Ruler of the Night by David Morrell

First Line: On Thursday evening, 22 march 1855, a frowning gentleman studied a two-page document that lay on his substantial desk.

1855. The railway has fueled the industrial revolution and changed English society forever. An entire day's journey can now be completed in a matter of hours. People love this newfound freedom. 

Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily are leaving London on the train. As a safety precaution the compartments are locked before the trains begin to move, so when the De Quinceys hear terrible noises from the next one, there's nothing they can do until the train stops and everything is unlocked. What they find is that a man has been stabbed to death-- and the killer is nowhere to be found. Joining forces with Inspector Flynn and Sergeant Becker of Scotland Yard, they pursue this ruthless killer back to London, hoping to bring the person to justice before more murders are committed.

Ruler of the Night is the brilliant conclusion to David Morrell's Victorian mystery trilogy. I cannot recommend these books highly enough. Each centers on a crime that changed how the public viewed the world. Murder As a Fine Art centered on the unsolved Radcliffe Highway murders; the second, Inspector of the Dead, on the numerous assassination attempts on the life of Queen Victoria; and this third and final book on the first murder on an English train. Morrell also changes up how each book is written. The first is a completely Victorian novel; the second only partially so; while Ruler of the Night is written as a modern novel. This mirrors how rapidly society was changing at the time.

Like the first two books in the trilogy, Ruler of the Night immerses the reader in the world of Victorian England-- its sights, its sounds, its smells. Incidents in the book-- like De Quincey's translation of a German edition of Sir Walter Scott-- actually happened. Action scenes are vivid, and it's wonderful to see how the many delicate strands of the plot weave together.

But Morrell is not content to focus on period detail and action scenes. His characterizations are what make this trilogy so very special. Thomas De Quincey was an amazing man with a prodigious addiction to laudanum. It's safe to say that most drug addicts are not sympathetic characters in fiction, but "the Opium Eater" is. This is due in large part to the character of Emily, his daughter. Emily is a person worthy of trust and affection. She sees her father for whom he is, and she loves him deeply. Her clear-eyed love allows us to care for him, too.

The police officers also shine. By the time of Ruler of the Night, Inspector Flynn has basically taught Sergeant Becker everything he needs to know to become an excellent detective. Their changing attitudes toward Thomas and Emily mirror those of the readers.

In reading books, I've finally made reading the author's notes and acknowledgments a habit. You never know what nuggets of gold you'll find. In the case of David Morrell's Thomas De Quincey trilogy, you'll find fascinating tidbits on the history behind the stories as well as recommendations on other authors and books to read. 

If you are even the slightest bit interested in historical mysteries-- especially those set in Victorian England-- you simply must read these three Thomas De Quincey novels. They are marvelous.

      

Ruler of the Night by David Morrell

ISBN: 9780316307901
Mulholland Books © 2016
Hardcover, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Thomas De Quincey mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.  


 

At The Poisoned Pen with David Morrell!

When Denis and I headed to our favorite bookstore to see David Morrell, I couldn't remember if my husband had been with me for one of the author's previous appearances. Sometimes Denis isn't as enthusiastic about historical mysteries as I am, but something told me that he would warm up to Morrell. (I was right.)

Betty Webb waiting patiently.

You never know who's going to come to The Poisoned Pen's author events. This time, it was another of my favorite authors, Betty Webb, who writes two mystery series, the Gunn Zoo and the Lena Jones books. After she took a front row seat and exchanged pleasantries, we each disappeared into our own thoughts, but from the way Betty was holding her copy of the last book in Morrell's Thomas De Quincey trilogy, I could tell she was probably an even bigger fan than I.

As usual, host Barbara Peters came out a few minutes early to chat with us. One of the things she shared was that her husband Rob Rosenwald was at home making pumpkin bonbons with Dana Stabenow. 

L to R: David Morrell, Barbara Peters

Barbara Peters vacations in Santa Fe regularly, which is where David Morrell lives. On one trip, he handed the manuscript for the first De Quincey novel to her and said, "I've written something different."

