Mailbox Monday - Mar. 22, 2010

Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page, is a weekly meme where we get to share what awesome books we've received in the mail over the last week. Here are the great books that arrived in my mailbox last week:


The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (click here for more information)

and

Bite Me by Christopher Moore (click here for more information)

Both of these have been featured as my Waiting on Wednesday picks, so I'm pretty excited!

What goodies arrived in your mailbox?

Mailbox Monday - March 15, 2010

Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page, is a weekly meme where we get to share what awesome books we've received in the mail over the last week. Here are the great books that arrived in my mailbox last week:


When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family.

Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.


A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book—a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.

In the beginning, there was Tilly: fabulous and free, outrageous and untamable, vulnerable and terrified. Was it the Sixties that did her wrong, or the drugs, or the men, or was it the middle-class upbringing she couldn't abide? As a young woman, she flees home for the hollow neon underworld of Nevada, looking for pure souls and finding nothing but bad habits. She stays away for decades, working the streets and worse, eventually drinking herself to the brink of death in the middle of the desert. One day, after Tilly has spent nearly thirty years without a family, her niece shows up on the doorstep of her dusty trailer.

Stella has been leading her own life of empty promise in New York City. She makes her living booking Botox appointments and national-media appearances for a famous (and famously neurotic) "inspirational" writer by day; she complains about her job at warehouse parties in remote boroughs by night; she waits for her married lover to make time in his schedule to screw her over, softly; and she takes care of her ailing grandmother in Connecticut. Before Stella's grandmother dies, she tells Stella the truth about Tilly, her runaway daughter, and Stella decides to give up the vast and penetrating loneliness of the city to find this lost woman the family had never mentioned.

To continue reading, click here: simonandschuster.ca

AT THE RIPE OLD AGE OF THIRTY-TWO, FORMER WILD CHILD ISABEL "IZZY" SPELLMAN HAS FINALLY AGREED TO TAKE OVER THE FAMILY BUSINESS. AND THE TRANSITION WON'T BE A SMOOTH ONE.

First among her priorities as head of Spellman Investigations is to dig up some dirt on the competition, slippery ex-cop Rick Harkey -- a task she may enjoy a little too much. Next, faced with a baffling missing-persons case at the home of an aging millionaire, Izzy hires an actor friend, Len, to infiltrate the mansion as an undercover butler -- a role he may enjoy a little much.

Meanwhile, Izzy is being blackmailed by her mother (photographic evidence of Prom Night 1994) to commit to regular blind dates with promising professionals -- an arrangement that doesn't thrill Connor, an Irish bartender on the brink of becoming Ex-boyfriend #12

To read on, click here


Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Click here for more.

So, what do you think? Great list of books, right? What was in your mailbox?

Mailbox Monday - Mar. 8, 2010

Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page, is a weekly meme where we get to share what awesome books we've received in the mail over the last week. Here are the 3 books I received in my mailbox last week:

Secret, betrayal, and a mysterious family history plague the heroine in the latest novel from New York Times-bestselling author Karen Robards.

The past is never over. It just gets dusty.

Lisa Shewmaker was a rising star in a prestigious law firm in Lexington, Kentucky; that is, until the firm went bankrupt and she lost her job. With an ailing mother to care for, Lisa takes the first position she can find: research assistant to District Attorney Scott Buchanan. Scott is as disagreeable as he is sexy, and Lisa suspects the only reason she got the job is because of her privileged upbringing as the daughter of a wealthy federal judge.

While reviewing cold cases in the Fayette County courthouse, a particularly thick manila envelope draws Lisa's attention. The details of the case are engrossing: An entire family-father, mother, and two children-disappeared more than twenty-eight years ago. Except that's not all: The mother in the photo could have been Lisa's twin, and the toddler in the picture bears an uncanny resemblance to Lisa herself. Before Lisa can learn more about her past, a series of catastrophes strike close to home. Lisa confides in Scott, and their relationship develops into something completely different. Together Lisa and Scott unravel a terrifying web of criminal connections that could destroy the very fabric of Lisa's life-if she lives long enough, that is.

