August 16, 2016

Yesterday may have been National Relaxation Day, but it’s clear that some of our favorite celebrities (and athletes) have been doing anything but. Last we spoke, we were just gearing up for the quadrennial games, but now that we’re in the thick of it, we’ve got Rio fever. And we don’t mean the kind that Jenn Suhr caught from the local swamps. Our new favorite gymnast, who casually happens to be the best in the world, Simone Biles, has been killing it all over the Olympic™ floor. We’re all about her sass and sportsmanship. Superstars Allyson Felix and Usain Bolt are unstoppable (probably literally), and part-man, part-sea creature Michael Phelps basically has enough gold to fill a pirate’s chest. Not to mention our girls, Katie Ledecky, who is well on her way to becoming an all-time, top-decorated medalist, and Simone Manuel, the first African American woman to win an individual Olympic gold in swimming.

Of course, even the world’s top athletes need to kick back every so often. Back in Sochi, Tinder took the Olympic village by storm. At the time, the fledgling hookup app was just gaining traction (how innocent we all were!), so its popularity among beautiful-bodied competitors dominated the headlines. It’s no wonder Bob Costas got pink eye! A mere two years later, Tinder is deeply embedded in the dating #system, so many athletes are already longtime users. Ryan Lochte may be the app’s reigning poster boy, but thanks to the geniuses behind the Instagram account @sportsswipe, you can check out screenshots of plenty more athletes’ profiles. Let’s be honest, window shopping is better than no shopping at all.

Sure, we’d love to finish off this year’s games with news about a Phelps memoir (including pics of our favorite Olympic baby, Boomer) or a Biles’ “tips-on-growing-up-girl” for all those aspiring young things out there, but let’s not get too excited. Caitlyn Jenner once said: “If training takes time, so does writing a book.” Ryan Lochte’s memoir could be a very interesting exercise in unreliable narration, at least based off of his colorful recounting of getting robbed at gunpoint (choice quote: “I was like, ‘Whatever’”). If he’s looking for a ghost writer, he’s got two over here, ready, capable and willing. We know the robbery left him a few bucks short, so we’re happy to offer our services in exchange for winks, shirtless selfies and lifeguard-rescuing fantasies played out in real time.

Lucky for us in the book world, we’re striking a different kind of gold as Amy Schumer’s THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO hits shelves today. The long-awaited, much-anticipated multi-million dollar memoir has more than just our funny bones tickled. It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Schum Schum (and who besides Tig Notaro isn’t?), so we absolutely cannot wait to get our hands on the comedienne’s new book. Schumer is known for her candidness as much as for her inimitable sense of humor, so we can count on lots of behind-the-scenes gems, juicy tidbits and relatable mishaps. We’ll pretty much read any old celebrity memoir, but everyone knows funny ladies write the best ones. Take note, Lochte. Boy, bye.

Joy may be harder to come by in this post-Taylor Swift world, but it’s not impossible if you know where to look. We mean new books. Here are some to check out in this hot, but fruitful summer daze:

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious in bestselling author Blake Crouch’s latest, DARK MATTER. He awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined --- one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

In GOOD AS GONE by Amy Gentry, 13-year-old Julie Whitaker has been kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night, witnessed only by her younger sister. Her family is shattered but are managing to stick together, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is miraculously home safe. The family is ecstatic, but Anna, Julie’s mother, has whispers of doubts. When she is contacted by a former detective turned private eye, she begins a torturous search for the truth about the woman she desperately hopes is her daughter.

Debut novelist B. A. Paris’s psychological thriller, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, is for fans of GONE GIRL and THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN. This suspenseful story follows the couple, Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace's friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call --- so why doesn't Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim? And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?

Speaking of winning, click here to see if you were one of the five lucky ones in our Beach Bag of Books contest. If not, we still encourage you to check out the books included in the roundup here. Between THE GIRLS, ME BEFORE YOU and GOOD AS GONE, there are a lot of great options to finish up your summer. And many thanks to all who entered!

Happy reading, and may you sweat out the rest of summer in style!

5 Things We’re Obsessed With at This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. "Bachelor in Paradise," or the best thing on television since "Singled Out"
2. The Laurie Hernandez wink GIF
3. The return of Winona Ryder, à la "Stranger Things"
4. Two new Girl Scout cookie flavors, debuting in 2017
5. The Baby-Sitters Club turns 30!

