The Heart Moves in a Circular Direction
Ingeborg Gubler Casey
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
9780595412273, $18.95, www.iuniverse.com
Schizophrenia. The mere mention makes some people cringe and label whoever has it a crazy. Most kids are ashamed of their parents as well, and you have a volatile mixture when the two concepts combine. "The Heart Moves in a Circular Direction: A Story of Healing" is the story of Ingeborg Casey and her mother with schizophrenia, the story of their relationship. Although close as children, when the natural teenage rebellion kicks in, Ingeborg distances herself from her mother and her illness, even outright denying her very existence. She becomes a psychologist, but still has little understanding of her, but must fight through the guilt and depression that surrounds them both to gain that bond that they were denied that so many mothers and daughters share. A heart-wrenching tale from start to finish and deftly composed, "The Heart Moves in a Circular Direction: A Story of Healing" is highly recommended for community library memoir collections and for anyone who has a relative in a similar state that they feel they may have mistreated.
Still Alice
Lisa Genova
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Rd. Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
Kelley & Hall (publicist)
Five Briar Lane, Marblehead, MA 01945
9780595440092, $18.95, www.iuniverse.com
Alzheimer's is one of the worst afflictions that can affect humankind - its victims receive a fate worse than death, forgetting who they are and who everyone they love and care for's very faces- something no one would wish on their worst enemy. "Still Alice" is a tale of an unfortunate woman struck with the affliction in the prime of her life, the debut novel of Lisa Genova, who shows she has done her research on the subject and shows a deft knowledge of the disease. Three dollars of each sale of the novel is promised to the Alzheimer's Association, which makes "Still Alice" highly recommended to community library fiction collections and for anyone who needs help getting over the affliction of a loved one.
Flight of the Kiwi
Carol Donsky Newell
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1424186757, $19.95 www.publishamerica.com
All too often, children are born and their father isn't there to be an effective part of their lives. "Flight of the Kiwi" is the debut novel of Carol Donksy Newell, which follows Samantha in a quest to find out her origins after her mother passes without ever revealing to her the name of her father. Samantha finds shocking secrets abound as she digs deeper and deeper into her mother's past to find out more about her father. An excellent first effort from an author who is sure to continue to impress, "Flight of the Kiwi" is highly recommended to fiction lovers everywhere and deserves a spot on any community library fiction shelf.
Behind The Mask
Helene Moore
Mystic Publishers
850 South Boulder Highway, Suite 436, Henderson, NV 89015
9781934051214, $17.95 www.helenemoore.com
True stories are the best stories. They teach us what people can go through, how the can endure, and most especially, how they can triumph in the end -- one way or another. "Behind The Mask" is the story of a woman whose husband was misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. It's the story of how Helene Moore's personal world was shattered, how she felt helpless and hopeless with the sudden prospect of watching the man she loved being given a prognosis of slow, inevitable death that would steal his mind long before it would result in his death. It is also the story of her finding the strength to cope, to survive, to perceive and enjoy the small pleasantries of life, family, and friends. "Behind The Mask" is drawn from her journal entries and provides a compelling account of her struggle back to normalcy and her renewed appreciation for what life and love can make of even the most ordinary of marriages undergoing the most extraordinary of challenges. Superbly written from beginning to end, "Behind The Mask" is as inspired and inspiring as it is informed and informative, making it highly recommended reading for anyone finding themselves or a love done in similar circumstance.
Voices Crying in the Wilderness
Alison Teed
Xulon Press
2180 West State Road 434, Suite 2140, Longwood, FL 32779
9781604774153, $15.99 www.xulonpress.com 1-866-381-2665
"Write in a book all you have seen and heard..." "Voices Crying in the Wilderness: A Call to Prophesy" is author and published writer Alison Teed's answer to that call, a year of waiting on God, and calls "Voices Crying in the Wilderness: A Call to Prophesy" an account of thirty years of prophetic obedience. It is a semi-autobiographical account of growing up a prophet and a nudge that all of God's people should come and answer his call without fear. Highly recommended for Christian studies shelves and for Christian readers in general.
Easy Entertaining For Beginners
Patricia Mendez
Maple Heights Press
PO Box 3936, Torrance, CA 90510
9780979956409, $16.95, www.ezentertaining.net
Having friends or family over for drinks and dinner is one of the more pleasant social occasions that can be indulged in by anyone and every one -- if they know some basic fundamentals related to planning such events. That's the premise and promise of Patricia Mendez's instructional guide "Easy Entertaining For Beginners", a step-by-step, beautifully illustrated manual comprising thirteen complete and easy menus, checklists for every phase of planning, preparation, and presentation; practical ideas and advice, useful party etiquette, and thoroughly 'user friendly' answers to all the common questions and concerns that the novice party planner might have. Of special note is the section of color photos of the finished recipes for dishes that range from a Kahlua Fudge Brownie Pie, to Pizza Bar; to a Cheddar has Brown Gratin. Whether it's a cocktail party, a romantic dinner for two, feeding the in-laws, high tea, or such annual celebratory gatherings as Thanksgiving or Christmas, "Easy Entertaining For Beginners" is an ideal resource for the novice -- and has a great deal to offer even the more experienced host.
Cassandra Chanting
Anonymous
Author House
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403
9781434353245, $25.00, www.cassandrachanting.com
Nostradamus stated in his prophecies that the third anti-Christ would be a Charismatic snake in the grass that everyone would love - sounds like it could be the next President of the United States. "Cassandra Chanting: An Election Insider's Nightmare" tells of someone with these qualities and how they plan to steal the November 2008 Presidential Election by exploiting the very vulnerable modern day electoral system. While "Cassandra Chanting: An Election Insider's Nightmare" is a work of fiction, it is still a warning Americans must heed to make their electoral system the most tamper-proof possible. "Cassandra Chanting: An Election Insider's Nightmare" is highly recommended to community library collections on fiction with a focus on political thrillers.
The Voice Of Hope
Aung San Suukyi
Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013
9781583228456, $18.95, www.sevenstories.com 1-800-596-7437
Aung San Suukyi is a political prisoner of conscience who has been held under house arrest by the Burmese military junta for twelve of the last eighteen years of her life. The leader of the National League for Democracy (which won the last Burmese national election held in 1990), she is a Nobel Peace Laureate and devout Buddhist who has inspired her people and the world. "The Voice Of Hope: Conversations With Alan Clements" provides Western readers with a compendium of her thoughts concerning self-responsibility, democracy, non-violence, truth and reconciliation, and a global vision. Now in a newly revised and expanded second addition to which has been added an interview with U Gambira (leader of the All-Burma Monks Alliance that was responsible for the protests against the military dictatorship of Burma in September and October of 2007) just before his arrest in November 2007, "The Voice Of Hope" also features an updated chronology and a resource list for action toward justice in Burma. Strongly recommended reading for students of Political Science, International Relations, and contemporary Burmese history, "The Voice Of Hope" should be considered a seminal and invaluable addition to academic and community library collections, as well as the personal libraries of political activists and non-specialist general readers with an interest in contemporary social justice issues.
Abroad For Her Country
Jean M. Wilkowsi
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
9780268044138, $30.00, www.undpress.nd.edu 1-800-621-2736
Jean M. Wilkowski began her career with the U.S. Foreign Service in 1944 and carried out career assignments to nine countries on three continents before retiring in 1980. Along the way she was awarded six honorary degrees and is the only woman to receive the Foreign Service Cup from the 'Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired'. "Abroad For Her Country: Tales Of A Pioneer Woman Ambassador In The U.S. Foreign Service" is her personal memoir of thirty-five years spent in the diplomatic service which included being the first woman U.S. Ambassador to an African country and the first woman acting U.S. Ambassador in Latin America. In addition to promoting U.S. Trade and investment interests in postings that ranged from Paris and Milan, to Rome, Santiago and Geneva, she also saw service in Bogota during the Columbian revolution, attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Teguicgalpa, and the war between El Salvador and Honduras where she was responsible for U.S. humanitarian aid for 50,000 war-displaced persons. Other career highlights include being coordinator of the U.S. preparations for the 1979 United Nations Conference on Science and Technology in Vienna, and working with the U.S. delegation on a fact-finding visit to the Peoples' Republic of China. "Abroad For Her Country" is a fascinating, informative, deftly written autobiography and is especially recommended for academic and community library collections, as well as the personal reading list for anyone with an interest in International Relations in general, and the American diplomatic service in particular.
Mary Cowper
Reviewer
Dunford's Bookshelf
A Guide To The Printed Work Of Jessie M. King
Colin White
Oak Knoll Press
310 Delaware Street, New Castle, DE 19720-5038
9781584562047, $90.00 www.oakknoll.com 1-800-996-2556
One of the most influential illustrators and book designers of the 20th century was a woman. Jessie M. King (1875-1949) received her training in Glasgow, Scotland and during the fifty years of her professional career she designed and illustrated more than 250 books, 100 greeting cards, distinctive bookplates, and a diversity of publishing ephemera. In "A Guide To The Printed Work Of Jessie M. King ", Colin White has compiled, identified, annotated, classified, and catalogues every known example of her often breathtakingly beautiful, museum quality work. Enhanced with an informed and informative discussion of King's work for the German publisher Globus by Dr. A. D. Portno, "A Guide To The Printed Work Of Jessie M. King" also features commentary on King's designs for the Routledge series of children's classics. Profusely and impressively illustrated throughout, an accompanying CD-Rom contains a considerable amount of her work, illustrated in full color, and with every significantly representative item presented with each illustration being numbered according to the corresponding entry in the book's text. A strongly recommended addition for academic library collections, "A Guide To The Printed Work Of Jessie M. King" is a seminal and invaluable contribution to the history of publishing and fully showcases a most remarkable woman whose enduringly beautiful work reflects the Arts & Crafts movement of her era.
Bourbon At Its Best
Ron Givens
Clerisy Press
c/o Menasha Ridge Press
2204 - 1st Avenue South, Suite 102, Birmingham, AL 35233
9781578603046, $25.00, www.menasharidge.com, 1-888-60-HIKES
Bourbon is a favored beverage whose enduring popularity in the American bars and homes continues from generation to generation. Now bourbon expert Ron Givens has written a fascinating, descriptive, and informative book focusing exclusively on this alcoholic masterpiece in all its varied subtleties in "Bourbon At Its Best: The Lore & Allure Of America's Finest Spirits". Beginning with a succinct introduction, Given's continues with describing the process of how bourbon is made from mashing, fermentation, and distillation, to barreling, aging, and mingling. There are chapters devoted to the major distillers, legendary brands, the diversity of drinks that incorporate bourbon as an ingredient, and so much more. Enhanced with the inclusion of an Index and a Bibliography, "Bourbon At Its Best" is profusely illustrated throughout and includes such historical oddities as why all but one of the makers of 'straight bourbon' are located in a small region of Kentucky. A highly recommended addition to community library collections, "Bourbon At Its Best" should be considered a 'must read' by anyone who has ever sipped a glass of one of America's finest whiskies.
Surviving a Disaster
Tony Nester
Ancient Pathways, LLC
c/o Diamond Creek Press
P.O. Box 2068, Flagstaff, AZ, 86003
9780971381124 $12.95
It's something that simply can't be controlled. No matter where one is in the world, nature and man have something to interrupt their peaceful harmony. "Surviving A Disaster: Emergency Strategies And Emergency Kits for Staying Alive" teaches that the best way to survive these unexpected events is to have the right gear and protocol in hand to use and execute when it hits the proverbial fan. Granting advice on what mind-set to keep when the worst happens, proper escape plans, putting together straight forward kits, dealing with children, safe water, and communication, among other invaluable advice. "Surviving a Disaster: Emergency Strategies And Emergency Kits for Staying Alive" is an essential guide to anyone who fears the unexpected and wants to be prepared.
The Wondrous Toy Workshop
Nancy B. Miller
Syren Book Company
5120 Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis, MN 55416
9780929636825, $15.95 www.syrenbooks.com 1-800-901-3480
Every recorded human civilization has had the concept of toys for the amusement, education, and training of their children. Prior to the rise of the industrial age, most toys were handmade by parents and kinfolk for their youngsters. "The Wondrous Toy Workshop: Hanni's Inspiring Life And Her Toys Anyone Can Make" by writer and painter Nancy B. Miller is the story of Hanni Sager, a woman who has been severely disabled by muscular dystrophy in Oaxaca, Mexico. Hanni's disability inspired her to reach out to disabled and disadvantaged children in her community through founding four extraordinary toy-making workshops. This provided Hanni with a purpose and life-enhancing joy. Her story provides the rest of us with an inspired and inspiring account of how a single person can do enduring good for so many others. Not just a superbly written biography of a most remarkable woman, "The Wondrous Toy Workshop" also provides the reader with a 'user friendly', step-by-step manual for setting up toy-making workshops. Enhanced with patterns and simple instructions for making twelve charming pul-string style toys, as well as full-color photographs of children with the toys, "The Wondrous Toy Workshop" is a unique and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library Crafts & Hobbies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Questions and Answers on Life Insurance
Anthony Steuer, CLU
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
9781583484708, $24.95, www.iuniverse.com
Modern funerals can be quite expensive, so life insurance can be the easiest answer. But how can you make sure that your life insurance will do what you pay it to do? "Questions and Answers on Life Insurance: The Life Insurance Toolbook" is a guide to help those who are concerned about life insurance policies make the right decisions by analyzing the fine print of it all - the different types of policies, evaluating the companies that hold the policy, trusted agencies, underwriting, and how to make sure your policy doesn't change behind your back. "Questions and Answers on Life Insurance: The Life Insurance Toolbook" is highly recommended to community library collections on personal finance and for anyone who is in the market for a life insurance policy.
