George Santayana
To the art of working well a civilized race would add the art of playing well.
Attribution
Orval Hobart Mowrer
It is easier to act yourself into a better way of feeling than to feel yourself into a better way of action.
Attribution
April 28, 2017
I had a great time last night at the Fairfield Public Library in Connecticut giving a talk to a very engaged audience about Great Book Group Books. I love getting out to meet readers and share with them the books that I am excited about. I always am surprised at how many books even avid readers are not familiar with. Over the course of 90 minutes, I shared background about books and anecdotes about authors. I drove home energized by the enthusiasm of the audience, and I have answered emails from a few of them today. The photo above is me with Claudia Silk (far left) and Mary Coe (far right) from the library staff who kindly invited me, along with another staffer, Linda Quinn.
Editorial Content for Golden Prey: A Lucas Davenport Novel
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
I was in the middle of another book when I received an advance copy of GOLDEN PREY for review. I passed it off to my older son, who is a huge fan of Lucas Davenport, not to mention Virgil Flowers and, actually, all things John Sandford. It had been in his possession for just a few hours when I received a text from him stating, “I think this is the best one yet!” I am here a couple of weeks later to report that he is correct. If GOLDEN PREY doesn’t make you an instant fan of the series, or return you to the fold, you may not have a pulse. Read More
Teaser
A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Lucas Davenport --- who now works for the U.S. Marshals Service --- takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control, as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the “Queen of home-improvement tools,” compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly really fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them, he’s just another large target.
Promo
A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Lucas Davenport --- who now works for the U.S. Marshals Service --- takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control, as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the “Queen of home-improvement tools,” compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly really fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them, he’s just another large target.
About the Book
Lucas Davenport’s first case as a U.S. Marshal sends him into uncharted territory in the thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.
The man was smart and he didn’t mind killing people. Welcome to the big leagues, Davenport.
Thanks to some very influential people whose lives he saved, Lucas is no longer working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but for the U.S. Marshals Service, and with unusual scope. He gets to pick his own cases, whatever they are, wherever they lead him.
And where they’ve led him this time is into real trouble. A Biloxi, Mississippi, drug-cartel counting house gets robbed, and suitcases full of cash disappear, leaving behind five bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl. Davenport takes the case, which quickly spirals out of control, as cartel assassins, including a torturer known as the “Queen of home-improvement tools” compete with Davenport to find the Dixie Hicks shooters who knocked over the counting house. Things get ugly real fast, and neither the cartel killers nor the holdup men give a damn about whose lives Davenport might have saved; to them, he’s just another large target.
Filled with his trademark razor-sharp plotting and some of the best characters in suspense fiction, GOLDEN PREY is further reason why “Sandford has always been at the top of any list of great mystery writers” (The Huffington Post).
Audiobook available, read by Richard Ferrone
Editorial Content for Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night
Teaser
In a career spanning more than 30 years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television. While he remains one of the most famous stars in America, he is a remote, even reclusive, figure whose career is widely misunderstood. In LETTERMAN, Jason Zinoman mixes groundbreaking reporting with unprecedented access and probing critical analysis to explain the unique entertainer’s titanic legacy. Moving from his early days in Indiana to his retirement, Zinoman goes behind the scenes of Letterman’s television career to illuminate the origins of his revolutionary comedy, its overlooked influences, and how his work intersects with and reveals his famously eccentric personality.
Promo
In a career spanning more than 30 years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television. While he remains one of the most famous stars in America, he is a remote, even reclusive, figure whose career is widely misunderstood. In LETTERMAN, Jason Zinoman mixes groundbreaking reporting with unprecedented access and probing critical analysis to explain the unique entertainer’s titanic legacy. Moving from his early days in Indiana to his retirement, Zinoman goes behind the scenes of Letterman’s television career to illuminate the origins of his revolutionary comedy, its overlooked influences, and how his work intersects with and reveals his famously eccentric personality.
About the Book
New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman delivers the definitive story of the life and artistic legacy of David Letterman, the greatest television talk show host of all time and the signature comedic voice of a generation.
In a career spanning more than 30 years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television. While he remains one of the most famous stars in America, he is a remote, even reclusive, figure whose career is widely misunderstood. In LETTERMAN, Jason Zinoman, the first comedy critic in the history of the New York Times, mixes groundbreaking reporting with unprecedented access and probing critical analysis to explain the unique entertainer’s titanic legacy. Moving from his early days in Indiana to his retirement, Zinoman goes behind the scenes of Letterman’s television career to illuminate the origins of his revolutionary comedy, its overlooked influences and how his work intersects with and reveals his famously eccentric personality.
Zinoman argues that Letterman had three great artistic periods, each distinct and part of his evolution. As he examines key broadcasting moments --- "Stupid Pet Tricks" and other captivating segments that defined "Late Night with David Letterman" --- he illuminates Letterman’s relationship to his writers, and in particular, the show’s co-creator, Merrill Markoe, with whom Letterman shared a long professional and personal connection.
To understand popular culture today, it’s necessary to understand David Letterman. With this revealing biography, Zinoman offers a perceptive analysis of the man and the artist whose ironic voice and caustic meta-humor was critical to an entire generation of comedians and viewers --- and whose singular style ushered in new tropes that have become clichés in comedy today.
