What to Read? … What to Read?

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“Deke shook his head. “Never did. Never would. Not R. J.’s style. He’d tell you the same as I am, though—Jim Pickering’s not a very nice man. I’d steer clear of him. If he invites you in for a drink or even just a cup of coffee with him and his new ‘niece,’ I’d say no. And if he were to ask you to go cruising with him, I would definitely say no.””

Alright I just wanted to remind you that you have one week remaining for The Gate House giveaway. I will be posting the winners on November 11, 2008.

Now for all you Stephen King fans out there mark November 11, 2008 on your calendar he is releasing his collection of short stories called Just After Sunset.

Stephen King — who has written more than fifty books, dozens of number one New York Times bestsellers, and many unforgettable movies — delivers an astonishing collection of short stories, his first since Everything’s Eventual six years ago. As guest editor of the bestselling Best American Short Stories 2007, King spent over a year reading hundreds of stories. His renewed passion for the form is evident on every page of Just After Sunset. The stories in this collection have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, McSweeney’s, The Paris Review, Esquire, and other publications.

Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating — and then terrifying — journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, “The Gingerbread Girl” is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable — and resourceful — as Audrey Hepburn’s character in Wait Until Dark. In “Ayana,” a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In one of the longer stories here, “N.,” which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient’s irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside…or keep the world from falling victim to it.

Just After Sunset — call it dusk, call it twilight, it’s a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you.

As I have said in previous post I am not a big fan of Stephen King in any way shape or form. However I am willing to go out and get this new release. You never know until you try, maybe there will be one that strikes my fancy. Will it strike yours? Let me know.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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Oh! I can’t wait; November is a good month for new releases; such as November 11, 2008 we can expect to see Snake Dreams written by James D. Doss.

With his Southwestern series, bestselling author James D. Doss and his dryly humorous, no-nonsense Native American sleuth, Charlie Moon, have brought law and what’s going to have to pass for order to Charlie’s Columbine Ranch and the nearby Ute reservation.

Now the seven-foot rancher and part-time tribal investigator wants to carve out a little more space for himself alongside FBI Special Agent Lila Mae McTeague. That’s right: Charlie has it in his head that he’s going to get hitched. That is, unless Charlie’s irascible aunt, her sixteen-year-old niece, and their visions of a dead woman—her throat slit from ear to ear—have anything to say about it.

With a bit of romance and full measure of murder, Snake Dreams, the thirteenth in James D. Doss’s widely loved Charlie Moon series, is a haunting tale best told under a full moon and beside a crackling fire.

I have always enjoyed the Charlie Moon series, the plots are interesting, it’s not the typical the butler did it kind of mystery and the characters are believable as well. I know I will not be disappointed with this new release.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“As much as I loved my home, I had vague, disturbing memories of a southern garden full of giant magnolia trees dripping with Spanish moss. I remembered a tall man with dark hair turning gray; a man who called me his son. I didn’t remember his face nearly as well as I remembered the nice warm and safe feeling he gave me. I guess one of the saddest things about growing bigger, and older, was that no one was large enough, or strong enough, to pick you up and hold you close and make you feel that safe again.”

I went digging through a pile of books that I found in the back of my closet and I happened upon If There Be Thorns written by V.C. Andrews.

Chris and Cathy made such a loving home for fourteen-year-old Jory — so handsome, so gentle. And for Bart,who had such a dazzling imagination for a nine year old.

Then the lights came on in the house next door. Soon the Old Lady in Black was there, watching them, guarded by her strange old butler. Soon she had Bart over for cookies and ice cream and asked him to call her “Grandmother”.

And soon Bart’’s transformation began…

Fed by the hint of terrible things about his mother and father…leading him into shocking acts of violence.

Now while this little boy trembles on the edge of madness, his anguished parents await the climax to a horror that flowered in an attic long ago, a horror whose thorns are still wet with blood, still tipped with fire.

This is of course the third in this series, with its simple plot a great thriller was brought out. Andrews did a wonderful job with this book. If you haven’t read this series then I think it’s about time that you do. You know where to go, so what are you waiting for?

