Mailbox Monday - June 6th

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.  Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Created by Marcia at The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday, now has its own blog. Hosting duties are being rotated every month. Now that we're into June, The Bluestocking Guide is our host.  Be sure to stop on over and see what everyone else got this week.

Tutu's mailbox this week has some paper and some e-books arriving, and each one looks too good to let languish for very long.

THE DOGS OF ROME - A Commissario Alec Blume Novel
by Conor Fitzgerald


The Blurb:

On a hot summer morning, Arturo Clemente is sloppily murdered in his Roman apartment by a mysterious slasher. Though the murder appears amateurish, even random, Clemente is no ordinary victim. An animal rights activist campaigning against dogfighting, he is married to a prominent politician and sleeping with Manuela Fusco, the daughter of a dangerous crime boss.

Police inspector Alec Blume has a favorite suspect, but the investigation is already being manipulated by both the Senate and the Fusco crime ring. As the details of the case continue to trickle out, Blume soon realizes he is being watched from on high—and that solving this crime may be the least of his worries. Angry, sleep-deprived, and unsure who to trust, Blume is losing control of his investigation. As the mob tightens its grip on the city, and with the killer still at large, Blume’s struggle for justice may cost more innocent lives.

In this riveting debut novel, we are introduced to Blume, an American expatriate and seasoned police veteran. Intelligent yet sometimes petulant, instinctive yet flawed, Blume is a likable and trustworthy protagonist for this first installment of a gritty and promising series.

This was a free Friday Nook book that I made sure to put into my virtual Mailbox.  I'm looking forward to this series and plan to read this for my cozy-thon in July and August.
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 HULL CREEK -  A Novel of the Maine Coast

By Jim Nichols

DownEast Publishing (right down the road from me) sent me this one for review.  It's by a local author, and since it's practically set in my back yard, (or should I say on my waterfront out the back deck?) I'm raring to go for this one.  Watch for a post later this week, because the author also sent an extra copy for a giveaway.  Keep checking  for details.  Sneak hint: 

After the death of his parents, Troy Hull left college to take on his family's traditional lobster-fishing life. But after a few good years, he finds himself threatened with the loss of that life, a result of some bad choices and the changing nature of his hometown.

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FOUR CORNERS OF THE SKY
by Michael Malone

In small towns between the North Carolina Piedmont and the coast the best scenery is often in the sky. On flat sweeps of red clay and scrub pine the days move monotonously, safely, but above, in the blink of an eye, dangerous clouds can boil out of all four corners of the sky…The flat slow land starts to shiver and anything can happen. In such a storm, on Annie Peregrine's seventh birthday, her father gave her the airplane and minutes later drove out of her life.

Twenty years is a long time to be without a father, and, for Navy pilot Annie Peregrine-Goode, the sky has become a home the earth has never been. So when her father calls out of the blue to ask for a dying wish—one both absurd and mysterious—no is the easiest of answers. Until she hears that the reward is the one thing she always wanted …

Thus begins an enchanting novel that bursts with energy from the first pages, and sweeps you off on a journey of unforgettable characters, hilarious encounters, and haunting secrets.

This is the author's 10th novel, but I've never read any of them.  When the friendly NOOK folks offered this as a freebie as a way of introducing Malone, I was certainly attracted enough to hit the 'deliver to my NOOK mailbox' button.  I'll let you know, because it's gone onto the cozy-thon electronic shelf.
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THE ENCHANTED APRIL

 by Elizabeth Von Arnim

This one was originally published decades ago, but is recently out in paperback and e-book editions.  I bought this one for myself and had it delivered to the NOOK mailbox because it was highly recommended by several of my virtual book friends on LT.  It's a definite cozy summer read.Here's the blurb from the back cover....

"Colour, fragrance, light, sea; instead of Shaftesbury Avenue, and the wet omnibuses, and the fish department at Shoolbread's ... and dinner, and to-morrow the same and the day after the same and always the same."
A discreet advertisement in The Times, addressed to "those who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine ...", is the prelude to a revolutionary month for four very different women. High above a bay on the Italian Riviera stands San Salvatore, a medieval castle. Beckoned to this haven are Mrs Wilkins, Mrs Arbuthnot, Mrs Fisher and Lady Caroline Dester, each quietly craving a respite. Lulled by the Mediterranean spring, the violet mountains and sweet-scented flowers, they gradually shed their public skins and discover a harmony each of them has longed for but none has known. First published in 1922, reminiscent of Elizabeth and Her German Garden, this delightful novel is imbued with the descriptive power and lighthearted irreverence for which Elizabeth von Arnim was so popular.

So------------- Rome, North Carolina, the Maine Coast, and the Italian Riviera--- my vacation is all set, and I don't have to do anything but put on the sunscreen, grab the iced tea and the sun glasses,retire to the deck overlooking the water, and travel to spots near and far.  The mailbox was good to me this week.

And speaking of travel....I'm reading the Russian Affair, and it's a good one.  Don't forget today is your last chance to enter to win that one.  Click the book cover over on the sidebar.