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In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of November 26th and December 3rd 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 New Release Spotlight of KINGDOM OF THE BLIND, the latest installment in Louise Penny's mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, which includes our review, an excerpt and more.
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.
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This Week's Bonus News:
Our New Release Spotlight of
KINGDOM OF THE BLIND by Louise Penny
KINGDOM OF THE BLIND: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny (Mystery)
When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder.
None of them had ever met the elderly woman.
The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane?
Unknown Object
When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing.
But it isn’t the only menace Gamache is facing.
The investigation into what happened six months ago --- the events that led to his suspension --- has dragged on, into the dead of winter. And while most of the opioids he allowed to slip though his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved, there is one devastating exception.
Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. With the deadly drug about to hit the streets, Gamache races for answers.
As he uses increasingly audacious, even desperate, measures to retrieve the drug, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots. And the terrible things hiding there.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to visit the series' website.
- Click here to read Louise Penny's bio.
- Click here to visit Louise Penny's website.
- Click here to connect with Louise Penny on Facebook.
Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
On Sale the Week of November 26th in Hardcover
November 27th
THE ADULTS by Caroline Hulse (Fiction/Humor)
Claire and Matt are no longer together but decide that it would be best for their daughter, Scarlett, to have a “normal” family Christmas. They can’t agree on whose idea it was to go to the Happy Forest holiday park, or who said they should bring their new partners. But someone did, and it’s too late to pull the plug. Claire brings her new boyfriend, Patrick, a seemingly sensible, eligible from a distance Ironman in Waiting. Matt brings the new love of his life, Alex, who’s funny, smart and extremely patient. They all drink a little too much after Scarlett’s bedtime, overshare classified secrets about their pasts…and before you know it, their holiday is a powder keg that ends where this novel begins --- with a tearful, frightened call to the police.
Random House | 9780525511748
ALL THE LIVES WE NEVER LIVED by Anuradha Roy (Fiction)
This is the story of Myshkin and his mother, Gayatri, a rebellious, alluring artist who abandons parenthood and marriage to follow her primal desire for freedom. Though freedom may be stirring in the air of India, across the world the Nazis have risen to power in Germany. At this point of crisis, a German artist from Gayatri’s past seeks her out. His arrival ignites passions she has long been forced to suppress. What follows is her life as pieced together by her son, a journey that takes him through India and Dutch-held Bali. Excavating the roots of the world in which he was abandoned, he comes to understand his long-lost mother, and the connections between strife at home and a war-torn universe overtaken by patriotism.
Atria Books | 9781982100513
COME WITH ME by Helen Schulman (Fiction)
Donny is a baby genius whose play for fortune is an algorithm that may allow people access to their "multiverses" --- all the planes on which their alternative life choices can be played out simultaneously --- to see how the decisions they’ve made have shaped their lives. He chooses Amy Reed to be his guinea pig. Amy’s husband, Dan, accepts a dare of his own, accompanying a seductive, award-winning photographer named Maryam on a trip to Fukushima, the Japanese city devastated by tsunami and meltdown. But when crisis hits at home, the extent of Dan’s betrayal is exposed. As Amy contemplates alternative lives, the couple must confront whether or not the distances between them in the here and now are irreconcilable.
Harper | 9780062459138
HAZARDS OF TIME TRAVEL by Joyce Carol Oates (Dystopian/Science Fiction)
“Time travel” --- and its hazards --- are made literal in Joyce Carol Oates’ new novel, in which a recklessly idealistic girl dares to test the perimeters of her tightly controlled (future) world and is punished by being sent back in time to a region of North America --- “Wainscotia, Wisconsin”--- that existed 80 years before. Cast adrift in time in this idyllic Midwestern town, she is set upon a course of “rehabilitation” --- but cannot resist falling in love with a fellow exile and questioning the constraints of the Wainscotia world with results that are both devastating and liberating.
Ecco | 9780062319593
KINGDOM OF THE BLIND: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny (Mystery)
When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the elderly woman. The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane? When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing.
Minotaur Books | 9781250066206
ROBERT B. PARKER’S BLOOD FEUD: A Sunny Randall Novel by Mike Lupica (Mystery)
Sunny Randall is "on" again with Richie, the ex-husband she never stopped loving and never seemed to be able to let go, despite her discomfort with his Mafia connections. When Richie is shot and nearly killed, Sunny is dragged into the thick of his family's business as she searches for answers and tries to stave off a mob war. But as the bullets start flying in Boston's mean streets, Sunny finds herself targeted by the deranged mastermind of the plot against the Burke family, whose motive may be far more personal than she could have anticipated.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780525535362
TOM CLANCY OATH OF OFFICE: A Jack Ryan Novel by Marc Cameron (Thriller/Adventure)
President Jack Ryan has plenty to handle at home. A deadly strain of flu is ravaging the United States as spring floods decimate the Southeast. An unethical senator wants to bring down the Ryan presidency and is willing to lean on fabricated bot-planted stories to do it. But the scariest story is the most closely guarded one. Two Russian nuclear missiles have been hijacked. The Campus gets their first break when Jack Junior connects with a rogue Russian intelligence officer in Afghanistan --- only to be abducted soon after arriving. John Clark and the rest of the Campus team race to track the missiles and rescue their colleague.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780735215955
December 1st
BLEAK HARBOR by Bryan Gruley (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Summertime in Bleak Harbor means tourists, overpriced restaurants and the Dragonfly Festival. One day before the much-awaited and equally chaotic celebration, Danny Peters, the youngest member of the family that founded the town five generations ago, disappears. When Danny’s mother, Carey, and stepfather, Pete, receive a photo of their brilliant, autistic and socially withdrawn son tied to a chair, they fear the worst. But there’s also more to the story. Someone is sending them ominous texts and emails filled with information no one else should have. Could the secrets they’ve kept hidden --- even from one another --- have led to Danny’s abduction?
