Recommendations based on "Fools Rush in A Sam McCain Mystery"

In a weedy lot on the outskirts of Memphis, two boys watch a shiny Lincoln pull up to the curb...Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother were sharing a forbidden cigarette when a chance encounter with a suicidal lawyer left Mark knowing a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of the most sought-after dead body in America. Now Mark is caught between a legal system gone mad and a mob killer desperate to cover up his crime. And his only ally is a woman named Reggie Love, who has been a lawyer for all of four years. Prosecutors are willing to break all the rules to make Mark talk. The mob will stop at nothing to keep him quiet. And Reggie will do anything to protect her client -- even take a last, desperate gamble that could win Mark his freedom... or cost them both their lives.

A mesmerizing narrative about the rise and fall of an unlikely international crime boss In the 1980s, a wave of Chinese from Fujian province began arriving in America. Like other immigrant groups before them, they showed up with little money but with an intense work ethic and an unshakeable belief in the promise of the United States. Many of them lived in a world outside the law, working in a shadow economy overseen by the ruthless gangs that ruled the narrow streets of New York's Chinatown. The figure who came to dominate this Chinese underworld was a middle-aged grandmother known as Sister Ping. Her path to the American dream began with an unusual business run out of a tiny noodle store on Hester Street. From her perch above the shop, Sister Ping ran a full-service underground bank for illegal Chinese immigrants. But her real business-a business that earned an estimated $40 million-was smuggling people. As a "snakehead," she built a complex--and often vicious--global conglomerate, relying heavily on familial ties, and employing one of Chinatown's most violent gangs to protect her power and profits. Like an underworld CEO, Sister Ping created an intricate smuggling network that stretched from Fujian Province to Hong Kong to Burma to Thailand to Kenya to Guatemala to Mexico. Her ingenuity and drive were awe-inspiring both to the Chinatown community--where she was revered as a homegrown Don Corleone--and to the law enforcement officials who could never quite catch her. Indeed, Sister Ping's empire only came to light in 1993 when the "Golden Venture," a ship loaded with 300 undocumented immigrants, ran aground off a Queens beach. It took New York's fabled "Jade Squad" and the FBI nearly ten years to untangle the criminal network and home in on its unusual mastermind. THE SNAKEHEAD is a panoramic tale of international intrigue and a dramatic portrait of the underground economy in which America's twelve million illegal immigrants live. Based on hundreds of interviews, Patrick Radden Keefe's sweeping narrative tells the story not only of Sister Ping, but of the gangland gunslingers who worked for her, the immigration and law enforcement officials who pursued her, and the generation of penniless immigrants who risked death and braved a 17,000 mile odyssey so that they could realize their own version of the American dream. "The Snakehead" offers an intimate tour of life on the mean streets of Chinatown, a vivid blueprint of organized crime in an age of globalization and a masterful exploration of the ways in which illegal immigration affects us all. www.doubleday.com

The Chill of Night is James Hayman's second instalment in his McCabe and Savage series. A frozen corpse means a big headache for Detective Michael McCabe Lainie Goff thinks she has it all. A glamorous young Portland attorney with the brains and looks to match her ambitions, she's on the fast-track to a partnership. Until one cold winter night she discovers that her belief in her ability to handle any situation was misplaced. Now she's just a frozen corpse in the boot of a car at the end of Portland Fish Pier. And a problem for homicide detective Michael McCabe. Luckily for McCabe, there's a witness. A mentally disturbed young woman named Abby Quinn saw what happened to Lainie. Unfortunately, Abby mysteriously goes missing the very same night. With a victim who'd known more than her share of bad guys, a list of suspects that seems to get longer and longer and his only witness missing, McCabe has got his work cut out. But it's only a matter of time before the killer strikes again . . . Following the success of the first instalment The Cutting, The Chill of Night continues to follow Detective McCabe as he solves Portland's crimes. Fans of Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly will be hooked. Praise for James Hayman:'A stunning debut that gripped me from first page to last. A thriller of a thriller!' Tess Gerritsen 'Supremely accomplished storytelling' Daily Mail'Taut, suspenseful . . . every bit as dark and sinister as Lehane and Connelly' Richard Montanari James Hayman spent more than twenty years as a senior creative director at one of New York's largest advertising agencies. He and his wife now live in Portland, Maine. This is his third novel.

“In this series about gambling, the main character is a big winner.”–Janet Maslin, The New York Times“Bask in Swain’s Las Vegas without having to set foot in the place and risk being skinned alive.”–The Washington Post Book WorldA blind poker player named Skip DeMarco is scamming the world’s largest poker tournament in Las Vegas, and cheating-expert Tony Valentine and his son, Gerry, have been hired to find out how. DeMarco is tied to some dangerously desperate characters who will go to extremes–even cold-blooded murder–to ensure that the obnoxious DeMarco wins big.While Gerry flies to Atlantic City to suss out DeMarco’s secret, Valentine stays in Vegas and teams up with an aging grifter named Rufus Steele, who has his own score to settle with DeMarco. On opposite sides of a deadly game, father and son work their way through a colorful landscape of conmen and hitmen. Together, they will have to prove there’s more to any game of chance than meets the eye.Featuring insider tips for catching poker cheats, as well as a glossary of card hustler terms!

