Archive for the ‘Mystery & Detective’ Category

Laura Lippman’s Thrill Ride

Friday, August 13th, 2010

I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman (Morrow) is the author’s 16th book, and her sixth stand-alone thriller – and it might just be her big breakout. Holds are three to one and higher at libraries we checked, for this tale of a woman who is contacted by the kidnapper – now on Death Row – who held her captive for weeks as a teenager.

Early book reviews are quite positive, like the one in the Kansas City Star (also syndicated to papers in the South), which calls the book

…a thrilling treatise on unreliable memories, on survivor guilt, emotional health and the intrusion of violence…. Eliza proves her resourcefulness and intelligence throughout the novel, even when reliving the horrific six weeks with Walter…. Lippman brings that same care to Walter, letting the reader see him as a man and as a monster.

I’d Know You Anywhere: A Novel
Laura Lippman
Retail Price: $25.99
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow – (2010-08-17)
ISBN / EAN: 0061706558 / 9780061706554
  • CD available from HarperAudio 09/01/2010: $39.99; ISBN 9780061988486
  • Larger Print from Harperluxe  09/01/2010: $25.99; ISBN 978006197922

Other Notable Fiction On Sale Next Week

Three Stations by Martin Cruz Smith (Simon & Schuster) is the seventh novel starring Russian detective Arkady Renko. The Seattle Times says,”Renko is a complex character, and — though this new book is less powerful than earlier tales — Three Stations delivers a satisfying punch.”

The Cobra by Frederick Forsyth (Putnam) is a political thriller about a president combatting the international cocaine trade with the weight of the entire federal goverment. Publishers Weekly says, “Forsyth lays out how it would all work, and readers will follow eagerly along, always thinking, yes, why don’t they do this in real life? The answer to that question lies at the heart of this forceful, suspenseful, intelligent novel.”

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund (Little, Brown) investigates the murders of young couples in several major European cities, in the bestselling author’s first collaboration with the Swedish writer. According to the Wall St. Journal, Marklund wrote a draft in Swedish, based on Patterson’s outline, which he edited after it was translated. The book didn’t do well when first released in Sweden.  We’ll see if it finds purchase in the U.S., where Patterson was no doubt eyeing the legions of Stieg Larsson fans.

Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger (Atria) follows a couple faced with sudden fame. Publishers Weekly was underwhelmed: “Weisberger has insightful takes about the price of success in our celebrity-obsessed culture, but Brooke and Julian hew too closely to type to make their struggles sympathetic.”

Crossfire by Dick Francis and Felix Francis (Penguin) is the final colloboration between father and son, in which an Army captain’s career must build a new life after his foot is blown off in Afghanistan. Booklist says, “The plot reads like classic Francis; the research parts presumably come from Felix, and they add a lot of weight to the saddle. The publisher hints that Felix may be carrying on his fathers legacy, but its doubtful anyone can. Enjoy this bequest.”

Japan’s Stieg Larsson

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Now that Americans have proven they can handle books from other countries, publishers are seeking out the next international best seller.

Pantheon is betting on best selling Japanese crime writer, Shuichi Yoshida. His seventh novel, the first to be released in the US, has just arrived here and receives a strong review from Bookslut.com’s Jessica Crispin on NPR’s web site.

Click on the cover for a larger view of the fascinatingly gruesome cover image.

Villain: A Novel
Shuichi Yoshida
Retail Price: $25.95
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Pantheon – (2010-08-03)
ISBN / EAN: 030737887X / 9780307378873


DRAGON TATTOO; Who Will Play Lisbeth?

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Speculation is rampant on who will play The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in the American version of the movies based on the Stieg Larsson trilogy.

In the UK, the tabloids are writing that Emma Watson (who has had some experience with a book series brought to the movies; she played Hermione in the Harry Potter films) has “hacked off” her hair to audition for the role.

The CBS Early Show reported on the “hot buzz” yesterday, mentioning Natalie Portman and Ellen Page (Juno, Inception), but holding out the idea that an unknown would be more interesting.

One of the early front-runners, Cary Mulligan, is no longer a candidate; some speculate that director David Fincher found her too “clean cut.”

Daniel Craig will play the lead, Mikael Blomkvist. Robin Wright is reportedly in negotiations to play Erika Berger, Blomkvist’s love interest.

On Friday, ABC’s Nightline interviewed Larsson’s real-life partner, the woman he lived with for 32 years, Eva Gabrielsson.

