Prepub Exploded: August 2009

Barbara Hoffert -- Library Journal, 4/3/2009 9:26:00 AM

August is hot...when in comes to fiction. Here's a list of forthcoming titles that should keep readers happy during the dog days. The graphic version of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 says it all, but don't miss Suzanne Brockman, Dai Sijie, or Luann Rice either.

Addonia, Sulaiman. The Consequences of Love. Random. Aug. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6799-2. $25. 
Like Shahriar Mandanipour’s stunning Censoring an Iranian Love Story (previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/09, to be reviewed in LJ 4/15/09), this first novel features a relationship stifled by Muslim law. Naser, an immigrant from the Sudan (where the Eritrean-born author lived en route to London), lives miserably in Saudi Arabia—until a woman muffled in veils drops him a note. The rich theme and sales to 16 countries indicate that this debut could be a real winner. Check out the author interview on YouTube. 

Bradbury, Ray (text) & Tim Hamilton (illus.). Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation. Hill & Wang: Farrar. Aug. 2009. 176p. ISBN 978-0-8090-5100-7. $30; pap. ISBN 978-0-8090-5101-4. $16.
A graphic novel that even those who don’t read graphic novels will love, this visualization of Bradbury’s classic looks bold, bright, and almost too hot to handle. Even better: Hamilton, a noted artist who’s been all over the map, worked directly with the legendary author. This comes with a reading group guide, so could be good to introduce your book group to graphic novels if they haven't tried the format yet. It’s tough to find examples of the illustrations online, but check out the cover at Barnes & Noble.

Brockmann, Suzanne. Hot Pursuit. Ballantine. Aug. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-0-345-50157-8. $25.
Alyssa Locke is back, with husband Sam Starrett, doing the very public job of protecting a friend running for office. This is the 15th in the “Troubleshooters” series, which launched in 2000 with The Unsung Hero, a Romance Writers of America Favorite Book of the Year. Can Brockmann keep up the heat? Eight-city tour by request.

Brown, Sandra. Smash Cut. S. & S. Aug. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4165-6308-2. $26.95. CD: S. & S. Audio.
A businessman is killed, seemingly by a crazed nephew intent on imitating his favorite films. Brown’s getting creepy here, but fans keep her on the best sellers list so buy accordingly. With a four-city tour that will include Dallas and New York.

Clark, Mary Jane. Dying for Mercy: A Novel of Suspense. Morrow. Aug. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-06-128611-7. $24.99. lrg prnt. CD: Harper Audio.
Touring a prominent Tuxedo Park, NY, estate, KEY News cohost Eliza Blake (seen in last year’s It Only Takes a Moment) encounters a dead body. Okay, it sounds routine, but Clark keeps on generating suspense—and sales. Note: the book was originally titled Take the Long Way Home, so don’t get confused.

Cook, Robin. Intervention. Putnam. Aug. 2009. 448p. ISBN 978-0-399-15570-3. $25.95. CD: Penguin Audio.
On one last dig beneath St. Peter’s, dissipated biblical scholar/archaeologist Shawn Doherty discovers something that old college buddy Kevin Murray, now a Catholic bishop, wants shushed. Then Jack Stapleton (e.g., Critical), college buddy to them both, gets involved. Wow, even medical mystery man Cook is getting on the religious-thriller bandwagon. 

Coyne, Teri. The Last Bridge. Ballantine. Aug. 2009. 240p. ISBN 978-0-345-50731-0. pap. $14.
“He isn’t who you think he is. Love, Mom.” What would you do if you got a note like that when you returned home following your mother’s suicide after ten years away? A former stand-up comedian and screenwriter, Coyne worked on this debut novel for ten years, too. Originally planned as a hardcover, this was just switched to a paperback format, doubtless to grab more sales.

