“Inside Madeleine” and “Mr. Loverman”

This Sunday in the New York Times Book Review, our clients, Akashic Books and Soho Press, have the marginalized covered as two of their newest books that deal with some of the more underrepresented demographics are reviewed.

Soho Press’ Inside Madeleine by Paula Bomer reflects on the female psyche, specifically focusing on the characters’ sexual and bodily identities. According to Dayna Tortorici,

“bodily control [is] a desperate expression of free will: Bomer’s characters starve themselves, stuff themselves, walk until their feet bleed, and smoke up until they cannot move. At every turn they struggle to square their strong personalities with the ritual and class-coded humiliations of being young and female.”

While Bomer’s 229 page novel may lead to grim endings and futile efforts, Bomer seems to be commenting on the societal structures that bind young women.

---

Akashic Books’ Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo chronicles the life of Barrington Jedidiah Walker, a West Indian man living in Britain. Barrington is a closeted gay man, and at 70-something years old, he’s been hiding his secret for a long time. Barrington is married to a faithful Pentecostal woman, Carmel, but is truly in love with Morris de la Roux.

Mr. Loverman, set in 2010, is replete with flashbacks of Barrington’s life. Furthermore Evaristo deepens her novel as she also incorporates flashbacks of Morris’ life. According to Ellery Washington, seamlessly

“intertwines historical and contemporary issues of race, immigration, generational divides, neighborhood gentrification, sibling rivalries, social progress, social disillusionment and, most directly, African-Caribbean sexuality. 

This is rich territory — dense — and Evaristo clearly knows her subjects. So much is said, so much ground covered so quickly, that one might easily get lost in the interwoven threads if not for Evaristo’s confident control of the language, her vibrant use of humor, rhythm and poetry, and the realistic mix of Caribbean patois with both street and the Queen’s English helping to fix characters in the reader’s mind.”

Both novels, how different they are in style and content, deal with marginalized themes. It is refreshing to see these topics handled in a personalized, but unromanticized manner.

Inside Madeleine
229 pages, $16.
Soho Press
Purchase

Mr. Loverman
284 pages, $11.96
Akashic Books
Purchase

Soho Press' "Murder in Pigalle" in the New York Times Sunday Book Review

Benay client, Soho Press, has a new title reviewed in The New York Times Sunday Book Review. The crime novel by Cara Black, Murder in Pigalle, will be released this month through Soho Crime. Muder in Pigalle is number 14 in the Aimée Leduc series. This time the detective chases down a serial rapist while six months pregnant. Read the New York Times review and preorder the book here.

New Soho Crime Novel, "Cold Storage, Alaska" is Reviewed by the New York Times

Benay Client, Soho Press, has a new crime novel in the New York Times book review. Cold Storage, Alaska is written by John Straley who has written three other books about the snowy northern state for Soho Crime.

Straley’s bold combination of the Church and State-prison may be viewed by the truly religious as a crime in itself, regardless of his story-line and plot. However, when you add in the fact that this novel is based in a small village in northern Alaska that thrives off of booze and survives off of the antique economy of fishing, readers will begin to realize that this book is more inclined to highlight our human struggles rather than disrespect anyone’s God or Church.

Despite the fact that Straley is not the first nor will be the last to tackle the secularization of our once sacred institutions, Straley is nothing short of brilliant when it comes to making the characters very human, and therefore the story that much more believable. Readers can only hope and pray for a better synthesis of vice and religion, two worlds that may not be that far apart.

You can purchase the book on Soho Press’ website.

-Antonio Rivera

Benay Client, Soho Press Launches a Revamped Website

There’s some more breaking news regarding Soho Press this week. According to an article in Publisher’s Weekly, they've just launched their website with a new goal in mind. The site now allows users to buy titles, sign up for subscription services, and even includes an interactive map with the featured locations in their crime series.

“The new hub was created, the publisher said, ‘with an eye toward direct-to-consumer digital sales,’ and is offering titles at a discount.” Purchased individually, the books are at a discounted price of 30%, with the subscription service, the titles are 50% off retail and arrive monthly. The subscriptions are available for their Soho Teen and Soho Crime imprints.

Brick and mortar stores will still be supported says publisher Bronwen Hruska. “’We will continue to maintain a strong presence in traditional retail markets and libraries, supporting our books there any way we can,’ she said. ‘We will always continue to print galleys for trade shows, mail books to booksellers and librarians, and regularly tour our authors.’”

You can check out their website and newly discounted books here.

