2014 Favorite Covers & First Lines

Well, it's hard to believe it, but it's that time of year again. Time to sum up the year in reading with my favorites lists. For those who may be new to the blog this year end, I have foregone the use of the term "best" because the connotation indicates there is a standard or rubric that makes the selection objective, when in reality all of these lists--no matter who they are compiled by--are completely subjective and dependent on the choosers' tastes and interests. So my lists are "favorite lists."

I had hoped to integrate some stats from what blog readers also liked this year, but the responses were too few to offer anything up in that realm. Maybe next year?

As for my favorites in the categories of covers and first lines, here are those that rocked my reading world for 2014:

FAVORITE COVERS

5.  A Better World (Marcus Sakey): I think you'll notice a running theme of simplicity in my favorite covers. In addition to A Better World's cover having a connection with the first in the trilogy, it screams a big meaning in a subtle use of art. The only thing that would have improved this cover is a more subtle use of the blurb--preferably moving it to the back cover.

4. Roosevelt's Beast (Louis Bayard): The rich layered approach of Bayard's writing is epitomized in the dimension of this cover. His atmosphere and setting are nailed.  The minimalistic use of color gives each hue strength in the overall arrangement. The font choice for the title builds the suspense before readers even crack the cover. And the wording is limited to the title and author--how wonderfully refreshing.

3. Conquest (John Connolly & Jennie Redyard): I absolutely love the use of shape and light in this cover. It exudes so many elements of the novel: the blending of cultures, the sci-fi genre, they mysterious and unknown, as well as the strong connection to basics of the planet. Again, I think the simplistic color scheme adds strength to each shade and highlight.

2. The Global War on Morris (Steve Israel): This is a very late entry for 2014. The book comes out tomorrow and you'll hear more about it after my review runs in Shelf Awareness, but this cover has a less subtle use of color which is perfect for this political satire. The stark contrast between the elements in this composition are bold and loud and funny, just like the points Israel makes inside the book.

1. The Intern's Handbook (Shane Kuhn): I listened to this audiobook for Audiofile Magazine and much like The Global War on Morris, the colors of this cover are minimal but they are bold and jump out at the viewer. The composition of the cover is brilliant and intricately tied to the plot. I can't help but love a cover that makes a concerted effort to accurately tie into the novel it's representing.  Kudos to Simon and Schuster on this beauty!

FAVORITE FIRST LINES:

5.  Talk by Michael Smerconish: "Fire, tits and sharks are TV gold."

4. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix: "It was dawn, and the zombies were stumbling through the parking lot, streaming toward the massive beige box at the far end."

3. Don't Look Back by Gregg Hurwitz: "Terror came as a vibration, a plucked-wire note more felt than heard, primary to the deadening heat, to the flick of unseen insects against her face, to the oppressive night humidity that pressed into her pores."

2. Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta: "On the last day of Jace Wilson's life, the thirteen-year-old stood on a quarry ledge staring at cool, still water and finally understood something his mother had told him years before: Trouble might come for you when you showed fear, but trouble doubled-down when you lied about it."

1. The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke: "The moose head was fixed to the wall, the microphone in its mouth was broken, but the camera in its left eye was working just fine, and as far as the moose head could see, this was just another Friday night in the Lumber Lodge!"

What covers and first lines tickled your fancy this year? Share with us in the comments, we'd love to know. Tomorrow I'll have my favorite debuts and favorite audiobooks for 2014. See you then!

My Life According to Books

Welcome to today's Thankfully Reading Weekend mini-challenge. This is a meme I have done for the past several years, thanks to my friend Pop Culture Nerd. This year I collaborated with her to come up with the sentence starters and we're sharing it with you for this mini-challenge.

For those who haven't heard of this fun activity before, I'm going to give you the beginnings to ten sentences. You complete the sentences with book titles from books you've read this year. They don't have to be books that were published this year, just books you read this year.

You can see Pop Culture Nerd's responses here. And the responses I gave for previous years include last year, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009 (yes, I obviously enjoy this--I hope you do, too).

So now on to this year's feature:

1. Black Friday makes me: Roosevelt's Beast (Louis Bayard)

2. If you post racists comments on Facebook, I: (flip) The Kill Switch (James Rollins & Grant Blackwood)

3. In my ID photo, I look like: (I belong in) Morgue Drawer 4 (Jutta Profijt)

4. If someone interrupts my reading, I: Think Like a Freak (Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner)

5. When I read/watch the news I: (become an) Angry Optimist (Lisa Rogak)

6. The last time I (we) visited the zoo, I (we): (were) The Happiest People in the World (Brock Clarke)

7. If I were a Supreme Court justice, I would: (dole out) Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson)

8. Absolutely nothing compares to: Adventures in the Anthropocene (Gaia Vince)

9. Best advice my mom gave me was: Don't Look Back (Gregg Hurwitz)

10. My hope for 2015 is: A Better World (Marcus Sakey)

O.k. what do you think? Ready to take a shot at it? You can post to your blog or leave a comment with your responses. If you post to your blog, be sure to come back and leave us a link so we can come see your responses! It's so much fun to see what everyone comes up with for these.

