Sunday, July 25, 2010

Mailbox Monday-- Trying to Hold Back the Tide


It won't be long before it goes on tour, but right now my favorite weekly meme is still at home on Marcia's blog, The Printed Page. I love to visit participating blogs to see what books arrived in their mailboxes in the past week. If you'd like to take a look for yourself, just click on that redhead to the left. She'll take you right to the heart of the action. Thanks, Marcia!

This past week has been nice and warm and sticky, with one monsoon storm that flooded the yard. We need the rain, and water doesn't hurt desert landscaping, so I'm not complaining. (I would've if it had flooded the swimming pool!)

I managed to send out 5 books to new Paperback Swap (PBS) foster homes, and I received 5. Four of them were from fellow PBS members, but one was a win from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program that I don't even remember requesting.

Let's take a look at what the mail carrier delivered to me, shall we?
  1. The Loud Adios by Ken Kuhlken (PBS). "This brooding, atmospheric tale set during WW II stirs a heady brew of corruption, Nazis, a blameless young girl and a fortune in gold. PI Tom Hickey, drafted in his late 30s and deserted by a wife who deems him both too honorable and too poor, agrees to help young soldier Clifford Rose rescue his beautiful but simpleminded young sister, Wendy, from the Tijuana dive where she dances nude. Hickey, an MP stationed at the border crossing near San Diego, Calif., has useful connections. But the mission is complicated by the sinister Senor Zarp, a Nazi thug using Wendy in certain bloody rites designed to bolster the local German populace and corrupt Mexican officials in their support of the fatherland. Freeing Wendy, Clifford is killed and Hickey finds himself the guardian of an otherworldly innocent to whom he is painfully attracted. When she tells him about a mountain of gold being held by Zarp and an obscenely wealthy Mexican family, Hickey, with the aid of a few poor Indian laborers, decides to commandeer the loot and derail a Nazi invasion scheme."
  2. Pray and Die by Stella Whitelaw (Amazon Marketplace). "Someone has to investigate the mean streets of Latching, West Sussex -- and that someone is ex-policewoman Jordan Lacey, now advertising her services as a private investigator and working out of a junk shop in the quiet part of town. But will there really be enough crime to keep her in business? It looks like there is when Lacey discovers the body of a dead nun in an abandoned hotel."
  3. A Little Death in Dixie by Lisa Turner (LibraryThing Early Reviewers). "One of Memphis' most seductive and notorious socialites has vanished. Either she's off on another drunken escapade or the disappearance is something much more frightening. What begins as an ordinary day's work for Detective Billy Able quickly grows into a complex spider's web of tragedy, mystery, suspicion, and sordid secrets including a few of Billy's own. With the help of Mercy Snow, the estranged sister of the missing socialite, Billy follows a twisted trail of human frailty and corruption to disturbing truths that undermine everything he thought he knew about himself and the people he loves."
  4. Z4ck by Kevin Milne (PBS). "Duncan Steele has nowhere to run when he creates Z4CK, the means by which he can bypass any network security. Things take a turn for the worse when Duncan is contracted to audit a secure network, finding more than he bargained for. Nervous government agencies, and other foreign powers will do anything to obtain Z4CK. Hunted for a murder he did not commit, Duncan must use all of his hacking skills to survive, and clear his name. Set in Edinburgh the book starts in the year 2031. The world is a different place where Microsoft advertise Linux on Airport bulletin boards."

  5. Dog in the Dark by Gerald Hammond (PBS). "This crime novel is set in and around the world of dog breeding. John Cunningham invests in a property in the Lowlands [Scotland] where he can breed and train gun dogs. He makes enemies in the dog breeding world and when murder is committed, he is the prime suspect."
Do any of these titles tickle your fancy? Which ones?

Several books on my PBS wish list are starting to show up, so my mail carrier just might be looking daggers at me again, but at least this week was a "draw"! Now it's time for me to open some browser windows to see what everyone else got. I can't wait!

See you next week on Mailbox Monday!

16 comments:

  1. I read Z4CK a few years ago and enjoyed it - being something of a tech-y in my day job back then I liked the realistic portrayal of that aspect of the book - so often that kind of thing is portrayed in a silly way.

    The rest all sound good actually but I particularly like the sound of the Gerald Hammond one - my mum bred dogs for a while and I can concur that world is full of interesting characters

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  2. At least you got a nice surprise from LT - A Little Death in Dixie sounds like a fun read to me. I hope you enjoy all your new reads,Cathy.

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  3. It's funny that all of your new books are black! A Little Death in Dixie sounds like fun to me.

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  4. A Little Death in Dixie sounds good. Nice mailbox! I didn't get a chance to do up a mailbox this week, but I do have a Reading Recap and a Giveaway if you'd like to stop by!

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  5. Such fun and different books! Happy reading. My mailbox is at The Crowded Leaf.

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  6. I won A Little Death in Dixie too and plan to start reading it today or tomorrow. Hopefully it's as good as it looks.

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  7. Bernadette--Thanks for the encouraging words about Z4ck. Hammond's book was recommended to me by someone who'd really enjoyed the series, so I thought I'd give it a try.

    Kaye-- Thanks. I intend to!

    Kathy-- Leave it to you to point out the obvious... that I'd missed! LOL

    Q-- Thanks!

    Alayne-- I'll be taking a look. :)

    Barbara-- Yes, indeed!

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  8. All your books match! A Little Death In Dixie sounds very good. I will keep an eye out for your review!

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  9. i haven't heard of any of these books before! is that a bad thing?

    maybe i should hold out and wait until i read your reviews to see which ones i should be adding to my wishlist.

    hope you enjoy your books and happy reading!

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  10. I haven't heard of any of these books either... but that's why this is so much fun, I get to find new books.

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  11. Hmmm... I hadn't heard of them before, but "A Little Death in Dixie" seems to be right up my alley! Great mailbox!

    Julie @ Knitting and Sundries

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  12. I love the title of Pray and Die.

    Enjoy your reading!

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  13. They all look interesting. It would be hard to choose which one to read first!

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  14. The Loud Adios caught my eye. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of it. Enjoy your new books!

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  15. Beth-- Sometimes I'm soooo unobservant. I never noticed this until you folks pointed it out! LOL

    toothybooks-- Of course it's not a bad thing. Thanks for stopping by!

    Diane-- Thanks!

    Appletree-- Yes, that's the best bit about Mailbox Monday. Thanks for stopping by!

    Julie-- A Little Death in Dixie seems to be the winner!

    Laura-- It's a good book, too. I finished it before posting my mailbox!

    Vicki-- I have that problem a lot. :)

    Anna-- Thanks!

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