FROM THE ESSENTIAL RAYMOND BENSON COLLECTIONWINNER OF THE 2006 "BEST THRILLER" AWARD (THE LOVEY) AT THE LOVE IS MURDER CONFERENCE FOR AUTHORS AND READERS!From the internationally-acclaimed former author of continuation James Bond novels and other works of suspense comes a new and exciting thriller.Diane Boston lives with her Marfan syndrome-afflicted 13-year-old son in a suburb of Chicago and teaches social studies at the high school, with the students even voting her Teacher of the Year. But she has some dark secrets. Her ex-husband Greg always suspected that Diane kept things from him, but he has no idea just how right he is. When Diane's son, David, finds a box of unmarked videotapes and watches one of them out of curiosity, he discovers that it's a hardcore adult movie from the late 1970s. The star, Lucy Luv, was an actress that mysteriously disappeared in 1980. Some suspected she'd been murdered. David recognizes the actress as his mother. Then, somehow, the news of Diane's involvement in the adult film business hits the streets and causes chaos at her school and at home. It also attracts the attention of the West Coast porn czar who has ties with organized crime. Apparently when Lucy Luv disappeared, she took a cache of stolen diamonds with her. This is the catalyst for a non-stop roller-coaster ride of suspense and mystery that involves the dark side of the adult film industry, the mob, kidnapping, and murder.PRAISE FOR SWEETIE'S DIAMONDS:"A pulse-pounding edge-of-your-seat thriller with more twists and turns than a roller coaster." - Parnell Hall, author of Stalking the Puzzle LadyWINNER OF THE 2006 "BEST THRILLER" AWARD (THE LOVEY) AT THE LOVE IS MURDER CONFERENCE FOR AUTHORS AND READERS!"Plays out like a Hitchcock film. These Diamonds are priceless!"--J. A. Konrath, author of BLOODY MARY"Benson… proves here that he is equally adept at more realistic thrillers. This ever-more-intricate story (which involves a two-decade-old murder and several buried secrets) may remind some readers of the novels of James Grippando… The relationship between David and his mother, Diane (aka Lucy Luv), is key to the drama, and Benson layers enough twists and turns to keep mother and son, not to mention the reader, searching desperately for the truth." – Booklist"Sweetie's Diamonds is a gem!"--Chicago Sun-Times"A gem of a thriller one would have expected to come from the pen of someone like James Patterson."--The Strand MagazineBIO: Raymond Benson is the highly acclaimed author of twenty-five books, including six original James Bond 007 novels, three film novelizations, three short stories, and two anthologies on Bond. He is a sought-after lecturer on film genres and history. Writing as David Michaels, Benson is a New York Times best-selling author, an Edgar Alan Poe Award nominee, and a Readers' Choice Award winner.From BooklistWhen a teenage boy discovers that his mother once starred in pornographic films, he is, predictably, shocked. This is a side of his mom he'd never suspected, but the truth is far more complicated than even young David can possibly imagine. Benson, best known for his popular James Bond novels, proves here that he is equally adept at more realistic thrillers. This ever-more-intricate story (which involves a two-decade-old murder and several buried secrets) may remind some readers of the novels of James Grippando, who tends to structure his high-octane thrillers on families with closets full of secrets. The relationship between David and his mother, Diane (aka Lucy Luv), is key to the drama, and Benson layers on enough twists and turns to keep mother and son, not to mention the reader, searching desperately for the truth. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReview"A pulse-pounding edge-of-your-seat thriller with more twists and turns than a roller coaster."- Parnell Hall, author of Stalking the Puzzle Lady Views: 62
NYPD detective Ben Dyer awakens from cancer surgery to find his life turned upside down. His fiancée has disappeared and Dyer, determined to find her, embarks on a journey mired with potholes and startling revelations—revelations that have the potential to forever change his life. Views: 62
When a potent firebomb destroys part of an art gallery in an exclusive London district, FBI profiler Karen Vail is dispatched to England to work with Scotland Yard on drafting a threat assessment to head off future attacks. But Vail soon discovers that at the heart of the bombing lies a four-hundred-forty-year-old manuscript that holds clues to England's past—with dramatic political and social implications. The manuscript's content is so explosive that a group of political radicals is bent on destroying it at all costs.Or is it the work of someone else? The trail leads Vail to a notorious fugitive who has escaped law enforcement for decades, and who appears to be planning a major attack on London and the United States. When Hector DeSantos, banished from the US Department of Defense and now a rogue covert operative, turns up in England and takes actions that threaten Vail's life, she finds herself on the run from the British security service, Scotland Yard, and a group of... Views: 62