Nicole Sherman (Nicole@bookreporter.com) + Emily Hoenig (Emily@bookreporter.com)

 

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. Enter the strong, capable Sam Fielding—a paramedic and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks her plans, propelling her into a very different future...

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings.

ABSALOM'S DAUGHTERS by Suzanne Feldman (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Lisa Reneé Pitts
Self-educated and brown-skinned, Cassie works full time in her grandmother’s laundry in rural Mississippi. Illiterate and white, Judith falls for “colored music” and dreams of life as a big city radio star. These teenaged girls are half-sisters. And when they catch wind of their wayward father’s inheritance coming down in Virginia, they hitch their hopes to a road trip together to claim what’s rightly theirs. In an old junk car, with a frying pan, a ham and a few dollars hidden in a shoe, they set off through the American Deep South of the 1950s, a bewitchingly beautiful landscape as well as one bedeviled by racial strife and violence. Reviewed by Sarah Jackman.

ANOTHER BROOKLYN by Jacqueline Woodson (Fiction)
Audiobook available, performed by Robin Miles
Running into a long-ago friend sets memory from the 1970s in motion for August, transporting her to a time and a place where friendship was everything --- until it wasn’t. For August and her girls, sharing confidences as they ambled through neighborhood streets, Brooklyn was a place where they believed that they were beautiful, talented and brilliant --- a part of a future that belonged to them. But beneath the hopeful veneer, there was another Brooklyn, a dangerous place where grown men reached for innocent girls in dark hallways, where ghosts haunted the night, where mothers disappeared. A world where madness was just a sunset away, and fathers found hope in religion. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.

ANOTHER ONE GOES TONIGHT: A Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond Investigation by Peter Lovesey (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Simon Prebble
Two police officers are about to head home when they receive one last call. En route to investigate, the patrol car spins off the road, killing one of the exhausted cops and leaving the other in critical condition. Detective Peter Diamond, who is assigned to look into the case, discovers that a civilian on a motorized tricycle was involved in the crash and has been lying on the side of the road for hours. Diamond administers CPR, but the man’s fate is unclear. As he lingers on life support, Diamond must wrestle with the fact that he may have saved the life of a serial killer. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

ARROWOOD by Laura McHugh (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Sarah Scott
Arrowood, the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River, has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch 20 years ago, never to be seen again. After the twins’ disappearance, Arden’s parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. Arden has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can’t move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

THE BEAUTY OF THE END by Debbie Howells (Psychological Thriller)
Ex-lawyer Noah Calaway is haunted by the memory of the beguiling young woman who left him at the altar 16 years earlier. Then one day, he receives a troubling phone call. April, the woman he once loved, lies in a coma, the victim of an apparent overdose --- and the lead suspect in a brutal murder. While Noah searches for evidence that will clear April's name, a teenager named Ella begins to sift through the secrets of her own painful family history. The same age that April was when Noah first met her, Ella harbors a revelation that could be the key to solving the murder. As the two stories converge, there are shocking consequences when the truth emerges at last. Or so everyone believes… Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B. A. Paris (Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller)
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace's friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call --- so why doesn't Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim? And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

BLUE MOON: Mundy’s Landing Book Two by Wendy Corsi Staub (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Allyson Ryan
A century ago, the Sleeping Beauty Murders terrified picturesque Mundy’s Landing. The victims, like the killer, were never identified. Now, on the 100th anniversary, the Historical Society’s annual “Mundypalooza” offers a hefty reward for solving the notorious case. Annabelle Bingham, living in one of the three Murder Houses, can’t escape the feeling that her family is being watched --- and not just by news crews and amateur sleuths. Having unearthed the startling truth behind the horrific crimes, a copycat killer is about to reenact them --- beneath the mansard roof of Annabelle’s dream home. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood (Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Nina Alvamar
Ava’s 25-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group’s goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Alternating with Ava’s story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.

CAROUSEL COURT by Joe McGinniss Jr. (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Corey Brill and Joy Osmanski
Nick and Phoebe Maguire move cross-country to Southern California in search of a fresh start for themselves and their infant son following a trauma. But instead of landing in a beachside property, Nick and Phoebe find themselves cemented into the dark heart of foreclosure alley, surrounded by neighbors being drowned by their underwater homes who set fire to their belongings, flee in the dead of night, and eye one another with suspicion while keeping shotguns by their beds. Trapped, broke and increasingly desperate, Nick and Phoebe each devise their own plan to claw their way back into the middle class and beyond. Hatched under one roof, their two separate, secret agendas will inevitably collide. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