Happy Reading

Sarah

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Looking for something new to read? Feel like getting a little spooked? Do you believe in ghosts or spirits? Try reading Ghost Radio written by Leopoldo Gout.

Ghost Radio is a terrifying novel about a ghost-story call-in radio show that inadvertently opens a doorway into the paranormal, giving voice to the dead and instigating an epic battle for the souls of the living
From the cramped bowels of a dimly lit radio station, Ghost Radio is beamed onto the airwaves. More than a call-in show to tell scary stories about vampires and poltergeists, Ghost Radio is a sanctuary for those sleepless denizens of the night, lost halfway between this world and the next.

Joaquin, the hip, melancholy host, sits deep in a fog of cigarette smoke, fielding calls from believers and detractors alike. He is joined in the booth by his darkly beautiful girlfriend, Alondra, and his engineer, Watts. Soon what began as an underground cult sensation is primed to break out to mainstream audiences. When a huge radio conglomerate offers to syndicate the show and Ghost Radio becomes a national hit with an expanding legion of hardcore fans, neither Joaquin, Alondra, nor Watts is remotely prepared for what is about to happen.

Though a charismatic host, Joaquin remains a skeptic even as he begins to notice a curious and troubling phenomenon—he feels himself drawn further and further into the terrifying stories he solicits on the radio. Slowly he loses control over his reality and finds himself unable to distinguish between the real world and the world populated by the nightmares on Ghost Radio. He is forced to confront his past and his own mortality in order to save that which is most precious to him and repair the crumbling wall between the living and the dead.

Gout has been compared to King (not bad for his first novel) is he just as good? I personally think he is better than King. Now before you decide to string me up by my ears and not let me down again hear me out. Even though I am not a big fan of horror, I do on occasion like to be spooked. I like my horror not to be predictable or formulated as King’s books are. Gout brings an interesting idea, with characters you come to care about and a plot that will keep you riveted to the pages of his latest book. Now while I go find a nightlight you go buy or borrow this book. Then tell me what you think.

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“The little road (they always called it ‘the lane’) snaked one way and then another, so that you couldn’t see anything ahead of you. They had to keep the dog on the lead and stay close to the hedges in case a car ‘came out of nowhere’. Jessica was the eldest so she was the one who always got to hold the dog’s lead. She spent a lot of her time training the dog, ‘Heel!’ and ‘Sit!’ and ‘Come!’ Their mother said she wished Jessica was as obedient as the dog. Jessica was always the one who was in charge. Their mother said to Joanna, ‘It’s all right to have a mind of your own, you know. You should stick up for yourself, think for yourself,’ but Joanna didn’t want to think for herself.”

We all ask the same question at some point in our lives; when will there be good news? And it is no exception in Kate Atkinson’s book When Will There Be Good News?

In a quiet corner of rural Devon, six-year-old Joanna Mason witnesses an appalling crime. Thirty years later the man convicted of the crime, Andrew Decker, is released from prison.

In Edinburgh, sixteen-year-old Reggie, wise beyond her years, works as a nanny for a G.P. But Dr. Hunter has gone missing and Reggie seems to be the only person who is worried.

Across town, Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe is also looking for a missing person, David Needler, unaware that hurtling towards her is an old friend–Jackson Brodie–himself on a journey that is about to be fatally interrupted.

Well look whose back private investigator Jackson Brodie. How exciting is this? I picked up the book and couldn’t put it down. Atkinson has given us a book with plots that twist and turn, her characters are believable and she has kept up the promise of a good read. Grab a copy today and start reading.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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For the past two months, Ellis had been tracking the ancient book from collector to collector—­from the doctor in China whose death gave it away, to Zhao, the shipper, who schemed to deliver it elsewhere. Every culture called it by a different name, but Ellis knew the truth.

“I know you have it,” Ellis said. “I’d like the Book of Lies now.”
From the corner of the bed, Ellis reached for his small gray pistol.

