In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of October 2nd and October 9th 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 Sounding Off on Audio contest for October. This month's prizes are the audio versions of Dan Brown's ORIGIN, read by Paul Michael, and John Grisham's THE ROOSTER BAR, read by Ari Fliakos.
We also are featuring Carol Fitzgerald's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary for BEST DAY EVER by Kaira Rouda and our New Release Spotlight of HANNA WHO FELL FROM THE SKY by Christopher Meades.
Finally, we are spotlighting A DANGEROUS LEGACY, RITA Award winner Elizabeth Camden's latest historical romance, which is now in stores.
For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
Now Available: A DANGEROUS LEGACY
by Elizabeth Camden
A DANGEROUS LEGACY by Elizabeth Camden (Historical Romance)
"Camden is the master of historical inspirational romance..."
— Booklist
Telegraph operator Lucy Drake is a master of Morse code and has made herself a valuable asset to the Associated Press news agency. But the sudden arrival of Sir Colin Beckwith at rival British news agency Reuters puts her hard-earned livelihood at risk. Colin is talented, handsome, insufferably charming --- and keeping a secret that jeopardizes his reputation.
Despite their rivalry, Lucy can't deny that Colin has the connections she needs to give her family an edge in the long legal battle they've been waging over their rightful inheritance. But when she negotiates an unlikely alliance with him, the web of treachery they dive into proves to be far more dangerous than they ever could have known.
Click here to read more about the book.
This Week's Bonus News:
October's Sounding Off on Audio Contest
Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from October 2nd to November 1st at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Dan Brown's ORIGIN, read by Paul Michael, and John Grisham's THE ROOSTER BAR, read by Ari Fliakos.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the audiobook, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
Click here to enter the contest.
On Sale the Week of October 2nd in Hardcover
October 3rd
ADMISSIONS: Life as a Brain Surgeon by Henry Marsh (Memoir)
Henry Marsh has spent a lifetime operating on the surgical frontline. There have been exhilarating highs and devastating lows, but his love for the practice of neurosurgery has never wavered. Following the publication of his celebrated New York Times bestseller DO NO HARM, Marsh retired from his full-time job in England to work pro bono in Ukraine and Nepal. In ADMISSIONS, he describes the difficulties of working in these troubled, impoverished countries and the further insights it has given him into the practice of medicine. Marsh also faces up to the burden of responsibility that can come with trying to reduce human suffering.
Thomas Dunne Books | 9781250127266
ALI: A Life by Jonathan Eig (Biography)
Muhammad Ali was one of the 20th century’s greatest radicals and most compelling figures. At his funeral in 2016, eulogists said Ali had transcended race and united the country, but they got it wrong. Race was the theme of Ali’s life. He insisted that America come to grips with a black man who wasn’t afraid to speak out or break the rules. He didn’t overcome racism. He called it out. Ali went from being one of the most despised men in the country to one of the most beloved. But until now, he has never been the subject of a complete, unauthorized biography. Jonathan Eig breaks new ground and radically reshapes our understanding of the slippery figure who was Muhammad Ali.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 9780544435247
THE ALLIES STRIKE BACK, 1941-1943: The War in the West, Volume 2 by James Holland (History)
By June 1941, Germany's war machine looked to be unstoppable. The Nazi blitzkrieg had taken Poland, France and Holland with shocking speed. The Luftwaffe had bombed London, while German U-boats wrought havoc on Allied shipping on the Atlantic. And yet, as James Holland shows at the start of THE ALLIES STRIKE BACK, 1941-1943 --- the second volume in his magisterial narrative of World War II in the West --- cracks were already appearing in Germany's apparent invincibility. This book offers fascinating new perspective on the critical middle years in World War II's western theatre, as the advantage between Axis and Allied forces swung back and forth on the Atlantic and eastern front, and in north Africa and Europe.
Atlantic Monthly Press | 9780802125606
THE CHICAGO CUBS: Story of a Curse by Rich Cohen (Sports/Memoir)
When Rich Cohen was eight years old, his father took him to see a Cubs game. On the way out of the park, his father asked him to make a promise. "Promise me you will never be a Cubs fan. The Cubs do not win,” he explained, “and because of that, a Cubs fan will have a diminished life determined by low expectations. That team will screw up your life.” As a result, Cohen became not just a Cubs fan but one of the biggest Cubs fans in the world. In this book, he captures the story of the team, its players and crazy days.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 9780374120924
THE CORE: Book Five of The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett (Fantasy/Adventure)
Arlen Bales became known as the Warded Man, tattooed head to toe with powerful magic symbols that enable him to fight demons in hand-to-hand combat. Jardir, armed with magically warded weapons, called himself the Deliverer, a figure prophesied to unite humanity and lead them to triumph in Sharak Ka --- the final war against demonkind. But in their efforts to bring the war to the demons, Arlen and Jardir have set something in motion that may prove the end of everything they hold dear --- a swarm. Now the war is at hand, and humanity cannot hope to win it unless Arlen and Jardir can bend a captured demon prince to their will and force the devious creature to lead them to the Core, where the Mother of Demons breeds an inexhaustible army.
Del Rey | 9780345531506
THE DARK LAKE by Sarah Bailey (Mystery)
The lead homicide investigator in a rural town, Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is deeply unnerved when high school classmate Rosalind Ryan is found strangled. As much as Rosalind's life was a mystery to Gemma when they were students together, her death presents even more of a puzzle. What made Rosalind quit her teaching job in Sydney and return to her hometown? Why did she live in a small, run-down apartment when her father was one of the town's richest men? Rosalind's enigmas frustrate and obsess Gemma, who has her own dangerous secrets --- an affair with her colleague and past tragedies that may not stay in the past.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538759905
DUNBAR by Edward St. Aubyn (Fiction)
Henry Dunbar, the once all-powerful head of a global media corporation, is not having a good day. In his dotage he hands over care of the corporation to his two eldest daughters, Abby and Megan, but as relations sour he starts to doubt the wisdom of past decisions. Now imprisoned in Meadowmeade, an upscale sanatorium in rural England, with only a demented alcoholic comedian as company, Dunbar starts planning his escape. As he flees into the hills, his family is hot on his heels. But who will find him first --- his beloved youngest daughter, Florence, or the tigresses Abby and Megan, so keen to divest him of his estate?
