The Printed Page

Title: Heat Wave Author: ‘Richard Castle’ Publisher: Hyperion Books

OK so I’m a tad slow and you all probably know this already but if you’re like me and have your head buried in a book instead of spending hour upon hour surfing the net or watching recorded episodes of Castle (like me) ABC is offering a great book tie in to their series Castle. Last year I not only slobbered all over myself every time Nathan Fillion appeared on screen but I really, really wanted to get my hands on those ‘Richard Castle’ books. The book covers they tempted me with were oh so inviting. Well now the masterminds at ABC have gone and done it. While we can’t have Derrick Storm we can have Nikki Heat.

Download the first 10 chapters of Heat Wave. Right now only the first 7 chapters are available. ABC is releasing chapters weekly. Or you can buy the book at any major on line book retailer.

See those little guys to the left. Those are book lemmings and yep I’m one of them. There was a bit of chatter today when I listed Dan Brown’s newest Robert Langdon adventure, The Lost Symbol, as part of my Mailbox Monday post. Yes I joined the book lemmings and pre-ordered from Amazon as soon as they released the eBook version for $9.99.

Now I wasn’t taken with The Da Vinci Code the first time I picked it up. I put it in the DNF pile with no intention of reading it. With lots of encouragement from other readers I picked it up again. The second go ’round was a success. I read Angels and Demons after reading The Da Vinci Code and enjoyed it start to finish. And that brings me to The Lost Symbol. I debated about spending the 10 bucks to buy The Lost Symbol without waiting for those harsh Amazon readers to give it their ratings, raves and rants. Call it a leap of (lemming) faith.

So far at Amazon it’s rated a solid 3 stars which puts it dead in the middle of the road for ‘yes buy it’ or ‘don’t waste your money’. Well I was already committed so there was no going back. I wasn’t even going to read it this soon. I was intending to save it for my upcoming vacation as we’ll be spending hours trapped in an airplane. But with today’s chatter I decided to dive in.

Yes Mr. Brown has been accused of writing for the masses. They say he writes ‘formula’ stories. So what? So do lots of other authors. Authors whose names and books are well known throughout the reading world and beyond. And here’s the thing ~ writing formula stories that appeal to the masses sells books. And yes I read lots of books from those authors and thoroughly enjoy them. Here’s why ~ I want to be entertained and they do a fine job of doing just that.

So having read just 7% (Kindle eBook) or approximately 37 pages I’m enjoying The Lost Symbol. It’s exactly what I expected and so far I’m more than happy with what I’ve read. It’s right on track for the action to start and mystery to take hold. Robert (and I) have gotten to the point where things aren’t going quite the way he thought they would be. Hmmm… giving that last minute speech to an empty auditorium leads me to stop writing this post, pop the corn and pick up The Lost Symbol so that I can rejoin Robert on his latest adventure.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

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Police procedural ~ 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly (Hachette) (Claimed by Zeb)

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life.

Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Bosch has known for years. The murder of John Li, the store’s owner, hits Bosch hard, and he promises Li’s family that he’ll find the killer.

The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation–not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Li’s life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the U.S.

And instantly his world explodes. The one good thing in Bosch’s life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him and Bosch travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he’s lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city’s Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate bid to outmatch the triad’s ferocity.

Fiction ~ The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley (new-to-me author/Shelf Awareness)

An electrifying epic, based on the incredible true story of a Chinese princess turned spy.

Peking, 1914. When the eight-year-old princess Eastern Jewel is caught spying on her father’s liaison with a servant girl, she is banished from the palace, sent to live with a powerful family in Japan. Renamed Yoshiko Kawashima, she quickly falls in love with her adoptive country, where she earns a scandalous reputation, taking fencing lessons, smoking opium, and entertaining numerous lovers. Sent to Mongolia to become an obedient wife, Yoshiko mounts a daring escape and eventually finds her way back to Peking high society—this time with orders from the Japanese secret service.

Based on the true story of a rebellious woman who earned a controversial place in history, The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel is a vibrant reimagining of a thrilling life—a rich historical epic of palace intrigue, sexual manipulation, and international espionage.

Fiction ~ Light of the Desert by Lucette Walters (new-to-me author/publicist contact) (Claimed by Kimm)

Within some very wealthy and elite Middle Eastern families, there is a secret ancient practice rarely heard of in the Western world: honor killing. This unspoken law allows men the right to kill their daughters or female relatives without consequences, if it is believed that they have dishonored their family name. Noora Fendil, the favorite daughter of an influential Middle Eastern businessman, is the victim of such a crime.

