February 22, 2019

February 22, 2019

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to Expand The Book Report Network

Thank you to those of you who already have donated to our GoFundMe campaign. So far we have raised over $23,600 (47%) of our $50,000 goal, with online donations and checks!

In addition to your contributions, we are loving the comments that have been shared with donations about how you enjoy this newsletter and Bookreporter.com. Here are a few from this week:

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Thank you again for your consideration and your donation.

Carol's recent reads include SOMEONE KNOWS by Lisa Scottoline (on sale April 9th); the audiobook of I.M.: A Memoir, written and read by Isaac Mizrahi (on sale February 26th); and FRATERINTY: An Inside Look at a Year of College Boys Becoming Men, by Alexandra Robbins (now available).

On Wednesday, February 27th at 5pm ET, members of the Simon & Schuster team will host a
Facebook Live Book Club chat to discuss EVERY NOTE PLAYED by Lisa Genova.
Lisa will join the conversation via Facebook, and Carol will be there to share her thoughts on the book.

Carol used the corn husks in the center to make two kinds of tamales:
goat cheese and mint, and poblano chili, cheese and corn.

The True Pleasure of a Great Week of Reading

What a great week of reading. I kicked it back a notch and lined up some books for the long weekend, and I was happy to do so. I finished the last of nine books for interviews at the Tucson Festival of Books, meaning the equivalent of “book homework” was done. I also finished THE END OF LONELINESS written by Benedict Wells and translated by Charlotte Collins, which is one of those slim novels that you might overlook, but it has such strong storytelling and characters that it will stay with you. It’s a sibling story, a love story, and a story that bobs and weaves so very well. I am going to make it a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection, though my copy for this will have to be forthcoming in about two weeks given my schedule.

I also read BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward, which is our current Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight title and found it to be a complete page-turner. It is set in a number of places that I have not seen in thrillers in the past. The setting, characters, plotting and twists all worked. You can read more about it and how to enter to win a copy later in this newsletter.

Next up was SOMEONE KNOWS by Lisa Scottoline, which is coming on April 9th. In it, we have five characters who met in high school; a prank goes awry that shatters their worlds and gives them each an incredible burden to carry forth. What happens to each of them in the ensuing years drives the story forward. There’s strong plotting at work here, both in the original story and what happens 20 years later. I feel like Lisa has pushed her craft in this book with both characters and storytelling. I like when an established author still surprises me.

I am listening to I.M, a memoir by Isaac Mizrahi --- the fashion designer who is truly a fashion icon, as well as a big personality --- which will be in stores on Tuesday. He narrates it and is brilliant at it. I had the pleasure of working on two films when I was at Mademoiselle magazine for which we interviewed Isaac, and I always was impressed with how he would work to nail his statements succinctly. He also is very, very funny and self-deprecating. Greg and I were driving home in the non-snowstorm on Wednesday night, and we would not have minded the one-hour trip being a bit longer, as we loved listening. I cannot wait to hear more of his no-nonsense thoughts about life done his way.

This Sunday, I am going to be at the Bernardsville Public Library in Bernardsville, NJ at 2pm. I spent part of last weekend pulling together titles for this presentation, which I am looking forward to. While they are encouraging signups in advance, I have been told that no walk-ins will be turned away. And some of my publisher friends are sharing advance copies for giveaways. It's nice to be able to do an event close to home for a change! Huge thanks to Rebecca Munro on our team for building the slide presentation for me.

We had a fun celebration for my mother-in-law’s birthday last Saturday night. We had lined up a number of hors d oeuvres, many of which needed time in the oven. With Tom, Cory and I all cooking, there was a lot going on. Somehow the oven was turned off after the pork loin was put in the oven. Cory saw that his part of the hors d’ oeuvres were done and clicked it off, not seeing that Tom had slipped in the pan with the pork. Luckily this was discovered 20 minutes into the cooking, or should I say non-cooking, process. This now will be added to the “remember when” list of family stories.

