June 28, 2013

 

The Perfume Collector
by Kathleen Tessaro

An inheritance from a mysterious stranger . . .An abandoned perfume shop on the Left Bank of Paris . . .And three exquisite perfumes that hold a memory . . . and a secret London, 1955: Grace Monroe is a fortunate young woman. Despite her sheltered upbringing in Oxford, her recent marriage has thrust her into the heart of London's most refined and ambitious social circles. However, playing the role of the sophisticated socialite her husband would like her to be doesn't come easily to her--and perhaps never will. Then one evening a letter arrives from France that will change everything. Grace has received an inheritance. There's only one problem: she has never heard of her benefactor, the mysterious Eva dOrsey. So begins a journey that takes Grace to Paris in search of Eva. There, in a long-abandoned perfume shop on the Left Bank, she discovers the seductive world of perfumers and their muses, and a surprising, complex love story. Told by invoking the three distinctive perfumes she inspired, Eva dOrsey's story weaves through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London. But these three perfumes hold secrets. And as Eva's past and Graces future intersect, Grace realizes she must choose between the life she thinks she should live and the person she is truly meant to be. Illuminating the lives and challenging times of two fascinating women, The Perfume Collector weaves a haunting, imaginative, and beautifully written tale filled with passion and possibility, heartbreak and hope.



NOS4A2
by Joe Hill

NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns. Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it's across Massachusetts or across the country. Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing - and terrifying - playground of amusements he calls "Christmasland." Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble--and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx's unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He's on the road again and he's picked up a new passenger: Vic's own son. Exclusive to the print editions of NOS4A2 are more than 15 illustrations by award-winning Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodríguez.




Joyland
by Stephen King

A STUNNING NEW NOVEL FROM ONE OF THE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS OF ALL TIME! Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. "I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book." -- Stephen King

June 11, 2013

The Girls of Atomic City

by Denise Kiernan

 

At the height of WWII, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians--many of them young women from small towns across the South--were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. That is, until the end of the war--when Oak Ridge's secret was revealed. Drawing on the voices of the women who lived it--women who are now in their eighties and nineties-- The Girls of Atomic City rescues a remarkable, forgotten chapter of American history from obscurity. Denise Kiernan captures the spirit of the times through these women: their pluck, their desire to contribute, and their enduring courage. Combining the grand-scale human drama of The Worst Hard Time with the intimate biography and often troubling science of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , The Girls of Atomic City is a lasting and important addition to our country's history.

 

And The Mountains Echoed

by Khaled Hosseini

 

An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else. Khaled Hosseini, the New York Times bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe; from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos; the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.

 

 

 

 

Amanda Knox

Waiting to Be Heard

A Memoir

 

In October 2007, twenty year old Amanda Knox, a college student from Seattle, moved to Perugia, Italy to study abroad. That November, one of her roommates, British student Meredith Kercher, was murdered in their apartment. Amanda was arrested for the murder, and a media firestorm erupted around her. The subsequent investigation and legal proceedings exposed her to international scrutiny and speculation and she became a tabloid staple. After an extremely controversial trial, she was convicted in 2009. But in October 2011, after Amanda spent four years in an Italian prison and following a lengthy appeals process, the conviction was overturned. Amanda immediately returned home to the U.S. For the very first time since her trial for murder, her four-year incarceration in Italy, and her appeal and acquittal of all charges, Amanda Knox will share the truth about her terrifying ordeal. She will give a full and unflinching account of the events that led to her arrest in Perugia and her struggles with the complexities of the Italian judicial system. She knew no Italian when she arrived and had only been in the country for one month. Aided by journals she kept and letters she wrote during her imprisonment, Amanda will discuss her harrowing experience at the hands of the Italian police and later prison guards and inmates. She will speak intimately about what it was like, at twenty years old, to find herself imprisoned in a foreign country for a crime she did not commit, and the impact it had on her family and her loved ones as they traveled back and forth to be at her side so that there was always someone with her. She will reveal never before-told details surrounding her case, and describe how she used her inner strength and strong family ties to cope with the most challenging time of her young life. With grace and maturity, Amanda will describe the aftermath of the ordeal and her return to the States, as well as her hopes for the future.

 

 

 

 

Little Green

by Walter Mosley

 

When Walter Mosley burst onto the literary scene in 1990 with his first Easy Rawlins mystery, "Devil in a Blue Dress"--a combustible mixture of Raymond Chandler and Richard Wright--he captured the attention of hundreds of thousands of readers (including future president Bill Clinton). Eleven books later, Easy Rawlins is one of the few private eyes in contemporary crime fiction who can be called iconic and immortal. In the incendiary and fast-paced "Little Green," he returns from the brink of death to investigate the dark side of L.A.s 1960s hippie haven, the Sunset Strip. We last saw Easy in 2007s "Blonde Faith," fighting for his life after his car plunges over a cliff. True to form, the tough WWII veteran survives, and soon his murderous sidekick Mouse has him back cruising the mean streets of L.A., in all their psychedelic 1967 glory, to look for a young black man, Evander "Little Green" Noon, who disappeared during an acid trip. Fueled by an elixir called Gators Blood, brewed by the conjure woman Mama Jo, Easy experiences a physical, spiritual, and emotional resurrection, but peace and love soon give way to murder and mayhem. Written with Mosleys signature grit and panache, this engrossing and atmospheric mystery is not only a trip back in time, it is also a tough-minded exploration of good and evil, and of the power of guilt and redemption. Once again, Easy asserts his reign over the City of (Fallen) Angels.

The Tooth Tattoo

by Peter Lovesey

 

Peter Diamond, head of the Criminal Investigation Division in scenic Bath, England, is investigating the murder of a young woman whose body has been found in the canal. The only clue to her identity is a tattoo of a music note on one of her teeth.