Year: 2024

Very Quick Review: THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS by Janice Hallett (Atria/Viper)

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HallettJ-MysteriousCaseOfTheAlpertonAngelsUSHCJanice Hallett returns with another excellent epistolary mystery

A true crime journalist who revives a long-buried case about a cult — and finds herself too close to the story.

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared.

Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it

I was a bit late to reading Janice Hallett’s mysteries. For some reason, The Appeal passed me by entirely, but I managed to read The Twyford Code shortly after it was published, which I very much enjoyed. I’ve always had a fondness for epistolary novels, and Hallett has a real gift for gradually building a mystery through distinctive and engaging voices. I very much enjoyed The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels. Continue reading →

Quick Review: TOXIC PREY by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

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Sandford-P34-ToxicPreyUSHCLucas and Letty Davenport face a potentially horrifying terrorist attack of unprecedented scale

Lucas Davenport and his daughter, Letty, team up to track down a dangerous scientist whose latest project could endanger the entire world…

Gaia is dying.

That, at least, is what Dr. Lionel Scott believes. A renowned expert in tropical and infectious diseases, Scott has witnessed the devastating impact of illness and turmoil at critical scale. Society as it exists is untenable, and the direct link to Earth’s death spiral; population levels are out of control and people have allowed disarray and disorder to run rampant. While most are concerned about deadly disease, Scott knows that it is truly humanity itself that will destroy Gaia. It’s only by removing the threat then the planet can continue to prosper, and luckily, Scott is just the right man for the job…

When Scott then disappears without a trace, Letty Davenport is tasked with tracking down any and all leads. Scott’s connections to sensitive research into virus and pathogen spread has multiple national and international organizations on high alert, and his shockingly high clearance levels at various institutions, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, make him the last person they’d like to go missing. As the web around Scott becomes more tangled, Letty calls in her father, Lucas, help her lead a group of specialists to find Scott as soon as possible. But as Letty and Lucas begin to uncover startling and disturbing connections between Scott and Gaia conspiracists, their worst fears are confirmed, and it quickly becomes a race to find him before the virus he created becomes the perfect weapon.

In this, the 34th novel in John Sandford’s Prey series, Lucas teams up with his daughter, Letty, to hunt down a scientist who plans to launch a globally-devastating terrorist attack. Exhibiting all of the hallmarks of what has made Sandford’s novel so popular, this is an engaging, gripping read. Continue reading →

Upcoming: WHAT WE’LL BURN LAST by Heather Chavez (Mulholland)

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ChavezH-WhatWellBurnLastUSHCI very much enjoyed Heather Chavez‘s 2023 novel, Before She Finds Me — it was a fast-paced thriller, with well-drawn and engaging characters. This summer, Mulholland Books are due to publish the author’s next novel, What We’ll Burn Last. When I spotted it in a catalogue, it went right onto my (metaphorical) Must Read/Most Anticipated list for the year. Here’s the synopsis:

Two entangled families in a California neighborhood must race to find answers about a missing teenage girl as a wildfire crackles to life nearby…

Three women.

When she was twelve, Leyna Clarke watched her older sister, Grace, walk away from their Sierra Nevada foothills home with her boyfriend, Adam Duran. Neither was ever seen again. Sixteen years later, a stranger who looks like Grace shows up at the restaurant where Leyna works — and vanishes soon after. When it comes out that Leyna was one of the last people to have talked with the young woman, Leyna’s childhood crush Dominic, who is also Adam’s brother, pleads with her to do the last thing she wants to do: come home.

Three secrets.

But Leyna isn’t the only one who hasn’t been able to leave that fateful night behind. Her mother, Meredith, still lives in the family’s old home — even if she claims to believe the police’s theory that Grace and Adam were willing runaways. Down the street, Adam and Dominic’s mother Olivia has also stayed, determined to be there when her son finally returns… and to prove that Meredith and Leyna have been hiding something all these years. But the past isn’t the only threat to the two families, or the missing girl. As a wildfire sparks, tempers flare and intentions turn deadly. Because someone in the neighborhood knows what really happened that night — and just how good the forest is at keeping its secrets.

Who will you trust?

Heather Chavez’s What We’ll Burn Last is due to be published by Mulholland Books in North America and in the UK, on July 23rd.

Also on CR: Review of Before She Finds Me

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram

Upcoming: GLASS HOUSES by Madeline Ashby (Tor)

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AshbyM-GlassHousesUSHCThe next novel from Madeline Ashby is Glass Houses. Pitched as a “near future whodunit for fans of Glass Onion and Black Mirror“, it certainly sounds intriguing. Due to be published in August, by Tor Books, I imagine there are a lot of people who will be interested in reading this. Here’s what it’s about:

Join a stranded start-up team led by a terrifyingly realistic charismatic billionaire, a deserted tropical island, and a mysterious AI-driven mansion — as the remaining members disappear one by one.

