The scorching hot days of June gave way to very mild and pleasant days in July
(what a switch!). Add to that regular rainfalls and my veggie garden is growing
by leaps and bounds. Instead of doing a lot of reading in July, I was busy
picking produce and then canning tomatoes, green beans and pickle relish, as
well as freezing a lot of sweet corn. Yes, I’m a country girl married to a
country boy, living in the country (but not too far from the city), so we don’t
mind (too much!) the hard work involved, especially when it means such
wonderful food to enjoy in the winter.
I did make time to read several books for reviewing purposes, but nothing from
my TBR shelves, so no personal recommendations this time. However, there are a
lot of great books coming out this month, so here’s a sample of some to watch
for:
August 4, 2009:
The hilarious antics of Bobbie Faye continue in Toni McGee Causey’s WHEN A MAN LOVES A WEAPON
(St. Martin’s). Don’t count on the third time being the charm for this Cajun
babe, who’s now officially engaged to hot FBI agent Trevor. Things are just
peachy until he’s called away on an urgent assignment. Then the murderer Bobbie
Faye helped put behind bars escapes – and he’s out for revenge. Unable to
contact Trevor, Bobbie Faye turns to detective (and ex-boyfriend) Cam to
protect her. Of course, Cam is more than willing, but is it safe? The first two
books in this delightful series were reissued in mass market by St. Martin’s in
June 2009 with new titles. CHARMED & DANGEROUS (aka Bobbie Faye’s Very (very,
very, very) Bad Day, St. Martin’s trade, 5/07) went on sale June 2,
2009, while GIRLS JUST
WANNA HAVE GUNS (aka Bobbie Faye’s (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels, St.
Martin’s trade, 5/08) was released June 30, 2009. To get the full Bobbie Faye
experience, you really should read the first two books in the series and then
this new one. Enjoy! I know I did.
LARCENY AND LACE
(Berkley Prime Crime) by Annette Blair is the latest Vintage Magic mystery to feature a
clothing store owner who solves crimes based on the visions she receives from
the antique items in her shop. Madeira Cutler is busy opening her new vintage
clothing store in what was once the town’s morgue when she discovers an
intruder snooping around a bunch of bones in a body drawer. Now, she’ll have to
dig up more than the past to solve a crime.
Linda Ladd’s fourth
thriller to feature detective Claire Morgan is ENTER EVIL (Pinnacle).
Though his doctors were the best and his father was a powerful man, they
couldn't stop Mikey from succumbing to the dark demons inside his head. The
ones who told him it was time to end it all. It should have been an open-and-
shut case, especially since detective Claire Morgan's lover, Dr. Nicholas
Black, recognized Mikey as a former troubled patient. Then Claire finds another
body in Mikey's home. Claire's only lead is a bracelet around each victim's
wrist. Now she’s trapped in a mind game with a brilliant, sadistic killer.
LOVES ME,
LOVES ME KNOT (St. Martin’s) is the second book in Heidi Betts’ fun and
sassy Chicks with Sticks knitting romance trilogy. Just because Jenna’s
marriage to undercover vice cop Gage ended badly doesn’t mean he can’t still
give her what she wants most – a baby. As she tells her best friends after
their weekly knitting group, she doesn’t need a man – just a few of his best
swimmers. But will Gage agree?
STORM OF VISIONS
(Signet) by Christina
Dodd is the first book in a new back-to-back series called the Chosen Ones,
a seductive spin-off to her popular four-book Darkness Chosen series. An
ancient rivalry resides in the world today. When the world was young, twins
were born. One brought light and goodness; the other brought danger and
darkness. They gathered others around them destined to use their gifts for good
or evil. Today, they walk the earth as the Chosen Ones…and the ultimate battle
is about to begin. Watch for the second book, STORM OF SHADOWS (Signet)
to be released September 1, 2009.
