Review

Promiss to be a series with legs-and tails. (_Publishers Weekly_) Endearing...resonates with charm...sleuth Beatrix positively shines. (_School Library Journal_)

Product Description

The author of Peter Rabbit and other tales, Beatrix Potter is still, after a century, beloved by children and adults worldwide. In this first Cottage Tale, Albert introduces Beatrix, an animal lover and Good Samaritan with a knack for solving mysteries. With help from her entourage of talking animal friends, Beatrix sets out to win over the human hearts of Sawrey, where she's just bought an old farm--and plans to stay.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. As in 2004's The Tale of Hill Top Farm, Albert skillfully blends fact and fiction in her second Beatrix Potter tale set in the quaint English Lake District village of Near Sawrey. Beatrix is in the midst of renovating Hill Top Farm when she discovers the body of Ben Hornby, a local sheep owner who has recently had more than his share of bad luck. She suspects foul play and joins the local constable and real-life solicitor William Heelis in investigating the cause of Hornby's demise. Still reeling from the sudden death of her fiancé, Beatrix becomes more involved with her fellow villagers, in particular 11-year-old Caroline, who lives with her grandmother, Lady Longforth. Vivid descriptions of Sawrey and its environs, attractive human characters and unobtrusive animals with delightful personalities combine to create a mystery that's a stellar tribute to the famous children's author. As charming as the "little books" themselves, this is sure to delight Beatrix Potter fans and cozy lovers everywhere. (July 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–In this second entry in a delightful and cozy mystery series, Albert hits her stride. Miss Potter is starting to make a life for herself, both on her farm and in the villages of Far and Near Sawrey. She's acquired a herd of Herdwick sheep, is remodeling the farmhouse, and is slowly recovering from the death of her fiancé. Nefarious and curious events begin to happen: the body of a local shepherd is found at the base of a cliff; a pair of badgers is missing, presumably to be used in an illegal badger-baiting fight; and rich Lady Longford is putting forward her own candidate to teach in the Sawrey School. The animals (who can talk to one another) have been joined by the redoubtable Professor Galileo Newton Owl and the stalwart Bosworth Badger XVII, hotelier and genealogist of the badger clan. The plot moves swiftly and surely, with deft characterizations and comic charm, culminating in a rally of Big Folk and animals to save the innocent and punish the guilty. As in the first Cottage Tale, Albert has included research resources, recipes, a glossary, a map, an author's note, and a particularly helpful cast of characters. Teens will enjoy this small gem of a mystery revolving around the sweet Miss Potter, her neighbors, and the charming creatures she holds dear._–Jane Halsall, McHenry Public Library District, IL_
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Albert's enchanting third Beatrix Potter mystery set in England's Lake District (after 2005's The Tale of Holy How), Miss Potter discovers that her beloved Hill Top Farm is overrun with rats. In the nearby town of Far Sawrey, mild-mannered vicar Samuel Sackett also finds himself plagued with unwanted visitors: a cousin and his wife who have long overstayed their welcome. There are also rumors that a mysterious Mr. Richardson plans to build holiday villas on the shores of Lake Windermere, and he appears to be in league with Mrs. Kittredge, the beautiful new wife of the master of Raven Hall. Ridley Rattail, one of Hill Top Farm's resident rats, contrives to rid the farm of its unwanted rodents, but when his program backfires, he must seek a way to redeem the situation. Rich descriptions of the countryside and the imaginative rendering of the animal characters make this gentle tale a delight from start to finish. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In this third installment in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, the Edwardian-era cozy series from the author of the China Bayles mysteries, Miss Potter seals her reputation for untangling intrigues in her Lake District village. While she waylays the schemes of two swindlers and joins village children in a search for the area's legendary fairies, whimsical subplots (a series staple) reveal interactions among canny, talkative, and occasionally even well-dressed members of the animal community. Readers inclined to judge such elements twee in a book for grown-ups aren't likely to warm to this series, but those who--like Albert's heroine--champion the benefits of "dreaming, imagining, creating, improvising, and fancying" will find themselves happily absorbed, to the point of forgiving the awkward manner in which facts about the historical Potter are plunked into the fiction. Extensive character lists and recipes to rumble the stomachs of anglophiles (bubble and squeak, sticky buns) flesh out this amiably realized world, in which lapses in good feelings and right behavior are always passing anomalies. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Publishers Weekly

