|
Never Miss a Contest or a Promotion!
Follow and Like Us on Social Media
Last Friday night, Husband Tom (as opposed to Editorial Director Tom) and I flew to Denver. We were headed to Colorado to attend a Celebration of Life for our dear friend, Bob Knous, which was held yesterday. I was honored to be asked to give a eulogy and appreciated the opportunity to meet a lot of his family members and friends. So many wonderful stories were shared. Bob was Greg’s godfather, and we think of him and his family as extended parts of ours, so it meant a lot to us to be in Vail to celebrate his amazing life.
Knowing that we were headed to Colorado, Tom and I decided to layer in visits to some other places that we love; we had not been out here in 11 years. We started our trip down in Crested Butte, the small town where we met in 1982. As soon as we pulled into town, I saw on Facebook that an old publishing friend, Pamela Clements from Nashville, also was there. We had a really fun dinner at Secret Stash, catching up on the last 15 years, and we got to meet each other’s husbands.
I had reached out to Shelley Read, the author of GO AS A RIVER, to see if she would be in town when we were at the Butte. She was out of town camping with her family but graciously came down to meet us. We caught up at Townie Books, where I loved talking books with Jen, who works there. Shelley and I grabbed an iced tea and talked about the success of GO AS A RIVER. So much has happened since I interviewed her last March.
Shelley heard that we were headed to Aspen the following day and told us that we should take a detour on that drive to get out to a peach farm in Paonia, where she had spent time while writing her book. So the next morning, we were on the way to Orchard Valley Farms & Market. When we arrived, they were not open yet. But as we were trying to figure out what to do, a 4x4 pulled in. When we mentioned Shelley’s name, the woman --- a member of the family who owned the farm --- opened for us. We bought a flat of peaches, as well as some balsamic vinegars and strawberry rhubarb jam. We wish we had had more time to explore the farm.
From there, we headed to Aspen, where we were the houseguests of Lisa See and her husband, Dick, at their stunning home. While the men went out to play golf (the reason we had a schedule to get there), Lisa and I went out for lunch. It was such fun to be able to spend time with her when we were not at an event or rushed for time. That evening, my husband made dinner, and I baked a peach pie based on a recipe that was in Ann Hood’s KITCHEN YARNS. It was a real winner again the second time that I made it. Thanks to my friend, Beverley, for calling out this recipe to me!
The next day, Lisa and I enjoyed sushi, as well as her tour for me of some of the special places in Aspen, like the Jerome Hotel, which my husband reminded me figured prominently in John Irving’s book, THE LAST CHAIRLIFT. You can see us smiling above, and take a look at the stunning light on the mountains that makes this part of the world so special. Oh, Lisa wrote both mornings that we stayed there. I love her discipline. I never ask authors about their works in progress, so I cannot share what she is writing now. I did a virtual preview event with a library on Monday night, and she spoke with a library group on Tuesday. I loved that we were able to maneuver our events into our time together.
As you may remember, I had a stack of books pictured in last week’s newsletter. I read Shari Lapena’s WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? on the plane. Let’s just say that the delays on either end of our flight did not bother me as I was enjoying it so much. As I have said before, Shari writes a book that has to be compulsively read. We arrived at our hotel room at 1am MT, and I kept reading an hour longer. Once again, she did not let me down. While it was not a one-sit read this time, you can just blame it on the scenery as there was so much to see as we drove. And yes, it will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
I have started LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER by Kimberly McCreight, which we reviewed last week. Poolside reading is in my future out here with a goal to get a lot more reading done. I was standing in the hotel pool reading this morning. I am sure there were many people who thought that was pretty strange! Our summer of great reading continues. Oh, and I am not the only one reading on this trip. My husband finished Erik Larson’s THE DEMON OF UNREST, and now he is starting Mark Helprin’s THE OCEANS AND THE STARS, which he picked up at Townie Books.
My latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview is with Dawn Tripp, whose new book, JACKIE, is a Bets On pick that novelizes the life of the legendary Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. A rare photograph, which became the cover of the book, inspired Dawn’s writing as much as the reading that she did. Along with books about Jackie, she read books that had been some of Jackie’s favorites.
Dawn and I point out that while Jackie had always been looked upon as a style icon, her contributions were so much broader. We commiserate about how Jackie defined her style early --- and from there she continued to challenge herself intellectually as she had done in her youth and young adulthood. Her love for her children and of horseback riding was well known, but here we speak about her love of water skiing and open-water swimming.
Yes, there is mention of Jackie’s time at both Knopf and Doubleday, and Dawn explains what drew Jackie to become an editor. Lovely nuggets are sprinkled throughout this interview. 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 this month’s “Bookaccino Live” book preview event, which will take place on Wednesday, August 14th at 2pm ET.
The focus will be on titles releasing between August 13th and September 3rd, in addition to a few from October, that we would like to tell you about. Click here to register. Those attending the live event will be asked to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading and will be eligible to win a prize.
FIRE AND BONES is Kathy Reichs’ new thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who is called to Washington, DC, to investigate the remnants of a devastating fire. But the discovery of an unexpected body, one not killed by the blaze, in the hidden sub-basement of the home sends Tempe down a rabbit hole that gets deeper and twistier than she ever could have expected.
According to Ray Palen in his review, “Outside of Patricia Cornwell, there is no writer working today who produces better forensic thrillers than Kathy Reichs…. This is by far the most dangerous case yet for Tempe --- full of intrigue and secrets from both the past and the present --- and shows once again why Reichs has penned one of the best forensic thriller series ever conceived.”
In a world shrouded in shadows, where doubt is the only weapon, can one spy expose the truth? This question lies at the heart of Brad Thor’s latest high-octane thriller, SHADOW OF DOUBT, which marks the return of America’s top spy, Scot Harvath. The book’s publisher promises that “[y]ou’ll be left breathless as Harvath is swept into a whirlwind of double agents, international intrigue and heart-stopping chases.”
Ray Palen has our review and says, “I have long been a fan of Brad Thor and lauded his work as the finest political thrillers in the business. SHADOW OF DOUBT validates this assertion and is so well written and plotted that only a writer of Thor’s caliber is capable of pulling off the heart-pounding suspense that drives this entire novel.”
Other books we’re reviewing this week include:
-
HARD TO KILL: Following last year’s 12 MONTHS TO LIVE, James Patterson and Mike Lupica team up for their second thriller featuring Jane Smith, a tough-as-nails attorney up against a relentless killer who is mounting an impossible criminal defense.
-
LOOK IN THE MIRROR: When Nina’s father dies, she is left something in his will: a gleaming dream vacation home in a balmy tropical paradise. In Catherine Steadman’s new thriller, Nina will find out the hard way that what you inherit from those you love can end up costing you your life.
-
THE GLASSMAKER: Take one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Venice. Add to it an alluring, versatile material --- glass --- and a family who fashions it into stunning objects. Shake it up with real people and historical events and be a little playful with time. What do you get? Tracy Chevalier’s new work of historical fiction.
I’m Betting You’ll Love…
My latest Bets On selection is THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST by Amy Neff, a heart-wrenching, life-affirming novel that asks: How much would you sacrifice for the one you love? Click here to find out why I’m betting you’ll love this book as much as I did. If you missed my “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Amy, be sure to watch or listen to it.
Summer Reading Contest Update
In this week’s Summer Reading contest, we gave away HOUSE OF GLASS by Sarah Pekkanen, which we will review next week. We wrap up these 24-hour giveaways with our final prize book, WORST CASE SCENARIO by T.J. Newman, an upcoming Bets On pick that we also will review next week. The contest will be up at noon ET on the day of its release, Tuesday, August 13th.
This Month’s New in Paperback Feature
Our New in Paperback roundups for August are now up. We’re featuring paperback fiction reprints from such bestselling authors as Barbara Kingsolver (DEMON COPPERHEAD), Lisa Scottoline (THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS), Craig Johnson (THE LONGMIRE DEFENSE), and Richard Osman (THE LAST DEVIL TO DIE); nonfiction titles, including A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama and GOING INFINITE: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis; and paperback originals like THE PAIRING by Casey McQuiston and THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND by Greer Macallister.
Revisiting Three “Bookreporter Talks To” Interviews
Out in paperback this week are BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN by Jessica Knoll, CALIFORNIA GOLDEN by Melanie Benjamin, and ONE WRONG WORD by Hank Phillippi Ryan. I talked to Jessica, Melanie and Hank when their books came out in hardcover, so if you’d like to check out these interviews, you can watch the videos or listen to the podcasts using the links below.
