While I was home last week, I got 3 new books! Some great reading coming up, so be sure you check back for the reviews!

First, The Inquisitor’s Key: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass:

Miranda Lovelady, Dr. Bill Brockton’s protÉgÉ, is spending the summer helping excavate a newly discovered chamber beneath the spectacular Palace of the Popes in Avignon, France. There she discovers a stone chest inscribed with a stunning claim: inside lie the bones of none other than Jesus of Nazareth. Faced with a case of unimaginable proportions, Miranda summons Brockton for help proving or refuting the claim. Both scientists are skeptical—after all, fake relics abounded during the Middle Ages—but evidence for authenticity looks strong initially, and soon grows stronger.

Brockton and Miranda link the bones to the haunting image on the Shroud of Turin, revered by millions as the burial cloth of Christ, and then a laboratory test finds the bones to be two thousand years old. The finding triggers a deadly tug-of-war between the anthropologists, the Vatican, and a deadly zealot who hopes to use the bones to bring about the Second Coming—and trigger the end of time.

I also have The Bone Yard, another Body Farm novel, on the shelf. I think I may have to schedule a Body Farm Weekend coming up!

Next, I got a little something that was pitched to me by email and looks really interesting, 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.

Last, I am always excited when a Harper Collins package shows up — it is always something good! This week, it’s The Unseen by Katherine Webb:

England, 1911. When a free-spirited young woman arrives in a sleepy Berkshire village to work as a maid in the household of The Reverend and Mrs Canning, she sets in motion a chain of events which changes all their lives. For Cat has a past – a past her new mistress is willing to overlook, but will never understand …This is not all Hester Canning has to cope with. When her husband invites a young man into their home, he brings with him a dangerous obsession…During the long, oppressive summer, the rectory becomes charged with ambition, love and jealousy – with the most devastating consequences.

 

How about you — anything new on your bookshelf?

I didn’t get a single new book last week! How could that happen? A whole week without a new book. That very rarely happens these days. But I did get something very cool — a little trinket I had all but given up on.

Some time back, a blog offered a special promotion for M.J. Rose’s The Book of Lost Fragrances: pre-order the book from Amazon and receive a very special perfume sample, inspired by the novel. I got my book weeks ago, but there was no sign of the perfume. Last week, my scent shows up and it’s lovely. Here’s the description from the book:

“He struggled to separate out the notes he recognized from the ones he didn’t, searching for the ingredients that gave the blend its promise of hope, of long nights and voluptuous dreams, of invitation and embrace. Of an everlasting covenany ripe with possibility. Of lost souls reunited.”

That sounds like quite a scent! It definitely has the long nights and voluptuous dreams down — this is definitely a date-night scent. I am just tickled that the scent finally showed up!

I only got 2 new books last week (good news, because I need to get caught up on my reading), but they both look terrific.

First, Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin:

New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake–orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side.

Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young girl, who is dying.

Peter Lake, a simple, uneducated man, because of a love that, at first he does not fully understand, is driven to stop time and bring back the dead. His great struggle, in a city ever alight with its own energy and beseiged by unprecedented winters, is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary stories of American literature.

I’ve also heard that a movie is in the works, so I can’t wait to start on this one! This I bought for my personal library.

Next, I got my latest Early Reviewer book from LibraryThing.com, The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli”:

Raised in a clan of small-time thieves and grifters, Terrier Rand decided to cut free from them and go straight after his older brother, Collie, went on a senseless killing spree that left an entire family and several others dead. Five years later, and days before his scheduled execution, Collie contacts Terry and asks him to return home. He claims he wasn’t responsible for one of the murders–and insists that the real killer is still on the loose.

