December 13, 2024

December 13, 2024

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Friday the 13th!

So if it's Friday the 13th, that means it's 12 more days until Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah. I still have not bought presents, and no one in my family has come forth with ideas. I am missing the days when lists for Santa were a thing around our house. It definitely made life much easier.

There are two days left until Mercury leaves retrograde, and that cannot happen quickly enough for me. These last few weeks have been a cavalcade of small but annoying snafus. Retrograde be gone! I have too much to do.

As promised, I started reading 2025 books last weekend. I am thoroughly enjoying listening to THE STOLEN QUEEN by Fiona Davis, which is narrated by Linda Jones. Not only am I engrossed in the audio, I find myself longing to get back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love hearing stories about the Costume Exhibit, the Met Gala and Diana Vreeland, circa 1978. I remember seeing the King Tut exhibit there, which they are prepping for in the book. It was the first time that I heard about the modern-day concept of timed tickets.

On January 6th, I am planning to attend an event that Fiona is doing at the Spring Lake Community House in Spring Lake, NJ, which is being sponsored by Thunder Road Books. I hope to see some of you there!

I am reading THE NOTE by Alafair Burke, which also is excellent. There are so many twists in it. I have no idea how it is going to end. Three old friends gather for a weekend on the East End of Long Island. During their visit, a young man goes missing. Who is it? And what do any of them know that might explain why he is gone?

Enter Our New Word of Mouth Contest
THE NOTE and THE STOLEN QUEEN happen to be our latest Word of Mouth prizes. Let us know by Friday, January 3rd at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win these titles, both of which release on January 7th. You will not want to miss them!

First row: Carol Fitzgerald, Pamela Kramer, Rebecca Munro
Second row: Tom Donadio, Bronwyn Miller, Harvey Freedenberg
Third row: Stuart Shiffman, Ray Palen, Kate Ayers

On Wednesday evening, we hosted our year-end “Bookaccino Live” event featuring seven Bookreporter reviewers: Kate Ayers, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Ray Palen and Stuart Shiffman. Each talked about two of their favorite books of 2024.

Four reviewers --- Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol and Norah Piehl --- were not able to join us, so we presented their top picks and their comments about them in a slideshow.

Click here to watch the event or here to listen to the podcast. A list of all the featured titles, along with their covers, can be found here. The evening was such fun! There were so many books that I had missed, and our reviewers did a brilliant job describing them.

Pictured above is me with our Editorial Director, Tom Donadio, and our reviewers as we appeared on Zoom “Brady Bunch”-style.

In next week’s newsletter, we will bring you our annual Reviewers’ Picks feature. The reviewers you heard from this week, plus many others, will share a comprehensive list of the books that stood out to them the most in 2024.

Our first “Bookaccino Live” book preview event of 2025 will take place on Wednesday, January 8th at 2pm ET. I will present titles releasing between January 7th and February 4th, in addition to a few from March, that we think will appeal to you. Click here to sign up. 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.

Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series has come to a thrilling conclusion. In LOCKED IN, the team must turn inward to solve the cold case that has put their own leader behind bars, a place where his enemies are plentiful, and time is quickly running out.

Ray Palen has our review and says, “LOCKED IN is a mammoth novel at over 500 pages, but Jussi Adler-Olsen has such a subtle way with words that it never feels like a lengthy read. The characters are always well-developed, and the action and inner workings of the police department are consistently intriguing. For those who follow primarily American-based crime fiction, it is refreshing to see that other parts of the world have crime fighters facing some of the same obstacles and challenges as our homegrown heroes do.”

RAISED BY A SERIAL KILLER is the untold story behind the hit true crime podcast "The Clearing." This unforgettable memoir traces April Balascio’s moving quest to understand her larger-than-life childhood as she searches for the truth about her father, serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards.

According to Sarah Rachel Egelman in her review, “RAISED BY A SERIAL KILLER is a tough read; it’s graphic, heartbreaking and frightening. But Balascio’s aims are clearly to bring resolution, in addition to the aforementioned confessions, and readers will feel the import of that for her, cheering her fortitude as an adult and her childhood strength and resilience. This is a disturbing portrait of a lifelong bad guy, as well as a tale of faith and optimism in the face of extreme pain.”