Meanwhile, critic Maureen Corrigan spoke about other Nordic mysteries on NPR’s Fresh Air last night, propelling titles by the writing team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo up the Amazon sales rankings.

Two Novels Get an “A”

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Entertainment Weekly hands out two high grades to novels going on sale next week.

The Tower, The Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (Doubleday) is the tale of how a Beefeater, his wife and their menagerie cope with modern life in the Tower of London. Entertainment Weekly gives it a solid A:

“British writer Julia Stuart (The Matchmaker of Périgord) crafts a subculture that is so sweet and enchanting that the whole affair would be terribly twee were it not for the sense of heartbreak and longing that holds it all together.”

It’s also the #2 Indie Next pick for August.

This could be one to keep an eye on – libraries we checked show modest holds on modest orders.

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise: A Novel
Julia Stuart
Retail Price: $24.95
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Doubleday – (2010-08-10)
ISBN / EAN: 0385533284 / 9780385533287

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You Lost Me There by Rosecrans Baldwin (Riverhead) gets an A- from Entertainment Weekly, which calls it “beautiful, brainy, offbeat,” while praising the author’s “steadying compassion and literary flair in the dissection of miseries, identifying with equal compassion the dissatisfactions of a dead wife and the grief of a bewildered widower.”

But Kirkus, PW and Booklist were all underwhelmed by this debut, calling it “thinly plotted” and criticizing the main character’s “fundamental blandness” – so probably best to wait for more reviews.

You Lost Me There
Rosecrans Baldwin
Retail Price: $25.95
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover – (2010-08-12)
ISBN / EAN: 1594487634 / 9781594487637

Notable Fiction On Sale Next Week

Tough Customer by Sandra Brown (Simon & Schuster) tells the story of a private investigator whose estranged daughter is threatened by a stalker. Kirkus says “the narrative, slowed by too many talky scenes and descriptive filler, eventually rewards readers’ patience with a bang-up surprise ending.”

Cure by Robin Cook (Putnam) follows a couple, both medical examiners, who investigate a mob hit. PW says “Even devoted Cook fans may find that the crimes and subterfuges are resolved too swiftly and perfunctorily.”

Veil of Night by Linda Howard is a romantic suspense novel about a wedding planner and the murder of her bridezilla client.

Death on the D-List by Nancy Grace is the second Hailey Dean thriller by bestselling author, attorney, and TV personality Grace.

City of Veils by Zoe Ferraris (Little, Brown), is the author’s second literary mystery, set in Saudi Arabia and featuring the desert guide Nayir Sharqi and forensic scientist Katya Hijazi. The starred Booklist review calls it “a suspenseful mystery and a sobering portrait of the lives of Muslim women. Recommend this potent thriller as book-club reading.” It was also a pick on the LA Times summer reading roundup and the August Indie Next list. Libraries are showing modest reserves on modest orders.

The Votes Are In

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

NPR posts the list of Top 100 Killer Thrillers, as selected by 100,000 listeners. Critic Maureen Corrigan, noted that many of the choices are dark; “Even the [Agatha] Christie pick, And Then There Were None, is one of her creepier novels.” (Looking ahead, our own maven of all things creepy, Macmillan library marketing head, Talia Sherer has posted her picks of the upcoming fall and winter titles).

Below are the top ten:

1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson
4. The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
5. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. The Shining, by Stephen King
8. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
9. The Hunt tor Red October, by Tom Clancy
10. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Roach Aims for MARS, JOLIE Rushes to Market

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Mary Roach was the big hit of this year’s BEA Librarian “Shout & Share,” getting votes from all the librarians on the panel for her book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. She was also funny, enthralling and informative during a BEA author breakfast moderated by Jon Stewart (who was cracking up during most of her talk – watch it here). She was equally funny when she spoke to librarians at the AAP breakfast at PLA in March..

Word-of-mouth on the new book is good, but libraries we checked are well behind demand on this title.

Expect major media attention (no surprise, she will be on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Monday) for Roach’s look at some of the bizarre and uncomfortable realities facing future astronauts, as outlined in starred reviews from Library Journal (“While there are occasional somber passages, most of the descriptions of the many and varied annoyances of space travel are perversely entertaining.”) and Kirkus (“There is much good fun with – and a respectful amount of awe at – the often crazy ingenuity brought to the mundane matters of surviving in a place not meant for humans).

