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Please note: There will be no "On Sale This Week" newsletter on December 27th as we pause to celebrate the holidays, so we are covering releases from now through the week of January 2nd in this edition. Our next newsletter will be sent on January 3rd. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and a very, very Happy New Year!
In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of December 19th, December 26th and January 2nd 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 Reviewer Picks for 2022, where our reviewers reveal their favorite books of the year, and various "Best Of" lists that we've compiled from around the web. Let us know how many print books and e-books you've read, and how many audiobooks you've listened to, in 2022 in our latest poll.
Please keep in mind our very special End-of-the-Year Contest featuring Carol Fitzgerald’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2022. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 40 books, while eight other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, January 6th at noon ET.
If you would like to know more about these books, be sure to check out this video and podcast where Carol talks about each of her 40 picks. She points out, "For humor, I shot this video in two parts with books stacked next to me each time. I was taking a book from one chair, talking about it, and then passing it to a table on the other side. Shockingly the books on the table only tipped over once! It was such fun for me to share some quick notes about each of these books and why they were special to me. And I was very honest in my commentary, including one that I started twice --- but do note that it became one of my favorites of the year."
In our End-of-the-Year Contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com, we’re giving readers the opportunity to share their favorite book that they read with their group and their favorite book that they read outside their group in 2022.
One Grand Prize winner will be awarded six novels releasing in 2023 that we think will make for terrific book group discussions: the aforementioned CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff, HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano, THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson, LOYALTY by Lisa Scottoline, THE MITFORD AFFAIR by Marie Benedict, and MOONRISE OVER NEW JESSUP by Jamila Minnicks.
To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, January 11th at noon ET. We will share our reader-compiled "Best Of" list with you in the ReadingGroupGuides newsletter scheduled to go out later that week.
For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
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.
Every Monday night 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!
Monday, January 2nd at 8pm ET: BookPeople: Join the 7% Solution Book Club as they explore the worlds of fiction's greatest mysteries. But you must hurry --- the game is already afoot. Their latest title is A FATAL GRACE, the second installment in Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series.
Tuesday, January 3rd at 3pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Carole Johnstone will talk about her new novel, THE BLACKHOUSE, a richly atmospheric thriller set on an isolated Scottish island where nothing is as it seems and shocking twists lie around every corner.
Tuesday, January 3rd at 7pm ET: Asian American Writers’ Workshop: For their first event of 2023, Asian American Writers’ Workshop will welcome authors Deepti Kapoor and Mira Jacob in a deep and riveting conversation on Deepti’s new book, AGE OF VICE, a lush and complex crime novel, and a layered family saga.
This Week's Bonus News:
Reviewer Picks for 2022, "Best Of" Lists
from Around the Web, and Our Year-End Poll
Bookreporter.com Reviewers' Favorite Books of 2022
Recently we asked our reviewers to provide us with a list of some of their favorite books from 2022. Included is a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, all published this year. Take a moment to read these varied lists of titles and see if you agree with any of their selections! Please note that due to personal and professional commitments, some reviewers were not able to participate in this feature.
As many of you know, 11 of these 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 --- appeared on Zoom recently to talk about their top three books of the year. In case you missed this special “Bookaccino Live” event, you can watch it here or listen to the podcast here. We also put together a blog post about the program where we include picks from Ron Kaplan and Jana Siciliano, who were unable to join us, along with the covers of all the books that our reviewers selected.
2022 “Best Of” Lists from Around the Web
This is the time of year when “Best Of” lists are everywhere. These annual roundups always seem to spark lively discussions among readers as they reflect on their favorite books of the year. Although we at Bookreporter.com don’t have a “Best Of” list of our own, we’ve compiled a number of them for you here. See which of your top picks appear on these lists and which titles you feel should've been included but weren't. Perhaps you’ll even find some books to add to your reading list as we head into the new year!
Bookreporter.com's Year-End Poll
How many print books and e-books did you read in 2022? How many audiobooks did you listen to? Click here to cast your votes!
