Holy Kindle, Batman! Recent Books on Religion for the Kindle (29 Apr 2010)

I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is. - Albert Camus.

Selecting new nonfiction books on religion for the Kindle can be problematical. Many readers have strongly-held religious beliefs. One person's religious classic is another's foolish drivel. Here I attempt a middle ground, choosing recently-published books on matters spiritual which I hope will appeal to a wide audience of Kindle readers.

Christianity, by Diarmaid MacCulloch. Viking. Print Length: 1184 p. CHURCH HISTORY. Amazon customer rating. 4 stars (9 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Once in a generation a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read-a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Breathtaking in ambition, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and covers the world, following the three main strands of the Christian faith...to all corners of the globe, filling in often neglected accounts of conversions and confrontations in Africa and Asia. And we discover the roots of the faith that galvanized America, charting the rise of the evangelical movement from its origins in Germany and England. This book encompasses all of intellectual history - we meet monks and crusaders, heretics and saints, slave traders and abolitionists, and discover Christianity's essential role in driving the enlightenment and the age of exploration, and shaping the course of World War I and World War II." - Amazon.
MacCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University, author of The Reformation, and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.

The Language God Talks: On Science and Religion, by Herman Wouk. Little, Brown and Company. Print Length: 192 p. SCIENCE AND RELIGION. Amazon customer rating. 4 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition: $10.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"At age 94, Wouk embarks on an autobiographical journey through his monumental writings (The Caine Mutiny; The Winds of War; War and Remembrance), people he has met in his life, world events, and books he has read (including the Talmud) to weave a testament of faith. Throughout the book, he returns to his friendship with Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, whose work as a scientist on the atomic bomb and life as a humanist challenge the author's Orthodox Jewish beliefs. Along the way the reader meets other scientists and their accomplishments and also some of Wouk's fictional characters. What most impresses Wouk is the big bang (the first three minutes) and the small bang (the universe giving birth to the mind) so that humans could comprehend God. Ever so faithful to his Jewish heritage, he discusses how research in the scientific and secular world strengthened his faith..." - Publishers Weekly.

God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World - and Why Their Differences Matter, by Stephen Prothero. HarperCollins. Print Length: 400 p. COMPARATIVE RELIGION. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition: $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"At the dawn of the twenty-first century, dizzying scientific and technological advancements, interconnected globalized economies, and even the so-called New Atheists have done nothing to change one thing: our world remains furiously religious. For good and for evil, religion is the single greatest influence in the world. We accept as self-evident that competing economic systems (capitalist or communist) or clashing political parties (Republican or Democratic) propose very different solutions to our planet's problems. So why do we pretend that the world's religious traditions are different paths to the same God? We blur the sharp distinctions between religions at our own peril, argues religion scholar Stephen Prothero, and it is time to replace naÏve hopes of interreligious unity with deeper knowledge of religious differences... To claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. For example:
–Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission
–Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation
–Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order
–Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening
–Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God.
Prothero reveals each of these traditions on its own terms to create an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to better understand the big questions human beings have asked for millennia - and the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today." - Amazon.
Prothero is a professor of religion at Boston University and author of Religious Literacy.

Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death, and Atheism, by Mary Eberstadt. Ignatius Press. Print Length: 150 p. APOLOGETICS/ HUMOR. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition: $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"With modern humor rivaling that of the media-lampooning Onion, found on college campuses all over America, A. F. Christian's open letters to the spokesmen of the New Atheism explain her reasons for rejecting God and the logical consequences of that choice. Along the way she offers pithy advice to famous atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, in the hope of helping them win over more Christians. Amid the many current books arguing for or against religion, social critic and writer Mary Eberstadt's The Loser Letters is truly unique: a black comedy about theism and atheism that is simultaneously a rollicking defense of Christianity. In her loveable and articulate tragic-comic heroine, A.F. Christian, Dawkins, Hitchens and the other "Brights" have met their match." - Amazon.
Eberstadt is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and consulting editor to Policy Review.

Life in Year One: What the World Was Like in First Century Palestine, by Scott Korb. Riverhead. Print Length: 256 p. HISTORY. Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (25 reviews). Kindle edition: $10.52. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"What was it like to live during the time of Jesus? Where did people live? Who did they marry? And what was family life like? How did people survive? These are just some of the questions that Scott Korb answers in this engaging new book, which explores what everyday life entailed two thousand years ago in first-century Palestine, that tumultuous era when the Roman Empire was at its zenith and a new religion - Christianity - was born. Culling information from primary sources, scholarly research, and his own travels and observations, Korb explores the nitty-gritty of real life back then-from how people fed, housed, and groomed themselves to how they kept themselves healthy. He guides the contemporary reader through the maze of customs and traditions that dictated life under the numerous groups, tribes, and peoples in the eastern Mediterranean that Rome governed two thousand years ago, and he illuminates the intriguing details of marriage, family life, health, and a host of other aspects of first-century life. The result is a book for everyone, from the armchair traveler to the amateur historian. With surprising revelations about politics and medicine, crime and personal hygiene, this book is smart and accessible popular history at its very best." - Amazon.


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Books They're Talking About: Kindle Books in the Media (27 Apr 2010)

Media interviews are a popular way for writers to introduce new books they hope will catch the viewer's eye and open their pocketbooks.

Here's a selection of forthcoming Kindle books by authors scheduled for interviews on TV and radio programs. Books are arranged in chronological order by the date of the scheduled interview.

ON NPR'S MORNING EDITION (26 APR 2010):

The Great Reset, by Richard Florida. HarperCollins. Print Length: 240 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"We tend to view prolonged economic downturns, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Long Depression of the late nineteenth century, in terms of the crisis and pain they cause. But history teaches us that these great crises also represent opportunities to remake our economy and society and to generate whole new eras of economic growth and prosperity. [Here]... bestselling author and economic development expert Richard Florida provides an engaging and sweeping examination of these previous economic epochs, or 'resets.' He distills the deep forces that have altered physical and social landscapes and eventually reshaped economies and societies. Looking toward the future, Florida identifies the patterns that will drive the next Great Reset and transform virtually every aspect of our lives—from how and where we live, to how we work, to how we invest in individuals and infrastructure, to how we shape our cities and regions..." - Amazon.

ON THE CBS EARLY SHOW (27 APR 2010):

The Doctor Is In: A 7-Step Prescription for Optimal Wellness, by Travis Stork, M.D. Gallery. Print Length: 272 p. Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
Stork is an ER doctor at the Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. He is also featured on the TV series The Doctors.
"As an emergency room physician, Dr. Travis Stork regularly sees the effects that poor lifestyle choices - the same decisions we face every day about what to eat and how active to be - have on our bodies over time. But just a few small tweaks to your daily habits can help you live longer and feel stronger. You can also conquer many chronic conditions - such as some of the biggest killers in America: heart disease, type II diabetes, and some cancers - before they happen. A lively, eye-opening guide, The Doctor Is In cracks the often-intimidating wellness code. You don’t need to follow the latest health crazes. Your power to save your own life is potentially thousands of times greater than that of any physician, wellness guru, or fitness expert. The secret is in seven easy, positive, and crucial steps that will help you change the way you think about diet, exercise, and the health care system. As he breaks down the building blocks for health into doable tips and action plans, Dr. Stork demystifies nutrition, exposes food fads, explains why you should be ruthlessly skeptical of health advice, and tells you which numbers you should track to keep yourself on the road to optimal wellness." - Publisher.

