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January 14, 2025

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we know people will be talking about this winter. Read more about it, and enter our Winter Reading Contest by Wednesday, January 15th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of BEAUTIFUL UGLY by Alice Feeney, which is now available and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Special Preview: Bookreporter.com's Winter Reading 2025

This Bookreporter.com SPECIAL PREVIEW Newsletter brings you a sneak peek at the titles that are included in our Winter Reading feature.

Each title below will be featured in a contest where you will have a 24-hour window of opportunity to enter for your chance to win a copy of the book being featured that day. You will need to act quickly! Learn more about the feature here.

We encourage you to scroll down and click on each image to read more about that book on our site.

If you have friends who you think may be interested in these 24-hour contests, please forward this newsletter to them so they can sign up for it.

Our first feature and contest kicks off TOMORROW, Tuesday, January 14th at noon ET. Best of luck to you, and Happy Winter Reading!

Olivia Campbell, author of Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History

In the 1930s, Germany was a hotbed of scientific thought. But after the Nazis took power, Jewish and female citizens were forced out of their academic positions. Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer and Hildegard Stücklen were eminent in their fields, but they had no choice but to flee due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments. Their harrowing journey out of Germany became a life-and-death situation that required Herculean efforts of friends and other prominent scientists. Lise fled to Sweden, where she made a groundbreaking discovery in nuclear physics, and the others fled to the United States, where they brought advanced physics to American universities. No matter their destination, each woman revolutionized the field of physics when all odds were stacked against them, galvanizing young women to do the same.

Kate Winkler Dawson, author of The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne

On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, more questions emerged. Was Sarah’s death a suicide...or something much darker? Determined to uncover the real story, Victorian writer Catharine Read Arnold Williams threw herself into the investigation as the trial was unfolding and wrote what many claim to be the first American true-crime narrative, FALL RIVER. The murder divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s THE SCARLET LETTER. But the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell’s death. Until now.

Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

Noah has been losing his polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years. So when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of her many conspiracy theories. But when his phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles and his parents locked in a terrifying trancelike state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it. Then Noah’s mother brutally attacks him. But Noah isn’t the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart --- literally --- as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend glued to a screen.

Alafair Burke, author of The Note

Growing up, May Hanover was always a good girl. Raised by a first-generation Chinese single mother with high expectations, May didn’t have room to slip up, let alone fail. But even good girls have secrets. And regrets. When it comes to her friendship with Lauren and Kelsey, she's had her fair share of both. Their bond --- forged when May was just 12 years old --- has withstood a tragic accident, individual scandals, heartbreak and loss. Now the three friends have reunited for the first time in years for a few days of sun and fun in the Hamptons. But a chance encounter with a pair of strangers leads to a drunken prank that goes horribly awry. When she finds herself at the center of an urgent police investigation, May begins to wonder if Lauren and Kelsey are keeping secrets from her, testing the limits of her loyalty to lifelong friends.

Fiona Davis, author of The Stolen Queen

Egypt, 1936: Anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered and accepts a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. But then an unbearable tragedy strikes. New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala. Meanwhile, Charlotte is now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art. She’s consumed by her research on Hathorkare --- a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant. The night of the gala: One of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing, and there are signs that Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening. Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity.

Editorial Content for Holmes Is Missing: A Holmes, Margaret & Poe Mystery

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

Fans of classic mysteries may do a double take at their local bookstore when they pass by this book and see that it is a Holmes, Marple & Poe novel. The subtitle actually refers to Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple and Auguste Poe, who bear the surnames of two memorable characters and a legendary author. They run their own investigation firm based in Brooklyn and possess abilities not far off from their namesakes. Read More

Teaser

Success has come quickly to Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. The New York City agency led by three detectives --- Brendan Holmes, “the brain”; Margaret Marple, “the eyes”; and Auguste Poe, the “muscle” --- with famous names and mysterious pasts is one major case away from cementing its professional reputation. But as a series of child abductions tests the PIs’ legendary skills, the cerebral Holmes’ absence leaves a gaping hole in the agency roster. Only by closing ranks and solving the mystery within can they recover all that’s been lost.

Promo

Success has come quickly to Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. The New York City agency led by three detectives --- Brendan Holmes, “the brain”; Margaret Marple, “the eyes”; and Auguste Poe, the “muscle” --- with famous names and mysterious pasts is one major case away from cementing its professional reputation. But as a series of child abductions tests the PIs’ legendary skills, the cerebral Holmes’ absence leaves a gaping hole in the agency roster. Only by closing ranks and solving the mystery within can they recover all that’s been lost.

About the Book

“Best-selling author James Patterson populates his murder-mystery novels with cold-blooded killers and smart detectives” (USA Today). In HOLMES IS MISSING, PI Brendan Holmes has committed the perfect crime --- he’s made himself disappear.

Success has come quickly to Holmes, Marple & Poe Investigations. The New York City agency led by three detectives --- Brendan Holmes, “the brain”; Margaret Marple, “the eyes”; and Auguste Poe, the “muscle” --- with famous names and mysterious pasts is one major case away from cementing its professional reputation.

