I am headed on vacation after this post is published. Then, I will be back for the first week in January and then out for 4 to 6 weeks. I am afraid the blog will be dormant while I am gone. However, you have January titles and the next post will be February titles so....I hope to be back in February to do at least one post on the March titles. So hopefully, all months will be covered.
First I am going to cover Nicholas Petrie's Burning Bright which comes out on January 10. I loved his first title, The Drifter, featuring Peter Ash, a PTSD suffering veteran who has to live in the outdoors to soothe his claustrophobia. Here while wandering the the northern California forest, he comes upon a bear and while climbing a tree to avoid the bear, he discovers a girl. June Cassidy is a journalist who is being hunted by men in dark cars because of something her mother was working on. How could Ash NOT come to the rescue? This will be a must read for me.
Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis is also coming out on January 10. Here, a small town esteemed professor and author, Thomas Huston, goes missing when his wife and children are discovered murdered. The police sergeant in charge, Ryan Demarco, looked on him as a friend - how could he have done this? As Demarco investigates, he starts question his former view of Huston. Did he? Could he have?
Tim Dorsey has Clownfish Blues coming out on January 24. Did you know that Tim Dorsey graduated from Auburn? He was the editor of the student newspaper while he was there. Then, he wrote for a Montgomery Paper for awhile. Now, he is famous. This is the 20th Serge A Storm title and each one keeps getting funnier.Here, Serge and his ever present compadre Coleman are driving around in a silver Corvette shooting their own version of Route 66 when they get mixed up with money-laundering drug cartels trying to game the state lottery system. Watch out bad guys, Serge is dangerous.
Deanna Raybourn has the second in the Veronica Speedwell series, A Perilous Undertaking coming on January 10. If you like your mysteries with a Victorian feel, this series is for you. Veronica is a butterfly hunter and an adventuress. She has a natural historian as a companion, Stoker. Together they take on hunts for more than animal life. Veronica is invited to a ladies only club where she meets a mysterious lady who challenged her to find the real murderer of a woman and by doing so, save the life of art patron Miles Ramsforth. There are many secrets and much danger in this challenge and Veronica is up for the task.
Lastly, I have an offering by Nicola Moriarty - and yes, she is the sister of the very popular Lianne. She has The Fifth Letter coming out on January 24. This is very much a kind of 'what would you do' type story. Four friends have stayed together through thick and thin. Joni, Deb, Eden and Trina are now adults with families and careers and well...it is harder to stay firmly together. On a vacation to the beach, Joni suggests that they each write a letter about a dark secret. Later, Joni finds a half burnt letter in the fireplace filled with bitterness and dislike. Which one of her friends feels this way? Why does she feel this way? And what should Joni do about it? Sounds interesting to me.
Hope you all have a great holiday and I will return in 2017.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Friday, December 16, 2016
New January Thrillers
There are some exciting thrillers coming in January - one one by an A list author but plenty that are just as good. See if you would like to give one of them a try.
First, the big name, Stuart Woods has Below the Belt coming out on January 3. This is Woods 40th Stone Barrington title. It is mostly more of the usual with Stone fighting the bad guys while keeping a drink in one hand and a lady companion in the other. Here, though there is political intrigue also. If you like the series - you of course will read this one.
Alex Berenson has The Prisoner, the eleventh in the John Wells series, coming out on January 31. Wells, a CIA agent who became a Muslim when he infiltrated al Qaeda years ago, is forced to go undercover again as an al Qaeda jihadi to discover who is giving ISIS national secrets. Said to be fast moving and suspenseful.
This Is Not Over by Holly Brown comes out on January 17. This title has had interesting reactions from reviewers. One particular reviewer said that she really disliked the two main characters but she couldn't stop reading - she stayed up late reading and rushed home from work to read. Dawn's dream luxury weekend at the beach turned into a nightmare and she demanded a refund. Miranda, the owner, gave her a refund but kept $200 because she said the stain wouldn't come out of the sheets. Dawn would not let it go and wrote a scathing review of the home. Miranda retaliated...on and on and on. Two different women who refused to give way. It gets much darker and frightening.
Heather Graham and Jon Land co-authored The Rising out on January 17. This one is kind of romantic suspense with a little scifi thrown into it. Alex is a high school football star and homecoming king. He is injured in a game and ended up in the hospital where a strange shadow is discovered in his brain. Then, his doctor is killed and his parents are found dead at his home. Alex takes off and is followed by his tutor, Samantha. Who is trying to kill him? Alex knew he was adopted but had no idea where he was from.......
M.A. Lawson has K Street also coming out on the January 17. This is the third in the Kay Hamilton series. In the first one, she gets fired from the DEA; in the second one, she gets a new job with The Callahan Company and almost gets killed; here, in the third one, she is going to the company office to give them her resignation and finds that the company office has been attacked, her boss is mortally wounded, only saying NSA before succumbing to death and the safe and the computer has been stolen. Who has done this? She has to find out. Reviewers really enjoy this series for straight political intrigue with little if any sex.
Lastly, Jonathan Moore has The Dark Room coming out on January 10. This is a followup to the author's first title The Poison Artist. Here, San Francisco homicide detective Gavin Cain is pulled away in the middle of an exhumation by the mayor. The mayor has received threatening black & white photos and the promise that more would be released unless the mayor killed himself. Cain is on the trail of the blackmailer and discovers dark secrets.
OK - there you go for this week. I am hoping to do one more entry before Christmas but see if one of these is meant for you.
First, the big name, Stuart Woods has Below the Belt coming out on January 3. This is Woods 40th Stone Barrington title. It is mostly more of the usual with Stone fighting the bad guys while keeping a drink in one hand and a lady companion in the other. Here, though there is political intrigue also. If you like the series - you of course will read this one.
Alex Berenson has The Prisoner, the eleventh in the John Wells series, coming out on January 31. Wells, a CIA agent who became a Muslim when he infiltrated al Qaeda years ago, is forced to go undercover again as an al Qaeda jihadi to discover who is giving ISIS national secrets. Said to be fast moving and suspenseful.
This Is Not Over by Holly Brown comes out on January 17. This title has had interesting reactions from reviewers. One particular reviewer said that she really disliked the two main characters but she couldn't stop reading - she stayed up late reading and rushed home from work to read. Dawn's dream luxury weekend at the beach turned into a nightmare and she demanded a refund. Miranda, the owner, gave her a refund but kept $200 because she said the stain wouldn't come out of the sheets. Dawn would not let it go and wrote a scathing review of the home. Miranda retaliated...on and on and on. Two different women who refused to give way. It gets much darker and frightening.
Heather Graham and Jon Land co-authored The Rising out on January 17. This one is kind of romantic suspense with a little scifi thrown into it. Alex is a high school football star and homecoming king. He is injured in a game and ended up in the hospital where a strange shadow is discovered in his brain. Then, his doctor is killed and his parents are found dead at his home. Alex takes off and is followed by his tutor, Samantha. Who is trying to kill him? Alex knew he was adopted but had no idea where he was from.......
M.A. Lawson has K Street also coming out on the January 17. This is the third in the Kay Hamilton series. In the first one, she gets fired from the DEA; in the second one, she gets a new job with The Callahan Company and almost gets killed; here, in the third one, she is going to the company office to give them her resignation and finds that the company office has been attacked, her boss is mortally wounded, only saying NSA before succumbing to death and the safe and the computer has been stolen. Who has done this? She has to find out. Reviewers really enjoy this series for straight political intrigue with little if any sex.
Lastly, Jonathan Moore has The Dark Room coming out on January 10. This is a followup to the author's first title The Poison Artist. Here, San Francisco homicide detective Gavin Cain is pulled away in the middle of an exhumation by the mayor. The mayor has received threatening black & white photos and the promise that more would be released unless the mayor killed himself. Cain is on the trail of the blackmailer and discovers dark secrets.
OK - there you go for this week. I am hoping to do one more entry before Christmas but see if one of these is meant for you.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
LibraryReads January List
The LibraryRead list contains authors not as known as some others. There are no big name authors this month but that doesn't mean there are no really good titles coming. I am pretty excited about some of these. Let's see what you think.
The top vote getter was JP Delaney's The Girl Before which comes out on January 24. Ron Howard has already purchased the film rights so you know it has to be good. One Folgate Street is a stunning house built by Edward Monkford, an architect. Emma was looking for a 'flat' where she felt safe and that was in this building. Monkford has some strange requirements but she took it and then...... Jane also was looking for a flat and came upon the same one, she also took it and then began following the clues to it's former tenant. Would it end the same way?
The rest in no particular order:
Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale comes out on January 10. This story is based on a Russian fairy tale and takes place in 14th century Russia. Vasya's stepmother and the new village priest attempt to end pagan offerings. Vasya realizes it is up to her to stop the Bear from awakening. Said to be captivating.
Jane Harper's The Dry comes out on January 10 also. Harper is a debut author from Australia. It has had rave reviews over there and in the US. Here Agent Aaron Falk is summoned to the funeral of his long ago best friend and family who died in the murder/suicide. Falk starts investigating and discovers the town has some grudges and secrets. Apparently, his friend and Falk had some secrets too.
Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes comes out on January 31. This title has been really well reviewed. People say that it is riveting and plotted extremely well along with an unbelievable ending. Louise meets David in a bar - there is an instant attraction. After a kiss goodnight - he leaves. When Louise shows up to work the next morning, she discovers David is her new boss AND he is married. Adele becomes a close friend of Louise. Louise senses something is horribly wrong with the couple. What the heck is going on?????
Will Schwalbe's Books for Living comes out on December 27th and is the sole nonfiction title on the list this month. Here Schwalbe focuses on the books that changed his life. A book about books - unfortunate that it is not out early in December - it would make a good Christmas gift.
Susan Rivers' The Second Mrs. Hockaday comes out on January 10, Debut author who has written an emotional historical fiction novel. Placidia is seventeen when she marries Major Hocksaday, a much older man with a small child. After only two days, he must leave to fight in the Civil War and she is left to manage his large farm and son with no help. He returns two years later to find that she is in jail and it is said that she had a child and killed the infant. What actually happened?
Brunonia Barry's The Fifth Petal comes out on January 24. Barry goes back to the scene of her bestselling first title, The Lace Reader. It also has some of the same characters. Here, the Chief of Police, John Rafferty (now married to Towner Whitney) investigates a 25 year old murder of 3 women said to be related to the original Salem witches. Said to be beautifully written, if you read and liked the first one, this one is a must.
Lindsey Lee Johnson's The Most Dangerous Place on Earth comes out on January 10. The above mentioned most dangerous place on earth is a high school in an affluent area in California. This title follows a group of students when they move from middle school where a tragic incident took place, into high school where they are still being affected by the tragedy. Said to be a compelling read that takes a realistic look at the high school culture.
Peter Swanson's Her Every Fear comes out also on January 10. Kate Priddy swapped apartments with her cousin that she had never met - Kate coming to Boston from London and Corbin going the opposite way. She discovers that her next door neighbor is murdered and there are some that implicate Corbin. Could Corbin have done it? .....Said to be a real page turner.
Lastly, Elle Katharine White's Heartstone comes out on January 17. This is White's first novel. Here she has taken the plot of Pride and Prejudice and made it into a historical fantasy with warriors and dragons and grphons. White is praised for her world building and those that love fantasy - loved this book.
OK - there you go. Hope something interests you.
The top vote getter was JP Delaney's The Girl Before which comes out on January 24. Ron Howard has already purchased the film rights so you know it has to be good. One Folgate Street is a stunning house built by Edward Monkford, an architect. Emma was looking for a 'flat' where she felt safe and that was in this building. Monkford has some strange requirements but she took it and then...... Jane also was looking for a flat and came upon the same one, she also took it and then began following the clues to it's former tenant. Would it end the same way?
The rest in no particular order:
Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale comes out on January 10. This story is based on a Russian fairy tale and takes place in 14th century Russia. Vasya's stepmother and the new village priest attempt to end pagan offerings. Vasya realizes it is up to her to stop the Bear from awakening. Said to be captivating.
Jane Harper's The Dry comes out on January 10 also. Harper is a debut author from Australia. It has had rave reviews over there and in the US. Here Agent Aaron Falk is summoned to the funeral of his long ago best friend and family who died in the murder/suicide. Falk starts investigating and discovers the town has some grudges and secrets. Apparently, his friend and Falk had some secrets too.
Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes comes out on January 31. This title has been really well reviewed. People say that it is riveting and plotted extremely well along with an unbelievable ending. Louise meets David in a bar - there is an instant attraction. After a kiss goodnight - he leaves. When Louise shows up to work the next morning, she discovers David is her new boss AND he is married. Adele becomes a close friend of Louise. Louise senses something is horribly wrong with the couple. What the heck is going on?????
Will Schwalbe's Books for Living comes out on December 27th and is the sole nonfiction title on the list this month. Here Schwalbe focuses on the books that changed his life. A book about books - unfortunate that it is not out early in December - it would make a good Christmas gift.
Susan Rivers' The Second Mrs. Hockaday comes out on January 10, Debut author who has written an emotional historical fiction novel. Placidia is seventeen when she marries Major Hocksaday, a much older man with a small child. After only two days, he must leave to fight in the Civil War and she is left to manage his large farm and son with no help. He returns two years later to find that she is in jail and it is said that she had a child and killed the infant. What actually happened?
Brunonia Barry's The Fifth Petal comes out on January 24. Barry goes back to the scene of her bestselling first title, The Lace Reader. It also has some of the same characters. Here, the Chief of Police, John Rafferty (now married to Towner Whitney) investigates a 25 year old murder of 3 women said to be related to the original Salem witches. Said to be beautifully written, if you read and liked the first one, this one is a must.
Lindsey Lee Johnson's The Most Dangerous Place on Earth comes out on January 10. The above mentioned most dangerous place on earth is a high school in an affluent area in California. This title follows a group of students when they move from middle school where a tragic incident took place, into high school where they are still being affected by the tragedy. Said to be a compelling read that takes a realistic look at the high school culture.
Peter Swanson's Her Every Fear comes out also on January 10. Kate Priddy swapped apartments with her cousin that she had never met - Kate coming to Boston from London and Corbin going the opposite way. She discovers that her next door neighbor is murdered and there are some that implicate Corbin. Could Corbin have done it? .....Said to be a real page turner.
Lastly, Elle Katharine White's Heartstone comes out on January 17. This is White's first novel. Here she has taken the plot of Pride and Prejudice and made it into a historical fantasy with warriors and dragons and grphons. White is praised for her world building and those that love fantasy - loved this book.
OK - there you go. Hope something interests you.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Best Mystery and Thrillers in 2016
It has been awhile I know. Holidays always mess me up. Also, I am going to try to do 4 entries before Christmas. Let's see if I can. This week, I am going to give you the list of 5 best Mystery titles and 5 best Thrillers title from 2016 according to the Library Journal editors. This might not be your list, but it is theirs.
Best Mystery Titles in alphabetical order by author:
E.J. Cooperman's Written Off - interesting plot by the author who came up with the asperger mysteries. Cooperman is the pseudonym for Jeffrey Cohen and writes cozy mysteries with likable, quirky characters. Here, a mystery author, Rachel Goldman, meets a man with the same name and occupation as her series detective - AND he is investigating a missing author who was her mentor. Hmmmm. How could this have happened???? Will she be next to disappear?
Laura DiSilverio's Close Call - DiSilverio tends to write gentle mysteries with humor also, although this one doesn't sound too gentle. Here Sydney Ellison has a chance encounter with an assassin and must join with her estranged sister to find the killer. Unfortunately, the assassin also saw Sydney so he is after them.
Jason Miller's Red Dog: A Slim in Little Egypt Mystery - Miller writes darkly humorous mysteries. Not cozy this time. This is the second in the series after "Down Don't Bother Me". Slim is a PI living in the impoverished southern Illinois coal country known as Little Egypt. The area is populated with drug addicts, gangs, environmental activists and regular people. Slim is hired to find a red haired pit bull. His investigation leads him to a culprit but when the culprit is found, his head is blown off by a shotgun blast. Digging further leads Slim into the dangerous world of dog fighting.
Susan Moody's The Quick and the Dead: An Alex Quick Mystery - This is the first in a series with the second title coming out in the beginning of 2017. Alex Quick is a former detective who set out on a new career after a divorce from a fellow officer. She developed a idea compiling art anthologies in collaboration with an academic friend, Dr. Helena Drummond. When Drummond disappears and Alex discovers a body at her house, Alex begins investigating as she is sure she wouldn't have committed murder. But the more she investigates the more she starts to wonder, did she?
Song Ying's Apricot's Revenge - This is a translation from a Chinese author. It is defined as a procedural mystery which is interesting as it gives a glance at how China handles their murders but it is also a look at a modern country struggling with contemporary issues. The plot has a journalist investigating the drowning death of a real estate mogul. A fascinating read on many levels - mysterious and cultural.
Best Thriller Titles in alphabetical order by author:
Harlan Coben's Fool Me Once - I love Coben so what can I say. Here, a widow spots her daughter playing with her late husband on nanny cam two weeks after he was killed. Really a must read.
Andrew Gross's The One Man - Andrew Gross got his training by co-authoring titles with James Patterson. In this one, an intelligence officer infiltrates Auschwitz to rescue a physicist. Extremely well reviewed by all. Said to be an "excellent historical mystery and one worth reading".
Steve Hamilton's The Second Life of Nick Mason - Nick Mason got an early release from prison but what did he have to do to get it? All Nick wants to do is go straight and win back a relationship with his daughter and perhaps with his ex-wife but the criminal mastermind who controls him has other plans.