Magic, knitting and love abound in LACED WITH MAGIC (Berkley trade) by Barbara Bretton, the
charming sequel to Casting Spells (Berkley trade, 11/08). Knit shop owner and
sorcerer’s daughter Chloe Hobbs felt the Fates finally got it right when she
met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced her otherwise – not the
trolls, selkies or spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But then
out of nowhere, Luke’s ex-wife shows up, claiming to see the spirit of their
daughter, Steffie – a daughter Chloe knows nothing about. If Chloe weaves a
spell to free Steffie’s spirit, she will also free her nemesis, a Fae leader
set on destroying Chloe’s yarn shop and all of Sugar Maple. But if she doesn’t,
Steffie will spend eternity in hell – and Chloe will join her, cursed with a
broken heart.
The fourth installment in Joey W. Hill’s erotic Vampire Queen series, BELOVED VAMPIRE (Berkley
Heat), tells of Lord Mason, who’s lived in the Sahara desert for 300 years
grieving for a lost love and guarding her tomb. When the tomb is breached, his
bloodlust is stirred to raging. What he finds is Jessica, a fugitive from his
own world and the forced second-mark servant of a cruel vampire master. Drawn
by the historic legend of the tomb, not knowing how it intertwines with the
vampire world she is seeking to avoid, Jessica’s only desire is to die there,
with her hand on the sarcophagus of the woman who’d had an unyielding faith in
love. Instead, Jessica finds her desire to live forcibly reawakened by the
vampire who refuses to let her give up.
Nina Bruhns breaks
away from category romance with the debut of her single-title release SHOOT TO THRILL (Berkley
Sensation). This first book in her Passion For Danger series promises to be an
exciting romantic adventure. A disillusioned black-ops hero is kidnapped by his
ruthless former employers and forced to go on a suicide mission back to the
scene of his worst betrayal – but an innocent woman is caught in the trap and
sent with him, forcing him to choose: her life or his vengeance. Watch for the
second book in the series, IF LOOKS COULD CHILL (Berkley Sensation), set for release in
December 2009, when a kick-ass Yankee cop and her special-ops Cajun
guide search the Louisiana swamp for a deadly virus, but succumb to a fever of
a very different sort.
THE PATH OF RAZORS (Ace
trade) is book five in Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series. From London to LA,
stuntwoman-turned-vampire-hunter Dawn Madison’s job hasn’t changed – find the
local vampire Underground and wipe it out. She and her team locate the vamps’
lair at a private girls’ school and have the undead on the run. But the vicious
pack’s greatest threat may be from within its own ranks. As unrest rocks the
Underground, Dawn begins to fall prey to her own dark desires.
In the seventh Diana Fallon Forensic Investigation book, DUST TO DUST (Obsidian) by
Beverly Connor, a woman
dies under suspicious circumstances, supposedly after finding evidence of her
imprisoned brother’s innocence. Diane’s friend, former FBI agent Ross Kingsley,
seeks her help in the investigation. Now to prove a possible murder, Diane must
delve into the victim’s family secrets – and the many skeletons in her closet.
SKYKEEPERS (Signet
Eclipse) is book three in Jessica Andersen’s intriguing Final Prophecy series, following
Nightkeepers
(Signet Eclipse, 6/08) and Dawnkeepers (Signet Eclipse, 1/09). In this
series based around the Mayan doomsday prophecy, a group of magic- wielding
warrior heroes are set to fight the demon creatures of the underworld to
prevent annihilation. When prominent Mayanist Ambrose Ledbetter goes missing,
his daughter Sasha tracks his remains to an ancient temple where she’s
kidnapped. Michael Stone rescues Sasha and feels an instant attraction. But he
doesn’t dare give in, with his dark side growing stronger and the powers of
sorcery on the rise. In order to change their worlds, Michael and Sasha will
both have to admit to the passion they share.
PI Lincoln Perry returns for another thrilling investigation in THE SILENT HOUR (Minotaur
hardcover) by Michael
Koryta. When Alexandra Sanabria, the daughter of a deceased Mafia don,
opened Whisper Ridge in 1992, she intended the expensive building as the
setting for a unique program for paroled murderers, but the plan never got off
the ground. The place has been vacant for 12 years and remains as a strange
monument to dangerous secrets. PI Lincoln Perry's first involvement with the
house and its legacy comes when Parker Harrison – a convicted killer and former
tenant of Whisper Ridge – asks him to find Alexandra, who disappeared with her
husband after the program’s failure. Disconcerted by his immediate mistrust of
Harrison, Perry decides to take the request at face value, until he learns that
the bones of Alexandra's husband were discovered at the exact same time
Harrison began his quest to locate her.
