In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of November 13th and November 20th 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 "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com, where three book groups will win 12 copies of THE HONEYMOON by Dinitia Smith. The deadline for your entries is Tuesday, January 9th at noon ET.
We also encourage you to enter our series of 24-hour Holiday Cheer contests for your chance to win books that are perfect for holiday giving and that you may want to include on your "to me/from me" list.
Finally, we are spotlighting Grammy and Academy Award–winning songwriter Carole Bayer Sager's bestselling memoir, THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, which is now available in paperback.
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 in Paperback:
THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG by Carole Bayer Sager
For five decades, Carole Bayer Sager has been among the most admired and successful songwriters at work, responsible for her lyrical contributions to some of the most popular songs in the English language, including “Nobody Does It Better,” “A Groovy Kind of Love,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” and the theme from the movie Arthur, “The Best That You Can Do” (about getting caught between the moon and New York City).
She has collaborated with (and written for) a dizzying number of stars, including Peter Allen, Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Clint Eastwood, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Melissa Manchester, Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon, Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand.
But while her professional life was filled with success and fascinating people, her personal life was far more difficult and dramatic. In this memoir that “reads like a candid conversation over a bottle of Mersault on a breezy Bel Air night” (Vanity Fair), Carole Bayer Sager tells the surprisingly frank and darkly humorous story of a woman whose sometimes crippling fears and devastating relationships inspired many of the songs she would ultimately write.
Click here to read more about the book on Carole Bayer Sager's website.
This Week's Bonus News: November's "What's Your
Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest
on ReadingGroupGuides.com
Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.
This month's prize book is the paperback edition of THE HONEYMOON by Dinitia Smith, a captivating account of George Eliot’s passions and tribulations that explores the nature of love in its many guises. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Tuesday, January 9th at noon ET.
THE HONEYMOON by Dinitia Smith (Historical Fiction)
Dinitia Smith’s spellbinding novel recounts George Eliot’s honeymoon in Venice in June 1880 following her marriage to a handsome young man 20 years her junior. When she agreed to marry John Walter Cross, Eliot was recovering from the death of George Henry Lewes, her beloved companion of 26 years. Eliot was bereft: left at the age of 60 to contemplate profound questions about her physical decline, her fading appeal and the prospect of loneliness.
In her youth, Mary Ann Evans --- who would later be known as George Eliot --- was a country girl, considered too plain to marry, so she educated herself in order to secure a livelihood. In an era when female novelists were objects of wonder, she became the most famous writer of her day --- with a male nom de plume. THE HONEYMOON explores different kinds of love, and of the possibilities of redemption and happiness even in an imperfect union. Smith integrates historical truth with her own rich rendition of Eliot’s inner voice, crafting a page-turner that is as intelligent as it is gripping.
If you and your book group would like to talk to Dinitia Smith about THE HONEYMOON, please fill out the form on this page to schedule a chat.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Click here to enter the contest.
On Sale the Week of November 13th in Hardcover
November 14th
AMERICAN DRIFTER by Heather Graham and Chad Michael Murray (Thriller)
A young veteran of the US Army, River Roulet is struggling to shake the horrors of his past. War is behind him, but the memories remain. Desperate to distract himself from the images haunting him daily, River abandons the world he knows and flees to the country he’s always dreamed of visiting: Brazil. With a few friends at his side, River seems to be pulling his life together at last. Then he meets the enchanting Natal, an impassioned journalist and free spirit --- who lives with the gangster that rules much of Rio. As their romance blossoms, River and Natal flee together into the interior of Brazil, where they are pursued by the sadistic drug lord, Tio Amato, and his men. When River is forced to kill one of those men, the chase becomes even deadlier.
Forge Books | 9780765374875
ARTEMIS by Andy Weir (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you have debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she has stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself --- and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
Crown | 9780553448122
BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE by Ruth Emmie Lang (Fantasy)
Orphaned, raised by wolves, and the proud owner of a horned pig named Merlin, Weylyn Grey knew he wasn’t like other people. But when he single-handedly stopped that tornado on a stormy Christmas day in Oklahoma, he realized just how different he actually was. As amazing as these powers may appear, though, they tend to manifest themselves at inopportune times and places. Since Weylyn saved Mary from an angry wolf on her 11th birthday, she’s known that a relationship with him isn’t without its risks, but she doesn’t care. BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE tells the story of Weylyn Grey’s life from the perspectives of the people who knew him, loved him, and even a few who thought he was just plain weird.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250112040
BREAKING FREE: How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs by Rachel Jeffs (Memoir)
Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey. No one in this radical splinter sect of the Mormon Church was more powerful or terrifying than its leader, Warren Jeffs --- Rachel’s father. Living outside mainstream Mormonism and federal law, Jeffs arranged marriages between underage girls and middle-aged and elderly members of his congregation. In BREAKING FREE, Rachel blows the lid off this taciturn community to offer a harrowing look at her life with Jeffs, and the years of physical and emotional abuse she suffered.