Dai Sijie. Once on a Moonless Night. Knopf. Aug. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-307-27158-7. $24.95.
Reputedly carried into exile by China’s last emperor, sold illegally to a French linguist, and implicated in the relationship between a Western student and a Beijing greengrocer just back from re-education, the tatty silk scroll on the cover of Dai’s latest bears a lost Buddhist sutra. Dai returns after the intriguing but not list-busting Mr. Muo’s Travelling Couch with a novel that more closely recalls the indelible Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. With a reading group guide. Francophones, try this French review, which points out that even as the sensual, poetic text brings us closer to China, it also makes us feel the distance. Dai Sijie left China for France many years ago and currently writes in French.

De Robertis, Carolina. The Invisible Mountain. Knopf. Aug. 2009. 368p. ISBN 978-0-307-27163-1. $24.95. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
As the millennium turns, a lost infant named Pajarita reappears in a little Uruguayan town and launches several generations’ worth of tough women. Why the 150,000-copy first printing? Because at the sales meeting for this debut, someone pointed out that it had a definite Isabel Allende feel. This could break out. With a nine-city tour; reading group guide.

Eisdorfer, Erica. The Wet Nurse’s Tale. Putnam. Aug. 2009. 288p. ISBN 978-0-399-15576-5. $24.95.
It’s not every novel that stars a Victorian-era wet nurse—much less one who offers her services to the household into which her own child was sold and then uncovers some dangerous political secrets. Sounds intriguing, right? From a former book reviewer for NPR affiliate WUNC; this was an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Top 10 Seminfinalist so it could have legs.

Ferrigno, Robert. Heart of the Assassin. Scribner. Aug. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-1-4165-3767-0. $25.95.
As Ferrigno closes out the trilogy begun with Prayers for the Assassin, the Islamic republic and the Bible Belt nation that once formed the United States need to rejoin so that they can resist the land-hungry Atzlan Empire. Only Rakkim Epps can do the job, but his archenemy plans to stop him by tossing his luscious daughter in Epps’s way. A lot of irons in this fire, and the publisher is pushing it.

Fesperman, Dan. The Arms Maker of Berlin. Knopf. Aug. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-307-26837-2. $24.95.
History professor Nat Turnbull’s former mentor is jailed for possessing stolen World War II archives, and Nat is charged with finding important pieces that are still out there somewhere. There’s a modest printing, though Fesperman has won two major awards from the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain; this could be a good one to introduce to U.S. readers.

Grossman, Lev. The Magicians. Viking. Aug. 2009. 416p. ISBN 978-0-670-02055-3. $25.95. CD: Penguin Audio.
Ah, Times book critic and best-selling author Grossman knows his Harry Potter. His protagonist learns magic—and confronts teenage angst—while attending a secret school in upstate New York. Then he discovers that the fantasy world of his favorite childhood books is real—and more twisted than he realized. With a five-city tour; there’s a reading group guide, but I just want to soak this one up. For more on The Magicians, including a map of the magical land Fillory, check out Grossman's web site.

Haig, Brian. The Hunted. Grand Central. Aug. 2009. 448p. ISBN 978-0-446-19559-1. $25.99.
In a refreshing change from his Sean Drummond thrillers, Haig tells the story of a Russian billionaire who’s kidnapped, stripped of his fortune, and forced into exile, only to be accused of robbing the state. Based on a true story, no less; for more information, check out Haig's web site.

Hyland, M.J. This Is Now. Black Cat: Grove. Aug. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-8021-7062-0. pap. $14.
How the Light Gets In was a Barnes & Noble Discover finalist, and Carry Me Down was a Man Booker finalist, so it’s a safe bet that Hyland’s third novel is well worth reading. And it sounds intriguing: after a broken engagement, Patrick tries to get his bearings by moving to an isolated seaside village but can’t shake the feeling that he’s up against the world. With a reading group guide. Oh, and we would have sprung for the hardcover.

Jance, J.A. Fire and Ice. Morrow. Aug. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-06-123922-9. $25.95. lrg. prnt. CD: HarperAudio.
It’s Beau and Brady again, dealing with young victims set aflame and an elderly park attendant abandoned in the desert. Ignore the August pub date; there’s a one-day laydown on July 21 so purchase early enough for her many fans. With a ten-city tour to Bellingham, WA; Bisbee, AZ; Fort Smith, AR; Hot Spring, AR; Phoenix; Portsmouth; Rollinsford, NH; Seattle; Spokane; and Tucson.

