March 1, 2024

March 1, 2024

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When It’s 29 Days, Not 28

I love it when February has 28 days in it, as the calendar then is mostly the same for March. That means I do not have to think about what the numerical date of the second Wednesday of the month is for March's “Bookaccino Live” event, as it would've been the same in February. But in a leap year, the March calendar is one day off.

Also on the subject of March, years ago I wrote something about March coming in like a lamb or a lion, which my sons got a huge kick out of. So, once again, here you go. It’s been a lamb start to March so far.

I had a great weekend of reading last weekend as I finished THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood. It releases on May 7th and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. I love how the story unfolded. Now I am reading AFTER ANNIE by Anna Quindlen (more on this book later). As soon as I finish it, I will nail down a date to interview Anna. Next up, I am going to read WATCH WHERE THEY HIDE by Tamron Hall, which will be out on March 12th; I am interviewing Tamron as well. And beyond that, let’s just say that I need to read a lot faster and stay with books that are publishing in March instead of jumping to months ahead. March is FULL of GREAT books to read.

Early next week, we are going to send our first Events@thebookreportnetwork newsletter. If you are not signed up for this newsletter yet, you can do that here. That way you never will miss one of our events.

As promised, we are sharing coverage of the Savannah Book Festival from our own Lisa Hickman, who attended a number of panels and heard many authors speak. We also have commentary from our longtime reader, Nancy Bader, who heard John Berendt talk about his book, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

We had so much fun hosting Wednesday night’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event. Our guest was Shelby Van Pelt, and she talked about her debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, which has been a book group favorite since its release almost two years ago.

Shelby explains how a short piece that she had penned for a writing class became the start of her New York Times bestseller, how growing up with her Swedish grandmother influenced her character, Tova, and why it worked for Marcellus to have his voice in the first person. She shares background on the cover design, as well as what it was like to be a debut author getting a call that she was the “Read with Jenna” selection for May 2022 and her experience being on the set of the “Today” show. She also notes that she is working on something new, but readers will have to wait a while to see it.

It was such a pleasure talking to Shelby, and even though we had just met that evening, I felt like we were old friends as we were chatting about the book. And I loved seeing her interact so enthusiastically with her readers. Our attendees hailed from 39 states, and three were from Canada. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast.

This is your last Weekly Update newsletter reminder to sign up for our LIVE “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Kristin Hannah next Wednesday, March 6th at 7pm ET. Please note the time as it is an hour earlier from our usual start time of 8pm ET.

Kristin will be talking about her latest novel, THE WOMEN, and answering questions from those who won a copy of the book in a Bookreporter contest last November. This Bets On selection is a #1 bestseller on the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists. Some of these winners will be asking their question on camera, and I will be asking questions on behalf of those who are camera-shy or are unable to join us live.

If you would like to listen in on the conversation, you can register for the event by clicking here.

This week, we kicked off a new contest for Leigh Bardugo’s upcoming historical fantasy, THE FAMILIAR, a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age. Deborah Harkness, the #1 bestselling author of the All Souls Trilogy, calls the book “[a] richly imagined, intricate tale... I loved every word of this novel, and it’s a must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives.”

Here’s the premise: Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion in Madrid. But when her scheming mistress discovers that the servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands that Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. As Luzia's notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath.

In anticipation of the book’s April 9th release, we’re awarding a copy to 25 readers. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, March 15th at noon ET. I look forward to interviewing Leigh as we approach its publication.

The aforementioned AFTER ANNIE is Anna Quindlen’s first novel in six years, and it is March’s Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centered their lives.

Eileen Zimmerman Nicol has our review and says, “Anna Quindlen puts us in the heads and hearts of these characters. We feel their confusion and grief and, ultimately, moments of peace and hope…. As in each of Quindlen’s novels, humanity in all its glory and pettiness is the true subject. Anyone who has lost someone precious will relate to these characters’ grief, heartbreak and ultimate resilience. It is a trip on a road paved with pathos, but it is one well worth taking.”

On Tuesday, April 2nd at 3pm ET, B&N will host a live virtual event with Anna, which you can sign up for here.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Tommy Orange’s highly anticipated follow-up to his 2018 debut novel, THERE THERE, is now in stores and is the #1 Indie Next pick for March. WANDERING STARS traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous.

