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Latest Update on Our GoFundMe Campaign
to Expand The Book Report Network:
$30,075 Raised --- Now Let's Get to $35,000!
Thank you to those of you who already have donated to our GoFundMe campaign. So far we have raised $30,075 of our $50,000 goal, with online donations and checks. Now it's on to $35,000!
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 couple of messages we received this week:
Laura: "I can’t wait to see you accomplish this goal. What you do is so needed, now more than ever! Thank you for being you!"
Carol: "Carol is so funny and relatable. She does a service for all of us who love books."
If you have not donated yet, may we ask that you consider it? Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. You can read more about our plans and donate here. If you would rather donate via check, our address is:
The Book Report, Inc.
850 Seventh Avenue - Suite 901
New York, NY 10019
Thank you again for your consideration and your donation.
Here are the 56(!) books that we gave away in this year's Summer Reading contests.
Carol enjoyed reading PRETTY GUILTY WOMEN by Gina LaManna, which releases on September 3rd. We will have our review of the book and Carol's interview with Gina in the September 6th newsletter.
While in Michigan, Carol's son, Greg, found the library case that you see above
at the Au Sable Light Station in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
It was used on Lake Superior for lighthouse keepers. Read more about it below.
Above are sunflowers that Carol picked at a farm where she also buys peaches,
and geraniums in little planters are hanging off her deck.
Happy 23rd Anniversary, Bookreporter!
Next Tuesday, Bookreporter will mark its 23rd anniversary! We were the first book review website online. When we started, only one publisher had a website (Time Warner with Pathfinder), and very, very few had email. We would FAX our book requests. I still remember walking around the American Booksellers Conference (which is now called Book Expo) in Chicago in June of that year, and I knew exactly no one. I was trying to introduce myself and the idea of our new company that would be on the internet. After a few hours of trying to describe this to some uncomprehending people, I packed up a few cartons of catalogs from publishers and took off to go to the movies. I saw Mission: Impossible, which is what it felt like we were doing. At our 10th anniversary party, we played the Mission: Impossible theme song and thanked all the publishing folks who had embraced the idea that we put forth.
What seemed impossible became possible because of readers like you. We literally built the following that we have today one reader at a time. And we are grateful for each and every one of you. So how can you help us celebrate? Share this newsletter with friends who read, and encourage them to sign up for it. Show your local librarians. Pass it along to your book group. We live in times when everyone wants to know how many subscribers you have. And how engaged your readers are. So our mission in the year ahead is to grow our audience and keep you engaged, as we grow what we are offering.
We already have expanded our brand with videos (see our YouTube channel here and subscribe --- it’s free --- so you never miss a video). We have a number of new author interviews to share in the weeks to come. Our podcast will be live in September. Thanks to all of you who voted on the art for it; we’ll share the winning graphic when the podcast goes live. On the first night, it was clear which it was going to be once you started voting.
This week, we wrapped up our Summer Reading contests. We ran 56 contests since the middle of May! Above you can see a photo of me with the books that were given away. For any of you who would like to see a list of all the books that were promoted, you can see them here, and we created a checklist here that you can download so you can add the ones you are interested in to your “to be read list.” Thanks to all of you who participated in these contests, and congratulations to all the winners! We appreciated the support, and so did the publishers who sponsored these contests.
Note that our Fall Preview feature will be kicking off on Friday, September 6th, with a Special Preview newsletter on Monday, September 9th and our first contest on Tuesday, September 10th. You can sign up for the Fall Preview newsletter here.
On Monday night, my book group met at my house, and we sat poolside for our discussion. It was a warm night, and trust that if it had been a few degrees warmer, we would have been IN the pool for our chat about ORDINARY GRACE by William Kent Krueger. Everyone loved it; we had selected it as I told them that THIS TENDER LAND, Kent’s second stand-alone, was coming out on September 3rd. We will have our review and an interview with Kent on September 6th.
