Blackwater Sound

The Braswell family had everything people would kill for: money, looks, power. But their eldest son, the family’s shining light, died in a bizarre fishing accident. And when he disappeared-hauled into the depths by the giant marlin he had been fighting-he took with him a secret so corrupt that it could destroy the Braswells.Ten years later, a huge airliner crashes in the steamy shallows off the Florida coast, killing all aboard. Helping pull bodies from the water, Thorn finds himself drawn into a bizarre conspiracy: someone has developed a high tech weapon capable of destroying electrical systems in a powerful flash. The terrorist potential is huge. How are the secretive Braswells and their family-owned company, MicroDyne, involved? And what does it have to do with the family’s obsessive hunt for the great marlin that killed their golden boy?With the Braswells, James W. Hall introduces one of the most evil and dysfunctional families in the history of fiction. And, along with Thorn, he brings back favorite characters from his earlier books, including Alexandra Rafferty and her father, Lawton Collins, a retired and increasingly dotty former police investigator whose methods of investigation result in his kidnapping. A story that bristles with all the heat and tension of a tropical Florida summer.

Testament

Archaeologist Jack Howard races to locate the legendary Arc of the Covenant in this thrilling adventure by a New York Times–bestselling author.586 BCThe ancient world is in meltdown. In desperation the priests of the Temple look to the greatest navigators ever known to save their treasures. On a far distant shore, after a voyage more astonishing than any ever undertaken before, a Phoenician named Hanno flees for his life from a terrifying enemy, the place the prophets called the Chariot of the Gods . . .1943In the darkest days of the Second World War, Allied codebreakers play a game of life and death. For some, the stakes are even higher, a top-secret exchange of deadly materials between the Nazis and the Japanese that must be stopped at all costs. Yet even they know nothing of the ancient artifact hidden on board a ship whose fate they have just sealed . . .Present-dayMarine archaeologist Jack Howard and his friend Costas undertake one of the most perilous dives of their lives, hunting for Nazi gold. What they glimpse there, before a cataclysm that nearly destroys them, sets Jack on one of the most extraordinary trails he has ever followed—to a Phoenician shipwreck off England, to a WWII codebreaker with an amazing story to tell, to the ruins of ancient Carthage. He pieces together the truth of one of the greatest ancient voyages of discovery, one whose true purpose he could scarcely have imagined.Testament is the latest in the Jack Howard series from David Gibbins, who uses his real-world experience as an archaeologist to write thrilling historical novels.

Overture to Death

A local busybody is silenced for good in this tale by “a peerless practitioner of the slightly surreal, English-village comedy-mystery” (Kirkus Reviews).In their Dorset village, neither Miss Campanula nor her friend Miss Prentice are known as lovable little old ladies. They’re waspish, gossiping snobby little old ladies, passionate only about their amateur theatrical productions, their narrowly defined opinions about how everyone else should behave . . ..and, perhaps, about the local vicar. But could one of them have been sufficiently unpleasant to provoke a murderer? For Miss Campanula has perished on her piano bench—and it’s unclear whether Miss Prentice may have been the actual intended victim . . .”A goodie.” —Kirkus Reviews”It’s time to start comparing Christie to Marsh instead of the other way around.” —New York Magazine”In her ironic and witty hands the mystery novel can be civilized literature.” —The New York Times

No Laughing Matter

Det. Inspector Thanet investigates a country vineyard tainted by murder in this British mystery from the CWA Silver Dagger Award–winning author.Sturrenden Vineyard is a few miles west of town, a lovely piece of land where tourists come to sip wine, tour the grounds, and enjoy the exquisite Kentish scenery. But Det. Inspector Luke Thanet is too busy for such frivolous activities, so his first visit comes with the introduction of a an attraction far more in keeping with his usual interests: murder.Vineyard owner Zak Randish has been found dead in his personal laboratory, where he’d been working late into the night to perfect the next vintage. His equipment is smashed and his blood stains every surface, mingling with the wine. Although outwardly happy, successful, and at peace, Randish had terrible secrets, and Thanet must uncover them soon, lest the vineyard’s tidy rows of grapes run red with blood as red as Sturrenden wine.An “absorbing” police produral, No Laughing Matter is another sterling entry in Dorothy Simpson’s long-running, award-winning mystery series (Publishers Weekly).Praise for Dorothy Simpson”A modern-day version of Agatha Christie.” —Booklist”Dependably pleasing.” —The Boston GlobeNo Laughing Matter is the 12th book in the Inspector Thanet Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Restless in the Grave

New York Times bestseller Dana Stabenow returns with her most outstanding novel yet, teaming up two of her most beloved characters, Aleut private investigator Kate Shugak and Alaska state trooper Liam Campbell, in the same story for the first time.Alaska aviation entrepreneur Finn Grant died in the fiery crash of his Piper Super Cub. Someone sabotaged his engine, and virtually everyone in southwestern Alaska has a motive, including his betrayed wife, his bullied children, and Liam’s wife, bush pilot Wyanet Chouinard. With few places to turn, Liam asks his former mentor Niniltna post commander Sergeant Jim Chopin, for help, and Jim quickly brings Kate onto the case.Working undercover as—of all things—a waitress at Bill’s Bar and Grill, Kate learns over beer and burgers that Grant’s business had expanded meteorically over the last two years. After buying the closed Air Force base south of town from the federal government at a bargain-basement price, he became a fixed-base operator running his fishing, hunting, and flight-seeing business, servicing planes flying through the area, and most interestingly and lucratively, getting into the air freight business. But what kind of freight was he moving, and where?The answers involve Kate in her most challenging case to date, one that starts with murder and quickly sprawls into a much larger conspiracy ranging from the darkest family secrets to treason and beyond. Restless in the Grave is a treat for fans and another outstanding addition to Dana Stabenow’s acclaimed and award-winning series.