November 22, 2022

November 22, 2022

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of November 21st and November 28th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com. Three book groups will win up to 12 copies of THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that releases in paperback on December 6th. The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, January 11th at noon ET.

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

As many book and author events are still happening online these days, we are highlighting a number of them that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links below for more info and to register.

Wednesday, November 23rd at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": Join the "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- for a special Thanksgiving show featuring beloved indie booksellers.

Monday, November 28th at 7:30pm ET: “Lisa Live!”: Join Lisa Scottoline every Monday night as she hosts her weekly “Talking LOYALTY” video series and Facebook Live events leading up to the publication of her historical novel, LOYALTY, on March 28, 2023. And be sure to enter the LOYALTY Pre-order Sweepstakes!

Tuesday, November 29th at 6pm ET: Reese's Book Club: Join Reese's Book Club for a discussion of their November pick, TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS. They'll be diving into the story with authors Cheryl Strayed and Tembi Locke, so bring your sharpest opinions and brightest highlighters.

Tuesday, November 29th at 8pm ET: BookPeople: Join BookPeople in celebrating Olivie Blake’s new book, ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER. Olivie will be in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse.

This Week's Bonus News:
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest
Enter to Win Up to 12 Paperback Copies of
THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb
for Your Group

On Sale the Week of November 21st in Hardcover

November 22nd

AESTHETICA by Allie Rowbottom (Fiction)
At 19, she was an Instagram celebrity. Now, at 35, she works behind the cosmetic counter at the “black and white store,” peddling anti-aging products to women seeking physical and spiritual transformation. She, too, is seeking rebirth. She’s about to undergo the high-risk, elective surgery Aesthetica™, a procedure that will reverse all her past plastic surgery procedures, hopefully returning her to a truer self. Provided she survives the knife. But on the eve of the surgery, her traumatic past resurfaces when she is asked to participate in the public takedown of her former manager/boyfriend, who has rebranded himself as a paragon of “woke” masculinity in the post-#MeToo world. With the hours ticking down to her surgery, she must confront the ugly truth about her experiences on and off the Instagram grid.
Soho Press | 9781641294003

ALL THE BLOOD WE SHARE: A Novel of the Bloody Benders of Kansas by Camilla Bruce (Historical Thriller)
Something dark and twisted has taken root at the Bender Inn. At first the townspeople of Cherryvale welcome the rising medium Kate Bender and her family. Kate's messages from the Beyond give their tedious dreams hope, and her mother's potions cure their little ills --- for a price. No one knows about their other business, the shortcut to a better life. And why shouldn’t their family prosper? They’re careful. It’s only from those who are marked, those who travel alone and can easily disappear, that the Benders demand their pound of flesh. But even a gifted seer like Kate can make a misstep. Now, as the secrets festering beneath the soil of the family orchard threaten to bring them all to ruin, the Benders must sharpen their craft --- or vanish themselves.
Berkley | 9780593102596

THE CHOICE: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 3 by Nora Roberts (Paranormal Fantasy/Romance)
Breen Siobhan Kelly grew up in the world of Man and was once unaware of her true nature. Now she is in Talamh, trying to heal after a terrible battle and heartbreaking losses. Her grandfather, the dark god Odran, has been defeated in his attempt to rule over Talamh, and over Breen --- for now. With the enemy cast out and the portal sealed, this is a time to rest and to prepare. Breen spreads her wings and realizes a power she’s never experienced before. Keegan, who has trained her as a warrior and whom she has grown to love, is at her side when the enemy’s witches --- traitorous and power-mad --- appear to her in her sleep, practicing black magick, sacrificing the innocent, and plotting a brutal destruction for Breen.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250272720

A CHRISTMAS MEMORY by Richard Paul Evans (Fiction)
It’s 1967, and for young Richard it’s a time of heartbreak and turmoil. Over the span of a few months, his brother, Mark, is killed in Vietnam; his father loses his job and moves the family from California to his grandmother’s abandoned home in Utah; and his parents make the painful decision to separate. Richard does his best to remain strong --- but when he’s run down by bullies at his new school, he meets Mr. Foster, an elderly neighbor who chases off the bullies, and they become fast friends. As the holidays approach, the joy and light of Christmas seem unlikely to permeate the Evans home as things take a grim turn for the worse. And just when it seems like he has nothing left to lose, Richard is confronted by a startling revelation.
Gallery Books | 9781982177447

