Press Release for A Trace of Smoke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alexis Saarela, Forge Publicity: 646-307-5406 or alexis.saarela@tor.com
“A compelling and human story that captures brilliantly the atmosphere of Berlin during the rise of the Nazis.”
—Anne Perry, New York Times bestselling author
Rebecca Cantrell
“A crime reporter investigates the murder of her brother, a cabaret nightingale, in Cantrell’s haunting debut novel…Evocative, compassionate and compelling.”
—Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
“This unforgettable novel, which can be as painful to read as the history it foreshadows, builds to an appropriately bittersweet ending.”
—Publishers Weekly Starred Review
“[A] terrific debut. Cantrell’s atmospheric mystery keeps you off-balance. Vivid and dramatic descriptions…as if you were watching a great old black-and-white film on the big screen.”—Romantic Times BOOKreviews (Top Pick!,4 ½ stars)
“Cantrell nails both the ‘life is a cabaret’ atmosphere and the desperation floating inside the champagne bubbles.”—Booklist
Every so often a debut author bursts onto the scene with a book that so perfectly evokes an era, a city, and its inhabitants, that it is embraced by critics, bookstores, and fans alike. With A TRACE OF SMOKE (A Forge Hardcover; $24.95; On-sale: May 12, 2009), Rebecca Cantrell has crafted just such a moving and exciting work, taking the reader to the dark and stormy Berlin of 1931, from the seedy underground Cabaret lifestyle to the rising Nazi menace that is affecting every German citizen’s way of life.
Fellow authors and critics alike have already rushed to praise Cantrell’s impressive first work—which certainly marks the entry of one-to-watch on the mystery scene.Even though hardened crime reporter Hannah Vogel knows all too well how tough it is to survive in Weimar Berlin, she is devastated when she sees a photograph of her brother’s body posted in the Hall of the Unnamed Dead. Ernst, a cross-dressing lounge singer at a seedy nightclub, had many secrets, a never-ending list of lovers, and plenty of opportunities to get into trouble.Hannah delves into the city’s dark underbelly to flush out his murderer, but the late night arrival of a five-year-old orphan on her doorstep complicates matters. The endearing Anton claims that Hannah is his mother… and that her dead brother Ernst is his father.
As her investigations into Ernst’s murder and Anton’s parentage uncover political intrigue and sex scandals in the top ranks of the rising Nazi party, Hannah fears not only for her own life, but for that of a small boy who has come to call her “mother.”
Deeply moving and richly detailed, A TRACE OF SMOKE will keep readers engrossed from the very first chapter. Though its characters may seem worlds (and years) apart from today, Rebecca Cantrell has drawn them all with such care that they vividly come to life. Plucky and resourceful, Hannah Vogel is a heroine for the ages—and the well-researched settings of pre-WWII Berlin will captivate both history buffs and those readers new to the era.
REBECCA CANTRELL majored in German, Creative Writing, and History at the Freie Universitaet of Berlin and Carnegie Mellon University. She currently lives in Hawaii with her husband and son. A Trace of Smoke is her first novel.
A TRACE OF SMOKE For more information, contact:
Rebecca Cantrell Alexis Saarela, Publicity Manager
A Forge Hardcover T: 646-307-5406
ISBN: 0-7653-2044-4 F: 212-982-2862
304 pages / $25.95 E: alexis.saarela@tor.com
On-sale: May 12, 2009 W: www.tor-forge.comVisit Rebecca Cantrell online to see a video trailer, a walk through the streets of 1931 Berlin, and more about this exciting new series!
http://rebeccacantrell.com/
More praise for Rebecca Cantrell and A TRACE OF SMOKE:“Make room on your bookshelf for a talented new novelist named Rebecca Cantrell. In A Trace of Smoke, she delivers a historical mystery that works on every level. It’s a riveting page-turner. It’s an insightful study of a young woman in peril. It’s a unerringly accurate vision of a society slipping steadily toward madness. And it’s written with a sense of clarity, pace, and attention to detail that tells you this author is going to be writing terrific stories for a long time. So don’t miss her debut.”
—William Martin, New York Times Bestselling Author of Back Bay and The Lost Constitution
“Evocative and hauntingly crafted, Rebecca Cantrell’s debut mystery A Trace of Smoke is a treasure of suspense, romance, and murder. Her ability to spin history into a visceral reality is done with the artistry of a master storyteller. Truly a stunning start to a long career.”
—James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of The Judas Strain
“Step into the fun house world of 1931 Berlin where no one and nothing is what it seems…. A Trace of Smoke is compulsive reading with all the juiciness of the tawdry world of Cabaret but told with keen insight to the historical criminality taking place.”—Sara Colleton, executive producer of Dexter and The Painted Veil
“Moving through the Berlin of 1931, with the monstrosity of the next decade stirring beneath the streets, Rebecca Cantrell’s characters illustrate the very human desire to cling to innocence and joy, to do right no matter the cost, to shelter light amidst growing darkness. Both personal and historical, A Trace of Smoke clings to the mind.”—Laurie R. King, New York Times bestselling author of The Game
“A beautifully written novel… [Cantrell] fills our real-world shadows with dread, and she does it with such style that we look forward to each terrifying turn of events. Her sense of the rich, electric period that she has chosen to write about is spot on, her characters consistently compelling, her dialogue as natural as—well, war.”
—Loren D. Estleman, award-winning author of Gas City
“An absorbing plot, sharply drawn characters, and a fascinating recreation of the turbulent days in Berlin just prior to the Nazis rise to power make A Trace of Smoke a first-rate first novel.”—Bill Pronzini, 2008 MWA Grand Master
“An engrossing, poignant tale… Cantrell’s tightly crafted debut grips one in the secrets, among the shadows, and in a redolent decadence that will linger with you.”—Cara Black, bestselling author of Murder in the Rue de Paradis