Abbott, Jeff: Cut And Run [PBRACK MYSTERY]

Mystery; 3rd in Judge Whit Mosley series. Mosley investigates his own past in a harrowing search for the mother who abandoned his family years ago.

Anderson, Rex: My Dead Brother [MYSTERY ANDERSON]

Mystery; Houston's Lieutenant Gould turns up new evidence about the murder of the thoroughly rotten Gene Morris, a crime for which his partner went to jail and everybody has a motive and an alibi, except for Gene's brother Mel, who is investigating and getting nervous.

Anderson, Rex: Night Calls [MYSTERY ANDERSON]

Mystery; With frightening regularity, a disturbed killer telephones Chad Palmer and forces him to listen helplessly as he kills his female victims. At first, the solution to the murders seems simple: a police wiretap, call tracing, and it will all be over with. But the killer's too-clever technique prevents call tracing, and he continues calling Chad, chatting with him more and more familiarly, and then killing another woman.

Applefield, David: Once Removed [FICTION APPLEFIELD]

This novel set in present day Houston, shuttles the reader back & forth before & after WWII, but never leaves the last 17 days of one man’s life. Now in 1987, 40 years later, in the ICU of a heart clinic, the horrors of surviving a Polish concentration camp resurface in Jacob’s memory.

Baker, Susan: My First Murder [MYSTERY BAKER]

Mystery; Mavis Davis decides to leave her position as a probation officer to become a private investigator. She expects to do mostly routine work so when Carl Singleton shows up begging for help solving a murder, she accepts even though everyone thinks he's crazy.

Berry, Venise: Colored Sugar Water [FICTION BERRY]

Lucy and Adel, two successful women, struggle with the individual dissatisfaction, spiritual and emotional emptiness, and unhappiness of their lives and set out to search for true meaning and fufuillment.

Bickmore, Barbara: Deep In The Heart [FICTION BICKMORE]

Romance; In the 1960’s, Carly leaves the small Texas town of Verity and her broken heart behind & heads for Houston. There she becomes one of the most powerful and respected businesswomen in the city.

Bingham, Linda: All Roads Lead Home [FICTION BINGHAM]

Every year the Guidry sisters return to their small hometown of Trinity to renew the ties that bind. But this Christmas will be different. Geneva will give her daughters gifts that will change their lives and lead to a new appreciation of the home they were so eager to leave.

Bradley, Lynn: Stand-in For Murder [MYSTERY BRADLEY]

Mystery; Insurance investigator, Cole January knew he was in big trouble when he woke up to discover the corpse of a blond woman lying naked on the floor next to his bed. The first thing he had to do was find out who the woman was, especially since he was the only suspect. Getting an ID was easy. What made it difficult was learning that the person who was supposedly dead was asleep in her own bed.

Brandon, Jay: Predator's Waltz [MYSTERY BRANDON]

Mystery; Hurt by the competition of a Vietnamese immigrant's business, pawnshop owner Daniel Greer turns to a Vietnamese crime kingpin for help, a move that soon has Greer in great gang-related danger and Greer's wife kidnapped.

Brown, Rosellen: Half A Heart [FICTION BROWN]

Set in New England & Houston in the 1980s; Former civil rights activist Miriam Vener’s life is shattered when the bi-racial 18 year old daughter she had left suddenly appears.

Bullard, Linda Mckeever: Shades Of Justice [FICTION BULLARD]

Gwen Parrish is an African-American attorney trying to balance career & personal life in Houston’s racially charged big-city politics.

Cooper, Susan Rogers: Houston In The Rearview Mirror [MYSTERY COOPER]

Mystery; 2nd in Milt Kovac series. Chief Deputy Sheriff Milton Kovac leaves Oklahamoa to come to Houston where his sister Jewel is in intensive care, having presumably shot her husband and tried to kill herself.

Crider, Bill: Blood Marks [MYSTERY CRIDER]

Mystery; Recently divorced Casey Buckner meets three exciting men in her new apartment—a married accountant, a single writer, and a psychologist—and one of them is a serial killer who has already brutally killed nine women. But which one?

Crider, Bill: Galveston Gunman [LARGE PRINT CRIDER]

Three desperados bushwack Lee Strate and lift his hard-earned stake of $5000. Left for dead on a trail, Lee is saved by Jack Farmer, a free black man, who tends Lee's wounds and agrees to help recover the money. In Houston, Lee finds out that the three bad guys work for Colonel Benson, an ambitious and evil hombre, fiercely racist and still fighting the war. When Benson takes off for Galveston, Lee and Jack follow, and soon discover that Benson and his henchmen are stirring up racial trouble among the dock workers.

