Books to look forward to from Headline

Pirio Kasparov finds herself abandoned in the North Atlantic when the fishing boat she's on is rammed by a freighter. She somehow survives for nearly four hours in the freezing water before being rescued, but Pirio's friend, Ned, is not so lucky. He disappears without a trace. Pirio can't shake the suspicion that the boat's sinking was no accident, and begins to unravel a lethal plot that takes her to Northern Canada and the ice-cold waters of Baffin Bay. To survive, she must overcome a deadly betrayal from someone in her past, and, most importantly, learn to trust her own instincts above all else. Elisabeth Elo's mesmerising novel introduces a gutsy heroine with a rare ability to withstand the extreme, and follows a dark and treacherous quest that brings to light some horrifying truths.  North of Boston is by Elizabeth Elo and is due to be published in January 2014.

The Keeper is by John Lescroart and is due to be published in May 2014. Dismas Hardy

takes on a case that’s very close to home.  When Hal Chase’s wife, Katie, goes missing and he becomes the prime suspect for her murder, he wants Dismas Hardy as his lawyer.  Hardy calls on former homicide detective Abe Glitsky to look into the case. Chase certainly had strong motives but as Glitsky delves deeper, he identifies other possible suspects and he also uncovers an incident that might be related - the death of an inmate in the jail where Chase used to work. When Katie’s body is discovered, Chase is arrested and finds himself in his old jail, a place full of secrets he knows all too well. Against a backdrop of conspiracy and corruption, an obsessed Glitsky closes in on the elusive truth. But as other deaths begin to pile up he realises that the next victim might be himself.

Someone Else’s Skin is by Sarah Hillary and is due to be published in February 2014.  Some secrets keep you safe, others will destroy you...Detective Inspector Marnie Rome. Dependable; fierce; brilliant at her job; a rising star in the ranks. Everyone knows how Marnie fought to come back from the murder of her parents, but very few know what is going on below the surface. Because Marnie has secrets she won't share with anyone. But then so does everyone. Certainly those in the women's shelter Marnie and Detective Sergeant Noah Jake visit on that fateful day. The day when they arrive to interview a resident, only to find one of the women's husbands, who shouldn't have been there, lying stabbed on the floor. As Marnie and Noah investigate the crime further, events begin to spiral and the violence escalates. Everyone is keeping secrets, some for survival and some, they suspect, to disguise who they really are under their skin. Now, if Marnie is going to find the truth she will have to face her own demons head on. Because the time has come for secrets to be revealed...

After a summer fighting wildfire, park ranger Anna Pigeon is enjoying a weekend away camping in Minnesota's National Park with her girlfriends. Leah Hendricks is the genius behind a high-end sports gear manufacturer and Heath Jarrod has volunteered to test out some of the equipment. But when they encounter a band of violent kidnappers little do they realise that their ultimate challenge will be to stay alive.  Destroyer Angel is by Nevada Barr and is due to be published in April 2014.

Fear Nothing is by Lisa Gardner and is due to be published in January 2014. My name is Dr

Adeline Glen. Due to a genetic condition I can't feel pain. All Boston Detective D.D. Warren remembers is walking the crime scene. Next, a creaking floorboard, a voice in her ear...Now D.D. is seriously injured and unable to return to work. My sister is Shana Day, a notorious child murderer. She has killed more people in prison than as a free woman. Then a second victim is found with the same calling cards left at the scene: champagne and a single red rose. Only D.D. may have seen the killer, but she recalls nothing from the night that may have cost her everything. Our father was Harry Day, an infamous serial killer dead for over forty years. The Rose Killer knows things about my father he shouldn't. All I know is my family still has the power to hurt me. Now D.D. is back on the hunt. Because the Rose Killer isn't just targeting lone women, he is targeting D.D. And D.D. knows there is only one way to take him down: Fear nothing.

When a predatory serial killer known as the Hangman escapes incarceration, throwing the city of Buffalo into a fearful panic, homicide detective Absalom Kearney is tasked with finding him. Still reeling from her encounter with a twisted killer whose dark past entwined closely with her own, Abbie tracks the Hangman to within miles of the city limits, just as a teenage girl goes missing there. The Buffalo P.D. is on high alert, and as more girls disappear, Abbie begins to suspect someone else may be helping the killer. Unsure of who to trust in a city of secrets, she turns to the Network, a shady consortium of Buffalo old boys and ex-cops. But as Abbie draws closer to the truth, the Hangman ratchets up the stakes, kidnapping a girl from a prestigious local school and leaving the clear message that Abbie has just hours to find her - or live forever with the guilt of her death...  Hangman is by Stephen Talty and is due to be published in May 2014.

`I don't want to know your reasons. I don't care. Think of me as a bullet. Just point.'

