VIRGINIA native Mary Burton is one of my favorite suspense writers. Her latest book, “The Seventh Victim,” is a “nail biter” that you will not want to miss.

This is a good thriller with a chilling premise—a serial killer who won’t let go. It starts off with an intense scene of the killer strangling his victim. That level of intensity is carried throughout the book.

Seven years ago, Seattle was terrorized by the Seattle Strangler. Lara Church was the only victim to survive. For seven years, Lara has tried to run from her past. The pain and fear of what happened to her, and her blocked memory of the incident, made it hard for her to settle down. When her grandmother dies and leaves her home in Austin, Texas, to her, she decides to move there and try to have a life.

Texas Ranger James Beck tracks her down and warns her that the strangler is back, and this time he’s in Texas. Beck wants her to try to remember what happened to her in Seattle, because he believes the killer is here to settle the score.

Ms. Burton finds a way, with all of the twists and turns, to get a romance brewing without interfering with the building suspense.

The story is terrifying. It keeps you on the edge of your chair, and you want more clues with the turn of every page. Yet through it all, the reader is happy to hope that Lara will find happiness.

Sue Baker is circulation services manager for The Free Lance–Star.

THE SEVENTH VICTIM

By Mary Burton

(Kensington, $7.99, 416 pp.)

IF YOU’VE never been smacked in the face by literature, now’s your chance. George Rowe’s “Gods of Mischief” is a fist of non-fiction that uses its 336 fingers to create a punch of prose capable of knocking you to the ground. It’s that punishing. And best of all, this adrenaline-driven tale about taking down one of America’s most notorious biker gangs is absolutely true.

If you’re a fan of the television show “Sons of Anarchy,” you’ve found your literary equivalent. The story starts with a profile of the Vagos motorcycle gang, a nefarious bunch of bikers who’ve terrorized Hemet, Calif., for decades. Unlike most motorcycle crews who adopt a “PG” approach to riding, the Vagos operate under a rated-R mind-set fueled by brutality, murder and mayhem. To George, a former drug dealer, addict and street fighter, the Vagos were nothing more than a pack of motorcycle meatheads hiding behind their green patches. That is, until one of his friends is brutally beaten over a billiards brouhaha. It is at this point that the former convict decides to disavow his destructive past and commit himself to stopping the Vagos for good.

Eager to end their hog-riding reign, George becomes an informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, marking the first time a private citizen voluntarily infiltrated an outlaw motorcycle gang on behalf of the government. Fueled by personal redemption, “Big George” spends three years earning his way into the heart of the gang, riding and nearly dying alongside the members he’s secretly planning to put away. Throughout his pulse-quickening journey, George falls in love with a drug-addicted woman named Jenna, secretly collects evidence that will destroy the thriving gang and finds himself wondering on a daily basis: How far do you go to destroy the people who, at any given moment, can destroy you?

If books were drugs, “Gods of Mischief” would be an anabolic steroid. Pumped up with the kind of prose that’s beefy in detail and addictive in nature, this true tale may be one of the year’s most electrifying and gritty reads. From the get-go, George invites us into an outright scary world few have ever seen—so dangerous that George is now protected by the goverment—and even fewer would  survive. Pound for pound, this is one of the most nail-biting novels you’ll find in any genre this year. If you enjoy reading books that will keep your eyelids propped up for hours, you’ve found your  nonfiction nirvana.

Nicholas Addison Thomas  is a freelance writer in  Fredericksburg.

GODS OF MISCHIEF:My Undercover Vendetta to Take Down the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang

By  George Rowe

(Touchstone, $25.99, 336 pp.)

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

IF YOU’VE never been smacked in the face by literature, now’s your chance. George Rowe’s “Gods of Mischief” is a fist of non-fiction that uses its 336 fingers to create a punch of prose capable of knocking you to the ground. It’s that punishing. And best of all, this adrenaline-driven tale about taking down one of America’s most notorious biker gangs is absolutely true.

