Maxima Library

From Publishers Weekly

Gerritsen leaves the urban hospital setting of her first two successful thrillers (Harvest; Life Support) and steps into Stephen King territory?the troubled Maine town of Tranquility?with mixed results. The former doctor's ability to create credible characters and make medical details accessible and exciting provide the book's strongest moments, as Dr. Claire Elliot?recent widow from Baltimore?tries to make a go of her new life in Tranquility, where she has moved to get her son Noah, 14, away from dangerous influences. Irony of ironies: the country turns out to hold more savage dangers for the teen than the city ever did. Claire's struggles with the boy, her failure so far to win a place for herself in the hearts of prospective patients and a possible romance with the town's police chief are straightforward and moving. Harder to swallow is the book's premise?that savage outbreaks of violence among Tranquility's teenagers occur every 50-odd years, caused by natural or even supernatural factors. It's Claire who makes the connection between recent murders and older attacks, and of course there's the old "enemy of the people" subplot about not scaring off the tourist trade. The fact that Tranquility's teenage problem has a scientific solution lets Dr. Elliot have a final moment of triumph, but you can't help feeling that King would have made the story more powerful?and more fun. Major ad/promo; author tour; Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild super release; Mystery Guild main selection; simultaneous Simon Schuster audio.

From School Library Journal

YA-Tranquility, ME, sounds like the perfect place for Dr. Claire Elliot to relocate with her teenage son and help him deal with his father's death. However, as she begins her practice, so begins an epidemic of teen violence. The shooting of the school biology teacher and the violent ending to the big dance have Claire and the town police chief, Lincoln Kelly, searching hard for clues and answers. Are the blue mushrooms growing in the forest where local teens hang out the cause? Or is the mysterious green phosphorescence that appears on the lake where many of the young people swim the culprit? Claire's son suddenly and mysteriously becomes as wild and uncontrollable as his friends. This is a gory medical thriller that will keep YAs totally engaged.

Brutalny zabójca zabija młode samotne kobiety przeprowadzając na nich zabieg wycięcia macicy bez znieczulenia. Policja ustala, że podobna seria zabójstw miała miejsce dwa lata wcześniej, a ich sprawca został zastrzelony przez doktor Cordell – jedyną ofiarę, której udało się ujść z życiem. Teraz znów czuje się zagrożona. Jej sprzymierzeńcem jest detektyw prowadzący śledztwo. Czy obie sprawy i obu zabójców coś łączy?

Doktor Kate Chesne, lekarz anestezjolog ze szpitala w Honolulu, jest przekonana, że z procesami sądowymi zmagają się wyłącznie inni. Pewnego dnia przekonuje się boleśnie, że również ona sama może zostać postawiona w stan oskarżenia. Dla mecenasa Davida Ransoma ma to być kolejne łatwe zwycięstwo. Sprawa wydaje się oczywista: błąd lekarki, który doprowadził do śmierci pacjentki. Jednak Kate nie zamierza poddać się bez walki i próbuje dowieść, że padła ofiarą spisku. Gdy w szpitalu dochodzi do serii kolejnych zabójstw, David zaczyna wierzyć, że nie tylko kariera Kate, lecz także jej życie jest w niebezpieczeństwie.

In a world where nothing is as it seems, who can you trust?

TESS GERRITSEN'S

Never Say Die

Willy Jane Maitland traveled to Saigon to uncover what had happened to her father, missing in action twenty years ago. Instead she found intrigue – and murder. Only the rumpled and irreverent ex-soldier Guy Barnard seemed willing to help. But as Willy was about to discover, even Guy had his hidden motives, his shocking secrets… and Vietnam was a dangerous place to fall in love.

DEBRA WEBB'S

No Way Back

Michal Arad wanted vengeance when he kidnapped former CIA agent Ami Donovan, claiming she'd posed as his lover to set him up as an assassin. But Ami had amnesia and no way of knowing the truth… until Michal took her in his arms. In spite of her fear, Ami sensed Michal wasn't a ruthless killer, but the man she'd once loved… and the father of her child.

