To see a video trailer for January Moon on YouTube click here: Video Trailer
The novel is groundbreaking in several respects; for one thing it is the first novel to situate female genital mutilation within the genre of an American cop story. Maureen also tackles racism, religious extremism, and mental illness with a deft hand and brutal honesty but, amazingly, the story is anything but dark or oppressive. Critics and readers alike praise January Moon for its sophisticated wit, many laugh-out-loud moments, and very clever writing.
Dennis Banahan, a 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department and decorated homicide detective called January Moon “a masterpiece, a tour de force…” and said Maureen’s “cast of characters ring so true” he “could almost swear he was there.” Gina Gallo, author of “Armed & Dangerous: Memoirs of a Chicago Policewoman” also praised the book; she warned other authors that Maureen “is a new gun in town and she’s taking no prisoners.”
The award-winning author and book critic, Tyler Tichelaar, Ph.D., compares Maureen’s writing to national best-selling author Michael Connolly; in his review, Professor Tichelaar told Michael Connolly to “move over” to make room for Gill and announced January Moon “is an astonishing achievement.”
January Moon has also received praise from FBI agents, judges, teachers, and book clubs. It crosses gender lines and appeals to both men and women. January Moon contains a lot of fun stuff about Chicago and its neighborhoods, especially Chicago’s restaurants and food, but Maureen also mentions one of her favorite places in Kankakee County. In one scene in the book, homicide investigators Del Carter and Fred Wiley stop for burgers and beers at Ryan’s Pier in Aroma Park. The University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, is prominent in the book also. The story begins at a gas stop off I-57 in Urbana when an over-the-road trucker picks up a mysterious young girl and drives her to Chicago. The University, however, plays a more prominent role when several university students become domestic-terrorist wannabees.
January Moon is the first book in The Del Carter Calendar Series and its sequel March Storm will be released in late 2011. March Storm finds Chicago homicide cop Del Carter and the love of his life, Jessica Farrell, finally settled down and living out their fantasies about a quiet life in small town America, a place they hope will be safe to raise their children. They soon learn, however, that rural life can serve up as much crime and terror as Chicago. In March Storm, Del Carter and many of the same folks that readers loved in January Moon find themselves in the middle of murder, dog fighting, human trafficking, and flooding rivers.
More about March Storm appears in its own tab here on this blog. Check it out!
Also, please be sure to check out this link to my website. My website is loaded with much more information about me and January Moon.
BTW: here's the link to the book on Amazon.com ---> January Moon.
