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Week of May 15, 2017

New in Paperback

Week of May 15, 2017

Paperback releases for the week of May 15th include THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS, an enthralling collection of nonfiction essays from Neil Gaiman on a myriad of topics --- from art and artists to dreams, myths and memories; THE WRONG SIDE OF GOODBYE by Michael Connelly, the 19th thriller starring Detective Harry Bosch, who must track down someone who may never have existed; THE CITY OF MIRRORS, the breaktaking finale of the Passage Trilogy that finds Justin Cronin’s band of hardened survivors awaiting the second coming of unspeakable darkness; and Lesley M. M. Blume's EVERYBODY BEHAVES BADLY, which tells the full story behind Ernest Hemingway’s legendary rise for the first time, revealing how he created his own image as the bull-fighting aficionado, hard-drinking literary genius and expatriate bon vivant.

The After Party by Anton DiSclafani - Historical Fiction

May 16, 2017

Joan Fortier is the epitome of Texas glamour and the center of the 1950s Houston social scene. Every man who sees her seems to want her; every woman just wants to be her. The money may flow as freely as the oil, but the freedom and power all belong to the men. What happens when a woman of indecorous appetites and desires like Joan wants more? What does it do to her best friend? Devoted to Joan since childhood, Cece Buchanan is either her chaperone or her partner in crime, depending on whom you ask. But as Joan’s radical behavior escalates, Cece’s perspective shifts --- forcing one provocative choice to appear the only one there is.

Broken River by J. Robert Lennon - Psychological Thriller

May 16, 2017

One night, three people --- a couple and their child --- hurry out the door of their modest house in upstate New York, but it’s too late for them. As the opening scene of BROKEN RIVER unfolds, a spectral presence seems to be watching with cold and mysterious interest. Soon the house lies abandoned, and years later a new family moves in. Karl, Eleanor and their daughter, Irina, arrive from New York City in the wake of Karl’s infidelity to start anew. Twelve-year-old Irina becomes obsessed with the brutal murders that occurred in the house years earlier. And, secretly, so does her mother.

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin - Post-Apocalyptic Thriller

May 16, 2017

The Twelve have been destroyed, and the terrifying hundred-year reign of darkness that descended upon the world has ended. The survivors are stepping outside their walls, determined to build society anew. But far from them, in a dead metropolis, he waits: Zero. The First. Father of the Twelve. The anguish that shattered his human life haunts him, and the hatred spawned by his transformation burns bright. His fury will be quenched only when he destroys Amy --- humanity’s only hope, the Girl from Nowhere who grew up to rise against him.

Commander in Chief: FDR's Battle with Churchill, 1943 by Nigel Hamilton - History

May 16, 2017

1943 was the year of Allied military counteroffensives, beating back the forces of the Axis powers in North Africa and the Pacific --- the “Hinge of Fate,” as Winston Churchill called it. In COMMANDER IN CHIEF, Nigel Hamilton reveals FDR’s true role in this saga: overruling his own Joint Chiefs of Staff, ordering American airmen on an ambush of the Japanese navy’s Admiral Yamamoto, facing down Churchill when he attempted to abandon Allied D-day strategy (twice).

Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway's Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises by Lesley M.M. Blume - Biography

May 16, 2017

In the summer of 1925, Ernest Hemingway traveled to Pamplona for the infamous running of the bulls. He then channeled that trip’s drunken brawls, sexual rivalry, midnight betrayals and midday hangovers into a novel that redefined modern literature. Lesley Blume tells the full story behind Hemingway’s legendary rise for the first time, revealing how he created his own image as the bull-fighting aficionado, hard-drinking literary genius and expatriate bon vivant. In all its youth, lust and rivalry, the Lost Generation is illuminated here as never before.

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood - Fiction

May 16, 2017

Felix is at the top of his game as Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival. His productions have amazed and confounded. Now he's staging a “Tempest” like no other: not only will it boost his reputation, it will heal emotional wounds. Or that was the plan. Instead, after an act of unforeseen treachery, Felix is living in exile in a backwoods hovel, haunted by memories of his beloved lost daughter, Miranda. And also brewing revenge. After 12 years, revenge finally arrives in the shape of a theatre course at a nearby prison. Here, Felix and his inmate actors will put on his “Tempest” and snare the traitors who destroyed him. It's magic! But will it remake Felix as his enemies fall?

The Highwayman: A Longmire Story by Craig Johnson - Mystery

May 16, 2017

When Wyoming highway patrolman Rosey Wayman is transferred to the beautiful and imposing landscape of the Wind River Canyon, an area the troopers refer to as no-man's-land because of the lack of radio communication, she starts receiving “officer needs assistance” calls. The problem? They're coming from Bobby Womack, a legendary Arapaho patrolman who met a fiery death in the canyon almost a half-century ago. With an investigation that spans this world and the next, Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear take on a case that pits them against a legend: The Highwayman.

A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi - Fiction

May 16, 2017

For two decades, Zeba was a loving wife, a patient mother and a peaceful villager. But her quiet life is shattered when her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered. A shocked Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of his death. Her children swear she could not have committed such a heinous act. Kamal’s family is sure she did and demands justice. Barely escaping a vengeful mob, Zeba is arrested and jailed. As she awaits trial, she meets a group of women whose own misfortunes have also led them to these bleak cells. Is Zeba a cold-blooded killer, these young ladies wonder, or has she been imprisoned, as they have been, for breaking some social rule?

