My Library System Has the New Richard Wright Book

My library system has the new Richard Wright book—tbat’s right, the same Wright who wrote the classics you’d read in high school and died in 1960—A Father’s Law. It was an uncompleted novel Wright started near his death but was recently completed by his daughter Julia.

This novel of generational conflict focuses on the relationship between a black policeman and his son. Ruddy Turner, the father, has been recently promoted to police chief in a Chicago suburb and gets involved in the investigation of a series of murders. Due to several consequences, Ruddy becomes uneasy with the notion that his son may be directly involved with the deaths.

A recent letter to the editor in the New York Times Book Review noted that Wright’s new book could be traced to the influence of writer Cornell Woolrich. Woolrich was a popular pulp writer during the 1930s and 1940s and Wright was a fan of those mystery magazines. In fact, one of Woolrich’s stories “Charlie Won’t Be Home Tonight” mirrors Wright’s novel although with white characters.

And Woolrich does have a writing legacy continuing today as a recognized classic crime writer and source for film noirs including Alfred Hitchcock’s famous Rear Window.

Award Nominated Show Returns in Fall--

According to the ABC-TV website, one of my new favorite shows won't return--with new episodes anyway--until this fall. Pushing Daisies is the quirky series about a man, Ned, who can briefly bring the dead back to life by a touch. With this strange power, he has started working with a private investigator part-time to solve murders while still working full-time as a baker in a dessert restaurant called (no-joke) "The Pie-Hole."

Needless to say this modestly serious-themed show revels in humor and fantasy along with tales of murderers committing murder. And apparently the show has drawn its fair share of notice too, as one episode is nominated for an Edgar Mystery Award this year. In the category of "Best Television Teleplay," writer Bryan Fuller is nominated for "Pie-Lette."

From the ABC-TV website, here's a pix with series regulars from the episode "Dummy" with "Chuck" actress Anna Friel, "Emerson Cod" actor Chi McBride and "Ned" actor Lee Pace. As I said earlier, Pushing Daisies is a favorite for me--I'm ready to purchase a first season DVD for the series.

Book club discusses "The Cloud of Unknowing"

Thomas Cook's The Cloud of Unknowing was the selection for this month's book club. While not a traditional mystery in the sense of a "whodunit," it asked the question "did he (or she) do it?"

David Sears is sitting with a police detective discussing the incidents involving a death in his sister's family and the strong suspicious she has of her husband's involvement. Did he actually commit murder--of his own son? David's sister Diana becomes more and more convinced that her son Jason did die by Mark's hand (the cause of death is listed as an accidental drowning). Diana's behavior, however, appears to become a little strange and David worries that as his father suffered from schizophrenia--Diana might too.

Cook's novel alternatives between two stories David tells, the first in the present day with Detective Petrie and the recent past with details of Diana's activities and his response. Here's a pix of Cook that appears on the inside book jacket.

What's the story here with David, Diana and the others? Diana leaves Mark and quickly divorces him. Although abrupt, she is grieving after her son's death and suffering--why should she stay with Mark? Still her activities get weird and David and his wife, Abby, don't want their daughter Patty to become too close to Diana now and that has begun to happen.

The relationships involving Patty alone brought a lot of discussion as the headstrong daughter isn't reined in by the passive parents. Teenage Patty sees herself as assertive but the parents got raked over the coals for not controlling their daughter. David, especially, was viewed as the meekest of men--one club member noted that throughout the book--but as he was routinely harshly dismissed by father in favor of his sister, he would have issues. David was also viewed as a frustrating character as the storyteller/main character. Would the novel have benefited from another point of view, like Patty's? Sure.

However, Cook does give the book its tunnel vision with David's voice and Diana as the major focus of the book. Otherwise, the writing was noted as being good and the story set a reasonable length.

