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Week of January 25, 2021

New in Paperback

Week of January 25, 2021

Paperback releases for the week of January 25th include THE LAST TRIAL, the 11th book in Scott Turow's series set in fictional Kindle County, Illinois, about celebrated criminal defense lawyer Sandy Stern and the prosecution of his lifelong friend --- a doctor accused of murder; THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS by Stephen Graham Jones, which follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives; THE WIFE STALKER, a twisty psychological thriller from Liv Constantine about a woman fighting to hold onto the only family she’s ever loved --- and how far she’ll go to preserve it; Sandra Dallas' WESTERING WOMEN, an inspiring celebration of sisterhood on the perilous Overland Trail; and THE BODY, Bill Bryson's head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body --- how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail.

Agency by William Gibson - Science Fiction/Thriller

January 26, 2021

Verity Jane, gifted app whisperer, takes a job as the beta tester for a new product: a digital assistant, accessed through a pair of ordinary-looking glasses. “Eunice,” the disarmingly human AI in the glasses, manifests a face, a fragmentary past and a canny grasp of combat strategy. Meanwhile, a century ahead in London, Wilf Netherton works amid plutocrats and plunderers, survivors of the slow and steady apocalypse known as the jackpot. His boss, the enigmatic Ainsley Lowbeer, can look into alternate pasts and nudge their ultimate directions. Verity and Eunice are her current project. Wilf can see what Verity and Eunice can’t: their own version of the jackpot, just around the corner, and the roles they both may play in it.

The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson - Science/Humor

January 26, 2021

Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body --- how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Brysonesque anecdotes, THE BODY will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular.

Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah - Fiction

January 26, 2021

During a snowy Cleveland February, newlywed university students Muneer and Saeedah are expecting their first child, and he is harboring a secret: the word divorce is whispering in his ear. Soon, their marriage will end, and Muneer will return to Saudi Arabia, while Saeedah remains in Cleveland with their daughter, Hanadi. Consumed by a growing fear of losing her daughter, Saeedah disappears with the little girl, leaving Muneer to desperately search for his daughter for years. The repercussions of the abduction ripple outward, not only changing the lives of Hanadi and her parents, but also their interwoven family and friends --- those who must choose sides and hide their own deeply guarded secrets.

Coconut Layer Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery with Recipes! by Joanne Fluke - Mystery

January 26, 2021

When Hannah Swensen learns that her sister Michelle’s boyfriend, Detective Lonnie Murphy, is the prime suspect in a murder case, she goes straight from a movie studio sound stage to the Los Angeles airport. Back in frigid Minnesota, she discovers that proving Lonnie’s innocence will be harder than figuring out what went wrong with a recipe. Lonnie remembers only parts of the night he went out to a local bar and ended up driving a very impaired woman home. He knows he helped her to her bedroom, but he doesn’t recall anything else until he woke up on her couch the following morning. When he went to the bedroom to check on her, he was shocked to discover she was dead. Hannah doesn’t know what to believe --- only that exonerating a suspect who can’t remember is almost impossible.

Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Romance

January 26, 2021

When life throws her one setback too many, midwife and young widow Tess Hartsong takes off for Runaway Mountain. In this small town high in the Tennessee mountains, surrounded by nature, she hopes to outrun her heartbreak and find the solace she needs to heal. But instead of peace and quiet, she encounters an enigmatic artist with a craving for solitude, a fairy-tale sprite with too many secrets, a helpless infant, a passel of curious teens, and a town suspicious of outsiders, especially one as headstrong as Tess. Just as headstrong is Ian North, a difficult, gifted man with a tortured soul --- a man who makes Tess question everything.

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson - Psychological Thriller

January 26, 2021

Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders --- which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders” --- chosen from among the best of the best. But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. A killer is out there, watching his every move --- a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.

Empire City by Matt Gallagher - Fiction

January 26, 2021

Thirty years after its great triumph in Vietnam, the United States has again become mired in an endless foreign war overseas. Stories of super soldiers known as the Volunteers tuck in little American boys and girls every night. Yet domestic politics are aflame. Violent protests erupt throughout the nation. An ex-military watchdog group clashes with police, while radical terrorists threaten to expose government experiments within the veteran rehabilitation colonies. Halfway between war and peace, the Volunteers find themselves waiting for orders in the vast American city-state, Empire City. There they encounter a small group of civilians who know the truth about their powers. Through it all, a controversial retired general emerges as a frontrunner in the presidential campaign, promising to save the country from itself.

