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May 24, 2016 |
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In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of May 23rd and May 30th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar. This week, we are calling attention to our 11th Annual Father's Day Contest and a special contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com for DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY by Bill Clegg, which is now available in paperback.
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Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
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This Week's Bonus News: Bookreporter.com's 11th Annual Father's Day Contest and ReadingGroupGuides.com's Contest for DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY by Bill Clegg
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Bookreporter.com's 11th Annual Father's Day Contest
Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the men in our lives who have raised and loved us. Why not show him your appreciation by inspiring him with a great book? In our 11th annual "Best Books for Dad" contest, we have five books that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for dad, keeping him busy through the rest of the year. Five readers will be awarded a prize package that includes these titles, along with some special treats. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, June 20th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
ReadingGroupGuides.com Contest: Win 12 Copies of DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY by Bill Clegg for Your Book Group
We are celebrating the paperback release of Bill Clegg's New York Times bestselling debut novel, DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY --- which follows a circle of characters whose lives are changed irrevocably when a house fire kills several members of their small community --- with a special contest that will give three book groups the chance to win 12 copies. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, June 15th at noon ET.
DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY by Bill Clegg (Fiction)
On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, June Reid’s life is completely devastated when a shocking disaster takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend, Luke --- her entire family, all gone in a moment. And June is the only survivor. Alone and directionless, June drives across the country, away from her small Connecticut town. In her wake, a community emerges, weaving a beautiful and surprising web of connections through shared heartbreak. |
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On Sale the Week of May 23rd in Hardcover
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May 24th
THE 100 YEAR MIRACLE by Ashley Ream (Fiction)
Once a century, for only six days, the bay around a small Washington island glows like a water-bound aurora. Dr. Rachel Bell knows a secret about the phenomenon that inspired the region’s myths and folklore: the rare green water may contain a power that could save Rachel's own life (and change the world). When Rachel connects with Harry and Tilda, a divorced couple cohabiting once again as Harry enters the last stages of a debilitating disease, Harry is pulled into Rachel's obsession and hope as they both grasp at this once-in-a-lifetime chance to save themselves.
Flatiron Books * 9781250082220
ARCHITECTURE'S ODD COUPLE: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson by Hugh Howard (History)
Differing radically in their views on architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson shared a restless creativity, enormous charisma and an outspokenness that made each man irresistible to the media. Often publicly at odds, they were the 20th century's flint and steel; their repeated encounters consistently set off sparks. Yet, as acclaimed historian Hugh Howard shows, their rivalry was also a fruitful artistic conversation, one that yielded new directions for both men. It was not despite but rather because of their contentious --- and not always admiring --- relationship that they were able to influence history so powerfully.
Bloomsbury Press * 9781620403754
A BLADE OF BLACK STEEL by Alex Marshall (Fantasy)
After 500 years, the Sunken Kingdom has returned and brought with it a monstrous secret that threatens to destroy every country on the Star. As an inhuman army gathers on its shores, poised to invade the Immaculate Isles, the members of the Cobalt Company face an ugly choice: abandon their dreams of glory and vengeance to combat a menace from another realm, or pursue their ambitions and hope the Star is still there when the smoke clears.
Orbit * 9780316340663
BREAKING ROCKEFELLER: The Incredible Story of the Ambitious Rivals Who Toppled an Oil Empire by Peter B. Doran (History)
Marcus Samuel, Jr. is an unorthodox Jewish merchant trader. Henri Deterding is a take-no-prisoners oilman. In 1889, John D. Rockefeller is at the peak of his power. Having annihilated all competition and possessing near-total domination of the market, even the U.S. government is wary of challenging the great “anaconda” of Standard Oil. The Standard never loses --- that is until Samuel and Deterding team up to form Royal Dutch Shell. BREAKING ROCKEFELLER traces Samuel’s rise from outsider to the heights of the British aristocracy, Deterding’s conquest of America, and the collapse of Rockefeller’s monopoly.
Viking * 9780525427391
THE CHILDREN by Ann Leary (Fiction)
Charlotte Maynard rarely leaves her mother’s home, the sprawling Connecticut lake house that belonged to her late stepfather, Whit Whitman, and the generations of Whitmans before him. While Charlotte and her sister, Sally, grew up at “Lakeside,” their stepbrothers, Spin and Perry, were welcomed as weekend guests. Now the grown boys own the estate. When Spin brings his fiancé home for the summer, the entire family is intrigued. The beautiful and accomplished Laurel Atwood breathes new life into this often comically rarefied world. But as the wedding draws near, and flaws surface in the family’s polite veneer, an array of simmering resentments and unfortunate truths is exposed.
St. Martin's Press * 9781250045379
THE CITY OF MIRRORS by Justin Cronin (Post-Apocalyptic Thriller)
The Twelve have been destroyed, and the terrifying hundred-year reign of darkness that descended upon the world has ended. The survivors are stepping outside their walls, determined to build society anew. But far from them, in a dead metropolis, he waits: Zero. The First. Father of the Twelve. The anguish that shattered his human life haunts him, and the hatred spawned by his transformation burns bright. His fury will be quenched only when he destroys Amy --- humanity’s only hope, the Girl from Nowhere who grew up to rise against him.