The book even takes an otherworldly pace with character names from Greek literature (i.e., Diana, Jason and Hypatia) and the mention of the Greek belief Gaia which says the world is a living organism with the ability to see and hear. Could Diana's interest in Gaia help prove her case against Mark? Well, not in this story as Gaia is only a disappointing small sidebar said one book clubber.

As the novel continues we wonder if another murder occurs because of David's long interview. One book club member guessed one character had murdered another but a twist at the end changes that completely. Cook does have a nice move with twisting storylines at the end.

So to get to the payoff for the book as it ends, how is it and did (s)he do it? We believe despite the number of deaths in the book, there was one murder. Otherwise, one reader really liked the book, another liked it, two were under whelmed but finished the book and another did not finish reading the book.

Discovered in a paperback library book--

One of my co-workers found this in a paperback book recently and its a genuine "fun read" to remember the alphabet... The work is unsigned--does it look familiar to anyone?--so I'll just say the author is anonymous:

26 Casualties

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs
B is for Basil devoured by bears
C is for Catherine smothered under a rug
D is for David done in by a thug
E is for Emily who slipped down the drain
F is for Fanny squashed under a train
G is for George stabbed with a safety pin
H is for Harold who drank too much gin
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake
J is for John who burnt at the stake
K is for Kelly who was smashed with a safe
L is for Lina blinded by mace
M is for Mary abandoned on the road
N is for Neville who licked a poisonous toad
O is for Ona stuck under a tree
P is for Polly who died of ennui
Q is for Quina who was already dead
R is for Rhonda who took poison instead
S is for Sally, she choked on a peach
T is for Timmy sucked dry by a leech
U is for Uma struck by an axe
V is for Velma shot in the back
W is for Wally who is no longer sane
X is for Xida who crashed in a plane
Y is for Yona squeezed to death by a vice
Z is for Zack eaten by mice.

New Mysteries on the Shelves (2)

I don't want to let a month go by without mentioning what's new on the library's the book shelves for mystery readers. Here are two more:

The first book is In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews. This sounds like a dream opportunity for a young researcher. Geology graduate student Valena Walker travels to Antarctica to study glaciology--actually a lifelong dream to visit the location--with the esteemed Dr. Emmett Vanderzee. Dr. Vanderzee is unavailable to her as she is stunned to learn he is arrested and accused of murder. Underway with her studies, Walker concludes she needs to help Vanderzee clear his name as her grant-supported work could end otherwise. She does this by attempting to investigate the death of a reporter visiting the area. The reporter was conducting an investigation into research discrediting Dr. Vanderzee.

In steps that mirror her fictional character, Andrews recently used a grant from the National Science Foundation to study in Antarctica. The book has 336 pages.

The next book is Crime & Clutter by Cyndy Salzmann. Described as an inspirational cozy, this is the second of a series of a six middle-age women who comprise the "Friday Afternoon Club," a fun-filled group that meets to cook, eat and chat. Mary Alice has the huge cleaning project with a storage unit in a 1963 Volkswagen minibus and finds old letters from that period involving her father whom she barely knew. Her friends also get involved with the work and the novel switches between the women's story today and Mary Alice's parents in the 1960s, a pair of then hippies caught up in the times. Mary Alice has a tough struggle here as she relives her father's abandonment of her as a baby. Although dead, can she forgive him? The book has 270 pages with recipes and discussion questions.

Book club discusses "Murder Among the OWLS"

This month the book club discussed the newest of a long-running mystery series by Bill Crider featuring Sheriff Dan Rhodes. Murder Among the OWLS: a Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery is the 14th book featuring the law enforcement chief in a small Texas county.

Fortunately, as new readers to this series--which included all gathered--we didn't feel as if we jumped in the middle of the series and had to play catch up. That's always appreciated (some incidents of previous crime cases were mentioned in passing mostly). The novel focuses on the death of an older woman, Helen Harris, in the community whose death appears accidental but the sheriff's gut feelings say otherwise. Why, for instance, did Helen's cat's show up at Dan's home when it is "strictly an indoor cat."