Hogarth | 9781101904282
FEAR by Dirk Kurbjuweit (Psychological Thriller)
Randolph Tiefenthaler insists he had a normal childhood, though he grew up with a father who kept 30 loaded guns in the house. A modestly successful architect with a wonderful family and a beautiful home, he soon finds his life compromised when his father, a man Randolph loves yet has always feared, is imprisoned for murder. FEAR is the story of the twisted events leading up to his father’s incarceration.
Harper | 9780062678348
FOR THE WINNER: A Novel of Jason and the Argonauts by Emily Hauser (Historical Fiction)
When the king of Pagasae left his infant daughter on the slopes of a mountain to die, he believed he would never see her again. But Atalanta, against the will of the gods and the dictates of the Fates, survived --- and went on to bring to life one of the greatest legends of all of ancient Greece. Teaching herself to hunt and fight, Atalanta is determined to prove her worth to her father. Disguising herself as a man, she wins a place on the greatest voyage of that heroic age: the journey of Jason and the Argonauts to the very ends of the known world in search of the legendary Golden Fleece. But Atalanta is discovered, and abandoned in the mythical land of Colchis, where she is forced to make a choice that will determine her place in history.
Pegasus Books | 9781681775456
FRESH COMPLAINT: Stories by Jeffrey Eugenides (Fiction/Short Stories)
Ranging from the bitingly reproductive antics of “Baster” to the dreamy, moving account of a young traveler’s search for enlightenment in “Air Mail,” Jeffrey Eugenides’ first collection of short fiction presents characters in the midst of personal and national emergencies. We meet a failed poet who, envious of other people’s wealth during the real-estate bubble, becomes an embezzler; a clavichordist whose dreams of art founder under the obligations of marriage and fatherhood; and, in “Fresh Complaint,” a high school student whose wish to escape the strictures of her immigrant family lead her to a drastic decision that upends the life of a middle-aged British physicist.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 9780374203061
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty (Sociology/Memoir)
Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY is an immersive global journey that introduces compelling, powerful rituals almost entirely unknown in America. With boundless curiosity and gallows humor, Doughty vividly describes decomposed bodies and investigates the world’s funerary history. She contends that the American funeral industry sells a particular --- and, upon close inspection, peculiar --- set of “respectful” rites. She argues that our expensive, impersonal system fosters a corrosive fear of death that hinders our ability to cope and mourn.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393249897
GHOST ON THE CASE: A Bailey Ruth Ghost Novel by Carolyn Hart (Mystery)
Susan Gilbert receives a $100,000 ransom demand for her younger sibling. When the caller wants Susan to pay a visit to her wealthy boss and take the cash from his safe, Bailey Ruth follows Susan to the home. But she finds herself in a quandary, knowing that robbery is hardly a Heavenly pursuit. While Susan waits to hear back from the kidnappers, Bailey Ruth attempts to piece together how the criminals targeted Susan and how they know about her boss’s money. At a luncheon the previous week, Susan’s boss asked her to open the safe so all the attendees knew it was filled with cash. Could one of the rich man’s closest confidants be behind the abduction?
Berkley | 9780451488565
GOING INTO TOWN: A Love Letter to New York by Roz Chast (Graphic Memoir)
For native Brooklynite Roz Chast, adjusting to life in the suburbs (where people own trees!?) was surreal. But she recognized that for her kids, the reverse was true. On trips into town, they would marvel at the strange world of Manhattan: its gum-wad-dotted sidewalks, honey-combed streets, and "those West Side Story-things" (fire escapes). Their wonder inspired GOING INTO TOWN --- part playful guide, part New York stories, and part love letter to the city, told through Chast's laugh-out-loud, touching and true cartoons.
Bloomsbury USA | 9781620403211
HIDDEN SCARS: A Sam Blackman Mystery by Mark de Castrique (Mystery)
When Asheville, NC, private eyes Sam Blackman and Nakayla Robertson are asked by an 80-year-old client to investigate the suspicious death of her brother, they warn her there is little chance of success. Paul Weaver died nearly 70 years earlier. The only documentation she has is the sole surviving copy of a coroner's report stating his death was caused by an accidental fall while hiking. There's a red flag: local son Weaver knew every inch of the mountain trails. The returning World War II veteran had enrolled at Black Mountain College, which is currently being portrayed in a film being shot on the site of its former location. The plot is based on a book by a local author. The research behind both may provide a lead in the Weaver case.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781464208942
I'M FINE...AND OTHER LIES by Whitney Cummings (Memoir)
After getting her start as a stand-up comic and then breaking out with her wildly successful CBS sitcom “2 Broke Girls” (she’s the creator, writer and executive producer), Whitney Cummings has seen a few things and is turning to the written word to tell us all the stuff she doesn’t say on stage. I’M FINE…AND OTHER LIES is, in Whitney’s words, like the internet if the internet were honest and didn’t hate women. With her signature ball-busting edge and self-deprecation, Whitney comes clean about what has shaped her into the trailblazing comic she is today.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780735212602
THE LAST BALLAD by Wiley Cash (Fiction)
Twelve times a week, 28-year-old Ella May Wiggins makes the two-mile trek to and from her job on the night shift at American Mill No. 2 in Bessemer City, North Carolina. The insular community expects them to pay Ella May and other workers less because they toil alongside African Americans. But the mill owners claim the union is nothing but a front for the Bolshevik menace sweeping across Europe. To maintain their control, the owners will use every means in their power to prevent workers from banding together. On the night of the county’s biggest rally, Ella May makes up her mind to join the movement --- a decision that will have lasting consequences for her children, her friends and her town.
William Morrow | 9780062313119
LOGICAL FAMILY: A Memoir by Armistead Maupin (Memoir)
Born in the mid-20th century and raised in the heart of conservative North Carolina, Armistead Maupin lost his virginity to another man "on the very spot where the first shots of the Civil War were fired." Realizing that the South was too small for him, this son of a traditional lawyer packed his earthly belongings into his Opel GT and took to the road in search of adventure. It was a journey that would lead him from a homoerotic Navy initiation ceremony in the jungles of Vietnam to that strangest of strange lands: San Francisco in the early 1970s. Reflecting on the profound impact those closest to him have had on his life, Maupin shares his candid search for his "logical family," the people he could call his own.
