Amateur Sleuths E to H
E TO H
July 13, 2008
Fforde, Jasper. THURSDAY NEXT: First Among Sequels. Penguin. August '08. $15.00. "Literary sleuth Thursday Next is out to save literature in the fifth installment of Jasper Fforde's wildly popular series... Since the no-nonsense literary detective from Swindon made her debut, literature has never been quite the same. Neither have nursery rhymes, for that matter. With two successful books of the Nursery Crime series under his belt, Fforde takes up once again the brilliant adventures of his signature creation in the highly anticipated fifth installment of the Thursday Next series. And it's better than ever. It is fourteen years since Thursday Next pegged out at the 1988 SuperHoop, and the Special Operations Network has been disbanded. Using Swindon's Acme Carpets as a front, Thursday and her colleagues Bowden, Stig and Spike continue their same professions, but illegally. Of course, this front is itself a front for Thursday's continued work at Jurisfiction, the Policing agency within the bookworld, and she is soon grappling with a recalcitrant new apprentice, an inter-genre war or two, and the inexplicable departure of comedy from the once-hilarious Thomas Hardy books. As the Council of Genres decree that making books interactive will boost flagging readership levels and Goliath attempt to perfect a trans-fictional tourist coach, Thursday finds herself in the onerous position of having to side with the enemy to destroy a greater evil that threatens the very fabric of the reading experience. With Aornis Hades once again on the prowl, an idle sixteen-year-old son who would rather sleep in than save the world from the end of time, a government with a dangerously high stupidity surplus and the Swindon Stiltonistas trying to muscle in on her cheese-smuggling business, Thursday must once again travel to the very outer limits of acceptable narrative possibilities to triumph against increasing odds. Sherlock Holmes is killed at the Rheinback Falls and his series is stopped in its tracks. And before this can be corrected, Miss Marple dies suddenly in a car accident, bringing her series to a close as well. When Thursday receives a death threat clearly intended for her written self, she realizes what's going on - there is a serial killer on the loose in the Bookworld. And that's not all - The Goliath Corporation is trying to deregulate book travel. Packed with word play, bizarre and entertaining subplots, and old-fashioned suspense, Thursday's return is sure to be celebrated by Jasper's fanatical fans and the critics who have loved him since the beginning."
Fletcher, Jessica & Bain, Donald. MURDER, SHE WROTE: Murder on Parade. NAL. May '08. $19.95. "The Cabot Cove residents are pulling out all the stops for their celebration of the 4th of July this year. But amidst the pleasures of planning the big event, there is tension too. Joseph Lennon, a very successful businessman, has recently relocated to Cabot Cave and is funding a big fireworks show and rock concert. There are many in town who don't like him throwing his wealth and power around to get things done his way. When Mr. Lennon's body is found the evening of the fireworks show, Jessica has a long list of potential suspects."
Fletcher, Jessica & Bain, Donald. MURDER, SHE WROTE: Panning For Murder. NAL. October '07. $19.95. "Jessica's much-deserved cruise becomes a working vacation when her friend Kathy tags along, hoping to locate her sister Wilimena, who vanished from the same vessel. Distantly related to Alaska's most famous madam - a woman who may have struck it rich during the Gold Rush - Wilimena apparently took the cruise to find the treasure. Now, as Jessica and Kathy investigate Wilimena's disappearance, they learn that she was quite outspoken about her gold claim - and may have attracted the wrong kind of attention. And now that attention has been turned on Jessica and Kathy." Available in paperback. Signet. October '08. $6.99.
Fletcher, Jessica & Bain, Donald. MURDER, SHE WROTE: Three Strikes and You're Dead. Signet Books. November '07. $6.99. "Jessica goes out to the ballgame - and comes through in the bottom of the ninth - in a brand-new mystery.... Visiting her old friends Judge Jack and Meg Duffy in Arizona, Jessica watches their foster son hit the winning run for the Mesa Rattlers in a AA league playoff game. She and the Duffys are thrilled at Ty Ramos's success, but team owner Harrison Bennett is not. His son Junior and Ty are bitter rivals, and the tension at the team dinner later that evening threatens to empty the dugouts. By the next morning, Junior Bennett is dead, and Ty is the prime suspect. Jessica finds it hard to believe that such a fine young man would wreck his life in a moment of anger - and when she starts looking into the Rattlers' recent season, she finds out that for some people, baseball is more than just a game."
