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Week of May 4, 2020

New in Paperback

Week of May 4, 2020

Paperback releases for the week of May 4th include THE GUEST BOOK, in which Sarah Blake deftly examines the life and legacy of one unforgettable family as they navigate the evolving social and political landscape from Crockett’s Island, their family retreat off the coast of Maine; ASK AGAIN, YES by Mary Beth Keane, a gorgeous and generous portrait of the daily intimacies of marriage and the power of forgiveness, as two families try to stay afloat amid a resounding tragedy; Karen Abbott's THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARK, the epic true crime story of the most successful bootlegger in American history and the murder that shocked the nation; SAVE ME THE PLUMS, trailblazing food writer and beloved restaurant critic Ruth Reichl's memoir about her groundbreaking tenure as editor in chief of Gourmet; and THE PIONEERS, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough's chronicle of the settling of the Northwest Territory by dauntless pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would come to define our country.

Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait by Alison Weir - Historical Fiction

May 5, 2020

Newly widowed and the father of an infant son, Henry VIII realizes he must marry again to ensure the royal succession. Forty-six, overweight and suffering from gout, Henry is soundly rejected by some of Europe's most eligible princesses. Anna of Kleve, from a small German duchy, is 24 and has a secret she is desperate to keep hidden. Henry commissions her portrait from his court painter, who depicts her from the most flattering perspective. Entranced by the lovely image, Henry is bitterly surprised when Anna arrives in England and he sees her in the flesh. Some think her attractive, but Henry knows he can never love her. What follows is the fascinating story of an awkward royal union that somehow had to be terminated.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane - Fiction

May 5, 2020

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, rookie cops in the NYPD, live next door to each other outside the city. What happens behind closed doors in both houses --- the loneliness of Francis’ wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne --- sets the stage for the explosive events to come. ASK AGAIN, YES is a deeply affecting exploration of the lifelong friendship and love that blossoms between Kate Gleeson and Peter Stanhope, born six months apart. One shocking night their loyalties are divided, and their bond will be tested again and again over the next 30 years.

A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay - Historical Fantasy

May 5, 2020

In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school, even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count --- and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast. Danio's fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one autumn night --- intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger --- and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.

Contraband: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods - Thriller/Adventure

May 5, 2020

Stone Barrington is getting some much-needed rest and relaxation in the Florida sun when trouble falls from the sky --- literally. Intrigued by the suspicious circumstances surrounding this event, Stone joins forces with a sharp-witted and alluring local detective to investigate. But they run into a problem: the evidence keeps disappearing. From the laid-back Key West shores to the bustling Manhattan streets, Stone sets out to connect the dots between the crimes that seem to follow him wherever he travels. His investigations only lead to more questions, and shocking connections between old and new acquaintances. But as Stone must quickly learn, answers --- and enemies --- are often hiding in plain sight.

Family for Beginners by Sarah Morgan - Romance

May 5, 2020

New York florist Flora Donovan is living the dream, but her bubbly optimism hides a secret. She’s lonely. Orphaned as a child, she’s never felt like she’s belonged anywhere…until she meets Jack Parker. He’s the first man to ever really see her, and it’s life-changing. Since her mother passed away a year ago, looking after her dad and little sister is the only thing that makes teenager Izzy Parker feel safe. Discovering that her father has a new girlfriend is her worst nightmare; she is not in the market for a replacement mom. Then her father invites Flora on their summer vacation. As the summer unfolds, Flora must push her own boundaries to discover parts of herself she never knew existed --- and to find the family she’s always wanted.

Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World by Shannon Watts - Political Science/Social Issues

May 5, 2020

FIGHT LIKE A MOTHER is the incredible account of how one mother’s cry for change became the driving force behind gun safety progress. Along with stories of perseverance, courage and compassion, Shannon Watts shines a light on the unique power of women --- starting with what they have, leading with their maternal strengths, and doubling down instead of backing down. While not everyone can be on the front lines lobbying Congress, every mom is already a multi-tasking organizer, and Shannon explains how to go from amateur activist to having a real impact in your community and beyond.

