Publishers Weekly articles from September 2006

Publishers Weekly archives from September 2006

Industry weighs new Google moves; recent actions show need to defend copyright, publishers say.(Foreword)
September 4, 2006... The two lawsuits filed against Google over its library scanning project has not deterred the company from launching two new Book Search initiatives, both of which have strengthened publishers' resolve to protect the copyright of its materials....

New BISG head named.(Michael Healy at Book Industry Study Group)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Michael Healy, editorial director of Nielsen Book Services, has been appointed the new executive director of Book Industry Study Group. Healy, who has spent the last seven years in the U.K. with Nielsen, is also chairperson of the International...

B&N gets subpoena.(Barnes & Noble)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Barnes & Noble has been subpoenaed by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York seeking documents related to the way the company issued stock options. In July, B&N announced that the SEC had started an informal investigation into...

The Chinese flag.(HarperCollins Publishers Inc. signs deal with People's Literature Publishing House)
September 4, 2006... By just about any measure, Jane Friedman's flag-planting announcement at the Beijing Book Fair last week was an impressive event. In a ballroom crowded with almost exclusively Asian journalists, and over the strings and brass of classical...

New publisher at Kids Can.(Karen Boersma at Kids Can Press)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Karen Boersma has been named to succeed Valerie Hussey as publisher of Kids Can Press, a leading Canadian publisher of children's books. Hussey, who has been at Kids Can for 27 years, said her decision to leave was mostly personal, noting that...

MediaBay outlook bleak.(MediaBay Inc. maybe forced to file for bankruptcy)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... In its most recent filing with the SEC, MediaBay said that unless the company is sold or receives new financing, it maybe forced to file for bankruptcy before the end of the year. In MediaBay's second quarter, its net loss soared to $12.9...

Melcher moves to DK.(Melcher Media, DK Publishing Inc., distribution deal)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... DK Publishing has assumed worldwide English-language distribution for Melcher Media's titles that it publishes under its Melcher Media imprint. The deal does not include packaged titles or works copublished with other houses. Melcher's former...

Publishers tread lightly in D2C arena.(Incubating)
September 4, 2006... I'n a September 26, 2005, article in PW, adjectives like "quietly" and "understated" were used to describe Random House's and Simon & Schuster's initial forays into selling directly to consumers from their Web sites. Nearly a year later, the...

Correction.(Correction notice)
September 4, 2006... Correction: The names of two Lemony Snicker titles in the Aug. 21 By the Numbers were slighty off. Book one is The Bad Beginning; book nine is The Carnivorous Carnival.

Getting together at Yosemite.(Yosemite Writers Conference)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... The third annual Yosemite Writers Conference drew more than 200 publishing professionals last month. Among those attending were (l. to r.): Stacey Barney, Kensington Books; Doris Booth, Authorlink.com; Hazel Dixon-Cooper, Cosmopolitan; Regina...

Leaner and leaner.(Christine Lydon sells rights to his book, Andrea Barzvi sold rights to Jillian Michaels's book)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Christine Lydon, who holds an M.D. from Yale and is a contributor to Oxygen magazine and a fitness coach and model, has sold Ten Years Thinner: The Ultimate Lifestyle Program for Simultaneously Winding Back Your Physiological Clock--and Your...

Raging Baumbach.(Jonathan Baumbach sold rights to 'You: The Invention of Memory')(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Jonathan Baumbach, whose fiction-writing career (B; Reruns) spans 14 books and several decades, has sold a new novel, You: The Invention of Memory, to Christopher White at Ohio-based startup Rager Media; agent Andrew Blauner sold North...

Dijkstra's double dip.(Sandra Dijkstra acuire rights to two books)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Agent Sandra Dijkstra has negotiated a deal for two new books by USC law professor and historian Mary Dudziak. The first is Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey, which sheds new light on the Supreme Court Justice's...

Rosenberg back to Avon.(Avon's Lyssa Keusch acquire rights to Saralee Rosenberg's title)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Avon's Lyssa Keusch has acquired her fourth consecutive title from comic novelist Saralee Rosenberg via agent Deborah Schneider, who sold North American rights. The new book, All in the Cards, is set in the author's home turf of Long Island and...