Fluke, Joanne. CARROT CAKE MURDER. Kensington Press. March '08. $22.00. "Summertime has finally arrived in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar bakery, is looking forward to warm, lazy days, eating ice cream, and sharing picnics with friends. But when a family reunion takes a deadly turn, it's up to Hannah to find a killer... Between baking up a storm for The Cookie Jar and unraveling the mystery of her cat Moishe's recent strange behavior, Hannah Swensen has a lot on her plate. But she'll always make time for her business partner, Lisa, who's in the midst of preparing for a big family reunion. Everyone is delighted when Lisa's long-lost uncle makes a surprise appearance. No one has heard from Gus in twenty-five years - and his arrival has everyone buzzing with excitement. Uncle Gus is immediately the hit of the reunion, telling tales of his great success and flashing money for all to see. He's almost as popular as Hannah's scrumptious carrot cake, which is also Gus's favorite dessert. But the next morning, as the whole family gathers for the group photo, one person is missing. Hannah offers to track down Uncle Gus, but her search leads to a shocking find. Over by the bar at the pavilion, she spots two slices of her infamous carrot cake, frosting-side down on the floor - and Gus's corpse with an ice pick jutting out of his chest! A little snooping reveals that not everyone was celebrating Gus's return. And when Hannah unearths more secrets from Gus's past, she discovers even more people with an axe to grind. Now Hannah's got to sift through a long list of suspects to find a killer - even if it could mean a recipe for her own demise.... Includes 12 original dessert recipes for you to try!" Trade paperback edition. $14.00.
Frazer, Margaret. THE APOSTATE'S TALE. Berkley Books. February '08. $24.95. Seventeenth in the series. "Spring 1452. As the nuns of St. Frideswide's priory prepare for the welcome end of Lent, their peaceful expectations are overset by the sudden return of long-vanished Sister Cecely. Nine years ago she fled from the nunnery with a man. Now her lover is dead and she has come back, bringing her illegitimate son with her. She claims she is penitent, that she wants only to redeem her sin and find safe haven for the child. Neither she nor her son can be turned away, but their presence begins to stir doubts and questions in the hearts of some of the nuns about their own faithfulness to this enclosed life they've chosen to live. Sister Cecely may be penitent - however much Frevisse may doubt it - but fully truthful she is not, and as the apostate nun's lies begin to overtake her, dangers of more than one kind - and maybe murder - become an unwanted part of life in the priory." Available in paperback. January '09. $7.99.
Hall, Parnell. HITMAN. Pegasus Books. September '07. $24.00. A Stanley Hastings Mystery. "Private Eye Stanley Hastings doesn't want for idiosyncrasies... For instance, he doesn't carry a gun. So he seems a particularly improbable choice, among all of New York City's private investigators, for the cold-eyed Martin Kessler. Not that Kessler requires firepower. He's got a gun of his own - an automatic with a long, ugly silencer - although he'd like to retire it. A contract killer who wants out of the game, Kessler hires Stanley mostly to watch his back in the event that someone of similar professional skills is shadowing him. Someone is, in fact, only Stanley fails to spot him and dead bodies are soon piling messily up. There's an obligation a PI owes a client, so Stanley figures, and in the face of a situation that with more luck or diligence he might have averted, he determines to sort it out. The hapless PI thus begins an odyssey that will take him from a seedy topless bar to a plush corporate boardroom, and ultimately a Manhattan courtroom, in his attempt to uncover just what did go down, and why, during his client's last, decidedly dirty job." Available in paperback. Pegasus. February '09. $14.95.
Hall, Parnell. THE SUDOKU PUZZLE MURDERS. Minotaur Books. May '08. $23.95. "Cora Felton, the Puzzle Lady (who actually couldn't solve a crossword puzzle to save her life), is surprisingly good at sudoku, so it's no problem when a Japanese publisher asks her to write a sudoku book. But when two Japanese publishers show up in Bakerhaven to vie for her services, Cora is a little confused. Which one did she actually sign with? Which one has the stunning geisha wife? And which one is about to be arrested for murder? The two men are archenemies and will go to great lengths to ace out each other. But would they stoop to murder? Someone is littering the town with sudoku, crossword puzzles, and dead private eyes. It's up to Cora, with the help of her niece, Sherry, to solve the puzzle, the sudoku, and the murder, before the killer strikes again."
