Nifty Novels and More from Maryelizabeth


Publicity Manager, Events Coordinator, and MG co-owner Maryelizabeth (MeH) reads across all of our chosen genres, with an emphasis on sociological fiction. Whether a book involves werewolves, spaceships, faeries, forensics, or all of the above, her main concern is the impact of their world on the characters in it.

Maryelizabeth is also the primary administrator of Mysterious Galaxy's Facebook fan page.

Cat's Claw (Mass Market Paperback)

By Amber Benson
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780441018437
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ace, 03/01/2010
Having been sucked back into her family’s mythic level drama in Death’s Daughter, Callie would prefer to resume her mostly mortal life in New York City without supernatural complications. But an unexpected visitor with a disturbing message sends her back to her family home, where her father’s assistant informs her she’s been given an ultimatum by Cerebus, Guardian of Hades – help him with a problem, or return his daughter, Runt. Since Callie and her family have become very fond of Runt, Callie accepts the challenges. Along the way she meets denizens of a number of different world mythologies, including a number of Egyptian demi-gods, and gets a hint that her true love, the Devil’s Protégé, may not be as irretrievably gone as she previously thought. Signed first editions available while supplies last. -- MeH

A Local Habitation (Mass Market Paperback)

By Seanan McGuire
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780756405960
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: DAW, 03/01/2010
San Francisco’s half-fae private investigator Toby Daye, introduced in last year’s Rosemary and Rue, is back and faced with a mysterious killer in a maze that’s half faerie lands and half computer company cubicles. Toby’s liege asks her to travel semi-covertly to the County of Tamed Lightening, a controversial fairy land in Fremont, where his niece, the Countess, has inexplicably become incommunicado. Not only must Toby investigate for Sylvester without arousing the ire of any of the neighboring faerie lands, but also she is asked to be responsible for a half-fae teenager, in training as a page. The Countess is also head of a company that makes faerie-compatible technology; unfortunately, her staff is getting picked off one by one, and their bodies are being left behind rather than collected by the traditional Night Haunts. A Local Habitation is a fun mix of fantasy noir and haunted house mystery, and I look forward to more of Toby’s adventures. -- MeH

By Dana Stabenow
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780312559090
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Minotaur Books, 02/01/2010
If readers have learned anything in the course of reading Dana Stabenow’s Alaska novels, it’s that death is frequent, violent, and often unexpected in our 49th state. So when a gold miner’s truck is discovered abandoned, and bits of a bear’s dinner that were formerly a man are discovered near Niniltna, it’s a logical conclusion that the remains belong to the truck’s owner. State trooper Jim Chopin asks for Kate Shugak’s help as a PI to follow-up on the situation, which seems straightforward – until the “dead man” turns up wandering in the wilderness, deepening the mystery of what happened, and who the deceased actually is. The new gold mine dominates the town and the interactions of Kate and Jim’s neighbors, reflecting the real controversy in contemporary Alaska. Another satisfying sexy pageturner from Dana. Signed first editions available while supplies last. -- MeH

Spellwright (Hardcover)

By Blake Charlton
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780765317278
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books, 02/01/2010
Imagine a world in which the pen is quite literally mightier than the sword – or at least words can indeed hurt you, more than sticks and stones. Blake Charlton has taken a classic wizarding / Ivy League school setting, and infused it with a special magic – the magic of words. In a world where words are magic and powerful, a dyslexic sorcerer is generally at best a low-level mage, and at worst a danger to himself and others. Nicodemus Weal is such a spellwright, working carefully to assist those who can manipulate magic without misspelling; once he was thought to be a figure of prophecy, but his disability seems to dispel that likelihood. However, he still finds himself enmeshed in the midst of several battling factions when his mentor is accused of murder. A fascinating new magic system and a debut author to watch. Meet Blake on Sunday, March 14. -- MeH

The Bricklayer (Hardcover)

By Noah Boyd
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9780061827013
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow, 02/01/2010

