Editorial Content for Paranoia: A Michael Bennett Thriller
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
One of James Patterson’s longest-running series, outside of the Alex Cross thrillers that put him on the map, features NYPD Detective Michael Bennett. James O. Born teams up with Patterson once again for its 17th installment, PARANOIA.
Michael Bennett has an enormous clan. There is always something going on with one or more of the Bennetts, and this book is no exception as Bennett’s wife, Mary Catherine, is having a difficult pregnancy. Read More
Teaser
At every death scene, NYPD Detective Michael Bennett says a prayer over the victim. But recently, too many of the departed have been fellow cops. “I want you to look at these deaths on special assignment,” NYPD Inspector Celeste Cantor says. “Report only to me.” Bennett excels as a solo investigator. But he's chasing a killer who feeds on isolation...and paranoia.
Promo
At every death scene, NYPD Detective Michael Bennett says a prayer over the victim. But recently, too many of the departed have been fellow cops. “I want you to look at these deaths on special assignment,” NYPD Inspector Celeste Cantor says. “Report only to me.” Bennett excels as a solo investigator. But he's chasing a killer who feeds on isolation...and paranoia.
About the Book
NYPD Detective Michael Bennett will stop at nothing to protect family: his wife, his kids --- and his fellow officers --- in the latest psychological thriller from bestselling author James Patterson.
At every death scene, NYPD Detective Michael Bennett says a prayer over the victim.
But recently, too many of the departed have been fellow cops.
“I want you to look at these deaths on special assignment,” NYPD Inspector Celeste Cantor says. “Report only to me.”
Bennett excels as a solo investigator. But he's chasing a killer who feeds on isolation...and paranoia.
Audiobook available; read by Peter Giles, Will Collyer and Kiff VandenHeuvel
Editorial Content for Bonded in Death
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
BONDED IN DEATH, the 60th book in J.D. Robb’s futuristic police procedural series, is one of her smartest and most enthralling thrillers. It delves into personal themes such as loyalty, honor and betrayal while also delivering a tense and suspenseful read. Read More
Teaser
His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes. The Rossi case is frustrating to Lieutenant Eve Dallas. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks that Summerset --- the man who had rescued her husband from the Dublin streets --- may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then. As Summerset eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must --- not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died.
Promo
His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes. The Rossi case is frustrating to Lieutenant Eve Dallas. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks that Summerset --- the man who had rescued her husband from the Dublin streets --- may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then. As Summerset eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must --- not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died.
About the Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb spins an epic tale of loyalty, treachery, murder and the long shadow of war.
His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes.
Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She has an elderly victim who just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset --- fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, majordomo and the man who rescued her husband from the Dublin streets --- may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.
When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear --- because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must --- not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain --- and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished.
Audiobook available, read by Susan Ericksen
Editorial Content for The Dressmakers of London
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Julia Kelly writes brilliant historical fiction. Her novels capture the essence of a bygone era, and THE DRESSMAKERS OF LONDON brings wartime London to life through the eyes of two estranged sisters. Isabelle and Sylvia Shelton lost their father at a young age, and their mother was forced to work to ensure the family's survival. She opened a dress shop, Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions, and carefully eked out a living. Read More
Teaser
Isabelle Shelton has always found comfort in the predictable world of her mother’s dressmaking shop, Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions, while her sister, Sylvia, turned her back on the family years ago to marry a wealthy doctor whom Izzie detests. When their mother dies unexpectedly, the sisters are stunned to find they’ve jointly inherited the family business. Izzie is determined to buy Sylvia out, but when she’s conscripted into the WAAF, she’s forced to seek Sylvia’s help to keep the shop open. Realizing this could be her one chance at reconciliation with her sister, Sylvia is determined to save Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions from closure --- and financial ruin. Through letters, the sisters begin to confront old wounds, new loves, and the weight of family legacy in order to forge new beginnings.
Promo
Isabelle Shelton has always found comfort in the predictable world of her mother’s dressmaking shop, Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions, while her sister, Sylvia, turned her back on the family years ago to marry a wealthy doctor whom Izzie detests. When their mother dies unexpectedly, the sisters are stunned to find they’ve jointly inherited the family business. Izzie is determined to buy Sylvia out, but when she’s conscripted into the WAAF, she’s forced to seek Sylvia’s help to keep the shop open. Realizing this could be her one chance at reconciliation with her sister, Sylvia is determined to save Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions from closure --- and financial ruin. Through letters, the sisters begin to confront old wounds, new loves, and the weight of family legacy in order to forge new beginnings.
About the Book
The author of the “enthralling” (Woman’s World) THE LOST ENGLISH GIRL returns with a heartfelt new novel about estranged sisters who inherit their late mother’s dress shop in World War II London.