Ballantine Books * 9780345505002
DINNER WITH EDWARD: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship by Isabel Vincent (Memoir)
When Isabel meets Edward, both are at a crossroads: he wants to follow his late wife to the grave, and she is ready to give up on love. As they gather each week for the glorious dinners that Edward prepares, he shares so much more than his recipes for apple galette or the perfect martini, or even his tips for deboning poultry. Edward is teaching Isabel the luxury of slowing down and taking the time to think through everything she does, to deconstruct her own life, cutting it back to the bone and examining the guts, no matter how messy that proves to be.
Algonquin Books * 9781616204228
A GAME FOR ALL THE FAMILY by Sophie Hannah (Psychological Thriller)
You thought you knew who you were. A stranger knows better. You’ve left the city --- and the career that nearly destroyed you --- for a fresh start on the coast. But trouble begins when your daughter withdraws, after her new best friend, George, is unfairly expelled from school. You beg the principal to reconsider, only to be told that George hasn’t been expelled. Because there is, and was, no George. Who is lying? Who is real? Who is in danger? Who is in control? As you search for answers, the anonymous calls begin --- a stranger, who insists that you and she share a traumatic past and a guilty secret. And then the caller threatens your life.
William Morrow * 9780062388292
HAPPY FAMILY by Tracy Barone (Fiction)
Trenton, New Jersey, 1962: A pregnant girl staggers into a health clinic, gives birth and flees. A foster family takes the baby in, and an unlikely couple, their lives unspooling from a recent tragedy, hastily adopts her. Forty years and many secrets and lies later, Cheri Matzner is all grown up and falling apart. She's a former cop-turned-disgruntled academic, a frustrated wife trying to get pregnant, an iconoclastic daughter bearing war-wounds from her overbearing mother and the deeply flawed but well-meaning father who has been dead for several years. Thrust into an odyssey of acceptance, Cheri discovers that sometimes it takes half a lifetime to come of age.
Lee Boudreaux Books * 9780316342605
MARLENE by C.W. Gortner (Historical Fiction)
Raised in genteel poverty after the First World War, Maria Magdalena Dietrich dreams of a life on the stage. With her sultry beauty, smoky voice, seductive silk cocktail dresses and androgynous tailored suits, Marlene performs to packed houses and becomes entangled in a series of stormy love affairs. For the beautiful, desirous Marlene, neither fame nor marriage and motherhood can cure her wanderlust. Setting sail for America, she quickly becomes one of Hollywood’s leading ladies. C. W. Gortner’s novel reveals the inner life of a woman of grit, glamour and ambition who defied convention, seduced the world, and forged her own path on her own terms.
William Morrow * 9780062406064
THE PROGENY by Tosca Lee (Supernatural Thriller)
Emily Porter is the descendant of a serial killer. Now she’s become the hunted. She’s on a quest that will take her to the secret underground of Europe and the inner circles of three ancient orders --- one determined to kill her, one devoted to keeping her alive, and one she ultimately must save. THE PROGENY is the present-day saga of a 400-year-old war between the uncanny descendants of “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, and a secret society dedicated to erasing every one of her descendants.
Howard Books * 9781476798691
THE SORCERER'S DAUGHTER: The Defenders of Shannara by Terry Brooks (Fantasy)
The mysterious, magic-wielding Druid order has existed for long ages, battling any evil that threatens the Four Lands --- and struggling to be understood and accepted by outsiders. But their hopes of building goodwill are dashed when a demon’s murderous rampage at a peace summit leaves their political opponents dead --- casting new suspicions upon the Druids and forcing them to flee from enemies both mortal and monstrous. Paxon Leah, the order’s appointed protector, knows that blame lies with Arcannen Rai, the vile sorcerer he has battled and defeated before. But Arcannen is playing a deeper game than Paxon realizes.
Del Rey * 9780345540829
TRIBE: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger (Social Science)
Combining history, psychology and anthropology, Sebastian Junger’s latest book explores what we can learn from tribal societies about loyalty, belonging and the eternal human quest for meaning. It explains the irony that --- for many veterans as well as civilians --- war feels better than peace, adversity can turn out to be a blessing, and disasters are sometimes remembered more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. TRIBE explains why we are stronger when we come together, and how that can be achieved even in today's divided world.
Twelve * 9781455566389
THE WOLF OF SARAJEVO by Matthew Palmer (Thriller)
Twenty years after the Srebrenica massacre that claimed the life of his friend and colleague, Eric Petrosian is back in Sarajevo at the American embassy. The Bosnian Serb leader, who for a time had been seeking a stable peace, has turned back to his nationalist roots and is threatening to pull Bosnia apart in a bloody struggle for control…and behind him is a shadowy mafia figure pulling the strings. As Eric is dragged deeper into the political maelstrom and uncovers a plot of blackmail and ruthless ambitions, he is faced with an impossible choice: use the information he’s uncovered to achieve atonement for the past or use it to shape the future.
