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Week of May 24, 2021

New in Paperback

Week of May 24, 2021

Paperback releases for the week of May 24th include SEX AND VANITY, in which Kevin Kwan takes readers from Capri to New York City, where Lucie Tang Churchill finds herself torn between two men --- and two very different cultures; THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE, Fiona Davis' page-turning historical novel about a series of book thefts that roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces; Emily Giffin's THE LIES THAT BIND, a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth, in which a young lady falls hard for an impossibly perfect man before he disappears without a trace; HOMELAND ELEGIES by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ayad Akhtar, a deeply personal work about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams; and THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES, Kristin Harmel's engaging and evocative novel --- inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II --- about a young woman with a talent for forgery who helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis.

All My Mother's Lovers by Ilana Masad - Fiction

May 25, 2021

After Maggie Krause’s mother, Iris, dies suddenly in a car crash, Maggie finds five sealed envelopes with her will, each addressed to a mysterious man she’s never heard of. Overwhelmed by her grief and frustrated with her family, she decides to hand-deliver the letters. The ensuing road trip takes her over miles of California highways, through strangers’ recollections of a second, hidden life, and a journey through her own fears as she navigates her new relationship. As she fills in the details of Iris’ story, Maggie must confront the possibility that almost everything she knew about her --- her marriage, her lukewarm relationship to Judaism, her disapproval of her daughter’s queerness --- is more meaningful than she ever allowed herself to imagine.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel - Historical Fiction

May 25, 2021

Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. It’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in 65 years: The Book of Lost Names. The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II --- an experience Eva remembers well --- and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an 18th-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. It appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from --- or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer. But will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

Chaos by Iris Johansen - Thriller

May 25, 2021

When CIA agent Alisa Flynn flaunts the rules by breaking into a mansion in the middle of the night, she skillfully circumvents alarms and outwits guards only to find herself standing in billionaire Gabe Korgan's study…busted by Korgan himself. This could cost Alisa her job unless she can turn the tables and try to convince him to join her on the most important mission of her life. Schoolgirls in Africa have been kidnapped, and Alisa knows that Korgan has the courage, financial means and high-tech weaponry to help rescue them. With so many innocent lives hanging in the balance, what she doesn't reveal is that one of those schoolgirls is like a little sister to her. But when the truth gets out, the stakes grow even higher.

Credible Threat: An Ali Reynolds Mystery by J. A. Jance - Mystery/Thriller

May 25, 2021

Years after her son’s fatal overdose, grieving mother Rachel Higgins learns that his addiction may have grown out of damage suffered at the hands of a pedophile priest while he was in high school. Looking for vengeance, she targets the Catholic Church’s most visible local figure, Archbishop Francis Gillespie. When the archbishop begins receiving anonymous threats, he turns to his friends, Ali Reynolds and her husband, B. Simpson. With B. out of the country, it’s up to Ali to track down the source of the threats. When a shooter assassinates the archbishop’s driver and leaves the priest himself severely injured, Ali forms an uneasy alliance with a Phoenix homicide cop in hopes of preventing another attack. But Ali doesn’t realize that the killer has become not only more unhinged but also more determined to take out his or her target.

Daddy's Girls by Danielle Steel - Fiction

May 25, 2021

Decades ago, after the death of his wife, Texas ranch hand JT Tucker took his three small daughters to California to start a new life. With almost no money, a will of iron and hard work, he eventually built the biggest ranch in California. But when he dies suddenly at the age of 64, the ranch is inherited by his three daughters --- each of them finding it impossible to believe that this larger-than-life figure is gone from their lives. JT’s relationship with each daughter was entirely different. Now, upon his death, the paper trail he leaves behind begins to reveal much more than the three sisters ever guessed about who he really was. It will turn their world upside down, and each of them must grapple with a new reality.

