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Does Anyone Know What Season It Is?
This week felt like it was spring, then summer, then winter. I drive into the city every day and keep an assortment of coats in the back seat of my car. In the past week I've worn no coat, a sweater coat, a down vest and a down coat, each on a different consecutive day. I knit scarves for a couple of friends, and as I went to mail them, the temperature rose. I thought perhaps my knitting was linked to global warming! Luckily it's cold and windy again now so they can wear them; for a while I feared they would have to wait for next winter.
I am hoping this weekend brings enough cold weather to allow for a fire in the fireplace, as I love sitting on the couch reading and knitting by the fire. Also, I still need to burn the Christmas wreath that is still hanging; I know it’s crazy, but just tossing it out seems to make no sense. Oh, and so you can plan ahead, next Sunday the 12th, we change the clocks for daylight saving time, which means it’s almost summer, right? It also means you will get one less hour of sleep, so get ahead this week. Read some extra pages.
Every time I go to a multi-author luncheon or presentation, there always is one book that screams to me to be read. It happened with THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH by Lindsey Lee Johnson and again with THE RULES DO NOT APPLY by Ariel Levy, which is coming on March 14th. Last week I was at a presentation at Simon & Schuster, and the last book presented was THE BRIGHT HOUR: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs. As Marysue Rucci, the editor of the book, walked from the room, I beckoned her over to beg for the bound manuscript in her hand, and she kindly shared it with me.
Here’s the story. While she was 37 and still undergoing a first treatment round for her breast cancer, Nina learned that her cancer already had metastasized and her prognosis sharply dimmed. After reading a Modern Love column that Nina wrote for The New York Times on September 23, 2016, it was clear that there was a bigger story there to be told. The clock was ticking…loudly. Nina wrote this book between October and January (yes, in three months), and it will be published on June 6th. Sadly Nina passed away on Sunday (she did get to see the cover and the bound manuscript, which she even edited). She leaves behind a beautiful book about how you live when you are dealt a bad hand.
For those who would shy away because it may be sad, no, embrace it for being honest, funny and brave. As she writes, you feel like you are beside her. She describes a meal that she and her husband had in Paris when she traveled there between treatments, and it sounded so wonderful that last night after midnight, I was googling the restaurant’s menu, which is in French (and I can barely read Spanish after seven years of it in school), trying to figure out how to recreate the meal. There are so many quotable lines and sections; I will save some of those for when it comes out. And in case you did not figure it out, it will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. And oh, good writing is in her genes; her great-great-great (following me here, right?) grandfather was Ralph Waldo Emerson. And if you are wondering, she did get a couch. A perfect one!
Margaret George’s latest book, THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO, comes out on Tuesday. When Margaret comes to the office, it’s always a treat. She is an amazing researcher and storyteller. She typically researches a book for two years and then writes for two more, so we do not get to share her work with you as often as we do with other authors. For this book she spent a lot of time in Rome researching locations to ensure that the story is authentic. Her storytelling is infused with facts, but the writing is so fluid that you never feel bogged down. She clearly loves the characters she writes about, and Nero is no exception; she sees him as a "complex." To see her talking about the book --- and to see the passion that we love so much about her --- take a look at this video that she shot in her home this week, where she talks about Nero and her writing. And here she talks about "3 Defining Moments of Emperor Nero's Life." Oh, and she is working on a second book about Nero; his story was too big to tell in just one book.
Jean Hanff Korelitz’s THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER will be out on March 21st. As I am a big fan of her work, I am looking forward to this one, which is set on the campus of a once-conservative school that is now seeing progressive fired-up graduates. Suddenly the university’s president is at the center of a situation spinning wildly out of control. Oh, and should I mention that the president’s daughter is also a student there? This one is lined up for the week’s reading pile!
Now to this week’s update:
Self-involved but alluring, Walter Sickert made a name for himself as a painter in Victorian London. But the ghoulish nature of his art --- as well as extensive evidence --- points to another name: Jack the Ripper. Patricia Cornwell has collected never-before-seen archival material and applied cutting-edge forensic science to open an old crime to new scrutiny. Incorporating material from her 2002 book, PORTRAIT OF A KILLER, this new edition, RIPPER: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert, has been revised and expanded to include eight new chapters, detailed maps, and hundreds of images that breathe new life into the macabre case.
According to reviewer Ray Palen, “We should be grateful to Cornwell for actively pursuing the idea for her Ripper investigation…. RIPPER is not for those with weak stomachs as the text pulls no punches. The end result is an impressive work that proves to be just as tough as the writer who penned it.”