Shortly before marrying her childhood sweetheart, Noora is framed by her jealous sister who has devised a diabolical plot to destroy Noora’s happiness. Believing she has shamed him and in order to preserve his family name, Noora’s father attempts to drown her. Unbeknownst to him, she survives and the courageous and remarkable story of Noora, Light of the Desert, begins. Noora’s dangerous path takes her from Jordan to a Bedouin village in the desert, on to Egypt, crossing the Mediterranean to France and eventually, to California. All along her path, she must hide her true identity in the hope of one day returning to prove her innocence, as she is relentlessly stalked by a fundamentalist ex bodyguard who vows to bring her back to “justice.

Action/adventure ~ The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Kindle eBook; not available for Read It Forward) (It took me 2 tries to read The Da Vinci Code and I loved Angels and Demons so I figured why not. I know I got sucked in but the eBook was only $9.99)

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object–artfully encoded with five symbols–is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation… one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon’s beloved mentor, Peter Solomon–a prominent Mason and philanthropist–is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations–all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

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What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Mailbox post or a list of books if you don’t have a blog.

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Read It Forward details

Title: The Lost Throne (Payne & Jones, #4) Author/website: Chris Kuzneski 495 pages Publisher: Putnam Adult Publication date: July ’09 Genre: Action/adventure Would I recommend it: Indeed I would An indication of a good book for me is when I polish off 495 pages in a day and half while taking time out to sleep, eat and do a few chores. But murder does it for me every time. Especially when the murdered are seven monks at a clifftop monastery that breaching would scare the freaking daylights out of any sane individuals, those sane individuals being you and me. But it didn’t scare Bond, James Bond. If you check out the links I’ve included below you’ll know why I included Mr. Bond in this post. Besides the requisite cast of good and bad guys it even has blood lusting, warmongering Spartans. You remember the Spartans. They’re the guys who fought to the death using swords and shields. The Lost Throne reminds me of the Indiana Jones and National Treasure movie franchises which I love. The Lost Throne is action, adventure and undiscovered treasure. A story telling combination home run. Remember folks this is fiction so stretch your imagination limits. Come on even you knew that Nicholas Cage wasn’t really going to find the City of Gold under that mountain. Get out you clue breaker, sharpen your treasure hunting skills and have fun.

In 1890, a man collapses near the Piazza della Santa Carita in Naples, Italy. Strangers manage to revive him, but he is unable to speak. Police carry him to the nearest hospital, where he is not admitted because he has no money or identification. Frantically trying to communicate, he scribbles notes in ancient Greek and German that would have told the world about a discovery of immense importance – if anyone had read them…

Reaching from the wonders of ancient Greece to a harrowing quest in modern-day Europe, The Lost Throne features Jonathon Payne and D. J. Jones former members of a top secret, very special unit of the armed forces. Now as private citizens they still get recruited from time to time for the most delicate – and dangerous – missions. Payne and Jones must race to recover the lost treasure that could rewrite history, before it is destroyed by a group of men who will stop at nothing to conceal the secret.

Links of interest are mostly in order as they appear in the story.

Meteora The Monastery of the Holy Trinity or Agia Triada – Meteora (the James Bond reference, For Your Eyes Only) Saint Petersberg Peterhof Ancient Sparta Sparti (modern) Heinrich Schliemann Church of the Metamorphisis Theophanes the Cretan Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Mount Athos

Thank you to everyone who entered these giveaways. Using Random.org we have winners.

True Blue: Kathy, Amy, Barbara S., Wanda & gaby317

9 Dragons: Niveau, Diane, Beths Book Review Blog, Beth & kim

Detectives: Natalie, GSM, Karen Haney, Carol M & Icedream

The Last Ember: Lisa Garrett, Kaye, Karin, Paula Patterson & Julie H.

I will do my best to get email sent to all the winners today or tomorrow. Just so you know my work days are Saturday to Monday so the winners might not hear from me until Tuesday. Just in case my email gets sent to spam folders it’s coming from marcia [at] printedpage

So today is the last day of BBAW for this year. It’s been great fun and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves this week. Today’s question appropriately enough is about setting goals! Write in 50 words or less…what do you like best about your blog right now and where would you like your blog to be a year from now?

Gosh I don’t think the next year will bring much change as I’m pretty happy with it right now – my personal reading journal. I love the look of my blog and designing my own themes. I do drive myself nutty with worry over the content of my posts for review books. 

Title: Kindred in Death (In Death book #35) Author: J.D. Robb Publication date: November ’09 Genre: Police procedural

When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena’s body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops; including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.

When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest their perpetrator; little do they know yet that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them by using a variety of identities. Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes. But for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs to bring justice.