The longest section of our discussion covered the proper amount of police force to use when confronting a hostile situation. During two different times Rhodes is attacked with an improvised weapon (one much more deadly than the other) and the laid-back sheriff doesn't forcefully enough quickly quell the situation. That led to talk about a character flaw with Rhodes and the genuine need to overpower others. Rhodes tries peaceable methods but hesitates to use force and pays the price by getting banged up. In a more realistic setting, we couldn't imagine that could stay the case. Sadly, two mentioned how police may be confronted with deadly consequences when challenged by from defiant, angry individuals.

Another person noted in comparison a fictional female sheriff who had a different and more forceful attitude as being more suited for the position of sheriff.

All in all though, Rhodes tracks down a murder in a conclusion that puzzled one attendee just a little. He just found the reason for murder to be a little unclear and others responded with the character's motivations.

Writer Crider did provide a quick read for most in his an affable-styled writing. Clear and precise, one person noted an appreciation for repeating situations using different words and another for skipping repeatable dialogue. (Here's a pix of Crider from his blog I found on Google. He apparently writes nonstop--take a look at his website.)

Crider also provided a wonderfully, funny beginning for his book as I read the first four paragraphs about the cat "Sam" who wanders in and creates a home in Rhodes' house. Of course, he sneezes around it and his wife's reaction ("you're not really allergic to anything") is part of the dry humor in the story. Another found two anxious and needy deputies quite funny as Rhodes is surrounded at work by those easily-available, apparent busybodies.

In a quick informal poll, the book rated as a good, pleasant read and some began to read earlier books in the series.

A Writer Last Year, a Sheriff This Year...?

Daniel "Chipp" Bailey certainly can't be faulted for multi-tasking. Last year, the part-time author had his third mystery novel hit the library and bookstores--A Lowcountry Murder. Take a look at his author website and you'll see he is a South Carolina "Lowcountry" fan (that actual area is South Carolina's coastal counties, including Charleston and below).

His new book has the story of a former Atlanta detective, Jed Bradley, reluctantly investigating a series of murders in his childhood home in South Carolina with possible strong personal ties that go back 40 years.

Bailey's other work is as the newly-appointed sheriff of Mecklenburg County as of February 6th. Working previously as the chief deputy sheriff, Bailey was outgoing Sheriff Jim Pendergraph's choice to succeed him (Pendergraph was leaving the post three years early after accepting a job with federal Homeland Security department).

That move to sheriff for Bailey appeared likely until a challenger, Charlotte attorney Nick Mackey, garnered support to become elected sheriff by the local Democratic party. Unfortunately for Mackey though, questions dogged his background and, moreover, the election itself was overturned by the state Democratic party as being termed flawed. Rushing to appoint a new sheriff, the county commissioners quickly appointed Bailey, who publicly expressed interest in the job. And needless to say, this story was well-covered by the local media and Bailey has his share of newspaper coverage.

However, I'd have to guess that all publicity can't hurt as Bailey's older books are in demand with current library requests according to a recent catalog check.

Academy Award Winner "Crime Saga"--

Novelist Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men which had become a critically-praised movie has now grabbed Hollywood's top honor with its Oscar win last night. As a movie fan and mystery reader, I'm pleased this violent but good movie won.

Billed as a "crime saga" in one web site I read, the story of No Country is ripe for print or the big screen with the theft of drug money and the chase that ensues. This story follows the thief of stolen money, a psychopathic killer after the thief and the sheriff concerned about both.

A quick check of our library catalog shows the expected interest of this title with a brisk demand for the book and new upcoming DVD by requests following the four award wins at the Academy Awards. I haven't read the book or seen the movie but I'm hopeful to at least see the movie in the near future. Following last night, I am especially interested in seeing the movie with actors Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones in this new critically-lauded Coen brothers production.

