Books to Look forward to from Penguin and Michael Joseph

King Henry V - the great Lion of England - is long dead. In 1437, after years of regency, the pious and gentle Henry VI, the Lamb, comes of age and accedes to the English throne. His poor health and frailty of mind render him a weakling king - Henry depends on his closest men, Spymaster Derry Brewer and William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, to run his kingdom. Yet there are those, such as the Plantagenet Richard, Duke of York, who believe England must be led by a strong king if she is to survive. With England's territories in France under threat, and rumours of revolt at home, fears grow that Henry and his advisers will see the country slide into ruin. With a secret deal struck for Henry to marry a young French noblewoman, Margaret of Anjou, those fears become all too real. As storm clouds gather over England, King Henry and his supporters find themselves besieged abroad and at home. Who, or what, can save the kingdom before it is too late?  War of the Roses: Stormbird is by Conn Iggulden and is due to be published in October 2013.  It is the start of a new series.

 

Tell No Lies is by Greg Hurwitz and was published in August 2013.  Sharing a room with

criminals is an occupational hazard for probation counsellor Daniel Brasher. But he's ready to move on; he's looking forward to leaving it behind for good. That was the plan at least. Until, before leaving work for the evening, Daniel finds a letter in his pigeonhole. Inside is a note: 'admit what you've done or you will bleed for it. you have 'till november 15 at midnite' But the message was meant for someone else and picked up late by Daniel. With the deadline past, the intended recipient is already dead. Further warnings herald a series of gruesome, seemingly inexplicable murders. Then a note is addressed to Daniel himself. And with the clock ticking he must discover who wants him dead. And why, or become the next victim.

Husband and wife team Sam and Remi Fargo are in Mexico when they come upon an astonishing discovery – the skeleton of a man clutching an ancient sealed pot, and within the pot a  Mayan book larger than anyone has ever seen.  The book contains astonishing information about the Mayans, their cities, and about mankind itself. The secrets are so powerful that some people would do anything to possess them – as the Fargos are about to find out.  Before their adventure is done, many men and women will die for that book – and Sam and Remi may just be among them.  The Mayan Secrets is by Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry and is due to be published in November 2013.

Refusal is by Feliz Francis and is due to be published in September 2013. Sir Richard Stewart, chairman of the horse racing authority, wants Sid Halley to look into some suspicious race results, but Sid gave up the investigating business six years ago and he thought nothing could make him go back. He thought wrong. The following day, Sir Richard is found dead and Sid receives a threatening call from a man with an Irish accent. The man insists that Sid Halley should investigate the alleged race-fixing and it is only when his six-year-old daughter goes missing that Sid realises that he may pay the ultimate price for his refusal. With his life in tatters and his family in mortal danger, Sid is forced to act. Maybe he has underestimated the evilness of his foe, but has his foe underestimated the guile and determination of Sid Halley? Extreme situations demand extreme solutions and Sid is desperate to get his life back, or die trying...

When someone wants to find you badly enough, vanishing is no longer an option. Sarah Keller

is a young single mother living in Oklahoma with her five-year-old daughter, Zoe. Her day job is to hunt out people on the run and bring them to justice. So imagine how it looks when a school bus accident sends Zoe to the ER and tests reveal Sarah can't be Zoe's mother. Sarah has been living a lie for years and finally the truth is coming out. Who is she? Who were Zoe's parents? And why does Zoe's identity bring the FBI down on Sarah's tail in mere minutes? The FBI is the least of her worries, though. Sarah needs to keep Zoe off the grid, but with a sinister religious cult also on the trail, where on earth can they hide? Something deadly lurks in Sarah's past and its resurfacing brings terror to all it touches.  The Shadow Tracer is by M G Gardiner and is due to be published in October 2013.

