New Releases for the week of 9 October 2010

Its that time of the week again: time to check out some of the fabulous new and upcoming releases that are making news. There are some great books in the list below, so you might want to hide your credit card (or, if youre not on a budget, wield it without shame!)

Nemesis by Philip Roth

Blurb: In the stifling heat of equatorial Newark, a terrifying epidemic is raging, threatening the children of the New Jersey city with maiming, paralysis, lifelong disability, and even death. This is the startling theme of Philip Roth's wrenching new book: a wartime polio epidemic in the summer of 1944 and the effect it has on a closely knit, family-oriented Newark community and its children. At the center of Nemesis is a vigorous, dutiful twenty-three-year-old playground director, Bucky Cantor, a javelin thrower and weightlifter, who is devoted to his charges and disappointed with himself because his weak eyes have excluded him from serving in the war alongside his contemporaries. Focusing on Cantor's dilemmas as polio begins to ravage his playground'and on the everyday realities he faces'Roth leads us through every inch of emotion such a pestilence can breed: the fear, the panic, the anger, the bewilderment, the suffering, and the pain.' Moving between the smoldering, malodorous streets of besieged Newark and Indian Hill, a pristine children's summer camp high in the Poconos'whose mountain air was purified of all contaminants'Roth depicts a decent, energetic man with the best intentions struggling in his own private war against the epidemic. Roth is tenderly exact at every point about Cantor's passage into personal disaster, and no less exact about the condition of childhood. Through this story runs the dark questions that haunt all four of Roth's late short novels, Everyman, Indignation, The Humbling, and now Nemesis: What kind of accidental choices fatally shape a life? How does the individual withstand the onslaught of circumstance?

____

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by' Tom Franklin

Blurb: Edgar Award-winning author Tom Franklin returns with his most accomplished and resonant novel so far'an atmospheric drama set in rural Mississippi. In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas 32 Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county'and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town. More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past theyve buried and ignored for decades.

____

Birth of' a Killer by Darren Shan

Blurb: Before Cirque Du FreakBefore the war with the vampaneze Before he was a vampire. Larten Crepsley was a boy. As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children. In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldnt survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampires assistant, Larten takes it. This is his story.

____

Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Blurb: Everyone knows about Anne Frank and her life hidden in the secret annex ' but what about the boy who was also trapped there with her?' In this powerful and gripping novel, Sharon Dogar explores what this might have been like from Peter's point of view.' What was it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank, first to hate her and then to find yourself falling in love with her?'' Especially with your parents and her parents all watching almost everything you do together. ''To know you're being written about in Anne's diary, day after day?'' What's it like to start questioning your religion, wondering why simply being Jewish inspires such hatred and persecution?' Or to just sit and wait and watch while others die, and wish you were fighting.' As Peter and Anne become closer and closer in their confined quarters, how can they make sense of what they see happening around them? Anne's diary ends on August 4, 1944, but Peter's story takes us on, beyond their betrayal and into the Nazi death camps.' He details with accuracy, clarity and compassion the reality of day to day survival in Auschwitz ' and ultimately the horrific fates of the Annex's occupants.

____

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh

Blurb: An angel is buried behind the abbey! Its 1347, and Will, an orphan boy, lives and works as an apprentice of the Crowfield monks. Sent into the forest to gather firewood, he stumbles across a trapped, wounded creature no bigger than a cat.The little goblin shares a terrible secret: Buried deep in the snow behind the monastery is an angel. But, Will wonders, how can an angel die? And what does this angel have to do with the history of Crowfield? When two cloaked strangers show up and start asking questions, Will is drawn into a dangerous world of Old Magic.

____

Crazy by Han Nolan

Blurb: Fifteen-year-old Jason has fallen upon bad times'his mother has died and his father has succumbed to mental illness. As he tries to hold his crazy father and their crumbling home together, Jason relies on a host of imaginary friends for guidance as he stumbles along trying not to draw attention to his father's deteriorating condition. Both heartbreaking and funny, CRAZY lives up to the intense and compelling characters Han Nolan is praised for. As Jason himself teeters on the edge of insanity, Nolan uncovers the clever coping system he develops for himself and throws him a lifeline in the guise of friendship.

____

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Blurb: 5 months ago Valerie Leftmans boyfriend opened fire on their school cafeteria, killing five students and one teacher before turning the gun on himself. Valerie, who was shot trying to stop him, is initially implicated in the shootings because of the hate list she helped create. The hate list her boyfriend used to pick his targets. As Valerie integrates back into school, more of an outsider than she ever thought she was before, she is forced to confront her feelings of guilt and loneliness. Exploring the gray area between hero and villain, she navigates the rocky relationships with her family, her former friends, with the memory of the boyfriend she still loves, and with the girl whose life she saved five months ago. As she moves toward graduation and the year anniversary of the shooting, Valerie must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it all in order to make amends and move on with her life.

____

Dirty Rotten Tendrils by Kate Collins

Blurb: When high-powered lawyer Ken the Lip Lipinski is found dead from a suspicious overdose, florist and amateur sleuth Abby Knight finds it hard to swallow that his opposing counsel-and her old boss-is the murderer.

