David C. Encourages Readers to Take a Chance with Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves

I bought this book from the dollar store, simply because it was there. I had never heard of Chuck Hogan, and had no expectations whatsoever when I began reading it. Luckily, this book was one of the best I’ve ever read.  It is in no way formulaic, every ending that I imagined when I first got into the meat of the story was far from what Hogan actually imagined. 

Written about a group of bank robbers who are at the same time protagonists and antagonists, this book is above all, a complete story. It leaves no unanswered questions, and no alternative ending could accomplish what Chuck Hogan did with this fantastic story. If you find yourself at the dollar store and happen upon a lonely book on a table, take a chance you may be glad you did.  (Virginia adds:  Of course, VJ Books has SIGNED copies, too!)

See David’s other reviews, or become a Reader Reward member by clicking here!

Order your autographed copy of Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan here

New York Times bestseller John Lescroart <les KWAH> newest novel Treasure Hunt, brings back Wyatt Hunt, last seen in The Hunt Club.  Lescroart pairs Hunt with a new protégé, in an intricate, tightly plotted thriller set against San Francisco‘s glamorous charity circuit.  Treasure Hunt is both a nail-biting thriller and a coming-of-age story, filled with Lescroart’s trademark San Francisco flavors. Mickey Dade, its young, fresh protagonist, gradually learns the lessons Hunt knows very well, as the world he imagines unravels around him.

Mickey Dade hates deskwork, but that’s all he’s been doing at Wyatt Hunt’s private investigative service, The Hunt Club. Hunt has been keeping an eye on Mickey and his sister, Tamara, since their hardscrabble childhood, so Mickey is pitching in to pay for chef school. His itch to be active is answered when a body is discovered: It’s Dominic Como, one of San Francisco‘s most high-profile activists—a charismatic man known as much for his expensive suits as his work on half a dozen nonprofit boards. One “person of interest” in the case is Como‘s business associate, Alicia Thorpe—young, gorgeous, and the sister of one of Mickey’s friends. As Mickey and Hunt are pulled into the case, they soon learn that the city’s golden fund-raiser was involved in some highly suspect deals. The lovely Alicia knows more about this—and more about Como—than she’s letting on.

“We love to tell people about John,” said VJ Books co-founder, Virginia Lenneville, “both about his fantastic novels and also how to properly pronounce his last name.” Autographed copies of Treasure Hunt will ship in late January/early February. VJ Books’ long-standing relationship with Mr. Lescroart has resulted in an ample backlist inventory of his previous titles, all of which are available at www.vjbooks.com.

JOHN LESCROART is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty previous novels, including A Plague of Secrets, Betrayal, The Suspect and The Hunt Club. His books have been printed in sixteen languages and published in more than seventy-five countries.

About VJ Books:  Starting in 1998, VJ Books caters to the discriminating book collector.  Each month over 30 signed first editions are offered by bestselling authors such as James Patterson, Clive Cussler and Janet Evanovich.  VJ Books blog can be found at:  http://blog.vjbooks.com/ and their website:  http://www.vjbooks.com/

Elizabeth Kostova’s masterful new novel, The Swan Thieves, travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. It is a story of obsession, history’s losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

The Swan Thieves tells the story of psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe, who is devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. Marlowe has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient, Marlow finds that order destroyed. Desperate to understand the secret that torments the genius, he embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

“We were blown away by The Historian,” said VJ Books co-founder, Virginia Lenneville, “and The Swan Thieves looks to live up to the high standard set by its predecessor.” Autographed copies of The Swan Thieves will ship in late January/early February. This newest title, in addition to a scarce few signed copies of The Historian, is available at www.vjbooks.com.

ELIZABETH KOSTOVA was born in New London, Connecticut and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. She received her undergraduate degree from Yale University and an Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, where she won the 2003 Hopwood Award for her Novel-in-Progress. In May 2007, the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation was created. The Foundation helps support Bulgarian creative writing, the translation of contemporary Bulgarian literature into English, and friendship between Bulgarian authors and American and British authors.

About VJ Books: VJ Books started in 1998 and soon learned that their customer was foremost a collector. Their customers sought collector grade first edition books, preferably autographed by the author. In an effort to respond to this demand, VJ Books has developed relationships with publishers, authors and agents to provide a continuous supply of new titles for their customers. Each month VJ Books’ customers are able to choose from dozens of author signed books from some of the most exciting, highly acclaimed authors in the areas of mystery, suspense, sci-fi and modern literature. Additionally, they continue to offer an impressive selection of backlist, rare, out-of-print, and special edition titles for your consideration.

Order your signed copy of Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova here

David Hosp pens his third thriller featuring attorney Scott Finn. Among Thieves centers on the 1990 real life robbery of the Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which remains unsolved. Hosp provides a grittily realistic, yet still fictional, investigation of this infamous case.

In 1990, $300 million worth of paintings were stolen from Boston‘s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in what remains one of the greatest unsolved art thefts of the twentieth century. Now, nearly twenty years later, the case threatens to break wide open. Members of Boston‘s criminal underground are turning up dead and these are no ordinary murders. The method of the attacks suggests the involvement of someone trained by the IRA. When Scott Finn learns that one of his clients, Devon Malley, was part of the heist, he is quickly drawn into the crossfire, and into the renewed hunt for the missing artwork-a hunt that may cost Finn and his colleagues their lives.