Michael Dunford
Reviewer
Greenspan's Bookshelf
Mind Control
Fritz Galt
Sigma Books
c/o Lulu
860 Aviation Parkway, Suite 300, Morrisville, NC 27560
9781435707764, $17.95, www.lulu.com
Breaking up is never something that's too easily done - and for Brad West it means being left for dead with a murderous psychopath. "Mind Control: A Brad West Thriller" is the second novel in the series of thrillers about Psychic Brad West. This time, his ex-girlfriend's father, an expert on mind control is meddling with the latest Presidential race in the United States - and he must overcome countless obstacles to get back to America to stop him before it's all too late. "Mind Control: A Brad West Thriller" is highly recommended for community library collections with an interest in thrillers.
The Copper Indian
J.P. Morgan, D. Min.
Xulon Press
2180 West State Road 434, Suite 2140, Longwood, FL 32779
9781604772258, $14.99, www.xulonpress.com
Idealistic and Frustrated with the world, Native American Jim Utze seeks to join the New York Police Department, the NYPD. In "The Copper Indian", his story is told, of how he longs for the past where the law was there to help the weak and downtrodden, and not having to deal with all of this gray area ends justify the means that his co-officers so often do to push themselves to do impure things. Even his lover, an Israeli, becomes mired in confusion, as he suspects her of dirty deeds. Faced with the overwhelming corruption of the force, what is Jim to do, who only came into this job to help others? "The Copper Indian" is a deftly written and highly recommended historical fiction and mystery novel, and lovers of any of those genres will be sure to find a treat.
Gallery of Fools
Jerome Tuccile
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
9780595486830, $15.95, www.iuniverse.com
A true story of a crime gone awry, "Gallery of Fools: The True Story of a Celebrated Manhattan Art Theft" is author Jerome Tuccille's story of being dragged into the crime by his family as they lift paintings worth millions out of Manhattan art galleries, barely escaping intact. Trying to escape the misdeeds, he runs for Governor of New York, as life falls to shambles - the campaign fails, his family gets arrested for their actions and he begins to fall into financial ruin. He turns to redeem himself in any way he can. "Gallery of Fools: The True Story of a Celebrated Manhattan Art Theft" is highly recommended for community library true crime collections.
Till Death Do Us Part
Charles Wooderson
Vantage Press Inc.
419 Park Avenue South, New York, NY, 10016
9780533156870, $23.95, www.vantagepress.com
Good at nothing besides snooker, baseball, and basketball, Adrian Dent is stuck, like so many others at a dead-end job pumping gas and checking people's oil. "Til Death Do Us Part: The Saga of Adrian Dent (Part one): Innocence Lost" is the tale of Adrian's maturing from a seventeen year old gas station attendant to his affairs with a Billiards Parlor owner to two tours of service to so much more chaos that covers Adrian's life. The first novel of Charles Wooderson, and it's a great one - highly recommended to fiction lovers everywhere and deserves a place on every community library fiction shelf.
Beyond The Sea
Roger Bares & Pat Collins Bares
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
9780595468607, $15.95, www.iuniverse.com
The bombing of Pearl Harbor, the start of World War II for the United States - and the start of separation for countless couples. "Beyond The Sea: A Tale of Love & War in the South Pacific" is a fictional account of the start of this separation in a deftly written and enthralling drama of men who want to know what the Navy has in store for them, and want to know of their women back home - and the women back home who worry for their men out on the sea, and how all of them cope with this sudden engagement of war. "Beyond The Sea: A Tale of Love & War in the South Pacific" is highly recommended for lovers of war stories and for community library historical fiction collections.
One Foot In The Black
Kurt L. Kamm
Lulu Press
860 Aviation Parkway, Suite 300, Morrisville, NC 27560
Kurt@OneFootInTheBlack.com
9781435706262., $14.95 www.lulu.com www.amazon.com
All he ever wanted was a sense of his family, but Greg Kowalski must leave home to get away from his father, and chooses to move to California and then becomes a seasonal firefighter. "One Foot In the Black: A Wildland Firefighter's Story" is the story of how Greg seeks his father's approval despite their growing apathy towards him. Having to survive strenuous and grueling training just out of High School, "One Foot In the Black: A Wildland Firefighter's Story" draws from firefighter and author Kurt L. Kamm's experience to create a realistic yet still fast paced and intriguing tale, making it recommended for fiction lovers in need of a good man versus the overwhelming power of nature tale, and for community library fiction collections in general.
The Magician of Kalipur
Ken Noyle
Booksurge LLC
7290-B Investment Drive, Charleston, SC 29418
Dan Smith (publicity)
dan@smithpublicity.com
9781419671456, $12.95 www.kennoyle.com
Treachery, Terrorists, and Romance will keep readers glued to "The Magician of Kalipur". The novel follows Martin, a psychologist with guilt on his mind, where everything seems to go wrong - well mostly. He falls in love with a charming Eurasian girl, but that's the only thing that seems to go right for Martin, as terrorists threaten his life, the details of his love's past spill out, and the only hope for him seems to be the abrupt appearance of an omnipotent holy man. Blending elements of romance, thriller, travel, and so much more, "The Magician of Kalipur" is deftly written and highly recommended for fiction fans everywhere and should prove to be a popular lend for community library fiction shelves.
The Chocolate Queen
Lee Brooks
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1424102596, $19.95 www.publishamerica.com
Chocolate lovers fight for the concoction they love the most in "The Chocolate Queen", the first and hopefully not last published novel of Lee Brooks. The people of Carmel, who view the delicious delight as sacred and divine, are invaded by the land of Reverent, which is strict with its laws and the dark indulgence has been outlawed for over one hundred fifty years. The people of Carmel are not about to abandon their love so easily though in this enthralling fantasy novel even though the concept seems a bit absurdist at first. Fantasy and chocolate lovers should grab this novel right away and community library fantasy collections should find it a popular lend.
Able Greenspan
Reviewer
Klausner's Bookshelf
Blood Brothers
Rick Acker
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49501-2607
9780825420078, $14.99, www.kregelpublications.com 1-800-733-2607
They are twenty-first century versions of Cain and Abel as brothers Karl and Gunnar Bjornsen have worked together for years building up Bjornsen Pharmaceutical; the former is the CEO and the latter is president. In a shocking move, Karl manages to have his sibling voted out as a company officer. The only setback with this betrayal is that Gunnar is the only person who knows how to create Neurostim, a miracle drug that makes people smarter, quicker, and stronger.
Karl sues his brother to force him to reveal how to produce the miracle elixir, but Gunnar counters by hiring lawyer Ben Corbin to make the case that criminal acts by his sibling makes him unfit to run the firm. Side effects show up during the test trials, but Karl keeps that concealed while Ben, his wife and his co-worker go to Norway to visit a Bjornsen subsidiary. They interview a scientist who has proof that Karl committed felonies to remove Gunnar from the company. However, an arsonist burns the building that contained the evidence destroying the documents in the inferno. Having also made a deal with the government, Karl seems indestructible as everything goes his way.
Part crime caper and part legal thriller with a supporting medical thriller foundation, BLOOD BROTHERS is an exciting thriller that demonstrates the talent of Rick Acker to keep fan interest throughout the plot. There is a lot of action in the exhilarating story line, but it is the characters that grip the readers especially fascinating is the good vs. evil fratricide war. Ben is determined as he fights for his client who he fully believes in. The war heats up as his wife gets shot while applying forensic skills to financial documents, and likable Gunnar who knows his brother is a ruthless dirty adversary, but tries to remain on the moral high road in spite potholes, detours, and obstructions.
How the Dead Live
Derek Raymond
Serpent's Tail
c/o Meryl Zegarek Public Relations
255 West 108th Street, Suite 901, New York, NY 10025
9781852427986, $14.95, www.serpentstail.com
He knows the brass hates him as he is a British bulldog with no regard to his superiors, procedure, or the media when it comes to solving a case or for that matter keeping apolitically correct silence when some Home Office idiotic suit lectures. His boss can't fire him because he is so successful, but tries to exile him whenever a remote area asks for help.
Thus for opening his mouth during a mandatory class, this Scotland Yard detective finds himself leaving London for tiny Thornhill village in Wiltshire to investigate a missing-person. Apparently Marianne Mardy vanished; her husband Dr. William Mardy has not reported her missing; no one has. Since the local police suffer from duck disease up their arse, he is sent to rusticate make that investigate a possible murder so that his boss can have some needed R&R make that the gossipers can rest easy. In Thornhill, the outsider affirms the local police are uninterested in what happened to Marianne. As he keeps digging, he runs into corruption and soon begins to comprehend what happened to Mrs. Mardy when he learns HOW THE DEAD LIVE, but has problems with insuring justice not legal mumbo jumbo truly occurs.
This is a reprint of the third Factory Scotland Yard thriller written by the late Derek Raymond (see HE DIED WITH HIS EYES OPEN and THE DEVIL'S HOME ON LEAVE; neither read by me). Written two decades ago, the tale is a terrific British police procedural Noir narrated by the unnamed detective who is as excellent at solving cases as he is at annoying his boss. Sub-genre fans will appreciate this engaging one sitting detective tale that exposes the underbelly that society pretends does not exist.
His father, Diego Fuentes, a notorious drug cartel chief, has made everyone suspect whose side is former SEAL Ian Fuentes on? However, although his handler has doubts about his loyalty, he is currently undercover seeking to prevent known terrorist Sorrel from concocting some evil plot against innocent people. Ironically even his father is unsure whose side Ian is on.
However, every recent indication affirms the belief that Ian has joined his dad. Only Homeland Security operative Kira "Chameleon" Porter believes otherwise as she has known Ian for years and plans to prove her attraction could not be for a drug dealer. In Aruba, the Feds, the Fuentes Cartel and Sorrel and his colleagues want Ian removed. Only Kira has his back.
Ian is a fascinating individual as no one fully trusts him, not his father or his handler; only Kira partially believes that he is on the good guys' side, but she has doubts that her reasoning is tainted by love. Can a person who grew up with betrayal by loved ones and treacherous murder by family and friends as a norm still be human or has he been so demonized that he is a tundra psychopath? Kira's upbringing is only slightly better, but still in deep negative numbers. Lora Leigh's latest SEAL romantic suspense (see HIDDEN AGENDAS) is fast-paced and filled with action, but it is the uncertainty about the lead couple that makes this a strong thriller.
Pilate: A Brutal Bible Tale
Steven Rage
Outskirts Press, Inc.
10940 South Parker Road, #515, Parker, CO 80134
9781432717971, $12.95, www.outskirtspress.com 1-888-672-6657
The Harbor is a crime filled, drug infested place. In that environs Pilate is a notorious drug dealer working for mob kingpin Herod. Over the past few months Pilate has failed to meet his assigned quota so his superior fires him and replaces him with an even more ruthless soul. He also has Mary Magdalene murdered. Pilate brings Mary to Immanuel, whose disciples insist she is the Christ. She raises Mary from the dead and kisses Pilate resulting in his remembering his past lives.
Except for his first life, Pilate was a vampire performing evil deeds during the Inquisition; during the California Gold Rush and he feasted while the plague devastated London. He kept on making the same errors and Immanuel knows her time has arrived to fulfill her mission on earth. Will Pilate betray her as he has done when she was Jesus or will he finally learn the eternal lessons?
This is not an inspirational work nor is it blasphemous (at least in my liberal mind). The story line uses biblical villains and places them reincarnated in the present where they repeat their evil deeds as they have done often in the past, but documented two millennia ago. Immanuel and the disciples with the exception of Judas, who finally remembers his first betrayal, are treated with respect and honor in this unique religious horror thriller. Steven Rage has written an enthralling tale that brings back the time Jesus walked Israel to her walking in the present.
