Diana Renn. TOKYO HEIST

Violet is staying with her artist father when her dream of visiting Japan comes true. Her father has been commissioned to paint a mural in the Japan office building of a prominent Yamada family.

A mystery begins in Seattle when a few Van Gogh sketches are stolen from the Yamada's Seattle mansion.  It continues in Japan and involves a ransom note, Japanese gangsters and an unexplained suicide.

TOKYO HEIST packs art, action, anime and Japanese culture into an intriguing mystery. It's brimming with lively characters and an engaging plot that will keep you reading long into the night.

I really adore this book! Violet is a smart and interesting character. She draws manga, so she has an artist perspective, like her father. The author has brilliantly integrated a mini manga story drawn by Violet into the the plot. It doesn't take over. It's just the right amount to make it intriguing.

Also, I love the way the author has sprinkled Japanese culture and vocabulary throughout the book. It fits nicely, without being too much for the reader to comprehend.

Overall, this is brilliant novel with lots of energy and excitement. I'm shocked to see that this is the Diana Renn's first book! I eagerly await her next one.

Find out more about the author at her amazing website here. And check out the trailer below:

Celebrating Banned Books Week with a Forbidden display!

Don't forget to browse our Banned Books Week Display.

 (You're free to check out any of the banned books!)

For more information about Banned Books Week, click below the graphic:

Banned Books Week | Celebrating the Freedom to Read: Sept. 30 - Oct. 6, 2012 via kwout

2013 Montgomery County Book Festival

Big news about the Montgomery County Book Festival! The location has changed from College Park High School to Lone Star College, which means we have more room to have more events and authors! We will have approximately 40 authors! Stay tuned by visiting our blog. We'll be announcing the author lineup beginning today. Every few days, more authors will be announced. We'll also post interviews with the authors. Stay tuned!

Harlan Coben. SECONDS AWAY

SECONDS AWAY is the sequel to SHELTER, Harlan Coben's new YA series. I loved Shelter, so I was eager to dig into this one. I read it only a few days, which is saying a lot. My schedule right now is very tight, so to be able to knock this one out so quickly shows just how awesome it is!

The story picks up right where it left off. Literally. Mickey is standing in the Bat Lady’s house listening to her story about a photograph of a Nazi torturer who looks strikingly similar to the paramedic who rescued him a few years ago. In other words, the man who took away his father. But that would make this man about 85 years old. Surely, he’s not the same man.

Not only do we have the continuing mystery surrounding the death of Mickey’s father, but we have a new juicy mystery for this installment. Mickey is on the telephone with Rachel moments before shots are fired in her home. Who could be after her? Is she keeping secrets from him? He begins to question whether she has a hidden agenda for befriending him.

This mystery series had seemed so innocent and simple when I first picked up SHELTER, but it sneaks up on you, grabs you and won't let go until you finish! I had a few more late nights with the sequel, and I’m looking forward to even more when the next book comes out!

Click here for the series website.
Check out the trailer below! SECONDS AWAY comes out on September 18th.

New Nook Books!

We have several new selections for the Nooks (including the highly anticipated sequel to Unwind - Unwholly!). Click here to see the full list of titles and to download the permission form. The newest titles are in the slideshow: