Fiction @ Wellington City Libraries

For this month’s ‘Other Genre’ novels, the popular Horror/Ghosts/Vampires fiction was selected from the most recent additions to the collection. Everything horrific is included, demonology, paranormal and supernatural, vampires, witches, psychics and even Bedbugs the subject and title of Ben H Winters new horror novel.

The shape stealer / Lee Carroll.
“Garet Jones, jewelry designer and the last in a line of powerful women destined to protect the mortal world from supernatural evils, has traveled back in time to rescue Will Hughes, her 400-year-old lover, from vampirism. But when she returns to the present it’s with the wrong Will Hughes, the 19-year-old youth who loved Garet’s ancestor, Marguerite. Worse, the evil Babylonian deity Marduk has returned with them to the 21st century. In her pursuit of a way to defeat Marduk and find “her” Will Hughes, Garet discovers a group of warriors known as the Knights Temporal, whose job is to preserve the time line from those who would change it for their own selfish purposes.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Wide open / Deborah Coates.Wide Open
“When Sergeant Hallie Michaels returns home to South Dakota from Afghanistan on ten days’ compassionate leave, her sister Dell’s ghost is waiting at the airport to greet her. The sheriff says that Dell’s death was a suicide, but Hallie doesn’t believe it. As Hallie pushes for answers, she attracts more ghosts, local women who disappeared without a trace and discovers a disturbing pattern. Now she needs to not just figure out what happened to Dell but to make sure no one else shares her fate”(adapted from Book cover)

Dark predator : a Carpathian novel / Christine Feehan.
“As brutal as the undead he hunted, Zacarias De La Cruz was a master executioner. Now his stark and savage journey is over. After a thousand years in a grey world, he has accomplished everything he set out to do, his brothers are safeguarded, and each has found a woman. Zacarias has walked the edge of madness. But without a hunt to define him, Zacarias wonders, for the first time in his life, who he really is. The answer awaits him back home in Peru, in the betrayal of a woman who is readying her trap, in the vengeance of an old enemy, in the inevitable consequences of a bloody family legacy, and in the deliverance of a life mate he never could have imagined” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

The quickening / Julie Myerson.
“Rachel and Dan want to go somewhere hot in January. Recently married and expecting their first baby, they decide on an island in the Caribbean. Why not turn it into a honeymoon, Dan suggests, a holiday in paradise. It ought to be perfect. Except that, for Rachel, it’s not. Things take a sinister turn as soon as they arrive. As furniture shifts and objects fly around, as a waitress begs her to leave and a fellow guest makes her increasingly uneasy, Rachel realizes everything she holds most dear is at stake and nothing is quite as it seems. “(adapted from Syndetics summary)

Biting cold : a Chicagoland vampires novel / Chloe Neill. “Turned into a vampire against her will, Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye, and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing, among humans or inhumans. Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural, intent on stealing an ancient artefact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Last days / Adam Nevill.
“British filmmaker Kyle Freeman is on his last financial legs when he’s offered a deal that sounds too good to be true: 100,000 dollars to help Max Solomon, publisher of the hot self-help book of the moment, make a documentary about a cult. In 1975, nine people were found dead at the headquarters of the Temple of the Last Days in an abandoned mine in Arizona. Among the corpses was Sister Katherine, the founder of the temple, beheaded at her own request. Freeman, who’s given a tight schedule to complete the project, soon gets the feeling that supernatural forces are at work and that his producer has been less than forthcoming.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Grave memory : an Alex Craft novel / Kalayna Price.
“Grave witch and police consultant Alex Craft uses her ability to raise the dead temporarily to solve crimes. When the shade of a suicide victim can’t recall his passing, Alex determines that his death is actually a murder.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Downpour : a Greywalker novel / Kat Richardson.
“After being shot in the back and dying, again, Greywalker Harper Blaine’s only respite from the chaos is her work. But while conducting a pre-trial investigation in the Olympic Peninsula, she sees a ghostly car accident whose victim insists that he was murdered and that the nearby community of Sunset Lakes is to blame. Harper soon learns that the icy waters of the lake hide a terrible power, and a host of hellish beings under the thrall of a sinister cabal that will use the darkest of arts to achieve their fiendish ends.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Lover at last : a novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood / J.R. Ward.
“Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another. Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn and has found his perfect match in a Chosen female. Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions, but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal danger for the Brotherhood, Qhuinn finally learns the true definition of courage.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Bedbugs / Ben H. Winters.
“Susan and Alex Wendt have found their dream apartment. Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric. And the elderly handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the basement. But the rent is so low; it’s too good to pass up, a big mistake. Susan soon discovers that her new home is crawling with bedbugs, or is it? She awakens every morning with fresh bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter Emma has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists her building is clean. Susan fears she’s going mad, until a more sinister explanation presents itself: she may literally be confronting the bedbug problem from Hell.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

From demons to dragons, harems to battle fields, telepathy to physics, this selection from the latest Science Fiction and Fantasy novels has something for every reading preference. Also included is volume four in the Rain Wilds Chronicles by Robin Hobb, titled Blood of Dragons.