In Texas Jane Nelson was a loving wife and mother when she suddenly drowned her two and a half years old son Simon and almost killed the lad's twin sister Sarah. She is charged with the homicide, but found not guilty by reason of insanity. The prosecutor goes after Jane's husband devastated Tom saying that he should have known what his wife was capable of doing and thereby failed to protect his children. He was not just an accessory, he by inactivity abetted the murder.
The media hangs Tom; his academic peers blame Tom, the public malign Tom. All need a scapegoat and the lunatic mom is considered too deranged whereas Tom is terrific for the role. However, his lawyer Dave plans to make a reasonable doubt defense based on JANEOLOGY that insists her DNA has violence imprinted on it. Jane's psychic relative, Mariah Hernandez assists the defense by looking into Jane's past and that of her antecedents.
This is a fascinating legal thriller with some paranormal elements that is at its best when the focus is on an anguished Tom outside the courtroom. The story line is fast-paced and gripping as readers will want to know what caused Jane to kill her son and attempt to kill her daughter; Mariah's visions provide insight into the motives though admittedly some readers will find that gimmicky. However, the big issue is having the DA force Tom to testify seems inappropriate as he has Fifth Amendment rights that allow his side to determine whether they want him on the stand or not. Still this is an interesting look at the causes and effect of a horrific act.
Bewitching Season
Marissa Doyle
Henry Holt & Company
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 400, New York, NY 10010-7725
9780805082517, $16.95, www.henryholt.com 1-888-330-8477
In 1837 seventeen years old twins Penelope and Persephone Leland differ about their feelings about their debut season. Whereas Pen is euphoric looking forward to all the social activity especially with this being a coronation season in London; Persy prefers to stay at home bookishly studying magic under the tutelage of their governess, Ally. However, both react the same way when Ally vanishes without a trace in Kensington Palace; the sisters use their magical skills searching for her while Persy also overhears a seditious plot to keep Princess Victoria from being crowned Queen.
As she has in her mind and heart forever, Persy remained attracted to her neighbor Lord Seton, Lochinver, who only recently seems to have noticed her. However, finding beloved Ally comes first for her and for her sibling. The clues in balls and bashes lead to danger from traitorous conspirators who plan to use Ally's magical skills to turn Victoria into their puppet.
Though targeting young adults, BEWITCHING SEASON is a alluring early Victorian historical with strong fantasy elements and some romance; older fans of the period will appreciate the fun story line as the magic in Marissa Doyle's enchanting tale is how magic is treated as a skill young ladies must learn like knitting and playing the pianoforte. The twins are a delight as their personalities are vastly different on the surface with Pen being an extrovert and Persy an introvert, but inside they share courage and caring. The romantic subplot is kept for the most part in the background while the fantasy elements play more critical roles as they are the mechanism being used to control the soon to be queen. It is elementary that fans who enjoy an engaging historical with an invigorating fantasy foundation will want to read Ms. Doyle's fine thriller.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Mary Pearson
Henry Holt
9780805076684, $16.95
The horrific accident left teenager Jenna Fox in a coma for over a year. When she awakens, she finds much of her memory has been wiped out like an etchosketch. What she recalls seems trivia as she can quote passages from poems but does not recognize her family or friends and has to take their word that she is seventeen years old Jenna Fox.
Her parents show her home videos of her childhood, but none of it looks familiar to her besides which it does not feel right. Slowly bits and pieces of her memory return until she realizes her parents' biography of her life is false. She begins to piece together the horrific truth not understanding the danger that poses to her.
Although there are some questionable decisions made by Jenna's parents that seem illogical once the audience realizes (along with the title star) what is going on, readers will be fully hooked into a one sitting thriller. Fans will appreciate Mary Pearson's powerful drama as shocking disclosures that seem plausible keep spinning the story line in different direction than the reader thought. Using the secondary characters to reveal the truth to the audience and the heroine, Ms. Pearson provides a strong tense cautionary thriller that dually raises morality issues while entertaining readers with Jenna's plight.
Aurelia
Anne Osterlund
Speak
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780142405796, $8.99, www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515
Most if not all of the people in Tyalt envy Princess Aurelia, heir to the throne; however, ironically Aurelia envies her countrymen. She knows being a royal means pampering, but also connotes responsibility to her country. Aurelia dreams of marrying for love not state with some husband who wants to be the next tyrant; while her father the king expects her to marry whomever he chooses makes the best political deal for Tyalt. She would like to travel the countryside free to explore without bodyguards every step of the way and without fear of embarrassing the throne.
However someone wants the heir removed. After a failed attempt on her life, the King enforces her protection and assigns the son of his former top operator, Robert to investigate the assassination attempt. Robert and Aurelia have been friends forever, but both hide their feelings for one another. However, Aurelia is not going to remain cloistered nor wait for her unknown adversary to try again. She feels only she can save herself so she risks her crown, her love, and her life to do so.
This is an exciting young adult tale that cleverly uses references to anchor time ("The Age of Reason") and place (other neighboring kingdoms) as Anne Osterlund enlighteningly avoids dumbing down by treating her audience with respect in regards to their intelligence. The courageous princess wants more out of life than tedious nobles fawning at her feet at boring parties. She soon learns that sometimes you get what you wish for when several assassination attempts occur. However, that just makes her even braver. Readers will appreciate Princess Aurelia's rude awakening to the downside of royalty.
After Hours at the Almost Home
Tara Yellen
Unbridled Books
2000 Wadsworth Boulevard, #195, Lakewood, CO 80214
9781932961485, $14.95, www.unbridledbooks.com 1-888-732-3822
JJ has relocated five times, but currently works as a cocktail waitress in Denver. Her first night at the Almost Home Bar and Grill, the place is packed as the Broncos are playing in the Superbowl. She struggles with customer orders as she finds the job overwhelming at least this first Sunday is; her hope is that this is an aberration caused by the football championship although the tips are excellent so she also hopes for more nights like this once she learns the job.
JJ also struggles to understand the employee dynamics that she knows is critical to her staying on this job a bit longer than her last six positions. She tries to comprehend the 360 degree relationships of each of her peers. For instance Widow Colleen has no place to leave her teenage daughter Lily so she takes her with her when she comes to the bar. Denny is ending a relationship while he and waitress Lena appear to be starting one as they huddle so cuddly together. Keith and bartender Marna plan to run away together.
This is an interesting character study that follows the employees and some of the regulars for one night, a special Superbowl evening, at the bar and grill. The story line switches perspective from the newcomer to the bartender, the teen and her mom, the male customer trying to sell a pick up to others. Though somewhat anecdotal, readers obtain a poignant look at how various people see their lives precariously through the football game in an intense one scene drama.
Baxter Moon Galactic Scout
John Zakour
Brown Barn Books
119 Kettle Creek Rd., Weston, Ct.,06883
97800976812692, $8.95
Baxter Moon won a scholarship to the Galactic Academy of Scouts and he loves attending school there because he is training to be a pilot. Since mankind went into space, they met only one other humanoid race the blue skin Aquarians. The two races do not get along but each race has something they want so they decide to negotiate in a neutral sector.
Neither race hears from their delegates, so each accuses the other side of atrocities. To avoid an intergalactic war, Baxter and his team are ordered to the place where the delegates vanished to learn what happened. They are chosen because they are not certified to bear deadly arms. When they arrive at the location, they find mindless zombies, which mean they must destroy the cause before they too join the delegates.
John Zakour has written a fabulous science fiction thriller filled with humor, action, and tense decisions that could impact both races. The support cast who make Baxter's team are fully developed and readers will enjoy their escapades especially GiS the brilliant bioengineered monkey and the extremely strong young lady Zenna. Hopefully this is the first in a new young adult outer space series because readers will adore Baxter.
Every Good And Perfect Gift
Sharan K. Souza
NavPress
PO Box 35001, Colorado Springs, CO 80935
9781600061752, $12.99, www.navpress.com 1-800-366-7788
Nearing forty, best friends Angel Gabby Whitaker Nevin and DeeDee McAllister-Kent feel they have lived great lives. Both married their college boyfriends and each couple decided on a DINK (Double income no kids) lifestyle.
However, DeeDee suddenly feels her biological clock running down as she desperately wants a baby. While DeeDee tries to become pregnant, Gabby wonders whether she should reconsider her decision to remain childless. DeeDee continues to fail to conceive, which begins to cause a strain between her and her spouse and between her and her best friend until DeeDee's medical diagnosis shakes up everyone
This is a fascinating look at friendship between two people who never had differences until they tried to get pregnant. Gabby is the one tested especially when they learn what is wrong with DeeDee as she will need patience like she never needed with her best friend before. Sharan K. Souza explains that she modernized and gender changed the biblical bond between David and Jonathan as Gabby wonders why bad things happen to good people, but accepts this is God's way and vows to the Lord she will be there for DeeDee.
Lost Prince
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Borderlands Press
PO Box 660, Fallston, MD 21047
9781880325797, $16.95
In 1564 Spain is under the terror grip of the Grand Inquisition that sees no distinction between classes when it comes to destroying those marked by the devil. Even King Alonzo understands the reach of the Grand Inquisition as he himself indirectly fed its fervor with his anti-reformation. However, his son Don Alteza Rolon is cursed from birth with the lycanthropy disease. Though he detest his offspring as a monster, to keep his Infante Real heir safe, the monarch "exiles" him to El Morro in the mountains accompanied by court jester Lugantes.
When horrific deaths occur on the full moon over El Morro, a frightened Rolon assumes he is the culprit and begins seeking a cure for his ailment. Before he finds a remedy to his blood lust infliction, Alonzo calls him home as he is to wed the niece of the Doge of Venice in a political marriage to pampered hedonistic Zaretta Patrecipazio. To his shock, Rolon falls in love with his wife and has an even stronger reason to find the cure as he wants to avoid the heretic label and the pyre while also fearing for his playful spouse and their future offspring.
Although there is no St Germain in this thrilling werewolf historical tale, fans of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro will appreciate this timely extremely dark look at The Spanish Inquisition; especially the use of torture to obtain confessions under the guise of religious security. The victims almost always "validate" what the torturer demand they say making the story line feel apropos today (wonder if reincarnation exists?). The novel follows the adventures of Infante Real Don Rolon who might be the heir to the throne, but being a werewolf at this time in Spain marks him as heretic and if found out needing to be cleaned in the pyre; he and his loyal retinue like heroic dwarf Lugantes try to hide his illness. With a terrific final spin to accentuate the period, the audience will feel they are visiting mid sixteenth century Spain where the Grand Inquisition serves as judge, jury and executioner.
The Stone Gods
Jeanette Winterson
Harcourt Books
15 East 26th Street, 15th floor, New York, NY 10010
9780151014910, $24.00, www.harcourtbooks.com 1-800-543-1918
"Planet Blue". Orbus is dying; some will say died. The planetary residents destroyed their home by polluting everything. However, led by Captain Handsome and with Billie Crusoe and robo sapien Spike as part of the crew, they escape their madness by discovering a perfect blue planet, but must rid this new earth of its dominant species. While the humans plan on their usual mass destruction to solve a problem, Billie and Spike fall in love. They send an asteroid to crash planet-side, destroying the dinosaurs that would have made colonization difficult.
"Easter Island". In 1774 the longboats arrive to be greeted by the giant monuments, but first they must control the natives before they explore. As is the human way, the newcomers plan on mass destruction to restrain the islanders even as Billie and Spike fall in love.
"Wreck City". The 3 War along with previous out of control pollution to keep the economy strong has left many places like Wreck City as no zones. These unfit places are expanding as pollution and war has wrecked the once blue planet turning it into a sickly gray. Those with wealth know it is time to escape this dying world and find a new earth to colonize even as Billie and Spike fall in love.
This poignant cautionary tale focuses on the theory that humans as a species or as individuals never learn from previous mistakes; if a person as a child touches a hot stove, his or her child will not heed their advice and touch the hot stove. With little hope, Jeannette Winterson provides a withering condemnation of mankind who she asserts cannot help it that our DNA contains pandemic (as a society) and localized (as a person and family) destructive genes. As Zager and Evans say in 2525: "He's taken everything this old Earth can give. And he ain't put back nothing". However, instead of Judgement Day, we leave behind our mess for those struggling to survive and cannot afford escape.
XXX Marks the Spot
Kathleen Lawless
Pocket Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 13th fl., New York, NY 10020
9781416532743, $14.00, www.simonsays.com 1-800-223-2336
In Seattle, Kennedy James books a wild week at exclusive Walker Island golf resort in North Carolina for her and her two best friends Lisa Green and Justine Bates. Whereas she wants sex, Kennedy knows Lisa struggles with her divorce from her cheating spouse Loser Les and Justine fears her biological clock is counting down. The rules are simple they must compete their Sexcapades list X-rated scavenger hunt to include collecting designated items, scoring items, and have at least six sexual encounters including special pampering by a male slave.
