Day: February 1, 2021

New book release: ‘Spin’ by Patricia Cornwell

‘Spin’ is the new Patricia Cornwell Captain Chase novel. Photo: amazon

Patricia Cornwell is an author whose first novel, “Postmortem,” went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Her Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development. Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil. Her new thriller, “Spin,” is book two of the Captain Chase series and has her racing against time to stop a plot that leaves the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. (amazon, 2021)

In “Spin,” in the aftermath of a NASA rocket launch gone terribly wrong, Captain Calli Chase comes face-to-face with her missing twin sister and the startling truth of who they really are. A top-secret program put in motion years ago has spun out of control and only Calli can redirect its course. Aided by cutting-edge technologies, the NASA investigator and scientist turned Space Force pilot sets out on a frantic search for the missing link between the sabotaged rocket launch and her predetermined destiny – a search that someone else seems extremely interested in stopping. From NASA to the Chase family farm, to the White House to distant orbits of space, Calli plays a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek with a cunning and ruthless adversary. One wrong move will unleash cataclysmic consequences reaching far beyond the boundaries of Earth.

Upcoming book release: ‘A Bright Ray of Darkness’ by Ethan Hawke

‘A Bright Ray of Darkness’ by Ethan Hawke will be out on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. Photo: amazon.

A four-time Academy Award nominee, twice for writing and twice for acting, Ethan Hawke has starred in the films Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Gattaca, and Training Day, as well as Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise trilogy and Boyhood. He is the author of “Rules for a Knight,” “The Hottest State,” and “Ash Wednesday.” His new book, “A Bright Ray of Darkness: A novel,” which will be released on Tuesday, February 2, is the blistering story of a young man making his Broadway debut in Henry IV just as his marriage implodes—an utterly transfixing book about art and love, fame, and heartbreak from the acclaimed actor/writer/director. (amazon, 2021)

“A Bright Ray of Darkness” is Hawke’s first novel in nearly twenty years and is a bracing meditation on fame and celebrity, and the redemptive, healing power of art. It is a portrait of the ravages of disappointment and divorce; a poignant consideration of the rites of fatherhood and manhood; a novel soaked in rage and sex, longing and despair; and a passionate love letter to the world of theater. Read an excerpt here.

The narrator is a young man in torment, disgusted with himself after the collapse of his marriage and still half-hoping for a reconciliation that would allow him to forgive himself and move on. What saves him is theater: in particular, the challenge of performing the role of Hotspur in a production of Henry IV under the leadership of a brilliant director, helmed by one of the most electrifying–and narcissistic–Falstaff’s of all time. Searing and raw, “A Bright Ray of Darkness” is a novel about shame, beauty, and faith as well and the moral power of art.