December 13, 2022

December 13, 2022

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of December 12th and December 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 our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for December, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, Reese's Book Club, the "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, and more.

First row: Harvey Freedenberg, Bronwyn Miller, Tom Donadio, Carol Fitzgerald
Second row: Kate Ayers, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Sarah Rachel Egelman, Stuart Shiffman
Third row: Megan Elliott, Rebecca Munro, Norah Piehl, Ray Palen
Fourth row: Pamela Kramer

Last Tuesday night, we hosted a very special “Bookaccino Live” event featuring 11 Bookreporter reviewers: Kate Ayers, Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Ray Palen, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Each of them enthusiastically talked about their three favorite books of 2022. Their selections cover a wide variety of genres, and there may be a few titles here you haven’t heard of that you will want to check out.

Click here to watch the event and here to listen to the podcast. We have timestamped the video, so if you would like to hear from a specific reviewer, you easily can do that! A list of all the books that they presented can be found here, including selections from Ron Kaplan and Jana Siciliano, who sadly were not able to join us. We also have assembled the covers of the books that our reviewers picked, which you can see in this blog post.

Pictured above is Carol; our Editorial Director, Tom Donadio; and all 11 reviewers as we appeared on Zoom in our best “Brady Bunch” pose.

On November 30th, we hosted our last “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event of the year. Our guest was Charmaine Wilkerson, and she talked about her debut novel, BLACK CAKE, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that is now in paperback. Carol interviewed Charmaine in February when the book came out in hardcover, so she was happy to catch up with her and have more conversation about the story. Three readers appeared on camera to ask Charmaine some questions, and then we opened up the Q&A to the rest of our viewing audience. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.

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, December 14th 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 Christmas show featuring the queen of holiday stories, Debbie Macomber, whose latest novel is THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.

Thursday, December 15th at 9pm ET: Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore: Mysterious Galaxy presents a virtual event featuring Stephen Spotswood, who will be in conversation with Jane Pek about his new novel, SECRETS TYPED IN BLOOD, which is the third installment in his mystery series featuring Lillian Pentecost and Will Parker.

Monday, December 19th 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!

This Week's Bonus News:
Our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for December

On Sale the Week of December 12th in Hardcover

December 13th

ASHES OF MAN: The Sun Eater, Book Five by Christopher Ruocchio (Space Opera/Fantasy)
With the Cielcin united under one banner, the Sollan Empire stands alone after the betrayal of the Commonwealth. The Prophet-King of the Cielcin has sent its armies to burn the worlds of men. Worse, there are rumors...whispers that Hadrian Marlowe is dead, killed in the fighting. But Hadrian survived with the help of the witch, Valka, and together they escaped the net of the enemy having learned a terrible truth: the gods that the Cielcin worship are real and will not rest until the universe is dark and cold. What is more, the Emperor himself is in danger. The Prophet-King has learned to track his movements as he travels along the borders of Imperial space. Now the Cielcin legions are closing in, their swords poised to strike off the head of all mankind.
DAW | 9780756416607

A DEATH IN TOKYO by Keigo Higashino (Mystery)
In the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo, an unusual statue of a Japanese mythic beast --- a kirin --- stands guard over the district from the classic Nihonbashi Bridge. In the evening, a man who appears to be very drunk staggers onto the bridge and collapses right under the statue of the winged beast. The patrolman who sees this scene unfold goes to rouse the man, only to discover that the man is dead and was stabbed in the chest. The key to solving the crime is to find out where he was attacked and why he made such a superhuman effort to carry himself to the Nihonbashi Bridge. That same night, a young man named Yashima is injured in a car accident while attempting to flee from the police. Found on him is the wallet of the murdered man.
Minotaur Books | 9781250767509

DEVIL'S DELIGHT: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton and R.W. Green (Mystery)
Agatha Raisin and her assistant, Toni, are driving to their friend Bill Wong’s long-awaited wedding, thinking of nothing more than what the beautiful bride will be wearing when a terrified young man comes running down the country lane towards them wearing…nothing at all. The encounter leads them to become embroiled with a naturist group, a disappearing corpse, fantasy games, witchcraft, an ice cream empire, intrigue and murder. In the meantime, Agatha’s hectic life swirls along at a dizzying pace. But when she begins to close in on a suspected murderer, she finds herself in deadly peril, as the sinister nature of the ice cream business leads her to a chilling conclusion.
Minotaur Books | 9781250816160