Harper | 9780062670526
THE CITY OF BRASS by S. A. Chakraborty (Historical Fantasy)
On the streets of 18th-century Cairo, Nahri is a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. However, when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she is forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass --- a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.
Harper Voyager | 9780062678102
END GAME by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Will Robie and Jessica Reel are two of the most lethal people alive. They're the ones the government calls in when the utmost secrecy is required to take out those who plot violence and mass destruction against the United States. And through every mission, one man has always had their backs: their handler, code-named Blue Man. But now, Blue Man is missing. Sent to investigate, Robie and Reel arrive in the small town of Grand to discover that it has its own share of problems. A stagnant local economy and a woefully understaffed police force have made this small community a magnet for crime, drugs and a growing number of militant fringe groups. But lying in wait in Grand is an even more insidious and sweeping threat, one that may shake the very foundations of America.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781455586608
FUTURE HOME OF THE LIVING GOD by Louise Erdrich (Dystopian Thriller)
The world as we know it is ending. Evolution has reversed itself, affecting every living creature on earth. Science cannot stop the world from running backwards, as woman after woman gives birth to infants that appear to be primitive species of humans. Thirty-two-year-old Cedar Hawk Songmaker is four months pregnant. Though she wants to tell the adoptive parents who raised her from infancy, Cedar first feels compelled to find her birth mother, an Ojibwe living on the reservation, to understand both her and her baby’s origins. As she goes back to her own biological beginnings, society around her begins to disintegrate. It will take all Cedar has to avoid the prying eyes of potential informants and keep her baby safe.
Harper | 9780062694058
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST: A Molly Murphy Mystery by Rhys Bowen (Historical Mystery)
Semi-retired private detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is suffering from depression after a miscarriage following her adventure in San Francisco during the earthquake of 1906. She and her husband, Daniel, are invited for Christmas at a mansion on the Hudson, and they gratefully accept. Not long after they arrive, however, they learn that the host couple's young daughter wandered out into the snow 10 years ago and was never seen again. Molly can identify with the mother's pain at never knowing what happened to her child, but she slowly begins to suspect that the occupants of the house know more than they are letting on. Then, on Christmas Eve, there is a knock at the door and a young girl stands there. "I'm Charlotte," she says. "I've come home."
Minotaur Books | 9781250125729
THE GHOSTS OF GALWAY: A Jack Taylor Novel by Ken Bruen (Mystery)
Jack Taylor is recovering from a mistaken medical diagnosis and a failed suicide attempt. In need of money, and with former cop on his resume, Jack has been hired as a night-shift security guard. But his Ukrainian boss has Jack in mind for a bit of off-the-books work. He wants Jack to find what some claim to be the first true book of heresy, The Red Book, currently in the possession of a rogue priest who is hiding out in Galway after fleeing a position at the Vatican. Em, the many-faced woman who has had a vise on Jack’s heart and mind for the past two years, reappears and turns out to be entangled with the story of The Red Book, too, leading Jack down ever more mysterious and lethal pathways.
Mysterious Press | 9780802127334
HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich (Mystery)
Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church, Stephanie knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer. If all that’s not enough, Diesel is back in town. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780399179198
INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant (Post-Apocalyptic Thriller)
Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy. Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they're not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life's work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart, this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.
Orbit | 9780316379403
OATHBRINGER: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy/Adventure)
Dalinar Kholin’s Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar’s blood-soaked past and stand together --- and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past --- even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.
Tor Books | 9780765326379
PROMISE ME, DAD: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden (Memoir)
In November 2014, 13 members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past 40 years. It was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor 15 months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. PROMISE ME, DAD chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s life and career.
Flatiron Books | 9781250171672
SEVENTH DECIMATE: The Great God's War by Stephen R. Donaldson (Fantasy)
For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides harnessing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power. And now the Bellegerins stand defenseless. Prince Bifalt, eldest son of the Bellegerin King, would like to see the world wiped free of sorcerers. It is he who is charged with finding the repository of all of their knowledge, to locate the book of the seventh Decimate --- and reverse the fate of his land. But the legendary library, which may or may not exist, lies beyond an unforgiving desert and treacherous mountains --- and beyond the borders of his own experience.
Berkley | 9780399586132
SLEEP NO MORE: Six Murderous Tales by P. D. James (Mystery/Short Stories)
It's not always a question of "whodunit?" Sometimes there's more mystery in the why or how. And although we usually know the unhealthy fates of both victim and perpetrator, what of those clever few who plan and carry out the perfect crime? The ones who aren't brought down even though they're found out? And what about those who do the finding out who witness a murder or who identify the murderer but keep the information to themselves? These are some of the mysteries that we follow through these six stories as we are drawn into the thinking, the memories, the emotional machinations, the rationalizations, the dreams and desires behind murderous cause and effect.
