Bethanne Patrick's Blog

Greetings, all. It’s been a while. If I seem to say that a lot, well, it’s because I’ve been busy in the past year with a book, a startup, an injury, and a career change, which makes my life sound quite incorrectly like a Peter Greenaway film.

But enough about me for right now. Today I’m here to introduce a great giveaway for a great book launch. If you’ve followed #fridayreads for a while on Twitter, you may remember our earlier 2012 Twitter Book Club with the Greenleaf Book Group for Widow’s Might by Sandra Brannan. We had a wonderful time, and the good folks at Greenleaf have asked me to host a new Twitter Book Club in January for Utopia, Texas by Michael Glasscock.

We’ll have the Twitter Book Club on January 14th–but first, I have to get books to all of you eager readers out there! The first 20 people to leave comments on this post will be sent free copies of the book. Here’s the caveat: You must agree to show up at the appointed hour on January 14th (usually 9 p.m. Eastern time, so that we can accommodate folks from as many time zones as possible) and participate in the Twitter Book Club, hashtag #utopiatexas.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me: TheBookMaven at gmail dot com. Many thanks for your interest!

There are about 185 books on this list; I need to add a few more. I'll continue to format/update through tomorrow, but I wanted to at least put the list up today. At the request of several friends and colleagues, I'll also try to give brief annotations for each book, but if my fingers seize up from typing you'll know why…



A few caveats:
–These are not in chronological or ranked order; I simply drew on my memory, notes, bookshelves, tweets, blog entries, and more. However, it is accurate to the point that I read each and every book on this list–some with better attention and/or comprehension than others.
–I read a lot of galleys and ARCs. Some of these books won't be available for sale until early-to-mid 2012. This is also why I often forget that I've read something. If you know I've read something (we've discussed it, etc.) and I've left it off of this list, let me know.
–As possible, I've used Indiebound links. However, for a few titles this wasn't possible even after numerous tries and configurations of search terms. In those cases, I've reverted to publisher pages.
–I have pretty "catholic-with-a-small-c" reading taste, as I believe is evident from this list. However, there are areas in which I'd love to improve. If you have suggestions for me, please send them! Since I'm gently retiring my moniker of The Book Maven, the best email address to use is bethannekellypatrick at gmail dot com.

An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler – Foodies, locavores, READ THIS BOOK.

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz — A surprisingly delightful Holmesian romp.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes — Childhood demons return, eke revenge.

The Next One to Fall by Hilary Davidson — A thriller set in Peru; great travel deets.

The Outermost House by Henry Beston — A classic of naturalism, set on Cape Cod.

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore – Belle Epoque hijinks from the author of Fool.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson — An imperfect but powerful bio of man who was same.

Cleopatra by Stacey Schiff — A perfect and powerful bio of a woman who was the latter.

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt — So good you may forget you learned anything.

Exley by Brock Clarke — A boy works through family dysfunction via A Fan's Notes.

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan — Dystopian inversion of The Scarlet Letter.

Other People We Married by Emma Straub — Freshly brewed short stories.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead — Zombies, yes, but the real action is emotional.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern — Steampunkish big-top nostalgia–and evil.

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan — Three generations of women, one summer house.

Room by Emma Donahue — Conceit so clever people overlooked second half's power.

Dirty Minds by Kayt Sukel — Early 2012 nonfic about the brain and desire.

Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George — Thomas Lynley is back, and so is Sgt. Havers.

The Astral by Kate Christensen — A man takes a Brooklyn walk–that's all? Yes.  A+

Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson — Lost upstate NY kids in 80s NYC.

The Outlaw Album by Daniel Woodrell — Read Winter's Bone. then this. SHIVER.

Open City by Teju Cole — So amazing, such a feat, just read it right now, mkay?

The Corn Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates – Worth it just for "A Hole in the Head."

So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman – You'll never look at NY dairy farms the same…

The Heroine's Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore – Grrrrl authorrrr power, and fun.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch – Wholly different. Lovely.