At their first night at the bar Kennedy meets pilot Sam Watson who flew her a few years ago; she persuades him to show her his aviator's wings. Justin pretends to sleepwalk leading to meeting Eric the superintendent who rescues her from a sprinkler with her giving her hero a kiss. Lisa knows she is behind, but hopes to get a hole in one with golf pro Richard.
This is a fun erotic contemporary romance with three heated love subplots. Each of the lead couples are nice people but it is the women who star as the audience understands their desires and motives. Although relatively straightforward except for some interference by bossy Kennedy, XXX MARKS THE SPOT is a fine tale from boxer to chest hairs to penis photos.
To Wed A Wicked Prince
Jane Feather
Pocket Books
9781416525523, $7.99
In 1807, although still feeling like a country mouse, Lady Livia Lacy enjoys the London social life now that her recently inherited house has been somewhat fixed and her best friend widow Nell Dagenheim has fallen in love (see A WICKED GENTLEMAN). Livia has one concern; she cannot understand why sophisticated hunk half-English, half-Russian Prince Alexander Prokov pursues her as there are so many prettier and obviously more urbane women than a rustic mouse like her. When he proposes, she has doubts, but in love with her handsome suitor plus encouraged by Nell's relationship with Bonham, she accepts.
Unsure of herself, Livia begins to question who is Prince Alexander, why her, and who are all these Russian aristocrats hanging around him. She also begins to think her beloved is hiding something from her that she assumes is his real reason for being in London and perhaps courting her. When she finds incriminating old letters that answer much of what she pondered, Livia is heartbroken and prepares to rusticate in loneliness. Alex is caught between his country and his beloved wife.
The second Cavendish Square Regency romance is a wonderful tale starring two likable protagonists caught between their love and international intrigue. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the pair meets and never slows down as passion battles with duty and loyalty to one's love wars with to one's nation. Jane Feather is at the top of her game with this superb historical.
Lost Time
Susan Maupin Schmid
Philomel
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780399244605, $16.99, www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515
Few humans reside on the planet Lindos; Alexander and Viola Vivant and their daughter Violynne are some of the few. Violynne's parents are archeologists seeking sites with Croon artifacts left behind by a vast empire that has since vanished over a millennium ago. She is worried and frightened because her parents disappeared a year ago and even the planetary scanner cannot locate them. Currently Violynne lives with her butler Einhart and her Aunt Madelyn.
One night someone breaks into their house stealing her father's violin. The family believes the ruler of the planet the Arbiter of Lyrling sanctioned the theft. The Arbiter invites the family to a party; once there Violynne snoops around until she finds her father's thought pack that he took to the dig. Only she can open it, but the Arbiter wants to control her. He arrests her aunt to force her hand, but Violynne instead goes into hiding as she is caught between the Arbiter and the real ruler the Coil. Each has a different agenda that holds in common using Violynne, but she wants to find her parents apparently LOST IN TIME.
This is an entertaining young adult science fiction thriller. The diverse alien species are fully developed yet it is easy to understand their motives as each of the races want to make Violynne play their tune. LOST TIME is filled with enough action to keep audience interest, but it is the manipulations of Violynne by the various species that makes this a fun outer space thriller.
The War On Dogs In Venice Beach
Ronald Alexander; illustrated by Nathan Geare
Hollyridge
hollyridgepress@aol.com
9780979958809, $19.95, www.hollyridgepress.com
In Venice Beach, California the owners of beachfront property are livid as the once immaculate sand and spotless parks are being destroyed by dogs. One cannot walk let alone jog without stepping on canine crap. Pet owners seem indifferent to the plight of the affluent while the wealthy homeowners demand the city takes the dogs and their owners to the pound.
LAPD Police Sergeant Smelzkoff is assigned the canine caper case. He feels this is fitting as his life has been one toilet bowl of sh*t after another. Before he begins in total earnest THE WAR ON DOGS IN VENICE BEACH, he is in Manhattan helping his gay son Bobby pack to move in with him in California. Bobby, who suffers from HIV positive, and his dad may love one another, but the continent separation was good for both of them. In Venice Beach, Smelzkoff's campaign is one of stealth and precise military operations as he and his animal control squad arrest offenders (human and dog - no prejudice with this group) who leave their dogs to wander the beach unleashed or fail to pick up after their canine takes a crap. Meanwhile Bobby finds his dad's sh**ty case amusing and with the help of his father's stripper girlfriend Violet writes an opera that satires the war on dogs.
This is a terrific humorous parody on societal struggles between no compromise groups; in this case dog owners and beachfront property owners as the former claim pooping is God's natural way of fertilizing while the latter insists not for their feet. Fans will appreciate this well written satire that spoofs "ism" wars culminating with Bobby writing Salami the opera lampooning how far his once proud John Wayne like dad has fallen when he became the five star general leading THE WAR ON DOGS IN VENICE BEACH.
The Martian General's Daughter
Theodore Judson
PYR
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781591026433, $15.00, www.prometheusbooks.com 1-800-421-0351
In AD 2293, the Pan-Polarian Empire, a direct descendent of the United States, rules over most of North America at a time when a pandemic nanotech plague has destroyed all hardware. However, with the recent death of powerful Emperor Mathias the Glistening, the nation is in jeopardy. His successor, his son Luke Anthony, is a psycho.
General Peter Black leads the imperial armies. He was very loyal to the competent Mathias and wants to remain so with the incompetent Luke, but has little choice as the empire begins shattering into pieces. Fearing for his family, he especially worries about his illegitimate offspring Junta who has gone from an embarrassing reminder of her dad's weak indiscretion to his prime advisor.
This futuristic story is told by Junta who sadly chronicles a dying once glorious empire as she sees it diminishing from a cancer from within. She is fully developed and from her hero worship jaundiced perspective her father and the late emperor seem real; so does the current ruler, who in Junta's mind is a sort of insane Nero. However, what makes THE MARTIAN GENERAL'S DAUGHTER superb is the thought provoking parallels between Pan-Polaria, Rome, and the United States; as Theodore Judson makes the case that the American Empire is dying from a cancer from within.
Reconstruction
Mick Herron
Soho Press
853 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
9781569475041, $24.95, www.sohopress.com
A desperate Jaime Segura holds a gun on several hostages at the South Oxford Nursery School. One of them teacher Louise Kenney thinks he looks no more than nineteen even with the weapon as she realizes her earlier Incident seems so minor. A parent Eliot Pedlar tries to calm down his three-year-old twins weeping Timmy and Gordon, but with little success as the "Gun" seems so menacing. Then there is the cleaner to round out the prisoners.
However Jaime may be a foreigner, but he is not a terrorist. In fact he is as frightened if not more so than those he retains. His lover Miro has vanished along with 250 million pounds stolen from the Secret Service; money intended for Iraq. Meanwhile two agents tried to kidnap Jaime; all he could think of was to escape before rendition. The police surround the school asking Jaime for his demands and to free the innocent. Jaime surprises everyone insisting he will talk only with M16 accountant Ben Whistler who worked with Miro in the office. Louise knows this will end badly for everyone inside the nursery school, but she assumes Jaime is the cause instead of those outside waiting to silence all those inside to insure there are no witnesses especially the teen with the gun.
This is a great one sitting suspense tale filled with plausible yet stunning twists as nothing proves to be like it seems. Readers will feel they are claustrophobically locked inside with the hostages and the Gun while wondering who outside wants this to end tragically. Mick Herron provides an exhilarating taut thriller that will land on most short lists for one of the best of the year.
Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet
Joanne Proulx
Soho Press
9781569474877, $14.00
In 2002 in Stokum, Michigan, teenager Luke Hunter smokes pot with his friends in the basement of the house of Todd "Fang" Delaney's never home parents when he makes a dark prediction. Luke claims one of them will not make it to school tomorrow because he will be hit by an out of state red van license plate BLU 369; Stan will go heads to head at 8:37 and lose.
Word quickly gets around that Luke predicted to the nth degree of accuracy Stan's death. The media being in its usual uncaring frenzy state assault Stokum for information on the "Prophet of Death". They stalk Luke and his frightened bewildered parents as the town has become an asylum for the certifiable especially amoral reporters. Luke sees more "death flashes" that soon become real; seven months of death horrifying him as he wants to go back to his formerly mellow but somewhat cynical life. A prescription helps abate the visions even as religious fanatics try to intervene while a mom begs him to find his daughter when all he wants is his dream girl at school to say yes.
This is a fast-paced young adult contemporary paranormal thriller that focuses deeply on a previously bored teen whose 99.99% of his brain consisted of one icon: girls; suddenly he has the curse of seeing in graphic detail the death of someone soon. Thus Luke must cope with his unwanted psychic skills while avoiding the media, the religious nuts, the needy beggars, and even his family and friends whom he frightens. On top of that he is attracted to a girl who seems to reject him making him wonder if she fears his "gift". ANTHEM OF A RELUCTANT PROPHET is a well written teen angst thriller that leaves some threads unanswered, which implies sequel to me.
Death on the Holy Mountain
David Dickinson
Soho Press
9781569475034, $24.95
In 1905, though semi retired, English private investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt accompanied by his wife Lucy travel to Ireland to look into some odd art thefts. Someone is stealing low valued familial portraits from the mansions of Protestant Lords, but ignoring highly valuable masterpieces from some of the Masters.
Francis struggles with the motive as money is obviously not the objective; so he assumes a political statement is being made. However, when the portraits with altered faces begin to reappear on the walls they were stolen from, Francis ponders even more the motive behind the crime. Soon after that the bewildered sleuth rescues kidnapped Protestant noblewomen from Irish nationalists but not before someone is murdered inside the chapel at Croagh Patrick while the pilgrimage has begun.
Moving deeper into the Edwardian Era from the Victorian Age of much of the previous Powerscourt historical mysteries; David Dickinson provides a deep period piece. The story line obviously contains a strong investigative whodunit, but also much more as the audience obtains a feel for Ireland's struggle to become a modern nation. Powerscourt personally feels the tugs, but it is the larger scale of early twentieth century pragmatism warring with rich ancient tradition that makes this book incredible.
A Mending at the Edge
Jane Kirkpatrick
WaterBrook Press
c/o Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
9781578569793, $13.99, www.waterbrookpress.com, 1-800-726-0600
Emma Wagner Giesy left hope in Missouri along with an abusive spouse and disapproving parents to bring her two preadolescent daughters to a safe environs in Aurora, Oregon Territory. Her supportive uncle brought her other two to safety. However, so far Brother Keil has not approved a house for the Giesy brood. This has increased Emma's despair that she desperately tries to conceal from her four children.
As Brother Keil stalls letting a separated woman settle down without a man to protect her and her children, new arrivals flood the community. Emma's faith in the Lord sending her to this new religious commune is the right thing for her and her offspring is all that keeps her going.
The third Aurora mid nineteenth century tale (see A CLEARING IN THE WILD and A TENDERING IN THE STORM) is a superb historical that stars a strong heroine whose spiritual beliefs keep her from giving up to the despondence that engulfs her. However, MENDING AT THE EDGE is much more as Emma (the author says was a real person) begins to participate with others in the community coming out of her self-imposed isolationism. Readers will appreciate her journey to belong as Jane Kirkpatrick provides a profound Americana tale that showcases people trying to live their dreams.
Things I Want My Daughters to Know
Elizabeth Noble
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061122194, $22.95, www.harpercollins.com 1-800-242-7737
Barbara Forbes knows she will die soon from cancer. She tells her second husband and her four adult daughters how she wants them to attend her funeral; none are to weep as they have shared a great life with each other and none are to dress in graveyard black as they were, are, and will continue to be a colorful family.
Barbara leaves behind four letters; one to each of her daughters offering wisdom from the soon to be dearly departed. Over the next year after she is buried each opens their late mom's last words of wisdom. Barbara encourages her oldest Lisa to allow someone to get close to her; Andy would like to be that someone. To Jennifer she advises to reach out to your husband and stop worrying about fertility and offspring as the means to save her marriage. To Amanda she says to stop running away from the truth especially that her father was neither of her mother's husbands. To her youngest teenager Hannah she says rebellion is okay as long as it harms no one including herself, but she should take her time growing up as she has a precious life ahead of her.
This concept of having a deceased provide words of wisdom has been done many times before, but Elizabeth Noble keeps it fresh avoiding cliche adages by focusing on the recipients although Barbra's diary and letters are well written. Each of her children had a different relationship with their mom; something wise Barbara recognized and encourages them accordingly; she knew her children. Although the foursome heed their late mom's guidance too easily leading to nirvana, contemporary fans will appreciate this character study of four sisters, the men in their lives, and their mother still there for them though she passed away.
