DECEPTION COVE by Owen Laukkanen

May 22, 2019

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Neah Bay, Book 1

With the publication of “Deception Cove,” the author introduces two very unique and quite interesting characters while doing his normal job of capturing the attention of the reader and holding it.

The first is a lady named Jess Winslow who a) got married b) joined the Marines and c) did two tours in Afghanistan seeing all the action one can see. Jess’s husband was killed while she was serving her country and she was discharged from the corps and sent home. Due to the combination of her time in action and the untimely death of her husband, she was diagnosed as suffering from PTSD, released from duty and sent home. She was given a dog especially trained to work with and help returning veterans suffering from PTSD.

The second person is Mason Burke, who is nearing the end of a 15 year prison term for taking part in a robbery that saw the owner of the store shot dead. Towards the end of his sentence, Mason is allowed to train a dog for the purpose of helping those veterans suffering from PTSD, and of course, the dog named Lucy is awarded to Jess. Getting out of prison Mason makes inquiries about Lucy, finds out who she was awarded to and also learns the disturbing news that the dog will shortly be put down for attacking a man. He decides that the only course open to him is to travel to where Jess lives and try and save the dog. This is in a remote but quite beautiful area in the state of Washington. Mason travels there, manages to make contact with Jess and both work on making sure that Lucy is not destroyed.

The story is well done, quite engrossing with the protagonists defined, and that includes the villains of the piece. The best part is an afterward. Laukkanen indicates that he is currently working on future books featuring Jess, Mason, and of course, Lucy. My recommendation is to read this book, find out what happens and what events shape the future. Enjoy a good read and make note of looking for the future novels promised by the author. Readers will not be disappointed in the events depicted in the book and certainly welcome the news that there will be more in the near future.

5/19 Paul Lane

DECEPTION COVE by Owen Laukkanen. Mulholland Books (May 21, 2019). ISBN 978-0316448703. 384p.

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Reading Dangerously

May 21, 2019

Laurie Halse Anderson joins Colson Whitehead in ‘Reading Dangerously’ at the Freedom to Read Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

New York Times bestselling author and intellectual freedom advocate Laurie Halse Anderson will speak at the Freedom to Read Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C. on June 22, 2019. Anderson, recipient of the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her young adult titles “Catalyst,” “Fever 1793” and “Speak,” has been recognized for her ongoing advocacy against censorship.

Anderson is known not only for her award-winning works, but also for her willingness to tackle challenging – and often challenged – topics. Her book “Speak,” a young adult title that deals with sexual assault, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. “Speak” has been challenged numerous times and is still touching lives and making waves despite progress and the #metoo era.

Anderson will be joining keynote speaker Colson Whitehead, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Underground Railroad,” on the stage at the 50th Anniversary celebration. The celebration will take place during the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in the Renaissance Washington D.C.’s Grand Ballroom, 999 9th St NW, Washington, D.C. and will begin at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public, and appetizers and a cash bar will be available. Tickets are $25 and available for purchase on the FTRF website or through ALA conference registration.

To mark its 50th Anniversary, the Freedom to Read Foundation has commissioned a limited-edition commemorative book, “Reading Dangerously,” to highlight its 50 years of advocacy, education and litigation on behalf of the freedom to read. The book features an introduction by author Neil Gaiman and an essay by former FTRF director James LaRue that looks forward to the foundation’s next 50 years. Supporters of the foundation can reserve a copy of the book and purchase tickets to the celebration through its Kickstarter campaign, online at bit.ly/FTRFKickstarter.

The Freedom to Read Foundation is a nonprofit legal and educational organization founded in 1969 to promote and protect the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press; protect the public’s right of access to information and materials stored in the nation’s libraries; safeguard libraries’ right to disseminate all materials contained in their collections; and support libraries and librarians in their defense of First Amendment rights by supplying them with legal counsel or the means to secure it.

