Book Giveaway: The Poet

I'm authorized to give away 3 copies. Rules for entry in the drawing are below. Please read them carefully.

The Poet
By Michael Connelly, Michael Connelly
Pub. Grand Central Publishing

Critical Praise

"Infernally ingenious...an irresistibly readable thriller." -New York Times

"An intriguing new protagonist....Connelly doesn't just talk about poets, he writes like one, with a spare, elegiac tone that is the perfect voice for the haunting tale he has to tell."
-People

"Chilling....Connelly puts his foot on the gas and doesn't let up." -Los Angeles Times

The first two paragraphs from the excerpt:

1

Death is my beat. I make my living from it. I forge my professional reputation on it. I treat it with the passion and precision of an undertaker—somber and sympathetic about it when I'm with the bereaved, a skilled craftsman with it when I'm alone. I've always thought the secret of dealing with death was to keep it at arm's length. That's the rule. Don't let it breathe in your face.

But my rule didn't protect me. When the two detectives came for me and told me about Sean, a cold numbness quickly enveloped me. It was like I was on the other side of the aquarium window. I moved as if underwater—back and forth, back and forth—and looked out at the rest of the world through the glass. From the backseat of their car I could see my eyes in the rearview mirror, flashing each time we passed beneath a streetlight. I recognized the thousand-yard stare I had seen in the eyes of fresh widows I had interviewed over the years. (click here to read more)

Rules:

• Leave a comment in this post expressing your interest in entering the drawing.
• Provide an @ by which I can contact you in case of a win. Either in your comment or in an email to me at joystory AT gmail DOT com If you email your @ be sure to connect it to your entry. If I do not receive an @ your entry will be disqualified.
• If, in the case of a win, you would like me link to your blog in the winners announcement post, provide your URL in your comment or via email. This is not a requirement for entering nor do you have to have a blog yourself in order to enter.
• If you blog about this giveaway, send me a link to the post and your name will be entered a second time.
• Deadline for entering is NOON PST April 18, 2009. I will select the winners with a random number generator using www.random.org
• Winners must provide a US or Canadian mailing address. Hachette is unable to deliver to PO Boxes.