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
On Sale the Week of December 26th in Hardcover
December 27th
THE BOOK OF EVERLASTING THINGS by Aanchal Malhotra (Historical Fiction)
On a January morning in 1938, Samir Vij first locks eyes with Firdaus Khan through the rows of perfume bottles in his family’s ittar shop in Lahore. Over the years that follow, the perfumer’s apprentice and calligrapher’s apprentice fall in love with their ancient crafts and with each other, dreaming of the life they will one day share. But as the struggle for Indian independence gathers force, their beloved city is ravaged by Partition. Suddenly, they find themselves on opposite sides: Samir, a Hindu, becomes Indian, and Firdaus, a Muslim, becomes Pakistani, their love now forbidden. Severed from one another, Samir and Firdaus make a series of fateful decisions that will change the course of their lives forever.
Flatiron Books | 9781250802026
On Sale the Week of December 26th in Paperback
December 27th
BEACH WEDDING by Michael Ledwidge (Thriller)
When Terry Rourke is invited to the spare-no-expense beach wedding of his hedge fund manager brother, he thinks that his biggest worry will be flubbing the champagne toast. But this isn’t the first time Terry has been to the Hamptons. As the designer tuxedos are laid out and the flowers arranged along the glittering surf, he can’t help but take another look at a decades-old murder trial that rocked the very foundations of the town. Terry soon learns that digging up billion-dollar sand can be a very dangerous activity --- one that can quickly turn even the most beautiful beach wedding into a wake.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335449313
DARK HORSE: An Orphan X Novel by Gregg Hurwitz (Thriller)
Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He's also the patron of the local area --- supplying employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. However, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent 18-year-old daughter, spiriting her away into the armored complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. So he turns to Evan Smoak, the Nowhere Man. Not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, he must decide if he should help a very bad man --- no matter how just the cause.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks | 9781250253248
DESPERATION IN DEATH by J. D. Robb (Mystery/Thriller)
New York, 2061: The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a 13-year-old runaway, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene. Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking --- and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks | 9781250849717
HIGH STAKES by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Jane Addison arrives in New York to start a job at a prestigious talent agency. She jumps right in as an assistant to Hailey West. Hailey is dedicated to the authors she represents, but after her husband’s untimely death, she was left with three children to raise on her own. Francine Rivers is the head of the literary department. After her husband’s affair with the nanny, she has overcome financial hardships, but only with unbearable sacrifice. Drama agent Allie Moore loves working with the talented actors she represents --- until a passionate relationship with one of her clients threatens her career. As the agency's CFO, Merriwether Jones appears to have it all, but her husband’s jealousy over her career threatens to blow everything up.
Dell | 9781984821737
HOW THE WORD IS PASSED: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith (History)
Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks --- those that are honest about the past and those that are not --- that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves. HOW THE WORD IS PASSED illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view --- whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women and children has been deeply imprinted.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316492928
LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME by Mike Chen (Science Fiction)
Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, convinced he'd been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. Kass suspected that her college-dropout twin simply ran off, while Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob. When Evie's UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He's older, stranger and talking of an intergalactic war, but the tensions between the siblings haven't changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast.
Mira | 9780778386940
THE LIPSTICK BUREAU by Michelle Gable (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
1944, Rome. Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy's capital. One of the OSS's few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she's tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of enemy soldiers. Despite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others --- now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau --- find success. But her work is also a way to escape devastating truths about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia and a future with her controlling American husband. As the war drags on and the pressure intensifies, Niki begins to question the rules she's been instructed to follow, and a colleague unexpectedly captures her heart.
Graydon House | 9781525811470
MS. DEMEANOR by Elinor Lipman (Fiction/Humor)
Paperback Original
Jane Morgan is a valued member of her law firm --- or was, until a prudish neighbor observes her having sex on the roof of her NYC apartment building. Police are summoned, and a punishing judge sentences her to six months of home confinement. With Jane now jobless and rootless, life looks bleak. When a doorman lets slip that Jane isn't the only resident wearing an ankle monitor, she strikes up a friendship with fellow white-collar felon Perry Salisbury. As she tries to adapt to life within her apartment walls, she discovers she hasn’t heard the end of that tattletale neighbor --- whose past isn’t as decorous as her 9-1-1 snitching would suggest. Why are police knocking on Jane’s door again? Can her house arrest have a silver lining? Can two wrongs make a right?
