Black Hills, by Nora Roberts

Lil Chance met Cooper Sullivan one summer when he came from New York to spend the summer with his grandparents in South Dakota, when she was just 11. They became good friends and saw each other almost every year until she was age 20. By then there was a romance between them, but Cooper broke it off while trying to finish school and make his way for himself. But not before Lil found a body in the Black Hills. Twelve years later, Lil has created The Chance Wildlife Refuge, where cougars, tigers and other animals are kept and cared for. Cooper comes back to live with and help his grandparents and he and Lil start to see each other around again. Someone kills a cougar that Lil was tracking, and other things start to happen, among them a trail hiker being killed and found in the river. Cooper, being an ex-private investigator, digs around & they narrow their search for the killer down to a guy who once volunteered at the refuge, named Ethan. Ethan believes he is Sioux Indian and is after Lil. With the help of Coop, and a cougar named Baby, the hunt comes to an end.

The Shining, by Stephen King

Jack Torrance, with his wife and 5-year-old boy, Danny, go to stay the winter in the old Overlook Hotel in the snowy Colorado mountains. Jack has the job of caretaker there until the following spring, as it is shut down for the winter. Danny has a special "sixth sense" going on, and can see people or things that happened there many years before, such as a dead woman in the bathtub of one of the rooms. Jack was once a violent alcoholic, but had been sober quite some time before coming to the Overlook. Jack starts seeing things too, and though there is no alcohol at the hotel, he falls into a "drunken" state at times after the family has been there awhile. He begins hallucinating and people from the hotel's past convince Jack that he should hurt his family. Without revealing more, I can say the scary ending turns out better for Danny & his mother than it does for Jack. I have seen the movie for this book a few times before reading it. Parts of the story, especially near the ending, are a bit different than in the movie.

'A' is For Alibi, by Sue Grafton

Private investigator, Kinsey Millhone, investigates the murder of a man named Laurence Fife. Nikki, his wife, has just served an 8 year sentence in prison for the murder, but when she gets out she hires Kinsey to find out who the real killer is. Kinsey meets with several people who were close to Laurence Fife at the time of his murder, including his ex-wife and his former law partner, Charlie Scorsoni. This book is fast-paced and keeps you guessing throughout. I will definitely read more from this alphabet series of mysteries by Sue Grafton.

The Moon Looked Down, by Dorthy Garlock

This story is set during World War II, where a 20-year-old Sophie Heller and her family, who have immigrated to Illinois from Germany, are threatened by three local men who think that they are Nazis. Sophie meets Cole Ambrose, a young schoolteacher with a crippled leg, and they fall in love. Cole does whatever he can to protect Sophie and her family from the men that are after them. This story has drama, romance & action.

A Cry In The Night, by Mary Higgins Clark

Jenny is a divorced mother of two young girls, working at an art gallery in New York. She meets artist Erich Krueger at a gallery showing of his work, where everyone notices that Jenny looks just like the painting of Erich's deceased mother, Caroline. Erich & Jenny begin dating & become engaged within a few weeks. When Jenny marries Erich less than a month after they meet, she & the girls move to Erich's large home in Minnesota. Jenny soon realizes disturbing things about Erich, especially his obsession with his late mother. Erich becomes more & more possessive & controlling, and Jenny plans an escape back to New York with her girls, but instead, Erich takes the girls away with him and leaves Jenny in the house alone, not knowing where he has taken them or when they'll be back. A scandal involving Erich's artwork erupts, and when Erich is returning home, Jenny realizes that he is far more disturbed than even she realized. She is worried for her children's safety. Jenny's life is threatened when Erich returns home, but with help from her neighbors, her terror comes to an end.

A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick

In 1907 Wisconsin, wealthy businessman Ralph Truitt advertises for "a reliable wife". A Few months later, he marries Catherine Land, who has secret plans of her own for him and his money. In the end, the reader is surprised to discover that things don't turn out quite the way the story builds them to expect.

Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn

Libby Day's mother & 2 sisters were murdered at their home when she was 7 years old. Libby ran into the freezing snow and hid in a nearby field, lost some fingers and toes to frostbite, but survived. Her 15 year old brother, Ben, is blamed for the murders, and Libby's testimony helps put him behind bars for life. Now, 24 years later, after meeting a group that is trying to get Ben set free, Libby investigates what really happened that night, by interviewing people who were close to Ben, and even her estranged father. The club pays her for all her research into the case, which takes her all over Kansas & Missouri, as well visitations to Ben, who she hadn't seen since that tragic night. It turns out that Ben is innocent, but he is protecting someone else. The story keeps the reader guessing all the way through, and is almost impossible to put down for a break.