New ARC Titles

This past week I returned my first three ARCs to Bridget at the Nomad Bookhouse in Jackson promising myself that this time I would chose just ONE book to read. Instead I ended up with an armful of books and had to put all of them back except for TWO. I just couldn't stop at one.

This morning I finished reading Final Theory by Mark Alpert. In his debut thriller, Alpert has used science, history and politics to create a unique page turner. He majored in astrophysics at Princeton University and actually wrote his undergraduate thesis on an application of Einsteins's theory of relativity according to the book jacket.

After reading the first chapter where an old professor is brutally tortured, I thought about putting the book down. It's a great story but the torture throughout makes for very uncomfortable reading.

The story concerns Einheitliche Feldtheorie. There is much discussion of science and Einstein's proposed Unified Theory, which he died without finding. The story supposes that Einstein may have discovered the theory but created an elaborate plan to keep it away from those who would use it for evil. Suddenly our hero, Professor David Swift, is running for his life and trying to find the theory so it can be kept safe.

Already translated into 16 languages, this could be a big title once it is available in June 2008. Look for a movie down the road!

Here's a short video where the author talks about the book.

The other title that caught my imagination was The Safety of Secrets, a novel by DeLaune Michel. Two girls forge a friendship in first grade in Louisiana that follows them to L.A. on a quest to become actresses. According to the back cover, Michel is "from a Louisiana literary family that includes her uncle Andres Dubus (House of Sand and Fog) and her cousin James Lee Burke (Dave Robicheaux mysteries)". The book is set to go on sale in June of this year (2008).