If you’re a fan of the television show “Sons of Anarchy,” you’ve found your literary equivalent. The story starts with a profile of the Vagos motorcycle gang, a nefarious bunch of bikers who’ve terrorized Hemet, Calif., for decades. Unlike most motorcycle crews who adopt a “PG” approach to riding, the Vagos operate under a rated-R mind-set fueled by brutality, murder and mayhem. To George, a former drug dealer, addict and street fighter, the Vagos were nothing more than a pack of motorcycle meatheads hiding behind their green patches. That is, until one of his friends is brutally beaten over a billiards brouhaha. It is at this point that the former convict decides to disavow his destructive past and commit himself to stopping the Vagos for good.

Eager to end their hog-riding reign, George becomes an informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, marking the first time a private citizen voluntarily infiltrated an outlaw motorcycle gang on behalf of the government. Fueled by personal redemption, “Big George” spends three years earning his way into the heart of the gang, riding and nearly dying alongside the members he’s secretly planning to put away. Throughout his pulse-quickening journey, George falls in love with a drug-addicted woman named Jenna, secretly collects evidence that will destroy the thriving gang and finds himself wondering on a daily basis: How far do you go to destroy the people who, at any given moment, can destroy you?

If books were drugs, “Gods of Mischief” would be an anabolic steroid. Pumped up with the kind of prose that’s beefy in detail and addictive in nature, this true tale may be one of the year’s most electrifying and gritty reads. From the get-go, George invites us into an outright scary world few have ever seen—so dangerous that George is now protected by the goverment—and even fewer would  survive. Pound for pound, this is one of the most nail-biting novels you’ll find in any genre this year. If you enjoy reading books that will keep your eyelids propped up for hours, you’ve found your  nonfiction nirvana.

Nicholas Addison Thomas  is a freelance writer in  Fredericksburg.

GODS OF MISCHIEF: My Undercover Vendetta to Take Down the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang

By  George Rowe

(Touchstone, $25.99, 336 pp.)

THIS WRITER of  stories that depict quintessential Irish personalities and situations has charmed readers for several decades with  more than a dozen and a half books. “A Week in Winter” will be met by longtime fans of the late Maeve Binchy with understandable regret that it is the last of a long line of wonderful novels that have  been simultaneously moving, humorous and insightful.

The setting of this one is  the western coast of Ireland, where Chicky Starr has returned as a supposed widow from America to her native hamlet of Stoneybridge  to open an upscale bed-and-breakfast. Years ago, as a teenager, she ran off with a summer tourist and told her very Catholic family that she and Walter Starr married  in New York City. In fact, they did not, and Walter moved on. Chicky worked menial jobs in a rooming house on Long Island and saved the goodly sum that enabled her return to Ireland years later.

The book is a compilation of back stories that introduce the first set of guests to Chicky’s new inn.

Chicky’s first guests are an odd lot. An aging American movie star is staying incognito—or so he thought—to regroup and rest. A couple from Dublin won second-place in a contest and this week’s holiday is their prize—one they don’t appreciate since they’d been counting on the first-place trip to Paris.

Married doctors  recovering from a shocking experience  seek solace here on the Irish coast, a beautiful and blustery locale  near the windy  cliffs overlooking the Atlantic.

These and other guests bring their lives with them, lives that will be changed in one way or another as a result of their sojourn at Stone House.

A person’s life is the sum of its parts, and often Binchy’s novels carry parts from the sum. A thin thread can connect new characters  by name or place to situations in one or more of  her previous novels, a construct that adds  depth and  dimension.

Gently, gradually, individuals’ worries will be revealed and then resolved, often as a result of  interactions among guests and the comfort Chicky’s  food and lodging provide.

Readers of other books by Binchy  will embrace this one, too, perhaps especially because it is her last.  They will, no doubt, regret that these characters—portrayed with clarity and a  keen understanding of human nature—will not have a chance to return in subsequent books, as others have done before.

Beverly Meyer is a copy editor at The Free Lance–Star.

A WEEK IN WINTER

By Maeve Binchy

(Knopf, $26.95, 326 pp.)

