The Double - George Pelecanos

My review of George Pelecanos' The Double first appeared in Shelf Awareness for Readers. It is appearing here on my blog today with their permission. Hope you enjoy...

First line: "Tom Peterson sat tall behind his desk."

Private investigator Spero Lucas returns in George Pelecanos’ powerful follow-up to The Cut. The Afghanistan veteran who finds things for people who’d like few questions and their jobs kept quiet is in search of a stolen painting. Lured in by a swindling Casanova who purloined her dignity and her valuable art, Grace Kincaid hires Lucas to reclaim what is rightfully hers. This art thief, however, has no plans to give up the piece and is prepared to take Lucas down to keep it.

As Lucas works the case, he also finds himself in a new predicament. He’s falling in love with a married woman. They’ve initiated a passionate affair, sneaking off to hotel rooms whenever she summons him. The affair is completely on her terms; she calls Lucas to satisfy her needs and despite his frustration with the arrangement, he can’t tell her no.

Through his interactions with the art thief and his mistress, as well as his continuing struggles to re-integrate into civilian life, Lucas questions who he is. The answer isn’t an easy one; Pelecanos has smudged the lines between right and wrong, and good intentions count for little, if anything.

Pelecanos’ characters dwell in the dark, underside of Washington D.C. and his tone mimics their environment. Meanwhile the beauty and strength of his writing exudes a melodic air; readers can practically hear the soulful rhythms that form the soundtracks to his characters’ complicated lives.

The Double is complex, gritty crime fiction at its best. Pelecanos shines again.

The Double is available in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0316078399) from Little, Brown. An unabridged audio version (ISBN: 9781478924760), narrated by Dion Graham, is available from Hachette Audio.

The Tilted World - Tom Franklin & Beth Ann Fennelly

First line: "Dixie Clay was squelching through the mud along the creek's swollen banks, shooing mosquitoes with her hat, when she saw a baby coffin bobbing against a sycamore snag."

The cover copy of my ARC reads, "This is the story of a bootlegger and a federal agent—natural enemies who fall in love." I think that's the best summation of a book I've read on a book jacket in a very long time.

Dixie Clay never set out to be a bootlegger. She thought she was marrying a fur trader, a kind and upstanding man. Jesse had other ideas. Dixie Clay didn't see the signs at first and before her baby died, she didn't care to see them. But once Jake left her, she had nothing. So she started manning the still and making the best moonshine around. That is until Ham and Ingersoll rode into town to secretly investigate the disappearance of two federal revenuers.

Ham and Ingersoll had encountered a robbery turned blood bath on their way to Hobnob Landing; the only survivor of the incident a newborn. So Ingersoll bundled up the infant to find it a home.  The home turned out to be Dixie Clay's, but Ingersoll had no idea she was the wife of the man Ham had started investigating.

In the midst of all this chaos, add punishing rains that were flooding the Mississippi River and pushing the levees to their brink. The Tilted World is an incredibly complex novel of the rural South in 1927.

As I learned in Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, Tom Franklin is a master of atmosphere. The Tilted World only reinforces that knowledge. The sights and sounds of southern United States during Prohibition come alive; readers can almost feel the pervading damp and taste the moonshine. While the laid-back mentality of the region comes through, so does the intensity of anxiety people were experiencing with the levees threatening to burst at any point.

The plot is a melting pot of crime, mystery, romance, adventure and history, written with poetic beauty and impact:

"The gun was like his guitar: a thing that had power because of the hole in the middle. Maybe like Ingersoll, too, for that matter."

And what strengthens the plot even further is the cast of the story. Readers can't help but care what happens to them, whether for the good or bad. Each character is so exquisitely flushed out that strong emotion is unavoidable.

For several days The Tilted World carried me away to a different time and place. It enveloped me in a period forgotten in our history books and a fictional story so authentic I felt a part of it. The Tilted World is without a doubt one of the best books I've read in 2013.

The Tilted World is available in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0062069184) from William Morrow and as a Harper Audio unabridged audiobook (ISBN: 978-0062190628), narrated by Brian D'Arcy James. If you didn't have a chance to see it on Friday, do check out Tom's Five on Friday.