DUNE: THE HEIR OF CALADAN by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Science Fiction/Space Opera)
In this climactic novel in the Caladan trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, we step into the shoes of Paul Atreides. A not yet a man in years, he is about to enter a world he never could have imagined. The story that began with Duke Leto Atreides' rise to power, then continued with the consequences of Lady Jessica’s betrayal, will now conclude with Paul becoming the leader that he needs to be on the way to his pivotal role as Muad’Dib.
Tor Books | 9781250765161

HUNTING TIME: A Colter Shaw Novel by Jeffery Deaver (Thriller)
Allison Parker is on the run with her teenage daughter, Hannah. Colter Shaw has been hired by her eccentric boss, entrepreneur Marty Harmon, to find and protect her. The reason for Allison’s panicked flight is soon apparent. She’s being stalked by her ex-husband, Jon Merritt. Newly released from prison and fueled by blinding rage, Jon is a man whose former profession as a police detective makes him uniquely suited for the hunt. And he’s not alone. Two hitmen are also hot on her heels --- an eerie pair of thugs who take delight not only in murder but in the sport of devising clever ways to make bodies disappear forever. Even if Shaw manages to catch up with Allison and her daughter, his troubles will be just beginning.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593422083

NYPD RED 7: THE MURDER SORORITY by Marshall Karp (Mystery/Thriller)
Lower Manhattan: A sniper’s bullet ends the life of a high-profile New Yorker. Five miles uptown, a second prominent victim has his throat slashed. And that’s only the beginning. A network of professional assassins is on the loose in New York City. Trained by the US military, they’re on their own now, with a new unit called Kappa Omega Delta. Killers On Demand. NYPD Red detectives Kylie MacDonald and Zach Jordan are called in to hunt them down, but these mercenaries are as gifted in the art of escape as they are in snuffing out lives. It’s the biggest professional challenge the Red team has ever faced, and before it’s over, both Kylie’s and Zach’s personal lives will change. Forever.
Blackstone Publishing | 9798200714056

THE WHITTIERS by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Preston and Constance Whittier have built a happy life together, with a brood of six children raised in a beautiful historic Manhattan mansion. Now, with a nearly empty nest, it’s easier than ever for the Whittiers to maintain their tradition of a solo romantic “Wintermoon” ski trip. But with this year’s trip comes tragedy, and suddenly the Whittiers' adult children find themselves reuniting in the family home without their parents for the first time ever. The eldest four are forced to put aside their personal issues and their grief to keep the family together and support each other and their two youngest siblings. Selling the house, along with all the memories that live in its walls, feels like yet another devastating loss. Could there be another way, as unconventional as it seems?
Delacorte Press | 9781984821836

On Sale the Week of November 21st in Paperback

November 22nd

ASTRID PARKER DOESN’T FAIL by Ashley Herring Blake (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Pru Everwood brings on Astrid Parker to be the designer for the Everwood Inn’s renovation, which will be featured on a popular HGTV show, “Innside America.” However, Astrid never planned on Jordan Everwood, Pru’s granddaughter and the lead carpenter for the renovation, who despises every modern design decision Astrid makes. Jordan is determined to preserve the history of her family’s inn, particularly as the rest of her life is in shambles. When that determination turns into some light sabotage to ruffle Astrid’s perfect little feathers, the showrunners ask them to play up the tension. But somewhere along the way, their dislike for each other evolves into something quite different, and Astrid must decide what success truly means.
Berkley | 9780593336427

BURNTCOAT by Sarah Hall (Dystopian Fiction)
In an unnamed British city, a deadly global virus is spreading, and like everyone else, the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness retreats inside. She isolates herself in her immense studio, Burntcoat, with Halit, the lover she barely knows. As life outside changes irreparably, inside Burntcoat, Edith and Halit find themselves changed as well: by the histories and responsibilities each carries and bears, by the fears and dangers of the world outside, and by the progressions of their new relationship. And Burntcoat will be transformed, too, into a new and feverish world, a place in which Edith comes to an understanding of how we survive the impossible --- and what is left after we have.
Mariner Books | 9780062657091

THE CHURCHILL SISTERS: The Extraordinary Lives of Winston and Clementine's Daughters by Rachel Trethewey (Biography)
Bright, attractive and well-connected, in any other family the Churchill girls --- Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary --- would have shone. But they were not in another family, they were Churchills, and neither they nor anyone else could ever forget it. From their father --- “the greatest Englishman” --- to their brother, golden boy Randolph, to their eccentric and exciting cousins, the Mitford Girls, they were surrounded by a clan of larger-than-life characters that often saw them overlooked. While Marigold died too young to achieve her potential, the other daughters lived lives full of passion, drama and tragedy. This intimate saga sheds light on the complex dynamics of family set against the backdrop of a tumultuous century.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250861115