Enter Our New Word of Mouth Contest
We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Let us know by Friday, August 23rd at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win BY ANY OTHER NAME by Jodi Picoult and SPIRIT CROSSING by William Kent Krueger, both of which release on August 20th.
Vote in Our New Poll --- and Check Out Results from the Last Poll
As we approach the 28th anniversary of Bookreporter on August 27th, we’re curious about the features on the site that you enjoy the most. Click here to let us know your faves in our latest poll.
In our previous poll, we listed nine of my Bets On picks that are now or soon will be in paperback, and we asked which of these you have read or plan to read. Below are your top five picks, and you can see all the results here.
This week, we posted our latest “What’s You Book Group Reading This Month?” contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com. The prize book is TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, an instant New York Times bestseller now in paperback. Gabrielle Zevin’s novel examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play and, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
If you would like to be one of the three readers who will win up to 12 copies for their book group, all you have to do is fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, September 11th at noon ET.
THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Alison Espach, the author of the acclaimed NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE, is August’s Barnes & Noble and “Read with Jenna” Today Show book club picks. This New York Times bestseller is about an unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.
Jenna says, "It’s about where we are when we're in the middle of our life and expectations versus reality. It’s about love and friendship and finding that love when you least expect it. I think you will love this book if you want to laugh, maybe shed a couple tears, but also just have a lot of fun.” On Tuesday, September 3rd at 3pm ET, B&N will host a live virtual event with Alison, which you can sign up for here.
This month’s “Good Morning America” Book Club pick is Silvia Moreno Garcia’s latest novel, THE SEVENTH VEIL OF SALOME, which we plan to review in a couple of weeks. A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine --- but the real drama is behind the scenes --- in this love letter to the sword-and-sandals films of the 1950s and the Golden Age of Hollywood.
For more August selections, including the Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, see our “Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks” feature here.
News & Pop Culture
Reader Mail:
Chris wrote, “What a delightful surprise upon returning from our Alaskan vacation to find MEET ME AT THE STARLIGHT by Rachel Hauck from the Summer Reading contest. When I retired four years ago, I gave up the favorite part of my job as a librarian, running our Author Series and being connected to all the latest novels. I quickly found that Bookreporter made the transition much easier. I’m a devoted newsletter reader, podcast listener and contest participant. I also love your Books on Screen feature and personal reviews each week. Thank you for bringing such joy each week! I am reading it now and will be sharing a photo and review on social media soon. Also, you have the job I always wanted! Haha!” Trust me, I know how lucky I am!
Roe wrote, “I just finished reading THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST. I watched your interview with Amy Neff, and it enhanced my reading experience. Great job. I don’t normally write about books I have read, but this one touched my heart. What a story. What a life. What a love. I will remember this book and the story of Joseph, Evelyn and their family for a long time. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. (By the way, I loved how Amy Neff mentions you in her acknowledgements. I think more authors should do the same).” I read an advance copy of Amy’s book months ago and did not see mention of me in the acknowledgements. Thank you for telling me so I can thank her!
Debbie wrote, “I am looking forward to your interview with Chris Whitaker. I just finished listening to ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK. He is an amazing storyteller, and Edoardo Ballerini was the perfect narrator to tell such a dark story. I was so drawn in by his characters and their individual as well as intertwined stories. His handling of trauma and guilt, both individual and joint, was so gentle, understanding and perceptive. His characters and their stories will stay with me for a long time.”
There was no TV watching this week, except for the Olympics. It is fun to watch events on Peacock. The closing ceremony is on Sunday night, and then NBC employees can stop inserting “NBC, Home of the Olympics” with huge enthusiasm into every feature that they do.
I am going horseback riding with my friend, Heidi, tomorrow. I think I was 22 the last time I did this, so wish me luck! Heidi is bringing backpacks and pack bags so I at least can look like I know what I am doing. Beyond this, Tom will be playing two rounds of golf with our friend, Pat, and I happily will be sitting poolside reading. Friends are welcome to join me. Oh, and I am super picky about the hotel rooms and condos that we stay in. This condo has the most gorgeous western decor. It is exactly what I was looking for. Tom teases me about this, but the ambiance really does make a huge difference.
Now everyone cross your fingers that the plane takes off to get me home in time to do “Bookaccino Live” on Wednesday!
