The Salinger Contract by Adam Langer

The Salinger Contract by Adam Langer

Original title: The Salinger Contract
ISBN: 1453297944 (ISBN13: 9781453297940)
Edition language: English
Book formats: Kindle, Nook book, Paperback
Publishing date: September 13th, 2013
Purchase links: Amazon , Barnes & Noble

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Amazon book blurp: An enthralling literary mystery that connects some of the world’s most famous authors—from Norman Mailer and Truman Capote to B. Traven and J. D. Salinger—to a sinister collector in Chicago

Adam Langer, the narrator of this deft and wide-ranging novel by the author of the same name, tells the intertwining tales of two writers navigating a plot neither one of them could have ever imagined. There may be no other escape than to write their way out of it.

Adam is a writer and stay-at-home dad in Bloomington, Indiana, drawn into an uneasy friendship with the charismatic and bestselling thriller author Conner Joyce. Conner is having trouble writing his next book, and when a menacing stranger approaches him with an odd—and lucrative—proposal, events quickly begin to spiral out of control.

A novel of literary crimes and misdemeanors, The Salinger Contract will delight anyone who loves a fast-paced story told with humor, wit, and intrigue.

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REVIEW When an author can climb into my head and read my thoughts, knows what I want, from the get go, the book will be ravished, giving up everything near and dear to make it a one-sitting experience. This book was one of those.

The book is an experienced view of the current publishing world - the plummeting book sales, the blogging phenomenon, the influence of online reviews being often less forgiving than the printed versions, the wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. This book combines it all in a riveting tale of people connected to this world in various ways. From a sinister book collector, to down-and-out authors desperate to get their books published and sold. Throw in a murder or two and the plots gets thicker and thicker. The ending is down-right gob-smacking, hitting the reader where it counts!

Two ingenious tales are snaked through the narrative, involving two authors with both their families being trapped in an existential panic. They are basically honest people pushed to their limits forced to make choices they wouldn't have made under ordinary circumstances.

Books can safe or destroy lives.

Sometimes in fiction you had to mute reality in order to make it seem more believable.

Five flashing stars for this brilliant story! There is not a single dull moment anywhere in this book. I could not stop reading it until it was all finished. I am definitely an Adam Langer fan after reading this book.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam Langer is a journalist, author, playwright and filmmaker.

His work have been featured by: NPR's Selected Shorts, in The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2000, and The Best Women's Stage Monologues 2000, Chicago Reader's Fiction Issue, literary magazine Salt Hill, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Mother Jones, the Chicago Tribune, Men's Journal and Rolling Stone. .
Other work from this author: 
Writer and director of the film The Blank Page 
Novels: Crossing California, Ellington Boulevard, The Washington Story, The Thieves of Manhattan 
Nonfiction reference books: CitySmart Guide to Chicago, Film Festival Guide, The Madness of Art .
Memoir: My Father's Bonus March. 
Plays: various, including Coaster 
Feature writer and theater critic for the Chicago Reader 

Langer holds a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.A. from the University of Illinois. He was a playwright-in-residence at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and was a winner of a National Arts Journalism fellowship at Columbia University (2000-2001). He has lectured on writing and journalism at Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia College, and Pace University. He has been a frequent radio and television guest in Chicago and New York and has been featured on such stations as WGN-TV, CNN Headline News, Fox News, E! Entertainment Network, and National Public Radio, among others.

He lives in New York City

The Body on the T - A Windston Windflower mystery 2 - by Mike Martin

Genres: Crime drama, murder mystery, family, community
Formats: Paperback( 277 pages), Kindle
Published: April 1st 2013 by Baico Publishing
Edition language: English
ISBN 978-1-926945-45-5
Purchase link: Amazon


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AMAZON BOOK BLURB The Body on the T is the second book in the Windflower mystery series and it follows up on the highly acclaimed premiere, The Walker on the Cape. The story begins when a body washes up on a beach near Grand Bank, Newfoundland. There is no identification on the body and few clues to identify who the person was or where they came from. The case becomes the responsibility of Sgt. Winston Windflower of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his trusted side-kick, Corporal Eddie Tizzard.

But this is just the beginning. There is also a devastating accident on the highway and another suspicious death to deal with. Throw in a rogue police officer and an international drug ring operating in the waters off the coast and Windflower’s peaceful world is turned upside down. This time Windflower’s adventures take him to the scenic town of Burin where Captain Cook once patrolled the waters looking for French mercenaries. And to historic St. John’s where he faces down an armed suspect on a parking garage rooftop in the midst of a busy downtown evening.

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REVIEW It's brainy and brawny; a cod drill on the grill

Grand Bank, southeast coast of Newfoundland Canada. This is the little part of heaven where RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower, his girlfriend, Sheila Hillier, his sidekick , the incessant chattering Corporal Eddie Tizzard and his other interesting friends get to spend a quiet uncomplicated life.

Their days are filled with culinary delights, chess- and card games and generally as little trouble as possible. But that was before a body is discovered on the T and a fortune cookie promises him exciting times ahead. With the cod fish industry going belly up, a few people in town have to find other ways of keeping the peanut-butter cheesecake affordable and on the menu for many, and their conduct promises to give a totally different meaning to the concept of exciting times...

For some people, trouble is their comfort zone, and where there aren't any, they create it in any which way they can. After all, a little bit more trouble can bring a little bit more monetary cushioning in their lives. They are a bunch of characters that would stir the pot considerably for Winston Windlfower: people such as Claude Lapierre; Roger Buffet; and Ernie Daley, the slime bucket, who does not mind the "hoccupational azzards" his aspirations would incur; and the mayor, Francis Tibbo, waddling in on the action, sputtering "What is going on in this community, Sergeant? Dead bodies being found by children as they play on the beach? A well-known community member dragged out of the water? People want answers, I want answers!" His attempt at righteous indignation came across as shrill and fatuous. Francis Fatuous. It fits indeed.

From then on, not only the cod tongues gets steamed up, or fried, with scallops on the side, dished out with a rosé sauce made of tomatoes, fresh, cream, black pepper, onions, and some Parmesan cheese. Like the cod and vegetables forming a scrumptious community on the plate, the people of Grand Banks are in for a serious drill on the grill of bad intentions and good guys stepping in to save the day in a thrilling adventure along the beautiful coast lines of Newfoundland. Nothing will ever be the same.

Like the sauce, the story promises to be just as tart and tangy. Exhilaration and drama drives this easy, decent read. It is a fast read, yet slow enough to include a complete image of life in Grand Bank Newfoundland. The detailed scenery, the history, dialects, recipes and many more information in the plot- building ensure that this is undoubtedly a feel-good read.

I recommend this book to the reader who enjoys a good story that would not spread gut and gore all over the ocean floor. It is clean, fresh and perfectly spiced.

Reviewed as member of the Kindle Book Review Team

BOOKS IN THE SERIES
Walker On The Cape - a Winston Windflower Mystery #1
The Body On The T -   a Winston Windflower Mystery #2
Beneath the Surface - a Winston Windflower Mystery #3

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Mike is a longtime freelance writer. The Walker on the Cape is the first book in the Winston Windflower mystery series. The Body on the T is the second.