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Carol's latest "Bookreporter Talks To" interview and podcast is with Liz Moore,
whose new novel, LONG BRIGHT RIVER, is this month's "Good Morning America"
Book Club pick and Carol's first Bets On selection of the year.
Click on the photo above for the video and here for the podcast.
Jesse Kornbluth (JFK AND MARY MEYER) and Amanda Eyre Ward (THE JETSETTERS)
stopped by the office this week to talk about their upcoming books.
We will post Jesse's interview on January 22nd and Amanda's interview on March 4th.
Carol has read GHOSTS OF HARVARD by Francesca Serritella (on sale May 5th), which will be a
Bets On pick, and is reading THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles (on sale June 2nd).
She also is listening to the audiobook of Gregg Hurwitz's INTO THE FIRE:
An Orphan X Novel, read by Scott Brick (on sale January 28th).
Carol talks about this week's Bookreporter update in our latest promo video.
Reading, Reading, Reading…It’s All Good!
On Monday, I am heading to Baltimore for Winter Institute, the annual conference for booksellers. Then on Friday, I am zipping from there up to Philadelphia for the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to network with booksellers and librarians, and learn what they are hearing from readers. Authors are going to be in attendance at both conferences talking about their upcoming books, which gives me a chance to scout out what we want to be sharing with you this year. It’s already a great year for reading…and we see a lot more coming!
One of the true pleasures of what I do is getting to read books in advance. Many times when I read them, they still do not have covers designed, so I hold back on sharing them with you. Until this week, that was the case with the novel GHOSTS OF HARVARD by Francesca Serritella. The cover was just revealed on Monday, so I am able to share this gem that is releasing on May 5th.
The book is set at Harvard University, where Cady has just started freshman year. Heading to Harvard was a big deal for her family. The spring before, her brother, who suffered from schizophrenia, died by suicide there. So naturally, while she's there, the impact of losing him is very fresh on her mind. She's trying to figure out why he made this choice, and to do that, she’s tracking down his friends and others who knew him. There are many times when she questions her own sanity as she navigates his world. There are some voices she's hearing that make little sense to her, until she listens closely to what they have to say.
It’s tight, it’s fresh and it’s a very accomplished debut novel. Francesca is known for her humorous essays that appear in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the humorous essay collection books that she writes with her mother, Lisa Scottoline. Make note of this one NOW; it will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.
I have a huge crush on Gregg Hurwitz’s Evan Smoak character; I make no bones about that. My husband and Gregg are aware of this, and both are cool with it. For INTO THE FIRE (in stores January 28th), the fifth book in the series, I decided to do something different and listen to it on audio, as it is narrated by the brilliant Scott Brick. I am thoroughly enjoying this! As I log many miles in the next week, I love that I have a book already lined up to listen to. Trust that I have a couple of other audiobooks packed, in case I hit traffic. I could hit lots of traffic!
I am deep into prep for meeting some of the authors who will be at dinners and other programs that I am attending next week. As in, I am reading…a lot. Right now I am completely smitten with THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles, which is coming on June 2nd. Set in two time zones, we first have Odile in 1939. She is a librarian at the American Library in Paris; she and her fellow librarians take a stand when Hitler comes to town. Flash forward to Montana in 1983, and a young woman named Lily is curious about her neighbor and decides to get to know more about her past. In doing so, it’s clear 100 pages in that they both will be changed for what they learn.
I am so behind on my reading that I am wishing that the idea of putting a book under a pillow would actually work. But I discovered sometime in high school that all a book under your pillow brings is a sore neck in the morning.
We’re so happy to bring you our latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Liz Moore, whose new book, LONG BRIGHT RIVER, is this month’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick and my first Bets On selection of the year. Liz, who lives in Philadelphia, has closely researched her city's police districts and the nearby victims of the opioid crisis. As material for inspiration, Liz kept a journal of nonfiction "sketches" about the people who affected her during the time she spent with them, culminating in the completely fictional, though tonally accurate, LONG BRIGHT RIVER. I talked to Liz about the novel, her understanding of the drug trade, the state of the police and their handling of heroin addiction, and the plight of her characters on both ends of that dilemma. Click here to watch the interview and here to listen to the podcast. And don't miss my Bets On commentary here.
We’re awarding the audio version of LONG BRIGHT RIVER (read by Allyson Ryan), along with Joseph Finder's HOUSE ON FIRE (read by Holter Graham), in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. Let us know by Monday, February 3rd at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll be in the running to win both these audio titles.