G.P. Putnam's Sons * 9780399175015 |
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On Sale the Week of May 23rd in Paperback
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May 24th
BEST BOY by Eli Gottlieb (Fiction)
Sent to a “therapeutic community” for autism at the age of 11, Todd Aaron, now in his 50s, is the “Old Fox” of Payton LivingCenter. A joyous man who rereads the encyclopedia compulsively, he is unnerved by the sudden arrivals of a menacing new staffer and a disruptive, brain-injured roommate. His equilibrium is further worsened by Martine, a one-eyed new resident who has romantic intentions and convinces him to go off his meds to feel “normal” again. Undone by these pressures, Todd attempts an escape to return “home” to his younger brother and to a childhood that now inhabits only his dreams.
Liveright * 9781631491924
THE BILL OF RIGHTS: The Fight to Secure America’s Liberties by Carol Berkin (History)
Revered today for articulating America’s founding principles, the first 10 amendments was in fact a political stratagem executed by James Madison to preserve the Constitution, the Federal government, and the latter’s authority over the states. In the hands of award-winning historian Carol Berkin, the story of the Founders’ fight over the Bill of Rights comes alive in a gripping drama of partisan politics, acrimonious debate and manipulated procedure.
Simon & Schuster * 9781476743806
CODE OF CONDUCT by Brad Thor (Thriller)
Hidden deep within one of the world’s most powerful organizations is a secret committee with a devastating agenda. Its members are afforded incredible protections --- considered elites, untouchables. But when four seconds of video is captured halfway around the world and anonymously transmitted to D.C., covert wheels are set in motion, and counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath is tapped to undertake the deadliest assignment of his career.
Pocket Books * 9781476717166
CROSS JUSTICE by James Patterson (Thriller)
When his cousin is accused of a heinous crime, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in over three decades. As he tries to prove his cousin's innocence, Cross unearths a family secret that forces him to question everything he's ever known. Chasing a ghost he believed was long dead, Cross gets pulled into a case that has local cops needing his help: a grisly string of socialite murders. Now he's hot on the trail of both a brutal killer and the truth about his own past --- and the answers he finds might be fatal.
Grand Central Publishing * 9781455585120
DANGEROUS WHEN WET: A Memoir of Booze, Sex, and My Mother by Jamie Brickhouse (Memoir)
From the age of five, all Jamie Brickhouse wanted was to be at a party with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and all Mama Jean wanted was to keep him at that age, her Jamie doll forever. A Texan Elizabeth Taylor with the split personality of Auntie Mame and Mama Rose, always camera-ready and flamboyantly outspoken, Mama Jean haunted him his whole life, no matter how far away he went or how deep in booze he swam.
St. Martin’s Griffin * 9781250080363
DIETLAND by Sarai Walker (Fiction)
Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed --- because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged, mocked, or worse. With her job answering fan mail for a popular teen girls’ magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. Then, when a mysterious woman starts following her, Plum finds herself falling down a rabbit hole and into an underground community of women who live life on their own terms. There Plum agrees to a series of challenges that force her to deal with her past, her doubts, and the real costs of becoming “beautiful.”
Mariner Books * 9780544704831
DISCOVERING YOU: A Whiskey Creek Novel by Brenda Novak (Romance)
Paperback Original
India Sommers once had the perfect family --- until an ex-boyfriend broke in and shot her husband. Just after moving to Whiskey Creek with her little girl, Cassia, to start over, she’s learned that her ex-boyfriend’s trial ended in a hung jury. He’s getting out of jail; he could try to find her again. And that’s not all that scares her. She’s extremely attracted to her next-door neighbor, but Rod Amos is the handsome “bad boy” type that’s given her so much trouble in the past. If she got involved with him, her in-laws would sue for custody of Cassia. India has to keep her distance from Rod --- but the more she gets to know him, the more difficult that becomes.
Mira * 9780778318804
THE FOUR-NIGHT RUN by William Lashner (Thriller)
Paperback Original
J.D. Scrbacek has just won the biggest trial of his career, but even as he crows to the press, his entire life blows sky-high. Was the bomb meant for him, or for his mobster client? In this seaside casino town where the tables run hot and the tensions run high, the odds say the attorney is a marked man. Alone and on the run, Scrbacek flees into the city’s forgotten underbelly, a ruined corridor called Crapstown, where he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past, his present and his future. Somewhere in the sordid stream of his own existence lie the answers he needs. But in order to emerge from the depths of Crapstown, Scrbacek must argue for his life before a jury of the forgotten and the damned.
Thomas & Mercer * 9781503933248
THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB: A Lisbeth Salander Novel by David Lagercrantz (Thriller)
A genius hacker who has always been an outsider. A journalist with a penchant for danger. She is Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo. He is Mikael Blomkvist, crusading editor of Millennium. One night, Blomkvist receives a call from a source who claims to have been given information vital to the United States by a young female hacker. Blomkvist, always on the lookout for a story, reaches out to Salander for help. She, as usual, has plans of her own. Together they are drawn into a ruthless underworld of spies, cybercriminals and government operatives --- some of whom are willing to kill to protect their secrets.