LOOK FOR ME AND I’LL BE GONE: Stories by John Edgar Wideman (Fiction/Short Stories)
In LOOK FOR ME AND I'LL BE GONE, his sixth collection of stories, John Edgar Wideman imbues with energy and life the concerns that have consistently infused his fiction and nonfiction. How does it feel to grow up in America, a nation that encourages (sometimes unwittingly, but often on purpose) its citizens to see themselves as colored or white, as inferior or superior? The story “Separation” begins with a boy afraid to stand alone beside his grandfather’s coffin, then wends its way back and forth from Pittsburgh to ancient Sumer. “Atlanta Murders” starts with two chickens crossing a road and becomes a dark riff, contemplating “Evidence of Things Not Seen,” James Baldwin’s report on the 1979-1981 child murders in Atlanta, Georgia.
Scribner | 9781982148959

LOST & FOUND: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness by Kathryn Schulz (Memoir)
One spring morning, Kathryn Schulz went to lunch with a stranger and fell in love. Having spent years looking for the right relationship, she was dazzled by how swiftly everything changed when she finally met her future wife. But as the two of them began building a life together, Schulz’s beloved father --- a charming, brilliant, absentminded Jewish refugee --- went into the hospital with a minor heart condition and never came out. Newly in love yet also newly bereft, Schulz was left contending simultaneously with wild joy and terrible grief. Those twin experiences form the heart of LOST & FOUND, a profound meditation on the families that make us and the families we make. But Schulz’s book also explores how disappearance and discovery shape us all.
‎Random House Trade Paperbacks | 9780525512486

THE QUIET BOY by Ben H. Winters (Legal Thriller/Mystery)
In 2008, a cheerful ambulance-chasing lawyer named Jay Shenk persuades the grieving Keener family to sue a private LA hospital. Their son, Wesley, has been transformed by a routine surgery into a kind of golem, absent all normal functioning or personality, walking in endless empty circles around his hospital room. In 2019, Shenk --- still in practice but a shell of his former self --- is hired to defend Wesley Keener’s father when he is charged with murdering the expert witness from the 2008 hospital case. Shenk’s adopted son, a fragile teenager in 2008, is a wayward adult, though he may find his purpose when he investigates what really happened to the murdered witness.
Mulholland Books | 9780316428552

THE REBEL AND THE THIEF written by Jan-Philipp Sendker, translated by Imogen Taylor (Romance)
Paperback Original
Eighteen-year-old Niri and his family live a modest but secure life working in the villa of the wealthy Benzes. But when the pandemic comes, they are all let go and left staring into the abyss of abject poverty. As their situation grows increasingly desperate, the once rule-abiding monastery student decides he won’t wait at the mercy of a corrupt, indifferent government and rebels against his father’s resigned acceptance. Sneaking through the locked-down city at night, past the military patrols, Niri returns to the villa to take what his family needs to survive. Waiting for him there is his childhood friend --- and the Benzes’ daughter --- Mary, who has a bigger plan that will change their lives forever.
Other Press | 9781635423044

RECKLESS GIRLS by Rachel Hawkins (Gothic Thriller)
Beautiful, wild and strange, Meroe Island is a desolate spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism and even rumors of murder. Six stunning twentysomethings are about to embark on a blissful, free-spirited journey --- one filled with sun-drenched days and intoxicating nights. But as it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in, sending them on a dangerous spiral of discovery. When one person goes missing and another turns up dead, the remaining friends wonder what dark currents lie beneath this impenetrable paradise --- and who else will be swept under its secluded chaos.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250791573

THE RETURN OF THE PHARAOH: From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. by Nicholas Meyer (Historical Mystery)
In 1910, Dr. John Watson travels to Egypt with his wife, Juliet. Her tuberculosis has returned, and her doctor recommends a stay at a sanitarium in a dry climate. But while his wife undergoes treatment, Dr. Watson bumps into an old friend --- Sherlock Holmes. An English Duke with a penchant for Egyptology has disappeared, leading to enquiries from his wife and the Home Office. Holmes has discovered that the missing duke has indeed vanished from his lavish rooms in Cairo and that he was on the trail of a previous undiscovered and unopened tomb. With the help of Howard Carter, Holmes and Watson are on the trail of something much bigger, more important and more sinister than an errant lord.
Minotaur Books | 9781250852700

TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT by Chloe Liese (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Jamie Westenberg and Bea Wilmot have nothing in common except a meet-disaster and the mutual understanding that they couldn't be more wrong for each other. But when the people closest to them play Cupid and trick them into going on a date, Jamie and Bea realize they have something else in common after all --- an undeniable need for revenge. Soon their plan is in place: Fake date obnoxiously and convince the meddlers they’re madly in love. Then break up spectacularly and dash everyone's hopes, putting an end to the matchmaking madness once and for all. But as their final act nears and playing lovers becomes easier than not, they begin to wonder: What if Cupid’s arrow wasn’t so off the mark? And what if two wrongs do make a right?
Berkley | 9780593441503

On Sale the Week of November 28th in Hardcover

November 29th

ALL THE BROKEN PLACES by John Boyne (Historical Fiction)
Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She doesn’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesn’t talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich’s most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel’s hard-won, self-contained existence.
Pamela Dorman Books | 9780593653067

ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER: A Love Story by Olivie Blake (Romance)
Two people meet in the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist, undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. By the end of the story, these things will still be true. But this is not a story about endings. For Regan and Aldo, life has been a matter of resigning themselves to the blueprints of inevitability --- until the two meet. Could six conversations with a stranger be the variable that shakes up the entire simulation?
Tor Books | 9781250888167

A HEART THAT WORKS by Rob Delaney (Memoir)
In 2016, Rob Delaney’s one-year-old son, Henry, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family had moved from Los Angeles to London with their two young boys when Rob’s wife was pregnant with Henry. His illness was a cataclysm that changed everything about their lives. Amid the hospital routine, surgeries and brutal treatments, they found a newfound community of nurses, aides, caregivers and fellow parents contending with the unthinkable. Henry died two years later, and his family watched their world fall away to reveal the things that matter most. A HEART THAT WORKS is Delaney’s intimate, unflinching and fiercely funny exploration of what happened --- from the harrowing illness to the vivid, bodily impact of grief and the blind, furious rage that followed through to the forceful, unstoppable love that remains.
Spiegel & Grau | 9781954118317

A QUIET LIFE by Ethan Joella (Fiction)
Chuck Ayers can’t decide if he should make the annual trip to Hilton Head without his late wife, Cat. Ella Burke works two jobs to make ends meet and fill the hours while she waits for news about her missing daughter. Kirsten Bonato put her aspirations for veterinary school aside after her father’s sudden death and finds comfort working at an animal shelter. These three individuals’ stories intersect in surprising and heartwarming ways as each person discovers how to move forward with their lives.
Scribner | 9781982190972

WINTERLAND by Rae Meadows (Historical Mystery)
Soviet Union, 1973: There is perhaps no greater honor for a young girl than to be chosen for the famed USSR gymnastics program. When eight-year-old Anya is selected, her family is thrilled. What is left of her family, that is. Years ago, her mother disappeared without a trace, leaving Anya’s father devastated and their lives dark and quiet in the bitter cold of Siberia. Anya’s only confidant is her neighbor, an older woman who survived unspeakable horrors during her 10 years imprisoned in a Gulag camp --- and who, unbeknownst to Anya, was also her mother’s confidant and might hold the key to her disappearance. As Anya rises through the ranks of competitive gymnastics, and as other girls fall from grace, she soon comes to realize that there is very little margin of error for anyone and so much to lose.
Henry Holt and Co. | 9781250834522

A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES by Louise Penny (Mystery)
As the villagers of Three Pines prepare for a special celebration, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves increasingly worried. A young man and woman have reappeared in the Sûreté du Québec investigators’ lives after many years. The two were young children when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged and shattered. Now they’ve arrived in Three Pines. But to what end? Gamache and Beauvoir’s memories of that tragic case, the one that first brought them together, come rushing back. Did their mother’s murder hurt them beyond repair? Have those terrible wounds, buried for decades, festered and are now about to erupt?
Minotaur Books | 9781250145291

On Sale the Week of November 28th in Paperback

November 29th

ANGELS OF THE RESISTANCE: A WWII Novel by Noelle Salazar (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
Netherlands, 1940. As bombs fall across Europe, 14-year-old Lien Vinke fears that the reality of war is inescapable. Though she lives a quiet life with her mother and older sister, Elif, they are no strangers to heartache, having recently suffered an immeasurable loss. And when the Nazis invade the Netherlands, joining the Dutch resistance with Elif offers just the atonement Lien craves. Trained to shoot by their late father, the sisters soon find themselves entrenched in the underground movement. They forge friendships with the other young recruits, and Lien even discovers a kindred spirit in a boy named Charlie. But in wartime, emotional attachments are a liability she can’t afford, especially when a deeply personal mission jeopardizes everything she holds dear.
Mira | 9780778386797

