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The Sleuth Goes Down with
the Ship
"Wouldn’t it be darkly amusing for the detective to solve a murder mystery, pronounce all's right with the world, and then hear a WHUMP, and say, 'What was that?'"
 Max Allan Collins is the Shamus Award–winning, New York Times best-selling author of Road to Perdition and multiple award-winning novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations, and historical fiction. We recently had the chance to ask him a few questions about his formerly out-of-print Disaster series, recently reissued by Thomas & Mercer.
 Question: It’s unusual for a series of mystery novels to lack a continuing character; however, this series is based on a thematic unity. You focus not only on famous historical disasters but also on a succession of famous mystery and thriller writers, as your hero-detectives. How did you come up with that approach?
Max Allan Collins: Somewhat by accident. As with most of my series books, this one spun off of a novel intended as a one-shot The Titanic Murders. Shortly after I saw James Cameron’s film, I was talking to an editor at Berkley Books about the movie, and its enormous popularity, and mentioned in an offhand way that a famous mystery writer of the era had died on the Titanic, Jacques Futrelle, author of the Thinking Machine stories, which I’d read in junior high. I said, off the top of my head, that somebody should write a mystery in which Jacques Futrelle solves a closed-environment, Agatha Christie–style puzzle aboard the doomed ship.
>>read more
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Adult Books - Nonfiction - Social Sciences
 Five Myths about Nuclear Weapons.
Wilson, Ward (author).
208p. Houghton, hardcover, $22 (9780547857879). 355.02.
Here's something we haven't seen for a while: a book about nuclear weapons that isn't designed to make us quiver in terror or run about in a mad panic. Wilson's intent is just the opposite: he wants to make us feel better about the presence of nuclear weapons. How? >>read more
FIRST NOVELS
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Adult Books - Fiction - General Fiction
 Everything Was Good-bye.
Basran, Gurjinder (author).
272p. Penguin/Pintail, paperback, $16 (9780143186816).
"I'd woken up one day with Bollywood breasts, curvy hips and long legs. My dreams realized were just the continuation of my mother's nightmare." Both hilarious and heartbreaking, Meena's wry, dark, irreverent narrative about her coming-of-age in Vancouver's Indo-Canadian community demands to be read aloud. >>read more
Adult Books - Fiction - Historical Fiction
 The Last Telegram.
Trenow, Liz (author).
320p. Sourcebooks/Landmark, paperback, $14.99 (9781402279454).
Eighteen-year-old Lily Verner has expectations for life, plans that include leaving England behind and meeting someone to sweep her off her feet. But with things looking grim in Germany, her father demands that she stay home, and not much later, England enters WWII. >>read more
THE TRAVIS MCGEE PROJECT
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We're continuing Booklist Editor and Publisher Bill Ott's latest reading project—revisiting all 21 of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels (first introduced in the November 1 Back Page, and begun in the November and December issues of Booklist Online Exclusives). Seven down, and 14
to go . . .
Adult Books - Fiction - Crime Fiction - Mystery
 A Deadly Shade of Gold.
MacDonald, John D. (author).
448p. Fawcett, paperback, $7.99 (9780449224427).
It tends to be later in the Travis McGee series when the tales turn significantly darker (say, after The Tan and Sandy Silence), but this early installment, number five, displays a strong hint of what is to come. >>read more
Adult Books - Fiction - Crime Fiction - Mystery
 Darker Than Amber.
MacDonald, John D. (author).
320p. Fawcett, paperback, $7.99 (9780449224465).
There are two very good things about this seventh entry in the Travis McGee series. The first is the opening line: "We were about to give up and call it a night when somebody dropped the girl off the bridge." >>read more
Adult Books - Fiction - Crime Fiction - Mystery
 One Fearful Yellow Eye.
MacDonald, John D. (author).
324p. Fawcett, paperback, $7.99 (9780449224588).
Travis McGee goes to Chicago? In December? It seems so wrong, but what can the beach bum do, in this eighth in the series, when one of his former wounded doves calls asking for help. >>read more
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Adult - Nonfiction
Health and Medicine
The Disaster Diaries: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Apocalypse.
Sheridan, Sam (author).
