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Editorial Content for Wear and Tear: The Threads of My Life

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Reviewer (text)

Jesse Kornbluth for HeadButler.com

Tracy Tynan is the daughter of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Really. Her father, Ken Tynan, was the bad boy of the English theatrical world. Her mother, Elaine Dundy, was a gifted novelist. But their real talent was for excess. They were loud. Drunk. Unfaithful. Whatever they touched, they broke. Scott and Zelda. Read More

Teaser

Tracy Peacock Tynan grew up in London in the 1950s and '60s, privy to her parents’ glamorous parties and famous friends. When Tracy started writing about her life, she found that clothing was the focus of many of her stories. She recalls her father’s dandy attire and her mother’s Pucci dresses, as well as her parents’ rancorous marriage and divorce, her father’s prodigious talents and celebrity lifestyle, and her mother’s lifelong struggle with addiction. Relationships, marriage, children, stepchildren, blended families, her parent’s decline and deaths, and her work as a costume designer are all recounted with the special joy that can only come from finding the perfect outfit.

Promo

Tracy Peacock Tynan grew up in London in the 1950s and '60s, privy to her parents’ glamorous parties and famous friends. When Tracy started writing about her life, she found that clothing was the focus of many of her stories. She recalls her father’s dandy attire and her mother’s Pucci dresses, as well as her parents’ rancorous marriage and divorce, her father’s prodigious talents and celebrity lifestyle, and her mother’s lifelong struggle with addiction. Relationships, marriage, children, stepchildren, blended families, her parent’s decline and deaths, and her work as a costume designer are all recounted with the special joy that can only come from finding the perfect outfit.

About the Book

A candid, entertaining memoir told through clothes

Tracy Peacock Tynan grew up in London in the 1950’s and 60s, privy to her parents’ glamorous parties and famous friends --- Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Orson Welles. Cecil Beaton and Katharine Hepburn were her godparents. Tracy was named after Katherine Hepburn’s character, Tracy Lord, in the classic film, The Philadelphia Story. These stylish showbiz people were role models for Tracy, who became a clotheshorse at a young age.

Tracy’s father, Kenneth Tynan, was a powerful theater critic and writer for the Evening Standard, The Observer and The New Yorker. Her mother was Elaine Dundy, a successful novelist and biographer, whose works have recently been revived by The New York Review of Books. Both of Tracy’s parents, particularly her father, were known as much for what they wore as what they wrote.

In the Tynans’ social circles, style was essential, and Tracy had firm ideas about her own clothing for as long as she can remember. Shopping was an art passed down through the family; though shopping trips with her mother were so traumatic that Tracy started shopping on her own when she was 14.

When Tracy started writing about her life, she found that clothing was the focus of many of her stories. She recalls her father’s dandy attire and her mother’s Pucci dresses, as well as her parents’ rancorous marriage and divorce, her father’s prodigious talents and celebrity lifestyle, and her mother’s lifelong struggle with addiction. She tackles issues big and small using clothes as an entrée --- relationships, marriage, children, stepchildren, blended families, her parent’s decline and deaths, and her work as a costume designer are all recounted with humor, with insight, and with the special joy that can only come from finding the perfect outfit.

Editorial Content for Children of Earth and Sky

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Reviewer (text)

Pauline Finch

With the release of CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY, bestselling Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay now has 13 books and a recent well-deserved Order of Canada to his credit. So, after more than three decades of admiring prose that will beautifully swallow you whole before you know it, and being able to read his work in at least 25 languages, worldwide fans should no longer have to look up where, or what, Toronto (his home city) is. Read More

Teaser

In CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY, Guy Gavriel Kay evokes a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe. Against this tumultuous backdrop, the lives of men and women unfold on the borderlands --- where empires and faiths collide. A woman with dreams of vengeance, a wealthy merchant’s son, a young artist, a spy posing as a doctor’s wife, and a boy seeking to rise in the ranks of the army. As their lives entwine, their fates --- and those of many others --- will hang in the balance, when a khalif from the east sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world.

Promo

In CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY, Guy Gavriel Kay evokes a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe. Against this tumultuous backdrop, the lives of men and women unfold on the borderlands --- where empires and faiths collide. A woman with dreams of vengeance, a wealthy merchant’s son, a young artist, a spy posing as a doctor’s wife, and a boy seeking to rise in the ranks of the army. As their lives entwine, their fates --- and those of many others --- will hang in the balance, when a khalif from the east sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world.