We made tamales on Sunday night. When I was in Albuquerque, I picked up corn husks at the supermarket and toted them home. Now keep in mind that none of us has ever eaten tamales, but I pulled out my old cookbook from the Coyote Café and created two kinds: goat cheese and mint, and poblano chili, cheese and corn. We did not have corn masa harina, as I bought masa for flour tortillas in Santa Fe. But I failed to nail the right one for tamales, probably because I had no idea what goes in tamales, never having eaten one! I was able to substitute creating masa using cornmeal and flour. Another time we will try with the “real thing.”

Now to this week's update...

Fan favorites D.D. Warren and Flora Dane return to work on a shocking new case in Lisa Gardner’s latest thriller, NEVER TELL. A pregnant woman is accused of killing her husband, and D.D. recognizes her from a case years ago. Evie Carter's father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident, but two coincidental murders is too many for D.D. Meanwhile, Flora sees coverage of the Conrad Carter murder on the news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim --- a hostage --- and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth surrounding Conrad's murder.

Our reviewer Sarah Rachel Egelman calls NEVER TELL “an exciting and ultimately satisfying page-turner with some moments of surprising emotional poignancy as three women race to solve a crime, prevent further harm, and come to understand themselves more clearly along the way.”

NEVER TELL is one of the books we’re giving away in our current Word of Mouth contest; the other is THE BORDER by Don Winslow, which we’ll review next week. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read by Friday, March 1st at noon ET, and you’ll have a chance to win both these thrillers.

We’re also happy to share with you our review of THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin, the Barnes & Noble Book Club pick for February, which we featured earlier this month as a Bets On selection. Other books we’re reviewing this week include BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF, the first installment in Marlon James’ Dark Star trilogy, which explores what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child; THE UNWINDING OF THE MIRACLE, the posthumous memoir of Julie Yip-Williams, who was diagnosed with terminal metastatic colon cancer at the age of 37; and LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE, Valeria Luiselli’s new novel about a family whose road trip across America collides with an immigration crisis at the southwestern border.

Our Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight & Contest for the aforementioned BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward continues for another week. This psychological thriller, which releases on March 5th, has an intriguing tagline: "A devoted wife, a loving husband and a chilling murder that no one saw coming." After reading it, that tagline does nail it. Twenty-five readers will win a copy of the book and give us their feedback on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, February 28th at noon ET.

My latest Bets On pick is THE GOWN: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson, which we reviewed last month. Click here to see why I’m betting you’ll love it. I’m looking forward to interviewing Jennifer at the Tucson Festival of Books next Sunday, March 3rd.

Our poll continues to ask how far in advance of a book’s publication you want to hear about it, and whether or not your answer would change based on your familiarity with the author. Click here to let us know what you do.

This is your last newsletter reminder to enter this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. Let us know by Friday, March 1st at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win the audio versions of Sophie Kinsella’s I OWE YOU ONE, read by Fiona Hardingham, and Fiona Barton’s THE SUSPECT, read by Susan Duerden, Fiona Hardingham, Nicholas Guy Smith and Katharine McEwan.

Lisa Genova’s EVERY NOTE PLAYED, which recently released in paperback, is the February pick for Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites program. S&S will host a Facebook Live Book Club chat about the book this Wednesday, February 27th at 5pm ET. Lisa will be participating via the comments section on Facebook and taking your questions. And I am excited to be joining the conversation as well! I am a huge fan of Lisa’s work (in fact, every book of hers has been a Bets On pick), so I really am looking forward to this. She has brought clear insight into a number of neuroscience topics that I now understand better, including ALS, which she tackles here. Her characters are ones I think of often.

We will share the link to the discussion in its entirety in next week’s newsletter.

S&S is also hosting a sweepstakes where one winner will be awarded 12 copies of EVERY NOTE PLAYED for their book group. Be sure to enter by 11:59pm ET on Thursday, February 28th. Click here for all the details.

