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Weekly Words about BooksJuly 6, 2014
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New Paperback Arrivals Offer Good Reading Material
Quiet Dell by Jayne Anne Phillips. This riveting novel is based on a real-life multiple murder by a con man who preyed on widows, and it's a story that has haunted Phillips for more than four decades. So you know she put some effort into it.
In Chicago in 1931, Asta Eicher, mother of three, is lonely and despairing, pressed for money after the sudden death of her husband. She begins to receive sed uctive letters from a chivalrous, elegant man named Harry Powers, who promises to cherish and protect her, ultimately to marry her and to care for her and her three children. Weeks later, all four Eichers are dead. Emily Thornhill, one of the few women journalists in the Chicago press, becomes deeply invested in uncovering the truth; she heads to West Virginia to cover the murder trial and to investigate the story herself, accompanied by a charming and unconventional photographer who is equally drawn to the case. Phillips uses the two fictional characters to frame the very real story, and her use of newspaper articles from the time and actual material from the Powers trial transcript adds to this powerful recreation of a heinous crime.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl. In this literary thriller from the author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics, a journalist becomes obsessed with the mysterious death of a troubled prodigy - the daughter of an iconic, reclusive filmmaker. A young woman, Ashley Cordova, is found dead in an  abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan, and although her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative reporter Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley's life and death, McGrath revisits the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordova - a man who hasn't been seen in public for more than 30 years. McGrath has a personal interest here - five years earlier he had investigated and unsuccessfully tried to expose the enigmatic filmmaker as an abuser of children. Now, driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, aided by two 20-something partners of a sort, has a second chance to expose Cordova's dark, ominous world.
Longbourn by Jo Baker. Jane Austen fans, take note. Baker offers up a fresh take on Pride and Prejudice as she leaves the drawing room and heads downstair s to let the Longbourn servants take center stage. The good news is that there's just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants' hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended. Baker delves into the gritty daily particulars faced by the lower classes in Regency England during the Napoleonic Wars, and in doing so creates a vivid, fascinating, fully realized world of her own.
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Fantasy Debut Is July's Indie Next #1 Pick
| | The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. This month's top Indie Next pick - the most recommended new release from independent booksellers - is a debut fantasy novel that's the first installment of a trilogy. The story revolves  around an untested young princess who must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between good and evil. Here's what one bookseller had to say about this promising series:
" The Queen of the Tearling is a brilliant tale, brilliantly told. It has everything - magic, high adventure, mystery, and romance. Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, who was raised in exile, must reclaim her mother's throne and learn to be a ruler despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles: the Red Queen, a powerful monarch in a neighboring kingdom; the Caden, a group of assassins tasked to destroy Kelsea; and her own Uncle Thomas, Regent of Tearling, who will do anything to stay in power. Kelsea must earn the trust and loyalty of her subjects and those who would protect her, and learn to use the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense power. This is the book everyone will be reading and recommending this summer!" - Jerry Brown, The Bookstore, Radcliff, KY
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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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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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