Outlaw--Mark Sullivan

First line: "In a private dining room above an alley on the crowded peninsula of Kowloon, the Moon Dragon spooned rare tea leaves into a fired clay pot while using his peripheral vision to examine his visitor for any sign of worry."

Robin Monarch calls himself a thief but has lived a varied life. These days he's freelance and the U.S. government has called him in to rescue the Secretary of State who was kidnapped by an extremist group calling itself the Sons of Prophesy during a secret meeting with the Chinese and Indian foreign ministers. The group has demanded money and the release of political prisoners from all three countries or the hostages will be executed, but the U.S. will not negotiate with terrorists.

Monarch's job is not just to rescue the Secretary of State but first to locate her, as there's no indication where this group is holding the hostages. He and his team--including an agent from China and one from India--set off to unravel the secrets of The Sons of Prophesy before the execution deadline. Crisscrossing the world as the Sons of Prophecy take credit for several more international incidents, the rescue team discovers that this is no ordinary terrorist group and it's certainly no ordinary kidnapping.

Outlaw is Mark Sullivan's second book in his Robin Monarch series. Whether you've read Rogue, the first in the series, or not, Outlaw is easy to pick up--a fast-paced, high-intensity thriller that deftly stands on its own.

Robin Monarch is a fun addition to the world of crime fiction protagonists. He's smart, witty and human. As Sullivan illustrates in Outlaw, if you cut Monarch, he bleeds. He's also compassionate and loyal. The bonds he has with his friends make him a richer, more likeable character than the lone superhero type.

I especially enjoyed Sullivan's female characters in Outlaw. From Secretary of State Agnes Lawton to Monarch's dependable Gloria Barnett to the Chinese MSS agent Song Le. Even the despicable Madame Long, wife to the triad leader, is a well-developed strong female role. The other element of Sullivan's character development that I appreciated was his tendency to not focus on physical appearance, rather he lets the characters' actions, thoughts, behaviors build them and make them attractive or not.

Sullivan chose to work with characters who would be among the world's smartest people and his plot reflects that as well. The mystery is an intricate entanglement of politics, religion and greed. It's also timely given current world events.

The end left me with mixed feelings. One aspect of it I felt was a brilliant use of technique while another aspect left me disappointed. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers but if you read Outlaw and want to chat about the end, by all means, drop me a line. I do encourage you to read Outlaw. I believe Sullivan has put a fresh twist on an element of the thriller world that is becoming cliché. I look forward to seeing where he takes this thief named Robin Monarch.

Outlaw is available in hardcover (ISBN: 978-1250023612). It is also available as a Macmillan unabridged audio (ISBN: 978-1427233059) narrated by Jeff Gurner.

Five on Friday - Tom Franklin

Happy Friday friends! I hope you had a great week. This week I got to see my other great love--Harry Connick, Jr.--in concert, so the rest of the week is pretty moot, I'm just elated from that!

But I'm also really excited about our Five on Friday guest today because I really love his work and this is the first time he's joined us here on the blog. But before we get to that, a few things from the week.

First the books were announced for the 2014 World Book Night. You can see their selections here. I have to say I like this batch better than the books selected for 2013. You can also now apply to be a giver for 2014. Applications will be accepted until January 5th.

A few things in the big and small screen world connected to crime fiction. A new Philip Marlowe series? How about a return to Cabot Cove? And on the Jo Nesbø front.  

Also, Jenn over at Jenn's Bookshelves has been featuring horror/thriller/mystery books all month for Halloween. If you haven't stopped by to check out her fun, be sure to do so!

Contests to check out this week:

There's still time to get in on the October Reads Bundle Sweepstakes at Criminal Element. They also have a chance for you to win Age of Blood.

Friday Reads has Chelsea Cain's new book Let Me Go.

And don't forget to stop over to Lesa's blog and see what goodies she has in store for her contest this week.