Read on, and have a great week.
Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)
P.S. For those of you who shop online, if you use the store links that appear on our site for shopping, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound. As you read our reviews and features, we would appreciate your considering this as you buy!
Featured Review: FIRE AND BONES by Kathy Reichs
FIRE AND BONES: A Temperance Brennan Novel by Kathy Reichs (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Linda Emond
Always apprehensive about working fire scenes, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is called to Washington, DC, to analyze the victims of a deadly blaze and sees her misgivings justified. The devastated building is in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful past and present, and Tempe becomes suspicious about the property’s ownership when she delves into its history. The pieces start falling into place strangely and quickly, and Tempe teams with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Soon the duo learns that back in the ’30s and ’40s the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant --- until the son of a Foggy Bottom gang member is shot dead at his home in an affluent part of the district. Coincidence? Targeted attacks? So many questions. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: SHADOW OF DOUBT by Brad Thor
SHADOW OF DOUBT by Brad Thor (Political Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Armand Schultz
A mysterious cargo plane, flanked by a squadron of Russia’s most lethal fighters, has just taken off from a remote airbase. Closely monitored by the United States, no one inside the Pentagon has any idea where it’s going or what it’s carrying. A high-level Russian defector, a walking vault of secrets that could shatter the West, seeks asylum in Norway. Across the continent, in the heart of Paris, a lone French agent stumbles upon a conspiracy so explosive it could ignite a global firestorm. As alarm bells ring in Washington, the CIA’s most lethal weapon, Scot Harvath, is forced to choose between his conscience and his country. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST by Amy Neff
THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST by Amy Neff (Fiction)
I read Amy Neff’s debut novel, THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST, about six months ago, and I have been waiting to share it with you. It’s a beautiful story about a 60-year marriage between two people who feel that they cannot live without each other. But it is so much more than that. It’s about falling in love, the ups and downs of a long marriage, and what more mature love feels like, as well as those early heady days.
Evelyn and Joseph grew up side by side in a beach town in Connecticut. There were tender moments at the beginning of their attraction to each other --- truly the making of young love. Then they find themselves married and sharing the ups and downs of everyday life as they raise a family.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com.
- Click here to watch our "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Amy Neff.
- Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.
- Click here to visit Amy Neff's website.
- Click here to see Amy Neff's book tour schedule.
Click here to read more of Carol's Bets On commentary.
Featured Review: HARD TO KILL
by James Patterson and Mike Lupica
HARD TO KILL: A Jane Smith Thriller by James Patterson and Mike Lupica (Legal Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Eva Kaminsky
Attorney Jane Smith is mounting an impossible criminal defense. Her client, Rob Jacobson, is the unluckiest of the unlucky. No sooner is he accused of killing a family of three in the Hamptons than a second family is gunned down. It’s not double jeopardy. It’s not double murder. It’s double triple homicide. Jane’s career has spanned from NYPD beat cop to Hamptons courtroom. She’s tough to beat. She’s even tougher to kill. The defense may never rest. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: LOOK IN THE MIRROR
by Catherine Steadman
LOOK IN THE MIRROR by Catherine Steadman (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Catherine Steadman
Still grieving from the loss of her father, Nina discovers that she has inherited property in the British Virgin Islands --- a vacation home she had no idea existed, until now. The house is extraordinary: state-of-the-art, all glass and marble. How did her sensible father come into enough money for this? Why did he keep it from her? And what else was he hiding? Maria, once an ambitious medical student, is a nanny for the super-rich. Just one more gig, and she’ll be set. Finally, she’ll be secure. But when her wards never show, Maria begins to make herself at home, spending her days luxuriating by the pool and in the sauna. There’s just one rule: Don’t go in the basement. That room is off-limits. But her curiosity just might get the better of her. And soon, she’ll wish her only worry was not getting paid. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read our review.
Featured Review: THE GLASSMAKER by Tracy Chevalier
THE GLASSMAKER by Tracy Chevalier (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Lisa Flanagan
It is 1486, and Venice is a wealthy, opulent center for trade. Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers on Murano, the island revered for the craft. As a woman, she is not meant to work with glass --- but she has the hands for it, the heart and a vision. When her father dies, she teaches herself to make glass beads in secret, and her work supports the Rosso family fortunes. Skipping like a stone through the centuries, in a Venice where time moves as slowly as molten glass, we follow Orsola and her family as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss --- from a plague devastating Venice to Continental soldiers stripping its palazzos bare, from the domination of Murano and its maestros to the transformation of the city of trade into a city of tourists. 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.