Kadrey, Richard. Sandman Slim. Eos: HarperCollins. Aug. 2009. 385p. ISBN 978-0-06-171430-6. $24.95.
A talented young magician is kidnapped by demons who want a little entertainment in Hell and finally escapes ten years later, out for revenge. Dino de Laurentiis has optioned the film rights. The author will be touring San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle and will appear at national Comic-Cons.

Kellerman, Faye. Blindman’s Bluff. Morrow. Aug. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-06-170232-7. $25.95. lrg. prnt. CD: HarperAudio.
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus’s latest case hits close to home. With a one-day laydown on August 11. Look for Kellerman  in Los Angeles, New York, and Phoenix.

Kenyon, Sherrilyn. Bad Moon Rising: A Dark-Hunter® Novel. St. Martin’s. Aug. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-312-36949-1. $24.95. CD: Macmillan Audio.
With two brothers on the council of the Were-Hunters, Fang is in big trouble when the lycanthropes start fighting among themselves and the woman he loves is accused of betrayal. The “Dark-Hunter®” novels are heading in a new direction, but with Kenyon racking up three No. 1 best sellers in eight months—and the next Twilight movie, New Moon, focusing on werewolves—you can bet that this one will be big. Think multiple copies as you prepare for the one-day laydown on August 4; national tour.

Kuzneski, Chris. The Lost Throne. Putnam. Aug. 2009. 384p. ISBN 978-0-399-15582-6. $25.95.
In 1890, a man taken ill near Naple’s Piazza della Santa Carità tries to communicate in ancient Greek and German—which decades later leads to two former top-secret agents scrambling to find a lost treasure that, yes, could rewrite history. With previous books like Sword of God and Sign of the Cross, Kuzneski  continues to channel Dan Brown. The publisher is obviously betting on this one, so you should too, since the previous two were in paperback only. 

Larsson, Stieg. The Girl Who Played with Fire. Knopf. Aug. 2009. 528p. ISBN 978-0-307-26998-0. $25.95. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
Uncanny hacker Salandar—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—takes center stage in this follow-up to Larsson’s huge hit—a real first novelist success story, with Larsson reputedly one of the two or three top-selling authors in the world last year. In the new work, two reporters breaking the story of sex trafficking between Eastern Europe and Sweden are found murdered. Alas, Salandar’s prints are on the murder weapon. Significantly, there’s a reading group guide—not so common with thrillers—so consider this for reading groups as well.

Levin, Daniel. The Last Ember. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Aug. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-1-59448-872-6. $25.95.
Ditched by the American Academy in Rome after engaging in an unlawful excavation that caused a death, Jonathan Marcus becomes a defense lawyer for underhanded antiquities dealers. Not much to like about him so far, but he does agree to help a friend hunt for the long-lost Tabernacle Menorah. Soon they’ve got some not-so-welcome company. Trendy stuff in this debut (see Cook and Kuzneski, above), and the hero sounds interestingly imperfect.

Lasdun, James. It’s Beginning To Hurt: Stories. Farrar. Aug. 2009. 240p. ISBN 978-0-374-29902-6. $23.
Since I featured Lasdun’s Seven Lies among the Fall Editors’ Picks in 2005, I’m thrilled to see this new story collection. As the title suggests, Lasdun considers those moments when we start to feel too intensely, but he’s always smart about it.

McCoy, Sarah. The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico. Shaye Areheart: Harmony. Aug. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-307-46007-3. $19.95.
I like featuring first novels that seem especially promising, even if they don’t get two-page catalog spreads. This tale of a Puerto Rican girl who idolizes all things American is getting a reading group guide at Random House's ReadItForward and some big marketing plans, e.g., library and academic marketing (including high schools), plus inclusion in a “Book Group Around the World” brochure, mailings to Puerto Rican organizations, and even mailings to cruise ships for onboard libraries.