Hi Five: An IQ Novel by Joe Ide - Mystery

January 26, 2021

Cristiana is the daughter of the biggest arms dealers on the West Coast, Angus Byrne. She's also the sole witness and number one suspect in the murder of her boyfriend, found dead in her Newport Beach boutique. Isaiah Quintabe is coerced into taking the case to prove her innocence. If he can't, Angus will harm the brilliant PI's new girlfriend, ending her career. The catch: Christiana has multiple personalities. Five radically different ones. Among them, a naïve, beautiful shopkeeper, an obnoxious drummer in a rock band, and a wanton seductress. Isaiah's dilemma: no one personality saw the entire incident. To find out what really happened the night of the murder, Isaiah must piece together clues from each of the personalities --- before the cops catch up.

Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio's Musical Legacy edited by Fred Bartenstein and Curtis W. Ellison - Music/History

January 25, 2021

In the 20th century, Appalachian migrants seeking economic opportunities relocated to southwestern Ohio, bringing their music with them. Between 1947 and 1989, they created an internationally renowned capital for the thriving bluegrass music genre, centered on the industrial region of Cincinnati, Dayton, Hamilton, Middletown and Springfield. Fred Bartenstein and Curtis W. Ellison edit a collection of eyewitness narratives and in-depth analyses that explore southwestern Ohio’s bluegrass musicians, radio broadcasters, recording studios, record labels and performance venues, along with the music’s contributions to religious activities, community development and public education.

The Jerusalem Assassin: A Marcus Ryker Novel by Joel C. Rosenberg - Political Thriller

January 26, 2021

President Andrew Clarke is determined to announce his historic peace plan from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. But when senior American officials who support the plan begin violently dying, Clarke orders Marcus Ryker and his team of CIA operatives to hunt down those responsible and bring the killing spree to an end. When the Palestinians denounce the American plan, the Saudis signal they may be ready to forge a historic treaty with Israel. Could the Saudi king’s support be the missing ingredient that will lead to peace at long last? Ryker soon uncovers a chilling plot to kill the American president. With all eyes on Jerusalem and the president in the crosshairs, it’s up to Ryker to eliminate the terrible evil that’s been set in motion.

Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis - Fiction

January 26, 2021

The sole survivor of a plane crash, 72-year-old Cloris Waldrip finds herself lost and alone in the unforgiving wilderness of Montana's rugged Bitterroot Range, exposed to the elements with no tools beyond her wits and ingenuity. Intertwined with her narrative is the story of Debra Lewis, a park ranger struggling with addiction and a recent divorce who is galvanized by her mission to find and rescue Cloris. As Cloris wanders mountain forests and valleys, subsisting on whatever she can find, her hold on life ever more precarious, Ranger Lewis and her motley group of oddball rescuers follow the trail of clues she's left behind. Days stretch into weeks, and hope begins to fade. But with nearly everyone else giving up, Ranger Lewis stays true until the end.

The Last Trial by Scott Turow - Legal Thriller

January 26, 2021

At 85 years old, Alejandro "Sandy" Stern, a brilliant defense lawyer with his health failing but spirit intact, is on the brink of retirement. But when his old friend Dr. Kiril Pafko, a former Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, is faced with charges of insider trading, fraud and murder, his entire life's work is put in jeopardy, and Stern decides to take on one last trial. In a case that will be the defining coda to both men's accomplished lives, Stern probes beneath the surface of his friend's dazzling veneer as a distinguished cancer researcher. As the trial progresses, he will question everything he thought he knew about his friend. Despite Pafko's many failings, is he innocent of the terrible charges laid against him? How far will Stern go to save his friend, and --- no matter the trial's outcome --- will he ever know the truth?

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones - Horror

January 26, 2021

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in violent, vengeful ways.

Remembrance by Rita Woods - Historical Fiction

January 26, 2021

Remembrance… It’s a rumor, a whisper passed in the fields and veiled behind sheets of laundry. A hidden stop on the underground road to freedom, a safe haven protected by more than secrecy…if you can make it there. Ohio, present day. An elderly woman who is more than she seems warns against rising racism as a young woman grapples with her life. Haiti, 1791, on the brink of revolution. When the slave Abigail is forced from her children to take her mistress to safety, she discovers New Orleans has its own powers. 1857 New Orleans --- a city of unrest: Following tragedy, house girl Margot is sold just before her 18th birthday and her promised freedom. Desperate, she escapes and chases a whisper... Remembrance.