A Better World - Marcus Sakey

First line: "Cold liquid splashing across his face brought Kevin Temple back to himself."

Last year Marcus Sakey rocked my reading experience with his book Brilliance. This year the follow-up, A Better World, continues the exploration of a world filled with "brilliants"--the percentage of the population that are born with an extreme abilities in a specific area. Some brilliants are good with numbers, some with art, others with organization. In the case of Nick Cooper his gift lies in the realm of pattern identification.

In book two, Nick is serving as an advisor to the President of the United States when a domestic terrorist group of extremist brilliants takes control of three major U.S. cities in retaliation for legislation passed to limit the rights of brilliants. They are cutting off the cities' supplies by assassinating the truckers bringing food and necessities. Soon the grocery store shelves are empty, power is going down and people are resorting to violence.

The Secretary of Defense is prepared to declare war on the entire brilliant population in order to stop the terrorists. Nick has an alternate solution, but can he make it happen and can he do it before a new era of civil war erupts?

Sakey's world building skills are as adept as his ability to construct heart-pounding thrillers. The seamless way he has merged the reality of the present with his not-so-hard-to-fathom science fictional world will make readers do a double take of their own environments. They may also start stock-piling canned goods in their basements and pantries.

The action of the plot is constant, intense and fast-paced. The characters are meticulously developed and absolutely fascinating. A brilliant assassin out to kill Nick has such a wildly terrifying ability, I found myself thinking, "how does Sakey come up with this stuff?!?"

With Brilliance, it's far more than the exciting plot ride or the grand characters. My love of the book goes beyond the incredible world. What makes Brilliance a book I feel could be the next American classic is the mix of these things with the forceful undertones of universal themes like tolerance and war and advancement/technology and utopia. A Better World falls right into that same path, building on those ideas, furthering the world, exploring the characters more deeply, and of course, rocking the action. The richness of the layers that make up this series gives everyone something to enjoy. And it's a series to re-read because that same richness ensures you aren't going to get it all the first time around. There are more delicious treasures to uncover with each subsequent read.

In addition to the grand story, A Better World is peppered with sign art, which works to yank the fictional world firmly into the reader's reality. Each sign is distinct and unique. The one shown here is hand drawn and opens Chapter 14. It's a sign hanging in the Army-Navy surplus store window:

While you can read A Better World without having experienced Brilliance, I wouldn't recommend it. This is a closely knit saga and understanding the story in its entirety makes the reading experience that much more powerful. You've heard the term "earworm"? Well Marcus Sakey's Brilliance series is a brain worm. And once it works its way into your thoughts, you'll find yourself thinking and looking at everything in a whole new light. It doesn't go away quietly. But then again, you won't want it to.

If you haven't picked up your own copy of A Better World, yet, here's a short excerpt you can check out.

A Better World is available in trade paperback (ISBN: 978-1477823941) from Thomas & Mercer. It's also available as an unabridged audio (ISBN: 978-1491525272), narrated by Luke Daniels, from (appropriately) Brilliance Audio.

The 2014 Mid-point Post

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that tomorrow is the first day of July! Where has this year gone? I guess I've been so busy reading that the days have gotten away from me. ;-)

So, I thought I'd do a mid-point rundown of my reading so far and then you all can share with me some of your favorite reads and numbers of books etc.

To date I've read 51 books by 51 different authors.
19 of those were written by women, 1 was written by a male/female writing team and the remaining 30 by men.
14 are unabridged audiobooks.
8 are debut novels.
31 are books written by authors I've never read before this year.
And 5 are non-fiction.

That's the lowdown on stats. Now, the fun part. The books at this point in the year that will be considered for my favorites list in December (in the order in which I read them):

The Stolen Ones by Richard Montanari
Roosevelt's Beast by Louis Bayard
The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley
Talk by Michael Smerconish
The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn
Any Other Name by Craig Johnson
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A Brand New World by Marcus Sakey
All Day and a Night by Alafair Burke

There are ten titles here, so obviously they won't all be on the final list--unless the second half of the year is really bad, but don't count on it--just consider this my mid-year favorites list. The titles linked above will go to my reviews. The remainder of the reviews are forthcoming.

So, your turn. What's knocked your socks off so far this year?

2013 Favorite Reads!

My favorites list always get to be challenging posts because there are definite books or audiobooks that MUST be on the list and then there are some that are very good and I'd like to be on the list, only I need to stick to my cut-off point, so I go back and forth about which is actually the best to appear on the list...and so many things can factor into that final choice. If I read it longer ago, do I remember exactly how it made me feel when I finished? Or am I remembering that better for the more recent books? And as I was mentioning with a friend last week, what I read before that book could impact my reaction to it as well. So, the point of my babbling here is just that this is always a challenge for me. I've read many many good books this year, and I'm so thankful for all of them.