420 Characters by Lou Beach

The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

A Cupboard Full of Coats by Yvvette Edwards

Vaclav and Lena by Hilary Tanner

Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter

11/22/63 by Stephen King

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

Dominance by Will Lavender

Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

Enjoy Every Sandwich by Lee Lipsenthal

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

Aging as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

We the Animals by Justin Torres

The Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks

The Lovers' Dictionary by David Levitan

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman

Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta

The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens

Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller

The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean

Love at First Bark by Julie Klam

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright

Making Babies by Anne Enright

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber

Queen of America by Luis Urrea

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

The Foreigners by Maxine Swann

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Odd Bits by Jennifer McIagan

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano

The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell

Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendell

The Vault by Ruth Rendell

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsson

2222 by Anne Holt

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler

Habibi by Craig Thompson

Townie by Andre Dubus III

West of Here by Jonathan Evans

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips

Galore by Michael Crummey

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan

The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard

The Year We Left Home by Jean Johnson

My American Unhappiness by Dean Bakopoulos

A Covert Affair by Jennet Conant

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Tides of War by Stella Tilyard

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penney

There But for The by Ali Smith

I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck

Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie, Jr.

Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Morgan Cron

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

The Mistress Contract by She

The Age of Miracles by Karen Walker Thompson

The Last Werewolf by Glenn Duncan

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer CLose

Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

Life by Keith Richards

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

Satori by Don Winslow

The Sentimentalists by Joanna Skibsrud

The Maid by Kimberly Cutter

The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow

Leeches by David Albahari

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Poetsch

Wait for Me by Deborah Devonshire

American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Lola, California by Edie Meidav

The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman

Untold Story by Monica Ali

The Inverted Forest by John Dalton

In Caddis Wood by Mary F. Rockcastle

The Good and the Ghastly by James Boice

The Ursula Hegi

The Little Bride by Anna Solomon

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

The Mistress's Revenge by Tamar Cohen

Daughters in Law by Joanna Trollope

After the Party by Lisa Jewell

How to Live by Sarah Bakewell

Enough about Love by Herve Le Tellier

Lamb by Bonnie Nadzam

The Glitter Scene by Monica Fagerholm

The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert

You Believers by Jane Bradley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Doc by Mary Doria Russell

Lucky Break by Nell Freud

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Let's Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier

Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross

The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale

Paris to the Past by Ina Caro

Beijing Welcomes You by Tom Scocca

Clover Adams by Natalie Dykstra

The Taker by Alma Katsu

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese

Canada by Richard Ford

2030 by Albert Brooks

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank

The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen

Deliriously Happy: And Other Bad Thoughts  by Larry Doyle

Ali in Wonderland by Ali Wentworth

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

Game of Secrets by Dawn Tripp

The Curfew by Jesse Ball

The Year of the Gadlfy by Jennifer Miller

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths

A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths

Marriage Confidential by Pamela Haag

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

It's been a difficult few days, and I'm not sure how to begin this post, but the main point I want to make is: I do not have "squirrelly ethics," as one blogger wrote about me. I don't believe in calling anyone names, or attaching judgmental tags to anyone's behaviors. That's why the kerfuffle last week about FridayReads and its monetization  is so disheartening to me. Here is the FridayReads web site, and here is the FridayReads email address: FridayReads1 at gmail dot com. If you'd like more information about our rates or about how we do business with publishers, please drop us a line.

Over the years I've worked in publishing, I've bounced around a lot. I started out at a print magazine, and later was hired by AOL to launch their Books channel.  Like many others, I was eventually laid off, and I moved on to blogging for Publishers Weekly. I I spent time at BN.com and left when the message board I hosted was heading for extinction. WETA-PBS and I tried an internet series, and while it got some great guests, it never got a great audience.

You get the picture. These days–the 21st century–publishing is like Whack-a-Mole. Sometimes you hit, sometimes you miss, and you never really know exactly why or how.

Last Friday, when people who hadn't been aware that I accept money from publishers to promote books via the #fridayreads hashtag on Twitter (and Facebook, and tumblr) learned that I do, some were disheartened. I understand why. It sometimes seems as if everything good in this world has some sort of business angle attached to it, and nothing is "free."

Here is why I call #fridayreads "a hashtag and a business." If you participate in the meme, there is no collecting of your information. Yes, we archive tweets–but your Twitter name can lead everywhere (as mine does) or nowhere (spambots, anyone?). We're not trying to find you  when you participate in the meme. We're just growing a community and sharing our love of reading. At times while I've worked on this–before and after turning it into a small business–I've tweeted too much about it, and when I've become aware of that fact, I've tried to change the amount of tweeting that I do.

