Xpress Reviews: Fiction | First Look at New Books, January 6, 2012

Week ending January 6, 2012

 Carrisi, Donato. The Whisperer. Mulholland: Little, Brown. Jan. 2012. c.432p. tr. from by Italian by Shaun Whiteside. ISBN 9780316194723. $25.99. F
Who is playing with whom in this exquisitely gruesome thriller? Five young girls have gone missing. Six severed arms belonging to young girls are unearthed in a forest hideaway burial ground. Headed by criminologist Goran Gavila, the crime unit staff in this nameless, featureless, quasi-European country invite into their midst a stranger, missing-children expert Mila Vasquez, to help them solve the mystery. But someone is controlling their actions and playing with their minds—and with the plot of this gripping, disturbing novel (a European best seller), in which nothing is as it appears. Italian screenwriter and first-time novelist Carrisi obviously owes a debt to American crime-scene TV drama, but even more to Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs), with homage from tone to gore to cover art.
Verdict This is a novel about serial killers and as such is more about the manipulative process than the particulars; readers who appreciate manipulation, both of plots and themselves, by the author, and those who appreciate a shock of bloody horror will be absolutely enthralled by this offering. [See Prepub Alert, 7/10/11.]—David Clendinning, West Virginia State Univ. Lib., Institute

Guhrke, Laura Lee. Trouble at the Wedding. Avon. (Abandoned at the Altar, Bk. 3). Jan. 2012. 372p. ISBN 9780061963179. pap. $7.99. HISTORICAL ROMANCE
American heiress Annabel Wheaton is going to marry a British earl aboard the Atlantic. It’s part of savvy Annabel’s plan to bury her poor Mississippi roots so deep they will no longer be a source of humiliation for her or her younger sister. The gold mines her father bequeathed to her are almost worth his having abandoned the family when she was just a child. If a respectable husband comes with a price tag, so be it. Annabel’s Uncle Arthur hates the idea of her loveless marriage to the Earl of Rumsford. After meeting Christian Du Quesne, the Duke of Scarborough, Arthur proposes a business deal no impoverished duke can ignore: Christian will sail on the Atlantic and convince Annabel that marrying her earl is a bad idea, leading her to break the engagement. It’s a wild scheme at best, but when Christian meets the sassy, stubborn Southern gal, he develops some wild ideas of his own.
Verdict These mismatched protagonists struggle to overcome their very different (or are they?) pasts. Neither bargains on love entering the equation, and both discover how far off the mark their calculations are. Guhrke (Scandal of the Year) never fails to deliver. Romance fans will take to this engaging clash of cultures like flies on a june bug.—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

Jordan, Neil. Mistaken. Soft Skull. Jan. 2012. c.320p. ISBN 9781593764333. pap. $15.95. F
Kevin and Gerald grew up on opposite sides of the Dublin divide, both geographically and economically. Gerald lives with privilege, going to the best schools and heading for a career in the law. Kevin grows up in a tatty flat next to the home of the late Bram Stoker and is obsessed with the specter of Dracula. For much of their lives they never meet, but Dublin is a small city and as the two men become increasingly mistaken for each other, they are drawn ever closer. They look alike and even smell alike. At first it seems innocent enough: stealing each other’s girlfriends, committing petty tomfoolery, and faking work for each other’s employer. But as the Dublin bubble moves toward its inevitable pop, the lives of Gerald and Kevin grow increasingly darker, edging toward a tragedy for which neither is prepared.
Verdict If you can get past the first hundred pages of confusingly jerky plot twists, this latest novel (after Shade) by award-winning producer-director Jordan (The Crying Game) morphs into a highly satisfying, darkly Irish thriller full of exquisite prose. It’s definitely worth the reader’s diligence. Recommended for Irish fiction fans.—Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA

Kellerman, Faye. Gun Games: A Decker/Lazarus Novel. Morrow. Jan. 2012. c.384p. ISBN 9780062064325. $25.99. F
LAPD Lt. Det. Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus (Hangman), are acting as surrogate parents to Gabe Whitman, a teenaged piano prodigy who is as moody and mysterious as he is gifted. Outside of this new domestic arrangement, Decker and his team investigate the assumed suicide of Gregory Hesse, an average kid attending an elite private prep school where competition and intimidation rule—and everything is for sale. Gregory’s mother claims he wasn’t suicidal, and the more Decker and company uncover, including the death of a second student, the more they suspect foul play.
Verdict An intriguing premise, strengthened by interesting characters, this title can stand alone from the Decker/Lazarus series as a compelling thriller. Prior knowledge of the characters would be helpful but certainly doesn’t detract from a page-turning story. The character of Gabe and his plotline are particularly appealing. Kellerman’s devoted fans and readers who fancy thriller/procedural series from the likes of John Sandford and Patricia Cornwell will find much to enjoy here. [See Prepub Alert, 7/25/11.]—Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