Over the Counter #95

Our weather has been so odd this winter. We've alternated between rain and snow storms. Hot Toddies by Louise Pickford caught my eye on a cold day this week as it passed over my library counter and under my scanner.

From the publisher Ryland, Peters & Small:

"What could be more welcome on a cold wintry day than a hot drink with a kick. Whether you prefer a whisky-based toddy, aromatic mulled wine, coffee laced with a little brandy or a spiced tea, you'll find a tempting array of tasty and warming treats for every winter occasion in this collection of delicious recipes. Warming Toddies & Cocktails to try include Hot Tea Toddy; Hot Buttered Rum; and Blue Blazer. Mulls & Punches are perfect when entertaining a crowd – recipes include Orange Mulled Wine; Swedish Glogg; and Hot Rum and Cider Punch. Nogs & Creamy Drinks make an indulgent treat – choose from Egg Nog Latte; Honey Rum Baba; and Spiced Rum Chocolate. Tipsy Coffees include the classic Irish Coffee; Mocha Maple Coffee; and Caribbean Caf. Finally, Non-alcoholic Warmers are perfect for drivers or when just relaxing at home – try an exotic Saffron Milk; Pumpkin Latte; or Indian Chai Masala.

(Over the Counter is a regular feature at A Bookworm's World. I've sadly come the realization that I cannot physically read every book that catches my interest as it crosses over my counter at the library. But... I can mention them and maybe one of them will catch your eye as well. See if your local library has them on their shelves!)

The Drop - Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch returns in Michael Connelly's latest book - The Drop. Harry has three years left until mandatory retirement kicks in. He's working in the cold case squad now. When he and his partner Chu get a DNA hit from a twenty year old sample, they think a mistake has been made. The perp is in the system, but he would have been eight years old at the time. But just as they start investigating further, they are told to drop everything to investigate the death of a prominent city counciller's son. The summons comes from the top - Harry calls it 'high jingo' - there are political factions at war and work here. But of course, Harry works both cases.

Although I've read everything Connelly has written, this is the first of his books that I've listened to. Len Cariou was the reader. At first I found his slightly sibilant esses annoying, but as I got further into the story, I didn't hear them. His voice is rough and gravelly and immediately brought to mind the mental image I have of Harry. He also handled the other roles well, providing a different voice for each character.

The Drop had two great cases as the primary story lines. But it also has secondary plot lines involving Harry's personal life, notably with his daughter Maddie. I am enjoying Harry as a dad. Really, I can't say much more than The Drop is classic Connelly - an excellent read with a character  I am quite partial to. And Connelly has left it open for another book with Bosch.

Listen to an excerpt of The Drop. Or read an excerpt. You can find Michael Connelly on Facebook.

Hanging Hill - Mo Hayder

Have you read or heard of Mo Hayder? Well, if you're a thriller/mystery/crime addict, you'll want to look her up.

Hanging Hill is in set in England. In the prologue we're introduced to a pair of sisters - Zoe, always the strong, resilient one,  is a police Detective Inspector and Sally, the pretty, 'brainless' one is a struggling, divorced and now single mom. Until the funeral they're now attending - they haven't spoken in eighteen years. A childhood 'event' that spurred this rift is alluded to but not fully explained until later on.

From the opening prologue we go back to start on the events that lead to the funeral. Sally is working as a cleaner, trying to keep up with the bills and ensure that her teen daughter Millie can at least keep up the semblance of the life she used to lead. But when she borrows money from the wrong man, Sally is forced to take on an under the table job at one of her cleaning contracts - a man who produces pornography.

Zoe is on the case of a murdered teen. When the body is found and she begins to investigate, she finds that the girl was one of Millie's acquaintances. After so many years apart, the sister's lives begin to connect in ways on one could never have predicted. As do the dynamics of their relationship......