Publishers realize the value of having access to the #fridayreads community, as well as to my large group of Twitter followers. They want to be sure avid readers know about certain titles they are releasing. The original #fridayreads giveaways were done with books from my shelves (not even galleys or ARCs I received, but books I'd bought and paid for myself). After a few months, publishers and authors and agents began approaching me and asking to get their books promoted. My then-business team (read: my agent and my husband) encouraged me to ask for a fee to do so.

The main thought behind asking for a fee was not so that I could become rich or so that I could manipulate unknowing readers. It was because if I didn't start asking for a fee, I was opening myself to a different kind of blame, the "Why isn't my book good enough for YOU?" game. At the time I began accepting fees for #fridayreads promotions (in March 2011), the hashtag had already grown to more than 5,000 regular participants.

I spent nearly two years building #fridayreads for free, counting each week's participants by hand, and loving every second of it.

I was so excited earlier this year when publishers responded positively when my agent (acting as my sales lead) and I approached them with #fridayreads packages. I thought that the regular offer of interesting books sent directly to readers (many of you know that I am not particularly good about getting things into the mail) would be welcomed. This expanded to the other services Fridayreads offers:  Twitter Book Tours (those live chats I host from time to time with authors), Twitter Book Clubs (which are mostly for fiction), and last week, the first (hopefully not the only) FridayReads Live event, in which a book titled Enjoy Every Sandwich: How to Live Each Day as if It Were Your Last was discussed around a table at Housing Works Bookstore as well as online at the #everysandwich hashtag.

When the money started coming in, I realized I needed to disclose this somewhere, and began working on a web site that would have a fully loaded FAQ (many thanks, Intern Leslie!) so that anyone–tweeters, bloggers, publishers, authors–could understand how my small business operated.

What I did not choose to do was to label each and every promotional post as an "ad," because those posts are not written by the publishers. Were they "advertorial?" Technically, yes. Should I have labeled them as "promo?" Perhaps (I'm still turning this around in my head). Did I mean to deceive anyone into believing that #fridayreads was just a big happy group of readers? Of course not.

Here's the thing: I have some decisions to make about how #fridayreads is perceived, labeled, and promoted–and I welcome your input,. The #fridayreads book-loving community will decide whether and how to participate. I may have made some mistakes–but there's no mistaking the real passion about reading that we share.

On Thursday, November 17th at 7:30 p.m. ET, Rebecca Joines Schinsky and I will be hosting the first-ever FridayReads Live event. We will be discussing a new title from Crown Publishing: Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day As If It Were Your Lastby Lee Lipsenthal, MD.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve read the book, or not–come join us!

If you’re able to join us in person, come to Housing Works Bookstore at 126 Crosby Street (just south of Houston) between 7pm and 9pm, where Rebecca and I will be on our computers to host a Twitter Book Tour chat. Thanks to the good folks at Crown Publishing, we will have wine, beer, and sandwiches available. Meet me, Rebecca Schinsky, Iris Blasi, Erin Cox, and others as we chat, quaff, nibble…and tweet.

If you’re able to join us online, please connect with us online via Twitter by using the hashtag #EverySandwich. The easiest way to do this is to go to Tweetchat.com and log in using your Twitter name. Then enter the hashtag in the empty field at the top of the page and start reading and/or tweeting. (Tweetchat automatically adds the hashtag for you, so there’s no need to worry about watching the length of your tweets. If you “go over,” it will tell you “Too Long.”) If you don’t have a Twitter account, you should be able to track the #EverySandwich via Twitter’s search function here: https://twitter.com/?lang=en&logged_out=1#!/search/%23everysandwich

Before the chat, we encourage you to view the trailer for the book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UIFbOfWwYE. We’ll be publishing a new blog post tomorrow with some suggested questions about the book/things to consider/bits of inspiration, so please watch for that, too.

If you have any questions at all, please email me: TheBookMaven at gmail dot com.

