Kabuki Circle of Blood by David Mack, 272 pages

Collecting all six issues of the first Kabuki series plus the hard to find prequel one-shot with new pages of art from scenes that for space reasons were left out of the original story. It also includes in-depth notes and story analysis about the subtext of the story. Circle of Blood recounts the origins of the government operative known as Kabuki who works in Japan's near future, It's an exploration of the relationship between Japan's government and organized crime on a truly epic scale! 
Read this for book club and I can honestly say that is the only reason I read it and finished it. This was not my cup of tea and not anything I would every pickup again.

I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen, 318 pages

The crime scene is unlike any that Detective Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles have ever before encountered. The woman lies in apparently peaceful repose on her bed, and Maura finds no apparent cause of death, but there is no doubt the woman is indeed dead. The victim’s eyes have been removed and placed in the palm of her hand, a gesture that echoes the terrifying films she produces. Is a crazed movie fan reenacting scenes from those disturbing films?

When another victim is found, again with no apparent cause of death, again with a grotesquely staged crime scene, Jane and Maura realize the killer has widened his circle of targets. He’s chosen one particular woman for his next victim, and she knows he’s coming for her next. She’s the only one who can help Jane and Maura catch the killer.

But she knows a secret. And it’s a secret she’ll never tell.

A Catered Costume Party by Isis Crawford, 314 pages

When sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons agree to cater an extravagant Halloween party in their little upstate New York town of Longely, they figured a ghost or two and a blood curdling scream might be part of the menu, but they never expected to be haunted by the deadly specter of murder . . .

Halloween is coming, and Darius Witherspoon isn t giving up on his plan for a catered costume party despite the recent disappearance of his wife, Penelope. He may be heartbroken, but perhaps throwing a big shindig in her honor will boost his spirits. He s going to hold it at his stylish new co-op apartment at the Berkshire Arms, where the couple had dreamed of moving in.
Darius hires Bernie and Libby to provide the treats. They d prefer to avoid the festivities altogether. As far as they re concerned, the Berkshire Arms is a haunted house or at least haunted by the memory of the murder that happened on the site, when it used to be The Peabody School. But as always, there are bills to be paid, so they accept the job. And in the midst of the celebration, Darius is discovered hanging from a noose outside one of the ballroom s French doors . . .
Was it suicide, induced by despair over his missing spouse? Bernie and Libby think not, once they read the note he left which includes a sum of money and a request for them to do something if anything should happen to him. Now, once the serving trays have been cleared and the decorations taken down, it s time for the sisters to unmask a killer . . .

Past Malice by Dana Cameron, 356 pages

Asked to join a dig at the site of the eighteenth-century Chandler House, archaeologist Emma Fielding and her student crew have descended upon Stone Harbor, Massachusetts. But certain residents of the tiny coastal community are none too happy about Emma's arrival -- especially when her excavation uncovers a pair of freshly slain corpses. There are dark forces at play in this dangerously divided town, where a distrust of strangers wars with a desire for tourist dollars. And when a young local's life is snuffed out, Emma is determined to get to the twisted roots of the strange secrets buried in this killing ground. But a mystery that lies among the tumbled ruins of a once grand manor could change Stone Harbor forever. And for some murderous someone, one more death -- Emma's -- would be a small price to pay to keep it hidden.

Jughead, Volume One, 176 pages

In the grand tradition of comic book reboots like ARCHIE VOL. 1, Archie Comics proudly presents... JUGHEAD VOL. 1--from the comics dream team of Chip Zdarsky (HOWARD THE DUCK) and Erica Henderson (THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL)!

Riverdale High provides a quality education and quality hot lunches, but when one of those is tampered with, JUGHEAD JONES swears vengeance! Well, I mean, he doesn't "swear." This is still Archie Comics after all.

Collects JUGHEAD issues #1-6, plus bonus features.

Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, 274 pages

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”
One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?
Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.
Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?
Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.
The first half of this book was really interesting but it started lagging and I just couldn't bring myself to finish it.

King Solomon's Mines by Henry Rider Haggard, 262 pages

An amazing adventure set in Africa, against the backdrop of endless deserts and snowy mountains, King Solomon's Mines follows Allan Quartermain, in his quest to find his missing brother and unearth the fabled treasure of the biblical King's mines. Along the way, Allan and his companions are caught up in a tribal war and face fearful hardships, culminating in a final confrontation with the evil witch Gagool.
This is the September book for one of my book club. A fascinating read that I'd somehow never gotten around to reading before.

Archie, Volume One, 176 pages

They've revamped Archie for the today's world.
ARCHIE, one of the longest-running titles in comic book history, is rebooted here in this full-color collection that brings together two of the most talented creators in comics, Mark Waid and Fiona Staples. Together they create a surprising and definitive take on Archie's origin--a story that has never been told. The book will captures the bite and hilarious edge of Archie's original tales in a modern, forward-looking manner, while still retaining the character's all-ages appeal. If classic Archie is a Saturday morning cartoon, this new series is prime time!

Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun by Darby Conley, 256 pages

A collection of Get Fuzzy strips.

Groovitude by Darby Conley, 256 pages

A collection of Get Fuzzy comics. Always snarky and funny.

On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service by Rhys Bowen, 290 pages

In the new Royal Spyness Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Dangerous, Lady Georgiana Rannoch juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. But it’s all in a day’s work when you’re thirty-fifth in line to the British Crown. 