“David Hosp is one of those authors people should know about,” said VJ Books co-founder, John Hutchinson, “his previous novels have been outstanding and we are doing our part to spread the word.” Autographed copies of Among Thieves will ship in late January/early February. VJ Books has an established relationship with Mr. Hosp. As such, they have an inventory of signed copies of his previous titles, all of which are available at www.vjbooks.com.

DAVID HOSP is a Boston attorney. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from George Washington University. He lives with his wife, son, and daughter south of the city.

Order your signed copy of Among Thieves from VJ Books

Dan Simmons, the award-winning author of Olympos, Ilium, and The Hyperion Cantos, has received the Hugo Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and British Science Fiction & Fantasy Awards, among many others.

Signed limited edition copies of The Terror by Dan Simmons are now available for pre-order through VJ Books (www.vjbooks.com).  This special edition printing is limited to 500 signed numbered copies. 

Bestselling author Lincoln Child says, “The Terror is nothing less than a revelation. Dan Simmons is a giant among novelists, and I am in awe of his achievement.”

 The story begins in the spring of 1845; Sir John Franklin leads a company of two ships and 130 men on a hazardous voyage to the remote, uncharted Arctic. His goal: to locate and map the legendary Northwest Passage. Two years later, the expedition, which began in a spirit of optimism and high purpose, faces disaster. Franklin is dead. The two ships — the Erebus and the Terror — are hopelessly trapped by gigantic, shifting ice floes. Supplies are dwindling, and the crews struggle daily against lethal, unimaginably frigid conditions. And something — some Thing — is stalking the survivors, spreading death, suffering, and chaos in its remorseless wake.

About Dan Simmons:  Dan’s first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born.  He’s always attributed that coincidence to “helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life.”

Simmons has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado — in the same town where he taught for 14 years — with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she’s home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. He does much of his writing at Windwalker — their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike — a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels — was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture

About VJ Books:  VJ Books started in 1998 and soon learned that their customer was foremost a collector.  Their customers sought collector grade first edition books, preferably autographed by the author.  In an effort to respond to this demand, VJ Books has developed relationships with publishers, authors and agents to provide a continuous supply of new titles for their customers.

Each month VJ Books’ customers are able to choose from dozens of author signed books from some of the most exciting, highly acclaimed authors in the areas of mystery, suspense, sci-fi and modern literature. Sign up for VJ Books weekly newsletter at:  http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001IQ4Q15knkjNta2lbpVcky1fBzD50BxcT

New To Cussler and Lik’in Him!

I took the plunge and dove into Atlantis Found. Though not the first book of the Dirk Pitt series, it was very readable as a standalone novel. I’m sure the more Pitt novels I read, the more familiar I will become with his personality and habits.  For a first time reader of Cussler, I really enjoyed this book. The combination of action, maritime folklore, and ancient legends was well melded into an adventure in which Pitt must prevent the end of civilization. Dirk Pitt carries a certain “je ne sais quoi” in the likeness of an American James Bond or Jack Ryan. The plot leads you in one direction and suddenly you find yourself being lead in another. These twists certainly keep you from predicting the outcome of the story!

Order your autographed copy of Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler at www.vjbooks.com

See other reviews by Nikki C., or become a Reader Reward member yourself by clicking here

VJ Books has just received: Douglas Clegg – Isis, and Robert Jordan – The Gathering Storm.

Former ITW (International Thriller Writers) co-presidents, Steve Berry and James Rollins continue to dominate the thriller genre with new releases this month. 

Berry continues his bestselling Cotton Malone series with the release of The Paris Vendetta (Random House), now shipping from VJ Books (www.vjbooks.com; signed $29.99).   When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces, national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where the loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing, and in his will he made no mention of the treasure. Or did he?  “All the Berry hallmarks are here: scale, scope, sweep, history – plus breathless second-by-second suspense. I love this guy.” — Lee Child (Gone Tomorrow; Delacorte).  

On December 29^th James Rollins releases The Altar of Eden (HarperCollins), taking a breather from his Sigma Force adventures (Map of Bones, Black Order, The Judas Strain, et al) bringing us a stand alone novel (signed $29.99 at www.vjbooks.com).  With his latest breathtaking blockbuster, Rollins delivers all the action, surprise, and intensity for which he’s well known—and loved. Combining science, history, and breakneck suspense—and a secret tied to the Book of Genesis—Altar of Eden is sure to satisfy every James Rollins fan while winning over a slew of new converts.  VJ Books is taking reserve orders for what will surely be a chart topping book.

ITW writers continue to be the dominate force in the thriller genre.  In addition to Berry and Rollins many other members of the society have contributed bestsellers in 2009.  Clive Cussler has teamed with Grant Blackwood and Justin Scott with, Spartan Gold and The Wrecker, adding two new authors to his franchise, joining Paul Kemprecos, Jack DuBrul and Dirk Cussler. 

VJ Books has specialized in signed and collectible fiction titles from the mystery, science fiction and horror genres for over 13 years.  Sign up for the weekly newsletter at http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001IQ4Q15knkjNta2lbpVcky1fBzD50BxcT.

Without giving away the plot of the story, let me tell you if you like blood and gore this is the book for you. Some of the scenes had me wincing in sympathy pains. It is a well crafted story and fast paced, a real page turner and a plot that wasn’t surprising and a very justifiable ending. This is one of my favorite books this year.

Order your signed US and UK copies of Afraid by Jack Kilborn (a.k.a. J.A. Konrath) here

See Carrie’s other reviews here!