The briefing.(Wendy Walker acquire rights to Hello, Charlie: Letters from a Serial Killer )(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Atria's Wendy Walker has acquired North American rights to Hello, Charlie: Letters from a Serial Killer by Charlie Hess and Davin Seay, from agent William Clark. The book will detail how retired FBI agent Hess, along with two other volunteers,...

Calendar: Sept. 10-16.(Yma Sumac turns 84, Kristen Breitweiser's Wake-Up Call: The Political Education of a 9/11 Widow, Max Brooks' novel 'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War')(Brief article)(Calendar)
September 4, 2006... 9/10 Yma Sumac turns 84. David Toop's Exotica (Serpent's Tail) profiles the four-octave singer and the eclectic and exotic musical soundscape she popularized in the 1950s. 9/11 PW called Kristen Breitweiser's Wake-Up Call: The...

Reader's Digest developing greater taste for retail.(Beyond Direct Mail)(Reader's Digest Association Inc.)
September 4, 2006... Using its prodigious database and familiar name, Reader's Digest has sold millions of copies of books over the years, primarily through various direct-marketing channels. (Total book sales in fiscal 2006 were $955 million.) But now, under the...

Picture show man.(Palm-Star Entertainment acquire rights to Peter Biskind's Down and Dirty Pictures)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... In Hollywood, the best stories often aren't the plots on the page, but rather the real-life behind-the-scenes tales of fear and treachery--a fact keenly recognized by director Ken Bowser, who, along with writer Dean Craig and Palm-Star...

The last stand.(Kennedy and Frank Marshall acquire rights to Andrew Huebner's American by Blood)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... The Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 saw the infamous fall of Gen. George Custer as he attempted to trap and massacre a village of Sioux and Cheyenne. Eager to see the historic battle on the big screen, producing partners Kathleen Kennedy and...

Behind the words.(Firm Films and Davids Canton Productions acquire rights to Marian Keyes's The Other Side of the Story )(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... The world of publishing ties together the three protagonists at the heart of Marian Keyes's The Other Side of the Story (Morrow, 2004). Gemma is trying to help her mother cope with being abandoned by her father, even as she envies the literary...

Correction.(Hollywood Reader)(Correction notice)
September 4, 2006... Correction: In "Lesson for Living" (Aug. 28), Freshwater Road by Denise Nicholas was published by Agate in 2005. e-mail: HollywoodReader@gmail.com

Andi Allen, piece of mind books, Edwardsville, Ill.(Galley Talk)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... I've been a fan of Mitch Albom's books since the week Tuesdays with Morrie came out. So I entered his new book, For One More Day (Hyperion, Sept. 26), with high expectations. Although it's a small book, it makes a big impression. I loved it! It...

Two to RLPG & NBN.(Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., National Book Network)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Neil Levin has been hired at both RLPG and National Book Network as senior v-p. Levin arrives from Time Life Trade Books, the retail and custom publishing division of Time Life Books, where he was v-p and publisher. Also joining NBN is Annette...

Dutton/Gotham gets Tobier.(Amanda Tobier appointed)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Amanda Tobier has been named marketing manager at Penguin's Dutton and Gotham imprints. Arriving from Hyperion, where she worked on the bestsellers The Tender Bar and The Long Tail, Tobier also worked at Harper Perennial and was a buyer at...

Hire, promo at Globe Pequot.(Globe Pequot Press Inc. appoints Cissy Tiernan and promotes Kathryn Mennone)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Cissy Tiernan has joined Globe Pequot Press as director of national accounts. Most recently Tiernan was director of sales for Yorkville Press. Kathryn Mennone has been promoted to director of strategic partnerships there.

Rizzoli says buongiorno to fiction.(Rizzoli Publishing )
September 4, 2006... Rizzoli Publishing may be best known for its sumptuous art books, but as production costs rise and the demand for such pricey books diminishes, the house has begun exploring different publishing channels by releasing books that cost less to...

Hasbro in deal with Sourcebooks.(Licensing)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Hasbro has signed its first adult book license for its Playskool brand, inking a deal with Sourcebooks to develop a series of parenting guides for women. A total of 20 titles are planned for the line, which will kick off next spring with four...

