Bookviews - April 2013

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

One of the best biographies I have read in years is Roger Ailes: Off Camera—an Inside Look at the Founder and Head of Fox News by Zev Chafets ($26.95, Sentinel). Firstly, it is written with a style that engages the reader in a way that says that it, like the motto of Fox News, is fair and balanced. Secondly, it is a true Horatio Alger story of a boy born in a small Ohio town who rises to success by dint of hard work and a knack of being in the right place at the right time. It is a book about how Ailes’s attitudes, values, and personal courage made friends even of his competitors. To this day he numbers leading liberals among his personal friends. It is clear that Ailes has transformed the modern news media, providing with the backing of news tycoon, Rupert Murdock, an alternative to the liberal media, print and broadcast, that has dominated news and the way it is reported. Ailes had an instinctive understanding of television and the way it reported the news that has made it the most popular news outlet in the nation today. Does it have a conservative point of view? Yes, but its daily fare also includes liberal spokespersons every hour to debate and discuss the news of the day. To understand the times in which we live and the impact that Ailes’ Fox News has had on events, personalities, and issues, this book is must reading.

Fully forty percent of Americans self-identify as conservative, but decades of government expansion have put nearly fifty percent of Americans on some form of government program such as Social Security and Medicare, and countless others that cut a check to assist them in some fashion. One of the most venerable think tanks in Washington, DC, is the Heritage Foundation, 300 scholars addressing every public issue, producing studies that are provided to members of Congress to aid them in their decisions. Lee Edwards has written Leading the Way: The Story of Ed Feulner and the Heritage Foundation ($27.50, Crown Forum) that tells how, founded in 1973, the foundation has grown under the leadership of Ed Feulner. It produced the Mandate for Leadership in 1980 in which fifty-five percent of its recommendations were adopted by the during the Reagan years. It was responsible for the historic welfare reform act of 1996, passed during the Clinton years, and produced a study of homeland security in advance of the 9/11 attacks and implemented in large part by George W. Bush. Its emphasis has always been on timely, concise, and reliable information. This is a book for people who are intensely concerned with the policies affecting the life of the nation and of all Americans. It has hundreds of thousands of members, always advocating traditional conservative values of fiscal prudence, a strong defense, free enterprise, and maximum freedom for individual Americans. It is well worth reading.

In 1955 when I was graduating from high school, Allen Ginsburg, the now celebrated poet, was writing “Howl” and on his way to joining the handful of writers who would become known collectively as the “Beats” and icons of the “beat generation.” It was and still is hokum. The lives of Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and others in their circle included drug addiction, alcoholism, homosexuality, and an adolescent self-involvement that translated itself into their writing and, when they burst on the cultural scene in the late 1950s, they helped to shape their times and set in motion change that is with us today. One half of the population is desperately trying to hold onto the values of their parents and grandparents; the other is content to live off those who still have jobs. All this is captured in Mania: The Story of the Outraged and Outrageous Lives That Launched a Cultural Revolution by Ronald K.L. Collins and David M. Skover ($26.00, Top Five Books). It is an impressive piece of literary history and for those who recall the “beats”, well worth reading. Individually and as a group, theirs was a pathetic effort to avoid the norms of their times and who influenced much of the decline of our society that has followed in their wake.

My Mother was a cookbook author and famous teacher of haute cuisine, as well as an authority on wines. I grew up dining on a rich variety of dishes. I did not give much thought to taste, however, and I doubt that most of us do other than to prefer some kinds of food and drink over others. Barb Stuckey unlocks the mysteries of taste in her book, Taste: Surprising Stories and Science about Why Food Tastes Good ($16.00, Atria Books, softcover). A professional food developer, she has written an entertaining book about taste and why some of us prefer some kinds of foods over others, why we taste foods differently than others, and the science behind how, what, and why we taste what we eat. It is entirely sensory and some of us have better abilities to taste while others have lost that due to illness or injury. This will surely enhance your own ability to enjoy what you eat even more and, for those who love science, it explains the whole world of taste and why food producers invest a lot in developing foods that are designed to meet our specific preferences.

