May 25, 2012
May 23, 2012
I Guarantee These Books
I take my book recommendations seriously, and there are four books out within weeks of each other this summer about which I am inordinately excited, which I know readers will love (I’m lucky enough to have already read three of them).
So here’s the 2012 money-back guarantee: Preorder any one (or all) of these books. When you get it, read it. If you don’t like it, let me know, and I’ll buy you a new book. All I ask is that you donate the one you purchased to a local library or charitable organization. Or give it to a person you think will like it more than you did.
I’m a big fan of supporting independent businesses, too, and if you’re so inclined, it’s important to remember that authors—even the ones who are very successful—are akin to family businesses, too. They create their books with the support of those around them, and their stories travel to readers most often through recommendations, that all-important word-of-mouth. So when you preorder a book, you are supporting the author in an entirely tangible fashion.
I do understand that we’re all on a budget nowadays; none of us has money to waste. So if preordering isn’t practical for you, I hope you’ll request some or all of these titles from your local library. Here are this year’s eligible books, in order of their release:
Alafair Burke’s NEVER TELL marks the return of NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher, following last year’s amazing stand-alone, LONG GONE. Ellie and her partner, JJ Rogan, are called to a palatial apartment where a sixteen year-old girl is dead. Her mother insists she was murdered, but Ellie is certain they’re investigating a suicide. As they learn more about the dead girl and her privileged life, nothing is what it first appears.
I was excited for Ellie’s return—she’s one of my favorite series characters—but I wasn’t expecting the book to be this good. Don’t get me wrong—I was sure I’d enjoy it—but this is easily one of the finest police procedurals I’ve ever read, and I don’t say that lightly. In addition to the cop/crime elements, NEVER TELL recalled for me stories by everyone from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Ernest Hemingway to Mark Twain, all in a storytelling voice that is Burke’s very own.
Preorder NEVER TELL: 
Author's website: www.alafairburke.com
As much as HEARTBROKEN is the story of three women—each compelling in her own right—it is also about the people and places around them. I wouldn’t call this one crime fiction, although crimes are committed, so much as it is a story of the very nature of humans, how we love and hurt those around us. The story that follows Emily, Kate and Birdie on wildly divergent yet ultimately similar paths is as haunting as any I’ve read.
I have recommended Lisa Unger’s books to many people, and each has thanked me effusively and proceeded to read everything she’s ever written and recommend her to friends and family. She’s just that kind of storyteller; she creates worlds that grab you full-force and don’t let go until long after you’ve turned the last page. If you need another reason to read HEARTBROKEN, another of my favorite characters, Jones Cooper, does make an appearance in the story!
Preorder HEARTBROKEN:
Author's website: www.lisaunger.com
The opening scene in ONLY ONE LIFE takes place on the bank of an inlet beside a forest, near a small town about an hour outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. When detective Louise Rick arrives at the scene, she finds a teenage girl dead, pulled from the water with a paving slab tied around her. This is a high-profile, high-priority case, not least because it looks like it could be an honor killing. As Louise gets to know the victim, though, she quickly realizes that finding this murderer, and understanding the victim's world, will be anything but simple.
I consider myself fairly well up on the news, but before I read ONLY ONE LIFE, I didn’t know what an honor killing is. If you’re like me: An honor killing is a murder of vengeance committed by male family members against female family members who are believed to have brought dishonor upon the family. Honor killing is most prevalent in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures. Denmark has had several honor killing cases—one in which nine members of a family were sent to prison—and there have been several in Canada, but if it happens in the US, I’ve never seen it reported. The grace and cultural insight that pervades ONLY ONE LIFE is astounding. And in addition to this, it’s a fantastic, quick moving story, which is much more Ed McBain than Steig Larsson (if you know me, you know just how much of a compliment this is!).
Preorder ONLY ONE LIFE:
Author's website: www.sarablaedel.com
UPDATE: Since writing this, I have received and devoured a copy of CRIMINAL. Readers know Karin Slaughter is a master, and as such, we don't really expect her to get ever better, but with this book, she does. It is not just an amazing crime fiction story, but is one of the best works of fiction of any sort that I've ever read.