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard * 9781101872000
SERPENTS IN THE COLD by Thomas O’Malley and Douglas Graham Purdy (Historical Thriller)
Cal O'Brien and Dante Cooper are struggling to find their identities after World War II. Cal has built a mildly promising life for himself as an employee of a company providing private security. A heroin addict, Dante feels the call to do good after he discovers that his sister-in-law was the latest victim of a serial killer targeting disadvantaged women. Cal and Dante take it upon themselves to track the killer --- but their daunting quest takes on dangerous consequences when the trail leads them to the highest ranks of city government.
Mulholland Books * 9780316323451
SHADOW PLAY: An Eve Duncan Novel by Iris Johansen (Thriller)
When a sheriff in California contacts Eve Duncan with a request for help on the reconstruction of the skull of a girl whose body has been buried for eight years, his fierce investment in the case puzzles her. But when Eve finds herself experiencing an unusual connection with the girl she calls Jenny, she becomes entangled in the case more intensely than she ever could have imagined. Not since her daughter Bonnie has Eve had such an experience, and suddenly she finds herself determined to solve the murder and bring closure to the crime.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks * 9781250075819
SUMMER SECRETS by Jane Green (Fiction)
When a shocking family secret is revealed, twenty-something journalist Cat Coombs finds herself falling into a dark spiral. Wild, glamorous nights out in London and raging hangovers the next day become her norm, leading to a terrible mistake one night while visiting family in America. When she returns home, she confronts the unavoidable reality of her life and knows it's time to grow up. As the years pass, Cat grows into her 40s, a struggling single mother, coping with a new-found sobriety and determined to finally make amends.
St. Martin’s Griffin * 9781250047403
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On Sale the Week of May 30th in Hardcover
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May 31st
ALL SUMMER LONG by Dorothea Benton Frank (Fiction)
ALL SUMMER LONG is the story of how plans evolve and lives change in unexpected ways, how even those who have everything are still looking for something more. Dorothea Benton Frank’s latest novel asks the ultimate question: Can money buy happiness? From Sullivans Island to Necker Island to Nantucket to the beaches of Southern Spain, readers will come to recognize the many faces of true love, love that deepens and endures but only because one woman makes a tremendous leap of faith. And that leap changes everything.
William Morrow * 9780062390752
BEFORE THE FALL by Noah Hawley (Thriller)
On a foggy summer night, 11 people --- 10 privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter --- depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs --- the painter --- and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul's family. With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the crash and the backstories of the passengers and crew members, the mystery surrounding the tragedy heightens.
Grand Central Publishing * 9781455561780
DECEPTION ISLAND by Brynn Kelly (Romantic Suspense)
Blackmailed into abducting an American heiress, legionnaire Rafe Angelito soon finds himself trapped in paradise with a daring beauty who's nothing he expects…and everything he desires. But when he uncovers her own dark secret, Rafe realizes he's made a critical mistake that could cost him everything. Playing body double for a spoiled socialite was supposed to be Holly Ryan's ticket to freedom. But when she's snatched off her yacht, the not-quite-reformed con artist will make a desperate play to turn her captor from enemy to ally. Yet as scorching days melt into sultry nights, Holly is drawn to the mysterious capitaine. And when they're double-crossed, they'll have to risk trusting each other.
HQN Books * 9780373789641
THE EMPEROR'S REVENGE: A Novel of the Oregon Files by Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison (Thriller/Adventure)
Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon face their toughest challenge yet when a violent bank heist during the Monaco Grand Prix decimates the Corporation’s accounts. To get the money back, Juan joins forces with an old friend from his days in the CIA so they can track down a rogue hacker and a ruthless former Ukrainian naval officer. It is only after the hunt begins that the enormity of the plan comes into focus: the bank theft is just the first step in a plot that will result in the deaths of millions and bring the world’s economies to a standstill. The catalyst for the scheme? A stunning document stolen during Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia.
G.P. Putnam's Sons * 9780399175961
FORGIVE ME by Daniel Palmer (Thriller)
Angie DeRose strives to find and rescue endangered runaways. But in the wake of her mother's sudden death, she makes a life-altering discovery. Hidden among the mementos in her parents' attic is a photograph of a little girl, with a code and a handwritten message on the back: "May God forgive me." Angie has no idea what it means or how to explain other questionable items among her mother's possessions. The lies she unearths will bring her past and present together with terrifying force. And everything she cherishes will be threatened by the repercussions of one long-ago choice --- and an enemy who will kill to keep a secret hidden forever.
Kensington * 9780758293473
A HERO OF FRANCE by Alan Furst (Historical Thriller)
1941. The City of Light is dark and silent at night. But in Paris, and in the farmhouses, barns and churches of the French countryside, small groups of ordinary men and women are determined to take down the occupying forces of Adolf Hitler. Mathieu, a leader of the French Resistance, leads one such cell, helping downed British airmen escape back to England. As the German military police heighten surveillance, Mathieu and his team face a new threat, dispatched by the Reich to destroy them all.
