The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees - Interview & Promo

The blurb:
In the year 2018, the Demi-Monde is the most sophisticated, complex and unpredictable computer simulation ever created, devised specifically to train soldiers for the nightmarish reality of urban warfare. A virtual world of eternal civil conflict, its thirty million inhabitants-"Dupes"-are ruled by cyber-duplicates of some of history's cruelest tyrants: the fanatical Nazi butcher Reinhard Heydrich; Stalin's arch executioner Laventii Beria; the torture-loving Grand Inquisitor Tomas de Torquemada; the Reign of Terror's bloodthirsty mastermind Maximilien Robespierre.

But something has gone horribly wrong inside the Demi-Monde, and the U.S. president's daughter, Norma, has been lured into this terrifying shadow world, only to be trapped there. Her last hope of rescue is Ella Thomas, an eighteen-year-old jazz singer and very reluctant heroine.  But when Ella infiltrates the Demi-Monde and begins her hunt for Norma, she soon discovers the walls containing the evils of this simulated environment are dissolving--and the Real World is in far more danger than anyone knows.  With the help of resistors determined to understand their world, Ella must race to save Norma and stop an apocalypse. . . but the clock is ticking.

  o0o

I'm happy to be able to share this interview with Rod Rees, the author of Demi-Monde: Winter.

Q: In The Demi-Monde you introduce a myriad of religions that are loosely based on ones that exist today (e.g. UnFunDaMentalism, HerEticalism etc.). Why did you decide to incorporate these into the story?

     When I was first designing the Demi-Monde I wanted each of the four books to be set in one of five different Sectors so that there was something new and unexpected in every instalment to intrigue the reader and keep the story fresh. As the DM is a war zone I decided there would be ‘Areas of Tension’ that would provoke the Sectors to be continually at each other’s throats. And the Areas of Tension I chose were those I thought would be simultaneously the most fun for me as a writer to explore and the most provocative: to paraphrase Mr. Bennet, what are the foibles of the human race for, if not to be made sport of. So I finally decided to make the inter-Sector antagonisms stem from differences in race, religion, gender and sexual orientation ... and the greatest of these was religion.
     The religions I developed for the Demi-Monde – UnFunDaMentalism, ImPuritanism, HerEticalism, HimPerialism, RaTionalism, nuJuism and Confusionism – are merely the religions of our world stretched and distorted to breaking point, my belief being that only by showing a belief system in extremis is it possible to see it as it really is. Reductio ad absurdum and all that. I’d love the Demi-Monde series to be remembered for its satirical aspect. Satire is the way a belief system is stress tested.

Q: How does a nice guy like you come up with a high-concept, absolutely nightmarish book concept like this?

     I’m a qualified accountant!

Q: Ella, your jazz-singer protagonist/heroine, must be an homage to your wife? In what way do you envision a jazz artist equipped to save the world …even/especially if it’s a cruel, pseudo-steampunk-cyberworld?

     Believe me, Nelli could sort out any world, cruel or otherwise! As you say, Nelli’s a jazz singer and as her manager I got involved with helping her write material and choose songs. This necessitated me reading a lot about the golden age jazz musicians and the conclusion I came to was that these people were gifted left-field thinkers, so it was natural when I was looking for a template for Ella that I should think of her as a jazzer. I mean, if people like Billie, Dizzy, Charlie, Louie et al. could cope with the prejudices and antagonisms our world threw at them, dealing with the Demi-Monde would have been a snap.

Q: The Demi-Monde is really a place where testosterone was allowed to run free—yet your two most heroic figures are both females. Can you explain the dynamic at play?

    It’s a difficult question to answer: having three (they all get to be heroic in the end) rather feisty girls as lead characters just seemed the right thing to do. I suppose as I wanted one of my characters to be ‘in peril’ at the beginning of the story it was a natural (tho’ somewhat clichéd) inclination to make her female, but then to have made the character male would have changed the dynamics of how I planned to have the story develop. The trouble with this rationale is that all the new, heroic figures in later books also tend to be female (UnScrewed Liberationist, Odette Aroca in ‘Spring’ and Fresh Bloom, Dong E in ‘Summer’) so I guess this is just a subconscious nod on my part to the fact that this is going to be a century when women take the reins of running the world (and not a moment too soon in my opinion!).
    And, of course, having two smart, tough and very ambitious teenage daughters probably had something to do with this thought process (though I’m not going to be drawn as to which personality traits belongs to which character; Kit and Ellie know where I live!).

