Need a Good Book?
The time has come for me to do a little spring cleaning and donate some ARCs to a worthy cause—you. Some of these in this first batch are “fresh” while others have some age on them but, hey, if you haven’t read it, who cares how old it is, right?
Anyone who makes a comment on any one of my blog posts (including this one) between Thursday, May 6, 2010 and Thursday, May 13, 2010 will be automatically enrolled into a random drawing to win one of these. You’ll be entered as many times as you leave a comment and you can request a particular title or two but I make no promises. If you will agree to send me a review for publication here (and you can post it later anywhere else except DorothyL) within 2 months, I’ll “spot” you two extra entries.
The offerings:
Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn, January 2010
Praised by Stephen King as “a canine Sam Spade full of joie de vivre,” Chet and his human companion Bernie have both had some setbacks in life — Bernie in combat, Chet in K-9 school, but together they make up a team like no other. In “Thereby Hangs a Tail,” Bernie and Chet are called on to investigate threats made against an unlikely target — a pretty, pampered show dog named Princess. What seems like a joke turns into a serious case when Princess and her owner are abducted. To make matters worse, Bernie’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, reporter Susie Sanchez, disappears too. When Chet is separated from Bernie, he’s on his own to put the pieces together, find his way home, and save the day.
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater, October 2009
James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloween–the day of the dead–draws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala’s life and his soul.
Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke, March 2008
Summertime has finally arrived in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar bakery, is happy to help her business partner, Lisa, prepare for a big family reunion. Everyone is delighted when Lisa’s long-lost uncle, Gus, makes a surprise appearance. Well, almost everyone. When Gus is found dead with two slices of Hannah’s infamous carrot cake by his side, Hannah sets to work to uncover the secrets from his past. She’ll have to sift through a long line of suspects to find a killer–and it could prove to be a recipe for her own demise…
Wings by Aprilynne Pike, May 2009
When a flower blooms in the middle of her back, Laurel discovers that she is a faerie and was placed with human parents as a child. As Laurel learns about her true background and the dangers that face the faerie realm, she struggles to find her place in both worlds.
Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman, March 2008
When private investigator Tess Monaghan literally runs into the crew of the fledgling TV series “Mann of Steel” while sculling, she expects sharp words and evil looks, “not” an assignment. But the company has been plagued by a series of disturbing incidents since its arrival on location in Baltimore: bad press, union threats, and small, costly on-set “accidents” that have wreaked havoc with its shooting schedule. As a result, “Mann’s” creator, Flip Tumulty, the son of a Hollywood legend, is worried for the safety of his young female lead, Selene Waites, and asks Tess to serve as her bodyguard/babysitter. Tumulty’s concern may be well founded. Not long ago a Baltimore man was discovered dead in his own home, surrounded by photos of the beautiful, difficult superstar-in-the-making.
Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, May 2009
Pendergast-the world’s most enigmatic FBI Special Agent-returns to New York City to investigate a murderous cult. William Smithback, a “New York Times” reporter, and his wife Nora Kelly, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Eyewitnesses claim, and the security camera confirms, that the assailant was their strange, sinister neighbor-a man who, by all reports, was already dead and buried weeks earlier. While Captain Laura Hayward leads the official investigation, Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D’Agosta undertake their own private-and decidedly unorthodox-quest for the truth. Their serpentine journey takes them to an enclave of Manhattan they never imagined could exist: a secretive, reclusive cult of Obeah and vodou which no outsiders have ever survived.
The Telltale Turtle by Joyce & Jim Lavene, October 2008
Mary Catherine has a rare gift – she can talk to animals. A flamboyantly dressed four-time widow, Mary Catherine pulls top ratings for her pet psychic radio show and helps run an animal shelter. Then one day Mary Catherine hears pitiful thoughts of anguish coming from a house. Rushing inside to help, she finds an injured turtle crying bloody murder – and the dead body of his owner, a society matriarch with a fortune, lying nearby.
The Riesling Retribution by Ellen Crosby, August 2009
When a tornado rips through Montgomery Estate Vineyard, it not only destroys some of Lucie Montgomery’s newest grapevines but also unearths a grave in an abandoned field. The discovery sets tongues wagging in the small town of Atoka, Virginia, especially after the police inform Lucie that the odds are good someone in her family is responsible — possibly for murder.
The Unscratchables by Cornelius Kane, July 2009
Crusher McNash is the police force’s most fearless detective, a barrel-chested bull terrier with a biscuit-thin temper and a barbed-wire tongue. Cassius Lap is the finest agent in the Feline Bureau of Investigation, an imperturbable Siamese with a mind as sharp as a can opener. San Bernardo is their territory, a seething metropolis where fat-cats prance in the exclusive island enclave of Kathattan while working dogs wallow in the stinking squalor of the Kennels. When a couple of Rottweiler gangsters are brutally murdered, Crusher McNash tries to convince himself that it’s nothing unusual — just another underworld territorial dispute. But after the sniffer squad identifies a feral-cat killer, McNash is forced to do the unthinkable — team up with a prissy Siamese from the FBI. The trail leads from junkyards to gambling dens, from cat prisons to baronial estates, in the process unraveling an awesome conspiracy involving domination techniques, population control, and the megalomaniacal ambitions of fox media magnate Phineas Reynard.
