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Places in the Dark (Ulverscroft Large Print Ser.)
by Thomas H. CookIn Autumn 1937 a mysterious woman appears in Port Alma, nestled on the chilly coast of Maine. Dora March's does not like to talk about her background, but she soon settles into Port Alma, winning friends and admirers, particularly the brothers Cal and Billy Chase. Yet within a year she flees the town on the same bus she arrived on, leaving Billy dead, and Cal in pursuit of the woman who has apparently killed his brother. Thomas H. Cook has established a huge reputation for his unique crime novels, and Places in the Dark will further cement his standing as a master of the form.
Red Leaves
by Thomas H. CookA father questions whether his son could be guilty of a terrible crime in this &“gripping, beautifully written [and] devastating&” thriller (Harlan Coben). Eric Moore has reason to be happy. He has a prosperous business, comfortable home, and stable family life in a quiet town. Then, on an ordinary night, his teenage son, Keith, is asked to babysit Amy Giordano, the eight-year-old daughter of a neighboring family. The next morning Amy is missing. Suddenly Eric is one of the stricken parents he has seen on television, professing faith in his child&’s innocence. As the police investigation increasingly focuses on Keith, Eric must counsel his son, find him a lawyer, and protect him from the community&’s steadily growing suspicion. Except that Eric is not so sure his son is innocent. And if Keith is not . . . and might do the same thing again . . . what then should a father do? Nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel, and winner of a Barry Award for Best Novel, Red Leaves is a &“heart-wrenching and gut-wrenching&” story of broken trust and one man&’s heroic effort to hold fast the ties that bind him to everything he loves (New York Daily News). &“The totally unexpected resolution is both shocking and perfectly apt.&” —Publishers Weekly
Sacrificial Ground (The Frank Clemons Mysteries #1)
by Thomas H. CookEdgar Award Finalist: A troubled cop obsessively searches for a young girl&’s killer. The young girl lies in a ditch without a scratch on her—a white high school student stretched out dead in the black part of Atlanta. She was a rich girl from a cold family, too genteel for the neighborhood where she died, and only the baby in her belly suggests how she might have gotten there. For Detective Frank Clemons, the scene is far too familiar. Too close to how it was when he found his own daughter, dead in the woods by her own hand, her youthful beauty cruelly ravaged by depression. Her suicide ended his marriage and sent him on a downward spiral that has nearly claimed his own life. To hang on to sanity, he must do everything he can to find justice for the dead. Sacrificial Ground is the first book in the Frank Clemons Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Streets of Fire (Mysterious Press-highbridge Audio Classics Ser.)
by Thomas H. CookAt the height of the Civil Rights movement, a young girl&’s murder stirs racial tensions in Birmingham, Alabama The grave on the football field is shallow, and easy to spot from a distance. It would have been found sooner, had most of the residents in the black half of Birmingham not been downtown, marching, singing, and being arrested alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. Police detective Ben Wellman is among them when he gets the call about the fresh grave. Under the loosely packed dirt, he finds a young black girl, her innocence taken and her life along with it. His sergeant orders Wellman to investigate, but instructs him not to try too hard. In the summer of 1963, Birmingham is tense enough without a manhunt for the killers of a black child. Wellman digs for the truth in spite of skepticism from the black community and scorn from his fellow officers. What he finds is a secret that men from both sides of town would prefer stayed buried.
TABERNACLE
by Thomas H. CookHe kills according to the will of God. He believes in the mission that God has made manifest to him: to restore the sanctity of the Mormon Church. The means to this purification will be multiple murder. The streets of Salt Lake City run straight and clean. The Mormons, God's chosen people on Earth, are upright and moral. Nestled between the Great Salt Lake and the Blue Mountains, the Mormons have built up a City of God, dedicated to God and to the faith that His revealed Word will prevail. But among the citizens of Salt Lake there is one man not content to rest on faith, one man who is moved to act on it. And he acts without qualm or question or mercy. Against this killer stands Detective Tom Jackson of the Salt Lake police. Jackson, originally a New York City cop, is an outsider in a city of insiders, a man searching for his lost ideals as well as for an insane killer. He must cut through official ineptitude, blindness, and cover-up to get to the shattering truth at the center of the Tabernacle, at the dark heart of the Mormon faith.