Thomas & Mercer | 9781503904682
RAPID FALLS by Amber Cowie (Psychological Thriller)
It’s been 20 years since Cara’s boyfriend died in a horrible accident and her sister, Anna, went to prison. The tragedy has become a local legend, but Cara has moved past her grief to have a successful career and a happy family. Pity about Anna. Recently released from incarceration, she’s struggling with addiction, guilt and shame --- a shattered life. Cara’s forgiveness seems to be the only thing that helps her pick up the pieces. But as Anna pulls herself together, her memories of that night on the bridge start to come into focus. And few of them match her sister’s. As past secrets unfold and nothing is what it seems anymore, Anna desperately searches for the truth. But what if Cara doesn’t want her to find it?
Lake Union Publishing | 9781503904743
THE RIVER WIDOW by Ann Howard Creel (Historical Fiction)
In 1937, with flood waters approaching, Adah Branch accidentally kills her abusive husband, Lester, and surrenders his body to the raging river, only to be swept away herself. So begins her story of survival, return to civilization, defense against accusations of murder, and the fight to save herself and her stepdaughter, Daisy, from the clutches of her husband’s notoriously cruel family, who have their sights set on revenge for Lester’s death. Essentially trapped, Adah must plan an escape. But when she develops feelings for the one person essential to her plan’s success, she faces a painful choice: Will she choose to risk everything saving Daisy or take the new life offered by a loving man?
Lake Union Publishing | 9781503904699
THE WARNER BOYS: Our Family’s Story of Autism and Hope by Ana and Curt Warner, with Dave Boling (Memoir)
Seahawks star running back Curt Warner and his wife, Ana, were prominent figures in Seattle in the early 1990s. When they dropped from the public eye after Curt’s retirement, everyone assumed it was for a simpler life. But the reality behind their seclusion was a secret they hid from even their closest friends: their twins, Austin and Christian, had been diagnosed with severe autism. What followed was a painful struggle to hold their family and their marriage together in a home filled with chaos, emotional exhaustion, and constant fear for the safety of their unpredictable but beloved boys. Now, after years of silence, the Warners share their inspiring journey from stardom and success to heartbreaking self-imposed isolation.
Little A | 9781503900561
WINTER LOON by Susan Bernhard (Fiction)
Abandoned by his father after his mother drowns in a frozen Minnesota lake, 15-year-old Wes Ballot is stranded with coldhearted grandparents and holed up in his mother’s old bedroom, surrounded by her remnants and memories. As the wait for his father stretches unforgivably into months, a local girl, whose own mother died a brutal death, captures his heart and imagination, giving Wes fresh air to breathe in the suffocating small town. When buried truths come to light in the spring thaw, wounds are exposed and violence erupts, forcing Wes to embark on a search for his missing father, the truth about his mother, and a future he must claim for himself --- a quest that begins back at that frozen lake.
Little A | 9781503902985
On Sale the Week of November 26th in Paperback
November 27th
THE AFFLICTION by Beth Gutcheon (Mystery)
Chairing a team to evaluate the faltering Rye Manor School for girls, Maggie Detweiler will determine if the school has a future at all. At a reception for the faculty and trustees to "welcome" Maggie’s team, no one seems more keen for all to go well than Florence Meagher. But when Maggie arrives to observe her teaching, Florence is missing. Florence’s husband, Ray, seems more annoyed than alarmed at her disappearance. But Florence’s sister is distraught. There have been tensions in the marriage, and at their last visit, Florence had warned, "If anything happens to me, don’t assume it’s an accident." Two days later, Florence’s body is found in the campus swimming pool.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062432001
THE BLOODY SPUR: A Caleb York Western by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins (Western)
Rancher George Cullen doesn’t like the Santa Fe Railroad’s plan to drive a spur through his town. He intends to put up a fight --- even though everyone else in Trinidad, New Mexico, including his own daughter, stands on the side of the railroad. Sheriff Caleb York rides out to the Bar-O to reason with his old friend. But Cullen’s ex-partner, Burt O’Malley, is back in town after a 20-year stint in the pen. And hired gun Alver Hollis, aka the Preacherman, has shown up with two cronies, claiming they’re in town for a big poker game. With the whole town on the verge of a shootout, Caleb keeps a firm grip on his Colt .44. Soon enough, he’ll take dead aim to keep the peace.
