Bookreporter.com's "What to Give, What to Get" Guide
We at Bookreporter.com know that readers crave ideas for gift-giving --- and getting --- at the holidays. With this in mind, we are offering a "What to Give, What to Get" Guide with three "Reader Perfect" suggestions: THE BLUE HOUR by Paula Hawkins, EVERYONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET by Benjamin Stevenson, and THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AT DUNDER MIFFLIN by Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman.
» Click here to see our "What to Give, What to Get" Guide.
Bookreporter.com Bets On: THE BLUE HOUR by Paula Hawkins
THE BLUE HOUR by Paula Hawkins is set on the Scottish island of Eris. There is one house, Fairburn House, and it is unreachable from the Scottish mainland for 12 hours each day as the tide comes in. It’s the perfect setting for the story.
Vanessa Chapman, a famous artist who worked in numerous mediums, lived there for years before she passed away. Now it is home to Grace Haswell, a doctor who loves the solitude and isolation of the place. When a piece of Vanessa’s art is found to contain a human bone, an investigation is called for. James Becker, a noted art historian, is charged with figuring out how the bone may have gotten there. What happened out on that island? And what happened to Julian, Vanessa’s husband who disappeared two decades ago?
» Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
» Click here to read our review.
» Click here to watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Paula Hawkins.
» Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
Bookreporter.com's Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What You've Read --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Let us know by Friday, November 22nd at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win THE AUTHOR'S GUIDE TO MURDER by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White and LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER by Susan Rieger in our Word of Mouth contest.
THE AUTHOR'S GUIDE TO MURDER is a crafty locked-room mystery, a pointed satire about the literary world, and a tale of unexpected friendship and romance. In LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER, this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club pick and an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, three generations of strong-willed women are unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past.
» Click here to enter the contest.
An Interview with Graham Brown, Author of CLIVE CUSSLER DESOLATION CODE: A Novel from the NUMA Files
Kurt Austin and the NUMA crew face swarms of deadly bio-hacked sea locusts, a runaway AI system and a sinister cult in the newly released CLIVE CUSSLER DESOLATION CODE. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House and Clive Cussler’s primary publicist at G.P. Putnam’s Sons from 1999 to 2015, Graham Brown talks about collaborating with Cussler on this series, the changes he has made to Kurt as a character, and the impact that technological innovations have on these books.
» Click here to read the interview.
As part of our mission to expand The Book Report Network, we have been shooting video interviews with authors and posting them on our YouTube channel. We also have been making them available as podcasts. Carol loves interviewing authors, so this feels like a natural.
THE BLUE HOUR, Paula Hawkins' new novel, is this month's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick and a Bets On selection. According to the publisher, the book “recalls the sophisticated suspense of Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith.” Paula discusses her inspiration for the novel’s setting, which came to her when she was on vacation, as well as her love of art. The characters and the way they move in and out of each other’s lives is key to the storylines, and she explains how their roles changed as the book went on. Paula also shares where the title came from and what she loves about the cover. Watch the video or listen to the podcast.
Carol had the pleasure of talking to Susan Rieger about her new novel, LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER, which is this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club pick and a Bets On title. In it, three generations of strong-willed women are unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past. Susan explains what drove her to write the book and why it is structured as a mystery, with the feel of literary Russian nesting dolls. She also reveals which was her favorite character to write and discusses the use of genealogy, as well as DNA. And Susan talks about what it was like to start writing fiction late in life. Watch the video or listen to the podcast.
Jean Hanff Korelitz joins Carol to talk about her latest book, THE SEQUEL, which is the appropriately titled follow-up to THE PLOT and a Bets On pick. In it, Anna, the widow of Jacob Finch Bonner, is enjoying the riches of being a literary widow and has written a debut novel called The Afterword. But, ah, Anna has a secret to hide. Jean shares the fun she had layering wry humor into the book, as well as how she satirizes the publishing industry in juicy detail. Yes, there is film news talk, as well as what’s next for Jean. Watch the video or listen to the podcast.
