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October 21, 2014

October 21, 2014

The following are lists of books releasing the weeks of October 20th and October 27th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers.

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On Sale the Week of October 20th in Hardcover


October 21st

BEAUTIFUL YOU by Chuck Palahniuk (Fiction)
Penny Harrigan, a low-level associate in a big Manhattan law firm, discovers that she is a test subject for the final development of a line of sex toys to be marketed in a nationwide chain of boutiques called Beautiful You. So potent and effective are these devices that women by the millions line up outside the stores on opening day and then lock themselves in their room with them and stop coming out. C. Linus Maxwell's plan for erotically enabled world domination must be stopped. But how?
Doubleday * 9780385538039

BURNED: A Vanessa Pierson Novel by Valerie Plame and Sarah Lovett (Thriller)
Covert CIA ops officer Vanessa Pierson has dedicated her career to capturing one man: Bhoot, the world’s most notorious nuclear arms dealer. When she narrowly escapes death during a devastating explosion at the Louvre, Vanessa immediately suspects that Bhoot was the architect of the brazen terrorist attack. But when a previously unknown militant group claims responsibility for the bombing and promises even greater carnage, she is forced to rethink her initial assumptions.
Blue Rider Press * 9780399158216

GRAY MOUNTAIN by John Grisham (Legal Thriller)
Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street law firm is on the fast track --- until the recession hits and she gets downsized. However, she is offered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic in Virginia for one year without pay, after which there would be a slim chance that she’d get her old job back. Samantha’s new job takes her into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining, and within weeks she finds herself engulfed in litigation that turns deadly.
Doubleday * 9780385537148

LAST WINTER WE PARTED by Fuminori Nakamura (Thriller)
A young writer is assigned a difficult task by his editor: he is to write an investigative biography of a death row inmate named Yudai Kiharazaka, a 35-year-old photographer who has been convicted of the murders of two women. Trying to unearth the truth about Kiharazaka forces the writer to grapple with horrifying archival material and to interview dangerous, grotesque people --- not least of all Kiharazaka himself.
Soho Press * 9781616954550

ON HIS OWN TERMS: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller by Richard Norton Smith (Biography)
Fourteen years in the making, Richard Norton Smith’s biography of the original Rockefeller Republican draws on thousands of newly available documents and over 200 interviews, including Nelson Rockefeller’s own unpublished reminiscences. In ON HIS OWN TERMS, Smith re-creates Rockefeller’s improbable rise to the governor’s mansion, his politically disastrous divorce and remarriage, and his often surprising relationships with presidents and political leaders.
Random House * 9780375505805

THE PIERCED HEART by Lynn Shepherd (Mystery)
THE PIERCED HEART finds Detective Charles Maddox traveling to the remote castle of the enigmatic Baron Von Reisenberg, a pioneering scientist with a terrible secret. Meanwhile, London is in the throes of a series of brutal murders, executed by a mysterious killer known only as "The Vampire." What is the connection between the Baron and the murders? And what does the journal of a young theater assistant named Lucy have to do with it all? Maddox must find out.
Delacorte Press * 9780345545435

REBELLION: The History of England from James I to the Glorious Revolution by Peter Ackroyd (History)
The third volume of Peter Ackroyd's The History of England covers the Stuart dynasty, which brought together England and Scotland, during a period marked by civil war and the killing of a king. Ackroyd tells the story of the turbulent 17th century, in which England suffered through three civil wars --- two fought between Parliament and both Charles I and Charles II, and, finally, the "Glorious Rebellion of 1688," which saw Charles II’s brother James deposed and sent into exile.
Thomas Dunne Books * 9781250003638

THE REPUBLIC OF IMAGINATION: America in Three Books by Azar Nafisi (Memoir/Literary Criticism)
Taking her cue from a challenge thrown to her in Seattle, where a skeptical reader told her that Americans don’t care about books the way they did back in Iran, Azar Nafisi energetically responds to those who say fiction has nothing to teach us. Blending memoir and polemic with close readings of her favorite American novels, Nafisi invites us to join her as citizens of her “Republic of Imagination,” a country where the villains are conformity and orthodoxy and the only passport to entry is a free mind and a willingness to dream.
Viking Adult * 9780670026067

SAVING BABY: How One Woman's Love for a Racehorse Led Her to Redemption by Lawrence Lindner and Jo Anne Normile (Memoir)
Horseracing had always come across as a glamorous mix of mint juleps and celebrity, set against a backdrop of equine grace and speed. It was a vision that appealed to Jo Anne Normille. But she didn’t know about the indifference and corruption that runs rampant through the world of horse racing --- not until an accident on a poorly maintained track resulted in tragedy for her colt, Baby. As a result, Jo Anne founded the most successful horse rescue in the country, saving more horses than anyone else ever has.
St. Martin's Press * 9781250061195

