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Bookreporter.com Newsletter |
June 10, 2005
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Love That Reading
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Last weekend I spent four days walking the show floor at Book Expo America. By Sunday night I was hoarse and tired. I had scrawled pages and pages of notes about books that I am looking forward to sharing with you. When I got home I crawled out to my lawn chair and started reading MAYBE A MIRACLE by Brian Strause, which will be out in October. My eyes were closing, but I kept fighting a nap since I was enjoying this book so much.
Starts like this. Monroe is heading out to the pool house to get stoned on his way to his senior prom. As he looks at the pool he sees his younger sister floating. He quickly realizes that she is unconscious and dives in to save her. She ends up in a coma. His mom becomes a religious zealot. His father drinks and works. And his brother, the future golf champion, manages to shatter every bone in both his hands and his arms in a drunken fall. I am hitting the top notes on the plot. I am leaving so much out. The writing is soooo good. The emotion is so deep. More to come on this one.
I also am reading THE DIVIDE by Nicholas Evans, which will be in stores in late September. Remember Evans' THE HORSE WHISPERER? Well THE DIVIDE has a lot of the same feeling as it looks at the story of a marriage, a family and yearning, hope and passion. Truly loving this book. I look forward to talking about the way Evans talks about marriage. He truly delves into it so well.
Getting back to what's going on this week....Mary Jane Clark, author of DANCING IN THE DARK, is our newest featured Mystery Mayhem author. DANCING IN THE DARK is on sale July 26th. Clark is a CBS correspondent, so when you read her protagonist, KEY News correspondent Diane Mayfield, you know she is writing from experience. This book involves a murder at the New Jersey shore town of Ocean Grove. Since I live in New Jersey, I do enjoy stories that take place in this setting. We have 20 advanced reading copies of DANCING IN THE DARK to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. If you are interested, please send your name and mailing address to mystery@bookreporter.com by Friday, June 24, 2005.
Chatter this week has been all about Oprah selecting three Faulkner titles for her latest book club selection. We confess that these are not our favorite choices. In fact, my business partner, Jesse Kornbluth, wrote a terrific column about this, which you can read here.
Couple of updates on recent features: We added some more reader comments to Erica Spindler's feature. Erica also answers some advance reader questions here.
Did you read THE THIRD SECRET by Steve Berry, or do you like to play online games for great prizes? Then click here to play THE THIRD SECRET Webquest Game for a chance to win a trip for two to Rome, Italy! May we also suggest that this book is a great Father's Day present?
This weekend is the running of the Belmont. All eyes in our house will be on Afleet Alex, a horse that we came to root for, as part of his earnings benefits Alex's Lemonade Stand, a charity that we are just crazy about. Read more about it here. I am happy to share that the grocery store near our house has organized an Alex's Lemonade Stand this weekend!
I am off to read and relax a bit after a rather hectic week. I promise a blog update over the weekend, with more about last weekend's adventures.
Have a great week...and don't forget some bookish Father's Day shopping.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
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DEVIL'S CORNER by Lisa Scottoline is Now in Stores
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DEVIL'S CORNER by Lisa Scottoline (Thriller)
Reviewed by Kate Ayers
In Lisa Scottoline's latest fast-paced thriller, a spunky young prosecutor named Vicki Allegretti partners with a released inmate to solve the murders of people close to each of them, as they fight to save a neighborhood from sinking into irreversible decline.
Click here to read an excerpt of DEVIL'S CORNER.
Click here to read more about Lisa Scottoline.
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Beach Bag Of Books: Spotlight on SUMMER'S CHILD by Luanne Rice and Weekly Beach Bag Giveaway
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Whether your "beach" is on sand, your backyard deck or a grassy meadow in the country, the summer months mean it's time for "beach reading." Bookreporter.com is celebrating the lazy days of summer reading with a special feature, Bookreporter.com Beach Bag of Books.
Every week from May 20th through August 19th a different title will be featured with a review and author interview, as well as a contest prize --- a beach bag stocked with that book, plus summertime essentials that tie in to its theme. Five FABULOUS beach bags will be given away each week, as well as five copies of the book to additional winners.
Our fourth spotlighted title is SUMMER'S CHILD by Luanne Rice, a powerful and mysterious tale of love, redemption and the small miracles that shape our lives. Our SUMMER'S CHILD Beach Bag prize is a Parisian-inspired white and blue striped canvas tote stocked with great beach reading, and a few surprises. Along with a paperback copy of Luanne Rice's book --- SUMMER'S CHILD --- you'll find the hardcover of Sophie Kinsella's newest title, THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS, Karen Marie Moning's THE IMMORTAL HIGHLANDER, an official Luanne Rice drink cup and a bright yellow 'Undomestic Goddess' apron. We have five to give away, as well as five additional prizes of copies of SUMMER'S CHILD. Click here to enter.
