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From Publishers Weekly Dr. Earl Garnet, St. Paul Hospital's ER chief, is accused of a tragic oversight after a nurse, initially complaining of flulike symptoms, mysteriously dies while under his care. Garnet suspects the cause is a "superbug," a lethal mix of Legionella and staph, resistant to antibiotics. Panic sets in as the number of cases rises, and soon the hospital is placed under quarantine and overrun by police, the media and the National Guard, which leaves Garnet little time to search for a common link among the victims. However, Garnet's wife, an obstetrician at nearby University Hospital, has a hunch that the deaths may be the work of "The Phantom," someone rumored to deliberately infect hospital employees known for their unkind treatment of patients. Clement's (Lethal Practice) own background as a physician comes across in his use of technical terminology and ability to capture hospital politics, which adds to the terror. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the Inside Flap BREEDING GROUNDWhen a nurse in Buffalo dies at St. Paul's Hospital of a once-treatable bacteria, Dr. Earl Garnet and his colleagues try to remain calm. They track the origin of the sickness to University Hospital. But as the infection rages out of control there and more people fall gravely ill--including Garnet's own wife--Earl uncovers a shocking connection between the victims. KILLING GROUNDThroughout the community, panic and paranoia spread as wildly as the outbreak itself, and the entire University Hospital staff is quarantined. Yet the mastermind who created this deadly superresistant strain may be someone they know, someone locked within the barricades. Now the sociopath has threatened to infect fifty more people. And that will be only the beginning. . . .DEATH ROUNDSNo one captures the complex workings of an urban hospital like former ER physician Dr. Peter Clement. His new medical thriller ranges from the realm of microbiology to raw, human rage--in a plot so chillingly authentic it could be happening right now. . . .

Amazon.com Review Kate McKinnon, a former cop turned philanthropist, art impresario, and socialite, is a heroine straight out of a Judith Krantz novel, which is not necessarily a bad thing: you can always count the brand names Jonathan Santlofer drops on almost every page, even if you're not particularly intrigued by the mystery of who's behind a string of ritualistic serial murders that are carefully staged to resemble famous paintings only a woman with Kate's arcane knowledge and aesthetic judgment might recognize. Or you could figure out who's next on the killer's list faster than Kate manages to--she can't rule anyone out, not even her husband. Despite that rather silly red herring, she finally manages to get to the bottom of things in this stylish thriller from a painter whose fantasies of murder and revenge--on critics, collectors, competitors, and gallery owners, evidently--must have required a wider than usual canvas. -- Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly Painter Santlofer turns his artists eye to murder in an alternately brutal and dishy debut whodunit about a New York cop¤turned¤art historian tracking down a serial killer who mutilates his victims to make them look like famous paintings. While many in the ostentatiously elegant cast of self-serving artists, curators, patrons and patronesses hide ugly secrets, only one takes the idea of the tortured artist to the extreme. His first victim, a museum board president with a taste for sadomasochism, is found in his bathtub, arm draped over the side in the same pose as Davids Marat. Inspired by both traditional and modern art and sensitive to color, line and light, the death artist next slashes the face of a female victim to match a Picasso portrait. It's enough to horrify but not to deter ex-homicide detective Kate McKinnon Rothstein, now a wealthy, beautiful hostess of her own PBS series. She puts her talents and her marriage to the test to pursue a criminal who seems to crave her appreciation for his handiwork. The exploration of the psychology of the death artist, along with gossipy insights into the politics of art, make this book a bloody funfest for the museum and gallery crowd, never mind that as Kate investigates sexual liaisons that cross social and moral boundaries, she uncovers an array of suspense novel cliches. When Santlofer, a Pratt graduate, NEA grant recipient and Yaddo board member, airs his insider views, his observations of art and the art world lift this enthusiastic if not totally original mystery to the ranks of a high-class art opening.