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Editorial Content for Grace

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Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

It doesn’t hurt to occasionally make forays into fiction that is outside of one’s genre comfort zone, so to speak. Today I am treading into general fiction, perhaps into that sub-genre that does not always dare speak its name --- women’s fiction --- and reading T. Greenwood’s latest novel. A half-century ago, I would have been the subject of taunting for trying such a thing, or at worst (like young Trevor in the book) subjected to bullying. Read More

Teaser

Thirteen-year-old Trevor Kennedy has endured bullying at school for as long as he can remember. But where Trevor once silently tolerated the jabs and name-calling, now anger surges through him in ways he's powerless to control. Only Crystal, a store clerk dealing with her own loss, sees the deep fissures in the Kennedy family --- in the haunting photographs Trevor brings to be developed.

Promo

Thirteen-year-old Trevor Kennedy has endured bullying at school for as long as he can remember. But where Trevor once silently tolerated the jabs and name-calling, now anger surges through him in ways he's powerless to control. Only Crystal, a store clerk dealing with her own loss, sees the deep fissures in the Kennedy family --- in the haunting photographs Trevor brings to be developed.

About the Book

Every family photograph hides a story. Some are suffused with warmth and joy, others reflect the dull ache of disappointed dreams. For 13-year-old Trevor Kennedy, taking photos helps make sense of his fractured world. His father, Kurt, struggles to keep a business going while also caring for Trevor’s aging grandfather, whose hoarding has reached dangerous levels. Trevor’s mother, Elsbeth, all but ignores her son while doting on his five-year-old sister, Gracy, and pilfering useless drugstore items.

Trevor knows he can count on little Gracy’s unconditional love and his art teacher’s encouragement. None of that compensates for the bullying he has endured at school for as long as he can remember. But where Trevor once silently tolerated the jabs and name-calling, now anger surges through him in ways he’s powerless to control.

Only Crystal, a store clerk dealing with her own loss, sees the deep fissures in the Kennedy family --- in the haunting photographs Trevor brings to be developed, and in the palpable distance between Elsbeth and her son. And as their lives become more intertwined, each will be pushed to the breaking point, with shattering, unforeseeable consequences.

by Ceri Radford - Fiction

Constance Harding's comfortable corner of Surrey is her own little piece of heaven. Naturally, things turn disastrous rather quickly. And she's about to learn that her perfect home conceals a scandal that would make the vicar blush.

Editorial Content for A Surrey State of Affairs

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Amie Taylor

At 53, Constance Harding is embarking on a foray into the Internet world. Armed with a new laptop, she has created her own blog with the assistance of her son, Rupert. Beginning on January 1st and continuing through the last day of the year, readers are privy to Constance's innermost thoughts and outward experiences in Surrey, England, as she makes her way through 2008. Read More

Teaser

 

Constance Harding's comfortable corner of Surrey is her own little piece of heaven. Naturally, things turn disastrous rather quickly. And she's about to learn that her perfect home conceals a scandal that would make the vicar blush.

Promo

Constance Harding's comfortable corner of Surrey is her own little piece of heaven. Naturally, things turn disastrous rather quickly. And she's about to learn that her perfect home conceals a scandal that would make the vicar blush.

About the Book

Constance Harding's comfortable corner of Surrey is her own little piece of heaven. She lives in a chocolate box house complete with an Aga and a parrot, her bell-ringing club is set to dominate the intercounty tournament, and she is sure she can get her son, Rupert, to settle down if she just writes the perfect personal ad for him. Naturally, things turn disastrous rather quickly. And she's about to learn that her perfect home conceals a scandal that would make the vicar blush.

Her Lithuanian housekeeper's undergarments keep appearing in her husband's study and her daughter is turning into a Lycra-clad gap-year strumpet. As her family falls apart, Constance embarks on an extraordinary journey. From partying in Ibiza to riding bareback with a handsome Argentinean gaucho whose only English words are "Britney" and "Spears," Constance is about to discover a wider world she thought it was too late to find.

Hilarious, inventive and ultimately heartwarming, A SURREY STATE OF AFFAIRS will appeal to fans of MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND and the novels of Alexander McCall Smith.

by Mark Mills - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Set in the dark days just prior to the onset of World War II, Mark Mills --- whose previous novels include AMAGANSETT, THE SAVAGE GARDEN and THE INFORMATION OFFICER --- deftly unfolds an electrifying story of betrayal, love, and the inescapable pull of the past, as an ex-spy finds himself drawn back into his treacherous former life.

Editorial Content for House for the Hunted

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

In his brief career, author Mark Mills has quickly become one of the most respected and awarded fiction writers in the business. From his first novel, the Long Island-based AMAGANSETT, to his most recent effort that garnered him high praise, THE INFORMATION OFFICER, he has continued to build his fan base by creating intelligent thrillers that never cease to surprise. Read More

Teaser

 

Set in the dark days just prior to the onset of World War II, Mark Mills --- whose previous novels include AMAGANSETT, THE SAVAGE GARDEN and THE INFORMATION OFFICER --- deftly unfolds an electrifying story of betrayal, love, and the inescapable pull of the past, as an ex-spy finds himself drawn back into his treacherous former life.

Promo

Set in the dark days just prior to the onset of World War II, Mark Mills --- whose previous novels include AMAGANSETT, THE SAVAGE GARDEN and THE INFORMATION OFFICER --- deftly unfolds an electrifying story of betrayal, love, and the inescapable pull of the past, as an ex-spy finds himself drawn back into his treacherous former life.

About the Book

Mark Mills, bestselling author of AMAGANSETT, THE SAVAGE GARDEN and THE INFORMATION OFFICER, is renowned for blending riveting history, rich atmosphere, and thrilling suspense. Now, in HOUSE OF THE HUNTED, Mills deftly unfolds a story of betrayal, love, and the inescapable pull of the past as an ex-spy finds himself drawn back into his treacherous former life.
 