Bulls Island
Dorothea Benton Frank
Morrow
9780061438431, $24.95
Two decades ago in the Carolinas, Betts McGee and J.D. Langley met and fell in love. However, she has working class genes while his blood is aristocratic. Still they seemed to have overcome their class differences when they became engaged. However, that same night her mom dies in a car accident while his mom Charleston sophisticate Louisa rants about dumbing down the blue blooded DNA. Unable to cope with her future mother-in-law from hell while grieving, Betts leaves her family, J.D. and the Carolinas behind to start fresh in Manhattan. No one back home knows she left pregnant and raised a son Adrian by herself while doing quite well with depressed real estate.
However, her current assignment is in the Charleston area where she will work a land deal with unhappily married to Valerie local J.D. She would prefer to be prisoner of terrorists or the CIA, but Betts heads home to work the BULLS ISLAND deal with his firm Langley development. As she realizes she never stopped loving J.D., she continues to conceal the lie of omission from him, her family, and Adrian while J.D. knows he is married to the wrong woman.
Although the audience knows what to expect, Dorothea Benton Frank provides an engaging contemporary family drama that showcases the author's skill as throughout readers will have doubts about the anticipated outcome. The cast is solid with the story line mostly told from the viewpoint of the lead female. Readers will enjoy this fine romance as everyone will wonder whether Betts is willing to take a second chance at love while eluding gatorzilla.
The Girl with No Shadow
Joanne Harris
Morrow
9780061431623, $24.95
Over four years have passed since Vianne Rocher got into a local brawl over the sale of her special chocolate confections declared as contraband by the Lansquenet, France clergy during Lent (see CHOCOLAT). Tired of the sweet war, Vianne repudiated the magic part of her recipe, changed her name to Yanne Charbonneau and seeking security, accompanied by her two daughters, teenage Anouk and infant Rosette, moved to Montmartre in Paris where she opened up a more mundane chocolaterie.
However, Yanne begins to understand the curse of motherhood as she wants her children safe, but Anouk rebels. Zozie de l'Alba obtains a job at Yanne's Paris store, but soon Anouk is enchanted by the newcomer. Worried for her child, she has doubts about Zozie's intentions; Yanne returns to her past as Vianne. She needs to use her magic to keep Anouk safe and to generate a special chocolate concoction but since it is Advent season the righteous frowns on her sweet creations.
This sequel continues the adventures of everyone's favorite confectionaire (outside of perhaps Willie Wonka) who has become a die hard conformist out of fear for her daughters until forced out of fear for her oldest child to be a born again magician. The story line rotates perspective between Zozie, Yanne and Anouk while once again a major religious season is in the background causing problems for the non-conformist heroine. Readers will appreciate this strong tale with implications in today's world; the story line focuses on the problems of fighting evil when the good side gives up its moral high road behaving more malevolent based on the end justifies the mean.
Searching for Spice
Megan DiMaria
Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
9781414318875, $12.99, www.tyndale.com 1-800-323-9400
After a quarter of century of marriage to caring professor Jerry and the raising of two children soon to leave the nest, Linda Revere wants the same spice in her relationship with her husband as they had before the kids nuked the excitement. However, obtaining what they once had proves difficult to achieve as the kids still are home, and she and Jerry come from their jobs mentally tired and physically middle aged.
Still Linda hopes for some romance with Jerry. However, each plan she concocts seems to fall apart as everyday living supersedes romantic interludes; she feels the best laid plans of mice, men and Linda always goes astray. Still an optimist in spite of being a customer service rep and a mom, Linda looks kindly upon the empty nest future even as she accepts the present will remain boringly comfortable.
SEARCHING FOR SPICE is an engaging realistic look at middle age relationships. Linda is fabulous as she holds the tale (and her family) together. Her situations at work, at her daughter's school, at home and with Jerry seem genuine as she struggles with her desires for more with her husband; symbolized by her efforts to seduce Jerry who shows his full appreciation of her by snoring. Fans, especially those with soon to be or already empty nests, will appreciate this amusing yet poignant look at relationships in which even when the customer is obviously wrong in front of a jury of his or her peers, he or she is always right.
By Reason Of Insanity
Randy Singer
Tyndale
9781414316338, $22.95
In Virginia Beach, The Tidewater Times reporter Catherine O'Rourke covers the homicide trial of Annie Newburg Hofstetter, accused of murdering her husband Richard in premeditated cold blood. Her renowned attorney Quinn Newberg uses the insanity defense of a woman pushed over the edge by physical and mental abuse. Thanks to weeping Juror 5, the case ends for now in a mistrial.
Over the next few months The Avenger of God has been kidnapping and murdering Tidewater residents whom the serial killer believes violated the Lord. Cat has some insider information, but when the court demands she reveal her insider anonymous law enforcement source to Detective Jamarcus Webb, she refuses and goes to jail making her part of the story. While behind bars, Cat begins to have distressing visions of these horrific crimes as if she was an eye-witness to the Avenger's vigilante justice. She tells Jamarcus what she "sees" and he thinks she knows too much not to be the Avenger. The police arrest Cat who hires Quinn to defend her even though his approach means he assumes his client is guilty.
Filled with twists, this is a terrific legal thriller that grips the reader from the moment that Juror 5 ends the O'Rourke trial and never slows down as Cat prays that the Vegas legal magician can get her off the hook even if BY REASON OF INSANITY. The story line is fast-paced as Cat continues to get visions of the Avenger's serial killings. Although a romantic subplot between lawyer and client is somewhat muted, it still feels forced yet Randy Singer as he did with THE CROSS EXAMINATION OF OLIVER FINNEY brings up timely jurisprudence issues as he provides a fascinating look at the insanity plea.
Certain Girls
Jennifer Weiner
Atria Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9780743294256, $26.95, www.simonsays.com
Thirteen years ago to her shock the fictional account of her life story, GOOD IN BED, became a best seller. However, Candace "Cannie" Shapiro chose to let her fifteen minutes of fame expire; instead she settled into married life with Dr. Peter Krushelevansky living the suburban mom's PTA lifestyle.
However, her beloved tweener daughter Joy has just read her mom's semi-autobiographical fiction and is embarrassed to call her mom. With her bat mitzvah coming up, Joy wants to spend more time with her biological father Bruce Guberman and less with her mother. Joy would also like to meet her mother's father while her father Peter wants another child with his gene pool; in terms of DNA the perfect surrogate is Cannie's younger sister, but she is a bit of a wacko. However, Joy decides to go west to visit her maternal grandfather throwing her family's world off kilter.
The poignant story line rotates viewpoints between the combatants as mother and daughter are at war over Cannie's past out there for everyone to know she is GOOD IN BED, mortifying her offspring. Fans will enjoy the insightful look at the travesties of being human as your past is used by your offspring to haunt you (every mother's two-edged curse). A stand alone as much of the key events of Good in Bed are rehashed mostly with Joy's perspective bringing freshness to what would otherwise be reheated leftovers; fans of contemporary relationship dramas will want to read the evolution of Cannie from free spirit to harassed mom.
Bad Moon Rising
Jonathan Maberry
Pinnacle Books
c/o Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022-6222
9780786018178, $6.99, www.kensingtonbooks.com 1-800-345-2665
Thirty years ago in Pine Deep, Pennsylvania blight came upon the land killing crops and farm animals. This affected Uber Griswold, a Serbian werewolf, who lived in an isolated part of town drinking animal blood. After the affliction occurred, he went on a killing spree, murdering many humans until the Bone Man killed him and interred his body in the swamp. For years Griswold was in hibernation until he abruptly awakened and telepathically contacted his friend Vic Wingate who was making plans to bring Uber back to life.
Criminals Karl Ruger and Ken Boyd stop in Pine Deep when their car breaks down. In some mystical way Griswold turns them into vampires without killing them. Some know what they are including Crow and his pregnant lover, Val; as both had family killed by Uber years ago. Now Vic and Karl who worship Uber as their deity make plans for Halloween that if successful will destroy the town and much more; perhaps the country. With the confrontation coming soon, certain people will make a difference depending on which side they align with.
BAD MOON RISING is a chilling, thrilling and exciting horror tale that will appeal to fans of Salem's Lot. That audience and others will appreciate Jonathan Maberry's fine work as the key players especially the paranormal are three dimensional while starring in a complex plot that keep readers wondering who will win this battle between good and evil.
The Queen's Bastard
C. E. Murphy
Del Rey
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780345494641, $14.00, www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600
From the moment she could crawl, her furtive father Lord Drake raised and trained Belinda Primrose by himself as an assassin. He also pounded in her allegiance to his liege Queen Lorraine of Aulun. Drake has never informed his daughter who her mother is as that could prove dangerous since she is Lorraine's illegitimate offspring.
Years ago Lorraine's most dangerous rival Queen Sandalia of Gallin miscarried when she learned her husband had died. To protect the throne with a male heir especially from ambitious Lorraine, Sandalia abducted a newborn she named Prince Javier
In 1561 Javier and Belinda meet for the first when she is in Gallin on an espionage mission. He falls in love with her and she feels the same about him, but her loyalty from birth is to her sire and he knows what must come before desire. Still their attraction grows as they soon learn they share in common that each is a "witchbreed" magic user.
This sixteenth century fantasy is much darker than the author's romantic urban fantasies as power and politics supersedes ethics; for instance Belinda encourages her beloved to rape an adversary. Well written, dark historical fantasy fans will appreciate the opening act of what looks like will be a solid series, but setting up the cast, era, and machinations at times slows down the story line. Still THE QUEEN'S BASTARD is a solid first entry.
The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
Ellen Datlow (editor)
Del Rey
9780345496324, $16.00
This sixteen story anthology runs the gamut of speculative fiction, which makes it in many ways a fresh throwback before themed restraints became the name of the short story game for especially fantasy and horror but to a lesser degree science fiction and alternate history too. The contributions are all well written with several spectacular entries. "Renaissance" readers will enjoy the compilation from the opening alternate history act (The Elephant Ironclads" by Jason Stoddard) to the closing collaboration "Prisoners of the Action" by McCauley and Newman and points in between. The tales include contemporary urban ("Ardent Clouds" by Lucy Sussex), fairy tale revision ("The Goosle" by Margo Langan), and an alternate historical fictional account of why "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall" in his bout with Ali then Clay by Elizabeth Bear. Sci fi is present with "Special Economics" in China by Maureen F. McHugh and changing urban geography too ("AKA St. Marks Place" by Richard Bowes). Barry Malzberg provides a change of pace with plenty of humor with his talking goat golem in "The Passion of Azrael". With supernatural entries ("Jimmy" by Pat Cadigan and "The Lagerstatte by Laird Barron)) to round out the anthology, this is a strong refreshing all over the place collection though a strong alternate history (to include "Shira" by Lavie Tidhar) presence is throughout.
Succubus In The City
Nina Harper
Del Rey
9780345495068, $6.99
In Manhattan Lily the Succubus is having one of the best times of her long life as she finds men as easy pickings although she would like to get out of her Faustian deal with Satan that requires her to deliver him three studs a month as she would just like to fall in love with someone who loves her back. Still, she meets her quota with ease as she seduces the male with the lure of sex before turning them into ash.
Lily enjoys her work as the Accessories Editor at Trend magazine. When Lily meets private investigator Nathan Coleman, she thinks she finally has found love, but has doubts he reciprocates. Still even if he does she knows she owes him the truth about her nocturnal vocation, but doubts her Nathan will believe her unless she turns him to ash.
This is an entertaining chick lit romantic fantasy starring a chic succubus and the men in her life and the life in her men (paraphrasing Mae West). Lily is terrific as she seduces souls as a contractor working a war zone, jet setting Manhattan. Sub-genre fans will enjoy her lighthearted escapades as she tries to explain to Nathan that they are soulmates, but she is under an iron clad contract to Satan, inc.
The Born Queen
Greg Keyes
Del Rey
9780345440693, $26.00
Following the murder of her father and incarceration of her mother by her undead Uncle Robert, all looked lost for self-exiled Princess Anne Dare and her Kingdom of Crotheny especially since the demonic race abetted by Robert has returned to overrun the land. Yet perseverance, strong allies, and inner strength prevail with Anne, a descendent of the great Queen Virgenya Dare who has succeeded in taking the throne.
However winning the throne is not the same as ruling. She needs time to learn how to be a queen to all her subjects while learning to use her eldritch skills, but time is not what she has. Enemies still plot to replace the independent tyro with a puppet Briar King while she remains inexperienced and assumed weak. Allies in a common cause against the same enemy are no longer friends and cannot be depended upon for help. Worse the Church leader Hespero manipulating prophecy sanctions a holy war that allows the powerful neighboring Hansa to invade; at the same time the Sarnwood Witch plots to replace the Dare with a new Briar King by ordering the holter Aspar White to do his job or else suffer for failing in his geas to her. Queen Anne's only hope for her people rests with finding the lost journal of her ancestor as Robert remains at large and the Kept Skashoi Lord survived his recent defeat and has a scheme to destroy her too as the veil between life and death continues to be shredded.
