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Week of January 4, 2016

New in Paperback

Week of January 4, 2016

Paperback releases for the week of January 4th include INSIDE THE O'BRIENS, Lisa Genova's novel about a family struggling with the impact of Huntington’s disease; EVERY DAY I FIGHT, the inspiring story behind ESPN anchor Stuart Scott’s unrelenting fight against cancer; Dennis Lehane's WORLD GONE BY, in which Joe Coughlin must confront the cost of his criminal past and present; THE EMPTY THRONE, the eighth installment in Bernard Cornwell’s series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England; and THE SECRET WISDOM OF THE EARTH, Christopher Scotton's debut novel about an act of violence in a small, Southern town and the repercussions that will forever change a young man's view of human cruelty and compassion.

American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity by Christian G. Appy - History

January 5, 2016


How did the Vietnam War change the way we think of ourselves as a people and a nation? Christian G. Appy, author of the widely praised oral history of the Vietnam War, PATRIOTS, now examines the relationship between the war’s realities and myths, and its impact on our national identity, conscience, pride, shame, popular culture and postwar foreign policy.

Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell - Psychological Thriller/Mystery

January 5, 2016


When a girl is beaten to death, Chief Dove Carnahan is faced with solving the worst crime of her law enforcement career. She identifies the young lady as a daughter of the Truly family, a notoriously irascible dynasty of rednecks and petty criminals. During her investigation, the man convicted of killing Dove’s mother years earlier is released from prison. Still proclaiming his innocence, he approaches Dove with a startling accusation and a chilling threat that forces her to face the parallels between her own family’s trauma and that of the Trulys.

Black River by S. M. Hulse - Western

January 5, 2016


When Wes Carver returns to Black River, he carries two things in the cab of his truck: his wife’s ashes and a letter from the prison parole board. The convict who held him hostage during a riot 20 years ago is being considered for release. How can a man who once embodied evil ever come to good? How can he pay for such crimes with anything but his life? As Wes considers his own choices and grieves for all he’s lost, he must decide what he believes and if he can let Bobby Williams walk away.

Blood on Snow by Jo Nesbø - Thriller

January 5, 2016


This is the story of Olav, an extremely talented “fixer” for one of Oslo’s most powerful crime bosses. But Olav is also an unusually complicated fixer. He has a capacity for love that is as far-reaching as is his gift for murder. He has an “innate talent for subordination,” but running through his veins is a “virus” born of the power over life and death. And while his latest job puts him at the pinnacle of his trade, it may be mutating into his greatest mistake.

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro - Historical Fantasy/Adventure

January 5, 2016


Kazuo Ishiguro, one of the best novelists working today, is also one of the most surprising. He has written drawing-room novels, dystopian fiction, surrealist works, and now a post-Arthurian tale of knights and ogres, of elderly villagers searching for their long-lost son, and of a she-dragon rumored to be the cause of a mist of forgetfulness that has plagued the land. As in past books, Ishiguro uses his story to meditate on memory and loss.

The Daylight Marriage by Heidi Pitlor - Fiction

January 5, 2016


After a magical honeymoon, Hannah and Lovell settled in the suburbs to raise their two children. But over the years, their conversations have become charged with resentments and unspoken desires. Until, after one explosive argument, Hannah vanishes. As Lovell tries to piece together what happened to his wife --- and to their lives together --- readers follow Hannah through that single day when the smallest of decisions takes her to places she never intended to go. 

The Devil is Here in These Hills: West Virginia's Coal Miners and Their Battle for Freedom by James Green - History

January 5, 2016


From before the dawn of the 20th century until the arrival of the New Deal, one of the most protracted and deadly labor struggles in American history was waged in West Virginia. The fight for unionization and civil rights sparked a political crisis verging on civil war that stretched from the creeks and hollows to the courts and the US Senate. In THE DEVIL IS HERE IN THESE HILLS, celebrated labor historian James Green tells the story of West Virginia and coal like never before.

The Devil You Know by Elisabeth de Mariaffi - Literary Thriller

January 5, 2016


Rookie crime beat reporter Evie Jones is haunted by the unsolved murder of her best friend, Lianne Gagnon, who was killed in 1982, back when both girls were 11. The suspected killer, a repeat offender named Robert Cameron, was never arrested, leaving Lianne’s case cold. Now 21 and living alone for the first time, Evie is obsessively drawn to finding out what really happened to Lianne. She leans on another childhood friend, David Patton, for help --- but every clue they uncover seems to lead to an unimaginable conclusion.

Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation by Dean Jobb - History/True Crime

January 5, 2016


It was a time of unregulated madness. And nowhere was it madder than in Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. As Model Ts rumbled down Michigan Avenue, gang war shootings announced Al Capone’s rise to underworld domination. Bedecked partygoers thronged to the Drake Hotel’s opulent banquet rooms, corrupt politicians held court in thriving speakeasies, and the frenzy of stock market gambling was rampant. Enter a slick, smooth-talking, charismatic lawyer named Leo Koretz, who enticed hundreds of people to invest as much as $30 million in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama.

The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell - Historical Fiction/Adventure

January 5, 2016


It's a time of change for Britain in the early 10th century. There are new raids by the Vikings from Ireland, and turmoil among the Saxons over the leadership of Mercia. A younger generation is taking over. When Æthelred, the ruler of Mercia, dies, he leaves no legitimate heir. The West Saxons want their king, but Uhtred has long supported Æthelflaed, sister to King Edward of Wessex and widow of Æethelred. Widely loved and respected, Æthelflaed has all the makings of a leader --- but can Saxon warriors ever accept a woman as their ruler? The stage is set for rivals to fight for the empty throne.

Every Day I Fight by Stuart Scott with Larry Platt - Memoir

January 5, 2016


Shortly before he passed away, on January 4, 2015, Stuart Scott completed work on this memoir. It was both a labor of love and a love letter to life itself. Struck by appendiceal cancer in 2007, Stuart endured countless surgeries, enervating chemotherapies, and endless shuttling from home to hospital to office and back. He continued to defy fate, pushing himself through exercises and workout routines that kept him strong. He wanted to be there for his teenage daughters, Sydni and Taelor, not simply as their dad, but as an immutable example of determination and courage.

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen - Fiction

January 5, 2016


Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley’s Candies, though it’s costing her the everyday joys of her family. With each passing day, her half-sister, Sydney, longs more for a baby, while her daughter, Bay, has lost her heart to the boy she knows it belongs to…if only he could see it, too. When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of their family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before.

House of Eight Orchids by James Thayer - Historical Thriller

January 5, 2016


In 1912, John Wade and his brother, William --- children of the American consul --- were kidnapped off the street in Chungking, China, and raised in the house of Eunuch Chang, the city’s master criminal. Twenty-five years later, John is the eunuch’s most valuable ward, a trained assassin and swindler, and William has become a talented forger. On the brink of World War II, China is in chaos. When William betrays Eunuch Chang and escapes to central China --- a place of ferocious warlords and bandits --- John begins a desperate search to save his brother, while Eunuch Chang hunts them both.

Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova - Fiction

January 5, 2016


A devoted husband, proud father of four children in their 20s, and respected police officer, Joe O'Brien begins experiencing bouts of disorganized thinking, uncharacteristic temper outbursts, and strange, involuntary movements. He initially attributes these episodes to the stress of his job, but as these symptoms worsen, he agrees to see a neurologist and is handed a diagnosis that will change his and his family’s lives forever: Huntington’s disease.

Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe - Fiction

January 5, 2016


Soon after her parents' separation, nine-year-old Lizzie Vogel moves with her siblings and newly single mother to a tiny village in the English countryside, where the new neighbors are horrified by their unorthodox ways and fatherless household. Lizzie's theatrical mother only invites more gossip by spending her days drinking whiskey, popping pills and writing plays. The one way to fit in, the children decide, will be to find themselves a new man at the helm.

Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War by Brian Matthew Jordan - History

January 4, 2016


Following the Civil War, Union veterans --- tending rotting wounds, battling alcoholism, campaigning for paltry pensions --- tragically realized that they stood as unwelcome reminders to a new America eager to heal, forget and embrace the freewheeling bounty of the Gilded Age. Mining previously untapped archives, Civil War historian Brian Matthew Jordan uncovers anguished letters and diaries, essays by amputees, and gruesome medical reports, all deeply revealing of the American psyche.

A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan - Psychological Thriller

January 5, 2016


Mr. Heming is a real estate agent who has the keys to every home he's ever sold in town. He has kept them all so he can observe his neighbors, not just on the street, but also behind locked doors. His disturbing hobby soon begins to form a clear pattern, and the reasons behind it come into focus. But when the quiet routine of the village is disrupted by strange occurrences, including a dead body found in the backyard of a client's home, Mr. Heming realizes it may be only a matter of time before his secrets are found out.

The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton - Fiction

January 5, 2016


The town of Medgar, Kentucky, is beset by a massive Mountaintop Removal operation that is blowing up the hills and back filling the hollows. Fourteen-year-old Kevin's grandfather and others in town attempt to rally the citizens against the “company” and its powerful owner to stop the plunder of their mountain heritage. When Kevin’s friend, Buzzy, witnesses the brutal murder of the opposition leader, a sequence is set in play that tests Buzzy and Kevin to their absolute limits in an epic struggle for survival in the Kentucky mountains.

