In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of January 30th and February 6th 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 Carol Fitzgerald's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary for THE MITFORD AFFAIR, Marie Benedict’s latest work of historical fiction. The book revolves around novelist Nancy Mitford, who must choose between country and family when two of her sisters swear their allegiance to fascism in the lead-up to World War II.
Last Wednesday night, we hosted our first “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event of 2023. Carol interviewed Nita Prose about her debut novel, THE MAID --- a #1 New York Times bestseller, a “Good Morning America” Book Club pick, and a Bets On selection that is now in paperback. Three readers asked questions on screen, and Carol shared questions from a number of others who chose not to be on camera. We then opened up the Q&A to the rest of our attendees.
All the questions were fabulous, and we covered so much ground about the characters, the setting, Nita’s inspiration for the book, and the upcoming film adaptation. Although Carol was speaking to Nita for a third time, she still learned a lot about her and THE MAID. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.
We are happy to announce that Fiona Davis will be our next “Bookaccino Live” Book Group guest. The event will be held on Wednesday, February 22nd at 8pm ET, and you can sign up for it here. We will be talking about Fiona’s novel from last year, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE, which is newly released in paperback and is our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” prize book on ReadingGroupGuides.com.
Just as we did last Wednesday night, there will be a two-part Q&A session after Carol talks to Fiona. For the first part, those who are asking a question “on camera” will be featured. This includes spending time with Fiona backstage in our virtual green room before the show starts. If you would like to ask your question "live on screen" this way, please email Carol with the subject line "Magnolia" by noon ET on the 22nd. Be sure to include your name, city and state, as well as your question. If you do not want to appear on camera but still would like to ask a question, please note that you want to be off camera, and share your question --- adding your name, city and state.
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.
Wednesday, February 1st at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Pam Jenoff about her new historical novel, CODE NAME SAPPHIRE, a riveting tale of bravery and resistance.
Thursday, February 2nd at 6:30pm ET: Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews: Join Epilogue for a virtual conversation between Patricia Engel and Lauren LeBlanc to celebrate the release of Engel’s new book of short stories, THE FARAWAY WORLD.
Friday, February 3rd at 5pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Hank Phillippi Ryan will talk about her latest novel, THE HOUSE GUEST, a diabolical cat-and-mouse thriller. But which character is the cat, and which character is the mouse?
Monday, February 6th 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 28th. And be sure to enter the LOYALTY Pre-order Sweepstakes!
Tuesday, February 7th at 11:30am ET: The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center: The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center welcomes Pam Jenoff, who will be in conversation with Christina Baker Kline about her latest book, CODE NAME SAPPHIRE.
Tuesday, February 7th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Parini Shroff for a live book club event to discuss THE BANDIT QUEENS, January's B&N Book Club pick. She will be in conversation with Shannon DeVito, the Director of Category Management at B&N, and Miwa Messer, B&N’s Editorial Director.
Tuesday, February 7th at 5pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes for a live, virtual event to discuss her new novel, SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOES, as part of the B&N Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. Moyes will be in conversation with bestselling author Jodi Picoult.
Tuesday, February 7th at 7pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Tom Rob Smith will talk about his latest thriller, COLD PEOPLE, a suspenseful and fast-paced novel about an Antarctic colony of global apocalypse survivors seeking to reinvent civilization under the most extreme conditions imaginable.
This Week's Bonus News:
Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On Commentary for
THE MITFORD AFFAIR by Marie Benedict
THE MITFORD AFFAIR by Marie Benedict (Historical Fiction)
I am a huge fan of Marie Benedict’s writing. Her books are about women in history whose stories have been overlooked, often because they stood in the shadows of the men in their lives. THE MITFORD AFFAIR is a variation on this theme and focuses on three of the Mitford sisters. One is the writer, Nancy, and the other two --- Diana and Unity --- become known for their political leanings.
The book opens in 1932. Diana, who is billed as the most beautiful of the three, is hosting a party at the home she shares with her husband Bryan, the Guinness heir. Being celebrated is her younger sister, Unity. The scene is stunning as the society of London is on hand. But at this party, Diana’s eyes are not on her husband, but rather on Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists. In the coming months, she leaves Bryan for Mosley, completely taking up the mantle of his agenda. And soon Unity also embraces the concepts of fascism and heightens her involvement to move to Germany.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
On Sale the Week of January 30th in Hardcover
January 31st
CRITICAL MASS by Daniel Suarez (Science Fiction/Thriller)
When unforeseen circumstances during an innovative --- and unsanctioned --- commercial asteroid-mining mission leave two crew members stranded, those who make it back must engineer a rescue. With Earth governments consumed by the ravages of climate change and unable to take the risks necessary to make rapid progress in space, the crew must build their own nextgen spacecraft capable of mounting a rescue in time for the asteroid's next swing by Earth. In the process they'll need to establish the first spin-gravity station in deep space, the first orbiting solar power satellite and refinery, and historic infrastructure on the moon's surface --- all of which could alleviate a deepening ecological, political and economic crisis back on Earth.
Dutton | 9780593183632
THE DRIFT by C. J. Tudor (Gothic Thriller/Horror)
Evacuated from a secluded boarding school during a snowstorm, Hannah’s coach careers off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. Meg is in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board. They are heading to a place known only as “The Retreat,” but Meg realizes they may not all make it there alive. Carter is gazing out the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails. The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater danger --- one with the power to consume all of humanity.
Ballantine Books | 9780593356562
EXILES by Jane Harper (Mystery/Thriller)
Federal Investigator Aaron Falk is on his way to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of an old friend's baby. But mystery follows him, even on vacation. This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Kim Gillespie's disappearance. One year ago, at a busy town festival on a warm spring night, Kim safely tucked her sleeping baby into her stroller, then vanished into the crowd. No one has seen her since. When Kim's older daughter makes a plea for anyone with information about her missing mom to come forward, Falk and his old buddy Raco can't leave the case alone. What would make a mother abandon her child? What happened to Kim Gillespie?
Flatiron Books | 9781250235350
FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN by Elle Cosimano (Mystery/Humor)
Finlay Donovan has been in messes before --- after all, she's an author and single mom who's a pro at getting out bloodstains for rather unexpected reasons --- but none quite like this. After she and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they may have "borrowed" in the process of saving the life of Finlay's ex-husband, the Russian mob got her out of debt. But now Finlay owes them. Still running the show from behind bars, mob boss Feliks has a task for Finlay: find a contract killer before the cops do. Problem is, the killer might be an officer. Luckily, hot cop Nick has started up a citizen's police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay's looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved.
Minotaur Books | 9781250846037
THE LAST GIFT OF THE MASTER ARTISTS by Ben Okri (Fiction/Magical Realism)
A boy and a girl meet by chance on a riverbank in Africa. One is the son of a king, struggling to find his place in the world. The other is the daughter of a craftsman from the secretive tribe of master artists. The prince, entranced, stays hidden in the bushes. The girl, knowing nothing of him but his voice, agrees to meet again. When she fails to appear the next day, he begins to search for her, tracing her at last to her village where, disguised as an apprentice, he finds a place in her father’s workshop. But their world --- though they don’t know it yet --- is ending. A strange wind has begun to blow, and in its wake, things are disappearing: songs, stories, artworks and, finally, people. Beautiful ships with white sails are glimpsed on the horizon.
Other Press | 9781635422795
THE LOVE YOU SAVE: A Memoir by Goldie Taylor (Memoir)
Aunt Gerald takes in anyone who asks, but the conditions are harsh. For her young niece Goldie Taylor, abandoned by her mother and coping with trauma of her own, life in Gerald’s East St. Louis comes with nothing but a threadbare blanket on the living room floor. But amid the pain and anguish, Goldie discovers a secret. She can find kinship among writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. She can find hope in a nurturing teacher who helps her find her voice. And books, she realizes, can save her life. THE LOVE YOU SAVE shines a light on the strictures of race, class and gender in a post-Jim Crow America while offering a nuanced, empathetic portrait of a family in a pitched battle for its very soul.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335449375
MAAME by Jessica George (Fiction)
It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting. When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts.” But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils --- and rewards --- of putting her heart on the line.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250282521
MY FATHER'S HOUSE by Joseph O'Connor (Historical Thriller)
September 1943: German forces have Rome under their control. Gestapo boss Paul Hauptmann rules over the Eternal City with vicious efficiency. Hunger is widespread. Rumors fester. The war’s outcome is far from certain. Diplomats, refugees, Jews and escaped Allied prisoners flee for protection into Vatican City, the world’s smallest state, a neutral, independent country nestled within the city of Rome. A small band of unlikely friends led by a courageous Irish priest is drawn into a deadly battle of wits as they attempt to aid those seeking refuge. MY FATHER'S HOUSE is inspired by the extraordinary true story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who, together with his accomplices, risked his life to smuggle Jews and escaped Allied prisoners out of Italy right under the nose of his Nazi nemesis.
