|
I turned 27 again on Wednesday. I have been so busy that I was much less of a birthday princess than usual. This time of year, I always vow that I will not be snowed under with work, but somehow I always end up in the same position. Next week, I want to shoot a video about my Bookreporter.com Bets On selections with quick thoughts on why I chose each of them. The prize books for our Year-End Contest (more on that below) are coming to the house here. I am opening boxes and checking off my list like I am Book Santa. There is a spreadsheet that I am staying on top of. And today I received signed bookplates from Nita Prose for the copies of THE MAID.
Also, Operation: Plant the Amaryllis is underway. I think there are two dozen lined up as gifts in addition to the six that I have planted for myself. I am happy to report that while I have been planting in the kitchen, there is no dirt on the floor or on the table. This is a complete miracle. I have a spreadsheet of who gets which plants...and more amusing is who needs dirt in their pot and who can plant on their own.
Spreadsheets...there is a theme going on here.
But back to the work scene…
First row: Harvey Freedenberg, Bronwyn Miller, Tom Donadio, Carol Fitzgerald
Second row: Kate Ayers, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Sarah Rachel Egelman, Stuart Shiffman
Third row: Megan Elliott, Rebecca Munro, Norah Piehl, Ray Palen
Fourth row: Pamela Kramer
On Tuesday night, we hosted a very special “Bookaccino Live” event featuring 11 Bookreporter reviewers: Kate Ayers, Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Ray Palen, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Each of them enthusiastically talked about their three favorite books of 2022. Their selections cover a wide variety of genres, and there may be a few titles here you haven’t heard of that you will want to check out.
Click here to watch the event and here to listen to the podcast. We have timestamped the video, so if you would like to hear from a specific reviewer, you easily can do that! A list of all the books that they presented can be found here, including selections from Ron Kaplan and Jana Siciliano, who sadly were not able to join us. We also have assembled the covers of the books that our reviewers picked, which you can see in this blog post.
Pictured above is me with our Editorial Director, Tom Donadio, and all 11 reviewers as we appeared on Zoom in our best “Brady Bunch” pose.
It was such a terrific evening, and so many of our reviewers and attendees told us that their TBR lists have expanded greatly after listening to everyone present their titles. We LOVE hearing this! Many thanks to Tom for being a terrific co-anchor and for working out the lineup with me. We really had fun.
As promised, our video and podcast of last week’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event with Charmaine Wilkerson are now up. I had so much fun talking to Charmaine about her debut novel, BLACK CAKE, a Bets On pick that is now in paperback. Three readers shared questions on screen, and then there were numerous audience questions. Charmaine explained how she writes in bursts, and that her writing can sometimes appear in brief on the page, while at other times more is explored. She talked about her characters, her background that inspired the story…and, yes, black cake! There was also discussion about the cover and the additional materials in the paperback edition.
We’re “Betting” You’ll Love This Contest!
BLACK CAKE is one of the prizes in our aforementioned BIG End-of-the-Year Contest, which we launched last week. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 40(!) of my Bets On picks from 2022, while eight other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles.
Here are just a few of the other books you could win: COUNT THE WAYS by Joyce Maynard, THE GOOD SON by Jacquelyn Mitchard, THE LAST TO VANISH by Megan Miranda, MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, THE OVERNIGHT GUEST by Heather Gudenkauf, TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY by Linwood Barclay, and THE YOUNGER WIFE by Sally Hepworth. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, January 6th at noon ET.
Announcing This Year’s Holiday Author Blogs: Stories About Giving & Receiving
Our Holiday Author Blogs are back for a 15th year! Once again, authors are sharing their favorite bookish holiday memories with us.
We kicked off the series this week with Allegra Goodman (SAM) and Mary Dixie Carter (THE PHOTOGRAPHER). Next week, we look forward to contributions from J.T. Ellison (IT’S ONE OF US), Pam Jenoff (CODE NAME SAPPHIRE), Jonathan Kellerman (UNNATURAL HISTORY), Chloe Melas (LUCK OF THE DRAW: My Story of the Air War in Europe), and Laura Munson (WILLA’S GROVE). I love these pieces every year!
Holiday Cheer Update --- and Looking Ahead to Winter Reading
Our Holiday Cheer contests wrapped up this week with our final two giveaways: THE LIGHT PIRATE by Lily Brooks-Dalton, which is this month’s #1 Indie Next pick and “Good Morning America” Book Club selection, and THE QUEEN: Her Life by Andrew Morton. We plan to feature our reviews of both books in next week’s newsletter. Thank you to all who participated in our eight contests, and congratulations to the winners!
Note that our next series of 24-hour contests will be our Winter Reading feature, which kicks off on Friday, January 13th. A Special Preview newsletter will be sent on Tuesday, January 17th, and our first contest is scheduled to go up the following day. You can sign up here to receive the Winter Reading newsletter.
In October, we reviewed the two books in Cormac McCarthy’s long-awaited Passenger series: THE PASSENGER and STELLA MARIS. The latter released this week, so we are revisiting Joe Hartlaub’s review of it. This second volume is an intimate portrait of grief and longing, as a young woman in a psychiatric facility seeks to understand her own existence.
Joe says, “I certainly don’t recall ever encountering anything quite as deep, dark and complex as this book and THE PASSENGER. You may need to give up your favorite author for a while simply to avoid comparing your next reading experience too harshly against this sprawling and disturbing work, which at the end of the day is nothing short of incomparable and not to be missed.”
Word of Mouth Reminder
We’re awarding THE PASSENGER and STELLA MARIS to the winners of our Word of Mouth contest, along with A DANGEROUS BUSINESS by Jane Smiley, which we will review next week. You have until next Friday, December 16th at noon ET to submit your comments about the books you’ve read for your chance to win all three of these titles.
With ELIZABETH TAYLOR, Kate Andersen Brower has penned the first-ever authorized biography of one of the most famous movie stars of the 20th century. Brower uses Taylor’s unpublished letters, diary entries and off-the-record interview transcripts, as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family, to tell the full, unvarnished story of her remarkable career and her explosive private life that made headlines worldwide.
Barbara Bamberger Scott has our review and says, “Brower’s book is more tapestry than treatise, bringing some new, fascinating facts to the fore on nearly every page.... Readers who think they know Elizabeth Taylor will learn --- and enjoy --- much that has never before been revealed in such rich detail about this remarkable 20th-century icon.”
Other books we’re reviewing this week include:
-
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES: In John Boyne’s new novel, 91-year-old Gretel Fernsby must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery.
-
NO ONE LEFT TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU: Set in the vibrant music scene of early 1990s New York City, Sam Lipsyte’s darkly comic mystery serves as a love letter to a bygone era of the Big Apple where young artists could still afford to chase their dreams.
-
SO LONG, CHESTER WHEELER: Unlikely road trip companions form an unexpected bond in Catherine Ryan Hyde’s uplifting novel about the past, lost and found. Please note that Kate Ayers talked about this book as one of her top three titles of the year during our reviewer event.
-
FOSTER: Winner of the prestigious Davy Byrnes Award and published in an abridged version in The New Yorker, Claire Keegan’s international bestseller is a heartbreaking story of childhood, loss and love, now released as a stand-alone book for the first time ever in the US.
December’s New in Paperback Feature
Our New in Paperback roundups are now available for December. We’re featuring paperback reprints from such bestselling authors as Gregg Hurwitz (DARK HORSE: An Orphan X Novel), Thomas Keneally (THE DICKENS BOY), Christopher Golden (ROAD OF BONES), and Lisa Harding (BRIGHT BURNING THINGS); nonfiction titles, including HOW THE WORD IS PASSED: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith and TRUE RAIDERS: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant by Brad Ricca; and paperback originals like MS. DEMEANOR by Elinor Lipman and LAST CIRCLE OF LOVE by Lorna Landvik.
Revisiting My “Bookreporter Talks To” Interview with Brendan Slocumb
Out in paperback this week is THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by Brendan Slocumb, which is one of the 40 prizes in our Bets On contest. I talked to Brendan about the book in March, so if you missed the interview or would like to take another look at it, you can watch it here or listen to the podcast here.
