Booklist Reviews
/*Starred Review*/ The woman who brought us the irresistible Stephanie Plum introduces Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby in this madcap new adventure. Like so many crime solvers, both male and female, Barney is smart, tough, cute, and good with a quip. A day job doesn't mask her passion, which is for car engines, since she grew up in her father's garage in Baltimore. Family is another passion, and when her brother, Wild Bill, disappears (after a phone call to Barney) with a NASCAR driver's boat in Miami, what can she do but fly down to rescue him? The NASCAR guy, Sam Hooker, turns out to be quite the charmer, and he's as interested in Barney as in getting his boat back (yes, the missing vessel is called Happy Hooker). Locales in South Beach and Key West, really creepy Cuban henchmen, lost gold, even more lost chemical WMDs, various car chases, and kissing all ensue. There's never any doubt that Barney will get the last word, nor that she will rescue Bill, but the whole is almost more fun than any of the craziness in Plum's world--and that includes Ranger's apartment and Morelli's relatives. ((Reviewed November 1, 2004)) Copyright 2004 Booklist Reviews.
BookPage Reviews
Fall publishing season brings hot new releases
The coming months will bring lower temperatures, but our fall fiction forecast is nothing if not sizzling. Starting this month, some of the biggest names in fiction will release new novels destined for bestseller lists. Here's a sneak peek at the fall books everyone will be talking about.
Mystery and suspense
The legendary Sidney Sheldon makes a comeback on September 14 with Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Morrow, $25.95, 354 pages, ISBN 0060559349). Four men die in accidents continents apart. Their deaths are similar in only one way: all four worked for the Kingsley International Group, a prestigious, multinational think tank. Two of the widows become reluctant allies as they try to unravel the mystery behind their husbands' deaths.
Look for acclaimed mystery author David Baldacci's next thriller, Hour Game (Warner, $26.95, 448 pages, ISBN 0446531081), on October 26. Recurring characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are following a bloody trail of corpses left by a serial killer who places a watch with each victim—and who has inspired a copycat murderer.
Suspense heavyweight Nelson DeMille's Night Fall (Warner, $26.95, 504 pages, ISBN 0446576638) will be released on November 22. His 13th novel is both a timely look at airline security issues and a thriller that will keep readers riveted. Federal agent John Corey, who first appeared in Plum Island, is back, and this time he's investigating the tragic 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800.
Dean Koontz is ready to send chills up readers' spines on December 7 with Life Expectancy (Bantam, $27, 352 pages, ISBN 0553804146). In this new thriller, an ordinary man inherits an extraordinary legacy that will change the way he looks at the world.
Literary lives
Susan Isaacs enters the world of politics in October with Any Place I Hang My Hat (Scribner, $26, 400 pages, ISBN 0743242157). Reporter Amy Lincoln, whose tumultuous upbringing included a father with a criminal record, decides to help a young man prove that presidential candidate Thomas Bowles is his biological father.
Tom Wolfe goes back to school this November with a provocative novelization of college life, I Am Charlotte Simmons (Farrar, Straus, $28.95, 600 pages, ISBN 0374281580). After an excerpt appeared in the August issue of Rolling Stone, Wolfe's portrayal of oversexed, undereducated students at a fake Ivy League school had readers talking—and wondering where he'd done his research.
On the lighter side
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez has written a follow-up to her sassy, sensational fiction debut, The Dirty Girls' Social Club. Playing With Boys (St. Martin's, $24.95, 368 pages, ISBN 0312332343) is scheduled to hit shelves on September 7. This time out, the action takes place among the rich and beautiful people of Los Angeles. There, three very different Latinas—a troubled former novela actress, a gutsy Mexican-American talent manager and an El Salvadoran would-be screenwriter—team up to make a mark on the movie business.
Romance lovers, mark your calendars: Nora Roberts' Northern Lights (Putnam, $25.95, 576 pages, ISBN 0399152059) goes on sale October 12. Policeman Nate Burke moved to the tiny, remote town of Lunacy, Alaska, to make a fresh start after disaster derailed his life in Baltimore. Pilot Meg Galloway was born and raised in Lunacy, and enjoys living alone with only her two dogs for company. When the body of Meg's long-lost father is discovered on a nearby mountain, she and Nate join forces to investigate and find plenty of danger and romance along the way.
The fun-loving Janet Evanovich takes a break from her popular Stephanie Plum series to create another memorable heroine—and another sure-to-be bestseller. Metro Girl, on sale November 9, stars Alexandra Barnaby, a Miami girl who's looking for her missing brother. During her search, she uncovers much more, including dead bodies, treasure, bad guys and a sexy NASCAR driver.
