Land of Shadows - Tor/Forge Blog

Forge’s January eBook Deals!

January 5, 2024January 4, 2024Ariana Carpentieri

New Year, new eBook deals! Now that the holiday craziness has come and gone, this is the perfect time to cozy up and relax with your eReader! Cheers to kicking off 2024 by reading some incredible books at an awesome price!

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan

After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.

Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall

Along the ever-changing border of gentrifying Los Angeles, seventeen-year-old Monique Darson is found dead at a condominium construction site, hanging in the closet of an unfinished unit. Homicide detective Elouise “Lou” Norton’s new partner, Colin Taggert, fresh from the comparatively bucolic Colorado Springs police department, assumes it’s a teenage suicide. Lou isn’t buying the easy explanation.

For one thing, the condo site is owned by Napoleon Crase, a self-made millionaire. . .and the man who may have murdered Lou’s missing sister, Tori, thirty years ago. As Lou investigates the death of Monique Darson, she uncovers undeniable links between the two cases. But her department is skeptical.

Lou is convinced that when she solves Monique’s case she will finally bring her lost sister home. But as she gets closer to the truth, she also gets closer to a violent killer. After all this time, can he be brought to justice. . .before Lou becomes his next victim?

Excerpts / New Releases

The Audiobook for Rachel Howzell Hall’s Land of Shadows Is Here!

March 21, 2019May 16, 2024torforge

We’re big fans of Rachel Howzell Hall’s Detective Elouise Norton series, so we couldn’t be more excited that the series is coming to audiobook!

Haven’t started the series yet? Try an audio excerpt below and then head over to Audible for the rest!

“A fresh voice in crime fiction. Fast, funny, heartbreaking and wise…. Elouise Norton is the best new character you’ll meet this year.” (Lee Child, New York Timesbest-selling author, on Rachel Howzell Hall’s Land of Shadows)

Along the ever-changing border of gentrifying Los Angeles, 17-year-old Monique Darson is found dead at a condominium construction site, hanging in the closet of an unfinished unit. Homicide Detective Elouise “Lou” Norton’s new partner, Colin Taggert, fresh from the comparatively bucolic Colorado Springs police department, assumes it’s a teenage suicide. Lou isn’t buying the easy explanation.

For one thing, the condo site is owned by Napoleon Crase, a self-made millionaire…and the man who may have murdered Lou’s missing sister, Tori, 30 years ago. As Lou investigates the death of Monique Darson, she uncovers undeniable links between the two cases. But her department is skeptical.

Start the Series:

eBook Deals

$2.99 Ebook Sale: Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall

March 1, 2019February 20, 2019torforge

The ebook for Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall is on sale for $2.99!

About Land of Shadows: Along the ever-changing border of gentrifying Los Angeles, seventeen-year-old Monique Darson is found dead at a condominium construction site. Homicide detective Elouise “Lou” Norton’s new partner, Colin Taggert assumes it’s a teenage suicide, but Lou isn’t buying the easy explanation.

But as she gets closer to the truth, she also gets closer to a violent killer. Can he be brought to justice before Lou becomes his next victim?

Order Your Copy

This sale ends April 1st.

Sweepstakes

Mystery Sweepstakes

April 13, 2015May 16, 2024torforge131 Comments

Looking for a great mystery to read? Here’s your chance to get started on three amazing series! We’ve got five copies each of Land of Shadows, The Other Woman, and Rogue Island to give away.

Comment below to enter for a chance to win .

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 or older as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment here beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) April 13, 2015. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET April 17, 2015. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

Author Features / Events / What's New

California Love: Six Awesome Reasons Why Southern California is Bouchercon-Perfect

November 13, 2014May 10, 2024torforge

By Rachel Howzell Hall

Yeah, yeah, traffic and smog and organic-vegan-gluten-free-blahblahblahs. You’re not coming to Southern California for that. As an L.A. native, and a three-year former resident of Long Beach, I know why the good folks in the Bouchercon offices are bringing us Los Angeles County for this year’s conference.

Weather: Haven’t you heard? We’re in a drought. Ain’t seen rain since…since…. So paint your toenails! Pack your cargo shorts and that vintage be-dazzled ‘I Love L.A.’ tank top you bought off Etsy two summers ago. It’s cool. You’re cute. You’re in L.A. now.

Food: A writer’s gotta eat. So, leave the hotel and venture out. In Long Beach, Hof’s Hut makes these delicious cinnamon-roll pancake things, and the meat on Johnny Reb’s barbecue ribs just fall off the bone. Head north and…what’s that? In N Out? A national treasure. Pink’s Hot Dogs, Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles…? Chicken and waffles? Eaten together? Bonus: you can eat all of this glorious food while wearing sandals and sunglasses. (True story: L.L. Cool J sat in the booth behind me at Roscoe’s. He ordered chicken.)

The Pacific: Nothing like our ocean. The Atlantic’s nice but our waves are bigger and badder. And we have sea lions! And sharks! And the Queen Mary! And our beaches range from “Aah, Paradise” to “OMG, Did You See What Just Happened to That Guy Over There, Is He Okay?!” Our beaches alone are three Moleskins worth of story ideas.

