It Pays to Read Lisa Scottoline's New Book

Devil’s Corner, Lisa Scottoline’s (Dead Ringer & Killer Smile) newest legal thriller, will be released next week in hardcover and on CD. You can read a sample chapter at Barnes & Noble.com.

If you like what you read and pre-order a copy, the author will send you another of her books free – she even covers the shipping. If you order two, she’ll send you a tote bag.

Here are the details from Scottoline’s website.

"Lisa is very loyal, and she appreciates and values loyalty. She also likes to reward loyalty. So, if you pre-order Lisa's newest book, Devil's Corner, before it goes on sale on May 31st and send Lisa the receipt, she will send you, completely free, a Scottoline paperback of your choice. As always, the shipping and handling costs are on Lisa, with her thanks.

To get your beach tote, all you need to do is send Lisa the retail store register receipt or comparable proof-of-purchase for two copies of Devil's Corner (hardcover, audio, or large print format) — and the bag is yours. No charge for the bag, or for the shipping and handling. It's on Lisa, with thanks for your kindness — and for spreading the word."

For the free paperback:

Mail your receipt and your full name and address and your choice of free paperback to:
Lisa Scottoline
Free Paperback Promotion
PMB 123
1708 E. Lancaster Ave.
Paoli, PA 19301-1553

For the totebag:
Lisa Scottoline
Tote Bag Offer
PMB 123
1708 E. Lancaster Ave.
Paoli, PA 19301-1553

Don’t Go Down The Blind Alley

I just couldn’t finish Blind Alley. The plot defies logic. No one is likeable. Everyone is angry and the conflicts are contrived. The story telling and stilted dialog are right out of a bad romance novel.

The producers of this audio book clearly missed the exit. Author Iris Johansen tries to bring some intensity to her dialog by having speakers cut each other off in mid-sentence. The audio editors don’t seem to get the concept. Characters simply stop speaking; several beats pass, then comes the “interruption.” It’s like listening to people on Thorazine, talk.

Better production may have helped this story. A better story may have overcome the amateur production. But the combination is deadly.

Preview Dean Koontz’ Velocity

Velocity won't be released until May 24 but you can listen to an audio excerpt now at Koontz’ website. You can also hear clips of Odd Thomas, The Taking and Life Expectancy.

S is for Silence Arrives in Time for Christmas

"S" Is for Silence, the nineteenth novel in Sue Grafton’s alphabet series, is scheduled for release on December 6th. So far, there is no advance word on Kinsey's newest adventure.

Dragon Tears Smacks the Top of the Creepy-Meter

Pitted against an enemy with unfathomable paranormal power, two detectives have until dawn to save their own lives. They have no leads and know precious little about their tormentor, who is impossibly strong, impervious to weapons and can appear and disappear at will. Clearly, the usual police techniques will not work in Dragon Tears.

The situation seems hopeless but the detectives run themselves ragged to find out who or what is after them. In the course of this terrifying night, the pair is physically and philosophically challenged. They find their attitudes changing as they are stressed to the breaking point.

The villain is diabolically unique and Dean Koontz’ lavish details make you feel as if you’re there. Narrator Jay O. Sanders (Mr. Murder) sets the perfect creepy tone.

This audio book will make you drive around the block a few times.
You can hear a sample of Dragon Tears at
Audible.


Audible unabridged download

Amazon unabridged on CD & cassette

Broken Prey is Unstoppable

I started listening to Broken Prey yesterday and couldn’t put it down. I walked miles on the treadmill, folded laundry, trimmed my citrus trees and hedges all to keep listening. Finally I had to stop because, so far, you can’t take an iPod into the shower.

Broken Prey begins with a murder. A maniac is killing people in the most gruesome of ways. Lots of clues point to one man but he doesn’t fit the profile. Is he with someone else, manipulated by someone else, just along for the ride? Are they looking for the wrong guy? Is the killer really a woman? Lucas can’t get the pieces of this puzzle to fit together. There's only one thing he's sure of. The killer won’t stop until they catch him and he's picking up the pace.

Red herrings galore, nail biting suspense and just enough comic relief make this one of the best “Prey” books yet. You can listen to an excerpt of John Sanford’s Broken Prey at Audible.