Knopf | 9780525520733
STRANGERS IN BUDAPEST by Jessica Keener (Psychological Thriller)
Eight months after their move from Boston to Budapest, Annie and Will’s efforts to assimilate are thrown into turmoil when they receive a message from friends in the US asking that they check up on an elderly man, a fiercely independent Jewish American WWII veteran who helped free Hungarian Jews from a Nazi prison camp. They soon learn that the man, Edward Weiss, has come to Hungary to exact revenge on someone he is convinced seduced, married and then murdered his daughter. What Annie does not anticipate is that in helping Edward she will become enmeshed in a dark and deadly conflict that will end in tragedy and a stunning loss of innocence.
Algonquin Books | 9781616204976
THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown (Memoir)
THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES is the story of an Englishwoman barely out of her 20s who arrives in New York City with a dream. Summoned from London in hopes that she can save Condé Nast's troubled new flagship Vanity Fair, Tina Brown is immediately plunged into the maelstrom of the competitive New York media world and the backstabbing rivalries at the court of the planet's slickest, most glamour-focused magazine company. She survives the politics, the intrigue and the attempts to derail her by a simple stratagem: succeeding. In the face of rampant skepticism, she triumphantly reinvents a failing magazine.
Henry Holt and Co. | 9781627791366
On Sale the Week of November 13th in Paperback
November 14th
CHRISTMAS DAYS: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette Winterson (Fiction/Short Stories)
Jeanette Winterson brings together 12 of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold Christmas stories, linked by personal memories and 12 delicious recipes for the Twelve Days of Christmas. From jovial spirits to a donkey with a golden nose, a haunted house to a SnowMama, Winterson’s innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers.
Grove Press | 9780802127228
COUNT TO TEN: A Private Novel by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi (Thriller)
Paperback Original
Santosh Wagh quit his job as head of Private India after harrowing events in Mumbai almost got him killed. But Jack Morgan, global head of the world's finest investigation agency, needs him back. Jack is setting up a new office in Delhi, and Santosh is the only person he can trust. Still battling his demons, Santosh accepts, and it's not long before the agency takes on a case that could make or break them. Plastic barrels containing dissolved human remains have been found in the basement of a house in an upmarket area of South Delhi. But this isn't just any house --- this property belongs to the state government. With the crime scene in lockdown and information suppressed by the authorities, delving too deep could make Santosh a target to be eliminated.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538759639
DIFFICULT WOMEN by Roxane Gay (Fiction/Short Stories)
The women in Roxane Gay’s latest collection of stories live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. A pair of sisters have been inseparable ever since they were abducted together as children, and must negotiate the elder sister's marriage. A woman married to a twin pretends not to realize when her husband and his brother impersonate each other. A stripper putting herself through college fends off the advances of an overzealous customer. A black engineer moves to Upper Michigan for a job and faces the malign curiosity of her colleagues and the difficulty of leaving her past behind.
Grove Press | 9780802127372
DYING FOR CHRISTMAS by Tammy Cohen (Psychological Thriller)
Out Christmas shopping one December afternoon, Jessica Gould meets the charming Dominic Lacey and impulsively agrees to go home with him for a drink. What follows is a Twelve Days of Christmas from hell as Lacey holds Jessica captive, forcing her to wear his missing wife’s gowns and eat lavish holiday meals. Each day he gifts her with one item from his twisted past --- his dead sister’s favorite toy, disturbing family photos, a box of teeth. As the days pass and the “gifts” become darker and darker, Jessica realizes that Lacey has a plan for her, and he never intends to let her go. But Jessica has a secret of her own --- a secret that may just mean she has a chance to make it out alive.
Pegasus Books | 9781681775579
ECHOES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger (Mystery Anthology)
In this follow-up to the acclaimed IN THE COMPANY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, expert Sherlockians Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger put forth the question: What happens when great writers/creators who are not known as Sherlock Holmes devotees admit to being inspired by Conan Doyle stories? While some are highly regarded mystery writers, others are best known for their work in the fields of fantasy or science fiction. All of these talented authors, however, share a great admiration for Arthur Conan Doyle and his greatest creations, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Pegasus Books | 9781681775463
EIGHT FLAVORS: The Untold Story of American Cuisine by Sarah Lohman (Cooking/History)
The United States boasts a culturally and ethnically diverse population that makes for a continually changing culinary landscape. But a young historical gastronomist named Sarah Lohman discovered that American food is united by eight flavors: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG and Sriracha. In EIGHT FLAVORS, Lohman sets out to explore how these influential ingredients made their way to the American table.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476753966
THE FALL GUY by James Lasdun (Psychological Thriller)
Charlie, a wealthy banker with an uneasy conscience, invites his troubled cousin Matthew to visit him and his wife in their idyllic mountaintop house. As the days grow hotter, the friendship between the three begins to reveal its fault lines, and with the arrival of a fourth character, the household finds itself suddenly in the grip of uncontrollable passions. THE FALL GUY is a complex moral tale as well as a gripping suspense story, probing questions of guilt and betrayal with ruthless incisiveness. Who is the real victim here? Who is the perpetrator? And who, ultimately, is the fall guy?
