Showing posts with label Ben H. WInters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben H. WInters. Show all posts

Saturday, January 10, 2015

2014: Top Books of the Year

My 2014 Top Books of the Year post is late! Unfortunately it could not be helped. I always say, better late than never. :) In 2014, my reading was not as prolific as it has been in previous years. Fortunately, I read many memorable books, particularly during the first half of the year and during the summer.

Below, you will notice that my favorite books fall under three different headings: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Romance, and Honorable Mentions. Out of 114 books read during the year, I have chosen the most memorable from those rated A/A- (5.0/4.75), and a few "honorable mentions" from books rated B+ (4.5). These are books that were highly recommended and quite memorable despite the lower grade.

SFF: (Click on titles to read reviews)

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Fantasy (2014, Tor Books)

I loved this stand-alone fantasy and ended up reading it more than once this past year. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison stands out from the rest with a hopeful outlook and an unforgettable central character.

Ancillary Justice* & Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
Science Fiction Space Opera (2014, Orbit)


Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie are, without a doubt, my favorite science fiction books of 2014, with Ancillary Justice (*2013, Orbit) read in January 2014, taking the top spot. I also reread these books throughout the year. I love the unique world-building and characters, and was particularly taken with the characterization and emotional impact that Leckie achieved in this a science fiction opera with an AI as central character.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Speculative Fiction (2014, FSG Original)


With its nameless characters and truly mysterious Area X, VanderMeer's Annihilation drew me into the mind of a biologist whose skewed perspective and detached narrative took me away from reality. This is a book I could not stop reading.

The Girl with All The Gifts by M.R. Carey
Speculative Fiction Thriller/Horror (2014, Orbit)


Post-apocalyptic zombies? We've heard of those before and I am not a fan. But The Girl with All The Gifts is not that typical a book, and after having read the first 10 chapters, I was hooked by a little girl named Melanie. This book is a fantastic read that I devoured as soon as it was released. A keeper!

World of Trouble (The Last Policeman III) by Ben H. Winters
Science Fiction Pre-Apocalyptic Mystery (2014, Quirk Books)


World of Trouble is the last book in Ben H. Winters The Last Policeman pre-apocalyptic mystery trilogy. Hank Palace's actions may seem obsolete to some, but he is one of my favorite, most memorable characters of the year. This is a trilogy that makes readers ask questions of themselves, and with World of Trouble, Winters ended Palace's journey just the way it should.

The Winter Long (October Daye #8) by Seanan McGuire
Urban Fantasy (2014, DAW)


In 2013 I read the entire October Daye UF series and it took me a while to warm up to the main character Toby and to the series as a whole. So it was a surprise to me when The Winter Long turned out to be my favorite UF read of the year. McGuire's execution is particularly notable. She opens up this series, drives it forward, while revealing some long-held secrets and closing up threads. A fabulous read!

ROMANCE:

It Happened One Wedding by Julie James
Contemporary Romance (2014, Jove)


I loved this contemporary romance by Julie James with its snappy dialog, sense of humor, and narrow focus on the main couple. It is fun and sexy, with an oblivious couple whose love grows from one fantastic hostile meeting that is used to build heat between the two, until surprise! They are in love. This romance is the perfect example of an up-to-the moment, sexy, fun, read.

Now and Forever (A Last Past Romance, Part 2) by Logan Belle
Contemporary Romance  (2014, Moxie Books)


Now and Forever is Part 2 of Logan Belle's A Last Chance Romance. I love that this two-part series is all about an adult woman's journey. She finds love with the right man while dealing with real-life conflicts. With a sexy, erotic romance, and pertinent, relatable conflicts to today's woman, Now and Forever is one of my favorite reads of the year.

Always to Remember by Lorraine Heath
Historical Romance (Kindle Ed. 2010, Harper Collins)


Always to Remember came as a complete surprise to me! I read it up for Wendy's TBR Challenge as it had been in my Kindle for a long time. This book is also the only historical romance to have received an A grade from me in 2014. A fantastic American post-civil war romance set in Texas, this RITA Award winner is exquisitely executed by Lorraine Heath. With both a memorable plot and characters, there is no question that it belongs right here. A classic!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine
YA/Historical Fantasy-based Fiction (2014, Atria Books)

The Paradox Trilogy by Rachel Bach 
Science Fiction Space Opera (2014, Orbit)

Seduced (Into the Wild #1) by Molly O'Keefe
Historical Romance Western (2014, Molly Fader) 

