Maelstrom Released in October

Waaay back at the start of August I announced that the debut thriller by Michael MacConnell, Maelstrom, was going to be released that month. Well apparently there have been a few cover-related glitches that have caused a postponement of the publishing date. The word is though, that the book has now been finished, complete with a cover, and will be published by Hachette Livre in October.

As a refresher, here’s how the synopsis for the book reads, taken from the publisher’s website:

Sarah Riley is the daughter of FBI legend Harry Reilly. Her father made his reputation hunting down on of America’s worst serial killers. But Harry never met the violet-eyed man. Sarah has inherited her father’s impulsive intuition and is making a name for herself as a rookie FBI agent. Given the job of investigating a recent double murder, she uncovers some strange anomalies in the modus operandi of the killer… and a maelstrom of evil is unleashed as a killer finds himself hunted by more than one adversary. A chilling thriller that introduces a new heroine… someone who will give Clarice Starling a run for her money.

With the promise of a serial-killer plot, and a Silence of the Lambs comparison to boot, I'm still looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this one.

(At some point I might get around to adding Michael's bio to his author page over at crimedownunder.com, too)

I See You on the Streets of Australia

You’ve got to hand it to some publishers who are going out of their way to come up with bold new marketing techniques to put their new releases in the hands of readers.

On September 3 Hachette Livre unleashed I See You by Gregg Hurwitz (titled The Crime Writer in the US) on Australia using Bookcrossing.com to “spread the word” of the new release. Hachette have issued an announcement saying that they would spread 200 copies of the book which have been registered with their own unique identification number and left in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart.

The concept of Bookcrossing.com is to provide a means of sharing the enjoyment of reading through its members by leaving books for others to find. The books are adorned with bright Post-It notes urging people to pick them up and instructions that invite the finder to make a journal entry at http://www.bookcrossing.com/. It’s then possible to track how far the book has travelled as well as what the readers thought of it.

Will the concept be successful? Is there any way to measure success?

Checking out the bookcrossing site, I found that only 73 releases for I See You have been logged by LittleBrown (out of the advertised 200) and 5 of those have had finders report back. I suppose one argument is that there are 5 people who may not have otherwise picked up the book but after 2 weeks it seems that the response has been a little quiet.

Still and all, the campaign is only 2 weeks old at this stage so it may still be about to take off as more of the books are registered.

Be on the lookout for I See You by Gregg Hurwitz.

New Release : Eden

Eden by Dorothy Johnston is the 3rd book in a series set in Canberra and featuring Sandra Mahoney. She runs a security consultancy business that was born in The Trojan Dog and was more fully developed in The White Tower. We now get to see the result of even more experience in Eden.

Wakefield Press have published all books in the series with Eden being published this month (September). From the publisher’s blurb it looks as though we’re investigating the death of a Canberra politician. But as a bit of a teaser there is mention that the (male) politician may have been photographed in a dress and a blonde wig. One senses we’re going for the saucy angle, here.

The Sandra Mahoney books have grown on me with the first one (The Trojan Dog) leaving me cold, but the second (The White Tower) hit the mark nicely providing a very satisfying mystery. I’ll be trying to get my hands on a copy of Eden shortly to see just how it stacks up.

BTW : Dorothy Johnston is also the author of One For the Master which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award in 1999.

For all the latest Australian book releases in crime visit the Australian Crime Fiction Database.

Review : Bye Bye Baby by Lauren Crow

Title : Bye Bye Baby
Author : Lauren Crow
Publisher : Harper Collins Australia
Date Published : August 2007
ISBN : 0732284457
Sub- Genre : Psychological Thriller

A brutal tale of revenge that will have many readers torn between what is right and what is just is the theme of Lauren Crow’s debut thriller Bye Bye Baby. This is a psychological thriller that takes you deep into many tormented minds laying emotions bare in confronting fashion. Crow also does a tremendous job of allowing us to identify fully with her characters, whether they be good or bad, allowing us to decide on our feelings towards them.

