“Bait Dog: An Atlanta Burns Novel” by Chuck Wendig

Story Summary: Atlanta Burns hasn’t had it easy as of late. When we met her in Shotgun Gravy, she had just returned to town and to school with fewer friends and a bigger reputation. Unable to let a group of bullies torment a stranger, Atlanta inadvertently befriended two boys, Chris and Shane, and intertwined herself in bigger drama with more powerful players than she could have ever imagined. Bait Dog picks up immediately after…well, let’s just say when Chris found himself troubled. 

When a classmate turns to Atlanta for help solving the murder of her dog, Atlanta laughs her off. Once her mother reveals their money and mortgage woes, however, the money the classmate offered is too tempting. In search of the culprit, Atlanta uncovers the ugly truth behind the disappearance of multiple dogs in the area. Following the bloody trail of bait dogs and unsavory teens leads do a much broader and more dangerous place-an illegal dog fighting operation, tucked away in the country and away from prying eyes. With a new cast of low-lifes and the return of the old, can Atlanta expose the operation for what it is before they manage to destroy her friends, her home, her (new) dog…and Atlanta herself?

“Wanted” by Mark Millar

Story summary: Wesley Gibson is a nine-to-five shit eating cubicle jokey. He’s miserable but too much of a low-down coward to change anything. His boss is a bitch, his girlfriend is fucking his best friend, thugs on the street mock and spit on him, and he takes more pills for his imagined ailments than a hypochondriac geriatric. Everything changes when he learns that not only has his father died and named him beneficiary, not only was his late father worth millions, and not only was he a member of a fraternity of Super-villains who had teamed up to rid the world of superheroes, but his father’s knack to kill just about anything and everything runs deep in his own blood. Is the price of his humanity worth the ability to do whatever the hell he wants, whenever he wants? And will Wesley be able to survive when Bad Guys come hunting Bad Guys?