Mailbox Monday is on tour, with August’s location being at Life in the Thumb.
Okay, so honestly. This is starting to be the weekly post where I hang my head in shame and admit my addiction. HOWEVER! I do have an excuse for the large amount of books that came into my house this past week! I received 12 books in all this week, 10 of which were part of a big book box trade that I had going with a friend in the Yahoo group MysteryBookSwap. So without further ado, here’s my goodies:
Part of the Big Box Trade:
Twelve bodies, twelve states. What no one knows is that the “Highway Killer” is also a gifted psychiatrist who lures his victims into a false sense of security with his miraculous ability to understand their darkest emotional secrets. He is their confessor, but he is also their executioner. When the killer writes to The New York Times, challenging famed forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger to heal him through an exchange of open letters on the front page, he opens his diabolical mind to the one man with the courage to cure him – or die trying…
the last sounds Dean Wilson hears are a clock striking twelve and a killer’s taunting words. And his death is just the first. One by one, victims are stalked and shot at close range. Only the killer knows their sins, and who will be the next to die at midnight. In the ten years since her Hollywood career imploded, Lorie Hammonds has built a good life in her Alabama hometown. When the first death threat arrives, she assumes it’s a joke. Then she gets a second note. Sheriff Mike Birkett, her high-school sweetheart, has avoided Lorie since she returned to Dunmore, but when investigators uncover her connection to a string of recent murders, he’s drawn into a case that’s terrifyingly persona. With every murder, the killer edges closer. Soon Lorie’s will be the last name left on his list. Her only hope is to unearth a deadly secret – before the clock runs out for good.
Once Irene Kelly gave up journalism for public relations. Now the sudden, brutal death of her mentor is pulling her back to the news desk. But the search for O’Connor’s killer may prove fatal for the intrepid reborn reporter. Because a savagely mutilated “Jane Doe” corpse from thirty years ago is pointing the way into a lethal maze of blood and politics. And in the blink of an eye it could be “Goodnight, Irene” … forever.
Now Rain has a new employer, the Mossad, which wants him to fix a “problem” in Manila with the aid of his new partner, Dox, whose good-ol’-boy persona masks a sniper as deadly as Rain himself. He also has a new hope: By using his talents in the service of something good, he might atone for all the lives he has taken. But when Rain’s conscience causes him to botch an assignment, he finds that he’s the Mossad’s next target…
Life in a small town can take some interesting twists – especially for E.R. physician Dr. Rhea Lynch. When the chief coroner is shot in a hail of gunfire that leaves a man dead and a teenage boy searching for clues to his missing sister, Rhea is deputized as an assistant coroner. Then a mass grave is discovered – along with a killer’s baffling clue. Although she is a doctor dedicated to saving the living, Rhea is suddenly forced to find answers from the dead. Soon her skill and courage put her back on the front lines of the battle she fights best: a race between life and death.
When Lisa Cornell, and her five-year-old daughter are killed, Wes Harding, a former classmate of Kali’s with a reputation as a troublemaker, becomes the prime suspect. Kali agrees to assist her long-time legal mentor on the case but is stunned when Harding refuses to help his own defense and won’t explain why. Kali soon discovers that Lisa Cornell harbored secrets of her own – including a mysterious link to a long-ago tragedy. Racing against time, Kali uses her wit and legal savvy to untangle one of the most complex cases of her career. But even she doesn’t suspect how close to danger she is – or how much she’ll have to risk to bring the cunning killer to justice…
Someone has infiltrated the inside ring of the Secret Service – and already made an attempt on the President’s life. Joe DeMarco, a lawyer and fixer for the Speaker of the House, is asked to investigate. As witnesses and suspects around him are murdered, DeMarco embarks on a trail that twists through the Secret Service, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security – and snakes back to one of the most enduring mysteries of the 20th century.
A killer dubbed “The Night Prowler” has turned the city that doesn’t sleep into a town kept wake by terror. Unseen, he enters couples’ homes. Unsuspected, he lingers until the perfect moment arrives. He leaves “gifts” for his victims – before taking their lives. Enter ex-homicide cop Frank Quinn, still reeling in the wake of an elaborate setup that ended his career. For Quinn, this isn’t just any job – it’s a last change to salvage his reputation. As the investigation proceeds, the murderer loses no time stalking new prey: a loan officer and her high-earning husband; a couple who make a killing in the stock market; a pretty actress and her prosperous lover. With the body count rising, it’s up to Quinn to unlock the mystery of a madman’s past and end his bloody reign. Quinn’s got his work cut out – because in a city the size of New York, any one of 8 million faces could be that of a killer – or his next target.
Terror has forever changed the life of psychiatrist Tess Ciccotelli. Someone is tormenting her patients, pushing them to commit suicide, and setting her up to take the blame. But Tess can’t break her oath to protect her patients’ privacy at all costs. Even when detective Aidan Reagan demands a list of everyone she’s treating. Even when the mounting danger threatens Tess herself. Aidan doesn’t like anyone who stalls his cases. Still, he can’t help but admire Tess’s fierce loyalty to her patients, especially when it becomes clear that a nameless, faceless enemy is set on destroying her career, her family, and finally, Tess herself. As Aidan’s heart softens, the killer’s will hardens, and one thing becomes clear – the noose is tightening around Tess’s neck.
If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later, she would still be living the beautiful lie she used to call her life. Instead, a series of seemingly inconsequential decisions unleashed a chain of events that brought a mysterious package to her door. A package that informed her that her entire world was a lie. suddenly forced to question everything she knows about herself and her family, Ridley feels as if everyone in her life is a stranger. She has no idea who’s on her side and who has something to hide – even her new lover Jake seems to have secrets of his own.
Two from another member of MysteryBookSwap:
Small-town cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has had more than her share of experience with the supernatural – but now it’s really hitting close to home. When Sookie sees her brother Jason’s eyes start to change, she knows he’s about to turn into a werepanther for the first time – a transformation he embraces more readily than most shape-shifters she knows. But her concern becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population, and Jason’s new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. Now Sookie has until the next fool moon to find out who’s behind the attacks – unless the killer decides to find her first…
It’s not every day that you come across a naked man on the side of the road. That’s why cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse doesn’t just drive on by. Turns out the poor thing hasn’t a clue who he is, but Sookie does. It’s Eric the vampire – but now he’s a kinder, gentler Eric. And a scared Eric, because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie’s investigation into who and why leads straight into a dangerous battle among witches, vampires, and werewolves. But a greater danger could be to Sookie’s heart – because this version of Eric is very difficult to resist…
Tales of a Book Addict 