We heard the sad news this week that W.E.B. Griffin has passed away at the age of 89 after fighting a years-long battle with cancer. Griffin wrote more than 200 books and was widely known for his popular military thriller series Badge of Honor, Clandestine Operations and Presidential Agent. He also wrote more than 20 novels with his son, William E. Butterworth IV, including THE ATTACK, a Badge of Honor novel scheduled to be released in August.

The finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes have been announced, and you can see them all here. Among the nominees are several of my Bets On picks: EDUCATED: A Memoir by Tara Westover (Biography), THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean (Current Interest), AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones (Fiction), and NOVEMBER ROAD by Lou Berney (Mystery/Thriller). The winners will be announced at a ceremony on April 12th, the evening before the L.A. Times Festival of Books begins on the campus of the University of Southern California.

News & Pop Culture

Reader Mail:

Stephanie wrote about winning IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE by Jesse Blackadder in our Winter Reading contest: “Thank you so much. I am very excited to have won a copy of this book. I won't let you down on sharing comments about it!” We love when readers share comments about the books that they have read with others.

Kate wrote with an idea for Loretta, who had written that books were too violent or couldn’t keep her interest: “I was cleaning out some files and found 'Happy Book Suggestions from Our Readers' from the 2/12/18 Bookreporter.com blog. I kept it, along with 'Our Reader-Recommended List of Historical Fiction Titles'. That Happy blog might help.” Thanks, Kate. And Loretta, I hope there are some ideas there for you.

Pat wrote, “Today I received several books from you. Thank you so very much. So surprised to receive this package --- much better than chocolates and flowers, or even shoes! I assume that these are books that I 'won' from Bookreporter, which I read faithfully. I will read all these books and will share them with my book club in the Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, Florida. I would write more, but I have to start reading!” Read on, Pat!

Betty and Beth both weighed in on my comment about having trouble with the accents on "Victoria": Betty said, “A simple solution to not understanding the actors is to put on the closed captions. I do it for all British programming. It helps so much. It would be a shame to miss such an excellent and engrossing program. So give the CC a try, please. Beth said, “I too struggled to understand the accents in 'Victoria' and a lot of the Brit shows! I have resorted to closed captioning. At least I know what they are saying, though it's a bit distracting.” I know how to turn them on for Netflix; now I need to figure it out for PBS shows!

Sandi wrote about the indie store pre-pub idea that I mentioned in last week’s newsletter: “I just love receiving all the recommendations of new novels and look forward to the email every week. Our local bookstore, RJ Booksellers, in Madison, CT, hosts Books on the Menu, usually quarterly. It’s scheduled for lunchtime, and we place our sandwich order so that the café downstairs can deliver. So we munch and listen to two of the staffers give us suggestions of new and older 'reads.' It would be fun for the store (which now has two locations, Madison and Middletown) to host an evening of Indie Reads. If you ever have an opportunity to visit, please put either one of these bookstore locations on your itinerary as they certainly merit a trip!” I have wanted to visit both those stores. Their owner, Roxanne Coady, is brilliant.

Kathryn wrote this in response to the shawl that I finished last week: “I will look for your shawl pattern; you can never have too many shawls. Very nice! Just wanted to say, I read THE AU PAIR by Emma Rous and THE WEIGHT OF A PIANO by Chris Cander. I have recommended both for our book club, as I see lots to discuss in each. I loved them both. And I read each in two days as I couldn’t put them down. Also, I just finished THE GOWN by Jennifer Robson, so I will be looking forward to your interview with her. As a beader and stitcher, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and had to see the gown online and study the photos. There was an incredible amount of work and talent invested into that gown. What can I say? I’m retired, and this is now my ‘life’s plan’ --- reading and knitting. I have the Compass Cardigan on the needles and a bag of red yarns I think I can use for that Casbah shawl, so thank you! As always, I love your site.”

Oscars: Looking forward to Sunday night, though I still have not seen Roma, The Favourite or The Wife. Meg Wolitzer wrote this terrific piece on watching The Wife as she saw her book come alive on the screen. 