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One of my all time favorite series. Kindred in Death will be downloaded to my Kindle before leaving the States for our big vacation to Australia and New Zealand. And I’ve finally found the man who makes me believe there is a Rourke that walks this planet – Gilles Marini. The first time I was Gilles was on Dancing With The Stars. One look and I just knew he was my Rourke.

Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts Waiting on Wednesday. Stop by and check out the great books your fellow readers can’t wait to get their hands on. What book are you waiting for?

Title: Bending Toward the Sun: A Mother and Daughter Memoir Author/website: Leslie Gilbert-Lurie/Bending Toward the Sun 354 pages Publisher: Harper Collins Publication date: September ’09 Genre: Memoir Would I recommend it: Yes For me this was an emotionally exhausting read. Even though the weight of the book didn’t change it felt heavier in my hands as I read towards the end. The pain is almost unbearable and I’m experiencing it from a great distance through the pages of a memoir. I can’t even begin to understand what it’s like to live with these type of crippling feelings. There is so much family trauma and drama that I almost didn’t pick it up for a second day of reading. I didn’t have any good reasons not to finish but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be drawn back into the upheaval taking place within these pages. I did finish and especially enjoyed Chapter 26 where Leslie, Gwyn and some family members travel to Poland to film the documentary, Voices from the Attic. This trip becomes a homecoming of sorts for the sisters. They visited the homes of their great-parents and their mother. They meet with Maria Grajolski and her family. It was Mrs. Grajolski’s attic that Rita hide in for 2 years along with 14 of her relatives.

The Holocaust (warning graphic photos) was something I studied in school. I’m not aware of any immediate family or acquaintance connections. In my mind I have images of Holocaust survivors yet I don’t consciously associate this time as being recent enough in history for there to be 1st generation survivors. That said we are only 64 years removed from the end of WWII. Until reading Bending Toward the Sun I never gave any thought to how the generations of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren with direct family ties to this time in history cope with the inhumane atrocities inflicted on their grandparents and parents. There is a legacy of traumatized human emotions transmitted through family interaction. There are important messages to us all within these pages and we’d do well to take notice. The messages aren’t just for survivors of the Holocaust and their families. Any family or individual who has suffered horrific trauma will likely find a piece of their emotional state within these pages.

Rita Lurie was five years old when she was forced to flee her home in Poland to hide from the Nazis. From the summer of 1942 to mid-1944, she and fourteen members of her family shared a nearly silent existence in a cramped, dark attic, subsisting on scraps of raw food. Young Rita watched helplessly as first her younger brother then her mother died before her eyes. Motherless and stateless, Rita and her surviving family spent the next five years wandering throughout Europe, waiting for a country to accept them. The tragedy of the Holocaust was only the beginning of Rita’s story.

Decades later, Rita is a mother herself, the matriarch of a close-knit family in California. Yet in addition to love, Rita unknowingly passes to her children feelings of fear, apprehension, and guilt. Her daughter Leslie, an accomplished lawyer, media executive, and philanthropist, began probing the traumatic events of her mother’s childhood to discover how Rita’s pain has affected not only Leslie’s life and outlook but also Leslie’s daughter’s, Mikaela’s. A decade-long collaboration between mother and daughter, Bending Toward the Sun reveals how deeply the Holocaust remains in the hearts and minds of survivors, influencing even the lives of their descendants. It also sheds light on the generational reach of any trauma, beyond the initial victim. Drawing on interviews with the other survivors and with the Polish family who hid five-year-old Rita, Leslie and Rita bring together the stories of three generations of women—mother, daughter, and granddaughter—to understand the legacy that unites, inspires, and haunts them all.

I have to thank Miriam from Hachette Book Group for introducing me to author James Scott Bell’s Ty Buchanan legal suspense series. After reading and thoroughly enjoying Travis Thrasher’s suspense novel Ghostwriter I asked her for other recommendations and Mr. Bell’s name came up. She sent me the 3 books that comprise this series and I’m hooked.

This is a genre I love so the Ty Buchanan series was an easy sell. On the surface it appears that Ty’s life is good, in fact very good. He’s a young star attorney with promising future. Ty’s engaged to a wonderful woman, Jacqueline. A phone call his shatters his life. As he struggles to rebuild his life Ty’s given information that leads him to believe that Jacqueline’s death wasn’t part of a random event but murder. Here’s where his life starts to get really interesting and the ride begins. Ty has some anger management issues. The cool facade he presents to his coworkers and clients cracks. We get to see some of the darkness that lives within him. And when Ty goes off course is when I love him the most. He’s human with all the faults that come from living.