Our Latest "What's Your Book Group Reading
This Month?" Contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
Enter to Win Up to 12 Paperback Copies of
TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW
by Gabrielle Zevin for Your Group
Each month in our "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" feature on ReadingGroupGuides.com, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win up to 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.
Our latest prize book is TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin, which is now available in paperback. In this instant New York Times bestselling novel, two college friends become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, September 11th at noon ET.
TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin (Fiction)
On a bitter cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money and beg favors --- and before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even 25 years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.
Bookreporter.com's 20th Annual
Summer Reading Contests and Feature
Summer is here! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through early August, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
Our final contest will be up on Tuesday, August 13th at noon ET. The prize book will be WORST CASE SCENARIO by T.J. Newman, which is an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.
August’s New in Paperback Roundups
August's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes DEMON COPPERHEAD, Barbara Kingsolver's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that enthralls, compels and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity; THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS by Lisa Scottoline, a pulse-pounding novel of domestic suspense about family, justice and the lies that tear us apart; BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN, an exhilarating thriller from Jessica Knoll in which two women from opposite sides of the country are brought together by violent acts of the same man; and Melanie Benjamin's CALIFORNIA GOLDEN, a gripping, emotional story about two sisters who navigate the thrilling, euphoric early days of California surf culture.
Among our nonfiction highlights are A PROMISED LAND, the stirring first volume of Barack Obama's presidential memoirs, in which the former president tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world; GOING INFINITE by Michael Lewis, the story of FTX’s spectacular collapse and the enigmatic founder at its center, Sam Bankman-Fried; Liza Mundy's THE SISTERHOOD, a fascinating history of three generations at the CIA centered on the women who fought to become operatives, transformed spycraft and tracked down Osama bin Laden; and QUEEN OF THE COURT by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Madeleine Blais, the dramatic and colorful story of legendary tennis star and international celebrity Alice Marble.
Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
August 5th, August 12th, August 19th and August 26th.
A REFINER'S FIRE: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by David Colacci
Around 1:00 on an early spring morning, two teenage gangs are arrested after clashing violently in one of Venice’s squares. Commissario Claudia Griffoni perhaps ill-advisedly walks the last of the boys home because his father, Dario Monforte, failed to pick him up at the Questura. Coincidentally, Guido Brunetti is asked by a wealthy friend of Vice-Questore Patta to vet Monforte for a job, triggering Brunetti’s memory that 20 years earlier Monforte had been publicly celebrated as the hero of a devastating bombing of the Italian military compound in Iraq. Yet Monforte had never been awarded a medal either by the Carabinieri, his service branch, or by the Italian government. That seeming contradiction, and the brutal attack on one of Brunetti’s colleagues by a possible gang member, concentrate Brunetti’s attentions. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
AND SO I ROAR by Abi Daré (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Adjoa Andoh
When Tia accidentally overhears a whispered conversation between her mother --- who is terminally ill and lying in a hospital bed in Nigeria --- and her aunt, the repercussions will send her on a desperate quest to uncover a secret her mother has been hiding for nearly two decades. Back home in Lagos a few days later, Adunni, a plucky 14-year-old runaway, is lying awake in Tia’s guest room. Having escaped from her rural village in a desperate bid to seek a better future, she finally has found refuge with Tia, who has helped her enroll in school. Suddenly, there’s a horrible knocking at the front gate. It’s only the beginning of a harrowing ordeal that will see Tia forced to make a terrible choice between protecting Adunni or finally learning the truth behind the secret her mother has hidden from her. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
THE MYSTERIOUS MRS. NIXON: The Life and Times of Washington's Most Private First Lady by Heath Hardage Lee (Biography)
Audiobook available, read by Jane Oppenheimer
In America’s collective consciousness, Pat Nixon has long been perceived as enigmatic. She was voted “Most Admired Woman in the World” in 1972 and made Gallup Poll’s top 10 list of most admired women 14 times. She survived the turmoil of the Watergate scandal with her popularity and dignity intact. The real Pat Nixon, however, bore little resemblance to the woman so often described as elusive, mysterious and “plastic” in the press. When asked to define her “signature” First Lady agenda, she defied being put into a box. In THE MYSTERIOUS MRS. NIXON, Heath Hardage Lee presents readers with the essential nature of this First Lady --- an empathetic, adventurous, self-made woman who wanted no power or influence, but who connected warmly with both ordinary Americans and people from different cultures she encountered world-wide. Reviewed by Philip Zozzaro.