But when I put myself to the task, here are my favorite 10 of 2013 (the titles link to my reviews if you want to see what I had to say when I reviewed them):

EVIL IN ALL ITS DISGUISES (Hilary Davidson) -  Davidson has a keen talent for atmosphere. Between the exotic locales of her settings and the eerie, suspense of the plots, readers are enveloped by the story. Evil in All Its Disguises is Davidson's third entry in her Lily Moore series and her strongest to date. She simply continues to exceed expectations in every aspect of the crime novel and the experience of reading her is unforgettable. Forge, March 2013

SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT (Craig Johnson) - The novella that started out as a short story is a heartwarming holiday tale featuring one of my absolute favorite residents of Absaroka County, Lucian Connolly. Spirit of Steamboat is all of Johnson's great writing qualities packed into a pint-size book: humor, suspense, sense of time and place, amazing characters speaking sharp dialogue, and a sense of connection. Reading Spirit of Steamboat you feel as though these people are your friends,  your neighbors, your family, so you can't help but relate and identify with them. This is a gem to add to the fabulous Walt Longmire canon. Viking, October 2013

SUSPECT (Robert Crais) - I've long held that L.A. Requiem is my favorite Crais book. But this year, Suspect usurped it. LAR is still my favorite Elvis/Joe book, but Suspect is evidence that Crais strives to be a better writer with every book. His portrayal of both man and dog suffering PTSD is intimate and stunning. The relationship he creates between man and dog is beautifully heart-wrenching. This is simply an incredible book.  Putnam, January 2013

IF YOU WERE HERE (Alafair Burke) - I mentioned last week that I thought the cover for this book was the best of all Burke's covers to date. I also think this is her best BOOK to date.  She's stretching her writing chops and it's paying off in spades. The complexity of her plot and the richness of her characters made this a fast-paced, exciting read.  Harper, June 2013

THE TILTED WORLD (Tom Franklin & Beth Ann Fennelly) - Lyrically beautiful and frightful at the same time. Franklin and Fennelly show no obvious signs of two different writers contributing to this incredible story. The dialogue, characters, atmosphere, tone, it's all pitch perfect. To read The Titled World and not get lost in the story is unthinkable to me. It also brings to light a period we've all but forgotten as well as a segment of the population we never remembered to begin with. William Morrow, October 2013

THE BROKEN PLACES (Ace Atkins) - With each new installment to this series, I love it more and more. Atkins' integration of the storm infused the story with energy and suspense. His depiction of the Southern small town brings out all the splendor of setting and people--both good and bad, but never over-simplified. Quinn's haunted soul is much more than the loner trope of crime novels. He's a dynamic character with layers that Atkins is carefully pealing away with each novel. And the supporting cast of the series is just as distinct and authentic. Putnam, May 2013

TELL NO LIES (Gregg Hurwitz) - I mentioned yesterday that with the discovery of new authors each year, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with them all. Gregg Hurwitz is one I never miss because each book is amazing and each one seems to top the one before it. TELL NO LIES took Hurwitz to new levels of great. His pacing, plot twists, relationships, ethical scenarios and social issues are stronger than ever. Delving into the psychological in this novel, Hurwitz created a one-sitting read. St. Martin's Press, August 2013

THE AMERICAN WAY OF POVERTY (Sasha Abramsky) - O.k. this one isn't crime fiction, but it is one of my favorite reads this year. We all have preconceived notions about poverty and U.S. programs for the poor. Many are faulty notions at best. The American Way of Poverty illuminates the reality through statistics, anecdotes and policy definitions. So many of the ailments of our country are all tied in together: education, health care, poverty, crime...The reality is disheartening but the potential for changes is inspiring. And since education is the first step to change, this book is a definite must-read for any and all Americans. It's motivating and empowering. Challenge yourselves! Nation Books, September 2013

BEAUTIFULLY UNIQUE SPARKLEPONIES (Chris Kluwe) - The other non-crime novel on my list. This book is smart, funny, inspiring and genuine. Kluwe's overall message through the collection of essays, letters, blog posts, etc., is empathy...the Golden Rule. I don't think there's enough emphasis on that mindset these days. It's all "me, me, me." Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies can be blunt and direct, but Kluwe's passion is never questionable. It's refreshing to see a young man in his position in society take an articulate stand in this way. I simply can't stop recommending this one to people. Little, Brown and Co., June 2013

BRILLIANCE (Marcus Sakey) - Can I just do the "OMG, this book is wonderful!" line? It truly is. This was the book that ruined the books I read after it. Nothing could compare. Brilliance is a mix of literary, sci-fiction, crime. The whole concept of the book is fascinating, but in Sakey's able hands, it became extraordinary. I can absolutely see this being The Brave New World of our generation. Ringing in at 500 pages, I couldn't believe how fast the end came...too fast. If you've yet to read this book, GET. IT. NOW. Thomas & Mercer, July 2013

And that my friends is my round-up of my favorite reads of 2013. Now how about you? What made your lists this year? What are the books you've most recommended to others? And what are you most looking forward to in 2014? For me, I'm looking forward to sharing great books with you another year. To, hopefully, trying some new things on the blog and discovering more new authors and celebrating a love of reading and books. Thanks for being along for the ride this year.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

Kicking off the year-end favorites

It's that time of year when I reflect back on the books I've read and put together lists of my favorites. I'll start with a little recap of my reading stats for you. I'm hoping to fit another one or two books in before we ring out the year next week, but they will be 2014 publications, so I feel ready to run down my favorites at this point.