Never Coming Back is by Tim Weaver and was published in August 2013.  A secret that will change lives forever. It was supposed to be the start of a big night out. But when Emily Kane arrives at her sister Carrie's house, she finds the front door unlocked and no one inside. Dinner's cooking, the TV's on. Carrie, her husband and their two daughters are gone. When the police draw a blank, Emily asks missing persons investigator David Raker to find them. It's clear someone doesn't want the family found. But as he gets closer to the truth, Raker begins to uncover evidence of a sinister cover-up, spanning decades and costing countless lives. And worse, in trying to find Emily's missing family, he might just have made himself the next target…

Alex Grecian's The Black Country sees the Scotland Yard Murder Squad return in a gruesome historical thriller. When members of a prominent family disappear from a coal-mining village - and a human eyeball is discovered in a bird's nest - the local constable sends for help from Scotland Yard's new Murder Squad. Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith respond, but they have no idea what they're about to get into. The villagers have intense, intertwined histories. Everybody bears a secret. Superstitions abound. And the village itself is slowly sinking into the mines beneath it. Not even the arrival of forensics pioneer Dr. Bernard Kingsley seems to help. In fact, the more the three of them investigate, the more they realize they may never be allowed to leave. The Black Country is due to be published in September 2013.

Atlantis: Revelation is by Marcus Blake and is due to be published in October 2013.   For millennia, mankind has searched for Atlantis - the ancient lost city, sunk without a trace - and found nothing more than myth. A young man drifts, unconscious, into a quiet Haitian harbour. He wakes to find he can only remember one thing - his name, Achilles. Helped by Marta, a beautiful smuggler, he begins a desperate search for his identity. But soon they are running for their lives, pursued by a covert government agency who will stop at nothing to track them down. The agency knows something Achilles doesn't: he is no ordinary young man. Soon, Achilles will find himself at the centre of a deadly game between two civilizations; the world above, and the world below. What if a place of myth, legend and fables...was real? This is Atlantis: Revelation.

Darkness First by James Hayman is the third book in the McCabe and Savage series and is due to be published in December 2013. In the dark shadows of a summer evening a young woman named Tiffany Stoddard is brutally slain by a remorseless killer's razor sharp blade. Learning that her closest childhood friend was nearly killed in the same incident, Portland Detective Maggie Savage rushes to the scene to join the State Police investigation. Maggie soon discovers the killer's name is Conor Riordan. There's only one problem. Conor Riordan doesn't exist. The only person who can provide a clue as to who Riordan really is, is the victim's eleven-year-old sister, Tabitha. And now Tabitha has turned up missing. Soon Maggie and her long time partner, Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe, find themselves in a desperate race against time to find the missing child before she becomes a vicious killer's next victim.

Books to look forward to from Penguin and Michael Joseph

Death Toll is by CWA Dagger in the Library winner Jim Kelly. Bodies are being exhumed at King's Lynn's cemetery, the bones moved to higher ground to avoid flooding. But when the coffin of murdered pub landlady Nora Tilden is hauled up into the light there's a grim discovery: the twisted corpse of a young black man, killed by a billhook blow to the head, and dumped in the grave on the night Nora was buried twenty-eight years earlier. The police are baffled by a bewildering and brutal murder. Who was this young man? Was he the victim of a racist crime? When DI Peter Shaw, DS George Valentine and their team are put on the case their investigation first leads them to The Flask, Nora's pub just along the riverbank, where her family hides more than one dark secret and it's soon clear no one can be trusted. Will Shaw and Valentine be able to get to the shocking truth behind the murder before it's too late and the ghosts from the past claim another victim? Death Toll is due to be published in January 2011.

The Papal Decree is by Luis Miguel Rocha and is due to be published in July 2011. The Catholic Church's best-kept secret. The ancient scrolls which threaten that secret. And a journalist prepared to discover the truth at any cost. 1947, the Qumran Valley. Ancient scrolls are discovered that the Vatican desperately tries to suppress. Only five men know of their existence. But now four of the men have been found dead . . . Priest and double agent, Rafael, is sent to investigate. The evidence he discovers may implicate journalist Sarah Monteiro, who already knows too many of the Church’s secrets. Finding themselves dangerously entangled in a life-threatening conspiracy that the church will go to any length to protect, Rafael and Sarah must uncover the truth before the killers do .