O.k. that's it for my yapping. Let me move on to Tom Franklin! In 2011 I listened to the audiobook of Tom's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter and it was on my list of favorite audios for that year. So I was thrilled beyond words when I heard about the new book he had coming out this year (earlier this month).  I'll have more soon about The Tilted World that he co-wrote with his wife Beth Ann Fennelly, but suffice it to say, I'll be recommending it to many, many people. Tom Franklin has such an amazing gift with creating rich atmospheric novels. So if you haven't read him, I highly encourage you to do so.

And if my encouragement isn't enough, maybe reading his Five on Friday will goose you a little more. Plus we get a little extra from Tom. He answered five but left off the bucket list question at first. So a bonus! Ladies and gents, Tom Franklin!

A place I’ve never visited but would like to is Australia. Since seeing Crocodile Dundee I've had a romance with Down Under. Maybe I'd run into Tim Winston over (I mean under) there.

If I could sit next to anyone (not related to me) on a cross-country flight, it would be Stephen King because I LOVE his books and have 1000s of questions. He'd probably hate it though.

The best car I ever owned was a 75 MG Midget. My dad, a mechanic, had one for a while and I got to drive it for a few months. It had a leaky master cylinder and dripped brake fluid on my hushpuppies and ruined them.

Happiness is being warm.

My favorite vegetable is the durable potato. I love mashed potatoes more than being warm.

Bucket list in no particular order:

• Have dinner with Stephen The King
• Go to Australia
• Find a copy of Avengers no. 1 (1963 series) that I can afford.
• See (even a bad) movie made from one of my novels or stories
• Go to Wimbledon

And for the record, I love Tom even more now. Happiness IS being warm, especially now that the temps are turning on me. PLUS, mashed potatoes? Yay! I might like being warm more than the potatoes, but I still love mashed potatoes. I hope Tom is able to knock some of those bucket list items off soon.

And I hope YOU have a great weekend. Be sure to find some time for a good book or two because reading every day is important! Happy reading, friends!

The Creeps - John Connolly

First line: "In a small terraced house in the English town of Biddlecombe, a birthday party was underway."

Just in time for Halloween, John Connolly's third book in his Samuel Johnson series is available in the United States. This is my first outing with Samuel and his little dog Boswell, and I was chastised for it in the book's footnotes (yes, really, footnotes--you'll love them!)

"An adventure described in The Infernals, available from all good bookshops and some bad ones. If you haven't read it, please find a copy and turn to the second footnote in Chapter One, which will wag a finger disapprovingly at you for picking up the later books in a series without first reading the earlier ones."

I will pick up The Infernals because I had so much fun with The Creeps! I also plan to push these books into the hands of my niece and nephew. The Creeps--the series--is really great fun for readers of all ages.

Samuel, Boswell and Lucy are attending the grand opening of a new toy shop taking over the long vacated Wreckit & Son's building. But an atmosphere of trouble is brewing everywhere, so what should be a joyous occasion has a foreboding air.

In the sweet shop that is actually a not-so-secret laboratory, the new tea boy is witnessing ghosts. Dan and his Dwarfs have been hired to work as elves at the opening of the Wreckit & Sons toy shop. And the Hilary Mould statue is moving from place to place throughout Biddlecombe. Add to that a voice in the wall of Wreckit & Sons and Crudford scouring the Multiverse for Mrs. Abernathy's atoms and you have the building blocks of an adventure suitable for Hell.

The Creeps is chock full of delightful elements. I mentioned the footnotes but it also has playful chapter titles, illustrations and plenty of smart humor. From metaphors as witty as

"...said Professor Stefan in the tone of a man who has just discovered a large hole in his bucket of patience, and is now considering hitting someone over the head with the bucket,..."

to descriptions as vivid as

"'What we're looking for is a big, black, rotten heart-shaped thingy filled with nastiness.'"

the writing is both intelligent and whimsical. And underneath that whimsy is a fantastic depth of character and plot. With The Creeps, there's no having to choose which element of story you prefer because both are so deftly defined. The ideas of the Multiverse and Hell and the alignment of everything are complex and intriguing. While the relationships aren't confined to humans. They go beyond to all kind of beings, acknowledging the plausibility of compassion and empathy between those who aren't exactly the same.

