Riot New Media – Page 1296

One of 2017’s Best Mysteries, and More!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date August 15, 2017

Hello fellow mystery fans! If like me you’re still melting and looking for “chilly” mysteries, Linda Greenlaw’s Shiver Hitch is set during a Maine winter. Bring on the brrrrrrr.

Sponsored by Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman

A brutal crime. The ultimate cover-up. How do you solve a murder with no useable evidence?

A woman has been found murdered in her bedroom, her body covered with the dust from hundreds of emptied vacuum cleaner bags, all potential DNA evidence obscured by the calculating killer.

Praised by Lee Child as “a perfect blend of light touch and dark story,” and Harlan Coben as “Irreverent and insightful…sure to become a fan favorite,”Gone to Dust is the debut private eye murder mystery you don’t want to miss.

Start Reading Gone to Dust today!

Amateur Sleuth (I Want to Be BFFs With) Needs Reward Money:

Hollywood Homicide (Detective by Day #1) by Kellye Garrett: Dayna “Day” Anderson needs money (and fast) or her parents are going to lose their house. Day has quit her dream of becoming an actress and is trying to land work when she decides to solve a hit-and-run case that is offering reward money. Day is one of those characters who I loved from the very beginning (she’s smart, determined, funny, a good friend), and while in my head I’m certain my friends and I solving a murder case would look as efficient and competent as Veronica Mars, we’d probably be more like Day and her friends: disaster-ish and pointing the finger at everyone. Garrett has written a novel with great voice, characters, hilarious moments, and a lot of Hollywood, which is a perfect start to a series. Also, if anyone wants to turn this into a TV series you can count me in as a viewer! (You can read Kellye Garrett’s great Little Q&A here.)

The ear piercing squeal you just heard was me finding out there is a novel (Back to Brooklyn by Lawrence Kelter) that updates where Mona Lisa Vito and Vinny Gambini are today: My Cousin Vinny updated by new novel. I need to go get a copy and read this–I feel like it’s either going to be awesome or terrible, and either way I’ll be entertained and love it. Maybe? I’m gonna go find out!

Over on Book Riot Derek Attig has some awesome crafty finds for Nancy Drew fans.

And I recommend mystery comics based on 3 popular TV shows.

Sarah M. Chen sits down with Danny Gardner to discuss his new (great) book A Negro and an Ofay.

I imagined a book club for those meddling kids on Riverdale.

Louise Penny will write three more novels for her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and Lisa Jewell (The Girls In the Garden ; I Found You) has closed a deal for two domestic suspense novels according to PW book deals.

Gin Phillips on her new thriller Fierce Kingdom.

Watch the season 2 trailer for BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency adapted from Douglas Adams novels.

A Little Q&A: Kathleen Kent (I give authors I’m excited about five questions and let them answer any three they’d like.)

The Dime was a total surprise for me, in that it didn’t go at all the way I thought it would–which is always a huge plus in this genre. It has a great mystery plot and an excellent detective who, while made of hard edges, also has heart. Betty Rhyzyk is carrying around the ghost of her uncle and trying to balance work with being a good partner to her doctor girlfriend. I was probably less than a 1/4 way into the book when I was already hoping that it would be turned into a series! (You can read my original review here and listen to Liberty Hardy rave about it here.)

And Here’s Kathleen Kent:

If you were forced to live the rest of your life as one of your characters, who would it be? “I would have to pick Detective Elizabeth (Betty) Rhyzyk, my lead character from The Dime. She does and says things that I think about doing, but don’t have the nerve, or muscle strength, to accomplish. While I like to think that I’m fiercely loyal to my family and friends, and fairly pain tolerant, I’m a lousy marksman, tend to drive the speed limit, and take the middle way when confronted by Yahoos (Yankee speak for obstreperous, combative or willfully ignorant citizens).”

If you adapted a well-known book into a Clue mystery, what would be the solve? “Lisbeth Salander, tattooing gun, in the bedroom.”

If you were to blurb your most recent book: “If you don’t love ferocious, courageous, never-say-die female detectives who don’t like being ‘tied down’, don’t read The Dime. Stick with Nancy Drew.”

Thanks Kathleen! I can’t wait for Detective Betty #2!!!!!!

Mic Drop Climactic Scene!