First: Sandra Day O'Connor by Evan Thomas - Biography

May 5, 2020

She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings --- doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement and cowgirl toughness. This is a remarkably vivid and personal portrait of a woman who loved her family, who believed in serving her country, and who, when she became the most powerful woman in America, built a bridge forward for all women.

The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America by Karen Abbott - True Crime/History

May 5, 2020

In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he's a multi-millionaire. Pioneering prosecutor Mabel Walker Willebrandt is determined to bring him down. She dispatches her best investigator, Franklin Dodge, to look into his empire. It's a decision with deadly consequences. With the fledgling FBI on the case, Remus is quickly imprisoned for violating the Volstead Act. Her husband behind bars, Imogene begins an affair with Dodge. Together, they plot to ruin Remus, sparking a bitter feud that soon reaches the highest levels of government --- and that can only end in murder.

The Girl Who Lived Twice: A Lisbeth Salander Novel by David Lagercrantz - Thriller

May 5, 2020

Mikael Blomkvist is trying to reach Lisbeth Salander --- the fierce, unstoppable girl with the dragon tattoo. He needs her help unraveling the identity of a man who died with Blomkvist's phone number in his pocket --- a man who does not exist in any official records and whose garbled last words hinted at knowledge that would be dangerous to important people. But Lisbeth has disappeared. No one is aware that at long last she has her primal enemy, her twin sister, Camilla, squarely in her sights. In the end, it will be Blomkvist --- in a moment of unimaginable self-sacrifice --- who will make it possible for Lisbeth to face the most important battle of her life and, finally, to put her past to rest.

The Good Cop by Peter Steiner - Historical Mystery

May 5, 2020

Munich, 1920. Detective Willi Geismeier has a problem: How do you uphold the law when the law goes bad? The First World War has been lost, and Germany is in turmoil. The new government in Berlin is weak. The police and courts are corrupt. Fascists and Communists are fighting in the streets. People want a savior, someone who can make Germany great again. To many, Adolf Hitler seems perfect for the job. When the offices of a Munich newspaper are bombed, Willi Geismeier investigates, but as it gets political, he is taken off the case. Willi continues to ask questions, but when his pursuit of the truth itself becomes a crime, his career --- and his life --- are in grave danger.

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham - Psychological Thriller

May 5, 2020

A girl is discovered hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Half-starved and filthy, she won’t tell anyone her name or where she came from. Six years later, still unidentified, she is living in a secure children’s home with a new name, Evie Cormac. When she initiates a court case demanding the right to be released as an adult, forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must determine if Evie is ready to go free. Meanwhile, Cyrus is called in to investigate the shocking murder of a high school figure-skating champion, Jodie Sheehan, who is portrayed by everyone as the ultimate girl-next-door. But as Cyrus peels back the layers, a secret life emerges --- one that Evie Cormac, the girl with no past, knows something about.

The Guest Book by Sarah Blake - Fiction

May 5, 2020

While Kitty Milton and her husband, Ogden, summer on their island in Maine, anchored as they are to the way things have always been, the winds of change are beginning to stir. In 1959 New York City, two strangers enter the Miltons’ circle. One captures the attention of Kitty’s daughter, while the other makes each of them question what the family stands for. This new generation insists the times are changing. And in one night, everything does. So much so that in the present day, the third generation of Miltons doesn’t have enough money to keep the island in Maine. Evie Milton’s mother has just died, and as Evie digs into her mother’s and grandparents’ history, what she finds is a story as unsettling as it is inescapable, the story that threatens the foundation of the Milton family myth.

The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore - Fiction

May 5, 2020

Over the 12 short weeks of summer, three strangers --- former literary star Anthony Puckett, whoopie pie café owner Joy Sousa, and working mother Lu Trusdale --- will meet and grow close, share secrets and bury lies on Block Island. As the promise of June turns into the chilly nights of August, the truth will come out, forcing each of them to decide what they value most, and what they are willing to give up to keep it.