In addition to its litigation and legal advocacy in defense of First Amendment freedoms, the foundation supports projects and programs to educate librarians and the public about the importance of defending the right to read and speak freely by providing grants to libraries, schools, and community institutions across the country. FTRF also supports and funds initiatives and scholarship programs to improve intellectual freedom education for LIS professionals and students.

The Freedom to Read Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Celebration is sponsored by Penguin Random House LLC, Penguin Random House Publisher Services, Avenue4, Gale, a Cengage Company, Association of American Publishers Foundation, EBSCO, OCLC, Bound to Stay Books, ProQuest, HarperCollins, Rakuten OverDrive, Inc., Hachette Book Group, Simon and Schuster, Author’s Guild, Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA), Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), American Association of School Librarians (AASL), SAGE Publishing, Public Library Association (PLA), Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Association of Specialized Government & Cooperative Library Agencies (ASGCLA), Visiting Librarian Service, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and the trustees, members, and friends of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

For additional information regarding the 50th Anniversary Celebration, please visit www.ftrf.org/page/FTRF50 or contact Yumeka Brown at ybrown@ala.org.

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THE 45TH by D.W. Buffa

May 21, 2019

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The 45th in the title is the 45th president of the United States who in actuality is Donald J. Trump. The story begins at the Republican national convention which is meeting to select a candidate to run against Hillary Constable, the nominated selection of the Democratic party. Trump makes a short appearance when he talks with the man who is indicated as the kingmaker at the Republican convention. But, this is not to be.

The kingmaker, who is the majority whip of the party, turns to Julian Drake, a man that left politics 10 years prior to the story to raise his sister’s children.They had been made orphans due to the untimely deaths of their mother and father and it was felt that Drake on leaving politics missed a chance to possibly rise, even as far as the presidency. Drake is called upon to write the keynote speech for the whip and than is deviously forced into presenting it.

Drake does and moves the convention into the position of selecting him, an unknown, as it’s candidate. He wins the election and begins the process of changing the country over. The novel than becomes a recap of philosopher’s and politician’s thoughts from the past.

Buffa has turned his novel into a compendium of his own thoughts and feelings about what is best for the country. Without summarizing the ideas the reader, like it or not, is thrust into the past to learn about writings and thoughts of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. In addition to the actions and ideas of John F Kennedy and Winston Churchill, we learn about the political manipulations of Disraeli, Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The scenario is that the world has completely moved away from the glorious past when great men were able to guide the populations into wholesome lives. The reader of this novel might like the idea of learning about Buffa’s political ideas, but if not it is going to be a tedious situation to plow through pages and pages of idealized philosophy. I finished the book because I felt an obligation to do so. But 1984 it is not.

5/19 Paul Lane

THE 45TH by D.W. Buffa. Polis Books (May 21, 2019). ISBN 978-1947993532. 308p.

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Guest Blogger: Claire Legrand

May 18, 2019

I am so excited to welcome the fiercely feminist fantasy author, Claire Legrand, to the blog!

The Music That Inspired the Empirium Trilogy

by Claire Legrand

I’ve told this story before—how I came up with the idea for the Empirium Trilogy when I was eighteen and a recent high school graduate. How, while listening to Howard Shore’s score for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, I daydreamed the character of Rielle Dardenne. How I worked on the trilogy for fourteen years before the first book, Furyborn, was published.

What I haven’t talked about quite as frequently is the specific music that took me beyond that first moment of inspiration. The apocalyptic choral bombast of “The End of All Things”—the music that accompanies the climactic scene in Return of the King—ushered in the character of Rielle. But what about the days after that, once the heady rush of initial inspiration had passed, when I actually had to sit down and figure out how to write this thing?

In middle school, high school, and the first two years of college, I studied music with determination and fervor. My goal was to become a professional orchestral musician, and my instrument was the trumpet. But even before my official study of music, which took my love of instrumental music to the next level, I was obsessed with film scores.

I remember obsessively listening to Danny Elfman’s score for Black Beauty when I was in elementary school, and using it to daydream up all kinds of weird and often dark stories—always infused with magic and always centering around some kind of love story. A girl and her horse. A princess and her knight. Two best friends on the adventure of a lifetime. If music has been my greatest source of inspiration in terms of the Empirium Trilogy, then I can trace that inspiration all the way back to Black Beauty, and the hours I spent listening to it on repeat as a child. (Thanks, Danny.)

