2019 has been a busy year for me – mostly work-wise, and I’ve been taking care of myself. Luckily, I’ve also been given the opportunity to read and review some amazing books this year. It’s been my pleasure to review some really great books this year, such as The Fall, A Memory Called Empire, Infinite Powers, Seven Blades in Black, and The Triangle from Serial Box.
I have some really great books on my immediate to be read pile. Below is a list in no certain order of books that will make their way up on the blog. Thanks to the publishers for the advanced copies. I appreciate the opportunity to review these books.
Currently Reading
The Moscow Rules
by Antonio J. Mendez & Jonna Mendez
I’m over halfway through this interesting look at some of the CIA’s operational methods during the Cold War. I should finish this week and have a review up soon. The Moscow Rules will be available from Public Affairs Books on May 21st.
From the spymaster and inspiration for the movie Argo: how a group of brilliant but under-supported CIA operatives developed breakthrough spy tactics that helped turn the tide of the Cold War
Antonio Mendez and his future wife Jonna were CIA operatives working to spy on Moscow in the late 1970s, at one of the most dangerous moments in the Cold War. Soviets kept files on all foreigners, studied their patterns, tapped their phones, and even planted listening devices within the US Embassy. In short, intelligence work was effectively impossible. The Soviet threat loomed larger than ever.
The Moscow Rules tells the story of the intelligence breakthroughs that turned the odds in America’s favor. As experts in disguise, Antonio and Jonna were instrumental in creating and honing a series of tactics that allowed officers to finally get one step ahead of the KGB. These techniques included everything from elaborate, Hollywood-inspired identity swaps, to deception or evasion techniques, to more mundane document forgery. With these new guidelines in place, and with an armory of new gadgets perfected by the Office of Technical Services including miniature cameras, suitcase release body doubles, and wall rappelling mechanisms, the CIA managed to gain a foothold in Moscow and pull off some of the greatest intelligence operations in the history of espionage.
Upcoming Books
The Delirium Brief
The Atrocity Archives was a great book, and I’m a fan of Charles Stross’s Antipope blog. Even though this is the eighth book in the Laundry Files series, I’m jumping ahead. Why? Because this is the book I own. The Delirium Brief is out now from Tor Books.
Someone is dead set to air the spy agency’s dirty laundry in The Delirium Brief, the next installment to Charles Stross’ Hugo Award-winning comedic dark fantasy Laundry Files series!
Bob Howard’s career in the Laundry, the secret British government agency dedicated to protecting the world from unspeakable horrors from beyond spacetime, has entailed high combat, brilliant hacking, ancient magic, and combat with indescribably repellent creatures of pure evil. It has also involved a wearying amount of paperwork and office politics, and his expense reports are still a mess.
Now, following the invasion of Yorkshire by the Host of Air and Darkness, the Laundry’s existence has become public, and Bob is being trotted out on TV to answer pointed questions about elven asylum seekers. What neither Bob nor his managers have foreseen is that their organization has earned the attention of a horror far more terrifying than any demon: a British government looking for public services to privatize.
Inch by inch, Bob Howard and his managers are forced to consider the truly unthinkable: a coup against the British government itself.
The Hound of Justice
Last year’s A Study in Honor won me over with simply the cover. Everything inside the covers surpassed all my expectations, and The Hound of Justice topped my 2019 anticipating list. And I really like this cover. I have high expectations for this book and am sure that’ll once again be a page-turner. The Hound of Justice will be available July 30, 2019 from Harper Voyager.
Dr. Janet Watson and covert agent Sara Holmes, introduced in the acclaimed A Study in Honor, continue their dangerous investigation into the new American Civil War with the help of fresh allies, advanced technology, and brilliant deduction in this superb reimagining of Sherlock Holmes.
It’s been two months since Dr. Janet Watson accepted an offer from Georgetown University Hospital. The training for her new high-tech arm is taking longer than expected, however, leaving her in limbo. Meanwhile, her brilliant friend and compatriot, Sara Holmes, has been placed on leave–punishment for going rogue during their previous adventure.
After an extremist faction called the Brotherhood of Redemption launched a failed assassination attempt on the president that caused mass destruction, Holmes, who is now operating in the shadows, takes on the task of investigating the Brotherhood. Holmes is making progress when she abruptly disappears.
When Watson receives a mysterious message from Holmes’s cousin Micha that indicates that Sara Holmes’ disappearance might be connected to the Brotherhood and to Adler Industries, Watson and Micha go on a high-stakes mission to reunite with Holmes once more.
Together, Watson, Holmes and Micha embark on a thrilling, action-packed journey through the deep South to clear Holmes’s name, thwart the Brotherhood’s next move, and most important, bring their nemesis to justice for the atrocities she’s committed in the New Civil War.
How to Be an Antiracist
Stamped from the Beginning sits on my unscheduled To Be Read pile. It’s award winning history, and when I saw the opportunity to review this new work from Kendi, I couldn’t pass up the chance. I have so much to learn, and this opportunity looks like an excellent chance to improve myself. Random House is publishing How to Be an Antiracist on August 20, 2019.
From the National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a bracingly original approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society—and in ourselves.
“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.”
Ibram X. Kendi’s concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America—but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.
In this book, Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science, bringing it all together with an engaging personal narrative of his own awakening to antiracism. How to Be an Antiracist is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society.
Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered
by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I’ve not heard of this podcast or either women, but I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons. Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered will be published on May 28, 2019 from Macmillan.
The highly anticipated first book by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, the voices behind the #1 hit podcast My Favorite Murder!
Sharing never-before-heard stories ranging from their struggles with depression, eating disorders, and addiction, Karen and Georgia irreverently recount their biggest mistakes and deepest fears, reflecting on the formative life events that shaped them into two of the most followed voices in the nation.
In Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered, Karen and Georgia focus on the importance of self-advocating and valuing personal safety over being ‘nice’ or ‘helpful.’ They delve into their own pasts, true crime stories, and beyond to discuss meaningful cultural and societal issues with fierce empathy and unapologetic frankness.
Let me know in the comments what’s on your to be read pile!