May 16, 2023

May 16, 2023

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of May 15th and May 22nd that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our New Release Spotlight of CLYTEMNESTRA by Costanza Casati. This stunning debut --- perfect for fans of Madeline Miller's CIRCE --- follows Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess of the ancient world, and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.

We hosted this month’s “Bookaccino Live” book preview event last Wednesday afternoon. Carol talked about 33 books releasing between now and June 6th, plus nine from July, that we wanted to get on your radar. You can watch the presentation here and see a list of the featured titles here.

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

Here are five upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.

Wednesday, May 17th at 7pm ET: American Booksellers Association/Publishers Lunch: Publishers Lunch founder Michael Cader will host the Buzz Books Editors Panel, a virtual event sponsored by Publishers Lunch and the American Booksellers Association. Five debut authors will chat with their editors about their forthcoming titles.

Wednesday, May 17th 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 Abby Jimenez and R. F. Kuang about their latest novels: Jimenez's YOURS TRULY and Kuang's YELLOWFACE.

Wednesday, May 17th at 7pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Linwood Barclay will talk about his new novel, THE LIE MAKER, a twisty, fast-paced thriller in which a man desperately tries to track down his father --- who was taken into witness protection years ago --- before his enemies can get to him.

Thursday, May 18th at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Michelle Gagnon will talk to special guest host Naomi Hirahara about her new book, KILLING ME. Utterly original and wildly entertaining, it's a laugh-out-loud thriller with a protagonist whose life is a total mess.

Sunday, May 21st at 7pm ET: The Back Room: Join authors Liv Constantine, Robyn Gigl, Harini Nagendra and Lisa Scottoline for an evening of great conversation! The event will start with a short introduction to each author. The audience will then be divided into four breakout rooms where they will remain for the rest of the program while the authors visit each room in turn.

This Week's Bonus News:
Bookreporter.com's New Release Spotlight of
CLYTEMNESTRA by Costanza Casati

On Sale the Week of May 15th in Hardcover

May 16th

BANANA BALL: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas by Jesse Cole with Don Yaeger (Sports/Memoir)
For his entire childhood, Jesse Cole dreamed of pitching in the Majors. Now, he has a life in baseball that he could have only imagined. He met the love of his life in the industry; they shaped Savannah, Georgia’s professional team into the league champion Savannah Bananas; and now the Bananas have restyled baseball itself into something all their own: Banana Ball, which is fast, fun and outrageously entertaining. But the reason this team is on the forefront of a movement is less about the play on the field and more about the atmosphere that the team culture creates. For the first time in this book, Jesse reveals the ideas and experiences that allowed him to reimagine America’s oldest sport by creating a phenomenon that is helping fans fall in love with the game all over again.
Dutton | 9780593473412

BLUE SKIES by T.C. Boyle (Thriller/Satire)
Denied a dog, a baby and even a faithful fiancé, Cat suddenly craves a snake: a glistening, writhing creature that can be worn like “jewelry, living jewelry” to match her black jeans. But when the budding social media star promptly loses the young “Burmie” she buys from a local pet store, she inadvertently sets in motion a chain of increasingly dire and outrageous events that comes to threaten her very survival. In BLUE SKIES, T.C. Boyle transports us to water-logged and heat-ravaged coastal America, where Cat and her hapless, nature-loving family is struggling to adapt to the “new normal,” in which once-in-a-lifetime natural disasters happen once a week and drinking seems to be the only way to cope.
Liveright | 9781324093022

DYKETTE by Jenny Fran Davis (Fiction/Dark Humor)
Sasha and Jesse are professionally creative, erotically adventurous and passionately dysfunctional twentysomethings making a life together in Brooklyn. When a pair of older, richer lesbians invites Sasha and Jesse to their country home for the holidays, they’re quick to accept. Even if the trip includes a third couple: Jesse’s best friend, Lou, and their cool-girl flame, Darcy. As the late December afternoons blur together in a haze of debaucherous homecooked feasts and sweaty sauna confessions, so too do the guests’ secret and shifting motivations. When Jesse and Darcy collaborate on an ill-fated livestream performance, a complex web of infatuation and jealousy emerges, sending Sasha down a spiral of destructive rage that threatens each couple’s future.
Henry Holt and Co. | 9781250843135

THE ENCHANTED HACIENDA by J.C. Cervantes (Fiction/Magical Realism)
When Harlow Estrada is abruptly fired from her dream job and her boyfriend proves to be a jerk, her world turns upside down. She flees New York City to the one place she can always call home --- the enchanted Hacienda Estrada. The Estrada family farm in Mexico houses an abundance of charmed flowers cultivated by Harlow’s mother, sisters, aunt and cousins. By harnessing the magic in these flowers, they can heal hearts, erase memories and interpret dreams. But not Harlow. So when her mother and aunt give her a special task involving the family’s magic, she panics. How can she rise to the occasion when she is magicless? But maybe it’s not magic she’s missing, but belief in herself.
Park Row | 9780778334057

FRACTAL NOISE: A Fractalverse Novel by Christopher Paolini (Science Fiction/Space Opera)
July 25, 2234: The crew of the Adamura discovers the anomaly. On the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII: a circular pit, 50 kilometers wide. Its curve not of nature, but design. Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole and why. But they all carry the burdens of lives carved out on disparate colonies in the cruel cold of space. For some the mission is the dream of a lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking, and for one it is a desperate attempt to find meaning in an uncaring universe. Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last. And the ghosts of their past follow.
Tor Books | 9781250862488

THE GOD OF GOOD LOOKS by Breanne Mc Ivor (Fiction)
Bianca Bridge has always dreamt of becoming a writer. But Trinidadian society can be unforgiving, and having an affair with a married government official is a surefire way to ruin your prospects. So when Obadiah Cortland, a notoriously tyrannical entrepreneur in the island’s beauty scene, offers her a job, Bianca accepts. As she begins to embrace her power and creative voice, she starts to suspect Obadiah is not the elite tyrant he seems. She’s right. Born in one of the poorest parts of Trinidad, Obadiah has clawed partway up society’s ladder and built his company around his meticulously crafted persona. He’s not about to let anyone, especially Bianca, see past his façade. When Bianca’s ex-lover threatens everything she’s rebuilt, she’s surprised to find support from the most unlikely ally.
William Morrow | 9780063278813

THE GUEST by Emma Cline (Psychological Thriller)
Summer is coming to a close on the East End of Long Island, and Alex is no longer welcome. A misstep at a dinner party, and the older man she’s been staying with dismisses her with a ride to the train station and a ticket back to the city. With few resources and a waterlogged phone, but gifted with an ability to navigate the desires of others, Alex stays on Long Island and drifts like a ghost through the hedged lanes, gated driveways and sun-blasted dunes of a rarefied world that is, at first, closed to her. Propelled by desperation and a mutable sense of morality, she spends the week leading up to Labor Day moving from one place to the next, a cipher leaving destruction in her wake.
Random House | 9780812998627