ANTOINETTE’S SISTER by Diana Giovinazzo (Historical Fiction)
Austria, 1767: Maria Carolina Charlotte --- the 10th daughter and one of 16 children of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria --- knows her position as a Habsburg archduchess will inevitably force her to leave her home, family and cherished sister, Antoinette, whose companionship she values over all else. But not yet. The Habsburg family is celebrating a great triumph: Charlotte’s older sister, Josepha, has been promised to King Ferdinand IV of Naples and will soon take her place as queen. Before she can journey to her new home, however, tragedy strikes. After visiting the family crypt, Josepha contracts smallpox and dies. Shocked, Charlotte is forced to face an unthinkable new reality: she now must marry Ferdinand in her sister’s stead.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538720141

APPARENTLY THERE WERE COMPLAINTS: A Memoir by Sharon Gless (Memoir)
Anyone who has seen Sharon Gless act in “Cagney and Lacey,” “Queer as Folk,” “Burn Notice” and countless other shows and movies knows that she’s someone who gives every role her all. She holds nothing back in APPARENTLY THERE WERE COMPLAINTS, which delves into her remarkable career and explores her complicated family, her struggles with alcoholism and her fear of romantic commitment, as well as her encounters with some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Brutally honest and incredibly relatable, Gless puts it all out on the page in the same way she has lived --- never with moderation.
Simon & Schuster | 9781501125966

BLACK CAKE by Charmaine Wilkerson (Fiction)
Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage, and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?
Ballantine Books | 9780593358351

BLUE FIRE: A Victoria Emerson Thriller by John Gilstrap (Political Thriller)
One-time congressional representative Victoria Emerson has become the leader of a small town in West Virginia, where it’s a struggle just to provide food and shelter. Progress is encouraging, until one morning her son sounds the alarm “Blue Fire!” --- the code phrase for imminent danger. A renegade band of National Guardsmen wants to take over the town and steal its resources. They have the firepower to eliminate anyone who puts up a fight. But Victoria swore an oath to defend her people. It’s time to tap into the traditional American values of courage, ingenuity and patriotism --- and fight fire with fire.
Pinnacle ‎| 9780786046669

FACTORY GIRLS by Michelle Gallen (Fiction)
Paperback Original
It’s the summer of 1994, and all Maeve Murray wants are good final exam results so she can earn her ticket out of the wee Northern Irish town she has grown up in during the Troubles --- away from her crowded home, the silence and sadness surrounding her sister’s death, and away from the simmering violence of her divided community. And as a first step, Maeve has taken a summer job in a local shirt factory working alongside Protestants with her best friends. But getting the right exam results is only part of Maeve’s problem --- she has to survive a tit-for-tat paramilitary campaign, iron 100 shirts an hour all day every day, and deal with the attentions of Andy Strawbridge, her slick and untrustworthy English boss.
Algonquin Books | 9781643752457

THE FINAL CASE by David Guterson (Literary Thriller)
A girl dies one late, rainy night a few feet from the back door of her home. The girl, Abeba, was born in Ethiopia. Her adoptive parents, Delvin and Betsy Harvey --- conservative, white fundamentalist Christians --- are charged with her murder. Royal, a Seattle criminal attorney in the last days of his long career, takes Betsy Harvey’s case. An octogenarian without a driver’s license, he leans on his son --- the novel’s narrator --- as he prepares for trial.
Vintage | 9780525563112

IN THE BLOOD by Jack Carr (Political Thriller)
A woman boards a plane in the African country of Burkina Faso having just completed a targeted assassination for the state of Israel. Two minutes later, her plane is blown out of the sky. Over 6,000 miles away, former Navy SEAL James Reece watches the names and pictures of the victims on cable news. One face triggers a distant memory of a Mossad operative attached to the CIA years earlier in Iraq --- a woman with ties to the intelligence services of two nations, a woman Reece thought he would never see again. Reece enlists friends new and old across the globe to track down her killer, unaware that he may be walking into a deadly trap.
Pocket Books | 9781982181666

THE NIGHT SHIFT by Alex Finlay (Thriller)
On New Year’s Eve 1999, four teenagers working late at a Blockbuster Video in New Jersey are attacked. Only one inexplicably survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again. Fifteen years later, more teenage employees are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive. In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre, who’s forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who’s convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller, who must delve into the secrets of both nights to uncover the truth about murders on the night shift.
Minotaur Books | 9781250850386