Margaret Truman Daniels dies

During our last book club session, one attendee mentioned how he enjoyed Margaret Truman's mystery novels--although it came with qualifiers. He commented that he grew up in the Washington area and enjoyed the travelogues aspects of the books. The mysteries in the books were slight to his liking though.

Unfortunately, Truman's work has ended as her death was announced on the news Tuesday. Margaret Truman was a mainstay in mystery fiction with a mystery series in and about the Washington D.C. area. The daughter of President Harry Truman, Margaret Truman Daniels lived to be 83 years-old.

Walking back in the mystery section, I noticed 19 separate titles alone at our library. She had a great niche with writing about mysteries in Washington and her books--from what I noticed--enjoyed a good readership. Sometime, I'll have to try one too.

Here's part of the obituary from the The New York Times [the photo--taken before the mystery series began--comes from Yahoo!]: Mrs. Daniel’s foray into mysteries was an outgrowth of her years as a devotee of the genre. “I had been working on a nonfiction book — a history of White House children — but lost interest in it,” she said in an interview in the 1990s. “I was with my agent one day, and I told him I had an idea for a mystery: ‘Murder in the White House.’ I don’t know where those words came from.”

“Murder in the White House,” about a corrupt secretary of state found strangled in the family quarters of the executive mansion, was published by Arbor House in 1980. The novel climbed onto the best-seller lists, was sold to the movies, became a Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection and was bought for $215,000 by Fawcett for paperback publication.

Other books in the series, issued at a rate of one a year, carry titles like “Murder on Capitol Hill,” “Murder in the Supreme Court,” “Murder at the Kennedy Center,” “Murder at the Smithsonian,” “Murder at the National Cathedral” and “Murder at the Watergate.”

New Mysteries on the Shelves (1)

From time to time, I walk downstairs to specifically look for the newest mysteries and I like to make note of the findings here. Here are two more.

Going alphabetically, Ellen Crosby's The Chardonnay Charade: a wine country mystery is the second of this series featuring Lucie Montgomery, a vineyard owner in Virginia. In this story, Lucie has her vineyard warmed by a chopper flight during a chilly May night and, unfortunately, a body is discovered near the fields.Controversial political candidate Georgia Greenwood is the dead woman and her husband--Lucie's friend and doctor, Ross--is the immediate suspect for the crime.

Determined to help Ross, Lucie investigates Georgia's death while Ross faces yet another crisis. As a Civil War buff, Ross appears to discover a letter proving that Confederate president Jefferson Davis did have prior knowledge of the upcoming (and successful) assassination attempt on President Abraham Lincoln. This news is simply jaw-dropping--particularly locally in this small Virginia town with Confederacy enthusiasts. The book is 256 pages.

Next, is Eliot Pattison's Prayer of the ragon featuring former Beijing investigator Shan Tao Yun. It is the fifth book of its series.

Currently, an exiled Chinese national, Yun resides in a secret monastery in the remote mountains of Tibet under the friendship of outlaw Buddist monks. He is summoned to a remote village to defend a comatose man from execution for two murders.
The accused man is--curiously--a Najavo Indian seeking ancestral ties between his people and the ancient Bon. As Yun and his two commrades investigate, they find additional deaths and a handfull of suspects. Pattison's book is 362 pages and includes a glossary of foreign language terms in the back.

A Buried Treasure in an old Newspaper--

I found a buried treasure in an old copy of the local freebie weekly newspaper Creative Loafing a few days ago. This issue was a great candidate for the recycle bin (I'd keep issue after issue if I'm not careful) but I found a worthwhile book column about a short story collection of the past year's best work. The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 is available now and according to the column it's a great collected work. Edited by Carl Hiaasen this edition (it is the 11th of the series to date), it offers 20 detective and crime stories (of which, the crime stories may even just be the threat of a crime). Included are the well-known and popular authors (i.e., Lawrence Block and James Lee Burke) along with the less well-known writers.

The column concludes with the observation for this volume that "there isn't a single clunker in the bunch, an impressive achievement for any literary juror." And as a reader, I'll gladly take those reading odds.

