Black ​Cross

Don Winslow - The ​Dawn Patrol
As ​cool as its California surfer heroes, Don Winslow delivers a high velocity, darkly comic, and totally righteous crime novel. Every morning Boone Daniels catches waves with the other members of The Dawn Patrol: four men and one woman as single-minded about surfing as he is. Or nearly. They have "real j-o-b-s"; Boone, however, works as a PI just enough to keep himself afloat. But Boone's most recent gig-investigating an insurance scam—has unexpectedly led him to a ghost from his past. And while he may have to miss the biggest swell of his surfing career, this job is about to give him a wilder ride than anything he's ever encountered. Filled with killer waves and a coast line to break your heart, The Dawn Patrol will leave you gasping for air.

George P. Pelecanos - Shame ​The Devil
Washington, ​D.C., 1995. What should have been a straightforward restaurant robbery goes horribly wrong. Several workers are shot in cold blood; the gunman's brother is killed by the police; a young boy is run over by a careering getaway car. Three years pass. Victims and their relatives gather in the aftermath, still trying to come to terms with their grief. But gunman Frank Farrow has other ideas. Now the heat has died down, he is on his way back to Washington, determined to avenge his lost brother - by killing everyone involved in his death.

Don Winslow - The ​Gentlemen's Hour
Boone ​Daniels lives to surf. Laid back, ultra–California cool, the former cop turned PI begins each day with the Dawn Patrol, a close-knit group of surfers, best friends who not only ride waves together but have one another’s backs out of the water. It’s the life Boone loves, all he wants. To him, “There’s no such thing as a bad day at the beach.” So when one of their own is murdered—especially an icon like Kelly Kuhio, a local hero—and another surfer, a young punk from the Rockpile Crew, stands accused, the small world of Pacific Beach is rocked to its core. Boone knows he can no longer ignore the painful truth that violence is seeping into the surfing community. But when he agrees to help the defense, the outrage he courts from the community, and the Dawn Patrol, is more than he ever anticipated. He’s risking losing the relationships that define his life— just when he needs them most. As Boone digs deeper into San Diego’s murkier side, delving into places the city’s reputationconscious establishment would rather he left alone, it becomes clear that more than a murder case is at stake. He soon finds himself out there alone, struggling to stay afloat as the waves get rougher and rougher . . . and more deadly. It’s The Gentlemen’s Hour—and it could be Boone’s last.

Don Winslow - Savages
Ben, ​Chon, and O are twentysomething best friends living the dream in Southern California. Together they have made a small fortune producing premium grade marijuana, a product so potent that the Mexican Baja Cartel demands a cut. When Ben and Chon refuse to back down, the cartel kidnaps O, igniting a dizzying array of high-octane negotiations and stunning plot twists as they risk everything to free her. The result is a provocative, sexy, and darkly engrossing thrill ride, an ultracontemporary love story that will leave you breathless.

Agatha Christie - Why ​Didn't They Ask Evans?
When ​a man plunges down a cliff, two adventurous young friends decide to find his killer! While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. With his final breath the man opens his eyes and says, 'Why didn't they ask Evans?' Haunted by these words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger!

Agatha Christie - The ​Listerdale Mystery
After ​Mr St Vincent’s death, his family are plunged into poverty. Living in reduced circumstances their lives change when they find an elegant town house with staff, for a suspiciously cheap rent. Why would Lord Listerdale rent his home out for such a low price and why are the staff so accommodating?

Agatha Christie - The ​Hound of Death
Twelve ​unexplained phenomena with no apparent earthly explanation… A dog-shaped gunpowder mark; an omen from ‘the other side’; a haunted house; a chilling séance; a case of split personalities; a recurring nightmare; an eerie wireless message; an elderly lady’s hold over a young man; a disembodied cry of ‘murder’; a young man’s sudden amnesia; a levitation experience; a mysterious SOS. To discover the answers, delve into the supernatural storytelling of Agatha Christie… ‘Twelve thrilling, chilling, mysteries.’ Observer