SHOPAHOLIC TO THE STARS by Sophie Kinsella (Fiction)
Becky Bloomwood and her two-year-old daughter, Minnie, have relocated to L.A. to join Becky’s husband, Luke, who is there to handle PR for famous actress Sage Seymour. Becky really hopes to become a personal stylist --- Sage’s personal stylist --- if only Luke would set up an introduction. Then, unexpectedly, she is offered the chance to dress Sage’s archrival, and though things become a bit more complicated, it’s a dream come true. Suddenly Becky has everything she’s ever wanted. Or does she?
The Dial Press * 9780812993868

SOMETIMES THE WOLF by Urban Waite (Thriller)
After struggling with money troubles, Sheriff Patrick Drake ended up convicted of one of the biggest crimes in local history. Now, 12 years later, Patrick is on parole under the watchful eye of his son Bobby, who is a deputy sheriff. No matter how much distance he has tried to put between himself, his father, his grandfather and the past, small town minds can have very long memories. But trouble isn’t done with the Drakes --- and a terrifying threat boils up from Patrick’s old life. And this time, no one will be spared.
William Morrow * 9780062216915

VANISHING GRACE: What Ever Happened to the Good News? by Philip Yancey (Christian Life/Inspirational)
How can Christians offer grace in a way that is compelling to a jaded society? And how can they make a difference in a world that cries out in need? Philip Yancey aims this book at Christian readers, showing them how Christians have lost respect, influence and reputation in a newly post-Christian culture. He explores what may have contributed to hostility toward Evangelicals, especially in their mixing of faith and politics instead of embracing more grace-filled ways of presenting the gospel.
Zondervan * 9780310339328

WAIT FOR SIGNS: Twelve Longmire Stories by Craig Johnson (Mystery/Short Stories)
Ten years ago, Craig Johnson wrote one of the earliest appearances of the sheriff who would go on to star in his award-winning novels and the A&E hit series "Longmire." Each Christmas Eve thereafter, Johnson sent out a new story featuring an episode in Walt’s life that doesn’t appear in the books. WAIT FOR SIGNS collects those beloved stories --- and one entirely new story --- for the very first time in a single volume, regular trade hardcover.
Viking Adult * 9780525427919

WHY SUFFERING?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale (Theology/Apologetics)
Why would a loving and powerful God allow so much pain and suffering? In WHY SUFFERING?, Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale carefully walk you through a variety of responses that, considered together, provide a clear, comprehensive and convincing answer. Here is a book written with great respect for the complexity of the issue, recognizing that some who read it will be in the trenches of deep suffering themselves and others questioning the very existence of a loving God.
FaithWords * 9781455549702

 

October 23rd

THUNDER IN THE MOUNTAINS: A Portrait of American Gun Culture by Craig K. Collins (Memoir)
In this beautifully written and powerful memoir, author Craig K. Collins ushers readers down a remarkable path --- one that wends from the American frontier to present-day suburbia. Along the way, he explores the meaning of a history --- of his family’s and his country’s --- that is infused with the culture of the gun. Stops include an Indian massacre at Bad Axe, the siege of Vicksburg, the slaughter of buffalo in Montana, and the discovery of gold in a remote Nevada canyon.
Globe Pequot Press * 9781493003853

On Sale the Week of October 20th in Paperback

October 21st

ANDREW’S BRAIN by E. L. Doctorow (Fiction)
ANDREW’S BRAIN takes us on a radical trip into the mind of a man who, more than once, has been the inadvertent agent of disaster. Speaking from an unknown place and to an unknown interlocutor, Andrew is telling the story of his life, his loves and the tragedies that have led him to this place and point in time. As he peels back the layers of his strange story, we are led to question what we know about truth and memory, brain and mind, personality and fate, about one another and ourselves.
Random House Trade Paperbacks * 9780812980981

AT BLUEBONNET LAKE: Texas Crossroads, Book 1 by Amanda Cabot (Romance)
Paperback Original
Kate Sherwood cannot deny her ailing grandmother's request to visit Rainbow's End, a dilapidated resort where she and her deceased husband spent one glorious week 50 years ago. There, Kate meets Greg, who appears to be the resort's unassuming handyman. But there's more to Greg than meets the eye --- billions more, in fact. Kate isn't looking for romance, but she can't deny the sparks of attraction that fly every time she and Greg are together. Could there be a future there?
Revell * 9780800734343

BECOMING BEA: The Courtships of Lancaster County, Book 4 by Leslie Gould
(Romance)
Paperback Original
Beatrice Zook knows God wants her to learn patience toward others. When assisting a family overwhelmed by triplets proves surprisingly successful, her confidence in dealing with others grows. One person she'll never be able to find peace with, though, is Ben Rupp. What neither will admit is that beneath all their bickering, attraction awaits. When friends decide to try and bring the couple together, will the pair be able to find true love? Or will they damage their relationship beyond repair?
Bethany House Publishers * 9780764210341