On Thursday, November 17th at 7:30 p.m. ET, Rebecca Joines Schinsky and I will be hosting the first-ever FridayReads Live event. We will be discussing a new title from Crown Publishing: Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day As If It Were Your Lastby Lee Lipsenthal, MD.  It doesn't matter if you've read the book, or not–come join us!

If you're able to join us in person, come to Housing Works Bookstore at 126 Crosby Street (just south of Houston) between 7pm and 9pm, where Rebecca and I will be on our computers to host a Twitter Book Tour chat. Thanks to the good folks at Crown Publishing, we will have wine, beer, and sandwiches available. Meet me, Rebecca Schinsky, Iris Blasi, Erin Cox, and others as we chat, quaff, nibble…and tweet.

If you're able to join us online, please connect with us online via Twitter by using the hashtag #EverySandwich. The easiest way to do this is to go to Tweetchat.com and log in using your Twitter name. Then enter the hashtag in the empty field at the top of the page and start reading and/or tweeting. (Tweetchat automatically adds the hashtag for you, so there's no need to worry about watching the length of your tweets. If you "go over," it will tell you "Too Long.") If you don't have a Twitter account, you should be able to track the #EverySandwich via Twitter's search function here: https://twitter.com/?lang=en&logged_out=1#!/search/%23everysandwich

Before the chat, we encourage you to view the trailer for the book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UIFbOfWwYE. We'll be publishing a new blog post tomorrow with some suggested questions about the book/things to consider/bits of inspiration, so please watch for that, too.

If you have any questions at all, please email me: TheBookMaven at gmail dot com.

On Thursday, November 17th at 7:30 p.m. ET, Rebecca Joines Schinsky and I will be hosting the first-ever FridayReads Live event. Rebecca and I will be at Housing Works Bookstore in Manhattan on our computers to host a Twitter Book Tour chat involving several dozen people online and another dozen or so people onsite. All of us will be discussing a new title from Crown Publishing: Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day As If It Were Your Last by Lee Lipsenthal, MD.  The Twitter hashtag for this chat will be #EverySandwich. If you have any questions at all, please email me: TheBookMaven at gmail dot com.

I want to get this basic info live as soon as possible, but I'll be back shortly to add more information about the book, about Lee Lipsenthal, and about what we're trying to do with this concatenation of social media, live chat, and book release. Thanks for reading!

Desperate times call for desperate measures, they say.

I really want FridayReads to hit 8K this week.

IF WE HIT 8K–and only if we do–I will give away three extra prizes.

Here they are:

1. A set of three slipcased, signed Indiespensables titles: Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

2. One $150 gift certificate to One More Page bookstore, my local indie. Don't worry, they'll be happy to take your online or phone order, wherever you live. They will special order anything you like.

3. A mega-set of Boots the Chemist bath goodies from Target, all full-size products, including three bath milks, three body butters, three body washes, and three hand lotions, plus an assortment of sponges, scrubbers, and other treats.

Interested in winning one of these prizes? Share YOUR FridayReads on Twitter or Facebook or tumblr–and tell a friend or three! Everyone who shares is eligible. For more information about FridayReads, check out our web site.

Thanks for your time and help, readers!

Club Read 2011 is brought to you by the fine folks at SIBA and Book Club Girl, and it's a 24-hour readers' wonderland being held on October 15-16 in Huddleston, Virginia at The Mariner's Landing Resort and Conference Center. A dozen authors (Adriana Trigiani! Gretchen Rubin! Greg Olear! MORE!) will join a few more dozen readers of all sorts to talk about books, reading, and other passionate pursuits (think cooking, crafts, games, and fitness, to mention a few).

NOTA BENE: FridayReads is a proud sponsor of Club Read 2011–which is why I am providing this blog entry for all.

THE CLUB READ 2011 BOOK BLOGGER CHALLENGE

ONE free ticket (a $500 value that covers ALL meals and lodging and events on the program! The only things you have to pay for are your travel expenses, and any shopping crimes you commit) will be awarded to the blogger who accumulates the most over 10,000 pointsby 9.30.11.

Time period of this challenge is September 15-September 30, 2011

One tweet about #ClubRead = 50 points
One Facebook post about #ClubRead = 200 points (cannot be same as a tweet; has to have more substance)
One blog post about Club Read (WITH TAG) = 500 points
One verified recommendation that results in ticket sale = 2,000 points

For more about Club Read, click here.

