Mailbox Monday, April 4, 2011

Mailbox Monday is still on tour, with April’s spot being at Passages to the Past.

Another full mailbox with the final two PBS Box-of-Books packages I had come in. I’m very tempted to put my account on hold because there’s no way I can keep up anymore ….. but that wouldn’t be very much fun 🙂 Anyways, here’s what I got:

     The Cold War is over. And chaos is setting in. The new President of Russia is trying to create a new democratic regime. But there are strong elements within the country that are trying to stop him: the ruthless Russian mafia, the right wing nationalists, and those nefarious forces that will do whatever it takes to return Russia to the days of the Czar. Op-Center, the newly founded but highly successful crisis management team, begins a race against the clock and against the hardliners. Their task is made even more difficult by the discovery of a Russian counterpart … but this one’s controlled by those same repressive hardliners. Two rival Op-Centers, virtual mirror images of each other. But if this mirror cracks, it’ll be much more than seven years bad luck.

     Fighting for their lives aboard the hijacked submarine, ship superintendent Amy Russell and Commander Darius McCann have only one hope for survival. With the lives of millions at stake, they must play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where capture would mean certain death. On land, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Connelly and Commander Bruce Dunn are working to learn the details of the hijacking in time to stop the attack. As mass hysteria paralyzes New York City, the two investigators uncover a trail of secrets as dangerous as the silent weapon aimed at the heart of America.

     She lies in a pool of her own blood. More blood decorates one wall in macabre finger paintings. The victim is a fortune teller from the Little Saigon community of Westminster, California – a seemingly random murder. Detective Seven Bushard wonders cynically if she saw it coming. When local artist Gia Moon shows up at the precinct claiming to have had visions of another murder yet to happen, Seven doesn’t buy it. Some say Gia’s paintings give a glimpse into the next world, but all Seven knows is cold, hard evidence. But when per prediction comes true, his investigation becomes a hunt for a serial killer. But Gia is not all that she seems. A link to her past points to a lunatic whose desire to complete a bizarre collection has become an obsession. Now, Seven is locked in a game of greed and murder with a woman he can’t entirely trust, and a killer who will silence anyone who gets in the way.

     It is 1982. In the Vatican, priestly vultures gather around the dying Pope, whispering the names of possible successors. In a forgotten monastery on Ireland’s gale swept coast, a dangerous document is hidden, waiting to be claimed. And in a family chapel in Princeton, New Jersey, a nun is murdered at her prayers. Sister Valentine was an outspoken activist, a thorn in the Church’s side. When her brother, lawyer Ben Driskill, realizes the Church will never investigate her death, he sets out to find the murderer himself – and uncovers an explosive secret. The assassini. An age-old brotherhood of killers. Once they were hired by princes of the Church to protect it in dangerous times. But whose orders do they now obey?

     Shadow is the Secret Service code name for First Daughter Nora Hartson. And when White House lawyer Michael Garrick begins dating the irresistible Nora, he’s instantly spellbound, just like everyone else in her world. Then, late one night, the two witness something they were never meant to see. Now, in a world where everyone watches your ever move, Michael is suddenly ensnared in someone’s secret agenda. Trusting no one, not even Nora, he finds himself fighting for his innocence – and, ultimately, his life.

     Charlie and Oliver Caruso are brothers working at an ultra-exclusive private bank when they’re faced with an offer they can’t refuse – three million dollars in an abandoned account no one even knows exists. Almost as soon as they take the cash, a friend is killed and the bank, the Secret Service, and a female P.I. are closing in. Now the Caruso brothers are on the run and about to uncover an explosive secret that will test their trust and forever change their lives.

     Grace Hart seemed to have it all: a bright, beautiful daughter, a successful career as a judge, and a lovely home in an Ohio suburb. But beneath the placid veneer, darker truths lie waiting. Her fifteen-year-old, Jessica, is teetering on the cusp of drugs and delinquency. And someone is stalking the troubled teenager. Someone who has already violated their home and stolen their peace of mind. Now the police are involved, Grace is relieved – and worried. Is Jessica in danger from a drug dealer who wants to silence her? Detective Tony Marino is on the case. He’s too close for comfort, asking disturbing questions, probing into her long-buried past, igniting feelings Grace has tried to suppress. In Tony’s strong arms, Grace finds comfort, protection – passion – as he tries to shield them from the evil lurking just beyond their door…

     When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court dies unexpectedly, the lame-duck president is only too happy to appoint his successor, a well-liked and respected decorated Vietnam veteran – who will be the first black chief justice in U.S. history. But one of the most conservative justices on the court feels that the position should have been his, and he is hell-bent on claiming it no matter who gets in the way … or how dishonorable and shameful his tactics. As nomination-ending scandals brew in Washington, former judge Tim Quinn races to uncover the real truth. He believes in the nominee’s innocence, but his report must prove it to the SEnate Judiciary Committee – before it is too late.

     As the city sizzles under the early summer sun, New York chief assistant D.A. Butch Karp and his family are happily vacationing on Long Island’s north shore. Their reverie changes to horror when they learn that their beachfront neighbors, Rose and Ralph “Red” Heeney – a coal miners’ union leader – have been brutally murdered back hom in tiny McCullensburg, West Virginia. Irresistable force meets immovable object when the governor appoints Karp special prosecutor to bring justice to the corrupt rural town, its ruthless union boss, and his band of violent henchmen. Now, Karp finds himself not only searching for the killers, but fighting to protect his own family from an evil that runs as deep as the mines that fuel it.