KILLING ME by Michelle Gagnon (Thriller/Humor)
Amber Jamison can’t believe she’s about to become the latest victim of a serial killer. When she gets pushed into a white windowless van, she's more angry than afraid. Things get even weirder when she’s miraculously saved by a mysterious woman…who promptly disappears. Who was she? And why is she hunting serial killers? You’d think escaping one psychopath would be enough, but Amber’s problems are just beginning. Her close call has law enforcement circling a past she’s tried to outrun. She’s forced to flee across the country, ending up at a seedy motel in Las Vegas with a noir-obsessed manager and a sex worker as her unlikely companions…and danger right behind. She’s landed in the crosshairs of the world’s most prolific killer, caught up in a deadly game that’s been going on for years.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593540749

KING: A Life by Jonathan Eig (Biography)
Jonathan Eig’s KING: A LIFE is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. --- and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. The bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself. He casts fresh light on the King family’s origins, as well as MLK’s complex relationships with his wife, father and fellow activists. As he follows MLK from the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma and Memphis, Eig dramatically recreates the journey of a man who recast American race relations and became our only modern-day founding father --- as well as the nation’s most mourned martyr.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 9780374279295

THE LIE MAKER by Linwood Barclay (Thriller)
Your dad’s not a good person. Your dad killed people, son. These are some of the last words that Jack Givins’ father spoke to him before he was whisked away by witness protection, leaving Jack and his mother to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives as best they could. Years later, Jack is a talented but struggling author. So when the U.S. Marshals approach him with a lucrative opportunity, he’s in no position to turn them down. They’re recruiting writers like Jack to create false histories for people in witness protection. Jack soon realizes this may be a chance to find his dad. But Jack’s father hasn’t made contact with his handlers recently, and they have no idea where he is. He could be in serious danger, and Jack may be the only one who can find him.
William Morrow | 9780063276246

LIFE B: Overcoming Double Depression by Bethanne Patrick (Memoir)
Plagued by depression her entire life, it wasn’t until her early 50s that writer and book critic Bethanne Patrick, advocating for her own care, received a medical diagnosis that would set her on the path to wellness and stability. Recognizing the intergenerational effects of trauma and mental health struggles, Patrick unearths the stories of her past in order to forge a better future for herself and her two daughters, dismantling the stigmas surrounding mental health challenges that can plague families into silence and resignation. LIFE B is an intimate portrait we haven’t yet seen --- of a lifelong struggle with depression, of midlife diagnosis and newly found strength. Most important, it’s a life-affirming blueprint of how to accept and transcend the limitations of mental illness.
Counterpoint | 9781640091290

LINCOLN'S GOD: How Faith Transformed a President and a Nation by Joshua Zeitz (History)
Abraham Lincoln, unlike most of his political brethren, kept organized Christianity at arm’s length. He never joined a church and only sometimes attended Sunday services with his wife. But as he came to appreciate the growing political and military importance of the Christian community, and when death touched the Lincoln household in an awful, intimate way, the erstwhile skeptic effectively evolved into a believer and harnessed the power of evangelical Protestantism to rally the nation to arms. The war, he told Americans, was divine retribution for the sin of slavery. This is the story of that transformation and the ways in which religion helped millions of Northerners interpret the carnage and political upheaval of the 1850s and 1860s.
Viking | 9781984882219

A LINE IN THE SAND by Kevin Powers (Thriller)
One early morning on a Norfolk beach in Virginia, a dead body is discovered by a man taking his daily swim. After narrowly surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman Bajalan has been given lonely sanctuary in the US. Convinced that the body is connected to his past, he knows he is still not safe. Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her newly minted partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the dead man’s pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist who is investigating a corporation on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defense contract. As victims mount around Arman, they find themselves in a race, committed to unraveling the truth and keeping Arman alive --- even if it costs them absolutely everything.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316507127

LIQUID SHADES OF BLUE by James Polkinghorn (Mystery/Thriller)
When hungover ex-lawyer and Key West bar owner Jack Girard groggily wakes up one morning, he’s greeted by a beautiful woman lying next to him and a shrill, ringing telephone. Seeing the call is from his father, Claude “The Duke” Girard, he answers. Within seconds, Jack learns that his mother is dead in an apparent suicide, so he hits the road, heading back to his childhood home in Miami to face his tyrannical father. The death of his mother brings up haunting memories from his past --- memories of his brother Bobby’s suicide when they were in college together. But things grow more complicated when The Duke suggests that his estranged wife’s alleged suicide may have been a murder. As Jack begins to uncover the truth about his mother’s death, he finds himself in imminent danger.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608095506

LOVE BETRAYAL MURDER by Adam Mitzner (Legal Thriller)
Matthew Brooks and Vanessa Lyons are a perfect love match, both attorneys at a powerful New York City law firm. But there’s a hitch: Matt just made partner, and Vanessa is coming up for partner next year. And Vanessa’s husband, the profligate Bradley Lyons, has his suspicions. Vanessa is assigned to the biggest case at the firm, the one that will determine her future. Unfortunately, Matt has been working the case for years, leaving him no choice but to supervise his lover in violation of firm policy. When Vanessa is denied her partnership, she can only assume that her affair with Matt was the reason. Then, on a crowded Manhattan street corner, a knife flashes in the midday sun, leaving behind a scene of horror. But with so many having been betrayed, will the murderer be brought to justice?
Blackstone Publishing | 9798212179867

MEET ME TONIGHT IN ATLANTIC CITY: A Memoir by Jane Wong (Memoir)
In the late 1980s on the Jersey shore, Jane Wong watches her mother shake ants from an MSG bin behind the family’s Chinese restaurant. She is a hungry daughter frying crab rangoon for lunch, a child sneaking naps on bags of rice, a playful sister scheming to trap her brother in the freezer before he traps her first. She is part of a family staking their claim to the American dream, even as this dream crumbles. Beneath Atlantic City’s promise lies her father’s gambling addiction, which causes him to disappear for days and leads to the loss of the restaurant. In her debut memoir, Wong tells a new story about Atlantic City, about making do with what you have --- and what you don’t. What does it mean to be both tender and angry? What is strength without vulnerability --- and humor?
Tin House Books | 9781953534675

THE OLD LION: A Novel of Theodore Roosevelt by Jeff Shaara (Historical Fiction)
From the waning days of the rugged frontier of a young country to the emergence of a modern, industrial nation exerting its power on the world stage, Theodore Roosevelt embodied both the myth and reality of the country he loved and led. From his upbringing in the rarefied air of New York society of the late 19th century to his time in the rough-and-tumble world of the Badlands in the Dakotas, from his rise from political obscurity to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, from national hero as the leader of the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War to his accidental rise to the Presidency itself, Roosevelt embodied the complex, often contradictory, image of America itself. In THE OLD LION, Jeff Shaara tells the story of the man who both defined and created the modern United States.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250279941

