Sex, violence, evil, and betrayal — the shocking murder case splashed across the Florida headlines has all the right elements for true-crime writer Marie Lightfoot's next bestseller. And tell the tale she does, in a book that reveals the secrets of a love affair gone fatally wrong. But there are disturbing twists, which leave Marie sensing in her gut that something does not jibe.Twist number one: the accused is a man of the cloth, who has allegedly killed his wife in collusion with his lover. Twist number two: a pair of young girls find the body in an abandoned mansion, adding the death of innocence to the magnitude of the crime. Twist number three: a shattering conviction turns the case on its ear. And the ultimate blow: for the first time in her career, Marie fails to win the the killer's confidence during a jailhouse interview. Suddenly, she knows with certainty there ia more to the story than even she realized — and her conscience won't let her rest. Views: 63
Divorce attorney Blair Hansen is convinced that marriage should be based on practicality, not passion. But as her own wedding approaches, she finds herself remembering her law school boyfriend, the only man she's ever loved, and regretting what might have been. Then a twist of fate lands Garrett back in her life, and the man who loomed large in her past is suddenly casting a shadow over her wedding, making her question everything. To complicate matters further, the job she loves is in peril, and she can feel the ‘perfect’ life she’s fashioned for herself start to crumble under her feet. Could everything she's believed about life and love be wrong?Garrett Lowry is a divorce attorney who's ready to settle down. The problem is that he can’t find a woman who suits him nearly as well as the one he loved and lost. He broke her heart by playing the field after their break up—something he’s always regretted. But after months of pining for Blair, Garrett stumbles across her in a freak coincidence—and then destiny keeps throwing them together, the coincidences becoming ever more unlikely. He’s convinced it's a sign they should give their love a second chance, but Blair is engaged to another man—a man who is absolutely wrong for her. Can Garrett convince Blair that a player once isn’t a player forever, and that happy endings aren’t just for dreamers? Views: 63
When Daniel enters a convenience store on a secret mission, he doesn't expect to run into anyone he knows. That would ruin everything. And when Rosie enters the same store to see what her father wants, she's hoping to make a quick getaway with her waiting boyfriend. All Daniel and Rosie want is to get in and out without any trouble. Neither expects what happens next. A masked man enters the store. "This is a stickup," he announces. He has a gun and isn't afraid to use it. When he's ready to leave, he decides to take Rosie hostage. And then things get complicated... Views: 63
More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USAFrom Publishers WeeklySet mostly in the Borscht Belt, Adler's satiric take on 1930s New York gangsters falls short of the mark set by such other novels of his as The War of the Roses. Mickey Fine, an itinerant entertainer known as a tumler, has landed a gig at a Catskill hotel frequented by some of the leading thugs of the day. He falls for Mutzie Feder, a frustrated young woman from Brooklyn who's ended up as the girlfriend of Pittsburgh Phil Strauss (aka Pep) after a makeover so she looks like Jean Harlow. As Fine's feelings for Mutzie grow, he runs afoul of the jealous Pep and must develop a plan to free her from the life of prostitution the gangster has planned for her. At times Adler overdoes the Brooklynese dialogue (Certain tings make me crazy. Like sweet liddle canaries who can't keep der lips clamped shut), while some readers may find the parodic element makes it hard to engage emotionally with the characters. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistTwo naïfs meet at a resort in the Catskills in the 1930s. Mickey is looking for a summer job as a comic–cum–social director, and Mutzie is hoping to escape her humdrum existence to experience a more glamorous life that she sees in the movies. Innocently, she becomes a girlfriend of a big-time hood. The evidence is soon undeniable that Mickey and Mutzie are getting more deeply involved with mobsters, their lives are in danger, and they need to escape. Despite the 1930’s gangster movie–like (though raunchier) text, Weiner manages a credible reading. He easily imitates New York mobsters and usually, but not always, avoids exaggeration. Overall, his reading skills deserve better material; the plot is somewhat predictable and the characters stereotypical. Optioned for a film, the story should find an audience. --Karen Harris Views: 63
