| FICTION |
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April 2008 
A Hard Day's Death by Raymond Benson (Leisure Books, Mass Market Paperback)
A Hard Day's Death
Former James Bond novelist Raymond Benson hits his stride with the release of the first book in his new Rock 'n' Roll Detective series. A Hard Day's Death introduces Spike Berenger, a private investigator specializing in cases in the rock music industry. If Spike's debut is any indication, here's hoping he's walking these mean musical streets of rock for many more cases.
A Hard Day's Death begins with the murder of legendary rocker Peter Flame and the arrest of Flame's estranged son, Adrian Duncan. Gina Tipton, Adrian's mother and Flame's first wife, hires Berenger to prove Adrian didn't kill his father. During the course of the investigation, Spike's path crosses Flame's former and current band members, leaders of the fringe religious cult Flame had recently embraced, Flame's second ex-wife and their son, and various record industry executives. In addition, a street gang currently running wild, selling drugs and performing guerrilla punk rock concerts, has added Spike to its hit list.
Spike works as a partner of Rockin' Security, the top security business in rock. While the main businesses of the company is providing concert security and body guard services to rock stars, Spike runs the private investigation practice. This allows him to have a team of operatives, both on the streets and in the office. Spike's team provides him with valuable information and support as he works to find evidence to clear Adrian.
Benson develops all his characters well, allowing the reader to get to know not only Berenger, but his team and those characters involved specifically with the case and unlikely to return in future books. In fact, Spike's employees are so appealing, occasional short stories spotlighting them would be welcome.
There's much for the rock music fan to enjoy, too. Benson peppers the book with many musical references, focusing mostly on classic rock. Fans of progressive rockers Yes and Gentle Giant will be especially pleased. Further, each chapter title is a song title. The song's performer is also included, allowing the reader to imagine, or actually compile, the soundtrack Benson is imagining for his story. To cap off this rock 'n roll mystery, there are cameo appearances by two real life rock stars.
Don't miss this paperback original. Get in on the ground floor of this exciting new series. A Hard Day's Death is highly recommended.
— Neal Alhadeff
Appearing in the May/June issue of Crimespree Magazine's Book Review “Buzz Box”
Raymond Benson scores big with A Hard Day's Death a rock and roll thriller that will make you feel like a real insider. Peter Flame is an aging star, once huge now on the downside of his career. After a mediocre performance he is found dead, at first an apparent suicide, but soon ruled a homicide. Spike Berenger and his Rockin' Security are determined to find out what happened, but with a list of suspects that read like liner notes to a prog rock album they have their work cut out for them. Benson has thoroughly nailed this book, it's fast and entertaining as hell and is every bit as perfect as a Carlos Santana guitar solo on a summer afternoon.
Chicago Tribune, May 3, 2008
The first installment in a new series from Buffalo Grove resident and one-time James Bond author Raymond Benson, A Hard Day's Death is a niche mystery set in and around the world of rock 'n' roll. Benson's central character is private investigator Spike Berenger, a 50-year-old New York City-based private investigator who works for a security firm specializing in servicing clients from the rock-music industry.
When aging rock god Peter Flame dies, the music world is stunned. But when police arrest his estranged son, Adrian, in the case, fans all over the world are outraged. Adrian's mother, Gina, believes her son is being set up and turns to Berenger to track down the real killer. His job becomes complicated when he realizes potential suspects include former band members, jilted lovers, a greedy manager and members of a bizarre religious cult who may have been fleecing the drug-addled rocker.
While the plot twists aren't all that jaw-dropping and the wrap-up is a bit too tidy, mystery fans who are also aficionados of classic rock will find the story line as evocative as it is entertaining. Benson's savvy use of musical icons (including David Bowie and John Lennon) as peripheral characters, as well as his use of songs and performers as chapter subtitles, make this an appealing read. With a core cast of realistic, well-developed and endearing characters, this budding series has a good shot at attracting and keeping a devoted reading audience. August 2008 
No More Good by Angela Winters (Kensington, Trade Paperback)
September 2008 
American Quest by Sienna Skyy (The Story Plant, Hard Cover)
November 2008 Unleashed by Jay Bonansinga (Pinnacle Books, Mass Market) |
| NON-FICTION |
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January 2008 
Miraculous Health by Dr. Rick Levy with Lou Aronica (Atria Books/Beyond Words, Hard Cover)
February 2008 Forgive Me, Father by John Glatt (St. Martin's Press, Mass Market Paperback)
He sinned without mercy.
Forgive Me, Father
A True Story of a Priest, a Nun, and Brutal Murder
March 2008
Young Jesus offers a revolutionary psychological portrait of the adolescent Jesus as a boy scarred by peasant rebellion, economic repression and the wholesale displacement of the Galilean peasantry. Drawing from modern economic, forensic and psychological models as well as Roman and Jewish documents, archaeologist and historian Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts shows that these conditions led to an outbreak of malnutrition, disease and birth defects on an unprecedented scale. This, he argues, galvanized Jesus' mission as a social activist and religious rebel, emulating the career of another prominent Jewish dissident: the Prophet Jeremiah.