According to our reviewer Harvey Freedenberg, the book is “a moving family story and an excavation of historic wrongs that reveals how trauma reverberates down through the generations until it must be confronted in the present.” He goes on to say, “Orange skillfully shifts viewpoints among the members of this loving but troubled family to reveal how both the personal and historic pasts echoes in their lives.” I have started WANDERING STARS and am loving the author’s writing.

In her much-talked-about new book, BURN BOOK, award-winning journalist Kara Swisher has written a witty and scathing but fair accounting of the tech industry and its founders who wanted to change the world but broke it instead. This is the inside story we’ve all been waiting for about modern Silicon Valley and the biggest boom in wealth creation in the history of the world.

Jesse Kornbluth, who founded Bookreporter with me, was kind enough to share his review with us that he wrote for his site, HeadButler.com. Here’s a preview: [BURN BOOK is] a memoir that’s an unofficial history of the human side of the internet --- the quirky personalities, the outsized egos and worse…. My take on Kara Swisher: Rachel Maddow…with a lot less shtick. My advice to Kara Swisher: Don’t mellow. Run full speed through the tape. Remember: the finish line is not the finish. Don’t stop. And especially...keep writing.” Amen. I met Kara a few times, and she is formidable.

Other books we’re reviewing this week include:

• THREE-INCH TEETH: Joe Pickett faces two different kinds of rampaging beasts --- one animal, one human --- in this 24th installment of C. J. Box’s series starring the beloved Wyoming game warden. Click here for an interview with Box conducted by Michael Barson, who worked with Box when he was a publicist at Box’s publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
   
• GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE: Sloane Crosley’s memoir explores multiple kinds of loss following the death of her closest friend, Russell Perreault. Russell was the executive director of publicity and social media for Penguin Random House’s Vintage/Anchor imprint. As a publicist, Russell’s name showed up in our inboxes frequently, and we would see him at various industry events, so his death came as quite a shock to all of us.
   
• SLOW NOODLES: In this haunting and inspiring memoir written with Kim Green, Chantha Nguon recounts her life as a Cambodian refugee who lost everything but the memories of her mother’s kitchen. The book includes more than 20 family recipes, such as sour chicken-lime soup, green papaya pickles and pâté de foie, as well as Khmer curries, stir-fries and handmade bánh canh noodles.

I’m Betting You’ll Love…
Last week, we featured our review of END OF STORY, A. J. Finn’s eagerly awaited second novel following his international bestseller, THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW. This week, I’m happy to share with you my Bets On commentary. Find out why I’m betting you’ll be surprised by this book and its major twists just as much as I was.

Announcing This Year’s Spring Preview Contests
Today we launched our 13th annual Spring Preview feature. We will be spotlighting a number of new and upcoming releases (including the aforementioned THE FAMILIAR) that we think people will be talking about this spring --- and beyond. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these books on select days through mid-April; five readers will be awarded the book that we are giving away that day. You can sign up here for alerts so you will be notified as soon as these giveaways are up.

The first contest will go live on Tuesday, March 5th at noon ET. The prize book will be Irene Hannon's upcoming romance, SANDCASTLE INN, which releases on April 2nd.

Enter Our New Word of Mouth Contest
We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about, and it happens to be “Lisa”-themed. Let us know by Friday, March 15th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B by Lisa Unger and STILL SEE YOU EVERYWHERE by Lisa Gardner. We will feature reviews of both books over the next couple of weeks.

Vote in Our New Poll --- and Check Out Results from the Last Poll
In our latest poll, we’ve listed 30 fiction titles releasing this month, and we’re asking you which, if any, you’re planning to read. Click here to let us know

Our previous poll asked if you look at the New York Times bestseller lists. 43% of you do some of the time, 35% do not, 20% do all of the time, and 2% do not, but plan to pay more attention to them.