The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh: Imagine a town so small, most people don’t know it exists. Now place there criminals and innocents (those who witnessed crimes/testified, etc.) who have had different degrees of their memories altered so that they just don’t remember the crime(s). That’s The Blinds, as it’s nicknamed. While the world knows about them–and the residents get to watch the news and have a delivery truck bring them supplies–they aren’t allowed to contact anyone outside their town, or leave. Technically, they can leave, but if they do they can’t come back and their previous life can find them. But how safe are they in The Blinds when there’s been a suicide and a murder? Sternbergh does a great job of slowly unfolding the workings of the town and the people living in it while threading through a mystery that explores who a criminal would become if their crimes were erased from their mind. A fantastic read, perfect for mystery and crime readers, that is one of 2017’s best releases.

I Poked Around The Kindle Summer Deals and Found You These Great Reads!

Monday the Rabbi Took Off (The Rabbi Small Mysteries) by Harry Kemelman for $1.99 (My review)

Blood Defense and Moral Defense by Marcia Clark (the first two in the Samantha Brinkman series) each for $1.99 (My review)

The Spellman Files: Document #1 by Lisa Lutz for $1.99

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And if you like to put a pin in things here’s an Unusual Suspects board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime come talk books with me on Twitter and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canaves.

The Goods

Book Riot Collection BOGO

Post author By Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Post date August 15, 2017

Stock up on rad Book Riot originals! Buy one item from the BR Collection, get one 50% off. We’ve got t-shirts and tote bags and hoodies galore!

Giveaways

Neil deGrasse Tyson Science T-Shirt!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date August 15, 2017

Is this giveaway just an excuse to talk about this excellent t-shirt from Look Human? Maybe. Are we still gonna do it? Yes.

This giveaway is open worldwide (universe-wide now that I think of it), so go here to enter or just click the image below.

I would say good luck, but Neil wouldn’t like that. So how about “see if the chaotic universe spins in your favor.”

What's Up in YA

Alien Contact, Two Giant Storms, and More Recent Microtrends in YA Literature

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date August 15, 2017

Hey YA Readers!

What’s Up in YA? is sponsored by In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

Elliot is smart, just a tiny bit obnoxious (he is thirteen years old), and perhaps not the best person to cross into the Borderlands where there are elves, harpies, and — best of all as far as he’s concerned — mermaids. In Other Lands is an exhilarating a novel about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools, about friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world — even if it means giving up your phone.

Happy Eclipse Day to those who are able to see this once-in-a-lifetime-but-maybe-twice-in-OUR-lifetime-because-it’ll-happen-again-in-2024 event. Your newsletter scribe is in southern Illinois at a massive party for the occasion.

Last week’s newsletter teased the topic of microtrends. What is a microtrend? Unlike a full-scale trend — think something like the rise in dystopia following The Hunger Games or the mermaid reads trend from years gone by — a microtrend is something that’s not a huge trend but a series of common threads that run among a number of books in any given time. They’re almost like weird coincidences, odd little moments of “huh” that arise when you see book descriptions or read a number of books in a row that all feature a specific thing within them.

Microtrends are fun to look at and think about, particularly because it’s impossible to ever predict what they might be. It takes looking at tons and tons of books to see the commonalities because the things they have in common aren’t necessarily the sorts of things you’d think would have a surge around them.

Let’s take a peek at some of the interesting microtrends that have and continue to emerge in YA lit over the last year. Since not all of the book descriptions highlight the microtrend, I left them off; you can click the links to see them.

Hurricane Katrina

This particular microtrend is interesting in part because it’s been a couple of years since the big anniversary of the storm, so seeing it appear more than once since stands out.

Between Two Skies by Joanne O’Sullivan

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

Superstorm Sandy

This one makes some more sense to me, as the giant superstorm is coming up on its fifth anniversary.

A Hundred Hours of Night by Anna Woltz

The Summer After You and Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Drug Cartels in Mexico

There’s actually a pretty sizable trend relating to books set in Mexico or along the border this year, but this specific trend is worth noting. These are all books that explore some aspect of the dangerous drug cartels throughout various parts of the country.

Disappeared by Francisco X Stork (September 26)

Juan Pablo and The Butterflies by JJ Flowers

Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick

Compared to Thelma and Louise

Do you pay attention to the comps books get? I do, if only because I’m curious what the flavor of the season is when it comes to them. This year? We’re seeing quite a bit of Thelma and Louise read alikes. I’m not sure how much of a comp this is for teens; it feels like one meant more for adults and those who serve teen readers.

Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon

Looking for Group by Rory Harrison

Alien Contact

I teased this in a “3 on a YA theme” post earlier this summer. Aliens have always been around in YA lit, but it seems we’re seeing an influx of alien-human encounter titles this year.

Of Jenny and The Aliens by Ryan Gebhart (this cover makes knowing the title near impossible, doesn’t it?)

Landscape With Invisible Hand by MT Anderson (September 12)

What Goes Up by Kate Kennedy

Their Fathers Are Shop Owners

This was a commonality between two books I read nearly back-to-back and it’s one that I really love. Both of the girls in these stories have fathers who own stores. . . and those stores and their fathers happen to play good-sized roles in the story.

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Fan Cons

There are a boatload of books about fandom, about fan fiction, about geekery, and more. They’ve been having a moment for a few years now. More recently, though, it’s been the fan convention as backdrop to stories about teen geeks and nerds.

Don’t Cosplay With My Heart by Cecil Castellucci (January 2)

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash

The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar, and Michelle Schusterman (March 27)

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Score Sweet Cheap YA Reads!

If you want a few good reads for few dollars, you might be interested in these.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson ($1.99) is a long-standing YA classic.

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten ($1.99) will scratch your itch for a solid thriller.

Tell The Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan ($1.99) is about magic, romance, and revolution.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out this week. We’ll see you again next Monday.

–Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars

Currently reading When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn.

Riot Rundown

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Post author By Devin Service
Post date August 15, 2017

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Sponsored by Weinstein Books, publisher of Irena Brignull’s THE HAWKWEED PROPHECY and THE HAWKWEED LEGACY.

Poppy Hooper has only just discovered her position and her power as queen of the witches. She’s fled her dangerous world and the betrayal of her best friend, Ember Hawkweed, and flown to Africa. But Poppy never stops longing for her would-be lover, Leo, and when she feels his magic begin to spark, she will do anything to be reunited with him.
As the girls come of age and Poppy’s powers grow stronger, her mother sets into motion a plan that puts Poppy and Ember, the boy they love, and the world as they know it at risk.

New Books

A Fight for Justice, Coming of Age Stories, and More New Books!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 14, 2017

Happy Tuesday, book lovers! The hits just keep on coming. I have a few fantastic new titles to tell you about today, and as always, you can also hear about several more great books on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Rebecca and I talked about a few amazing books we loved, including The Mountain, Home Fire, and You Play the Girl.

This week’s newsletter is sponsored by The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin.

The shattering conclusion to the acclaimed fantasy trilogy that began with THE FIFTH SEASON, winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016.

“Jemisin deliberately refuses to provide easy answers: they’re simply not available, in this world or ours. Painful and powerful.” —Kirkus

“Vivid characters, a tautly constructed plot, and outstanding worldbuilding meld into an impressive and timely story of abused, grieving survivors fighting to fix themselves and save the remnants of their shattered home.” —Publishers Weekly

How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas

A moving story about a tragedy in a family and the young boy who thinks he can heal them. Isidore is the youngest of six successful siblings. Living in their shadows, he hasn’t received a lot of credit for also being his own person with his own skills and interests. But when a tragedy happens, Isidore feels he has the unique skills to help his family get through it – that’s if he decides he wants to help. It’s a lovely story about a boy learning that the adults don’t always know what is best, either.

Backlist bump: Margherita Dolce Vita by Stefano Benni, Antony Shugaar (Translator)

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Spanning over 70 years, this powerful debut novel follows a Creole woman and her children in New Orleans as they deal with love, addiction, racism, redemption, and the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. It’s a stark look at the legacy of racial disparity in the South, as Eleanor and her family seek to make a life for themselves.

Backlist bump: Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile

Ghost of the Innocent Man: A True Story of Trial and Redemption by Benjamin Rachlin

The true story of Willie J. Grimes, an innocent man sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988 for a horrific crime, and the tireless efforts of the people who fought for over two decades to prove his innocence. It seems like there are a lot of these stories out in the world now, but it is always frightening and infuriating to hear about the prejudices and shortcomings of the justice system that allows them to happen.