Tess Gerritsen used to be a doctor, so it comes as no great surprise that the medical aspects of her latest thriller are absolutely convincing -- even if most of the action happens in where few doctors have ever practiced -- outer space.

Dr. Emma Watson and five other hand-picked astronauts are about to take part in the trip of a lifetime -- studying living creatures in space. But an alien life form, found in the deepest crevices of the ocean floor, is accidentally brought aboard the shuttle Atlantis. This mutated alien life form makes the creatures in Aliens look like backyard pets.

Soon the crew are suffering severe stomach pains, violent convulsions, and eyes so bloodshot that a gallon of Murine wouldn't help, brilliantly describes the difficulties of treating sick people a space module, and how the lack of gravity affects the process of taking blood and inserting a nasal tube. Dr. Watson does her best, but her colleagues die off one by one and the people at NASA don't want to risk bringing the platform back to earth. Only Emma's husband, doctor/astronaut himself, refuses to give up on her. As we read along, eyes popping out of our heads, all that's missing is one of bland NASA voices saying, "Houston, we have a problem -- we're being attacked by tiny little creatures that are part human, part frog, and part mouse."

For Dr. Abby DiMatteo, the road to Boston's Bayside Hospital began with a tragic accident — and the desperate, awful weeks that followed as she watched her little brother, Pete, lose his battle to live. Despite her small-town roots and lack of money, Abby pushed through college and medical school, each achievement strengthening her ambition to reach higher. Now, immersed in the grinding fatigue of her second year as a surgical resident, she's elated when the hospital' elite cardiac transplant team taps her as a potential recruit. But Abby soon makes an anguished, crucial decision that jeopardizes her entire career. A car crash victim's healthy heart is ready to be harvested; it is immediately cross-matched to a wealthy private patient, forty-six-year-old Nina Voss. Abby and chief resident Vivian Chao hatch a bold plan to make sure that the transplant goes instead to a dying seventeen-year-old boy who is also a perfect match. The repercussions are powerful and swift; Dr. Chao resigns, bowing under the combined fury of the hospital's top staff and Nina Voss's outraged husband. Abby is shaken but unrepentant — until she meets the frail, tormented Nina. Then a new heart for Nina Voss suddenly appears, her transplant is completed, and Abby makes a terrible discovery. The donor records have been falsified — Nina's heart has not come through the proper channels. Defying Bayside Hospital's demands for silence, Abby, with Vivian Chao's help, plunges into an investigation that reveals an intricate, and murderous, chain of deceptions.

This anthology was edited by Michael Connelly. His essay is called "Once Upon a Midnight Dreary."

A collection of stories by thriller master Edgar Allan Poe with essays by beloved and bestselling writers, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth. Authors involved include Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, Tess Gerritsen, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Lisa Scottoline, Laura Lippman, and twelve others.

***

Few have crafted stories as haunting as those by Edgar Allan Poe. Collected here to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth are sixteen of his best tales accompanied by twenty essays from beloved authors, including T. Jefferson Parker, Lawrence Block, Sara Paretsky, and Joseph Wambaugh, among others, on how Poe has changed their life and work.

Michael Connelly recounts the inspiration he drew from Poe's poetry while researching one of his books. Stephen King reflects on Poe's insight into humanity's dark side in "The Genius of 'The Tell-Tale Heart.'" Jan Burke recalls her childhood terror during late-night reading sessions. Tess Gerritsen, Nelson DeMille, and others remember the classic B-movie adaptations of Poe's tales. And in "The Thief," Laurie R. King complains about how Poe stole all the good ideas… or maybe he just thought of them first.

Powerful and timeless, In the Shadow of the Master is a celebration of one of the greatest literary minds of all time.

The Mystery Writers of America, founded in 1945, is the foremost organization for mystery writers and other professionals dedicated to the field of crime writing.

The quiet scandal surrounding her parents' deaths 20 years ago sends Beryl Tavistock on a search for the truth from Paris to Greece. As she enters a world of international espionage, Beryl discovers she needs help and turns to a suave ex-CIA agent. But in a world where trust is a double-edged sword, friends become enemies and enemies become killers.