Kopp Sisters on the March: A Kopp Sisters Novel by Amy Stewart - Historical Fiction

May 5, 2020

It’s the spring of 1917, and change is in the air. American women have done something remarkable: they’ve banded together to create military-style training camps for women who want to serve. These so-called National Service Schools prove irresistible to the Kopp sisters, who leave their farm in New Jersey to join up. When an accident befalls the matron, Constance reluctantly agrees to oversee the camp --- much to the alarm of the Kopps’ tent-mate, the real-life Beulah Binford, who is seeking refuge from her own scandalous past under the cover of a false identity. Will she be denied a second chance? And after notoriety, can a woman’s life ever be her own again?

The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine - Psychological Thriller/Mystery

May 5, 2020

Dr. Kate English has it all. Not only is she the heiress to a large fortune, she has a gorgeous husband and daughter, a high-flying career, and a beautiful home anyone would envy. But all that changes the night Kate’s mother, Lily, is found dead, brutally murdered in her own home. Heartbroken and distraught, Kate reaches out to her estranged best friend, Blaire Barrington, who rushes to her side for the funeral. That evening, Kate’s grief turns to horror when she receives an anonymous text: You think you’re sad now, just wait. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you had been buried today. Once Blaire decides to take the investigation into her own hands, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in Baltimore high society.

Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler - Fiction

May 5, 2020

Eleven-year-old Nedda Papas is obsessed with becoming an astronaut. In 1986 in Easter, a small Florida Space Coast town, her dreams seem almost within reach. But Theo, the scientist father she idolizes, is still reeling from the loss of her newborn brother several years before, and turns to the dangerous dream of extending his living daughter's childhood just a little longer. The result is an invention that alters the fabric of time. Decades later, Nedda has achieved her long-held dream and is traveling aboard the space ship Chawla, part of a small group hoping to colonize a distant planet. But as she floats in zero gravity, she and her crewmates face a serious crisis. Nedda may hold the key to the solution, if she can come to terms with her past and the future that awaits her.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager - Psychological Thriller

May 5, 2020

Jules Larsen is an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile and mysterious buildings. As she gets to know the residents and staff, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story. Until the next day, when Ingrid disappears. What Jules discovers pits her against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey - Fantasy/Mystery

May 5, 2020

When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister --- without losing herself.

Metropolis: A Bernie Gunther Novel by Philip Kerr - Historical Thriller

May 5, 2020

Summer, 1928. Berlin, a city where nothing is verboten. In the night streets, political gangs wander, looking for fights. Daylight reveals a beleaguered populace barely recovering from the postwar inflation, often jobless, reeling from the reparations imposed by the victors. At central police HQ, the Murder Commission has its hands full. A killer is on the loose, and though he scatters many clues, each is a dead end. It's almost as if he is taunting the cops. Meanwhile, the press is having a field day. This is what Bernie Gunther finds on his first day with the Murder Commission. He's been taken on because the people at the top have noticed him --- they think he has the makings of a first-rate detective. But not just yet. Right now, he has to listen and learn.

My Dad, Yogi: A Memoir of Family and Baseball by Dale Berra with Mark Ribowsky - Sports/Memoir

May 5, 2020

Everyone knows Yogi Berra, the American icon. He was the backbone of the New York Yankees through 10 World Series Championships, managed the National League Champion New York Mets in 1973, and had an ingenious way with words that remains an indelible part of our lexicon. But no one knew him like his family did. MY DAD, YOGI is Dale Berra's chronicle of his unshakeable bond with his father, as well as an intimate portrait of one of the great sports figures of the 20th century.

My Life as a Rat by Joyce Carol Oates - Fiction

May 5, 2020

MY LIFE AS A RAT follows Violet Rue Kerrigan, a young woman who looks back upon her life in exile from her family following her testimony, at age 12, concerning what she knew to be the racist murder of an African-American boy by her older brothers. In a succession of vividly recalled episodes, Violet contemplates the circumstances of her life as the initially beloved youngest child of seven Kerrigan children who inadvertently “informs” on her brothers, setting into motion their arrests and convictions and her own long estrangement.