Morrell had decided to write a trilogy featuring real-life literary figure Thomas De Quincey, who was known in Victorian England as the "Opium Eater" for his prodigious addiction to the drug. De Quincey was a follower of Immanuel Kant, a philosopher who thought about such things as whether reality was outside us or did it come from ideas inside our heads. De Quincey was also "speaking Freud" seventy years before Freud was thinking those revolutionary thoughts. Why? Because De Quincey was trying to explain the nightmares and dreams he was experiencing.

De Quincey wrote "On Murder Considered As One of the Fine Arts" in 1854, and Morrell wondered what might happen if someone used this as a blueprint for a murder spree. He could just picture this drug addict (who was under five feet tall) going to Scotland Yard to tell them that they could solve these murders by using Kant's teachings. Those men were going to think De Quincey was insane!

David Morrell

In the Victorian Era, opium was a respectable painkiller. (Remember, aspirin wasn't available until the 1920s.) As Morrell said, "Opium was respectable, yet it was marked 'POISON.' It was poison, yet the bottles gave the dosage for a ten-month-old baby.

"It's my belief that opium was the making of Thomas De Quincey as a writer, and that is not a popular view," said the former college professor. "My research into that time was so intensive I often felt myself to be in 1850s London. When I was in graduate school, De Quincey was not taught because he was a drug addict, but now with researchers and books like A Guilty Thing, I'm hoping to get him back in the curriculum because he is a brilliant writer."  

Morrell was clearly fascinated with Thomas De Quincey, as I had been when I was in college and read Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. "De Quincey lived for six months as a beggar when he was seventeen," Morrell said. "He walked fifteen miles a day and lived to the age of seventy-four when that was not common." Definitely not a garden variety drug addict.

The author wanted each book in this trilogy to center on a crime that changed how the public viewed the world. Murder As a Fine Art centered on the unsolved Radcliffe Highway murders-- the first publicized case of two families being brutally murdered. Inspector of the Dead had at its heart the numerous assassination attempts on the life of Queen Victoria, and Ruler of the Night used the first murder on an English train.

Available Now!

Morrell spoke of a professor who told him that, although he doesn't like to read fiction, he's made an exception for this trilogy. He loves these three books because there is so much fact with the fiction. (And it certainly doesn't overload the narrative.) In doing his research, Morrell combined reading the novels of people like Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope with factual historical and societal background. Just reading the novels wouldn't do because Dickens and Trollope already knew (for example) that a woman's clothing weighed thirty-eight pounds and wouldn't think to include facts like that in their narratives-- facts that today's reader would need.

David then proceeded to tell us about those first trains in England and the first murder that occurred on one, ending with "Now how could I resist?" Since no one moved, no one sniffed, no one coughed while he was telling us this, I think everyone in the audience was trying to figure out how long it would be down to the second before they could get their hands on Ruler of the Night and start reading.

There is even a progression in the writing styles of each novel. Murder As a Fine Art imitates the Victorian novel. Inspector of the Dead is only half Victorian, and Ruler of the Night is written as a modern novel. As each book gets progressively faster to read, they mimic the Victorian Era picking up speed as the years pass.

David Morrell

"I've been called a 'Method-acting author,' Morrell said, "because of my immersion reading to get in the proper mindset. You've all heard 'Write what you know.' Well, sooner or later you're going to run out of things to write about. Twist that around. Know what you write. When I finish writing a book, I should feel fuller... I should feel bigger... because of what I learned while writing it.

"We wouldn't know anything about the private lives of writers like Wordsworth and Coleridge if not for Thomas De Quincey, who stalked them. De Quincey moved into Dove Cottage after Wordsworth left." 

Morrell had us in the palm of his hand. What a speaker!

"De Quincey invented the self-reflective memoir," he continued. "For seven years I read nothing but Thomas De Quincey's writings, books on 1850s London and the Victorian Era, and Victorian literature. I think I have a self-earned doctorate, and I could get around 1850s London with very little problem!"

As part of his habit of immersion to get into the proper mindset to write a previous novel, Morrell took a knife fighting class in which he broke his collar bone. Using some sort of improvised sling, the author managed to survive the final two hours of the class so he could earn his certificate-- but then he had to make his way on an airplane with his suitcase.... "And you thought Rambo was fiction!" Barbara Peters quipped.

What is he working on now? "Victorian withdrawal," Morrell laughed. "I have not written since June except for something for the fiftieth-anniversary reissue of Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby. The election results of this month have made me really think about what sort of book do I want to write for this new world."