I listened to the audio over Thanksgiving weekend, and it's one amazing story. It's harrowing and sad, but also very brave.

We also are featuring reviews of these two books:

• ALTER EGO: Alex Segura returns with a clever and escapist stand-alone sequel to SECRET IDENTITY set in the world of comic books. In the present day, a comics legend is given the chance to revive a beloved but forgotten character. But at what price?
   
• CABIN: Based on Patrick Hutchison’s wildly popular Outside Magazine piece, this much-talked-about memoir revolves around his journey from an office job to restoring a cabin in the Pacific Northwest.

Announcing This Year’s Holiday Author Blogs: Stories About Giving & Receiving
Our Holiday Author Blogs are back for a 17th year! Six authors, whose latest books have released recently or will be available early next year, are sharing their favorite bookish holiday memories with us.

This week, we heard from Amanda Peters (WAITING FOR THE LONG NIGHT MOON: Stories), Carolyn McBride (SANTA OVERBOARD: A Potomac Shores Holiday, which is one of the books we’re featuring in our “What to Give, What to Get” Guide), Kay Chronister (THE BOG WIFE), and Jeff Hobbs (SEEKING SHELTER: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America).

Next week, we look forward to hearing from Michelle Horton (DEAR SISTER: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds) and Lisa Unger (CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10).

I so encourage you to read these pieces. One is better than the next! I felt like I was in a room with each of the authors telling me stories. 

We’re “Betting” You’ll Love This Contest!
We launched our BIG End-of-the-Year contest last week. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 40(!) of my Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2024, while 10 other winners will receive four of these titles.

Here are just a few of the books you could win: BAD LIAR by Tami Hoag, THE CLIFFS by J. Courtney Sullivan, THE GOD OF THE WOODS by Liz Moore, I WILL RUIN YOU by Linwood Barclay, THE MISTLETOE MYSTERY: A Maid Novella by Nita Prose, SPIRIT CROSSING by William Kent Krueger, and THE WIVES: A Memoir by Simone Gorrindo. To enter, please fill out this form by Friday, January 10th at noon ET.

Vote in Our New Poll --- and Check Out Results from the Last Poll
For our final THREE poll questions of the year, we want to know how many print books and e-books you’ve read in 2024, as well as how many audiobooks you’ve listened to. Click here to cast your votes by Friday, January 3rd at noon ET.

Our previous poll asked if you will be giving books as gifts this holiday season. 74% of you are planning to give hardcovers or paperbacks, while 27% intend to give a gift card that will allow the recipient to buy a print book, e-book or audiobook. Click here for all the results.

Special Contest:
Enter to Win Our End-of-the-Year Celebration,
Featuring All 40 "Bets On" Titles from 2024

Click here to enter the contest.

Featured Review: LOCKED IN by Jussi Adler-Olsen

LOCKED IN: A Department Q Novel written by Jussi Adler-Olsen, translated by Caroline Waight (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Steven Pacey
On the day after Christmas, Detective Carl Mørck, head of Department Q, finds himself handcuffed in a police car headed for Copenhagen's Vestre prison. After 15 years, a violent case from his past has caught up with him. Charges of drug trafficking and murder threaten to destroy his life and career. But he is being framed. Someone has a million-dollar bounty on his head to make sure he doesn't talk, putting him in grave danger among the prison's incarcerated criminals and corrupt officers. Carl's colleagues at the Copenhagen Police Department instantly turn their backs on him, leaving the ever-loyal Department Q team as his only hope. In search of answers, Rose, Assad and Gordon must disobey direct orders from way up the chain to try to unravel the case. LOCKED IN is the 10th and final installment in Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series. 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: RAISED BY A SERIAL KILLER
by April Balascio

RAISED BY A SERIAL KILLER: Discovering the Truth About My Father by April Balascio (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by April Balascio
One evening in 2009, April Balascio was searching online, as she had been every night, for unsolved murders in the towns her family had lived growing up, when she stumbled across the latest investigations into the “Sweetheart Murders” cold case. All at once, the buried memories of her father’s dark history were awakened, and she knew she had to take action. She picked up the phone to call a detective, and the rest is infamous true-crime history. In RAISED BY A SERIAL KILLER, Balascio bravely reveals an astonishing tale of a lifetime of manipulation, unexplained upheavals and silent fear. Some part of her had always known what her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, was capable of, but the full truth of how she came to these revelations is as riveting as it is quietly terrifying. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read our review.