Albert's charming fourth Beatrix Potter mystery (after 2006's The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood) finds our heroine unexpectedly in possession of a foundling child, Baby Flora. The reader knows the mysteriously twinkly Mrs. Overthewall stole Flora from her teenage mother, Emily, a maid at the gloomy and possibly haunted Hawthorn House, and left her on the Potter doorstep, but Beatrix—not having read the prologue—suspects the child of having gypsy origins. Capt. Miles Woodcock and his sister, Dimity, gladly give Flora a new home, leaving Beatrix to solve the mystery of her old one. Other thoughts of families and youngsters abound: Jemima Puddleduck broods over a nest of long overdue eggs; Reynard the Fox struggles with his unnatural fondness for Jemima; and the village gossips bring all their matchmaking powers to bear on Beatrix and the highly eligible Captain Woodcock. The whimsical blend of romance, mystery and nostalgia will keep cozy fans happily entertained. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

Miss Beatrix Potter finds the abandoned Baby Flora—and a scarab ring—on her doorstep. An investigation reveals that the ring was pawned and reclaimed by a resident of the vacant and supposedly haunted Hawthorn House. Now Beatrix and her animal friends are left pondering these utterly puzzling happenings.

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Albert's delightful fifth cottage tale (after 2007's The Tale of Hawthorn House), Beatrix Potter, dismayed by the frosty atmosphere at home in London with her demanding parents, returns to Hill Top Farm in the Lake District, where she gets caught in a blizzard. As she catches up on local gossip, Beatrix learns of the demise of a longtime resident, Hugh Wickstead, killed by a falling tree limb in the woods. Was Hugh the victim of a curse after he unearthed ancient treasure? Of course, the animals have their own stories to tell, and Beatrix turns to them for help in the investigation. Familiar creatures pop up along the way, including Pickles, a fox terrier that belonged to Hugh and may hold the secret to his master's death. As Beatrix reconnects with village life, her 1909 book, The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, begins to take shape. Readers will delight in Albert's special blend of fact and fiction. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Starred Review This whimsical, amiable, enchanting, gentle, and charming tale is the fifth (and best) in Sharon Wittig Albert’s series featuring Miss Beatrix Potter. It succeeds on many levels and for many audiences. Readers should not expect a traditional mystery as there is no murder; instead, there is a series of intrigues to be untangled by the tactful Miss Potter. The puzzles include the death of the antiquarian Hugh Wickstead (killed by a falling treetop), a fireball burning down a barn, the mysterious appearance of a long-lost sister of Mr. Wickstead, and a missing treasure. This is also a fantasy, with talking animals and dragons who seem to know more about the puzzles than any of the humans. In true old-fashioned style, the narrator is omniscient and regularly tells the reader information to which the book’s characters are not privy. This technique was used by Potter herself in her little tales and by Baum in the Oz books. There is also a real-life romance beginning to flourish between the two “real” characters, Beatrix Potter and her solicitor, Will Heelis. On yet another level, this is an engaging historical novel imparting much information about the life of Beatrix Potter in December 1909 in the village of Near Sawrey in the Lake District of England. Readers who begin with the open mind of a child will be well rewarded. --Judy Coon

Product Description

The latest delightful tale in Albert's Beatrix Potter series.