DALLAS 1963
by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis
(History)
Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis explore the swirling forces that led many people to warn President Kennedy to avoid Dallas on his fateful trip to Texas. They lead us through intimate glimpses of the Kennedy family and the machinations of the Kennedy White House, to the obsessed men in Dallas who concocted the climate of hatred that led many to blame the city for the president's death.
Twelve * 9781455522101

THE DEEPEST SECRET by Carla Buckley (Psychological Suspense)
Eve Lattimore’s son has a rare medical condition that makes him fatally sensitive to light, which means he can never leave the house except at night. For Eve, only constant vigilance stands between an increasingly restless teenage son and the dangers of the outside world. But when tragedy strikes, it becomes clear that there are some crises Eve cannot control --- and some secrets that not even love can conceal.
Bantam * 9780553393736

THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN by Mitch Albom (Fiction)
Mitch Albom's latest novel, THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN, tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out.
Harper Paperbacks * 9780062294401

THE GOOD BOY by Theresa Schwegel (Mystery)
When Officer Pete Murphy’s 11-year-old son, Joel, and police dog Butchie follow Joel’s older sister, McKenna, to a neighborhood bully’s party, illegal activity kicks the dog's police training into overdrive. Soon the duo are on the run, navigating the streets of Chicago as they try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys --- bad guys who may have a very personal interest in getting some payback on Pete.
Minotaur Books * 9781250054319

THE HIDDEN WHITE HOUSE: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara (History/Architecture)
In 1948, President Harry Truman, enjoying a bath on the White House’s second floor, almost plunged through the ceiling of the Blue Room. A handpicked team of the country’s top architects conducted a secret inspection of the troubled mansion and, after discovering it was in imminent danger of collapse, insisted that the First Family be evicted immediately. What followed would be the most historically significant and politically complex home-improvement job in American history.
St. Martin’s Griffin * 9781250053930

LINEUP by Liad Shoham (Thriller)
A brutal rape in a quiet Tel Aviv neighborhood has the police baffled. There are no witnesses, suspects or clues, until the victim’s father steps in and finds overwhelming evidence pointing to Ziv Nevo. Veteran detective Eli Nahum questions Nevo, but can’t get anything out of him. That’s because Nevo has a secret. He works for the mafia, and telling the truth about why he was near the crime scene could get him killed.
Bourbon Street Books * 9780062237453

NEWTOWN: An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak (True Crime)
The world mourned the devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012. Now comes a startling, comprehensive look at this tragedy, and into the mind of the unstable killer, Adam Lanza. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and a decade’s worth of emails from Lanza’s mother to close friends that chronicled his slow slide into mental illness, NEWTOWN pieces together the perfect storm that led to this unspeakable act of violence that shattered so many lives.
Gallery Books * 9781476753751

NO MAN’S NIGHTINGALE: An Inspector Wexford Novel by Ruth Rendell (Mystery)
A female vicar named Sarah Hussain is discovered strangled in her Kingsmarkham vicarage. Maxine, the gossipy cleaning woman who finds the body, happens to be in the employ of former Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford and his wife. When called on by his old deputy, Wexford, who has taken to reading The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as a retirement project, leaps at the chance to tag along with the investigators.
Scribner * 9781476747132

THE OUTCASTS by Kathleen Kent (Historical Thriller)
After escaping the Texas brothel where she had been a virtual prisoner, Lucinda Carter heads for Middle Bayou to meet her lover, who has a plan to make them both rich, chasing rumors of a pirate's buried treasure. Meanwhile, Nate Cannon is on the hunt for a ruthless killer named McGill who has claimed the lives of men, women and even children across the frontier. Who --- if anyone --- will survive when their paths finally cross?
Back Bay Books * 9780316206112

PRACTICE TO DECEIVE by Ann Rule (True Crime)
Ann Rule unravels a shattering case of Christmastime murder off the coast of Washington State. It’s a case with enough drama, greed, sex and scandal to be called “The Real Housewives of Whidbey Island,” but this was not reality television. This was murder: pure, cruel, ugly and senseless. And someone had to pay the price.
Gallery Books * 9781416544630

RED SKY IN MORNING by Paul Lynch (Historical Fiction)
It's 1832 and Coll Coyle has killed the wrong man. The dead man's father is an expert tracker and ruthless killer with a single-minded focus on vengeance. The hunt leads from the windswept bogs of County Donegal, across the Atlantic to the choleric work camps of the Pennsylvania railroad, where both men will find their fates in the hardship and rough country of the fledgling United States.
Back Bay Books * 9780316230261

SURPRISED BY LOVE: The Heart of San Francisco, Book 3 by Julie Lessman
(Historical Romance)
Paperback Original
Megan McClare accepts an internship at the district attorney's office, where she must work alongside Devin Caldwell, who mercilessly mocked her at school --- and with whom she was hopelessly enamored. Bram Hughes is the best friend to whom Megan has always turned for support and advice. But when she seeks his counsel about working with Devin, Bram's vision is clouded by his sudden unwelcome attraction to a girl he had always thought of as a little sister.
Revell * 9780800721657