End of the Year Wrap

It's over for the year. When we all left the book club two weeks ago now, I had a smile and felt ready for the holiday break. And when we had a relaxingly, fun session with a more than enough chocolate--again--to eat and a fun read to discuss, what's not to love?

This year has been mostly successful with good reads and I'm glad the regular book
clubbers have trusted my judgment to try some new authors (for some that is, others have read from the selected authors) and found their books worthwhile. I gathered the best received writers for the year were Charles Todd, Peter May and Chris Grabenstein. All these authors have series that some either begin to read or noted for later reading interests. For instance, we read the first of the Peter May "China Thrillers" series as our library system has those first two novels.

Two authors we finally got around to reading this year include Jack Kerley and Chris Grabenstein. With Kerley's setting of the deep-South police and Grabenstein's setting of the New Jersey amusement park laden coast, I was glad to have these two as book club targets.

And although time and opportunity didn't permit me to do as much as I wanted with the book club or blog, I'll try it all again in January... Until then, here's a "YouTube" video with author George Pelecanos reading from the book we read in March, The Night Gardener.

Book club discusses " Whack a Mole"

Last week, the book club meet for its end of the year session to discuss Chris Grabenstein's Whack a Mole. This is the third of the "John Ceepak mystery" series--the newish member of the Sea Haven Police Department which covers a tourist strip of the New Jersey Shore. In this novel, events evolve into a bizarre police matter when John and his young partner Danny Boyle follow up on the discovery of body parts which leads to a major investigation of the community the conclusion of multiple bodies and deaths. John is much more alarmed when it appears the killer is gearing to murder again.

Grisly in a few incidents but bone-tickling in so many more, this story of an angry killer and the determined beach cops won over the book club attendees. Our discussions included the unlikelihood of multiple murders in a tourist haven although there's the transit aspect of the murder victims. As it turns out, the victims are women passing through resort looking for as one retired cop says "sun, sand and sex." That is the ideal client for a resort area. I thought the resort community could lead to good crime stories with the revolving population and credited writer Grabenstein with a good setting.

And the setting was well-written too. One person noted how it seemed memorable and another how despite the fact that the book introduced a number of characters,
they were distinctive.

One distinctive quality for Ceepak was that he claims (as does the writer about the character for that matter) to never lie. Ever. That's a great personal claim but we did discuss how that could operate in personal life or Ceepak's professional life.

Otherwise, we did discuss some other interesting characters, the set-up of the
murder's identity, inter-office relations with the police, and a surprise shoot-out which ended in a way you would not expect.

I also discussed Grabenstein's professional background and mentioned his work as a ad writer and in comedy. One attendee said his writing took a little time to adjust to with his frequently short sentences. And as Grabenstein writes about his writing background--the work is fast for quick consumption. I have a pix of Grabestein above from his www.chrisgrabenstein.com website.

Again, the wacky-titled Whack a Mole won us over as a readers and some have gone on to read the earlier books--there are two others in this series now.

Too Long to Make the List--

I looked at the New York Times list of "100 Notable Books of 2007" this week and found one straight out-and-out mystery in the fiction section. The intriguingly titled The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon is last on the fiction list and I had considered it as a possibility for the mystery book club to read. The list describes the book as: Cops, thugs, schemers, rabbis, chess fanatics and obsessives of every stripe populate this screwball, hard-boiled murder mystery set in an imagined Jewish settlement in Alaska. The novel runs more than 400 pages long and--I hate to say it--but, I decided that's too long for a book club selection. (I make recommendations for books to read for the library's mystery book club and attendees vote on the titles in most instances.)

Why not read this book? During the first year or so of the book club, I had one attendee suggest--in the mildest of ones--that the book club limit the pages for a book selection. Granted, some may have plenty of time and interest to read a large book but others don't. As such, I've kept in mind when looking for books for the book club sessions. I have skipped books that appear to be on the jumbo size.