Head of the Sex Crimes Unit of the district attorney's office in Manhattan for decades, Linda Fairstein is America's most visible legal expert on sexual assault and domestic violence-which is why she writes some of the most compelling crime thrillers of our time and why her Alexandra Cooper series has been topping bestseller list for more than a decade. Fans turn to Fairstein for ripped-from-the-headline crimes, cutting-edge investigations, and vindication for victims. Linda Fairstein brings readers inside a world of which they can't get enough, but one they hope to never see in real life.
And for her twelfth novel, Fairstein takes Alexandra Cooper inside a world "she'd" rather not see.

New York City politics have always been filled with intrigue and behind-the-scenes deals. In "Hell Gate," Alex finds her attention torn between investigating a shipwreck that has contraband cargo-human cargo-and the political sex scandal of a promising New York congressman now fallen from grace. When Alex discovers that a woman from the wreck and the congressman's lover have the same rose tattoo-the brand of a "snakehead," a master of a human trafficking operation-it dawns on her that these cases aren't as unrelated as they seem and that the entire political landscape of New York City could hang in the balance of her investigation. As Alex looks on at the nameless victims in the morgue, she realizes she's looking at the present-day face of New York's long, dark tradition of human trafficking-a tradition that began hundreds of years ago with slave trade from Africa, now a multimillion-dollar industry that will stop at no cost, even if that cost is Alex's life.


Journey Back to Regency England -- Land of the Undead!

Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in Dawn of the Dreadfuls -- a thrilling prequel set four years before the horrific events of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As our story opens, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English countryside. They idle away the days reading, gardening, and daydreaming about future husbands -- until a funeral at the local parish goes strangely and horribly awry.

Suddenly corpses are springing from the soft earth -- and only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, we watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. Along the way, two men vie for her affections: Master Hawksworth is the powerful warrior who trains her to kill, while thoughtful Dr. Keckilpenny seeks to conquer the walking dead using science instead of strength. Will either man win the prize of Elizabeth's heart? Complete with romance, action, comedy, and an army of shambling corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls will have Jane Austen rolling in her grave -- and just might inspire her to crawl out of it!

In My Mailbox Monday - March 1, 2010

In My Mailbox, hosted by The Story Siren and Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page, are weekly memes where we get to share what awesome books we've received in the mail over the last week. I've participated in both before but thought that, being so similar, I'd combine them here. Here's what my magical mailbox brought me last week:

When Will meets Alice, he can't believe his luck. She's smart, sexy and, much to Will's surprise, in love with him. Alice brings meaning to his urban existence and his boring job. But the course of modern love never did run smooth, and soon devotion leads Will to something darker. Elsewhere in the city lives Helen, an actress. Or she will be, one day. For now she finds work as a model.

A love story with a twist, this explosive debut novel brings Will and Helen's lives together in a tale as tight as rope and as black as tar. It heralds the arrival of a major new talent on the literary scene.

Sid is going crazy . . .

A telemarketer at a travel agency, Sid is becoming unhinged and superneurotic. Lately he's been obsessed with car washes and mud baths. His hypochondria is driving his doctor sister mad. And it's all because of his ex-girlfriend, Zoe, who's sending him postcards from her European adventure, one that they were supposed to take together. It's all quite upsetting.

A fact-finding tour of local post offices—and a new friendship with postman Gerald—followed by a solo European jaunt will do little to ease his anxiety. A long talk with his mother's spirit in a wine bottle doesn't help either. But what he really needs are a few more tentative dates with the chatty Candyce. Sid needs to get over Zoe and find love again—even though Zoe, apparently, has no inclination to be gotten over.

Wonderfully poignant, funny, odd, and more than a bit macabre, Postcards from a Dead Girl marks the emergence of a truly gifted and original literary voice.

All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos's army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan's power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy's sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.


The most personal

A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in bloodred lipstick.

The most dangerous

The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria.

The most exciting Women's Murder Club novel ever

Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich--and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city? With unparalleled danger and explosive action, The 9th Judgment is James Patterson at his compelling, unstoppable best!

One Man, one day, and a novel bursting with drama, comedy, and humanity.

Kevin Quinn is a standard-variety American male: middle-aged, liberal-leaning, self-centered, emotionally damaged, generally determined to avoid both pain and responsibility. As his relationship with his girlfriend approaches a turning point, and his career seems increasingly pointless, he decides to secretly fly to a job interview in Austin, Texas. Aboard the plane, Kevin is simultaneously attracted to the young woman in the seat next to him and panicked by a new wave of terrorism in Europe and the UK. He lands safely with neuroses intact and full of hope that the job, the expansive city, and the girl from the plane might yet be his chance for reinvention. His next eight hours make up this novel, a tour-de-force of mordant humor, brilliant observation, and page-turning storytelling.