Isabelle Shelton has always found comfort in the predictable world of her mother’s dressmaking shop, Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions, while her sister, Sylvia, turned her back on the family years ago to marry a wealthy doctor whom Izzie detests. When their mother dies unexpectedly, the sisters are stunned to find they’ve jointly inherited the family business. Izzie is determined to buy Sylvia out, but when she’s conscripted into the WAAF, she’s forced to seek Sylvia’s help to keep the shop open. Realizing this could be her one chance at reconciliation with her sister, Sylvia is determined to save Mrs. Shelton’s Fashions from closure --- and financial ruin.
Through letters, the sisters begin to confront old wounds, new loves, and the weight of family legacy in order to forge new beginnings in this lyrically moving novel perfect for fans of Genevieve Graham and Lucinda Riley.
Audiobook available, read by Shiromi Arserio
Editorial Content for Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Rebecca Romney, a rare book collector and Jane Austen enthusiast, has given the world an answer to this question: “If all our bookshelves are full of Jane Austen books, what filled her own shelves so long ago?” She discovered a variety of female writers who themselves were responsible for inspiring Austen to pick up her pen again and again. JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF is a real eye opener, a valiant and entertaining effort to ensure that these women do not get lost in the literary canon shuffle anymore. Read More
Teaser
Long before she was a rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney was a devoted reader of Jane Austen. She loved that Austen’s books took the lives of women seriously, explored relationships with wit and confidence, and always allowed for the possibility of a happy ending. She read and reread them, often wishing Austen wrote just one more. JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes --- women writers who were erased from the Western canon --- to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works, and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s.
Promo
Long before she was a rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney was a devoted reader of Jane Austen. She loved that Austen’s books took the lives of women seriously, explored relationships with wit and confidence, and always allowed for the possibility of a happy ending. She read and reread them, often wishing Austen wrote just one more. JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes --- women writers who were erased from the Western canon --- to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works, and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s.
About the Book
From Rebecca Romney, a rare book dealer and guest star of the hit show "Pawn Stars," a page-turning literary adventure that introduces readers to the women writers who inspired Jane Austen --- and investigates why their books have disappeared from our shelves.
Long before she was a rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney was a devoted reader of Jane Austen. She loved that Austen’s books took the lives of women seriously, explored relationships with wit and confidence, and always allowed for the possibility of a happy ending. She read and reread them, often wishing Austen wrote just one more.
But Austen wasn’t a lone genius. She wrote at a time of great experimentation for women writers --- and clues about those women, and the exceptional books they wrote, are sprinkled like breadcrumbs throughout Austen’s work. Every character in NORTHANGER ABBEY who isn’t a boor sings the praises of Ann Radcliffe. The play that causes such a stir in MANSFIELD PARK is a real one by the playwright Elizabeth Inchbald. In fact, the phrase “pride and prejudice” came from Frances Burney’s second novel, CECILIA.
The women who populated Jane Austen’s bookshelf profoundly influenced her work; Austen looked up to them, passionately discussed their books with her friends, and used an appreciation of their books as a litmus test for whether someone had good taste. So where had these women gone? Why hadn’t Romney --- despite her training --- ever read them? Or, in some cases, even heard of them? And why were they no longer embraced as part of the wider literary canon?
JANE AUSTEN'S BOOKSHELF investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes --- women writers who were erased from the Western canon --- to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer, including Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi and Maria Edgeworth --- and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s. Romney collects the once-famed works of these forgotten writers, physically recreating Austen’s bookshelf and making a convincing case for why these books should be placed back on the to-be-read pile of all book lovers today.
JANE AUSTEN'S BOOKSHELF will encourage you to look beyond assigned reading lists, question who decides what belongs there, and build your very own collection of favorite novels.
Audiobook available, read by Rebecca Romney
Editorial Content for The Quiet Librarian
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
The first chapter of THE QUIET LIBRARIAN is called “Minnesota, After Everything.” What we are about to see takes place in the present following a prior tumultuous event that sets the narrative rolling forward. Read More
Teaser
Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared. Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia --- until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend --- the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head. Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price.
Promo
Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared. Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia --- until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend --- the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head. Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price.
About the Book
After the murder of her best friend, a librarian’s search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this "searing and timely" novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from the author of the beloved bestseller THE LIFE WE BURY (Kristin Harmel, author of THE PARIS DAUGHTER).
Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared.
Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia --- until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend --- the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head.
Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her eight-year-old grandson in Hana’s care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora --- and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too.
