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Previous Staff Picks
Featured author: Tim Dorsey
Staff Picks for March/April 2007
Andrew's Staff Picks
Tapping The Dream Tree by Charles De Lint
"The city of Newford could be any contemporary North American city...except that magic lurks in its music, in its art, in the shadows of its grittiest streets, where mythic beings walk disguised. And its people are like you and me, each looking for a bit of magic to shape their lives and transform their fate.
Here are a bluesman hiding from the devil; a Buffalo Man at the edge of death; a murderous ghost looking for revenge; a wolf man on his first blind date; and many more. We're reunited with Jilly, Geordie, Sophie, the Crow Girls, and other characters whose lives have become part of the great Newford myth. And beyond Newford's streets, de Lint takes us to the pastoral hills north of the city, where magic and music have a flavor different but powerful still."
$15.95
Someone Comes To Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
"Alan is a middle-aged entrepeneur in contemporary Toronto, who has devoted himself to fixing up a house in a bohemian neighborhood. This naturally brings him in contact with the house full of students and layabouts next door, including a young woman who, in a moment of stress, reveals to him that she has wings--wings, moreover, which grow back after each attempt to cut them off.
Alan understands. He himself has a secret or two. His father is a mountain; his mother is a washing machine; and among his brothers are a set of Russian nesting dolls.
Now two of the three nesting dolls, Edward and Frederick, are on his doorstep--well on their way to starvation, because their innermost member, George, has vanished. It appears that yet another brother, Davey, who Alan and his other siblings killed years ago, may have returned...bent on revenge.
Under such circumstances it seems only reasonable for Alan to involve himself with a visionary scheme to blanket Toronto with free wireless Internet connectivity, a conspiracy spearheaded by a brilliant technopunk who builds miracles of hardware from parts scavenged from the city's dumpsters. But Alan's past won't leave him alone--and Davey is only one of the powers gunning for him and all his friends."
$14.95
Spin State by Chris Moriarty
"UN Peacekeeper Major Catherine Li has made thirty-seven faster-than-light jumps in her lifetime--and has probably forgotten more than most people remember. But that's what backup hard drives are for. And Li should know; she's been hacking her memory for fifteen years in order to pass as human. But no memory upgrade can prepare Li for what she finds on Compson's World: a mining colony she once called home and to which she is sent after a botched raid puts her on the bad side of the powers that be. A dead physicist who just happens to be her cloned twin. A missing dataset that could change the interstellar balance of power and turn a cold war hot. And a mining "accident" that is starting to look more and more like murder...
Suddenly Li is chasing a killer in an alien world miles underground where everyone has a secret. And one wrong turn in streamspace, one misstep in the dark alleys of blackmarket tech and interstellar espionage, one risky hookup with an AI could literally blow her mind."
$6.99
The Case Of The Missing Books by Ian Sansom
"Israel Armstrong is a passionate soul, lured to Ireland by the promise of an exciting new career. Alas, the job that awaits him is not quite what he had in mind. Still, Israel is not one to dwell on disappointment, as he prepares to drive a mobile library around a small, damp Irish town. After all, the scenery is lovely, the people are charming- but where are the books? The rolling library's 15,000 volumes have mysteriously gone missing, and it's up to Israel to discover who would steal them . . . and why. And perhaps, after that, he will tackle other bizarre and perplexing local mysteries- like, where does one go to find a proper cappuccino and a decent newspaper?"
$12.95
DMZ Vol. 2: Body Of A Journalist by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli
"America's worst nightmare has come true. Having neglected the threat of anti-establishment militias, the U.S. government is in danger of losing control. Middle America has violently risen up, coming to a standstill at Manhattan or, as the world now knows it, the DMZ. Matty Roth, a naive, aspiring photojournalist, lands a dream gig following a veteran war journalist into the heart of the DMZ. Things soon go terribly wrong, and Matty finds himself lost and alone in a world he's only seen on television. In this volume, Roth's star power as a wartime reporter rises both within and outside the DMZ and the embedded journalist lands the break of a lifetime: an interview with the infamous leaders of the Free Armies."