A group of employees and their CEO, celebrating the sale of their remarkable emotion-mapping-AI-algorithm, crash onto a not-quite-deserted tropical island.

Luckily, those who survived have found a beautiful, fully-stocked private palace, with all the latest technological updates (though one without connection to the outside world). The house, however, has more secrets than anyone might have guessed, and a much darker reason for having been built and left behind.

Kristen, the hyper-competent “chief emotional manager” (i.e., the eccentric boyish billionaire-CEO Sumter’s idea of an HR department) is trying to keep her colleagues stable throughout this new challenge, but staying sane seems to be as much of a challenge as staying alive. Being a woman in technology has always meant having to be smarter than anyone expects… and Kristen’s survival skills are more impressive than anyone knows.

Madeline Ashby’s Glass Houses is due to be published by Tor Books in North America and in the UK, on August 13th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

New Books (January)

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I often forget that the new year often brings a flurry of review copies and high-profile new books. So, this post comes a little quicker than I thought it might. Anything here catch your attention?

Featuring: Dan Abnett, Kyle Chayka, Jared Cohen, Emily Dunlay, Sierra Greer, Kristopher Jansma, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Maurice Isserman, Dervla McTiernan, Alex Michaelides, Jane Smiley, Sheila Sundar

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Upcoming: THERE WAS NOTHING YOU COULD DO by Steven Hyden (Hachette)

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HydenS-ThereWasNothingYouCouldDoUSHCIn his follow-up to Long Road, which examined how Pearl Jam “shaped the times, and how their legacy and longevity have transcended generations”, Steven Hyden turns his attention to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA. This album was the first album that I ever loved, so this book was immediately added to my Must Read Non-Fiction of the Year. (It’s not an actual list, but you know what I mean.) There Was Nothing You Could Do is scheduled to come out in May, via Hachette Books. Here’s the synopsis:

A thought-provoking exploration of Bruce Springsteen’s iconic album, Born in the U.S.A. — a record that both chronicled and foreshadowed the changing tides of modern America

On June 4, 1984, Columbia Records issued what would become one of the best-selling and most impactful rock albums of all time. An instant classic, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. would prove itself to be a landmark not only for the man who made it, but rock music in general and even the larger American culture over the next 40 years.

In There Was Nothing You Could Do, veteran rock critic Steven Hyden shows exactly how this record became such a pivotal part of the American tapestry. Alternating between insightful criticism, meticulous journalism, and personal anecdotes, Hyden delves into the songs that made — and didn’t make — the final cut, including the tracks that wound up on its sister album, 1982’s Nebraska. He also investigates the myriad reasons why Springsteen ran from and then embraced the success of his most popular (and most misunderstood) LP, as he carefully toed the line between balancing his commercial ambitions and being co-opted by the machine.

But the book doesn’t stop there. Beyond Springsteen’s own career, Hyden explores the role the album played in a greater historical context, documenting not just where the country was in the tumultuous aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, but offering a dream of what it might become — and a perceptive forecast of what it turned into decades later. As Springsteen himself reluctantly conceded, many of the working-class middle American progressives Springsteen wrote about in 1984 had turned into resentful and scorned Trump voters by the 2010s. And though it wasn’t the future he dreamed of, the cautionary warnings tucked within Springsteen’s heartfelt lyrics prove that the chaotic turmoil of our current moment has been a long time coming.

How did we lose Springsteen’s heartland? And what can listening to this prescient album teach us about the decline of our country? In There Was Nothing You Could Do, Hyden takes readers on a journey to find out.

Steven Hyden’s There Was Nothing You Could Do is due to be published by Hachette Books in North America and in the UK, on May 28th.

Also on CR: Review of Twilight of the Gods

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

Upcoming: THE BANG-BANG SISTERS by Rio Youers (William Morrow)

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YouersR-BangBangSistersUSHCThe next novel from Rio Youers sounds like a lot of fun. The new novel from the acclaimed author of No Second Chances, The Bang-Bang Sisters is described as “an action-packed crime novel featuring three kick-ass heroines—bandmates who moonlight as vigilantes.” Due to be published by William Morrow this summer, I can’t wait to read it. Here’s the synopsis:

Blood. Bullets. Rock and roll.

Meet the Bang-Bang Sisters: Brea, Jessie, and Flo. Together, they’re a kick-ass rock band with an unbreakable bond.

