News

Booklist Adores House And Home

2008-04-29T16:35:00.003-04:00

Booklist calls Kathleen McCleary's debut novel "poignant" and "gently humorous," with characters that are "utterly alive" and locations that are "exquisitely described."

However, our favorite part is where the reviewer declares, "This book also has one of the best opening paragraphs in recent memory, and is altogether so superior it’s hard to believe that it's a debut. Readers who enjoy fine women's fiction, such as Mary Alice Monroe’s Sweetgrass (2005), will be delighted to discover this new author."

Click here for the full review.

Libby Fischer Hellmann's May and June Tour Dates

2008-04-29T11:17:00.003-04:00

If you've already bought your copy of EASY INNOCENCE and loved it, you'll be happy to know that Libby Hellmann will continue her whirlwind book tour. Check below to see if she'll be coming to your town!

May 3rd and 7pm
Lake Zurich Library
Lake Zurich, IL

May 4th from 3-6pm
Official Book Launch Party! All are welcome!
Hanson Brothers Tavern
Northbrook, IL

May 7th at 7pm
Iowa Hillel
Iowa City, IA

May 9th at 7pm
Barnes and Noble
Racine, WI

May 14th
The Book Mouse
Ottawa, IL

May 17th at 2pm
Anderson's Bookshop
Naperville, IL

May18th at 4:30pm
Women and Children First
Chicago, IL

May 20th at 7pm
Johnson County Library
Shawnee Branch
Overland Park, KS

May 21st
Topeka Public Library
Lunch and Learn: Building Suspense
Topeka, KA

May 21st at 7:30pm
The Raven Bookstore
Lawrence, KS

May 23rd-24th
Mayhem in the Midlands
Omaha, NE

May 28th at 6pm
Cheesecake and Crime Bookstore
Henderson, NV

May 31st
Book Expo America
Book signing at Bleak House Books booth
Los Angeles, CA

June 1st at 2:30pm
Sisters in Crime
Pasadena Public Library
South Pasadena, CA

June 12th at 7pm
Glenview Public Library
Glenview, IL

June 14th at 2pm
The Mystery Company
Indianapolis, IN

He's Always Been At The Top Of Our List!

2008-04-28T11:34:00.003-04:00

The London Times recently gave a rundown of the fifty greatest crime writers of all time, placing Dennis Lehane high on the list at number 11.

Here's the lovely profile of Dennis by British crime writer Simon Kernick:

There are, in my opinion, few successful writers of literary crime thrillers. Trying to create something beautiful and profound while, at the same time, keeping the reader glued to the pages and guessing to the end is an almost impossible task to achieve. Which is why I rate Dennis Lehane so highly. He has always been one of those few.
The Massachusetts-based author of eight novels, including the award-winning Mystic River, Lehane's prose may be lyrical and flowing, but there's also a real hard-edged authenticity to his stories of the Boston underworld. He has that all-too-rare capability of drawing you in from the very first page, and once you're in, he's not letting go. The characterisation is incisive; the dialogue crackles with dark humour; and the locations immediately become alive so that you feel you're walking the streets with him.
If I was to recommend a single Lehane book, it would be Gone, Baby, Gone, one of a series of five novels featuring the private detective team Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The two detectives are hired to find a young girl who has been abducted from her home while her mother was out drinking. It's a controversial subject, but from the beginning Lehane handles it with real sensitivity and, as we follow the two on their investigation, it soon becomes clear that there's far more to this abduction than meets the eye. The pace is fast, the atmosphere intense and it contains one of the finest action scenes I have yet read, a brilliant example of tension-building that should be required reading for any would-be thriller writer.

And the ending... Well, it'll leave you thinking for a very long time. And that, for a crime novel, is no bad thing.

Click here for the full list.

The Chicago Tribune Praises Easy Innocence

2008-04-08T16:09:00.002-04:00

"Hellmann knows how to distill the essence of a character in a few unadorned but dead-right sentences," the Chicago Tribune says of Libby Fisher Hellmann's new novel, EASY INNOCENCE.

Read the full review, as well as more praise, here.

LA Times On Blue Heaven Movie Deal

2008-04-04T10:49:00.003-04:00

After the recent sale of the film rights to BLUE HEAVEN to Lila 9th Productions, the LA Times spoke with CJ Box and Steve Fisher, the agent behind the deal, to get the scoop on how they sold this "smart adult thriller."

Get the scoop here.

