The Printed Page

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.

***

Again this year I’m supporting Book Wish Foundation’s holiday campaign. For every link to a Mailbox Monday post left here at The Printed Page through end of the January I will contribute .50¢ to Book Wish Foundation’s holiday campaign. So far links to Mailbox Monday have raised approximately $144 or 72 bricks.

Book Wish Foundation’s holiday campaign for 2009 asks book lovers everywhere to contribute one of the 5000 bricks we need to build a library for Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad. As of Jan. 30, we have raised 1,071 bricks. Please join the effort, even with a single brick, by visiting: Library Builder

***

Requiem in Vienna: A Viennese Mystery by J. Sydney Jones (new-to-me author/author contact) (Donated to the library)

Set in 1899, Jones’s fine second Viennese mystery (after 2009′s The Empty Mirror) opens with a falling fire curtain narrowly missing Gustav Mahler, the director of the Vienna Court Opera, but killing a soprano during a stage rehearsal. Lawyer and private inquirer Karl Werthen teams with criminologist Hanns Gross to look into this and subsequent accidents apparently aimed at Mahler. As the investigation descends into the damned politics of music, Mahler, a former Jew who must be careful to hide his contempt for fellow composer Richard Wagner, emerges as the nexus for an ever-widening pool of suspects. Complicating matters are big changes in Werthen’s home life, in particular wife Berthe’s pregnancy.

The Cold Room (A Taylor Jackson mystery, book #4) by J.T. Ellison (publicist contact) (Claimed by Kathrin)

He can truly love her only once her heart stops.

Homicide detective Taylor Jackson thinks she’s seen it all in Nashville—from the Southern Strangler to the Snow White Killer. But she’s never seen anything as perverse as The Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction.

When he’s finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And similar macabre works are being found in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiance, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and New Scotland Yard detective James “Memphis” Highsmythe, a haunted man who has eyes only for Taylor, to put an end to this horror.

Has the killer gone international with his craft? Or are there two “artists,” competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?

***

What books came into your house last week? You have the choice of using inlinkz or Mr. Linky. With inlinkz you can include a book cover if you’d like along with the link to your Mailbox Monday post (clicking on the image takes you to the blog post.) Duplicate links will not count toward the fundraising efforts.

Don’t forget to fill out either inlinkz or Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

• In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

• In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

***

Read It Forward details