Linda's Latest List


Linda T -- Queen of Everything (LNT) aka She Who Must Be Obeyed is especially drawn to:
* cross-genre fiction such as wizard private eyes
* fast-paced chase novels
* good bad guys and bad good guys
* unpredictable plots and/or premises that "surprise me"
* some romance, but please, don't bore me with too much detail
* a sense of humor, especially if it's weird, a bit twisted, and/or makes use of clever wordplay
* language skills a must!

Fever Dream (Hardcover)

By Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston
$26.99
ISBN-13: 9780446554961
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Grand Central Publishing, 05/01/2010

Oh boy, this is a good one. The ever-enigmatic FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast is a character to be admired but not known. That is about to change. Pendergast has believed that his wife Helen died 12 years ago from a fatal mauling by a ferocious red-maned lion. One day, while looking at his wife’s hunting rifle, long enclosed in a glass case, he notices a bit of rust forming on the tip of the barrel. He takes it out of the glass case to clean and discovers one barrel is clean and the other dirty. This leads to the conclusion that it had been loaded with blanks. Pendergast suspects that his wife was set up to be murdered. He asks NYPD Lt. Vincent D’Agosta to drop everything and help him solve this mystery. The motive behind her death seems to be related to her obsession with naturalist-painter John James Audubon and his long lost painting, the Black Flame. Pendergast, along with D’Agosta, travels from Zambia to the Louisiana bayou, searching for clues about his wife’s past and discovering maybe a bit more than he wanted to know.
I think Fever Dream is their best effort to date, and that’s saying a lot!


The Shadow Pavilion (Mass Market Paperback)

By Liz Williams, Jon Foster
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9781597801232
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Night Shade Books, 02/01/2010

Detective Inspector Chen returns in Liz William’s fourth occult police procedural fantasy set in the strange city of Singapore Three. Chen’s wife Inari has gone missing. Demon Zhu Irzh and Inari’s badger/teapot familiar have also disappeared. The evil man/woman assassin Lord Lady Seijin from Between is stalking Mhara, the new Emperor of Heaven. A Bollywood actress has been set loose on the city. She’s angry and she’s also a tigress demon. Yikes, or Growl! Yes, it’s business as usual for Chen. If you like your fantasy mixed with mystery, check out Liz’s latest thriller. Or, begin with Snake Agent and get hooked on ”John Constantine meets Chow Yun-Fat” in a unique future Asia setting.


Death by the Book (Hardcover)

By Lenny Bartulin
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780312559724
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Minotaur Books, 01/01/2010

Death by the Book, introducing Jack Susko, used book dealer in Sydney, Australia, is a classic style hard-boiled whodunit. We have dangerous dames, noir atmosphere, snappy dialogue and poetry books (wha?). Jack is asked by millionaire Hammond Kasprowicz to find as many copies of books by obscure poet Edward Kass. When Jack delivers some books, he meets gorgeous daughter Annabelle. Trouble follows. Jack begins to investigate the lives of Kasprowictz and Kass. Bodies begin to pile up. Just another typical week in a bookseller’s life. A promising debut in a new biblio-mystery series.


Impact (Hardcover)

By Douglas Preston
$25.99
ISBN-13: 9780765317681
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Forge Books, 01/01/2010

I let my husband read Impact first because the cover had a fiery ball of flames hurtling toward earth and I thought, oh yeah, another apocalyptic meteor collision. Call Bruce Willis and full speed ahead to save the world. But my husband said, “Hey, this is great. I think you’ll really like it.” Blast it. Right again! Impact IS a blast! We’ve got three scenarios. First up is former CIA operative Wyman Ford, last seen in Blasphemy, checking out radioactive gemstones mined in Cambodia. Over in Maine, college dropout and frustrated astronomer Abbey Straw spots a meteor landing near one of the many small islands near her home. She wants to cash in by selling fragments on e-bay, so she and girlfriend Jackie begin a search for the impact crater. And then there’s the angry red planet. Gamma rays from Mars? Mark Corso, a Mars mission technician at the National Propulsion Facility gets hold of some very classified and dangerous data. How do these three occurrences tie together? Well, I’m not telling, so you’ll have to read Impact to find out. There are several reasons why I loved this story. The two women searching for the impact make a great team. While they are hunting down the point of impact, a psycho who wants in on the action, even though he doesn’t know what the action might be is chasing them! Wyman Ford kicks ass over in Cambodia in a totally moral way. And the mysterious gamma rays along with a High resolution NASA image revealing a feature hidden in the depths of a crater on Mars reveal some unique surprises about this Impact.