Cullin, Mitch: Cosmology Of Bing [FICTION CULLIN]

Shunned by faculty peers because of his erratic behavior, Bing has been reduced to teaching an undergraduate lecture class. By night he hangs out in a piano bar, haunted by the distant memory of Marc, his sole male lover; by day he returns home to a loveless relationship with his wife, Susan, whose career as a poet was cut short by a cerebral aneurysm. Taking an immediate interest in sophomore Nick Sulpy, Bing offers to give him special, private lessons in the seclusion of his home. Unsuspecting at his mentor's obsession, Nick allows him to importune on his goodwill. Nick is more concerned with his roommate, art student Takashi, who is gay but “masculine as they c[o]me.”

Dittman, Ralph E.: Allen's Landing - The Authentic Story Of The Founding Of Houston [FICTION DITTMAN]

Based on fact; A blend of family stories, traditions, tales, & exacting historical detail.

Furman, Laura: The Shadow Line [FICTION FURMAN]

When reporter Liz Gold fled to Houston to escape her family and her wrecked marriage, she investigates the twenty-year-old murder of the mistress of a prominent businessman and uncovers the truth about the murder—and herself.

Garcia, Lionel G.: A Shroud In The Family [FICTION GARCIA]

Diagnosed by his psychiatrist as lacking a personality, Andy Garcia, a lawyer, narrates his problems in present-day Houston. There he is beleaguered by Mexican American social & political problems, as well as by a debilitating identity crisis.

Haley, James L.: Final Refuge [FICTION HALEY]

At night, in a quiet Texas wildlife preserve, someone is stalking the rhinoceroses as they sleep in their lair, killing them, and stealing their horns. Who would do such a thing to an endangered creature, and for what sinister motive? Eric Jackson is the founder and director of Final Refuge, a new 3000 acre wildlife preserve outside Houston. Now, not only is his struggling institution under fire, so are his precious Javan rhinoceroses. Is his soon-to-be ex-wife behind the confusion and chaos, or is one of his newly hired employees poaching the rhino horns for reasons Jackson cannot know?

Hearon, Shelby: Footprints [FICTION HEARON]

The sudden and tragic death of a twenty-two-year-old woman exposes the previously hidden conflicts of her parents' marriage as Nan and Douglas Mayhall come face to face with an elderly southern preacher whose life has been saved by the gift of their daughter's heart.

Hemlin, Tim: Dead Man’s Broth [PBRACK MYSTERY]

Mystery; 5th in Neil Marshall series. When Houston's most famous TV chef is found dead, the city's most sought-after caterer is in hot water, having risen to the top of the suspect list, and his chef, part-time sleuth Neil Marshall, is determined to dish out the truth.

Hemlin, Tim: If Wishes Were Horse [PBRACK MYSTERY]

Mystery; 1st in Neil Marshall series. Neil, grad student & poet, begins working as a chef for a high society Houston caterer in order to pay for his divorce. Things get worse when his oldest friend, racehorse breeder Jason Keys is murdered & Neil is the prime suspect. To save his neck, Neil must rescue a missing championship thoroughbred by entering the underworld of horse theft & illegal breeding.

Hemlin, Tim: People In Glass Houses [PBRACK MYSTERY]

Mystery; 3rd in Neil Marshall series. While Congressional candidate Chip Gunn sweet-talks power brokers at his Houston fundraiser, all hell breaks loose for Neil, catering chef at The Kitchen. Gunn’s bodyguard is stabbed, and Neil’s assistant is found gripping a bloody knife, swearing she never used it.

Hemlin, Tim: A Whisper Of Rage [PBRACK MYSTERY]

Mystery; 2nd in Neil Marshall series. Grad student Neil witnesses the shooting of a famous Houston P.I. & is in trouble when the gunman comes after him.

Johnston, Joan: The Price [FICTION JOHNSTON]

Romance; 4th in Bitter Creek series. A Houston attorney defends a pharmaceutical company whose drug may have killed a young girl, and when the plaintiff's counsel turns out to be his high school sweetheart, an unexpected romance ensues.

Lindsey, David: An Absence Of Light [FICTION LINDSEY]

Mystery; An investigator in Houston's Intelligence Division is found dead in his car & the head of the division, Marcus Graver, must go to outside help to pursue the case. Arnette, a freelancer, discovers that a vicious criminal, formerly of the Mossad, is involved & that the whole department is in way over it's head.