Another day another book; which one will it be today? How about The Book of Lies written by Brad Meltzer.

In Chapter Four of the Bible, Cain kills Abel. It is the world’s most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history.

Today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cal Harper comes face-to-face with his family’s greatest secret: his long-lost father, who’s been shot with a gun that traces back to Mitchell Siegel’s 1932 murder. But before Cal can ask a single question, he and his father are attacked by a ruthless killer tattooed with the anicent markings of Cain. And so begins the chase for the world’s first murder weapon.
What does Cain, history’s greatest villain, have to do with Superman, the world’s greatest hero? And what do two murders, committed thousands of years apart, have in common? This is the mystery at the heart of Brad Meltzer’s riveting and utterly intriguing new thriller.

The Bible meets Superman? You have to be kidding, that’s what I thought when I first started out on this journey. It put me in mind of the Da Vinci Quest, but don’t avoid this book just because it reminds me of it. By the end of the book I decided that it was an enjoyable read. Not necessarily grab me by the seat of my pants and never let go, but enjoyable all the same. If you are a fan of mysteries and thrillers and a fan of Superman you may find this interesting. If you are not a fan of these things or even a fan of the author pick it up and try it. You never know what you might miss.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“Forest Park was pretty in the summer. Portland’s ash sky was barely visible behind a canopy of aspens, hemlock, cedars, and maples that filtered the light to a shimmering pale green. A light breeze tickled the leaves. Morning glories and ivy crept up the mossy tree trunks and strangled the blackberry bushes and ferns, a mass of crawling vines that piled up waist-high on either side of the packed dirt path. The creek hummed and churned, birds chirped. It was all very lovely, very Walden, except for the corpse.”

It’s cold, it’s rainy and it’s the perfect day to curl up under a blanket and grab a good thriller off of the shelf; and I did just that. What did I indulge in today why that would be Sweetheart written by Chelsea Cain.

When the body of a young woman is discovered in Portland’s Forest Park, Archie is reminded of the last time they found a body there, more than a decade ago: it turned out to be the Beauty Killer’s first victim, and Archie’s first case. This body can’t be one of Gretchen’s–she’s in prison–but after help from reporter Susan Ward uncovers the dead woman’s identity, it turns into another big case. Trouble is, Archie can’t focus on the new investigation because the Beauty Killer case has exploded: Gretchen Lowell has escaped from prison.

Archie hadn’t seen her in two months; he’d moved back in with his family and sworn off visiting her. Though it should feel like progress, he actually feels worse. The news of her escape spreads like wildfire, but secretly, he’s relieved. He knows he’s the only one who can catch her, and in fact, he has a plan to get out from under her thumb once and for all.

This is the second book in her series that features Gretchen and Archie. Sweetheart is fast paced; edge of your seat won’t let you go until you finished; thriller. If you are a Cain fan you should love it, if you are not you should still love it. If you do love it, try her other books.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“It happened every year, was almost a ritual. And this was his eighty-second birthday. When, as usual, the flower was delivered, he took off the wrapping paper and then picked up the telephone to call Detective Superintendent Morell who, when he retired, had moved to Lake Siljan in Dalarna. They were not only the same age, they had been born on the same day–which was something of an irony under the circumstances. The old policeman was sitting with his coffee, waiting, expecting the call.”

O.k. September is a hot month for book releases, on September 16, 2008 Stieg Larssons’s book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is being released in the North America. This is the first in his trilogy that unfortunately was cut short due to his tragic death in 2004.

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared off the secluded island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family. There was no corpse, no witnesses, no evidence. But her uncle, Henrik, is convinced that she was murdered by someone from her own deeply dysfunctional family. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired to investigate, but he quickly finds himself in over his head. He hires a competent assistant: the gifted and conscience-free computer specialist Lisbeth Salander, and the two unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

For those of you who have been in a country that has already had the book released, I have heard nothing but high praise, but PLEASE don’t tell me how it ends; if you do I will be very, very sad.

