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Editorial Content for The Distance

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

There are echoes of Charles Cumming and John le Carre throughout THE DISTANCE, but it is not a spy or espionage novel per se. And the voice one hears throughout the book belongs only to Helen Giltrow, albeit channeled through the minds of the book’s two primary characters. Read More

Teaser

Charlotte Alton is an elegant socialite. But behind the locked doors of her sleek, high-security apartment in London's Docklands, she becomes Karla. She's the unseen figure who, for a commanding price, will cover a criminal's tracks. A perfectionist, she's only made one slip in her career --- several years ago, she revealed her face to a man named Simon Johanssen, an ex-special forces sniper turned killer-for-hire. Karla helped him disappear before deciding to retire her double life. Now, after a long absence, Johanssen has resurfaced with a job, and he needs Karla's help once again.

Promo

Charlotte Alton is an elegant socialite. But behind the locked doors of her sleek, high-security apartment in London's Docklands, she becomes Karla. She's the unseen figure who, for a commanding price, will cover a criminal's tracks. A perfectionist, she's only made one slip in her career --- several years ago, she revealed her face to a man named Simon Johanssen, an ex-special forces sniper turned killer-for-hire. Karla helped him disappear before deciding to retire her double life. Now, after a long absence, Johanssen has resurfaced with a job, and he needs Karla's help once again.

About the Book

A dark, ultra-contemporary, and relentlessly paced debut thriller about a London society woman trying to put her secret criminal past behind her, and the hit man who comes to her with an impossible job she can't refuse.

Charlotte Alton is an elegant socialite. But behind the locked doors of her sleek, high-security apartment in London's Docklands, she becomes Karla. Karla's business is information. Specifically, making it disappear. She's the unseen figure who, for a commanding price, will cover a criminal's tracks. A perfectionist, she's only made one slip in her career-several years ago she revealed her face to a man named Simon Johanssen, an ex-special forces sniper turned killer-for-hire. After a mob hit went horrifically wrong, Johanssen needed to disappear, and Karla helped him. He became a regular client, and then, one day, she stepped out of the shadows for reasons unclear to even herself. Now, after a long absence, Johanssen has resurfaced with a job, and he needs Karla's help again. The job is to take out an inmate-a woman-inside an experimental prison colony. But there's no record the target ever existed.

That's not the only problem: the criminal boss from whom Johanssen has been hiding is incarcerated there. That doesn't stop him. It's Karla's job to get him out alive, and to do that she must uncover the truth. Who is this woman? Who wants her dead? Is the job a trap for Johanssen or for her? But every door she opens is a false one, and she's getting desperate to protect a man-a killer-to whom she's inexplicably drawn.

Written in stylish, sophisticated prose, THE DISTANCE is a tense and satisfying debut in which every character, both criminal and law-abiding, wears two faces, and everyone is playing a double game.

Editorial Content for The Kennedy Connection: A Gil Malloy Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

THE KENNEDY CONNECTION is a surprise, to say the least. Veteran newspaper and television journalist R. G. Belsky returns to the mystery shelves after an extended absence with a new character in the form of Gil Malloy and a new novel in which all of the gears mesh together so nicely that what might have been a merely competent work becomes a title that deserves to be shortlisted for the year-end best-of lists. Yes, it is that good. Read More

Teaser

Half a century after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, someone is killing people on the streets of New York City and leaving behind a bizarre calling card of that tragic day in Dallas. Discredited newspaper reporter Gil Malloy breaks the story of the link between seemingly unconnected murders --- a Kennedy half dollar coin found at each of the crime scenes. At the same time, a man emerges who claims to be the secret son of Lee Harvey Oswald and says he has new evidence that Oswald was innocent of the JFK killing.

Promo

Half a century after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, someone is killing people on the streets of New York City and leaving behind a bizarre calling card of that tragic day in Dallas. Discredited newspaper reporter Gil Malloy breaks the story of the link between seemingly unconnected murders --- a Kennedy half dollar coin found at each of the crime scenes. At the same time, a man emerges who claims to be the secret son of Lee Harvey Oswald and says he has new evidence that Oswald was innocent of the JFK killing.

About the Book

Half a century after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, someone is killing people on the streets of New York City and leaving behind a bizarre calling card of that tragic day in Dallas.

In this bold and entertaining thriller from a true media insider, discredited newspaper reporter Gil Malloy breaks the story of the link between seemingly unconnected murders --- a Kennedy half dollar coin found at each of the crime scenes. At the same time, a man emerges who claims to be the secret son of Lee Harvey Oswald and says he has new evidence that Oswald was innocent of the JFK killing.

Malloy, who has fallen from grace at the New York Daily News and sees this as an opportunity to redeem himself as an ace reporter, is certain there is a connection between the Oswald revelations and the NYC murders, but first he has to get someone to believe him. Convinced that the answers go all the way back to the JFK assassination more than 50 years ago, Malloy soon uncovers long-buried secrets that put his own life in danger from powerful forces who fear he’s getting too close to the truth.

Two tales of suspense fuse into an edge-of-your-seat thriller as Malloy races to stop the killer --- before it’s too late.

Sounding Off on Audio

A Conversation with Wendy Corsi Staub

We kick off our "Sounding Off on Audio" feature with New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub, who answered our questions about her audiobook preferences --- and filled us in on her nifty Waterproof iPod Shuffle so she can listen to books as she swims. Many thanks to Wendy for taking time out of her busy schedule to help us launch this exciting new feature. (Click on the covers below if you would like to listen to a sample of the audiobook.)

Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire

September 2014

Elena Rudina lives in the impoverished Russian countryside with her mother, who is slowly dying in their tiny cabin. But then a train arrives in the village, carrying untold wealth, a cornucopia of food, and a noble family that includes Ekaterina, a girl of Elena’s age. When the two girls’ lives collide, an adventure is set in motion, an escapade that includes mistaken identity; a monk locked in a tower; a prince traveling incognito; and Baba Yaga, witch of Russian folklore, in her ambulatory house perched on chicken legs.

Positive: A Memoir by Paige Rawl

September 2014

Paige Rawl has been HIV positive since birth, but growing up, she never felt like her illness defined her. One day in middle school, she disclosed to a friend her HIV-positive status --- and within hours the bullying began. One night, desperate for escape, 15-year-old Paige found herself in her bathroom staring at a bottle of sleeping pills. That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning. Paige's memoir calls for readers to choose action over complacency, compassion over cruelty --- and, above all, to be Positive.

Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts

September 2014

“When I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the Loch Ness monster. Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics.” So says 17-year-old Zac Meier during a long, grueling leukemia treatment in Perth, Australia. A loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts him to the presence of Mia, the angry, not-at-all-stoic cancer patient in the room next door. Once released, the two near-strangers can’t forget each other, even as they desperately try to resume normal lives.

Beetle Boy by Margaret Willey

September 2014

When he was seven, Charlie Porter never intended to become the world's youngest published author. He just wanted his father to stop crying. So he told him a story about a talking beetle. But this tale not only made his father stop crying --- it made him start planning. The story became a book, and then it became school events and book festivals, a beetle costume, and a catchphrase: "I was born to write!" Now Charlie is 18, and the beetles still haunt his dreams. The childhood he never really had is about to end...but there's still a chance to have a story of his own.

Harold Nicolson

We are all inclined to judge ourselves by our ideals; others, by their acts.

Attribution

Harold Nicolson

Carl Jung

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

Attribution

Carl Jung