384p. Penguin, hardcover, $26.95 (9781594205279). 613.6.
Sports & Recreation
Learning to Fly: An Uncommon Memoir of Human Flight, Unexpected Love, and One Amazing Dog.
Davis, Steph (author).
304p. illus. Touchstone, hardcover, $24.99 (9781451652055). 796.522.
Arts - Movies & Television
Lee Marvin: Point Blank.
Epstein, Dwayne (author).
344p. IPG/Schaffner, hardcover, $27.95 (9781936182404).
Health and Medicine
Medicines That Kill: The Truth about the Hidden Epidemic.
Marcum, James L. (author).
200p. Tyndale, paperback, $14.99 (9781414368856). 615.
Journalism & Publishing
Moranthology.
Moran, Caitlin (author).
240p. HarperPerennial, paperback, $14.99 (9780062258533). 070.440.
Sports & Recreation
The Perfect Game: How Villanova's Shocking 1985 Upset of Mighty Georgetown Changed the Landscape of College Hoops Forever.
Fitzpatrick, Frank (author).
320p. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, hardcover, $25.99 (9781250009531). 796.323.
Arts - Music
Rolling Stones 50 x 20.
Murray, Chris (editor).
144p. Insight Editions, hardcover, $34.99 (9781608871322). 782.421.
Adult - Fiction
General Fiction
After the Rain.
White, Karen (author).
368p. NAL, paperback, $15 (9780451239686).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
And Then You Dye.
Ferris, Monica (author).
304p. Berkley/Prime Crime, hardcover, $24.95 (9780425252819).
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Crime Fiction - Mystery
 Crashed.
Hallinan, Timothy (author).
368p. Soho, hardcover, $25 (9781616952747).
"The story is well designed and well told (Hallinan doesn't over-rely on out-of-left-field plot twists), and the dialogue sparkles. In a genre perhaps slightly overstuffed with crook-heroes, the book is like a breath of fresh air."
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Crime Fiction - Spy/Espionage
Empire and Honor.
Griffin, W. E. B. (author) and William E. Butterworth (author).
528p. Putnam, hardcover, $27.95 (9780399160660).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
Fatal Decree.
Griffin, H. Terrell (author).
336p. Oceanview, hardcover, $25.95 (9781608090709).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
Holiday Buzz.
Coyle, Cleo (author).
384p. Berkley/Prime Crime, paperback, $7.99 (9780425255353).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
Jail Coach.
Locke, Hillary Bell (author).
258p. Poisoned Pen, hardcover, $24.95 (9781464200243); Poisoned Pen, paperback, $14.95 (9781464200267).
Science Fiction & Fantasy - Fantasy
King of Thorns.
Lawrence, Mark (author).
464p. illus. Ace, hardcover, $25.95 (9781937007478).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
The Midwife's Tale.
Thomas, Sam (author).
320p. Minotaur, hardcover, $24.99 (9781250010766).
Romance - Contemporary Romance
Moonlight Masquerade.
Deveraux, Jude (author).
385p. Pocket, paperback, $7.99 (9781416509769).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
No Safe Ground.
Pomeroy, Julia (author).
340p. Five Star, hardcover, $25.95 (9781432826826).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
The Road to Cardinal Valley.
Fowler, Earlene (author).
384p. Berkley/Prime Crime, hardcover, $25.95 (9780425252840).
Romance - Historical Romance
The Scoundrel Takes a Bride.
Sloane, Stefanie (author).
336p. Ballantine, paperback, $7.99 (9780345531155).
Crime Fiction - Thriller/Suspense
A Sentimental Traitor.
Dobbs, Michael (author).
448p. IPG/Simon & Schuster UK, hardcover, $14.95 (9780857203700).
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General Fiction
 This Is What We Do.
Hansen, Tom (author).
16p. Emergency, paperback, $16 (9780983693222).
"Hansen, author of the acclaimed memoir American Junkie (2010), has created a modern noir in which the protagonists are defined by Sartre and Camus as well as Bonnie and Clyde."
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Crime Fiction - Thriller/Suspense
A Time for War.
Savage, Michael (author).
336p. St. Martin's, hardcover, $26.99 (9780312651626).