The Dead Tracks is the second David Raker novel. A serial killer more terrifying than you could ever imagine … Seventeen-year-old Megan Carver was an unlikely runaway. A straight-A student from a happy home, she studied hard and rarely got into trouble. Six months on, she's never been found. Missing persons investigator David Raker knows what it's like to grieve. He knows the shadowy world of the lost too. So, when he's hired by Megan's parents to find out what happened, he recognizes their pain - but knows that the darkest secrets can be buried deep. And Megan's secrets could cost him his life. Because as Raker investigates her disappearance, he realizes everything is a lie. People close to her are dead. Others are too terrified to talk. And soon the conspiracy of silence leads Raker towards a forest on the edge of the city. A place with a horrifying history - which was once the hunting ground for a brutal, twisted serial killer. A place known as the Dead Tracks. The Dead Tracks is by Tim Weaver and is due to be published in February 2011.

The Sword of the Templars is by Paul Christopher and is due to be published in March 2011. After a lifetime on the front lines, Army Ranger John Holliday has resigned himself to ending his career teaching at West Point Military Academy. But when his uncle passes away, Holliday discovers a medieval sword among his things - sinisterly wrapped in Adolf Hitler's personal battle standard. Then someone viciously burns down his uncle's house and Holliday's secret fears about the mysterious sword ring alarmingly true. Holliday must delve into the past and piece together the puzzle that was his uncle's life - his involvement with the enigmatic warriors known as the Knights Templar. But his search for answers soon becomes a race against a ruthless and cunning opponent, willing to die for their cause. Can Holliday live long enough to reveal the treacherous but critical truth?

Ruso and the River of Darkness by R S Downie is the fourth book in the series. Gaius Petreius Ruso and his newlywed wife Tilla have moved back to Britannia, where Ruso's old friend and colleague Valens has promised to help him find work. But it isn't the kind of work he'd had in mind - Ruso's tasked to hunt down a missing taxman named Julius Asper. Of course there's something else missing: money. And the Council of the town of Verulamium is bickering over what's become of it. Compelled to delve deeper by a threat from his old sparring-partner Metellus, Ruso discovers that the good townsfolk may not be as loyal to Rome as they like to appear. While Tilla tries to comfort Asper's wife, an anonymous well-wisher warns the couple to flee before they get hurt. But it doesn't take long until Ruso and Tilla find themselves trapped at the heart of an increasingly treacherous conspiracy. Ruso and the River of Darkness is due to be published in March 2011.

NO ONE WILL FIND YOU -
An aspiring artist. A high-school senior. A stripper. Three women who seemed to have nothing in common except their sudden disappearance. But one man knew them all. Wealthy, privileged Craig Thornton even claimed to love them. And for that, they paid the ultimate price. NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU- When Adrianna Barrington receives an anniversary card from her husband Craig, she assumes it's a sick joke. After all, Craig is dead. But then come the whispered phone calls and beautiful flowers, all reminding her how much Craig misses her. While Adrianna begins to doubt her sanity, grisly remains are found on the Thornton estate. Detective Gage Hudson is convinced the bodies are linked to Craig. But the biggest shocks are yet to come. NO ONE WILL HEAR YOU -
A psychopath has taken up his chilling work again, each death a prelude to the moment when Adrianna is under his control at last. And the only way for Gage and Adrianna to stop him is to uncover the truth about a family's dark past and a twisted love that someone will kill for again and 
again … Dying Scream is by Mary Burton and is due to be published in May 2011.