The daylight war / Peter V. Brett.
“This is the third book in the Demon Cycle. Humanity has thirty days to prepare for the next demon attack, but one month is scarcely enough time to train a village to defend themselves, let alone an entire continent caught in the throes of civil war. Arlen Bales understands the coreling threat better than anyone. Born ordinary, the demon plague has shaped him into a weapon so powerful he has been given the unwanted title of saviour, and attracted the attention of deadly enemies both above and below ground. Unlike Arlen, Ahmann Jardir embraces the title of Deliverer. His strength resides not only in the legendary relics he carries, but also in the magic wielded by his first wife, Inevera, a cunning and powerful priestess whose allegiance even Jardir cannot be certain of. Once Arlen and Jardir were like brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity’s enemies prepare, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all: those that lurk in the human heart.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

The city of silk and steel / Mike Carey, Linda Carey and Louise Carey.
“Once, in a city known as Bessa, there was a sultan named Bokhari Al-Bokhari, who was thrown down by the zealots of the ascetic Hakkim Mehdad. The sultan, his wives and children were put to the sword, while his 365 concubines were sent to a neighboring caliph as tribute, Hakkim having no use for the pleasures of the flesh. But a day after the caravan had departed from Bessa, Hakkim discovered the terrible secret that the concubines had hidden from him. His reaction was swift and cruel. Kill the women of the harem forthwith, along with their children and maidservants. Let not one survive. This, then, is the tale, or tales, of how a remarkable group of women fight together to survive both the fury of Hakkim and the rigors of the desert.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Forge of darkness / Steven Erikson.
“It’s a conflicted time in Kurald Galain, the realm of Darkness, where Mother Dark reigns. But this ancient land was once home to many a power, and even death is not quite eternal. The commoners’ great hero, Vatha Urusander, is being promoted by his followers to take Mother Dark’s hand in marriage, but her Consort, Lord Draconus, stands in the way of such ambitions. The impending clash sends fissures throughout the realm, and as the rumors of civil war burn through the masses, an ancient power emerges from the long dead seas. Caught in the middle of it all are the First Sons of Darkness, Anomander, Andarist, and Silchas Ruin of the Purake Hold.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Blood of dragons / Robin Hobb.
“The fourth book of the Rain Wilds Chronicles. Tintaglia, the legendary dragon, has returned, but wounded by the Chalcedeans. These people are still seeking dragon body parts, but especially dragon blood, in an effort to save their despotic duke. To heal the dragon, the new Elderlings must find the elusive silver wells. The younger dragons have matured further, and their dedicated keepers, the new Elderlings, are beginning to gain deeper understanding of their roles.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Endurance / Jay Lake.Endurance
“Assassin and ex-courtesan Green has saved a city and birthed a god. Now she wants to move on, but she’s hunted by enemies from her past, the city council is mired in a power struggle and can’t provide much aid, and something is stalking goddesses, including the one Green serves.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The end specialist / Drew Magary. “2019. Humanity has witnessed its greatest scientific breakthrough yet: the cure for ageing. Three injections and you’re immortal, not bulletproof or disease-proof but you’ll never have to fear death by old age. For John Farrell, documenting the cataclysmic shifts to life after the cure becomes an obsession. Cure parties, cycle marriages, and immortal livestock: the world is revelling in the miracles of eternal youth. But immortality has a sinister side, and when a pro-death terrorist explosion kills his newly-cured best friend, John soon realizes that even in a world without natural death, there is always something to fear. John must make a new choice: run and hide forever, or stay and fight those who try to make immortal life a living hell.” (adapted from Amazon.co.nz)

