The Vanishing Kind by Alice Henderson

Wildlife biologist Alex Carter travels to New Mexico to determine if there are jaguars present in the area. She is working for the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation. The organization believes that the animals might be coming over from Mexico and back again. Working alone by setting up cameras and hair snares, Alex revels in the flora and fauna near the Gila National Forest. However, there is a group of unknown men who are terrorizing nearby residents of Latino descent. They also don't like the work that Alex is doing because they believe in a closed border with Mexico, not one that would allow the jaguars to go between the two countries. In this fourth novel in the Alex Carter series, Henderson transports the reader to the southwest and features an extremely likable main character in Alex. The Vanishing Kind will be published in March.

Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens

Anna Appleby writes a column for Bath Living magazine. When Anna gets the news that the magazine is in financial trouble and her job is on the line, she comes up with the idea to devote her column to writing about the dates she goes on. Her hook will be that she will only go on dates with people suggested by her two children, Jess and Ethan. Unfortunately, Anna has to share the back page of the magazine with colleague Will Havers, who is always trying to give her advice to make her column better. Anna finds him so annoying, but when they go on an eco retreat for work, sparks fly. Will Anna and Will put themselves out there for a real relationship? Is She Really Going Out with Him? is a humorous romance in the style of Annabel Monaghan.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

For the past two years, Annie has been Doug's bot girlfriend. They live together in his apartment in New York City where Annie stays home all day while Doug goes to work. When Doug's best friend, Roland, unexpectedly visits from Los Angeles, cracks begin to form in Annie and Doug's relationship. Told through Annie's eyes, the reader sees Doug as controlling and manipulative. While Annie tries to work out how she can be the best girlfriend to Doug, she grows emotionally and doubts begin to form whether living with Doug is the best thing for her. An interesting novel that's hard to put down.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki

In Kyoto, a coffee shop can appear from nowhere for those who need a little help in their lives. In addition, the people working there morph into cats to dispense advice and make yummy food and drinks like Aquarius Trifle and Moonlight and Venus Champagne Float. The cats aid scriptwriter Mizuki Serikawa to get her mojo back in her job. Then they help movie director Akari Nakayama see her romantic life more clearly so she can take action. A magical, light story, like a cross between a Miyazaki film and Maeve Binchy (it sounds weird, but it works).

D is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton

When private investigator Kinsey Millhone agrees to deliver a $25,000 check for a new client named Alvin Limardo, she finds herself embroiled in murder. John Daggett, who presented himself to Kinsey as Limardo, ends up dead, yet the authorities believe it was accidental. Kinsey, though, is convinced he was murdered. It turns out that Daggett killed five people while driving drunk and went to prison. The check was for teenager Tony Gahan, whose whole family died in the accident. Could Daggett's death be revenge for the deaths he caused? Kinsey's has her hands full trying to ferret out the truth.

The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

It's 1987 in suburban New Jersey and all Billy can think about is using his Commodore 64 to program video games. Billy and his best friends Alf and Clark also cannot stop thinking about getting their hands on the current Playboy issue with Vanna White on the cover--but they are only 14 and you need to be 18 to buy the issue. So how can they get it? The three friends come up with one failed plan after another to get their hands on the magazine, but finally decide to have Billy befriend a girl named Mary, whose father owns the store where it's being sold. It turns out that Billy and Mary both love computer programming and decide to enter a contest to submit Will's game "The Impossible Fortress" so they can win an IBM PS-2. They spend many weeks together, learning machine language to make the game the best it can be. It's also obvious that Billy and Mary have feelings for each other. Will the plan to steal the magazine get in the way? A humorous coming of age tale with lots of heart.

A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor

In the last book of the Maggie D'Arcy series, Maggie is finally a policewoman in Ireland--starting at the bottom doing community policing in Dublin. Maggie and her partner, Jason, are involved in a domestic disturbance that turns into murder. A young woman named Jade is killed and her two-year-old daughter, Laurel is missing. With the Garda being shorthanded, Maggie is given special permission to work on the case. Everyone is on edge, desperate to find Laurel. Those who knew Jade aren't very forthcoming with the authorities, so it's tough to move the case forward. Will Maggie and her colleagues be able to bring Laurel home safe and find justice for Jade?