ONLY THE DEAD by Jack Carr (Political Thriller)
In 1980, a freshman congressman was gunned down in Rhode Island, sending shockwaves through Washington that are still reverberating over four decades later. Now, with the world on the brink of war and a weakened United States facing rampant inflation, political division and shocking assassinations, a secret cabal of global elites is ready to assume control. And with the world’s most dangerous man locked in solitary confinement, the conspirators believe the final obstacle to complete domination has been eliminated. They’re wrong. With the odds stacked against him, James Reece is on a mission generations in the making. He is on the warpath. And when James Reece picks up his tomahawk and sniper rifle, no one is out of range.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781982181697

THE POSTCARD written by Anne Berest, translated by Tina Kover (Historical Fiction)
January 2003. Together with the usual holiday cards, an anonymous postcard is delivered to the Berest family home. On the front, a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. On the back, the names of Anne Berest’s maternal great-grandparents, Ephraïm and Emma, and their children, Noémie and Jacques --- all killed at Auschwitz. Fifteen years after the postcard is delivered, Anne, the heroine of this novel, is moved to discover who sent it and why. Aided by her chain-smoking mother, family members, friends, associates, a private detective, a graphologist and many others, she embarks on a journey to discover the fate of the Rabinovitch family: their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine and Paris.
Europa Editions | 9781609458386

THE TIME HAS COME by Will Leitch (Fiction/Humor)
Lindbergh’s Pharmacy is an Athens, Georgia, institution --- the type of beloved mom and pop shop that once dotted every American town but has mostly disappeared. But Lindbergh’s has recently become the object of attention of a local fourth grade teacher, Tina Lamm. Tina is certain that something very, very bad is happening behind its famous black door, and she intends to do something about it. Her suspicions --- and the drastic actions she plans --- are the unlikely glue that will connect her to a group of six employees and customers inside the pharmacy one hot Georgia evening. The fates of these individuals --- and their fateful encounter with Tina Lamm --- become intertwined in a story that is by turns funny, touching and tense.
Harper | 9780063238510

THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT by Christina Lauren (Romantic Comedy)
Ironically, beloved romance novelist Felicity “Fizzy” Chen has never really been in love. Connor Prince, a documentary filmmaker and a single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass --- unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on “The True Love Experiment” begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.
Gallery Books | 9781982173432

THE WORLD: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore (History)
Around 950,000 years ago, a family of five walked along the beach and left behind the oldest family footprints ever discovered. For award-winning historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, these poignant, familiar fossils serve as an inspiration for a new kind of world history --- one that is genuinely global, spans all eras and all continents, and focuses on the family ties that connect every one of us. In THE WORLD, Montefiore chronicles the world’s great dynasties across human history through palace intrigues, love affairs and family lives, linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion and technology to the people at the heart of the human drama.
Knopf | 9780525659532

YELLOWFACE by R. F. Kuang (Fiction)
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But while Athena is a literary darling, June is literally nobody. When June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I. So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song --- complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her.
William Morrow | 9780063250833

On Sale the Week of May 15th in Paperback

May 16th

BETWEEN TWO STRANGERS by Kate White (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
Struggling artist Skyler Moore is flabbergasted when she receives a suspicious phone call from a lawyer she’s never met regarding a “private matter.” It turns out she’s the recipient of a large inheritance, a life-changing sum that will allow her to realize her long-held dream of becoming a mother. But who was her benefactor, Christopher Whaley? The late man’s name means nothing to Skyler, and she has no idea why he would leave her such an enormous bequest. Looking into his background, Skyler finally realizes they met once at a hotel bar and shared a one-night stand. But they never exchanged numbers, or even last names, and that was over a decade ago. She wonders if the inheritance is meant to be a message of some kind, but she can’t imagine what it might be.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780063247369

THE CHERRY ROBBERS by Sarai Walker (Gothic Fiction)
Iris Chapel and her five elegant sisters, all of them heiresses to the Chapel firearms fortune, live cloistered in a lavish Victorian mansion. Neglected by both a distant, workaholic father and a mentally troubled mother --- who believes their home is haunted by the victims of Chapel weapons --- the sisters have grown up with only each other for company. They long to escape the eerie fairy tale of their childhood and move forward into the modern world, but for young women in 1950s Connecticut, the only way out is through marriage. Yet it soon becomes clear that for the Chapel sisters, marriage equals death. When the eldest sister walks down the aisle, tragedy strikes. This is just the beginning of a chain of disasters that will make each woman wonder if true love will kill her, too.
Harper Perennial | 9780063271586

THE EVENING HERO by Marie Myung-Ok Lee (Fiction)
Dr. Yungman Kwak is in the twilight of his life. Every day for the last 50 years, he has headed to Horse Breath’s General Hospital, where he treats the women and babies of the small rural Minnesota town he chose to call home. He immigrated from Korea after the Korean War, forced to leave his family, ancestors, village and all that he knew behind. But his life is built on a lie. And one day, a letter arrives that threatens to expose it. His life is thrown into chaos --- the hospital abruptly closes, his wife refuses to spend time with him, and his son is busy investing in a struggling health start-up. Yungman faces a choice --- he must choose to hide his secret from his family and friends, or confess and potentially lose all he’s built.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476735085

JAMES PATTERSON BY JAMES PATTERSON: The Stories of My Life by James Patterson (Memoir)
How did a kid whose dad lived in the poorhouse become the most successful storyteller in the world? James Patterson's best stories are the stories of his life. On the morning he was born, he nearly died. He worked at a mental hospital in Massachusetts, where he met the singer James Taylor and the poet Robert Lowell. While he toiled in advertising hell, he wrote the ad jingle line “I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us Kid.” He once watched James Baldwin and Norman Mailer square off to trade punches at a party. He’s only been in love twice. Both times are amazing. Dolly Parton sang “Happy Birthday” to him over the phone. He has always wanted to write the kind of novel that would be read and reread so many times that the binding breaks and the book literally falls apart. As he says, “I’m still working on that one.”
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538709702

LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI: An Epic American Adventure by Rinker Buck (Memoir/History)
Rinker Buck returns to chronicle his latest incredible adventure: building a wooden flatboat from the bygone era of the early 1800s and journeying down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. A modern-day Huck Finn, Buck casts off down the river on the flatboat Patience accompanied by an eccentric crew of daring shipmates. Over the course of his voyage, he steers his fragile wooden craft through narrow channels dominated by massive cargo barges, rescues his first mate gone overboard, sails blindly through fog, breaks his ribs not once but twice, and camps every night on sandbars, remote islands and steep levees. As he charts his own journey, he also delivers a richly satisfying work of history that brings to life a lost era.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781501106385