Europa Editions | 9781609458355
RIVER SING ME HOME by Eleanor Shearer (Historical Fiction)
The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces that the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs. Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children --- the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear.
Berkley | 9780593548042
THE SNOW HARE by Paula Lichtarowicz (Historical Fiction)
Lena has lived a long, quiet life on her farm in Wales, alongside her husband and child. But as her end approaches, buried memories begin to return. Of her childhood in Poland, and her passion for science. Of the early days of her marriage, reluctant wife to an army officer. Of the birth of her daughter, whose arrival changed everything. Memories less welcome return, too. Her Polish village, transformed overnight by the Soviets, and the war that doomed her entire family to the frigid work camps of the Siberian tundra. And buried in that blinding snow, amongst the darkness of survival, the most haunting memory of all: that of an extraordinary new love.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316461351
THE TERRAFORMERS by Annalee Newitz (Science Fiction)
Destry's life is dedicated to terraforming Sask-E. As part of the Environmental Rescue Team, she cares for the planet and its burgeoning eco-systems as her parents and their parents did before her. But the bright, clean future they're building comes under threat when Destry discovers a city full of people that shouldn’t exist, hidden inside a massive volcano. As she uncovers more about their past, Destry begins to question the mission to which she has devoted her life and must make a choice that will reverberate through Sask-E's future for generations to come.
Tor Books | 9781250228017
On Sale the Week of January 30th in Paperback
January 31st
AND THERE HE KEPT HER by Joshua Moehling (Mystery/Thriller)
When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake in search of prescription drugs, what starts as a simple burglary turns into a nightmare for all involved. Emmett Burr has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he'll do anything to keep his past from being revealed. As he gets the upper hand on his tormentors, the lines blur between victim, abuser and protector. Personal tragedy has sent former police officer Ben Packard back to the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake in search of a fresh start. Now a sheriff's deputy, Packard is leading the investigation into the missing teens, motivated by a family connection. As clues dry up and time runs out to save them, Packard is forced to reveal his own secrets and dig deep to uncover the dark past of the place he now calls home.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728275772
THE BOOKS OF JACOB written by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Jennifer Croft (Historical Fiction)
In the mid-18th century, as new ideas --- and a new unrest --- begin to sweep the Continent, a young Jew of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland. Visited by what seem to be ecstatic experiences, Jacob Frank casts a charismatic spell that attracts an increasingly fervent following. In the decade to come, Frank will traverse the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires with throngs of disciples in his thrall as he reinvents himself again and again, converts to Islam and then Catholicism, is pilloried as a heretic and revered as the Messiah, and wreaks havoc on the conventional order, Jewish and Christian alike, with scandalous rumors of his sect’s secret rituals and the spread of his increasingly iconoclastic beliefs.
Riverhead Books | 9780593087503
CLEAN AIR by Sarah Blake (Dystopian Mystery)
The climate apocalypse has come and gone, and in the end it wasn’t the temperature climbing or the waters rising. It was the trees. They created enough pollen to render the air unbreathable, and the world became overgrown. In the decades since the event known as the Turning, humanity has rebuilt, and Izabel has grown used to the airtight domes that now contain her life. She raises her young daughter, Cami, and attempts to make peace with her mother’s death. But then the tranquility of her town is shattered. Someone --- a serial killer --- starts slashing through the domes at night, exposing people to the deadly pollen. At the same time, Cami begins sleep-talking, having whole conversations about the murders that she doesn't remember after she wakes.
Algonquin Books | 9781643753416
ENOUGH ALREADY: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today by Valerie Bertinelli (Memoir)
Behind the curtain of her happy on-screen persona, Valerie Bertinelli’s life has been no easy ride, especially when it comes to her own self-image and self-worth. She waged a war against herself for years, learning to equate her value to her appearance as a child star on "One Day at a Time" and punishing herself in order to fit into the unachievable Hollywood mold. She struggled to make her marriage to Eddie Van Halen --- the true love of her life --- work, despite all the rifts that the rock-star lifestyle created between them. Through mourning the loss of her parents, discovering more about her family’s past, and realizing how short life really is when she and her son lost Eddie, Valerie finally said “Enough already!” to a lifelong battle with the scale and found a new path forward to joy and connection.
Harvest | 9780063268760
FIGHT NIGHT by Miriam Toews (Fiction)
Swiv's Grandma, Elvira, has been fighting all her life. From her upbringing in a strict religious community, she has fought those who wanted to take away her joy, her independence and her spirit. She has fought to make peace with her loved ones when they have chosen to leave her. And now, even as her health fails, Grandma is fighting for her family: for her daughter, partnerless and in the third term of a pregnancy; and for her granddaughter Swiv, a spirited nine-year-old who has been suspended from school. Cramped together in their Toronto home, on the precipice of extraordinary change, Grandma and Swiv undertake a vital new project, setting out to explain their lives in letters they will never send.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781635579789
FIND ME by Alafair Burke (Mystery/Thriller)
She calls herself Hope Miller, but she has no idea who she actually is. Fifteen years ago, she was found in a small New Jersey town thrown from an overturned vehicle. She eventually started a new life with a new name in a new town that welcomed her, yet she always wondered what she may have left behind. Now, she’s leaving New Jersey to start over once again. Her friend, Manhattan defense lawyer Lindsay Kelly, discovers that she has vanished without a trace --- the only lead a drop of blood found where she was last seen. Even more ominously, the blood matches a DNA sample with a connection to a notorious Kansas murderer. Lindsay calls NYPD homicide detective Ellie Hatcher, who fears that Hope’s recent disappearance could be related to her father's death 20 years earlier.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780062853394
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGONFRUIT TATTOO: A Tropical Island Cozy Mystery by Carrie Doyle (Cozy Mystery)
Paperback Original
On the tropical island of Paraiso, Plum Lockhart has a new zest for life after solving a couple of pesky murders. She is thrilled when she gets an invite to dinner on the yacht, where she can mingle with famous singers, up-and-coming stars, society swans and billionaires. After a few hours on the boat, Plum is less than impressed with the celebrity set, and when a server tries to pull her aside to confide a secret, she wonders what else may be lurking beneath the surface. Two days later, one of the servers from the yacht --- a girl with a dragonfruit tattoo --- washes up dead. As the ship prepares to set sail across the Caribbean, it becomes clear that everyone on board has a motive, and Plum must sleuth out the killer before she becomes the next victim.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728232393
HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG by Tracey Garvis Graves (Romance)
Layla Hilding is 35 and recently divorced. Struggling to break free from the past --- her glory days as the lead singer in a band and a 10-year marriage to a man who never put her first --- Layla’s newly found independence feels a lot like loneliness. Then there's Josh, the single dad whose daughter attends the elementary school where Layla teaches music. Recently separated, he's still processing the end of his 20-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. He chats with Layla every morning at school and finds himself thinking about her more and more. They decide to be friends with the potential for something more. But when two people are on the rebound, is it heartbreak or happiness that’s a love song away?
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250235695
HEART BONES by Colleen Hoover (Romance)
Paperback Original
After a childhood filled with poverty and neglect, Beyah Grim finally has her hard-earned ticket out of Kentucky with a full ride to Penn State. But two months before she’s finally free to change her life for the better, an unexpected death leaves her homeless and forced to spend the remainder of her summer in Texas with a father she barely knows. Devastated and anxious for the summer to go by quickly, Beyah has no time or patience for Samson, the wealthy, brooding guy next door. Yet the connection between them is too intense to ignore. But with their upcoming futures sending them to opposite ends of the country, the two decide to maintain only a casual summer fling. Too bad neither has any idea that a rip current is about to drag both their hearts out to sea.
Atria Books | 9781668021910
LEFT ON TENTH: A Second Chance at Life: A Memoir by Delia Ephron (Memoir)
Delia Ephron had struggled through several years of heartbreak. She’d lost her sister, Nora, and then her husband, Jerry, both to cancer. Several months after Jerry’s death, she shut down his landline, which crashed her internet. She channeled her grief by writing a New York Times op-ed. The piece caught the attention of Peter, a Bay Area psychiatrist, who emailed her to commiserate. Recently widowed himself, he reminded her that they had shared a few dates 54 years before, set up by Nora. Delia did not remember him, but after several weeks of exchanging emails and ’60s folk songs, he flew east to see her. They were crazy, utterly, in love. But four months later, she was diagnosed with AML, a fierce leukemia.