Now, The Yiddish Policemen's Union is 414 pages and closer to the long side for a book club selection. And, of course, that's my judgment with the standard type of mysteries we tend to read.

That said, we could still read this book if the group decides so.

New Mysteries on the Shelves (8)

Here are three more new attractive-looking mysteries for library readers I found on the shelves recently and thought I'd mention here. All titles are currently in a mystery series including the first on my list.

When Bobbie Sang the Blues: a cozy mystery is the second in a series about mystery writer and pastor's kid Christy Castleman. Writer Peggy Darty's character Christy receives an unexpectedly visit from her aunt Bobbie who's in a major family predicament. Bobbie's estranged husband, Eddie, and his new girlfriend are following her and looking to get money that he claims she owes him. Almost as quickly, the money issues switch to a police matter as Eddie is found dead and the police eye Bobbie as a likely murder suspect for Eddie. Naturally, Christy draws herself into the investigation to help her beloved aunt. Set in Florida, the book is 342 pages.

The next book is set in a much different place and time in 16th-century Ireland written by Cora Harrison. My Lady Judge: a mystery of medieval Ireland is a debut novel for a new series featuring Mara, a woman appointed by the king as judge and lawgiver of Mullaghmore Mountaina. Very well respected in the community, Mara is also the head of a small law school and noted for her powers of observation. As such, she is put to the ultimate test in working to determine the circumstances of the mysterious death of one of her assistants. In addition to the mystery, the novel includes appealing historical Irish landscape details and some ancient Irish law. The book is 311 pages.

Gun Shy is the last book and fifth in the "Blanco County, Texas, mystery" series. In writer Ben Rehder's newest John Marlin story, the local game warden is looking into the dubious hunting accident of an illegal immigrant just days before a huge political rally. The National Weapons Alliance is an organization visiting the area to promote every American's right to own firearms. The NWA's spokesman is country and western star Mitch Campbell and as it turns out in regards to the previous mentioned fatal shooting--Campbell pulled the trigger. Second amendment arguments are back and forth here with humor along the way. The book is 343 pages.

Customer favorities for 2007--

Now is the time to check for the "best books of 2007" on Amazon, according to sales through October that is, and included is a section for "mystery & thriller" novels. The list has a top 10 by sales and even an online questionnaire where you can vote for the best of the ten.

The top ten bestsellers are The Overlook by Michael Connelly, The 6th Target by James Patterson, The Quickie by James Patterson, Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich, Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith, Invisible Prey by John Sandford, Step on a Crack by James Patterson, You've Been Warned by James Patterson and--the number one bestseller--Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich.



The customer survey for the best "mystery & thrillers book for 2007" (a good idea I believe, most of us are bound to agree the bestselling book is not always the critical fave) does have another winner instead of Evanovich's newest book for Stephanie Plum. At 27 percent, it's Lee Child's Bad Luck and Trouble featuring Jack Reacher.

The online critics have spoken.

Book club discusses "The Hundredth Man"

When I looked at mystery titles set in the deep South recently, I ran across writer Jack Kerley and hoped to make one of his titles a selection for the book club. And for this month is worked out as we discussed The Hundredth Man, the first "Carson Ryder" novel.

Here, Carson and his partner, Harry Nautilus, investigate two recent murders in their newish, special unit the "Psychopathological and Sociopathlogical Investigation Team." (In typical cop humor one would guess, the cops have given the team's name a much shorter and very crude nickname--its in the first chapter). Carson is also a relatively new and young detective with the Mobile, Alabama police force.

Collectively, we found a lot in the novel to sing its praises. To start, one person noted how the "prologue" genuinely served as a prologue to foreshadow for the novel instead of being a short chapter one. The mystery story was deemed "fair to the reader" with appealing characters and compelling side stories of office politics. It was also mentioned that the issue of race lightly appeared but not in a major way. And I agree, although I think a prolonged discussion of office politics would lead to that issue.