THE LIFESTYLE by Taylor Hahn (Fiction/Humor)
Georgina Wagman has it all --- a great marriage, a great job at a prestigious law firm, and great friends. Until, that is, she walks in on her husband Nathan in a compromising position with a junior associate. Divorce is not a part of the five-year plan, so she comes up with an idea to save her marriage and recapture the spark. She and Nathan are going to become swingers. Georgina won't embark on this adventure alone, though. Her friends, Felix and Norah, and their respective partners decide to tag along for the ride. Her plan is foolproof, until she runs into a college ex at her first swingers’ party. When they reconnect, Georgina will find herself torn between her head and her heart, with her very happiness hanging in the balance.
Vintage | 9780593315118

THE LOST SUMMERS OF NEWPORT by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (Historical Mystery)
From the New York Times bestselling team of Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White comes a novel of money and secrets set among the famous summer mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, spanning over a century from the Gilded Age to the present day.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063040755

MOTHERS’ INSTINCT written by Barbara Abel, translated by Susan Pickford (Domestic Thriller)
Paperback Original
David and Laetitia Brunelle, and Sylvain and Tiphaine Geniot, are inseparable friends and next-door neighbors in a pretty, tranquil suburb. Their sons Milo and Maxime, born in the same year, grow up together as close as brothers. But when Maxime is killed in an accident, their idyllic world shatters. Maxime's parents, Sylvain and Tiphaine, are consumed by grief and bitterness, while David and Laetitia are wracked with guilt for their role in the tragedy. Soon the couples are barely speaking, although they maintain a polite façade. Then a mysterious series of “accidents” begins to happen to Milo, raising Laetitia’s suspicions. Are their former best friends trying to punish them by threatening their son?
HarperVia | 9780063306318

OVERBOARD: A V.I. Warshawski Novel by Sara Paretsky (Mystery)
On her way home from an all-night surveillance job, V.I. Warshawski is led by her dogs on a mad chase that ends when they discover a badly injured teen hiding in the rocks along Lake Michigan. The girl only regains consciousness long enough to utter one enigmatic word. V.I. helps bring her to a hospital, but not long after, she vanishes before anyone can discover her identity. As V.I. attempts to find her, the detective uncovers an ugly consortium of Chicago powerbrokers and mobsters who are prepared to kill the girl. And now V.I.’s own life is in jeopardy as well.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063010895

PAYBACK: An Anonymous Justice Novel by Nancy Allen (Legal Thriller)
Paperback Original
Someone murdered Kate Stone’s father. Then they came for her. And now that Kate has left her job as an assistant district attorney, she’s finally free to hunt down the perpetrator. Kate suspects that Wall Street financier Ian Templeton is behind the vicious and violent attacks against her and the people she cares about. The D.A. warns Kate that Templeton is untouchable, but she remains convinced that the best way to bring him down is to expose his latest fraudulent scheme --- a new cryptocurrency scam. But while she is tracking Templeton, someone is also tracking her. Kate believes that her pursuers were hired by Templeton to stop her. However, they may be working for someone with a larger agenda instead.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538719190

QUIETLY HOSTILE: Essays by Samantha Irby (Humor/Essays)
Paperback Original
Samantha Irby’s career has taken her to new heights. She dodges calls from Hollywood and flop sweats on the red carpet at premieres (well, one premiere). But nothing is ever as it seems online, where she can crop out all the ugly parts. Irby got a lot of weird emails about Carrie Bradshaw, and not only is there diarrhea to avoid, but now --- anaphylactic shock. She is turned away from restaurants for being inappropriately dressed and looks for the best ways to cope, i.e., reveling in the offerings of QVC and adopting a deranged pandemic dog. QUIETLY HOSTILE makes light as Irby takes us on another outrageously funny tour of all the gory details that make up the true portrait of a life behind the screenshotted depression memes.
Vintage | 9780593315699

ROCK OF AGES: A Junior Bender Mystery by Timothy Hallinan (Mystery)
Four of Irwin Dressler's old gangster colleagues have put together a national tour of once-popular rock bands they own a piece of: three nights of concerts by guys (and a few gals) who were big shots back in the 1960s and 1970s, and who are now hoping for one more gasp of glory with this nostalgia exhibition. But it turns out that someone --- one of Dressler’s own colleagues --- is using the tour as a front to steal Dressler's money. Now the tour has pulled into LA, and Junior Bender has one weekend to figure out who's to blame --- a weekend that begins with his tires being slashed, threatening notes left on his car, and a theatrical backdrop falling on a drummer during the truly terrible first set of the first concert.
Soho Crime | 9781641294591

SEEKING FORTUNE ELSEWHERE: Stories by Sindya Bhanoo (Fiction/Short Stories)
Traveling from Pittsburgh to Eastern Washington to Tamil Nadu, these haunting stories about dislocation and dissonance see immigrants and their families confront the costs of leaving and staying, identifying sublime symmetries in lives growing apart. In “Malliga Homes,” a widow in a retirement community glimpses her future while waiting for her daughter to visit from America. In "No. 16 Model House Road," a woman long subordinate to her husband makes a choice of her own after she inherits a house. In "Nature Exchange," a mother grieving in the wake of a school shooting finds an unusual obsession. In "A Life in America," a professor finds himself accused of having exploited his graduate students.
Catapult ‎| 9781646221738

SHMUTZ by Felicia Berliner (Fiction)
Like the other women in her Brooklyn Hasidic community, Raizl expects to find a husband through an arranged marriage. Unlike the other women, Raizl has a secret. With a hidden computer to help her complete her college degree, she falls down the slippery slope of online pornography. As Raizl dives deeper into the world of porn at night, her daytime life begins to unravel. Between combative visits with her shrink to complicated arranged dates, Raizl must balance her growing understanding of her sexuality with the more conventional expectations of the family she loves.
Washington Square Press | 9781982177638

SWING AND A HIT: Nine Innings of What Baseball Taught Me by Paul O'Neill and Jack Curry (Sports/Memoir)
In SWING AND A HIT, All-Star Yankee and five-time World Series champion Paul O’Neill elaborates on his most important hitting principles, lessons and memories --- exploring those elements across 10 chapters (to align with the nine innings of a baseball game and one extra inning). Here, O’Neill describes what he did as a hitter, how he adjusted to pitchers, how he boosted his confidence, how he battled with umpires (and water coolers), and what advice he would give to current hitters. O’Neill has always been a tough out at the plate. Recalling how he started to swing a bat as a two-year-old and kept swinging it professionally until he was 38, O’Neill provides constant insights into the beauty and frustration of playing baseball.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538709627

THERE ARE NO RULES FOR THIS by JJ Elliott (Fiction)
Paperback Original
People like Feeney Simms don’t commit suicide. Beautiful, charismatic, mother of two, wife to a handsome, successful husband, beloved by her friends --- this is not the typical picture of a tortured soul. But one summer night, Feeney drives to the beach and swallows a handful of pills. No note, no explanation, nothing. Just like that, she’s gone. Faced with this loss, Ali, Max and Liddy, Feeney’s closest friends, are left reeling, grappling with the devastating cocktail of grief, guilt and anger that’s left in the wake of a suicide. In a desperate attempt to avoid further loss, the three women make the unorthodox (and very Feeney-like) decision to hold their own funerals while they are still alive --- and the experience changes each of them in ways they couldn’t have imagined.
She Writes Press | 9781647424855