» Click here for a complete list of our "Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts, along with upcoming interviews.
Maggie Blount, a divorced mother of two and a California physician, puts her private practice on hold when disaster strikes. Doctors on Wheels takes her and Alex --- Maggie’s professional and romantic partner --- wherever they’re needed. After rolling into rural Louisiana in the wake of a category five hurricane, Maggie immediately bonds with two sisters and their puppy, all orphaned by the storm. Feeling blessed and looking forward to their new foster home in affluent Vista del Mar --- a world apart from the one they’ve known --- Jean and Rose are polite, appreciative and humble. Frankly, they're the polar opposite of Maggie’s own self-involved teenage daughters, Willa and Gemma, who resist this intrusion by strangers into their privileged lives. Soon enough, Maggie’s new blended family is in chaos.
The history of the Ivy League dates back to 1869 when Princeton played the first college football game against Rutgers. THE ANCIENT EIGHT explores Ivy League football today. To play in the NFL, one must maintain the highest academic standards and be a great football player. The rivalries are as intense, as are the strict rules --- but there is also a genuine purity in the Ivy League. Through intimate interviews with players, coaches and key figures, John Feinstein uncovers the unique culture that defines football on the Ivy League gridiron, offering unparalleled access to the remarkable coaching staffs and student-athletes who balance their academic ambitions with their passion for the game.
Two women from different worlds, Grace and Anh, are indelibly changed when a runaway boy is found on a street in their small Long Island town. Brought together by the love of this child displaced by war, the women find friendship and healing from their own painful pasts when their lives intersect with a mysterious wounded Vietnam vet. The vet, Jack, works at the Golden Hours, a watch store that mends timepieces --- and might even mend damaged souls. Inspired by the true story of a Vietnamese refugee who entrusted the dramatic account of her escape from Vietnam to the author, and also that of a wounded veteran, Alyson Richman sheds light on those whose lives were forever impacted by the devastation of that war.
After losing both their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle to stay afloat in their small, quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol begins to receive letters from an “aunt” she’s never heard of who promises she can help, she reluctantly agrees to meet --- and discovers that everything she thought she knew about her family is a lie. Even her father might still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures to a whole other realm --- the one he is from. Desperate to save her father and find the truth, Bristol journeys to a land of gods and fae and monsters. Pulled into a dangerous world of magic and intrigue, she makes a deadly bargain with the fae leader, Tyghan. But what she doesn't know is that he's the one who drove her parents to live a life on the run. And he is just as determined as she is to find her father --- dead or alive.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, retired marine biologist Delphine is on the brink of throwing in the towel. She has outlived her PI husband and worries that she’s become a burden to her son and his growing family. One night, while contemplating how to go on, she witnesses a violent argument between a man and his girlfriend. When Delphine discovers that the woman has gone missing along with her young child, she embarks on a quest to find them. What begins as a chance encounter balloons into a rescue mission across the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, Delphine encounters the dregs of humanity --- grappling with schemers, kidnappers and murderers --- as well as its joys. With the help of a few friends, a retired PI and a queer biker gang, she is determined to see her mission through...knowing full well that it may be her last.
A woman welcomes a parasite into her body. A teenager longs for perfect skin. A scientist tends to fragile alien flora. A young man takes the night into his own hands. Unsettling, revelatory and laced with her signature dark humor, Eliza Clark’s debut short story collection plumbs the depths of that most basic human feeling: hunger.
1994, the summer leading up to the ceasefire between Britain and the IRA. In the Northern Irish border town of Cross, after decades of violent activity protesting British rule, a community plays out its end game. Francie, a hardened yet troubled IRA man, has authorized the murder of a policeman by two teenage henchmen. The Widow Donnelly protests in the town square because her son has gone missing. Young Cathy Murphy, a Protestant, is trying to find her place among a people who ignore her. And pathological Handy Byrnes, whose marksmanship makes him a valuable weapon, is out of control. Meanwhile, paranoia is growing because operations are beginning to go wrong. The townsfolk suspect a tout, but no one is willing to accept the evidence before their eyes.