So at this point I've read 98 books. A smaller percentage of that number were audiobooks this year: only 30. The 98 books were written by 92 different authors, and 65 of those authors were new to me this year.  I read 21 debut novels (3 debuted earlier than 2013).

I wish I could double those numbers, but alas, I simply don't read that fast. And while I wish I could read more of the books that come out, I don't ever want reading to turn into a chore for me. I read at a pace that allows me to absorb and enjoy my books. I'm happy with that.

Now onto our first look at favorites - favorite book covers.

I've discovered that I'm not a fan of commercial book covers. In other words, I don't like what sells. I prefer covers that elicit something from me. I love covers that have strong meaning and connect well with the books they are wrapped around. So, you may find my choices a little odd...that's just me, a little odd! And just a little side note, these are only covers from those books I read this year. I know there are fabulous covers out there I haven't seen or picked up yet as well...

If You Were Here - Alafair Burke

I love all of Alafair Burke's books, but this is by far my favorite of her covers. I'm often drawn to colors that are not black, white or red because those are so dominant in the crime fiction genre. But this cover's simplicity conveys a lot of meaning connected to the book. This is definitely a gold star book cover.

The Broken Places - Ace Atkins

While the use of the car mirror isn't a new one, I find the use in this cover especially strong given the role of the storm in the book. There's a great deal of atmosphere created in this cover without bogging it down with a lot of insignificant and busy detail.

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

I'm finishing up the 26-disc audio of this one right now. Again, I like the simple design. I like the sense of depth--inviting you to look inside, the appearance of texture and the font--among my all-time favorite fonts. There's an overall aura of something hidden and mysterious behind the paper. This cover does a lot with little.

Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies - Chris Kluwe

Maybe it's because I see so many dark and melancholy covers in the crime fiction genre, but I just can't help smiling when I see this cover. It has such a sense of whimsey to it. The contrast between the big male football star and the carousel horse is striking. This is a beautifully unique book and I think the artists came up with a beautifully unique cover.

Brilliance - Marcus Sakey

As with Alafair Burke's work, I thoroughly enjoy all of Marcus Sakey's work. And likewise, I feel the cover for Brilliance is his best cover yet. The depth perception, the use of light and shadows, it's all such a strong image. I love the way they've positioned the title and Marcus' name. Had they moved the blurb to the back cover or made it A LOT less prominent I'd say this cover is perfect.

Today's post will be a twofer: two favorites lists for the price of one (since they are both short). My next list is my five favorite first lines from 2013. First lines from any book I read this year, whether published in 2013 or earlier were considered for this list. I think these mostly speak for themselves, so here you go:


From Dead Harvest (Chris F. Holm): "Light spilled through the window of the pub as I watched them, casting patches of yellow across the darkened street but conveying no warmth."

From Gun Machine (Warren Ellis): "On playing back the 911 recording, it'd seem that Mrs. Stegman was more concerned that the man outside her apartment door was naked than that he had a big shotgun."

From A Quiet Vendetta (R.J. Ellory): "Through mean streets, through smoky alleyways where the pungent smell of raw liquor hangs like the ghost of some long-gone summer; on past these battered frontages where plaster chips and twists of dirty paint in Mardi Gras colors lean out like broken teeth and fall leaves; passing the dregs of humanity who gather here and there amongst brown-papered bottles and steel-drum fires, serving to tap the vein of meager human prosperity where it spills, through good humor or diesel wine, onto the sidewalks of this district... Chalmette, here within the boundaries of New Orleans."

From The Titled World (Tom Franklin & Beth Ann Fennelly): "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."

From Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies (Chris Kluwe): "I've decided to call my own mind." (Note: since this is a series of essays and articles, this is only the first line to the first essay. Virtually every first line for each entry in the book is worthy of appearing on this list.)

There you have it! My five favorite covers and my five favorite first lines from books I read this year. How about you? What were standouts for you in these categories?

Murder & Mayhem in Muskego - Part 2

Saturday is the main part of the Murder & Mayhem conference. This year's line-up of authors was another doozy so the entire day was filled with crime fiction goodness.

There was some kind of accident or something on the highway, so Judy Bobalik and I had to take the back roads route to the library and I was doing a slight panic on the way because this was the first year my duties were in the morning. Holy cow if I was late I'd have been mortified. But  no sweat, we made it in plenty of time for me to see a little bit of Bryan's first gig as panel moderator!

He led Marcus Sakey, Alex Segura, Sean Doolittle and Kieran Shea in a panel called "Flip the Switch." Bryan's last question to everyone was, "what would your last meal be?"

Pie!