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393354942
FATES AND TRAITORS: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth and the Women Who Loved Him by Jennifer Chiaverini (Historical Fiction)
The subject of more than a century of scholarship, speculation and even obsession, John Wilkes Booth is often portrayed as a shadowy figure: a violent loner whose single murderous act made him the most hated man in America. Lost to history until now is the story of the four women whom he loved and who loved him in return: Mary Ann, the steadfast matriarch of the Booth family; Asia, his loyal sister and confidante; Lucy Lambert Hale, the senator’s daughter who adored Booth yet tragically misunderstood the intensity of his wrath; and Mary Surratt, the Confederate widow entrusted with the secrets of his vengeful plot.
Dutton | 9781101983843
THE FLEET AT FLOOD TIDE: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945 by James D. Hornfischer (History)
Drawing on new primary sources and personal accounts by Americans and Japanese alike, THE FLEET AT FLOOD TIDE is a thrilling narrative of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War, focusing on the U.S. invasion of the Mariana Islands in June 1944 and the momentous events that it produced. With its thunderous assault into Japan's inner defensive perimeter, America crossed the threshold of total war. From the seaborne invasion of Saipan to the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, from the largest banzai attack of the war to the first mass suicides of Japanese civilians to the strategic bombing effort that culminated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas became the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender --- with consequences that forever changed modern war.
Bantam | 9780345548726
GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS by Deborah Crombie (Mystery)
A young woman named Reagan Keating has been murdered in one of Notting Hill’s private gardens, and the lead detective, DI Kerry Boatman, turns to Gemma James for help. Gemma soon discovers that Reagan’s death is the second tragedy in this exclusive London park; a few months before, a young boy died in a tragic accident. But when still another of the garden residents meets a violent end, it becomes clear that there are more sinister forces at play. While his wife is consumed with her new case, Duncan Kincaid finds himself plagued by disturbing questions about several previous --- and seemingly unrelated --- cases involving members of the force. If his suspicions are correct and the crimes are linked, are his family and friends in mortal danger as well?
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062271648
THE HONEYMOON by Dinitia Smith (Historical Fiction)
Dinitia Smith’s novel recounts George Eliot’s honeymoon in Venice following her marriage to a handsome young man 20 years her junior. When she agreed to marry John Walter Cross, Eliot was recovering from the death of George Henry Lewes, her beloved companion of 26 years. Eliot was bereft: left at the age of 60 to contemplate profound questions about her physical decline, her fading appeal and the prospect of loneliness. In her youth, Mary Ann Evans --- who would later be known as George Eliot --- was a country girl, considered too plain to marry, so she educated herself in order to secure a livelihood.
Other Press | 9781590518885
JUST GETTING STARTED by Tony Bennett with Scott Simon (Memoir)
At 91, musician and singer Tony Bennett is as vibrant and productive as ever. In addition to his prodigious musical output, including albums, concerts and personal appearances, this beloved and enduring artist has written his next book. In 2012’s LIFE IS A GIFT, Tony reflected on the lessons he has learned over the years. Now, in JUST GETTING STARTED, he pays homage to the remarkable people who inspired those lessons.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780062476784
THE LIBRARY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD by Felicity Hayes-McCoy (Fiction)
Paperback Original
As she drives her mobile library van between villages of Ireland’s West Coast, Hanna Casey tries not to think about a lot of things. Like the sophisticated lifestyle she abandoned after finding her English barrister husband in bed with another woman. Or her nagging fear that, as the local librarian and a prominent figure in the community, her failed marriage and ignominious return have made her a focus of gossip. Hanna is determined to reclaim her independence by restoring a derelict cottage left to her by her great-aunt. But when the threatened closure of the Lissbeg Library puts her personal plans in jeopardy, Hanna finds herself leading a battle to restore the heart and soul of the Finfarran Peninsula’s fragmented community.
Harper Perennial | 9780062663726
LIVING OUT LOUD: Sports, Cancer, and the Things Worth Fighting For by Craig Sager, with Craig Sager II and Brian Curtis (Memoir)
Thanks to an eccentric wardrobe and a love of sports that knew no bounds, Craig Sager was one of the most beloved and recognizable broadcasters on television. So when the sports world learned that he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), there was an outpouring of love and support from everyone who was inspired by his colorful life and his fearless decision to continue doing the job he loved --- despite being told that he would have only 3-6 months to live. In LIVING OUT LOUD, Sager shares incredible stories from his remarkable career and chronicles his heroic battle.