Q: The Dupes: how much fun did you have re-envisioning the most criminal, the most evil, humans in history, and how did you select the ones that you set loose (in their alternate personas) within the Demi-Monde?

    There are eighteen PreLived Dupes (digital duplicates) loose in the DM; these über-psychotics of history intended to provide ‘aberrational leadership’ to the thirty-million Dupes who inhabit my virtual world.
    In selecting them I tried to steer away from the obvious—Hitler and Stalin for example—as they have become a little hackneyed in the fantasy stakes. I tried to pick the lesser-known of history’s b******. Some I knew from my history lessons at school—Heydrich, Shaka Zulu and Robespierre for example. Beria I read about when I lived in Russia in the early 90s. Crowley I remembered from the Dennis Wheatley books. Archie Clement (what a find!) I stumbled on when I was researching Jesse James and the rest from Googling ‘monsters’ and ‘psychotics’. I did have trouble finding female Singularities though and this is what ultimately led to my idea for the series denouement.

Q: Is it plausible that any government is working on a Demi-Monde of its own at this very moment?

    I pulled this off today’s web:
The Army wants to develop a massive virtual world populated by 10,000 avatars that are managed by artificial intelligence and operate over a 32-mile square simulated landscape.
Officials at the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's Simulation and Technology Training Center said they want a systems integrator to put together a virtual world that includes soldiers, vehicles and weapons that can move around a landscape built from Defense Department digital terrain elevation data.
     The Simulation and Technology Training Center also said in its request for information that it wants to incorporate technologies used in massively multiplayer online games and offer classified and unclassified versions.
     The Army is looking for the contractor to create avatars that have the same kind of Web 2.0 communications found in the real world, including chat, instant messaging and links to smart phones.
Based on the requirements, the Army is likely to choose a closed world open only to its personnel, and not a public world such as Second Life, which is open to everyone, said Dan Frank, managing partner for Three Wire Systems , a virtual world developer in Vienna, Va., which placed first in this year's Federal Virtual World Challenge.
    Now I hope the similarities with my Demi-Monde end there, ‘cos otherwise we’re in deep, deep, shit! The funny thing is that in the early days of my website I had a lot of hits from the US military: I wonder if I should demand royalties?

Q: Prior to your career as a writer, you did quite a bit of traveling around the world. How did this, if at all, directly affect your perception while writing this story?

    As you say, I’ve got a lot of mileage (air-mileage as it happens). I lived in Tehran during the final days of the Shah, I was in Moscow when Communism crumbled and I’ve worked in Nigeria, Somalia, Burundi and several other of the more mal-managed, mal-nourished and mal-f***ed countries of the world so I’ve seen and experienced chaos at first hand. Walking through the streets of Lagos at night informs you in a very visceral way about what life might be like in a world like the Demi-Monde.
But there is more to it than that. Living and working throughout the world has convinced me of one thing: that all men are created equal in their duplicity and their ability to say one thing and do another. Duplicity is a theme running through The Demi-Monde ... as is my questioning of whether there is intelligent life on earth.

Q: There’s a great map included in the front of the book. I saw an earlier version of it on your Facebook page as well. How did you decide which cities to include in each of the regions?

    Generally they were cities I knew – London, St. Petersburg, Paris, Harare, Istanbul, Cairo, Venice. It’s so much easier to write from experience than from the imagination.

Q: Do your books have a soundtrack, and if so, what’s the soundtrack for this one?