Uncertain whether his brother is telling the truth, and dogged by his own regrets, Terry is drawn back into the activities of his family: His father, Pinsch, who once made a living as a cat burglar but retired after the heartbreak caused by his two sons. His card sharp uncles, Mal and Grey, who’ve recently incurred the anger of the local mob. His grandfather, Old Shep, who has Alzheimer’s but is still a first-rate pickpocket. His teenage sister, Dale, who’s flirting with the lure of the criminal world. And Kimmy, the fiancée he abandoned, who’s now raising a child with his former best friend.

As Terrier starts to investigate what really happened on the day of Collie’s crime spree, will the truth he uncovers about their offenses and secrets tear the Rands apart?

How about you — anything new on your bookshelf?

I got some great new books last week! I love coming home from a trip and finding great stuff in my mailbox. It makes coming home worthwhile.

First, one I actually bought for myself. I have been eagerly awaiting Nick Harkaway’s new novel, ever since I read his first book. In Angelmaker, “blistering gangster noir meets howling absurdist comedy as the forces of good square off against the forces of evil, and only an unassuming clockwork repairman and an octogenarian former superspy can save the world from total destruction.” How could you pass that up!

Next, I opened the mailbox to find Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d’Art, the newest Christopher Moore. I love Christopher Moore. Fool had me roaring with totally inappropriate laughter. I loved Bite Me. So there is no way I was going to miss the intersection of Moore and Van Gogh.

Last but not least, a little non-fiction, good for the brain. I’ve got This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking, edited by John Brockman. It’s a series of essays, written by contributors to his website, Edge.com, in answer to the question: What scientific concept would improve everyone’s cognitive toolkit? The essays are about things like controlling attention, understanding our connection to the natural world, living with uncertainty, effective theorizing, paradigm shifts and conquering our fear of the unknown. I am really looking forward to this one.

You know, there is something to be said about quantity over quality. These three have been bounced to the top of the reading list because I can’t wait to get my hands on them!

Happy Monday! While I was gone last week, three terrific new books showed up for me! I am definitely filling up my dance card for the next few months, but I won’t have to worry about having nothing to read at the airport.

Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World’s Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler by Jessica Speart came from the good folks at HarperCollins. How could I resist a book with this on the cover:

Meet the Hannibal Lecter of the conservation world…This exposé reads like a thriller and proves once again that truth is stranger than fiction.

This is the story of the hunt for the kingpin of black-market butterfly smugglers, by the rookie US Fish and Wildlife agent who was obsessed with him and the author who planned to betray him.

Next, also from HarperCollins, I, Iago by Nicole Galland. This is the story of Shakespeare’s Iago — his childhood in Venice, the indignities he suffered, and what moved him to betray his closest friend.

And finally, The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose, from Amazon. I have been looking forward to this one but I have to say that I am a little disappointed — not in the book, but in the way I came to order it. There was an online promotion, offering a special sample of a signature fragrance, created for the book, to readers who pre-ordered the book and sent their information to the blogger. I haven’t gotten any responses from the blog and no perfume sample. I would probably have purchased the book anyway, but I definitely feel cheated.

It was a slow week last week — only 2 books came in while I was gone. Hopefully, this will be a case of quality over Quantity.

Straight from author Brian Andrews,  I have a copy of The Calypso Directive. This looks like a great read and I am looking forward to it. Even better, I will have a copy to give away…as soon as I am back home for long enough to run the giveaway. Maybe next week. Here’s what you’ll get:

“For one hundred and fifty-five days, Will Foster has been locked in medical quarantine without his consent. The doctors claim he is infected with a deadly virus, but this is a lie. Encoded in his DNA is a mutation that provides immunity from disease for all who possess it, source code that Vyrogen Pharmaceuticals aims to commercialize as a multi-billion dollar gene therapy.

Against all odds, Foster escapes his laboratory prison and steals a virulent strain of bubonic plague as insurance. To help him unravel the mystery inside him, Foster contacts the only person he can trust–a former lover and microbiologist living Vienna– and the two become fugitives, hunted across the heart of Europe.