Former intelligence agent Will Cochrane must evade US authorities hunting him down for a murder he didn’t commit in this captivating sixth entry in the acclaimed action-thriller series. Former operative Will Cochrane wakes up in New York’s Waldorf Astoria and is horrified to see blood on his hands—something he remembers absolutely nothing about. When he then finds a woman murdered in his bathroom he knows he’s stepped into a wilderness of terror that is far more dangerous than anything he’s ever faced. With no memory of the night before nor of the unfortunate woman, Will believes he is being framed and needs to outrun the police who will be looking for him very soon. Until this moment, Will has been on the precipice of a new life, one outside the intelligence service, and one that includes fatherhood. He’s agreed to adopt the twin sons of his former colleague and Navy SEAL operative Roger Koenig, and had been on his way to pick them up before he’d awakened to the carnage in New York. Will knows his only chance to clear his name is to find the real killer while he’s still free. But he also has to find the twins, suspecting that they’re in danger as well. In Virginia, he discovers one boy alive and his brother missing and most likely kidnapped. What he also finds is the killer’s trail in the form of a man’s voice, which Will recognizes and believes belongs to an old nemesis, a Russian agent he has tangled with before. With local police, the FBI, and even his friends pursuing him, the clever and ruthless operative must track down his adversary, save the boys, and prove his innocence before it’s too late. A superb blend of action and thrills that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, A Soldier’s Revenge is perfect for fans of Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, and Lee Child.

Written in the fearless voice of Detective Alex Cross, Alex Cross's Trial is a #1 New York Times bestseller of murder, love, and above all, bravery.From his grandmother, Alex Cross has heard the story of his great uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a novel he's written-a novel called Trial.As a lawyer in turn-of-the-century Washington D.C., Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases. Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process. When President Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his home town to investigate rumors of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse. When he arrives in Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful granddaughter, Moody. Ben enlists their help, and the two Crosses introduce him to the hidden side of the idyllic Southern town. Lynchings have become commonplace and residents of the town's black quarter live in constant fear. Ben aims to break the reign of terror-but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart. Written in the fearless voice of Detective Alex Cross, Alex Cross's Trial is a gripping story of courage in the face of prejudice and terror.

Miami attorney Jack Swyteck is involved in the most explosive criminal trial of his career -- a case that starts with a murder on a military base and concludes with a shocking surprise that will change Jack's life forever. A beautiful woman comes to see Jack and begs him to represent her. She says she's about to be arrested for the murder of her husband, an officer stationed at Guantanamo Bay. Having no expertise in military law and sensing that the woman isn't telling him the entire truth, Jack turns her down. Then she drops a bombshell: She claims she's the adoptive mother of Jack's biological son -- a child he's never met. Either Jack must represent her or he'll never see the boy. So Jack agrees, but with great foreboding. He has an unreliable client -- a blackmailer who just might be a murderer -- and he has to travel to Gitmo and on to Havana to tussle with people who clearly have a lot to hide. This is a case with as many twists and turns as it has unanswered questions, and the personal toll on Jack won't end until he's forced to confront the ultimate surprise witness in a trial that rocks the city of Miami. In signature Grippando style, Hear No Evil is an intricate, fast-paced, and captivating thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Sammy thought she'd seen all the weirdness her town had to offer—and then she met Justice Jack, Santa Martina's very own superhero. Well, really he's just a guy in spandex and a mask who rides around town on a dirt bike, hoping to find some crime to fight. The old folks in town think he's wonderful. So wonderful that they've asked him to track down Sammy's neighbor Mrs. Wedgewood, who seems to have disappeared—along with a lot of other people's cash. Sammy's friends think Justice Jack is funny and cool. Billy Pratt's even auditioning to be his sidekick! But Sammy thinks he's kind of . . . lame. He's more of a showstopper than a crime stopper. And when a real mystery comes along, Sammy finds herself right in the middle of it. . . .

“Spectacular. . . . Swyteck continues to be one of the more compelling legal-thriller protagonists, and Grippando continues to be one of the genre’s best craftsmen. Another winner in this consistently excellent series.”—Booklist  Bestselling author James Grippando’s legendary criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck is back to defend a single mother accused of kidnapping her own child in a perilous case involving politics and international diplomacy that will test his legal expertise and his marriage. Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter, and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. The seasoned attorney must not only plan a winning defense. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk. But everything in this case isn’t what it seems, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case? Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is. As politics threatens to derail the case and compromise the best interests of the child, Jack and Andie find themselves on opposite sides—with their marriage hanging in the balance. For their relationship to survive, the couple must navigate a treacherous web of deceit that extends from a Miami courthouse to the highest echelons of Washington DC, and spells grave danger at every turn.

"The newest novel in by two-time Edgar award-winner and New York Times bestselling author Steve Hamilton A plane lands in a deserted Upper Peninsula airstrip one night, and five dead bodies are found the next morning. The evidence suggests that not only are these murders the beginning of something bigger, but that Alex McKnight's friend Vinnie may be part of it. Alex knows he needs to find him before it's too late. Vinnie LeBlanc is an Ojibwa tribal member, a blackjack dealer at the Bay Mills Casino, and he just might be Alex's best friend. He's certainly come through for Alex more than once in the past, so when he goes missing, Alex can't help but be worried. There's a deadly crime war creeping into the Upper Peninsula, leaving bodies in its wake, and Alex never would have expected that his friend could be involved. But when a mysterious stranger arrives in town also looking for Vinnie, Alex will soon find out that the stakes are higher than he ever could have imagined. After his award-winning The Lock Artist and the New York Times bestseller Misery Bay, Hamilton kicks things up to the next level with this outstanding new novel in the beloved Alex McKnight series. "--Provided by publisher.