Flatiron Books | 9781250125644
A MATTER OF HONOR: Pearl Harbor: Betrayal, Blame, and a Family's Quest for Justice by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (History)
In the aftermath of the Japanese onslaught on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, was relieved of command, accused of negligence and dereliction of duty. But the Admiral defended his actions through eight investigations and for the rest of his long life. Following the Admiral’s death, his sons fought on to clear his name. Now that they in turn are dead, Kimmel’s grandsons continue the struggle. With unprecedented access to documents, diaries and letters, and the family’s cooperation, Summers’ and Swan’s search for the truth has taken them far beyond the Kimmel story --- to explore claims of duplicity and betrayal in high places in Washington.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780062405524
THE MOUNTAIN OF KEPT MEMORY by Rachel Neumeier (Fantasy/Adventure)
Long ago, the Kieba, last goddess in the world, raised up her mountain in the drylands of Carastind. Ever since then, she has dwelled and protected the world from unending plagues and danger. Gulien Madalin, heir to the throne of Carastind, suspects that his father has offended the Kieba so seriously that she has withdrawn her protection from the kingdom. Worse, he fears that Carastind’s enemies suspect this as well. Then he learns that he is right. And invasion is imminent. When Gulien’s sister, Oressa, overhears news about the threatened invasion, she is shocked to discover what her father plans to give away in order to buy peace. But Carastind’s enemies intend to not only conquer the kingdom, but also cast down the Kieba and steal her power.
Saga Press | 9781481448956
THE PARIS SECRET by Karen Swan (Fiction)
Paperback Original
When high-powered fine art agent Flora Sykes is called in to assess objets d’art in a Paris apartment that has been abandoned since WWII, she is skeptical at first --- until she discovers that the treasure trove of paintings is myriad…and priceless. The powerful Vermeil family to whom they belong is eager to learn more and asks Flora to trace the history of each painting. Despite a shocking announcement that has left her own family reeling, Flora finds herself thrown into the glamorous world of the Vermeils. But she soon realizes there is more to this project than first appears. As she researches the provenance of their prize Renoir, she uncovers a scandal surrounding the painting --- and a secret that goes to the very heart of the family.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062672827
THE SECOND MRS. HOCKADAY by Susan Rivers (Historical Fiction)
When Major Gryffth Hockaday is called to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband’s 300-acre farm and infant son. Placidia, a mere teenager herself living far from her family and completely unprepared to run a farm or raise a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two years later, Placidia is bound for jail, accused of having borne a child in his absence and murdering it. What really transpired in the two years he was away?
Algonquin Books | 9781616207366
THE SECRET LIFE OF SOULS by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee (Psychological Suspense)
Eleven-year-old actress Delia Cross is beautiful, talented and charismatic. A true star in the making, her days are a blur of hard work on set, auditions and tutors. Her family --- driven, pill-popping stage mother Pat, wastrel dad Bart, and introverted twin brother Robbie --- depends on her for their upscale lifestyle. Delia, in turn, depends on Caity, her beloved ginger Queensland Heeler --- and loyal friend --- for the calming private space they share. Delia is on the verge of a professional breakthrough. But just as the contracts are about to be signed, there is a freak accident that puts Delia in the danger zone with only Caity to protect her.
Pegasus Books | 9781681775449
SHAKEDOWN by Martin Bodenham (Thriller)
Paperback Original
Damon Traynor leaves a glittering career on Wall Street to set up his own private equity business. When it is the winning bidder in the multi-billion-dollar auction for a government-owned defense company, his firm’s future success looks certain. But soon after the deal closes, Damon makes an alarming discovery --- something that makes the recent acquisition worthless. Then he learns he was duped by the financially strapped federal administration and that there are many others in the same position. Facing financial ruin, he investigates the US treasury officials behind the transaction. What Damon uncovers is a terrifying web of organized crime involving blackmail and assassination on an industrial scale.
Down & Out Books | 9781946502131
SHINING CITY by Tom Rosenstiel (Thriller)
Peter Rena is a “fixer.” He and his partner, Randi Brooks, earn their living making the problems of the powerful disappear. They get their biggest job yet when the White House hires them to vet the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Judge Roland Madison is a legal giant, but he’s a political maverick, with views that might make the already tricky confirmation process even more difficult. Rena and his team go full-bore to cover every inch of the judge’s past, while the competing factions of Washington, D.C. mobilize with frightening intensity. All of that becomes background when a string of seemingly random killings overlaps with Rena’s investigation, with Judge Madison a possible target.
Ecco | 9780062475374
STOLEN BEAUTY by Laurie Lico Albanese (Historical Fiction)
In the dazzling glitter of 1900 Vienna, Adele Bloch-Bauer meets painter Gustav Klimt. Though they enjoy a life where sex and art are just beginning to break through the façade of conventional society, the city is also exhibiting a disturbing increase in anti-Semitism, as political hatred foments in the shadows of Adele’s coffee house afternoons and cultural salons. Nearly 40 years later, Adele’s niece Maria Altmann is a newlywed when the Nazis invade Austria. When her husband is arrested and her family is forced out of their home, Maria must summon the courage and resilience that is her aunt’s legacy if she is to survive and keep her family --- and their history --- alive.
Washington Square Press | 9781501131998
THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG: A Memoir by Carole Bayer Sager (Memoir)
For five decades, Carole Bayer Sager has been among the most admired and successful songwriters at work, responsible for her lyrical contributions to some of the most popular songs in the English language. But while her professional life was filled with success and fascinating people, her personal life was far more difficult and dramatic. In this memoir, Sager tells the surprisingly frank and darkly humorous story of a woman whose sometimes crippling fears and devastating relationships inspired many of the songs she would ultimately write.