But as a series of child abductions tests the PIs’ legendary skills, the cerebral Holmes’ absence leaves a gaping hole in the agency roster.

Only by closing ranks and solving the mystery within can they recover all that’s been lost.

Audiobook available, read by Christine Lakin

Editorial Content for Mothers and Sons

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

A friend of mine recommended Adam Haslett's earlier work to me, mentioning that his portrayal of depression in IMAGINE ME GONE is the most authentic one she has ever read. Haslett continues to excel at depicting complicated emotional responses in his latest novel, MOTHERS AND SONS. Read More

Teaser

At 40, Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated. He spends his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than Peter can give. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter's numbness, the event that he has avoided for 20 years returns to haunt him. Ann, his mother, who runs a women's retreat center she founded after leaving his father, is hurt by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built. She long ago put behind her the decision that divided her from her son. But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart.

Promo

At 40, Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated. He spends his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than Peter can give. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter's numbness, the event that he has avoided for 20 years returns to haunt him. Ann, his mother, who runs a women's retreat center she founded after leaving his father, is hurt by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built. She long ago put behind her the decision that divided her from her son. But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart.

About the Book

A mother and son, estranged for years, must grapple with the shared secret that drove their lives apart in this enthralling story about family, forgiveness and how a fleeting act of violence can change a life forever, by "one of the country's most talented writers" (Wall Street Journal).

At 40, Peter, an asylum lawyer in New York City, is overworked and isolated. He spends his days immersed in the struggles of immigrants only to return to an empty apartment and occasional hook-ups with a man who wants more than Peter can give. But when the asylum case of a young gay man pierces Peter's numbness, the event that he has avoided for 20 years returns to haunt him.

Ann, his mother, who runs a women's retreat center she founded after leaving his father, is hurt by the estrangement from Peter but cherishes the world she has built. She long ago put behind her the decision that divided her from her son. But as Peter’s case plunges him further into the fraught memory of his first love and the night of violence that changed his life, he and his mother must confront the secret that tore them apart.

With unsurpassed emotional depth, MOTHERS AND SONS reveals all that is lost by looking away from the past and the love that might be restored by facing it. In his spellbinding new novel, Adam Haslett demonstrates yet again his mastery of “a rich assortment of literary gifts” (New York Times).

Audiobook available, read by Andrew Gibson and Janet Metzger

Editorial Content for Invisible Helix: A Detective Galileo Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

INVISIBLE HELIX is one of the twistiest, most brilliant mysteries involving familial relations tied into a murder that I have ever read. Keigo Higashino once again has elevated the genre to a level worthy of the greats like Dame Agatha Christie. Read More

Teaser

The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay. But his death was no accident; Ryota Uetsuji was shot. He'd been reported missing the week before by his live-in girlfriend, Sonoka Shimauchi. But when detectives from the Homicide Squad go to interview her, she is nowhere to be found. When they learn that she was the victim of domestic abuse, they presume she was the killer. But her alibi is airtight; she was hours away in Kyoto when Ryota disappeared, forcing Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi to restart their investigation. But if Sonoko didn't kill her abusive lover, then who did? A thin thread of association leads them to their old consultant, brilliant physicist Manabu Yukawa, known in the department as "Detective Galileo." With Sonoko still missing, the detectives investigate other threads of association.

Promo

The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay. But his death was no accident; Ryota Uetsuji was shot. He'd been reported missing the week before by his live-in girlfriend, Sonoka Shimauchi. But when detectives from the Homicide Squad go to interview her, she is nowhere to be found. When they learn that she was the victim of domestic abuse, they presume she was the killer. But her alibi is airtight; she was hours away in Kyoto when Ryota disappeared, forcing Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi to restart their investigation. But if Sonoko didn't kill her abusive lover, then who did? A thin thread of association leads them to their old consultant, brilliant physicist Manabu Yukawa, known in the department as "Detective Galileo." With Sonoko still missing, the detectives investigate other threads of association.

About the Book

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.

The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay. But his death was no accident; Ryota Uetsuji was shot. He'd been reported missing the week before by his live-in girlfriend, Sonoko Shimauchi. But when detectives from the Homicide Squad go to interview her, she is nowhere to be found. She's taken time off from work, clothes and effects are missing from the apartment she shared. And when the detectives learn that she was the victim of domestic abuse, they presume that she was the killer. But her alibi is airtight; she was hours away in Kyoto when Ryota disappeared, forcing Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi to restart their investigation.

But if Sonoko didn't kill her abusive lover, then who did? A thin thread of association leads them to their old consultant, brilliant physicist Manabu Yukawa, known in the department as "Detective Galileo." With Sonoko still missing, the detectives investigate other threads of association --- an eccentric artist, who was Sonoko's mother figure after her own single mother passed; and an older woman who is the owner of a hostess club. And how is Sonoko continuing to stay one step ahead of the police searching for her?

It's up to Galileo to find the nearly hidden threads of history and coincidence that connect the people around the bloody murder --- which, surprisingly, connect to his own traumatic past --- to unravel not merely the facts of the crime but the helix that ties them all together.