Under the guise of averting a plague pandemic, Vryogen hires an elite, underground Think Tank to track down Foster. But when the team sets a trap for Foster, they discover they’re not the only ones in the hunt. In a race against two deadly assassins, can the brilliant minds of the Think Tank unravel the truth before time runs out for their quarry?

In a novel where conscience clashes with greed, loyalty with suspicion, and paranoia with reality, THE CALYPSO DIRECTIVE deftly explores the issues of genetic exploitation and piracy. Captivating, controversial, and courageous, Andrews debut is sure to thrill and leave you wondering what secrets are locked in your DNA.”

The second treat to show up in my mailbox was Hollywood Boulevard by Janyce Stefan-Cole. This came by way of Library Thing Early Reviewers. I’ve gotten some great books from them lately. LibraryThing.com is a great place to catalog your books and their Early Reviewer Program is a great way to get our hands on some terrific titles. To date, I’ve gotten over 40 books through LT ER, and they are some of the best reviews on this site!

“Ardennes Thrush is an award-winning movie star who suddenly and mysteriously quit acting at the height of her fame. She is in Hollywood now, at the Hotel Muse, visiting her husband Andre, a world-renowned director struggling through his latest film. Ardennes, a contemplative woman, is also something of a voyeur, and as she watches the comings and goings in the hotel she begins to fear that perhaps she is being stalked. Her period of anonymity ends after a box of dead roses is delivered to her suite. When a Beverly Hills detective comes to investigate, a powerful attraction turns unexpectedly unprofessional and quickly carnal.

Last week, while I was on the road, the Book Fairy visited and brought me some great new stuff!

Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd: Vienna, 1913. Lysander Rief, a young English actor in town seeking psychotherapy for a troubling ailment of a sexual nature, becomes caught up in a feverish affair with a beautiful, enigmatic woman. When she goes to the police to press charges of rape, however, he is stunned, and his few months of passion come to an abrupt

But the frenzied getaway sets off a chain of events that steadily dismantles Lysander’s life as he knows it. He returns to a London on the cusp of war, hoping to win back his onetime fiancÉe and banish from memory his traumatic ordeals abroad, but Vienna haunts him at every turn. The men who helped coordinate his escape recruit him to carry out the brutal murder of a complete stranger. His lover from Vienna shows up nonchalantly at a party, ready to resume their liaison. Unable to live an ordinary existence, he is plunged into the dangerous theater of wartime intelligence—a world of sex, scandal, and spies, where lines of truth and deception blur with every waking day. Lysander must now discover the key to a secret code that is threatening Britain’s safety, and use all his skills to keep this murky world of suspicion and betrayal from invading every corner of his life.end. Only a carefully plotted escape—with the help of two mysterious British diplomats—saves him from trial.

The Taste of Tomorrow: Dispatches from the Future of Food by Josh Schonwald: In The Taste of Tomorrow, journalist Josh Schonwald sets out on a journey to investigate the future of food. His quest takes him across the country and into farms and labs around the globe. From Alice Waters’ microfarm to a Pentagon facility that has quietly shaped American supermarkets, The Taste of Tomorrow is a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse at what we eat today—and what we’ll be eating tomorrow.

Schonwald introduces us to a motley group of mad scientists, entrepreneurs, renegade farmers, and food engineers who are revolutionizing the food we eat. We meet the Harvard-trained pedia-trician who wants to change the way humans raise fish; a New York chef who believes he’s found the next great ethnic cuisine; a lawyer-turned-nanotechnologist who believes he can solve human nutritional needs without using food.erican supermarkets, The Taste of Tomorrow is a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse at what we eat today—and what we’ll be eating tomorrow.

Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers: London, winter of 1862, Adelaide McKee, a former prostitute, arrives on the doorstep of veterinarian John Crawford, a man she met once seven years earlier. Their brief meeting produced a child who, until now, had been presumed dead. McKee has learned that the girl lives—but that her life and soul are in mortal peril from a vampiric ghost. But this is no ordinary spirit; the bloodthirsty wraith is none other than John Polidori, the onetime physician to the mad, bad, and dangerous Romantic poet Lord Byron. Both McKee and Crawford have mysterious histories with creatures like Polidori, and their child is a prize the malevolent spirit covets dearly.

