Skip to main content

September 23, 2014

September 23, 2014

The following are lists of books releasing the weeks of September 22nd and September 29th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers.

May we ask that you forward this newsletter to friends who you think would enjoy reading it?

On Sale the Week of September 22nd in Hardcover

September 23rd

BALLROOM by Alice Simpson (Fiction)
Nearly 40 and still single, Sarah Dreyfus is desperate for love and sure she’ll find it with debonair Gabriel Katz. Tired of the bachelor life, Joseph believes that his yearning for a wife and family will be fulfilled --- if only he can get Sarah to notice him. Besotted with beautiful young Maria Rodriguez, elderly dance instructor Harry Korn knows they can find happiness together. Maria has a dream of her own, a passion her broken-hearted father refuses to accept or understand.
Harper * 9780062323033

THE BETRAYERS by David Bezmozgis (Fiction)
Baruch Kotler, a Soviet Jewish dissident, finds himself a disgraced Israeli politician when he refuses to back down from a contrary but principled stand regarding the West Bank, and his opponents expose his affair with a young mistress. The couple escapes to Yalta where Kotler comes face-to-face with the former friend whose denunciation sent him to the Gulag almost 40 years earlier. In a whirling 24 hours, Kotler must face the ultimate reckoning, both with those who have betrayed him and with those whom he has betrayed.
Little, Brown and Company * 9780316284332

BITTER GREENS by Kate Forsyth (Historical Fiction)
French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens.
Thomas Dunne Books * 9781250047533

BONES NEVER LIE: A Temperance Brennan Novel by Kathy Reichs (Thriller)
Years ago, Anique Pomerleau kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, then narrowly eluded capture. It was a devastating defeat for Dr. Temperance Brennan and police detective Andrew Ryan. Now, Pomerleau has resurfaced in the United States, linked to victims in Vermont and North Carolina. When another child is snatched, the reign of terror promises to continue --- unless Brennan can rise to the challenge and make good on her second chance to stop a psychopath.
Bantam * 9780345544018

THE DARKEST HOUR by Tony Schumacher (Historical Thriller)
The Nazis have conquered the British and now occupy Great Britain, using brutality and fear to control its citizens. John Henry Rossett, a decorated British war hero and former police sergeant, has been reassigned to the Office of Jewish Affairs, where he must round up Jews for deportation. However, determined to save a young Jewish child who he finds hiding in an abandoned building, Rossett takes him on the run, with the Nazis in pursuit.
William Morrow * 9780062339362

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT by David Liss (Historical Fiction)
Lisbon, 1755: A distinguished-looking gentleman emerges from the bowels of a ship freshly arrived from London, and sets into the city with a singular purpose. Trained in the arts of coercion by bounty hunter Benjamin Weaver, Sebastian has returned to the city to repay old debts…and to find the man who killed his father. To succeed, he'll need to find his allies and identify his enemies among the Inquisition's spies.
Random House * 9781400068975

A DEADLY WANDERING: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention by Matt Richtel (Social Science/Technology)
Matt Richtel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, examines the impact of technology on our lives through the story of Utah college student Reggie Shaw, who killed two scientists while texting and driving. Richtel follows Reggie through the tragedy, the police investigation, his prosecution and, ultimately, his redemption. In the wake of his experience, Reggie has become a leading advocate against “distracted driving.”
William Morrow * 9780062284068

FLORENCE GORDON by Brian Morton (Fiction)
At 75, Florence Gordon has earned her right to set down the burdens of family and work and shape her legacy at long last. But just as she is beginning to write her long-deferred memoir, her son Daniel returns to New York from Seattle with his wife and daughter, and they embroil Florence in their dramas, clouding the clarity of her days and threatening her well-defended solitude. And then there is her left foot, which is starting to drag….
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt * 9780544309869

GUTENBERG'S APPRENTICE by Alix Christie (Historical Fiction)
Johann Gutenberg has devised a revolutionary method of bookmaking: a machine he calls a printing press. Johann Fust is financing Gutenberg’s workshop and orders his adopted son, Peter, to become Gutenberg’s apprentice. As Peter’s skill grows, so, too, does his admiration for Gutenberg and his dedication to their daring venture: copies of the Holy Bible. But mechanical difficulties and the crushing power of the Catholic Church threaten their work.
Harper * 9780062336019