The book trailer, already featured on BoingBoing, illustrates Booklist’s assessment that  “Roach brings intrepid curiosity, sauciness, and chutzpah to the often staid practice of popular science writing,” giving it YA crossover appeal

.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Mary Roach
Retail Price: $25.95
Hardcover: 334 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company – (2010-08-02)
ISBN / EAN: 0393068471 / 9780393068474

Brilliance Audio:

  • CD, $99.97; ISBN 9781441876638
  • Playaway, $74.99; ISBN 9781441878960
  • MP3, $39.97; ISBN 9781441876652

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Though scheduled for release next week, Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography by Andrew Morton (St. Martin’s) was rushed to market this week because some the supposed revelations about the life and career of actress Angelina Jolie were leaking out.

USA Today dissects Jolie’s epic love life, and adds that the Jolie-Pitt household’s legion staff  includes “nannies from Vietnam, the Congo, and the U.S.; four nurses, a doctor on permanent call; two personal assistants; a cook; a maid; two cleaners; a busboy; four bodyguards, and six French former army guards.”

New York Times critic Janet Maslin chastizes Morton for not citing sources and for his many frivolous details (e.g. the type face of a particular Jolie tattoo never seen in public), while praising him (sort of) for connecting the biographical dots of Jolie’s life.

Entertainment Weekly reads Morton’s bio so you don’t have to and the AP uses it as a springboard to opine that unauthorized celeb bios (such as Oprah by Kitty Kelley) are not doing well these days.

Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography
Andrew Morton
Retail Price: $26.99
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – (2010-08-03)
ISBN / EAN: 031255561X / 9780312555610

Available from Blackstone Audio on 7/31/2010

CD LIB:; 9781441755124; $52.50
MP3CD LIB: 9781441755155; $14.98
Playaway; LIB; 9781441755186; $45.49
9 Tape LIB; 9781441755117; $36.48

Notable Kids & YA Fiction on Sale Next Week

I Am Number Four by Pitticus Lore (HarperCollins) is a YA novel about nine alien refugee teenages who land on Earth. Three are already dead, and number four is next. As we mentioned earlier, Entertainment Weekly has been running exclusives about this title, including an interview with the author, who claims to be “an extraterrestrial Elder from Lorien named Pittacus Lore.”

Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer (Hyperion); this will be the next-to-last entry in the best-selling middle-grade fantasy series, as Colfer revealed this week to the UK’s Guardian.

Notable Fiction on Sale Next Week

My Hollywood by Mona Simpson (Knopf) is her first novel since Off Keck Road (2000), narrated in alternate chapters by Claire, a composer whose marriage is strained by her husband’s late hours as a TV writer, and Lola, the Filipina nanny she hires. Entertainment Weekly gives it an “A-“: “Claire, privileged and damaged, floats along in a daze of unfulfillment, while the ever-practical Lola observes her L.A. milieu with a realist’s eye in imperfect yet oddly poetic English… A character as rich as Lola won’t easily fade from anyone’s mind.”  There’s also an interview with Simpson in the New York Times.

I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson, translated by Charlotte Barslund (Graywolf Press), from the author of the surprise hit Out Stealing Horses, is the story of a Danish communist who faces divorce and a dying mother. Entertainment Weekly gives it a “B,” saying: “A times it’ll feel alien to readers who’ve never been young Communists… (The translation can also be quite a rickety bridge.) But there’s no denying the novel’s Raymond Carver-like power as Arvid and his mother come to terms with how life hands you hope just before it hands you disappointment and tragedy.”

Hangman by Faye Kellerman (Morrow) is the newest mystery novel with spouses Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. Booklist says Kellerman fans will be reasonably satisfied, but “if you’re new to Kellerman…this is not the place to start. Kellerman works primarily in dialogue, with very sketchy narrative support, which requires readers unfamiliar with the backstory to act as their own detectives, figuring out what the heck is going on in each scene.”

Burn by Nevada Barr (Minotaur Books) is the 16th book with National Park Service ranger Anna Pigeon, though this time she is transplanted out of her element, to New Orleans. Booklist says, “Barr develops the narrative carefully, never letting the eerie black-magic elements overshadow her solid and suspenseful plotting. A definite winner.”

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone) chronicles the War of the Roses through the perspective of Henry VII’s mother.

