Arriving in Miami, mother and daughter struggled to carve out their own piece of the American dream. While life in the States is hard, it is safer, until Julia rejects her boss's unwanted sexual advances. Suddenly, because of an 'anonymous' tip to the United States immigration authorities, she is arrested, locked in detention, and slated for deportation. Julia's only chance is for Jack to win asylum for his client, an option that's become nearly impossible in America's politically chareged climate"--Provided by publisher.

Dr. Watson has been invited to Crain Manor, where his old friend James Crain is to hold a spiritualist gathering. During a s?ance a ghostly figure is seen, supposedly the spirit of Sybille, the first Lady Crain, who murdered her husband in the tower room, and whose appearance is said to be a sign of disaster. In an attempt to debunk the seance, James's sister Esther declares that she will sleep in the tower room--but at midnight there is a bloodcurdling scream and Esther is found dead, a look of horror on her face, and the room locked from the inside. Watson sends for Sherlock Holmes to investigate the tragic death. But it will be anything but straightforward, as there are those who do not want him to succeed.

"When a woman's body is found at the foot of a cliff near St. Denis, Bruno suspects a connection to the great ruined Ch?teau de Commarque, a long-ago Knights Templar stronghold that stands on the cliff above, and which, along with the labyrinth of prehistoric caves beneath it, continues to draw the interest of scholars. With the help of Amelie, a young Haitian newcomer to the Dordogne, Bruno learns that the dead woman was an archaeologist searching for a religious artifact of incredible importance, the discovery of which could have dramatic repercussions throughout the Middle East--not to mention in St. Denis. And the woman's ties to Islamic terrorists can only heighten the pressure on Bruno to unravel the centuries-old mystery. Meanwhile, an old flame of Bruno's is assigned to work with him on the case, and the two find time ... to enjoy the supreme pleasures of the wine, food, and beauty of the Dordogne"--.

"Isaiah Quintabe has built a proper life for himself: respected in his hometown of East Long Beach, a well-kept home, a growing library, and even a rehabilitated horse-sized pit bull. But the death of his older brother nearly a decade ago sent him down a dark path, one that he's never truly been able to escape. IQ has a lasting, troubling love for Sarita, his late brother's girlfriend. When Sarita's younger sister, an erratic DJ and gambling addict, goes missing in Las Vegas, with a frightening bookie, Chinese Triad gangsters, and her own deadbeat boyfriend hot on her tail, mayhem is sure to ensue."--Provided by publisher.

"All Denny Malone wants is to be a good cop. He is 'the King of Manhattan North,' a, highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant and the real leader of 'Da Force.' Malone and his crew are the smartest, the toughest, the quickest, the bravest, and the baddest, an elite special unit given unrestricted authority to wage war on gangs, drugs and guns. Every day and every night for the eighteen years he's spent on the Job, Malone has served on the front lines, witnessing the hurt, the dead, the victims, the perps. He's done whatever it takes to serve and protect in a city built by ambition and corruption, where no one is clean-including Malone himself. What only a few know is that Denny Malone is dirty: he and his partners have stolen millions of dollars indrugs and cash in the wake of the biggest heroin bust in the city's history. Now Malone is caught in a trap and being squeezed by the Feds..."--Amazon.com.

"Two years ago, Jane Norton crashed her car on a lonely road, killing her friend David and leaving her with amnesia. At first, everyone was sympathetic. Then they found Jane's note: I wish we were dead together. ... From that day the town turned against her. But even now Jane is filled with questions: Why were they on that road? Why was she with David? Did she really want to die? ... Most of all, she must find out who has just written her an anonymous message: 'I know what really happened. I know what you don't remember...'"--Provided by publisher.

"A resident of one of LA's toughest neighborhoods uses his blistering intellect to solve the crimes the LAPD ignores. East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the neighborhood's high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, lost children unrecovered. But someone from the neighborhood has taken it upon himself to help solve the cases the police can't or won't touch. They call him IQ. He's a loner and a high school dropout, his unassuming nature disguising a relentless determination and a fierce intelligence. He charges his clients whatever they can afford, which might be a set of tires or a homemade casserole. To get by, he's forced to take on clients that can pay. This time, it's a rap mogul whose life is in danger. As Isaiah investigates, he encounters a vengeful ex-wife, a crew of notorious cutthroats, a monstrous attack dog, and a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic. The deeper Isaiah digs, the more far reaching and dangerous the case becomes"--.