Pinnacle | 9780786036189
ENCHANTRESS OF NUMBERS: A Novel of Ada Lovelace by Jennifer Chiaverini (Historical Fiction)
The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada Byron King was destined for fame long before her birth. Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada’s mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. Any troubling spark of imagination --- or worse yet, passion or poetry --- is promptly extinguished. Or so her mother believes. When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize that her delightful new friendship with inventor Charles Babbage will shape her destiny.
Dutton | 9781101985212
THE FALLEN: A Quinn Colson Novel by Ace Atkins (Thriller)
Mississippi sheriff Quinn Colson had to admit he admired the bank robbers. A new bank was hit almost every week, and the robbers rushed in and out with such skill and precision it reminded him of raids he’d led back in Afghanistan and Iraq when he was an army ranger. In fact, it reminded him so much of the techniques in the Ranger Handbook that he couldn’t help wondering if the outlaws were former Rangers themselves. If he stood any chance of catching them, he was going to need the help of old allies, new enemies and a lot of luck. The enemies he had plenty of. It was the allies and the luck that were going to be in woefully short supply.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780399576720
HELLBENT: An Orphan X Novel by Gregg Hurwitz (Thriller)
His name is Evan Smoak. Taken from a group home at age 12, he was raised and trained as an off-the-books government assassin: Orphan X. After breaking with the Orphan Program, Evan disappeared and reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, a man spoken about only in whispers and dedicated to helping the truly desperate. Now, the person in need of help is Jack Johns, the man who raised and trained him, and the only father Evan has ever known. Secret government forces are busy trying to scrub the remaining assets and traces of the Orphan Program, and they have finally tracked down Jack. With little time remaining, and an elusive new enemy on his trail, Jack gives Evan his final assignment: to find and protect his last protégé and recruit for the program --- or die trying.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks | 9781250144881
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN LOVE by Heather Rose (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Unexpectedly separated from his wife, Arky Levin suddenly has the space he needs to work composing film scores --- but none of the peace of mind he needs to create. As he wanders the city, it’s almost by chance that he stumbles upon an exhibition that will change his life. Visitors to the Museum of Modern Art sit across a table from the performance artist Marina Abramović, for as short or long a period as they choose. Although some go in skeptical, almost all leave moved. And the participants are not the only ones to find themselves changed by this unusual experience: Arky finds himself drawn to the exhibit. He returns day after day to watch other people sit with Abramović --- and he begins to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do.
Algonquin Books | 9781616208523
THE PLEA by Steve Cavanagh (Legal Thriller)
Billionaire David Child swears he didn’t murder his girlfriend, Clara --- even if the evidence suggests otherwise. Meanwhile, the FBI needs David’s help in taking down a huge money laundering scheme. Now it’s up to David’s lawyer, Eddie, to get him to take a plea bargain. Otherwise the FBI will use incriminating files on Eddie’s wife to send her to jail. Still, 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. With adversaries threatening, Eddie has to find a way to prove David’s innocence and find out if there’s any way he might have been framed. But the stakes are high: Eddie’s wife is in danger. And not just from the FBI.
Flatiron Books | 9781250105981
SHATTERED MIRROR: An Eve Duncan Novel by Iris Johansen (Thriller)
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is once again thrown into a deadly game of intrigue when she receives a cryptic package containing a skull and a two-sided mirror. Eve is determined to reconstruct the skull and uncover the mystery of the person’s identity, and when she does, the face of a beautiful woman begins to emerge. But who is she? As Eve gets closer and closer to finding the answer, she becomes swept up in a lethal chase that spans continents and threatens to destroy the family that she has worked so hard to bring together. Eve and her team must work quickly to discover who is behind the murder --- and maybe even prevent more loss of life.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks | 9781250075932
SHOOT FIRST: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller/Adventure)
Stone Barrington is enjoying a round of golf in Key West when the game is violently interrupted --- and it seems as if the target of the disturbance may have been one of his playing companions, the brilliant businesswoman behind a software startup on the cutting edge of technology. Soon, it becomes clear that this incident is only the first thrust in a deadly scheme to push the beautiful young woman out of the way and put her company's valuable secrets up for grabs. Stone embarks on a quest to protect his lovely new companion while searching for the mastermind behind the plot against her. But he may find that her enemy is far more resourceful --- and dangerous --- than he could have anticipated.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780735217218
SHROUD OF ETERNITY: Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles, Volume II by Terry Goodkind (Fantasy)
The formidable sorceress Nicci and her companions --- the newly powerless Nathan and the youthful Bannon --- set out on another quest after driving ruthless Norukai slavers out of Renda Bay. Their mission: restore Nathan’s magic and, for Nicci, save the world. Guided by the witch-woman Red's mysterious prophecy, the trio makes their way south of Kol Adair towards a wondrous city shrouded behind time, Ildakar. But the grotesque omens on their path to Nathan's salvation --- severed Norukai heads on pikes, a genetically modified monster, and a petrified army of half a million --- are just a taste of the unimaginable horrors that await within the Shroud of Eternity.