Back Bay Books | 9780316267755
THE NINETIES: A Book by Chuck Klosterman (Social Science/Popular Culture)
It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. In the beginning, almost every name and address was listed in a phone book, and everyone answered their landlines because you didn’t know who it was. By the end, exposing someone’s address was an act of emotional violence, and nobody picked up their new cell phone if they didn’t know who it was. The ’90s brought about a revolution in the human condition we’re still groping to understand. Happily, Chuck Klosterman is more than up to the job.
Penguin Books | 9780735217966
NONNA MARIA AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING BRIDE by Lorenzo Carcaterra (Mystery)
Nonna Maria has lived on Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples, her entire life. Everyone knows her, and she knows everyone’s business. When a recently engaged woman confesses that she’s afraid her fiancé, a stranger to Ischia with a murky past, might not be who he seems, Nonna Maria helps her disappear so she can investigate the true nature of her betrothed. The stranger has also raised the suspicions of Captain Murino of the carabinieri, but he’s occupied investigating the death of a tour boat captain who drowned in the wee hours of the morning. Captain Murino believes it was an accident, but Nonna Maria knows the man was a born sailor and too good a swimmer to drown, no matter how much wine he might have drunk.
Bantam | 9780399177644
THE OMEGA FACTOR by Steve Berry (Thriller)
The Ghent Altarpiece is the most violated work of art in the world. Thirteen times it has been vandalized, dismantled or stolen. Why? What secrets does it hold? Enter UNESCO investigator Nicholas Lee, who works for the United Nations’ Cultural Liaison and Investigative Office (CLIO). Nick’s job is to protect the world’s cultural artifacts --- anything and everything from countless lesser-known objects to national treasures. When Nick travels to Belgium for a visit with a woman from his past, he unwittingly stumbles on the trail of a legendary panel from the Ghent Altarpiece, stolen in 1934 under cover of night and never seen since. Soon Nick is plunged into a bitter conflict, one that has been simmering for nearly 2,000 years.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538741474
PROUSTIAN UNCERTAINTIES: On Reading and Rereading In Search of Lost Time by Saul Friedländer (Literary Criticism)
This engaging reexamination of IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME considers how the narrator defines himself, how this compares to what we know of Marcel Proust himself, and what the significance is of these various points of commonality and divergence. We know, for example, that the author did not hide his homosexuality, but the narrator did. Why the difference? We know that the narrator tried to marginalize his part-Jewish background. Does this reflect the author’s position, and how does the narrator handle what he tries, but does not manage, to dismiss? These are major questions raised by the text and reflected in the text, to which the author’s life doesn’t give obvious answers.
Other Press | 9781635423143
A RIP THROUGH TIME by Kelley Armstrong (Mystery/Thriller)
May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one evening, Mallory hears a woman in distress. She is drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness. May 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half-day off, only to be discovered that night in a lane, where she had been strangled and left for dead...exactly 150 years before Mallory was strangled in the same spot. When Mallory wakes up in Catriona's body in 1869, she must put aside her shock and adjust quickly to the reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland.
Minotaur Books | 9781250820020
SEASONAL WORK: Stories by Laura Lippman (Mystery/Short Stories)
In the never-before-published “Just One More,” a married couple --- longing for that old romantic spark --- creates a playful diversion that comes with unexpected consequences. Laura Lippman's beloved Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan keeps a watchful eye on a criminally resourceful single father in “Seasonal Work,” while her mother, Judith, realizes that the life of “The Everyday Housewife” is an excellent cover for all kinds of secrets. In “Slow Burner,” a husband’s secret cell phone proves to be a dicey temptation for a suspicious wife. A father’s hidden past piques the curiosity of a young snoop in “The Last of Sheila-Locke Holmes.” SEASONAL WORK includes seven other brilliantly crafted stories of deception, murder, dangerous games and love gone wrong.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063144026
THE SWEET SPOT by Amy Poeppel (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Lauren and her family have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Melinda’s husband of 30 years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique. Olivia, the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, gets caught in the crossfire. She has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned. When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion to forgive, forget and track down the wayward parents.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781982176457
UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by TJ Klune (Fantasy)
When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead. But even in death, he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived. So when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.
Tor Books | 9781250217394
VAMPIRE WEEKEND by Mike Chen (Urban Fantasy)
Paperback Original
Everything you’ve heard about vampires is a lie. They can’t fly. No murders allowed (the community hates that). And turning into a bat? Completely ridiculous. In fact, vampire life is really just a lot of blood bags and night jobs. For Louise Chao, it’s also lonely since she swore off family ages ago. At least she’s gone to decades of punk rock shows. And if she can join a band of her own (while keeping her...situation under wraps), maybe she’ll finally feel like she belongs, too. Then a long-lost teenage relative shows up at her door. Whether it’s Ian’s love of music or his bad attitude, for the first time in ages, Louise feels a connection. But as Ian uncovers Louise’s true identity, things get dangerous --- especially when he asks her for the ultimate favor.
Mira | 9780778386964
VELORIO by Xavier Navarro Aquino (Fiction)
Camila is haunted by the death of her sister, Marisol, who was caught by a mudslide during the huracán. Unable to part with Marisol, Camila carries her through town, past the churchyard and, eventually, to the supposed utopia of Memoria. Urayoán, the idealistic yet troubled cult leader of Memoria, has a vision for this new society, one that in his eyes is peaceful and democratic. The paradise he preaches lures in the young, including Bayfish, a boy on the cusp of manhood, and Morivivi, a woman whose outward toughness belies an inner tenderness for her friends. But as the different members of Memoria navigate Urayoán’s fiery rise, they will need to confront his violent authoritarian impulses in order to find a way to reclaim their home.
HarperVia | 9780063071384
VLADIMIR by Julia May Jonas (Fiction)
“When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.” And so we are introduced to our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose charismatic husband at the same small liberal arts college is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extramarital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder box world comes dangerously close to exploding.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781982187644
February 1st
THE CHEMISTRY OF LOVE by Sariah Wilson (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
How can Anna Ellis, a geeky, brilliant and hopelessly smitten cosmetic chemist, possibly win over Craig Kimball, the man of her dreams --- who also happens to be her boss? The answer is Craig’s empathetic (and handsome) CEO half-brother, Marco. The makeup mogul knows Craig for the ridiculously competitive rival he is. Whatever Marco has, Craig wants. That can be Anna, if she’s game to play. All Anna and Marco have to do is pretend they’re falling in love and let the rumors begin. If the experiment in attraction works, a jealous Craig will swoop in and give Anna her happily ever after --- if it weren’t for one hitch in the plan. There’s more to Marco than meets the eye. With every fake date, Anna’s feelings are starting to become dizzyingly real.
Montlake | 9781542039246
SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE by Lyn Liao Butler (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
Blow by blow, Annie Lin’s life crumbles, and she realizes it’s time for a change. Annie should be at ease, safe in her new Kauai home with her husband and son. She hopes proximity to her family can provide them all with a sense of belonging and calm. But soon items from her past start turning up, and she has the unnerving sensation that she’s being watched. Reality begins to fracture, and Annie’s panic attacks return. When, during a brewing storm, a woman appears on her doorstep looking for shelter, Annie is relieved to have the company and feels an unexplainable bond with her visitor. As the night progresses, Annie realizes that the woman is no stranger. Their lives are inextricably intertwined --- and Annie might just lose everything.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662501081
On Sale the Week of February 6th in Hardcover
February 6th
WALK THE BLUE LINE by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, with Chris Mooney (Biography)
Police officers risk their lives every day to protect and serve our homes, families and communities. These men and women are our eyes. Our ears. Our protectors. Those who wear a badge, doing their best to help people. These cops serve their communities. They serve their country. They’re in the business of saving lives --- even at the risk of their own. These patrol officers and K9 handlers, sheriffs and detectives, reveal what it’s really like to wear the uniform, to carry the weight of the responsibility they’ve been given. This is a calling. This is the job.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316406604
February 7th
B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found by Christie Tate (Memoir)
After more than a decade of dead-end dates and dysfunctional relationships, Christie Tate has reclaimed her voice and settled down. But she soon realizes that the feeling of “apartness” that has plagued her since childhood isn’t magically going away now that she’s in a healthy romantic relationship. With her friend, Meredith, by her side, she embarks on a brutally honest exploration of her friendships past and present, sorting through the ways that debilitating shame and jealousy have kept the lasting bonds she craves out of reach --- and how she can overcome a history of letting go too soon. But when Meredith becomes ill and Christie’s baggage threatens to muddy their final days, she’s forced to face her deepest fears in honor of the woman who finally showed her how to be a friend.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781668009420
BIG SWISS by Jen Beagin (Fiction/Humor)
Greta lives with her friend, Sabine, in an ancient Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York. The house, built in 1737, is unrenovated, uninsulated and full of bees. Greta spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a sex coach who calls himself Om. She becomes infatuated with his newest client, a repressed married woman she affectionately refers to as Big Swiss. They both have dark histories, but Big Swiss chooses to remain unattached to her suffering while Greta continues to be tortured by her past. One day, Greta recognizes Big Swiss’ voice at the dog park. In a panic, she introduces herself with a fake name, and they quickly become enmeshed. Although Big Swiss is unaware of Greta’s true identity, Greta has never been more herself with anyone.