While October is a perfect time for The Creeps to come out, and it would make a great treat for your favorite ghost or goblin's Halloween bag, it's a fantastically wonderful reading experience any time. And yes, Earth may have "become unmoored from reality" but really, can't we all benefit from a little unmooring from time to time?

The Creeps is available in hardcover (ISBN: 978-1476757094) from Emily Bestler Books (Atria) and also on unabridged audio (ISBN: 978-1442368705) from Simon and Schuster Audio, narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds.

Five on Friday - Sophie Hannah

Happy Friday all! It's been a bit of a crazy week on my end. Hope you've had a little less chaos and a lot of good reads.

I'm going to do the round-up of contests and then go straight to our special Five on Friday guest.

Friday Reads has some print and audio copies of Hank Phillippi Ryan's THE WRONG GIRL to give away this week.

Criminal Element has a hefty October Reads bundle to give away.

Lesa shifted her giveaway day on me, which is why I haven't posted anything from her recently. But she posts her new contests on Fridays now, so hop over to her site and see what she has for this week.

O.k. that's it for this week. Now on to the feature act!

Sophie Hannah is a rather diverse writer. We know her around these parts for her psychological thrillers. But she's also quite the poet. She's even delved into some children's books and translations. A woman of many talents!

Her most recent publication here in the States is the thriller KIND OF CRUEL, which features her recurring characters Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer. But over in the UK she's a book ahead of us with THE CARRIER. She's also stuck her toes in the supernatural water with THE ORPHAN CHOIR which will make it's appearance in the US in January.

Also coming up and very exciting is the fact that Sophie will be writing a new Hercule Poirot novel!

There's a bit of something for everyone!

Now let me quit yakking and turn things over to Sophie!

No warnings for Sophie!

My pet peeve: People who warn you about things. 'Whatever you do, don't trust X.' 'Don't put your kids in daycare - they might end up emotionally warped.' 'You know, you really shouldn't eat too much sugar - you're more likely to get cancer.' 'Be careful which taxi you get into - I hear there's a rapist taxi driver striking regularly in your neighbourhood.' Those Who Warn probably firmly believe, and indeed often persuade you to believe, that they have your best interests at heart and they're just looking out for you. Not true. What they're actually doing (in terms of the character of the energy they're releasing into your life) is saying, 'This terrible fate might not befall you, but just in case it doesn't, I'm going to put the idea of it into your head anyway, so that even if you don't get cancer/raped/psychotic kids, you can at least be miserable for a while as you contemplate your possible future misfortune.' So, that's a longwinded way of saying that Those Who Warn are annoying because they dump a load of negative energy and pessimism on you, and disguise it as thoughtfulness and concern.

Caveat: Yes, of course there are circumstances in which warning someone is acceptable. 'Move out of the way, quick, or a giant hippo that I can actually see falling will land on your head.' There may be other acceptable manifestations of the Warning format, but mainly, if there's no giant falling hippo, warnings are a bad idea. Oh - warning people never to warn people is okay too!

Last book I recommended: The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty - a gripping masterpiece. It moved me to tears and I couldn't put it down.

 Five favourite songs on my iPod at the moment:

• You Win Again - The Beegees 
• You're the One That I Want - from the Grease soundtrack 
• Milkshake - Kelis 
• Return to Innocence - Enigma 
• A Boy Like That/I Have a Love - from the West Side Story soundtrack 

I consider Agatha Christie a hero because she created narrative suspense more effectively than any other writer, and is the Queen of Crime Fiction. She also understood the darkest parts of the human psyche.

No 1 item on my bucket list: I don't have one specific thing I want to do - just what I do already, really. Write more and better crime novels. Do a lot of swimming, in swimming pools, lakes, the sea. Eat lots of very hot curry. Spend as much time as possible with people I think are ace. If there was one specific thing I wanted to do, I'd just go and do it straight away. I'm not a 'deferred gratification' kind of person, really - I'm much more the 'have lots of fun now' type. So, as soon as it occurs to me that I fancy doing something, I rush out and do it. I tend, therefore, not to accumulate lists of things I want to do and haven't yet done!

Now that folks, is the way to live life! I love it. You can find out more about Sophie at her website or you can meet up with her on Twitter. And by all means, watch out for falling hippos this weekend!