Another important piece of music in the process of writing the Empirium Trilogy was Fantasia On a Theme By Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a haunting, bittersweet work for string orchestra that I listened to on repeat while writing the original prologue of Furyborn. I can still remember the nervy, giddy feeling that came over me as I sat down to write that opening chapter. I had been planning the trilogy for a few years by that point, and I remember feeling like the moment I began writing this story for real would be pivotal, and that I would remember it forever. I was right. (Side note: The Furyborn prologue has stayed virtually the same over the years.)

Originally, the world of the Empirium Trilogy was our own. Rielle existed in a forgotten/concealed past, and Eliana lived in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic version of the southern United States. You can see a nod to this original concept in the name of Orline, Eliana’s home city. In the first version of the story, she lived in New Orleans. I spent a lot of time writing her opening pages in my university library, tucked away in various quiet corners. Hans Zimmer’s score for The Da Vinci Code was—and still is—a huge part of the musical soundscape of the book, and one particular track, “L’esprit Dès Gabriel,” helped me establish the look and feel of that post-apocalyptic New Orleans, which remains very much the same, even now that it’s Orline.

Last but certainly not least (though I could honestly keep going through my extensive original playlist for several thousand more words), is John Powell’s score for X-Men: The Last Stand. Seeing this movie in the theater was my introduction to the character of Jean Grey/Phoenix, and since I had at the time already started developing the character of Rielle, I was fascinated by this powerful, incredibly dangerous character, who was similar to Rielle in many ways. Say what you will about the movie itself, but Powell’s score is truly deserving of the overused “epic” descriptor. The three-track sequence “Entering the House,” “Dark Phoenix Tragedy,” and “Farewell to X” imprinted on me in a big way. The all-female chorus, the sense of mystery and encroaching doom, and the feeling of rage—it’s basically Rielle in musical form.

These are only a few of the musical pieces that inspired me in the early days of writing the Empirium Trilogy. For more music like this, check out my book playlists on Spotify!

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Kingsbane

Empirium, Book 2

In this sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller Furyborn, two queens, separated by a thousand years, connected by secrets and lies, must continue their fight amid deadly plots and unthinkable betrayals that will test their strength—and their hearts.

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.

Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity’s long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana’s power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted—by embracing her mother’s power, or rejecting it forever.

About the Author

Claire Legrand

Claire Legrand is the New York Times-bestselling author of FURYBORN, the first book in the Empirium Trilogy, as well as the YA horror novel SAWKILL GIRLS and the Edgar Award finalist SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS. Her other novels include THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, THE YEAR OF SHADOWS, WINTERSPELL, and FOXHEART. She is one of the four authors behind THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, an anthology of dark middle grade fiction. She lives in New Jersey, where she works as a librarian. Visit her at claire-legrand.com and on Twitter @clairelegrand.

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RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE BY Casey McQuiston

May 16, 2019

From the publisher:

A *MUST-READ BOOK* for US WEEKLY, OPRAHMAG.COM, POPSUGAR, BUSTLE, BUZZFEED, and more!

What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn’t always diplomatic.

To pigeonhole this book is to do it a great disservice. Yes, it is a gay romance. It is also very political, but in a sweet, fantasy sort of way that really appealed to me. In the world McQuiston has created, America moved on from Barack Obama to a Latina woman president, continuing those almost forgotten themes of hope and change instead of the torrent of hate and divisiveness that we are currently living through. That definitely worked for me. And she’s from Texas!

I loved the family dynamics, both in the American first family and the British royal family. Alex and Henry both have siblings that are also their best friends, until they find each other. They also have Secret Service (and the British equivalent,) live in very large houses that actually belong to the people of their respective countries, and have been living a public life for years, especially Henry. Alex, at least, had his formative years in relative obscurity.