Random House * 9780812996494
HOT LITTLE HANDS: Fiction by Abigail Ulman (Fiction/Short Stories)
Over the course of nine loosely connected stories, HOT LITTLE HANDS introduces us to young women, at once clever and naïve, who struggle to navigate the chronic uncertainty and very real dangers that come with being impatient for the future and reluctant to leave childhood behind. Abigail Ulman’s voice feels of the moment --- sharp and powerful --- as she deftly explores ageless themes of sex and maturity among girls who are both confident and frighteningly exposed.
Spiegel & Grau * 9780812989175
THE ISLAND HOUSE by Nancy Thayer (Fiction)
Courtney Hendricks will never forget the magical summers she spent on Nantucket with her college roommate, Robin Vickerey, and Robin’s charismatic, turbulent, larger-than-life family in their gorgeous island house. Now a college English professor in Kansas City, Courtney is determined to experience one more summer in this sun-swept paradise. Her reason for going is personal: Courtney needs to know if Robin’s brother, James, shares the feelings she’s secretly had for him. Time with the Vickerey family always involves love and laughter, and this season is no different.
Ballantine Books * 9781101967041
JUNE by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore (Suspense)
Cassie Danvers is holed up in her family’s crumbling mansion mourning the loss of the woman who raised her --- her grandmother, June. But a knock on the door forces her out of isolation. Cassie has been named the sole heir to legendary matinee idol Jack Montgomery's vast fortune. How did Jack Montgomery know her name? Could he have crossed paths with her grandmother all those years ago? Soon Jack’s famous daughters come knocking, determined to wrestle Cassie away from the inheritance they feel is their due. Together, they all come to discover the true reasons for June’s silence about that long-ago summer, when June and Jack’s lives were forever altered by murder, blackmail and betrayal.
Crown * 9780553447682
THE KAMIKAZE HUNTERS: Fighting for the Pacific: 1945 by Will Iredale (History)
In May 1945, with victory in Europe established, the war was all but over. But on the other side of the world, the Allies were still engaged in a bitter struggle to control the Pacific. And it was then that the Japanese unleashed a terrible new form of warfare: the suicide pilots, or Kamikaze. Will Iredale follows a group of young men from the moment they signed up through their initial training to the terrifying reality of fighting against pilots who, in the cruel last summer of the war, chose death rather than risk their country's dishonorable defeat --- and deliberately flew their planes into Allied aircraft carriers.
Pegasus * 9781681771670
KATHERINE OF ARAGON, THE TRUE QUEEN by Alison Weir (Historical Fiction)
The youngest daughter of the powerful monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, Catalina is a coveted prize for a royal marriage. Arthur, Prince of Wales and heir to the English throne, has won her hand. But tragedy strikes, and Catalina, now Princess Katherine, is betrothed to the future Henry VIII. She must wait for his coming-of-age, an ordeal that tests her resolve, casts doubt on her trusted confidantes, and turns her into a virtual prisoner. Katherine’s patience is rewarded when she becomes Queen of England. The affection between Katherine and Henry is genuine, but forces beyond her control threaten to rend her marriage, and indeed the nation, apart.
Ballantine Books * 9781101966488
MODERN LOVERS by Emma Straub (Fiction)
Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth, Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch to their own offspring. Now nearing 50, they all live within shouting distance in the same neighborhood deep in gentrified Brooklyn. The summer that their children reach maturity (and start sleeping together), the fabric of the adult lives suddenly begins to unravel, and the secrets and revelations that are finally let loose can never be reclaimed.
Riverhead Books * 9781594634673
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Leigh Himes (Fiction)
Abbey Lahey is an overworked mom, an underappreciated publicist and a frazzled wife who desperately is in need of a vacation from life --- and who is about to get one, thanks to an unexpected tumble down an escalator. Abbey van Holt is the woman whose life Abbey suddenly finds herself inhabiting when she wakes up. She is married to handsome congressional candidate Alex van Holt, lives in a lavish penthouse, and luxuriates in the kind of 14-karat lifestyle she's only read about in the pages of Town & Country. This is the woman Abbey might have been --- if she had said yes to a date with Alex van Holt all those years ago.
Hachette Books * 9780316305730
SHE POURED HER HEART OUT by Jean Thompson (Fiction)
The night that Jane and Bonnie meet on a college campus sets them on paths forever entwined. Bonnie, the wild and experimental one, has spent the past two decades bouncing between ill-fated relationships, while Jane’s seemingly perfect life and family have all but materialized out of a fantasy. But these appearances contradict the quiet, inescapable doubt Jane feels about her life. One night, in the middle of her own Christmas party, she steps outside into the snow, removes her clothing and shoes, and lies down in the backyard. As Jane begins to have visions and retreat into a private inner world, Bonnie finds herself drawn inevitably into an affair with Jane’s husband.
Blue Rider Press * 9780399573811
SOBER STICK FIGURE: A Memoir by Amber Tozer (Memoir)
SOBER STICK FIGURE is a memoir from stand-up comedian Amber Tozer, chronicling her life as an alcoholic and her eventual recovery --- starting with her first drink at the age of seven --- all told with the help of childlike stick figures. Amber writes and illustrates the crazy and harsh truths of being raised by alcoholics, becoming one herself, stagnating in denial for years, and finally getting sober.