Audiobook available, read by Ilvana Muratovic
Editorial Content for The Life of Herod the Great
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) is anything but a literary household name, not even in the richly authored African-American community, except for devoted followers of the Harlem Renaissance movement. But Deborah Plant, who literally saved THE LIFE OF HEROD THE GREAT from permanent obscurity, has given back to the entire world a unique work that fills an important gap in a critical but under-appreciated period of American writing. Read More
Teaser
In the 1950s, as a continuation of MOSES, MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, Zora Neale Hurston penned a historical novel about one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Herod the Great. In Hurston’s retelling, Herod is not the wicked ruler of the New Testament who is charged with the “slaughter of the innocents,” but a forerunner of Christ --- a beloved king who enriched Jewish culture and brought prosperity and peace to Judea. An intimate of both Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, the Judean king lived during the first-century BCE, in a time of war and imperial expansion that was rife with political assassinations and bribery, as the old world gave way to the new. Portraying Herod within this vivid and dynamic world of antiquity, little known to modern readers, Hurston’s unfinished manuscript brings this complex, compelling and misunderstood leader fully into focus.
Promo
In the 1950s, as a continuation of MOSES, MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, Zora Neale Hurston penned a historical novel about one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Herod the Great. In Hurston’s retelling, Herod is not the wicked ruler of the New Testament who is charged with the “slaughter of the innocents,” but a forerunner of Christ --- a beloved king who enriched Jewish culture and brought prosperity and peace to Judea. An intimate of both Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, the Judean king lived during the first-century BCE, in a time of war and imperial expansion that was rife with political assassinations and bribery, as the old world gave way to the new. Portraying Herod within this vivid and dynamic world of antiquity, little known to modern readers, Hurston’s unfinished manuscript brings this complex, compelling and misunderstood leader fully into focus.
About the Book
A never-before-published novel from beloved author Zora Neale Hurston, revealing the historical Herod the Great --- not the villain the Bible makes him out to be but a religious and philosophical man who lived a life of valor and vision.
In the 1950s, as a continuation of MOSES, MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, Zora Neale Hurston penned a historical novel about one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Herod the Great. In Hurston’s retelling, Herod is not the wicked ruler of the New Testament who is charged with the “slaughter of the innocents,” but a forerunner of Christ --- a beloved king who enriched Jewish culture and brought prosperity and peace to Judea.
From the peaks of triumph to the depths of human misery, the historical Herod “appears to have been singled out and especially endowed to attract the lightning of fate,” Hurston writes. An intimate of both Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, the Judean king lived during the first century BCE, in a time of war and imperial expansion that was rife with political assassinations and bribery, as the old world gave way to the new.
Portraying Herod within this vivid and dynamic world of antiquity, little known to modern readers, Hurston’s unfinished manuscript brings this complex, compelling and misunderstood leader fully into focus. Hurston shared her findings about Herod’s rise, his reign and his waning days in letters to friends and associates. Text from three of these letters concludes the manuscript in an intimate way. Scholar-Editor Deborah Plant’s "Commentary: A Story Finally Told" assesses Hurston’s pioneering work and underscores Hurston’s perspective that the first century has much to teach us, and the lens through which to view this dramatic and stirring era is the life and times of Herod the Great.
Audiobook available, read by Blair Underwood and Robin Miles
Editorial Content for Nesting
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In an afterword to NESTING, debut novelist Roisín O'Donnell (who has a prior well-regarded collection of short fiction) explains that the book’s origins reside in an assignment she received to write a 3,000-word piece on the topic of "Independence." Her research led to the discovery of the extent of Ireland's housing crisis and its impact on women and children. O'Donnell probably could have expanded that research and done a deep investigative dive. Read More
Teaser
Grabbing an armful of clothes off the clothesline, Ciara Fay straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. All she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe. On the surface, she has a perfect life. Her husband, Ryan, is a good provider, and they have another baby on the way. But he also monitors Ciara's every move, flies into unpredictable rages where he convinces her she can do nothing right, and has isolated her from work, friends and her beloved family. With no job and no support, Ciara struggles to provide a sense of normalcy for her little girls. Facing a broken housing system, they move into a hotel room on a floor reserved for women like her. Ryan, meanwhile, wages a relentless campaign to win her back, and Ciara wavers. He never hit her, after all. And don't the girls need a stable home?
Promo
Grabbing an armful of clothes off the clothesline, Ciara Fay straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. All she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe. On the surface, she has a perfect life. Her husband, Ryan, is a good provider, and they have another baby on the way. But he also monitors Ciara's every move, flies into unpredictable rages where he convinces her she can do nothing right, and has isolated her from work, friends and her beloved family. With no job and no support, Ciara struggles to provide a sense of normalcy for her little girls. Facing a broken housing system, they move into a hotel room on a floor reserved for women like her. Ryan, meanwhile, wages a relentless campaign to win her back, and Ciara wavers. He never hit her, after all. And don't the girls need a stable home?