The royal family has been changed enough to make them unrecognizable yet thoroughly believable. Prince Henry is gay, and no one knows it or is allowed to know it. It is his responsibility to be the millennial face of the crown family, and, of course, to reproduce. Learning the machinations of the PR machines that drive both the royal family and the American presidency was fun and actually a little darker than I expected.

Alex and Henry’s story made me laugh and made me cry and especially made me wish for a better America. And if that surprises you, you must be new here. Feel free to comment.

This was a super fun summer read, and I can see why it made the LibraryReads list. It’s fantastical and idealistic and I loved it.

5/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by Casey McQuiston. Griffin (May 14, 2019). ISBN 978-1250316776. 432p.

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THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang

May 15, 2019

From the publisher:

From the critically acclaimed author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart…

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

I loved Hoang’s first book, The Kiss Quotient, so much that it made my best books of 2018 list. It is entirely possible that this new one will end up on this year’s favorites list as well. It topped the LibraryReads list for May, and with very good reason.

Hoang has created a niche in the romance genre, or maybe even two; one of her protagonists is autistic, the other is of mixed race.

In this book, she switched things around so our hero is the one on the spectrum, and our heroine is half American, half Vietnamese. But Hoang takes it a step further and really delves into the immigrant experience in America.

Khai is a complex character, as is Esme and I love the character development, it definitely adds to the story and I couldn’t help but root for this couple. Even the secondary characters are interesting, especially Khai’s mother and his brother. We don’t get to know much about Esme’s family as they are still in Vietnam, but we learn her backstory, about the poverty she grew up in and still lived in until this opportunity arose. Esme is no fool and she seizes every advantage to try and build a better life for her family, hopefully in America.

We know that Khai is very successful but I would have liked to learn a bit more about that. It is suggested that is very frugal which Esme takes for lack of funds, not understanding what is going on and frankly, neither did I. But that is just a minor quibble.

There are some really funny moments in this book, as well as some heartbreaking ones. It was an emotional read for me, and I know I won’t be forgetting these characters any time soon.

5/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang. Berkley (May 7, 2019). ISBN 978-0451490827. 320p.

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LADIES WHO PUNCH by Ramin Setoodeh

May 14, 2019

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The Explosive Inside Story of “The View”

From the publisher:

Like Fire & Fury, the gossipy real-life soap opera behind a serious show.

When Barbara Walters launched The View, network executives told her that hosting it would tarnish her reputation. Instead, within ten years, she’d revolutionized morning TV and made household names of her co-hosts: Joy Behar, Star Jones, Meredith Vieira and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But the daily chatfest didn’t just comment on the news. It became the news. And the headlines barely scratched the surface.

Based on unprecedented access, including stunning interviews with nearly every host, award-winning journalist Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds. Here’s the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control of it all, a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters. You’ll read about how so many co-hosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away, feeling betrayed―one nearly quitting during a commercial. Meanwhile, the director was being driven insane, especially by Rosie.

Setoodeh uncovers the truth about Star’s weight loss and wedding madness. Rosie’s feud with Trump. Whoopi’s toxic relationship with Rosie. Barbara’s difficulty stepping away. Plus, all the unseen hugs, snubs, tears―and one dead rodent.

Ladies Who Punch shows why The View can be mimicked and mocked, but it can never be matched.

By the time I heard about this book, it was too late to get a digital galley, always my preference. I love reading on my Kindle or iPad, especially at night, because I don’t have to wear my reading glasses. By the end of the day I’m tired and I find glasses annoying at best. Anyway, I requested a review copy from the publisher and they were kind enough to send me a finished copy (hardcover) and much to my surprise, the book on CD.

I don’t listen to very many audio books because I find my mind wanders, but nonfiction I can do. I also used to have a ridiculously short (8 minute) commute to work. My new job is a 20 minutes commute which works much better for book length material. But then I was stumped by this 20th century technology. Did I have anywhere to even play a CD? I am all in on digital technology and love Audible and my library’s digital audio books. Much to my surprise, my car (2 years old) had a CD player in it. Who knew! So I decided to listen.