A despicable crime was committed 30 years ago, schoolyard bullying was taken to a much more dangerous level than normal and lives were changed beyond repair as a result. Now those responsible must pay…and the price is their lives.

The deep wound that he and the others had inflicted upon me all those years ago had only pretended to heal. Beneath the scab of the new life I’d built, the injury had festered.

The first body was found in Lincolnshire. The man had been drugged with Rohypnol, stabbed in the chest and then been emasculated and had his lips cut off before his face was daubed with blue paint. It was a very distinctive murder. So when the second body turned up in another part of the country with the same distinctive MO, the police quickly realise that they have a serial killer on their hands and call in Scotland Yard.

Heading the investigation is DCI Jack Hawksworth, one of the finest young detective at the Yard who is widely acknowledged as the rising star in the force. Blessed with good looks he backs it up with a strong temperament and a personality that encourages a fierce loyalty in his subordinates. He puts together a strong team of detectives, among them is DI Karen Carter, a particularly sharp and insightful investigator in her own right.

The investigation progresses apace and while it does we are given first hand insight into why Jack has been promoted to DCI at such a young age. We also learn of the admiration that Karen Carter has for her boss, an admiration that goes beyond the professional. It’s something that Hawksworth is unaware of but, for the engaged Detective Inspector, it’s a distraction that impinges on her concentration and decision making ability. (It’s pretty obvious from early on that her feelings will become important later in the story). The tensions and emotions that develop throughout the book are finely handled by the author making them an important part in the development of the plot.

An unusual feature of the book is that we become closely acquainted to the killer and, at times, feel as though we can readily identify with the emotions that are displayed. You can even be forgiven for asking yourself whether you wouldn’t be tempted to do the same thing if you were put in a similar situation, making this a very involving book.

Lauren Crow writes with great maturity and style. The story contains a series of plot twists but she chooses not to draw them out for unreasonable lengths of time, instead she uses them to progress the story to its next level. I found that by the time I realised where I was being led, my suspicions were quickly confirmed and we were moving on.

Only occasionally did the dialogue deteriorate although when it did, it did so in jarringly obvious fashion. The most noticeable occasion occurred when a father was talking to his son and said, “I beseech you, son.” Beseech? In my 40 years on this earth I can’t say that I have ever heard a single person actually use that word in conversation. This minor negative can be easily overlooked, however.

Bye Bye Baby is more confronting than your average psychological thriller and Crow's detailed character analysis ensures that this is also more than a simple police procedural mystery. The story satisfies on many levels, the well-ordered investigation, Jack Hawksworth’s barely in control personal life, and the need of the killer to continue seeking revenge. There is a tangible deadline set from early on and everything leads inexorably to that point.

With any luck this is the first book in a series to feature DCI Jack Hawksworth and DI Karen Carter. Their relationship is far from what you might expect and he is the kind of character who begs to be continually discovered.

Angela Savage Reflects

Angela Savage has managed to overcome the blow of failing to pick up the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel with Behind the Night Bazaar. In fact, she has turned things around with a magnificently choreographed piece of basking in the reflected glory of two winners by posing, rose-between-two-thorns-style with Adrian Hyland and Garry Disher. Angela has posted the photo on her blog for all to admire. Very nicely done, Angela.

One wonders what happened to the photos Angela had taken with Michael Robotham and Jaclyn Moriaty, Richard Flanagan and Laurent Boulanger, Barry Maitland and Adrian Hyland, etc, etc.

In an earlier post on her blog, Angela has promised to maintain her blog but will cut back her posts in favour of her next novel. That will be fine Angela because we all want to know what Jayne Keeney has been up to this past year.

Golden Serpent Trailer on YouTube

Last week I posted the video trailer of Sensitive New Age Spy by Geoff McGeachin as a bit of a teaser for the book and as an example of the maketing methods that are embarked upon these days. I also posted my review of Golden Serpent by Mark Abernethy, his debut thriller.

Well, after a bit of searching I have since found the publicity trailer for Golden Serpent too, which is as action-packed as the book itself.