Spot-Lit for October 2012

General Fiction / Literary Fiction

Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories by Sherman Alexie

Northwest favorite Alexie combines 15 of his most popular stories with 15 new ones, showcasing his mordant humor and bracing audacity as he tackles all manner of subjects.

Familiar by J. Robert Lennon

As she is returning from her son’s grave, Elisa Brown enters a twilight zone in which everything changes – her son is suddenly alive again, her marriage happier, she has a new job. To pierce the veil of her new world she must see deeply into her authentic self. Can she do it? Could anyone?

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

A government experiment gone wrong unleashed a deadly virus in Cronin’s 2010 apocalyptic hit, The Passage. This time-skipping sequel finds survivors on the trail of the original twelve virals, and at tremendous risk.

Illuminations by Mary Sharratt

Historical fiction based on the remarkable and resilient 12th century abbess, composer and visionary Hildegard von Bingen.

First Novels

The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann

Emil Larsson is a self-satisfied bureaucrat and bachelor, but eight cards laid down by a fortune-teller augurs well for his love-life. Or does it? The plot thickens in this character-rich tale set in late 1700s Stockholm as political chaos and rebellion threaten.

The Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles

In this darkly humorous novel a man is asked to house-sit by his more well-to-do friend who leaves quite pointed instructions – particularly regarding his expensive wood floors. The spilling of a glass of wine on the floor is only the beginning of things going disastrously wrong.

Fra Keeler by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi

Reality begins to appear uncertain and off-kilter for a man who has moved into a house previously owned by Fra Keeler, who had died in it.

Sutton by J.R. Moehringer

The real life criminal Willie Sutton is the subject of this novel about a man who hated banks and was driven to a life of crime by his first love and accomplice – who later broke his heart. By the author of the memoir The Tender Bar.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos

Tochtli is the son of a Mexican drug lord who lives in a palace with hitmen, prostitutes, and other underworld figures. Advance reviews report this mix of childhood innocence and big-time corruption is impeccably narrated from the child’s perspective.

Crime Fiction /Suspense

Unattended Death by Victoria Jenkins

Detective Irene Chavez investigates the case of a woman’s body that is found in a slough of the Puget Sound in this psychologically astute and assured mystery.

Phantom by Jo Nesbo

Renegade lawman Harry Hole returns from Hong Kong to Oslo when he learns the son of the woman he lost but still loves has been arrested for murder. His investigation takes him through an underworld of drugs and politics as well as his own troubled past.

A Private Venus by Giorgio Scerbanenco

This Italian noir classic from 1966, just now being released in English, focuses on Dr. Duca Lamberti who agrees to treat a young patient only to discover a past woven with dark crimes that make him suspect Mafia involvement.

Live by Night by Dennis Lehane

Joe Coughlin goes from committing youthful petty crimes to becoming a full-blown mobster in this vivid account of Prohibition-era America.

SF / Fantasy / Horror

The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks

Lieutenant Commander Vyr Cossont tries to clear her name when efforts to join the Culture, an intragalactic league, meet with violence and the Gzilt civilization is imperiled.

Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey

Daisy Johansson, offspring of an incubus, keeps the peace between the regular folk and the supernatural community in a mid-western town, but a drowning raises tensions and threatens the paranormal tourist trade.

Wonders of the Invisible World by Patricia McKillip

Fantastic stories grounded in fairy tales and myth from the multiple award-winning fantasy author.

Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist

An abandoned baby is found, brought home and taught to sing. After singing on television, she is brought together with another young girl who saw the performance – with horrifying consequences.

These promising, hand-picked titles are due to be published in October. To see all the new fiction that’s on order, click here.

Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library

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