    I’m listening to an album by Cachaito (Cuban bass player) at the moment (brilliant) whose playing I’d love to think my writing emulated (fluid, effortless, spellbinding … I wish) but if I had to pick an album that encapsulates the book I’m currently struggling with I’d pick Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew: inspired in parts but the whole thing is teetering on the brink of collapse. I’m also putting together Nelli’s second album (she’s a nuJazz singer): I’ve just posted some of her stuff on YouTube (The UnFunDaMentalists, featuring Nelli Rees).

Q: Are you a keen researcher – and has that research ever changed the course of the story?

    Yeah, I do a lot of research. I might write about fantastic worlds but I want them to have a coherency that persuades my readers to suspend disbelief. And yes, as I have a number of historical characters popping up in the Demi-Monde I have to regularly tweak the story when I realise that their public persona doesn’t quite match the reality unearthed by my research. Percy Shelley was a case in point: what a wuss …

Review:
The Demi-Monde: Winter is combines an unusual computer fantasy theme with an alternate reality.  While it combines concepts from futuristic movies, the execution is fresh and extremely effective.

The US government created the computer fantasy world in order to train soldiers to adjust to the stress of "asymmetric warfare" or those "wars without honor and that the U.S. Army is not good at fighting."  The soldiers enter this alternate world which changes quickly and unpredictably and although the alternate reality is merely a simulation, the soldiers are fully immersed and if they somehow die in the Demi-Monde they are unable to return to reality. (Think of Avatar, Matrix, Virtuosity, etc.)

To make the Demi-Monde challenging and a good training exercise, the military has incorporated several of the world's most harmful and dangerous characters who have been recreated and given life.  Rod Rees avoids the obvious demons of Hitler, Stalin, Henry VIII, Robespierre, Ivan the Terrible, etc. and instead incorporates their staffers, the architects that created, organized, and made possible horrific acts of genocide.  These unique characters give the Demi-Monde its unique character and add a layer of The Demi-Monde is given specific limitations, such as the restriction of the level of technological development: the Demi-Monde is stuck in the time before computers, etc.  In order to ensure that there is asymmetric warfare, the computer (ABBA) is has unlimited processing power, is able to learn,  and able to make changes, somewhat reminiscent of the computer system in the Terminator series.  In the Demi-Monde there are thirty million "dupes" that are modeled after real people.

Fortunately, the most developed characters in the Demi-Monde so sympathetic and interesting that one starts to care about them and their welfare early on.  There's Ella who comes from our world. She's a singer, athletic, a quick study, an academic star, African American, and broke.  She's offered a million dollars to go into the Demi-Monde on a rescue mission.  To give her a sense of the Demi-Monde,  her interviewers "summon" one of the most powerful and dangerous characters from the Demi-Monde.  She's struck by the level of his disdain for her as a black woman and although she knows that he's not "real", he scares her.  And as she decides to enter the Demi-Monde, one sympathizes with her and cheers her on.

As an alternate reality, the Demi-Monde is complex and fascinating.  As a novel The Demi-Monde: Winter is nuanced, witty, engaging and a wonderful read.

ISBN-10: 0062070347 - Hardcover $26.00
Publisher: William Morrow; Reprint edition (December 27, 2011), 528 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher.


About the Author:
Rod Rees has spent his life traveling throughout Africa, the Middle Est, Bangladesh, and Russia, and consequently found himself living in Qatar, Tehran and Moscow.  He has built pharmaceutical factories in Dhaka, set up a satellite communication network in Moscow and conceived and designed a jazz-themed hotel in the U.K.  Now a full-time writer, he lives near Derby, England, with his wife, Nelli and their two children.  Learn more at www.thedemi-monde.com.  His next book, The Demi-Monde: Spring comes out in winter 2013.

For a limited time, the publisher is offering the e-book version of Demi-Monde: Winter at a special price at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and through Apple.

http://www.amazon.com/Demi-Monde-Winter-Saga-ebook/dp/B004XVN1B2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327458927&sr=8-2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-demi-monde-rod-rees/1103168089?ean=9780062070357&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-MdXm68JZJz8-_-10%3a1&

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-demi-monde-winter/id436643203?mt=11

Kathy Mallory's back! (The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell)

The blurb:
The little girl appeared in Central Park: red-haired, blue-eyed, smiling, perfect -- except for the blood on her shoulder.  It fell from the sky, she said, while she was looking for her uncle, who turned into a tree.  Poor child, people thought.  And then, they found the body in the tree.

