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Week of February 1, 2016

New in Paperback

Week of February 1, 2016

Paperback releases for the week of February 1st include FRICTION by Sandra Brown, a gripping story of family ties and forbidden attraction; Nick Hornby's FUNNY GIRL, a lively account of the adventures of the intrepid young Sophie Straw as she navigates her transformation from provincial ingénue to television starlet; PRETTY BABY, a stunning psychological thriller from Mary Kubica in which a chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies; and PUBLISHING, a personal story of author Gail Godwin's hunger to be published, the pursuit of that goal, and then the long haul.

After Birth by Elisa Albert - Fiction

February 2, 2016


A year has passed since Ari gave birth to Walker, though it went so badly awry she has trouble calling it “birth” and still can't locate herself in her altered universe. When Mina, a one-time cult musician --- older, self-contained, alone and nine-months pregnant --- moves to town, Ari sees the possibility of a new friend, despite her unfortunate habit of generally mistrusting women. Soon they become comrades-in-arms, and the previously hostile terrain seems almost navigable.

Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez - Historical Fiction

February 2, 2016


The Civil War has ended, and Madge, Sadie and Hemp have each come to Chicago in search of a new life. Born with magical hands, Madge has the power to discern others’ suffering, but she cannot heal her own damaged heart. Sadie can commune with the dead, but until she makes peace with her father, she, too, cannot fully engage her gift. Searching for his missing family, Hemp arrives in this northern city that shimmers with possibility. But redemption cannot be possible until he is reunited with those taken from him.

Believer: My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod - Memoir/Politics

February 2, 2016


Whether as a young journalist investigating city corruption, a campaign consultant guiding underdog candidates against entrenched orthodoxy, or as senior adviser to the president during one of the worst crises in American history, David Axelrod held fast to his faith in the power of stories to unite diverse communities and ignite transformative political change. Now this legendary strategist, the mastermind behind Barack Obama’s historic election campaigns, shares a wealth of stories from his 40-year journey through the inner workings of American democracy.

Bettyville: A Memoir by George Hodgman - Memoir

February 2, 2016


When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself --- an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook --- in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. As these two unforgettable characters try to bring their different worlds together, Hodgman reveals the challenges of Betty’s life and his own struggle for self-respect, moving readers from their small town --- crumbling but still colorful --- to the star-studded corridors of Vanity Fair.

City of Savages by Lee Kelly - Dystopian Thriller/Fantasy

February 2, 2016


It’s been nearly two decades since the Red Allies first attacked New York, and Manhattan is now a prisoner-of-war camp. For Skyler Miller, Manhattan is a cage that keeps her from the world beyond the city’s borders. But for Sky’s younger sister, Phee, the POW camp is a dangerous playground of possibility, and the only home she’d ever want. When Sky and Phee discover their mom’s hidden journal from the war’s outbreak, they both realize there’s more to Manhattan --- and their mother --- than either of them had ever imagined.

Compulsion by Allison Brennan - Thriller

February 2, 2016


Investigative reporter Maxine Revere has a theory: that the five New York City murders for which Adam Bachman is being tried are just part of his killing spree. In probing the disappearance of a retired couple who vanished the prior summer, Max uncovers striking similarities to Bachman's MO and develops a theory that Bachman wasn't working alone. She wins a coveted pre-trial interview with the killer, whose disarming composure in the face of her questions is combined with uncomfortable knowledge of her own past.

Cuba Straits: A Doc Ford Novel by Randy Wayne White - Thriller/Adventure

February 2, 2016


Doc Ford’s old friend, General Juan Garcia, has gone into the lucrative business of smuggling Cuban baseball players into the U.S. He is also feasting on profits made by buying historical treasures for pennies on the dollar. He prefers what dealers call HPC items --- high-profile collectibles --- but when he manages to obtain a collection of letters written by Fidel Castro between 1960 and 1962 to a secret girlfriend, it’s not a matter of money anymore. Garcia has stumbled way out of his depth.

Disclaimer by Renée Knight - Psychological Thriller

February 2, 2016


Finding a mysterious novel at her bedside plunges documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft into a living nightmare. Though ostensibly fiction, The Perfect Stranger recreates in vivid, unmistakable detail the terrible day she became hostage to a dark secret, a secret that only one other person knew --- and that person is dead. Now that the past is catching up with her, Catherine’s world is falling apart. Her only hope is to confront what really happened on that awful day…even if the shocking truth might destroy her.