Out of spite for having his haystacks burnt, Mr. Harmsworth barricades a common path through his orchard-and Tabitha Twitchet and her Cat Council want answers. Reliable witnesses, including some Big Folk, say the arson was the handiwork of a lantern-wielding specter. The mournful ghost has a message-and Miss Potter, for one, hopes to figure it out.

Meanwhile in Sawrey, romance buds between the schoolmarm and a confirmed bachelor; Hyacinth Badger hopes to be the first female to earn the Badger Badge of Honor; and a rumor has Beatrix and the solicitor practically betrothed. But the matter of the barricade involves everyone-and Miss Potter and her friends might have to take matters into their own hands-and paws.

About the Author

Susan Wittig Albert grew up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. at UC- Berkeley. A former English professor, university administrator and vice- president, she also writes the China Bayles mysteries. She and her husband co- author a series of Victorian-Edwardian mysteries under the name Robin Paige.

Terrified. Abused. Who do you trust when the world is against you?

Hope is in short supply for Kelsey Brand...Abandoned by her mother and placed in care, 14-year-old Kelsey - along with her younger sisters - is just another forgotten child of the state. Unable to cope with the care home's harsh regimes, Kelsey attempts to take her own life, leaving her horrifically scarred - and mute. Days later, the body of Kelsey's mother Grace - a known prostitute and heroin addict - is found butchered on a notorious Luton council estate. And Kelsey becomes a suspect...Enter Lilly Valentine. A tough-talking Yorkshire lawyer with a heart of gold and a will of iron, Lilly has forsaken a glittering career to move south and help vulnerable kids escape the system. Determined to prove Kelsey's innocence, Lilly ventures into the heart of a dark city with as many secrets as problems. Prostitution, paedophilia, drugs and blackmail: Lily must put her own life at risk to save a silent, terrified child and find the real killer...

From Library Journal

Multilingual, anarchic spy Evan Tanner once again goes behind the Iron Curtain in this 1966 seriocomic tale. This time, he must break into a Prague prison to liberate a despicable Nazi who will lead Tanner to the documents exposing his network of hatred. As is typical in Block's Tanner yarns, the spy has unusual allies: a gang of Israeli terrorists and a beautiful Czech nymphomaniac. Then Tanner and his charge, Janos Kotacek, make a painstaking journey through Hungary and Yugoslavia and finally to Portugal. The means he devises to silence Kotacek's racist rants, sneak him into the West, and trick him into revealing his secrets are extremely clever. Nick Sullivan's skill with a wide range of accents and his irreverent tone make him the perfect reader for Tanner's Cold War adventures. Recommended for public libraries, though some listeners may have trouble with the sexism typical of the period. Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

The second book in the Evan Tanner series finds Tanner working as an agent--for a man and an agency so secret that both are nameless--and assigned to slip into Czechoslovakia to accomplish the most incredible kidnapping of the century.

Amazon.com Review

Few mystery authors have a stable of protagonists as uniformly appealing as Lawrence Block's. Whether Block's taking the reader into PI Matthew Scudder's world of dimly lit bars and basement AA meetings, quirky burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr's used bookstore, or the international hot-spot hangouts of Evan Tanner, the spy who never sleeps, he always provides good company. John Keller, star of Block's 1998 story collection Hit Man, is a typical Block invention: an unassuming, get-the-job-done-and-move-on New York contract killer who collects stamps, does the morning crossword, eats Vietnamese takeout, and falls for the occasional woman.

When Keller gets off a plane in Louisville, ready to do the job he's been hired for, something about it feels wrong from the start. And when two people are killed in the motel room he's just vacated, he realizes he narrowly missed a setup, but can't figure out why. Then he goes to Boston to do another job, and afterwards dines in a coffee shop where another patron has the misfortune of leaving with Keller's raincoat:

The Globe didn't have it. But there it was in the Herald, a small story on a back page, a man found dead on Boston Common, shot twice in the head with a small-caliber weapon.