Taken
by Thomas H. CookThomas H. Cook is an award winner of Edgar Award for best novel. TAKEN is a war book during the World War II, where Russell keys, an air force pilot is saved by a mystery phenomenon, whereas another man, Owen Crawford, is drawn to a bizzare crash into a government cover-up.
The Chatham School Affair
by Thomas H. CookWhat drove a woman to murder in 1920s New England? “Few readers will be prepared for the surprise that awaits at novel’s end” in this Edgar Award–winning novel (Publishers Weekly, starred review).It was referred to as the Chatham School affair—a tragic event that destroyed five lives, shook a coastal Massachusetts community to its core, and traumatized a boy named Henry Griswald. Now Henry is an aged, unmarried lawyer, and as he writes his will, he recalls that long-ago day in 1926 when something drove his teacher to murder—and contemplates the role he played in it all . . .“Cook is a master, precise and merciless, at showing the slow-motion shattering of families and relationships . . . The Chatham School Affair ranks with his best.” —Chicago Tribune“Such a seductive book.” —The New York Times Book Review“Like the best of his crime-writing colleagues, Cook uses the genre to open a window onto the human condition . . . [a] literate, compelling novel.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Chatham School Affair: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookAttorney Henry Griswald has a secret: the truth behind the tragic events the world knew as the Chatham School Affair, the controversial tragedy that destroyed five lives, shattered a quiet community, and forever scarred the young boy. <P><P> Layer by layer, in The Chatham School Affair, Cook paints a stunning portrait of a woman, a school, and a town in which passionate violence seems impossible...and inevitable.<P> Edgar Allen Poe Award Winner
The Chatham School Affair: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookAn Edgar Award-winning novel. As he draws up his will, Attorney Henry Griswald is haunted by a long-buried secret: the truth behind the event the world knew as the Chatham School Affair, a controversial tragedy that destroyed five lives, shattered a quiet community, and forever scarred the young boy. Layer by layer, Cook paints a portrait of a woman, a school, and a town in which passionate violence seems impossible... and inevitable.
The City When It Rains: A Mystery (Mysterious Press-highbridge Audio Classics Ser.)
by Thomas H. CookA photographer struggles to understand a stranger&’s suicideThere&’s nothing special about the woman&’s death. It comes over the police radio like any other sad story: a woman found on the sidewalk, killed after plunging from her apartment. But something about the gruesome scene grabs David Corman&’s attention. A freelance photographer with a defunct marriage and a career on the skids, he fixates on this mysterious death. Though near starvation, the woman had been buying formula to feed to a baby doll. Before she leapt, she tossed the plastic child out the window. David photographs the dead woman and her pretend child; although he&’s jaded, the strange scene stirs his compassion, and he begins researching her past. He&’s convinced that his job has shown him the worst the city has to offer. But learning the truth behind this futile suicide will teach David that New York is even uglier than he imagined.
