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In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of February 12th and February 19th 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 a BIG contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com, where we’re giving 10 book groups the chance to win up to six digital or physical copies of the audiobook edition of Kristin Hannah's THE GREAT ALONE (read by Julia Whelan) and share their comments on it. We also are awarding 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. The deadline for your entries is Thursday, March 8th at noon ET.
Also, be sure to check out our New Release Spotlight of THE GREAT ALONE (which includes our review) and our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight of THE MASTERPIECE by Francine Rivers (which includes our review and interview with the author). THE GREAT ALONE will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick; you can read Carol Fitzgerald's Bets On commentary in the February 16th edition of the Bookreporter.com Weekly Update newsletter.
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
This Week's Bonus News: Enter to Win the Audiobook Edition of Kristin Hannah's THE GREAT ALONE
and Share Your Comments on It
ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special audiobook contest for Kristin Hannah's latest novel, THE GREAT ALONE. Ten book groups will win up to six digital or physical copies of the audiobook, which is read by Julia Whelan. Additionally, we'll be giving 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 8th at noon ET.
In order to qualify as a winning group, your group must be able to commit to listening to and discussing THE GREAT ALONE, and sharing your group's feedback with us, by Friday, May 18th. We strongly encourage all winners to share their experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com’s “Sounding Off on Audio” feature.
THE GREAT ALONE Audiobook written by Kristin Hannah, read by Julia Whelan (Historical Fiction)
The newest audiobook sensation from Kristin Hannah, bestselling author of THE NIGHTINGALE.
This program is read by acclaimed narrator Julia Whelan, whose enchanting voice brought GONE GIRL and FATES AND FURIES to life. Kristin Hannah reads the acknowledgments.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. Thirteen-year-old Leni dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. But as winter approaches, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within.
- Click here to listen to a clip from the audiobook.
Click here to enter the contest.
On Sale the Week of February 12th in Hardcover
February 13th
ALL THE PIECES MATTER: The Inside Story of “The Wire” by Jonathan Abrams (Performing Arts)
Since its final episode aired in 2008, HBO’s acclaimed crime drama "The Wire" has only become more popular and influential. The issues it tackled, from the failures of the drug war and criminal justice system to systemic bias in law enforcement and other social institutions, have become more urgent and central to the national conversation. But while there has been a great deal of critical analysis of the show and its themes, until now there has never been a definitive, behind-the-scenes take on how it came to be made. With unparalleled access to all the key actors and writers involved in its creation, Jonathan Abrams tells the astonishing, compelling and complete account of "The Wire," from its inception and creation through its end and powerful legacy.
Crown Archetype | 9780451498144
THE CHATEAU by Paul Goldberg (Fiction/Humor)
Fired from his job as a science reporter for The Washington Post, Bill learns that his college roommate has fallen to his death under salacious circumstances. With nothing to lose, Bill boards a flight for Florida’s Gold Coast, ready to begin his own investigation. There’s just one catch: Bill’s father, Melsor, is angling for control of the condo board at the Château Sedan Neuve, a crumbling high-rise populated mostly by Russian Jewish immigrants. The current board is filled with fraudsters levying “special assessments” on residents, and Melsor will use any means necessary to win the board election. And who better to help him than his estranged son?
Picador | 9781250116093
DON'T SKIP OUT ON ME by Willy Vlautin (Fiction)
Horace Hopper has spent most of his life on a Nevada sheep ranch, but dreams of something bigger. Mr. and Mrs. Reese took him in and treated him like a son, intending to leave the ranch in his hands. But Horace feels as if he doesn’t belong on the ranch, or anywhere, and decides to leave the only loving home he’s known to prove his worth as a championship boxer. Reinventing himself as Hector Hildago, a scrappy Mexican boxer, he heads to Tucson and begins training and entering fights. His journey brings him to boxing rings across the Southwest and Mexico, and finally to the streets of Las Vegas, where Horace learns he can’t change who he is or outrun his destiny.
Harper Perennial | 9780062684455
THE DRIEST SEASON by Meghan Kenny (Historical Fiction)
As her Wisconsin community endures a long season of drought and feels the shockwaves of World War II, 15-year-old Cielle endures a more personal calamity: the unexpected death of her father. On a balmy summer afternoon, she finds him hanging in the barn --- the start of a dark secret that threatens her family’s livelihood. A war rages elsewhere, while in the deceptive calm of the American heartland, Cielle’s family contends with a new reality and fights not to be undone.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393634594
FRESHWATER by Akwaeke Emezi (Fiction)
Ada begins her life in the south of Nigeria as a troubled baby and a source of deep concern to her family. Her parents, Saul and Saachi, successfully prayed her into existence, but as she grows into a volatile and splintered child, it becomes clear that something went terribly awry. When Ada comes of age and moves to America for college, the group of selves within her grows in power and agency. A traumatic assault leads to a crystallization of her alternate selves: Asụghara and Saint Vincent. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind and these selves --- now protective, now hedonistic --- move into control, Ada's life spirals in a dark and dangerous direction.
Grove Press | 9780802127358
A GRAVE ISSUE: A Funeral Parlor Mystery by Lillian Bell (Cozy Mystery)
After an on-air gaffe goes viral and jeopardizes her career, journalist Desiree Turner retreats home to Verbena, California for some peace and quiet. She begins presiding over funerals for her great-grandfather’s funeral parlor. But the action seems to follow her as a fistfight breaks out between neighbors Rosemarie Brewer and Lola Hansen at one of the first funerals she’s in charge of running. Rosemarie’s husband, Alan, is found murdered shortly after. Lola’s husband, Kyle, is immediately arrested. Determined to clear his name, Desiree jumps head first into the investigation and quickly discovers that Alan had several unsavory habits at his job and in his personal life, including putting assets into his mistress’s account to hide them from Rosemarie.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781683314905
THE KISS: Intimacies from Writers edited by Brian Turner (Essays)
From Sioux Falls to Khartoum, from Kyoto to Reykjavik; from the panchayat forests of India to the Giant’s Causeway on the coast of Northern Ireland; in taxis and at bus stops, in kitchens and sleigh beds, haystacks and airports around the globe --- people are kissing one another. The sublime kiss. The ambiguous kiss. The devastating kiss. The kiss we can’t take back. The kiss we can never give. The kiss that changes a life. In this anthology, writers and thinkers share their thoughts on a specific kiss --- the unexpected and unforgettable --- in an attempt to bridge the gulf, to connect us to one another on a deeply human level, and to explore the messy and complicated intimacies that exist in our actual lives, as well as in the complicated landscape of the imagination.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393635263
THE KREMLIN'S CANDIDATE by Jason Matthews (Thriller)
In this final installment of the Red Sparrow trilogy, Russian president Vladimir Putin is planning the covert assassination of a high-ranking US official with the intention of replacing him with a mole whom Russian intelligence has cultivated for more than 15 years. Catching wind of this plot, Dominika, Nate and their CIA colleagues must unmask the traitor before he or she is able to reveal that Dominika has been spying for years on behalf of the CIA. Ultimately, the lines of danger converge on the spectacular billion-dollar presidential palace on the Black Sea during a power weekend with Putin’s inner circle. Does Nate sacrifice himself to save Dominika? Does she forfeit herself to protect Nate? Do they go down together?