Remember to Vote in Our Poll
Our poll continues to ask if you’re planning to give books as gifts this holiday season. Click here to let us know!
Jenna Bush Hager has selected an old favorite, Donna Tartt’s THE SECRET HISTORY, as her December “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick. Jenna calls the book, which was first published in 1992, “a pillar of the last 30 years in literature.” She goes on to say, “With a book as layered as THE SECRET HISTORY, there's going to be new revelations every time you read it. I feel like this is the type of book that needs to be reread every 10, 20, 30 years --- which I just cannot believe.”
Reese’s Book Club pick for this month is THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O’Farrell, which released in September. Reese says, “You know I love historical fiction...and with a true crime element? I’m in!... I could not stop Googling all the details of this true story! It’s a fascinating, historical thriller about an Italian Duchess, who we learn at the very beginning of the book will die either by sickness...or by her husband’s hand.”
For more December selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
The winners of the 14th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards were announced in 17 categories yesterday. Among them are TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin (Fiction), THE MAID by Nita Prose (Mystery & Thriller), CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Historical Fiction), BOOK LOVERS by Emily Henry (Romance), SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel (Science Fiction), THE OFFICE BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There, by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (Humor), ATLAS OF THE HEART: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience, by Brené Brown (Nonfiction), and I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy (Memoir & Autobiography). Click here for all the winners and runners-up.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
Joan wrote to Tom and me from Canada: “I connected with your fabulous Zoom book reviewer event last night. Thanks for sending out the advance list of books. You are both outstanding facilitators. The enthusiasm of readers loving a book is contagious. Happy holidays, and happy reading to you both. Great to see our own Canadian Louise Penny lauded. That’s #1 on my Christmas receiving list.” And Helene wrote, “That was wonderful last night. Thank you.”
“Daisy Jones & The Six”: Here's an exclusive first look at the upcoming Hulu show based on Taylor Jenkins Reid's book of the same name from Vanity Fair. And here’s the trailer. The series premieres March 3rd on Amazon Prime Video.
“The White Lotus” on HBO: The season finale is on Sunday night. I am trying to guess what will happen.
Billie Eilish: Whether or not you know, or like, her music, I think that the way this interview unfolded, asking the same questions over six years, was pretty cool. Yes, people grow up.
Election Sequel Tracy Flick Can't Win In Works for Paramount+: This was fun news that just dropped this week. Reese Witherspoon is producing and will return as the title character. When I interviewed Tom Perrotta in June, we talked about how much fun it would be to see Reese back in this role.
I have just about decorated, or perhaps over-decorated, the house. As soon as Tom and Greg got back on Sunday, I pointed out everything that needed to be hung from heights. We still have not found all of the candles for the windows. The new issue with this is that the missing candles have all of the timers on them. Tom is thinking battery-operated candles, and he has ordered a number of those. Last year, there was a huge discussion on all the colors of the lights matching (and this came from Tom, not me). I think I should write where we store the candles in the newsletter this year so I can look back and see where they are. Luminary night was rained out last week. The neighborhood will try again next Saturday.
This afternoon, I took a class on knitting a woolly wreath at The Blue Purl yarn shop. It’s the Woolly Wreath from Churchmouse Yarns. I am making it in white. I keep calling it the Loopy Wreath. We shall see how this goes. I also am knitting a scarf and a hat for Cory’s girlfriend. I am on row six of the scarf and need to remember how to make cables! My husband is betting that none of this will be done by Christmas. Oh, he of little faith!
I am reading and loving Linwood Barclay’s LOOK BOTH WAYS. Linwood had told me about “the car book” for years, and I am so happy that I finally am reading it. Our reviewer Ray Palen loved it, and I see why!
Hope your holiday planning is going well. 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: STELLA MARIS by Cormac McCarthy
STELLA MARIS by Cormac McCarthy (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Julia Whelan and Edoardo Ballerini
1972, Black River Falls, Wisconsin: Alicia Western, 20 years old and with $40,000 in a plastic bag, admits herself to the hospital. A doctoral candidate in mathematics at the University of Chicago, Alicia has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and she does not want to talk about her brother, Bobby. Instead, she contemplates the nature of madness, the human insistence on one common experience of the world; she recalls a childhood where, by the age of seven, her own grandmother feared for her; she surveys the intersection of physics and philosophy. And she introduces her cohorts, her chimeras, the hallucinations that only she can see. All the while, she grieves for Bobby, who is not quite dead, not quite hers. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read more about STELLA MARIS.