ON MSNBC'S MORNING JOE (27 APR 2010):


The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898, by Evan Thomas. Little, Brown & Company. Print Length: 432 p. Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
Evan Thomas has been the Assistant Managing Editor of Newsweek since 1991.
"America acquired an empire in a fit of neurosis, according to this shrewd, caustic psychological interpretation of the Spanish-American War... The book focuses on three leading war-mongers - Teddy Roosevelt, his crony, Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge, and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, whose fanciful New York Journal coverage of the Cuban insurrection and the sinking of the USS Maine fanned war hysteria. Ashamed of their fathers' failure to fight in the Civil War, according to Thomas, these righteous sons trumped up a pointless conflict with Spain as a test of manhood, conflating the personal with the national. To Thomas they represent an American ruling elite imbued with notions of Anglo-Saxon supremacy over alien races and lower orders, but anxious about its own monied softness. As foils, Thomas offers Thomas Brackett Reed, the antiwar speaker of the House, and philosopher William James, who advanced an ethic of moral courage against the Rooseveltian cult of physical aggression. Thomas's thesis is bold and will undoubtedly be controversial, but his protagonists make for rich psychological portraiture..." - Publishers Weekly.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (27 APR 2010):

The Menopause Makeover: The Ultimate Guide to Taking Control of Your Health and Beauty During Menopause, by Staness Jonekos. Harlequin. Print Length: 320 p. Kindle edition $9.61. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Hot flashes and sleepless nights? Feeling anxious and irritable? Feel like you're losing your mind? Frustrated with weight gain? Staness Jonekos knows all too well how you feel. Leading up to her wedding day at the age of forty-seven, she was sporting a not-so-sexy belly bulge, suffering from hot flashes and feeling in no mood for a honeymoon. Jonekos took drastic action and created the first-ever menopause makeover to get back into that little white dress and feel sexy again in just twelve weeks. Now she joins forces with leading menopause expert Dr. Wendy Klein to give you the relief you need, fast! Based on the latest scientific research, and designed for both pre- and post-menopausal women, The Menopause Makeover is a proven, eight-step program to help you reclaim your health - and your life." - Publisher.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (27 APR 2010):

Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick, by Molly Ringwald. HarperCollins. Print Length: 240 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"To her millions of fans, Molly Ringwald will forever be sixteen. As the endearing and witty star of the beloved John Hughes classics Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink, Molly defined teenage angst, love, and heartbreak. While remembered eternally as the enviable high school princess Claire, or the shy, vulnerable Samantha, Molly has just celebrated her fortieth birthday. Facing a completely new, angst-inducing time in her life, she is embracing being a woman, wife, mother of three, actress, and best friend with her trademark style, candor, and humor... She shares personal anecdotes and entertaining insights about the struggle to get through the murky milestones and identity issues that crop up long after the prom ends. Whether she's discussing sex and beauty, personal style, travel and entertaining, motherhood, or friendship, Molly embodies the spirit of being fabulous at every age, and reminds us all that prettiness is a state of mind: it's the part of you that knows what you really want, that takes risks." - Publisher.


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Kindle Genre Watch: New in Fantasy & Mystery Fiction (25 Apr 2010)

Spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Recent genre fiction releases in fantasy and mystery fiction include:

FANTASY

Try Me by Parker Blue. This is book two of the Demon Underground series that began with Bite Me. Please note that Bite Me is currently available for free download on Amazon. Bell Bridge Books. Print length: 218 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"This part-demon teen vampire fighter and her faithful terrier hellhound are once again patrolling the dark city streets of San Antonio, Texas. Val's hunky human partner, Detective Dan Sullivan, is giving her the cold shoulder since she beheaded his vampire ex-fiancée. Vamp leader Alejandro is struggling to keep the peace between vamps, demons and humans. The mucho powerful Encyclopedia Magicka has been stolen, someone in the Demon Underground is poisoning vamps, and Val's inner lust demon, Lola, is getting very restless since Val's now partnered with sexy Shade, the shadow demon with the blond good looks of an angel." - Amazon.

The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett. This is book two of Brett's Demon Cycle series, following The Warded Man. Del Rey. Print length: 608 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that arise as the sun sets, preying upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind ancient and half-forgotten symbols of power. These wards alone can keep the demons at bay, but legends tell of a Deliverer: a general - some would say prophet - who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. Those times, if they ever existed, are long past. The demons are back, and the return of the Deliverer is just another myth...or is it? Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army. But the northerners claim their own Deliverer. His name was Arlen, but all know him now as the Warded Man: a dark, forbidding figure whose skin is tattooed with wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon... Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are blissfully unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent - and deadly - than any that have come before." - Amazon.
Read an in-depth interview with Brett at 42SciFi-Fantasy.

Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong. Bantam. Print length: 400 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
This is a collection of seven stories featuring many of the characters from Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series.
"Have you ever wondered how lone wolf Clayton Danvers finally got bitten by the last thing he ever expected: love? Or how the hot-blooded bad-girl witch Eve Levine managed to ensnare the cold, ruthless corporate sorcerer, Kristof Nast in one of the Otherworld’s most unlikely pairings? Would you like to be a fly on the wall at the wedding of Lucas Cortez and Paige Winterbourne, as their eminently practical plans are gradually upended by their well-meaning friends? Or tag along with Lucas and Paige as they investigate a rather gruesome case that looks to be the result of a rogue vampire? Now, Otherworld readers can share these moments with some of their favorite characters - as well as catching welcome glimpses into the minds of some of the lesser-known players. But even readers new to the Otherworld universe will find much to love in these seven tales of friendship, adventure, and enduring romance." - www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Reluctant Swordsman by Dave Duncan. Book One of the Seventh Sword trilogy. E-Reads. Print length: 326 p. Kindle edition $3.21. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Please note that the second and third volumes in this trilogy (Coming of Wisdom and Destiny of the Sword) are also available in Kindle editions.
"Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital, remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true? What in the world will Wallie do now that he's found himself stranded in a strange realm? Well it just so happens that the Goddess is in need of a swordsman. It won't be easy but if he succeeds he will have everything he wants. If he doesn't, things could get ugly." - Amazon.

Crowd of Swords by Robert Jordan. This is book seven in Jordan's epic The Wheel of Time series. Macmillan. Print length: 896 p. Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In a richly woven post-holocaust world where magic is normally a woman's monopoly and a man who can use it is a menace, Rand al'Thor, a sheepherder, discovered that he could 'channel'; he and his companions have gone on to set their world aflame. Here, Rand is engaged in a fight for control of the weather and of the growing number of men and women who have turned out to be magic-wielders. The narrative employs elements of realism rare in high fantasy, including the sense that innocent bystanders are being mauled in an epic joust of magical giants. There's wit at work here, too, in Jordan's exploration of the possibilities created by women being the magic workers. All this comes at the price of enough characters, institutions, spells, countries and so on to intimidate any reader who hasn't followed Rand's adventures from the beginning..." - Publishers Weekly.

MYSTERY

This Body of Death by Elizabeth George. HarperCollins. Print length: 704 p. Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"On compassionate leave after the murder of his wife, Thomas Lynley is called back to Scotland Yard when the body of a woman is found stabbed and abandoned in an isolated London cemetery. His former team doesn't trust the leadership of their new department chief, Isabelle Ardery, whose management style seems to rub everyone the wrong way. In fact, Lynley may be the sole person who can see beneath his superior officer's hard-as-nails exterior to a hidden - and possibly attractive - vulnerability. While Lynley works in London, his former colleagues Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata follow the murder trail south to the New Forest. There they discover a beautiful and strange place where animals roam free, the long-lost art of thatching is very much alive, and outsiders are not entirely welcome...
" - Amazon.

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith. Publisher. Print length: 224 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
This is the eleventh offering in Smith's immensely popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, all of which are available in the Amazon Kindle Bookstore. If you are new to the series, start with book one: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

"Readers will agree that this touching and dramatic new installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved and best-selling series is the finest yet. In this story, Precious Ramotswe deals with issues of mistaken identity and great fortune against the beautiful backdrop of Botswana’s remote and striking Okavango Delta. Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi head to a safari camp to carry out a delicate mission on behalf of a former guest who has left one of the guides a large sum of money. But once they find their man, Precious begins to sense that something is not right. To make matters worse, shortly before their departure Mma Makutsi’s fiancé, Phuti Radiphuti, suffers a debilitating accident, and when his aunt moves in to take care of him, she also pushes Mma Makutsi out of the picture. Could she be trying to break up the relationship? Finally, a local priest and his wife independently approach Mma Ramotswe with concerns of infidelity, creating a rather unusual and tricky situation. Nevertheless, Precious is confident that with a little patience, kindness and good sense things will work out for the best, something that will delight her many fans." - Amazon.

