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A Rose By Any Other Name...
Out with the roses. For the last four summers, I have battled Japanese beetles that have feasted on our roses. The pattern goes like this: The roses are amazing in April, May and into early June. Then, no matter what I do, the beetles win for two months, though I pluck hundreds into soapy water, and then the roses flower again and are stunning in September and October, and often into November. The invasion this year has pushed me over the edge. They are now consuming the leaves from the rhubarb as well. The rhubarb leaves are poisonous to humans, but clearly are a delicacy to the beetles. So, away the rose bushes will go, as I think they hold the magic elixir.
I am on the lookout for some limelight hydrangeas, as well as something that will look colorful in spring. I wish the roses could have worked out, but alas the beetles win this round. The squirrels still are munching away on the hibiscus. It is maddening to see them seated on the patio cushion cover box devouring the leaves and buds. I suggested that we move the plants to a higher spot, like the upper balcony. But then I was reminded that squirrels climb. Okay, I was much more interested in literature than in science when I was in school. Seriously, these squirrels deserve their own picture book.
Last Sunday, I kicked it back a big notch and read two books. First up was CAMINO ISLAND by John Grisham. Way back in 1997, we got Bookreporter (known then as The Book Report) on the map with the first-ever interview with John and the first-ever online excerpt. Hard to believe, right? I enjoyed this novel, which is such a delight for booklovers who are interested in bookselling, rare manuscripts and the value of first editions, all wrapped up into a really tightly written book. I see this one hanging around bestseller lists for a while. Next was THE LIGHT WE LOST, which we reviewed a couple of months ago. It’s a brisk read as a young woman tells the story of her life now, interspersed with that of her memories and continued conversations with her ex-boyfriend who meant a lot to her; a true first love. Those who liked ME BEFORE YOU, line up for this one!
Right now I am between audiobooks and am looking for recommendations. For those of you who are listening on audio, I would love to see what you are listening to. Be sure to share your titles on Sounding Off on Audio as that is where I am looking for selections (and more on the prizes that you can win for sharing your selections below). For those who like to listen, do note that we have the audio versions of each title that we review noted. Audio listening is perfect for all those tasks around the house, like gardening, cleaning and ironing --- and with waterproof players while swimming. That is my goal: to get listening as I swim. Wendy Corsi Staub is addicted to listening while swimming. She said she often swims longer when she is caught up in a story. Great way to multitask. I am researching what equipment to buy. Stayed tuned!
I actually am writing this newsletter on Wednesday night as Tom Donadio, our Editorial Director, and I are off to enjoy ThrillerFest Thursday night and much of Friday. This annual gathering of thriller writers is one big reunion for authors --- and we always enjoy it. We will have our report on the events and the winners of the Thriller Awards next week. Many of the co-writers of MATCHUP are in town for this event, and we look forward to hearing them talk about their writing teams, as well as their other work.
Now to this week’s update…
Legendary spy, assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon returns in Daniel Silva’s new thriller, HOUSE OF SPIES. Four months after the deadliest attack on the American homeland since 9/11, terrorists leave a trail of destruction through London’s West End. But one loose thread leads Gabriel Allon and his team of operatives to Jean-Luc Martel and Olivia Watson in the south of France. Olivia is a former British fashion model who pretends not to know that the true source of Martel’s enormous wealth is drugs. And Martel ignores the fact that he is doing business with a man whose ultimate goal is the very destruction of the West. Together, under Gabriel’s skilled hand, they will become an unlikely pair of heroes in the global war on terror.
According to reviewer Kate Ayers, "Daniel Silva knows how to craft truly powerful heroes and terrifying villains. But more than that, he knows how to tell a story that chills to the bone, for it hits all too close to the realities of the day." You can see Daniel talking about HOUSE OF SPIES on "Today" here.
We’re awarding the audio version of HOUSE OF SPIES (performed by George Guidall), along with Adriana Trigiani's KISS CARLO (performed by Edoardo Ballerini), in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. Let us know by Tuesday, August 1st at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to for your chance to win both audio titles.