The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell - Historical Fiction

May 5, 2020

1904. On the banks of the Zambezi River, a few miles from the majestic Victoria Falls, there is a colonial settlement called The Old Drift. In a smoky room at the hotel across the river, an Old Drifter named Percy M. Clark, foggy with fever, makes a mistake that entangles the fates of an Italian hotelier and an African busboy. This sets off a cycle of unwitting retribution between three Zambian families (black, white, brown) as they collide and converge over the course of the century, into the present and beyond. As the generations pass, their lives --- their triumphs, errors, losses and hopes --- emerge through a panorama of history, fairy tale, romance and science fiction.

The Oracle: A Sam and Remi Fargo Adventure by Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell - Thriller/Adventure

May 5, 2020

In 533 A.D., the last Vandal ruler in North Africa consults an oracle on how to defeat the invading Byzantine army. The oracle tells the king that a high priestess cast a curse upon the Vandal Kingdom after a sacred scroll was stolen. In order to lift the curse, the scroll must be returned to its rightful home. But the kingdom falls before the scroll is found, leaving its location a great mystery…until a current-day archaeological dig, funded by Sam and Remi Fargo, uncovers some vital clues. The search for the ancient scroll is put on hold when the Fargos learn that a shipment of supplies intended for their charitable foundation's school has been stolen, and they travel to Nigeria to deliver new supplies themselves. But their mission becomes infinitely more complicated when they run afoul of a band of robbers.

Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell - Fiction/Short Stories

May 5, 2020

In "Bog Girl," a young man falls in love with a 2,000-year-old girl who he's extracted from a mass of peat in a Northern European bog. In "The Prospectors," two opportunistic young women fleeing the Great Depression strike out for new territory, and find themselves fighting for their lives. And in the title story, a new mother desperate to ensure her infant's safety strikes a diabolical deal, agreeing to breastfeed the devil in exchange for his protection. The landscape in which these and five other stories unfold is a feral, slippery, purgatorial space, bracketed by the void --- yet within it, Karen Russell captures the exquisite beauty and tenderness of ordinary life.

Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer by John Glynn - Memoir

May 5, 2020

They call Montauk the end of the world, a spit of land jutting into the Atlantic. The house was a ramshackle split-level set on a hill, and each summer 31 people would sleep between its thin walls and shag carpets. Against the moonlight the house's octagonal roof resembled a bee's nest. It was dubbed The Hive. In 2013, John Glynn joined the share house. Packing his duffel for that first Memorial Day weekend, he prayed for clarity. At 27, he was crippled by an all-encompassing loneliness, a feeling he had carried in his heart for as long as he could remember. OUT EAST is the portrait of a summer, of the Hive and the people who lived in it, and John's own reckoning with a half-formed sense of self.

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough - History

May 5, 2020

As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister named Manasseh Cutler was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education and, most importantly, the prohibition of slavery.

Red Metal by Mark Greaney and LtCol H. Ripley Rawlings IV, USMC - Thriller/Adventure

May 5, 2020

The Russian bear has awakened. Their tanks race across Poland crushing all opposition on a headlong dash for the heart of Germany. Satellite-killing missiles blind American forces while Spetznatz teams destroy Allied communications relays. It's all part of a master plan to confuse and defeat America and her allies. Ranged against the Russian attack are a Marine lieutenant colonel pulled out of a cushy job at the Pentagon and thrown into the fray, a French Special Forces captain and his intelligence operative father, a young Polish female partisan fighter, an A-10 Warthog pilot, and the captain of an American tank platoon who, along with a German sergeant, struggle to keep a small group of American and German tanks in the fight.

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl - Memoir

May 5, 2020

When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone’s boss. But Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no? This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat.

