I Could Use a Spa Vacation

When I woke up this morning for work, the temp outside was a reported -10. Not kidding. Last check it had bumped up to 5 with a 40% chance of more snow on the way and only single digit highs again tomorrow. My sister has no sympathy and points out that I'm the one who moved to Colorado in the first place. Well, yes. That's true. But not too many places have year round ideal temps for me so...

I have to say that when Kelli Stanley's latest, The Curse-Maker, landed on my doorstep, I couldn't have been more thrilled. Ancient Roman England and a murder mystery in Bath (where I've actually been!) made the perfect setting for an escapist evening and I dove in with great anticipation.

For those of you who are familiar with Stanley (and if you've been reading here for a while, then you should be) The Curse-Maker is a return to the series that began with Nox Dormienda. It's also a big moment for Stanley because now both of her series are being published by St. Martins. (Curse-Maker can be read as a stand-alone and makes a great introduction to Arcturus and Stanley's Roman Noir world if you can't find a copy of Nox.)

Arcturus and his wife Gwyna are headed to Bath for a little holiday together, courtesy of Governor Agricola, when they come across a body in one of the town's sacred springs. Since the waters of Bath are supposed to be known for their healing powers, a dead man in said waters is pretty bad for business. The townsfolk request Arcturus's help in the matter and his wife encourages his involvement, which turns out to be too much for the physician and investigator to resist. But the tense situation and the superstitious locals are growing more impatient by the minute and Arcturus soon finds himself at the center of a vast conspiracy.

I've probably said it before, but with Stanley's great devotion to careful research and her attention to every detail, I find myself completely transported when I read one of her books. Whether it's first-century Londinium or 1940's San Francisco, I'm amazed at how effective her words are in carrying me off to those places. And I loved that the whole cast of characters in Curse-Maker seemed so real by the time I turned the final page.

The Curse-Maker is new out on shelves as of today. I recommend tracking down a copy for your TBR stack if you're a fan of historical mysteries and/or noir!

And Kelli Stanley's been busy busy busy lately, folks as this year will also see a return to the Miranda Corbie series as well.

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.

Lazy Days

I am beat! I ran around town today shopping at little gourmet stores and food shops and the Saturday farmer's markets. It was fun. I thought I would come home with supper, but instead have more condiments to add to my collection! Yeah, they're fun. Condiments make the meal. I am all about the extras.

Anyway. I love lazy days. Days when you really don't have to worry about anything and you can just relax and be. I bathed our dog the other day - she desperately needed it. This involved looping her leash around a post on our porch and spraying her down with the hose. She hates it. As much as I understand that she would rather smell like dog funk, I prefer her oatmeal vanilla (i.e. expensive and supposed to be good for dogs with dry skin - hey, I can sympathize with her, my skin didn't fare any better moving over here) dog shampoo. It was nice outside and I was waiting for my other to get home from work so I hooked the dog to a tree and brought my book out to read.

I've been working my way through the ITW (see post) debut author's list and Nox Dormienda was next in my stack. Kelli Stanley was at LCC this spring and I already had some promo stuff that was available then. I also heard her premise and thought it sounded pretty interesting. Fortunately, she's a BB fan and I had a chance to review the book for the site (it'll be up next week). For now, I'll just tell you a little bit about this historical mystery "Roman Noir" debut:

Arcturus, official physician to Governor Agricola, and sometime problem solver, is approached by a gorgeous woman in trouble. Her fiancé is rumored to be carrying a letter to Londinium that could mean the end of the governor. She appeals to Arcturus’s loyal nature and urges him to alert Agricola of the matter. Arcturus takes it one step further and has the woman followed. His man Bilicho eventually tracks the woman to an inn and whorehouse where the fiancé is staying. Later, Bilicho hears noises and follows a cart to an underground temple. The priests of the temple call for Arcturus and the physician discovers that the body of the woman’s fiancé has been left mounted on an alter, his throat brutally slashed. It is also discovered that the man may indeed be an official messenger from Emperor Domitian. If Arcturus can’t find out who killed the man and why, before the Emperor receives news of the death, Britannia could be facing dire political consequences.

It was a fun new mystery, entertaining and wholly captivating. I read half of it lounging in the yard with our dog and finished it later that night. First in a new series and maybe even the first in a new subgenre, Roman Noir. The title, Nox Dormienda, roughly translated is a play on The Big Sleep! Stanley's in-depth research into the time period (1st century Roman England) is apparent in reading her debut. It's going to be one hell of series, I can tell you that much!

You can see the rest of the review under latest reviews at bookbitch.com next week. And now, I am going to take my orange mint tea and go read another ITW debut, The Last Vampire by Marc Paoletti and Patricia Rosemoor. I'll let you know how it is in a few days.