Happy Reading my friends!

My Life According to Books 2013

If you've been reading the blog awhile, you know one of my favorite things every year is Pop Culture Nerd's meme "My Life According to Books." I love it partly because it's how I first met her (and now she's one of my best friends ever) and largely because it SO. MUCH. FUN! So, after you've read my contributions be sure to pop over to her blog (if you haven't already) and check out the original version!

Here's how my life is going this year.

My to-do list looks like: Insane City (Dave Berry)

If a peeping Tom peeked into my bedroom, he'd: Dare Me (Megan Abbott)

If Martians meet me, they'd think: The Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling)

My doctor is always telling me: Save Yourself (Kelly Braffet)

The weirdest thing that happened this past week: The Heavens Rise [Rose?] (Christopher Rice)

I often daydream about: Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies (Chris Klewe)

The government shutdown makes me: The Pottymouth at the Table (Laurie Notaro)

If I win the lottery, I’d: Die Easy (Zoë Sharp)

My superpower is: Brilliance (Marcus Sakey)--and obviously modesty, right?

I knew I was a book lover when: One Summer [I just read and read and read and...] (Bill Bryson)


My blogging experience has been: All You Could Ask For (Mike Greenberg)

O.k. now YOUR turn. Take Pop Culture Nerd's sentence starters and complete them with book titles from books you've read this year. You can leave your responses in the comments or on your own blog. Let us know where to find them if you put them on your blog!

If you'd like to see my previous entries for this fun meme, here 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Spirit of Steamboat - Craig Johnson

First line: "It was Tuesday, the day before Christmas, and I wasn't expecting visitors."

In the acknowledgements to Spirit of Steamboat, Craig Johnson explains that he set out to write a short story, but what resulted was more of a small novel. Thus, Spirit of Steamboat is a Christmas-themed novella, and it is a perfect little treasure to tuck into your favorite Craig Johnson fan's holiday gift. That is provided your favorite fan doesn't snatch the book up her/himself before Christmas arrives. It would also make a great introduction for someone you've been wanting Walt to meet.

A stranger who shows up at Walt Longmire's office the day before Christmas ignites memories of a life-altering adventure for he and Lucian.

Not long after Walt took office as Sheriff of Absaroka, a fiery car accident took the lives of three people and left a small child badly burned and in need of transportation to Denver. Time was of the essence but mother nature had other plans, like a snowstorm that was grounding all the medical transport helicopters.

Walt recruits Lucian to fly an old VB-25J VIP transport plane that had been refurbished to use for slurry bombing forest fires. It's old, it's questionable and Lucian's the only one who can fly it. But it's also the only option Walt has to get the girl to Denver in order to save her life.

Spirit of Steamboat isn't about a mystery. Johnson tells the story in such a way that the reader knows who the stranger is long before the end. The grip of the story comes as the reader experiences a heart-racing adventure alongside Walt and Lucian. Add to the freezing exploits, Johnson's resonant characters, smart humor, fun little factoids and heart-warming compassion, the result is a tale worthy of the Walt Longmire label.

Johnson builds the novella's theme around a quote from Dickens' A Christmas Carol: "...no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused..." Longtime fans of Walt Longmire know this could be a personal theme for him. But the use in this yarn makes it especially powerful for the holiday season. The strong ironic thread of Lucian's role adds to the impact of the story and drives home the message.

Lucian's always been a great favorite of mine in this series, so I extra enjoyed Spirit of Steamboat. But this is a tale anyone can pick up and appreciate, no Absaroka County background required. If you have a holiday ritual of reading aloud, Spirit of Steamboat would make a perfect choice.

These days, as we read and listen to the news, it can sometimes feel like all hope is lost. Sharing time with Walt gives me faith. I wish that for you, too.

Spirit of Steamboat is available starting tomorrow in a cute little hardcover format (ISBN: 9780670015788) from Viking Penguin.

Five on Friday - Martyn Waites

Happy Friday friends! I hope you all had a nice week. We've been having some grand weather here in Northeast Ohio so I'm trying to take advantage of it. The wicked white stuff will be here before we know it, so I've got to enjoy while I can.

