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A Week with Lots of Pleasant Surprises
Last weekend, we had a brief glimpse of summer when the temperatures climbed up to 82. I am happy to say that I did not forget how to sit in the sun and relax with a book. There was not a leaf on a tree and thus no shade, the umbrellas were still in storage and I was melting, but it was so nice to be outside. And then the temperature dropped on Sunday and, bam, we were back to winter. But hey, I practiced for summer lounging and it felt great.
There are times when I trip across a book and it grabs me. I am going to Allison Pataki’s book party in a couple of weeks. We’ll be celebrating her memoir, BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES, which is coming out on May 1st. A couple of years ago, I was at a party for her historical novel, SISI. Though we had not met before, she was so warm and gracious, spending time with every person in the room. I thought to myself, She really has it all.
Someone mentioned that her life had had a twist the year before. When she was five months pregnant, she and her husband had gone on a babymoon to Hawaii. They left from Chicago, planning a stop in Seattle on the way to see her brother-in-law. Shortly after they took off, her husband, who was just 30 years old at the time, asked her to look at his eye, as he could not see out of it. She looked and realized something was dreadfully wrong as his pupil had widened so much that she could not see the iris of his eye. Moments later, he was unconscious, she was seeking help from the flight crew, and shortly afterwards they made an emergency landing in Fargo, ND, where he was diagnosed with a stroke.
BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES is their story of the years that led up to that moment, as well as the time that followed as Dave recovered and their baby daughter was born. It’s beautifully written, and there is a lovely foreword by Lee Woodruff (author of IN AN INSTANT), who knows all too well the impact of a traumatic brain injury on a family from her own husband, Bob. Allison really does have it all --- just not in the way I first perceived her.
My next surprise was a fun visit with Mary Lou, a Bookreporter reader who is visiting the city from Lancaster, PA. When we first moved into our new office, Mary Lou got in touch and asked if she could visit when she was in the city in April, as she would be staying a block away. On Tuesday, I was walking past the hotel where she mentioned she was staying. I remembered that conversation and wondered when she was coming to town. On Thursday, when the phone rang, I was so happy to hear from her. We talked books, especially the historical fiction titles that she most enjoys, and I loved hearing about her book club and what they are reading. They select books from different genres each year, with an eye on guiding people to widen their reading horizons. By the time she left, I felt like I had spent time with a friend, though we had met an hour before. I love meeting with readers like this. You can see a photo of us above.
Speaking of meeting readers, next Thursday at 7pm, I will be at the Fairfield Woods Branch Library in Fairfield, CT, to share suggested book club titles with readers. You can register here. I hope to see many of you there.
“The Great American Read” is a new series premiering on PBS on May 22nd at 8pm ET focusing on the 100 best-loved novels in America. Two of our staffers, Nicole and Rebecca, attended a special preview this morning at the beautiful Morgan Library, where they listened to a panel of speakers that included multiple Emmy Award winner and news reporter Meredith Vieira, actress Diane Lane and author Armistead Maupin talk about the upcoming series and reveal the top 100 best-loved list.
The series will showcase and explore these novels, explaining why and how these particular books have touched readers. The two-hour premiere will introduce the 100 books on the list to viewers, and beginning that night, everyone is invited to vote for his or her favorite of the 100. Throughout the course of the series, viewers can continue to vote (as many times as you like!) and tune in to learn more about common themes throughout all of the books. Voting will end in October, and the top best-loved book in America will be revealed.
The point is to get readers and non-readers alike excited about books and encourage a national conversation about what makes a novel so great. You can see the recently released top 100 list here and learn more about the series here. Be sure to tune in on May 22nd and become a part of the social media dialogue to show and share your love for books!
We’re pleased to announce the start of our two-week contest for Beatriz Wiilliams’ upcoming novel, THE SUMMER WIVES. Miranda Schuyler arrives on Winthrop Island, still reeling from the loss of her father in the Second World War. When her mother marries Hugh Fisher, Miranda is catapulted into a heady new world, and Miranda’s new stepsister, Isobel, is eager to draw her into the arcane customs of Winthrop society. But Miranda finds herself drawn to Joseph Vargas, who has enjoyed an intense, complex friendship with Isobel. As the summer winds down, Miranda is caught in a catastrophe that will shatter Winthrop’s hard-won tranquility and banish her from the island for nearly two decades.