 DEDICATED readers of best-selling author Mary Daheim will welcome this new addition to her enduringly popular Alpine “alphabet series.” “The Alpine Xanadu” is the 24th, or letter “X,” book of the series. It’s based in the town of Alpine, described as an idyllic, small, mountain town in the Pacific Northwest. The charming, bustling burg of Alpine is Daheim’s creation, but has its roots in her own personal history. The real town of Alpine actually existed until it was abandoned in the early 1900s. Daheim is a direct descendant of its early settlers. She credits her readers with the resurgence of interest in the historic site, which was officially declared a Washington state ghost town in 2011. Daheim’s fictional town is troubled once again by mystery. The curious death of a local, Wayne Eriks, is only one event that has townspeople worrying. Unexpected assignations, a missing child, murder threats, pornography at the high school and a secretive new medical facility fuel the fire of intrigue in the small town. As owner and editor of the local paper, the Alpine Advocate, main character Emma Lord makes it her business to know the goings-on around town. Although not a native, she has lived in Alpine long enough to have a lengthy history with many locals. She has a direct line to the town sheriff, Milo Dodge, her old flame and current fiancé. They’ve agreed to keep their personal and professional lives separate and have struck a balance of professional confidentiality that works for both of them. But on a personal level, Milo’s prickly ex-wife and mentally unbalanced daughter seem bent on interfering with the couple’s marriage plans. Emma and her resourceful band of employees at the newspaper diligently dredge up news using all their skills and contacts. Being able to differentiate between Alpine gossip and real news is a responsibility Emma takes seriously. As Emma and Milo work to unravel the threads of mystery surrounding Wayne Eriks’ suspicious death, they become increasingly uneasy about the newly opened rehab and mental health facility. Are the doctors and staff protecting their patients or their secrets? A core of familiar characters adds charm to all Daheim’s “alphabet” stories. Readers will find this new one similarly enjoyable.

Diane Makovsky is a freelance reviewer in Spotsylvania County.

ALPINE XANADU

By Mary Daheim

(Ballantine, $26, 336 pp.)

1. Until the End of Time. Danielle Steel. Delacorte, $28. Weeks on List: 2.

2. Private Berlin. Patterson/Sullivan. Little, Brown, $27.99. Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 3.

3. Touch & Go. Lisa Gardner. Dutton, $26.95. Weeks on List: 1.

4. Gone Girl. Gillian Flynn. Crown, $25. Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 36.

5. A Memory of Light. Jordan/Sanderson. Tor Books, $34.99. Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 6.

6. Tenth of December. George Saunders. Random House, $26. Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 5.

7. Suspect. Robert Crais. Putnam, $27.95. Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 3.

8. The Fifth Assassin. Brad Meltzer. Grand Central, $27.99. Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 4.

9. A Deeper Love Inside. Sister Souljah. Atria, $26.99. Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 2.

10. The Racketeer. John Grish-am. Doubleday, $28.95. Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 16.

11. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. Ayana Mathis. Knopf, $24.95. Last Week: 14; Weeks on List: 10.

12. Deadly Stakes. J.A. Jance. Touchstone, $25.99. Weeks on List: 1.

13. Threat Vector. Tom Clancy. Putnam, $28.95. Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 10.

14. Ever After. Kim Harrison. Harper Voyager, $27.99. Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 3.

15. The Husband List. Janet Evanovich. St. Martin’s, $27.99. Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 5.

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. 1. Shred. Ian K. Smith. St. Martin’s, $24.99. Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 6.