Kathy Reichs departs from her long-running Temperance Brennan series to pen a stand-alone thriller, TWO NIGHTS, the first in a projected series that introduces readers to a new character, Sunday Night. Sunnie is an ex-police officer who has spent years running from her past and burying secrets. But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help. Is the girl dead? Did someone abduct her? If she’s out there, why doesn’t she want to be found? Sunnie finally must face her own demons because they just might lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago.
Reviewer Ray Palen calls Reichs’ plotting “brilliant” and proclaims TWO NIGHTS to be “a solid read with complex characters who deserve to be seen again in future installments of the series.”
TWO NIGHTS is one of the books we’re giving away in our Word of Mouth contest; the other is THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. Paris, which we review next week. Submit your comments about the books you’ve finished reading, and you’ll be in the running to win both thrillers. Be sure to enter by Friday, July 21st at noon ET.
Jen Waite’s memoir, A BEAUTIFUL, TERRIBLE THING, which I read back in April, poses an intriguing question: What do you do when you discover that the person you've built your life around never existed? Waite has to face this very question when she begins to realize that her husband --- the love of her life and the father of their newborn daughter --- is a classic psychopath. Here, she recounts each heartbreaking discovery, every life-destroying lie, and reveals what happens once the dust finally settles on her demolished marriage.
Barbara Bamberger Scott has our review and says, “Like a good mystery writer, Waite allows us to suspect, and she throws in clues just as she herself uncovered them, but it is not until the end of the book that the full truth is revealed and all the nasty little facts come to light...”
Patti Callahan Henry is back with another winner of a beach read, THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END. Bonny Blankenship and her best friend, Lainey McKay, has fond memories of their idyllic summers in Watersend, South Carolina, and spending time at the local bookshop. But when Lainey’s mother disappeared, everything changed. Now in her early 50s, Bonny wants desperately to escape after a tragic mistake puts her career as an emergency room doctor in serious jeopardy. So, accompanied by her troubled teenage daughter, she returns to the beloved river house, where she is soon joined by Lainey and her two young children. They reunite with bookshop owner Mimi, and for all three of these strong women, buried secrets and long-ago loves return like the tide.
Reviewer Bronwyn Miller comments that THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END “has all the earmarks of a classic Patti Callahan Henry novel: old friends reuniting to help each other through a rough patch; returning to a part of the past in order to heal the future; atmospheric locales peopled by strong women struggling to find their place in the world --- all of which serve to make this a satisfying summer read.” Patti is on an extensive book tour. You can see a list of where you can find her here; I am going to catch up with her on August 3rd at the Brielle Public Library in New Jersey. I hope to see some of you there. Also, if you are in a book group, she has a terrific Book Club Kit with background on what inspired the book, as well as discussion questions.
We gave away THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END in this week’s Summer Reading contests, along with THE ALMOST SISTERS by Joshilyn Jackson, A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE by Shari Lapena, and THE WANGS VS. THE WORLD by Jade Chang. Next week’s prizes will be BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue (Oprah's Book Club Pick for 2017), THE BREAKDOWN by the aforementioned B.A. Paris, IT HAPPENS IN THE HAMPTONS by Holly Peterson, and THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah. The first contest of the week will go live on Monday, July 17th at noon ET.
Other books we’re reviewing this week include DOWN A DARK ROAD by Linda Castillo, in which a convicted murderer is on the run and Chief of Police Kate Burkholder must catch him before he strikes again; WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS, a new work of historical fiction from Allison Pataki (co-written with her brother, Owen Pataki) set during the French Revolution; and HELLO, SUNSHINE, Laura Dave’s new novel (following her acclaimed bestseller, EIGHT HUNDRED GRAPES) about the secrets we keep, even from ourselves.
This week, our New Release Spotlight features Susan Mallery’s SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS. Kelly Murphy's life as a tulip farmer is fairly routine, but everything changes one summer with the arrivals of Griffith Burnett --- Tulpen Crossing's prodigal son, who has set his sights on Kelly --- and Olivia, her beautiful, wayward and unwelcome sister. Tempted by Griffith and annoyed by Olivia, Kelly is overwhelmed by the secrets that were so easy to keep when she was alone. But Olivia's return isn't as triumphant as she pretends, and she feels cut off from her past. She's determined to reclaim her man and her place in the family…whether her sister likes it or not. While Kelly and Olivia clash, their secrets tumble out in a big hot mess, revealing some truths that will change everything they thought they knew. We gave away advance copies of SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS earlier this year in our Sneak Peek contest. Click here to see what some of the winners had to say about the book.