The book doesn’t release until July 10th, but we’re giving 25 readers the chance to preview it and give us their feedback on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, May 3rd at noon ET. You may remember my writing that I met Beatriz a couple of months ago and immediately started reading THE SUMMER WIVES. You will be in for a treat with this book, an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On title. Enter so you can be among the first to read it!
Don't forget our contest for LOVE AND RUIN, Paula McLain’s new novel releasing on May 1st; it’s our latest Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight title. As we talked about in last week’s newsletter, we’re awarding the book to 25 readers, who will then share their comments about it with us. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 26th at noon ET. Those who loved THE PARIS WIFE (a Bets On title) are sure to enjoy LOVE AND RUIN as McLain returns to the subject of Ernest Hemingway, this time shifting her focus from his first wife, Hadley Richardson, to his third wife, the great war correspondent Martha Gellhorn. This, too, will be a Bets On pick...and pssst, I think this book is even more brilliant than THE PARIS WIFE. Yes, you are hearing that here!
Also continuing from last week (and for the next three weeks) is our 13th annual Mother's Day contest. As we’ve done for the past 12 years, we’re giving away a number of fiction and nonfiction titles that we think moms will love; the prize package has a really terrific group of titles! Five lucky readers will win all 15 books for themselves or for their mom. Be sure to enter by Monday, May 14th at noon ET, and click here to read more about our featured titles.
Now to this week’s reviews...
David Baldacci returns with the fourth book in his Memory Man series, THE FALLEN. Following a football-related head injury that altered his personality, Amos Decker is now unable to forget even the smallest detail --- which proves to be both a blessing and a curse. In this latest installment of the series, Decker's life might be about to change again, as he and his FBI colleague, Alex Jamison, investigate four bizarre murders in the space of two weeks in the rust belt town of Baronville, Pennsylvania. However, Decker will find that his previously infallible memory may not be so trustworthy after all.
According to reviewer Ray Palen, “THE FALLEN, like all of Baldacci's work, continues rolling like a runaway train out of control. The pace picks up considerably with each passing chapter until the inevitable ending that most surely will deliver a resolution at about the same time you are catching your breath.”
Also releasing this week is THEN SHE WAS GONE, a new psychological thriller from Lisa Jewell, whose previous book, I FOUND YOU, was a Bets On pick. Her latest novel introduces readers to Laurel Mack, whose daughter, Ellie, has been missing for the past 10 years. Laurel is trying to get her life back on track, but when she meets someone who is the spitting image of Ellie, the many unanswered questions surrounding Ellie’s disappearance begin to haunt Laurel all over again.
Norah Piehl has our review and says, “In addition to being a complex and genuinely suspenseful narrative, THEN SHE WAS GONE is a rich study of the ways in which people respond to grief and how past trauma can continue to shape their decision-making and relationships years or decades later.” I read this book last December, and as I said in a previous newsletter, “Most attentive readers will guess what has happened fairly quickly, but why and how things unfolded the way they did keeps you turning the pages --- the sign of strong writing.” I will be interviewing Lisa about the book at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ, on Monday, May 7th at 7pm. I hope to see some of you there!
THE FALLEN and THEN SHE WAS GONE are our current Word of Mouth prizes. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win both novels. Be sure to enter by Friday, April 27th at noon ET.
Other books we’re reviewing this week include MACBETH, Jo Nesbø's retelling of Shakespeare’s play as a crime thriller set during the 1970s in a corrupt and run-down industrial town; EUNICE, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Eileen McNamara’s examination of the life and times of Joe Kennedy’s daughter, Eunice Kennedy Shriver; and THE ONLY STORY, the latest novel from Julian Barnes, the Man Booker Prize-winning author of THE SENSE OF AN ENDING.
Please keep in mind our ReadingGroupGuides.com contest for Lisa Scottoline’s latest novel, AFTER ANNA. Ten book groups will win six digital copies of the audiobook, which is read by Mozhan Marno and Jeremy Bobb, and share their comments on it. We also are awarding 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. To enter, all you have to do is fill out this form by Wednesday, May 2nd at noon ET. In the meantime, check out our review and listen to a clip from the audiobook.