PW Praises Nellie Hermann's Debut Novel

2008-03-26T15:45:00.003-04:00

Publishers Weekly has some very nice things to say about THE CURE FOR GRIEF, which Scribner will publish this summer:

The only girl in the strong, loving Bronstein family, nine-year-old Ruby anchors this adept debut from Hermann. Ruby has always felt both admiration for and rejected by her three charismatic older brothers; she is similarly intrigued by her Holocaust survivor father, whose observance of Jewish customs persists despite his professed loss of faith. Ruby's own sense of faith, family and self will be sorely tested over the next 10-plus years: her oldest brother Abe's schizophrenic break, a truly frightening event to 10-year-old Ruby, is but the first in a series of crises. The well-developed chapters have a tendency to read like individual stories, but Hermann keeps the novel's themes of loss and resiliency constant. Foreshadowing and symbolism get heavy, but what could have become a litany of family pain is tempered, in Hermann's eminently capable narrative, by young Ruby's concurrent journey toward self-discovery.

April Tour Dates For Libby Fischer Hellmann

2008-03-21T11:00:00.004-04:00

Bleak House Books will publish her novel EASY INNOCENCE in April, so Libby Fischer Hellmann is hittin' the road!

April 1st

Mystery Lovers Bookshop

Oakmont, PA

April 2nd, afternoon

Upper Arlington Library Tea

Upper Arlington, OH

April 2nd, evening

Foul Play Mystery Books

Westerville, OH

April 3rd at 1pm

Joseph Beth Books

Ann Arbor, MI

April 3rd, evening

Aunt Agatha's

Ann Arbor, MI

April 4th at 11am

Kazoo Books II

Kalamazoo, MI

April 4th at 6:30pm

The Book Stall

Winnetka, IL

April 5th at 10am

Mystery One

Milwaukee, WI

April 5th at 1pm

Booked for Murder

Madison, WI

April 6th at 1pm

Palatine Public Library

Palatine, IL

April 8th at 7pm

Schaumburg Public Library

Schaumburg, IL

April 10th at 7pm

Orland Park Library

Orland Park, IL

April 12th at 2pm

Peoria Public Library

Peoria, IL

April 13th

Wauconda Public Library

April 16th at 7pm

Naperville Public Library

April 19th at 2pm

Palatine Public Library

workshop on writing

April 25th at 7pm

Mysteries to Die For

Thousand Oaks, CA

April 26-27

LA Festival of the Books

Appearing at Crime Time Books/Sisters in Crime booth

LA Mystery Bookstore

Book 'Em

Mysterious Galaxy

April 28th at 1pm

Book Passage

Corta Madera, CA

April 29th at 7pm

M is for Mystery

San Mateo, CA

April 30th

Stacey's Bookstore

San Francisco, CA

Check back later for more dates in May and June!

PW Praises Blood Trail

2008-03-19T13:55:00.002-04:00

Publishers Weekly reviews C.J. Box's latest Joe Pickett novel, BLOOD TRAIL, in its current issue:

Writing beautifully about the mountain West and its people, Box takes care to present both sides of the controversial issue of hunting. The narrative alternates between the searchers and the killer, whose identity will keep readers guessing up to the surprising climax.

The full review, along with more praise, may be found here.

Chicken Soup For The Disgraced Governor's Soul

2008-03-11T15:18:00.003-04:00

We're having a hard time working today here at ARLA with the Eliot Spitzer scandal keeping us glued to every blog in town. So, in a desperate attempt to keep things literary, we've come up with a gift basket of books to soothe Governor Spitzer's soul:

Eliot's COLLECTED POEMS
SERILDA'S* STAR, by Olive Cook
O ALBANY!, by William Kennedy
THE EMPEROR'S CHILDREN, by Claire Messud
THE CLIENT, by John Grisham
MAYFLOWER, by Nathaniel Philbrick
KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER, by Sigrid Undset
and (anticipating his resignation)
PATERSON, by William Carlos Williams

(* "Silda" is a version of the German name "Serilda")

Better Renew Your Membership!

2008-03-10T13:09:00.002-04:00

The Book of the Month club has chosen Nellie Hermann's THE CURE FOR GRIEF (coming this summer from Scribner) as an alternate selection for its August catalogue.

Lehane On NPR Weekend Edition

2008-03-06T17:22:00.002-05:00

This Saturday, Dennis Lehane will speak with Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition about "The Wire." Dennis is a writer for the show and is responsible for some of our favorite episodes. Check your local stations for details!