- Click here to read our review of THE PASSENGER.
Click here to read our review of STELLA MARIS.
Featured Review: ELIZABETH TAYLOR
by Kate Andersen Brower
ELIZABETH TAYLOR: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon by Kate Andersen Brower (Biography)
Audiobook available, read by Eleanor Caudill
No celebrity rivals Elizabeth Taylor’s glamour and guts or her level of fame. In the first-ever authorized biography of the Hollywood icon, Kate Andersen Brower reveals the world through Elizabeth’s eyes. Brower uses Elizabeth’s unpublished letters, diary entries and off-the-record interview transcripts, as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family, to tell the full, unvarnished story of her remarkable career and her explosive private life that made headlines worldwide. ELIZABETH TAYLOR captures this intelligent, empathetic, tenacious, volatile and complex woman as never before. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review:
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES by John Boyne
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES by John Boyne (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Kristin Atherton and Helen Lloyd
Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She doesn’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesn’t talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich’s most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel’s hard-won, self-contained existence. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Special Contest:
Enter to Win Our End-of-the-Year Celebration,
Featuring All 40 "Bets On" Titles from 2022
We are thrilled to announce our End-of-the-Year Contest featuring Carol Fitzgerald’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2022. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 40 books, while eight other readers will receive a selection of five of these titles. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, January 6th at noon ET.
Here are this year's Bets On titles:
Click here to enter the contest.
Featured Review:
NO ONE LEFT TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU
by Sam Lipsyte
NO ONE LEFT TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU by Sam Lipsyte (Mystery/Humor)
Audiobook available, read by Sam Lipsyte
Manhattan’s East Village, 1993. Crime is high, but rent is low, luring hopeful, creative kids from sleepy suburbs around the country. One of these is Jack S., a young New Jersey rock musician. Just a few days before his band’s biggest gig, their lead singer goes missing with Jack’s prized bass, presumably to hock it to feed his junk habit. Jack’s search for his buddy uncovers a sinister entanglement of crimes tied to local real estate barons looking to remake New York City --- and who also might be connected to the recent death of Jack’s punk rock mentor. Along the way, Jack encounters a cast of colorful characters, including a tough-talking cop who fancies himself a retro-cool icon of the homicide squad but is harboring a surprising secret. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: SO LONG, CHESTER WHEELER
by Catherine Ryan Hyde
SO LONG, CHESTER WHEELER by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Michael Crouch
Lewis Madigan is young, gay, out of work and getting antsy when he’s roped into providing end-of-life care for his insufferable homophobic neighbor, Chester Wheeler. Lewis doesn’t need the aggravation, just the money. The only requirements: run errands, be on call, and put up with a miserable old churl no one else in Buffalo can bear. After exchanging barbs, bickering, baiting and pushing buttons, Chester hits Lewis with the big ask. Lewis can’t say no to a dying wish: drive Chester to Arizona in his rust bucket of a Winnebago to see his ex-wife for the first time in 32 years --- for the last time. To Lewis, it becomes an illuminating journey into the life and secrets of a vulnerable man he’s finally beginning to understand. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: FOSTER by Claire Keegan
FOSTER by Claire Keegan (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Aoife McMahon
It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas’ house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household --- where everything is so well tended to --- and this summer must soon come to an end. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Bookreporter.com's Holiday Author Blogs:
Authors Write About Their Favorite Holiday Memories
of Giving or Receiving Books
This week marks the return of our Holiday Author Blogs, which we have brought back for a 15th year. From now through December 16th, we will feature a new blog post from an author each weekday talking about the books that they have given and/or received during the holidays.
We kicked off the feature this week with Allegra Goodman (SAM) and Mary Dixie Carter (THE PHOTOGRAPHER). Still to come are contributions from J.T. Ellison (IT’S ONE OF US), Pam Jenoff (CODE NAME SAPPHIRE), Jonathan Kellerman (UNNATURAL HISTORY), Chloe Melas (LUCK OF THE DRAW: My Story of the Air War in Europe), and Laura Munson (WILLA’S GROVE).
