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Book reviews & excerpts from exceptional books set mainly in the present day (2000-current).

Contemporary

Recommended books found: 1,768

Page 83 of 91

Print List

Smoke Screen
by Kyle Mills
Hardcover: Sep 2003
Paperback: Sep 2004

Mills explores the controversial subject of Big Tobacco in a chilling and timely business thriller.

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Author Biography (Mills)
Author Interview (Mills)

Critics' Consensus:

Blow Fly
by Patricia Cornwell
Hardcover: Oct 2003
Paperback: Sep 2004

The world's number-one-bestselling crime writer is back with another scorching thriller featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

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Dead Famous: A Kathleen Mallory Thriller
by Carol O'Connell
Hardcover: Sep 2003
Paperback: Sep 2004

An FBI agent is killed and the jurors from a controversial trial are murdered one by one. The only connections between the two are a flamboyant shock-jock and a woman whose job is to clean up crime scenes.

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Final Verdict
by Sheldon Siegel
Hardcover: Aug 2003
Paperback: Sep 2004

A dramatic story of old wounds and new murder that is instructive, authentic and a refreshing contrast to the breakneck speed of most legal thrillers. Another win for Siegel.

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Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
Hardcover: Sep 2003
Paperback: Aug 2004

This powerful and inspiring book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.

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Author Biography (Kidder)
Author Interview (Kidder)

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Blacklist
by Sara Paretsky
Hardcover: Oct 2003
Paperback: Aug 2004

A story of secrets and betrayals that stretch across four generations--secrets political, social, sexual, financial: all of them with the power to kill.

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Fatal Tide
by Iris Johansen
Hardcover: Sep 2003
Paperback: Aug 2004

A high-stakes treasure hunt, a twisted trail of murder and a secret one woman may die to discover.

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No Horizon Is So Far: An Extraordinary Journey Across Antarctica
by Ann Bancroft, Liv Arnesen
Hardcover: Aug 2003
Paperback: Aug 2004

Chronicles and celebrates the journey of two modern-day heroines who crossed Antarctic on foot. Though modern technology could not ensure rescue, website transmissions and satellite phone calls enabled more than 3 million school children from 65 ...

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Author Biography (Arnesen)
Author Interview (Arnesen)

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Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix: Book 5
by J.K. (Joanne) Rowling
Hardcover: Jun 2003
Paperback: Aug 2004

Though thick runs the plot (as well as the spine), readers will race through these pages and leave Hogwarts, like Harry, wishing only for the next train back.

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The Flame Tree
by Richard Lewis
Hardcover: Aug 2004
Paperback: Jul 2004

Against the backdrop of September 11, 2001, The Flame Tree is a fierce novel of friendship, faith, and forgiveness set in Indonesia. Suitable for teens and adults.

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The Teeth of The Tiger
by Tom Clancy
Hardcover: Aug 2003
Paperback: Aug 2004

In the Brave New World of terrorism—the old rules no longer apply. The only truly effective government organizations are those that are quick and agile, free of oversight and restrictions...and outside the system.

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The Voice of The Violin: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery
by Andrea Camilleri
Hardcover: Nov 2003
Paperback: Jul 2004

The Sicilian detective, Inspector Salvo Montalbano, is on the search for the killer of a young woman. Among the suspects are her aging husband, a famous doctor; a shy admirer (now disappeared) and her lover - an antiques dealer from Bologna. However,...

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Isabel's Daughter
by Judith Ryan Hendricks
Hardcover: Jun 2003
Paperback: Jul 2004

From the author of Bread Alone comes an intimate tale of a woman, given up at birth, piecing together her mother's identity.

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Hard Rain
by Barry Eisler
Hardcover: Jul 2003
Paperback: Jul 2004

Rain must pursue his most dangerous quarry yet through the crosshairs of the CIA and the Japanese mafia, where the differences between friend and foe and truth and deceit are as murky as the rain-slicked streets of Tokyo.

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Winterkill: A Joe Pickett Novel
by C.J. Box
Hardcover: May 2003
Paperback: Jul 2004

Steeped in the sharp cliffs and the brutal wilderness of the Wyoming landscape, this is a masterful performance - a darkly compelling and utterly unforgettable classic mystery.

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Balance of Power
by Richard North Patterson
Hardcover: Oct 2003
Paperback: Jun 2004

A compelling story made even more intriguing by its detailed insight into the world of special-interest politics in Washington, D.C.

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For Matrimonial Purposes
by Kavita Daswani
Hardcover: Jun 2003
Paperback: Jun 2004

An unconventional heroine defies tradition by making a marriage between the strict customs of India and the wild freedoms of America to find her own happy ending.

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The Vanished Man: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
by Jeffery Deaver
Hardcover: Mar 2003
Paperback: Jun 2004

A brilliant thriller that pits forensic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and his partner, Amelia Sachs, against an unstoppable killer with one final, horrific trick up his sleeve.

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Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids and a Journey to the Ends of the Earth
by Daniel Glick
Hardcover: May 2003
Paperback: Jun 2004

For anyone who dreams of traveling to the world's most exotic places, for anyone already navigating that wild journey called parenting, Monkey Dancing is by turns fascinating, funny, and wise.

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Every Second Counts
by Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins
Hardcover: Oct 2003
Paperback: Jun 2004

The six-time Tour de France winner returns with an inspirational account of his recent personal and professional victories—and some failures—and an intimate glimpse into how almost dying taught him to really live.

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Critics' Consensus:

The reviewer of each book decides which categories it belongs in - but we're only human, mistakes happen. If you see a book that you think is in the wrong place, tell us!

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by Nancy Jensen

In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.

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A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl disappears, leaving a mystery unsolved for fifty years.

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