Tor Fantasy | 9780765388254
On Sale the Week of December 3rd in Hardcover
December 4th
ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin (Biography)
Devastatingly handsome, broad-shouldered and clean-cut, Rock Hudson reigned supreme as the king of Hollywood throughout the ’50s and ’60s. In a more conservative era, his wholesome, straight arrow screen image was at odds with his closeted homosexuality. Mark Griffin provides new details concerning Hudson’s troubled relationships with wife Phyllis Gates and boyfriend Marc Christian. And here, for the first time, is an in-depth exploration of Hudson’s classic films, including Written on the Wind, A Farewell to Arms and the cult favorite Seconds. With unprecedented access to private journals, personal correspondence and production files, Griffin pays homage to the idol whose life and death had a lasting impact on American culture.
Harper | 9780062408853
ARMY OF EMPIRE: The Untold Story of the Indian Army in World War I by George Morton-Jack (History)
While their story is almost always overlooked, the 1.5 million Indian soldiers who served the British Empire in World War I played a crucial role in the eventual Allied victory. Despite their sacrifices, Indian troops received mixed reactions from their allies and their enemies alike --- some were treated as liberating heroes, some as mercenaries and conquerors themselves, and all as racial inferiors and a threat to white supremacy. Yet even as they fought as imperial troops under the British flag, their broadened horizons fired in them new hopes of racial equality and freedom on the path to Indian independence.
Basic Books | 9780465094042
BROKEN GROUND: A Karen Pirie Novel by Val McDermid (Mystery/Thriller)
Six feet under in a Highland peat bog lies Alice Somerville’s inheritance, buried by her grandfather at the end of World War II. But when Alice finally uncovers it, she finds an unwanted surprise --- a body with a bullet hole between the eyes. Meanwhile, cold case detective Karen Pirie is called in to unravel a case where nothing is quite as it seems. And as she gets closer to the truth, it becomes clear that not everyone shares her desire for justice. Or even the idea of what justice is.
Atlantic Monthly Press | 9780802129123
BRYANT & MAY: HALL OF MIRRORS: A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery by Christopher Fowler (Historical Mystery)
After accidentally sinking a barge painted like the Yellow Submarine, detectives Arthur Bryant and John May are relegated to babysitting Monty Hatton-Jones, the star prosecution witness in the trial of a disreputable developer whose prefabs are prone to collapse. The job for the demoted detectives? Keep the whistle-blower safe for one weekend. The task proves unexpectedly challenging when their unruly charge insists on attending a party at the vast estate Tavistock Hall. With falling stone gryphons, secret passageways, rumors of a mythical beast, and an all-too-real dismembered corpse, the bedeviled policemen soon find themselves with “a proper country house murder” on their hands.
Bantam | 9781101887097
THE DAKOTA WINTERS by Tom Barbash (Fiction)
It’s the fall of 1979 in New York City when 23-year-old Anton Winter, back from the Peace Corps and on the mend from a nasty bout of malaria, returns to his childhood home in the Dakota. His father, the famous late-night host Buddy Winter, is there to greet him, himself recovering from a breakdown. Before long, Anton is swept up in an effort to reignite Buddy’s stalled career. But the more he finds himself enmeshed in his father’s professional and spiritual reinvention, the more Anton questions his own path, and fissures in the Winter family begin to threaten their close bond.
Ecco | 9780062258199
DEATH BY DRAGONFLY: A Grace Street Mystery by Jane Tesh (Paranormal Mystery)
Flamboyant actor Leo Pierson's Art Nouveau treasures have been stolen, including a one-of-a-kind Lalique glass dragonfly he claims is cursed. David Randall, 302 Grace Street's private eye, agrees to recover the valuables before he realizes that murder has raised its ugly head in the Parkland art community. Samuel Gallant of the museum board is missing, until Randall and his landlord/consultant Camden find Gallant's body stuffed in a museum closet. When another board member suffers a fatal accident and the art critic for the Parkland Herald is attacked, Randall suspects that the stolen dragonfly is indeed cursed.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781464211126
FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger (Mystery/Short Stories)
FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME is the latest volume in the award-winning series from Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger, with stories of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and friends in a variety of eras and forms. King and Klinger have a simple formula: ask some of the world’s greatest writers --- regardless of genre --- to be inspired by the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. Some tales are pastiches, featuring the recognizable figures of Holmes and Watson; others step away in time or place to describe characters and stories influenced by the Holmes world. Some of the authors spin whimsical tales of fancy; others tell hardcore thrillers or puzzling mysteries. One beloved author writes a song; two others craft a melancholy graphic tale of insectoid analysis.
Pegasus Books | 9781681778792
THE GREAT WAR IN AMERICA: World War I and Its Aftermath by Garrett Peck (History)
The Great War’s bitter outcome left the experience largely overlooked and forgotten in American history. This timely book is a reexamination of America’s first global experience as we commemorate World War I's centennial. The U.S. had steered clear of the European conflagration known as the Great War for more than two years, but President Woodrow Wilson reluctantly led the divided country into the conflict with the goal of making the world “safe for democracy.” The country assumed a global role for the first time and attempted to build the foundations for world peace, only to witness the experience go badly awry and it retreated into isolationism.
