Bestselling Author Archives

“The Red Queen” by Philippa Gregory

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Historical

Internationally bestselling author of “The Other Boleyn Girl,” Gregory has been renowned for the quality of her historical fiction, with richly drawn female characters determined to reach beyond their expected roles in life in order to direct the course of the English monarchy.

In the NYTimes bestseller, “The Red Queen,” Gregory travels back to the War between the Roses and views the conflict from the vision of the would-be queens behind the thrones of the family of Plantagenets. The first in the series, “The White Queen,” told the story of Elizabeth Woodville. “The Red Queen” reveals the life-long ambition of Margaret Beaufort, the heir to the House of Lancaster and her son, Henry, who was second in line to the throne of England.

In the 1400’s, even women from important families were merely chattel; their hands in marriage (and therefore lands and wealth) given as a reward for loyalty to the king in battle. Beaufort was unable to identify with the life planned for her and after hearing about the exploits of Joan of Arc, wanted to devote her days to prayer. Her mother ridiculed her faith and engineered a politically and economically advantageous marriage instead.

Married, pregnant and widowed by the age of fourteen, then widowed again and bequeathed a great fortune, Beaufort was married a third time to Lord Stanley, a man even more calculating than she. She had no say in the management or distribution of her wealth, but her maniacal single-mindedness to place her son on the throne drove her life, and her fanaticism kept her focused for over twenty years. Stanley’s ambition mirrored her own and their scheming defined their loveless marriage.

Gregory deftly illustrated the changes in Beaufort’s life by describing the worktable: “…once covered with books of devotion, it (was) now covered with maps and codes for secret messages.” Beaufort herself recognized her sins of ambition and greed, but placed blame for all her problems on the mother of two boys who had an equal claim to the throne. Boys who mysteriously died a treacherous death in the Tower of London, clearing the way for Henry to return from exile and fight against the usurper, Richard III, to claim his birthright.

Murder, intrigue, bribery, war – actions committed for the right to wear the crown. More bloodthirsty and politically savvy than most of the hardened warriors she sent off to champion her cause, Beaufort fervently engineered it all.

Visit www.philippagregory.com for more information about her books, the new ‘Order of Darkness’ series, and TV shows based on her work.

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“Twilight” series by Stephenie Meyer

Bestselling Author, Young Adult/Teen

First off, let me admit that before “Twilight” hit the stores, I was not a big vampire fan – not in any format. Movies, books, television shows, nada. Maybe it’s the blood and gore, or the way the crazed Bela Lugosi-like ghouls were often depicted with blood dripping off their jaws. I like beach reads, thrillers, sci-fi and whodunits, and never found that vampires fit into those areas of escapism.

When Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt starred in that vampire movie, I said, “I’ll go see it, just ‘cause the cute guys are in it.” I walked out after fifteen minutes. Vampires just weren’t my thang.

So, when some friends told me that the “Twilight” saga was really good and that I should read the books on the long flights I took, I smiled and said, “Nooo…, I’m really not a vampire fan.” Other friends had also read the series, salivated in anticipation of the publication of the next book and even waited in line for tickets to the first movie. Grown women? What could possibly be the attraction? I mean, bloodsuckers? Ewwwww!!!!!

A few weeks later, we were all having lunch and I mentioned that a well-known bestselling author had denounced the writing. They responded, “No, it’s very well written. He’s wrong.” When I reiterated my aversion to the whole bloodsucking, chin dripping vampire persona, they said, “It’s really not so much about the vampires as it is a love story.” Love story? Now that, I could get my mind around.

And, that’s how I got hooked. One of the gals gave me the first two books (“Twilight” and “New Moon”) and I quickly realized the appeal. Meyer had struck a chord with every teenaged girl and every woman who remembered being one. She had tapped into that feeling of being out-of-place and clumsy in a new high school. She had combined the teenaged misfit concept with being attracted to the tall, dark and handsome bad boy that momma always told you was no good, along with sneaking around clueless parents when the bad boy expressed interest. Yup, Meyer got it all in the first book. Plus, she kept me hooked and asking, “When is Bella going to get bitten?”

I read the first two in a week, then the third (“Eclipse”) in two days. I was away from home and couldn’t wait five days to read the fourth (“Breaking Dawn”), so I drove 45 miles to the nearest Barnes & Noble and bought it. I like to read, but when a writer does her job so well that I can’t wait to find out what happens next? Kudos! It was fun, Ms. Meyer, and I hope you listen to your legions of fans and continue the saga.

Please Note: A bit mature for pre-teens, so I would suggest that mothers preview them first before handing them over. There are lots of topics that require a certain level of knowledge about coming of age as well as a few topics considered inappropriate for any young readers. Written for the 13-16 crowd, but fun for women of all ages.

For information about Ms. Meyers and her latest book, “The Host” as well as the movie with the same name, please visit www.stepheniemeyer.com

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“Innocent” By Scott Turow

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Legal, Mystery

When a bestselling author returns to a book he wrote twenty years ago (“Presumed Innocent”) and writes a sequel to it (“Innocent”), we wonder whether he might just have run out of new ideas. In Scott Turow’s case, that wondering would be dead wrong. What Turow has done is lift the art of the sequel to new heights.