The Second Chance Boutique by Louisa Leaman - Fiction

May 5, 2020

Francesca Delaney has a knack for matching a bride-to-be with the perfect gown. Her shop, The Whispering Dress, is no ordinary bridal boutique. Every gown is vintage, and the dresses seem to share their stories with Francesca, pointing to which woman needs them next. Fran credits her success to two rules: never covet a dress, and never sell a dress that led to a doomed marriage. But then she finds a beautiful 1950s couture floor-length gown, and her talent veers into obsession. The owner, however, would quite like the dark past of the dress to remain hidden forever.

Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer - Fiction

May 5, 2020

Keely Green always dreamed of leaving the beautiful shores of Nantucket to become a writer. Now she’s a bestselling novelist living in New York City and dating a pediatric surgeon who looks good on paper but isn’t “the one.” She just can’t bear to break it off --- until he declares his desire to settle down. Then Keely’s editor rejects her latest novel. With her personal and professional lives suddenly in shambles, Keely longs for the soothing island way of life. Returning home would mean facing former best friend Isabelle, who married Keely’s high school boyfriend, Tommy. But when Keely’s mother falls into a deep depression, Keely knows what she must do, even though she is reluctant to face the person who betrayed her.

This Side of Night by J. Todd Scott - Thriller

May 5, 2020

In the Mexican borderlands, a busload of student protesters is gunned down in broad daylight, a violent act blamed on the Nemesio cartel. But its aging leader, Fox Uno, sees the attack for what it is: another salvo in the long-running battle for control of Nemesio itself. Across the Rio Grande, Sheriff Chris Cherry and his deputies America Reynosa and Danny Ford find themselves caught in Fox Uno's escalating war with the recent discovery of five dead men at the river's edge. El Paso DEA agent Joe Garrison's own Nemesio investigation leads him into the heart of the Big Bend. Not only does he suspect that a high-profile drug task force in a neighboring county is corrupt, he can't shake lingering doubts about the loyalty and motives of the young deputy, Ame Reynosa.

Tiny Imperfections by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans - Romantic Comedy

May 5, 2020

At 39, Josie Bordelon's modeling career as the "it" black beauty of the '90s is far behind her. Now director of admissions at San Francisco's most sought-after private school, she's chic, single and determined to keep her 17-year-old daughter, Etta, from making the same mistakes she did. But Etta has plans of her own --- and their beloved matriarch, Aunt Viv, has Etta's back. If only Josie could manage Etta's future as well as she manages the shenanigans of the over-anxious, over-eager parents at school --- or her best friend's attempts to coax Josie out of her sex sabbatical and back onto the dating scene. As admissions season heats up, Josie discovers that when it comes to matters of the heart --- and the office --- the biggest surprises lie closest to home.

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi - Fiction

May 5, 2020

In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving “Brotherhood of the Arts,” two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed --- or untoyed with --- by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school’s walls --- until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside down.

Under Currents by Nora Roberts - Romantic Suspense

May 5, 2020

Inside a pristine home in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, Zane Bigelow has learned to keep secrets. Strangers see his parents as a successful surgeon and his stylish wife, proud of their children. Only Zane and his sister know the terrible truth. Dominated by his father's rages --- and his mother's complicity --- Zane fears for his and little Britt's lives. Still he maintains the insidious lie that all is fine, while scribbling his real thoughts in a secret journal he must carefully hide away. Now, as a grown man struggling to build a new life, Zane will find that while his past may always shadow him, it will also show him that love and goodness can triumph --- and give him strength to draw on when he once again must stand up and defend himself and the woman he loves.

The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film by W.K. Stratton - Entertainment/History

May 5, 2020

Sam Peckinpah's film The Wild Bunch is the story of a gang of outlaws who are one big steal from retirement. When their attempted train robbery goes awry, the gang flees to Mexico and falls in with a brutal general of the Mexican Revolution, who offers them the job of a lifetime. Conceived by a stuntman, directed by a blacklisted director, and shot in the sand and heat of the Mexican desert, the movie seemed doomed. Instead, it became an instant classic with a dark, violent take on the Western movie tradition. Fifty years after its release, W.K. Stratton tells the fascinating history of the movie and documents for the first time the extraordinary contribution of Mexican and Mexican-American actors and crew members to its success.