June 18, 2026

June 18, 2026

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Immersed in Summer Reading

I feel like “immersed” is such a high-level word to use to describe my current reading situation. It's the kind of word that one would drop into conversation at a cocktail party and say it with a lot of drama.

It would be more accurate to say that I feel like I am on a treadmill racing as fast as I can to read for interviews and other coverage that we are working on. As time goes on, I know more and more authors whose latest work I want to read. There are also new writers who I want to explore.

Trust me, I know these are not life-altering decisions to make, but when you attend as many previews as we do and hear authors sharing commentary about their work, it is a good challenge to have to select what to read. 

My latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview is with Lisa See, whose new novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE SUN AND MOON, we reviewed last week and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.

This time, Lisa turns her attention to the idea of female friendship as told by three different Chinese women --- Moon, Dove and Petal --- who were inspired by real people. The book is rooted in the 1871 Chinese Massacre in Los Angeles, which has been largely erased from public memory and not taught in history classes.

Lisa first explored the massacre over 30 years ago while researching ON GOLD MOUNTAIN, where it appeared in a single paragraph. She was later invited by the mayor to serve on an advisory board for a memorial commemorating what became known as the “Night of Horrors.” The novel grew from both deep personal family history and a sense of compulsion to recover a deliberately suppressed historical event.

Click here to watch the interview or here to listen to the podcast. Don’t miss my Bets On commentary in next week’s newsletter. I am attending Lisa's event in Manasquan, NJ tonight and will have pictures next week!

Join Us for Our “Bookaccino Live” Book Group Event with Bruce Holsinger on Wednesday!

This is your last Weekly Update newsletter reminder to sign up for this month’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, which will take place on Wednesday, June 24th at 8pm ET. 

Our guest will be Bruce Holsinger, and he will discuss his national bestseller, CULPABILITY, an Oprah’s Book Club pick and a Bets On title. The plot revolves around the hot topic of AI and tackles an issue that arises from a self-driving car. 

After I talk to Bruce, we will give readers the chance to share a question for him on screen. We have special sign-in directions for these attendees, and they will get to chat with Bruce in our “backstage green room” before the program starts. Then we will turn to questions that have been dropped into Zoom’s Q&A feature. Click here to register for the event. 

If you would like to ask Bruce a question, please fill out this form by Wednesday at noon ET. Be sure to include your name, city, state, email address and phone number, as well as your question. And indicate if you would like to be on camera or off. I have heard from a couple of people who read the book just for this event, and they are glad they did.

Last Friday, we hosted our 15th Annual Book Group Speed Dating event for booksellers, librarians, book club leaders and bloggers. Representatives from five publishers presented 31 titles perfect for book groups that will be published between now and November. You can watch the event here --- and if you would like to hear from a specific publisher, we have included timestamps for each of them.

To learn more about the books, click here to access a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation of the featured titles, as well as an Excel spreadsheet that lists the books both by publisher and alphabetically by title, along with a sheet to take notes.

As promised, the video of this month’s “Bookaccino Live” book preview afternoon event is now available. I talked about 23 books releasing between June 9th and July 1st, along with seven from the second half of July and 15 from August, that we wanted to get on your radar. You can watch the presentation here and see a list of the featured titles here.

Next month's “Bookaccino Live” book preview afternoon event will take place on Wednesday, July 8th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on books coming out from July 7th through August 4th, in addition to some titles publishing in September, that we think will appeal to you. Click here to sign up.

Our “Bookaccino Live” Summer Preview Evening Event
We hosted our “Bookaccino Live” Summer Preview event last evening. We will have the video up on our YouTube channel early next week, and we will share the link in next week's newsletter. In the meantime, click here for a list of the 46 titles that I presented.

It was announced this week that LITTLE WONDER by Sophie Chen Keller is this month’s Oprah’s Book Club pick. The book is about a musical prodigy and his mother who spend years searching for each other.

Oprah says, “I was riveted in hopeful anticipation of the outcome of this unforgettable journey. Harrowing experiences and unexpected kindnesses make this a novel to remember.”