Weak half for chains.(Correction notice)
September 4, 2006... Because of a production error, several figures on last week's table showing the revenue of the major chains were wrong. The corrected numbers (at right), show second-quarter sales for the chains down 2.3% in the second quarter and off 0.5% for...

Valley joins Gotham.(People)(Bret Valley at Gotham Books)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Bret Valley has been named editor at Gotham Books. Most recently an editorial assistant at Touchstone/Fireside, Valley has worked with authors Al Roker and Richard Lavoie (It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend).

Gromling to head FPA.(People)(Frank Gromling at Florida Publishers Association)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Frank Gromling has been named president of the Florida Publishers Association for the 2006-2008 term. Gromling is the owner of Ocean Publishing in Flagler Beach.

PW's Garrett promoted.(People)(Lynn Garrert)(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Lynn Garrert, longtime religion editor at PW, has been promoted to senior editor. Garrett will continue to oversee the magazine's religion coverage, which includes the weekly e-mail newsletter and regular magazine features.

Hardcover bestsellers/fiction.
September 4, 2006... Hardcover Bestsellers/Fiction Last Weeks September 4, 2006 week on list 1 Judge & Jury. James Patterson and 1 4 Andrew Gross. Little,...

Hardcover bestsellers/nonfiction.
September 4, 2006... Hardcover Bestsellers/Nonfiction Last Weeks September 4, 2006 week on list (a) 1 I Feel Bad About My Neck. 4 4 Nora...

Paperback bestsellers/mass market.
September 4, 2006... Paperback Bestsellers/Mass Market Last Weeks September 4, 2006 week on list 1 Lifeguard. James Patterson and 1 5 Andrew...

Paperback bestsellers/trade.
September 4, 2006... Paperback Bestsellers/Trade Last Weeks September 4, 2006 week on list 1 The Memory Keeper's Daughter. 1 10 Kim...

Audio bestsellers/fiction.
September 4, 2006... Audio Bestsellers/Fiction September 1 Judge & Jury (unabr. CD). James Patterson and Andrew Gross. Read by Joe Mantegna. Hachette Audio. Seven CDs, eight hours, $39.98 ISBN 1-59483-332-X 2 The Devil Wears...

Audio bestsellers/nonfiction.
September 4, 2006... Audio Bestsellers/Nonfiction September 1 Your Best Life Now (abr. CD). Joel Osteen, Read by the author. Time Warner AudioBooks. Five CDs, six hours, $26.98 ISBN 1-59483-655-4 (a) 2 The World Is Flat (abr....

On sale in September.(On-Sale Calendar)(Bibliography)(Calendar)
September 4, 2006... Among the harbingers of fall are novels from mega-bestseller Mitch Albom, National Book Award-winner Alice McDermott and book club favorite Mark Haddon; searing political commentary from Frank Rich and Bill Gertz; and a memoir from Jonathan...

Attention Kmart shoppers: romance writers hit the road in the heartland.(Kmart Holding Corp.)
September 4, 2006... A crew from the local CBS affiliate starts filming, professional and amateur photographers snap photos and curious observers mill about in front of the Harwood Heights Kmart in suburban Chicago one recent morning, as 14 women, ranging in age...

A new age for mind/body/spirit? Publishers reflect on staying relevant in a troubled world.(Networking Alternatives for Publishers, Retailers and Artists)(Cover story)(Bibliography)
September 4, 2006... Since 9/11, Americans have entered into two wars, witnessed a devastating tsunami in Asia, learned the inconvenient truth about global warming and watched the Middle East erupt in violence. Given all the chaos out there, it's no surprise that...

The infuriated American: Lou Dobbs's campaign for the middle class.(Author Profile)(Biography)
September 4, 2006... Just outside Lou Dobbs's office at the new Time Warner Center on West 38th Street in Manhattan, you pass a bumper sticker on the wall that proclaims "Lou Dobbs for President 2008." The office has a huge window with a fantastic panorama of...

More galleys to grab.(Regional Bookseller Shows)
September 4, 2006... The regional trade shows give booksellers a chance to hedge fall bets and read ahead on winter titles. To find out which galleys are most likely to snag their attention, PW checked in with Elaine Petrocelli, co-owner of Book Passage in Corte...