In Want of a Wife by Jo Goodman
Historical Romance Western (2014, Berkley)

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Some interesting facts:
  • Of the 114 books read (I did not count rereads or DNFs), most of the favorite reads on this list are SFF (Science Fiction / Fantasy).
  • I read few historical romances in 2014. Regardless, it is interesting to note that my top 3 are all western historical romances.
  • I read more westerns than usual, across the board: romance (historical, contemporary, YA, m/m), mystery, young adult fiction, LGBT.
  • Mysteries take the top spot though. Even some of my science fiction and fantasy books had a mystery as the core plot. Lots of mystery mash-ups in 2014!
  • As in previous years, I read some fantastic LGBT books. My favorites are listed on a separate post. You can see them here.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

July 2014 Recap: Favorite Reads + Updates

July was over a couple of weeks ago, and I am finally ready to post the month's recap. It was a really good reading month with five highly recommended reads, two of them top reads. But as you will see below, the rest are not too bad at all.

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Total Books Read: 18 (4 rereads) 
 Contemporary Romance: 4
 Historical: 3 (Romance/Fiction)
 Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 6
 Urban Fantasy: 1
 LGBT: 4 (Spec Fic/Thriller, Contemporary fiction/romance, M/M Romance & Mystery)

Top Reads of the Month:


My two top reads of the month, although different, kept me at the edge of my seat. Lee Thomas' Butcher's Road, a historical crime thriller with speculative fiction elements, is so fast-paced and edgy that it spoiled my reading momentum for a few days -- I kept looking for another great shot of adrenaline just like it and couldn't find it. I ended up rereading a favorite book afterward before picking up another new read. World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters, a pre-apocalyptic mystery, had the same effect on me for different reasons. The end of a great trilogy, this book's main character, his journey through a pre-apocalyptic world, and the questions he asks through the mysteries he solves, stayed with me for a long while. The last page of this book is just. . .

1)  Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas: A-
2)  World of Trouble (The Last Policeman III) by Ben H. Winters: A-

In July, the B+ reads are all highly recommended. In My Favorite Uncle, I loved Marshall Thornton's excellent writing along with the wit and depth, while in The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine the historical fiction, setting, characters, and atmosphere kept me thoroughly engaged. In Seduced by Molly O'Keefe on the other hand, I loved for the gritty presentation of the characters' post-civil war struggles and the redemptive qualities found in the romance.

3)  My Favorite Uncle by Marshall Thornton: B+
4)  The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine: B+
5)  Seduced by Molly O'Keefe: B+

In the B grouping, there are more solid B's than mixed bags. Of the B books reviewed, Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique and Only Love Garrett Leigh are both strong reads with either solid plotting and/or writing style, characters, and atmosphere that do not let the reader down. And while The Iron King by Julie Kagawa falls under this category with a fantastic world-building and a young adult romance that I believe young adults will enjoy, that same romance was not entirely satisfactory for me personally. I will be reviewing the remaining books soon.

6)  Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews: B
7)  Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique: B
8)  The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa: B
9)  Only Love by Garrett Leigh: B
10) Mr. Right Goes Wrong by Pamela Morsi: B-
11) Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins: B-

My C list is quite short this month. Dissonance is another young adult fantasy piece with an intriguing world-building and a great mystery that kept me reading. Unfortunately the majority of characters are tough to like and the young adult romance that takes center stage did not work for me at all. And unfortunately, although the story in I Want to Hold Your Hand has its highs and positives, I just did not buy the happy ever after, making it a highly frustrating romance read.

12) Dissonance (Dissonance #1) by Ericka O'Rourke: C+
13) I Want to Hold Your Hand by Marie Force: C-

I had a fantastic rereading month in July since all the books I chose are favorite A and B+ reads. All my rereads were highly enjoyed, however, I miss reading good historical romances and Duchess by Night was a treat. I'm also craving mysteries at the moment, so Fair Game was the perfect choice.

Favorite rereads:
14) Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
15) Duchess by Night (Desperate Duchesses #2) by Eloisa James 
16) Countdown City (The Last Policeman II) by Ben H. Winters
17) Fair Game by Josh Lanyon

To be reviewed at a later time:
18) In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins

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That is it for July 2014. I'm already deep into my August summer reads, and will try to keep up with my updates. Mysteries, mysteries and more mysteries, I'm craving mysteries. :)


Monday, August 4, 2014

July's Rereads & Minis: Ann Leckie, Eloisa James, Ben H. Winters, Josh Lanyon

During the month of July I went back to my old habit of rereading a few favorites. Actually, this year, I have been rereading at least one favorite book per month. It is an old habit that keeps me grounded in my reading and that has always been more than enjoyable because there are always details to discover or rediscover in those old (or new) favorites.