Scribner | 9781501140082
THE LEGACY by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Mystery/Thriller)
The only person who might have the answers to a baffling murder case is the victim’s seven-year-old daughter, found hiding in the room where her mother died. And she’s not talking. Newly promoted, out of his depth, detective Huldar turns to Freyja, a psychologist, for her expertise with traumatized young people. Freyja, who distrusts the police in general and Huldar in particular, isn’t best pleased. But she’s determined to keep little Margret safe. It may prove tricky. The killer is leaving them strange clues, but can they crack the code? And if they do, will they be next?
Minotaur Books | 9781250136268
THE LOST GIRLS OF CAMP FOREVERMORE by Kim Fu (Fiction)
A group of young girls descend on Camp Forevermore, a sleepaway camp in the Pacific Northwest, where their days are filled with swimming lessons, friendship bracelets, and camp songs by the fire. Filled with excitement and nervous energy, they set off on an overnight kayaking trip to a nearby island. But before the night is over, they find themselves stranded, with no adults to help them survive or guide them home. THE LOST GIRLS OF CAMP FOREVERMORE traces these five girls --- Nita, Andee, Isabel, Dina and Siobhan --- through and beyond this fateful trip.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 9780544098268
MADNESS IS BETTER THAN DEFEAT by Ned Beauman (Historical/Literary Thriller)
In 1938, two rival expeditions descend on an ancient temple recently discovered in the jungles of Honduras --- one intending to shoot a screwball comedy on location there, the other to disassemble the temple and ship it back to New York. A seemingly endless stalemate ensues, and 20 years later a rogue CIA agent sets out to exploit it for his own ends, unaware that the temple is a locus of conspiracies far grander than anyone could have ever guessed.
Knopf | 9780385352994
MRS. by Caitlin Macy (Fiction)
Despite a shadowy past, Philippa Lye has somehow married the scion of the last family-held investment bank in New York City. Then, into her precariously balanced life, come two women: Gwen Hogan, a childhood acquaintance who uncovers an explosive secret about Philippa's single days, and Minnie Curtis, a newcomer whose vast fortune and frank revelations about a penurious upbringing in Spanish Harlem put everyone on alert. When Gwen's prosecutor husband stumbles over the connection between Philippa's past and the criminal investigation he is pursuing at all costs, this insulated society is forced to confront the rot at its core and the price it has paid to survive into the new millennium.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316434157
NIGHT MOVES: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
There’s no spilled blood, no evidence of a struggle, and, thanks to the victim’s missing face and hands, no immediate means of identification. And no telling why the disfigured corpse of a stranger has appeared in an upscale L.A. family’s home. Chet Corvin, his wife and their two teenage children are certain the John Doe is unknown to them. Despite that, their cooperation seems guarded. And that’s more than LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware can elicit from the Corvins’ creepy next-door neighbor. As the investigation ensues, it becomes clear that this well-to-do suburban enclave has its share of curious eyes, suspicious minds and loose lips.
Ballantine Books | 9780345541468
OLYMPUS BOUND by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Urban Fantasy/Thriller)
Summer in New York: a golden hour on the city streets, but a dark time for Selene. She's lost her home and the man she loves. A cult hungry for ancient power has kidnapped her father and targeted her friends. To save them, Selene must face the past she's been running from --- a past that stretches back millennia, to when the faithful called her Huntress. Moon Goddess. Artemis. With the pantheon at her side, Selene must journey back to the seat of her immortal power: from the streets of Rome and the temples of Athens --- to the heights of Mount Olympus itself.
Orbit | 9780316385947
A PERFECT UNIVERSE: Ten Stories by Scott O'Connor (Fiction/Short Stories)
Welcome to the often-overlooked corners of sun-bleached Los Angeles, where a teenaged bicycle thief searches for a kidnapped boy, a young musician emerges as the lone survivor of a building collapse, and an aging actor faces the erasure of his past. There, far from the Hollywood spotlight, we also meet two sisters locked in a destructive cycle of memory and illness, coffee-shop regulars whose lives are torn apart by a stunning moment of violence, and the desperate, fraudulent writer whose fictions connect these characters in subtle and surprising ways.
Gallery/Scout Press | 9781507204054
THE PHILOSOPHER'S FLIGHT by Tom Miller (Historical Fantasy)
Robert Weekes is a practitioner of empirical philosophy --- an arcane, female-dominated branch of science used to summon the wind, shape clouds of smoke, heal the injured, and even fly. When a deadly accident puts his philosophical abilities to the test, Robert wins a scholarship to study at Radcliffe College, an all-women’s school. He falls hard for Danielle Hardin, a disillusioned young war hero turned political radical. However, Danielle’s activism and Robert’s recklessness attract the attention of the same fanatical anti-philosophical group that Robert’s mother fought years before. Robert and Danielle band together to fight for Robert’s place among the next generation of empirical philosophers --- and for philosophy’s very survival against the men who would destroy it.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476778150
THE PLEA by Steve Cavanagh (Legal Thriller)
Billionaire David Child swears he didn’t murder his girlfriend, Clara. But the evidence overwhelmingly shows that David killed her. The FBI believes that David’s arrest and obvious guilt could help them take down a huge money laundering scheme --- if they can get him to testify. Con-artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn is given the job: persuade David to plead guilty and give the agents the evidence they need. If Eddie can’t get David to take a plea bargain, the FBI has incriminating files on Eddie’s wife --- and will send her to jail. But David insists that he didn’t murder anyone. As the FBI pressures Eddie to secure the guilty plea, Eddie becomes increasingly convinced that David is telling the truth.