"Billions": The first episode of season four is terrific; looking forward to previewing more. The new season starts airing on March 17th.

Cory has an alumni event with his fraternity this Friday night; l love that he is still involved with his chapter. He’s amused that, now as an alumni, he needs to pay to attend the events previously covered by dues.

I have been reading a book called FRATERNITY: An Inside Look at a Year of College Boys Becoming Men by Alexandra Robbins. There have been many incidents that have brought black marks to fraternities in recent years, namely the more than 70 deaths due to hazing, including the heinous high-profile one at Penn State. Here, Alexandra looks at the subject from a number of levels and follows two boys who were pledging to chronicle their experiences. As Cory has had an extremely positive experience in Sigma Pi, where the frat has done many socially conscious things and he has made strong business contacts, I wanted to share this book as Alexandra does a 360 view of the world of fraternities. Any parent or grandparent with a student contemplating Greek life may want to give this a look.

You can see Alexandra talking about FRATERNITY on "CBS This Morning" here. She had some insight into the influence of the film Animal House on frat culture that had eluded me. Years ago, I read Alexandra’s THE NURSES: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital, and I walked away from that book with a better understanding of the pressures, challenges and joys that nurses face. I like her research and writing style.

I am looking forward to Sunday’s aforementioned event at the Bernardsville Public Library. On Monday night, my book group has a Skype chat scheduled with Martha Hall Kelly, who will be talking to us about her upcoming book, LOST ROSES, as well as LILAC GIRLS. I have heard of book groups doing Skype chats for years and am excited to experience one. And as I mentioned earlier, on Wednesday, I am going to be part of a Facebook Live event at the Simon & Schuster offices where we will be discussing Lisa Genova's EVERY NOTE PLAYED, which is now in paperback.

I have lots to do before heading to Tucson very early on Thursday morning. Greg is headed to a lighthouse excursion in Texas, so we are on the same flight to Houston to start the trip, which will be nice. I have heard nothing but great things about the Tucson Festival of Books. I hope to catch up with some of our readers there; some have been in touch already to compare schedules!

I still have not managed to make a fire in the fireplace. I know this sounds simple, but it has not happened! Another amaryllis popped a flower this week. Also, I have been hearing from people who I gave planted bulbs to for Christmas, and they are sending photos. It is such fun to have a flower burst into color this time of year!

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: NEVER TELL by Lisa Gardner

NEVER TELL by Lisa Gardner (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Kirsten Potter
A man is dead, shot three times in his home office. When the cops arrive, his pregnant wife is holding the gun. D.D. Warren arrives on the scene and recognizes the woman --- Evie Carter --- from a case many years back. Evie's father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident. But for D.D., two coincidental murders is too many. Flora Dane sees the murder of Conrad Carter on the TV news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim --- a hostage --- and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth of Conrad's murder. But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

Featured Review: BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF
by Marlon James

BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF by Marlon James (Historical Fantasy)
Audiobook available, read by Dion Graham
Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. As Tracker follows his scent, he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth, and who is lying? Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

Featured Review: THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin
February's Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick
and a Bookreporter.com Bets On Title

THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Cassandra Campbell
When the renowned poet Fiona Skinner is asked about the inspiration behind her iconic work, The Love Poem, she tells her audience a story about her family and a betrayal that reverberates through time. It begins in a big yellow house with a funeral, an iron poker, and a brief variation forever known as the Pause: a free and feral summer in a middle-class Connecticut town. The Skinner siblings emerge from the Pause staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, they find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds, forcing them to question the life choices they’ve made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
- Click here to sign up for Barnes & Noble's Book Club event on March 5th at 7pm, where the book will be discussed at stores nationwide.

Click here to read the review.

Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight & Contest: BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward

We have 25 copies of BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward --- a page-turning thriller about a devoted wife, a loving husband and a chilling murder that no one saw coming --- to give away to those who would like to read the book, which releases on March 5th, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, February 28th at noon ET.

