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Week of April 15, 2019

New in Paperback

Week of April 15, 2019

Paperback releases for the week of April 15th include VARINA, in which Charles Frazier returns to the time and place of COLD MOUNTAIN, vividly bringing to life the chaos and devastation of the Civil War; DREAMS OF FALLING by Karen White, a contemporary women's fiction novel, set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, about lifelong friends who share a devastating secret; RUTHLESS TIDE, a gripping history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown Flood --- the deadliest flood in U.S. history --- from NBC host and legendary weather authority Al Roker; and BLUFF by Michael Kardos, which takes us deep inside the fraught and fascinating world of a modern magician who becomes obsessed with magic's dark twin --- the underworld of the cardsharp.

The 13-Minute Murder by James Patterson - Thriller

April 16, 2019

Psychiatrist Randall Beck specializes in PTSD cases --- and his time is limited. Especially when he uncovers a plot to kill a presidential candidate. Molly Rourke's son has been murdered --- and she knows who's responsible. Now she's taking the law into her own hands. He can kill anybody in just minutes --- from the first approach to the clean escape. His skills have served him well, and he has a grand plan: to get out alive and spend his earnings with his beloved wife, Maria. An anonymous client offers Ryan a rich payout to assassinate a target in Harvard Yard. The precision strike starts perfectly, then somehow explodes into a horrifying spectacle. Ryan has to run and Maria goes missing. Now the world's fastest hit man sets out for one last score: Revenge. And every minute counts.

The Banker's Wife by Cristina Alger - Thriller

April 16, 2019

On an early morning in November, a couple boards a private plane bound for Geneva, flying into a storm. Soon after, it simply drops off the radar, and its wreckage is later uncovered in the Alps. Among the disappeared is Matthew Werner, a banking insider at Swiss United, a powerful offshore bank. His young widow, Annabel, is left grappling with the secrets he left behind. As she begins a desperate search for answers, she determines that Matthew's death was no accident. Ambitious society journalist Marina Tourneau uncovers information that implicates some of the most powerful men in the financial world. The story could also be the answer to Annabel's heartbreaking search --- if Marina chooses to publish it.

Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin - Fiction

April 16, 2019

Rice Moore is just beginning to think his troubles are behind him. He’s found a job protecting a remote forest preserve in Virginian Appalachia where his main responsibilities include tracking wildlife and refurbishing cabins. It’s hard work, and totally solitary --- perfect to hide away from the Mexican drug cartels he betrayed back in Arizona. But when Rice finds the carcass of a bear killed on the grounds, the quiet solitude he’s so desperately sought is suddenly at risk. More bears are killed on the preserve and Rice’s obsession with catching the poachers escalates, leading to hostile altercations with the locals and attention from both the law and Rice’s employers.

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf - Psychological Thriller

April 16, 2019

For 12-year-old Cora Landry and her friends, Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover --- movies and Ouija and talking about boys. But when they decide to sneak out to go to the abandoned rail yard on the outskirts of town, little do they know that their innocent games will have dangerous consequences. Later that night, Cora is discovered on the tracks, bloody and clinging to life, her friends nowhere to be found. Soon their small rural town is thrust into a maelstrom. Who would want to hurt a young girl like Cora, and why? In an investigation that leaves no stone unturned, everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted --- not even those closest to Cora.

Beyond the Truth: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel by Anne Holt - Mystery

April 16, 2019

Shortly before Christmas, four people are found shot dead at the home of the Stahlbergs, a wealthy family of shipping merchants notorious for their miserliness and infighting. Three of the victims are members of the family, and the fourth is an outsider, seemingly out of place. As Hanne Wilhelmsen investigates the case alongside her longtime police partner, Billy T., motives for the murders emerge in abundance; each surviving member of the Stahlberg family had good reason to want the victims dead. As she searches for the killer, Hanne will once again risk everything to find out the truth. But this time, will she go too far?