Emelie Schepp returns with MARKED FOR REVENGE, the second installment in her high-stakes, fast-paced suspense trilogy, which focuses on the international drug trade and child trafficking. When a Thai girl overdoses smuggling drugs, the trail points to Danillo, the one criminal public prosecutor Jana Berzelius most wants to capture. In order to destroy any evidence of her childhood, Berzelius must secretly hunt down this deadly enemy with whom she shares a horrific past. Meanwhile, the police are searching for the elusive kingpin of the Swedish narcotics trade. Berzelius craves to know his identity, even as she tracks Danillo. As she prepares for the fight of her life, she discovers an even more devastating and insidious betrayal.
Joe Hartlaub has our review and says, “While the complexity of the plot meanders into the past and overshadows the present, Schepp always ensures that the reader never gets lost in the details of the plot or the characters, all of whom are memorable in their own ways. You will want to make time to read MARKED FOR REVENGE in one sitting. The pages just fly by…” I read MARKED FOR REVENGE last weekend. Each chapter has a look at the story from a view of different characters, which is something that is challenging to write as the author must ensure that the reader is not lost. But Emelie pulls it off, and in fact makes the reader eager to see how each character will progress. It reminds me of how on a show like "24," you see what each of the characters are doing during a set period of time. Definitely go back and read MARKED FOR LIFE as well…and the conclusion of the trilogy will be out next year.
MARKED FOR REVENGE (which has been translated by Suzanne Martin Cheadle) is just one of five books we’re reviewing this week that were published in other countries and are now appearing for the first time in the US. These other translated works are WAKING LIONS, A HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR, THE UNDESIRED and THE FIFTH ELEMENT. We’re also reviewing RUSTY PUPPY, the 12th installment in Joe R. Lansdale’s Hap and Leonard series, and SHADOWBAHN by Steve Erickson, which its publisher describes as “[a] chronicle of a weird road trip, a provocative work of alternative history, and a dazzling discography of the 20th and 21st centuries…”
The release of RUSTY PUPPY coincides perfectly with the start of the second season of “Hap and Leonard,” which airs Wednesday, March 15th at 10pm ET on SundanceTV. You can check out all the March movies, TV shows and DVD releases based on books in our Books on Screen feature, which also includes the big screen releases of Before I Fall, The Shack and The Zookeeper’s Wife.
SINFUL SCOTTISH LAIRD, book two in Julia London’s Highland Grooms series, is our latest New Release Spotlight title. Widowed and forced to remarry in three years' time or forfeit her son's inheritance, Daisy Bristol has plenty of suitors vying for her hand --- and her fortune. But a letter from a long-lost love sends Daisy and her young son to her Scottish Highland estate to buy time for his return. Along the way she encounters the powerful Cailean Mackenzie, laird of Arrandale and a notorious smuggler, and she is utterly bewitched. When her first love appears unexpectedly at her estate, Cailean knows that a passionate woman like Daisy cannot marry this man. To prevent the union, Cailean must put his own life at risk to win her heart.
Our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight & Contest for NEVER LET YOU GO, which launched last week, continues. This latest psychological thriller from Chevy Stevens will be a Bets On selection, and we’re giving 25 readers the chance to read the book and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 9th at noon ET. I am telling you, this one reminded me of Chevy's debut, STILL MISSING. I heard this from Virginia, one of our readers, last week: “I was one of your winners of the early advance copy of STILL MISSING way back when. That was my introduction to this author. And now you have a contest with her soon-to-be-released novel. Because you compared it to STILL MISSING and I remember the wallop it packed, I entered. Then I felt I should email and tell you that your newsletter and contests have been part of my reading life for a long time. I thank you!” We love emails like this! In our reader mail section later in this newsletter, Virginia has another recommendation for readers.
NEVER LET YOU GO also will be one of the books we’re giving away in our upcoming Spring Preview contests. We’ll be spotlighting a number of hot new books --- both current and upcoming releases --- that you may want to consider adding to your spring reading list. Starting Tuesday, March 14th at noon ET and continuing through Friday, April 21st at noon ET, we’ll be hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these books on select days. You’ll have to check the site each day to see which title is being given away --- or you can sign up here for our Spring Preview newsletter to be notified when contests go live.