About the Book
In this beautiful, urgent and ultimately uplifting novel by a rising Irish literary star comes a heart-pounding, life-affirming story about one woman trying to leave her marriage and start over.
On a bright spring afternoon, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes off the clothesline, she straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe --- and that this time, when she leaves, she must stay away.
On the surface, she has a perfect life. Her husband, Ryan, is a good provider, sometimes even kind and attentive, from a nice Irish family and they have another baby on the way. But he also monitors Ciara's every move, flies into unpredictable rages where he convinces her she can do nothing right, and has isolated her from work, friends and her beloved family.
Was fleeing the right thing to do? With no job and no support, Ciara struggles to provide a sense of normalcy for her little girls. Facing a broken housing system, they move into a hotel room on a floor reserved for women like her --- eating takeout, washing their clothes in the bathroom sink, and building a community with the other residents. Ryan, meanwhile, wages a relentless campaign to win her back, and Ciara wavers. He never hit her, after all, and don't the girls need a stable home?
For fans of Claire Keegan and Louise Kennedy, Roisín O'Donnell’s extraordinary debut creates a devastating and suspenseful portrait of gaslighting and emotional abuse --- and, even better, a triumphant story about family, love and finding a new place to nest.
Audiobook available, read by Louisa Harland
Editorial Content for Paris Undercover: A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In June 1942, Etta Shiber was headed back to New York and away from Paris, where she had been a visitor, a citizen and an eventual inmate. Her liberation from Nazi captivity took over a year, but a compassionate release due to her failing health combined with diplomatic maneuverings paved the way. While free from the spartan conditions and harsh treatment of the Nazis, Etta ruminated on the well-being of her best friend and roommate, Kate Bonnefous. Kate was the initiator of the bold decision to aid in the escape of captive Allied soldiers in the early days of World War II. Read More
Teaser
During the Nazi occupation, Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous --- an American widow and an English divorcée --- find themselves unexpectedly plunged into the whirlwind of history. With the help of a French country priest and others, they set out to rescue British and French soldiers trapped behind enemy lines --- some of whom they daringly smuggle through Nazi checkpoints hidden inside the trunk of their car. Ultimately the Gestapo captures them both. After 18 months in prison, Etta is returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange. Back home, hoping to bring attention to her friend’s bravery, she publishes a memoir about their work, which becomes a publishing sensation. Meanwhile, Kate spends the rest of the war in a Nazi prison, entirely unaware of the book that has been written about her --- and the deeds that have been claimed in her name.
Promo
During the Nazi occupation, Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous --- an American widow and an English divorcée --- find themselves unexpectedly plunged into the whirlwind of history. With the help of a French country priest and others, they set out to rescue British and French soldiers trapped behind enemy lines --- some of whom they daringly smuggle through Nazi checkpoints hidden inside the trunk of their car. Ultimately the Gestapo captures them both. After 18 months in prison, Etta is returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange. Back home, hoping to bring attention to her friend’s bravery, she publishes a memoir about their work, which becomes a publishing sensation. Meanwhile, Kate spends the rest of the war in a Nazi prison, entirely unaware of the book that has been written about her --- and the deeds that have been claimed in her name.
About the Book
Two women in Nazi-occupied Paris created a daring escape line that rescued dozens of Allied servicemen. With one still in a German prison camp, the other wrote a book about it --- a memoir built on fabrications. Now the bestselling author of EIGHTY DAYS shares their incredible, never-before-told full story.
Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous are the unlikeliest of heroines: two seemingly ordinary women, an American widow and an English divorcée, living quietly together in Paris. Yet during the Nazi occupation, these two friends find themselves unexpectedly plunged into the whirlwind of history. With the help of a French country priest and others, they set out to rescue British and French soldiers trapped behind enemy lines --- some of whom they daringly smuggle through Nazi checkpoints hidden inside the trunk of their car.
Ultimately the Gestapo captures them both. After 18 months in prison, Etta is returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange. Back home, hoping to bring attention to her friend Kitty’s bravery, she publishes a memoir about their work. PARIS-UNDERGROUND becomes a publishing sensation and Etta a celebrity. Meanwhile, Kate spends the rest of the war in a Nazi prison, entirely unaware of the book that has been written about her --- and the deeds that have been claimed in her name.
In researching this story, Matthew Goodman uncovered military records and personal testimonies that reveal, for the first time, the shocking truth behind Etta’s memoir and the unexpected, far-reaching consequences of its publication. More than just a story of two women’s remarkable courage, PARIS UNDERCOVER is a vivid, gripping account of deceit, betrayal and personal redemption.
Audiobook available, read by Kristi Burns