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Amazon.com Review The secret weapon developed by the man Cavanaugh is assigned to protect is like Kryptonite to the former Delta Force officer turned security guard--it multiplies the effects of adrenaline, a hormone associated with fear, so it incapacitates instead of energizing him. A lot of people want Daniel Prescott's secret, but Cavanaugh, who's felt the drug's effects, wants his antidote. When Prescott disappears after causing the death of the Global Protective Services team charged with keeping him alive, Cavanaugh and his wife Jamie go after him in a high-speed chase that traps them between governmnt agents and foreign operatives each racing to find the scientist first and kill him before he can use his formula on them. Despite Prescott's double-dealing, and the bloody battle in a mountain redoubt that results in the deaths of his friends and colleagues, Cavanaugh knows the only way to banish the fear that may compromise his and Jamie's own safety is to track the elusive scientist to his last refuge. In this propulsive thriller, Morrell turns the tables so often that it's hard to separate the good guys from the bad ones, but that won't keep readers addicted to violence, treachery, and high-tech weaponry from staying with it to the last surprising chapter. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly "Packed with state-of-the-art tradecraft relating to escape and evasion, car-fighting, mind control, and sophisticated weaponry," crows the galley copy for this latest thriller by the author of numerous brawny tales from First Blood to Long Lost, "[the book]... takes its place alongside the most innovative thrillers ever written." Well, not really. Innovative this tale of a professional "protector" is not, but the "tradecraft" that Morrell apparently researched in person and reveals here in fiction for the first time makes the novel a groovy bet for armchair tough guys. The plot is standard: Protector Cavanaugh (who uses that one-name pseudonym as camouflage) and his company are hired by scientist Daniel Prescott, purportedly to help him escape from a drug gang that is after the perfectly addictive substance Prescott claims he's created while searching for a cure to addiction. But Prescott is not quite what he seems, and soon he and Cavanaugh, plus some vicious shadowy federal operatives, as well as the FBI, are involved in the sort of cat-and-mouse, stalk-and-attack at which Morrell excels, with the life of Cavanaugh's wife hanging in the balance and upping the suspense ante considerably. As one would expect from a veteran pro like Morrell, there are plenty of twists, several impressive action set pieces and a narrative that speeds like the souped-up Taurus (combining power and anonymity) that Cavanaugh likes to drive. Most notable, though, is the advertised "tradecraft"-from clever ways to modify one's ammo and armor to the very best method of taking out a car you're chasing (strike a rear fender corner with the opposite front corner of your car). Readers should keep in mind that these stunts are performed in the novel by trained professionals and are not to be attempted at home.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly At the start of this disappointing stand-alone thriller from bestseller Gerritsen (The Mephisto Club), 38-year-old divorcée Julia Hamill discovers a skeleton buried in the garden of the Boston house she's just moved into; the ring found with the remains was in fashion in the 1830s, the fractured bones suggest murder. Flashback to 1830: medical student Norris Marshall, an outcast among his wealthier classmates, meets Rose Connolly in a Boston maternity ward, where Rose's sister recently died of childbirth fever. When several gutted bodies turn up in deserted alleyways, Rose and Norris are the only ones to catch a glimpse of the killer, dubbed the West End Reaper. Norris, Rose and Norris's fellow student, Oliver Wendell Holmes, race to uncover the truth behind the slayings, which will remind many of Jack the Ripper's crimes. In the present, Julia is able to trace their progress with the help of a relative of the house's former owner. Unfortunately, neither the present nor the historical story line maintains the suspense necessary for a whodunit spanning several generations. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the edition. From Medical examiner Maura Isles returns in another thriller that joins past and present. In the present, in the backyard of Julia Hamill's old Boston house, a long-buried body is unearthed. In 1830, long before the invention of the term serial killer, medical student Norris Marshall is accused of being a mass murderer. To dig himself out from under suspicion, Norris seeks help from a fellow student, one Oliver Wendell Holmes. Together they pursue the cold-hearted killer, while, in the present day, Julia Hamill tries to find out the identity of the body buried in her backyard. As her fans well know, this is not Gerritsen's first shot at combining the modern and the historical. Yet it reads as though it might be: it's clunky, with overly familiar plotting and an attempt at 1830s-era dialogue that's often painful to the ear. Incorporating real people into historical fiction is a well-worn device, and while the author succeeds in bringing Holmes vividly to life, she doesn't really do anything particularly special with him—a fictional character would have served the story just as well. This is a passable thriller—Gerritsen does generate a fair amount of suspense—but it fails to come together on any level beyond plot. Recommendable, finally, only because the author's many fans will want to read it. Pitt, David --This text refers to the edition.