Keller could picture the poor bastard, lying face-down on the grass, the rain washing relentlessly down on him. He could picture the dead man's coat, too. The Herald didn't say anything about a coat, but that didn't matter. Keller could picture it all the same.

Keller's agent, Dot, puts the pieces--including the death of another contract killer she books occasionally--together and comes up with the seemingly crazy idea that a greedy hit man is knocking off the competition. In between other legit hits, romancing a commitment-shy artist, visiting an astrologer, and a long stint on jury duty, Keller slowly moves closer to the faceless nemesis he and Dot dub "Roger." But it's Dot, the woman of action, who figures out what to do about him. Though Hit List is too introspective to be a caper novel, and too funny to be noir, it's bound to find a rapt audience with fans of both subgenres. After two such engaging books, can Hit Parade be far behind? --Barrie Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly

John Keller, whom Block introduced in Hit Man, is a killer for hire, with a difference. He's thoughtful, even broody, tends to take a liking to some of the towns where he goes to do his work, dreams of perhaps settling down in one of them one day and collects stamps in his spare time, of which there's plenty. It's a novel idea, and it carried an excellent group of stories in the previous book. A whole novel about Keller, however, who after all walks a very delicate line between likability and horror, is more than he can readily bear, and, almost unknown in Block's work, there are longueurs here. The plot is wryly serviceableAa rival is attempting to corner the market by getting to some of Keller's intended victims first, and clearly has to be disposed ofAbut about halfway through a certain unease creeps in and won't let go. For all Block's usual great skill with goofy dialogue (here between Keller and Dot, the intermediary who takes the orders for his jobs), it's difficult to indefinitely enjoy jokes about the violent deaths of a number of people who, for all Dot and Keller know, are harmless, perhaps even good citizens, but whom someone is willing to pay to remove. Apparently mindful of this, Block keeps the killings mostly offstage, or with a minimum of graphic violence. But an affection for Keller is an acquired taste, and here it proves difficult to acquire. 9-city author tour. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

AT CARDS AND WITH WOMEN,
BILL MAYNARD KNEW HOW TO CHEAT

On the mend after getting run out of Chicago, professional cardsharp Bill Maynard is hungry for some action--but not nearly as hungry as Joyce Rogers, the tantalizing wife of Bill's latest mark. Together they hatch an ingenious scheme to get rid of her husband. But in life as in poker, the other player sometimes has an ace up his sleeve...

From Publishers Weekly

This is the third of Block's superb Matt Scudder series to appear (it was first issued by Dell in paperback back in 1977), and its return now in hardcover from Dark Harvest (which did the first, Sins of the Fathers , last year) is great news for admirers. The story is swift, complicated and elegant, and Kellerman gets it right when he says that the Scudder novels "are the best New York crime novels ever written." In this one Scudder, still in his drinking days, is paid by "Spinner" Jablon, a small-time hood, to hold an envelope for him, with instructions to open it only when he dies, and then do what's necessary. What's necessary turns out to be determining which of Jablon's three eminent blackmail victims did the little man in. One is a wealthy businessman who's been covering up for his teenage daughter, whose car killed a child; there's a society wife with a past in porn movies and prostitution; another is a candidate for governor with a taste for hurting small boys in sadistic sex. How Scudder finds out who had Jablon killed, and the sometimes tragic consequences of his investigation, provide the meat of this outstanding thriller, which moves effortlessly through sleazy bars, skyscraper suites and luxury hotels. The dialogue is, as always, dead on and rivetingly entertaining, and the atmosphere--Kellerman has it right again--is "wonderfully morose." Not to be missed.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Named after a line from Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock , this 1976 novel features Block's popular detective Matt Scudder. The plot finds Scudder investigating the death of a small-time hood who, knowing he was marked for death, paid Scudder in advance to solve his murder. All libraries where Block is popular will want to have this first hardcover edition, which also contains an introduction by fellow mystery writer Jonathan Kellerman.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also—and she wanted out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely didn't deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned p.i. was supposed to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons on a crumbling New York City waterfront pier. Now finding Kim's killer will be Scudder's penance. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker's past that are far dirtier than her trade. And there are many ways of dying in this cruel and dangerous town—some quick and brutal ... and some agonizingly slow.