The Templar Cross is also by Paul Christopher. Retired Army Ranger Lt. Col. John Holliday has reluctantly settled into his teaching position at West Point when young Israeli archaeologist Rafi Wanounou comes to him with desperate news. Holliday's niece - and Rafi's fiancé - Peggy has been kidnapped. Holliday sets out with Rafi to find the only family he has left. But their search for Peggy will lead them to a trail of clues that spans across the globe, and into the heart of a conspiracy involving an ancient Egyptian legend and the darkest secrets of the Order of Templar Knights. Secrets that, once known, cannot be survived … The Templar Cross is due for publication in July 2011.

The Cutting i

s one of the scariest debuts of the year. And the first in a great new series by James Hayman. It is due to be published in January 2011. Someone is stealing the hearts of beautiful women … Portland, Maine. A missing high-school athlete's mutilated body is found in a scrap metal yard. Her heart has been surgically removed. The same day a young businesswoman is abducted … Former NYPD detective Michael McCabe believes both crimes are the work of one man. A k

iller with surgical expertise who is targeting young women. Now McCabe and his team face a race against time to rescue the missing woman and unmask this sadistic killer - before it is too late.

The Chill of the Night is also by James Hayman. Glamorous young Portland attorney Lainie Goff thought she had it all. Brains. Beauty. And a fast-track to a partnership in a top-ranked firm. But then one cold winter night she pushed things too far. And very soon her nude and frozen body is found in the sub-zero temperatures at the end of the Portland Fish Pier.

 The only witness to the crime? A mentally disturbed young woman named Abby Quinn who mysteriously goes missing the very same night. 

With the discovery of Lainie Goff's frozen body and the disappearance of Abby Quinn, Portland homicide detective Michael McCabe finds himself, once again, on the trail of a relentless and clever killer. A killer he must find before another life is lost. The Chill of the Night is by June 2011.

The Temple Mount Code is by Charles Brokaw. One of the world's holiest sites holds a secret that once discovered will set our life as we know it in complete turmoil … When Thomas Lourds, the world's foremost scholar of ancient languages, is contacted by his old friend Dr Lev Strauss about the findings of a long lost ancient scripture, Lourds rushes immediately to Jerusalem to meet with Strauss. The document holds the key to one of the world's biggest treasures, which is hidden under the legendary Temple Mount. But when Lourds arrives in Israel, his friend has been murdered and the book has vanished. Deeply infuriated by Strauss'

death he is determined to seek the truth behind the murder and track down the manuscript before others can decipher the code it contains. The hunt forone of the best-kept secrets begins but will Lourds make it in time before his dangerous opponents close in? The legends promise the code's owner the power to rule over mankind … The Temple Mount Code is due to be published in June 2011.

When everything has been taken from you … 
There's nothing left to lose. Martin Harris has been in a coma for three days … when he wakes up, otherwise unharmed, he is shocked to discover that no one knows who he is - he no longer exists. Worse still, another man is living Martin's life. His identity, his home, even his wife have been stolen. He has lost everything. Except his memory …will anyone believe that he is the real Martin Harris? If not, is he mad? Or is there a far darker explanation? Out of my Head is by Didier van Cauwelaert and due to be published in February 2011

The Set Up is the debut novel by Felix Riley. In three days time it will all be too late … New York City - present day. Mike Byrne wants to know who framed him for murder. The New York Police Department 
Want Byrne locked up. The United States Secret Service 
Want Byrne dead. Detective Jenni Martinez 
Wants her gun and her badge back. Thing is, you don't always get what you want. 
So begins a life or death race against time to prevent an attack on the heart of the United States of America. Only one man can stop it - and he's just been set up. The Set Up is due to be

published in April 2011

Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen is due to be published in May 2011. On a beautiful winter's day the young, ambitious politician Merete Lynggaard

disappears without a trace. The media are all over the story with their headlines suggesting everything from murder and suicide to a planned voluntary disappearance. The police immediately commence a large-scale investigation - alas with no result. Merete Lynggaard has vanished from the face of the earth. Years later, Deputy Detective Superintendent Carl Mørck, who is known for his unconventional work practices, is put in charge of the new Department Q, which deals with 'cases of special focus'. Soon Carl and his assistant Assad stumble over new evidence in Merete's case and end up tracing a reckless criminal who, driven by hate, has set up an insane scheme.

