Book Teaser: The Island House by Posie Graeme-Evans

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB; choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

But something else was down there, something big. As she stood on the stone floor of what was, undeniably, an undercroft - a crypt such as a monastery might have - awe feathered her spine. (ch. 7)

Title: The Island House: A Novel by Posie Graeme-Evans

Published June 26, 2012; Atria Books

A novel about a young archaeologist who unearths ancient secrets, a tragic romance, and Viking treasure on a remote Scottish island. Written by the author of The Dressmaker.

Mailbox Monday: New Books

Mailbox Monday is hosted in June by Burton Book Review. These books arrived in my mailbox recently, sent by the publishers.

Title: Wallace: the Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed a Breed - One Flying Disc at a Time
Release date: August 30, 2012 by Gotham

New York Time bestselling author of The Lost Dogs writes about an unwanted pit bull rescued in 2005 from a shelter who became an international celebrity. A true story. Today, Wallace is a champion. But in the summer of 2005, he was living in a shelter, a refugee from a suspicious pit bull–breeding operation. Andrew “Roo” Yori entered the picture. A scientist and shelter volunteer, Roo could tell immediately that Wallace was something special. Roo learned that Wallace was about to be put down. Frantic—and even though they already had two dogs—Roo and his wife fought to keep Wallace alive until they could adopt him.

Serendipity led them to the world of competitive Frisbee dogs. It seemed like a terrible idea. Pit bulls are everything that most Frisbee dogs aren’t: large and heavy with thick muscles that can make them look less than graceful. But that was fine with Roo—because part of his mission was to change people’s minds about pit bulls. After overcoming everything from injuries to prejudice against the breed, the unlikely pair became World Champions. (book description)

Disgrace

Title: Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Released June 21, 2012; Penguin
Genre: thriller

By the author of Mercy also known as The Keeper of Lost Causes, this is a new thriller in the same Department Q series. The two books in the series will be made into movies in 2013.

A homeless girl on the streets of Copenhagen carries secrets about some powerful people. But she has a secret of her own. They are looking for her, but so is Detective Carl Merck of Department Q.

No Rest for the Dead

Title: No Rest for the Dead: A Novel by twenty-six mystery writers.
Reprint release date: July 3, 2012; Touchstone

Twenty-six bestselling authors collaborated to write one mystery, No Rest for the Dead. Each writer wrote a chapter in the thriller about Joe Nunn, a detective, who tries to find the true murderer of a curator of a San Francisco museum.

The Skeleton Box

The Skeleton Box: A Starvation Lake Mystery by Bryan Gruley
Released June 5, 2012; Touchstone
Genre: mystery

What did you get in your mailbox recently?

Sunday Salon: Books Set in Asia

Welcome to the Sunday Salon.

I was really happy to receive two surprise books yesterday, thanks to the publishers, both novels set in India.

The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken: A Vish Puri Mystery by Tarquin Hall will be released July 10, 2012 by Simon and Schuster. It's a mystery novel set in New Delhi. I've read The Case of the Missing Servant, the first in the series, and really enjoyed the main character, India's P.I. Vish Puri.

I received the ARC of Jana Bibi's Excellent Fortunes by Betsy Woodman, the first in a planned series of books featuring Jana Bibi, her chatty parrot, and her housekeeper, living in Hamara Nagar, India. The book will be released July 17, 2012 by Henry Holt.

I'm in the middle of reading
Mingmei Yip's Skeleton Women, a novel set in early 1930s Shanghai,
finished The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam, set in the Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and
finished The Fear Artist (A Poke Rafferty Thriller) by Timothy Hallinan, a thriller set in Bangkok.

I plan to write reviews of the above three but may not post two of them till their release dates in the U.S! These books are going to take some thinking to review; they are pretty complex, with complex settings, and complex situations and characters. But I think I'll enjoy doing it.

What's on your plate for the next couple of weeks?