By the way, AFTER ANNA debuted in the #1 slot on Bookscan, which measures books sold around the country, AND it was the MOST eagerly awaited title in our recent Bookreporter.com poll about April releases that you wanted to read. So jump on this opportunity to give it a listen. I loved it; Lisa is a fabulous storyteller.
This year’s Spring Preview contests wrapped up this week with our final prize book, WELL, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY: Memoirs and Mistakes of an Accidental Activist by Franchesca Ramsey. Congratulations to the winners of our 18 contests, and many thanks to all who entered!
Our next series of 24-hour giveaways will be our Summer Reading contests, and they kick off on Tuesday, May 15th. If you would like to receive a newsletter announcing each day’s Summer Reading title, sign up here to do so.
Our poll continues to ask which of 20 paperbacks releasing this month you have read or are planning to read. Click here to let us know.
There’s still time to enter our Sounding Off on Audio contest, where we’ve giving away the audio versions of two Bets On picks: Sally Hepworth's THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR, read by Barrie Kreinik, and Alice Feeney's SOMETIMES I LIE, read by Stephanie Racine. Let us know by Tuesday, May 1st at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win both these audio titles.
It was announced this week that LESS by Andrew Sean Greer won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; you can read our review here. IN THE DISTANCE by Hernan Diaz and THE IDIOT by Elif Batuman were the runners-up for the fiction prize. Click here for the complete list of winners and nominees in the Journalism, Letters, Drama and Music categories.
We have some exciting bookish news to share with you from two of our reviewers. Leah DeCesare’s award-winning debut novel, FORKS, KNIVES, AND SPOONS, released last April. To celebrate its one-year birthday, the book is available for download for just $1.12 on Amazon Kindle, and $1.99 on Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iTunes iBooks, Google Play and Indie Bookstores Kobo. This super sale ends on Sunday the 22nd, so be sure to download your copy now before it’s too late!
Also, we are happy to report that Kate Ayers, a longtime reviewer of ours, has just released the second book in her Eyes & Ears mystery series, GAMES PEOPLE PLAY. Here’s the plot description: Abigail Dalton and Bridger Flynn have been handed another big cold case to solve for Portland PD, this one involving Jonathon Makepeace, one of the city's richest men, and his wife, the police commissioner. The victim was Jonathon's girlfriend. She died while on a role-playing weekend where virtually everyone was in disguise, pretending to be the survivors of an apocalypse. All of the weapons were supposed to be props, but one of them was real. And while everyone else was playing a game, the killer was deadly serious.
News & Pop Culture:
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is this weekend. If any of our readers are going to be there, let me know. We would love to interview you about it.
"Bosch": I tried to pace myself watching the 10 episodes in season four on Amazon Prime and failed abysmally. I watched six on Friday night and finished the last four on Saturday. It was just so, so good. I will not share more, except to say…episode four was shocking and amazing.
"Scandal": I was ready for this show to end a couple of seasons ago; it started to step all over itself. That said, Kerry Washington brought so much to this role --- a really iconic character. "It's handled" and her iconic walk will be remembered for a long time.
"Safe": This new Netflix series created by Harlan Coben is coming on May 10th. Check out the trailer here. I can see myself getting swept up in this one.
Iain Armitage: He plays Young Sheldon and is such a fun actor to watch. His track record thus far is amazing --- "Big Little Lies," The Glass Castle --- and he's only nine years old!
Unbroken: Path to Redemption: I always thought this book deserved a second film to tell the rest of Louis Zamperini's story. The movie will be in theaters on October 5th. You can see the trailer here.
"Seven Seconds": I am halfway through this on Netflix. I see why it has such a terrific audience rating.
"The Handmaid’s Tale": Season two kicks off Wednesday on Hulu. The first season was so well done; I am looking forward to seeing where this one takes us. Confession: I have not read the book!
Saturday is Local Yarn Store Day. There is a yarn crawl in New Jersey, as there will be in other parts of the country. I am planning to check out a store called Pins & Needles in Princeton (though for some reason, this store is not part of the crawl) where they carry Koigu yarn; I want to get some to add to a scarf that I am making. Then I will grab dinner at a fun Mexican restaurant there before we head out to the Banff Film Festival.Tom and I enjoyed this festival enormously last year; I am looking forward to it!