THE HIGH DIVIDE by Lin Enger (Historical Fiction)
In 1886, Gretta Pope wakes one morning to discover that her husband, Ulysses, is gone. All he left behind was a brief note with no explanation for why he left or where he’s headed. Gretta’s sons set off after him, jumping trains to get where they need to go and ending up in the rugged badlands of Montana. Gretta has no choice but to search for her sons and her husband, leading her to the doorstep of a woman who seems intent on making Ulysses her own.
Algonquin Books * 9781616203757

KILLING PATTON: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (History)
General George S. Patton, Jr. died under mysterious circumstances in the months following the end of World War II. For almost 70 years, there has been suspicion that his death was not an accident --- and may very well have been an act of assassination. KILLING PATTON takes readers inside the final year of the war and recounts the events surrounding Patton’s tragic demise, naming names of the many powerful individuals who wanted him silenced.
Henry Holt and Co. * 9780805096682

LANDSLIDE: LBJ and Ronald Reagan at the Dawn of a New America by Jonathan Darman (History/Politics)
From Lyndon Johnson’s election in 1964, the greatest popular-vote landslide in American history, to the pivotal 1966 midterms, when Ronald Reagan burst forth onto the national stage, LANDSLIDE brings alive a country transformed --- by riots, protests, the rise of television, the shattering of consensus --- and the two towering personalities whose choices in those moments would reverberate through the country for decades to come.
Random House * 9781400067084

ROOMS by Lauren Oliver (Supernatural Mystery)
Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family has arrived for their inheritance, but they are not alone. Alice and Sandra, long-dead former residents, linger within the house. The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths. When a new ghost appears, and Richard’s troubled son, Trenton, communicates with her, the spirit and human worlds collide.
Ecco * 9780062223197

ROSE GOLD: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley (Mystery)
A black ex-boxer self-named Uhuru Nolica, the leader of a revolutionary cell called Scorched Earth, has kidnapped Rosemary Goldsmith, the daughter of a weapons manufacturer, from her dorm at UC Santa Barbara. If they don't receive the money, weapons and apology they demand, "Rose Gold" will die --- horribly and publicly. So the FBI, the State Department and the LAPD turn to Easy Rawlins, the one man who can cross the necessary borders to resolve this dangerous standoff.
Doubleday * 9780385535977

THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League But Did Not Survive by Jeff Hobbs (Biography)
When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with the man who would be his college roommate for four years, Robert Peace. Robert’s life was rough from the beginning in the crime-ridden streets of Newark in the 1980s. But Robert was a brilliant student, and it was supposed to get easier when he was accepted to Yale. But it didn’t get easier. Robert carried with him the difficult dual nature of his existence, “fronting” in Yale and at home.
Scribner * 9781476731902

SILENT MURDERS by Mary Miley (Historical Mystery)
Jessie Carr is thrilled when Bruno Heilmann, a movie studio bigwig, invites her to a party. She’s even more delighted to run into a face from her past at that party. But the following day, Jessie learns that sometime in the wee hours of the morning, both her old friend and Bruno were brutally murdered. She’s devastated, but as an actress, she is uniquely positioned to dig into the circumstances surrounding these deaths. But will doing so put her own life directly in the path of a murderer?
Minotaur Books * 9781250051370

A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD: Collected Nonfiction by Terry Pratchett (Essays)
A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD brings together for the first time the finest examples of Terry Pratchett's nonfiction writing, both serious and surreal: from musings on mushrooms to what it means to be a writer (and why banana daiquiris are so important); from memories of Granny Pratchett to speculation about Gandalf's love life, and passionate defenses of the causes dear to him.
Doubleday * 9780385538305

TO DWELL IN DARKNESS by Deborah Crombie (Mystery)
Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his new murder investigation team are called to a deadly bombing at historic St. Pancras Station. By fortunate coincidence, Melody Talbot, Gemma's trusted colleague, witnesses the explosion. The victim was taking part in an organized protest, yet the other group members swear the young man only meant to set off a smoke bomb. As Kincaid begins to gather the facts, he finds that every piece of the puzzle yields an unexpected pattern, including the disappearance of a mysterious bystander.
William Morrow * 9780062271600