My three latest Bets On picks are A PIECE OF THE WORLD by Christina Baker Kline, THE MOTHER’S PROMISE by Sally Hepworth, and I SEE YOU by Clare Mackintosh, all three of which we reviewed last week. Click on the titles to see why I’m betting you’ll love these new releases.
How do you shelve the books you’ve read? That’s our latest poll question as we’re curious about your book-organizing habits. Click here to let us know! I separate fiction and nonfiction. In a dream world, books would be alphabetized by author last name, but I do not see that happening any time soon.
Our previous poll asked in what year was the book that you’re currently reading published. The top three vote-getters are 2016 (35%), 2017 (29%) and earlier than 2012 (19%). Click here for all the results.
We have a new Word of Mouth contest to announce. If you let us know by Friday, March 17th at noon ET what books you’ve finished reading, you’ll have a chance to win the aforementioned THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO by Margaret George and IN THIS GRAVE HOUR: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear.
The prizes in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest are the audio versions of Lisa See's THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE (which will be a Bets On selection), read by Ruthie Ann Miles and Kimiko Glenn, and J.A. Jance's MAN OVERBOARD: An Ali Reynolds Novel, read by Karen Ziemba. Let us know by Monday, April 3rd at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win both these audio titles.
The winners of the 2016 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Awards have been announced. THE LIGHTKEEPERS by Abby Geni won in the Fiction category, and EVICTED: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond took home the Nonfiction crown.
The aforementioned Joe Hartlaub has been reviewing for us for 20(!) years. Inspired by his reading history and trademark reviewing style, former Bookreporter.com reviewer Renee Yeager interviewed Joe for her own book blog, It’s Book Talk. Check out the interview here to go behind the scenes and see Joe’s takes on inspiration, motivation, and who you should be reading right now.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail: Virginia said, “I really recommend the Donna Leon Commissario Guido Brunetti series. They're among the best mysteries I've ever read. I'm up to her 2013 book now, reading them in order. They are so well-written and timeless. Plus they take place in Venice! Excellence through and through, characterization and plot and sense of place. Because Ms. Leon was a teacher and she tackles big issues in an accessible manner, I learn a variety of things through each novel. I'll be sad when I get to her most recent book in the series because I will miss the cast while waiting impatiently for the next installment.”
The Light Between Oceans: Watched it last Friday night and enjoyed it. Very faithful to the book. One small quibble; I did not love the lead actress; felt she looked too modern for the role.
Art Exhibit to Note: Georgia O’Keeffe, Stylist and Curator of Her Own Myth will be fun to readers who read Dawn Tripp's GEORGIA.
More from the author of THE GIRL BEFORE: So JP Delaney’s book was optioned for a film last year, and now a deal also has been made for his next book, THE PERFECT WIFE, with the movie deal happening before the book is written!
Oscars: Noooooo…not what you think. Instead, what do you think were the insurance and logistics to get those snacks to fall from the ceiling? Was this the same insurance company that insured Lady Gaga on the roof of the stadium at the Super Bowl? Pass me a Red Vine.
Chopsticks: A fun factoid. Had to share it.
The guest room got 5 stars from my sister-in-law, Katie. Amusingly Tom put a clock in there so she could see the time. But he failed to note that the alarm was set to go off at 3:49am, so she really felt like she was in a hotel. I mean, how many times has that happened to you in a hotel? When I traveled a lot, I learned to check the alarm clock before I went to sleep.
Quiet weekend on tap. Tom is going to a BMW Instructor Seminar for most of the day tomorrow. I'm hoping Cory and a posse of his friends will show up to help us move a couch. Greg is hanging here, I think. Our friend Cathy is coming for dinner tomorrow night, which means I will be perusing cookbooks for some culinary ideas. Besides that dinner and finalizing my interview questions for Isabel Allende (if you have any of your own, send them my way), I am happily plan-less and hoping to relax. After all, I have to go double time all week to prepare for losing an hour on the 12th. Are you laughing that I am obsessing about this lost hour so much? I hope so.
Read on, and have a great week.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
P.S. 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!