Blood’s pride / Evie Manieri.
“Without warning, the warlike Norlanders invaded the lands of the Shadar, enslaving the people and reaping the profits from the black ore mined to make the enchanted swords of the Norlander warriors. Unable to defend themselves against the pale-skinned, undead conquerors, the Shadar nevertheless attempt a rebellion and hire a fierce mercenary known only as The Mongrel, a woman whose body bears the ravages of previous wars and whose temperament is both volatile and, some say, insane.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The silent dragon / Irene Radford.
“As the son of the Senior Magician and Chancellor of the University of Magicians and the witch woman Brevelan, Glenndon possesses powerful magic, but has never spoken a word, relying instead on his strong telepathy to communicate. When he receives a summons from King Darville to come to Coronnan City to become the successor to the throne of his true father, Glenndon becomes embroiled in a world where his magic is forbidden and, somehow, he must learn to break his silence.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The winner of the £10,000 Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje prize for 2013 has been awarded to Philip Hensher for his novel titled Scenes from Early Life published in 2012. The Ondaatje prize was established ten years ago by Christopher Ondaatje, brother of the novelist Michael, for literature that suggests a very real sense of place. Philip Hensher’s novel is set in East Pakistan during the war of Independence and tells of the defiant lives of a Bengali family – it is the combination of memoir, history and fiction, beautifully written and realised.

Do you enjoy eBooks? Do you regularly download titles from our Overdrive eBook Library? If you do, then take part in this month’s Overdrive Big Library Read!

What is this, we can hear you asking? Well, library users from all over the world (including many NZ public libraries) are downloading and reading the same title on Overdrive between now and 1 June (there’s no limit on who can check this title out — we have as many simultaneous checkouts as we need!).

The book is:

The Four Corners of the Sky, by Michael Malone. Here’s a summary, see what you think:

“Twenty years is a long time to be without a father, and, for Navy pilot Annie Peregrine-Goode, the sky has become a home the earth has never been. So when her father calls out of the blue to ask for a dying wish, one both absurd and mysterious, no is the easiest of answers. Until she hears that the reward is the one thing she always wanted.” (Drawn from Syndetics)

Overdrive Big Library Read is a pilot project, but we’re really excited to see it kick off.  So, if this inspires you, download the book and happy reading!

(Let us know what you think of it!)

From the most recent additions to the Graphic Novel collection we have chosen a variety of titles that demonstrate diversity and depth of the collection. This month there are three new series featured, The Strain by David Lapham, Dicks by Garth Ennis, and Shinku. Volume 1, Throne of Blood by Ron Marz.

The strain. Volume 1 / script by David Lapham ; art by Mike Huddleston ; story by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.
“When a Boeing 777 lands at JFK International Airport and goes dark on the runway, the Centres for Disease Control, fearing a terrorist attack, calls in Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team of expert biological-threat first responders. Only an elderly pawnbroker from Spanish Harlem suspects a darker purpose behind the event, an ancient threat intent on covering mankind in darkness! Adapting the first novel from Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Strain, this horrifying first chapter deals with an outbreak of diabolical proportions that puts a terrifying twist on the vampire genre.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Dicks. Volume 1 / story, Garth Ennis ; art & covers, John McCrea.
“Two unlucky, crude private detectives in hilarious and at times oh-so-offensive misadventures against crime lords, ghosts, and bar brawlers.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Shinku. Volume 1, Throne of blood / created by Ron Marz & Lee Moder ; written by Ron Marz ; pencils by Lee Moder ; inks by Matthew Waite.
“Bloody horror meets martial-arts mayhem. The last surviving member of a samurai family wages a one-woman war against a clan of vampires in modern-day Tokyo in the first story arc from the acclaimed new series.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

The girl with the dragon tattoo. Book 1 / adapted by Denise Mina ; art by Leonardo Manc and Andrea Mutti ; based on the novel by Stieg Larsson.
“The late Stieg Larsson’s slick potboiler is wildly popular in both movie and novel form; its tale-disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his unorthodox ally hacker/investigator, Lisbeth Salander, struggle to discover the truth behind the disappearance of Harriet Vanger decades before-is familiar to people around the world. Now it has been transformed into a graphic novel, this installment covering the events of the first half of the novel.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Flex Mentallo : man of muscle mystery / writer, Grant Morrison ; artist, Frank Quitely.
“Once he was Hero of the Beach and of the Doom Patrol. Now Flex Mentallo, the Man of Muscle Mystery, returns to investigate the sinister dealings of his former comrade, The Fact, and a mysterious rock star whose connection to Flex may hold the key to saving them both. This fast-paced tale twists super hero tropes, introducing one mind-boggling concept after another in a tour de force of innovative storytelling.” (adapted from Amazon.com)

