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Archive for the ‘Publisher Provided’ Category

Title: Deliver Us From Evil
Author/website(s): David Baldacci
406 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: April ‘10
Genre: Suspense/thriller
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Oh no, Mr. Baldacci has been on my favorite authors/auto-buy list since his very 1st novel Absolute Power
Would I recommend this book: You betcha
Would I read more from this author: Absolutely
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review.

Evan Waller is a monster. He has built a fortune from his willingness to buy and sell anything . . . and anyone. In search of new opportunities, Waller has just begun a new business venture: one that could lead to millions of deaths all over the globe.

On Waller’s trail is Shaw, the mysterious operative from The Whole Truth, who must prevent Waller from closing his latest deal. Shaw’s one chance to bring him down will come in the most unlikely of places: a serene, bucolic village in Provence.

But Waller’s depravity and ruthlessness go deeper than Shaw knows. And now, there is someone else pursuing Waller in Provence-Reggie Campion, an agent for a secret vigilante group headquartered in a musty old English estate-and she has an agenda of her own.

Hunting the same man and unaware of each other’s mission, Shaw and Reggie will be caught in a deadly duel of nerve and wits.

Deliver Us From Evil was provided to me by Miriam at Hachette Book Group. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward

Title: Bellfield Hall: Or, The Observations of Miss Dido Kent (Dido Kent, book #1)
Author/website(s): Anna Dean
300 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: February ‘10
Genre: Historical mystery
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Definitely
Would I read more from this author: Yes; I’m looking forward to reading the Dido Kent mystery which appears to be A Gentleman of Fortune
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review though I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had spending time with Dido as I don’t usually enjoy old english style mysteries.

In September 1805, Dido journeys to Bellfield Hall, the country seat of the Montague family, at the request of her niece, Catherine, who’s upset that her fiancé, Richard Montague, has suddenly broken their engagement and taken flight. Soon after arriving at Bellfield Hall, Dido learns of an even more distressing event—the discovery of the body of an unknown young woman in the shrubbery. In the Miss Marple tradition, Dido observes the residents of Bellfield Hall closely, questions the servants, and interviews local shopkeepers. Excerpts from letters the likable Dido writes to her sister further illuminate her sleuthing methods. Several red herrings keep the reader and Dido guessing. Regency fans will look forward to the next installment..

Bellfield Hall was provided to me by Bridget at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward

Title: The Last Child
Author/website(s): John Hart
416 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: March ‘10
Genre: Suspense
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Most definitely
Would I read more from this author: I have another of Mr. Hart’s novels, The King of Lies, on my Kindle right now. I imagine it’ll be moving towards the top of the TBR pile.
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review. I will say this: I couldn’t put it down and the author took me places I never expected Johnny’s story to go.

Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is—confident in a way that he can never fully explain.

Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.

Then a second child goes missing . . .

Undeterred by Hunt’s threats or his mother’s pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.

The Last Child was provided to me by a publicist at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward

Title: The Empty Mirror (Viennese Mystery, book#1)
Author/website(s): J. Sydney Jones
310 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: January ‘10
Genre: Historical mystery
Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Definitely
Would I read more from this author: I have book #2 in the series, Requiem in Vienna, sitting on my review shelf right now. I’m very much looking forward to reading the second book.
Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review though the author presents an intriguing premise of tying seemingly random fictional murders to factual historical events.

Fin-de-siecle Vienna comes to life in this colorful historical thriller featuring the artist Gustav Klimt

It’s the summer of 1898 and Austria is transfixed by a series of brutal murders. When renowned painter Gustav Klimt’s female model becomes the fifth victim, the artist is fingered as the culprit. Klimt’s lawyer, Werthen and his friend, the famed criminologist Inspector Gross must delve into a nationwide conspiracy in order to acquit the unusual and unpredictable artiste. With an unmatched knowledge of Vienna’s history, culture, and politics, J. Sydney Jones introduces a gripping new mystery series set in a cosmopolitan city at the height of its artistic and social importance.