Booksamillion Abridged on CD

Amazon Unabridged on CD

Audible Unabridged and Abridged Downloads

Elmore's "The Hot Kid" Smoldering on Shelves Now

Out of the dust bowl of Oklahoma, Leonard Elmore’s The Hot Kid arrives today.

The story is set in depression era Oklahoma, where lawman number one meets outlaw wannabe number one.

You can read an excerpt of The Hot Kid at Elmore's weblog. There is also a podcast interview with Elmore about The Hot Kid.

This marks novel number 40 for the prolific Elmore whose books inspired the movies, Hombre, Get Shorty & Be Cool to name a few.

Also available this week:

Countdown by Iris Johansen

Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett.

Genevieve by Eric Jerome Dickey

Dean Koontz's Newest Arrives May 24th

Dean Koontz is back with a new audio book sure to keep you on the edge of your car seat.

This from Koontz' web site:

"Koontz's next hardcover novel, VELOCITY, packs a wallop. With the pacing and tradition of Intensity, it is sure to be a reader favorite. Want an early glimpse into this breath-taking ride? Make sure you're signed up for the Dean Koontz e-newsletter. All members will receive three pre-publication excerpts in the weeks leading up to the May 24th on sale of VELOCITY. Only newsletter subscribers will receive this special offer, so sign up today!"

If you like what you read, you can order the audio version from Amazonfor %34 off and get free shipping.

The Prometheus Deception, Robert Ludlum

What if you woke up one day and everything you knew was wrong - even what you knew about yourself? This is Nicholas Bryson’s predicament.

The CIA informs the retired “deep cover agent” that his 15 years of intelligence work were actually against not for his government. His foster-family had a hand in this deception and maybe in the deaths of his parents. His estranged wife was a Romanian secret agent assigned to watch him.

Bryson has just entered the Twilight Zone. Is he a good guy, a bad guy, a dupe? Were his parents murdered? Was his marriage a sham? It's all very Bourne.

Before he has a chance to unravel his past, the CIA sends Bryson to learn what his old agency is up to now and why they are buying weapons. So begins a dangerous quest that takes Bryson around the world. Dozens of people are trying to kill him, there are lots of puzzles to solve and the clock is ticking.

From time to time, you'll need to suspend your disbelief. (Bryson is repeatedly teetering on the brink of death only to be rescued by the convenient appearance of a surprise ally.) That aside, The Prometheus Deception is a good story with an ingenious antagonist.

The identity of the force pursuing world domination and the technology they wield would almost be amusing if it didn’t ring a bit true. Call me paranoid but that part of the plot seemed plausible.

Paul Michael's (The Paris Option) narration is letter perfect. His accents and voices are always believable. Michael draws you in and keeps you listening.

If you are on the fence, you can listen to an excerpt of The Prometheus Deception at
Audible.

The abridged version on CD is available at Barnes & Noble as well as the unabridged on cassette.

Amazon has versions on cassette tape and unabridged on CD

Audible has an unabridged download.

Dead As A Doornail Released Today

Vampire fiction has taken off like a bat out of you-know-where. Author, Charlain Harris is keeping the pace with Dead As A Doornail, the fifth installment of her Southern Vampire series featuring the telepathic waitress, Sookie Stackhouse.

Less intense than Laurell K. Hamilton's, Anita Blake vampire hunter series, Harris' novels are vampire-light. Where Anita is sarcastic, Sookie is comical (Laurel K. Hamilton meets Janet Evanovich - in a dark alley).

Dead As A Doornail flies into bookstores today. If you haven't read Harris yet, you can read the first chapter of the new book at
her website.

The Closers by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch is back on the job in The Closers. The new novel by Michael Connelly will be on on sale May 16th but you don't have to wait. You can listen to the first chapter at Connelly's website. You can also see a video preview, read an interview with H.B. and sign-up to receive a Harry Bosch special short story via e-mail.

How To Get Audio Book CDs Onto Your iPod

Books on CD are not organized like music CDs. There are no track or artist names to help you keep track of or sort them.

Each book CD will be broken into about 15 tracks of 3 to 5 minutes long. They will be appear as track 1, track 2 etc. If you have songs on your iPod or in iTunes that are labeled that way, the book chapters will be scattered all over iTunes. Here’s how to keep the book together.

First, go to “File” and click on “New Playlist.” The playlist will appear at the bottom of your list with the title highlighted. Type the name of the book here.