Kelley Winslow is living her dream. Seventeen years old, she has moved to New York City and started work with a theatre company. Sure, she's an understudy for the Avalon Players, a third-tier repertory company so far off-Broadway it might as well be in Hoboken, but things are looking up—the lead has broken her ankle and Kelley's about to step into the role of Titania the Fairy Queen in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Faeries are far more real than Kelley thinks, though, and a chance encounter in Central Park with a handsome young man will plunge her into an adventure she could never have imagined. (To continue reading this description, click here)


Demonic activity has escalated in both the Undercity and the mortal surface level city as the worshipers and servants of the Lord of the Hells strive to complete the rituals that will return their god to the mortal realm. As Rath joins with mages and the Twin Kings' agents to wage a secret battle against this nearly unstoppable foe, he gives Jewel Markess and her den of orphans the opportunity to escape the chaos by providing them with a note of introduction to the head of House Terafin, where Jewel will discover her destiny.

In My Mailbox Monday: Feb. 22, 2010

In My Mailbox, hosted by The Story Siren and Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page, are weekly memes where we get to share what awesome books we've received in the mail over the last week. I've participated in both before but thought that, being so similar, I'd combine them here this week.


Sophie Miller is a totally average third grade girl. She's a middle child, lives in a town called Ordinary, and has finished third in every race she's ever run. Boring! But Sophie is determined to find a name that proves just how special she really is. It doesn't take long before she comes across the perfect title--Sophie the Awesome! But living up to a name like that takes more than just determination, especially if super-annoying Toby Myers has anything to say about it. Can Sophie prove her awesomeness...and prove everyone wrong?

Trackers by Patrick Carman (no cover art available):

In the 21st century landscape of bits and bytes, everyone leaves a digital footprint--even the most advanced cyber criminals. And that's where the Trackers come in. Four tech-savvy kids armed with high-tech video cameras and esoteric coding skills, the trackers can find almost anyone, anywhere. Through a collage of videos, text, and websites, Trackers #1 follows Adam, Finn, Lewis and Emily as they become entangled in a high-tech, high-stakes game of cat and mouse with Shantorian, the world's most dangerous hacker. At least, that's who they think they're tracking... As the four dig deeper into the shadowy world of online crime, they soon learn that things aren't always as they seem.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan (no cover art available):

Seventeen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She's really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That's the only way to explain her cold, manipulative mother, distant stepfather, and good-for-nothing brother; Bronwen must have been switched at birth, and she can't wait to get back to her real family. Then she meets Jared. He's sweet, funny, everything she wants-and he has the family Bronwen has always wanted too. When he proposes four months after they meet, she says yes. But as the wedding day approaches, Bronwen begins to wonder if Jared is truly what she needs. And if he's not, she has to ask: What would Phoebe Lillywhite do?


The Deadlies are like any other family with a loving mother and bright, rambunctious children. Except they're spiders. Really, really poisonous ones. Still, Edith and her children are cultured and kind. In fact, they're music lovers and had been living in a Boston symphony hall until Edith's son, Felix, had a...misunderstanding with the maestro. Now they have to outwit overzealous arachnologists and evil exterminators as they hunt for a new home. Will they ever find a place to live in peace? A funny, easy-to-read book with gentle illustrations, The Deadlies is sure to be a hit with the chapter book set!


Whenever Jem meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such an awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. But while they’re waiting to ride the Eye Ferris wheel, Jem notices that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today’s number. Today’s date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem’s world is about to explode!


Rumors of ruined maidens, coldblooded duels, swindles, and murder swirl around the impoverished 'Devil Earl.' But Faelan Savigar hides an even darker secret. Roderica Delamore longs for a normal life but fears she'll end up mad or suicidal like the forebears from whom she inherited her "gift" of sensing others thoughts and emotions. As the two find their way to each other against all odds, Roddy's growing love for Faelen may end up saving him or destroying her…

A breathtaking historical romance filled with poignancy, darkness, love, and an unexpected twist of Gaelic magic…


All the romance of the beautiful Cornish coast and a wealth of local color add richness to a story that crosses the centuries.