But that’s only half the story. Offstage, they’re highly skilled vigilantes, traveling the country in their beaten-up tour van to exact justice on criminals who have slipped through the system. Part rock stars, part assassins, they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Drawn by a tantalizing lead, the sisters head to Reedsville, Alabama — a city crawling with destitution and corruption — where they close in on a notorious serial killer known as “the wren.” But they soon discover that they have walked straight into a trap set by Chance Kotter, a ruthless mobster with a personal vendetta.

Bruised and beaten, the sisters find themselves at the mercy of Chance and a sadistic game of survival that will pit them against each other: Forty-eight hours. One city. Three sisters. Only one of them can survive.

Full of gripping action and shocking twists that come at a breakneck pace, The Bang-Bang Sisters is a relentless, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that will leave you breathless.

Rio Youers’s The Bang-Bang Sisters is due to be published by William Morrow in North America and in the UK, on July 16th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Threads, Twitter

Upcoming: THE BOOK OF DOORS by Gareth Brown (William Morrow/Bantam)

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BrownG-BookOfDoorsUSHCI stumbled across The Book of Doors on NetGalley. It’s Gareth Brown‘s debut novel, and the synopsis caught my attention (later, so did the UK cover). It’s probably not surprising that “strange things are afoot at a bookstore” is a premise that would grab my attention. Due out in February, here’s the synopsis:

Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers — a lonely yet charming old man — dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading.  

But this is no ordinary book…

It is the Book of Doors. 

Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them.

BrownG-BookOfDoorsUKHCThen she’s approached by a gaunt stranger in a rumpled black suit with a Scottish brogue who calls himself Drummond Fox. He’s a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes. The tome now in Cassie’s possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them.

Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books. With only her roommate Izzy to confide in, she has to decide if she will help the mysterious and haunted Drummond protect the Book of Doors — and the other books in his secret library’s care — from those who will do evil. Because only Drummond knows where the unique library is and only Cassie’s book can get them there. 

But there are those willing to kill to obtain those secrets. And a dark force — in the form of a shadowy, sadistic woman — is at the very top of that list.

Really looking forward to this.

Gareth Brown’s The Book of Doors is due to be published by William Morrow in North America (February 13th) and Bantam/Transworld in the UK (February 15th).

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter

New Books (December-January)

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Featuring: Peter S. Beagle, Charles Beaumont, Elly Conway, Aliette de Bodard, Hana Lee, Colleen McKeegan, Brody Mullins, Tobi Ogundiran, Erika Robuck, Karl Marlantes, Brody Mullins, Luke Mullins, John Sandford, Randall Woods

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Review: NUMBER GO UP by Zeke Faux (Crown Currency/W&N)

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FauxZ-NumberGoUpUSHCAn engaging, entertaining journey through the world of crypto, from boom to bust

In 2021 cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked — but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”?

As he observed this frenzy, investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game of epic proportions? What started as curiosity — with a dash of FOMO — would morph into a two-year, globe-spanning quest to understand the wizards behind the world’s new financial machinery. Faux’s investigation would lead him to a schlubby, frizzy-haired twenty-nine-year-old named Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF for short) and a host of other crypto scammers, utopians, and overnight billionaires.

Faux follows the trail to a luxury resort in the Bahamas, where SBF boldly declares that he will use his crypto fortune to save the world. Faux talks his way onto the yacht of a former child actor turned crypto impresario and gains access to “ApeFest,” an elite party headlined by Snoop Dogg, by purchasing a $20,000 image of a cartoon monkey. In El Salvador, Faux learns what happens when a country wagers its treasury on Bitcoin, and in the Philippines, he stumbles upon a Pokémon knockoff mobile game touted by boosters as a cure for poverty. And in an astonishing development, a spam text leads Faux to Cambodia, where he uncovers a crypto-powered human-trafficking ring.

When the bubble suddenly bursts in 2022, Faux brings readers inside SBF’s penthouse as the fallen crypto king faces his imminent arrest. Fueled by the absurd details and authoritative reporting that earned Zeke Faux the accolade “our great poet of crime” (Money Stuff columnist Matt Levine), Number Go Up is the essential chronicle, by turns harrowing and uproarious, of a $3 trillion financial delusion.

It seems like I’ve been reading a lot about crypto, recently. I remain deeply skeptical of the whole “industry” (but then, I’m not a huge fan of gambling or scams in general). Zeke Faux’s Number Go Up seemed to have been very well-received, so I decided to take one more dip into the subject. I was not disappointed: this is a very well-researched and written book, not to mention entertaining and engaging throughout. I really enjoyed it. Continue reading →