Three New Books for Spring

Okay, I'll start by saying that none of these books is a particularly cheery read...So if you're reading this post because you wanted New Books For Spring to mean sunny bunny books, you can stop reading now. It was simply that three recent books--published just weeks or months ago--inspired me to put together a short list of "must reads" for Spring. In no particular order, here they are:
Little Girl Gone by Drusilla Campbell. The taut, concise read shows what a master of prose Campbell is--she gives us a young woman courageously questioning her life choices, an even younger boy embroiled but not paralyzed by grief, and a supporting cast of characters that run the gamut of motive and type. Amazingly, these people are all fully realized on the pages, as are her Southern California settings...if you live, or have lived in San Diego, you'll find it even more intriguing, but either way, you won't want to put it down. Check out her site here.
Black and White, by Wes Albers, is also set in San Diego, and also explores a modern exploration of the human condition, but there the resemblance ends. This book is a no-hold-barred tale of life and work (often the same thing) on the streets for a "regular cop" driving a black-and-white patrol car.  The title has at least one other meaning but I'll leave that to you to discover. Wes Albers, a veteran cop himself, writes like you know they talk--even if you don't know. The story of this man's inner life colliding with his hard-won persona really hit home for me. Black and White is available from booksellers, and on Amazon--and the Kindle edition is, at the time of this writing, available for only ninety-nine cents!
And, last but definitely not least, Tincture of Time, by John Rosenberg...This book will keep you up nights, if you are silly enough to start reading it in bed...But it would be equally compelling by the pool or at the beach. If you like stories with exotic settings, passionate and obsessed people, and wildly fantastic but somehow believable events, you'll love Tincture of Time.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have to say I was involved with this book from early on--I heard John give an superb pitch for this book (a medical thriller set in Brazil) in a pitch class I was giving at SCWC a few years ago, and immediately wanted to read it. I introduced him to an agent friend and the usual circuitous path to publication followed...The book is out now, though not yet available on Kindle, and I highly recommend it.
hasta pronto!