By the way, I love that someone brought wine in a turquoise bottle. I never noted which wine it was, but it’s going to make a nice vase now. Expect to see it in a future newsletter with flowers in it!
Last weekend, I read PRETTY GUILTY WOMEN by Gina LaManna (also on sale September 3rd), and it was a perfect float-in-the-pool read. We will have our interview with Gina and our review on September 6th. I am 1.5 discs away from finishing Katherine Center's THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE. I am enjoying it. Therese Plummer is a terrific narrator!
Back in March, I was raving about THE WHISPER MAN by Alex North, which I literally read in a day and knew right away would be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. As I said in a previous newsletter, it’s a completely addicting thriller with odes of Stephen King rippling throughout. I rarely am scared reading a book, but this was one I did not want to read alone in the dark! It is now in stores, and I can’t wait to hear what you all think about it. Our reviewer Rebecca Munro shares my enthusiasm for it, calling it "a stunning and fully realized thrill ride that I read in one breathless and terrified sitting. Perhaps the only flaw with this twisted, compulsively readable work is that it doesn’t come with a night light." You can check out my Bets On commentary in the September 6th newsletter.
Other books we’re reviewing this week include OLD BONES, in which Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child bring the true story of the ill-fated Donner Party to new life; THE LAST WIDOW by Karin Slaughter, which marks the return of Will Trent and Sara Linton in a timely thriller involving a mysterious kidnapping, a devastating explosion and a diabolical enemy; TIDELANDS, the first installment in Philippa Gregory’s Fairmile series, which is set in Cromwellian England (click here to read an interview with Philippa); OUTFOX by Sandra Brown, a psychological thriller about an FBI agent's hunt for a ruthless conman turned serial killer; THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE, a moving story set amid the champagne vineyards of northern France during the darkest days of World War II, from the author of the international bestseller THE ROOM ON RUE AMÉLIE, Kristin Harmel; and Rob Hart’s THE WAREHOUSE, a near-future thriller about what happens when Big Brother meets Big Business --- and who will pay the ultimate price.
My two latest Bets On picks are THE DEARLY BELOVED by Cara Wall and THE GOLDEN HOUR by Beatriz Williams. Click on each of the titles for my commentary.
In honor of our 23rd anniversary, our latest poll asks how long you’ve been a reader of the site. Are you a newcomer, a longtime fan, or somewhere in between? Click here to let us know!
Our previous poll asked which of 25 fiction titles releasing in August you are planning to read. Here are your top five picks: THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware (49%), THE OYSTERVILLE SEWING CIRCLE by Susan Wiggs (31%), THE PERFECT WIFE by JP Delaney (29%), THE LAST WIDOW by Karin Slaughter (26%), and THE WINEMAKER'S WIFE by Kristin Harmel (26%). Click here for all the results.
We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll be in the running to win A BETTER MAN: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny and VENDETTA IN DEATH by J. D. Robb, both of which we’ll be reviewing in two weeks. The deadline for your submissions is Friday, September 6th at noon ET.
This is your last newsletter reminder to enter this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. Let us know by Tuesday, September 3rd at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to for your chance to win the audio versions of Laura Lippman's LADY IN THE LAKE, read by Susan Bennett, and Daniel Silva's THE NEW GIRL, read by George Guidall.
Please keep in mind our current “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month” contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com, where three readers will win 12 paperback copies of THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict (a Bets On pick when it released in hardcover) for their group. To enter, all you have to do is fill out the form on this page by Monday, September 9th at noon ET.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
After I lamented that I had missed National Book Lover’s Day, Mike turned me on to a newsletter that he gets every day that notes all these “holidays.” As he wrote, "This is the email that I get every day. I have so much fun with it. Sounds like you would be interested. You can get a wall calendar that shows the entire month and the holidays that are celebrated nationally, internationally and monthly. I don’t want you to miss another Book Lover’s Day!” You can sign up here. Thanks, Mike!