____

Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connelly

Blurb: At The Society for the Preservation of Pennsylvania Antiques, fundraiser Eleanor Nell Pratt solicits donations-and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of George Washingtons letters is lost on the same day that an archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society president isnt pushing for an investigation. Nell goes digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of crime.

____

The False Friend by Myla Goldberg

Blurb: Leaders of a mercurial clique of girls, Celia and Djuna reigned mercilessly over their three followers. One after noon, they decided to walk home along a forbidden road. Djuna disappeared, and for twenty years Celia blocked out how it happened. 'The lie Celia told to conceal her misdeed became the accepted truth: everyone assumed Djuna had been abducted, though neither she nor her abductor was ever found. Celia's unconscious avoidance of this has meant that while she and her longtime boyfriend, Huck, are professionally successful, they've been unable to move forward, their relationship falling into a rut that threatens to bury them both. 'Celia returns to her hometown to confess the truth, but her family and childhood friends don't believe her. Huck wants to be supportive, but his love can't blind him to all that contra dicts Celia's version of the past. 'Celia's desperate search to understand what happened to Djuna has powerful consequences. A deeply resonant and emotionally charged story,'The False Friend explores the adults that children become'leading us to question the truths that we accept or reject, as well as the lies to which we succumb.

____

Alpha by Rachel Vincent

Blurb: The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder and treason. Yeah, weve been busy. But now its time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brothers death and carve out the rot at the heart of the Council. Its not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, Im heading for a final showdown that can'that will'change everything forever. A showdown Im not sure Im ready for. But life never waits until youre ready.

____

Breathless by Anne Stuart

Blurb: Ruined beyond repair and shunned by London society, lovely Miranda Rohan rebelliously embraces the freedom that comes from having nothing left to lose. However, this dangerous course throws her under the power of the darkly enigmatic Lucien de Malheur'known to many as the Scorpion. Seeking to destroy the Rohans, Lucien traps Miranda in a marriage she thinks is based on friendship but instead is rooted in vengeance. Yet even when she realizes the truth, their enmity fuels a shocking passion'and perhaps even more.'Such a man might drive anyone to murder'

____

Take a Chance on Me by Jill Mansell

Blurb: Even in a small town the drama is larger than life Cleo Quinn doesnt have the greatest track record when it comes to men, but now Wills come along. Handsome and attentive, he could be her Mr Right. Things are definitely looking up for Cleo apart from one small problem with a rather large ego. Johnny LaVenture, sculptor extraordinaire and her personal childhood nemesis, is back in Channings Hill and tormenting her as if hed never been away. Meanwhile Cleos sister Abbie has a problem of her own-husband Tom has become distant and withdrawn, and shes determined to find out why. But will the shocking truth mean the end of their idyllically happy marriage?'The sisters are about to discover that the past can come back to haunt you, and that love can flourish in the unlikeliest of places

____

False Impressions by Terri Thayer

Blurb: Professional rubber stamper April Buchert is shocked to discover that the brother of one of the Stamping Sisters faked his own death, only to really die in a tragic car accident-that was not an accident at all. Now this heated family drama could cause one cold winter if the killer isnt found.

____

Voltaires Calligrapher by Pablo de Santis

Blurb: Dalessius is 20 when he takes a job as the philosopher Voltaire?s messenger and spy. Soon he?s entangled in a web of secrets and intrigue, leading from the courts and scaffolds of Toulouse to Paris, and a mysterious fortified monastery where Abbot Mazy guards a horrific secret. Assisted by an executioner and the beautiful, marble-like daughter of an automaton maker, Dalessius faces sinister clergymen, inventive henchmen and poisonous fish in his quest to uncover the truth behind the Abbot?s machinations. It will take amazing courage on Dalessius?s part as well as Voltaire?s unique cunning and wit if they are to survive.

____

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Blurb: A long lost letter arrives in the post and Edie Burchill finds herself on a journey to Milderhurst Castle, a great but moldering old house, where the Blythe spinsters live and where her mother was billeted 50 years before as a 13 year old child during WW II. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives looking after the third and youngest sister, Juniper, who hasn't been the same since her fiance jilted her in 1941. 'Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother's past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Milderhurst, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in 'the distant hours' of the past has been waiting a long time for someone to find it.

____

Bitter Frost by Kailin Gow

Blurb: All her life, Breena had always dreamed about fairies as though she lived among thembeautiful fairies living among mortals and living in Feyland. In her dreams, he was always there the breathtakingly handsome but dangerous Winter Prince, Kian, who is her intended. When Breena turns sixteen, she begins seeing fairies and other creatures mortals don t see. Her best friend Logan, suddenly acts very protective. Then she sees Kian, who seems intent on finding her and carrying her off to Feyland. Thats fine and all, but for the fact that humans rarely survive a trip to Feyland, a kiss from a fairy generally means death to the human unless that human has fairy blood in them or is very strong, and although Kian seemed to be her intended, he seems to hate her and wants her dead.

Send to Kindle