Featured Review: RIPPER by Patricia Cornwell
RIPPER: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert by Patricia Cornwell (True Crime)
Audiobook available, read by Mary Stuart Masterson
Vain and charismatic Walter Sickert made a name for himself as a painter in Victorian London. But the ghoulish nature of his art --- as well as extensive evidence --- points to another name: Jack the Ripper. Patricia Cornwell has collected never-before-seen archival material --- including a rare mortuary photo, personal correspondence and a will with a mysterious autopsy clause --- and applied cutting-edge forensic science to open an old crime to new scrutiny. Incorporating material from PORTRAIT OF A KILLER, this new edition has been revised and expanded to include eight new chapters, detailed maps and hundreds of images that bring the sinister case to life. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: RUSTY PUPPY by Joe R. Lansdale
RUSTY PUPPY: A Hap and Leonard Novel by Joe R. Lansdale (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Christopher Ryan Grant
While Hap, a former ’60s activist and self-proclaimed white trash rebel, is recovering from a life-threatening stab wound, Louise Elton comes into Hap and Leonard's PI office to tell him that the police have killed her son, Jamar. Months earlier, a bully cop pulled over and sexually harassed Jamar's sister, Charm. The officer followed Charm over the course of the next couple of months, leading Jamar to videotape and take notes on the cop and his partner. The next thing Louise hears, Jamar got in a fight and is killed in the projects by local hoods. It doesn't add up: he was a straight-A student, destined for better things, until he began to ask too many questions about the racist police force. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: MARKED FOR REVENGE
by Emelie Schepp
MARKED FOR REVENGE written by Emelie Schepp, translated by Suzanne Martin Cheadle (Thriller)
Audiobook available, performed by Kirsten Potter
When a Thai girl overdoses smuggling drugs, the trail points to Danillo, the one criminal who MMA-trained public prosecutor Jana Berzelius most wants to destroy. Meanwhile, the police are zeroing in on the elusive head of the long-entrenched Swedish narcotics trade. Berzelius craves to know his identity, even as she clandestinely tracks Danillo, who has threatened to out her for who she really is. She knows she must kill him first, before he can reveal her secrets. If she fails, she will lose everything. As she prepares for the fight of her life, Berzelius discovers an even more explosive and insidious betrayal --- one that entangles her inextricably in the whole sordid network of crime. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight & Contest:
NEVER LET YOU GO by Chevy Stevens
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
We have 25 copies of NEVER LET YOU GO by Chevy Stevens --- a chilling, twisting thriller that crackles with suspense as it explores the darkest heart of love and obsession --- to give away to readers who would like to read the book, which releases on March 14th, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, March 9th at noon ET.
NEVER LET YOU GO by Chevy Stevens (Psychological Thriller)
Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash escaped into the night with her young daughter and left an abusive relationship. Her ex-husband, Andrew, was sent to jail, and Lindsey started over with a new life.
Now, Lindsey is older and wiser, with her own business and a teenage daughter who needs her more than ever. When Andrew is finally released from prison, Lindsey believes she has cut all ties and left the past behind her. But she gets the sense that someone is watching her, tracking her every move. Her new boyfriend is threatened. Her home is invaded, and her daughter is shadowed. Lindsey is convinced it’s her ex-husband, even though he claims he’s a different person. But has he really changed? Is the one who wants her dead closer to home than she thought?
With NEVER LET YOU GO, Chevy Stevens delivers a chilling, twisting thriller that crackles with suspense as it explores the darkest heart of love and obsession.
NEVER LET YOU GO will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Read Carol's commentary in the March 24th newsletter.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Chevy Stevens’ bio.
- Click here to visit Chevy Stevens’ website.
- Connect with Chevy Stevens on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to read more in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight
and enter the contest.
New Release Spotlight: SINFUL SCOTTISH LAIRD
by Julia London
SINFUL SCOTTISH LAIRD: The Highland Grooms, Book 2 by Julia London (Historical Romance)
A young widow puts her sexy suitors to the test in New York Times bestselling author Julia London's scintillating return to the idyllic Scottish Highlands.
Widowed and forced to remarry in three years' time or forfeit her son's inheritance, Daisy Bristol, Lady Chatwick, has plenty of suitors vying for her hand…and her fortune. But a letter from a long-lost love sends Daisy and her young son to her Scottish Highland estate to buy time for his return. Along the way she encounters the powerful Cailean Mackenzie, laird of Arrandale and a notorious smuggler, and she is utterly --- though unwillingly --- bewitched.
Cailean has no use for any Sassenach in his glen. But Daisy's brazen, flirtatious nature and alluring beauty intrigue him. When her first love appears unexpectedly at her estate, Cailean knows that a passionate woman like Daisy cannot marry this man. And to prevent the union, Cailean must put his own life at risk to win her heart.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Julia London's bio.
- Visit Julia London's website and Pinterest.
