Military Fiction/Written by Veterans

 

When writing military fiction or any book that heavily references the military, one must be familiar with the ins and outs of not just military life, but the jargon. The type of familiarity that just can't come from Wikipedia.  For the books listed below that knowledge came first hand as all of these books are written by Veterans. 

Book Descriptions featured are provided by the publishers.

A Line In The Sand by Powers, Kevin

A former interpreter in Iraq who lost his wife and child in an assassination attempt discovers a dead body on the beach in Virginia and believes it is connected to his past.

One early morning on a Norfolk beach in Virginia, a dead body is discovered by a man taking his daily swim—Arman Bajalan, formerly an interpreter in Iraq. After narrowly surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US as a maintenance worker at the Sea Breeze Motel. Now, convinced that the body is connected to his past, he knows he is still not safe. Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her newly minted partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the dead man’s pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman is by the Iraq War, who is investigating a corporation on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defense contract. As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down wrong turns and towards startling evidence, they find themselves in a race, committed to unraveling the truth and keeping Arman alive—even if it costs them absolutely everything.

The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction by O'Brien, Tim

Depicting the men of Alpha Company--Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O'Brien, who survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three--the stories in The Things They Carried opened our eyes to the nature of war in a way we will never forget. It is taught everywhere, from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing, and in the decades since its publication it has never failed to challenge our perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, and courage, longing, and fear.

Matterhorn: a novel of the Vietnam War by Marlantes, Karl

Intense, powerful, and compelling, Matterhorn is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead and James Jones's The Thin Red Line. It is the timeless story of a young Marine lieutenant, Waino Mellas, and his comrades in Bravo Company, who are dropped into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and forced to fight their way into manhood. Standing in their way are not merely the North Vietnamese but also monsoon rain and mud, leeches and tigers, disease and malnutrition. Almost as daunting, it turns out, are the obstacles they discover between each other: racial tension, competing ambitions, and duplicitous superior officers. But when the company finds itself surrounded and outnumbered by a massive enemy regiment, the Marines are thrust into the raw and all-consuming terror of combat. The experience will change them forever.

Written by a highly decorated Marine veteran over the course of thirty years, Matterhorn is a spellbinding and unforgettable novel that brings to life an entire world--both its horrors and its thrills--and seems destined to become a classic of combat literature.

Daughter of War: A Novel by Taylor, Brad

"Former Special Forces Officer and New York Times bestselling author Brad Taylor delivers a heart-pounding thriller featuring Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill as they come face to face with a conspiracy where nothing is as it seems. Hot on the trail of a North Korean looking to sell sensitive US intelligence to the Syrian regime, Pike Logan and the Taskforce stumble upon something much graver: the sale of a lethal substance called Red Mercury. Unbeknownst to the Taskforce, the Syrians plan to use the weapon of mass destruction against American and Kurdish forces, and blame the attack on terrorists, causing western nations to reassess their participation in the murky cauldron of the Syrian civil war. Meanwhile, North Korea has its own devastating agenda: a double-cross that will dwarf the attack in Syria even as it lays the blame on the Syrian government. Leveraging Switzerland's fame for secrecy and its vast network of military bunkers, now repurposed by private investors for the clandestine storage of wealth, North Korea will use Red Mercury to devastate the West's ability to deliver further sanctions against the rogue regime. As the Taskforce begins to unravel the plot, a young refugee unwittingly holds the key to the conspiracy. Hunted across Europe for reasons she cannot fathom, she is the one person who can stop the attack--if she can live long enough for Pike and Jennifer to find her"-- Provided by publisher.

Only The Dead: a thriller by Carr, Jack

In 1980, a freshman congressman was gunned down in Rhode Island, sending shockwaves through Washington that are still reverberating over four decades later. Now, with the world on the brink of war and a weakened United States facing rampant inflation, political division, and shocking assassinations, a secret cabal of global elites is ready to assume control. And with the world's most dangerous man locked in solitary confinement, the conspirators believe the final obstacle to complete domination has been eliminated. They're wrong. From the firms of Wall Street to the corridors of power in Washington, DC, and Moscow, secrets from the past have the uncanny ability to rise to the surface in the present. With the odds stacked against him, James Reece is on a mission generations in the making. Unfortunately for his enemies, the former SEAL is not concerned with odds. He is on the warpath. And when James Reece picks up his tomahawk and sniper rifle, no one is out of range.