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“I’ve never heard of Conrad White. Never attended a writers’ workshop, circle, night class or retreat. It’s been years since I’ve tried to write anything other than what I am contractually obliged to. But something about this day—about the taste of the air in this very room—has signalled that something is coming my way. Has already come.

I call the number at the bottom of the ad. When a voice at the other end asks me what he can do for me, I answer without hesitation.

“I want to write a book,” I say.”

Stories are like gossip; once you start you have the feeling of needing to know the end of the story, no matter what. That however could cost you your life; well ok; it would if you were a character in a book. Oh look I started rambling you probably are thinking Get on with it Sarah what book did you read and will I like it? So here it is The Killing Circle written by Andrew Pyper.  Check your local bookstore this one has several release dates.

Patrick Rush, a former bright light at the National Star now demoted to the reality TV beat, is still recovering from his wife’s death when he joins a writers’ group in Toronto. His goal: to write the book he’s always felt lived within him. Trouble is, Patrick has no story to tell. And while the circle’s members show similarly little literary promise, there is one exception: Angela. Her unsettling readings tell of a shadowy childhood tragedy and an unremitting fear of the Sandman, a “terrible man who does terrible things.” It’s the stuff of nightmares or horror films. Or is it?

Over the weeks that follow, a string of unsolved murders seem increasingly connected to Patrick. And then the circle’s members start to go missing, one by one. Still haunted by loss–and by a crime only those in the circle could know of–Patrick finds himself in a fictional world made horrifically real. But nothing will put him in greater danger than that ancient curse of natural born readers: the need to know how the story ends.

Pyper belongs to the rarified sphere of thriller authors who bring far more to the table than a performer’s understanding of how to draw an audience in. The Killing Circle, Pyper’s fourth novel, continues this mix of breathless suspense and literary underpinnings and on some level Pyper is the Paul Auster of the mystery world. You start off one place with the storyline and you end up at a completely different place and you never know how you got there - except that the ride was exceptional.

Do you want to know how it ends? Well if you do get a copy and read it. Honestly did you think I was really going to tell you how it ended?

Happy Reading

Sarah

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“Lauren Dayson was sleeping soundly when some small noise in the front room of the apartment disturbed her. What actually awakened her was the sound of Mojo barking. Mojo, an unlikely cross between a Chihuahua and a chow, was a pint- sized, laughable dog, but this time she was barking in her ferocious big-dog voice, and Lauren knew what it meant. Rick Mosier was here. Somewhere in her apartment. Somewhere in her home. He had broken in and he was coming for her.”

I’m back! What? You didn’t even notice I was gone? O.k. so I took a mini vacation from all of the drama that makes up my life. I slept in, ate cookies for breakfast and sat in a lawn chair all day reading. My choice for the mini vacation was Damage Control written by J.A. Jance.

On a beautiful sunny day in the Coronado National Monument, an elderly couple’s car goes off the side of a mountain and into oblivion. The terrain is so rocky that a helicopter must be flown in to retrieve the bodies, and to make matters worse, a thunder-storm is looming on the horizon. Hours later and miles away, the subsiding rain reveals gruesome evidence: two trash bags containing human remains.

It’s just another day in the life of Cochise County sheriff Joanna Brady.

Back at home, Joanna has a newborn baby, a teenage daughter, a writer husband, and a difficult mother to deal with. But in the field, it turns out that she has much more on her hands. The remains are those of a handicapped woman who had wandered away from a care facility with a suspicious track record. Another resident, with whom the woman may have been involved, has also been reported missing.

Meanwhile, a note is found in the glove compartment of the car lying twisted down the mountainside, stating that its occupants intended to take their own lives. Yet a contradictory autopsy report surfaces, and when the deceased’s two daughters show up to feud over their inheritance, Joanna knows there is more to this case than just a suicide pact.

And she will go all out to find the truth—no matter where it leads.

Jance has done it again in her 13^th installment of her Joanna Brady series. She has kept with her theme fast pace, stay right where you are, can’t sleep until it’s done. Another hit for this amazing author.

Happy Reading

Sarah