Harper | 9780062391223
MANHATTAN BEACH by Jennifer Egan (Historical Fiction)
Anna Kerrigan accompanies her father to visit Dexter Styles, a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her father and her family. She is mesmerized by the sea beyond the house and by some charged mystery between the two men. Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that once belonged to men, now soldiers abroad. She becomes the first female diver, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. One evening at a nightclub, she meets Dexter Styles again, and begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life and the reasons he might have vanished.
Scribner | 9781476716732
MARTIN LUTHER: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxas (Biography)
On All Hallow’s Eve in 1517, a young monk named Martin Luther posted a document he hoped would spark an academic debate, but that instead ignited a conflagration that would forever destroy the world he knew. Five hundred years after Luther’s now famous Ninety-five Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future. MARTIN LUTHER tells the searing tale of a humble man who, by bringing ugly truths to the highest seats of power, caused the explosion whose sound is still ringing in our ears.
Viking | 9781101980019
MERRY AND BRIGHT by Debbie Macomber (Romance)
Merry Knight is taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry’s well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her --- minus her photo --- and the matches start rolling in. Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects --- or desires.
Ballantine Books | 9780399181221
THE NINE-TAILED FOX: A Sueño and Bascom Mystery Set in South Korea by Martin Limon (Historical Mystery)
Three American GIs have gone missing in different South Korean cities. Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, agents for the Army CID, link the disappearances to a woman locally rumored to be a gumiho, a legendary thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox disguised as a woman. George suspects that the woman is no mythical creature, but a criminal who’s good at covering her tracks. Meanwhile, George and Ernie are caught in a power struggle between two high-ranking women in the 8th Army. Scrambling to appease his boss and stay one step ahead of a psychotic mastermind, George realizes he will have to risk his life to discover the whereabouts of his fellow countrymen.
Soho Crime | 9781616958237
ORIGIN by Dan Brown (Thriller)
Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever.” The evening’s host is Edmond Kirsch, who is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirsch’s precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Langdon is forced into a desperate bid to escape Bilbao, accompanied by Ambra Vidal, the elegant museum director. Together they flee to Barcelona on a perilous quest to locate a cryptic password that will unlock Kirsch’s secret.
Doubleday | 9780385514231
THE PRAGUE SONATA by Bradford Morrow (Fiction)
In the early days of the new millennium, pages of a worn and weathered original sonata manuscript --- the gift of a Czech immigrant living out her final days in Queens --- come into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano career was cut short by an injury. The gift comes with the request that Meta attempt to find the manuscript’s true owner --- a Prague friend the old woman has not heard from since the Second World War forced them apart --- and to make the three-part sonata whole again. Leaving New York behind for the land of Dvořák and Kafka, Meta sets out on an unforgettable search to locate the remaining movements of the sonata and uncover a story that has influenced the course of many lives.
Atlantic Monthly Press | 9780802127150
REAL AMERICAN: A Memoir by Julie Lythcott-Haims (Memoir)
Bringing a poetic sensibility to her prose to stunning effect, Julie Lythcott-Haims briskly and stirringly evokes her personal battle with the low self-esteem that American racism routinely inflicts on people of color. The only child of a marriage between an African-American father and a white British mother, she shows indelibly how so-called "micro" aggressions in addition to blunt force insults can puncture a person's inner life with a thousand sharp cuts. REAL AMERICAN expresses also, through Lythcott-Haims’ path to self-acceptance, the healing power of community in overcoming the hurtful isolation of being incessantly considered "the other."
Henry Holt and Co. | 9781250137746
THE RELIVE BOX AND OTHER STORIES by T.C. Boyle (Fiction/Short Stories)
In THE RELIVE BOX, T.C. Boyle's sharp wit and rich imagination combine with a penetrating social consciousness to produce raucous, poignant and expansive short stories defined by an inimitable voice. From the collection's title story, featuring a Halcom X1520 Relive Box that allows users to experience anew almost any moment from their past, to "The Five-Pound Burrito," the tale of a man aiming to build the biggest burrito in town, the 12 stories in this collection speak to the humor, the pathos and the struggle that is part of being human while relishing the whimsy of wordplay and the power of a story well told.
Ecco | 9780062673398
SEVEN SUSPECTS by Renee James (Mystery)
Bobbi Logan is a successful businesswoman and a celebrated hairdresser. She is a witty, articulate woman who has survived rape, gender transition, a murder investigation, and countless acts of bullying and bigotry to get to where she is --- and she's made enemies along the way. Now one of them is stalking her. With each passing day, the threats become more brazen, more violent and more personal. Bobbi accumulates a list of six suspects and hunts them down, one by one. But as she confronts those men who may want to do her harm, the number seven keeps haunting her --- there must be a seventh suspect. And when she finds him, Bobbi’s world implodes.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608092550
THE STOLEN MARRIAGE by Diane Chamberlain (Historical Fiction)
Pregnant, alone and riddled with guilt, 23-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life. She turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’ new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who shows her no affection, and she quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out. When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love --- and the life --- she was meant to have?
St. Martin's Press | 9781250087270
THE VINEYARD by Maria Duenas (Historical Fiction)
Mauro Larrea’s fortune, the result of years of hardship and toil, comes crashing down on the heels of a calamitous event. Swamped by debt and uncertainty, he gambles the last of his money in a daring play that wins him an abandoned house and a vineyard an ocean away. Mauro travels to Andalusia de Jerez in Spain with every intention of selling the property and returning to Mexico. That is, until he meets the unsettling Soledad Montalvo, the wife of a London wine merchant, who bursts into his life unannounced, determined to protect her family’s legacy. Before long, Larrea finds himself immersed in the rich culture of the sherry trade. As his feelings for Soledad ripen into a consuming passion, he seeks to restore the vineyard to its former glory.
Atria Books | 9781501124532
WE WERE EIGHT YEARS IN POWER: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Essays)
“We were eight years in power” was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America’s “first white president.” The book also examines the new voices, ideas and movements for justice that emerged over this period --- and the effects of the persistent, haunting shadow of our nation’s old and unreconciled history.