- Marcie Gainer

Another Big Congrats to Soho Press

At this point, it’s not as much of a surprise as it is a pleasure for us at Benay to see our client, Soho Press in the New York Times Book Review. Soho Crime, an imprint of Soho Press, has recently released The Monster of Florence to American audiences. Written by Magdalen Nabb about several double homicides in Florence, Italy from 1968-1985, The Monster of Florence was published in Britain in 1996 but never made its way to American audiences.

The story revolves around the intuitive detective, Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia. Guarnaccia may not be the brightest detective but he understands people on a deeper level than most. “He watches, he listens, he asks discreet questions, and his intuitive intelligence (‘He either knew things or he didn’t) gives him insight into minds closed to reason.” The book is written in Nabb’s “expressive style” and “is one of [her] darkest novels, almost shocking in its disenchanted acknowledgement of human brutality.”

Another exciting win for Soho Press. You can read an excerpt of the book on their website.

Soho Press's Cara Black has done it again - and this time in Montparnasse!

 

Murder Below Montparnasse
author, Cara Black

I think it’s a bit indisputable that today’s generation of young Americans very accurately channels the wily ex-pats of the 1920s.  Frankly, we pride ourselves on it.  Any of my friends would give anything to romp around the glowing Paris streets at night, sipping Sazerac to their hearts delight, dancing with Djuna Barnes, and musing to F. Scott and Zelda about what is to be young and alive.  They are sensibilities that we can’t help but feed into; it’s the artist in all of us!

This is precisely why, when I say Cara Black’s new novel Murder Below Montparnasse has nailed it, I’m talking down into the floorboards for good.  Black takes all of the young dreamer sensibilities that are relevant today and mixes them with her characteristically elusive, keep-you-guessing style to create a new and exciting genre of literature that’s at once accessible and complex.

Marilyn Stasio lauds Black in her recent New York Times book review, calling Montparnasse a neighborhood, “rich… for the purposes of a plot that hangs on a Modigliani canvas and involves Russian émigrés and Surrealist artists…” – and boy is she right.  Montparnasse is historically one of the most artistically concentrated areas of Paris, hosting painters, poets and writers like Picasso, Joyce and Hemingway in its sprawling bars and cafes.  

A building in Montparnasse painted, no doubt, in
tribute to the many artists that have frequented it's streets.

The novel’s protagonist, Detective Aimeé Leduc, gets caught up in a bit of this history herself, having been mysteriously enlisted by a Russian man named Yuri Volodya to protect a – you guessed it – prized Modigliani painting.  Aimeé is thrown into what seems to be Black’s bizarre and twisted take on the embodiment of Golden Age Syndrome, where the seemingly desirable sensibilities of a highly romantic age are shrouded in deceit and betrayal. 

If you would like to get a taste of what Black’s novel has to offer, I suggest visiting the Soho website, where you will find a large excerpt of the novel available.  If you like what you see – and I have no doubt you will – there is further good news.  Murder Below Montparnasse is just one in a series of thirteen murder mysteries by Cara Black, which collectively comprise the Aimeé Leduc investigations.  Each book in the series is set in a different section of Paris; together they are a literary map, rich in French cultural history and insight into the delightfully seductive Parisian landscape.

Learn more about Cara Black, and get a chance to meet her on her nationwide book tour by clicking here.

- Colleen McClintock

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! No, it's... SOHO PRESS!

After last week’s blog on success story, Colin Cotterill, and his fresh new novel The Woman Who Couldn’t Die, we once again must pay tribute to the powerhouse publisher and Benay client, Soho Press.

Jim Milliot’s review last week in Publishers Weekly gave Soho Press my – and I’m fairly sure, everyone’s – undivided attention.  Milliot cites the company as having a 96% sales increase from last year’s period, alone.  That’s higher than any other independent publisher across the nation, including Other Press, a neighbor of Soho in Manhattan, BenBella Books out of Dallas, Smithsonian Books out of Washington, D.C. and Ulysses Press over in Berkeley, California.

So what has this stellar valedictorian done to reach the top of its class?  Milliot gives us the inside scoop on four key steps that the publisher has taken to achieve such astronomical success:

Digital Publishing: In last two years Soho has focused many of its efforts on developing the digital sector of the company.  In 2012 e-books accounted for just over half of the company’s total sales, with the format representing 43% of sales for literary titles and 67% of the titles under the Soho Crime imprint.

Marketing and Publicity: Soho nearly doubled their promotional budget from January of 2011 and gave a slight increase to the numbers behind the marketing and publicity team.  They also broadened their advertisement horizons, sticking to traditional media mediums while utilizing the social media boom to their utmost advantage.

