Even in an age where readers can go online and have a computer tell them which books they might like based on their previous purchases, here at ARLA headquarters we feel that the most meaningful recommendations still come from local independent booksellers, which is why we’re so pleased to share their astonishing praise for LIVE BY NIGHT!

Ellen Meeropol of the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, MA, says, “Another sharp and edgy novel from Lehane, set at the dark edges of business as usual in the unsettled decades after The Given Day, this is crisp writing with moments of surprising tenderness. Above all, Dennis Lehane can really tell a story.”

“Dennis Lehane continues his brilliant chronicle of 20th century America with a powerful story set in the Prohibition era. What sets him apart is not just the strong plot and characters, but an ability to perfectly evoke the society of the time for foreshadowing his society of the future, “says Bill Cusumano of Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor, MI. 

Jerry Brown of The Bookstore in Radcliff, KY, calls LIVE BY NIGHT “an enduring epic saga full of wonderful bad guys and femme fatales worthy of being compared to The Godfather.”

“There’s a certain drive and freshness to Lehane’s work,” says Dana Schulz of Snowbound Books in Marquette, MI. “He challenges himself to explore new territory and I, for one, will happily follow him anywhere.”

Nancy McFarlane of Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC, calls the book an “unforgettable, beautifully written story. The story of Joe’s life is an epic tale of love, friendship, loyalty and redemption even in a world of betrayal, violence, and revenge.”

“A stunning achievement,” declares Cody Morrison Square Books in Oxford, MS. ”I can’t wait for the book to come out and have the pleasure of putting it into readers’ hands. I may even have to read this one again when it is published this fall.” 

More quotes from many other admirers are here!

With so many booksellers across the country so excited to share LIVE BY NIGHT with their customers, we hope you’ll do them the pleasure of buying a copy from your favorite independent bookstore in October!

More details on Shelf Awareness. 

Critics have been calling FORCE OF NATURE C.J. Box’s best Joe Pickett novel yet. It looks like readers agree because it debuted at #3 on both The New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists!

Hear what reviewers are saying after the jump!

The San Jose Mercury News says, “C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett novels have always been enjoyable, but Box has been getting better as a writer as he goes along, and Force of Nature is perhaps the best in the series. It’s the 12th Pickett book and the 15th Box novel overall, and Box’s writing has gotten stronger and more solid he has evolved. It’s nice to see an author continuing to work at his craft, and not just coast along for the royalties.”

Bookreporter calls C.J. Box “one of those few authors whose work from book to book is reliably brilliant” and promises, “For those who have never encountered Box’s work, his latest effort will be an experience never to be forgotten.”

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune calls the Joe Pickett novels an “outstanding wilderness noir series,” while the Cleveland Plain Dealer says that “Joe, one of mystery’s most likeable and real good guys, is Nate’s perfect friend and counterpoint.”

“One never knows what might happen when a writer lets his inner imp out of the bottle. C.J. Box does just that with Force of Nature, an excellent wilderness adventure,” declares The New York Times Sunday Book Review. 

Wonder why Box finally decided to give Nate Romanowski center stage in this novel? Check out his interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Want to know how he comes up with characters’ names? He spills his secret to Examiner.com. 

It’s the first day of spring, which usually brings things like rainstorms, floods, and mudslides. While things have been unusually mild this year, today’s forecast calls for a serious force of nature to hit all across the country! Of course, we’re talking about C.J. Box’s new novel, FORCE OF NATURE, which comes out today!

Look after the jump for some great reviews and a list of all of the stops on his book tour!

The New York Times Book Review praises Box’s “violent, bloody, quite satisfying thriller set in the Bighorn mountains of Wyoming,” calling it an “excellent wilderness adventure.”

The San Francisco Chronicle declares FORCE OF NATURE to be “another amazing thriller from C.J. Box” and predicts that his “readership will only increase with his latest page turner.”

“Force of Nature proceeds at warp speed toward a showdown between good and evil,” says the Denver Post. “Box fans will not be disappointed by this latest Joe Pickett adventure.”

We think the Providence Journal puts it best: “Force of Nature is, simply stated, brilliant in every respect.” The reviewer goes on to say, “Box is a force to be reckoned with and his Force of Nature is not to be missed,” and we couldn’t agree more!

You also don’t want to miss C.J. Box on tour! Look below to see if he’ll stop in your town!