The raven / Lou Reed , [Lorenzo] Mattotti.
“Back in 2003, Lou Reed paid tribute to poet Edgar Allan Poe with his sprawling album, The Raven. This gorgeous book of art and poetry, made in collaboration with Italian illustrator Lorenzo Mattotti, shares its title with that album and further explores Reed’s fascination with Poe’s work. Reed’s poetically streetwise sensibility and style works in surprising harmony with Poe’s dark chronicles of terror and despair, just as Mattotti’s vivid, abstracted and enigmatic paintings perfectly complement Reed’s haunting, contemporary interpretation of Poe’s vision.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Journalism / Joe Sacco.Journalism
“This volume of Sacco’s shorter pieces makes an outstanding companion to his acclaimed book-length works, which include Safe Area Gorazde and Footnotes in Gaza. The stories in this volume run from 1998 to 2011. Whether traveling to Hebron, Iraq, India, or his native Malta, Sacco’s great strength is in digging up dramatic individual stories that are illustrative of larger social or political problems.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Barack Hussein Obama / Steven Weissman.
“What does America mean today? Anyone who knows there isn’t really a right answer to that question will want to read Barack Hussein Obama, a book about Americans, about their country and about their president. Yet this is not really a graphic novel, nor is it a biography or an experiment, but rather a whole, fully-realised parallel America, a surrealistic vision that is no more cockeyed than the real thing; its weirdness no more weird, its vision of the world no more terrifying.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Days of the bagnold summer / Joff Winterhart.
“Sue, 52, works in a library. Daniel, 15, is still at school. This was the summer holidays Daniel was due to spend with his father and his father’s pregnant new wife in Florida. When they cancel his trip, Sue and Daniel face six long weeks together. Joff Winterhart perfectly captures the ennui, the tension, the pathos and even the affection of this mother-son relationship.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Blacklung / Chris Wright.
“In a night of piratical treachery when an arrogant teacher is accidently shanghaied aboard the frigate Hand, his fate becomes inextricably fettered to that of a sardonic gangster. Dependent on one another for survival in their strange and dangerous new home, the two form an unlikely alliance as they alternately elude or confront the thieves and cutthroats that bad luck has made their companions and captors.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Welcome to the April Fiction Newsletter. We have a wonderful selection of new fiction from all genres to help pass those long winter nights. This month’s ‘Other Genre’ fiction features Romance fiction, and they are not all the type of romance your grandmother would have enjoyed.

Library News

• Plenty of bargains at the May book sale!
• WCL Mini – our new library app

We have two great new reading tools, Novelist and Book Psychic, so that now you can get book recommendations in the right place at the right time! Most fiction titles are included, along with some popular nonfiction, including biographies. Both of these tools are available as stand alone websites, with Novelist recommendations also available through our Easyfind catalogue.

Novelist includes the following features:

• readalikes- suggested by experts for every title, author, and series
• reader ratings and reviews from Goodreads
• complete series information in reading order.
• extras such as awards, professional lists that the book may appear and book discussion guides.
• reading levels for children’s and young adult titles (in American terminology: but parents may find it useful).

Here’s what Book Psychic provides:

• personalises book recommendations based on what you have read.
• feeds you recommendations based on your entire reading history
• the more books you rate the more personalised your list will become
• you can use your Goodreads and/or LibraryThing accounts to build on your recommendations

Want to check them out?
- Book Psychic doesn’t require a login: point your browser here and start rating books. We’re hoping to include BookPsychic within Easyfind very soon

- Novelist is already available in Easyfind – see the ‘You might also like these’ recommendations for Gone Girl.  Alternatively, login to Novelist with your library card to explore the tool on its own.

Happy reading!

New mysteries for May include plenty of Foreign intrigue, with new novels from Donna Leon, Camilla Lackberg, Fred Vargas & Andrea Camilleri; a new series set in Barcelona from Antonio Hill; and debut mysteries from Kate Rhodes & Jamie Mason…

The Swedish girl / Alex Gray.
“Eighteen-year-old Kirsty Wilson can’t believe her luck when she lands a room in a luxury Glasgow flat owned by the beautiful Eva Magnusson, a wealthy fellow student from Stockholm. But her initial delight turns to terror when Kirsty finds the Swedish girl lying dead in their home and their flatmate accused of her murder. Kirsty refuses to accept that he is guilty and, inspired by family friend Detective Superintendent Lorimer, attempts to clear his name. Meanwhile, Lorimer calls on his trusted colleague, psychologist and criminal profiler Professor Solly Brightman, to help unravel the truth behind the enigmatic Eva’s life and death. Together, they discover some shocking revelations about this seemingly demure young student…” (Syndetics summary)