Distribution Reform: Seeing the opportunities that could come from working through a large-scale distributor, Soho turned to Random House for distribution services in January 2011 and broadened their outreach significantly, reaching audiences overseas.

General Growth:  In 2013 Soho plans to launch a new imprint for young adult novels called Soho Teen.  The new addition will add 12 titles to the 64 titles that the company has already published.

Soho Press Publisher, Bronwen Hruska

And the best part, if you can even believe that it get better - they are just so darn down-to-earth!  Look no further than the About Us page to see for yourselves.  Among other things, the Soho team boasts the qualities of a former cactus model, self-proclaimed habitual defector, and greek yogurt lover.  Publisher Bronwen Hruska pokes a bit of fun at herself, saying “None of the screenplays [I] sold were ever made into movies so you can’t watch them.” 

Hruska has had a bit of additional success recently with her book Accelerated – a gripping commentary on the tendency that our society has to jump the gun on ADD and ADHD diagnoses in children.

All in all, she and her team seem to achieve the embodiment of modern grace, thriving in the fast-paced culture of today’s business world without selling their souls.  It’s one of the more refreshing things I’ve seen to date.  I’d recommend Soho for any young professional as a good business model simply because, ladies and gentlemen, Soho Press is on fire.

If you’d like to learn more about Soho Press, visit their website at http://www.sohopress.com/

- Colleen McClintock

Another Soho Press Success

"Laughter is a subversive weapon when you live under a repressive regime. That's the take-away lesson from Colin Cotterill's gravely funny novels set in Indochina in the 1970s."

New York Times Book Review

Soho Press continues to gain recognition from readers worldwide, widening eyes with their new mystery title, The Woman Who Wouldn't Die. This long-awaited follow-up to 2011's Slash & Burn and the ninth installment in Colin Cotterill's bestselling mystery series stars the inimitable Lao national coroner, Dr. Siri, a man extraordinarily intrigued by the dead souls he examines every day.

After a woman is shot and killed in her bed during a burglary and her body burned in traditional Lao fashion, she pulls a Lazarus, reappearing three days later with only one distinguishing difference; she can now communicate with the dead. Her clairvoyance persuades the long-dead brother of a Lao general to enlist her in helping his brother uncover his remains, which have been lost at the bottom of a river for many years.

Dr. Siri is sent along to supervise the excavation, and convinced that this will be a relaxing voyage, he persuades his wife, Madame Daeng, to join them. However the couple’s vacation soon turns into a thought provoking journey when questions arise concerning what the group is really digging for at the bottom of this remote river on the Thai border.

Soho Press is a phenomenal independent publisher of literary fiction and international crime. Their recent recognition by the New York Times comes to no surprise. Since 1986, they have been releasing attention-garnering titles such as The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die, and will certainly continue to do so in the upcoming years. To check out their full catalogue including all 2013 releases, visit their site at www.sohopress.com.

-Mike Iovino

Soho Crime Announces New Crime Trilogy

Benay client, Soho Crime, has released a thrilling new crime novel that is certain to steal your attention. Crashed, written by Edgar and Macavity Award nominee, Timothy Hallinan, takes readers on a wild ride through the life of Junior Bender, a keen criminal whose smart mouth, witty humor, and robberies-gone-wrong land him in trouble with the Los Angeles mafia. Blackmailed into working for an L.A. crime boss, Bender finds himself escorting an adult starlet in this comedic yet thrilling textual glimpse of old Hollywood. As of November 13^th, Crashed has been available for purchase both on line and in local book stores.

However, the action and adventure don’t stop there; the intriguing character and criminal mind of Junior Bender proved to be so enthralling, Soho Crime has agreed to publish two more titles in what the company believes to be a soon-to-be hit series. The story of Junior Bender continues with Little Elvises, to be released January 29, 2013, and the last of the trilogy, The Fame Thief, which will go on sale in June of 2013. Benay is proud to call Soho Press, an outstanding independent publishing company that has been releasing exciting titles for over 25 years, one of our clients. Visit their site, www.sohopress.com, to browse their catalogue for even more enjoyable reads.

