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Darker After Midnight

A Midnight Breed Novel Lunatics Vulture Peak The Look of Love
by Stuart Woods
Adrian, Lara. Darker After Midnight: A Midnight Breed Novel. Delacorte. Jan. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780345530875. $24; eISBN 9780345529299. PARANORMAL ROMANCE Barry, Dave & Alan Zweibel. Lunatics. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780399158698. $25.95. POP FICTION Burdett, John. Vulture Peak. Knopf. Jan. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9780307272676. $25.95; eISBN 9780307596581. THRILLER Clark, Mary Jane. The Look of Love: A Piper Donovan Mystery. Morrow. Jan. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780061995569. $24.99. lrg. prnt. MYSTERY Cook, Robin. Death Benefit. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 416p. ISBN 9780399157462. $26.95. CD: Penguin Audio. THRILLER Cornwell, Bernard. Death of Kings. Harper: HarperCollins. Jan. 2012. 336p. ISBN 9780061969652. $25.99. lrg. prnt. HISTORICAL Crais, Robert. Taken. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 320p. ISBN 9780399158278. $26.95. THRILLER George, Elizabeth. Believing the Lie: An Inspector Lynley Novel. Dutton. Jan. 2012. 624p. ISBN 9780525952589. $29.95. CD: Penguin Audio. THRILLER Griffin, W.E.B. & William E. Butterworth IV. Covert Warriors: A Presidential Agent Novel. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 512p. ISBN 9780399157806. $27.95. CD: Penguin Audio. THRILLER Grippando, James. Need You Now. Harper: HarperCollins. Jan. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780061840302. $25.99. lrg. prnt. THRILLER Higgins, Jack. A Devil Is Waiting. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780399158094. $26.95. THRILLER Iggulden, Conn. Conqueror: A Novel of Kublai Khan. Delacorte. Jan. 2012. 432p. ISBN 9780385343053. $27; eISBN 9780345532336. HISTORICAL Jackson, Joshilyn. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty. Grand Central. Jan. 2012. 288p. ISBN 9780446582353. $24.99. lrg. prnt. CD/Downloadable: Hachette Audio. POP FICTION Kellerman, Faye. Gun Games: A Decker/Lazarus Novel. Morrow. Jan. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780062064325. $25.99; eISBN 9780062064332. lrg. prnt. CD: HarperAudio. THRILLER Koontz, Dean. 77 Shadow Street. Bantam. Jan. 2012. 464p. ISBN 9780553807714. $28; lrg. prnt. eISBN 9780345532367. THRILLER Krentz, Jayne Ann. Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780399157875. $25.95. PARANORMAL Lescroart, John. The Hunter. Dutton. Jan. 2012. 400p. ISBN 9780525952565. $26.95. THRILLER McDermid, Val. The Retribution. Atlantic Monthly. Jan. 2012. 416p. ISBN 9780802120175. $25. THRILLER Mosley, Walter. All I Did Was Shoot My Man: A Leonid McGill Mystery. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9781594488245. $26.95. CD: Penguin Audio. MYSTERY Paretsky, Sara. Breakdown: A V.I. Warshawski Novel. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 432p. ISBN 9780399157837. $26.95. THRILLER Parker, T. Jefferson. The Jaguar: A Charlie Hood Novel. Dutton. Jan. 2012. 384p. ISBN 9780525952572. $26.95. THRILLER Patterson, James & David Ellis. Guilty Wives. Little, Brown. Jan. 2012. 432p. ISBN 9780316097567. $27.99. lrg. prnt. CD: Hachette Audio. THRILLER Preston, Douglas & Lincoln Child. Gideon's Corpse. Grand Central. Jan. 2012. 480p. ISBN 9780446564373. $26.99; lrg. prnt. CD/Downloadable: Hachette Audio. THRILLER Sands, Lyndsay. Under a Vampire Moon. Morrow. Jan. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9780061894640. $19.99. PARANORMAL ROMANCE Smith, Tom Rob. Agent 6. Grand Central. Jan. 2012. 448p. ISBN 9780446550765. $25.99. lrg. prnt. CD/Downloadable: Hachette Audio. THRILLER Todd, Charles. The Confession. Morrow. Jan. 2012. 352p. ISBN 9780062015662. $24.99; eISBN 9780061740657. lrg. prnt. MYSTERY . D.C. Dead: A Stone Barrington Novel. Putnam. Jan. 2012. 304p. ISBN 9780399157660. $26.95. CD: Penguin Audio. THRILLER
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Because Inspector Thomas Lynley () is romantically involved with his new boss, acting Det. Supt. Isabelle Ardery, she is doubly miffed when Lynley accepts an assignment from a superior officer that he must keep secret, even from her. The case involves the discreet investigation into the drowning death of Ian Cresswell, a member of the rich, dysfunctional family of Lord Bernard Fairclough. Lynley recruits his old friends Simon and Deborah St. James to accompany him to Cumbria to assist with the case. The couple, in the middle of an adoption crisis, are glad to help. Meanwhile, Lynley's old sidekick, the inimitable Barbara Havers, attempts to juggle a beauty makeover mandated by the stern Ardery with a covert probe on Lynley's behalf. The whodunit element peters out at the end, and the story, as is typical for George, is quite melodramatic. George's many fans, however, will be thrilled with this new episode in the lives of her lovable cast of characters. Strongly recommended for readers of British procedurals. [See Prepub Alert, 7/25/11.]—Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., ND
A ghoulish triple homicide brings Royal Thai Police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep to the hilltop compound known as Vulture Peak. Three bodies, laid neatly on a bed, are missing eyes, kidneys, livers, and genitals. The ever-corrupt, opportunistic Colonel Vikorn, Sonchai's boss, wants to know what's going on. And, incidentally, he wants to be the new governor of Bangkok. As in the last four novels in Burdett's series, Sonchai is maneuvering in a nearly bewildering stew of greed, ambition, sex, drugs, and sheer criminal insanity. While the tale does not meander as much as its predecessor, The Godfather of Kathmandu, there are sinuous twists as our detective tries to make sense of the international machinations of the Yip sisters and Vikorn's arch rival, General Zinna.
VERDICT There are some truly stomach-turning scenes, and even a hardened reader of thrillers will blanch. Burdett, as usual, can't resist his tendency to lecture farangs (Thai slang for Westerners) on materialism and the myriad weaknesses of the Western mind. While these lectures are getting tiresome, Sonchai and his gritty adventures as philosopher-cop will have fans looking for the next installment. [See Prepub Alert, 7/18/11.]—Sally Harrison, Ocean Cty. Lib., Waretown, NJ
Reviewed by Sally Harrison , Aug 01, 2011
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