Mystery & SF/F Instore Newsletter 2013

Set in the Victorian era of mythical land, this is the autobiography of Lady Trent, dragon naturalist extraordinaire. Though renowned today, she was once simply Isabella, a young woman fascinated by dragons who wished to be free of the constraints set on upon her. This beautifully written and illustrated book, as intelligent and lovely as Isabella herself, recounts her first brushes with dragons. This is an enjoyable, charming read with a delightfully willful heroine.

Adrian Hyland is the Tony Hillerman of the aboriginal people of Australia. Living in the Australian Outback himself, he captures the culture of the whitefellas, blackfellas and everybody in between. His mixed race protagonist Emily Tempest returns to her “Moonlight Mob”, hoping to find home somehow. But when tribal leader Lincoln Flinders is murdered shortly after her arrival, what can she do but find out who done it?

Haynes writes a brilliant thriller, splitting narrative between the main character's present and her past and giving the reader a real sense of how an abusive relationship could happen to an intelligent woman and how OCD can take charge of a life. It's a brilliant rendering and an exciting read.  

This thriller feels like SF even though it's firmly in the realm of the possible, and Ellis is a genius at embracing noir genre sensibilities. This book is fun, fast-paced, and scary--with a high body count, delicious dialog, and a twisted villain.

What can I say, they had me at David Lynch…anyone who can appreciate that sentiment will find themselves rapidly drawn into to this bizarre literary thriller that involves poachers, activists, an abandoned church and a violent abduction.  Short-listed for Canada’s Edgar award, this quirky, dark tale is not to be missed. 

I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book, which begins with everyone’s worst nightmare: waking up in a mental institution where everyone thinks you’re someone else and you have absolutely no evidence to prove otherwise.  Once the story begins to take its course, it offers something for everyone, from lovers of historical fiction, to those who just want a great psychological thriller to sink their teeth into.

A ragtag group of seven pilgrims sets off together, each hoping to find answers on the planet Hyperion. To pass the time they take turns telling their tales-- dark pasts and darker secrets. By far the most literary sci-fi I’ve ever read! If Chaucer could have imagined interplanetary travel, this would be his favorite book.  Read ‘The Priests Tale,’ afterwards you won’t be able to stop.  Still socially poignant, despite being written over 20 years ago.

Before Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter wrote mysteries. His first book, Over Tumbled Graves, is a riveting, cerebral thriller that uses the chilled drizzle of Spokane to capture the mood as two troubled detectives search for a serial killer while struggling with the confusion and uncertainty of a high profile police investigation and their own issues. This is a well-crafted, tense and thought provoking mystery by an incredibly talented writer. 

Power struggles and unexpected alliances? Sacrifice and deception? Imprisoned gods and…true love? They’re all in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, illuminated by Jemison’s beautiful prose. I devoured this book in two sittings. What a relief to know that this is only the first of three books set in the same world! I hope I can force myself to savor the others more slowly. -Cat