TO EVERYTHING A SEASON: Song of Blessing, Book 1 by Lauraine Snelling (Historical Romance)
Paperback Original
Although Trygve Knutson is devoted to his family and his community, he sometimes dreams of other horizons --- especially since meeting Miriam Hastings. Miriam is in Blessing, North Dakota, to get practical training to become an accredited nurse. Although eager to return to her family, Miriam is surprised to find how much she enjoys the small town of Blessing. And her growing attachment to Trygve soon has her questioning a future she always considered set in stone.
Bethany House Publishers * 9780764211041

THE TUDOR VENDETTA by C. W. Gortner (Historical Mystery/Adventure)
Paperback Original
London, 1558. Queen Mary is dead, and Elizabeth ascends the throne. Summoned to court from exile abroad, Elizabeth’s intimate spy, Brendan Prescott, is reunited with the young queen. Elizabeth dispatches him on a mission: to find her favored lady in waiting, Lady Parry. The mystery surrounding Lady Parry deepens as Brendan begins to realize there is far more going on at the manor than meets the eye. But the closer he gets, the more he learns that in his zeal to uncover the truth, he could be precipitating Elizabeth’s destruction.
St. Martin’s Griffin * 9780312658588

THE VINES by Christopher Rice
(Horror/Fantasy)
Paperback Original
The dark history of Spring House, a beautifully restored plantation mansion, has long been forgotten. But something sinister lurks beneath the soil of the old estate. After heiress and current owner Caitlin Chaisson is witness to her husband’s stunning betrayal at her birthday party, she tries to take her own life in the mansion’s cherished gazebo. Instead, the blood she spills awakens dark forces in the ground below. Chaos ensues, and by morning her husband has vanished without a trace and his mistress has gone mad.
47North * 9781477826638


October 22nd

SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT: A Walt Longmire Story by Craig Johnson (Mystery)
Sheriff Walt Longmire is reading A CHRISTMAS CAROL in his office on December 24th when he’s interrupted by a mysterious young woman with more than a few questions about his predecessor, Lucian Connally. Lucian swears he’s never laid eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she whispers “Steamboat” and begins a story that takes them all back to Christmas Eve 1988, when three people died in a terrible crash and a young girl had the slimmest chance of survival.
Penguin Books * 9780143125877
On Sale the Week of October 27th in Hardcover

October 28th

A.D. 30 by Ted Dekker (Historical Fiction)
The outcast daughter of one of the most powerful Bedouin sheikhs in Arabia, Maviah is called on to protect the very people who rejected her. When their enemies launch a sudden attack with devastating consequences, Maviah escapes with the help of two of her father's warriors. If they can survive the vast forbidding sands of a desert that is deadly to most, they will reach a brutal world subjugated by kings and emperors. There Maviah must secure an unlikely alliance with King Herod of the Jews. But Maviah's path leads her unexpectedly to another man.
Center Street * 9781599954189

BILLY JOEL: The Definitive Biography by Fred Schruers (Biography)
Acclaimed music journalist Fred Schruers draws upon more than 100 hours of exclusive interviews with Billy Joel to present an unprecedented look at the life, career and legacy of the pint-sized kid from Long Island who became a rock icon. He chronicles Joel’s rise to the top of the charts, from his working-class origins in Levittown and early days spent in boxing rings and sweaty clubs to his monumental success in the ’70s and ’80s.
Crown Archetype * 9780804140195

THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS by Michel Faber (Fiction)
THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS opens with a man saying goodbye to his wife before setting out on a perilous journey to a new planet, Oasis, as a Christian missionary. As his wife's missives from Earth begin to take a dark tone, however, Peter must decide whether to follow his faith or his heart. Michel Faber’s new novel is about adventure, faith and the ties that might hold two people together when they are worlds apart.
Hogarth * 9780553418842

DE NIRO: A LIFE by Shawn Levy (Biography)
Robert De Niro is an intensely private man, whose rare public appearances are often marked by inarticulateness and palpable awkwardness. It can be almost painful to watch at times, in powerful contrast to his confident movie personae. In DE NIRO: A LIFE, Shawn Levy writes of these many De Niros, seeking to understand the evolution of an actor who once dove deeply into his roles as if to hide his inner nature, and who now takes roles that make few apparent demands on his overwhelming talent.
Crown Archetype * 9780307716781

DREAMERS AND DECEIVERS: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America by Glenn Beck (History)
The people who made America were not always what they seemed. There were entrepreneurs and visionaries whose selflessness propelled us forward, but there were also charlatans and fraudsters whose selfishness nearly derailed us. DREAMERS AND DECEIVERS brings both of these groups to life with stories written to put you right in the middle of the action.
Threshold Editions * 9781476783895

THE FINAL SILENCE by Stuart Neville (Thriller)
Rea Carlisle has inherited a house from an uncle she never knew. It doesn’t take her long to clear out the remaining possessions, but to her horror she discovers a leather-bound book, its pages filled with locks of hair and fingernails: a catalog of victims. Rea turns to the only person she can think of: an old boyfriend, police inspector Jack Lennon. He has more than enough problems already, but a gruesome murder brings the dead man’s terrifying journal to the top of the Belfast police’s priority list.
Soho Crime * 9781616955489