About the Author

Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.

From Publishers Weekly

Unlicensed PI Matthew Scudder returns after a three-year absence to investigate the murder of a wealthy couple savagely slain in their Manhattan townhouse. Matt's now 62, and his age shows in this relatively sedate outing. There's less violence than in many cases past, and the urban melancholy that pervaded his earlier tales has dissipated, replaced by a mature reckoning with the unending cycle of life and death. The mystery elements are strong. To the cops, the case is open-and-shut: the perps have been found dead, murder/suicide, in Brooklyn, with loot from the townhouse in their possession. Matt enters the scene when his assistant, TJ, introduces him to the cousin of the dead couple's daughter; the cousin suspects the daughter of having engineered the killings for the inheritance. At loose ends, Matt digs in, quickly rejecting the daughter as a suspect but uncovering evidence pointing to a mastermind behind the murders. Block sounds numerous obligatory notes from Scudder tales past the AA meetings, the tithing of Matt's income, cameo appearances by Matt's love interest, Elaine, and his friend, Irish mobster Mick Ballou and he adds texture with some familial drama involving Matt's sons and ex-wife. His prose is as smooth as aged whiskey, as always, and the story flows across its pages. It lacks the visceral edge and heightened emotion of many previous Scudders, however, and the ending seems patly aimed at a sequel. This is a solid mystery, a fine Block, but less than exceptional. (Nov.)Forecast: All Blocks sell and Scudder's return will do particularly well, especially with the attendant major ad/promo, including a 17-city author tour. Simultaneous Harper Audio and Harper large print edition.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This is the 15th Matthew Scudder novel in 25 years, and readers of Block's noir series know what to expect. It's all here: a perfect evocation of the sights, sounds, and smells of New York City; trips to AA meetings in church basements; Mick Ballou's bar; and the recurring characters such as Ballou, the streetwise TJ, and Elaine, the civilizing influence. In this latest outing, Matt and Elaine attend a "Mostly Mozart" benefit concert at Lincoln Center. At the same concert are a couple who are later murdered in their Upper West Side apartment. Then, the "murderers" are themselves killed in Brooklyn. Without anyone really asking him to, and for want of something better to do, Scudder starts to pick at this case until the whole story unravels before him to a startling conclusion. Every so often, the real murderer narrates a chapter, which adds a cat-and-mouse element. But those looking for fast action will not find it here the pace is leisurely, and characters and set pieces are almost as important as plot. Recommended, especially for public libraries, where readers will ask for it.
- Fred Gervat, Concordia Coll. Lib., Bronxville, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the author of the acclaimed thriller *Sweepers*, an explosive return to the world of the top secret intelligence operatives whose job it is to "kill the killers"-and this time it's personal.

Edwin Kreiss, a retired "sweeper" who spent years "retrieving" rogue operatives and making them disappear,finds himself back on the job-if unofficially-when his daughter vanishes in the woods of rural West Virginia. Using his old skills of tracking, hunting, high-tech and low-tech intelligence work, and whatever else he has in his bag of tricks, he mounts his own search and investigation. Suddenly thrown into conflict with people from his murky past, and with a female FBI agent determined to crack the case first, he becomes targeted for retrieval by one of his own kind-a sweeper named Misty-as he cuts a path through political scandal, personal revenge, and high-level corruption.

*Hunting Season* is P T. Deutermann in top form. It is a brilliantly plotted novel that moves from rolling hills to the marble corridors ofWashington, D.C., as it tracks the progress of a man on a mission-and the secret he alone knows.

**About the Author:**
P. T. Deutermann is a retired Navy captain and has served in the joint Chiefs of Staff as an arms control specialist. He is the author of six previous novels, and lives in Georgia.