Spademan used to be a garbage man. That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, before New York became a burnt-out shell. Now the wealthy spend their days tapped into virtual reality; the rest have to fend for themselves in the streets. Now there's nothing but garbage. So he became a hit man. He doesn't ask questions, he works quickly, and he's handy with a box-cutter. When he's hired to kill the daughter of a high-profile evangelist, Spademan's life is upended. He will have to navigate two worlds - both the slick fantasy and the wasteland reality - to finish the job, clear his conscience, and make sure he's not the one who winds up in the ground.  Shovel Ready is by Adam Sternbergh and is due to be published in January 2014.

A stolen baby. A murdered woman. A decades-old atrocity. Something connects them all...A month before Christmas, and Ballyterrin on the Irish border lies under a thick pall of snow. When a newborn baby goes missing from hospital, it's all too close to home for forensic psychologist Paula Maguire, who's wrestling with the hardest decision of her life. Then a woman is found in a stone circle with her stomach cut open and it's clear a brutal killer is on the loose. As another child is taken and a pregnant woman goes missing, Paula is caught up in the hunt for a killer no one can trace, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. The Dead Ground will leave you gasping for breath as Paula discovers every decision she makes really is a matter of life and death...  The Dead Ground is by Claire McGowan and is due to be published in April 2014.

Leo Maxwell is a criminal defense attorney on the lookout for the big case that will make his reputation. When a mysterious woman hires him to defend her brother on a murder charge he thinks he may have found it. But things are not what they seem - he's been set up to become the number one enemy of both a vicious gangland boss and the police. Hounded by threats from all sides, he finds himself with a price on his head and framed for murder. Leo's a marked man unless he can somehow turn the tables. But as the bodies pile up and Leo closes in on the truth, he discovers that it is far more sinister than he imagined and forces him question everything that he holds dear...  Lions Play Rough is by Lachlan Smith and is due to be published in February 2014.

When Dr Lou Welcome has to fill in for his boss at the Physical Wellness Office, giving a speech at a national conference in Atlanta, he takes advantage of the opportunity to have an exclusive tour of the Center for Disease Control. As he watches scientists talk about antibacterial resistance and biological weaponry before disappearing into mysterious restricted labs, Lou can't help but wonder about the development of weapons of mass destruction. Little does he know that a scientist working a top-secret project will be kidnapped, and Lou will become enmeshed in a case that could have fatal consequences across the country...  Resistant is by Michael Palmer and is due to be published in May 2014.

Season to Taste is by Natalie Young and is due to be published in January 2014.  Always let the meat rest under foil for at least ten minutes before carving...Meet Lizzie Prain. Ordinary housewife. Fifty-something. Lives in a cottage in the woods, with her dog Rita. Likes cooking, avoids the neighbours. Runs a little business making cakes. No one has seen Lizzie's husband, Jacob, for a few days. That's because last Monday, on impulse, Lizzie caved in the back of his head with a spade. And if she's going to embark on the new life she feels she deserves after thirty years in Jacob's shadow, she needs to dispose of his body. Her method appeals to all her practical instincts, though it's not for the faint-hearted. Will Lizzie have the strength to follow it through? Dark, funny and achingly human, Season to Taste is a deliciously subversive treat.

Hour of Darkness sees Bob Skinner the Edinburgh cop faced with a case that calls every part of his life into question. The body of a murdered woman is found washed up on Cramond Island near the mouth of the River Forth. Days later detectives are called to a flat in Edinburgh; the kitchen is covered in blood, and the occupier is missing. When the name of the woman from Cramond Island is revealed, it stirs unwelcome memories for those who knew her, Chief Constable Bob Skinner most of all. Now based in Glasgow, he has no reason to become involved in the case. Yet he does, unwittingly setting in motion a course that leads him to the toughest choice of his life, putting him in the midst of a personal nightmare, both life-threatening and career changing.  Hour of Darkness is by Quintin Jardine and is due to be published in May 2014.

Spree is by Michael Morley and is due to be published in March 2014.  A madman is on the

rampage in the Los Angeles streets. The City of Angels has become The City of Fear. And everyone from the Oval Office down wants a quick result. The heat is on Jake Mottram, head of the FBI's new Spree Killer Unit, and psychological profiler Angie Holmes to find the madman responsible. Until now, they've been great together. Both at work and in bed. But a killer is about to come between them, in ways that could cost them far more than their careers. Will they survive the spree about to come? SPREE: Life and death in LA - like you've never seen it before.

The Hunters is by Chris Kuzneski and is due to be published in April 2014. If you seek, they will find... The treasure: For over two thousand years, the legendary tomb of Alexander the Great - and the riches concealed within – has evaded discovery. Now, after centuries of searching, an ancient map has come to light that could hold the key to finding the fabled vault. Only one team has the skill and the expertise to solve the mystery once and for all.  The mission:  It’s up to The Hunters - an elite group assembled to track down the world’s greatest treasures - to find the tomb.  But on arriving in Alexandria, it quickly becomes clear that hostile forces are on their trail. And when one of the team is captured in cisterns deep below the city, what began as a treasure hunt becomes a deadly rescue mission. For there are some who will use any means possible to destroy The Hunters’ efforts, and now there is more at stake than they ever could have imagined.