Scarlet Nights: An Edilean Novel by Jude Deveraux (Atria) follows a woman whose fiancé turns out to be a scheming criminal. Booklist says it’s “another guilty-pleasure romance of suspense that will hook readers and leave them with a smile.”

In Harm’s Way by Ridley Pearson (Putnam) is the fourth thriller with Idaho sheriff Walt Fleming. Booklist is not so impressed: “although this novel is sufficiently entertaining, it lacks both the taut plotting and intricate excitement of his best work.”

Hot Book on the Hot Seat

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

On the Today Show, Matt Lauer takes Daniel Silva to task about his book, The Rembrandt Affair, which was released yesterday. Silva says the book’s villain was inspired by Bernie Madoff.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Coming Next Week; Murder, Madness and College Diets

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Based on library holds, the most anticipated title next week is the new thriller by Daniel Silva.

The Rembrandt Affair
Daniel Silva
Retail Price: $26.95
Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult – (2010-07-20)
ISBN / EAN: 0399156585 / 9780399156588

This is the 10th in the author’s Gabriel Alon series. Alon, the former assassin for the Israeli secret service, is looking for peace and quiet on the Cornish coast, but, of course, trouble finds him as an art restorer is murdered while working on a recently discovered Rembrandt.

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Holds are also building for by Iris Johansen’s third outing with her son, Roy.

Shadow Zone
Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen
Retail Price: $26.99
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press – (2010-07-20)
ISBN / EAN: 0312611609 / 9780312611606

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Coming in plenty of time for kids who will be heading off to college in the Fall, a new edition of the 2006 best seller, by the daughter of Memet Oz (who provides the forward). Most libraries have the earlier edition, but have not yet ordered the new one.


The Dorm Room Diet: The 10-Step Program for Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Plan That Really Works
Daphne Oz
Retail Price: $16.95
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Newmarket Press – (2010-07-13)
ISBN / EAN: 1557049157 / 9781557049155

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Geoffrey O’Brien’s The Fall of the House of Walworth is an L.A. Times summer reading pick; “O’Brien turns his acute eye onto a scandalous story of the 1870s, an act of patricide that destroyed a prominent family after the Civil War.” Booklist calls it a ” darkly mesmerizing true-crime tale.” A few libraries are showing holds. For those that don’t have holds, this sounds like a good readers advisory choice.

The Fall of the House of Walworth: A Tale of Madness and Murder in Gilded Age America
Geoffrey O’Brien
Retail Price: $30.00
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. – (2010-07-20)
ISBN / EAN: 0805081151 / 9780805081152

RIZZOLI & ISLES Kill

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

The TV series, Rizzoli & Isles, based on Tess Gerritsen’s series of mystery novels, debuted on Monday night on TNT. It ranked as “the most watched ad-supported cable series launch of all time,” according to Deadline Hollywood.

We could have guessed as much from how well Gerritsen’s books did on Amazon yesterday. Sales rankings showed significant bumps for the titles in the series, lead by the newest, just out in hardcover, Ice Cold.

The pilot is based on the second book of the series, which now sports a tie-in jacket in mass market.


The Apprentice (Jane Rizzoli, Book 2)
Tess Gerritsen
Retail Price: $7.99
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2003-07-29)
ISBN / EAN: 0345447867 / 9780345447869

OverDrive, downloadable audio and ebook
Books on Tape; UNABR; 8CD’s; 9780736687638: $80

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The latest in the series, Ice Cold, features the TNT logo, as do the new mass market paperbacks of the series.

Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel
Tess Gerritsen
Retail Price: $26.00
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2010-06-29)
ISBN / EAN: 034551548X / 9780345515483

Brilliance Audio

  • UNABR; 9 CD’s; Read by Tanya Eby; 9781423392064;  $97.97
  • UNABR; MP3-CD; 978-1-4233-9208-8; $39.97

OverDrive WMA Audiobook

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The series, in order:

1. The Surgeon (2001)
2. The Apprentice (2002)
3. The Sinner (2003)
4. Body Double (2004)
5. Vanish (2005)
6. The Mephisto Club (2006)
7. The Keepsake (2008)
8. Ice Cold (2010)

All Over The PLACE

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Tana French’s Faithful Place, which will be released tomorrow, is quickly becoming a reviewers’ darling. In addition to several strong reviews, the author, Tana French, was interviewed on NPR this weekend. Faithful Place is the author’s third mystery, following the well-received In the Woods and  The Likeness.