As you will see below, I read some of these books a long time ago and others recently. I don't remember when I read Duchess by Night by Eloisa James but I know it was before I began blogging in 2009. I read and reread Fair Game by Josh Lanyon back in November of 2010, but have not reread it since. Countdown City by Ben H. Winters is a 2013 summer read, and the most recent read is Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, from January 2014.
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Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Reread)

I had to reread Ancillary Justice. I am really looking forward to the second book of the series Ancillary Sword and wanted to take my time with a reread. There were a few thoughts that crossed my mind when I finished my reread (much has already been discussed about how Leckie approaches gender in this novel -- all characters are referred to as "she"), but there was another thought that kept coming back. In my original review I mention how "emotions," particularly those coming from an AI (artificial intelligence), surprised me. But really, it's more than just the emotional impact, it is how well Leckie weaves in interpersonal relationships throughout this space opera.
An interpersonal relationship is a strong, deep, or close association or acquaintance between two or more people that may range in duration from brief to enduring. This association may be based on inference, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the context of social, cultural and other influences. The context can vary from family or kinship relations, friendship, marriage, relations with associates, work, clubs, neighborhoods, and places of worship. They may be regulated by law, custom, or mutual agreement, and are the basis of social groups and society as a whole. From Wikipedia
And, that is it. It's not just Breq's sense of self -- Justice of Toren/One Esk/Breq -- and how broken he feels or how he interacts with Station or other ships, recognizing a part of himself, but how he interacts and develops a close bond with Lieutenant Awn before the break. More importantly, however, it is the slower and deeper bond that reluctantly develops between Breq and Captain Seivarden Vendaai -- two broken individuals. There are other relationships such as the one with Lieutenant Skaaiat Awer that are brief and built on "solidarity." These are all fantastic examples of the core interpersonal relationships that make this book such an excellent read, but there is more.

Leckie also uses interpersonal relationships to build the foundation for the Radch civilization's cultural and social structure. For example: a person from a powerful House offering clientage to a person from a House in a lower social position is both a business transaction and a social/personal commitment. This is the basis in which the Radch's society functions. Clientage then becomes a way to forge "intimate" relationships, but with power and social standing playing the more significant role. Leckie then uses changes taking place in the Radch's cultural and social structure, the struggle for power, social standing and/or the status quo in how those basic interpersonal relationships develop within that structure as the main impetus for her conflict. These are just a few (condensed) stray thoughts, read the book for more.

Countdown City (The Last Policeman II) by Ben H. Winters: B+ (Reread)

I read Countdown City last year and decided to reread it in July before picking up the last book of the trilogy. I never reviewed it and didn't post it as read! Well, I don't know what happened, but this second book is great. It begins a few months after Hank Palace loses his job and is asked to look for his old babysitter's husband who went "bucket list." His sister Nico helps him find clues along the way. I've said before that Hank Palace is the star of this series, even as the pre-apocalyptic world-building is exceptional. This second book is not a disappointment as many middle books tend to be in trilogies. Instead it adds to The Last Policeman with a meaty mystery and by amping up the already tense end-of-times atmosphere created in that first book. Countdown City was a great read that left me salivating for the last book of the series. Additionally, it is a must read because details and characters introduced here are key to the last installment.

Duchess by Night (Desperate Duchesses #2) by Eloisa James: Grade B+ (Reread)

I absolutely loved this book the first time I read it (before I began blogging), and loved it again this time around. I picked up this novel last month when I was looking through my RITA Award winners for a TBR read. It is one of my favorite books from the Desperate Duchesses series so it was no surprise that after going through a few pages I ended up rereading the whole book! I had forgotten how much I loved the romance and characters. Duchess by Night is definitely one of the best books of the series. A few points:

1) Regardless of the fact that Harriet is a widow and Jem is a widower and single father there is a certain joyfulness to this romance that makes me smile.
2) I love that Jem Strange is immediately attracted to Harriet as Harry, and that although he tries to get rid of that attraction and attempts to make a "man" out of Harry, there comes a moment when he accepts the fact that he's just attracted.
3) I found it interesting that Harriet discovered her female confidence and beauty while dressing and acting out the role of a man.
4) The romance between Harry/Harriet's and Jem is filled with sexual tension and passion.
5) I love Villiers' character period, but I love that his secondary role in this novel is meaningful without the necessity of him having to play the fool or the villain.