Flatiron Books | 9781250105561
POISON: A Dismas Hardy Novel by John Lescroart (Legal Thriller)
Finally recovered from two glancing gunshot wounds, Dismas Hardy is looking forward to easing into retirement and reconnecting with his family. But he is pulled back into the courtroom when Grant Wagner, the steely owner of a successful family business, is murdered. The prime suspect is Wagner’s bookkeeper, Abby Jarvis, a former client of Hardy’s who had been receiving large sums of cash under-the-table from the company --- but she insists that she’s innocent. Preparing for trial, Dismas investigates the Wagner clan, discovering dark, twisted secrets, jealous siblings, gold-digging girlfriends, betrayals and blackmail. The closer he gets to the Wagners, the clearer it becomes that Dismas has a target painted on his back.
Atria Books | 9781501115707
THE RADICALS by Ryan McIlvain (Fiction)
When Eli first meets Sam Westergard, he is dazzled by his new friend's charisma, energy and determined passion. Both graduate students in New York City, the two young men bond over their idealism, their love of poetry, and their commitment to socialism, both in theory and in practice --- this last taking the form of an organized protest against Soline, a giant energy company that has speculated away the jobs and savings of thousands. As an Occupy-like group begins to coalesce around him, Eli realizes that some of his fellow intellectuals are more deeply --- and dangerously --- devoted to the cause than others.
Hogarth | 9780553417883
SADNESS IS A WHITE BIRD by Moriel Rothman-Zecher (Fiction)
The story begins in an Israeli military jail, where Jonathan recalls the series of events that led him there. Two years earlier: Moving back to Israel after several years in Pennsylvania, Jonathan is ready to fight to preserve and defend the Jewish state, which his grandfather --- a Salonican Jew whose community was wiped out by the Nazis --- helped establish. But he is also conflicted about the possibility of having to monitor the occupied Palestinian territories, a concern that grows deeper and more urgent when he meets Nimreen and Laith --- the twin daughter and son of his mother’s friend. From that winter morning on, the three become inseparable. But then that fateful day arrives, the one that lands Jonathan in prison and changes his relationship with the twins forever.
Atria Books | 9781501176265
SURPRISE ME by Sophie Kinsella (Fiction)
After 10 years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another 68 years…and panic sets in. They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me, mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all.
The Dial Press | 9780399592881
WALLIS IN LOVE: The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy by Andrew Morton (Biography)
Everyone has heard of Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom Edward VIII so infamously abdicated his throne and birthright. But although her life has constantly been the subject of much fascination, gossip and speculation, her whole story has yet to be told. Now historical biographer Andrew Morton uses diary entries, letters and other never-before-seen records to offer a fresh portrait of Wallis Simpson in all her vibrancy and brazenness as she climbed the social ladder, transforming from a hard-nosed gold digger to charming chatelaine.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781455566976
WHITE HOUSES by Amy Bloom (Historical Fiction)
Lorena Hickok meets Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932 while reporting on Franklin Roosevelt’s first presidential campaign. Having grown up worse than poor in South Dakota and reinvented herself as the most prominent woman reporter in America, “Hick,” as she’s known to her friends and admirers, is not quite instantly charmed by the idealistic, patrician Eleanor. But then, as her connection with the future first lady deepens into intimacy, what begins as a powerful passion matures into a lasting love, and a life that Hick never expected to have.
Random House | 9780812995664
On Sale the Week of February 12th in Paperback
February 12th
THE DEVIL AT YOUR DOOR: Lars and Shaine, Book Three by Eric Beetner (Thriller)
Paperback Original
Lars and Shaine have returned to a quiet life on the islands, but for Lars there is unfinished business. When he gets information that will lead him to exact revenge on behalf of his young protégé, the young woman he’s grown to think of as a daughter, he decides to take action in secret. When he lands in a hospital, Shaine is called in from a thousand miles away and must take the lead in the last job of Lars’ storied career of death for hire. Facing his own aging body, Lars struggles to take a back seat to the youngster he has trained in his image. They’ll face a local drug boss along with an old enemy as they work to fire the last bullet they’ll ever need to --- before one finds them first.
Down & Out Books | 9781946502438
February 13th
CASANOVA: The World of a Seductive Genius by Laurence Bergreen (Biography)
Today, “Casanova” is a synonym for “great lover,” yet the real story of this remarkable figure is little known. Giacomo Casanova was raised by his maternal grandmother, an illiterate peasant. His birthplace, Venice, was a republic in decline, reputedly the most debauched city in Europe. Casanova would add to the republic’s reputation. Over the course of his lifetime, he claimed to have seduced more than 100 women, among them married women, young women in convents, girls just barely in their teens, and, in one notorious instance, his own illegitimate daughter.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476716503
DEAD JOKER: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel by Anne Holt (Mystery)
Chief Public Prosecutor Sigurd Halvorsrud’s wife is found dead, the victim of a brutal decapitation. Her husband, who witnessed the grisly murder, immediately falls under suspicion, though he claims his wife’s killer was Ståle Salvesen, a man he had prosecuted years before. Despite the circumstantial evidence, Detective Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is unconvinced of Halvorsrud’s guilt --- that is, until a witness says he saw Ståle Salvesen commit suicide by jumping off a bridge days before the murder took place. Then a journalist at one of Oslo's largest newspapers is found beheaded. What links these two horrifically violent crimes?
