The Spider Catchers
by Marilynn Larew
There is plenty of action and suspense offered and the reader will be on the edge of their seat more than once.
~The Book Junkie
Marilyn Larew weaves a complex tale, but keeps the pace quick with a strong female protagonist in Lee.
~Christa Reads and Writes
A strong female protagonist, plenty of physical action and lively dialogue kept me turning the pages to discover what would happen next.
~Queen of All She Reads
…a mystery that is gritty dealing with spies, terrorists, sex trade that keeps you guessing about who are the good guys and bad guys…I like Lee’s character she is tough, does what is necessary and falls apart after the fact. She thinks on her feet.
~readalot
Guest Post By Marilynn Larew
Today is my birthday. Birthdays are odd things, especially those that end in zeroes. Like New Year’s, they have a tendency to make you think over the past, think about things you wish you hadn’t done or things that you wish to do. My age is a state secret, but one of those birthdays that ended in a zero led me to make two resolutions: to get my ears pierced and to learn to speak Vietnamese. You can see that they’re not equal in difficulty. I got my ears pierced easily, but learning to speak Vietnamese was another matter.
Why did I want to learn Vietnamese? Because I was studying and teaching Vietnamese history at the time. I have French, and there’s a lot of Vietnamese history in French, but I needed to be able to read the Vietnamese documents to do any real research.
I went to Berlitz, but they had only a few Vietnamese language teachers, and they kept quitting. I decided that the only thing I could do was go to Vietnam to study. So I did. I spent a month to six weeks in Hanoi every year for some time studying Vietnamese.
I liked Hanoi. I’ve always liked Asia, and I’ve always felt at home there. I’m a rather tall and Caucasian woman, but I never have felt alien in Asia. I graduated from high school on Okinawa. I’ve traveled in China, and I love Hong Kong, that city that never sleeps. It’s alive, vital, dizzy, loud! Because it was once a British colony, the people of Hong Kong are accustomed to Europeans, and Hong Kong is an easy place to slip into Asia because a lot of the signs are in English, and a lot of the people speak English. Since Hong Kong has returned to China, a lot of the English has disappeared, but you can still find your way around in nothing but English.
I loved Hanoi. The Vietnamese are a very friendly and kind people, and despite the fact that I was American, I saw only two instances of hostility. A man about my age wearing tweed hat, which led me to believe he was a university professor, looked at me and crossed the street to get away from me. The second time, I was on a boat tin the Perfume River in Hue. A man who was digging up sand from the river bottom saw me and threw a fistful of sand at me. It didn’t hit me, he was too far away. He may only have thrown the sand at me because I was sitting down and he wasn’t. Those are the only two instances I have a I spent six weeks in Hanoi for five years, and those were the only unfriendly gestures I experienced.
I like to travel to the far places. I like to read books that take place in places where I’ve been or places I’d like to go. I like to write about those places, too. I’ve never been to Morocco. If it looks like I have in The Spider Catchers, it’s because I’m a historian and know how to do research. The book I’m writing now, Dead in Dubai, takes place in Dubai and Istanbul. I’ve never been to Dubai – that’s research again, but I’ve been to Istanbul several times, and I love it. The third book in the Lee Carruthers series, Lee will go to Vietnam, and I’ll make it seem real because it will be. I’ve been there.
About learning Vietnamese? I learned enough to be good on the street, in restaurants, in shops, and markets, but I never learned to read Vietnamese, although I learned enough to do what I call “dictionary bashing” – looking up half the words – to use Vietnamese articles for my research. Vietnamese a difficult language. I wish had started earlier, when my brain was young enough to absorb it.
The Spider Catchers by Marilynn Larew
Genre: Thriller – 300 pages
“A solid introduction to a new thriller series.” Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Sex, money, and terrorism
What do the violent takeover of Fez brothels and a new stream of terrorist funding have to do with the disappearance of Alicia Harmon from the Fez office of Femme Aid Maroc? When CIA analyst Lee Carruthers tries to find out, she is swept into a tangled web of dirty money and human trafficking, and people will kill to find out what Alicia knew. If only Lee knew. She’s working blind, and in this case, ignorance is death. Her search takes her through the slums of the Fez medina to the high-rises of the new city and finally to a terrorist camp in the Algerian desert.
Marilynn Larew was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and after a living in a number of places, including the Philippines and Japan, she finally settled in southern Pennsylvania, where she and her husband live in an 150 year old farmhouse. She has taught courses about the Vietnamese War and terrorism at the University of Maryland and travelled extensively in Europe and Asia. She likes to write about places she has been or places she would like to go. She has published non-fiction about local history, Vietnamese history, and terrorism. This is her first novel.
Author Links
Website: www.marilynnlarew.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilynn.larew
Twitter: @marilynn_larew
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18739502-the-spider-catchers
Tour Participants
February 1 – Reviews By Karen – Practical Frugality – Guest Post – Giveaway
February 2 – Thoughts in Progress – Guest Post – Giveaway
February 3 – Kelly P’s Blog – Interview
February 4 –The Book Junkie – Review – Giveaway
February 5 –Community Bookstop – Guest Post
February 6 – Christa Reads and Writes – Review – Giveaway
February 7 – Queen of All She Reads – Review, Guest Post – Giveaway
February 8 – dru’s book musing – Guest Post – Giveaway
February 9 – A Blue Million Books – Interview
February 11 – readalot – Review
February 12 – Dalene’s Book Reviews – Review – Interview – Giveaway Can not post due to computer issues. This stop will be reschedule in the near future.
February 14 – Omnimystery News – Interview
1 paperback can be given away at each stop.
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