Lindsey, David: A Cold Mind [MYSTERY LINDSEY]

Mystery; 2nd in Stuart Haydon series. Somewhere in the sprawling city of Houston, a psychopath is stalking his victims. Each is a high-priced call girl trained & groomed for the pleasure of high-powered gentlemen. Each is found murdered, her body twisted in a climax of agony, defying medical explanation. But most chilling of all is that the killer is coldly efficient, leaving behind no clues, no motives, no evidence. Homicide detective Stuart Haydon has seen his share of the dangerous passions that lead to murder, but he's never seen anything like this before.

Lindsey, David: The Color Of Night [FICTION LINDSEY]

A former intelligence agent, widower Harry Strand has begun a new life as an art dealer and has fallen in love with beautiful Asian art collector Mara Song. His world is turned upside down when he discovers a videotape of his wife's death in Mara's tape collection.

Lindsey, David: Heat From Another Sun [MYSTERY LINDSEY]

Mystery; 3rd in Stuart Haydon series. Investigating the brutal slaying of a cameraman in Houston, homicide detective Stuart Haydon finds a perverse villain of enormous wealth, power, and resources who is willing to go to any length to satisfy his obsessions.

Lindsey, David: In The Lake Of The Moon [MYSTERY LINDSEY]

Mystery; 5th in Stuart Haydon series. Haydon starts receiving photographs of a young man who looks disturbingly familiar. He soon realizes that they are pictures of his father from 50 years before. Then he receives a photo that shows a bullet's trajectory & an explosion of blood from his own brain. The scene alternates between Haydon hunting the man who stalks him and the psychopathic stalker as well as between Houston & Mexico City.

Lindsey, David: Mercy [MYSTERY LINDSEY]

Mystery; Carmen Palma, a homicide detective, is faced with a series of murders of women that are very strange and distinctive. Each victim has been sexually assaulted & then had fresh make-up applied. The investigation places Carmen in the dark underground world of bisexuality & sadomasochism & leads to an incredibly shocking realization.

Lindsey, David: Requiem For A Glass Heart [MYSTERY LINDSEY]

Mystery; A tale of 2 complex & beautiful women, each of whom becomes both huntress and prey in a world of devious & ruthless men. Irina Ismaylova, an assassin for a Russian crime lord, meets FBI special agent Cate Cuevas when 3 great international crime organizations, the Hong Kong Chinese, the Sicilian La Cosa Nostra, & the Russian Mafia, are to meet in Houston.

Lindsey, David: Spiral [MYSTERY LINDSEY]

Mystery; 4th in Stuart Haydon series. Police detective Stuart Haydon finds himself on the sidelines of a full-scale Latin underworld slaughter. The crossfire claims the life of a beloved friend & Haydon follows a trail of torture ever closer to the death squads of los tecos.

Mceachin, James: Farewell To The Mockingbirds [FICTION MCEACHIN]

Inspired by the true story of the all-black, all-volunteer 24th Infantry Regiment, Company K. The men of the 24th Infantry Regiment (Colored) were all volunteers. Company K was the best outfit in the regiment, largely due to the leadership and discipline of Sgt. Obie McLellan. Yet the segregated Army sent the unit to a post near Houston noted for its miserable conditions. When the Houston police ignited a race riot in town, leaving many black soldiers dead, wounded or in jail, McLellan led the enraged men of Company K in a revolt against their continual mistreatment from the police and their white officers. Company K armed itself and marched into Houston to even the score and rescue their jailed comrades. The resulting court-martial produced the largest mass trial in U.S. military history: more than 100 black soldiers were charged with murder, mutiny and other capital crimes. To appease angry Southerners, the Army promised convictions and executions. Perjury, blackmail, coercion and flagrant disregard for the Constitution made a mockery of military justice.

Mcmurtry, Larry: The Evening Star [FICTION MCMURTRY]

Sequel to Terms of Endearment. Aurora Greenway's old boyfriend, the General, is nearly 90, though still feisty, as she consoles herself for his impotence with a cast of aging admirers who will eventually be supplanted by a younger man. Her late daughter Emma's children are not much of a consolation. Tommy is in Huntsville prison for shooting his girlfriend; Teddy & his live-in lover are 2 high-IQ geniuses who met as psychiatric patients; Melanie, overweight & pregnant, is making a dash for California with the latest in a long line of unsatisfactory boyfriends. For Aurora it is the time of evening, of coming to grips in various ways with old age.