Arctic Storm Rising: a novel by Brown, Dale

After a CIA covert mission goes badly awry, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Nicholas Flynn is exiled to guard a remote radar post along Alaska's Arctic frontier. This dead-end assignment is designed to put his career permanently on ice, but Flynn's not the type to fade quietly into obscurity...

As winter storms pound Alaska and northern Canada, Russian aircraft begin penetrating deep into friendly airspace. Are these rehearsals for a possible first strike, using Russia's new long-range stealth cruise missiles? Or is some other motive driving the Kremlin to take ever-increasing risks along the hostile Arctic frontier separating two of the world's great powers?

When an American F-22 collides with one of the Russian interlopers, things go south fast--in seconds, missiles are fired. There are no survivors. Despite horrific weather, Flynn and his security team are ordered to parachute into the area in a desperate bid to reach the crash sites ahead of the Russians. It's now obvious that the Pentagon and CIA are withholding vital information, but Flynn and his men have no choice but to make the dangerous jump.

Soon they're caught in a deadly game of hide-and-seek with Spetsnaz commandos operating covertly on American soil. It seems that the F-22s and their Russian counterparts aren't the first aircraft to have gone missing in these desolate mountains. The Kremlin is hunting for the first prototype of its new stealth bomber--which vanished on what was supposed to be a test flight...while loaded with nuclear-armed stealth cruise missiles.

As Russia and the U.S. square off on the brink of all-out-war, it's up to Nick to find the missing bomber...and prevent a potential nuclear holocaust.

The Deserter by DeMille, Nelson

When Captain Kyle Mercer of the Army's elite Delta Force disappeared from his post in Afghanistan, a video released by his Taliban captors made international headlines. But circumstances were murky: Did Mercer desert before he was captured? Then a second video sent to Mercer's Army commanders leaves no doubt: the trained assassin and keeper of classified Army intelligence has willfully disappeared.

When Mercer is spotted a year later in Caracas, Venezuela, by an old Army buddy, top military brass task Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Criminal Investigation Division to fly to Venezuela and bring Mercer back to America--preferably alive. Brodie knows this is a difficult mission, made more difficult by his new partner's inexperience, by their undeniable chemistry, and by Brodie's suspicion that Maggie Taylor is reporting to the CIA.

With ripped-from-the-headlines appeal, an exotic and dangerous locale, and the hairpin twists and inimitable humor that are signature DeMille, The Deserter is the first in a timely and thrilling new series from an unbeatable team of True Masters: the #1 New York Times bestseller Nelson DeMille and his son, award-winning screenwriter Alex DeMille.

The Art of War by Coonts, Stephen

The Chinese dragon is flexing its muscles. As its military begins to prey on neighbors in the South China Sea, attacking fishing vessels and scheming to seize natural resources, America goes on high alert. But a far more ominous danger lurks closer to home: A nuclear weapon has been planted in the harbor at Norfolk, Virginia--site of the biggest naval base on the planet. The target: a secret rendezvous of the Atlantic Fleet aircraft carriers and their battle groups. When the CIA director is assassinated and Jake Grafton is appointed to take his place, Jake gets wind of the conspiracy but has no idea when or where the attack will occur. Meanwhile, a series of assassinations--including an attempt on the life of the President of the United States--shakes the nation and deliberately masks a far more sinister objective. Can Jake and his right hand man, Tommy Carmellini, prevent a catastrophe far more devastating than Pearl Harbor and stop a plot to destroy the U.S. Navy?

Plot Twist-ers

March ended and April began in a manner that screamed "I'm bringing the THUNDER!!! Lights flickered and faded, winds ripped and roared, and my wind chimes sang out with a cacophony of frantic dings.   Flashlights were scattered, and the teenager drove home in what he called an  "apocalypse." Tornado season has arrived.  

When done properly, a plot twist, will suck you in, tilt your perspective, and spin you in circles.  

 

 Just the Nicest Couple by Kubica, Mary

When her husband Jack vanishes without a trace, Nina Hayes will stop at nothing to uncover the truth, which, unbeknownst to her, is inextricably linked to their close friends, who may have been the last to see Jake before he went missing.

