Books to look forward to from Headline

In Satori it is the autumn of 1951 and the Korean War is raging. Twenty six year old Nicholai Hel has spent the last three years in solitary confinement at the hands of the Americans. Hel is master of 'hoda kaorosu' or 'naked kill', fluent in over six languages, and has honed extraordinary 'proximity sense' - an extra awareness of the presence of danger. He has the skills to be the world's most formidable assassin and now the CIA needs him. The Americans offer Hel freedom in exchange for one small service: go to Beijing and kill the Soviet Union's Commissioner to China. It's almost certainly a suicide mission, but Hel accepts. Now, he must survive chaos, violence, suspicion, and betrayal while trying to achieve his ultimate goal of Satori - the possibility of true understanding and harmony with the world. Satori is by Don Winslow and is due to be published in April 2011

Alex Cahill and Logan Finch return in Blindside GJ Moffat's Glasgow-set crime series. When a passenger jet crashes in Denver, Colorado, nobody survives. In Glasgow, Alex Cahill is surprised to receive a phone call from the wife of an old Secret Service colleague who was supposedly travelling on the doomed plane. But there is no record of his name on the passenger list. Cahill uses his connections to find out what has happened but no one is talking. Not even to him. Enlisting the help of his lawyer and friend, Logan Finch, Cahill is determined to get some answers. Logan's girlfriend, DCI Rebecca Irvine, is also looking for answers. A new drug is killing users but is it accidental death or could it be homicide? As Rebecca searches the streets of Glasgow, and Cahill and Logan head to Denver, they are unaware that a perfect storm of events across the globe is about to engulf them all. Blindside is due to be published in April 2011.

Edinburgh's toughest cop, Bob Skinner, looks into his past to assuage his demons in Grievous Angel. Skinner revisits his nightmares: old but not forgotten. Fifteen years in the past, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Bob Skinner is called to investigate a most brutal death. A man lies at the deep end of an empty swimming pool, his neck broken and almost every other bone in his body shattered. Soon, an organised crime connection looms, and bloody retribution spreads to a second city. Then violence erupts on a new front, as a vicious knifeman seems to be targeting Edinburgh's gay population. As if this double dose of homicide isn't enough for a single man with a teenage daughter to raise and protect, Skinner's personal life takes a similar, perilous twist. Can he stay on the side of the angels, or will he fall ...? Grievous Angel is due to be published in June 2011 and is by Quintin Jardine.

Steve Jones, our Cityboy hero, wants out. He's looking to cash-in before the soul-stripping toil of coining it in London's financial heartland turns into a life sentence. All it will take is a handsome seven figure wedge in the bank and it's the good life for him and goodbye to the horrors of the Square Mile. Like the expert chancer he is, he sees an opportunity. Hacking into his boss's computer, he finds something that chills him to the bone. This is big time; there are bad men involved; there are millions at stake. So no change there then. But when he stumbles upon a murder and becomes the prime suspect, he has to go on the run. Together with his partner Gemma, he improvises ingenious ways of outwitting the authorities, a vicious drug cartel and even M15 in a chase that will send him half way round the world if he's going to stay alive. Just Business is by Geraint Anderson and is due to be published in June 2011.

Dan, an Irishman who's ended up in New Jersey, finds himself embroiled in a world of murder, kidnapping and corrupt cops. Dan works as a bouncer in a seedy club, half in love with hostess Connie. When Connie is murdered on the premises, a vengeful Dan finds himself embroiled in an increasingly deadly sequence of events in which his doctor friend Zeb goes mysteriously missing, a cop-killing female cop becomes his only ally, and he makes an enemy of ruthless drug-dealer Mike Madden. Plugged is the debut crime novel by Eoin Colfer and is due to be published in May 2011.

In 88 Killer Tom Harper and Denise Levene return in this new thriller from Oliver Stark. In a brand new case, full of twists and turns, Harper and Levene hunt a serial killer on the streets of New York. When the body of a young white male is discovered in a Harlem alleyway, NYPD detective, Tom Harper, is not convinced this is a straightforward homicide case. Determined to discover the truth, Harper investigates a spate of similar murders across the city with the help of police psychologist, Denise Levene. But Denise is battling her own demons, as Tom knows all too well. The realisation that a serial killer could be on the prowl seems like frighteningly familiar territory to Tom and Denise. But hatred and fear take on many forms and Tom has never come across a case quite like this. 88 Killer is due to be published in April 2011.

Cumbria, 1783. A broken heritage; a secret history. The tomb of the first Earl of Greta should have lain undisturbed on its island of bones for three hundred years. When idle curiosity opens the stone lid, however, inside is one body too many. Gabriel Crowther's family bought the Gretas' land long ago, and has suffered its own bloody history. His brother was hanged for murdering their father, the Baron of Keswick, and Crowther has chosen comfortable seclusion and anonymity over estate and title for thirty years. But the call of the mystery brings him home at last. Travelling with forthright Mrs Harriet Westerman, who is escaping her own tragedy, Crowther finds a little town caught between new horrors and old, where ancient ways challenge modern justice. And against the wild and beautiful backdrop of fells and water, Crowther discovers that his past will not stay buried. Island of Bones is by Imogen Robertson and is due to be published in April 2011.