Listen to Me by Hannah Pittard - Psychological Thriller

May 16, 2017

Mark and Maggie's annual drive east to visit family has gotten off to a rocky start. By the time they're on the road, it's late, a storm is brewing, and they are no longer speaking to one another. Adding to the stress, Maggie --- recently mugged at gunpoint --- is lately not herself, and Mark is at a loss about what to make of the stranger he calls his wife. When they are forced to stop for the night at a remote inn, completely without power, Maggie's paranoia reaches an all-time and terrifying high. But when Mark finds himself threatened in a dark parking lot, it’s Maggie who takes control.

The Muse by Jessie Burton - Historical Fiction

May 16, 2017

England, 1967: Odelle Bastien --- a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London --- starts working at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art and discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young artist of immense talent whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. Spain, 1936: Olive Schloss follows her parents to Arazuelo, a poor village on the southern coast. She grows close to Teresa, a housekeeper, and her half-brother, Isaac Robles. Insinuating themselves into the Schloss family’s lives, Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents with devastating consequences that will echo into the decades to come.

Never a Dull Moment: 1971 -- The Year That Rock Exploded by David Hepworth - Music/History

May 16, 2017

David Hepworth, an ardent music fan and well-regarded critic, was 21 in 1971, the same age as many of the legendary artists who arrived on the scene. Taking us on a tour of the major moments, the events and songs of this remarkable year, Hepworth shows how musicians came together to form the perfect storm of rock and roll greatness, starting a musical era that would last longer than anyone predicted. Those who joined bands to escape things that lasted found themselves in a new age, its colossal start being part of the genre's staying power.

Porcelain: A Memoir by Moby - Memoir

May 16, 2017

At once bighearted and remorseless in its excavation of a lost world, PORCELAIN is both a chronicle of a city and a time and a deeply intimate exploration of finding one’s place during the most gloriously anxious period in life --- when you are on your own and betting on yourself, but have no idea how the story ends, and so you live with the honest dread that you’re one false step from being thrown out on your face. Moby’s voice resonates with honesty, wit and, above all, an unshakable passion for his music that steered him through some very rough seas.

Redemption Road by John Hart - Thriller

May 16, 2017

After a five-year absence, John Hart, the first and only author to win back-to-back Edgars for Best Novel, makes his triumphant return with REDEMPTION ROAD. A boy with a gun waits for the man who killed his mother. A troubled detective confronts her past in the aftermath of a brutal shooting. After 13 years in prison, a good cop walks free as deep in the forest, on the altar of an abandoned church, a body cools in pale linen. This is a town on the brink. This is Redemption Road.

The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore - History

May 16, 2017

This is the intimate story of 20 tsars and tsarinas --- some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore’s gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance. It features a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets --- from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin, to Bismarck, Lincoln, Queen Victoria and Lenin.

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell - Fiction

May 16, 2017

Daniel Sullivan leads a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn, and his wife, Claudette, is a reclusive ex–film star given to pulling a gun on anyone who ventures up their driveway. Together, they have made an idyllic life in the country, but a secret from Daniel’s past threatens to destroy their meticulously constructed and fiercely protected home.

The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman - Essays

May 16, 2017

An inquisitive observer, thoughtful commentator and assiduous craftsman, Neil Gaiman has long been celebrated for the sharp intellect and startling imagination that informs his bestselling fiction. Now, THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS brings together for the first time ever more than 60 pieces of his outstanding nonfiction. Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics --- offering a glimpse into the head and heart of one of the most acclaimed, beloved and influential artists of our time.

Wintering by Peter Geye - Fiction

May 16, 2017

One day, elderly, demented Harry Eide steps out of his sickbed and disappears into the brutal, unforgiving Minnesota wilderness that surrounds his hometown of Gunflint. It's not the first time Harry has vanished. Thirty-odd years earlier, in 1963, he'd fled his marriage with his 18-year-old-son Gustav in tow. He'd promised Gustav a rambunctious adventure, two men taking on the woods in winter. With Harry gone for the second (and last) time, unable to survive the woods he'd once braved, his son Gus, now grown, sets out to relate the story of their first disappearance to Berit Lovig, an old woman who shares a special, if turbulent, bond with Harry.

The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb by Neal Bascomb - History

May 16, 2017

It’s 1942, and the Nazis are racing to be the first to build a weapon unlike any known before. All their plans depend on amassing a single ingredient: heavy water, which is produced in Norway’s Vemork, the lone plant in all the world that makes this rare substance. Under threat of death, Vemork’s engineers push production into overdrive. For the Allies, the plant must be destroyed. But how would they reach the castle fortress set on a precipitous gorge in one of the coldest, most inhospitable places on Earth?

The Wrong Side of Goodbye: A Bosch Novel by Michael Connelly - Thriller

May 16, 2017

One of Southern California's biggest moguls is nearing the end of his life and is haunted by one regret. When he was young, he had a relationship with a Mexican girl, his great love. But soon after becoming pregnant, she disappeared. Did she have the baby? And if so, what happened to it? Desperate to know if he has an heir, the dying magnate hires Harry Bosch, California's newest private investigator. As he begins to uncover the haunting story --- and finds uncanny links to his own past --- Harry knows he cannot rest until he finds the truth. At the same time, he finds himself tracking a serial rapist who is one of the most baffling and dangerous foes he has ever faced.