July | 2016 | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

SUMMIT by Harry Farthing

July 15, 2016

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The first time author trying to write a novel is normally advised to utilize the known parameters of his or her own experience. Harry Farthing has done just that in coming out with a book revolving around attempts to climb Mount Everest, the highest peak currently known to man.

Farthing’s background includes a try at Everest as well as climbs up many of the famous peaks of the world. His intimate knowledge of the skills, tools and equipment needed for what appears to be the most exacting task possible come out in what is an excellent novel centered on reaching Everest’s peak.

The book revolves around two separate attempts on Mount Everest about 70 years apart. The first try centers on Josef Becker, who was a soldier in the German army at the beginning of World War II. He committed an infraction and awaited a punishment of death.

Coincidentally, Heinrich Himmler came up with the idea that scaling Everest and planting the Nazi flag on the summit would be a blow to the British. Becker had grown up in an area of Germany in which mountain climbing was widely practiced and was considered an expert. Himmler assigned Becker to make a climb on Everest with punishment for his family probable if the attempt was not successful, but pardon for him if successful and the Nazi flag planted.

Seventy years later Neil Quinn, a professional guide with eight successfully led expeditions to Everest’s peak, loses a customer, the young son of a wealthy American business man. In that unfortunate climb, Quinn finds an old ice axe embellished with a Nazi swastika and due to a decline in his reputation, has time to begin attempting to find out what happened 70 years ago to Becker.

Equipment and events revolving around a climb are explained quite well by Farthing, and the stresses and strains are described obviously by a person involved with these. The writing goes back and forth between Becker and Quinn, with no loss of continuity. The ending is not at all telegraphed, but so appropriate for the book that it becomes a capstone of what the reader has in all probability stayed up at night to read.

Extremely well done and surely the first of many books by Harry Farthing.

7/16 Paul Lane

SUMMIT by Harry Farthing. Blackstone Publishing; Unabridged edition (June 14, 2016). ISBN 978-1504710213. 496p.

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2016 ITW THRILLER AWARDS

July 14, 2016

INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS ANNOUNCE

THE WINNERS OF THE

2016 ITW THRILLER AWARDS

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) is proud to announce the most thrilling authors of 2016. The winners of this year’s ITW Thriller Awards are:

2016 THRILLERMASTER AWARD: Heather Graham is the bestselling author of The Cafferty and Quinn series, The Krewe of Hunters series, and the Bone Island Trilogy. Graham also launched books for Dell’s Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette’s Shadows, and for Harlequin’s mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books. The award was presented by R.L. Stine, the 2011 ThrillerMaster Award winner.

2016 SILVER BULLET AWARD: Lescroart, a founding member of ITW and a New York Times bestselling author of legal thrillers, has donated funds from character-naming auctions to support libraries, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and many others. He’s also been involved in the Authors on the Move fundraiser for the Sacramento Public Library Foundation. Lescroart was presented the award by Steve Berry, the 2013 Silver Bullet Literary Award winner.

The winners of the best hard cover novel, best paperback original, best first novel, best e-book original, best young adult novel and best short story are:

BEST HARD COVER NOVEL

Ian Caldwell, THE FIFTH GOSPEL (Simon & Schuster)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

John Gilstrap, AGAINST ALL ENEMIES (Pinnacle)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Brian Panowich, BULL MOUNTAIN (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Chris Kuzneski, THE PRISONER’S GOLD (Chris Kuzneski)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Michelle Painchaud PRETENDING TO BE ERICA (Viking Books for Young Readers)

BEST SHORT STORY

Joyce Carol Oates GUN ACCIDENT: AN INVESTIGATION (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

There’s only one event where you can find New York Times best-selling authors lurking around every single corner, literary agents actually appearing in broad daylight and fans openly plotting and conspiring with the most feared and revered names of the thriller genre. We hope that you join us in 2017 for ThrillerFest XII, the International Thriller Writers’ twelfth annual celebration of all things Thriller, the largest event of its kind in the world. The highlight of the festival is the gala ITW Thriller Awards Banquet during which a fresh batch of authors will be announced as the chosen heroes of suspense. www.thrillerfest.com

My favorite conference every year! Hope to see you there next summer.