Children's galleys to grab.(Regional Bookseller Shows)(Bibliography)
September 4, 2006... Be sure to walk all the aisles, because there's a wide selection this fall for those interested in new kids' books. (Galleys will be available at all shows, except where noted.) New titles from popular authors: * The Astonishing Life...

The Friends of Meager Fortune.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The Friends of Meager Fortune DAVID ADAMS RICHARDS. Macadam/ Cage, $25 (378p) ISBN 1-59692-189-7 The latest from acclaimed Canadian writer Richards (Nights Below Station Street; Mercy Among the Children) offers an uneven but beautifully...

Silent in the Grave.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... * Silent in the Grave DEANNA RAYBOURN. Mira, $24.95 (512p) ISBN 978-0-7783-2410-2 Fans of British historical thrillers will welcome Raybourn's perfectly executed debut. In 1886, Lady Julia Grey's husband, Edward, dies suddenly of the heart...

Home Remedies.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Home Remedies ANGELA PNEUMAN. Harcourt, $14 paper (240p) ISBN 0-15-603075-6 In this dark debut, Pneuman weaves together a collection of short standalone fictional stories that share a roughly similar thread of conservative Christian faith...

I'm Not Julia Roberts.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... I'm Not Julia Roberts LAURA RUBY. Warner, $23.99 (251p) ISBN 978-0-446-57874-5 Ruby, whose third YA novel Good Girls is due this fall, starts off with fresh, sardonic wit in this linked collection of divorce stories, but the unnerving...

PW talks to Philippa Gregory: from Henry VIII with love.(Q&A)(Interview)
September 4, 2006... The author of The Other Boleyn Girl returns to Henry VIII's court for The Boleyn Inheritance (reviews, Aug. 7), about three women whose lives intersect in friendship and betrayal. The Boleyn Inheritance has three narrators (two wives of...

The Garden of Ruth.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The Garden of Ruth EVA ETZIONI-HALEVY. Plume, $14 (304p) ISBN 978-0-452-28673-3 Etzioni-Halevy, an Israeli sociologist and author of The Song of Hannah, returns to the ancient Middle East for an imaginative second novel rifting on the...

I Love Claire.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... TRACEY BATEMAN. Warner Faith, $12.99 paper (320p) ISBN 0-446-69607-2 In this follow-up to Leave It to Claire and Claire Knows Best, Bateman rings wedding bells for the fallible protagonist--maybe. Claire Everett, a divorced mother of...

The Eagle's Prophecy.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The Eagle's Prophecy SIMON SCARROW. St. Martin's/Dunne, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-32454-4 The sixth installment (following 2005's The Eagle's Prey) of Scarrow's popular Roman Empire series is a combustible concoction of intrigue,...

Holy Week: A Novel of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... JERZY ANDRZEJEWSKI, TRANS. FROM THE POLISH BY OSCAR E. SWAN AND OTHERS, FOREWORD BY JAN GROSS. Ohio Univ./Swallow, $39.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0-8214-1715-7; $19.95 paper ISBN 978-0-8214-1716-4 As armed battle rages in the Warsaw ghetto during...

The First Princess of Wales.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The First Princess of Wales KAREN HARPER. Three Rivers, $14.95 (624p) ISBN 978-0-307-23791-0 Harper's (sort of) latest (after The Last Boleyn, but originally published in 1984 as Sweet Passion's Pain) breathes a lust for life into...

Pack Up the Moon.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Pack Up the Moon MARY ANNE KELLY. St. Martin's/Dunne, $24.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-34208-1 Kelly breaks out of the mystery mold with an early view of heroine Claire Breslinsky in this middling prequel to Foxglove, The Cordelia Squad and...

I, Mona Lisa.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... I, Mona Lisa JEANNE KALOGRIDIS. St. Martin's, $14.95 paper (544p) ISBN 978-0-31234139-8 Set against a backdrop of political and religious conflicts in 15th-century Medici-ruled Florence, Kalogridis's bloody historical (after The Borgia...

Almost a Crime.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... PENNY VINCENZI. Overlook, $26.95 (672p) ISBN 978-1-58567-852-5 Vincenzi's latest saga (after Into Temptation) exposes the cracks in a British "power marriage" and charts the frightening evolution of a spurned woman's love into a dangerous...