Had she survived because of fate, coincidence or just luck? If Nina Cormier's wedding had taken place, she would be dead. But after the bride was left at the altar, the church stood empty when the bomb went off. It wasn't until a stranger tried to run her car off the road, however, that she realized someone wanted her I dead. But who? That's what Detective Sam Navarro needs to find out . . . fast. As a cop, he knows better than to become attached to the woman he's trying to protect. But as a man . . . With a nightmare unfolding around them, Sam and Nina decipher the stunning truth. Now they're at the mercy of a brilliant madman who plays for keeps . . .

Una llamada a medianoche despertó a la recién casada Sarah Fontaine. En lugar de oír la voz de su marido desde Londres, oyó la de un desconocido llamado Nick O'Hara que le decía que Geoffrey había muerto en el incendio de un hotel en Berlín. Convencida de que su marido estaba todavía vivo, Sarah decidió investigar por su cuenta con la ayuda de Nick. Había demasiadas preguntas sin respuesta, y las respuestas podían ser fatales…

Na ostry dyżur do szpitala w Springer w Bostonie zostaje przyjęty staruszek z objawami choroby Alzheimera. Wstępne badanie nie ujawnia żadnych dolegliwości neurologicznych. Podejrzewając udar mózgu, doktor Toby Harper nakazuje wykonanie tomografii komputerowej. W czasie, gdy reanimuje kolejnego pacjenta, jej podopieczny dosłownie rozpływa się w powietrzu.

Kilkanaście dni później do szpitala trafia mężczyzna z takimi samymi objawami, jak u nadal nie odnalezionego Harry’ego Slotkina. Obu wcześniej leczył doktor Carl Wallenberg. Pacjent umiera, a Toby, wbrew woli Wallenberga, aranżuje sekcję zwłok. Diagnoza nie pozostawia wątpliwości co do przyczyny śmierci: zarażenie chorobą szalonych krów.

Kilka innych tajemniczych zgonów, których wyjaśnieniem zajmuje się Toby, wskazuje coraz wyraźniej, że to nie epidemia, lecz rezultat czyjegoś świadomego działania. Tropy prowadzą do luksusowego domu opieki, w których Wallenberg i jego współpracownicy przeprowadzają eksperymenty medyczne na starcach, wszczepiając im hormony…

Twenty years after her father's plane crashes in the jungles of Southeast Asia, Willy Jane Maitland is finally tracking his last moves. Willy knows she can't proceed without the help of ex-army officer Guy Barnard. But in a place where truth has many faces, she suspects even Guy has hidden motives. What she is prepared for are the shocking secrets and undeniable attractions.

More than twenty New York Times bestselling authors team up to create a first-rate serial novel — a collaboration that combines the skills of America’s greatest storytellers to produce a gripping, spellbinding mystery.

Alexander McCall Smith. Sandra Brown, Faye Kellerman, J.A. Jance, Jeffery Deaver, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Scottoline, Jeff Lindsay. These are only a handful of the names that make up the all-star lineup of authors behind No Rest for the Dead, a tale of vengeance, greed, and love that flows seamlessly,in the words of David Baldacci, “as it passes from one creator's mind to the next.”

When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San Francisco’s McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried, convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death. In the years since the case was closed, he's discovered a web of deceit and betrayal surrounding the Thomases that could implicate any number of people in the crime. With the help of the dead woman's friend, he plans to gather everyone who was there the night Christopher died and finally uncover the truth, suspect by suspect. Solving this case may be Nunn’s last chance for redemption… but the shadowy forces behind Christopher’s death will stop at nothing to silence the past forever.

In this innovative storytelling approach, each of these twenty-five bestselling writers brings their distinctive voice to a chapter of the narrative, building the tension to a shocking, explosive finale. No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling, page-turning accomplishment that only America’s very best authors could achieve.