According to Norah Piehl in her review, “Classical music fans especially will appreciate seeing River's talent blossom (and likely will enjoy listening to the many beloved pieces in his repertoire). But even those who don't know the soundtrack will be inspired by the power of the connection between this memorable, determined mother and her devoted son.”

Oprah and Sophie recently sat down with an enthusiastic audience of readers to discuss Sophie's childhood spent both in the US and China and how that experience impacted her writing. She also shares how becoming a mother for the first time was the inspiration for LITTLE WONDER. Click here for their discussion.

Amanda Eyre Ward’s latest novel, ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES, features characters from her 2020 bestseller, THE JETSETTERS. Set along Greek beaches, the book is about one unforgettable family and the journeys we take --- across oceans and through heartbreak --- to find our way back to love.

Rebecca Munro has our review and says, “Ward gracefully balances distance, misunderstandings and feelings of betrayal to craft a story that encompasses all the ways that a family can save one another, and how choosing to see --- really see --- them often can be the difference between sinking and swimming. Though THE JETSETTERS will give readers a much better perspective on each member of the plucky Perkins clan, ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES stands just as successfully on its own as a testament to the enduring yet complex bonds of family.”

This week, we are featuring the paperback release of David Baldacci’s 2025 historical thriller, STRANGERS IN TIME. Set in 1940s London, the novel is about a bereaved bookshop owner and two teenagers scarred by the Second World War, and the healing and hope they find in one another.

Ray Palen raved about the book when he reviewed it shortly after its hardcover publication: “This incredible, heartfelt read is destined to be a classic and is further proof that Baldacci is more than just a prolific author. He is an abundantly gifted writer who continues to crank out high-quality fiction that is unmatched.”

Click here to read more about STRANGERS IN TIME and David Baldacci on the publisher’s website.

Other books we’re reviewing this week include:

• CHOKE POINT: In Brad Thor’s latest thriller featuring Scot Harvath, a devastating series of bombings tears through Bangkok. Scores of American citizens are dead. The attacks send shock waves around the world. But the bomber America’s top spy is pursuing isn’t a terrorist. He’s something far more dangerous --- he's one of ours.
   
• THE CHILDREN: Melissa Albert’s haunting adult debut novel is this month’s “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick. In it, the estranged adult children of a legendary author --- written into their dead mother’s beloved fantasy series --- must contend with the vine-like creep of legacy, memory and magic.
   
• MIDNIGHT PATRIOTS: Blending fact and fiction, this second novel in Paul Levine’s Einstein-Chaplin series --- following MIDNIGHT BURNING --- revolves around real-life friends Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin as they confront powerful enemies threatening America. Germany wants Einstein alive and Chaplin dead.

Summer Reading Contest Update
We gave away NASTY LITTLE SECRETS by Gabbie Hanks and the aforementioned LITTLE WONDER by Sophie Chen Keller in this week’s Summer Reading contests. MIDNIGHT PATRIOTS will be our next prize book. The giveaway will be up at noon ET on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Word of Mouth Contest Reminder
Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll be in the running to win our two current Word of Mouth prizes: IT COULD HAVE BEEN HER by Lisa Jewell and WHEN YOU LOVED ME by Beatriz Williams, the latter of which will be a Bets On pick. Please do so by Friday, June 26th at noon ET.

Remember to Vote in Our Poll
Our poll continues to ask which of 35 fiction titles releasing this month you are looking forward to reading. Click here to let us know by Friday, June 26th at noon ET.

News & Pop Culture

Reader Mail:

We received so many nice notes from booksellers, librarians and book group leaders who attended our Book Group Speed Dating event. We are so glad to be sharing those presentations with you!

Vicki wrote, “Thank you so much for my copy of THE LAKE HOUSE! I’ve been receiving your newsletter for many years and always look forward to reading it. After 40 years of library work and 15 years in an independent bookstore, this is a good way to keep up with the latest books.”

Helaine (originally from New Jersey and now residing in Wilmington, North Carolina) wrote, “I am so glad I found your newsletter. You do such a great job of reviewing books and talking to great authors. I get so many recommendations and always have great books to report to my book club. I also like the contests to win these books. Keep up the good work.”