Monster by A. Le Martinez, May 2009
Meet Monster. Meet Judy. Two humans who don’t like each other much, but together must fight dragons, fire-breathing felines, trolls, Inuit walrus dogs, and a crazy cat lady – for the future of the universe. Monster runs a pest control agency. He’s overworked and has domestic troubles – like having the girlfriend from hell. Judy works the night shift at the local Food Plus Mart. Not the most glamorous life, but Judy is happy. No one bothers her and if she has to spell things out for the night-manager every now and again, so be it. But when Judy finds a Yeti in the freezer aisle eating all the Rocky Road, her life collides with Monster’s in a rather alarming fashion. Because Monster doesn’t catch raccoons; he catches the things that go bump in the night. Things like ogres, trolls, and dragons. Oh, and his girlfriend from Hell? She actually “is “from Hell.
The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 15th, and after the announcement, the winners will be asked to send their snail mail addresses to me via email. The winners will have five days to claim their prizes or new winner(s) will be chosen. This drawing is open to US and Canadian residents.
May 6, 2010
Posted in: Contests/Giveaways
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28 Responses
Thanks for the opportunity to win an ARC.
I noted in passing your poll, and the results when I voted. It would appear you don’t have any young adult readers, or at least none who vote :O). Nobody has chosen any of those categories anyway. I could probably have chosen one of them myself … I often read stuff my daughter brings home from her work (she works at Chapters), and she loves YA fantasy. So next time, I’ll mark one of those.
As an avid reader, I love any opportunity to win a book, or ARC. I noticed I was particularly attracted to the description of one book, Cemetery Dance, and then realized it is currently sitting toward the top of my TBA pile, so that is one ARC I don’t need.
There is a great selection of titles in your list.
Dave, I’m not sure what you’re seeing on the poll—granted there aren’t many votes for young adult but there are some.
Thanks for entering the drawing!
Please enter my name in the ARC contest. The one book that I already own is Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke so I do NOT need that one – any other is fine. Thanks.
Hi there…such generosity that yoo have!!! Thanks so very much. This is an example of one of those “pay it forward”! which should encourage all to follow suit. I know that the books do collect….and sit on the shelf…let’s all get the spring cleaning bug..and spread the wealth.
Thanks! Jeannie in Dallas
Theow my name into the giveaway hat.
I’d love to win an arc! Thanks for doing this.
-Theresa
Would love to win one. Thanks for the opportunity.
Would love an opportunity to win an ARC. I’m a librarian and have lists of “must reads” and stacks of “to be read soon” at home.
Thank you for the chance to win an ARC! I’d love to read Another Thing to Fall.
Enter me in the drawing. In addition, I will submit a review.
I’d love to be part of your giveaway. Thanks for inviting us to do so.
Thanks for the contest! Great list of titles and I’m keeping my fingers crossed
Would love to win an ARC. Thanks for the opportunity.
Please enter me! My TBR pile is actually getting down to a manageable pile.
Great giveaway. Thanks for posting.
Love ARCS. I have several from when I attended conferences and they were raffled off. Makes me feel like I’m part of the process. I’d love to give a review or two. I read so much, and really enjoy helping other writers in any way I can.
I’d love to win a free ARC of any book. This is how I discover “new” authors to read. I received one ARC and loved it so much that I bought in paperback all the other dozen books by that author. That’s happened more than once.
John Bohnert
Grass Valley, CA
I would love to win an ARC of any of these books. Thanks so much for having the drawing.
I’ll enter once again for the chance to win an ARC. If possible, I’d love any mystery except Cemetery Dance, because I already bought the book.
Kari
Wow what a great opportunity — I always need more books. I think that I will start using them as insulation! Lining the outside walls with book shelves will be a great idea. What is the R value???
Hi, I think I read “The Carrot Cake Murder” and I definitely read “The Telltale Turtle.” I am interested in “The Riesling Retribution” though. Were we supposed to read a blog? I did read “How Not to Publish A Book.” IMHO, the original picture was the best if you are appealing to a woman. What woman would not be intrigued by a man holding a laundry basket, the clothes all nicely folded! The one with the rumpled clothes and hammer is too much like a snapshot of some man moving the laundry basket to get to the back of the dryer so he can fix it. What’s new about that?
Reading ARCs and spreading the word is what it’s all about.
Hi Buried,
This is a wonderful idea. Please toss my name in for any title. My 83 year-old mother reads a book or so a week and sometimes more than once each! If I win, I’ll definitely pass the ARC along to her, and she’ll donate it to her retirement home library. Thank you.
I’ve been meaning to read the new Spencer Quinn and would love that title, or the Lippman; but no matter which, I’ll gladly contribute a review to your blog. Thanks for the great idea!
A lot of these sound good, thanks for running the contest.
Good looking website.
Ohhh.. a lot of these sound good. You are enabling my reading and that’s great!!
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