Books Received in May 2014

May 22, 2014

Under the Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes

Two women share one fate.

A suspected murder at an English Farm. A reported suicide at a local quarry.

Can DCI Louisa Smith and her team gather the evidence and discover a link between them, a link which sealed their fate one cold night, Under a Silent Moon?

A tense, compelling and unsettling novel mystery brimming with source material and evidence set over just six days, Under a Silent Moon will keep you gripped until the very last page and asks:

Can you connect the clues and name the Killer?

P. D. James meets E. L. James in this exciting new British crime series-a blend of literary suspense and page-turning thriller that introduces formidable Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Smith-from suspense talent Elizabeth Haynes, author of the bestselling Into the Darkest Corner

"Elizabeth Haynes is the most exciting thing to happen to crime fiction in a long time."-Sophie Hannah

In the crisp, early hours of an autumn morning, the police are called to investigate two deaths. The first is a suspected murder at a farm on the outskirts of a small village. A beautiful young woman has been found dead, her cottage drenched with blood. The second is a reported suicide at a nearby quarry. A car with a woman's body inside was found at the bottom of the pit.

As DCI Louisa Smith and her team gather evidence, they discover a shocking link between the two cases and the two deaths-a bond that sealed their terrible fates one cold night, under a silent moon.

In this first entry in a compelling new detective series, Elizabeth Haynes interweaves fictional primary source materials-police reports, phone messages, interviews-and multiple character viewpoints to create a sexy, edgy, and compulsively readable tale of murder, mystery, and unsettling suspense

May 19, 2014

The Qualities of Wood by Mary Vensel White

A haunting and beautifully written debut novel by an exciting new talent. When Betty Gardiner dies, leaving behind an unkempt country home, her grandson and his young wife take a break from city life to prepare the house for sale. Nowell Gardiner leaves first to begin work on his second mystery novel. By the time his wife Vivian joins him, a real mystery has begun: a local girl has been found dead in the woods behind the house. Even after the death is ruled an accident, Vivian can't forget the girl, can't ignore the strange behaviour of her neighbours, or her husband. As Vivian attempts to put the house in order, all around her things begin to fall apart. 

May 16, 2014

A Photographic Death by Judi Culbertson

Nineteen years ago, Delhi Laine's two-year-old daughter, Caitlin, disappeared from a park in Stratford-upon-Avon. After a frantic but inconclusive search, authorities determined that she must have fallen into the river in the picturesque area, her body washed away.

        Although the wound has never healed, the family has moved on. Then a mysterious letter containing the ominous words, YOUR DAUGHTER DID NOT DROWN, arrives their lives are once again thrown into turmoil. For Delhi the choice is easy. No matter how tenuous the thread, she cannot leave it unexplored.

        Even if it takes her back to England and a path that includes murder. Even though Caitlin's twin, Hannah, and Delhi's husband, Colin, are deeply against her search. Even though it may split the family and lead to danger and shocking truths. Despite these conflicts,  Delhi plows ahead. What she finds is something none of could them could ever have imagined.  

Lethal Spice by Swati Kaushal


A hundred-year-old stage steeped in tradition. Six contestants with a world to gain and everything to lose. Three judges who stand between them and their dreams. 

It is October in Shimla. The air is crisp, the mist is rising and the stakes are sky-high as the finalists of India's No. 1 reality cooking show, Hot Chef, are pitted against each other in a live shoot at the historic Gaiety Theatre. The spices are ground, the fires are lit, the knives have been sharpened? 

Then things start to go horribly wrong. As she picks her way through a maze of testimonies and motives, Shimla's Superintendent of Police, Niki Marwah, is more determined than ever to get to the bottom of a perplexing mystery - a mystery that this time around is dangerously close to her heart.

May 15, 2014 
 
When California Governor Michael J. DiGrasso pushes through a tough immigration law, the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional, but the decorated Vietnam veteran refuses to accept the ruling. This ignites a clash between federal, state, and judicial power that threatens to jar the country’s political and justice systems. And it leaves the governor’s long-time friend, President of the United States, Martin W. Ballard, with the decision of whether to federalize the California National Guard to enforce the Court’s order.


Tension increases when Elizabeth Stern, a savvy member of the opposition party tries to ram through a new immigration law that will pass judicial review. An expert in back-room legislative machinations, she’ll go to any length to force the governor to obey the Court decision, and her devious maneuvers throw DiGrasso’s personal and professional life into turmoil.

One subplot involves DiGrasso’s close personal friend, Congressman Manuel Mendoza, who is indicted for taking bribes. Another concerns two Mexican families in the country illegally and the tragedies that befall them because of the new immigration law.

The unfolding of these interwoven events creates a tense, fast-paced thriller that parallels the current tumult over illegal immigration and the on-going debate on Constitutional interpretation that will leave readers craving for the eventual outcome.

May 07, 2014

Hardheaded Weather: New and Selected Poems by Cornelius Eady:

Cornelius Eady’s new poems show him in full control of his considerable talents and displaying a rich maturity as he enters midlife. His poems are sly, unsentimental, and witty, full of truths that are intimate and profound.

Hardheaded Weather ranges widely, reflecting the new found responsibilities Eady has assumed as he transitions from urban renter to nonplussed rural homeowner, as well as the sobering influence of war and the intimation of his own mortality. Yet even at his angriest, the poet has always had a depth of compassion rare in our polarized age, with a sense of humor that is both sophisticated and demotic. These poems will resonate deeply.

As exciting as the new poems are, his selected earlier poems dazzle, too, as they demonstrate the arc of Cornelius Eady’s maturation and the originality of his voice. Taken together, Hardheaded Weatherforms a moving—and sometimes searing —testament to the power of poetry.


Book of Hooks Vol 1 by Cornelius Eady
Book of Hooks Vol 2 by Cornelius Eady

Acclaimed poet Cornelius Eady offers not only a new selection of poems, but a knockout duet of poetry and music, performed with such literary and musical luminaries as Charlie Rauh, Joy Harjo, Kim Addonizio, Robin Messing, Emma Alabaster and longtime collaborator and producer Bernie Heveron.

Like his poetry, Eady’s songs offer a collective snapshot of the culture of our times, at once exhilarating and heartbreaking, seen through a lens that spares no dark corners. Eady’s focus turns as readily from an aging movie star to poet Adrienne Rich, a bed bug epidemic in NYC, and the shooting of Trayvon Martin. As fearless as his subject matter, Eady’s sonic range and stylistic resilience weave together strains of mainline jazz, Afro-Brazilian-Caribbean beats, rock and folk traditions, in a rich love song to life.