Scribner | 9781982153083
BRUTES by Dizz Tate (Fiction)
In Falls Landing, Florida --- a place built of theme parks, swampy lakes and scorched bougainvillea flowers --- something sinister lurks in the deep. A gang of 13-year-old girls obsessively orbit around the local preacher's daughter, Sammy. She is mesmerizing, older and in love with Eddie. But suddenly, Sammy goes missing. Where is she? Watching from a distance, they edge ever closer to discovering a dark secret about their fame-hungry town and the cruel cost of a ticket out. What they see will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Catapult | 9781646221677
CALL AND RESPONSE: Stories by Gothataone Moeng (Fiction/Short Stories)
A young widow adheres to the expectations of wearing mourning clothes for nearly a year, though she's unsure what the traditions mean or whether she is ready to meet the world without their protection. An older sister returns home from a confusing time in America, only to explain at every turn why she’s left the land of opportunity. A younger sister hides her sexual exploits from her family, while her older brother openly flaunts his infidelity. The stories collected in CALL AND RESPONSE are strongly anchored in place --- in the village of Serowe, where the author is from, and in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana --- charting the emotional journeys of women seeking love and opportunity beyond the barriers of custom and circumstance.
Viking | 9780593490983
COLD PEOPLE by Tom Rob Smith (Dystopian Thriller/Science Fiction)
The world has fallen. Without warning, a mysterious and omnipotent force has claimed the planet for their own. There are no negotiations, no demands, no reasons given for their actions. All they have is a message: humanity has 30 days to reach the one place on Earth where they will be allowed to exist --- Antarctica. COLD PEOPLE follows the perilous journeys of a handful of those who endure the frantic exodus to the most extreme environment on the planet. But their goal is not merely to survive the present. Because as they cling to life on the ice, the remnants of their past swept away, they also must confront the urgent challenge: Can they change and evolve rapidly enough to ensure humanity’s future? Can they build a new society in the sub-zero cold?
Scribner | 9781982198404
THE CRADLE OF ICE by James Rollins (Fantasy/Adventure)
To stop the coming apocalypse, a fellowship was formed. A soldier, a thief, a lost prince and a young girl bonded by fate and looming disaster. Each step along this path has changed the party, forging deep alliances and greater enmities. All the while, hostile forces have hunted them, fearing what they might unleash. Armies wage war around them. For each step has come with a cost --- in blood, in loss, in heartbreak. Now they must split, traveling into a vast region of ice and to a sprawling capital of the world they’ve only known in stories. Time is running out, and only the truth will save us all.
Tor Books | 9781250766748
THE CRITIC'S DAUGHTER: A Memoir by Priscilla Gilman (Memoir)
Growing up on the Upper West Side of New York City in the 1970s, in an apartment filled with dazzling literary and artistic characters, Priscilla Gilman worshiped her brilliant, adoring and mercurial father --- the writer, theater critic and Yale School of Drama professor Richard Gilman. But when Priscilla was 10 years old, her mother, renowned literary agent Lynn Nesbit, abruptly announced that she was ending the marriage. The resulting cascade of disturbing revelations --- about her parents’ hollow marriage, her father’s double life and tortured sexual identity --- fundamentally changed Priscilla’s perception of her father, as she attempted to protect him from the depression that had long shadowed him.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393651324
DON'T FEAR THE REAPER by Stephen Graham Jones (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock, Idaho. Convicted serial killer Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for 38 Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock. Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour began on December 12, 2019, a Thursday. Thirty-six hours and 20 bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would be over.
Gallery/Saga Press | 9781982186593
ENCORE IN DEATH by J. D. Robb (Mystery/Thriller)
It was a glittering event full of A-listers, hosted by Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh, a celebrity couple who had conquered both Hollywood and Broadway. And now Eve Dallas has made her entrance --- but not as a guest. After raising a toast, Fitzhugh fell to the floor and died, with physical symptoms pointing to cyanide. From all accounts, he wasn’t the kind of star who made enemies. And since the champagne cocktail that killed him was originally intended for Eliza, it’s possible she was the real target, with a recently fired assistant, a bitter rival and an obsessed fan in the picture. With so many attendees, staff and servers, Eve has her work cut out determining who committed murder in the middle of the crowd --- and what their motivation was.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250284082
ENDPAPERS by Jennifer Savran Kelly (Fiction)
A bookbinder who works in conservation at the Met, Dawn Levit spends her free time scouting the city’s street art, hoping something might spark inspiration. Instead, everything looks like a dead end. And wherever she turns, her gender identity clashes with the rest of her life. Then, one day at work, Dawn finds something hidden behind the endpaper of an old book: the torn-off cover of a ’50s lesbian pulp novel, Turn Her About. On the front is a campy illustration of a woman looking into a handheld mirror and seeing a man’s face. And on the back is a love letter. Dawn latches onto the coincidence, becoming obsessed with tracking down the note’s author. Her fixation only increases when her best friend, Jae, is injured in a hate crime, for which she feels responsible.
Algonquin Books | 9781643751849
EVERY MISSING GIRL: A Kendall Beck Thriller by Leanne Kale Sparks (Mystery/Thriller)
The stunning landscape of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are among our greatest natural treasures. But there are deadly secrets lurking in the craggy heights, and FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Denver Homicide Detective Adam Taylor team up to investigate a kidnapping. When Taylor’s niece, Frankie, suddenly vanishes at a local hockey rink, it’s clear that there’s a predator on the loose --- and now, the case has turned personal. One discovery after another leads Beck and Taylor closer to the truth, as they close in on the devastating truth about the fates of the missing girls --- and the many who came before them. Will they be able to find Frankie before it’s too late?
Crooked Lane Books | 9781639102303
FOR TWICE IN MY LIFE by Annette Christie (Romantic Comedy)
Layla’s chaotic life transformed when she met Ian Barnett. Ambitious, committed and thoughtful, Ian has been everything she'd dreamed of, and she knows he'd say the same of her. So when he breaks up with her out of the blue, Layla is stunned. What went wrong? But then Layla gets a call from the local hospital. Ian has had a biking accident. He's okay, but he needs someone --- his someone --- to get him home safely. As it becomes clear Ian doesn't remember he ended things, it also becomes clear that the accident has given him a new outlook on life…and Layla a second chance to get things right. That is, until Ian’s younger brother comes to town. Matt is restless, unpredictable and threatens to upset the careful balance Layla and Ian have rebuilt.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316451031
THE HOUSE GUEST by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Psychological Thriller)
Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her --- leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend. And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each other's problems. But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges.
Forge Books | 9781250849564
THE HOUSE OF EVE by Sadeqa Johnson (Historical Fiction)
1950s Philadelphia: Fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright. Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par¬ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby --- and fitting in --- is easier said than done.
Simon & Schuster | 9781982197360
A KILLING OF INNOCENTS by Deborah Crombie (Mystery)
On a rainy November evening, trainee doctor Sasha Johnson hurries through the crowd in London's historic Russell Square. Out of the darkness, someone jostles her as they brush past. A moment later, Sasha stumbles and then collapses. When Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his sergeant, Doug Cullen, are called to the scene, they discover that she's been stabbed. Kincaid immediately calls in his detective wife, Gemma James, who recently has been assigned to a task force on knife crimes that are on the rise. As the team unravels the victim's tangled connections, another murder raises the stakes. Kincaid, Gemma and their colleagues must put even friendships on the line to find the killer stalking the dark streets of Bloomsbury.
William Morrow | 9780062993397
LAST SEEN IN LAPAZ: An Emma Djan Investigation by Kwei Quartey (Mystery)
Just as things at work are slowing down for PI Emma Djan, an old friend of her boss’s asks for help locating his missing daughter. According to her father, Ngozi had a bright future ahead of her when she became secretive and withdrawn. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was be with her handsome new beau, Femi, instead of attending law school in the fall. So when she disappears from her parents’ house in Nigeria the middle of a summer night, they immediately suspect that Femi was behind it and have reason to believe the pair has fled to Accra. During Emma’s first week on the case, Femi is found murdered at his opulent residence in Accra, and there are no signs of Ngozi at the scene. As Emma digs further, she discovers that Femi was part of a network of sex traffickers across West Africa.