Readers are frequently writers as well and you have aspirations to be one (or already are), then you will enjoy The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language by Natalie Goldberg ($25.00, Atria). The author has written twelve books including two others on the subject of writing and has taught seminars on the topic for thirty-five years. Her book addresses the lessons learned from her workshops over the years and discusses how meditative actions are important to the creative process. April 15 is the day tax returns must be filed with the IRS and, if you haven’t begun yours, check out Julian Block’s Easy Tax Guide for Writers, Photographers, and Other Freelancers (Amazon Kindle price is $5.99. softcover price is $22.95, including shipping, available at www.julianblocktaxexpert.com). He is a nationally recognized attorney and a former IRS agent who has been cited as “a leading tax professional” by The New York Times and “an accomplished writer on taxes” by The Wall Street Journal, so you know you find some excellent information that could save you money when you file. A lot of good advice can be found at http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com, a blog by Brian Feinblum, the chief marketing officer of Media Connect. If you want to promote and sell your book these days, you should check it out.

April is National Poetry Month. On my blog, "Warning Signs", I ask if it has become an oxymoron in an era when poets and poetry are largely ignored. Treat yourself to a good poetry anthology. It will provide hours of pleasure.

Memoirs, Biographies and Autobiographies

Though I have never been a fan, there is no denying that Bruce Springsteen is already a rock and roll legend. His fans will enjoy Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock’n’Roll by Marc Dolan ($17.95, W.W. Norton) whose softcover edition of his book now includes a new chapter. A native of Freehold, New Jersey, came from humble beginnings. His mother encouraged him to learn to play the guitar after noticing that pop music was an interest of his. As a teenager he joined a local band, playing clubs up and down the Jersey shore. It took several years of writing songs and developing his own music that reflected his working class background. His first two records sold modestly, but 1975’s “Born to Run” was his breakthrough album. While the basic facts of his life are known to fans, this book fills in all the parts of his life. It will prove very interesting and, in many ways, inspiring. Another memoir from the world of music is Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera by Rex Brown with Mark Eglinton ($26.00, Da Capo Press) in which Brown, the bassist with the heavy metal group that still has four million fans on Facebook ten years after breaking up, takes the reader behind the scenes of the group intended “to fill the spot Metallica had vacate” after the murder of lead guitarist Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott in December of 2004. After 9/11, the band returned to America from a European tour, never to play a live show again. This is a look at the highs and lows of superstardom, and the hedonistic lifestyle of the band, fueled by drugs and alcohol.

Imagine now being able to listen to music. More than thirty million people suffer from hearing loss in the U.S., but only ten percent are considered profoundly deaf. Little has been written about the remaining ninety percent, the partially deaf for whom life is characterized by verbal misunderstandings and conversational riddles. Song without Words: Discovering My Deafness Halfway Through Life by Gerald Shea ($24.95, Da Capo Press). A childhood illness left the author with partial hearing loss, but he didn’t realize anything was wrong, assuming everyone had a similar problem. Despite the problem, he excelled through elementary and boarding schools, Yale and Columbia Law School, eventually working his way to a partnership in a New York law firm. His condition remained undiagnosed until he was 34! This is a candid and deeply moving story that anyone with a comparable hearing loss will find a comfort and an inspiration.

Another inspiring story is found in A Teacher Grows in Brooklyn ($14.95, Mill City Press, softcover) as Albert Mazza tells the story of his introduction to teaching in a public high school in 1963 and his realization of the failures of the educational process as it was practiced then and now. Unlike others, he wanted to change it and to spread his successful methods of motivating students. In the 1960s and 1970s, he perfected his methodology with a dream to make improve the system. He created the Young Diplomats Program that focused on the constantly changing global issues, helping to make the 1980s an age of discovery for his students. He would join the New York Board of Education in 1979, become the director of the Youth Leadership Program, and continue his role as a pedagogic pioneer. After his retirement in 1995, he became the Director of Education for the America-Israel Friendship League. This is a truly inspiring memoir and particularly for educators. Inspiration can be found in Once Upon a Gypsy Moon, a memoir by Michael Hurley ($19.99, Center Street/Hachette Book Group, softcover) in which the author chronicles his decision to live about an aging 32-foot sloop called the Gypsy Moon after he had lost his job, was short of money, and his 25-year-old marriage had ended. He began in Annapolis, Maryland and headed south for two years seeking to salvage “a life that has foundered”, but the experience was one that let him grapple with issues of faith and disbelief, love, marriage, and the challenged faced by the adult children of alcoholics. When rough seas forced him ashore, he met his future, new wife. This is a deeply moving book, especially for anyone grappling with the challenges that life throws at everyone.