It is 1961 in the fourth book of the "Black Stiletto" series. Judy, the Stiletto, meets Leo, a charismatic man who convinces her to move to Los Angeles when she is "run out" of New York by increasingly hazardous police heat. But soon Judy suspects that Leo is not the white knight she first thought. Leo, who has connections with the West Coast mobs, has plenty of skeletons in his closet. His mysterious sister, Christina, who once served time for armed robbery, could also be a threat to the Stiletto's new life in California. Meanwhile, in the present, Alzheimer's-stricken Judy takes a turn for the worse as Martin comes to grips with the imminent end of his mother's life. And when elements from the Stiletto's past once again appear to threaten Martin's family, it is up to his daughter Gina to step up and take matters into her own hands. In a novel bristling with mysteries, secrets, and lies, the Black Stiletto saga takes a dark left turn into even more treacherous territory. Views: 62
Doctor Jennings, a scientist in possession of a precious secret, has gone over to the Soviet Union, and British secret agent Michael Reynolds must get him back. Penetrating the Iron Curtain is difficult, but to bring out a man who is elderly and well-known seems impossible in the face of the secret police—until Reynolds discovers there are Hungarian patriots ready to help. Views: 62
The deadliest weapon… is man Top NATO representatives meet in Kiev to forge a new alliance… Powerful elements within a newly resurgent Russia decide the alliance must be stopped at all costs… The warriors of Dreamland have moved on. Some, like Breanna and Zen Stockard, to positions of power and influence; others, like Danny Freah and Nuri Lupo, into Whiplash, a cutting-edge combination of brain and brawn. Tasked by the President to handle the country's most deadly and sensitive jobs, the elite SpecWarfare unit marries muscle to technological prowess. But can even Whiplash stand up to a covert Russian army of genetically enhanced assassins known only as the Wolves? The stories about them sound like sheer fantasy: the killers are said to be nearly invisible and virtually unstoppable, endowed with super-human strength and endurance. But when Danny Freah and company discover they do exist, Danny stumbles on an even darker and deadlier secret: One Wolf, the most ferocious of all, comes from the heart of Dreamland itself. And Danny saw him die more than a decade before. Views: 62
Olsen will scare you—and you'll love it. —Lee Child"Olsen writes rapid-fire page-turners." —Seattle Times "Olsen deftly juggles multiple plot lines." —Publishers WeeklyThey call it the Bone Box. A collection of old cases, solved and unsolved, that continue to haunt forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman. None is more disturbing than the first. After two decades, Birdy still remembers the screaming. The blood on the boy's hands. The body of a girl, butchered in the woods. Birdy's testimony helped put her cousin behind bars. Now, twenty years later, she wants to reopen the box. Reexamine the evidence. And rekindle her fears that a killer walked free—and is closer than ever. Views: 62
In a brilliant debut to a thrilling series, Grady Service gets news that his nemesis, the head of an incestuous clan of poachers, is to be released from prison. But something even more sinister is afoot in the Mosquito Wilderness. Service must call upon his every reserve to track, stalk, and capture the "ice hunter." For more on Joseph Heywood and the Woods Cop Mysteries, visit the author's website. Views: 62
PROPERLY IMPROPER…AND DARING TO LOVE… Juliana St. John was raised to be very proper. After a long engagement, her wedding day dawns—only for Juliana to find herself jilted at the altar. Fleeing the mocking crowd, she stumbles upon Elliot McBride, the tall, passionate Scot who was her first love. His teasing manner gives her an idea, and she asks Elliot to save her from an uncertain future—by marrying her… After escaping brutal imprisonment, Elliot has returned to Scotland a vastly wealthy yet tormented man. Now Juliana has her hands full restoring his half-ruined manor in the Scottish Highlands and trying to repair the broken heart of the man some call irredeemably mad. Though beautiful and spirited, Juliana wonders if that will be enough to win a second chance at love. Views: 62