Our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight contest for THE MARRIAGE PACT, an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On title, continues. Author Michelle Richmond has written a fast-paced, intense and shocking psychological thriller that asks: How far would you go to protect your marriage? Intrigued? Then enter for your chance to win a copy of the book, which releases on July 25th, and share your comments on it; we have 25 to give away. All you have to do is fill out this form by Thursday, July 20th at noon ET.
Our current poll continues to ask if your feelings about the characters in a book influence whether or not you like the book. Given the amount of mail I have gotten on this subject through the years, I look forward to seeing what you have to say. Click here to weigh in.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
Miriam wrote, “Absolutely read CAMINO ISLAND. It is a delightful wonderful romp of a piece of literature that will get your spirits up and you'll just love it. John Grisham is just a star beyond stars.” Miriam, you were right!
Judith wrote from her vacation, “Visited a great little knitting shop today in Birch Bay, WA --- Beach Basket Yarns --- and thought of all your posts about knitting, which I enjoy reading along with the book info each week. Was very tempted by some hand-dyed sock yarn and a beautiful shawl sample done up in it, but the owner couldn't find the pattern. Will try later in the week. Just vacationing here with family and sitting in the sun with some good books between more active pursuits.” Judith, I wish I was there!
Judy wrote, "I wanted to mention the survey about liking the characters/liking the book. My way of choosing a book I know I will finish is decided on the first chapter.
Someone or something has to grab my interest before chapter two; if not, I put the book down and move on. I feel that an author should have a good sense of plot and
a variety of characters we will love, hate, be curious about, etc. before they touch the keyboard. I always think back to my job at the bookstore, setting up the LADY OF HAY display. I tried to ignore it for two weeks because the title did nothing to tempt me. I was drawn to it...finally picked it up and almost never put it down until finished. (I had to drive and work!) This book is very old now but not impossible to get.” Love memories like this.
Louise Penny on "CBS Sunday Morning": Terrific feature piece on Louise Penny here.
Nelson, Harlan, Linda and Susan on "CBS Sunday Morning" this week: Yes, that is the lineup --- Nelson DeMille, Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein and Susan Isaacs together being interviewed by Leslie Stahl. We will have the video for you next week if you do not tune in on Sunday.
Kristin Hannah’s Next Book: THE GREAT ALONE is coming on February 6, 2018. You can see the cover above and read an excerpt here. It's set in Alaska, starting in 1974. I am lucky enough to have read it in manuscript, and it is wonderful. Much more to come on this!
"Perennials"; I think I am one of these: The Telegraph ran a piece, and I think it can describe me: “There’s even a new term to describe people with this no-age mindset: ‘perennials’. It was coined by US internet entrepreneur Gina Pell, 49, who explains, ‘Perennials are ever-blooming, relevant people of all ages who know what’s happening in the world, stay current with technology and have friends of all ages. We get involved, stay curious, mentor others, and are passionate, compassionate, creative, confident, collaborative, global-minded risk takers.’”
Interesting yarn pattern: I love this one, and for those who love Shubui, Knit Purl has some on sale, which is rare. Shibui started in the basement of Knit Purl.
I made an incredible cherry pie last weekend. The cherries have been amazing this summer --- plump and delicious. Here’s the recipe. Note that I was too busy to get to Trader Joe’s for one of the cherries that was recommended, so instead I substituted cherries in a can, which I drained the syrupy juice out of, a bit of sugar and cherry juice. Of course, I measured nothing. But it worked! The science of baking I do grasp. I would have taken a photo, but alas it was eaten too quickly. Oh, and the recipe called for one pound of cherries, which is what I thought was in the bag. But it had TWO pounds. It was VERY good!