General Fiction
Time on My Hands.
Vasta, Giorgio (author). Translated by Jonathan Hunt.
Faber and Faber, paperback, $15 (9780865479371).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
Veiled Threat.
Loweecey, Alice (author).
288p. Midnight Ink, paperback, $14.99 (9780738726403).
Crime Fiction - Mystery
Written in Stone.
Adams, Ellery (author).
304p. Berkley/Prime Crime, paperback, $7.99 (9780425251737).
Graphic Novels
Adult Books - Fiction - Graphic Novels
The Making of.
Evens, Brecht (author). Illustrated by Brecht Evens. Translated by Laura Watkinson.
216p. Drawn & Quarterly, hardcover, $24.95 (9781770460737). 741.5.
Adult Books - Fiction - Graphic Novels
Philosophy: A Discovery in Comics.
de Heer, Margreet (author). Illustrated by Margreet de Heer. Translated by Margreet de Heer.
120p. NBM, paperback, $16.99 (9781561636983). 741.5.
Books For Youth - Fiction - Graphic Novels
Pippi Moves In!
Lindgren, Astrid (author). Illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman. Translated by Tiina Nunnally.
56p. Drawn & Quarterly, hardcover, $14.95 (9781770460997). Grades 2-4. 741.5.
Youth - Nonfiction
Youth - Fiction
Action/Adventure
Another Life.
David, Keren (author).
352p. Frances Lincoln, hardcover, $16.99 (9781847803801). Grades 6-9.
General Fiction
Betty Bunny Didn't Do It.
Kaplan, Michael B. (author). Illustrated by Stephane Jorisch.
32p. Dial, hardcover, $16.99 (9780803738584). K-Grade 3.
General Fiction
Christmas Recital.
Ford, Bernette (author). Illustrated by Sam Williams.
32p. Sterling, hardcover, $16.95 (9781907152122). PreS-K.
General Fiction
Curious George Saves His Pennies.
Perez, Monica (author). Illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young.
32p. Houghton, hardcover, $12.99 (9780547632315). PreS-Grade 2.
General Fiction
Dinosaur Zoom!
Dale, Penny (author). Illustrated by Penny Dale.
32p. Candlewick/Nosy Crow, hardcover, $15.99 (9780763664480). PreS-Grade 1.
General Fiction
Elmer and the Big Bird.
McKee, David (author). Illustrated by David McKee.
32p. Andersen, hardcover, $16.95 (9781467703192); Andersen, e-book, $12.95 (9781467703253). PreS-Grade 2.
General Fiction
Execution.
Smith, Alexander Gordon (author).
352p. Farrar, hardcover, $16.99 (9780374362249). Grades 6-9.
General Fiction
Gift Days.
Winters, Kari-Lynn (author). Illustrated by Stephen Taylor.
32p. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, hardcover, $18.95 (9781554551927). PreS-Grade 2.
General Fiction
God Gave Us Easter.
Bergren, Lisa Tawn (author). Illustrated by Laura J. Bryant.
40p. WaterBrook, hardcover, $10.99 (9780307730725). PreS-Grade 1.
General Fiction
Good Night, Little Rainbow Fish.
Pfister, Marcus (author). Illustrated by Marcus Pfister.
32p. North-South, hardcover, $18.95 (9780735840829). PreS-Grade 1.
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Fantasy
 Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green.
Phillips, Helen (author).
304p. Delacorte, hardcover, $17.99 (9780385742368); library edition, $20.99 (9780375990564); Delacorte, e-book, $10.99 (9780307974877). Grades 4-7.
"Mystery fans looking for exotic settings and spunky heroines will find this a book to luxuriate in."
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Fantasy
Horten's Incredible Illusions.
Evans, Lissa (author).
352p. Sterling, hardcover, $14.95 (9781402798702); Sterling, e-book, $7.99 (9781402798719). Grades 3-6.
General Fiction
Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show.
Buckley, Michael (author). Illustrated by Dan Santat.
40p. Abrams, hardcover, $16.95 (9781419703799). PreS-Grade 2.
General Fiction
The Land of Neverbelieve.
Messenger, Norman (author). Illustrated by Norman Messenger.