Pegasus Books | 9781681778785
HEARTS OF THE MISSING by Carol Potenza (Mystery)
When a young woman linked to a list of missing Fire-Sky tribal members commits suicide, Pueblo Police Sergeant Nicky Matthews is assigned to the case. As the investigation unfolds, she uncovers a threat that strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Fire-Sky Native: victims chosen and murdered because of their genetic makeup. But these deaths are not just about a life taken. In a vengeful twist, the killer ensures the spirits of those targeted will wander forever, lost to their family, their People and their ancestors. When those closest to Nicky are put in jeopardy, she must be willing to sacrifice everything --- her career, her life, even her soul --- to save the people she is sworn to protect.
Minotaur Books | 9781250178282
INTO THE NIGHT by Sarah Bailey (Mystery)
Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock finds herself lost and alone after a recent move to Melbourne, brokenhearted by the decisions she's had to make. Her new workplace is a minefield, and Detective Sergeant Nick Fleet, the partner she has been assigned, is uncommunicative and often hostile. When a homeless man is murdered and Gemma is put on the case, she can't help feeling a connection with the victim and his lonely, isolated existence. Then Sterling Wade, an up-and-coming actor filming his breakout performance in a closed-off city street, is murdered in the middle of an action-packed shot, and Gemma and Nick have to put aside their differences to unravel the mysteries surrounding the actor's life and death.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538759950
KITCHEN YARNS: Notes on Life, Love, and Food by Ann Hood (Essays)
From her Italian-American childhood through raising and feeding a growing family and cooking with her new husband, food writer Michael Ruhlman, Ann Hood has long appreciated the power of a good meal. Growing up, she tasted love in her grandmother’s tomato sauce and dreamed of her mother’s special-occasion Fancy Lady Sandwiches. Later, the kitchen became the heart of Hood’s own home. She cooked pork roast to warm her first apartment, used two cups of dried basil for her first attempt at making pesto, taught her children how to make their favorite potatoes, found hope in her daughter’s omelet after a divorce, and fell in love again --- with both her husband and his foolproof chicken stock.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393249507
THE MANSION by Ezekiel Boone (Horror/Thriller)
Years ago, Shawn Eagle and Billy Stafford created a revolutionary computer called Eagle Logic. But they parted ways following a major falling-out. Now Billy is beset by poverty and addiction, and Shawn is the most famous man in the world. Unable to let the past be forgotten, Shawn decides to resurrect his and Billy’s biggest failure: a next-generation computer program named Nellie that can control a house’s every function. He decides to set it up in the abandoned mansion they worked near all those years ago. But something about Nellie isn’t right --- and the reconstruction of the mansion is plagued by accidental deaths. Shawn is forced to bring Billy back, despite their longstanding mutual hatred, to discover and destroy the evil that lurks in the source code.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781501165504
MURDER AT THE MILL by M. B. Shaw (Mystery)
Iris Grey rents a quaint cottage in a picture-perfect Hampshire village, looking to escape from her crumbling marriage. She is drawn to the neighboring Wetherby family, and is commissioned to paint a portrait of Dominic Wetherby, a celebrated crime writer. At the Wetherbys’ Christmas Eve party, the mulled wine is in full flow --- but so are tensions and rivalries among the guests. On Christmas Day, the youngest member of the Wetherby family, Lorcan, finds a body in the water. A tragic accident? Or a deadly crime?
Minotaur Books | 9781250189295
NORTH OF DAWN by Nuruddin Farah (Fiction)
For decades, Gacalo and Mugdi have lived in Oslo, where they've led a peaceful, largely assimilated life and raised two children. However, their beloved son, Dhaqaneh, is driven by feelings of alienation to jihadism in Somalia, where he kills himself in a suicide attack. The couple reluctantly offers a haven to his family. But on arrival in Oslo, their daughter-in-law cloaks herself even more deeply in religion, while her children hunger for the freedoms of their new homeland, a rift that will have life-altering consequences for the entire family.
Riverhead Books | 9780735214231
NOT OF THIS FOLD: A Linda Wallheim Mystery Set in Mormon Utah by Mette Ivie Harrison (Mystery)
Gwen Ferris is quickly losing faith in the church, and her issues with the Mormon power structure are only reinforced when Gabriela Gonzalez, a young mother and Gwen’s friend, is found strangled at a gas station. The dead woman’s last phone call was to Gwen, and her voice mail reveals that she knew she was in danger. When Gwen decides the police aren’t doing enough to get justice for Gabriela, who was an undocumented immigrant, she decides to find the killer herself. Mormon bishop’s wife Linda Wallheim reluctantly takes part in Gwen’s vigilante sleuthing, fearing for her young friend’s safety, but what the pair discovers may put them both in danger.
Soho Crime | 9781616959425
OF BLOOD AND BONE: Chronicles of The One, Book 2 by Nora Roberts (Dystopian Fantasy)
They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed. Fallon Swift, approaching her 13th birthday, barely knows the world that existed before --- the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted --- and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250122995
ONCE UPON A RIVER by Diane Setterfield (Mystery)
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed. Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9780743298070
RADIANT SHIMMERING LIGHT by Sarah Selecky (Fiction)
Lilian Quick is a 40-year-old single woman working as a pet portrait artist. Her estranged cousin has become internet-famous as "Eleven" Novak, the face of a massive feminine lifestyle empowerment brand. When Eleven comes to town on tour, the two women reconnect. Despite 20 years of unexplained silence, Eleven offers Lilian a place at The Temple, her Manhattan office. Lilian accepts, moves to New York, and quickly enrolls in The Ascendency, Eleven's signature program: an expensive, three-month training seminar on leadership, spiritual awakening and marketing. Eleven is going to help her cousin become her best self. In just three months, Lilian's life changes drastically. But can she trust everything Eleven says?
