The Husband
by Dean R. Koontz
Published 2006 by Bantam Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0553804790

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Jacket Notes:

In what may be his most suspenseful and heartfelt novel yet, Koontz offers the story of an ordinary man whose commitment to his wife will take him on a harrowing journey of adventure, sacrifice, and redemption to the mystery of love itself--and a showdown with the darkness that would destroy it forever.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 04/24/2006

Koontz (Forever Odd ) is likely to have himself another bestseller in this pulse-pounding thriller with echoes of Hitchcock and Cornell Woolrich. One morning, Southern California gardener Mitchell Rafferty gets a call on his cellphone from a stranger saying that Mitch's beloved wife, Holly, has been kidnapped and that he has less than three days to come up with $2 million in cash. Of course, he's warned not to involve the police. While Mitch is still on the phone, the kidnapper proves his seriousness by directing Mitch's attention to a man walking a dog across the street. A moment later the man is shot dead. Mitch must walk a fine line-cooperating with the police inquiry into this murder without revealing Holly's plight. Koontz ratchets up the tension in a manner sure to captivate most readers, though some may find the ending anticlimactic.(May 30)

Beach Road
by James Patterson
Published 2006 by Little Brown and Company

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0316159786

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Jacket Notes:

Down-and-out Montauk lawyer Tom Dunleavy's ship finally comes in when he's hired to defend a local man accused of the triple murder that has the East Hampton world in an uproar.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 03/27/2006

Bestseller Patterson shows signs of having gone to the well too often in this slapdash collaboration with de Jonge, his coauthor onThe Beach House (2002). Tom Dunleavy, a former professional basketball player and local East Hampton legend, is getting by as an underworked and unmotivated attorney. His sports glory days and his one true love are long in the past, but he gets second chances at personal and professional redemption when three locals are gunned down, apparently in the aftermath of racial tensions arising from a heated pickup game of hoops. The police seize on Dante Halleyville, the country's best high school star, as their suspect, and Dunleavy must dust off his old courtroom skills and enlist his lost love, Kate Costello, as his partner. Patterson readers know to expect a surprise ending, but he leaves too few possibilities for many to be genuinely fooled. Fans can only hope that Patterson soon returns to the level he achieved with his Alex Cross series.(May)

At Risk
by Patricia D. Cornwell
Published 2006 by Putnam Publishing Group

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0399153624

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Jacket Notes:

From America's #1 bestselling crime writer comes an electrifying new thriller with a twist. Filled with chilling suspense, rich characters, and trademark forensics, "At Risk" is Cornwell at the top of her game.

The Book of the Dead
by Douglas J. Preston
Published 2006 by Warner Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 0446576980

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Jacket Notes:

Continuing the breathtaking story begun in the "New York Times" bestseller "Dance of Death," Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child present the ultimate showdown between good and evil--set against the backdrop of an ancient Egyptian curse.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 04/24/2006

Bestsellers Preston and Child have come up with another gripping, action-packed page-turner in this concluding volume to a trilogy pitting their Holmesian hero, FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast, against his Mycroft-turned-Moriarty-his younger brother, Diogenes. Picking up shortly after the events of 2005'sDance of Death , the book opens with the arrival of a package of fine dust at the Museum of Natural History; Diogenes has returned the diamonds he stole earlier. Meanwhile, Aloysius is in prison, having been framed for a number of murders. As his friends plot to spring him, his adversary lays the groundwork for a crowning criminal achievement. A mysterious benefactor funds the restoration of an ancient Egyptian tomb at the museum, but the work is beset by the mayhem Preston and Child's readers have come to expect-gory murders and suggestions of the supernatural. This entry, tying up many loose ends from its predecessors, is less likely to work as well for first-time readers, but followers of Aloysius Pendergast's previous exploits will find it a satisfying read with a tantalizing, ominous twist at the end.10-city author tour. (June)