Enjoying our summer beach bag contests and want to make sure you don't miss out on the next one? Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter and we'll alert you when the weekly Beach Bag contest has been updated.
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Click here to read more about Bookreporter.com's Beach Bag of Books feature.
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Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Perri O'Shaughnessy, Author of CASE OF LIES
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Readers love Perri O'Shaughnessy, a New York Times bestselling duo who have created a series of novels centered around lawyer and single mother Nina Reilly. The new Reilly novel is CASE OF LIES, which will be on-sale on June 28th.
New This Week:
-Read an excerpt from CASE OF LIES here.
Previous Weeks:
-Read Fast Facts about Perri O'Shaughnessy here.
-See a list of our Advance Winners here.
More About CASE OF LIES:
For Nina Reilly, the mountain town of Lake Tahoe is home. It's where she forged a successful career as a tough, resourceful attorney -- and raised her teenage son, Bob, alone. Back from a stint in Monterey, where her love life took a tumble, Nina has returned to her Tahoe law office with her old friends Sandy Whitefeather and Sandy's son, Wish. It isn't long before she has a new client. As Nina tries to unravel the mystery of one violent Tahoe night, a harrowing journey begins -- one that takes her from the dark underworld of Tahoe's casinos to the halls of a prestigious East Coast university to Europe and an emotional reunion with Kurt.
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Read more about Perri O'Shaughnessy and CASE OF LIES here.
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Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight: Jack Kerley, Author of THE DEATH COLLECTORS |
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Jack Kerley, whose book THE DEATH COLLECTORS is on sale on June 23rd, is another author spotlighted in our Suspense/Thriller feature. Many of you may remember his book, THE HUNDREDTH MAN that we shared with you last year.
New This Week:
-Read another excerpt from THE DEATH COLLECTORS here.
Previous Weeks:
-See our Advanced Reader Copy Winners.
-Read Fast Facts about Jack Kerley.
Read more about THE DEATH COLLECTORS here:
In 1972, on the day of his sentencing, renowned artist and serial killer Marsden Hexcampis shot dead in the courtroom. Members of his Mansonesque band of followers are imprisoned or simply disappear.
Fast-forward more than thirty years: A suspected prostitute is found murdered in a candlelit motel room, the first in a series of horrors suggesting Hexcamp's art remains alive and treacherous. Following a trail of beautiful --- and profoundly disturbing --- artwork, homicide detectives Carson Ryder and Harry Nautilus descend into the shocking world of the Death Collectors, people who spend vast sums to collect serial-killer memorabilia. As Ryder and Nautilus race to solve a thirty-year conspiracy, it becomes sadly evident that at the intersection of art and madness, death is beauty, tragedy a memento, and suffering suitable for framing.
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Read more about Jack Kerley and THE DEATH COLLECTORS here.
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Mystery Mayhem: Mary Jane Clark, Author of DANCING IN THE DARK
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Mary Jane Clark, author of DANCING IN THE DARK, is our newest featured Mystery Mayhem author. DANCING IN THE DARK is on sale July 26th.
We have 20 advanced reading copies of DANCING IN THE DARK to give away to readers who would like to preview the book and comment about it. A description can be found below. If you are interested, please send your name and mailing address to mystery@bookreporter.com by Friday, June 24, 2005.
More about DANCING IN THE DARK (On Sale July 26th):
New York Times bestselling author Mary Jane Clark turns up the heat with a drop-dead frightening novel about a town where teenage girls are disappearing, where an idyllic beach community is terrorized, and where one reporter must get to the truth to protect her family....
Trying to mix business with pleasure, KEY News correspondent Diane Mayfield has brought her children and her sister to the New Jersey Shore town of Ocean Grove to investigate a story on "girls who cry wolf" for the season premiere of Hourglass, television's highly rated newsmagazine. Diane lands an exclusive interview with a troubled young woman whose tale of being abducted and held against her will for three terrifying days hadn't been believed by the authorities. No sooner does Diane finish taping the interview, though, than a second victim disappears. The small community, already in the grip of a record heat wave, is now racked by fear and terror --- no one knows who could be next. With only the first victim as eyewitness, Diane and the police turn to her for clues. But it may be too late to save Diane and her loved ones from the mortal danger that lurks in Ocean Grove.
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Click here to read more about Mary Jane Clark and DANCING IN THE DARK.
