 | Currently I have many more books in the "waiting to be read" pile than I really have any hope of reading in the near future. Several of them seem to arrive each week at present, and sit on the shelves making me feel guilty.
So I have decided to feature some of them, (mainly review copies forwarded to me by publishers), in a more or less weekly feature, so you get to consider whether you want to read them.
My postings won't be reviews, just titles with publisher's blurbs.
Some I may actually read in the near future and then do a proper review.
I'd like to also stress that there is no rhyme or reason to my selections.
Please note that this listing is in no way a recommendation for you to read a title, simply a chance for you to assess for yourself whether you would like to read it. I will also try to discover whether the book is available on Kindle, particularly for Australian authors which are not necessarily available overseas.
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My focus this week is on some e-books, which I have on my Kindle. Some of these are review copies, others books I have recently purchased.
THE LAST POLICEMAN, Ben H. Winters
Recently the winner of Best Paperback Original in the
2013 MWA Edgar Awards.
Published by Quirk 2012
Available on Amazon
Blurb (Amazon)
What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?
Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid
2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six
precious months until impact.
The Last Policeman presents
a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy
spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues
are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not
Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a
dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace
is the only cop who cares.
The first in a trilogy,
The Last Policeman offers
a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation
plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard
questions way beyond “whodunit.”
What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really
do, if our days were numbered?
PRIMAL, D.A. Serra
Published 2012
Available on
Amazon
Blurb (Amazon)
The writer who made you laugh with Punky Brewster, who made you cry with
Just Ask My Children, will now make you cringe with PRIMAL. This story
was originally purchased by one of America's most prestigious
storytellers James Cameron.
What if the worst happens and you
are not a cop, or a spy with weapons training and an iron heart? What
if you're a schoolteacher - a mother? In this gritty crime thriller a
family vacation takes a vicious turn when a fishing camp is invaded by
four armed men. With nothing except her brains, her will, and the
element of surprise on her side, Alison must kill or watch her family
die. And then - things get worse.
THE CELTIC DAGGER, Jill Paterson (Australian author)
Published 2012
Available on
Amazon
Blurb (Amazon)
University professor Alex Wearing is found murdered in his study by the
Post Graduate Co-coordinator, Vera Trenbath, a nosey interfering
busybody. Assigned to the case is Detective Chief Inspector Alistair
Fitzjohn. Fitzjohn is a detective from the old guard, whose methodical,
painstaking methods are viewed by some as archaic. His relentless
pursuit for the killer zeros in on Alex’s brother, James, as a key
suspect in his investigation.
Compelled to clear himself of
suspicion, James starts his own investigation and finds himself immersed
in a web of intrigue, ultimately uncovering long hidden secrets about
his brother’s life that could easily be the very reasons he was
murdered.
This gripping tale of murder and suspense winds its way
through the university’s hallowed halls to emerge into the beautiful,
yet unpredictable, Blue Mountain region where more challenges and
obstacles await James in his quest to clear himself of suspicion and
uncover the truth about his brother.
I reviewed
MURDER AT THE ROCKS
THE GHOST RIDERS OF ORDEBEC, Fred Vargas
Published 2013
Available on
Amazon
Blurb (Amazon)
'People will die,' says the panic-stricken
woman outside police headquarters. She has been standing in blazing
sunshine for more than an hour, and refuses to speak to anyone besides
Commissaire Adamsberg.
Her daughter has seen a vision: ghostly horsemen
who target the most nefarious characters in Normandy. Since the middle
ages there have been stories of murderers, rapists, those with serious
crimes on their conscience, meeting a grizzly end following a visitation
by the riders.
Soon after the young woman's
vision a notoriously cruel man disappears, and the local police dismiss
the matter as superstition. Although the case is far outside his
jurisdiction, Adamsberg agrees to investigate the strange happenings in a
village terrorised by wild rumours and ancient feuds.
I've reviewed
other novel in this series.