Fair Game by Josh Lanyon: Grade B+ (Reread)

Fair Game is another reread. I decided to look for a book by Josh Lanyon that typifies what I think of as one of his best. I initially gave Fair Game a B because I think during that time everything I read by Lanyon was compared to the Adrien English mysteries and suffered by the comparison, however if you read that review it is obvious that I really enjoyed the book, so my grade goes up to a B+.

Fair Game has it all for me. It has a passionate romance with significant obstacles and fantastic characterization that I really enjoyed during my first read, but that I have come to appreciate even more during rereads. The mystery kept me at the edge of my seat with dangerous action, gruesome moments, and a great ending. I was totally satisfied at the end of this reread.
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Grades: I don't remember my initial grade for Duchess by Night, but it's definitely a B+ now. Fair Game changed for the better, and both Ancillary Justice (A) and Countdown City stay the same.

I will return with more of my summer reading updates -- new releases and contemporary romance reads -- later this week.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

The Last Policeman Trilogy: World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters


World of Trouble is the conclusion, and the most personal and passionate installment, of Ben H. Winters' pre-apocalyptic mystery trilogy The Last Policeman.

"And I won't let go and I can't let go
I won't let go and I can't let go
I won't let go and I can't let go no more"
---Bob Dylan, "Solid Rock"

There are fourteen days left before Maia, the asteroid known as 2011GV₁, collides with Earth on October 3rd. Chaos and fear reign as some people panic, losing control, while others brace for the worst and hope for the best. Some are barricaded in basements or holes in the ground, last minute suicides abound, and yet others kill and hoard goods in order to survive whatever may come. Money is worthless, but water, food, gasoline, and guns, are priceless.

Detective Hank Palace gave up the relative safety of Police House in Massachusetts to search for his sister Nico. Hank last saw her in July after she saved his life. He can't forgive himself for letting her go with a dangerously radical group and not keeping his promise to keep her safe. Hank's search takes him on a road trip to a deserted police station in Ohio where he finds evidence of a brutal crime and Nico's presence. As the countdown to October 3rd begins, it leaves him little time and desperate to solve one last, very personal, case.

The focus and attention to detail makes World of Trouble an outstanding mystery read. I don't want to spoil the mystery by summarizing the entire story, but I will give you this much, World of Trouble is not a stand alone and it is imperative that Countdown City be read beforehand as details from that novel become key to Hank's search for Nico and to solving a final case filled with twists and unexpected turns. However, as in the first two books of this trilogy, Hank Palace's character is the real draw.

With the imminent destruction of the world at their doorstep, to most friends and the people Hank encounters throughout his investigation, he appears as nothing more than a quixotic character wasting his time. But we all know that Hank cares deeply, and that gathering information, getting the answers, and solving the mystery, also allow him to process fear, grief, loses, brief periods of joy and an acceptance that serves as a respite from the chaos surrounding him.

Winters achieves this marvelous characterization by personalizing Hank's cases throughout the trilogy and tightly weaving them with his well established pre-apocalyptic world building. In a World of Trouble, Winters combines the tight timeline with Hank's strict methodology and his emotional investment in the case to build and maintain a thrum of tension felt throughout the whole installment.

How far would you go to protect a loved one? And how would you choose to spend your last days on Earth? The answers to those questions represent the final central theme for World of Trouble through Hank's search for his sister, and as the end approaches, through his experiences with other characters, and to the fantastic end of this trilogy.

The Last Policeman trilogy is an excellent fusion of science fiction and mystery. Its effectiveness is derived from Ben H. Winters' creation of a pseudo contemporary setting that gives the overall story arc plausibility, and a central character that comes to symbolize human civilization by asking the tough questions even at the end of times. Highly recommended.

Category: Science Fiction/Mystery
Series: The Last Policeman
Publisher/Release Date: Quirk Books/July 15, 2014
Source: ARC Quirk Books
Grade: A-

Trilogy:
The Last Policeman, #1
Countdown City, #2
World of Trouble, #3

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Summer Wish List: SFF/ UF / Contemporary Fiction

There are so many books I would love to read this summer! Some I've already pre-ordered, others are already in my possession, but I always keep a list of books in my "wish list." Of those, I usually end up reading at least half throughout any given year. From that list, I've chosen the ten SF/F, UF, and contemporary fiction books that I'm most likely to read from the July and August 2014 releases.