About the Book

The bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels UNDER HEAVEN and RIVER OF STARS, Guy Gavriel Kay is back with a new book, set in a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe. Against this tumultuous backdrop the lives of men and women unfold on the borderlands --- where empires and faiths collide.

From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request --- and possibly to do more --- and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman, posing as a doctor’s wife, but sent by Seressa as a spy.

The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he’s been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif --- to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.

As these lives entwine, their fates --- and those of many others --- will hang in the balance, when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world...

Audiobook available, narrated by Simon Vance

Editorial Content for The Trap

Book

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Reviewer (text)

Kate Ayers

Famous author Linda Conrads would have a very small world if she only believed in the things she can see and touch. After her sister, Anna, was murdered 12 years ago, she retreated inside her home and has not come out. She found Anna in a pool of blood, the killer still in the room. But her attempts to convince the police, the public and even her parents seemed to fall on deaf ears. Some even blamed her. But she knows what she saw. Read More

Teaser

For 11 years, bestselling author Linda Conrads has mystified fans by never setting foot outside her home. Haunted by the unsolved murder of her younger sister and the face of the man she saw fleeing the scene, Linda's hermit existence helps her cope with debilitating anxiety. But the sanctity of her oasis is shattered when she sees her sister's murderer on television. Hobbled by years of isolation, Linda resolves to use the plot of her next novel to lay an irresistible trap for the man. As the plan is set in motion and the past comes rushing back, Linda's memories --- and her very sanity --- are called into question.

Promo

For 11 years, bestselling author Linda Conrads has mystified fans by never setting foot outside her home. Haunted by the unsolved murder of her younger sister and the face of the man she saw fleeing the scene, Linda's hermit existence helps her cope with debilitating anxiety. But the sanctity of her oasis is shattered when she sees her sister's murderer on television. Hobbled by years of isolation, Linda resolves to use the plot of her next novel to lay an irresistible trap for the man. As the plan is set in motion and the past comes rushing back, Linda's memories --- and her very sanity --- are called into question.

About the Book

Now in paperback, a twisted debut thriller "for fans of Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn" (Booklist) about a reclusive author who sets the perfect trap for her sister's murderer --- but is he really the killer?

The renowned author Linda Conrads is famous for more than just her bestselling novels. For over 11 years, she has mystified fans by never setting foot outside her home. Far-fetched, sometimes sinister rumors surround the shut-in writer, but they pale in comparison to the chilling truth: Linda is haunted by the unsolved murder of her younger sister, whom she discovered in a pool of blood 12 years ago, and by the face of the man she saw fleeing the scene. 

Now plagued by panic attacks, Linda copes with debilitating anxiety by secluding herself in her house, her last safe haven. But the sanctity of this refuge is shattered when her sister's murderer appears again --- this time on her television screen. Empowered with sudden knowledge but hobbled by years of isolation, Linda resolves to use her only means of communication with the outside world --- the plot of her next novel --- to lay an irresistible trap for the man. 

But as the plan is set in motion and the past comes rushing back, Linda's memories of that traumatic night --- and her very sanity --- are called into question. Is this man really a heartless killer or merely a helpless victim?

Audiobook available, read by Julie Teal

Editorial Content for The Kingdom

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Fuminori Nakamura is in a class by himself. He tends to write relatively short but very dense books that feature unsettling characters in disturbing situations. His work reminds me somewhat of the middle period of the books of Philip K. Dick. It is not that Nakamura writes science fiction; it is that his characters, like Dick, seem to exist in a world where the rules that they think apply keep shifting; one must either shift and improvise or be horribly lost. Read More

Teaser

Yurika is a freelancer in the Tokyo underworld. She poses as a prostitute, carefully targeting potential johns, selecting powerful and high-profile men. When she is alone with them, she drugs them and takes incriminating photos to sell for blackmail purposes. She operates alone and lives a private, solitary life, doing her best to lock away painful memories. But when a figure from Yurika’s past resurfaces, she realizes there is someone out there who knows all her secrets. There are whispers of a crime lord named Kizaki, and Yurika finds herself trapped in a game of cat and mouse.