Soho Crime | 9781641293396
LOOKING FOR JANE by Heather Marshall (Fiction)
2017: When Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a life-shattering confession, she is determined to find the intended recipient. Her search takes her back to the 1970s when a group of daring women operated an illegal underground abortion network in Toronto. 1971: As a teenager, Dr. Evelyn Taylor was sent to a home for “fallen” women where she was forced to give up her baby for adoption. She proceeds to join the Jane Network as an abortion provider. 1980: After discovering a shocking secret about her family, Nancy Mitchell begins to question everything she has ever known. When she unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she locates “Jane” and finds a place of her own alongside Dr. Taylor within the network’s ranks, but she can never escape the lies that haunt her.
Atria Books | 9781668013687
THE LOVE SCRIBE by Amy Meyerson (Fiction)
When Alice’s best friend, Gabby, is reeling from a breakup, Alice writes her a heartfelt story to cheer her up. While reading it in a café, Gabby meets the man of her dreams. Thinking the story might have some special power to it, Gabby shares it with her sister and other friends, who all find instant love. Word of mouth spreads, and Alice stumbles upon a new calling --- to be a love scribe. But not all the love stories she writes unfold as expected. And while Alice tries to harness her extraordinary gift, she is summoned to a mansion in the woods where she encounters the reclusive Madeline Alger and her mysterious library. As Alice struggles to write a story for Madeline, her most challenging assignment yet, she’s forced to confront her own guarded heart.
Park Row | 9780778387084
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen (Mystery/Thriller)
After scoring a plea deal in a high-profile murder trial, serial killer James Michael Barrett leads a grim parade of law enforcement officers to the body of his last victim. At the alleged burial site, the officers swing their shovels down and are met with a strange metallic sound they weren’t expecting. In a blink, a terrific explosion rocks the woods, killing Barrett and most of the officers instantly. The detonation is only the beginning of a shocking case for FBI consultant Kendra Michaels. A string of heinous murders in the style of the very-dead Barrett mysteriously continue, and it becomes clear that he may not have been working alone. But the killer has a terrifying plan that Kendra and her team are only beginning to understand.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538726235
OUR SHARE OF NIGHT written by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell (Gothic Thriller/Horror)
A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality. For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?
Hogarth | 9780451495143
THE SANCTUARY by Katrine Engberg (Literary Thriller/Noir Mystery)
Jeppe Kørner, on leave from the police force and nursing a broken heart, has taken refuge on the island of Bornholm for the winter. Also on the island is Esther de Laurenti, a writer working on a biography of a female anthropologist with a mysterious past and coming to terms with her own crushing sense of loneliness in the wake of a dear friend’s death. When Jeppe lends a helping hand at the island’s local sawmill, he begins to realize that the island may not be the peaceful refuge it appears to be. Back in Copenhagen, Anette Werner is tasked with leading the investigation into a severed corpse discovered on a downtown playground. As she follows the strange trail of clues, they all seem to lead back to Bornholm.
Gallery/Scout Press | 9781668002278
SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOES by Jojo Moyes (Fiction)
Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope --- she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in. That’s because Sam Kemp --- in the bleakest point of her life --- has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag --- she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch-high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence makes her realize something must change --- and that thing is herself.
Pamela Dorman Books | 9781984879295
A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (Fiction)
Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must and dreaming of a big future. Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a wealthy family. Now an exhausted young doctor in her first year of practice, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of an ascendant politician. When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party, Wuraola's and Eniola’s lives become intertwined. In A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ shines her light on Nigeria, the gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots, and the shared humanity that lives in between.
Knopf | 9780525657644
SPILLANE: King of Pulp Fiction by Max Allan Collins and James L. Traylor (Biography)
Beginning in 1947 with I, THE JURY and continuing with his next six novels, Mickey Spillane quickly amassed a readership in the tens of millions, becoming the bestselling novelist in the history of American publishing. There is, however, more to Spillane’s life than the books. He also starred as Mike Hammer in a movie, was a circus performer, worked with the FBI in capturing a notorious criminal, and starred in Miller Light beer commercials that were so popular they ran for a quarter of a century. Max Allan Collins became Spillane’s friend and collaborator, continuing the Mike Hammer series for years after the author's death. Now, with co-author James Traylor, Collins has produced the first comprehensive and authoritative profile of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master.
Mysterious Press | 9781613163795
THE SPITE HOUSE by Johnny Compton (Gothic Thriller/Horror)
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house and his whole life behind in Maryland, he's desperate for money. When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it will help Eric understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running.
Tor Nightfire | 9781250841414
STEALING by Margaret Verble (Historical Fiction)
Kit Crockett and her new neighbor, Bella, become fast friends. Both outsiders, they take comfort in each other’s company. But malice lurks near their quiet bayou, and Kit suddenly finds herself at the center of a tragic, fatal crime. Soon, Kit is ripped from her home and Cherokee family and sent to Ashley Lordard, a religious boarding school. Along with the other Native students, Kit is stripped of her heritage, force-fed Christian indoctrination, and sexually abused by the director. But Kit, as strong-willed and shrewd as ever, secretly keeps a journal recounting what she remembers --- and revealing just what she has forgotten. Over the course of STEALING, she slowly unravels the truth of how she ended up at the school --- and plots a way out.
Mariner Books | 9780063267053
STONE BLIND by Natalie Haynes (Historical Fiction)
The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change and feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know. When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene’s temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge --- on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon’s actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude. Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon.
Harper | 9780063258396
UNNATURAL HISTORY: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman (Psychological Thriller)
The newly hired personal assistant to a handsome, wealthy photographer is ready to greet her boss with coffee and good cheer. Instead, she finds him slumped in bed, shot to death. The victim recently had received rave media attention for his latest project: images of homeless people in their personal “dream” situations, elaborately costumed and enacting unfulfilled fantasies. There are some, however, who view the whole thing as nothing more than crass exploitation. Has disgruntlement blossomed into homicidal rage? Or do the roots of violence reach down to the victim’s family? Then new murders arise, and Dr. Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis begin peeling back layer after layer of intrigue and complexity, culminating in one of the deadliest threats they’ve ever faced.
Ballantine Books | 9780525618614
UP WITH THE SUN by Thomas Mallon (Fiction)
Dick Kallman was an up-and-coming actor in the ’50s and ’60s --- until he wasn’t. A costar on Broadway, a member of Lucille Ball’s historic Desilu workshop, and finally a primetime TV actor, Dick had hustled to get his big break. But just as soon as his star began to rise, his roles began to dry up and he faded from the spotlight, his name out of tabloids and newspapers until his sensational murder in 1980. Through the eyes of his occasional pianist and longtime acquaintance Matt Liannetto, a tenderhearted but wry observer often on the fringes of Broadway’s big moments, Kallman’s life and death come into appallingly sharp focus.
Knopf | 9781524748197
VENCO by Cherie Dimaline (Magical Realism/Adventure)
Métis millennial Lucky St. James is barely hanging on when she learns she’ll be evicted from her tiny Toronto apartment. But something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky one night. She burrows through a wall to find a tarnished silver spoon, humming with otherworldly energy, etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM. Lucky has no idea that the spoon connects her to a teeming network of witches across North America who have anxiously awaited her discovery. Enter VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money. Since colonial times, they have awaited the moment the seven spoons will come together and ignite a new era, returning women to their rightful power. But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move.
William Morrow | 9780063054899
VICTORY CITY by Salman Rushdie (Historical Fantasy/Magical Realism)
In the wake of an unimportant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in 14th-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for her namesake, the goddess Pampa, who begins to speak out of the girl’s mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana’s comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga --- “victory city” --- the wonder of the world. Over the next 250 years, Pampa Kampana’s life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga’s, from its literal sowing from a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power.
Random House | 9780593243398
On Sale the Week of February 6th in Paperback
February 7th
BLACK GHOST OF EMPIRE: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation by Kris Manjapra (History)
To understand why the shadow of slavery still haunts us today, we must look closely at the way it ended. Between the 1770s and 1880s, emancipation processes took off across the Atlantic world. But far from ushering in a new age of human rights and universal freedoms, these emancipations further codified the racial caste systems they claimed to disrupt. In this paradigm-altering book, acclaimed historian and professor Kris Manjapra identifies five types of emancipations across the globe and reveals that their perceived failures were not failures at all, but the predictable outcomes of policies designed first and foremost to preserve the status quo of racial oppression.