JULY 8, 2014

Landline by Rainbow Rowell (Fiction/SFF, St. Martin’s Press)
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her. Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. Georgie doesn’t expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally ruined everything. Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, exactly. She feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts. Is that what she’s supposed to do? Would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

JULY 10, 2014

Land of Love and Drowning: A Novel by Tiphanie Yanique (Fantasy, Riverhead)
In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them.

Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s, this is a novel of love and magic set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. The story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch (SF/Mystery, Putnam Adult)
A decade has passed since the city of Pittsburgh was reduced to ash. Survivor John Dominic Blaxton remains obsessed with the past. Grieving for his wife and unborn child who perished in the blast, Dominic relives his lost life by immersing in the Archive, a fully interactive digital reconstruction of Pittsburgh. Dominic investigates deaths recorded in the Archive to help close cases long since grown cold.When he discovers glitches in the code surrounding a crime scene, the body of a beautiful woman abandoned in a muddy park that he’s convinced someone tried to delete from the Archive, his cycle of grief is shattered. Dominic tracks the murder through a web of deceit that takes him from the darkest corners of the Archive to the ruins of the city itself, leading him into the heart of a nightmare more horrific than anything he could have imagined.

JULY 15, 2014

World of Trouble: The Last Policeman III by Ben H Winters (SF/Mystery, Quirk Books)

Critically acclaimed author Ben H. Winters delivers this explosive final installment in the Edgar Award winning Last Policeman series.

With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank’s safety is only relative, and his only relative—his sister Nico—isn’t safe.

Soon, it’s clear that there’s more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it’s up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out . . . for everyone.

JULY 22, 2014

Dissonance (Dissonance #1) by Erica O’Rourke (SF/F/Romantic Thriller, Simon & Schuster)
Delancy Sullivan has always known there’s more to reality than what people see. Every time someone makes a choice, a new, parallel world branches off from the existing one. As a Walker, someone who can navigate between these worlds, Del’s job is to keep all of the dimensions in harmony. Del can hear the dissonant frequency that each world emits as clear as a bell. When a training session in an off-key world goes horribly wrong, she is forbidden from Walking by the Council. She secretly starts to investigate these other worlds. Something strange is connecting them and it’s not just her random encounters with echo versions of the guy she likes, Simon Lane.

As she begins to fall for the Echo Simons in each world, she draws closer to a truth that the Council of Walkers is trying to hide, a secret that threatens the fate of the entire multiverse.

JULY 29, 2014

Lucky Us by Amy Bloom (Literary Fiction, Random House)
“My father’s wife died. My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us.”

So begins this remarkable novel by Amy Bloom, whose critically acclaimed Away was called “a literary triumph” (The New York Times). Lucky Us is a brilliantly written, deeply moving, fantastically funny novel of love, heartbreak, and luck.

Disappointed by their families, Iris, the hopeful star and Eva the sidekick, journey through 1940s America in search of fame and fortune. Iris’s ambitions take the pair across the America of Reinvention in a stolen station wagon, from small-town Ohio to an unexpected and sensuous Hollywood, and to the jazz clubs and golden mansions of Long Island.

With their friends in high and low places, Iris and Eva stumble and shine though a landscape of big dreams, scandals, betrayals, and war. Filled with gorgeous writing, memorable characters, and surprising events, Lucky Us is a thrilling and resonant novel about success and failure, good luck and bad, the creation of a family, and the pleasures and inevitable perils of family life, conventional and otherwise. From Brooklyn’s beauty parlors to London’s West End, a group of unforgettable people love, lie, cheat and survive in this story of our fragile, absurd, heroic species.
The Buried Life by Carrie Patel (SF/F/Murder Mystery, Angry Robots)

The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies.

When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Recoletta’s top-secret historical research facility.

When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs…

Jack Strong: A Story of Life after Life by Walter Mosley (SF/F - Open Road Media)
In a Las Vegas hotel room, a man awakes to confront his destiny

Dreaming, Jack hears voices: a frightened child in a hospital, a woman cheating on her husband, a death-row inmate. When he wakes, the voices recede, but they do not vanish. He is in a luxurious hotel room on the Vegas strip, and his body is covered in scars. Jack Strong is a patchwork man, his flesh melded together from dozens of men and women, and his mind is the same way. Countless lifetimes are contained within him: people whose time was cut short, and who see their place in Jack as a chance to make things right.