NPR, All Things Considered, worth listening to just to hear French reading from the book, with her light Irish accent.

NYT, Be It Ever So Awful, No Place Like …, Janet Maslin, “…her best, by a long shot.”

Seattle Times, New in crime fiction: a brilliant Irish mystery…, Adam Woog

Salon, Tana French turns the detective story inside out, Laura Miller, “Part Raymond Chandler, part Roddy Doyle, crime fiction’s rising star takes it into mesmerizing new territory”

Wall Street Journal, Cityside Thrillers, Tom Nolan; reviewing the book along with The Wolves of Fairmount Park by Dennis Tafoya, Nolan says “Some thriller writers burst onto the scene in a sudden blaze of hype, while others bubble under the level of mass awareness for years before gaining a significant following. Two authors who have been steadily attracting fans—but not much fanfare—are Tana French and Dennis Tafoya. Both are likely only to widen their audiences with their latest work.” Library customers would be surprised by the idea that French is under the radar; they have place a significant number of holds in several libraries.

Faithful Place: A Novel
Tana French
Retail Price: $25.95
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult – (2010-07-13)
ISBN / EAN: 0670021873 / 9780670021871

Recorded Books, UNABR; Narrated By: Tim Gerard Reynolds;

CD; 9781449821470; $123.95
Cassette; $113.75

LUCY Gets Mixed Reaction

Friday, July 9th, 2010

One of the summer’s much-anticipated thrillers, Lucy by Laurence Gonzales, arrives to discordant fanfare. But whatever the final critical consensus may be, the tale of a girl who’s half human and half bonobo chimpanzee is bound to get more media coverage.

Entertainment Weekly gives it an “A,” comparing Gonzales to a cross between Michael Crichton and Cormac McCarthy:

He’s got Crichton’s gift for page-
turning storytelling, but also a vivid, literary-grade prose style, and a knack for getting inside his characters’ heads.”

But New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani hates it:

Gonzales doesn’t manage to lend Lucy’s back story even the veneer of plausibility. . .  The reader often has the sense that Mr. Gonzales is impatiently ticking off plot points on an outline, as if he were writing a movie treatment, not a novel.

On NPR, critic Alan Cheuse takes the the middle ground in making it a summer pick:

The science in Gonzales’ novel is fascinating, the politics perhaps just a bit exaggerated, but hey, that’s entertainment.

Lucy
Laurence Gonzales
Price: $24.95
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Knopf – (2010-07-13)
ISBN-10: 0307272605
ISBN-13: 9780307272607

Other Notable Fiction Titles On Sale Next Week

Savages by Don Winslow (Simon & Schuster), a tale of the marijuana trade on the Mexican border, gets a rave review from Janet Maslin in the New York Times, who declares that “it will jolt Mr. Winslow into a different league….Its wisecracks are so sharp, its characters so mega-cool and its storytelling so ferocious that the risks pay off, thanks especially to Mr. Winslow’s no-prisoners sense of humor.” The novel is also a July Indie Next Pick and an ALA Shout and Share pick.

Faithful Place by Tana French (Viking) is the story of an Irish cop on the trail his childhood sweetheart’s murderer. It’s also the #1 Indie Bookseller Pick for July. In Salon, critic Laura Miller says the novel is “wrenching to a degree that detective fiction rarely achieves: Frank — a cocky devil who prides himself on his skillful lying and ability to play other people — gets pulled apart psychologically as he pursues Rosie’s killer.”

Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman (Doubleday)  is an Entertainment Weekly pick for summer. PW calls it  “a dense story of irreparable loss that tracks two families across four summers…. Though Waldman is often guilty of overwriting here, the narrative is well crafted, and each of the characters comes fully to life.”

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner (Atria) follows the wife and two daughters of a senator caught having an affair. It was a USA Today Summer Books pick, but PW pans it: “The lack of conflict and strong characters, and the heavy dose of brand names and ripped-from-the-headlines references, make this disappointingly disposable.”

Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon), a new series by the prolific author, gets a starred review from Booklist: “Readers of McCall Smiths 44 Scotland Street novels will savor this new series set among a collection of flats in Londons lively Pimlico neighborhood.”

The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster), the 18th Dave Robicheaux novel, also gets a starred Booklist review: “superb suspense leading to a gripping, set-piece finale that is a masterpiece of texture and mood… Not to be missed by any follower of the landmark series.”