McDonell, Nick. An Expensive Education. Atlantic Monthly. Aug. 2009. 256p. ISBN 978-0-8021-1893-6. $24.
Harvard professor Susan Lowell gets a Pulitzer for her book on East African freedom fighter Hatashil, even as her Somali-born student David fights to get into an elite eating club and recent grad Michael Teak meets Hatashil in the midst of a massacre. Though McDonell has written about Sudan before, this Harvard grad may know more about an expensive ivory educations than the high price Africans pay just to live. But, certainly, his Twelve and The Third Brother were strong titles.

McMurtry, Larry. Rhino Ranch. S. & S. Aug. 2009. 208p. ISBN 978-1-4391-5639-1. $26.
McMurtry wraps up the series he began with The Last Picture Show. Like Duane—and the black rhino he’s trying to save—we’re all at the end of our rope.

Nicholson, Christopher. The Elephant Keeper. Morrow. Aug. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-0-06-165160-1. $24.95. lrg. prnt.
In 1767, two young elephants arrive in England from India and are cared for by young Tom. Then they must be separated, precipitating a series of tragic events. This sounds smart and tremendously affecting; with a reading group guide. Also look for this on the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program.

Pasulka, Brigid. A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True. Houghton Harcourt. Aug. 2009. 368p. ISBN 978-0-547-05507-7. $25.
Beata is in for a shock when she travels to Poland, homeland of her grandparents; it’s not the fairy tale land they knew before World War II nor the prosperous state promised with the fall of communism. Pasulka’s stories win awards, so expect a fresh-as-dough take on the ethnic experience. Here’s an interview with Pasulka on the book. 

Reichs, Kathy. 206 Bones. Scribner. Aug. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-7432-9439-3. $27. CD: S. & S. Audio.
Yes, there are 206 bones in the human body—and when Tempe Brennan wakes up bound hand and foot in a dark, enclosed place, she probably feels that every one of hers is broken. She recalls accusations about a mishandled autopsy, but the rest is...a classic Reichs mystery. With a ten-city tour to Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

Rice, Luanne. The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners. Bantam. Aug. 2009. 400p. ISBN 978-0-553-80514-7. $25. lrg. prnt. CD: Random Audio.
Remember Rice's The Geometry of Sisters? One of its main characters is back, so desperate to unite with her mother that she’ll go all the way to Capri. Readers still love the predictability of her stories, so buy multiples.

Rose, Karen. I Can See You. Grand Central. Aug. 2009. 448p. ISBN 978-0-446-53834-3. $18.99. CD: Hachette Audio.
Patched up after a disfiguring accident, Evie Wilson recovers by completing a thesis on the virtual world as therapy to improve self-esteem. Then several suicides are associated with her web site. Rose went hardcover with her last book, Scream for Me, and made the New York Times best sellers list.

Rosoff, Meg. The Bride’s Farewell. Viking. Aug. 2009. 224p. ISBN 978-0-670-02099-7. $24.95. CD: Penguin Audio.
Dreading the burdens of marriage, even to her childhood sweetheart, Pell flees on her wedding day and heads for the Salisbury Fair—where anyone in 1850s England who loves horses could hope to find work. Rosoff's fourth outing.

Vásquez, Juan Gabriel. The Informers. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Aug. 2009. 352p. ISBN 978-1-59448-878-8. $25.95.
U.S. readers might need reminding, but Latin American literature has gone way beyond magical realism. Colombian Vásquez’s novel centers on a young man whose biography of a family friend has just been savaged in print by his own father. Evidently, family secrets abound. Read an extract.

White, Stephen. The Man in the Tomb. Dutton. Aug. 2009. 320p. ISBN 978-0-525-95122-3. $25.95.
Why are students being held captive in the tomblike home of a Yale secret society? And why are they being sent out one by one to die? I’m too chicken for this one but White's many fans won't be. Here’s an author Q&A.