It was the original British country-estate murder case. It was investigated by one of the eight detectives who started Scotland Yard. It captured the imagination of Charles Dickens and directly inspired Wilkie Collins. And it all took place at Road Hill in 1860, with the discovery of the throat-slit body of a 3-year-old boy.

Haven’t heard of the case? Good. Because not knowing how it ended will make Kate Summerscale’s account of it – THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER: A SHOCKING MURDER AND THE UNDOING OF A GREAT VICTORIAN DETECTIVE – as suspenseful as any fictional mystery you’re apt to read this year.

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Throw up the devil horns, readers, and crank up WAR PIGS. It’s time to worship at the altar of evil, as Anton LaVey has picked out three books for us to read. All right, not really, but they all have a common bond: the devil and his minions.

KISSES FROM SATAN by George B. Mair – Another in the long run of spies who came out of the cold and into focus after James Bond, Dr. David Grant works against the evils of an organization called SATAN in this 1966 paperback. For you laymen, that stands for Society for Activation of Terror Anarchy and Nihilism.

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Our monthly depressing look at the search terms that bring pervs to BOOKGASM!

This is nothing against Del Rey, but certainly there had to be a better title for THE DEL REY BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY: SIXTEEN ORIGINAL WORKS BY SPECULATIVE FICTION’S FINEST VOICES. That wordy, generic moniker suggests the Ellen Datlow-edited anthology is generic and assembly-line, when quite the opposite is true: This is a standout collection deserving of a more standout title.

Its subtitle contains the most telling phrase – SPECULATIVE FICTION – as, admirably, the stories within don’t fall neatly into either the standard sci-fi or fantasy genres. In other words, don’t go looking for spaceships or elves. Instead, expect the unexpected.

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Warren Murphy and James Mullaney’s THE NEW DESTROYER: DEAD RECKONING represents the third entry in the reboot of The Destroyer series, and this one goes all the way back to the start of the whole franchise, with its sights set squarely on certain public figures that have been in the news. It might upset some readers, but most people going into a Destroyer novel understand its leanings.

We are introduced to Mustafa Mohammed, the “20th hijacker” on that fateful day of Sept. 11, 2001. Mustafa’s problem is that he overslept and is now sitting in a jail cell with only his family Koran as company. We learn of Mustafa’s family history of never becoming sick, no matter the disease that plagued the area. This led the whole family to be rounded up by Saddam’s scientists to be tested with all sorts of chemicals and other forms of pain.

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No Indiana Jones is present in THE CRYSTAL SKULL, but Manda Scott’s novel still has plenty of archaeology-oriented adventure. The hero here is a heroine: Stella, the scholar who’s freshly married to Kit, a Bede’s scholar who’s obsessed with finding the blue-glowing titular object – his holy grail of ancient artifacts.

After much blood, sweat and tears, Kit has located the secret cave of Cedric Owen, the 16th-century physician to whom the skull once belonged, so the newlyweds are busy spelunking as the book begins. They find the skull almost immediately, but something finds them, too.

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Mike Cox – author of THE TEXAS RANGERS: WEARING THE CINCO PESO, 1821-1900 – spent 15 years as spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which means he got to talk to the press about, among other things, the Texas Rangers. How cool is that? Not talking to the press – no one in his right mind wants to do that. And I don’t mean the Texas Rangers baseball team, either. We’re talking about the real deal here: the Cinco Peso.

If you’ve never seen a Texas Rangers’ badge, where have you been all your life? They’re circular, not pointy like the badges you see in Western movies. The five-pointed Texas star is in the center. The badges were originally carved out of pesos, so the first Rangers to wear them were said to be wearing the “cinco peso.”

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She’s back, pimpin’ out notable new releases to place on your radar!

CATHEDRAL OF THE SEA by Ildefonso Falcones – This historical novel about medieval Barcelona follows the fortunes of the Estanyol family, from their peasant roots to a son, Arnau, who flees the land only to realize spectacular wealth and devastating problems. Barcelona is dominated by the construction of the city’s great pride – the cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar – and by its shame, the deadly Inquisition. Arnau joins the powerful guild of stone-workers and helps to build the church with his own hands, while his best friend and adopted brother Joan studies to become a priest. When Arnau is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with his own brother.

CODEX 632: THE SECRET IDENTITY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS by José Rodrigues Dos Santos – When Thomas Noronha, a professor of history and an expert cryptographer, is called upon to finish an unresolved investigation involving an aged scholar who is found mysteriously dead in his hotel room, his life takes several unexpected and dramatic turns. As Thomas slowly begins to unravel the cryptograms and enigmas that shroud the old professor’s work, he finds a code that could possibly change the course of historical scholarship. In his quest to decipher it, Thomas travels around the world, immersing himself in the history of the discovery of the Americas, and the one enigma that no historian has ever been able to solve: the true identity of Christopher Columbus.

