Lakis Fourouklas's Blog, page 19
September 28, 2012
New Bites: David Tallerman - Crown Thief
Crown Thief by David Tallerman came out three days ago.
Meet Easie Damasco: Thief, swindler and lately, reluctant hero.
But whatever good intentions Damasco may have are about to be tested to
their limits, as the most valuable – and dangerous – object in the land
comes within his light-fingered grasp. Add in some suicidally stubborn
giants, an old enemy with dreams of empire and the deadliest killers in
two kingdoms on his heels, and Damasco’s chances of staying honest – or
even just surviving – are getting slimmer by the hour.
New Bites: Maurice Broaddus - The Knights of Breton Court
The Wire meets Excalibur in The Knights of Breton Court, this stunning urban fantasy that came out three days ago.
From the drug gangs of downtown Indianapolis, the one true king will arise.
The
King Arthur myth gets dramatically retold through the eyes of street
hustler King, as he tries to unite the crack dealers, gangbangers and
the monsters lurking within them to do the right thing.
From the
drug gangs of downtown Indianapolis, the one true king will arise. The
King Arthur myth gets dramatically retold through the eyes of street
hustler King, as he tries to unite the crack dealers, gangbangers and
the monsters lurking within them to do the right thing. Broaddus' debut
is a stunning, edgy work, genuinely unlike anything you've ever read.
New Bites: Natalie Bahm - The Secret Underground
The Secret Underground by Natalie Bahm comes out today.
Twelve-year-old Ally is the only witness to a bank robbery in her small
town. Unable to block out the memory of the robbers, a notorious gang
known as the Gauze Men, Ally joins her little brother and a bunch of
neighborhood boys digging a hole in her backyard.
Only the hole isn't just a hole - it's a massive set of tunnels snaking
beneath the neighborhood and heading for an abandoned steel mill. Ally
is old enough to know the danger, but she reasons spending time with
sixth-grade heartthrob Paul is more fun than sitting at home with her
worries. And dangerous it is - none of the kids' parents realize the
tunnels exist, but the Gauze Men might.
New Bites: Gordon Zuckerman - A Matter of Importance
The American economy is sliding under the rising tide of deficit
spending. Can the next generation of Sentinels reverse the downturn?
Four years after the bursting of the great consumer debt bubble, the
country is dangerously overleveraged and underemployed. The United
States is quickly losing its competitive edge against the
goods-producing industries of China and India. In an environment of
stagnated government leadership, five highly accomplished
entrepreneurial leaders step forward. They hope to solve the economic
problems by implementing “Employ American,” a step-by-step strategy
designed to restore the competitiveness of American manufacturers.
Sovereign governments, offshore manufacturers, foreign oil producers,
and domestic power-generating utility companies are threatened by the
possible realization of the “Employ American” plan. Their efforts to
prevent the Sentinels from achieving their goal are constantly,
menacingly present. A Matter of Importance unfolds through the
drama of the evolving lives of each of the principal characters.
Romance, fear, victory, and disappointment are never very far away.
This book, though scheduled for release on September 25, came out on September 13.
New Bites: Stella Duffy - The Purple Shroud
After Theodora's marriage to Emperor Justinian, she was not simply his
wife or his Empress, she was publically considered his partner, his
equal. Their relationship is described as a perfect partnership by
Stella Duffy in her new novel, THE PURPLE SHROUD, the sequel to her historical yet fresh novel, Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore.
As Empress Augusta, of Byzantine Constantinople, Theodora has another
role to play since her days as an actress at the Hippodrome. Now she
must advise the Emperor on how to handle the people she knew so well;
the people who betrayed her.
Theodora has not received the title of Augusta without good reason. She
is all too familiar with the citizens for whom Justinian is trying to
better Rome, she used to be one of them. And because of her inside
knowledge, she is able to guide her husband during the Nika Riots which
took the lives of over 10,000 people. Duffy takes the reader on a
journey with Theodora in THE PURPLE SHROUD, where we
learn of the pressure she is under to save girls who are trapped in the
same ring of child prostitution she was subjected to as a girl.