- Connect with Julia London on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Bookreporter.com Bets On: A PIECE OF THE WORLD
by Christina Baker Kline
A PIECE OF THE WORLD by Christina Baker Kline (Historical Fiction)
Back when I read ORPHAN TRAIN (a 2013 Bets On selection), I found myself thinking: Now what does Christina Baker Kline write after this? Happily she has surprised me with a wonderful story about yet another slice of American life. In A PIECE OF THE WORLD, she shares the story of Christina Olson, who was depicted in Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting, Christina’s World, which is on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art.
Olson resided on a remote farm in Maine in a home that her family had lived in for generations. The house was primitive with no electricity, but it and the farm were “the world” to Olson, who was struck with a crippling injury that left her incapacitated, often dragging herself around the grounds and up and down stairs in the house. After dismal dreary winters when Olson and her brother would often retire early to save using lamplight, Wyeth would arrive and bring energy and life to the farm as he happily set up studio space there to paint --- a pattern he kept up for 20 years.
Christina does a wonderful job of drawing both characters and place, making you see the rugged farmland while also feeling emotion for Olson and the contentment she has in her life that feels so limited. Wyeth is portrayed as the artist around whom the world spins; he brings color to the story beyond his painting. This would make a great discussion book for book groups, and those in the New York area should see the painting in person, though it can be found in the book as well. And for a road trip for readers, think about visiting the farm in Maine that has been restored and welcomes visitors.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here for the story behind the book.
- Click here to listen to Christina Baker Kline talk about the book.
- Click here to see a Facebook Live video with Christina Baker Kline.
Bookreporter.com Bets On: THE MOTHER'S PROMISE
by Sally Hepworth
THE MOTHER'S PROMISE by Sally Hepworth (Fiction)
Sally Hepworth writes books with characters that push you outside of your emotional comfort zone. In THE MOTHER’S PROMISE, Alice Stanhope has spent her life protecting and raising her daughter, Zoe. Without a dad on the scene, they have made themselves a family à deux. Zoe is troubled by social anxiety, but with Alice by her side, she has an anchor.
Suddenly Alice is taken ill, and as it becomes clear that the situation is turning dire, the pair needs to find others to bring stability to Zoe’s life. Two people emerge as caretakers for the young girl: a nurse and a social worker. Together with Alice, they mold their lives into new roles with Zoe as their focus. All three older women have secrets and fears to overcome, but their single-minded goal of caring for a young girl and keeping her safe and happy drives them to each confront their personal challenges.
There’s a lot here for book groups. It might be interesting to take the discussion in the direction of each of the four characters, noting what is a challenge in each of their lives and how they overcome it, and then talking about Zoe’s fears in relation to those of the three older women. Hepworth never disappoints; her last book, THE THINGS WE KEEP, was a 2016 Bets On selection. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next!
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Bookreporter.com Bets On: I SEE YOU
by Clare Mackintosh
I SEE YOU by Clare Mackintosh (Psychological Thriller)
Clare Mackintosh’s last book, I LET YOU GO, was a 2016 Bets On selection and one of my go-to recommends as it had one of the best twists in a thriller that I have read. Thus I was anxious to get my hands on I SEE YOU, to see what she would do this time around. Once again she has written a twist into her tale, and again it is brilliant.
In I SEE YOU, Zoe Walker commutes the same way each day with the same route to the train station, standing in the same place on the platform to wait for the train and stands in her favorite place once in the car. One night as she commutes home, she sees her own face staring back at her from her newspaper with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com. Other women in those ads have become the victims of violent crimes, including rape and murder. Enlisting the help of a determined female investigator, who has some baggage of her own, they race to find who is behind this site before the perpetrators act again.