$12.99
Charity's Staff Picks
Death of a Dreamer by M. C. Beaton
"A wine bottle loaded with antifreeze. A Scottish dance party interrupted by obsessive jealousy. A Brigadoon-like setting in northern Scotland that quickly turns Hitchcockian. Beaton is a masterful mixer of disparate elements that result in crime novels that are part police procedural and part psychological thriller. In this, the twenty-first in the Hamish Macbeth series, Beaton positions the stolid Constable Macbeth, sole lawman in the tiny village of Lochdubh in the Highlands, at the end of a winter marked by a series of spectacular blizzards. Macbeth is certain that the newcomer to the village, Effie Garrard, an artist under the influence of the usual romantic baggage about life in the Highlands, will have long abandoned her isolated cottage. But Effie seems to be in fine fettle, even talking about another newcomer artist falling in love with her. Then spring arrives, and Effie is found dead on a hillside. Macbeth's higher-ups rule the death a suicide, but he is bothered by the scene of the crime and the psychology behind the woman's death. A clear-cut case of murder follows, with Macbeth trying to discover a connection between the two. While the plotting itself is intricate and absorbing, Beaton, a Scot herself, excels at giving readers a taste of Highland life and creating a believable character in the lonely, brilliant, continually frustrated-in-love Macbeth. A treat."---Booklist
$6.99
Murder She Meowed by Rita Mae Brown
"It's a day at the races for intrepid gray tiger cat Mrs. Murphy and her friends in this collaboration between Brown and feline coauthor Sneaky Pie (Pay Dirt). Competition is fierce at the annual steeplechase at Montpelier, the historic Virginia home of James and Dolley Madison. When a dagger in the heart takes the life of jockey Nigel Danforth, young heiress and horse trainer Adelia Valiant is distraught. Her brother and her guardian, however, can't hide their relief at the death of the man they regarded as a gold digger and who, it turns out, was not who he said he was. As the official investigation focuses on the victim's cocaine habit and his ties to a pair of drug-dealing trainers, another coked-up jockey is murdered and the dealers disappear. Mrs. Murphy and her pals, fat cat Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker, cut to the chase, believing that the recent murders are tied to the disappearance of Addie's mother five years earlier. After learning from a racehorse that the second jockey died after trying to dig up the horse's stall, Mrs. Murphy and friends strike a bargain with a sassy bunch of barn mice: a moratorium on mousing in exchange for information. But getting that information to Mrs. Murphy's owner, Crozet, VA., postmistress "Harry" Haristeen, and the other humans proves difficult people simply don't listen. The animals spring into action to save Harry and bring the miscreant to justice as the Browns once again blend plot, character and atmosphere with plenty of wit and charm to create a delightful entertainment."---Publishers Weekly
$7.50
Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
"A breathless beginning and an unexpected lack of reference to the lush setting mark this lively launch of a projected series of Venetian mysteries. When legendary German conductor Helmut Wellauer is found dead in his dressing room two acts into a performance of La Traviata , police commissario Guido Brunetti is called in. Among those who might have provided the cyanide poison that killed the maestro, immediate suspects include the vaunted conductor's coolly indifferent young wife and those many in the music industry who are offended by his homophobia. Methodically probing into the victim's past, Brunetti also uncovers Wellauer's Nazi sympathies and a lead to a trio of singing sisters from yesteryear--one now destitute, one dead and the other missing. Though burdened by a dictatorial superior and two lumpen subordinates, Brunetti gets help from his aristocratic wife and her well-connected parents. The narrative's best moments involve Brunetti's wry exchanges with his colleagues and the cunningly masked, obvious solution."