One World | 9780399590566
WINTER SOLSTICE by Elin Hilderbrand (Fiction)
It's been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that's about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan, the Quinns are preparing for a holiday more joyous than any they've experienced in years. And Bart's safe return isn't the family's only good news. Kevin is enjoying married life with Isabelle; Patrick is getting back on his feet after paying his debt to society; Ava thinks she's finally found the love of her life; and Kelley is thrilled to see his family reunited at last. But it just wouldn't be a Quinn family gathering if things went smoothly.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316435451
THE WITCHES' TREE: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton (Mystery)
Margaret Darby, an elderly spinster, has been murdered --- and the villagers are bewildered as to who would commit such a crime. Agatha Raisin rises to the occasion (a little glad for the excitement, to tell the truth, after a long run of lost cats and divorces on the books). But Sumpton Harcourt is a small and private village, she finds --- a place that poses more questions than answers. And when two more murders follow the first, Agatha begins to fear for her reputation --- and even her life. That the village has its own coven of witches certainly doesn't make her feel any better.
Minotaur Books | 9781250057464
WOLF'S REVENGE: A Leo Maxwell Mystery by Lachlan Smith (Mystery)
Attorney-detective Leo Maxwell seeks an exit strategy from his family’s deepening entanglement with a ruthless prison-based gang. Caught between the criminals and the FBI, Leo charts his own path in defending a young woman who was manipulated into brazenly murdering a member of the Aryan Brotherhood in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. When the consequences strike heartbreakingly close to home, Leo, his brother Teddy, and the rest of the family are forced into a winner-takes-all confrontation with men who don’t care how many innocents they harm in achieving their goals.
Mysterious Press | 9780802127075
THE YEAR OF THE PITCHER: Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball's Golden Age by Sridhar Pappu (Sports/History)
In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation's hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter who eschewed the team charter and his Detroit Tigers teammates to zip cross-country in his own plane. For one season, the nation watched as these two men and their teams swept their respective league championships to meet at the World Series.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 9780547719276
On Sale the Week of October 2nd in Paperback
October 1st
LIGHTS OUT SUMMER: A Coleridge Taylor Mystery by Rich Zahradnik (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
Paperback Original
In March 1977, ballistics link murders going back six months to the same Charter Arms Bulldog .44. A serial killer, Son of Sam, is on the loose. Constantly on the lookout for victims who need their stories told, Coleridge Taylor uncovers other killings being ignored because of the media circus. He goes after one, the story of a young black woman gunned down in her apartment building the same night Son of Sam struck elsewhere in Queens. Just as he's closing in on the killer and his scoop, the July 13-14 blackout sends New York into a 24-hour orgy of looting and destruction. In the midst of the chaos, a suspect in Taylor's story goes missing. Desperate, he races to a confrontation that will break the story --- or Taylor.
Camel Press | 9781603812139
October 2nd
BOLT ACTION REMEDY by J.J. Hensley (Mystery/Thriller)
Paperback Original
Former Pittsburgh narcotics detective Trevor Galloway has been hired to look into the year-old homicide of a prominent businessman who was gunned down on his estate in Central Pennsylvania. When Galloway arrives, he determines that the murder could have been committed only by someone extremely skilled in two areas: skiing and shooting. He believes the assailant should not be too difficult to identify given the great amount of skill and athleticism needed to pull off the attack. When he discovers that the victim’s property is next door to a biathlon training camp, the situation becomes significantly more complicated.
Down & Out Books | 9781946502049
October 3rd
ABSOLUTELY ON MUSIC: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa written by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin (Music)
Haruki Murakami's passion for music runs deep. Before turning his hand to writing, he ran a jazz club in Tokyo, and the aesthetic and emotional power of music permeates every one of his much-loved books. Now, in ABSOLUTELY ON MUSIC, Murakami fulfills a personal dream, sitting down with his friend, acclaimed conductor Seiji Ozawa, to talk, over a period of two years, about their shared interest. Transcribed from lengthy conversations about the nature of music and writing, here they discuss everything from Brahms to Beethoven, from Leonard Bernstein to Glenn Gould, from record collecting to pop-up orchestras, and much more.
Vintage | 9780804173728
ALL THE UGLY AND WONDERFUL THINGS by Bryn Greenwood (Fiction)
As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold. When tragedy rips Wavy's family apart, a well-meaning aunt steps in, and what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world.
A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin | 9781250153968
EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE by Mindy Mejia (Psychological Thriller)
High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small-town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie’s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view --- Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling --- EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE weaves the story of Hattie’s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781501123436
THE GENERAL VS. THE PRESIDENT: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War by H.W. Brands (History/Politics)
At the height of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman committed a gaffe that sent shock waves around the world. When asked by a reporter about the possible use of atomic weapons in response to China's entry into the war, Truman replied testily, "The military commander in the field will have charge of the use of the weapons, as he always has." This suggested that General Douglas MacArthur, the willful, fearless and highly decorated commander of the American and U.N. forces, had his finger on the nuclear trigger. A correction quickly followed, but the damage was done. Two visions for America's path forward were clearly in opposition, and one man would have to make way.
Anchor | 9781101912171
HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado (Fiction/Short Stories)
Paperback Original
In HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. A wife refuses her husband’s entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store’s prom dresses. One woman’s surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in “Especially Heinous,” Machado reimagines every episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgängers, ghosts and girls-with-bells-for-eyes.
Graywolf Press | 9781555977887
THE LAST DAY OF EMILY LINDSEY by Nic Joseph (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
Detective Steven Paul has had the same nightmare for as long as he can remember, a strange symbol figuring prominently into his terror. He decided long ago that the recurring dreams are nothing more than an unfortunate side effect of his often traumatic profession. Until, that is, he's assigned to the case of Emily Lindsey, the beautiful, elusive and controversial blogger found alone, who can't possibly know the symbol from his nightmares...unless she does.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781492646532
LOST LUGGAGE by Wendall Thomas (Mystery/Humor)
Paperback Original
Days after the pet store owner next door to Redondo Travel is poisoned, travel agent Cyd Redondo wins a free safari. She and her recent fling, Roger Claymore, arrive in Africa --- luggage lost --- to find two of Cyd's elderly clients in a local jail. She manages to barter them out, only to discover smugglers have hidden $500,000 worth of endangered parrots, snakes, frogs and a lone Madagascan chameleon in the clients' outbound luggage. When Roger steals the bags --- is the U.S. Embassy in on the contraband ring? --- Cyd and the chameleon helicopter into the jungle to go after Roger on their own.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781464208928
A LOWCOUNTRY HEART: Reflections on a Writing Life by Pat Conroy (Essays)
This new volume of Pat Conroy’s nonfiction brings together some of the most charming interviews, magazine articles, speeches and letters from his long literary career, many of them addressed directly to his readers with his habitual greeting, “Hey, out there.” Ranging across diverse subjects, such as favorite recent reads, the challenge of staying motivated to exercise, and processing the loss of dear friends, Conroy’s eminently memorable pieces offer a unique window into the life of a true titan of Southern writing.