M.J. Rose's The Secret Language of Stones - this one has mystery, romance and the supernatural in it. It is the second of the La Luna series. The first title focused on the mother of Opaline- the main character here. It takes place during WWI in Paris. Opaline has a mysterious relationship with stones - as a jewelry designer - that is important but it also allows her to here messages that recently dead people want her to bring back to people they left behind. One of them has a message for her.
Hank Phillippi Ryan's Say No More - This is the fifth in the Jane Ryland series. Here Jane is investigating sexual assaults on a college campus and puts her life at risk.
OK - there they are - the 5 mysteries and 5 thrillers that the Library Journal felt were the best in the year. Give them a look and see what you think! Enjoy.
Best Mystery Titles in alphabetical order by author:
E.J. Cooperman's Written Off - interesting plot by the author who came up with the asperger mysteries. Cooperman is the pseudonym for Jeffrey Cohen and writes cozy mysteries with likable, quirky characters. Here, a mystery author, Rachel Goldman, meets a man with the same name and occupation as her series detective - AND he is investigating a missing author who was her mentor. Hmmmm. How could this have happened???? Will she be next to disappear?
Laura DiSilverio's Close Call - DiSilverio tends to write gentle mysteries with humor also, although this one doesn't sound too gentle. Here Sydney Ellison has a chance encounter with an assassin and must join with her estranged sister to find the killer. Unfortunately, the assassin also saw Sydney so he is after them.
Jason Miller's Red Dog: A Slim in Little Egypt Mystery - Miller writes darkly humorous mysteries. Not cozy this time. This is the second in the series after "Down Don't Bother Me". Slim is a PI living in the impoverished southern Illinois coal country known as Little Egypt. The area is populated with drug addicts, gangs, environmental activists and regular people. Slim is hired to find a red haired pit bull. His investigation leads him to a culprit but when the culprit is found, his head is blown off by a shotgun blast. Digging further leads Slim into the dangerous world of dog fighting.
Susan Moody's The Quick and the Dead: An Alex Quick Mystery - This is the first in a series with the second title coming out in the beginning of 2017. Alex Quick is a former detective who set out on a new career after a divorce from a fellow officer. She developed a idea compiling art anthologies in collaboration with an academic friend, Dr. Helena Drummond. When Drummond disappears and Alex discovers a body at her house, Alex begins investigating as she is sure she wouldn't have committed murder. But the more she investigates the more she starts to wonder, did she?
Song Ying's Apricot's Revenge - This is a translation from a Chinese author. It is defined as a procedural mystery which is interesting as it gives a glance at how China handles their murders but it is also a look at a modern country struggling with contemporary issues. The plot has a journalist investigating the drowning death of a real estate mogul. A fascinating read on many levels - mysterious and cultural.
Best Thriller Titles in alphabetical order by author:
Harlan Coben's Fool Me Once - I love Coben so what can I say. Here, a widow spots her daughter playing with her late husband on nanny cam two weeks after he was killed. Really a must read.
Andrew Gross's The One Man - Andrew Gross got his training by co-authoring titles with James Patterson. In this one, an intelligence officer infiltrates Auschwitz to rescue a physicist. Extremely well reviewed by all. Said to be an "excellent historical mystery and one worth reading".
Steve Hamilton's The Second Life of Nick Mason - Nick Mason got an early release from prison but what did he have to do to get it? All Nick wants to do is go straight and win back a relationship with his daughter and perhaps with his ex-wife but the criminal mastermind who controls him has other plans.
M.J. Rose's The Secret Language of Stones - this one has mystery, romance and the supernatural in it. It is the second of the La Luna series. The first title focused on the mother of Opaline- the main character here. It takes place during WWI in Paris. Opaline has a mysterious relationship with stones - as a jewelry designer - that is important but it also allows her to here messages that recently dead people want her to bring back to people they left behind. One of them has a message for her.
Hank Phillippi Ryan's Say No More - This is the fifth in the Jane Ryland series. Here Jane is investigating sexual assaults on a college campus and puts her life at risk.
OK - there they are - the 5 mysteries and 5 thrillers that the Library Journal felt were the best in the year. Give them a look and see what you think! Enjoy.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
The Last of December Titles
Holiday times are always hectic and since I will not be here next week - I am finishing up with December titles today. Luckily it is also the time of year that lists of the best books for 2016 come out so I will probably be talking about some of those in future weeks. Bunt now for the December roundup.
Camilla Grebe has her first solo novel, The Ice Beneath Her coming out on December 27. Grebe is a Swedish author and this title has three narrators: one being Emma Bohman who had an affair with Jesper Orre, her boss. After he breaks it off, strange things start to happen to her and a woman's beheaded body is found in one of Orre's homes. Orre, it appears, has disappeared when the other two narrators come in Peter Lindgren, the investigator and Hanne Lagerlind-Schon, a profiler. Said to be dark and twisty.
While we are talking about Nordic Noir, Anne Holt has Beyond the Truth coming out on December 6. This is the seventh in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series. Here, Hanne investigates a mass killing at the home of a wealthy high-profile shipping family. The dead include three members of the family and a mediocre novelist. At the scene, an open bottle of champagne is found. Hanne is intrigued - what was the novelist doing there and what did they have to celebrate.They find many motives but the truth has not yet been revealed. Hanne has never given up before. Will she risk everything this time?
James Rollins has the next Sigma Force Novel coming out on December 13, The Seventh Plague. This is the twelfth in the series. Sigma Force is called in after a member of a missing archaeological team comes staggering out of the desert and drops dead. He appears to have been partially mummified. Then, people who came in contact with him start getting sick and soon all Cairo is sick. Sigma Force to the rescue.
John Clement carries on his mother's, Blaize Clement, Dixie Hemingway series with The Cat Sitter and the Canary. Out on December 20 this is the eleventh in the series. Here, Dixie has a new partner, a Lhasa Apso named Charlie. They go to visit a cat they are looking after but can't find him. The next day, they find a body with a note pointing to Dixie. Dixie must find the murderer before she is arrested or killed.
Christopher Fowler has his thirteenth Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery coming out on December 13. As usual Bryant & May get the most unusual cases. Here, a woman is found drowned and tied to a pillar in the Thames. There appears to be only her footprints leading to her body. Soon, other murders appear connected. And in addition, the unit ti getting grief from the higher ups. Can Bryant and May find out what is happening before the unit is shut down? People have either loved this or hated it. If you have read him before you know these books are wacky and wonderfully complicated.
Lastly, Helene Tursten has Who Watcheth coming out on December 8. December seems to be the month for Scandinavian mysteries. This is the eleventh in the Inspector Huss series which takes place in Sweden. Apparently, there is a stalker out there with rules for those he stalkers. If the women obey the rules, he protects them. If the women break the rules, he murders them. The only problem is - they don't know they are being stalked and they don't know the rules. Huss must identify this stalker and stop the murders.
OK - hopefully enough to tempt you with something. We do have most of the Huss series but I have ordered the ones we were missing. Enjoy!
Camilla Grebe has her first solo novel, The Ice Beneath Her coming out on December 27. Grebe is a Swedish author and this title has three narrators: one being Emma Bohman who had an affair with Jesper Orre, her boss. After he breaks it off, strange things start to happen to her and a woman's beheaded body is found in one of Orre's homes. Orre, it appears, has disappeared when the other two narrators come in Peter Lindgren, the investigator and Hanne Lagerlind-Schon, a profiler. Said to be dark and twisty.
While we are talking about Nordic Noir, Anne Holt has Beyond the Truth coming out on December 6. This is the seventh in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series. Here, Hanne investigates a mass killing at the home of a wealthy high-profile shipping family. The dead include three members of the family and a mediocre novelist. At the scene, an open bottle of champagne is found. Hanne is intrigued - what was the novelist doing there and what did they have to celebrate.They find many motives but the truth has not yet been revealed. Hanne has never given up before. Will she risk everything this time?
James Rollins has the next Sigma Force Novel coming out on December 13, The Seventh Plague. This is the twelfth in the series. Sigma Force is called in after a member of a missing archaeological team comes staggering out of the desert and drops dead. He appears to have been partially mummified. Then, people who came in contact with him start getting sick and soon all Cairo is sick. Sigma Force to the rescue.
John Clement carries on his mother's, Blaize Clement, Dixie Hemingway series with The Cat Sitter and the Canary. Out on December 20 this is the eleventh in the series. Here, Dixie has a new partner, a Lhasa Apso named Charlie. They go to visit a cat they are looking after but can't find him. The next day, they find a body with a note pointing to Dixie. Dixie must find the murderer before she is arrested or killed.
Christopher Fowler has his thirteenth Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery coming out on December 13. As usual Bryant & May get the most unusual cases. Here, a woman is found drowned and tied to a pillar in the Thames. There appears to be only her footprints leading to her body. Soon, other murders appear connected. And in addition, the unit ti getting grief from the higher ups. Can Bryant and May find out what is happening before the unit is shut down? People have either loved this or hated it. If you have read him before you know these books are wacky and wonderfully complicated.
Lastly, Helene Tursten has Who Watcheth coming out on December 8. December seems to be the month for Scandinavian mysteries. This is the eleventh in the Inspector Huss series which takes place in Sweden. Apparently, there is a stalker out there with rules for those he stalkers. If the women obey the rules, he protects them. If the women break the rules, he murders them. The only problem is - they don't know they are being stalked and they don't know the rules. Huss must identify this stalker and stop the murders.
OK - hopefully enough to tempt you with something. We do have most of the Huss series but I have ordered the ones we were missing. Enjoy!
Saturday, November 5, 2016
December Big Names
December is not a big name publishing month but there are some who have work coming out. Most are not BIG big names but you should recognize most.
Mark Greaney (not a big name by himself) has Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance (a Jack Ryan novel) coming out on December 6. Greaney has degrees in international relations and political science so is ideal to carry on this series. Here 'the Campus' is asked to investigate a Russian hacking scheme but some of the important data lands in the hands of the Chinese. President Jack Ryan must get involved.
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV have Curtain of Death coming out on December 27. This is the third in the Clandestine Operations series that looks at the Cold War. Here, in 1946, two WAC officers leaving the Officer's Club in Munich are kidnapped by four Soviet agents. One of the WAC officers is a CIA agent. Strangely, three of the Soviets end up dead and the fourth is wounded. There are many consequences.
Also on December 27, Jack Higgins has The Midnight Bell (the 22nd in the Sean Dillon series) coming out. Former President Jake Casalet receives a warning while vacationing in the Virgin Islands. The wife of the head of a clandestine White House department is killed in hit and run. How are these two incidents connected and what does Al Qaeda have to do with it? Read to find out.
Nora Roberts has the third in her Guardians Trilogy (following Stars of Fortune and Bay of Sighs) coming out on December 6. Roberts and paranormal don't seem to go together for me but these have been popular. In the trilogy, the six guardians are hunting for the Stars of Fortune - here the Star of Ice has brought them to Ireland and Riley, the werewolf, is looking to the past to help them. Doyle, the immortal of the guardians, is attracted to Riley. Hmmmm.What will happen do you think?
Lastly, Val McDermid - an award winning British author, has Out of Bounds also coming on December 6. This is the fourth in the Detective Karen Pirie series. Here a teenager takes a joyride in a stolen car and crashes it. He is in a coma and somehow it connects to a cold case murder from 22 years before. Even with the new evidence, this is complicated.
OK - not the BIG big names as I said or at least most of them, but...definitely well known. I hope one of them strikes your fancy. Enjoy.
Mark Greaney (not a big name by himself) has Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance (a Jack Ryan novel) coming out on December 6. Greaney has degrees in international relations and political science so is ideal to carry on this series. Here 'the Campus' is asked to investigate a Russian hacking scheme but some of the important data lands in the hands of the Chinese. President Jack Ryan must get involved.
W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV have Curtain of Death coming out on December 27. This is the third in the Clandestine Operations series that looks at the Cold War. Here, in 1946, two WAC officers leaving the Officer's Club in Munich are kidnapped by four Soviet agents. One of the WAC officers is a CIA agent. Strangely, three of the Soviets end up dead and the fourth is wounded. There are many consequences.
Also on December 27, Jack Higgins has The Midnight Bell (the 22nd in the Sean Dillon series) coming out. Former President Jake Casalet receives a warning while vacationing in the Virgin Islands. The wife of the head of a clandestine White House department is killed in hit and run. How are these two incidents connected and what does Al Qaeda have to do with it? Read to find out.
Nora Roberts has the third in her Guardians Trilogy (following Stars of Fortune and Bay of Sighs) coming out on December 6. Roberts and paranormal don't seem to go together for me but these have been popular. In the trilogy, the six guardians are hunting for the Stars of Fortune - here the Star of Ice has brought them to Ireland and Riley, the werewolf, is looking to the past to help them. Doyle, the immortal of the guardians, is attracted to Riley. Hmmmm.What will happen do you think?
Lastly, Val McDermid - an award winning British author, has Out of Bounds also coming on December 6. This is the fourth in the Detective Karen Pirie series. Here a teenager takes a joyride in a stolen car and crashes it. He is in a coma and somehow it connects to a cold case murder from 22 years before. Even with the new evidence, this is complicated.
OK - not the BIG big names as I said or at least most of them, but...definitely well known. I hope one of them strikes your fancy. Enjoy.
Finishing Up November
The last weekend in October is a good time to finish up November titles. This has been a pretty busy month for the publishing industry. There are still quite a few good possibilities out there to discuss.
If you like historical fiction, Beatrice Colin has To Capture What We Cannot Keep coming out on November 29. If you liked All the Light We Cannot See particularly because of the sense of place, this title might be for you. It takes place in Paris during the construction of the Eiffel Tower and focuses on a young Scottish widow chaperoning an adult brother and sister on a visit to Paris who falls in love with an engineer working on the Eiffel Tower. Class distinctions raise walls and a relationship would require great sacrifice. It is the time of Impressionist artists and Bohemian experimentation. A great sense of time and place.
Richard Paul Evans has The Mistletoe Secret coming on November 15. His new Christmas story involves a grieving blogger who lost her stillborn child and her husband and a New York writer who tries to find the blogger. Evans holiday stories always have a happy ending.
Ruler of the Night is David Morrell's conclusion for his Opium-Eater mysteries. Morrell's Victorian era mysteries feature Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily. Morrell writes intricately plotted, fast paced mysteries. De Quincey was an actual journalist and was friends with Wordsworth and Coleridge and Morrell has done quite a lot of historical research for this trilogy. Here he investigates one of the first murders on an English train when trains were transforming Victorian society.
Stefanie Pintoff has City on Edge arriving on November 15. Pintoff is an Edgar award winner and this is the second in the Eve Rossi series. Rossi is an FBI agent who leads a division made up of former criminals. Here, they investigate the attempted murder of NYC's police commissioner during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. When the commissioner was shot, his daughter was also kidnapped. Can they rescue the daughter? Pintoff writes with a very strong sense of place and I love the Macy's Day Parade so I am adding this one on my list.
Victoria Helen Stone, a pen name for contemporary romance author Victoria Dahl, has Evelyn, After coming on November 1. This one is defined as romantic suspense but could also be women's fiction I believe. It follows Evelyn who realizes she has been going nowhere in life when she receives a call from her husband, a respected psychiatrist, who has been involved in a hit and run accident. She discovers her husband was not alone and had been having an affair with one of his patients. She covers for him but she is having trouble figuring out where she goes from here.
Lastly, on November 8, we have Julia Chase's new cozy series and Cat Got Your Diamonds.
Lacy Crocker returns to New Orleans and opens her dream business, a pet boutique and organic treat bakery. An unsatisfied customer returns late at night and Lucy sprays him with her glue gun and calls police. The police finds the late night customer dead at the back door. Her backer for her business wants to get out so Lacy has to find out who killed him before she is arrested. Humor and New Orleans make this an interesting read.
If you like historical fiction, Beatrice Colin has To Capture What We Cannot Keep coming out on November 29. If you liked All the Light We Cannot See particularly because of the sense of place, this title might be for you. It takes place in Paris during the construction of the Eiffel Tower and focuses on a young Scottish widow chaperoning an adult brother and sister on a visit to Paris who falls in love with an engineer working on the Eiffel Tower. Class distinctions raise walls and a relationship would require great sacrifice. It is the time of Impressionist artists and Bohemian experimentation. A great sense of time and place.
Richard Paul Evans has The Mistletoe Secret coming on November 15. His new Christmas story involves a grieving blogger who lost her stillborn child and her husband and a New York writer who tries to find the blogger. Evans holiday stories always have a happy ending.
Ruler of the Night is David Morrell's conclusion for his Opium-Eater mysteries. Morrell's Victorian era mysteries feature Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily. Morrell writes intricately plotted, fast paced mysteries. De Quincey was an actual journalist and was friends with Wordsworth and Coleridge and Morrell has done quite a lot of historical research for this trilogy. Here he investigates one of the first murders on an English train when trains were transforming Victorian society.
Stefanie Pintoff has City on Edge arriving on November 15. Pintoff is an Edgar award winner and this is the second in the Eve Rossi series. Rossi is an FBI agent who leads a division made up of former criminals. Here, they investigate the attempted murder of NYC's police commissioner during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. When the commissioner was shot, his daughter was also kidnapped. Can they rescue the daughter? Pintoff writes with a very strong sense of place and I love the Macy's Day Parade so I am adding this one on my list.