Publishers Weekly Gives Blue Heaven Another Star

2008-02-28T10:30:00.002-05:00

Publishers Weekly gives a star to the audio version of C.J.Box's bestselling thriller, BLUE HEAVEN:

John Bedford Lloyd's rich, distinctive voice brings a strong sense of power to his reading of Box's first stand- alone thriller. In the rural Idaho town of Kootenai Bay, 12-year-old Annie Taylor and her younger brother, William, witness a brutal murder. Immediately the two find themselves being hunted by killers who will stop at nothing to ensure the children's silence. The two find refuge with an old rancher, Jess Rawlins, and recently retired police detective Eduardo Villatoro. Together, the two men make a desperate stand against the murderers despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Lloyd's crisp, laconic delivery easily handles a multitude of characters, accents and shifting points of view, creating just the right tone for the material and drawing the listener deep into the action of the story. He portrays his villains (a band of dirty ex-cops) with just the right amount of ruthless menace without going overboard, and he perfectly captures the essence of the aging rancher, imbuing him with the quiet strength and dignity of an iconic western hero. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 15). (Jan.)

Making It Look Easy

2008-02-25T17:14:00.005-05:00

EASY INNOCENCE by Libby Fischer Hellmann doesn't come out until April but it's already received it's first starred review!

Library Journal praises it by saying, "Hellmann brings to life the reality of hazing and bullying among teenage girls in a story with enough twists and turns to keep you reading to the end. Highly recommended."

Kirkus Praises Easy Innocence

2008-02-19T16:33:00.002-05:00

Kirkus Reviews called EASY INNOCENCE, Libby Fischer Hellmann's newest mystery, "just what is needed in a mystery," adding, "Depth of characterization sets this new entry apart from a crowded field."

Bleak House Books will publish the book in April.

More News and Reviews For Blue Heaven

2008-02-19T14:21:00.002-05:00

The Omaha World-Herald calls C.J. Box's BLUE HEAVEN "a first-rate, edge-of-your seat read" and the Toronto Sun says it's "hard to put down."

Oh, and it's #7 on the Denver Post best seller list!

Libby Fischer Hellmann On Tour

2008-02-18T12:22:00.002-05:00

Bleak House Books will publish Libby Fischer Hellmann's novel EASY INNOCENCE this spring. To celebrate, Libby will embark on an extensive book tour. Check out the list of appearances below to see if she's coming to a town near you!

February 21 at 7pm

Oak Park Main Library

Oak Park, IL

March 7 at 1pm

Colorado Springs Library

Colorado Springs, CO

March 7 at 5:30pm

Murder by the Book

Denver, CO

March 8 at 8:30am

Left Coast Crime

Panel: "He Writes / She Writes"

Denver, CO

March 10 at 3:30pm

Connections Cafe at the Tempe Public Library

"An Afternoon of Mystery" with Cara Black

Tempe, AZ

March 10 at 7pm

Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Scottsdale, AZ

March 11 at 6pm

Desert Foothills Library

Cave Creek, AZ

March 19 at 7pm

Fremont Public Library

Mundelein, IL

March 26 at 4:30pm

Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour at The Dock Cafe

Stillwater, MN

March 27, 11am - 1pm

Public Library Association National Conference

Sisters in Crime Booth

Minneapolis, MN

March 29 at 4pm

Virginia Festival of the Book

Panel: Crime Wave: Life on the Streets with Cops and PIs

Charlottesville, VA

March 31 at 5pm

Pikesville Public Library

Pikesville, MD

Check back here later for many more appearances in April, May, and June!

C.J. Box Is Red Hot, Says Booklist!

2008-02-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

While BLUE HEAVEN continues to shine on the New York Times best seller list, BLOOD TRAIL, C.J. Box's latest Joe Pickett book, has already gotten its first starred review from Booklist:

In January, Box branched out from his popular Joe Pickett series with a stand-alone thriller, Blue Heaven (2008). His publisher for that book seems to be pushing him toward a broader audience—even ditching his familiar black Stetson in the author photo. Longtime fans might have wondered whether Pickett would soon be an also-ran. But there’s no need to worry just yet. Although Blood Trail is a mite slimmer than its predecessors (two books a year will do that to a writer), Box is clearly still comfortable in the saddle. And his game warden—now a special agent reporting directly to the governor—is still as dogged on the trail as he is hard on government-issued vehicles. There’s a little less family time for Joe, but there are some interesting developments in his friendship with the enigmatic Nate Romanowski. Joe needs Nate’s help and some luck besides, because it’s elk season, and someone is hunting elk hunters. And with a flamboyant anti-hunting activist coming to town with his supporters, it’s looking like another classic standoff: implacable ideologues on both sides and a pondering Pickett caught in the middle. Box always addresses a New West issue, but there’s something great about the way he’s waited until the eighth installment to tackle the one that would seem most obvious, given his hero’s occupation. We prefer Box with the cowboy hat, but whether hatted or bareheaded, he continues to be red hot—and now there’s twice as much of him to go around.

Three More Great Reviews For Blue Heaven

2008-01-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

As BLUE HEAVEN remains on the New York Time extended best seller list for another week, the good reviews just keep coming.

The Boston Globe says, "Against a backdrop of wilderness, rich with the scent of pine and cattle, there are strong elements of classic tragedy here as well, as yearning propels all of the characters, good and bad, into mortal peril. 'Blue Heaven' is my favorite kind of thriller - one with a heart."

More praise from the Charlotte Observer:

C.J. Box has stepped outside the world of Joe Pickett, the star of his highly acclaimed mystery series, to pen a stand-alone thriller that will grab you on page one. I suggest you make sure you have time to finish this one before you need much sleep again.
In this novel, you are rarely sure just whom to trust. Box proves again that he is a master storyteller who can use suspense to deal with such issues as greed, corruption and the clash between the modern world and traditional values.

The Billings Gazette weighs in:

Box excels in capturing the personalities and lifestyles of the inland Northwest. He also masterfully peels away the layers of lives to reveal secrets that influence folks' decisions across decades.

Fans of Joe Pickett will find the tortured good-guy values in Rawlins, too. And the added focus of the children struggling just to get home and erase the dangers makes the stakes higher.

It's four days of high tension and high action. And Box delivers surprises until the final page.

Click here for the full reviews.

Passing The Page 99 Test

2008-01-22T10:06:00.000-05:00

Ford Maddox Ford once said, "Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you."

Marshal Zeringue started a fascinating blog called The Page 99 Test and applied Ford's theory to a wide range of new books and classics. He invited Kathleen George to administer the test to her new novel AFTERIMAGE, and here is her reaction:

I've sometimes administered something like the Ford Maddox Ford test on my own when browsing in a bookstore. Perhaps I didn't go to p. 99, but I opened the book at random to see if the author's voice was clear and compelling. Now I've been asked to do it to my own book -- and that's a test all right! I look at the bookshelf nervously. Will I protest? Will I say, "Oh, but there's so much more scene description elsewhere," or "Oh, oh, if you would just check out this other character, I think you'd be pleased."

So I heave a breath and open to p. 99 and I find that that's the scene in a poverty-ridden household in which the young rookie detective Colleen Greer is questioning a man about his daughter whose body has been found in the park. The man is lithe, gorgeous, alcoholic. Does he know anything at all? Is he hiding knowledge? Is he completely innocent?

The fact is, I've found a somewhat representative scene. Colleen Greer is trying to be polite. There is a horrible tragedy sitting in the room and yet she's quietly pressing him for details. And she's listening closely to the facts that she will have to sort out -- the alibi he gives her.

As I was writing this scene and others, the characters were (always are) very real to me. I can feel the pace of their heartbeats, I know when they swallow, I know when something gets caught in the throat. That means that, for moments, I must be them. Then, too, I think I know how they smell — breath, underarms. That means that in other moments I stand beside them. I also watch them interact. To do that, I have to stand back a few feet.

Inside: Deon Washington is heartbroken, confused, and hungover. Next to: He smells of sugar, alcohol, sweat, and sex. A few feet back: He hands over pieces of his life, bit by bit, as he can, to Colleen who treats them objectively, both of them focusing on ordinary details and putting off, for a time, the enormous grief for what has happened.

So, Kathy, did your book pass the test?

Blue Heaven Is Already A NYT Best Seller

2008-01-16T17:15:00.000-05:00

C.J. Box's BLUE HEAVEN came out last week and is already #25 on the New York Times extended bestseller list!

His book tour has just started, so check his itinerary below to see if he's coming to a town near you!