Eight Days to Live: An Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller by Iris Johansen. St. Martin's Press. Print length: 400 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Although billed as an Eve Duncan Forensics Thriller, neither Eve nor forensics plays a big part in Johansen’s latest. Instead the focus is on Eve’s adopted daughter, Jane MacGuire, who has a successful art show at a Parisian gallery. But a painting titled Guilt has drawn some unwanted attention: the religious cult Sang Noir wants Jane dead. When the cult starts going after those closest to Jane, she turns to two strong, dangerous men: Jock, a trained assassin, and Seth, a hunter with psychic powers. Friction ensues between these two strapping guys as they fight to protect the globe-trotting Jane while she travels from Paris to Switzerland to Jerusalem in an attempt to find out why Sang Noir is so determined to kill her. She’s fighting an intense attraction to Caleb, even as she disapproves of his methods of extracting information, and when Eve’s life hangs in the balance, Jane finds herself crossing lines she never thought she would." - Kristine Huntley for Booklist.

Worst Case by James Patterson. Little, Brown and Company. Print length: 368 p. Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"The son of one of New York's wealthiest families is snatched off the street and held hostage. His parents can't save him, because this kidnapper isn't demanding money. Instead, he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury. In this exam, wrong answers are fatal. Detective Michael Bennett leads the investigation. With ten kids of his own, he can't begin to understand what could lead someone to target anyone's children. As another student disappears, one powerful family after another uses their leverage and connections to turn the heat up on the mayor, the press - anyone who will listen - to stop this killer. Their reach extends all the way to the FBI, who send their top Abduction Specialist, Agent Emily Parker. Before Bennett has a chance to protest the FBI's intrusion on his case, the mastermind changes his routine. His plan leads up to the most devastating demonstration yet - one that could bring cataclysmic devastation to every inch of New York." - Amazon.

The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark. Simon & Schuster. Print length: 336 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Two generations after she gave away the child she bore soon after entering the convent, and one generation after her death, Sister Catherine Morrow is back in the news. An ecclesiastical court has been convened to determine whether preliminary steps should be taken to recommend her for sainthood. Certainly Sister Catherine's life was exemplary. In recompense for the child she lost, she founded seven children's hospitals, and it's possible that prayers to her banished little Michael O'Keefe's brain cancer. As the proceedings advance, however, darker currents emerge. Catherine's sister Olivia is strangled to death, a day before she was going to reveal to pediatrician Monica Farrell that Catherine was her grandmother. Olivia's old family friend and physician, cardiologist Clay Hadley, is clearly joined in a criminal conspiracy with Greg Gannon, who's been plundering the foundation started by his late uncle Alex, the love of Olivia's life, with the proceeds from the prostheses he invented. Monica's tiny patient Sally Carter is being sorely neglected by her flighty mother Renee. Scott Alterman, the Boston attorney who had the effrontery to court Monica while he was married to her best friend, has divorced and come to New York to press his suit. And someone's hired a hit man to kill Monica..." - Kirkus Reviews.

Wrecked by Carol Higgins Clark. Scribner. Print length: 272 p. Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Private Investigator Regan Reilly and her husband Jack "no relation" Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. They are looking forward to a quiet romantic weekend out of town. Wouldn't you know their choice of destination provides them with anything but! Regan and Jack had considered going to Bermuda, but instead they decide to spend four days at his parents beautiful beachfront home on Cape Cod, a wonderful spot where they'd never been alone. During the summer the house overflowed with Jack's family, bubbling with activity from morning until night. But to be up there for a weekend in April, just the two of them, sounded like a perfect escape.
However, the best laid plans..." - www.carolhigginsclark.com/

This is book 13 in Clark's Regan Reilly series. If you're new to this series, you may wish to start out with Decked, the book that first introduced Los Angeles PI Reilly to readers. Carol Higgins Clark is the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark. Of the difference between her writing style and her mothers, she says "my mother’s thrillers are meant to scare people, while a comic thread runs through my books. As has been said by reviewers: 'Mary goes for the jugular and Carol for the funny bone.'"

The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker. Center Street. Print length: 338 p. Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted. It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body. In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help." - Amazon.

A Week of Entertainment: Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly (23/30 Apr 2010)

Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the April 23/30 special double summer movie issue include:

The Carrie Diaries, by Candace Bushnell. HarperCollins. Print length: 400 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "...another chapter in the story of a cherished character that stands on its own." Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Before Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw was a small-town girl who knew she wanted more. She's ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With an unforgettable cast of characters, The Carrie Diaries is the story of how a regular girl learns to think for herself and evolves into a sharp, insightful writer. Readers will learn about her family background, how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. Through adventures both audacious and poignant, we'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where her new life begins." - Amazon.

The Lake Shore Limited, by Sue Miller. Knopf. Print length: 288 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "Oprah favorite Miller returns with a refracted rhombus of a novel..." Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (24 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Four people are bound together by the 9/11 death of a man in Miller's insightful latest. Leslie, older sister and stand-in mother to the late Gus, clings to the notion that Gus had found true love with his girlfriend, Billy, before he was killed. But the truth is more complicated: Billy, a playwright, has written a new play that explores the agonizing hours when a family gathers, not knowing the fate of their mother and wife who was aboard a train that has been bombed. The ambivalent reaction of the woman's husband has shades of Billy and Gus's relationship, particularly the limbo she's been in since he died. Rafe, the actor playing the ambivalent husband, processes his own grief and guilt about his terminally ill wife as he steps more and more into his character. Finally, there's Sam, an old friend Leslie now hopes to set up with Billy." - Publishers Weekly.

The Swimming Pool, by Holly LeCraw. Knopf. Print length: 320 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "...the suburban afflictions that are drowning these characters make it difficult to put down." Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (14 reviews). Kindle edition $14.27. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"A love triangle with Oedipal implications crosses generations to entrap newly divorced Marcella Atkinson in an impassioned romance with Jed McClatchey, son of the man with whom she had a prior affair. In the seven years since the McClatcheys and Atkinsons summered together on Cape Cod, Jed’s mother became the victim of an unsolved murder, and his father died in a questionable one-car accident just as the police were zeroing in on him as their prime suspect. When Jed’s emotionally fragile sister begs him to join her and her young children on an ill-advised sojourn to the Cape, he agrees, only to be tempted by the nanny, none other than Marcella’s nubile teenage daughter. Yet as the mystery surrounding his parents’ deaths escalates, Jed succumbs to an irrepressible attraction for the enigmatic woman who captivated him as a youth and who may very well have caused the tragedies that scarred his family..." - Carol Haggas for Booklist.
$9.99 or less alternative: Sea Glass, by Anita Shreve.

Oprah, by Kitty Kelley. Crown. Print length: 544 p. BIOGRAPHY. EW's slant: "...some top-notch, old-fashioned reporting - but in the end, it's hard to love a book that makes you feel dirty when you read it." Amazon customer rating: 3 stars (61 reviews). Kindle edition $13.50. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Based on three years of research and reporting as well as 850 interviews with sources, many of whom have never before spoken for publication, Oprah is the first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful, and admired public figures of our time, by the most widely read biographer of our era. Anyone who is a fan of Oprah Winfrey or who has followed her extraordinary life and career will be fascinated and newly informed by the closely observed, detailed, and well-rounded portrait of her provided by Kitty Kelley’s exhaustively researched book. Readers will come away with a greater appreciation of who Oprah really is beyond her public persona and a fuller understanding of her important place in American cultural history." - Amazon.

Also mentioned in this issue:

If You Can Read This: The Philosophy of Bumper Stickers, by Jack Bowen. Random House. Print length: 240 p. NONFICTION. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.


"Long before blogs, tweets, and sound bites, people were telling the world how they felt in brief, blunt bursts of information plastered on the backs of their cars. Whether they’re political or religious, passionate or proud, controversial or corny, these brightly colored, boldly lettered mini manifestos are declarations of who we are, where we stand, and what we’d rather be doing. But as bestselling author and noted philosopher Jack Bowen reveals, there’s much more to the pop-culture phenomenon of bumper stickers than rolling one-liners and drive-by propaganda - no less, in fact, than a wise, funny, poignant, contentious, and truthful discourse on the human condition." - Amazon.