BEAUTIFUL BAD by Annie Ward (Psychological Thriller)
Maddie and Ian's love story began with a chance encounter at a party overseas; he was serving in the British army, and she was a travel writer visiting her best friend, Jo. Now almost two decades later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in Middle America. But when a camping accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending writing therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian's PTSD; her concerns for the safety of their young son; and the couple’s tangled and tumultuous past with Jo.

From the Balkans to England, Iraq to Manhattan, and finally to an ordinary family home in Kansas, 16 years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in The Day of the Killing, when a frantic 911 call summons the police to the scene of a shocking crime.

- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to visit the book's website.
- Click here to read Annie Ward's bio.
- Connect with Annie Ward on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read more in our Debut Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight
and enter the contest.

Featured Review: THE UNWINDING OF THE MIRACLE
by Julie Yip-Williams

THE UNWINDING OF THE MIRACLE: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After by Julie Yip-Williams (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Emily Woo Zeller and Joshua Williams
Born blind in Vietnam, Julie Yip-Williams narrowly escaped euthanasia at the hands of her grandmother, only to flee with her family the political upheaval of her country in the late 1970s. Loaded into a rickety boat with 300 other refugees, Julie made it to Hong Kong and, ultimately, America, where a surgeon at UCLA gave her partial sight. She would go on to become a Harvard-educated lawyer, with a husband, a family and a life she had once assumed would be impossible. Then, at age 37, with two little girls at home, Julie was diagnosed with terminal metastatic colon cancer, and a different journey began. THE UNWINDING OF THE MIRACLE is the story of a vigorous life refracted through the prism of imminent death. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here to read the review.

Featured Review: LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE
by Valeria Luiselli

LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE by Valeria Luiselli (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Kivlighan de Montebello, William DeMeritt and Maia Enrigue Luiselli
A mother and father set out with their two children, driving from New York to Arizona in the heat of summer. Their destination: Apacheria, the place the Apaches once called home. Why Apaches? asks the 10-year-old son. Because they were the last of something, answers his father. In their car, they play games and sing along to music. But on the radio, there is news about an "immigration crisis": thousands of kids trying to cross the southwestern border into the United States, but getting detained --- or lost in the desert along the way. As the family drives, we sense they are on the brink of a crisis of their own. A fissure is growing between the parents, one the children can almost feel beneath their feet. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here to read the review.

Featured Review: MORE THAN WORDS by Jill Santopolo

MORE THAN WORDS by Jill Santopolo (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Jill Santopolo
Nina Gregory has always been a good daughter. Raised by her father, owner of New York City's glamorous Gregory Hotels, Nina was taught that family, reputation and legacy are what matter most. And Tim --- her devoted boyfriend and best friend since childhood --- feels the same. But when Nina's father dies, he leaves behind a secret that shocks Nina to her core. As her world falls apart, Nina begins to see the men in her life --- her father, her boyfriend and, unexpectedly, her boss, Rafael --- in a new light. Soon Nina finds herself caught between the world she loves and a passion that could upend everything. Reviewed by Leah DeCesare (www.leahdecesare.com).

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE GOWN by Jennifer Robson

THE GOWN: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson (Historical Fiction)
THE GOWN by Jennifer Robson is a novel that will delight royal watchers, including all those who enjoy Netflix’s “The Crown.”

It opens in 1947 in London. The war has ended, but the residual damage remains, and people’s spirits are still feeling the war’s effect. Then it is announced that Princess Elizabeth will be married, which stirs excitement and a sense of fanfare. The Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell wins the commission for the gown. Two young women, Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, are the embroiders who are assigned to create the brilliant design work for the piece. While they are two fictional characters, Jennifer did extensive research with a seamstress who had worked on the gown, thus the storytelling feels so very authentic.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.

Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.

What’s New This Month on ReadingGroupGuides.com

We currently have one contest running on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?": Win 12 Copies of AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones 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. Our current prize book is AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones, an Oprah's Book Club selection that is now available in paperback. This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. Enter here by Wednesday, March 6th at noon ET.