COUSIN JOSEPH: A Graphic Novel by Jules Feiffer (Graphic Novel)
While in the midst of the Great Depression, Big Sam sees himself as a righteous, truth-seeking patriot, defending the American way against a rising tide of left-wing unionism, strikes and disruption that plague his home town. At the same time, he makes monthly, secret overnight trips on behalf of Cousin Joseph, a mysterious man on the phone he has never laid eyes on, to pay off Hollywood producers to ensure that they will film only upbeat movies that idealize a mythic America. But Sam himself is not in for a happy ending, as step by step the secret of his unseen mentor's duplicity is revealed to him. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jon Lindstrom
“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. He awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined --- one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

FAMILY TREE by Susan Wiggs (Fiction)
Audiobook available, performed by Christina Traister
The producer of a popular television cooking show, Annie Harlow loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. But in an instant, her life is shattered. When Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she’s lost. Grieving and wounded, she retreats to her old family home. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, she slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago. With the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm. Reviewed by Sarah Jackman.

GOOD AS GONE by Amy Gentry (Psychological Suspense)
Audiobook available, read by Karen Peakes
Thirteen-year-old Julie Whitaker was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night, witnessed only by her younger sister. Her family was shattered but managed to stick together, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is miraculously home safe. The family is ecstatic, but Anna, Julie’s mother, has whispers of doubts. When she is contacted by a former detective turned private eye, she begins a torturous search for the truth about the woman she desperately hopes is her daughter. Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin.

HEROES OF THE FRONTIER by Dave Eggers (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Rebecca Lowman
Josie and her children’s father have split up, she’s been sued by a former patient and lost her dental practice, and she’s grieving the death of a young man senselessly killed. When her ex asks to take the children to meet his new fiancée’s family, Josie makes a run for it, figuring Alaska is about as far as she can get without a passport. She and her kids, Paul and Ana, rent a rattling old RV named the Chateau, and at first their trip feels like a vacation. But as they drive, pushed north by the ubiquitous wildfires, Josie is chased by enemies both real and imagined, past mistakes pursuing her tiny family, even to the very edge of civilization. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE LANGUAGE OF DYING by Sarah Pinborough (Fiction)
A woman sits at her father's bedside, watching the clock tick away the last hours of his life. Her brothers and sisters have all turned up over the past week to pay their last respects. Each is traumatized in his or her own way, and the bonds that unite them to each other are fragile. With her siblings all gone, back to their self-obsessed lives, she is now alone with the faltering wreck of her father's cancer-ridden body. It is always at times like this when it --- the dark and nameless, the impossible, presence that lingers along the fringes of the dark fields beyond the house --- comes calling. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

THE LAST ONE by Alexandra Oliva (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Mike Chamberlain and Nicol Zanzarella
Twelve contestants on a reality TV show are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens. But how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it man-made? When one of the contestants stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game. But as her emotional and physical reserves dwindle, she grasps that the real world might have been altered in terrifying ways --- and her ability to parse the charade will be either her triumph or her undoing. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

THE LOST GIRLS by Heather Young (Mystery)
Audiobook available, performed by Alice Rosengard and Laurel Schroeder
In 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanishes from her family’s vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. Sixty years later, Emily’s sister, Lucy, lives in the lake house alone. Before her death, she writes the story of that devastating summer in a notebook that she leaves, along with the house, to her grandniece, Justine. Justine’s only neighbor is a strange old man who seems to know more about the summer of 1935 than he’s telling. Soon Justine’s troubled oldest daughter becomes obsessed with Emily’s disappearance, her mother arrives to steal her inheritance, and the man she left launches a dangerous plan to get her back. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

THE MORE THEY DISAPPEAR by Jesse Donaldson (Literary Thriller)
When long-serving Kentucky sheriff Lew Mattock is murdered by a confused, drug-addicted teenager, chief deputy Harlan Dupee is tasked with solving the crime. But as Harlan soon discovers, his former boss wasn't exactly innocent. The investigation throws Harlan headlong into the burgeoning OxyContin trade --- from the slanted steps of trailer parks to the manicured porches of prominent citizens, from ATV trails and tobacco farms to riverboat casinos and country clubs. As the evidence draws him closer to an unlikely suspect, Harlan comes to question whether the law can even right a wrong during the corrupt and violent years that followed the release of OxyContin. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