The Cloud of Unknowing
by Thomas H. CookA &“gripping&” mystery revolving around a family tragedy, and a woman who may or may not be descending into madness, by the Edgar Award–winning author (Entertainment Weekly). David Sears grew up terrorized by the ravings of his schizophrenic father, a frustrated literary genius who openly preferred David&’s sister, Diana, for her superior intelligence. When the old man died, David thought the madness had finally left with him. But the Sears family was not through with its troubles. The drowning of Diana&’s mentally ill son was ruled a tragic &“misadventure,&” but she believes other factors were at play. After hastily divorcing her husband, she sets out to prove his guilt. Her increasingly manic behavior is becoming hard for David to ignore. He finds himself afraid for his own family&’s safety—and must choose his words carefully when answering the detective . . . Thomas H. Cook explores the power of blood to define us, bind us, and sometimes destroy us, in a novel of &“consuming suspense almost too concentrated to bear&” (Daily News, New York). &“So spare and precise, it feels as if it has been chiseled in stone with something like a surgical instrument.&” —Joyce Carol Oates &“What&’s at stake isn&’t so much the resolution of a mystery as the integrity of a family.&” —Time Out New York &“[An] unusual, chilling mystery . . . Cook reveals all the pieces of the shocking story with an absolutely steady hand.&” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Cloud of Unknowing: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookA &“gripping&” mystery revolving around a family tragedy, and a woman who may or may not be descending into madness (Entertainment Weekly). David Sears grew up terrorized by the ravings of his schizophrenic father, a frustrated literary genius who openly preferred David&’s sister Diana for her superior intelligence. When the Old Man died, David thought the madness had finally died with him. But the Sears family was not through with its troubles. The drowning of Diana&’s mentally ill son has been ruled a tragic &“misadventure,&” a conclusion she refuses to accept. After hastily divorcing her husband, she sets out to prove his culpability. Her increasingly manic behavior is becoming hard for David to ignore. He finds himself afraid for his own family&’s safety—and choosing his words carefully when answering the detective. Edgar Award–winning author Thomas H. Cook explores the power of blood to define us, bind us, and sometimes destroy us, in a novel of &“consuming suspense almost too concentrated to bear&” (New York Daily News). &“So spare and precise, it feels as if it has been chiseled in stone with something like a surgical instrument.&” —Joyce Carol Oates &“What&’s at stake isn&’t so much the resolution of a mystery as the integrity of a family.&” —Time Out New York
The Crime of Julian Wells: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookWith THE CRIME OF JULIAN WELLS, Thomas H. Cook, one of America's most acclaimed suspense writers, has written a novel in the grand tradition of the twisty, cerebral thriller. Like Eric Ambler's A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS and Graham Greene's THE THIRD MAN, it is a mystery of identity, or assumed identity, a journey into the maze of a mysterious life.When famed true-crime writer Julian Wells' body if found in a boat drifting on a Montauk pond, the question is not how he died, but why?The death is obviously a suicide. But why would Julian Wells have taken his own life? And was this his only crime? These are the questions that first intrigue and then obsess Philip Anders, Wells' best friend and the chief defender of both his moral and his literary legacies.Anders' increasingly passionate and dangerous quest to answer these questions becomes a journey into a haunted life, one marked by travel, learning, achievement and adventure, a life that should have been celebrated, but whose lonely end points to terrors still unknown.Spanning four decades and traversing three continents, THE CRIME OF JULIAN WELLS is a journey into one man's heart of darkness than ends in a blaze of light.
The Crime of Julian Wells: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookA renowned true-crime writer&’s suicide opens up a continent-crossing mystery in this Edgar Award–winning author&’s &“spellbinding thriller&” (Publishers Weekly). When the body of true-crime writer Julian Wells is found in a boat drifting on a Montauk pond, the question is not how he died, but why? Philip Anders, Wells&’s best friend and literary executor, vows to find out what drove the enigmatic author to take his own life. The first clue is a map of Argentina that Wells had been examining on the day he died. Years ago, he and Anders made a fateful trip to Buenos Aires, where they met their tour guide, Marisol. Her subsequent disappearance during Argentina&’s Dirty War haunted the author. Had he discovered some new clue to her tragic fate? Was he planning to return to South America? And what, if anything, does Marisol&’s disappearance have to do with the curious dedication in Wells&’s first book: For Philip, sole witness to my crime? Anders soon finds himself on a journey into his friend&’s haunted, secret life. Spanning four decades and traversing three continents, The Crime of Julian Wells is a tour-de-force from one of America&’s most acclaimed suspense novelists. &“Intelligent and elegant.&” —The Wall Street Journal &“[A] striking example of a suspense writer working at the top of his form, and an agreeable diversion for those who enjoy a bit of style with their substance . . . Cook&’s characterizations are richly balanced and finely nuanced.&” —Los Angeles Times
