Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.

We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Here's what I got ~

Fear the Worst: A Novel by Linwood Barclay (ARC)~ That's what Tim Blake finds himself asking when his daughter Sydney vanishes into thin air. At the hotel where she was supposedly working, no one has ever heard of her. Even her closest friends can't tell him what Sydney was really doing in the weeks before her disappearance. Now as the days pass without a word, Tim is forced to face not only the fact that Sydney is missing but that the daughter he's loved and nurtured, the daughter he thought he knew as well as anyone, is a virtual stranger.As he retraces Sydney's steps, searching for clues to her secret life, Tim discovers that the suburban Connecticut town he always thought of as perfectly ordinary has a darker side. But what he doesn't know is just how dark. Because while he's out searching for his daughter, questioning everyone who might have known her, someone is watching him. For Tim isn't the only one who'll do anything to find Syd. Whatever trouble she's in, there's a lot more on the way.and it's following in Tim's footsteps. The closer Tim comes to the truth, the closer he comes to every parent's worst nightmare.and the kind of evil only a parent's love has a chance in hell of stopping.

Alex Cross's TRIAL by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo (ARC)~ Ben Corbett is a brilliant young lawyer in early-twentieth-century Washington DC. Yet he is a disappointment to his wife and father, who believe he wastes his talents by doing poorly-paid and thankless work helping the poor and downtrodden. One day, out of the blue, he receives a private invitation to the White House. President Theodore Roosevelt has personally selected Ben to help him investigate rumours of lynchings and a re-emergence of the outlawed Ku Klux Klan in Ben's own hometown of Eudora, Mississippi. Ben accepts the mission handed to him and is given the name of a man in Eudora who will help him in this covert operation - the man's name is Abraham Cross, great-uncle of Alex. As Ben delves into the murky depths of racial hatred that hide beneath the surface of this seemingly sleepy Southern town, people become suspicious of what he is trying to do, and make it very clear to Ben what he is risking if he continues. Ben must decide if he is willing to lose old friends, his family, maybe even his life, for the cause he believes in. In his quest to bring about justice for the tortured and tormented black community of Eudora, Ben must take on the biggest, most difficult, and most dangerous trial of his life. But can one man fight an entire town, an entire state that is stuck in the past and willing to go to any lengths to halt change and the coming of a future that they desperately fear?

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson (ARC) ~ Alex Cross's niece is found brutally murdered. Overcome with grief, Alex vows to take down her killer before he strikes again. But shortly after he begins the investigation, Alex discovers that his niece had gotten mixed up with some very important, very dangerous people. And she's not the only one who has disappeared.The hunt for the murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to Washington's most infamous club--a place where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in. The killer could be one of their patrons, one of Washington's elite who will do anything to keep their secrets buried.With astonishing plot twists and electrifying revelations that will keep readers on the edge of their seat, I, ALEX CROSS is James Patterson's most suspenseful Alex Cross novel yet.

Perseverance: True Voices of Cancer Survivors by Carolyn Rubenstein (For Review)~ Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you're told... maybe not. How would you cope?That's the question the twenty young people in this book had to answer when they were diagnosed with childhood cancer. Perseverance tells of their trials and tribulations, of their triumphs, and of the unique challenges that day-to-day college life brings them. Perseverance also provides an intimate look at the lives and journeys of these young people and how their courage and strength have affected the lives of others.These honest, first-person accounts lend amazing depth to the inspiring stories of these young men and women. Inside, you'll meet Zac York, who tells of climbing Mount Whitney—on crutches—after battling brain cancer. You’ll meet Alex Oden, who—just days after brain surgery—gave his 8th grade peers a graduation speech called “A Day Well Spent,” in which he challenged them to make a difference in just one day. You’ll meet Kristen Jones, who, while battling leukemia, was able to pass the MCAT and pursue her dream of becoming a pediatric oncologist. Twenty unique and fascinating stories, with one common theme: perseverance. The stories of these heroes demonstrate how anyone can learn to live with energy and passion, regardless of the obstacles to be faced, and will remind us all that now is everything.

The Cheater by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg ~ Returning to her most beloved character, Lily Forrester, from the New York Times bestsellers Mitigating Circumstances and Buried Evidence, Rosenberg proves once again that she is a master of the suspense thriller, as Forrester finds herself in yet another mix of bizarre circumstances that lead her onto the trail of a vicious criminal mind. Along the way we meet: FBI Agent Mary Stevens—She is tracking a killer who murders husbands who are cheating on their wives, their mutilated bodies disposed of in ghastly ways and strange locations. Bryce Forrester—Lily’s husband—calls her from a Las Vegas jail where he’s been arrested for attempted rape…even though Las Vegas was not on his itinerary. Anne Bradley—Bryce’s accuser, like Lily, is a woman with an eerie past…an enigmatic figure to whom Lily is strangely drawn.The trail leads back to a Web service that provides alibis for cheating spouses and into a thick web of deception that puts both Lily’s and Mary’s lives in jeopardy. Do you know where your husband is?

The Captain's Bride (Northern Lights) by Lisa T. Bergren (For Review) ~ Elsa Anders's dream of marrying Peder Ramstad is about to come true. But as this independent, strong-willed woman discovers her own creative gifts--a love for travel, painting, and the sea--can she find happiness with a captain who insists upon leaving her safely on shore?Leaving their home in Norway behind, Elsa and Peder embark on a new life in with their closest friends, including: Kaatje Jansen, a woman seeking a new beginning for the sake of her marriage and for the child growing within her; Elsa's sister Tora, a sly young vixen who knows exactly what she wants--and exactly how to get it; and Karl Martensen, a man torn between his friendship for Peder and a forbidden, secret love for Elsa, a man tormented by emotions that threaten to ruin them all.From the gentle hills of Bergen, Norway, to the rocky coast of Camden, Maine, and across the crashing, danger-filled waves of the open sea--experience an epic saga of perseverance and passion, faith and fidelity, in the Northern Lights series: the new historical series by Lisa Tawn Bergren.

The Silver Sword (Heirs of Cahira O'Connor) by Angela Elwell Hunt (For Review) ~ The auburned-haired O'Connor women share a bond far deeper than their striking physical appearance. These courageous, high-spirited women all push against societal limits in this exciting historical, romantic novel that spans generations and countries from 13th-century Ireland to the excitement and mystery of 15th-century Prague.It is said that as Cahira, daughter of the great Irish king Rory O'Connor, lay dying of a wound from a Norman blade, she beseeched God that others would follow her calling. To Kathleen O'Connor, Cahira's story was nothing more than a fable--until research divulged that the tale was true. As a stunned Kathleen realizes that she herself bears the mark of Cahira, she wonders if she is destined to continue the legacy.To uncover the answers, Kathleen delves into the past to find the truth about the Heirs of Cahira O'Connor. It is a journey that carries her across generations, from the battlefields of 13th-century Ireland to the castles of 15th-century Prague. It is a past filled with peril, courage, vengeance, love, and sacrifice beyond anything she has ever known.