Monday, January 11, 2010

Mailbox Monday-- I'm Baaack!


Whatever you do, please don't get hit by the same food poisoning truck that Denis and I did. That 18-wheeler can knock you flat for a long time!

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. It's my favorite meme, and if you'd like to see what others received last week in their mailboxes, click on that redhead over there on the left, and you'll be taken right to the heart of the action.

What I received two weeks ago shall just remain a mystery, since I don't want to come back to blogging and face a never-ending round of catch-up. Last week, I sent 4 books to new Paperback Swap (PBS) foster homes, and I received 7 books in the mail from a variety of places. You see... I was spending Christmas gift cards, which is always a blast.

Here's the rundown on the books I received last week:

--Playing With Bones by Kate Ellis (Book Depository). "Singmass Close has a sinister past. Reputedly haunted by the ghosts of children, in the 1950s it was the hunting ground of the Doll Strangler, a ruthless killer who was never brought to justice. Now DI Joe Plantagenet wonders whether a copycat killer is at work when the strangled body of teenager Natalie Parkes is found with a mutilated doll lying by her side. With the recent disappearance of a young female model and an escaped convict at large, this new, horrific murder stretches Joe’s team to their limit. But as the bodies start mounting up and Joe’s questioning brings him closer to the real strangler, he comes to suspect a shocking connection between all three cases."

--A Perfect Death by Kate Ellis (Book Depository). "When a woman is burned to death in Grandal Field in Devon, it seems like a case of mistaken identity until DI Wesley Peterson learns of a legend involving a French woman who burned to death there in the thirteenth century. And when he discovers that records of a previous excavation on the site have vanished, and that two archaeologists involved in that dig died in tragic circumstances, Wesley starts to investigate the possibility of a link between the legend and recent events. But edging closer to the truth brings unexpected danger to Wesley. For the truth echoes a story of twisted love and obsession from many centuries ago - a truth that almost costs Wesley his life."

--The Devil's Priest by Kate Ellis (Book Depository). "In 1539 King Henry VIII is completing his ruthless destruction of England's monasteries and the ripples of this seismic change are felt even in the small northern port of Liverpool. A pregnant novice nun, Agnes Moore, ejected from her convent and staying with resentful relatives, claims to have been attacked in the ancient chapel of St. Mary del Quay on Liverpool's waterfront by Satan himself. Her former abbess, Lady Katheryn Bulkeley, comes to her aid but Agnes refuses to identify her lover. When a young priest is found dead in the River Mersey, his right hand hacked off, Katheryn realises that Liverpool harbours some disturbing secrets. Then Agnes is brutally murdered after which corpses are subsequently found mutilated in the churchyard. What is the link with Agnes' death?"

--Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (PBS). "Flynn gives new meaning to the term "dysfunctional family" in her chilling debut thriller. Camille Preaker, once institutionalized for youthful self-mutilation, now works for a third-rung Chicago newspaper. When a young girl is murdered and mutilated and another disappears in Camille's hometown of Wind Gap, Mo., her editor, eager for a scoop, sends her there for a human-interest story. Though the police, including Richard Willis, a profiler from Kansas City, Mo., say they suspect a transient, Camille thinks the killer is local. Interviewing old acquaintances and newcomers, she relives her disturbed childhood, gradually uncovering family secrets as gruesome as the scars beneath her clothing. The horror creeps up slowly, with Flynn misdirecting the reader until the shocking, dreadful and memorable double ending."

--Crossing the Gates of Alaska: One Man, Two Dogs, 600 Miles Off the Map by Dave Metz (LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program). "This is the story of Dave Metz's death-defying, breathtaking, and passionate journey through the Arctic outback. Driven by his lifetime reverence for the outdoors, Dave, with the help of his two beloved Airedale terrier dogs, embarks on a three-month epic of survival and astonishing determination that rivals the most daring world-class explorations. Skiing up frozen rivers, enduring bitter nights at twenty below zero, and staggering across vast reaches of barren tundra and scrub woodlands, Metz's unprecedented 600-mile trek took him to the remotest regions of the untamed North. In frightening and stunning detail, he shows us an unwavering spirit and a compelling sense of adventure that can only be satisfied when truly free."

--Blood Sunset by Jarad Henry (Book Depository). "When a young runaway is found dead one morning, a syringe hanging out of his arm, no one is terribly shocked. A known junkie, even local detective Rubens McCauley is quick to conclude that Dallas Boyd died of an accidental overdose. But anomalies in the boy's death—and the haunting memory of a childhood friend—continue to nag at McCauley. Unable to shake his unease, he soon digs deeper into the case and finds himself enmeshed in a secret network of pedophiles, child abusers, and underage prostitutes. Forced to look evil in the eye, McCauley must conquer his own demons as he battles to find justice for a young boy he never even met."

--Unwrecked England by Candida Lycett Green (Book Depository). This is a beautiful coffee table book of lovely photographs and prose about some of the unspoiled spots in England that are still to be found. Hopefully this book won't aid in wrecking them!

That's it for this week. See you next week for another edition of Mailbox Monday!


10 comments:

  1. I really liked Sharp Objects. I thought it was great for a first novel. It was tense I must say. I had to stay up and finish it just to relieve the tension. lol Enjoy.

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  2. Welcome back Cathy. Hope you and Denis are all cured now :-)

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  3. It is really good to have you back!

    And in good company, with all those Kate Ellis novels :D

    I have also heard good things about Blood Sunset. Enjoy!

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  4. Welcome back Cathy. Your new layout loads much quicker :o).

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  5. Glad you're back and feeling better. That food poisoning is some nasty stuff. You got some great books!

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  6. Welcome back...so glad to hear that you are feeling much better!!!

    Sounds like a great bunch of books...will look forward to your thoughts on Crossing the Gates of Alaska...I have noticed this one on a few blogs that I read.

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  7. Sandra-- I'm really looking forward to Sharp Objects. I don't think it will be sitting on the shelf for very long!

    Kerrie-- Thanks! I think we're about 95% cured as of this writing. :)

    Dorte-- Kate Ellis is probably the most difficult of my favorite authors to find over here, so when I indulge myself in book buying, you can almost guarantee at least one of her titles being in my purchase!

    Norman-- Thank you. What's very odd about your comment is that the new layout is almost exactly the same as the old!

    Kathy-- It's good to be back!

    Kara-- Crossing the Gates of Alaska really intrigues me, too.

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  8. I love the sound of the Kate Ellis novels!

    Glad you are feeling better!

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  9. Glad to see you back and hope you are all recovered now!

    Will be looking forward to your review of the Ellis' books and I hope you enjoy Sharp Objects. That was one of my favorite crime novels last year.

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  10. Jenclair-- Kate Ellis has been one of my favorite authors for several years now.

    Iliana-- I'm reading Sharp Objects right now. It's good, but some of the characters are making my teeth itch! LOL

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