Jean wrote, “Thanks for the great book reviews. I had THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE on my list to look for. I started and finished it yesterday. I can talk a friend into reading a book, but when it comes to writing a review, I am HORRENDOUS. But I really did like that book." Everyone, consider this a recommendation from Jean, and read it!
Joanne wrote, “Thank you. I won a copy of HOW TO WALK AWAY. I really enjoyed the storyline. The ending was not predictable but shows all things can be possible.”
Elise said, “Love, love, love Bookreporter and all you do! As for your yoga question, I wanted to tell you that I really like 'Yoga with Adriene.' She’s sort of quirky, but she’s got so many different videos on YouTube! I enjoy it a lot when I can’t get to my regular class.”
And Melanie said this about yoga: “Look at the Yoga Collective. I have it on my phone, and they have lots of classes.” I checked both out, and found a Groupon coupon for the latter and signed up!
"Mindhunter": I confess that I think I liked season one better than season two, but there were many terrific moments in season two, including the subplot about Bill Tench's son.
"The Affair": The final season kicks off Sunday night; I previewed the first three episodes, and it was well done. Considering that so many seasons were a train wreck, this is kind of a miracle.
"Ballers": The fifth and last season kicks off on Sunday night. I get a kick out of this show. Pun intended.
"Younger": Two more episodes. I discovered it on my summer vacation last year and binged the whole thing. It is quite amusing about the world of publishing.
Buzz is Building for Margaret Atwood’s Follow-up to THE HANDMAID’S TALE: THE TESTAMENTS will be in stores on September 10th, and it is super-embargoed. You can read more about the plans for the launch here.
"Firefly Lane": Those of you who loved Kristin Hannah's book, note that it’s being made into a Netflix series. Sarah Chalke will be the co-lead opposite Katherine Heigl. Filming starts in Vancouver in the fall.
I absolutely love sunflowers, and I picked the ones you see above when I was at a farm last week where I buy peaches. You also can pick peaches at this orchard, but as the day was hot and humid, I was very happy to buy ones that already had been harvested. I made Ina Garten’s Peach Cobbler for the first time. The ingredient that makes it interesting? Orange juice. Seriously. It’s from her COOKING FOR JEFFREY cookbook.
The geraniums are in little planters that I have hanging off our deck. I bought them last weekend after my plan to grow morning glories in them was a big fail. The garden center had everything for 50% off, which was pretty cool! My parents came for dinner last Saturday night and were remarking on the great produce that we had on hand. They still live in my childhood home, and when I was growing up, there was more than one farm stand in the area. I was surprised to find that there are none around today. We are so lucky to have at least five farm stands and farms that I can think of near our house. What’s fresh there inspires our cooking.
Greg is having a fabulous time in Michigan and Wisconsin photographing lighthouses this week. He shared the photo above that he found at the Au Sable Light Station in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It was used on Lake Superior for lighthouse keepers. The library case would be ferried from lighthouse to lighthouse on a supply ship so the lighthouse keepers could access books. If someone was reading a book and had not finished it by the time it was picked up, they would leave a bookmark in it. It was understood that the bookmark should remain there. So if the book made its way back to that lighthouse keeper, he would know where to keep reading. How civilized is that?
My parents visited Cory’s new apartment this week and loved it. They also assured me that Quentin is happy there. The book group was disappointed that Quentin had moved out; they wanted to meet him. For a small guy, he has quite a Hedgehog Fan Club.
Next week, during our annual hiatus from publishing a Bookreporter update, I am planning to read, sleep and chill out. I am ready to kick it back a HUGE notch and get some reading done, and hope for lots of pool floating. It’s been a much busier than usual summer, with very little downtime. I think it’s going to take a few days for me to even unwind.
HUGE thanks to Tom Donadio, our Editorial Director, who also will be slipping away for a week. Tom works tirelessly, and Bookreporter would not be what it is without him. If you want to send him a thank you note, his email address is Tom@bookreporter.com, but please do not expect a reply next week. I really want him to grab a break!
Read on, and have a great two weeks. We’ll see you again in September.