Clare has developed unique strong characters, and the story is well-paced. And she has perfected the art of the twist. I look forward to seeing what she does next. I highly recommend both books.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
March's Books on Screen Feature
SHADOWBAHN by Steve Erickson (Science Fiction/Alternative History)
Audiobook available, read by Malcolm Hillgartner
When the Twin Towers suddenly reappear in the Badlands of South Dakota 20 years after their fall, nobody can explain their return. To the tens of thousands drawn to the “American Stonehenge” --- including siblings Parker and Zema --- the Towers seem to sing, even as everybody hears a different song. On the 93rd floor, Jesse Presley --- the stillborn twin of the most famous singer who ever lived --- suddenly awakes, driven mad over the hours and days to come by a voice in his head that sounds like his but isn’t, and by the memory of a country where he survived in his brother’s place. Meanwhile, Parker and Zema cross a possessed landscape by a mysterious detour no one knows, charted on a map that no one has seen. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
WAKING LIONS written by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, translated by Sondra Silverstein (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Paul Boehmer
Married to a beautiful police officer and father of two young boys, neurosurgeon Eitan Green has the perfect life. Then, speeding along a deserted moonlit road after an exhausting hospital shift, he hits someone. Seeing that the man, an African migrant, is beyond help, he flees the scene. When the victim's widow knocks at Eitan's door the next day, holding his wallet and divulging that she knows what happened, Eitan discovers that her price for silence is not money. It is something else entirely, something that will shatter Eitan's safe existence and take him into a world of secrets and lies he never could have anticipated. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
IDAHO by Emily Ruskovich (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Justine Eyre
Ann and Wade have carved out a life for themselves from a rugged landscape in northern Idaho, where they are bound together by more than love. With her husband’s memory fading, Ann attempts to piece together the truth of what happened to Wade’s first wife, Jenny, and to their daughters. In a story told from multiple perspectives --- including Ann, Wade, and Jenny, who is now in prison --- we gradually learn of the mysterious and shocking act that fractured Wade and Jenny's lives, of the love and compassion that brought Ann and Wade together, and of the memories that reverberate through the lives of every character in IDAHO. Reviewed by Sarah Jackman.
THE LOST BOOK OF THE GRAIL by Charlie Lovett (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Charles Armstrong
Arthur Prescott is happiest when surrounded by the ancient books and manuscripts of the Barchester Cathedral library. But when a beautiful young American named Bethany Davis arrives in Barchester charged with the task of digitizing the library’s manuscripts, Arthur sets out to thwart Bethany, only to find in her a kindred spirit with a similar love for knowledge and books --- and a fellow Grail fanatic. Bethany soon joins Arthur in a quest to find the lost Book of Ewolda, the ancient manuscript telling the story of the cathedral’s founder. And when the future of the cathedral itself is threatened, their search takes on grave importance, leading the pair to discover secrets about the cathedral, the Grail --- and themselves. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
SHINING CITY by Tom Rosenstiel (Thriller)
Audiobook available, performed by David Colacci
Peter Rena is a “fixer.” He and his partner, Randi Brooks, earn their living making the problems of the powerful disappear. They get their biggest job yet when the White House hires them to vet the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Judge Roland Madison is a legal giant, but he’s a political maverick, with views that might make the already tricky confirmation process even more difficult. Rena and his team go full-bore to cover every inch of the judge’s past, while the competing factions of Washington, D.C. mobilize with frightening intensity. All of that becomes background when a string of seemingly random killings overlaps with Rena’s investigation, with Judge Madison a possible target. Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley.
DEAR FRIEND, FROM MY LIFE I WRITE TO YOU IN YOUR LIFE by Yiyun Li (Memoir)
Yiyun Li grew up in China and has spent her adult life as an immigrant in a country not her own. She has been a scientist, an author, a mother, a daughter --- and through it all she has been sustained by a profound connection with the writers and books she loves. From William Trevor and Katherine Mansfield to Søren Kierkegaard and Philip Larkin, DEAR FRIEND is a journey through the deepest themes that bind these writers together. Reviewed by Dunja Bonacci Skenderovic.