Running Press * 9780762459728
SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: Stories by Helen Phillips (Fiction/Short Stories)
SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS offers an idiosyncratic series of "What ifs": What if your perfect hermaphrodite match existed on another planet? What if you could suddenly see through everybody's skin to their organs? What if you knew the exact date of your death? Forced to navigate these bizarre scenarios, Helen Phillips' characters search for solutions to the problem of how to survive in an irrational, infinitely strange world. In dystopias that are exaggerated versions of the world in which we live, they strive for intimacy and struggle to resolve their fraught relationships with each other, with themselves, and with their place in the natural world.
Henry Holt and Co. * 9781627793797
THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman (Essays)
An inquisitive observer, thoughtful commentator and assiduous craftsman, Neil Gaiman has long been celebrated for the sharp intellect and startling imagination that informs his bestselling fiction. Now, THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS brings together for the first time ever more than 60 pieces of his outstanding nonfiction. Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics --- offering a glimpse into the head and heart of one of the most acclaimed, beloved and influential artists of our time.
William Morrow * 9780062262264
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On Sale the Week of May 30th in Paperback
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May 31st
THE ARCHITECT’S APPRENTICE by Elif Shafak (Historical Fiction)
In 1540, 12-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces, dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices.
Penguin Books * 9780143108306
THE ASSASSINS by Gayle Lynds (Thriller)
Former military spy Judd Ryder is walking to his D.C. home when he spots a man coming out of his row house who looks like him and is wearing his clothes. As Ryder slows to follow, the imposter is killed in a hit-and-run that's no accident. Was the man the intended victim, or was it Ryder himself? Soon Ryder learns that the key to the mysterious events of the past and to his double's murder is an infamous Cold War assassin, the Carnivore. Two of the last people to see the Carnivore were Ryder and CIA trainee Eva Blake, and someone is using them to lure him out.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks * 9780312946098
BLACK-EYED SUSANS by Julia Heaberlin (Psychological Thriller)
As a 16-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving “Black-Eyed Susan.” Her testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row. Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans just outside her bedroom window. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter.
Ballantine Books * 9780804178013
BLUEPRINTS by Barbara Delinsky (Fiction)
Caroline MacAfee is a skilled carpenter, and her daughter Jamie is a talented architect. Together they are the faces of “Gut It!,” a home renovation series on local public television. But when Caroline is told the network wants her daughter to replace her as host, she is devastated. For Jamie, life changes overnight when, soon after learning of the host shift, her father and his new wife die in a car accident that orphans their two-year-old son. Who am I? Both women ask, as the blueprints they've built their lives around suddenly need revising.
St. Martin’s Griffin * 9781250007063
THE BOOK OF SPECULATION by Erika Swyler (Fiction)
One June day, an old book arrives on Simon Watson's doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. It is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of "mermaids" in Simon's family have drowned --- always on July 24, which is only weeks away. Could there be a curse on Simon's family? What does it have to do with the book, and can he get to the heart of the mystery in time to save his sister?
St. Martin’s Griffin * 9781250055637
THE CARTEL by Don Winslow (Thriller)
It’s 2004. Adán Barrera, kingpin of El Federación, is languishing in a California federal prison. Ex-DEA agent Art Keller passes his days in a monastery, having lost everything to his 30-year blood feud with the drug lord. Then Barrera escapes. Now, there’s a two-million-dollar bounty on Keller’s head and no one else capable of taking Barrera down. As the carnage of the drug war reaches surreal new heights, the two men are locked in a savage struggle that will stretch from the mountains of Sinaloa to the shores of Veracruz, to the halls of power in Washington, ensnaring countless others in its wake.
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard * 9781101873748
CHINA RICH GIRLFRIEND by Kevin Kwan (Fiction)
It’s the eve of Rachel Chu’s wedding, and she should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond, a wedding dress she loves, and a fiancé willing to thwart his meddling relatives and give up one of the biggest fortunes in Asia in order to marry her. Still, Rachel mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won’t be there to walk her down the aisle. Then a chance accident reveals his identity. Suddenly, Rachel is drawn into a dizzying world of Shanghai splendor, a world where people attend church in a penthouse, where exotic cars race down the boulevard, and where people aren’t just crazy rich...they’re China rich.
Anchor * 9780804172066
CIRCLING THE SUN by Paula McLain (Historical Fiction)
Beryl Markham's unconventional upbringing transforms her into a bold young woman with a fierce love of all things wild and an inherent understanding of nature’s delicate balance. But when everything Beryl knows and trusts dissolves, she is catapulted into a string of disastrous relationships. Beryl forges her own path as a horse trainer, and her uncommon style attracts the eye of the Happy Valley set. But it’s the ruggedly charismatic Denys Finch Hatton who ultimately helps Beryl navigate the uncharted territory of her own heart.