SEPULCHRE by Kate Mosse – In 1891, young Léonie Vernier and her brother Anatole arrive in Rennes-les-Bains, in southwest France, at the invitation of their widowed aunt, whose mountain estate, Domain de la Cade, is famous in the region. But it soon becomes clear that their aunt – and the Domain – are not what Léonie had imagined. The villagers claim that Isolde’s late husband died after summoning a demon from the old Visigoth sepulchre high on the mountainside. A book from the Domain’s cavernous library describes the strange tarot pack that mysteriously disappeared following the uncle’s death. But while Léonie delves deeper into the ancient mysteries of the Domain, a different evil stalks her family: one which may explain why Léonie and Anatole were invited to the sinister Domain in the first place.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN? by Morgan Spurlock – Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is a jittery father-to-be with a simple question: If Bin Laden is behind 9/11 and all the ensuing worldwide chaos, then why can’t we just catch him? And furthermore, why is his message so compelling to so many people? So the intrepid Spurlock kisses his anxious wife goodbye and – armed with a complete lack of knowledge, experience or expertise – sets out to make the world safe for infantkind and find the most wanted man on earth. After boning up on his basic knowledge of Bin Laden, Islam and the global war on terror – and learning how to treat “sucking chest wounds” in a “Surviving Hostile Regions” training course – he hits the Osama trail.

THE HOST by Stephanie Meyer – Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human, but there was one difficulty Wanderer didn’t expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Unable to separate herself from her body’s desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she’s never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

MADAM PRESIDENT AND THE ADMIRAL by Carl Nelson – ”Let me play this back,” President Cass said as she scanned her advisors. “Russia and China are poised to fight over a border dispute and an oil pipeline. If war breaks out, they will need to replace that oil. They expand by taking the Spratly Islands, then take control of the mid-East oil trade route and risk a world war? China fights Russia and takes us and Taiwan on at the same time? None of it makes sense.” She took a deep breath. “I have followed China and this is out of character. This could be about oil or property, or both, but my take is it’s about something else. Something we’ve never faced before. As commander-in-chief, I will decide.”

Buy it at Amazon.

The most enjoyable biographies, I think, are of the people you’d never expect. Current bestsellers on Napoleon and John Adams are obvious. Then there’s Charles Fort. Who? Exactly.

As Jim Steinmeyer presents in CHARLES FORT: THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE SUPERNATURAL, he was America’s premier chronicler of unexplained phenomena in a series of books that thumbed their noses at practical science. Without him, there might not be an X-FILES or RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

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As becomes more and more clear with each trade paperback issued, SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE is the greatest comic of the ’90s that no one seems to talk about. SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE: THE HOURMAN AND THE PYTHON is the sixth such collection, with eight issues, two complete story arcs and one damned excellent concept.

Wesley Dodds is like the nerdy version of Bruce Wayne: a bespectacled, mild-mannered, slightly doughy bachelor who moonlights as a crimefighter – in this case, The Sandman, of course, clad in a regular, 1930s-era suit, hat and overcoat, plus the telltale gas mask. His gun emits a gas that acts as a truth serum.

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What are the rich and famous reading? Let’s take a click!

HILLARY CLINTON
“I had no idea books like this existed. No longer will I ‘misspeak.’ Misspeaking can be as dangerous as sniper fire. This book will change your life … and save my campaign.”

ROGER CLEMENS
A fun read for fans of Bigfoot, UFOs and Atlantis — as long as you accept the fact that the subject matter is a complete myth.”

MILEY RAY CYRUS
“My dad and I have always been close. After reading this book together, I think we’re even closer.”

PAUL MCCARTNEY
“Why am I only now finding out about this book?”

CHUCK NORRIS
“I’m only halfway through reading this, but so far, it’s fantastic. Don’t tell me how it ends.”

HILLARY CLINTON
“I had no idea books like this existed. It will change your life … and save my campaign.”

–Ralph Gamelli

In the start of a new series from Tom Piccirilli, THE COLD SPOT gives us a new character in the mold of one of the true greats of crime fiction. The best way to sum it up: What if Richard Stark’s Parker became a grandfather, and raised his grandson in the same way of life, only for the two of them to come head to head at some point?

As a young boy, Chase served as his getaway driver for his grandfather Jonah, who’s a take on Parker with a heavy dose of alpha male thrown in. This was the life Chase grew up in after his mother was brutally shot to death, and his father died soon after, not being able to deal with the grief.

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Because time isn’t always kind: economic reviews in a world full of waste!

