Quick Review: BEFORE SHE FINDS ME by Heather Chavez (Mulholland)

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ChavezH-BeforeSheFindsMeUSHCTwo mothers race to uncover the truth behind a horrific attack, placing them on a potentially deadly collision course…

Julia Bennett has worked hard to create a stable life for her daughter, Cora, in Southern California. So when Cora leaves for college, the worst thing Julia expects on move-in day is an argument with her ex-husband and his new wife. But a sudden attack leaves the campus stunned — and only Julia’s quick actions save Cora’s life. Shaken in the aftermath, and haunted by a dark secret, Julia starts to wonder: What if the attack wasn’t as random as everyone believes?

Newly pregnant Ren Petrovic has an unusual career — she’s a trained assassin, operating under a strict moral code. Ren wasn’t on campus that day, but she knows who was: her husband, Nolan. What she doesn’t know is why Nolan has broken their rules by not telling her about the job in advance. The more Ren looks into the attack, the more she begins to question: Who really hired Nolan? And why did one woman in the crowd respond so differently from all the rest?

Julia and Ren each want answers, but their searches quickly pit them against each other. One woman is a hired killer, but the other is a determined survivor. And both mothers will defend their families to the bitter end.

This is Heather Chavez’s third novel, but the first that I’ve read. Based on Before She Finds Me, though, this will not be my last. An interesting story of two women whose lives become entwined against their wills, I enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Books on Film: THE NIGHT AGENT by Matthew Quirk

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I’ve been a fan of Matthew Quirk‘s thrillers ever since I blitzed through an ARC of his debut, The 500. I read it in a single sitting, staying up well into the wee hours of the morning — at the time, we were living in a bedsit, so I read it all sitting on the floor in our bathroom, so my partner could sleep undisturbed. Anyway, on March 23rd, Netflix are due to release the ten-episode television adaptation of The Night Agent! Somehow, I managed to either miss or forget that it was being adapted, but I am very much looking forward to seeing what they’ve come up with.

Originally published in 2019, here’s the synopsis:

To save America from a catastrophic betrayal, an FBI agent must stop a Russian mole in the White House…

No one is more surprised than FBI Agent Peter Sutherland when he’s tapped to work in the White House Situation Room. When Peter was a boy, his father was suspected of selling secrets to the Russians — a breach that cost him his career, his reputation, and eventually his life. Now Peter’s job is monitoring an emergency line for a call that has not — and might never — come.

Until tonight.

At 1:05 a.m. the phone rings. A terrified young woman named Rose tells Peter that two people have just been murdered and that the killer might still be in the house with her. One of the victims gave her this phone number with urgent instructions: “Tell them OSPREY was right. It’s happening…” The call thrusts Peter into the heart of a conspiracy years in the making, involving a Russian mole at the highest levels of the U.S. government. Anyone in the White House could be the traitor. Anyone could be corrupted. To save the nation, Peter must take the rules into his own hands, question everything, and trust no one.

The Night Agent is published in North America by William Morrow, and in the UK by Aries/Head of Zeus. Continue reading →

Excerpt: MOTHS by Jane Hennigan (Angry Robot Books)

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HenniganJ-MothsToday, Angry Robot Books has provided CR with an excerpt from the latest novel by Jane Hennigan, Moths. Described as “A divergent future with a thought-provoking feminist slant”, here’s the synopsis:

Where were you at the beginning?
Or at the end?
And where are we all now?

Forty years ago, the world changed. Toxic threads left behind by mutated moths infected men and boys around the globe. Some were killed quietly in their sleep, others became crazed killers, wildly dangerous and beyond help. All seemed hopeless.

But humanity adapted, healed and moved on. Now matriarchs rule, and men are kept in specially treated dust-free facilities for their safety and the good of society, never able to return to the outside.

Mary has settled into this new world and takes care of the male residents at her facility. But she still remembers how things used to be and is constantly haunted by her memories. Of her family, of her joy, of… him.