Scribner | 9781982123499
BOOTH by Karen Joy Fowler (Historical Fiction)
In 1822, a secret family moves into a secret cabin some 30 miles northeast of Baltimore and bears 10 children over the course of the next 16 years. Junius Booth is at once a mesmerizing talent and a man of terrifying instability. One by one the children arrive, as year by year the country draws frighteningly closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war. As the tenor of the world shifts, the Booths emerge from their hidden lives to cement their place as one of the country’s leading theatrical families. But multiple scandals, family triumphs and criminal disasters begin to take their toll, and the solemn siblings of John Wilkes Booth are left to reckon with the truth behind the destructively specious promise of an early prophecy.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593331453
CHERISH FARRAH by Bethany C. Morrow (Psychological Thriller/Social Horror)
Farrah Turner is one of two Black girls in her country club community, and the only one with Black parents. Her best friend, Cherish Whitman, was adopted by a white, wealthy family. With Brianne and Jerry Whitman as parents, Cherish is given the kind of adoration and coddling that even upper-class Black parents can’t seem to afford --- and it creates a dissonance in her best friend that Farrah can exploit. When her own family is unexpectedly confronted with foreclosure, the calculating Farrah is determined to reassert the control she’s convinced she’s always had over her life by staying with Cherish. As troubled Farrah manipulates her way further into the Whitman family, the longer she stays, the more her own parents suggest that something is wrong in the Whitman house.
Dutton | 9780593185391
THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR by Nina de Gramont (Historical Fiction)
In 1925, Miss Nan O’Dea infiltrated the wealthy, rarefied world of author Agatha Christie and her husband, Archie. In every way, she became a part of their life. Soon, Nan became Archie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted wife, desperate to marry him. Nan’s plot didn’t begin the day she met Archie and Agatha. It began decades before, in Ireland, when Nan was a young girl. She and the man she loved were a star-crossed couple who were destined to be together --- until the Great War, a pandemic and shameful secrets tore them apart. Then acts of unspeakable cruelty kept them separated. What drives someone to murder? What will someone do in the name of love? What kind of crime can someone never forgive?
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250792631
CODE NAME SAPPHIRE by Pam Jenoff (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
1942. Hannah Martel has narrowly escaped Nazi Germany after her fiancé was killed in a pogrom. When her ship bound for America is turned away at port, she has nowhere to go but to her cousin, Lily, who lives with her family in Brussels. Fearful for her life, Hannah is desperate to get out of occupied Europe. But with no safe way to leave, she must return to the dangerous underground work she thought she had left behind. Seeking help, Hannah joins the Sapphire Line, a secret resistance network led by a mysterious woman named Micheline and her enigmatic brother, Matteo. But when a grave mistake causes Lily’s family to be arrested and slated for deportation to Auschwitz, Hannah finds herself torn between her loyalties. How much is Hannah willing to sacrifice to save the people she loves?
Park Row | 9780778387091
A DANGEROUS EDUCATION by Megan Chance (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
Rosemary Chivers is haunted by the choices she made as a teenager --- and by those made for her by a controlling mother. Now, in the Cold War era of conformity and suspicion, Rosemary is a modern new teacher at a school for troubled girls. She happens to know that one of the students is the child she gave up. But which one? Ignoring warnings, Rosemary forms an impenetrable bond with the three girls who are the right age. But these are no ordinary girls, and what begins as an effort to bring closure to her own rebellious youth soon spirals dangerously out of control. Rosemary is prepared to do anything to find her daughter. What she isn’t prepared for are the deadly consequences that come with discovery --- or just how wicked wayward girls can be.
Lake Union Publishing | 9781542039024
THE ECHO MAN by Sam Holland (Psychological Thriller)
Detectives Cara Elliott and Noah Deakin are on the case of a series of seemingly unconnected murders, each different in method, but each shocking and brutal. As the body count increases, they can’t ignore the details that echo famous cases of the past --- Manson, Kemper, Dahmer and more. As Elliott and Deakin get closer to unmasking the killer, the murders are moving closer to home. Meanwhile, Jessica Ambrose is on the run. She’s been implicated as the arsonist who killed her neglectful husband and injured her young daughter. With the help of disgraced and suspended detective Nate Griffin, Jess discovers a shocking link between her case and that of the ultimate copycat killer working on his horrifying masterpiece.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781639103874
EIGHT DAYS IN MAY: The Final Collapse of the Third Reich written by Volker Ullrich, translated by Jefferson Chase (History)
In a bunker deep below Berlin’s Old Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler and his new bride, Eva Braun, took their own lives just after 3:00 p.m. on April 30, 1945 --- Hitler by gunshot to the temple, Braun by ingesting cyanide. But the Führer’s suicide did not instantly end either Nazism or the Second World War in Europe. Far from it: the eight days that followed were among the most traumatic in modern history, witnessing not only the final paroxysms of bloodshed and the frantic surrender of the Wehrmacht, but the total disintegration of the once-mighty Third Reich. In EIGHT DAYS IN MAY, Volker Ullrich draws on an astonishing variety of sources, including diaries and letters of ordinary Germans, to narrate a society’s descent into Hobbesian chaos.
Liveright | 9781324092889
THE FIELDS by Erin Young (Thriller)
It starts with a body --- a young woman found dead in an Iowa cornfield, on one of the few family farms still managing to compete with the giants of Big Agriculture. When Sergeant Riley Fisher, newly promoted to head of investigations for the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, arrives on the scene, an already horrific crime becomes personal when she discovers the victim was a childhood friend, connected to a dark past she thought she’d left behind. The investigation grows complicated as more victims are found. Drawn deeper in, Riley soon discovers implications far beyond her Midwest town.
Flatiron Books | 9781250799418
FREE LOVE by Tessa Hadley (Historical Fiction)
1967. While London comes alive with the new youth revolution, the suburban Fischer family seems to belong to an older world of conventional stability. Pretty, dutiful homemaker Phyllis is married to Roger, a devoted father with a career in the Foreign Office. Their children are Colette, a bookish teenager, and Hugh, the golden boy. But when the twenty-something son of an old friend pays the Fischers a visit and kisses Phyllis, something in her catches fire. Newly awake to the world, Phyllis makes a choice that defies all expectations of her as a wife and a mother. Nothing in these ordinary lives is so ordinary after all, as the family’s upheaval mirrors the dramatic transformation of the society around them.
Harper Perennial | 9780063137837
HIDEOUT: An Alice Vega Novel by Louisa Luna (Thriller)
Alice Vega has made a career of finding the missing and vulnerable, but she's never had a case like that of Zeb Williams, missing for 30 years. It was 1984, and the big Cal-Stanford football game was tied with seconds left on the clock. Zeb Williams grabbed the ball and ran the wrong way, through the marching band, off the field and out of the stadium. He disappeared into legend, replete with Elvis-like sightings and a cult following. Zeb's cold trail leads Vega to southern Oregon, where she discovers an anxious community living under siege by a local hate group called the Liberty Boys. As Vega starts digging into the past, the mystery around Zeb's disappearance grows deeper, and the reach of the Liberty Boys grows more disturbing.
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard | 9781984898500
THE HOTEL NANTUCKET by Elin Hilderbrand (Fiction)
Fresh off a bad breakup with a longtime boyfriend, Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton is desperately seeking a second act. When she’s named the new general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, a once Gilded Age gem turned abandoned eyesore, she hopes that her local expertise and charismatic staff can win the favor of their new London billionaire owner, Xavier Darling, as well as that of Shelly Carpenter, the wildly popular Instagram tastemaker who can help put them back on the map. And while the Hotel Nantucket appears to be a blissful paradise, complete with a celebrity chef-run restaurant and an idyllic wellness center, there’s a lot of drama behind closed doors.
Back Bay Books | 9780316258982
ICED: A Dick Francis Novel by Felix Francis (Thriller)
Seven years ago, Miles Pussett was a steeplechase jockey, loving the rush of the race. But after an unfortunate event, he left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding headfirst down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, reaching speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. Finding himself in St. Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant about stopping him --- and they’ll go to any length to do it.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781639102983
IN A NEW YORK MINUTE by Kate Spencer (Romantic Comedy)
Franny Doyle has been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough. Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and Hayes Montgomery III are the newest social media sensation. They couldn’t be a more disastrous match. Yet somehow, they keep running into each other --- and much to their surprise, they enjoy each other’s company. A lot. But when Franny’s whole world is turned upside down (again!), can she find the courage to trust in herself and finally have the life --- and love --- she’s always wanted?