When Darcy runs off on another secret assignment, I am left to figure out how to travel to Italy sans maid and chaperone to help my dear friend Belinda, as she awaits the birth of her baby alone. An opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—my cousin the queen is in need of a spy to attend a house party in the Italian lake country. The Prince of Wales and the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding.

What luck! A chance to see Belinda and please the queen as I seek her permission to relinquish my claim to the throne so I can marry Darcy. Only that’s as far as my good fortune takes me. I soon discover that Mummy is attending the villa party and she has her own secret task for me. Then, Darcy shows up and tells me that the fate of a world on the brink of war could very well depend on what I overhear at dinner! I shouldn’t be all that surprised when one of my fellow guests is murdered and my Italian holiday becomes a nightmare...

Village of Secrets by Caroline Moorehead, 374 pages

From the author of the New York Times bestseller A Train in Winter comes the absorbing story of a French village that helped save thousands hunted by the Gestapo during World War II—told in full for the first time.
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is a small village of scattered houses high in the mountains of the Ardèche, one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Eastern France. During the Second World War, the inhabitants of this tiny mountain village and its parishes saved thousands wanted by the Gestapo: resisters, freemasons, communists, OSS and SOE agents, and Jews. Many of those they protected were orphaned children and babies whose parents had been deported to concentration camps.
With unprecedented access to newly opened archives in France, Britain, and Germany, and interviews with some of the villagers from the period who are still alive, Caroline Moorehead paints an inspiring portrait of courage and determination: of what was accomplished when a small group of people banded together to oppose their Nazi occupiers. A thrilling and atmospheric tale of silence and complicity, Village of Secrets reveals how every one of the inhabitants of Chambon remained silent in a country infamous for collaboration. Yet it is also a story about mythmaking, and the fallibility of memory.
A major contribution to WWII history, illustrated with black-and-white photos, Village of Secrets sets the record straight about the events in Chambon, and pays tribute to a group of heroic individuals, most of them women, for whom saving others became more important than their own lives.

Fools Rush In by Ed Gorman, 329 pages

It's 1963. All spring, Freedom Riders have been facing police dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham, Alabama. While no one is marching in Black River Falls, Iowa, attorney Sam McCain's sleepy heartland town is showing signs of racial unease nonetheless. A black college student has turned up dead. Close by him in the woods outside of town lies a second victim: a white local photographer. All the evidence points to blackmail, and to a scandal that could ruin the reelection campaign of the very white Senator Lloyd Williams.....

American Gods by Neil Gaiman, 541 pages

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.
But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow's best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.
Life as Wednesday's bodyguard, driver and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined-it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way, Shadow will learn that the past never dies, that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing- an epic war for the very soul of America-and that he is standing squarely in the path.

Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury, 340 pages

When Richard Tapper Cadbury sent his son to London to study cocoa in the early nineteenth century, he could not have imagined what lay in store; within a generation, his grandson Richard and George had created a chocolate company to rival the world's confectionery powerhouses.
The Cadbury brothers were staunch Quakers, as determined to improve the lives of their employees as they were produce a popular product that would seal their success. Their company soon became the largest of its kind-but in the new millennium, Cadburys too would face a threat to its very survival, culminating in a multi-billion pound showdown.
Featuring a dazzling cast of characters, Chocolate Wars tells the tale of a unique family and a beloved product, in a history unlike any other.

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond, 414 pages

Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice's prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact.
The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. And most of its rules make sense.

Always answer when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter....
Never mention The Pact to anyone.
Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples.
And then one of them breaks the rules.
The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life. And The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule.
For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.
In this relentlessly paced novel of psychological suspense, New York Times bestselling author Michelle Richmond crafts an intense and shocking tale that asks: How far would you go to protect your marriage?

Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Ed Gorman, 301 pages

Late October of 1962 is certainly not dull; not with Russian premier Khrushchev threatening to launch nuclear missiles from Cuba if the U.S. attempts an invasion there. The Kennedy White House has been facing down the Soviets with an ultimatum, but the Russian warships are steady on their course to Cuba. In Black River Falls, Iowa, frightened townspeople are gathering in churches to pray for peace. And Ross Murdoch, the popular gubernatorial candidate, is laying in supplies for his newly built bomb shelter. It's a place you don't expect to find a corpse. At least young lawyer and sometimes private investigator Sam McCain doesn't-no more than he expects his four prime suspects to be pillars of the community.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw, 385 pages

Dr. Greta Helsing has inherited the family's highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. She treats the undead for a host of ills-vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entrops in mummies.
It's a quite supernatural-adjacent life, until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must user her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice-and her life.

The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess, 323 pages

Egypt, 1912—Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment of Elizabeth Peters’ bestselling, beloved mystery series.
Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season, Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her elegant hotel suite in Cairo, when a man with knife protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and utters a single word—"Murder"—before collapsing on the tiled floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried was a sheet of paper with Amelia’s name and room number, and a curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card bearing one word: "Judas." Most peculiarly, the stranger was wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye.
It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin—someone who is keeping a careful eye on the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly meant for Emerson—Where were you?"—pushed under their door, there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of disguise, Sethos.
But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust. In 1345 B.C. the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in tribute to the great beauty of this queen who was also the chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tutankhamun.
For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in monocles will die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer his final challenge . . . and perhaps be unmasked at last.