The writing is good and clear although the narrative voice of Carson curiously seems to fade on occasions and you wonder who's speaking.

Also, the revelation of the Carson's quiet crime assistant (his institutionalized brother with somewhat psychic abilities) gives the novel a twisted edge I feel that makes it stand apart from other series.

Otherwise, Carson, himself has a huge "rebel" steak at work that struck a few of us as tiresome at times and a miraculous recovery from alcohol abuse for one character appeared too quick to be believed.

Overall, a good choice for the book club although not everyone wanted to keep reading books in the series.

New Mysteries on the Shelves (7)

I can have good luck when looking on the fiction shelves when mysteries are concerned at this library and I had more luck this afternoon. The first book I noticed is a debut novel by Henry Chang entitled Chinatown Beat. Billed as "a Detective Jack Yu Investigation," this book is set in New York's Chinatown with Detective Yu pursuing a serial rapist. Yu, who grew up in Chinatown, has contacts with friends--criminals among them--that play a role in his investigation of the rapes and also a murder case he works. And not to any pressure to Yu, but he is new to his police department that is idenitified as being "ninety-nine percent white." This book is credited for giving the reader a close-up view of Chinatown and Chinese-Americans. The book is 214 pages.

The second book is Forests of the Night: a Johnny Hawke novel by David Stuart Davies. It features a private investigator during World War II in London who's hired to check into a woman's mysterious death. This woman was apparently living a double life. Now, what leads Hawke into detective work during the war? Well, this former soldier had a rifle accident which cost him the use of his left eye. And this book, like the first, is the first of a new series. Forests is 222 pages.

Book club discusses "The Fourth Sacrifice"

Last week, the book club discussed Peter May's The Fourth Sacrifice, the second of his series featuring an American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell teamed with Chinese police detective Li Yan in his home of Beijing. This series has recently come stateside while in the United Kingdom, there are six novels according to May's webpage.

It can be ideal to read the first book of a series--particularly for a book club--but our library system had more copies of the Sacrifice than that first book The Firemaker. And a long-standing goal for this book club is to find books for everyone in a area library. As a result, I surrendered my copy of the book of a brief period to pass on another in the book club. So, I read
Firemaker instead.

Sacrifice is the story of Yan's investigation of a series of grim murders--"execution-style decapitations" (ugh)--and the eventual involvement of Campbell whose personal life is undergoing dramatic changes. Overall, the book club was favorably impressed with the writing, characters and stories. One attendee said he seems to write like a woman (there is a strong romance element to the books). Another person found the sense of place in Beijing very convincing in the book and another found Campbell's character simply arrogant and an "ugly American" type. Truth be told, Campbell was a "jerk" in some regards but the author lightens her image with a sad tragic background story.

Overall, the stories are good without very involved mysteries and ultimately, I was told, a good choice for the book club.

A Newbie Author on the PLCMC system shelves--

A fellow librarian pointed out a new title to me a few weeks ago as a
possible read for the book club. Yet, I wondered--at first--if this title would be
a good one to recommend to the group as a meaty read at a slender 219
pages. No matter, the title of the book You Should Have Died on Monday could be enough to sell this book or doom it to ridicule. The latter didn't happen with the book club.

We did select the book to read for September and things worked out well. I
discovered this book which is in the library's "African-American
Fiction" section (I can write about mysteries creep into various
library locations another time) and that author Frankie Y. Bailey has not had a book arrive at my library system before. Well, welcome--glad you made it. "Monday" is the fourth book to feature Bailey's crime historian Lizabeth "Lizzie" Stuart who's also a criminal justice professor (like Bailey in real life). This story has Stuart in search for information about her long-lost mother by traveling to Chicago, Wilmington and finallypre-Katrina New Orleans.

Overall, we liked the book. We liked the characters and the book's resolutions.
We didn't like as much some choppy pacing in the novel. I definitely her kudos for a nice author website.