Every month, one subscriber to the Bookreporter.com newsletter wins 5 free hardcover books! This month's selection includes SHUTTER ISLAND by Dennis Lehane, THE SECOND TIME AROUND by Mary Higgins Clark, ARMAGEDDON by Tim LaHaye and Jerry D Jenkins, A COLD HEART by Jonathan Kellerman, GOOD FAITH by Jane Smiley. (See the complete contest rules.)

Click here to SUBSCRIBE to the
Bookreporter.com Newsletter!

Also check out our other newsletters on ReadingGroupGuides.com, AuthorsOnTheWeb.com, AuthorYellowPages.com, Teenreads.com, and Kidsreads.com.

Bookreporter.com Newsletter	April 11, 2003
This Week on Bookreporter.com Two Memoirs Worth Noting Author Lisa Scottoline Interviews Author William Lashner Authors Jeffery Deaver and John Gilstrap on Writing Thrillers Suspense/Thriller Author Feature: New This Week Tee Up Our Golf Books Authors Talks: Nicholas Sparks, Elizabeth Rosner and Michael Gruber This Week's Book Reviews Poll: Which of the following April book releases are you planning to read? Question of the Week Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading	On The Book Report Network Bookreporter.com Past Reviews Past Poll: Do you attend author readings or book signings? Is there one author signing or reading that stands out in your mind?
Two Memoirs Worth Noting The snow in New York last Monday confirmed to me that the weather gods did not get the "it's spring" memo. Luckily this week we had a lot of great books to chase the weather funk away --- and we kept adding reviews and interviews right till the moment we hit send on this newsletter! For all of you who have told us that you love hearing authors talk about their work, we have a real treat for you this week --- authors talking to authors about their work! First up, Lisa Scottoline interviews our Suspense/Thriller author of the month, William Lashner. You will enjoy reading their conversation about writing books set in Philly and femme fatales. Curious? Keep reading. Next up we have Jeffery Deaver and John Gilstrap talking about the writing suspense/thrillers and crafting work in this genre. Ever wanted to know the differences between mysteries and suspense/thrillers? Both Deaver and Gilstrap lend their perspectives here and you will enjoy their replies. This week I have been reading two books that I have found myself getting lost in. Both are candid memoirs. The first is LEAP OF FAITH by Queen Noor. As we in America watch the events in Iraq and the Middle East as outsiders to this world, it's very interesting to read her thoughts as she has walked and lived in both cultures. Raised and educated in the United States, she moved to the Middle East where she met and married King Hussein of Jordan. While not a political book, Queen Noor lends interesting her own perspective on Middle Eastern/U.S. relations. She clearly feels that we in this country do not understand the Arab world, so reading about it through her lens has been educational as she delivers her point of view. The second book is I AM THE CENTRAL PARK JOGGER by Trisha Meili. Fourteen years ago the brutal rape and assault of a woman in Central Park stirred the city. Surprisingly, the woman's identity was not revealed for all these years. Now she has come forth with the story of the attack (which she does not remember) and her steps to recovery and the life she has today. For all of us who walk through life taking it for granted, reading a book like this reminds us of how fragile it really is. This book is extremely uplifting and inspiring. LOTS to enjoy this week...so enjoy! Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
Author Lisa Scottoline Interviews Author William Lashner In this special interview for Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight, bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, author of COURTING TROUBLE and the upcoming book DEAD RINGER (due in stores in May 2003), talks to William Lashner about his new book FATAL FLAW (due in stores on May 9th), setting books in Philadelphia, femme fatales and the word love. Read the interview with Scottoline and Lashner here.
Authors Jeffery Deaver and John Gilstrap on Writing Thrillers In this special interview two thriller authors, Jeffery Deaver (author of THE VANISHED MAN) and John Gilstrap (author of SCOTT FREE) discuss their different approaches to writing, their definitions of the mystery and suspense/thriller genres, competition with other authors, and more. Read the interview with Jeffery Deaver and John Gilstrap here.
Suspense/Thriller Author Feature: New This Week William Lashner, author of FATAL FLAW (in stores May 9th) New This Week: -Lashner's Replies to a Reader Question -Read our third excerpt from FATAL FLAW -Our review of BITTER TRUTH by William Lashner (Now in paperback) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl is hired by a young woman named Caroline Shaw, who wants him to prove that her sister's recent suicide was, in fact, murder before Caroline suffers a similar fate. It is a case that propels Carl out of the courtroom and into a murky world of wealth, bloody family legacies and dark secrets. In case you missed last week: -Reader Comments about FATAL FLAW by William Lashner -The second of three excerpts from FATAL FLAW -The first of three excerpts from FATAL FLAW D.W. Buffa, author of STAR WITNESS, due in stores In Case You Missed Last Week: -D.W. Buffa Trivia -D.W. Buffa's Recurring Characters -Praise for D.W. Buffa -The third of three excerpts of STAR WITNESS Read our Suspense/Thriller feature here.
Tee Up Our Golf Books To celebrate the beginning of the 2003 PGA season, Bookreporter's own golf enthusiast Stuart Shiffman discusses the wide array of golf books being released this spring. Included in this roundup is a history of the Masters Tournament, a biography of golf legend Bobby Jones and spiritual offerings that strive to improve the mental aspect of your game. Read our golf books feature here.
