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Week of October 31, 2016

New in Paperback

Week of October 31, 2016

Paperback releases for the week of October 31st include Carly Simon's memoir BOYS IN THE TREES, which reveals her remarkable life, beginning with her storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster, and ultimately delving into her meteoric solo career that would result in 13 top 40 hits, including the #1 song "You're So Vain"; ORPHAN X, the opening installment of Gregg Hurwitz's series that introduces readers to Evan Smoak, aka the Nowhere Man, whose personal mission it is to help those with nowhere else to turn; THE GEOGRAPHY OF GENIUS, which finds Eric Weiner traveling the world to show how creative genius flourishes in specific places at specific times; and KNITTING PEARLS, a volume edited by Ann Hood in which two dozen writers write about the transformative and healing powers of knitting.

As Close to Us as Breathing by Elizabeth Poliner - Fiction

November 1, 2016


In 1948, sisters Ada, Vivie and Bec assemble at their beloved family cottage in Woodmont, Connecticut. Ada is unimpeded by her strict, religious husband. Vivie is the family diplomat and an increasingly inventive chef. Unmarried Bec finds herself forced to choose between a family-centric life and a passion-filled life with a married man. But when a terrible accident occurs on the sisters' watch, the girls’ lives are changed forever. Seen through the eyes of Molly, who was 12 years old when she witnessed the accident, this is the story of a tragedy and its aftermath. Can Molly, decades after the event, draw from her aunt Bec's wisdom and free herself from the burden that destroyed so many others?

Away in a Manger: A Molly Murphy Mystery by Rhys Bowen - Historical Mystery

November 1, 2016


It's Christmastime in 1905 New York City. While listening to carolers in the street, Molly Murphy Sullivan meets two siblings who have come from England. Their mother has disappeared, and they're living with an aunt who mistreats them terribly. Molly quickly realizes that these children are not the usual city waifs. They are well-spoken and clearly used to better things. So who are they? And what's happened to their mother? As Molly looks for a way to help them and for the answers to these questions, she gets drawn into an investigation that will take her up to the highest levels of New York society.

Boys in the Trees: A Memoir by Carly Simon - Memoir

November 1, 2016


BOYS IN THE TREES reveals Carly Simon’s remarkable life, beginning with her storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster. It was a childhood enriched by music and culture, but also one shrouded in secrets that eventually would tear her family apart. Simon captures moments of creative inspiration, the sparks of songs, and the stories behind writing "Anticipation" and "We Have No Secrets," among many others.

The Burning Isle by Will Panzo - Dark Fantasy/Adventure

November 1, 2016


The mage Cassius has just arrived on the island of Scipio. Five miles of slum on the edge of 50 miles of jungle, Scipio is a lawless haven for criminals, pirates and exiles. The city is split in two, each half ruled by a corrupt feudal lord. Both of them answer to a mysterious general who lives deep in the jungle with his army, but they still constantly battle for power. If a man knows how to turn their discord to his advantage, he might also turn a profit. But trained on the Isle of Twelve, Cassius is no ordinary spellcaster, and his goal is not simply money. This is a treacherous island where the native gods are restless and anything can happen.

Fishbowl by Bradley Somer - Fiction

November 1, 2016


A goldfish named Ian is falling from the 27th-floor balcony on which his fishbowl sits. He's longed for adventure, so when the opportunity arises, he escapes from his bowl, clears the balcony railing and finds himself airborne. Plummeting toward the street below, Ian witnesses the lives of the Seville on Roxy residents.

The Flood Girls by Richard Fifield - Fiction

November 1, 2016


In Quinn, Montana, nearly all of the volunteer firemen are named Jim, the only bar in town refuses to serve mixed drinks (too much work), the locals hate the newcomers (then again, they hate the locals, too), and the town softball team has never even come close to having a winning season. Until now. Rachel Flood has snuck back into town after leaving behind a trail of chaos nine years prior. She’s here to make amends, though nobody wants to hear it, especially her mother, Laverna. But with the help of a local boy named Jake and a little soul-searching, she just might make things right.

The Geography of Genius: Lessons from the World's Most Creative Places by Eric Weiner - Memoir

November 1, 2016


In THE GEOGRAPHY OF GENIUS, acclaimed travel writer Eric Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places --- like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley --- to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. And he walks the same paths as the geniuses who flourished in these settings to see if the spirit of what inspired figures like Socrates, Michelangelo and Leonardo remains.

The Gold Eaters by Ronald Wright - Historical Fiction

November 1, 2016


Kidnapped at sea by conquistadors seeking the golden land of Peru, a young Inca boy named Waman is the everyman thrown into extraordinary circumstances. Forced to become Francisco Pizarro's translator, he finds himself caught up in one of history's great clashes of civilizations: the Spanish invasion of the Incan Empire of the 1530s. To survive, he must not only learn political gamesmanship but also discover who he truly is, and in what country and culture he belongs. Only then can he be reunited with the love of his life and begin the search for his shattered family.