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NINE WOMEN, ONE DRESS by Jane L. Rosen

July 13, 2016

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I don’t know if you’ve flown anywhere lately, but JetBlue asked me to get to the airport at least two hours early. My cab driver took a direct route, we missed the traffic on the George Washington bridge and I got to the airport a little earlier than I needed to. Of course I zipped right through TSA and got to spend all that time before my flight reading this fabulous book. Let me tell you I have never enjoyed waiting at an airport more!

It seems like once every year or so, an enchanting book falls into my lap. Books like The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, or Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. I am delighted to add Rosen to this list. Nine Women, One Dress is a completely compelling, utterly charming book and I loved every page.

So, the dress. The little black dress, the “it” dress that everyone (i.e. everyone important) has to have. Honestly, I kept thinking of the “blue and black or white and gold” internet sensation last year, but I digress. This book starts with the soon to be retired Morris, the pattern maker of this year’s dress. His family sent him to America on his own from Poland when he was 13 years old, and you can fill in the rest. The model who wore the dress is a fresh face right out of the deep South, and it makes her career.

Some of the other women are Felicia, who’s been in love with her married boss for almost as long as she’s worked for him. Recently widowed, Arthur is oblivious and dating a woman his daughter’s age. Until the sales folk at Bloomingdale’s get involved. One of them, Natalie, wears the dress as the hot date for a Hollywood celebrity who’s been outed.

Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character, and the story becomes richer and more complex as the pages turn in what is also a love letter to New York City. And Bloomingdales – I was happy to see that storyline, I’m a long time fan of the store.

If I could gift every one of you a copy of this book, I would. I was so sorry to turn the last page and spent the ride home from the airport telling my family all about it. I still can’t shut up about it – I’ve reserved it for several of my library patrons today.

I can guarantee that Nine Women, One Dress will be on my Best Books of 2016 list. Don’t miss it.

7/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

NINE WOMEN, ONE DRESS by Jane L. Rosen. Doubleday (July 12, 2016). ISBN: 978-0385541404. 272p.

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WITH MALICE by Eileen Cook

July 11, 2016

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Jill was looking forward to her trip to Italy – a chance to walk the very streets and alleys as some of her intellectual heroes. It was also a chance to spend some time with her best friend, Simone, with no parents over their shoulders. It was to be a true adventure.

But Jill is in the hospital with no memory of how she got there. She’s told she was in an accident in Italy. One so bad that the last six weeks or so have been wiped from her memory. She doesn’t remember the accident, she certainly doesn’t remember the trip, and she definitely doesn’t remember killing Simone. Without her memory to help her, she has no way of proving that the crime she’s been accused of never took place, but she knows without a doubt that she would never have killed her best friend. Never.

A trip to Italy and an American girl accused of murder might sound familiar but interestingly Cook says With Malice was not actually inspired by the Amanda Knox case, only somewhat shaped by it as the story progressed. And the story itself bears little similarity to Knox’s except for the basics: setting and the accused.

Much of the book is focused on Jill’s time in therapy and her attempts to unravel the truth about her final days in Italy. Reports claim there was a boy involved. They also claim that Jill and Simone had been arguing for much of the trip. And since Jill’s father had her quickly shipped back to the States, the Italian police are desperate to make a case for bringing Jill back to Italy to face trial. The pacing is quick and intensified by the fact that our own main character’s resolve about her innocence is shaken as the story progresses.

With Malice is an excellent psychological suspense tale, one that is sure to appeal to teens and adults alike.

7/16 Becky LeJeune

WITH MALICE by Eileen Cook. HMH Books for Young Readers (June 7, 2016). ISBN: 978-0544805095. 320p.