I did not have much time for television watching this week. But we were glued to the TV on Saturday when the New York Knicks won their first championship in 53 years. It was such a special night!

Read on, and have a great week...plus an extra day as we observe Juneteenth.

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 Bookshop/IndieBound. As you read our reviews and features, we would appreciate your considering this as you buy!

Featured Review: LITTLE WONDER by Sophie Chen Keller
Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick

LITTLE WONDER by Sophie Chen Keller (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Emily Woo Zeller
Song is a nobody --- just a food delivery worker from a village in Northeastern China --- but her son, River, is a little wonder. At the age of four, he toddled to a piano and tapped out his favorite song. At eight, he mastered Liszt's three Liebestraume. At 10, he blazed through the complete set of Chopin's études. And at every step, Song is there to light his way --- until finally, at the age of 11, River is invited to study with a preeminent teacher in Beijing. But in the chaos of Beijing Railway Station, Song faces every mother's nightmare. She loses her grip on River’s little hand and is unable to find him after a desperate, harrowing search. Over the next days, weeks and, eventually, years, Song and River fight to forge a path back to each other as they carve out new lives that carry them farther apart. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for the discussion guide on ReadingGroupGuides.com.
- Click here to see why the book is this month's Oprah's Book Club pick.

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review: ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
by Amanda Eyre Ward

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES by Amanda Eyre Ward (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Nora Roux Meckel, Jorjeana Marie, Xavier Casals and Alex Sarrigeorgiou
The Perkins family has problems. They’re scattered across the globe. Lee, a glamorous reality TV star, is struggling with her mental health in the spotlight. Regan, her younger sister, has fallen for a romance scammer. Cord, their charming brother, is one drink away from losing it all. And their mother, Charlotte, still longs for the love she let slip away a decade ago, a lover who sailed off with her heart to a remote island in Greece. When Regan disappears, Lee flies first-class to Athens to save her family --- again. There, against the glittering Mediterranean and the shadow of the Acropolis, Lee contends with emotional nieces, relentless paparazzi, and her own fragile heart. Lee is desperately searching --- for her sister, and for the hope and joy she thought was gone forever. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.

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

Click here to read our review.

Now Available in Paperback:
STRANGERS IN TIME by David Baldacci

ReadingGroupGuides.com’s 15th Annual Book Group Speed Dating Event: Great Books for Book Groups

Featured Review: CHOKE POINT by Brad Thor

Featured Review: THE CHILDREN by Melissa Albert
June’s “Read with Jenna” Book Club Pick

Featured Review: MIDNIGHT PATRIOTS by Paul Levine

Bookreporter.com's 22nd 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 mid-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 next contest will be up on Tuesday, June 23rd at noon ET. The prize book will be MIDNIGHT PATRIOTS, which is the second novel in Paul Levine's Einstein-Chaplin series, following last year's MIDNIGHT BURNING. While war raged in Europe, the battle for America's soul was already underway.

Click here to read all the contest details
and learn more about our featured titles.

More Reviews This Week

SOMEONE ELSE'S HUSBAND by Kimberly McCreight (Domestic Thriller) 
Audiobook available, read by a full cast
Gretchen Falk, a Park Avenue sophisticate born into great wealth and blessed with a storybook marriage, tried to convince her devoted husband, Richard, not to join his old college friends on an expedition to the imposing peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. Frankie Callahan’s dream of artistic success is within reach, with her career-making exhibition at a celebrated New York gallery only weeks away. To mark this new beginning, she is going to climb Kilimanjaro, but she certainly didn’t count on meeting anyone like Richard Falk. By the time they descend, they have lost more than they ever could have imagined. Now, less than two weeks after their return to New York, Frankie’s East Village loft is a blood-soaked crime scene, and Richard has been charged with her murder. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

THE GIRL IN THE LAKE by Lauren Oliver (Psychological Thriller/Supernatural Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Shannon McManus
Kate Willis, a consultant for the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, is tasked with interviewing six-year-old Henley Haskell about the girl’s alleged past-life recollections. The evaluation also marks a return for Kate to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Here, 24 years ago, Kate’s friend, Becca McGuire, vanished from her bunk at a now-shuttered summer camp and was never seen again --- presumably drowned in Lake Sauquamet. But Henley’s memories of her “other life” are ones that could only belong to Becca. For Kate, Henley’s recurring, suffocating nightmares and her disturbing illustrations of places she has never been seem to spell out the unbelievable. Somewhere, somehow, the truth about what really happened to Becca is locked inside this little girl. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.