Dial Press Trade Paperback | 9780385343534
LUCKY 666: The Impossible Mission That Changed the War in the Pacific by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin (History)
From the authors of the New York Times bestselling THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT IS and HALSEY'S TYPHOON comes the dramatic, untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the War in the Pacific --- but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476774862
THE MOTION OF PUPPETS by Keith Donohue (Dark Fantasy/Horror)
In the Old City of Québec, Kay Harper falls in love with a puppet in the window of the Quatre Mains, a toy shop that is never open. Late one night, she fears someone is following her home. Surprised to see that the lights of the toy shop are on and the door is open, she takes shelter inside. The next morning, her husband Theo wakes up to discover his wife is missing. Kay has been transformed into a puppet, and is now a prisoner of the back room of the Quatre Mains, trapped with an odd assemblage of puppets from all over the world who can only come alive between the hours of midnight and dawn. The only way she can return to the human world is if Theo can find her and recognize her in her new form.
Picador | 9781250141194
NO EASY TARGET by Iris Johansen (Thriller)
Raised off the grid in an abusive home, Margaret Douglas’ only escape was the nearby forest where she sought refuge. There, she discovered a strange gift: the ability to understand animals and to communicate with them. But her abilities have not gone unnoticed, and there are those who would use them for their own purposes. Determined not to be a pawn in anyone’s game, every time someone gets too close, Margaret uproots her life and outruns them. When CIA operative John Lassiter breaks into Margaret’s apartment, she vanishes again, but Lassiter has good reason to be persistent. As a CIA operative, he owes his life to his men, one of whom is being held captive by an unrelenting enemy --- an enemy who has set his sights on Margaret.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks | 9781250075918
ODD CHILD OUT by Gilly Macmillan (Mystery)
Paperback Original
Best friends Noah Sadler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable. But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol's Feeder Canal, Abdi won’t tell anyone what happened. Just back from a mandatory leave following his last case, Detective Jim Clemo is now assigned to look into this unfortunate accident. But tragedy strikes, and what looked like the simple case of a prank gone wrong soon ignites into a public battle. Noah is British. Abdi is a Somali refugee. And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol. Against this background of fear and fury, two families fight for their sons and for the truth.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062476821
ORPHANS OF THE CARNIVAL by Carol Birch (Historical Fiction)
Pronounced by the most eminent physician of the day to be "a true hybrid wherein the nature of woman presides over that of the brute," Julia Pastrana stood apart from the other carnival acts. Beneath the flashy lights and thunderous applause lies a bright, compassionate young woman who only wants people to see beyond her hairy visage. Julia eventually meets Theodore Lent, a boyishly charming showman who catapults her onto the global stage. As they travel the world, the two fall into an easy intimacy, but the question of whether Theo truly cares for Julia or if his management is just a gentler form of exploitation lingers heavily with every kind word and soft embrace.
Anchor | 9781101973097
PARIS FOR ONE AND OTHER STORIES by Jojo Moyes (Romance/Short Stories)
Nell is 26 and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away --- to anywhere --- before. Traveling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone --- including herself --- wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? "Paris for One" is quintessential Jojo Moyes --- as are the other stories that round out the collection.
Penguin Books | 9780735222304
RECKLESS CREED: A Ryder Creed Novel by Alex Kava (Thriller)
In Chicago, a young man jumps from his 30th-story hotel room; along the Missouri River, a hunter and his son stumble upon a lake whose surface is littered with snow geese, all of them dead; and in southern Alabama, Ryder Creed and his search-and-rescue dog, Grace, find the body of a young woman who went missing in the Conecuh National Forest...and it appears she filled her pockets with rocks and walked into the river. Before long, Ryder and FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell will discover the ominous connection among these mysterious deaths. What they find may be the most prolific killer the United States has ever known.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780399185465
RIGHT BEHIND YOU by Lisa Gardner (Thriller)
Eight years ago, Sharlah May Nash’s older brother beat their drunken father to death with a baseball bat in order to save both of their lives. Now 13 years old, Sharlah has finally moved on. About to be adopted by retired FBI profiler Pierce Quincy and his partner, Rainie Conner, Sharlah loves one thing best about her new family: They are all experts on monsters. Then the call comes in. A double murder at a local gas station, followed by reports of an armed suspect shooting his way through the wilds of Oregon. As Quincy and Rainie race to assist, they are forced to confront mounting evidence: The shooter may very well be Sharlah’s older brother, and it appears his killing spree has only just begun.
Dutton | 9781101984376
THE SLEEPWALKER by Chris Bohjalian (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Annalee Ahlberg sleepwalks at night, and her affliction manifests in ways both devastating and bizarre. A search party combs the woods, but there is little trace of Annalee and her family fears the worst. Her daughter Lianna leaves college to care for her father and younger sister. She finds herself uncontrollably drawn to Gavin Rikert, the hazel-eyed detective investigating the case, and the two become involved. But Gavin seems to know more about Lianna's mother than he should. As Lianna sifts through the life Annalee has left behind, she wonders if the man sleeping next to her could hold the key to her mother's mysterious disappearance.
Vintage | 9780804170994
STRONG COLD DEAD: A Caitlin Strong Novel by Jon Land (Thriller)
The terrorist organization ISIS is after a deadly toxin that could be the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The same toxin holds the potential to eradicate cancer. There is a frantic race to see who can get to it first, even as Caitlin Strong begins to assemble the disparate pieces of a deadly puzzle. At the center of that puzzle is an Indian reservation where a vengeful tycoon is mining the toxin, disguising his effort as an oil-drilling operation. This is the same reservation where Caitlin’s great-great-grandfather, also a Texas Ranger, once waged a similar battle against the forces of John D. Rockefeller.