Speaking of enjoy, I'm finishing up John Connolly's The Creeps, and while I've been chastised--via footnotes, no less--in the book for reading it out of order, I'm loving it. So funny and rather appropriate for the time of year. Another addition to my younger reader coverage. More to come on that, but what are you reading that's really great right now?

If you're pondering the what to read question, of course you can always look at the reviews here. I love when you find something that piques your interest, but in addition, Pop Culture Nerd has the Nerdy Special List for October posted. You can see what I'm recommending for October (in addition to The Creeps, of course). I'll also be catching up on more reviews next week and FINALLY getting to the last Bouchercon report. I know, I'm so slow. I apologize.

How about some contests for this week?

Criminal Element has a variety of contests going on for all ages, so check out the sweepstakes page.

And Friday Reads has a couple of nice books you can win this week as well.

O.k. on to the fun stuff. I was very persistent because I reeeeeeeally wanted Martyn Waites to participate in Five on Friday. I'm such a fan of his work writing both as Martyn and with his wife as Tania Carver. So I'm over the moon that he's hanging out today.

Later this month Martyn has a book releasing in the U.K. that is a pretty big deal. He was wrangled in to write the sequel to Susan Hill's The Woman in Black. So his addition is The Woman in Black: Angel of Death. He's also the author of the Joe Donovan crime series, the Stephen Larkin crime series, and as Tania Carver he writes the Brennan and Esposito series.

Martyn has also worked as an actor and he has narrated his Joe Donovan books. So if you want to experience a little of Martyn's sound, you can do so that way. But for now, I'm thrilled to share with your his responses for Five on Friday:

Martyn looks pretty happy here!

The TV show I absolutely can’t miss is Breaking Bad. It’s the best thing on TV. Acting, directing, writing, everything. Set design, costume, the lot. The nearest thing to a perfect piece of drama I’ve ever seen.

Happiness is something other people seem to have the knack of doing. I’m kind of melancholic by nature but I try to hide it well. I thought that being a published writer would make me happy. But every step on the journey just brought a new set of obstacles to climb over.

My favorite vegetable is parsnip. Do you have them in the States? I’m sure you do. Root vegetable, like a yellow carrot but beautiful when they’re honey roasted.

The fictional character that most reflects my personality is Batman. Not so much for the dressing up and hitting people, but more for the taking bad experiences and trying to turn them into something positive. Or at least chathartic.

The #1 item on my bucket list right now is get the next novel written. Very, very boring I know. But if I don’t get it written then I can’t come out to play. That’s it. I don’t actually have a bucket list. Honest. I know people want to swim with dolphins and all that but I’m not that way inclined. 

Well then, I'm off to find some parsnips. I hope you've enjoyed Martyn's contribution to our fun series. Thanks so much to Martyn for not throttling me for my persistence and for sharing with us today.

Hope you all have a super wonderful weekend. And I hope you have great books to keep you company. Ta-ta!

Dead Harvest - Chris F. Holm

First line: "Light spilled through the window of the pub as I watched them, casting patches of yellow across the darkened street but conveying no warmth."

Chris Holm's debut novel and the beginning of the Collector Trilogy is a stunning story of good versus evil. Taking the abstract ideas and giving them physical characteristics, he offers our three-dimensional world a peek into the fourth dimension--the spiritual dimension, full of angels and demons and...Collectors.

Sam Thornton is one of the Collectors. He collects souls of the damned, a job he sentenced himself to when he made a deal with the devil. His intentions were good, selfless even, but a deal with the devil is a deal with the devil and Sam pays the price for all eternity.

However, when Sam is called upon to collect the soul of a young girl he's certain is innocent, Sam can't bring himself to do it. No collector has ever refused an assignment before; there's no precedent for this behavior. So Sam and the girl find themselves on the run from human authorities and both sides of the hereafter. They have to somehow evade everyone, including immortal demons who can possess any human form, prove the girl is innocent and prevent a battle between Heaven and Hell.