Packing to move continues, and it looks like Monday, July 24th will be our official move date. I am trading my southwestern view out my window towards Broadway and 56th Street (with some stunning sunset views through the years) for one northeast on 7th Avenue looking out at Carnegie Hall. Just about all of my books have been walked over to the new digs. Among the rest to be packed, I have one box of cords, most of which I think are for computers we no longer own, and a box of software that I think is for those same computers! I am looking forward to August 1st with this behind us.
My sister flew in yesterday and is here for 10 days. I am plotting to see her at my parents’ beach house and in New York. Cory is headed to an e-car race for the weekend, Tom has a golf tournament, and Greg is taking a ham radio operator test, which I am told will enhance his off-road driving experiences.
I am reading WATCH ME DISAPPEAR by Janelle Brown. I just started it; more on it next week. I am off to hang out with thriller writers…so looking forward to ThrillerFest!
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: HOUSE OF SPIES by Daniel Silva
HOUSE OF SPIES by Daniel Silva (Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, performed by George Guidall
Four months after the deadliest attack on the American homeland since 9/11, terrorists leave a trail of carnage through London’s West End. The attack is a brilliant feat of planning and secrecy, but with one loose thread. The thread leads Gabriel Allon and his team of operatives to the south of France and to the gilded doorstep of Jean-Luc Martel and Olivia Watson. A beautiful former British fashion model, Olivia pretends not to know that the true source of Martel’s enormous wealth is drugs. And Martel turns a blind eye to the fact that he is doing business with a man whose objective is the very destruction of the West. Together, under Gabriel’s skilled hand, they will become an unlikely pair of heroes in the global war on terror. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: TWO NIGHTS by Kathy Reichs
TWO NIGHTS by Kathy Reichs (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Coleen Marlo and Kim Mai Guest
Meet Sunday Night, a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct. Sunnie has spent years running from her past, burying secrets and building a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing. But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help. Is the girl dead? Did someone take her? If she’s out there, why doesn’t she want to be found? It’s time for Sunnie to face her own demons --- because they just might lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: A BEAUTIFUL, TERRIBLE THING
by Jen Waite
A BEAUTIFUL, TERRIBLE THING: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal by Jen Waite (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Jen Waite
What do you do when you discover that the person you've built your life around never existed? When "it could never happen to me" does happen to you? These are the questions facing Jen Waite when she begins to realize that her loving husband --- the father of her infant daughter, her best friend, the love of her life --- fits the textbook definition of psychopath. In a raw, first-person account, Waite recounts each heartbreaking discovery, every life-destroying lie, and reveals what happens once the dust finally settles on her demolished marriage. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER'S END
by Patti Callahan Henry
THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END by Patti Callahan Henry (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Andi Arndt, Lauren Fortgang, Shannon McManus and Dorothy Dillingham Blue
Bonny Blankenship’s most treasured memories are of idyllic summers spent in Watersend, South Carolina, with her best friend, Lainey McKay. They swam and wished for happy-ever-afters, then escaped to the local bookshop. Until the night that changed everything, the night that Lainey’s mother disappeared. Now, in her early 50s, Bonny is desperate to clear her head after a tragic mistake threatens her career as an emergency room doctor. With her troubled teenage daughter in tow, she goes back to the beloved river house, where she is soon joined by Lainey and her two young children. They reunite with bookshop owner Mimi, who is tangled with the past and its mysteries. As the three women cling to a fragile peace, buried secrets and long-ago loves return like the tide. Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to visit Patti Callahan Henry's website.
Click here to read the review.
New Release Spotlight: SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS by Susan Mallery
SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS by Susan Mallery (Fiction)
Kelly Murphy's life as a tulip farmer is pretty routine --- up at dawn, off to work, lather, rinse, repeat. But everything changes one sun-washed summer with two dramatic homecomings: Griffith Burnett --- Tulpen Crossing's prodigal son, who has set his sights on Kelly --- and Olivia, her beautiful, wayward and, as far as Kelly is concerned, unwelcome sister. Tempted by Griffith, annoyed by Olivia, Kelly is overwhelmed by the secrets that were so easy to keep when she was alone.