When a Hollywood scandal leaves her life and her marriage in ruins, Blythe Stowe escapes to the wild coast of Cornwall and a cottage by the sea. There she finds herself both physically drawn to her handsome neighbor, Lucas Teague, and literally drawn into a haunting 200-yearold love story as an elaborate family tree on his study wall sends her rushing back into the past. As Blythe struggles to make sense of what is happening and discovers family secrets that have been long concealed, she realizes Lucas holds the key to both her past and her future…


A voyage of discoveries, a meeting of two remarkable women, and extraordinary time and place enrich bestselling author Tracy Chevalier's enthralling new novel

From the moment she's struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear that Mary Anning is marked for greatness. On the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast, she learns that she has "the eye"—and finds what no one else can see. When Mary uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious fathers on edge, the townspeople to vicious gossip, and the scientific world alight. In an arena dominated by men, however, Mary is barred from the academic community; as a young woman with unusual interests she is suspected of sinful behavior. Nature is a threat, throwing bitter, cold storms and landslips at her. And when she falls in love, it is with an impossible man.

Luckily, Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a recent exile from London, who also loves scouring the beaches. Their relationship strikes a delicate balance between fierce loyalty, mutual appreciation, and barely suppressed envy. Ultimately, in the struggle to be recognized in the wider world, Mary and Elizabeth discover that friendship is their greatest ally.

Remarkable Creatures is a stunning novel of how one woman's gift transcends class and social prejudice to lead to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century. Above all, is it a revealing portrait of the intricate and resilient nature of female friendship.

A stunning historical novel, 'The Book of Fires' is the unforgettable story of Agnes Trussel -- and love, fireworks and redemption. Brought up in rural Sussex, seventeen-year-old Agnes Trussel is carrying an unwanted child. Taking advantage of the death of her elderly neighbour, Agnes steals her savings and runs away to London. On her way she encounters the intriguing Lettice Talbot who promises that she will help Agnes upon their arrival. But Agnes soon becomes lost in the dark, labyrinthine city. She ends up at the household of John Blacklock, laconic firework-maker, becoming his first female assistant. The months pass and it becomes increasingly difficult for Agnes to conceal her secret. Soon she meets Cornelius Soul, seller of gunpowder, and hatches a plan which could save her from ruin. Yet why does John Blacklock so vehemently disapprove of Mr Soul? And what exactly is he keeping from her? Could the housekeeper, Mrs Blight, with her thirst for accounts of hangings, suspect her crime or condition? Historical fiction at its very best, 'The Book of Fires' is utterly intriguing, completely compelling and impossible to put down.

Mailbox Monday - Oct. 11, 2009

This weekly meme, hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page, is where we get to share what awesome books we received in the mail over the last week.

Here's what I got in my awesome mailbox this past week:

Book Description:

At 66 Star Street in Dublin someone is watching over the lives of the people living in its flats. But no one is aware of it - yet... One of them is ready to take the plunge and fall in love; another is torn between two very different lovers. For some, secrets they want to stay buried will come to light and for others, the unveiling of those secrets will have tragic consequences. Fate is on its way to Star Street, bringing with it love and tragedy, friendship and heartbreak, and the power to change their lives in the most unexpected of ways...

From the book Jacket:

In a dreary seaside town on England, Annie loves Duncan - or thinks she does, because she always has. Duncan loves Annie, but then, all of a sudden he doesn't anymore. So Annie stops loving Duncan, and starts getting her own life.

She sparks an e-mail correspondence with Tucker Crowe, a reclusive Dylanesque singer-songwriter who stopped making music twenty-two years ago, and who is also Duncan's greatest obsession. A surprising connection is forged between two lonely people who are looking for more of what they've got/ Tucker's been languishing (and he's unnervingly aware of it), living in rural Pennsylvania with what he sees as his one hope for redemption amid a life of emotional, familial, and artistic ruin - is young son, But then there's also the material he's about to release to the world, an acoustic, stripped-down version of his greatest album, Juliet, titles Juliet, Naked. And he's just been summoned across the Atlantic with Jackson to face his multitude of ex-wives and children (both just discovered and formerly neglected). in the same country where his intriguing new Internet friend resides.

What happens when a washed-up musician looks for another chance? And miles away, a restless, childless woman looks for a change? Juliet, Naked is a powerfully engrossing, humblingly humorous novel about music, Love, loneliness, and the struggle to live up to one's promise.