OFF THE RECORD by Sara Goodman Confino (Historical Fiction/Romantic Comedy)
Audiobook available, read by Helen Laser
1962. An aspiring reporter in DC, Judy Greenberg is aiming for journalistic greatness --- not finding a husband. Just don’t tell her mother. Then one day, she answers her boss’s private line. The message is curiously cryptic. It’s also delivered in a Russian accent. Judy is certain she has stumbled upon a scoop. Charming reporter Jack Fields isn’t one to dismiss Judy’s instincts. Perfect. A seasoned ally she can trust, not to mention pass off as a pretend boyfriend around her relieved parents. Together, they’re following the leads. Now Judy must choose between the safe life expected of her or one hell of a dangerous story that could make her career. She might even fall in love for real. If her ambitions don’t get her killed. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

HUNGER AND THIRST by Claire Fuller (Psychological Thriller/Gothic Horror)
1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, 16-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job delivering mail at a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and some new friends, including wild-child Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at the Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist this hodgepodge family. But as Sue’s behavior and demands become more extreme, Ursula carries out her friend’s terrible dare. Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned but reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by a true-crime documentarian researching an unsolved disappearance. But the filmmaker is not the only one who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

THE EMILYS by Heather Abel (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Kristen Sieh and Sophie Amoss
Eve is at a breaking point. Alone with her two children in Massachusetts while her husband pursues his music career in New York City, she’s frustrated, bored and, above all, lonely when she runs into Demeter, a childhood friend with whom she shared one transformative summer. Demeter’s daughter, like a growing number of others, cannot go outside during the day. No one knows why, and doctors are skeptical that these people --- soon dubbed Emilys, after the famously reclusive local poet --- are telling the truth. But Eve believes Demeter and will help him --- if she can just figure out how. When Eve unites with an unlikely band of fellow detectives, she feels a clear sense of purpose for the first time in years. But what is she willing to risk to find a cure? Reviewed by Sam Johnson.

MIST AND MALICE: A Haven Thriller by Rachel Howzell Hall (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Inger Tudor
Private investigator Sonny Rush, the newest resident of Haven, California, knows that this fogbound coastal hamlet is every bit as dangerous as her hometown of Los Angeles. And when teenager and repeat runaway Honor Butler shows up at Sonny’s door with terror in her eyes, Sonny is immediately pulled into a new case that lands close to home. Honor tells Sonny a horrifying story about where she’s been --- and what she’s been forced to do. Then, hours later, the forest near Sonny’s cottage yields the remains of a missing day laborer. Soon, coincidence sharpens into conspiracy. As Sonny digs deeper, the threads of these cases twist together into something horrifying: a ruthless network preying on the vulnerable, protected by the very people meant to uphold the law. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

A CENTURY OF HITCHCOCK: The Man, the Myths, the Legacy by Tony Lee Moral (Biography)
For over a century, Alfred Hitchcock has remained one of cinema's most influential directors. Known as the Master of Suspense, this visionary filmmaker directed more than 50 films over six decades. Drawing on new archival research, previously unpublished interviews, and a rigorous examination of key biographies, A CENTURY OF HITCHCOCK challenges the long-standing narratives that have shaped Hitchcock's legacy. Tony Lee Moral revisits controversial claims regarding Hitchcock's alleged abuses, scrutinizing biographer Donald Spoto's interpretations --- particularly Spoto's portrayal of the director's relationship with actress Tippi Hedren. With his analysis of Spoto's 1980 interview of Hedren, Moral reveals for the first time how one key document contradicts decades of exaggeration. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (www.RonKaplansBaseballBookshelf.com).

Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on June 23rd

Below are some notable titles releasing on June 23rd 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 June 22nd, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.