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: OLD BONES
by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
OLD BONES by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Cynthia Farrell
Young curator Nora Kelly is approached by historian Clive Benton with a once-in-a-lifetime proposal: to lead a team in search of the so-called "Lost Camp" of the tragic Donner Party. This was a group of pioneers who became snow-bound in the California mountains in 1847, their fate unknown until the first skeletonized survivors stumbled out of the wilderness, raving about starvation, murder --- and cannibalism. Benton tells Kelly he has come across an amazing find: the long-sought diary of one of the victims, which has an enigmatic description of the Lost Camp. Nora agrees to lead an expedition to locate and excavate it. But as they uncover old bones, they expose the real truth of what happened, one that is far more shocking and bizarre than mere cannibalism. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE LAST WIDOW by Karin Slaughter
THE LAST WIDOW by Karin Slaughter (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Kathleen Early
On a hot summer night, a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. One month later, the serenity of a sunny Sunday afternoon is shattered by the boom of a ground-shaking blast --- followed by another seconds later. One of Atlanta’s busiest and most important neighborhoods has been bombed. Medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene --- and into the heart of a deadly conspiracy. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to save her and prevent a massacre --- putting his own life on the line for the woman and the country he loves. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
An Interview with Philippa Gregory
and a Review of Her Latest Novel, TIDELANDS
Philippa Gregory is the author of many New York Times bestselling novels, including THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, and is a recognized authority on women’s history. Her latest book, TIDELANDS, kicks off her Fairmile series, which spans 250 years and three continents. In 1648 England, the king and parliament are at war. Alinor, a poor woman from the marshlands of the southern coast, is among those trying to find peace during this difficult time. But when she meets a stranger named James, her life takes an unexpected turn for the better.
In this interview, Gregory talks about what drew her to Cromwellian England as the setting for this new series; the research she conducted, especially as it pertains to the scene between James and King Charles; why she decided to write TIDELANDS from the third-person perspective, as opposed to her novels about royalty, which are told in the first person; and how her wonderful charity, Gardens for The Gambia, was born.
TIDELANDS by Philippa Gregory (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Louise Brealey
Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, England is in the grip of a civil war between renegade king and rebellious parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even the remote tidelands --- the marshy landscape of the south coast. Alinor, a descendant of wisewomen, trapped in poverty and superstition, waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband. Instead, she meets James, a young man on the run, and shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marsh, not knowing that she is leading disaster into the heart of her life. Suspected of possessing dark secrets in superstitious times, Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her out from her neighbors. Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Read the review and interview.
Featured Review: OUTFOX by Sandra Brown
OUTFOX by Sandra Brown (Psychological Thriller/Romantic Suspense)
Audiobook available, read by Victor Slezak
FBI agent Drex Easton is relentlessly driven by a single goal: to outmaneuver the conman once known as Weston Graham. Over the past 30 years, Weston has assumed many names and countless disguises, enabling him to lure eight wealthy women out of their fortunes before they disappeared without a trace, their families left without answers and the authorities without clues. Drex is convinced that these women have been murdered, and that the man he knows as Weston Graham is the sociopath responsible. But each time Drex gets close to catching him, Weston trades one persona for another and disappears again. Now, for the first time in their long game of cat and mouse, Drex has a suspect in sight. Reviewed by Hillary Wagy.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE WHISPER MAN by Alex North
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE WHISPER MAN by Alex North (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Christopher Eccleston
After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes that a fresh start will help him and his young son, Jake, heal. But the town of Featherbank has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night. Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late. And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window... Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
THE WHISPER MAN will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's commentary in the September 6th newsletter.