THE HANDSOME MAN'S DE LUXE CAFÉ: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (15) by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
Mma Ramotswe has her hands full both at home and in the office. To add to her current challenges, her devoted partner, Grace Makutsi, has decided to branch out on her own and open The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café. But even “Miss 97 Per Cent” can't quite meet all the demands of running a business --- not to mention those that a lightning strike makes on her building. Eventually, she'll have to accept all the help she can get --- even if it comes from a completely unexpected source.
Pantheon * 9780307911544

HAVANA STORM: A Dirk Pitt Novel by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler (Thriller/Adventure)
While investigating a toxic outbreak in the Caribbean Sea that may ultimately threaten the United States, Dick Pitt unwittingly becomes involved in something even more dangerous --- a post-Castro power struggle for the control of Cuba. Meanwhile, Pitt’s children, marine engineer Dirk and oceanographer Summer, are on an investigation of their own, which brings them both to Cuba as well --- and squarely into harm’s way.
Putnam Adult * 9780399172922

AN ISLAND CHRISTMAS by Nancy Thayer (Romance)
As Christmas draws near, Felicia returns to her family’s home on the island to marry her adventurous, rugged boyfriend, Archie. Her mother, Jilly, is worried that her daughter’s life with daredevil Archie will be all hiking and skydiving. Wondering if their handsome neighbor, Steven Hardy, might be a more suitable son-in-law, Jilly embarks on a secret matchmaking campaign for Felicia and the dashing stockbroker.
Ballantine Books * 9780553393873

JACQUELINE BOUVIER KENNEDY ONASSIS: The Untold Story by Barbara Leaming (Biography)
Barbara Leaming’s biography is the first book to document Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s brutal, lonely and valiant 31-year struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that followed JFK’s assassination. Here is the woman as she has never been seen before. In heartrending detail, we witness a struggle that unfolded at times before our own eyes, but that we failed to understand.
Thomas Dunne Books * 9781250017642

JOAN OF ARC: A Life Transfigured by Kathryn Harrison (Biography)
In JOAN OF ARC: A LIFE TRANSFIGURED, Kathryn Harrison gives us a Joan for our time --- a shining exemplar of unshakable faith, extraordinary courage and self-confidence during a brutally rigged ecclesiastical inquisition and in the face of her death by burning. Deftly weaving historical fact, myth, folklore, artistic representations, and centuries of scholarly and critical interpretation into a compelling narrative, she restores Joan of Arc to her rightful position as one of the greatest heroines in all of human history.
Doubleday * 9780385531207

MAEVE’S TIMES: In Her Own Words by Maeve Binchy (Literary Collection)
From the beginning, Maeve Binchy’s writings reflected the warmth, wit and keen human interest that readers would come to love in her fiction. From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, MAEVE’S TIMES gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers.
Knopf * 9780385353458

THE MIDNIGHT PLAN OF THE REPO MAN by W. Bruce Cameron (Mystery/Humor)
Former college football star Ruddy McCann has experienced a seismic drop in popularity; he is now living a simple life as Kalkaska, Michigan’s full-time repo man and part-time bar bouncer. That is, until Ruddy starts hearing a voice in his head. The voice introduces himself as Alan Lottner, a dead realtor. When Alan demands Ruddy find his murderers, Ruddy decides a voice in your head seeking vengeance is best ignored. When Alan also demands he clean up his act, and apartment, Ruddy tells him to back off. But where can a voice in your head go?
Forge Books * 9780765377487

PEGASUS by Danielle Steel (Historical Romance)
Best friends Alex von Hemmerle and Nicolas von Bingen are witnessing the rise of Nazism when Nick's father reveals the secret of his son's partial Jewish ancestry. Warned to flee, the only treasures Nick and his sons can take are two Lipizzaner horses, gifts from Alex that become their ticket to America. While Alex and his daughter face escalating danger in war-torn Europe, Nick struggles to adjust to life in the circus...until a graceful young high wire walker manages to steal his heart.
Delacorte Press * 9780345530974

THE PERIPHERAL by William Gibson (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Where Flynne and her brother, Burton, live, jobs outside the drug business are rare. Fortunately, Burton has his veteran’s benefits, and he finds a new job. Beta-testing part of a new game, he tells her. It seems to be simple: work a perimeter around the image of a tower building. Little buglike things turn up. He’s supposed to get in their way, edge them back. He’s offering Flynne a good price to take over for him. What she sees, though, isn’t what Burton told her to expect. It might be a game, but it could also be murder.
Putnam Adult * 9780399158445

