Author du Jour: Chris Pavone

The-Travelers-Pavone-smallThe Travelers,” by Chris Pavone (Crown Publishers pp 437, $ 27.00)

If you have read Chris Pavone’s previous novels “The Expats” and “The Accident,” you know that you will travel abroad, extensively. “The Travelers” will not disappoint you. I suspect one day, Pavone will write high-end espionage novels, à la James Bond, since he seems so comfortable in the genre, and his writing only gains in intensity.

The Travelers” is a fast-paced thriller transporting you in all the most unlikely locations in the world. Its main protagonist, Will Rhodes, is a “travel” writer for a magazine and lives out of a suitcase. It may sound like a dream, but if you are stuck in a rut in your own life make no mistake that this sort of conditions are often the result of internal “traveling” affairs. In Will’s case, crumbling marriage, crumbling house, and crumbling dreams. One day, during an assignment in Argentina, he cannot resist the temptation of a mysterious Australian woman . . . and thus starts an exhilarating domino effect of suspicions and disappearances that will put Will and his circle within immediate danger.

Author du Jour: Malin Persson Giolito

GiolitoPersson_Quicksand-smallQuick Sand” by Malin Persson Giolito

(trans. Rachel Willson-Broyles, Other Press, pp 432, $26.95)

Kudos to Other Press for publishing this Nordic wonder. “Quick Sand” has been bestsellers in more than 20 countries, mainly the old continent, and despite its success, it was shocking to see that no US publisher would rush to snatch up the US rights. “Quick Sand” is Persson Giolito‘s fourth crime novel. The story takes its cue from a mass killing, such as the one which took place in Norway in 2011 . . . Its main protagonist, the 18-year old, Maja Norberg, is a popular student who survives a school rampage. Set as a flashback, prior to the gory event, the plot trails Maja’s past to find out whether she participated in the mass murdering. She has been accused, being the only one to survive, and waits in jail for her trial.

This alone would not have been enough to get this book included in this month column. But Persson Giolito’s craft takes us on a psychological ride, where perhaps the narrator of the story is not as reliable as first thought. She met a questionable character, Sebastian Fagerman, prior to the massacre. Little by little, we can hear the cogs of her internal life flicker with strange sounds. As she is swept off her feet, alienating everyone in her immediate circle, we ponder if her outcries are not simply screams for help . . . that everyone missed.  Then do we want her to be guilty? Do we want her to be innocent? Or do we simply want to be passers-by entertained by her story? . . .  You will have to listen to yourself very careful as you read this unnerving book.  You do not want to be missing something.

Looking for New Authors

Welcome to our publishing venture Book Case Engine.

Book Case Engine-v2.4-medlargeWe are still small but growing steadily, and just every small fish we dream of getting bigger . . .

We have published in Fiction, Thriller, Self-Help and YA fiction genres so far. Check out our author pages.

We are however eager to hear from you and to consider your work for publication.  We are actively looking for original voices in YA and MG fiction, literary fiction, genre fiction, especially crime/thriller/mystery, romance, self-help, and great science, sociological and historical manuscripts. We offer both E-book and print contract.

Agents and Writers interested in sending us your work, should send us a short query first. Visit the Book Case Engine Tab for our submission guidelines.

We runs several Series such as Books We Live by, which only covers Classics from around the world,  Noir Matters about everything thrillers, Crime, and mystery, and Heart Matters everything about romance and the body.

We are also eager to receive manuscripts in foreign languages (untranslated literature) to publish them in their original language and/or in translation.  We accept Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Russian projects.

Write to us at the following address.

Author du Jour: Cara Brookins

Brookins-LittleBoyBLuAuthor du Jour: Cara Brookins “Little Boy Blu.”

A riveting tale of genetic skin color. Timely metaphor! (published by The Wild Rose Press)

Blu Tracey grew up isolated in the Appalachian Mountains and is the only child in his family without a genetic abnormality that causes blue skin. But when he discovers his mother intentionally had abnormal children for a reality television show, he becomes the target of a killer. If Blu doesn’t expose someone in his own family as a suspect, his siblings will be exploited for their rare, genetic mutation, and worse they could be the next targets in the killer’s pursuit of fame.