Blood Moon: An American Epic of War and Splendor in the Cherokee Nation by John Sedgwick - History

April 16, 2019

BLOOD MOON is the story of the feud between two rival Cherokee chiefs from the early years of the United States through the infamous Trail of Tears and into the Civil War. Their enmity would lead to war, forced removal from their homeland, and the devastation of a once-proud nation. One of the men, known as The Ridge, is a fearsome warrior who speaks no English, but whose exploits on the battlefield are legendary. The other, John Ross, is a pale, unimposing half-pint who wears modern clothes and speaks not a word of Cherokee. At first, the two men are friends and allies who negotiate with almost every American president from Washington through Lincoln. But as the threat to their land and their people grows more dire, they break with each other on the subject of removal.

Bluff by Michael Kardos - Thriller

April 16, 2019

At 27, magician Natalie Webb is already a has-been. A card-trick prodigy, she took first place at the World of Magic competition at 18 and has never again reached such heights. Shunned by the magic world after a disastrous liaison with an older magician, she now lives alone in a New Jersey apartment. In a desperate ploy for extra cash, she follows up on an old offer to write for a glossy magazine and pitches the editor a seductive topic: the art of cheating at cards. But when Natalie meets the perfect subject for her piece --- a poker cheat who dazzles at sleight of hand --- what begins as a journalistic gamble soon becomes a test of everything she thinks she knows about her talent, and herself.

City of Flickering Light by Juliette Fay - Historical Fiction

April 16, 2019

It’s July 1921, “flickers” are all the rage, and Irene Van Beck has just declared her own independence by jumping off a moving train to escape her fate in a traveling burlesque show. When her friends, fellow dancer Millie Martin and comedian Henry Weiss, leap after her, the trio finds their way to the bright lights of Hollywood with hopes of making it big in the burgeoning silent film industry. But success doesn’t come easy, and nothing can prepare Irene, Millie and Henry for the poverty, temptation and heartbreak that lie ahead. With their ambitions challenged by both the men above them and the prejudice surrounding them, their friendship is the only constant through desperate times, as each struggles to find their true calling in an uncertain world.

Cult X written by Fuminori Nakamura, translated by Kalau Almony - Mystery/Thriller

April 16, 2019

When Toru Narazaki’s girlfriend, Ryoko Tachibana, disappears, he tries to track her down, despite the warnings of the private detective he’s hired to find her. Ryoko’s past is shrouded in mystery, but the one concrete clue to her whereabouts is a previous address in the heart of Tokyo. She lived in a compound with a group that seems to be a cult led by a charismatic guru with a revisionist Buddhist scheme of life, death and society. Narazaki plunges into the secretive world of the cult, ready to expose himself to any of the guru’s brainwashing tactics if it means he can learn the truth about Ryoko. But the cult isn’t what he expected, and he has no idea of the bubbling violence he is stepping into.

Dreams of Falling by Karen White - Mystery

April 16, 2019

Nine years ago, a humiliated Larkin Lanier fled Georgetown, South Carolina, knowing she could never go back. But when she finds out that her mother has disappeared, she realizes she has no choice but to return to the place she both loves and dreads --- and to the family and friends who never stopped wishing for her to come home. Ivy, Larkin's mother, is discovered badly injured and unconscious in the burned-out wreckage of her ancestral plantation home. No one knows why Ivy was there, but as Larkin digs for answers, she uncovers secrets kept for nearly 50 years --- whispers of love, sacrifice and betrayal --- that lead back to three girls on the brink of womanhood who found their friendship tested in the most heartbreaking ways.

During-the-Event by Roger Wall - Dystopian Fiction/Adventure

April 15, 2019

In the near future, climate change has ravaged the United States, leading the government to overcorrect through culls and relocation. Those who survive the mandated destruction are herded into “habitable production zones,” trading their freedom for illusions of security. The few who escape learn quickly that the key to survival is to stay hidden in the corners of the country. For 17 years, During-the-Event (D.E.) has lived free in a pastoral life with his grandfather in North Dakota. But when death reaches their outpost, D.E. is forced on a journey that will change his life --- and reveal surprises about his past. Once taught that strangers are only sources of pain, D.E. must learn to trust the people he meets on his journey.