Victoria Helen Stone, a pen name for contemporary romance author Victoria Dahl, has Evelyn, After coming on November 1. This one is defined as romantic suspense but could also be women's fiction I believe. It follows Evelyn who realizes she has been going nowhere in life when she receives a call from her husband, a respected psychiatrist, who has been involved in a hit and run accident. She discovers her husband was not alone and had been having an affair with one of his patients. She covers for him but she is having trouble figuring out where she goes from here.
Lastly, on November 8, we have Julia Chase's new cozy series and Cat Got Your Diamonds.
Lacy Crocker returns to New Orleans and opens her dream business, a pet boutique and organic treat bakery. An unsatisfied customer returns late at night and Lucy sprays him with her glue gun and calls police. The police finds the late night customer dead at the back door. Her backer for her business wants to get out so Lacy has to find out who killed him before she is arrested. Humor and New Orleans make this an interesting read.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
LibraryReads for November
The LibraryReads list for November has come out. These are the 10 titles that were voted on my library employees world wide. This list is....well, different. Good titles that I like but a great variety and even one nonfiction.
First, the top vote getter is Faithful by Alice Hoffman. Hoffman is a highly acclaimed author. She often writes in a way that is called 'magic realism'. This work is different but highly effecting. Some have called it a coming of age novel but it is really more than that. It features a young girl (17), Shelby, who is the sidekick to the most popular girl in school. While Shelby was driving them both to a party - they were involved in an accident. Shelby walked away but her friend was comatose. Shelby is unsure how she can live with herself after that. She spends the new years trying to deaden her sense of guilt. Can she find a way to forgive herself?
In no particular order, the rest are:
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen is the conclusion in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy. This series is a blend of traditional Epic Fantasy and dystopian fiction. Kelsea Glynn who has transformed from a naive teenager at the beginning of the series to a truly visionary leader has given herself up to her main enemy in order to keep her people safe. Can her troops rescue her?
Night School by Lee Child which we discussed three weeks ago. It is the twenty first in the Jack Reacher series but this covers Reacher when he was still in the Army. Traditional Reacher looking for the bad guys.
Jayne Ann Krentz has When All the Girls Have Gone on the list. Krentz writes romantic suspense and that is what this title is.When Charlotte goes to tell her stepsister Jocelyn that one of her friends has died, she meets Max Cutler and discovers that Jocelyn is missing. Max and Charlotte investigate and discover that members of Jocelyn's online investment club are being killed. Can the find Jocelyn and the murderer before one of them is killed?
I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb is on the list. Lamb writes works that cover the dark side of American contemporary life but he does it with touches of light humor. Here, Felix Funicello runs a Monday night film club at an old theater. One night, the ghost of a female director of silent film visits him and leads him to revisit scenes from his past. As always, Lamb is insightful and powerful.
Next comes Swing Time by Zadie Smith. Smith writes slow paced, character-driven literary fiction. Here two racially mixed female friends grow up in West London dreaming of becoming dancers. The fact that only one of them has talent initiates a breakup of the friendship. The story goes from West London to West Africa and is in a way a coming of age novel for the unnamed narrator.
Julia Baird has the lone nonfiction work on the list, Victoria: The Queen. Baird is a New York Times journalist and she did extensive research including previously unpublished papers for this title. She presents Victoria as a real woman with the problems of normal women while guiding Britain through a very turbulent time period.
Now Michael Chabon's work, Moonglow. Another work of literary fiction that has comic value also. Here, Chabon bases his story on a week he, himself, spent sitting with his own grandfather when he was close to his death and had his tongue loosened by pain killers. Her, the grandfather tells stories, not in chronological order but as the occur to him - it is story telling in it's original form. Some funny, some sad, just get ready to sit down and enjoy.
Here is a different one for you - Warren Ellis' Normal. Dark literary fiction. Adam Dearden is a futurist who's look into the future has caused mental health issues. Luckily for him, there is a mental hospital for disturbed futurist called Normal Head. Shortly after Adam arrives, a patient disappears form his locked room leaving behind a pile of insects. Upon investigation, Adam discovers a conspiracy. Said to be riveting.
Lastly, another unexpected one, Carol Birch's Orphans of the Carnival. Birch writes historical fiction and that is what this title is. This follows the lift of Julia Pastrana, a real woman, who sang, danced, rode horses and spoke 3 languages. She was afflicted by a genetic condition which caused her to grow hair over her body and thickened her lips and ears. After being made fun of since she entered society, she decided to travel the world in a carnival. A sad story of how she was treated because of the way she looked during the nineteenth century.
OK - one romance, one straight mystery, one nonfiction and one fantasy - the rest are literary fiction. More than usual this month. Hope one interests you.
First, the top vote getter is Faithful by Alice Hoffman. Hoffman is a highly acclaimed author. She often writes in a way that is called 'magic realism'. This work is different but highly effecting. Some have called it a coming of age novel but it is really more than that. It features a young girl (17), Shelby, who is the sidekick to the most popular girl in school. While Shelby was driving them both to a party - they were involved in an accident. Shelby walked away but her friend was comatose. Shelby is unsure how she can live with herself after that. She spends the new years trying to deaden her sense of guilt. Can she find a way to forgive herself?
In no particular order, the rest are:
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen is the conclusion in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy. This series is a blend of traditional Epic Fantasy and dystopian fiction. Kelsea Glynn who has transformed from a naive teenager at the beginning of the series to a truly visionary leader has given herself up to her main enemy in order to keep her people safe. Can her troops rescue her?
Night School by Lee Child which we discussed three weeks ago. It is the twenty first in the Jack Reacher series but this covers Reacher when he was still in the Army. Traditional Reacher looking for the bad guys.
Jayne Ann Krentz has When All the Girls Have Gone on the list. Krentz writes romantic suspense and that is what this title is.When Charlotte goes to tell her stepsister Jocelyn that one of her friends has died, she meets Max Cutler and discovers that Jocelyn is missing. Max and Charlotte investigate and discover that members of Jocelyn's online investment club are being killed. Can the find Jocelyn and the murderer before one of them is killed?
I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb is on the list. Lamb writes works that cover the dark side of American contemporary life but he does it with touches of light humor. Here, Felix Funicello runs a Monday night film club at an old theater. One night, the ghost of a female director of silent film visits him and leads him to revisit scenes from his past. As always, Lamb is insightful and powerful.
Next comes Swing Time by Zadie Smith. Smith writes slow paced, character-driven literary fiction. Here two racially mixed female friends grow up in West London dreaming of becoming dancers. The fact that only one of them has talent initiates a breakup of the friendship. The story goes from West London to West Africa and is in a way a coming of age novel for the unnamed narrator.
Julia Baird has the lone nonfiction work on the list, Victoria: The Queen. Baird is a New York Times journalist and she did extensive research including previously unpublished papers for this title. She presents Victoria as a real woman with the problems of normal women while guiding Britain through a very turbulent time period.
Now Michael Chabon's work, Moonglow. Another work of literary fiction that has comic value also. Here, Chabon bases his story on a week he, himself, spent sitting with his own grandfather when he was close to his death and had his tongue loosened by pain killers. Her, the grandfather tells stories, not in chronological order but as the occur to him - it is story telling in it's original form. Some funny, some sad, just get ready to sit down and enjoy.
Here is a different one for you - Warren Ellis' Normal. Dark literary fiction. Adam Dearden is a futurist who's look into the future has caused mental health issues. Luckily for him, there is a mental hospital for disturbed futurist called Normal Head. Shortly after Adam arrives, a patient disappears form his locked room leaving behind a pile of insects. Upon investigation, Adam discovers a conspiracy. Said to be riveting.
Lastly, another unexpected one, Carol Birch's Orphans of the Carnival. Birch writes historical fiction and that is what this title is. This follows the lift of Julia Pastrana, a real woman, who sang, danced, rode horses and spoke 3 languages. She was afflicted by a genetic condition which caused her to grow hair over her body and thickened her lips and ears. After being made fun of since she entered society, she decided to travel the world in a carnival. A sad story of how she was treated because of the way she looked during the nineteenth century.
OK - one romance, one straight mystery, one nonfiction and one fantasy - the rest are literary fiction. More than usual this month. Hope one interests you.
Friday, October 14, 2016
More November Titles
On we go with more titles out next month. This week is kind of a mixture of genre.
Clive Cussler has another Dirk Pitt novel coming out on November 15, Odessa Sea. Dirk has been around forever, this is the twenty fourth in the series. He has been described as the Indiana Jones of oceanography. Dirk and his crew are in the Black Sea trying to locate a lost Ottoman shipwreck when they receive a emergency call for help from a freighter. When they arrive, they find only dead bodies and then, an explosive goes off sinking the ship and almost killing Dirk and crew. The adventure picks up from there with Dirk trying to stop the next world war from happening. If you read Cussler, this one would be a must.
Keigo Higashino has Under the Midnight Sun coming out on November 8. The publisher has actually said this one is more social commentary than mystery and compares it to Crime and Punishment. A murder in 1973 Osaka is relentlessly pursued by Sasagkai, the detective, but never solved. Higashino looks about how this act affected not just Sasagkai, but also the son of the victim and the daughter of the prime suspect. Highly acclaimed.
Barry Maitland has Ash Island coming out on November 1. This is the second in a trilogy which focuses on Harry Belltree a homicide detective. Harry is returning to work after a near fatal confrontation in the first book. Because he exposed several corrupt detectives, he has become an embarrassment to the department. Harry is transferred to Newcastle but he is soon dealing with more dead bodies and they could be connected. Maitland, himself, is interesting - born in Australia, he moved with his parents to the UK and that is where he was educated. He was an architect and actually taught architecture at the University of Sheffield and moved back to Australia to teach at the University of Newcastle. Then, he started writing fiction.
Jeffrey Archer has the final volume of the Clifton Chronicles, This Was a Man, coming out on November 8. Archer's series has covered the Clifton family from the early 1900's until the time of Margaret Thatcher. There are plenty of enemies, tragedies, and interesting characters. This continues up until the end when someone dies. Who???? We must read it to find out.
Bill Rancic, who was Donald Trump's first winner on The Apprentice, has written a first novel, First Light. It arrives on November 1 and is described as a romance but most who have read it say there is some romance but it is more about normal people doing extraordinary things in extreme situations. First of all, this is the story a couple tell their son as they are driving to a reunion. The reunion is for the surviving members of a plane crash which occurred 10 years before. Daniel Albrecht and Kerry Egan were on the plane and were engaged and Kerry was pregnant. The plane crashes and Kerry along with other passengers were injured. Daniel and their boss was not and they went for help in blizzard conditions. Not everyone makes it. One reviewer says to have a box of tissues handy.
Lastly, one of my favorite historical authors, Bernard Cornwell has The Flame Bearer coming out on November 29. This is the 10th title in the Saxon Stories series. BBC America has an 8 part series based on the first two books in the series, The Last Kingdom. That television series has been renewed so expect more from the rest of the books. Here, Uhtred returns to England to fight for its future from sworn enemies and the Scots.
OK - there should be something there for most if not everyone. I hope so anyway. Enjoy!
Clive Cussler has another Dirk Pitt novel coming out on November 15, Odessa Sea. Dirk has been around forever, this is the twenty fourth in the series. He has been described as the Indiana Jones of oceanography. Dirk and his crew are in the Black Sea trying to locate a lost Ottoman shipwreck when they receive a emergency call for help from a freighter. When they arrive, they find only dead bodies and then, an explosive goes off sinking the ship and almost killing Dirk and crew. The adventure picks up from there with Dirk trying to stop the next world war from happening. If you read Cussler, this one would be a must.
Keigo Higashino has Under the Midnight Sun coming out on November 8. The publisher has actually said this one is more social commentary than mystery and compares it to Crime and Punishment. A murder in 1973 Osaka is relentlessly pursued by Sasagkai, the detective, but never solved. Higashino looks about how this act affected not just Sasagkai, but also the son of the victim and the daughter of the prime suspect. Highly acclaimed.
Barry Maitland has Ash Island coming out on November 1. This is the second in a trilogy which focuses on Harry Belltree a homicide detective. Harry is returning to work after a near fatal confrontation in the first book. Because he exposed several corrupt detectives, he has become an embarrassment to the department. Harry is transferred to Newcastle but he is soon dealing with more dead bodies and they could be connected. Maitland, himself, is interesting - born in Australia, he moved with his parents to the UK and that is where he was educated. He was an architect and actually taught architecture at the University of Sheffield and moved back to Australia to teach at the University of Newcastle. Then, he started writing fiction.
Jeffrey Archer has the final volume of the Clifton Chronicles, This Was a Man, coming out on November 8. Archer's series has covered the Clifton family from the early 1900's until the time of Margaret Thatcher. There are plenty of enemies, tragedies, and interesting characters. This continues up until the end when someone dies. Who???? We must read it to find out.
Bill Rancic, who was Donald Trump's first winner on The Apprentice, has written a first novel, First Light. It arrives on November 1 and is described as a romance but most who have read it say there is some romance but it is more about normal people doing extraordinary things in extreme situations. First of all, this is the story a couple tell their son as they are driving to a reunion. The reunion is for the surviving members of a plane crash which occurred 10 years before. Daniel Albrecht and Kerry Egan were on the plane and were engaged and Kerry was pregnant. The plane crashes and Kerry along with other passengers were injured. Daniel and their boss was not and they went for help in blizzard conditions. Not everyone makes it. One reviewer says to have a box of tissues handy.
Lastly, one of my favorite historical authors, Bernard Cornwell has The Flame Bearer coming out on November 29. This is the 10th title in the Saxon Stories series. BBC America has an 8 part series based on the first two books in the series, The Last Kingdom. That television series has been renewed so expect more from the rest of the books. Here, Uhtred returns to England to fight for its future from sworn enemies and the Scots.
OK - there should be something there for most if not everyone. I hope so anyway. Enjoy!
Saturday, October 8, 2016
More Thrillers for November
There are several more thrillers coming out in November and they look like they should be pretty good. I will see how many I can get through this time.
First, Christopher Brookmyre has Black Widow coming out on November 1. This is the seventh in the Jack Parlabane series. So Brookmyre writes hard boiled detective fiction with dark (very dark) humor. I have filled in some of his back titles for this series also mainly because many of the titles are funny like "Attach of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks". Parlabane is a Scottish investigative journalist and here, he is asked to investigate a surgeon and activist who was brutally persecuted online before a whirlwind romance and marriage. Then her new husband is killed and she is the suspect. Give Brookmyre a try.
Next we have Andrea Camilleri and I would compare her to Donna Leon. She has her twentieth Commissario Montalbano series, A Voice in the Night, coming out on November 15. These works are perhaps grittier and have a sardonic feel to them unlike Leon but there is a great sense of place (which is Sicily) and complex plotting. Here a manager of a supermarket is found hanging in his office after a robbery and the hanging does not look voluntary. Then, a girl is found murdered in the apartment of an important politician's son. Montalbano's services are required to bring these two cases to a conclusion.
Another import comes from Kjell Eriksson, the Swedish novelist. Stone Coffin comes out on November 22. This is the seventh Ann Lindell mystery and it has been shortlisted for Best Swedish Crime Novel. A young woman and her daughter are struck by an unidentified car and killed. The woman's husband has disappeared. Ann has a mystery to investigate. She discovers that the husband has recently purchased some property in the Dominican Republic and then, a gruesome discovery is made on the property.
OK - for British Victorian mystery fans! Charles Finch has his tenth Charles Lennox mystery coming out on November 1. The Inheritance features, of course, Lennox, the gentleman sleuth who is working as Parliament's house detective when he receives a letter from a friend. When he tries to find him, Gerald Leigh had disappeared. Apparently, years ago, someone had anonymously paid for Leigh's education and Leigh and Lennox had failed to discover who. Now, Leigh was left a large bequest and someone was trying to kill him. Can they find out who was giving him money and why someone wants him dead?
Lastly, Douglas Schofield has Storm Rising coming out on November 29. Schofield is an interesting author. He is a Canadian attorney who has worked in Canada and the Cayman Island where he now lives. His first novel was about a female Florida state prosecutor. This second novel also has a strong female lead. Here, Lucy Hendricks moved to Florida to raise her son after her husband, Jack, a Bayonne, NJ cop, was murdered. Five years later, she is ready to move back and try to show her son who his father really was. Rumors had been flying that Jack was involved with the Mafia. As hurricane Sandy to bearing down on New Jersey, Lucy is investigating what really happened to her husband.
That gives you five to ponder till next week. Hope there is one that interests you. Have a great week.
First, Christopher Brookmyre has Black Widow coming out on November 1. This is the seventh in the Jack Parlabane series. So Brookmyre writes hard boiled detective fiction with dark (very dark) humor. I have filled in some of his back titles for this series also mainly because many of the titles are funny like "Attach of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks". Parlabane is a Scottish investigative journalist and here, he is asked to investigate a surgeon and activist who was brutally persecuted online before a whirlwind romance and marriage. Then her new husband is killed and she is the suspect. Give Brookmyre a try.
Next we have Andrea Camilleri and I would compare her to Donna Leon. She has her twentieth Commissario Montalbano series, A Voice in the Night, coming out on November 15. These works are perhaps grittier and have a sardonic feel to them unlike Leon but there is a great sense of place (which is Sicily) and complex plotting. Here a manager of a supermarket is found hanging in his office after a robbery and the hanging does not look voluntary. Then, a girl is found murdered in the apartment of an important politician's son. Montalbano's services are required to bring these two cases to a conclusion.