Mcmurtry, Larry: Moving On [FICTION MCMURTRY]

Set in the 1960s against the backdrop of the honky-tonk glamour of the rodeo and the desperation of suburban Houston. Patsy Carpenter is young, recently married, and trapped in a life style before she has had time to find out who she is & what she wants. Patsy’s baffled attempts to love her husband, Jim; her attraction to Pete, a rodeo clown whose gentle strength seems to promise what Jim is incapable of giving; her love affair with Hank, who can only bring her a sexuality that offers no release, all are stages in the hard business of being and becoming Patsy.

Mcmurtry, Larry: Terms Of Endearment [FICTION MCMURTRY]

Aurora Greenway, a widow with a young daughter named Emma to raise, had endured loss & adapted to change. As Emma grew, so did Aurora's need for love, yet she feared intimacy with her many suitors & held them at a distance. Emma was the core of her existence. But different generations have different hopes & goals—and when Emma went off to marry Flap Horton, a gap grew between mother & daughter. Still, when Emma’s marriage began to falter & her life fell into what seemed like hopeless disorder, Emma found the strength to go on. Together she & Aurora faced life's challenges—sometimes with sadness—but also with humor. Made into a movie that won the 1983 Best Picture of the Year award.

Mcnaught, Judith: Remember When [FICTION MCNAUGHT]

Romance; Obliged to show up at a Houston charity ball shortly after being jilted by her fiance, Diana Foster knew that she wasn’t living up to the standard her family’s magazine Beautiful Living set. She should be married or at least engaged. At the same time Cole Harrison needed a wife to get out of a contract. So after a lot of champagne & a kiss the deal was set. Set in 1979.

Miller, J.p.: Surviving Joy [FICTION MILLER]

The story of the early life of Dub Johnson, a.k.a. Tex Frontere, a mannish boy trying to find his way in & about Depression-era Houston. Dub, who is by turns a brilliant student, an eager if naive lover & an amateur prize-fighter, is in danger of losing himself in a passion that once seemed to promise the world. Her name is Joy, which is what she gives him—until her consuming desires threaten Dub, his hopes for the future, and even his survival.

Mitchell, Paige: Wild Seed [FICTION MITCHELL]

Ben Calder and his wife, Anna, come to Texas from Prussia in 1845. They and their children set out to conquer the land & break the stereotypes.

Morris, Suzanne: Wives And Mistresses [FICTION MORRIS]

Spans several generations in the tempestuous lives of 2 prominent families, the Leiders & the Gerrards. The tale is seen through the eyes of 4 women whose friendship & loyalty are locked within the bitterness of a century-old rivalry.

Nighbert, David F.: Squeezeplay [MYSTERY NIGHBERT]

Mystery; Certain that the corpses of "Holy Joe" Ahern, the veteran Astros pitcher, and a prostitute—found together in a Houston hotel room—were not the result of accidental deaths, Bull Cochran begins an investigation.

Page, Patricia: Hope's Cadillac [FICTION PAGE]

It's 1969 and Hope Fairman—wife of Clay, an up-and-comer at Houston Power and Light, and stay-at-home mother of Amber, age 9, and Patrick, 3—performs housewifely duties with a counterculture edge. She helps establish an alternative school and guides her family to a new Unitarian church. But her life tumbles out of orbit when Clay leaves for another woman, leaving Hope the house, the kids, and even his beloved Cadillac. Hope's attempts to cope—first with finances, then with the loss of her children, finally with life in general—are played against a background of the social movements of the time, from free love to racial strife.

Palfrey, Evelyn: Dangerous Dilemmas [FICTION PALFREY]

When Audrey falls for a Houston cop she has a dilemma upon learning he’s the one who arrested her son for murder.

Palmer, Diana: Most Wanted [FICTION PALMER]

Romance; Reprint of previously published material. Three lively tales of romance and adventure center around the Lassiter Detective Agency of Houston, Texas, as three intriguing urban cowboys—Dane Lassiter, ex-FBI agent Nick Reed, and businessman Logan Deverell—become embroiled with a trio of strong-willed women.

Ray, Francis: Heart Of The Falcon [PBRACK ROMANCE]

Romance; When Madeline Taggert meets her brother's best friend, gorgeous millionaire Daniel Falcon, they embark on a single night of passion. Then he walks away, leaving her upset and confused, until he realizes he cannot resist the desire between them and must gain her trust to win her love.

