Monday, June 15, 2009

Mailbox Monday-- Missed It by This Much!

Man, oh man! I was going to look like a paragon of virtue this week! Denis and I were gone most of the week, and it looked as though the mail carrier wasn't going to deliver anything Saturday. If that occurred, I was going to be telling all of you that I'd sent 7 books to new Paperback Swap foster homes and had only received one.

One book. Only one. For an entire week.

However, the mail carrier was playing with me. When he did leave the accumulated mail, it contained 11 books. Nothing like having several of your wish listed books all show up at the same time!

Oh well. I knew I wasn't a paragon of virtue, but the thought was nice while it lasted....

Here's what I received in the mail last week:

--Retirement Homes Are Murder by Mike Befeler (PBS). "
Paul Jacobson, a widower who lives in an Assisted Living Facility, finds a dead body in the trash chute. Paul is the number one suspect and it is imperative that he find out who the real killer is before the real murderer kills him. Since Paul has short-term memory loss, he must write up the day's events each night and leave the journal where he will see it the next day so that when he gets up, he can refresh his memory. Although this slows him down, he is still able to do his detective work and find out who the real killer is."


--The Edge of the Crazies by Jamie Harrison (PBS).
"Early one Sunday morning, screenwriter George Blackwater types a script idea on his PC that smacks of autobiographical, and hungover, self-absorption: 'Crazy writer, victim of tragic error of youth, is dispossessed by soulless brother and bitch mother, embittered by fat wife.' Moments later, a sniper's bullets waste George's monitor-and George. Enter Sheriff Jules Clement, whose first suspect is George's unlovable, oft-betrayed wife. But she disappears, and, by the time Jules finds her, is dead.
"

--Siren of the Waters by Michael Genelin (PBS).
"Jana Matinova entered the Czechoslovak police force as a young woman, married an actor, and became a mother. The regime destroyed her husband, their love for one another, and her daughter’s respect for her. But she has never stopped being a seeker of justice. Now as a commander in the Slovak police force, she liaises with colleagues across Europe as they track the mastermind of an international criminal operation involved in, among other crimes, human trafficking. Her investigation takes her from the Ukraine to Strasbourg, from Vienna to Nice, in a hunt for a ruthless killer and the beautiful young Russian woman he is determined either to capture or destroy."

--The Tudor Rose by Margaret Campbell Barnes (Sourcebooks ARC).
"A magnificent portrait of Elizabeth of York, set against the dramatic background of fifteenth century England. Elizabeth, the only living descendant of Edward IV, has the most valuable possession in all of England—a legitimate claim to the crown. Two princes battle to win Britain's most rightful heiress for a bride and her kingdom for his own. On one side is her uncle Richard, the last Plantagenet King, whom she fears is the murderer of her two brothers, the would-be kings. On the other side is Henry Tudor, the exiled knight. Can he save her from a horrifying marriage to a cut-throat soldier?
"

--The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay (PBS).
"As if the severe narcolepsy he developed after an auto accident hasn’t been enough of a stumbling block for Mark Genevich, the wisecracking South Boston PI now seems to have drawn the ire of the district attorney and his dour goons. He can’t be sure because his condition also triggers harrowing hallucinations, such as the woman who seems to show up at his office begging him to help find her stolen fingers. Hallucination or not, she looked a lot like the DA’s daughter, a finalist in an American Idol–style singing contest, and didn’t the DA grow up with Genevich’s late father in Southie? With the help of his acerbic-but-doting mom, Genevich stirs himself from his usual computer-based investigations and sets out into the hostile real world to solve the case—or at least figure out if a case even exists.
"

--The Pig Comes to Dinner by Joseph Caldwell (PBS). "
Irish writer Kitty McCloud and husband Kieran Sweeney battle to stave off specters threatening to destroy their newfound nuptial bliss. The beautiful ghosts of Taddy and Brid haunt Castle Kissane, the couple's new abode, as well as their dreams and desires. Then the very real Lord Shaftoe appears after his family's two-century-long absence to reclaim the keep. Onto the scene trots the lesbian pig, whose ramblings and rootings could destroy the lovely estate—or help save it.
"

--Bloodeagle by Roy Lewis (PBS). "
A strange and bloody execution-style killing in Northumbria baffles the police until planning officer, Arnold Landon, seconded to an archaeological dig, introduces them to the laws of the Viking blood feud. But can anyone believe that a beserker warrior still rides? And who is he?"

--The Secret Lion, A novel of suspense in the Tudor Court by C.W. Gortner (PBS).
"In this rousing historical adventure set in the Tudor court, we are swept back to the final days of Edward VI's reign, and a time of danger, deceit, and courage. Brendan Prescott, a foundling reared in Dudley household, arrives at court to serve as a squire to the arrogant Lord Robert Dudley. Keen and ambitious, Brendan hopes to gain advancement in his new post - until Lord Robert dispatches him on an illicit mission to the King's enigmatic sister, the Princess Elizabeth, and Brendan discovers that nothing in his world is as it appears. A dark plot brews around Elizabeth's quest to unravel the truth about her brother King Edward VI's disappearance. Lured into her service as a spy, with only a bold stable boy and audacious lady-in-waiting at his side, Brendan plunges into a ruthless gambit of half-truths and lies, pitted against the wiles of a vengeful opponent who may hold the secret of his own mysterious birth - a secret that could shatter everything he believes in, and cast an inescapable shadow over him, Elizabeth, and the future of England itself.
"