David Morrell

Morrell always has a non-fiction subject for each of his novels, and he's really thinking about what he wants to do next.

In conversing with one of his fans, Morrell told us that he received more hate mail for his novel Covenant of the Flame than any other book. Not because of the female main character, but because it was an environmental thriller. "I think the term 'tree-hugging commie' was the polite language used to describe me." He was also asked, "What'd you put a woman on the cover of your book for?" The novel was definitely a setback for his career. Perverse creature that I am, this made me want to read the book....

"This trilogy works primarily because of a woman,' Morrell said. "Thomas De Quincey's daughter, Emily. Can I get readers to love De Quincey because Emily loves him? That's the trick. That's the key.

"My reason for writing these three books was to escape my grief. In 2009 my fourteen-year-old granddaughter died. In 1987 my fifteen-year-old son had died of the same rare bone cancer which is not inherited, and only two hundred people die of it each year. I just wanted to get out of Dodge so bad. At one point, Barbara here asked me, 'Have you ever thought that Emily is your granddaughter?

"Our experiences sometimes dictate what we write-- the autobiography of our souls."

"And at this point, we should give a shout-out to David's wife, Donna. She's incredible," Barbara said.

"She is, and she's helped me name characters in my books," Morrell said. "She came home from shopping one day and told me that she'd found a really good apple. I was busy and not really paying attention, but she insisted that I try this apple she'd found. I took a bite. 'This really is good. What's it called?' 'It's a Rambo apple,' Donna said."

I literally could've sat and listened to this man well into the wee hours of the morning, and there's no way I could take down everything that was said. If you'd like to know more about this man's life, I encourage you to read the interview I found in Mystery Scene magazine. This event can also be found on The Poisoned Pen's Livestream account, and I urge you to watch every second of it!

David Morrell at The Poisoned Pen.

The Architecture of Snow by David Morrell

First Line: On the first Monday in October, Samuel Carver, who was 72 and suddenly unemployed, stepped in front of a fast-moving bus.

Normally I don't review single short stories, but I had to make an exception for David Morrell's "The Architecture of Snow." In this gem, Morrell uses J.D. Salinger's withdrawal from the world of writing and humans to give a loving farewell to the golden days of publishing. The way publishing is being run now, we are all the poorer for it.

Samuel Carver is a legendary Maxwell Perkins-type figure in this story, renowned for being the editor of the fabled R. J. Wentworth, an author who stopped writing and has been a hermit somewhere in Vermont for several years. But when Carver dies, Tom Neal is given the task of cleaning out Carver's office and therein he discovers a recently delivered manuscript. Neal reads it and is enchanted. He's also convinced that it was written by Wentworth.

When he informs his superiors, millions of dollar signs start flashing before their eyes, and they immediately send Neal to Vermont to take care of all the legalities they need from Wentworth. What follows is a beautifully written and bittersweet tale of the love of books and words and humanity itself. It's one of the best short stories I've ever read.
   

"The Architecture of Snow" by David Morrell

ASIN: B007D07SNC

Morrell Enterprises © 2013

Digital short story, 47 pages

Short Story, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.    

 

November 2016 New Mystery Releases!

Sometimes it seems to be feast or famine around here when it comes to the topic of books. Last month, I had advance reading copies of over half of my picks. This month, I only have one. I'm only mentioning this because of the high turnaround from one month to the next; it's definitely not a complaint! Which reminds me of the way some book bloggers behave when they're around those advance reading copies, but that has nothing to do with any of you and most certainly not anything to do with the subject of this post.

The following books are my picks of the new crime fiction being released during the month of November. I have them grouped by release date, and I've included all the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite book spots. Book synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Happy Reading!

=== November 1 ===

Title: Better Late Than Never

Author: Jenn McKinlay

Series: #7 in the Library Lovers cozy series set in Connecticut

ISBN: 9780399583735

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Hardcover, 304 pages

Synopsis: "When the Briar Creek Public Library holds its first overdue book amnesty day—no fines for late returns—the volume of incoming materials is more than Lindsey and her staff can handle. In a bind, Lindsey drafts the crafternoon ladies to help check in and sort the stacks of books.