Forge Books | 9780765370297
THE TERRANAUTS by T.C. Boyle (Fiction)
It is 1994, and in the desert near Tillman, Arizona, a grand experiment involving the future of humanity is underway. As climate change threatens the earth, eight scientists dubbed the "Terranauts" have been selected to live under glass in E2, a prototype of a possible off-earth colony. Closely monitored by an all-seeing Mission Control, this New Eden is the brainchild of ecovisionary Jeremiah Reed, for whom the project is both an adventure in scientific discovery and a momentous publicity stunt. His young, strapping Terranauts must impress watchful visitors and a skeptical media curious to see if E2’s environment will somehow be compromised, forcing the Ecosphere’s seal to be broken --- and ending the mission in failure.
Ecco | 9780062349415
THRICE THE BRINDED CAT HATH MEW’D: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley (Historical Mystery)
Only too eager to run an errand for the vicar’s wife, 12-year-old Flavia de Luce hops on her trusty bicycle, Gladys, to deliver a message to a reclusive wood-carver. Finding the front door ajar, Flavia enters and stumbles upon the poor man’s body hanging upside down on the back of his bedroom door. The only living creature in the house is a feline that shows little interest in the disturbing scene. Curiosity may not kill this cat, but Flavia is energized at the prospect of a new investigation. However, what awaits Flavia will shake her to the very core.
Bantam | 9780345539977
VICTORIA: THE QUEEN: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird (Biography)
Drawing on sources that include revelations about Queen Victoria’s relationship with her servant, John Brown, Julia Baird brings vividly to life the fascinating story of a woman who struggled with so many of the things we do today: balancing work and family, raising children, navigating marital strife, losing parents, combating anxiety and self-doubt, finding an identity, searching for meaning. VICTORIA: THE QUEEN gives us the real woman behind the myth: a bold, glamorous, unbreakable queen --- a Victoria for our times, a Victoria who endured.
Random House Trade Paperbacks | 9780812982282
WINTER STORMS by Elin Hilderbrand (Fiction)
For the Quinn family, things finally seem to be coming together. However, there are still a few dark clouds on the horizon in Kelley’s recent health scare, Jennifer’s addiction to drugs, and Ava’s inability to choose between two lovers. But if there’s one holiday that brings the family together, it’s Christmas. This year promises celebration in Kevin and Isabelle’s wedding at the inn, but a historic once-in-a-century blizzard bears down on Nantucket as the special day approaches, threatening to keep the Quinns away from the place and people they love the most.
Back Bay Books | 9780316261180
YOU WILL NOT HAVE MY HATE by Antoine Leiris (Memoir)
On November 13, 2015, Antoine Leiris’ wife, Hélène Muyal-Leiris, was killed by terrorists while attending a rock concert at the Bataclan Theater in Paris, in the deadliest attack on France since World War II. Three days later, Leiris wrote an open letter addressed directly to his wife’s killers, which he posted on Facebook: “For as long as he lives, this little boy will insult you with his happiness and freedom.” In his determination to honor the memory of his wife, Leiris became an international hero to everyone searching desperately for a way to deal with the horror of the Paris attacks and the grim shadow cast today by the threat of terrorism. Now he tells the full story of his grief and struggle.
Penguin Books | 9780735222151
On Sale the Week of October 9th in Hardcover
October 10th
CHILDREN OF THE FLEET by Orson Scott Card (Science Fiction)
Ender Wiggin won the Third Formic war, ending the alien threat to Earth. Afterwards, all the terraformed Formic worlds were open to settlement by humans, and the International Fleet became the arm of the Ministry of Colonization, run by Hirum Graff. MinCol now runs Fleet School on the old Battle School station, and still recruits very smart kids to train as leaders of colony ships, and colonies. Dabeet Ochoa is a very smart kid. Top of his class in every school. But he doesn’t think he has a chance at Fleet School, because he has no connections to the Fleet. That he knows of. At least until the day that Colonel Graff arrives at his school for an interview.
Tor Books | 9780765377043
CODE GIRLS: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy (History)
Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than 10,000 women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history. Now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service and scientific accomplishment.
Hachette Books | 9780316352536
CRIMES OF THE FATHER by Thomas Keneally (Historical Fiction)
Sent away from his native Australia to Canada due to his radical preaching against the Vietnam War, apartheid and other hot-button issues, Father Frank Docherty made for himself a satisfying career as a psychologist and monk. When he returns to Australia to lecture on the future of celibacy and the Catholic Church, he is unwittingly pulled into the lives of two people, both of whom claim to have been sexually abused by a prominent monsignor. As a member of the commission investigating sex abuse within the Church, and as a man of character and conscience, Docherty decides he must confront each party involved. What follows will shake him to the core and call into question many of his own choices.
Atria Books | 9781501128486
DEATH IN ST. PETERSBURG: A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander (Historical Mystery)
After the final curtain of “Swan Lake,” an animated crowd exits the Mariinsky theatre brimming with excitement from the night’s performance. But outside the scene is somber. A ballerina’s body lies face down in the snow, blood splattered like rose petals over the costume of the Swan Queen. Amongst the theatergoers is Lady Emily, accompanying her dashing husband Colin in Russia on assignment from the Crown. But it soon becomes clear that Colin isn’t the only one with work to do. When the dead ballerina’s aristocratic lover comes begging for justice, Emily must apply her own set of skills to discover the rising star’s murderer.
Minotaur Books | 9781250058287
DEATH OVERDUE: A Haunted Library Mystery by Allison Brook (Cozy Mystery)
Carrie Singleton is just about done with Clover Ridge, Connecticut, until she's offered a job as the head of programs and events at the spooky local library, complete with its own librarian ghost. Her first major event is a program presented by a retired homicide detective, Al Buckley, who claims he knows who murdered Laura Foster, a much-loved part-time library aide who was bludgeoned to death 15 years earlier. As he invites members of the audience to share stories about Laura, he suddenly keels over and dies. Carrie is determined to discover who murdered the detective, convinced it’s the same man who killed Laura all those years ago.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781683313861
THE DIRTY BOOK CLUB by Lisi Harrison (Fiction)
M.J. Stark’s life is picture-perfect, but there is a debilitating sense of loneliness behind her success. So when her boss betrays her and her boyfriend offers her a completely new life in California, she decides to give it a try. Once there, M.J. is left to fend for herself in a small beach town, with only the company of her elderly neighbor, Gloria. One afternoon, M.J. discovers that Gloria has suddenly moved to Paris. In lieu of a goodbye, she’s left a mysterious invitation to a secret club --- one that only reads erotic books. Curious, M.J. accepts and meets the three other hand-selected club members. As they bond over naughty bestsellers and the shocking letters they inherited from the original club members, the four strangers start to divulge the intimate details of their own lives.
