John Reviews The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child
I read the new Jack Reacher novel, THE SENTINEL, last night. That’s right, last night. For those of you concerned about the hand off from Lee Child to his younger brother Andrew you need not be troubled. Whether it’s Andrew’s writing skill or Lee’s oversight, the transition is seamless. THE SENTINEL is a classic Reacher novel. The same amazing characterization, scene setting, storyline and witty dialogue we’ve come to expect is here in spades.
THE SENTINEL finds Reacher is a small Tennessee town a couple of hours outside of Nashville. Reacher immediately gets involved in a local conspiracy as he’s sees Rusty Rutherford walking casually down the street after exiting his favorite coffee shop, cup in hand. As Reacher observes dark forces execute a plan to kidnap the hapless Rutherford. Reacher, who never avoids a chance to get involved, coming to the aid of the helpless, foils the attack. So begins the story that unravels a sinister plot that has all of the elements of a great mystery – a town under attack by unknown forces, Russian spies, Nazis – who could ask for more?
Reacher cannot move on until he gets to the bottom of what’s going on, putting the protection of Rutherford under his wing, as he navigates the plot unraveling before his very eyes.
Why has a cyber attack brought the town to it’s knees? Is Rutherford responsible? If, mot who is, and why? Reacher enlists the help of a couple of FBI agents, one active, the other retired, and a local police officer, as he uncovers a plot that puts the entire country at risk.
As the story races to its conclusion, the reader is reminded of what makes Reacher tick, and the moral purpose that sits at the root of this timeless character.
Don’t miss THE SENTINEL. I cannot wait to see what happens next as Reacher wanders the street and back roads of America.
One of John’s Favorite Authors: Glen Erik Hamilton
A few years ago, Virginia and I joined a longtime friend for a weekend in Seattle.
Unwittingly, the book I brought to read was PAST CRIMES, not knowing that Seattle was the book’s locale.
PAST CRIMES introduces VanShaw, an Army ranger who returns home to Seattle after 10 years, in response to a terse message from the man who raised him, his grandfather Donovan “Dono” Shaw.
PAST CRIMES won the Anthony, Macavity, and Strand Magazine Critics Awards, and was also nominated for the Edgar.
When I later spoke to Glen Erik Hamilton about the strange coincidence, he added to my experience by sharing that the hotel that we stayed in was used in the story, with his main character walking the same streets.
Last year Hamilton took us to MERCY RIVER, Oregon. where Van’s friend is accused of murder and jailed in the secretive, small town. Hamilton’s knowledge of this part of the Pacific Northwest makes this fictitious town come to life. It was “literally” in our backyard!
I have been a fan of Hamilton’s Van Shaw ever since, and enthusiastically recommend all of his books.
A Dangerous Breed
New Release! In Hamilton’s exceptional fifth novel featuring professional thief Van Shaw, Van runs afoul of hacker Bilal Nath, who threatens to harm Van’s adoptive family unless Van agrees to steal an unknown item from a Seattle biotechnology company.
Hamilton makes the connections among his satisfyingly realized characters seem so natural that the whole feels like something that might actually happen.
“I can’t wait for the next Van Shaw novel!” – John
Click here to view A DANGEROUS BREED on www.vjbooks.com
Hamilton’s Backstock
Here’s a chance to own all five of Glen Erik Hamilton’s bestselling novels at special “author of the Month” pricing!
Modern Signed Books – Karin Slaughter’s The Good Daughter
Modern Signed Books – Interview with Karin Slaughter, author of The Good Daughter
Click here to listen to Karin Slaughter’s interview about The Good Daughter
About “The Good Daughter” by Karin Slaughter
The stunning new novel from the international #1 bestselling author — a searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense.
Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…
Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.
Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever…
Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The Good Daughter is fiction at its most thrilling.
Modern Signed Books – Nelson DeMille’s The Cuban Affair
Modern Signed Books – Interview with Nelson DeMille, author of The Cuban Affair
Click here to listen to Nelson DeMille’s interview about The Cuban Affair
About “The Cuban Affair” by Nelson DeMille
From the legendary #1 New York Times bestselling author of Plum Island and Night Fall, Nelson DeMille’s blistering new novel features an exciting new character—US Army combat veteran Daniel “Mac” MacCormick, now a charter boat captain, who is about to set sail on his most dangerous cruise.
Daniel Graham MacCormick—Mac for short—seems to have a pretty good life. At age thirty-five he’s living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine. Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghanistan. He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don’t tan, and a boat with a big bank loan. Truth be told, Mac’s finances are more than a little shaky.
One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups. Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down. The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos’s clients—a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega, and a mysterious older Cuban exile, Eduardo Valazquez.
What Mac learns is that there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara’s grandfather when he fled Castro’s revolution. With the “Cuban Thaw” underway between Havana and Washington, Carlos, Eduardo, and Sara know it’s only a matter of time before someone finds the stash—by accident or on purpose. And Mac knows if he accepts this job, he’ll walk away rich…or not at all.
Brilliantly written, with his signature humor, fascinating authenticity from his research trip to Cuba, and heart-pounding pace, Nelson DeMille is a true master of the genre.
Modern Signed Books – James Rollins’ The Demon Crown
Modern Signed Books – James Rollins talks about his newest book, The Demon Crown
Click here to listen to James Rollins’ interview about The Demon Crown
About “The Demon Crown” by James Rollins
To save mankind’s future, the members of Sigma Force must make a devil’s bargain as they join forces with their most hated enemy to stop an ancient threat in this gripping adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins.
