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Week of May 16, 2022

New in Paperback

Week of May 16, 2022

Paperback releases for the week of May 16th include MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid, in which four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer --- but over the course of 24 hours, the family drama that ensues will change their lives forever; FALLING, T. J. Newman's terrifying thriller, the premise of which is this: You just boarded a flight to New York. What you don’t know is that 30 minutes before the flight, your pilot’s family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane; Amanda M. Fairbanks' THE LOST BOYS OF MONTAUK, an immersive account of a tragedy at sea whose repercussions haunt its survivors to this day; and OLYMPUS, TEXAS by Stacey Swann, a big-hearted novel with technicolor characters, plenty of Texas swagger and a powder keg of a plot in which marriages struggle, rivalries flare and secrets explode, all with a clever wink toward classical mythology.

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman - Fiction

May 17, 2022

When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire, right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy. But that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running, and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren’t sure either. But maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together, they’ll be able to make it work.

Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan - Fiction

May 17, 2022

When Joanna Whitman's famous ex-husband dies in a car accident, she doesn't know what to feel. Their dysfunctional marriage held more painful secrets than she cares to remember. But when she discovers that the young woman with him in the crash is pregnant, Joanna feels compelled to act. Ashley Blake can't believe it when Joanna shows up in her hospital room and suggests they hide away at her beach house on a sleepy stretch of California coast. Joanna should be hating her, not helping her. But alone and pregnant, Ashley can't turn down Joanna's offer. Yet she knows that if Joanna ever found out the real reason Ashley was in that car, their tentative bond would shatter instantly.

Better, Not Bitter: The Power of Hope and Living on Purpose by Yusef Salaam - Memoir

May 17, 2022

During his seven years of wrongful incarceration as one of the Central Park Five, Yusef Salaam gained a spiritual perspective on life, realizing that we are all “born on purpose, with a purpose.” BETTER, NOT BITTER is the inspirational story of a young man growing up in central Harlem in the '80s, the failure of America's criminal justice system, of being vilified by a nation. But during his years of incarceration, Yusef discovered the power of art and faith, and of holding on to the person you know you are, which gave him the strength to survive, and helped him through reentry and exoneration. Yusef's journey inspires us to accept our own path, to discover our own sense of purpose. His intimate insights help unpack the racist design of systems built for profit and oppression of Black and Brown people.

The Bombay Prince: A Mystery of 1920s India by Sujata Massey - Historical Mystery

May 17, 2022

November 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India, is arriving in Bombay to begin a four-month tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn’t surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she’s horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an 18-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession is passing by her college. Freny had come for a legal consultation just days before her death, and what she confided makes Perveen suspicious that her death was not an accident.

Dead Against Her by Melinda Leigh - Mystery/Thriller

May 17, 2022

Called to an isolated farm to check on an elderly widow, Sheriff Bree Taggert finds a brutal double homicide. One of the victims is Eugene Oscar, the bitter and corrupt former deputy she recently forced out of the department. Working with criminal investigator Matt Flynn, Bree discovers that she isn’t the only one who had a troubling history with Eugene. But someone doesn’t want Bree digging up the past. She becomes the target of a stranger’s sick and devious campaign calculated to destroy her reputation, career, family and new relationship with Matt. To make matters worse, she’s the prime suspect in Eugene’s murder. When her chief deputy goes missing while investigating the case, Bree refuses to back down.

The Devil May Dance by Jake Tapper - Historical/Political Thriller

May 17, 2022

Attorney General Robert Kennedy needs Charlie and Margaret Marder to look into a potential threat not only to the presidency, but to the security of the United States itself. At the center of their investigation is Frank Sinatra, a close friend of President John F. Kennedy and a rumored mob crony, whom Charlie and Margaret must befriend to get the inside scoop. Drinks by the pool at the Sands and late-night adventures with the Rat Pack soon lead to a body in the trunk of their car. As the Academy Awards loom, and someone near and dear to Margaret goes missing, Charlie and Margaret find that the clock is not only ticking but running out. Someone out there knows what they’ve uncovered and can’t let them leave alive.

The Emma Project by Sonali Dev - Romantic Comedy

May 17, 2022

Vansh Raje is handsome and rich enough to spend all his time on missions to make the world a better place. Knightlina (Naina) Kohli has just gotten out of a 10-year-long fake relationship with Vansh’s brother and wants only one thing from her life…fine, two things. One, to have nothing to do with the unfairly blessed Raje family ever again. Two, to bring economic independence to millions of women in South Asia through her microfinance foundation and prove her father wrong about, well, everything. Just when Naina’s dream is about to come to fruition, Vansh shows up with his misguided Emma Project. And suddenly she’s fighting him for funding and wondering if a friends-with-benefits arrangement that’s as toe-curlingly hot as it is fun is worth risking her life’s work for.

