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Week of November 25, 2024

New in Paperback

Week of November 25, 2024

Paperback releases for the week of November 25th include NEVER GIVE UP, a moving story from Tom Brokaw that chronicles the values and lessons he absorbed from his parents and other people who worked hard to build lives on the prairie during the first half of the 20th century; BETRAYAL by Phillip Margolin, a twisty thriller in which attorney Robin Lockwood finds herself defending her old nemesis in a multiple murder case with too many suspects; THE KINGDOM OF SWEETS, Erika Johansen's gloriously transportive reimagining of "The Nutcracker" that tells the tale of twin sisters, divided by envy and magic, set against each other one fateful Christmas Eve; and Sam Wasson's THE PATH TO PARADISE, the definitive account of Academy Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-long dream to reinvent American filmmaking, if not the entire world, through his production company, American Zoetrope.

Betrayal: A Robin Lockwood Novel by Phillip Margolin - Legal Thriller

November 26, 2024

Robin Lockwood is now a prominent defense attorney in Portland, Oregon, but a decade ago, she was a ranked and rising MMA fighter. Her career came to a quick end when she was knocked out and concussed in the first round by Mandy Kerrigan. Now the situation couldn't be more different, with Kerrigan arrested for the quadruple murder of the entire Finch family...and Kerrigan's only possible friend is the attorney she beat so many years ago. For Robin, it's no simple case: Margaret Finch was a lawyer working for vicious Russian mobsters, and was in the crosshairs of both the mobsters and the widower of a woman a client killed. To complicate matters further, the DA who Robin is facing is the man she's just started dating, the first person she's begun seeing seriously after her husband was killed.

Circle in the Water: A Sharon McCone Mystery by Marcia Muller - Mystery

November 26, 2024

San Francisco is home to more than 200 privately owned streets. Most are alleyways, but a select few are lined with mansions and elaborate gardens. When several luxury estate homes are targeted in a series of so-called pranks, Sharon is hired by a coalition of concerned owners to investigate. But as things escalate --- an attempt on Sharon’s life, an explosion at a meth lab and a shocking murder --- Sharon realizes far more is at play than a few misdemeanors gone wrong. The case takes a sudden turn when one of McCone & Ripinsky’s most trusted employees is implicated, and Sharon will have to dig deep to save her agency --- and her life.

The Ghost Orchid: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman - Psychological Thriller

November 26, 2024

A pool boy enters a secluded Bel Air property and discovers two bodies floating in the bright blue water: Gio Aggiunta, the playboy heir to an Italian shoe empire, and a gorgeous, even wealthier neighbor named Meagin March. A married neighbor. An illicit affair stoking rage is a perfect motive. But the house is untouched. No forced entry, no forensic evidence. The case has “that feeling,” and when that happens, LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis turns to his friend, the brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware. As Milo and Alex investigate both victims, they discover two troubled pasts. And as they dig deeper, Meagin March’s very identity begins to blur. Who was this glamorous but conflicted woman? Did her past catch up to her? Or did Gio’s family connections create a threat spanning two continents?

The Kingdom of Sweets: A Novel of the Nutcracker by Erika Johansen - Dark Fantasy

November 26, 2024

Light and dark. This is the cursed birthright placed upon Clara and Natasha by their godfather, Drosselmeyer. Charming Clara grows into a life of beauty and ease, while Natasha is relegated to her sister’s shadow. But Natasha seizes the opportunity for revenge one Christmas Eve, when Drosselmeyer arrives at the family gala with the Nutcracker, an enchanted gift that offers entry into an alternate world: the Kingdom of Sweets. Following Clara into the glittering land of snow and sugar, Natasha discovers a source of power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy. But as Natasha uncovers the truth about a dark destiny crafted long before her birth, she must reckon with forces both earthly and magical, human and diabolical, and decide to which world she truly belongs.

My Heart Will Find You by Jude Deveraux - Romance

November 26, 2024

During the early days of the pandemic, Etta Wilmont finds herself suddenly stranded in Kansas City. Desperate to secure a roof over her head, Etta crosses paths with Henry Logan, a lonely older man in need of a caretaker. His invitation for Etta to stay with him seems to be the solution to both their problems. As Etta and Henry settle into a companionable living arrangement, Etta indulges in Henry’s library. The compelling historical accounts of life in the Midwest soon inspire vivid dreams of Kansas City in the 1870s, dreams in which she’s a mail-order bride, married to a handsome but guarded rancher. Haunted by the story unfolding in her mind, Etta realizes her dreams of the past and the familiar faces featured within are starting to have an impact on the present, altering her current reality.

Never Give Up: A Prairie Family's Story by Tom Brokaw - Memoir

November 26, 2024

Tom Brokaw’s father, Red, left school in the second grade to work in the family hotel --- the Brokaw House, established in Bristol, South Dakota, by R. P. Brokaw in 1883. Eventually, through work on construction jobs, Red developed an exceptional talent for machines. Tom’s mother, Jean, was the daughter of a farmer who lost everything during the Great Depression. Although they didn’t have much money early in their marriage, Red’s philosophy of “Never give up” served them well. His big break came after World War II, when he went to work for the Army Corps of Engineers building great dams across the Missouri River. Late in life, Red surprised his family by recording his memories of the hard times of his early life, reflections that inspired this book.

The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story by Sam Wasson - Biography/Performing Arts

November 26, 2024

Francis Ford Coppola is one of the great American dreamers, and his most magnificent dream is American Zoetrope, the production company he founded in San Francisco years before his gargantuan success, when he was only 30. Through Zoetrope’s experimental, communal utopia, Coppola attempted to reimagine the entire pursuit of moviemaking. Now, more than 50 years later, despite myriad setbacks, the visionary filmmaker’s dream persists, most notably in the production of his decades-in-the-making film and the culmination of his utopian ideals, Megalopolis. Granted total and unprecedented access to Coppola’s archives, conducting hundreds of interviews with the artist and those who have worked closely with him, Sam Wasson weaves together an extraordinary portrait.

Red Sky Mourning by Jack Carr - Political Thriller

November 26, 2024

A storm is on the horizon. America’s days are numbered. A Chinese submarine has gone rogue and is navigating towards the continental United States, putting its nuclear missiles within striking distance of the West Coast. A rising Silicon Valley tech mogul with unknown allegiances is at the forefront of a revolution in quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence. A politician controlled by a foreign power is a breath away from the Oval Office. These seemingly disconnected events are on a collision course to ignite a power grab unlike anything the world has ever seen. The country’s only hope is a quantum computer that has gone dark, retreating to the deepest levels of the internet, learning at a rate inconceivable at her inception. She is now positioned to act as either the country’s greatest savior or its worst enemy.

What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato - Domestic Thriller

November 26, 2024

When Esmé Foster left the Boston suburbs to become a professional ballerina, the future shimmered with promise. Eleven years later, her career has been derailed by an injury, and she knows it’s time to come back to Graybridge to help her brother care for their ailing father. But her return coincides with an unthinkable crime. Kara Cunningham, one of Esmé’s high school friends, is found dead in the woods behind the Fosters’ house. Esmé is shocked and grieving, but also uneasy. In her dreams, she still sees the man who showed up at the scene of the car accident that killed her mother --- and told Esmé he was going to kill her too. Family and friends insisted the figure was a product of Esmé’s imagination, that she was concussed after the crash. But she and Kara looked alike. Could Kara’s murder have been a case of mistaken identity?