Eventually he starts to find his way and come to grips with his new life. And this new life is a world away from his old life. Ty lives in a travel trailer on the grounds of a Benedictine monastery. Along with his new living space comes an interesting cast of characters. There’s Father Bob the disgraced priest who becomes Ty’s close friend and sounding board. Sister Mary a no holds barred basketball playing nun who becomes Ty’s investigator by default. The relationship between Ty and Sister Mary is interesting as it provides plenty of personal challenges for the both of them. Sister Hildegard who wishes Ty was anywhere else but on the grounds on her abby and sniffing around Sister Mary. Ty is the bane of Sister Hildgard’s existence. And then there’s Pick McNitt the owner of  the coffee shop where Ty has set up shop helping Father Bob’s parishioners with their legal issues. When McNitt and Father Bob get into one of their philosophical discussions watch out for the flying barbs as you never know who the target might be.

All this adds up to very entertaining reading. If you enjoy good legal suspense don’t pass by Jame Scott Bell’s Ty Buchanan series.

Title: Try Dying (book 1) Author/website: James Scott Bell 280 pages Publisher: Center Street Publication date: 2007 Genre: Suspense/legal thriller Would I recommend it: Definitely

Ty Buchanan is a rising star in his L.A. law firm, until the suspicious death of his fiancee forces him into the underbelly of the city to discover the truth behind her death. He soon has more than his career on the line, as he finds himself tangled up with a mysterious group of former gang members, and becomes the target of a killer.

Title: Try Darkness (book 2) Author/website: James Scott Bell 292 pages Publisher: Center Street Publication date: July ’08 Genre: Suspense/legal thriller Would I recommend it: Definitely

Ty Buchanan is living on the peaceful grounds of St. Monica’s, far away from the glamorous life he led as a rising trial lawyer for a big L.A. firm. Recovering from the death of his fiancée and a false accusation of murder, Buchanan has found his previous ambitions unrewarding. Now he prefers offering legal services to the poor and the under-represented, from his “office” at local coffee bar The Freudian Sip. A mysterious woman with a six year old daughter comes to him for help. She’s being illegally evicted from a downtown transient hotel, an interest represented by his old law firm and former best friend, Al Bradshaw. Buchanan won’t back down. He’s going to fight for the woman’s rights.

But then she ends up dead, and the case moves from the courtroom to the streets. Determined to find the killer and protect the little girl, who has no last name and no other family, Buchanan finds he must depend on skills he never needed in the employ of a civil law firm.

Title: Try Fear (book 3) Author/website: James Scott Bell 292 pages Publisher: Center Street Publication date: July ’09 Genre: Suspense/legal thriller Would I recommend it: Definitely

For Ty Buchanan, defending a suspected drunk driver named Carl Richess seems routine enough. But when his client ends up dead, an apparent suicide, there’s nothing routine about it. Because the cops suspect it’s murder, and arrest Eric Richess, Carl’s brother, for the crime. Now Ty, at the desperate urging of Eric’s mother, agrees to defend him. But it won’t be easy. Because there’s DNA on the gun that matches Eric’s, and a history of conflict between the brothers. Then Ty, assisted by Sister Mary Veritas, begins to uncover tentacles of corruption that reach into the citadels of city power. But he’s being watched. Because somewhere in the dark labyrinth of LA is someone who will do anything to keep from being found out, someone who believes that when warnings don’t work, try fear.

I’m a very visual person and love beautiful, or interesting, cover art. It entices, and invites, me to stop and take a peek instead of walking right on by. This week’s Cover Attraction is: Title: The Cloud Maker Author: Patrick Woodhead Release date: September ’09

To Luca Matthews the dangers of the high mountain peaks are the air upon which he thrives. In the ruthless pursuit of his goals he would sacrifice anything – even another climber’s life. His friends and family know and fear it. So when he sights a virgin peak in the Himalayas that exists on no map, no one is surprised when he becomes obsessed with being the first to scale it. Together with his climbing partner, Bill Taylor, they set off into a region of Tibet highly restricted by the Chinese. But a freak accident puts one of their team in mortal danger and it is left to a local Tibetan girl to lead them to Geltang, a monastery that has been hidden from the outside world since the Chinese Cultural Revolution, when most of the monasteries were pillaged and burned. Soon, as the Chinese secret police get wind of them, Luca and Bill find themselves embroiled in an age-old struggle, not for their lives but to protect the precious secret that Geltang hides and the legacy of Tibet itself.

*** Seeing as this book is only available from Amazon UK it went right to my WL. Mr. Woodhead if you happen to stumble across my humble post I’d love to get my hands on a pdf file that I can download to my Kindle.

What’s your favorite cover attraction this week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Cover Attraction post.