Côte d’Azur, France, 1935: As Europe moves inexorably toward war, Tom Nash feels pleasantly removed, pursuing a quiet writing career on an idyllic stretch of the French Riveria. A former intelligence operative for the British government, Tom now finds refuge among the lively seaside community of expats and artists, hoping to put the worst deeds from his job --- and memories of the woman he once loved --- far behind him. But Tom’s peaceful existence is shattered when an unknown hit man tries to kill him in his sleep. Tom is sure that somebody knows his secrets, and that this attempt on his life won’t be the last.
 
Relying on his instincts for self-preservation, Tom suspects everyone of double-dealing, even people he considers his friends: the Russian art dealers from Paris, the exiled German dissidents, even his former boss and closest confidant. And as he plunges further into his haunted past, Tom feels himself turning into the person he used to be --- a dangerous man, capable of anything.

Combining vividly drawn characters and gripping acts of espionage, HOUSE OF THE HUNTED is a superbly crafted novel by an exceptional and versatile storyteller.

by Fuminori Nakamura - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

He has no family, no friends, no connections. But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when Ishikawa, his first partner, reappears in his life, and offers him a job. Only the day after the job does he learn that the old man he tied up was a prominent politician, and that he was brutally killed after the robbery.

Editorial content for The Thief

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

THE THIEF by Fuminori Nakamura is an unsettling work of dark fiction, set beneath the gleaming spires of Tokyo in places where the dirt and grit have collected and settled, and the hunters seek their prey. The thief of the title is the narrator of the story; his name --- Nishimura --- is mentioned just once during the course of the book, and if you blink you will miss it. It only adds to the mystery of the protagonist’s persona. Read More

Teaser

He has no family, no friends, no connections. But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when Ishikawa, his first partner, reappears in his life, and offers him a job. Only the day after the job does he learn that the old man he tied up was a prominent politician, and that he was brutally killed after the robbery.

Promo

He has no family, no friends, no connections. But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when Ishikawa, his first partner, reappears in his life, and offers him a job. Only the day after the job does he learn that the old man he tied up was a prominent politician, and that he was brutally killed after the robbery.

About the Book

The Thief is a seasoned pickpocket. Anonymous in his tailored suit, he weaves in and out of Tokyo crowds, stealing wallets from strangers so smoothly sometimes he doesn’t even remember the snatch. Most people are just a blur to him, nameless faces from whom he chooses his victims. He has no family, no friends, no connections.... But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when Ishikawa, his first partner, reappears in his life, and offers him a job he can’t refuse. It’s an easy job: tie up an old rich man, steal the contents of the safe. No one gets hurt. Only the day after the job does he learn that the old man was a prominent politician, and that he was brutally killed after the robbery. And now the Thief is caught in a tangle even he might not be able to escape.

by Elizabeth Hand - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Photographer Cass Neary is sent to Helsinki, where an iconic fashion photographer shows her gorgeous photos of ritual killings. After escaping death, Cass flees to Iceland, where she finds a former lover and a legendary, exiled musician. Soon, unsolved murders are rapidly multiplying.

Editorial content for Available Dark

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Judy Gigstad

AVAILABLE DARK takes place primarily in the cold, dark regions of Iceland. Photographer Cass Neary is an aging hippie from New York who becomes a heroine of sorts, not because she is witty, pretty, or believable, but because she is scared. A product of the lost drug generation, Cass has drunk or dosed away any real talent she possesses. Read More

Teaser

 

Photographer Cass Neary is sent to Helsinki, where an iconic fashion photographer shows her gorgeous photos of ritual killings. After escaping death, Cass flees to Iceland, where she finds a former lover and a legendary, exiled musician. Soon, unsolved murders are rapidly multiplying.

Promo

Photographer Cass Neary is sent to Helsinki, where an iconic fashion photographer shows her gorgeous photos of ritual killings. After escaping death, Cass flees to Iceland, where she finds a former lover and a legendary, exiled musician. Soon, unsolved murders are rapidly multiplying.

About the Book

Elizabeth Hand’s writing honors include the Shirley Jackson Award, the James Tiptree Award, the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the International Horror Guild Award, and many others. Now, this uniquely gifted storyteller brings us a searing and iconoclastic crime novel, in which photographer Cass Neary, introduced in the underground classic Generation Loss, finds herself drawn into the shadowy world of crime in Scandinavia’s coldest corners.

As this riveting tour-de-force opens, the police already want to talk to Cass about a mysterious death she was involved with previously, but before they can bring her in, Cass accepts a job offer from overseas and hops on a plane.

In Helsinki, she authenticates a series of disturbing but stunning images taken by a famous fashion photographer who has cut himself off from the violent Nordic music scene where he first made his reputation. Paid off by her shady employer, she buys a one-way ticket to Reykjavik, in search of a lover from her own dark past.

But when the fashion photographer’s mutilated corpse is discovered back in Finland, Cass finds herself sucked into a vortex of ancient myth and betrayal, vengeance and serial murder, set against a bone-splintering soundtrack of black metal and the terrifying beauty of the sunless Icelandic wilderness. In this eagerly awaited sequel to the award-winning GENERATION LOSS, Cass Neary finds her own worst fears confirmed: it’s always darkest before it turns completely black.

by Noah Hawley - Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Dr. Paul Allen's specialty is diagnosing patients with conflicting symptoms, patients other doctors have given up on. In the harrowing opening scene of this novel, Dr. Allen is home with his family when a televised news report announces that the Democratic candidate for president has been shot at a rally, and his son Daniel is caught on video as the assassin.