And next came my interview with Gregg Hurwitz. What fun and how animated Gregg is. I've said many times, Gregg is simply a natural-born storyteller. He spoke about the beginning of his interest in writing, his research, his work on scriptwriting and of course his new book TELL NO LIES. By the way, I'm absolutely mortified to realize I never posted my review of the book here. I reviewed it for Shelf but wanted to add to the review...so I promise I will get that for you all. In the mean time, I have video of the interview if you care to watch. This year I managed to stay in the chair and Gregg even got me to blush at one point. It's the full interview, so give yourself some time and I hope you enjoy. Also a special shout out to my wonderful friend Larry who handled the activation of the video camera for this one. Thanks Larry!


Following our interview, Kate Malmon took the moderator's reigns to lead Duane Swierczynski, Howard Chaykin, Dana Cameron, Chris Holm and Harry Hunsicker in the "Riff Raff" panel. It started off in riff raff fashion with a phone interruption for Howard.

Sadly, Chris was not telling his bug story here.

Following lunch the noirish-types took the stage for the "Back in Black" panel led by Tim Hennessey and featuring Frank Wheeler, Megan Abbott, Reed Farrel Coleman, Frank Bill, Jedidiah Ayres, and Hilary Davidson. In the picture you'll notice Reed and Frank Bill in their matching hats. I would love to say those are for my Elyria alma mater, but in fact they were a "hat tip" to Rod Wiethop a prominent member of the crime fiction community who has had a stellar year with his sports teams at Effingham High School (hopefully I spelled that correctly).

Frank looks guilty and Megan looks livid - not sure how I managed the timing on this shot.

The rest of the panel is watching to see if a fight breaks out. Noir panels...whatdaya expect?

The rowdy group was up next. Katrina Holm moderated "Sink the Pink." Julie Hyzy dressed accordingly for this panel. Gregg, the Shakespeare "dilettante" and Dan O'Shea who has Shakespeare as his protagonist made for a interesting couple on this panel. Joelle Charbonneau talked about the differences in writing cozies and writing YA. And Tom Schreck, as usual, was the hit of the panel.

Tom's question was "Things that make you go hmmmm."

Even though the panel was "sink the pink" Julie stayed completely dry.

Gregg appears to be very confused. Could it be because of Dan's jacket?

The highlight of my day, second of course to interviewing Gregg, was watching Michael Koryta and Marcia Clark in conversation. They are funny, intelligent and great writers. The stories they shared were captivating. After almost 6 years now, I still haven't lost my interest and fascination in listening to great authors tell stories.

Who looks scary and prosecutorial? "Me. I do." Marcia intimidated Michael before he first met her.

Two wonderfully talented writers. An exceptional session at M&M.

I have to end with an apology because the final session of the day was William Kent Krueger's interview by Libby Fischer Hellmann. I didn't get any snaps of that session, but Kent started off the discussion with a grand praise of libraries and friends of libraries organizations.  A fitting way to cap the day held in a fantastic library.

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to regularly attend this fabulous event for the last five years now. It's exceptional. If you have the chance to experience it, I encourage you to DO IT!!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of this post; hope you enjoyed it. Happy Reading friends!

Brilliance - Marcus Sakey

First line: "(Excerpted from the New York Times, The Opinion Pages, December 12, 1986) Lately much has been made of Dr. Eugene Bryce and his study of the so-called "brilliants," that percentage of children born since 1980 with exceptional abilities."

Take a dash of Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, mix a pinch of Huxley's Brave New World and mix thoroughly with Marcus Sakey's distinct voice, view and style and you'll come out with the hauntingly wonderful beginning of a trilogy.

Sakey blurs the genre lines of science fiction and crime fiction in the story of Nick Cooper, an agent with the Department of Analysis and Response (DAR). The government agency was created as a reaction to the proliferation of children born with "exceptional abilities," a.k.a. "brilliants," a.k.a. "abnorms," a.k.a. "twists." One such individual shut down the entire stock exchange because of his ability with numbers and data. But all brilliants don't have the same talents or the same level of talents.

Nick Cooper is an oddity in the DAR. He is a level one brilliant. He's gifted with pattern identification, and his job is to investigate other brilliants, prevent them from wreaking havoc on the world. Number one on the DAR's most wanted list is John Smith, a vigilante brilliant responsible for numerous violent attacks and many deaths. Smith repeatedly slips through Cooper's hands, so when a bomb explodes in the newly opened Stock Exchange, killing over 1100 people and terrifying the country, Cooper sees this as his opportunity to go rogue and infiltrate Smith's organization.

As Cooper learns more and more about the world of the brilliants--a world he's been on the outside of despite his own classification--and as he moves closer to John Smith, the ideals he's held so highly all of his life begin to lose their strength. Differentiating between the good guys and the bad guys is becoming impossible and Cooper knows he can never return to the life he once knew. His only option is to go forward and forge a new path, but first he has to fight for his life.