On behalf of one of them, Jack reignites a feud with corrupt casino bosses. Drawing on the skills of another, he beats the life out of two bodyguards. Jack fights for control as he lurches from impulse to impulse, certain that somewhere within him exists a soul. The answers may lie with whomever is tailing him in a sleek black car—if Jack can somehow confront him.

AUGUST 5, 2014

Downfall: A Cal Leandros Novel by Rob Thurman (Urban Fantasy, Roc)
I let it go—all of it. Everything I’d been saving up all my life, building and growing inside me, too much to hold in one half-human body. It pushed and fought to be free with a force that turned me into a bomb with a timer vibrating on zero. I was free.

But so was everything I’d fought so hard not to be....

Brothers Cal and Niko Leandros know trouble when they see it—and then proceed to wipe the floor with it. But now it seems their whole world is falling to pieces. Cal’s nightmarish monster side is growing ever stronger, changing Cal physically as well as mentally. Which is exactly what Grimm—Cal’s savage doppelgänger—wants. And when a covert supernatural organization decides that it’s time to put Cal down before he threatens pretty much everything else in existence, the brothers find themselves in a fight they actually might lose. But the dark temptations Cal has denied all his life may prove to be exactly what can save them.

Even if he must fall forever…
AUGUST 12, 2014

The House We Grew Up In: A Novel by Lisa Jewell (Contemporary Fiction, Atria Books)
“Clever, intelligent…wonderful” (Jojo Moyes, New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You).

Meet the Bird family. They live in a honey-colored house in a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, with rambling, unkempt gardens stretching beyond. Pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and tow-headed twins Rory and Rhys all attend the village school and eat home-cooked meals together every night. Their father is a sweet gangly man named Colin, who still looks like a teenager with floppy hair and owlish, round-framed glasses. Their mother is a beautiful hippy named Lorelei, who exists entirely in the moment. And she makes every moment sparkle in her children’s lives.

Then one Easter weekend, tragedy comes to call. The event is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass as the children become adults, find new relationships, and develop their own separate lives. Soon it seems as though they’ve never been a family at all. But then something happens that calls them back to the house they grew up in—and to what really happened that Easter weekend so many years ago.

Told in gorgeous, insightful prose that delves deeply into the hearts and minds of its characters, The House We Grew Up In is the captivating story of one family’s desire to restore long-forgotten peace and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Highlight: Countdown City (Last Policeman Book II) by Ben H. Winters


There are just 74 days to go before a deadly asteroid collides with Earth, and Detective Hank Palace is out of a job. With the Concord police force operating under the auspices of the U.S. Justice Department, Hank's days of solving crimes are over...until a woman from his past begs for help finding her missing husband.

Brett Cavatone disappeared without a trace—an easy feat in a world with no phones, no cars, and no way to tell whether someone’s gone “bucket list” or just gone. With society falling to shambles, Hank pieces together what few clues he can, on a search that leads him from a college-campus-turned-anarchist-encampment to a crumbling coastal landscape where anti-immigrant militia fend off “impact zone” refugees.

The second novel in the critically acclaimed Last Policeman trilogy, Countdown City presents a fascinating mystery set on brink of an apocalypse--and once again, Hank Palace confronts questions way beyond "whodunit." What do we as human beings owe to one another? And what does it mean to be civilized when civilization is collapsing all around you?
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters won the 2013 Edgar® Award for Best Paperback Original, the first book of the Last Policeman trilogy. Last year I read, and loved that book!  Countdown City is the second book of Ben H. Winter's pre-apocalyptic trilogy.

Hank Palace is one of the most unique protagonists to cross my reading path in a long while, and the imaginative, creative set of circumstances he faces in this series are more that just intriguing, they are fascinating. As you may well imagine, Countdown City has been in my must read list since last summer.  The time has come!

Release Date: July 16, 2013
Category: Science Fiction/Mystery
Publisher: Quirk Books

Reviews:
The Last Policeman, Book #1


Friday, July 6, 2012

Review: The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters


What would you do if the world was ending in six months? Would you make it to the end, or would you check out? These are the questions that plague the reader while reading The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters. These are the questions that plagued me while I quickly read this intriguing pre-apocalyptic police procedural.

