Once again Jodi Picoult with her unique manipulation of interior monologue allows the reader to see into the thoughts of each of her characters, making for suspense as well as objectivity. In House Rules, her 2010 bestseller, the main character, eighteen-year-old Jacob Hunt is autistic, having been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome on the autism spectrum at age three. Jacob has an IQ of 255, has a special interest in forensics analysis, and spends his time setting up crime scenes.

Never again will I judge a book by its cover—in this case, its title. ”Why would I want to read a book about a girl with a dragon tattoo or about a girl who played with fire and finally about a girl who kicked the hornet’s nest?” I asked myself when Amazon.com recommended these books to me.

I enjoyed this fast-paced crime novel with its theme of hope and redemption when all seems to be lost. Jenkins tells the story in such a manner that Boone’s pain and suffering becomes so real that the reader not only empathizes with him but feels every bit his pain throughout his ordeal.

Very well written and captivating from beginning to end, this novel has it all—sex, politics, exploitation under the guise of conservation . . . comedy (the limits and amounts of money Vin Haven and Walter go to to preserve the cerulean warbler) . . . tragedy . . .. Suspenseful to the very touching, heartwarming end!

Like good spy thrillers, the plot twists and turns add to the suspense from the very first page. Jordan Kirkwood, the title character, the last operative, has spent the better part of his life as an NSA agent. This job, of course, has caused him to make a number of sacrifices in his personal life, not least of which has been spending little time with his wife who is now dead and his two children, Christa and Ken.

The book addresses two difficult moral and ethical questions: Is the crime of murder ever justified? Is there ever a possibility that DNA test results can be wrong?

Three beautifully written novels of love and courage make up one of Nora Robert’s most successful, most suspenseful, most heart-warming trilogies ever. You will not be able to stop reading until you’ve completed all three.

Handle with Care, Jodi Picoult’s 2009 bestseller, is the heart-wrenching story of a family’s attempt to survive when their second child, Willow, is born with OI, osteogenesis imperfecta, a collagen defect that causes bones so brittle they might break with a stumble, a twist, a sneeze.

The book is at times very touching and engrossing, at times humorous and will leave you in stitches; but you will leave with a renewed faith in your own religion. Albom makes no distinction between religions, but his nonfiction work attests to a deep respect for one’s personal choice.

The Help, a New York Times bestseller by Kathryn Stockett, is a novel depicting the personal relationship between black maids and the white families, especially the women, who employ them. The story is set in a fictional section of Jackson, Mississippi, from 1962 to 1964. It tells a story of what it was like being a black maid in the Civil Rights era in Jackson, Mississippi, as seen through the eyes of two black maids and one liberal white woman, uniquely three first person narrators.