Discontent and Its Civilizations: Dispatches from Lahore, New York, and London by Mohsin Hamid - Essays

February 2, 2016


Mohsin Hamid’s stories are at once timeless and of-the-moment, and his themes are universal: love, language, ambition, power, corruption, religion, family and identity. In DISCONTENT AND ITS CIVILIZATIONS, he explores this terrain from a different angle in essays that deftly counterpoise the personal and the political, and are shot through with the same passion, imagination and breathtaking shifts of perspective that gives his fiction its unmistakable electric charge.

Empire: The Chronicles of the Invaders, Book 2 by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard - Science Fiction/Adventure

February 2, 2016


In EMPIRE, John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard continue the journey of Syl and Paul as they fight to regain planet Earth from a ruthless alien species. Light years from Earth and millions of miles apart, the two must find a way to reveal the horrifying truth behind the Empire and save all that they hold dear from the hunger of the Others.

Friction by Sandra Brown - Thriller

February 2, 2016


Following the death of his wife four years ago, Crawford Hunt fell into a downward spiral and lost custody of his five-year-old daughter, Georgia, to her grandparents. But he has cleaned up his act and met all the court-imposed requirements, and now the fate of his family lies with Judge Holly Spencer. When a masked gunman barges into the courtroom during the custody hearing, Crawford saves Holly from a bullet. After uncovering a horrifying truth about the gunman, he realizes that the unknown person behind the shooting remains at large…and a threat.

Funny Girl by Nick Hornby - Historical Fiction

February 2, 2016


Set in 1960s London, FUNNY GIRL is a lively account of the adventures of the intrepid young Sophie Straw as she navigates her transformation from provincial ingénue to television starlet amid a constellation of delightful characters. Insightful and humorous, Nick Hornby's latest does what he does best: endears us to a cast of characters who are funny, if flawed, and forces us to examine ourselves in the process.

In Wilderness by Diane Thomas - Psychological Suspense

February 2, 2016


In the winter of 1966, Katherine Reid moves to an isolated cabin deep in Georgia’s Appalachian Mountains, where she plans to spend her time in peaceful solitude. Twenty-year-old Vietnam veteran Danny lives not far from Katherine’s cabin. Haunted by war and enclosed by walls of moldering books, he becomes fixated on Katherine. What starts as cautious observation grows to obsession. When these two souls collide, the passion that ignites between them is all-consuming --- and increasingly dangerous.

Lincoln's Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America by Brian McGinty - History

February 1, 2016


In the early hours of May 6, 1856, the steamboat Effie Afton barreled into a pillar of the Rock Island Bridge --- the first railroad bridge ever to span the Mississippi River. Soon after, the newly constructed vessel, crowded with passengers and livestock, erupted into flames and sank in the river below, taking much of the bridge with it. As lawyer and Lincoln scholar Brian McGinty dramatically reveals in LINCOLN'S GREATEST CASE, no one was killed, but the question of who was at fault cried out for an answer.

Long Way Down by Michael Sears - Thriller

February 2, 2016


Two years in a federal prison has changed Jason Stafford, but one thing it has taught him as a financial investigator is how to detect a lie. He doesn’t think Philip Haley is lying. An engineer on the verge of a biofuel breakthrough, Haley has been indicted for insider trading on his own company, and Stafford believes him when he says he’s been set up. It does make him dangerous to be around, though. The deeper Stafford investigates, the more secrets he starts to uncover --- secrets people would kill for.

The Man Who Couldn't Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought by David Adam - Memoir

February 2, 2016


David Adam, an editor at Nature and an accomplished science writer, has suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder for 20 years, and THE MAN WHO COULDN’T STOP is his unflinchingly honest attempt to understand the condition and his experiences. Drawing on the latest research on the brain, as well as historical accounts of patients and their treatments, this is a book that will challenge the way you think about what is normal and what is mental illness.

