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The calendar has flipped to February. For all of you who vowed to read more this year, do a quick assessment and see if you are on track. I know, this is a math exercise, not reading, but this early in the year, you may be able to use your fingers.
I already have broken my resolution to write down everything that I read, so I am doing some re-con on that. This is going to be a reading weekend. I am trying to make no plans except reading and, okay, watching the Super Bowl and the special episode of “This Is Us” that is airing right after it. I mean, I have to find out what happened to Jack. The clues on this have been well placed.
There are times when this show requires “close watching,” and I am known for multi-tasking and watching as I answer email. Thus I have to rewind to see the huge clue, like the smoke detector needed batteries, when I read about it later. When I am not answering emails while I watch, I may be picking up a dropped stitch in knitting. I rarely “just watch” television.
I have been reading a novel called ONLY CHILD by Rhiannon Navin, which is coming out on Tuesday. First grader Zach Taylor is a survivor of a school shooting where 19 people are killed, including his brother. I only am about 50 pages in, but Zach’s voice has me completely captivated, much like five-year-old Jack in ROOM. I love it when even in the first pages of a book, I already am hearing the voice clearly. Stay tuned for more on this one.
We have had some requests from readers that I would love your ideas on.
First up, I had a request from Joy (her name is perfect for this question), one of our ReadingGroupGuides.com readers, for a “happy book” suggestion for her book group. As she said, "From the mud in Mississippi, to war-time Europe, trekking through the Amazonian jungle, to President Lincoln mourning his son, these were pretty depressing. I need a happy book to suggest for our book club. Any ideas?” I flipped through my shelves of recent reads and am coming up dry. Send me suggestions at Carol@bookreporter.com with the subject line “Happy Book.”
Second, Lee wrote that “a friend of mine is going into the hospital next week for some testing that may lead to heart surgery. Yesterday, when I saw her at our monthly Book Club meeting, she asked me if I could gather a list of great historical fiction titles, which is her favorite genre.” I am going to make a list for her, but I welcome your recommendations. Write your suggestions to me at Carol@bookreporter.com with the subject line “Great Historical Fiction.”
As promised, we’re pleased to share with you our tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin, who passed away last week at the age of 88. Many thanks to our longtime reviewer, Katherine B. Weissman, for sharing her memories of Le Guin with us and the impact she had on her both as a reader and as a writer.
HELLBENT, the third book in Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series, is one of two titles we’re featuring this week in our New Release Spotlight. Taken from a group home at age 12, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as an off-the-books government assassin: Orphan X. After he broke with the Orphan Program, Evan disappeared and reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, a man spoken about only in whispers and dedicated to helping the truly desperate. But this time, the voice on the other end is Jack Johns, the man who raised and trained him. Secret government forces are busy trying to scrub the remaining assets and traces of the Orphan Program, and they have finally tracked down Jack. With little time remaining, Jack gives Evan his final assignment: find and protect his last protégé and recruit for the program.
Joe Hartlaub has our review and says, “HELLBENT is one of those rare books that moves much more quickly than its page count would suggest… [Hurwitz’s] prose style will keep your attention firmly rooted from beginning to end in the plot and those intriguing characters who populate it. It doesn’t get any better than this.” HELLBENT will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick; find out why in next week’s newsletter. Who else has a crush on Evan Smoak?
Other books we’re reviewing this week include STILL ME by Jojo Moyes, which finds Louisa Clark in New York ready to start a new life and confident that she can keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles; DARK IN DEATH, the 46th(!) installment in J. D. Robb’s In Death series, in which Lieutenant Eve Dallas takes on a case of death imitating art; and THE GRAVE’S A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, a new mystery from Alan Bradley that marks the return of Flavia de Luce, who is struggling to fill her empty days in the wake of an unthinkable family tragedy.
Our second New Release Spotlight title is HERE WE LIE by Paula Treick DeBoard. Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are complete opposites on paper. Megan is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. When they become roommates at a private women’s college, they forge a strong friendship. The summer before senior year, Megan joins Lauren and her family on their private island off the coast of Maine. But late one night, something unspeakable happens that tears them apart. Many years later, Megan publicly comes forward about what happened that fateful night, revealing a horrible truth and threatening to expose long-buried secrets.
NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland (our current New Release Spotlight title) and ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL by Sarah Vaughan, both of which we reviewed last week, are my latest Bets On picks. Click on each of the titles for my commentary.
Our Books on Screen feature has been updated for February. Feature films include Fifty Shades Freed, Annihilation and Every Day; on the small screen will be the series premieres of “The Looming Tower” and “Altered Carbon,” along with the season two finale of “Victoria”; and among this month’s DVD releases are Wonder, Same Kind of Different as Me and Murder on the Orient Express.
In this week’s Winter Reading contests, we gave away ALMOST MISSED YOU by Jessica Strawser, WHITE HOUSES by Amy Bloom, and two Bets On selections: THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A. J. Finn and THE MOTHER'S PROMISE by Sally Hepworth. Next week’s prizes will be ALTERNATE SIDE by Anna Quindlen, THE MASTERPIECE by Francine Rivers (our current Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight title), THINGS TO DO WHEN IT’S RAINING by Marissa Stapley, and THE UNFORGOTTEN by Laura Powell. We’ll announce the first contest of the week on Monday, February 5th at noon ET.
If you haven’t had a chance to enter our Valentine’s Day contest, please consider doing so. We have seven love-themed books (and chocolates!) to give away to five readers. All you have to do is fill out this form by Wednesday, February 14th at noon ET.
The audio version of one of our Valentine’s Day books, Sophie Kinsella’s SURPRISE ME (read by Fiona Hardingham), is a prize in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest; the other is Tara Westover’s EDUCATED, read by Julia Whelan, a fabulous memoir that will be a Bets On selection. Let us know by Thursday, March 1st at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win both these audio titles.
And speaking of audiobooks, we’d like to point out that Carrie Fisher has won a posthumous Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Award for her narration of her 2016 memoir, THE PRINCESS DIARIST. She beat out Bruce Springsteen, Bernie Sanders and Neil deGrasse Tyson for her first-ever Grammy win. Fisher recorded the audiobook shortly before her death with her daughter, Billie Lourd, who narrated the diary entries featured in the book.
We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Our latest prize books are THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah (which will be a Bets On pick) and LOOK FOR ME by Lisa Gardner. Let us know by Friday, February 16th at noon ET what books you’ve finished reading, and you’ll have an opportunity to win these highly anticipated novels. Reviews of both will be featured in next week’s newsletter.
Do you reread books? That’s our latest poll question; click here to let us know what you typically do.
In our previous poll, we wanted to know if you read or listen to author interviews. 63% of you read author interviews on either authors’ websites or publishers’ websites; 53% read them on Bookreporter.com (we love seeing that!), and 46% read them in print publications. When it comes to audio interviews, 15% listen on podcasts and 14% listen on either authors’ websites or publishers’ websites. Click here for all the results.
The nominees for the 2017 Agatha Awards were announced this week; you can see them all here. The winners will be announced on April 29th at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel in Bethesda, MD.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
Pamela wrote this about my trip to Memphis: “I read the Bookreporter newsletter as a break at work, and was just reading about your trip to Memphis. It sounds wonderful. You mentioned you've never been to Mississippi. I was raised in the Delta. There are some great bookstores there. I hope you can make it one of these days. My grandmother lived in the little town of Greenwood, Mississippi --- Turnrow Book Co. is a really terrific place, with (as you might imagine) a section devoted to Southern literature and Delta authors. Another tiny town, Clinton, has Pentimento, one of those floor-to-ceiling-bookshelf places. And in Oxford --- home of William Faulkner, John Grisham and the University of Mississippi --- there is Square Books (on the square, of course). There is a book conference coming up at Ole Miss in March, and the store is featuring SING, UNBURIED, SING on its homepage. Willie Morris grew up in nearby Yazoo County; I was privileged to hear him speak before he died. Lots of literary history.” For those who are traveling that way, consider this a travelogue, and I am adding these to my future travels list.
Susan wrote, “I was a prize winner of Bets On books for 2017. The books arrived this week, and it was just like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one. Thank you so very much for the books. I look forward to reading them and passing them along to friends.” I hope Susan enjoys them as much as I did...and I love that winners are sharing!