The world and its people have six months left to live until the massive asteroid known as Maia or 2011GV1 makes impact and sets off a chain of destructive events that will rapidly overwhelm the whole planet. As people decide what to do with the last days of their lives, civilization begins a slow collapse as many leave their jobs to fulfill lifetime dreams or spend time with family, and while massive amounts of people across the globe turn to religion looking for hope, others find the answer in suicide. So at six months to impact, civilization's real collapse is near as most have physically or mentally 'checked out,' and what was once important has become incidental. That is to everyone, but Detective Hank Palace.

Our story begins as Detective Hank Palace is called to investigate what appears to be a suicide by hanging in the bathroom of a McDonald's in Concord, New Hampshire. In his short career as a detective, all the deaths Hank has investigated have been suicides, and since Concord is known as a "hanger town" because that is the popular suicide method, at first it appears that is also the answer to Peter Zell's death. However, as Hank observes the scene in detail, something doesn't seem right. Hank declares Peter Zell's death suspicious and begins a murder investigation. This becomes a source of disbelief and amusement to everyone Hank comes in contact with throughout his investigation, including his co-workers who, although still on the job, have already checked out psychologically.

One of the aspects that makes The Last Policeman gripping as a pre-apocalyptic science fiction story is that Winters sets it in what seems to be contemporary times and not a futuristic or unreal world. In other words, these events could happen... anytime. Of course that makes the circumstances in this book realistically bizarre and unsettling for the reader. I found this to be one of the most effective aspects to the story. What would you do?

In this case, Hank Palace is Winter's case study. Hank is a most interesting character too. A man whose way of dealing with the upcoming apocalypse is to concentrate on the daily grind, on the here and now -- at least on the surface. Frankly since this is the beginning of a trilogy, there is still much to be learned about Hank and what drives him. I personally can't wait to see where his emotions take him as the final time approaches.

However in The Last Policeman, in his own anal and obsessive way, Hank serves as a microcosm of humanity's conscience when there is no real conscience left -- he is what is left of civilization when civilization is crumbling around him. When nobody cares whether Peter Zell committed suicide or was murdered, Hank does... and later when Hank's sister calls him to investigate his brother-in-law's disappearance and events culminate unexpectedly, Hank once again proves where he stands on this question.

Winters uses the police procedural aspect of the novel to drive forward the overall story arc and to develop a subtle, detailed and very effective pre-apocalyptic atmosphere. However besides the gripping pseudo-contemporary setting in this science fiction novel, it is Hank's character that makes the most impact, as it is through his first point of view perspective that the reader experiences the apathy, depression, desperation, resignation, and even false hope of those who surround him. Winters combines all those elements in The Last Policeman beautifully, and most importantly because this is the beginning of a trilogy, the story ends at the right moment. Personally, I can't wait to find out what happens to Hank next, or where Winters will take the story.

Category: Science Fiction/Mystery
Series: The Last Policeman Trilogy, Book 1
Publisher/Release Date: Quirk Books/July 10, 2012
Source: ARC Quirk Books
Grade: B+

Visit Ben H. Winters here.
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About the Author: Ben H. Winters has written plays and musicals for children and adults; all sorts of magazine and newspaper journalism; and six novels: Bedbugs, Android Karenina, the New York Times bestseller Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, the middle-grade novels The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman and The Mystery of the Everything, and the upcoming mystery The Last Policeman.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

New Releases: June/July 2012

Today is a great day for new releases! I have them all nice and cozy in my Kindle already. :)

However, there were a couple of June releases that I missed! Books that I'm really excited about reading, because they are written by a writer who make it to the top of my favorite list last year. So in a way, this is an author highlight and a new release post since two of the books I'm highlighting are by the same author, Mr. Elliott Mackle. The rest of the books are July 2012 releases that I will definitely read.

Captain Harding and His Men by Elliott Mackle
Release Date: June 1, 2012
When a C-130 bound for Southeast Asia explodes on takeoff at remote Wheelus Air Base, Libya, handsome, hard-charging Captain Joe Harding instinctively realizes that the cargo list--''medical supplies and radio tubes''--was faked. When Joe's newly-married workout buddy does a swan dive off a fifth story balcony in downtown Tripoli, Joe refuses to accept the semi-official verdict: suicidal depression. And when Joe's tennis partner, the son of the American ambassador, decides to celebrate his eighteenth birthday by appearing unannounced at Joe's BOQ door, the potential difficulties of their love-match must be addressed--seriously and without delay.