I have no plans for the rest of the weekend, and I like those words together in a sentence! Cory will be attending his fraternity’s spring formal, and Greg will be heading on the road tomorrow morning for his cross-country trip, which is very exciting. While I have traveled a lot, I have not driven across the entire country, which IS on my bucket list.
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!
Note to Our Readers:
A Special Dedicated Newsletter is Coming on Wednesday!
This Wednesday, April 25th, we are sending all of our Bookreporter.com newsletter subscribers a special dedicated newsletter announcing a MAJOR giveaway from one of our sponsors. The prize? We can’t reveal it now, but we know book lovers will be interested. Be sure to check your inbox on Wednesday afternoon for all the details!
Featured Review: THE FALLEN by David Baldacci
THE FALLEN by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy
Something sinister is going on in Baronville. The rust belt town has seen four bizarre murders in the space of two weeks. Cryptic clues left at the scenes have the police stumped. Amos Decker and his FBI colleague, Alex Jamison, are in Baronville visiting Alex's sister and her family. Decker has only been there a few hours when he stumbles on a horrific double murder scene. Then the next killing hits sickeningly close to home. And with the lives of people he cares about suddenly hanging in the balance, Decker begins to realize that the recent string of deaths may be only one small piece of a much larger scheme --- with consequences that will reach far beyond Baronville. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: MACBETH by Jo Nesbø
MACBETH by Jo Nesbø (Historical Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Euan Morton
Set in the 1970s in a run-down, rainy industrial town, Jo Nesbo's MACBETH centers on a police force struggling to shed an incessant drug problem. Duncan, chief of police, is idealistic and visionary, a dream to the townspeople but a nightmare for criminals. The drug trade is ruled by two drug lords, one of whom --- a master of manipulation named Hecate --- has connections with the highest in power, and plans to use them to get his way. Hecate’s plot hinges on steadily, insidiously manipulating Inspector Macbeth: the head of SWAT and a man already susceptible to violent and paranoid tendencies. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell
THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Helen Duff
Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been 10 years since her daughter, Ellie, disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters --- and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away. Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions about Ellie's disappearance that she has tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
New Special Contest: Enter to Win an Advance Copy of THE SUMMER WIVES by Beatriz Williams
and Share Your Comments on It
We have 25 advance copies of THE SUMMER WIVES by Beatriz Williams --- an electrifying postwar fable of love, class, power and redemption set among the inhabitants of an island off the New England coast --- to give away to readers who would like to preview the book, which releases on July 10th, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, May 3rd at noon ET.
THE SUMMER WIVES by Beatriz Williams (Historical Fiction)
In the summer of 1951, Miranda Schuyler arrives on elite, secretive Winthrop Island as a schoolgirl from the margins of high society, still reeling from the loss of her father in the Second World War. When her beautiful mother marries Hugh Fisher, whose summer house on Winthrop overlooks the famous lighthouse, Miranda is catapulted into a heady new world of pedigrees and cocktails, status and swimming pools. Isobel Fisher, Miranda’s new stepsister --- all long legs and world-weary bravado, engaged to a wealthy Island scion --- is eager to draw Miranda into the arcane customs of Winthrop society.
But beneath the island’s patrician surface, there are really two clans: the summer families with their steadfast ways and quiet obsessions, and the working class of Portuguese fishermen and domestic workers who earn their living on the water and in the laundries of the summer houses. Uneasy among Isobel’s privileged friends, Miranda finds herself drawn to Joseph Vargas, whose father keeps the lighthouse with his mysterious wife. In summer, Joseph helps his father in the lobster boats, but in the autumn he returns to Brown University, where he’s determined to make something of himself. Since childhood, Joseph has enjoyed an intense, complex friendship with Isobel Fisher, and as the summer winds to its end, Miranda is caught in a catastrophe that will shatter Winthrop’s hard-won tranquility and banish Miranda from the island for nearly two decades.
