Two brothers cutting turf in a peat bog in rural Ireland turn up a grisly discovery in Hart’s debut mystery.  It isn’t a body, as they originally think, but is the severed head of a red-haired girl. The problem is that peat preserves bodies so perfectly that it is impossible to tell how long ago the girl was killed and buried. So archaeologist Cormac Macguire and pathologist Nora Gavin travel from Dublin to investigate the find.  Soon, however, they are drawn into a more immediate and gripping mystery: Will the bodies of the wife and son of a local landowner, Hugh Osborne, also be found in the depths of the peat bog? And if so, was it Osborne who put them there? These outsiders, both with baggage of their own that predisposes them to an interest in the case, are drawn into the often tumultuous, sometimes violent, internal doings of a small rural town and find themselves in danger as well.

Rich with atmosphere and detail about both contemporary Irish life and the history and archaeology of the country, this is a complex, multi-layered novel that goes beyond mere murder mystery into the realm of literary fiction. Highly enjoyable.

Willingham here presents a spin-off from his popular Fables graphic novel series. The Fairest series will star the women of Fables, presenting the histories and backgrounds of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, and more. Volume one follows the adventures of Briar Rose immediately following the events of Fables Vol. 16, in which she was kidnapped, while still deep in a magically-induced sleep, by the goblin army.  Fans of Fables will find much to enjoy here as Willingham and his collaborators flesh out the worlds of the the Fables characters.

What seemingly begins as a tense dinner between two couples at a posh Dutch restaurant, soon evolves into something much more sinister.  Brothers Serge and Paul have come together with their wives to discuss a matter involving their sons: a disturbing video has been leaked on the internet. This video has the potential to become quite the scandal and a strategy to control the damage must be discussed. The brothers soon give up hiding their utter contempt for each other, and the dinner soon becomes a battle of ideologies in which privilege, mental illness and violence all play a part. The Dinner, with its dark humor and expertly-paced plot, is a psychological thriller you won't be able to stop thinking about.

The winner of several awards including Library Journal's Best YA Lit for Adults 2012, Code Name Verity is the story of a friendship that remains strong through the dangers and upheavals of WWII. A female British spy is captured in Nazi-occupied France, tortured and forced to reveal all the information she knows. Her writings become an enthralling account of the woman whose identification card she happened to be carrying, her best friend, Maddie. Together, they ended up working for the British war effort, although in two very different ways, one as a transport pilot and the other as an intelligence officer.  The narrator remains cryptic until the story switches to Maddie's point of view and we find out she is closer than her best friend thinks and trying her hardest to find her.

This tale is fascinating and keeps up a good pace all the way through. If you have the chance, check out the audiobook. One narrator especially brings the story to life with her soft Scottish accent.