April 2008
May 2008 The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi (Vanguard Press, Hard Cover) 
June 2008 The Power of Female Friendship: How Your Circle of Friends Shapes Your Life by Dr. Paul Dobransky with L.A. Stamford (Plume, Hard Cover)
A June 2006 scientific study shows that for most people, their circle of confidantes is on average about one person smaller now than it was 20 years ago. The percentage of people who say they have no one to confide in has now reached about 25%. This is alarming news for women, whose well-being is tied so intimately to belonging and connection to others. In fact, if this trend continues, it will lead to nothing less than a crisis in interpersonal relations. The Power of Female Friendship: How Your Circle of Friends Shapes Your Life will explain why this statistic is growing and—more importantly—what women can do about it. It will offer simple and elegant skills and secrets on how women can expand, enrich, and troubleshoot any type of friendship they share now or seek in the future. September 2008 An Almost Perfect Murder by Gary C. King (Pinnacle Books, Mass Market) 
Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy by M. William Phelps (Thomas Dunne Books, Hard Cover)
Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy, by M. William Phelps, will chronicle a period in Hale's life between 1773 and 1776, focusing on the close relationship Hale had with his brother, Enoch, and two major battles of the American Revolution.
“There's been some new information about Hale's life to surface,” says Phelps, “which offers a more poignant look into this man's incredible story of patriotism. But that is merely one aspect of a truly epic story—a remarkable life, essentially, of faith, hope and courage, folded against the backdrop of two brothers coping with the immense tragedies of war.”
Phelps sets the record straight for the first time on Hale's often misunderstood and misreported life story.
“Nathan Hale went to his hanging with the famously paraphrased line, 'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.' M. William Phelps gives a new, fully documented life to this romantic, long neglected American revolutionary.”
— R.A. Scotti, Author of The Sudden Sea and Basilica
“M. William Phelps has written a meticulously-researched biography of Nathan Hale. Known mainly as the young man who regretted that he had but one life to give to his country, Hale represented the flower of New England society. Phelps has well captured the excitement of Hale's joining the Patriot cause in the American Revolution, giving us a fresh narrative of those tumultuous years.”
— Joyce Appleby, Author of Inheriting the Revolution
“Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale's quote at his hanging by the British in 1776, 'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country' is one of the most memorable in U.S. history. Here, William Phelps has written an absorbing, highly detailed biography of the patriotic Hale. It is a work that at the same time tells the story of young Hale, army life and the daily battles between the American and British forces at the start of the war. He weaves each story together to create a very colorful, emotional and enjoyable book. Readers should shudder at the fact that when Hale was caught and hanged, the Americans were begin driven out of New York and his usefulness as a spy had already ended. Yet his famous quote lives on today.”
— Bruce Chadwick, Author of George Washington's War
“Phelps has brilliantly taken Nathan Hale from the faded memory of history and reintroduced us to a vibrant young man, a scholar who we witness as he transforms into a soldier and spy as a final act of moral conscience. Phelps has reintroduced Hale as the quintessential young American who steps across the line to act for his country.
This book speaks to us today. Like the thousands of young soldiers lost their lives because of incompetent leadership, Nathan Hale hung because his handlers sent him on an ill-conceived mission. What Phelps has done is given us the insight as to where Hale found such strength and fortitude. Phelps' book should be read by anyone who is responsible for putting lives at risk for our country. Phelps' account of Hale's death is a gut-wrenching reminder of the consequences of failed leadership.”
— Joseph J. Trento, Author of The Secret History of the CIA
“With his new work on Nathan Hale, M. William Phelps has done a great service to the world of historical writing about the American Revolution. A Hale biography was certainly overdue, and Phelps' has given us a good one; thorough, making fine use of primary sources and, thankfully, a pleasure to read. This is a fine study not just of Hale but of the Continental Army in the early days of the war, of the enormous obstacles that the fledgling force had to overcome to prevail upon the most powerful fighting force on earth.”
— James L. Nelson, Author of Benedict Arnold's Navy October 2008 For the Sake of Liberty by M. William Phelps (Thomas Dunne Books, Hard Cover)
Investigative journalist M. William Phelps's narrative biography, For the Sake of Liberty: The Life and Death of Captain Nathan Hale, America's First Spy, will chronicle a period in Hale's life between 1773 and 1776, as told through a variety of primary sources, focusing on the close relationship Hale had with his brother, Enoch, all set against two major battles of the American Revolution. November 2008 Sacred Christmas Music by Ronald Clancy (Sterling) A beautifully illustrated book, which celebrates Christmas and its music, Sacred Christmas Music includes numerous images, mostly period fine art from eminent artists and museums, as well as a number of manuscript illuminations from prestigious libraries that support the history of Christmas Music and the stories behind the music or carol title. It would be a welcome addition to practically every music library in the Western World, as well as by most choral groups, and by aficionados of Christmas Music. |
Kiss and Kill by Dale Hudson (Kensington, Mass Market Paperback)
Young Jesus: Restoring the "Lost Years" of a Social Activist and Religious Dissident by Jean-Pierre Isbouts (Sterling, Hard Cover)
If Looks Could Kill by M. William Phelps (Kensington, Mass Market)
Capitol Reflections by Jonathan Javitt (The Story Plant, Trade Paperback)