Home to Big Stone Gap.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Home to Big Stone Gap ADRIANI TRIGIANI. Random, $25.95 (336p) ISBN 978-1-4000-6008-5 The delightful Blue Ridge Mountain town of Big Stone Gap, Va., once again comes to life through the voice of Ave Maria MacChesney in Trigiani's fourth...

Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography NICK RENNISON. Atlantic Monthly, $24 (304p) ISBN 978-0-87113-947-4 Rennison creates an in-depth biography of the world's most famous detective that will intrigue Sherlockians and non-Sherlockians...

A Separate Reality.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... A Separate Reality ROBERT MARSHALL. Carroll & Graf, $14.95 paper (275p) ISBN 978-0-78671-715-6 In present-day Manhattan, a casual reference by his younger boyfriend to the ongoing popularity of Carlos Castaneda sends Mark Grosfeld into a...

Finding Noel.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Finding Noel RICHARD PAUL EVANS. Simon & Schuster, $19.95 (151p) ISBN 0-7432-8703-7 On the night that Mark Smart has decided will be his last, his car dies in a blizzard. He enters a closing coffee shop and finds Macy Wood, who literally...

A Christmas Caroline.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... A Christmas Caroline KYLE SMITH. Morrow, $14.95 paper (288p) ISBN 0-0611-1987-3 It's Christmas Eve in uptown Manhattan; self-serving fashionista Caroline is a rude and spoiled narcissist who tramples on everyone's feelings. Caroline's...

The Great Santa Search.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The Great Santa Search JEFF GUINN. Tarcher, $18.95 (336p) ISBN 1-58542-513-3 When TV producer Bobbo Butler tries to save his ailing TV station, FUN-TV, with an American Idol-inspired talent contest intended to find the real Santa, the man...

Blue Christmas.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Blue Christmas MARY KAY ANDREWS. HarperCollins, $14.95 paper (208p) ISBN 978-0-06-083734-1 Weezie Foley is bent on winning Savannah's downtown window-decorating contest, but as soon as she picks up the hot-glue gun, strange things start...

Christmas Letters.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Christmas Letters DEBBIE MACOMBER. Mira, $16.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-7783-2349-5 Katherine O'Connor, a Seattle medical transcriptionist, has a booming sideline business, writing other people's Christmas letters. A run-in with Dr. Wynn...

Sugar and Spice.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Sugar and Spice FERN MICHAELS, BEVERLY BARTON, JOANNE FLUKE, SHIRLEY JUMP. Zebra, $7.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-8217-8047-3 Sweet is the word for this anthology from four top Kensington writers. Barton's contribution, about two strangers snowed...

The Sisterhood of the Queen Mamas.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The Sisterhood of the Queen Mamas ANNIE JONES. Steeple Hill Cafe, $13.95 paper (288p) ISBN 0-373-78557-7 In this engaging novel from Jones (The Snowbirds; Sadie-in-Waiting), an unlikely gaggle of women are drawn together by the Five Acres...

The House Beautiful: A Novel of High Ideals, Low Morals, and Lower Rent.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The House Beautiful: A Novel of High Ideals, Low Morals, and Lower Rent ALLISON BURNETT. Carroll & Graf, $14.95 (256p) ISBN 0-78671-759-9 In the follow-up to 2003's Christopher, screenwriter Burnett continues the story of B.K. Troop, a...

The Green Trap.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The Green Trap BEN BOVA. Forge, $24.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-765-30924-2 Bova depicts a near-future when crude oil costs $110 per barrel in this cautionary but hopeful thriller (after 2006's Titan) that hinges on scientist Michael Cochrane's...

Sue Mundy: A Novel of the Civil War.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Sue Mundy: A Novel of the Civil War RICHARD TAYLOR. Univ. of Kentucky, $29.95 (392p) ISBN 978-0-8131-2423-0 Taylor (Bluegrass; Earth Bones), a former Kentucky poet laureate, mines the state's history and legends for an intriguing if uneven...