PRINCE LESTAT: The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (Paranormal Mystery/Thriller)
The vampire world is in crisis. Vampires have been proliferating out of control, and old vampires are doing the bidding of a Voice commanding that they indiscriminately burn vampire-mavericks in cities from Paris and Mumbai to Hong Kong, Kyoto and San Francisco. The worlds and beings of all the Vampire Chronicles come together to ultimately rise up and seek out who or what the Voice is, and to discover the secret of what it desires and why.
Knopf * 9780307962522

RESPECT: The Life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz (Biography)
Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, has evolved ever since her hit single "Respect," amidst personal tragedy, surprise Grammy performances and career reinventions. Again and again, Aretha stubbornly finds a way to triumph over troubles, even as they continue to build. Her hold on the crown is tenacious, and in RESPECT, David Ritz gives us the definitive life of one of the greatest talents in all American culture.
Little, Brown and Company * 9780316196833

THE SECRET HISTORY OF WONDER WOMAN by Jill Lepore (Cultural History)
Aside from Superman and Batman, no superhero has lasted as long or commanded so vast and wildly passionate a following as Wonder Woman. Like every other superhero, Wonder Woman has a secret identity. Unlike every other superhero, she also has a secret history. Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore has uncovered an astonishing trove of documents, including the never-before-seen private papers of William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman’s creator.
Knopf * 9780385354042

THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS by Patrick Rothfuss (Fantasy)
Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a broken web of ancient passageways and abandoned rooms. A young woman lives there, tucked among the sprawling tunnels of the Underthing, snug in the heart of this forgotten place. Her name is Auri, and she is full of mysteries. THE SLOW REGARD OF SILENT THINGS is a brief, bittersweet glimpse of Auri’s life, a small adventure all her own.
DAW Hardcover * 9780756410438

US by David Nicholls (Fiction)
Douglas and Connie live more or less happily in the suburbs of London with their moody 17-year-old son, Albie. Then Connie tells Douglas she thinks she wants a divorce. Hoping to encourage her son’s artistic interests, Connie had planned a month-long tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world’s greatest works of art as a family. Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in their marriage, and might even help him to bond with Albie.
Harper * 9780062365583

WHEN LIONS ROAR: The Churchills and the Kennedys by Thomas Maier (History)
By the mid-1930s, from London to America, the Churchills and the Kennedys shared an ever-widening circle of friends, lovers and political associates --- soon shattered by World War II, spying, sexual infidelity, and the tragic deaths of JFK's sister Kathleen and his older brother Joe Jr. By the 1960s and JFK's presidency, these two powerful families had overcome their bitter differences and helped to define the “greatness” in each other.
Crown * 9780307956798

THE WOLF IN WINTER: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly (Thriller)
The community of Prosperous, Maine has always thrived when others have suffered. Its inhabitants are wealthy, its children’s future secure. And at the heart of Prosperous lie the ruins of an ancient church, transported stone by stone from England centuries earlier by the founders of the town. But the death of a homeless man and the disappearance of his daughter draw the haunted, lethal private investigator Charlie Parker to Prosperous.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books * 9781476703183

THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, Elio M. Garcia, Jr. and Linda Antonsson (Fantasy)
This lavishly illustrated volume is a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms, providing vividly constructed accounts of the epic battles, bitter rivalries and daring rebellions that lead to the events of A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO’s "Game of Thrones." In a collaboration that’s been years in the making, George R. R. Martin has teamed with the founders of the renowned fan site Westeros.org --- perhaps the only people who know this world almost as well as its visionary creator.
Bantam * 9780553805444

YES PLEASE by Amy Poehler (Memoir/Humor)
A collection of stories, thoughts, ideas, lists and haikus from the mind of one of our most beloved entertainers, YES PLEASE offers Amy Poehler's thoughts on everything from her "too safe" childhood outside of Boston to her early days in New York City, her ideas about Hollywood and "the biz," the demon that looks back at all of us in the mirror, and her joy at being told she has a "face for wigs."
Dey Street Books * 9780062268341


October 30th

PAPER LOVE: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind by Sarah Wildman (Memoir)
Years after her grandfather’s death, journalist Sarah Wildman stumbled upon a cache of his letters. One woman’s letters stood out: those from Valy, her grandfather’s lover who had remained behind when he fled Europe six months after the Nazis annexed Austria. Obsessed with Valy’s story, Wildman began a quest that lasted years and spanned continents. She discovered, to her shock, an entire world of other people searching for the same woman.
Riverhead Hardcover * 9781594631559
On Sale the Week of October 27th in Paperback

October 28th

BARK: Stories by Lorrie Moore (Fiction/Short Stories)
In her new collection of stories, her first in 15 years, Lorrie Moore explores the passage of time and summons up its inevitable sorrows and hilarious pitfalls. Here are people beset, burdened, buoyed; protected by raising teenage children; dating after divorce; facing the serious illness of a longtime friend; setting forth on a romantic assignation abroad but having it interrupted mid-trip, and coming to understand the larger ramifications and the impossibility of the connection.
Vintage * 9780307740861