The Death of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee - Fiction

May 25, 2021

In Estrella, David has grown to be a tall 10-year-old who is a natural at soccer and loves kicking a ball around with his friends. His father, Simón, and Bolívar the dog usually watch, while his mother, Inés, now works in a fashion boutique. David still asks many questions, challenging his parents and any authority figure in his life. In dancing class at the Academy of Music, he dances as he chooses. He refuses to do sums and will not read any books except DON QUIXOTE. One day, Julio Fabricante, the director of a nearby orphanage, invites David and his friends to form a proper soccer team. David decides he will leave Simón and Inés to live with Julio, but before long he succumbs to a mysterious illness.

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi - Fiction

May 25, 2021

Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts, moments of disconnection between self and surroundings. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, he finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. But Vivek’s closest bond is with Osita, the worldly, high-spirited cousin whose teasing confidence masks a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens --- and Osita struggles to understand Vivek’s escalating crisis --- the mystery gives way to a heart-stopping act of violence in a moment of exhilarating freedom.

Destination Wedding by Diksha Basu - Fiction

May 25, 2021

When Tina Das finds herself at a crossroads both professionally and personally, she wonders if a weeklong trip to Delhi for her cousin’s lavish wedding might be just the right kind of escape. Maybe a little time away from New York will help get her mind straight about her stalled career, her recent breakup, and her nagging suspicion that she’ll never feel as at home in America as she does in India. Tina hopes this destination wedding, taking place at Delhi’s poshest country club, Colebrookes, will be the perfect way to reflect and unwind. But with the entire Das family in attendance, a relaxing vacation is decidedly not in the cards. This family wedding may be more drama than Tina can bear and could finally force her to make the choices she’s spent much of her life avoiding.

Dragonfire: An Alex Hawke Novel by Ted Bell - Thriller/Adventure

May 25, 2021

December 8, 1941, Washington, D.C.: The new Chinese ambassador to the United States, Tiger Tang, meets with President Roosevelt one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. For the next four years, China and the U.S. will be wartime allies. Today, The Bahamas: Alex Hawke is recovering from serious injuries incurred during a battle with a malevolent enemy. His recuperation is interrupted by a desperate call from the Queen. Her favorite grandson has disappeared in the Bahamas. Lord Hawke is the only man she trusts with a mission this sensitive. All she knows is that the young prince was last seen at the exclusive Dragonfire nightclub owned by the nefarious Tang brothers, grandsons of Ambassador Tiger Tang.

The Fall of Shannara: The Last Druid by Terry Brooks - Fantasy

May 25, 2021

Since he first began the Shannara saga in 1977, Terry Brooks has had a clear idea of how the series should end, and now that moment is at hand. As the Four Lands reels under the Skaar invasion --- spearheaded by a warlike people determined to make this land their own --- our heroes must decide what they will risk to save the integrity of their home. Even as one group remains to defend the Four Lands, another is undertaking a perilous journey across the sea to the Skaar homeland, carrying with them a new piece of technology that could change the face of the world forever. And yet a third is trapped in a deadly realm from which there may be no escape.

The First Actress: A Novel of Sarah Bernhardt by C. W. Gortner - Historical Fiction

May 25, 2021

From her beginnings as the daughter of a courtesan to her extraordinary transformation into the most celebrated actress of her era, Sarah Bernhardt is brought to life by an internationally bestselling author praised for his historical novels featuring famous women. C. W. Gortner’s THE FIRST ACTRESS is a fascinating, intimate account of a woman whose unrivaled talent and indomitable spirit has enshrined her in history as the Divine Sarah.

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar - Fiction

May 25, 2021

HOMELAND ELEGIES blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made. Part family drama, part social essay, part picaresque novel, at its heart it is the story of a father, a son and the country they both call home. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ayad Akhtar forges a new narrative voice to capture a country in which debt has ruined countless lives and the gods of finance rule, where immigrants live in fear, and where the nation's unhealed wounds wreak havoc around the world. Akhtar attempts to make sense of it all through the lens of a story about one family, from a heartland town in America to palatial suites in Central Europe to guerrilla lookouts in the mountains of Afghanistan, and spares no one --- least of all himself --- in the process.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley - Fiction

May 25, 2021

Piper Parrish's life on Frick Island --- a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay --- is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom's crab boat capsized and his body wasn't recovered, Piper did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her. Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist.