HARMLESS LIKE YOU by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Emily Woo Zeller and P.J. Ochlan
HARMLESS LIKE YOU is set across New York, Connecticut and Berlin, following Yuki Oyama, a Japanese girl fighting to make it as an artist, and Yuki’s son Jay, who, as an adult in the present day, is forced to confront his mother’s abandonment of him when he was only two years old. The novel opens when Yuki is 16 and her father is posted back to Japan. Though she and her family have been living as outsiders in New York City, Yuki opts to stay, intoxicated by her friendship with the beautiful aspiring model Odile, the energy of the city, and her desire to become an artist. But when she becomes involved with an older man and the relationship turns destructive, Yuki’s life is unmoored. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
A HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR written by David Grossman, translated by Jessica Cohen (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Joe Barrett
In a little dive in a small Israeli city, Dov Greenstein, a comedian a bit past his prime, is doing a night of standup. In the audience is a district court justice, Avishai Lazar, whom Dov knew as a boy, along with a few others who remember Dov as the awkward, scrawny kid who walked on his hands to confound the neighborhood bullies. Gradually, teetering between hilarity and hysteria, Dov's patter becomes a kind of memoir, taking us back into the terrors of his childhood. Finally, recalling his week at a military camp for youth --- where Lazar witnessed what became the central event of Dov's childhood --- Dov describes the indescribable while Lazar wrestles with his own part in the comedian's story of loss and survival. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
THE UNDESIRED written by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, translated by Victoria Cribb (Mystery/Thriller)
Aldis hates her job working in a juvenile detention center in rural Iceland. The boys are difficult, the owners are unpleasant, and there are mysterious noises at night. And then two of the boys go astray. Decades later, single father Odinn is looking into alleged abuse at the center. The more he finds out, though, the more it seems the odd events of the 1970s are linked to the accident that killed his ex-wife. Was her death something more sinister? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE FIFTH ELEMENT written by Jørgen Brekke, translated by Steven T. Murray (Mystery)
Police Inspector Odd Singsaker has been captured, imprisoned on an island off the Northern coast of Norway. He wakes to find himself holding a shotgun. Next to him is a corpse. But what events led him to this point? And how did he get here? A few weeks earlier, his wife, Felicia, disappeared. Though he didn’t know it, she was trying to find her way back to Odd to reconcile, but then she vanished into a snowstorm. Possibly involved is a corrupt, coldblooded cop from Oslo, a devious college student who’s stolen a great deal of cocaine from drug dealers, and a hit man hired by the drug dealers who have been robbed. All of these lives intersect with Odd’s as he searches for Felicia. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
AL-TOUNSI by Anton Piatigorsky (Legal Thriller)
AL-TOUNSI tells the behind-the-scenes story of U.S. Supreme Court Justices as they consider a landmark case involving the rights of detainees held in an overseas U.S. military base. Inspired by a true case from 2008 addressing Guantanamo Bay, the fictional lawsuit of Al-Tounsi v. Shaw pits Majid Al-Tounsi, an Egyptian prisoner, against the President of the United States. It challenges U.S. laws that apply to non-citizens under wartime circumstances and the extent of executive power. As the controversial case maneuvers through the minds and hands of the Justices, the novel explores in detail how the personal life dramas, career rivalries and political sympathies of these judicial titans blend with their philosophies to create the most important legal decisions of our time. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
BLOOD TOO BRIGHT : Floyd Dell Remembers Edna St. Vincent Millay by Jerri Dell (Memoir/Letters)
One hundred years ago, Bohemian author and editor of the radical Masses magazine, Floyd Dell, began a passionate affair with a newcomer to Greenwich Village --- the yet-to-be-discovered "girl poet," Edna St. Vincent Millay. In the years that followed, both Dell and Millay became symbols of early 20th-century feminism, rebellion and literary freedom. A century later, while poring over her grandfather Floyd's papers at Chicago's Newberry Library, Jerri Dell discovered hundreds of handwritten letters and an unpublished memoir about his love affair with Millay. Finding him as outlandish, entertaining and insightful as he was when she knew him 50 years before, she chose to bring him and his poet lover back to life within the pages of this book. Reviewed by Jeanne Belisle Lombardo.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on March 7th
Below are some notable titles releasing on March 7th that we would like to make you aware of. We will have more on many of these books in the weeks to come. For a list of additional hardcovers and paperbacks releasing the week of March 6th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
ALL GROWN UP by Jami Attenberg (Fiction)
Who is Andrea Bern? When her therapist asks the question, Andrea knows the right things to say, but it’s what she leaves unsaid that feels the most true. Everyone around her seems to have an entirely different idea of what it means to be an adult, and her own life satisfies none of them. But when Andrea’s niece is born with a heartbreaking ailment, the Bern family is forced to reexamine what really matters.
THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO by Margaret George (Historical Fiction)
In the Roman Empire, no one is safe from the sting of betrayal: man, woman or child. As a boy, Nero’s royal heritage becomes a threat to his very life. Faced with shocking acts of treachery, young Nero is dealt a harsh lesson: it is better to be cruel than dead. While Nero idealizes the artistic and athletic principles of Greece, his very survival rests on his ability to navigate the sea of vipers that is Rome.
DANGEROUS GAMES by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Television correspondent Alix Phillips dodges bullets and breaks rules to bring the most important news to the world. But her latest assignment puts her at the center of an explosive story that will reshape many lives, including her own: investigating damning allegations involving the Vice President of the United States, Tony Clark.
EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid (Fiction)
In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet. They embark on a love affair, and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest within their city. When it explodes, they begin to hear whispers about doors --- doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.