Featured Review: AFTER ANNIE by Anna Quindlen

AFTER ANNIE by Anna Quindlen (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Gilli Messer
When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, children and closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been the linchpin of all their lives. Bill is overwhelmed without his beloved wife, and Annemarie wrestles with the bad habits her best friend had helped her overcome. And Ali, the eldest of Annie’s children, has to grow up overnight, to care for her younger brothers and even her father and to puzzle out for herself many of the mysteries of adult life. Over the course of the next year, what saves them all is Annie --- ever-present in their minds, loving but not sentimental, caring but nobody’s fool, a voice in their heads that is funny, sharp and remarkably clear. The power she has given to those who loved her is the power to go on without her. The lesson they learn is that no one beloved is ever truly gone. Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here for the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com.

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review: WANDERING STARS by Tommy Orange
March’s #1 Indie Next Pick

WANDERING STARS by Tommy Orange (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by a full cast
Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com.

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review: BURN BOOK by Kara Swisher

BURN BOOK: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher (Business & Economics/Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Kara Swisher
While covering the explosion of the digital sector in the early 1990s, Kara Swisher developed a long track record of digging up and reporting the facts about this new world order. Swisher has interviewed everyone who matters in tech over three decades, right when they presided over an explosion of world-changing innovation that has both helped and hurt our world. Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, Bob Iger, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Meg Whitman, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman and Mark Zuckerberg are just a few whom Swisher made sweat --- figuratively and, in Zuckerberg’s case, literally. Despite the damage she chronicles, Swisher remains optimistic about tech’s potential to help solve problems and not just create them. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth for HeadButler.com.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read the review.

New Special Contest:
Enter to Win One of 25 Copies of
THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo, Releasing April 9th

Announcing Bookreporter.com's 13th Annual
Spring Preview Contests and Feature

Bookreporter.com Bets On: END OF STORY by A. J. Finn

END OF STORY by A. J. Finn (Psychological Thriller)
There is something about thrillers that makes it difficult to write Bets On copy. The best of them work because they have great twists, but sharing those would ruin the read.

The setup of A. J. Finn’s END OF STORY gives you an ominous feeling right from the start. A cab driver has chilling banter with his passenger, Nicky Hunter, as he drops her off at the fabulous mansion of reclusive mystery novelist Sebastian Trapp. He reminds her that both the wife and the son who lived in this house died 20 years ago. Nicky, who is schooled in detective fiction, has been invited by Sebastian with this message: “I’ll be dead in three months. Come tell my story.”

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

Click here to read more of Carol's Bets On commentary.

Featured Review & Interview:
THREE-INCH TEETH by C. J. Box

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett faces two different kinds of rampaging beasts --- one animal, one human --- in THREE-INCH TEETH, the riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, a former publicist at G.P. Putnam’s Sons who worked with Box and is now the Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, Box talks about the challenges he faced writing the first two entries in this series, his portrayal of the bureaucrats in Wyoming that serves as comic relief in his books, and the characters he’d like to focus on more in future installments.

THREE-INCH TEETH: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by David Chandler
A rogue grizzly bear has gone on a rampage --- killing, among others, the potential fiancé of Joe Pickett’s daughter. At the same time, Dallas Cates, who Joe helped lock up years ago, is released from prison with a special list tattooed on his skin. He wants revenge on the people who sent him away: the six people he blames for the deaths of his entire family and the loss of his reputation and property. Using the grizzly attacks as cover, Cates sets out to methodically check off his list. The problem is, both Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett are on it. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

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

Read our review and the interview.

Featured Review:
GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE by Sloane Crosley

GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE by Sloane Crosley (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Sloane Crosley
For most of her adult life, Sloane Crosley and her closest friend, Russell, worked together and played together as they navigated the corridors of office life, the literary world, and the dramatic cultural shifts in New York City. One day, while Russell is still alive, Sloane’s apartment is broken into. Along with her most prized possessions, the thief makes off with her sense of security, leaving a mystery in its place. When Russell dies exactly one month later, his suicide propels her on a wild quest to right the unrightable, to explore what constitutes family and possession as the city itself faces the staggering toll brought on by the pandemic. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

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

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review: SLOW NOODLES
by Chantha Nguon with Kim Green

SLOW NOODLES: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon with Kim Green (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Clara Kim
In SLOW NOODLES, Chantha Nguon recounts her life as a Cambodian refugee who loses everything and everyone --- her home, her family, her country --- all but the remembered tastes and aromas of her mother’s kitchen. She summons the quiet rhythms of 1960s Battambang, her provincial hometown, before the dictator Pol Pot tore her country apart and killed more than a million Cambodians, many of them ethnic Vietnamese like Nguon and her family. Then, as an immigrant in Saigon, Nguon loses her mother, brothers and sister and eventually flees to a refugee camp in Thailand. For two decades in exile, she survives by cooking in a brothel, serving drinks in a nightclub, making and selling street food, becoming a suture nurse and weaving silk. Reviewed by Pauline Finch.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com.