I was also trepidatious about the reader – the author reads the book and that is often a recipe for disaster. The best readers are professional, often actors, often famous actors, and know how to read to keep the listener’s attention. Most authors know how to read. Period. But Setoodeh did a really good job. He sounded just dishy enough to give the book the flavor he intended and I was pleasantly surprised. My only complaint was that disc 6 (out of 8) was defective, I had to wait to get the printed book back from my mother-in-law (who loved it, by the way) to read the bit I was missing. But all in all it was a very positive listening experience.

I am a long time fan of The View; I’ve watched it, off and on, for most of the 20+ years it’s been on. I was usually working when it aired, so I recorded it for many years, especially the Rosie-then-Whoopi-then-Rosie&Whoopi years. I’m not sure when I stopped but it’s been at least a few years I would say, so now I just catch it when I’m home, or occasionally when the ladies make the news and I can find clips on YouTube. So I definitely had opinions on the show and its hosts and was looking forward to reading all the dirt. Why not, life is short – you may as well have fun now and again!

The biggest takeaway for me was twofold; Barbara is an excellent liar and no one, not one single host, ever left on their own accord. They were all fired and Barbara, despite her protestations to the contrary, had a hand in most, if not all of them. Even Barbara’s retirement seemed somewhat sketchy to me. My take: it seemed like she was goaded into doing things that made her lose control of the show. Then she was coerced into retiring, which turned into a year long retirement extravaganza during which she reconsidered and did not want to retire. But retire she did. There were definite intimations of her frailty, both physical (her “shuffling”) and mental (memory loss.) I can’t feel too sorry for her though, her career was longer than almost anyone else in television except for maybe Tom Brokaw (and that’s just a guess.)

All that said, Barbara is given full credit, and rightly so, for creating a new daytime television dynamic, changing the landscape of daytime talk shows forever. The most obvious clone is “The Talk” but it seems to me all the daytime political shows, even the cable network shows like “Morning Joe” and Trump’s fave, “Fox and Friends”, all seem to have been gleaned from “The View.”

If you are/were a fan of “The View” you won’t want to miss this book. If you like celebrity gossip, the same. I enjoyed it.

5/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

LADIES WHO PUNCH by Ramin Setoodeh. Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (April 2, 2019). ISBN 978-1250112095. 336p.

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Capital Crime Festival 2019

May 13, 2019

Capital Crime Festival

26-28th September 2019

(Wish I could go!)

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line up so far: https://www.capitalcrime.org/guests/

Talk about a dream lineup…

Capital Crime today announces further names for its inaugural festival taking place this September at the Connaught Rooms in London. Mark Billingham, Martina Cole, Ian Rankin, Ann Cleeves, Don Winslow, Robert Glenister, Leye Adenle, Denise Mina, Catherine Steadman and Abir Mukherjee are among the guests announced today.

The first international crime and thriller festival in London, Capital Crime offers fans unprecedented access to their favourite crime and thriller creatives. Capital Crime is a celebration of books, films and TV and the line-up is an unrivalled mix of world class talent, rising stars and newcomers. Capital Crime is a must for fans of all things crime and thriller.

Among the stellar list of speakers are Kate Atkinson, David Baldacci, Ann Cleeves, Robert Harris, Peter James, Lynda La Plante, Simon Mayo, and Kate Mosse. (list of confirmed guests can be found here: https://www.capitalcrime.org/guests/).

The crime and thriller community is excited about Capital Crime.

Martina Cole (No Mercy – Headline – Autumn) said: ‘We have all been waiting for a London based festival like Capital Crime. It’s fantastic to see such a diverse line up of crime and thriller writers taking part. David Headley and Adam Hamdy have put together an amazing programme of events for the first crime festival in London and I’m thrilled to be part of it.’

Ann Cleeves (The Long Call – Pan Macmillan – September) ‘I’m delighted to be taking part in the very first Capital Crime and can’t wait to meet readers and writers in London in September.’

