Other July Titles

Now for some July titles you might not know about. There are several authors that I have followed for awhile who are coming out with books this month and maybe, just maybe, this time it will be the one that sends one of them up the charts. There is also a debut author with a really interesting premise.

Jeff Abbott – Frequently mystery authors start by being published in a  mass market paperback format.  I don’t know how many of you know it, but that is how Harlan Coben started with his Myron Bolitar series. Well Jeff Abbott started that way too but his publisher convinced him to change his direction. In 1994, his debut mystery featured Jordan Poteet – a big city publisher who returns to his small Texas hometown to become the town’s librarian. I loved this series which was funny and really more of a cozy that anything. He wrote 4 books in the Poteet series. I loved them all but his publisher decided he needed to move out of the cozy field if he wanted a bigger audience. So, he did. Now he is published in hardcover and his current series features Sam Capra – a former CIA agent. The  third novel in this series, Downfall, comes out July 16, 2013. In Downfall, Ex-CIA agent Sam Capra is back. When a beautiful woman whispers “help me” to him in his San Francisco bar, Sam suddenly finds himself fighting to save both her life and his own. Pursued by both the police and by a secret network of phenomenally successful men and women who owe their wealth and power to a mysterious Faustian deal, Sam must bring down the most dangerous enemy of them all: a man who owns the people who run the world.

Sophie Hannah – Hannah is a British author who in 2008 published ‘Little Faces’ in the United States. She writes psychological suspense and the premise of this debut novel is – well, terrifying. Her series features Detective Simon Waterhouse and Sgt. Charlie Zailer. On August 6^th, the seventh in the series, Kind of Cruel, arrives.  Amber Hewerdine suffers from chronic insomnia. As a last resort, she visits a hypnotherapist, doubtful that anything will really change. Under hypnosis, Amber hears herself saying, “Kind, cruel, kind of cruel.” The words awaken a vague memory, but she dismisses the whole episode as nonsense. Two hours later, however, Amber is arrested for the brutal murder of a woman she’s never heard of, and the only way she can clear her name is by remembering exactly where she’s seen those words.

Meg Gardiner – interesting biography. Meg was born and raised in California. She attended Stanford University for her undergraduate degree and also graduated from Stanford Law school. Yes, another lawyer who has turned to writing. She also, like Coben, started writing in paperback format. She now lives outside of London so you can see if you think her books have a British flavor. Meg also writes a blog – not often but occasionally – that has the wonderful title of ‘Lying for a Living’. Isn’t that a great title? Anyway, she writes 2 different series but her new title, The Shadow Tracer, is a stand alone and comes out June 27^th. OK – it’s not a July book but by the time you pick it up at the library, it might be July. Sarah Keller is a single mother to five-year-old Zoe, living quietly in Oklahoma. She’s also a skip tracer, an expert in tracking people who’ve gone on the lam to avoid arrest, prosecution, or debt. When a school bus accident sends Zoe to the ER, their quiet life explodes. Zoe’s medical tests reveal what Sarah has been hiding: Zoe is not her daughter. Zoe’s biological mother—Sarah’s sister, Beth—was murdered shortly after the child’s birth. And Zoe’s father is missing and presumed dead. With no way to prove her innocence, Sarah must abandon her carefully constructed life and go on the run. Chased by cops, federal agents, and the group responsible for Beth’s murder, Sarah embarks on a desperate journey.

Now for the debut novelist – Stephen Kiernan is an award winning journalist. He has done many, many things but this is his first attempt at a novel. And in this case, before it is even published and in fact, before a publishing deal was even signed, 20^th Century Fox purchased the film rights. Interesting, huh? His prior nonfiction titles are “Authentic Patriotism” which tells the story of 60 people in order to inspire volunteerism and getting involved; and “Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System” which explores how to die with dignity. Sounds like a reach for a novelist, right? Well, on July 9^th, Kiernan brings us The Curiosity. A team of scientists uncover a man frozen deep in the arctic ice. The head of the project orders Dr. Kate Philo to attempt to revive him. Needless to say, she is successful at least temporarily and her patient only remembers falling overboard in 1906. Meanwhile, the head of the project has plans for exploiting the event.