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner (Bantam) investigates the murder of a family with Boston detective D.D. Warren. Booklist again hands out a starred revew: “Gardner never sensationalizes her story, and the book ends with a resolution that is creatively and emotionally appropriate. An excellent novel.”

Damaged: A Maggie O’Dell Mystery by Alex Kava (Doubleday) is “exciting if grisly . . . Maggie must venture into the eye of Hurricane Isaac as this intense thriller builds to an eye-popping revelation that will leave fans eager for the sequel,” says PW. Libraries we checked are well ahead of demand for this title, which was featured at Random House’s Librarian Author Breakfast at BEA.

Scaring Slaughter

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

NPR asks what scares thriller writer Karin Slaughter, whose new book Broken was just released.

This is the second in NPR’s new “Thrilled to Death” series, in which thriller authors talk about the books they love (Scott Turow kicked off the series, choosing Graham Greene’s The Power and The Glory).

Slaughter says, “There isn’t a better crime writer today than Denise Mina,” and recommends Garnethill, the first in a trilogy, which is followed by Exile and Resolution.

Garnethill
Denise Mina
Retail Price: $13.99
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books – (2007-09-20)
ISBN / EAN: 0316016780 / 9780316016780

Scottish writer Mina’s latest title, Still Midnight, was released here in March.

Still Midnight
Denise Mina
Retail Price: $24.99
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books – (2010-03-22)
ISBN / EAN: 0316015636 / 9780316015639

Goodman and Hilderbrand are Back

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Two novels going on sale next week are showing heavy holds, with libraries ordering more copies to keep up with demand.

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman is a tale of two sisters, set during the dot-com bubble, that was mentioned in many summer previews, including in the Los Angeles Times. It was also a Librarians Shout and Share pick at Book Expo, and a July Indie Pick.

Entertainment Weekly gives it an A-:

In her sixth novel The Cookbook Collector, [Goodman] ups the stakes with a deft literary hat trick, expertly braiding disparate threads involving dotcom start-ups, environmental radicalism, and rare-book collecting into one consistently engrossing narrative.

The Cookbook Collector: A Novel
Allegra Goodman
Retail Price: $26.00
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: The Dial Press – (2010-07-06)
ISBN / EAN: 0385340850 / 9780385340854

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The Island by Elin Hilderbrand (Little Brown/Reagan Arthur) is about a pre-wedding mother/daughter vacation that takes a dark turn.

Kirkus says “Hilderbrand’s portrait of the upper-crust Tate clan through the years is so deliciously addictive that it will be the ‘It’ beach book of the summer.”

It was also singled out in USA Today’s feature on  Summer Books.

The Island: A Novel
Elin Hilderbrand
Retail Price: $25.99
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books – (2010-07-06)
ISBN / EAN: 0316043877 / 9780316043878

Other Notable Fiction On Sale Next Week

The Search by Nora Roberts (Putnam) centers on a canine search-and-rescue trainer who survived a serial killer’s attack and now faces another. PW says, ” The serial killer plot is very familiar and without much to distinguish it, but the romance is finely done, with Roberts’s trademark banter lighting up the page.”

As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs (Scribner) follows a woman who seeks her husband’s killer after he is found dead in a prostitute’s apartment. Kirkus says: “The mystery is barely there, but Isaac’s fans will enjoy another sharp-tongued romp through the New York privileged classes and their foibles.” Library demand is 3:1 and higher at libraries we checked. Isaacs was featured at the AAP  Librarian Lunch at Book Expo.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (St. Martin’s), a thriller about a woman who tries to put her life back together after a year in a mountain cabin with a psychopath, has been much-discussed on Earlyword’s Galley Chat on Twitter. It also gets a starred review from Booklist: “Relentless and disturbing, Stevens dark, mesmerizing character study follows a twisted path from victimhood toward self-empowerment. Sure to leave readers looking over their shoulders for a smiling stranger.”

Father of the Rain by Lily King (Atlantic Monthly), about a daughter torn between her dreams and helping her alcoholic father, gets an enthusiastic review from Elle: “King is brilliant when writing from the eyes of a tween, all self-conscious curiosity but bright and hopeful as a starry sky. And as Daley grows up and learns how to trust and to love in spite of herself, King cuts a fine, fluid line to the melancholy truth: Even when we’re grown and on our own— wives, mothers, CEOs—we still long to be someone’s daughter.” At libraries we checked, holds are rising for this Oprah Magazine summer pick and July Indie Pick.