For Mallory, newly returned to the Special Crimes Unit after three months' lost time, there is something about the girl that she understands.  Mallory is damaged, they say, but she can tell a kindred spirit.  And this one will lead her to a story of extraordinary crimes: murders stretching back fifteen years, blackmail and complicity and a particular cruelty that only someone with Mallory's history could fully recognize.  In the next few weeks, she will deal with them all. . . in her own way.

Review:
This latest book, Chalk Girl, was my first exposure to Detective Kathy Mallory.  Mallory is a gifted detective whose flaws make her stand out.

How to describe her? Physically, she's a stunner.  Even in New York City, she's  unforgettable with her silky blond hair, high cheekbones, bright green and almond shaped eyes, a gorgeous figure, clothes that are noticeably expensive and yet comfortable. ("silk T-shirts and custom-made blazers. Even her blue jeans were tailored, and her running shoes cost more than his car payment.") She can move quietly, quickly  and with deadly precision such that she brings to mind a large golden cat.   She's in the top 1 percentile mentally as well - her powers of observation and deduction make her one of the best detectives in NYC.   These skills are complimented by her uncanny ability to understand and use computers - her "hacking" skills scare her superiors who are careful not to ask how and where she gets her information from.  Mallory's a survivor who'd lost her family at a young age and somehow survived on the streets.  Though we don't know much about these early years, we do know that Mallory was saved when she was caught and adopted by the renowned Detective Lou Markowitz.    Markowitz brought her home to his wife Helen who saw and treated Kathy Mallory as a gift.  Helen Markowitz loved Kathy and Kathy would do anything for her new mother.  Kathy's behavior is circumscribed by what Helen would want her to do and what Helen taught her daughter to be wrong. Mallory's moral code is difficult to predict and it makes her one of the more interesting characters. As a detective, Mallory is well aware of the rules of criminal procedure and the suspect's constitutional rights.  

In Chalk Girl, the young victim has the rare Williams syndrome, a rare condition characterized by elfin features and unusual gifts.  She is extraordinarily gifted in music, languages,  reading, and interpersonal skills.  She is warm, outgoing, and needs human contact.  The young girl doesn't have the usual inhibitions or defense mechanisms which makes her particularly vulnerable. "I'd like to give you a hug."  Just think about it - a gorgeous young child who engages strangers and is looking for affection - a recipe for heartache and abuse.  Somehow Coco brings out a protective side to Mallory.

But as her friends and admirers see "Mallory the Machine" as self-sufficient and unable to relate to those around her, there are scenes in Chalk Girl that are so sad and poignant that I'd have to put the book down.  It's these scenes that haunted me long after I'd put down the book.

The one thing that bothered me about Chalk Girl was the degree of violence and cruelty that Mallory and the detectives unearthed.  Chalk Girl is not a tame detective story but it's a fascinating and satisfying read.  After reading Chalk Girl months ago, I ended up hunting down and reading 10 more of Carol O'Connell's mysteries.  That's how much I enjoyed Chalk Girl and reading about Kathy Mallory.

ISBN-10: 0399157743 - Hardcover $25.95
Publisher: Putnam Adult (January 17, 2012), 384 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author:
Carol O'Connell is the author of eleven previous books, nine featuring Kathy Mallory, most recently Find Me, and the stand- alones Judas Child and Bone by Bone. She lives in New York City.

Taking advice from Thumper's mom (if you can't say anything nice....)

One of my closest friends told me recently that she prefers to ask me for book recommendations instead of relying solely on my book reviews.  She was of the opinion that I will try to see the strengths of a book and gloss over its weaknesses out of sympathy for the author.  I thought about her comment and will admit that I have considerable admiration for authors, their dedication and the courage that it takes to put your work out there for others to read and criticize.   But I also realize that readers of this blog should be able to rely upon my review and my opinion without having to second guess whether I was pulling my punches.