Simon & Schuster | 9781501153273
THUS BAD BEGINS written by Javier Marias, translated by Margaret Jull Costa (Psychological Thriller)
In Madrid, 1980, five years after dictator Francisco Franco's death, Juan de Vere takes a job assisting Eduardo Muriel, a film director in the twilight of his career. Muriel is eccentric but charming, an irresistible idol for Juan. But certain people --- and forces --- loom, among them Beatriz, Muriel's difficult wife; and Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, a mysterious figure implicated in unsavory rumors involving Muriel. As Juan digs deeper into all three of their lives, the deceptions and loyalties he begins to uncover will change the course of his young life.
Vintage | 9781101911914
TIPPI: A Memoir by Tippi Hedren (Memoir)
For decades, Tippi Hedren’s luminous beauty radiated from the silver screen, enchanting moviegoers and cementing her position among Hollywood’s elite. For too long Hedren’s story has been told by others through whispered gossip and tabloid headlines. Now, Hedren sets the record straight, recalling how a young and virtuous Lutheran girl from small-town Minnesota became a worldwide legend --- as one of the most famous Hitchcock girls, as an unwavering animal activist, and as the matriarch of a powerful Hollywood dynasty that includes her movie star daughter Melanie Griffith, and rising star Dakota Johnson, her granddaughter.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062469045
TURN ON THE HEAT: A Cool & Lam Mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner, writing as A. A. Fair (Hard-boiled Mystery)
Paperback Original
Hired by a mysterious “Mr. Smith” to find a woman who vanished 21 years earlier, Donald Lam finds himself facing a sadistic cop, a desperate showgirl, a duplicitous client, and one very dogged (and beautiful) newspaper reporter --- while Bertha Cool’s attempts to cut herself in on this lucrative opportunity land them both hip-deep in murder.
Hard Case Crime | 9781785656170
WHO WATCHETH: An Inspector Irene Huss Investigation written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy (Mystery)
A woman is found dead in a cemetery. Just a few days before her death, the victim had received a flower, an unintelligible note, and a photograph of herself. Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her colleagues on the Violent Crimes Unit have neither clue nor motive to pursue, and when similar murders follow, their search for the killer becomes increasingly desperate. Meanwhile, strange things have been going on at home for Irene: first the rose bush in her garden is mangled, then she receives a threatening package with no return address. Is Irene being paranoid, or is she next on the killer’s list?
Soho Crime | 9781616958657
On Sale the Week of November 20th in Hardcover
November 20th
THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS by James Patterson (Thriller)
Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law --- until now. Charged with gunning down followers of his nemesis Gary Soneji in cold blood, Cross is being turned into the poster child for trigger-happy cops who think they're above the law. Cross knows it was self-defense. But will a jury see it that way? As Cross fights for his professional life and his freedom, his former partner John Sampson brings him a gruesome, titillating video tied to the mysterious disappearances of several young girls. Despite his suspension from the department, Cross can't say no to Sampson. The illicit investigation leads them to the darkest corners of the internet, where murder is just another form of entertainment.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316273909
November 21st
MURDER IN THE MANUSCRIPT ROOM: A 42nd Street Library Mystery by Con Lehane (Mystery)
When a murder desecrates the somber, book-lined halls of New York City’s iconic 42nd Street Library, Raymond Ambler, the library’s curator of crime fiction, has a personal interest in solving the crime. His quest to solve the murder is complicated by personal entanglements involving his friend --- or perhaps more-than-friend --- Adele Morgan. Ambler suspects that the murder of the young woman, who had been working at the library under an assumed name, and the curious intervention of NYPD’s intelligence division are connected. The trail of intrigue leads to a seemingly unrelated murder in an upstate prison and a long-ago murder of a trade union reformer.
Minotaur Books | 9781250069993
POISON by Galt Niederhoffer (Psychological Thriller)
Cass and Ryan Connor have achieved family nirvana. With three kids between them, a cat and a yard, a home they built and feathered, they seem to have the Modern Family dream. Their family, including Cass' two children from previous relationships, has recently moved to Portland --- a new start for their new lives. Cass and Ryan have stable, successful careers, and they are happy. But trouble begins almost imperceptibly. First with small omissions and white lies that happen daily in any marital bedroom. They seem insignificant, but they are quickly followed by a series of denials and feints that mushroom and then cyclone in menace.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250085290
PRAIRIE FIRES: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser (Biography)
Millions of readers of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls --- the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the woman who wrote the famous autobiographical books. But the true saga of her life has never been fully told. Now, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records, Caroline Fraser fills in the gaps in Wilder’s biography. Revealing the grown-up story behind the most influential childhood epic of pioneer life, she also chronicles Wilder's tumultuous relationship with her journalist daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, setting the record straight regarding charges of ghostwriting that have swirled around the books.