Salt River: A Doc Ford Novel by Randy Wayne White - Thriller/Adventure

January 26, 2021

Marine biologist and former government agent Doc Ford is sure he's beyond the point of being surprised by his longtime pal Tomlinson's madcap tales of his misspent youth. But he's stunned anew when avowed bachelor Tomlinson reveals that as a younger man strapped for cash, he'd unwittingly fathered multiple children via for-profit sperm bank donations. Thanks to genealogy websites, Tomlinson's now-grown offspring have tracked him down, seeking answers about their roots --- but Doc quickly grows suspicious that one of them might be planning something far more nefarious than a family reunion. With recent history on his mind, Doc is unsurprised when his own dicey past is called into question.

The Sea Glass Cottage by RaeAnne Thayne - Fiction

January 26, 2021

Olivia Harper's 16-hour workdays are unfulfilling, and so are things with her ex-fiancé, who suddenly wants to take up where they left off. Then her estranged mother, Juliet, is seriously injured in a car accident, forcing Liv to head home to beautiful Cape Sanctuary on the Northern California coast. But as she gets closer to home, the painful memories start flooding back: Natalie, her vibrant older sister who spiraled into addiction. The endless arguments with her mother, who enabled her sister at every turn. The overdose that took Natalie, leaving her daughter, Caitlin, an orphan. As Liv tries to balance her own needs with those of her injured mother and resentful 15-year-old niece, it becomes clear that all three Harper women must come clean about the heartbreaking secrets they’ve been keeping from each other.

The Truants by Kate Weinberg - Literary Thriller

January 26, 2021

Jess Walker has come to a concrete campus under the flat gray skies of East Anglia for one reason: to be taught by the mesmerizing and rebellious Dr. Lorna Clay, whose seminars soon transform Jess' thinking on life, love and Agatha Christie. Swept up in Lorna's thrall, Jess falls in with a tightly knit group of rule-breakers --- until the dynamic among the friends begins to darken. When a tragedy shatters their friendships and love affairs and reveals a terrible secret, Jess must face the question she fears most: What is the true cost of an extraordinary life?

The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood - Fantasy/Adventure

January 26, 2021

What if you knew how and when you will die? Csorwe does --- she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice. But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin --- the wizard's loyal sword. Topple an empire, and help him reclaim his seat of power. But Csorwe will soon learn that gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez - Science Fiction/Adventure

January 26, 2021

A ship captain, unfettered from time. A mute child, burdened with unimaginable power. A millennia-old woman, haunted by lifetimes of mistakes. In this captivating debut of connection across space and time, these outsiders will find in each other the things they lack: A place of love and belonging. A safe haven. A new beginning. But the past hungers for them, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart.

Westering Women by Sandra Dallas - Historical Fiction

January 26, 2021

It's February 1852, and all around Chicago, Maggie sees postings soliciting "eligible women" to travel to the gold mines of Goosetown. A young seamstress with a small daughter, she has nothing to lose. She joins 43 other women and two pious reverends on the dangerous 2,000-mile journey west. None are prepared for the hardships they face on the trek or for the strengths they didn't know they possessed. Maggie discovers she’s not the only one looking to leave dark secrets behind. And when her past catches up with her, it becomes clear a band of sisters will do whatever it takes to protect one of their own.

The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine - Psychological Thriller

January 26, 2021

When gorgeous thirtysomething Piper Reynard meets lawyer Leo Drakos, the wedding ring on his finger is the only thing she doesn’t like about him. Joanna has been waiting patiently for her husband to re-emerge from the severe depression that has engulfed him. Though thankful when Leo returns to his charming, energetic self, she is shocked to discover that it’s not her loving support that has sparked his renewed happiness. Leo has fallen head over heels for the flaky, New Age-y newcomer and is more than willing to leave his wife behind. As a devastated Joanna digs deeper into Piper’s past, she begins to unearth disturbing secrets and fears for the lives of her ex-husband and children. Can she find the proof she needs in time to save them?