Harper Perennial | 9780358677888
ROAD OF BONES by Christopher Golden (Supernatural Thriller)
Known as the Road of Bones, Siberia’s Kolyma Highway is a massive graveyard for the former Soviet Union’s gulag prisoners. Fascinated by the history, documentary producer Felix “Teig” Teigland is in Russia to drive the highway, envisioning a new series capturing Life and Death on the Road of Bones with a ride to the town of Akhust, collecting ghost stories and local legends along the way. But when Teig and his team reach their destination, they find an abandoned town, save one catatonic nine-year-old girl --- and a pack of predatory wolves, faster and smarter than any wild animals should be. This harrowing journey will push Teig beyond endurance and force him to confront the sins of his past.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250875181
ROBERT B. PARKER’S BYE BYE BABY: A Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins (Mystery)
Carolina Garcia-Ramirez is a rising star in national politics, taking on the establishment with her progressive agenda. Now facing her second campaign, she finds herself not only fighting a tight primary with an old guard challenger but also contending with numerous death threats coming from hundreds of suspects. It doesn’t take long for Spenser to cross paths with an extremist group called The Minutemen, led by a wealthy Harvard grad named Bishop Graves. Although Graves is a social media sensation, pushing an agenda of white supremacy and toxic masculinity, he denies he’s behind the attacks. As the primary nears and threats become a deadly plot, it’s up to Spenser, Hawk and a surprise trusted ally to ensure the congresswoman is safe.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593328538
A SMALL AFFAIR by Flora Collins (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
Vera is ruthlessly ambitious, beautiful and knows how to get exactly what she wants. When she meets a wealthy older man on an exclusive dating app, she thinks nothing of the wife he tells her he’s separated from. But days later, when the man and his wife are found dead in their home, Vera is immediately blamed for their deaths and branded as good as a murderer. A year later, she emerges from a cocoon of self-pity and tries to reenter the world, but the specter of scandal still clings to her. Then she’s invited to a memorial for the wife of her former lover. As she learns more about the family, and about the couple and their friends, she begins to suspect there was more to the story than an affair gone wrong.
Mira | 9780778386933
THE STARDUST THIEF by Chelsea Abdullah (Fantasy/Adventure)
Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant, a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land --- at the cost of sacrificing all jinn. With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan's oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen and confront a malicious killer from Loulie's past.
Orbit | 9780316368865
TWENTY YEARS LATER by Charlie Donlea (Mystery/Thriller)
Avery Mason, host of "American Events," knows the subjects that grab a TV audience’s attention. Her latest story --- a murder mystery laced with kinky sex, tragedy and betrayal --- is guaranteed to be ratings gold. New DNA technology has allowed the New York medical examiner’s office to make its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: the victim, Victoria Ford, had been accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. In a chilling last phone call to her sister, Victoria begged her to prove her innocence. Emma Kind has waited 20 years to put her sister to rest, but closure won’t be complete until she can clear Victoria’s name. Alone she’s had no luck, but she’s convinced that Avery’s connections and fame will help. But the twisted puzzle of Victoria’s private life is just the beginning.
Kensington | 9781496742711
WAHALA by Nikki May (Fiction)
Ronke is dating Kayode and wants him to be “the one.” Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends. Boo has everything Ronke wants, but she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt and desperate to remember who she used to be. Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not. When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she’s bringing out the best in each woman. But the more she intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi and Boo’s close friendship begins to crack.
Mariner Books | 9780063084254
YINKA, WHERE IS YOUR HUZBAND? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn (Romantic Comedy)
Yinka’s Nigerian aunties frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, her work friends think she’s too traditional (she’s saving herself for marriage!), her girlfriends think she needs to get over her ex already, and the men in her life…well, that’s a whole other story. But Yinka herself has always believed that true love will find her when the time is right. Still, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences Operation Find-A-Date for Rachel's Wedding. Aided by a spreadsheet and her best friend, Yinka is determined to succeed. Will Yinka find herself a huzband? And what if the thing she really needs to find is herself?
Penguin Books | 9780593299029
On Sale the Week of January 2nd in Hardcover
January 3rd
AGE OF VICE by Deepti Kapoor (Thriller)
New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the curb, and in the blink of an eye five people are dead. It’s a rich man’s car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all --- just a shell-shocked servant who cannot explain the strange series of events that led to this crime. Nor can he foresee the dark drama that is about to unfold. Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, AGE OF VICE is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family --- loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all. In the shadow of lavish estates, extravagant parties, predatory business deals and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined.
