Extraordinary people

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Peter May

Gaillac, south-west France: Gil Petty, America's most celebrated wine critic, is found strung up in a vineyard, dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Divine Bottle and pickled in wine. For forensic expert Enzo Macleod, the key to this unsolved murder lies in decoding Petty's mysterious reviews - which could make or break a vineyard's reputation. Enzo finds that beneath the tranquil facade of French viticulture lurks a back-stabbing community riddled with rivalry - and someone who is ready to stop him, even if they have to kill again ...

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Matthew Klein

A dark and gripping thriller about one man caught in an ever-tightening vice of his own making - Timothy Van Bender leads a charmed life: his hedge-fund business has made him extremely wealthy; he adores his beautiful wife, Katherine; his secretary Tricia is a charming flirt. Then everything changes. His hedge fund loses millions on a bad bet, and his wife seemingly commits suicide. Timothy can?t believe it? and nor, it seems, can the police. But his troubles have just begun. For soon Tricia shows up on his doorstep, claiming to be his dead wife and knowing secrets that only Katherine could know ...

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Kwei J. Quartey

Lyrical and captivating, Kwei Quartey's debut novel brings to life the majesty and charm of Ghana--from the capital city of Accra to a small community where long-buried secrets are about to rise to the surface.In a shady grove outside the small town of Ketanu, a young woman--a promising med student--has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. Eager to close the case, the local police have arrested a poor, enamored teenage boy and charged him with murder. Needless to say, they are less than thrilled when an outside force arrives from the big city to lead an inquiry into the baffling case.Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, fluent in Ketanu's indigenous language, is the right man for the job, but he hates the idea of leaving his loving wife and young son, a plucky kid with a defective heart. Pressured by his cantankerous boss, Dawson agrees to travel to Ketanu, sort through the evidence, and tie up the loose ends as quickly and as efficiently as possible. But for Dawson, this sleepy corner of Ghana is rife with emotional land mines: an estranged relationship with the family he left behind twenty-five years earlier and the painful memory of his own mother's sudden, inexplicable disappearance. Dawson is armed with remarkable insight and a healthy dose of skepticism, but these gifts, sometimes overshadowed by his mercurial temper, may not be enough to solve this haunting mystery. In Ketanu, he finds that his cosmopolitan sensibilities clash with age-old customs, including a disturbing practice in which teenage girls are offered by their families to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods.This is a compelling and unique mystery, enriched by an exotic setting and a vivid cast. And Inspector Darko Dawson--dedicated family man, rebel in the office, and ace in the field--is one of the most appealing sleuths to come along in years.From the Hardcover edition.

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Peter Moore Smith

It is a hoarse whisper over a crackling cell phone - "Angel" - and then the connection is lost. Angel is convinced that the voice belongs to his beautiful and enigmatic neighbor, Angela - and that she is terrified for her life. He paces the floor, waiting for the phone to ring again, calls the police, searches her apartment, but there is no trace of her anywhere, not for days. So begins a haunted man's quest to uncover what happened to the woman he has fallen in love with. Only now does he realize that he knows nearly nothing about her. Angel has his secrets, too. He is the son of one of Hollywood's most successful movie producers, but he has turned away from that bright and power-ridden world. Instead, he leads a cloistered existence, nursing an unfinished screenplay as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner loops ceaselessly in his darkened apartment. But now, for the first time in years, because of Angela's sudden disappearance, Angel is propelled into action. Following the few clues he has gathered about her, he trails Angela through the hard glitter of Los Angeles days and nights. With every new piece of knowledge arrives another question and an even more chilling possibility: Did he merely imagine Angela? Is someone deliberately leading him? Is the phantom he is pursuing the very fear he has been running from? In the murky underworld beneath the bright surface of Los Angeles, everything he knew about her - and himself - begins to unravel. In this city of secrets that aren't meant to be told and people who aren't meant to be found, Angel may soon discover that the most dangerous lies of all are the ones you tell yourself.