September 27, 2011

October 3rd

THE FORGOTTEN WALTZ by Anne Enright
Gina Moynihan remembers her affair with "the love of her life," Seán Vallely, while awaiting the arrival of Seán's fragile, 12-year-old daughter, Evie --- the complication, and gravity, of this second life.
W. W. Norton & Company * 9780393072556


October 4th

CAIN by Jose Saramago
In this, his last novel, Jose Saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of the Bible through the story of Cain. Condemned to wander forever after he kills Abel, he is whisked around in time and space.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt * 9780547419893

THE CAT'S TABLE by Michael Ondaatje
From Michael Ondaatje comes a stunning new novel --- by turns poignant and electrifying --- about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a sea voyage.
Knopf * 9780307700117

THE DOVEKEEPERS by Alice Hoffman
In 70 CE, 900 Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on a mountain in the Judean desert, Masada. Two women and five children are believed to have survived. Based on this, Alice Hoffman weaves a tale of four extraordinary women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path.
Scribner * 9781451617474

FALLING TOGETHER by Marisa de los Santos
A remarkable friendship ended abruptly, only to be resurrected in great need years later at a college reunion. This launches three formerly devoted companions and reluctant family members alike on a sobering, enlightening journey across the world and through the past.
William Morrow * 9780061670879

THE GREAT LEADER by Jim Harrison
On the verge of retirement, Detective Sunderson begins to investigate a hedonistic cult. At first, the self-declared Great Leader seems merely a harmless oddball, but as Sunderson and his 16-year-old sidekick dig deeper, they find him more intelligent and sinister than they realized.
Grove Press * 9780802119704

HEADSTONE: A Jack Taylor Novel by Ken Bruen
An elderly priest is nearly beaten to death, and a special-needs boy is brutally attacked. Evil has many guises, and Jack Taylor has encountered most of them. But nothing before has ever truly terrified him until he confronts an evil coterie named Headstone, who have committed a series of random, insane, violent crimes in Galway, Ireland.
Mysterious Press * 9780802126009

LIONHEART by Sharon Kay Penman
Sharon Kay Penman has written a powerful story about the accomplished and controversial son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine --- Richard, Coeur de Lion --- set against the rich textures of the Holy Land.
A Marian Wood Book/Putnam * 9780399157851

THE LOST ANGEL by Javier Sierra
In approximately 72 hours, a little known Middle Eastern terrorist group plans to bring about the end of the world. Convinced that they are the descendants of angels, they believe they are on the verge of at last being returned to heaven.
Atria Books * 9781451632798

MARY BOLEYN: The Mistress of Kings by Alison Weir
Bestselling British historian and novelist Alison Weir reconstructs the real story of the much-misrepresented Mary Boleyn. Mary was a woman whose star rose and fell in the glittering Tudor court, whose life ended in banishment and relative obscurity when she dared to marry for love.
Ballantine Books * 9780345521330

MURDER UNLEASHED by Rita Mae Brown
Jeep, Mags, Baxter and King are back for another Wild West adventure --- this time to save a community of abandoned Reno houses --- in the bighearted second book of the newest bestselling canine mystery series from Rita Mae Brown.
Ballantine Books * 9780345511836

THE NIGHT STRANGERS by Chris Bohjalian
In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut. The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin 10-year-old daughters, who hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain due to double engine failure. The body count? 39.
Crown * 9780307394996

SHOCK WAVE: A Virgil Flowers Novel by John Sandford
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.
Putnam Adult * 9780399157691

THE VISIBLE MAN by Chuck Klosterman
Austin, Texas therapist Victoria Vick has been contacted by a man who believes his situation is unique. But as he reveals himself to her slowly and cryptically, she becomes convinced that he suffers from a complex set of delusions --- he is a scientist who has been using cloaking technology from an aborted government project to render himself nearly invisible.
Scribner * 9781439184462

THE VOYAGE OF ROSE CITY: An Adventure at Sea by John Moynihan
An honestly written story of a boy’s coming into manhood at sea, THE VOYAGE OF THE ROSE CITY is a taut, thrilling tale of the adventure of a lifetime.
Spiegel & Grau * 9780812982435

WHEN SHE WOKE by Hillary Jordan
WHEN SHE WOKE is a fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future --- where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated, but chromed and released back into the population to survive as best they can.
Algonquin Books * 9781565126299


October 5th

BLACK LIGHT by Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Stephen Romano
Private eye and exorcist Buck Carlsbad knows something big is coming --- a super high-tech bullet train running express across a stretch of unforgiving desert known for the most deadly paranormal events in history.This is a place where Buck almost died a few years ago, and where he swore he would never return.
Mulholland Books * 9780316196710

October 3rd

SCORPIONS: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices by Noah Feldman
SCORPIONS tells the story of four great justices, their relationship with FDR, with each other, and with the turbulent world of the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War.
Twelve * 9780446699280
 