The final The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone fantasy thriller (see THE BRIAR KING, THE BLOOD KNIGHT and THE CHARNEL PRINCE) is an exciting ending that ties the major loose ends into an engaging finish. There are numerous subplots as plotters work to destroy THE BORN QUEEN with none concerned with secondary consequences that will devastate a world. Although the characters and the setting are out of the quest fantasy guidebook, sub-genre fans will still acknowledge that Greg Keyes has written a great ending to a strong tale.
Dark Wraith of Shannara
Adapted from the novels of Terry Brooks by Robert Place Napton;
art by Edwin David
Del Rey
9780345494627, $13.95
In the Four Lands, the dream frightens Jair Ohmsford as he finds himself in trouble with shades like the late great warrior Jaret Jax the Weapons Master helping him survive his nightmare. However, reality proves even scarier when the shade of Allonon warns him an evil inhuman race the Mwellerts have a new scheme starting with the abduction of two of Jair's friends Kimber and Cogline. Jair knows he must rescue them, but no one wants to abet his cause out of fear of the enemy. Still he has power if he dares use the dark magic Wishsong that his father and his sister have cautioned as the price of employing this conjuring could be his soul. However, reluctantly he turns to the spirit of a deceased warrior for help as the enemy has come for him because he has proven with his sister to being the one to prevent the Mwells from making a nightmarish future for everyone.
DARK WRAITH OF SHANNARA is a stand alone graphic comic book that is a direct follow up to Terry Brooks' WISHSONG OF SHANNARA. The story line is entertaining due to the prime character as Jair, not wanting to bring his sibling Brin into what he believes is his cause, has difficult magical choices to make to save his friends. The black and white artwork is well done as the pictures enhance the plot. There are several other background sections that might fascinate some readers like the "The making of Dark Wraith" and "The Artist's Sketchbook" but this reviewer has no interest (even with the art being top rate) in those sections so I only gave it a quick glimpse. Fans of the Shannara saga will enjoy this novel entry.
The Compound
S. A. Bodeen
Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9781423365587, $16.95, www.macmillan.com 1-888-330-8477
Billionaire businessman Rex Yanaktisis built the Compound, a bomb shelter guaranteed to keep out radiation in case of a nuclear attack. He believed in being prepared for all events so when the bombs explode, Ren manages to get into the Compound his wife, son Eli, and two daughters Teresa and Denise; but he failed to bring in his other child, Eli's identical twin Eddie.
The family remains inside the shelter for six years and things are starting to disintegrate. They are running low on certain foods, the flour seems to have turned and only Ren eats the bread. The dates for medicine are expiring. Eli's mother gives birth frequently so if worse comes to worse; the "supplements" will be part of their diet. One day Eli has his computer outside his father's study when he makes an external connection causing the teenager to doubt everything he thought he believed about his dad.
There is a growing atmosphere of suspense as people inside the Compound become increasingly desperate as time passes. Eli stays with his brothers and sisters (the supplements) but begins to believe his father is hiding something from them. As the truth surfaces, the mother and her children pull together as a family unit. Young adults who like suspenseful chilling post apocalypse thrillers will want to join the Mackenzie brood inside THE COMPOUND.
Past Caring
Robert Goddard
Delta
c/o Bantam Dell Publishing Group
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
9780385341172, $12.00, www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600
In 1977 Madeira, thirty year old wannabe but failed historian Martin Radford has an opportunity to redeem his name instead of wasting his talent and education as he has so far. Leo Sellick selects him to look into the disturbing life of the late Home Secretary Edwin Strafford, whose meteoric rise foretold a great political future that collapsed even faster in 1910 after only two years in the cabinet. Sellick wants to learn why Strafford failed so rapidly that he moved to Madeira to hide and why Prime Minister George named him consul there to live and die in obscurity.
Martin obtains Strafford's journal that implies there is much more to the abrupt resignation from the cabinet of George's predecessor Asquith and Parliament of a rising political superstar. Instead Strafford seems to implicate some great figures of the Edwardian Era just prior to WW I with ethical crimes and even murder to conceal their corruption and the young politico embroiled in a love affair only to have the woman he cherished Elizabeth Latimer reject him. Martin's research brings him looking at his own family while he ponders whether a peer Mr. Coachman wanted to destroy Strafford and if so why. Stranger yet someone wants Radford to drop his study and that unknown person is willing to kill to insure the secrets of six and a half decades ago remain buried because they have major implications on those in power today.
Starting with its aptly named title, PAST CARING is a reprint of a deep English historical thriller that uses a fascinating twist of historiography enabling the audience to compare the modern day (1977) historian with the Edwardian figure he is studying. Fans who appreciate a taut tale will enjoy past and present as betrayal in love and politics is a theme both generations distastefully swallow.
The Story of a Marriage
Andrew Sean Greer
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
18 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
9780374108663, $22.00, www.fsgbooks.com 1-888-330-8477
Pearlie met Holland twice as strangers. The first time back home in Kentucky when he showed up to walk with her to school and could look the tall Pearlie eye to eye. Later after a Mr. Pinker persuaded Pearlie to come to California for employment writing letters to GIs fighting the Axis powers, they re-met on a Pacific beach. The second time around led to marriage although Holland is not quite the same health wise as he was before the war and has a child Sonny afflicted with polio.
In 1953 San Francisco, a stranger to Pearlie but Holland's former lover and boss Buzz Drumer arrives. At a time when the Americans are fighting another war on an Asian peninsular while the fear of communism permeates very segment of life, he makes a strange offer of $100,000. Holland wants to accept the terms while Pearlie is afraid. Her fears stem from the realization that her husband remains a stranger with his dark secrets as the appearance of Mr. Drumer proves.
Told by a continuingly stunned Pearlie, the surprising yet plausible disclosures seem to keep coming throughout this poignant historical novel that affirms regardless of relationships everyone has a part of them that remains a stranger to their significant other. The triangle that forms between the shocked Pearlie, the secretive Holland, and the stranger-not stranger Mr. Drumer make for a fabulous look at the early 1950s in which Andrew Sean Greer asserts that the "Happy Days" nostalgic innocence claimed by modern revisionists is untrue. The author subtly explores young health issues, post traumatic distress syndrome of returning veterans, racism, sexism, and being politically correct during the "I Like Ike" era.
The Finder
Colin Harrison
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
9780374299491, $25.00
In New York City, someone is using insider information to make a financial killing buying and selling Good Pharma stock. An outraged billionaire warns CEO Tom Reilly to plug the leak and to take care of the culprit regardless of means or else. His paper notes delivered to Reilly even in Yankee Stadium frightens the CEO who must do something or face dire consequences from an unknown but obviously powerful stockholder.
Tom is unable at first to figure out who or how. Using a legitimate paper shredding outfit CorpServe as a guise, Jin Li has been selling company information that she provides to her brother Chen who trades stocks accordingly. A desperate Tom orders a ruthless wannabe to take care of the leak. In Brooklyn two twentyish female Mexican employees working for the shredding firm are murdered, but Li escapes not before she sees their horrific deaths. Her sibling and Reilly assume her former boyfriend Ray Grant not only helped her, he hid her probably in Brooklyn. Each side demands he reveals where she is. He has no idea but turns to his dying father, a former NYPD cop, to help him find Jin before he becomes an afterlife greeter welcoming his father.
This is an excellent crime thriller that grips readers as every trail converges on Li even an overseas stock market. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the two young Mexicans are killed in Brooklyn and never slows down as Tom, Chen and Ray understand the threats to their lives while each seek Li as the key to their safety. Fans of urban crime capers will appreciate this exhilarating action-packed thriller that never decelerates ending with a typhoon.
Three Girls and Their Brother
Theresa Rebeck
Shaye Areheart Books
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1, New York, NY 10019-4305
9780307394149, $23.95, www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600
Claiming as a way to pay homage to the late great literary critic Leo Heller, the New Yorker magazine wants to do a piece on his three granddaughters and grandson. Their mom has the brain of a lifetime beauty queen who though has seen her prettier days still lives the glory through her daughters; she sees this as good publicity and the road to Hollywood. Their dad has not been around in ages so his opinion if he even has one does not matter.
The oldest eighteen year old Daria is rapturous as she sees this as her chance to become a supermodel. The middle daughter seventeen year old Polly is almost as elated. The youngest female fourteen year old Amelia is at best tepid as she does not mind the magazine piece as long as it does not greatly intrude on her lifestyle. The only male fifteen year old Philip does not trust the New Yorker as he believes they are being set up for an exposure worthy of the tabloids. However, mommy dearest ignores the concerns of her only son saying he is too male and too young to understand the opportunities for his sisters; she will do anything to get her daughters on Broadway or Southern California.
This is an amusing look at fame from four teens receiving fifteen minutes of it each. Especially enlightening is the insightful comparisons made by the youngest sibling as Amelia observes voluntary starvation as a norm of some vocations. Philip seems older than he is with his wisdom honed by survival skills as the lone bull; his observations re his mom and two older sisters are priceless. The other three females seem amusingly inane as all they can see is fame and fortune. Although a revenge subplot seems ridiculous as it deters from an otherwise superb family drama, fans will enjoy this powerful lampooning of the fame seekers.
Infected
Scott Sigler
Crown
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1, New York, NY 10019-4305
9780307406101, $24.95, www.crownpublishing.com 1-800-726-0600
The country is stunned as law abiding ethical citizens suddenly turn into homicidal mass murderers. The first reaction in DC beyond presidential and congressional anger, fear and survival is alien terrorism so the CIA is assigned the lead with an assist from CDC since the symptoms of the killers are scratchy blue triangular irritations on their skin.
CIA agent Dew Phillips leads the inquiry with CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya as his scientific advisor. They soon believe that alien terrorism is extremely accurate as Margaret studying the corpses of these deranged killers finds each commonly hosted a parasite never seen before and apparently not of this earth. Then they meet a live subject, former football player Perry Dawsey, who is at war with the aliens inside his body demanding he feed them while he demands they leave him.
Modernizing and combining the INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS with the LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, Scott Sigler provides an exhilarating horror thriller that grips the audience the moment the first maniacal mass murder occurs and never slows down as the Feds struggle to prevent a deadly parasitical alien invasion. Fast-paced, INFECTED never decelerates as time is running out on mankind with Peter the last Hail Mary hope.
Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen
Susan Gregg Gilmore
Crown
9780307395016, $23.00
In the early 1970s in Ringgold, Georgia, teenager Catherine Grace Cline dreams of leaving town soon for Atlanta. The daughter of a widower Baptist preacher is bored with having no life outside of the church even with a caring boyfriend Hank. Catherine Grace's highlight each week is finding salvation at the local Dairy Queen one slow lick at a time to savor her Dilly Bar.
After graduating from high school in 1972, finally with the help of family friend Mrs. Gloria Jean Graves, Catherine Grace takes the Greyhound up I-75 to Atlanta. In the beginning of her stay in the big city, she diligently writes letters to her younger sister Martha Ann who consistently replies; both girls miss each other as their mom died when Catherine Grace was six years old. However before she could really taste Atlanta, four succinct worded telegram from Martha Ann brings Catherine Grace home, but with a new perspective on life in a small town.
A fully developed lead protagonist and a strong secondary cast especially daddy and Martha Ann turn LOOKING FOR SALVATION AT THE DAIRY QUEEN into a profound historical regional tale. The characters provide the audience deep insight into life in both a Georgia small town and Nixon era Atlanta. Anyone who understands what Dairy Queen has meant to the south or just wants to know will appreciate this engaging tale of young woman ready to take on the world, but while doing so learns simple truths about the flexibility of humans to seek dreams, but not fearing to modify or replace them.
Where Are You Now?
Mary Higgins Clark
Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
9781416566380, $25.95, www.simonandschuster.com 1-800-223-2336
Over a decade ago Charles "Mack" Mackenzie Jr. disappeared while attending Columbia University with plans of going to Duke University law School after he graduated. However, since he vanished Mack has called his mother annually to wish her a Happy Mother's day and to let her know he is okay. Although he knows she became a widow on 9/11, he has not changed his annual routine as he tells her nothing else about where he is, what he is doing, and why he left.
Mack's younger sister, Carolyn, a recent graduate of Duke Law School, informs him when he calls that she will find him to bring him home. However Mack leaves a note for his uncle, Father Devon Mackenzie of St. Francis church, to tell Carolyn to leave well enough alone and not seek him out. Carolyn becomes even more resolute to at least confront her older brother face to face to ask why.