NIGHT AND DAY: An Eve Duncan Novel by Iris Johansen (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Elisabeth Rodgers
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan risked it all to protect Cara Delaney from the enemies who want her dead. The journey has led them from California to a remote mountain in the Scottish highlands --- and earned Eve the distinction of becoming their next target. When, despite all precautions, Cara is taken, Eve must hunt down the very people who want to kill her in order to save the young girl. At a time in her life when she has more at stake than ever before, she unhesitatingly puts it all on the line in a pulse-pounding mission of rescue and survival. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

PLAYING DEAD: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth Greenwood (True Crime)
Audiobook available; read by Arden Hammersmith, with an introduction read by Elizabeth Greenwood
Is it still possible to fake your own death in the 21st century? With six figures of student loan debt, Elizabeth Greenwood was tempted to find out. So she sets off on a foray into the world of death fraud, where for $30,000 a consultant can make you disappear. But your suspicious insurance company might hire a private detective to dig up your coffin…only to find it filled with rocks. Along the way, Greenwood learns that love is a much less common motive than money, and that making your death look like a drowning virtually guarantees you’ll be caught. (Disappearing while hiking, however, is a great way to go.) Reviewed by Rebecca Kilberg.

REVOLVER by Duane Swierczynski (Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Rick Zieff, John Glouchevitch and Christine Lakin
In 1965, two Philadelphia street cops are gunned down in a corner bar. One of the fallen officers, Stan Walczak, leaves behind a 12-year-old boy, Jimmy. Thirty years later, homicide detective Jim Walczak learns that his father's alleged killer, Terrill Lee Stanton, has been sprung from prison. Jim stalks the ex-con, hoping to finally learn the truth. Fast forward 20 years: Jim's daughter Audrey, a forensic science student, reopens her grandfather's murder for a research paper. But as Audrey digs deeper, she comes to realize that Stanton probably didn't pull the trigger --- and her father may have made a horrible mistake. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE SIXTH IDEA: A Monkeewrench Novel by P. J. Tracy (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Peter Berkrot
Chuck Spencer and Wally Luntz, two friends scheduled to meet in person for the first time, are murdered on the same night, several miles apart. Lydia Ascher comes home to find two dead men in her basement. When homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth discover her connection to their current cases, they suspect she is a target as well. The same day, a terminally ill man is kidnapped from his home, an Alzheimer’s patient goes missing, and a baffling link among all the crimes emerges. This series of inexplicable events sends the detectives 60 years into the past to search for answers --- and straight to Grace MacBride’s Monkeewrench, a group of eccentric computer geniuses who devote their time and resources to helping the cops solve the unsolvable. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE SUMMER THAT MELTED EVERYTHING by Tiffany McDaniel (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Mark Bramhall
Sal seems to appear out of nowhere --- a bruised and tattered 13-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he's welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he's a runaway from a nearby farm town. When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, Ohio, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

SWEET TOMORROWS: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie Macomber (Romance)
Audiobook available; read by Lorelei King, with a letter read by Debbie Macomber
Recovering from a twice-broken heart, Emily Gaffney, a young teacher, is staying at the Rose Harbor Inn while she looks for a home of her own. Having given up on marriage, Emily dreams of adopting children someday. She has her eye on one house in particular --- with room for kids. Although Emily’s inquiries about the house are rudely rebuffed, her rocky start with the owner eventually blossoms into a friendship. But when the relationship verges on something more, Emily will have to rethink what she truly wants and the chances she’s willing to take. The inn seems to be working its magic again until innkeeper Jo Marie Rose receives shocking news. Reviewed by Susan Miura.

A TIME OF TORMENT: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jeff Harding
Jerome Burnel was once a hero. He intervened to prevent multiple killings, but destroyed himself in the process. In his final days, he tells his story to private detective Charlie Parker. He speaks of the girl who was marked for death, but was saved; of the ones who tormented him, and an entity that hides in a ruined stockade. Parker is not like other men. He died and was reborn. He is ready to wage war. Now he will descend upon a strange, isolated community called the Cut, and face down a force of men who rule by terror, intimidation and murder. All in the name of the being they serve. All in the name of the Dead King. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

TRULY MADLY GUILTY by Liane Moriarty (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Caroline Lee
Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit busy life. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other. Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last-minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger-than-life personalities there will be a welcome respite. Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone? Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.

