Our Game - John LeCarre: A British operative (a double agent, in fact) disappears, apparently with a large sum of money stolen from the Russian government. Where did he go? The police want to know, and they question his former (now retired) handler, who sets off on his own journey to discover the answer (and, at the same time, discover what happened to his former live-in lover, who had disappeared with the agent).
The Golden Age - James Maxwell: First of a four-part fantasy series with some familiar "Game of Thrones" type stuff going on, with some twists along the way. Takes place in a Mediterranean Sea-shaped universe where a species of human-like creatures can transform into sea/air/land creatures with some size variations (harpy, or, in rare cases, dragon for air; ogre or giant for land, etc.) but risk losing their sense of self when they do. Some have lost the ability to change back, and the risk posed by those who can causes tension between the northern kingdoms that this book focuses on (one democratic, one monarchical). When the Sun King from the far reaches of the sea determines that there is gold here that can help him finish plating his pyramid (to ensure his entrance to the next world), tensions ramp up.
City of Endless Night - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: the latest Pendergast novel, in which a serial killer is offing (and beheading) despicable people with impeccable security arrangements. Except for the possible first victim, the daughter of a tech millionaire. And, later, a revered saintlike African visitor to the UN. What does it all mean? If Pendergast can't figure it out, who can?
The Johnstown Flood - David McCullough: The Truman author's first published work tackles the Johnstown flood of 1889, which killed upwards of 2,000 people after a (poorly maintained) dam failed during a major rainstorm. Generally well-researched and pretty interesting, though I would maybe prefer fewer "this is how this person's day unfolded" segments.
Sick Puppy - Carl Hiassen: Skink's fourth appearance comes rather late in this tale, which focuses on a lobbyist/"big-game hunter" who attracts the attention of an independently wealthy environmental crusader of sorts due to his pollution of Florida's roads with his fast food trash. The title character plays an important part in the tale, and Skink has a face-to-face meeting with the current governor of Florida.
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - Stephen Platt: Details the Chinese "civil war" (as described by the author, though it is more popularly known as the Taiping Rebellion), which ran from 1850-1864 and is thought to have cost the lives of 20 million Chinese (which dwarfs the amount killed in the US Civil War, which coincided with the tail end of the Chinese conflict). Focuses more on the political background and the international response rather than blow-by-blow descriptions of various battles (though certain key battles are described in detail). I thought it was quite interesting.