This column was submitted by Evangeline Cessna, Local History Librarian at the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library.

This week the library is featuring New Adult Fiction titles by bestselling authors.

Stephen Hunter delivers the long-awaited origin story of Earl Swagger in his latest book “The Bullet Garden.” It’s July 1944 and the lush rolling hills of Normandy are hiding German snipers. From their vantage points, they are able to pick off hundreds of Allied soldiers every day, bringing the D-Day invasion to its knees. The brass thinks someone is tipping off these snipers with the location of American GIs, but who and how? General Dwight D. Eisenhower demands that his intelligence service seek out the best sniper in the Allied military to counter this deadly operation. Pacific hero Earl Swagger steps up and takes on this critical and bloody mission. Swagger won’t be able to trust anyone as he infiltrates the shadowy underbellies of London and France seeking a traitor.

“More Than Meets the Eye” is the latest thriller from Iris Johansen. Serial killer James Michael Barrett leads a group of law enforcement officers to the body of his last victim as part of his plea deal. Once on site, the officers swing their shovels in anticipation of human remains, but instead, they meet with a strange metallic sound. In the blink of an eye, a horrific explosion rocks the woods and Barrett and most of the officers are killed instantly. FBI consultant Kendra Michaels doesn’t know that this is only the beginning for her. A series of horrible murders in the style of the dead Barrett continues which leads Kendra to believe that Barrett had not been working alone. As these crimes escalate, Kendra accepts help from the only survivor of Barrett’s attacks, a college student named Tricia Walton. The killer, however, is ready with a horrific plan for Kendra and her team as they race to find answers.

Jonathan Kellerman’s latest featuring Dr. Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis is called “Unnatural History.” The shadow world created in Los Angeles by the stark contrasts of affluent palaces coexisting with the extreme poverty of the mad and downtrodden is what has brought Delaware and Sturgis to their latest case. One seemingly lovely morning, a woman shows up for work with her usual enthusiasm. She is a newly hired personal assistant for a handsome, wealthy photographer and she is ready to greet her boss with coffee and good cheer. Instead, she finds him slumped in bed, shot to death. The photographer was recently lauded for his late project: images of homeless people in their personal “dream” situations, elaborately costumed and enacting unfulfilled fantasies. There are those who have spoken against the project as nothing more than crass exploitation. The photographer was accused of making token payments and avoidance of any long-term relationships with his subjects. When more murders happen, Alex and Milo must peel back the layers of intrigue to get to the truth, culminating in one of the deadliest killers they have ever faced.

Perineal bestseller James Patterson’s latest in the Alex Cross saga is called “Triple Cross.” It appears that Alex’s latest hunt of a family-targeting serial killer puts his own family in the crosshairs. This killer is meticulous, and he always moves under the cover of darkness without triggering any alarms or leaving any physical evidence. Cross and Sampson aren’t the only ones investigating. Bestselling true crime author Thomas Tull sees patterns everyone else has missed and he calls the Family Man murders the perfect crime story. He believes the killer may never be caught, but Cross knows that no crime is perfect, and he is going to hunt down this killer no matter what it takes. Until the Family Man flips the script and sets his sites on Alex Cross’s family.

The latest Pendergast and Greene novel by Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child is called “The Cabinet of Dr. Leng.” FBI Special Agent and Constance Greene cross paths with New York’s deadliest serial killer after Constance finds a way back to her place of origin — New York City in the late 1800s. She leaps at the chance to return home even if it means that she must leave the present forever. She is determined to prevent the events that lead to the deaths of her sister and brother, but that road will lead her to cross paths with Manhattan’s notorious serial killer Dr. Enoch Leng who lies in wait, ready to strike. Meanwhile, in contemporary New York, Pendergast frantically searches for a way to reunite with Constance, but will he find a way back to her in time to save her from his ancestor?

“Encore in Death” is the latest by J.D. Robb. Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh are a celebrity couple who have conquered both Hollywood and Broadway. They decide to host the event of the season complete with a guest list full of A-listers. After raising a toast, Fitzhugh falls to the floor and dies with symptoms pointing to cyanide, so the police must crash the party. From all accounts, the deceased was well-liked by everyone, including his ex-wife. Police learn that the cocktail that killed him was originally intended for Eliza, it’s possible she was the intended target. After all, she’s the one with the recently fired assistant, a bitter rival and an obsessed fan stalking her. Detective Eve Dallas has her work cut out for her sifting through the attendees, staff and servers. Eve’s not fond of the spotlight, so she naturally dreads the media circus that will surround a case like this. All she wants is to figure out who’s truly innocent, and who’s only acting that way.