When I was in junior high school back in the mid-’80s, lots of fellow students read the fantasy novels of Terry Brooks, starting with THE SWORD OF SHANNARA. If I were there today, I suspect those same kids would instead have a copy of the new DARK WRAITH OF SHANNARA in their hands – Brooks’ first graphic novel, adapted by Robert Place Napton with art by Edwin David. Set after the events of WISHSONG OF SHANNARA, it follows Jair Ohmsford, the boy whose notes can turn him invisible; an ancient text of evil; and a witch behind it all. There’s plenty of swords, sorcery, clawed creatures and the usual fantasy tropes – imaginative in story and well-done in shades and tones, although probably better served if it were in color. As a newcomer to the SHANNARA world, I was more pleased to see the “making of” features in the back that demonstrated how the book came to be, and who contributed what.

Not long after a Planned Parenthood clinic is bombed, one of its teen clients is found dead in a Dumpster, in L.J. Sellers’ politically charged mystery THE SEX CLUB. Investigating separately are Oregon homicide detective Det. Wade Jackson and understandably shaken youth outreach clinic nurse Kera Kollmorgan. It’s the latter’s discoveries that drive this procedural. Her findings? These kids of today like to get freaky! (Hey, it’s right there in the title.) The prurient nature of the plot makes this CLUB worth a trial membership; it may not break new ground, but is brave in its telling. Clearly Sellers has an agenda here, so if it doesn’t match yours, don’t even start. If it does, you’ll rally behind it.

Military science fiction remains elusive to my tastes. I get caught and confused by all the lingo, nicknames, abbreviations, rank and descriptions of weapons. I had higher hopes for ORPHAN’S JOURNEY by Robert Buettner, based on its appealing cover and its Orbit Books parentage, but registered as another SNAFU with me. Its star is Jason Wander; on the plus side, the futuristic hero fights giant slugs and sea monsters, but over in the minus column, I got lost not long after that. Part of the problem may be that this is the third of a sci-fi series, so Wander’s world may seem like shorthand to fresh enlistees. With so many adventures under Buettner’s belt, I’m sure the ORPHAN series has its loyal soldiers, but I’ll have to respectfully go AWOL.

Not quite an episode guide, tie-in novel or encyclopedia, THE SUPERNATURAL BOOK OF MONSTERS, SPIRITS, DEMONS, AND GHOULS is designed to be a narrative from the himbo-brother duo of The CW’s X-FILES-esque shriek series SUPERNATURAL, only it’s written by Alex Irvine. He apes their smart-aleck tone well as they dish facts and folklore on zombies, poltergeists and creatures of urban legends, most of whom have merited considerable face time on their own episodes. If monsters are your thing, this book is actually fun and can stand alone from the show, so no advance knowledge is needed. With cool illustrations from Dan Panosian, the BOOK is well-designed (save for an ugly font used for journal excerpts) and offers stories within stories. It even made me want to watch the show, which had to be the intent all along. –Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.

THE HOWLING becomes THE MOANING in Ray Garton’s werewolf novel RAVENOUS. See, the werewolf curse is not propagated via bites, but – there’s no delicate way to put this – via sex. Hey, at least that’s an angle I’ve never read before.

The first victim is Emily Crane, an overweight wife and mom whose car breaks down on the way home from a weight-loss support group, and is raped in the forest by a werewolf. She doesn’t know it’s a werewolf, but it eventually gets figured out, after she becomes incredibly horny and hungry for raw meat.

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I’ve really wanted to do an all-Remo Williams column for a long time, but felt I should do something truly special for it. So instead of covering the usual three books, I read 10 DESTROYER novels. Some are fan favorites; others were suggested as must-reads. So settle back and enjoy, since there is no way I’m ever going to attempt this one again. Well, at least not soon.

THE DESTROYER #11: KILL OR CURE by Richard Sapir & Warren Murphy – Someone has figured out a terrible secret that only a select few know about: There is a secret organization gathering information to be used to clean up messes like some sort of secret police force. This is what sets this early 1973 DESTROYER novel.

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The secret to serenity is balance. I bet Deepak Chopra wrote something like that in one of his books. It seems like something he would tell people and if he does, he’s right. Without a see, you cannot saw. A zig is pathetic and meaningless without a zag, and it is for that reason I have taken it upon myself (believe me, no one is asking me to do this) to right the karmic of this blog with a positive counterpoint to Mr. Fowler’s recent passionate and heartfelt description of the folks who make his library experience a negative one.

In my case, though, I shall not focus on individuals so much as the public aspects of libraries that genuinely benefit my life.

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She’s back, pimpin’ out notable new releases to place on your radar!

