Comments by Jeanne
Or so it seems, anyway!
Readers do enjoy following a particular character from book to book, and
this September will see a bumper crop of
returning favorites.
Catherine Coulter teamed up with J.T. Ellison to start a
spin-off of her very popular FBI series about a Scotland Yard detective
stationed in the U.S. The Final Cut
came out last year to good reviews. The new book will be The Lost Key.
Some of our local readers also recommend books by Coulter’s co-author, so you
may want to check out some of Ellison’s other books while you wait for this
one.
Reacher fans who have been waiting anxiously for the next
book after the twists of Never Go Back will have curiosity satisfied
when Personal by Lee Child hits the shelves.
Philippa Gregory brings her “Cousins’ War” series to a
conclusion with The King’s Curse. Margaret Pole was an intimate of
Katherine of Aragon, first meeting her when Katherine was married to Arthur,
Prince of Wales who died some six months after the wedding. Margaret becomes one
of Katherine’s ladies-in – waiting when Katherine marries her former brother in
law when he takes the throne as Henry VIII. Gregory has a real gift for making
historical figures into flesh and blood people, making her one of the most
popular current historical novelists.
Several authors have picked up characters from Robert B.
Parker following the author’s death in 2010. Ace Atkins picked up the Spenser
novels and Michael Brandman took over the Police Chief Jesse Stone, producing
three novels. Now Reed Farrel Coleman is
going to take up the challenge of writing a new Jesse Stone. We’ll see how he does in September, when Robert
B. Parker’s Blind Spot comes out.
Speaking of characters picked up by other authors, Sophie
Hannah will be resurrecting Hercule Poirot in an as yet untitled book. According to an article in The Guardian,
Agatha Christie’s estate selected Hannah to revive the series in hopes that it
will bring new readers to Dame Agatha’s original books. The only plot hints so far is that the book will
be set in 1920s London. A few years back, Charles Osborne adapted a play by Christie as the Poirot novel Black Coffee, but Hannah's will be the first original book by someone other than Christie to feature the detective.
This is a good place to mention that another Golden Age
detective has been revived for at least one book. Albert Campion returns for Margery
Allingham’s Mr. Campion’s Farewell by Mike Ripley. After her death, Allingham’s husband Philip
Youngman Carter had completed one of her books, then went on to write two
Campions of his own. He in turn left
notes for another adventure, which form the basis of the Mike Ripley novel. The
book is already out in England, but won’t be published in the U.S. until July.
Jill Paton Walsh has done another in her continuation of
Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane series. The Last Scholar takes
the two back to Oxford where Peter wants to look in the disappearance of the
Warden, who was to cast the deciding vote as to whether or not to sell some of
the school’s assets. As with The Attenbury Emeralds, the story takes place in 1950s as the characters are adjusting to the changing times of post WW II England. The book is due out in June.
Another intriguing book for June is an anthology edited by
David Baldacci entitled Faceoff. This
collection of stories pairs some of the most popular characters in thriller
fiction in new stories written their creators:
Lee Child’s Jack Reacher meets Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller, Jeffery
Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme meets John Sanford’s Lucas Davenport, and many more, including
Linda Fairstein’s Alexandra Cooper, Lisa Gardner’s D.D. Warren, and Michael
Connelly’s Harry Bosch.
