Tana French Has a New Book Coming Out!

A random tweet from book guru Nancy Pearl, alerted me to the fact that Tana French's fourth book will be coming out July 24, 2012.

Back when I was still working I received boxes of ARC (Advanced Reading Copies) supplied to librarians, reviewers and other book professionals to fuel interest in worthy new titles. As much as I love retirement, I do miss having access to ARCs. It was a wonderful source of discovery and how I came to read In the Woods (2007).

Once hooked, I sought out The Likeness (2008) and Faithful Place (2010) finding the craftsmanship met my standards for literate mysteries, my declared preference in reading.

So thank you, Nancy Pearl, for bringing Broken Harbor (2012) to my attention.

Congratulations Ann!

Don't you just love winning contests? I usually don't win but recently I have scored four ARCs (advanced reading copies) and that makes me very, very happy.

On the one hand, because they are mine and don't have to be returned to the library, I have only read two of them. Perhaps you'll be distressed to learn that Louise Penny's mystery Trick of Light and Anders Roslund's thriller Three Seconds have languished? Of course the second title mentioned was released in January of this year, while the first comes out the end of August. I really should read them so that I will seem relevant and 'happening'.

I HAVE finished Mary Kay Andrews' beach read Summer Rental (and loved it). The fourth title, which I have also read, hasn't arrived yet. I clicked to win this book at Goodreads because I like it when I read it and never win anything. Maybe my luck has changed. Here's the message I got.

"You are one of our First Reads lucky winners! You will soon receive a free copy of The Lake Shore Limited (Vintage Contemporaries) in the mail. Please allow a few weeks for shipping.

Don't forget to add the book to your Goodreads currently-reading shelf, and we encourage you to also add it to a "first-reads" shelf when you are done reading. Posting a review is optional, but please keep in mind that reviewing the book is in the spirit of First Reads. Publishers provide free copies to Goodreads in hopes of getting early feedback about the book. First Readers who post reviews are also more likely to win free books in the future!"

Maybe I'll have to read Sue Miller's book again. My earlier short review last year ended with, "It's not a great book but it is a good read." I'm assuming this new round of ARCs are leftovers since the hardback was released in  2010 and the trade paperback came out May 31, 2011. Never mind. A contest is a contest. And being a winner is a great feeling!

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).

Delusion - A Novel of Suspense

Peter Abrahams has written eighteen novels. Somehow I never have read him before I read Nerve Damage in 2007. That story was compelling and when I saw a new title I grabbed it. Apparently I am a pushover for suspense thrillers from good writers. Abrahams makes a story hard to put down. His characters are interesting and the reader just HAS to know what is going to happen next.

Delusion starts with the character Pirate in his prison cell. Abraham gets inside his mind and presents a pretty unsettling picture of someone who may or may not be capable of murder. New evidence, surfacing after a hurricane twenty years after his conviction, may allow Alvin DuPree to become a free man.

Scenes move back and forth between DuPree's plight and the seemingly perfect marriage of Nell and Clay. Nell turns out to have identified DuPree as the man who murdered her boyfriend during a botched robbery. Clay was the Detective on the case. He later married Nell and is now the Police Chief. More and more details and connections begin to emerge forcing the characters together. The conclusion, a real roller coaster ride, may find you holding your breath and praying the characters find out what you the reader know so they can save themselves.

A New Source for ARCs!

I was browsing in the Nomad Bookstore in Jackson waiting to meet a friend and got to talking with owner Bridget Rothenberger. Moaning about my problems with overdues at the library and the fact that I no longer had a source for ARCs (advanced reading copies), she offered to let me choose several from their stock as long as I provided a short review and returned the books eventually! Can you imagine? I was delighted. Not wanting to be greedy, I only chose three: Delusion (4/08) by Peter Abrahams; So Brave, Young, and Handsome (5/08) by Leif Enger; and Another Thing to Fall (3/08) by Laura Lippman. I've read all the authors before so I was playing it safe this time.

NOTE: ARCs or advanced reading copies are unedited proofs distributed to bookstores and some libraries to encourage professional staff to become familiar with books expected to be big sellers or that deserve wide exposure.