Toy Soldiers by William P. Kennedy
          Young Billy Tepper has a penchant for playing pranks. He especially enjoys outwitting his teachers at the prestigious American boarding school he attends in Italy. But playtime ends abruptly when he and his schoolmates are seized by a group of terrorists aiming to capture the world’s attention. For what could possibly merit bigger headlines than a threat to the scions of the rich and powerful? As politicians scramble for solutions, and frightened teachers try to cope, Billy mounts his own rescue mission. A thrilling tale, in which a child is pitted against the forces of evil.

A Time to Die by Wilbur Smith
          Beneath the unforgiving, blazing heat of the African sun, two men and one woman embark on a savage hunt. A hunt that will tear their safe safari apart, plunging them into the restless tides of a deadly civil war. 
          As the world around him burns with passion and death, professional hunter and guerrilla fighter Sean Courtney is trapped between his worst enemies, an overwhelming love for a woman, and his instincts to survive and kill.

The Bears and I by Robert Franklin Leslie
          When young Robert Leslie went prospecting in the British Columbia wilderness, he found more than he bargained for. Adopted by a boisterous trio of orphaned bear cubs, he schooled the young bears in the hard lessons of self-sufficiency. He taught them how to confront predators and satisfy their voracious appetites, and together they survived a devastating forest fire. As the seasons changed, Robert and the bears formed a unique relationship based on trust and respect. This true story is all the more moving for its sad and ironic ending.

Landscape of Lies by Peter Watson
          Isobel Sadler is dead broke. The only thing she’s got that might bring in any money is a stupendously bad painting that’s been in her family for generations. It’s so ugly she can’t imagine it would be worth much, but the other night someone tried to steal it. Mystified, she turns to art dealer Michael Whiting, who identifies the painting as a 16th-centurytreasure map, pointing the way to a cache of priceless religious artifacts that were hidden by monks when Henry VIII was dissolving the monasteries. If they can decipher the clues in the painting, Whiting reasons, Isobel’s money troubles will be history. Whiting, however, isn’t the only one who has figured out the painting’s true identity. He and Isobel struggle to decode its arcane instructions-laced with references to everything from classical mythology to the Bible to Botticelli.-but a rival is one step ahead, and he’ll stop at nothing-not even murder-to get his hands on the medieval treasure.