And Kathy, another winner, wrote, “I was a winner of the End-of-the-Year Contest and received five wonderful books. I was so surprised when I received the box from Bookreporter. I recently retired and have been enjoying reading whenever I want. Now I have new books to enjoy. Thank you for my prize. I love your newsletter and look forward to it every Friday.”
"The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story": I have watched three episodes now. I remember this murder so well; I interviewed Ann Rule when it happened, and she dubbed Andrew Cunanan a spree killer, not a serial murderer. It’s not as good as the OJ series, but I love the fashion and I always get a kick out of Donatella Versace. I realized this week that it is written by Tom Rob Smith, who wrote CHILD 44.
No Clydesdales in the Super Bowl Ads: I always look for them, but this year they're not going to be there. Here’s why. Hey, you can bet people on whether the Clydesdales will be in an ad and win. It beats trying to pick the point spread, and we will not tell anyone that you had insider intel.
“The Trade” on Showtime: This documentary series kicks off tonight. I have previewed three episodes now; the scenes about the heroin drug trade in Mexico are as chilling as the pieces about the young addicts in the United States are sad.
Stunning Wind Chimes: For Christmas, our designer, Jenni, gave me the most stunning spiral wind chimes with turquoise on them. You can see them above. Tom built me a hanger for them, and they are now swaying in my home office where they look amazing against my copper walls.
Next week, Kristin Hannah is in town for the release of the aforementioned THE GREAT ALONE on Tuesday, and I am looking forward to seeing her at the Barnes & Noble at Union Square. If you will be there, let me know. Thursday night is a publisher press event that I will have more about next week; among the featured authors will be Paula McLain, whose upcoming book, LOVE AND RUIN, is on my reading pile for the weekend. We know her for THE PARIS WIFE; here she looks at Hemingway’s third wife, Martha Gellhorn (there were four wives for Hemingway for those keeping track). It will be in stores on May 1st.
This weekend there will be no fudge marble cakes, as the January birthday celebrations in our house are behind us. Greg is going to celebrate with my parents tomorrow. Cory is not coming home, saying, “You can pretend I am at a school far, far away this weekend,” as he does something with the drone club that he founded and watches the Super Bowl with friends.
I am into pigs in a blanket for the Super Bowl. And I bought some oval taco bowls that look fun --- trying to decide what to fill them with. I want to get back to Wegmans for pretzel bites. Sunday night is all about snack foods, though I think Tom and I are watching the game alone. Neither of us has a real passion for either team, so we are just hoping for a good game.
I am getting a massage tomorrow. I have so much reading to do that I am wondering if I can Bluetooth an audiobook during the massage.
I learned that another yarn shop near me is closing later this month. I think this is the sixth in the area to close. I rarely buy yarn online, and if I do, I buy from a local yarn shop. There are so many challenges for them today, just as we are seeing with other small businesses. Luckily, a store I love called The Yarn Attic is thriving. Of course, I could open a yarn shop in my house!
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!
New Release Spotlight:
HELLBENT by Gregg Hurwitz
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
HELLBENT: An Orphan X Novel by Gregg Hurwitz (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Scott Brick
Evan Smoak --- government assassin gone rogue --- returns in HELLBENT, an engrossing, unputdownable thriller from Gregg Hurwitz, the latest in his #1 international bestselling Orphan X series.
Taken from a group home at age 12, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as an off-the-books government assassin: Orphan X. After he broke with the Orphan Program, Evan disappeared and reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, a man spoken about only in whispers and dedicated to helping the truly desperate.
But this time, the voice on the other end is Jack Johns, the man who raised and trained him, the only father Evan has ever known. Secret government forces are busy trying to scrub the remaining assets and traces of the Orphan Program and they have finally tracked down Jack. With little time remaining, Jack gives Evan his last assignment: find and protect his last protégé and recruit for the program.
But Evan isn’t the only one after this last Orphan --- the new head of the Orphan Program, Charles Van Sciver, is mustering all the assets at his disposal to take out both Evan (Orphan X) and the target he is trying to protect.
HELLBENT will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. You can read Carol’s commentary in next week’s newsletter.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Gregg Hurwitz’s bio.
- Visit Gregg Hurwitz’s website and YouTube channel.