Elegy for April, by Benjamin Black. Henry Holt. Print length: 304 p. MYSTERY. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (20 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Quirke - the hard-drinking, insatiably curious Dublin pathologist - is back, and he's determined to find his daughter's best friend, a well-connected young doctor. April Latimer has vanished. A junior doctor at a local hospital, she is something of a scandal in the conservative and highly patriarchal society of 1950s Dublin. Though her family is one of the most respected in the city, she is known for being independent-minded; her taste in men, for instance, is decidedly unconventional. Now April has disappeared, and her friend Phoebe Griffin suspects the worst. Frantic, Phoebe seeks out Quirke, her brilliant but erratic father, and asks him for help...as Quirke becomes deeply involved in April's murky story, he encounters complicated and ugly truths about family savagery, Catholic ruthlessness, and race hatred. Both an absorbing crime novel and a brilliant portrait of the difficult and relentless love between a father and his daughter, this is Benjamin Black at his sparkling best." - Amazon.
$9.99 or less alternative: Christine Falls, Black's first novel to feature Garret Quirke.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned, by Michael J. Fox. Hyperion. Print length: 112 p. NONFICTION. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Michael J. Fox abandoned high school to pursue an acting career, but went on to receive honorary degrees from several universities and garner the highest accolades for his acting, as well as for his writing. In his new book, he inspires and motivates graduates to recognize opportunities, maximize their abilities, and roll with the punches - all with his trademark optimism, warmth, and humor. Michael draws on his own life experiences to make a case that real learning happens when 'life goes skidding sideways.' He writes of coming to Los Angeles from Canada at age eighteen and attempting to make his way as an actor. Fox offers up a comically skewed take on how, in his own way, he fulfilled the requirements of a college syllabus. He learned Economics as a starving artist; an unexpected turn as a neophyte activist schooled him in Political Science; and his approach to Comparative Literature involved stacking books up against their movie versions. Replete with personal stories and hilarious anecdotes, Michael J. Fox’s new book is the perfect gift for graduates." - www.hyperionbooks.com.

Books They're Talking About: Kindle Books in the Media (21 Apr 2010)

Media interviews are a popular way for writers to introduce new books they hope will catch the viewer's eye and open their pocketbooks. Here's a selection of forthcoming Kindle books by authors scheduled for interviews on TV and radio programs. Books are arranged in chronological order by the date of the scheduled interview.

ON ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA (20 APR 2010):

Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What To Do About It, by Richard A. Clarke and Robert Knake. HarperCollins. Print Length: 304 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"...goes behind the 'geek talk' of hackers and computer scientists to explain clearly and convincingly what cyber war is, how cyber weapons work, and how vulnerable we are as a nation and as individuals to the vast and looming web of cyber criminals. From the first cyber crisis meeting in the White House a decade ago to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley and the electrical tunnels under Manhattan, Clarke and coauthor Robert K. Knake trace the rise of the cyber age and profile the unlikely characters and places at the epicenter of the battlefield. They recount the foreign cyber spies who hacked into the office of the Secretary of Defense, the control systems for U.S. electric power grids, and the plans to protect America's latest fighter aircraft. Economically and militarily, Clarke and Knake argue, what we've already lost in the new millennium's cyber battles is tantamount to the Soviet and Chinese theft of our nuclear bomb secrets in the 1940s and 1950s. The possibilities of what we stand to lose in an all-out cyber war - our individual and national security among them - are just as chilling. Powerful and convincing, Cyber War begins the critical debate about the next great threat to national security." - Amazon.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (21 APR 2010):

Three Wishes: A True Story of Good Friends, Crushing Heartbreak, and Astonishing Luck on Our Way to Love and Motherhood, by Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones and Pamela Ferdinand. Little, Brown and Company. Print Length: 288 p. Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Carey, Beth, and Pam had succeeded at work but failed at romance, and each resolved to have a baby before time ran out. Just one problem: no men. Carey took the first bold step towards single motherhood, searching anonymous donor banks until she found the perfect match. What she found was not a father in a vial, but a sort of magic potion. She met a man, fell in love, and got pregnant the old-fashioned way. She passed the vials to Beth, and it happened again. Beth met man, Beth got pregnant. Beth passed the vials to Pam, and the magic struck again. There were setbacks and disappointments, but three women became three families, reveling in the shared joy of love, friendship, and never losing hope." - Amazon.

ON NPR'S ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (21 APR 2010):

Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956-1978 , by Kai Bird. Publisher. Print Length: 448 p. Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"The interminable conflict between Arabs and Israelis, sadly, lends itself to visual images that reduce both sides to caricatures. One of the treasures of this superb memoir is Bird’s determination to put a human face on some of the participants in this conflict. His father, an American foreign-service officer, brought his family to Jerusalem in 1956, and young Kai frequently passed through Mandelbaum Gate, the dividing line between the Israeli- and Jordanian-controlled sectors. Over the next 22 years, he lived and traveled in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. He seamlessly melds personal history and the story of his family within the turmoil surrounding them, which included three major wars, the spate of airline hijackings, and the prominence of Black September. Although broadly sympathetic to Palestinian aspirations and suffering, Bird, whose wife is the child of Holocaust survivors, is also acutely sensitive to the fears and dilemmas faced by Israelis. This is a deeply felt and moving chronicle of one person’s up-close view of the human cost of this seemingly endless struggle." - Jay Freeman for Booklist.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (22 APR 2010):

You're Not the Boss of Me: Brat-proofing Your Four- to Twelve-Year-Old Child, by Betsy Brown Braun. HarperCollins. Print Length: 272 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Betsy Brown Braun is the bestselling author of Just Tell Me What To Say, a renowned child development and behavior specialist, popular parent educator, and mother of adult triplets. It's all here - what to say and do to help your child gets over the gimmes, tell the truth, be self-reliant, develop empathy, show gratitude, be respectful, take responsibility, be independent, exercise humor and not be spoiled." - Amazon.

Kindle E-Books on the Cheap: Sci-Fi/Fantasy (19 Apr 2010)

Once you've purchased an Amazon Kindle e-book reader, the wonderful world of public domain, Creative Commons and free e-book promotions opens up to you. This regular Kindle Reader feature points you to a few of the most interesting new free (or very cheap) e-books available for download from the web.

Frugal e-book selections for this week include three intriguing science fiction tales, a teaser chapter from the first book in Rick Riordan's new Kane Chronicles series., a high fantasy for young adults, and an adventure classic by H. Rider Haggard, better-known as the author of King Solomon's Mines and She.

Special Delivery, by Damon Francis Knight. SCIENCE FICTION. Download site: Project Gutenberg. Format: Mobipocket. Price: FREE.
What if your unborn baby - seemingly a genius - could communicate with you before he was born? And what if he were a brat? "Len and Moira Connington are expecting a baby; Len teaches high-school chemistry and hopes for a promotion. Moira begins to act strangely; it seems as if someone else, a child, is sometimes speaking through her mouth, and she develops aversions to alcohol and coffee. Eventually they realize that the unborn baby, Leo, is communicating with and through the mother. Leo's intellect develops quickly; soon he is demanding that Moira read German so that he can learn it... By his eighth month, Leo is requiring Moira to work her way through texts on biology, astrophysics, modern literature, etc. Then he decides he wants to write a novel." - www.absoluteastronomy.com/

A Feast of Demons, by William Morrison. SCIENCE FICTION. Download site: Manybooks. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: FREE.
"That year we were all Romans, and I have to tell you that I look awful in a toga and short sword, but not nearly as awful as the Greek. You go to one of the big schools and naturally you turn out for the Class Reunion. Why not? There's money there, and good fellowship, and money, and the chance of a business contact that will do you some good. And money."

There Will Be School Tomorrow, by V. E. Thiessen. SCIENCE FICTION. Download site: Manybooks. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: FREE.
"You will possibly shudder, but you will certainly remember for a long time, this story of what happens when Tomorrow's gently implacable teachers are faced with a problem for which there seems to be only one solution..." - Manybooks.

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan. Book one of The Kane Chronicles. FANTASY. Download site: Amazon. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: FREE.
Please note: this is a teaser chapter for The Red Pyramid, the first volume in Riordan's new Kane Chronicles series. The complete novel will be out on May 4th and is available now for pre-order.
"Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a 'research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives." - Amazon.