The Fate of Katherine Carr: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookAn &“eerily poignant novel&” about a grieving father and a cold-case mystery, from an Edgar Award winner (PublishersWeekly, starred review). George Gates used to be a travel writer who specialized in places where people disappeared—Judge Crater, the Lost Colony. Then his eight-year-old son was murdered, the killer never found, and Gates gave up disappearance. Now he writes stories of redemptive triviality about flower festivals and local celebrities for the town paper, and spends his evenings haunted by the image of his son&’s last day. Enter Arlo McBride, a retired missing-persons detective still obsessed with the unsolved case of Katherine Carr. When he gives Gates the story she left behind—a story of a man stalking a woman named Katherine Carr—Gates too is drawn inexorably into a search for the missing author&’s brief life and uncertain fate. And as he goes deeper, he begins to suspect that her tale holds the key not only to her fate, but to his own. &“Every Thomas H. Cook novel is a subtle mind game, but The Fate of Katherine Carr is positively haunting.&” —The New York Times Book Review &“Disturbing, psychologically complex . . . At each level, the novel ponders questions of good and evil, of guilt and retribution, and the power of storytelling itself.&” —Associated Press
The Fate of Katherine Carr: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookA Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year: After years of grief and rage, a man finds new purpose in investigating a woman’s unsolved disappearance. George Gates’s little boy was killed seven years ago and he has yet to find the cold comfort of seeing someone pay for the crime. Once a world-traveling writer, he now toils away at a local newspaper, quietly seething and plotting imaginary vengeance against the unknown murderer.Then, during a conversation with the now-retired detective who worked his son’s case, he learns about a poet named Katherine Carr who disappeared twenty years earlier, leaving writings behind that may or may not contain useful clues. As he grows obsessed with the mystery, he’s assigned to interview an orphan with a rare fatal disease, and the two become an unlikely team in their quest to learn the fate of Katherine Carr, in this emotionally compelling novel by a “master” and winner of the prestigious Edgar Award (Chicago Tribune). “[An] eerily poignant novel.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Every Thomas H. Cook novel is a subtle mind game, but The Fate of Katherine Carr is positively haunting.” —The New York Times Book Review“As much an investigation into character as it is a cold-case mystery.” —Booklist“Disturbing, psychologically complex . . . At each level, the novel ponders questions of good and evil, of guilt and retribution, and the power of storytelling itself.” —Associated Press
The Interrogation
by Thomas H. CookEveryone has a breaking point . . . “Probably no other suspense writer takes readers as deeply into the heart of darkness as Cook.” —Chicago TribuneThere are no witnesses nor evidence to link him to the crime, but the police are sure that vagrant Albert Jay Smalls killed a child. Their interviews have led nowhere, but now—with a 6:00 a.m. deadline looming at which he must be released from custody—they will try one more interrogation. Detective Pierce, whose own daughter’s death has left a hole in his heart, and Detective Cohen, still broken from what he saw in World War II, will look into the abyss of Smalls’s troubled mind in a frantic last-ditch effort to extract a confession. Their effort will bring answers they never expected—and blur the line between innocence and guilt . . .“Cook adroitly weaves back and forth between the crime itself, the subsequent investigation and the halting questioning of the suspect. More compelling, however, is his portrayal of how the crime affects Pierce and Cohen, as well as several secondary characters . . . Down to the cleverly hatched, melancholy ending, Cook again takes readers down a dark, treacherous road into the heart of human fallibility and struggle.” —Publishers Weekly“[An] irresistible premise.” —Kirkus Reviews“Well-plotted . . . The psychic pain of these characters is piercing.” —The New York Times Book Review
The Interrogation: Blood Hunt; The Interrogation; The Road To Gandolfo; Hell To Pay; Sunset Express
by Thomas H. CookAlbert Jay Smalls sits in an interrogation room accused of an unspeakable murder. The police have no witnesses, no physical evidence, and less than twelve hours to prove him guilty. Now, Smalls will be put through one final interrogation. It is a search that leads into the shadowed recesses of one man's shattered mind -- and to the devastating secrets buried in a desolate town. It is a quest that takes three desperate cops down a dark, twisting road as they race against the clock to find out what really happened one rainy afternoon in 1952. The answers will be more shocking than anyone can imagine, blurring the boundaries between pursuers and prey, the guilty and the innocent, the truth that sets us free and the tragedies that haunt us to the grave. A white-hot novel that shimmers in its intensity, stunning in its execution, shocking in its conclusion, The Interrogation gives us a pitch-perfect race against time no reader will ever forget.