Falling by T. J. Newman - Thriller

May 17, 2022

You just boarded a flight to New York. There are 143 other passengers onboard. What you don’t know is that 30 minutes before the flight, your pilot’s family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane. Enjoy the flight.

From Bad to Cursed: A Witches of Thistle Grove Novel by Lana Harper - Romantic Comedy

May 17, 2022

Wild child Isidora Avramov is a thrill chaser and an adept demon summoner. When she’s not designing costumes and new storylines for the Arcane Emporium’s haunted house, she’s nursing a secret, conflicted dream of ditching her family’s witchy business to become an indie fashion designer in her own right. But when someone starts sabotaging the celebrations leading up to this year’s Beltane festival with dark, dangerous magic, a member of the rival Thorn family gets badly hurt --- throwing immediate suspicion on the Avramovs. To clear the Avramov name and step up for her family when they need her the most, Issa agrees to serve as a co-investigator, helping none other than Rowan Thorn get to the bottom of things.

The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee - Historical Fiction

May 17, 2022

Andrew Haswell Green is dead, shot at the venerable age of 83, when he thought life could hold no more surprises. The killing --- on Park Avenue in broad daylight, on Friday the 13th --- shook the city. Born to a struggling farmer, Green was a self-made man without whom there would be no Central Park, no Metropolitan Museum of Art, no Museum of Natural History, no New York Public Library. But Green had a secret, a life locked within him that now, in the hour of his death, may finally break free.

The Hourglass Throne: The Tarot Sequence, Book Three by K.D. Edwards - Urban Fantasy/Adventure

May 17, 2022

As Rune Saint John grapples with the challenges of assuming the Sun Throne, a powerful barrier appears around New Atlantis’s famed rejuvenation center. Though Rune and his lifelong bodyguard, Brand, are tasked with investigating the mysterious barrier, Rune is also busy settling into his new life at court. Claiming his father’s throne has irrevocably thrown him into the precarious world of political deception, he must secure relationships with newfound allies in time to keep his growing found family safe. But he and Brand soon discover that the power behind the barrier holds a much more insidious, far-reaching threat to his family, to his people and to the world.

The Lost Boys of Montauk: The True Story of the Wind Blown, Four Men Who Vanished at Sea, and the Survivors They Left Behind by Amanda M. Fairbanks - Biography

May 17, 2022

In March of 1984, the commercial fishing boat Wind Blown left Montauk Harbor on what should have been a routine offshore voyage. Its captain, a married father of three young boys, was the boat’s owner and leader of the four-man crew, which included two locals and the blue-blooded son of a well-to-do summer family. After a week at sea, the weather suddenly turned, and the foursome collided with a nor’easter. They soon found themselves in the fight of their lives. Tragically, it was a fight they lost. Neither the boat nor the bodies of the men were ever recovered. Amanda M. Fairbanks examines the profound shift of Montauk from a working-class village to a playground for the ultra-wealthy, seeking out the reasons that an event more than three decades old remains so startlingly vivid in people’s minds.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Fiction

May 17, 2022

Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas. The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention. By midnight, the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.

The Moments Between Dreams by Judith F. Brenner - Historical Fiction

May 17, 2022

Carol misses red flags about Joe’s need for control before she marries him, dashing her dreams for herself and her family. Trouble escalates after their daughter, Ellie, is paralyzed by the polio virus and Joe returns from WWII. Carol realizes how brutal waking life can be, and she conceals bruises and protects her children the best she can. THE MOMENTS BETWEEN DREAMS is a captivating story of a 1940s housewife who conforms to the rulebook of society until Joe pushes her too far. His constant intimidation shrinks Carol’s confidence while she tries to boost Ellie’s. Church-going neighbors in Carol’s tight-knit Polish community are complacent, but Sam, a handsome reporter, stirs up Carol’s zest for life. Despite impossible circumstances, Carol plans a secret escape.

The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin - Fiction

May 17, 2022

Barely 30, Lynette is exhausted. Saddled with bad credit and juggling multiple jobs, some illegally, she’s been diligently working to buy the house she lives in with her mother and developmentally disabled brother, Kenny. Portland’s housing prices have nearly quadrupled in 15 years, and the owner is giving them a good deal. Lynette knows it’s their last best chance to own their own home --- and obtain the security they’ve never had. While she has enough for the down payment, she needs her mother to cover the rest of the asking price. But a week before they’re set to sign the loan papers, her mother gets cold feet and reneges on her promise, pushing Lynette to her limits to find the money they need.

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann - Fiction

May 17, 2022

The Briscoe family is once again the talk of their small town when March returns to East Texas two years after he was caught having an affair with his brother's wife. His mother, June, hardly welcomes him back with open arms. Her husband's own past affairs have made her tired of being the long-suffering spouse. Is it, perhaps, time for a change? Within days of March's arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of alliances are shattered. In the end, the ties that hold them together might be exactly what drag them all down.