Charlaine Harris - Dead ​Until Dark
In ​Dead Until Dark Sookie Stackhouse is a telepath who lives in a world where vampires have "come out of the coffins" (vampires have come out to the public and become legal citizens). Many vampires are "mainstreaming" (coexisting with humans) since the Japanese developed a synthetic blood that makes it possible for vampires to live in the open without the need to hunt humans for sustenance. Sookie lives with her grandmother, Adele and has an older brother, Jason. Sookie falls in love with a vampire, a Civil War veteran named Bill Compton. Amazingly, vampires' minds are 'silent' to Sookie, which is heaven for her as human minds are difficult to shut out and bombard her constantly with their thoughts. In his first visit, Sookie saves him from the Rattrays (vampire drainers) and Bill returns her favor the next day when the Rattrays attack Sookie. In the meantime, there are several murders in Bon Temps and people believe that Bill is behind these murders as many of the victims have fang marks in their bodies. But the local police suspect Jason Stackhouse and later arrest him, because he has been sexually linked to two of the victims. Sookie wants to help her brother and asks Bill to take her to a vampire bar in Shreveport, LA called Fangtasia. Fangtasia is owned by Eric Northman, a vampire sheriff who is much older and more powerful than Bill. Eric soon discovers that Sookie's ability is very useful and orders Bill to have Sookie use her mind reading ability to determine the identity of the person who has been stealing a large sum of money from his bar. Sookie finds out that Eric's partner, Long Shadow (vampire), has been stealing the money and she almost gets killed in the process. Eric saves Sookie's life by staking Long Shadow when he attacks her. Back in Bon Temps, Sookie finds her own grandmother slaughtered in the kitchen. On the other hand, Bill, concerned with Eric's power over him and Sookie, decides to gain his own position within their vampire hierarchy. He asks Bubba, a dim witted vampire, to protect Sookie while he is gone. Later, Sookie discovers that her boss, Sam is a shape shifter when she lets a stray dog sleep beside her and finds a naked Sam in the morning. While Bill is gone, Sookie discovers that the murderer is Rene and he almost kills her, but Sookie is able to fight back. She wakes up in the hospital badly injured with Bill by her side. Bill tells Sookie that he has become his area's investigator, working under Eric.

Iris Murdoch - A ​Severed Head
Martin ​Lynch-Gibbon believes he can possess both a beautiful wife and a delightful lover. But when his wife, Antonia, suddenly leaves him for her psychoanalyst, Martin is plunged into an intensive emotional re-education. He attempts to behave beautifully and sensibly. Then he meets a woman whose demonic splendour at first repels him and later arouses a consuming and monstrous passion. As his Medusa informs him, 'this is nothing to do with happiness'.

Vince Flynn - Term ​Limits
What ​if America's politicians were held accountable for their broken promises -- and made to pay for their corruption? With a unique flair for heart-pounding dramatic tension, meshed with the technical precision of Tom Clancy, author Vince Flynn brings to life a chillingly credible scenario of Washington under siege -- in a provocative, edge-of-your-seat political thriller. In a night of shattering brutality, three of Washington's most powerful and unscrupulous politicians have been executed with surgical precision. Their assassins, vanishing without a trace, have delivered a shocking ultimatum to the leaders of the American government: set aside petty, partisan politics and restore power to the people, or be held to deadly account. No one, they warn, is out of their reach -- not even the president. A joint FBI-CIA task force reveals that the killers are stealth experts, elite military commandos with the proven capacity to penetrate the tightest security and neutralize any target. But no one knows exactly who they are or when they will strike next. Only Michael O'Rourke, a former U.S. Marine and freshman congressman, holds a clue to the violence: a haunting incident in his own past with explosive implications for his country's future. Compelled by his memories and by his sense of honor, O'Rourke confides in the one woman he trusts, crusading journalist Liz Scarlatti, only to uncover hidden land mines of corruption and murder among the highest ranks of leadership. But as the casualties continue to mount, O'Rourke and Scarlatti make a terrifying discovery -- an appalling truth that the American people can never know if the nation is to survive. Delivered with the dead-on impact of a sniper's bullet, TERM LIMITS is a tour de force of authenticity and suspense, an all-too-realistic and utterly compelling vision in which the ultimate American ideal -- a government of the people -- is taken to a devastating extreme.

Agatha Christie - The ​Moving Finger
Lymstock ​is a town with more than its share of shameful secrets - a town where even a sudden outbreak of anonymous hate-mail causes only a minor stir. But all that changes when one of the recipients, Mrs Symmington, commits suicide. Her final note says 'I can't go on' but still Miss Marple questions the coroner's verdict of suicide. Was this the work of a poison-pen? Or of a poisoner? _Reviews_ "Beyond all doubt the puzzle in The Moving Finger is fit for experts." _The Times_

Agatha Christie - The ​Secret of Chimneys
What ​connects Chimneys, a formidable country estate nestled in the English countryside, with the small Balkan nation of Herzoslovakia? If Anthony Cade had known the answer, perhaps the chance to earn a thousand pounds just delivering a parcel would not have seemed like such easy money! The Secret of Chimneys was written in 1925 - a mystery thriller involving jewel thieves, a murderous international conspiracy, and the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté.