Authors Talks: Nicholas Sparks, Elizabeth Rosner and Michael Gruber Nicholas Sparks talks about THE GUARDIAN, which is both a love story and a thriller. Elizabeth Rosner, author of THE SPEED OF LIGHT is interviewed by Richard Zimler, author of THE ANGELIC DARKNESS and THE LAST KABBALIST OF LISBON. Michael Gruber talks about race and his new book TROPIC OF NIGHT. Read Author Talks with Nicholas Sparks, Elizabeth Rosner and Michael Gruber here.
This Week's Book Reviews THE GUARDIAN by Nicholas Sparks (Romantic Suspense) Reviewed by David Exum Four years after her husband's tragic death, Julie Barenson is finally ready to risk falling in love again. Now, with a decision that should bring her more happiness than she's had in years, Julie's life is about to become a living nightmare, as one man's jealousy spins into a deadly obsession. DEAD AIM by Iris Johansen (Suspense) Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum When a dam breaks in Arapahoe Junction, Colorado, celebrated photojournalist Alex Graham does more than just snap pictures --- she's in the mud with a shovel digging for survivors. But Alex finds more than she bargained for and, in one terrible instant, is witness to a conspiracy that will stun the nation. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME by Judith McNaught (Romantic Suspense) Reviewed by Amy Alessio When the rich, successful husband of a beautiful New York actress mysteriously disappears, she plunges into a desperate search to find him --- and into a menacing web of secrets, deception and danger. SECOND GLANCE by Jodi Picoult (Romantic Suspense) Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum Jodi Picoult delves into a virtually unknown chapter in American history --- Vermont's eugenics project of the 1920s and 1930s --- to produce a captivating and ultimately astonishing story of love, fate and a crime of passion. DRINKING COFFEE ELSEWHERE by ZZ Packer (Short Stories) Reviewed by Toni Fitzgerald In her debut short story collection, ZZ Packer introduces us to characters who feel out of place in their current environment and are unsure of where they belong, while also chronicling certain aspects of the African-American experience. KEEPING WATCH by Laurie R. King (Psychological Thriller) Reviewed by Kate Ayers For twenty-five years, Vietnam veteran Allen Carmichael has been rescuing children from abusive parents and placing them in loving homes. However, he is now ready to take on his final case --- a case that could destroy him. THE TIME OF OUR SINGING by Richard Powers (Fiction) Reviewed by Rob Cline Against all odds, David Strom, a German Jewish émigré scientist, marries Delia Daley, a young black woman from Philadelphia who is studying to be a singer. Their three children, who grow up during the civil rights era, must find a way to survive in a world with deep racial divisions. THE SPEED OF LIGHT by Elizabeth Rosner (Fiction paperback) Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman For most of their lives, Julian Perel and his sister, Paula, lived in a house cast in silence, witnesses to a father who struggles with a devastating secret too painful to share. Though their father took his demons to the grave, his past refuses to rest. For more about Elizabeth Rosner, go to ElizabethRosner.com. FLESH & BLOOD: GUILTY AS SIN edited by Max Allan Collins & Jeff Gelb (Erotic Mystery Paperback) Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub Max Allan Collins and Jeff Gelb mix hot passion with cold blood, sex and crime in their third erotic compilation of short stories, featuring the works of O'Neil DeNoux, David Fulmer, Dick Lochte, Rex Miller and Jack Kelly, among others. Read this week's reviews and features here.
Poll: Which of the following April book releases are you planning to read? Which of the following April releases are you looking forward to reading? (Check as many as apply.) ARMAGEDDON: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages (Left Behind, 11) by Tim F. LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins BETWEEN SISTERS by Kristin Hannah BIRTHRIGHT by Nora Roberts CHILDREN OF THE STORM by Elizabeth Peters A COLD HEART by Jonathan Kellerman COLD PURSUIT by T. Jefferson Parker EVENINGS AT FIVE by Gail Godwin GOOD FAITH by Jane Smiley THE GUARDIAN by Nicholas Sparks LOST LIGHT by Michael Connelly THE SECOND TIME AROUND by Mary Higgins Clark SHUTTER ISLAND by Dennis Lehane STAR WITNESS by D.W. Buffa TWELVE TIMES BLESSED by Jacquelyn Mitchard None of the above Answer the Poll here.
Question of the Week Here's our question of the week: What book is on the top of your reading pile? Answer the Question of the Week.
Word of Mouth: Tell Us What You're Reading Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't. One lucky reader will win a copy THE CONFESSOR by Daniel Silva. Need more details about Word of Mouth? Click here.
As always, here are a few housekeeping notes. If you are seeing this newsletter in a text version, and would prefer to see the graphics, you can either read it online (see the link on the upper right) or change your preferences below. Those of you who wish to send mail to the general mailbox at Bookreporter.com, please write to: Mail@bookreporter.com. If you would like to reach me, please write Carol@bookreporter.com. Writing any of the respond buttons below will not get to us. Quick observation --- we have noticed that many of you have been changing your Internet providers in the past month. If you do, please be sure to "take us along" by signing up for the newsletter in your new name! Happy reading....and don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend. --- Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com) Back to top.