***Mr Ripley's Book Picks For August 2011***

                                       
James Dashner - The Maze Runner 2: The Scorch Trials - Published by Chicken House - 4 Aug 2011
Thomas was sure that escape from the maze meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one knew what sort of life they were going back to. The earth is a wasteland. Government and order have disintegrated and now Cranks, people driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim\.and meal.Thomas can only wonder - does he hold the secret of freedom somewheren his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

                                   
Y.S Lee - Traitor and the Tunnel: A Mary Quinn Mystery - Published by Walker - 4 August 2011
Queen Victoria has a little problem: a series of petty thefts from Buckingham Palace. She calls the Agency for help, and they put Mary Quinn – on her first case as a full-fledged agent – on the case. Going undercover as a domestic servant, Mary’s assignment seems simple enough. But before long, a scandal threatens to tear apart the Royal Family. One of the Prince of Wales’s irresponsible young friends is murdered in scandalous circumstances and the story, if it became public, would disgrace the young prince. Should the Queen hush things up or permit justice to take its course? Mary’s interest in this private matter soon becomes deeply personal: the killer, a drug-addicted Chinese sailor, shares a name with her long-lost father. Meanwhile, James Easton’s engineering firm wins a contract to repair some sewers beneath Buckingham Palace. Trouble is, there’s a tunnel that’s not on the plans. Its purpose is unclear. But it seems to be very much in use – it’s just not clear by whom. These overlapping puzzles offer a perfect opportunity for James and Mary to work together again. If they can still trust one another. If they can suppress the emotions that still torture them. If Mary can forget the sight of that exquisite blonde she sees in James’s drawing-room… In this, Mary’s most personal case yet, she faces struggles at every level – legal, political, personal. And she has everything to lose.
                                 

Nina Kiriki Hoffman - The Magic Next Door Bk2: Meeting - Published by Viking - 4 August 2011                                         
When Maya Andersen and her family moved to Spores Ferry, Oregon, they didn't know there'd be magic right next door. Their new neighbors in the Janus House Apartments all have unusual powers, and the basement is a Grand Central Station to other worlds. Maya and her alien companion, Rimi, are learning how to live together and how to keep their secret-which becomes a lot harder as they help the Janus Housers track down the Krithi, the race who snatched Rimi from her home planet in an attempt to rule the universe.

                                   
Barry Hutchison - Invisible Fiends:Doc Mortis - Published by HarperCollins - 4 August 2011

Kyle wakes up in hospital – which is strange, because he doesn't remember being ill. And that's not all. He's also deliriously flitting in and out of the Darkest Corners, and in the shadow version of the hospital the surfaces aren't clean, and the sharp instruments aren't used for healing.
It's Kyle's most terrifying experience yet, and it's about to get much, much worse.
The doctor will see him now…

                                  
Nick Lake - Lord Oda's Revenge (Blood Ninja) - Published By Corvus - 1 August 2011

Taro was just a fisherman's son...but then his father was murdered and he was forced to become a Blood Ninja, fated to live by night, doomed to live on the blood of others. But he has had his revenge. He has killed Lord Oda, the warlord who had his father assassinated. But Lord Oda is not quiet in his grave. He has found a way to reach beyond death and Taro and his friends soon find themselves facing samurai armies, a deadly enemy from the past and strange ghostly creatures who suck life from the living. Dangerously weakened, Taro, must recover the one object that Lord Oda was desperate to find before he died: the Buddha Ball, the source of limitless power. But if Taro is to complete his perilous quest - to save himself, his friends, his mother, and the girl he loves - he must go to hell and back and face his arch enemy once again. For Lord Oda has returned - as a Blood Ninja.

Kat Falls - Dark Life:Rip Tide - Published by Simon & Schuster - 4 August 2011                                       

Return to the subsea frontier with Ty and Gemma, where the mysteries of the deep are deadlier than ever. With time running out for his parents, Ty's desperation leads the two teenagers to the underwater underworld...and into an alliance with the outlaws of the Seablite Gang. But one mystery soon leads to another. How has an entire township disappeared? Why is the local sea-life suddenly so aggressive? And can the Seablite Gang be trusted...or are Ty and Gemma in deeper water than they realise?