Now, in the landmark summer of 1969, Miranda returns at last, as a renowned Shakespearean actress hiding a terrible heartbreak. On its surface, the Island remains the same --- determined to keep the outside world from its shores, fiercely loyal to those who belong. But the formerly powerful Fisher family is a shadow of itself, and Joseph Vargas has recently escaped the prison where he was incarcerated for the murder of Miranda’s stepfather 18 years earlier. What’s more, Miranda herself is no longer a naïve teenager, and she begins a fierce, inexorable quest for justice for the man she once loved...even if it means uncovering every last one of the secrets that bind together the families of Winthrop Island.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Beatriz Williams’ bio.
- Click here to visit Beatriz Williams’ website.
- Connect with Beatriz Williams on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click here to enter the contest.
Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight & Contest:
LOVE AND RUIN by Paula McLain
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
Paula McLain's latest novel, LOVE AND RUIN, is the story of Ernest Hemingway's passionate, stormy marriage to Martha Gellhorn --- a fiercely independent, ambitious young woman who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century. We have 25 advance copies to give away to readers who would like to read the book, which releases on May 1st, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, April 26th at noon ET.
LOVE AND RUIN by Paula McLain (Historical Fiction)
In 1937, 28-year-old Martha Gellhorn travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in the devastating conflict. It’s the adventure she’s been looking for and her chance to prove herself a worthy journalist in a field dominated by men. But she also finds herself unexpectedly --- and uncontrollably --- falling in love with Hemingway, a man on his way to becoming a legend.
In the shadow of the impending Second World War, and set against the turbulent backdrops of Madrid and Cuba, Martha and Ernest’s relationship and their professional careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, they are no longer equals, and Martha must make a choice: surrender to the confining demands of being a famous man’s wife, or risk losing Ernest by forging a path as her own woman and writer. It is a dilemma that could force her to break his heart, and hers.
Heralded by Ann Patchett as “the new star of historical fiction,” Paula McLain brings Gellhorn’s story richly to life and captures her as a heroine for the ages: a woman who will risk absolutely everything to find her own voice.
LOVE AND RUIN will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Don’t miss Carol’s commentary in the May 11th newsletter.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Paula McLain’s bio.
- Click here to visit Paula McLain’s website.
- Connect with Paula McLain on Facebook and Instagram.
Click here to read more in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight
and enter the contest.
Bookreporter.com's 13th Annual
Mother's Day Contest: Books Mom Will Love
Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, we're giving you the opportunity to win books for yourself or the special lady in your life in our 13th annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. From now through Monday, May 14th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our five prize packages, which includes 15 great fiction and nonfiction titles we think moms will love.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to enter the contest.
Special Contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
Enter to Win the Audiobook Edition of Lisa Scottoline’s AFTER ANNA and Share Your Comments on It
ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special audiobook contest for Lisa Scottoline's latest novel, AFTER ANNA. Ten book groups will win six digital copies of the audiobook, which is read by Mozhan Marno and Jeremy Bobb. Additionally, we'll be giving 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, May 2nd at noon ET.
In order to qualify as a winning group, your group must be able to commit to listening to and discussing AFTER ANNA, and sharing your group's feedback with us, by Friday, July 13th. We strongly encourage all winners to share their experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com’s “Sounding Off on Audio” feature.
AFTER ANNA Audiobook written by Lisa Scottoline, read by Mozhan Marno and Jeremy Bobb (Thriller)
Dr. Noah Alderman has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti. Despite her longing for the daughter she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, Maggie is happy too, and she’s even more overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets another chance to be a mother to the child she thought she'd lost forever: her only daughter, Anna. But events take a heartbreaking turn when Anna is murdered, and Noah is accused and tried for the heinous crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her daughter, but the realization that Anna's murder may have been at the hands of a husband she loves. In the wake of this tragedy, new information drives Maggie to search for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she ever could have imagined.
Riveting and disquieting, AFTER ANNA is a groundbreaking domestic thriller, as well as an audiobook of emotional justice and legal intrigue. And New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline will keep listeners hooked until the final shocking seconds.
- Click here to listen to a clip from the audiobook.
Click here to enter the contest.
An Interview with Ann Parker, Author of A DYING NOTE
Ann Parker’s award-winning Silver Rush mystery series features saloon owner Inez Stannert in the 1880s silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado. In this interview, Parker describes the extensive research she conducted for the sixth and latest installment, A DYING NOTE, in which Inez moves her base of operations from Leadville to San Francisco. She also talks about her inspiration for merging the historical western and crime genres, some memorable feedback she has received from readers about her novels, and the opportunity she has created by choosing a title that does not rhyme (unlike the previous five books in the series).