Another import comes from Kjell Eriksson, the Swedish novelist. Stone Coffin comes out on November 22. This is the seventh Ann Lindell mystery and it has been shortlisted for Best Swedish Crime Novel. A young woman and her daughter are struck by an unidentified car and killed. The woman's husband has disappeared. Ann has a mystery to investigate. She discovers that the husband has recently purchased some property in the Dominican Republic and then, a gruesome discovery is made on the property.
OK - for British Victorian mystery fans! Charles Finch has his tenth Charles Lennox mystery coming out on November 1. The Inheritance features, of course, Lennox, the gentleman sleuth who is working as Parliament's house detective when he receives a letter from a friend. When he tries to find him, Gerald Leigh had disappeared. Apparently, years ago, someone had anonymously paid for Leigh's education and Leigh and Lennox had failed to discover who. Now, Leigh was left a large bequest and someone was trying to kill him. Can they find out who was giving him money and why someone wants him dead?
Lastly, Douglas Schofield has Storm Rising coming out on November 29. Schofield is an interesting author. He is a Canadian attorney who has worked in Canada and the Cayman Island where he now lives. His first novel was about a female Florida state prosecutor. This second novel also has a strong female lead. Here, Lucy Hendricks moved to Florida to raise her son after her husband, Jack, a Bayonne, NJ cop, was murdered. Five years later, she is ready to move back and try to show her son who his father really was. Rumors had been flying that Jack was involved with the Mafia. As hurricane Sandy to bearing down on New Jersey, Lucy is investigating what really happened to her husband.
That gives you five to ponder till next week. Hope there is one that interests you. Have a great week.
Saturday, October 1, 2016
November's Top Titles
It is October already and time to move on to November titles. November is not usually a big month but there are some big name authors who have titles coming out.
David Baldacci has No Man's Land coming out on November 15. This is the fourth in the John Puller series. Here Puller has to revisit his mother's disappearance 30 years ago because someone told authorities that his father (now suffering from dementia in a VA hospital) killed her. Puller has been threatened with court martial if he interferes but how can he not? Reviewers have said you do not have to read the first three to understand this one. Said to be really quick moving and suspenseful.
Lee Child has Night School coming out on November 7. This is the twenty first in the Jack Reacher series. This one goes back to the late 1990's when Reacher was still in the Army. After receiving a medal, he is sent to a school in McLean, VA. With him are members of the FBI and CIA. He discovers that they are given the mission of finding a Jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany. Reacher takes off for Hamburg with his sidekick, Sergeant Frances Neagely. They discover that an American is offering something for sale to this cell for one million dollars. Now, they have to find all the members of the cell and the American. Fast moving suspense typical of Child.
Michael Connelly has The Wrong Side of Goodbye coming out on November 1. This one is the twenty first in the Harry Bosch series. After being forced to retire from LAPD, Harry is taking free lance PI cases and volunteering for a small police department in San Fernando. One wealthy dying billionaire contacts him to find out if he has an heir. Many years ago, a Mexican girl he was seeing became pregnant but she disappeared before having the child. Does a child exist? And in San Fernando, Harry is tracking a serial rapist. Can he handle both cases? What do you think?
Patricia Cornwell has Chaos coming on November 15. This is the twenty fourth of the Scarpetta series. A 26 year old female seems to have been killed by lightening while riding her bike along the Charles River. Strangely, there wasn't a cloud in the sky at that time. Soon after, Scarpetta starts receiving threatening threatening poems from 'Tailend Charlie'. No one can figure out where they are coming from and the press has whipped public opinion up about Scarpetta's lightening hypothesis calling her a quack. Not much out about this one yet other than the plot.
Janet Evanovich has Turbo Twenty-Three arriving on November 15. Obviously, this is number twenty three in the Stephanie Plum series. Can Stephanie at long last choose between Ranger and Joe? It is doubtful in this one. Stephanie is after a bail jumper who specializes in high jacking 18 wheelers. The latest one was carrying ice cream and a dead body. Ranger asks her to go undercover. Obviously, Joe will not like that.
Lastly, we have James Patterson and Cross the Line coming out on November 3. This is the twenty fourth in the Alex Cross series. When a prominent police official is murdered, Cross is pressured to take the lead in the case. Before he can find a lead, a murder spree across the city starts taking place. The only similarity? All those killed are criminals. There is a murderer out there who thinks he has right on his side. Can Alex find him?
So there are the top names this month. I'll be next next week with some more. Enjoy!
David Baldacci has No Man's Land coming out on November 15. This is the fourth in the John Puller series. Here Puller has to revisit his mother's disappearance 30 years ago because someone told authorities that his father (now suffering from dementia in a VA hospital) killed her. Puller has been threatened with court martial if he interferes but how can he not? Reviewers have said you do not have to read the first three to understand this one. Said to be really quick moving and suspenseful.
Lee Child has Night School coming out on November 7. This is the twenty first in the Jack Reacher series. This one goes back to the late 1990's when Reacher was still in the Army. After receiving a medal, he is sent to a school in McLean, VA. With him are members of the FBI and CIA. He discovers that they are given the mission of finding a Jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany. Reacher takes off for Hamburg with his sidekick, Sergeant Frances Neagely. They discover that an American is offering something for sale to this cell for one million dollars. Now, they have to find all the members of the cell and the American. Fast moving suspense typical of Child.
Michael Connelly has The Wrong Side of Goodbye coming out on November 1. This one is the twenty first in the Harry Bosch series. After being forced to retire from LAPD, Harry is taking free lance PI cases and volunteering for a small police department in San Fernando. One wealthy dying billionaire contacts him to find out if he has an heir. Many years ago, a Mexican girl he was seeing became pregnant but she disappeared before having the child. Does a child exist? And in San Fernando, Harry is tracking a serial rapist. Can he handle both cases? What do you think?
Patricia Cornwell has Chaos coming on November 15. This is the twenty fourth of the Scarpetta series. A 26 year old female seems to have been killed by lightening while riding her bike along the Charles River. Strangely, there wasn't a cloud in the sky at that time. Soon after, Scarpetta starts receiving threatening threatening poems from 'Tailend Charlie'. No one can figure out where they are coming from and the press has whipped public opinion up about Scarpetta's lightening hypothesis calling her a quack. Not much out about this one yet other than the plot.
Janet Evanovich has Turbo Twenty-Three arriving on November 15. Obviously, this is number twenty three in the Stephanie Plum series. Can Stephanie at long last choose between Ranger and Joe? It is doubtful in this one. Stephanie is after a bail jumper who specializes in high jacking 18 wheelers. The latest one was carrying ice cream and a dead body. Ranger asks her to go undercover. Obviously, Joe will not like that.
Lastly, we have James Patterson and Cross the Line coming out on November 3. This is the twenty fourth in the Alex Cross series. When a prominent police official is murdered, Cross is pressured to take the lead in the case. Before he can find a lead, a murder spree across the city starts taking place. The only similarity? All those killed are criminals. There is a murderer out there who thinks he has right on his side. Can Alex find him?
So there are the top names this month. I'll be next next week with some more. Enjoy!
Monday, September 26, 2016
Last of October
Sorry I didn't get this out Saturday but...when I came in, I couldn't get the lights in my office to come on. I just can't type in the dark so....this morning will have to do.
First, I am going to talk about Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt which is coming out on October 4. Occasionally I come across a book that even though not in my preferred genres, I feel compelled to read. This is one of those. Maybe because it takes place in the 70's and is about a teenage girl - that could be the thing that is calling me. Here, Lucy is 16 and a bored high school student who lives with her older 'perfect' sister Charlotte and Iris - their guardian. Lucy and her high school English teacher run away to live on a remote farm in Pennsylvania. Charlotte, who has always been Lucy's caretaker, and Iris - are desperate to find her. Lucy soon finds out that running away may not have been a good idea. The writing is beautiful - the character development is outstanding. It is a compelling read.
Melina Marchetta, who has only written for teens up till now, has her first adult novel coming out on October 11. Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is really a literary who-done-it. Chief Inspector Bish Ortley's daughter is on a touring holiday when Bish gets a phone call about a bombing. He rushes to his injured daughter and is drawn into the investigation. He discovers that 17 year old Violette LeBrac was also on the bus. Bish had put her mother in prison with a life sentence for another bombing 14 years ago. No one knew who the target was and the students were not talking. Bish though, is determined to find the truth.
By Gaslight by Steven Price comes out on October 4. Price first published as a poet so you know that language is lyrical. If you like historical mysteries or works placed in Victorian London - then this one is for you. It takes place in London in 1885. William Pinkerton - following in the footsteps of his father, the famous detective - is after the mysterious thief, Edward Shade. Adam Foole is a gentleman with no background is looking for a lost love. Both end up searching the dark streets of London looking for clues.
Seduced by Randy Wayne White is coming out on October 18. This is the fourth in the Hannah Smith series. Smith is, of course, a fishing guide and part time investigator. In this work, Florida's orange trees are dying. They have been weakened by infestations and genetic manipulations. The only thing that might help them is root stock from the original trees planted by the Spanish conquistadors. Smith is a obvious choice to hunt for this. She is warned that some would kill for this and she finds that it wasn't an exaggeration.
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood comes out on October 11. This is the fourth novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare series. The Hogarth Shakespeare Project has asked authors to create an updated version of one of Shakespeare's plays. Atwood has done a fabulous reinvention of The Tempest. Here, Prospero becomes Felix Phillips, a deposed artistic director of a Shakespeare Festival, who was stabbed in the back by his assistant, Tony. Felix's wife and daughter (Miranda) are dead. Felix, takes on an alias of Mr. Duke and starts to volunteer in a prison. He puts on The Tempest about a Prospero who puts on a play to gain revenge and here, it a play within a play within a play. Said to be the best of the Hogarth series yet.
Lastly, Thomas Keneally of Schindler's List fame, has Napoleon's Last Island. This novel is based on lots of research by Keneally Most of the people and the important events are real. Betsy Balcombe was a child living with her family on St. Helena when Napoleon was exiled there. Her father, William Balcombe was ruined by his friendship with Napoleon and took a position in New South Wales to reclaim his reputation. An interesting time in history
OK - there you go. Hope there is something there for you.
First, I am going to talk about Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt which is coming out on October 4. Occasionally I come across a book that even though not in my preferred genres, I feel compelled to read. This is one of those. Maybe because it takes place in the 70's and is about a teenage girl - that could be the thing that is calling me. Here, Lucy is 16 and a bored high school student who lives with her older 'perfect' sister Charlotte and Iris - their guardian. Lucy and her high school English teacher run away to live on a remote farm in Pennsylvania. Charlotte, who has always been Lucy's caretaker, and Iris - are desperate to find her. Lucy soon finds out that running away may not have been a good idea. The writing is beautiful - the character development is outstanding. It is a compelling read.
Melina Marchetta, who has only written for teens up till now, has her first adult novel coming out on October 11. Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is really a literary who-done-it. Chief Inspector Bish Ortley's daughter is on a touring holiday when Bish gets a phone call about a bombing. He rushes to his injured daughter and is drawn into the investigation. He discovers that 17 year old Violette LeBrac was also on the bus. Bish had put her mother in prison with a life sentence for another bombing 14 years ago. No one knew who the target was and the students were not talking. Bish though, is determined to find the truth.
By Gaslight by Steven Price comes out on October 4. Price first published as a poet so you know that language is lyrical. If you like historical mysteries or works placed in Victorian London - then this one is for you. It takes place in London in 1885. William Pinkerton - following in the footsteps of his father, the famous detective - is after the mysterious thief, Edward Shade. Adam Foole is a gentleman with no background is looking for a lost love. Both end up searching the dark streets of London looking for clues.
Seduced by Randy Wayne White is coming out on October 18. This is the fourth in the Hannah Smith series. Smith is, of course, a fishing guide and part time investigator. In this work, Florida's orange trees are dying. They have been weakened by infestations and genetic manipulations. The only thing that might help them is root stock from the original trees planted by the Spanish conquistadors. Smith is a obvious choice to hunt for this. She is warned that some would kill for this and she finds that it wasn't an exaggeration.
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood comes out on October 11. This is the fourth novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare series. The Hogarth Shakespeare Project has asked authors to create an updated version of one of Shakespeare's plays. Atwood has done a fabulous reinvention of The Tempest. Here, Prospero becomes Felix Phillips, a deposed artistic director of a Shakespeare Festival, who was stabbed in the back by his assistant, Tony. Felix's wife and daughter (Miranda) are dead. Felix, takes on an alias of Mr. Duke and starts to volunteer in a prison. He puts on The Tempest about a Prospero who puts on a play to gain revenge and here, it a play within a play within a play. Said to be the best of the Hogarth series yet.
Lastly, Thomas Keneally of Schindler's List fame, has Napoleon's Last Island. This novel is based on lots of research by Keneally Most of the people and the important events are real. Betsy Balcombe was a child living with her family on St. Helena when Napoleon was exiled there. Her father, William Balcombe was ruined by his friendship with Napoleon and took a position in New South Wales to reclaim his reputation. An interesting time in history
OK - there you go. Hope there is something there for you.
Friday, September 16, 2016
More October Titles
This is going to have to be a quick one this week. Tomorrow is our big Children's Book Festival and we are all working. It is going to be an exciting day but we will be tired tomorrow night. So - here are some more titles coming out in October.
Jefferson Bass has Without Mercy, the tenth in the Body Farm series, coming out on October 4. Jefferson Bass is actually Jon Jefferson, a writer and Dr. Bill Bass, a forensic anthropologist who founded the "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. Obviously, these are going to be dark, disturbing and even gruesome at time works. Here, Bill Brockton, the forensic anthropologist, is working on one crime when he and his assistant find that some one he put behind bars, a vicious serial killer, Nick Satterfield, has escaped. Satterfield wants revenge by harming all Brockton hold dear.
Allen Eskens has The Heavens May Fall coming out also on October 4. Eskens writes intricately plotted and compelling suspense. Here, two good friends are on opposite sides of the case of the death of Jennavieve Pruitt. Max Rupert is sure she was killed by her husband. Attorney Boady Sanden is just as sure that her husband is innocent. Obviously one of them is wrong.
Once again on October 4, Tana French has The Trespasser arriving. This one made the LibraryReads list from last week. It is a continuation of the Dublin Murder Squad series. Antoinette Conway and her partner Steve Moran can't understand why they are being pushed in one direction when their guts tell them something else.
Patrick Hoffman has Every Man a Menace once again coming out on October 4. Hoffman also writes dark and gritty crime fiction. Here Hoffman follows the people involved in transporting a major delivery of Ecstasy (the drug) to San Francisco. This is his second novel focusing on the making, running and distribution of drugs and it's effects.
Lastly for this week, Joe Ide has IQ coming out on October 18. This is a debut novel by Ide who is of Japanese American descent. He grew up in South Central LA but went on to earn a graduate degree. His favorite books growing up were those by Conan Doyle. He was fascinated by the idea that someone could defeat his enemies just because he was intelligent. this work deals with a genius loner living in East Long Beach. He solves the crimes the police can't. It has already been sold to develop into a television series. You might want to get on the wagon before it gets on the screen.
Sorry this has to be so short this week. Hope to see some of you tomorrow at the festival.
Jefferson Bass has Without Mercy, the tenth in the Body Farm series, coming out on October 4. Jefferson Bass is actually Jon Jefferson, a writer and Dr. Bill Bass, a forensic anthropologist who founded the "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. Obviously, these are going to be dark, disturbing and even gruesome at time works. Here, Bill Brockton, the forensic anthropologist, is working on one crime when he and his assistant find that some one he put behind bars, a vicious serial killer, Nick Satterfield, has escaped. Satterfield wants revenge by harming all Brockton hold dear.
Allen Eskens has The Heavens May Fall coming out also on October 4. Eskens writes intricately plotted and compelling suspense. Here, two good friends are on opposite sides of the case of the death of Jennavieve Pruitt. Max Rupert is sure she was killed by her husband. Attorney Boady Sanden is just as sure that her husband is innocent. Obviously one of them is wrong.
Once again on October 4, Tana French has The Trespasser arriving. This one made the LibraryReads list from last week. It is a continuation of the Dublin Murder Squad series. Antoinette Conway and her partner Steve Moran can't understand why they are being pushed in one direction when their guts tell them something else.
Patrick Hoffman has Every Man a Menace once again coming out on October 4. Hoffman also writes dark and gritty crime fiction. Here Hoffman follows the people involved in transporting a major delivery of Ecstasy (the drug) to San Francisco. This is his second novel focusing on the making, running and distribution of drugs and it's effects.
Lastly for this week, Joe Ide has IQ coming out on October 18. This is a debut novel by Ide who is of Japanese American descent. He grew up in South Central LA but went on to earn a graduate degree. His favorite books growing up were those by Conan Doyle. He was fascinated by the idea that someone could defeat his enemies just because he was intelligent. this work deals with a genius loner living in East Long Beach. He solves the crimes the police can't. It has already been sold to develop into a television series. You might want to get on the wagon before it gets on the screen.
Sorry this has to be so short this week. Hope to see some of you tomorrow at the festival.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
October's LibraryReads
There are always some interesting titles on the LibraryReads list. Some might not be my cup of tea but I am sure they are for others. This is one of those months where only a few of them are titles I chose. The number one choice on this months list is News of the World by Paulette Jiles. Jiles' historical novels are always well researched but she is known more for great characterizations. Both are present in this title. An old ex-soldier becomes an itinerant news reader in Texas after the Civil War. Captain Jefferson Kidd would read world event news to the small towns spread throughout Texas. In one, a gentleman he trusted, asked him to return a young 10 year old, kidnapped by Indians when she was 6, back to her parents in Austin. This work claimed quite a few hearts with the reviewers - even those who don't like historical fiction.
Next, in no particular order on the list:
The Trespasser by Tana French. This is the sixth in the Dublin Murder Squad series. This series is always dark and disturbing but also compelling - once you start, you can't put it down. Here a young beautiful girl, Aislinn Murray, is killed and although all clues point to her boyfriend, Antoinette Conway and her partner Steve Moran have doubts. Conway is rough and tough. The rest of the squad would like to get rid of her. So when all clues point one way, Conway wonders if she should look another way.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Picoult likes to examine current day issues through the perspective of fictional stories of everyday people. Here neonatal nurse, Ruth Jefferson, is asked to not touch a newborn's white supremacist's parents. When the baby goes into cardiac distress, Ruth is alone in the department. She hesitates and the baby dies. Now, she is being charged with causing the death of a baby. The story is told from the point of view of Ruth, Ruth's attorney and the newborn's father. Reviewers have called it brilliant and gripping.
Crosstalk by Connie Willis. I like Connie Willis. She writes speculative fiction kind of science fictiony in a way with humor in her dialog. I read a series she wrote about people time travelling back to WWII Britain. It was really good. This one will take a leap of faith at the beginning. It takes place in the relatively near future. There is a procedure that has been invented to telepathically connect couples - boyfriends and girlfriends. The main character, Briddey, undergoes this procedure to connect with her seemingly perfect boyfriend. Unfortunately, she ends up connected with someone else. Quite a dilemma.
The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict. This was kind of surprise to me. I was not it's biggest fan. It is the story of Einstein's first wife, Mileva Maric who was a brilliant physics student with Einstein in university. After marrying Einstein some say she played a big part in his theories - others say she lost her drive for physics.
The Mothers by Brit Bennett. This is a highly regarded debut novel that takes place in an African American community in California. Nadia, a high school senior, is troubled by her mother's suicide and turns to a local pastor's son for comfort. A pregnancy results. The story is about Nadia, the young man, Luke, and Nadia's best friend, Aubrey. It is the story of how the decision that they make this particular year affects their lives. There is the constant question of 'what if'. Reviewers have said things like 'outstanding', 'sage and sad', blindingly good'.
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple. Semple wrote the very popular Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Truthfully, the reviews have been mixed here. Some absolutely loved it, others thought it was so-so. Here were follow one day in the life of Eleanor Flood. Flood, with a young son and married to a hand surgeon, had been a top animator in New York but moved to Seattle with her husband. She has become a neurotic mess. She makes plans for this day to be different but then life happens.
All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris. This is the ninth in the Aurora Teagarden series, the first since 2003. Defined as her most cozy series, it will be interesting to see if that continues. Teagarden.is a librarian who can't help but investigate crime. She is married to a crime writer so...it is a beneficial partnership for all. Disaster stricks her small Georgia town when 4 children disappear from the school soccer field. One of them is Aurora's 15 year old brother. How can she not investigate this one.
Smoke and Mirror by Elly Griffiths. This is the second in the series entitled Magic Men by some and Stephens and Mephisto. Stephens is DI Edgar Stephens and Mephisto is Max Mephisto, a friend of Stevens from WWII and an illusionist. This title takes place in Brighton in the winter of 1951. Max is starring in the play Aladdin but Stevens is concentrating on 2 missing local children who are found dead in the snow with a trail of candy around them. A gruesome crime for sure and one where Stephens again needs Max's help.
Lastly, The Motion of Puppets by Keith Donohue. This will take a leap of faith right from the beginning almost but if you can make it, it is a creepy story that will have you looking at puppets with fear. Kay is a performer at the cirque and her husband, Theo, is a French professor in New York. They are spending their summer in the old section of Quebec. After a late post show dinner, Kay is distracted by a puppet shop which she had never seen opened before and goes inside. She is transformed into a puppet. Her husband searches the city for his missing wife. Can he recognize her in puppet form? Will she want to return to human form? Said to be frightening and dark.
OK - there you go. The 10 titles that come out in October that were the most popular among librarians around the world. I hope one of them grabs your attention.
Next, in no particular order on the list:
The Trespasser by Tana French. This is the sixth in the Dublin Murder Squad series. This series is always dark and disturbing but also compelling - once you start, you can't put it down. Here a young beautiful girl, Aislinn Murray, is killed and although all clues point to her boyfriend, Antoinette Conway and her partner Steve Moran have doubts. Conway is rough and tough. The rest of the squad would like to get rid of her. So when all clues point one way, Conway wonders if she should look another way.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Picoult likes to examine current day issues through the perspective of fictional stories of everyday people. Here neonatal nurse, Ruth Jefferson, is asked to not touch a newborn's white supremacist's parents. When the baby goes into cardiac distress, Ruth is alone in the department. She hesitates and the baby dies. Now, she is being charged with causing the death of a baby. The story is told from the point of view of Ruth, Ruth's attorney and the newborn's father. Reviewers have called it brilliant and gripping.
Crosstalk by Connie Willis. I like Connie Willis. She writes speculative fiction kind of science fictiony in a way with humor in her dialog. I read a series she wrote about people time travelling back to WWII Britain. It was really good. This one will take a leap of faith at the beginning. It takes place in the relatively near future. There is a procedure that has been invented to telepathically connect couples - boyfriends and girlfriends. The main character, Briddey, undergoes this procedure to connect with her seemingly perfect boyfriend. Unfortunately, she ends up connected with someone else. Quite a dilemma.
The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict. This was kind of surprise to me. I was not it's biggest fan. It is the story of Einstein's first wife, Mileva Maric who was a brilliant physics student with Einstein in university. After marrying Einstein some say she played a big part in his theories - others say she lost her drive for physics.
The Mothers by Brit Bennett. This is a highly regarded debut novel that takes place in an African American community in California. Nadia, a high school senior, is troubled by her mother's suicide and turns to a local pastor's son for comfort. A pregnancy results. The story is about Nadia, the young man, Luke, and Nadia's best friend, Aubrey. It is the story of how the decision that they make this particular year affects their lives. There is the constant question of 'what if'. Reviewers have said things like 'outstanding', 'sage and sad', blindingly good'.
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple. Semple wrote the very popular Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Truthfully, the reviews have been mixed here. Some absolutely loved it, others thought it was so-so. Here were follow one day in the life of Eleanor Flood. Flood, with a young son and married to a hand surgeon, had been a top animator in New York but moved to Seattle with her husband. She has become a neurotic mess. She makes plans for this day to be different but then life happens.
All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris. This is the ninth in the Aurora Teagarden series, the first since 2003. Defined as her most cozy series, it will be interesting to see if that continues. Teagarden.is a librarian who can't help but investigate crime. She is married to a crime writer so...it is a beneficial partnership for all. Disaster stricks her small Georgia town when 4 children disappear from the school soccer field. One of them is Aurora's 15 year old brother. How can she not investigate this one.
Smoke and Mirror by Elly Griffiths. This is the second in the series entitled Magic Men by some and Stephens and Mephisto. Stephens is DI Edgar Stephens and Mephisto is Max Mephisto, a friend of Stevens from WWII and an illusionist. This title takes place in Brighton in the winter of 1951. Max is starring in the play Aladdin but Stevens is concentrating on 2 missing local children who are found dead in the snow with a trail of candy around them. A gruesome crime for sure and one where Stephens again needs Max's help.
Lastly, The Motion of Puppets by Keith Donohue. This will take a leap of faith right from the beginning almost but if you can make it, it is a creepy story that will have you looking at puppets with fear. Kay is a performer at the cirque and her husband, Theo, is a French professor in New York. They are spending their summer in the old section of Quebec. After a late post show dinner, Kay is distracted by a puppet shop which she had never seen opened before and goes inside. She is transformed into a puppet. Her husband searches the city for his missing wife. Can he recognize her in puppet form? Will she want to return to human form? Said to be frightening and dark.
OK - there you go. The 10 titles that come out in October that were the most popular among librarians around the world. I hope one of them grabs your attention.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
October Big Names (and there are a lot of them)
OK - October is a BIG month. I know that many of you are waiting for some of these already but...just in case you missed it coming out, here are the big name authors who have titles coming out in October.
Order To Kill is the continuation of the Mitch Rapp series originated by Vince Flynn and written by Kyle Mills. This will be out on October 11. Here Rapp is trying to chase down Pakistani nukes so they don't come under the control of terrorists or Russia. This is Mills second Rapp title.
John Grisham has The Whistler coming out on October 25. Lacy Stoltz is a lawyer and an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct when she is assigned a case presented by Greg Myers, a previously disbarred lawyer. He has a client who says a judge helped the Coast Mafia to finance a casino on Native American land and all, including the judge, are taking a good chunk of the profits. If correct, the whistle blower will receive a bunch of money but....there is also a lot of danger.
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen have Night Watch also coming out on October 25.This is the fourth in the Kendra Mitchell series. Mitchell had been blind but a new medical procedure gave her sight. She is an investigator that is in high demand. Her latest case, however, deals with the doctor who gave her her sight back. He had come to visit and then disappeared and one of his associates was killed in the mountains. What is going on?
$10,000,000 Marriage Proposal by James Paterson and Hilary Liftin comes on October 4. A billboard in LA proposes giving $10,000,000 to the woman who will marry a wealthy businessman who says he doesn't have time to look. Three women are interested. Could this be real????
John Sandford has Escape Clause coming out on October 18.This is the ninth in the Virgil Flowers series. Here two Siberian tigers go missing from the Minnesota Zoo. Virgil is suppose to find them before they are turned into body parts for the Chinese market. Also, Virgil's girlfriend, Frankie's sister arrived. Sparkle, yes, that is her name, is there is do research on migrant workers. Someone really doesn't want the research done - plus - Sparkle kind of likes Virgil and Frankie is not pleased.
Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks comes out on Oct 4. Russell Green had it all - a beautiful wife, a 6 year old daughter, a challenging career and a great home in Charlotte. Then - he lost his job and his wife. He is left with his daughter and the task is overwhelming. It is a new life for Green.
Last but not least, Stuart Woods has Sex, Lies, and Serious Money coming out on October 25. This is the 39th in the Stone Barrington series. No real word on the plot here other than Stone is about to learn that sometimes easy money, isn't easy.
You can see that the big names are really big this month. If you haven't got your name on their lists yet - now is the time.
Order To Kill is the continuation of the Mitch Rapp series originated by Vince Flynn and written by Kyle Mills. This will be out on October 11. Here Rapp is trying to chase down Pakistani nukes so they don't come under the control of terrorists or Russia. This is Mills second Rapp title.
John Grisham has The Whistler coming out on October 25. Lacy Stoltz is a lawyer and an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct when she is assigned a case presented by Greg Myers, a previously disbarred lawyer. He has a client who says a judge helped the Coast Mafia to finance a casino on Native American land and all, including the judge, are taking a good chunk of the profits. If correct, the whistle blower will receive a bunch of money but....there is also a lot of danger.
Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen have Night Watch also coming out on October 25.This is the fourth in the Kendra Mitchell series. Mitchell had been blind but a new medical procedure gave her sight. She is an investigator that is in high demand. Her latest case, however, deals with the doctor who gave her her sight back. He had come to visit and then disappeared and one of his associates was killed in the mountains. What is going on?
$10,000,000 Marriage Proposal by James Paterson and Hilary Liftin comes on October 4. A billboard in LA proposes giving $10,000,000 to the woman who will marry a wealthy businessman who says he doesn't have time to look. Three women are interested. Could this be real????
John Sandford has Escape Clause coming out on October 18.This is the ninth in the Virgil Flowers series. Here two Siberian tigers go missing from the Minnesota Zoo. Virgil is suppose to find them before they are turned into body parts for the Chinese market. Also, Virgil's girlfriend, Frankie's sister arrived. Sparkle, yes, that is her name, is there is do research on migrant workers. Someone really doesn't want the research done - plus - Sparkle kind of likes Virgil and Frankie is not pleased.
Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks comes out on Oct 4. Russell Green had it all - a beautiful wife, a 6 year old daughter, a challenging career and a great home in Charlotte. Then - he lost his job and his wife. He is left with his daughter and the task is overwhelming. It is a new life for Green.
Last but not least, Stuart Woods has Sex, Lies, and Serious Money coming out on October 25. This is the 39th in the Stone Barrington series. No real word on the plot here other than Stone is about to learn that sometimes easy money, isn't easy.
You can see that the big names are really big this month. If you haven't got your name on their lists yet - now is the time.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Last Post about September Titles
Can't believe I will start on October titles next week but.....here we are at the end of August so I guess I have to believe it. I'm going to try to cover some quite quickly today. Let's see what we have left.
Todd Moss has Ghosts of Havana coming out on September 6. This is the third in the Judd Ryker series. What makes this series interesting is the Moss was a high ranking Department of State diplomat in West Africa so he understands the workings of the government. Moss' first two Ryker books took place in Africa but here, the place is Cuba. When 4 sport fishermen stray into Cuban waters and are imprisoned, Ryker, as the State Department Crisis Manager, is sent to deal with the incident. But the more he looks, the more he wonders what is actually going on.
Red Right Hand by Chris Holm comes out on September 13. This is the second in the Michael Henricks series after The Killing Kind. Hendricks is an paid assassin who kills assassins. When their is a terrorist attack on the Golden Gate Bridge, some mobile video showed the world that an FBI informant who they believed to be dead, was actually alive and well. He was supposed to testify against a crime syndicate called The Council. The FBI is only interested in catching the terrorists so Special Agent Charlie Thomson asks Michael Henricks to protest the witness. Compelling, fast paced and action-packed according to reviewers. Should you read the first one first? Most of the reviewers have.
I am just going to mention the next one because it is an interesting work on nonfiction but....well, you would have to want a real close view of the US education system. Nicholson Baker, an award winning author, spent a year as a substitute teacher with a school system in Maine. In Substitute, coming out on September 6, he describes his experience and his impression of todays public school system.
Sophie Hannah has Closed Casket coming out on September 6. This is the second in the New Hercule Poirot Novel series after The Monogram Murders. Here Poirot with help from Scotland Yard inspector Edward Catchpool solve a murder that takes place at an old rich, aristocrat lady's lavish party in the Irish countryside. Reviewers have said this one is even better than the first one and at times, you forget that you are not reading Christie.
Ron Rash has The Risen also coming out on September 6. When I think of Rash, I think of moody Appalachian mountain fiction and this meets that criteria. This story takes place in the Asheville, NC area and concerns two brothers. One, Eugene, a failed alcoholic author whose wife and daughter have left him and the other, Bill, a successful neurosurgeon. Back in the summer of 1969, a wild child Liegeia who had been sent to the town from Daytona Beach, in punishment - introduced both to drugs, alcohol and sex. Then, suddenly, she disappeared. What actually happened that summer? Rash's writing is lyrical with a real sense of place.
Lastly, again on September 6, Carl Hiaasen has Razor Girl arriving. As usual, it is filled with wild characters. Here Andrew Yancy lost his detective badge when he had a Dust Busting incident with his ex-lover's husband. Now, he inspects restaurants in Key West but wants to get back to his old job. He decides to try to solve a murder. Most of the enjoyment of reading Hiaasen comes from meeting the really outlandish characters he invents. This title certainly has that. So if you like humor or sarcasm with your suspense, try this one.
OK - those are the September titles from me. Hope there is something that interests you.
Todd Moss has Ghosts of Havana coming out on September 6. This is the third in the Judd Ryker series. What makes this series interesting is the Moss was a high ranking Department of State diplomat in West Africa so he understands the workings of the government. Moss' first two Ryker books took place in Africa but here, the place is Cuba. When 4 sport fishermen stray into Cuban waters and are imprisoned, Ryker, as the State Department Crisis Manager, is sent to deal with the incident. But the more he looks, the more he wonders what is actually going on.
Red Right Hand by Chris Holm comes out on September 13. This is the second in the Michael Henricks series after The Killing Kind. Hendricks is an paid assassin who kills assassins. When their is a terrorist attack on the Golden Gate Bridge, some mobile video showed the world that an FBI informant who they believed to be dead, was actually alive and well. He was supposed to testify against a crime syndicate called The Council. The FBI is only interested in catching the terrorists so Special Agent Charlie Thomson asks Michael Henricks to protest the witness. Compelling, fast paced and action-packed according to reviewers. Should you read the first one first? Most of the reviewers have.
I am just going to mention the next one because it is an interesting work on nonfiction but....well, you would have to want a real close view of the US education system. Nicholson Baker, an award winning author, spent a year as a substitute teacher with a school system in Maine. In Substitute, coming out on September 6, he describes his experience and his impression of todays public school system.
Sophie Hannah has Closed Casket coming out on September 6. This is the second in the New Hercule Poirot Novel series after The Monogram Murders. Here Poirot with help from Scotland Yard inspector Edward Catchpool solve a murder that takes place at an old rich, aristocrat lady's lavish party in the Irish countryside. Reviewers have said this one is even better than the first one and at times, you forget that you are not reading Christie.