We also taped two upcoming interviews this week. The first is with the co-founder of Bookreporter, Jesse Kornbluth, who has a new book out on Tuesday called JFK AND MARY MEYER: A Love Story, which has a unique story structure that he pulled off so well. It’s a diary, with footnotes, and I am not going to tell you more about that right now. You will have to check it out next week. Besides talking about the book, we got nostalgic about the early days of Bookreporter, and there were some very humorous anecdotes. While Jesse and I talk and email frequently, we do not spend a lot of time together, which made this interview so much fun as we tripped down memory lane. We will have that conversation for you on Wednesday.
And Amanda Eyre Ward was in town for the promotion of her upcoming novel, THE JETSETTERS (on sale March 3rd), which is set on a cruise ship that is sailing between Athens, Barcelona and Rome and features a very dysfunctional family. We had not seen each other in a long time, but we caught up quickly! THE JETSETTERS will be a Bets On selection, and our interview will be up on March 4th.
Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (aka “Team W”) have teamed up once again for their third collaboration, ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE, which is now in stores. The New York Times bestselling authors of THE GLASS OCEAN and THE FORGOTTEN ROOM have penned a historical adventure --- moving from the dark days of World War I and World War II to the turbulent years of the 1960s --- in which three women with bruised hearts find refuge at Paris’ legendary Ritz hotel. We have a rave review from Rebecca Wasniak, who says, “Fully immersed in the story, these characters made me laugh (oh, Precious, how I adore you!), and they made me cry. And, as always with Team W, the writing was absolutely seamless. If I didn’t know better, I never would have guessed that it was co-authored by three separate (brilliant) minds.”
Other books we’re reviewing this week include UNCANNY VALLEY, the much-talked-about memoir from Anna Wiener, who, at the height of tech industry idealism, left a job in book publishing in her mid-20s for the promise of the new digital economy; LOST, a new thriller from James Patterson and James O. Born, in which detective Tom Moon and his multi-talented team face off against an international crime ring looking to seize control of Miami; and THE WILD ONE, a continuation of Nick Petrie’s Peter Ash series, which finds the war veteran tracking a murderer and his criminal family through the most forbidding and stark landscape he has ever encountered.
This week, our new Paperback Spotlight title is THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin, a Bets On pick that is now available in paperback. 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. Be sure to check out our review, my Bets On commentary, and the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com.
We gave away five copies of THE LAST ROMANTICS in our first Winter Reading contest of the year; the other giveaway this week was for THE MAGICAL LANGUAGE OF OTHERS, a memoir by E. J. Koh that has been getting lots of attention leading up to its release. Next week’s prizes will be INHERITANCE by Evelyn Toynton, LIFE IS A 4-LETTER WORD: Laughing and Learning Through 40 Life Lessons by Dr. David A. Levy, and A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA by Isabel Allende. The first contest of the week will go live on Tuesday, January 21st at noon ET.
You’ll also have an opportunity to win A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA in our current Word of Mouth contest, in addition to AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (an upcoming Bets On selection and the #1 Indie Next pick for February). Both will be in stores on Tuesday. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read by Friday, January 24th at noon ET, and you’ll have a chance to win these highly anticipated novels, both of which we’ll be reviewing next week.
Our poll continues to ask about your reading goals in 2020. How many print books and e-books are you planning to read this year? And how many audiobooks do you think you will listen to? Let us know by clicking here.
Congratulations to Elizabeth S. from Oak Park, IL, who is the Grand Prize Winner in our End-of-the-Year Contest! She has won all 52 of my Bets On titles from 2019, while 13 other winners are receiving a selection of four of these books. Click here to see if you are one of them! Prizes are being mailed next week. Thanks to all of you who entered. This is my absolute favorite contest every year!
The finalists for the 2019 National Book Critics Circle Awards have been announced in six categories: Autobiography, Biography, Criticism, Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry. Among the nominees are THE NICKEL BOYS by Colson Whitehead (Fiction), SAY NOTHING: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe (Nonfiction), and CATCH AND KILL: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow (Autobiography). The awards will be presented on March 12th at the New School in New York City.
We learned the sad news yesterday that Christopher Tolkien, the son of J. R. R. Tolkien, has passed away at the age of 95. Appointed by his father to be his literary executor, Christopher devoted himself to the editing and publication of unpublished writings, including THE SILMARILLION, UNFINISHED TALES and THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH. "Christopher's commitment to his father's works have seen dozens of publications released, and his own work as an academic in Oxford demonstrates his ability and skill as a scholar," Tolkien Society Chair Shaun Gunner said in a statement. "We have lost a titan and he will be sorely missed."