I haven’t yet read CRIMINAL, but I know it belongs on this list because Karin Slaughter never lets her readers down. Here’s the description from the publisher’s catalog:
Will Trent is a brilliant agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who's beginning to put a difficult past behind him. Then a local college student goes missing, and Will is inexplicably kept off the case by his supervisor and mentor, deputy director Amanda Wagner. Will cannot fathom why. The origins of the answer lies forty years earlier, the year Will was born, at a time when Amanda Wagner took her first steps in the boys' club that is the Atlanta Police Department. Now the case that launched Amanda's career has suddenly come back to life, and it is intertwined with the long-held mystery of Will's birth and parentage. And they will each need to face down demons from the past if they are to prevent an even greater terror from being unleashed.I get excited about every new Karin Slaughter title, but this one has me particularly keyed up because I just adore Will Trent. He’s a hero, for sure, but he has moments of imperfection and flaws that keep him as far from one-dimensional as you can get. His relationship with Amanda is one that I’ve wondered about in previous books, and I can’t wait to get to know her better. I also enjoy books that travel back in a character’s life, when this traveling is in the hands of a master like Karin Slaughter.
Preorder CRIMINAL:
Author's website: www.karinslaughter.com
So there you have it. Four books. One summer. Preorder one or all of them. I promise you’ll love each, and that you’ll be a better reader for having met these characters and traveled roads with them.
Parts of this post are subject to my disclosure notes, which you can find here.
May 18, 2012
May 11, 2012
May 4, 2012
April 27, 2012
The People in My Neighborhood: World Book Night
When WBN happened last year in the UK, I hoped it would come to America. I was thrilled when it did, and I scampered right over and applied to be a giver. My first choice for giveaway book was Michael Connelly’s BLOOD WORK. I figured that because the author is a big name and lives locally—and because it’s a great book (horrible movie aside)—it would be the perfect title to give.
I was thrilled—like, let out a squeal thrilled—when I got the email that I’d been accepted as a giver and that I’d be giving my first-choice book.
In the weeks and months following that notification, it became obvious that the WBN America folks had slightly underestimated the size and scope of their undertaking. They had to coordinate getting the books printed (these were special WBN editions), having them delivered to pick-up points selected by givers, and coordinate getting the right info to the right people. This would not have been so tough if they were dealing with just, say, 5,000 pick-up points and givers, but 25,000? That’s an epic undertaking.
Thankfully, though, they persevered.
My pick-up point was a local Barnes & Noble. The thing is, it’s a college store, and I’d never actually set foot in it before. When I phoned, though, I had a lovely conversation with the store manager, which continued when I went to pick up my books. She’s someone I’ll keep in touch with. Score one for WBN.
When Monday morning arrived, the reality of being a giver hit me. I was going to have to give books to strangers. Which meant talking with them. Which is not my strong suit. I mean, I’m quite good in any kind of business setting, but just out in the world? Not so much. I hadn’t really thought this through. I wasn’t alone, though, and thankfully, found a bunch of Twitter friends who helped ease my anxiety. And my husband accepted being drafted into helping me.
As evening fell, we headed to the Greyhound station. I mean, anyone getting on a bus for a long period of time must want a good book to read, right? And let’s be honest: folks riding Greyhound probably don’t have a bunch of disposable income to be buying books. Turns out the local station is small, but there were five guys there. The dude behind the counter looked mighty skeptical when I started into my spiel, and I quickly realized I needed to specify that I was not from a religious organization. Once I did that, he accepted the book, and as I kept extolling its virtues, his attitude changed. He said, “Hey, I now I feel like I just got a free book!” “That’s because you did,” I told him. One other guy took a book gratefully, another reluctantly, and the remaining two turned me down cold.
Next stop, the local bus depot. Some people there were skeptical—like the woman who said she’d read the book if I also gave her $1 (I did)—but others were thrilled, like the young woman who took out her earbuds to talk with me and the gentleman who was almost finished with the battered Grisham paperback in his hand.
On a roll, we proceeded to Williams Park, the local hangout of St. Petersburg’s homeless population. Our logic was that these folks couldn’t readily afford books and therefore might not have read one in a while. We were mostly right; the first guy asked who he could thank and whether there was a toll-free number he could call to “give kudos.” As we walked away, he called after us, “Now I can be a reader again!” We did get a couple of fuck-offs, had to explain to each person that we weren’t handing out religious tracts, and three times had to admit that no, I’m not Michael Connelly and I didn’t write the book, but overall, the park was a success.
After a brief stop for some dinner, we headed back to the bus depot with the remaining books. We met a family (mom, older daughter, and toddler son) who were recently arrived from Haiti, and after I explained WBN to them en français, they were thrilled to have a book with which to practice reading in English. The quote of the night, though, came from the very last book recipient, a bus driver who looked completely exhausted and in no mood for a pitch of any sort. He listened to me, took a book, grunted as he examined the cover and said, “I used to read. It’s been years. Guess it’s time to take it up again.”
Yes, Mr. Driver. Yes, it is.
April 20, 2012
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