If you listen to parents of young children, they all want their children to be exceptional. "Mikey is so smart, he can..." "The other day Jane did....she's going to be famous some day, I just know it." Marcus Sakey has taken that parental dream and run with it, much the way Aldous Huxley did in his utopian Brave New World. What if these children were all brilliant. Would everything be wonderful? What if we're being too short-sighted and overlooking terrible things that could result?

Present social issues also poke their heads up symbolically throughout Brilliance, and Sakey forces his readers to take note of their own behaviors as they compare with what's going on in the novel:

"It wouldn't be long before it got out that the bombing was John Smith's work. And in America's overwrought state, most people wouldn't make the distinction between abnorms and abnorm terrorists."

While Brilliance is a brave new world for Sakey, it also retains many elements of his trademark style. The imagery in his writing is vivid, tattooing scenes and characters into readers' minds:

"Cooper walked, slow and steady, four-four time in a world gone off measure."

"We're lifeguards at the gene pool."

His humor seeps in at surprisingly wonderful times:

"'God?'
'The view from on high is divine, my son.' Behind the voice came the buzz of rotors. At the elevation the airship was flying, it was nothing but a darker gray spot against a bright gray sky. 'God is good.'
Cooper smiled and pressed the transmit button. 'Peace be with you.'
'And also with you. But woe betide the sorry shitbird who tries to run, lest we hurl a thunderbolt.'
'Amen.'"

And most of all, Sakey continues to write engaging stories. Brilliance is timeless and may very well be the next American classic. It is ambitious, intense and thought-provoking. Weighing in at almost 500 pages, it flew by and I wasn't ready for it to end. The saving grace came in the last line (don't worry, it isn't a spoiler): "END OF BOOK ONE." So I'll end with, "OMG I can't wait for Book Two!"

Brilliance is available from Thomas & Mercer in paperback (ISBN: 9781611099690) and fittingly enough from Brilliance Audio as an unabridged audiobook (ISBN: 9781480504639), narrated by Luke Daniels.

Five on Friday - Marcus Sakey

Wow! It's Friday again. That week seemed to fly by, didn't it? And here we are past the mid-point of July. Yee gads!

So the hot topic this week was J.K. Rowling writing a crime novel under a pseudonym. I'm still trying to figure out why all the fuss. I mean, we don't have enough to worry about, we have to act silly about something like that? Good gracious!

I say we should talk about contests instead. Yes?

Here's one for the Faye Kellerman fans.

I think I have to enter this week's Friday Reads contest! They have James Lee Burke's new book THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD and Lisa Lutz's newest Spellman book THE LAST WORD.

Criminal Element has a chance for you to win a copy of David Gordon's MYSTERY GIRL. 

And last but never least, Lesa Holstine has an Ann Cleeves giveaway this week.  Remember Lesa's contest run each week until Friday at 6 Central, so don't lollygag if you want in on this week's contest!

As you can probably tell, I'm rushing to get to today's Five on Friday guest. I'm so excited to have Marcus Sakey back on the blog and more importantly, I'm so thrilled to be reading his new book right now. BRILLIANCE came out this past Tuesday and I'm completely engrossed in it right now. You'll definitely hear more about it next week.

For the veterans here on the blog, you've heard me singing Marcus' praises for years. His writing is incredible; he knows how to thrill his audience. He also likes to thrill himself with grand adventures and daring stunts so I'm looking forward to his bucket list answer. Marcus has a great sense of humor and is a terribly nice guy to boot. So please help me welcome one of crime fiction's true gems, Mr. Marcus Sakey!

1. If I could tell my 16-year-old self one piece of advice, knowing what I know now, it would be: Cut your hair. You look ridiculous.

2. One thing I have no tolerance for is being cut off. It drives me insane when people think they know where I’m going with a sentence. Even if you’re right, for chrissakes, a little courtesy.

3. A skill I’ve always wanted to have, but don’t is dancing. I love music, and man oh man would I love to be able to move to it. But I look like an epileptic squirrel on the dance floor. Mind you, that doesn’t stop me.

4. When I’m feeling under the weather, I order Thai food, cover it with Indian Ghost Peppers, close the curtains, and watch sci-fi. Nothing like sweating and gasping and sucking down water in the dark as I watch Firefly for the 179th time.

5. The #1 item on my bucket list right now is to teach my daughter to climb. She’s only sixteen months old, but she’s already got a knack for it, and scales every surface in reach.

Marcus' next trip up Mt. Ranier will be with 'lil Sakey tagging close behind. Or who knows, she may surpass him.  And I do think this is a daring bucket list item because if anything should happen to Little Miss Sakey, I'm pretty sure Marcus' wife will inflict stunning pain on him.

Many thanks to Marcus. He's an individual always on the go, always busy, so I thrilled he could find some time for Five on Friday. And I hate to post and run, but I have to get back to BRILLIANCE, y'all! Have a super weekend and happy reading!

Top 10 Things I Learned at Murder & Mayhem in Muskego 2012

As you already know, last weekend was Murder and Mayhem in Muskego. I have to admit that this was the best one yet since I've been attending. You know about my interview with Robert Crais. If you had problems viewing it here on the blog (some did), I broke it in two shorter segments and posted those on the Facebook page. So hopefully that will work better for folks who had problems.