While I do appreciate the grading scale that others use, I don't feel that a rating from 1 to 5 would work for me.  If I feel that a book is a 1, I likely won't finish it. Even if I do, I don't feel that I need to publicly share why I'd rate it so low -- unless the book offended me in some way or was factually wrong and dangerously incendiary.  I'd much prefer to write about books that I enjoyed, books that I found satisfying reads and would recommend to friends.  In which case, I'd categorize the books into books that I loved and fully intend to reread every so often -- the sort of book that I would replace if I were ever to lose my copy,  those I'd keep and share with friends and family, books that deserve a mention, those that are a good way to pass the time, recent works by authors that I enjoy or a book that sounded intriguing and another for books to recycle.

Does this seem like a reasonable way to select books for my blog? Or is it odd that I seem to have taken advice from Thumper's mom  in that if I can't say anything nice, then I don't say anything at all... What do you think?  How do you select books or materials to review on your blog?

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith

Sally Bedell Smith's Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch comes just as Elizabeth II celebrates her 60th year on the throne. Some reviewers have described the book as an authorized unauthorized biography, likely because Bedell Smith writes with sympathy and admiration for the Queen's dedication and the sacrifices that the Queen has made and makes on a daily basis.

I hadn't read any of biographies of the royal family and have had a mild fascination with Princess Diana (like most of the world). I'd enjoyed the movie The Queen with Helen Mirren. I'd requested Elizabeth the Queen through the Amazon Vine program with a general curiosity of the second longest reigning monarch and was delightfully surprised to learn the details of her life as queen. The book begins with ten-year old Elizabeth and her sister discuss the abdication by King Edward VIII and their father's ascension to the throne. Elizabeth suddenly becomes next in line to the throne and she is prepared accordingly. Drastic changes are made to her education, training, and treatment - she, her family, and those around her take care to prepare her for her role. In contrast, her father Prince Albert ("Bertie") had not been raised as the heir and his sudden ascension when King Edward VIII abdicated to be with Wallace Simpson had not only created a constitutional crisis but had imposed an incredible burden for which he -- at least from Hollywood's depictions (The King's Speech)-- had not felt well prepared. But as Prince Albert took on the role of George VI, history (and again, the movies) reveal that he met unexpected and unparalleled challenges with great grace, dedication and success -- he steered England through World War II and the challenges afterward. The royal family made sure that Elizabeth was prepared, insofar as one can be, for her future role as monarch. "I have a feeling that in the end probably that training is the answer to a great many things. You can do a lot if you are properly trained, and I hope I have been." said the Queen on the eve of her 40th year. But as the book reveals, preparation is not so much intellectual education but also a deeper devotion to, understanding of, and commitment to the responsibilities, obligations, and limitations of her position as queen. Her role as constitutional monarch - and the restrictions that are imposed on her - and her larger role as diplomat, role model, and queen that brings together the Commonwealth nations and her subjects the world over.

I was fascinated by the conversations, anecdotes, and details that Sally Bedell Smith revealed. Having only known Queen Elizabeth as the older monarch, mother of the rather old Prince Charles and presumably an unsympathetic mother-in-law to the lively Princess Diana, it was lovely to read about her early years, of her own youth, glowing beauty, the personal and diplomatic triumphs of the young queen. Sally Bedell Smith gives us a fuller story of Queen Elizabeth II with careful research and meticulous details. We learn of her love affair and marriage to Prince Philip as well as the ways in which she has sought to give him greater importance. The relationship between Elizabeth II and Prince Philip is similar in some ways to that of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Prince Consort - except that Prince Albert was given a greater role in governmental affairs. However, Bedell Smith recounts the romance in much the same way: the fabulously wealthy heir presumptive is attracted to a handsome, well educated, young man of similarly royal birth. Prince Philip is a descendant of Queen Victoria and a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth which Prince Albert was first cousin to Queen Victoria. Both queens sought to give their husbands primacy in their family life and to give them a larger role and importance in public life. Sally Bedell Smith devotes considerable time on Prince Philip, his background, his interests, his adjustment to his role as Prince, his treatment of their children, his wisecracking ways that are supposedly done to provide comic relief and ease tension. Bedell Smith makes Prince Philip out to be a sympathetic character. I'll admit though that while she makes him a more sympathetic character, there are things that stick out in her description of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth that make one curious as to what other people would say about incidents and these royal personages. For instance, Bedell Smith writes "Always vigilant about his own weight, he helped his wife return to trim form by encouraging her to give up potatoes, wine and sweets."