Forever | 9781538737644
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAIN: A Memoir of Courage by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado (Memoir)
A Latina hero in the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado privately was hanging by a thread. Deep in the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her family, and repressing the abuse she’d suffered as a child, she started climbing. Something about the brute force required for the ascent woke her up. She then took her biggest pain as a survivor to the biggest mountain: Everest. At times hair-raising, nerve-racking and always challenging, Silvia remembers the acute anxiety of leading a group of novice climbers to Everest’s base, all the while coping with her own nerves of summiting. But there were also moments of peace, joy and healing with the strength of her fellow survivors and community propelling her forward.
Holt Paperbacks | 9781250871084
INTO THE FOREST: A Holocaust Story of Survival, Triumph, and Love by Rebecca Frankel (Biography)
In the summer of 1942, the Rabinowitz family narrowly escaped the Nazi ghetto in their Polish town by fleeing to the forbidding Bialowieza Forest. They miraculously survived two years in the woods --- through brutal winters, Typhus outbreaks and merciless Nazi raids --- until they were liberated by the Red Army in 1944. After the war, they trekked across the Alps into Italy where they settled as refugees before eventually immigrating to the United States. During the first ghetto massacre, Miriam Rabinowitz rescued a young boy named Philip by pretending he was her son. Nearly a decade later, a chance encounter at a wedding in Brooklyn would lead Philip to find the woman who saved him. And to discover that her daughter, Ruth, was the love of his life.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250874900
JOAN IS OKAY by Weike Wang (Fiction)
Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the United States to secure the American dream for their children, Joan is intensely devoted to her work, happily solitary and successful. Once she and her brother, Fang, were established in their careers, her parents moved back to China, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland. But when Joan’s father suddenly dies and her mother returns to America to reconnect with her children, a series of events sends Joan spiraling out of her comfort zone just as her hospital, her city and the world are forced to reckon with a health crisis more devastating than anyone could have imagined.
Random House Trade Paperbacks | 9780525563952
THE LAST GRUDGE: A Ghosts of the Past Novel by Max Seeck (Mystery)
Paperback Original
Powerful executive Eliel Zetterborg has been found murdered in his upscale Helsinki home. What at first seems like a straightforward case soon proves to be anything but when it becomes clear the murderer has other targets. The only clue the police have is a photo of Zetterborg with three men whose faces have all been scratched off. Detective Jessica Niemi has taken some time off from her work with the Helsinki police to track down the coven that nearly killed her, and her partner, Yusuf, is assigned to lead the investigation. But as Yusuf delves into the case, he realizes he needs Jessica’s help. And as they dig deeper, they realize that the evil they’ve been hunting all along has returned and is lying in wait for the right moment to strike.
Berkley | 9780593438848
A LEGACY OF BONES by Doug Burgess (Mystery)
Paperback Original
On Kaumaha Island (est. 1850), the statue of Amyas Lathrop conceals a terrible secret --- a legacy of massacres and madness that infects the island itself. Some will go to any lengths to keep it hidden, others to set it free. But which of them would kill? Cultural expert Winnie Te Papa, our very own Ms. Marple, will sift through the pieces to track a ruthless murderer through a tangled maze of family alliances, greedy developers, scholars, protestors and gangsters. Told in a dual timeline, Doug Burgess' intricate puzzle box mystery traces the consequences of an island's frenetic beginnings as they snowball through generations. Fans of HBO's “The White Lotus” will be intrigued by the ever hotly debated questions: What happens next, and who gets to decide?
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781728259116
LIKE A SISTER by Kellye Garrett (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
When the body of reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found on a playground in the Bronx the morning after her 25th birthday party, the police and the media are quick to declare her death an overdose. A tragedy, certainly, but not a crime. Yet Columbia grad student Lena --- principled, headstrong and allergic to the spotlight --- knows that can’t be the case. Despite the bitter truth that the two hadn’t spoken in two years, they were half-sisters. Lena knew Desiree. And Desiree would never travel above 125th Street. Something is very wrong with the facts. So why is no one listening? While the two sisters had been torn apart by Desiree’s partying and by their difficult father, Lena becomes determined to find justice for Desiree. Even if that means untangling her family’s darkest secrets --- or ending up dead herself.
Mulholland Books | 9780316256773
LOVE & SAFFRON: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love by Kim Fay (Historical Fiction)
Creamy risotto alla Milanese. Mussels in a hot, buttery broth. Chicken spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Joan Bergstrom and Imogen Fortier understand the key to a savored life --- delicious food. Young Joan is just discovering herself as a food writer in bustling Los Angeles, while experienced columnist Imogen is settled in her decades-long marriage on Camano Island outside Seattle. When Joan sends a fan letter to Imogen with an enclosed packet of saffron and a recipe, their journey of culinary exploration and soul-deep friendship begins. A long-lost flavor surfaces buried memories, and a quest to make carne asada opens the doors of a sheltered life. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of their friendship, and of their belief that food and love can sustain us during our darkest hours.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593419359
THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by Allison Pataki (Historical Fiction)
Marjorie Merriweather Post’s journey began gluing cereal boxes in her father’s barn as a young girl. No one could have predicted that C. W. Post’s Cereal Company would grow into the General Foods empire, with Marjorie as its heiress and leading lady. Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of high-society wife, mother and hostess, Marjorie dared to demand more, making history in the process. Before turning 30, she amassed millions, becoming the wealthiest woman in the United States. But it was her life-force, advocacy, passion and adventurous spirit that led to her stunning legacy. And yet Marjorie’s story, though full of beauty and grandeur, set in the palatial homes she built such as Mar-a-Lago, was equally marked by challenge and tumult.
Ballantine Books | 9780593355701
THE MATCH by Harlan Coben (Thriller)
A DNA match on an online ancestry database brings Wilde closer to his past than he’s ever dreamed and finally gives him the opening he needs to track down his father. But meeting the man brings up more questions than answers. So Wilde reaches out to his last, most desperate lead: a second cousin who disappears as quickly as he resurfaces, having experienced an epic fall from grace. Was his cousin’s downfall a long time coming? Or was he the victim of a conspiracy as cunning as it is complex? And how does it all connect to the man once known as The Stranger, a treacherous fugitive with a growing following whose mission and methods have only turned more dangerous with time?
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538748299
MAUREEN: A Harold Fry Novel by Rachel Joyce (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Maureen and Harold Fry have settled into a quiet life, but when an unexpected message from the North disturbs their peaceful equilibrium, Maureen realizes that it’s now her turn to make a journey. But she is not like her affable, easygoing husband. By turns outspoken, then vulnerable, she struggles to form bonds with the people she meets --- and the landscape she crosses has radically changed. Maureen has no sense of what she will find at the end of the road. All she knows is that she has to get there.
Dial Press Trade Paperback | 9780593446423
MEANT TO BE by Jude Deveraux (Romance)
It’s 1972, and times are changing. In the small farming community of Mason, Kansas, Vera and Kelly Exton are known for their ambitions. Vera is an activist who wants to join her boyfriend in the Peace Corps. But she is doing her duty caring for her widowed mother and younger sister until Kelly is firmly established. Kelly is studying to become a veterinarian. She plans to marry her childhood sweetheart and eventually take over his father’s veterinary practice. But it’s a tumultuous time, and neither sister is entirely happy with the path that’s been laid out for her. As each evaluates her options, everything shifts. Do you do what’s right for yourself or what others want?
Mira | 9780778333739
MERCY STREET by Jennifer Haigh (Fiction)
For almost a decade, Claudia has counseled patients at Mercy Street, a clinic in the heart of the city. A small, determined group of anti-abortion demonstrators appears each morning at its door. As the protests intensify, fear creeps into Claudia’s days, a humming anxiety she manages with frequent visits to Timmy, an affable pot dealer in the midst of his own existential crisis. At Timmy’s, she encounters a random assortment of customers, including Anthony, a lost soul who spends most of his life online, chatting with the mysterious Excelsior11 --- the screenname of Victor Prine, an anti-abortion crusader who has set his sights on Mercy Street and is ready to risk it all for his beliefs.
Ecco | 9780061763328
MURDER AT THE PORTE DE VERSAILLES: An Aimée Leduc Investigation Set in Paris by Cara Black (Mystery)
In the wake of 9/11, Paris is living in a state of fear. For Aimée Leduc, November is bittersweet: the anniversary of her father’s death and her daughter’s third birthday fall on the same day. A gathering for family and friends is disrupted when a bomb goes off at the police laboratory --- and Boris Viard, the partner of Aimée’s friend Michou, is found unconscious at the scene of the crime with traces of explosives under his fingernails. Aimée doesn’t believe Boris set the bomb. When a member of the French secret service drafts Aimée to help investigate possible links to an Iranian Revolutionary guard and fugitive radicals who bombed Interpol in the 1980s, Aimée uncovers ties to a cold case of her father’s.