 

All Good People Here : a novel by Flowers, Ashley 

"In this propulsive debut novel from the host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie, a journalist uncovers her hometown's dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor-and the disappearance of another girl twenty years later. You can't ever know for sure what happens behind closed doors .... Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the infamous case of January Jacobs, who was discovered in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January-and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, become a big-city journalist. But she's always been haunted by the fear that it could've been her. And the worst part is, January's killer has never been brought to justice. When Margot returns home to help care for her uncle after a diagnosis of early-onset dementia, it all feels like walking into a time capsule. Wakarusa is exactly how she remembered-genial, stifled, secretive. Then news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over, who's gone missing under eerily similar circumstances. With all the old feelings rushing back, Margot vows to find Natalie and solve January's murder once and for all. But the police, the family, the townspeople-they all seem to be hiding something. And the deeper Margot digs into Natalie's disappearance, the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January's case feels. Could the killer still be out there? Could it be the same person who took Natalie? And what will it cost to finally discover what truly happened that night? Twisty, chilling, and intense, All Good People Here is a searing tale that asks: What are your neighbors really capable of when they think no one is watching?"--. Provided by publisher. 

 

 The Woman in the Window : a novel by Finn, A. J.

"It isn't paranoia if it's really happening ... Anna Fox lives alone -- a recluse in her New York City home, drinking too much wine, watching old movies ... and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move next door: a father, a mother, their teenaged son. The perfect family. But when Anna sees something she shouldn't, her world begins to crumble -- and its shocking secrets are laid bare. What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this gripping Hitchcockian thriller, no one and nothing are what they seem."-- Provided by publisher.

 

It's Always the Husband by Campbell, Michele 

"Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny. They first met as college roommates and soon became inseparable, even though they are as different as three women can be. Twenty years later, one of them is standing at the edge of a bridge, and someone else is urging them to jump. How did things come to this? As the novel cuts back and forth between their college years and their adult years, you see the exact reasons why these women love and hate each other--but can feelings that strong lead to murder? Or will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it's always the husband?"-- Provided by publisher.

 

We Were Liars by Lockhart, E.

 

Spending the summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer.
 

The Wife Between Us by Hendricks, Greer 

 

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement. You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves. You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her. You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships. Assume nothing. 

Goodnight Beautiful : a novel by Molloy, Aimee

 

"Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York and start a life together in Sam's sleepy hometown in upstate New York. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele. Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist's wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn't satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie's happily ever after. Showcasing Molloy's deft ability to subvert norms and culminating in the kind of stunning twist that is becoming her trademark, Goodnight Beautiful is a thrilling tale of domestic suspense that not only questions assumptions but defies expectations"-- Provided by publisher. 

The Wife Upstairs by Hawkins, Rachel

 

 "A delicious twist on a Gothic classic, Rachel Hawkins's The Wife Upstairs pairs Southern charm with atmospheric domestic suspense, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Megan Miranda. Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates--a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name. But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates' most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can't help but see an opportunity in Eddie--not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she's always yearned for. Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie's heart before her past--or his--catches up to her? With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won't stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature's most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?"-- Provided by publisher.

 

Then She Was Gone by Jewell, Lisa
 

"Ten years after her teenage daughter disappears, a woman crosses paths with a charming single father whose young child feels eerily familiar, in this evocative, suspenseful drama from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell--perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Liane Moriarty. Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her. And then she was gone. Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It's been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie's case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a cafe, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she's meeting Floyd's daughters--and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel's breath away. Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she's tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?"-- Provided by publisher. 

We Were Never Here : a novel by Bartz, Andrea

 

"An annual backpacking trip has deadly consequences in a chilling new novel from the bestselling author of The Lost Night and The Herd. Emily is having the time of her life--she's in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of their trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she'd been flirting with attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year's trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can't believe it's happened again--can lightning really strike twice? Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving head-first into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her friend's motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their coverups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can she outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom--even her life?"--. Provided by publisher.