October 4th

AT HOME: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson takes us on a room-by-room journey through his own house, using each room as a jumping-off point into the vast history behind the domestic items we take for granted.
Anchor * 9780767919395

BOB DYLAN IN AMERICA by Sean Wilentz
Using his unprecedented access to studio tapes, recording notes and rare photographs, Sean Wilentz places Bob Dylan’s music in the context of its time and offers a stunning critical appreciation of Dylan both as a songwriter and performer.
Anchor * 9780767931793

BUSY BODY: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin’s detective agency is investigating the murder of John Sunday of the Health and Safety Board. But when a man has made as many enemies as Sunday, it’s hard to know where to start.
Minotaur Books * 9780312536503

CHRISTMAS AT THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP edited by Otto Penzler
Each year, for the past 17 years, Mysterious Bookshop proprietor Otto Penzler has commissioned an original Christmas story by a leading suspense writer. These stories were then produced as pamphlets and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present. Now, all 17 tales have been collected in one volume.
Vanguard Press * 9781593156770

CHRISTMAS EVE AT FRIDAY HARBOR by Lisa Kleypas
The gift of love from a little girl’s uncle leads to a new family for Holly after her mother dies unexpectedly. Holly asks Santa for a “new mom,” and you know Santa never disappoints little girls.
St. Martin's Paperbacks * 9780312605872

COMPASS ROSE by John Casey
With COMPASS ROSE, National Book Award winner John Casey returns to the marshes of Rhode Island and the complex women that long ago captured readers’ hearts in his beloved earlier novel, SPARTINA.
Vintage * 9780375709135

CRASHERS by Dana Haynes
Whenever a plane goes down in the U.S., a "Go Team" made up of experts is assembled by the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate. Those people --- each of them a leading expert in a specific area --- are known informally as "Crashers."
St. Martin's Paperbacks * 9780312544157

DANIEL by Henning Mankell
In the 1870s, Hans Bengler arrives in Cape Town with one desire: to discover an insect and name it after himself. Instead, he impulsively adopts an orphan, christens him Daniel and brings him back to Sweden. But Daniel is haunted by visions of his murdered parents calling him to Africa. The only way back is by sea --- so he decides to learn to walk on water.
Vintage * 9780307385840

DON’T SING AT THE TABLE: Life Lessons from My Grandmothers by Adriana Trigiani
In DON’T SING AT THE TABLE, Adriana Trigiani reveals how her grandmothers’ simple values have shaped her own life, sharing the experiences, humor and wisdom of her beloved mentors to delight readers of all ages.
Harper Paperbacks * 9780061958953

DRIVING ON THE RIM by Thomas McGuane
Berl Pickett is a housepainter turned doctor living in the small town of Livingston, Montana. The son of Pentecostal rug-shampooers, Pickett has never been the social toast of the town, but when he is accused of negligent homicide in the death of his former lover, he finds himself ostracized by his colleagues.
Vintage * 9781400075225

THE LAST BOY: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood by Jane Leavy
Meticulously reported and elegantly written, THE LAST BOY is a baseball tapestry that weaves together episodes from Jane Leavy’s weekend with The Mick after he was banned from baseball, with reminiscences about the boy from Commerce, Oklahoma.
Harper Perennial * 9780060883539

NEMESIS by Philip Roth
A young playground director in Newark helplessly witnesses his schoolboy charges fall to a polio outbreak against the backdrop of World War II.
Vintage * 9780307475008

ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS YOU by Elizabeth Berg
Even on their wedding day, John and Irene sensed they were about to make a mistake. Years later --- divorced and dating other people --- they are bound only by mutual love for their spirited 18-year-old daughter. When tragedy strikes, they must come together to support their daughter.
Ballantine Books * 9780345517326

THE PROSTITUTES’ BALL: A Shane Scully Novel by Stephen J. Cannell
When LAPD Detective Shane Scully responds to a call at a once-immaculate mansion, the place is deserted --- except for three dead bodies, all shot with the same gun. But when Scully starts investigating what looks like an open-and-shut case, things take a turn for the worse.
St. Martin's Paperbacks * 9780312549275

SING YOU HOME by Jodi Picoult
In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life. But to her shock and inevitable rage, some people don’t want that to happen.
Atria * 9781451620993

SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris
Though the characters in this collection of keen-eyed, animal-themed tales may not be human, they still mirror the insanity of everyday life --- encompassing everything from beastly bureaucracy, to animal AA meetings, to star-crossed critters.
Back Bay Books * 9780316038409

THAWED OUT AND FED UP by Ryan Brown
Ryan Brown follows up his zombie football tale PLAY DEAD with THAWED OUT AND FED UP, a modern twist on the classic western --- featuring a cryogenically frozen John Wayne.
Gallery Books * 9781439171561
 

October 6th

STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG by Kate Atkinson
It's a day like any other for Tracy Waterhouse, running errands at the local shopping center, until she makes a purchase she hadn't bargained for. One moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger at every turn.
Reagan Arthur/Back Bay Books * 9780316066747