Bookreporter.com's 17th Annual Holiday Author Blogs:
Authors Write About Their Favorite Holiday Memories
of Giving or Receiving Books

Featured Review: ALTER EGO by Alex Segura

ALTER EGO by Alex Segura (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Frankie Corzo
Annie Bustamante is a cultural force like none other: an acclaimed filmmaker, an author, a comic book artist known for one of the all-time best superhero comics in recent memory. But she’s never been able to tackle her longtime favorite superhero, the Lethal Lynx. Only known to the most die-hard comics fans and long out of print, the rights were never available --- until now. But Annie is skeptical of who is making the offer: Bert Carlyle's father started Triumph Comics and has long claimed ownership of the Lynx. When she starts getting anonymous messages urging her not to trust anyone, Annie’s inner alarms go off. Even worse? Carlyle wants to pair her with a disgraced filmmaker for a desperate media play. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review: CABIN by Patrick Hutchison

CABIN: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchison (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Patrick Hutchison
Wit’s End isn’t just a state of mind. It’s the name of a gravel road, the address of a run-down off-the-grid cabin, 120 shabby square feet of fixer-upper that Patrick Hutchison purchased on a whim in the mossy woods of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state. To say Hutchison didn’t know what he was getting into is no more an exaggeration than to say he’s a man with nearly zero carpentry skills. Well, used to be. You can learn a lot over six years of renovations. CABIN is the story of those renovations, but it's also a love story --- of a place, of possibilities, and of the process of construction, of seeing what could be instead of what is. It is a book for those who know what it’s like to bite off more than you can chew, or who desperately wish to. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

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

Click here to read our review.

Bookreporter.com’s “What to Give, What to Get” Guide:
“Reader Perfect” Suggestions
for Holiday Giving and Getting

We at Bookreporter.com know that readers crave ideas for gift-giving --- and getting --- at the holidays. With this in mind, we are offering a "What to Give, What to Get" Guide with four "Reader Perfect" suggestions.

THE BLUE HOUR by Paula Hawkins (Psychological Thriller)
This masterful novel, as page-turning as it is unsettling, recalls the sophisticated suspense of Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith and cements Paula Hawkins’ place among the very best of our most nuanced and stylish storytellers.

EVERYONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET: A Festive Mystery by Benjamin Stevenson (Mystery)
Unwrap all the Christmas staples in Benjamin Stevenson's new Ernest Cunningham mystery: presents, family, an impossible murder or two, and a deadly Advent calendar of clues. If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AT DUNDER MIFFLIN written by Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman, illustrated by Maël Gourmelen (Fiction/Humor)
Spend “The Night Before Christmas” at Dunder Mifflin in this hilarious and timeless illustrated retelling of the beloved poem, featuring a visit from Michael Scott as Santa and narrated by Kevin Malone (author Brian Baumgartner).

SANTA OVERBOARD: A Potomac Shores Holiday by Carolyn McBride (Romantic Comedy)
Filled with heartwarming humor, time-honored tradition, the soul-stirring natural world, and even some yummy holiday recipes, the second book in Carolyn McBride’s Potomac Shores series is a delightful, feel-good escape to the enchanting banks of Virginia’s Potomac and Occoquan Rivers.

Click here to see our "What to Give, What to Get" Guide.

