Collected Miscellany

Frame Up by John F. Dobbyn

Description

The Devil’s Star Jo Nesbo

Publishers Weekly

A serial killer taunts Harry Hole in Nesbø’s searing third crime novel to feature the Oslo police detective to be made available in the U.S. (after Nemesis). Still suffering from alcohol-fueled demons and obsessed with hunting for evidence against a clearly dirty cop, Hole grudgingly agrees to help look into the murder of a woman whose finger has been amputated and a red diamond stuck under her eyelid. More bodies follow, with the murderer leaving identical five-pointed diamonds (the titular devil’s star) at each crime scene. At first the killings appear to be random, but Hole soon discovers an ominous pattern. Nesbø brilliantly incorporates threads from earlier novels, including Hole’s often tumultuous relationship with his lover, Rakel, without ever losing the current story’s rhythm. Even with—or perhaps because of—his flaws, Hole is arguably one of today’s most fascinating fictional detectives.

The Spellmans Strike Again Lisa Lutz

Publishers Weekly

In Edgar-finalist Lutz’s entertaining fourth and final novel about the eccentric Spellman PI clan (after Revenge of the Spellmans), Isabel “Izzy” Spellman juggles the usual family drama—her mother tries to sabotage Izzy’s relationship with her Irish bartender boyfriend and younger sister Rae throws herself into freeing a wrongly convicted man—while helping to drum up business in a dreary economy. While Rae works on her “Free Schmidt” campaign, Izzy investigates the whereabouts of a missing valet with a checkered past and sifts through garbage for a screenwriter client. Older brother David, the only Spellman not involved in the family business, grows closer to his defense attorney girlfriend. On the sly, Izzy is also tailing Rick Harkey, a rival San Francisco PI, and discovers that Harkey left behind a trail of suspicious arrests and conveniently misplaced evidence in his career as a cop. Narrator Izzy’s biting wit—mixed with a refreshing dose of humility and sadness—easily carries the story.

Lighting Out for the Territory: How Samuel Clemens Headed West and Became Mark Twain by Roy Morris, Jr.

Library Journal

Samuel Clemens went west in 1861, and Mark Twain returned east six years later with the growing reputation of being a writer who rarely let the facts get in the way of a good story. Using letters, diaries, and reminiscences, Morris, author, journalist, and editor, pieces together the facts to show how an unemployed riverboat pilot became a self-made writer. Morris comments that separating fact from fiction in Twain’s case is more or less a full-time occupation. Morris is the editor of Military Heritage magazine and has served as a consultant for A&E Network and the History Channel. By relying on primary sources, he tracks Clemens’s personal, professional, and artistic transformation. Details include the development of Twain’s style including use of the vernacular, a love of the ridiculous, and a stinging wit to transform true-life situations into some of the most memorable stories of frontier life. Fans of Twain’s writing and academics will enjoy this well-researched biography. VERDICT A noteworthy addition for American literature and biography collections.

One Hundred Great French Books: From the Middle Ages to the Present

Synopsis

Proving that French literature has been a consistent and powerful source of cultural influence on an international level, this provocative and concise collection of 100 timeless French masterworks spans 10 centuries. Featuring a broad spectrum of literary genres, styles, and formats—with the entertaining inclusion of comic books, detective novels, and science fiction—this illuminating introduction provides cultural and social context to emphasize the importance of each work in literary history. Detailing each author’s background, historical significance, and a focused summary of content, this fresh and lucid compilation offers a rich panorama of one of the most fascinating and influential literatures in the world and will inspire aficionados of great writing to seek out the complete featured masterpieces for themselves.

The Truth About the Shroud of Turin: Solving the Mystery by Robert K. Wilcox

From the Inside Flap

Is the shroud of Turin—an ancient linen bearing the mysterious image of a man, purported to be Jesus of Nazareth—the ingenious work of an artist, or the true shroud of Christ? For centuries, this question has perplexed and enticed the most brilliant minds. Now, in The Truth about the Shroud of Turin: Solving the Mystery, journalist Robert K. Wilcox investigates every aspect of the shroud’s history, from the ancient Egyptian weave of the cloth to the possible role of radiation in forming the image on its surface. Drawing on evidence collected over thirty years of travel, interviews with experts, and painstaking research, Wilcox presents the full story of the shroud in astonishing detail. The shroud of Turin—a clever hoax or the authentic burial cloth of Jesus Christ? Read this reporter’s journey and discover the truth.

The Overnight Socialite by Bridie Clark

Publishers Weekly

Clark (Because She Can) moves the Pygmalion myth to Manhattan, adds a dash of Thelma and Louise and proves what goes around, comes around to those born to the manor or trailer park. Professor Higgins is recast as suave bachelor Wyatt Hayes IV, “the sleekest lion in the pride,” who picks down-on-her-luck fashion designer wannabe Lucy Jo Ellis to make over into the toast of the town. The deal is eventually struck—makeover and a shot at well-born fashion contacts for a gentleman’s bet that masks a lucrative and career-saving book deal. Along the way, these perfectly matched antagonists battle mean-as-a-snake society snoots and their own misguided ambitions to find happiness and each other. (And, it should be said, the “Rain in Spain” remix is pretty great: “The snow in Gstaad puts Aspen’s to shame!” the newly svelte and prepped Lucy proclaims.) Yes, of course the ending’s no surprise, but the rollicking, smart-aleck fun along the way is worth the price of admission.