Sheila Lowe gives us
another exciting whodunit in DEAD WRITE (Obsidian), the third book in her Forensic Handwriting
mystery series starring handwriting expert Claudia Rose. When several members
of Elite Introductions, a high-priced dating club, start dying – even though
the deaths appear accidental – Claudia is brought in by the eccentric owner of
the exclusive club to uncover the truth.
August 5, 2009:
I CAN SEE
YOU (Grand Central hardcover) is Karen Rose’s latest pulse-
pounding thriller where the line between the virtual world and everyday reality
blurs when it comes to murder. Eve Wilson was the victim of the villain in DON’T TELL (Forever, 7/03),
an assault that resulted in disfiguring injury and her retreat into the virtual
world. With the help of a surgeon, her face is mostly restored and she’s
returned to the real world. Now a graduate student, she researches the use of
the virtual world as therapy. When a string of suicides connected to her
Internet activities leads homicide detective Noah Webster to her door, Eve is
forced back into world of alternate identities and secret passions…where she
becomes trapped in the fight of her life.
August 6, 2009:
Do you get what you deserve – or what you take? That’s the
question to be resolved in THE AMATEURS (Dutton hardcover), the newest thriller by Marcus Sakey. As the
author tells it, “The book is about four friends in their early thirties who
haven’t ended up where they thought they would, and who undertake a dangerous
plan to take what they think they deserve.”
August 11, 2009:
Beneath the city of God, a centuries-old secret awaits – and every power on
earth wants it. From Thomas Greanias comes THE ATLANTIS REVELATION (Atria hardcover), an adventure that
begins with the wreckage of a sunken Nazi submarine and a shocking legacy of
Hitler’s quest for Atlantis. Archaeologist Conrad Yeats discovers in the ruins
of the Third Reich the key to an ancient conspiracy that reaches the highest
levels of every major government. Yeats is plunged into a deadly race across
the Mediterranean, hunted by international assassins who will stop at nothing
to revive an empire. Only Serena Serghetti, the Vatican linguist Yeats loved
and lost, can help him save the world.
Sandra Brown’s latest
thriller is titled SMASH
CUT (Simon & Schuster hardcover). The murder of Paul Wheeler has all
the elements of a blockbuster: family rivalries, incalculable wealth and a
prominent man dying in the arms of his beautiful mistress. It's a case that
could earn Derek Mitchell even greater star power. When the Wheeler family
approaches him about defending the man suspected of killing Paul – even before
he's been charged – Derek jumps at the chance. But he soon discovers the
mistress will stop at nothing to secure justice for Paul – and that includes
preventing Derek from defending his client. Infuriated, Derek realizes his
hands have been tied in a way that could not only cost him the case, but ruin
his entire career.
FEAR THE WORST (Bantam
hardcover) is another frightening thriller from Linwood Barclay. This is
a compelling tale of an ordinary man desperately searching for his daughter
after she fails to return from her shift working at a local hotel. He becomes
terrified when he visits the hotel and the manager claims the girl never worked
there. Grilling his daughter’s friends for clues leads nowhere – except to
threats against his life – and as he frantically chases every lead, he can’t
help but wonder if she’s even still alive. No matter how high the stakes
become, he knows he will never stop looking.
August 25, 2009:
Mary Blayney
continues her Pennistan series with STRANGER’S KISS (Bantam). In this third book, the scion of a
powerful English family and a woman every bit his match begin an affair that
will leave them both vulnerable to forces beyond their control. Mary is working
on her next novel, HER WILDEST FANTASY.