Parenting & Relationships

Parenting may be the greatest challenge anyone undertakes and fortunately there are books to help. Marriage, too, is a challenge and there are books to help deal with them as well.

Your Child’s Path: Unlocking the Mysteries of Who Your Child Will Become by Susan Engel ($15.00, Atria Books, softcover) says it is time for parents to be liberated from all the worry about their child’s development, much of it coming from the media and other sources of information about the latest societal ills plaguing children and teens, and I agree. She says you cannot dictate who your children will become, but you can get a good sense of who they are and where they are heading by paying attention to what they do, say, and feel. As often as not problem reveal themselves as a thread that will reveal itself over time. “And when there are problems, there are gentle ways to help.” A mother of three sons, the author is a developmental psychologist in the Department of Psychology at Williams College who has worked with students of all ages for nearly twenty years. There’s plenty of good advice packed into this book.

Parenting Your Emerging Adult: Launching Kids from18 to 29 by Dr. Varda Konstram ($14.95, New Horizon Press, softcover) officially debuts in May and addresses an age group that has been called narcissistic and self-absorbed, not that different from previous generations of that age, but this one faces a higher cost of living, higher college debt loads, and a sense of material entitlement says the author. Moreover, they are clinging to the parental nest, often because they are unable to find employment or earn enough to live on their own. An estimated 56% of men and 48% of women, 18 to 24 years of age, are living with their often cash-strapped parents who are often stressed out by the situation and in need of practical advice. The author offers the advice parents need to get their emerging adults living successfully out on their own while providing an understanding of their developmental period and how it intersects with the current economic, social, and political times. If you or someone you know is in this situation, this is the book to read.

Available in June, The Secrets of Surviving Infidelity by Dr. Scott D. Haltzman ($19.95, Johns Hopkins University Press) addresses the fact that an estimated 40% of marriages are rocked by infidelity every year. This book debunks many of the myths that surround cheating and that triggers complex emotions and events. The author does not advise ending a relationship that might well have been a happy marriage, teaching both the victim and perpetrator how to acknowledge their feelings, reduce their sense of despair, and begin to rebuilt a strong relationship. Interestingly, he says that the chances of cheating go up each year a couple is together and among the 60+ crowd, some 29% of men and 15% of women have had at least one indiscretion. He also says that love matures, but doesn’t have to grow old, offering tips on how to keep the relationship fresh. This book is filled with good advice on how to avoid and how to deal with this chronic problem of marriage. Marriages, however, do end, either from divorce or the death of a partner. This is examined in Suddenly Solo: A Lifestyle Road Map for the Mature, Widowed or Divorced Man by Harold Spielman and Marc Silbert ($14.95, www.suddenlysolo.org or from Amazon.com, softcover) This is a guide for men that offers a positive sense of renewal, filled with advice on how to move forward from the loss. The book is aimed at those over 50 who are most likely to encounter this change and it is written with humor as it provides transitional guidance in a culture that has changed radically since these mature men were lost “solo.”  Spielman is a sociologist and co-founder of a market and communication research company from which he retired in 2008. I think this book will prove very helpful to any man who is seeking to emerge from divorce or the death of his partner in life. And isn’t just men, of course, who must grapple with such changes. An entertaining and informative book, Ask Avery Anything: A Woman’s Journey Through Midlife Dating ($10.99, Second City Books, a division of Windy City Publishers, available via www.AskAveryAnything.com and Amazon.com, softcover) uses her own and other’s real life stories to offer her advice for women who are re-entering the dating scene for the first time after a long time in a relationship. Many conclude that finding a good man is a frustrating process at a certain age, but Avery offers advice and, best of all, the knowledge that you are not alone. She does so with honesty and humor.

