The Storycatcher by Ann Hite

First Chapter, First Paragraph is a weekly meme hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea.

Title: The Storycatcher by Ann Hite
Published September 10, 2013; Gallery Books
Genre: Southern fiction, historical novel

Opening paragraph, first chapter:

September 1935 

The salt from the ocean hung thick and heavy in the air. The only breeze came from the boat moving. Roger and me stood together side by side at the boat's wheel, him driving, me watching.
Ebb tide gave me the creepy crawlers. Ebb tide was unnatural, bad, nothing but bad.
"That sorry fool Mr. Benton is bringing his colored mistress to stay for two weeks. Mr. Tyson be letting them sleep in his house. He never struck me as one to put up with that mess, but by gosh he is...." 

Publisher description:
"Shelly Parker never much liked Faith Dobbins, the uppity way that girl bossed her around. But they had more in common than she knew. Shelly tried to ignore the haints that warned her Faith’s tyrannical father, Pastor Dobbins, was a devil in disguise. But when Faith started acting strange, Shelly couldn’t avoid the past—not anymore.

Award-winning author Ann Hite beckons readers back to the Depression-era South, from the saltwater marshes of Georgia’s coast to the whispering winds of North Carolina’s mystical Black Mountain, in a gothic tale about the dark family secrets that come back to haunt."

Based on the opening paragraph and book description, would you keep reading? 

Book Review: Short Leash: A Memoir of Dog Walking by Janice Gary

Title: Short Leash: A Memoir of Dog Walking and Deliverance by Janice Gary
Published August 1, 2013; Michigan State University Press
Genre: memoir

About the book: Janice Gary slowly finds healing through her dog Barney, through her frequent walks in the park with the dog, and in her writing. She details in her memoir her progress in overcoming her fear of strangers and deserted places such as the park, while her dog Barney learns to accept other dogs and curb his aggression towards other dogs.

My comments: This is a very personal account of an individual's attempts to recover from mental injuries and be the confident, outgoing person she was before. To overcome traumatic events, namely the memories of a brutal attack by a stranger and the traumatic suicide of her father, the author walks and writes her way to recovery with the help of her second dog, Barney, and her new interest in writing. Her books takes you along on her walks in the park and tracks her thought processes along the way. This also very much a "dog book," as it deals with the happy times, the responsibilities, and the heartbreak that can come with owning a dog.

Excellent writing, but expect a book that is often very reflective and slow paced. The book reads as a personal journal that takes you season by season through the author's observations of nature and her thought processes as she walks to recovery with her dog Barney.

Short Leash: A Memoir of Dog Walking and Deliverance, was chosen as a “Groundbreaking memoir” by Independent Publisher and a New Pages “Editor’s Pick”. Janice Gary is the recipient of the Christine White Award for Memoir and the Ames Award for Personal Essay. As a writing coach, she helps others writers find their unique voice and stories. She blogs at janicegary.com

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review copy of this book.
Click on the link for more reviews by the tour participants. 

Sunday Salon: Book Tours Make Me Read Faster

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! Also visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer, and It's Monday: What Are You Reading? at Book Journey. Also, Mailbox Monday at its permanent home.

I started out the year by reading books for book tours as I found I had scheduled six books in January alone and three more in February. So I am on a reading frenzy at the moment to keep up. So far, I have finished writing reviews for four of the books.

Reviews for Short Leash, My Mother's Funeral and A Different Sun will be published in the next two weeks, starting tomorrow. I have just begun reading While We Were Watching Downton Abbey and will finish up with Last Train to Paris.

A few books trickled into the mailbox whenever the mailman came during the sometimes Level 3 snow emergencies we had last week.

I got this new edition of What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, (see my 2011 review) plus a canvas tote bag with the imprint of the cover of The Husband's Secret. I believe these were a contest win. 

Three cozy mysteries came, thanks to Penguin:

Poison at the PTA by Laura Alden: As the Tarver Elementary School PTA president, Beth Kennedy is always on the go—especially when someone puts murder on the agenda.

