War and history are the focal points of this week’s Newsmax Rising Bestsellers. One depicts a “warrior poet’s” journey to West Point, the battlefields of Iraq, and back into civilian life. Another describes how a military hero (and another West Point graduate) helped define the course of the American Civil War. Still others set out to prove that the Roman Empire never truly fell — not completely, and the second part of an engrossing world history series — this one beginning at the height of the Roman Empire and running through the reign of France’s Louis XIV. But first, there is a novel that has the earmarks of becoming an exciting new series, penned by a No. 1 bestselling author who is already juggling a number of other series.
“Nightshade,” by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)
Los Angeles County Sheriff Department politics has exiled Detective Stilwell from the homicide desk of the crime-ridden mainland to the sleepy resort island of Catalina, where motor vehicles are banned and the only crime is an occasional drunk and disorderly tourist. But the body of an unidentified woman known only as “Nightshade,” who is discovered weighed down in the middle of the island’s harbor, changes all that. This is followed up by a poaching incident that turns violent, and soon sleepy Catalina is turning out to be like working Stilwell’s old precinct. “I was intrigued that the book is set on the island of Catalina, off the coast of Southern California – a place I visited briefly many years ago,” wrote Margie Bunting for Amazon. “The book’s immersion into Catalina local color and customs makes for an interesting read, and Connelly’s signature writing style and intricate plot are in evidence. I’m hoping that if this is a series, Stil’s character will be fleshed out and his romance with Tash developed.” [Fiction]“Downriver: Memoir of a Warrior Poet,” by Ryan McDermott (Koehler Books)
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