Polidori is also the late uncle and supernatural muse to the poet Christina Rossetti and her brother, the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. When she was just fourteen years old, Christina unwittingly brought Polidori’s curse upon her family. But the curse bestowed unexpected blessings as well, inspiring Christina’s poetry and Gabriel’s paintings. But when Polidori resurrects Dante’s dead wife—turning her into a horrifying vampire—and threatens other family members, Christina and Dante agree that they must destroy their monstrous uncle and break the spell, even if it means the end of their creative powers.

And finally, Sail of Stone by Åke Edwardson: A brother and sister believe that their father has gone missing. They think he may have traveled in search of his father, who was presumed lost decades ago in World War II. Meanwhile, there are reports that a woman is being abused, but she can’t be found and her family won’t tell the police where she is. Two missing people and two very different families combine in this dynamic and suspenseful mystery by the Swedish master Åke Edwardson.

Gothenburg’s Chief Inspector Erik Winter travels to Scotland in search of the missing man, aided there by an old friend from Scotland Yard. Back in Gothenburg, Afro-Swedish detective Aneta Djanali discovers how badly someone doesn’t want her to find the missing woman when she herself is threatened. Sail of Stone is a brilliantly perceptive character study, acutely observed and skillfully written with an unerring sense of pace.

One of the things I love about coming home from a business trip is that I know there will be some books waiting for me. The Powers That Be always seem to send me a little love while I’m out of town and it is great to see that stack of packages!

This week, I got 3 books that I am really excited about. First, from my good friends at Tor/Forge, is Arctic Rising by Tobias S. Buckell, a thriller about global warming and the military and corporate interests trying to benefit from it. It sounds great, and I hope to be starting it soon.

Next, Trail of the Spellmans: Document #5 by Lisa Lutz. You might remember that I loved an earlier book of hers that I reviewed, Heads You Lose, so even though I haven’t read the other Spellman novels, I expect great things from this.

And last, a book that a bit of a journey getting to me. I received a copy of The Horse at the Gates by DC Alden, from the nice folks at Right Angles. It was mailed from the UK to my US address — everything was correct on the mailing label — but the envelope had a stamp that said “MISSENT TO AUSTRALIA.”

Australia? Okay, USA…AUS, maybe I can see it. But come on! Someone at the post office was asleep at the switch. Still, it’s here and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you.

More new books this week! I have been putting together my reading schedule for this year (my resolution is to be a little better organized so I get reviews out when I want them out — not early or late), and I’ve got some great reading ahead of me. Here’s this week’s haul:

The Boiling Season by Christopher Hebert

Growing up in the slums of a politically volatile Caribbean island, Alexandre dreamed of escape. What he lacks in opportunity, he makes up for in ambition, and soon the driven young man lands a position as caretaker of a derelict estate purchased by a wealthy foreign businesswoman.

While the country chafes under the dictates of a brutal new despot, Alexandre settles into a comfortable life in the mountains outside the capital, removed from the politican and social turmoil. Overseeing the estate’s restoration evokes for him an innocent, idyllic past. When his new employer decides to turn the property into a decadent, jet-setting resort, Alexandre sees it as the culmination of his childhood dreams.

Losing himself in the creation of this opulent Eden, Alexandre severs the last links to his past. But the outside world is crumbling. Trapped in the middle of a war he has ignored, he is forced to face the limits of the paradise he has created when an armed gang of rebellious slumdwellers, battling to topple a savage regime, invades his sanctuary. Caught between past and present, despair and justice, Alexandre must choose between preserving the estate he loves and protecting those he has spent his life trying to escape.

