June Titles

Next week I am headed to New York City to attend Book Expo. Hopefully I will come back with new authors and titles to tell you about. I will not be able to publish another blog until June 2nd when I return though so store up the titles today.

David Guterson, the author of Snow Falling on Cedars, has Problems with People coming out on June 3rd. This contains 10 short stories that focus on people's deep need for connections with others. Guterson started his literary career with short stories and this is his return to the format with which he excels.

Jennifer Murphy has her debut novel, I Love You More, coming out on June 17th. Picasso Lane is twelve years old when her father, Oliver, is murdered at their summer home. Picasso knows more than she is telling about her father's life. Picasso's mother is the prime suspect until the police discover that Oliver had 2 more wives. Even though everyone is denying knowing this, Picasso knows this isn't true. Much excitement about this one.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, a debut author, comes out on June 26th. Set in small town Ohio in the mid-1970's, it examines the lives of a Chinese-American family after the death of a favored child. Critics have called it beautifully written, poignant, touching and captivating.

Megan Abbott has The Fever coming out on June 17th. This is the story of an epidemic that begins plaguing only the girls in one high school causing seizures and hallucinations. A community wide panic results as more and more girls succumb. Said to be a tight and haunting story and one reviewer called it compelling, lyrical and urgent.

Alafair Burke has All Day and a Night coming out on June 10th.  This is the fifth in the Ellie Hatcher series. Hatcher and her partner, J.J. Rogan, are tapped to take a fresh look at the conviction of a serial killer serving time for a total of six murders from 20 years ago. Alternating chapters are told by Carrie Blank, the half-sister of one of the victims and currently a defense attorney on the case.

Phantom Instinct by Meg Gardiner comes out on June 26th. Harper Flynn is tending bars the night that an attack and firebombing occurs at an LA club. Her boyfriend is killed and police think that the 2 attackers were killed in the fire at the club. Harper thinks a third man escaped. The only person who will listen to her is Aiden Garrison, an ex sheriff's deputy who was injured that night. They start a hunt but discover that secrets could kill them. Fast-paced. Reviews say it is a can't-put-it-down book with an ending you won't see coming.

David Ignatius has The Director coming out on June 2nd. A thriller of political intrigue and spy craft. Newly appointed CIA director Graham Weber has only been in place for one week when he discovers that the CIA has been hacked. Unsure of where to turn, he enters the world of cyberespionage. That is a scary place to be.

Another novel of political intrigue, this one by debut novelist Matthew Palmer. The American Mission arrives on June 26th. Palmer has spent 20 years in the U.S. Foreign service so he knows what he is writing. Alex Baines has been stripped of his security clearance in a debacle in Darfur. His mentor offers him a chance to start over in the Congo and Baines jumps at it. On arriving, he finds a shady U.S. based mining company everywhere he turns and struggles to balance the best interests of the US and the fate of the Congo and it's people.

A novel that has been getting a lot of play from reviewers is The Farm by Tom Rob Smith. Daniel's parents have left England and retired to a farm in Sweden. Until he receives a frantic phone call from his father, he believed his parents were headed into a well-deserved retirement. After the call, he is caught between his parents, unsure of who is telling the truth and who he can trust. Daniel's mother implicates his father in a horrible crime and a conspiracy.

Lastly, Chevy Stevens new novel, That Night, is coming out on June 17th. Toni Murphy and he boyfriend were wrongly convicted of the murder of her younger sister Nicole. 17 years later, they get out on parole and instructed not to contact each other. Ryan, the boyfriend, is convinced they can find the real killers. The nasty, bullying girls from high school are still nasty and still bullying. They have their own secrets and prefer that Toni and Ryan not discover them.

OK - that should give you some choices for next month. I will see you again after June 2nd.