Saturday Snapshot: At the Dog Park

Visit Alyce at At Home With Books to join in and link your picture to her meme.

Don't worry. That's just fun play among the dogs, most of whom know each other from being off-leash all the time at this LA dog park.

They got along great when we were there and loved being free to run around with their pals while their owners watched. Note that the park is fenced so none of the dogs can run off.

Great-Aunt Sophia's Lessons for Bombshells by Lisa Cach

Welcome to The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice

Rules:*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence (or a few) that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post to the Friday 56 Linky. It's that simple.

Title: Great-Aunt Sophia's Lessons for Bombshells
Author: Lisa Cach; paperback; June 19, 2012

"It's grossly unfair that at my age, one tires easily but sleeps hardly at all." Sophia was sitting in the large breakfast nook at the end of the kitchen, the bay window behind her providing an elegant backdrop of green garden. A plate of toast and a coffee mug sat on the table." (p. 56)

About the book: 
Grace Cavanaugh, a PhD student, experiences a life-changing summer while taking care of her great aunt, a 1940’s movie star.

Mystery Novels: New Cozy Mysteries out in June

Mass Market paperback mysteries this month:

The Azalea Assault (new series)

Hot Button

Dead Man Waltzing

The Diva Digs Up Dirt

Grace among Thieves

Quilt or Innocence (new series)

Vision Impossible: Psychic Eye Mystery

Grace Among Thieves by Julie Hyzy
The Azalea Assault: A Garden Society Mystery by Alyse Carlson (new series)
Quilt or Innocence: A Southern Quilting Mystery by Elizabeth Craig (new series)
The Diva Digs Up Dirt: A Domestic Diva Mystery by Krista Davis
Dead Man Waltzing: A Ballroom Dance Mystery by Ella Barrick
Vision Impossible: A Psychic Eye Mystery by Victoria Laurie
Hot Button: A Button Box Mystery by Kylie Logan

Don't say there are no cozy novels to read this summer!

An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd: Book Tour/Review

"But I thought he had felt like so many men had, that the only end to their suffering would be death, and home seemed so very far away and unreachable." (ch. 19)

Title:  An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd
Hardcover; published June 5, 2012 by William Morrow

About the book: This is the fourth in the Bess Crawford Mystery series, featuring a WWI nurse from England who plays amateur sleuth. In 1918, Bess travels to France to care for wounded soldiers as well as the many soldiers stricken by the Spanish flu epidemic. At the beginning of the book, Bess is shown the body of Major Carson, an old family friend, lying among the flu victims.

"He is not an influenza victim," Private Wilson said. "Look at him." (ch. 1)

Bess realizes that the major's neck has been broken and that he must have been murdered.  When Private  Wilson is found hanged and his death declared a suicide, Bess knows she has two mysteries to solve. She wants to help the wife of the Major and also clear the name of Private Wilson, who she thinks fell victim to foul play. She also has to discover if the deaths are connected.

My comments: I enjoyed A Bitter Truth, the previous mystery in the series, and thought this novel is as good in plot and characterization. It also gives a good sense of the horrific conditions of the wounded and the war and the work the nurses did to aid the doctors on the WWI battlefront.

The descriptions of the maimed, the dying, and the dead for me was overwhelming, and I had a deep sense of sadness and discomfort reading about it throughout the book. I would have liked some contrast in the novel, some descriptions of nature, for instance, that would periodically lighten up the dreary atmosphere. In other words, the novel wasn't pleasant to read, even though the plotting was flawless.

Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother and son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Caroline has a BA in English Literature and History, and a Masters in International Relations. Charles has a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Business Management, and a culinary arts degree that means he can boil more than water. 


For other reviews of An Unmarked Grave, visit the Blog Tour Schedule. The authors can be reached at  http://charlestodd.com/homepage/or on their Facebook page.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the authors/publisher for a complimentary review copy of  An Unmarked Grave.


Submitted to the War through the Generations: WWI Reading Challenge