In My Mailbox (Just Received) August 15, 2011

Hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, In My Mailbox is a weekly meme for us bookaholics to share our recent treasures, whether received by mail, borrowed or purchased; and to drool over others.  Do you have your wish lists handy?

So, Monday started the week off like Christmas!  It was, however, the only day I received any books in the mail.

Only Time Will Tell

by Jeffrey Archer

(complimentary copy provided by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review)

Review coming by month's end.  See contest here for a chance to win one of two copies being offered by the publisher, St. Martin's Press.

"From the internationally bestselling author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes Only Time Will Tell, the first in an ambitious new series that tells the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph.

The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words “I was told that my father was killed in the war.” A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he’s left school. But then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, and his life will never be the same again.

As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?

This introductory novel in Archer’s ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler’s Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined."

The Reservoir

by John Milliken Thompson

(Thank you to BiblioSue.  I won this book on her blog)

"On an early spring morning in Richmond, Virginia, in the year 1885, a young pregnant woman is found floating in the city reservoir. It appears that she has committed suicide, but there are curious clues at the scene that suggest foul play. The case attracts local attention, and an eccentric group of men collaborate to solve the crime. Detective Jack Wren lurks in the shadows, weaseling his way into the investigation and intimidating witnesses. Policeman Daniel Cincinnatus Richardson, on the brink of retirement, catches the case and relentlessly pursues it to its sorrowful conclusion. As the identity of the girl, Lillie, is revealed, her dark family history comes to light, and the investigation focuses on her tumultuous affair with Tommie Cluverius.

Tommie, an ambitious young lawyer, is the pride and joy of his family and the polar opposite of his brother Willie, a quiet, humble farmer. Though both men loved Lillie, it’s Tommie’s reckless affair that thrusts his family into the spotlight. With Lillie dead, Willie must decide how far to trust Tommie, and whether he ever understood him at all. Told through accumulating revelations, Tommie’s story finally ends in a riveting courtroom climax with a shocking conclusion."

- Based on a true story-

The First Gardener

by Denise Hildreth Jones

( I received this copy from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review)

"Jeremiah Williams has been tending those gardens for over twenty-five years.  And like most first families who have come and gone, this one has stolen his heart.

Mackenzie and her husband, Governor Gray London, are enjoying a sweet season of life when a tragedy tears their world apart.  As the entire state mourns, Mackenzie falls into a grief that threatens to swallow her whole.

Though his heart is also broken, Jeremiah realizes that his gift of gardening is about far more than pulling weeds and planting flowers.  It's about tending hearts as well.  So he gently begins to cultivate the hard soil of Mackenzie's heart, hoping to show her what it took him decades to discover.

A Southern tale of loss, love, and living.  The First Gardener reminds us that all of life is a gift, but our heart is the most valuable gift of all."

Uncaged

by Paul McKellips

(This novel/thriller was provided by the author and Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest review)

"In this thrill-a-minute read, high-tech science clashes with a question of ethics, leaving the human race on the brink of certain disaster.  A deadly virus has not only been unleashed, it's been UNCAGED.

When a series of attacks on animal researchers leave several people dead - and questions of a fanatical group rise - the government takes control.  With the president leading the way, an immediate ban on animal testing is issued.  And that's when the real trouble begins.

Caught up in a sudden web of intrigue and suspicion, Commander "Camp" Campbell, a man decorated for his bravery in Iraq and Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Raines, a woman whose dedication to country is legendary, find themselves trying to thwart the government's dangerous stance.  Banished overseas, Camp knows he's the fall guy for a bigger conspiracy, one he's determined to uncover.

As a deadly plague sweeps across the country, Camp and Raines battle an unseen enemy, all the while wondering if concepts like valor and loyalty hold meaning anymore.  Fast-paced, unrelenting, UNCAGED poses a real-life "what if" scenario that will leave you breathless."

A Cadger's Curse

by Diane Gilbert Madsen

(I received this autographed copy from the author and Lissy Peace & Associates in exchange for an honest review)

This is the first in a series starring DD McGill.  I reviewed the second in the series, Hunting for Hemingway, and asked for a copy of the first.  Here's my review for Hunting for Hemingway

"Who’d have guessed that running employee background checks at the HI-Data Corporation would make DD McGil the target of a ruthless killer?

For DD, a thirty-something English professor turned investigator, the routine job should have been a welcome distraction from her fiancé’s death and her eccentric Aunt Elizabeth’s quest to authenticate an unlikely literary treasure—a Robert Burns text worth millions if proven genuine.

Relying on her own moxie (bolstered by the occasional shot of Glenlivet), her sexy lover, and the fact-finding acumen of her antiquarian bookseller friend, DD races to find out who’s behind the high-tech treachery at HI-Data before it’s too late." 

A Colony of Eves

by Larry Kaplan

(I received this copy from Lissy Peace & Associates in exchange for an honest review)

"The first victims are found in the Amazon Rainforest.  Their discovery leads to a frightening conclusion.  Hidden within our own DNA is a time-clock, set to put an end to human existence.  Mankind is running out of time.  But Oksana Kuznetsky's rare bloodline may possess the antidote to human extinction.

A recent Russian immigrant struggling to make a life in her new American home, Oksana is kidnapped by a shadowy organization with plans to control the future of the human race.  Oksana's young son, Mikhail, stumbles upon the plot and embarks upon a perilous quest to save his mother.  Along the way, he is joined by a remarkable collection of characters dedicated to the task of finding Oksana.  Equal parts thriller, family drama and love story, A Colony of Eves will take you on a suspenseful journey you won't soon forget."

***

What did you receive, borrow or purchase last week?  Please share in your comments a link to your IMM post or answer here if you don't have a blog.  I love to see what everyone's reading out there!