PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ AUGUST 28, 2017 106
Exquisite
Sarah Stovell. Orenda (IPG, dist.), $12.95
trade paper (300p) ISBN 978-1-910633-74-8
This dismal tale of obsession, cruelty, and
betrayal from Stovell (Mothernight) charts
the intense and lustful relationship that
develops between Bo Luxton, a successful
writer, and Alice Dark, a talented writing
student. At a writers’ conference in England’s
Lake District, Bo, who’s happily married with
two daughters, agrees to serve as a mentor to
Alice, who lives with a freeloading boyfriend
and has survived a horrendous childhood.
As the bond between the two women
grows, it becomes clear that Bo and Alice
have the power to destroy more than their
own two lives. Less clear is just who the
victim is. Bo, the stronger personality, is
manipulative and cunning, feeding Alice’s
obsession with her even as she tries to sever
the connection. At one point, Bo muses,
“She was so uncontainable, so open and so
fragile. I knew she would never last.” Alice
does indeed pay a price, but so does Bo.
Those expecting an unhappy ending won’t
be disappointed. Agent: Blake Friedmann,
Blake Friedmann Literary Agency (U.K.). (Oct.)
Where the Sun Shines Out
Kevin Catalano. Skyhorse, $24.99 (304p)
ISBN 978-1-5107-2199-9
One summer day in 1992, 10-year-old
Dean Fleming, the protagonist of
Catalano’s gripping first novel, is waiting
in line with his brother, Jason, and their
father for autographs of the Munchkins at
the annual Chittenago, N. Y., festival celebrating L. Frank Baum, local hero and
author of the Oz books. When their father
briefly leaves them, Wayne and Carol
Flowers abduct the boys and take them to
a secluded cottage on Lake Oneida. Jason
dies at the hands of their captors, but Dean
manages to escape by swimming across the
lake. When the police try to question Dean
to gain his assistance in finding Wayne and
Carol, he remains mute. Wracked with
guilt over his failure to save his brother, he
pushes his parents away. Even the people of
Chittenago find themselves changed as
their lives intertwine with Dean’s in the
years that follow. This tale of loss, punishment, and the struggle for forgiveness grabs
the reader by the throat and never lets go.
Agent: Kirsten Carleton, Prospect Agency. (Oct.)
wealthy George DeLeuw, dead on his
study floor. Her taking temporary custody of George’s Persian, Harpo, lands her
in the middle of a fierce squabble over the
feline. Another problem is Cassie’s old
boyfriend Andy, whom her interfering
mom tells where to find her, oblivious to
Cassie’s very good reason for dumping
him. Andy’s arrival is followed by a suspicious fire at Cassie’s combination store
and residence. With George’s sister, ex-wife, and several business associates in
town, there’s a passel of suspects for both
crimes, but Chadwick’s Det. Angela
Bonelli has her sights on Cassie’s
handyman, Nick Janos, and his introverted computer-nerd son, Dion, who
claims George stole an encryption code he
created. The calm in the storm is veterinarian Mark Coccia, fresh from his own
broken relationship but showing a definite interest in Cassie. Happily, Harpo
and the loads of other cats in this welcome debut don’t overpower the story
line. Agent, Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall
Agency. (Oct.)
★ Night Market
Daniel Pembrey. No Exit (IPG, dist.), $14.95
trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-84344-881-5
A complex protagonist, who can’t
always be taken at his word, distinguishes
Pembrey’s bleak, convoluted sequel to
The Harbour Master. In “Night Market,”
the first of the novel’s three sections,
Amsterdam police detective Henk van
der Pol goes undercover in Driebergen to
try to unmask the crooked cop who leaked
information about an operation to take
down highly placed child abusers. “Choke
Point,” part two, is set mainly in the
gloomy Amsterdam docklands, where
crime and respectability are “close neighbors.” “The Release,” the final section,
turns van der Pol’s whole narrative upside
down when his wife, Petra, makes him
realize that his personal vendetta against
Amsterdam police commissioner Joost
van Erven is really about himself, not
Joost. Pembrey excels at revealing the
psychological price police pay for investigating child pornography while sparing
the reader the sordid details. That
extreme right-wing elements have a
hand in much of the villainy makes this
outing especially timely. (Oct.)
★ Nine Lessons:
A Josephine Tey Mystery
Nicola Upson. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-68331-321-2
A series of murders inspired by the ghost stories of English author M.R. James challenges Scotland Yard’s Det. Chief Insp. Archie Penrose in Upton’s uperlative seventh outing for Penrose and his
close friend and investigative assistant, real-life mystery
author Josephine Tey (after 2016’s London Rain). One
day in 1937, Penrose is summoned to St. John’s-at-Hempstead, a north London graveyard, where the body
of church organist Stephen Laxborough was found in a
tomb with the stone slab on top pushed back a little.
The dead man was evidently buried alive, based on the
horrific evidence of his desperate efforts to escape the
tomb. Compounding the mystery is the presence in the grave of a torn photograph depicting a manor house; scrawled on a piece of paper in the victim’s breast
pocket is the sentence: “What is this that I have done?” This evidence leads
Penrose to Cambridge, where his lover, Bridget Foley, and Josephine have both
recently settled. A series of attacks on women in the university town ups the ante.
Upson successfully incorporates moving and complex interpersonal conflicts
involving her main characters into an intricate, credible whodunit story line.
Agent: Gráinne Fox, Fletcher & Co. (Oct.)
