New Releases for October 2010

Blurb: John Lowery was declared dead in 1968'the victim of a Huey crash in Vietnam, his body buried long ago in North Carolina. Four decades later, Temperance Brennan is called to the scene of a drowning in Hemmingford, Quebec. The victim appears to have died while in the midst of a bizarre sexual practice. The corpse is later identified as John Lowery. But how could Lowery have died twice, and how did an American soldier end up in Canada? 'Tempe sets off for the answer, exhuming Lowerys grave in North Carolina and taking the remains to Hawaii for reanalysis'to the headquarters of JPAC, the U.S. militarys Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command, which strives to recover Americans who have died in past conflicts. In Hawaii, Tempe is joined by her colleague and ex-lover Detective Andrew Ryan (how ex is he?) and by her daughter, who is recovering from her own tragic loss. Soon another set of remains is located, with Lowerys dog tags tangled among them. Three bodies'all identified as Lowery.
And then Tempe is contacted by Hadley Perry, Honolulus flamboyant medical examiner, who needs help identifying the remains of an adolescent boy found offshore. Was he the victim of a shark attack? Or something much more sinister?

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Nemesis by Lindsey Davis

The Monstrumologist: The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey

Blurb: While attempting to disprove that Homo vampiris, the vampire, could exist, Dr. Warthrop is asked by his former fiance to rescue her husband from the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh, which has snatched him in the Canadian wilderness. Although Warthrop also considers the Wendigo to be fictitious, he relents and rescues her husband from death and starvation, and then sees the man transform into a Wendigo. Can the doctor and Will Henry hunt down the ultimate predator, who, like the legendary vampire, is neither living nor dead, whose hunger for human flesh is never satisfied? This second book in The Monstrumologist series explores the line between myth and reality, love and hate, genius and madness.

The Domino Pattern by Timothy Zahn
Blurb: Frank Compton used to be an agent for the security forces of Earth, but that was a piece of cake compared to what hes had to deal with working for the aliens who run the Quadrail, an interstellar transportation system connecting a dozen civilizations across the galaxy.'Hes been trying to end the domination of an alien lifeform called the Modhri. This enormously powerful creature wants to rule the galaxy by controlling the thoughts of all its citizens. It does so by having parts of itself infect others on contact, and act as agents for it without them being aware theyre being manipulated. When Frank and his assistant Bayta journey to investigate a connection between the Modhri and the Filiaelians, they come up against a conspiracy on the Quadrail.'Passengers are being murdered.but something besides murder haunts the Quadrail. A plot is brewing that even the Modhri fears. And once again, Frank and Bayta may be the only ones who can stop it.
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Homecoming by Cathy Kelly

Blurb: The warm and wonderful new novel from the natural heir to Maeve Binchy Eleanor Levine left Ireland seventy years ago with little more than a suitcase and her mothers handwritten recipe book. Now, a lifetime later, shes returning from New York with hard won wisdom and memories of her own. A renowned psychoanalyst, Eleanor knows theres one final journey she has to make! Lovely young actress Megan Bouchier didnt have to chase success it arrived effortlessly. Fame was what she always wanted until a disastrous affair made her the wrong kind of headlines now Megan needs a place to hide! Darkly beautiful Rae is a wonderful wife, a loyal friend and a dedicated community carer. From Titanias Tea Rooms she dispenses tea and sympathy to everyone until a painful secret from her past threatens everything she holds dear. Big-hearted teacher Connie OCallaghan has given up on love. Shes cheerfully approaching forty and besides, why does no man ever match the heroes in her beloved romantic novels? As Eleanor re-reads her mothers comforting words and watches life unfold from her window in Dublins pretty Golden Square, she slowly becomes drawn into the lives of Megan, Rae and Connie. But can treasured wisdom handed down from mother to daughter really be relevant today? And what are the ingredients for a life well lived!?

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The Genius Wars by Catherine Jinks

Blurb: Boy-genius Cadel Piggot has a new name (Cadel Greenaius), a new family, and a new life. No more illegal hacking, no more false identities, and most of all, no more Prosper English. But when his best friend Sonja is attacked, its up to him to figure out who was behind it. Before he knows it, Cadel is crossing oceans and continents, barrelling back into the depths of the criminal activity he thought hed left behind, and coming face to face with Prosper English once again. Can Cadel track down Prosper before its too late? And what rules will he have to break in the process?

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The Seventeen Second Miracle by Jason F Wright

Blurb: From the'New York Times bestselling author of'The Wednesday Letters and'The Cross Gardener, a story of small kindnesses-and life- changing miracles. 'Seventeen seconds can change a life forever. This is what Rex Connor learned on a gorgeous summer afternoon in 1970 when he diverted his gaze for seventeen seconds and tragedy occurred. Forty years later the waves of that day still ripple through the lives of countless people, including his son, Cole. 'Cole Connor is a patient teacher, and now he has invited three struggling teenagers to visit him to learn about Rex Connor-and the Seventeen Second Miracle. Together they will learn how Rex Connor could have allowed seventeen seconds to destroy him, but instead he chose to live every day believing the smallest acts of kindness could change the world. Coles students come to understand miracles can happen-but you must participate in them. A seventeen second miracle can change a life-if you let it.