Scribner | 9781501123276
A DIVIDED SPY by Charles Cumming (Thriller)
Thomas Kell thought he was done with spying. A former MI6 officer, he devoted his life to the Service, but it has left him with nothing but grief and a simmering anger against the Kremlin. Then Kell is offered an unexpected chance at revenge. Taking the law into his own hands, he embarks on a mission to recruit a top Russian spy who is in possession of a terrifying secret. As Kell tracks his man from Moscow to London, he finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, in which it becomes increasingly difficult to know who is playing whom. As the mission reaches its boiling point, the threat of a catastrophic terrorist attack looms over Britain. Kell is faced with an impossible choice: loyalty to MI6, or to his own conscience?
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250025555
EDGAR AND LUCY by Victor Lodato (Fiction)
Eight-year-old Edgar Fini remembers nothing of the accident people still whisper about. He only knows that his father is gone, his mother has a limp, and his grandmother believes in ghosts. When Edgar meets a man with his own tragic story, the boy begins a journey into a secret wilderness where nothing is clear --- not even the line between the living and the dead. In order to save her son, Lucy has no choice but to confront the demons of her past.
Picador | 9781250096999
THE HOPE CHEST by Viola Shipman (Fiction)
Ever since she was diagnosed with ALS, fiercely independent Mattie doesn’t feel like herself. Her devoted husband, Don, doesn’t want to imagine life without his wife of nearly 50 years, but Mattie isn’t likely to make it past their anniversary. But when Rose, Mattie’s new caretaker, and her young daughter, Jeri, enter the couple’s life, happiness and the possibility for new memories return. Together they form a family, and Mattie is finally able to pass on her memories from the hope chest she received from her mother.
A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin | 9781250111111
ISLAND OF SWEET PIES AND SOLDIERS by Sara Ackerman (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
Violet Iverson and her young daughter, Ella, are piecing their lives together one year after the disappearance of her husband. As rumors swirl and questions about his loyalties surface, Violet believes Ella knows something. But Ella is stubbornly silent. Something --- or someone --- has scared her. And with the island overrun by troops training for a secret mission, tension and suspicion between neighbors is rising. Violet bands together with her close friends to get through the difficult days. To support themselves, they open a pie stand near the military base, offering the soldiers a little homemade comfort. Try as she might, Violet can’t ignore her attraction to the brash marine who comes to her aid when the women are accused of spying.
Mira | 9780778319214
LOOK FOR HER by Emily Winslow (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Paperback Original
In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared, and though her body was later discovered, the culprit was never found. Decades later, when DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case detective Morris Keene and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally bring closure to this traumatized community. But the new evidence instead undoes the case's only certainty: the buried body that long ago had been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely. Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections?
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062572585
THE LUCKY ONES by Tiffany Reisz (Gothic Thriller/Mystery)
Paperback Original
They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family…until the night she almost died, and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever. Now, 13 years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr. Capello’s oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go home again and confront the ghosts of her past. She's determined to find out what really happened that fateful night.
Mira | 9780778331162
MISTER TENDER'S GIRL by Carter Wilson (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
At 14, Alice Hill was viciously attacked by two of her classmates and left to die. The teens claim she was a sacrifice for a man called Mister Tender, but that could never be true: Mister Tender doesn't exist. His sinister character is pop-culture fiction, created by Alice's own father in a series of popular graphic novels. Over a decade later, Alice has changed her name and is trying to heal. But someone is watching her. They know more about Alice than any stranger could: her scars, her fears, and the secrets she keeps locked away. She can try to escape her past, but Mister Tender is never far behind. He will come with a smile that seduces, and a dark whisper in her ear.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781492656500
NEW BOY by Tracy Chevalier (Fiction)
Arriving at his fifth school in as many years, diplomat’s son Osei Kokote knows he needs an ally if he is to survive his first day --- so he’s lucky to hit it off with Dee, the most popular girl in school. But one student can’t stand to witness this budding relationship: Ian decides to destroy the friendship between the black boy and the golden girl. By the end of the day, the school and its key players --- teachers and pupils alike --- will never be the same again. The tragedy of Othello is transposed to a 1970s suburban Washington schoolyard, where kids fall in and out of love with each other before lunchtime, and practice a casual racism picked up from their parents and teachers.
Hogarth | 9780553447651
RATHER BE THE DEVIL by Ian Rankin (Mystery)
When Rebus starts reexamining the facts behind the long-ago murder of a glamorous woman at a luxurious hotel --- on the same night a famous rock star and his entourage were also staying there --- the past comes roaring back to life with a vengeance. And as soon as Rebus starts asking questions about the long forgotten crime, a fresh body materializes. His inquiries reunite him with his old pals --- Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox --- as they attempt to uncover the financial chicanery behind the savage beating of an upstart gangster, a crime that suggests the notorious old school crime boss Big Ger Cafferty has taken to retirement as poorly as Rebus himself.
Back Bay Books | 9780316342568
SHADOWBAHN by Steve Erickson (Science Fiction/Alternative History)
When the Twin Towers suddenly reappear in the Badlands of South Dakota two decades after their fall, nobody can explain their return. To the tens of thousands drawn to the “American Stonehenge” --- including Parker and Zema, siblings driving from L.A. to Michigan --- the Towers seem to sing, even as everybody hears a different song. And on the 93rd floor of the South Tower, Jesse Presley, the stillborn twin of the most famous singer who ever lived, suddenly awakes. Over the days and months and years to come, he’s driven mad by a voice in his head that sounds like his but isn’t, and by the memory of a country where he survived in his brother’s place.
Blue Rider Press | 9780735212022
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME: A Portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Tortured Father Who Shaped Her Life by Eric Burns (Biography)
Eleanor Roosevelt is viewed as one of the most pioneering women in American history. But she was also one of the most enigmatic and lonely. Her loveless marriage with FDR was no secret, and she had a cold relationship with most of her family --- from her distant mother to her public rivalry with her cousin, Alice. Yet she was a warm person, beloved by friends, and her humanitarian work still influences the world today. But who shaped Eleanor? It was the most unlikely of figures: her father Elliott, a lost spirit with a bittersweet story.
