National Network for Equitable Library Service

At Private Berlin, agent Chris Schneider has disappeared. Chris had taken a secretive personal leave and hadn't spoken to anyone from the office in days. The Private team retraces his footsteps to the cases he was investigating before his disappearance: a billionaire suspected of cheating on his wife, a world famous soccer player accused of throwing games, and the owner of a seedy nightclub. They were the last people to see Chris, and they're all suspects. And someone is lying.

It's Christmas Eve, and Detective Alex Cross has been called out to catch someone who is robbing his church's poor box. That mission behind him, Alex returns home to celebrate with Bree, Nana, and his children. The tree decorating is barely underway before his phone rings again. A horrific hostage situation is quickly spiraling out of control. Away from his own family on this holiday, Alex calls upon every ounce of his training, creativity, and daring to save another family.

Red Cross nurse Nina Borg's life is at a turning point. Her husband, Morten, has pleaded with her not to get involved in any more dangerous projects with her network of volunteers who assist illegal immigrants and refugees. But when Morten is away on business, Nina agrees to help her friend Peter at a camp of mysteriously ill Roma refugee children. The situation reveals itself to be much more complicated and perilous than she could have imagined, and suddenly more than her marriage is at risk.

Detective Alex Cross and Bree's wedding plans are put on hold when Alex is called to the scene of the perfectly executed assassination of two of Washington DC's most corrupt: a dirty Congressman and a scheming lobbyist. Next, the elusive marksman begins picking off other crooked politicians, sparking a blaze of theories--is the marksman a hero or a vigilante? The case explodes and FBI agent Max Siegel battles Alex for jurisdiction. As Alex struggles with the sniper, Siegel, and the wedding, he receives a call from his deadliest adversary, Kyle Craig.

Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multimillion-dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of thirteen schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.

There were five of them, each prepared to kill, each with his own reasons for accepting what might well be a suicide mission: find a way into Cuba and kill Castro. This breathtaking thriller, originally published the year before the Cuban Missile Crisis under a pen name Lawrence Block never used before or since, is the rarest of Block's books--and still a work of chilling relevance all these years later, with Castro and Cuba once again commanding headlines.

After being the victim of an armed robbery, Sean should be terrified but he isn't. He finds he likes the rush that comes from danger and tries to recreate the feeling. But when his risktaking leads him to some of the worst parts of town and he finds himself face-to-face with the original armed robbers, he finds he must do the right thing.

Sixteen-year-old Spencer loves his job at the local racing stable, but when he becomes convinced that someone is drugging the racehorse Lord of the Flies, no one believes him. In an effort to find out who is behind a dangerous race-fixing scheme, he takes on some of the most unsavory members of the track community. By refusing to turn a blind eye, Spencer risks losing those he cares most about, including Em, the stableowner's niece.

As far as Zane knows, today is just another boring day at his lame gas-station job. Until he gets carjacked by a masked gunman. Zane has no idea where they’re going, or what will happen when they get there. All he knows is that the lunatic in the passenger seat has a gun aimed at him. Zane tries to reason with the guy, and when that fails, he tries a couple of daring stunts to get free, but they backfire. Zane starts to wonder who this guy is. And what he really wants.

Northern Ireland. In 1999, one year after the Good Friday peace accord, sectarian violence still runs rampant in Belfast and the hatred between Protestant and Catholic runs deep. Liam O'Donnell's father is a peacemaker to the Catholic community. When twelve-year-old Liam's parents are brutally murdered in front of him, he is frozen in place. But when he sees the face of one of the attackers, he is forced to run for his life. Escaping, he finds shelter with a neighboring family.