The Legend of Witch Bane, by Kevis Hendrickson. FANTASY. Download site: Amazon. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: $1.79.
"High Queen Rhiannon Eldess has placed the kingdom of Kaldan under a terrible curse. Only Kòdobos, Anyr, and Laris can save their people from a dark fate. Danger awaits the children as they face the queen's evil minions in their desperate quest to save their kingdom. To gain final victory the children must find Witch Bane, the magic sword which will give them the power to defeat Rhiannon once and for all! But a prophecy foretelling of the return of an ancient evil threatens to doom them all. It will take all their courage to survive the malevolent forces of evil gathered against them. Will they fail or will they succeed? Prepare for the adventure of a lifetime!" - Amazon.

People of the Mist, by H. Rider Haggard. ADVENTURE/FANTASY. Download site: Amazon. Format: Kindle (.azw). Price: FREE.
"Penniless Leonard Outram attempts to redress the undeserved loss of his family estates and fiancee by seeking his fortune in Africa. In the course of his adventures he and his Zulu companion Otter save a young Portuguese woman, Juanna Rodd, together with her nursemaid Soa, from slavery. Leonard and Juanna are plainly attracted to each other, but prone to bickering, and their romance is impeded by the watchful and jealous Soa. The protagonists seek the legendary People of the Mist, said to possess a fabulous hoard of jewels. Finding them, they immediately become embroiled in the turbulent political affairs of the lost race, which is riven by a power-struggle between the monarch and the priesthood of its giant crocodile god." - Wikipedia.
Not sure if People of the Mist is for you? Read more about this late 19th century adventure classic at Grognardia.

Capturing the Lives of Others: New Biographies for the Kindle (17 Apr 2010)

One lives in the hope of becoming a memory - Antonio Porchia.

Given the burgeoning popularity of social media on the Internet, it is not surprising that biographies and memoirs are among the most popular reading choices of Kindle readers. Whether you enjoy reading of exemplary lives or living vicariously through celebrity memoirs, now you can spend less time searching and more time reading, as I watch for new biographies and memoirs in the Kindle Store so you don't have to.

The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran, by Dirk Hayhurst. Citadel. Print Length: 240 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (20 reviews). Kindle edition $9.60. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.


"From the humble heights of a Class-A pitcher's mound to the deflating lows of sleeping on his gun-toting grandmother's air mattress, veteran reliever Dirk Hayhurst steps out of the bullpen to deliver the best pitch of his career - a raw, unflinching and surprisingly moving account of his life in the minors. Hilariously self-effacing and brutally honest, Hayhurst captures the absurdities, the grim realities, and the occasional nuggets of hard-won wisdom culled from four seasons in the minors. Whether training tarantulas to protect his room from thieving employees in a backwater hotel, watching the raging battles fought between his partially paralyzed father and his alcoholic brother, or absorbing the gentle mockery of some not-quite-starstruck schoolchildren, Dirk reveals a side of baseball, and life, rarely seen on ESPN." - Amazon.

The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror, by John Kiriakou with Michael Ruby. Bantam. Print Length: 224 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (6 reviews). Kindle edition $14.30. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Acerbic memoir of a truncated career at the CIA. While he was pursuing a masters' degree at George Washington University, a knowledgeable professor steered Kiriakou toward 'the Company.' He joined the CIA in 1990 as a 'leadership analyst' in the Directorate of Intelligence. After a few years he transferred into the Directorate of Operations, which necessitated a hair-raising training course at 'the Farm.' Along the way, his marriage dissolved, resulting in many unpleasant disputes over the custody of his children. As the author notes, the trickiest part of being an operative is not the weapons training, nor the cloak-and-dagger tricks, but the subtle qualities that allow them to recruit and 'run' agents in other countries. Kiriakou spent the first part of his clandestine career in Greece, where the radical group 17 November was still occasionally committing assassinations. He then became involved in training officials and military officers of certain foreign countries in counterterror operations, working at Langley...Following 9/11, writes the author, many Agency personnel were clamoring for posts overseas. Due to his training in Arabic, he was sent to oversee counterterrorism efforts in Pakistan. He writes in detail about one of his crucial operations, the capture of notorious al-Qaeda chief Abu Zubaydah...Kiriakou offers an original, boots-on-the-ground perspective on the war on terror." - Kirkus Reviews.

When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man, by Jerry Weintraub. Hachette Book Group. 320 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (6 reviews.) Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars. ...we follow Weintraub from his first great success at age twenty-six with Elvis Presley, whom he took on the road with the help of Colonel Tom Parker; to the immortal days with Sinatra and Rat Pack glory; to his crowning hits as a movie producer, starting with Robert Altman and Nashville, continuing with Oh, God!, The Karate Kid movies, and Diner, among others, and summiting with Steven Soderbergh and Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. Along the way, we'll watch as Jerry moves from the poker tables of Palm Springs, to the power rooms of Hollywood, to the halls of the White House, to Red Square in Moscow and the Great Palace in Beijing - all the while counseling potentates, poets, and kings, with clients and confidants like George Clooney, Bruce Willis, George H. W. Bush, Armand Hammer, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, John Denver, Bobby Fischer..." - Amazon.

Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds, by Robin Olds, with Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus. St. Martin's Press. Print length: 416 p. Amazon customer rating:5 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Robin Olds was a larger-than-life hero with a towering personality. A graduate of West Point and an inductee in the National College Football Hall of Fame for his All-American performance for Army, Olds was one of the toughest college football players at the time. In WWII, Olds quickly became a top fighter pilot and squadron commander by the age of 22 - and an ace with 12 aerial victories. But it was in Vietnam where the man became a legend. He arrived in 1966 to find a dejected group of pilots and motivated them by placing himself on the flight schedule under officers junior to himself, then challenging them to train him properly because he would soon be leading them. Proving he wasn't a WWII retread, he led the wing with aggressiveness, scoring another four confirmed kills, becoming a rare triple ace. Olds (who retired a brigadier general and died in 2007) was a unique individual whose personal story is one of the most eagerly anticipated military books of the year." - Amazon.

Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific, by R. V. Burgin, with William Marvel. NAL. Print Length: 304 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (12 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
Burgin's story is featured in the HBO series The Pacific.
"This is an eyewitness-and eye-opening-account of some of the most savage and brutal fighting in the war against Japan, told from the perspective of a young Texan who volunteered for the Marine Corps to escape a life as a traveling salesman. R.V. Burgin enlisted at the age of twenty, and with his sharp intelligence and earnest work ethic, climbed the ranks from a green private to a seasoned sergeant. Along the way, he shouldered a rifle as a member of a mortar squad. He saw friends die-and enemies killed. He saw scenes he wanted to forget but never did - from enemy snipers who tied themselves to branches in the highest trees, to ambushes along narrow jungle trails, to the abandoned corpses of hara kiri victims, to the final howling banzai attacks as the Japanese embraced their inevitable defeat." - Amazon.

A Ticket to the Circus: A Memoir, by Norris Church Mailer. Random House. Print Length: 448 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $13.69. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"The sixth (and last) wife of Norman Mailer, Norris Church Mailer, met the late writer in 1975, when she was 26 and he twice her age; they were married for 27 years. Her memoir is, among other things, the story of a series of emancipations: from the constraints of her loving but limiting parents and the claustrophobic moralism of her Arkansas hometown; from her first marriage to a man she quickly outgrew; and from her inhibitions about writing and creating art. And even though this book is very much a love story, chronicling the ups and downs of the author’s stormy relationship with one of the twentieth-century’s gale-force literary personalities, another theme is the author’s complicated emotional emancipation from Norman... All of this happens amid circumstances that are consistently larger than life: parties with the New York literati, summers in Provincetown, and socializing with Imelda Marcos after a Mohammad Ali fight. There’s even a cameo by a young William Jefferson Clinton. Captivating and often tender, this tale of personal growth also functions as something of a counterpoint to The Last Party (2003), a memoir by Norman’s second wife, Adele Mailer." - Brendan Driscoll for Booklist.

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection, by Carol Burnett. Harmony. Print length: 288 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (12 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.


"The Carol Burnett Show was seen each week by millions of adoring fans and won twenty-five Emmys in its remarkable eleven-year run... In engaging anecdotes, Carol discusses her remarkable friendships with stars such at Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, and Julie Andrews; the background behind famous scenes, like the moment she swept down the stairs in her curtain-rod dress in the legendary Went With the Wild skit; and things that would happen only to Carol - the prank with Julie Andrews that went wrong in front of the First Lady; the famous Tarzan Yell that saved her during a mugging; and the time she faked a wooden leg to get served in a famous ice cream emporium. This poignant look back allows us to cry with the actress during her sorrows, rejoice in her successes, and finally, always, to laugh." - Amazon.

Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight, by Karl Rove. Simon and Schuster. 608 p. Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (112 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"From the moment he set foot on it, Karl Rove has rocked America’s political stage. He ran the national College Republicans at twenty-two, and turned a Texas dominated by Democrats into a bastion for Republicans. He launched George W. Bush to national renown by unseating a popular Democratic governor, and then orchestrated a GOP White House win at a time when voters had little reason to throw out the incumbent party. For engineering victory after unlikely victory, Rove became known as the Architect. ...Rove has been attacked his entire career, accused of everything from campaign chicanery to ideological divisiveness. In this frank memoir, Rove responds to critics, passionately articulates his political philosophy, and defends the choices he made on the campaign trail and in the White House. Courage and Consequence is also the first intimate account from the highest level at the White House of one of the most headline-making presidencies of the modern age... Rove is candid about his mistakes in the West Wing and in his campaigns, and talks frankly about the heartbreak of his early family years. He spells out what it takes to win elections and how to govern successfully once a candidate has won. But Courage and Consequence is ultimately about the joy of a life committed to the conservative cause..." - books.simonandschuster.com/

A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Stephan Talty and Richard Phillips. Hyperion. Print Length: 304 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Captain Richard Phillips knew the pirates were dangerous. And yet, it was originally just another day on the job for the fifty-three-year old captain of the Maersk Alabama, the United States-flagged cargo ship that was carrying food and other agricultural materials for the World Food Program. That all changed when armed Somali pirates boarded the ship. But they didn't expect the sailors to fight back nor did they plan for Captain Phillips to end up as a hostage in the stead of his ship and crew, and ultimately, they didn't bargain on the tough-as-nails everyman they took on board their tiny craft. After the tense five-day stand-off - including mock executions, deadly heat, and an escalating battle of wills - ended in a daring high-seas rescue, Captain Phillips said, 'It never ends like this.' And he's right. A Captain's Story tells the dramatic life-and-death tale of the Vermont native who, in April of 2008, was held captive on a tiny lifeboat off Somalia's anarchic, gun-plagued shores." - www.borders.com/

A Week of Entertainment: Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly 16 Apr 10

Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the April 16th issue include:

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, by Piper Kerman. Spiegel & Grau. Print length: 320 p. MEMOIR. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (13 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"When Piper Kerman was sent to prison for a ten-year-old crime, she barely resembled the reckless young woman she’d been when, shortly after graduating Smith College, she’d committed the misdeeds that would eventually catch up with her. Happily ensconced in a New York City apartment, with a promising career and an attentive boyfriend, she was suddenly forced to reckon with the consequences of her very brief, very careless dalliance in the world of drug trafficking. Kerman spent thirteen months in prison, eleven of them at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, where she met a surprising and varied community of women living under exceptional circumstances. In Orange Is the New Black, Kerman tells the story of those long months locked up in a place with its own codes of behavior and arbitrary hierarchies, where a practical joke is as common as an unprovoked fight, and where the uneasy relationship between prisoner and jailer is constantly and unpredictably recalibrated." - Amazon.

Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace, by David Lipsky. Broadway. Print length: 304 p. BIOGRAPHY. EW's slant: "...intimate glimpse into the mind of David Foster Wallace." Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (1 review). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"On assignment for Rolling Stone, Lipsky hung out with David Foster Wallace and his two dogs in Wallace's Illinois home, then accompanied the newly minted celebrity writer on a Midwest stretch of his 1996 book tour for his meganovel Infinite Jest. Lipsky's article was canceled, and now, in the wake of Wallace's 2008 suicide, Lipsky's recordings of five days' worth of the writer's brainy and passionate riffing on the nature of mind, the purpose of literature, and the pitfalls of both academia and entertainment are incredibly poignant. Lipsky vividly and incisively sets the before-and-after scenes for this revelatory oral history, in which Wallace is at once candid and cautious, funny and flinty, spellbinding and erudite as he articulates remarkably complex insights into depression, fiction that captures the 'cognitive texture' of our time, and fame's double edge. Wild about movies, prescient about the impact of the Internet, and happiest writing, Wallace is radiantly present in this intimate portrait, a generous and refined work that will sustain Wallace's masterful and innovative books long into the future." - Booklist.

Books They're Talking About: Kindle Books in the Media (13 Apr 10)

Media interviews are a popular way for writers to introduce new books they hope will catch the viewer's eye and open their pocketbooks. Here's a selection of forthcoming Kindle books by authors scheduled for interviews on TV and radio programs. Books are arranged in chronological order by the date of the scheduled interview.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (12 APR 2010):
Oprah: A Biography, by Kitty Kelley. Crown Publishing. Print Length: 544 p. Kindle edition $13.50. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Based on three years of research and reporting as well as 850 interviews with sources, many of whom have never before spoken for publication, Oprah is the first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful, and admired public figures of our time, by the most widely read biographer of our era. Anyone who is a fan of Oprah Winfrey or who has followed her extraordinary life and career will be fascinated and newly informed by the closely observed, detailed, and well-rounded portrait of her provided by Kitty Kelley’s exhaustively researched book. Readers will come away with a greater appreciation of who Oprah really is beyond her public persona and a fuller understanding of her important place in American cultural history." - Amazon.

ON ABC'S GOOD MORNING AMERICA (12 APR 2010):
The Best Kind of Different, by Shonda Schilling and Curt Schilling. HarperCollins. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Until the summer of 2007, the word Asperger's, was not a part of Shonda Schilling's vocabulary, but that summer changed everything. ...It was then that a neurologist diagnosed [her son] Grant with Asperger's syndrome - a form of high-functioning autism that, in recent years, has been found in children who at first glance appear disruptive and difficult. Now in The Best Kind of Different, Shonda details every step of her family's journey with Asperger's, offering a parent's perspective on this complicated and increasingly common condition. Looking back on Grant's early years, she describes the signals she missed in his behavior and confronts the guilt that engulfed her after she came to understand just how misguided her parenting had been before the diagnosis. In addition, she talks about the harsh judgment she's faced from people who don't buy into the diagnosis and how she's used passion and information to fight the ignorance of others. Celebrating Grant's successes and learning from his setbacks, Shonda demonstrates how Asperger's forced her and her husband to reconsider everything they thought they knew about their son and each other, but in the end, it has made their marriage and their family stronger and happier..." - Amazon.

ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW (12 APR 2010):
2010 Take Back America, by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. HarperCollins. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
A new title from conservative activist Dick Morris and his wife Eileen McGann. "Casting your vote in the November 2010 election may be the most important thing you do all year. These elections will be the critical turning point for America's future. They're our chance to take back America. Dick Morris and Eileen McGann outline a strategy for victory - explaining the pitfalls and walking us through a path to winning control of Congress. The stakes: We face permanently high unemployment, socialized medicine, rampant inflation, perpetual debt slavery, and a European-style government-run economy. The targets: Thirteen Senate seats and fifty-four House races will determine control of Congress. The strategy: Make Obama the issue. Attack his policies at their weakest points. Nationalize the campaign. Stay on the offensive. Your campaign: Politics is no longer a spectator sport. 2010: Take Back America is the training manual you need to win." - www.harpercollins.com.

ON NPR'S DIANE REHM SHOW (13 APR 2010):
The Inheritance, by Simon Tolkien. Minotaur Books. Print Length: 336 p. Kindle edition $11.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"A complex mystery of deception and betrayal that follows the court case of a young man set to hang for the murder of his father When a famed Oxford historian is found dead in his study one night, all evidence points to his son, Stephen. About to be disinherited from the family fortune, Stephen returns to home after a long estrangement - and it happens to be the night his father is shot to death. When his fingerprints are found on the murder weapon, Stephen's guilt seems undeniable. But there were five other people in the manor house at the time, and as their stories slowly emerge - along with the revelation that the deceased man was involved in a deadly hunt for a priceless relic in Northern France at the end of World War II - the race is on to save Stephen from a death sentence... Part courtroom drama and part historical thriller, The Inheritance is a dark, dynamic thriller that tests the strength of blood ties, loyalty, and revenge." - Amazon.

