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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
April 30, 2004 |
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Mysterious Minds and Bookish Baseball |
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Last night I attended the Edgar Awards Dinner. Named for Edgar Allan Poe these are the awards given in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller genre. It was quite an evening with such presenters as Mary Higgins Clark, Michael Connelly and Phillip Margolin. We will have the list of winners for you next week. For the record, for people who write blood, gore, guts and murder so well, they are a really fun group to spend time with!
We all are influenced by what happens to us in life. For writers many of those memories find their way into their books. This week we have a review of THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER by Nicholas and Micah Sparks. It's the story of their three-week around-the-world trip, as well as a look back at their childhood. Whether you are a fan of Sparks or not, I encourage you to read this review. It will give you a view of Sparks that you may not have had before. We often think of successful people as having no burdens or worries. This book again shatters that myth.
Our newest suspense/thriller author is Edna Buchanan, whose new one COLD CASE SQUAD is the start of a new series involving a team of Miami cold case squad detectives. I had never read Buchanan before and can see me calling for her backlist! If you would like to be one of our 20 advance readers, please send a note AND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, May 14th.
This week we bring you three interviews and 16 reviews at Bookreporter.com. We hope you find a book to enjoy! Also, we share this good news --- in March 2004 we had 577,000 unique visitors to the websites in The Book Report Network. It's a new record for us. Thanks to each of you who visit our websites --- and recommend them to others! Please continue to support us by making your Amazon.com purchases via the links and banners on our websites.
I am off to my son's baseball game. They are 1-2 this season and they have games tonight and tomorrow. I watch the game and recommend books to people. I think we have the only team in the league where this happens!
Have a great week.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) |
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Clinton McKinzie, Author of CROSSING THE LINE |
Clinton McKinzie, author of CROSSING THE LINE, talks to Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight Team (Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub and Wiley Saichek). He explains how his extensive background in law enforcement aided him in writing the book and discusses his passion for rock climbing, which has been incorporated into his novels.
CROSSING THE LINE by Clinton McKinzie (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
FBI agent Mary Chang is hot on the trail of Hidalgo, a murderous drug lord who recently relocated to a Wyoming canyon. Determined to bring Hidalgo to custody, Chang enlists Special Agent Antonio Burns and his renegade brother, Roberto. Despite Mary's and Anthony's efforts, their plans soon descend into a world of loss, betrayal and terror. |
Read an interview with Clinton McKinzie, Author of CROSSING THE LINE here.
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Bookreporter.com Talks to Lauren Kelly, Author of TAKE ME, TAKE ME WITH YOU |
Lauren Kelly, author of TAKE ME, TAKE ME WITH YOU, talks to Wiley Saichek and Carol Fitzgerald from Bookreporter.com. She shares insight into the writing of the book, as well as why this novel is being written under a pseudonym (and shares another pseudonym as well).
TAKE ME, TAKE ME WITH YOU by Lauren Kelly (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Lara Quade is a young woman whose physical beauty has been scarred in a childhood accident. One day she has what appears to be a chance meeting with a young man named Zedrick Dewe; somehow they each seem to know the other. What is the connection between them? Who has brought them together? And why are they drawn so powerfully to one another? |
Read an interview with Lauren Kelly and our review of TAKE ME, TAKE ME WITH YOU here.
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Author Talk: William Lashner, Author of PAST DUE |
In a fun --- and very different --- take on an interview (it's set up as an interrogation), William Lashner talks about his new book --- PAST DUE.
PAST DUE by William Lashner (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
In William Lashner's latest thriller, defense attorney Victor Carl is searching for the killer of Joey Cheaps, his client. Victor is sent on a twisting journey that leads to a missing suitcase stuffed with money, photographs of a mysterious naked woman and a Supreme Court justice with a secret to hide. Then Victor steps into the crosshairs of a vengeful enemy with a past full of pain and a taste for blood. |
Read an interview with William Lashner and a review of PAST DUE here.
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Suspense/Thriller Spotlight: Rick Riordan, author of SOUTHTOWN and Introducing Our New Author Edna Buchanan, Author of COLD CASE SQUAD |
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Rick Riordan, author of SOUTHTOWN, which is on sale on April 27th.
New This Week: Read what our advance readers have to say about SOUTHTOWN.
SOUTHTOWN
Will Stirman stages a bloody escape from prison and sets out for Southtown, an area in San Antonio, to exact revenge on those who put him behind bars. Tres Navarre's boss, Erainya Manos knows why Stirman may be looking for her, but she's not talking. Sam Barerra, the other person with clues to the danger is fighting a losing battle with dementia. SOUTHTOWN is a story filled with greed, vigilanitism --- and deception.
Edna Buchanan, author of COLD CASE SQUAD, which is on sale on June 1st is our new Suspense/Thriller Author. If you would like to be one of our 20 advance readers, please send your name and MAILING ADDRESS to SuspenseThriller@Bookreporter.com by Friday, May 14th.
COLD CASE SQUAD
Edna Buchanan's latest novel launches a new series with members of Miami Police Department's "cold case squad" as her protagonists. Two separate cases occupy the team's minds. Sergeant Craig Burch and Detective Pete Nazario are investigating the supposed accidental death of a father who may very well be alive --- while Detective Sam Stone is hot on the trail of a serial killer. |
Read our Suspense/Thriller feature here.