A DYING NOTE: A Silver Rush Mystery by Ann Parker (Historical Mystery)
It’s autumn of 1881, and Inez Stannert, still the co-owner of Leadville, Colorado's Silver Queen saloon, is settled in San Francisco with her young ward, Antonia Gizzi. Inez has turned her business talents to managing a music store, hoping to eventually become an equal partner in the enterprise with the store's owner, a celebrated local violinist. Inez's carefully constructed life for herself and Antonia threatens to tumble about her ears when the badly beaten body of a young musician washes up on the filthy banks of San Francisco's Mission Creek canal. Inez and Antonia become entangled in the mystery of his death when the musician turns out to have ties to Leadville, ties that threaten to expose Inez's notorious past.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the interview.
What’s New This Month on ReadingGroupGuides.com
In addition to the audiobook contest for Lisa Scottoline’s AFTER ANNA featured above, we have one other contest currently running on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?": Win 12 Copies of THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See for Your Group
Each month in our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month" contest, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. This month's prize book is THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See, which is now available in paperback. A Bookreporter.com Bets On pick when it released in hardcover last year, this New York Times bestseller is a moving novel about tradition, tea farming, and the bonds between mothers and daughters. Enter here by Wednesday, May 2nd at noon ET.
Here are our latest featured guides:
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
Click here to visit ReadingGroupGuides.com.
THE ONLY STORY by Julian Barnes (Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Guy Mott
One summer in the ’60s, Paul comes home from university and is urged by his mother to join the tennis club. In the mixed-doubles tournament he's partnered with Susan Macleod, a fine player who is married and with whom he forms an immediate bond. Soon they are lovers. Clinging to each other as though their lives depend on it, they then set up house in London to escape his parents and the abusive Mr. Macleod. Decades later, Paul looks back at how they fell in love, how he freed Susan from a sterile marriage, and how --- gradually, relentlessly --- everything fell apart, and he found himself struggling to understand the intricacy and depth of the human heart. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
EUNICE: The Kennedy Who Changed the World by Eileen McNamara (Biography)
Audiobook available, read by Amanda Carlin
While Joe Kennedy was grooming his sons for the White House and the Senate, his Stanford-educated daughter Eunice was tapping her father’s fortune and her brothers’ political power to engineer one of the great civil rights movements of our time on behalf of millions of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Now, in EUNICE, Pulitzer Prize winner Eileen McNamara finally brings Eunice Kennedy Shriver out from her brothers’ shadow to show an officious, cigar-smoking, indefatigable woman of unladylike determination and deep compassion born of rage. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
THE ELIZAS by Sara Shepard (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jayme Mattler
When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness. Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Why are her editor, agent and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel --- until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
HEAD ON: A Novel of the Near Future by John Scalzi (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Amber Benson
Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent’s head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh-and-bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are “threeps,” robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden’s Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real and the crowds love it. Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field. Is it an accident or murder? FBI agents and Haden-related crime investigators Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are called in to uncover the truth --- and in doing so travel to the darker side of the fast-growing sport of Hilketa. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
OUR LITTLE SECRET by Roz Nay (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Erin Moon
The police have been interrogating Angela Petitjean for hours, asking about Saskia Parker. Saskia is the wife of Angela’s high school sweetheart, HP, and the mother of his child --- and she has vanished. Homicide Detective J. Novak believes Angela knows what happened to Saskia. But Angela has a different story to tell. It began more than a decade ago when she and HP met in high school. They became friends, fell in love and dated senior year. Everything changed when Angela went to college and Saskia entered the picture. Detective Novak needs to stop asking questions and listen to what Angela is telling him. And once he understands everything, he’ll have the truth he so desperately wants. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
BLACKFISH CITY by Sam J. Miller (Dystopian Fantasy/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Vikas Adam
After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle. Its denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, but crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population. When a strange new visitor arrives --- a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side --- the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