Silent Creed: A Ryder Creed Novel by Alex Kava - Thriller/Adventure

January 5, 2016


Among the buildings consumed by a devastating mudslide in North Carolina was a top-secret government research facility, and Ryder Creed has been hired to find what’s left of it. Then rescuers recover the body of a scientist from the facility who was obviously dead before the landslide. The FBI sends Agent Maggie O’Dell to investigate, and she and Creed are soon caught in a web of lies, secrets and murder that may involve not only the government facility, but decades-old medical experiments that are the subject of current congressional hearings.

A Slant of Light by Jeffrey Lent - Historical Fiction

January 5, 2016


At the close of the Civil War, weary veteran Malcolm Hopeton returns to his home in western New York State to find his wife and hired man missing and his farm in disrepair. A double murder ensues, the repercussions of which ripple through a community with spiritual roots in the Second Great Awakening. Hopeton has gone from the horrors of war to those far worse, and arrayed around him are a host of other people struggling to make sense of his crime.

Stars Over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner - Fiction

January 5, 2016


Los Angeles, Present Day. When a hat worn by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind ends up in Christine McAllister's vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie. Los Angeles, 1938. Violet Mayfield goes to Hollywood after her dream of having a family falls apart. There, she meets enigmatic Audrey Duvall, a once-rising film star. Their adventures together among Hollywood's glitterati enthrall Violet...until each woman's deepest desires collide.

The Sweetheart by Angelina Mirabella - Historical Fiction

January 5, 2016


It’s 1953, and 17-year-old Leonie Putzkammer is cartoonishly tall and curvaceous, destined to spend the rest of her life waiting tables and living with her widowed father in their Philadelphia row house. Until the day a legendary wrestling promoter walks into the local diner and offers her the chance of a lifetime. When Leonie becomes The Sweetheart, one of America’s most infamous female wrestlers, she attracts the fans she desires but complicates all of her relationships.

The Train to Crystal City: FDR's Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America's Only Family Internment Camp During World War II by Jan Jarboe Russell - History

January 5, 2016


Combining big-picture World War II history with a little-known event in American history that has long been kept quiet, THE TRAIN TO CRYSTAL CITY reveals the war-time hysteria against the Japanese and Germans in America, the secrets of FDR’s tactics to rescue high-profile POWs in Germany and Japan, and how the definition of American citizenship changed under the pressure of war.

Truth or Die by James Patterson and Howard Roughan - Thriller

January 5, 2016


After a serious professional stumble, attorney Trevor Mann has found happiness with his girlfriend Claire Parker, a beautiful, ambitious journalist. But when Claire's newest story leads to a violent confrontation, Trevor's newly peaceful life is shattered as he tries to find out why. Chasing Claire's leads, Trevor unearths evidence of a shocking secret that --- if it actually exists --- every government and terrorist organization around the world would do anything to possess.

War of the Encyclopaedists by Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite - Fiction

January 5, 2016


At 23, best friends Mickey Montauk and Halifax Corderoy had planned to move together to Boston for graduate school, but global events have intervened. Montauk has just learned that his National Guard unit will deploy to Baghdad at the end of the summer. Meanwhile, Corderoy’s girlfriend, Mani, has just been evicted, and he must decide whether or not to abandon her when she needs him most. He turns to Montauk for help. His decision that night, and its harrowing outcome, sets in motion a year that will transform all three of them.

Waterloo: Wellington, Napoleon, and the Battle that Saved Europe by Gordon Corrigan - History

January 4, 2016


The Duke of Wellington remarked that Waterloo was “a damned nice thing,” meaning uncertain or finely balanced. He was right. For his part, Napoleon reckoned “the English are bad troops and this affair is nothing more than eating breakfast.” He was wrong, and this gripping and dramatic narrative history by veteran historian Gordon Corrigan --- in time for the bicentennial in 2015 --- shows just how wrong.

World Gone By by Dennis Lehane - Historical Thriller

January 5, 2016


Ten years have passed since Joe Coughlin’s enemies killed his wife and destroyed his empire, and much has changed. The former crime kingpin works as a consigliore to the Bartolo crime family, traveling between Tampa and Cuba, his wife’s homeland. He has everything --- money, power, a beautiful mistress and anonymity. But success cannot protect him from the dark truth of his past. Ultimately, the wages of a lifetime of sin will finally be paid in full.