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781635571806
THE SONGBIRD by Marcia Willett (Fiction)
When Tim confides in Mattie that he needs a sabbatical from work and a fresh place to live, she suggests he move into one of the cottages at her family's home in the beautiful English countryside. As he gets to know the warm jumble of family who share their lives, Tim discovers that everyone there has their secrets. There's Kat, a retired ballet dancer who longs to take the stage again; Charlotte, a young navy wife struggling to bring up her son while her husband is at sea; and William, who has tried hard to get over his estranged wife --- though it's much harder now that she's trying to move into the cottage Tim just occupied. And, even when she's far away, Tim knows there's Mattie. Can he open up to her? Would it matter if he did?
Thomas Dunne Books | 9781250177414
THE THREE SECRET CITIES by Matthew Reilly (Thriller/Adventure)
When Jack West, Jr. won the Great Games, he threw the four legendary kingdoms into turmoil. Now these dark forces are coming after Jack...in ruthless fashion. With the end of all things rapidly approaching, Jack must find the Three Secret Cities, three incredible lost cities of legend. It’s an impossible task by any reckoning, but Jack must do it while he is being hunted...by the greatest hunters in history.
Gallery Books | 9781501167195
VICTORY CITY: A History of New York and New Yorkers During World War II by John Strausbaugh (History)
While World War II launched and leveled nations, spurred economic growth, and saw the rise and fall of global Fascism, New York City would eventually emerge as the new capital of the world. From the Gilded Age to VJ-Day, an array of fascinating New Yorkers rose to fame, from Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Langston Hughes to Joe Louis, Robert Moses to Joe DiMaggio. In VICTORY CITY, John Strausbaugh provides readers with a groundbreaking new look into the greatest city on earth during the most transformative --- and costliest --- war in human history.
Twelve | 9781455567485
WRONG LIGHT: A Rick Cahill Novel by Matt Coyle (Hard-boiled Mystery/Thriller)
A demented soul is stalking Naomi Hendrix, waiting for the right moment to snatch her and fulfill a twisted fantasy. When Naomi’s radio station hires PI Rick Cahill to protect Naomi and track down the stalker, he discovers that Naomi is hiding secrets about her past that could help unmask the man. However, before Rick can extract the truth from Naomi, he is thrust into a missing person’s case --- an abduction he may have unwittingly caused. The investigating detective questions Rick’s motives for getting involved and pressures him to stop meddling. While Rick pursues Naomi’s stalker and battles the police, evil ricochets from his own past and embroils him in a race to find the truth about an old nemesis.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608093168
On Sale the Week of December 3rd in Paperback
December 4th
THE ACCIDENTAL BEAUTY QUEEN by Teri Wilson (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Charlotte Gorman loves her job as an elementary school librarian, and is content to experience life through the pages of her books. Which couldn’t be more opposite from her identical twin sister. Ginny, an Instagram-famous beauty pageant contestant, is not giving up until she gets the title of Miss American Treasure. And she’s refusing to do it alone this time. She drags Charlotte to the pageant as a good luck charm, but the winning plan quickly goes awry when Ginny has a terrible, face-altering allergic reaction the night before the pageant, and Charlotte suddenly finds herself in a switcheroo the twins haven’t successfully pulled off in decades.
Gallery Books | 9781501197604
ACCIDENTAL HEROES by Danielle Steel (Romantic Suspense)
Two planes have just departed for San Francisco --- one a 757, another a smaller Airbus A321. At a security checkpoint, TSA agent Bernice Adams finds a postcard of the Golden Gate Bridge bearing an ambiguous --- perhaps ominous --- message. Her supervisor dismisses her concerns, but Bernice calls security and soon Ben Waterman, a senior Homeland Security agent, arrives. As Ben scans the passenger manifests, his focus turns to the A321. Sifting through data and relying on instinct, Ben becomes convinced that someone on that plane is planning something terrible. And he’s right. Passengers, crew and experts on the ground become heroes out of necessity to try to avert tragedy at the 11th hour.
Dell | 9781101884119
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 | 9780451488916
BLOOD SISTERS by Jane Corry (Psychological Thriller)
Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead. Fifteen years later, Kitty can't speak and has no memory of the accident that's to blame. She lives in an institution and is unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn't keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face. Art teacher Alison is struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence. Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do.
Penguin Books | 9780525522805
THE BOAT PEOPLE by Sharon Bala (Fiction)
When a rusty cargo ship carrying Mahindan and 500 fellow refugees from Sri Lanka's bloody civil war reaches Vancouver's shores, the young father thinks he and his six-year-old son can finally start a new life. Instead, the group is thrown into a detention processing center, with government officials and news headlines speculating that among the "boat people" are members of a separatist militant organization responsible for countless suicide attacks --- and that these terrorists now pose a threat to Canada's national security. As the refugees become subject to heavy interrogation, Mahindan begins to fear that a desperate act taken in Sri Lanka to fund their escape may now jeopardize his and his son's chance for asylum.
