Mailbox Monday-- No Socks Were Harmed in the Writing of This Post

I stayed in the grocery section of Target this past week, so I didn't fall under the influence of the Evil Sock People. Due to my sorting and shelving, I sent 13 books to new Paperback Swap foster homes, and received 6. Here's the scoop on what I received:

--The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose (PBS). "A bomb in Rome, a flash of bluish-white and photojournalist Josh Ryder's world exploded. Nothing would ever be the same.As Josh recovers, his mind is invaded with thoughts that have the emotion, the intensity, the intimacy of memories.But these are not his memories. They are ancient... and violent. There's an urgency to them he can't ignore--pulling him to save a woman named Sabina... and the treasures she protects. But who is Sabina? Desperate for answers, Josh turns to the world-renowned Phoenix Foundation--a research facility that scientifically documents cases of past life experiences. He is led to an archaeological dig and to Professor Gabriella Chase, who has discovered an ancient, powerful secret that threatens to merge the past with the present. Here, the dead call out to the living, and murders of the past become murders of the present."

--The Cay by Theodore Taylor (PBS). "This award-winning novel remains a powerful classic of prejudice, love, and survival. In 1942, 11-year-old Phillip Enright lives with his parents on the Dutch island of Curaçao, but when the war moves too close for comfort, his mother decides to travel with him back to the safety of Virginia. When their boat is torpedoed, however, Phillip is blinded and finds himself adrift on a life raft with an old black man and a cat. They eventually land on a deserted island. Phillip is suspicious of "the large Negro," but soon grows to trust--and ultimately love--the patient and generous Timothy. Dedicated to "Dr. King's Dream," The Cay has a clear message that friendship is colorblind; it is also a terrific adventure story of a young, newly blinded man learning to survive on an uninhabited island. (Ages 12 and older)"

--A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis (PBS). "In 1902, elegant Vienna is the city of the new century, the center of discoveries in everything from the writing of music to the workings of the human mind. But now a brutal homicide has stunned its citizens and appears to have bridged the gap between science and the supernatural. Two very different sleuths from opposite ends of the spectrum will need to combine their talents to solve the boggling crime: Detective Oskar Rheinhardt, who is on the cutting edge of modern police work, and his friend Dr. Max Liebermann, a follower of Sigmund Freud and a pioneer on new frontiers of psychology. As a team they must use both hard evidence and intuitive analysis to solve a medium’s mysterious murder–one that couldn’t have been committed by anyone alive."

--Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (PBS). "In 1931, Marion Seeley, a young woman whose husband has gone abroad on undisclosed business, secures a clerical job at the Werden Clinic in the capital of an unnamed Midwest state. From a veteran nurse, Louise Mercer, Marion learns that doctors have been misbehaving with the clinic's nursing staff. Marion becomes involved with Joe Lanigan, a close friend of the doctors and a reliable source of entertainment and money for the often cash-strapped nurses. When Louise and Ginny Hoyt, Louise's roommate, confront Marion about her relationship to Joe, the women get into a heated argument that leads to murder and a startling predicament for Marion."

--Death of a Ghost by Susan Kelly (PBS). "On a damp autumn day, two girls skipping school find a body in a remote cottage not far from Hungerford. The dead woman, Gillian Lestrange, was a ghostwriter, engaged in writing the memoirs of a widely disliked retired spy, Lavinia (Vinnie) Latham. Vinnie owns the cottage in which the murder took place, but is presently nowhere to be found. Was she the intended victim in a case of mistaken identity, hiding for her own safety? Or is she a murderer on the run? The mystery thickens when Superintendent Gregory Summers discovers that Gillian was a ghost in more ways than one-- she has been presumed dead for the past fifteen years. Somebody paid the price for Gillian’s first death, and a heavy price it was. Could it be that retribution has at last come calling?"

--Necessary As Blood by Deborah Crombie (PBS). "Once the haunt of Jack the Ripper, London's East End is a vibrant mix of history and the avant-garde, a place where elegant Georgian town houses exist side by side with colorful street markets and the hippest clubs. But here races and cultures still clash, and the trendy galleries and glamorous nightlife of Whitechapel disguise a violent and seedy underside, where unthinkable crimes bring terror to the innocent. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in mid May, a young mother, Sandra Gilles, leaves her daughter with a friend at the Columbia Road Flower Market and disappears. Shortly thereafter, her husband, a Pakistani lawyer, is killed. Scotland Yard detective Gemma James happens upon the scene in time to witness the investigator making a mistake. When Duncan and his trusted sergeant, Doug Cullen, see Gemma's name in the report, they decide to take the case. Working together again, Gemma, Duncan, Doug, and Melody Talbot must solve it before the murderer can get his hands on the real prize, Naz and Sandra's daughter."

That was my haul last week-- what did you find in your mailbox?

A big Thank You to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting this fun meme. If you'd like to see what goodies other folks found in their mailboxes, go up to the top of this post and click on that redhead in the flirty skirt. You'll find yourself right in the middle of the action!