LANDSCAPE OF SHADOWS by Kevin Doherty (Historical Thriller)
France, 1941. The small town of Dinon is under German occupation. Max Duval, its mayor, appears to have accepted the German presence and encourages his citizens to do the same. He owns the Hotel Picardie, whose most important resident is Major Egon Wolff --- German commandant. Then a Resistance team kills two German troopers, and the uneasy calm of Dinon is shattered. One of the assassins, the headstrong and beautiful Sophie Carriere, takes refuge in the Hotel Picardie. Despite his disapproval of the assassinations, Max keeps her safe. Sophie accuses Max of conspiring the attacks, but Max is no collaborator --- he has his own secret methods of resistance, which Sophie has now jeopardized.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608095087

SECRETS TYPED IN BLOOD: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery by Stephen Spotswood (Historical Mystery)
New York City, 1947: For years, Holly Quick has made a good living off of murder, filling up the pages of pulp detective magazines with gruesome tales of revenge. Now someone is bringing her stories to life and leaving a trail of blood-soaked bodies behind. With the threat of another murder looming, and reluctant to go to the police, Holly turns to the best crime-solving duo in or out of the pulps, Willowjean “Will” Parker and her boss, famed detective Lillian Pentecost. The pair are handed the seemingly impossible task of investigating three murders at once without tipping off the cops or the press that the crimes are connected.
Doubleday | 9780385549264

THE TUDORS IN LOVE: Passion and Politics in the Age of England's Most Famous Dynasty by Sarah Gristwood (History)
Why did Henry VIII marry six times? Why did Anne Boleyn have to die? Why did Elizabeth I's courtiers hail her as a goddess come to earth? The dramas of courtly love have captivated centuries of readers and dreamers. Yet too often they're dismissed as something existing only in books and song --- those old legends of King Arthur and chivalric fantasy. Not so. In this groundbreaking history, Sarah Gristwood reveals the way courtly love made and marred the Tudor dynasty. From Henry VIII declaring himself as the “loyal and most assured servant” of Anne Boleyn to the poems lavished on Elizabeth I by her suitors, the Tudors re-enacted the roles of the devoted lovers and capricious mistresses first laid out in the romances of medieval literature.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250271426

On Sale the Week of December 12th in Paperback

December 13th

BRIGHT BURNING THINGS by Lisa Harding (Fiction)
Sonya used to perform on stage. But somewhere along the way, the stage lights she lived for dimmed to black. In their absence came darkness --- blackouts, empty cupboards, hazy nights she could not remember. Haunted by her failed career and lingering trauma from her childhood, Sonya fell deep into an alcoholic abyss. What kept her from losing herself completely was her son, Tommy. But her love for Tommy rivaled her love for the bottle. Addiction amplified her fear of losing her child; every maternal misstep compelled her to drink. Tommy’s precious life was in her shaky hands. Eventually Sonya was forced to make a choice. Give up drinking or lose Tommy --- forever.
HarperVia | 9780063097155

THE HORSEWOMAN by James Patterson and Mike Lupica (Thriller)
Maggie Atwood and Becky McCabe are mother and daughter. Both champion riders, they vowed to never, ever go up against one another. Until the tense, harrowing competitions leading to the Paris Olympics. Mother and daughter share a dream: to be the best horsewoman in the world. Coronado is Maggie’s horse. An absolutely top-tier Belgian warmblood. Sky is Becky’s horse. A small, speedy Dutch warmblood. Only James Patterson could bring you such breakneck speed, hair-raising thrills and spills. Only hall of fame sportswriter Mike Lupica could make it all so real.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538752937