Click here to read Bookreporter.com's 2022 Holiday Author Blogs.
Bookreporter.com's Holiday Cheer Feature:
Books You Want to Wrap and Unwrap
At Bookreporter.com, we've been celebrating the holiday season in style with our Holiday Cheer Contests and Feature. As our gift to you, we've been spotlighting a book and giving five lucky readers the chance to win it.
Although the contests have ended, we encourage you to take a look at this year's featured titles. These are books you'll want to read during the holidays --- and throughout the new year as well!
This year's featured titles are:
- Click here to see the winners of this year's Holiday Cheer contests.
Click here to see our Holiday Cheer feature.
December’s New in Paperback Roundups
December's roundup of New in Paperback titles includes Brendan Slocumb's THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY, a beautifully rendered and complex debut novel in which a shocking theft sends a Black classical musician on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world; DARK HORSE, the seventh installment in Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X series, which finds Evan Smoak (aka The Nowhere Man) facing his most challenging mission ever; BRIGHT BURNING THINGS by Lisa Harding, a devastating and nuanced look at an addict’s journey towards rehabilitation and redemption; and HOW THE WORD IS PASSED, Clint Smith's compelling debut work of nonfiction that examines the legacy of slavery in America --- and how both history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives.
Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
December 5th, December 12th, December 19th and December 26th.
THE MAGIC KINGDOM by Russell Banks (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Danny Campbell and MacLeod Andrews
In 1971, a property speculator named Harley Mann begins recording his life story onto a reel-to-reel machine. After his father’s sudden death, his family migrated down to Florida’s swamplands --- mere miles away from what would become Disney World --- to join a community of Shakers. Led by Elder John, the colony devoted itself to labor, faith and charity, rejecting all temptations that lay beyond the property. But when Harley began falling in love with Sadie Pratt, a consumptive patient living on the grounds, his loyalty to the Shakers and their conservative worldview grew strained and, ultimately, broke. As Harley dictates his story across more than half a century, the truth about Sadie, Elder John and the Shakers comes to light, clarifying the past and present alike. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
THE QUARRY GIRLS by Jess Lourey (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jess Nahikian
Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears --- the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate. Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
A QUIET LIFE by Ethan Joella (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Stacey Glemboski, Melissa Redmond and Byron Wagner
Chuck Ayers can’t decide if he should make the annual trip to Hilton Head without his late wife, Cat. Ella Burke works two jobs to make ends meet and fill the hours while she waits for news about her missing daughter. Kirsten Bonato put her aspirations for veterinary school aside after her father’s sudden death and finds comfort working at an animal shelter. These three individuals’ stories intersect in surprising and heartwarming ways as each person discovers how to move forward with their lives. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
CURSED BUNNY: Stories written by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur (Fiction/Short Stories)
Audiobook available, read by Greta Jung
From an author never before published in the United States, CURSED BUNNY blends horror, sci-fi, fairy tales and speculative fiction into stories that defy categorization. “The Head” follows a woman haunted by her own bodily waste. “The Embodiment” takes us into a dystopian gynecology office where a pregnant woman is told that she must find a father for her baby or face horrific consequences. Another story follows a young monster, forced into underground fight rings without knowing the force of his own power. The titular fable centers on a cursed lamp in the approachable shape of a rabbit, fit for a child’s bedroom but for its sinister capabilities. Reviewed by Eleni Karavoussianis.
THE LAST INVITATION by Darby Kane (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Lindsey Dorcus, Abby Craden and Alyssa Bresnahan
Over the last few years, prominent people have died in a series of fluke accidents and shocking suicides. There’s no apparent connection, no signs of foul play. Behind it all is a powerful group of women, the Sophie Foundation, who meet over wine and cheese to review files of men who behave very, very badly and then mete out justice. Jessa Hall jumped at the mysterious, exclusive invitation to this secret club. The invite comes when she’s at her lowest, aching for a way to take back control. After years of fighting and scratching to get ahead, she’s ready for a chance to make the “bad guys” lose. Jessa soon realizes, though, just how far she’s willing to go and how dangerous this game has become. Once in the group, it’s impossible to get out. Reviewed by Sam Johnson.
