Mailbox Monday 3-2-09

It's time for this week's edition of Mailbox Monday! I received a tremondous NINE books this week! I have been having computer problems though, so am late posting this - so you will get 5 this week. These 5 I received as ARCs from different places. The other 4 were Prizes! (yes - I have had a good couple of weeks with winnings - I am expecting about 8-9 more in the mail from drawings!) So when I get some more of those - I will do a week of just prize winnings!

First up is The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. I could not find a cover picture on line - but I don't think you will be disappointed! I received this from William Morrow via Shelf Awareness. (Available in June 2009)

They have always been here. Vampires

Nesting and feeding.

In secret and in darkness. Waiting.

Now their time has come.

In one week, Manhattan will be gone.

In three months, the country. In six months--the world.

The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry I also received from Penquin via Shelf Awareness. (This book was available in February)

Unwin is inexplicably promoted to detective, a rank for which he lacks both the skills and the stomach. Thus begins The Manual of Detection, Jedediah Berry's "remarkably auspicious debut" (Booklist) which is, at once, a satisfying mystery and a boundary pushing literary feat.

What little Charles Unwin knows about solving mysteries comes from the reports he has filed for the illustrious detective Travis Sivart, who has suddenly gone missing. Aided by an able, if sleepy, new assistant and a copy of the singular Manual of Detection, Unwin sets out to find Sivart, assuming that with the detective back at his job, Unwin can go back to his old job. As he closes in on Sivart, dark forces draw close to him; he is framed for murder and his umbrella, which he always carries with him, seems no match for the gun-toting goons that chase him. As he dodges these threats, mind-benidng questions proliferate: Why does the mummy at the Municipal Museum have modern-day dental work? Where have all the city's alarm clocks gone? Why is Unwin's copy of the Manual missing Chapter 18? And will it ever stop raining?

Unwin soon realizes that the greatest of Sivart's cases - including "The Three Deaths of Colonel Baker" and "The Man who Stole November 12th" - were, in fact, never solved correctly. He tackles puzzles that have eluded even the legendary Sivart by entering dreams - his own and other people's - where he finds all those missing alarm clocks and a criminal mastermind bent on total control of a slumbering city.

10 Things I Hate About Christianity: Working Through the Frustrations of Faith by Jason T. Berggren was received from Audra at The B&B Media Group (Thanks Audra!)

My dad never let me use the word hate. He said it sounded too violent. But it was often the only accurate description of how I felt. Part of me understood, but another part of me rebelled.

We can all feel hate. Even in the good, productive, and meaningful aspects of life, there's frequently a level of frustration that overwhelms us when we are faced with trying to achieve certain goals - like getting in shape, making the grade, or straightening out our finances.

This is where I got stuck in my spirituality. Within these pages are the 10 things I've hated about Christianity over the years and how I've worked through my frustrations. I call it the intersection of real life, simple faith, and raw emotion.

Maybe you'll see yourself here too.

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier was received from Danielle at Sourcebooks. (Thanks Danielle!) They are bringing back this classic author with this book and also My Cousin Rachel. (I think these will be available this month)

Frenchman's Creek is the adventurous tale of Lady Dona St. Columb, who revolts from English society to the countryside, only to find her husband's estate has been secretly used as the hiding place of notorious pirate, Jean-Benoit Aubery. Instantly Lady Dona realizes he's not a rakish rogue, but an educated man -- one that she falls in love with and follows out to sea. However, when Lord St. Columb hears news of a pirate attack, he comes to his estate to aid his wife. . .

Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione, I received from Renee at Hachette Books. (Thanks Renee!) (This was available in February)

Pleasure is their ultimate weapon. ..

Runa Wagner never meant to fall in love with the sexy stranger who seemed to know her every deepest desire. But she couldn't resist the unbelievable passion that burned between them, a passion that died when she discovered his betrayal and found herself forever changed. Now, determined to make Shade pay for the transformation that haunts her, Runa searches for him, only to be taken prisoner by his darkest enemy.

A Seminus Demon with a love-curse that threatens him with eternal torment, Shade hoped he'd seen the last of Runa and her irresistible charm. But when he wakes up in a dank dungeon chained next to an enraged and mysteriously powerful Runa, he realizes that her effect on him is more dangerous than ever. As their captor casts a spell that bonds them as lifemates, Shade and Runa must fight for their lives and their hearts - - or succumb to madman's evil plans.

Visit Mailbox Mondays over at The Printed Page and see what everyone else received!

(All descriptions are from book covers or publicity sent with the books.)