Kindle Genre Watch: Sci-Fi, Romance and Western Fiction (11 Apr 2010)

Genre fiction - as opposed to nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books - lends itself to enjoyable Kindle reading because when you pick up a book of fiction you don't necessarily expect it to be illustrated. Authors of mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, romance novels and westerns paint word pictures and their readers use their own imagination to picture the scene of the crime or the stare of a vampire or the track of an alien space craft hurtling towards earth.

Spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Recent genre fiction releases in sci-fi, romance and western fiction include:

SCIENCE FICTION

Supervirus by Andrew W. Mitchell. Turtle Rock Books. Print Length: 368 p. Kindle edition $0.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"A youth with a powerful mind amazes and terrifies the stock market and the National Security Agency. Dispatched to locate him, a group of elite operatives stumbles across his monumental creation, and an unlikely hero emerges in a struggle that could mark the beginning of a new era. "An important moment in history is like a beam of light. Some people see it and rush to it like moths. Other people just happen to discover that the beam of light is shining upon them." - Amazon.

Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many by Michael A. Martin & Jake Sisko. An original novel based on the multiplayer online role-playing game. Simon and Schuster. Print Length: 432 p. Kindle edition $6.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Prior to the terror-filled times of the Long War - the seemingly endless struggle against the Undine, a paranoid, shape-shifting race once known only as Species 8472 - enemy sleeper agents quietly penetrated every echelon of Federation society, as well as other starfaring civilizations throughout the Alpha and Beta quadrants. The ensuing conflict shook humanity to its very core, often placing its highest ideals against a pure survival instinct. All too frequently, the Undine War demanded the harshest of sacrifices and exacted the steepest of personal costs from the countless millions whose lives the great interdimensional clash forever altered. Drawn from his exhaustive research and interviews, The Needs of the Many delivers a glimpse of Betar Prize–winning author Jake Sisko’s comprehensive 'living history' of this tumultuous era. With collaborator Michael A. Martin, Sisko illuminates an often-poorly-understood time, an age marked indelibly by both fear and courage—not to mention the willingness of multitudes of unsung heroes who became the living embodiment of the ancient Vulcan philosopher Surak’s famous axiom, 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' - Amazon.


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ROMANCE

One-Click Buy: April 2010 Harlequin Presents. Harlequin. Print Length: Kindle edition $16.50. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
An omnibus edition of all April 2010 Harlequin Presents romance novels. Includes Bride, Bought and Paid For by Helen Bianchin; Wedlocked: Banished Sheikh, Untouched Queen by Carol Marinelli, The Brazilian Millionaire's Love-Child by Anne Mather; Her Mediterranean Playboy by Melanie Milburne and Kate Hewitt; Untamed Italian, Blackmailed Innocent by Jacqueline Baird; The Blackmail Baby by Natalie Rivers; Revealed: A Prince and A Pregnancy by Kelly Hunter; and Memoirs of a Millionaire's Mistress by Anne Oliver. For more information on each of these titles, check out the eHarlequin website.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean. HarperCollins. Print Length: 432 p. Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Combine a few tried and true romance tropes, like the wallflower spinster and the jaded rake, with some improbable but amusing misadventures, and you have the makings of an entertaining Regency debut.

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell, a plain but wealthy 28-year-old who refuses to marry a man who only desires her fortune, acts on a long-held crush and flings herself at Gabriel St. John, marquess of Ralston. Gabriel finds her antics more amusing than enticing, but his half-wild half-sister needs an impeccable chaperone and he chooses Callie for the role. Their proximity creates an infinite series of opportunities for the rake to practice his wiles on the more than willing wallflower. The 19th-century clothes are luscious, the 21st-century sensibility is raunchy, and it's all implausible, escapist fun." - Publishers Weekly.

The Killing Edge by Heather Graham. Mira. Print Length: 384 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"In this captivating novel of paranormal romantic suspense from bestseller Graham, part-time model and psychologist Chloe Marin, a traumatized survivor of what was billed as the Teen Massacre at a Florida beach house 10 years earlier, has new reason to be afraid. Colleen Rodriguez, one of the models at Chloe's Miami Beach agency, has gone missing while on a shoot in the Florida Keys. Investigating Colleen's disappearance is PI Luke Cane, whose tortured past makes him a perfect match for Chloe, and the pair soon give in to their mutual attraction... Just when Chloe thinks she can look happily to the future, eerie similarities surface between a crime in New Orleans and the massacre." - Publishers Weekly.

Desires of a Perfect Lady by Victoria Alexander. HarperCollins. Print Length: 384 p. Kindle edition $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"A decade ago, Olivia had expected to marry the Earl of Wyldewood, only to have happiness stolen from her before his ring could be placed upon her finger. Now he stands before her, as proud and arrogant and handsome as ever, vowing to rescue her. Well, he's got some nerve urning up after all these years. Where was he when she needed him? As for the earl, scandal has never touched him nor has impropriety ever besmirched his name. But his penchant for doing the expected does have his family calling him, well, dull. Isn't it time to flaunt society's conventions and do what he's always wanted? And first on his list: Olivia in his bed - with or without a wedding." - www.victoriaalexanderbooks.com/

WESTERNS

The Bisbee Massacre by J. R. Roberts. (The Gunsmith, 340). Jove. Print Length: 192 p. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"After the OK Corral shoot-out in '81 and the Massacre of '83, Tombstone's pretty quiet on Clint Adams' first visit back. But then a local rancher is sent to his Maker, and it's up to Clint to find the killer." - Amazon.

Slocum and the Gift Horse by Jake Logan. (Slocum, 374). Jove. Print Length: 192 p. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"John Slocum has enough skills to join an outlaw's gang - but only long enough to generate heat with a blacksmith's daughter... and find a way to collect the bounty on a thieving killer's head." - Amazon.

Longarm and the Howling Maniac by Tabor Evans. (Longarm, 377). Jove. Print Length: 192 p. Kindle edition $4.79. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"The mining town of Sully Creek is shivering in terror. Three victims have been found with their heads in their laps - literally. To catch the maniac before he strikes again, Longarm has no choice but to stick out his own neck." - Amazon.

Rattler by Barry Andrew Chambers. Pinnacle Books. Print Length: 304 p. Kindle edition $3.83. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Randall Foster was a young school teacher who got dragged into a deadly clash of clans. When the dust settled, the teacher was hand-picked by a covert government agency called The Service. Proving himself in a secret training program, Randall Foster soon has a new career, a code name "Rattler," and a stubborn horse who does everything except obey. In a mild-mannered disguise, Rattler comes to Clearview, Kansas, in search of a depraved killer using the name Featherston - and walks straight into the ruthless killer's crosshairs." - Amazon.

Moonshine Massacre by William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone. (Blood Bond, 14). Pinnacle Books. Print Length: 332 p. Kindle edition $4.47. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"A half-breed and a white man. For years their legend has grown, but few know how far they will go for one another or the roots of their blood bond. When Matt Bodine and Sam Two Wolves came to Kansas, they didn't know the Governor had just made the state liquor-free. But it doesn't take Matt long to find a place to drink and a family of enterprising moonshiners with one stunningly beautiful daughter. Trouble is, while Matt is falling hard, Sam is being recruited by a sheriff who happens to have a lovely daughter of his own. What happens when you mix 200-proof corn liquor with intoxicating women and two friends on opposite sides of the law?" - Amazon.