BEFORE YOU KNEW MY NAME by Jacqueline Bublitz (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Penelope Rawlins
When she arrived in New York on her 18th birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice Lee was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city’s latest Jane Doe. Meanwhile, Ruby Jones is also trying to reinvent herself. After traveling halfway around the world, she’s lonelier than ever in the Big Apple. Until she stumbles upon a woman’s body by the Hudson River and suddenly finds herself unbreakably tied to the unknown dead woman. Alice is sure that Ruby is the key to solving the mystery of her short life and tragic death. Ruby just wants to forget what she saw, but she can’t seem to stop thinking about the young woman she found. If she keeps looking, can she give this unidentified Jane Doe the ending and closure she deserves? Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.
A HISTORY OF FEAR by Luke Dumas (Literary Thriller/Horror)
Audiobook available; read by Graham Halstead, Toni Frutin, Shiromi Arserio, Jennifer Aquino, Gary Furlong and Gary Tiedemann
Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil’s Advocate. The 25-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it. When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that’s haunted the nation for years: Was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along? Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
A SLIVER OF DARKNESS: Stories by C. J. Tudor (Psychological Thriller/Short Stories)
Audiobook available; read by Richie Campbell, Dakota Blue Richards, Roy McMillan, Richard Armitage and Adam Sims
Time slips. Doomsday scenarios. Killer butterflies. C. J. Tudor’s novels are widely acclaimed for their dark, twisty suspense plots, but with A SLIVER OF DARKNESS, she pulls us even further into her dizzying imagination. In “The Lion at the Gate,” a strange piece of graffiti leads to a terrifying encounter for four school friends. In “Final Course,” the world has descended into darkness, but a group of old friends make time for one last dinner party. In “Runaway Blues,” thwarted love, revenge and something very nasty stowed in a hat box converge. In “Gloria,” a strange girl at a service station endears herself to a coldhearted killer, but can a leopard really change its spots? And in “I’m Not Ted,” a case of mistaken identity has unforeseen fatal consequences. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
HOLMES COMING by Kenneth Johnson (Mystery)
Audiobook available; read by Francesca Ling, Rory Barnett, Jenny Gago, Thom Rivera and Cary Hite
While checking on a former patient at her isolated Victorian house, Dr. Amy Winslow discovers in the cellar a secret, cobweb-covered 1899 electrochemical laboratory containing a Jules Verne-esque steam-punk sarcophagus out of which springs a wild-eyed, half-mummified, crypt-keeper-like man. He claims to be a real-life Victorian master chemist and detective named Holmes, who allowed Conan Doyle to write stories based on his cases. Holmes and Amy, his reluctant new Watson, find themselves unexpectedly attracted to each other while perilously involved in reclaiming his proof of identity. It’s all connected to a horrific death-by-tiger, only the first of several bizarre, mystifying murders being committed by an exquisitely fiendish descendant of Holmes’ Victorian archenemy, Professor Moriarty. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
BOMBAY MONSOON by James W. Ziskin (Historical Thriller)
The year is 1975. Danny Jacobs is an ambitious, young American journalist who’s just arrived in Bombay for a new assignment. He’s soon caught up in the chaos of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s domestic “Emergency.” Willy Smets is Danny’s enigmatic expat neighbor. He’s a charming man but with suspicious connections. As a monsoon drenches Bombay, Danny falls hard for Sushmita, Smets’ beguiling and clever lover --- and the infatuation is mutual. "The Emergency," a virtual coup by the prime minister, is only the first twist in the high-stakes drama of Danny’s new life in India. The assassination of a police officer by a Marxist extremist, as well as Danny’s obsession with the inscrutable Sushmita, conspire to put his career --- and life --- in jeopardy. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.