Click here to read our review.

More Reviews This Week

THE FOX WIFE by Yangsze Choo (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Yangsze Choo
Manchuria, 1908. In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now. Meanwhile, a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them --- their eldest sons die before their 24th birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change. Or does it? Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.

THE BOOK OF DOORS by Gareth Brown (Fantasy/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Miranda Raison
Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop and lives an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers --- a lonely yet charming old man --- dies right in front of her. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading. But this is no ordinary book. It is the Book of Doors. Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them. Then she’s approached by a gaunt stranger who calls himself Drummond Fox. He’s a librarian who keeps watch over a unique set of rare volumes. The tome now in Cassie’s possession is not the only book with great power, but it is the one most coveted by those who collect them. Now Cassie is being hunted by those few who know of the Special Books. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.

CARSON McCULLERS: A Life by Mary V. Dearborn (Biography)
Audiobook available, read by Barrie Kreinik
She was born Lula Carson Smith in Columbus, Georgia. Her dream was to become a concert pianist, though she’d been writing since she was 16, and the influence of music was evident throughout her work. At 20, she married Reeves McCullers, a fellow southerner, ex-soldier and aspiring writer. They had a fraught, tumultuous marriage lasting 12 years and ending with his suicide in 1953. Her first novel, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, was published in 1940 when she was 23. Overnight, Carson McCullers became the most widely talked about writer of the time. With unprecedented access to the cache of materials that has surfaced in the past decade, Mary Dearborn gives us the first full picture of this brilliant, complex artist who was decades ahead of her time, a writer who understood --- and captured --- the heart and longing of the outcast. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

THE RUMOR GAME by Thomas Mullen (Historical Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Megan Tusing
Reporter Anne Lemire writes the Rumor Clinic, a newspaper column that disproves the many harmful rumors floating around town, some of them spread by Axis spies and others just gossip mixed with fear and ignorance. Tired of chasing silly rumors about Rosie Riveters' safety on the job, she wants to write about something bigger. Special Agent Devon Mulvey, one of the few Catholics at the FBI, spends his weekdays preventing industrial sabotage and his Sundays spying on clerics with suspect loyalties --- and he spends his evenings wooing the many lonely women whose husbands are off at war. When Anne’s story about Nazi propaganda intersects with Devon’s investigation into the death of a factory worker, the two are led down a dangerous trail of espionage, organized crime and domestic fascism. Reviewed by Philip Zozzaro.

UNDER THE STORM written by Christoffer Carlsson, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Peter Noble
On a cold November night, a farmhouse burns to the ground. Inside a young woman is found dead --- not from the fire but murdered. To the people in the rural community of Marbäck, this becomes a reference point: a before and after. For 10-year-old Isak Nyqvist, it sets in motion something he cannot control, igniting his future into an unpredictable inferno. The police focus their attention on Edvard Christensson, the boyfriend of the murdered woman and Isak’s beloved uncle. After a quick investigation, Edvard is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Vidar Jörgensson, the rookie officer who first responded to the fire, prides himself on helping solved the murder. Little does he know this will drive him to the brink of professional and personal disaster --- and link his fate to young Isak's. Reviewed by Katherine B. Weissman.