GROUP LIVING AND OTHER RECIPES: A Memoir by Lola Milholland (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Lola Milholland
Lola Milholland grew up in the ’90s, the child of iconoclastic hippies. Both her parents threw open their rambling house in Portland, Oregon, to long-term visitors and unusual guests in need of a place to stay. Years later, after college and after her parents’ separation, Milholland returned home. There, she joined her brother and his housemates in furthering the experiment of communal living into a new generation. GROUP LIVING AND OTHER RECIPES tells the story of the residents of the Holman House --- of transcendent meals and ecstatic parties, of colorful characters coming together in moments of deep tenderness and inevitable irritation, of a shared life that is appealing, humorous, confounding and, just maybe, utopian --- with a wider exploration of group living as a way of life. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
MOONBOUND by Robin Sloan (Science Fiction/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Gabra Zackman
It is 11,000 years from now. A lot has happened, and yet a lot is still very familiar. Ariel is a boy in a small town under a wizard’s rule. Like many adventurers before him, Ariel is called to explore a world full of unimaginable glories and challenges: unknown enemies, a mission to save the world, a girl. Here, as they say, be dragons. But none of this happens before Ariel comes across an artifact from an earlier civilization, a sentient, record-keeping artificial intelligence that carries with it the perspective of the whole of human history --- and becomes both Ariel’s greatest ally and the narrator of our story. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory by Thomas Fuller (Sports)
Audiobook available, read by Thomas Fuller
In November 2021, an obscure email from the California Department of Education landed in the inbox of New York Times reporter Thomas Fuller. The football team at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside was having an undefeated season. After years of covering wildfires, war, pandemic and mass shootings, Fuller was captivated by the story about this deaf football team. It was a sports story but not an ordinary one, built on the chemistry between a group of underestimated boys and their superhero advocate coach, Keith Adams, a deaf former athlete himself. Fuller drove seven hours to the Riverside campus just in time to see them trounce their opponent in the second game of the playoffs. THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE looks back at the historic 2021 and 2022 seasons in which the California School for the Deaf chased history. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
A MASK OF FLIES by Matthew Lyons (Horror/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Saskia Maarleveld
In the grisly aftermath of a botched bank heist, career criminal Anne Heller has no choice but to return to her family’s cabin --- a secluded shack in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, and the site of her mother’s untimely death. Along for the ride are Jessup, Anne’s badly wounded partner, and Dutch, the police officer she’s taken hostage. As they wait for help, Anne discovers strange relics from her mother’s past and begins to unfold the mystery of her childhood at the cabin. Then Jessup goes missing, only to turn up dead. Anne and Dutch bury her friend, but that night, he comes back and knocks at the cabin door. Not a dream, not a hallucination, but not exactly Jessup, either. Something else. Something wearing her friend’s face. Something hungry. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT by May Cobb (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Brittany Wilkerson
Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then, when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny LA. All she has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury. When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts he’s written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kickstarting her writing dreams. As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect. Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin.
UNBALANCED: A Jake Longly Thriller by D.P. Lyle (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Marcus Barton
Ex-pro baseball player Jake Longly and his girlfriend, Nicole, are asked by Jake’s father, Ray, a private investigator, to pick up some papers from a realtor for his business. When Jake and Nicole reach the office, they find it empty --- except for the dead body of the realtor lying on the floor, a single gunshot wound to his head. Who could’ve wanted him dead? The long suspect list and the numerous possible motives make untying the knot difficult. Working with the police department, Jake, Nicole, Ray and their friend, Pancake, dive into the deceivingly simple investigation, which grows more complex by the minute. With millions of dollars at stake, weeding through the realtor’s entanglements requires all hands on deck. And yet again, Jake is dragged into the PI business he can’t seem to escape. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.
Next Week's Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on August 13th
Below are some notable titles releasing on August 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 August 12th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
ANGEL OF VENGEANCE: A Pendergast Novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Thriller)
Preston & Child continue their #1 bestselling series featuring FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene, as they take a final stand against New York’s deadliest serial killer: Pendergast’s own ancestor...and Constance’s greatest enemy.