A Men's Journal, Deadly Pleasures, and Latinidad Best Book of the YearEddie Gato Wolfe is a young, impetuous member of the Wolfe family of Texas gun-runners that goes back generations. Increasingly unfulfilled by his minor role in family operations and eager to set out on his own, Eddie crosses the border to work security for a major Mexican drug cartel led by the ruthless La Navaja.Eddie falls for a mysterious woman named Miranda, whom he learns too late is the property of an intimate member of La Navaja's organization. When they're discovered, the violent upshot forces Eddie and Miranda to run for their lives, fleeing into the deadly Sonora Desert in hope of crossing the border to safety. But La Navaja's reach is far and his lust for revenge insatiable. If La Navaja's men don't kill Eddie and Miranda, the brutal desert just may. Their only hope: help from the family that Eddie abandoned.At once a riveting thriller and an inside look at the... Views: 63
Memories of her dire past fade as Celia Hagen enjoys life in Switzerland as a best-selling author, surrounded by an extended family, her beloved Benicio, and their imaginative young son Benny. But when Benny disappears from a train during an unexpected stop in the French Provencal countryside, Celia suspects her past may not be buried after all. With Benny gone, she quickly realizes her life wasn’t nearly as idyllic as she believed. Infuriated by the unorthodox search efforts of Interpol and the French police, Celia, along with her older son Oliver, undertakes her own search, only to find that the village where Benny vanished has its own chilling history, and her interference in the case will have grave and irreversible consequences. In the follow up to Audrey Braun’s best-selling debut, A Small Fortune, Celia discovers just how quickly everyone she loves can spiral toward a life—or death—that none of them could have seen coming.Amazon.com ReviewA Q&A with Audrey BraunQuestion: Fortune's Deadly Descent is the follow up to A Small Fortune. What will readers need to know before starting this book? Audrey Braun: Readers should know that while Fortune's Deadly Descent is the second book in a series, it is also a standalone novel. There is enough allusion to the first book for readers to get a sense of what came before without losing sight of what is happening in the new novel. Having said that, Fortune's Deadly Descent will certainly resonate deeper with readers who are familiar with A Small Fortune. When tiny details trigger knowledge of the story already existing inside the reader's head it's like being in on an inside joke. Inclusion is an extremely satisfying feeling. Q: The main character, Celia, finds herself at odds with her lover, the law, and a tiny French town filled with secrets when her son Benny is kidnaped. What inspired you this time? AB: Unlike A Small Fortune, which was inspired by wine, a tasty dinner, and a recession that had my husband and me brainstorming a genre novel I didn't think I'd actually write, Fortune's Deadly Descent was written with intent. At the end of A Small Fortune, a few threads are left dangling. Of course the reader could stop there and leave the rest up to her imagination, but if one were to carry those threads, say, to the south of France where the writer would be forced to travel for research [wink], where all of the senses would be evoked by the rich textures of Provence which would then be infused into the tension of the novel, allowing the reader to experience adventure, sensuality, and heart-pounding suspense in one package, I'd say that closely defines my inspiration for this novel. Q: Fortunes Deadly Decent is a gripping, fast-pace thriller, but there are so many deeply emotional moments. How do you strike that balance? AB: This is a very good question. Reading a thriller can sometimes feel like running a marathon. Just one more page, one more, just to get to the end of this chapter, and then ok, the next chapter, and the next, because I can't stop now! While this is exactly the kind of reaction every thriller writer hopes for, it can also be taxing on the reader. It's important to pull back a bit after times of extreme suspense to give the reader a break. That break is the perfect opportunity for the writer to go a little deeper inside the character's emotional core to remind the reader what is at stake. Flawed characters with broken hearts are the ones we love to root for and will follow every crisis they rake us through. Clearly defined vulnerabilities, faults, unmet desires, and regrets, resonate deeply with readers, and when they appear during or shortly after times of heightened danger, they pull the reader further into