Riverhead Books | 9780593328798
THE BANDIT QUEENS by Parini Shroff (Fiction)
Five years ago, Geeta’s no-good husband walked out on her, and she has no idea where he is. But in her remote village in India, rumor has it that Geeta killed him. It turns out that being known as a “self-made” widow comes with some perks. No one messes with her, harasses her or tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for business; no one dares to not buy her jewelry. And now other women are asking for her “expertise,” making her an unwitting consultant for husband disposal. With Geeta’s dangerous reputation becoming a double-edged sword, she has to find a way to protect the life she’s built. But what happens next sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything --- not just for Geeta, but for all the women in their village.
Ballantine Books | 9780593498958
THE BLACKHOUSE by Carole Johnstone (Gothic Thriller)
Robert Reid moved his family to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in the 1990s. But despite his best efforts to fit in, Robert is always seen as an outsider. And as the legendary and violent Hebridean storms rage around him, he begins to unravel. For her entire life, Maggie MacKay has sensed something was wrong with her. When Maggie was five years old, she announced that a man on Kilmeray had been murdered. Her unfounded claim drew media attention and turned the locals against each other, creating rifts that never mended. Nearly 20 years later, Maggie is determined to find out what really happened and what the islanders are hiding. But when she begins to receive ominous threats, Maggie is forced to consider how much she is willing to risk to discover the horrifying truth.
Scribner | 9781982199678
BLAZE ME A SUN: A Novel About a Crime written by Christoffer Carlsson, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles (Mystery)
In February 1986, the Halland police receive a call from a man who claims to have attacked his first victim. By the time police officer Sven Jörgensson reaches the crime scene, the woman is taking her last breath. On the same night, Sweden plunges into a state of shock after the murder of the prime minister. Could there possibly be a connection? As Sven becomes obsessed with the case, two more fall victim. Decades later, the case unexpectedly resurfaces when a novelist returns home to Halland amid a failed marriage and a sputtering career. The writer befriends the retired police officer, who helps the novelist --- our narrator --- unspool the many strands of this engrossing tale about a community confronting its shames and legacies.
Hogarth | 9780593449356
BROTHERLESS NIGHT by V. V. Ganeshananthan (Fiction)
Jaffna, 1981. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, a vicious civil war tears through her home, and her dream spins off course as she sees her four beloved brothers and their friend K swept up in the mounting violence. Desperate to act, Sashi accepts K’s invitation to work as a medic at a field hospital for the militant Tamil Tigers, who are fighting for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority. But after the Tigers murder one of her teachers and Indian peacekeepers arrive only to commit further atrocities, Sashi begins to question where she stands. When one of her medical school professors invites her to join a secret project documenting human rights violations, she embarks on a dangerous path that will change her forever.
Random House | 9780812997156
CODE 6 by James Grippando (Thriller)
Aspiring playwright Kate Gamble is struggling to launch a script she’s been secretly researching her entire life. Her father is Christian Gamble, CEO of Buck Technologies, a private data integration company whose clients include the CIA and virtually every counter-terrorism organization in the Western World. Kate’s father adores her, and a play about the dark side of Big Data would be the ultimate betrayal in his eyes. But Kate is compelled to tell this story --- not only as an artist exploring the personal information catastrophe that affects us all, but as a daughter trying to understand her mother’s apparent loss of purpose. Then Patrick Battle comes back into her life, changing everything she has ever thought about her play, her father and her mother’s tragic death.
Harper | 9780063223783
DRINKING GAMES: A Memoir by Sarah Levy (Memoir)
On paper, Sarah Levy’s life was on track. She was 28, living in New York City, working a great job and socializing every weekend. But Sarah had a secret: her relationship with alcohol was becoming toxic. And only she could save herself. DRINKING GAMES explores the role alcohol has in our formative years and what it means to opt out of a culture completely enmeshed in drinking. It’s an examination of what our short-term choices about alcohol do to our long-term selves and how they challenge our ability to be vulnerable enough to discover what we really want in life.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250280589
THE HOUSE IN THE PINES by Ana Reyes (Psychological Thriller)
Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank. Seven years later, Maya’s past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. She heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer --- the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey. At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born.