Oh, boy - Hayder is a master of plotting! Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, she steers the story in a different direction. When I thought I knew who dunnit, my suppositions are changed in the next chapter.  And the ending! You know when you're at the movie theatre and you think it's over and then something terrifying jumps out at you? Yeah, well Hayder does it with the written word - really, really well.

"But their conversation about children had allowed something thin and cold and cunning to come in from the dark and slide silently between them,. She knew it, he knew it."

Hayder has a dark and devious mind. The crimes and the characters are gritty and disturbing. (not for squeamish readers) I enjoyed the personal story lines of Zoe and Sally and their evolvement as the stakes ratcheted up. I was a bit puzzled by Sally's boyfriend Steve. His mystery job and mystery trips are never fully explained. Is there more to be explored in further books? I would like to see these characters again - especially Zoe - she fits into the wounded female protagonist slot that is so hot right now.

Crime aficionados - you'll want to pick this one up. Read an excerpt of Hanging Hill. You can find Mo Hayder on Facebook.

Goose Lane Editions launches new website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2011

Goose Lane Editions launches new website
Fredericton, NB. In 1994, still in the birthing years of the Internet, Goose Lane Editions, Canada’s oldest independent book publisher, made history by becoming one of the first publishing houses in the world to launch their own website. After 18 years, the site has gone through numerous transformations, changing to suit our evolving culture as technology improved and users became more computer-savvy.

Now, we are proud to announce the newest iteration of www.gooselane.com, with new features, new content, and a new promotion to kick off the launch.
In addition to a complete visual redesign, we have added new website elements such as twitter feeds and ongoing blog posts by our many employees. Sample chapters are available for many books, and an ongoing stream of events and notices is added to the main page every day.

To celebrate our launch, we’d like to extend a special offer. For every day the week of January 30, we will be offering one book a day at a special highly-discounted price. Roadsworth, YOU comma Idiot, The Famished Lover, Miller Brittain, The Black Watch, Beaverbrook: A Shattered Legacy, and Ganong: A Sweet History of Chocolate will each take over one day of the week with a drastically discounted price to help celebrate our new look and attitude. All this, in addition to our regular feature of free shipping on orders of $60 or more. To take advantage of these offers, simply create an account with Goose Lane. By doing so, you’ll also ensure that you are regularly updated on upcoming special offers.

We’ve been around a long time, both physically and electronically. Here’s to many more years together."

Menagerie - Sharon Montrose

Menagerie by Sharon Montrose is one of those quirky little books that you can't help but pick up and look through. Montrose is a sought after photographer of - you guessed it - animals.

She has assembled a collection of photos in Menagerie that somehow mimic a photo album you might pull out to show off your family. The animals seem almost like they have posed in a human manner. Their faces and body language seem to mimic human qualities and in many they seem to be looking straight at us (and the photographer)

 The portrait of the slumped bear reminded me so much of a tired man after a hard day's labour.  The shot of the two geese brought to mind two neighbours gossiping by the back fence. The photos of 'baby' animals reminded me of those taken by an indulgent parent. I quite liked the row of 'infant' portraits. I can't say I enjoyed the snakes or reptiles as much! Montrose has a real eye, that's for sure. The close ups of some of the wild animals, such as the fox, and the detailed shot of the flamingo feathers were quite stunning.

Many of the shots were framed or hung in unique ways. While some pictures had accompanying phrases, I almost felt like I wanted more...a bit of a essay or explanation of the photographer's intent.

Menagerie is a unique photo book. Unfortunately, the size and layout of the book meant that many photos were cut in half across two pages. A larger coffee table size would have been more friendly to the photographer's work. Or even going with a landscape layout rather than portrait.

That being said, if you're not familiar with Montrose's work, this is a wonderful little book to start with. Or have a peek inside now. Thanks to IT Books for the review copy.

The Invisible Ones - Stef Penney

The Invisible Ones is Stef Penney's second novel, but a first look at this author for me. It won't be my last - I'll be hunting down her first book- The Tenderness of Wolves.