The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin - Fiction

May 25, 2021

It’s 2am on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and 28-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city --- and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew. As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, “Don’t do it --- you’ll regret it.” Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours --- and shots of tequila --- the two forge an unlikely connection. Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth.

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis - Historical Fiction

May 25, 2021

Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she has wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes and books for the exhibit Sadie has been running begin disappearing from the library's famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-averse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage --- truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library's history.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley - Historical Fantasy/Mystery

May 25, 2021

1888. Five years after they met, Thaniel Steepleton, an unassuming translator, and Keita Mori, the watchmaker who remembers the future, are traveling to Japan. Thaniel has received an unexpected posting to the British legation in Tokyo, and Mori has business that is taking him to Yokohama. Thaniel's brief is odd: the legation staff has been seeing ghosts, and Thaniel's first task is to find out what's really going on. But while staying with Mori, he starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons Mori won't --- or can't --- share, he is frightened. Then he vanishes. Meanwhile, something strange is happening in a frozen labor camp in Northern Japan. Takiko Pepperharrow, an old friend of Mori's, must investigate.

Outsider by Linda Castillo - Mystery/Thriller

May 25, 2021

While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, Amish widower Adam Lengacher discovers a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. He calls upon Chief of Police Kate Burkholder for help, and she is surprised to recognize the driver: fellow cop and her former friend, Gina Colorosa. Years before, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy and patrol officers in Columbus, but time and distance have taken them down two very different paths. Now, Gina reveals a shocking story of betrayal and revenge that has forced her to run for her life. She’s desperate for protection, and the only person she can trust is Kate. But can Kate trust her? Or will Gina’s dark past put them all in danger?

The Paladin: A Spy Novel by David Ignatius - Thriller

May 25, 2021

CIA operations officer Michael Dunne is tasked with infiltrating an Italian news organization that smells like a front for an enemy intelligence service. Headed by an American journalist, the self-styled bandits run a cyber operation unlike anything the CIA has seen before. Fast, slick and indiscriminate, the group steals secrets from everywhere and anyone, and exploits them in ways the CIA can neither understand nor stop. Dunne has never refused an assignment, and his boss has assured his protection. But when news of the operation breaks and someone leaks that Dunne had an extramarital affair while on the job, the CIA leaves him to take the fall. Now a year later, fresh out of jail, Dunne sets out to hunt down and take vengeance on the people who destroyed his life.

The Queen of Tuesday: A Lucille Ball Story by Darin Strauss - Historical Fiction

May 25, 2021

THE QUEEN OF TUESDAY begins with a daring conceit --- that the author’s grandfather may have had an affair with Lucille Ball. The most powerful woman in the history of Hollywood was part of America’s first high-profile interracial marriage. She owned more movie sets than did any movie studio. She more or less single-handedly created the modern TV business. And yet Lucille’s off-camera life was in disarray. While acting out a happy marriage for millions, she suffered in private. Her partner couldn’t stay faithful. She struggled to balance her fame with the demands of being a mother, a creative genius, an entrepreneur and, most of all, a symbol.

The Revelators: A Quinn Colson Novel by Ace Atkins - Thriller

May 25, 2021

Shot up and left for dead, Sheriff Quinn Colson has revenge on his mind. With the help of his new wife Maggie, rehabilitation and sheer force of will, he's walking again, eager to resume his work as a southern lawman and track down those responsible for his attempted murder. But someone is standing in his way: an interim sheriff, appointed by the newly elected Governor Vardaman, the man who Quinn knows ordered his murder. Vardaman sits at the top of the state's power structure --- both legal and criminal --- and little does he know that Quinn is still working to take him down. Now, as a bustling factory shuts down, a labor leader ends up dead, and Quinn's own nephew goes missing, everything looks to be unraveling.