Audiobook available, read by Michael Goldstrom
Editorial Content for No Easy Target
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Margaret Douglas has been working in a zoo where she "melds" with the animals. She talks to them and is convinced they talk to her. Margaret was kidnapped by Nicos, a murderous drug dealer, pimp and trafficker in human beings. She escaped from his compound located on his private island, which led her to stay below the radar for three years. Then she is found, and Nicos wants her back because he is expecting a large drug shipment and knows that her strange gift confuses law enforcement's cadre of sniffing dogs. Margaret had successfully done this during her captivity. Read More
Teaser
Raised off the grid in an abusive home, Margaret Douglas’ only escape was the nearby forest where she sought refuge. There, she discovered a strange gift: the ability to understand animals and to communicate with them. But her abilities have not gone unnoticed, and there are those who would use them for their own purposes. Determined not to be a pawn in anyone’s game, every time someone gets too close, Margaret uproots her life and outruns them. When CIA operative John Lassiter breaks into Margaret’s apartment, she vanishes again, but Lassiter has good reason to be persistent. As a CIA operative, he owes his life to his men, one of whom is being held captive by an unrelenting enemy --- an enemy who has set his sights on Margaret.
Promo
Raised off the grid in an abusive home, Margaret Douglas’ only escape was the nearby forest where she sought refuge. There, she discovered a strange gift: the ability to understand animals and to communicate with them. But her abilities have not gone unnoticed, and there are those who would use them for their own purposes. Determined not to be a pawn in anyone’s game, every time someone gets too close, Margaret uproots her life and outruns them. When CIA operative John Lassiter breaks into Margaret’s apartment, she vanishes again, but Lassiter has good reason to be persistent. As a CIA operative, he owes his life to his men, one of whom is being held captive by an unrelenting enemy --- an enemy who has set his sights on Margaret.
About the Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen, an explosive thriller featuring fan favorite Margaret Douglas, an animal psychic
ON THE RUN
Margaret Douglas has worked hard to put her painful past behind her. Raised off the grid in an abusive home, her only escape was the nearby forest where she sought refuge whenever she could. There, in the peaceful woods, she discovered a strange gift: the ability to understand animals and to communicate with them. Now, Margaret wants nothing more than to live a quiet life, close to the animals and under the radar. But her abilities have not gone unnoticed…and there are those who would use them for their own purposes. Determined not to be a pawn in anyone’s game, every time someone gets too close, Margaret uproots her life and outruns them.
INTO THE LINE OF FIRE
When CIA operative John Lassiter breaks into Margaret’s apartment, she vanishes again. Still, Lassiter has good reason to be persistent: one of his men is being held captive by an unrelenting enemy --- someone who has set his sights on Margaret. Which means that Lassiter must control her to use her as bait… With danger in hot pursuit, Margaret finds herself matching wits with a man who refuses to stop or be stopped. Turning from the hunted to the hunter, Margaret must use everything she has ever learned to not only survive, but to defeat a great evil. And to prove once and for all that she’s no easy target.
Audiobook available, narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers
Editorial Content for The Red Hunter
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Zoey Drake has had a traumatic past. She was the sole survivor of a home invasion in her childhood that left her without parents. Claudia Bishop has suffered her own hardship, having been the victim of a brutal assault followed by the crumbling end of her marriage and life as a single mom to a sullen, misguided teenage daughter. Read More
Teaser
Claudia Bishop’s perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and a growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house --- one that unbeknownst to her has an ugly history and may hide long-buried secrets. For Zoey Drake, the defining moment of her childhood was the horrific home invasion murder of her parents. Years later, she has embraced the rage that fuels her and is ready to face the demons from the past. These two women are on a collision course, because Zoey’s past nightmare and Claudia’s dreams for her future take place in the very same house.
Promo
Claudia Bishop’s perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and a growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house --- one that unbeknownst to her has an ugly history and may hide long-buried secrets. For Zoey Drake, the defining moment of her childhood was the horrific home invasion murder of her parents. Years later, she has embraced the rage that fuels her and is ready to face the demons from the past. These two women are on a collision course, because Zoey’s past nightmare and Claudia’s dreams for her future take place in the very same house.
About the Book
What is the difference between justice and revenge? In this buzzworthy new stand-alone thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger, two wronged women on very different paths find themselves in the same dark place.
Claudia Bishop’s perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house --- one that unbeknownst to her has an ugly history and may hide long buried secrets.
For Zoey Drake the defining moment of her childhood was the horrific home invasion murder of her parents. Years later, she has embraced the rage that fuels her. Training in the martial arts has made her strong and ready to face the demons from the past --- and within.
Strangers to each other, and walking very different paths in the wake of trauma, these two women are on a collision course --- because Zoey’s past nightmare and Claudia’s dreams for her future take place in the very same house. As Zoey seeks justice and Claudia seeks peace, both will confront the monsters at the door that are the most frightening of all.
Audiobook available, read by Julia Whelan
Editorial Content for I Found You
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Lisa Jewell is a gem. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
I’m fussy about mysteries. Few of them, in my opinion, hit the proper balance of plot, character and setting. So I was thrilled to discover a writer who, though she’s been around for some time (this is her 13th book), has so far been known mostly in the UK. Read More
Teaser
In a windswept British seaside town, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside. Meanwhile, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: the man she married never even existed. Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. An enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable. Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?
Promo
In a windswept British seaside town, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside. Meanwhile, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: the man she married never even existed. Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. An enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable. Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?
About the Book
In the windswept British seaside town of Ridinghouse Bay, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.
Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: according to the police, the man she married never even existed.
Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. The annual trip to Ridinghouse Bay is uneventful, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable --- and it’s not just because he’s a protective older brother.
Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?
“A mystery with substance” (Kirkus Reviews), I FOUND YOU is a delicious collision course of a novel, filled with the believable characters, stunning writing, and “surprising revelations all the way up to the ending” (Booklist) that make New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell so beloved by audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Audiobook available, read by Helen Duff






