I've gotten a number of unsolicited books from publishers lately, some of which fit into genres that I am pretty unikely to read, such as mysteries/thrillers/suspense novels. Last week, Hyperion sent me a new "historical mystery" that I know is not for me. But perhaps there are some mystery fans who also read EDIWTB? If the book looks good to you, leave me a comment with your email address, and I'll draw a name at random on Saturday, February 7.
Here's the book: Bleeding Heart Square, by Andrew Taylor. It's actually not even due out until March 3, so if you win, you'll have a hot item on your hands. From the book jacket:
It's 1934, and the decaying London cul-de-sac of Bleeding Heart Square is an unlikely place of refuge for aristocratic Lydia Langstone. But as she flees her abusive marriage, there is only one person she can turn to–the genteelly derelict Captain Ingleby-Lewis, currently lodging at Number 7.
However, unknown to Lydia, a dark mystery haunts the decrepit building. What happened to Miss Penhow, the middle-aged spinster who owns the house and who vanished four years earlier? Why is a seedy plain-clothes policeman obsessively watching the square? What is making struggling journalist Rory Wentwood so desperate to contact Miss Penhow?
And why are parcels of rotting hearts being sent to Joseph Serridge, the last person to see Miss Penhow alive?
Legend has it the devil once danced in Bleeding Heart Square–but is there now a new and sinister presence lurking in its shadows?
Here is a review from The Independent. And here's one from the It's A Crime! (Or A Mystery) blog.
Good luck!