To Your Health

As Obamacare transforms the U.S. healthcare system in ways most Americans are as yet unaware, Dr. Cary Presant, MD, has written a very useful book, Surviving American Medicine: How to Get the Right Doctor, Right Hospital, and Right Treatment with Today’s Health Care ($17.95, iUniverse, softcover) that may very well save your life. Bringing four decades of experience and knowledge to the task, Dr. Presant has written a book that answers some of the most important questions you need to ask, including what changes you need to make today to prepare for Obamacare reforms. He addresses what you need to know to get the best care in a hospital and how long you should stay, as well as finding affordable medications. He offers advice on what to do when your insurance company denies authorization for a treatment. In fact, there isn’t a page in this book that doesn’t offer excellent advice. The author has credentials to spare including, in addition to his own practice, being a professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, past president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, and Chairman of the Board of the Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, to name just a few. If your health, maintaining it and, if necessary, surviving an illness is important to you, read this book.

According to the National Health Council, incurable and ongoing chronic disease affects approximately 133 million Americans, 45% of the nation’s total population. I am inclined to think that figure is high, although it is true that Baby Boomers are joining the ranks of the nation’s elderly at a rate of 10,000 a day. Many have a least one chronic illness and some have more than one. When you consider that today’s healthcare system was designed for the last century, this poses a problem, but for those encountering this challenge it is a personal one. Richard Cheu is the author of Living Well With Chronic Illness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide ($16.95, Dog Ear Publishing, softcover and ebook). He is a neurophysiologist and a pastoral counselor, an ordained deacon and hospital chaplain in the Archdiocese of New York at Bellevue Hospital. He is a believer in taking charge of one’s own well-being as the way to improve the quality and length of one’s life. He has been a care-giver to a chronically-ill wife for nine years. In short, he knows what he is talking about. His advice covers a range of ways one can keep motivated, keeping mind and body active and fit. He discusses the negative emotions unleashed by a chronic illness diagnosis and how to take control of the shock, stress, and grief that accompanies the condition including how to overcome the loneliness that often accompanies it. There is a spiritual component to this and other aspects of chronic illness and I think this is one of the best books on the subject I have read in many years.

Honest Medicine: Effective, Time-Tested, inexpensive Treatments for Life-Threatening Diseases by Julia Schopick ($14.95, Innovative Health Publishing, www.HonestMedicine.com, softcover) introduces four life-saving treatments that have been effectively treating—and is some cases curing—people for many years. They do not generate large profits for pharmaceutical companies and have not been universally accepted. They include low dose Naltrexon for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, Chrone’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis and some other conditions. There is Ketogenic Diet for pediatric epilepsy, intravenous alpha lipoic acid for terminal liver disease and, with LDN for some cancers, and Silverion for non-healing wounds. Her writings have appeared in American Medical News, Alternative & Complementary Therapies, and the British Medical Journal. The book comes recommended by a number of physicians. Check it out at her website and you may well conclude that it offers some real relief and help.

The Family Guide to Mental Health Care by Lloyd I. Sederer, MD ($25.95, W.W. Norton) addresses a problem that left untreated can devastate a family and, as in the case of the school murders earlier this year, an entire community. The book is a comprehensive resource for families dealing with a loved one’s mental illness, providing the answers needed to understand a variety of disorders, making informed judgments as to whether doctors are really helping, and getting the right treatment.  The author is medical director of New York State’s Office of Mental Health and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

A growing number of women are putting off marriage and children until later in life, beyond their twenties. Your Pregnancy after 35 by Dr. Glade B. Curtis, MD with Judith Schuler, MS ($15.99, Da Capo Press, softcover) addresses pregnancy for older women, offering information on the risk of high blood pressure and similar issues. There’s advice on job-stress relief and how to dal with fatigue while working during pregnancy, special dietary recommendations including vitamin and mineral intake. The good news is that there are benefits as well for being an older mom. A wealth of information is provided in this book by an author of 18 books.

Getting Down to Business Books

 

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, more regulations were imposed on the financial sector of the nation’s economy and regulation is a signal of a lack of confidence. The crisis was brought about by the housing mortgage bubble and the bubble was the result of the government’s role in which two government sponsored entities, Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, encouraged banks to issue loans that even they knew might not be repaid. Both GSE’s bundled toxic loans and sold them as assets. The circle was complete and, after the government had to bail out the GSE’s with billions of taxpayer dollars, it is incredibly being repeated. That’s why The Death of Corporate Reputation: How Integrity Has Been Destroyed on Wall Street by Prof. Jonathan Macey’s new book is important ($39.95, FT Press). As he points out, trust and reputation are central to the operation of capital markets. He warns that when the public loses confidence in them fails, markets and societies fail as well. Ironically, more regulation only makes the problem worse. Macey, a Yale professor and expert in financial market regulation spells out how and why poorly considered regulation has undermined traditional trust mechanisms throughout financial institutions, accounting and law firms, credit ratings agencies, and stock exchanges. For anyone in the financial sector or who wants to understand why the last financial crisis occurred and is likely to occur again, this is an important book to read.