So Pretty It Hurts: A Bailey Weggins Mystery by Kate White

Bailey Weggins, the thirty-something, true crime journalist for Buzz, a leading celebrity magazine, needs a break. Plenty busy with her day job, her freelance work, and trying to get her first book noticed, she barely has time for her recently exclusive boyfriend, Beau Regan, much less herself. When Beau goes out of town, Bailey accepts an invitation with her friend Jesse to a music mogul’s weekend house in upstate New York.

But, the relaxing weekend getaway turns out to be more like an Agatha Christie whodunit. A weird tension has infected all the guests—a glamorous crowd of journalists and models, including the famous, and famously thin, supermodel Devon Barr. An impending snowstorm only adds to the tension. When Devon’s cold, lifeless body is found in her bed, Bailey immediately suspects foul play: she can’t shake the memory of a fearful and angry Devon shivering in the woods outside the house, whispering , “I have to get out here . . . It’s not safe for me.”

When evidence goes missing from the crime scene, Bailey once again finds herself a moving target—running closer to the truth and farther from safety.

Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear

Early April, 1933. To the costermongers of Covent Garden — peddlers selling fruits and vegetables on the streets of London — Eddie Pettit was kindness itself. A little “slow,” he was a gentle soul, more boy than man, with a gift for calming the most challenging horse. His recent death in a violent accident has shocked his friends and neighbors. They believe Effie was the victim of foul play, but the police won’t investigate. Their only hope of finding the truth is Maisie Dobbs.

Maisie has known these men from childhood, when her father, Frankie, worked alongside them. Determined to do right by Eddie, she plunges into the investigation. The search for answers begins amid the working-class streets of Lambeth, where Eddie lived. But before long, Maisie is following threads of intrigue to a powerful press baron, a has-been politician lingering in the hinterlands of power named Winston Churchill, and to the doorstep of a writer who is also the husband of her dearest friend, Priscilla.

I got a great stash of books while I was in Detroit on business! It is so nice to come home, knowing there will be a little pile of packages, holding their little treasures, waiting for me to open them and set them on the shelves!

First, The Face Thief by Eli Gottlieb:

Gottlieb introduces the mystery of the charismatic Margot, a promising journalist who morphs—with stunning panache—from a high-achieving affluent twentysomething into a grifter making her living preying on the weaknesses of men. Having studied the ancient Chinese art of face reading, she becomes an expert at reading people and is also able to rearrange her look and persona with uncanny skill to fit any social situation. She is an avenging angel, shattering marriages and draining bank accounts.

That definitely sounds promising! Next up, Raylan by Elmore Leonard:

With the closing of the Harlan County, Kentucky, coal mines, marijuana has become the biggest cash crop in the state. A hundred pounds of it can gross $300,000, but that’s chump change compared to the quarter million a human body can get you—especially when it’s sold off piece by piece.

I love Elmore Leonard. That should be a good one.

Third book in the stack, Bleed for Me  by Michael Robotham:

A teenage girl–Sienna, a troubled friend of his daughter–comes to Joe O’Loughlin’s door one night. She is terrorized, incoherent-and covered in blood.

The police find Sienna’s father, a celebrated former cop, murdered in the home he shared with Sienna. Tests confirm that it’s his blood on Sienna. She says she remembers nothing.

Joe O’Loughlin is a psychologist with troubles of his own. His marriage is coming to an end and his daughter will barely speak to him. He tries to help Sienna, hoping that if he succeeds it will win back his daughter’s affection. But Sienna is unreachable, unable to mourn her father’s death or to explain it.

Another winner, I think. I can’t wait for it to get to the top of the TBReviewed list!

Carry the One also came in while I was out of town. This new novel by Carol Anshaw starts with an accidental death after a wedding. For the next 25 years, those involved connect, disconnect and reconnect. As one character says, “When you add us up, you always have to carry the one.”

Last on the list is No Mark upon Her by best-selling author Deborah Crombie. So many good mysteries! Now all I need is some time to read them.