WOULDN'T IT BE DEADLY: An Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery by D.E. Ireland (Historical Mystery)
After chief rival Emil Nepommuck publicly takes credit for transforming Eliza Doolittle into a lady, an enraged Henry Higgins submits proof to a London newspaper that Nepommuck is a fraud. When Nepommuck is found with a dagger in his back, Henry Higgins becomes Scotland Yard’s prime suspect. As another suspect turns up dead and evidence goes missing, Eliza and Higgins realize the only way to clear the Professor’s name is to discover which of Nepommuck’s many enemies is the real killer.
Minotaur Books * 9781250049353

YOU MIGHT REMEMBER ME: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman by Mike Thomas (Biography)
Beloved comedic actor Phil Hartman is best known for his eight brilliant seasons on "Saturday Night Live," but his life was cut tragically short when he was shot to death while he slept by his jealous and intoxicated wife. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER ME is both a celebration of Hartman’s multi-faceted career and an exhaustively reported, warts-and-all examination of his often intriguing and sometimes troubled life.
St. Martin's Press * 9781250027962
On Sale the Week of September 22nd in Paperback

September 23rd

AUTUMN KILLING by Mons Kallentoft (Mystery/Thriller)
Paperback Original
The discovery of a brutally stabbed body floating face down in the moat of Skogså Castle chills one town to the bone. Malin Fors is already struggling to keep her life together following the recent murder attempt on her teenage daughter, Tove. Now, as this case forces Malin to delve deep into her town’s history and her own family’s past, the secrets she uncovers threaten to drown her, too.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books * 9781451642674

BECOMING MR. OCTOBER by Reggie Jackson with Kevin Baker (Sports/Memoir)
BECOMING MR. OCTOBER is a revelatory self-portrait of baseball icon Reggie Jackson at the height of his public fame and private anguish. Filled with anecdotes about the notorious “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the late 1970s and bluntly honest portrayals of his teammates and competitors, this is baseball history as can be told only by the man who lived it.
Anchor * 9780307476807

THE BOY DETECTIVE: A New York Childhood by Roger Rosenblatt (Memoir)
On a cold winter day in 2011, Roger Rosenblatt left the night class he taught at Stony Brook's Manhattan campus on East 28th Street and found himself, on a whim, on a walk through the territory of his childhood. Tramping from Gramercy Park to Irving Place and over and up to Madison Square Park, his stroll took him across the streets of the city, and through the byways and alleys of memory.
Ecco * 9780062277190

A BURNABLE BOOK by Bruce Holsinger (Historical Thriller)
London, 1385. A book of poems prophesying the death of English kings, including the newly crowned King Richard II, is all anyone can talk about. John Gower --- a poet himself, but more importantly, a man with connections --- must find the book to save his friend, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. What he doesn’t know or understand are his personal connections to the book that could also get him killed.
William Morrow Paperbacks * 9780062240330

THE DOUBLE by George Pelecanos (Thriller)
The job seems simple enough: retrieve the valuable painting "The Double" Grace Kinkaid's ex-boyfriend stole from her. But Grace wants Spero Lucas to find the man who humiliated her --- a violent career criminal with a small gang of brutal thugs at his beck and call. In the midst of a steamy, passionate love affair that he knows can't last, Lucas is forced to decide what kind of man he is --- and how far he'll go to get what he wants.
Back Bay Books * 9780316078405

FINDING THE PEACE GOD PROMISES by Ann Spangler (Christian Life/Spiritual Growth)
Paperback Original
Exploring the stories that shape us, the memories that define us, and the relationships that connect us, Ann Spangler looks for ways to help us become more peaceful. What can we learn from Scripture, from Jewish tradition, from the Amish and others about rest, simplicity, healing and peace? The stories she shares and the answers she discovers may surprise you, enabling you to experience the transformative peace God wants you to have.
Zondervan * 9780310320142

GETTING EVEN by Sarah Rayner (Fiction)
Paperback Original
How would you feel if your best friend at work betrayed you? Was secretly having an affair with an influential colleague? Won a coveted promotion, then teamed you up with a mere junior, leaving you feeling completely demoted? What would you do? For Ivy there's no choice. The only person she has ever trusted, Orianna, has blown it big time. So there's only one way forward: revenge. But is Ivy really the innocent party? Or is she hiding secrets of her own?
St. Martin's Griffin * 9781250042118

