Fiction
Catch Me
Lisa Gardner, Dutton, 400 pages
If you knew the exact date and time of your death, what would you do? "Everyone has to die sometime. Be brave."
In Lisa Gardner's latest D.D. Warren thriller, "Catch Me," Charlene Grant is terrified that her death is just days away. Two years earlier, on Jan. 21, one of her two best friends was murdered. Her other best friend was killed the following year on the same date. Four days from now it will be the 21st, and she knows she's next.
Charlene tries to live under the radar, but she knows her days are numbered. She works for a 911 dispatch and decides to use the time she has left to help those in need.
She also approaches detective Warren to ask for her help in either stopping the killer or, if she dies, solving her murder.
Warren initially believes Charlene is a crackpot. But as she begins investigating her claims, she discovers that someone really is out to get Charlene. The two previous cases were never solved, and time is running out.
Gardner has become one of the best psychological thriller writers in the business. The compelling characters, the shocking plot and the realistic atmosphere of how police operate make this a "must read" for any suspense aficionado.
The Mirage
Matt Ruff, Harper, 432 pages
An alternate history of the events surrounding 9/11 creates a unique and compelling read in Matt Ruff's "The Mirage."
In this parallel world eerily similar to ours, Christian fundamentalists hijack four planes on Nov. 9, 2001, and crash two of them into the Tigris and Euphrates World Trade Towers. The United Arab States declares war on terror, and the first attack is on the Christian States of America.
Years later, Arab Homeland Security agent Mustafa al Baghdadi captures a suspected terrorist. The interrogation unveils a bizarre secret that Mustafa cannot believe: The world is nothing but a mirage, and he sees proof in a newspaper hidden away in the suspect's apartment.
The New York Times dated Sept. 12, 2001, shows planes hitting buildings in New York City, and the hijackers are from the Middle East.
The cast of characters is vast, and players known to almost everyone have key and rather surprising roles in Ruff's alternate scenario. And the juxtaposition of realities provides keen insight into the real world.
The reader will have questions. Though Ruff doesn't provide all the answers, the journey is worth taking.
Associated Press
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