Pegasus Books | 9781681776392
ULTIMATE POWER by Stephen Frey (Thriller)
Paperback Original
Andrew Falcon Jr. is the youngest hedge-fund manager to make partner at a powerful investment bank on Wall Street. But just as Falcon thought life couldn’t get better, his niece Claire is kidnapped --- yet her abductors have no interest in money. They want information. In exchange for Claire’s safe return, Falcon must dig deep into his firm’s affairs, uncovering secrets worse than he could ever imagine. He discovers a conspiracy tied to the US government --- a rogue faction is manipulating the American people to establish a new order. Now facing impossible odds and a plot that goes all the way up to the nation’s leaders, Falcon must find a way to save not only his family but also his country.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781503954083
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE CASABLANCA: The Legend and Afterlife of Hollywood's Most Beloved Movie by Noah Isenberg (Performing Arts/History)
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE CASABLANCA is celebrated film historian Noah Isenberg’s rich account of the origins of the famed Humphrey Bogart movie, which premiered over 75 years ago. Through extensive research and interviews with filmmakers, film critics, family members of the cast and crew, and diehard fans, Isenberg reveals the myths and realities behind Casablanca’s production, exploring the transformation of the unproduced stage play into the classic screenplay, the controversial casting decisions, the battles with Production Code censors, and the effect of the war’s progress on the movie’s reception.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393355666
WOMAN NO. 17 by Edan Lepucki (Fiction)
High in the Hollywood Hills, writer Lady Daniels has decided to take a break from her husband. Left alone with her children, she’s going to need a hand taking care of her young son if she’s ever going to finish her memoir. In response to a Craigslist ad, S arrives, a magnetic young artist who will live in the secluded guest house out back, care for Lady’s toddler, Devin, and keep a watchful eye on her teenage son, Seth. S performs her day job beautifully, quickly drawing the entire family into her orbit and becoming a confidante for Lady. But in the heat of the summer, S’s connection to Lady’s older son takes a disturbing, and possibly destructive, turn.
Hogarth | 9781101904275
THE YOUNG WIDOWER’S HANDBOOK by Tom McAllister (Fiction)
For Hunter Cady, meeting Kaitlyn is the greatest thing that has ever happened to him. Whereas he had spent most of his days accomplishing very little, now his life has a purpose. Smart, funny and one of a kind, Kait is somehow charmed by Hunter’s awkwardness and droll humor, and her love gives him reason to want to be a better man. And then, suddenly, Kait is gone, her death as unexpected as the happiness she had brought to Hunter. Numb with grief, he stumbles forward in the only way he knows how: by running away. He heads due west from his Philadelphia home, taking Kait’s ashes with him. Kait and Hunter had always meant to travel. Now, with no real plan in mind, Hunter is swept into the adventures of fellow travelers on the road.
Algonquin Books | 9781616207427
On Sale the Week of February 19th in Hardcover
February 19th
FIFTY FIFTY by James Patterson and Candice Fox (Thriller)
Sam Blue stands accused of the brutal murders of three young students. Only one person believes he is innocent: his sister, Detective Harriet Blue. And she's determined to prove it. But Harry's outburst at her brother's trial earns her a reassignment --- to the outback. With no choice but to leave Sam's case alone, she relocates to Last Chance Valley, where a diary found on the roadside outlines a shocking plan: the massacre of the entire town. And the first killing, shortly after Harry's arrival, suggests the clock is already ticking. Meanwhile, back in Sydney, a young woman holds the key to crack Sam's case wide open. If only she could escape the madman holding her hostage.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316513227
February 20th
AGENT IN PLACE: A Gray Man Novel by Mark Greaney (Thriller)
Fresh off his first mission back with the CIA, Court Gentry secures what seems like a cut-and-dried contract job: A group of expats in Paris hires him to kidnap the mistress of Syrian dictator Ahmed Azzam to get intel that could destabilize Azzam's regime. Court delivers Bianca Medina to the rebels, but his job doesn't end there. She soon reveals that she has given birth to a son, the only heir to Azzam's rule --- and a potent threat to the Syrian president's powerful wife. Now, to get Bianca's cooperation, Court must bring her son out of Syria alive.
Berkley | 9780451488909
DEATH OF AN HONEST MAN: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery by M. C. Beaton (Mystery)
Nobody loves an honest man, or that was what police sergeant Hamish Macbeth tried to tell newcomer Paul English. Paul had moved to a house in Cnothan, a sour village on Hamish's beat. He attended church in Lochdubh. He told the minister, Mr. Wellington, that his sermons were boring. He accused Hamish of having dyed his fiery red hair. He told Jessie Currie --- who repeated all the last words of her twin sister --- that she needed psychiatric help. "I speak as I find," he bragged. Voices saying "I could kill that man" could be heard from Lochdubh to Cnothan. And someone did. Now Hamish is faced with a bewildering array of suspects.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781455558315
THE DETONATOR by Vincent Zandri (Thriller)
Ike Singer is a demolitions expert. Despite being at the very top of his profession, a personal mistake that led to catastrophe nearly brought Ike's life to ruin. He has spent every day since trying to atone for it and piece his family back together. And he believes he is succeeding. Until today. Suddenly Ike finds himself the target of a brilliant psychopath bent on systematically destroying his life. And this grudge runs as deep as they come. Ike must use every resource in his arsenal to prevent this killer's vengeance, and give everything in his power to save his family and his life before the timer hits zero.
Polis Books | 9781943818884
DOWN THE RIVER UNTO THE SEA by Walter Mosley (Mystery)
Joe King Oliver was one of the NYPD's finest investigators, until, dispatched to arrest a well-heeled car thief, he is framed for assault by his enemies within the NYPD, a charge that lands him in solitary at Rikers Island. A decade later, King is a private detective, running his agency with the help of his teenage daughter, Aja-Denise. Broken by the brutality he suffered and committed in equal measure while behind bars, his work and his daughter are the only light in his solitary life. When he receives a card in the mail from the woman who admits she was paid to frame him those years ago, King realizes that he has no choice but to take his own case: figuring out who on the force wanted him disposed of --- and why.