### From Publishers Weekly

Meet Nik Kane, the charming star of a new series by *Anchorage Daily News* columnist Doogan. Kane, a 55-year-old ex-cop who's also an ex-con, not to mention an ex-husband, heads to the Alaskan interior to do some detective work for a remote religious community called Rejoice. One of Rejoice's leaders, Thomas Wright, has hired Kane to track down his teenage daughter, Faith. Maybe Faith ran away, or maybe she was abducted. Kane—only periodically distracted from his detecting by his attraction to a woman he meets at Rejoice—quickly learns that Faith wasn't representative of her conservative religious community. A budding feminist with Ivy League ambitions, she also had a sideline income, $500 a week, deposited in a pseudonymous bank account. While Doogan telegraphs the solution to the riddle of Faith's disappearance, engaging, lucid prose more than compensates. *(Aug.)*
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

### From Booklist

*Starred Review* A white-knuckle flight in a bush plane over the Alaskan wilderness jump-starts this debut novel, establishing both the unforgiving setting and the desperate resolve of the main character. Nik Kane spent 25 years with the Anchorage police, 15 as a detective. He has just been released from a 7-year prison term resulting from a false conviction and is on his own, adrift from the police and from his wife. Kane, forced into private investigation, is headed for Rejoice, a fundamentalist Christian community in the harsh, high desert of the interior. One of the daughters of the Elders, an 18-year-old girl named Faith, has gone missing; no one knows if she has simply broken free from the restrictive life at Rejoice or has met with foul play. This is a richly textured novel on several counts. Kane is achingly well delineated; his struggle to adjust to a much bigger, louder, more confusing world after the confines of prison--and to try to find meaning in a life stripped bare of supports--is gripping. All the exigencies of struggling through an Alaskan winter ring true (Doogan has long been a columnist for the *Anchorage Daily News*), and the portrayal of a religious community that holds both secrets and dangers is fascinating. A top-notch start to a projected mystery series. *Connie Fletcher*
*Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*

### From Publishers Weekly

In veteran Anchorage journalist Doogan's uneven second Nik Kane mystery (after 2006's *Lost Angel*), a wealthy widow hires Kane, a disgraced former Anchorage cop turned PI, to help defend a promising Native Alaskan state legislator, Matthew Hope, against the charge of murdering an aide to conservative senator O.B. Potter. The first half of the book reads like a traditional detective novel, with a tough, troubled protagonist, mysterious client, unjustly accused suspect and reluctant informants, including Kane's estranged son, Dylan. Kane even acquires a sarcastic sidekick, Tlingit cab driver Cocoa Paul. The story eventually falls apart as Kane, working by instinct, suffers threats and beatings en route to an unsatisfying conclusion. Though most books set in Alaska take place in the glorious and forbidding wilderness, almost all the action is in the state capital, Juneau, a city that seems carved out of ice and rocks. Unfortunately, strong writing and evocative descriptions can't save a predictable plot and a hodgepodge of stock characters. *(Aug.)*
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

### From Booklist

Former Anchorage police detective Nik Kane spent seven years in prison after shooting a supposedly unarmed boy. He was exonerated when a witness recanted and said the boy had pointed a gun at Nik before the detective responded. Unable to rejoin the police department, Nik works for a security firm until he decides to go out on his own. His former boss offers him his first job: clear a native Alaskan state senator, Matthew Hope, of the charge of murdering another senator's legislative assistant. Hope proclaims his innocence but seems uninterested in defending himself, even though he was found standing over the body with the murder weapon in his hand. Kane quickly becomes immersed in Alaskan state politics, where corruption seems rife. It soon becomes clear that someone wants Kane off the case.This gritty, hard-boiled mystery, the second in a series, also finds Kane trying to reestablish a relationship with his son after his stint in prison. O'Brien, Sue