Dutton | 9780593186718
LOVE, CLANCY: Diary of a Good Dog by W. Bruce Cameron (Fiction)
You’ve probably never met someone like Clancy. He’s keeping a diary, he’s falling in love, there are rivals for his affections, he lives with his best friend and his worst enemy. Even taken together, these factors are maybe not that unusual, except that Clancy is a dog. His point of view is therefore perhaps…different. A tremendous cast of wonderful characters find themselves jointly and separately navigating the challenges of life, love, and…other pets, including Clancy's “worst enemy” --- one very disdainful cat. It’s a lot to keep track of, especially when things start to spin hilariously out of control. But fortunately we have the observations of Clancy, a very good dog, who shares a valuable perspective on what is really important.
Forge Books | 9781250163547
MISFIRE by Tammy Euliano (Medical Thriller)
Kadence, a new type of implanted defibrillator, misfires in a patient visiting University Hospital for a routine medical procedure. Dr. Kate Downey, an experienced anesthesiologist, resuscitates the patient, but she grows concerned for a loved one who recently received the same device --- her beloved Great-Aunt Irm. When a second device misfires, Kate turns to Nikki Yarborough, her friend and Aunt Irm’s cardiologist. Though Nikki helps protect Kate’s aunt, she is prevented from alerting other patients by the corporate greed of her department chairman. As the inventor of the device and part owner of MDI, the company he formed to commercialize it, he claims that the device misfires are due to a soon-to-be-corrected software bug. Kate learns his claim is false.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608095223
MURDER, SHE WROTE: DEATH ON THE EMERALD ISLE by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran (Mystery)
Jessica Fletcher is quick to accept an invitation to replace a speaker who couldn’t attend a book festival in Belfast, Ireland. When her Cabot Cove neighbor, Maeve O'Bannon, hears about the trip, she asks Jessica to deliver some paintings to her family in the village of Bushmills. Happy to extend her travels and see more of the Irish countryside, Jessica agrees. The festival goes off without a hitch, and it seems like Jessica is in for a relaxing vacation. But then Maeve’s cousin, Michael, is discovered dead under suspicious circumstances. Jessica finds herself once again in the midst of a murder investigation, and she’ll have to dig into the O'Bannon family’s secrets to unmask the killer.
Berkley | 9780593333686
THE NEW LIFE by Tom Crewe (Historical Fiction)
In the summer of 1894, John Addington and Henry Ellis begin writing a book arguing that what they call “inversion,” or homosexuality, is a natural, harmless variation of human sexuality. Though they have never met, John and Henry both live in London with their wives, Catherine and Edith, and in each marriage there is a third party: John has a lover, a working class man named Frank, and Edith spends almost as much time with her friend, Angelica, as she does with Henry. Shortly before the book is to be published, Oscar Wilde is arrested. John and Henry must decide whether to go on, risking social ostracism and imprisonment, or to give up the project for their own safety and the safety of the people they love.
Scribner | 9781668000830
NIGHT WHEREVER WE GO by Tracey Rose Peyton (Historical Fiction)
On a struggling Texas plantation, six enslaved women slip from their sleeping quarters and gather in the woods under the cover of night. The Lucys --- as they call the plantation owners, after Lucifer himself --- have decided to turn around the farm’s bleak financial prospects by making the women bear children. They have hired a “stockman” to impregnate them. But the women are determined to protect themselves. Now each of the six faces a choice. Nan, the doctoring woman, has brought a sack of cotton root clippings that can stave off children when chewed daily. If they all take part, the Lucys may give up and send the stockman away. But a pregnancy for any of them will only encourage the Lucys further. And should their plan be discovered, the consequences will be severe.
Ecco | 9780063249875
PICTURE IN THE SAND by Peter Blauner (Thriller)
When Alex Hassan gets accepted to an Ivy League university, his middle-class Egyptian-American family is filled with pride and excitement. But that joy turns to shock when they discover that he has run off to the Middle East to join a holy war instead. When he refuses to communicate with everyone else, his loving grandfather Ali emails him one last plea. If Alex will stay in touch, he will share with Alex --- and only Alex --- a manuscript containing the secret story of his own life that he has kept hidden from his family, until now. It's the tale of his romantic and heartbreaking past rooted in Hollywood and the post-revolutionary Egypt of the 1950s --- which he is now forced to unearth to save his grandson, who is about to make the same tragic mistakes he made so long ago.