LEAVE NO TRACE: A National Parks Thriller by A. J. Landau (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Gregory Abbey
In a daring, brutal act of terrorism, an explosion rocks and topples the Statue of Liberty. Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service is sent to New York as the agent-in-charge. Gina Delgado of the FBI has been placed in charge of the investigation as the lead of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and threats of a second terrorism attack are already being called into the media. While barred from the meetings of the Joint Task Force for his lack of security clearance, Walker finds a young boy among the survivors with a critical piece of information --- a video linking the attackers to the assault. As a radical domestic terrorist group threatens further attacks against America's cultural symbols, powerful forces within the government are misleading the investigation to further their own radical agenda. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

BOY OF CHAOTIC MAKING by Charlie N. Holmberg (Historical Fantasy)
Audiobook available, read by Amanda Leigh Cobb and Graham Halstead
Merritt Fernsby’s life has changed considerably since he inherited Whimbrel House. He’s engaged to Hulda Larkin, who opened his eyes to the uncanny. And he’s grown quite protective of his uncle Owein, who is presently inhabiting the body of a mixed-breed terrier when Merritt receives a missive from none other than Alexandrina Victoria, the Queen of England: I am interested in your dog. It’s the queen’s duty to the peerage to keep British wizardry empowered. Her offer: England will find a human vessel for Owein, marry him into the royal family, and add this remarkable soul-shifter to its lineage. For Owein, a boy trapped in the body of a pup, it’s a dream come true. However, once they are in London and in consortium with a necromancer, the situation doesn’t feel right, both with their hosts and the house they inhabit. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

ISLAND WITCH by Amanda Jayatissa (Supernatural/Historical Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Isuri Wijesundara
Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father’s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise. Now someone --- or something --- is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara’s father’s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself. As she tries to clear her father’s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can’t shake the feeling that it’s all connected to the night she woke up to hear her mother’s frantic cries: No one can find out what happened. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

GHOST ISLAND: A Ghosts of the Past Novel by Max Seeck (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Abby Craden
Jessica Niemi is put on leave after a violent altercation between her and a belligerent man makes headlines. To escape the unwanted scrutiny, Jessica travels to a remote island in the Åland archipelago and rents a room at a small seaside inn. There she meets three elderly visitors who are the remaining “birds of spring,” former refugees who fled Finland as children during World War II and lived together for a few months in an orphanage on the island. The orphanage no longer exists, but the local legend about one of its inhabitants still haunts the surviving orphans. Every evening a girl named Maija would stand on the pier, but one night she disappeared and was never seen again. When one of the “birds of spring” is found dead, drowned alongside the same pier, Jessica tries to put the pieces of this terrifying mystery together. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

Next Week's Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on March 5th

Below are some notable titles releasing on March 5th 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 March 4th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.

AMERICAN SPIRITS by Russell Banks (Fiction)
From one of America’s most celebrated storytellers comes three dark, interlocking tales about the residents of a rural New York town and the shocking headlines that become their local mythologies.

ANITA DE MONTE LAUGHS LAST by Xochitl Gonzalez (Fiction)
New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death.

FINLAY DONOVAN ROLLS THE DICE by Elle Cosimano (Mystery/Humor)
From New York Times bestselling author Elle Cosimano comes FINLAY DONOVAN ROLLS THE DICE, the fiercely anticipated next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series.

GALWAY CONFIDENTIAL: A Jack Taylor Mystery by Ken Bruen (Mystery/Thriller)
In this new installment of Ken Bruen’s beloved Jack Taylor series, the whiskey-swigging Irish detective investigates a series of violent attacks on the local convent’s nuns.

GHOST DOGS: On Killers and Kin by Andre Dubus III (Memoir/Essays)
In GHOST DOGS, Andre Dubus III’s nonfiction prowess is on full display in his retelling of his own successes, failures, triumphs and pain.

THE GREAT DIVIDE by Cristina Henríquez (Fiction)
THE GREAT DIVIDE is a powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved and labored there.

HELP WANTED by Adelle Waldman (Fiction)
From the bestselling author of THE LOVE AFFAIRS OF NATHANIEL P. comes a funny, eye-opening tale of work in contemporary America.

THE HUNTER by Tana French (Thriller)
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE SEARCHER comes a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we’ll do for our loved ones, what we’ll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide.

THE INMATE by Freida McFadden (Psychological Thriller)
THE INMATE is a propulsive, mind-bending thriller about how we define guilt --- and who has to pay for it.

LISTEN FOR THE LIE by Amy Tintera (Mystery)
What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

MONA OF THE MANOR: A Tales of the City Novel by Armistead Maupin (Fiction)
Set in the early 1990s, the long-awaited 10th novel in Armistead Maupin’s beloved and enduring Tales of the City series follows the adventures of Mona Ramsey, now the widowed Lady of a glorious old manor in Britain’s golden Cotswolds, and her fabulous adopted son Wilfred, as they come to the aid of an American visitor with a troubling secret.