Suspense

 

The goal for a book that falls into the Suspense category, is that it will keep its audience on the edge of their seats.  A tone of apprehension, anxiety, and a bit of excitement.  This is heightened by the reader having just a bit more knowledge about what is happening than the protagonist.  Key elements of successful suspense involve conflict, pacing, red herrings, atmosphere, and high stakes (https://www.authorlearningcenter.com)

19 Yellow Moon Road by Michaels, Fern

"When Maggie Spritzer gets a strange message from her pal, Gabby Richardson, Maggie knows her services are needed. Gabby has become involved with The Haven, a commune that promises to guide its members toward a more spiritually fulfilling life. Maggie wants to learn more about The Haven, and the Sisterhood is eager to help. It turns out The Haven's founders are the sons of a Chicago businessmen in prison for running a Ponzi scheme. They also have connections to a billionaire with dubious sidelines. Soon, the Sisterhood uncovers crime that runs deeper and higher than they imagined. And they'll need all their skills to bring it down"--. Back cover.

Abandoned in Death by Robb, J. D.

The woman's body was found in the early morning, on a bench in a New York City playground. She was clean, her hair neatly arranged, and her makeup carefully applied. But other things were very wrong--like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The clothes are decades out of date. The fatal wound is hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child.

Eve Dallas turns to the department's top profiler, who confirms what seems obvious to Eve: They're dealing with a killer whose childhood involved some sort of trauma--a situation Eve is all too familiar with herself. Yet the clues suggest a perpetrator who'd be roughly sixty years old, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that apparently reopened such an old wound and sent someone over the edge?

When Eve discovers that other young women--who physically resemble the first victim--have vanished, the clock starts ticking louder. But to solve this case she will need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the cold depths of a shattered mind.

The Accomplice: a novel by Lutz, Lisa

"Owen's wife was murdered. His best friend, Luna, found the body. Everything and everyone is thrown into question in this riveting suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Passenger. Owen is rich, charming, and chronically dissatisfied. His life is forever entangled with Luna Grey, his no-nonsense best friend who is struggling to hide her dark past. From the fateful day they meet in college, the two become inextricably linked. They can't be mentioned without the other: Owen and Luna, Luna and Owen. In addition to their own trove of personal secrets, there is the deadly one they share. It forges a bond that will last decades. Years later, Owen disappears on his wife, Irene, for hours, mostly to spend time drinking with Luna. Luna is now an assistant to the eccentric and reclusive artist Leo Whitman, who also happens to be Irene's stepfather. But when Irene is found dead, the victim of a brutal crime, it unleashes a torrent of secrets from the past as well as everything they would have preferred to have kept hidden in the present. Despite their innocence, the murder causes the walls to quickly close in around them. The Accomplice examines the intense relationship between two very different misanthropic best friends. What happens when one of them takes a sledgehammer to their bond and the other lights that wreckage on fire? If secrets are what kept Owen and Luna together, they just might tear them apart, too. If they let them"--. Provided by publisher.

Babysitter by Oates, Joyce Carol

"In the waning days of the 1970s, the lives of several residents of Detroit and its affluent white suburbs are drawn together following the disappearance of yet another child. Hannah, a wife and mother, begins an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger; Mikey, a young street hustler, finds himself on an unexpected mission to rectify injustice; and then there's the child serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and elusive figure at the periphery of elite Detroit, who has always been impossible to identify and immune to retribution. As Babysitter continues to strike-sending the city and its surroundings into pandemonium-these characters intersect, jeopardize one another, and are pushed to their limits. Suspenseful, brilliant, and wholly engrossing, Babysitter asks what we would risk for a chance at a new life, and how to protect all we cherish most. A scathing indictment of the corrupt politics, unexamined racism, and sexual predation in America, Babysitter is a thrilling novel and an absolute force"--. Provided by publisher.

Bad Day Breaking by Galligan, John

"A strange religious sect has arrived in Bad Axe County, Wisconsin. Armed with guns, an enigmatic spiritual leader and his followers set up their compound in an abandoned storage lot. It's not long before rumors start to spread of sadistic rituals and a planned takeover of the local government. But when one of the followers is found dead in the river, that's when full-on panic sets in. Sheriff Heidi Kick may not be a fan of the new group, but she is also dismayed by the hostile reaction of the Bad Axe community. With a murder investigation on her hands, the situation becomes more complicated when Sheriff Kick finds out an ex-boyfriend from her youth is out on parole early and looking to hunt her down. With a tumultuous snowstorm on the horizon, the cult members are on the verge of freezing, Bad Axe is on the edge of violence, and Sheriff Kick is just one false step away from losing her family, her town, and her very life. By a writer at the height of his powers, Bad Day Breaking is a thrilling mystery that explores the price paid for following false leaders and the power we each have to triumph over trauma" --Provided by publisher.