--LNT (and hubby Jan Tonnesen)


Gutshot Straight (Hardcover)

By Lou Berney
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780061766046
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow, 01/01/2010

Charles "Shake" Bouchon just got out of jail. He vows to go straight. He manages to set a speed record for getting into trouble again. The day starts out relatively simple. Deliver a package, pick up a suitcase. Then, you know, s*** hitting fan. Shake double crosses former lover and Armenian crime boss, Alexandra Ilandryan. Rips off Las Vegas strip club owner Dick “The Whale” Moby. Rescues obligatory gorgeous girl in trunk, Gina Clement. Gets ripped off by gorgeous girl in trunk. Is this any way to begin a new life? Can romance bloom between an ex-con and a gorgeous stripper when the relationship begins with handcuffs and doublecrosses? Will Shake ever be able to realize his dream of starting a restaurant? What about Gina’s dream of owning a high-end dry cleaning business? And what does all of this have to do with some very unusual, very valuable religious artifacts they need to unload posthaste? I highly recommend this crime caper to those of you looking for my kind of humor (dark), action (lots of chasing around), exotic locales (Panama is exotic to me!), devious and creepy henchmen, and entertaining romantic tension where the girl is a smarty pants and her lover knows when he’s in over his head but enjoys the benefits. I’m ready for another Shake-Up. Get your signed copy here.
--LNT


Precious Dragon (Mass Market Paperback)

By Liz Williams
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9781597800846
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Night Shade Books, 08/01/2009

The third Detective Inspector Chin book finds our heroes, Chin and his demon partner Zhu Irzh, escorting an envoy from Heaven on a diplomatic mission to Hell. This is bad news for our heroes, especially Zhu, since the trip will require a visit with his family. What’s worse, Mom threw out Dad and now has a new boyfriend, the Minister of War. Then the heavenly envoy goes missing and the trail leads right back to Zhu’s family.
Meanwhile, a boy is born to newlywed ghosts. You can bet he is no ordinary boy. Hint: note the book’s title, Precious Dragon. He is also in grave danger from the forces of both Heaven and Hell. There’s a rumble brewing in the cosmos. Chin and Zhu must track down the missing emissary before all Hell breaks loose-really!
This mash-up of ancient Chinese mythology, fantasy and detective fiction represents the best of the cross-over novel between fantasy and mystery. If you have not yet investigated the fantasy world of Inspector Chin, begin with Snake Agent.

--LNT


Bone Song (Mass Market Paperback)

By John Meaney
$6.99
ISBN-13: 9780553590951
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Spectra, 12/01/2008
Wow! I loved this first book in a new urban fantasy series. It is a dark fantasy horror police procedural with zombies, slave-wraiths, a bit of snarky humor and a unique love story. The setting is Tristopolis, where below ground, the city hums along, fueled by the bones of its dead citizens. Bones have power and someone is murdering celebrities for their unique bones. Imagine touching the bones of a famous singer or painter and being able to "see" their muse, their inspiration. Tempting, no? Lieutenant Donal Riordan, along with his para-live (kinda dead) partner must hunt above and below ground for a killer feared by both the living and the dead. Lieutenant Riordan can "feel" the bones, and you can feel this world down to your marrow. Be prepared to experience a place like no other, and enjoy its lingering aftertaste. The sequel, Black Blood is available in HC, Spectra, $26.00.

By John Meaney
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780553590968
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Spectra, 10/01/2009

The sequel to Blood Song delivers a necro-punch of gothic noir filled with the imagery of a fully developed world in Tristopolis, where energy is produced from incinerating the bones (and spirits) of its dead citizens. We are definitely NOT in Kansas, Dorothy.
Creating not a fantasy reworking of our reality, but a uniquely realized alternate world with magic-based technology, here you will find zombies kept “alive” by plugging in their cold, black, transplanted artificial hearts. Wraiths, bound to their elevator homes, are ignored by the humans, slaves here to do their bidding. In the middle is police lieutenant Donal Riordan (a warning to those who haven’t read the first book) seeking revenge for the death of his lover, Laura. He is also tracking down a powerful cabal of conspirators known as the Black Circle before they can carry out their political/magical takeover of the government. Meanwhile, the Unity Party’s power is building, gaining popularity among the humans on a platform of anti-zombie paranoia. Watch out non-humans. Grab your money, valuables and family and go into hiding or head out to the country where folks are a bit more tolerant of the undead. Otherwise you may find yourself being rounded up and put into camps, or worse. A zombie bookseller is killed when overly zealous citizens torch his bookstore. I have never (really!) before read a fantasy where throughout the books I am consistently surprised by a unique, descriptively meaty, morbidly imaginative world. If this doesn’t convince you to read these books, how about a necro-ninja assassin! I will say no more.
--LNT


