3 Thrilling Debut Novels

I Am Pilgrim: a thriller (M)
by Terry Hayes

Sure, the race against time to save the world has been done before but seldom this well. Once you start this taut and muscular thriller, you won't be able to put it down." - Library Journal

"An intelligent and taut debut thriller that depicts the collision course between two geniuses, one a tortured hero and one a determined terrorist. In a seedy hotel near Ground Zero, a woman lies face down in a pool of acid, features melted off her face, teeth missing, fingerprints gone. The room has been sprayed down with DNA-eradicating antiseptic spray. Pilgrim, the code name for a legendary, world-class secret agent, quickly realizes that all of the murderer's techniques were pulled directly from his own book. In offering the NYPD some casual assistance with the case, Pilgrim gets pulled back into the intelligence underground." - publisher

Doing Harm (M)
by Kelly Parsons

"Steve Mitchell is riding high. He loves his work as a chief surgical resident at University Hospital in Boston, he's happily married with two daughters and wife, Sally, newly pregnant, and he's the prime candidate for a coveted faculty position at prestigious University Medical School. Then he makes mistakes, in and out of the operating room, leaving one patient dead, another dangerously declining, and both his career and marriage at risk. When Steve discovers that what is happening is no accident but a psychopathic plan to commit murder with which he's become involved, he confides in his junior resident, Luis Martinez, an ex-marine skilled in intelligence and secret ops, and draws on his own background as an undergrad lit major and accomplished computer hacker. VERDICT The descriptions of surgery and other hospital procedures by board-certified urologist Parsons may leave readers wary of going under the scalpel or even entering a hospital. However, as a medical thriller, this skillfully wrought debut gets high marks for building tension to a breathtaking climax." - Library Journal

Falling (M)
by Emma Kavanagh

"A brilliant DEBUT psychological thriller by a former police psychologist. A plane falls out of the sky. A woman is murdered. Four people all have something to hide. Jim is a retired police officer, and worried father. His beloved daughter has disappeared and he knows something is wrong. Tom has woken up to the news that his wife was on the plane. Cecilia had packed up and left her family. Now she has survived a tragedy, and sees no way out. Freya is struggling to cope with the loss of her father. But as she delves into his past, she may not like what she finds. Perfect for fans of Nicci French, Tana French and S. J. Watson." - publisher