CAVENDON HALL by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Historical Fiction)
For hundreds of years leading up to England's Edwardian era, the fates of the elite Ingham family and their servants and confidantes, the Swanns, have been intertwined in ways that leave each group wondering how they would ever survive the triumphs and tragedies of life without the help and love of the other.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks * 9781250032348

CONFESSIONS OF A WILD CHILD by Jackie Collins (Fiction)
Lucky Santangelo is a 15-year-old wild child ready to discover life, love and independence. Daughter of the notorious Gino, Lucky discovers her mother's murdered body floating in the family swimming pool at the tender age of four. Since then, Gino has kept her protected from life closeted in their Bel Air mansion. But in CONFESSIONS OF A WILD CHILD, Lucky finally breaks free, and running away from boarding school the adventures begin.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks * 9781250054876

THE DIVORCE PAPERS by Susan Rieger (Fiction)
When Mia Durkheim chooses Sophie Diehl, a criminal attorney, as her reluctant divorce lawyer, both women are in for a rollercoaster ride that takes them from the depths of despair to the heights of euphoria as they battle Dr. Daniel Durkheim and his team of shark-like lawyers all the way to the finish line, where a divorce decree is the final prize.
Broadway Books * 9780804137461

DOUBLE DOWN: Game Change 2012 by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (Politics)
John Heilemann and Mark Halperin set the national conversation on fire with their bestselling account of the 2008 presidential election, GAME CHANGE. In DOUBLE DOWN, they apply their unparalleled access and storytelling savvy to the 2012 election, rendering an equally compelling narrative about the circus-like Republican nomination fight, the rise and fall of Mitt Romney, and the trials, tribulations and Election Day triumph of Barack Obama.
Penguin Books * 9780143126003

THE FRAGILE WORLD by Paula Treick DeBoard (Fiction)
Paperback Original
The Kaufmans have always considered themselves a normal happy family. But then they receive a phone call in the middle of the night that their son has been killed in a “freak” road accident. From this moment, the bonds tying them together begin to unravel, and things only get worse when the killer is released from prison early. Curtis packs his car up and takes his daughter on a journey to set things right.
Harlequin MIRA * 9780778316763

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SECRET SIX: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger (History)
When General George Washington beat a hasty retreat from New York City in August 1776, many thought the American Revolution might soon be over. Instead, Washington rallied --- thanks in large part to a little-known, top-secret group called the Culper Spy Ring. Drawing on extensive research, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger have painted compelling portraits of Washington’s secret six.
Sentinel Trade * 9781595231109

GOING DARK by James W. Hall (Thriller)
Earth Liberation Front is a loosely knit organization comprised of environmental activists who take a "by any means necessary" approach to defending the planet. Flynn Moss, Thorn’s newly discovered son, has naively fallen in with an ELF cell in Miami that has concocted a non-violent plan to shut down the largest nuclear power plant in the state. But unbeknownst to some in the group, there are other members who would like to cause a radioactive catastrophe rivaling Chernobyl or Fukushima.
St. Martin's Paperbacks * 9781250056412

HILD by Nicola Griffith (Historical Fiction)
In seventh-century Britain, small kingdoms are merging, frequently and violently. A new religion is coming ashore; the old gods are struggling, their priests worrying. Hild is the king’s youngest niece, and she has a glimmering mind and a natural, noble authority. She will become a fascinating woman and one of the pivotal figures of the Middle Ages: Saint Hilda of Whitby.
Picador * 9781250056092

HIS OWNSELF: A Semi-Memoir by Dan Jenkins (Sports/Memoir)
In HIS OWNSELF, we follow Dan Jenkins from his youth in Texas, where being a sports fan meant understanding a lot about religion, heroes and drinking; to his first job at the Fort Worth Press; to the glory days of Sports Illustrated. From his friendship and the rounds played with Ben Hogan, to the stories swapped with New York’s elite, Jenkins lets loose on his experiences in journalism, sports and showbiz.
Anchor * 9780307474704

LAST TRAIN TO BABYLON by Charlee Fam (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Aubrey Glass has a collection of potential suicide notes just in case. And now, five years --- and five notes --- after leaving her hometown, Rachel is the one who goes and kills herself. There’s a voicemail from Aubrey’s former friend, left only days before her death, that Aubrey can’t bring herself to listen to --- and worse, a macabre memorial-turned-high-school reunion that promises the opportunity to catch up with everyone…including the man responsible for everything that went wrong between Aubrey and Rachel.
William Morrow Paperbacks * 9780062328076

THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
Broadway Books * 9780553418026

MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH EATING: From Paris Bistros to Farmhouse Kitchens, Lessons in Food and Love by Ann Mah (Memoir)
When journalist Ann Mah’s diplomat husband is given a three-year assignment in Paris, Ann is overjoyed. A lifelong foodie and Francophile, she immediately begins plotting gastronomic adventures à deux. Then her husband is called away to Iraq on a year-long post --- alone. Suddenly, Ann’s vision of a romantic sojourn in the City of Light is turned upside down. So, not unlike another diplomatic wife, Julia Child, Ann must find a life for herself in a new city.
Penguin Books * 9780143125921