Get Real (Hardcover)

By Donald E. Westlake
$23.99
ISBN-13: 9780446178600
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grand Central Publishing, 07/01/2009
Oh joy! So sad. With mixed feelings, I began the latest and last John Dortmunder caper. We find our merry band of thieves caught up in the latest trend: reality TV. They are offered roles in a new TV show. They get to play themselves while a TV crew follows them around, filming their latest robbery. What a terrible idea...or is it? What if they could pull a fast one on the TV bigwigs and somehow work a double-cross? They could get paid to pull a planned and scripted heist, while simultaneously robbing the hand that feeds them! So many plans to make and so many things to go wrong. And to add to the confusion, the thieves actually begin to enjoy acting, critiquing the dailies and ad-libbing scenes. When the show is threatened by cancellation, they have more to lose than a SAG card. Will they score a big hit, in more ways than one? Who says that crime doesn't pay? Donald Westlake died December 31, 2008. This latest caper with the Dortmunder crew is a fine last work capping a long and distinguished career.

By Elle Newmark
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9781416590576
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Washington Square Press, 11/01/2009
This debut mystery has all of the elements I look for when plowing through my piles of review books in an attempt to find something, anything, a bit different, a bit fun, some adventure and romance maybe, an intriguing setting and/or time, and (joy upon joy) maybe something with delicious details about cooking. The Book of Unholy Mischief has it all. Luciano, our hero, is a poor street urchin with quick hands and a quick mind. It's 1498 Venice, and dangerous times, whether you live on the streets or in the palace of the doge, the most powerful man of Venice. Luciano is chosen as kitchen apprentice by the doge's chef. The city is abuzz over rumors of a book, a very powerful book, containing magical potions for eternal life, love spells, alchemy, and who knows what else. When Luciano learns that the book contains love spells, his interest grows, for he is a boy caught in the web of unrequited love. So while he learns the basic skills of an apprentice cook, he also learns that the chef has a mysterious box of spices and a garden of strange (magical?) plants. Could the chef be guarding more secrets than a good soup recipe? Luciano embarks on a search for the book, which he sees as his salvation, the magical road to health, wealth, and true love. But we all know that such a journey will cost dearly. I recommend this seductive novel, and suggest a bit of chocolate as a fitting accompaniment for your reading pleasure. Atria Books, $26.00. --LNT

From Dead to Worse (Mass Market Paperback)

By Charlaine Harris
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780441017010
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ace, 03/01/2009
In Charlaine's installment in her Southern Gothic Vampire Romance Mystery series, our favorite cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse faces the violent aftermath of two catastrophic events from her past: Hurricane Katrina and the Vampire Summit. Both have left the supernatural community in Louisiana weakened. Power struggles are inevitable and war is threatening everyone. It's were vs. were, vamp vs. vamp, human vs. were vs. vamp. You get the picture. Everyone vs. everyone. Caught in the middle, Sookie feels threatened, lost and alone, especially since she still hasn't heard from her boyfriend Quinn since the Vampire Summit the previous month. You can bet the fur will fly. Will Sookie survive the power struggles, maybe find love and happiness, or at least a good night's sleep? As always, be prepared for some surprises and changes in Sookie's life. I am forever hopeful about Sookie's future and always happy to read the latest episode of her fascinating story.

--LNT

Six Suspects (Hardcover)

By Vikas Swarup
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780312605032
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Minotaur Books, 07/01/2009
From the author of Q&A, the source for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, a tale of Murder, Suspects, Motive, Evidence, Solution, and Confession. This is how the mystery is presented, with these headings introducing our story's progress. A real sleaze, murderer Vivek (Vicky), son of Home Minister Jagannath Rai, celebrates his acquittal at a huge bash thrown by dear dad. He is shot to death and in the aftermath, the police find six guests with firearms. Our six suspects' back stories are revealed along with a view of contemporary Indian culture. Our suspects are a diverse lot, with a Bollywood actress; the dumb as a brick American who has a crush on her; a corrupt bureaucrat who, while at a s