Off the coast of Brazil, a team of scientists discovers a horror like no other, an island where all life has been eradicated, consumed, and possessed by a species beyond imagination. Before they can report their discovery, a mysterious agency attacks the group, killing them all, save one: an entomologist, an expert on venomous creatures, Professor Ken Matsui from Cornell University.
read more…
Modern Signed Books – Matt Coyle’s Blood Truth
Modern Signed Books – Matt Coyle discusses his new book, Blood Truth
Click here to listen to Matt Coyle’s interview about Blood Truth
About “Blood Truth” by Matt Coyle
Rick Cahill has long feared the truth about his own blood—the blood of his father coursing through his veins.
When a long-hidden safe unlocks clues about why his father was kicked off the police force twenty-seven years ago and then spiraled into an early drunken death, Rick determines to find the truth even if it proves the one thing he’s always feared.
But as he grapples with his father’s past, the woman he still loves pleads with him to find out if her husband is having an affair—or is involved in something much more sinister. Could the truth send her back into Rick’s arms? Would he have a last shot at happiness? He may never get the chance to find out, as killers who will do anything to protect their secrets lurk in the shadows.
Modern Signed Books – Clive Cussler & Boyd Morrison’s Typhoon Fury
Modern Signed Books – Boyd Morrison talk about his latest book, Typhoon Fury
Click here to listen to Boyd Morrison’s interview about Typhoon Fury
About “Typhoon Fury” by Clive Cussler & Boyd Morrison
Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon sail into a perfect storm of danger to try to stop a new world war, in a thrilling suspense novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling grand master of adventure.
Hired to search for a collection of paintings worth half a billion dollars, Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon soon find themselves in much deeper waters. The vicious leader of a Filipino insurgency is not only using them to finance his attacks, he has stumbled upon one of the most lethal secrets of World War II: a Japanese-developed drug, designed, but never used, to turn soldiers into super-warriors. To stop him, the Oregon must not only take on the rebel commander, but a South African mercenary intent on getting his own hands on the drug, a massive swarm of torpedo drones targeting the U.S. Navy, an approaching megastorm–and, just possibly, a war that could envelop the entire Asian continent.
“Cussler and Morrison take readers to the edge, at a pace so fast, you may find yourself needing oxygen.” –Suspense Magazine
Book Collecting 101: Graphic Novels
THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
Graphic novels are best defined as book-length comics. They are often a single storyline, flowing from first page to last, and sometimes they are collections of short stories. Graphic novels, like the comic books they parallel, rely to a high degree on visual art. This art is usually combined with text, most often presented in a series of rectangular panels.
Comics and the graphic novel evolved from the “funny papers,” enabling a longer story to be told than in the limited space granted by newspaper formats. The name notwithstanding, not all comics are funny. Many emphasize broader themes that feature complex drama and well-developed characterization.
Among purists the term graphic novel has become contentious. Since the 1970s, experts in the field have ventured to define comics as an “academic discipline,” worthy of specialization in publishing. A debate over the term “graphic novel” may challenge this definition. To most readers, the word “comic” refers to a publication meant for children, usually available at newsstands or in comic book stores. The term “graphic novel “usually refers to a longer storyline, usually meant for a more mature audience. This format may be published in either paperback or hardback, and be found online, or in bookstores. The graphic novel usually contains more serious themes and more complex artwork than the classic comic book.
These distinctions can become somewhat confusing, because comics come in a variety of shapes and formats, and appeal to read more…
Co-Author Writing and Double-Signed Books
Co-Author Writing and Double-Signed Books
Article by John Hutchinson
October 18, 2017
Over 30 years ago, Stephen King teamed with Peter Straub to pen THE TALISMAN. It was a relative first in modern publishing for two bestselling authors to co-author a new work of fiction. Since then, it has become much more common. Clive Cussler has teamed with 10 different authors to write his numerous series. James Rollins has teamed with Rebecca Cantrell and Grant Blackwood. Blackwood has also written with Cussler and Tom Clancy. Other teams include scifi greats Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston, and thriller greats, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
Family writing teams include Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler, Dick and Felix Francis, Jonathan, Faye and Jessie Kellerman, Mary Higgins and Carol Higgins Clark, and most recently Stephen and Owen King.
VJ Books has relationships with these writing teams and many others, and are pleased to have this category dedicated to Double-Signed Books. These special volumes add value to any collection.
Stephen King
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Owen King
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Peter Straub
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Mary Higgins Clark
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Carol Higgins Clark
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John Reviews the New Mitch Rapp series Novel, Enemy of the State
John Reviews Vince Flynn’s Enemy of the State by Kyle Mills
Kyle Mills just released his third book in the series, ENEMY OF THE STATE. I recently finished reading it and have to report that Mills has completely captured the voice of Vince Flynn. This Rapp novel not only holds its own against the previous books, but takes it to a whole new level.
The story takes us back to the Middle East Theater, where Saudi officials are working with Isis. Rapp is recruited by the president in a late night meeting to work “off the grid” to bring the crisis to a favorable conclusion. Working outside of the company, Rapp recruits familiar players from previous books as he assembles his team of mercenaries.
No spoilers here, but of course he stops the conspiracy in typical Mitch Rapp style. With all of the twists and turns, I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough. ENEMY OF THE STATE – is sure to be one of the biggest books of the year. A special thanks to Kyle Mills for keeping this series fresh and exciting.
With American Assassin hitting the big screen in a few days, a whole new audience will be introduced to Mitch Rapp. I can’t wait to see how Hollywood treats our favorite spy. Maze Runner star Dylan O’Brien plays Rapp, with Michael Keaton playing the old CIA sage, Stan Hurley.
Some wonder why American Assassin was picked for the screen first, after all it’s the 11th book in the bestselling series. Consider this – Hollywood likes order and American Assassin is the first book, chronilogically speaking.
