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Week of November 29, 2021

New in Paperback

Week of November 29, 2021

Paperback releases for the week of November 29th include THE KAISER'S WEB, Steve Berry's 16th Cotton Malone adventure, in which a secret dossier from a World War II-era Soviet spy comes to light containing information that, if proven true, would not only rewrite history --- it could impact Germany's upcoming national elections and forever alter the political landscape of Europe; MOONFLOWER MURDERS, a brilliantly complex literary thriller featuring Anthony Horowitz's famous literary detective Atticus Pünd and retired publisher Susan Ryeland; Jeff Lindsay's FOOL ME TWICE, a wildly entertaining caper starring an antihero you’ll root for, thief extraordinaire Riley Wolfe; and MANTEL PIECES, a stunning collection of reviews, essays and pieces of memoir from two-time Booker Prize winner and international bestseller Hilary Mantel, whose subjects range far and wide.

All the Colors of Night by Jayne Ann Krentz - Romantic Suspense

November 30, 2021

North Chastain possesses a paranormal talent that gives him the ability to track down the most dangerous psychic criminals. When his father suddenly falls into a coma-like state, North is convinced it was caused by a deadly artifact that traces back to the days of a secret government program known only as the Bluestone Project. He teams up with antiques expert Sierra Raines to find the artifact, and soon they find themselves at the scene of the Incident. The town and its residents were forever changed by the disaster in the nearby Bluestone Project labs. The pair unearths shocking truths about what happened that fateful night, but someone in town knows what they’ve discovered and will do anything to make sure the secrets stay buried.

At First Light by Barbara Nickless - Psychological Thriller/Mystery

December 1, 2021

On the muddy banks of the Calumet River, a body has been found posed next to a series of mysterious glyphs and bearing wounds from a ritualistic slaying. Chicago detective Addie Bisset knows only one man who can decipher the message left by the killer: her friend, Dr. Evan Wilding. A brilliant forensic semiotician, Evan decodes the etchings as Viking Age runes. They suggest either human sacrifice or righteous punishment. But to what god? And for what sins? Only one thing is clear from the disturbing runic riddles: there are more victims to come. As Evan races to determine the identity of the Viking Poet, he and Addie uncover the killer’s most terrifying secret yet: the motive.

Atomic Love by Jennie Fields - Historical Fiction

November 30, 2021

Chicago, 1950. Rosalind Porter has always defied expectations --- in her work as a physicist on the Manhattan Project, and in her passionate love affair with colleague Thomas Weaver. Five years after the end of both, her guilt over the bomb and her heartbreak over Weaver are intertwined. She has almost resigned herself to a conventional life. Then Weaver gets back in touch --- and so does the FBI. Agent Charlie Szydlo wants Roz to spy on Weaver, whom the FBI suspects of passing nuclear secrets to Russia. Despite her better instincts, Roz has never stopped loving Weaver, but something about Charlie, a former prisoner of war haunted by his past, calls out to her. As Rosalind's feelings for each man deepen, so too does the danger in which she finds herself.

Crimson Phoenix: A Victoria Emerson Thriller by John Gilstrap - Political Thriller

November 30, 2021

West Virginia Congresswoman Victoria Emerson has always put the needs of her community before the power games of Washington, D.C. Then an Army officer appears on her doorstep, deploying the code words “Crimson Phoenix” --- meaning this is not a drill. The United States is on the brink of nuclear disaster. The major will escort her to a secure bunker. She cannot bring her family. A single mother, Victoria refuses to abandon her teenage sons. Denied entry to the bunker, the family somehow survives the unthinkable. In the aftermath, the nation is in chaos. Against this total collapse, Victoria creates a new home in a small Appalachian mountain town. The community she builds around her shines like a beacon in a dark wasteland. Now she must defend it with her life --- to give hope to a new America.

The Devil's Hand by Jack Carr - Political Thriller

November 30, 2021

It’s been 20 years since 9/11. Two decades since the United States was attacked on home soil and embarked on 20 years of war. The enemy has been patient, learning and adapting….and is ready to strike again. A new president offers hope to a country weary of conflict. He’s a young, popular, self-made visionary…but he’s also a man with a secret. Halfway across the globe, a regional superpower struggles with sanctions imposed by the Great Satan and her European allies, a country whose ancient religion spawned a group of ruthless assassins. Faced with internal dissent and extrajudicial targeted killings by the United States and Israel, the Supreme Leader puts a plan in motion to defeat the most powerful nation on earth.

Do I Know You? by Sarah Strohmeyer - Psychological Thriller

November 30, 2021

Jane Ellison is a “super recognizer” who can identify strangers by the slightest facial details. When she spies human rights activist and heiress Bella Valencia in a Boston airport, Jane is convinced she has found the person responsible for her sister Kit’s disappearance and presumed death 11 years earlier. But her attempt to detain the suspect ends with Jane herself fired and humiliated. As Bella prepares to marry Will Pease, scion of the ruthless Pease family, she grows increasingly anxious that her dire secret will be revealed. Jane is ready to risk everything for the chance to publicly expose Bella’s crimes at her upcoming celebrity wedding. But the more she digs into what happened that night, the more she questions her own assumptions.

