Alive in Shape and Color
Edited by Lawrence Block. Pegasus, $25.95
(304p) ISBN 978-1-68177-561-6
MWA Grand Master Block follows
2016’s In Sunlight or In Shadow—which
gathered stories inspired by the paintings of
Edward Hopper—with an anthology whose
theme is a bit more nebulous: stories inspired
by iconic paintings, from the cave drawings
at Lascaux to Georgia O’Keeffe’s Red Cannas.
Among the 16 contributors are such luminaries as Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Child, and
Michael Connelly, most of whom are best
known for their thriller and mystery fiction. Standouts include David Morrell’s
Van Gogh–inspired “Orange Is for
Anguish, Blue for Insanity,” which chronicles an artist’s horrifying descent into madness; Jeffery Deaver’s “A Significant Find,”
in which a husband-and-wife archeologist
team makes what seems to be the discovery
of a lifetime in the caves of southern France;
and Joe R. Lansdale’s “Charlie the Barber,”
which uses a charming Rockwell painting,
First Trip to the Beauty Shop, as a jumping-off point for a horrifying tale about a rob-
If the president does it, it’s legal…no matter how he got there.
Imogen Trager, the determined heroine of the
“highly suspenseful” thriller, Faithless Elector returns,
desperate to stop a murderous dark network intent on
seizing the presidency.
D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, MWBR
Publishers Weekly
“Baldacci and Meltzer fans will appreciate the plot’s twists
and the easy-to-empathize-with lead.”
ISBN: 978-0-692-79784-6
Pages: 260
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★ Woman at 1,000 Degrees
Hallgrímur Helgason. Algonquin, $27.95 (400p) ISBN 978-1-61620-623-9
Helgason’s sad and funny novel begins in 2009, as 80-year- old Herra Björnsson lies dying in a Reykavík garage, still in possession of a live hand grenade from World War II. Her limited activities of late include corresponding under a
false identity with an Australian bodybuilder, arranging her own
cremation, smoking, and recalling her eventful past. Abandoned
by her father, Herra passes her first seven years with her mother
and maternal grandmother on the Svefneyjar islands. Then her
father reclaims his family and moves them to continental Europe,
where he becomes one of the few Icelanders to enlist in Hitler’s
forces. Herra and her mother take refuge with Herra’s paternal grandmother in
Copenhagen but separate when Herra’s mother finds work in Lübeck and Herra is
sent to the Frisian Islands. Before heading to the Eastern front, Herra’s father brings
his daughter to Hamburg to reunite her with her mother, who never arrives. Without parents or papers, Herra suffers deprivation and indignity. Years later, as out
of place in postwar Iceland as in war-torn Europe, Herra relocates to Argentina
before again returning to Iceland. Her life encompasses four husbands, countless
lovers, and a flirtation with John Lennon. In her unsentimental, unsparing narrative, she offers insights into Icelandic culture and character, including a riff on
reticence and a brief summary of Iceland’s financial meltdown. Like the Icelandic
landscape, she can be both appealing and treacherous. (Jan.)
