Wan Goes to Minotaur -- And a Book Giveaway to Celebrate

Remember my lament back in '08 about imported books? It was in regards to Michelle Wan's latest (back then) entry of her Dordogne series, A Twist of Orchids.

I did get my copy back then, imported from Canada courtesy of High Crimes, but I have great news. Michelle Wan has been picked up by Minotaur and the official US release of Twist of Orchids was earlier this month.

It's been quite a while coming and I couldn't be more happy. I think Wan is going to have a great home at Minotaur and I hope this means more of Mara Dunn and Julian Wood in the future.

To celebrate, I have one copy of A Twist of Orchids for a lucky commenter here. That's right. I'm giving away a copy of Michelle Wan's A Twist of Orchids, and all you have to do is leave me a comment here with your email addy. Couldn't be simpler. Let's put the deadline at midnight, Monday, May 3. And since I'm broke as dirt, let's do US only for this one.

And since it's been almost two years since I read it, here's my review from Bookbitch.com to tell you a little more about the book:

Third in Wan’s Dordogne based mystery series finds designer Mara Dunn and boyfriend Julian Wood poking into local mysteries once again. Julian, an orchidologist, is still searching for the elusive orchid photographed by Mara’s dead sister. As a side project, however, he ends up trying to help a Turkish couple find their missing son. Julian first approaches the couple to confront them about a product they are selling in their shop that contains ground up orchid root as a main ingredient. The production of the item in question has caused Turkish orchids to be put on the endangered list and Julian is determined to do what he can to at least prevent it from being sold in his area. The couple thinks that Julian may be able to talk some sense into their son, as he is enamored with “western” culture and rebelling against his more traditional parents. Meanwhile, Mara is concerned that their recently widowed and ailing neighbor may be in danger, not from himself, but from someone with sinister motives. Wan just keeps getting better and better. I’m so invested in these characters and the tight-knit community that surrounds them, that I just can’t get enough of this series.

The fourth installment of the series, Kill for an Orchid, is now out in Canada. I'm hoping this means it'll be out next spring here in the US.

A Catch-Up Post

It's been almost exactly a year since I posted a blog about Michelle Wan's latest, A Twist of Orchids. Now, at the time, my post was devoted to the fact that although Wan's first two titles are available here in the states, this latest title is only available in Canada at the moment, but it appears the paperback should be available in the states this June (look for it and buy the other two in the meantime). She's said to be working on a fourth title as well. Check out here site, here, for more.

Anywho. Sometimes even when I am really looking forward to a book, it gets shifted through the TBR pile until, well, until much, much later than I intend. And that's what's happened to A Twist of Orchids. In the midst of a slump, though, it was kind of nice to have Wan's title waiting for me. And if you're at all apprehensive about starting these thanks to the strange distribution/printing, trust me it's well worth it just to read the first two. 

To catch you up, and since I did post a brief little something about Wan's debut, Deadly Slipper, in my previous post, I decided that today would be a good time (late but better than never) to post some info on Wan's second book, Orchid Shroud. 

Let me stress again just how much I truly enjoy this series. Yes, it would seem that a series set around orchid enthusiasm might be more cozy than the majority of the titles I usually comment on, but such an assumption would be a mistake. Which is not to say that if you are fond of cozies that you would not like this series. Quite the opposite actually. I think it's a nice bridge between the cozy mystery and the non-cozy. And, the orchid theme is not as cute as it would seem either. In fact, apparently orchidologists can be quite, erm, well Susan Orlean's Orchid Thief wasn't a massive hit for nothing. Neither is the orchid theme as prevalent as you might think. It's an underlying theme throughout the series, but as my info on Orchid Shroud will attest, Wan is quite adept as weaving other sorts of mysteries. 

So back to Michelle Wan, and here is my review of Orchid Shroud, the second book in Mara and Julien's series, from the BB archives:

Mara, Julien, and the entire cast return in this follow up to last summer’s Deadly Slipper. While renovating the de Bonford estate, two workers discover the desiccated remains of a baby boy hidden in the wall. In an attempt to protect the family name from subsequent media fallout, Christophe de Bonford enlists Mara’s help to find out who the child is and clear the de Bonford name. Meanwhile, animals and villagers are being savagely attacked by what is described as a giant beast. On the outset, Wan presents the beauty and tranquility of the Dordogne region. As she draws readers in, however, she scratches away at this façade to reveal the darkness that lurks in the corners of this sleepy French region. 

Shroud is a winning combination of history, mythology, and orchidology. I'm about a third of the way through Twist now and this time it looks like the sleepy Dordogne is facing some nasty drug dealers as well. See, not just orchids! Although, Julien's search for the illusive and rare orchid he viewed in Mara's sister's film is a great running story and the development of both Mara and Julien as individuals and as a couple keep me coming back for more. 

Why the heck is a domestic an import?

I have been known to go to some great lengths to get my hands on books that I want. Back before Matt Reilly became big, I paid beaucoup bucks to have a mass market copy of Contest and a hardcover copy of Area 7 shipped over from the UK. I still buy my Mo Hayder and Joanne Harris books this way because I just can't wait that extra 6 months knowing that the book is out there.

When I was still working at the bookstore, we received a copy of Michelle Wan's debut mystery Deadly Slipper. Interior decorator Mara Dunn has never recovered from her twin sister's disappearance nearly 20 years ago. She has relocated to the Dordogne region in France and serendipitously comes across her sister's old camera - film still intact. The film contains a series of orchid shots. Mara, convinced that this may be the key to finally uncovering Bedie's fate, contacts orchid expert, Julian Wood, to help trace Bedie's path. Julian's interest lies in a photo of what he believes is an extremely rare orchid growing in the wild - something any decent orchidologist would die to see. The question becomes, did someone kill to find it?

I know you're thinking orchids? C'mon. It's true, I love, love, love this series. First of all, it's cozy but not cute. In fact, the characters that pepper this series almost push the book beyond cozy - they're damn creepy some of them! Plus, you add in all the derelict buildings and secrets the townspeople don't want outsiders privy to and you've got an extremely atmospheric series about a very surprisingly heated topic - orchids, who would have thought that flowers could incite such a passionate and violent response?   

Anyway, I didn't get the store's ARC of Slipper, I did contact someone at RH and request it, though. Of course, after reading it, I had to have the second book, Orchid Shroud, as soon as it was released. Then I waited. Where was book 3? No release last year, but I finally found something this year. Strangely enough, it's a Canadian edition. The book was just released in Canada, has no US release date, and her original publisher is here in the US. It's a Canadian branch of the same publisher that's released A Twist of Orchids. 

I have no idea why it's happened this way. I have never seen this. I did, however, have Cynthia at High Crimes order my Canadian copy (at about a $5 higher price than a US editions would cost) and now I am itching until it comes in at the end of the month. Why oh why can't the publishing industry just cater to my every whim and need? Ha, ha, just kidding, but until it does, I'll continue to do what it takes (pay the price when I can afford it) to have my favorites shipped.