My Best Books

While Sophie Hannah’s books are described as psychological thrillers, calling them psychological chillers would be just as appropriate. Hannah takes domestic scenarios, adds disquieting touches and turns up the suspense until you’re checking under the bed for murders.

The American continent lies between the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west. The Panama Canal represents the shortest route across the continent. However at the end of the canal, at Balboa Port on Panama’s Pacific Coast, you find yourself at a point about 30 miles further east than Colon, where you left the Atlantic.

“Albania is a country where no one ever dies. Fortified by long hours at the dinner table, irrigated by raki and disinfected by the hot peppers in our plump ever-present olives, our bodies are so strong that nothing can destroy them.” Stories often serve as cultural markers. In just a few words, Ornela Vorpsi manages to say something both satirical and profound about the Albanian psyche. It is an opening full of promise, not always lived up to, in this inaugural issue of an annual anthology.

Those who chair the jury on book prize panels have to contend with the usual discomforts of the job: too many books, eye strain, a piffling salary for months of intensive reading, and refereeing clashes between other jurors.

John Grisham’s entire 23-title catalog is now available in e-book form, announced publisher Knopf Doubleday on March 16. The internationally best-selling author had previously expressed uncertainty about going digital, citing concern for both publishers and bookstores.

Quirk Books is offering a preview of its newest mash-up, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, in two free downloadable chapters, announced trade resource Publishers Weekly on March 15. The book’s first chapter was made available for free download on March 13, and the second is set to follow on March 19.