Reading Ahead: October 2015, part 1

Happy September 1! You wouldn't know that autumn is around the corner, judging by the hot and sticky days we're having this week. But it's never too soon to start making a list of new books by favorite authors to look forward to. And here are a few to get you started.

Host, by Robin Cook. Cook has dominated the medical thriller field for decades, and his latest promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Here, medical student Lynne Pierce is on the fast-track to the life she's dreamed of, until her otherwise healthy boyfriend goes in for routine surgery and comes out brain dead. Lynne is sure there's more to the story than the authorities are willing to admit, and she uses every resource at her disposal to dig deeper, convinced she'll find evidence of malpractice or medical error. What she finds, however, may have dire consequences for her. If you're not familiar with Cook's work, check out some of his best-known titles, like Coma and Shock, while you wait for Host's street date of October 20. 

Foreign Affairs, by Stuart Woods. When he’s apprised at the last minute of a mandatory meeting abroad, Stone Barrington rushes off to Europe for a whirlwind tour of business and, of course, pleasure. But from the start the trip seems to be cursed, plagued by suspicious “accidents” and unfortunate events, and some of Stone’s plans go up in flames—literally. 

Depraved Heart, by Patricia Cornwell. Medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link lands in her text messages and seems to be from her computer genius niece Lucy. But how can it be? It’s clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago. As Scarpetta watches she begins to learn frightening secrets about her niece, whom she has loved and raised like a daughter. That film clip and then others sent soon after raise dangerous legal implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, worried, and not knowing where to turn. She doesn’t know whom she can tell—not her FBI husband Benton Wesley or her investigative partner Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.