No, that title does not contain a grammatical error; I'm talking about People Magazine, people!
People selected a few books for their "Summer Thrills & Chills" feature and two thrilling/chilling Minotaur titles made the list: Julia Keller's debut, A KILLING IN THE HILLS, and Chelsea Cain’s latest, KILL YOU TWICE!
On A KILLING IN THE HILLS they said, "A twisty plot—and a soulful depiction of a beautiful, besieged ‘afterthought of a town’—propels this debut mystery about a prosecutor fighting drug traffickers in Appalachia."
On KILL YOU TWICE they said, "Just when Portland, Ore., detective Archie Sheridan was reveling in serial killer Gretchen Lowell’s confinement to the psych ward, she contacts him with leads about a grisly new murder. Shades of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS."
Read moreWe already mentioned that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller's debut novel, A KILLING IN THE HILLS, is getting killer reviews. Now we get to say that it has officially received (read: rightfully earned) FOUR pre-pub starred reviews!
Take a look:
"Keller does a superb job of showing both the natural beauty of Appalachia and the hopeless anger of the people trapped there in poverty. [...] The ensemble cast is unforgettable. So is this novel." -Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week)
"A page-turner with substance and depth, this is as suspenseful and entertaining as it is accomplished." -Booklist (starred review)
"[A] superbly detailed and suspense-drenched mystery. Share with Linda Fairstein, Meg Gardiner, and Lisa Gardner fans." -Library Journal (starred review, Debut of the Month)
"[A] mystery that has plenty of twists and turns and a shocking conclusion." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A KILLING IN THE HILLS will be available in August from Minotaur Books.
Read moreToday at 2pm Talia and Chris (Sterling) are going head-to-head in a reprise of their Oscar-nominated book buzz performance from ALA Annual and you don't want to miss it this time around. Sign up now!
UPDATE: This event is now over. The archived Booklist webinar will be available here soon!
Here's a sneak peek at the books that Talia will be talking about this afternoon (and see her full slide deck here!). WARNING: Major spoilers below!
WILD CARD by Lora Leigh
BLUSH by Opal Carew
PANIC SNAP by Laura Reese
TOPPING FROM BELOW by Laura Reese
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louise Penny
A KILLING IN THE HILLS by Julia Keller
ROGUE by Mark Sullivan
YOUNG PHILBY by Robert Littell
CHINESE WHISKERS by Pallavi Aiyar
PAW PRINTS IN THE MOONLIGHT by Denis O'Connor
MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND by Matthew Dicks
THE FORGETTING TREE by Tatjana Soli
THE ELEMENTALS by Francesca Lia Block
GRACE GROWS by Shelle Sumners
HOW I CAME TO SPARKLE AGAIN by Kaya McLaren
MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE by Robin Sloan
STORMDANCER by Jay Kristoff
THIS BOOK IS FULL OF SPIDERS by David Wong
SHAKESPEARE'S TREMOR AND ORWELL'S COUGH by John J. Ross, M.D.
WE KILLED by Yael Kohen
WAKE and LULLABY by Amanda Hocking
BENEATH THE GLITTER by Elle & Blair Fowler
ECHO by Alyson Noel
DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Darynda Jones
WHISPERS AT MOONRISE by C.C. Hunter
THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers
SPARK by Amy Kathleen Ryan
GLITCH by Heather Anastasiu
MIDNIGHT CITY by J. Barton Mitchell
THE HUNT by Andrew Fukuda
Read morePIPPI MOVES IN! by Astrid Lindgren
A KILLING IN THE HILLS is Julia Keller's debut novel, but she's far from new to writing. As a journalist with the Chicago Tribune, Killer won the Pulitzer Prize. Now that she's turned her skilled pen to fiction the starred reviews are stacking up!
In Acker's Gap, West Virginia three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner. No one knows if it was random or if it was connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker's Gap. One of the witnesses to the brutal incident is Carla Elkins, 17-year-old daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla is in shock over the events, but soon recovers enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job. After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? That is, unless Carla sacrifices her life to solve the crime.
Read more"Chicago Tribune Pulitzer-winning journalist Keller has fashioned a debut mystery with an impeccably paced plot, supple prose, and indelibly drawn characters [...]. A page-turner with substance and depth, this is as suspenseful and entertaining as it is accomplished." -Booklist (starred review)
"Keller does a superb job showing both the natural beauty of Appalachia and the hopeless anger of the people trapped there in poverty. Some characters turn out to be better than they appear, some much worse, but the ensemble cast is unforgettable. So is this novel." -Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week!)
We posted the teen titles that Talia is talking up at the Boston Book Buzz (see previous post) and now here are the Adult titles (see her slides here)!
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louise Penny
A FATAL WINTER by G.M. Malliet
A KILLING IN THE HILLS by Julia Keller
ROGUE by Mark Sullivan
SACRIFICE FLY by Tim O’Mara
MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND by Matthew Dicks
THE FORGETTING TREE by Tatjana Soli
HOW I CAME TO SPARKLE AGAIN by Kaya McLaren
THE ELEMENTALS by Francesca Lia Block
GRACE GROWS by Shelle Sumners
SHAKESPEARE'S TREMOR AND ORWELL'S COUGH by John J. Ross, M.D.
Read more


