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Week of November 20, 2023

Paperback releases for the week of November 20th include A QUIET LIFE, an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel from Ethan Joella about three individuals whose lives intersect in unforeseen ways; Harriet Tyce's IT ENDS AT MIDNIGHT, a chilling psychological thriller set in one of Edinburgh's poshest neighborhoods, where a lavish New Year's Eve party ends in a gruesome double murder; HOLLYWOOD: The Oral History by Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson, the real story of Hollywood as told by such luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Frank Capra, Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Harold Lloyd and nearly 400 others --- assembled from the American Film Institute’s treasure trove of interviews --- which reveals a fresh history of the American movie industry from its beginnings to today; and the paperback original THE WINTHROP AGREEMENT by Alice Sherman Simpson, a captivating historical novel set in Gilded Age New York City about an immigrant daughter’s ascent from a miserable tenement to the heights of haute couture, driven by an insatiable hunger for a place in society and secrets she must not betray.

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Week of November 13, 2023

Paperback releases for the week of November 13th include SAM by Allegra Goodman, an unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age that offers subtle yet powerful reflections on class, parenthood, addiction, lust and the irrepressible power of dreams; THE TWIST OF A KNIFE, the ingenious fourth literary whodunit from Anthony Horowitz, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation --- and only one man can prove his innocence: his newly estranged partner in solving crime, Detective Hawthorne; MUSSOLINI'S DAUGHTER, Caroline Moorehead's thrilling biography of Edda Mussolini --- Benito Mussolini’s favorite daughter, one of the most influential women in 1930s Europe --- and a heart-stopping account of the unraveling of the Fascist dream in Italy; John Lancaster's THE GREAT AIR RACE, the untold, almost unbelievable story of the daring pilots who risked their lives in an unprecedented air race in 1919 --- and put American aviation on the map; and the paperback original GOOD GIRLS DON'T DIE by Christina Henry, a sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren’t their own. 

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Week of November 6, 2023

Paperback releases for the week of November 6th include Jane Smiley's A DANGEROUS BUSINESS, a rollicking murder mystery set in Gold Rush California in which two young prostitutes follow a trail of missing girls; THE VILLA by Rachel Hawkins, a brilliant gothic suspense set at an Italian villa with a dark history; NOVELIST AS A VOCATION, an insightful look into the mind of a master storyteller and a unique look at the craft of writing from beloved author Haruki Murakami; Armando Lucas Correa's THE NIGHT TRAVELER, a sweeping novel in which four generations of women experience love, loss, war and hope --- from the rise of Nazism to the Cuban Revolution and, finally, the fall of the Berlin Wall; THE DELUGE by Stephen Markley, a masterful American epic charting a near future approaching collapse and a nascent but strengthening solidarity; and the paperback original THE WISHING BRIDGE, a new holiday novel from Viola Shipman that sparkles with the humor and heart that fans of Kristy Woodson Harvey, Nancy Thayer and Jenny Colgan love most.

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November 7, 2023

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of November 6th and November 13th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for November, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Reese's Book Club, the "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, and more.

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Andrew Klavan, author of The House of Love and Death: A Cameron Winter Mystery

Three members of a wealthy family, along with their live-in nanny, are pulled from their burning mansion, already dead from gunshot wounds. The only survivor is a young boy whose memory of the event raises more questions than answers. The police seem happy to settle on a simple explanation and arrest the most obvious suspect, but Cameron Winter knows that obvious solutions are seldom the correct ones, and all too often they hide a darker truth. While Winter’s investigation is welcomed by many who knew the victims, the lead detective makes it clear he wants Winter not only to stop looking for answers, but to stay out of his town altogether. Winter begins to understand why as he slowly uncovers crimes and unsavory behavior that had been ignored long before the killings.

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Hilary Mantel, author of A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing

In addition to her celebrated career as a novelist, Hilary Mantel contributed for years to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it. A MEMOIR OF MY FORMER SELF collects the finest of this writing over four decades. Her subjects are wide-ranging, sharply observed and beautifully rendered. She discusses nationalism and her own sense of belonging; our dream life popping into our conscious life; the many themes that feed into her novels --- revolutionary France, psychics, Tudor England; and other novelists, from Jane Austen to V.S. Naipaul. She writes fiercely and heartbreakingly about the battles with her health that she endured as a young woman, and the stifling years she found herself living in Saudi Arabia.

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Heather Morris, author of Sisters Under the Rising Sun

In the midst of World War II, English musician Norah Chambers places her eight-year-old daughter, Sally, on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army. Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese, she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia. After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Norah and Nesta are captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. These sisters in arms fight side by side every day, discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness and determination.

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Henry Winkler, author of Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond

Henry Winkler, who was launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in “Happy Days,” has transcended the role that made him who he is. In this achingly vulnerable memoir, Henry shares the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you. Since the glorious era of “Happy Days” fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as “Arrested Development,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Barry,” where he’s been revealed as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as The Fonz, he could hardly find work.

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Tim O’Brien, author of America Fantastica

Boyd Halverson --- star journalist turned notorious online disinformation troll turned JCPenney manager --- robs a bank and takes the teller, Angie Bing, as a hostage and for a ride. Haunted by his past and weary of his present, Boyd has one goal before the authorities catch up with him: settle a score with the man who destroyed his life. By Monday, Boyd and Angie reach Mexico; by winter, they are in a lakefront mansion in Minnesota. On their trail are hitmen, jealous lovers, ex-cons, an heiress, a billionaire shipping tycoon, a three-tour veteran of Iraq, and the ghosts of Boyd’s past. Everyone, it seems, except the police.

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Tess Gerritsen, author of The Spy Coast

Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after a mission went tragically wrong. These days, she’s living quietly on her chicken farm, still wary of blowback from the events that forced her early retirement. But when a body turns up in Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her. Maggie turns to her local circle of old friends --- all retirees from the CIA --- to help uncover the truth about who is trying to kill her, and why. This “Martini Club” of former spies may be retired, but they still have a few useful skills that they’re eager to use again, if only to spice up their rather sedate new lives.

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