Now I know what's going through your mind right now, "Jen read this?" Yes! And I loved it. It was extraordinary on several levels. A paranormal/sci-fi fan can read this book and enjoy the "living dead" aspect of it. Adventure fans can appreciate the constant action and impending doom. Suspense fans are sure to appreciate the twists around each corner. While I enjoyed all of these elements--and I'm now convinced some of my neighbors are demons--the level I devoured most was the symbolism. The battle between Good and Evil takes on a new appearance. The portrayal of angels and a loss of free will is daring and thought-provoking.

Building a new world, as one must do in paranormal writing, gives a writer some freedoms that realism doesn't allow. However, to maintain a credible new world, it has to have its own rules by which the writer is confined. An "anything goes" kind of approach will turn off most any literate reader. Holm has created a meticulous set of rules for his world that are marvelous. There's such beauty in the intricacy. Take for example this excerpt of Sam explaining the torture of eternity as a Collector:

"'This job--this curse--it feeds on that remorse, forcing you to relive the choices that delivered you to this fate every time you snuff out a life. Every time you tear free a soul, you see every joy, every disappointment, everything that brought that person to where you yourself once were. Every time, some small part of you relives that moment of collection, again and again, in perfect agonizing detail. With every soul you take, you're reminded of how beautiful life once was, and how you let it slip away.'"

Holm is the almighty Creator of this world he constructed. While it may not have come about in seven days, at the end, it WAS good!

Dead Harvest can also claim wonderfully rich characters scampering around in a complex and fast-moving plot. It's a visual story that thunders through the imagination.

If I was forced to come up with a weakness for the book, the best I could say is Holm likes the word "slick" (as in slippery) and he uses it often. That's honestly the best I could do because I absolutely loved his depiction of this other dimension, a world colliding unknowingly with our own. He convinced me it's there and I can't wait to read more!

Dead Harvest is available in paperback (ISBN: 9780857662187) from Angry Robot. There's also an unabridged audio version (ISBN: 9781455885336) from Brilliance Audio, narrated by Brian Vander Ark. I may have to take the next book for ride via audio to see if they did the trilogy justice!

The American Way of Poverty - Sasha Abramsky

I have a few Shelf Awareness reviews to catch up on as well as a slew of other reviews. So in an effort to make a dent in catching up, I'm posting my review of Sasha Abramsky's The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives which first appeared in Shelf Awareness on September 20th. Obviously it isn't a crime novel, but this is a topic I feel quite passionately about and want to share with you. I hope you'll take a minute to check it out.

First line: "Fifty years after the social critic Michael Harrington published his groundbreaking book The Other America, in which he chronicled the lives lived of those excluded from the Age of Affluence, poverty in America is back with a vengeance."

Using The Other America--Michael Harrington's 1962 look at poverty--as a model, freelance journalist Sasha Abramsky compiled research, interviews and observations that spotlight the continuing and deepening issue of poverty in the United States. Abramsky's approach is both heartbreaking in its look at the humans who are affected and inspiring in his explanations of how poverty can be addressed and improved.

In its first section, The American Way of Poverty brings readers face to face with the realities of those living below the poverty line. The numbers are increasing rapidly due to unemployment, skyrocketing health care costs, the housing crash and natural disasters. Abramsky debunks myths and shows that the political system works to hold people in a state of penury, driving many to lose hope entirely. He also discusses how poverty is intertwined into most major issues facing the U.S. today, from health care to education and immigration.

The second section offers realistic, proven approaches to alleviate the state of impoverishment in this country. Abramsky doesn't claim that poverty will be eradicated, but that it can be improved with the help of empathy, education and fair politics.

The American Way of Poverty is likely to cause fear--almost no one is exempt from unplanned disasters--but it is also likely to motivate: there are answers; this country can and should improve. Well researched and documented, Abramsky's eye-opening book should be required reading for all U.S. citizens.

The American Way of Poverty is available in hardcover (ISBN: 9781568587264) from Nation Books.

Five on Friday Returns - Julia Spencer-Fleming

We had a bit of a hiatus for Five on Friday, but as promised it is back! First a few things to mention.