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Mystery Mayhem Author Spotlight: Laurie R. King, author of LOCKED ROOMS
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Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes are back in Laurie R. King's highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling mystery series. And this time the first couple of detection pair up to unlock the buried memory of a shocking crime with the power to kill again --- lost somewhere in Russell's own past.
New This Week:
-Read an excerpt from LOCKED ROOMS here.
Previous Weeks:
-See our list of Advance Winners here.
-Read Fast Facts about Laurie R. King here.
-Watch a video with Laurie R. King here.
More About LOCKED ROOMS (on-sale June 21st):
After departing Bombay by ship, Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes are en route to the bustling modern city of San Francisco. There, Mary will settle some legal affairs surrounding the inheritance of her family's old estate. But the closer they get to port, the more Mary finds herself prey to troubling dreams and irrational behavior --- a point not lost on Holmes, much to Russell's annoyance.
The more questions they ask of Mary's past, the more people from that past turn out to have died violent, unexplained deaths. Now, with the aid of a hard-boiled young detective and crime writer named Hammett, Russell and Holmes find themselves embroiled in a mystery that leads them through the winding streets of Chinatown to the unspoken secrets of a parent's marriage and the tragic car "accident" that a fourteen-year-old Mary alone survived --- an accident that may not have been an accident at all. What Russell is about to discover is that even a forgotten past never dies...and it can kill again.
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Click here to read more about Laurie R. King and LOCKED ROOMS.
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One To Watch: John Ramsey Miller, author of UPSIDE DOWN and INSIDE OUT
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Our latest One to Watch author is John Ramsey Miller. INSIDE OUT went on sale May 31st and introduced readers to U.S. Marshal Winter Massey. Massey will return in Miller's upcoming release, UPSIDE DOWN, on sale June 28th. What a great way to explore a new author --- with back-to-back new releases.
New This Week:
-Read an excerpt from UPSIDE DOWN here.
-Read Fast Facts about John Ramsey Miller here.
-Read the backlist for UPSIDE DOWN here.
Find out the winners of the ARC giveaway here.
More about UPSIDE DOWN:
In the rain-slick streets of New Orleans, a twelve-year-old girl is running out of time. Hours before, Faith Ann Porter hid under a desk while her attorney mother was murdered for photographs that could rock the city. Now Faith Ann is being hunted by a pair of killers with a very powerful boss. Because she has the negatives of the photos her mother died for, Faith Ann has only hours to live --- and only one person who can save her....
Our review of INSIDE OUT by John Ramsey Miller (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
U.S. Marshal Winter Massey is part of a team of officers assigned to protect contract killer Dylan Devlin, a Federal witness who has agreed to testify against Sam Manelli, the godfather of one of America's biggest crime families. But when Manelli arranges a contract hit on Devlin, the government's case falls apart, while the reputation --- and life --- of Massey's best friend is tarnished.
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Click here to read more about John Ramsey Miller and UPSIDE DOWN and INSIDE OUT.
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Breaking and Entering: A Special Promotion You Won't Want to Miss
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Here is your opportunity to discover some great new mystery writers and win some sizzlin' summer prizes. During the summer, Bantam Dell will be showcasing some of the newest voices in the mystery genre and you can be the first to know about them with email updates. Click here if you want to sign up for previews of the new titles that are sure to be making waves this summer. By signing up you're automatically entered to win one of 100 six-book sets of signed "B & E" paperback novels and a very special "B & E" mug.
Click on the titles to read excerpts from these "Breaking and Entering" books:
Lead A Horse to Murder
By Cynthia Baxter
Full Dark House
By Christopher Fowler
Unzipped
By Lois Greiman
Fearful Symmetry
By Morag Joss
Signs in the Blood
By Vicki Lane
Stuffed
By Brian Wiprud
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To enter the Bantam Dell Breaking and Entering Sweepstakes click here.
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This Week's Reviews and Features
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APPALOOSA by Robert B. Parker (Western)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa, they find a small, dusty town suffering at the hands of renegade rancher Randall Bragg --- an unusually wily adversary who raises the stakes by playing not with the rules, but with emotions.
THE DEVIL'S TEETH: A True Story of Survival and Obsession Among America's Great White Sharks by Susan Casey (Travel/Adventure)
Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
A journalist's obsession brings her to a remote island off the California coast, home to the world's most mysterious and fearsome predators --- and the strange band of surfer-scientists who follow them.
SUDDEN DEATH by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
New York Giants running back Kenny Schilling stands accused of killing Troy Preston, wide receiver for the New York Jets. As criminal defense attorney Andy Carpenter investigates, he finds that Troy is not the only football player who was killed after contact with Kenny --- and his snooping starts to set off alarms with a drug king.