                                                                                            

http://books.broadwayworld.com/article/SoHo-Crime-to-Publish-Crashed-The-Fame-Thief-and-More-20120911-page2

Soho Crime's New Fictional Publication Unveils an Upsetting Truth

Benay client, Soho Crime, Soho Press’s renowned literary international crime imprint, is proud to announce their most recent publication, Invisible Murder. Written by Danish authors Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis, this intense crime fiction brings the controversial and inhumane treatment of an Eastern European minority group known as the Roma (or Gypsies) to the international forefront. Despite their over 1000 year-long presence in Europe, the Roma have, unjustifiably so, not been granted the status as a nationally recognized minority. Moreover, these innocent people have been subject to widespread discrimination, unprovoked verbal abuse, and unfair treatment by the municipal and police offices in Denmark. Kaaberbol and Friis, in their eloquent yet suspenseful writing style, expose readers world-wide to the harsh realities this unfortunate group must face every day. The beauty of fiction has always been the author’s opportunity to, behind the colorful characters and outlandish occurrences, unveil an undeniable truth. The two Danish authors master this concept in their amazing work. Soho Crime has countless publications just as wonderful as Invisible Murder available for your reading pleasure. Within them you will encounter great literary international crime fiction featuring detectives, spies, amateur sleuths, and thieves from all over the globe. Visit SohoPress.com to browse all of their very enjoyable reads.

Michael Iovino, Intern, Benay Enterprises.

Now in English from Soho Crime: The First in a Thrilling Danish Series

Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis’s crime fiction novels about Red Cross nurse Nina Borg are already quite popular in Denmark, but this November the first in the series, The Boy in the Suitcase, will finally be published in English by Soho Crime. Scandinavian Books included The Boy in the Suitcase in an article on some of the region’s best new crime fiction, calling it “outstanding” and “a great mystery by two interesting writers.”

The book deals with the repercussions of an alarming discovery. An old friend of Nina’s reenters her life with instructions on how to find a particular suitcase and a plea for her to protect its contents, but inside the suitcase is a nearly dead three-year-old boy. Nina’s attempts to unravel the mysteries surrounding the child lead her down a dangerous path. Cara Black, bestselling author of Murder in the Marais, says the novel is "…stunning. Hooked me from the beginning. Immigrants, the Danish bourgeoisie, and the criminal underworld collide in a moving, fast-paced thriller with psychological depth." Now that an English translation is being published, a whole new international audience can enjoy this exciting story.

Coming Up From Soho: The Funny Man

John Warner’s debut novel, The Funny Man (Soho Press), is a satire of modern celebrity culture. The titular “funny man” starts out as an ordinary comic, but when he comes up with a ridiculous gimmick—performing with his entire fist inside his mouth—he suddenly finds his life transformed by newfound popularity and the hazards of fame that ensue. His descent into the pitfalls of celebrity even goes as far as him shooting an unarmed man. As a Publisher's Weekly review puts it, "America's favorite comedian is on trial for manslaughter, and "the funny man" 's lawyer, Barry, has a unique defense: not guilty by way of celebrity.... [An] equally sickening and humorous portrait of the celebrity as a delusional man."

Warner’s book is getting praise from fellow writers as well: Jessica Francis Kane, author of The Report, says "I'm not at all surprised that John Warner would invent the perfect Everyman for our age: a comic whose meteoric rise to fame is based on a stupid gimmick. Half first-person tell-all, half third-person takedown -- a brilliant structure -- The Funny Man is a whip-smart satire of celebrity culture. It is hysterical, and sad, and ultimately indicts us all. An excellent novel." The Funny Man will be available this September.

New Reviews for Wyatt from Soho Press

We’ve written about Garry Disher’s Wyatt here before, but as the novel gets closer to its release date from Soho Press this August, it’s getting more and more critical acclaim. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, saying “A jewel heist that appears straightforward proves anything but in Australian author Disher's outstanding seventh thriller featuring Melbourne bank robber Wyatt Wareen, last seen in 1997's The Fallout… The spare, economical prose perfectly suits this tale of mad love and crimes gone wrong, which will remind many of Westlake's better Parker novels--and should boost the reputation of Disher, winner of Australia's Ned Kelly Award, in the U.S.”

Other reviews have been very positive as well:

“Wyatt Wareen has been away for a while, but he’s back in Melbourne and looking for a score… Disher also writes the excellent Inspector Hal Challis procedurals (Chain of Evidence, 2007), but a new Wyatt novel—we’ve described the series as “criminal procedurals” (Kick Back, 1993)—is cause for celebration. Though the ensemble cast is sharply drawn, the heart of the story is Wyatt, a cool-headed, taciturn, unsentimental thief with a code…Wyatt may be a man out of time, but crime fiction like this is timeless.” -Booklist

“Disher’s depiction of Melbourne’s underworld is a revelation—undeniably lurid and harsh yet humming with a vibrancy that lends a soulful note to the story. In his first Wyatt thriller in 13 years, Disher, author of the Hal Challis police procedurals (The Dragon Man; Blood Moon) excels at capturing the complexity and tension of life on the run, and his characters exude a visceral energy as they compete to survive. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy atmospheric, character-driven crime thrillers.” -Library Journal