Soho Crime | 9781641294553
MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing (Psychological Thriller)
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with. We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.
Berkley | 9780593637753
NINE LIVES by Peter Swanson (Mystery/Thriller)
Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. None of them know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke --- until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it? FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman?
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062980083
OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez (Fiction)
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the one percent, but she can’t seem to find her own...until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets. Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.
Flatiron Books | 9781250786180
ON A NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STARS by Andrea Yaryura Clark (Fiction)
New York, 1998. Santiago Larrea, a wealthy Argentine diplomat, is holding court alongside his wife, Lila, and their daughter, Paloma, a college student and budding jewelry designer, at their annual summer polo match and soiree. All seems perfect in the Larreas’ world --- until an unexpected party guest from Santiago's university days shakes his usually unflappable demeanor. The woman's cryptic comments spark Paloma’s curiosity about her father’s past, of which she knows little. When the family travels to Buenos Aires for Santiago's UN ambassadorial appointment, Paloma is determined to learn more about his life in the years leading up to the military dictatorship of 1976.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538720301
THE PALACE PAPERS: Inside the House of Windsor — the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown (Biography)
“Never again” became Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra shortly after Princess Diana’s tragic death. More specifically, there could never be “another Diana” --- a member of the family whose global popularity upstaged, outshone and posed an existential threat to the British monarchy. Picking up where Tina Brown’s THE DIANA CHRONICLES left off, THE PALACE PAPERS reveals how the royal family reinvented itself after the traumatic years when Diana’s blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet. Brown takes readers on a tour de force journey through the scandals, love affairs, power plays and betrayals that have buffeted the monarchy over the last 25 years.
Crown | 9780593138113
THE PARADOX HOTEL by Rob Hart (Technothriller/Mystery)
January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder. Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing is simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past. Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion --- and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls. None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see. On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. The U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology --- and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.
Ballantine Books | 9781984820662
RADICAL LOVE: From Separation to Connection with the Earth, Each Other, and Ourselves by Satish Kumar (Philosophy/Inspirational)
Paperback Original
Environmental activist Satish Kumar is well known for his epic walk for world peace in his youth in the 1960s from India to the nuclear capitals of Moscow, Paris, London and Washington, DC. Wherever he traveled, he found that human beings were capable of a love that could overcome hatred and division. Settling down in the UK, he married his wife, June Mitchell, and founded eco-university Schumacher College in Devon, eventually becoming a leading figure in the UK green movement. RADICAL LOVE distills the author's lifetime of experience as a lover, parent, activist and educator into simple lessons on transforming our time of ecological crisis, conflict and scarcity into one in which we experience harmony with nature, safety and abundance.
Parallax Press | 9781952692352
RIZZOLI & ISLES: LISTEN TO ME by Tess Gerritsen (Thriller)
Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are newly plagued by what seems like a completely senseless murder. Sofia Suarez, a widow and nurse who was universally liked by her neighbors, lies bludgeoned to death in her own home. But anything can happen behind closed doors, and Sofia seemed to have plenty of secrets in her last days, making covert phone calls to traceless burner phones. When Jane finally makes a connection between Sofia and the victim of a hit-and-run from months earlier, the case only grows more blurry. What exactly was Sofia involved in? One thing is clear: The killer will do anything it takes to keep their secret safe.
Ballantine Books | 9780593497159
SANKOFA by Chibundu Onuzo (Fiction)
Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother is dead. Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president --- some would say dictator --- of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive. When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny and fascinating.
Catapult | 9781646221585
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan (Fiction)
Frida Liu doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough. Until Frida has a very bad day. The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgment, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed.
S&S/Marysue Rucci Books | 9781982156138
SCOUNDREL: The True Story of the Murderer Who Charmed His Way to Fame and Freedom by Sarah Weinman (True Crime)
In the 1960s, Edgar Smith, in prison and sentenced to death for the murder of teenager Victoria Zielinski, struck up a correspondence with William F. Buckley, the founder of National Review. Buckley, who refused to believe that a man who supported the neoconservative movement could have committed such a heinous crime, began to advocate not only for Smith’s life to be spared but also for his sentence to be overturned. So begins a bizarre and tragic tale of mid-century America. Sarah Weinman’s SCOUNDREL leads us through the twists of fate and fortune that brought Smith to freedom, book deals, fame...and eventually to attempting murder again.
Ecco | 9780062899774
SECRET IDENTITY by Alex Segura (Literary Mystery)
Carmen Valdez, an assistant at Triumph Comics, is tantalizingly close to fulfilling her dream of writing a superhero book. That dream is nearly a reality when one of the Triumph writers enlists her help to create a new character, which they call “The Lethal Lynx,” Triumph's first female hero. But her colleague is acting strangely and asking to keep her involvement a secret. And then he’s found dead, with all of their scripts turned into the publisher without her name. Carmen is desperate to figure out what happened to him. But that’s complicated by a surprise visitor, a tenacious cop who is piecing everything together too quickly for Carmen, and the tangled web of secrets and resentments among the passionate eccentrics who write comics for a living.
Flatiron Books | 9781250801760
SECRETLY YOURS by Tessa Bailey (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at 14 after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small Napa town, and Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers, and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless --- and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie garden right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. There’s something so familiar about her...and her very presence is turning his world upside down.
Avon | 9780063238985
SHADOWS OF PECAN HOLLOW by Caroline Frost (Fiction)
It was 1970 when 13-year-old runaway Kit Walker was abducted by Manny Romero, a smooth-talking, low-level criminal, who first coddled her and then groomed her into his partner-in-crime. Before long, Kit and Manny were infamous for their string of gas station robberies throughout Texas, making a name for themselves as the Texaco Twosome. Twenty years after they meet, Kit has scraped together a life for herself and her daughter amongst the pecan trees and muddy creeks of the town of Pecan Hollow, far from Manny. But when he shows up at her doorstep a new man, fresh out of prison, Kit is forced to reckon with the shadows of her past, and her community is sent into a tailspin.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063065352
SOMETHING WILDER by Christina Lauren (Romantic Comedy)
Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession…or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now she uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails.
Gallery Books | 9781982173418
TRULY, MADLY: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century by Stephen Galloway (Biography)
In 1934, a friend brought fledgling actress Vivien Leigh to see "Theatre Royal," where she would first lay eyes on Laurence Olivier in his brilliant performance as Anthony Cavendish. That night, she confided to a friend that he was the man she was going to marry. There was just one problem: she was already married --- and so was he. TRULY, MADLY is the biography of a marriage, a love affair that still captivates millions, even decades after both actors' deaths. Vivien and Larry seemed to have it all. Yet, in their own minds, they were doomed, blighted by her long-undiagnosed mental illness, which transformed their relationship from the stuff of dreams into a living nightmare.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538731987
WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW by Kai Harris (Fiction)
WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW follows KB after her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit. Soon thereafter, KB and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing, Michigan. Over the course of a single sweltering summer, KB attempts to navigate a world that has turned upside down. Her father has been labeled a fiend. Her mother's smile no longer reaches her eyes. Her sister, once her best friend, now feels like a stranger. Her grandfather is grumpy and silent. The white kids who live across the street are friendly, but only sometimes. And they're all keeping secrets.
Tiny Reparations Books | 9780593185360
WHEN WE LOST OUR HEADS by Heather O'Neill (Historical Fiction)
Charismatic Marie Antoine is the daughter of the richest man in 19th-century Montreal. She has everything she wants, except for a best friend --- until clever, scheming Sadie Arnett moves to the neighborhood. Immediately united by their passion and intensity, Marie and Sadie attract and repel each other in ways that thrill them both. Their games soon become tinged with risk, even violence. Forced to separate by the adults around them, they spend years engaged in acts of alternating innocence and depravity. And when a singular event brings them back together, the dizzying effects will upend the city.
Riverhead Books | 9780593422915
WILD AND WICKED THINGS by Francesca May (Historical Fantasy)
On Crow Island, people whisper that real magic lurks just below the surface. Neither real magic nor faux magic interests Annie Mason. Not after it stole her future. She’s only on the island to settle her late father’s estate and, hopefully, reconnect with her long-absent best friend, Beatrice, who fled their dreary lives for a more glamorous one. Yet Crow Island is brimming with temptation, and the biggest one may be her enigmatic new neighbor. Mysterious and alluring, Emmeline Delacroix is a figure shadowed by rumors of witchcraft. And when Annie witnesses a confrontation between Bea and Emmeline at one of the island's extravagant parties, she is drawn into a glittering, haunted world, where the cost of illicit magic might be death.
Redhook | 9780316287265
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