THEY CAN’T TAKE YOUR NAME by Robert Justice (Thriller)
Langston Brown is running out of time and options for clearing his name and escaping death row. Wrongfully convicted of the gruesome Mother's Day Massacre, he prepares to face his death. His final hope for salvation lies with his daughter, Liza, an artist who dreamed of a life of music and song but left the prestigious Juilliard School to pursue a law degree with the intention of clearing her father's name. Just as she nears success, it's announced that Langston will be put to death in 30 days. In a desperate bid to find freedom for her father, Liza enlists the help of Eli Stone, a jazz club owner. Devastated by the tragic loss of his wife, Eli is trying to find solace by reviving his club…while also wrestling with the longing to join her in death.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781639103447

THIS TIME TOMORROW by Emma Straub (Fiction)
On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status and her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning, she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush --- it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?
Riverhead Books | 9780525539018

TIGER & PHIL: Golf's Most Fascinating Rivalry by Bob Harig (Sports)
For more than two decades, there have been two golfers who have captivated, bemused, inspired, frustrated, fascinated and entertained us, and in doing so have demanded our attention --- Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Even with all the ink that has been spilled on Tiger, no one has ever written about his relationship with Phil and how their careers have been inextricably intertwined. Furthermore, very little has been written about Phil Mickelson, who is more than just an adversary. He is a fascinating Hall of Fame golfer in his own right. These two biggest names (and draws) in golf have, for better and for worse, been the ultimate rivals. But it is so much more complicated than that.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250830210

TREASURE STATE: A Cassie Dewell Novel by C. J. Box (Mystery/Thriller)
Private Investigator Cassie Dewell’s business is thriving, and her latest case puts her on the hunt for a slippery con man who has disappeared somewhere in the “treasure state.” A wealthy Florida widow has accused him of absconding with her fortune, and she wants Cassie to find him and get it back. As the case develops, Cassie begins to wonder if her client is telling her everything. Meanwhile, a poem that promises buried treasure to one lucky adventurer has led to a cutthroat competition and five deaths among treasure-hunters. But Cassie’s client doesn’t want the treasure. Instead, he claims to be the one who hid the gold and wrote the poem. And he’s hired Cassie to try to find him. Between the two cases, Cassie has her hands full.
Minotaur Books | 9781250889553

On Sale the Week of May 22nd in Hardcover

May 23rd

THE ADULT by Bronwyn Fischer (Fiction)
Eighteen-year-old Natalie has just arrived at her first year of university in Toronto. Everyone she encounters seems to know exactly who they are. She reads advice listicles, watches videos online and thinks about how to fit in, how to really become someone, whoever that might be. And then she meets Nora, an older woman who takes an unexpected interest in her. She begins spending more and more of her time at Nora’s perfect, tidy home in her beautiful, quiet world. Natalie lies to her floormates about her absence, inventing a fake off-campus boyfriend, and carefully protects this sacred, adult relationship. This only deepens her obsession, even as she comes to suspect that Nora is hiding something.
Algonquin Books | 9781643752723

BAD SUMMER PEOPLE by Emma Rosenblum (Fiction/Satire)
None of them would claim to be a particularly good person. But who among them is actually capable of murder? Jen Weinstein and Lauren Parker rule the town of Salcombe, Fire Island, every summer. They hold sway on the beach and the tennis court, and are adept at manipulating people to get what they want. Their husbands, Sam and Jason, have summered together on the island since childhood, despite lifelong grudges and numerous secrets. Their one single friend, Rachel Woolf, is looking to meet her match, whether he’s the tennis pro --- or someone else’s husband. But even with plenty to gossip about, this season starts out as quietly as any other. Until a body is discovered, face down, off the side of the boardwalk.
Flatiron Books | 9781250887009

THE BOOK OF CHARLIE: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man by David Von Drehle (Self-Help/Personal Growth)
Born before radio, Charlie White lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, he mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie’s sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey across the continent, and later found him swinging across bandstands of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru’s president. David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie’s resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie’s secrets.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476773926

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: A Hayley Chill Thriller by Chris Hauty (Political Thriller)
When a justice of the Supreme Court is killed by the police officer assigned to protect him, the country is shocked. Hayley Chill’s superiors suspect the assassination is part of a major conspiracy. In Maui, where one member of the Supreme Court owns a vacation home, a busload of children is taken hostage with the justice’s death as ransom. Together with a deputy US marshal, Hayley embarks on the monumental task of rescuing the children while also protecting the justice. But with danger around every corner and no one to trust, has Hayley finally bitten off more than she can chew?
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781982175887

HALCYON by Elliot Ackerman (Fiction)
Virginia, 2004. Gore is entering his second term as president. Our narrator, Martin Neumann, recently divorced, is living at Halcyon, the estate of renowned lawyer and World War II hero Robert Ableson. When news breaks that scientists funded by the Gore administration have discovered a cure for death, it calls into question everything Martin thought he understood about life, not least his work as a historian. Who is Ableson, really, and why did he draw Martin into his orbit? Is this new science a miraculous good or an insidious evil?
Knopf | 9780593321621

I DIDN'T DO IT by Jaime Lynn Hendricks (Mystery/Thriller)
Murderpalooza, the premier thriller writers conference, is meant to be an exciting celebration of the genre and its preeminent writers. But when bestselling author and industry favorite Kristin Bailey is found dead in her hotel room, four rival authors --- a midlister, an egomaniac, a has-been and a newbie --- also get targeted by an anonymous social media account and wonder if they’re next. First, they find themselves bonding to try to find out who’s behind it. As the account taunts them, it slowly reveals secrets that each of them have connected to Kristin --- secrets that make them a suspect in each other’s eyes. Soon, they are turning on each other and silently accusing each as a killer. Time is running out until the awards ceremony, where the social media account has promised a big reveal.
Scarlet | 9781613164112

IDENTITY by Nora Roberts (Romantic Suspense)
Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate, Nina, helps her make the mortgage payments, as does her job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party --- attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy --- her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor. A horrific truth soon emerges: "Luke" is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder. It turns out that Nina wasn't his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan's nightmare is just beginning.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250284112

THE LATE AMERICANS by Brandon Taylor (Fiction)
In the shared and private spaces of Iowa City, a loose circle of lovers and friends encounter, confront and provoke one another in a volatile year of self-discovery. Among them are Seamus, a frustrated young poet; Ivan, a dancer turned aspiring banker who dabbles in amateur pornography; Fatima, whose independence and work ethic complicate her relationships with friends and a trusted mentor; and Noah, who “didn’t seek sex out so much as it came up to him like an anxious dog in need of affection.” As each prepares for an uncertain future, the group heads to a cabin to bid goodbye to their former lives --- a moment of reckoning that leaves each of them irrevocably altered.
Riverhead Books | 9780593332337

