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Reviews

Reviews

by Elin Hilderbrand - Fiction, Short Stories, Women's Fiction

Bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand revisits her most treasured and iconic characters in this magical collection of stories. Collected in a single volume for the first time, ENDLESS SUMMER ranges from fan favorites to original, never-before-seen works. In “The Surfing Lesson,” the marriage at the heart of BEAUTIFUL DAY crosses uncertain territory when Margot Carmichael encourages her husband to reunite with his ex-girlfriend. The legendary weekend of a Harvard-Yale football game in “The Tailgate” recharts the course of Matchmaker Dabney Kimball’s first --- and abiding --- true love. And in a brand-new novella, “Summer of ’89,” we reconnect with the Levin sisters, whose distant adult lives collide once again at a tumultuous family reunion on Nantucket.

written by Paul Newman, edited by David Rosenthal - Memoir, Nonfiction

In 1986, Paul Newman and his closest friend, screenwriter Stewart Stern, began an extraordinary project. Stuart was to compile an oral history, to have Newman’s family and friends and those who worked closely with him, talk about the actor’s life. And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story. The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest. That same stipulation applied to Newman himself. The project lasted five years. The result is an extraordinary memoir, culled from thousands of pages of transcripts. Newman’s voice is powerful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, always meeting that high standard of searing honesty.

by Lisa Jewell - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery and learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead 30 years ago. Rachel Rimmer’s husband, Michael, has been found dead in his cellar. The French police need Rachel to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer. After fleeing London 30 years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present. As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they never could have imagined.

by Megan Miranda - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass. Cutter’s Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings and mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances that has haunted the town is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, disappears himself. When she finds incriminating evidence that may bring the community closer to the truth, Abby soon discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors and even those closest to her.

by David Sedaris - Essays, Humor, Nonfiction

Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask --- or not --- was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most. As the world gradually settles into a new reality, Sedaris too finds himself changed. His offer to fix a stranger’s teeth rebuffed, he straightens his own and ventures into the world with new confidence. Newly orphaned, he considers what it means, in his seventh decade, no longer to be someone’s son. And back on the road, he discovers a battle-scarred America.

by Jean Hanff Korelitz - Fiction

THE LATECOMER follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings --- Harrison, Lewyn and Sally --- feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child. What role will the “latecomer” play in this fractured family?

by Paul Holes - Memoir, Nonfiction, True Crime

In UNMASKED, cold case investigator Paul Holes takes us through his memories of a storied career and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary American history, including the hunt for the Golden State Killer, Laci Peterson's murder and Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping. This is also a revelatory profile of a complex man and what makes him tick: the drive to find closure for victims and their loved ones, the inability to walk away from a challenge --- even at the expense of his own happiness. Holes opens up the most intimate scenes of his life: his moments of self-doubt and the impact that detective work has had on his marriage.

by Jennifer Close - Fiction, Humor

Here are the three things the Sullivan family knows to be true: the Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable; and their grandfather, Bud, founder of JP Sullivan’s, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park. But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected president and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways --- and the bartender at JP Sullivan’s makes such strong cocktails?

by Billie Jean King, with Johnette Howard and Maryanne Vollers - Autobiography, Nonfiction, Sports

In this spirited account, Billie Jean King details her life's journey to find her true self. She recounts her groundbreaking tennis career --- six years as the top-ranked woman in the world, 20 Wimbledon championships, 39 grand slam titles, and her watershed defeat of Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes." She poignantly recalls the cultural backdrop of those years and the profound impact on her worldview from the women's movement, the assassinations and anti-war protests of the 1960s, the civil rights movement and, eventually, the LGBTQ+ rights movement.

by Kristy Woodson Harvey - Fiction, Women's Fiction

When journalist Amelia Buxton discovers that a cluster of embryos belonging to her childhood friend Parker and his late wife Greer have been deemed “abandoned,” she’s put in the unenviable position of telling Parker --- and dredging up old wounds in the process. Parker has been unable to move forward since the loss of his beloved wife three years ago. He has all but forgotten about the frozen embryos. But once Amelia reveals her discovery, he knows that if he ever wants to get a part of Greer back, he’ll need to accept his fate as a single father and find a surrogate. Each dealing with their own private griefs, Parker and Amelia slowly begin to find solace in one another as they navigate an uncertain future against the backdrop of the pristine waters of their childhood home, Buxton Beach.