Minotaur Books | 9781250851017
SAM by Allegra Goodman (Fiction)
Sam is seven years old and living in Beverley, Massachusetts. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much, and her mother struggles to make ends meet. Sam doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules. All she wants is to climb. Hanging from the highest limbs of the tallest trees, scaling the side of a building, Sam feels free. As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns to be noticed, even as she wants to disappear. When her climbing coach takes an interest in her, his attention is more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her father’s erratic behavior, but she grieves after he’s gone. And she resists her mother’s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.
The Dial Press | 9780593447819
SLEEP NO MORE by Jayne Ann Krentz (Romantic Suspense)
An earthquake and a fire partially destroyed the Lucent Springs Hotel, but Pallas, Talia and Amelia have no memory of their time there. Now close friends, they co-host a podcast where they investigate cold cases and hope to connect with others who may have had a similar experience to theirs. Ambrose Drake is certain he’s a witness to a murder, but without a body, everyone thinks he’s having delusions caused by extreme sleep deprivation. But Ambrose is positive something terrible happened at the Carnelian Sleep Institute the night he was there. Unable to find proof on his own, he approaches Pallas for help, only for her to realize that Ambrose also has a lost night that he can’t remember --- one that may be connected to Pallas.
Berkley | 9780593337820
THE THING IN THE SNOW by Sean Adams (Psychological Thriller/Satire)
At the far reaches of the world, the Northern Institute sits in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Once a thriving research facility, its operations were abruptly shut down after an unspecified incident, and its research teams promptly evacuated. Now it’s home to a team of three caretakers --- Gibbs, Cline and their supervisor, Hart --- and a single remaining researcher named Gilroy, who is feverishly studying the sensation of coldness. Their objective is simple: occupy the space, complete their weekly tasks, and keep the building in working order in case research ever resumes. There’s just one obstacle standing in his way: a mysterious object that has appeared out in the snow. Gibbs and Cline can’t discern its exact shape and color, nor if it’s moving or fixed in place. But it is there. Isn’t it?
William Morrow | 9780063257757
THE VILLA by Rachel Hawkins (Gothic Thriller)
As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album --- and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250280015
WITHOUT A TRACE by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Charles Vincent is trapped in a loveless marriage, and his job is simply a paycheck. But his life changes forever one night when he falls asleep at the wheel and veers off the road. Miraculously, he survives and happens upon a cabin where he meets the kind and beautiful Aude Saint-Martin. They have an instant connection, and as she nurses him back to health, Charles begins to discover the passion he’s been missing for so many years. In the aftermath of the crash, Charles has a startling realization: He doesn’t have to go back. He could simply choose to disappear, to walk away from his old life. But Aude has secrets of her own, and before long their pasts catch up to them, threatening everything they have fought to build.
Delacorte Press | 9781984821867
On Sale the Week of January 2nd in Paperback
January 3rd
AMERICAN ESTRANGEMENT: Stories by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh (Fiction/Short Stories)
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh has been hailed by Philip Gourevitch as "a masterful storyteller working from deep in the American grain." His new collection of stories --- some of which have appeared in The New Yorker, the Paris Review and The Best American Short Stories --- is set in a contemporary America full of the kind of emotionally bruised characters familiar to readers of Denis Johnson and George Saunders. These are people contending with internal struggles --- a son’s fractured relationship with his father, the death of a mother, the loss of a job, drug addiction --- even as they are battered by larger, often invisible, economic, political and racial forces of American society.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9781324050483
ARMORED by Mark Greaney (Thriller/Adventure)
Joshua Duffy is a Close Protection Agent --- a professional bodyguard --- and he's one of the world's elite operatives. That is, he was until his last mission in Lebanon. Against all odds, Josh got his primary out alive, but the cost was high. Josh lost his lower left leg. There's not much call for an elite bodyguard with such an injury. So Josh has to support his family working as a mall cop in New Jersey. But a lucky run-in with an old comrade promises to get him back in the field for one last job. The UN is sending a peace mission into the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico. Only a fool would think they could broker peace between the homicidal drug cartels in the region, and only a madman would sign on to keep those fools alive.