A MOTHER WOULD KNOW by Amber Garza (Domestic Thriller)
Paperback Original
Valerie has been forgetting things. Her daughter worries about her being on her own in her big Victorian house, one rumored to be haunted after a tragedy decades earlier. With few options, she asks her adult son to move home, but it’s not quite the reunion she hoped for. Hudson is taciturn, moody and frequently gone. The neighbors already hold a grudge against him, and they aren’t happy about his return. When a young woman is found murdered a block away, suspicion falls on Hudson immediately, without a shred of evidence. While Valerie fights to defend her son, she begins to wonder who she really invited into her home. It’s a horrible thing for a mother to even think, but is it possible she’s enabled a monster? A monster she is living with, alone?
Mira | 9780778386483

SILENT PARADE: A Detective Galileo Novel by Keigo Higashino (Mystery)
A popular young girl disappears without a trace, and her skeletal remains are discovered three years later. When the prime suspect isn’t indicted, he returns to mock the girl’s family. And this isn’t the first time he’s been suspected of the murder of a young girl; nearly 20 years ago, he was tried and released due to lack of evidence. Detective Chief Inspector Kusanagi worked both cases. The neighborhood in which the murdered girl lived is famous for an annual street festival. During the parade, the suspected killer dies unexpectedly. DCI Kusanagi turns once again to his college friend, Physics professor and occasional police consultant Manabu Yukawa --- known as Detective Galileo --- to help solve the string of impossible-to-prove murders.
Minotaur Books | 9781250862006

TRUE RAIDERS: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant by Brad Ricca (History)
TRUE RAIDERS tells the untold true story of Monty Parker, a British rogue nobleman who, after being dared to do so by Ava Astor, the so-called "most beautiful woman in the world," headed a secret 1909 expedition to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant. Like a real-life version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, this incredible story of adventure and mystery has almost been completely forgotten today. In 1908, Monty is approached by a strange Finnish scholar named Valter Juvelius, who claims to have discovered a secret code in the Bible that reveals the location of the Ark. Monty assembles a ragtag group of blueblood adventurers, psychics and a Dominican priest to engage in a secret excavation just outside the city walls of Jerusalem.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250846723

THE WHISPERS by Heidi Perks (Psychological Thriller)
Anna loves Girls’ Night with her friends. With the kids safely in bed, it’s a chance for the women to let loose, enjoy some wine and just laugh. But after one lively evening, Anna doesn’t arrive for school drop-off the next morning --- or the next, or the next. Everyone, especially her husband and young son, is frantic with worry, but none more so than Grace, her childhood best friend. Grace is certain that someone is hiding the truth about Anna’s unexplained disappearance. As rumors fly and accusations are whispered among neighbors, Grace decides to take matters into her own hands and find out what happened to Anna…or die trying.
Gallery Books | 9781982153267

On Sale the Week of December 19th in Hardcover

December 20th

ORCHID MUSE: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers by Erica Hannickel (Nature/History)
The epitome of floral beauty, orchids have long fostered works of art, tales of adventure and scientific discovery. Tenacious plant hunters have traversed continents to collect rare specimens; naturalists and shoguns have marveled at orchids’ seductive architecture; royalty and the smart set have adorned themselves with their allure. In ORCHID MUSE, historian and home grower Erica Hannickel gathers these bold tales of the orchid-smitten throughout history, while providing tips on cultivating the extraordinary flowers she features.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393867282

On Sale the Week of December 19th in Paperback

December 20th

COME FROM AWAY by Genevieve Graham (Historical Romance)
Paperback Original
In the fall of 1939, Grace Baker’s three brothers board Canadian ships headed for a faraway war. Grace stays behind, tending to the homefront and the general store that helps keep her small Nova Scotian community running. Three years later, the fighting rages on, and the harsh realities of war come closer to home when rumors swirl about “wolf packs” of German U-Boats lurking in the deep waters along the shores of East Jeddore. Then, one day, a handsome stranger ventures into the store. He claims to be a trapper come from away. As Grace gets to know him, she becomes enamored by his gentle smile and thoughtful ways. But after several weeks, she discovers that Rudi, her mysterious visitor, is not the lonely outsider he appears to be. He is someone else entirely --- someone not to be trusted.
Simon & Schuster | 9781668002070

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