Metropolitan Books | 9781627792769
SECRETS OF CAVENDON by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Historical Fiction)
It’s the summer of 1949, and things have run smoothly at Cavendon Hall for years, with very few quarrels, dramas or upsets between the two families. But since the end of World War II, changes have arrived at Cavendon. A new generation is at the helm, and also at the forefront of new scandal and intrigue. With romance, betrayal, heartbreak and possible murder threatening to tear them apart, the Inghams and Swanns will have to find a way to come together and protect each other in the face of threats they never could have predicted.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250091451
THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg (Fiction)
For the past six months, Arthur Moses’ days have looked the same: He tends to his rose garden and to Gordon, his cat, then rides the bus to the cemetery to visit his beloved late wife for lunch. Seventeen-year-old Maddy Harris is an introspective girl who often comes to the cemetery to escape the other kids at school and a life of loss. She’s seen Arthur sitting there alone, and one afternoon she joins him --- a gesture that begins a surprising friendship between two lonely souls. Moved by Arthur’s kindness and devotion, Maddy gives him the nickname “Truluv.” As Arthur’s neighbor Lucille moves into their orbit, the unlikely trio bands together, helping one another, through heartache and hardships, to rediscover their own potential to start anew.
Random House | 9781400069903
THE WHISPERING ROOM: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz (Thriller)
“No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.” These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun --- just before she takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better. In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide --- and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals --- Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment.
Bantam | 9780345546807
WINTER OF ICE AND IRON by Rachel Neumeier (Fantasy/Adventure)
With the Mad King of Emmer in the north and the vicious King of Pohorir in the east, Kehara Raehema knows her country is in a vulnerable position. She never expected to give up everything she loves to save her people, but when the Mad King’s fury leaves her land in danger, she has no choice but to try any stratagem that might buy time for her people to prepare for war --- no matter the personal cost. Hundreds of miles away, the pitiless Wolf Duke of Pohorir, Innisth Eanete, dreams of breaking his people and his province free of the king he despises. But he has no way to make that happen --- until chance unexpectedly leaves Kehara on his doorstep and at his mercy.
Saga Press | 9781481448970
On Sale the Week of November 20th in Paperback
November 20th
WHEN THE LONESOME DOG BARKS: A Jace Salome Novel by Trey R. Barker (Mystery)
Paperback Original
Two bodies, recently beaten to death, are discovered on the edges of Zachary County. There is a recent attempt to break into the security office at a resort in nearby Rooster County. And the Zachary County Jail has exploded with seemingly random fights. When Deputy Sheriff Jace Salome finds a smartphone in the jail, she learns the random fights are anything but, that they have been filmed and then emailed from the phone to an intricate web of private email servers and access-only websites. The two dead bodies, as well as the investigation of the resort break-in, and Jace’s look into the fights, all collide when she discovers that a dead girl had been in the Zachary County jail and that video exists of her getting beaten both in the jail and in the security office of the hotel.
Down & Out Books | 9781946502148
November 21st
ALL THE GALLANT MEN: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor by Donald Stratton with Ken Gire (Memoir)
At 8:10am on December 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Donald Stratton was consumed by an inferno. A million pounds of explosives had detonated beneath his battle station aboard the USS Arizona, barely 15 minutes into Japan’s surprise attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. Near death and burned across two thirds of his body, Don summoned the will to haul himself hand over hand across a rope tethered to a neighboring vessel. In this extraordinary, never-before-told eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack --- the only memoir ever written by a survivor of the USS Arizona --- the 94-year-old veteran finally shares his unforgettable personal tale of bravery and survival, his harrowing recovery, and his inspiring determination to return to the fight.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062645364
ANATOMY OF A SONG: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop by Marc Myers (Music/History)
Writer and music historian Marc Myers brings to life five decades of music in ANATOMY OF A SONG, based on the popular ongoing Wall Street Journal column, through oral histories of 45 transformative songs woven from interviews with the artists who created them. Taking readers inside the making of a hit, the book includes Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz,” Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Smokey Robinson, Grace Slick, Mavis Staples, Steven Tyler, the Clash, Merle Haggard, Bonnie Raitt, Debbie Harry and many other leading artists reveal the inspirations, struggles and techniques behind their influential works.
Grove Press | 9780802127181
BLACK WIDOW: A Jack Parlabane Thriller by Christopher Brookmyre (Thriller)
Diana Jager is a skilled surgeon and fierce campaigner via her blog about sexism in medicine. Yet it takes only hours for her life to crumble when her personal details are released on the internet as revenge for her writing. Then she meets Peter. He is kind, generous and knows nothing about her past. Within six months, they are married. Within six more, Peter is dead in a road accident. Peter's sister, Lucy, tasks rogue reporter Jack Parlabane with discovering the dark truth behind the woman the media is calling the Black Widow. Still on the mend from a turbulent divorce, Jack's investigation into matters of the heart takes him to hidden places no one should ever have to go.