Next, put the CD into your computer as usual. A new window will open and you will see the numbered tracks. Click on the first track to highlight it and again to highlight the title so it can be edited. Place the cursor in front of the word “track” and type the name of the book and “CD 1. ” Now it should read “Book title CD 1 Track 01.”

Highlight the book title and “CD 1.” Copy it and insert in front of the track numbers on the CD. (Make sure to keep the word “track”)

Now import the CD. When done, click on “library.” Paste the book name and CD # into the search window and press return. The tracks will appear in a their own window. Click on the first track to highlight it. Then shift click on the last one and they will all become highlighted. Now click on the list and drag it into the Playlist you created.

Insert the next CD and repeat the process until the tracks appear in their own window. This time you will see the tracks for CD 2 and track 2 (and maybe track 12) of CD 1. This is because the numeral 2 was in you search request. This will happen with each CD numeral. When you highlight the tracks and drag into the playlist, be careful not to drag any from another CD.

Once you finish all importing all the CDs, open the playlist and make sure no extra tracks are in the list out of order. If there are, highlight them click on the “Edit” menu and then on “Clear.” The extra tracks will be deleted form the list.

Connect your iPod as usual and drag the book playlist into your iPod – just like any other playlist or song. The book will appear as a playlist on your iPod and the tracks will play consecutively.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

It’s the weirdest day of the millennia for Arthur Dent. His home is demolished to make way for a bypass; his best friend turns out to be an alien; the earth is destroyed to make way for an interstellar highway; he is thrown out of an extraterrestrial craft into deep space only to be rescued by a criminal politician, who once lured away Arthur’s dream girl with the unlikely line, “I have my own spaceship.” And that’s just the beginning.

Armed with nothing more than The Hitchhiker’s Guide and bath towels, the homeless Arthur and his friend Ford travel the wild universe of Douglas Adams' imagination cheating death time and again.

Monty Python lovers will surely appreciate Adams’ satirical take on the galaxy, where poetry kills, the thugs are bureaucrats and a smart hitchhiker always knows where his towel is.

Quick comic prose and quotable one-liners will keep you listening as Adams delightfully skewers politics, religion and the quest for enlightenment.

Narrated to hilarious perfection by British actor Stephen Fry, this is a fast fun book.

Audible For Download

Amazon Unabridged On CD

BOOKSAMILLION Unabridged On CD *Lowest Price

Eleven On Top

Janet Evanovich fans, get your headphones ready. Stephanie Plum is on the loose again. You'll find her in bookstores June 21st. St. Martin's press will release a CD version of Eleven On Top along with the hardcover version.

In the meantime, you can read chapter 1 and part of chapter 2 at Evanovich's website. (If you don't see the chapters right away, click on the "Plum Series" icon.)


Barnes & Noble Unabridged on CD $24.46

Amazon Unabridged on CD $74.95 (Abridged $13.97)

Amazon Unabridged on cassette $49.95 (Abridged $12.89)

BOOKSAMILLION Unabridged on CD $82.45 (Abridged $14.86)

New At Audible in May

Fiction

• Broken Prey by John Sandford, May 5
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, May 3
• Black Wind by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler, May 3
• True Believer by Nicholas Sparks, May 3
• The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman, May 3
• Sideways by Rex Pickett, May 3
• Terror's Echo by Ed McBain, Stephen King, and more, May 3
• Last Witness by Jilliane Hoffman, May 5
• The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard, May 10
• Velocity by Dean Koontz, May 24
• Rage by Jonathan Kellerman, May 24


Non-fiction
• Against Depression by Peter D. Kramer, May 5
• Disney Wars by James B. Stewart, May 3
• Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins, May 3
• On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt, May 3
• Approval Addiction by Joyce Meyer, May 3
• Jim Morrison by Stephen Davis, May 3
• Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama, May 10
• The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, May 10
• 1776 by David McCullough, May 24
• Smashed by Koren Zailckas, May

Broken Prey

Broken Prey, the sixteenth installment of John Sandford's Prey series, will be on store shelves May 5th. The early word on the book is very good. You can sneak a peek at the first chapter of Broken Prey at Sanford's website. You can also see a synopsis and an early review there.


Barnes & Noble $27.76

Booksamillion $23.19

Amazon $26.37

Audible