And by the way, the Facebook page is an open page, so even if you haven't liked the page...or if you don't have a Facebook account...you should still be able to access the page and see the video if you want.

But believe it or not, other stuff happened at M&M this weekend! So here is my minor recap of a weekend full of wonderfulness.

The Top Ten Things I Learned at Murder & Mayhem in Muskego, 2012

10. Daniel Palmer thinks writing is like a boiling cauldron and his favorite character (that is not of his own creation) is Jaws. His least favorite character--not his own--is also Jaws. This man is hysterical; if you've never met him in person, remedy that at your earliest convenience.

9. Craig McDonald says the Prologue is the over-used device he likes the least. Down with the prologue!

8. Lisa Lutz once (unknowingly) told a New York Times bestselling author that his mother was a major pain!

7. Chris Holm can not start writing a story without a title. To date he has been fortunate. The titles he's picked for his books have stuck, no publishing changes there.

6. Brad Parks knows a lot about fracking--actually I learned that one at lunch on Friday, but still...

5. Marcus Sakey is making a new television show. It won't be Hidden City, but a similar concept for the Travel Channel. 

4. Lou Berney is ambidextrous....and smart....and funny...and talented...and kind...and...

3. Jeff Lindsey has some very scary fans, and his minister likes to sermonize about Dexter!

2. Most of the panelists with Ayo Onatade didn't want to fess up to a character they didn't like (that wasn't their own) but John Lutz had no problems proclaiming Susan Silverman...with the caveat that he loved the Spenser books.

1. George Pelecanos is even more amazing than I thought he was last week!

I wanted to save this last one to the end of my list because there are several things I want to share with you. You may know them already, but this was my first chance to meet George Pelecanos and I can't even put into words how in awe I was. And he's not the kind of person who makes you feel uncomfortable or like you need to bow down and kiss his ring. He's down to earth, funny, kind, generous...and oh my goodness so smart.

If you followed my tweets during the interview with George, you already know that he will be working as an executive producer (as will Dennis Lehane) for Boardwalk Empire following the end of Treme. He also has the sequel to THE CUT coming out next year and it's called THE DOUBLE.

But I just have to tell you how this man won my heart in his interview. I don't even remember what the actual question was that brought this up, but he told the audience that he was acutely aware of the fact that he would leave a nice job, drive in his nice car to his nice house and live a comfortable life as a result of his writing about people far less privileged than he. So, he felt a need to give back. He's doing that through writing and reading programs in urban schools and prisons. One of the most incredible statements he made was, "If you give a kid in prison a book, that's how he escapes the cell."

Each year this one-day conference reminds me of the power of the story...the inspiration, the friendships, the fulfillment, the fun. The world always looks a little brighter after this conference for me. I highly recommend making an honest effort to attend it at some point. Save your pennies, plan your vacation, and get here. You won't regret it!

I'm going to leave you today with the other video I recorded this weekend. This is the panel I moderated Friday night...really I just pointed to people and said, "you share your story now." The panelists did the hard part--and they did it well. I apologize profusely. I thought I had the camera set up to get all the panelists, but poor Marcus got cut off. He's off to the left of the screen, but you can hear him when he talks. A couple times he leans into the picture. I hope you enjoy the show!

2011 Overall Favorite Reads

Wow! We've come to the end of yet another year. Next month I will celebrate four years of blogging. Doesn't seem possible at all. A lot of growing and changing have happened in those years. A lot of new friends and of course a lot of books! I love that we can share that common bond.

But, before I start getting too sentimental, let's concentrate on 2011. This year I read 98 books, which was four below last year's total of 102. I try to aim for 100 each year, but given all the wonderful busy-ness of this year, I'm not at all disappointed in that total.

Of the 98 books, 47 were audiobooks - so almost half.

There were 83 different authors in the 98 book mix, 51 were new-to-me authors and 14 were debut novels. 65 books were written by men, 3 were written by male/female duos and 30 were written by women.

Now for the hard part. Winnowing down my favorite 10, but here we go:

10. THE HANGING TREE (Bryan Gruley) - this book was released in Summer 2010, so I was a little late in reading it, but Gruley blows me away with each book and I'm very much looking forward to his next book in this series, SKELETON BOX, that comes out next summer. I won't be waiting long to read that one, rest assured. STARVATION LAKE was great and THE HANGING TREE was even better. Can't wait to see what awaits Gus next. (Touchstone)

9. EL GAVILAN (Craig McDonald) - Craig consistently writes great fiction and with EL GAVILAN he stretched his wings a bit. I love that this book shows both his versatility as a writer and his traditional strengths as well. I love that he drew me in with characters I couldn't decide if I loved or hated. (Tyrus Books)

8. LONG GONE (Alafair Burke) - with every book Alafair Burke grows as a story teller and in LONG GONE she veered off the path she's been so successful with to date. She blazed a new trail proving yet again that she's got writing chops, y'all! Spending time with her characters in the NYC she so expertly creates is a treat. LONG GONE is possible the sweetest treat yet. (Harper)

