Robert Crais
The Forgotten Man

Six months after nearly losing everything to the men who kidnapped his girlfriend's son, Elvis Cole is slowly coming back to life - when he receives an phone call from the LAPD. An unidentified body has been found in a Los Angeles alley. When Elvis arrives, the cops tell him the only thing found on the body was a packet of newspaper articles all having to do with the past exploits of Elvis Cole. Then Elvis is told that, before the man died, he said he was Elvis's father.

Roddy Doyle
Oh, Play That Thing

Henry Smart, on the run from his Republican paymaster, flees from Dublin to Liverpool and then to New York. And this is where Oh, Play That Thing begins. It's 1924 and in America Henry falls on his feet, as a man with a sandwich board. This being Prohibition he also keeps a stash of hooch aside, but when he catches the attention of the local mobsters it's time to move on again, this time to Chicago and to the wild, happy music of Louis Armstrong. But the mob is in Chicago too....

Joe Dobson left his wife and his kids when his young girlfriend, Nina, discovered she was pregnant. When Joe announces that he's booked a luxury holiday in Italy, Nina is thrilled - until she realises Joe's kids are coming along. Guy Jamieson is sure this will be his last family holiday; he plans to leave his wife and two sons on his return. Guy is a high-powered advertising director and Alice just doesn't fit his image. But Alice has a secret plan of her own: to have another baby.