OK. Here we go for 2012. The good folks at G.P. Putnam's Sons have decided to release my next two novels in the same month: May! So we'll not only see the first return of Quinn Colson in THE LOST ONES but also the 40th return of Robert B. Parker's iconic private eye, Spenser, in LULLABY. Both novels are already available for pre-order on Amazon.com. But so far, no one outside my publisher knows what either book is about. So for you guys, the real insiders, here is some insight:

THE LOST ONES takes place the following year after THE RANGER. Quinn, now sheriff of Tibbehah County, tackles everyday small-town crime with Deputy Lillie Virgil by his side. Their investigation of a child's serious injuries uncovers a baby-selling ring rife with disturbing abuse (this is based on an actual case here in north Mississippi). Meanwhile, Quinn's high school buddy Donnie Varner returns home from the front with a dangerous plan to cash in on his time with the Army. Donnie brings a Mexican cartel -- and a obsessed federal agent -- to Jericho's doorstep.
LULLABY takes place the following spring after we last saw Spenser in SIXKILL. Spenser helps a tough 14-year-old girl from South Boston find justice for her mother, who was murdered four years ago. The girl, Mattie, believes the wrong man is doing life for the crime, because she saw two other toughs shove her mother in a car the night she died. Spenser finds those two toughs are connected to Gerry Broz, the screw-up son of  infamous crime boss Joe Broz, a man who's been missing for more than a decade and the top of the FBI most-wanted list.