QUICK PICKS (APRIL 2015)

Looking for something fresh and unusual to read? The suggestions below should fill that gap. You can never go wrong with a Joyce Carol Oates tome and her new one will debut in a few weeks...Are you in the mood for a serious crime thriller minus all the fluff or a bit of Science Fiction with all the trappings? Check out this list submitted by Book Page.

THE WHITES by Richard Price writing as Harry Brandt 

Sgt. Billy Graves of the NYPD pursues his “White” (that’s what Billy calls the one that got away), a triple murderer, in this outstanding contemporary crime thriller.

JACK OF SPADES by Joyce Carol Oates 

Andrew Rush, a critically and commercially successful mystery novelist has a dark secret: under a pseudonym he pens lurid, violent potboilers. He risks everything if his secret comes out in this exceptional tale of suspense.

CITY OF SAVAGES by Lee Kelly 

There are plenty of heart-pounding moments in Kelly’s debut, and an abundance of vividly imagined details bring post-apocalyptic New York City to searing life. But the biggest risk is not one that the characters take—it’s Kelly’s bold spotlighting of the bonds between women.

          AND FOR SOMETHING OFF THE BEATEN PATH......

BETWEEN YOU AND ME by Mary Norris A copy editor at The New Yorker, Norris got her first big break courtesy of a spelling mistake. As a rookie proofreader, she noticed a writer's inadvertent use of "flower" when he meant "flour," a catch that earned effusive praise from her boss. Since then, Norris has spent 30 years scrutinizing commas, distinguishing "that" from "which" and correcting the dreaded dangling participle. With her love of language on full display, the self-titled "Comma Queen" turns what could have been a tedious grammar manual into a witty and entertaining look at the rewards of expressing ourselves precisely. ORDER BOOKS DIRECTLY FROM THIS BLOG. CLICK ON THE AMAZON SEARCH BOX IN THE SIDEBAR.

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME (MARCH 2015)

Author Joy Fielding never fails to deliver. Not the most literate of authors, her books are fun, undemanding, fast paced edge of your seat reads. This new psychological thriller is reminiscent of Rear Window and critics called it a "spiraling tale of paranoia and suspense." What more could you want?!!

Someone is Watching by Joy Fielding

This engrossing standalone from bestseller Fielding makes you care about Bailey Carpenter, a Miami-based investigator who’s raped while on surveillance. Previously, the biggest problems in Bailey’s life had been her mother’s death, her affair with a married colleague, and her five half-siblings’ attempt to overturn their father’s will, which left millions to Bailey and her often-stoned brother, Heath.

 Now Claire, a nurse as well as the half-sister Bailey barely knows, becomes her guardian angel as she starts on her slow path to recovery. Not sleeping and afraid to leave her high-rise apartment, Bailey suspects every man of evil intent, and she has a number of encounters, both frightening and embarrassing, in her quest to re-establish some control over her life. 

The characters pulsate with life, and there are a few shocks in store—for Bailey and the reader—before the denouement. And the presence of Jade, Claire’s outspoken teen daughter, blows everyone else off the page.

DEBUTING IN MAY.....

Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates 

 – Andrew Rush, a critically and commercially successful mystery novelist has a dark secret: under a pseudonym he pens lurid, violent potboilers. He risks everything if his secret comes out in this exceptional tale of suspense.