Skip to main content

Editorial Content for The Stolen Coast

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

In the sports world, the term “sophomore slump” is used to describe a player whose first year shows great promise, but his second season finds his athletic accomplishments declining substantially. The possibility of such a regression worried me when I read Dwyer Murphy’s second book, THE STOLEN COAST. Read More

Teaser

Jack might be a polished, Harvard-educated lawyer on paper, but everyone in the down-at-the-heels, if picturesque, village of Onset, Massachusetts, knows his real job: moving people on the run from powerful enemies. The family business --- co-managed with his father, a retired spy --- is smooth sailing, as they fill up Onset’s holiday homes during the town’s long, drowsy off-season and help clients shed their identities in preparation for fresh starts. But when Elena, Jack’s former flame --- a dedicated hustler who's no stranger to the fugitive life --- makes an unexpected return to town, her arrival upends Jack’s routine existence. It isn’t long before Jack finds himself enmeshed in her latest project: intercepting millions of dollars’ worth of raw diamonds before they’re shipped overseas.

Promo

Jack might be a polished, Harvard-educated lawyer on paper, but everyone in the down-at-the-heels, if picturesque, village of Onset, Massachusetts, knows his real job: moving people on the run from powerful enemies. The family business --- co-managed with his father, a retired spy --- is smooth sailing, as they fill up Onset’s holiday homes during the town’s long, drowsy off-season and help clients shed their identities in preparation for fresh starts. But when Elena, Jack’s former flame --- a dedicated hustler who's no stranger to the fugitive life --- makes an unexpected return to town, her arrival upends Jack’s routine existence. It isn’t long before Jack finds himself enmeshed in her latest project: intercepting millions of dollars’ worth of raw diamonds before they’re shipped overseas.

About the Book

Adrift in a sleepy coastal Massachusetts town, a man who ferries fugitives by day gets twisted up in a plot to pilfer diamonds in this Casablanca-infused heist novel.

Jack might be a polished, Harvard-educated lawyer on paper, but everyone in the down-at-the-heels, if picturesque, village of Onset, Massachusetts, knows his real job: moving people on the run from powerful enemies. The family business --- co-managed with his father, a retired spy --- is smooth sailing, as they fill up Onset’s holiday homes during the town’s long, drowsy off-season and help clients shed their identities in preparation for fresh starts.

But when Elena, Jack’s former flame --- a dedicated hustler who's no stranger to the fugitive life --- makes an unexpected return to town, her arrival upends Jack’s routine existence. It isn’t long before Jack finds himself enmeshed in her latest project: intercepting millions of dollars’ worth of raw diamonds before they’re shipped overseas.

Infusing a fast-paced plot with sharp wit and stylish prose, CrimeReads editor-in-chief Dwyer Murphy serves up an irresistible page-turner as full of heart as it is of drama.

Audiobook available, read by Robert Petkoff

Editorial Content for The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ron Kaplan

Like all sports, the national pastime revolves around stars, followed by the rest of the regulars and then the benchwarmers. Somewhere in the last group is the backup catcher, a man who gets into maybe one game a week if he’s (un)lucky because the main guy is always behind the plate unless he gets hurt or needs an occasional day off. For every Yogi Berra, there’s a Ralph Houk who appeared in just 91 games over an eight-year career with the Yankees. Read More

Teaser

In baseball, there are superstars, stars and everyday players...and then there are the rest. Within the rest are role players, specialists and journeymen...and then there are the backup catchers. THE TAO OF THE BACKUP CATCHER is about them, the backup catchers, who exist near the bottom of the roster, the end of the bench, and between the numbers in a sport --- and a society --- increasingly driven by cold, hard analytics. It is a story of grown men who once dreamed of stardom and generational wealth. Instead, they were handed a broom and a deeper understanding of who wins and why, who stands tall and who folds, and who will invest their own lives in catching bullpens and the back ends of doubleheaders.

Promo

In baseball, there are superstars, stars and everyday players...and then there are the rest. Within the rest are role players, specialists and journeymen...and then there are the backup catchers. THE TAO OF THE BACKUP CATCHER is about them, the backup catchers, who exist near the bottom of the roster, the end of the bench, and between the numbers in a sport --- and a society --- increasingly driven by cold, hard analytics. It is a story of grown men who once dreamed of stardom and generational wealth. Instead, they were handed a broom and a deeper understanding of who wins and why, who stands tall and who folds, and who will invest their own lives in catching bullpens and the back ends of doubleheaders.

About the Book

This fascinating book chronicles the unsung men of baseball who serve the job, the hardships they face, and their love for a game that would not always love them back --- told partly through the experiences of an MLB veteran.​

In baseball, there are superstars, stars and everyday players...and then there are the rest. Within the rest are role players, specialists and journeymen...and then there are the backup catchers. THE TAO OF THE BACKUP CATCHER is about them, the backup catchers, who exist near the bottom of the roster, the end of the bench, and between the numbers in a sport --- and a society --- increasingly driven by cold, hard analytics.