We also see her strength of character as a wife and as Empress when she
makes it her mission to not only protect her husband from his treasonous
men, but when she takes it upon herself to protect the Crown by winning
back the love of the people, and then never letting go when those
people try to take her power away from her. We also see a stark
juxtaposition to her powerful Empress persona when we witness her
heartbroken at the Nika riots; the people she has so carefully been
trying to help have turned on her and she is forced to make a decision
between giving them what they want by fleeing or, making the harder call
to stand up with her husband and fight them.
Through war, temptation, and sickness, Theodora never leaves her
husband's side and never fails to be the figure Rome needs in order to
move on from all the pain and loss they have felt. THE PURPLE SHROUD tells
a story of a woman who is often forgotten in history, but who was one
of the first women to have a political and theological impact on one of
the most powerful Empires of the time.
New Bites: Peggy Webb - Elvis and the Blue Christmas Corpse
Elvis and the Blue Christmas Corpse by Peggy Webb came out on September 25.
Someone’s ringing slay bells and
Callie, her bodacious Cousin Lovie, and the basset hound who believes
he’s the King reincarnated must go on the hunt for a killer who’s
anything but jolly.
It may be Christmas in Tupelo, but there’s precious little peace in the
valley for the Valentine gang. Callie Valentine Jones’ not-quite-ex Jack
is trussed up like a holiday turkey, recovering from a shattered leg.
Cousin Lovie’s on the rebound, looking for love in all the wrong
stockings. And Elvis the basset hound is out for revenge on the Lhasa
Apso who’s been singing “Merry Christmas, Baby” to his sweet French
poodle behind his tail.
Everyone finally gets into the spirit when Uncle Charlie is pressed into
service as Santa at a weekend charity event in the mall. But Yuletide
cheer turns to Yuletide fear after a killer tries to zap Charlie back to
the North Pole marked “Return to Sender”—and sends Rudolph to the big
reindeer pen in the sky.
Determined to find out who’s decking the mall with Christmas corpses,
Elvis and the Valentines fill up their sleigh with suspects. Could it be
the cookie lady who puts more than sugar into her Christmas goodies?
The deranged vet who vows to barbecue Santa? Or the former beauty queen
who’s been stalking Charlie in her spare time? Can the Valentine gang
unmask this devil in disguise in time to turn their “Blue Christmas” all
Christmas-y and white?
New Bites: Harry Bingham - Talking to the Dead
Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham came out three days ago.
A
mesmerizing and thrilling novel-perfect for fans of Tana French and Stieg
Larsson-that introduces a modern, unforgettable rookie cop whose past is as
fascinating and as deadly as the crimes she investigates.
SHE KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE. . . .
At first, the murder scene appears sad, but not unusual: a young woman undone
by drugs and prostitution, her six-year-old daughter dead alongside her. But
then detectives find a strange piece of evidence in the squalid house: the
platinum credit card of a very wealthy-and long dead-steel tycoon. What is a
heroin-addicted hooker doing with the credit card of a well-known and powerful
man who died months ago? This is the question that the most junior member of
the investigative team, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths, is assigned to
answer.
But D.C. Griffiths is no ordinary cop. She's earned a reputation at police
headquarters in Cardiff, Wales, for being odd, for not picking up on social
cues, for being a little overintense. And there's that gap in her past, the
two-year hiatus that everyone assumes was a breakdown. But Fiona is a crack
investigator, quick and intuitive. She is immediately drawn to the crime scene,
and to the tragic face of the six-year-old girl, who she is certain has
something to tell her . . . something that will break the case wide open.
Ignoring orders and protocol, Fiona begins to explore far beyond the rich man's
credit card and into the secrets of her seaside city. And when she uncovers
another dead prostitute, Fiona knows that she's only begun to scratch the
surface of a dark world of crime and murder. But the deeper she digs, the more
danger she risks-not just from criminals and killers but from her own past . .
. and the abyss that threatens to pull her back at any time.
September 21, 2012
Book Review: The Quick Fix by Jack D. Ferraiolo
The Quick Fix by Jack D. Ferraiolo is the second
middle grade crime novel in the Matt Stevens, middle school detective
series (available October 1, 2012).
