Mailbox Monday: All James Rollins all the time edition

A quick note at the top of this Monday's post to again welcome all the new visitors to the blog.  I have been so excited about this blog hop all weekend!  Seriously, thanks, Judith, for the invite to participate.  This is awesome!

So, I fear this Monday's edition is a bit of a misnomer, as there were no James Rollins books in my mailbox...  Wait!  I did acquire a James Rollins novel this week.  I'm covered.  No, the reason why it's "all James Rollins all the time" is that his novel The Devil Colony was published last week.  In addition to reviewing the novel, I took and posted silly photographs, participated in the Dance with the Devil online release party, and then spent the entire past weekend with him on book tour.  I'll post video from the tour and write about our adventures this week.

Mr. Rollins isn't so solicitous to all bloggers.  Jimbo and I have been good friends for more than a decade now.  Everyone who knows us knows the story of how we met, but I'll have to blog about that some time.  Anyway, this week's theme of monster mailboxes is in your honor, Jimbo.  I'm sure that you will appreciate them, LOL.

Other than that, I'm not aware of any other major literary events on my horizon for the coming week.  No, I'll be working frantically at the job that pays my rent before I head out to New York, again.  This time for Thrillerfest.  I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends (which is what T-fest is about for me) but I have to admit that I'm so tired I could curl up in a ball and cry.

One thing that would make my life less stressful is if my sister would recover from her c-section and not be threatened with more surgery.  Because that would be very, very bad for all concerned.  Especially the young children that would need my care.  Please send any spare healing energy her way.  And with that, let's get to the mailbox!

Map of Bones
by James Rollins
Release date: April 26, 2005
Source: Free download at Audible.com

Just between you and me, this is my least favorite of the Sigma novels.  (I'm just not a big fan of religious thrillers.)  It's also the first official book in the series.  Listening to Jim and his readers speak of it this weekend, though, it made me want to reread it.  It would be nice to revisit how it all started.  Maybe reread both Sandstorm and Map of Bones.  I said it was my least favorite (I mean, one of them has to be), but I still loved it. 

Go the F**k to Sleep
by Adam Mansbach
Release date: June 14, 2011
Source: Free download at Audible.com

This book is six minutes long, and I haven't found time to listen to it yet.  But I should totally send a copy to my sister.  Or my mother.

Buried Secrets
by Joseph Finder
Release date: June 21, 2011
Source: Audible.com credit

This is Joe's follow up to Vanished, the first Nick Heller novel.  I enjoyed that one, and have been looking forward to this one.  I made the best discovery ever last night, BTW.  Listening to Audible books on my new hand-me-down iPhone, I can listen to them at one and a half times speed!  I am sooo happy!  (I'm all about the speed, and many audiobooks move at a glacial pace for me.)

A Bad Day for Scandal
by Sophie Littlefield
Release date: June 21, 2011
Source: Audible.com credit

Yay!  This is Sophie's third Stella Hardesty mystery.  The only thing I enjoy more than the books themselves are the awesome covers!  How much was I looking forward to reading this book?  I've already finished it.  I LOVED hearing the voices of these indelible characters.  Reader Barbara Rosenblatt did a great job, and I seriously think this series gets better with each book.

Rebirth
by Sophie Littlefield
Release date: July 19, 2011
Source: Galley from the publisher

Speaking of Sophie Littlefield, I believe it's been mentioned on this blog that she has a split personality?  Yes, just a month after her nice mystery comes out, the second book in her zombie apocalypse series (following Aftertime) comes out.  She also writes YA fantasy in her "spare" time.  She's the hardest working woman in show biz!  I wish you could see this crazy manuscript her editor at Luna sent.  I can't wait to read this thing.

The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Release date: September 13, 2011
Source: Galley from the publisher

Do you recall me kvetching about the impossibility of acquiring this hugely buzzed book at BEA last week?  Well, guess what showed up in the mailbox this week?  I smell a giveaway!  Meanwhile, I can't wait to read this, but probably won't find the time for a while.

Thirteen Fugues
by Jennifer Natalya Fink
Release date: May 3, 2011
Source: Galley from the publisher

This is a very short novel from a very small publisher.  I shall try to read and review it, as their marketing budget has to be non-existent, and I'd hate to have them waste a galley on me.  Have no idea what the book's about.

The Gashlycrumb Tinies
by Edward Gorey
Release date: October 1997?
Source: Gift from David--Thank you!

So, websites say that this book was published in 1997, but there must have been earlier editions.  I had a good friend named Jim Blakely back in high school in the 80's, and I vividly recall the two of us laughing over "J is for James who took lye by mistake" and "S is for Susan who perished of fits."  I picked up a copy in a bookstore this weekend to check how "K is for Kate" died (Because it will be the headline of my review for Killing Kate.  How can I resist?) and my friend David insisted in purchasing it for me.  I was touched.  It is truly a life-long favorite, and it shall have pride of place next to The Curious Sofa on my coffee table.  Edward Gorey is the best!

Dominence
by Will Lavender
Release date: July 5, 2011
Source: Galley from the publisher

At dinner on Friday night, I was telling Jimbo about this (hopefully) awesome thriller I was looking forward to reading by this writer, Will Lavender, that somehow neither of us had heard of.  The next morning, I go to the post office to pick up a package, and lo and behold, it's an extra galley of the very book I was telling him about.  So, of course, I gifted it to him.  Mr. Lavender, I've got James Rollins reading your novel.  You owe me one, LOL.