The queen of suspense is at her best with this riveting tale that has the audience enthralled with wondering why Mack vanished. Readers are hooked from the onset as we learn of the "vigil" that his mother and sister do starting midnight on Mother's Day; Like Carolyn, fans want to know. The heroine's investigation is terrific as she begins to learn the truth why her brother vanished. Mary Higgins Clark provides her fans with an excellent family thriller.
Perfect Family
Pam Lewis
Simon & Schuster
9780743291453, $25.95
In Vermont twentyish single mom Pony Carteret drowns while skinny-dipping at her affluent family's vacation home. While the local police investigate the drowning death, the Carteret brood back in Hartford argues over what happened to her and why and who will take in her infant son Andrew since they do not know the name of the father. Pony's widower father Jasper and her oldest sister Tinker are mostly interested in burying the scandal, but for now the latter takes in the child.
That same day that Pony died, she pleaded with her older brother William to come up to the Vermont house to talk where they argued. William feels guilty that he left her there, wondering if the accident or suicide was caused by her being distraught or homicide by her lover, her family, or someone else related to why Pony met with him. He needs to know so he investigates starting from the picture of their late mom taken with another man who is not their father. Meanwhile middle daughter Mira meets Keith at the funeral and begins seeing him; he persuades Mira and Tinker that their brother and their late sister were more than friendly siblings.
Filled with plenty of twists especially when William turns amateur sleuth, the aptly titled PERFECT FAMILY is a wonderful tale of a wealthy New England dysfunctional clan. The story line is character driven by the siblings, the patriarch and William's girlfriend; however, the key player their late mom never seems fully developed though all dynamic lines flow through her as even long dead she remains the hub of the Carteret family. Fans will appreciate Pam Lewis' entertaining thriller as the secrets keep on coming out.
Driving with Dead People
Monica Holloway
Simon & Schuster
9781416955122, $14.00
When Monica Holloway was a little girl in Elk Grove, Ohio, she sat in the passenger seat of her father's pickup truck while he would cruise the neighborhoods searching for accidents that he could film; the gorier the better. Her ghoulish father had more movies starring strangers in gruesome situations than he had of his children. Thus it is not a shocker that with her Adams family-like beginnings, when Monica turned nine years old she became fascinated with a funeral home, befriending the daughter Julie Kilner of the mortician.
Monica and Julie play together in the casket workroom. When they get driving licenses, they obtain jobs driving the hearse. However, although life at the mortuary is fun, at home it proves otherwise as her father is abusive and her mother is too busy taking care of herself to care. Her siblings have their own issues trying to avoid their parents and each other. Yet through this dysfunctional family upbringing, Monica remains a Pollyanna especially when she is with Julia, DRIVING WITH DEAD PEOPLE, or just hanging around the funeral home. That is until she learns how damaging her parents are with one last betrayal.
This is an offbeat but engaging memoir of an optimistic person who finds salvation in a funeral parlor that enables her to overcome growing up amidst a dysfunctional family. Told with humor and intelligence, Monica Holloway's autobiography provides an inspiration that a person can overcome almost anything by setting goals and thriving to achieve them like this author has even if it means DRIVING WITH DEAD PEOPLE.
Death by Bikini
Linda Gerber
Penguin Books
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780142411179, $7.99, www.us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515
With her father Frank, Aphra Behn Connolly lives on a tropical island where they manage a resort. Her mom chose not to go with them because she felt a need to find herself. Aphra helps her dad run the resort and the Connolly duo has become very close. That is until the Smiths arrive. The father says something in private to Aphra's dad who places them in a villa that needs renovations and fails to register them as guests.
Frank makes it clear to his daughter that he does not want her to have anything to do with the Smiths' son Seth, but not why. Aphra is curious about the newcomers and finally goes into the office to read the Smith file, if there is one. She finds cards that her mother sent her that her father kept from her. Upset she runs out of the office as two people on the island show interest in the Smiths. Frank becomes ill and the only person who can help him is Mr. Smith, but for him to save his host, their offspring must keep the killers away from their dads.
Readers know from the onset that the "Smiths" are on the run from someone who wants them dead while Aphra has to work on finding out who they are; her sleuthing is fun to follow. Readers will empathize with the members of the two families, as each has problems to deal with. Linda Gerber provides an entertaining young adult mystery suspense thriller.
Gothic Heat
Portia Da Costa
Black Lace
c/o Virgin Books
65 Bleeker St.,New York, NY10012
9780352341709, $12.95
Her college pals Belinda and Jonathan Sumner took Paula Beckett to Sedgwick Priory who they insist is owned by a 200-year old sorcerer Count Andre von kestrel. However, not long afterward, Paula awakens in a hotel naked wondering how she lost two days of her life. She is taken to a hospital, but when her friends visit her she angrily tells them to leave; after a few days of observation she is released.
Paula is scared as a voice inside her head keeps taunting her and getting her to do sexual things that she would never have done before. She realizes she is fighting sorceress Isadora Katori for ownership of her body because the evil one no longer has one. At the Inner Light massage parlor she meets masseuse Rafe Halloway. However, Isadora takes control of their shared body and pins Rafe down before taking him. Later, Paula tells him about the sorcerer who haunts her; he says he will help her. Nearing forty and fearing he will die like his father did at forty-two, Rafe hides his agenda of seeking a long life span; he thinks these sorcerers will enable him to obtain that. However, he also finds he is torn between the two women in his life as he loves sex with both; opposites as one takes charge while the other has him take charge.
This heated paranormal romance enables the reader and Rafe to believe that two minds occupy and battle to possess the body of the female lead. Fascinatingly Rafe loves both women as the aggressive sorcerer takes him in ways he never dreamed a woman could and the original hostess lets him take her anyway he desires. As the women compete for ownership of their shared body and his body (and soul), fans will appreciate Portia Da Costa's unique erotic triangle as the hero is torn between two lovers with one body affirming sex is as much psychological as physical.
Gemini Heat
Portia Da Costa
Black Lace
9780352341877, $12.95
The Metropolis was already heated when Deana Ferraro attends the "Visions of Eroticism - the de Guile Collection instead of her identical twin sister Delia who is with slimy Russell. Deana realizes coming to this erotic exhibit is exponentially increasing her already over the top sexual frustration of going solo only. She places herself in the images raising her temperature higher than the melted sidewalks outside. Watching her "come" is the artist Jackson K. de Guile, who introduces himself as no talented Jake; she is Dee.
Jake proves an expert on the power of sex. He is the master and she is his obedient servant. He soon turns their S&M pleasures into a competing menage a trois when Jake brings Delia into the game. Soon the siblings compete as rivals trying to out pleasure each other by winning Jake's special rewards especially vying for his undivided lower head attention.
Erotic romance readers will enjoy this hot contemporary tale starring three full blooded in heat individuals who seemingly cannot get enough. The story line starts torrid and turns equatorial as Deana and Delia compete for the power of Jake who relishes controlling the twins in and out of the bedroom. This aptly named title showcases one of the sub-genre's best at writing XXX dramas.
Cassandra's Conflict
Fredrica Alleyn
Black Lace
9780352341860, $12.95
In London, her husband Paul Williams tells Cassandra she is frigid; that it her fault he is leaving her for Louise. When she says she has no prospects having never held a job, he coldly tells her not to sell her body as she will starve to death.
Not long afterward, Cassandra applies for a job as a governess to two small girls four years old Helena and two years old Christina, daughters of Austrian widower Baron von Ritter. However, as he offers her the position and she accepts, Cassandra is unaware that the previous governess Abigail was fired because she failed at the sex games, he and his mistress Katya play with the staff. She and her two little charges bond so when they are sent to Austria to visit their family, they are upset as they do not want to leave their governess behind. Although she misses the children whom got into her heart, Cassandra has little time to dwell on her feelings for her preschool companions as the Baron seduces her into joining the sexual games. Although she does not understand the rules, Cassandra has promised the two little girls she will be there for them when they return. She is the first governess with a non-selfish reason to win the sexual contests even as she does not grasp the rules that the Baron and his mistress keep changing.
This is a fascinating erotic character study that looks deep into the soul of the triangle formed when Cassandra replaces Abigail as companion to the girls. The Baron realizes the newcomer is different as Cassandra does not hide her warm motherly affection for the young girls; Katya sees her as another disposable servant for them to abuse. Fans will enjoy Fredrica Alleyn's intriguing heated contemporary while wondering whether Cassandra will triumph especially since she holds a non-sexual ace in the hole.
Last Post
Robert Barnard
Scribner
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
9781416559405, $24.00, www.simonsays.com 1-800-223-2336
In the town of Crossley in Yorkshire, England Eve McNabb has just come home from viewing her late mother May prior to the funeral. Eve knows her mom was adored by her students and their parents, which makes her grief a bit easier. Eve has a ton of condolence letters to peruse and respond to; but when she opens one from a stranger named Jean, she is stunned as she insists she and her mom had an affair. Her not so subtle implication shakes the mourning woman to her core.
Although she knew her mother was a very private person, Eve wonders why she never questioned her mom about her father John McGrath who disappeared in Australia without an apparent warning as far she knows to her late mom. Needing to know what happened when she was two, Eve interrogates everyone she assumes knew Meg and John back then including former headmistress Evelyn Southwick when her mom was a deputy working under her. Her need to know sends Eve to Australia to meet her father whom she forgives once she hears his side of the breakup. She is called back to England by the police who believe that Eve has information from her inquiries that could help them on an investigation in which Evelyn was murdered.
Renowned for his suspense thrillers filled with surprising but plausible twists, Robert Barnard uses master magician misdirection to lure the readers down the wrong path so that the connections that seem evident turn out to be not so obvious. Eve is a fully developed protagonist who grieves at the same time her image of her beloved mom has been tattered yet she needs to know the truth if she is to gain any closure. Her inquisitiveness makes this family suspense drama entertaining.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
Kate Summerscale
Walker & Company
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780802715357, $24.95, www.walkerbooks.com 1-800-289-2553
In the summer of 1860, someone slashed the throat of three-year-old Saville Kent and dumped the child into an outdoor privy on his family's estate. The news traveled throughout England horrifying everyone that a child could be brutally murdered like this. Pressure mounted on the local police to solve the case, but no clues surfaced. Because of the publicity Scotland Yard sends its top sleuth Detective Inspector Jonathan "Jack" Whicher to investigate. He quickly assumes a member of Saville's family or a part of the Kent housekeeping staff killed the lad. He specifically believed that Saville's teenage half-sister Constance killed the boy, but failed to find solid proof of his assertion. Despondent Whicher went back to London as a different man than the confident person who left a few months earlier to detect the killer. Five years later, the culprit confessed.
"The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective" is a great biographical fiction of an interesting real life mid nineteenth century detective working a shocking homicide case that left him doubting his skills. Fascinatingly Jack's theory that the victim knew his killer as the culprit was probably related shocked England as unbelievable; today that is a prime source for suspects. Readers will appreciate the true investigation of "A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective" who investigated the heinous crime.
Silent Fall
Barbara Freethy
Onyx
c/o New American Library
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3658
9780451412553, $7.99, www.penguin.com 1-800-847-5515
At Woodlake Mountain Lodge in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, investigative reporter Dylan Saunders attends his brother Jake's "second" wedding with Sarah. Also there is a former lover Erica Layton, who once provided the journalist with volatile information. She asks Dylan to sneak away with her into the nearby woods, which he does.
When he awakens in the morning, he is confused by last night's events especially when he concludes he was drugged. He also is the prime suspect in the apparent disappearance of Erica. A wedding guest of the bride psychic Catherine Hilliard had a vision involving danger to Dylan and though she would prefer to stay out as she grasps the peril to herself, Catherine investigates trusting on her visions to guide her.
Following up on the suspense thriller SILENT RUN, Jake's sibling takes center stage as he finds himself in a major mess with the only hope being the stunning psychic as Dylan wants to keep Jake, Sarah, and his eighteen month old niece out of the fiasco if possible. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action with a touch of the paranormal. Dylan is fabulous as a man in peril and his reluctant rescuer Sarah's best friend is terrific. Although Dylan plays a major support role in SILENT RUN, Barbara Freethy's excellent sequel can stand alone.
Sleeping with the Devil
Vanessa Marlowe
Griffin Books
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780312364779, $13.95, 1-888-330-8477
Desert chef Meg White enjoys her mundane middle class lifestyle although she almost always is broke as her pay stinks. However, when she meets affluent older Jordan Blair while vacationing with her fiance Steve the salesman on the rainy Oregon coast, she is immediately attracted to his sophisticated charm. He is just as hooked. She ends her engagement rationalizing Steve is hooked on Kimberly whom he just met, gives up her job, and quickly moves into Jordan's expensive penthouse.