Położone nad jeziorem Locust miasteczko Tranquility wydawało się oazą spokoju. Doktor Claire Elliot osiedla się tutaj wraz ze swoim nastoletnim synem Noahem, w nadziei, że uchroni go przed niebezpieczeństwami wielkiego miasta. Niespodziewanie jeden z jej młodych pacjentów, kolega Noaha ze szkoły, popełnia zbrodnię. Niektórzy obwiniają o to lekarkę, która zmieniła chłopcu kurację przepisaną przez poprzedniego lekarza. W Tranquility szerzą się akty przemocy popełniane przez nastolatków, są kolejne ofiary śmiertelne. Psychoza zaczyna przyjmować rozmiary epidemii. Claire ujawnia, że podobne wydarzenia miały już miejsce w przeszłości – sto i pięćdziesiąt lat wcześniej. W pobliżu jeziora wymordowano całe rodziny. Czy istnieje medyczne wyjaśnienie tej zagadki? Claire musi je szybko odkryć – aby uratować siebie i swojego syna…

M.J. Novak, a streetwise medical examiner, thinks she's seen it all. Then a red-haired women named Peggy Sue mysteriously dies, the first victim of what may be an epidemic. Her only clue is a telephone number scrawled inside the matchbook in the girls' lifeless hand. Could M.J. be at risk too?

Miranda's ex-lover is found murdered. She had a motive and the opportunity. After being arrested for the crime, Miranda is shocked to learn she's been released on bail-bail posted by someone determined to remain anonymous. Is someone trying to help Miranda? Or is someone trying to manipulate Miranda and draw her into the dark and secret world of a murdered man, where everybody's presumed guilty?

Seria tajemniczych morderstw paraliżuje Boston. Okoliczności zbrodni wskazują na seryjnego zabójcę kobiet, "Chirurga" który odbywa karę dożywocia. Młoda policjantka, Jane, przypuszcza, że nie chodzi o zwykłe naśladownictwo. Tymczasem "Chirurg" ucieka z więzienia a Jane staje się obiektem zainteresowania pary sadystycznych zabójców…

Present day: Julia Hamill has made a horrifying discovery on the grounds of her new home in rural Massachusetts: a skull buried in the rocky soil - human, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder. Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, medical student Norris Marshall has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists” - those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. But when a distinguished doctor is found murdered and mutilated on university grounds, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect. With unflagging suspense and pitch-perfect period detail, THE BONE GARDEN deftly traces the dark mystery at its heart across time and place to a finale as ingeniously conceived as it is shocking.

He was a gentleman bandit, she was a cat burglar. And they caught each other in more ways than one. But their desire was as strong as their distrust, and Jordan Tavistock began to fear that Diana Lamb was more than just a thief of hearts.

The man emerged from the mist, right in front of Cathy Weaver's car-running from killers who were closing in on him. Victor Holland's story sounded like the ravings of a man on the brink of madness, but his claim to be a fugitive was confirmed by the haunted look in his eyes-and the bullet hole in his shoulder. As each hour brings pursuers ever closer, Cathy has to wonder, is she giving her trust to a man in danger or trusting her life to a dangerous man?

Trzymający w napięciu thriller medyczny mistrzyni tematu, głównej konkurentki Robina Cooka i Michaela Palmera. Doskonała lektura zwłaszcza dla tych, którzy mają wątpliwości co do funkcjonowania służby zdrowia…

Dwie osoby gotowe do operacji i tylko jedno serce, które można przeszczepić. Gdy doktor Abby DiMatteo podejmowała decyzję, by dokonać przeszczepu u umierającego siedemnastolatka, nie przypuszczała, że wywoła tym lawinę wydarzeń. Kim jest czterdziestosześcioletnia, bogata kobieta, która, wedle przełożonych, winna była otrzymać narząd? Tego Abby nie wie. Wie jednak, że coś jest nie w porządku – jak za dotknięciem czarodziejskiej różdżki pojawia się drugie serce i operacja może się odbyć. Cud? To mało prawdopodobne. W wyniku podjętych decyzji, pracę traci przełożona kobiety, a sama Abby zaczyna stawiać sobie niewygodne pytania. Czy to możliwe, że narządy do transplantacji pochodzą z nie do końca legalnych źródeł? Gdzie leżą granice etyki lekarskiej? Dyrekcja nie życzy sobie rozgłosu, ale sumienie zmusza Abby do poprowadzenia prywatnego śledztwa.