Most of the anecdotes are enlightening and I came away with great respect and affection for Queen Elizabeth II. Her dedication to her work -- she dedicates hours each day to official correspondence and briefings, taking time out only on Easter and Christmas, her strict adherence to her role under the constitution, and the physical demands of her position are all revelations and evoke my greatest admiration. I very much enjoyed reading Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch and highly recommend it for those with an interest in modern history. Queen Elizabeth II is much more than a royal figure, she is one of the most important leaders of the last century.

ISBN-13: 978-1400067893 - Hardcover $30
Publisher: Random House (January 10, 2012), 688 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine Program and the publisher.


About the Author:
Sally Bedell Smith is the author of  bestselling biographies of William S. Paley; Pamela Harriman; Diana, Princess of Wales; John and Jacqueline Kennedy; and Bill and Hillary Clinton. A contributing editor at Vanity Fair since 1996, she previously worked at Time and The New York Times, where she was a cultural news reporter. She is the mother of three children and lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Stephen G. Smith.

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

The blurb:
In this thrilling first installment, a violent battle separates two young lovers on a ship bound for New Earth. Will they find a way backk to their ship--and each other?  And most importantly, will they survive and preserve the future of the human race?


Review:
I had wanted to like Glow but it didn't speak to me. The book is science fiction, set in the far future with humans bound for New Earth. The original ship has people of all ages living in reasonable harmony. There are hints of small abuses of power, but considering that hundreds of people live in a spacecraft, contained and isolated, the ship is run well and fairly. A surprise attack by another ship results in all the young girls of childbearing age being taken away.

As the young girls adjust to their new lives in this "raiding ship" the remaining occupants of the old ship must recover from the attack and establish order. With most of the adults isolated and injured, the boys are left to their own devices. The old skills and alliances break down and there's something similar to Lord of the Flies occurs. Society doesn't break down completely, but it's basic fabric is frayed.

Meanwhile, the girls in the second ship try to sift through the deception and lies in their new home. As they learn to assert themselves, new leaders and alliances develop.

The ideas behind the story are intriguing but I found that I didn't care about the actual characters, I wasn't invested in their success.  However, many other readers and reviewers loved Glow, if you're intrigued by the story - check it out and let me know how you find the book.

Ages 12 and up.
ISBN-10: 0312590563 - Hardcover $17.99 
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (September 13, 2011), 320 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

About the Author:
Amy Kathleen Ryan grew up in Jackson, Wyoming, reading and adoring books by Madeleine L'Engle, Susan Cooper, and Judy Blume.  She studied anthropology at the University of Wyoming and received her MA in English literature at the University of Vermont.  From there she went to the New School Creative Writing for Children Program. She is also the author of two widely acclaimed young adult novels, Zen and Xander Undone and Vibes.

The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

 
The blurb:
It's the spring of 1938 and no longer safe to be a Jew in Vienna. Nineteen-year-old Elise Landau is forced to leave her glittering life of parties and champagne to become a parlor maid in England. She arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay, where servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn. But war is coming, and the world is changing. When the master of Tyneford's young son, Kit, returns home, he and Elise strike up an unlikely friendship that will transform Tyneford-and Elise-forever.

Review:
There's that sense of surprise, delight and unjustified accomplishment in finding a gem of a debut novel.  I read Natasha Solomons' Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English a the start of 2010 and loved it.  At the end of the year, I was not surprised to find that it was still one of my favorite books of the year.