HAVANA: A Subtropical Delirium by Mark Kurlansky (Travel/Essays)
Mark Kurlansky presents an insider's view of Havana: the elegant, tattered city he has come to know over the decades. Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes, historic engravings, photographs, and Kurlansky's own drawings, HAVANA celebrates the city's singular music, literature, sports and food; its five centuries of outstanding, neglected architecture; and its extraordinary blend of cultures.
IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY by Sarah Dunant (Historical Fiction)
It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne. His 22-year-old daughter, Lucrezia, is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, who is brilliant, ruthless and increasingly unstable. But while the pope rails against old age and his son’s increasingly erratic behavior, it is Lucrezia who must navigate the treacherous court of Urbino, her new home, and another challenging marriage to create her own place in history.
MADAME PRESIDENT : The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by Helene Cooper (Biography)
When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the 2005 Liberian presidential election, she obliterated centuries of patriarchal rule to become the first female elected head of state in Africa’s history. MADAME PRESIDENT is the inspiring, often heartbreaking story of Sirleaf’s evolution from an ordinary Liberian mother of four boys to international banking executive, from a victim of domestic violence to a political icon, from a post-war president to a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
MISTER MEMORY by Marcus Sedgwick (Historical Mystery)
In 1899 Paris, Marcel Després is arrested for the murder of his wife and transferred to the famous Salpetriere Asylum. The doctor assigned to his care soon realizes this is no ordinary patient: Marcel Després, Mister Memory, is a man who cannot forget. And the policeman assigned to his case soon realizes that something far larger is at stake. The policeman and the doctor between them must unravel the mystery --- but the answers lie inside Marcel's head.
QUICKSAND written by Malin Persson Giolito, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles (Thriller)
A mass shooting has taken place at a prep school in Stockholm’s wealthiest suburb. Maja Norberg is 18 years old and on trial for her involvement in the massacre. Maja has spent nine excruciating months in jail awaiting trial. Now the time has come for her to enter the courtroom. But how did Maja, the girl next door who was popular and excelled at school, become the most hated teenager in the country? What did she do? Or is it what she didn’t do that brought her here?
SOUTH AND WEST : From a Notebook by Joan Didion (Memoir/Essays)
Joan Didion has always kept notebooks: of overheard dialogue, observations, interviews, drafts of essays and articles --- and here is one such draft that traces a road trip she took with her husband. And from a different notebook: the "California Notes." Here is the beginning of her thinking about the West, its landscape, the western women who were heroic for her, and her own lineage.
THE VIOLATED by Bill Pronzini (Mystery/Thriller)
In the small town of Santa Rita, California, the mutilated body of Martin Torrey is found. A registered sex offender, Torrey has been a suspect in a string of recent rapes, and instant suspicion for his murder falls on the relatives and friends of the women attacked. Police chief Griffin Kells and detective Robert Ortiz are under increasing pressure from the public and from a mayor demanding results in a case that has no easy solution.
THE WHOLE ART OF DETECTION: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye (Historical Mystery/Short Stories)
Lyndsay Faye’s best Sherlock Holmes tales, including two new works, are brought together in THE WHOLE ART OF DETECTION, which spans Holmes’ career --- from self-taught young upstart to publicly lauded detective --- both before and after his faked death over a Swiss waterfall in 1894.
THE WIDOW’S HOUSE by Carol Goodman (Psychological Thriller)
When Jess and Clare Martin move from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to their former college town in the Hudson River valley, they are hoping for rejuvenation --- of their marriage, their savings, and Jess' writing career. They take a caretaker's job at Riven House, a crumbling estate and the home of their old college writing professor. But there is a haunting pall that hangs over Riven House like a funeral veil.
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Our Latest Poll: Shelving Your Books
How do you shelve the books you have read?
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Alphabetically by title
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Alphabetically by author
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Separated as fiction and nonfiction, and then alphabetically by title
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Separated as fiction and nonfiction, and then alphabetically by author
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By genre
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By publication date
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By jacket cover color
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By size
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I have no system for shelving books.
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I do not keep the books I have read.
Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What You're
Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from March 3rd to March 17th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO by Margaret George and IN THIS GRAVE HOUR: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For rules and guidelines, click here.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
Sounding Off on Audio Contest: Tell Us What You're Listening to --- and You Can Win Two Audiobooks!
Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from March 1st to April 3rd at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Lisa See's THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE, read by Ruthie Ann Miles and Kimiko Glenn, and J.A. Jance's MAN OVERBOARD: An Ali Reynolds Novel, read by Karen Ziemba.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the audiobook, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
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