The ultimate duo - Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase - return in their ninth action-packed adventure. Secrets from the past emerge to threaten archaeologist Nina Wilde and her husband, former SAS soldier Eddie Chase, when a Viking runestone is stolen by a murderous gang of raiders. The stone holds the key to an ancient evil concealed in one of Norse mythology's holiest places: Valhalla. Travelling to Sweden, Eddie and Nina find themselves in a race against time to locate the legendary hall of the Viking warriors - before rival powers claim its deadly contents for themselves. It is a quest that will force Eddie to revisit a dark chapter from his mercenary days that he has kept hidden from everyone...including his wife. Only Nina and Eddie can prevent the unleashing of a primordial terror from the depths of the earth. But even if they succeed, will the cost be greater than either of them could have ever imagined...  The Valhalla Prophecy is by Andy McDermott and is due to be published in January 2014.

The Directive is by Matthew Quirk and is due to be published in May 2014. What if the only way to go straight is to break the law? Michael Ford has finally escaped his chequered past to lead the respectable life he's always dreamed of, preparing to settle down with his fiancee Annie. But the quiet is shattered when his brother, Jack, comes back into his life. Jack is a world-class con man who has finally overplayed his hand. He's in way over his head in a conspiracy to steal a billion-dollar secret from the heart of the financial system. And in an effort to help his brother, Mike soon finds himself trapped by the dangerous men in charge - and responsible for pulling off the heist himself. With Annie's safety on the line, Mike tries to figure out who's behind the job - and realises the only way to keep the honest life is to return to his criminal past. But will he get in too deep to save Annie's life?

Well-used to elevated emotions, psychologist Alex Delaware shrugs off a joking death threat from beautiful Beverly Hills physician Constance Sykes, whose attempt to secure legal custody of her baby niece is thwarted by Alex’s forthright report to the court. Alex plays down the threat until LAPD’s Milo Sturgis rushes to his side with the shocking word on the street that a hit’s been taken out on him.  But while Alex may be in grave danger, it won’t be from the Beverley Hills doctor, for Connie is soon discovered brutally slain. When her sister Cherie and the baby disappear, apparently on the run, Alex’s search for answers leads him to aged rockers, charming homeboys and even Machiavellian judges.  As the darkest of secrets are peel away, and a cruel system churns through family lives, Alex seeks to stop a vicious killer and save a child from a life of nightmares... or worse.  Killer is by Jonathan Kellerman and is due to be published in February 2014.

That Dark Day Remembered  is by Tom Vowler and is due to be published in March 2014. One family, one town, devastated by one tragic event. Can you ever know what those closest to you are really capable of? When Stephen gets a phone call to say his mother isn't well, he knows he must go to her straight away. But he dreads going back there. He has never been able to understand why his mother chose to stay in the town he grew up in, after everything that happened. One day's tragic events years before had left no one living there untouched. Stephen's own dark memories are still poisoning his life, as well as his marriage. Perhaps now is the time to go back and confront the place and the people of his shattered childhood. But will he ever be able to understand the crime that punctured their lives so brutally? How can a community move on from such a terrible legacy

Sometimes the past is best left buried.  Twelve years after fighting in Mesopotamia in the  Great War, Harry Ward returns to the land where he lost his faith, his mind and almost his life.  Haunted by bloody visions of bayonets, shrapnel and shells, he takes up the offer of a simple job, working as a photographer on an archaeological dig outside of Mosul.  As the dig progresses, Ward begins to realise that what they have uncovered is no ordinary temple; it holds a terrible secret.  Now flashbacks are the least of his problems ... and he must face a new kind of terror.  The Devil’s Ark is by Stephen Bywater and is due to be published in April 2014.

Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, authors of The Heist, return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O'Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on the line. Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, Special Agent Kate O'Hare. Together they'll go undercover to swindle and catch the world's most wanted - and untouchable - criminals. Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the

ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artefact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar - and against the clock - to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove's elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills of their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate's dad. A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it'll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty's priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O'Hare.  The Chase is due to be published in February 2014.

Theft of Life is by Imogen Robertson and is due to be published in May 2014.  London, 1785. When the body of a West Indies planter is found pegged out in the grounds of St Paul's, suspicion falls on one of the victim's former slaves, who was found with his watch on the London streets. As Harriet and Crowther begin investigate, however, they find the answer is not that simple. Together, they negotiate the interests of the British government, the secrets of the plantation owners, and a network of alliances stretching across the Atlantic. And they must confront the uncomfortable truth that some people are willing to do great evil when they believe their cause to be just.