- Connect with Gregg Hurwitz on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Featured Review: STILL ME by Jojo Moyes
STILL ME by Jojo Moyes (Romance)
Audiobook available, read by Anna Acton
Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She is thrown into the world of the superrich Gopniks: Leonard and his much younger second wife, Agnes, and a never-ending array of household staff and hangers-on. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her job and New York life within this privileged world. Before she knows what's happening, Lou is mixing in New York high society, where she meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Reviewed by Katherine B. Weissman.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
Remembering Ursula K. Le Guin, 1929-2018
We at Bookreporter.com mourn the loss of Ursula K. Le Guin, who passed away on January 22nd at the age of 88.
Le Guin published over 60 books of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, children's literature and translation. She was the recipient of a National Book Award, six Hugo and five Nebula awards, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Bookreporter.com reviewer Katherine B. Weissman reflects on Le Guin’s phenomenal career and legacy --- as well as the impact she had on her both as a reader and as a writer --- in this wonderful tribute.
Click here to read our tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
New Release Spotlight: HERE WE LIE
by Paula Treick DeBoard
HERE WE LIE by Paula Treick DeBoard (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Cassandra Campbell
Megan Mazeros and Lauren Mabrey are complete opposites on paper. Megan is a girl from a modest Midwest background, and Lauren is the daughter of a senator from an esteemed New England family. When they become roommates at a private women’s college, they forge a strong, albeit unlikely, friendship, sharing clothes, advice and their most intimate secrets.
The summer before senior year, Megan joins Lauren and her family on their private island off the coast of Maine. It should be a summer of relaxation, a last hurrah before graduation and the pressures of post-college life. Then late one night, something unspeakable happens, searing through the framework of their friendship and tearing them apart. Many years later, Megan publicly comes forward about what happened that fateful night, revealing a horrible truth and threatening to expose long-buried secrets.
In this captivating and moving novel, Paula Treick DeBoard explores the power of friendship and secrets, and shows how hiding from the truth can lead to devastating consequences.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Paula Treick DeBoard’s bio.
- Click here to visit Paula Treick DeBoard’s website.
- Connect with Paula Treick DeBoard on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland
and ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL by Sarah Vaughan
NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland (Thriller)
NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland was one wildly compulsive read. One of my publishing colleagues told me that I would not be able to put it down once I started it, and she was right. I was reading on a Sunday and stopped to eat dinner. As soon as I put down my fork, I raced back to the couch to finish it, vowing to return to do the dishes later; I had to know what was going to happen next.
It’s tough to talk about thrillers without giving too much away, so here’s a very bare-bones description. Vivian Miller works as an analyst for the CIA uncovering Russian sleeper cells. She has been married to her husband, Matt, for 10 years, and they have four children, one of whom has a medical condition. One day, as she is decoding intel, Vivian learns something that will turn her world upside down.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read more in our New Release Spotlight.
Click here for more of Carol's commentary on NEED TO KNOW.
ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL by Sarah Vaughan (Thriller)
In ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL by Sarah Vaughan, James, a British politician, has been accused of a horrific crime. His wife, Sophie, is embarrassed by the accusation, but stands by him. She doubts he could have done this terrible thing, right? He is a good father, and a rising star, with connections to the Prime Minister, who he has known since his schoolboy days. But she also knows that James has a big secret from the past --- one that could haunt him if it is uncovered. This has her wondering, though she so wants to believe him.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read our interview with Sarah Vaughan.
- Click here to read more in our Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight.
Click here for more of Carol's commentary on ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL.
Bookreporter.com's 13th Annual
Valentine's Day Contest: Enter to Win Books
and Sweet Treats for Yourself or Your Valentine!
Valentine's Day is only a few heartbeats away. We can't think of a better way to celebrate this special day than to cuddle up with your loved one...and a good book, of course!
We're giving readers the chance to win one of our five Bookreporter.com Valentine's Day prize packages, which includes one copy of each of our featured titles and some delicious chocolates. Enter between now and Wednesday, February 14th at noon ET for your opportunity to be a lucky (and beloved!) winner.
If you're feeling frisky, share with us your all-time book character crush. Don't be shy, we all got 'em! We'll post the top 10 literary loves and lusts --- along with the five winners --- right after Valentine's Day.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to enter the contest.
