Many of you already know Talia Ross and her predilection for scary fiction, especially violent, sick and extremely scary fiction. Attention R.A. librarians — don’t judge a reader by her innocent exterior (above, she tries to adopt attitude).

Talia is the Director of Library Marketing for adult books at Macmillan (formerly known as Holtzbrinck). Recently profiled in Publishers Weekly, she’s responsible for a large list of publishers, including St. Martin’s Press, Tor Books, Henry Holt, Picador and Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She writes an informative monthly newsletter and Web site for librarians. You have probably seen her in action at PLA and BEA Buzz Sessios and in her booth at library conferences.

I asked Talia to give us a preview of titles she’s excited about. As a true book person, she’s also included a couple of current titles from other publishers. These are so far in advance of publication that we don’t have color images of the jackets yet:

Flesh House, Stuart MacBride (Minotaur; October 2008)

* MacBride Won the UK’s 2007 Dagger in the Library award for “the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users”
Catalog keynote: Award-winner Stuart MacBride’s fourth novel, finds DS Logan McRae on his biggest case yet–on the trail of a brutal serial killer in the largest manhunt in Aberdeen’s history.
Talia’s Take: MacBride is one of my favorite writers because he’s funny (without being goofy) and extremely violent. In Flesh House there’s a loon on the loose in Scotland skinning people ALIVE. Oh and he enjoys cooking body parts and feeding them to his prisoners. Is this eerily reminiscent of a certain Hannibal Lecter? Wrong! MacBride is a much better writer than Thomas Harris. With characters like DS Insch (McRae’s overweight boss that loves candy especially Jelly Babies) and DS Steel (McRae’s other boss– the hardened 50 something lesbian with an addiction to cigarettes, alcohol and karaoke) can you really go wrong reading MacBride?
Bottom Line: If you haven’t read them already, grab copies from your shelves of the author’s earlier titles Cold Granite, Dying Light, and Bloodshot.

Quiver, Peter Leonard (Minotaur; May 2008)

* DEBUT
Catalog keynote:
Quiver is the razor sharp debut from one of the most riveting new voices in crime fiction today–a superbly crafted thriller from the son of the grandmaster of mysteries - Elmore Leonard
Talia’s Take: Not my typical fare simply because it is very commercial (translation: reads like a movie script). I’m not an Elmore Leonard fan (sue me) but Quiver gets off to a very exciting start when a son shoots and kills his father (accidentally) with an arrow. Oh and madness ensues involving a kidnapping and lots of money.
Bottom Line: Needs more blood (but remember, my particular taste. Others will find this plenty thrilling.)

Once Were Cops, Ken Bruen (Minotaur; November 2008)

* STANDALONE
Catalog keynote: This blistering, heart-stopping stand-alone thriller set in New York City is award-winning author Ken Bruen at his finest
Talia’s Take: This is Ken Bruen’s twisted stand alone (translation: not part of a series). I love Bruen’s Jack Taylor series … Jack is my favorite Irish cop (or Guard, as cops are referred to in Galway) – lonely, messed up and an on-again-off-again alcoholic with a past (he recently watched as his best friend’s baby took a nose dive from his apartment window … And I just spoiled The Dramatist for you) that haunts him. But in Once Were Cops, Bruen brings the violence stateside. A cop exchange program inadvertently invites a lunatic Guard from Ireland to New York City. He loves the ladies (especially their necks) and kills and rapes a few. The language is rough, very vivid and always powerful.
Bottom Line: Please, Bruen, I want more — make your books longer! I hate when they’re finished. This one read like a sick poem (which is a good thing).

The Sacrifice, SJ Bolton (Minotaur; June 2008)

* DEBUT
Catalog keynote: When obstetrician Tora Hamilton unearths a body in her field, what starts as a simple mystery quickly turns into an investigation of a decades-long pattern of kidnapping and murder in S. J. Bolton’s atmospheric debut
Talia’s Take: In order to keep track of the books I’ve read, I write very short notes about them in my Book Lust Journal (thank you Nancy Pearl!) Sometimes I am too lazy to write anything other than the book’s title, author and the date. Upon finishing The Sacrifice, I wrote “creepy, good, Shetlands.” What more do you need?
Bottom Line: If you’re a fan of the Shetlands check out a copy of Ann Cleeves’ Raven Black.

[No cover image yet]

Mixed Blood, Roger Smith (Henry Holt; February 2009)

* DEBUT
Catalog keynote: An American fugitive hides out in Cape Town–one of the world’s most beautiful and violent cities–in this riveting debut thriller that asks: can you ever outrun your past?
Talia’s Take: Hemorrhoid cream and halitosis. ‘nuff said.
Gatsby (as he’s known by the locals thanks to his obsession with the S. African sandwich bearing the name) or Rudy Barnard (his Christian name) the crooked cop in Cape Town is the worst kind of nasty. Smith’s descriptions of this major loser were so disgusting I found myself physically cringing. And yet, I couldn’t stop reading! Scene 1: Seemingly rich couple is in the process of being burglarized by local thugs when the husband pulls a Jackie Chan and kills both without breaking a sweat. Oh and madness ensues.
Bottom Line: I learned where one applies hemorrhoid cream. Ooof.

Not from Macmillan but also of note:

All-Action Classics No. 1: Dracula (Sterling Publishing)
Catalog keynote: Before the dozens of night stalkers slain by Buffy, there was the first and the best: Dracula. And now everyone’s favorite bloodsucker is back, and captured in a thrillingly told, spine-tingling graphic novel. Originally written by Bram Stoker in 1897, Dracula gave the world one of literature’s most compelling characters. Michael Mucci translates the tale and Ben Caldwell adds action-packed images—with meticulous attention paid to the finer details in each piece of art, from facial expressions to the historical accuracy of costuming, architecture, and heraldry. Young readers will love it.
Talia’s Take: The drawings are a little bit too Disney and the copy is difficult to read but it’s still a great way to spend a chilly and dark Friday evening. It’s also a nice introduction or (refresher course) to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Bottom Line: Very fast and entertaining read.

Bangkok 8 (Random House)
Catalog keynote: A thriller with attitude to spare, Bangkok 8 is a sexy, razor-edged, often darkly hilarious novel set in one of the world’s most exotic cities.
Talia’s Take: Burdett has been recommended to me by many librarians. And when I finally picked up Bangkok 8 I wasn’t disappointed. But there weren’t any spleen removals (read Chelsea Cain’s HEARTSICK) or sadistic kidnappers that burn your feet as punishment (read Thomas Lakeman’s CHILLWATER COVE).
Bottom line: A marine gets eaten alive (slight exaggeration) by giant drug-addicted snakes.