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By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham

Blurb: Peter and Rebecca Harris: mid-forties, married for nearly twenty years, committed careers in the arts he an art dealer, she an editor. With a spacious loft in Manhattan?s Soho, they are admirable, enviable contemporary urbanites, with every reason, it seems, to be happy. When Rebecca?s much younger look-alike brother, Ethan (known in the family as Mizzy, ?the mistake?), shows up for a visit. A beautiful, beguiling twenty-three-year-old with a history of drug problems, Mizzy is wayward, at a loose end and looking for direction. In his presence, Peter finds himself questioning his artists, their work, his career the entire world he has so carefully constructed. Like his legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, Michael Cunningham?s masterly new novel is a heart-breaking look at the way we live now. Full of shocks and aftershocks, it makes us think and feel deeply about the uses and meaning of beauty and the place of love in our lives.

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Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson

Blurb: The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties. Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New Yorks glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do'anything to be a star. . . .'Cordelia is searching for the father shes never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined'and more dangerous. Its a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.'The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelias brother, Charlie. But Astrids perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.'Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls fortunes will rise and fall'together and apart.

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I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Blurb: In the beginning we were nine. We left when we were very young, almost too young to remember. Almost. And now Three are gone. We are here to keep our race alive, which was almost entirely obliterated. Were just trying to survive. Six are left. But we are hunted, and the hunters wont stop until theyve killed us all. They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. I am Number Four. I know that I am next.

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Taken by Midnight by Lara Adrian

Blurb: In the frozen Alaskan wilderness, former state trooper Jenna Darrow survives an unspeakable breach of body and soul. But with her narrow escape comes an even greater challenge. For strange changes are taking place within her, as she struggles to understand'and control'a new hunger. To do so, she will seek shelter in the Boston compound of the Order, an ancient race of vampire warriors whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most mysterious of them all is Brock, a brooding, dark-eyed alpha male whose hands hold the power to comfort, heal . . . and arouse. 'As she recovers under Brock's care, Jenna finds herself drawn to the Order's mission: to stop a ruthless enemy and its army of assassins from subjecting Earth to a reign of terror. Yet in spite of their resolve, a purely physical relationship without strings soon binds Brock and Jenna together with a desire fiercer than life and stronger than death itself'until a secret from Brock's past and Jenna's own mortality challenges their forbidden love to the ultimate trial by fire.

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An Irish Country Courtship by Patrick Taylor

Blurb: Welcome to the colourful Ulster village of Ballybucklebo, where two doctors work hand in hand to mend the bodies and spirits of the town's diverse and engaging inhabitants. But who is looking after the wounded hearts of the doctors?'After less than a year, young Barry Laverty, M.B., is settling in to the village, with only a few months to go before he becomes a full partner in the practice. He's looking forward to becoming a fixture in the community, until an unexpected romantic reversal gives him second thoughts. Will he truly be happy tending to routine coughs and colds for the rest of his career? After all, even when a more challenging case comes along, like a rare tropical disease, all he can do is pass it on to a qualified specialist or big-city hospital. As much as Barry enjoys the rough and tumble of life in County Down, is running a humble GP's shop all he wants out of life?'Barry's mentor, Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly, is going through some personal upheavals as well. After mourning his deceased wife for decades, he's finally allowed a new woman into his life. But this budding courtship is not going over well with Kinky Kincaid, the doctors' redoubtable housekeeper, who fears having her position usurped by O'Reilly's new flame. Tact, diplomacy, and a fair amount of blarney may be required to restore peace to the household.'Meanwhile, life goes on in Ballybucklebo, presenting both doctors with plenty of distractions from their own troubles. From a mysterious outbreak at the local school to a complicated swindle involving an unlucky racehorse, the two partners will need all of their combined wit and compassion to put things right againjust in time for their lives to change forever.

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by Patrick Taylor

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Blurb: Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy.'Before Cheyenne realizes whats happening, their car is being stolenwith her inside!'Griffin hadn't meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffins dad'finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes'now there's a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn't know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind.'How will Cheyenne'survive this nightmare,'and if she does, at what price?

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Dreadnought by Cherie Priest

Blurb: Nurse Mercy Lynch is elbows deep in bloody laundry at a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when Clara Barton comes bearing bad news: Mercys husband has died in a POW camp. On top of that, a telegram from the west coast declares that her estranged father is gravely injured, and he wishes to see her. Mercy sets out toward the Mississippi River. Once there, shell catch a train over the Rockies and if the telegram can be believed be greeted in Washington Territory by the sheriff, who will take her to see her father in Seattle. Reaching the Mississippi is a harrowing adventure by dirigible and rail through war-torn border states. When Mercy finally arrives in St. Louis, the only Tacoma-bound train is pulled by a terrifying Union-operated steam engine called the DREADNOUGHT. Reluctantly, Mercy buys a ticket and climbs aboard. What ought to be a quiet trip turns deadly when the train is beset by bushwhackers, then vigorously attacked by a band of Rebel soldiers. The train is moving away from battle lines into the vast, unincorporated west, so Mercy cant imagine why theyre so interested. Perhaps the mysterious cargo secreted in the second and last train cars has something to do with it? Mercy is just a frustrated nurse who wants to see her father before he dies. But shell have to survive both Union intrigue and Confederate opposition if she wants to make it off the DREADNOUGHT alive.