LIVE TO SEE TOMORROW by Iris Johansen (Romantic Suspense)
Catherine Ling, one of the CIA’s prized operatives, faces a monster whose crimes stretch back 40 years. The job grows even more complicated when Catherine meets Richard Cameron, a supposed ally who’s clearly not telling all he knows. Their attraction is immediate, but Catherine isn't sure he can be trusted. If she’s going to rescue American journalist Erin Sullivan with a story worth killing for, she’ll need to keep Cameron very close.
St. Martin's Paperbacks * 9781250053077

THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY by Wiley Cash (Fiction)
Easter and Ruby are adjusting to life in foster care when their father, Wade, suddenly appears. Since Wade signed away his legal rights, the only way he can get his daughters back is to steal them away in the night. Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.
William Morrow Paperbacks * 9780062088260

UNDER THE WIDE AND STARRY SKY by Nancy Horan (Historical Romance)
At the age of 35, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgium --- with her three children and nanny in tow --- to study art. Not long after her arrival, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her children repair to a quiet artists’ colony in France where she can recuperate. Emerging from a deep sorrow, she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, and the two begin a fierce love affair that spans the decades and the globe.
Ballantine Books * 9780345516541
On Sale the Week of September 29th in Hardcover

September 29th

BURN: A Detective Michael Bennett Thriller by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Thriller)
Back in the city that never sleeps, Detective Michael Bennett takes over a chaotic Outreach Squad in Harlem, where he receives an unusual call: a man claims to have seen a group of well-dressed men holding a bizarre party in a condemned building. With no clear crime or evidence, Bennett dismisses the report. But when a charred body is found in the same building, he is forced to take the caller seriously --- and is drawn into an underground criminal world of terrifying depravity.
Little, Brown and Company * 9780316211048


September 30th

THE ASSASSINATION OF MARGARET THATCHER: Stories by Hilary Mantel (Fiction/Short Stories)
In THE ASSASSINATION OF MARGARET THATCHER, Hilary Mantel’s collection of contemporary stories, tales of dislocation and family fracture, of whimsical infidelities and sudden deaths with sinister causes, unsettle the reader. Cutting to the core of human experience, Mantel writes about marriage, class, family and sex.
Henry Holt and Co. * 9781627792103

BEFORE AMEN: The Power of a Simple Prayer by Max Lucado (Christian Life/Prayer)
In BEFORE AMEN, bestselling author Max Lucado joins readers on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer, offering hope for doubts and confidence even for prayer wimps. Distilling prayers in the Bible down to one pocket-sized prayer, Max reminds readers that prayer is not a privilege for the pious nor the art of a chosen few. Prayer is simply a heartfelt conversation between God and his child. Let the conversation begin.
Thomas Nelson * 9780849948480

THE LOST KEY: A Brit in the FBI by Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison (Thriller)
Freshly minted FBI agent Nicholas Drummond is barely out of his Quantico training when he and his partner, Mike Caine, are called to investigate a stabbing on Wall Street. Their investigation, however, yields more questions than answers. It quickly becomes clear that the victim, John Pearce, was more than the naval historian and antiquities dealer he appeared to be.
Putnam Adult * 9780399164767

MADEMOISELLE: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History by Rhonda K. Garelick (Biography)
Certain lives are at once so exceptional, and yet so in step with their historical moments, that they illuminate cultural forces far beyond the scope of a single person. Such is the case with Coco Chanel, whose life offers one of the most fascinating tales of the 20th century --- throwing into dramatic relief an era of war, fashion, ardent nationalism and earth-shaking change --- here treated, for the first time, with wide-ranging and incisive historical scrutiny.
Random House * 9781400069521

MR. BONES: Twenty Stories by Paul Theroux (Fiction/Short Stories)
A family watches in horror as their patriarch transforms into the singing, wise-cracking lead of an old-timey minstrel show. A renowned art collector relishes publicly destroying his most valuable pieces. Two boys stand by helplessly as their father stages an all-consuming war on the raccoons living in the woods around their house. In this new collection of short stories, Paul Theroux explores the tenuous leadership of the elite and the surprising revenge of the overlooked.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt * 9780544324022

THE NEWS SORORITY: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour -- and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News by Sheila Weller (Biography)
For decades, women battered the walls of the male fortress of television journalism. After fierce struggles, three women --- Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Christiane Amanpour --- broke into the newsroom’s once impenetrable “boys’ club.” Drawing on exclusive interviews with their colleagues and intimates from childhood on, THE NEWS SORORITY reveals the hard struggles and inner strengths that shaped these women and powered their success.
The Penguin Press * 9781594204272


NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned" by Lena Dunham (Memoir/Essays)
In NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL, Lena Dunham --- the acclaimed creator, producer and star of HBO’s "Girls" --- illuminates the experiences that are part of making one’s way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being 10 pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told.
Random House * 9780812994995

ON IMMUNITY: An Inoculation by Eula Biss (Social Science)
Upon becoming a new mother, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear --- fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what is in your child's air, food, mattress, medicine and vaccines. She finds that you cannot immunize your child, or yourself, from the world. In ON IMMUNITY, Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding our conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body.
Graywolf Press * 9781555976897

THE PERFECT WITNESS by Iris Johansen (Thriller)
When Teresa Casali was young, she discovered she had a strange gift: the ability to read people’s memories. But the gift seemed more like a curse as her mob boss father used her to gain the upper hand in his world of corruption and violence. Exposed by her own family to the darkest impulses of mankind, Teresa is alone and unprotected. She realizes that if she is to survive, she has to run.
St. Martin's Press * 9781250020055

THE PLOUGHMEN by Kim Zupan (Fiction)
Two men --- a killer awaiting trial and a troubled young deputy --- sit across from each other, talking through the bars of a county jail cell. With a disintegrating marriage further collapsing under the strain of his night duty, Valentine Millimaki finds himself seeking counsel from a man whose troubled past shares something essential with his own. Their uneasy friendship takes a startling turn with a brazen act of violence that yokes together two haunted souls by the secrets they share.
Henry Holt and Co. * 9780805099515

REBEL YELL: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne (Biography)
In REBEL YELL, S. C. Gwynne delves deep into Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s private life, including the loss of his young beloved first wife and his regimented personal habits. The book traces Jackson’s brilliant 24-month career in the Civil War, the period that encompasses his rise from obscurity to fame and legend; his stunning effect on the course of the war itself; and his tragic death, which caused both North and South to grieve the loss of a remarkable American hero.
Scribner * 9781451673289

STRONG DARKNESS: A Caitlin Strong Novel by Jon Land (Thriller)
The son of Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong’s boyfriend is nearly beaten to death at Brown University. The investigation leads back to Texas and to the Chinese high-tech company awarded the contract to build the US’s 5G network. Li Zhen, the company’s founder, counts that as the greatest achievement of his career, but it hides his true motivations --- nothing less than China’s total domination of the United States.
Forge Books * 9780765335111

A SUDDEN LIGHT by Garth Stein (Supernatural Mystery)
In the summer of 1990, 14-year-old Trevor Riddell gets his first glimpse of Riddell House. The legendary mansion is built of giant, whole trees, and Trevor’s father --- in a trial separation with his wife --- wants to sell it. Trevor soon discovers the ghost burdened by the final wishes of the Riddell patriarch, Elijah: that the mansion is returned to untamed forestland as penance for the trees harvested by the Riddell Timber Company. Trevor’s willingness to face the past holds the key to his family’s future.
Simon & Schuster * 9781439187036

THE WONDER OF ALL THINGS by Jason Mott (Fantasy)
It starts as an ordinary day in an ordinary town, at an ordinary air show. But when one of the planes crashes, killing and injuring dozens, a 13-year-old named Ava is discovered healing her best friend, Wash. Her secret gift is now known to the entire world, and Ava is thrust into the spotlight. But at what cost does this gift come, and how much will Ava have to sacrifice to save the one she loves most?
Harlequin MIRA * 9780778316527

THE ZONE OF INTEREST by Martin Amis (Fiction)
Once upon a time there was a king, and the king commissioned his favorite wizard to create a magic mirror. This mirror didn't show you your reflection. It showed you your soul --- it showed you who you really were. The wizard couldn't look at it without turning away. The king couldn't look at it. The courtiers couldn't look at it. A chestful of treasure was offered to anyone who could look at it for 60 seconds without turning away. And no one could.
Knopf * 9780385353496


October 2nd

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS by Marlon James (Historical Fiction)
On December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert, gunmen stormed his house, machine guns blazing. The attack nearly killed the Reggae superstar, his wife and his manager, and injured several others. A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS is the fictional exploration of that dangerous and unstable time and its bloody aftermath.
Riverhead Hardcover * 9781594486005