the story, far more effectively than mere facts of adrenaline rushes, gunshots, and kidnappings. Q: What writers/books inspire your writing? AB: Patricia Highsmith. I love The Talented Mr. Ripley for so many reasons, one of which is the strong sense of place. I'm also a huge fan of Benjamin Black, not least because he uses a pen name for his mystery novels and his real name (John Banville) for his literary work, the same way that I do. His protagonist, a coroner named Quirke (perfect) is a flawed old sod who plods through life trying to do the right thing by others as well as to himself. Same goes with Kate Atkinson. I love her writing. Her novels are written in big, sweeping arcs, very literary, and strong on suspense. Harlan Coben, Lisa Unger, and Laura Lippman are also writers I love, and they have influenced my own writing in the sense that each have novels featuring an everyman or everywoman thrown into extraordinary circumstances that they must work their way out of, and in the process discover exactly what they're made of. This rings true for Celia in the Fortune Series. She isn't the detective, doctor, or investigative journalist so often found in thrillers, she's a former editor and now a novelist who has been thrown into a life where she has to learn the skills of an investigator, or sniper, or heck, a marine, in order to survive. Q: What's next for Celia, will there be a 3rd novel? AB: Yes. I don't want to say too much about the plot as it's still very new, but I will say the 3rd installment of Celia's adventures takes place in Berlin, which has become the new "it" city of Europe. It is bustling with tourists and expats, the arts thriving, the rents miraculously cheaper than any other large European city at the moment. I think this makes for a fascinating backdrop for the 3rd and yes, final story of Celia's life. From BooklistThis sequel to A Small Fortune (2011) launches with Celia Hagen boarding a train to Paris with her adopted son, Benny, expecting nothing more than adventurous travel. But, during an unexpected stop, Benny disappears from the train. Interpol insists on ransom protocol, but Celia knows that the motive has to be rooted in her past, related to either her vengeful ex-husband or her heavily disputed inheritance. Following her instincts, Celia begins tracking Benny from the French village where he disappeared, aided by her adult son, Oliver, and a local detective personally motivated to solve a possibly related series of child kidnappings. Before long, Benny’s trail heats up, but the elusive motive for his kidnapping keeps Celia steps away from a rescue. Braun suffuses the village’s Old World charm with just enough shadow to enhance suspense, and Celia’s courage and determination make compelling reading. Readers of A Small Fortune will enjoy this further adventure, but warn newcomers to read the books sequentially—key elements of this novel rely on previous events that often feel incompletely conveyed. — Christine Tran Views: 63
For the first time, the entire Ghosts series is available in one book. Total word count is more than 150,000, approximately 500 pages of a printed book. When Beth Keneally is murdered by her father, her story should be over. Instead, she wakes up on the edge of town. Beth is a ghost, but her father is still on the loose and is determined to kill Beth's little sister Elise. Meanwhile, God and Satan come to town. Each wiping their memories, they live among the ordinary citizens so that they can experience human life. But their bet has unintended consequences, and soon Beth finds herself drawn into a struggle that could mean the entire world comes to an end. This volume contains all 8 books in the series Book 1: Ghosts Book 2: Sins of the Father Book 3: Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down Book 4: Tainted Book 5: The Flesh Book 6: Plague Fingers Book 7: All Hush Book 8: God is in the House Also included in this volume is a sample chapter from The Sickening King (The Grid II), a new series set in the aftermath of a devastating solar flare that destroys all electricity on Earth. Please note: This book contains violence, swearing and scenes of a sexual nature. Not recommended for readers under the age of 18.** Views: 63
Richard Carstairs discovers a young woman who has suffered a riding accident and cannot remember even her own name, let alone the circumstances from which she came. Christened Clara Fell by the Carstairs family, the mysterious lady proves herself not only charming but talented. Can Richard take her at face value? And can Miss Fell trust that she will not disgrace him, when position in society is so necessary to his well-being? Regency Romance by Carola Dunn; originally published by Warner Views: 63