Featured Review:
THE WINEMAKER'S WIFE by Kristin Harmel
THE WINEMAKER'S WIFE by Kristin Harmel (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Robin Eller, Lisa Flanagan and Madeleine Maby
Champagne, 1940: Inès has just married Michel, the owner of storied champagne house Maison Chauveau, when the Germans invade. As the danger mounts, Michel turns his back on his marriage to begin hiding munitions for the Résistance. Inès fears they’ll be exposed, but for Céline, half-Jewish wife of Chauveau’s chef de cave, the risk is even greater --- rumors abound of Jews being shipped east to an unspeakable fate. When Céline recklessly follows her heart in one desperate bid for happiness, and Inès makes a dangerous mistake with a Nazi collaborator, they risk the lives of those they love --- and the champagne house that ties them together. Reviewed by Cindy Burnett.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE WAREHOUSE by Rob Hart
THE WAREHOUSE by Rob Hart (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Emily Woo Zeller, Jason Culp and Karissa Vacker
Paxton never thought he’d be working for Cloud, the giant tech company that’s eaten much of the American economy. Much less that he’d be moving into one of the company’s sprawling live-work facilities. But compared to what’s left outside, Cloud’s bland chainstore life of gleaming entertainment halls, open-plan offices and vast warehouses…well, it doesn’t seem so bad. It’s more than anyone else is offering. Zinnia never thought she’d be infiltrating Cloud. But now she’s undercover, inside the walls, risking it all to ferret out the company’s darkest secrets. And Paxton, with his ordinary little hopes and fears? He just might make the perfect pawn. If she can bear to sacrifice him. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE DEARLY BELOVED by Cara Wall
and THE GOLDEN HOUR by Beatriz Williams
THE DEARLY BELOVED by Cara Wall (Fiction)
In THE DEARLY BELOVED, Cara Wall has written a beautiful, heartfelt novel about two young ministers who become co-ministers at a Presbyterian church in New York City in the early ’60s, their wives --- and their lives. As the book opens, each of the couples are just meeting while they are in college. You feel their innocence, their fresh view of the world, and their unbridled excitement about the lives that are laid out before them. Each brings a very different perspective to their marriages --- and to the way they will serve the faith.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on THE DEARLY BELOVED.
THE GOLDEN HOUR by Beatriz Williams (Historical Fiction)
In THE GOLDEN HOUR, Beatriz Williams once again delves into historical fiction with two well-drawn storylines. One opens in 1900, and the other takes place in 1941.
In 1900, Elfriede von Kleist is in a mental institution in Switzerland recovering from severe postpartum depression. There she meets a fellow patient and falls for him. But her life is complicated; she is summoned home as her husband becomes ill, and there she discovers how he has betrayed her.
The second setting is Nassau in the Bahamas in 1941. The location alone is reason enough to read this book. Then layer in the idea that the recently appointed governor of Nassau is the Duke of Windsor, and he is living there with his wife, Wallis Simpson, and the draw to read it gets ratcheted up a notch.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary on THE GOLDEN HOUR.
Fiction Author Spotlight & Contest:
THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger (Historical Fiction)
From the author of ORDINARY GRACE, a magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the early years of the Great Depression --- a book that shines new light on a pivotal time in American history.
1932, Minnesota. The Lincoln School is a pitiless place where hundreds of Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to an orphan named Odie O’Banion, a lively boy whose exploits earn him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee, he and his brother Albert, their best friend Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.
Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphans will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, THIS TENDER LAND is an enthralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams and makes us whole.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read William Kent Krueger’s bio.
- Click here to visit William Kent Krueger’s website.
- Connect with William Kent Krueger on Facebook and Twitter.
- Click here to see the 35 winners selected to read and comment on the book.
Click here to read more in our Fiction Author Spotlight.
Don't miss our review of THIS TENDER LAND and our interview
with William Kent Krueger in the September 6th newsletter,
followed by Carol's Bets On commentary in the September 13th newsletter.
Our Latest “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month” Contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
Enter to Win 12 Copies of THE ONLY WOMAN
IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict for Your Group
Each month on ReadingGroupGuides.com, 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. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.
Our latest prize book is THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict, which is now available in paperback --- a powerful novel based on the incredible true story of Hedy Lamarr, the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Monday, September 9th at noon ET.
THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict (Historical Fiction)
She possessed a stunning beauty. She also possessed a stunning mind. Could the world handle both?
Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.
But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she knew a few secrets about the enemy. She had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis...if anyone would listen to her.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
Click here to enter the contest.
THE MURDER LIST by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Angela Dawe
Law student Rachel North is the ultimate reliable narrator --- she will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She's smart, she's a hard worker, she does the right thing. She's successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston's defense bar. And her internship with the powerful District Attorney's office is her ticket to a successful future. The problem is, she's wrong. And in this cat-and-mouse game, the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
THE COLD WAY HOME by Julia Keller (Mystery)
Deep in the woods just outside Acker's Gap, West Virginia, rises a ragged chunk of what was once a high stone wall. This is all that remains of Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. And it is here that Bell Elkins --- prosecutor turned private investigator --- makes a grim discovery while searching for a missing teenager: a dead body, marred by a ghastly wound that can only mean murder. To solve the mystery of what happened in these woods, Bell and her partners --- former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes --- must confront the tangled history of Wellwood and its dark legacy, while each grapples with a private torment. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Hallie Ephron (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Amy McFadden
Emily Harlow, a professional organizer, is married to a man who can’t drive past a yard sale without stopping. He’s filled their basement, attic and garage with his finds. The larger his “collection” becomes, the deeper the distance grows between Emily and the man she married. Luckily, Emily has two new clients to distract herself: an elderly widow whose husband left behind a storage unit she didn’t know existed, and a young wife whose husband won’t allow her stuff into their house. Emily’s initial meeting with the young wife takes a detour when the women end up fantasizing about how much more pleasant life would be without their collecting spouses. But the next day, Emily finds herself in a mess that might be too big for her to clean up. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
HOMEGROWN: How the Red Sox Built a Champion from the Ground Up by Alex Speier (Sports)
Audiobook available, read by George Newbern
The 2018 season was a coronation for the Boston Red Sox. The best team in Major League Baseball --- indeed, one of the best teams ever --- the Sox won 108 regular season games and then romped through the postseason, going 11-3 against the three next-strongest teams baseball had to offer. As Boston Globe baseball reporter Alex Speier reveals, the Sox’s success wasn’t a fluke --- nor was it guaranteed. It was the result of careful, patient planning and shrewd decision-making that allowed Boston to develop a golden generation of prospects --- and then build upon that talented core to assemble a juggernaut. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.
CITY OF WINDOWS by Robert Pobi (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Stephen Graybill
During the worst blizzard in memory, an FBI agent in a moving SUV in New York City is killed by a nearly impossible sniper shot. Unable to pinpoint where the shot came from, the agent-in-charge, Brett Kehoe, turns to the one man who might be able to help them --- former FBI agent Lucas Page. A university professor and bestselling author, Page left the FBI years ago after a tragic event robbed him of a leg, an arm, an eye and the willingness to continue. With a new wife and family, Page has no interest in helping the FBI --- except for the fact that the victim was his former partner. Agreeing to help for his partner’s sake, Page finds himself hunting a killer with an unknown agenda and amazing sniper skills in the worst of conditions. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
A KEEPER by Graham Norton (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Graham Norton
When Elizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after her mother’s death, she’s focused only on saying goodbye to that dark and dismal part of her life. Her childhood home is packed solid with useless junk, her mother’s presence already fading. But within this mess, she discovers a small stash of letters --- and, ultimately, the truth. Forty years earlier, a young woman stumbles from a remote stone house, the night quiet except for the constant wind that encircles her as she hurries deeper into the darkness away from the cliffs and the sea. She has no sense of where she is going, only that she must keep on. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
KILLER'S CHOICE by Louis Begley (Thriller)