Rusty Sabich, now a sitting appellate court chief judge, has been accused of murdering a second woman in his life and Tommy Molto, prosecuting attorney, is out to get him again, this time with a bigger grudge and bigger stakes.

Both men are at the top of their careers and neither wants to lose the case, because the loser’s life achievements would be forgotten in the media bloodbath that follows. But, Molto knows in his heart that Sabich was guilty the first time and got away with it. Sabich has secrets to hide and Sandy Stern is back as Rusty’s lawyer, trying to keep his client from tossing away everything.

Nat, Rusty’s son, plays a pivotal role in this courtroom drama – no plot spoiler here, but it’s a good one! Can a family ever recover from the fallout of a criminal case? Do the rifts caused by affairs ever heal? Do the children caught in the middle ever forget? Are people doomed to hold onto their flaws throughout life?

As I lay awake through the night reading “Innocent,” I was gripped with the questions: Did Sabich do it this time or didn’t he? And…my mind began to doubt whether he really did do it in “Presumed Innocent” after all.

Enough information is given about the case in “Presumed Innocent” to inform the reader, so "Innocent" can be a stand alone, but don’t let it be. The first book was a genre breaker and a great read as well. If you can’t find “Presumed Innocent” on the shelves anywhere, pick up a DVD of the Harrison Ford movie of the same name to catch the dynamics that drove the old rivalry between the major players.

For more information about Scott Turow and his body of work, visit www.scottturow.com

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“The Alibi Man” by Tami Hoag

Bestselling Author, Mystery, Romance, Suspense

Bestselling suspense author, Tami Hoag, began her professional writing career in the romance genre, but stretched that framework to include everything from comedy to suspense. Her strong female characters were savvy, contemporary types and readers connected.

As Hoag’s work shifted into the thriller/suspense realm, it reflected the rising audience interest in forensics and began to include more of the graphic details of the crime scenes and the violence visited upon the victims. Today, her bad guys are darker, more depraved, and her heroines more likely to engage in the kind of retribution that would raise the eyebrows of the faint-hearted.

“The Alibi Man” returns former undercover cop, Elena Estes, to the hard, fast world of Palm Beach society and the nasty secrets lying beneath the surface. When a fellow horse groom and marginal friend is found murdered, Elena is drawn back into the life she’d like to forget and must deal with buried emotions she thought she had hidden from the world. Elena is grippingly portrayed as a deeply tortured soul, and we feel her pain as her personal life is laid before us chapter, by aching chapter.

The action in “The Alibi Man” is fast-paced, filling the pages with cold-blooded crime figures snipping off body parts, drug/sex parties, handsome polo stars, and a cop boyfriend.

The plot weaving the colorful characters together is less successful, only because I don’t quite buy that the rich and powerful would be dumb enough to get themselves into such stupid personal messes. One at a time, yes, but collectively? However, the name of the book may tell it all. Supreme arrogance probably dictates the need for an Alibi Man. Great read for Hoag fans, with graphic language and adult situations.

Written in 2007, “The Alibi Man” was followed by “Deeper than the Dead,” “Secrets of the Grave,” and “Down the Darkest Road.” “The 9^th Girl” will be published in June, 2013. Hoag has written over thirty books, with fifteen consecutive titles hitting the NYT bestseller lists. “Night Sins” was made into a memorably chilling TV movie in the late 90s and is still shown in re-runs.

For more information about Tami Hoag and her books, visit www.tamihoag.com

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“Buried Secrets” by Joseph Finder

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Thriller

What’s the definition of a 5-star book? “Buried Secrets,” by Joseph Finder. Totally, slam-dunk, 5-star thriller!

Ratings can be subjective, but I think everyone would agree that certain elements are apparent in each reader’s choice for a 5-star book, whatever the genre.

5-star books have characters so compelling that it’s impossible to forget them. Nick Heller is a former intelligence officer with Special Forces background. Heller is excellent at uncovering secrets, is loyal to his family and friends and has an ache in his heart for an old FBI flame. He has a secretary who can hack into anything and contacts going way back. And a look that you defy at your own peril. Even Heller is not always immune to ‘the look.’ A family friend, evasive billionaire Marshall Marcus, asks for Nick’s help when his daughter, Alexa, is kidnapped. Alexa is a troubled, intelligent teenager with an earlier kidnapping experience that colors her fear of small spaces. This time, she has been buried alive with limited food and water. Finder has drawn Alexa so well that I felt her terror as she pushed against the coffin, as she tried to stay calm and lost it, as she pleaded for release, as she screamed.

5-star books can’t be put down until the last word is read. I carried “Buried Secrets” everywhere. I read it while waiting in line, while eating. I just couldn’t abandon Heller while he dealt with the constantly lying father, the rule conscious FBI, the sick kidnappers, the layers of secrets, the pulse-pounding race against time.

A 5-star book makes me want to buy the author’s next book or backlist titles right away. I purchased “Vanished,” the first Nick Heller novel, the day after I finished “Buried Secrets.” Joseph Finder has several award winning novels to his name, as well as “High Crimes,” upon which the Freeman/Judd movie of the same name was based. I’m going to read them all.