THE
DARKEST WHISPER (HQN) is the fourth book in Gena Showalter’s exciting
Lords of the Underworld series. Sabin, bound by the demon of Doubt,
unintentionally destroys even the most confident of lovers. So the immortal
warrior spends his time on the battlefield instead of the bedroom – until he
meets Gwendolyn the Timid. One taste of the beautiful redhead, and he craves
more.
Debbie
Macomber takes readers back to Cedar Cove, Washington, with 92 PACIFIC BOULEVARD
(Mira). As the title suggests, this is the ninth book to feature the residents
of this town as they face life’s challenges. Sheriff Troy Davis is trying to
handle the end of his relationship with long-time love Faith Beckwith, as he
also deals with the finding of unidentified remains in a cave outside town.
The sixth Ghost Hunters novel by Jayne Castle is OBSIDIAN PREY (Jove).
Amber tuner and independent prospector Lyra Dore lost her heart – and her
discovery of a rare amethyst ruin – to cutthroat businessman Cruz Sweetwater.
But the ruin’s mysterious power has put everyone involved with the project in
danger. Only by trusting their psychic instincts will Cruz and Lyra survive…and
surrender to the desire that binds them.
HUNT HER
DOWN (Pocket Star), the seventh book in Roxanne St. Claire’s
dynamic The Bullet Catchers series, features former-FBI-agent-turned-bodyguard
Dan
Gallagher. When Dan takes time off for personal reasons, he faces the darkest
secret of his past and learns some women – and some vendettas – are never
forgotten.
Book six of Brenda
Novak’s The Last Stand series is THE PERFECT LIAR (Mira). Air Force Capt. Luke Trussell is shocked
when the police show up at his door charging him with rape. He knows he didn’t
force his attentions on the woman who’s been stalking him for months. However,
Karina has the bruises – and the DNA evidence – to support her claim. Karina
goes to victims’ rights advocate Ava Bixby of The Last Stand, hoping Ava will
help put Luke behind bars. But Ava soon realizes she’s defending the wrong
victim.
MY FAVORITE WITCH
(Zebra) is Lisa
Plumley’s enchanting new novel about a runaway witch and the warlock who’s
on her trail – and in her thrall. Born in a desert town populated by witches
and blissfully ignorant humans, Dayna Sterling had magic, but no clue how to
handle it. So she left to forge a regular life among ordinary Joes. Which is
fine, until the day one most extraordinary Joe turns everything upside down.
TO TEMPT A KNIGHT
(Leisure) is the first book in Gerri Russell’s new Brotherhood of the Scottish Templars series.
Sir William Keith owes allegiance to no one save the mysterious brotherhood of
the Scottish Templars. But his task to protect the legendary Templar treasure
brings him straight into the path of Lady Siobhan Fraser, a bold lass who
demands he help find her kidnapped father, the treasure’s previous guardian.
NICE GIRLS DON’T DATE DEAD
MEN (Pocket Star) is the second book in Molly Harper’s
rollicking vampire series relating the amusing exploits of Jane Jameson, the
out-of-work-librarian-turned-vampire who just can't seem to avoid attracting
trouble. Jane now works at a rundown occult bookstore, as she ponders where her
relationship with her irresistibly sexy sire, Gabriel, is headed. While Jane is
trying to master undead dating, she’s also donning the ugliest bridesmaid's
dress in history for her best friend Zeb's wedding. Now she’s having to deal
with a freaked-out groom-to-be, his hostile werewolf in-laws and Zeb's mother,
intent on seeing Jane walk down the aisle with Zeb.
Stayed tuned for more great books next month...Tanzey
Cutter
6 comments posted.
I love summer! We have great weather and so many great books coming out. Who could ask for more.
(Rosemary Krejsa 10:17am August 13, 2009)
Love to read & Fresh Fiction always give the most tantalizing looks at the newest & best books! Makes me look for the "new" books & the authors that are "new" to me! PS Tanzey I'm a gardener too, don't mind the work either when the results are so yummy!
(Jean Merriott 2:53pm August 20, 2009)
I've read a few of these books so far, but each time I look there's still more I want to read. I'll stock up for the winter.
(Theresa Buckholtz 6:24pm August 28, 2009)