THE LOCK-UP by John Banville (Historical Mystery)
In 1950s Dublin, young history scholar Rosa Jacobs is found dead in her car. Renowned pathologist Dr. Quirke and DI St. John Strafford begin to investigate the death as a murder, but it’s the victim’s older sister Molly, an established journalist, who discovers a lead that could crack open the case. One of Rosa’s friends, it turns out, is from a powerful German family that arrived in Ireland under mysterious circumstances shortly after World War II. But as Quirke and Strafford close in, their personal lives may put the case --- and everyone involved --- in peril, including Quirke’s own daughter.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335449634

THE POISONER'S RING: A Rip Through Time Novel by Kelley Armstrong (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she’s not housemaid Catriona Mitchell --- even though Mallory is in Catriona’s body --- and Mallory is now officially an undertaker’s assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows, the latest of whom is Gray’s oldest sister. Poison is said to be a woman’s weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it’s as simple as that. But she must tread carefully. Every move the household makes is being watched, and who knows where the investigation will lead.
Minotaur Books | 9781250820037

ROGUE JUSTICE by Stacey Abrams (Legal Thriller)
Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, a fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes that his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Another shocking murder leads Avery to a list of names --- all federal judges --- and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America’s "secret court." It is this body that grants permission to the government to wiretap Americans or spy on corporations suspected of terrorism. As Avery digs deeper, she begins to see a frightening pattern --- and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding inside the nation’s third branch of government.
Doubleday | 9780385548328

THE SENATOR'S WIFE by Liv Constantine (Psychological Thriller)
After a tragic chain of events led to the deaths of their spouses two years ago, D.C. philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are finally starting to move on --- with each other. They decide that hiring a home health aide will give Sloane the support and independence she needs after her upcoming hip replacement surgery. And they find the perfect fit in Athena Karras. Athena tends to Sloane and even helps her run her charitable foundation. But Sloane slowly begins to deteriorate, and her uncertainty quickly turns to paranoia as she begins to suspect the worst. Why is Athena asking her so many probing questions about her foundation --- as well as about her past? And could Sloane be imagining the sultry looks between Athena and her new husband?
Bantam | 9780593599891

SING HER DOWN by Ivy Pochoda (Thriller)
Florence "Florida" Baum is not the hapless innocent she claims to be when she arrives at the Arizona women's prison --- or so her ex-cellmate, Diosmary Sandoval, keeps insinuating. Dios knows the truth about Florida's crimes, understands the truth that Florence hides even from herself: that she wasn't a victim of circumstance, an unlucky bystander misled by a bad man. Dios knows that darkness lives in women too, despite the world's refusal to see it. And she is determined to open Florida's eyes and unleash her true self. When an unexpected reprieve gives both women their freedom, Dios' fixation on Florida turns into a dangerous obsession, and a deadly cat-and-mouse chase ensues from Arizona to the desolate streets of Los Angeles.
MCD | 9780374608484

SUMMER STAGE by Meg Mitchell Moore (Fiction)
Amy Trevino, a former aspiring playwright, takes on the production manager role for her brother’s play in an effort to mend rifting family relationships. Sam, Amy’s daughter, was a child star who continued her pursuit for fame in a Manhattan TikTok house. Her sudden arrival back home is shrouded in secrets, and Sam refuses to open up to Amy. Timothy, Amy's brother and a successful and well-loved actor, is directing a summer production at a storied Block Island theater --- and his famous ex-wife has the lead role. As they work together to ensure the production is a success, Amy, Sam and Timothy are forced to grapple with their desires for recognition and fortune, stand up for what they believe art and fame actually mean, and discover what they really want out of life.
William Morrow | 9780063026162

THE TAO OF SELF-CONFIDENCE: A Guide to Moving Beyond Trauma and Awakening the Leader Within by Sheena Yap Chan (Self-Help/Leadership)
In 2021, women represented 54.3% of the US workforce but only held 35% of senior leadership positions. Of that percentage, only 2.7% of Asian women were seen in management roles. While there have been great leaps for women in the workplace in the last decade, women of color still fall behind. THE TAO OF SELF-CONFIDENCE sets a foundation to help Asian women start being seen as leaders in work and life rather than by our stereotypes. In this book, you'll read about getting to the root causes of what's holding you back and stepping into your greatness; cultural and historical issues that affect our leadership potential; and finding and gaining more confidence as your authentic self.
Wiley | 9781394166572

TOM CLANCY FLASH POINT: A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel by Don Bentley (Thriller/Adventure)
When a benign surveillance operation takes a deadly turn, Jack Ryan Jr. finds himself locked in a struggle with an unseen enemy bent on destroying the Campus. The chase leads Jack to the South China Sea where a midair collision between aircraft from rival nations threatens to serve as a flash point for the entire region. As Jack frantically tries to put the pieces of the conspiracy together, the Campus is hit with a crippling attack. When the dust settles, Jack is one of the few operators still standing and the Campus’s de facto leader. But the fight is just beginning. As tensions escalate, Jack’s mysterious adversary executes a brilliant campaign to paralyze the American government even as China inches closer to invading Taiwan.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593422786

WHY FATHERS CRY AT NIGHT: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances by Kwame Alexander (Memoir)
Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He takes us through stories of his parents: from being awkward newlyweds in the sticky Chicago summer of 1967, to the sometimes-confusing ways they showed their love to each other, and for him. He explores his own relationships --- his difficulties as a newly wedded, 22-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. Alexander attempts to deal with the unravelling of his marriage and the grief of his mother's recent passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken dish. With an open heart, Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try to understand his greatest love: his daughters.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316417228

THE WILL OF THE MANY by James Islington (Historical Fantasy)
The Catenan Republic --- the Hierarchy --- may rule the world now, but they do not know everything. I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus --- what they call Will --- to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do. I tell them that I belong, and they believe me. But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
Gallery/Saga Press | 9781982141172

WOMEN WE BURIED, WOMEN WE BURNED: A Memoir by Rachel Louise Snyder (Memoir)
Rachel Louise Snyder was eight years old when her mother died, and her distraught father thrust the family into an evangelical, cult-like existence. Furiously rebellious, she was expelled from school and home at age 16. Living out of her car and relying on strangers, Rachel found herself masquerading as an adult, talking her way into college, and eventually travelling the globe. In places like India, Tibet and Niger, she interviewed those who had been through the unimaginable. In Cambodia, where she lived for six years, she watched a country reckon with the horrors of its own recent history. When she returned to the States with a family of her own, it was with a new perspective on old family wounds, and a chance for healing from the most unexpected place.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781635579123

On Sale the Week of May 22nd in Paperback

May 23rd

BLACK DOG: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller/Adventure)
After returning home from a treacherous adventure, Stone Barrington is all too happy to settle back down in his New York City abode. But when he's introduced to a glamorous socialite with a staggering inheritance, Stone realizes his days are about to be anything but quiet. As it turns out, his intriguing new companion has some surprisingly familiar ties and other far more sinister ones --- including a nefarious enemy who gets too close for comfort. When it becomes clear that this miscreant will stop at nothing to get what he wants and will endanger all whom Stone holds dear, Stone must step in to protect his friends and prevent a dangerous madman from wreaking havoc across the city.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593540022