BLINDING LIGHT by Paul Theroux (Fiction)
Reviewed by Roz Shea
Slade Steadman's only book was a cult classic about his travels through dozens of countries without a passport. Now, 20 years later, he sets out for Ecuador's jungle in search of a rare hallucinogenic drug and the cure for his writer's block. Amid a gang of thrill-seeking tourists, Steadman finds his drug and his inspiration but is beset with an unnerving side effect --- periodic blindness.
FADE by Kyle Mills (Thriller)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
A secret department of Homeland Security is recruiting agents to work undercover in the Middle East, and the director wants his second-in-command, Matt Egan, to bring aboard an old friend, Salam Al Fayed, better known as Fade. An ex-Navy Seal who now lives with a bullet lodged near his spine after the government denied him medical treatment, Fade refuses to join the mission and is prepared to fight back at any cost.
THE GARDEN OF EDEN by Eve Adams (Fiction)
Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
When young trooper Sam Neely is assigned to the tiny town of Eden, he settles in to be bored out of his mind. But Eden is peopled with characters who make the village (and the book) an entertaining place filled with joy, humor, sorrow and sweetness.
36 YALTA BOULEVARD by Olen Steinhauer (Mystery)
Reviewed by Andi Shechter
When a man who has escaped to the West returns without explanation, Brano Sev of the Ministry for State Security is sent to his hometown to investigate. What follows takes him far from the safety of his office at 36 Yalta Boulevard, to the streets of Vienna, where friend and foe resemble one another, all well-versed in betrayal.
VENGEANCE by Richard Marcinko & Jim DeFelice (Thriller)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Mixing fact with fiction, Richard Marcinko returns to his authentic, no-holds-barred style in the latest explosive installment of his New York Times bestselling series, Rogue Warrior. Marcinko's fictional alter ego takes no prisoners as he and his Red Cell II team tackle American bureaucrats as well as terrorists.
PLUNDER OF THE SUN by David Dodge (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Al Colby has been hired to smuggle a small package from Chile to Peru. But little does he know that this package contains the answer to one of history's greatest mysteries. Now one man is dead, two beautiful women have betrayed him, and a couple of gunmen are determined to capture him.
INTO A PARIS QUARTIER: Reine Margot's Chapel and Other Haunts of St-Germain by Diane Johnson (Nonfiction)
Reviewed by Shannon McKenna
In her novel LE DIVORCE, which was made into a feature film, Diane Johnson tells the story of two sisters from California who find love and adventure in the City of Light. Johnson's affinity for the French way of life is the basis of this nonfiction narrative, a colorful and leisurely stroll through the neighborhood she calls home.
THE RIVALS: Christ Evert vs. Martina Navratilova - Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship by Johnette Howard (Biography & Autobiography/Sports)
Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
Based on extensive interviews and never-before-published material, award-winning sportswriter Johnette Howard chronicles the extraordinary careers of tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova --- their epic battles on the court, their turbulent times off the court, and their extraordinary friendship.
MEET YOU IN HELL: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America by Les Standiford (History)
Reviewed by Robert Finn
Critically acclaimed author Les Standiford takes a journalistic look at the parallel careers of Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick, both rags-to-riches industrial tycoons --- at first partners, later rivals. Both attained unimaginable wealth, but at a cost that stained their reputations and made their names anathema to many less fortunate than themselves.
CHAPLIN AND AGEE: The Untold Story of the Tramp, the Writer, and the Lost Screenplay by John Wranovics (Biography)
Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds
This small treasure of a book charts the friendship between James Agee --- author of LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN and Pulitzer Prize-winning A DEATH IN THE FAMILY, as well as a screenwriter for American classics such as The African Queen --- and silent film star Charlie Chaplin.
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Click here to read this week's reviews and features.
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Bookreporter.com Blog
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Note: I promise to update my blog this week with some thoughts on Book Expo America last weekend and some fall titles that I am loving! Be sure to check back during the week!
Encouraging a Reader
Cooking a la Rachel Ray
Runaway Bride
Authors Authors Everywhere
Sign up here to get notified each time this blog is updated.
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Click here to read the Bookreporter.com blog.
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Poll: What Are You Reading? |
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Which of the following books are you most looking forward to reading, or are you reading now?
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Answer the Poll 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.
Those of you who wish to send mail to Bookreporter.com, please see the form on the Write to Us page. We were forced to move to this format after we were inundated with SPAM at the other address. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us.
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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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