By: Rhianna Walton,
on 8/12/2015
French's talent for gorgeously crafted psychological mysteries shines in The Secret Place, her latest Dublin Murder Squad installment. The narrative centers on a boy's murder in the gardens of an exclusive girls' school, but its real drama is in the fraught relationships between teenage girls and the awkward partnership of the detectives working the case. [...]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 12/4/2014
Time magazine has unveiled the “Top 10 Everything of 2014.” Three of the lists focus solely on books: “Top 10 Fiction Books,” “Top 10 Nonfiction Books” and “Top 10 YA Books.”
The titles that claimed the top spot on each list include The Secret Place by Tana French (fiction), Soldier Girls by Helen Thorpe (nonfiction) and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (young adult). Did any of your favorite titles make it to the lists?
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By: [email protected],
on 11/24/2014
Thanks for talking to Boomerang Books, Claire Smith. You’re the marketing assistant at Walker Books, Australia, and you’re going to share your Christmas picks with us. But first let’s find out about you and some books you’ve been working with. Walker Books (based in Sydney) is known for its children’s and YA books. Which do […]
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By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 11/7/2014
By: Rhianna Walton,
on 9/9/2014
Tana French's talent for gorgeously crafted psychological mysteries shines in The Secret Place, the latest installment of her Dublin Murder Squad series. The narrative centers on the murder of a boy in the gardens of an exclusive girls' school, but its real drama is in the fraught relationships between teenage girls and the awkward partnership [...]
By: Powell's Staff,
on 7/3/2014
At Powell's, our book buyers select all the new books in our vast inventory. If we need a book recommendation, we turn to our team of resident experts. Need a gift idea for a fan of vampire novels? Looking for a guide that will best demonstrate how to knit argyle socks? Need a book for [...]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 2/21/2013
The finalists for the 33rd annual Los Angeles Times Book Prize have been revealed, and we’ve collected free samples of all their books below–some of the best books released in 2012. Here’s more about the awards:
“The winners of the L.A. Times book prizes will be announced at an awards ceremony April 19, the evening before the L.A. Times Festival of Books, April 20-21. Held on USC’s campus in Bovard Auditorium, the awards are open to the public; tickets will be made available in late March.”
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By: Jason Boog,
on 1/19/2011
The Mystery Writers of America announced the 2011 Edgar nominations this morning. The annual prize is named after Edgar Allan Poe, awarded to the best authors in the mystery genre since 1945.
Follow this link to see all the nominees, but we’ve included a few of the top categories below.
BEST NOVEL
Caught by Harlan Coben (Penguin Group USA – Dutton)
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
Faithful Place by Tana French (Penguin Group USA – Viking)
The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books)
I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
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By: Kelly Herold,
on 5/28/2008
I'm always in the market for a good mystery, so when Tana French's In the Woods won a 2008 Edgar Award for best first novel by an American author, I ordered it right away from audible.* From the first pages I knew In the Woods is a novel teen readers will love as well.
Rob Ryan is a young detective on the Dublin murder squad. When the body of a 12-year-old girl is found in the woods outside Dublin, he's called to investigate. The situation is eerily familiar to Ryan: When he was twelve he also disappeared in the same woods with two friends. When he was found, he was covered in blood and had no memory of what happened. His two friends never returned.
Now, obviously, Ryan should have removed himself from this case, but finds he can't. He begs his partner--the wonderful Cassie Maddox--to keep his secret in the hopes that his past will help them to solve the case. While investigating Ryan is haunted by partial memories, neighbors from his past, and faulty judgment. As a reader, you don't trust Ryan, who narrates In the Woods, from the very beginning. You do, however, find his motivations and story undeniably compelling.
Dark fairy tale themes and the unreliability of childhood memories haunt Ryan and In the Woods, making this a mystery teens will love. The detectives are young and live young lives--solving cases together while eating and drinking well into the night. Ryan's partner, Maddox, is a kickass heroine--smart, hardworking, and tough. And the victim, a young ballerina, and her family will appeal to young readers, especially when compared to our hopelessly unreliable narrator.
Best of all? I thought I had In the Woods all figured out by the time I was halfway through reading. But I wanted to finish this mystery anyway because of the interesting characters and narration. The bonus? I was completely wrong in my armchair sleuthing. In the Woods is highly recommended for readers ages fourteen and up.
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*What is going on with audible and audiobooks these days? None of the new books I want are coming up on audible or on iTunes. No new Rick Riordan for the little one and I have a list of about 15 books recently released I want to read and not one of them is available. Where is that reader's bill of rights? I want to choose audio or text format for each and every book I buy. I mean it.
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And, Tana...if you ever stumble upon this post...I hope your next book will star Cassie Maddox on the domestic abuse squad.
By: xenos,
on 12/12/2007
This is part of a series called POV. Hope you enjoy!
I vaguely saw this on the Edgar list, but it's going on my want list now, because of your review. Thanks!
Not sure what's up with Audible. I have quite a backlog right now, because I haven't been exercising much (sigh!), so I haven't really noticed a problem. But I just got a new exercise bike delivered today, so that could change.
Jen: This is a GOOD one. Like all first novels it has a few (very small) issues, but Tana French weaves a great tale. Perfect for audio too.
WoHoo for the new exercise bike :)
Seeing as how I trust you, Kelly, I've just downloaded it from Audible.
And I'm really hoping that the bike works for me. I had to stop walking b/c of a knee injury, and I am SO out of shape right now.
I've been wanting to read this one for a while now, and your review just bumped it up the list. Especially because of the crossover appeal. Thanks!
Trisha
Kelly - we must be mentally linked-up today. I bought In the Woods months ago and it's been living on my bedside table, unread. This morning, I turned over and stared at it and wondered, "Am I EVER going to read this?" Now I know the answer! Thanks.
Also - I hear you with audible. I'm frustrated by it. I'm a newish member and even in the very short time I've been signed up, it seems there's less available than there was at first. Grrr.
Kerry
I think they have negotiation issues every so often on Audible. Sweet Far think used to be available, and then when I went to order it, it vanished. My husband emailed one time about an Ayn Rand book and soon enough it came back.
Tricia: I think you're right, but as a user, I find these times very frustrating.
And Kerry: Grrrr is right. I am very frustrated right now about audible. Everything I look up is NOT THERE. I'm listening to an older mystery right now, but not one of the 15 new books on my list.
Trisha: Enjoy! This is a good YA one. I can't wait to hear what you think.
Jen: Oh, I'm sorry about the knee. It's that middle age thing. It can limit us!! I hope the bike helps too. Enjoy In the Woods. Definitely a highlight this year for me.
This sounds really good. Thanks for the recommendation.
hmmmm....looks interesting. i loves me some "dark fairy tale themes."
I love books that take you by surprise -- that have twists that you weren't expecting, but that work well. I'll look out for this one too!
What a cool premise! I haven't read a really excellent mystery in a while--I'll have to put this in the TBR pile.
YAY. I love mysteries.
This one sounds fantastic. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I'm off to see if my library's got a copy...