2. My Beloved World. Sonia Sotomayor. Knopf, $27.95. Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 4.

3. Killing Kennedy. O’Reilly/Dugard. Henry Holt, $28. Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 19.

4. Pursued: God’s Divine Obsession Jud Wilhite. FaithWords, $21.99. Weeks on List: 1.

5. The Future. Al Gore. Random House, $30. Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 2.

6. I Declare. Joel Osteen. FaithWords, $21.99. Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 21.

7. The Legend of Zelda. Shigeru Miyamoto. Dark Horse, $34.99. Weeks on List: 2.

8. Francona. Terry Francona. HMH, $28. Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 3.

9. The Way. Adam Hamilton. Abingdon, $18.99. Last Week: 15; Weeks on List: 3.

10. No Easy Day. Mark Owen. Dutton, $26.95. Last Week: 13; Weeks on List: 23.

11. Barefoot Contessa Foolproof. Ina Garten. Clarkson Potter, $35. Last Week: 12; Weeks on List: 15.

12. Going Clear. Lawrence Wright. Knopf, $28.95. Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 4.

13. Remembering Whitney. Cissy Houston. Harper, $27.99. Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 2.

14. Beyond Belief. 1Jenna Miscavige Hill. William Morrow, $27.99. Weeks on List: 1.

15. Wheat Belly Cookbook. William Davis. Rodale, $27.99. Last Week: 17; Weeks on List: 7.

PAPERBACKS

1. American Sniper. Chris Kyle. Harper, $9.99. Last Week: 17; Weeks on List: 2.

2. Betrayal. Danielle Steel. Dell, $7.99. Weeks on List: 2.

3. Kill Me If You Can. James Patterson. Vision, $9.99. Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 2.

4. Love in Plain Sight. Debbie Macomber. Mira, $7.99. Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 2.

5. Just Kate. Linda Lael Miller. Harlequin, $6.99. Last Week: 4; Weeks on List: 2.

6. Close Your Eyes. Iris Johan-sen. St. Martin’s, $7.99. Last Week: 8; Weeks on List: 2.

7. Criminal. Karin Slaughter. Dell, $7.99. Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 2.

8. Angel Mine. Sherryl Woods. Mira, $7.99. Last Week: 5; Weeks on List: 2.

9. The Last Mountain Man. William W. Johnstone. Pinnacle, $7.50. Weeks on List: 1.

10. The Trail West. William W. Johnstone. Pinnacle, $7.50. Weeks on List: 1.

11. The Hunter. John Lescroart. Signet, $9.99. Weeks on List: 1.

12. Nineteen Minutes. Jodi Picoult. Pocket Books, $7.99. Last Week: 7; Weeks on List: 3.

13. Safe Haven. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central, $7.99. Last Week: 11; Weeks on List: 8.

14. Shelter Mountain. Robyn Carr. Mira, $7.99. Last Week: 10; Weeks on List: 2.

15. Captivated & Entranced. Nora Roberts. Silhouette, $7.99. Last Week: 18; Weeks on List: 2.

Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2012

IN THE introduction to Ludmilla Petrushev-skaya’s collection “There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister’s Husband, And He Hanged Himself,” translator Anna Summers talks about the Russian idea

of byet, which “denote[s] the circumstances of everyday life,” ranging from money troubles and cheap goods to spiritual poverty and despair. Byet is not so different from our Americanism, “It is what it is,” with all the frustration and resignation the words entail.

Petrushevskaya’s stories are centered around the theme of love. But these are tales more about the oddities of attraction, fidelity and the toll the harsh circumstances of life inflicts on relationships. Her characters are eager to grasp at any opportunity in order to rise above their mundane lives.

“Like Penélope” is a shining example of the stories. Oksana, a hardworking student, tries on a dress her mother has made for her out of curtains. Normally she would ignore her mother’s thrifty projects, but the dress gives Oksana a chance to pretend that she is more than she really is. When she answers the door in the dress, the stranger outside is instantly smitten, ready to remake his life for her.

The realities of our life are beyond our ability to change them, yet we push on, determined to dream despite the circumstances. Petrushev-skaya’s stories celebrate those fantastic moments when we are able to transcend the everyday.

Elizabeth Rabin is a freelance writer in Spotsylvania County.

THERE ONCE LIVED A GIRL WHO SEDUCED HER SISTER’S HUSBAND, AND HE HANGED HIMSELF

By Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

(Penguin, $15, 192 pp.)

PARLAYING her personal experience as a reporter for Politico, Karin Tanabe has written a début novel, “The List,” a hilarious, fast-paced, thought-provoking exposé of today’s media culture.

Adrienne Brown has landed a position at The Capitolist, the country’s hottest newspaper covering politics and society in Washington, D.C. It’s a coup any budding journalist would dream of, and Adrienne straps into the driven work environment in its Style section, focusing on any who-said-what-and-how.

With her BlackBerry as her new best friend, Adrienne is expected to pound out 10 stories a day, starting at 5 a.m. and wrapping at 7 p.m. In her “down time” she’s supposed to be trolling for interviews, tips and facts that will feed the next day’s print and online output.