Rigged: A Jake Longly Thriller by D.P. Lyle - Mystery/Thriller

May 25, 2021

First loves are never forgotten. Ever. Certainly not for Tommy "Pancake" Jeffers. His first-kiss, sixth-grade love, Emily, who he has not seen since grammar school, is sliding toward divorce in the artsy Gulf Coast town of Fairhope, Alabama. Longly Investigations has been charged with looking into the finances involved. When Emily doesn't appear for their nervously anticipated meeting, Pancake's radar goes on high alert. Her body, along with that of Jason --- one of two guys she has been dating --- is found murdered, execution-style, and Pancake calls in Jake, Nicole and Ray. Who would have done this? Could it be the soon-to-be ex, who has an ironclad alibi; the other guy Emily was seeing --- jealousy being a motive for harm; or do the drugs found in Jason's pocket indicate a drug-related hit?

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Evolution by Brian Freeman - Thriller/Adventure

May 25, 2021

After the death of his lover in a mass shooting, secret agent Jason Bourne is convinced that there is more to her murder than it seems. Worse, he believes that Treadstone --- the agency that made him who he is, that trained him --- is behind the killing. Bourne goes rogue, leaving Treadstone behind and taking on a new mission to infiltrate and expose an anarchist group, Medusa. But when a congresswoman is assassinated in New York, Bourne is framed for the crime, and he finds himself alone and on the run. In his quest to stay one step ahead of his enemies, Bourne teams up with journalist Abbey Laurent to figure out who was behind the frame-up, and to learn as much as he can about the ever-growing threat of the mysterious Medusa group.

Rockaway: Surfing Headlong into a New Life by Diane Cardwell - Memoir

May 25, 2021

Unmoored by a failed marriage and disconnected from her high-octane life in the city, Diane Cardwell finds herself staring at a small group of surfers coasting through mellow waves toward shore --- and senses something shift. ROCKAWAY is the story of one woman’s reinvention --- beginning with Cardwell taking the A Train to Rockaway, a neglected spit of land dangling off New York City into the Atlantic Ocean. She finds a teacher, buys a tiny bungalow, and throws herself headlong into learning the inner workings and rhythms of waves, and the muscle development and coordination needed to ride them. As Cardwell begins to find her balance in the water and out, superstorm Sandy hits, sending her into the maelstrom in search of safer ground.

The Rooftop Party by Ellen Meister - Mystery/Humor

May 25, 2021

Dana Barry, the Shopping Channel’s star host, stops by the company’s rooftop party to pitch the new CEO her brilliant idea that just might save the flagging business, her job and possibly her love life. As she chats with the smarmy executive, he backs her into a dark corner. She escapes his lecherous grasp and blacks out on the dance floor. When she comes to, the CEO is dead, fallen from the roof. Or was he pushed? And if so, by whom? It’s hard to know, but one thing is certain: Dana was close enough to be a suspect, yet she can’t remember much about those minutes. Now she has to use all her skills to prove her innocence to everyone, including her police detective boyfriend --- and herself.

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin - Psychological Thriller

May 25, 2021

Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found, and two local men --- employees at the resort --- are arrested. But the evidence is slim, and the men are soon released. Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. It is a moment that sets Claire on an obsessive pursuit of the truth --- not only to find out what happened the night of Alison’s death but also to answer the elusive question: Who exactly was her sister?

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan - Fiction

May 25, 2021

On her very first morning on the jewel-like island of Capri, Lucie Churchill sets eyes on George Zao. The daughter of an American-born Chinese mother and a blue-blooded New York father, Lucie has always sublimated the Asian side of herself in favor of the white side, and she adamantly denies having feelings for George. But several years later, when George unexpectedly appears in East Hampton, where Lucie is weekending with her new fiancé, Lucie finds herself drawn to George again. Soon, Lucie is spinning a web of deceit that involves her family, her fiancé, the co-op board of her Fifth Avenue apartment building, and ultimately herself as she tries mightily to deny George entry into her world --- and her heart.

