by Natasha Beaulieu (2012)
"Un matin, alors que Marie-Aile Paradis attend l’arrivée de la rame de métro, une femme élégante lui demande son nom avant de se fondre dans la foule. Quelques jours plus tard, la même personne à la sensualité troublante l’accoste de nouveau et, tout en lui offrant un de ses gants, lui murmure à l’oreille : « L’amour naît parfois dans la cruauté. » Intriguée par ces rencontres fortuites, envoûtée par le parfum qui se dégage du gant et encouragée par Yasmine, sa meilleure amie, Marie-Aile se lance à la recherche de la mystérieuse inconnue. Les seuls indices qu’elle possède : la marque du gant et l’inscription qui s’y trouve, K5566. Or, cette improbable quête va bouleverser la vie de Marie-Aile en obligeant la jeune femme à prendre conscience, à l’approche de son trentième anniversaire, que son existence, depuis une décennie, se résume à être la victime soumise d’un conjoint obsédé sexuel et l’esclave consentante d’un travail routinier. De façon inattendue, Marie-Aile obtient un nouvel emploi qui lui plaît. Toutefois, une série de lettres reçue de façon anonyme la plonge au cœur d’un nouveau mystère dont l’origine semble remonter à la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Alors même qu’elle tente de reprendre sa vie en main – son quotidien ressemble de plus en plus à un enfer –, Marie-Aile réalise qu’elle ne cesse d’être manipulée par les uns et les autres, et que son destin ne lui appartient peut-être plus…"--Page 4 de la couverture.
Mary Higgins Clark
A 83 ans, Olivia Morrrow est proche de la fin. Doit-elle révéler que sa cousine Catherine, une nonne que l'Eglise va béatifier, était tombée enceinte après un viol et avait abandonné sa fille? Le violeur, devenu médecin et chercheur, a amassé une fortune grâce à ses découvertes. Personne n'a intérêt à ce que le Dr Monica Farell, petite-fille de soeur Catherine, apprenne tout cela ... --[Memento].
Janet Evanovich
Hard Up Fugitive Apprehension Agent Stephanie Plum has a big problem on her hands: Seven-year-old Annie Soder and her mother, Evelyn, have disappeared. Evelyn's estranged husband, Steven, a shady owner of a seedy bar, is not at all happy. Finding a kidnapped child is not an assignment for a bounty hunter. But Evelyn's grandmother lives next door to Stephanie's parents, so Stephanie follows the trail left by Annie and Evelyn-and finds a lot more than she bargained for. Hard Risk Steven Soder is somehow linked with a very scary Eddie Abruzzi. Trenton cop and on-again, off-again fiancé Joe Morelli and Stephanie's mentor and tormentor, Ranger, warn Stephanie about Abruzzi, but it's Abruzzi's eyes and mannerisms that frighten Stephanie most. Stephanie needs Ranger's savvy and expertise, and she's willing to accept his help to find Annie even though it might mean getting too involved with Ranger. Stephanie, Ranger, Lula (who's not going to miss riding with Ranger), and Evelyn's lawyer/Laundromat manager set out to find Annie. The search turns out to be a race among Stephanie's posse, the True Blue Bonds' agent-a Rangerette known as Jeanne Ellen Burrows-and the Abruzzi crew. Plus, there's a killer rabbit on the loose! Hard Eight Strap on your helmet and get ready for the ride of your life! Hard Eight. The world of Stephanie Plum has never been wilder.
Alexander McCall Smith
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective AgencyFor All Confidential Matters and InquiriesSatisfaction Guaranteed for all PartiesUnder Personal ManagementThe phenomenal success of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency continues with the bestselling Kalahari Typing School for Men, the fourth book in the series.Mma Precious Ramotswe is content. Her business is well established with many satisfied customers, and in her mid-thirties ("the finest age to be") she has a house, two adopted children, a fine fiance. But, as always, there are troubles. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has not set the date for their marriage. Her able assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband. And worse, a rival detective agency has opened in town--an agency that does not have the gentle approach to business that Mma Ramotswe's does. But, of course, Precious will manage these things, as she always does, with her uncanny insight and her good heart.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Albert A. Bell, Jr
"While staying at his villa on Lake Comum, with Tacitus and his wife as guests, Pliny decides to add on to the house. When workmen begin demolishing a wall, they find a human skeleton. Pliny knows when the wall was built and he knows his wife's father disappeared at that time. But his father-in-law supposedly drowned. Shortly after finding the skeleton, Pliny begins to receive warnings and threats to halt his investigation. Then his wife, Livia, is kidnapped. The kidnapers want a document in exchange for Livia, but Pliny has no idea where it is. With the help of Tacitus and Aurora, he rescues Livia, but Aurora is injured and suffers a miscarriage. (She had not told Pliny she was pregnant.) Pliny learns that an innkeeper in the town of Comum was his father's mistress. She knows where the missing document is. Ultimately Pliny discovers that his biological father was complicit in the death of Livia's father by hiding the body in the wall. Livia's father and two other men were involved in a pedophile ring. Her father was killed in an argument among the men."--