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
I got this nice note from Ann about the interview that we posted last week: “Loved, loved, loved the interview with William Kent Krueger!! I have read all his books and looking forward to the one about young Cork, plus the other he is writing. Thank you!!”
Pamela wrote this; her book group won copies of the aforementioned AMERICAN DIRT on ReadingGroupGuides.com: “Just finished our advance copy of AMERICAN DIRT. What a story! Can’t wait to discuss at my Book Club meeting on February 13th! On my Top 10 book list of all time now.” We anticipate that MANY readers will be saying the same when this book publishes on Tuesday.
Hustlers: I saw this movie last weekend. The story is completely wild --- and then I learned that it’s based on a real set of crimes. Jennifer Lopez also gave a crash course in pole dancing. Who knew those moves had names?
"You": I am watching season two on Netflix. It’s completely disturbing, but I'm drawn to watching it like a moth to a flame. I have three episodes left.
Girl Scout Cookies: Call me shocked that there are different versions of Girl Scout cookies in different parts of the country. Here’s a map. I want Thin Mints for all.
My events and presentations schedule is coming together. I am going to be presenting “Books for Spring Reading” at the Baldwin Public Library on Long Island on Thursday, March 5th. Then I am going to be moderating five panels at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 14th and 15th, including an auditorium event with Jeanine Cummins, the author of AMERICAN DIRT, and Lisa See, the author of THE ISLAND OF SEA WOMEN, on Saturday, March 14th at 4pm. I just locked down my annual event for "Book Groups and Other Passionate Readers" at the Fairfield Public Library in Connecticut for Tuesday, April 28th at 7pm, and a Summer Reading event at the Avalon Free Public Library on Friday, June 26th at 7pm. These all will be added to my Speaking and Engagements page in the next week or so.
We have no plans for the weekend, which is good since I will be reading like I have not done since I crammed for finals in college. Seriously. My younger son, Cory, turns 25 on Thursday. I will be traveling; he is having dinner with my parents that night, and we are going to celebrate next weekend. Both boys were born five years less five days apart, so I see lots and lots of chocolate cake coming in the 10 days ahead. Beginning January 29th, I will be eating celery for a month.
Of course, there will be football on Sunday. Right now, I'm liking the Chiefs over the Titans and the Packers over the 49ers. Most of all, I'm hoping for good games!
Do keep in mind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his mission and legacy this weekend!
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:
ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE
by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White
ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE: A Novel of the Ritz Paris by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Helen Sadler, Nicola Barber and Saskia Maarleveld
The New York Times bestselling authors of THE GLASS OCEAN and THE FORGOTTEN ROOM return with a glorious historical adventure that moves from the dark days of two World Wars to the turbulent years of the 1960s, in which three women with bruised hearts find refuge at Paris's legendary Ritz hotel. Reviewed by Rebecca Wasniak.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: UNCANNY VALLEY by Anna Wiener
UNCANNY VALLEY: A Memoir by Anna Wiener (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Suehyla El-Attar
In her mid-20s, at the height of tech industry idealism, Anna Wiener --- stuck, broke and looking for meaning in her work, like any good millennial --- left a job in book publishing for the promise of the new digital economy. She moved from New York to San Francisco, where she landed at a big-data startup in the heart of the Silicon Valley bubble: a world of surreal extravagance, dubious success, and fresh-faced entrepreneurs hell-bent on domination, glory and, of course, progress. Anna arrived during a massive cultural shift, as the tech industry rapidly transformed into a locus of wealth and power rivaling Wall Street. But a new Silicon Valley began to emerge: one in far over its head, one that enriched itself at the expense of the idyllic future it claimed to be building. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
New Paperback Spotlight:
THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Cassandra Campbell
A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family, THE LAST ROMANTICS is an unforgettable exploration of the ties that bind us together, the responsibilities we embrace and the duties we resent, and how we can lose --- and sometimes rescue --- the ones we love.
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. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the Skinner siblings --- fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona --- emerge from the Pause staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the siblings find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they’ve made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love.
A novel that pierces the heart and lingers in the mind, THE LAST ROMANTICS is a beautiful meditation on the power of stories --- how they navigate us through difficult times, help us understand the past, and point the way toward our future.