More Reviews This Week

WHAT THE WIFE KNEW by Darby Kane (Domestic Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Helen Laser and Andrew Eiden
Dr. Richmond Dougherty is a renowned pediatric surgeon and an infamous tragedy survivor. He’s also very dead, thanks to a fall down the stairs. His neighbors angrily point a finger at the newest Ms. Dougherty, Addison. The sudden marriage to the mysterious young woman only lasted 97 days, and he’d had two suspicious “accidents” during that time. Now Addison is a very rich widow. As law enforcement starts to circle in on Addison and people in town become increasingly hostile, sides are chosen with Kathryn, wife number one and the mother of his children, leading the fray. Despite rising tensions, Addison is even more driven to forge ahead on the path she charted years ago. Determined at all costs to unravel Richmond’s legacy, she soon becomes a target --- with a shocking note left on her bedroom wall: You will pay. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

THE VOYAGE HOME by Pat Barker (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Kristin Atherton
THE VOYAGE HOME follows the young Ritsa and the unpredictable Cassandra on their perilous return journey to Mycenae. Cassandra has acquired the powers of prophecy from the kiss of Apollo, but the very same god has taken away the people’s belief in her abilities. Though she warns of the carnage that awaits the Greek warrior king Agamemnon --- who numbs himself with alcohol on the storm-plagued trip home --- her shipmates disregard her. While Cassandra’s prophecies fall on deaf ears, Ritsa instead remains focused on surviving once they make land. When a mysterious young girl begins to shadow them, and Agamemnon’s cruelty takes a new turn, Ritsa must find a safe place for Cassandra, whose mood alternates between cruelty and frenzy. But it’s the ongoing ire between Queen Clytemnestra and Agamemnon that could prove fatal for everyone. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

THE NEXT GRAVE by Kendra Elliot (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Teri Schnaubelt
Detective Evan Bolton is gutted by his latest investigation. His friend and mentor, retired detective Rod McLeod, has been murdered, his body left in the trunk of a junkyard car. When McLeod’s daughter and grandson abruptly vanish, Evan knows it’s not a coincidence. Search-and-rescue canine specialist Rowan Wolff agrees as she and her dog, Thor, track the missing family. The two cases converge in a puzzling twist. Evan discovers that McLeod has been reinvestigating old crimes --- solved but not forgotten. Evan takes them on, one by one, and a disturbing suspicion forms that someone in law enforcement has something to hide and would do anything to keep those secrets buried. But Evan and Rowan’s time is slipping away. They have to find the killer now. Before someone else disappears. Before someone else dies. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

KINGDOM OF NO TOMORROW by Fabienne Josaphat (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Robin Miles
Nettie Boileau joins the Black Panthers’ Free Health Clinics in Oakland in 1968 and is soon swept up in an all-consuming love affair with Melvin Mosley, a defense captain of the Black Panther Party. When Nettie and Melvin head to Chicago to help launch the Illinois chapter of the Panthers, they find themselves targets of J. Edgar Hoover’s famous covert campaigns against civil rights leaders. As she learns more about the inner workings of the Panthers, Nettie discovers that fighting for social justice may not always mean equal justice for women. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.

SISTER SNAKE by Amanda Lee Koe (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Zoë Chao
Sisterhood is difficult for Su and Emerald. Su leads a sheltered, moneyed life as the picture-perfect wife of a conservative politician in Singapore. Emerald is a nihilistic sugar baby in New York, living from whim to whim and using her charms to make ends meet. But they share a secret: once, they were snakes, basking under a full moon in Tang dynasty China. A thousand years later, their mysterious history is the only thing still binding them together. When Emerald experiences a violent encounter in Central Park and Su boards the next flight to New York, the two reach a tenuous reconciliation for the first time in decades. Su convinces Emerald to move to Singapore so she can keep an eye on her, but she soon begins to worry that Emerald’s irrepressible behavior will out them both. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME by Joseph Knox (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Joseph Knox
On the run from his shady past, Lynch has just arrived in London, still looking over his shoulder to make sure he isn't being followed. He runs into a young woman named Bobbie, who mistakes him for her brother, Heydon Pierce, who disappeared five years ago without a trace. At Bobbie's suggestion, Lynch goes to the Pierce family home, posing as Heydon to try and con some money out of them. Far from tricking them, his subterfuge is instantly discovered. He strikes the devil's bargain with them --- their silence for his cooperation in finding out what really happened to Heydon. But Lynch's investigation goes too deep and uncovers the fact that Heydon Pierce was tangled up with some dangerous and powerful people in London. Everyone has their own motives to keep Heydon well buried in the past. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