THE TAO OF THE BACKUP CATCHER is a story of grown men who once dreamed of stardom and generational wealth. Instead, they were handed a broom and a deeper understanding of who wins and why, who stands tall and who folds, and who will invest their own lives in catching bullpens and the back ends of doubleheaders.

Backup catchers survive in part because every team needs one. They are necessary, once or twice a week. They prosper because the game, like the world around the game, still needs good souls, honest efforts, open eyes and ears, closed mouths, compassion for the sad parts, a laugh for the silly parts, and a heart that knows the difference. Backup catchers are sports’ big brothers, psychologists, priests, witch doctors, player coaches, father figures and drinking buddies, all wrapped in a suit of today’s polycarbonate armor and yesterday’s dirt. They come with a singular goal --- to win baseball games. They play for the greater good. After that, they play for themselves.

A reverie on loving the grind and the little things baseball can teach us, THE TAO OF THE BACKUP CATCHER profiles Erik Kratz, Josh Paul, AJ Ellis, Bobby Wilson, Drew Butera, Matt Treanor and John Flaherty, to name a few.

Audiobook available, read by Justin Price

Editorial Content for The Militia House

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Megan Elliott

The horrors of war are familiar ground for writers. But in his gothic debut novel, THE MILITIA HOUSE, John Milas delivers a uniquely unsettling account of life in a combat zone, where the dull grind of day-to-day life as a cog in a bureaucratic war machine gradually morphs into something far more disturbing. Read More

Teaser

It’s 2010, and the recently promoted Corporal Loyette and his unit are finishing up their deployment at a new base in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Their duties here are straightforward --- loading and unloading cargo into and out of helicopters --- and their days are a mix of boredom and dread. The Brits they’re replacing delight in telling them the history of the old barracks just off base, a Soviet-era militia house they claim is haunted, and Loyette and his men don’t need much convincing to make a clandestine trip outside the wire to explore it. It’s a short, middle-of-the-day adventure, but the men experience a mounting agitation after their visit to the militia house. In the days that follow, they try to forget about the strange, unsettling sights and sounds from the house, but things are increasingly…not right.

Promo

It’s 2010, and the recently promoted Corporal Loyette and his unit are finishing up their deployment at a new base in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Their duties here are straightforward --- loading and unloading cargo into and out of helicopters --- and their days are a mix of boredom and dread. The Brits they’re replacing delight in telling them the history of the old barracks just off base, a Soviet-era militia house they claim is haunted, and Loyette and his men don’t need much convincing to make a clandestine trip outside the wire to explore it. It’s a short, middle-of-the-day adventure, but the men experience a mounting agitation after their visit to the militia house. In the days that follow, they try to forget about the strange, unsettling sights and sounds from the house, but things are increasingly…not right.

About the Book

Stephen King meets Tim O’Brien in John Milas’ THE MILITIA HOUSE, a spine-tingling and boldly original gothic horror novel.

It’s 2010, and the recently promoted Corporal Loyette and his unit are finishing up their deployment at a new base in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Their duties here are straightforward --- loading and unloading cargo into and out of helicopters --- and their days are a mix of boredom and dread. The Brits they’re replacing delight in telling them the history of the old barracks just off base, a Soviet-era militia house they claim is haunted, and Loyette and his men don’t need much convincing to make a clandestine trip outside the wire to explore it.

It’s a short, middle-of-the-day adventure, but the men experience a mounting agitation after their visit to the militia house. In the days that follow they try to forget about the strange, unsettling sights and sounds from the house, but things are increasingly...not right. Loyette becomes determined to ignore his and his marines’ growing unease, convinced that it’s just the strain of war playing tricks on them. But something about the militia house will not let them go.

Meticulously plotted and viscerally immediate in its telling, THE MILITIA HOUSE is a gripping and brilliant exploration of the unceasing horrors of war that’s no more easily shaken than the militia house itself.

Audiobook available, read by Davis Brooks

Editorial Content for Thicker Than Water

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

THICKER THAN WATER, Megan Collins’ latest novel, is unusual in that the most important relationship in the story is between two women --- Sienna and Julia. They first became friends when Julia married Sienna's brother, Jason. Although they hadn't been dating long, Julia was pregnant, and Jason was eager to "do the right thing." Julia was so enamored with Sienna and their budding friendship that she agreed. Read More

Teaser

Julia and Sienna Larkin are sisters-in-law, connected by Julia’s husband and Sienna’s brother, Jason. More than that, the two are devoted best friends and business partners. Recently, Jason has been putting in long hours to secure a promotion at work, so when his boss is found brutally murdered --- his lips sewn shut --- the Larkins are shocked and unsettled, especially as local gossip swirls. A few days later, Julia and Sienna’s lives are upended when Jason gets into a car accident and is placed in a medically induced coma. Worse, the police arrive with news that he’s the prime suspect in the murder investigation. With Jason unable to respond --- and with Julia and Sienna working to clear his name --- the two women find their friendship threatened for the first time.