The Maid: A Novel of Joan of Arc
by Kimberly Cutter
Release date: October 18, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

I'm not sure if I want to read this or not.  Part of me is very interested in knowing more about a fascinating historic character.  Part of me wants no part of reading about a hallucinating religious lunatic.  I will start reading the book and see what I think.

We The Animals
by Justin Torres
Release date: September 1, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

This debut family drama and coming-of-age story was another of the big buzz books at BEA.  I'm looking forward to checking it out!

The Black Stiletto
by Raymond Benson
Release date: September 5, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

Raymond Benson, who is perhaps best known for writing James Bond novels, has been a friend since the very first Thrillerfest, five or six years ago.  I am looking forward to seeing him again next week, and I am looking forward to finally reading one of his books.  Best. Opening. Ever.  "My mother was the masked vigilante known as the Black Stiletto.  I just found out today, and I've been her son for forty-eight years.  All my life I knew she had some secrets, but needless to say, this is a bit of a shock."

Books finished in the past week:

The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein
Blood of the Reich by William Dietrich
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J Watson
A Bad Day for Scandal by Sophie Littlefield

Currently reading:

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
A Map of Time by Felix J.Palma

So, what books have you acquired this week?  What are you reading?  What monsters are living in your mailbox?  Let me know in the comments!

Rarely is so much talent so poorly used

The Chopin Manuscript
by Jeffrey Deaver et al

The Chopin Manuscript and other novels of its kind are novelties. The idea is that one author will start and finish the novel, and that each chapter in between will be written by a different author working off of what's come before. This particular collaborative venture was the brainchild of the International Thriller Writers (ITW), and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more prestigious group of storytellers anywhere. In addition to Jeffrey Deaver, there are quite a few best-selling authors participating in The Chopin Manuscript, among them Lee Child, Joseph Finder, Lisa Scottoline, and David Hewson. Even among the less well-known authors there is tremendous talent exhibited. These are all writers capable of keeping their audience rapt, but the cards are stacked against them here.

Deaver opens the story with American Harry Middleton being stopped at the Warsaw Airport and being brought to the police for questioning. Middleton insists the hand-written Chopin music manuscript he's carrying is a fake--one he was called in to authenticate, but it turns out that's not what the police want to discuss. Rather, it is Middleton's lunch companion who, along with two others, has just turned up murdered. It's a respectable start to what soon becomes a globe-hopping tale of international intrigue.

Chapter by chapter, each author builds on what's come before, but tries to add his or her own twists, turns, surprises, and reversals--to the point that things ultimately become a bit ridiculous. This is a challenging task they've set themselves, and no one drops the ball, but it's just no way to tell a cohesive story. It's impossible. The plot is all over the place, the characters are undeveloped, even settings are descriptive passages are superficial. Some of the plot twists and story elements are patently absurd.

Oh, and I have no idea why this was produced exclusively as an audio book. The production values are excellent. And it's a tour de force for the preternaturally talented Alfred Molina, who does dozens of different character voices in just about every foreign accent imaginable. Even so, it was a devil to follow. There were so many characters to keep track of, and you couldn't just flip back in the book to remind yourself who they were. Far worse was this--the bulk of the characters had Polish or Slavic names. I couldn't tell you what they were. I couldn't spell them, pronounce them, or keep them straight as I tried to follow this complex narrative. Hopefully, you have better ears for that sort of thing.

The Chopin Manuscript is a novelty. I was curious to hear it and now I have. I'm definitely impressed with the talent of all involved, but I'm not rushing out to hear the sequel.

Okay, I did not see THAT coming...

Vanished (Nick Heller)
by Joseph Finder

What the hell has Roger Heller gotten himself into? Vanished, the latest thriller from Joe Finder opens with an attack on Lauren and Roger Heller as they are leaving a Georgetown restaurant. Lauren wakes up more than 24 hours later, badly concussed. Of Roger, there is no sign. In the interim, their 14-year-old son, Gabe, has called in his uncle, Nick, for help. It is Nick Heller, brother of Roger, who Finder is setting up to be the hero of a new series of novels.

He's made a good choice. Born to a life of extreme wealth--all of which was lost in a scandal--Nick gave up the pursuit of cash and joined the armed forces. Now he works as a private investigator for a high-end DC firm. He's tough, charismatic, and extremely competent. Nick Heller strikes me as a character that could go over equally well with both men and women.

Nick and Roger haven't been close in years, but Nick can't leave his only brother's disappearance entirely in the hands of the DC police. He begins his own investigation, while at the same time continuing to look into loose threads from his last work case. The deeper he digs into each, the more convoluted these two cases become. And the more enemies he seems to acquire.

Occasionally I thought I knew where Finder was going with his story, and occasionally I was right. More often I was wrong. A couple times I was completely stunned by a plot development. Joe Finder is definitely more clever than I am. Nick Heller is also more clever than I am, and the man really knows how to throw a punch. Fight scenes in the book were unusually interesting and well-written. Additionally, take it from a native Washingtonian that the DC setting was used with specificity and authenticity. (And observations like, "Washington, D.C., is to lying what Hershey, Pennsylvania, is to chocolate" made me smile.) Plenty of details that ring true do a lot to sell the whole story.

These days, I've got a litmus test for thrillers: Can I read it in a single day? Because it has relatively little to do with how many pages or how fast I read. It's all about a novel holding my interest for hours on end. Vanished passed with flying colors. It's not Finder's strongest work, but it's a good start to a new series.
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