7. DOMINANCE (Will Lavender) - WATCH. THIS. MAN. He is flat-out amazing. And he's young and with luck we will be seeing a lot more from him. DOMINANCE is complex and puzzling and mysterious and brilliant. This book was so much fun to read. And Will Lavender is a new-to-me author this year. DOMINANCE is his second novel. (Simon & Schuster)

6. SATORI (Don Winslow) - the very first book I read in 2011 and back then I said, "this will be on my favorites list" and it is. I loved SATORI as a book by itself, having not read SHIBUMI beforehand. After I read SHIBUMI I realized further how astounding SATORI is. Winslow managed to stay true to Travanian's characters and still infuse his own style and technique. SATORI is a work of art. (Grand Central)

5. THE SURROGATE/CAGE OF BONES (Tania Carver) - I'm putting these together, not trying to cheat, but CAGE OF BONES is not yet released in the U.S. I read both books this year, THE SURROGATE being the debut novel from Tania Carver - which is the writing team of Martyn Waites and his wife, Linda. Martyn writes independently under his own name as well, so it's not really his debut, but semantics. Like Bryan Gruley, I see the Tania Carver books as starting out great and only getting better. For those of you who like dark suspense, this is an absolute DO NOT MISS series. I'm hooked. I have to jump back and read THE CREEPER (due out in the US in 2012) - the middle book in the series - but once I'm all caught up this is definitely a series I'll be waiting impatiently for each new installment. Martyn's just thankful that he's across the pond so I can't camp outside his house waiting for the next book! ;-) (Pegasus)

4. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES (Marcus Sakey) - The fact that I get to be a high-powered, kick-ass lawyer in this book has nothing to do with it's appearance on this list. And you should not hold Marcus' questionable choice in character names against him. This is the most amazing of his books. It's smart, fast-paced, brilliant plot twists. It keeps you on your toes and while the momentum of the book drives you to turn pages faster and faster, you don't want it to end. It's just too much fun. And that's what reading should be. (Dutton)

3. HELL IS EMPTY (Craig Johnson) - Yes indeed, I am an evangelist for this series. I do indeed have a crush on Walt Longmire. And if I didn't adore Vic so much, I'd want to kick her butt! O.k., don't worry, I do realize these are fictional characters, but when you're caught up in the books, they're friends. Breaking open a new Walt Longmire is like taking a vacation to my favorite destination. Prior to HELL IS EMPTY, KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED stayed my favorite, stayed my favorite, stayed my favorite and then HELL IS EMPTY rocked my reading world. There are so many wonderful layers to this book and you can enjoy one, some or all. (Viking)

2. YOU'RE NEXT (Gregg Hurwitz) - This book is always the hardest one for me to articulate why I love. Not because it's for bad reasons but rather because it affected me so deeply. This is a book that still resonates with me months after finishing it. The relationships that Hurwitz created between his characters are pulchritudinous (yes, I did learn that word just for this book...nothing else seemed to embrace the magnitude of what I was trying to say). I don't know how Gregg can tops this one, and how the heck can I top pulchritudinous if he does? (St. Martins)

1. THE RIDGE (Michael Koryta) - I, of course, revealed this last week in the year end meme. Michael's approach to both his human and feline characters is stunning. The world he created is dark and haunting, but I so wanted to be there. THE RIDGE gets the top spot this year because Koryta did what few are ever able to with me - he enticed me to let go of the reality I cling to and willingly follow into his. With any luck, Koryta will never want to be a cult leader. I think I'm a goner if he does. (Little, Brown)

In year's past, I've had debut authors in my top favorite 10. This year I didn't, but not because there weren't excellent debut authors, those danged veterans were just showing their experience! Anyway, I wanted to recognize a few debut authors as my favorites for 2011:

Sara Henry released LEARNING TO SWIM this year. I look forward to watching her grow as a writer and experiencing her work.

James Barney released THE GENESIS KEY which I felt did a wonderful job blending science, religion and crime! (Harper)

And Daniel Palmer released DELIRIOUS and I was glued to it. I've actually had the chance to read his follow-up to DELIRIOUS which is still a thriller, but quite different in content, so I can already see his versatility as writer in this genre. Problem with getting to read those ahead is you have to wait longer for the next one to come. I'm sure I can keep busy in the interim, though! (Kensington)

I feel very blessed that I learned to love reading and can appreciate the wonder and magnificence. While it's a challenge to narrow down a list to 10 favorites, it's also a tremendous gift to have experienced all of these worlds and characters - friends. My heartfelt thanks go out to all the authors who have shared their talents.

And many, many thanks to everyone who has entrusted me with books this year. I wish I was able to read every last one. And there are so many that I still intend to read. As things continue to change in my world, I hope that it offers me more opportunity to read and share and enjoy books with you all.

Thanks for hanging out with me this year! Let's do it again in 2012, o.k?