THE SAINT OF WOLVES AND BUTCHERS by Alex Grecian (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by January LaVoy
Travis Roan and his dog, Bear, are hunters, traveling the world pursuing evildoers in order to bring them to justice. They have now come to Kansas on the trail of Rudolph Bormann, a Nazi doctor and concentration camp administrator who snuck into the U.S. under the name Rudy Goodman in the 1950s and has at last been identified. Travis quickly learns that Goodman has powerful friends who will go to any length to protect the Nazi. What he doesn't know is that Goodman has furtively continued his diabolical work, amassing a congregation of followers who believe he possesses Godlike powers. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
AMERICA IS NOT THE HEART by Elaine Castillo (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Donnabella Mortel
How many lives fit in a lifetime? When Hero De Vera arrives in America --- haunted by the political upheaval in the Philippines and disowned by her parents --- she's already on her third. Her uncle gives her a fresh start in the Bay Area, and he doesn't ask about her past. His younger wife knows enough about the might and secrecy of the De Vera family to keep her head down. But their daughter --- the first American-born daughter in the family --- can't resist asking Hero about her damaged hands. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
LOVE AND DEATH IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: The Story of a Crime by Cutter Wood (True Crime)
Audiobook available, read by Joe Barrett
When a stolen car is recovered on the Gulf Coast of Florida, it sets off a search for a missing woman, local motel owner Sabine Musil-Buehler. Three men are named persons of interest, and the residents of Anna Maria Island begin to fear the worst. Then, with the days passing quickly, her motel is set on fire, her boyfriend flees the county, and detectives begin digging on the beach. Cutter Wood was a guest at Musil-Buehler’s motel as the search for the missing woman gained momentum, and he found himself drawn steadily deeper into the case. So he began meeting with the eccentric inhabitants of the island, with the earnest but stymied detectives, and with the affable man soon presumed to be her murderer. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
KILLING TOWN: The Lost First Mike Hammer Thriller by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins (Hard-boiled Mystery/Thriller)
Mike Hammer steals a ride on a train upstate to Killington. But he is welcomed by a nasty surprise: he is accused by police of raping and murdering a young woman near the freight yards. Roughed up by the cops and facing a murder charge, Hammer's future looks bleak. Only a beautiful blonde, Melba Charles --- daughter of powerful Senator Charles --- might possibly save him...if he pays the price. But why would Melba help save a man she has never met? And, more to the point, where is the real murderer? This first Mike Hammer novel --- begun by Mickey Spillane in the mid-'40s and completed 70 years later by Max Allan Collins --- is a gift to mystery fans on the occasion of the noir master's 100th birthday. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
FIRST PERSON by Richard Flanagan (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by David Linski
Kif Kehlmann, a young, penniless writer, is rung in the middle of the night by the notorious con man and corporate criminal, Siegfried Heidl. About to go to trial for defrauding the banks of $700 million, Heidl offers Kehlmann the job of ghost writing his memoir. He has six weeks to write the book, for which he'll be paid $10,000. But as the writing gets underway, Kehlmann begins to fear that he is being corrupted by Heidl. As the deadline draws closer, he becomes ever more unsure if he is ghost writing a memoir, or if Heidl is rewriting him --- his life, his future. Everything that was certain grows uncertain as he begins to wonder: Who is Siegfried Heidl --- and who is Kif Kehlmann? Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley.
THE REALIST: A Novel of Berenice Abbott by Sarah Coleman (Historical Fiction)
For a poor girl whose father has abandoned her, the prospect of becoming an artist is almost non-existent. But Bernice Abbott is resourceful and will happily challenge convention in order to succeed. Setting out to fulfill her dream, she embarks on a journey that will take her from bohemian Greenwich Village to the giddy cafés of 1920s Paris to a New York rising from the ashes of the Great Depression. On the way, illness and a tragic romance test her mettle, but a lucky coincidence leads her to the emerging art form of photography. Transforming herself from "dull" Bernice to cosmopolitan Berenice, she sets the tone for life as a portrait photographer in the Paris of Hemingway and Picasso, and prepares to take on the men who are threatened by her vision and strength. Reviewed by Kate-Lynn Brown.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on April 24th
Below are some notable titles releasing on April 24th 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 April 23rd, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL by Robert Dugoni (Fiction)
Sam Hill was born with red pupils, and was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates. He believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. Forty years later, Sam is no longer certain anything was by design --- especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown and the life he’d always known.