But Olivia's return isn't as triumphant as she pretends. Her job has no future, and ever since her dad sent her away from the bad boy she loved, she has felt cut off from her past. She's determined to reclaim her man and her place in the family…whether her sister likes it or not. For 10 years, she and Kelly have been strangers. Olivia will get by without her approval now.
While Kelly and Olivia butt heads, their secrets tumble out in a big hot mess, revealing some truths that will change everything they thought they knew. Can they forgive each other --- and themselves --- and redefine what it means to be sisters?
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to see advance readers' comments.
- Click here to visit the book's website.
- Click here to read Susan Mallery's bio.
- Visit Susan Mallery's website, Instagram and Pinterest.
- Connect with Susan Mallery on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight & Contest:
THE MARRIAGE PACT by Michelle Richmond
We have 25 copies of THE MARRIAGE PACT by Michelle Richmond --- an intense and shocking tale that asks: How far would you go to protect your marriage? --- to give away to readers who would like to read the book, which releases on July 25th, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, July 20th at noon ET.
THE MARRIAGE PACT by Michelle Richmond (Psychological Thriller)
Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact.
The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. And most of its rules make sense. Always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter...
Never mention The Pact to anyone.
Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples.
And then one of them breaks the rules.
The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life. And The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule.
For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Michelle Richmond’s bio.
- Visit Michelle Richmond’s website and Instagram.
- Connect with Michelle Richmond on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to read more in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight
and enter the contest.
Featured Review: DOWN A DARK ROAD by Linda Castillo
DOWN A DARK ROAD: A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Kathleen McInerney
Two years ago, Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a “fallen” Amish man and a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped and is headed for Painters Mill. Chief of Police Kate Burkholder grew up with King. As a 13-year-old Amish girl, she had worshipped the ground he walked on. She never could have imagined the nightmare scenario that becomes reality when King shows up with a gun and takes his five children hostage at their Amish uncle’s farm. Armed and desperate, he has nothing left to lose. Fearing for the safety of the children, Kate makes contact with King only to find herself trapped with a killer. Or is he? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS
by Allison Pataki and Owen Pataki
WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS: A Novel of the French Revolution by Allison Pataki and Owen Pataki (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Bruce Mann
Three years after the storming of the Bastille, the streets of Paris are roiling with revolution. Jean-Luc, an idealistic young lawyer, moves his wife and their infant son from a comfortable life in Marseille to Paris, in the hopes of joining the cause. André, the son of a denounced nobleman, has evaded execution by joining the new French army. Sophie, a young aristocratic widow, embarks on her own fight for independence against her powerful, vindictive uncle. As chaos threatens to undo the progress of the Revolution and the demand for justice breeds instability and paranoia, the lives of these compatriots become inextricably linked. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Bookreporter.com's Summer Reading
Contests and Feature
Summer is here! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through August 24th, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
Our next prize book will be announced on Monday, July 17th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles include:
See the prize books that were awarded in May and June
and that will be awarded in July and August.
Click here to read all the contest details.
I NEED A LIFEGUARD EVERYWHERE BUT THE POOL by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella (Humor/Essays)
Audiobook available, read by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella
The bestselling and “perennially hilarious” mother-daughter team is back with a new collection of stories from their real lives, guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Join Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella as they regret drunk-shopping online, try smell-dating, and explore the freedom of a hiatus from men --- a Guyatus. They offer a fresh and funny take on the triumphs and facepalm moments of modern life, showing that when it comes to navigating the crazy world we live in, you are always your own best lifeguard. Reviewed by Carole Turner.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
HELLO, SUNSHINE by Laura Dave (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Joy Osmanski
Sunshine Mackenzie is living the dream. She’s a culinary star with millions of fans, a line of #1 bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband happy to support her every endeavor. And then she gets hacked. When Sunshine’s secrets are revealed, her fall from grace is catastrophic. She loses her husband, her show, her fans and her apartment. She’s forced to return to the childhood home --- and the estranged sister --- she’s tried hard to forget. But what Sunshine does amid the ashes of her own destruction may well save her life. Reviewed by Leah DeCesare.