Anchor | 9780525432463
DEATH AT NUREMBERG: A Clandestine Operations Novel by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Historical Thriller/Adventure)
When Jim Cronley hears he's just won the Legion of Merit, he figures there's another shoe to drop, and it's a big one: he's out as Chief, DCI-Europe. His new assignments, however, couldn't be bigger: to protect the U.S. chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials from a rumored Soviet NKGB kidnapping, and to hunt down and dismantle the infamous Odessa, an organization dedicated to helping Nazi war criminals escape to South America. It doesn't take long for the first attempt on his life, and then the second. NKGB or Odessa? Who can tell? The deeper he pushes, the more secrets tumble out.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780735215825
HANNA WHO FELL FROM THE SKY by Christopher Meades (Fiction)
Hanna has never been outside her secluded community of Clearhaven, nor has she ever questioned why her father has four wives. And in only one week, on her 18th birthday, Hanna will follow tradition and become the fifth wife of a man more than twice her age. But just days before the wedding, an enigmatic stranger challenges Hanna to question her fate and to follow her own will, causing her world to begin unraveling around her. When her mother reveals a secret, Hanna is forced to decide if she was really meant for something greater than the claustrophobic world of Clearhaven. But can she abandon her beloved younger sister and the only home she’s ever known?
Park Row | 9780778369813
I’LL BE YOUR BLUE SKY by Marisa de los Santos (Fiction)
On the weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman named Edith Herron. During the course of a single conversation, Edith gives Clare the courage to break off her engagement to her overly possessive fiancé. Three weeks later, Clare learns that Edith has died and has given her another gift: Blue Sky House. Though the former guest house has been empty for years, Clare feels a deep connection to Edith inside its walls. As she peels back the layers of Edith’s life, Clare discovers a story of dark secrets, passionate love, heartbreaking sacrifice and incredible courage. She also makes startling discoveries about herself: where she’s come from, where she’s going, and what --- and who --- she loves.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062431943
IMPROV NATION: How We Made a Great American Art by Sam Wasson (Entertainment/History)
In IMPROV NATION, Sam Wasson charts the meteoric rise of improv from its unlikely beginnings in McCarthy-era Chicago. We witness the chance meeting between Mike Nichols and Elaine May, hang out at the after-hours bar where Dan Aykroyd hosted friends like John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner, and go behind the scenes of cultural landmarks from The Graduate to “The Colbert Report.” Along the way, we befriend pioneers such as Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase, Steve Carell, Amy Poehler, Alan Arkin, Tina Fey, Judd Apatow and many others. Wasson shows why improv deserves to be considered the great American art form of the last half century.
Eamon Dolan/Mariner Books | 9781328508003
JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE by Sherry Jones (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
Discover the fascinating and singular life story of Josephine Baker --- actress, singer, dancer, Civil Rights activist, member of the French Resistance during WWII, and a woman dedicated to erasing prejudice and creating a more equitable world. In this illuminating biographical novel, Sherry Jones brings to life Josephine's early years in servitude and poverty in America, her rise to fame as a showgirl in her famous banana skirt, her activism against discrimination, and her many loves and losses.
Gallery Books | 9781501102448
JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Fiction)
Paperback Original
No longer tolerating her husband’s borderline abuse, Faith escapes to her parents’ California beach house to plan her next move. She never dreamed her new chapter would involve befriending Sarah, a 14-year-old on the run from her father and reeling from her mother’s sudden and suspicious death. While Sarah’s grandmother scrambles to get custody, Faith is charged with spiriting the girl away on a journey that will restore her hope: Sarah implores Faith to take her to Falkner’s Midnight Sun, the prized black mare that her father sold out from under her. Throughout the sweltering summer, as they follow Midnight from show to show, Sarah comes to terms with what she witnessed on the terrible night her mother died.
Lake Union Publishing | 9781503904859
THE LAST EQUATION OF ISAAC SEVERY: A Novel in Clues by Nova Jacobs (Literary Mystery)
Just days after mathematician and family patriarch Isaac Severy dies of an apparent suicide, his adopted granddaughter Hazel, owner of a struggling bookstore, receives a letter from him by mail. In it, Isaac alludes to a secretive organization that is after his final bombshell equation, and he charges Hazel with safely delivering it to a trusted colleague. But first, she must find where the equation is hidden. While in Los Angeles for Isaac’s funeral, Hazel realizes she’s not the only one searching for his life’s work, and that the equation’s implications have potentially disastrous consequences for the extended Severy family, a group of dysfunctional geniuses unmoored by the sudden death of their patriarch.
Touchstone | 9781501175138
MILKMAN by Anna Burns (Fiction)
Paperback Original
In an unnamed city, middle sister stands out for the wrong reasons. She reads while walking, for one. And she has been taking French night classes downtown. So when a local paramilitary known as the milkman begins pursuing her, she suddenly becomes “interesting,” the last thing she ever wanted to be. Despite middle sister’s attempts to avoid him --- and to keep her mother from finding out about her maybe-boyfriend --- rumors spread and the threat of violence lingers. MILKMAN is a story of the way inaction can have enormous repercussions, in a time when the wrong flag, wrong religion or even a sunset can be subversive.