The Empty Mirror was provided to me by Bridget at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward

Title: The Tourist
Author/website(s): Olen Steinhauer
408 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: March ‘09
Genre: Spy thriller/espionage
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: DNF’d @ pg. 128
Would I read more from this author: Don’t think so
Journal notes: Me, its all me. The Tourist is a very readable book. Easy and fast to get into even with re-reading some parts. I was almost a hundred pages in before I realized I was that far. It didn’t seem like I’d read a 100 pages. My problem was I had trouble keeping the players straight. Its a spy/espionage story which leads to code names and cryptic story lines such as who’s following who, feeding information on what to which agent, double-crossing and possibly spying on their own people, being ‘handled’ by the other side, etc. You get the picture but I didn’t. At least not very well. Not enough to follow what was happening. By the time I’d gotten to pg. 128 and re-read the same paragraph five times without the slightest bit of comprehension I knew it time to call it a day and DNF this one. A small point for me – it starts with action then the action dies out and it simply become complicated game playing.

Milo Weaver used to be a “tourist” for the CIA—an undercover agent with no home, no identity—but he’s since retired from the field to become a middle-level manager at the CIA’s New York headquarters. He’s acquired a wife, a daughter, and a brownstone in Brooklyn, and he’s tried to leave his old life of secrets and lies behind.

But when the arrest of a long-sought-after assassin sets off an investigation into one of Milo’s oldest colleagues and exposes new layers of intrigue in his old cases, he has no choice but to go back undercover and find out who’s holding the strings once and for all.

The Tourist was provided to me by a publicist at Minotaur Books (unsolicited request). I was not paid and this book is looking for a new home. If you’d like my copy leave a comment. )

Title: Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story
Author/website(s): The Dread Scott Story
430 pages
Publisher: Valor Publishing Group
Publication date: November ‘09
Genre: Historical fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Yes
Would I read more from this author: Most likely though it would depend on the subject matter
Journal notes: Am I Not A Man? is very readable and enjoyable mix of Dred Scott’s story and national history. Its the story of a man determined to right a wrong and a young country at a crossroads that threatens the very values it was built on. Mr. Shurtleff weaves together Dred’s story with a wonderful narrative of the political tensions of the time. He starts with some of our country’s founding fathers who were tortured men regarding the issue of slavery. These men were slave owners who knew that the system was inherently wrong but found themselves unable to reach resolution to such a intensively sensitive topic. He continues to provide insightful background material that helps the reader understand the significance of Dred’s struggle for freedom up to the ratification of the 14th amendment. I found Am I Not A Man? a very interesting book leaving me wondering why I put off reading it for so long.

An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, “Ain’t I a man?” Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had “no rights a white man was bound to respect.”

Dred died not knowing that his undying courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation.

Dred Scott’s inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story was provided to me by Tristi at Valor Publishing Group. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )

Title: Winter Garden
Author/website(s): Kristin Hannah
391 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: February ‘10
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: No; favorite/auto-buy author
Would I recommend this book: Undecided
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: As much as I enjoyed Firefly Lane and True Colors I was disappointed by her newest Winter Garden. Just as Meredith and Nina found their mother cold and remote that how’s the storytelling felt to me. I thought it was missing the usual heart and soul Ms. Hannah puts into her stories. Reading this particular KH novel took a lot of patience for me. I almost DNF’d it.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

Winter Garden was provided to me by Nicole at Authors on the Web. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )

Title: The Cold Room
Author/website(s): J.T. Ellison
401 pages
Publisher: Mira
Publication date: March ‘10
Genre: Police procedural
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: No
Would I recommend this book: Definitely
Would I read more from this author: Eagerly anticipating book #5 and book #4 isn’t even available until March of this year.
Journal notes: I’m pretty sure it isn’t fair to classify The Cold Room as a review book because J.T. Ellison’s Taylor Jackson series has quickly become a favorite of mine and hits the auto-buy authors list. Now that isn’t to say the relationship has been this way from the start (All The Pretty Girls) because I was a bit unsure at first. While I enjoyed All The Pretty Girls I wasn’t raving about it. When the opportunity came along to get The Cold Room as a review copy I thought ‘why not?’. I’d enjoyed All The Pretty Girls enough to give Ms. Ellison’s work another try. But first I needed to read 14 and The Judas Kiss as I have this little hangup about reading series in order. I did read 14 and The Judas Kiss and with each book my love of Ms. Ellison’s Taylor Jackson series was quickly growing into a long-term relationship. Taylor Jackson is a strong female lead character. Taylor reminds me a lot of Eva Dallas in J.D. Robb’s In Death series. There are several similarities in both Taylor’s and Eva’s professional and personal lives. Because I’ve been of the fan of the In Death series from the first book I wasn’t surprised by Taylor getting her hooks into me (reading wise that is). There is never a dull moment in this series. If you’re a fan of police procedurals check out The Cold Room. It kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning.

