Eight for Entertainment -- Summer Edition

I get bogged down with life sometimes—work, family, and every other adult responsibility I have. The days seem to blend into one long week after another; and when that happens I like to find something, anything, to look forward to. Maybe a weekend, a road trip, a visit to a friend, a bookstore or something else that separates the living from the merely functioning. And if I can’t find the time for any of the above I like to hop on the web and visit a few bookstores and websites to find something of interest.

Which is exactly what I did today, and I found eight novels scheduled for release over the next few months that really made me happy. And maybe, just maybe these titles will make you happy, and even better give you something to look forward to as well.

March

Schemers by Bill Pronzini. Schemers is a Nameless Detective novel scheduled for release March 31, 2009 from Forge Books. The product description over at Amazon.com reads:

"Nameless wasn’t supposed to come into the office on Mondays; he wasn’t supposed to answer the phone. On this Monday, he did both. The call was from Barney Rivera—once a friend, now despised—at Great Western Insurance. Against his better judgment, Nameless agreed to meet with him. The investigation was relatively simple: a multimillionaire rare books collector had reported the theft of eight volumes, worth a half million dollars. From a locked library. To which he has the only key. The books were all crime fiction and suspense--a locked room mystery about mysteries.

This ordinary Monday brought a second oddball case. The Henderson brothers were being stalked. Someone had dug up the ashes of their late father and poured acid over them, then destroyed the headstone the same way, and left a sign warning that this was just the beginning. Searching for peace of mind and the distraction of work, Jake Runyon is more than happy to bring an end to the brothers' terror."

House Dick by E. Howard Hunt. House Dick is also scheduled for release the end of March, and it is written by the Watergate mastermind himself. I’ve only read one E. Howard Hunt novel—it was something like fifteen years ago—and for some reason this particular title really sounds appealing to me. I hope it is.

April

Hunt: At the Well of Eternity by Gabriel Hunt. This is the first in the new pulp series edited by Hard Case Crime’s Charles Ardai. It is a celebration of the old adventure pulp writers like H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc. I can’t wait to try this first title. It is scheduled for release April 28, 2009. This series has a bunch of terrific writers involved including a favorite of mine; James Reasoner. I'm wagering these books are great.

May

The Unforgiven by Alan LeMay. This is the third in Leisure’s Classic Film Collection and the second by Alan LeMay. It is the basis for the film of the same name that starred Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn. It was directed by John Huston. The other Alan leMay novel in the series is The Searchers. It's sitting on my nightstand right now. I just need to get it read.

Guild by Ed Gorman. This is a reprint of Ed Gorman’s first western novel. He wrote three novels that featured Leo Guild, and this is the only one of the three that I haven’t read. The other two are terrific. Dorchester’s descriptions reads:

"Guild is a man tormented by his past. He already narrowly escaped one lynching, and he certainly isn’t about to get caught up in another one. He’s just a weary bounty hunter looking to collect his reward when he rides into the dusty Dakota town of Denton one evening. He doesn’t plan to stay long—until an old buddy and a beautiful woman convince him to change his mind. But some folks don’t like his presence in Denton. They don’t like the questions he’s asking and the insinuations he’s making. And they’ll do everything they can to make sure he leaves mighty quick—whether it’s on the back of a horse or in a narrow pine box."

July

The Shimmer by David Morrell. Morrell’s newest novel is scheduled for release July 7. Mr. Morrell described it on his website as a Michael Crichton-type thriller with a David Morrell style. That gets my attention, and I’m more than excited for it to hit the bookstores.But I usually can't pass-up a David Morrell novel.

The Midnight Room by Ed Gorman. Ed’s latest thriller is—it is an original paperback from Leisure—scheduled for release sometime in July. Probably towards the beginning, but I didn’t find an exact date on this one. It sounds awesome. The description at Leah Hultenschmidt’s Romantic Reads:

"It started as a burglary. That would have been bad enough. But when the masked intruder forced Dr. Olson at gunpoint to open his safe, the doctor knew he was really in trouble. In the safe were two DVDs, private movies he had made of those girls he had kidnapped…and killed. Suddenly the burglary became blackmail. But blackmailing a serial killer can be a dangerous game. Especially when he’s as smart—and good with a scalpel—as Dr. Olson."

August

High Bloods by John Farris. I have been a fan of John Farris for several years and this is his first new novel since 2007’s You Don’t Scare Me. A novel that was entertaining and oh so good. I’m excited to get my hands on this book for the simple reason that I have never read a Farris’ novel I didn’t like.

High Bloods is scheduled for release August 18.

It’s going to be a great summer of reading.