Ballantine Books * 9780345534200
DANCE OF THE BONES: A J. P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker Novel by J.A. Jance (Mystery/Thriller)
Amos Warren, a prospector, was gunned down years ago, and Sheriff Brandon Walker made the arrest in the case. Now retired, he is called in when the alleged killer, John Lassiter, refuses to accept a plea deal and demands that Brandon find the "real" killer. Upon discovering that there are links between Lassiter’s case and an unsolved case in Seattle, he comes to J.P. Beaumont for help. Those two cases suddenly become hot when two young boys from the reservation, one of them with close ties to the Walker family, go missing.
William Morrow * 9780062297679
THE FORGOTTEN ROOM by Lincoln Child (Thriller)
On a sprawling estate on the coast of Rhode Island, at the nation’s oldest and most prestigious think tank, an unfathomable tragedy takes place. No one knows what to make of the disturbing evidence left behind. Then reports begin to surface of increasingly bizarre behavior among the organization’s distinguished scientists. Called upon to investigate these strange happenings, history professor and analyst of inexplicable phenomena Jeremy Logan comes across an ingeniously concealed room in a long-dormant wing of the mansion. What he discovers within may provide answers --- and, in the process, unleash a new wave of catastrophe.
Anchor * 9780307473752
INDEPENDENCE DAY: A Dewey Andreas Novel by Ben Coes (Thriller)
Dewey Andreas, former Delta and newly recruited intelligence agent, is sidelined after screwing up his last two operations. A high-level Russian hacker, known only as Cloud, is believed to be routing large amounts of money to various Al Qaeda terror cells, and the mission is to capture and render harmless Cloud. At the same time, a back-up team is sent after the only known associate of Cloud, a ballerina believed to be his girlfriend. Unwilling to sit out the mission as ordered, Dewey defies his superiors, surreptitiously following and tracking the two teams.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks * 9781250043191
THE JOURNEY HOME: My Life in Pinstripes by Jorge Posada with Gary Brozek (Memoir)
Legendary New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada discusses the key moments and plays that shaped teams and forged a legacy that came to define Yankee baseball for a generation. With pitch-by-pitch recall, he looks back across the years, explaining how he helped to reestablish the Yankees as a dynasty and win five World Series. Going beyond his all-star career, Jorge also shares his life in full for the first time, examining how his remarkable journey to the big leagues began in the most unexpected of ways.
Dey Street Books * 9780062379634
THE LAST TIME I SAW HER by Karen Robards (Romantic Suspense)
In this world, Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone skillfully probes the twisted minds of incarcerated serial killers to better understand what makes them tick, and to help nab those who remain at large. But in the next world, Charlie’s ghostly lover --- convicted killer Michael Garland --- is facing death yet again. It seems that the only way Charlie can snatch Michael from the jaws of oblivion is by proving his innocence. And this dead man’s dead ringer may just be the key.
Ballantine Books * 9780804178303
THE MIDNIGHT PLAN OF THE REPO MAN by W. Bruce Cameron (Mystery/Humor)
Former college football star Ruddy McCann has experienced a seismic drop in popularity; he is now living a simple life as Kalkaska, Michigan’s full-time repo man and part-time bar bouncer. That is, until Ruddy starts hearing a voice in his head. The voice introduces himself as Alan Lottner, a dead realtor. When Alan demands Ruddy find his murderers, Ruddy decides a voice in your head seeking vengeance is best ignored. When Alan also demands he clean up his act, and apartment, Ruddy tells him to back off. But where can a voice in your head go?
Tor Books * 9780765377494
PRIMATES OF PARK AVENUE: A Memoir by Wednesday Martin (Memoir)
After marrying a man from the Upper East Side and moving to the neighborhood, Wednesday Martin struggled to fit in. Drawing on her background in anthropology and primatology, she tried looking at her new world through that lens, and suddenly things fell into place. Every city has its Upper East Side, and in Wednesday’s memoir, readers everywhere will recognize the strange cultural codes of powerful social hierarchies and the compelling desire to climb them.
Simon & Schuster * 9781476762715
THE PROMISE: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais (Thriller)
Elvis Cole is hired to find a woman who's disappeared, a seemingly ordinary case, until he learns the missing woman is an explosives expert and worked for a defense department contractor. Meanwhile, LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his patrol dog, Maggie, track a fugitive to a house filled with explosives --- and a dead body. As the two cases intertwine, they all find themselves up against shadowy arms dealers and corrupt officials, and the very woman they promised to save may be the cause of their own deaths.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons * 9780399576386
REMEMBER ME THIS WAY by Sabine Durrant (Psychological Thriller)
A year after her husband Zach’s death, Lizzie goes to lay flowers where his fatal accident took place. As she makes her way along the road, she thinks about their life together. She wonders if she has changed since Zach died and if she will ever feel whole again. At last she reaches the spot. And there, tied to a tree, is a bunch of lilies. The flowers are addressed to her husband. Someone has been there before her. Lizzie loved Zach, but she’s starting to realize she didn’t really know him. Or what he was capable of.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books * 9781476716336
THE ROCKS by Peter Nichols (Fiction)
Set against dramatic Mediterranean Sea views and lush olive groves, THE ROCKS opens with a confrontation and a secret: What was the mysterious, catastrophic event that drove two honeymooners apart so suddenly and absolutely in 1948 that they never spoke again despite living on the same island for 60 more years? And how did their history shape the Romeo and Juliet–like romance of their (unrelated) children decades later?