Berkley | 9780593436899
BACK IN A SPELL: A Witches of Thistle Grove Novel by Lana Harper (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Nineve Blackmoore, a powerful witch, goes on a date with Morty Gutierrez, the nonbinary co-owner of the Shamrock Cauldron. It’s awkward and terrible. To make matters worse, once Morty discovers Nina’s last name, he’s far from a fan. It turns out that the Blackmoores have been bullishly trying to buy the Shamrock out from under Morty and his family. But when Morty begins developing magical powers at the same time that Nina’s own magic surges beyond her control, Nina must manage Morty’s rude awakening to the hidden magical world, uncover its cause, and face the intensity of their own burgeoning connection. But what happens when that connection is tied to Nina’s power surge, a power she’s finding nearly as addictive as Morty’s presence in her life?
Berkley | 9780593336106
FIONA AND JANE by Jean Chen Ho (Fiction/Short Stories)
Best friends since second grade, Fiona Lin and Jane Shen explore the lonely freeways and seedy bars of Los Angeles together through their teenage years, surviving unfulfilling romantic encounters, and carrying with them the scars of their families' tumultuous pasts. When Fiona moves to New York and cares for a sick friend through a breakup with an opportunistic boyfriend, Jane remains in California and grieves her estranged father's sudden death, in the process alienating an overzealous girlfriend. Strained by distance and unintended betrayals, the women float in and out of each other's lives, their friendship both a beacon of home and a reminder of all they've lost.
Penguin Books | 9780593296066
THE GOLDEN COUPLE by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (Psychological Thriller)
Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all --- until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers. Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate. When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250779366
I CAME ALL THIS WAY TO MEET YOU: Writing Myself Home by Jami Attenberg (Memoir)
As the daughter of a traveling salesman in the Midwest, Jami Attenberg was drawn to a life on the road. Frustrated by quotidian jobs and hungry for inspiration and fresh experiences, her wanderlust led her across the country and eventually on travels around the globe. Through it all, she grapples with questions of mortality, otherworldliness and what we leave behind. It is during these adventures that she begins to reflect on the experiences of her youth. Driving across America on self-funded book tours, sometimes crashing on couches when she was broke, she keeps writing. In researching articles for magazines, jotting down ideas for novels and refining her craft, she grows as an artist and increasingly learns to trust her gut and, ultimately, herself.
Ecco | 9780063039803
AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTER: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery by Deanna Raybourn (Historical Mystery)
Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau, Stoker, are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch. He has a personal request on behalf of his goddaughter, Euphemia Hathaway. After years of traveling the world, her eldest brother, Jonathan, heir to Hathaway Hall, was believed to have been killed in the catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa a few years before. But now a man matching Jonathan’s description and carrying his possessions has arrived at Hathaway Hall with no memory of his identity or where he has been. Could this man truly be Jonathan, back from the dead? Or is he a devious impostor, determined to gain ownership over the family's most valuable possessions --- a legendary parure of priceless Rajasthani jewels?
Berkley | 9780593197318
IN THE TIME OF OUR HISTORY by Susanne Pari (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Twelve months after her younger sister Anahita’s death, Mitra Jahani reluctantly returns to her parents’ home in suburban New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom of “The One Year.” While Ana bowed to their domineering father’s demands and married, Mitra rebelled and was banished. Caught in the middle is their mother, Shireen, torn between her fierce love for her surviving daughter and her loyalty to her husband. Yet his callousness even amid shattering loss has compelled her to rethink her own decades of submission. And when Mitra is suddenly forced to confront hard truths about her sister’s life, and the secrets each of them hid to protect others, mother and daughter reach a new understanding --- and forge an unexpected path forward.
A John Scognamiglio Book | 9781496739261
THE LEFT-HANDED TWIN: A Jane Whitefield Novel by Thomas Perry (Thriller)
Jane Whitefield helps people disappear. Fearing for their lives, fleeing dangerous situations, her clients come to her when they need to vanish completely. And when people are desperate enough to need her services, they come to the old house in rural western New York where Jane was raised to begin their escape. It’s there that, one spring night, Jane finds a young woman fresh from LA. After she cheated on her boyfriend, he dragged her to the home of the offending man and made her watch as he killed him. She testified against the boyfriend, but a bribed jury acquitted him, and now he’s free and trying to find and kill her. Jane agrees to help, but the boyfriend has some new friends: members of a Russian organized crime brotherhood.
