Another Killer Day

I have a few things I'd like to cover today. So much news, so much news. Yes, a couple more Killer Year books are hitting the streets today. Though I got one of them yesterday! Hah hah!

Before I get to that, I want to take a moment to offer BIG congratulations to M.G. Tarquini for placing in the 21st Annual City Paper Writing Contest. You can read an excerpt from her winning entry here, and lemme tell ya, it's got some zing. Mindy has a great, refreshing voice that really grabs ya. Good for you, Mindy!!!


Today marks the official release of BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD by Sean Chercover. I cheated and bought it yesterday, but only because I could. Heh.

About BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD
A disillusioned newspaper reporter turned Chicago P.I., Ray Dudgeon isn't trying to save the world. He just wants to do an honest job, and do it well. But when doing an honest job threatens society’s most powerful and corrupt, Ray’s odds for survival make for a sucker’s bet. The worlds of Hollywood moviemaking, Chicago organized crime, and Washington power politics collide in Big City, Bad Blood.

About Sean, Ken Bruen says, "This is James Crumley for a whole new generation, with the spirit of Nelson Algren walking point. Not only is Sean Chercover the new kid on the block, he may well be the only kid on the block."


Also out today is THE BLADE ITSELF by Marcus Sakey. I tried to buy it yesterday too, but the bookstore I was at said it hadn't arrived yet. I got dibs, though.

About THE BLADE ITSELF
For Danny Carter, retired thief turned respectable businessman, sharing a normal life with his loving girlfriend seems like the ultimate score -- until his former partner comes looking for him. A hardened killer fresh out of Stateville, his partner wants to kidnap the son of Danny's millionaire boss, and needs help to pull it off. Doing the job could cost Danny his career, his relationship, and his freedom; refusing could cost him his life.

T. Jefferson Parker says, "A terrifically good debut—streetwise, heartfelt, and exciting. I loved this book."

And I say congratulations, gentleman! We're off to a killer start to a killer year!

Suspicious Circumstances

It's a Killer Week, with the first Killer Year entries appearing. We start with SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES by Sandra Ruttan, and tomorrow two more will enter the fray: BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD by Sean Chercover and THE BLADE ITSELF by Marcus Sakey.

But let's start with SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. This is what I had to say about in blurb form...

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES grabs you by the throat on a storm-swept cliff's edge, and never lets go. Sandra Ruttan writes with a machine gun rhythm that pulls you through every unexpected twist and dark turn in her complex and richly drawn debut. Don't have plans when you sit down to read this tasty, dazzling thriller. Every page of SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES leave you gasping--and begging for more.

And I mean every word of it!

Hop on over to Sandra's blog and say congratulations! And go looking for your own copy. You can pick it up from online bookstores, or better yet, visit your favorite brick-and-mortar haunt and ask for your copy!