He expands her sexual encounters into a variety of S&M and other partners, but reduces her world to his apartment. Meg soon becomes concerned as she realizes Jordon is controlling every aspect of her life. She fears if the bird escapes the gilded cage, this control freak will hunt her down.
This chilling character driven psychological thriller focuses on control by an obsessed person using any means from sexual to economic to guilt inducement in order to maintain domination and supremacy. Meg's first person account showcases her change from euphoria to doubt to abject fear as she reassesses just who Jordan is. With a superb final twist, fans will appreciate this strong look at abuse that comes in many ways not just physical and emotional, but sexual and economic terrorism.
To Seduce a Bride
Nicole Jordan
Ballantine Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780345494610, $6.99, www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600
Unlike her two sisters who recently said I do (see TO BED A BEAUTY and TO PLEASURE A LADY) Lily Loring vows to never marry as she assumes men and abuse go hand in hand. However Lord Heath "Heartbreaker" Griffin meets and falls in love with her. She likes him, but rejects his courtship. To elude her ardent pursuer, Lily takes a room in a boardinghouse run by former courtesans including her friend Fanny Irwin. They hire her to teach the demimonde proper behavior amidst the Ton.
The former ladies of the night suggest Lily play with Heath's affection by allowing him a chance to court her. However, as Lily aids a friend in trouble and assists another lady, she takes up the concept of wooing with Heath, but his sword play proves masterful as she falls in love with her devoted suitor.
The third Courtship Wars is an appealing Regency romance in which the third Loring sibling lines up some interesting allies in her gender battle with Lord Heartbreaker. The lead couple's kissing and fighting make for a fun tale, but it's the women in Lily's corner that brings freshness to this winning tale TO SEDUCE A BRIDE.
Tales Before Narnia: The Roots of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
Douglas A. Anderson (editor)
Ballantine
9780345498908, $15.00
The twenty-one short stories, poems, essays and other writings that make up this collection are considered by editor Douglas A. Anderson as the sub-title states The Roots of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction. Though this reviewer has some doubts about that assertion, the entries are well written and entertaining from a who's who of literature (Dickens, Tolkien, Grahame, Stevenson, Wells, Potter, Clarke and Kipling, etc) even though the authors were in many case key players (no novels are included which in my opinion would be more likely to be influential). The contributions are excellent with the little notes prefacing them adding to the fun as Mr. Anderson explains the author's link to C.S. Lewis. The anthology provides a glimpse into the science fiction-fantasy short writings that were out there prior to Narnia, written in the early 1950s. As he did with the equally delightful TALES BEFORE TOLKIEN, Mr. Anderson provides a strong, enlightening and fun to read compilation; hard to resist "a never before published story" The Wood That Time Forgot: The Enchanted Wood by Roger Lancelyn Green (Lewis' biographer) that inspired THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE.
The Boundless Deep
Kate Brallier
Forge
c/o Tor Books
1403 Flatiron Building, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780765319722, $14.95, www.tor-forge.com 1-888-330-8477
Kitty Bryant invites her niece Jane and her best friend grad student Liza Donovan to spend their summer break on Nantucket. Liza hopes to learn about people she has been dreaming of, especially nineteenth century whaler Obadiah Young. Aunt Kitty owns the Young estate amongst other properties.
On Nantucket Liza meets and dates whaling museum associate curator Adam Gallagher while Kitty's godson Lucian Theriault is also staying with her. Jane has mixed feelings over the latter as he was both friend and pest when she was growing up, but now is quite a hunk. Meanwhile Liza finds her dreams turning towards erotica while also finding her self drawn to the stairs in which Obadiah's foreign wife Lucy died and still haunts. With Adam's help, she investigates what happened to the wife over a century and a half ago; hoping to solve the woman's death and free her from the dreams that haunt her.
More a romance than a mystery, fans will enjoy this fun paranormal tale starring likable modern day protagonists. The story line is fascinating as much of the clues occur in Liza's dreams; giving the plot an otherworldly feel to it and frustrating Lucian who competes with a dead man for Liza's affection. Paranormal romance fans will especially enjoy the well written THE BOUNDLESS DEEP and seek Kate Brallier's previous similarly unique novel, SEAL ISLAND.
Mutiny!: The True Events That Inspired the Hunt for Red October
David Hagberg and Boris Gindin
Forge
9780765313508, $25.95
In November 1975, Soviet anti-nuclear submarine frigate FFG Storozhevoy is docked in Riga, Latvia for normal maintenance and repair after six months at sea. Third in command Captain Valery Sablin is appalled by the wide corruption of leading Brezhnev officials and much of the bureaucracy overrun by party hacks including Soviet navy brass. He sees fat cats taking shortcuts with the lives of sailors to pocket money and obtains the best items for themselves and their family. Outraged as only a true believer can be, the Marxist/Leninist fundamentalist decides to take control of the vessel and sail to Leningrad where he would broadcast to the people to overthrown the corrupted. All went well with his plan until the Kremlin learned what he was doing and interceded.
This is the real events of the Soviet naval mutiny that led to the novel and movie The Hunt for Red October as related to novelist David Hagberg by then twenty-four years old Senior Lieutenant Gindin, who was part of the crew. The back ground of naval life in the totalitarian superpower is fascinating and well written while setting the stage for the exciting look at the events that happened in late 1975. Although nonfiction and told mostly by the viewpoint of Mr. Gindin though much supported by documentation, Mutiny is a tense thriller that grips readers from start to finish even with knowing the outcome.
Avenging Fury
John Farris
Forge
9780312877323, $25.95
Although mortals see her as a freak even when she saves their lives and has the FBI psychopath assassins after her, Eden Waring proves time after time she is a caring Avatar; she uses her mental skills to keep people safe. Her recent efforts brought her into war against Mordaunt the evil one from another plane, who thought he could manipulate the twenty-something female as his pawn to bring chaos to this realm. He thought wrong as Eden defeated him and incarcerated his physical form inside molten glass (see THE FURY AND THE POWER).
However, Eden makes one key mistake caused by her inexperience as an avatar fighting non-human malevolencies. Part of Mordaunt's soul escaped the imprisonment just prior to the glass melting. Thus his female persona Delilah is not just out there; she goes to 1926 Georgia waiting to possess Eden's doppelganger Gwen when the latter arrives. Near Vegas just after the Mordant meltdown, in Eden's present, Delilah inside Gwen confronts the kindhearted Avatar with both using Dark Energy that will change the Universe.
The final "Fury" tale may have taken three decades to arrive, but fans will fully appreciate this strong horror suspense thriller as the climatic good vs. evil showdown occurs. The story line is hyper fast-paced from the onset and never takes a breather even when Gwen goes back in time as John Farris accelerates the velocity of his plot. Fans of the saga will appreciate the invigorating finish to an exhilarating epic quartet.
The Outlander
Gil Adamson
Ecco
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061491252, $25.95, www.harpercollins.com 1-800-242-7737
In 1903, nineteen years old Mary Boulton calmly grabs her husband's rifle and fires killing him. The widow knows she cannot hang around not because she fears the law, but her abusive brother in laws would enact vengeance in their vicious style.
Mary flees across wintry isolated Idaho and Montana while knowing in her composed gut they pursue her. On her trek, she reflects on her unhappy but thankfully short marriage exacerbated by the dead child. As her deep depression enables her to remain eerily unruffled, she meets people along the way. First there is the Frontiersman who admits creeping civilization makes him depressingly feel like an anachronism; then there is the Reverend who treats her like an adored daughter. There are others some not as kind towards the itinerant female especially after a mining disaster that the locals feel she caused by being there. However, the worst is coming as the brothers are nearing and the Reverend wants to change their relationship to that of more of equal partners.
An allegory of a way of life that seems all but vanished, THE OUTLANDER is an excellent historical thriller starring a strong support cast, a spirited lead female, and a vivid picturesque setting. Readers anticipate High Noon is coming, but it is the trip to the final showdown that makes for a deep look at early twentieth century America in a remote part of the northwest.
Wild Nights!: Stories about the Last Days of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James, and Hemingway
Joyce Carol Oates
Ecco
9780061434792, $24.95
"Poe Posthumous; or The Light-House". Off Chile a lonely morose Poe kept a dairy while tending a lighthouse as its keeper even though he died a few months ago.
"EDickinsonRepliLuxe". In futuristic New Jersey, the mouse and the louse Krim couple buy an android of Emily Dickinson expecting poetry to brighten their lives, but instead the author finds them tedious and wants her freedom.
"Grandpa Clemens & Angelfish 1906". The famous author is being sued for his platonic relationships with teenage girls while his outraged adult daughter plans to testify against her father.
"The Master at St. Bartholomew's Hospital 1914-1916". Henry James does not want to enter the hospital ward filled wounded soldiers, but has no choice as he volunteered to help these "dear boys".
"Papa at Ketchum 1961". Hemingway is planning his last word, suicide.
The concept is brilliant and the execution superb as each tale provides insight into five of America's most famous authors. All her well written although the Clemens piece is by far the most disturbing and the Poe entry perhaps the weakest (still enjoyable). Fans of the American classics will relish this fine anthology as Joyce carol Oates proves a
fabulous impersonator who emulates the writing styles of five of the greats.
Johnny and the Bomb
Terry Pratchett
HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780060541934, $5.99, www.harpercollins.com 1-800-242-7737
In Blackbury, England twelve-year-old Johnny Maxwell and his pal Bigmac find local bag lady Mrs. Tachyon badly hurt in an alley off High Street. He quickly dials 911 to get her help, and stores her shopping cart loaded with black garbage bags in his family garage until he can return them and her cat to her.
However, Johnny and his buddies (Yo-less, Bigmac, Wobbler, and Kirsty) make a startling discovery about Mrs. Tachyon's bags. If they touch a bag they go back in time to whatever era that particular bag takes them to. Johnny sees a chance to change history; over four decades ago on May 21, 1941, a German air raid killed several people on High Street. He and his pals decide to go back in time to save the lives of those who died on that fatal day. However they will soon learn the paradox of altering the past when Wobbler fails to return with them so the remaining time travelers try again and again as they have all the time in the world or at least until Mrs. Tachyon claims her bags.
The third Johnny and the gang science fiction thriller (see ONLY YOU CAN SAVE MANKIND and JOHNNY AND THE DEAD) is the best of an excellent trilogy as the hero's cohorts seem so much more developed. The story line uses humor and not so subtle puns to provide the risks of fooling with tachyon particles to change history as the consequence can alter the present one pants leg at a time. Although Terry Pratchett targets young adult fans with this series, fans of all ages will enjoy JOHNNY AND THE BOMB as he and his teammates learn complex lessons about getting "lost in the trousers of time".
Roommates Wanted
Lisa Jewell
HarperCollins
9780061137471, $14.95
In London, thirty-five year old shop girl Leah has lived across the street from Toby for years; although she has seen him about the neighborhood they have never met. Her long time boyfriend abandons her when she mentions marriage. Toby inherited his dilapidated Victorian mansion from his dad fifteen years ago; he rents rooms to loners although he finds them a pain in the butt.
Leah is walking outside when she finds long time Toby tenant Gus lying dead outside the mansion. Gus' corpse serves as a matchmaker of sorts as Toby and Leah finally meet. Gus bequests to Toby his ailing cat and a lot of money with the pleading message to clean up his life and make something of him self instead of drifting through life. Toby decides to renovate the Victorian and kick out his assortment of tenants though he does not ask them directly to leave; he turns to Leah to assist him helping these sad losers renovate their lives.
This is an amusing yet deeply touching contemporary tale as Toby who gave up on life years ago as being too hard but now suddenly has a second chance. However to succeed he must rid himself of the fully developed eccentric renters. Although he rationalizes his caring nobility as selflessness, encouraged by lonely Leah, he tries to help the others get a life first; in his efforts he gets a life. ROOMMATES WANTED is a terrific character study of dissolution becoming idealism by feeling good about helping others enables the lead protagonist to "start living" again.
Daughters of the North
Sarah Hall
HarperCollins
9780061430367, $13.95
In the near future in the United Kingdom global warming has made this once proud place into wetlands. The climate change accompanied by a critical fuel shortage has led to the establishment of an abusive totalitarian rule. The Authority uses the guise of security to kill anyone who opposes them; they use fuel shortages to control population with enforced sterilization; they encourage drug addiction to keep the masses ignorant of their plight. If innocents are hurt so be it as collateral damage occurs.
The Authority sterilized Sister against her will. They made her work in a "New Fuel" factory in conditions that makes Dickens' Victorian tales look like fairy tales. She is assigned cramped quarters. Sister wants out feeling that if she can make it to legendary Carhullan, an all-female commune she can survive. Run by Jackie Nixon with discipline to foster strengths, the paramilitary group is outlawed by the Authority who plans to destroy these Amazon rebels.
Although the ending is too obvious for such a complex thought pr