THE PERSONAL ASSISTANT by Kimberly Belle (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
When Alex first began posting unscripted family moments and motivational messages online, she had no intention of becoming an influencer. Overnight it seemed she’d amassed a huge following, and her hobby became a full-time job --- one that was impossible to manage without her sharp-as-a-tack personal assistant, AC. But all the good will of her followers turns toxic when one controversial post goes viral in the worst possible way. Alex reaches out to AC for damage control, but her assistant, whom she trusted with all her secrets, is now missing. As Alex digs into AC’s identity --- and a woman is found murdered --- she’ll find the greatest threat isn’t online, but in her own living room.
Park Row | 9780778333258

A SAFE HOUSE: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller/Adventure)
Stone Barrington is looking forward to some quiet time in New York City, until he is asked to transport precious, top-secret cargo across the Atlantic. Taking on the challenge, Stone flies off unaware of what --- or who --- he is bringing with him. But his plans to lie low are quickly spoiled when a dangerous dispatcher tracks down Stone and his tantalizing mystery guest, intent on payback --- and silencing anyone who poses a threat. From the English countryside to the balmy beaches of Key West, Stone is on an international mission to hide and protect those closest to him.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593331774

SUCH A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY by T.R. Ragan (Psychological Thriller)
Nora Harmon has a lot to be thankful for: two great kids, a stable marriage, and now, a dream career. Software consultant Jane Bell wants Nora on her team. She’s offering a fantastic salary, flexible hours and a chance to travel the world. It sounds too good to be true, but Jane won’t take no for an answer. Jane acts more like a friend than a boss, and Nora’s personal and professional boundaries begin to blur. Jane is smitten with Nora’s perfect family --- particularly her daughter --- and far too attentive to Nora’s husband. Nora can’t help but feel insecure and unsettled. Maybe Jane is everything she says she is: a lonely woman in need of feeling the love of a kind and decent family. Maybe Nora is just being paranoid. Maybe not.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662500299

TELL ME HOW TO BE by Neel Patel (Fiction)
Paperback Original
As the one-year anniversary of her husband’s death approaches, Renu Amin is binge-watching soap operas and simmering with old resentments. She can’t stop wondering if, 35 years ago, she chose the wrong life. In Los Angeles, her son, Akash, has everything he ever wanted, but as he tries to kickstart his songwriting career and commit to his boyfriend, he is haunted by the painful memories he fled a decade ago. When his mother tells him she is selling the family home, Akash returns to Illinois, hoping to finally say goodbye and move on. But as their pasts catch up to them, Renu and Akash must decide between the lives they left behind and the ones they’ve since created, between making each other happy and setting themselves free.
Flatiron Books | 9781250184986

WHITE ON WHITE by Aysegül Savas (Fiction)
A student moves to the city to research Gothic nudes, renting an apartment from a painter, Agnes, who lives in another town with her husband. One day, Agnes arrives in the city and settles into the upstairs studio. In their meetings, Agnes tells stories of her youth, her family, her marriage and ideas for her art --- which is always just about to be created. As the months pass, it becomes clear that Agnes might not have a place to return to. The student is increasingly aware of Agnes' disintegration. Her stories are frenetic; her art scattered and unfinished, white paint on a white canvas. What emerges is the menacing sense that every life is always at the edge of disaster, no matter its seeming stability.
Riverhead Books | 9780593330524

December 1st

FRANK COSTELLO by Ronald K. Fried (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
As Frank Costello looks back over his life as head of the most powerful crime family in America, he doesn't focus on the triumphs of his bootlegging empire, his nationwide gambling network, or his de facto control of Tammany Hall. Instead, Costello --- the politically connected "Prime Minister of the Underworld" --- remembers the lies he's told, the mistakes he's made, and his fateful decision to testify before the televised Kefauver hearings investigating organized crime in America. The novel reaches its climax as Costello --- in a naïve attempt to preserve the patina of respectability he's spent his life creating --- tries to defend himself before senators out to expose the full extent of the Mafia's reach. The result is a humiliating, very public lesson about who holds the real power in America.
Excelsior Editions | 9781438491141

THE WIDOW by Kaira Rouda (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. For 15 congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until it wasn’t. Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally, but professionally it’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished. When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative --- but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. There’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781542039215

Please visit the other websites in TheBookReportNetwork.com: ReadingGroupGuides.com and AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

And be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.