People: So diverse. Everybody’s here. Every color, every body type, every mental capacity. Just…sit somewhere and populate your novel by people-watching. Don’t worry—we’ll ignore you. Cuz we ignore everybody…unless you’re driving too slow on the 405 and then we’ll ride your bumper until you move to the right. Ha ha. Just kidding. Seriously, though. Move to your right.

Mysteries: Real-life head-scratchers abound in Southern California. How did that tourist wind up in the hotel’s water tank? Why did that successful movie director jump from the Vincent Thomas Bridge? Who killed the Black Dahlia? What will happen to me if that cop pulls me over? Writers gon’ write, so might as well find inspiration in the real, right?

Big: This place is HUGE. With 527 miles of freeway and 382 miles of regular highway, you can drive and drive…and STILL be in Los Angeles County. Live here forever—and never visit 60 percent of it (our unofficial, provincial motto)! Mystery writing is about discovery—and Southern California boasts enough towns and burgs with their own rules and their own cultures for you to never be bored or see the same thing five times.

So. Enjoy the weather. Wiggle your painted toes. Find inspiration on the 405—you’ll be sitting there long enough. Move to the right. Oh, and welcome to the LBC.

Meet Rachel and many other great Forge authors at the hospitality suite on Friday afternoon, where there will be coffee, author signings, and fun giveaways!

Events / What's New

Tor Books at ALA Las Vegas

June 24, 2014May 16, 2024torforge

Come visit us at ALA Las Vegas this weekend from June 27-30!

Check out our schedule of events:

Friday, June 27th, 2014
Exhibits open! Visit us in booth #532.
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Booth info: https://ala14.ala.org/node/16208

Saturday, June 28th, 2014
Exhibits open! Visit us in booth #532.
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Booth info: https://ala14.ala.org/node/16208

“Isn’t It Romantic?” Author Panel with Deborah Coonts
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Las Vegas Convention Center | Room N263
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/14425

Alan Gratz signing The League of Seven in booth #532
9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/22337

AAP Children’s Author Speed Dating with Alan Gratz and P.J. Hoover
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Las Vegas Convention Center | Room N112
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/15486

Rachel Howzell Hall signing Land of Shadows in booth #532
1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/22341

PopTop Stage: “Women in Mystery” with Rachel Howzell Hall
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (book signing to follow)
Las Vegas Convention Center | Hall N1, end of the 200 aisle
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/15457

“Redefining Humans from the Past to the Future” Author Panel
Sponsored by Tor and LITA’s Imagineering Interest Group
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (book signing to follow)
Las Vegas Convention Center | Room S233 (South Hall Connector)
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/14574

Sunday, June 29th, 2014
Exhibits open! Visit us in booth #532.
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Booth info: https://ala14.ala.org/node/16208

RUSA’s Literary Tastes: Celebrating the Best Reading of the Year
8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Las Vegas Convention Center | Room N258
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/14249
Hashtag: #literarytastes

YALSA’s YA Author Coffee Klatch with Alan Gratz and P.J. Hoover
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Las Vegas Hotel | Ballroom C
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/15550

V.E. Schwab signing Vicious in booth #532
11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/22338

“The Future According to Tor: New Titles for Young Readers and Teens”
11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Convention Center | Book Buzz Theater, next to Booth #2245
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/16651

Deborah Coonts signing Lucky Bastard at booth #532
1:00p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/22342

P.J. Hoover signing Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life at booth #532
3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/22339

Monday, June 30th, 2014
Exhibits open! Visit us in booth #532.
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Booth info: https://ala14.ala.org/node/16208

PopTop Stage: “Seedy Criminal Underbellies” with Hank Phillippi Ryan and Deborah Coonts
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (book signing to follow)
Las Vegas Convention Center | Hall N1, end of the 200 aisle
Add this event to your calendar: https://ala14.ala.org/node/15447

Viva Las Vegas!

What's New

Starred Review: Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall

May 28, 2014May 15, 2024torforge

“exceptional…Dead-on dialogue and atmospheric details help propel a tale full of tormenting moral issues”

Rachel Howzell Hall’s Land of Shadows got a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly!

Here’s the full review, from the April 21 issue:

A racially explosive Los Angeles provides the backdrop for this exceptional crime novel from Hall (A Quiet Storm). Elouise “Lou” Norton, an LAPD homicide detective known on the street as “Lockjaw,” has solved 90% of the cases she’s led. She’s a smart, sassy black woman, “sweet as apple pie… laced with arsenic and rusty razor blades,” bedeviled by the 25-year-old disappearance of her sister, Tori, and torn asunder emotionally by her straying husband, Greg. Lou is also saddled with a brash newbie partner, Colin Taggert, in a case involving a murdered Jane Doe that Lou suspects is tied to her sister’s fate. Dead-on dialogue and atmospheric details help propel a tale full of tormenting moral issues. If the bad grow so close to the good, how do the cops weed them out? And how do we right all these wrongs? Lou, a brave lady in a brave book, does the best she can.

Land of Shadows will be published on June 10.