Spiral is the first bio-tech thriller from Cornell professor, Paul McEuen. Pacific Ocean 1946: Liam Connor of the British Army, a global expert on germ warfare, is sent to help the US Navy foil an attempt by a Japanese submarine to unleash the world's first biological super-weapon. Code-name: Uzumaki. Translation: Spiral. The devastating decision is made to annihilate Spiral by releasing the world's fourth atomic bomb, obliterating the weapon before it can release its catastrophic payload. New York, present day: Connor, now a world-renowned Nobel prize-winner working on the cutting edge of nano-science technology, prayed that the spectre of Spiral would never return. But now it is back and the stakes are exponentially higher. Spiral would be virtually unstoppable with current technological advances and only Connor holds the key to its cure. Those who seek Spiral will stop at nothing to obtain Connor's knowledge, even if it means his death and that of everyone he holds dear. As the race begins for Spiral, will the world survive the Doomsday scenario about to unfold? Spiral is due to be published in March 2011.

Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend Polly comes to stay. Very soon, Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted - is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again. Cuckoo is the debut novel by Julia Crouch and is due to be published in March 2011

In The Loner Xavier (Xavi) Aislado is a gentle giant, half Spanish, half Scot, brought up in Edinburgh by his grandmother, Paloma Puig, a ferocious old lady whose grim brand of care sees him into his teens, until his father moves back to Spain, leaving him to grow up fast. His emergence into manhood is colourful, and eventful. After a short career as a professional footballer, he turns to journalism, and has a bloody introduction to the trade, as his first assignment ends in violent death. Inevitably, remorselessly, as his autobiography unfolds, Xavi's life and his love become entwined with his work, and he is immersed in tragedy, loss and betrayal, going halfway round the world in search of a truth that may destroy him. The Loner is by Quintin Jardine and is due to be published in March 2011.

The Beverley Fauborg hotel is about to close for good. Psychologist Alex Delaware and his girlfriend Robin are making a farewell visit to the hotel bar when one patron in particular grabs their attention -- a beautiful but aloof young woman dressed all in white. Two days later, Alex is called in on a murder case and is shocked when he recognises the victim as the woman in white. Discovering her true identity is not going to be easy though and, Milo's investigation into the girl nicknamed 'Mystery' leads him to the darkest of secrets in the highest of places. Mystery is by Jonathan Kellerman and is due for publication in March 2011.

The Secret Soldier is the brand new John Wells thriller by Alex Berenson. Those in power always need an unofficial option. Meet John Wells. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah fears he is fast losing control of his family and his people. A series of terrorist attacks has put his kingdom on edge and, with powerful factions turning against him, the king must turn to the one man he has been told will make the difference. Ex-CIA operative John Wells knows all too well how covert internal battles can undermine a nation. With the stability of a powerful Middle Eastern country at stake, he goes undercover to investigate King Abdullah's claims. But as Wells begins to unravel the conspiracy, it takes an unexpected twist. The plotters want more than the fall of a monarch. Their objective is to spark the final bloody conflagration between Islam and the West. Has time finally run out for John Wells? The Secret Soldier is due to be published in March 2011

Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase are back for their seventh blockbusting adventure by the bestselling author of The Hunt For Atlantis, Andy McDermott. When archaeologist Nina Wilde and her husband, ex-SAS soldier Eddie Chase, are given the chance to work on an Interpol investigation into smuggled artefacts, they are stunned to realise that the artefacts hold clues to the location of a lost Inca settlement hidden somewhere in South America. As Nina and Eddie dig deeper, it soon becomes clear that finding the settlement may only be the start of their incredible quest. One which, astonishingly, may lead them to one of the greatest legends of all time: El Dorado -- the mythical city of gold. Nina and Eddie are desperate to locate the fabled city. But they are not alone in their search. Deep in the jungles of Venezuela, they face corrupt soldiers, murderous revolutionaries and ruthless drug lords who will stop at nothing to obtain the city's treasures. With so much at stake, what price will they pay for the greatest of fortunes. Empire of Gold is due to be published in February 2011.

When someone is out for revenge is there any way to stop them? When a mutilated body is found in a Baltimore park, forensic Pathologist Dr Lucy Trask and DEtective Michael Fitzpatrick uncover a story of guilt, anger and retribution more terrifying then they ever imagined. You Belong to Me is by Karen Rose and is due to be published in January 2011.

A Noble Killing is the latest book from the CWA Silver Dagger author Barbara Nadel. In Turkey the police are called to the scene of what seems to be the honour killing of a young girl. Burnt alive, she is not the first girl to suffer such an horrific death in Istanbul. Further investigations by Inspectors Cetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman reveal that the girl had a secret boyfriend who has now disappeared. A Nobel Killing is due to be published in January 2011.