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes - Psychological Thriller

November 1, 2016


Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past 10 years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, determined to put his past behind him. But the problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried.

In Europe's Shadow: Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Year Journey Through Romania and Beyond by Robert D. Kaplan - History

November 1, 2016


Robert Kaplan first visited Romania in the 1970s, when he was a young journalist and the country was a bleak Communist backwater. It was one of the darkest corners of Europe, but few Westerners were paying attention. What ensued was a lifelong obsession with a critical, often overlooked country --- a country that, today, is key to understanding the current threat that Russia poses to Europe. Through the lens of one country, Kaplan examines larger questions of geography, imperialism, the role of fate in international relations, the Cold War, the Holocaust and more.

John le Carre: The Biography by Adam Sisman - Biography

November 1, 2016


In this definitive biography, blessed by John le Carré himself, Adam Sisman reveals the man behind the bestselling persona. He probes his unusual upbringing, abandoned by his mother at the age of five and raised by his con man father (when not in prison), and explores his background in British intelligence, as well as his struggle to become a writer, and his personal life. Sisman has benefited from unfettered access to le Carré’s private archive, talked to the most important people in his life, and interviewed the man himself at length.

Knitting Pearls: Writers Writing About Knitting edited by Ann Hood - Essays/Crafts & Hobbies

November 1, 2016


In KNITTING PEARLS, two dozen writers write about the transformative and healing powers of knitting. Lily King remembers the year her family lived in Italy, and a knitted hat that helped her daughter adjust to her new home. Laura Lippman explores how converting to Judaism changed not only Christmas but also her mother’s gift of a knitted stocking. Jodi Picoult remembers her grandmother and how, through knitting, she felt that everlasting love. These personal stories by award-winning writers celebrate the moments of loss and love intertwined in the rhythm, ritual and pleasure of knitting.

Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet by Jesse Itzler - Memoir

November 1, 2016


Entrepreneur Jesse Itzler will try almost anything. He brazenly pretended to be an established hip-hop artist to secure a meeting with a studio head --- and it led to a record deal. He convinced a bunch of successful business executives to invest in an unprecedented business plan --- and it turned into Marquis Jet. He sincerely offered to run a 100-mile race in Spanx to get the attention of the beautiful founder of the company --- and ended up marrying her. But when Jesse felt himself drifting on autopilot, he hired a rather unconventional trainer to live with him for a month --- an accomplished Navy SEAL widely considered to be "the toughest man on the planet."

Meantime by Katharine Noel - Fiction

November 1, 2016


Claire has never had a typical family. When she was nine, her father fell in love with a married woman, and the two households agreed to live under one roof. They were infamous in the community for their eccentric, free-spirited lifestyle. Now, her stepsister Nicole has set her mind to having a baby on her own, and Claire's husband is enthusiastic about starting a family as well. But Claire wants to avoid an ordinary existence at all costs. Then Jeremy becomes seriously ill, and his high-school sweetheart Gita is a bit too eager to lend a hand in his recovery. Faced with Nicole's pregnancy and Jeremy's increasing closeness with his ex, Claire must decide what she's willing to sacrifice for independence.

Naughtier Than Nice by Eric Jerome Dickey - Romance

November 1, 2016


The lives of Frankie, Tommie and Olivia (Livvy) haven’t turned out quite as planned. Frankie has a pair of stalkers. The life that Tommie had dreamed of having with Blue has become anything but perfect, and Olivia, despite her efforts, hasn’t been able to get over the psychological barrier caused by her husband’s affair in NAUGHTY OR NICE. Though the sisters are as close as any sisters could be, none wants the other two to know the dark secrets she is hiding.

No One Knows by J.T. Ellison - Psychological Thriller/Mystery

November 1, 2016


The day Aubrey Hamilton’s husband is declared dead by the state of Tennessee should bring closure so she can move on with her life. But Aubrey doesn’t want to move on; she wants Josh back. It’s been five years since he disappeared, since their blissfully happy marriage screeched to a halt and Aubrey became the prime suspect in his disappearance. Why didn’t Josh show up at his friend’s bachelor party? Was he murdered? Did he run away? And now, all this time later, who is the mysterious yet strangely familiar figure suddenly haunting her new life?

Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz - Thriller

November 1, 2016


Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He's also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as part of the off-the-books black box Orphan program, designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence assets --- i.e. assassins. He was Orphan X. Evan broke with the program, using everything he learned to disappear. Now, however, someone is on his tail and determined to eliminate him.

The Other Side of Infamy: My Journey Through Pearl Harbor and the World of War by Jim Downing with James Lund - Memoir

November 1, 2016


The natural human impulse is to run from attack. Jim Downing --- along with countless other soldiers and sailors at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 --- ran toward it, fighting to rescue his fellow navy men, to protect loved ones and civilians on the island, and to find the redemptive path forward from a devastating war. We are protected from war these days, but there was a time when war was very present in our lives. In THE OTHER SIDE OF INFAMY, we learn from a veteran of Pearl Harbor and World War II what it means to follow Jesus into and through every danger, toil and snare.