From the back cover:

'When three popes all murdered lie.

And Christ's own kingdom desecrated...'

A mysterious book of prophecies written by a sixth century Irish monk has puzzled scholars through the ages. Foretelling wars, plagues and rebellions, the Black Book of Bran is said to have predicted the Black Death and the Gunpowder Plot. It is even said to foresee the Day of Judgement. But is it the reuslt of divine inspiration or the ravings of a madman?

A hidden hoard of Saxon gold. A poisoned priest. A monk skinned alive in Westminster Abbey. Only one thing is certain: whoever comes into possession of the cursed book meets a gruesome and untimely end.

So without meaning to, my excellent mailbox brought me all books involving stories from acroos the pond! I look forward to reading them all.

Mailbox Monday - September 28, 2009

This weekly meme, hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page, is where we get to share what awesome books we received in the mail over the last week.

After last week, I gave my mailbox a good talking to - and it worked! Check out my goodies for this week:

So, I'm definitely going to be a busy little reader! What did your mailbox bring you? Leave me a link here and let me know.

Mailbox Monday - September 21, 2009

This weekly meme, hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page, is where we get to share what awesome books we received in the mail over the last week.

I must admit, my mailbox disappointed me a little bit last week. I'm waiting on some great stuff coming, but it just didn't show up when I was expecting it. I guess there's always this week, right?

Here are the two books I did receive:

From the publisher:

Book Description

Meet Matt Prior. He's about to lose his job, his wife, his house, maybe his mind. Unless . . .

In the winning and utterly original novels Citizen Vince and The Zero, Jess Walter ("a ridiculously talented writer"—New York Times) painted an America all his own: a land of real, flawed, and deeply human characters coping with the anxieties of their times.

Now, in his warmest, funniest, and best novel yet, Walter offers a story as real as our own lives: a tale of overstretched accounts, misbegotten schemes, and domestic dreams deferred.

A few years ago, small-time finance journalist Matthew Prior quit his day job to gamble everything on a quixotic notion: a Web site devoted to financial journalism in the form of blank verse. When his big idea—and his wife's eBay resale business— ends with a whimper (and a garage full of unwanted figurines), they borrow and borrow, whistling past the graveyard of their uncertain dreams. One morning Matt wakes up to find himself jobless, hobbled with debt, spying on his wife's online flirtation, and six days away from losing his home. Is this really how things were supposed to end up for me, he wonders: staying up all night worried, driving to 7-Eleven in the middle of the night to get milk for his boys, and falling in with two local degenerates after they offer him a hit of high-grade marijuana?

Or, he thinks, could this be the solution to all my problems?

Following Matt in his weeklong quest to save his marriage, his sanity, and his dreams, The Financial Lives of the Poets is a hysterical, heartfelt novel about how we can reach the edge of ruin—and how we can begin to make our way back.

AND

From the author:

New novel finds black humor in crime on fringe of society Murder in the Magick Club, a novel by attorney Byron A. Lorrier, tells the story of a murder mystery that takes place in a bar that caters to witches, goths and everything in between

Largo, FL - Sep 2, 2009 - Murder in the Magick Club, a novel by attorney Byron A. Lorrier, is an occult-themed murder mystery set in a pagan-themed night club, which follows a cast of rundown characters who live on the outskirts of society.

The last thing beleaguered nightclub owner Bryn Thomas needed was a dead body out back. After all, he already deals with annoying psychic flashes of his infinitely unfulfilling past and future lives, a worsening drinking problem, a disabling load of debt and running his ratty yet inexplicably popular club. But when he discovers the body of an old man by the dumpster behind the club, it soon becomes apparent that someone he knows is more than a make-believe witch or warlock.

"The book is a down-and-dirty stab at black humor wrapped around a mystery," Lorrier says. "Readers will relate to the need for delusional, magical escape from their day-to-day encounters with vile villains and financial stress."

The Magick Club mystery is complicated by Thomas' incompetent staff, including Cal, the thuggish hustler, Robert, the clumsy, catty instigator, and Magdeline, the oblivious, battered, drug-addled butt of everyone's jokes. Everyone who frequents the club becomes a suspect and the truth may be impossible to find in the midst of séances, witchcraft and enlightening effects of mugwort tea.

I'm really looking forward to getting into these books. What did you mail box bring you?