The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson Vintage Crime/Black Lizard February 2012 Format: Paperback, 655 pages First line: Dr. Jonasson was woken by a nurse five minutes before the helicopter was expected to land. From the back cover: In the concluding volume of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition in a Swedish hospital, a bullet in her head. But she’s fighting for her…

Ninepins by Rosy Thornton Sandstone Press April 2012 Format: Paperback, 320 pages First line: Half past two: she was certain she’d said half past two. From the back cover: Deep in the Cambridgeshire fens, Laura is living alone with her 12-year old daughter Beth, in the old tollhouse known as Ninepins. She’s in the habit of renting out the pumphouse, once a fen drainage station, to students, but this year…

Angel’s Peak by Robyn Carr Mira Books January 2010 Format: Paperback, 373 pages First line: Once the sun went down in Virgin River there wasn’t a whole lot of entertainment for Sean Riordan, unless he wanted to sit by the fire at his brother Luke’s house. From the back cover:  Four years ago, Air Force sweethearts Franci Duncan and Sean Riordan reached an impasse. She wanted marriage and a family.…

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson Vintage Crime/Black Lizard May 2006 Format: Trade Paperback, 630 pages First line: She lay on her back fastened by leather straps to a narrow bed with a steel frame. From the back cover: Part blistering espionage thriller, part riveting police procedural, and part piercing exposé on social injustice, The Girl Who Played with Fire is a masterful, endlessly satisfying novel. Mikael…

The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips William Morrow July 2012 Format: Hardcover, 384 pages First line: Lucy couldn’t breathe. From the inside cover: “Where do you run to when your life has fallen apart?” Lucy Jorik is a champ at never embarrassing the family she adores–not surprising since her mother is one of the most famous women in the world. But now Lucy has done just that. And on…

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson Little, Brown and Company July 2012 Format: Hardcover, 416 pages First line: Starting to gasp as she climbed the increasingly steep slope of the tangled hiking trail, Mary Catherine was about to take a breather when the tree line opened. From the inside cover:The NYPD’s Micheal Bennett is James Patterson’s greatest detective ever. POLICE OFFICERS SHOT Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime…

Summerland by Elin Hilderbran Little Brown and Company June 2012 Format: Hardcover, 416 pages First line: Nantucket: the name of the island brought to mind rolling surf, cobblestone streets, the brick mansions of whaling captains, a battered Jeep Wrangler with a surfboard strapped to the roll bars. From the inside cover: A perfect summer night ends in a deadly crash – and four lives are changed forever. On a warm…

Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr Mira Books December 2009 Format: e-book, 384 pages First line: Recently ordained minister Noah Kincaid was surfing the Internet, killing time, when quite by chance, he happened to find a church being auctioned on eBay – in some little place he’d never heard of – Virgin River. Synopsis from B&N:  Virgin River is abuzz with the news that a stranger bought the town’s abandoned church…

That Holiday Feeling by Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods, Robyn Carr Mira Books October 2009 Format: e-book, 384 pages First line:  “Dad, you don’t understand.” Synopsis from B&N:    Silver Bells by Debbie Macomber In this classic story, Debbie brings those Manning men and Manning sisters home for a mistletoe marriage when a single dad finally says “I do.” The Perfect Holiday by Sherryl Woods Will bachelor Trace Franklin become a…

Return to Rose Cottage by Sherryl Woods Mira Books November 2010 Format: Paperback, 488 pages First line: The headline said it all: Guilty Man Freed. Synopsis from B&N: New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods draws you into the world of Rose Cottage, where the D’Angelo sisters reunite with family and find lasting love. The Laws of Attraction High-powered attorney Ashley D’Angelo has finally burned out. After…

Wallflower in Bloom by Claire Cook A Touchstone Book June 2012 Format: Hardcover, 272 pages First line: My brother was dazzling, as usual. From the inside cover: From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself “dancing with the stars.”  Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just…

The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner Ballantine Books May 2009 Format: Paperback, 400 pages First line: I was thirteen years old when my parents conquered Granada. From the back cover: In this stunning novel, C. W. Gortner brings to life Juana of Castile, the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, who would become the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country’s throne. Along the…