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MISTRESS OF THE PEARL by Eric Van Lustbader --- New Novel and Contest |
Fantasy fans may enjoy MISTRESS OF THE PEARL, the third novel in Eric Van Lustbader's "The Pearl" series. EricVanLustbader.com is hosting a contest through May 13th where readers have a chance to win a number of prizes --- including signed books, mini-puzzles and a pen set. Complete contest details and regulations can be found online at http://www.ericvanlustbader.com/contest/contest.asp.
More about MISTRESS OF THE PEARL --- as well as the first two books in "The Pearl" saga --- can be found at EricVanLustbader.com. An excerpt from MISTRESS OF THE PEARL can be read at http://www.ericvanlustbader.com/books/excerpt_pearl.asp. |
Click here to read official rules for the Eric Van Lustbader contest.
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This Week's Book Reviews and Features |
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THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER by Nicholas Sparks & Micah Sparks (Memoir)
Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
As moving and emotionally riveting as his bestselling works of fiction, Nicholas Sparks's unique memoir, written with his brother Micah, chronicles both an astonishing around-the-world adventure and a life-affirming inward journey. Bound by memories both humorous and tragic, the two brothers banded together to heal, to remember, and to learn to live life to the fullest.
NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME by Mary Higgins Clark (Mystery)
Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
In her latest novel, Mary Higgins Clark transports readers to a twentieth class reunion at a private school in upstate New York. But not everyone is there to reminisce or celebrate the weekend get-together. A murderer lurks among the aging classmates, and this person has been plying his/her trade for twenty years --- all over the country without detection.
HOMESICK: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Finding Hope by Jenny Lauren (Memoir)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
Gorgeous, brilliant, cherished Jenny Lauren shares the dark side of her life --- an extended battle with eating disorders and an agonizing journey through undiagnosed chronic pain --- in this honest and shocking account.
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB by Karen Joy Fowler (Fiction)
Reviewed by Shannon McKenna
Six Californians join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. Author Karen Joy Fowler presents readers with a delicious dissection of modern relationships.
WHAT TO KEEP by Rachel Cline (Fiction)
Reviewed by Norah Piehl
Denny Roman grows from a lonely, smart-mouthed twelve-year-old girl into a lonely, artistic thirty-something woman in this touching first novel about the capacity for love and the meaning of family.
LOVE IN THE ASYLUM by Lisa Carey (Fiction)
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
Can love save those who believe they are beyond redemption? That is the question at the heart of this eagerly anticipated novel by the acclaimed author of IN THE COUNTRY OF THE YOUNG and THE MERMAIDS SINGING, a remarkable tale of salvation at the last possible moment in the last place imaginable.
ANIMAL CRACKERS by Hannah Tinti (Short Stories)
Reviewed by Stephen M. Deusner
In these ten strange, funny and unnerving stories from Hannah Tinti's debut anthology, animals become the litmus test of our deepest fears and longings.
HEAT WAVE by Jill Marie Landis (Contemporary Romance)
Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton
A woman with a secret past runs from love and hides behind her career as a private investigator. She helps out a potential love interest locate a daughter he never knew he had and learns to love again and confront her past.
THE ART OF MENDING by Elizabeth Berg (Fiction)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year's gathering will prove to be much more trying than she ever imagined, because her sister Caroline reveals long-suppressed family secrets to her and their brother Steve. Will the clan accept her disclosures, and can they mend their tremendous rift?
RADIO ACTIVITY by Bill Fitzhugh (Fiction)
Reviewed by Bob Rhubart
Unemployed radio personality Rick Shannon accepts a job offer from a small station in Mississippi, where a DJ recently stopped showing up for work. After discovering an audiotape that might explain the fate of the missing DJ, Rick decides to look into the matter and assumes another identity.
THE ACCUSERS by Lindsey Davis (Historical Mystery)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
Marcus Didius Falco takes on a dicey case of a son accused of his father's murder. But was it murder, or suicide? The action heats up back in the days of the great Roman Empire.
WINDFALLS by Jean Hegland (Fiction)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
Two lonely young women become pregnant and follow different paths in this powerful novel. Each stumbles deeper into despair, drawing strength from the other when they finally meet.
THE RIGHT ADDRESS by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman (Fiction)
Reviewed by Amie Taylor
If you've ever dreamt of being the darling of the rich and famous, a star in the night sky of Manhattan society or one of the ladies who lunch, you might just think again after you read what it takes to live at THE RIGHT ADDRESS.
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Read the reviews and features here.
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Poll: How Much Will You Spend on a Hardcover Book? |
How much does the price of a book influence your decision to buy it?
A lot
Some
Does not matter to me
What is the highest price point you will pay for a HARDCOVER book for a favorite author?
What is the highest price you will pay for a HARDCOVER book for an author who you are NOT familiar with? |
Answer the Poll here.
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Question of the Week: What book are you planning to buy next? |
What book are you planning to buy next?
Our next question update will be on May 14th. |
Answer the Question of the Week.
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Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading -- TWO Prizes! |
Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.
This week we have some great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of PAST DUE by William Lashner and CROSSING THE LINE by Clinton McKinzie. Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on May 14th. |
Need more details about Word of Mouth? Click here.
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As always, here are a few housekeeping notes. If you are seeing this newsletter in a text version, and would prefer to see the graphics, you can either read it online (see the link on the upper right) or change your preferences below.
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Happy reading! Don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend or to visit our other websites from TheBookReportNetwork.com: ReadingGroupGuides.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com, FaithfulReader.com, AuthorYellowPages.com, Teenreads.com, and Kidsreads.com.
--- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
The Book Report Network
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