Alive! : a Valentino mystery / Loren D. Estleman.
“Actor Craig Hunter’s life was on a downward trajectory that ended with his death from a beating in a San Diego bar. Valentino, among the last of his friends, feels guilty for ignoring Craig’s final pleas for help. The deceased’s ex-wife feels guilty too, but she might have a hidden agenda: it turns out that Craig had unearthed the legendary missing film reels of Bela Lugosi’s horrible audition for Frankenstein. A rare find brings out the worst in collectors, and Valentino has trouble narrowing down which one crossed the ethical line. His formidable suspect list includes a mob boss, an elitist collector, and that ex-wife… Leisurely paced and impressively researched, this is just the ticket for film buffs…” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

The ghost riders of Ordebec / Fred Vargas ; translated from the French by Sian Reynolds.
“More than ten million copies of Fred Vargas’s Commissaire Adamsberg mysteries have been sold worldwide. Now, American readers are getting hooked on the internationally bestselling author’s unsettling blend of crime and the supernatural. As the chief of police in Paris’s seventh arrondissement, Commissaire Adamsberg has no jurisdiction in Ordebec. Yet, he cannot ignore a widow’s plea. Her daughter Lina has seen a vision of the Ghost Riders with four nefarious men. According to the thousand-year-old legend, the vision means that the men will soon die a grisly death. When one of them disappears, Adamsberg races to Ordebec, where he becomes entranced by the gorgeous Lina—and embroiled in the small Normandy town’s ancient feud…” (Description from Amazon.com)

Bear is broken : a Leo Maxwell mystery / Lachlan Smith.
“Leo Maxwell just received his bar licence and has been shadowing his older brother Teddy, a well known San Francisco criminal lawyer. The novel opens with Teddy being shot point blank in the head as the two brothers eat lunch in Teddy’s usual restaurant. In the aftermath of the shooting, Leo faces a new reality and tries to sort the truth from the lies regarding Teddy’s- business practices, ethics, and private life; in addition, Leo realizes that if his brother survives, Teddy will never be the same man he once was. Because of Teddy’s success as a criminal defense lawyer, the police don’t seem interested in investigating his shooting, and Leo is determined to find the shooter himself…” (Adapted from syndetics summary)

Crossbones yard / Kate Rhodes.
“British poet Rhodes provides an intriguing backstory for her lead, Alice Quentin, in her fiction debut, about a twisted serial killer. As children, Alice and her brother, Will, witnessed their father beat their mother. This domestic violence affected Will more than Alice. While Alice has become a successful London psychologist, homeless and mentally disturbed Will sleeps in a van he parks outside her apartment building. One morning, Alice is surprised to learn that all her appointments have been canceled so that she can assist the police. Morris Cley, who murdered a prostitute four years earlier, is about to be released from jail, and the authorities want Alice to predict the likelihood that he will kill again. She becomes involved in another criminal matter after she finds a woman’s corpse in Crossbones Yard, the site used until the 19th century as a graveyard for prostitutes. Might Will have committed this recent murder?…” (Adapted from syndetics summary)

Three graves full / Jamie Mason.
“*Starred Review* First-novelist Mason hooks the reader with her first sentence, There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard. Mild-mannered widower Jason Getty is responsible for burying one body, but he’s shocked when two others are discovered in his yard and found to be the work of the home’s previous owner, Boyd Montgomery, who came upon his wife, Katielynn, in bed with Reid Reynolds three years earlier, just weeks before Reynolds was to marry his childhood sweetheart, Leah Tamblin. Getty, on tenterhooks, is massively relieved when police wrap up the latter two murders, until persistent detective Tim Bayard finds blood traces in Getty’s house that point to a third crime. As Getty prepares a cover-up, Tamblin comes looking for answers and resolution, and what seemed a closed murder case opens up again…Portraying characters so well and so thoroughly, examining and explaining their motives even for murder, requires a level of skill that is rare, marking this as an astonishingly accomplished debut and Mason as a writer to watch very closely…” (Adapted from syndetics summary)

The lost boy / Camilla Lackberg ; translated from the Swedish by Tiina Nunnally.
“No. 1 international bestseller and Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg’s new psychological thriller – irresistible for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo. Mats Sverin was Fjallbacka’s financial director on a regeneration project worth millions. When he is found murdered, Detective Patrik Hedstrom must find answers. It seems Mats was a man who everybody liked yet nobody really knew – a man with something to hide…Is it just a coincidence that his high school sweetheart, Nathalie, has returned to the area? What does she know about who Mats really was? However, Nathalie has her own secret. Something has made her and her five-year-old son flee to their remote family home on the ‘Ghost Isle’. And that is where she’ll stay and shield her son from the evils of the world…” (Description from Amazon.co.uk)