When her second book came out, I was excited and slightly apprehensive that my expectations might be too high.  The House at Tyneford offers a grand out house, echoes of Downton Abbey...it is a story of young Elise - the cosseted daughter of Viennese Jewish intellectual elite.  Her mother is a renowned beauty and opera singer - in a country where her skill is celebrated.  Her father is equally well respected as the strikingly handsome and internationally respected novelist.  Her younger sister is a famous musician in her own right.  At the rise of National Socialism, their family prepares to leave Austria.  Her parents, sister and brother-in-law are headed for the United States.  Since Elise doesn't have the necessary sponsors for America, she takes a different route and applies to work as a servant in a big house in England. 

Elise wasn't prepared for life as a servant in England, but there is little that she could have done to prepare. She had packed a copy of Mrs. Beaton's famous book, sewed jewelry into her clothing, and carried a duplicate of her father's latest novel hidden in her sister's viola.  She had her education, her sharp intellect, her determination to be reunited with her family, and her sense of humor.  She was fortunate to come to the Rivers family and Tyneford.

The book opens with Elise's recollections of Tyneford the first time she saw it.  We learn the story of her life there, of her family's experience during the Nazi occupation of Austria and of how World War II destroyed the life that they knew. I loved The House at Tyneford and couldn't put it down.  It is an engrossing read. If you read Natasha Solomons' earlier novel or if you love Downton Abbey, you must read The House at Tyneford.

ISBN-10: 0452297648 - Paperback $15
Publisher: Plume; Original edition (December 27, 2011), 236 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine Program and the publisher.

About the Author:
Natasha Solomons is a screenwriter and the internationally bestselling author of Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English. She lives with her husband in Dorset, England.

Disturbance by Jan Burke

 
The blurb:
Despite her reporter's nose for trouble, Irene Kelly's life has almost returned to normal -- the Las Piernas News Express wobbles along in defiance of its financial woes, and with the help of her husband, Frank, and a good therapist, she's recovered from the debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder that haunted her after her near-fatal encounter with Nick Parrish. Until she receives some unwelcome news: Parrish, once thought permanently paralyzed by the injuries he sustained fleeing recapture, is walking again.  And the rumor among the Moths, Parrish's online fan club, is that he's coming after Irene.

Suddenly, Irene is on the other end of the microphone, being hounded by the media for interviews and plied with questions she'd hoped never to have to answer again.  She tries to believe that she is safe from Parrish, who is imprisoned in a maximum security facility, and that the growing stream of threats from the Moths is all just talk.  But an unnerving prank soon lets her know that someone, at least, wants her to be afraid.  And when a young woman's body turns up in the trunk of a car near her home -- naked, frozen solid, and decorated from head to toe in elaborately painted moths -- it becomes clear that Irene will once again find herself pitted against a brutal murderer. She knows the twisted hunter who is stalking her all too well...or does she?

Review:
This was my first time reading one of Jan Burke's Irene Kelly novels. Disturbance opens with Irene Kelly recovering from her traumatic capture and attack by serial killer Nick Parrish.  Clearly, the convicted killer is still obsessed with Irene - after all, he was nearly paralyzed when she was rescued. 

The book doesn't focus on the killer's twisted thoughts or plans, which makes Disturbance a much more satisfying sort of thriller.  Instead of the killer's thoughts, the book is told from the point of view of Irene and this stranger Donovan.  Donovan has a link to Parrish but he holds himself apart.  While Donovan seems to assist Parish in his attacks on innocents, he views Irene and her companions with respect and sympathy.

I don't want to reveal much of the plot.  It's an unusual thriller with a serial killer that doesn't focus on the violence but instead on the impact of the attacks on likable characters.  Highly recommended!
ISBN-10: 1439152845- Hardcover $26
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 21, 2011), 368 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

About the Author:
Jan Burke is the author of a dozen novels and a collection of short stories. Among the awards her work has garnered are Mystery Writers of America's Edgar® for Best Novel, Malice Domestic's Agatha Award, Mystery Readers International's Macavity, and the RT Book Club's Best Contemporary Mystery. She is the founder of the Crime Lab Project (www.crimelabproject.com) and is a member of the board of the California Forensic Science Institute. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two dogs. Learn more about her at www.janburke.com.