The Other Sister by Dianne Dixon - Fiction

November 1, 2016


Would life be better without twin sister Ali? Probably. At least then people might think about Morgan. Ali has always gotten everything --- she doesn't even realize how much Morgan resents her. Ali also doesn't realize that when she shuts Morgan out entirely, she will unleash a chain of events that show just how dangerous the underside of love really is. As their lives spin toward something neither one of them can control, a terrifying crime reveals how those who know us best can destroy us...or save us.

The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie - Fiction/Humor

November 1, 2016


THE PORTABLE VEBLEN is set in and around Palo Alto, amid the culture clash of new money and old (antiestablishment) values, and with the specter of our current wars looming across. A young couple on the brink of marriage --- the charming Veblen and her fiancé Paul, a brilliant neurologist --- find their engagement in danger of collapse. Along the way they weather everything from each other’s dysfunctional families, to the attentions of a seductive pharmaceutical heiress, to an intimate tête-à-tête with a very charismatic squirrel.

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee - Historical Fiction

November 1, 2016


THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT tells the mesmerizing story of Lilliet Berne, an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept into the glamour and terror of Second Empire France. She became a sensation of the Paris Opera, with every accolade but an original role --- her chance at immortality. When one is offered to her, she finds the libretto is based on her deepest secret, something only four people have ever known. But who betrayed her? Alexander Chee shares Lilliet’s cunning transformation from circus rider to courtesan to legendary soprano, retracing the path that led to the role that could secure her reputation --- or destroy her with the secrets it reveals.

The Slow Waltz of Turtles by Katherine Pancol - Fiction

November 1, 2016


Fortysomething mother of two Joséphine Cortès is at a crossroads. She has just moved to a posh new apartment in Paris after the success of the historical novel she ghostwrote for her sister, Iris. Still struggling with her divorce, she is now entangled in a messy lie orchestrated by her sister. And just when things seem they can’t get any more complicated, people start turning up dead in her neighborhood. As Joséphine struggles to find her voice and her confidence amidst a messy web of relationships and a string of murders, she and those around her must learn to push on with determination, like headstrong little turtles learning to dance slowly in a world that’s too violent and moving too fast.

Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhauser - Fiction

November 1, 2016


As a blizzard bears down, Percy James sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta. Fearing she is strung out on meth and that she won’t survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter’s cabin. Searching the house, she finds the two-bit criminal and his girlfriend drugged into oblivion --- and a crying baby girl. Percy knows she must save her --- a split-second decision that is the beginning of a dangerous odyssey in which she must battle the elements and evade Shelton and a small band of desperate criminals, hell-bent on getting that baby back.

Tom Clancy Commander in Chief: A Jack Ryan Novel by Mark Greaney - Thriller/Adventure

November 1, 2016


When Russian President Valeri Volodin’s ambitions are foiled in Dagestan, he faces a difficult choice. The oligarchs who support him expect a constant flow of graft, but with energy prices cratering, the Russian economy sputters to a virtual halt. Unable to grow the Russian market at home, his hold on power relies on expansion abroad --- a plan that has been thwarted by the United States in the past. But this time, Volodin has determined that an indirect approach is the best. Only one man recognizes an ominous pattern in the reports of terror from around the globe. U.S. President Jack Ryan sees a guiding hand in the worldwide chaos, but before he can act, he needs proof.

Warheart: Sword of Truth: The Conclusion by Terry Goodkind - Fantasy

November 1, 2016


All is lost. Evil will soon consume the D'Haran Empire. Richard Rahl lies on his funeral bier. It is the end of everything. Except what isn't lost is Kahlan Amnell. Following an inner prompting beyond all reason, the last Confessor will wager everything on a final desperate gambit, and in so doing, she will change the world forever. WARHEART is the direct sequel to, and the conclusion of, the story begun in THE OMEN MACHINE, THE THIRD KINGDOM and SEVERED SOULS.

What Doesn't Kill Her by Carla Norton - Thriller

November 1, 2016


Daryl Wayne Flint is safely locked up in Olshaker Psychiatric Hospital. It seems that he is still suffering the effects of the head injury he sustained in the car crash that freed Reeve LeClaire seven years ago. But when Flint makes a clean getaway from the hospital, Reeve is shocked out of her new life by her worst nightmare come true. When Flint evades capture, baffling authorities and leaving a bloody trail, Reeve suddenly realizes that she is the only one who can stop him.

The Wild Harmonic by Beth W. Patterson - Paranormal Thriller

November 1, 2016


New Orleans musician and werewolf Birch "Buzz" MacKinlay thinks she's alone in the world until the mysterious and captivating Rowan welcomes her into his pack. Her new pack mates take her through a crash course on the use of her werewolf gifts as she learns all about other shape-shifters in the world. But she also discovers that there is a dark and growing danger to her new world as other "shifters" around her begin to die and disappear. With the menace closing in, her pack must work together with the rest of the “shifter” world to learn who --- or what --- is behind the threat before they are all destroyed.