Riverhead Books * 9781101983393
THE SEARCHER by Simon Toyne (Thriller)
On a hilltop in the town of Redemption, Arizona, the townspeople gather at an old cemetery to bury a local man. The somber occasion is suddenly disrupted by a thunderous explosion in the distant desert. As Sheriff Garth Morgan speeds toward the plane crash, he nearly hits a tall, pale man running down the road, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. The only clues to his identity are a label in his handmade suit jacket and a book that’s been inscribed to him: both giving the name Solomon Creed. Solomon believes he is here for a reason --- to save a man he has never met…the man who was buried that morning.
William Morrow * 9780062329745
SLEEPLESS IN MANHATTAN by Sarah Morgan (Romance)
Paperback Original
Cool, calm and competent, events planner Paige Walker loves a challenge. But when she loses the job she loves, she must face her biggest challenge of all --- going it alone. Except launching her own events company is nothing compared to hiding her outrageous crush on Jake Romano --- her brother's best friend and the only man to break her heart. When Jake offers Paige's fledgling company a big chance, their still-sizzling chemistry starts giving her sleepless nights. But can she convince the man who trusts no one to take a chance on forever?
HQN Books * 9780373789153
THE SPY HOUSE: A Will Cochrane Novel by Matthew Dunn (Thriller)
When the Israeli ambassador to France is shot dead in Paris by an unknown sniper, the Israeli government blames Hamas and begins planning a massive invasion to obliterate the terrorist organization once and for all. To avoid an all-out war, three members of the UN Security Council assemble a team of intelligence agents to uncover the truth behind the assassination. But when the team stops responding and all four agents are found dead in a bunker locked from the inside, they turn to freelance intelligence operative Will Cochrane for answers.
William Morrow * 9780062309518
THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! by Jonathan Evison (Fiction)
Seventy-eight-year-old Harriet Chance impulsively sets sail on an ill-conceived Alaskan cruise that her late husband, Bernard, had planned. There, between the imagined appearances of Bernard and the very real arrival of her estranged daughter midway through the cruise, Harriet is forced to take a long look back, confronting the truth about pivotal events that changed the course of her life. In the process, she discovers that she’s been living the better part of that life under entirely false assumptions.
Algonquin Books * 9781616206017
TWO FOR THE SHOW by Jonathan Stone (Thriller)
Paperback Original
Chas is a detective who can get the goods on anyone with the tap of a keyboard, and it’s all to make sure that superstar Las Vegas mind reader Wallace the Amazing stays amazing. Thanks to Chas’ steady stream of stealthy intel, Wallace’s mental “magic” packs houses every night. But when someone threatens to call the psychic showman’s bluff, the sweet gig takes a sour --- and sinister --- turn. Who’s the clean-cut couple gunning for Wallace with an arsenal of dirty tricks? Why does Wallace keep upping the ante instead of backing down? And just how much does Chas really know about his mysterious boss’s life…or his own?
Thomas & Mercer * 9781503934856
VILLA TRISTE by Patrick Modiano (Fiction)
Paperback Original
The narrator of VILLA TRISTE, an anxious, roving, stateless young man of 18, arrives in a small French lakeside town near Switzerland in the early 1960s. He is fleeing the atmosphere of menace he feels around him and the fear that grips him. However, the proximity of Switzerland, to which he plans to run at the first sign of danger, gives him temporary reassurance. The young man hides among the other summer visitors until he meets a beautiful young actress named Yvonne Jacquet, and a strange doctor, René Meinthe. These two invite him into their world of soirees and late-night debauchery. But when real life beckons once again, he finds no sympathy from his new companions.
Other Press * 9781590517673
WHEN WE WERE SISTERS by Emilie Richards (Fiction)
Paperback Original
As children in foster care, Cecilia and Robin vowed they would be the sisters each had never had. Now superstar Cecilia lives on the edge, but when Robin is nearly killed in an accident, Cecilia drops everything to be with her. When Cecilia asks Robin to be the photographer for a documentary on foster care, Robin agrees, even though her rarely-home attorney husband Kris will be forced to take charge for the months she's away. She gambles that he'll prove to them both that their children --- and their marriage --- are a priority. Cecilia herself needs more than time with her sister. She wants a chance to tell the real story of their childhood and free herself from the nightmares that still haunt her.
Mira * 9780778318910
ZERO WORLD by Jason M. Hough (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Technologically enhanced superspy Peter Caswell has been dispatched on a top-secret assignment unlike any he’s ever faced. A spaceship that vanished years ago has been found, along with the bodies of its murdered crew --- save one. Peter’s mission is to find the missing crew member, who fled through what appears to be a tear in the fabric of space. Beyond this mysterious doorway lies an even more confounding reality: a world that seems to be Earth’s twin.
Del Rey * 9780553391282
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