Now the world is quiet again, but only because secrets are kept safe in whispers. And the biggest secret of all? No one wants to live inside a cage…

Exploring male violence against women, homo-normativity, and gynocracy, Moths is a powerful assessment of life through the lens of a main character in her 70s. A remastered and revitalised version of the previously self-published, smash-hit dystopian thriller by the same name, Moths shows us a new, post-pandemic world.

This excerpt is taken from the beginning of the book.

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Excerpt: BITTER MEDICINE by Mia Tsai (Tachyon Publications)

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TsaiM-BitterMedicineNext month, Tachyon Publications are due to publish Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai. This debut novel is a “xianxia-inspired contemporary fantasy”, in which “a Chinese immortal and a French elf navigate romance, family loyalty, and workplace demands.” Here’s the synopsis:

As a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, ignored middle child Elle was destined to be a doctor. Instead, she is underemployed as a mediocre magical calligrapher at the fairy temp agency, paranoid that her murderous younger brother will find her and their elder brother.

Using her full abilities will expose Elle’s location. Nevertheless, she challenges herself by covertly outfitting Luc, her client and crush, with high-powered glyphs.

Half-elf Luc, the agency’s top security expert, has his own secret: he’s responsible for a curse laid on two children from an old assignment. To heal them, he’ll need to perform his job duties with unrelenting excellence and earn time off from his tyrannical boss.

When Elle saves Luc’s life on a mission, he brings her a gift and a request for stronger magic to ensure success on the next job — except the next job is hunting down Elle’s younger brother.

As Luc and Elle collaborate, their chemistry blooms. Happiness, for once, is an option for them both. But Elle is loyal to her family, and Luc is bound by his true name. To win freedom from duty, they must make unexpected sacrifices.

On with the excerpt…

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New Books (February-March 2023)

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A bigger selection than in more-recent New Books posts — just an unusually good few weeks for new books and ARCs.

Featuring: Dan Abnett, Lauren Beukes, Lowell Cauffiel, David Guymer, Rupert Holmes, Scott C. Johnson, Nick Kyme, Mike Lawson, Rebecca Makkai, Dwyer Murphy, Elissa R. Sloan, A. R. Torre, Calder Walton, Brent Weeks, Iris Yamashita

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Excerpt: PIÑATA by Leopoldo Gout (Tor Nightfire)

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GoutL-PinataHCTo celebrate its fast-approaching release, we have quite a substantial excerpt from Leopoldo Gout‘s gripping new tale of possession: Piñata! Due to be published by Tor Nightfire in North America and in the UK, on March 14th, it has been described as “A Head Full of Ghosts meets Mexican Gothic.” Check out the full synopsis:

They were worshiped by our ancestors.
Now they are forgotten.
Soon, they’ll make us remember.

It was supposed to be the perfect summer.

Carmen Sanchez is back in Mexico, supervising the renovation of an ancient abbey. Her daughters Izel and Luna, too young to be left alone in New York, join her in what Carmen hopes is a chance for them to connect with their roots.

Then, an accident at the worksite unearths a stash of rare, centuries-old artifacts. The disaster costs Carmen her job, cutting the family trip short.

But something malevolent and unexplainable follows them home to New York, stalking the Sanchez family and heralding a coming catastrophe. And it may already be too late to escape what’s been awakened…

Now, on with the excerpt…!

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Quick Review: COLD PEOPLE by Tom Rob Smith (Scribner)

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SmithTR-ColdPeopleUSHCHumanity if forcibly removed to Antarctica, ceding control over the planet to an extraterrestrial force. It does… not go smoothly.

A suspenseful and fast-paced novel about an Antarctic colony of global apocalypse survivors seeking to reinvent civilization under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

The world has fallen. Without warning, a mysterious and omnipotent force has claimed the planet for their own. There are no negotiations, no demands, no reasons given for their actions. All they have is a message: humanity has thirty days to reach the one place on Earth where they will be allowed to exist… Antarctica.

Cold People follows the perilous journeys of a handful of those who endure the frantic exodus to the most extreme environment on the planet. But their goal is not merely to survive the present. Because as they cling to life on the ice, the remnants of their past swept away, they must also confront the urgent challenge: can they change and evolve rapidly enough to ensure humanity’s future? Can they build a new society in the sub-zero cold?