Mulholland Books | 9780316509640
EDUCATED: A Memoir by Tara Westover (Memoir)
Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho and isolated from mainstream society, she lacked any formal education. So she began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
Random House | 9780399590504
THE FRENCH GIRL by Lexie Elliott (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
They were six university students from Oxford spending an idyllic week together in a French farmhouse. It was supposed to be the perfect summer getaway...until they met Severine, the girl next door. For Kate Channing, Severine was an unwelcome presence, her inscrutable beauty undermining the close-knit group's loyalties amid the already simmering tensions. There are some things you can't forgive. And there are some people you can't forget...like Severine, who was never seen again. Now, a decade later, the case is reopened when Severine's body is found in the well behind the farmhouse. Questioned along with her friends, Kate stands to lose everything she's worked so hard to achieve as suspicion mounts around her.
Berkley | 9780399586934
IN THE ENEMY’S HOUSE: The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Code Breaker Who Caught the Russian Spies by Howard Blum (History)
In 1946, genius linguist and codebreaker Meredith Gardner discovered that the KGB was running an extensive network of strategically placed spies inside the United States, whose goal was to infiltrate American intelligence and steal the nation’s military and atomic secrets. Over the course of the next decade, he and young FBI supervisor Bob Lamphere worked together on Venona, a top-secret mission to uncover the Soviet agents and protect the Holy Grail of Cold War espionage --- the atomic bomb. But they began to suspect that a mole buried deep in the American intelligence community was feeding Moscow Center information on Venona. They raced to unmask the traitor and prevent the Soviets from fulfilling Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s threat: "We shall bury you!"
Harper | 9780062458247
KILL THE ANGEL by Sandrone Dazieri (Thriller)
In Rome, a high-speed train hurtles into the city’s main station with a carriage full of dead bodies, the macabre discovery of which falls to Deputy Police Commissioner Colomba Caselli. Subsequently, the police receive a claim of responsibility and the threat of more murders to come. But neither Caselli nor her eccentrically brilliant ally, Dante Torre, are yet ready to buy the terrorist link. Not for the first time, Dante’s bizarre childhood, during which he was kept confined for years in a concrete silo, enables him to see what others miss --- in this case, to connect with a kindred spirit of sorts, a woman named Giltine who experienced an equally bizarre childhood from which she emerged damaged, lethal and full of murderous intent.
Scribner | 9781501174650
MY NAME IS NATHAN LUCIUS by Mark Winkler (Noir Thriller)
Thirty-one-year-old Nathan Lucius is an ad salesman at a Cape Town newspaper. Disaffected, hard-drinking and plagued by blackouts, Nathan lives alone and has only one true friend, a woman named Madge. But Madge is dying slowly of cancer, and when she asks Nathan to end her pain, she sets off a shocking string of events.
Soho Crime | 9781616958824
THE ONE by John Marrs (Science Fiction/Thriller)
A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner --- the one you’re genetically made for. That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love. Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335005106
THE RENDING AND THE NEST by Kaethe Schwehn (Post-Apocalyptic Fiction)
When 95 percent of the earth's population disappears for no apparent reason, Mira does what she can to create some semblance of a life: She cobbles together a haphazard community named Zion, scavenges the Piles for supplies they might need, and avoids loving anyone she can't afford to lose. Four years after the Rending, Mira's best friend, Lana, announces her pregnancy. But when Lana gives birth to an inanimate object --- and other women of Zion follow suit --- the thin veil of normalcy Mira has thrown over her new life begins to fray. Then a confident outsider named Michael lures Lana away, and Mira must decide how much she's willing to let go in order to save her friend, her home, and her own fraught pregnancy.
Bloomsbury USA | 9781632869722
ROSIE COLORED GLASSES by Brianna Wolfson (Fiction)
Just as opposites attract, they can also cause friction, and no one feels that friction more than Rex and Rosie’s daughter, Willow. Rex is serious and unsentimental, and tapes checklists of chores on Willow’s bedroom door. Rosie is sparkling and enchanting, and meets Willow in their treehouse in the middle of the night to feast on candy. After Rex and Rosie’s divorce, Willow finds herself navigating their two different worlds. She is clearly under the spell of her exciting, fun-loving mother. But as Rosie’s behavior becomes more turbulent, the darker underpinnings of her manic love are revealed. Rex had removed his Rosie colored glasses long ago, but will Willow do the same?
Mira | 9780778330691
SECRETS WE KEPT: Three Women of Trinidad by Krystal A. Sital (Memoir)
Krystal A. Sital grew up idolizing her grandfather, a wealthy Hindu landowner. Years later, to escape crime and economic stagnation, the family resettles in New Jersey, where Krystal’s mother works as a nanny, and the warmth of Trinidad seems a pretty yet distant memory. But when her grandfather lapses into a coma after a fall at home, the women he has terrorized for decades begin to speak, and a brutal past comes to light. Krystal learns the long-held secrets of their family’s past, and what it took for her foremothers to survive and find strength in themselves. The relief of sharing their stories draws the three women closer, the music of their voices and care for one another easing the pain of memory.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393609264
SIRENS by Joseph Knox (Thriller)
Infiltrating the inner circle of enigmatic criminal Zain Carver is dangerous enough. Pulling it off while also rescuing Isabelle Rossiter, a runaway politician’s daughter, from Zain’s influence? Impossible. That’s why Aidan Waits is the perfect man for the job. Disgraced, emotionally damaged, and despised by his superiors. In other words, completely expendable. But Aidan is a born survivor. And as he works his way deep into Zain’s shadowy world, he finds that nothing is as it seems. Zain is a mesmerizing, Gatsby-esque figure who lures young women into his orbit --- women who have a bad habit of turning up dead. But is Zain really responsible? And will Isabelle be next?
Crown | 9781524762872
SUNBURN by Laura Lippman (Psychological Thriller)
They meet at a local tavern in the small town of Belleville, Delaware. Polly is set on heading west. Adam says he’s also passing through. Yet she stays and he stays --- drawn to this mysterious redhead whose quiet stillness both unnerves and excites him. Over the course of a punishing summer, Polly and Adam abandon themselves to a steamy, inexorable affair. Still, each holds something back from the other --- dangerous, even lethal, secrets. Then someone dies. Was it an accident, or part of a plan? By now, Adam and Polly are so ensnared in each other’s lives and lies that neither one knows how to get away --- or even if they want to. Is their love strong enough to withstand the truth, or will it ultimately destroy them?