THE HELLFIRE CLUB by Jake Tapper (Historical/Political Thriller)
Thrust into office by his family ties after his predecessor died mysteriously, Charlie Marder is struggling to navigate the dangerous waters of 1950s Washington, DC, alongside his young wife Margaret. Amid the swirl of glamorous and powerful political leaders and deal makers, a mysterious fatal car accident thrusts Charlie and Margaret into an underworld of backroom deals, secret societies, and a plot that could change the course of history.
NECESSITY by D.W. Buffa (Legal Thriller)
A man has murdered the President of the United States, but has invoked the “Law of Necessity,” which states that a crime is justified if it serves the greater good and thus prevents a greater harm from occurring. As the nation watches the trial of the century, renowned lawyer Joseph Antonelli must try a case with all eyes on him...and his own life on the line.
PROPERTY: Stories Between Two Novellas by Lionel Shriver (Fiction/Short Stories)
Intermingling settings in America and Britain, Lionel Shriver’s first collection explores property in both senses of the word: real estate and stuff. These 10 short stories and two novellas illustrate how our possessions act as proxies for ourselves, and how tussles over ownership articulate the power dynamics of our relationships. In Shriver’s world, we may possess people and objects and places, but in turn they possess us.
SHATTERED MIRROR: An Eve Duncan Novel by Iris Johansen (Thriller)
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan receives a cryptic package containing a skull and a two-sided mirror. She is determined to reconstruct the skull and uncover the mystery of the person’s identity, and when she does, the face of a beautiful woman begins to emerge. But who is she? As Eve gets closer and closer to finding the answer, she becomes swept up in a lethal chase that threatens to destroy the family that she has worked so hard to bring together.
TWISTED PREY: A Lucas Davenport Novel by John Sandford (Mystery/Thriller)
A rich psychopath, Taryn Grant had run successfully for the U.S. Senate, where Lucas Davenport had predicted she'd fit right in. He was also convinced that she'd been responsible for three murders, though he'd never been able to prove it. A federal marshal now, Lucas has heard rumors that Grant has found her seat on the Senate intelligence committee, and the contacts she's made from it, to be very...useful.
YOU THINK IT, I'LL SAY IT: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld (Fiction/Short Stories)
Throughout the 10 stories in her first collection of short fiction, Curtis Sittenfeld upends assumptions about class, relationships and gender roles in a nation that feels both adrift and viscerally divided. Here, she pinpoints the questionable decisions, missed connections and sometimes extraordinary coincidences that make up a life.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
Our Latest Poll: April Paperback Releases to Anticipate
Which of the following books releasing in paperback this month have you read or do you plan to read? Please check all that apply.
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THE AMERICAN SPIRIT: Who We Are and What We Stand For, by David McCullough
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THE COLOR OF FEAR: A Sharon McCone Mystery, by Marcia Muller
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COME SUNDOWN by Nora Roberts
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GOLDEN PREY: A Lucas Davenport Novel, by John Sandford
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THE GOOD DAUGHTER by Karin Slaughter
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HOURGLASS: Time, Memory, Marriage, by Dani Shapiro
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I KNOW A SECRET: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel, by Tess Gerritsen
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KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann
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MAP OF THE HEART by Susan Wiggs
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THE MARRIAGE PACT by Michelle Richmond
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THE MIDNIGHT LINE: A Jack Reacher Novel, by Lee Child
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MURDER ON THE SERPENTINE: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel, by Anne Perry
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THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS by James Patterson
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THE RISE AND FALL OF D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland
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THE ROAD TO JONESTOWN: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple, by Jeff Guinn
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THE RULES DO NOT APPLY: A Memoir, by Ariel Levy
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SAME BEACH, NEXT YEAR by Dorothea Benton Frank
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SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS by Susan Mallery
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THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See
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TRAJECTORY: Stories, by Richard Russo
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None of these
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, April 27th 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 April 13th to April 27th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE FALLEN by David Baldacci and THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell.
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 April 2nd to May 1st at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Sally Hepworth's THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR, read by Barrie Kreinik, and Alice Feeney's SOMETIMES I LIE, read by Stephanie Racine.
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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