It is 1210 and a black force is sweeping England. For a vengeful King John has seized control other Church, leaving corpses to lie in unconsecrated ground, babies unbaptized in their cradles

and the people terrified of dying in sin. And in the village of Gastmere, the consequences grow darker still when Elena, a servant girl, is dragged into a conspiracy to absolve the sins of the lord of the manor. As the terrors that soon begin to plague Elena's sleep grow darker, in desperation she visits the

cunning woman, who has been waiting for just such an opportunity to

fulf

il an ancient curse co

njured at the gallows. Elena, haunted by this curse and threatened with death for a crime she didn't commit, flees the village … only to find her nightmare has barely begun. For treachery lurks in every shadow as King John's brutal reign makes enemies of brothers, murderers of virgins and sinners of us all.The Gallows Curse is by Karen Maitland and is due to be published in March 2011.

Blue Monday by Nicci French is the first in a new series featuring Freida Klein. Psychotherapist Frieda Klein is facing a moral dilemma. One of her patients has revealed disturbing dreams in which he abducts a child, whose appearance he can describe in minute detail. And when Matthew, a five-year-old boy who matches that description, goes missing Frieda experiences a shudder of unease and contacts the police.

Detective Chief Inspector Karlsson doesn't take her seriously, but when a link emerges to an abduction going back twenty years, he brings Frieda in to interview the victim's sister. And so she becomes ensnared in a desperate hunt to find Matthew's kidnapper … but Frieda's chase isn't physical: she must race through the dark paths of a psychopath's mind to unearth the answers that lie within. Your darkest thoughts. Your secret desires. Your murderous impulses. Frieda Klein can see them all. Blue Monday is due to be published in June 2011.

Lost Empire by Clive Cussler (with Grant Blackwood) is the second book in the Fargo series. While scuba diving in Tanzania, Sam and Remi Fargo come upon a relic belonging to a long-lost Confederate ship. An anomaly about the relic sets them off chasing a mystery - but unknown to them, a much more powerful force is engaged in the same chase. Mexico's ruling party, the ultranationalist Mexica Tenochca, is intent on finding that artefact as well, because it contains a secret that could destroy the party utterly. 

Through Tanzania and Zanzibar, into the rainforests of Madagascar, and across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia and the legendary site of the 1883 Krakatoa explosion, the Fargos and their ruthless opponents pursue the hunt - but only one can win. Lost Empire is due to be published in January 2011.

The Kingdom is another installment in the Fargo Series by Clive Cussler (with Grant Blackwood) The husband-and-wife team of Sam and Remi Fargo are used to hunting for treasure, but they aren't used to hunting for people — until an investigator friend of theirs goes missing, and they promise to search for him. What they find, however, will be beyond anything they could have imagined. 

On a journey that will take them to Tibet, Nepal, China, Venice, and Siberia, the Fargos will find themselves embroiled with black market fossils, an ancient Tibetan kingdom, a lost landmass in the North Sea, stone-age ostrich egg shards inscribed in a cryptic language, a pair of battles separated by thousands of miles and hundreds of years…and a skeleton that could just turn the history of human evolution on its head. The Kingdom is due to be published in June 2011.

Clive Cussler (with Jack Du Brul) also return with another novel in The Oregon Files. A devastating new weapon unleashed in thirteenth-century China; a daring rescue mission in the snowbound mountains along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border; a woman gone missing in the jungles of northern Thailand and Myanmar. For Juan Cabrillo, intrepid captain of state-of-the-art fighting ship Oregon, all of the above will come together and lead to the discovery of the greatest threat against US security that the world has ever known. and all that stands between this threat and terrible destruction are Cabrillo and The Oregon. The Jungle is due to be published in March 2011.