Bookreporter.com's Fourth Annual
Winter Reading Contests and Feature
Our Winter Reading Contests and Feature have returned for a fourth year! On select days between now and February 23rd at noon ET, we are hosting a series of 24-hour contests spotlighting a book releasing this winter (or a book publishing in the spring that we would like to get on your radar now) and giving five lucky readers a chance to win it. 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, February 5th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight:
THE MASTERPIECE by Francine Rivers
THE MASTERPIECE by Francine Rivers (Romance)
In this unexpected and redemptive love story, successful LA artist Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want --- money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. The demons of Roman’s past seem to echo through the halls of his empty mansion and out across his breathtaking Topanga Canyon view. But Grace doesn’t know how her boss secretly wrestles with those demons: by tagging buildings as the Bird, a notorious but unidentified graffiti artist --- an alter ego that could destroy his career and land him in prison.
Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. After a disastrous marriage threw her life completely off course, she vowed never to let love steal her dreams again. But as she gets to know the enigmatic man behind the reputation, it’s as if the jagged pieces of both of their pasts slowly begin to fit together...until something so unexpected happens that it changes the course of their relationship --- and both their lives --- forever.
New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers returns to her romance roots with this probing tale that reminds us that mercy can shape even the most broken among us into an imperfect yet stunning masterpiece.
Be sure to check out our review of THE MASTERPIECE and our interview with Francine Rivers in next week's newsletter.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Francine Rivers’ bio.
- Click here to visit Francine Rivers’ website.
- Click here to connect with Francine Rivers on Facebook.
- Click here to see the 25 winners selected to read and comment on the book.
Click here to read more in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight.
February’s Books on Screen Feature
DARK IN DEATH by J. D. Robb (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Susan Ericksen
On a chilly February night, during a screening of Psycho in midtown, someone sunk an ice pick into the back of Chanel Rylan’s neck. As Eve Dallas puzzles over a homicide that seems carefully planned and yet oddly personal, she receives a tip from an unexpected source: an author of police thrillers who recognizes the crime --- from the pages of her own book. The good news is that Eve and her billionaire husband, Roarke, have an excuse to curl up in front of the fireplace with their cat, Galahad, reading mystery stories for research. The bad news is that time is running out before the next victim plays an unwitting role in a murderer’s deranged private drama. Reviewed by Jennifer McCord.
THE GRAVE’S A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley (Historical Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Jayne Entwistle
In the wake of an unthinkable family tragedy, 12-year-old Flavia de Luce is struggling to fill her empty days. For a needed escape, Dogger, the loyal family servant, suggests a boating trip for Flavia and her two older sisters. As their punt drifts past the church where a notorious vicar had recently dispatched three of his female parishioners by spiking their communion wine with cyanide, Flavia, an expert chemist with a passion for poisons, is ecstatic. Suddenly something grazes her fingers as she dangles them in the water. She clamps down on the object, which turns out to be a human head, attached to a human body. If anything could take Flavia’s mind off sorrow, it is solving a murder --- although one that may lead the young sleuth to an early grave. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
RED CLOCKS by Leni Zumas (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Erin Bennett and Karissa Vacker
Abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers. Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own, while also writing a biography of Eivør, a little-known 19th-century female polar explorer. Susan is a frustrated mother of two, trapped in a crumbling marriage. Mattie is the adopted daughter of doting parents and one of Ro's best students, who finds herself pregnant with nowhere to turn. And Gin is the gifted, forest-dwelling herbalist, or "mender," who brings all their fates together when she's arrested and put on trial in a frenzied modern-day witch hunt. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
THE POPE OF PALM BEACH by Tim Dorsey (Mystery/Humor)
Audiobook available, performed by Oliver Wyman
Perpetually hunting Floridian arcana and lore, Serge A. Storms and his sidekick, Coleman, are on a frenzied literary pilgrimage that leads them back to Riviera Beach, the cozy seaside town where the boys spent their formative years. Growing up, Serge was enthralled by the Legend of Riviera Beach, aka Darby, a welder at the port who surfed the local waves long before the hot spots were hot. Meanwhile, there was a much murkier legend that made the rounds of the schoolyards from Serge’s youth --- that of the crazy hermit living in a makeshift jungle compound farther up the mysterious Loxahatchee River than anyone dared to venture. Serge moved away but never forgot, and is back now, with those legends looming larger than ever in the rearview mirror of his memory. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
INTO THE BLACK NOWHERE: An UNSUB Novel by Meg Gardiner (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Hillary Huber