The summer of dead toys / Antonio Hill.
“A riveting crime thriller set during a sultry Barcelona summer, introducing Inspector Hector Salgado, a transplanted Argentine living in Barcelona. While working on human trafficking case, Salgado’s violent temper got the best of him and he beat a suspect within an inch of his life. Ordered on probation, he fled to Argentina to cool off for a few months. Now he’s back in Barcelona and is eager for another big case. But his boss has other plans. He assigns Salgado to a routine accidental death: a college student fell from a balcony in one of Barcelona’s ritzier neighborhoods. As Salgado begins to piece together the life and world of the victim, he realizes that his death was not all that simple: his teenage friends are either overly paranoid or deceptively calm, and drugs might be involved. Hector begins to follow a trail that will lead him deep into the underbelly of Barcelona’s high society where he’ll come face-to-face with dangerous criminals, long-buried secrets, and, of course, his own past. But Hector thrives on pressure, and he lives for this kind of case—dark, violent, and seemingly unsolvable…” (Description from Amazon.com)

Gone West : a Daisy Dalrymple mystery / Carola Dunn.
“In September 1926, Sybil Sutherby contacts her old school friend Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher. Sybil is widowed and living with her daughter at a remote farmhouse in Derbyshire, where she works as the confidential secretary to reclusive novelist Humphrey Birtwhistle, who writes westerns under a pen name. It seems that Humphrey has been ill, and Sybil has taken over writing the books only to have sales increase, along with advances. When Daisy arrives, she meets a household of quirky relatives and would-be suitors who are taking advantage of Birtwhistle’s hospitality. Sybil is afraid that one of them is slowly poisoning her employer to keep him ill so that she can continue writing his books. When he dies under suspicious circumstances before Daisy can investigate, Sybil’s fears appear confirmed. Daisy’s husband, Scotland Yard detective Alec Fletcher, is unhappy that his wife is once again involved in a murder case…” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

The dance of the seagull / Andrea Camilleri ; translated by Stephen Sartarelli.
“Camilleri’s agreeable 15th Insp. Salvo Montalbano mystery (after 2012’s Age of Doubt) finds the Sicilian detective sitting on the deck of his home in Vigàta, watching a seagull performing a strange death dance. The image hovers in his mind during the events that follow, the first of which is the disappearance of his right-hand man, Fazio… In addition to searching for the missing Fazio, Montalbano tries to identify a body found in a deserted well. Both investigations are pieces of a larger, satisfying mystery in which Montalbano investigates, among other things, the docks and late-night deliveries from fishing trawlers…(Adapted from Syndetics summary)

The golden egg / Donna Leon.
“Commissario Guido Brunetti, out of a sense of guilt and at the urging of his compassionate wife, investigates the suspicious death of a disabled man, Davide Cavanella, in Leon’s intriguing 22nd mystery featuring the crafty Venetian police inspector (after 2012’s Beastly Things). Davide’s mother is unwilling to discuss his death. Worse, there’s no official evidence of Davide’s existence: he apparently was never born and never went to school, saw a doctor, or received a passport. The colorful locals are uncooperative. Brunetti’s understanding of the Venetian bureaucracy, which operates smoothly on bribery and familial connections, allows his subordinates to enlist the help of various aunts and cousins, as is neatly shown in a subplot involving the mayor and his son. Appreciative of feminine charms, the deeply uxorious Brunetti amply displays the keen intelligence and wry humor that has endeared this series to so many…” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

Romance novels are the feature of this month’s “other genre” selections. From the delightful, Emily and Einstein by Linda Frances Lee to the suspense of Elizabeth Lowell’s Dangerous Refuge, all types of romantic fiction are represented here.