THE UNSEEN WORLD by Liz Moore (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Lisa Flanagan
Ada Sibelius is raised by David, her brilliant, eccentric, socially inept single father, who directs a computer science lab in 1980s-era Boston. Home-schooled, Ada accompanies David to work every day; by 12, she is a painfully shy prodigy. The lab begins to gain acclaim at the same time that David’s mysterious history comes into question. When his mind begins to falter, leaving Ada virtually an orphan, she is taken in by one of David’s colleagues. Soon she embarks on a mission to uncover her father’s secrets: a process that carries her from childhood to adulthood. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.

WATCHING EDIE by Camilla Way (Psychological Suspense)
Audiobook available, read by Heather Wilds and Fiona Hardingham
Edie was the kind of girl who immediately caused a stir when she walked into your life. Now, at 33, she is working as a waitress, pregnant and alone. When she becomes overwhelmed by the needs of her new baby and sinks into a bleak despair, she thinks that there’s no one to turn to. But someone has been watching Edie, waiting for the chance to prove once again what a perfect friend she can be. It’s no coincidence that Heather shows up on Edie’s doorstep, just when Edie needs her the most. Edie is about to learn a new lesson: Those who have hurt us deeply --- or who we have hurt --- never let us go, not entirely. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER: An Inspector Banks Novel by Peter Robinson (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, performed by Simon Prebble
Two women. Two crimes. The first is a poet claiming she was assaulted decades earlier by a man now regarded as one of the country’s national treasures. The second is a girl found on a remote roadside, her life snuffed out. For Alan Banks, newly promoted to Detective Superintendent, the first case rips a tunnel into long-ago days of innocence and discovery, of music and light. And in the victim, he sees an opportunity for magic recaptured --- if he can bring her assailant to justice. For Detective Inspector Annie Banks, the lifeless young woman poses a baffling mystery --- a mystery that will lead her into the unlikeliest of places, interviewing the unlikeliest of suspects. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE by Kevin O’Brien (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Tom Zingarelli
Andrea Boyle moved to Seattle to give her 17-year-old nephew, Spencer, a fresh start after the death of his parents. Andrea has found her own new beginning with Luke, a successful playwright and father of a teenage son, Damon. When a tragedy befalls Damon, it's just the beginning of a nightmare that unfolds. But the worst is yet to come once a dark secret from Spencer's past is exposed. And when Luke is brutally attacked, both of their futures are at stake. Now it's up to Andrea to prove Spencer's innocence to the police --- and to herself. Because for reasons she has revealed to no one, even Andrea can't help questioning the truth --- and fearing that she may be next to pay the ultimate price. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD - Parts One & Two (Special Rehearsal Edition Script): The Official Script Book of the Original West End Production by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany (Fantasy, Fiction)
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first to be presented on stage. It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places. Reviewed by Rachel D., Teen Board Member.

HOW TO HANG A WITCH by Adriana Mather (Historical Fiction)
Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were? Reviewed by Chris C., Teen Board Member.

THREE TRUTHS AND A LIE by Brent Hartinger (Thriller)
Deep in the forest, four friends gather for a weekend of fun. Truth #1: Rob is thrilled about the weekend trip. It’s the perfect time for him to break out of his shell…to be the person he really, really wants to be. Truth #2: Liam, Rob’s boyfriend, is nothing short of perfect. He’s everything Rob could have wanted. They’re perfect together. Perfect. Truth #3: Mia has been Liam’s best friend for years…long before Rob came along. They get each other in a way Rob could never, will never, understand. Truth #4: Galen, Mia’s boyfriend, is sweet, handsome and incredibly charming. He’s the definition of a Golden Boy…even with the secrets up his sleeve. One of these truths is a lie…and not everyone will live to find out which one it is. Reviewed by Chris C., Teen Board Member.

A WORLD WITHOUT YOU by Beth Revis (Fiction)
Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he can travel through time. When he was ten, Bo claimed to have witnessed the Titanic hit an iceberg, and at 15, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surrounding him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that he’s actually attending Berkshire Academy, a school for kids who, like Bo, have "superpowers." Reviewed by Brynn S., Teen Board Member.

YOU BEFORE ANYONE ELSE by Julie Cross and Mark Perini (Romance)
Finley is used to being the glue that holds everyone together but that isn't landing her the high paying modeling jobs, which are what Finley needs if she is going to reopen her mother's dance studio. Enter Eddie. He's intense, driven and he completely charms Finley. The last thing she wants is another commitment, but when she's with Eddie, their chemistry takes over and she can let go of her responsibilities and just be. Except Eddie is hiding a secret. And when it surfaces, he and Finley are going to have to choose between their love for each other and everything else... Reviewed by Vaishnavi S., Teen Board Member.