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THE HATCHING by Ezekiel Boone

July 9, 2016

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The Hatching Series, Book 1

Boone proves himself a master craftsman in the first book in a series about a hatching and emergence of a species that has lain dormant for hundreds of thousands of years.

Descriptions are posted about the sudden appearance in different areas of the world of a black slithering mass that attacks every living thing it encounters. A tourist in the interior part of Peru is actually eaten by the mass. The Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in a section of their country. Strange seismic activity registers in India.

While the world is shaken by these events, a package is delivered to a laboratory in Washington, D.C with something contained that is definitely trying to get out. The developing of the narrative offers a crescendo of horror that will shake the reader.

Emanating in all probability from a millennium old hibernation period starting in prehistoric times what it is becomes a logical event when the life forms of that period are considered. It is huge, predatory and determined to resurrect its place in nature’s scheme of things.

A brilliantly conceived and developing scenario what it is will just straight out keep the reader up and looking behind him or her while engrossed in the book. This, the first book of the series, sets the stage for what is obviously to develop into a fight for survival by the human race with the cards stacked against it.

7/16 Paul Lane

THE HATCHING by Ezekiel Boone. Atria/Emily Bestler Books (July 5, 2016). ISBN 978-1501125041. 352p.

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HOUSE OF SECRETS by Brad Meltzer & Tod Goldberg

July 7, 2016

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Brad Meltzer has demonstrated his lifelong interest in discovering hidden aspects of historical events. In addition to books dedicated towards fact, he has also written fiction utilizing Beecher White. a young archivist employed by the National Archives in Washington. White is shown discovering hidden stories, unknown facts tied to historical events.

In House of Secrets, Meltzer introduces a new protagonist, Hazel Nash, who has been taught from the age of six that mysteries need to be solved. Her father/teacher, Jack Nash, had hosted a long term show exposing conspiracies called, “The House of Secrets”.

We meet Hazel as she is recovering from an auto accident which killed her father and injured her brother. She has completely lost her memory from the trauma. She is visited in the hospital by an agent from the FBI who begins questioning her about her father and the body of a man with a book stuffed into his chest. The book is believed to have belonged to Benedict Arnold, the most famous traitor in American history.

Leaving the hospital, Hazel finds material in her house that she cannot remember obtaining nor have any reason to get. There is a large collection of guns and she has scars on her face that she doesn’t recall suffering. When Hazel digs into these mysteries, she begins to discover facts about her father that show him to be a very different person than he seemed to be.

What does Benedict Arnold’s book have to do with her father and why was it sewn into a dead man’s chest? What are the realities of her father’s directing the TV show?

A very engrossing novel, and one that leads the reader through an apparent maze into a logical conclusion with the possibility of a different direction in one of history’s events than normally perceived. Hazel appears to be developed into another protagonist for Brad Meltzer and his new writing partner, Tod Goldberg, that can expand the horizons of historical discovery into the international sphere.

7/16 Paul Lane

HOUSE OF SECRETS by Brad Meltzer & Tod Goldberg. Grand Central Publishing (June 7, 2016). ISBN 978-1455559497. 368p.

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ONCE UPON A MOONLIT NIGHT by Elizabeth Hoyt

July 6, 2016

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A Maiden Lane Novella

Hippolyta Royle has just escaped from a kidnapper. This is no ordinary kidnapper, however. No ransom was involved; instead the kidnapper, a Duke, wants to marry the wealthy heiress, but she’s not interested. More to the point, she wants out and with the help of a kind maid, makes her escape, wearing borrowed, ill fitting clothes and running through the rainy woods, the hounds after her.

Eventually she makes it to the road, a mud splattered mess, where she flags down a passing coach, begging a ride. The occupant, Mr. Matthew Mortimer, takes pity on her, thinking her to be a poor beggar girl or perhaps even a prostitute.

They have quite the adventure as they travel to London, where they each find out the other’s true identity and realize they are meant to be together.