Destined to play / Indigo Bloome.
“When 37-year-old psychologist, Alexandra Blake, leaves her comfortable suburban existence to give a series of lectures , she meets up with Dr Jeremy Quinn, the man who opened her eyes and body to the world in ways she never thought possible. After a few glasses of champagne in his luxurious hotel penthouse, he presents her with an extraordinary proposition. Alexandra knows that they never promise each other something they can’t commit to and that he will challenge her every inhibition. But she soon finds herself seduced into a level of surrender and danger she could never have imagined.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Destined to feel / Indigo Bloome.
“This is e next thrilling erotic adventure from the creator of Destined to Play. Psychologist Alexandra Blake has been awakened sexually by her lover, Jeremy Quinn. Their erotic journey has seen Alexandra explore her innermost sexual fantasies and pushed her boundaries to their very limit.Her world is plunged into uncertainty when she is abducted in London and Alexandra finds herself caught up in a dangerous game being played out in the shadows. Her captors want to use her to explore the darkest enigma of female sexuality and Alexandra is powerless to escape, but does she even want to?” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Elza’s kitchen / Marc Fitten.
“Divorcee Elza owns a little restaurant in post communist Hungary. She’s in a dead-end relationship with the Sous-Chef, restless and dissatisfied, and desperate for the Critic to visit, taste her marvelous pork tenderloin, and nominate her for the coveted Silver Ladle award. She entreats two friends, the Professor of Sauces and the Professor of Meats, to persuade the Critic to give her a shot. Her failed relationship with the Sous-Chef, combined with the Critic’s late, drunken arrival, and a violent incident with a trio of loitering Gypsy children cause everything to unravel. Elza must rebuild not just her business but her life.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Z : a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald / Therese Anne Fowler.
“From the moment gorgeous Zelda laid eyes on her officer husband, her days were filled with magical moments, as Scott began to receive critical acclaim, and the pair navigated a social circuit graced by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Tallulah Bankhead, and Gertrude Stein. But the high life dropped low when Fitzgerald’s good fortune began to fizzle, and his already excessive drinking increased. As her husband grew more distant and distracted, Zelda fell into the arms of a charming Frenchman, but she gave up the romance in hopes of saving her marriage. Could the dazzling literary It couple ever find its way back to bliss?” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The ambassador’s daughter / Pam Jenoff.
“Conflicted Margot accompanies her German diplomat father to Paris for the treaty negotiations following WWI. Traveling to England and then France, Margot deliberately delays the inevitable return to Berlin and avoids the impending union with her injured fiancé Stefan. Guilty about abandoning their commitment, Margot feels detached from the life she’s expected to lead, shielding herself “from the truth that inevitably awaits.” Though at first an outsider in Paris and bored with the social functions she must attend, her world changes when she meets Krysia, a pianist from Poland with radical political affiliations, an ethereal appearance, and an affinity for forthright speech–and then Georg, the striking but troubled German naval officer with “strong features, seemingly etched from granite.” The two share an immediate and undeniable attraction, but with new introductions come new afflictions. Margot quickly becomes entangled in a political fiasco as well as a dangerous love triangle.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Where the light falls / Katherine Keenum.
“Paris attracts artists from everywhere. One is Jeanette Palmer, daughter of a prominent Ohio family, who has left Vassar College under a cloud of scandal. Amid the city’s great bohemian neighborhoods and teaching studios, Jeanette befriends other female artists, as well as an American Civil War veteran named Edward Murer. She begins to achieve a level of artistic success. And her happiness increases as she and Edward grow more intimate with each other. But Edward is plagued by his demons and addicted to laudanum, and as the world opens its arms to Jeanette, and the society around her is transformed by cultural and scientific innovations, she must resolve a conflict utterly new to so many women: the choice between ambition and love.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Four in hand / Stephanie Laurens.Four in Hand
“Along with the dukedom of Twyford, London’s most notorious rogue had inherited ward ship of four devilishly attractive sisters, including the irresistible Caroline Twinning. The eldest Twinning was everything he had ever wanted in a woman, but even Max couldn’t seduce his own ward, or could he? After all, he did have a substantial reputation to protect and what better challenge than the one woman capable of stealing his heart?” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Emily and Einstein / Linda Francis Lee.Emily and Einstein
“Sandy Portman, a wealthy New Yorker who attracts women like bees to flowers, marries naive and optimistic Emily, a young editor. Sandy becomes bored with Emily, but he is killed while crossing the street on his way to ask her for a divorce. He then returns miraculously as an ugly mutt, Einstein, to try to find his way to redemption. Sandy as Einstein must understand himself and become a “true man,” while Emily must find the real Emily under the false self she thought she should be.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Dangerous refuge / Elizabeth Lowell.
“Beautiful, sweet Shay and dark, dangerous Tanner don’t have a lot in common. He’s a suspicious big city policeman who’s come home to his family’s ranch. Shay works for an environmental conservancy that acquires and protects old ranches and she wants to preserve the Davis homestead. The suspicious death of Tanner’s uncle throws the two opposites together and sparks fly. Working as a pair, using Shay’s sweet personality and town connections, as well as Tanner’s experience, they set out to find justice, never expecting to find love along the way.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

This selection of new Science Fiction and Fantasy novels includes the third volume in Greg Bear’s Forerunner saga, titled Halo: Silentium.Also the latest novel from the very popular David Wingrove titled, Daylight on Iron Mountain.