Promo

Yurika is a freelancer in the Tokyo underworld. She poses as a prostitute, carefully targeting potential johns, selecting powerful and high-profile men. When she is alone with them, she drugs them and takes incriminating photos to sell for blackmail purposes. She operates alone and lives a private, solitary life, doing her best to lock away painful memories. But when a figure from Yurika’s past resurfaces, she realizes there is someone out there who knows all her secrets. There are whispers of a crime lord named Kizaki, and Yurika finds herself trapped in a game of cat and mouse.

About the Book

Zen-Noir master Nakamura returns to the Tokyo of THE THIEF, where a young grifter named Yurika finds herself in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the shadowy crime lord Kizaki.

Yurika is a freelancer in the Tokyo underworld. She poses as a prostitute, carefully targeting potential Johns, selecting powerful and high-profile men. When she is alone with them, she drugs them and takes incriminating photos to sell for blackmail purposes. She knows very little about the organization she’s working for, and is perfectly satisfied with the arrangement, as long as it means she doesn’t have to reveal anything about her identity, either. She operates alone and lives a private, solitary life, doing her best to lock away painful memories.

But when a figure from Yurika’s past emerges, she realizes there is someone out there who knows all her secrets: her losses, her motivations, her every move. There are whispers of a crime lord named Kizaki --- “a monster,” she is told --- and Yurika finds herself trapped in a game of cat and mouse. Is she wily enough to escape one of the most sadistic men in Tokyo?

Audiobook available, read by Michi Barall

Editorial Content for Paradise Lodge

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Katherine B. Weissman

Pop quiz: Do you know what “O” levels are? Who Henry Purcell was? Jumpers and crisps: eat or wear? Do you spell honor with a u? Does Brexit refer to a breakfast cereal or a political crisis? Read More

Teaser

After succeeding in her quest to help her unconventional mother find a new "man at the helm," 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel simply wants to be a normal teenager. Just when it looks as if things have settled down, her mother goes and has another baby. On top of that, Lizzie's best friend has deserted her for the punk craze, which Lizzie finds too exhausting to commit to herself. But Lizzie soon gets more commitment than she bargained for when she takes a job as a junior nurse at Paradise Lodge, a ramshackle refuge for the elderly that has seen better days. When Paradise Lodge faces a crisis in the form of a rival nursing home, Lizzie must find a way to save her job before she loses the only place she's ever felt she belongs.

Promo

After succeeding in her quest to help her unconventional mother find a new "man at the helm," 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel simply wants to be a normal teenager. Just when it looks as if things have settled down, her mother goes and has another baby. On top of that, Lizzie's best friend has deserted her for the punk craze, which Lizzie finds too exhausting to commit to herself. But Lizzie soon gets more commitment than she bargained for when she takes a job as a junior nurse at Paradise Lodge, a ramshackle refuge for the elderly that has seen better days. When Paradise Lodge faces a crisis in the form of a rival nursing home, Lizzie must find a way to save her job before she loses the only place she's ever felt she belongs.

About the Book

A delightful story of growing up, getting old, and every step in between, from the acclaimed author of MAN AT THE HELM and LOVE, NINA

After succeeding in her quest to help her unconventional mother find a new "man at the helm," 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel simply wants to be a normal teenager. Just when it looks as if things have settled down, her mother goes and has another baby. On top of that, Lizzie's best friend has deserted her for the punk craze, which Lizzie finds too exhausting to commit to herself.

But Lizzie soon gets more commitment than she bargained for when she takes a job as a junior nurse at Paradise Lodge, a ramshackle refuge for the elderly that has seen better days. It's no place for a teenager, much less one with as little experience emptying a bedpan as Lizzie. What begins as away to avoid school and earn some spending money (for the finer things in life, like real coffee and beer shampoo) quickly turns into the education of a lifetime. Lizzie encounters a colorful cast of eccentric characters --- including a nurse determined to turn one of the patients into a husband (and a retirement plan); an efficient but clueless nun trying to modernize the place; and Lizzie's unlikely first love --- who become her surrogate family.

When Paradise Lodge faces a crisis in the form of a rival nursing home with enough amenities to make even the comatose jealous, Lizzie must find a way to save her job before she loses the only place she's ever felt she belongs. A hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age tale, PARADISE LODGE proves that it's never too early --- or too late --- to grow up.