Ron Rash has The Risen also coming out on September 6. When I think of Rash, I think of moody Appalachian mountain fiction and this meets that criteria. This story takes place in the Asheville, NC area and concerns two brothers. One, Eugene, a failed alcoholic author whose wife and daughter have left him and the other, Bill, a successful neurosurgeon. Back in the summer of 1969, a wild child Liegeia who had been sent to the town from Daytona Beach, in punishment - introduced both to drugs, alcohol and sex. Then, suddenly, she disappeared. What actually happened that summer? Rash's writing is lyrical with a real sense of place.
Lastly, again on September 6, Carl Hiaasen has Razor Girl arriving. As usual, it is filled with wild characters. Here Andrew Yancy lost his detective badge when he had a Dust Busting incident with his ex-lover's husband. Now, he inspects restaurants in Key West but wants to get back to his old job. He decides to try to solve a murder. Most of the enjoyment of reading Hiaasen comes from meeting the really outlandish characters he invents. This title certainly has that. So if you like humor or sarcasm with your suspense, try this one.
OK - those are the September titles from me. Hope there is something that interests you.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
More September Titles
So this week, I am going to do mysteries, suspense and thrillers that will be out next month. There are enough to dedicate this entry to them even without the ones I've already told you about.
Because I'm Watching by Christina Dodd comes out on September 6. Dodd writes romantic suspense among other genres and this fall in that genre. Mad Maddie, Madeline Hewitson, has survived a college dorm massacre; been accused of the murder of her lover; and now has driven her car into the house of Jacob Denisov. Jacob has quite a back story too.He blames himself for the troubles in his past and is trying to come up with the nerve to commit suicide. Then Maddie happens. Jacob begins suspecting that she isn't crazy but that someone is trying to convince her she is.
Elsa Hart has The White Mirror also arriving on September 6. This is a follow up to a title I loved, Jade Dragon Mountain. If this one has the wonderful sense of place and lushness of the first, it will be a winner for me. Li Du was an exiled imperial librarian but after the first book, he has become a free traveler. He accompanies a trade caravan which happens upon a dead monk with a strange image painted on his skin. Because of a snowstorm, the caravan and others are forced to take shelter in the local manor. Li Du finds clues which lead him to believe the monk was murdered and did not commit suicide. His investigation brings him to realize some hard truths about himself. Reviewers have praised this one highly -the said things like "the book is a fascinating look at 18th century China, its culture, religion, and the people's way of life." and "This is an excellent series with wonderful atmosphere, intelligent content, and beautiful writing." I highly encourage anyone who like historical mysteries to give this one a try. It can be read as a standalone.
An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson comes out on September 13. This is the 12th in the Walt Longmire series. Walt is the Sheriff of Absaroka, Wyoming and he and his friend Henry Standing Bear travel to Hulett, Wyoming to join a motorcycle rally. While there, Walt is asked to assist on an accident investigation. Things get very complicated when dealing with biker gangs, undercover ATF agents, neo-Nazis and other gun-obsessed people. Henry likes to quote Sherlock Holmes and the title comes from one Henry loves to quote, "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact." If you read Johnson, you won't want to miss this one.
Gilly Macmillan has The Perfect Girl arriving on September 6. If you read her debut novel, What She Knew, you will for sure want to give this one a try. Here, Zoe Maisey is a 17 year old musical prodigy. When she was 14, she made a horrible mistake that ended with 3 teenagers being dead. She has served time, her parents got divorced, and she and her mother now live with a new step father who also has a son who is a musical prodigy. Unfortunately, the new father and brother have not heard about Zoe's past. During a big recital, one of the parents of the dead teens arrives and announces the secret. Somehow, at the end of the evening, Zoe's mother ends up dead. Who????? Why?????
Presumption of Guilt by Archer Mayor arrives on September 27. This is the 27th Joe Gunther novel. Here, a 40 year old skeleton is found encased in concrete at a decommissioned nuclear energy site. Gunther, the head of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, gets the case which quickly goes from missing person to murder. The victim was Hank Mitchell and Gunther starts talking to people who knew him. Then, right after talking to one of them, the man is shot and killed AND a young police officer whose father is a VBI investigator is kidnapped. Apparently, even after 40 years, there are people who are willing to kill to keep the murderer safe.
Lastly, Stuart Neville has So Say the Fallen coming out on September 20. This is the second in the series taking place in Ireland and featuring Detective Chief Inspector Serena Flanagan. During her last case, her home had been invaded and her husband attacked. Her family has been unable to put this behind them and Serena is afraid they are going to leave. Then, she is asked to sign off on the supposed suicide of a severely disabled local businessman. On arriving, she finds the widow being comforted by the local reverend who is a close friend. Alarm bells start going off for Serena and she suspects foul play however, there is no evidence. Without support, she has to go forth on her own. Said to be a real page turner with a strong plot and believable characters.
Hope there is something here which tempts you. Only one more week before we move on to October. That is hard to believe. Enjoy!
Because I'm Watching by Christina Dodd comes out on September 6. Dodd writes romantic suspense among other genres and this fall in that genre. Mad Maddie, Madeline Hewitson, has survived a college dorm massacre; been accused of the murder of her lover; and now has driven her car into the house of Jacob Denisov. Jacob has quite a back story too.He blames himself for the troubles in his past and is trying to come up with the nerve to commit suicide. Then Maddie happens. Jacob begins suspecting that she isn't crazy but that someone is trying to convince her she is.
Elsa Hart has The White Mirror also arriving on September 6. This is a follow up to a title I loved, Jade Dragon Mountain. If this one has the wonderful sense of place and lushness of the first, it will be a winner for me. Li Du was an exiled imperial librarian but after the first book, he has become a free traveler. He accompanies a trade caravan which happens upon a dead monk with a strange image painted on his skin. Because of a snowstorm, the caravan and others are forced to take shelter in the local manor. Li Du finds clues which lead him to believe the monk was murdered and did not commit suicide. His investigation brings him to realize some hard truths about himself. Reviewers have praised this one highly -the said things like "the book is a fascinating look at 18th century China, its culture, religion, and the people's way of life." and "This is an excellent series with wonderful atmosphere, intelligent content, and beautiful writing." I highly encourage anyone who like historical mysteries to give this one a try. It can be read as a standalone.
An Obvious Fact by Craig Johnson comes out on September 13. This is the 12th in the Walt Longmire series. Walt is the Sheriff of Absaroka, Wyoming and he and his friend Henry Standing Bear travel to Hulett, Wyoming to join a motorcycle rally. While there, Walt is asked to assist on an accident investigation. Things get very complicated when dealing with biker gangs, undercover ATF agents, neo-Nazis and other gun-obsessed people. Henry likes to quote Sherlock Holmes and the title comes from one Henry loves to quote, "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact." If you read Johnson, you won't want to miss this one.
Gilly Macmillan has The Perfect Girl arriving on September 6. If you read her debut novel, What She Knew, you will for sure want to give this one a try. Here, Zoe Maisey is a 17 year old musical prodigy. When she was 14, she made a horrible mistake that ended with 3 teenagers being dead. She has served time, her parents got divorced, and she and her mother now live with a new step father who also has a son who is a musical prodigy. Unfortunately, the new father and brother have not heard about Zoe's past. During a big recital, one of the parents of the dead teens arrives and announces the secret. Somehow, at the end of the evening, Zoe's mother ends up dead. Who????? Why?????
Presumption of Guilt by Archer Mayor arrives on September 27. This is the 27th Joe Gunther novel. Here, a 40 year old skeleton is found encased in concrete at a decommissioned nuclear energy site. Gunther, the head of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, gets the case which quickly goes from missing person to murder. The victim was Hank Mitchell and Gunther starts talking to people who knew him. Then, right after talking to one of them, the man is shot and killed AND a young police officer whose father is a VBI investigator is kidnapped. Apparently, even after 40 years, there are people who are willing to kill to keep the murderer safe.
Lastly, Stuart Neville has So Say the Fallen coming out on September 20. This is the second in the series taking place in Ireland and featuring Detective Chief Inspector Serena Flanagan. During her last case, her home had been invaded and her husband attacked. Her family has been unable to put this behind them and Serena is afraid they are going to leave. Then, she is asked to sign off on the supposed suicide of a severely disabled local businessman. On arriving, she finds the widow being comforted by the local reverend who is a close friend. Alarm bells start going off for Serena and she suspects foul play however, there is no evidence. Without support, she has to go forth on her own. Said to be a real page turner with a strong plot and believable characters.
Hope there is something here which tempts you. Only one more week before we move on to October. That is hard to believe. Enjoy!
Saturday, August 13, 2016
LibraryReads for September
It is that time of the month - the time when we put out the top ten most appreciated titles that come out in September. Leading the way this month is an adult debut novel from Gayle Forman, Leave Me.
Foreman has been a journalist and a young adult novelist but this is her first novel for adults and it is a good one. Maribeth Klein is a harried working mother who doesn't even realize when she has had a heart attack. Her family is far from supportive and her recovery seems to be more of an inconvenience than a process. Maribeth then packs her suitcase and leaves her 4 year old twins; husband and job behind. Wonderful character studies with a narrator that you support even if you don't like her.
The rest in no particular order:
Jenny Colgan's The Bookshop on the Corner made the list. Colgan writes about women and her character studies are amusing and come across as real. This story has to do with a librarian - so of course librarians are going to love it. Nina Redmond's job as a librarian disappeared so she bought a van and converted it into a type of bookmobile and travels from place to place to put the perfect book into people's hands. The romance of the road, the romance of good books and just plain romance.
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett made the list. Patchett writes character driven, bittersweet fiction and this is certainly one of those. It follows 5 decades in 2 families - the Cousins and the Keatings. Bert Cousins leaves his wife with 4 children for Beverly Keating and Beverly with two children of her own, leaves her husband. It is the story of the families and most particularly the children. Said to be equal measure of humor and heartbreak.
Dinah Jefferies has The Tea Planter's Wife on the list. Jefferies is a British historical fiction author and has not been widely published in the US. Her work is atmospheric or as I like to say has a great sense of place. Here the place is Ceylon. 19 year old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich widower and she is anxious to start her life on a tea plantation in Ceylon. When she arrives, she finds the plantation workers resentful, the neighbors unfriendly and then she discovers a dusty trunk and realizes her husband has secrets.
Sharon Bolton's Daisy in Chains which I just talked about in my last blog made the list. In case you forgot....Hamish Wolfe is handsome and charismatic and a convicted serial killer. Maggie Rose is a true crime writer and a lawyer who has been able to get convicted killer out of prison. Hamish is trying to use his charms to win Maggie's help. How bad is he?????
Thomas Mullen has Darktown on the list. Mullen tends to write historical thrillers. He has covered the Great Depression and the 1918 flu epidemic. Now, he covers the integration of the Atlanta Police Force in 1948. When a black woman who was last seen in a car driven by a white man turns up fatally beaten, only 2 black cops seem to car, Boggs and Smith. They fight all sides in order to find her killer.
The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman is on the list. Cogman writes fantasy or steampunk fiction. This is the second in a series which started with The Invisible Library. People who work in libraries generally like titles that feature librarians as this series does. The series takes place in an alternate version of Victorian London where the 'hero' is Irene, a Librarian/spy who collects fiction for the Library. Here here partner, Kai - a dragon, is kidnapped and Irene must rescue him or face the collapse of civilization.
Now comes my favorite title of the month - not necessarily favorite book but the title - well - you'll see. Thrice The Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley, the 8th in the Flavia de Luce series, is on the list. In this work, Flavia is expelled and upon sailing home finds her father in the hospital and her sisters looming over her. When she is sent on an errand and finds a dead body, she is overjoyed with the thought of a case to investigate.
Blood At The Root by Patrick Phillips is the only nonfiction work on the list this month. Phillips digs into the history of the racial cleansing in 1912 of Forsyth County, Georgia. 3 young African American laborers were accused of raping and murdering a white girl. The violence that erupted had all three hanged and over 1,000 black citizens chased out of the county. Phillips grew up in Forsyth County and he is a poet and a professor. He manages to cover violence in a vivid and unforgettable way.
Lastly, Kate Saunders has The Secrets of Wishtide on the list. Saunders writes historical mysteries with strong female characters and this is certainly bound to be one. In probably the start of a series, we are introduced to Laetitia Rodd, a widow who works as an investigator in 1850's London. She is asked to find out the history of a prospective bride but the more she looks, the more secrets she finds.
OK - there are the LibraryReads for the month of September. Hope one of them tempts you.
Foreman has been a journalist and a young adult novelist but this is her first novel for adults and it is a good one. Maribeth Klein is a harried working mother who doesn't even realize when she has had a heart attack. Her family is far from supportive and her recovery seems to be more of an inconvenience than a process. Maribeth then packs her suitcase and leaves her 4 year old twins; husband and job behind. Wonderful character studies with a narrator that you support even if you don't like her.
The rest in no particular order:
Jenny Colgan's The Bookshop on the Corner made the list. Colgan writes about women and her character studies are amusing and come across as real. This story has to do with a librarian - so of course librarians are going to love it. Nina Redmond's job as a librarian disappeared so she bought a van and converted it into a type of bookmobile and travels from place to place to put the perfect book into people's hands. The romance of the road, the romance of good books and just plain romance.
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett made the list. Patchett writes character driven, bittersweet fiction and this is certainly one of those. It follows 5 decades in 2 families - the Cousins and the Keatings. Bert Cousins leaves his wife with 4 children for Beverly Keating and Beverly with two children of her own, leaves her husband. It is the story of the families and most particularly the children. Said to be equal measure of humor and heartbreak.
Dinah Jefferies has The Tea Planter's Wife on the list. Jefferies is a British historical fiction author and has not been widely published in the US. Her work is atmospheric or as I like to say has a great sense of place. Here the place is Ceylon. 19 year old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich widower and she is anxious to start her life on a tea plantation in Ceylon. When she arrives, she finds the plantation workers resentful, the neighbors unfriendly and then she discovers a dusty trunk and realizes her husband has secrets.
Sharon Bolton's Daisy in Chains which I just talked about in my last blog made the list. In case you forgot....Hamish Wolfe is handsome and charismatic and a convicted serial killer. Maggie Rose is a true crime writer and a lawyer who has been able to get convicted killer out of prison. Hamish is trying to use his charms to win Maggie's help. How bad is he?????
Thomas Mullen has Darktown on the list. Mullen tends to write historical thrillers. He has covered the Great Depression and the 1918 flu epidemic. Now, he covers the integration of the Atlanta Police Force in 1948. When a black woman who was last seen in a car driven by a white man turns up fatally beaten, only 2 black cops seem to car, Boggs and Smith. They fight all sides in order to find her killer.
The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman is on the list. Cogman writes fantasy or steampunk fiction. This is the second in a series which started with The Invisible Library. People who work in libraries generally like titles that feature librarians as this series does. The series takes place in an alternate version of Victorian London where the 'hero' is Irene, a Librarian/spy who collects fiction for the Library. Here here partner, Kai - a dragon, is kidnapped and Irene must rescue him or face the collapse of civilization.
Now comes my favorite title of the month - not necessarily favorite book but the title - well - you'll see. Thrice The Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley, the 8th in the Flavia de Luce series, is on the list. In this work, Flavia is expelled and upon sailing home finds her father in the hospital and her sisters looming over her. When she is sent on an errand and finds a dead body, she is overjoyed with the thought of a case to investigate.
Blood At The Root by Patrick Phillips is the only nonfiction work on the list this month. Phillips digs into the history of the racial cleansing in 1912 of Forsyth County, Georgia. 3 young African American laborers were accused of raping and murdering a white girl. The violence that erupted had all three hanged and over 1,000 black citizens chased out of the county. Phillips grew up in Forsyth County and he is a poet and a professor. He manages to cover violence in a vivid and unforgettable way.
Lastly, Kate Saunders has The Secrets of Wishtide on the list. Saunders writes historical mysteries with strong female characters and this is certainly bound to be one. In probably the start of a series, we are introduced to Laetitia Rodd, a widow who works as an investigator in 1850's London. She is asked to find out the history of a prospective bride but the more she looks, the more secrets she finds.
OK - there are the LibraryReads for the month of September. Hope one of them tempts you.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
September Titles
OK - here we continue with the authors who didn't make the major list last week. There are some interesting ones and some variety. Let's see what's coming!
Jennifer Chiaverini finished her Elm Creek Quilts series and has produced Fates and Traitors: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth. It comes out on September 13. Here she examines Booth through the eyes of his mother, his sister, the senator's daughter who loved him and a Confederate widow , Mary Surratt. If you read historical fiction, reviewers say this is a must read.
J.A. Jance has Downfall, the 17th in the Joanna Brady series, coming out on September 6. Brady is pregnant, up for reelection and her mother and stepfather have been murdered. Still, she feels compelled to investigate the strange suicide? murder? of two woman who fell from a nearby peak.
M.C. Beaton returns with the 27th in the Agatha Raisin cozy series, Pushing Up Daisies, on September 1. Lord Bellington is murdered after advertising that he was turning the community garden into a housing project. His son is suspect number one but the son hires Agatha to find the real killer. Agatha as always has lots of help from her friends in the community. Then, the police stumble across another body. Those who love this series will definitely love this one.
Sharon Bolton, who published originally under her initials, S. J., has Daisy in Chains coming out on September 20. Hamish Wolfe is handsome and charismatic but he is also a convicted serial killer. Maggie Rose is a true crime writer but also a barrister of acclaim having gotten several convicted killers off on appeal. Hamish wants Maggie to do the same for him. Maggie is trying to steel herself from his charm. Could he possibly be innocent? Reviewers in Britain (where it came out earlier this summer) have praised it saying if you read one thriller this year, it should be this one.
