Robin Agnew
This time of year, business in our store is kind of in "before" and "after" mode. Before: summer, busy, bustling, filled with events including the Ann Arbor Art Fair and the Kerrytown BookFest. After: the University of Michigan students return, no one wants to park downtown, and football season starts. It's pretty quiet, especially on football Saturdays wheen no one wants to risk leaving the house and getting stuck in traffic for an hour to go somewhere that usually takes five minutes. It's the perfect time, in short, for a little "reading rapture", if only the right book can be found.
This time of year I am also a little restless. Usually exhausted and distracted from running the BookFest, this year seems weirder still because both my kids are away at school in other states. I have a hard time settling down to much besides any old Agatha Christie I have lying around the house (fortunately there are quite a few). I keep picking books up and putting them back down half way trhough.
So, when a box arrived from my St. Martin's rep the other day I was kind of excited, as I knew it would be filled with ARCs of new books coming out in the next few months. One of them, I had been waiting for for awhile, Steve Hamilton's The Lock Artist. I snatched it up, abandoning yet another fine book in mid-read (one I'm sure I'll eventually finish). I can honestly say that The Lock Artist induced reading rapture.
Do you know what I mean by this? I know everyone who both reads and writes this blog are readers themselves, so you probably do. It's when you're in the reading zone. The store was quiet, I had some Artie Shaw music on, and I became completely immersed in The Lock Artist. When I looked up from the book - pesky customers! - it was almost jarring.
It was almost like I was actually inside a bubble of Hamilton's construction. Authors who can create this type of reading bubble are few and far between, and I also think they are different for everyone. There are just 4 or 5 I can think of who do this for me, and while I love Steve Hamilton and have read every word he's written to date, he's rarely been a "bubble" guy for me (exception: his wonderful Blood is the Sky).
This book, though, with it's mixture of a great central character, great hook, and a great story - it's like Hamilton himself is in the zone. I can't wait to get back to it and read some more. And I can't wait for it to come out in January so I can sell lots of copies. Hope I've piqued your interest...meanwhile, back to the bubble!