Mysterious Press | 9781613163665
LOATHE TO LOVE YOU by Ali Hazelwood (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS comes a collection of steamy, STEMinist novellas featuring a trio of engineers and their loves in loathing --- with a special bonus chapter! An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell --- a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone. A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry --- and love --- to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator. A NASA aerospace engineer's frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station, and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.
Berkley | 9780593437803
THE MAID by Nita Prose (Mystery)
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, 25-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter --- she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. But her orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle.
Ballantine Books | 9780593356173
MARION LANE AND THE DEADLY ROSE by T.A. Willberg (Historical Mystery)
It’s 1959, and a new killer haunts the streets of London, having baffled Scotland Yard. The newspapers call him The Florist because of the rose he brands on his victims. The police have turned yet again to the Inquirers at Miss Brickett’s for assistance, and second-year Marion Lane is assigned the case. But she’s already dealing with a mystery of her own, having received an unsigned letter warning her that one of the three new recruits should not be trusted. She dismisses the letter at first, focusing on The Florist case, but her informer seems to be one step ahead, predicting what will happen before it does. But when a fellow second-year Inquirer is murdered, Marion takes matters into her own hands.
Park Row | 9780778387039
RISE: My Story by Lindsey Vonn (Memoir)
A fixture in the American sports landscape for almost 20 years, Lindsey Vonn is a legend. With a career that spanned a transformation in how America recognizes and celebrates female athletes, Vonn --- who retired in 2019 as the most decorated American skier of all time --- was in the vanguard of that change, helping blaze a trail for other world-class female athletes and reimagining what it meant to pursue speed at all costs. In RISE, Vonn shares her incredible journey for the first time, going behind the scenes of a badass life built around resilience and risk-taking. She also opens up about her decades-long depression and struggles with self-confidence, discussing candidly how her mental health challenges influenced her career without defining her.
Dey Street Books | 9780062889454
UNDERMONEY by Jay Newman (Political Thriller)
When a U.S. airdrop of billions of dollars disappears in the desert sands of Syria, only a small group of military operatives knows its ultimate destination or why it has been stolen. Their goal is no less than the restoration of America’s geopolitical dominance on the global stage. Essential to this scheme are Greta Webb, a sophisticated CIA operative who is an expert on dark money, and Elias Vicker, the damaged, dangerous soul who runs the world’s largest hedge fund. To achieve its goals, the group must form dangerous alliances. One is with the hidden family that manages the largest private pool of capital that has ever existed. Another is with Fyodor Volk, the ruthless founder of Russia’s most successful private military company, a mercenary with ties to Vladimir Putin.
Scribner | 9781982156039
VERY COLD PEOPLE by Sarah Manguso (Fiction)
For Ruthie, the frozen town of Waitsfield, Massachusetts, is all she has ever known. Once home to the country’s oldest and most illustrious families by the tail end of the 20th century, it is an unforgiving place awash with secrets. Forged in this frigid landscape, Ruthie has been dogged by feelings of inadequacy her whole life. As she grows older, she slowly learns how the town’s prim facade conceals a deeper, darker history, and how silence often masks a legacy of harm --- from the violence that runs down the family line to the horrors endured by her high school friends, each suffering a fate worse than the last. For Ruthie, Waitsfield is a place to be survived, and a girl like her would be lucky to get out alive.
Hogarth | 9780593241240
WHEN YOU ARE MINE by Michael Robotham (Psychological Thriller)
Philomena McCarthy is an ambitious police officer with the elite Metropolitan Police in London, responding to a domestic violence call. Tempe Brown is a bloodied young woman and the mistress of a decorated and intimidating London detective, Darren Goodall. Philomena and Tempe strike up a tentative friendship, determined to protect each other from Goodall, but something isn’t quite right about the stories Tempe tells and the secrets she keeps. Yet the young officer is drawn into Tempe’s world, unsure of what is real or invented. After a bungled break-in and an unsolved murder, Philomena finds herself trapped --- with her career, her impending wedding and her very survival in doubt.
Scribner | 9781982166465
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