The Emerald Lie by Ken Bruen comes out on August 30, 2016. The 12th in the Jack Taylor series has the addicted, ex-cop investigating a murderous Cambridge graduate who exacts revenge on people using bad grammar and he is approached by a father who wants Jack to exact revenge on those responsible for his daughter's rape and murder. Jack is busy and the work is full of the black humor for which Ken Bruen is known.
Lastly, Reed Farrel Coleman continues Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series with Robert B. Parker's Debt To Pay on September 13. Here, Stone is preoccupied with his own personal problems to include is ex-wife, Jenn, remarrying when he is surprised by the murder of a major Boston crime boss. Stone thinks it is Mr. Peeper who has vowed revenge on the mob, Stone and also his ex-wife. Can revenge be interrupted. A strong entry in the series.
OK - this gives you some choices to review. Have a great rest of the week.
The Emerald Lie by Ken Bruen comes out on August 30, 2016. The 12th in the Jack Taylor series has the addicted, ex-cop investigating a murderous Cambridge graduate who exacts revenge on people using bad grammar and he is approached by a father who wants Jack to exact revenge on those responsible for his daughter's rape and murder. Jack is busy and the work is full of the black humor for which Ken Bruen is known.
Lastly, Reed Farrel Coleman continues Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series with Robert B. Parker's Debt To Pay on September 13. Here, Stone is preoccupied with his own personal problems to include is ex-wife, Jenn, remarrying when he is surprised by the murder of a major Boston crime boss. Stone thinks it is Mr. Peeper who has vowed revenge on the mob, Stone and also his ex-wife. Can revenge be interrupted. A strong entry in the series.
OK - this gives you some choices to review. Have a great rest of the week.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
September Major Names
I seem to keep apologizing but...here I go again. I always do my blogs on Saturday early in the AM when the library is quiet. I am usually the only one here other than perhaps the cleaning staff. Last Saturday I came in to do my blog and horror! - I was locked out of the network. No one to help me - no way to get to my phone list - so......I left. Now I will start with the September books instead of the last of August. I won't do a blog on Saturday but will do one towards the middle of the week next week. Then - I might do another on the Saturday after that. I really do like coming in early that day. It is quite peaceful. Anyway - one with the September names.
My most favorite of favored authors has a title coming out on September 20, Harlan Coben's title is Home. It is a Myron Bolitar title also, the eleventh in the series. I love this series there is humor and good characters AND a good plot. Here, 10 years ago two boys from wealthy families disappear. Myron and his sidekick Win think they have found one of them. Where had he been? What happened to the other boy? Questions that only Myron and Win can answer. I can't wait!!!!
Next, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro give us Woman of God on September 26. This is a departure for Patterson - I am not sure that all Patterson fans will like it. Reviewer see to love it though so they might. This is the story of a female priest who started as a doctor, Brigid Fitzgerald was a doctor who had a tough childhood and sacrificed to become a doctor and then volunteered to go to the war ravaged South Sudan to practice. Tragedy after tragedy after tragedy occurs - a few reviewers have hinted that perhaps too many tragedies. Brigid and her faith overcome them all. She becomes a female priest and...20 years later - there is talk of her becoming the Pope. She has enemies though both out and inside the church. Will she be alive to find out?
Clive Cussler with Robin Burcell have Pirate, the 8th in Fargo series, coming on September 13. Sam and Remi Fargo are on the search for an 800 year old treasure. Unfortunately, there is someone else who thinks it is rightfully his and he will stop at nothing. A typical Cussler high action adventure.
Next is perhaps not a 'major' author but she is local and she is really good. Karin Slaughter (from Atlanta) has The Kept Woman, the 8th in the Will Trent series. It comes out on September 20th. Will Trent has his own personal fan club within Karin Slaughter's readers. We like him. Here, he finds a body on the floor of an abandoned Atlanta warehouse and bloody footprints lead him to believe another wounded woman had wandered away. The unfortunate part is that the warehouse belongs to a famous athlete who Will is already investigating for rape. Slaughter's books don't need to be read in order so dive in anywhere. See if you want to join the Will Trent fan club.
Lastly - perhaps not as well known but certainly with her followings, J.A. Jance has Downfall, the 17th in the Joanna Brady series. It arrives on September 6. Brady is an Arizona sheriff and Jance's work has a great sense of place. The desert can be beautiful - or deadly. Here Brady is pregnant, her mother and father were recently slain; a re-election campaign is looming and her daughter is headed off to college. You might say she has her hands full but....things happen. Here, two woman 'fall' to their deaths off a local cliff. Were they connected? Was it an accident/suicide/murder? Many questions for Brady to answer.
OK, see if one of these tempt you. There are several that I am planning on reading. Talk to you next week!
My most favorite of favored authors has a title coming out on September 20, Harlan Coben's title is Home. It is a Myron Bolitar title also, the eleventh in the series. I love this series there is humor and good characters AND a good plot. Here, 10 years ago two boys from wealthy families disappear. Myron and his sidekick Win think they have found one of them. Where had he been? What happened to the other boy? Questions that only Myron and Win can answer. I can't wait!!!!
Next, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro give us Woman of God on September 26. This is a departure for Patterson - I am not sure that all Patterson fans will like it. Reviewer see to love it though so they might. This is the story of a female priest who started as a doctor, Brigid Fitzgerald was a doctor who had a tough childhood and sacrificed to become a doctor and then volunteered to go to the war ravaged South Sudan to practice. Tragedy after tragedy after tragedy occurs - a few reviewers have hinted that perhaps too many tragedies. Brigid and her faith overcome them all. She becomes a female priest and...20 years later - there is talk of her becoming the Pope. She has enemies though both out and inside the church. Will she be alive to find out?
Clive Cussler with Robin Burcell have Pirate, the 8th in Fargo series, coming on September 13. Sam and Remi Fargo are on the search for an 800 year old treasure. Unfortunately, there is someone else who thinks it is rightfully his and he will stop at nothing. A typical Cussler high action adventure.
Next is perhaps not a 'major' author but she is local and she is really good. Karin Slaughter (from Atlanta) has The Kept Woman, the 8th in the Will Trent series. It comes out on September 20th. Will Trent has his own personal fan club within Karin Slaughter's readers. We like him. Here, he finds a body on the floor of an abandoned Atlanta warehouse and bloody footprints lead him to believe another wounded woman had wandered away. The unfortunate part is that the warehouse belongs to a famous athlete who Will is already investigating for rape. Slaughter's books don't need to be read in order so dive in anywhere. See if you want to join the Will Trent fan club.
Lastly - perhaps not as well known but certainly with her followings, J.A. Jance has Downfall, the 17th in the Joanna Brady series. It arrives on September 6. Brady is an Arizona sheriff and Jance's work has a great sense of place. The desert can be beautiful - or deadly. Here Brady is pregnant, her mother and father were recently slain; a re-election campaign is looming and her daughter is headed off to college. You might say she has her hands full but....things happen. Here, two woman 'fall' to their deaths off a local cliff. Were they connected? Was it an accident/suicide/murder? Many questions for Brady to answer.
OK, see if one of these tempt you. There are several that I am planning on reading. Talk to you next week!
Saturday, July 23, 2016
More August Titles
July is coming to an end. I better hurry up with the August titles I want to mention.
Eric Van Lustbader has Any Minute Now coming out on August 16. Lustbader initially started in the science fiction/fantasy genre. However, suspense and thrill were included so Robert Ludlum's estate chose him to continue the Jason Bourne series. Now he is off writing thrillers of his own. This one is about a secret black ops team called Red Rover. One of their events went horribly wrong. When 2 of the team came back alive, Red Rover was shut down completely. For the two remaining, Greg Whitman and Felix Orteno, this left too many unanswered questions. They need to find the answers so Red Rover rises from the dead.
Bill Crider has Survivors Will Be Shot Again, the 23rd in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, coming on August 9. Crider fills his mysteries with humor and witty dialogue. I love that. Here Rhodes is trying to take a day off when he is pulled into a murder and then he gets involved with ghost hunters and run away bulls. Although this is the 23rd, reviewers say it can be read as a stand alone and then, you will have the pleasure of going back and reading from the beginning.
Christopher Farnsworth has Killfile also coming out on August 9. Farnsworth has been compare to Brad Thor or James Rollins but for this one, I would say he is more like Douglas Preston. There is a leap of faith you have to make to really get into this one. John Smith (is that his REAL name????) can hear other people's thoughts. He was a CIA operative but is now a private consultant and trying to keep other people's thoughts out of his head. However, money can convince you to change your mind and a software billionaire hires him to find and ex-employee and search through his mind for pilfered intellectual property. Sadly, Smith's identity is compromised and he goes on the run with the ex-employee's associate. Reviewers have loved this.
Karin Fossum has Hellfire, the 12th in the Inspector Sejer series, coming out on August 30th. Fossum is a Norwegian novelist and writes character-driven, dark, relatively violent mysteries. Here Sejer investigates the who and why in the murder of a mother and her 5 year old son. If you like Jo Nesbo or Anne Holt, Fossum is another in the Nordic Noir genre
The American Girl by Kate Horsley coming out on August 2nd. I hate it when publisher's marketing people immediate say a new book will remind you of Gone Girl or Girl on a Train. However, I have to say that this one does make me think about other works written by Gillian Flynn or maybe even Erica Spindler. Her psychological suspense is ABSOLUTELY psychologically suspenseful. Here, an American exchange student in France,Quinn Perkins, comes out of the woods barefoot and bloody and can't remember what happened to her. Strangely enough, her entire host family is missing. A Boston journalist rushes to France to cover the story. The police find strong evidence that Quinn may be the murderer. This story is told from the point of view of the journalist and from diary entries by Quinn. Sounds like a good one to me.
OK - here are five to think about. I will try to do a few more next week. Keep cool!
Eric Van Lustbader has Any Minute Now coming out on August 16. Lustbader initially started in the science fiction/fantasy genre. However, suspense and thrill were included so Robert Ludlum's estate chose him to continue the Jason Bourne series. Now he is off writing thrillers of his own. This one is about a secret black ops team called Red Rover. One of their events went horribly wrong. When 2 of the team came back alive, Red Rover was shut down completely. For the two remaining, Greg Whitman and Felix Orteno, this left too many unanswered questions. They need to find the answers so Red Rover rises from the dead.
Bill Crider has Survivors Will Be Shot Again, the 23rd in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, coming on August 9. Crider fills his mysteries with humor and witty dialogue. I love that. Here Rhodes is trying to take a day off when he is pulled into a murder and then he gets involved with ghost hunters and run away bulls. Although this is the 23rd, reviewers say it can be read as a stand alone and then, you will have the pleasure of going back and reading from the beginning.
Christopher Farnsworth has Killfile also coming out on August 9. Farnsworth has been compare to Brad Thor or James Rollins but for this one, I would say he is more like Douglas Preston. There is a leap of faith you have to make to really get into this one. John Smith (is that his REAL name????) can hear other people's thoughts. He was a CIA operative but is now a private consultant and trying to keep other people's thoughts out of his head. However, money can convince you to change your mind and a software billionaire hires him to find and ex-employee and search through his mind for pilfered intellectual property. Sadly, Smith's identity is compromised and he goes on the run with the ex-employee's associate. Reviewers have loved this.
Karin Fossum has Hellfire, the 12th in the Inspector Sejer series, coming out on August 30th. Fossum is a Norwegian novelist and writes character-driven, dark, relatively violent mysteries. Here Sejer investigates the who and why in the murder of a mother and her 5 year old son. If you like Jo Nesbo or Anne Holt, Fossum is another in the Nordic Noir genre
The American Girl by Kate Horsley coming out on August 2nd. I hate it when publisher's marketing people immediate say a new book will remind you of Gone Girl or Girl on a Train. However, I have to say that this one does make me think about other works written by Gillian Flynn or maybe even Erica Spindler. Her psychological suspense is ABSOLUTELY psychologically suspenseful. Here, an American exchange student in France,Quinn Perkins, comes out of the woods barefoot and bloody and can't remember what happened to her. Strangely enough, her entire host family is missing. A Boston journalist rushes to France to cover the story. The police find strong evidence that Quinn may be the murderer. This story is told from the point of view of the journalist and from diary entries by Quinn. Sounds like a good one to me.
OK - here are five to think about. I will try to do a few more next week. Keep cool!
Saturday, July 16, 2016
LibraryReads for August
There are some really good choices on the list this month. Probably at least half of which I want to read. Hope you find something that appeals to you.
Number one is the perennial favorite, Louise Penny's newest Gamache entry, A Great Reckoning. Gamache is back as the new leader of the Surete Academy. I don't know how Penny can keep getting better but reviewers say she has. One reviewer said "Every time I read a title in this series, I think how could it possibly be better than the last, and yet it is." Obviously, a must read for many.
The rest - in no particular order:
Shari Lapena has her debut novel, The Couple Next Door coming out on August 23. Wow - the reviews for this one are strong. A couple with a newborn think they know their friendly next door neighbors but .... do they? Marco and Anne leave their newborn baby alone - they are only going next door and they bring the baby monitor with them. How could anything happen? Needless to say, it does.
Watching Edie by Camilla Way made the list. Here the story happens in the past and in the present. In the past, Edie is the popular, beautiful high school friend and Heather is the overweight, unpopular one. They were friends but then after a tragic incident, they aren't and Edie moves away. Today, Edie is a pregnant waitress having a hard time dealing with life in general and Heather appears on her doorstep offering help. Are there strings attached? What do you think?
Louise Miller has The City Baker's Guide to Country Living on the list. Described as a "cozy, foodie, romance" -might not make it sound as appealing as it is. After traumatic incidents in Boston (she set the restaurant on fire) Olivia Rawlings moves to a quaint little town looking to escape. Soon, she not only finds a job as a pastry chef but she finds a home.
The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis is the story of a woman who stayed in the Barbizon Hotel in the 1950's. This is another debut novel. The Barbizon Hotel for women offered women a safe place to stay in NYC in the 40's and 50's. In the present day, it is condos but at least one of the original residents is still there. Rose is a current day journalist who lives at the Barbizon with her boyfriend when she decides to write an article on the building's history. One resident she wants to interview is Darby who was a resident at the beginning and has a tragic secret.
The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood tells the story of a recently separated woman whose daughter is living in Paris and has problems of her own To get out of the house, she joins a local book group. Can books really help?
Laura McHugh has Arrowood on the list. Arden Arrowood returns to the family mansion in southern Iowa after her father dies. Decades earlier when Arden was 8, she was a witness to her 20 month old twin sisters kidnapping. Can she find the truth after so many years?
I spoke of Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews last week. It is still a humorous cozy - maybe not laugh out loud funny like Evanovich but you won't be able to stop a giggle or two.
B.A. Paris has Behind Closed Doors on the list. Another debut novel - another compared to Gone Girl or Girl on the Train. Other than the fact that reviewers have praised this one, I don't see much similarity. I am sure we have all met at some point, ' the perfect couple'. But are they really the perfect couple when they are behind closed doors? Paris' psychological suspense deals with that topic.
First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Phillips made the list. I spoke of this one 2 weeks ago. I said mentioned that Phillips specializes in humorous romances. Here Piper Dove is the investigator and Cooper Graham is the Chicago quarterback. I'm thinking you can probably imagine what their dialog sounds like.
OK - there you go. Ten pretty good ones to choose from. Have fun.
Number one is the perennial favorite, Louise Penny's newest Gamache entry, A Great Reckoning. Gamache is back as the new leader of the Surete Academy. I don't know how Penny can keep getting better but reviewers say she has. One reviewer said "Every time I read a title in this series, I think how could it possibly be better than the last, and yet it is." Obviously, a must read for many.
The rest - in no particular order:
Shari Lapena has her debut novel, The Couple Next Door coming out on August 23. Wow - the reviews for this one are strong. A couple with a newborn think they know their friendly next door neighbors but .... do they? Marco and Anne leave their newborn baby alone - they are only going next door and they bring the baby monitor with them. How could anything happen? Needless to say, it does.
Watching Edie by Camilla Way made the list. Here the story happens in the past and in the present. In the past, Edie is the popular, beautiful high school friend and Heather is the overweight, unpopular one. They were friends but then after a tragic incident, they aren't and Edie moves away. Today, Edie is a pregnant waitress having a hard time dealing with life in general and Heather appears on her doorstep offering help. Are there strings attached? What do you think?
Louise Miller has The City Baker's Guide to Country Living on the list. Described as a "cozy, foodie, romance" -might not make it sound as appealing as it is. After traumatic incidents in Boston (she set the restaurant on fire) Olivia Rawlings moves to a quaint little town looking to escape. Soon, she not only finds a job as a pastry chef but she finds a home.
The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis is the story of a woman who stayed in the Barbizon Hotel in the 1950's. This is another debut novel. The Barbizon Hotel for women offered women a safe place to stay in NYC in the 40's and 50's. In the present day, it is condos but at least one of the original residents is still there. Rose is a current day journalist who lives at the Barbizon with her boyfriend when she decides to write an article on the building's history. One resident she wants to interview is Darby who was a resident at the beginning and has a tragic secret.
The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood tells the story of a recently separated woman whose daughter is living in Paris and has problems of her own To get out of the house, she joins a local book group. Can books really help?
Laura McHugh has Arrowood on the list. Arden Arrowood returns to the family mansion in southern Iowa after her father dies. Decades earlier when Arden was 8, she was a witness to her 20 month old twin sisters kidnapping. Can she find the truth after so many years?