A 5-star book pushes ‘tell-all’ buttons. I wanted to tell everyone about it. I gushed about compelling characterization and riveting storylines, achieved realistically.

A 5-star book is saved, whether on an e-reader or in hardcover, so that it can be relished, studied and enjoyed again. My copy is a hardcover edition. Terrific thriller!

For more information about Joseph Finder and his work, visit www.josephfinder.com

"Buried Secrets" won the Strand Critics Award for Best Novel.

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“Foreign Body” by Robin Cook

Leave a Comment / Bestselling Author, Medical, Thriller

Robin Cook, author of over two dozen medical thrillers, took on the medical tourism industry in “Foreign Body.” As in all his books, we are invited to view the dark side of medicine, so if you are considering traveling overseas to get a kidney transplant or a hip replacement, think again. Just kidding… maybe… 😉

The sinister plot revolves around the untimely passing of a sixtyish grandmother after undergoing hip surgery in India. The fourth-year medical student granddaughter, Jennifer Hernandez, finds out about her loss while watching CNN in California only hours after granny has died. Medical tourism is the culprit behind the death (and two others), with American medical company employees out to discredit surgeries performed in other countries in order to keep business firmly in the USA.

We know who is at fault from the beginning, but the fun is in seeing how the granddaughter travels to India and unravels the complex crime, then discovers the criminals trying to cover their tracks. Her mentor, NYC medical examiner Dr. Laurie Montgomery, and Laurie’s husband, Dr. Jack Stapleton, follow Hernandez to India when unexplained medical questions arise and she is pressured unnecessarily to cremate her grandmother. We aren’t sure until nearly the end how it will all work out, but we are fully invested in the characters as the tension mounts and the stakes escalate.

I met Dr. Cook at a writer’s conference (where he was interviewed by “Sandstorm” author, James Rollins) and he was kind enough to autograph a copy of “Foreign Body” for my mother, a huge fan. She chose it for me to read to her during a hospital stay and several chapters work well as cliffhangers. It was hard to put down and leave behind when the story moved along so well. Fun read.

Fans of Cook have probably seen the movie, “Coma.” The book of the same name was Cook’s breakthrough novel, largely defining the ‘medical thriller’ genre over thirty years ago.

Visit www.robincookmd.com for more information about Dr. Cook, his many bestselling books, and the 50 webisodes of “Foreign Body.”

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“Sandstorm” by James Rollins

2 Comments / Adventure, Bestselling Author, Thriller

If you’re looking for a little syfy, lots of science, tons of thrills and even a romance packed into a great book, then “Sandstorm” should be your next read.

A mysterious blue ball of fire explodes in the Kensington Gallery in the British Museum, the security guard is incinerated, and almost all the artifacts destroyed. The benefactor of the exhibit, Kara Kensington, is sure there is a connection between the explosion and her father’s death from blue fire in the Arabian desert years before. Dr. Safia al-Maaz (curator of the gallery and childhood friend of Kensington) uncovers a clue in the middle of the destruction to an incredible secret, and demonstrates unusual capabilities for a curator. The bodies pile up after an assault on the gallery is made.

Painter Crowe is an agent for Sigma Force, a covert group working for the US government to keep scientific discoveries safely in US control. Cassandra is his previous ally, has stolen secrets and is now working for the opposition. Dr. Crowe is dispatched to London to investigate the possibility that the explosion was caused by anti-matter – has someone uncovered an unlimited energy source?

An expedition to the Arabian Peninsula and Ubar, the lost city of the desert and source of all anti-matter secrets, is organized. Dr. al-Maaz reluctantly travels along, unwilling to face her former fiancé, Omaha Dunn, the archeologist/Indiana Jones type needed on the expedition. Crowe and his partner are forced upon the trip by the US government, but nobody knows the real reason behind the interference.

And that’s just Part 1. “Sandstorm” gets even more exciting as the plots develop.

Part of the fun of reviewing novels is taking a look at the book that launched a dynamite series. “Sandstorm” is the first of eight in the bestselling Sigma Force stories, and it’s easy to see why there are so many fans. The unexpected twists make this a page-turner as we root for the very likable main characters to overcome the obstacles of storms, ancient curses, and government entities. Even the bad guys are interesting and make worthy adversaries for the heroes.

“Sandstorm” incorporates lots of real science in the action-packed storyline, and it’s so well done that I began to wonder how much was fiction and how much actual fact. Happily, Rollins includes a fact disclosure at the end of the book for the curious. No plot spoiler here, but who knew that buckyballs were real?

One of the intriguing subplots involves gals from an ancient sister society. They have the ability to disappear at will in front of your eyes – I REALLY want to learn that trick. Thrilling five-star adventure! With scene after scene of slam-dunk writing, and an ending designed for the big screen, I’d love to see a movie made of this one. I’m casting the major roles in my mind right now.

For more information about James Rollins, the Sigma Force series, his work in YA fiction, as well as his collaboration with Rebecca Cantrell for the 'Blood Gospel' series, visit www.jamesrollins.com

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