Murder With Ganache by Lucy Burdette: Hayley Snow, the food critic for Key Zest magazine, has her plate heaped high with restaurant reviews, doughnut and sticky bun tastings, and an article on the Hemingway cats. But this week she’s also in charge of her best friend’s wedding. And then someone adds a side of murder….

Throw in the Trowel by Kate Collins: The couple that sleuths together… . Flower Shop owner Abby Knight has just returned from a romantic honeymoon with Marco, the man of her dreams.  But when Marco discovers a skeleton buried in the basement of his bar, it is a bit of a mood killer. When the body is identified as a carpenter who went missing back in the 1970s, Abby and Marco decide to cultivate the clues to solve the cold case.

What are you reading this week, for a tour,  for entertainment, information, or...?  Do you think that if you had book tours scheduled for all your TBR books, you'd read much faster? 

Pets Rule: A Guest Post by author Annie Knox

Welcome to Annie Knox, whose first book in a new cozy mystery series, Paws for Murder: A Pet Boutique Mystery, was released January 7 by Signet.

Pets Rule 

a guest post by author Annie Knox

In our house, we occasionally joke that the cats need to get jobs and start earning their kibble.  But the truth of the matter is that they already earn their keep every day.  They make us laugh, they ease our stress, and they provide unconditional affection.

Am I giving the cats too much credit?  I don’t think so.

There’s a growing body of scientific research demonstrating the amazing emotional benefits of having companion animals in our lives.  Dogs are working with prisoners, the elderly, the chronically ill, veterans and students—all people living with considerable stress—and studies indicate that those dogs make a difference in the lives they touch.  Cats, too, are providing comfort to people with depression and anxiety disorders, helping them cope with their emotions.

Our cats have definitely made a contribution to our happiness.  When my husband was recovering from major surgery, Squeak-a-doodle provided the best kind of physical therapy.  Together, my husband and Squeaky would make laps around the house, stopping at the end of each circuit for a quick petting session.  Iphy, our old girl, has lost her hearing; she spends her evenings moving from lap to lap and gazing up at our faces with a look of complete contentment. You can’t help but feel loved when she’s staring at you!

The real stress relief champion in our house is Todd.  Todd was a stray for at least a year before he joined us.  One day, he wandered up on our porch with a big wound on his neck.  We got him fixed up at the vet and planned to find him a new home, but he walked into our house, peed all over the basket of cat toys, jumped on our bed, rolled onto his back, and fell asleep.  Clearly, he was already home.

Todd teaches us the art of relaxation every day.  He conks out on his back, belly bared to the world, front paws tucked beneath his chin.  He loves to have his belly scratched, and will roll over for a scritching without any real regard for the position of his body (he’s fallen of the couch more than once).  When he snuggles, it’s a full contact snuggle.  He’ll inch his way up your body until he’s nose-to-nose with you.  And he loves everyone who walks through the front door.  Our cuddle ninja, our snuggle pirate, our nap hero  . . . he’s a living testament to the joy of loving with abandon.

Our pets enrich our lives in so many ways.  That’s one reason I had such a great time writing about Izzy McHale’s dorky pug-bulldog mix Packer and her regal Norwegian forest cat Jinx.  Throughout Paws for Murder, this dynamic duo contribute comfort, clues, and welcome comic relief.  Throw in Rena Hamilton’s kleptomaniacal ferret Val, and you’ve got yourself a menagerie of fun.

I hope you get a chance to cuddle up with Packer, Jinx, and Val, and I hope they provide you with a fraction of the joy our real furry friends have to offer!

About the author: While Annie Knox does not commit--or solve--murders in real life, her love of animals is 100% real.  She's also passionately devoted to 80s music, Asian horror films, and reality TV.   Annie, her husband, and their spoiled cats (Todd, Iphy, and Squeak-a-doodle) make their home in a small town in north Texas, just blocks from the town’s courthouse square. 

Book Tour/Review: Brady Needs a Nightlight by Brian Barlics

Brian Barlics of Northern California is a pediatrician who believes not only in the physical health of children but also in the enrichment of their minds and building of their character. He advocates that reading to your child encourages a strong parent-child bond, promotes literacy, and helps them tap into their seemingly endless imaginations. His book, Brady Needs A Nightlight, is now available.