FRANK COSTELLO by Ronald K. Fried (Historical Fiction)
As Frank Costello looks back over his life as head of the most powerful crime family in America, he doesn't focus on the triumphs of his bootlegging empire, his nationwide gambling network, or his de facto control of Tammany Hall. Instead, Costello --- the politically connected "Prime Minister of the Underworld" --- remembers the lies he's told, the mistakes he's made, and his fateful decision to testify before the televised Kefauver hearings investigating organized crime in America. The novel reaches its climax as Costello --- in a naïve attempt to preserve the patina of respectability he's spent his life creating --- tries to defend himself before senators out to expose the full extent of the Mafia's reach. The result is a humiliating, very public lesson about who holds the real power in America. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth for HeadButler.com.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on December 13th
Below are some notable titles releasing on December 13th 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 December 12th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
ASHES OF MAN: The Sun Eater, Book Five by Christopher Ruocchio (Space Opera/Fantasy)
The fifth novel of the galaxy-spanning Sun Eater series merges the best of space opera and epic fantasy, as Hadrian Marlowe continues down a path that can only end in fire.
A DEATH IN TOKYO by Keigo Higashino (Mystery)
In the latest from international bestselling author Keigo Higashino, Tokyo Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga is faced with a very public murder that doesn't quite add up, a prime suspect unable to defend himself, and pressure from the highest levels for a quick solution.
DEVIL'S DELIGHT: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton and R.W. Green (Mystery)
Beloved New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin --- the star of her own hit TV series --- is back on the case again in DEVIL'S DELIGHT.
SECRETS TYPED IN BLOOD: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery by Stephen Spotswood (Historical Mystery)
In this newest entry in the Nero Award-winning Pentecost & Parker Mystery series, Lillian Pentecost and Will Parker are hot on the trail of a serial killer whose murders are stranger than fiction.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
From left to right: Stephen Spotswood, Debbie Macomber, Sam Lipsyte
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
As many book and author events are still happening online these days, we are highlighting a number of them that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links below for more info and to register.
Sunday, December 11th at 7:30pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Stephen Spotswood will talk about the latest entry in his Nero Award-winning Pentecost & Parker Mystery series, SECRETS TYPED IN BLOOD, in which Lillian and Will are hot on the trail of a serial killer whose murders are stranger than fiction.
Monday, December 12th at 7:30pm ET: “Lisa Live!”: Join Lisa Scottoline every Monday night as she hosts her weekly “Talking LOYALTY” video series and Facebook Live events leading up to the publication of her historical novel, LOYALTY, on March 28, 2023. And be sure to enter the LOYALTY Pre-order Sweepstakes!
Tuesday, December 13th at 9pm ET: City Lights Bookstore: Sam Lipsyte will be in conversation with Sloane Crosley celebrating the publication of his new novel, NO ONE LEFT TO COME LOOKING FOR YOU, a darkly comic mystery set in the vibrant music scene of early 1990s New York City.
Wednesday, December 14th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": Join the "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- for a special Christmas show featuring the queen of holiday stories, Debbie Macomber, whose latest novel is THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.
Thursday, December 15th at 9pm ET: Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore: Mysterious Galaxy presents a virtual event featuring Stephen Spotswood, who will be in conversation with Jane Pek about his new novel, SECRETS TYPED IN BLOOD, which is the third installment in his mystery series featuring Lillian Pentecost and Will Parker.
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts
“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, Carol has 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 is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)
Here is our latest interview:
Other authors we've interviewed include:
Upcoming interviews include:
-
Dani Shapiro (SIGNAL FIRES)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
Our Latest Poll: Giving Books for the Holidays
Are you planning to give books as gifts this holiday season? Please check all that apply.
-
I am planning to give print books (hardcovers and/or paperbacks).
-
I am planning to give e-books.
-
I am planning to give audiobooks.
-
I am planning to give a gift card that will allow the recipient to buy a print book, e-book or audiobook.
-
I am not planning to give any books or book gift cards this year.
-
I am not sure what I am doing.
-
Other (Please specify)
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, December 16th at noon ET.
Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What
You're Reading --- and You Can Win THREE 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 December 2nd to December 16th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win A DANGEROUS BUSINESS by Jane Smiley and the two-volume Passenger series by Cormac McCarthy: THE PASSENGER and STELLA MARIS.
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.
|