For more about the Club Read schedule, click here.

For a list of authors attending, click here.

Yes, summer technically ends on September 21st, but we all know it really is officially over when the sun sets on Labor Day each year. Instead of "Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome," it's all "So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, did you remember to pack the towels from the outdoor shower?"

OK, well at least that's what I heard from Mr. Bethanne yesterday as we untangled dog leads from tote bags and vacuumed sand out of the car after a week on Cape Cod.

All good things, like summer and vacations, must come to an end. For the past few months I've been busy helping Shelf Awareness—our wonderful industry information source—to launch a version of its bookseller email newsletter for readers. It's been a lot of fun, and in particular, I've loved getting the chance to work alongside my colleagues Robin Lenz and John Mutter.

I'm moving on, now, although not so very far. I'll still be contributing the feature I developed, "Further Reading," to each issue, and I'll also continue to write author interviews and book reviews in Shelf Awareness for Readers. If you have any questions about this new publication, you can direct them to editor in chief John Mutter: john@shelf-awareness.com.

My own dance card is happily filling up with new projects. Next week I'll be at the 2011 Southern Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA) Conference, talking with some of the country's best booksellers about social media with my partner in business and crime, Rebecca Joines Schinsky of The Book Lady's Blog. We'll also be talking up October's Club Read retreat (can't wait to be there with Book Club Girl Jennifer Hart!).

Of course, one of the things we'll also discuss at both places is FridayReads, a burgeoning community of passionate readers that is also a business supported by the publishing industry (for more information on that business and on how you can take part, contact business development director Erin Cox). If you're reading this and don't know anything about FridayReads, check out the Twitter hashtag #fridayreads, the Facebook page (#1 on Technorati's Best Facebook Pages for Readers!), or the FridayReads web site.

Should you be interested in talking with me for an interview about social media (here's an example) or books (here's an example), or to discuss a project with me, you can reach me here: thebookmaven@gmail.com.

International crime fiction has been all the rage recently with the now famous Millennium Trilogy, featuring the titles The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, but Stieg Larsson isn't the only crime author that will make it big internationally. The newest sensation is The Hypnotist by an author named Lars Kepler, sort of. You see, Lars Kepler is actually the pen name of two writers, husband and wife Alexander and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril, who had already made names for themselves as writers in Sweden and wanted a new identity for their crime fiction. They developed the pseudonym as a tribute to Steig Larsson and a scientist named Johannes Kepler. The crime fiction that's coming out of Sweden right now is excellent. It's such an interesting trend in current literature, but what about crime fiction from other countries? In this Further Reading, I'll highlight some recently published translated crime fiction from around the world.

Blood on the Saddle by Rafael Reig – Reig, a well-known author in Spain, has finally had one of this crime novels translated into English. Blood on the Saddle is about Carlos Clot, a private eye who is hired to investigate three separate incidents. He must find a runaway, a cheating husband, and a character who has gone missing from a novel. And that's when things start to get a little strange. The reader realizes that Blood in the Saddle is set in a Madrid that is not quite like the current Madrid. This is the kind of novel that boldly combines all genres and ends up with something truly unique.

The Eye of Jade: A Mei Wang Mystery by Diane Wei Liang - This mystery, set in the 1990s, is the first in a planned series by Chinese ex-pat Diane Wei Liang. Being a private eye is an illegal practice in China, so when Mei Wang sets up her detective agency, it's safe to say her family isn't pleased. A family friend, Uncle Chen, offers her first chance at a job: finding a missing jade that disappeared during the Cultural Revolution. This novel exposes China to Western readers who might be unfamiliar with what it is like to live in modern China, but at the same time is, at its heart, a really great crime novel.

Double Blank by Yasmina Khadra - Double Blank is the second series in Yasmina Khadra's Inspector Llob series, a collection of crime novels set in Algeria. Once again we have an author who used a pseudonym, but this time a male soldier who chose to write as a woman to avoid strict military censorship that he surely would have faced for his brutally honest portrayal of life in Algeria. When the primary suspects of the murders in Double Blank, a group of fundamentalist Muslim men, start becoming the victims, this crime becomes something very different from what Inspector Llob originally thought.