MIRAGE: A Novel of the Oregon Files by Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul (Thriller/Adventure)
In October 1943, a U.S. destroyer sailed out of Philadelphia and supposedly vanished, the result of a Navy experiment with electromagnetic radiation. The story was considered a hoax --- but now Juan Cabrillo and his Oregon colleagues aren’t so sure. As Cabrillo races to find the truth, he discovers there is even more at stake than he could have imagined. But by the time he realizes it, he already may be too late.
Berkley * 9780425250631

NICHOLSON: A Biography by Marc Eliot (Biography)
Biographer Marc Eliot sheds new light on Jack Nicholson's life on and off the screen. From Nicholson’s working class childhood in New Jersey to raucous nights on the town with Warren Beatty and tumultuous romances, to movie sets working with such legendary directors and co-stars as Dennis Hopper, Stanley Kubrick, Meryl Streep and Roman Polanski, Eliot paints a sweeping picture of the breadth of Nicholson’s 50-year career in film, as well as an intimate portrait of his personal life.
Three Rivers Press * 9780307888389

NIGHT DIVER by Elizabeth Lowell (Romantic Suspense)
Kate Donnelly returns to the island of St. Vincent in an effort to save her family’s diving and treasure-hunting business. Holden Cameron was addicted to the adrenaline rush of active duty. The last thing the former British military diver wants is to babysit a family of thieves on a tropical island. When equipment, treasure and even divers begin to disappear, Kate and Holden form an uneasy alliance to uncover the truth. But the deeper they plummet into the mystery, the closer they come to one another.
Avon * 9780062132833

NORMAN MAILER: A Double Life by J. Michael Lennon (Biography)
J. Michael Lennon knew Norman Mailer for 35 years. In this biography --- written with the cooperation of Mailer’s late widow, Norris Church, his ex-wives, and all of his children, as well as his sister, Barbara --- Lennon captures Mailer in all his sharp complexities and shows us how he self-consciously invented and reinvented himself throughout his lifetime.
Simon & Schuster * 9781439150214

AN OFFICER AND A SPY by Robert Harris (Historical Thriller)
Alfred Dreyfus, a young Jewish officer, has just been convicted of treason and stripped of his rank in front of a crowd of 20,000. Among the witnesses to his humiliation is Georges Picquart, the recently promoted head of the counterespionage agency that “proved” Dreyfus had passed secrets to the Germans. However, it isn’t long before Picquart is compelled to question not only the case against Dreyfus but also his most deeply held beliefs about his country --- and himself.
Vintage * 9780345804853

RAISING STEAM: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
Steam is rising over Discworld, driven by Mister Simnel. He has produced a great clanging monster of a machine that harnesses the power of all of the elements, and it’s soon drawing astonished crowds. To the consternation of Ankh-Morpork’s formidable Patrician, Lord Vetinari, no one is in charge of this new invention. Who better to rectify this than the man he has already appointed master of the Post Office, the Mint and the Royal Bank: Moist von Lipwig.
Anchor * 9780804169202

RETURN TO OAKPINE by Ron Carlson (Fiction)
In the small town of Oakpine, Wyoming, four men try to make peace with who they are in the world. In high school, they were in a band, and readers learn what has become of these friends and the different directions of their lives. Now that they are reunited, getting the band back together might be the most important thing they can do.
Penguin Books * 9780143125594

THE SHIP OF BRIDES by Jojo Moyes (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
Following World War II, four women in Sydney, Australia join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England --- aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. The men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy’s ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted.
Penguin Books * 9780143126478

STILL LIFE WITH BREAD CRUMBS by Anna Quindlen (Fiction)
Anna Quindlen’s latest novel begins with an imagined gunshot and ends with a new tin roof. Between the two is a wry and knowing portrait of Rebecca Winter, a photographer whose work made her an unlikely heroine for many women. After fleeing the city for the middle of nowhere, she discovers --- in a tree stand with a roofer named Jim Bates --- that what she sees through a camera lens is not all there is to life.
Random House Trade Paperbacks * 9780812976892

TRAIN: Riding the Rails That Created the Modern World --- from the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest Chief by Tom Zoellner (Transportation/Travel)
In his wide-ranging and entertaining book, Tom Zoellner travels the globe to tell the story of the sociological and economic impact of the railway technology that transformed the world --- and could very well change it again. From the frigid trans-Siberian railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the Japanese-style bullet trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of this most indispensable form of travel.
Penguin Books * 9780143126348

THE TRIP TO ECHO SPRING: On Writers and Drinking by Olivia Laing (Social History)
In THE TRIP TO ECHO SPRING, Olivia Laing examines the link between creativity and alcohol through the work and lives of six extraordinary men: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, John Berryman, John Cheever and Raymond Carver. All six of these writers were alcoholics, and the subject of drinking surfaces in some of their finest work.
Picador * 9781250063731

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