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Jeanine Cummins' SPEAK TO ME OF HOME is a Deeply Felt Multigenerational Family Story

The novel asks: How can three women who share geography and genetics have such wildly different ideas of where they come from?

THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS by Ocean Vuong is Oprah's Latest Book Club Pick

This bighearted novel is about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.

Carl Hiaasen Has Written His Wildest and Most Entertaining Novel Yet

FEVER BEACH tackles the current chaotic and polarized American culture with two wonderful Hiaasen heroes.

In CLASS CLOWN, America’s Most Beloved Wiseass Finally Tells His Life Story

How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column?

We're Giving Away a Different Summer Reading Title on Select Days Through August

Our next two contests will be up at noon ET on May 27th and 28th. The prize books will be BEACH HOUSE RULES and THE GUEST COTTAGE.

Latest Features and Contests


Women's Fiction Author Spotlight & Contest: THE GUEST COTTAGE: A Firefly Summer Novel, by Lori Foster

In THE GUEST COTTAGE, the first installment in Lori Foster's Firefly Summer series, love, forgiveness and renewal take center stage in the haven of a quiet lakeside town when two very different women bond over one man’s betrayal.

We have 25 copies to give away to those who would like to read the book, which releases on May 27th, and share their comments on it. All winners must be prepared to provide their feedback by Monday, July 7th.

The deadline for your entries is Friday, May 30th at noon ET.

» Click here to read more in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight and enter the contest.


Bookreporter.com's Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What You've Read --- and You Can Win Two Books!


Let us know by Friday, May 23rd at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win THE DOORMAN by Chris Pavone and SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins in our Word of Mouth contest.

THE DOORMAN is a pulse-pounding novel of class, privilege, sex and murder. SPEAK TO ME OF HOME is a deeply felt multigenerational family story that asks: What does it mean to call a place home? Both books will be Bookreporter.com Bets On selections.

» Click here to enter the contest.


An Interview with Frederic S. Durbin, Author of THE COUNTRY UNDER HEAVEN


Louis L’Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft in THE COUNTRY UNDER HEAVEN, a thrilling western epic about a former Civil War soldier wracked by enigmatic visions. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, Frederic S. Durbin talks about his extensive research for the book; the authors who have most influenced his writing; and the inspiration for his protagonist, Ovid Vesper, as well as the mysterious, supernatural force known as the Craither.

» Click here to read the interview.


Bookreporter.com's 21st Annual Summer Reading Contests and Feature

Summer will be here before you know it! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature.

We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through mid-August, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.

Our next two contests will be up at noon ET on Tuesday, May 27th and Wednesday, May 28th. The prize books will be BEACH HOUSE RULES by Kristy Woodson Harvey and THE GUEST COTTAGE: A Firefly Summer Novel by Lori Foster.

» Click here to read all the contest details and learn more about our featured titles.

Bookreporter Talks To...

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.

HARLEM RHAPSODY is Victoria Christopher Murray's first solo historical novel and will be a Bets On pick. She has written New York Times bestsellers with her co-author, Marie Benedict. Victoria explains why she chose to write about the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and shares her extensive research, which included reading issues of The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP, and her wonderful finds of letters and other works that helped to bring this story together. She speaks of admiring Jessie Redmon Fauset and her education and career success, as well as what happened later in her life. Victoria is enthusiastic about how much has been achieved, as just 50 years ago, Black people had been enslaved and didn’t have access to education. Watch the video or listen to the podcast.

Nita Prose's new novel, THE MAID’S SECRET, is the last book featuring Molly the Maid and is a Bets On title. Nita shares that she did not set out to write a series, but once the first book was finished, it was clear that there was more to Molly’s story. She enjoyed developing a voice for Gran in this novel; in the prior installments, everything about Gran came to readers from Molly. Nita muses about “the egg,” which is referenced throughout the series as the nest egg, and how that has real implications in this final book. And yes, she reveals what’s next for her. Watch the video or listen to the podcast.

Carol had a wonderful conversation with Katy Hays about her new novel, SALTWATER, which is a Bets On selection. The book is set on the island of Capri and has the same vibes as “The White Lotus.” Katy explains the origins of the novel, as well as how the story grew and why she told it from the points of view of multiple characters, alternating between “Then” and “Now.” She also discusses her research on Capri and why it was the perfect place to set the novel. The audiobook has three narrators, and Katy shares why she feels they worked to best serve the book. 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.