Best-selling London based author Abir Mukherjee (Smoke and Ashes – Vintage – June) said: ‘London is one of the world’s great cities, the setting, and often the inspiration, for some most infamous true crimes and some of the world’s best loved fictional detectives. It’s the home of Scotland Yard, Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes and a natural location for a festival bringing together international fans and authors in a celebration of the very best and latest that crime fiction has to offer. It’s long overdue and I hope Capital Crime becomes a regular fixture in the crime fiction calendar.’

Panels of note include: The Interrogation of Mark Billingham: The bestselling author is put through his paces by Graham Bartlett, an experienced police interrogator; Ian Rankin discusses The Human Cost of Crime with Don Winslow. Also there is a quiz panel Whose Crime is it Anyway? pitting debut crime and thriller authors against each other with Paul Clayton hosting; The Forensic Mind: Denise Mina and Ann Cleeves discuss what makes a great detective, moderated by Chris Ewan; Plus Are We Living in An Espionage Thriller: Tom Bradby, Charles Cumming, Frank Gardner and Stella Rimington offer their unique insights into events that concern us all.

Capital Crime is a diverse, inclusive and socially responsible festival, running initiatives including social outreach to support students exploring a literary career, an innovative digital festival and the launch of their New Voices Award. The festival is the brainchild of British screenwriter Adam Hamdy and Managing Director of Goldsboro Books, David Headley.

David Headley: ‘It is thrilling to announce more fantastic authors and creatives who are attending our first Capital Crime festival. The support and enthusiasm we have received is wonderfully encouraging and we are looking forward to an amazing inaugural event.’

Adam Hamdy: ‘We’re excited to be able to reveal more of the Capital Crime line-up. We’re very grateful for the support we’ve had from authors and the publishing community and can’t wait to bring our exciting new festival to London.’

Tickets for the festival are now on sale at https://www.capitalcrime.org/

About David Headley

David Headley studied theology in London and Durham before co-founding and becoming the Managing Director of Goldsboro Books, a much admired, leading independent bookseller, based in central London.

He has gained a reputation for championing debut authors and he created the UK’s largest collectors’ book club. David has won awards for bookselling and in 2015 he was included in the Top 100 most influential people in publishing by The Bookseller.

David is also the MD of The Dome Press, a small, independent publisher based in London, and co-founder of Capital Crime.

About Adam Hamdy

Adam Hamdy is a London-born, British screenwriter and author. Adam recently signed a three-book deal with Pan Macmillan. BLACK THIRTEEEN, the first book in the new thriller series, will be published in autumn 2019. As a screenwriter, Adam is currently adapting a multi-million copy New York Times bestselling novel for a US studio. In the past year he has written screenplays for four Academy Award-winning production companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Adam has a degree in Law from Oxford University and a degree in Philosophy from the University of London. He is a seasoned skier, rock climber, and marksman.

About New Voices Award

Capital Crime will be launching an exciting competition to help undiscovered crime and thriller authors further their writing careers. Writers are invited to upload the first three chapters of their novel to the Capital Crime website and festival attendees will be able to vote for their top choice. The ten entrants with the most votes will be invited to the Opening Night Cocktail Party and the winner of the New Voices Award will be selected from that shortlist and announced on the night.

About Capital Crime Social Outreach Initiative

Capital Crime is a diverse, inclusive and socially responsible festival. With more cuts than ever to creative programmes in schools and universities across the United Kingdom, Capital Crime wants to support the communities on their doorstep to ensure they do not miss out on the opportunity to meet leading industry professionals and authors. Capital Crime’s Social Outreach Initiative hopes to inspire and educate aspiring talent and includes events with bestselling authors and publishing professionals for state-funded sixth-form students and special ticket rates for librarians and low-income families.