Surviving in the workplace is increasingly a topic for authors who offer advice. Meredith Fuller has penned Working with Bitches: Identify the Eight Types of Office Mean Girls and Rise Above Workplace Nastiness ($14.99, Da Capo Press, softcover). Ms. Fuller is a psychologist who is a consultant for major organizations, specializing in career development. She brings thirty years of experience to this book and it is aimed at women in the workplace who will recognize the same “mean girl” behavior they encountered in high school and who bring their bitchy behavior into the office. There’s the “excluder” who pretends you don’t exist and doesn’t pass alone important information. Others include the “insecure” who micromanages everyone, trusts no one, and thinks no one knows better than she. There’s the “toxic”, the “narcissist”, the “screamer”, the “liar”, the “incompetent, and the “not-a-bitch” who may have a disagreeable manner, but is just trying to do her job. All are discussed and their behavior is explained along with practical advice for coping with and protecting oneself against the mean girls, whether they are one’s peer, subordinate, or your boss. Make Your SHIFT: The Five Most Powerful Moves You Can Make to Get Where YOU Want to Go ($15.95, ATA Press) by Beverly D. Flaxington may just get you jump-started if you feel you are not moving ahead in your career and your life. The author is a business woman, co-founder of a boutique sales and marketing consultancy, and is a certified Professional Behavior Analyst, among other credentials. Offering more than motivation, her book is about a goal-achievement process that anyone can apply to their own life, learning how to identify attitudes that might be blocking progress, identifying obstacles in order to focus on those that can be controlled. Research has found that employees described themselves as possessing one or more five career-limited traits that include unreliability, responding with ‘it’s not my job’, procrastination, resistance to change, or projecting a negative attitude. If the feedback you’re receiving suggests this describes you in some fashion, you should read this book.

Walt F.J. Goodridge brings a lot of passion to his book Turn Your Passion into Profit: A step-by-step guide for transforming any talent, hobby or product idea into a money-making venture ($24.95, www.PassionProfit.com, softcover). The author draws on his own experience because he walked away from a career as a civil engineer to pursue his passion for music, writing, and helping others. Since then he has written 16 books and for several business magazines. Interestingly, he says you don’t need a degree to succeed because your desire will be your degree and the steps he spells out will help avoid some of the pitfalls while concentrating on what works if you want to be a writer, singer, designer, or chef. Clearly the book is written for those with a creative urge. Turning it into a career takes passion and some practical knowledge of what to do. This book will be helpful to creative folks. The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand by Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey with Rick Kushman ($15.95, Evolve Publishing, softcover) debuts next month and tells the story of how the authors started Barefoot Wines in the laundry room of a rented farmhouse with no money, no industry experience, and no clue what they were doing. It’s an inspiration to see how they broke all the rules and still succeeded against all odds. For anyone contemplating starting a business, there are lessons to be learned here and an entertaining story as a bonus. You can check it out at http://www.barefootwinefounders.com/ 

Kid Stuff

Not too many new books for younger readers have come in of late, but two are well worth recommending. Yes, Let’s by Galen Goodwin Longstreth and illustrated by Maris Wicks ($15.95, Tanglewood) is about a family’s day in the woods, making it a fun read-aloud book for those with children aged one through five. It’s the right size for smaller hands and its text rhymes from page to page in a loving tribute to family togetherness. For a slightly older group of young readers there an interesting and educational book, Tool. Time. Twist: A Brief History of Tools Through Time ($17.99, Craigmore Creations, Portland, OR). Written by David Shapiro and illustrated by Christopher Herndon, it takes the reader from the invention of stone axes, the discovery of how to make fire, hunting tools, drills and wrenches, and all the tools we take for granted, placing their beginnings in the proper time frame, up to automobiles and rockets that let us explore outer space. Even an adult will enjoy this one!

