Shelfstealers: 3 books

Two parents, unfit to raise gerbils, abandon two-year-old Georgie in the loving arms of his Nana, only to snatch him away when he's nine, when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, everything is rationed, his mother is pregnant, and his folks are on the verge of divorce - or murder. They drag Georgie across...

Twenty years ago, Joe Peace was an ace homicide investigator for the Austin Police Department, until his penchant for cocaine and a disastrous affair with his partner Cassie buried him at the bottom of the APD's burnout brigade. In Austin, Texas, the psychotic founder of the most powerful drug cartel...

“Intense and compassionate, Pinder's story skirts sensationalism by focusing on character. It is a powerful tale.” —Publishers Weekly (New York) “A haunting first novel by a writer of great talent and sensitivity. It treats a difficult theme with humanity and admirable complexity.” —Margaret...