Fantastic worlds
Stephen King wraps up his Dark Tower saga with the September 21 release of The Dark Tower VII (Simon & Schuster, $35, 768 pages, ISBN 1880418622). This final volume in a series almost 25 years in the making ranks as one of the most eagerly anticipated books of all time, especially after the cliff-hanger finale of Song of Susannah. Information about the book prior to publication has been scarce, but it's safe to say that fans won't believe what gunslinger Roland Deschain and his friends find at the end of their quest to unlock the secrets of the Dark Tower.
When fantasy author Stephen R. Donaldson's classic six-volume Thomas Covenant series ended in 1983, fans mourned the death of the celebrated Thomas and the conclusion of a landmark series. Twenty years later, Donaldson makes a surprise return to his magical alternate universe, the Land, on October 14 with The Runes of the Earth (Putnam, $26.95, 560 pages, ISBN 0399152326). The first in a planned quartet, Runes opens 10 years after Thomas' death and follows the adventures of his former companion, Linden Avery, and their young son, who are unexpectedly summoned back into the Land.
Meanwhile, relative newcomer Laurell K. Hamilton continues her chart-topping Anita Blake series on September 28 with Incubus Dreams (Berkley, $23.95, 320 pages, ISBN 0425198243). In her 12th adventure, the seductive vampire hunter is trying to track down a vampire serial killer preying on strippers. As the consort of the city's Master Vampire, Anita is afraid to trust her own judgment on the case.
Da Vinci declaration
Dan Brown's 2003 blockbuster novel hasn't been released in paperback yet, but when a book spends 18 months on bestseller lists and inspires fan pilgrimages to pivotal settings, a mass market price isn't necessary. Instead, Doubleday is publishing The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Collector's Edition ($35, 464 pages, ISBN 0385513755) on November 2. It's sure to be a hot holiday gift item for Da Vinci devotees and newbies alike. Copyright 2004 BookPage Reviews.
Library Journal Reviews
Evanovich leaves behind Stephanie Plum-and her old publisher-for Alexandra Barnaby, who tracks her reprobate brother to darkest Florida. A one-day laydown. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
"Just because I know how to change a guy's oil doesn't mean I want to spend the rest of my life on my back, staring up his undercarriage." From the word go, Evanovich delivers her usual goods, albeit in a different vehicle. After 10 Stephanie Plum novels, each more successful than the last, Evanovich introduces Alexandra Barnaby, aka Barney. Barney hails from Baltimore rather than New Jersey, but she's from the same slice of working-class life as Stephanie; she donned mechanic's overalls in her father's garage during summer breaks from college. Her younger brother, Wild Bill, shares her passion for cars, and now he's disappeared from Miami, along with NASCAR star Sam Hooker's boat, the Happy Hooker. Evanovich doesn't mind showing her romance roots, as Barney and Sam start off snarling at each other; as any reader can tell, they have to team up (a) to save Bill and (b) to enjoy delicious sex. As in the Plum books, plot takes a back seat to riffs, roughups and dialogue-and in the last lies the book's most notable distinction. If Stephanie bids fair to be New Jersey's Dorothy Parker, Barney is Baltimore's echo of Robert Parker. Conversation is terse and coded, full of sexual innuendo, with a high premium on toss-away lines uttered under duress. Despite the amazing quantity of physical jeopardy, there's little tension; it's all about hanging out with Metro Girl and NASCAR Guy-which may be just what millions of Evanovich fans will want. Agent, Robert Gottlieb. (Nov.) Forecast: Evanovich will see major marketing for her HarperCollins debut, including TV and prints ads and a national bus tour with the author, her webmaster daughter and Barnaby the St. Bernard, which means that Alexandra Barnaby will likely prove as popular as Stephanie Plum (the Plum novels are published by St. Martin's). Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal Reviews
Adult/High School-A comic misadventure from the start, this mystery is a good combination of light thriller and fast-paced action. Alex Barnaby receives a late-night call from her brother that ends in mid-sentence with a woman screaming in the background. Being the dependable sister that she is, she catches the next flight down to Miami to find out what happened. Alex soon discovers that her brother has gone missing with a recent Cuban immigrant who may or may not know the location of a warhead and a fortune in gold. She cuts down the inept bad guys with her wit and a few well-placed accidental kicks and moves. For fans of the author's "Stephanie Plum" series, the book is a letdown as there are moments when readers have to suspend disbelief and accept contrived plot twists. Evanovich is better at dialogue than description, which may frustrate some seasoned readers, but the dialogue is what keeps the story moving and is, ultimately, the novel's saving grace.-Erin Dennington, Chantilly Regional Library, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.