| The Scrying Eye |
Books—available January 14, 2014) is the tale of the children of the Emperor of Annur and how they deal with the
murder of their father. Kaden, the apparent heir, has been gone for eight years, learning the discipline of the monks of
the Blank God. His sister, Adare, Minister of Finance, encounters a religious conspiracy that may be behind her father’s
death. Brother Valyn is training to be a Kettral warrior when a series of “accidents” nearly kill him. Convinced he is next
on the hit list, he seeks the aid of his family. Will the children of the Emperor get to the bottom of this mystery, or will the
mystery consume them as it did their father?
Crime/Mystery
Horror!
Where Monsters Dwell by Jorgen Brekke (Minotaur
Books—available February 11, 2014) is the story of
two police investigators, Felicia Stone from Richmond,
Virginia, and Odd Singsaker from Trondheim, Norway.
In Virginia, the corpse of a flayed museum curator
is discovered. In Norway, the archivist of a library is
found murdered. Both murders seem to be somehow
connected, even though they are half a world away
from each other. A sixteenth-century journal of a serial
murderer in Norway is the link, a journal bound in
human skin. Can the two investigators find the truth
about the killings or will their investigations lead to them
become future victims?
The Phantom Lover and Other Thrilling Tales of
Thailand by Jim Algie (Tuttle Publishing—available
February 4, 2014) is a collection of horror stories
centered on the country of Thailand. A photojournalist
is haunted by every person he used to climb to the top
of his profession. An executioner explores deplorable
violence in order to find kindness. And a former drug
trafficker confronts an old partner in crime. These
characters will confront demons, both literal and
figurative, in their attempts to free themselves from the
trials that surround them. Add to it the lush background
of Thailand, and you have several tales of unique and
unsettling horror.
The Ascendant: A Thriller by Drew Chapman (Simon
& Schuster—available January 7, 2014) is the tale of
Garrett Reilly, a man with a knack for numbers. He sees
patterns that no one else can see. And when he notices
that two hundred billion dollars’ worth of US Treasury
bonds being sold off at a fantastic rate, he finds himself
the most wanted man alive. America is in danger from
a merciless enemy that no one can stop except Garrett
Reilly. But is Garrett strong enough and fortunate
enough to be able to get the job done, or will the enemy
take him down and with him, all of America?
The Summer Job by Adam Cesare (Samhain
Publishing—available January 7, 2014) features Claire,
an alternative girl looking for an alternative to the boring
world she lives in. She’s looking for a new job, a new
life, and a new way of being. She finds a summer job
at a hotel where she thinks she finds all the answers
to her needs, only to realize that the hotel has evil
motives. To top it off, she gets mixed up with a group
of local young people and runs afoul of a sinister cult.
Now the two worlds are colliding, and Claire must figure
out not only how to stay alive but also how to solve the
mystery of the hotel and the cult.
82 | www.BTSeMag.com