HAND TO MOUTH: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado (Memoir/Sociology)
We in America have certain ideas of what it means to be poor. Linda Tirado takes all of these preconceived notions and smashes them to bits, articulating not only what it is to be working poor in America, but what poverty is truly like --- on all levels. She discusses how she went from lower-middle class, to sometimes middle class, to poor and everything in between, and in doing so reveals why “poor people don’t always behave the way middle-class America thinks they should.”
Putnam Adult * 9780399171987

THE HUMAN BODY by Paolo Giordano (Fiction)
A platoon of young men and one female soldier leaves Italy for one of the most dangerous places on earth: Forward Operating Base (FOB) in the Gulistan district of Afghanistan. Each member in the platoon manages the toxic mix of boredom and fear that is life at the FOB in his own way. But when a much-debated mission goes devastatingly awry, the soldiers find their lives changed in an instant.
Pamela Dorman Books * 9780670015641

THEN CAME LIFE: Living with Courage, Spirit, and Gratitude After Breast Cancer by Geralyn Lucas (Memoir)
One mastectomy, two C-sections, three pants sizes and lots of red lipstick later, Geralyn Lucas --- the author of WHY I WORE LIPSTICK TO MY MASTECTOMY --- is dealing with the same issues as other women her age. When she looks in the mirror at her hard-won wrinkles, all she wants is Botox. Celebrating her sweet 16 cancerversary, she’s thankful for her second chance and ready to be daring. But can she survive life’s new ups and downs with the same courage she’s always had?
Gotham * 9781592408955
On Sale the Week of September 29th in Paperback

September 30th

THE ASCENDANT by Drew Chapman (Thriller)
When bond analyst Garrett Reilly discovers that US Treasury bonds are being sold off at an alarming rate, he sees a chance to become incredibly rich. But when the United States military arrives at his office, Garrett learns that he has stumbled upon the first attack in a covert war of unthinkable proportions.
Pocket Books * 9781476788166

ASK NOT: A Nathan Heller Thriller by Max Allan Collins (Historical Mystery)
In 1964, Beatlemania sweeps the nation, the Vietnam War looms, and the Warren Commission prepares to blame a “lone-nut” assassin for the killing of JFK. But as the post-Camelot era begins, a suspicious outbreak of suicides, accidental deaths and outright murders decimates assassination witnesses. It’s up to Nathan Heller and celebrity columnist Flo Kilgore to investigate this increasing wave of violence.
Forge Books * 9780765370686

BELOVED ENEMY: A Jack McClure Novel by Eric Van Lustbader (Thriller)
Shortly after Jack McClure leaves a late-night meeting with Dennis Paull, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Paull is found dead. The President is furious but equally frightened of a scandal, since McClure is one of their own --- an operative and Paull's friend. With top officials in the CIA and FBI after him, McClure goes on the run. Someone framed him for Paull's murder, possibly to prevent him from accomplishing Paull's last request --- a task vital to U.S. National Security.
Forge Books * 9780765370815

THE BETRAYED by Heather Graham (Romantic Suspense)
Paperback Original
Maureen Deauville and New York FBI agent Aiden Mahoney, a new member of the Krewe of Hunters (the FBI's unit of paranormal investigators), explore both past and present events to figure out who killed an old friend of Aiden’s and now wants to kill them, too. As they work together, they discover that they share an unusual trait --- the ability to communicate with the dead --- and an attraction that's as intense as it is unexpected.
Harlequin MIRA * 9780778316565

BRINGING UP BÉBÉ: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman (Parenting)
When American journalist Pamela Druckerman had a baby in Paris, she didn't aspire to become a "French parent." But she noticed that French children slept through the night by two or three months old. They played by themselves while their parents sipped coffee. And yet French kids were still boisterous, curious and creative. Why? How? Druckerman set out to investigate --- and wound up sparking a national debate on parenting.
Penguin Books * 9780143122968

CROSS MY HEART by James Patterson (Thriller)
Detective Alex Cross is a family man at heart --- nothing matters more to him than his children, his grandmother, and his wife Bree. His love of his family is his anchor, and gives him the strength to confront evil in his work. One man knows this deeply, and uses Alex's strength as a weapon against him. When the ones Alex loves are in danger, he will do anything to protect them. If he does anything to protect them, they will die.
Grand Central Publishing * 9781455515813