Hall, Parnell. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN PUZZLED. Bantam Books. September '07. $6.99. "When Benny Southstreet, a small-time hustler with a big-time gift for constructing crosswords, accuses Cora of stealing one of his creations, it's clearly a case of mistaken identity...until Cora's own attorney files a plagiarism suit against her. To add to the enigma, when Benny is found dead, the police charge Cora with his murder! At the heart of the matter is the not-so-little white lie Cora has been living for years: assuming the grandmotherly public face of her publicity-shy niece Sherry, who designs crossword puzzles and publishes them under Cora's name - aka the Puzzle Lady. It turns out that Sherry's and Benny's cruciverbalist paths had recently crossed, resulting in the current incriminating conundrum. As if Sherry's wedding engagement jitters and a nasty battle over missing antique chairs weren't enough to deal with, now Cora has to solve the ultimate mystery: how to keep the secret of her identity without losing her life. Because not only does all evidence point to Cora, but someone seems to want her dead. It looks like a riddle with no answer. Luckily for Cora and Sherry, that's their favorite kind!"
Hallinan, Timothy. THE FOURTH WATCHER. William Morrow. July '08. $24.95. "Travel writer Poke Rafferty is ready to let go of his Looking for Trouble series of travel books and the dangerous lifestyle that goes with it, and settle down in Bangkok with his fiancee, Rose, and his newly adopted daughter, Miaow. But trouble isn't ready to let go of Poke. Enter the one person Poke least wants to see in the entire world - a person whose emotional hold on Poke is absolute. With him come a box of rubies, a wad of fraudulent identity papers, and - in pursuit of those things - one of the most dangerous gangsters in China. Add to that Rose's innocent involvement in a North Korean counterfeiting operation and an off-the-tracks agent of the American Secret Service who's dying to put Poke behind bars, and Poke and his family find themselves in a complicated and potentially deadly situation. Getting them all out alive will take every skill Poke has. Once again, Hallinan has created a complex, emotionally satisfying thriller with edge-of-your-seat suspense and a cast of characters so real you'll feel you know them. Sharp as a razor and full of heart-pounding surprises, THE FOURTH WATCHER firmly establishes Hallinan as a brilliant new voice in the world of suspense."
Hamilton, Lyn. THE CHINESE ALCHEMIST. Berkley Books. February '08. $7.99. "Antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is targeted by ruthless criminals while tying to recover an eighth-century Tang Dynasty silver box - with an alchemical formula for the elixir of immortality etched on the inside of the lid. The rare item holds the key not only to the mysterious death of a museum curator, but to Lara's own survival."
Harris, Charlaine. ALL TOGETHER DEAD. Ace Books. April '08. $7.99. Seventh in the series. "Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life - the shapeshifter Quinn - but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit. The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe."
Harris, Charlaine. FROM DEAD TO WORSE. Ace Books. May '08. $24.95. Eighth in the Southern Vampire series. "After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade explosion at the vampire summit, everyone - human and otherwise - is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing. It's clear that things are changing - whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie - Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community - is caught up in the changes. In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death, and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood finished flowing, her world will be forever altered."
Harris, Charlaine. GRAVE SURPRISE. Berkley Prime Crime. October '07. $7.99. Second Harper Connelly series. "When I was fifteen, I was struck by a bolt of lightning through an open window of the trailer where we lived...I recovered, mostly. I have a strange spiderweb pattern or red on my torso and right leg, which has episodes of weakness. Sometimes my right hand shakes. And I can find dead people. That was the part that interested the professor.... At the request of anthropology professor Dr. Clyde Nunley, Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver come to Memphis to give a demonstration of Harper's unique talent. And what better place to have that demonstration than in a very old cemetery? Dr. Nunley doesn't bother to hide his skepticism, especially when Harper stands atop a grave senses two bodies beneath her - one of a centuries-dead man and the other of a young girl, recently deceased. When the grave is opened, Harper's claim is proven true. the dead girl is Tabitha Morgenstern, an eleven-year-old abducted from Nashville two years previously - a child whom Harper had tried, and failed, to find. The coincidence raises suspicions about her among the police - so she and Tolliver undertake their own hunt to find the killer. They make a nocturnal visit to the cemetery, hoping that Harper can sense something further about the murder. And then, the next morning, a third dead body is found in the grave...."