William Morrow | 9780062389923
THE TUSCAN CHILD by Rhys Bowen (Historical Fiction)
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo’s estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father’s funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation. As a result, Joanna embarks on a healing journey to Tuscany to understand her father’s history --- and maybe come to understand herself as well.
Lake Union Publishing | 9781503951822
THE WATERGATE: Inside America’s Most Infamous Address by Joseph Rodota (History)
Watergate residents --- an intriguing cast of politicians, journalists, socialites and spies --- have been at the center of America's political storms for half a century. Writer and political consultant Joseph Rodota unlocks the mysteries of the Watergate, including why Elizabeth Taylor refused to move into a Watergate apartment with her sixth husband; reveals a surprising connection between the Watergate and Ronald Reagan; and unravels how the Nixon break-in transformed the Watergate's reputation and spawned generations of "-gate" scandals, from Koreagate to Deflategate.
William Morrow | 9780062476623
WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?: Essays by Marilynne Robinson (Essays)
Marilynne Robinson has plumbed the human spirit in her renowned novels, including LILA, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and GILEAD, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In this new essay collection, she trains her incisive mind on our modern political climate and the mysteries of faith. Whether she is investigating how the work of great thinkers about America like Emerson and Tocqueville inform our political consciousness, or discussing the way that beauty informs and disciplines daily life, Robinson’s peerless prose and boundless humanity are on full display.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 9780374282219
WHERE THE DEAD SIT TALKING by Brandon Hobson (Fiction)
With his single mother in jail, Sequoyah, a 15-year-old Cherokee boy, is placed in foster care with the Troutt family. Literally and figuratively scarred by his mother’s years of substance abuse, Sequoyah keeps mostly to himself, living with his emotions pressed deep below the surface. At least until he meets 17-year-old Rosemary, another youth staying with the Troutts. Sequoyah and Rosemary bond over their shared Native American background and tumultuous paths through the foster care system. But as Sequoyah’s feelings toward Rosemary deepen, the precariousness of their lives and the scars of their pasts threaten to undo them both.
Soho Press | 9781616958879
THE WOMAN IN THE WATER: A Prequel to the Charles Lenox Series by Charles Finch (Historical Mystery)
London, 1850: A young Charles Lenox struggles to make a name for himself as a detective…without a single case. But when an anonymous writer sends a letter to the paper claiming to have committed the perfect crime --- and promising to kill again --- Lenox is convinced that this is his chance to prove himself. The writer’s first victim is a young woman whose body is found in a naval trunk. With few clues to go on, Lenox endeavors to solve the crime before another innocent life is lost. When the killer’s sights are turned toward those whom Lenox holds most dear, the stakes are raised and Lenox is trapped in a desperate game of cat and mouse.
Minotaur Books | 9781250139467
On Sale the Week of February 19th in Paperback
February 20th
ALL OUR WRONG TODAYS by Elan Mastai (Science Fiction)
It's 2016, and in Tom Barren's world, technology has solved all of humanity's problems --- there's no war, no poverty, no under-ripe avocadoes. Unfortunately, Tom isn't happy. He's lost the girl of his dreams. And what do you do when you are heartbroken and have a time machine? Something stupid. Finding himself stranded in a terrible alternate reality --- which we immediately recognize as our 2016 --- Tom is desperate to fix his mistake and go home. Right up until the moment he discovers wonderfully unexpected versions of his family, his career, and the woman who may just be the love of his life. Now Tom faces an impossible choice. Go back to his perfect but loveless life. Or stay in our messy reality with a soulmate by his side.
Dutton | 9781101985151
ALWAYS by Sarah Jio (Fiction)
Enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with her fiancé, Ryan, Kailey Crain can’t believe her good fortune: She has a great job as a journalist and is now engaged to a guy who is perfect in nearly every way. As she and Ryan leave the restaurant, Kailey spies a thin, bearded homeless man on the sidewalk. She approaches him to offer up her bag of leftovers, and is stunned when their eyes meet: The man is the love of her life, Cade McAllister. Over the next few weeks, Kailey helps Cade begin to piece his life together, something she initially keeps from Ryan. As she revisits her long-ago relationship, Kailey realizes that she must decide exactly what --- and whom --- she wants.
Ballantine Books | 9781101885048
ANY DAY NOW: A Sullivan's Crossing Novel by Robyn Carr (Fiction)
For Sierra Jones, Sullivan's Crossing is meant to be a brief stopover. She's put her troubled past behind her, but the path forward isn't clear yet. A visit with her big brother Cal and his new bride, Maggie, seems to be the best option to help her get back on her feet. Not wanting to burden or depend on anyone, Sierra is surprised to find that the Crossing offers so much more than a place to rest her head. Cal and Maggie welcome her into their busy lives, and she quickly finds herself bonding with Sully, the quirky campground owner who is the father figure she's always wanted. But when her past catches up with her, it's a special man and an adorable puppy who give her the strength to face the truth and fight for a brighter future.
Mira | 9780778331186
CORETTA: My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King, with the Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds (Memoir)
As a widow and single mother of four, Coretta Scott King worked tirelessly to found and develop The King Center as a citadel for world peace, lobbied for 15 years for the US national holiday in honor of her husband, championed for women's, workers’ and gay rights, and was a powerful international voice for nonviolence, freedom and human dignity. Coretta’s is a love story, a family saga, and the memoir of an extraordinary black woman in 20th-century America, a brave leader who, in the face of terrorism and violent hatred, stood committed, proud, forgiving, nonviolent and hopeful every day of her life.
Picador | 9781250159939
DEAR FRIEND, FROM MY LIFE I WRITE TO YOU IN YOUR LIFE by Yiyun Li (Memoir)
Yiyun Li grew up in China and has spent her adult life as an immigrant in a country not her own. She has been a scientist, an author, a mother, a daughter --- and through it all she has been sustained by a profound connection with the writers and books she loves. From William Trevor and Katherine Mansfield to Søren Kierkegaard and Philip Larkin, DEAR FRIEND is a journey through the deepest themes that bind these writers together.