But one tardy tome catches her attention—a copy of J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, twenty years past due. When Lindsey looks up the borrower, she’s shocked to discover it was a murdered teacher named Candice Whitley, whose killer was never found.

Candice checked out the novel on the day she was murdered. Now Lindsey wonders if it could provide a clue to the decades-old cold case. No one noticed who brought the book back in, but could it be Candice’s killer? Lindsey is determined to catch the culprit one way or another because justice for Candice Whitley is long overdue..." 

Title: Deck the Hallways

Author: Kate Carlisle

Series: #4 in the Fixer-Upper cozy series set in northern California.

ISBN: 9780451488220

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Even at Christmastime, Shannon is more spackle than sparkle, which is why she leaps at the chance to transform a grand old Victorian mansion into ten charming apartments for homeless families. Filled with the spirit of the season, all of Lighthouse Cove turns out to help—including her best friends, a troupe of far-from-angelic Santa Claus impersonators, and her father, Jack.

But their merriment is soon dashed by a heated scuffle between Jack and the miserly president of the bank who’s backing the project. When the man is murdered, all eyes are on Jack, and visions of prison time dance in Shannon's head. Now, she needs to pull off a crime-solving miracle, before her father’s Christmas goose is cooked…" 

Title: The Champagne Conspiracy

Author: Ellen Crosby

Series: #7 in the Wine Country series set in Virginia.

ISBN: 9781250076557 

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 368 pages

Synopsis: "Winter has come to the Montgomery Estate Vineyard in Atoka, Virginia. Lucie Montgomery and winemaker Quinn Santori have decided to make champagne, a first for the vineyard.

But then Gino Tomassi, Quinn’s uncle, turns up on their doorstep one afternoon, demanding help in solving the mystery of what happened to Zara Tomassi, the first wife of his grandfather, who died in a San Francisco hotel in 1923 under suspicious circumstances. And it seems there’s no coincidence that her death came the day after President Warren Harding passed away in that same hotel. Gino needs answers before his blackmailer takes him for all he’s worth―or exposes an explosive family secret.

Lucie searches for what happened almost a hundred years ago as she delves into Prohibition-era Washington, D.C.―a town of bootlegging and duplicity, jazz clubs and speakeasies. But then the investigation turns deadly, threatening Lucie, her relationship with Quinn, and the vineyard, as they realize someone is still out there nearly a century later who will go to any lengths to keep the truth about Zara’s death a buried secret."  

Title: The Wrong Side of Goodbye

Author: Michael Connelly

Series: #21 in the Harry Bosch police procedural/private investigator series set in Los Angeles

ISBN: 9780316225946 

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Hardcover, 400 pages

Synopsis: "Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from thirty years with the LAPD speak for themselves.

Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire is nearing the end of his life and is haunted by one regret. When he was young, he had a relationship with a Mexican girl, his great love. But soon after becoming pregnant, she disappeared. Did she have the baby? And if so, what happened to it?

Desperate to know whether he has an heir, the dying magnate hires Bosch, the only person he can trust. With such a vast fortune at stake, Harry realizes that his mission could be risky not only for himself but for the one he's seeking. But as he begins to uncover the haunting story--and finds uncanny links to his own past--he knows he cannot rest until he finds the truth.

At the same time, unable to leave cop work behind completely, he volunteers as an investigator for a tiny cash-strapped police department and finds himself tracking a serial rapist who is one of the most baffling and dangerous foes he has ever faced."  

Title: We Wish You a Murderous Christmas

Author: Vicki Delany

Series: #2 in the Year-Round Christmas cozy series set in New York state

ISBN: 9780425280812 

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "It’s Christmastime three hundred sixty-five days a year in Rudolph, New York, and as Christmas Day approaches, shop owner Merry Wilkinson is enjoying a rare evening off at the Yuletide Inn when she runs into owners Grace and Jack Olsen. With Jack's health failing, Merry is relieved to hear that his son Gord will be taking over the day-to-day running of the Inn. 

But then Gord reveals that his new plans have no room for Christmas at the Inn, and Merry and the other shopkeepers start to fret about the effect a bland franchise hotel could have on their livelihoods. 