I spoke of Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews last week. It is still a humorous cozy - maybe not laugh out loud funny like Evanovich but you won't be able to stop a giggle or two.
B.A. Paris has Behind Closed Doors on the list. Another debut novel - another compared to Gone Girl or Girl on the Train. Other than the fact that reviewers have praised this one, I don't see much similarity. I am sure we have all met at some point, ' the perfect couple'. But are they really the perfect couple when they are behind closed doors? Paris' psychological suspense deals with that topic.
First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Phillips made the list. I spoke of this one 2 weeks ago. I said mentioned that Phillips specializes in humorous romances. Here Piper Dove is the investigator and Cooper Graham is the Chicago quarterback. I'm thinking you can probably imagine what their dialog sounds like.
OK - there you go. Ten pretty good ones to choose from. Have fun.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
More August Titles
August is a good month for either reading in the sun or reading in the house when it is too hot. There are a variety of books coming out too so there should be something for everyone.
Susan Wiggs - an author who writes contemporary and historical romances and novels of women's lives and relationships has Family Tree coming out on August 9th. Annie Harlow, a TV producer, thought she was happily married. When she found out she was pregnant, she rushed to tell her husband and an accident occurred. She wakes from a coma one year later, divorced and in her childhood home in Vermont. This is the story of her rebirth.
If you prefer your mysteries in the cozy genre and like a little humor then I am sure you have read Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow Mystery series. The twentieth, Die Like an Eagle, is due out on August 2nd. In this one she battles Biff Brown who is the head of the baseball league to which her sons team belongs. Biff is not a nice person, so when his very similar in appearance brother is found dead in a porta-potty, Meg wonders if it shouldn't have been Biff.
I believe I have spoken of the next author before. I really like her series. Julia Keller has the 5th in her Bell Elkin's series, Sorrow Road, arriving on August 23rd. Bell is a former Washington, D.C. lawyer who returns to her Appalachian small town in West Virginia as a prosecuting attorney.. I think what I like best about this series is the strong sense of place. You can really see and feel the West Virginian atmosphere. Here, Bell discovers that Alzheimer patients are dying at an unexpected pace in a nursing home . The deaths always appear to be natural but Bell just knows that something is wrong.
Rise the Dark by Michael Koryta comes out on August 16. Koryta writes fast paced thrillers featuring snappy dialog. Here he brings back Markus Novak for the second time. When the man he suspects of killing his wife is released from prison, Markus goes back to the lonely stretch of Florida road where the murder happened. Then, the released criminal abducts another woman in Montana. Marcus is drawn in to try to save this woman.
To end up this weeks entry, I am going to give you a really different one. This one is an import from Ireland. Lisa McInerney has her debut novel, The Glorious Heresies, coming out on August 9. Reviewers have called it biting, moving and darkly funny. An accidental murder gravely effects 5 people. They include - a 15 year old drug dealer who is trying to prevent becoming his alcoholic father; a prostitute who has no problem pretending to be a born again convert; and a mother who returns to Ireland to find out that the child she was forced to give up has become the city's most feared gangster.
So, I think there must be something for everyone with those five. I will have more next week. Enjoy!
Susan Wiggs - an author who writes contemporary and historical romances and novels of women's lives and relationships has Family Tree coming out on August 9th. Annie Harlow, a TV producer, thought she was happily married. When she found out she was pregnant, she rushed to tell her husband and an accident occurred. She wakes from a coma one year later, divorced and in her childhood home in Vermont. This is the story of her rebirth.
If you prefer your mysteries in the cozy genre and like a little humor then I am sure you have read Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow Mystery series. The twentieth, Die Like an Eagle, is due out on August 2nd. In this one she battles Biff Brown who is the head of the baseball league to which her sons team belongs. Biff is not a nice person, so when his very similar in appearance brother is found dead in a porta-potty, Meg wonders if it shouldn't have been Biff.
I believe I have spoken of the next author before. I really like her series. Julia Keller has the 5th in her Bell Elkin's series, Sorrow Road, arriving on August 23rd. Bell is a former Washington, D.C. lawyer who returns to her Appalachian small town in West Virginia as a prosecuting attorney.. I think what I like best about this series is the strong sense of place. You can really see and feel the West Virginian atmosphere. Here, Bell discovers that Alzheimer patients are dying at an unexpected pace in a nursing home . The deaths always appear to be natural but Bell just knows that something is wrong.
Rise the Dark by Michael Koryta comes out on August 16. Koryta writes fast paced thrillers featuring snappy dialog. Here he brings back Markus Novak for the second time. When the man he suspects of killing his wife is released from prison, Markus goes back to the lonely stretch of Florida road where the murder happened. Then, the released criminal abducts another woman in Montana. Marcus is drawn in to try to save this woman.
To end up this weeks entry, I am going to give you a really different one. This one is an import from Ireland. Lisa McInerney has her debut novel, The Glorious Heresies, coming out on August 9. Reviewers have called it biting, moving and darkly funny. An accidental murder gravely effects 5 people. They include - a 15 year old drug dealer who is trying to prevent becoming his alcoholic father; a prostitute who has no problem pretending to be a born again convert; and a mother who returns to Ireland to find out that the child she was forced to give up has become the city's most feared gangster.
So, I think there must be something for everyone with those five. I will have more next week. Enjoy!
Saturday, July 2, 2016
August Titles by Big Name Authors
August is not the most popular month for publishing. There are some major authors but most have either published in the spring for summer reading or will publish in the fall. However, I think I can come up with enough to talk about today.
Debbie Macomber has the conclusion Rose Harbor series arriving on August 2nd, Sweet Tomorrows. Macomber, for those who don't know her, writes gentle romances similar in style to Lori Copeland. Here, Jo Marie Rose, the innkeeper, starts dating again after Mark Taylor leaves town and a new boarder, Emily Gaffney, has decided she is never getting married after two broken hearts. The Rose Harbor Inn starts working it's magic. Can they both find happiness?
Sandra Brown has Sting coming on August 16th. Brown began by writing straight romances but has turned toward fast paced romantic suspense kind of like Nora Roberts or Karen Harper. Here, Shaw Kinnard has been sent by his evil boss to kill Jordie Bennet. Bennet's brother has stolen $30 million from the boss. Instead, Shaw decides to abduct her and try to get the $30 million for himself. With both the boss and the FBI after them, sparks start to fly.
This next one is interesting. Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall wrote it together. If you haven't read anything by Hall before, he write quirky mysteries with a lot of humor, Woods writes a man's man and Hall writes almost cozies. Hmmmm. Interesting, no? Smooth Operator is due out on August 2nd. Here the President asks Stone Barrington to handle a dicey problem but Stone doesn't believe he is the man for the job. Instead, he recommends Teddy Fay. This is to be the first in a series I believe. Fay is an ex-CIA master of disguise who doesn't always believe in following the law. Sounds pretty good.
OK - now I am going to venture into the not quite as famous authors. Starting with Charles Todd. Actually, Todd is not one person but two - a mother and a son - although the son's name is Charles Todd. They write historical mysteries. The Shattered Tree comes out on August 30th. This one is the eighth in the Bess Crawford series. Bess is a World War I battlefield nurse and here while tending an injured French office, he shouts at her in German. His superior says it was because he was from the Alsace area which has been passed back and forth from France to German though out the years. Bess though felt forced to investigate after the office disappears in Paris. Can she discover his true identity?
One last almost famous author - well, she is famous to the people who read her. Susan Elizabeth Phillips has First Star I See Tonight coming out on August 23rd. Phillips specializes in humorous romances and this one sounds like it is exactly that. Piper Dove is a detective tailing a former Chicago quarterback who does not want a bodyguard. When he spots her, she pretends to be a stalker but then he hires her to keep an eye on the staff at his nightclub. It is hard to keep and eye on him when she has Middle Eastern Princesses and teenagers to handle. Both Piper andCooper Graham (the quarterback) try to prove to each other that they can be tough while resisting the sparks that start to fly.
OK - there you go. A little heavier on the romances than usual but there should be something there for you. Have a great July 4th.
Debbie Macomber has the conclusion Rose Harbor series arriving on August 2nd, Sweet Tomorrows. Macomber, for those who don't know her, writes gentle romances similar in style to Lori Copeland. Here, Jo Marie Rose, the innkeeper, starts dating again after Mark Taylor leaves town and a new boarder, Emily Gaffney, has decided she is never getting married after two broken hearts. The Rose Harbor Inn starts working it's magic. Can they both find happiness?
Sandra Brown has Sting coming on August 16th. Brown began by writing straight romances but has turned toward fast paced romantic suspense kind of like Nora Roberts or Karen Harper. Here, Shaw Kinnard has been sent by his evil boss to kill Jordie Bennet. Bennet's brother has stolen $30 million from the boss. Instead, Shaw decides to abduct her and try to get the $30 million for himself. With both the boss and the FBI after them, sparks start to fly.
This next one is interesting. Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall wrote it together. If you haven't read anything by Hall before, he write quirky mysteries with a lot of humor, Woods writes a man's man and Hall writes almost cozies. Hmmmm. Interesting, no? Smooth Operator is due out on August 2nd. Here the President asks Stone Barrington to handle a dicey problem but Stone doesn't believe he is the man for the job. Instead, he recommends Teddy Fay. This is to be the first in a series I believe. Fay is an ex-CIA master of disguise who doesn't always believe in following the law. Sounds pretty good.
OK - now I am going to venture into the not quite as famous authors. Starting with Charles Todd. Actually, Todd is not one person but two - a mother and a son - although the son's name is Charles Todd. They write historical mysteries. The Shattered Tree comes out on August 30th. This one is the eighth in the Bess Crawford series. Bess is a World War I battlefield nurse and here while tending an injured French office, he shouts at her in German. His superior says it was because he was from the Alsace area which has been passed back and forth from France to German though out the years. Bess though felt forced to investigate after the office disappears in Paris. Can she discover his true identity?
One last almost famous author - well, she is famous to the people who read her. Susan Elizabeth Phillips has First Star I See Tonight coming out on August 23rd. Phillips specializes in humorous romances and this one sounds like it is exactly that. Piper Dove is a detective tailing a former Chicago quarterback who does not want a bodyguard. When he spots her, she pretends to be a stalker but then he hires her to keep an eye on the staff at his nightclub. It is hard to keep and eye on him when she has Middle Eastern Princesses and teenagers to handle. Both Piper andCooper Graham (the quarterback) try to prove to each other that they can be tough while resisting the sparks that start to fly.
OK - there you go. A little heavier on the romances than usual but there should be something there for you. Have a great July 4th.
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Coming in July
How can it possibly be almost July!!! I can't believe it. OK - now here I go again trying to stuff as much as possible into one post. The descriptions will be short but the content will be here.
Jessie Burton wrote The Miniaturist which was quite popular. Now on July 20, her second title arrives, The Muse. This work focuses on two time periods, 1967 London where Odelle Bastien discovers a painting that might be the work of Isaac Robles and 1937 Spain where the daughter of a Viennese art dealer becomes friendly with a young housekeeper and her half-brother, Isaac Robles. Robles had great talent but died mysteriously while still young. Suspense and history. Sounds like my type of book.
Ben Winters has Underground Airlines coming on July 5. What a very strange mind this author has. His series, The Last Policeman, was about how one man tries to maintain order when life on earth is coming to an end. Now, he delves into the alternative history genre by a story set in present day America where the Civil War never happens and slavery still exists in 4 states. A young black man names Victor is a bounty hunter tracking down escaped slaves who discovers secrets about himself while tracking down a runaway. By the way, it's on the list of titles that should be must reads this summer by The New York Times; The Chicago Tribune; The St. Louis Post Dispatch; the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Beth Lewis is a first time author who has The Wolf Road coming out on June 30 - which might as well be July in my mind. Trapper found Elka wandering in the woods after a bombing event that took them back to no electricity, no technology, basics. Elka was seven at the time. Trapper taught her everything she needed to know about surviving until she saw a 'Wanted Poster' for Kreagar Hallet. Turns out that Trapper is a serial killer and the law would like to talk to Elka. Elka escapes into the wilds. Who will find her first?
Hollie Overton writes for television but this is her first suspense novel. Baby Doll arrives on July 12. Lily was kidnapped when she was a teenager by a prominent man in the community. He locked her up in his cabin in the woods and imprisoned her for eight years. One day, he did not turn the lock and Lily and her young daughter who she gave birth to in the cabin escape. then they discover the hardest part is ahead of them.
Now in quick succession some titles/authors and short descriptions:
The Lost Girls - Heather Young - July 26. Debut novel. In 1935, six year old Emily vanishes from the family vacation home. The family is torn apart. One of her sisters writes the story of that summer before she dies and leaves the house to her grandniece, Justine who moves there to escape an abusive boyfriend. There is a dark winter coming in many ways.
Little Girl Gone - Gerry Schmitt - July 5. What is interesting to me here is the Schmitt writes cozy mysteries under the name Laura Childs. This one is not a cozy. A baby is abducted and her teenage babysitter is badly beaten. The family liaison officer believes that there are more abductions to come.
The Graveyard of the Hesperides: A Flavia Albia Novel - Lindsey Davis - July 12. Flavia is the daughter of Marcus who has his own mystery series. Flavia is engaged to be married when her intended discovers human remains while renovating the backyard of a bar. Just what Flavia like to do - investigate.
Outfoxed - David Rosenfelt - July 19. OK - so maybe the reason I like Rosenfelt so much is his devotion to dog rescue but his stories are really a mixture of dog and legal. Who could resist that. Andy Carpenter is working in a county prison program in which inmates train dogs. A prisoner uses a fox terrier to escape and then the man who helped convict him is murdered.
I am ending with another dog title coming but this one will make you laugh.
Jonathan Unleashed - Meg Rosoff - July 5. A horrible job; a downhill relationship and an illegal apartment has Jonathan Trefoil depressed and looking for a change. Then he dog sits for his brother and things start to change. Billed as a romantic comedy and the perfect summer read.
Have a great week coming up. With July so close - cooler weather is getting closer but not fast enough for me.
Jessie Burton wrote The Miniaturist which was quite popular. Now on July 20, her second title arrives, The Muse. This work focuses on two time periods, 1967 London where Odelle Bastien discovers a painting that might be the work of Isaac Robles and 1937 Spain where the daughter of a Viennese art dealer becomes friendly with a young housekeeper and her half-brother, Isaac Robles. Robles had great talent but died mysteriously while still young. Suspense and history. Sounds like my type of book.
Ben Winters has Underground Airlines coming on July 5. What a very strange mind this author has. His series, The Last Policeman, was about how one man tries to maintain order when life on earth is coming to an end. Now, he delves into the alternative history genre by a story set in present day America where the Civil War never happens and slavery still exists in 4 states. A young black man names Victor is a bounty hunter tracking down escaped slaves who discovers secrets about himself while tracking down a runaway. By the way, it's on the list of titles that should be must reads this summer by The New York Times; The Chicago Tribune; The St. Louis Post Dispatch; the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Beth Lewis is a first time author who has The Wolf Road coming out on June 30 - which might as well be July in my mind. Trapper found Elka wandering in the woods after a bombing event that took them back to no electricity, no technology, basics. Elka was seven at the time. Trapper taught her everything she needed to know about surviving until she saw a 'Wanted Poster' for Kreagar Hallet. Turns out that Trapper is a serial killer and the law would like to talk to Elka. Elka escapes into the wilds. Who will find her first?
Hollie Overton writes for television but this is her first suspense novel. Baby Doll arrives on July 12. Lily was kidnapped when she was a teenager by a prominent man in the community. He locked her up in his cabin in the woods and imprisoned her for eight years. One day, he did not turn the lock and Lily and her young daughter who she gave birth to in the cabin escape. then they discover the hardest part is ahead of them.
Now in quick succession some titles/authors and short descriptions:
The Lost Girls - Heather Young - July 26. Debut novel. In 1935, six year old Emily vanishes from the family vacation home. The family is torn apart. One of her sisters writes the story of that summer before she dies and leaves the house to her grandniece, Justine who moves there to escape an abusive boyfriend. There is a dark winter coming in many ways.
Little Girl Gone - Gerry Schmitt - July 5. What is interesting to me here is the Schmitt writes cozy mysteries under the name Laura Childs. This one is not a cozy. A baby is abducted and her teenage babysitter is badly beaten. The family liaison officer believes that there are more abductions to come.
The Graveyard of the Hesperides: A Flavia Albia Novel - Lindsey Davis - July 12. Flavia is the daughter of Marcus who has his own mystery series. Flavia is engaged to be married when her intended discovers human remains while renovating the backyard of a bar. Just what Flavia like to do - investigate.
Outfoxed - David Rosenfelt - July 19. OK - so maybe the reason I like Rosenfelt so much is his devotion to dog rescue but his stories are really a mixture of dog and legal. Who could resist that. Andy Carpenter is working in a county prison program in which inmates train dogs. A prisoner uses a fox terrier to escape and then the man who helped convict him is murdered.
I am ending with another dog title coming but this one will make you laugh.
Jonathan Unleashed - Meg Rosoff - July 5. A horrible job; a downhill relationship and an illegal apartment has Jonathan Trefoil depressed and looking for a change. Then he dog sits for his brother and things start to change. Billed as a romantic comedy and the perfect summer read.
Have a great week coming up. With July so close - cooler weather is getting closer but not fast enough for me.
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