What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is the tale of a father who reaches out to his estranged daughter by confessing a long-kept secret. Entertainment Weekly gives it a full-blown A and Booklist gives it a starred review: “Norman’s piquant insights into life’s wildness, human eccentricity, and love’s maddening persistence are matched by rhapsodic and profound descriptions of everything from perfectly baked scones to pelting rain and the devouring sea, while anguish is tempered with humor, thanks to rapid-fire banter and marvelously spiky characters.”

This Must Be the Place by Kate Racculia (Holt) is a debut novel that gets 4 out of 4 stars in the new issue of People magazine, which calls it, “part romance, part mystery…Racculia’s whimisical details and flawed yet immensely likable characters make Place a magical journey.”  It received strong reviews from all the trade magazines and  was included in the Los Angeles Times‘ summer picks.

It All Began in Monte Carlo, by Elizabeth Adler (St. Martin’s), the author’s 24th novel, gets 3 of 4 stars in the new issue of People, saying the murder mystery’s plot is “…secondary to the lush surroundings, heady shopping sprees and over-the-top romance that make Monte Carlo a summer treat.”

Americans Becoming Less Insular

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

The phenomenal success of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series in the U.S., has brought attention to other foreign crime writers. According to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal,

The flood of imported crime fiction is striking given American publishers’ longstanding resistance to works in translation. Newly translated books still make up just 3% of titles released in the U.S., according to Bowker…and translated fiction and poetry make up less than 1%. In many European countries, translated books account for 25% to 40% of titles.

Perhaps the best indicator of the trend is the fact that James Patterson has begun partnering with writers in other countries (covered in a separate WSJ story). His Postcard Killers is written with Swedish author Liza Marklund, who wrote a draft in Swedish, based on Patterson’s outline, which was then translated into English for Patterson to edit. The book was released in Europe first, where it did not appeal to Swedish audiences, who prefer more literary crime writing.

The Postcard Killers
James Patterson, Liza Marklund
Retail Price: $27.99
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company – (2010-08-16)
ISBN / EAN: 0316089516 / 9780316089517

Patterson is also working on a new Private series, with authors in several other countries.

Minotaur Books, is particularly active in bringing in titles from abroad. The Wall Street Journal says that, until just a few years ago, the St. Martins imprint focused on British imports, but their list now features writers from Iceland, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa as well as Sweden. They are “betting big” this coming February, with a 75,000 copy first printing of The Devotion of Suspect X by Japanese best-selling writer, Keigo Higashino.

This August, Pantheon Books will publish another best-selling Japanese crime writer, Shuichi Yoshida, for the first time in the US. The WSJ says that Yoshida’s 2007 book, Villain, is a “moody narrative [that] unfolds from multiple characters’ perspectives.” Publishers Weekly calls it a “subtle but powerful novel.”

Villain: A Novel
Shuichi Yoshida
Retail Price: $25.95
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Pantheon – (2010-08-03)
ISBN / EAN: 030737887X / 9780307378873

The WSJ story includes a chart that delineates the characteristics of each country’s crime writers and their appeal to specific reading tastes.

Tess Gerritsen TNT

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Rizzoli and Isles, a new TNT crime-solving female buddy series, based on the novels by Tess Gerritsen, begins on Monday, July 12th.

Official Web Site: RizzoliandIsles

The pilot episode is based on the second book in the series. The new mass market pbk. cover features Angie Harmon as Detective Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as medical examiner Maura Isles. Also in the cast is Lorraine Bracco as Jane’s mother.


The Apprentice (Jane Rizzoli, Book 2)
Tess Gerritsen
Retail Price: $7.99
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2003-07-29)
ISBN / EAN: 0345447867 / 9780345447869

OverDrive, downloadable audio and ebook
Books on Tape; UNABR; 8CD’s; 9780736687638: $80

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The latest in the series, Ice Cold, comes out next week and features the TNT logo, as do the new mass market paperbacks of the series.

Ice Cold: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel
Tess Gerritsen
Retail Price: $26.00
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2010-06-29)
ISBN / EAN: 034551548X / 9780345515483

Brilliance Audio

  • UNABR; 9 CD’s; Read by Tanya Eby; 9781423392064;  $97.97
  • UNABR; MP3-CD; 978-1-4233-9208-8; $39.97

OverDrive WMA Audiobook