NBS recommends gripping mystery books

The Jefferson Key

By Steve Berry

P299

MANILA, Philippines - Four United States presidents have been assassinated — in 1865, 1881, 1901, and 1963 —and each murder was seemingly unrelated and separated by time. But what if those presidents were all killed for the same reason — a clause in the United States Constitution contained within Article 1, Section 8 — that would shock Americans? This question is what faces former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone in his latest adventure. When a bold assassination attempt is made against President Danny Daniels in the heart of Manhattan, Malone risks his life to foil the killing, only to find himself at dangerous odds with the Commonwealth — a secret society of pirates, first assembled during the American Revolution. In their most perilous exploit yet, Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt race across the nation and take to the high seas. Along the way, they break a secret cipher originally possessed by Thomas Jefferson, unravel a mystery concocted by Andrew Jackson, and unearth a centuries-old document forged by the Founding Fathers themselves—one powerful enough, thanks to that clause in the Constitution, to make the Commonwealth unstoppable.

Please Look After Mom: A Novel

By Kyung-Sook Shin

P315

Please Look after Mom is a million-plus-copy bestseller in Korea poised to become an international sensation. This is the stunning, deeply moving story of a family’s search for their mother, who goes missing one afternoon amid the crowds of the Seoul Station subway. Told through the piercing voices and urgent perspectives of a daughter, son, husband, and mother, Please Look after Mom is at once an authentic picture of contemporary life in Korea and a universal story of family love.

The Sherlockian

By Graham Moore

P315

In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective’s next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning crowds that sported black armbands in grief and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin. Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had “murdered” Holmes in “The Final Problem,” he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found. Or has it? When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagined that he’s about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world’s leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold — using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories — who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.

Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel

By S. J. Watson

P315

Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, and even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story. Welcome to Christine’s life.

Private: #1 Suspect

By James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

P615

Since former Marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world’s most effective investigation firm sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private’s investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world and they always uncover the truth. When Jack Morgan’s former lover is found murdered in his bed, he is instantly the number one suspect. While Jack is under police investigation, the mob strong-arms him into recovering $30 million in stolen pharmaceuticals for them. And the beautiful manager of a luxury hotel chain persuades him to quietly investigate a string of murders at her properties. While Jack is fighting for his life, one of his most trusted colleagues threatens to leave Private, and Jack realizes he is confronting the cleverest and most powerful enemies ever.