Gallery Books | 9781451695977
FAIRYTALE by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Camille Lammenais’ parents, Christophe and Joy, have built a renowned winery and château modeled after Christophe’s ancient family estate in his native Bordeaux. After graduating from Stanford, Camille returns to help manage Château Joy, her lifetime goal. But their fairytale ends suddenly with her mother’s death from cancer. Six months after losing his wife, the devastated Christophe is easy prey for a mysterious, charming Frenchwoman visiting the valley. Within weeks they are a clandestine couple, and Camille is shocked by the news that her father intends to remarry. When tragedy strikes again, Camille is at her stepmother’s mercy, and that of the two evil stepbrothers who appear.
Delacorte Press | 9781101884065
GRANT by Ron Chernow (Biography)
Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Ron Chernow shows in his biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.
Penguin Press | 9781594204876
NEVER COMING BACK by Alison McGhee (Fiction)
When Clara Winter left her rural Adirondacks town for college, she never looked back. Her mother, Tamar, a loving but fiercely independent woman who raised Clara on her own, all but pushed her out the door, and so Clara built a new life for herself. Now more than a decade has passed, and Clara, a successful writer, has been summoned home. Tamar has become increasingly forgetful and can no longer live on her own. But just as her mother’s memory is declining, Clara’s questions are building. Why was Tamar so insistent that Clara leave all those years ago? Just what secrets was she hiding? The surprising answers Clara uncovers are rooted in her mother’s love for her, and the sacrifices Tamar made to protect her.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 9781328767561
THE POWER by Naomi Alderman (Speculative Fiction)
In THE POWER, the world is a recognizable place. There's a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power --- they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316547611
REVOLUTION: The History of England from the Battle of the Boyne to the Battle of Waterloo by Peter Ackroyd (History)
In REVOLUTION, Peter Ackroyd takes readers from William of Orange's accession following the Glorious Revolution to the Regency, when the flamboyant Prince of Wales ruled in the stead of his mad father, George III, and England was --- again --- at war with France, a war that would end with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.
Thomas Dunne Books | 9781250003645
THE RULES OF MAGIC by Alice Hoffman (Historical Fiction)
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the ’60s, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. From the start, she sets down rules for them, the most important of which is to never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City, each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.
Simon & Schuster | 9781501137471
SCHLESINGER: The Imperial Historian by Richard Aldous (Biography)
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., known today as the architect of John F. Kennedy’s presidential legacy, blazed an extraordinary path from Harvard University to wartime London to the West Wing. A two-time Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, Schlesinger redefined the art of presidential biography. SCHLESINGER: THE IMPERIAL HISTORIAN presents a dramatic life and career set against the backdrop of the American Century. Richard Aldous draws on oral history, rarely seen archival documents and the official Schlesinger papers to craft a portrait of the historian who framed America’s ascent to global empire.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393244700
TWELVE SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS: A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery by Jacqueline Frost (Cozy Mystery)
When Holly White’s fiancé cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. But her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly’s family tree farm. When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly’s father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn’t help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father and is determined to exonerate him.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781683313175
On Sale the Week of October 9th in Paperback
October 10th
1956: The World in Revolt by Simon Hall (History)
1956 was one of the most remarkable years of the 20th century. All across the globe, ordinary people spoke out, filled the streets and city squares, and took up arms in an attempt to win their freedom. Simon Hall takes the long view of the year's events --- putting them in their post-war context and looking toward their influence on the counterculture movements of the 1960s --- to tell the story of the year's epic, global struggles from the point of view of the freedom fighters, dissidents, and countless ordinary people who worked to overturn oppressive and authoritarian systems in order to build a brave new world.
Pegasus Books | 9781681775265
BLOOD AND SAND: Suez, Hungary, and Eisenhower’s Campaign for Peace by Alex von Tunzelmann (History)
The year 1956 was a turning point in history. Over 16 extraordinary days, the twin crises involving Suez and Hungary pushed the world to the brink of a nuclear conflict. BLOOD AND SAND delivers this story in an hour-by-hour account through a fascinating international cast of characters: Anthony Eden, the British prime minister, caught in a trap of his own making; Gamal Abdel Nasser, the bold young populist leader of Egypt; David Ben-Gurion, the aging Zionist hero of Israel; Guy Mollet, the bellicose French prime minister; and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American president, torn between an old world order and a new one in the very same week that his own fate as president was to be decided by the American people.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780062249258
A BOOK OF AMERICAN MARTYRS by Joyce Carol Oates (Fiction)
In A BOOK OF AMERICAN MARTYRS, Joyce Carol Oates tells the story of two very different and yet intimately linked American families. Luther Dunphy is an ardent Evangelical who envisions himself as acting out God’s will when he assassinates an abortion provider in his small Ohio town. Augustus Voorhees, the idealistic doctor who is killed, leaves behind a wife and children scarred and embittered by grief.
Ecco | 9780062643056
CITY OF DREAMS: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York by Tyler Anbinder (History)
With more than three million foreign-born residents today, New York has been America’s defining port of entry for nearly four centuries, a magnet for transplants from all over the globe. These migrants have brought their hundreds of languages and distinct cultures to the city, and from there to the entire country. More immigrants have come to New York than all other entry points combined. Tyler Anbinder’s story is one of innovators and artists, revolutionaries and rioters, staggering deprivation and soaring triumphs, all playing out against the powerful backdrop of New York City, at once ever-changing and profoundly, permanently itself.