Lady of devices : a steampunk adventure novel / Shelley Adina.
“London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world. Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London when her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader of the underworld rises, known only as the Lady of Devices. When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his, if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Fuse / Julianna Baggott.
“In a post-apocalyptic world where those who dwell within the Dome are safe, and those who live outside struggle to survive, Pressia decodes secrets from the past in an effort to set the Wretches free of their fusings forever.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The six-gun tarot / R. S. Belcher.
“When young Jim Negrey and his long-suffering horse find sanctuary in the cattle town of Galgotha, NV, Jim notices that the sheriff bears the marks of a noose round his neck; his deputy calls the coyotes his kin, and a nameless evil inhabits the nearby silver mine. This debut novel is an astonishing blend of first-rate steampunk fantasy and Western adventure.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Hellhole : awakening / Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
“General Adolphus knows the Monarchy crackdown is coming. Now he needs to pull together all the resources of the Hellhole colony, the ever-expanding shadow-Xayan settlement, and his connections with the other Deep Zone worlds. On Sonjeera, Diadem Michella Duchenet has collected a huge fleet, led by firebrand Commissar Escobar Hallholme, son of the man who originally defeated Adolphus. Uniting themselves and pooling their minds, the shadow-Xayans send a power surge along the original stringline path that links Hellhole with the Monarchy’s hub on Sonjeera. All of the Diadem’s battleships are currently approaching on that route, and when the mental blast wipes out all the substations, the battleships are effectively stranded. But worse threats are to follow.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

Born of silence / Sherrilyn Kenyon.
“Vowing to destroy his father’s killer while outmaneuvering alter ego Kere, Darling Cruel, a dictator member of an elite ruling family, is shattered when Resistance leader Zarya, his most trusted ally, turns a specially designed weapon against Darling’s family in her effort to rekindle his humanity.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Ice forged / Gail Z. Martin.
“Condemned for killing the man who dishonored his sister, Blaine “Mick” McFadden has spent the last six years in Velant, a penal colony in the frigid northern wastelands. Harsh discipline and oppressive magic keep a fragile peace as colonists struggle against a hostile environment. But the supply ships from Dondareth have stopped coming, boding ill for the kingdom that banished the colonists. Now, as the world’s magic runs wild, McFadden and the people of Velant must fight to survive and decide their fate”(adapted from Syndetics summary)

The Kassa gambit / M.C. Planck.
“Capt. Prudence Falling, looking to unload harvesters on the one colony world with open-air agriculture, finds instead a planet devastated by an unknown enemy. When she stops to help, her ship is commandeered by Lt. Kyle Daspar, police detective and officer of the hated League. Finding evidence of alien contact puts Prudence and Kyle at risk from forces within the League. Separately and together, from capital world Altair to a perpetually dark planet of masked monks, they uncover the reason for the attack and their feelings for each other.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Red planet blues / Robert J. Sawyer.
“Alex Lomax is the one and only private eye working the mean streets of New Klondike, the Martian frontier town that sprang up forty years ago after Simon Weingarten and Denny O’Reilly discovered fossils on the Red Planet. Back on Earth, where anything can be synthesized, the remains of alien life are the most valuable of all collectibles, so shiploads of desperate treasure hunters stampeded to Mars in the Great Martian Fossil Rush. Lomax tracks down killers and kidnappers among the failed prospectors, corrupt cops, and a growing population of transfers, unlucky stiffs who, after striking paleontological gold, upload their minds into immortal android bodies. But when he uncovers clues to solving the decades-old murders of Weingarten and O’Reilly, along with a journal that may lead to their legendary mother lode of Martian fossils, his life will never be the same.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Daylight on Iron Mountain / David Wingrove.
“The generals of the Middle Kingdom await the decision of the emperor. The campaign to secure the border from China to Iraq has reached a strange impasse. Two blood enemies – Arabs and Jews – have united against their common cause. But with the lives of thousands at his whim, the exalted Tsao Ch’un, the Son of Heaven, cannot decide. Destroy the Middle East in one blinding flash? Or take another path? In the court of Tsao Ch’un, men of power have become smiling lackeys, whose graces conceal their fear, or their ambition. A man that can be trusted absolutely is a rare thing. And so, with his family held hostage by the empire, General Jiang Lei finds himself appointed to a special task: the orchestration of the last great war against the West, the total dominion of America.” (adapted from Amazon.co.uk)