Continuing the adventures and misadventures begun in Elliott Mackle's award-winning Captain Harding's Six-Day War, Joe and his fellow officers and airmen contend with a highly decorated but sexually abusive wing commander (who happens to be Joe's boss), a closeted Pentagon official fighting to save his career, a CIA agent who may be an impostor, and shipments of British weapons that fall into the hands of anti-royalist rebels. When a kidnapping goes terribly wrong, Joe must fight for everything he holds dear: duty, honor, country and love.
Captain Harding and His Men was actually slated to release in August, but released early in June. I noticed almost immediately because I bookmarked this book at amazon! I've been hunting this story down (checking up on it) ever since I read and loved the first installment, Captain Harding's Six Day War last year, and by June 5th this novel was in my Kindle. For those of you who also enjoyed the first book (or who want to give this series a shot), check it out... it's out already!

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Title: It Takes Two by Elliott Mackle
Release Date: June 6, 2012
February, 1949. Fort Myers, Florida. It started out to be such a nice day. But early morning gunfire at the Royal Plaza Motor Hotel changed all that. One white man is dead. One black man is dead. The white man's widow has just crashed the investigation and is waving a gun around. Dan Ewing, who isn't supposed to be there, barely escapes getting shot. Saving his bacon is Lee County detective Bud Wright. Dan and Bud are more than just fishing buddies. But that's one secret of many in this small town.

Dan is the manager of the Caloosa Hotel, a class act if you're just passing through, but a provider of card games, call girls, mixed drinks and other special ''services'' for members of the ultra-private Caloosa Club. This doesn't sit well with everyone in town, including a wealthy car dealer, the KKK, and Bud Wright, despite the fact that he's sleeping with Dan. But the car dealer is the dead white man, the black man is the husband of his wife's former maid, and the sheriff, Bud's boss, seems determined to steer the investigation off track. So what does the apparent murder-suicide have to do with the Caloosa?

Former journalist Elliott Mackle takes this wonderfully realized ''why-done-it'' to fascinating levels as he explores the various factions of a small southern town facing the giant implications of a rapidly changing society in the postwar years. It Takes Two, Mackle's first novel and a Lambda Literary Award finalist returns to print.
Also out in June from Mr. Mackle, his first novel It Takes Two. This book was out of print and was re-released in both print and ebook formats by Lethe Press. I looked and searched for this book last year and could not get my hands on it. I wanted to read it right away after finishing Captain Harding's Six Day War, and that was frustrating. Sooo, for me that was great news! It Takes Two was a Lambda Literary Award finalist and of course it had some excellent reviews when it was first released. I received this book for review from the author, and of course you know that yes... I already read it! If you have NOT read this excellent novel yet, check it out it's available again. Review to come!

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The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters
Release Date: July 10, 2012
What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?

Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.

The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.

The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond “whodunit.” What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?
The Last Policeman is another novel that I accepted for review. Now... how could I pass it up? It's the first book in a pre-apocalyptic "whodunit" trilogy, with a pretty odd sounding central character. The blurb for this book definitely grabbed my attention. I haven't read anything by this author, although I think most of us will recognize a couple of his previous titles, namely Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters and the bestseller Bedbugs.

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You Will Meet A Stranger Far From Home: Wonder Stories by Alex Jeffers
Release Date: July 14, 2012
Ten recent stories that wander back and forth along and across the boundaries between realistic, fantastical, and science fiction.
This is the only description I could find for Mr. Jeffers' latest collection, You Will Meet A Stranger Far From Home: Wonder Stories, except for a list of titles a small summary about each story at the author's site, plus a few advance reviews... some very good ones! You can read titles and descriptions here. I've read two of those stories already (in different anthologies) and loved them.

It's no secret that Jeffers is a favorite author, his book The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam was a favorite last year, so I'm not missing this collection.

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Title: Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews
Release Date: July 31, 2012
After being kicked out of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea’s whole existence is in shambles. She tries to put herself back together by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend. When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano—the male alpha of the Clan Bouda, and Andrea’s former lover—die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate. Now she must work with Raphael as her search for the killer leads into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta. And dealing with her feelings for him might have to take a back seat to saving the world…
Gunmetal Magic is Andrea's book! From the Kate Daniel's series by Ilona Andrews! Am I going to miss it? Heck no!! She's one of my favorite characters from this series, and I can't wait to read this book to see how the Andrews team develop Andrea into a central character. Andrea and Raphael... Hah! Yeah!

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There are only three July releases in this early release post. I will post more later! Are there any books you are looking forward to reading in July?