THE WHOLE TRUTH by David Baldacci – Nicolas Creel is a man on a mission. He heads up the world’s largest defense contractor, The Ares Corporation. Dick Pender is the man Creel retains to “perception manage” his company to even more riches by manipulating international conflicts. But Creel may have an even grander plan in mind. Shaw, a man with no first name and a truly unique past, has a different agenda. Reluctantly doing the bidding of a secret multi-national intelligence agency, he travels the globe to keep it safe and at peace. Willing to do anything to get back to the top of her profession, Katie James is a journalist who has just gotten the break of a lifetime: the chance to interview the sole survivor of a massacre that has left every nation stunned.

THE DISAGREEMENT by Nick Taylor – It is April 17, 1861 – the day that Virginia secedes from the Union and the 16th birthday of John Alan Muro. As the Commonwealth erupts in celebration, young Muro sees his dream of attending medical school in Philadelphia shattered by the sudden reality of war. Muro’s father, believing that the Disagreement will pass, sends his son instead to Charlottesville. Jefferson’s University of Virginia has become a haven of rogues and dilettantes, among them Muro’s roommate, Braxton Baucom III, a planter’s son who attempts to strike a resemblance to General “Stonewall” Jackson. Medical students like Muro are pressed into service at the Charlottesville General Hospital, where the inexperienced Dr. Muro saves the life of a Northern lieutenant, earning the scorn of his peers. As the war progresses, Muro takes up yet another cause: winning the affections of the beguiling Miss Lorrie Wigfall. Here, too, Muro faces a cunning adversary.

THE LOCKTENDER’S HOUSE by Steven Sherrill – Janice Witherspoon’s stagnant life is abruptly upended by the senseless death of her boyfriend thousands of miles away. Fueled by shock, she gathers her belongings from the North Carolina apartment they shared and takes to the road, intending to meet the soldier’s body on its journey back from the Iraqi desert. But something drives Janice farther and farther off course. When after a mechanical and emotional breakdown she finally comes to a stop, Janice finds herself deep in rural Pennsylvania, on the grounds of an abandoned lockhouse. Days turn to months, and then she finally lets down her guard, opening her doors to the inhabitants of her new province: Stephen Gainy, a reclusive art teacher and stone carver, and a spectral, alluring woman with a beautiful voice. But as Janice grows closer to both Stephen and the elusive minstrel, her calm gives way to a flood of terrifying blackouts, inexplicable accidents, and nightmares.

STRIKE FORCE by Dale Brown – Rebel Iranian Gen. Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi is launching a coup that could destroy Iran’s theocratic regime, and must turn to his old nemesis, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Patrick McLanahan, for help. On presidential authority, McLanahan sends a new, top-secret fleet of XR-A9 Black Stallion spaceplanes into the fray. The strike force, capable of virtually instantaneous global reach – led by test pilot and astronaut Capt. Hunter Noble – could change the course of history in the Middle East for generations to come. But the reactivation of America’s first military space station has rekindled fears of a space arms race. And with McLanahan caught in a furious political battle with those secretly working to undermine his military initiative, it falls to Noble and his dedicated space engineers to halt a growing insurgency in Iran that threatens to erupt into a devastating worldwide jihad.

Buy it at Amazon.

DIRTY MONEY marks the return of Donald E. Westlake’s alter ego Richard Stark and his famous creation of Parker. This is a direct sequel to the events of NOBODY RUNS FOREVER, with ASK THE PARROT being an interlude between the two, and all three books taking place within a two-month period.

Again, we enter the dark and never-easygoing life of lifetime criminal Parker. For those who’ve read the previous books, you’re plopped right back into the action, but some new readers might feel a bit left out with talk of a bank job that went horribly wrong.

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Quick takes and capsule reviews from the dark suspense master himself, Ed Gorman!

Haffner Press’ THE WORLDS OF JACK WILLIAMSON is a massive, handsomely made book that is a centennial tribute to the writer Arthur C. Clarke put on a level with both Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. The book is also a tribute to science fiction and fantasy as well, because by the time he passed away at age 98 in 2006, Williamson’s history was the field’s history.

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All the news that’s fit to capsulize!

CARTER COUNTRY
As Pixar assembles its animated JOHN CARTER OF MARS movie, see what Edgar Rice Burroughs’ interplanetary pulp hero would have looked like onscreen in the 1930s, had legendary animator Bob Clampett been given the go-ahead: awesome, like the Flesicher’s SUPERMAN cartoons. Meddling studio heads, bah! What do they know?

HOW DO YOU SAY ‘SNIKT’ IN JAPANESE?
Marvel Comics hopes to break into the lucrative manga field by letting two of its hottest properties loose into the Japanese format: X-Men and Wolverine, with the latter delving into the character’s history. Both will be published by Del Rey Manga and released in summer 2009.

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