The Cut

Judging from the response to an earlier blog post recommending a Jack Reacher read-alike, library patrons really didn't like the idea of Tom Cruise as the star of the new movie. Never fear! Lee Child fans can take heart that there are more cool heroes out there, just waiting to be discovered. George Pelecanos, novelist and writer/producer of the hit HBO show The Wire, has recently started a series starring returned Iraq War veteran, Spero Lucas. The Cut is the first installment.

Lucas returns to Washington D.C. after his years of service and starts work as an investigator for a defense attorney. Lucas finds his niche in his side job as a "finder." He finds stolen property for people, no questions asked, for a 40% fee. As you can imagine, the type of clients who need this service can be a bit sketchy. In fact, in this case, the client is an imprisoned drug dealer looking to recover stolen deliveries of marijuana. Lucas stylishly blazes his way across D.C., making plenty of time to enjoy wine, women and song along the way.

Keep an eye out for The Double, the second book starring Spero Lucas, that is due out this year.

~Susannah

Move over Reacher, there's a new guy in town!

Have you already read all the Jack Reacher novels from Lee Child? Would you like to meet another ex-military hero that can hold his own with a little bravado and even a little swagger? Or maybe the thought of Tom Cruise playing Reacher in the upcoming movie adaptation has you looking for a new hero? Maybe it's time to check out Army Ranger Quinn Colson, star of a new series from Ace Atkins. Colson has the confidence and competence that makes  Reacher so appealing, but with slightly more humility and a lot more charisma.

In The Ranger, Quinn Colson takes leave from the army to return to his hometown in Jericho, Mississippi for his uncle's funeral. His uncle, Sheriff Hampton Beckett, supposedly killed himself. With the help of deputy Lille Virgil, Quinn starts to investigate in order to find out what really happened. The cast of characters in this action packed mystery includes ex-girlfriends, army buddies, meth dealing criminals, corrupt politicians and sinning preachers. If you like The Ranger, Colson's story continues in The Lost Ones.

Take an Epic Journey with The Passage

Meet Zero, whose previous name, Patient Zero, has long been forgotten. Before he had that name, he was a scientist called Tim Fanning who went on an expedition to Bolivia and came home with a virus that changed everything. When you pick up this huge book that spans places all over the world, and enough time to follow generations of characters, you get to find out what happens after a top-secret military project tried to use Zero's illness as a weapon, and also what happens to the people he meets and infects along the way  -- their everyday, horrifying, and heroic stories will surprise you.

Now that the second volume of Justin Cronin's trilogy is out, this is the perfect time to pick up The Passage and catch up. (The new one's called The Twelve.) If you're a fan of epic-length genre fiction that straddles horror and sci-fi, like Stephen King's The Stand, or Robert McCammon's Swan Song, you'll love Cronin's blend of action, world-building, and his carefully-thought-out take on vampires (don't worry, it's nothing like Twilight).