Hart, Carolyn. DEATH WALKED IN. William Morrow. April '08. $23.95. Eighteenth in the Death on Demand series. "Annie Darling discovers the secret of the Franklin house, but Death Walked In... Max Darling hasn't been interested in crime since his brush with a seductive young woman put him in danger of losing his freedom. He even refuses to talk to a woman who calls for help and says she is afraid. The caller leaves word she's hidden something in the antebellum house Max and his wife, Annie, are restoring. When Annie finds out, she hurries to the woman's home, only to discover her shot. Annie hears her final whisper as she holds the dying woman's hand. Evidence links the dead woman to a nearby home, where a fortune in gold coins has gone missing. The gold coins, rare Double Eagles, were stolen from a house filled with visiting family members, twentysomethings hungry for money and several with secrets they must keep. Is one of them willing to kill for a fortune in coins? Or is it the dead woman's high school dropout son? Max is there when the police arrest the son, but the boy's shock upon learning of his mother's death convinces Max of his innocence. Max and Annie plunge wholeheartedly into the investigation. But are the coins hidden in Annie and Max's Franklin house? The intruder who shoots at Max seems to think so. And who walks in when Annie discovers the secret of that house?"
Hart, Carolyn. SET SAIL FOR MURDER. Avon Books. May '08. $6.99. A Henrie O Mystery. "When retired newspaper reporter Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins, Henrie O to her friends, receives a call for help, she discovers that love once kindled never burns to ashes. Although she refused Jimmy Lennox's marriage proposal, there is still a special place for him in her heart. She wished him well when he found happiness with Sophia Montgomery, world-famous documentary filmmaker and stepmother to the now grown heirs of a great fortune. Sophia is at odds with the heirs, and Jimmy fears for her safety. He asks Henrie O to come along with the family on a Baltic cruise. Henrie O can't turn down her old friend, though old passions are stirred when he calls. On the voyage she soon realizes this dysfunctional family is plunging toward destruction and one of the travelers has murder in mind. As the ports of call pass - Copenhagen, Gdynia, Tallinn, St. Petersburg - death inexorably approaches. Henrie O works desperately to save Jimmy and to bring hope to lives blighted by anger, resentment, and heartbreak."
Hess, Joan. MUMMY DEAREST. Minotaur Books. May '08. $24.95. Seventeenth in the Claire Malloy series. "After a somewhat long and, at times, strange courtship, Claire Malloy - a single, widowed mother of a teenage daughter and a bookseller in Farberville, Arkansas - has finally said 'I do' to her swain, Lt. Peter Rosen of the Farberville Police Department. Now they are on their honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt. Well, Claire is on her honeymoon - accompanied by Caron, her teenaged daughter, and Inez, Caron's best friend and frequent partner in adventure. Peter is mostly away on various mysterious consultations with equally mysterious government agencies is his new, completely undiscussed, role in law enforcement. Staying at the glamorous Winter Palace in Luxor, Claire is intent on a quiet, uneventful honeymoon involving shopping, tourist sites, and, when it can't avoided, drinks with the local British expatriate contingent. But despite her determined efforts to avoid any involvement in criminous events, the tenor of the trip quickly switches from bucolic to creepy. First, Caron and Inez are chased through darkened deserted alleys by persons unknown. Then a blond college student of their recent acquaintance is kidnapped by two young men on horseback in a scene reminiscent of a Rudolf Valentino film. Something is clearly afoot in this tourist paradise, and now Claire will stop at nothing to find out what."
Hunter, Maddy. NORWAY TO HIDE. Pocket Books. November '07. $6.99. A Passport to Peril Mystery. "Sure, Jackie Thum's newly published novel might not be Hemingway, but bad reviews from her fellow travelers have Emily Andrew's transgender ex-husband (Jackie was formerly Jack) steaming like a sauna. It's a dismal start to their Scandinavian tour, and group leader Emily is getting that sinking feeling in Helsinki: something fishy this way comes. When Jackie's most outspoken critic, a Floridian from a picture-perfect gated community called The Hamlets, is found dead, suspicion falls on Jackie - who surprises everyone with an airtight alibi. But when another guest turns up dead, Emily realizes there is a killer hiding among them. Herrings, both red and pickled, abound on a Norwegian fjord cruise - and Jackie is suddenly nowhere to be found. With her mother arranging a wedding disaster for Emily back home in Iowa, Emily must somehow salvage her nuptials from overseas while icing a killer - before someone else meets a nasty Finnish."
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© 1996-2008 Bill Palmer.