September - October New Releases

There are some very good new releases that will be published soon, and I am looking forward to reading many of them, and hope that you will be also.

Cozy Mystery:

Scrapbook of the Dead, by Mollie Cox Bryan, is the newest in the Cumberland Creek mystery series, and a Halloween-themed mystery to boot.  This time out, Halloween means spooky scrapbooks for the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop, but what's been happening around town is truly frightening.  First a dead woman is found in the freezer at Pamela's Pie Palace, and the next day a second woman is found murdered by the river.  Reporter Annie Chamovitz learns the victims were sisters and is certain their deaths are linked.  Most bizarre of all, both women were found clutching scrapbook pages.

As their Saturday night crop quickly becomes an opportunity to puzzle out the murders, the ladies begin to wonder if Pamela is hiding more than her secret recipes for delicious pies--or if the crimes are related to the startling discovery that there are gangs in Cumberland Creek.  As All Hallows Eve approaches, the crafty croppers must cut and paste the clues to unmask a deadly killer.

Since the holiday season is fast approaching - the 'carving season' as I like to call it (first we carve pumpkins, then turkey, then ham, and finally roast beef), I am looking forward to getting a jump on the season and reading this one.

It will be available in both paperback and ebook, 304 Pages; Kensington.  September 1, 2015.    http://www.amazon.com/dp/0758293585/

Another new cozy mystery release is Trick or Deceit by Shelley Freydont.  It is a Celebration Bay Mystery, and also Halloween-themed.

This October in Celebration Bay, you can't swing a black cat without hitting a haunted house.  There are three finalists in the contest for the town's official Haunted House, and ten thousand dollars will go to the winner, with the rest of the contributions and proceeds funding a new community center.  Event coordinator Liv Montgomery has invited her friend Jonathan Preston, the debonair CEO of a philanthropic organization, hoping he will award a grant to the center.

But after the Museum of Yankee Horrors wins first place, the transformed Victorian boarding house is vandalized...and among scattered mannequins of Hester Prynne, Lizzie Borden, andthe Headless Horseman, a real dead body is found-one of the contest judges.  Now in addition to playing hose to Jon, Liv has to play detective and coordinate the clues to unmask a self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner.

This one definitely sounds interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading it, having already pre-ordered it from Amazon.

Available in paperback and ebook; 304 Pages; Berkley.  September 1, 2015.  http://www.amazon.com/Trick-Deceit-Celebration-Bay-Mystery/dp/0425281477/

Biography:

John Wayne In His Own Words:  Duke's Personal Letters, Handwritten Notes, and Never-Before-Seen Photos by Ethan Wayne

John Wayne In His Own Words gives readers an intimate look into the life of an American legend.  But the letters, correspondence and chronicles that fills this 215-page book prove the Wild West's leading man was much more than another face on the silver screen.  He was a loving father, a faithful friend and an unparalleled patriot.  Read as Jhon Wayne consoles his kids, jokes with celebrity friends, answers his fans and advises America's presidents in this rare collection of letters straight from the John Wayne Family archives.  In addition to mail to and from Duke himself, John Wayne In His Own Words boasts a forward by Ethan Wayne and exclusive photos from rare family albums.  Filled with emotion, honesty and insight into the man beloved by many, this collection of artifacts doubles as a special time capsule and a must-have tribute.

John Wayne is probably one of the best-known actors of our time, and a complex human being.  Fiercely protective of his family and friends, highly patriotic, yet gentle and understanding, he was and will remain an American icon.  While numerous books have been written regarding the Duke, this one is meant to be extra-special in that the insights are given by his own son.

Available in hardcover, 256 pages; Media Lab Books.  October 20, 2015.  http://www.amazon.com/John-Wayne-His-Words-Never-Before-Seen/dp/1942556195/

Gilliamesque:  A Pre-Posthumous Memoir by Terry Gilliam

The screenwriter, innovative animator, highly acclaimed visionary film director, and only non-British member of Monty Python offers an intimate glimpse into his world in this fascinating memoir illustrated with hand-drawn sketches, notes, and memorabilia from his personal archive.