Backlist bump: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Karma Khullar’s Mustache by Kristi Wientge

Wientge has taken the subject of body hair and turned it into a delightful Blume-esque tale about a young girl trying to figure out how to deal with the hairs that have grown on her lip just as she’s due to start middle school. Karma thinks her parents are too busy with their own problems, so she must deal with what she feels is going to be a horrifying experience all on her own. It’s a charming and funny story about friendship and family.

Backlist bump: The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani

Things That Happened Before the Earthquake by Chiara Barzini

A teen girl moves from Italy to Los Angeles just weeks after the 1992 riots, and must navigate the unfamiliar territory of a new culture in a new country while dealing with family problems, not to mention an earthquake. This is a smart, dark, coming-of-age novel about immigration and growing up. (I will say the opening paragraph was so WTF, I had to set it down for a while before I continued because yuck. *shudder*. )

Backlist bump: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or L itsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

Giveaways

Win a Brand New Amazon Kindle Voyage!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date August 14, 2017

We have a brand new, top of the line Kindle Voyage to give away, courtesy of our friends at Avon.

And according to people who review these sorts of things, the Kindle Voyage is the best dedicated ereader ever made.

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the image below. Good luck!

Riot Rundown

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Post author By Devin Service
Post date August 13, 2017

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by PORTRAIT OF VENGEANCE by Carrie Stuart Parks.

Gwen Marcey has done a good job keeping the pain of her past boxed up, but as she investigates the case of a missing child in Lapwai, Idaho, details surface that are eerily similar to her childhood traumas. What’s going on?
No one knows more about the impact of the past than the Nez Perce people of Lapwai. Gwen is an unwelcome visitor to some, making her investigation more difficult. Questions pile up, answers come slow—and the clock is ticking for a missing girl.
As Gwen’s past and present collide, she’s in a race for the truth.

Giveaways

Win a Copy of GENIUS: THE CON By Leopoldo Gout!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date August 12, 2017

We have 10 copies of Genius: The Con by Leopoldo Gout to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

Three brilliant teens from around the world must work together to stop a vicious warlord, protect their families, and save the world in this fast-paced sequel to Genius: The Game.

Go here to enter, or just click the cover image below”

Book Radar

EXIT WEST Movie News and More!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 11, 2017

Happy Monday, book lovers! (There has to be something good about Mondays, right?) Here’s your rundown of exciting book news! Have a fabulous week, kittens. Be excellent to each other. – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by IMPOSSIBLE VIEWS OF THE WORLD by Lucy Ives, published by Penguin Press

Stella Krakus, a curator at Manhattan’s renowned Central Museum of Art, is having the roughest week in approximately ever. Her soon-to-be ex-husband (the perfectly awful Whit Ghiscolmbe) is stalking her, a workplace romance with “a fascinating, hyper-rational narcissist” is in freefall, and a beloved colleague, Paul, has gone missing. Pulsing with neurotic humor and dagger-sharp prose, Impossible Views of the World is a dazzling debut novel about how to make it through your early thirties with your brain and heart intact.

DEALS, REELS, AND SQUEALS

dawn Ava DuVernay is developing Octavia Butler’s sci-fi novel Dawn as a television series!

Anna Paquin to star in Tell It To the Bees, based on the novel by Fiona Shaw.

Exit West is going to be a movie!

Riz Ahmed in talks to play popular marvel character in Venom.

Cowboy Ninja Viking with Chris Pratt stakes out June 2019 date.

COVER REVEALS

The cover for the new John Green book was revealed on Good Morning America! (Dutton Books for Young Readers, Oct. 10)

BOOK RIOT RECOMMENDS

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week!

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill (Oni Press, October 31): *Chandler Bing voice* Could this book BE any cuter? I’m thinking, nope, it could not. It has tiny DRAGONS that grow leave on their horns which people then use to make TEA. The whole concept is so adorable I could die. The world of Greta and the dragon tea makers is about as delightful and inclusive as you can get. I loved this book with the heat of a thousand suns.

Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo (Knopf, August 22): Powerful debut set in Nigeria told from the perspectives of both a husband and wife about their marriage. Yejide and Akin have always wanted to have children, but after four years of trying, Akin takes a second wife. Furious and heartbroken, Yejide believes the only way to win Akin back is to get pregnant – but at what cost? This is THE debut of the year the was Homegoing was THE debut of last year.

AND THIS IS FUNNY.

I am not only a huge fan of Heather O’Neill’s books, but I am also in love with her Twitter account.