Graywolf Press | 9781644450000
ONLY KILLERS AND THIEVES by Paul Howarth (Historical Fiction/Adventure)
It is 1885, and a crippling drought threatens to ruin the McBride family. When the rain finally comes, it is a miracle that renews their hope for survival. But returning home from an afternoon swimming at a remote waterhole filled by the downpour, 14-year-old Tommy and 16-year-old Billy meet with a shocking tragedy. Thirsting for vengeance against the man they believe has wronged them, the distraught brothers turn to the ruthless and cunning John Sullivan, their father’s former employer. As they ride across the barren outback in pursuit, their harsh and horrifying journey will have a devastating impact on Tommy and will hold enduring consequences for a young country struggling to come into its own.
Harper Perennial | 9780062690982
REVOLUTION SUNDAY written by Wendy Guerra, translated by Achy Obejas (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Cleo, scion of a once-prominent Cuban family and a promising young writer in her own right, travels to Spain to collect a prestigious award. There, Cuban expats view her with suspicion --- assuming she's an informant for the Castro regime. To Cleo's surprise, that suspicion follows her home to Cuba, where she finds herself under constant surveillance by the government. When she meets and falls in love with a Hollywood filmmaker, she discovers her family is not who she thought they were…and neither is the filmmaker.
Melville House | 9781612196619
THE SABOTEUR: The Aristocrat Who Became France's Most Daring Anti-Nazi Commando by Paul Kix (Biography)
Robert de La Rochefoucald was a scion of one of the most storied families in France. When the Nazis invaded and imprisoned his father, La Rochefoucald escaped to England and learned the dark arts of anarchy and combat from the officers of Special Operations Executive, the collection of British spies who altered the war in Europe with tactics that earned it notoriety as the “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” With his newfound skills, La Rochefoucauld returned to France and organized Resistance cells, blew up fortified compounds and munitions factories, interfered with Germans’ war-time missions, and executed Nazi officers. THE SABOTEUR recounts La Rochefoucauld’s enthralling adventures.
Harper Perennial | 9780062322531
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?
Broadway Books | 9781524762889
THE SURROGATE by Louise Jensen (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
Kat and her husband, Nick, have tried everything to become parents, and are on the verge of giving up. Then a chance encounter with Kat's childhood friend, Lisa, gives Kat and Nick one last chance to achieve their dream. But Kat and Lisa's history hides dark secrets. And there is more to Lisa than meets the eye. As dangerous cracks start to appear in Kat's perfect picture of happily-ever-after, she realizes that she must face her fear of the past to save her family.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538730447
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED by Mick Heron (Thriller)
Twenty-six-year-old Maggie Barnes is someone you would never look at twice. Living alone in a month-to-month sublet in the huge city of London, with no family but an estranged sister, no boyfriend or partner, and not much in the way of friends, Maggie is just the kind of person who could vanish from the face of the earth without anyone taking notice. Or just the kind of person MI5 needs to infiltrate the establishment and thwart an international plot that puts all of Britain at risk. Now one young woman has the chance to be a hero --- if she can think quickly enough to stay alive.
Soho Crime | 9781616959777
THE WINTER STATION by Jody Shields (Historical Fiction)
In 1910, people are mysteriously dying at an alarming rate in the Russian-ruled city of Kharbin, a major railway outpost in Northern China. Strangely, some of the dead bodies vanish before they can be identified. During a dangerously cold winter in a city gripped by fear, the Baron, a wealthy Russian aristocrat and the city's medical commissioner, is determined to stop this mysterious plague. Battling local customs, an occupying army and a brutal epidemic with no name, the Baron is torn between duty and compassion, between Western medical science and respect for Chinese tradition. His greatest refuge is the intimacy he shares with his young Chinese wife --- but she has secrets of her own.
Back Bay Books | 9780316385336
THE WOLVES OF WINTER by Tyrell Johnson (Post-Apocalyptic Thriller)
Lynn McBride has learned much since society collapsed in the face of nuclear war and the relentless spread of disease. As the memories of her old life continue to surface, she’s forced to forge ahead in the snow-drifted Canadian Yukon, learning how to hunt and trap and slaughter. Forget the old days. Forget summer. Forget warmth. Forget anything that doesn’t help you survive in the endless white wilderness beyond the edges of a fallen world. Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community --- most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who brings with him dark secrets of the past and sets in motion a chain of events that will call Lynn to a role she never imagined.
Scribner | 9781501155680
December 8th
THE SECOND GOODBYE: A Pacific Homicide Novel by Patricia Smiley (Mystery)
Paperback Original
For every homicide investigation she undertakes, Detective Davie Richards is determined to learn as much about the victim as she does about the killer. But there's nothing about 34-year-old Sara Montaine or her death that makes sense. Was Sara a saint caring for her dying husband or a gold-digger with a sketchy background? Did she commit suicide or was she murdered? Before her marriage, Sara lived comfortably without any obvious source of income, unusual for an orphan raised in foster care. As Davie digs deeper, she unearths Sara's troubled past and a viper's nest of villains who are willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.
Midnight Ink | 9780738752365
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