From his no-frills childhood in the icy wastes of Minnesota, to some of the hottest water Hollywood had to offer, via the cutting edge of 1960s and '70s counter-culture in New York, L.A. and London, Terry Gilliam's life has been as vivid, entertaining and unorthodox as one of his films.

Telling his story for the first time, the director of Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas - not to mention co-founder of Monty Python's Flying Circus - recalls his life so far.  Packed with never-before-seen artwork, photographs and commentary, Gilliamesque blends the visual and the verbal with scabrous with and fascinating insight.

Gilliam's "pre-posthumous memoir" also features a cast of amazing supporting characters - George Harrison, Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger and all of the fellow Pythons - as well as cameo appearances from some of the heaviest cultural hitters of modern times, from Woody Allen to Frank Zappa, Gloria Steinem to Robert Crumb, Richard Nixon to Hunter S. Thompson.  Gilliam's encounters with the great and the not-so-good are revealing, funny, and hugely entertaining.

This book is an unrestrained look into a unique creative mind and an incomparable portrait of late twentieth-century popular culture.

Who hasn't seen or heard of Monty Python's Flying Circus or watched one of his brilliant movies.  Enough said.

Available in hardcover or ebook; 352 pages, Harper Design.  October 20, 2015.  http://www.amazon.com/Gilliamesque-Pre-posthumous-Memoir-Terry-Gilliam/dp/0062380745/  

Cookbooks:

The Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook Season 8:  by Cook's Country

A treasured recipe box brought to life, now updated to include every recipe, every ingredient testing, every equipment rating from all 8 seasons of Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen.

This collection will teach you foolproof methods for making more than 300 favorite American recipes.  And in addition to learning how to make great food, you can read the colorful stories behind the dishes.  The recipes in this book feature the best of American home cooking with an emphasis on regional and heirloom fare.  In addition to American classics like Glazed Meatloaf, Classic Roast Beef and Gravy, Smoky Potato Salad, and Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust, you'll find regional gems like Delta Hot Tamales, Baltimore Pit Beef, Charleston Shrimp Perloo, and Chocolate Blackout Cake.

The shopper's guide, grouped together in the back of the book, includes tastings and testings from both Cook's Country and the Complete ATK TV Show Cookbook - approximately 50 pages of testing and tasting ratings and winners.

For anyone who enjoys cooking (as I do) this book should be something to look forward to.  Cook's Country is a trusted name, and their recipes are always delicious; a hefty tome at 576 pages.

Available in paperback and ebook; 576 Pages; Cook's Country.  September 8, 2015.  http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Cooks-Country-Cookbook-Season-ebook/dp/B00RRT32OI/  

Thriller/Suspense:

The Girl from Krakow: A Novel by Alex Rosenberg

It's 1935.  Rita Feuerstahl comes to the university in Krakow intent on enjoying her freedom.  But life has other things in store - marriage, a love affair, a child, all in the shadows of the oncoming war.  When the war arrives, Rita is armed with a secret so enormous that it could cost the Allies everything, even as it gives her the will to live.  She must find a way both to keep her secret and to survive amid the chaos of Europe at war.  Living by her wits among the Germans as their conquests turn to defeat, she seeks a way to prevent the inevitable doom of Nazism from kaing her one of its last victims.  Can her passion and resolve outlast the most powerful evil that Europe has ever seen?

In an epic saga that spans from Paris in the '30s and Spain's Civil War to Moscow, Warsaw, and the heart of Nazi Germany, The Girl from Krakow follows one woman's battle for survival as entire nations are torn apart, never to be the same.

I really don't know what to expect from this book, but it definitely sounds like a winner, and I am looking forward to reading it.

Available in paperback, ebook, audible and MP3 CD; 454 pages; Lake Union Publishing; September 1, 2015;   http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Krakow-Novel-Alex-Rosenberg/dp/1477830812/                

Happy Reading!

.