THE HOUSEMAID’S WEDDING: A Housemaid Novella by Freida McFadden (Psychological Thriller)
Wedding bells chime in this thrilling addition to The Housemaid series --- a short story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden.

THE HOUSEWIVES UNDERGROUND: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany (History)
THE HOUSEWIVES UNDERGROUND is the untold story of the women who debunked the Warren Report --- a riveting history of obsession, heartbreak and the myth of the great American century.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN HER by Lisa Jewell (Domestic Thriller)
From Lisa Jewell, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THEN SHE WAS GONE, two women's lives converge in a house containing devastating secrets that refuse to stay buried.

NINE LIVES by Catherine Steadman (Psychological Thriller)
When she begins to peer into the lives of her glamorous neighbors, one woman discovers a terrifying secret in this riveting psychological thriller with nine lives worth of twists.

TATA written by Valérie Perrin, translated by Hildegarde Serle (Fiction)
Valérie Perrin’s first new novel since her breakout bestseller, FRESH WATER FOR FLOWERS, is an intricate, compelling web of stories told with irony, delicacy and depth.

WAIT AND SEE by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen (Mystery/Thriller)
Investigator Kendra Michaels --- formerly blind and now with uniquely insightful observational skills in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes --- returns in this action-packed novel from Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.

WEDDINGS by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
When a wedding dress designer’s daughter becomes engaged, it raises issues of love, safety and second chances for all the women in her family.

WHEN YOU LOVED ME by Beatriz Williams (Historical Romance/Mystery) 
A young widow returns to her late father’s New England estate, only to be drawn into the hunt for the rumored pirate treasure that consumed his life.

WHISPER CREEK by Allison Brennan (Thriller)
New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan delivers a pulse-pounding thriller about one family fighting for their land against both human enemies and Mother Nature.

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

From left to right: Bruce Holsinger, Maggie O'Farrell, Lisa Jewell

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

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

Tuesday, June 23rd at 9pm ET: Killer Author Club: Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Kaira Rouda will talk to Jessica Knoll about her new novel, HELPLESS, a smoldering and erotic thriller with a singular, mind-bending ending.

Wednesday, June 24th at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with Lisa Jewell about her latest thriller, IT COULD HAVE BEEN HER, in which two women's lives converge in a house containing devastating secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Wednesday, June 24th at 8pm ET: “Bookaccino Live” Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Bruce Holsinger about his national bestseller, CULPABILITY, an Oprah's Book Club pick and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Bruce also will answer questions from guests who will be “on stage,” as well as from other members of the audience.

Thursday, June 25th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Maggie O'Farrell for a virtual discussion of her new book, LAND, a soaring historical novel set in Ireland in the years before and after the Great Hunger. The award-winning, bestselling author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT will be in conversation for this special event.

 "Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts

“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers long-form, in-depth author interviews. 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:

• Lisa See (DAUGHTERS OF THE SUN AND MOON) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed recently include:

• Ashley Elston (ANATOMY OF AN ALIBI) Video | Podcast
• Patricia Finn (THE GOLDEN BOY) Video | Podcast
• Jane Harper (LAST ONE OUT) Video | Podcast
• Sadeqa Johnson (KEEPER OF LOST CHILDREN) Video | Podcast
• Devi S. Laskar (MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR) Video | Podcast
• Allison Pataki (IT GIRL) Video | Podcast
• Susan Patterson (THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB) Video | Podcast
• Ruta Sepetys (A FORTUNE OF SAND) Video | Podcast
• Kathryn Stockett (THE CALAMITY CLUB) Video | Podcast
• Wendy Walker (BLADE) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• Rachel Beanland (THE HALF LIFE)
• Lori Foster (THE LAKE HOUSE: A Firefly Summer Novel)
• Jenny Jackson (THE SHAMPOO EFFECT)
• John Searles (SINGLE GIRLS)
• Beatriz Williams (WHEN YOU LOVED ME)

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

Our Latest Poll: June Fiction Releases to Anticipate

Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, June 26th 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

Please visit the other websites in TheBookReportNetwork.com: ReadingGroupGuides.com and AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

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