Top 3 Books on CD

These three books have already gone out 5 times this year!
1. A spy by nature by Charles Cumming
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Loosely based on the author's real-life experience of having been recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in 1995, Cumming's supremely intelligent and utterly readable debut will delight fans of such British masters of spy fiction as John le Carré, Robert Ludlum and Len Deighton. Alec Milius, a 24-year-old marketing consultant for a tiny London company that solicits business people in central and eastern Europe to advertise in a dubious publication called Central European Business Review, welcomes the chance to join the SIS, which after an exhausting selection process places him as a support agent with a British oil company. Alec initially thrives in his new job, but as he becomes increasingly entangled in his mission, he begins to face unexpected dangers as well as the loss of his identity. Smartly paced and intricately plotted, Cumming's decidedly unglamorous look at industrial espionage provides plenty of elaborate deceits, double crosses and other trappings of a first-class spy thriller. (July)
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2. Who's killing the great writers of America? : a satire by Robert Kaplow
Library Journal
"Diarrhea on the Orient Express" describes the unfortunate experience of Sue Grafton as she celebrates another series of books, starting with AA Is for Aardvark. Even more unfortunate for Grafton is her chance meeting with ramblin' guy Steve Martin. After dispatching Grafton, Kaplow, author of the Top Ten BookSense selection Me and Orson Welles, aims his satiric pen at best-selling writers Danielle Steel, Curtis Sittenfeld, and Tom Clancy. It is up to Stephen King to solve the murder mystery as he risks becoming the next victim. Along the way, Kaplow fires volleys at the likes of President George W. Bush, former shock jock Don Imus, and Deepa, a Verizon customer-service rep who prefers to be called Scarlett. In an unforgettable finale on Swan's Island off the coast of Maine, King encounters former Enron executive Ken Lay, a terrifying lizard, and Anne Bancroft, who reprises her role as Annie in The Miracle Worker. Funny. Irreverent. Fast-paced. Parody at its best. Kaplow's clever spoof will please everyone but its victims. -Anthony Pucci, Notre Dame High Sch., Elimra, NY

3. 2nd Chance by James Patterson
From Publishers Weekly
It's been a long time since we've seen a bestselling author of Patterson's clout credit an assistant author on the cover, and good for Patterson for that. The credit is deserved. This is Patterson's richest, most engaging novel since When the Wind Blows and, as the second in his Women's Murder Club series (after 1st to Die), yet more evidence that this prolific writer can roam beyond Alex Cross with style and success. Like all Pattersons, the narration mixes first and third person the first here is voiced, as before, by San Francisco homicide detective Lindsay Boxer, while the third-person sections cover the doings of the other three members of Boxer's informal club, a reporter, a pathologist and a prosecutor, as well as the villain's shenanigans. The basic story line is vintage Patterson, i.e., a serial killer (here, one known as Chimera) goes on a calculated rampage until stopped by the good guys or in this case, gals. As the victims a young girl shot dead, an elderly black woman hanged, two cops pile up, it becomes clear to Boxer and others that they're up against a racist who hates black cops; is the killer a cop himself? The story ripples with twists and some remarkably strong scenes, particularly Boxer's in-prison interview with a crazed con. But what makes this Patterson stand out above all is the textured storytelling arising from its focus on Boxer's personal issues. In the first novel, Patterson personalized Boxer by dealing with her rare blood disease; here, it's the emotionally powerful introduction of Boxer's long-lost father into her life that galvanizes the plot, particularly as Patterson ties the man into Chimera's rampage. Prime Patterson; first-rate entertainment. (On sale Mar. 4)Forecast: Patterson's name, major ad/promo and a 10-city author tour add up to #1; simultaneous Time Warner Audio and large-print edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.