---Publishers Weekly
$13.95
Murder Makes a Pilgrimage by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie
"'It's those goddamn old nuns again,' growls Inspector Dan Gallagher of the San Francisco police when a counterpart in Spain calls for information. In truth, Sister Mary Helen and Sister Eileen of Mount St. Francis College are a somewhat tiresome pair in their fifth case (including A Novena for Murder ), even when they are touring as two of 10 lucky winners of a free pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Actually not all the winners are lucky--one has been murdered and another is surely a killer. The nuns use Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as a hook on which to hang their discussion of fellow pilgrims, but the characters are instantly forgettable. Not even colorful descriptions of the Spanish sights and three attacks on Mary Helen can quite redeem this flimsily plotted tale."---Publishers Weekly
$6.99
The Young Widow by Cassandra Chan
"Chan's sprightly debut, a contemporary homage to Dorothy L. Sayers's classic Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, introduces an appealing pair of sleuths. Jack Gibbons, an ambitious Scotland Yard detective sergeant, investigates the fatal poisoning of successful businessman Geoffrey Berowne, aided by his best friend from university days, Phillip Bethancourt, who's a wealthy man-about-town with a nose for crime. The chief suspect is Berowne's attractive wife, Annette, whose previous two husbands, both much older than she, also died under odd circumstances. When Gibbons rather predictably starts falling for Annette, he seeks another solution to the murder, despite everything pointing to the young widow as the killer. Even if Gibbons and Bethancourt are hardly original as a detective duo, traditional English mystery devotees should look forward to their further adventures."---Publishers Weekly
$6.99
Lelia's Staff Picks
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
"Though it's being marketed as a YA title, Miéville's ("The Scar") latest will appeal to his adult fans as well as other adult sf readers. It begins with a conventional fantasy framework: a young person is pulled into another world, turns out to be the hero who's been prophesied, and triumphs over great adversity to save the day. However, it's not long before the conventions are set on their collective ear. The hero is struck down, and the friend once relegated to the role of comic sidekick must take the reins. Other prophecies turn out to be wrong as well, and the enemy's reach spans both the fantasy world and the real London that a 12-year-old named Deeba calls home. Miéville displays his usual flair for creating completely original settings and creatures, including a pet milk carton and some terrifying giraffes. His only nod to the YA audience has been to tone down the eroticism evident in his other works."
---Library Journal
$17.95
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
" 'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'
A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice--but the weight of history will only tolerate so much."
$6.99
Murder of a Real Bad Boy by Denise Swanson
"After breaking up with her boyfriend, Skye Denison cheers up when a sexy contractor renovates her house. He looks too good to be true, and, sure enough, he has a reputation for conning the ladies. But before Skye can fire the hunk, he turns up with a bullet in his head."
$6.99
Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews
"In Mary Kay Andrews's bestselling third novel, a no-good lowdown, lying, cheating varmint of an ex-fiancé gets the comeuppance he so richly deserves. This is a dishy and outrageous story that Mary Kay's readers will love.
The night before her wedding, in the middle of an oh-so-smart rehearsal dinner, interior decorator Keeley Murdock chances upon her fiance and maid of honor in flaming flagrante delicto. Keeley throws the hissy fit to end all hissy fits and storms out.
The next day, though, she has to deal not only personally with a broken engagement but also with her business being shut out by folks in a town financially obligated to her ex. Rescue comes in the form of the new owner of the local bra plant. This guy is a hunk but he's also a teensy bit weird, since he hires Keeley to redo the broken-down antebellum mansion he's bought for the woman of his dreams. The trouble is, he's never met said woman. So Keeley dives in and finds that true love can come even to those who throw humdinger hissy fits."
$13.95
Heartlight by T. A. Barron
"Barron's debut novel is a splendid action-adventure science fantasy filled with deep, resonant emotional and spiritual undertones. When evil powers attack the sun, Kate's grandfather, a famous astrophysicist, embarks on a galaxy-spanning quest to save it from certain destruction. Refusing to be left behind, Kate sets off after her grandfather and is caught up in the ensuing cosmic struggle between the forces of light and darkness. On the surface, Heartlight appears to be an homage to the science fantasies of Madeleine L'Engle, and Barron does consciously tip his hat to her. However, his own imagination is so rich--the novel is filled with brave people composed of snow, mighty butterflies made of pure condensed light and terrifying, ferocious villains--that this book also shines as a bold, original effort worthy of repeat readings."---Publisher's Weekly
$6.99
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
"A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic 'hot' virus. 'The Hot Zone' tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their 'crashes' into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, 'The Hot Zone' proves that truth really is scarier than fiction."
$14.00