He Can Only Truly Love Her 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 it seems similar macabre works are being displayed in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and a New Scotland Yard detective named James “Memphis” Highsmythe, a haunted man who only has eyes for Taylor, to put an end to the Conductor’s art collection.

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

(The Cold Room was provided to me by TJ at Planned Television Arts. I was not paid. This book doesn’t have a home yet so the first reader to tell me they want it can have it )

Title: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
Author/website(s): C.W. Gortner (redesigned site which I like)
397 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: May ‘10
Genre: Historical fiction
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: No
Would I recommend this book: Yes; another great book from this author
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: Another book about Catherine de Medici. Was I courting trouble requesting a review copy of The Confessions of Catherine de Medici? I hadn’t finished reading other books about this queen I’d picked up and put down leading me to ponder: a queen I wasn’t interested in or storytelling styles that couldn’t capture my attention? After turning the last page of Confessions I’d say subject matter wasn’t the issue. In the talented storytelling style of Mr. Gortner I found her to be a very compelling individual. Mr. Gortner brings to life Catherine’s struggles to save her family and her kingdom during times of great religious strife. Of all the queens I’ve read about her story is by far the most fascinating. If you enjoyed The Last Queen, as I did, you won’t be disappointed with The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. I’m already looking forward to reading Mr. Gortner’s 2011 release of Princess Isabella, about the rise of the famous Spanish queen and the early years of her reign.

At the age of fourteen, Catherine de Medici, last legitimate descendant of the Medici blood, finds herself betrothed to the King Francois I’s son, Henri. Sent from her native Florence to France, humiliated and overshadowed by her husband’s life-long devotion to his mistress, when tragedy strikes her family Catherine rises from obscurity to become one of 16th century Europe’s most powerful women.

Patroness of Nostradamus and a seer in her own right, accused of witchcraft and murder by her foes, Catherine fights to save France and her children from savage religious conflict, unaware that her own fate looms before her — a fate that will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and passion of her own embattled heart.

From the splendors of the Loire palaces to the blood-soaked battles of the Wars of Religion and haunted halls of the Louvre, this is the story of Catherine’s dramatic life, told by the queen herself.

(The Confessions of Catherine de Medici was provided to me by Quinne at Ballantine Books, a division of Random House. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )

Title: Roses
Author/website(s): Leila Meacham
609 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: January ‘10
Genre: Fiction; family saga
Review book or pleasure reading: Review book
New-to-me author: Yes
Would I recommend this book: Definitely
Would I read more from this author: Yes
Journal notes: Loved it! Absolutely loved it. I love big, soaring family sagas and Ms. Meacham has written a winner. Roses has been hailed by others as the next Gone With The Wind. Now GWTW is my all time favorite book so its hard for me say that Roses is another GWTW. I can see the comparisons and understand why they both would be mentioned in the same breath but for me it wasn’t quite there. Almost but not quite. Its missing the ‘wow’ factor of Scarlett and Rhett. Percy and Mary’s doomed love doesn’t quite reach the heights of Scarlett and Rhett for me but Roses is still one of the best family sagas I’ve read in years. I devoured its 609 pages two days reading every spare minute I could find. It is another of my favorite books this month and will definitely be on my favorites list for 2010.

Spanning the 20th century, the story of Roses takes place in a small East Texas town against the backdrop of the powerful timber and cotton industries, industries controlled by the scions of the town’s founding families. Cotton tycoon Mary Toliver and timber magnate Percy Warwick should have married but unwisely did not, and now must deal with the deceit, secrets, and tragedies of their choice and the loss of what might have been–not just for themselves but for their children, and children’s children.

(Roses was provided to me by Miriam at Hachette Book Group. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to the another book blogger through Read It Forward )