Tuesday, March 20 at 1pm
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
2111 Willett Drive
Laramie, WY

Tuesday, March 20 at 6:30pm
Barnes & Noble
1851 Dell Range Boulevard
Cheynne, WY

Wednesday, March 21 at 7:30pm
Tattered Cover
1628 16th Street
Denver, CO

Thursday, March 22 at 6:30pm
Murder by the Book
2342 Bissonnet Street
Houston, TX

Friday, March 23 at 3pm
Palm Ridge Recreation Center
R.H. Johnson Library
13800 W. Deer Valley Drive
Sun City West, AZ

Friday, March 23 at 7pm
Poisoned Pen
4014 N. Goldwater Boulevard, Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ

Saturday, March 24 at 3pm
Belmont Library
1110 Alameda De Las Pulgas
Belmont, CA

Sunday, March 25 at 2pm
Book Carnival
348 S. Tustin Avenue
Orange, CA

Sunday, March 25 at 5pm
Mysteries to Die For
2940 Thousand Oaks Boulevard
Thousand Oaks, CA

Monday, March 26 at 7:30pm
Mysterious Galaxy
2810 Artesia Boulevard
Redondo Beach, CA

Tuesday, March 27 at 7pm
In Conversation with T. Jefferson Parker
Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA

Wednesday, March 28 at 7pm
Once Upon a Crime
604 W. 26th Street
Minneapolis, MN

Friday, March 30 — Tuesday, April 4
Quais du Polar festival
Lyon, France

Wednesday, April 4 at 7pm
Barnes & Noble
7700 West Northwest Highway
Dallas, TX

Thursday, April 5 at 7pm
St. Louis County Library
1640 S. Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, MO

Friday, April 6 at 7pm
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
161 Lexington Green Circle
Lexington, KY

Saturday, April 7 at 3pm
Murder by the Book
1705 S. Pearl Street
Denver, CO

Saturday, April 7 at 6:30pm
High Crimes
927 Main Street
Longmont, CO

Monday, April 9 at 4:30pm
Tomcats Learning Bookstore
4120 S. Poplar
Sunrise Shopping Center
Casper, WY

Tuesday, April 10 at 5pm
Sheridan Stationery & Books
206 N. Main
Sheridan, WY

Wednesday, April 11 at 7pm
Barnes & Noble
530 S. 24th Street West
Billings, MT

Saturday, April 14 at 7pm
One City, One Book featuring Blue Heaven
Yorba Linda Library
18181 Imperial Highway
Yorba Linda, CA

Saturday, April 21 at 7pm
Wyoming Game Wardens Association
Hilton Garden Inn
Laramie, WY

Tuesday, April 24 at 7pm
New Castle Branch of the Garfield County Library
820 Castle Valley Boulevard
New Castle, CO

Sunday, May 20 at 4pm
Books in Bloom
Eureka Springs, AR

Thursday, June 14
event time and place to be announced
Eaton, CO

Saturday, September 8 at 7pm
Omaha Public Library
Omaha, NE

Check his website for updates!

LitStack says:

Collins’ expertise writing flash fiction and short fiction shine through in her novel. Her prose is lean and precise, creating dramatic tension and emotional intensity without unnecessary embellishment. Her style is also very readable, so much so, that you might miss some of the loveliness of her language if you aren’t paying careful attention.

Echolocation will appeal to readers who are drawn to stories that explore humanity in all of its facets, the good and the bad, and that consider the rocky road to redemption. Fans of literary short fiction and flash fiction will especially appreciate Collins’ tightly crafted writing and suspenseful style.

More praise from Necessary Fiction:

Echolocation is a slim novel, elegantly written and carefully scripted. Collins has a knack for placing her characters in settings and situations that reflect their quiet feelings of emotional displacement. All of this makes it easy to call this a “beautiful novel.” And yet, it would be fair to say that Collins does not make it easy for her readers to feel comfortable with the arc of the story. Echolocation is not a straightforward tale of sorrow transformed or redemption found. The book involves serious violence—acts, both suffered and perpetrated, that do not leave a person undamaged. That cannot leave a reader complacent.

So yes, Collins makes beautiful art out of terrifying and grim realities. That she does this with so much obvious love for her characters is what makes Echolocation more of an elegy than an exposé. This is compassionate fiction, thankfully still clear-eyed and penetrating, but more than anything else, it is merciful.

Katrina Denza says, “This is a complex story, told with an assured, deft hand. Collins is a master at weaving story lines together in an artful, spare way. Every word is well-chosen. Every nuance is perfectly placed.Echolocation is literary fiction at its finest.”

David Abrams recently featured the book trailer for ECHOLOCATION on The Quivering Pen. Check it out here!

Here’s Myfanwy’s fantastic interview with her fellow author and friend Matthew Quick. 

For those of you in New York, Myfanwy will be reading on Wednesday night at the Pen Parentis Salon. Check out her website for a list of other appearances!

“This is the best Box I’ve ever read, and I’ve read them all,” declares Library Journal in its starred review of C.J. Box’s FORCE OF NATURE!

Read the rest of this Valentine after the jump!