THE CHALLENGE by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Fishtail, Montana, is home to Anne and Pitt Pollock, who own the successful Pollock ranch. The sprawling foothills of the Beartooth Mountains surround the town, overlooking the Pollocks’ property and the nearby ranch belonging to Bill and Pattie Brown. The two couples have known each other since childhood. Their sons, Peter Pollock and Matt Brown, are also the best of friends. When they and two other local kids meet new girl Juliet Marshall, the five of them are soon inseparable. But one afternoon, their latest adventure takes a dangerous turn when they find themselves trapped on Granite Peak. In the aftermath of this fateful event, devastating secrets are revealed, new love appears on the horizon, and families are forced to reconsider what they once held dear.
Dell | 9781984821638

THE CITY INSIDE by Samit Basu (Science Fiction/Adventure)
Joey is a Reality Controller in near-future Delhi. Her job is to supervise the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of South Asia’s fastest rising online celebrities --- who also happens to be her college ex. Rudra is a recluse estranged from his wealthy and powerful family. When his father’s death pulls him back into his family’s orbit, an impulsive job offer from Joey becomes his only escape from the life he never wanted. But as Joey and Rudra become enmeshed in multiple conspiracies, their lives start to spin out of control. When a bigger picture begins to unfold, they each must decide how to do the right thing in a world where simply maintaining the status quo feels like an accomplishment.
Tordotcom | 9781250827500

CITY OF ORANGE by David Yoon (Fiction)
A man wakes up in an unknown landscape, injured and alone. He used to live in a place called California, but how did he wind up here with a head wound and a bottle of pills in his pocket? He navigates his surroundings, one rough shape at a time. Here lies a pipe, there a reed that could be carved into a weapon, beyond a city he once lived in. He could swear his daughter’s name began with a J, but what was it, exactly? Then he encounters an old man, a crow and a boy --- and realizes that nothing is what he thought it was, neither the present nor the past. He can’t even recall the features of his own face, and wonders: Who am I?
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593422182

DECEMBER '41: A World War II Thriller by William Martin (Historical Thriller)
On the day after Pearl Harbor, shocked Americans gather around their radios to hear Franklin Roosevelt declare war. In Los Angeles, a German agent named Martin Browning is planning to kill FDR on the night he lights the National Christmas Tree. Who will stop him? Relentless FBI Agent Frank Carter? Kevin Cusack, a Hollywood script reader who also spies on the German Bund of Los Angeles and becomes a suspect himself? Or Vivian Hopewell, the aspiring actress who signs on to play Martin Browning's wife and cannot help but fall in love with him? The clock is ticking. The tracks are laid. The train of narrow escapes, mistaken identities and shocking deaths is right on schedule.
Forge Books | 9781250839756

EMMA OF 83rd STREET by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Emma Woodhouse has lived 23 years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage --- and subsequent move downtown. Now, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor, George Knightley, would get out of her way. The only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. But despite his gripes, Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.
Gallery Books | 9781668008393

EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD by James Lee Burke (Thriller)
Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter, Fannie Mae, dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight. Aaron’s only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past.
Simon & Schuster | 9781982196608

EXIT STRATEGY by Linda L. Richards (Thriller)
Her assignments were always to kill someone. That’s what a hitman --- or hitwoman --- is paid to do, and that is what she does. Then comes a surprise assignment --- keep someone alive. She is hired to protect Virginia Martin, the stunning and brilliant chief technology officer of a hot startup with an environmentally important innovation that will change the world. She’s confused about the “why” of her new commission, but she addresses it with her usual skill and stealth, determined to keep the young CTO alive against the ever-increasing odds. The spirit of an assassin --- and her nameless dog --- permeates this struggle to help a young woman as powerful forces mount against her.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608095612

FOX CREEK by William Kent Krueger (Mystery)
The ancient Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters fill the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had come to the healer for shelter and the gift of his wisdom. Meloux guides this stranger and his great niece, Cork O’Connor’s wife, to safety deep into the Boundary Waters, his home for more than a century. On the last journey he may ever take into this beloved land, Meloux must do his best to outwit the deadly mercenaries who follow. Meanwhile, in Aurora, Cork works feverishly to identify the hunters and the reason for their relentless pursuit, but he has little to go on.
Atria Books | 9781982128722

HAVEN by Emma Donoghue (Historical Fiction/Adventure)
In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks --- young Trian and old Cormac --- he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds and claim it for God. In such a place, what will survival mean?
Back Bay Books | 9780316414135

THE HIDDEN ONE by Linda Castillo (Mystery/Thriller)
Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister. The town’s elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help. It turns out that the handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was Kate’s first love. Forced to confront a painful episode from her past, Kate travels to Pennsylvania’s Kishacoquillas Valley, where the Amish culture differs dramatically from the traditions she knows. Though Bishop Stoltzfus was highly respected, she soon hears about a dark side to this complex man. What was he hiding that resulted in his own brutal death?
Minotaur Books | 9781250889560

THE HOMEWRECKERS by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Hattie Kavanaugh went to work restoring homes for Kavanaugh & Son Restorations at 18, married the boss’s son at 20, and became a widow at 25. When Hattie falls head-over-heels for a money pit of a house, she’s determined to make it work. But disaster after disaster occurs, and her dream might cost Kavanaugh & Son their livelihood. When a slick Hollywood producer shows up in her hometown of Savannah, she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: star in a beach house renovation reality show, cast against a male lead who may be a love interest or the ultimate antagonist. But during the demolition, evidence comes to light that points to the mysterious disappearance of a young wife and mother years before.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250822345

THE LAST SONGBIRD: A Pacific Coast Highway Mystery by Daniel Weizmann (Neo-Noir Mystery)
Paperback Original
A struggling songwriter and Lyft driver, Adam Zantz’s life changes when he accepts a ride request in Malibu and 1970s music icon Annie Linden enters his vehicle. Bonding during that initial ride, the two quickly go off app. Over the next three years, Adam becomes her exclusive driver, and Annie listens to his music. Then Annie disappears, and her body washes up under a pier. Left with a final cryptic text --- “come to my arms” --- a grieving Adam plays amateur detective, only to be charged as accomplice-after-the-fact. Desperate to clear his name and discover who killed the one person who believed in his music when no one else in his life did, Adam digs deep into Annie’s past and comes to question how well he (or anyone else) knew her --- if at all.
Melville House | 9781685890308

LIVID: A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell (Mystery/Thriller)
Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news. The judge’s sister has been found dead. At first glance, it appears to be a home invasion. But then why was nothing stolen, and why is the garden strewn with dead plants and insects? Although there is no apparent cause of death, Scarpetta recognizes telltale signs of the unthinkable, and she knows the worst is yet to come. The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past, and her time to catch the killer is running out.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538725184