Redd, Louise: Playing The Bones [FICTION REDD]

1st novel; On Lacy Spring's list of 100 Things I Want Out of Life, the first slot is disconcertingly blank. Unfortunately, the 2nd slot is filled—by her desire for a man who is wrong for her in every way. Lacy has a job she cares about, a fiancé she loves, & a wedding she should be planning. But one night she meets a blues singer called Black Jesus, & all her well-laid plans are cast aside. Nothing Lacy says or does or tells herself can keep her from falling into an overwhelming affair with Black Jesus, one that threatens not just her nuptials, but also her most basic ideas about who she is.

Rogers, Chris: Bitch Factor [FICTION ROGERS]

1st in Dixie Flannigan series. Dixie Flannigan is a self-described "bitch," a legend in the jails of Houston, Texas, for her skills at bounty hunting, tracking, and returning the most determined bail jumpers. On Christmas Eve, she's hired to find Parker Dann, a charming alcoholic charged with vehicular homicide for allegedly running down 11-year-old Betsy Keyes as she walked to school. Dixie's search takes her to South Dakota, where she encounters her first blizzard and, unexpectedly, finds herself believing Parker's protests of innocence, especially when she discovers that Betsy's younger sister was also killed in an "accident”.

Rogers, Chris: Chill Factor [FICTION ROGERS]

3rd in Dixie Flannigan series. Dixie Flannigan, an attorney turned bounty hunter, gets an overdraft notice from her bank for $5000. This alarming news brings her to the bank just in time to witness Edna Pine, a good friend and neighbor, robbing it. Edna makes off with a substantial sum but is gunned down by the police after "disposing" of the money. Two previous "Granny Bandits" have pulled off similar heists—one with equally fatal results. Dixie is determined to find out what's really going on—when, suddenly, the cops who gunned Edna down start getting killed, and Edna's son is arrested for the murders.

Rogers, Chris: Rage Factor [FICTION ROGERS]

2nd in Dixie Flannigan series. After hauling in sexual sadist Lawrence Coombs to stand trial for rape, and getting a broken ankle in the process, Dixie is appalled when the jury lets the man walk. A vigilante group called Avenging Angels—perhaps including one of Dixie's best friends—viciously attacks Coombs. Mistakenly believing that Dixie is one of the Angels, the sadist vows revenge on the bounty hunter. Dixie, meanwhile, agrees to act as bodyguard to Sarina Page, daughter of a TV star who is visiting Houston despite threatening notes from a stalker.

Rosenberg, Nancy Taylor: Trial By Fire [FICTION ROSENBERG]

Legal thriller; Dallas prosecutor Stella Cataloni persuades the Houston DA to reopen an old investigation into her parents' deaths in an arson fire, only to find herself the prime suspect and the target of the ruthless Houston prosecutor, an old boyfriend.

Stewart, Sean: Mockingbird [SCIENCE FICTION STEWART]

Science-Fiction; Relates the story of two sisters whose destinies are shaped by their mother's legacy of supernatural powers, passed on through the Mockingbird Cordial.

Storey, Gail Donohue: God’s Country Club [FICTION STOREY]

Sequel to The Lord’s Motel. Colleen Sweeney stores her belongings & moves in with Gabriel, who lives in a Houston condo complex called God’s Country Club. Gabriel Benedict is a freshly divorced emergency room doctor with wealthy parents in Fort Worth & a 2 year-old son. He’s definitely Mr. Right, but can Colleen leave her past behind? Also can Gabriel accept her as she is: still on the run from her kinky relationship with Web; responsible for her “residentially challenged” father in Boston; & about to be downsized from her job as a librarian.

Storey, Gail Donohue: The Lord's Motel [FICTION STOREY]

Having escaped to Houston, 31 year-old Colleen Sweeny runs the Service-to-the-Unserved van for her local library, and lives in an apartment building called the Lord's Motel, complete with a crazed-but-empathetic New Age superintendent and three female neighbors. She has been looking for love in all the wrong places—specifically, with a psychologically abusive cruise ship director named Web—but her chance for redemption is imminent.

Tuttle, Lisa: The Pillow Friend [FICTION TUTTLE]

Agnes Grey, a young child growing up in Houston in the early sixties, is troubled by her mother’s depressive & erratic mood swings. Agnes escapes to a delusional dream state. Her Aunt Marjories warns her that “you can have whatever you wish for—as long as you accept the consequences.” And as Agnes enters adulthood, her fantastical relationships & their consequences become deceptively real, with a chilling & bizarre aftermath.

Williams, George: The Blind Bull [FICTION WILLIAMS]

Clem Sweeny rises from poverty to great success as a Houston lawyer. The book covers the period from the Depression through WWII. Sweeny serves his country and becomes a major. Winner of the Texas Institute of Letters Award.