Audiobook available, read by Helen Baxendale

Editorial Content for The Devourers

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Amy Gwiazdowski

For a first novel, Indra Das hits it out of the park. THE DEVOURERS is an outstanding book, filled with love, hate, joy and pain. You’ll run through every emotion while reading it. Read More

Teaser

College professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion. So he agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments and once-living skins. From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old. With every passing chapter of beauty and brutality, Alok’s interest in the stranger grows and evolves into something darker and more urgent.

Promo

College professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion. So he agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments and once-living skins. From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old. With every passing chapter of beauty and brutality, Alok’s interest in the stranger grows and evolves into something darker and more urgent.

About the Book

For readers of Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, China Miéville and David Mitchell comes a striking debut novel by a storyteller of keen insight and captivating imagination.

On a cool evening in Kolkata, India, beneath a full moon, as the whirling rhythms of traveling musicians fill the night, college professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion. So Alok agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments and once-living skins.

From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old. The tale features a rough wanderer in 17th-century Mughal India who finds himself irrevocably drawn to a defiant woman --- and destined to be torn asunder by two clashing worlds. With every passing chapter of beauty and brutality, Alok’s interest in the stranger grows and evolves into something darker and more urgent.

Shifting dreamlike between present and past with intoxicating language, visceral action, compelling characters and stark emotion, THE DEVOURERS offers a reading experience quite unlike any other novel.

Audiobook available, read by Meera Simhan

Editorial Content for Death on the Sapphire: A Lady Frances Ffolkes Mystery

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Roz Shea

It’s always refreshing to find a first-time novelist introducing us to a cozy detective series. It’s every author’s dream to see their book move up the bestseller list and, better yet, have fans clamoring for the next one. Is Lady Frances Ffolkes going to be the next hot new thing? I certainly hope so. Read More

Teaser

When Major Colcombe, a family friend and war veteran, dies under mysterious circumstances, Lady Frances Ffolkes discovers that he was working on a manuscript about South Africa’s bloody Boer War, which reportedly revealed a scandalous mistake that cost many innocent lives. Now, it’s up to Frances and her loyal lady's maid, June Mallow, to track down the missing manuscript and bring the killer to justice. Despite kerfuffles with Scotland Yard and the British Secret Service, Frances never backs down and finds herself in several very unfortunate positions --- and one very fortunate love triangle.

Promo

When Major Colcombe, a family friend and war veteran, dies under mysterious circumstances, Lady Frances Ffolkes discovers that he was working on a manuscript about South Africa’s bloody Boer War, which reportedly revealed a scandalous mistake that cost many innocent lives. Now, it’s up to Frances and her loyal lady's maid, June Mallow, to track down the missing manuscript and bring the killer to justice. Despite kerfuffles with Scotland Yard and the British Secret Service, Frances never backs down and finds herself in several very unfortunate positions --- and one very fortunate love triangle.

About the Book

An extraordinary woman living in extraordinary times, Lady Frances Ffolkes is an Edwardian-era suffragette who has an uncanny ability to attract danger and romance.

When Major Colcombe, a family friend and war veteran, dies under mysterious circumstances, the good Lady discovers that he was working on a manuscript about South Africa’s bloody Boer War, which reportedly revealed a scandalous mistake that cost many innocent lives. Now, it’s up to Frances and her loyal lady's maid, June Mallow, to track down the missing manuscript and bring the killer to justice. Despite kerfuffles with Scotland Yard and the British Secret Service, Frances never backs down and finds herself in several very unfortunate positions --- and one very fortunate love triangle.

DEATH ON THE SAPPHIRE is R. J. Koreto's witty and winsome debut of a series that is sure to be fan favorite for years to come.

Audiobook available, read by Justine Eyre

Ben H. Winters, author of Underground Airlines

A gifted young black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshall Service. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four." On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor works to infiltrate the local cell of an abolitionist movement called the Underground Airlines. He believes himself to be a good man doing bad work, unwilling to give up the freedom he has worked so hard to earn.

Wendy Walker, author of All Is Not Forgotten

In the small, affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut, everything seems picture perfect. Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory.

Daniel Silva, author of The Black Widow

Art restorer, spy and assassin Gabriel Allon is poised to become the chief of Israel’s secret intelligence service. But on the eve of his promotion, events conspire to lure him into the field for one final operation. ISIS has detonated a massive bomb in the Marais district of Paris, and a desperate French government wants Gabriel to eliminate the man responsible before he can strike again.