In the Post: Philip Kerr

It's always nice when I walk out my front door and find a small, book-sized package leaning against the step. It just sort of makes my day. 


Today that book was Philip Kerr's newest Bernie Gunther novel, Field Gray (due out April 14th). I first became aware of Philip Kerr when I worked at the Longmont Library several years ago. Although, truth be told it was his children's books (written under P.B. Kerr) that snagged me.  When I found out he also wrote adult noir thrillers, well... I became a fan.  I started collecting his books without any knowledge of the fact that they're actually collectible - valuable even.  If ever you come across a first edition copy of March Violets - grab it! Don't even hesitate. Even remaindered or in near fine condition it's worth $75-$100. Although signed, it can fetch up to $500+.


It's hard to know, this day and age, how many copies of Field Gray will actually be printed (as opposed to digital downloads), but Kerr will be doing a National book tour for this one - so signed copies should be available at the cover price.


The book has garnered positive reviews from LA Times, NY Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Kirkus, Booklist... and a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (April 14, 2011)
Language: English
List Price: $26.95
ISBN-10: 0399157417
ISBN-13: 978-0399157417



Also in the post recently:


Lisa Napoli's Radio Shangri-La
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Crown (February 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780307453020
ISBN-13: 978-0307453020

A successful journalist working for public radio in Los Angeles, Napoli hit a wall. Burned out and overwhelmed by regret, she wondered how to recharge her life. Enter a friend of a friend with connections to the tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan. In 2006, this Buddhist kingdom, long cocooned against the outside world, launched a new youth radio station, Kuzoo FM (kuzoo zampo means hello). Would Napoli like to volunteer as a consultant? So begins a love affair with a land unlike any other, a bond that lifts Napoli out of her blues and enriches the lives of the young people with whom she works. The stories of the wildly popular station are charming and gracefully revealing as Napoli shares her experiences of Bhutan's magnificent landscape, fiery cuisine, and openhanded daily life in a society that measures its achievements not with a Gross National Product but, rather, with Gross National Happiness. Napoli's engaging, keenly observed, and informative chronicle captures Bhutan midmetamorphosis as it transforms itself into a democracy and as media and the Internet redefine the Bhutanese concept of contentment. --Donna Seaman [Booklist]


S.J. Parris' Prophecy
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Doubleday (May 3, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385531303
ISBN-13: 978-0385531306

It is the year of the Great Conjunction, when the two most powerful planets, Jupiter and Saturn, align—an astrologi cal phenomenon that occurs once every thousand years and heralds the death of one age and the dawn of another. The streets of London are abuzz with predictions of horrific events to come, possibly even the death of Queen Elizabeth. 

When several of the queen’s maids of honor are found dead, rumors of black magic abound. Elizabeth calls upon her personal astrologer, John Dee, and Giordano Bruno to solve the crimes. While Dee turns to a mysterious medium claiming knowledge of the murders, Bruno fears that some thing far more sinister is at work. But even as the climate of fear at the palace intensifies, the queen refuses to believe that the killer could be someone within her own court. 

Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to give the queen the proof she needs without putting her, England, or his own life in danger? 

In this utterly gripping and gorgeously written novel, S. J. Parris has proven herself the new master of the historical thriller. [Product Description]

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