- Click here to read our review.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
Click here to read more in our Paperback Spotlight.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
LONG BRIGHT RIVER by Liz Moore
January’s “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick
LONG BRIGHT RIVER by Liz Moore (Mystery/Thriller)
Mickey is a police officer who patrols the streets of Philadelphia, always on the watch for her sister, Kacey, who has an opioid habit and has been missing for a while. She is used to using Narcan to bring someone on a drug trip that went wrong back to life; it is all too familiar on her beat. She has seen Kacey almost die more than once. And she also has seen her on the street waiting to turn tricks for johns who cruise the neighborhood. Mickey’s past haunts her, but her love for her son drives her to stay safe and sane no matter what surrounds her. But then she starts to realize that things she believes in may not be true, and this well-plotted tale whips readers back and forth in many directions.
Liz Moore’s LONG BRIGHT RIVER is a story of the love between two sisters, who have grown up with a shattered world around them. And it is a look at the dark and stark reality of what the opioid crisis has done to so many families in this country. I was drawn in from the first page, but as the story unfolded, I was even more riveted. And as the mark of a really good book, there was a lot that surprised me.
Book groups should take note of it, as it could spark a great discussion.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to watch Carol's "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Liz Moore.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's "Good Morning America" Book Club pick.
Click here for more books we're betting you'll love.
Bookreporter.com's Sixth Annual
Winter Reading Contests and Feature
At Bookreporter.com, we are kicking off 2020 with our sixth annual Winter Reading Contests and Feature. On select days in January and February, we are hosting a series of 24-hour contests spotlighting a book releasing this winter (or a recently published title that we would like to get into your hands now) and giving five lucky readers a chance to win it. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
Our next prize book will be announced on Tuesday, January 21st at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
Featured Review: LOST
by James Patterson and James O. Born
LOST by James Patterson and James O. Born (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Corey Carthew
The city of Miami is Detective Tom Moon's backyard. He's always kept it local, attending University of Miami on a football scholarship and, as a Miami PD officer, protecting the city's most vulnerable. Now, as the new leader of an FBI task force called "Operation Guardian," it's his mission to combat international crime. Moon's investigative team discovers that the opportunistic "Blood Brothers" --- Russian nationals Roman and Emile Rostoff --- have evaded authorities while building a vast, powerful and deadly crime syndicate throughout Europe and metropolitan Miami. Moon played offense for U of M, but he's on the other side of the field this time. And as the Rostoffs zero in on a target dear to Tom, they're not playing by anyone's rules. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: THE WILD ONE by Nick Petrie
THE WILD ONE: A Peter Ash Novel by Nick Petrie (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Stephen Mendel
A grieving woman asks war veteran Peter Ash to find her eight-year-old grandson. The woman's daughter has been murdered. Erik, the dead daughter's husband, is the sole suspect, and he has taken his young son and fled to Iceland for the protection of Erik's lawless family. Finding the boy becomes more complicated when Peter is met at the airport by a man from the United States Embassy. For reasons both unknown and unofficial, it seems that Peter's own government doesn't want him in Iceland. The police give Peter two days of sightseeing in Reykjavik before he must report back for the first available seat home. But when they realize Peter isn't going home until he accomplishes his mission, they start hunting him, too. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: MR. NOBODY by Catherine Steadman
MR. NOBODY by Catherine Steadman (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Catherine Steadman
When a man is found on a British beach with no identification and unable to speak, interest in him is sparked immediately. From the hospital staff who find themselves inexplicably drawn to him, to international medical experts who are baffled by him, to the national press who call him Mr. Nobody, everyone wants answers. Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Emma Lewis is asked to assess the patient in a small town deep in the English countryside. Emma left this same town 14 years ago and has taken great pains to cover all traces of her past since then. But now something --- or someone --- is calling her back. And the more time she spends with her patient, the more alarmed she becomes that he knows the one thing about her that nobody is supposed to know. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts
In late August, we launched “Bookreporter Talks To,” a video and podcast series where we deliver a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, I have moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal --- to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)
By the way, this follows a long history of The Book Report Network delivering compelling programming to readers. Back in 1997, the company hosted the first online interview with John Grisham, which started a tradition of ongoing interviews with authors.
Authors interviewed to date include:
Upcoming interviews include:
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Jesse Kornbluth (JFK AND MARY MEYER: A Love Story)
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Allison Pataki (THE QUEEN'S FORTUNE: A Novel of Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty That Outlasted the Empire)
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Amanda Eyre Ward (THE JETSETTERS)
Watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interviews and listen to our podcasts.