A gripping, fast-moving survival thriller, this is the first novel that I’ve read by Tom Rob Smith. It certainly won’t be my last. I really enjoyed this gripping, icy thriller. Continue reading →

Quick Review: DARK ANGEL by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

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SandfordJ-Letty2-DarkAngelUSHCLetty Davenport returns, investigating a hacker collective

Letty Davenport, the tough-as-nails adopted daughter of Lucas Davenport, takes on an undercover assignment that brings her across the country and into the crosshairs of a dangerous group of hackers.

Letty Davenport’s days working a desk job at are behind her. Her previous actions at a gunfight in Texas — and her incredible skills with firearms — draw the attention of several branches of the US government, and make her a perfect fit for even more dangerous work. The Department of Homeland Security and the NSA have tasked her with infiltrating a hacker group, known only as Ordinary People, that is intent on wreaking havoc. Letty and her reluctant partner from the NSA pose as free-spirited programmers for hire and embark on a cross country road trip to the group’s California headquarters.

While the two work to make inroads with Ordinary People and uncover their plans, they begin to suspect that the hackers are not their only enemy. Someone within their own circle may have betrayed them, and has ulterior motives that place their mission—and their lives — in grave danger.

An excellent second novel starring Letty Davenport. Sandford continues to show his gift for characterization and fast-moving plots in Dark Angel. The novel shows this spin-off series definitely has legs and can stand on its own, as the character continue to develop and navigate the new role and world she’s been thrust into. I enjoyed this a lot. Continue reading →

Excerpt: THE ONLY CHILD by Kayte Nunn (Orion)

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NunnK-OnlyChildUKPBToday we have a short excerpt taken from Kayte Nunn‘s latest thriller, The Only Child. Published in paperback today in the UK, here’s the synopsis:

1949 It is the coldest winter Orcades Island has ever known, when a pregnant sixteen-year-old arrives at Fairmile, a home for ‘fallen women’ run by the Catholic Church. She and her baby will disappear before the snow melts.

2013 Frankie Gray has come to the island for the summer, hoping for one last shot at reconnecting with her teenage daughter, Izzy, before starting a job as a deputy sheriff. They are staying with her mother, Diana, at The Fairmile Inn, soon to be a boutique hotel, but when an elderly nun is found dead in suspicious circumstances, and then a tiny skeleton is discovered in the grounds of the house, Frankie is desperate for answers.

Read on from an excerpt taken from the novel’s prologue…

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Excerpt: WORLD RUNNING DOWN by Al Hess (Angry Robot Books)

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HessA-WorldRunningDownToday, as part of an online book tour, we have an excerpt from World Running Down by Al Hess, which has been described as a “cozy sci-fi”. Here’s the synopsis:

A transgender salvager on the outskirts of a dystopian Utah gets the chance to earn the ultimate score and maybe even a dash of romance. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch…

Valentine Weis is a salvager in the future wastelands of Utah. Wrestling with body dysphoria, he dreams of earning enough money to afford citizenship in Salt Lake City — a utopia where the testosterone and surgery he needs to transition is free, the food is plentiful, and folk are much less likely to be shot full of arrows by salt pirates. But earning that kind of money is a pipe dream, until he meets the exceptionally handsome Osric.

Once a powerful AI in Salt Lake City, Osric has been forced into an android body against his will and sent into the wasteland to offer Valentine a job on behalf of his new employer — an escort service seeking to retrieve their stolen androids. The reward is a visa into the city, and a chance at the life Valentine’s always dreamed of. But as they attempt to recover the “merchandise”, they encounter a problem: the android ladies are becoming self-aware, and have no interest in returning to their old lives.

The prize is tempting, but carrying out the job would go against everything Valentine stands for, and would threaten the fragile found family that’s kept him alive so far. He’ll need to decide whether to risk his own dream in order to give the AI a chance to live theirs.

Now, on with the excerpt…

Continue reading →