Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to her popular Wait for You series with a suspenseful and sexy New Adult romance about taking second chances and learning to heal. 

Bartender and burgeoning artist Roxy has loved Reece for years. She was there for him when they grew up, when he came back from serving in the Marines and after a particularly harrowing event while he was on duty as a police officer. But the implications of a one-night stand together put an awkward strain on their once strong friendship. With the tension increasing between them as the elephant in the room goes ignored, a painful reminder from Roxy’s past returns, and a killer begins terrorizing women in the area.

The way Reece and Roxy dance around each other will have readers biting their nails in anticipation.

Both Roxy and Reece have their own demons to address, and it’s a great juxtaposition to see how they handle various situations with their very different attitudes. Reece is protective, honest and oh-so-earnest in everything he does. Meanwhile, Roxy is the definition of quirky and fun, and it’s hard not to smile every time she’s talking.

However, Roxy’s carefree demeanor hides a deep loss. Her best friend was the victim of a hate crime that left him in the care of a facility, unable to speak or do anything on his own. Henry, the man responsible, has just been released from prison, bringing Officer Reece back into Roxy’s life after nearly a year of avoiding one another. Add in a man targeting and attacking women in town, and discussing the repercussions of their night together isn’t a priority for Reece and Roxy, despite the fact that their attraction is becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

Though Fall with Me is the fourth book in the Wait for You series, Armentrout does a flawless job of introducing previous characters and setting the scene without that pesky feeling of being left out. The way Reece and Roxy dance around each other—flirting and toeing that line of no-going-back—will have readers biting their nails in anticipation as both characters strive to peel back each other's layers of guilt and grief. There’s no shortage of page-turning action, either. As Henry tries to make amends with Roxy for the pain he’s caused, the very serious threat of a murderer is making headlines in the news. Whether readers are new to Armentrout or longtime fans, this passionate, heartfelt romance is sure to satisfy .

Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush’s unsettling novel calls to mind both And Then There Were None and Stephen King’s It.

In Wicked Game the bones of a young woman have been found and some old high school friends, certain the bones are those of a girl they knew who vanished years ago, come together to try to solve the mystery. To make things even more stressful, one of the friends might be clairvoyant and the girl’s probable killer may or may not be human. Then people who knew the lost girl start dying, inexplicably, one by one.

Jackson and Bush take their time telling their story—the novel is over 400 pages long—which allows readers to get well- acquainted with the characters. These include the somewhat obsessive sad-sack cop who was on the case long ago, and has been given the now-cold case again, and Becca Sutcliff, who used to have visions as a teenager and now, with the discovery of the remains, is beginning to have them again. The authors know how to keep their readers turning the pages just to find who or what is causing the mayhem. And they provide an ending that’s worth the wait. 

Seattle author Jayne Ann Krentz has a well-deserved reputation for excellence among romance and mystery readers. Her latest release, In Too Deep, does not disappoint.

In Too Deep kicks off the Looking Glass Trilogy and is also a part of Krentz’s long-running Arcane Society novels. The story features Fallon Jones, a “modern day Sherlock Holmes” with a psychic twist who has come to the tiny village of Scargill Cove to escape his problems. Isabella Valdez has also fled to the small town on the Northern California coast—and she’s seeking Fallon’s help.

Both Fallon and Isabella have unique psychic gifts. When they join forces to solve a mystery tied to a dangerous 1800s psychic inventor whose creations threaten the modern-day residents of the Cove, they discover that their gifts are even more powerful together. Other Scargill Cove inhabitants have talents of their own—and reasons for protecting the village’s hidden history. But when someone uses murder to gain access to evil power, it’s up to Fallon and Isabella to stop them.

Finding and destroying a killer, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Cold psychic energy is swirling through the streets of Scargill Cove and death threatens the residents. Only Fallon and Isabella can untangle the threads and save the tiny population.

Other questions are on their minds as well. How does the threat to their neighbors in Scargill Cove tie in with the person chasing Isabella? What did she see that has her former employer willing to go to any lengths to ensure Isabella’s silence—even if that means her death? And how are the assassins connected to the mysterious killer robot dolls and the destructive magic lantern light that nearly killed Fallon months earlier?

In a plot that twists and turns with ever-intriguing layers, Krentz deftly weaves romance and creates characters whom readers will root for and love. In an interview with USA Today, Krentz is quoted as saying that romance “is potentially dangerous, but . . . nothing of significance gets done in the world without it.” The quote is particularly apt when applied to In Too Deep, for without the romance between Fallon and Isabella, the fascinating mysteries would remain unsolved. Fortunately for readers, there’s plenty of romance to save the day.

Lois Faye Dyer writes from Port Orchard, Washington.

“Even when the bad is staring a woman in the face, she wants to believe her man is good.” Dodge Hanley knows that better than most, and when Caroline King reaches out to him after years of separation, he seizes the opportunity to redeem himself in her eyes. He’s been waiting his baby’s lifetime for just such a call. That baby, Berry Malone, is all grown up now, but Dodge and Caroline’s daughter is in a jam she can’t talk her way out of: A stalker has a twisted plan to punish her for rejecting him in her climb up the ladder at a Texas marketing agency in Sandra Brown’s hot new thriller, Tough Customer.

Caroline calls Dodge after an intruder breaks into her home intent on killing Berry. Instead, Berry’s work partner, Ben Lofland, is shot and left for dead. Calling Dodge was reflexive; the ex-cop turned investigator may have broken Caroline’s heart when Berry was born, but he has the talent and hard-edged drive to catch the shooter. Small-town sheriff Ski Nyland teams up with the battle-scarred veteran of law enforcement—and he’s as susceptible to seductive allure of the daughter as Dodge is to that of her mother.

From the sophisticated realm of the Houston business world to the swampy heat of East Texas’ brambly Big Thicket, the killer leads them on a chase against the time as he targets his next victim. But the romantic pursuit of Berry and Caroline presents even greater dangers to Ski and Dodge.

Brown masterfully weaves a tapestry of two romances with the pulse-pounding suspense of a deadly stalker intent on avenging a lifetime’s worth of wrongs. Dodge may be the “Tough Customer” of the title, but he meets his match in the tenacious Caroline and the strong-willed daughter born of their long-ago love. Readers will meet a story that delivers, with fast pacing, breathless action and twists right up to the very last page.

Sandy Huseby writes from South Dakota and lakeside in Northern Minnesota.