The Last Talk with Lola Faye: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookA “marvelously tense” novel of psychological suspense centered on a long-ago crime of passion, from an Edgar Award–winning author (Publishers Weekly, starred review).With dreams of academic greatness, Lucas Paige rose from humble and sordid beginnings to attend Harvard. But his achievements since then have been meager. Arriving in St. Louis to give yet another sparsely attended reading, he happens upon a face from the past he’s tried to forget: Lola Faye Gilroy, the “other woman” he long blamed for his father’s murder.Reluctantly, Luke joins Lola Faye for a drink. As one drink turns into several, these two battered souls relive, from their different perspectives, the most searing experience of their lives. They are transported back to the tiny southern town of Glenville, Alabama, where a violent crime of passion is brought to light once more. As it happens, there is much Luke doesn’t know. And what he doesn’t know can hurt him. Trapped in an increasingly intense exchange, Luke struggles to gain control and determine what Lola Faye is truly after—before it’s too late.This “darkly powerful” (Kirkus Reviews) literary thriller, rich with Southern atmosphere, is “a knockout” (People).“Cook continues his work as one of the best fiction writers in America.” —The Plain Dealer
The Last Talk with Lola Faye: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookA &“marvelously tense&” novel of psychological suspense centered on a long-ago crime of passion, from an Edgar Award–winning author (Publishers Weekly, starred review). With dreams of academic greatness, Lucas Paige rose from humble and sordid beginnings to attend Harvard. But his achievements since then have been meager. In St. Louis to give yet another sparsely attended reading, he discovers a face from the past he&’s tried to forget: Lola Faye Gilroy, the &“other woman&” he long blamed for his father&’s murder. Reluctantly, Luke joins Lola Faye for a drink. As one drink turns into several, these two battered souls relive, from their different perspectives, the most searing experience of their lives. They are transported back to the tiny southern town of Glenville, Alabama, where a violent crime of passion is turned in the light once more. As it turns out, there is much Luke doesn&’t know. And what he doesn&’t know can hurt him. Trapped in an increasingly intense exchange, Luke struggles to gain control and determine what Lola Faye is truly after—before it is too late. This &“darkly powerful&” (Kirkus Reviews) literary thriller, rich with Southern atmosphere, is &“a knockout&” (People). &“Cook continues his work as one of the best fiction writers in America.&” —The Plain Dealer
The Orchids
by Thomas H. CookAs the world closes in around them, two Nazis hide out in a tropical paradiseThe servants sense something strange about the two old men. They are not sure what business Dr. Langhof and Dr. Ludtz have in El Caliz, but they are certain that whatever they do in their colonial mansion is the work of the devil. Although they do not know the specifics of the two men&’s crimes, the servants are right to suspect something sinister. The men are Nazis, fugitives from international law who fled to this South American haven in the chaotic days after World War II. Langhof brought with him a cache of stolen diamonds, with which he bought their safety from the small nation&’s corrupt president. He passes his days cultivating a stunning greenhouse full of orchids, and meditating on the evil acts that fill his past. For now they are safe, but fate has many ways of dealing out justice.