Coming up in November is Murder and Mayhem in Muskego. As most of you know, I'll be interviewing Gregg Hurwitz on Saturday. But also on Friday night, I'll be the moderator/game show host of the Friday night panel. Last year's Friday night panel was well received and quite popular, so we have to try to measure up. I think we're up to the task, though. So, if you're in the Milwaukee, WI area (or even if you're not), I hope you'll come out and enjoy the fun!

Second, I have some contest winners to announce. The winners of Mark Sullivan's ROGUE are Jennifer P (who doesn't live far from me...hi Jennifer!) and Lynnette B. I'll be getting their books out in the mail ASAP.

I still have the final Bouchercon post coming up. I'm sorry for the delay. I promise it will be up next week plus a contest to win some loot from the conference, but I thought you'd prefer a new Five on Friday for today! And before I get to it, some contests to check out:

Criminal Element has a slew of contests to check out, including a Bouchercon Bundle. So be sure to check that out.

The folks at FridayReads have THEN WE TAKE BERLIN by John Lawton to give away this week.

And finally, in celebration of their anniversary, Kirkus has this pretty amazing contest going on. If you win, would you take me along?

O.k. now on to the good stuff! I only discovered Julia Spencer-Fleming's fabulous Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series a couple years ago, but she's been writing them since 2003 when In the Bleak Midwinter kicked off the series and took home almost every award possible. Next month the eighth book in the series, Through the Evil Days, picks up where Clare and Russ left off. I know a lot of fans of this series--including me--are anxious to see what's next for them.

Before that happens, Julia took time out to sit in the Five on Friday hot seat. So please help me welcome the extremely talented, the wonderfully fun, the extraordinarily charming Julia Spencer-Fleming:

The porch might be falling off the house, but Julia has plenty to read!

A skill I’ve always wanted to have, but don’t is: Knitting. My grandmother, who was a marvelous knitter, gave me lessons, so at one point I was adept enough to make scarves. My knitting tour de force was an authentic Tom Baker Dr. Who scarf, which I made in college. However, I dropped the hobby after that triumph and now I can't even remember how to cast on. I know, I know, all I have to do is take a class, but who can fit it in? Besides, I suspect I would need someone sitting by my side correcting my stitches for the first month (or three.)

If I won the lottery tomorrow the first thing I’d do: Redo my house. Oh, okay, pay off the kids' college tuition, but then I'd redo the house. I live in an almost-200 year-old farmhouse in the Maine countryside, which means every year, guaranteed, there's some five or six dollar job that needs to be done. Re-roofing. Re-plumbing. Painting the siding. Meanwhile, I'm thumbing through shelter magazines and following decorating blogs, dreaming of granite countertops, subway-tiled bathrooms with great walk-in showers, and built-in bookcases. If only we could throw some of the maintenance money that way... and then my husband comes in and announces one of the porches is about to collapse.

My biggest pet peeve is: People who drive too slow. My planning-to-get-somewhere process goes like this: Google maps says it will take me 45 minutes to reach the library where I'm speaking today. But I drive fast, so I'll only need 35 minutes! Needless to say, this only works in practice if everyone on the road is also driving ten miles over the speed limit. I have been known to wish for a pair of rocket-propelled grenade launchers on the grill of my car.

If I had to be stranded on a desert island with only one other person: it would be Nathan Fillion and a 20 gallon barrel of sunscreen. I know what you're thinking, but it's okay. My husband already knows about my special relationship with Mr. Fillion.

The #1 item on my bucket list right now is: Going on a cruise. Not one of those huge-ship cruises where you contract typhoid and Legionnare's Disease and the stomach flu. I want to cruise on a tall ship/windjammer/Windstar ship, skimming across the blue under full sail, dining with a small group of other wind-powered afficianados. If Nathan Fillion is aboard, so much the better – we'll be prepared when we run aground on a desert isle. 

Julia will be on book tour for Through the Evil Days, so you should take a look at her schedule and meet up with her if you're able. I'm sure her events are at least as entertaining as her Five on Friday...most likely even more since they last longer! And regardless of whether you can make an event or not, you can catch Julia in the usual social places: Facebook and Twitter. You can also find her blogging at Jungle Red Writers.

As always, friends, thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of great books. Happy Reading!