When the star of the basketball team is blackmailed, it’s up to
Matt, the lone voice for justice in a morass of middle school
corruption, to figure out who’s behind the scheme. Is it eighth-grade
crime lord Vinny “Mr. Biggs” Biggio, who made his name peddling forged
hall passes and leading a crew of social assassins who vanquish enemies
with a humiliating squirt-gun blast below the belt? Is it Vinny’s
lieutenant, and Matt’s former best friend, Kevin? Or is it a pair of
scheming twins who sell Pixy Stix to sugar-addicted classmates? One
thing’s for sure: There won’t be a quick fix for the trouble at this middle school.
Matt Stevens is his name and detecting is his game: he can solve
riddles, settle disputes, fight the good battle, and much more. And he
has a great sense of humor.
Continue at Criminal Element
September 18, 2012
New Bites: New Books by Douglas Nicholas, T.C. Boyle, Michael Kimball and Simon Kernick
Something Red by Douglas Nicholas
During the 1200s in northwest England, in one of the coldest winters in living memory, a formidable middle-aged Irishwoman and the troupe she leads are trying to drive their three wagons across the mountains before the heavy snows set in. Molly, her powerful and enigmatic lover, her fey granddaughter, and her young apprentice, soon discover that something terrible prowls the woods. As the group travels from refuge to refuge, it becomes apparent that the mysterious evil force must be faced and defeated—or else they will surely die.
An intoxicating and spirited blend of fantasy, mythology, and history, Something Red features the most fascinating of characters including shapeshifters, Irish battle queens, Norman knights, Templars, pilgrims, Saracens, a Lithuanian noblewoman, warrior monks, strong—even dangerous—women, and ten murderous mastiffs, as well as an epic snowstorm that an early reader described as “one of the coldest scenes since Snow Falling on Cedars.”
Douglas Nicholas is an award-winning poet whose work has appeared in numerous poetry journals, and the author of four previous books including Iron Rose, a collection of poems inspired by New York City. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Big Ray by Michael Kimball
A short potent novel revealing a son's complicated feelings in the aftermath of his obese father's death.
Big Ray's temper and obesity define him. When Big Ray dies, his son feels mostly relief, dismissing his other emotions. Yet years later, the adult son must reckon with the outsized presence of his father's memory. This stunning novel, narrated in more than five hundred brief entries, moves between past and present, between his father's death and his life, between an abusive childhood and an adult understanding. Shot through with humor and insight that will resonate with anyone who has experienced a complicated parental relationship, Big Ray is a staggering family story-at once brutal and tender, sickening and beautiful.
Michael Kimball is the author of The Way the Family Got Away, Dear Everybody, and, most recently, Us, and his novels have been translated into a dozen languages. His work has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, Guardian, Vice, Bomb, and New York Tyrant. He is also responsible for the project Michael Kimball Writes Your Life Story (on a postcard) and a couple of documentary films. He lives in Baltimore.
San Miguel by T.C. Boyle
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Women, a historical novel about three women's lives on a California island.
On a tiny, desolate, windswept island off the coast of Southern California, two families, one in the 1880s and one in the 1930s, come to start new lives and pursue dreams of self-reliance and freedom. Their extraordinary stories, full of struggle and hope, are the subject of T.C. Boyle's haunting new novel.
Rendered in Boyle's accomplished, assured voice, with great period detail and utterly memorable characters, this is a moving and dramatic work from one of America's most talented and inventive storytellers.
Relentless by Simon Kernick
From #1 internationally bestselling author Simon Kernick, RELENTLESS is a race-against-time thriller about a man on the run with his two children from the police - who think he has murdered his missing wife - and the far more dangerous organization that actually probably did.
Samuel Johnson prize longlist
The Samuel Johnson prize longlist has been announced. The longlisted books are:
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
One on One by Craig Brown
Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen
Feathers by Thor Hansen
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane
Inside the Centre: The Life of J Robert Oppenheimer by Ray Monk
Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius by Sylvia Nasar
Winter King by Thomas Penn
The Better Angels of our Nature by Steven Pinker
The Spanish Holocaust by Paul Preston
Strindberg: A Life by Sue Prideaux
Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie
The winner will be revealed on 12 November.[image error]
