Tricky Business by Dave Barry
A tropical storm hits a casino boat off the coast of Florida changing the lives of a quirky set of passengers.

Legally Dead by Edna Buchanan
U.S. Marshal Michael Venturi of the Witness Protection Program relocates a mobster, now a government witness, to a small rural town after creating a new identity for him. The man proves to be a monster unleashed on an unsuspecting community. The results are tragic. To make amends Venturi leaves the Marshals Service and assembles a team of close confidants to secretly create new identities for innocent men and women whose lives have been ruined through no fault of their own. And before being declared "legally dead"--They have to die. The result is a combination of Extreme Makeover, Mission Impossible, and CSI -- the last in reverse. In these "deaths," some of them spectacular, phony forensics must be created to fit the "facts" and fool the experts. But when one of Venturi's clients is murdered, and Venturi's own loved ones are threatened, Venturi must call upon his former training in both the U.S. Marines Force Recon and the Marshals Service, as he is hunted by police, prosecutors, ruthless killers, and his own former federal colleagues.

A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett
An adventurer finds himself enlisted by an elderly sea-captain to help find a missing lens belonging to the a lighthouse, but soon comes to regret his decision.

The Godfather of Kathmandu by John Burdett
Royal Thai police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep is called to a grisly murder scene that could make or break his career, but he's more worried about impressing Tietsin, his new Buddhist guru. However, Tietsin would rather use Sonchai to help him broker a heroin deal worth 40 million dollars. Left with no easy way out and plenty of moral conflict, Sonchai will have to decide between saving his soul and saving his career.

Atomic Lobster by Tim Dorsey
Embarking on a new adventure off the coast of the Sunshine State, psychopath Serge A. Storms and his drug-addled sidekick find themselves surrounded by atypical retirees and drug dealers while working to outmaneuver federal agents and a fugitive murderer.

Rolling Thunder: a John Ceepak mystery by Chris Grabenstein.
In the wake of the suspicious death of a prominent Sea Haven, New Jersey, resident on the opening day of a new boardwalk roller coaster, straight-arrow cop John Ceepak and his partner Danny Boyle discover links between the case the subsequent death of a beach beauty.

Magic City by James W. Hall
The discovery of a black-and-white photograph taken during the 1964 Clay-Liston fight in Miami Beach unleashes a modern-day murder spree that forces Thorn into an alliance with a dangerous enemy to seek retribution for the death of a loved one.

Aloha, Mr. Lucky by Corson Hirschfeld
When "Star Hollie, a cash-hungry surfer and free-spirited journalist" in Hawaii, begins to help Caddy MacConnell to solve her sister's murder, they encounter "a bizarre conspiracy that will bring them face-to-face with an ex-military sadist, two brawny but dim-witted Appalachian twins, and an unscrupulous financier with dreams of turning an earthly paradise into the ultimate golf resort."

Fuzzy Navel by Joe Konrath
Chicago police woman Jack Daniels is back, and this time she's locked up in her mother's home, along with her fiance, her mom, and one of the scariest psychos ever to escape from prison. They're being held hostage by a group of vigilantes on a murderous spree, who have gone from killing bad guys to wanting to take down a cop. The suspense is killing everyone.

Djibouti by Elmore Leonard
In a modern-day pirate story, ambitious documentary filmmaker Dara Barr and her right-hand man, Xavier LeBo, a seventy-two-year-old African American seafarer, get more than they bargained for on the Horn of Africa.

Blue Moon: a Gideon Lowry mystery by John Leslie
At the request of an old flame, PI Gideon Lowry does a background check on the woman's fiance and discovers fatal accidents follow him around. The lady is a Key West restaurateur whom Lowry romanced 15 years earlier. By the author of Love for Sale.

The Floating Girl by Sujata Massey
While researching an article on comic-book art, Rei Shimura becomes involved in a murder investigation.

Guilt Trip : a Blanco County mystery by Ben Rehder
In Blanco County, Texas, game warden John Marlin has his peaceful life turned upside down by the disappearance of the womanizing treasurer of the local Rotary Club, the explosion of a drug house, the theft of an exotic car, and murder.

Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty by Tim Sandlin
Reluctantly taking up residence at an assisted-living facility outside San Francisco in 2023, Guy Fontaine realizes that his aging-hippie fellow residents are living out their golden years in perpetual tribute to the 1960s and becomes involved in a media circus involving a resident's illegal pet cat, the facility's domineering administrator, and governor Drew Barrymore.

Welcome to Paradise by Laurence Shames
A comedy on a tourist mistaken for a mobster. Both men are called Big Al and both are on holiday in Key West, Florida, their names prominently displayed on the license plate of their cars. The bouncers sent to rough up Al become confused.

All Hat by B.J. Smith
A novel about hope, redemption, and getting even, but not necessarily in that order, just out of prison for attacking the man who assaulted his sister, Ray Dokes heads back to the small Canadian town where he was raised. Vowing to lie low, he moves in with Pete Culpepper, a Texas cowboy who has always been a grounding influence on Ray, but whose debts are growing faster than his corn. Between roofing houses and watching Pete's nine-year-old gelding at the races, Ray soon crosses paths with just about everyone in town, including Pete's new jockey, Chrissie, a tough young woman whose ease with horses is equaled only by her mistrust of people, and Ray's former lover Etta, who views him with more skepticism than ever. Then there are the hired hands of the Stanton Stables: Dean, a wise guy who embodies the phrase "all hat and no cattle," and his sidekick, Paulie, a simple-hearted man who has a way with animals. And last but not least, there's Sonny Stanton, the vicious, violent, and spoiled heir of his father's electronics fortune-and the man Ray spent two years in jail for nearly killing. When the opportunity arises to con Sonny out of some ill-gained wealth-and protect themselves and their homes in the process-everyone's willing to band together and take a gamble. Surprisingly poignant yet laugh-out-loud funny, All Hat tells a classic story of little guys fighting big guys and reaffirming the meaning of honesty and friendship-and second chances-in the process.

Grand Theft by Timothy Watts
A career car thief finds the body of a Mafia boss and tries to discover who set him up.

Chasing Midnight by Randy Wayne White
At a reception hosted by a notorious Russian black marketeer, Doc Ford uses darkness, and his friend Tomlinson, as cover to get an underwater look at the billionaire's yacht. By the time Ford surfaces, everything has changed.  Environmental extremists have taken control of the island. Or are they thugs hired by the Russian's competitors? Whatever the motive, they have herded everyone together and threatened to kill one hostage every hour until midnight unless their demands are met-at which point they will just blow everybody up.  Electronic jammers make communications with the outside world impossible. The only hope of avoiding terrible consequences: The militants do not know Ford's capabilities, or that he is still on the loose. But that situation won't last for long . . . and the clock is ticking.

Oshkosh Public Library
July 2011