Helen Fielding

Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa
400 pages
Avg rating 4.13
When a mysterious man besieges an office tower in Manhattan, he threatens to execute his hostages and unleash terror if his demands are not met. He informs the authorities he will only communicate with Alexander Blackwell, a former FBI hostage negotiator whose stellar career had ended abruptly a few years before.

The FBI tracks Blackwell down on a tiny Caribbean island and he reluctantly agrees to negotiate with the suspect. As the clock ticks fast to the deadline, Blackwell soon realizes the only way to save the hostages and prevent catastrophe is to figure out who this enigmatic hostage-taker really is, and why he asked for him by name. But what he discovers is a chilling global conspiracy at the highest levels of government that threatens to destroy his life all over again.

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
324 pages
Avg rating 3.78
Meet Bridget Jones—a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:
a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise

"123 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)..."

Bridget Jones' Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and learn to program the VCR.

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like millions of readers the world round — you'll find yourself shouting, "Bridget Jones is me!"

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
401 pages
Avg rating 4.02
Harry Dresden--Wizard
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work--magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses--and the first two don't count...