HITTING A STRAIGHT LICK WITH A CROOKED STICK: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance by Zora Neale Hurston (Fiction/Short Stories)
Audiobook available, read by Aunjanue Ellis
In 1925, Barnard student Zora Neale Hurston --- the sole black student at the college --- was living in New York, “desperately striving for a toe-hold on the world.” During this period, she began writing short works that captured the zeitgeist of African American life and transformed her into one of the central figures of the Harlem Renaissance. HITTING A STRAIGHT LICK WITH A CROOKED STICK is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s “lost” Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
HUNTER KILLER: A Pike Logan Novel by Brad Taylor (Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Rich Orlow
While Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill prepare to join their team on a counter-terrorist mission in the triple frontier --- the lawless tri-border region where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet --- they are targeted in Charleston, South Carolina. A vicious explosion kills a friend, and the perpetrators have set it up to look like an accident. While the authorities believe this was not foul play, Pike knows the attack was meant for him. When he loses contact with the team in South America, Pike is convinced that he and the Taskforce are under assault. Pike and Jennifer head to Brazil to investigate their disappearance and run headlong into a crew of Russian assassins. Within days they are entangled in a byzantine scheme involving Brazilian politics and a cut-throat battle for control of offshore oil fields. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
FOLLOWERS by Megan Angelo (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Jayme Mattler
Orla Cadden is a budding novelist stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss --- a striving, wannabe A-lister --- who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity, Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
CREATURES by Crissy Van Meter (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Piper Goodeve
On the eve of Evangeline’s wedding, on the shore of Winter Island, a dead whale is trapped in the harbor, the groom may be lost at sea, and Evie’s mostly absent mother has shown up out of the blue. From there, the narrative flows back and forth through time as Evie reckons with her complicated upbringing in this lush, wild land off the coast of Southern California. Evie grew up with her well-meaning but negligent father, surviving on the money he made dealing the island’s world-famous strain of weed, Winter Wonderland. Although her father raised her with a deep respect for the elements, the sea and the creatures living within it, he also left her to parent herself. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
COME TUMBLING DOWN by Seanan McGuire (Fantasy)
Audiobook available, read by Seanan McGuire
When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister --- whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice --- back to their home on the Moors. But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome. Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken. Again. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
A LONGER FALL by Charlaine Harris (Fantasy/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Eva Kaminsky
In this second installment of the Gunnie Rose series, Lizbeth Rose is hired onto a new crew for a seemingly easy protection job: transporting a crate into Dixie, just about the last part of the former United States of America she wants to visit. But what seemed like a straightforward job turns into a massacre as the crate is stolen. Up against a wall in Dixie, where social norms have stepped back into the last century, Lizbeth has to go undercover with an old friend to retrieve the crate as what’s inside can spark a rebellion...if she can get it back in time. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.
LOST HILLS by Lee Goldberg (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Nicol Zanzarella
A video of Deputy Eve Ronin’s off-duty arrest of an abusive movie star goes viral, turning her into a popular hero at a time when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is plagued by scandal. The sheriff makes her the youngest female homicide detective in the department’s history. Now Eve has to justify her new badge. Her chance comes when she and her partner are called to the blood-splattered home of a missing single mother and her two kids. The horrific carnage screams multiple murder --- but there are no corpses. Eve has to rely on her instincts and tenacity to find the bodies and capture the vicious killer, all while battling her own insecurities and mounting pressure from the media, her bosses and the bereaved family. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
WESTWIND by Ian Rankin (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt
In Europe, the Americans are pulling out their troops in a tide of isolationism. Britain, torn between loyalties to America and the continent, is caught in the middle. In America, a space shuttle crashes on landing, killing all but one of the crew on-board: a British citizen named Mike Dreyfuss, who will become vilified by the US press and protesters. Halfway across the world, at English ground control headquarters, Martin Hepton watches with dismay as they lose contact with the most advanced satellite in Europe. A colleague of Hepton's who suspects something strange is going on disappears. Hepton realizes there is much more at stake than anyone knows --- and many more people on their trail than they can possibly evade. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
WE WISH YOU LUCK by Caroline Zancan (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Kristen Sieh
It doesn't take long for the students on Fielding campus to become obsessed with Hannah, Leslie and Jimmy. The three graduate students are mysterious, inaccessible and brilliant. After Simone --- young, bestselling author and erstwhile model --- shows up as a visiting professor, and after everything that happened with her, the trio only become more notorious. Love. Death. Revenge. These age-old tropes come to life as the semesters unfold. The threesome came to study writing, to be writers, and this is the story they've woven together: of friendship and passion, of competition and envy, of creativity as life and death. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
A MADNESS OF SUNSHINE by Nalini Singh (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Saskia Maarleveld
On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbors, and the children are more than schoolmates. That is until one fateful summer --- and several vanished bodies --- shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships and a silent agreement not to look back. But they can’t run from the past forever. Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape. It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
YOU WERE THERE TOO by Colleen Oakley (Romance)
Audiobook available, read by Sophie Amoss and Dan Bittner
Mia Graydon's life looks picket-fence perfect. She has the house, her loving husband and dreams of starting a family. But she has other dreams too --- unexplained, recurring ones starring the same man. Still, she doesn’t think much of it, until a relocation to small-town Pennsylvania brings her face to face with the stranger she has been dreaming about for years. And this man harbors a jaw-dropping secret of his own --- he's been dreaming of her too. Determined to understand, Mia and this not-so-stranger search for answers. But when diving into their pasts begins to unravel her life in the present, Mia emerges with a single question: What if? Reviewed by Cindy Burnett.
GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE: A Rowland Sinclair Mystery by Sulari Gentill (Historical Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Rupert Degas
Wealthy Rowland Sinclair, an artist with leftist friends and a free-wheeling lifestyle, reluctantly agrees to a charity race. He'll drive his beloved yellow Mercedes on the Maroubra Speedway, renamed the Killer Track for the lives it has claimed. His teammates are a young Errol Flynn and the well-known driver Joan Richmond. It's all good fun. But then people start to die. The body of a journalist covering the race is found murdered in a House of Horrors. An English blueblood with Blackshirt affiliations dies in a Maroubra crash. Reporters stalk Rowly for dirt while bookmakers are after an edge. When someone takes a shot at him, it could be anyone. Then the police arrest one of Rowly's housemates for murder. Reviewed by Roz Shea.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on January 21st
Below are some notable titles releasing on January 21st 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 January 20th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
AGENCY by William Gibson (Science Fiction/Thriller)
William Gibson has trained his eye on the future for decades, ever since coining the term “cyberspace” and then popularizing it in his classic speculative novel, NEUROMANCER, in the early 1980s. Cory Doctorow raved that THE PERIPHERAL is “spectacular, a piece of trenchant, far-future speculation that features all the eyeball kicks of NEUROMANCER.” Now Gibson is back with AGENCY, a science fiction thriller heavily influenced by our most current events.
AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins (Fiction)
Already being hailed as "a GRAPES OF WRATH for our times" and "a new American classic," Jeanine Cummins' AMERICAN DIRT is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.
COUNTRY STRONG by Linda Lael Miller (Western Romance)
Ever since she was a teenager living in difficult circumstances, Shallie wanted Cord --- but then she abruptly left the small Montana town of Painted Pony Creek, without telling anyone why or where she went. Now she's back, and the old feelings are stronger than ever...and so are her impressions of the woman who betrayed him years ago. But Shallie is not the only one who returns from the past.
FIGHT OF THE CENTURY: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman (Essays)
To mark its 100-year anniversary, the American Civil Liberties Union partners with award-winning authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman to bring together many of our greatest living writers, each contributing an original piece inspired by a historic ACLU case.
HEART OF BLACK ICE: Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles, Volume IV by Terry Goodkind (Fantasy)
HEART OF BLACK ICE is the climactic conclusion to Terry Goodkind's New York Times bestselling Nicci Chronicles.
HOUSE ON FIRE by Joseph Finder (Thriller)
In New York Times bestselling author Joseph Finder's electrifying new thriller, private investigator Nick Heller infiltrates a powerful wealthy family hiding something sinister.
JFK AND MARY MEYER: A Love Story by Jesse Kornbluth (Historical Fiction)
Mary Pinchot Meyer was possibly the only woman John F. Kennedy ever loved. Follow their affair in this fictional diary of the woman murdered for asking too many questions after the JFK assassination.
A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA by Isabel Allende (Historical Fiction)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, this epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
Our Latest Poll: Your Reading Goals for 2020
How many print books and e-books are you planning to read in 2020? How many audiobooks are you planning to listen to?
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1-10
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11-20
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21-30
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31-40
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41-50
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51-75
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76-100
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More than 100
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None
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I’m not sure.
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, January 24th 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 January 10th to January 24th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins and A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA by Isabel Allende.
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 January 6th to February 3rd at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Liz Moore's LONG BRIGHT RIVER, read by Allyson Ryan, and Joseph Finder's HOUSE ON FIRE, read by Holter Graham.
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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