The Red Book: A Billy Harney Thriller by James Patterson and David Ellis - Thriller

May 17, 2022

When a drive-by shooting on Chicago's west side turns political, Detective Billy Harney leads the way to a quick solve. But his instincts --- his father was once chief of detectives, and his twin sister, Patti, is also on the force --- run deep. As a population hungry for justice threatens to riot, he realizes that the three known victims are hardly the only casualties. When Harney starts asking questions about who's to blame, the easy answers prove to be the wrong ones. On the flip side, the less he seems to know, the longer he can keep his clandestine investigation going…until Harney's quest to expose the evil that's rotting the city from the inside out takes him to the one place he vowed never to return: his own troubled past.

Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng - Fiction

May 17, 2022

In the summer of 1986 in a small Chinese village, 10-year-old Junie receives a momentous letter from her parents, who had left for America years ago: her father promises to return home and collect her by her 12th birthday. What Junie doesn’t know is that her parents, Momo and Cassia, are newly estranged from one another in their adopted country, each holding close private tragedies and histories from the tumultuous years of their youth during China’s Cultural Revolution. In order for Momo to fulfill his promise, he must make one last desperate attempt to reunite all three members of the family before Junie’s birthday --- even if it means bringing painful family secrets to light.

Walking Through Needles by Heather Levy - Psychological Thriller

May 17, 2022

Like any young girl, Sam Mayfair developed infatuations and lust --- but her desires were always tinged with darkness. Then, when Sam was 16, her life was shattered by an abuser close to her. And she made one shocking decision whose ramifications would reverberate throughout her life. Now, 15 years later, Sam learns that her abuser has been murdered. But when her stepbrother, Eric, becomes the prime suspect, Sam is flung back into the hell of her rural Oklahoma childhood. As Sam tries to help exonerate Eric, she must hide terrifying truths of their past from investigators. Yet as details of the murder unravel, Sam quickly learns that some people, including herself, will do anything to keep their secrets buried deep.

Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain by Roger Deakin - Nature/Memoir

May 17, 2022

In an attempt to discover his island nation from a new perspective, Roger Deakin embarks from his home in Suffolk to swim Britain --- the seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, pools, streams, lochs, moats and quarries. Through the watery capillary network that braids itself throughout the country, Deakin immerses himself in the natural habitats of fish, amphibians, mammals and birds. And as he navigates towns, private property, and sometimes dangerous waters and inclement weather, Deakin finds himself in precarious situations: he’s detained by bailiffs in Winchester, intercepted by the coast guard at the mouth of a river, and mistaken for a dead body on a beach. The result of this surprising journey is a deep dive into modern Britain, especially its wild places.

What They Don't Know by Susan Furlong - Psychological Thriller

May 17, 2022

Mona Ellison is living a dream life. But when her son becomes entangled with the wrong crowd, ditches college plans and runs away from home for a life of partying, Mona is upset. He'll be back as soon as his money runs dry. At least that's what she tells her friends. Only she suspects something different. Then the police knock on Mona's door. A young girl has turned up dead, and her missing son is the prime suspect. Determined to reunite with her son and prove his innocence, Mona embarks on a search that puts her on a twisty trail of social media clues and a rollercoaster ride of lies and betrayal until she lands on a truth that changes her perception of everything.

Why Peacocks?: An Unlikely Search for Meaning in the World's Most Magnificent Bird by Sean Flynn - Nature/Memoir

May 17, 2022

When Sean Flynn’s neighbor in North Carolina texted “Any chance you guys want a peacock? No kidding!” he stared bewilderedly at his phone. He had never considered if he wanted a peacock. But as an award-winning magazine writer, this kind of mystery intrigued him. So he, his wife and their two young sons became the owners of not one but three charming yet fickle birds: Carl, Ethel and Mr. Pickle. In WHY PEACOCKS?, Flynn chronicles his hilarious and heartwarming first year as a peacock owner, from struggling to build a pen to assisting the local bird doctor in surgery to triumphantly watching a peahen lay her first egg.

The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion by Aminatta Forna - Essays

May 17, 2022

In this collection of new and previously published essays, Aminatta Forna writes intimately about displacement, trauma and memory, love, and how we coexist and encroach on the non-human world. Movement is a constant here. In the title piece, “The Window Seat,” she reveals the unexpected enchantments of commercial air travel. In “The Last Vet,” time spent shadowing Dr. Jalloh, the only veterinarian in Sierra Leone, as he works with the street dogs of Freetown, becomes a meditation on what a society’s treatment of animals tells us about its principles. In “Crossroads,” Forna examines race in America from an African perspective, and in “Power Walking,” she describes what it means to walk in the world in a Black woman’s body.