WHAT WE LOSE by Zinzi Clemmons (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Nicole Lewis
Raised in Pennsylvania, Thandi views the world of her mother’s childhood in Johannesburg as both impossibly distant and ever present. She is an outsider wherever she goes, caught between being black and white, American and not. She tries to connect these dislocated pieces of her life, and as her mother succumbs to cancer, Thandi searches for an anchor --- someone, or something, to love. In WHAT WE LOSE, we watch Thandi’s life unfold, from losing her mother and learning to live without the person who has most profoundly shaped her existence, to her own encounters with romance and unexpected motherhood. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
THE CHICKENSHIT CLUB: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives by Jesse Eisinger (True Crime/Law)
Audiobook available, read by Jonathan Todd Ross
Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed “Too Big to Fail” to almost every large corporation in America --- to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. THE CHICKENSHIT CLUB --- an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs --- explains why. A character-driven narrative, the book tells the story from inside the Department of Justice. It spans the last decade and a half of prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
BETWEEN THEM: Remembering My Parents by Richard Ford (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Christian Baskous
Richard Ford’s parents --- Edna, a feisty, pretty Catholic-school girl with a difficult past; and Parker, a sweet-natured, soft-spoken traveling salesman --- were rural Arkansans born at the turn of the 20th century. Married in 1928, they lived “alone together” on the road, traveling throughout the South. Eventually they had one child, born late, in 1944. For Ford, the questions of what his parents dreamed of, how they loved each other and loved him become a striking portrait of American life in the mid-century. BETWEEN THEM is Ford’s vivid image of where his life began and where his parents’ lives found their greatest satisfaction. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.
DARK SATURDAY by Nicci French (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, performed by Beth Chalmers
A decade ago, 18-year-old Hannah Docherty was arrested for the shocking murder of her family. It was an open-and-shut case, and Hannah has been incarcerated in a secure psychiatric hospital ever since. When psychotherapist Frieda Klein is asked to meet Hannah and give her assessment, she reluctantly agrees. But what she finds horrifies her. Hannah has become a tragic figure, old before her time. And Frieda is haunted by the idea that Hannah might be as much of a victim as her family --- that she might, in fact, be innocent. As Hannah's case takes hold of her, Frieda begins to realize that she's up against someone who will go to any lengths to keep the truth from surfacing --- even kill again. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE THIRD NERO: A Flavia Albia Novel by Lindsey Davis (Historical Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Lucy Brown
In 90 A.D., following the Saturninus revolt in Germany, the Emperor Domitian has become more paranoid about traitors and dissenters around him. This leads to several senators and even provincial governors facing charges and being executed for supposed crimes of conspiracy and insulting the emperor. Wanting to root out all the supports of Saturninus from the Senate, one of Domitian’s men offers to hire Flavia Albia to do some intelligence work. Adding to the confusion is that yet another Nero pretender has shown up in Parthia and is trying to rally support for his claim for the throne. With intrigue upon intrigue swirling around the capital city, it’s up to Albia to uncover what is --- and isn’t --- the real threat. Reviewed by Carly Silver.
HUM IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE WORDS by Bianca Marais (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Katharine McEwan and Bahni Turpin
Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a 10-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband's death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred…until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin’s parents are left dead and Beauty’s daughter goes missing. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS by Sally Rooney (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Aoife McMahon
Frances is vaguely pursuing a career in writing while studying in Dublin. At a local poetry performance one night, she and her best friend, Bobbi, catch the eye of Melissa, a well-known photographer. As the girls are gradually drawn into Melissa's world, Frances is reluctantly impressed by the older woman's sophisticated home and tall, handsome husband, Nick. However amusing and ironic Frances and Nick’s flirtation seems at first, it gives way to a strange intimacy, and Frances’ friendship with Bobbi begins to fracture. Desperate to reconcile her inner life to the desires and vulnerabilities of her body, Frances' intellectual certainties begin to yield to something new: a painful and disorienting way of living from moment to moment. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE FIFTH REFLECTION: A Dot Meyerhoff Mystery by Ellen Kirschman (Mystery)
Police psychologist Dr. Dot Meyerhoff is pulled into the vortex of a terrible crime involving an eccentric photographer whose images of nude children make her a prime suspect in the disappearance of her own daughter. However, she is trapped between her allegiance to the principal investigator, a young officer whose dedication to work and obsession with finding the missing child is tearing his own family apart, her complicated connections to the photographer, and her unstable relationship with the police chief. As Dot's psychological expertise and determination contribute to solving the mystery, her involvement with the missing child's extended, dysfunctional family brings her face-to-face with painful psychological issues of her own. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on July 18th
Below are some notable titles releasing on July 18th 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 July 17th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
AFTERLIFE by Marcus Sakey (Science Fiction/Thriller)
The last thing FBI agent Will Brody remembers is the explosion. Claire McCoy, the head of an FBI task force, stands over his body. A terrorist has claimed 18 lives and thrown the nation into panic. Against this horror, Claire fell in love with Will --- and all that matters to them is getting back to each other.
BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS by Lawrence Osborne (Psychological Suspense)
While on a hike on the Greek island of Hydra, Naomi and Samantha come across a man named Faoud, a migrant from Syria and a casualty of the crisis raging across the Aegean sea. When a simple plan of revenge goes horrifically wrong, Faoud must go on the run while the girls come to terms with the terrible consequences they have set in motion.
BLAME by Jeff Abbott (Psychological Thriller)
Jane Norton crashed her car two years ago, killing her friend David and leaving her with amnesia. At first, everyone was sympathetic. Then they found Jane's note: I wish we were dead together. From that day, the town turned against her. Now, she must find out who has just written her an anonymous message: I know what really happened. I know what you don't remember...
THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. Paris (Psychological Thriller)
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside --- the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? She just can’t forget that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt. Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her.
COLLARED: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Lawyer Andy Carpenter’s true passion is the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs with his friend, Willie Miller. A dog left abandoned at the shelter one morning turns out to be the “DNA dog,” which helps renew the search for a missing child. Andy and his team enter the case, but what they start to uncover is far more complicated and dangerous than they ever expected.
A DISTANT VIEW OF EVERYTHING: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
Bea Shandon, an old acquaintance of Isabel Dalhousie’s, introduced a wealthy female friend to a cosmetic surgeon at her most recent dinner party. Then new information comes to light about the surgeon that causes Bea to doubt his motives and the auspiciousness of the match. Isabel agrees to find out more, but as her enquiries take an unexpected turn, she starts to wonder whom exactly she should be investigating.
THE FALLEN: A Quinn Colson Novel by Ace Atkins (Thriller)
Mississippi sheriff Quinn Colson had to admit he admired the bank robbers. A new bank was hit almost every week, and the robbers rushed in and out with such skill and precision it reminded him of raids he’d led back in Afghanistan and Iraq when he was an army ranger. If he stood any chance of catching them, he was going to need the help of old allies, new enemies and a lot of luck.
THE LATE SHOW by Michael Connelly (Thriller)
Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none. But one night she catches two assignments she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. As the investigations entwine, they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won't give up her job.
LOOK BEHIND YOU by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen (Thriller)
A serial killer is on the loose in San Diego with a most unusual M.O. With each kill, the perpetrator leaves behind mystifying random objects. In this confusing array of unrelated evidence, the one thing that is clear is that the murders all have one characteristic in common: they all require the specific skills of Kendra Michaels, hired gun for both the CIA and FBI.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
Our Latest Poll: Liking Characters in a Book
Influencing Your Liking a Book
Do your feelings about the characters in a book influence whether or not you like the book?
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If I like some or most of the characters, I usually will like the book.
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If I do not like some or most of the characters, I usually will not like the book.
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My feelings about the characters do not influence how I feel about a book.
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I am not sure how I feel about this.
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, July 21st at noon ET.
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 July 7th to July 21st at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE BREAKDOWN by B. A. Paris and TWO NIGHTS by Kathy Reichs.
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 July 5th to August 1st at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Daniel Silva's HOUSE OF SPIES, performed by George Guidall, and Adriana Trigiani's KISS CARLO, performed by Edoardo Ballerini.
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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