LOVE THE STRANGER: A Queens Mystery by Michael Sears (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Richard Poe
Ted Molloy has hit his stride with a foreclosure investment scheme that brings him into contact with a cast of shady characters across New York’s most diverse borough. On the side, he helps his activist girlfriend, Kenzie, with her work to halt construction on “the Spike” --- a corporate-backed development project in Corona that would displace the largely immigrant communities surrounding it. Kenzie fends off smear campaigns and tours community spaces in Queens to spread the word, which she can do thanks to Mohammed, a recent Yemeni immigrant and most expedient cab driver. But when Kenzie learns that Mohammed’s immigration lawyer may be taking advantage of him financially, she decides to snoop around at the law offices --- and comes face to face with a dead body and a shadowy figure, fleeing the scene. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND TREACHERY by Celeste Connally (Historical Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Eilidh Beaton
London may be cheering the news of Napoleon’s surrender at Waterloo, but Lady Petra Forsyth has little to celebrate after discovering that the death of her viscount fiancé three years earlier was murder. The man responsible is her secret paramour, Duncan Shawcross, yet the scoundrel has disappeared, leaving only a confusing riddle about long-forgotten memories in his wake. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte has tasked Petra with attending an event at the Asylum for Female Orphans and making inquiries surrounding the death of the orphanage’s matron. There may be a link between the matron’s death and a group of radicals with ties to the aristocracy. Then Petra overhears a nefarious conversation with two other men about a plot to topple the monarchy, set to take place during three days of celebrations currently gripping London. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

Next Week's Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on December 17th

Below are a couple of notable titles releasing on December 17th that we would like to make you aware of. For a list of additional books available the week of December 16th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.

DEFINITELY BETTER NOW by Ava Robinson (Fiction/Humor)
This touching and deeply funny debut is about starting over sober only to discover that life’s biggest messes are still waiting right where you left them.

INVISIBLE HELIX: A Detective Galileo Novel by Keigo Higashino (Mystery)
Detective Galileo, Keigo Higashino’s best-loved character from THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X, returns in a case where hidden history and an impossible crime are linked by nearly invisible threads in surprising ways.

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

From left to right: Alex Segura, Jeneva Rose

  Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

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

Monday, December 16th at 7pm ET: Murder By The Book: Alex Segura will talk to Mystery & Thriller Maven’s Sara DiVello about his latest thriller, ALTER EGO, a clever and escapist stand-alone sequel to SECRET IDENTITY set in the world of comic books.

Tuesday, December 17th at 9pm ET: Killer Author Club: Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Kaira Rouda will talk to Jeneva Rose about her latest book, HOME IS WHERE THE BODIES ARE, a chilling family thriller about the (sometimes literal) skeletons in the closet.

Wednesday, December 18th at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb about CHRISTMAS WITH THE QUEEN. “The Crown” meets When Harry Met Sally in their latest heartwarming historical novel, which is the F&F Pick of the Month.

 "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 are our most recent interviews:

• Laura Dave (THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM) Video | Podcast
• Paula Hawkins (THE BLUE HOUR) Video | Podcast
• Jean Hanff Korelitz (THE SEQUEL) Video | Podcast
• Amy Neff (THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST) Video | Podcast
• T.J. Newman (WORST CASE SCENARIO) Video | Podcast
• Susan Rieger (LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER) Video | Podcast
• Dawn Tripp (JACKIE) Video | Podcast
• Sharon Virts (THE GRAYS OF TRUTH) Video | Podcast
• Chris Whitaker (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) Video | Podcast
• Beatriz Williams (HUSBANDS & LOVERS) Video | Podcast

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

Our Latest Poll: Looking Back on Your 2024 Reading

Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, January 3rd at noon ET.

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

Click here to enter the contest.

Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com

Reviews | Features | Bookreporter.com Bets On | Upcoming Bets On
Contests | Poll | Word of Mouth | Coming Soon
  On Sale This Week | New in Paperback | Books on Screen
"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts | "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books"
  Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks | Book Festivals

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