DO OR DIE: A Reluctant Heroes Novel by Suzanne Brockmann (Romantic Suspense/Adventure)
Former SEAL Ian Dunn is employed to rescue two kidnapped children, believed to be held captive in a South American embassy. Racing against time and unknown enemies, Dunn must find the children while simultaneously fighting his own war with the mob for a job gone bust. At his side is Phoebe Kruger, who is pulled further into the heart of the conflict and Dunn's perilous mission.
Ballantine Books * 9780345543813

FIVE DAYS IN NOVEMBER by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin (History)
On the night JFK was assassinated, a photo ran on the front pages of newspapers across the world, showing a Secret Service agent jumping on the back of the presidential limousine in a desperate attempt to protect the President and Mrs. Kennedy. Now Secret Service Agent Clint Hill commemorates the 50th anniversary of the tragedy with a book containing more than 150 photos, each accompanied by Hill’s insider account of those terrible days.
Gallery Books * 9781476731506

JFK JR., GEORGE, & ME: A Memoir by Matt Berman (Memoir)
John F. Kennedy Jr. handpicked Creative Director Matt Berman to bring his vision for a new political magazine to life, and the two developed a wonderfully collaborative and fun-loving relationship. In JFK JR., GEORGE, & ME, Matt remembers his brilliant friend and colleague --- John’s approach to work, life and fame, and most of all, his ease and grace, which charmed those around him.
Gallery Books * 9781451697261

THE LAST BREATH by Kimberly Belle (Mystery/Thriller)
Paperback Original
Gia Andrews’ father was imprisoned 16 years ago for brutally killing her stepmother. Now he’s come home to die of cancer, and she’s responsible for his care. As the past unravels before her, Gia will find herself torn between the stories that her family, their friends and neighbors have believed to be real all these years. But in the end, the truth --- and all the lies that came before --- may have deadlier consequences than she ever could have anticipated.
Harlequin MIRA * 9780778317227

MRS. LINCOLN'S RIVAL by Jennifer Chiaverini (Historical Fiction)
When charming Kate Chase Sprague accompanied her father, Ohio politician Salmon P. Chase, to Washington, D.C. in 1861, she found that, rather than becoming a friend and compatriot of the First Lady's as she had anticipated, she immediately became embroiled in a long-lasting, notorious rivalry with Mrs. Lincoln due to the First Lady's jealousy of her youth, beauty and social skills.
Plume * 9780142181324

THE MUSEUM OF EXTRAORDINARY THINGS by Alice Hoffman (Historical Romance/Mystery)
Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the sinister impresario behind The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island boardwalk freak show that thrills the masses. One night, Coralie stumbles upon a striking young man taking pictures of moonlit trees. When Eddie Cohen photographs the devastation on the streets of New York following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, he becomes embroiled in the suspicious mystery behind a young woman’s disappearance and ignites the heart of Coralie.
Scribner * 9781451693577

MY STORY by Elizabeth Smart with Chris Stewart (Memoir)
For the first time, 10 years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime. She explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served.
St. Martin's Griffin * 9781250055453

THE PRINCE OF RISK by Christopher Reich (Financial Thriller)
Robert "Bobby" Astor is a fearless New York hedge-fund gunslinger on the verge of making his biggest killing ever. But everything changes when his father, the venerable chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, is murdered along with the head of the Federal Reserve. In the moments before his death, Bobby's father sends him a mystifying text message that offers the only clue to the identity of the killer and the terrifying motivation behind the attack.
Anchor * 9780307946577

ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE JANSON OPTION by Paul Garrison (Thriller/Adventure)
When American Synergy Corporation oil executive Kingsman Helms begs Paul Janson to rescue his wife, Allegra, from Somali pirates, Janson and Jessica Kincaid view it as the perfect opportunity to infiltrate ASC and disrupt the company's scheme to subvert independent oil-rich African countries into wholly-owned ASC subsidiaries. Once on the ground, Janson and Kincaid discover that the pirates may be the least lethal threat in the violent chaos of anarchic Somalia.
Grand Central Publishing * 9780446564496