BLIND TO MIDNIGHT: A Nick Ryan Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman (Thriller)
Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers died on 9/11. But in the entire city on that tragic day, only one murder actually took place. Now, over two decades later, Detective Nick Ryan must dig beneath the official report --- and into his own past --- to find the truth.
BURN by Peter Heller (Dystopian Thriller)
From the bestselling author of THE DOG STARS comes a novel about two men --- friends since boyhood --- who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence.
DRAWN TESTIMONY: My Four Decades as a Courtroom Sketch Artist by Jane Rosenberg (Memoir)
For over 40 years, Jane Rosenberg has been at the heart of the news cycle, covering almost every major trial that has passed through the New York justice system as a courtroom sketch artist. In DRAWN TESTIMONY, Rosenberg brings us into the dramatic high-stakes world of her craft.
A GREAT MARRIAGE by Frances Mayes (Fiction)
When a perfect wedding is called off just days before the big event, it sends two people --- and their families --- reeling in this poignant novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN and WOMEN IN SUNLIGHT.
JOY by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
In this deeply moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel, a determined young woman must survive a series of abandonments to find a love that is worthy of her.
MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY: A Memoir by Anna Marie Tendler (Memoir)
MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY is a powerful memoir that reckons with mental health, as well as the insidious ways men impact the lives of women.
SCANDALOUS WOMEN: A Novel of Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann by Gill Paul (Historical Fiction)
"Mad Men" meets the world of publishing in international bestselling author Gill Paul’s new novel about Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann --- two dynamic, groundbreaking writers renowned for their scandalous and controversial novels --- and the beleaguered young editorial assistant who introduces them.
WORST CASE SCENARIO by T.J. Newman (Thriller)
When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
From left to right: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, T.J. Newman
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
Here are six upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.
Tuesday, August 13th at 9pm ET: Killer Author Club: Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Kaira Rouda will talk to Rachel Howzell Hall about her new book, WHAT FIRE BRINGS, a twisting novel of suspense in which a writer’s search for her missing friend becomes a real-life thriller.
Tuesday, August 13th at 9pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child will talk about their latest thriller, ANGEL OF VENGEANCE. FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene take a final stand against New York’s deadliest serial killer: Pendergast’s own ancestor...and Constance’s greatest enemy.
Wednesday, August 14th at 2pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Preview: Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between August 13th and September 3rd, along with a few from October, that she would like to get on your radar. Included will be fiction; historical fiction; thrillers and mysteries; and memoirs, biographies and other nonfiction.
Wednesday, August 14th 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 Greer Macallister about her latest historical novel, THE THIRTEENTH HUSBAND.
Thursday, August 15th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome T.J. Newman for a live virtual discussion of her explosive new novel, WORST CASE SCENARIO, as part of their B&N Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. T.J. will be in conversation with New York Times bestselling author James Patterson.
Friday, August 16th at 1pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's presents Kerri Maher and Gill Paul as they discuss their new books: the paperback edition of Kerri's ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CALL and Gill's SCANDALOUS WOMEN: A Novel of Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann.
"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 this year include:
Upcoming interviews include:
-
T.J. Newman (WORST CASE SCENARIO)
-
Chris Whitaker (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK)
Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.
Our Latest Poll: Your Favorite Bookreporter Features
What are your favorite features on Bookreporter.com? Please check all that apply.
-
Author Spotlight Features & Contests
-
Award Listings
-
Book Festivals
-
“Bookaccino Live” Book Group Events
-
“Bookaccino Live” Book Preview Events
-
“Bookreporter Talks To” Videos & Podcasts
-
Bookreporter.com Bets On
-
Books on Screen
-
Coming Soon
-
Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks
-
New in Paperback
-
Poll
-
Reviews
-
Seasonal Contests (Winter Reading, Spring Reading, Summer Reading, Fall Reading, Holiday Cheer, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day)
-
Word of Mouth
-
None of the above
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, August 23rd at noon ET.
Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What
You've Read --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Tell us about the books you’ve read with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from August 9th to August 23rd at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of BY ANY OTHER NAME by Jodi Picoult and SPIRIT CROSSING by William Kent Krueger.
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.
|