Here are our latest featured guides:

• AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones
• THE AU PAIR by Emma Rous
• THE CURIOSITIES by Susan Gloss
• GOLDEN CHILD by Claire Adam
• LEARNING TO SEE: A Novel of Dorothea Lange, the Woman Who Revealed the Real America by Elise Hooper
• THE SISTERS HEMINGWAY by Annie England Noblin

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

• AUNTIE POLDI AND THE SICILIAN LIONS written by Mario Giordano, translated by John Brownjohn
• EVERY NOTE PLAYED by Lisa Genova
• THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE by Melanie Benjamin
• THE IMMORTALISTS by Chloe Benjamin
• WE OWN THE SKY by Luke Allnutt

Click here to visit ReadingGroupGuides.com.

More Reviews This Week

THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Charlie Jane Anders (Science Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Jennifer O'Donnell and Laura Knight Keating
January is a dying planet --- divided between a permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other. Humanity clings to life, spread across two archaic cities built in the sliver of habitable dusk. But life inside the cities is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside. Sophie, a student and reluctant revolutionary, is supposed to be dead, after being exiled into the night. Saved only by forming an unusual bond with the enigmatic beasts who roam the ice, Sophie vows to stay hidden from the world, hoping she can heal. But fate has other plans --- and Sophie's ensuing odyssey and the ragtag family she finds will change the entire world. Reviewed by Katherine B. Weissman.

THE VANISHING MAN: A Charles Lenox Mystery by Charles Finch (Historical Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by James Langton
Having earned some renown by solving a case that baffled Scotland Yard, young Charles Lenox is called upon by the Duke of Dorset, one of England’s most revered noblemen, for help. A painting of the Duke’s great-grandfather has been stolen from his private study. But the Duke’s concern is not for his ancestor’s portrait. Hiding in plain sight nearby is another painting of infinitely more value, one that holds the key to one of the country’s most famous and best-kept secrets. Dorset believes the thieves took the wrong painting and may return when they realize their error --- and when his fears result in murder, Lenox must act quickly to unravel the mystery behind both paintings before tragedy can strike again. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.

THE NIGHT TIGER by Yangsze Choo (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Yangsze Choo
Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dancehall girl to help pay off her mother’s Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin may finally get the adventure she has been longing for. Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is racing to fulfill his former master’s dying wish: that Ren find the man’s finger, lost years ago in an accident, and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master’s soul will wander the earth forever. As the days tick relentlessly by, a series of unexplained deaths racks the district, along with whispers of men who turn into tigers. Ji Lin and Ren’s increasingly dangerous paths crisscross through lush plantations, hospital storage rooms and ghostly dreamscapes. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE VICTORY GARDEN by Rhys Bowen (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Saskia Maarleveld
As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong 21-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage. When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a “land girl,” tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It’s here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden. The journals inspire Emily, and in the wake of devastating news, they are her saving grace. Reviewed by Carole Turner.

BLOOD ECHO: A Burning Girl Thriller by Christopher Rice (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Lauren Ezzo
Enabled by a superpower drug, Charlotte Rowe is partnered with a shadowy pharmaceutical company to hunt down and eliminate society’s most depraved human predators. When her latest mission goes off the rails in a horrifying way, she wants some time to retreat. But something sinister is evolving in Altamira, California --- a massive network of domestic terrorists with ties to Charlotte’s influential and corrupt employers. As a vast and explosive criminal conspiracy grows, the fate of Charlotte’s hometown hangs in the balance. With everyone she cares about in danger, Charlotte has no choice but to bring her powers home. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

MARY VENTURA AND THE NINTH KINGDOM: A Story by Sylvia Plath (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Orlagh Cassidy
Never before published, this newly discovered story by literary legend Sylvia Plath stands on its own and is remarkable for its symbolic, allegorical approach to a young woman’s rebellion against convention and forceful taking control of her own life. Written while Plath was a student at Smith College in 1952, MARY VENTURA AND THE NINTH KINGDOM tells the story of a young woman’s fateful train journey. Lips the color of blood, the sun an unprecedented orange, train wheels that sound like “guilt, and guilt, and guilt”: these are just some of the things Mary Ventura begins to notice on her journey to the ninth kingdom. “But what is the ninth kingdom?” she asks a kind-seeming lady in her carriage. “It is the kingdom of the frozen will,” comes the reply. “There is no going back.” Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.