From Publishers Weekly In this humdrum political thriller, the latest in the Will Lee series (The Run, etc.), William Henry Lee IV, former senator from Georgia, has graduated to the presidency of the United States. He's living comfortably in the White House with his wife, Katharine Rule Lee, director of the CIA, when a series of murders threatens the nation's political equanimity. Ex-CIA man Ted Fay has begun a lone wolf vendetta against selected right-wing big shots. Ted opens the hostilities by sniping hypocritical Republican Sen. Frederick Wallace of South Carolina, a known bigot who spends his free time committing adultery in a remote mountain cabin with his lover of 20 years, African-American Elizabeth Johnson. President Lee turns to longtime Deputy Director Robert Kinney of the FBI to investigate the murder. When Kinney is asked who shot the senator, his answer gives some measure of Wallace's popularity: "We've narrowed the list of people with a motive to about ten thousand." Assassin Ted has a Web site with a rogue's gallery of politicians, judges, media personalities and others whose policies he deems objectionable. As he ingeniously does away with each in turn, a large X is placed over the corresponding picture. Because Will and Kathy are staunch Democrats and Ted is such a partisan killer, the reader knows that neither is in any danger; this defuses suspense other than that generated by a standard cat-and-mouse hunt. And as Ted is the most interesting character in the book, one begins to secretly root for him and his mission, thus confusing the issue even further. This is not Woods's best, but he's such a pro even a lackluster outing still delivers a mildly diverting read.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the edition. From After focusing on Stone Barrington and Holly Barker in his most recent books, Woods turns back to the hero of his early novels, Will Lee. Will is now president of the U.S., and his wife, Kate, is the director of the CIA. Both will be put to the test when a prominent conservative senator, Frederick Wallace, is shot dead at his lakeside cabin. Wallace had many enemies and even kept files full of the dirty secrets of his adversaries. But the murder doesn't appear to be an isolated incident after a car bomb kills a conservative radio personality. Someone with weapons skills is targeting conservatives, and Will and Kate need to find out if the person is a former agent of the U.S. government. Traitorous former CIA agent Ed Rawls, on his last legs in an Atlanta prison, thinks he can identify the killer but will help only in exchange for a pardon. The FBI's deputy director, Bob Kinney, is put on the case, but every lead Bob comes up with seems to end up at a dead end--with one more body added to the mix. Though Will doesn't factor heavily into the most exciting sequences, an old friend from the Stone Barrington series shows up and the dogged Kinney pursues the case relentlessly. Exciting reading for Woods' many fans. Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the edition.

From Publishers Weekly Berry goes gnostic in this well-tooled Da Vinci Code-knockoff, his fourth novel (The Romanov Prophecy). Ex-U.S. Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is intrigued when he sees a purse snatcher fling himself from a Copenhagen tower to avoid capture, slitting his own throat on the way down for good measure. Further snooping introduces him to the medieval religious order of the Knights Templar and the fervid subculture searching for the Great Devise, an ancient Templar archive that supposedly disproves the Resurrection and demolishes traditional Christian dogma. The trail leads to a French village replete with arcane clues to the archive's whereabouts, and to an oddball cast of scholar-sleuths, including Cassiopeia Vitt, a rich Muslim woman whose special-ops chops rival Malone's. Malone and company puzzle over the usual Code-inspired anagrams, dead language inscriptions and art symbolism, debate inconsistencies in the Gospels and regale each other with Templar lore, periodically interrupting their colloquia for running gun battles with latter-day Templar Master Raymond de Roquefort and his pistol-packing monks. The novel's overcomplicated conspiracies and esoteric brainteasers can get tedious, and the various religious motivations make little sense. (Thankfully, the author soft-pedals the genre's anti-Catholicism.) But lively characters and action set pieces make this a more readable, if no more plausible, version of the typical gnostic occult thriller. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From The Knights Templar, a small monastic military order formed in the early 1100s to protect travelers to the Holy Land, eventually grew and became wealthy beyond imagination. In 1307, the French king, feeling jealous and greedy, killed off the Templars, and by 1311, the last master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake. The whereabouts of the Templars' treasure--and their secrets--have been the subject of legend ever since. Now, a new thriller trieas to follow in the steps of The Da Vinci Code. There's a secret about early Christianity at the core of Berry's Templar Legacy, but he dispenses the clues too slowly. The cat-and-mouse game between Cotton Malone, a former Justice Department agent, and a modern-day order of Knights Templar is weighed down with too much confusing backstory about the Templars' connection to Rennes-le-Chateau and the mystery that surrounds it. (The real-life town plays a part in The Da Vinci Code as well.) Like Dan Brown, Berry draws on the seminal nonfiction work Holy Blood, Holy Grail for many of his themes. After nearly grinding to a halt through all the premise building, the novel finally gathers steam in the last 100 pages or so, concluding with a revelation that seems refreshingly clear after the many convoluted twists that precede it. Until the next Dan Brown opus is released, this should hold devotees. Ilene CooperCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Publishers Weekly Attorney Jack Swyteck and his jazz musician sidekick Theo Knight josh, joke and kid, but unfortunately the case they're working—the kidnapping of Jack's girlfriend by a sadistic murderer—doesn't lend itself to humor. The disconnect of monkeyshines versus the grim, detailed torture of a helpless woman cripples this thinly plotted, disappointing thriller set in Grippando's familiar South Florida. The girlfriend in question, the gorgeous Mia Salazar, turns out to be (unknown to Jack) married. After she's been seized, her betrayed husband makes it clear that he has no interest in paying any significant ransom. This duty then falls to Jack, who, working with FBI agent Andie Henning (reprised from Under Cover of Darkness), frantically tries to find Mia. Though Jack and Andie are the proverbial oil and water, the results of this pairing are entirely predictable. And when the kidnapper is finally revealed, his identity is as unbelievable as the tortured reasoning that attempts to connect the many disparate plot elements. The chase scene at the end lends some much-needed firepower, but it's too little too late for anyone but the most diehard Grippando fan. (On sale Jan. 3) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From This fifth Jack Swyteck novel (following Hear No Evil, 2004) finds the Miami defense attorney head over heels in love with a captivating woman named Mia and in an uncharacteristically mellow mood, leaving him a prime target for the snarky humor of his best friend, Theo, a strapping ex-con. Then Jack is dealt a double blow when he finds out that his lover is married to a wealthy real-estate developer and that she has been taken captive by a sadistic serial kidnapper whose previous victim wound up dead. Stiffed by the cuckolded husband, the kidnapper moves on to blackmail Jack, demanding that he pay whatever he thinks Mia's life is worth. Jack is contacted by FBI Special Agent Andie Henning, a highly competent professional whose personal life is in shambles. As Andie and Jack try to work in tandem, with Theo watching Jack's back, the narrative shifts to incorporate Mia's terrifying ordeal at the hands of her captor. Grippando sets some of the novel's most gruesome scenes in some of Florida's most stunning settings, including an enormous aquifer, an underwater limestone labyrinth of interconnecting caves. Although his dialogue could use some work, Grippando has a great feel for pacing and writes highly effective, gripping action scenes that will leave readers in suspense until the final page. Joanne WilkinsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Amazon.com Review The President's Daughter is to thrillers what Hong Kong is to movies: hyperphysical and flashy, filled with international menace, and perfectly choreographed so there's no wasted action whatsoever. And like those movies, the book's a wonderful ride, particularly if you don't ask too many questions after you climb aboard. The characters are strictly Central Casting: a gallant war-hero president twitted by terrorists, a craggy old pro called out of retirement, an I.R.A. scoundrel with a heart of ... well, brass at least. The daughter of the title is a comely French countess (of course), who's kidnapped by a nefarious group of Israeli extremists. In return for her safety, they want Dad to nuke several Arab countries. Will he be forced to push the button, or will a trio of agents be able to reach her in time? Typical of the genre, the book's pull is the intelligence of the villains multiplied by the ingenuity of the heroes. The President's Daughter scores highly on both and readers itching for a globe-trotting game of cat-and-rat won't be disappointed. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal YA. International espionage at its best. Two of Higgins's favorite heroes, Sean Dillion and Liam Devlin, unite with FBI agent Blake Johnson, a decorated Marine, to solve this suspenseful thriller. When the President finds out that he had a daughter while stationed in Vietnam, this knowledge triggers a chain of events that could place the world as we know it in danger. A devious group of people discovers his secret and, acting with terrible speed, they seize the woman. If the President does not comply with their demands, they will kill her. This mystery thriller is fast paced and filled with believable characters and humor, as well as heroes whose powers of deduction and actions continue to amaze and surprise readers right up through the climactic and emotional conclusion.?Anita Short, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly A workaholic attorney is forced to examine his priorities when his wife disappears amid a spree of serial killings in the Pacific Northwest. Grippando's fifth thriller (The Pardon; Found Money) springs energetically from the gate, creating tension and pace before a few unbelievable plot twists cause it to lose traction. Attorney Gus Wheatley, general partner of one of Seattle's biggest and most prestigious law firms, is interrupted from his busy schedule by a call from his daughter's dance instructor: his wife, Beth, failed to pick up six-year-old Morgan after class. At first merely annoyed, he next assumes his wife is having an affair (they have been experiencing marital problems) but soon calls police when he realizes Beth has disappeared without a trace. Ambitious FBI agent Andrea "Andie" Henning believes Beth may have fallen victim to a serial killer. In the days following her disappearance, Gus is stunned to learn that his wife suffered from bulimia and kleptomania, conditions pointing to extremely low self-esteem. Her emotional condition and other cluesDstrange phone calls, a tip from a prison inmateDeventually tempt investigators with another theory: Beth may have joined a local cult that includes murder among its group activities. The most successful component of this story is Gus Wheatley's growing awareness of his emotional separation from his family. Former trial lawyer Grippando displays expertise in police and legal procedures, but the connection between the killings and the cult strains credulity. Several key characters are not drawn convincingly, and the finale is more of an ambush than a surprise. (July) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal In this latest from Grippando (Found Money), the marriage of high-powered attorney Gus Wheatley and his insecure wife, BethDalready unfamiliar terrain to both partnersDis invaded by a serial-killer. Beth seems to have it all: the perfect home and a precious young daughter. Yet she vanishes one afternoon without taking a single piece of her life, including her child, who is left waiting all evening at private school. Rookie FBI agent Andie Henning has recently ditched her loser of a fianc at the altar and welcomes the opportunity to work on what turns out to be a high-profile serial-killer case. Gus's world continues self-destructing, as his daughter, sister, and colleagues judge and reject him, the killer piles up Beth lookalike victims, and eerie telephone clues indicate that she may be alive and in the killer's clutches. In the meantime, Gus learns some rather sad and unsavory things about the wife he thought he knew. Another riveting tale of suspense from Grippando.-DSusan A. Zappia, Paradise Valley Community Coll., Phoenix Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly Buffyesque baker Rae "Sunshine" Seddon meets Count Dracula's hunky Byronic cousin in Newbery-Award-winner McKinley's first adult-and-then-some romp through the darkling streets of a spooky post-Voodoo Wars world. Now that human cities have been decimated, the vampiric elite holds one-fifth of the world's capital, threatening to control all the earth in less than 100 years, unless human SOFs (Special Other Forces) can hold them at bay by recruiting Sunshine, daughter of legendary sorcerer Onyx Blaise. As breathlessly narrated by Sunshine herself, the Cinnamon Roll Queen of Charlie's Coffeehouse, in the inchoate idiom of Britney, J. Lo and the Spice Girls, Sunshine's coming-of-magical-age launches when she is swarmed by noiseless vampires one night and chained in a decrepit ballroom as an entr‚e for mysterious, magnetic, half-starved Constantine, a powerful vampire whose mortal enemy Bo (short for Beauregard) shackled him there to perish slowly from daylight and deprivation. Most of the charm of this long venture into magic maturation derives from McKinley's keen ear and sensitive atmospherics, deft characterizations and clever juxtapositions of reality and the supernatural that might, just might, be lurking out there in "bad spots" right around a creepy urban corner or next to a deserted lake cabin. McKinley knows very well-and makes her readers believe-that "the insides of our own minds are the scariest things there are."Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the edition. From Rae Seddon, nicknamed Sunshine, lives a quiet life working at her stepfather's bakery. One night, she goes out to the lake for some peace and quiet. Big mistake. She is set upon by vampires, who take her to an old mansion. They chain her to the wall and leave her with another vampire, who is also chained. But the vampire, Constantine, doesn't try to eat her. Instead, he implores her to tell him stories to keep them both sane. Realizing she will have to save herself, Sunshine calls on the long-forgotten powers her grandmother began to cultivate in her when she was a child. She transforms her pocketknife into a key and unchains herself--and Constantine. Surprised, he agrees to flee with her when she offers to protect him from the sun with magic. They escape back to town, but Constantine knows his enemies won't be far behind, which means that he and Sunshine will have to face them together. A luminous, entrancing novel with an enthralling pair of characters at its heart. Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the edition.