THE ROME PROPHECY by Sam Christer (Thriller)
A beautiful young woman covered in blood, who claims to be an ancient prophet in search of a mystical amulet, has been arrested in the streets of Rome. Ex-priest Tom Shaman teams up with a headstrong policewoman to unravel the mystery. But within Rome’s churches and corridors of power, stealthy enemies are conspiring against them. And soon, the woman’s deadly visions begin to come true.
Overlook TP * 9781468309485

THE SECOND-CHANCE DOG: A Love Story by Jon Katz (Memoir)
Most men go courting with roses, wine and chocolates. But not dog-lover and prolific author Jon Katz, whose choice is beef jerky. He is a man with a mission: to woo and win Maria Wulf, an emotionally fragile artist who has lost confidence in her art. Maria owns a rottweiler-shepherd mix who does not like men and will not let anyone near her owner. Katz has his work cut out for him.
Random House Trade Paperbacks * 9780345531186

STORM FRONT: A Virgil Flowers Novel by John Sandford (Thriller)
In Israel, a man clutching a backpack searches desperately for a boat. In Minnesota, Virgil Flowers gets a message from Lucas Davenport: You’re about to get a visitor. It’s an Israeli cop, and she’s tailing a man who’s smuggled out an extraordinary relic --- a copper scroll revealing startling details about the man known as King Solomon. As it turns out, there are very bad men chasing the relic, and they don’t care who’s in the way or what they have to do to get it.
Berkley * 9780425270240

T. C. BOYLE STORIES II: The Collected Stories of T. Coraghessan Boyle, Volume II by T. C. Boyle (Fiction/Short Stories)
By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, T. C. Boyle’s stories have mapped a wide range of human emotions. The 58 stories in this new volume, written over the last 18 years, reflect his maturing themes. Along with the satires and tall tales that established his reputation, readers will find stories speaking to contemporary social issues, from air rage to abortion doctors, and character-driven tales of quiet power and passion.
Penguin Books * 9780143125860

TEACHING THE CAT TO SIT: A Memoir by Michelle Theall (Memoir)
Michelle Theall grew up in the conservative Texas Bible Belt, bullied by her classmates and abandoned by her evangelical best friend before she’d ever even held a girl’s hand. Years later, Michelle is living her life openly with her partner of 10 years. But when her four-year-old’s Catholic school decides to expel all children of gay parents, Michelle tiptoes into a controversy that exposes her to long-buried shame, which leads to a public battle with the Church and a private one with her parents.
Gallery Books * 9781451697308

WINNERS by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
When a horrific chairlift accident leaves 17-year-old competitive skier Lily Thomas paralyzed, she must come to grips with the fact that she not only will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, but will never fulfill her lifelong dream of winning Olympic gold. But just as all hope seems lost, Lily meets Teddy, a young man even more badly injured than herself, but as doggedly determined to live an enriching life.
Dell * 9780440245254

WORTHY BROWN'S DAUGHTER by Phillip Margolin (Historical Thriller)
One of a handful of lawyers in the new state of Oregon, recently widowed Matthew Penny agrees to help Worthy Brown, a newly freed slave, rescue his 15-year-old daughter, Roxanne, from their former master, a powerful Portland lawyer. Worthy's lawsuit sets in motion events that lead to Worthy's arrest for murder and create an agonizing moral dilemma that could send either Worthy or Matthew to the hangman.
Harper * 9780062195357

YEAR ZERO: A History of 1945 by Ian Buruma (History)
In 1945, one world had ended and a new, uncertain one was beginning. Regime change had come on a global scale, great cities around the world lay in ruins, and the ground was laid for more horror to come. In YEAR ZERO, an examination of the postwar years is intertwined with author Ian Buruma's father's attempted reentry into “normalcy” after his experience as a prisoner of war.
Penguin Books * 9780143125976

YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Literary Mystery)
Grace Reinhart Sachs is the author of You Should Have Known, a book that cautions women to really hear what men are trying to tell them. But weeks before the book is published, a chasm opens in her own life: a violent death, a missing husband, and, in the place of a man Grace thought she knew, only an ongoing chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and herself.
Grand Central Publishing * 9781455599516

Don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend or to visit the websites in TheBookReportNetwork.com:
Bookreporter.com, 20SomethingReads.com, ReadingGroupGuides.com, GraphicNovelReporter.com, FaithfulReader.com, Teenreads.com, Kidsreads.com and AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

The Book Report Network
250 W. 57th Street - Suite 1228

New York, New York 10107

connect with us twitterfacebook