MOTHER NOISE: A Memoir by Cindy House (Memoir)
MOTHER NOISE opens with Cindy House, 20 years into recovery after a heroin addiction, grappling with how to tell her nine-year-old son about her past. She wants him to learn this history from her, not anyone else, but she worries about the effect this truth may have on him. Told in essays and graphic narrative shorts, this is a stunning memoir that delves deep into our responsibilities as parents while celebrating the moments of grace and generosity that mark a true friendship --- in this case, her benefactor and champion through the years, David Sedaris.
S&S/Marysue Rucci Books | 9781982168773

ON FIRE ISLAND by Jane L. Rosen (Fiction)
Paperback Original
As a book editor, Julia Morse lived and breathed stories. Whether with her pen to a manuscript or curled up with a book while at her beloved Fire Island cottage, her imagination alight with a good tale, she could anticipate practically any ending. The ending she’d never imagined was her own. To be fair, no one expects to die at 37. So when the unthinkable happens to Julia, rather than following the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, she chooses to spend one last summer near those she loves most. As she follows her adoring, novelist husband Ben to their --- unexpectedly full --- home on Fire Island, she discovers the ripple effect her life has had on the trajectory of so many.
Berkley | 9780593546109

OUTSIDE by Ragnar Jónasson (Mystery/Thriller)
When a deadly snowstorm strikes the Icelandic highlands, four friends seek shelter in a small, abandoned hunting lodge. It is in the middle of nowhere, and there's no way of communicating with the outside world. As the night darkens and fears intensify, an old tragedy gradually surfaces --- one that forever changed the course of their friendship. Those dark memories could hold the key to the mystery the friends now find themselves in. And whether they will survive until morning.
Minotaur Books | 9781250833471

REWRITING ILLNESS: A View of My Own by Elizabeth Benedict (Memoir)
Paperback Original
By turns somber and funny, but above all provocative, Elizabeth Benedict’s REWRITING ILLNESS is a most unconventional memoir. With wisdom, self-effacing wit and the storytelling skills of a seasoned novelist, she brings to life her cancer diagnosis and committed hypochondria. As she discovers multiplying lumps in her armpit, she describes her initial terror, interspersed with moments of self-mocking levity as she indulges in “natural remedies” --- among them, chanting Tibetan mantras, drinking shots of wheat grass, and finding medicinal properties in chocolate babka. She tracks the progression of her illness from muddled diagnosis to debilitating treatment as she gathers sustenance from her family and an assortment of urbane, ironic friends, including her fearless “cancer guru.”
Mandel Vilar Press | 9781942134916

RIVER OF THE GODS: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard (History)
For millennia, the location of the Nile River’s headwaters was shrouded in mystery. In the 19th century, there was a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe --- and extend their colonial empires. Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton spoke 29 languages and was a decorated soldier. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark. From the start the two men clashed. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness and constant setbacks.
Anchor | 9780525435648

ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE BOURNE SACRIFICE by Brian Freeman (Thriller/Adventure)
Jason Bourne has faced many killers before, but none as dangerous or as cruelly inventive as the assassin who calls himself Lennon. Bourne thought he had Lennon cornered in Iceland, only to have the killer escape in a fiery explosion. Now Lennon’s trail leads Bourne to New York and then to Washington --- and the body count rises with each deadly encounter. But who is Lennon working for? Bourne believes the assassin has a shadowy new employer called the Pyramid. The only clue to the group’s agenda is a young German woman murdered in Washington on her way to a covert meeting. But the woman’s entire identity turns out to be a lie, and news reports of her death have been strangely twisted and suppressed.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593419878

SLEEPWALK by Dan Chaon (Literary Thriller)
At 50 years old, Will Bear has been living off the grid for over half his life. A good-natured henchman with a complicated and lonely past and a passion for LSD microdosing, he spends his time hopscotching across state lines in his beloved camper van, running sometimes shady, often dangerous errands for a powerful and ruthless operation. Out of the blue, one of Will's many burner phones heralds a call from a 20-year-old woman claiming to be his biological daughter. She’s entrenched in a widespread and nefarious plot involving Will’s employers, and for Will to continue to have any contact with her increasingly fuzzes the line between the people he's working for and the people he’s running from.
Holt Paperbacks | 9781250871138

SO HELP ME GOLF: Why We Love the Game by Rick Reilly (Sports)
This is the book Rick Reilly has been writing in the back of his head since he fell in love with the game of golf at 11 years old. He unpacks and explores all of the wonderful, maddening, heart-melting, heartbreaking, cool and captivating things about golf that make the game so utterly addictive. We meet the PGA Tour player who robbed banks by night to pay his motel bills, the golf club maker who takes weekly psychedelic trips, and the caddy who kept his loop even after an 11-year prison stint. We learn how a man on his third heart nearly won the U.S. Open, how a Vietnam POW saved his life playing 18 holes a day in his tiny cell, and about the course that's absolutely free.
Hachette Go | 9780306924927

SUGAR AND SALT by Susan Wiggs (Fiction)
Jerome “Sugar” Barnes learned the art of baking in his grandma’s bakery, also called Sugar, on historic Perdita Street in San Francisco. He supplies baked goods to the Lost and Found Bookshop across the street. When the restaurant that shares his commercial kitchen loses its longtime tenant, a newcomer moves in: Margot Salton, a barbecue master from Texas. Margot isn’t exactly on the run, but she needs a fresh start. She’s taken care of herself her whole life, and her dream has been to open a restaurant somewhere far, far from Texas. Margot instantly takes to Jerome’s grandmother, the lively, opinionated Ida. The older woman proves to be a good mentor, and Margot is drawn to Jerome. But just as she starts to relax into a happy new future, Margot’s past in Texas comes back to haunt her.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062914231

THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK by Jennifer Hillier (Psychological Thriller)
When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom --- covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her --- she knows she'll be charged with murder. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it's only a matter of time before someone from her long-hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she's worked so hard to build. Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early ’90s. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she's unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris' secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped.
Minotaur Books | 9781250889683

WITH A MIND TO KILL: A James Bond Novel by Anthony Horowitz (Thriller/Adventure)
Behind the Iron Curtain, a group of former Smersh agents want to use James Bond in an operation that will change the balance of world power. Bond is smuggled into the lion's den. But whose orders is he following, and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives? In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death, Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself. But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780063078420

WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME by Gillian McAllister (Psychological Thriller)
Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your 17-year-old son. He’s late. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed. You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in custody. His future shattered. That night you fall asleep in despair. All is lost. Until you wake...and it is yesterday. And then you wake again...and it is the day before yesterday. Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. With another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lies an answer. The trigger for this crime --- and you don’t have a choice but to find it.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063252356

Don't forget to forward this newsletter to a friend or to visit the websites in TheBookReportNetwork.com: Bookreporter.com, ReadingGroupGuides.com and AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

Was this email forwarded to you? Then subscribe here.

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