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Weekly Words about BooksMarch 16, 2014
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Booksellers Are Talking About Two New Thrillers
| The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh. This atmospheric debut novel, set in a fictional small town in the Missouri Ozarks, is attracting bookseller buzz - a solid mystery with an appealing teenage heroine named Lucy Dane. When  Lucy's friend Cheri disappears and turns up murdered, Lucy is determined to find out why, but her investigation leads her to another mysterious disappearance - that of her mother 18 years earlier. Lucy's father and uncle aren't very forthcoming, but it soon becomes evident that they know much more than they are telling, as is the case with other residents of the secret-laden town.
McHugh tells the story through various narrators, including Lucy's mother Lila (who is perhaps the most compelling character), and it's a device that works. She has crafted a nifty literary thriller that explores the limits of family loyalty while serving as a compelling coming-of-age story.
The Accident by Chris Pavone. A New York literary agent with a juicy manuscript written by an anonymous author is at the center of this stylish thriller. Pavone's first book, The Expats, won an Edgar for Best First Mystery, and he delivers again here. The manuscript in question, titled The Accident, is a biogr aphy of a media mogul with a deadly incident in his past, and it turns out there are people who aren't too keen to have the long-buried secret revealed. As copies of the manuscript begin to leak and circulate, several characters see publication as a shot at fame and fortune. Unfortunately, a veteran CIA operative wants the story to remain buried and those working on it to be shot, period.
Pavone keeps the fast-moving plot twisting and turning as it rockets around Europe and across America, revealing betrayals, uncovering conspiracies, and building suspense. Have fun.
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Take Me Out to
The Ballgame
| | Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball by John Feinstein. One of our premier sports journalist, Feinstein has written several books on sports, including the PGA golf tour in A Good Walk Spoiled and  college basketball in A Season on the Brink. In his new book, he explores the world of minor-league baseball, a gateway to - and sometimes exit from - the major leagues. Feinstein focuses on the lives of nine men at the Triple-A level: three pitchers, three position players, two managers, and an umpire. Their stories offer up a true "inside baseball" look at the national pastime. With Opening Day only weeks away, this is a great book for any fan.
The Set-Up Man by T.T. Monday. There are detectives of almost every stripe in literature, from cops and war heroes to lawyers and grandmothers. And now we have a baseball player - specifically, an aging relief pitcher - to add to the PI ranks. Our protagonist, Johnny  Adcock, is 35 and knows his playing days are coming to an end. So he moonlights as a PI for fellow ballplayers, who fortunately get into plenty of trouble. His latest client is teammate Frankie Herrera, who wants Adcock's help with a problem with his wife. Seems like nothing more than a case of bad marriage, but then Frankie is killed in a car accident, leaving far too many unanswered questions, and Johnny's sleuthing uncovers scandals, conspiracies, and murder.
Debut author Monday knows baseball, which makes this all the more fun for fans, but he's also a pretty good crime writer. I'm guessing he'll be more than just a one-hit wonder.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
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My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.
My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers. If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column each week, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box in which to add a short message.
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WHERE TO FIND
AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
Many of you already have a favorite local bookstore, but for those of you without such a relationship, this link will take you to a list of Northern California indie bookstores by region.
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