The opening scene is one that will hook you into the story from the first page. Ray awakes in a hospital bed, paralyzed and with no memory of how he came to be there. Penney takes us back to the beginning and on the journey of how Ray ended up where he is.

Ray Lovell is a small time private investigator - he mostly does cheating spouse cases and avoids missing persons after a case went really wrong. But when Leon Wood comes into the office asking Ray to hunt down his daughter Rose, he hesitates. Wood is a traveller - a Romany - a gypsy. Leon has approached Ray as he knows that he is half gypsy himself. The case seems impossible. Wood has not seen his daughter in 7 years - since the day of her wedding in 1978 to Ivo Janko, the last in a line of 'black blood' travellers. But - he agrees.

As Ray delves back into a world he knows, but isn't a part of any longer, he is met with resistance, lies, indifference and hostility. No one is overly concerned where Rose is. "Suddenly I am absolutely determined to find her, because no one else seems really bothered".

The Invisible Ones is told from two parallel viewpoints - that of Ray and of JJ - a fourteen year old boy who is part of the Janko family - in alternating chapters. This was guaranteed to keep me up late - I simply had to keep reading to find out what was happening with the other character. The narrative with Ray flips from present to past as his memory slowly returns.

Ray and JJ are both on journeys, although they may not realize it. Ray rediscovers what it means to be gypsy and at the same time he tries to put his disastrous personal life back on track. Finding Rose becomes a quest long after others would have quit. JJ is an interesting character. He has never 'lived in bricks', having grown up in caravans. He is gypsy, but finds himself sometimes yearning for some 'gorgio' ways.(non Romany) But his ultimate loyalty is to his family. JJ is innocent, yet worldly - he was my favourite character.

I enjoyed the slow building pace of the book as the story slowly unfolded. The characters themselves were just as much of a mystery. I was fascinated with the descriptions of Romany life and culture. (The book is set in England) The whole premise of the book was unique and not your run of the mill mystery.  I had paid enough attention to subtle clues dropped during the last half of the book that I had a good idea wheat the ending was going to be. But this didn't detract from my enjoyment - and I was only partially correct.

Definitely recommended - especially for those looking for something a little different.

Read an excerpt of The Invisible Ones. A reading group guide is available for book clubs.

Over the Counter #94

What caught my eye this week as it passed over my library counter and under my scanner? A book about dinner plates. 813 of them to be exact. Dish by Shax Riegler, photographs by Robert Bean.

From the publisher Artisan Books:

"A globe-trotting, century-hopping celebration of dishes As every great hostess knows, the right dinner plates bring design, color, and drama to the table and elevate an ordinary meal into something special. Dish is a visual celebration of these everyday pieces of art that have been the objects of desire of kings, queens, brides, chefs, and hostesses for centuries.From the first wooden trenchers of the Middle Ages to the seventeenth-century China trade, from twentieth-century designer wares to the colorful melamine plates so widely available today, more than 800 plates are on display here. With insightful descriptions and an expert s knowledge, author Shax Riegler makes the case that the dinner plate is so much more than just a vessel to deliver food; it s a piece of art to be admired.These are plates created by storied masters such as Spode and Wedgwood, modernists like Russel Wright and Homer Laughlin, and even today s contemporary designers like Vera Wang and Diane von Furstenberg. Dish shows them in full color with large photographs, detail shots, and even back-of-the-plate photos, delivering a feast for the eyes for obsessive fans and casual admirers alike.With a timeline of plate highlights in history, sidebars showcasing the most popular designers, and a list of the top 100 patterns of all time, Dish will leave readers looking at the common dinner plate in a whole new way."

(Over the Counter is a regular feature at A Bookworm's World. I've sadly come the realization that I cannot physically read every book that catches my interest as it crosses over my counter at the library. But... I can mention them and maybe one of them will catch your eye as well. See if your local library has them on their shelves!)