Promo

Julia and Sienna Larkin are sisters-in-law, connected by Julia’s husband and Sienna’s brother, Jason. More than that, the two are devoted best friends and business partners. Recently, Jason has been putting in long hours to secure a promotion at work, so when his boss is found brutally murdered --- his lips sewn shut --- the Larkins are shocked and unsettled, especially as local gossip swirls. A few days later, Julia and Sienna’s lives are upended when Jason gets into a car accident and is placed in a medically induced coma. Worse, the police arrive with news that he’s the prime suspect in the murder investigation. With Jason unable to respond --- and with Julia and Sienna working to clear his name --- the two women find their friendship threatened for the first time.

About the Book

In this “twisty, propulsive thriller” (Robyn Harding, internationally bestselling author) from Megan Collins, two sisters-in-law are at painful odds when the man who connects them --- the brother of one, the husband of the other --- is accused of a brutal crime.

Julia and Sienna Larkin are sisters-in-law, connected by Julia’s husband and Sienna’s brother, Jason. More than that, the two are devoted best friends and business partners, believing that theirs is a uniquely unbreakable bond. To Sienna, her protective brother can do no wrong, and although Julia knows he’s not perfect, they’ve built a comfortable life and family together. Recently, Jason has been putting in long hours to secure a promotion at work, so when his boss is found brutally murdered --- his lips sewn shut --- the Larkins are shocked and unsettled, especially as local gossip swirls.

A few days later, Julia and Sienna’s lives are upended when Jason gets into a car accident and is placed in a medically induced coma. Worse, the police arrive with news that he’s the prime suspect in the murder investigation. With Jason unable to respond --- and with Julia and Sienna working to clear his name --- the two women find their friendship threatened for the first time: Sienna staunchly maintains her brother’s innocence, but as their investigation uncovers a complicated web of secrets, Julia is less sure she’s willing to defend her husband.

With her signature “moody and atmospheric” (USA TODAY) writing, Megan Collins has crafted a rich, gripping story that explores just how fragile our closest bonds can be.

Audiobook available, read by Gail Shalan and Emily Tremaine

July 21, 2023

This is the time of year when the flowers in the yard are really spectacular. The giant hibiscus flowers in the first picture above are among my favorites. For a really long time, the second garden was peonies and irises. Both bloom by late spring, and after that this garden always looked terrible. For a few years, we had lots of rudbeckia, but so many of those plants died off. So we --- okay, let’s get real, it was my husband, not me --- pulled out all the iris bulbs and then planted all the perennials that I brought home around the few remaining rudbeckia and a peony plant that we got from his mom. The original peonies are off to the left in the second picture above. Just looking at it makes me happy!

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur

July 2023

I heard Adrienne Brodeur talk about LITTLE MONSTERS at a pre-publication event, and I knew from her presentation that I wanted to read it. It’s set in the summer of 2016 on Cape Cod, an area that she knows and loves. This place is as much a character in the book as the Gardner family whom we meet. The setting alone makes it work as a summer read.

The Better Half by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans

July 2023

Once again, Alli Frank and Asha Youmans hit it out of the park with their third novel together, THE BETTER HALF, which has both heart and soul. At 43, Nina Morgan Clarke has arrived. She is the first Black headmaster of the very tony Royal-Hawkins School, which is mostly populated by students of wealthy white parents. She has a tolerable relationship with her ex-husband, and her daughter is on the east coast at a private school. Before she embarks on this new role, she goes on vacation with her best and longtime friend, Marisol. On that trip, she meets a man to whom she has an instant attraction and comes home with a challenge that will complicate her life.

Her, Too by Bonnie Kistler

July 2023

In HER, TOO, just as she did in THE CAGE, Bonnie Kistler puts the action right up front. Kelly McCann is a fighter. She defends men who are accused of sex crimes, and she has a winning record. While it feels like she is a traitor to women, this role has made her very successful. She commands a large salary. She has a lot at home to protect, so she needs the money. But then, on the night of one of her biggest victories, she is sexually assaulted. From there, the tables are turned. The way that she was so proactive about her defense is how she is when she joins with other victims to get revenge.

July 18, 2023

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of July 17th and July 24th 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 review of HER, TOO by Bonnie Kistler, which will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. Defending an accused rapist, a high-powered lawyer learns firsthand the terrible truth about her client --- a discovery that propels her on a quest for justice and revenge in this addictively readable thriller from the author of HOUSE ON FIRE and THE CAGE, both of which were Bets On titles.

July 18, 2023

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we think is a great summer reading selection. Read more about it, and enter our Summer Reading Contest by Wednesday, July 19th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of THE BLOCK PARTY by Jamie Day, which is now available. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!