Latest Reviews

Freelancing for a London publisher, editor Susan Ryeland has been given the last job she wants: working on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel called Pünd’s Last Case. Worse still, she knows the new writer. Eliot Crace is the troubled grandson of legendary children’s author Miriam Crace, who died 20 years ago. Eliot is convinced that she was poisoned. To her surprise, Susan enjoys reading the manuscript, which is set in the South of France and revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, days before she was about to change her will. But when it is revealed that Lady Margaret was also poisoned, alarm bells begin to ring. The more Susan reads, the clearer it becomes that Eliot has deliberately concealed clues about his grandmother’s death inside the book.

Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child --- narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?

The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb - Mystery/Thriller

Growing up in the Southeast D.C. projects with a drug dealer for a father, Curtis Wilson is a cello prodigy who rises to unimagined heights in the classical music world. But then his life suddenly disintegrates. His father, Zippy, turns state’s evidence, implicating his old bosses. Now the family must enter the witness protection program if they want to survive. This means that Curtis must give up the very thing he loves the most. When Zippy’s bosses prove too elusive for law enforcement, Curtis, Zippy, and Zippy’s girlfriend, Larissa, realize that their only chance of survival is to take on the criminals themselves. They must create new identities and draw on their unique talents, including Curtis’ musical ability, to go after the people who want them dead.

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie - Historical Fantasy

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain that a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends. Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing that Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.

Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker - Supernatural Thriller/Horror

In the sleepy coastal town of New Castle, New Hampshire, 17-year-old Billy Hasler's life is about to take a terrifying turn. When his best friend, David Spivey, inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island, it seems like the perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. No parents. No police. No responsibilities. As they dig into the island's dark past, they awaken an ancient evil that has influenced generations. What begins as an innocent summer adventure quickly descends into a nightmare.

Timothy M. Gay writes that Rory McIlroy is “golf’s ageless Opie Taylor,” a freckled superstar whose boyish charm transcends national boundaries and enlivens the game. His seemingly effortless swing is so powerful that Tiger Woods is teaching his own son to mimic Rory’s action. But a charismatic persona and a pretty swing don’t necessarily translate into winning major championships. Over the past decade, Rory has had his heart ripped out as he’s failed to win another major and fallen short of achieving the career Grand Slam. (That all changed when, following the writing of this book, Rory won the Masters for his fifth major and the career Grand Slam.) RORY LAND tells the up-and-down saga of a compassionate and kindhearted superstar living in a world where “money has no conscience.”

Make Me Famous written by Maud Ventura, translated by Gretchen Schmid - Fiction

Ever since she was a child, Cléo, the French-American daughter of two academics, has had only one obsession: becoming a famous singer. Over the years, she overcomes every obstacle and becomes a global superstar. But as any celebrity will tell you, getting to the top is one thing; staying there is another. Now 33 years old, Cléo is taking her first real vacation in years, on a remote island with no one else in sight. With the never-ending spin cycle of her life finally on pause and no paparazzi peeking out from behind the coconut palms, she can work on her fourth album in peace. Except that with so much time to think, she can’t help but ruminate on her past --- including how, just six months earlier, things started to go very, very wrong.

The Night Birds by Christopher Golden - Supernatural Thriller/Horror

After their love ended in heartbreak years ago, Charlie Book and Ruby Cahill never expected to see each other again. Now, as part of his work for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Book lives aboard the Christabel, a 19th-century freighter half-sunken off the shore of Galveston. But when he arrives at the dock, he’s stunned to find Ruby there waiting for him. With her are a mysterious woman and her infant child, asking Book to hide them safely aboard the Christabel while they're on the run. Only it isn’t the police who are after them. It’s a coven of witches that the woman, Mae, has fled, stealing away the helpless infant for whom the coven had hideous plans…or so Mae claims.

On February 3, 1889, just two days shy of her 41st birthday, Myra Maybelle Shirley --- better known at that point by her outlaw sobriquet “Belle Starr” --- was blown from her horse saddle and killed by a pair of shotgun blasts, delivered by an unseen assailant, only a few miles away from her home in the Indian Territory of present-day Oklahoma. Thus ended the life of one of the most colorful, authentic and dangerous women in the history of the American West. In QUEEN OF ALL MAYHEM, Dane Huckelbridge probes a life rich in contradictions and intrigue. Why did a woman who had considerable advantages in life --- a good family, a decent education, solid marriage prospects, a clear path to financial security --- choose to pursue a life of crime?