From the Booking Desk:
This is one of those weeks where crime fiction readers will be struggling to decide what to read first. The wealth of options, each one unique in it’s own way, will satisfy readers across the board. Happy shopping!
Becky Masterman – We Were Killers Once (Minataur, Hardcover, $27.99, 06/04/2019)
BOLO Books Comments:
The BOLO Books Review of We Were Killers Once ran a few weeks ago, so hopefully this novel is already on your radar. The blend of fact and fiction here is perfect for both True Crime lovers and those who prefer the fictional end of the spectrum.
Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):
In 1959, a family of four were brutally murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. Perry Smith and Dick Hickok were convicted and executed for the crime, and the murders and their investigation and solution became the subject of Truman Capote’s masterpiece, In Cold Blood. But what if there was a third killer, who remained unknown? What if there was another family, also murdered, who crossed paths with this band of killers, though their murder remains unsolved? And what if Dick Hickok left a written confession, explaining everything?
Retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn and her husband Carlo, a former priest and university professor, are trying to enjoy each other in this new stage in their lives. But a memento from Carlo’s days as a prison chaplain–a handwritten document hidden away undetected in a box of Carlo’s old things–has become a target for a man on the run from his past. Jerry Beaufort has just been released from prison after decades behind bars, and though he’d like to get on with living the rest of his life, he knows that somewhere there is a written record of the time he spent with two killers in 1959. Following the path of this letter will bring Jerry into contact with the last person he’ll see as a threat: Brigid Quinn.
Becky Masterman’s unputdownable thrillers featuring unique heroine Brigid Quinn continue with this fascinating alternative look at one of America’s most famous crimes.
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Jen Conley – Seven Ways To Get Rid of Harry (Down & Out, Paperback, $15.95, 06/02/2019)
BOLO Books Comments:
Jen Conley’s YA debut, Seven Ways To Get Rid of Harry, does for crime fiction, what Stranger Things did for the horror genre. By blending nostalgia with a decidedly contemporary noir aesthetic, Conley will hook readers – both young and old – keeping them glued to the pages. Navigating tone in the most expert of ways, this novel nails the crossroads between serious subject matter, dark humor, and entertainment.
Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):
Danny Zelko, 13 going on 14, needs to get rid of his mom’s boyfriend, Harry. The guy is a creep. Drinks too much, locks Danny out of the house, gets in Danny’s face and calls him Danielle.
Of course everyone blames Danny. It’s his fault he gets into fights at school. It’s his fault he can’t control his anger. It’s his fault Harry is such a jerk. Danny isn’t such a bad kid—he has his own lawn business, makes his own dinner, even takes out the garbage and closes up the house without being asked. All he wants is for his mom to be like she used to be—a real mother who acted like one. Because Harry makes her stupid. When she gets around him, she forgets about her kids. Disappears with him, doesn’t stick up for her own son. And the prospect of spending another day with this man makes Danny feel helpless and broken.
So when Danny’s sister, Lisa, reveals that Harry and their mom are getting married, Danny, never the one to cower, decides to do something. That’s right, one way or another, he will get rid of Harry.
Set in 1983, New Jersey, Seven Ways to Get Rid of Harry is packed with Danny’s friends and enemies, a few fist fights, heartbreak and fury, and a little humor too.
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Sarah Gailey – Magic for Liars (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99, 06/04/2019)
BOLO Books Comments:
Perfect for fans of both crime fiction and the urban fantasy genre. Gaily merges the two in this very unique novel readers of all ages are sure to love. It is easy to be seduced by the universe of this book, so much so that readers are bound to want to return to it again and again – both by re-reading and hopefully watching Gailey expand that world.
Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):
Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it.
Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine.
She doesn’t in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister.
Ivy Gamble is a liar.
When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister―without losing herself.
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Catherine McKenzie – I’ll Never Tell (Lake Union, Paperback, $14.95, 06/01/2019)
BOLO Books Comments:
I was a fan of Catherine McKenzie’s last book. The BOLO Books review of The Good Liar can be found here. I haven’t read this new one yet, but the busy is very strong and I can’t wait to dive in when the schedule allows.
Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):
What happened to Amanda Holmes?
Twenty years ago, she was found bludgeoned in a rowboat at the MacAllister family’s Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with the crime.
Now, after their parents’ sudden deaths, the MacAllister siblings return to camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate the camp occupies. Ryan needs to sell. Margaux hasn’t made up her mind. Mary believes in leaving well enough alone. Kate and Liddie—the twins—have opposing views. And Sean Booth, the groundskeeper, just hopes he still has a home when all is said and done.
But it’s more complicated than a simple vote. The will stipulates that until they unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda, they can’t settle the estate. Any one of them could have done it, and each one is holding a piece of the puzzle. Will they work together to finally discover the truth, or will their secrets finally tear the family apart?
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Cara Black – Murder in Bel-Air (Soho Crime, Hardcover, $27.95, 06/04/2019)
BOLO Books Comments:
It wouldn’t be summer if Cara Black didn’t wisk us off to Paris once again. This time out, the case if very personal for both Aimée and long-time fans of the series. Nineteen books (and twenty years) into this series and Cara Black never disappoints. Take a vacation from the comfort of your airchair and watch as Aimée Leduc ferrets out the truth.
Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):
Parisian private investigator Aimée Leduc is about to go onstage to deliver the keynote address at a tech conference that is sure to secure Leduc Detective some much-needed business contracts when she gets an emergency phone call from her daughter’s playgroup: Aimée’s own mother, who was supposed to pick Chloe up, never showed. Abandoning her hard-won speaking gig, Aimée rushes to get Chloe, annoyed that her mother has let her down yet again.
But as Aimée and Chloe are leaving the playground, Aimée witnesses the body of a homeless woman being wheeled away from the neighboring convent, where nuns run a soup kitchen. The last person anyone saw the dead woman talking to was Aimée’s mother, who has vanished. Trying to figure out what happened to Sydney Leduc, Aimée tracks down the dead woman’s possessions, which include a huge amount of cash. What did Sydney stumble into? Is she in trouble?
Well…I know my sister is going to be overjoyed to have the new Cara Black to read. She loves her books and was stoked to have met her a few years back down at a shop on the Cape.
Yay. Cara is a wonderful writer and the nicest person.