Fans of FBI thrillers have a new protagonist / team to cheer for. Steve Vail was an FBI agent who took a semi-involuntary early retirement after being caught in an untenable situation. Now he’s a self-employed bricklayer, finding satisfaction in a job well done where he’s his own boss. But when the FBI is targeted by extortionists, making the investigators the victims, and it appears that there’s a leak inside the organization, Vail is brought out of retirement to provide his expertise in an under-the-radar, mostly off-the-books capacity. The apparent insider knowledge of operations makes the Rubaco Pentad a wily intelligent opponent, and it’s to Boyd’s credit that while Vail’s sometimes “cowboy” methodology is important to the solution, it’s not at the expense of the other FBI agents, including his main contact, deputy assistant director Kate Bannon. Vail is a loner, but not a borderline sociopath, like some of his contemporaries. A fast-paced and engaging start to a new series – recommended to fans of Lee Child, P.J. Tracy, or John Sandford. Signed copies available while supplies last
-- MeH & sd


Captivate (Hardcover)

By Carrie Jones
$16.99
ISBN-13: 9781599903422
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 01/01/2010

Despite being the half-pixie daughter of a pixie king father and a human mom, high school student Zara is less than enchanted with her recent discovery that magic is real, and pixies are mostly pretty evil. Having survived a conflict with her father in the Maine woods in Need, Zara, her shape-changer boyfriend, and their two best friends remain wary, and are working on a collection of pixie encounter survival tips. However, it seems that in creating a solution to their previous problem, they have created a power void and now there’s a new pixie king in town, determined to fill it. Astley, the new king, is also working to persuade Zara that she should relinquish her feelings for Nick, and become his queen. All this, and homework and high school athletics can keep a girl dangerously busy. Jones has a unique take on mythology and writes diverse believable characters – perfect for Holly Black and Melissa Marr fans.
-- MeH


The Mermaid's Madness (Mass Market Paperback)

By Jim C. Hines
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780756405830
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: DAW, 10/01/2009

Jim Hines’ Princess series (The Stepsister Scheme) continues with a high seas adventure that has more in common with the original tragic tale by Hans Christian Andersen than Disney’s recent update. (Note: I am a fan of both.) Princess Danielle Whiteshore (AKA Cinderella) is learning to expand her royal responsibilities, as well as be a loving wife, mother, and daughter-in-law. She and her friends, Princesses Talia (Sleeping Beauty) and Snow (White), accompany Queen Beatrice on her voyage to present gifts to the undine during their migratory return to the local waters of Lorindar. When the merfolk unexpectedly attack, the Queen’s soul and the future of the country are at stake, and it’s up to the princesses to work with a number of unusual allies, --including the adolescent sister of the mad mermaid princess, and a dryad who is the captain of the vehicle carved from her tree -- to save the day. Jim’s characters have charm and flaws, from seasickness to overambition, that make them have real resonance with the reader, even in their fantastic setting.
--MeH


Child of Fire: A Twenty Palaces Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

By Harry Connolly
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780345508898
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Del Rey, 09/01/2009

Something very strange is going on in Hammer Bay, Washington. The coastal town has suddenly revived from its extremely depressed economy, thanks to the inexplicable consumer appetites for the extremely elaborate toys produced in its toy factory. Raymond Lilly, who's had a few lethal encounters of his own with renegade spell casting, escorts his boss into town to investigate. Annalise Powliss is a member of the Twenty Palaces Society, magic users who keep a tight rein on anyone tapping into the extra dimensional powers available through magic. Ray and Annalise discover a number of secrets in the town, including the strange deaths of some of the town's children, mostly unremarked and unmourned by their parents or families. This creepy and different and frequently violent debut marks Connolly as an author to watch in the world of contemporary dark fantasy.
-- MeH


Mark of the Demon (Mass Market Paperback)

By Diana Rowland
$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780553592351
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bantam, 06/01/2009

If you're the kind of reader who can appreciate a line like, "If an autopsy couldn't stop me from thinking about sex with a demon, nothing could," then Mark of the Demon is for you. Louisiana detective and demon summoner Kara Fillian is competent, caring, smart and snarky. She has a chance to prove herself to her local force when a local serial killer, The Symbol Man, seems to have ended his hiatus, and her familiarity with the cold case files makes her the best qualified to be lead detective on the case. And, unknown to most folks except for her aunt who raised her, the fact Kara is a demon summoner and can see traces of the arcane on the victims, indicating The Symbol Man is using their deaths as stepping stones towards a significant demonic summoning , also makes her the most qualified officer. I particularly appreciate the clarity of Diana's storytelling, as well as the nice details from her own background in law enforcement.

-- MeH