BROTHERS KEEPERS by Donald E. Westlake (Hard-boiled Mystery/Thriller)
What will a group of monks do when their two-century-old monastery in New York City is threatened with demolition to make room for a new high-rise? Anything they have to. "Thou Shalt Not Steal" is only the first of the Commandments to be broken as the saintly face off against the unscrupulous over that most sacred of relics: a Park Avenue address. Returning to bookstores for the first time in three decades, BROTHERS KEEPERS offers not only a master class in comedy from one of the most beloved mystery writers of all time, but also a surprisingly heartfelt meditation on loss, temptation and how we treat our fellow man. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

BLOOD ORANGE by Harriet Tyce (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Julie Teal
Alison has it all: a doting husband, an adorable daughter and a career on the rise --- she's just been given her first murder case to defend. But Alison drinks too much. She's neglecting her family. And she's having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle. Alison's client doesn't deny that she stabbed her husband --- she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself. But someone knows Alison's secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she's done, and who won't stop until she's lost everything. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.

IN THE DARK by Cara Hunter (Psychological Thriller)
A woman and child are found locked in a basement, barely alive and unidentifiable. The confused, elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before. As the police grow desperate for a lead, Detective Inspector Adam Fawley stumbles across a breakthrough, a link to a case he worked years before about another young woman and child gone missing. When he realizes the missing woman’s house is directly adjacent to the house in this case, he thinks he might have found the connection that could bring justice for both women. But there’s something not quite right about the little boy from the basement, and the truth will send shockwaves through the force that Fawley never could have anticipated. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on February 26th

Below are some notable titles releasing on February 26th 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 available the week of February 25th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.

THE BORDER by Don Winslow (Thriller)
THE BORDER is the explosive, highly anticipated conclusion to Don Winslow’s Cartel trilogy, which began with THE POWER OF THE DOG and continued with THE CARTEL.

CALIFORNIA GIRLS by Susan Mallery (Fiction)
The California sunshine is not quite so bright for three sisters who get dumped in the same week. But side by side by side, they will start over and rebuild their lives.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE MURDER: A Hannah Swensen Mystery with Recipes! by Joanne Fluke (Mystery)
Not even Lake Eden’s nosiest residents suspected that Hannah Swensen would go from idealistic newlywed to betrayed wife in a matter of weeks. But as a deadly mystery unfolds in town, the proof is in the pudding.

DANNEMORA: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State by Charles A. Gardner (True Crime)
In June 2015, two vicious convicted murderers broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, in New York’s North Country, launching the most extensive manhunt in state history. Charles A. Gardner --- a former corrections officer who oversaw the training of staff in 12 prisons, including Clinton --- tells the whole story from an insider's point of view.

HUNTING GAME written by Helene Tursten, translated by Paul Norlen (Mystery)
HUNTING GAME is the first installment in Helene Tursten's brand new series featuring the strong, smart Detective Inspector Embla Nyström.

THE HUNTRESS by Kate Quinn (Historical Fiction)
From the author of THE ALICE NETWORK comes another fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track the Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America.

A JUSTIFIED MURDER: A Medlar Mystery by Jude Deveraux (Mystery)
New York Times bestselling romance author Jude Deveraux continues her breakout Medlar Mystery series with a twisted tale of guilt and revenge.

THE LOST NIGHT by Andrea Bartz (Psychological Thriller)
What really happened the night Edie died? Years later, her best friend Lindsay will learn how unprepared she is for the truth.

Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.

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