Photos of the first event here: https://twitter.com/CapitalCrime1/status/1113409181778948096

About the Capital Crime Digital Festival

Capital Crime is launching a Digital Festival in conjunction with the live event. This will provide an opportunity to reach crime and thriller writers and readers all year round. The Capital Crime Digital Festival will showcase interviews, profiles and features with over 70 authors on multiple platforms after the inaugural festival. It will be regularly updated throughout the year with new and engaging content.

www.capitalcrime.digital

For more information on Capital Crime please contact: Sophie Ransom and Phoebe Swinburn at Midas PR on sophie.ransom@midaspr.co.uk @sophmidas andphoebe.swinburn@midaspr.co.uk @phoebe_swinburn or call them on: 020 7361 7860

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THE PARIS DIVERSION by Chris Pavone

May 12, 2019

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This is Pavone’s third published novel and the second with Kate Moore as the leading character. His theme, as were his previous two, is about citizens of one country living and working in another as overseas executives or agents or in some other representative capacity. These people make a life for themselves and family in a land foreign to them and do it consciously as a career choice.

As a definite plus to the novel, the author indicates that he set up a long term residence in Paris, explored the city, learned about the real life of the citizens and while there wrote a good part of the novel. His depiction of the city is better than any travel book might be.

Kate is actually the chief of station for a division of the CIA and runs a large group of operatives and agents while her husband Dexter makes investments. In what or how is left quite nebulous, but than again neither Kate nor Dexter really know what their partner is actually doing. A strange setup to believe is actually the case between a man and his wife.

A strange event galvanizes everyone. A man walks into a public square in Paris with a suitcase and reveals that he has a bomb attached to his vest which he can set off anytime he wants to. There are also threats of other bombers in action in other European cities. Kate must keep headquarters in the US advised of what is happening and at the same time muster the personnel she is in charge of to possibly help the French police deal with the threat.

In examining the situation, Kate comes to the realization that the bomb threats are really just scare tactics and are meant to cover up something else that is going on. If true, than what really going to happen and why? This is the real story being told and unfortunately leads the author into many over rapid descriptions of events and more than a little confusion on the part of the reader to follow the plot and events taking place. I felt that the overabundance of confusing parts detracted from what should have been a fascinating novel about a different world for most people. I would express the hope that Pavone would take this into account in his succeeding books.

5/19 Paul Lane

THE PARIS DIVERSION by Chris Pavone. Crown (May 7, 2019). ISBN 978-1524761509. 384p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

SIDNEY SHELDON’S THE SILENT WIDOW by Tilly Bagshawe

May 10, 2019

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Sheldon was a prolific writer of novels, plays, TV shows and motion pictures. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2007, but his family made arrangements with Tilly Bagshawe, a British author and one with her own stellar reputation, to continue his legacy. She has already written several successful books under the joint name of both writers. The Silent Widow is her latest continuing the tradition of engrossing works in the style of Sidney Sheldon.

The beginning of the novel concerns a young woman that has traveled to Mexico to become the summer au pair of a wealthy family living in Mexico City. At a point ten years prior to the opening of the story, she disappears with no trace and cannot be found. In a decade from this event, a series of murders are committed in Los Angeles. Psychological examiner Nikki Roberts is seemingly involved with all of these since the deceased were her patients.

Nikki is going through her own set of trauma since her husband was killed in an auto accident and was at that point riding with a woman that fingers point to as her spouse’s lover. Nikki does a bit of background checking on the murders via hiring Private Detective Derek Williams, who coincidentally had worked on the missing girl’s case from ten years ago.

A good story is enhanced even further by bringing in ties to both the Mexican and Russian Mafias and their battle to take over the drug trade in Los Angeles. The permutations and complications of the factors involved keep the reader glued to the book trying to tie the loose ends together. Two policemen assigned to investigate the murders have ties to the events going on in addition to working to solve the crimes.

Action is the keynote from start to finish and the combination of Sheldon’s guidance and Bagshawe’s literary abilities make for a mesmerizing read guaranteed to make the reader returning for more. A well done book.

5/19 Paul Lane

SIDNEY SHELDON’S THE SILENT WIDOW by Tilly Bagshawe. Crooked Lane Books (May 7, 2019). ISBN 978-1643850931. 393p.