Title: Brady Needs a Nightlight by Brian Barlics

Published April 11, 2013; Black Rose Writing
Genre: children's book for ages 3 and up
Objective rating: 5/5

My comments: I adore the cheerful and colorful little fireflies who appear at the end of the story to give light and comfort to little Brady, the bat who is afraid of the dark. This is a wonderful children's story with charming illustrations that will delight any child, whether or not they are afraid of the dark.

Book description: "Brady is a loveable little bat who oddly has a terrible fear of the dark. This poses quite a dilemma for a creature that sleeps in a dark cave and comes out to play at night. The story opens with an image of Brady, scared to fall asleep inside of his dark cave. He is forced to watch the other bats hang fast asleep as he imagines himself playing outside in the sunshine. As night falls, the other bats are up and ready to play, but poor Brady is too afraid to step out into the darkness. After building up the courage to go, Brady realizes, with the help of some bright and shining fireflies, that the nighttime isn’t so bad after all. New friendships abound and thanks to his new friends, the fireflies Brady learns to overcome his fear!

This book is the first of a series entitled Fundamentales. The series includes books about facing fears, being yourself, sharing, safety, eating right and staying active, doing chores, responsibility, and much more!" (publisher)

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for a review copy of this book. Visit TLC for more reviews of this book.

A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint

 First Chapter, First Paragraph is a weekly meme hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea.

First chapter, first paragraph:

The accused, Chelsea Liew, was in court. She sat on a wooden bench in a wooden box, handcuffed to a police woman. 

The prosecutor, a large, shiny Malay man, marking time until his own elevation to the Bench, watched the court official read out the charge in a slow, ponderous voice, “That you, Chelsea Liew, on or about the eighteenth day of July, committed murder by causing the death of Alan Lee.”  

The judge said, “How does the accused plead? Guilty or not guilty?” (Shamini Flint,  A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder ).

Title:  A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint
Published January 1, 2009
Genre: murder mystery

Book description: Inspector Singh is in a bad mood. He's been sent from his home in Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to solve a murder that has him stumped. Chelsea Liew - the famous Singaporean model - is on death row for the murder of her ex-husband. She swears she didn't do it, he thinks she didn't do it, but no matter how hard he tries to get to the bottom of things, he still arrives back at the same place - that Chelsea's husband was shot at point blank range, and that Chelsea had the best motivation to pull the trigger: he was taking her kids away from her.

Now Inspector Singh must pull out all the stops to crack a crime that could potentially free a beautiful and innocent woman and reunite a mother with her children. There's just one problem - the Malaysian police refuse to play ball. (publisher)

Based on the opening and the book description, would you keep reading?

Mailbox Monday

Check out Mailbox Monday at it's permanent home. The Story Siren also has an In My Mailbox meme. Let us know what new books you received.

Two books arrived last week, books for review. There is no mail today, of course. There is a level three snow emergency and only essential vehicles are to be on the road. I think that means our mailman stays home.

Thanks to Crown Publishers for an ARC of The Accident, a new political thriller by Chris Pavone. Description: "As dawn approaches in New York, literary agent Isabel Reed is turning the final pages of a mysterious, anonymous manuscript, racing through the explosive revelations about powerful people, as well as long-hidden secrets about her own past....

Over the course of one long, desperate, increasingly perilous day, these lives collide as the book begins its dangerous march toward publication, toward saving or ruining careers and companies, placing everything at risk—and everyone in mortal peril."

Thanks to author Nancy Jill Thames for a win of The Ruby of Siam in a book contest. Description: "When Jillian and Teddy travel to London with her wedding attendants, they find themselves embroiled in a jewel heist with a man left stabbed to death. Can they solve the crimes in the midst of Jillian's wedding plans? An old acquaintance from San Diego offers his help, but will it be enough to solve the mystery? Perhaps the jewel has a curse."

What arrived in your mailbox last week?