For teens, Zest Books publishes a number of books to help them navigate through life at a time when a lot of questions need an answer. The How-To Handbook ($10.99) is a good example, providing short, but good advice on everything from how to address an audience to pop a pimple. It offers advice on how to manage money, take great photos, and even how to iron a pair of pants. Other Zest titles such as How to Make the Grade ($14.99) offers advice on how to study better, avoid stress, and succeed in school while Seven Deadly Clicks: Essential Lessons for Online Safety and Success ($6.99) can save a youngster a world of trouble. A visit to www.zestbooks.net is a good place to visit whether you are a parent or a teen.

Novels, Novels, Novels

So many novels. Here are a few well worth considering.

All the Light There Was by Nancy Kricorian ($24.00, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is about an Armenian family’s struggle to survive the Nazi occupation of Paris in the 1940s. Meticulously researched and told with great style, it is an excellent story of loyalty, love, and the many faces of resistance. It is told through the eyes of Maral Pegorian, whose family survived the Armenian genocide and endeavors to build a new life in their homeland. As the Nazis march down the Rue de Belleville, the adults brace for the suffering and oppression they know all too well, while the children see it as a new, bewildering experience. This story is about an aspect of the war that has not been widely or sufficiently told. War has always provided many novels and Jerome Gold has written The Moral Life of Soldiers ($16.95, Black Heron Press, softcover.) It is a novel and five stories in which one is told by an elderly officer retired from the People’s Army of (North) Vietnam. It is about the reasons a man takes up arms. In a novella that is part of the book, 1950’s Georgia is evoked in a story about a white family that moves there from the north and the moral compromises they must make to live peacefully among their white neighbors and the compromises they resist making. This is, in many ways, an unsettling group of stories, but one that asks the reader to question his or her beliefs.

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag ($25.95, Viking) is a whimsical story of hope and feminine wisdom in which Alba Ashby, the youngest PhD at Cambridge University suffers a traumatic event and finds herself on the doorstep of 11 Hope Street where she is welcomed under the condition that she will have 99 nights there in which to turn her life around. It is no ordinary house in which many literary figures like Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Parker have stayed in the form of talking portraits on the wall! Yes, it is a bit of a fantasy, but as Alba begin her journey to heal her wounds, it is a place that will save her life. Women, in particular, will enjoy this one. In Hand Me Down ($16.00, Plume softcover) Melanie Thorne offers a heartbreaking study of a contemporary family in the darkest of circumstances. It is the story of two young people who must face incredible odds to forge lives of their own in the face of an uncertain future. Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Reid is devoted to protecting her little sister, Jaime, shielding her from the dark side of their alcoholic, abusive father. When they are separated she must rely on the begrudging kindness of distant relatives. A move to the mountains of Utah is an idyllic life with her Aunt Tammy, but Elizabeth worries about her sister. She is soon packing for another, even less secure home, but she will rejoin her sister. This is about the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity and a story that you will read start to finish.

For those who love a good crime thriller, there’s Shadows of Doubt by Mell Corcoran ($16.95, Mill City, softcover), an impressive debut. Women are being hunted, tortured, and killed by an assailant that leaves the same clue on each of them, but it has no scientific explanation. Detective Lou Donovan must figure out this killer’s signature because he’s escalating and no one knows where he will strike next. It’s a case he did not want, but when it is taken from her, she tries to work below the radar, but is foiled at every turn. It’s as if someone is watching her and knows her every move. When she keeps meeting a mysterious stranger, his presence disarms her initially, but she is having the same effect on him. Is he the killer? You’ll have to read this novel to find out!  From one of Scandinavia’s best crime authors there’ Killer’s Art by Mari Jungstedt ($14.95, Stockholm Text, softcover) in which a man is found hanged on the old city wall of Visby. He is a well-known art gallery owner and it sends fear throughout the island. Days later a famous painting is stolen in Stockholm and there are disturbing links to the murder. The world of art, gay prostitution, and drugs unfolds in this fast-paced novel about an investigation that challenges Superintendent Anders Knutas.

That’s it for April! Lots of new non-fiction and fiction books are arriving daily so make sure to come back in May to learn about them. Tell your family, friends, and coworkers about Bookviews so they too can enjoy the latest and best new books.