A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs (2018) Dutton Books

The fourth novel of Mrs Peregrine’s Peculiar Children – in which Jacob and his friends are now celebrities in Peculiardom.  When Jacob and his friends go to clean Jacob’s grandfather’s (Abe) house, they discover a couple of important things: Abe’s logbook where he was saving Peculiar Children, and a matchbook with a phone number.  Jacob finds himself trying to do what Abe did with a little help from his friends.  Only it all goes wrong once they find the Peculiar they’re trying to help.

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (2011) Dragonsteel Entertainment 

Set in the world of Sanderson’s first Alloy series, this takes place about 300 years later.  The hero is from one of the upper families but has been spending his time in the roughs as a lawman.  His uncle and family died in an accident and ‘Wax’ must return to the city to take care of the family business that employees thousands.  The family is almost bankrupt, and a marriage has been arranged with a lower family that is wealthy.  During this, a group of robbers has been attacking trains and taking hostages.  When they take Wax’s fiancé, he must save her.

Skink by Carl Hiaasen (2014) Alfred A. Knopf 

The Governor is back as a driving force in the rescue of the narrator’s cousin.  She’s been online in chat rooms and has fallen for a guy’s line.  So she claims to be heading off early to check out her new boarding school and really leaves with the guy.  Her cousin doesn’t believe her, so he gets on the internet and realizes she’s simply gone.  The school has no early check-in, it’s closed.  While pondering this, he goes to the beach and checks on turtle nests – something he and his cousin did regularly.  When he sees a straw sticking out of one, he pulls it out, only to get startled when a rough looking man bursts out of the sand.  They were doing the same thing, making sure poachers weren’t stealing turtle eggs.  The governor decides to help find his cousin.

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride (2013) Riverhead Books

The telling of John Browns last few years from the point of view of a young negro boy rescued/kidnapped and mistaken for a girl because of his size.  It details the lives of John Browns’ sons and their faith-free following of the man who considered himself following God’s will.  

A feather from the Good Lord Bird (an extra-large ivory billed woodpecker) is considered good luck, but the bird does not save Fredrick Brown, who is a little slow, and ends-up dead from another preacher.

Masterfully done and turned into a movie.

Polar Quest by Alex Archer (2009) Gold Eagle

In which, our heroine, Annja Creed, is picked-up by government agents and sent to Antarctica on a dig for some unexplained artifacts of metal unlike anything else on Earth.  Once there, she’ll be trapped until the weather allows exit from the continent.  But as soon as she lands, someone tries to ambush her.  And walking from the tavern, bundled-up for the weather, someone knocks her over and then tries to run her over with a slow moving vehicle while she’s trapped in her clothing like a turtle on its back.  Then Garin, one of the men who is as old as the sword she inherited from Joan of Arc appears as a Major and someone booby traps her laptop.

The Dry by Jane Harper (2017) Flatiron Books

Australian Federal Agent Aaron Falk, a financial forensic detective, goes back to his hometown for the funeral of his best boyhood friend, Luke, who has apparently committed suicide after killing his wife and oldest boy, but not the baby.  The town is in an area going through a drought and everyone is on edge.  Falk was accused, when he was a kid, of killing a friend.  He was fishing at the time, but Luke provided an alibi.  Now everyone in town hates him.  Luke was found in the bed of his pickup along with two unexplained scrapes on the bed.  Finding the real murderer is a twisty tale.