It’s not long before total exhaustion starts taking its toll. Then she catches a break-she sees one of The List’s top reporters in a compromising situation with an influential senator, and so begins the wrestling match between her ambition and her conscience.

Beverly Meyer is a copy editor with The Free Lance-Star.

THE LIST

By Karin Tanabe

(Atria, $15, 370 pp. )

THE FREE LANCE-STAR

EVER NOTICE how every new true crime book, no matter how lurid the cover, inevitably gets compared to Capote’s “In Cold Blood”?

And comic novels? Has there been a humorous piece of writing in the last 50 years that hasn’t been likened to Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22″?

Well, Touchstone, publishers of “Truth in Advertising,” former ad man John Kenney’s hilarious send-up of ad agencies and corporate culture, have missed the boat. They neglect Heller and instead compare Kenney’s writing to that of Nick Hornby and Jonathan Tropper, amusing fellows to be sure, but not in Heller’s league.

Well, I’m not going to be the one to call Kenney’s book, which already has garnered plenty of buzz, the “Catch-22″ of advertising. But what

I will say is, I haven’t had so many belly laughs reading since I finally got around to picking up “Catch-22″ 10 years ago.

Kenney, who logged 17 years as a copywriter at a Big Apple agency, has honed his writing chops for the last 14 years as a New Yorker magazine humor contributor. If you want to check out his bona fides-and his sardonic wit-google “John Kenney” and “New Yorker” and click on some of his short pieces. Or better yet, watch the subversively funny mock trailer for “Truth” on YouTube, which features a clueless focus group discussing the relative merits of only the dustjacket art for Kenney’s début, whose set pieces on the filming of a diaper commercial with Gwyneth Paltrow and the casting of a Big Pharma ad for an NVD (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) medication are priceless.

But a word of warning: The book reads like a cross between “Mad Men” and “Angela’s Ashes.” Protagonist Finbar Dolan is lost and lonely, but only vaguely aware of the fact. He’s left his blue-collar Boston Irish upbringing behind and carved out a mildly successful career at a Mad Ave. ad agency. But closing in on 40, he’s a bit of a mess, having recently called off a wedding. Now a few days before Christmas, he’s forced to cancel a long-postponed vacation in order to produce a Super Bowl commercial for his diaper account in record time. He soon learns that his long-estranged and once-abusive father is ill and none of his siblings intend to visit. It’s a wake-up call for Fin to revisit the choices he’s made, admit he’s fallen for his co-worker Phoebe and question the importance of diapers in his life.

“Truth in Advertising” is as funny as advertised. And that’s the truth!

Kurt Rabin is a copy editor at The Free Lance-Star. He can be reached at krabin@freelancestar.com.

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING

By John Kenney

(Touchstone, $24.99, 320 pp.)

JANET Evanovich and Dorien Kelly have teamed up again, this time for their first historical romance, reminding us what good storytellers they are.

Set in the late 1890s in New York City, “The Husband List” has all the charm and grandeur of the American gilded age. The reader is wrapped up in the luxurious lives of the ultra-wealthy, experiencing the lavish lifestyles and social expectations of the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. It was a time when American new money married Old World social prestige. It was a time of expensive clothing and jewelry, transcontinental travel and parties. It was a time for a little intrigue and a lot of romance.

Young heiress Caroline Maxwell is searching for true love. Her mother has other ideas. She is searching for a suitor with a title. Caroline is a smart, very independent, young woman and hates staying home frightening off the men her mother hopes will ask for her hand in matrimony.

Caroline wants more in life than just a title. She wants Jack Culhane, her brother’s Irish-American nouveau-riche friend who, without a title, is totally unacceptable in her mother’s eyes. Jack and Caroline share quick wit, love of adventure and passionate, tender moments that will bring them together.

This book is thoroughly enjoyable, with both writers going off their normal paths to make an exceptional blend. It is like trying a great cup of English tea, rather than the same old coffee.

Sue Baker is circulation services manager with The Free Lance-Star. She can be reached at sbaker@freelancestar.com.

THE HUSBAND LIST

By Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly

(St. Martin’s, $27.99, 320 pp.)