Of Irish Blood by Mary Pat Kelly - Historical Fiction

February 2, 2016


It’s 1903, and Nora Kelly falls for an attractive but dangerous man who sends her running back to the Old World her family had fled. She takes on Paris, mixing with couturiers, artists and "les femmes Americaines" of the Left Bank, such as Gertrude Stein and Sylvia Beach. But when Nora stumbles into the centuries-old Collège des Irlandais, a good-looking scholar, an unconventional priest and Ireland’s revolutionary women challenge her to honor her Irish blood and join the struggle to free Ireland.

Paris, He Said by Christine Sneed - Fiction

February 2, 2016


Jayne Marks is questioning the choices she has made in the years since college when she is given the opportunity to move to Paris with her wealthy lover and benefactor, Laurent Moller, who owns and operates two art galleries. He offers her the time and financial support she needs to begin her career as a painter and also challenges her to see who and what she will become if she meets her artistic potential. Laurent, however, seems to have other women in his life. Jayne, too, has an ex-boyfriend, much closer to her own age, for whom she still has feelings.

The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson - Historical Fiction

February 2, 2016


Maud Heighton came to Lafond's famous Academie to paint and to flee the constraints of her small English town. It took all of her courage to escape, but Paris is no place for a light purse. While her fellow students enjoy the dazzling decadence of the Belle Epoque, Maud slips into poverty. Quietly starving and dreading another cold Paris winter, Maud is hired by Christian Morel as a companion to his beautiful, young sister, Sylvie. As Maud is drawn further into the Morels' world of elegant luxury, their secrets become hers.

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica - Psychological Thriller

February 2, 2016


Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home. Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger.

Publishing: A Writer's Memoir by Gail Godwin - Memoir

February 2, 2016


PUBLISHING is a personal story of a writer's hunger to be published, the pursuit of that goal, and then the long haul --- for Gail Godwin, 45 years of being a published writer and all that goes with it. The book reflects on the influence of her mother's writing hopes and accomplishments, and recalls her experiences with teachers Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Coover; John Hawkins, her literary agent for five decades; John Irving and other luminaries; and her editors and publishers.

Remembrance: A Mediator Novel by Meg Cabot - Paranormal Romance

February 2, 2016


All Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and since becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva). But when she’s hired as a guidance counselor at her alma mater, she stumbles across a decade-old murder, and soon ancient history isn’t all that’s coming back to haunt her. Old ghosts as well as new ones are coming out of the woodwork --- some to test her, some to vex her --- and it isn’t only because she’s a mediator, gifted with second sight.

Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft & Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon - Biography/History

February 2, 2016


Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley have each been the subject of numerous biographies, yet no one has ever examined their lives in one book --- until now. In ROMANTIC OUTLAWS, Charlotte Gordon reunites the trailblazing author who wrote A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN and the Romantic visionary who gave the world FRANKENSTEIN --- two courageous women who should have shared their lives, but instead shared a powerful literary and feminist legacy.

Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams - Historical Romance

February 2, 2016


In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle (“Tiny” to her illustrious family) stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple. But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister, Pepper; an envelope containing an incriminating photograph; and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin, Vietnam war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else.

An Undisturbed Peace by Mary Glickman - Historical Fiction

February 2, 2016


A trio of outsiders linked by unrequited and rekindled love, Abrahan Bento Sassaporta Naggar, Dark Water of the Mountains, and a black slave named Jacob find themselves surrounded by the escalating horrors of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. As the US government implements the appalling logistics of transporting the Native American tribes of the South to the western side of the Mississippi River, Abe tries desperately to intervene --- and Jacob and Dark Water fight for their lives.

Water from My Heart by Charles Martin - Fiction

February 2, 2016


Charlie Finn earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami. Charlie tries to separate relationships from work. But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs. He travels to Central America where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter.

Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy - Thriller

February 2, 2016


Jacob McNeely’s father runs a methodically organized meth ring, with local authorities on the dime to turn a blind eye to his dealings. Having dropped out of high school and cut himself off from his peers, Jacob has been working for his father for years, all on the promise that his payday will come eventually. But when a fatal mistake changes everything, he’s faced with a choice: stay and appease his father, or leave the mountains with the girl he loves.

Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren - Romance

February 2, 2016


When three besties meet three hot guys in Vegas, anything could --- and does --- happen. Moving from college into the real world has never been so crazy...or fun. Let the Wild Seasons begin. The romance heats up between Mia's ex-boyfriend, Luke and Lorelei's roommate, London, in this raucous conclusion to the Wild Seasons series.