Gumshoe on the Loose by Rob Leininger - Mystery

April 16, 2019

IRS agent-turned-PI Mortimer Angel is relaxing in a hole-in-the-wall bar in a Reno casino when an attractive young girl hires him to find out who left her a cryptic message demanding a million dollars. At the girl’s house, Mort finds the body of missing rapper Jonnie Xenon --- Jo-X to his legions of fans --- hanging from the rafters with two bullet holes in him. Mort is shocked when he learns the identity of the girl’s father --- and even more shocked when the father hires him to investigate the murder. Mort, being Mort, accumulates a few felonies as he follows the clues to Las Vegas. And along the way, he picks up an alluring young assistant who changes his life --- in every conceivable way.

The Mercy Seat by Elizabeth H. Winthrop - Historical Fiction

April 16, 2019

On the eve of his execution, 18-year-old Willie Jones sits in his cell in New Iberia awaiting his end. Across the state, a truck driven by a convict and his keeper carries the executioner’s chair closer. On a nearby highway, Willie’s father Frank lugs a gravestone on the back of his fading, old mule. In his office, the DA who prosecuted Willie reckons with his sentencing, while at their gas station at the crossroads outside of town, married couple Ora and Dale grapple with their grief and their secrets.

The Mister by E L James - Romance

April 16, 2019

London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections and money, he’s never had to work and he’s rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family’s noble title, wealth and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a role he’s not prepared for and one that he struggles to face. But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who’s recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past. Reticent, beautiful and musically gifted, she’s an alluring mystery, and Maxim’s longing for her deepens into a passion that he’s never experienced and dares not name.

A Nantucket Wedding by Nancy Thayer - Fiction

April 16, 2019

A few years after losing her beloved husband, Alison is doing something she never thought she would do again: getting married. While placing the finishing touches on her summer nuptials, Alison is anxious to introduce her fiancé, David, to her grown daughters: Felicity, a worried married mother of two, and Jane, also married but focused on her career. The sisters have a somewhat distant relationship, and Alison hopes that the wedding and the weeks leading up to the ceremony will give the siblings a chance to reconnect, as well as meet and get to know David’s grown children. As the summer progresses, it is anything but smooth sailing.

The One by John Marrs - Science Fiction/Thriller

April 16, 2019

A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner --- the one you’re genetically made for. That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love. Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone.

A Question of Belief: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon - Mystery

April 16, 2019

With his hometown beset by hordes of tourists and baking under a glaring sun, Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti's greatest wish is to go to the mountains with his family, where he can sleep under a down comforter and catch up on his reading. But before he can go on vacation, a folder with court records has landed on his desk, brought by an old friend. It appears that cases at the local court --- hardly known as a model of efficiency --- are being delayed to the benefit of one of the parties, a creative new trick for corrupting the system. And just when it looks like Brunetti will be able to get away, a shocking, violent crime forces him to stay in Venice.

Ruthless Tide: The Heroes and Villains of the Johnstown Flood, America’s Astonishing Gilded Age Disaster by Al Roker - History

April 16, 2019

Central Pennsylvania, May 31, 1889: After a deluge of rain swelled the Little Conemaugh River, panicked engineers watched helplessly as swiftly rising waters threatened to breach the South Fork dam. At 3:10pm the dam gave way, releasing 20 million tons of water. The deluge wiped out nearly everything in its path before reaching Johnstown, a vibrant steel town 14 miles downstream. Traveling 40 miles an hour, the deadly floodwaters razed the mill town in minutes. The Great Flood remains the deadliest in US history, killing more than 2,200 people and causing $17 million in damage. In RUTHLESS TIDE, Al Roker follows an unforgettable cast of characters whose fates converged because of that tragic day.

Varina by Charles Frazier - Historical Fiction

April 16, 2019

Her marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects the secure life of a Mississippi landowner. Davis instead pursues a career in politics and is eventually appointed president of the Confederacy, placing Varina at the white-hot center of one of the darkest moments in American history --- culpable regardless of her intentions. The Confederacy falling, her marriage in tatters and the country divided, Varina and her children escape Richmond and travel south on their own, now fugitives with “bounties on their heads, an entire nation in pursuit.”