The Berlin Exchange: a novel by Kanon, Joseph

"Berlin. 1963. The height of the Cold War. An early morning spy swap, not at the familiar setting for such exchanges, or at Checkpoint Charlie, where international visitors cross into the East, but at a more discreet border crossing, usually reserved for East German VIPs. The Communists are trading two American students caught helping people to escape over the wall and a lower level CIA operative. On the other side of the trade: Martin Keller, a physicist who once made headlines, but who then disappeared into the English prison system. Keller's most critical possession: his American passport. Keller's most ardent desire: to see his ex-wife Sabine and their young son. The exchange is made with the formality characteristic of these swaps. But Martin has other questions: who asked for him? Who negotiated the deal? The KGB? He has worked for the service long enough to know that nothing happens by chance. They want him for something. Not physics-his expertise is out of date. Something else, which he cannot learn until he arrives in East Berlin, when suddenly the game is afoot. Filled with intriguing characters, atmospheric detail, and plenty of action Kanon's latest espionage thriller is one you won't soon forget"--. Provided by publisher

Blood and Moonlight by Beaty, Erin

Rising above the city of Collis is the holy Sanctum. And watching over its spires is Catrin, an orphan girl with unique skills--for she alone can spot the building's flaws in construction before they turn deadly.

But when Catrin witnesses a murderer escaping the scene of his crime, she's pulled into a dangerous chain of events where the only certainty is that the killer will strike again. Assigned to investigate is the mysterious and brilliant Simon, whose insights into the mind of a predator are frighteningly accurate.

As the grisly crimes continue, Catrin finds herself caught between killer and detective while hiding her own secret--a supernatural sight granted by the moon, destined to make her an outcast, and the only thing that might save her and those she loves from becoming the next victims...

Cherish Farrah: a novel by Morrow, Bethany C.

"Seventeen-year-old Farrah Turner is one of two Black girls in her country club community, and the only one with Black parents. Her best friend, Cherish Whitman, adopted by a wealthy white family, is something Farrah likes to call WGS--White Girl Spoiled. With Brianne and Jerry Whitman as parents, Cherish is given the kind of adoration and coddling that even upper-class Black parents can't seem to afford--and it creates a dissonance in her best friend that Farrah can exploit. When her own family is unexpectedly confronted with foreclosure, the calculating Farrah is determined to reassert the control she's convinced she's always had over her life by staying with Cherish, the only person she loves--even when she hates her. A troubled Farrah manipulates her way further into the Whitman family but the longer she stays, the more her own parents suggest that something is wrong in the Whitman house. She might trust them--if they didn't think something was wrong with Farrah, too. As strange things start happening at the Whitman household--debilitating illnesses, upsetting fever dreams, an inexplicable tension with Cherish's hothead boyfriend, and a strange journal that seems to keep track of what is happening to Farrah--it's nothing she can't handle. But soon everything begins to unravel when the Whitmans invite Farrah closer, and it's anyone's guess who is really in control. Told in Farrah's chilling, unforgettable voice and weaving in searing commentary on race and class, this slow-burn social horror will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page"--. Provided by publisher.

Girl Overboard by Block, Sandra

"When Izzy meets Jade on a cruise to Bermuda, her new daredevil friend turns Izzy's boring family vacation into the trip of a lifetime. Until she goes missing. The investigators claim Jade fell overboard, but Izzy knows better. Her friend had secrets--secrets that might have gotten her killed. As Izzy digs deeper into Jade's disappearance, she realizes that someone doesn't want her to find the truth. And if she's not careful, Izzy might not get off this ship alive"--Back cover.

The Good Son by Mitchard, Jacquelyn

"Stefan was just seventeen with he went to prison for the drug-fueled murder of his girlfriend, Belinda. Three years later, he's released to a world that refuses to let him move on. Meanwhile Thea Demetriou struggles to understand her son. At times, he is still the sweet boy he has always been; at other, he is a young man tormented by guilt and almost broken by his time in prison. But as his efforts to amends meet escalating resistance and threats, Thea suspects more forces are at play than just community outrage. And it there is so much she never knew about her own son, what other secrets has she yet to uncover--especially about the night Belinda died?"--. Back cover.