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Weekly Words about New Books in
Independent Bookstores
March 22, 2015
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How Thrilling - New Crime Stories From Old Pros
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World Gone By by Dennis Lehane. This gritty crime novel brings back mobster Joe Coughlin, first introduced in Lehane's Live By Night, winner of  the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Novel. That first book told the story of Coughlin's rise in Prohibition-era Boston - the son of a police captain who chose a life of petty theft and larceny and soon rose up the ranks of organized crime. Now it's 1943, the world is at war, and the American mob is in its heyday. Former crime boss Coughlin now works as a consigliere to the infamous Bartolo Crime Family, handling its interests in Tampa, Boston, and Cuba. In the decade since his wife was gunned down, Joe has made a home for himself and his son, and once again forged everything out of nothing: money, power, a relationship with a beautiful woman, and a privileged place in Tampa's shadowy underworld. But then a rumor surfaces that someone wants Joe dead. And he has only days to figure out who, or he will die.
This may sound a bit melodramatic, but Lehane is a terrific wordsmith who knows how to create interesting characters and write great dialogue. In his hands, Joe Coughlin is anything but a stereotypical thug.
The Stranger by Harlan Coben. Fans of Coban know that he has written both stand-alone thrillers and a series of mysteries featuring sports agent Myron Bolitar. The Stranger is a stand-alone in which Coban builds one of his dependably riveting tale of suspense around a timely and disturbing trend -  in this case, technology abuse. The main protagonist, Adam Price, is victimized by a blackmailing stranger who trolls the internet to dig up dirt on unsuspecting people. Price thinks he has the perfect life - good job, beautiful wife and two teenage boys - until he learns a dark secret about his spouse that causes her to disappear and Adam to set off on an increasingly disturbing search for her.
Price eventually turns his search to the mysterious stranger, who has kept busy ruining the lives of others. With that pursuit, Coban ratchets up the suspense while delivering a reminder of the potential dangers lurking in our online footprints.
Endangered by C.J. Box. I'll confess that, while C.J. Box is a name that's known to me, I was not aware until now that he had created such a popular and well-honed detective hero. This is the 15th installment of Box's Joe Pickett series and, according to reviews, among his best. Pickett is a  Wyoming game warden with a wife and three daughters, who are developed characters in their own right, and Cheyenne resident Box continues to weave the state's wilderness beauty and environmental issues into the series.
In this installment, Pickett's adopted teenage daughter April has been found in a ditch along the highway - alive, but just barely, the victim of blunt force trauma. Turns out April had run off with rodeo champion Dallas Cates, which makes him the number one suspect for Pickett. Naturally, Cates says it wasn't him and some evidence points to another man, so Pickett has to suppress his lone-wolf desire for justice and investigate by the book. But as Joe delves deeper into Cates's life and that of his family, his search for the truth puts a target on his own back.
By the way, if you're interested in the series, here's a link to the book titles in order - http://www.cjbox.net/faq/what-order-joe-pickett-novels
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Hot New Books of Note For Teens
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For any teen readers in your life, Here are bookseller reviews of two new Young Adult novels that are being talked about and handsold in independent bookstores.
We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
"This confident debut novel follows four very different teenagers as they reevaluate their lives  and identities in the shadow of Ardor, the asteroid on an unavoidable path towards Earth. The global fear of the impending collision is balanced with the emotional struggles of the characters, so that one beautifully highlights the other. We
All Looked Up
reads like
The Breakfast Club
for a new generation of lovers of dystopian
fiction!"
- Mary-Catherine Breed, Brazos Bookstore, Houston, TX
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
"I devoured this fast-paced thriller that tells the tale of conflicted Martial Empire soldier Elias, who is wrestling with his destiny, and rebel Scholar girl Laia, who longs for nothing more  than to save her older brother from the death grip of the Empire. In this story, readers experience the love, courage, cunning, and true bravery of both Elias and Laia. Brilliant foes and terrifying plot twists will have readers racing to the end of this excellent debut!"
- Kelsy April, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT
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COMMENTS, FEEDBACK
I always love hearing from folks, so please feel free to let me know what you're reading, make a comment, or ask a question.
Email me
anytime.
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WHERE TO FIND
AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
Many of you already have a favorite local bookstore, but for those of you without such a relationship,
this link
will take you to a list of Northern California
indie bookstores
by region.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
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My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.
My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers. If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column each week, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box in which to add a short message.
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