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Dec 14, 2009

Tying up some loose ends

Finished the Cara Black - we are set up to do an interview between her and the mystery bookclub on Tuesday via Skype. I'll be interested to hear how she got her start, she was great when we did the run-through yesterday.

Of the two arcs I have left to blurb before our trip, the McCrery is almost finished. The synesthesia angle is pretty interesting. I watched a programme on the science channel last year about it, imagine your whole brain re-wired, you smell sounds and taste colours. Lapslie the detective in this novel can taste sounds and his condition appears to be accelerating. The other factor McCrery uses to great effect is the shocking Jill Dando case - she was gunned down on her boyfriend's doorstep in Chiswick. I was still in England when that happened and the press did fall over themselves to get justice for their fallen colleague but after accusing everyone from a nutjob stalker to the Serbian mafia the police ran out of leads and her murderer was never caught.

This is likely to be the last post of 2009. I didn't do a top ten this year because there are too many good books out there this year.

Happy Christmas and see you in 2010

Dec 10, 2009

New Lisa Lutz

Got the new Lisa Lutz arc yesterday - the fourth and last in the Spellman series - which comes out in March. Reluctantly I've had to put it on the bottom of the pile.

Dec 9, 2009

Two more arcs - and the best toffee apple ever.

Tooth and Claw by McCrery - about a detective with synesthesia and Heresy by Parrish which I'm pegging as a name of the rose type mystery. There's a tag line on the side 'choose a side, know your enemies, stay alive' so it could be Elizabethan 'survivor' I'll let you know.

Currently sticking up the keyboard because I'm eating the tastiest Christmas present a home-made toffee apple and instead of putting my characters into sticky situations this time I'm right in there with them.

Dec 3, 2009

Side note

The majority of the books reviewed here come from arcs. I have to point this out because I recommended Nocturnes by Ishiguro the other day much the same way I've recommended, Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Ackroyd, Sum by Eagleman, the aforementioned Nocturnes, Dracula returns by Dacre Stoker, Anthologist by Baker etc.

Someone who was in the store that day and reads my blog (!) sent me an anonymous comment saying that I shouldn't have recommended it because they had searched my blog and couldn't find a review for it. First of all thanks for reading, second I don't review books that will basically sell themselves or another member of staff has taken the time to review or that we bought for their literary merit. Just for the record one of my favourite books Soldier of the Great War by Helprin isn't reviewed here.

The whole idea behind this blog is to introduce you to new books/authors some are part of established series which means a little back tracking. If I recommend a book in the store it means I've read it. Another reason why independent book stores rock.

Arc-ing nicely

Finished and blurbed the new Robert Crais, The First Rule due out January. My first LA noir for a long time. Will definitely be dipping into this series again. American Girl is next by Monika Fagerholm. Guessing this is going to be a slow burn, bit like Steig Larsson's millenium trillogy. Still sending out queries and have had a couple of requests for the full manuscript this week. Author party tonight at the store and then staff party tomorrow.