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January 21, 2012
We lead off this week with a pair of solid police procedurals. RIZZO'S FIRE, by Lou Manfredo, offers one of the most authentic renderings of policing in the business, says Maddy Van Hertbruggen and Manfredo is certainly is not suffering from the sophomore jinx. Ed Kovacs' debut, STORM DAMAGE, is also a gritty police novel, set in post-Katrina New Orleans, and Christine Zibas approves.
If you're a nervous parent, you might want to stay away from these two books. THE CALLER by Karin Fossum opens with a bizarre attack on a sleeping infant, while in Belinda Bauer's FINDERS KEEPERS, children are disappearing form their parents' cars, replaced by notes accusing the parents of neglect. Both, however, are well worth your attention, according to the reviewers.
A surprising number of books reviewed this week share an interest in the supernatural. Has it something to do with the year 2012? Sometimes it's fairly benign, as in Colin Cotterill's latest entry in the Dr Siri series SLASH AND BURN, which Barbara Fister enjoyed. At other times, it's a more sinister presence, as in HEADSTONE, Ken Bruen's followup to THE DEVIL. I found this one slightly less terrifying than its predecessor, but sufficiently unnerving. Linda Wilson was less impressed with Stephen Leather's NIGHTMARE, in which an ex-police negotiator continues to be troubled by voices from beyond the grave.
Arnold Taylor had a mixed reaction to Nick Stone's VOODOO EYES, the third in the Max Mingus series. This one unfolds both in Miami and Cuba. Kate Ellis sets THE JACKAL MAN in England's West Country, but a young woman claims to have been attacked by someone bearing a strong resemblance to the Egyptian god Anubis.
Our reviewers very much enjoyed a pair of audio books. Karla Jay found Stef Penney's THE INVISIBLE ONES (read by the actor who plays Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey) so engaging that it was very difficult to put down. Sally Fellows likewise enjoyed both the story and the reading of THE ACCIDENT, by Linwood Barclay.
Two well-established series met with varying responses. Linda Wilson was a bit irritated at some of the genre clichés in Pauline Rowson's FOOTSTEPS ON THE SHORE, but thought there was enough there to prompt her to have another go in future. Mary Devine, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed the 11th Brock and Kolla, CHELSEA MANSIONS by Barry Maitland. Meanwhile, Maddy Van Hertbruggen found a great deal to like in DEATH OF A WANNABEE, a debut legal thriller by a law professor at Stanford, Lawrence Friedman, despite some first-novel issues.
Our serial killer this week shows up in CALL ME PRINCESS, by Sara Blaedel. Larissa Kyzer was puzzled by the "emotional tone-deafness" of the lead detective. Anne Corey had a good time with both of the thrillers she reviews this week. Babies are under attack (it's been a bad week for little kids) in Jack Rogan's THE COLLECTIVE, which employs the talents of Rachel Voss and Josh Hart of Homeland Security, and she tips TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY by Jeffrey S. Stephens as a good choice for a beach read, assuming it ever warms up. Finally, Madeleine Marsh feels that the less said the better as far as THE NIGHT STALKER by Christ Carter is concerned.
I am certain that all of you join RTE in mourning the death of Reginald Hill, who has provided us with so much pleasure over the years. It is sad to think that no new Dalziel and Pascoe will come our way for review ever again.
Look to the box at the left for the "60 Seconds With..." interview. This time it's Stuart Neville who's answering the questions. Then check the box below for what's on offer in our drawing this week, then take a chance and enter.
We'll be back in two weeks, when January will finally be over. See you then.
Best,
Yvonne
P.S. If you wish to submit a book for review, please check here before contacting us. Please note that we do not review self-published books.
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 January 21, 2012
January 21, 2012
Three new books again this week. Two of them are available to people living in the US and Canada. The other is a UK-only offer. But please remember that we can't send books to Post Office box numbers.
From what we hear, THE WHISPERER, by Donato Carrisi, has had the kind of success in Europe which has its publishers happily murmuring Stieg Larsson. In it, two Italian investigators, a profiler and a criminologist, try to make sense out of a horrifying crime. Six severed arms have been discovered, arranged in a mysterious circle and buried in a clearing in the woods. Five of them appear to belong to missing girls between the ages of eight and eighteen. The sixth is yet to be identified. Worse still, the girls' bodies, alive or dead, are nowhere to be found. More puzzling is that there seems no connection between the victims. Obsessed with a case that becomes more tangled and intense as they unravel the layers of evil, Gavila and Vasquez find that their lives are increasingly in each other's hands.
To enter the drawing for THE WHISPERER: Email ljw@reviewingtheevidence.com . Please put only the word CARRISI as the subject and only your name and mailing address in the body of the email. This drawing will take place at NOON on Sunday, January 29, 2012.
This drawing is open to residents of the US and Canada and three copies are available to be won.
Donato Corrisi may be a brand-new name to American readers, but Dana Stabenow is familiar and much loved. In the 19th Kate Shugak novel, RESTLESS IN THE GRAVE, she unites Kate with Alaska state trooper Liam Campbell in the same story for the first time. Here Kate takes a waitress job to find out what she can about the death of a thoroughly nasty, if successful, aviation entrepreneur. But what started as a simple murder quickly sprawls into a much larger conspiracy ranging from the darkest family secrets to treason and beyond.
To enter the drawing for RESTLESS IN THE GRAVE, Email ljw@reviewingtheevidence.com. Please put only the word STABENOW as the subject and only your name and mailing address in the body of the email. This drawing will take place at NOON on Sunday, January 29, 2012.
This drawing is open to residents of the US and Canada and three copies are available to be won.
As a treat for our readers in the UK, we can offer copies of Anthony Horowitz's THE HOUSE OF SILK: THE NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES NOVEL. The only authorized new Sherlock Holmes adventure, Dr Watson reveals the details of a case too shocking to be published when the great detective was still alive. This has enjoyed great critical acclaim. (Our own reviewer, Madeleine Marsh, liked it very much indeed: http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/review.html?id=9008>
To enter the drawing for THE HOUSE OF SILK, Email ljw@reviewingtheevidence.com. Please put only the word HOROWITZ as the subject and only your name and mailing address in the body of the email. This drawing will take place at NOON on Sunday, January 29, 2012.
This drawing is open only to residents of the UK and three copies are available.
  
The winners of copies of Elizabeth Geroge's BELIEVING THE LIE were Marina McIntyre and James Devlin. Winners of a copy of CHALK GIRL by Carol O'Connell were Helene Androski, Liz Rose and Bobbie Rudd. Copies of DAMAGES by John Lescroart go to Kathy Durkin and Susan Pertierra.
You too can join the happy, smiling circle of winners. You're just a click away.
PLEASE DO NOT ENTER THIS DRAWING IF YOU WON LAST TIME. Your email will simply be deleted.
All entries will be permanently disposed of following the random draw.
And remember, those who review for RTE and their families are not eligible for the drawings.
Good luck, all.
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Contact: Linda Wilson (ljw@reviewingtheevidence.com), Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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