The RATS of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library are bringing you a special series of blogs presenting the 2009 ITW Thriller Award Nominations.
ITW Thriller Awards are given out at the ITW’s annual celebration Thrillerfest 2009. This year it will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Saturday July 11, 2009.
Click the mouse on the book covers to order these books from the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library.
ITW Thriller Award for the Best Thriller Of The Year
 Hold Tight |
Hold TightAuthor: Coben, Harlan |
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Nominated for the 2009 ITW Thriller Award for the Best Thriller of the Year Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they’d become the type of overprotective parents who spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his classmate Spencer Hill, they can’t help but worry. Within days of installing a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer, they are jolted by a message from an unknown correspondent addressed to their son: “Just stay quiet and all safe.” As if Mike Baye isn’t dealing with enough, he also learns that Lucas Loriman, the sweet kid who grew up next door, is in urgent need of a kidney transplant. As the boy’s doctor, Mike suddenly finds himself in possession of an explosive secret that threatens to rip the Loriman family apart at the seams. Nearby, while browsing through an online memorial for Spencer, Betsy Hill discovers a surprising detail about the night of her son’s death. Before she can find out more, Adam disappears, taking the truth with him and sending shock waves through the neighborhood. As the lives of these families collide in tragic, unexpected, and violent ways, long-hidden connections in their small suburb begin to work their way to the surface. And when an unidentified Jane Doe is beaten to death not far away, those connections threaten to turn this quiet community upside down — and force these desperate parents to decide whether there is any line they won’t cross to protect those they love most in the world. |
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 The Bodies Left Behind |
The Bodies Left BehindAuthor: Deaver, Jeffery |
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Nominated for the 2009 ITW Thriller Award for the Best Thriller of the Year When a night-time call to 911 from a secluded Wisconsin vacation house is cut short, off-duty deputy Brynn McKenzie leaves her husband and son at the dinner table and drives up to Lake Mondac to investigate. Was it a misdial or an aborted crime report? Brynn stumbles onto a scene of true horror and narrowly escapes from two professional criminals. She and a terrified visitor to the weekend house, Michelle, flee into the woods in a race for their lives. As different as night and day, and stripped of modern-day resources, Brynn, a tough deputy with a difficult past, and Michelle, a pampered city girl, must overcome their natural reluctance to trust each other and learn to use their wits and courage to survive the relentless pursuit. The deputy’s disappearance spurs both her troubled son and her new husband to action, while the incident sets in motion Brynn’s loyal fellow deputies and elements from Milwaukee’s underside. These various forces race along inexorably toward the novel’s gritty and stunning conclusion. The Bodies Left Behind is an epic cat-and-mouse chase, told nearly in real-time, and is filled with Deaver’s patented twists and turns, where nothing is what it seems, and death lingers just around the next curve on a deserted path deep in the midnight forest. |
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 The Broken Window |
The Broken Window (Lincoln Rhyme Series #8)Author: Deaver, Jeffery |
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Nominated for the 2009 ITW Thriller Award for the Best Thriller of the Year Lincoln Rhyme and partner/paramour Amelia Sachs return to face a criminal whose ingenious staging of crimes is enabled by a terrifying access to information. . . . When Lincoln’s estranged cousin Arthur Rhyme is arrested on murder charges, the case is perfect — too perfect. Forensic evidence from Arthur’s home is found all over the scene of the crime, and it looks like the fate of Lincoln’s relative is sealed. At the behest of Arthur’s wife, Judy, Lincoln grudgingly agrees to investigate the case. Soon Lincoln and Amelia uncover a string of similar murders and rapes with perpetrators claiming innocence and ignorance — despite ironclad evidence at the scenes of the crime. Rhyme’s team realizes this “perfect” evidence may actually be the result of masterful identity theft and manipulation. An information service company — the huge data miner Strategic Systems Datacorp — seems to have all the answers but is reluctant to help the police. Still, Rhyme and Sachs and their assembled team begin uncovering a chilling pattern of vicious crimes and coverups, and their investigation points to one master criminal, whom they dub “522.” When “522″ learns the identities of the crime-fighting team, the hunters become the hunted. Full of Deaver’s trademark plot twists, The Broken Window will put the partnership of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs to the ultimate test. |
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 The Dark Tide |
The Dark TideAuthor: Gross, Andrew |
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Nominated for the 2009 ITW Thriller Award for the Best Thriller of the Year From the New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zone comes this second mesmerizing thriller about a woman who must unravel the secrets from her dead husband’s past. An explosion rips through New York City’s Grand Central Station, destroying the train Karen Friedman’s husband, a successful hedge fund manager, is riding in to work. On the same day, there’s a suspicious hit-and-run accident in Karen’s hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Ty Hauck, a detective, finds a clue that shockingly connects the two seemingly unrelated events. Months later, two men show up at Karen’s home digging into Charles’ business dealings. Hundreds of millions of dollars are missing — and the trail points squarely to Charles. Suddenly Karen, with Hauck, steps into a widening storm of hedge fund losses, international scams and murder. And as the investigations converge, these two strangers are pulled into a twisted — and deadly — conspiracy. With its breakneck pacing, plentiful twists, compelling characters, and abundant heart, The Dark Tide confirms Andrew Gross’ place as a master storyteller at the top of his game. |
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 The Last Patriot |
The Last PatriotAuthor: Thor, Brad |
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Nominated for the 2009 ITW Thriller Award for the Best Thriller of the Year Brad Thor, master of suspense and New York Times bestselling author of The First Commandment, returns with his highest-voltage thriller to date. In a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-charged tour de force, Navy SEAL turned covert Homeland Security operative Scot Harvath must race to locate an ancient secret that has the power to stop militant Islam dead in its tracks. June 632 A.D.: Deep within the Uranah Valley of Mount Arafat in Mecca, the Prophet Mohammed shares with his closest companions a final and startling revelation. Within days, he is assassinated. September 1789: U.S. Minister to France Thomas Jefferson, who is charged with forging a truce with the violent Muslim pirates of the Barbary Coast, makes a shocking discovery – one that could forever impact the world’s relationship with Islam. Present day: When a car bomb explodes outside a Parisian cafe, Scot Harvath is thrust back into the life he has tried so desperately to leave behind. Saving the intended victim of the attack, Harvath becomes party to an amazing and perilous race to uncover a secret so powerful that militant Islam could be defeated once and for all without firing another shot, dropping another bomb, or launching another covert action. But as desperate as the American government is to have the information brought to light, there are powerful forces aligned against it — men who are just as determined that Mohammed’s mysterious final revelation continue to remain hidden forever. What Jason Bourne was to the Cold War, Scot Harvath is to the War on Terror. Brad Thor has created “the perfect all-American hero for the post September 11 world”(Nelson DeMille) and will keep readers glued to the pages as he once again takes them across the globe on a heart-pounding chase where the stakes are higher than they have ever been before. |
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The 2009 ITW Thriller Award Nominations Series:
Part 1 — Best Thriller of the Year
Part 2 — Best First Novel
Part 3 — Best Short Story and Other Awards
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