Grove Press | 9780802127204
COUNTDOWN TO PEARL HARBOR: The Twelve Days to the Attack by Steve Twomey (History)
In Washington, DC, in late November 1941, admirals composed the most ominous message in Navy history to warn Hawaii of possible danger --- but they wrote it too vaguely. They thought precautions were being taken, but never checked to be sure. In a small office at Pearl Harbor, overlooking the battleships, the commander of the Pacific Fleet tried to assess whether the threat was real. There were false assumptions and racist ones, misunderstandings, infighting and clashes between egos. Steve Twomey shows how careless decisions and blinkered beliefs gave birth to colossal failure. But he tells the story with compassion and a wise understanding of why people --- even smart, experienced, talented people --- look down at their feet when they should be scanning the sky.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476776484
THE FORTUNATE ONES by Ellen Umansky (Fiction)
As the specter of war darkens Europe in 1939, Rose Zimmer’s parents manage to secure passage for their young daughter on a kindertransport and send her to live with strangers in England. Six years later, Rose cannot help but try to search out one piece of her childhood: the Chaim Soutine painting her mother had cherished. In modern-day Los Angeles, Lizzie Goldstein has returned home for her father’s funeral. The Soutine painting that she loved and had provided lasting comfort to her after her own mother had died was stolen, and has never been recovered. This painting will bring Lizzie and Rose together and ignite an unexpected friendship, eventually revealing long-held secrets that hold painful truths.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062382498
GEORGE LUCAS: A Life by Brian Jay Jones (Biography)
On May 25, 1977, a problem-plagued, budget-straining independent science-fiction film opened in a mere 32 American movie theaters. Conceived, written and directed by a little-known filmmaker named George Lucas, Star Wars reinvented the cinematic landscape, ushering in a new way for movies to be made, marketed and merchandised. Lucas went on to create the Indiana Jones series, transform the world of special effects, and forever change the way movies sound. His innovation and ambition forged some of today's most prominent companies, including Pixar, Lucasfilm, THX sound and Industrial Light & Magic. This acclaimed biography captures the life and times of a film icon whose influence is unmatched.
Back Bay Books | 9780316257428
I’LL TAKE YOU THERE by Wally Lamb (Fiction)
Felix is a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he’s confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit --- and, in some cases, relive --- scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema’s big screen. In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses.
Harper Perennial | 9780062656308
JUDAS written by Amos Oz, translated by Nicholas de Lange (Historical Fiction)
Jerusalem, 1959. Shmuel Ash, a biblical scholar, is adrift in his young life when he finds work as a caregiver for a brilliant but cantankerous old man named Gershom Wald. There is, however, a third, mysterious presence in his new home. Atalia Abarbanel, the daughter of a deceased Zionist leader, a beautiful woman in her 40s, entrances young Shmuel even as she keeps him at a distance. Piece by piece, the old Jerusalem stone house, haunted by tragic history and now home to the three misfits and their intricate relationship, reveals its secrets.
Mariner Books | 9781328745491
THE KID by Ron Hansen (Historical Fiction/Western)
Born Henry McCarty, Billy the Kid was a diminutive, charming, blond-haired young man who, growing up in New York, Kansas and later New Mexico, demonstrated a precocious dexterity at firing six-shooters with either hand --- a skill that both got him into and out of trouble and that turned him into an American legend of the old West. He was smart, well-spoken, attractive to both white and Mexican women, a good dancer, and a man with a nose for money, horses and trouble. His spree of crimes and murders has been immortalized in dime westerns, novels and movies. In THE KID, Ron Hansen breathes life into history, bringing readers back into Billy’s boyhood as a ranch hand just trying to wrest a fortune from an unforgiving landscape.
Scribner | 9781501133305
LITTLE BROKEN THINGS by Nicole Baart (Fiction)
Paperback Original
I have something for you. When Quinn Cruz receives that cryptic text message from her older sister Nora, she doesn’t think much of it. They haven’t seen each other in nearly a year, and their relationship consists mostly of infrequent phone calls and an occasional email or text. But when a haunted Nora shows up at the lake near Quinn's house just hours later, a chain reaction is set into motion that will change both of their lives forever. Nora’s “something” is more shocking than Quinn could have ever imagined: a little girl, cowering, wide-eyed and tight-lipped. But before Quinn can ask even one of the million questions swirling around her head, Nora disappears, and Quinn finds herself the unlikely caretaker of a girl introduced simply as Lucy.
Atria Books | 9781501133602
PRINCE CHARLES: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life by Sally Bedell Smith (Biography)
Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new look at Prince Charles, the oldest heir to the throne in more than 300 years. This biography --- the product of four years of research and hundreds of interviews with palace officials, former girlfriends, spiritual gurus and more, some speaking on the record for the first time --- is the first authoritative treatment of Charles’ life that sheds light on the death of Diana, his marriage to Camilla, and his preparations to take the throne one day. PRINCE CHARLES brings to life the real man, with all of his ambitions, insecurities and convictions.
Random House Trade Paperbacks | 9780812979800
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