“Garry Disher’s “Wyatt” is a tightly plotted, entertaining heist-gone-wrong. A nice mix of characters—smart, ruthless, not so smart, trying to get by, and just plain crazy—helps build tension throughout various double crosses…Right up to the final pages there’s a sense of surprise as events develop, and Disher resists tying too neat a bow on a zigzagging story. Wyatt may be distant, but his story is a satisfying, brisk read.” -Suspense Magazine

Upcoming Mystery from Soho: Requiem for a Gypsy

In Requiem for a Gypsy, Michael Genelin’s fourth detective novel starring Bratislava Police Commander Jana Matinova, she investigates a series of murders and disappearances starting with the assassination of a prominent businessman’s wife. A review in Monday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has great things to say about the book: “[Genelin] depicts vividly the effects of old-style corruption on the burgeoning democratic society in present-day Slovakia, and can weave together a fast-moving whodunit populated with flamboyant characters who flit through the European capitals…Every character, major or minor in the plot, just about jumps off the page. Mr. Genelin seems incapable of writing a dull page.” Requiem for a Gypsy will be released by Soho Crime this July.

Stagestruck by Peter Lovesey, the Latest in British Detective Fiction

A new release from Soho Crime, Peter Lovesey’s Stagestruck is the latest in a series of mysteries featuring Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond. His team is called in to investigate a series of incidents at the Theater Royal of Bath. First, aging pop star Clarion Calhoun, hired to play the lead in the latest production, is scarred by acidic stage makeup during her first performance, followed by the death of the woman who applied her makeup. A New York Times book review calls Stagestruck “a brilliantly conceived and smartly executed mystery” and notes “As always, the plot’s the thing with Lovesey, and the solution to the mystery of Clarion’s disfigurement, while arrived at fair and square, is stunning. But the story also has genuine depth and dimension.” We can’t wait to pick up a copy to find out how this exciting story plays out.

The Counterfeit Madam by Pat McIntosh, a New Historical Mystery Novel

If you’re looking for a great read this summer, check out a new release from Soho Constable, The Counterfeit Madam by Pat McIntosh. Set in medieval Glasgow, this story is the ninth in a series of mystery novels featuring Gil Cunningham. Here he must contend with a shadowy plot dealing with counterfeit coins, brothels, and murder. According to Page Traynor of RT Book Reviews, “The writing is excellent and the mystery riveting.” If you need more convincing, Mel Jacob at Gumshoe Review has more praise: “Filled with rich historical detail, the novel will also satisfy mystery fans. Female readers will enjoy the details of clothing and mores. McIntosh belongs to a rich group of authors using medieval settings such as P.C. Doherty and Margaret Frazer.” Read the whole review here and pick up a copy today.

An "Unorthodox" Story by a once Orthodox girl

Born into one of the strictest sects of Judaism, the Satmar Hasidim, Deborah Feldman experienced a life of shelter and repression. Now she writes about her experience as part of one of the most impenetrable religious sects in America in her upcoming book Unorthodox (SOHO Press).  

                The Satmar Hasidim was founded in the 1950’s by Rabbi Teitelbaum in Williamsburg, NY. The movement boasts stricter rules than other Hasidic sects to prevent even the glimmer of assimilation to the rest of the world. Women are married young and are expected to have children and attend to their husbands while the men study Talmud fervently, never getting a formal education. This is the world that Deborah rejects.

                From a very young age, Deborah had a spark of rebellion in her. At the age of twelve, she would sneak off to the public library in Brooklyn. Books became a nonthreatening way for Deborah to experience the way others lead their lives, especially other women like Ann of Green Gables or Jane Eyre. Soon, her love of literature blossomed into a love of writing. “My actual voice became a dangerous seductive tool, I learned to whisper instead of shout, and I began to write instead of speak, using the language of my library books to convey all my hopes and fears in a way in which they could never be criticized.”

At the age of 17, Deborah was married off and not long after she gave birth to a son. It would seem that her fate was sealed, but in an act of courage that most of us could not even imagine, she left it all. “I drove away from my marriage, and my religion, for good on the one eve of my 23rd birthday, with nothing but my son and some garbage bags filled with clothes. I changed my phone number and address and didn't tell anyone where I was.” It is hard to imagine what it is like to leave behind everything for a new life, especially one where everything is unfamiliar and new. Not long after she left, Deborah enrolled in Sarah Lawrence College where she is currently pursuing her degree. Her book Unorthodox detailing her life growing up in and eventually escaping her Hasidic community is forthcoming in 2012, SOHO Press.