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore - Mystery/Humor

May 25, 2021

Set adrift by his pirate crew, Pocket of Dog Snogging --- last seen in THE SERPENT OF VENICE --- washes up on the sun-bleached shores of Greece, where he hopes to dazzle the Duke with his comedic brilliance and become his trusted fool. But quite the opposite happens, as the Duke eventually orders his death. With the Duke’s guards in pursuit, Pocket makes a daring escape. He soon stumbles into the wooded realm of the fairy king Oberon, who IS short a fool. His jester Robin Goodfellow --- the mischievous sprite better known as Puck --- was found dead. Oberon will make Pocket his fool and have his death sentence lifted if Pocket finds out who killed Robin. But nearly every character here has a motive for wanting the mischievous sprite dead.

The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery - Fiction

May 25, 2021

Once upon a time, when her dad married Sage’s mom, Daisy was thrilled to get a bright and shiny new sister. But Sage was beautiful and popular, everything Daisy was not, and she made sure Daisy knew it. After the divorce, the stepsisters’ rivalry continued until the final, improbable straw: Daisy married Sage’s first love, and Sage fled California. Eighteen years, two kids and one troubled marriage later, Daisy never expects to see Sage again. But when the little sister they have in common needs them both, they put aside their differences to care for Cassidy. As long-buried truths are revealed, no one is more surprised than they are when friendship blossoms. However, their fragile truce is threatened by one careless act that could have devastating consequences.

Summer Longing by Jamie Brenner - Fiction

May 25, 2021

Ruth Cooperman arrives in beautiful beachside Provincetown for her retirement. After years of hard work and making peace with life's compromises, she is looking forward to a carefree summer of solitude. But when she finds a baby girl abandoned on her doorstep, Ruth turns to her new neighbors for help and is drawn into the drama of the close-knit community. She even reaches out to her own estranged daughter, Olivia, hoping for a reconciliation. As summer unfolds and friends and family care for the infant, alliances are made, relationships are tested and secrets are uncovered. But the unconditional love for a child in need just might bring Ruth and the women of Provincetown exactly what they have been longing for themselves.

Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump by Kate Andersen Brower - Politics

May 25, 2021

After serving the highest office of American government, five men --- Jimmy Carter, the late George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama --- became members of the world’s most exclusive fraternity. In TEAM OF FIVE, Kate Andersen Brower goes beyond the White House to uncover what, exactly, comes after the presidency, offering a glimpse into the complex relationships of these five former presidents, and how each of these men views his place in a nation that was upended by the Oval Office’s former, norm-breaking occupant, Donald Trump.

The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet - Historical Fantasy

May 25, 2021

Judah is an orphaned girl with a secret gift, born at the gates of Highfall castle. Raised alongside Gavin, heir to Lord Elban's empire, the two share an extrasensory bond --- one that is key to Judah's survival and her possible undoing. Elban --- as mighty as he is cruel --- plans to use Judah as a pawn to amass greater control. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants. But beyond the castle walls, a magus, a healer with his own powerful force, has arrived from the provinces. He, too, has designs on the realm, and at the heart of his plans lies Judah. The girl who started life with no name and no history will soon discover her own strength. Intriguingly, she does not have to be given power: she can just take it.

A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky - Fiction

May 25, 2021

One phone call is all it takes to lure real estate photographer Mallory Aldiss back to her family Rhode Island beach home. It's been 20 years since she's been gone --- running from the scandal that destroyed her parents' marriage, drove her and her two sisters apart, and crushed her relationship with her first love. But going home is fraught with emotional baggage --- memories, mysteries and secrets abound. Mal's 13-year-old daughter, Joy, has never been to the place where Mal's life was shaped and is desperate to go. In just seven watershed days on the Rhode Island coast, three women will test the bonds of sisterhood, friendship and family, and discover the role that love and memory play in defining their lives.