Chicago Production of Coronado Best of '07, Says Tribune

2008-01-14T16:56:00.000-05:00

Chicago Tribune theatre critic Nina Metz named the Steep Theater Company's production of Dennis Lehane's play Coronado one of the top five storefront productions of 2007, saying "The actors swerved from playful seduction to cat-and-mouse anxiety, and I bought it every step of the way."

Congratulations to Dennis and all of the fabulous people at Steep!

Hell Freezes Over: Lehane Blogs

2008-01-14T16:48:00.000-05:00

Dennis Lehane will be holding court over on the Barnes and Noble website from January 14th to the 18th, where he will answer readers' questions. Click here to join in the conversation!

Blue Heaven Book Tour

2008-01-07T17:46:00.000-05:00

C.J. Box kicks off the whirlwind tour for his new novel BLUE HEAVEN on Thursday. Go see him at a town near you!

Thursday, January 10th at 7pm

Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore

213 South 4th Avenue

Ann Arbor, MI

Saturday, January 12th at 12pm

Mystery One Bookshop

2109 North Prospect Avenue

Milwaukee, WI

Saturday, January 12th at 3pm

Booked for Murder

2701 University Avenue

Madison, WI

Saturday, January 12th at 6pm

Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop

4093 North Oakland Avenue

Shorewood, WI

Monday, January 14th at 5pm

Uncle Edgar's Mystery Books

2864 Chicago Avenue

Minneapolis, MN

Monday, January 14th at 7pm

Once Upon a Crime

604 West 26th Street

Minneapolis, MN

Tuesday, January 15th at 7pm

Powell's Books

3415 SW Cedar Hills Boulevard

Beaverton, OR

Wednesday, January 16th at 7:30pm

Auntie's Booktore

402 West Main

Spokane, WA

Thursday, January 17th at 2pm

Vandeford's Books & Office

201 Cedar Street

Sandpoint, ID

Saturday, January 19th at 12pm

Book Carnival

348 South Tustin Avenue

Orange, CA

Saturday, January 19th at 3pm

Mysteries to Die For

2940 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard

Thousand Oaks, CA

Saturday, January 19th at 5:30 pm

Mystery Bookstore

1036-C Broxton Avenue

Los Angeles, CA

Sunday, January 20th at 2pm

Mysterious Galaxy

7051 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Suite 302

San Diego, CA

Tuesday, January 22nd at 7pm

Poisoned Pen

4014 North Goldwater #101

Scottsdale, AZ

Wednesday, January 23rd at 6:30pm

Murder by the Book

2342 Bissonnet Street

Houston, TX

Thursday, January 24th at 4pm

Kent News Company

Cheyenne, WY

Friday, January 25th at 5:30pm

Chickering Bookstore

203 South 2nd Street

Laramie, WY

Saturday, January 26th at 12pm

Murder by the Book

1574 South Pearl Street

Denver, CO

Saturday, January 26th at 3pm

High Crimes

946 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO

Monday, January 28th at 4pm

Ralph's Books

215 South Montana Avenue

Casper, WY

Tuesday, January 29th at 7pm

The Book Shop

117 North Main Street

Sheridan, WY

Wednesday, January 30th at 7pm

Barnes & Noble

530 South 24th Street West

Billings, MT

Monday, February 4th at 7:30pm

Tattered Cover

2526 East Colfax Avenue

Denver, CO

Tuesday, February 5th at 7pm

Barnes & Noble

1565 Briargate Boulevard

Colorado Springs, CO

Friday, March 28th at 10:30am

Public Library Association

Minneapolis Convention Center

Minneapolis, MN

Online Ad for Blue Heaven

2007-12-14T16:44:00.000-05:00

Check out the cool new online ad for C.J. Box's upcoming thriller BLUE HEAVEN! It will run on The New York Times website the week of January 8th, on SFGate.com from January 8th to to 21st, and on the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post websites from January 9th to the 21st.

Come Celebrate The Publication Of Afterimage!

2007-11-30T17:10:00.000-05:00

For those book lovers in the Pittsburgh area, there will be two exciting events next month to celebrate the launch of AFTERIMAGE, the latest book in Kathleen George's critically acclaimed series of homicide thrillers set in Pittsburgh.

The book launch party will be held on Thursday, December 11th, at 7p.m. at Mystery Lovers Bookstore (514 Alleghany Boulevard in Oakmont). The following day, there will be a reading and book signing tea from 4-6p.m at the Pitt Book Center (4000 Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh).

Be there or be square!