Gone
by Jonathan Kellerman
Published 2006 by Ballantine Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0345452615

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

With expert pacing and a compelling, complex plot, psychologist and "New York Times" bestselling author Kellerman delivers a powerfully bold new psychological thriller.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 03/27/2006

In bestseller Kellerman's pulse-pounding 20th Alex Delaware novel (after 2005'sRage ), the Los Angeles psychologist looks into the murder of attractive 23-year-old Michaela Brand, an aspiring actress. Soon after Michaela and a fellow acting student, 24-year-old Dylan Meserve, achieve their 15 minutes of fame by staging their abduction, their hoax is exposed and Michaela turns up dead in circumstances reminiscent of her faked assault. Delaware joins forces with his sometimes official partner in crime, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, and together they pursue an investigative trail littered with corpses leading to an unconventional acting school and the family of the eccentric woman who runs it. While the murderer's identity may not be that surprising, the author's ability to convey the unrelenting sadness of his characters' lives and his deep psychological insights will satisfy those looking for more than mere thrills.(On sale Mar. 28)Correction:In the Q&A with Alice Quinn that ran in our Feb. 20 issue, the photo credit should have read Robert Falcetti.

The 5th Horseman
by James Patterson
Published 2006 by Little Brown and Company

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0316159778

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

The members of the Women's Murder Club face an unspeakable menace in this suspenseful hospital drama. As San Francisco Medical Center comes under scrutiny for unexplainable patient deaths, Lt. Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club investigate for themselves.

The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Published 2003 by Doubleday Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0385504209

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever.

THE DA VINCI CODE heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller...utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 02/03/2003

Brown's latest thriller (after Angels and Demons)is an exhaustively researched page-turner about secret religious societies, ancient coverups and savage vengeance. The action kicks off in modern-day Paris with the murder of the Louvre's chief curator, whose body is found laid out in symbolic repose at the foot of the Mona Lisa. Seizing control of the case are Sophie Neveu, a lovely French police cryptologist, and Harvard symbol expert Robert Langdon, reprising his role from Brown's last book. The two find several puzzling codes at the murder scene, all of which form a treasure map to the fabled Holy Grail. As their search moves from France to England, Neveu and Langdon are confounded by two mysterious groups-the legendary Priory of Sion, a nearly 1,000-year-old secret society whose members have included Botticelli and Isaac Newton, and the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Both have their own reasons for wanting to ensure that the Grail isn't found. Brown sometimes ladles out too much religious history at the expense of pacing, and Langdon is a hero in desperate need of more chutzpah. Still, Brown has assembled a whopper of a plot that will please both conspiracy buffs and thriller addicts. (Mar. 18)

The House
by Danielle Steel
Published 2006 by Delacorte Press

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0385338287

Find this book in our catalog.

Jacket Notes:

In a novel of daring and hope, of embracing life and taking chances, Danielle Steel brilliantly captures one woman's courageous choice to live her dreams and receive unexpected gifts in return.