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.

July Big (?) Names

There are not the flurry of big name authors publishing titles this month but a few are and I will throw in some ... well - not quite yet big names.

Ace Atkins is most known for his continuation of the Robert B. Parker's Spenser series but he is pretty good at his own series. One series features Quinn Colson, an ex-Army Ranger who is now a sheriff in Tibbehah County, MS. The Innocents, the sixth in the series, is arriving on July 12. Colson had been away from his sheriffing job for a year, working with the Army but on his return - he is asked for help with an investigation of the murder of a young woman who was found walking down the middle of a highway in flames. Atkins style in this series is gritty and very fast paced but there is a lot of violence so....you are advised.

Catherine Coulter, a perennial favorite, has Insidious, the 20th in the FBI series, coming on July 5. FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock attempt to find out who is trying to kill 86 year old Venus Rasmussen and Special Agent Cam Wittier goes to Los Angeles to help search for the serial killer who slashes the throats of young actresses. Non stop suspense with this one.

Iris Johansen has Night and Day, the twenty first Eve Duncan entry, coming on July 19. This is the third in a trilogy within the series having to do with Cara Delaney. Reviewers have suggested that it would be helpful to read all 3 of them and not jump ahead. In this one, Duncan is trying to protect  Cara from people wanting her dead - therefore, those people would like Eve dead too. People who have read all three in the trilogy LOVED this book.

Magic by Danielle Steel arrives on July 5. The event, White Dinners, began in Paris in 1988. Invited guest appear, all dressed in white, in a public area in the center of Paris, to enjoy good food, wine and conversation. Who knew? They are now taking place in other countries also. This novel focuses on Jean-Philippe Dumas, a longtime participant, and 3 couples he has selected to attend the event. It follows the lives of these 7 people.

Marcia Muller has Someone Always Knows, the 31st in the Sharon McCone series, coming out on July 5. In the previous title, McCone and her husband Hy has their house burn down. Now they are getting comfortably settled in their new home and new shared offices when Hy's former colleague, a shady person they had presumed dead, shows up unexpectedly. Sharon is also trying to help a client rid a house he just purchased from drug users. This investigation turns up secrets and someone is trying to destroy her happiness.

OK - that gives you five titles to choose from this week. Hope there is something there that interests you.

I Apologize Again

The blog as again gone silent for 2 weeks. I spent those 2 weeks trying to finish up end of the fiscal year chores. I promise for real this time that the blog will be one a week - maybe not always the same day of the week - but one a week unless some other unforeseen emergency arises.

So now - I should be doing July books and I am going to start by talking about the LibraryReads for July. The list just came out this week so....it makes sense to tell you about them now. There are some good ones.

Number one of the list is Blake Crouch's Dark Matter. It is one of those genre blending science fiction thrillers. Crouch is the author of the Wayward Pines trilogy that has been on television. This is a stand alone but....what a story. A quiet physic professor was hit on the head on his walk home in Chicago and awakens to find himself in another world where his house is not his house, his wife is not his wife and he isn't himself. One reviewer called it a "Mind-blowing tale about the ramifications of the choices we make versus the proverbial road not taken."

The rest in no particular order:

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Lo Blacklock, a travel journalist had an traumatic experience with an intruder and escapes when assigned to cover the maiden voyage of a luxury cruise ship that is touring the north sea. Then, after a night of drinking, she sees a body tossed off the ship. When she goes to tell the woman she had met in the cabin next door, no one is there. In fact, all passengers are accounted for. Did she imagine it???? Well worth the read.

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva. Twelve contestants are sent into the wilderness for a reality television show. While they are away, something horrible happens to the world outside. When one of the contestants stumble across devastation - the line between reality and the 'shows' reality begins to blur. What is real and what is not? Reviewers call it thought provoking.

Among the Wicked - A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is asked to go undercover in a remote Amish settlement to uncover clues to the death of a young girl. She poses as an Amish woman and infiltrates the community. What she uncovers puts her in grave danger.

The Unseen World by Liz Moore. This is a coming of age novel with hints of mystery. Ada Sibelius is 12 and her single father is homeschooling her and taking her with him to the computer lab every day. To Ada, her father is the center of her world but then...his mind starts to fail and Ada must move in with a trusted colleague. With her father gone, she discovers he was not who he said he was and Ada is determined to uncover the truth.

Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty. Moriarty has become very popular so her new book comes with great anticipation. 3 couples and 3 young children attend an afternoon barbecue when something terrible happens. We don't know what happened right away but we do know it affected everyone. This is a look at friendship, marriage and family. Enjoy.

All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker. This sounds like a real summer beach read in the genre of Defending Jacob. A masked rapist attacked Jenny, a 10th grader. He left no forensic evidence behind. Jenny's parents allow the doctors to give her a memory erasing drug but pain is still present. Her father wants vengeance and her mother is in denial. Jenny tries to regain her memories to help her deal with the pain. Was it someone close to the family?

The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close. Matt is an aspiring politician and moves from NYC to Washington, DC with his wife, Beth. Beth has a hard time making friends but finally finds another transplant in Ashleigh and her husband Jimmy. The four become friends but as time goes by Beth starts to realize things about her husband, their marriage and their friends. A story of young marriage, career ambition and friendships.

Siracusa by Delia Ephron. Another novel about marriage and friendship, New Yorkers Michael, an author, and Lizzie, a journalist, travel to Italy with their friends from Main (Finn, his wife Taylor, and their daughter Snow). Told in alternating points of view, they discover lies and unfaithfulness, past and present.

Lastly, Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen. This story relates how one dress has touched and often profoundly changed the lives on individually. As the title describes, the dress makes it way through nine different people. It might sound light and fluffy but is said to be enthralling and charming.

OK - there you have the 10 titles coming in July for this months LibraryReads. I think it was a pretty good choice!