ju·das strain, n. A scientific term for an organism that drives an entire species to extinction A master at combining historical and scientific intrigue with cutting-edge adventure, New York Times bestselling author of Map of Bones and Black Order James Rollins returns with his most relentless, high-octane thriller to date—a terrifying story of an ancient menace reborn to plague the modern world . . . and of an impossible hope that lies hidden in the most shocking place imaginable: within the language of angels. From the depths of the Indian Ocean, a horrific plague has arisen to devastate humankind—a disease that's unknown, unstoppable . . . and deadly. But it is merely a harbinger of the doom that is to follow. Aboard a cruise liner transformed into a makeshift hospital, Dr. Lisa Cummings and Monk Kokkalis—operatives of the shadowy covert organization SIGMA Force—search for answers to the bizarre affliction that has inexplicably washed ashore. But there are others with far less altruistic intentions. In a savage and sudden coup, terrorists hijack the vessel, turning a mercy ship into a floating bio-weapons lab. At a Fourth of July celebration a world away, SIGMA's commander Gray Pierce thwarts the murderous schemes of a beautiful assassin—a would-be killer who holds the first clue to the discovery of a possible cure. With the fate of every man, woman, and child on Earth hanging in the balance, Pierce joins forces with the woman who wanted him dead, and together they embark upon an astonishing quest—one that winds through Venetian tombs, Byzantine cathedrals, and jungle-encrusted ruins—following the trail of the most fabled explorer in history: Marco Polo. But time is an enemy as a worldwide pandemic grows rapidly out of control. And as a relentless madman dogs their every step, Pierce and his unlikely ally are being pulled into an astonishing mystery buried deep in antiquity and in humanity's genetic code. And as the seconds tick closer to doomsday, Pierce will realize he can truly trust no one—not the bewitching enigma who runs at his side or even those who are closest to him—for any one of them could be . . . a Judas.
Koontz delivers suspense for all seasons with a transcendent thriller--a heart-gripping tour de force featuring a dedicated dog rescuer, a very special golden retriever she saves, and the murderous adversaries they must face together.
In Copenhagen . . . a suspicious bookstore fire propels Commander Gray Pierce on a relentless hunt across four continents—and into a terrifying mystery surrounding horrific experiments once performed in a now-abandoned laboratory buried in a hollowed-out mountain in Poland. In the mountains of Nepal . . . in a remote monastery, Buddhist monks inexplicably turn to cannibalism and torture—while Painter Crowe, director of Sigma Force, begins to show signs of the same baffling, mind-destroying malady . . . and Lisa Cummings, a dedicated American doctor, becomes the target of a brutal clandestine assassin. Now only Gray Pierce and Sigma Force can save a world suddenly in terrible jeopardy. Because a new order is on the rise—an annihilating nightmare growing at the heart of the greatest mystery of all: the origin of life.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • “Sharply, evocatively written and elaborately plotted . . . [Red Square] should find as many friends as did Gorky Park.”—The Washington Post Book World Back from exile in the hellish reaches of the Soviet Union, homicide investigator Arkady Renko discovers that his country, his Moscow, even his job, are nearly dead. But his enemies are very much alive, and foremost among them are the powerful black-market crime lords of the Russian mafia. Hounded by this terrifying new underworld, chased by the ruthless minions of the newly rich and powerful, and tempted by his great love, defector Irina Asanova, Arkady can only hope desperately for escape. But fate has something else in store. “Gripping . . . Smith at his best.”—The Wall Street Journal “A crackling suspense thriller.”—The Boston Globe “Fascinating . . . powerful.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Absorbing.”—The New York Times “Extraordinary.”—Time
He made too many enemies. He lost his party membership. Once Moscow’s top criminal investigator, Arkady Renko now toils in obscurity on a Russian factory ship working with American trawlers in the middle of the Bering Sea. But when an adventurous female crew member is picked up dead with the day’s catch, Renko is ordered by his captain to investigate an accident that has all the marks of murder. Up against the celebrated Soviet bureaucracy once more, Renko must again become the obsessed, dedicated cop he was in Gorky Park and solve a chilling mystery fraught with international complications. Praise for Polar Star “Stunning.”—The New York Times Book Review “Impossible to put down . . . a book of heart-stopping suspense and intricate plotting, but also a meticulously researched, ambitious literary work of great distinction.”—The Detroit News “Martin Cruz Smith writes the most inventive thrillers of anyone in the first rank of thriller writers.”—The Washington Post Book World “Gripping . . . absorbing.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Near Mulholland Drive, Dr. Stanley Kent is found shot twice in the back of the head. It's the case LAPD detective Harry Bosch has been waiting for, his first since being recruited to the Homicide Special Squad. When he discovers that Kent had access to dangerous radioactive substances, what begins as a routine investigation becomes something darker, more deadly, and frighteningly urgent. Bosch is soon in conflict with not only his superiors but the FBI, which thinks the case is too important for just a cop. Complicating his job even more is the presence of Agent Rachel Walling, his onetime lover. Now guarding one slim advantage, Bosch relentlessly follows his own instincts, hoping they are still sharp enough to find the truth--and a killer who can annihilate an entire city.
Sonchai Jitplecheep, the son of a GI and a Thai bar girl and an honest Bangkok cop, investigates the murder of a charismatic African-American Marine sergeant, killed by a python and a swarm of cobras in a locked car, and the subsequent death of his partner, making his way through a world of illicit drugs, prostitution, and corruption to find a vicious killer. 100,000 first printing.
The year is 1872. The place is Wigan, England, a coal town where rich mine owners live lavishly alongside miners no better than slaves. Into this dark, complicated world comes Jonathan Blair, who has accepted a commission to find a missing man. When he begins his search every road leads back to one woman, a haughty, vixenish pit girl named Rose. With her fiery hair and skirts pinned up over trousers, she cares nothing for a society that calls her unnatural, scandalous, erotic. As Rose and Blair circle one another, first warily, then with the heat of mutual desire, Blair loses his balance. And the lull induced by Rose's sensual touch leaves him unprepared for the bizarre, soul-scorching truth. . . .
A surprising adventure exploring the mysterious origins of Ancient Egypt and its enigmatic monuments, uncovering long-buried truths and a powerful secret that is as dangerous as it is awe-inspiring...