--The Holding by Merilyn Simonds (PBS). "
Fleeing the abject poverty of her native Scotland, Margaret MacBayne and her three brothers emigrate to Canada only to face an even bleaker existence farming a cold and unforgiving parcel of land deep in the wilderness. When her fiance is killed on the eve of their wedding, Margaret holds her high-spirited brothers responsible. An accomplished herbalist, Margaret methodically plots her retaliation, recording the details in a secret diary. One hundred years later, the diary is discovered by Alyson Thomson, who, along with her lover, Walker, is now living on the abandoned MacBayne farm. When a similar tragedy befalls Alyson, she discovers the blueprint for her own retribution in Margaret's writings.
"

--The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent (PBS).
"After a bout of smallpox, 10-year-old Sarah Carrier resumes life with her mother on their family farm in Andover, Mass., dimly aware of a festering dispute between her mother, Martha, and her uncle about the plot of land where they live. The fight takes on a terrifying dimension when reports of supernatural activity in nearby Salem give way to mass hysteria, and Sarah's uncle is the first person to point the finger at Martha. Soon, neighbors struggling to eke out a living and a former indentured servant step forward to name Martha as the source of their woes. Sarah is forced to shoulder an even heavier burden as her mother and brothers are taken to prison to face a jury of young women who claim to have felt their bewitching presence. Sarah's front-row view of the trials and the mayhem that sweeps the close-knit community provides a fresh, bracing and unconventional take on a much-covered episode.
"

--The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver (PBS). "
Dance is the lead cop handling the escape of psychopathic killer Daniel Pell, dubbed "Son of Manson" by the press for his "family" of young runaways and his most horrendous crime, the murders of computer engineer William Croyton, Croyton's wife and two of their three children. The only child left alive, nine-year-old Theresa, is known as the Sleeping Doll. Pell, charismatic and diabolically intelligent, continually eludes capture, but Dance, a specialist in interrogation and kinesics (or body language), is never more than a few suspenseful minutes behind.
"



A big Thank You to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting this meme. If you'd like to see the books others received in the past week, just click on that hungry-looking gator-box at the top of this post!



19 comments:

  1. We would have known something was up if only one new book founds its way to your home.

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  2. You thought there was only one book for you? You are good at denial, aren't you? LOL! Enjoy your haul this week!

    My mailbox is here: http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2009/06/monday-mailbox_15.html

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  3. A very good week indeed :D
    Have fun

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  4. Love the stash of books. I have Heretic's Daughter near the top of my TBR list, so I anxiously await your review. I was immediately intrigued by the first book, Retirement Homes are Murder. I think I would have bought that one on just because of the title.

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  5. Retirement Homes Are Murder looks good to me, too. I see you are already reading it. I'm looking forward to reading what you think of it.

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  6. I remember reading Margaret Campbell Barnes' books many many many years ago when I was a teenager. I think they were some of my first 'grownup' books to read. Now I'm going to have to scurry back to Mom's to see if they're still there. What a great haul you had this week! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Looking forward to hear about The Sleeping Doll - sounds like a thrilling read and one I would like to read myself.

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  8. I hope you enjoy The Heretic's Daughter as much as I did! Happy reading!

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  9. I also have heretic's daughter and the tudor rose. happy reading.

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  10. I think getting a pile of books of once is even more fun than one each day!

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  11. I can't decide which is better...a book a day or a bunch at once! They look great and it sounds like you've got a lot of reading to do!! :)

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  12. Nothing is better than 11 surprise books. It's when you least ecpect it that you are the happiest about them.

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  13. Some good sounding Tudor books!

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  14. I hear the Little Sleep is fantastic. Vickie over at Vixen Daily Reads posted a review a week or two back and she really enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

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  15. Kathy--You know me too well! LOL

    Kristen--Well...a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

    Blodeuedd--Thanks!

    Molly--I'm reading Retirement Homes Are Murder. The author coined a new phrase for it: Geezer Lit. The book is funny and heartbreaking all at the same time.

    Margot--Unless it really comes a cropper at the end, my review will be a very enthusiastic one.

    tutu--I missed Barnes when I was a teenager, and I'm really enjoying her books now.

    Louise--I had to get The Sleeping Doll because the next book in the series, Roadside Crosses (?), sounded so good. I'm a fanatic about reading books in order!

    Avis--I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much!

    Serena--Good to hear that we have some books in common!

    Rhapsody--I think I agree. The only thing that's better than a lap full of puppies is a towering stack of new-to-me books!

    Staci--It is a difficult decision, isn't it?

    Lilly--This is very true!

    Beth--That's one period of history I always find myself going back to!

    Jess--Vixen's might be the place where I first heard about the book. Thanks for the reminder!

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  16. Riterment Home looks really interesting. It is nice to get a huge stack after waiting what feels like forever.

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  17. Susan--Sometimes I feel as though the mail carriers read my books before they ever get around to delivering them to me! LOL

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  18. You got some good ones. Happy reading!

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!