Set just weeks after fugitive Nate Romanowski’s double loss of his lover and a trusted ally (Cold Wind), Nate realizes that his former Air Force mentor is hunting him down and systematically eliminating all his known associates. A bloody confrontation along the Twelve Sleep River injures Nate and sets the tone for a series of violent attacks stretching from Colorado into Wyoming and Idaho. Getting ever closer to Nate’s best friends, game warden Joe Pickett and his wife Marybeth, the killer taunts his intended victims. Nate, up against a skilled falconer, expects only the worst outcome, but still he perseveres. And Joe, always honorable, plans to save Nate’s life, no matter what it takes. Verdict: The 12th Joe Pickett novel focuses on the enigmatic Nate, whose story mirrors some of the sweeping changes brought on by 9/11 and the subsequent wars. Edgar-winner Box has written an exquisitely designed, six-act mystery that uses falconry for its central metaphor without ever losing the necessary thrust to make this an absolutely riveting read. This is the best Box I’ve ever read, and I’ve read them all. Recommend to fans of Lee Child’s The Affair.

Read all about it after the jump!

First of all, we’re proud to tell you that the trailer that Doug produced for YOU COMMA IDIOT won Quiddity’s book trailer contest! (You can view it here.)

We’re also pleased to tell you that Groupe Librex’s Stanké imprint recently released the French edition of the book, titled T’es con, point. (Get a load of that striking cover above!) Click here to watch Doug discuss the book with RDI on Radio-Canada.

For those of you who don’t speak French but are too cheap to buy hardcovers, don’t worry, Goose Lane Editions will be releasing the book in paperback on the 17th!

To see if all of this recent attention is going to Doug’s head, check out his fantastic interview with Bill Brownstein in the Montreal Gazette. (Hint: it’s not. He’s just as nice as ever.)

Look after the jump for some lovely words from a fellow author, a rave first review, and information about appearances at AWP and numerous other readings!

Glorified Love Letters declares “Echolocation is a perfect little book about reality hitting hard. It’s about necessary roughness and begrudging tenderness, and it swallows one up while reading. I certainly look forward to experiencing more of Myfanwy Collins’ work.”

If you’d like to see more of Myfanwy’s work, head over to Girlfriends Book Club to read an excerpt and enter to win your own copy! In her touching post, fellow author Ellen Meister says:

Girlfriends and books. Outside of my family, they’re two of the most important things in my life.

And so I’m thrilled today to blog about a girlfriend writer named Myfanwy Collins. We met early in my journey as a novelist, and I knew from the start I had hit the friendship lottery. Myf is a generous friend with a tender heart. She is also, I’m proud to say, one of the most gifted writers I know. Her stunning prose packs so much emotional resonance that every time I read one of Myf’s pieces I get the wind  knocked right out of me. She’s that good.

If all of this praise has made you curious about Myfanwy’s work, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see her in person!

February 27 at 7pm
Newtonville Books
296 Walnut Street
Newtonville, MA

March 1 at 7pm
Convocation in Chicago, AWP offsite event with PANK Magazine
Beauty Bar
1444 W. Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL

March 2 from 10am-12pm
Book signing at the Engine Books table
AWP 2012
Chicago, IL

March 2 at 7:30pm
Reading with Patricia Henley, AWP offsite event
Women & Children First
5233 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL

March 13
Reading at Pen Parentis Salon
15 Gold Street
New York, NY

March 16
Reading at Jabberwocky Bookshop
50 WAter Street
Newburyport, MA

March 23 from 4-5pm
Guest host at LitCh@t on Twitter

March 29 at 7pm
Reading and Q&A at Rowley Public Library
141 Main Street
Rowley, MA

April 2
Reading at Fitchburg State University
Fitchburg, MA

April 15
Reading at Salon NYC
Brooklyn, NY

April 24
Reading at SUNY Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh, NY

April 28
Presenting at the Newburyport Literary Festival
Newburyport, MA

May 4
Featured reader at Dire Literary Series
Out of the Blue Gallery
106 Prospect Street
Cambridge, MA

Check out Myfanwy’s site for an up-to-date list!

 Publishers Weekly declares, “The struggle between loyalty and law has always been at the heart of this series, set far from big-city legal support systems, and it’s especially impressive in this superior entry.”

“This is a very different Pickett novel, more a pure thriller and much more violent,” Booklist says. ”Fans who love the books for their thoughtfulness may find this one a bit bloody, but those who love Box’s stunning set pieces will be in heaven. And, as a way to keep the series fresh, it’s an excellent idea—we all need to let our ids off the leash once in awhile.” We couldn’t agree more!

Paul will appear at the BookMania festival in Martin’s County, Florida, on January 21st, along with 13 other guests, including Andre Dubus III, Jim Lehrer, and Nevada Barr.