With the death of his nemesis, corrupt business mogul Abner Brown, retired Marine Jack Dana thought he could finally return to his peaceful career as a novelist. And after falling hard for Heidi Krohn, the glamorous high-powered lawyer who helped avenge his best friend's death, Jack is beginning to dream of starting a family of his own. But dark forces intervene to upend his comfortable new life. When two of his Uncle Harry's closest friends are brutally murdered in their own home, Jack swears he will get to the bottom of what could have prompted such a vicious attack. The answers he begins to uncover are shocking. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
BELOW THE LINE: A Charlie Waldo Novel by Howard Michael Gould (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by John Michael Higgins
When the teacher Stevie Rose claims seduced her turns up dead, the LAPD pegs her as the prime suspect. Then Stevie disappears, and her self-involved Hollywood parents turn to former LAPD detective Charlie Waldo to find her --- a task that draws him down into Orange County’s dangerous and complex worlds, where nothing is as it seems. With treachery and deception at every turn, and with Waldo’s eco-obsessed rules for living complicating his already complicated relationship with his PI ex-girlfriend, Lorena, Waldo fends off enemies old and new as he races to find Stevie and solve the murder. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
Noteworthy Books Releasing on
August 27th and September 3rd
Below are some notable titles releasing on August 27th and September 3rd 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 weeks of August 26th and September 2nd, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
August 27th
THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO by Christy Lefteri (Fiction)
This unforgettable novel puts human faces on the Syrian war with the immigrant story of a beekeeper, his wife and the triumph of spirit when the world becomes unrecognizable.
A BETTER MAN: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny (Mystery)
Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec.
BOTTLE GROVE by Daniel Handler (Fiction/Humor)
BOTTLE GROVE is a razor-sharp tale of two couples, two marriages, a bar and a San Francisco start-up.
THE DARK SIDE by Danielle Steel (Psychological Thriller)
In her new novel, THE DARK SIDE, Danielle Steel tells a riveting story of the dark side of motherhood.
DOXOLOGY by Nell Zink (Fiction)
Two generations of an American family come of age --- one before 9/11, one after --- in this moving and original novel from the “intellectually restless, uniquely funny” (New York Times Book Review) mind of Nell Zink.
THE GIRL WHO LIVED TWICE: A Lisbeth Salander Novel by David Lagercrantz (Thriller)
The sixth Lisbeth Salander story is here --- the crime-fiction phenomenon that has sold more than 90 million copies worldwide.
TIN BADGES by Lorenzo Carcaterra (Thriller)
A top NYPD detective is pulled out of retirement to take down a notorious drug dealer. But will he risk the only family he’s ever had to crack the case?
September 3rd
NOTHING VENTURED by Jeffrey Archer (Fiction)
NOTHING VENTURED heralds the start of a brand new series in the style of Jeffrey Archer’s Clifton Chronicles, introducing Detective William Warwick. But this is not a detective story --- it's a story about the making of a detective.
PRETTY GUILTY WOMEN by Gina LaManna (Mystery/Thriller)
Something has gone terribly wrong at the Banks wedding. A man is dead. Four different women rush to offer confessions, each insisting that they committed the crime --- alone.
QUICHOTTE by Salman Rushdie (Fiction)
Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie has penned a dazzling DON QUIXOTE for the modern age --- an epic tour de force that is as much an homage to an immortal work of literature as it is to the quest for love and family.
THE SECRETS WE KEPT by Lara Prescott (Historical Thriller)
THE SECRETS WE KEPT is a thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice --- inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the 20th century: DOCTOR ZHIVAGO.
THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger (Historical Fiction)
For fans of BEFORE WE WERE YOURS and WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING comes a magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression.
VENDETTA IN DEATH by J. D. Robb (Mystery/Thriller)
Lieutenant Eve Dallas must keep the predator from becoming the prey in VENDETTA IN DEATH, the newest thriller from bestselling author J. D. Robb.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
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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 August 23rd to September 6th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of A BETTER MAN: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny and VENDETTA IN DEATH by
J. D. Robb.
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 August 1st to September 3rd at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Laura Lippman's LADY IN THE LAKE, read by Susan Bennett, and Daniel Silva's THE NEW GIRL, read by George Guidall.
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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