Mariner Books | 9781328745514
THE COMET SEEKERS by Helen Sedgwick (Fiction)
Róisín and François are immediately drawn to each other when they meet at a remote research base on the frozen ice sheets of Antarctica. At first glance, the pair could not be more different. Older by a few years, Róisín, a daughter of Ireland and a peripatetic astronomer, joins the science team to observe the fracturing of a comet overhead. François, the base’s chef, has just left his birthplace in Bayeux, France, for only the second time in his life. Yet devastating tragedy and the longing for a fresh start, which they share, as well as an indelible but unknown bond that stretches back centuries, connect them to each other.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780062448774
THE DAILY SHOW (THE BOOK): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests by Chris Smith (Entertainment/History)
For almost 17 years, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” brilliantly redefined the borders between television comedy, political satire and opinionated news coverage. It launched the careers of some of today's most significant comedians, highlighted the hypocrisies of the powerful and garnered 23 Emmys. Now the show's behind-the-scenes gags, controversies and camaraderie have been chronicled by the players themselves in this oral history, which takes the reader behind the curtain for all the show's highlights --- from its origins as Comedy Central's underdog late-night program hosted by Craig Kilborn to Jon Stewart's long reign to Trevor Noah's succession.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781455565368
HIMSELF by Jess Kidd (Mystery/Dark Humor)
Having been abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as an infant, lovable car thief and Dublin charmer Mahony assumed all his life that his mother had simply given him up. But when he receives an anonymous note suggesting that foul play may have led to his mother’s disappearance, he sees only one option: to return to the rural Irish village where he was born and find out what really happened 26 years ago. Determined to uncover the truth, Mahony solicits the help of brash anarchist and retired theater actress Mrs. Cauley. This improbable duo concocts an ingenious plan to get the town talking about the day Mahony's mother disappeared and are aided and abetted by a cast of eccentric characters, both living and dead.
Washington Square Press | 9781501145186
JUNIPER: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon by Kelley and Thomas French (Memoir)
Juniper French was born four months early, weighing in at one pound, four ounces. Babies like Juniper, born at the edge of viability, trigger the question: Which is the greater act of love --- to save her, or to let her go? Kelley and Thomas French chose to fight for Juniper's life. Here, they explore the border between what is possible and what is right. They marvel at the science that conceived and sustained their daughter and the love that made the difference. They trace the journey of their family from its fragile beginning to the miraculous survival of their now-thriving daughter.
Back Bay Books | 9780316324434
THE MEDICI: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance by Paul Strathern (History)
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence, as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Strathern also follows the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists and scientists with whom the Medici had dealings, along with the fortunes of those members of the Medici family who achieved success away from Florence.
Pegasus Books | 9781681774084
THE MOTHERS by Brit Bennett (Fiction)
Mourning her mother’s recent suicide, 17-year-old Nadia Turner takes up with the local pastor’s son. Luke Sheppard is 21, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. The pregnancy that results from this teen romance --- and the subsequent cover-up --- will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from everyone, including Aubrey, her God-fearing best friend, the years move quickly. Soon, Nadia, Luke and Aubrey are full-fledged adults and still living in debt to the choices they made that one seaside summer, caught in a love triangle they must carefully maneuver, and dogged by the constant, nagging question: What if they had chosen differently?
Riverhead Books | 9780399184529
QUARRY’S CLIMAX by Max Allan Collins (Hard-boiled Mystery)
Paperback Original
Memphis, 1975. “Raunchy” doesn’t begin to describe Max Climer’s magazine, Climax, or his all-hours strip club, or his planned video empire. And evangelists, feminists and local watchdog groups all want him out of business. But someone wants more than that, and has hired a killer to end Max’s career permanently. Only another hit man --- the ruthless professional known as Quarry, star of the acclaimed series on Cinemax --- can keep Climer from becoming a casualty in the Sexual Revolution.
Hard Case Crime | 9781785651809
RED RIGHT HAND by Chris Holm (Thriller)
When a viral video of an explosive terrorist attack on the Golden Gate Bridge reveals that a Federal witness long thought dead is still alive, the organization he'd agreed to testify against will stop at nothing to put him in the ground. FBI Special Agent Charlie Thompson calls the only person on the planet who can keep her witness safe: Michael Hendricks. Once a covert operative for the US military, Hendricks makes his living hitting hitmen... or he did, until the very organization hunting Charlie's witness --- the Council --- caught wind and targeted the people he loves. He is now determined to take the Council down, even if it means wading into the center of a terror plot whose perpetrators are not what they seem.
Mulholland Books | 9780316259552
SHIRLEY JACKSON: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin (Biography)
Still known to millions primarily as the author of “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) has been curiously absent from the mainstream American literary canon. A genius of literary suspense and psychological horror, Jackson plumbed the cultural anxiety of postwar America more deeply than anyone. Now, biographer Ruth Franklin reveals the tumultuous life and inner darkness of the author of such classics as THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE.
Liveright | 9781631493416
THREE FLOORS UP written by Eshkol Nevo, translated by Sondra Silverston (Fiction)
Paperback Original
On the first floor, Arnon, a tormented retired officer, confesses to an army friend with a troubled military past how his obsession about his young daughter's safety led him to lose control and put his marriage in peril. Above Arnon lives Hani, known as "the widow," whose husband travels the world for his lucrative job while she stays at home with their two children, increasingly isolated and unstable. When her brother-in-law suddenly appears at their door begging her to hide him from loan sharks and the police, she agrees in spite of the risk to her family. On the top floor lives a former judge, Devora. Eager to start a new life in her retirement, Devora joins a social movement, desperately tries to reconnect with her estranged son, and falls in love with a man who isn't what he seems.
Other Press | 9781590518786
THE TWELVE DOGS OF CHRISTMAS: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Andy Carpenter’s long-time friend, Martha “Pups” Boyer, takes in stray puppies that the local dog rescue center can’t handle, raises them until they’re old enough to adopt, and then finds good homes for them. With Christmas just around the corner, one of Pups’ neighbors has just reported Pups to the city for having more than the legal number of pets in her home under the local zoning laws. Andy happily takes Pups’ case, and he feels confident in a positive outcome. Who could punish someone for rescuing puppies, after all, especially at Christmastime? But things get a lot more complicated when Randy Hennessey, the neighbor who registered the complaint against Pups, turns up dead.
Minotaur Books | 9781250145611
WHAT WE RECKON by Eryk Pruitt (Hard-boiled Mystery/Humor)
Paperback Original
Jack Jordan is a smooth-talking con artist with a penchant for the fast life. He has snuck into Lufkin, Texas, in the dead of night with little more than a beat-up Honda, a hollowed-out King James Bible full of cocaine, and enough emotional baggage to sink a steam ship. Summer Ashton is his partner-in-crime, but lately her mind has begun to slip. They’ve told their fair share of lies, and she’s having a devil of a time remembering what’s the truth. And recently, she’s been hearing voices. Unfortunately for both of them, she’s the brains of the operation. Furthermore, they have begun to tire of one another. For these two career grifters, the sleepy East Texas countryside is but another pit stop on their rampage across the American South. Will it be their last?
Polis Books | 9781943818648
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