Agatha Christie - Spider's ​Web
Clarissa, ​the wife of a Foreign Office diplomat is given to daydreaming. 'Supposing I were to come down one morning and find a dead body in the library, what should I do?' she muses. She has the chance to find out when she discovers a body ... in her drawing-room. Desperate to dispose of it, she attempts to persuade her house guests to become accessories and accomplices. Now, as the search begins for the murderer in their midst, supposing a police inspector arrives...

Alexander McCall Smith - Bertie ​Plays the Blues
Even ​down to its well-set Georgian townhouses, Edinburgh is a hymn to measure and harmony. But on Scotland Street, domestic accord is in short supply. Matthew and Elspeth welcome three new arrivals, though the joys of multiple parenthood are somewhat lost due to sleep deprivation and the difficulties of telling their brood apart. Angus and Domenica are to marry, and Domenica has ambitious and disturbing plans for their living arrangements, especially when it appears that Antonia, in Italy recuperating from Stendhal Syndrome, may not return. And little Bertie, feeling blue, puts himself up for adoption on eBay. Can Edinburgh's most deliciously dysfunctional residents forsake discord and learn to dance to the same happy tune?

Agatha Christie - They ​Do it with Mirrors
“They ​said it was an accident, but I think it was just temper!” Ruth Van Rydock – They Do it With Mirrors After a death threat, murder, and attempted poisoning, Ruth Van Rydock is so concerned for her sister’s safety that she invites her old friend Miss Jane Marple to visit them at their sprawling mansion home that they run as a rehabilitation school for boys; clearly a dangerous place to be even under normal circumstances. Can Miss Marple solve the case before Carrie-Louise is killed?

Agatha Christie - Miss ​Marple's Final Cases
Despite ​the title, the stories collected here recount cases from the middle of Miss Marple's career. They are: "Sanctuary"; "Strange Jest"; "Tape-Measure Murder"; "The Case of the Caretaker"; "The Case of the Perfect Maid"; "Miss Marple Tells a Story"; "The Dressmaker's Doll"; "In a Glass Darkly"; "Greenshaw's Folly".

Agatha Christie - A ​Murder is Announced
The ​villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Jane Marple, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which read: "A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m." Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the ppointed time when, without warning, the lights go out ...

Wilbur Smith - Wild ​Justice
‘As ​he dug he heard the familiar sound, like a giant ripping heavyweight canvas, an automatic weapon throwing bullets at the cyclic rate of almost two thousand rounds a minute , and the bullets tore into the side of the Maserati, beating in the metal with an ear-numbing clangor, while glass exploded in upon Peter like the glittering spray as the storm-driven wave strikes a rock. Glass chips pelted across his back, and stung his cheek and the back of his neck. They sparkled like a diamond tiara in his hair.’ The hijacking of a jumbo jet off the Seychelles galvanizes anti-terrorist chief Peter Stride into the action for which he has spent a lifetime training. But even in the hail of bullets which follows, he knows that this is only the beginning of a nightmare. Stride is the one man who might find the twisted genius who holds the world hostage - if only his every move were not anticipated by the enemy …

Wilbur Smith - The ​Triumph of the Sun
In ​the Sudan, decades of brutal misgovernment by the ruling Egyptian Khedive in Cairo precipitate a fierce and bloody rebellion and Holy War headed by a charismatic new religious leader, The Madhi or "Expected One". The British are forced to intervene to protect their national interests and to attempt to rescue the hundreds of British subjects stranded in the country. Along with hundreds of others, British trader and businessman, Ryder Courtney is trapped in the capital city of Khartoum. It is here that he meets Captain Penrod Ballantyne of the 10th Hussars, as well as the British Consul, David Benbrook and his three beautiful daughters. Against the vivid and bloody backdrop of the siege of Khartoum, in which British General Charles George Gordon is killed and the British retreat, these three powerful men fight to survive. 'A fine storyteller . . . TRIUMPH OF THE SUN is one of his very best' Daily Mail

Agatha Christie - Postern ​of Fate
Now ​in their seventies, Tommy and Tuppence move to a quiet English village, looking forward to a peaceful retirement. But, as they soon discover, their rambling old house holds secrets. Who is Mary Jordan? And why has someone left a code message in an old book about her 'unnatural' death? Once more, ingenuity and insight are called for as they are drawn into old mysteries and new dangers.