A Week of Entertainment: Books Reviewed in Entertainment Weekly (09 Apr 10)

Each week Entertainment Weekly reviews a small selection of popular new books. Titles available for the Kindle reviewed in the April 9th issue include:


The Bridge, by David Remnick. Publisher. Print length: 672 p. BIOGRAPHY. EW's slant: "...will serve as a building block for all future works on Obama...as lovely and assured as Remnick's writing is, Obama's is better." Amazon customer rating: 3 1/2 stars (11 reviews). Kindle edition $14.82. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"From New Yorker editor Remnick..., a world-ranging, eye-opening, comprehensive life to date of the 44th President of the United States. World-ranging because, writes the author, 'Barack Obama's family, broadly defined, is vast. It's multi-confessional, multiracial, multi-lingual, and multi-continental.' One of his half brothers, born in Africa, lives in China; a cousin is a rabbi; other cousins are blond children of the prairie. Then there is his father, a promising economist with a drinking problem, and his mother, an anthropologist who left the young man with her parents in order to pursue her career. Obama, as Remnick's allusive title suggests, has served as a bridge among cultures and races, though his steadfast wish to be seen as a person of accomplishments who happens to be black does not neatly fit the pigeonholing that so many of his critics wish to entertain... He makes another bridge, too, as Remnick cogently writes - a bridge to the past and to the bridges Dr. King crossed at Selma, Montgomery and Washington; a bridge, as a memoirist, to the rich history of African-American narrative. The author also delves into Obama's travels in Pakistan with a Muslim friend and his relationship with the firebrand preacher Jeremiah Wright... Yet for all the potential political derailments his past and friendships might have caused, the author depicts Obama as a survivor, an adept practical politician and, most importantly, a leader who demands to be taken seriously." - Kirkus Reviews.
$9.99 or less alternative: Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, by Barack Obama.

Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen. Random House. 320 p. NOVEL. EW's slant: "Ann Quindlen likes to tackle hot-button social issues in her novels, and Every Last One is no exception... Fans...may want to give [this] a skip." Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (12 reviews). Kindle edition $12.64. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"...we know early on that something horrible is going to happen in the Latham household, which we experience through the keen senses and swirling thoughts of Mary Beth. Contentedly married to an ophthalmologist (an ironic profession, given how many clues to the impending tragedy she and her husband fail to see), she runs a landscape design business and attends ardently to her children: beautiful and creative teen Ruby, and slightly younger twin sons, who are so unalike they barely seem related. Kiernan, Ruby’s boyfriend, is also an integral part of the hectic, happy household. Mary Beth’s narrative voice is not only reliable but also irresistible, and after she survives the unthinkable, her struggle to reconstruct her life evolves into a penetrating inquiry into the bewilderment of grief. But for all of Quindlen’s bold and invaluable insights into anguish and recovery, what stands out most are her charming and insightful portrayals of mercurial, marvelous teenagers, her fluency in the complexity of family dynamics, and her deep understanding of mother love. - Donna Seaman for Booklist.
$9.99 or less alternative: Tina Jordan, EW book reviewer, recommends Cost, by Roxana Robinson as an alternative for readers searching for a good novel about dysfunctional families and addiction.

Kindle Genre Watch: New in Fantasy & Mystery Fiction (7 Apr 2010)

Genre fiction - as opposed to nonfiction, graphic novels and picture books - lends itself to enjoyable Kindle reading because when you pick up a book of fiction you don't necessarily expect it to be illustrated. Authors of mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, romance novels and westerns paint word pictures and their readers use their own imagination to picture the scene of the crime or the stare of a vampire or the track of an alien space craft hurtling towards earth.

Spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Recent genre fiction releases in fantasy and mystery fiction include:

FANTASY

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs. This is the 5th book in the Mercedes Thompson series that began with Moon Called. All the books in this series are available in Kindle editions. This is one of those series you will enjoy more if you read it in order. Ace. Print length: 336 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit. All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live." - Amazon.

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison. This is book eight in the Rachel Morgan/ The Hollows series that began with Dead Witch Walking. This is another series you'll want to read from the very beginning to avoid "sorting-out-the-characters" fatigue. HarperCollins. Print length: 496 p. Kindle edition $12.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter - and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind... until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment - at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery. Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief. It takes a witch to catch a witch, but survival bears a heavy price." - Amazon.

At the Gates of Darkness by Raymond Feist. Book two of The Demonwar Saga, following Rides a Dread Legion. HarperCollins. Print length: 320 p. Kindle edition $14.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"To protect their world from the savage demon hordes, the Black Sorcerer Pug and Midkemia's clandestine protectors, the Conclave of Shadows, forged an uneasy alliance of formidable magical talents. Together, this brave band of wizards, demon masters, warriors, and elves defeated the brutal Demon King Maarg and turned back the onrushing death tide. But Maarg's fall has not stopped the demonic onslaught, and danger now looms greater than ever before. Amid the barren ridges of the Valley of Lost Men, in the shadows of an ancient Keshian fortress, the fearsome demon Dahun and the mad necromancer Belasco have joined forces, creating an unstoppable union of deathly black magics that even Pug and a united Conclave may not be strong enough to withstand...Though he is racked by despair and rage, Pug knows that the time for mourning must wait. Putting aside his pain, he and the Conclave and their allies - the cold-blooded master spy Jim Dasher; the fearsome young Knight-Adamant Sandreena; her former lover the necromancer Amirantha; two renegade Star Elves; and Pug's surviving son, Magnus - must marshal their resources against this latest threat... At the gates of darkness, where shadows hide even deeper shadows, these magical defenders will face what is sure to be the bloodiest, nastiest fight their land has ever seen." - Amazon.

Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead. Kensington Books. Print length: 304 p. Kindle edition $9.60. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Georgina Kincaid has formidable powers. Immortality, seduction, shape-shifting into any human form she desires, walking in heels that would cripple mere mortals - all child's play to a succubus like her. Helping to plan her ex-boyfriend's wedding is a different story. Georgina isn't sure which is worse - that Seth is marrying another woman, or that Georgina has to run all over Seattle trying on bridesmaid dresses... But the real danger lies in the mysterious force that's visiting her thoughts, trying to draw her into a dark, otherworldly realm. Sooner or later, Georgina knows she'll be too weak to resist. And when that happens, she'll discover who she can trust, who she can't... " - Amazon.

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane. Spectra. Print length: 384 p. Kindle edition $6.39. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem. Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine’s first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye." - from the paperback edition.

MYSTERY

Caught by Harlan Coben. Dutton. Print length: 388 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Teenager Haley McWaid doesn't come home one night, and when months go by without a word her parents assume the worst. Reporter Wendy Tynes conducts a sexual predator sting, working with the local police to capture men on camera and later televising the footage. Her latest suspect is community social worker Dan Mercer, and those who know him can't believe he's guilty. Tynes begins to question her instincts, but she carries on with her investigation, which reveals a shocking link between Mercer and the missing Haley, with aftershocks that will destroy a community." - Jeff Ayers for Library Journal.

The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross. HarperCollins. Print length: 448 p. Kindle edition $0.00 (for a limited time). Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"...a bomb explodes in a commuter train station, killing several people, including New York City hedge-fund manager Charles Friedman. At roughly the same time, a suspicious auto accident kills a young man in Greenwich, Connecticut. The detective on that case, Ty Hauck, soon discovers an odd connection between the hit-and-run and the bombing. He investigates and discovers that Charles Friedman was not the man he appeared to be. He also forges a connection with the dead man’s wife, Karen, that leads him into uncharted waters. This is a tightly written corporate-style thriller very much in the mold of Joseph Finder..." - David Pitt for Booklist.

Deception by Jonathan Kellerman. This is Kellerman's 25th mystery novel to feature forensic psychologist Alex Delaware. Ballantine Books. Print length: 352 p. Kindle edition $13.50. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"Her name is Elise Freeman, and her chilling cry for help - to whoever may be listening - comes too late to save her. On a DVD found near her lifeless body, the emotionally and physically battered woman chronicles a year-and-a-half-long ordeal of monstrous abuse at the hands of three sadistic tormentors. But even more shocking than the lurid details is the revelation that the offenders, like their victim, are teachers at one of L.A.’s most prestigious prep schools. With Elise now dead by uncertain means, homicide detective Milo Sturgis is assigned to probe the hallowed halls of Windsor Prep Academy. And if ever he could use Dr. Alex Delaware’s psychological prowess, it’s now." - from the hardcover edition.

Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay. Dell. Print length: 432 p. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"David Harwood thinks his only problem is the failing newspaper he works for - until Jan, his wife of five years, suddenly begins to show signs of serious depression and talks of suicide. When she arranges a trip to a local amusement park for David, their young son Ethan, and herself, David feels encouraged that her mood may be lifting. Unfortunately, in the press of the crowd, Ethan mometarily vanishes, and by the time he’s found, Jan has also disappeared. Unlike Ethan, she can’t be found. Was she abducted? Did she run away? It isn’t long before David is tagged as the number-one suspect in what cops think is her murder, and it’s up to him to find what really happened." - Stephanie Zvirin for Booklist.


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