32p. Candlewick, hardcover, $17.99 (9780763660215). Grades 2-5.
Fantasy
Moondance of Stonewylde.
Berry, Kit (author).
352p. IPG/Orion, paperback, $10.99 (9780575098855). Grades 9-12.
General Fiction
Mr. Terupt Falls Again.
Buyea, Rob (author).
288p. Delacorte, hardcover, $16.99 (9780385742054); library edition, $19.99 (9780375990380); Delacorte, e-book, $16.99 (9780375989100). Grades 4-7.
General Fiction
Neil Flambe and the Tokyo Treasure.
Sylvester, Kevin (author). Illustrated by Kevin Sylvester.
Oct. 2012. 352p. Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $12.99 (9781442442887). Grades 3-5.
General Fiction
One Frozen Lake.
Larson, Deborah Jo (author). Illustrated by Steve Johnson.
32p. Minnesota Historical Society, hardcover, $16.95 (9780873518666). PreS-Grade 2.
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General Fiction
 Perry's Killer Playlist.
Schreiber, Joe (author).
224p. Houghton, hardcover, $16.99 (9780547601175). Grades 8-10.
"Once again, Schreiber's revealing of secrets adds depth and darkness to an otherwise action-movie plot. The cinematic qualities will quickly draw in readers, whether or not they've read the first book."
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General Fiction
Pigs in Pajamas.
Smith, Maggie (author). Illustrated by Maggie Smith.
32p. Knopf, hardcover, $15.99 (9780375848179). PreS-K.
General Fiction
Polly Price's Totally Secret Diary: Mum in Love.
Shulman, Dee (author).
128p. IPG/Red Fox, hardcover, $8.99 (9781849415422). Grades 4-7.
Action/Adventure
Super.
Cody, Matthew (author).
304p. Knopf, hardcover, $16.99 (9780375868948); library edition, $19.99 (9780375968945); Knopf, e-book, $10.99 (9780375899799). Grades 5-8.
General Fiction
This Is the Challah.
Hepker, Sue (author). Illustrated by Amy Wummer.
24p. Behrman, paperback, $8.95 (9780874419221). PreS-Grade 1.
General Fiction
Winter's Tide.
Kline, Lisa Williams (author).
240p. Zonderkidz, paperback, $10.99 (9780310726197). Grades 5-8.
General Fiction
Wish You Were Eyre.
Frederick, Heather Vogel (author).
464p. Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $15.99 (9781442430648). Grades 5-8.
Professional Reading
Reference - Library Science
The Changing Academic Library: Operations, Culture, Environments. 2nd ed.
Budd, John M. (author).
416p. ACRL, paperback, $58 (9780838986127). 027.
Reference - Library Science
Greening Libraries.
Antonelli, Monika (editor) and Mark McCullough (editor).
270p. illus. Library Juice, paperback, $32 (9781936117086). 020.
Reference - Library Science
Marketing Your Library: Tips and Tools That Work.
Smallwood, Carol (editor) and Vera Gubnitskaia (editor) and others.
231p. McFarland, paperback, $55 (9780786465439). 021.7.
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Reference - Library Science
 Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children.
Isaacs, Kathleen T. (author).
216p. illus. ALA Editions, paperback, $50 (9780838911266). 025.
"Each bibliographic entry gives the author, title, illustrator, publisher, ISBN, age range, and a detailed extended annotation, written in a clear, readable style. A great tool for teachers and librarians alike, this has a place in most school libraries' professional sections."
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AMAZON BEST-SELLERS
IN HISTORICAL FICTION
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1. Bone River, by Megan Chance
2. The Witch's Daughter, by Paula Brackston
3. Hawk of May (Down the Long Way 1), by Gillian Bradshaw
4. The Light between Oceans, by ML Stedman
5. Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy, by Ken Follett
6. The Secret Keeper, by Kate Morton
7. The Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy, Ken Follett
8. Wolf Hall: A Novel, by Hilary Mantel
9. Child 44 (The Child 44 Trilogy), by Tom Rob Smith
10. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows: An Outlander Novella, by Diana Gabaldon
(Amazon rankings as of January 4, 2013)
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