When Gord is found stabbed to death, there’s an entire town of potential suspects—and it’s up to Merry to find whoever brought homicide home for the holidays..." 

Title: Inherit the Bones

Author: Emily Littlejohn

Series: #1 in the Cedar Valley police procedural series set in Colorado.

ISBN: 9781250089397

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 336 pages

Synopsis: "Secrets and lies can’t stay buried forever in Cedar Valley.

In the summer, hikers and campers pack the small Colorado town’s meadows and fields. And in the winter, skiers and snowboarders take over the mountains. Season by season, year after year, time passes and the lies, like the aspens and evergreens that surround the town, take root and spread deep.

Now, someone has uncovered the lies, and it is his murder that continues a chain of events that began almost forty years ago. Detective Gemma Monroe’s investigation takes her from the seedy grounds of a traveling circus to the powerful homes of those who would control Cedar Valley’s future.

Six-months pregnant, with a partner she can’t trust and colleagues who know more than they’re saying, Gemma tracks a killer who will stop at nothing to keep those secrets buried."  

=== November 3 ===

Title: Rather Be the Devil
Author: Ian Rankin
Series: #22 in the John Rebus series set in Edinburgh, Scotland.
ISBN: 9781409159407
Publisher: Orion
Hardcover, 320 pages

*UK Release

Synopsis: "For John Rebus, forty years may have passed, but the death of beautiful, promiscuous Maria Turquand still preys on his mind. Murdered in her hotel room on the night a famous rock star and his entourage were staying there, Maria's killer has never been found.

Meanwhile, the dark heart of Edinburgh remains up for grabs. A young pretender, Darryl Christie, may have staked his claim, but a vicious attack leaves him weakened and vulnerable, and an inquiry into a major money laundering scheme threatens his position. Has old-time crime boss Big Ger Cafferty really given up the ghost, or is he biding his time until Edinburgh is once more ripe for the picking?" 

Title: A High Mortality of Doves
Author: Kate Ellis
Standalone historical mystery set in post-World War I England
ISBN: 9780349413082
Publisher: Piatkus
Hardcover, 368 pages

*UK Release

Synopsis: "1919. The Derbyshire village of Wenfield is still reeling from four terrible years of war, and now, just when the village is coming to terms with the loss of so many of its sons, the brutal murder of a young girl shatters its hard-won tranquillity.

Myrtle Bligh is found stabbed and left in woodland, her mouth slit to accommodate a dead dove, a bird of peace.

During the war Myrtle worked as a volunteer nurse with Flora Winsmore, the local doctor's daughter, caring for badly wounded soldiers at the nearby big house, Tarnhey Court.

When two more women are found murdered in identical circumstances, Inspector Albert Lincoln is sent up from London, a man not only wounded in war but damaged in peace by the death of his young son and his cold, loveless marriage. Once in Wenfield, Albert begins to investigate the three recent murders and the Cartwright family of Tarnhey Court and their staff fall under suspicion as their hidden lives and secrets are uncovered.

With rumours of a ghostly soldier with a painted face being spotted near the scene of the murders, the village is thrown into a state of panic - and with the killer still on the loose, who will be the next to die at the hands of this vicious angel of death?" 

=== November 8 ===

Title: Rhythm and Clues

Author: Sue Ann Jaffarian

Series: #11 in the Odelia Grey cozy series set in southern California

ISBN: 9780738718859

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Paperback, 312 pages

Synopsis: "Amateur sleuth Odelia Grey tries to get a band back together―and get her mother off the hook―in book eleven of the award-winning series.

It’s a rockin’ flashback for Odelia Grey when her mother asks her to look into the disappearance of her neighbor Bo Shank, the former lead singer for a band Odelia idolized in her youth. But when a body is found in Bo Shank’s house, everything quickly gets thrown out of tune." 

=== November 15 ===

Title: A Voice in the Night

Author: Andrea Camilleri

Series: #20  in the Inspector Salvo Montalbano police procedural series set in Sicily.

ISBN: 9780143126447

Publisher: Penguin Books

Paperback, 288 pages

Synopsis: "Montalbano investigates a robbery at a supermarket, a standard case that takes a spin when manager Guido Borsellino is later found hanging in his office. Was it a suicide? The inspector and the coroner have their doubts, and further investigation leads to the director of a powerful local company.