This is a novella and available as an ebook or audiobook only, so I can’t say how long it is exactly. I can say I read it in an hour or so and enjoyed it. Hoyt is a good storyteller, and that comes across even in this abbreviated format.

7/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

ONCE UPON A MOONLIT NIGHT by Elizabeth Hoyt. Forever Yours (July 5, 2016). ASIN: B01CDDAF88. 464p.

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THE TRAP by Melanie Raabe

July 5, 2016

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Linda Conrads is agoraphobic, suffers from depression, anxiety, hallucinations and panic attacks, and hasn’t left her home since her sister was murdered eleven years earlier.

Fortunately, Linda is a very successful novelist so she has the means to live her life isolated on a luxurious estate. Unfortunately, Linda had discovered her sister’s body, caught a glimpse of the murderer as he left the apartment, and been haunted by the scene for years.

Her only links to the outside world are her editor, her part time assistant, and the television. She is watching the news when she suddenly realizes the reporter, Victor Lenzen, is her sister’s murderer.

She decides to set a trap; she writes a thriller utilizing all the details of her sister’s murder, then arranges for her first interview in twelve years – with Victor Lenzen. Linda hopes to maneuver him into a confession, but her careful plan goes horribly awry.

A fast, twisty read for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn. Not for me.

7/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE TRAP by Melanie Raabe. Grand Central Publishing (July 5, 2016). ISBN 978-1455592920. 352p.

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HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION by by Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jeremy McCarter

July 4, 2016

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Last fall, I was watching The View and Whoopi Goldberg raved about this new Broadway musical she had just seen. I was intrigued, and since I was planning a trip to NY this summer, looked into buying tickets. They were out of my price range, around $300 a ticket, so I didn’t buy them. That was a mistake – the weekend I was looking at coincides with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s last performance and that $300 ticket is now selling for thousands of dollars. I still wouldn’t have seen the show but I could have made enough to see several other shows!

My library offers Hoopla, a streaming service that offers music, movies, audiobooks and more. They have the Hamilton soundtrack, and I’ve checked it out several times now. This book is just the icing on the cake for me. It’s really gorgeous, the paper is just perfect for the subject, and there are dozens of interesting pictures. If you’ve seen the show, you will want this book (or so I hear!) and if you haven’t, like me, you can enjoy it vicariously through this book. Add the soundtrack and you can have Hamilton magic without ever leaving home!

From Amazon:

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims our country’s origins for a diverse new generation.

HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages–“since before this was even a show,” according to Miranda–traces its development from an improbable performance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here.

Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer, Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sondheim, leading political commentators, and more than 50 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by President Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became a national phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don’t throw away their shot.

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7/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION by by Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jeremy McCarter. Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (April 12, 2016). ISBN: 978-1455539741. 288p.

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COLD by John Sweeney

July 3, 2016

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John Sweeney’s credentials are such to cause a reader to assume that any novel he will produce will immediately grab the reader, pull him or her into the story and keep them there. The elements are here in the details, the action and an interesting plot.

The problem is a myriad of details that take Joe Tiplady, Sweeney’s protagonist, into a dizzying array of events that make him a priceless target but cause the book to become more than a little cumbersome for the reader.

The book opens with Joe walking his dog in London, in the snow, but shadowed by two men. He is then rapidly immersed into troubles that become overwhelming. A retired Soviet general is hunting for his missing daughter. A ruthless assassin is hunting something he lost that is so precious he will do anything to get it back. And in the background is Zoba ruler of Russia and master of the world’s darkest operatives.

The ending solves the problems but is disappointing for those that have waded through the book and expect something more to the point. The details are tied together logically, possibly allowing for future Tiplady novels to become tighter and more interesting for the reader. That is if Sweeney thinks a bit smaller and doesn’t try to solve too many problems in his books.

7/16 Paul Lane

COLD by John Sweeney. Thomas & Mercer (July 1, 2016). ISBN 978-1503934221. 398p.

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