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Asian Crucible
by Don PendletonAfter a man appears in Thailand, claiming to have been a prisoner of war in Vietnam for the past twenty-two years, the United States finds itself near the brink of another war in southeast Asia. But, before the president makes any decisions, he calls on Stony Man Farm to investigate. Mack Bolan is then sent to Thailand to discover the truth. What he uncovers are corrupt CIA agents and a money-hungry crime syndicate. Violence. 209th novel in the "Executioner" series, 1996.
Armed Force
by Don PendletonMack Bolan is on the trail of a diabolical illegal arms dealer who has a far more sinister plan than just to provide arms to terrorist groups throughout the world. Violence. 197th novel in the "Executioner" series, 1995.
The Angel Maker (Boldt / Matthews #2)
by Ridley PearsonPotent blend of medical thriller and police procedural that resurrects the cop-hero of Pearson's Undercurrents (1988) and pits him against--of all things--a maniacal veterinarian. Lou Boldt has been off the Seattle force for two years, tending his infant son and playing jazz piano at a local dive, but his extraordinary empathy for murder victims won't let him refuse the request of police shrink and ex-lover Daphne Matthews (whose throat was slashed in Undercurrents) to help with her new case--a series of street kids found dead and missing a kidney, liver, or lung. Immediately suspecting that a transplant surgeon is "harvesting" the organs and selling them at great profit, Boldt rejoins the SPD and pushes for advice from the medical examiner. The narrative bristles with the sort of forensic detail that informed Undercurrents. Meanwhile, Pearson bares his villain- - sociopathic society vet Elden Tegg--as we see him snatching social-worker Sharon Shaffer with an eye to selling her heart to a mobster whose wife is dying from heart disease. Unlike Undercurrents, then, where suspense derived from "whodunit," the tension here is strictly--and tightly--time-wound: Can Boldt i.d. the killer and rescue Sharon--or can Sharon herself escape from the remote dog kennel where Tegg's imprisoned her, naked and terrified- -before the vet wields his scalpel? Thriller fans will note that this setup strongly echoes Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs--but Pearson matches Harris's pace as the hours tick down, marking off twists (a hiker chancing on the kennel) and hot suspense sequences (a pawnshop sting to break into Tegg's computer) until the cathartic, brutal climax. Exceptionally gripping and full of amazing forensic lore (e.g., that Band-Aids emit low-level radioactivity from being sterilized): a top-flight offering from an author who's clearly found his groove.
The Alternate
by John S. MartelIs there room in the overcrowded arena of the legal thriller for yet another major player? If that new arrival happens to be blessed with the real-life experience of San Francisco trial lawyer John Martel, the answer is a heartfelt yes. Martel advised the Los Angeles District Attorney's office on the Menendez Brothers retrial and the O.J. Simpson case (proving even a pro can't win them all). He has been called one of the top 10 trial lawyers in America by the National Law Journal . Best of all, he can write compelling scenes that take place both in and out of court, and can create characters who rise above their genre origins to become real people. Elliot Ashford, a millionaire congressman, is forced to resign because of a sex scandal. When he's charged with the brutal murder of his wife, Lara, assistant district attorney Grace Harris seems to have everything she needs to make a strong case for the prosecution. She also has ambitions that could propel her career up several notches. Then some key DNA evidence mysteriously disappears, and Grace's chief adversary--a former defense superstar named Barrett Dickson--appears ready for a comeback. But neither side is prepared for the barrage of political infighting, dirty tricks, and mysterious malevolence from inside the jury room. Three more murders and two trials later, you'll emerge from The Alternate with strong doubts about the legal system--but a feeling of certainty that John Martel has a future as a novelist.
At All Costs
by John GilstrapJack and Carolyn Donovan stand accused of massacring 16 people and touching off one of the country's worst environmental catastrophes. Although innocent, they have the power to bring down a top law enforcement official. With their young son Travis, they have eluded capture for 13 years and have remained at the top of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. Constantly moving from place to place, the strain of being on the run is finally taking its toll on the family. When they are driven from their last hiding place, the Donovons are forced to fight back--risking death to regain their lives and their freedom. (Page numbers included.)
Moll Flanders
by Daniel DefoeMoll Flanders, Defoe's 18th Century classic novel, was "marketed" in its day in much the same way that a modern commercial novel might be - its title page promised the racy details of a woman's life spent in thievery and whoredom. The book is much more than this; it is a Puritan tale of sin, repentance, conversion, and redemption. It is also seen by many critics as a satirical and ironic picaresque novel with a twist (that being its female protagonist). On yet another level, it is a playful and beguiling social commentary set between the Puritan age (which saw humankind as fallen) and the Age of Reason in which humankind was seen as born innocent and good and corrupted by society. Taking center stage in this whorl of irony, humor, pathos, and religious faith is one Moll Flanders - both the most plausible sinner and the most pious repentant in English literature; arguably the most notorious heroine in the canon of fiction in the English language. She is as controversial today as when she first appeared in 1722.