The Quest for Anna Klein
by Thomas H. CookOn the eve of WWII, a wealthy young New Yorker is drawn into an international plot by an alluring and dangerous woman: “Captivating.” —Kirkus ReviewsIt’s 1939 and the world is on the brink of war, but Thomas Danforth is in New York City living a charmed life. The well-traveled son of a wealthy importer, he’s in his twenties and running the family business, looking forward to a bright future. Then, during a dark, snowy walk along Gramercy Park, a friend makes a fateful request—and involves Thomas in a dangerous plot that could change the fates of millions.Thomas is asked to open up his secluded Connecticut mansion to a mysterious woman who will receive training in firearms and explosives. Thus begins an international scheme carried out by the captivating Anna Klein which will ensnare Thomas in more ways than one. When it all goes wrong and Anna disappears, he will travel far from home once again, but this time, into a war-torn world that is much more dangerous, in this story by an Edgar Award–winning author known for his “piercing thrillers” (Daily News, New York).“No other suspense writer takes readers as deeply into the heart of darkness as Thomas H. Cook.” —Chicago Tribune“Laced with dozens of intriguing historical anecdotes.” —Kirkus Reviews“Cook’s work is elegant, philosophical, and literary. This book is to be treasured, and is bound to earn him new readers. Grade A.” —The Plain Dealer
The Quest for Anna Klein: A Novel
by Thomas H. CookOn the eve of WWII, an international plot leads to a deadly obsession: &“Nobody tells a story better than Thomas H. Cook&” (Michael Connelly, New York Times–bestselling author of Two Kinds of Truth). It&’s 1939 and the world is on the brink of war, but Thomas Danforth is in New York City living a fortunate life. The well-traveled son of a wealthy importer, he&’s in his twenties and running the family business, looking forward to a bright future. Then, during a snowy evening walk along Gramercy Park, a friend makes a fateful request—and involves Thomas in a dangerous idea that could change the fates of millions. Thomas is to provide access to his secluded Connecticut mansion, where a mysterious woman will receive training in firearms and explosives. Thus begins an international plot carried out by the strange and alluring Anna Klein—a plot that will ensnare Thomas in more ways than one. When it all goes wrong and Anna disappears, he will travel far from home once again, but this time, into a war-torn world that is far more dangerous, in this story by an Edgar Award–winning author known for his &“piercing thrillers&” (New York Daily News). &“No other suspense writer takes readers as deeply into the heart of darkness as Thomas H. Cook.&” —Chicago Tribune
What's in a Name? (Bibliomysteries #13)
by Thomas H. CookFive decades after war&’s end, a rare-books dealer receives a strange visitor. The guns went silent on November 11, 1918, never to fire again. Throughout the 1920s, unrest seethed across Europe, and Fascists battled Communists in the streets of Berlin, but democracy won out. For years, peace has prevailed around the world. But there is a part of Franklin Altman that misses the war. A rare-books dealer living in New York City, Altman has devoted his life to studying the history of the Weimar Republic, when all of Europe hung in the balance and it seemed it would take but a single spark to set the world ablaze. Why did that spark never come? Altman is musing on these questions one evening when a man comes into his shop. An aged German veteran with a limp and the faint shakes of Parkinson&’s, he is about to teach Altman that in history, the devil is in the details.The Bibliomysteries are a series of short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors.
Root From Infertile Ground
by Thomas H. ReedJodie's whole purpose in life was to nurture abused youngster back to physical and emotional health. There was only one problem with Jodie's aim; she had a tendency to allow her heart to become involved with each new ward. But a quick glimpse into Jodie's own battered background, will help to understand why she perceives the abuse of homeless children as a very personal injury. After escaping the abusive clutches of her foster mother, Jodie learned to survive on the streets, an existence that came near destroying her mentally and physically. After surviving a stabbing from a ruthless mercenary leader in an isolated desert camp. Jodie discovers she has acquired an invisible companion in the form of a voice that taunts her. But strangely enough she realizes the "voice" is trying to goad her into making decisions for herself that will keep her alive and moving in the right direction. And it was working for her. With help from her invisible friend, Jodie is determined to survive long enough to seek revenge on the group who tried to kill her, and had killed several other teenage girls. After destroying a compound that, unknown to Jodie, had a huge basement filled to overflowing with drugs and explosives, and maybe even a safe full of cash, she makes some powerful enemies whose foremost goal is to kill her or die trying. But Jodie surprises even the toughest of her enemies when she suddenly turns combatant and becomes their very worst nightmare.