suspense fiction

The disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden, gnaws at her octogenarian uncle, Henrik Vanger. He is determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. He hires crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, recently at the wrong end of a libel case, to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance. Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattoed genius hacker, possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age -- and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness -- assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, an astonishing corruption at the highest ecehelon of Swedish industrialism -- and a surprising connection between themselves.

In 1921 Celena Jackson fled Fire Island after her mother's tragic death and an unfulfilled promise to teach her younger brother Joshua the gospel which her embittered father Matthew, a lighthouse keeper, refused to allow. Five years later, when Matthew suffers serious injuries and Joshua pleads for Celena's help, she returns to her childhood home with a painful tangle of emotions--and the realization that someone on the island wants her gone.

Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, at the U.S. Capitol Building to deliver a lecture, is drawn into a desperate search through the hidden tunnels and temples of Washington, D.C., when his mentor Peter Solomon, a prominent Mason and philanthropist, is kidnapped and the only clue to Solomon's whereabouts lies in an ancient invitation to a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

Widow Anne Dunne takes her three children--one who is suicidal, one who is a drug user, and one who is withdrawn--on a sailing trip hoping they can reconnect as a family, but dangerous weather and an individual who wants them dead threaten to ruin her plans.

For the five teens who modeled as Disney Hologram Imaging hosts, life is beginning to settle down when an intriguing video arrives to Philby's computer at school.

Tandy Angel moves to Paris for a fresh start with her siblings and to be reunited with James, and uncovers long-buried family secrets that threaten to destroy her life.

"Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter usually tries to avoid taking on new cases at all costs. But this time, he's happy--eager, even--to take the case that's just come his way. Andy's long-time friend Martha "Pups" Boyer takes in stray puppies that the local dog rescue center can't handle, raises them until they're old enough to adopt, and then finds good homes for them. Not everyone admires the work Pups does as much as Andy does, however. With Christmas just around the corner, one of Pups's neighbors has just reported Pups to the city for having more than the legal number of pets in her home under the local zoning laws. Andy happily takes Pups's case, and he feels confident in a positive outcome. Who could punish someone for rescuing puppies, after all, especially at Christmastime? But things get a lot more complicated when Randy Hennessey, the neighbor who registered the complaint against Pups, turns up dead. Pups had loudly and publicly threatened Hennessey after he filed his complaint, and Pups was also the one to find his body. All the evidence seems to point to Pups as the killer, and suddenly Andy has a murder case on his hands. He doesn't believe Pups could be guilty, but as he starts digging deeper into the truth behind Hennessey's murder, Andy may find himself facing a killer more dangerous than he ever imagined. "--.

"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"--.