Meanwhile, a girl is found brutally murdered in Giovanni Strangio’s apartment—Giovanni has a flawless alibi, and it’s no coincidence that Michele Strangio, president of the province, is his father. Weaving together these two crimes, Montalbano realizes that he’s in a difficult spot where political power is enmeshed with the mafia underworld." 

Title: Into the Lion's Den

Author: Linda Fairstein

Series: #1 in the middle-grade Devlin Quick series set in New York City

ISBN: 9780399186431

Publisher: Dial Books

Hardcover, 320 pages

Synopsis: "Someone has stolen a page from a rare book in the New York Public Library. At least, that’s what Devlin’s friend Liza thinks she’s seen, but she can’t be sure. Any other kid might not see a crime here, but Devlin Quick is courageous and confident, and she knows she has to bring this man to justice—even if it means breathlessly racing around the city to collect evidence. But who is this thief? And what could the page—an old map—possibly lead to? With her wits, persistence, and the help of New York City’s finest (and, okay, a little bit of help from her police commissioner mother, too), Dev and her friends piece the clues together to uncover a mystery that’s bigger than anyone expected—and more fun, too.

With all of the heart-pounding excitement that made her internationally bestselling Alexandra Cooper series a hit, Linda Fairstein paves the way for another unstoppable heroine . . . even if she is only twelve." 

Title: Ruler of the Night

Author: David Morrell

Series: #3 in the Thomas De Quincey historical trilogy set in Victorian London

ISBN: 9780316307901  

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Hardcover, 352 pages

Synopsis: "1855. The railway has irrevocably altered English society, effectively changing geography and fueling the industrial revolution by shortening distances between cities: a whole day's journey can now be covered in a matter of hours. People marvel at their new freedom.

But train travel brings new dangers as well, with England's first death by train recorded on the very first day of railway operations in 1830. Twenty-five years later, England's first train murder occurs, paralyzing London with the unthinkable when a gentleman is stabbed to death in a safely locked first-class passenger compartment.

In the next compartment, the brilliant opium-eater Thomas De Quincey and his quick-witted daughter, Emily, discover the homicide in a most gruesome manner. Key witnesses and also resourceful sleuths, they join forces with their allies in Scotland Yard, Detective Ryan and his partner-in-training, Becker, to pursue the killer back into the fogbound streets of London, where other baffling murders occur. Ultimately, De Quincey must confront two ruthless adversaries: this terrifying enemy, and his own opium addiction which endangers his life and his tormented soul.

Ruler of the Night is a riveting blend of fact and fiction which, like master storyteller David Morrell's previous De Quincey novels, 'evokes Victorian London with such finesse that you'll hear the hooves clattering on cobblestones, the racket of dustmen, and the shrill calls of vendors' (Entertainment Weekly)." 

=== November 29 ===

Title: Lone Wolf

Author: Sara Driscoll

Series: #1 in the FBI K-9 police procedural series set in various locations in the U.S. 

ISBN: 9781496704412

Publisher: Kensington Books

Hardcover, 304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Meg and Hawk are part of the FBI’s elite K-9 unit. Hawk can sniff out bodies anywhere—living or dead—whether it’s tracking a criminal or finding a missing person. When a bomb rips apart a government building on the National Mall in Washington D.C., it takes all of the team’s extensive search-and-rescue training to locate and save the workers and visitors buried beneath the rubble.

But even as the duo are hailed as heroes, a mad bomber remains at large, striking terror across the Eastern seaboard in a ruthless pursuit of retribution. As more bombs are detonated and the body count escalates, Meg and Hawk are brought in to a task force dedicated to stopping the unseen killer. But when the attacks spiral wide and any number of locations could be the next target, it will come down to a battle of wits and survival skills between Meg, Hawk, and the bomber they’re tracking to rescue a nation from the brink of chaos." 

There are certainly some good ones becoming available in November! I have to admit that I'm most looking forward to David Morrell's Ruler of the Night-- I've been enjoying his Thomas De Quincey mysteries so much! 

And as far as book covers go, I think the cover for Camilleri's A Voice in the Night is heartbreaking.

What do you think of my lineup? Did any of my picks find their way to your own wish list? Which ones? Inquiring minds would love to know!