A Follow Up Post on a Must Read

I kicked off my Saturday Pre Pub Book Buzz posts with Kelli Stanley's latest, and first in her new series, City of Dragons, here.

Anytime I really enjoy an author's work, I am always excited when their new books hit shelves. A great first read catapults authors onto my Must Buy list and Stanley's place was cemented when I read her debut, Nox Dormienda (to read more about Nox, check out this post).

And it was with high expectations that I started City of Dragons over the weekend. Fortunately, the magnificent Stanley did not let me down -- not that I expected her to : )

City of Dragons was everything I'd hoped it would be, and much more. This first in the Miranda Corbie series is a gritty, fast paced mystery with an excellent plot that's full of twists. Set in 1940San Francisco, Corbie, a PI and former "escort" is in the wrong place at the wrong time when she finds a young Japanese man beaten in Chinatown. The police aren't too enthusiastic about the case so Miranda decides to take things into her own hands.

I won't repeat all of the synopsis info again, but I did want to do a follow-up post for you now that I've finished reading. I'll be sending a review for bookbitch.com later this week.

I don't think I can recommend this author highly enough. She really blows me away.

One of my absolute favorite things about her work is the obvious efforts that goes into make her settings as realistic and genuine as possible. I've never been to today's San Francisco, but Stanley paints such an amazing picture of the city and the 1940s era that I felt like I was right there with Corbie. And, having read the promo stuff on the book, I know that this is something that Stanley aims for in her stories. I'm here to tell you that she succeeds on all counts. So, treat yourself to a really great mystery and find a copy of City of Dragons (or Nox Dormienda)!

A reminder, City of Dragons is hitting shelves next Tuesday, February 2. Put it on your list. Reserve it at the library. Mark the date on your calendar!

And be sure to check out Kelli Stanley's site for tons of extras including a soundtrack, a fabulous contest, and info on Kelli's other works (and keep an eye out for the ITW anthology due out in June with a prequel story starring Miranda Corbie).

Happy Reading!

Pre Pub Book Buzz: Kelli Stanley's City of Dragons

Ok, because I like to post recs here, I don't necessarily spend as much time posting about upcoming books as I could. I try to stay on top of what's on the horizon, though, for multiple reasons. First, I'm a total junkie and used to keep a running list of new releases by date that were on my must buy list, which still exists in various forms (it's expanded).

Second, I love making all of you add to your own "Must Buy" lists! A lot of the blogs I read do have a post each week devoted to titles that they are looking forward to and I thought I would like to start doing the same. This'll give you time to pre-order from Amazon or put your name down at the library.

So, here's my first Pre Pub Book Buzz Saturday post!

You may recall this post on Kelli Stanley's debut, Nox Dormienda, a freakin fantastic "Roman Noir" mystery that totally captivated me.

Well, Stanley is starting a new series in Feb with the release of City of Dragons, a PI mystery that takes place in 1940s San Francisco. The folks at Minotaur sent me some press material including a description of the book and some of the early praise it's garnered.

February, 1940. Gone With the Wind packs movie palaces two months after its December premiere. "Moonlight Serenade" echoes from jukeboxes all over the country. And the Sino-Japanese war still rages while France waits anxiously for the Nazi blitzkrieg to hammer the Maginot Line.

In San Francisco’s Chinatown, fireworks explode as the city celebrates Chinese New Year with a Rice Bowl Party, a three day-and-night carnival designed to raise money and support for China war relief. Thus begins the backdrop of Kelly Stanley's searing series debut, City of Dragons (Minotaur Books On-Sale: February 2, 2010).

Miranda Corbie—thirty-three-year-old private investigator, Spanish Civil War nurse and ex-escort, waits impatiently in the crowd. Until small-time numbers runner Eddie Takahashi stumbles into Sacramento Street and into her life … fatally shot.

The Chamber of Commerce wants it covered up. The cops acquiesce. Japanese boy in a Chinese carnival ... wrong place at the wrong time. All Miranda wants is justice—whatever it costs. From Chinatown tenements to a tattered tailor’s shop in Little Osaka, to a high-class bordello draped in Southern Gothic—she shakes down the city—her city—seeking the truth.

CITY OF DRAGONS is a sprawling, visceral novel of San Francisco in 1940, a world of race wars and class wars, a world in which sexual threat is as casual as a five cent cigar. It is also a beautiful world … of hats and neon night clubs, Harry James and Chesterfields, of a World’s Fair ready to reopen in just three short months. It’s Miranda’s world. And she’ll die to protect the good in it. Because part of her died a long time ago…

The book has already gotten the attention of fellow authors Lee Child, Laura Benedict, George Pelecanos, and Linda Fairstein, just to name a few. And they all love it according to the prepub blurbs, which doesn't surprise me in the very least.

If you've not had the pleasure of reading Nox yourself, I definitely recommend checking it out. Stanley won Left Coast Crime's Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award and was a finalist for the Mystery Readers International McAvity Award in the Sue Feder Memorial Historical category.

Check out Kelli's official page for info on how you can win a sweet prize pack featuring an advance copy of City of Dragons, where you can find an extra City of Dragons story, news on the Arcturus series, and much more. And mark your calendars for Feb 2, 2010.