Random House Trade Paperbacks | 9780399589102
DRIFTWOOD COVE by Debbie Mason (Romance)
Paperback Original
FBI agent Michael Gallagher never dreamed that his job would bring him back to his hometown of Harmony Harbor. Or that one of his best leads would be the woman he once loved. He regrets the way they ended, and he’d do anything to make things right with her now. But first he needs to regain her trust. Shay Angel wants to leave the past behind her. And that includes Michael Gallagher, the only man she ever let close enough to break her heart. But she needs his help to find her uncle and clear his name. She won’t hesitate to risk everything to save her family, but will she dare to risk her heart all over again?
Forever | 9781538744178
THE IDENTICALS by Elin Hilderbrand (Fiction)
Nantucket is only 11 miles away from Martha's Vineyard. But they may as well be worlds apart for estranged twin sisters Harper and Tabitha Frost. After not speaking for more than a decade, Harper and Tabitha switch islands --- and lives --- to save what's left of their splintered family. But the twins quickly discover that the secrets, lies and gossip they thought they'd outrun can travel between islands just as easily as they can. Will Harper and Tabitha be able to bury the hatchet and end their sibling rivalry once and for all? Before the last beach picnic of the season, there will be enough old resentments, new loves and cases of mistaken identity to make this the most talked-about summer that Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket have experienced in ages.
Back Bay Books | 9780316375214
LAST DAY ON EARTH: Stories by Eric Puchner (Fiction/Short Stories)
A boy on the edge of adolescence fears his mother might be a robot; a psychotically depressed woman is entrusted with taking her niece and nephew trick-or-treating; a reluctant dad brings his baby to a coke-fueled party; a teenage boy tries to prevent his mother from putting his estranged father’s dogs to sleep. Ranging from a youth arts camp to an aging punk band’s reunion tour, from a dystopian future where parents no longer exist to a ferociously independent bookstore, LAST DAY ON EARTH revolves around the endlessly complex, frequently surreal system that is family.
Scribner | 9781501147814
THE LAST TUDOR by Philippa Gregory (Historical Fiction)
Seventeen-year-old Jane Grey was queen of England for nine days. Her father and his allies crowned her instead of the dead king’s half-sister Mary Tudor, who quickly mustered an army, claimed her throne, and locked Jane in the Tower of London. When Jane refused to betray her Protestant faith, Mary sent her to the executioner’s block, where Jane transformed her father’s greedy power-grab into tragic martyrdom. Meanwhile, Jane’s sister, Katherine, faces imprisonment in the Tower when her pregnancy betrays her secret marriage. What will happen when the youngest Grey sister, Mary --- the last Tudor --- defies her ruthless and unforgiving cousin Queen Elizabeth?
Touchstone | 9781476758770
RUNNING by Cara Hoffman (Fiction)
RUNNING follows the lives of three friends and lovers: queer English poet Milo Rollack, prep school dropout Jasper Lethe, and 17-year-old Bridey Sullivan, an American with a fascination for fire. Barely out of childhood, squatting in a crumbling hotel on the outskirts of Athens in the late 1980s, the three slip in and out of homelessness, heavy drinking and underground jobs. While working as runners for the hotel --- convincing tourists to stay there for a commission and free board --- they are befriended by an IRA fugitive and become inextricably linked to an act of terrorism that will mark each of them for life.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476757582
RUSH OF BLOOD by Mark Billingham (Mystery/Thriller)
Three British couples meet around the pool on their Florida holiday and become fast friends. But on Easter Sunday, the last day of their vacation, tragedy strikes: the 14-year-old daughter of an American vacationer goes missing, and her body is later found floating in the mangroves. When the shocked couples return home to the UK, they remain in contact, and over the course of three increasingly fraught dinner parties, they come to know one another better. But buried beneath these apparently normal exteriors are some unusual kinks and unpleasant vices. Then a second girl goes missing, in Kent --- not far from where any of the couples lives. Could it be that one of these six has a secret far darker than anybody can imagine?
Grove Press | 9780802127587
RUSTY PUPPY: A Hap and Leonard Novel by Joe R. Lansdale (Thriller)
While Hap, a former ’60s activist and self-proclaimed white trash rebel, is recovering from a life-threatening stab wound, Louise Elton comes into Hap and Leonard's PI office to tell him that the police have killed her son, Jamar. Months earlier, a bully cop pulled over and sexually harassed Jamar's sister, Charm. The officer followed Charm over the course of the next couple of months, leading Jamar to videotape and take notes on the cop and his partner. The next thing Louise hears, Jamar got in a fight and is killed in the projects by local hoods. It doesn't add up: he was a straight-A student, destined for better things, until he began to ask too many questions about the racist police force.
Mulholland Books | 9780316311571
SMALL GREAT THINGS by Jodi Picoult (Fiction)
Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than 20 years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders, or does she intervene? Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime.
Ballantine Books | 9780345544971
SPACEMAN OF BOHEMIA by Jaroslav Kalfar (Fiction)
Jakub Procházka is the country's first astronaut. When a dangerous solo mission to Venus offers him the chance at heroism he's dreamt of and a way to atone for his father's sins as a Communist informer, he ventures boldly into the vast unknown. But in so doing, he leaves behind his devoted wife, Lenka. Alone in Deep Space, Jakub discovers a possibly imaginary giant alien spider, who becomes his unlikely companion. Over philosophical conversations about the nature of love, life and death, and the deliciousness of bacon, the pair form an intense and emotional bond. Will it be enough to see Jakub through a clash with secret Russian rivals and return him safely to Earth for a second chance with Lenka?
Back Bay Books | 9780316273442
THE WOMAN ON THE STAIRS written by Bernhard Schlink, translated by Joyce Hackett and Bradley Schmidt (Mystery)
In a museum far from home, a lawyer stumbles across a painting of a woman he once knew, Irene. Decades before, he had become entangled in her affairs when he was called on to settle a dispute between her husband, who had commissioned the portrait, and the painter of the work --- who was also her lover. When, ultimately, the lawyer fell in love with her himself and risked everything for her, she mysteriously disappeared --- along with the painting. Now, face to face with the portrait once again, the lawyer must reconcile his past and present selves. When he eventually locates Irene, he is forced to confront the truth of his love --- and the reality that his life has been irrevocably changed.
Vintage | 9781101912348
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