MURDER AT LA VILLETTE: An Aimée Leduc Investigation Set in Paris by Cara Black (Mystery)
Parisian private investigator Aimée Leduc has been framed for the murder of her daughter’s father. Now she’s on the lam and must find the real killer to clear her name in this thrilling 21st installment of Cara Black’s New York Times bestselling mystery series.

NEVER TOO LATE by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel comes a stirring novel about a woman striking out on her own after loss as her adult daughters try to find their own independent paths in life.

THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B by Lisa Unger (Psychological Thriller)
A couple inherits an apartment with a spine-tingling past in this unputdownable thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX.

PARASOL AGAINST THE AXE by Helen Oyeyemi (Fiction/Magical Realism)
The prize-winning, bestselling author of PEACES and GINGERBREAD returns with a novel about competitive friendship, the elastic boundaries of storytelling, and the meddling influence of a city called Prague.

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

From left to right: Tana French, Kristin Hannah, Dolly Alderton

 Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

Here are seven upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.

Monday, March 4th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Simone St. James for a live virtual discussion of MURDER ROAD as part of their Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. Simone will be in conversation with the bestselling author of THE HOUSE ACROSS THE LAKE, Riley Sager.

Tuesday, March 5th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Dolly Alderton for a live virtual event to discuss GOOD MATERIAL, February's B&N Book Club pick. Dolly will be in conversation with Lexie Smyth, B&N's Fiction Category Manager, and Jenna Seery, the Associate Producer of B&N's "Poured Over" podcast.

Tuesday, March 5th at 6pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Yangsze Choo will talk about her latest novel, THE FOX WIFE, with fellow New York Times bestselling author Lisa See. This stunning novel is about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.

Tuesday, March 5th at 7pm ET: Brookline Booksmith, Copperfield’s Books, and Elliott Bay Book Company: Celebrate the release of THE HUNTER with New York Times bestselling author Tana French, who will appear live online at a cross-indie bookstore event. Bestselling author Lev Grossman will join Tana in conversation.

Wednesday, March 6th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Tana French for a live virtual discussion of THE HUNTER as part of their Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. Tana will be in conversation with bestselling author Sophie Hannah.

Wednesday, March 6th at 7pm ET: "Bookreporter Talks To": Join us for a special LIVE "Bookreporter Talks To" program where our guest will be Kristin Hannah. She will discuss her latest novel, THE WOMEN, and answer questions submitted by the winners of a recent Bookreporter contest.

Wednesday, March 6th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Rebecca Serle about her latest novel, EXPIRATION DATES.

 "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:

• Hank Phillippi Ryan (ONE WRONG WORD) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed include:

• Ashley Audrain (THE WHISPERS) Video | Podcast
• Douglas Brunt (THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I) Video | Podcast
• Fiona Davis (THE SPECTACULAR) Video | Podcast
• Ashley Elston (FIRST LIE WINS) Video | Podcast
• Katherine Faulkner (THE OTHER MOTHERS) Video | Podcast
• Tess Gerritsen (THE SPY COAST) Video | Podcast
• Jessica Knoll (BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN) Video | Podcast
• William Kent Krueger (THE RIVER WE REMEMBER) Video | Podcast
• Jean Kwok (THE LEFTOVER WOMAN) Video | Podcast
• Gilly Macmillan (THE MANOR HOUSE) Video | Podcast
• Amanda Peters (THE BERRY PICKERS) Video | Podcast
• Nita Prose (THE MYSTERY GUEST: A Maid Novel) Video | Podcast
• John Sargent (TURNING PAGES: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Publisher)
  Video | Podcast
• Thrity Umrigar (THE MUSEUM OF FAILURES) Video | Podcast
• Sharon Virts (VEIL OF DOUBT) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• Tamron Hall (WATCH WHERE THEY HIDE: A Jordan Manning Novel)
• Kristin Hannah (THE WOMEN)

Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.

Our Latest Poll:
March Fiction Releases to Anticipate

Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, March 15th at noon ET.

Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What
You're Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!

Click here to enter the contest.

Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com

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"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts | "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books"
  Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks | Book Festivals

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