In southern Texas, on Saturday nights, women are disappearing. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin. Caitlin and the FBI's serial crime unit discover the first victim's body in the woods. She is laid out in a bloodstained, white baby-doll nightgown. A second victim in a white nightie lies deeper in the forest's darkness. Both bodies are surrounded by Polaroid photos, stuck in the earth like headstones. As Saturday night approaches, Caitlin and the FBI enter a desperate game of cat and mouse, racing to capture the cunning predator before he claims more victims. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
THIS COULD HURT by Jillian Medoff (Fiction)
Audiobook available; performed by Madeleine Maby, George Newbern, Nick Podehl, Sean Crisden, Andrea Gallo and Saskia Maarleveld
Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery. While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company’s bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places --- that is, if his high-powered wife has her way. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
DEATH AT NUREMBERG: A Clandestine Operations Novel by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Historical Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Alexander Cendese
When Jim Cronley hears he's just won the Legion of Merit, he figures there's another shoe to drop, and it's a big one: he's out as Chief, DCI-Europe. His new assignments, however, couldn't be bigger: to protect the U.S. chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials from a rumored Soviet NKGB kidnapping, and to hunt down and dismantle the infamous Odessa, an organization dedicated to helping Nazi war criminals escape to South America. It doesn't take long for the first attempt on his life, and then the second. NKGB or Odessa? Who can tell? The deeper he pushes, the more secrets tumble out. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.
BLOOD SISTERS by Jane Corry (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jayne Entwistle and Fiona Hardingham
Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead. Fifteen years later, Kitty can't speak and has no memory of the accident that's to blame. She lives in an institution and is unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn't keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face. Art teacher Alison is struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence. Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do. Reviewed by Dunja Bonacci Skenderović.
WHITE CHRYSANTHEMUM by Mary Lynn Bracht (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Greta Jung
Korea, 1943. Hana has lived her entire life under Japanese occupation. As a haenyeo, a female diver of the sea, she enjoys an independence that few other Koreans can still claim. Until the day Hana saves her younger sister from a Japanese soldier and is herself captured and transported to Manchuria. There she is forced to become a “comfort woman” in a Japanese military brothel. But haenyeo are women of power and strength. She will find her way home. South Korea, 2011. Emi has spent more than 60 years trying to forget the sacrifice her sister made, but she must confront the past to discover peace. Seeing the healing of her children and her country, can Emi move beyond the legacy of war to find forgiveness? Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
KILLER CHOICE by Tom Hunt (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Ray Porter
Gary Foster’s life is finally heading in the right direction. After years of trying, his wife, Beth, is pregnant, and he recently opened a business with his brother. But one phone call changes everything. After collapsing suddenly, Beth has been rushed to the hospital. Tests reveal a devastating diagnosis: an inoperable brain tumor. Their only hope is an expensive experimental treatment available abroad, with a cost that’s out of their reach. And Beth’s time is running out. Then a strange man approaches Gary and offers the money he needs, on one condition: that he kill someone, no questions asked. End one life to save another. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
OUR LADY OF THE PRAIRIE by Thisbe Nissen (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Hillary Huber
In the space of a few torrid months on the Iowa prairie, Phillipa Maakestad --- long-married theater professor and mother of an unstable daughter --- grapples with a life turned upside down. After falling headlong into a passionate affair during a semester spent teaching in Ohio, Phillipa returns home to Iowa for her daughter Ginny’s wedding. There, Phillipa must endure (among other things) a wedding-day tornado, a menace of a mother-in-law who may or may not have been a Nazi collaborator, and the tragicomic revenge fantasies of her heretofore docile husband. Naturally, she does what any newly liberated woman would do: she takes a match to her life on the prairie and then steps back to survey the wreckage. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE BLOODY SPUR: A Caleb York Western by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins (Western)
Audiobook available, read by Phil Gigante
The Santa Fe Railroad wants to build a spur through Trinidad, New Mexico, linking the town to the cattle trade. Only one man stands against it --- rancher George Cullen. At the request of the town council, Sheriff Caleb York rides out to the Bar-O to reason with his old friend. But the stubborn blind rancher won’t budge. Cullen’s former partner, Burt O’Malley, has recently returned from a 20-year stint in the pen for manslaughter. And hired gun Alver Hollis, the much-feared Preacherman, has also shown up with two cronies, claiming they’re in town for the biggest poker game in the territory. With murder in the wind, the whole town is in danger. Who will be the next target? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on February 6th
Below are some notable titles releasing on February 6th 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 February 5th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones (Fiction)
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined.
AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN by Susan Meissner (Historical Fiction)
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start. Into this bustling town came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters a chance at a better life. But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America.
BEAUTIFUL DAYS: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates (Fiction/Short Stories)
In BEAUTIFUL DAYS, Joyce Carol Oates explores the most secret, intimate and unacknowledged interior lives of characters not unlike ourselves, who assert their independence in acts of bold and often irrevocable defiance.
A DEATH IN LIVE OAK: A Jack Swyteck Novel by James Grippando (Legal Thriller)
When the body of Jamal Cousin, president of the preeminent black fraternity at Florida's flagship university, is discovered hogtied in the Stygian water swamps of the Suwanee River Valley, the death sets off a firestorm that threatens to rage out of control when a fellow student, Mark Towson, the president of a prominent white fraternity, is accused of the crime.
FEEL FREE: Essays by Zadie Smith (Essays)
Arranged into five sections --- In the World, In the Audience, In the Gallery, On the Bookshelf, and Feel Free --- Zadie Smith’s new collection poses questions we immediately recognize. What is The Social Network --- and Facebook itself --- really about? Why do we love libraries? What will we tell our granddaughters about our collective failure to address global warming?
THE GATE KEEPER: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd (Historical Mystery)
A restless Ian Rutledge drives aimlessly, haunted by the past, and narrowly misses a motorcar stopped in the middle of a desolate road. Standing beside the vehicle is a woman with blood on her hands and a dead man at her feet. She swears she didn’t kill Stephen Wentworth. Rutledge persuades Scotland Yard to give him the inquiry. But is he seeking justice --- or fleeing painful memories in London?
THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah (Historical Fiction)
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. But as winter approaches, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture.
LOOK FOR ME by Lisa Gardner (Mystery/Thriller)
The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one --- a 16-year-old girl --- missing. Detective D. D. Warren is on the case --- but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.
THE MASTERPIECE by Francine Rivers (Romance)
Successful LA artist Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want. Only Grace Moore, his newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. As she gets to know the enigmatic man behind the reputation, something so unexpected happens that it changes the course of their relationship --- and both their lives --- forever.
A TIME OF LOVE AND TARTAN: A 44 Scotland Yard Novel by Alexander McCall Smith (Fiction)
When Pat accepts her narcissistic ex-boyfriend Bruce's invitation for coffee, she has no idea of the complications in her romantic and professional life that will follow. Meanwhile, Matthew, her boss at the art gallery, attracts the attention of the police after a misunderstanding at the local bookstore.
WE ARE TAKING ONLY WHAT WE NEED: Stories by Stephanie Powell Watts (Fiction/Short Stories)
The 10 stories in Stephanie Powell Watts’ collection deal with both the ties that bind and the gulf that separates generations --- from children confronting the fallibility of their own parents for the first time to adults finding themselves forced to start over again and again.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
Our Latest Poll: Rereading Books
Do you reread books? Please check all that apply.
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I have favorites that I have read more than once.
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I have done this, but I do not make a habit of it.
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I do this all the time.
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This is an interesting idea, but I have not done it.
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I have a stack that I plan to reread.
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I do not have time to reread; there’s so much out there to read.
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I have done this by accident when I failed to note that I already had read a book!
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, February 16th 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 February 2nd to February 16th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah and LOOK FOR ME by Lisa Gardner.
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 February 1st to March 1st at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Tara Westover's EDUCATED: A Memoir, read by Julia Whelan, and Sophie Kinsella's SURPRISE ME, read by Fiona Hardingham.
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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