Berlin.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Berlin PIERRE FREI, TRANS. FROM THE GERMAN BY ANTHEA BELL. Atlantic, $24 (432p) ISBN 978-0-8021-1832-5 A serial killer stalks the war-torn streets of post-WWII Berlin, preying on beautiful, blonde women, in Frei's disappointing debut...

Echo Park.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Echo Park MICHAEL CONNELLY. Little, Brown, $26.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-316-73495-0 Bestseller Connelly's compelling 12th Harry Bosch novel (after 2005's The Closers) offers some new wrinkles on a familiar theme--the aging detective haunted by...

Act of Treason.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Act of Treason VINCE FLYNN. Atria, $25.95 (416p) ISBN 978-0-7432-7037-1 Tom Clancy fans who have not yet discovered bestseller Flynn (Consent to Kill) and his maverick, do-whatever-it-takes hero, CIA operative Mitch Rapp, will find this...

Dear John.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Dear John NICHOLAS SPARKS. Warner, $24.99 (284p) ISBN 978-0-446-52805-4 Hot on the heels of True Believer and sequel At First Sight, Sparks returns with the story of ne'er-do-well-turned-army-enlistee John Tyree, 23, and well-to-do...

Gravewriter.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Gravewriter MARK ARSENAULT. St. Martin's Minotaur/Dunne, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-33596-0 Set in Providence, R.I., Arsenault's quietly potent first in a new series introduces down-on-his-luck obituary writer Billy Povich. Deeply in...

The Shape Shifter.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... * The Shape Shifter TONY HILLERMAN. HarperCollins, $25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-056345-5 A picture cut from a glossy magazine, Luxury Living, draws retired Navajo tribal policeman Lt. Joe Leaphorn into a hunt for a soulless killer in...

Village Affairs.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Village Affairs CASSANDRA CHAN. St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95 (368p) ISBN 978-0-312-33750-7 Chan's second contemporary homage to Dorothy Sayers (after 2005's The Young Widow) lacks the subtle characterization and meticulous plotting of the...

Fever.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Fever FRIEDRICH GLAUSER, TRANS. FROM THE GERMAN BY MIKE MITCHELL. Bitter Lemon, $14.95 paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-904738-14-5 In the first English translation of a European cult classic originally published in Germany in 1936, the third in...

Death in the Orchid Garden: A Gardening Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Death in the Orchid Garden: A Gardening Mystery ANN RIPLEY. Kensington, $22 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-0819-4 Ripley's neatly plotted fifth horticultural cozy (after 2005's Summer Garden Murder) takes Louise Eldridge, host of a PBS show,...

Extraordinary People.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Extraordinary People PETER MAY. Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (334p) ISBN 978-1-59058-335-7 In the first breezy installment of a projected new series from Scottish author May (The Firemaker), Enzo Macleod, a Scottish forensic biologist who lives in...

The Body in the Ivy: A Faith Fairchild Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... The Body in the Ivy: A Faith Fairchild Mystery KATHERINE HALL PAGE. Morrow, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06076365-7 Agatha Award-winner Page pays clever homage to Christie's Ten Little Indians in the 16th outing of her Faith Fairchild series,...

Trouble Magnet: A Pip and Flinx Adventure.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Trouble Magnet: A Pip and Flinx Adventure ALAN DEAN FOSTER. Del Rey, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-345-48504-5 Plagued by doubts about his quest to find the ancient alien weapon that will one day save civilization from the destruction of the...

Night Visions 12.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... * Night Visions 12 KEALAN PATRICK BURKE. Subterranean (www.subterraneanpress.com), $30 (272p) ISBN 978-1-59606-070-8 The latest installment in the venerable Night Visions series, edited by relative newcomer Burke (Hides), matches the talent...

Spellbinder: A Love Story with Magical Interruptions.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... Spellbinder: A Love Story with Magical Interruptions MELANIE RAWN. Tor, $24.95 (400p) ISBN 978-0-765-31532-8 In a departure from her fire-breathing fantasy Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies, Rawn conjures the sex lives and turf wars...

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 4, 2006... My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding EDITED BY P.N. ELROD. St. Martin's Griffin, $13.95 paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-312-34360-6 Nine top fantasists imagine just how amusingly amok a wedding might run in this diverting compilation of original stories...