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay - Psychological Thriller

November 30, 2021

Matt Pine’s mom, dad, little brother and sister have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain. Matt’s older brother, Danny --- currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend, Charlotte --- was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. But the night Charlotte was killed, Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty. As the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison, forcing him to confront his every last fear.

Fool Me Twice by Jeff Lindsay - Thriller

November 30, 2021

FOOL ME TWICE opens in St. Petersburg, where thief extraordinaire Riley Wolfe steals a Faberge egg. Betrayed by the pilot he hired to help him get away, he wakes chained to a rock wall on one of the Kerguelen Islands, prisoner of a top-dog international arms dealer and a top-notch art collector. He wants Riley to steal an artwork, which happens to be “The Liberation of St. Peter,” a fresco in the Vatican. But when his captor turns him loose, he's grabbed by another arms dealer looking to do a double cross. Worse, he gives Riley a special incentive: a surveillance photograph of Monique, the love of his life and the art forger he can't pull off any heist without. Riley knows they both have only one way out.

In the Lion's Den: A House of Falconer Novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford - Historical Fiction

November 30, 2021

James Lionel Falconer has risen quickly from a mere shop worker to being the right-hand man of Henry Malvern, head of the most prestigious shipping company in London. With Malvern's daughter, Alexis, running away to the country after a terrible tragedy and refusing to return, James' ascent to head of the company seems inevitable. But even a charmed life like James' is not without its setbacks. A terrible fire threatens to end his merchant career before it's had a chance to truly begin. Mrs. Ward, James' former paramour, has a secret that could change his life forever. And his distaste for Alexis Malvern is slowly growing into feelings of quite a different sort. Can James continue to be the master of his own fate, or will all of his charm, intelligence and wit finally fail him when he has to enter the lion's den?

Jackpot: A Teddy Fay Novel Featuring Stone Barrington by Stuart Woods and Bryon Quertermous - Thriller/Adventure

November 30, 2021

When Peter Barrington and Ben Bachetti come under threat while working at a film festival abroad, Teddy Fay is lured to the glittering city of Macau to resolve the problem. He'll soon come to find that world of posh casinos, luxurious developments and boundless wealth has a dark underbelly of crime and political intrigue…and that the biggest players behind the scenes may be far closer to home than anticipated. With international deals and private vendettas at stake, the villains behind the plot aren't about to let Teddy stand in their way. What they don't know is that this seemingly harmless film producer has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

The Kaiser's Web by Steve Berry - Thriller

November 30, 2021

Two candidates are vying to become Chancellor of Germany. One is a patriot having served for the past 16 years, the other a usurper, stoking the flames of nationalistic hate. Both harbor secrets, but only one knows the truth about the other. They are on a collision course, all turning on the events of one fateful day --- April 30, 1945 --- and what happened deep beneath Berlin in the Fürherbunker. Did Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun die there? Did Martin Bormann, Hitler’s close confidant, manage to escape? And, even more important, where did billions in Nazi wealth disappear to in the waning days of World War II? Former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone discovers the truth about the fates of Hitler, Braun and Bormann --- revelations that could finally expose a mystery known as the Kaiser’s web.

Mantel Pieces: Royal Bodies and Other Writing from the London Review of Books by Hilary Mantel - Essays

November 30, 2021

In 1987, when Hilary Mantel was first published in the London Review of Books, she wrote to the editor, Karl Miller, “I have no critical training whatsoever, so I am forced to be more brisk and breezy than scholarly.” This collection of 20 reviews, essays and pieces of memoir from the next three decades tells the story of what happened next. Her subjects range far and wide: Robespierre and Danton, the Hite report, Saudi Arabia where she lived for four years in the 1980s, the Bulger case, John Osborne and the Virgin Mary. There are essays about Jane Boleyn, Charles Brandon, Christopher Marlowe and Margaret Pole, which display the astonishing insight into the Tudor mind we are familiar with from the bestselling Wolf Hall Trilogy.

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz - Mystery/Thriller

November 30, 2021

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is running a small hotel on a Greek island. The Trehernes come to stay and tell a story about a murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married, which fascinates Susan and piques her editor’s instincts. One of her former writers, the late Alan Conway, author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew the murder victim --- an advertising executive named Frank Parris --- and based the third book in his detective series on that very crime. The Trehernes’ daughter, Cecily, believes that the book proves the man convicted of Parris’ murder is innocent. When the Trehernes reveal that Cecily is now missing, Susan knows that she must find out what really happened.

Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins - Domestic Thriller

November 30, 2021

Sue Keller is lost. When her father dies suddenly, she's orphaned in her mid-20s, her mother already long gone. Then Sue meets Annie. It’s been 20 years, but Annie could never forget that face. She was Sue’s live-in nanny at their big house upstate, and she loved Sue like she was her own. Craving connection and mothering, Sue is only too eager to welcome Annie back into her life. But as they become inseparable once again, Sue starts to uncover the truth about Annie's unsettling time in the Keller house all those years ago, particularly the manner of her departure --- or dismissal. At the same time, she begins to grow increasingly alarmed for the safety of the two new charges currently in Annie's care.

Neighbors by Danielle Steel - Fiction

November 30, 2021

Meredith White was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her acting career short and alienated her from her family. For the last 15 years, Meredith has been living alone in San Francisco with two trusted caretakers. Then, on a muggy late summer day, a massive earthquake strikes Northern California. Without a moment’s hesitation, Meredith invites her stunned and shaken neighbors into her mostly undamaged home as the recovery begins. Without the walls and privacy of their own homes, one by one, new relationships are forged. In the heart of the crisis, Meredith finds herself venturing back into the world --- and suddenly sees her isolation, her estranged family and even her acting career in a whole new light.

People from My Neighborhood: Stories written by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted Goossen - Fiction/Short Stories

November 30, 2021

A bossy child who lives under a white cloth near a tree; a schoolgirl who keeps dolls' brains in a desk drawer; an old man with two shadows, one docile and one rebellious; a diplomat no one has ever seen who goes fishing at an artificial lake no one has ever heard of. These are some of the inhabitants of PEOPLE FROM MY NEIGHBORHOOD. In their lives, details of the local and everyday --- the lunch menu at a tiny drinking place called the Love, the color and shape of the roof of the tax office --- slip into accounts of duels, prophetic dreams, revolutions, and visitations from ghosts and gods. In 26 "palm of the hand" stories --- fictions small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand and brief enough to allow for dipping in and out --- Hiromi Kawakami creates a universe ruled by mystery and transformation.

The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata by Gina Apostol - Historical Fiction

November 30, 2021

Gina Apostol’s second novel takes the form of a memoir by one Raymundo Mata, a half-blind bookworm and revolutionary, tracing his childhood, his education in Manila, his love affairs, and his discovery of writer and fellow revolutionary Jose Rizal. Mata’s 19th-century story is complicated by present-day foreword(s), afterword(s) and footnotes from three fiercely quarrelsome and comic voices: a nationalist editor, a neo-Freudian psychoanalyst critic, and a translator, Mimi C. Magsalin. In telling the contested and fragmentary story of Mata, Apostol finds new ways to depict the violence of the Spanish colonial era, and to reimagine the nation’s great writer, Jose Rizal, who was executed by the Spanish for his revolutionary activities and is considered by many to be the father of Philippine independence.

Shed No Tears by Caz Frear - Mystery

November 30, 2021

Detective Constable Cat Kinsella and her partner, Luigi Parnell, discover a connection to a notorious criminal: serial killer Christopher Masters, who abducted and killed several women in 2012. Though the cops eventually apprehended him, his final victim, Holly Kemp, was never found and he never confessed to her murder, despite the solid eyewitness testimony against him. Now, six years later, the discovery of Holly’s remains seems to be the definitive proof needed to close the case. As Cat and Parnell look closer, they find discrepancies that raise troubling questions. But someone will do anything to keep past secrets hidden --- and as they inch closer to the truth, they may be putting themselves in jeopardy.

Small Magic: Short Fiction, 1977-2020 by Terry Brooks - Fantasy/Short Stories

November 30, 2021

Escape to worlds full of adventure and magic in the first-ever Terry Brooks short-story collection, featuring both new and fan-favorite stories from all three of his major literary worlds: Shannara, Magic Kingdom, and The Word and the Void. Here are heroes fighting new battles and struggling to conquer the ghosts of the past. Here are quests both small and far-reaching; heroism both intimate and vast. Here we learn of Garet Jax’s childhood, see how Allanon first located Shea Ohmsford, and follow an old wing-rider at the end of his life. Here we see Knights of the Word fighting demons within and without, and witness Ben Holiday and his daughter each trying to overcome the unique challenges that Landover offers.

Stargazer: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel by Anne Hillerman - Mystery

November 30, 2021

What begins as a typical day for Officer Bernadette Manuelito takes an unexpected twist when she’s called to help find an old friend. Years ago, Bernie and Maya were roommates, but time and Maya’s struggles with addiction drove them apart. Now Maya’s brother asks Bernie to find out what happened to his sister. Tracing Maya’s whereabouts, Bernie learns that her old friend had confessed to the murder of her estranged husband, a prominent astronomer. But the details don’t align. Suspicious, Bernie takes a closer look at the case only to find that nothing is as it seems. Uncovering new information about the astronomer’s work leads Bernie to a remote spot on the Navajo Nation and a calculating killer.

We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen - Science Fiction/Adventure

November 30, 2021

Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories --- a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books. Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it. When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship.