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July 22, 2016

On Monday afternoon, I drove to the beach (for those of you who live in New Jersey, that would be “down the shore”) to meet up with my friend Beverley at her vacation home. The two of us then made our way over to the Stone Harbor Women’s Civic Club, where Jennifer Gensemer and Deb Martinelli had invited me to speak about Summer Reading and Book Group Books. For Beverley and me, this was like our old-home days at Mademoiselle magazine where we did “On Location” events. Then, our focus was on hair, makeup, clothes and accessories, and we were on stage at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York; now, it was books and authors at the beach.

Jennifer Close, author of The Hopefuls

When Beth arrives in DC, she hates everything about it. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn't work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy, and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable.

Jane Green, author of Falling

When Emma Montague left the strict confines of upper-crust British life for New York, she felt sure it would make her happy. But the cutthroat world of finance and relentless pursuit of more began to take its toll. On the move again, Emma settles in the picturesque waterfront town of Westport, Connecticut, where she decides to remake the dilapidated cottage she rents from Dominic, a local handyman who lives next door with his six-year-old son. They become friends, and slowly much more, as Emma finds herself feeling at home in a way she never has before.

Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10

Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem?

July 22, 2016 - August 5, 2016

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of July 22 - August 5.

Editorial Content for The Singles Game

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Jackman

It’s been some time since I’ve read a Lauren Weisberger novel. Aside from her best-known THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, I’ve only read CHASING HARRY WINSTON, which I did not particularly enjoy. But I’m a fan of sports and played tennis when I was a kid, so I wanted to give her latest effort a try. THE SINGLES GAME is not a book about tennis, though. It’s about a tennis player on the professional tour who occasionally participates in the sport while being distracted by men, her family and her image. Read More

Teaser

When America’s sweetheart, Charlotte “Charlie” Silver, makes a pact with the devil --- the infamously brutal tennis coach Todd Feltner --- she finds herself catapulted into a world of celebrity stylists, private parties, charity matches aboard mega-yachts, and secret dates with Hollywood royalty. Under Todd’s new ruthless regime, Charlie the good girl is out. Todd wants “Warrior Princess” Charlie all the way. Celebrity mags and gossip blogs go wild for Charlie as she jets around the globe chasing Grand Slam titles and Page Six headlines. But as the Warrior Princess’s star rises on and off the court, it comes at a cost.

Promo

When America’s sweetheart, Charlotte “Charlie” Silver, makes a pact with the devil --- the infamously brutal tennis coach Todd Feltner --- she finds herself catapulted into a world of celebrity stylists, private parties, charity matches aboard mega-yachts, and secret dates with Hollywood royalty. Under Todd’s new ruthless regime, Charlie the good girl is out. Todd wants “Warrior Princess” Charlie all the way. Celebrity mags and gossip blogs go wild for Charlie as she jets around the globe chasing Grand Slam titles and Page Six headlines. But as the Warrior Princess’s star rises on and off the court, it comes at a cost.

About the Book

The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and REVENGE WEARS PRADA --- a dishy tell-all about a beautiful tennis prodigy who, after changing coaches, suddenly makes headlines on and off the court.

How far would you go to reach the top?

When America’s sweetheart, Charlotte “Charlie” Silver, makes a pact with the devil --- the infamously brutal tennis coach Todd Feltner --- she finds herself catapulted into a world of celebrity stylists, private parties, charity matches aboard mega-yachts and secret dates with Hollywood royalty.

Under Todd’s new ruthless regime, Charlie the good girl is out. Todd wants “Warrior Princess” Charlie all the way. After all, no one ever wins big by playing nice.

Celebrity mags and gossip blogs go wild for Charlie as she jets around the globe chasing Grand Slam titles and Page Six headlines. But as the Warrior Princess’s star rises on and off the court, it comes at a cost. In a world obsessed with good looks and hot shots, is Charlie Silver willing to lose herself to win it all?

Sweeping from Wimbledon to the Caribbean, from the US Open to the Mediterranean, THE SINGLES GAME is a sexy and wickedly entertaining romp through a world where the stakes are high --- and no one plays by the rules.

Audiobook available, read by Heather Lind

Editorial Content for Guilty Minds

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

I don’t know if GUILTY MINDS is Joseph Finder’s best book, but it’s my favorite thus far. This latest installment in the Nick Heller series hits on all eight cylinders from page one to its very last paragraph with nary a stall out. Read More

Teaser

The chief justice of the Supreme Court is about to be defamed, his career destroyed, by a powerful gossip website that specializes in dirt on celebs and politicians. Their top reporter has written an exposé claiming that he had liaisons with an escort, a young woman prepared to tell the world her salacious tale. Intelligence operative Nick Heller has just 48 hours to disprove the story. But when the call girl is found murdered, Nick resolves to find the mastermind behind the conspiracy before anyone else falls victim to the maelstrom of political scandal and ruined reputations predicated upon one long-buried secret.

Promo

The chief justice of the Supreme Court is about to be defamed, his career destroyed, by a powerful gossip website that specializes in dirt on celebs and politicians. Their top reporter has written an exposé claiming that he had liaisons with an escort, a young woman prepared to tell the world her salacious tale. Intelligence operative Nick Heller has just 48 hours to disprove the story. But when the call girl is found murdered, Nick resolves to find the mastermind behind the conspiracy before anyone else falls victim to the maelstrom of political scandal and ruined reputations predicated upon one long-buried secret.

About the Book

New York Times bestselling author Joseph Finder delivers an exhilarating and timely thriller exploring how even the most powerful among us can be brought down by a carefully crafted lie and how the secrets we keep can never truly stay buried.
 
The chief justice of the Supreme Court is about to be defamed, his career destroyed, by a powerful gossip website that specializes in dirt on celebs and politicians. Their top reporter has written an exposé claiming that he had liaisons with an escort, a young woman prepared to tell the world her salacious tale. But the chief justice is not without allies, and his greatest supporter is determined to stop the story in its tracks.

Nick Heller is a private spy --- an intelligence operative based in Boston, hired by lawyers, politicians and even foreign governments. A high-powered investigator with a penchant for doing things his own way, he’s called to Washington, DC, to help out in this delicate, potentially explosive situation.
  
Nick has just 48 hours to disprove the story about the chief justice. But when the call girl is found murdered, the case takes a dangerous turn, and Nick resolves to find the mastermind behind the conspiracy before anyone else falls victim to the maelstrom of political scandal and ruined reputations predicated upon one long-buried secret.

Audiobook available, read by Holter Graham

Editorial Content for Outfoxed: An Andy Carpenter Mystery

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

Andy Carpenter doesn’t have a web page or any large-scale advertising, but if he did, his law firm’s motto would certainly be “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Andy is the fictional trial lawyer created by author David Rosenfelt, whose OUTFOXED is the 14th installment in his series. Each case follows a now fairly standard plot line with a full cast of familiar and recurring characters. Read More

Teaser

Lately, defense lawyer Andy Carpenter has been involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable. One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a five-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape. The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence.

Promo

Lately, defense lawyer Andy Carpenter has been involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable. One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a five-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape. The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence.

About the Book

Defense lawyer Andy Carpenter spends as much time as he can working on his true passion, the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs. Lately, Andy has been especially involved in a county prison program where inmates help train dogs the Tara Foundation has rescued to make them more adoptable, benefiting both the dogs and the prisoners.

One of the prisoners Andy has been working with is Brian Atkins, who has 18 months left on a five-year term for fraud. Brian has been helping to train Boomer, an adorable fox terrier the Tara Foundation rescued from a neglectful owner. Brian and Boomer are clearly a terrific match. In fact, Andy hopes that Brian will adopt Boomer himself, once his sentence is up.

But one day, Andy arrives at the prison to discover that Brian has used Boomer to make an ingenious escape, and man and dog are both in the wind. The next day, the man on whose testimony Brian was convicted is found murdered. Brian is caught and arrested for the crime, though he forcefully protests his innocence.

Suddenly, Andy finds himself with a new client in Brian and a new dog in Boomer. And as he starts to dig deeper into the murder and the events leading up to it, Andy realizes he might be putting them all in far more danger than anyone had realized.

Audiobook available, read by Grover Gardner

Editorial Content for Housebroken: Admissions of an Untidy Life

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Maggie Harding

If you've never read any of Laurie Notaro's books, a glance at some of her titles will give you an idea of what to expect. “The Potty Mouth at the Table,” “There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell” and “I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)” are a few examples of what you have missed. Read More

Teaser

Laurie Notaro isn’t exactly a domestic goddess --- unless that means she fully embraces her genetic hoarding predisposition, sneaks peeks at her husband’s daily journal, or has made a list of the people she wants on her Apocalypse Survival team (her husband is not on it). She chronicles her chronic misfortune in the domestic arts, including cooking, cleaning, and putting on Spanx while sweaty (which should technically qualify as an Olympic sport). HOUSEBROKEN is a rollicking new collection of essays showcasing Notaro’s irreverent wit and inability to feel shame.

Promo

Laurie Notaro isn’t exactly a domestic goddess --- unless that means she fully embraces her genetic hoarding predisposition, sneaks peeks at her husband’s daily journal, or has made a list of the people she wants on her Apocalypse Survival team (her husband is not on it). She chronicles her chronic misfortune in the domestic arts, including cooking, cleaning, and putting on Spanx while sweaty (which should technically qualify as an Olympic sport). HOUSEBROKEN is a rollicking new collection of essays showcasing Notaro’s irreverent wit and inability to feel shame.

About the Book

#1 New York Times bestselling author Laurie Notaro isn’t exactly a domestic goddess --- unless that means she fully embraces her genetic hoarding predisposition, sneaks peeks at her husband’s daily journal or has made a list of the people she wants on her Apocalypse Survival team (her husband’s not on it). Notaro chronicles her chronic misfortune in the domestic arts, including cooking, cleaning, and putting on Spanx while sweaty (which should technically qualify as an Olympic sport).

HOUSEBROKEN is a rollicking new collection of essays showcasing her irreverent wit and inability to feel shame. From defying nature in the quest to make her own Twinkies, to begging her new neighbors not to become urban livestock keepers, to teaching her eight-year-old nephew about hoboes, Notaro recounts her best efforts --- and hilarious failures --- in keeping a household inches away from being condemned. After all, home wasn’t built in a day.

Audiobook available, read by Laurie Notaro

Editorial Content for White Bone

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

African elephants are an extremely vulnerable species. This is due to the fact that parts of their body, mainly their tusks, are sold at top dollar by poachers. The ivory tusks, sometimes referred to as white bone, are sold throughout the world by merciless and highly dangerous people who are not to be messed with and become extremely territorial when threatened. Read More

Teaser

When ex–military contractor John Knox receives a text from partner Grace Chu warning that she fears her cover may have been blown while on assignment, he jumps into action. Knox must locate her overseas handlers, convince them of the threat, and then try to retrace the well-hidden steps of a woman who had been attempting to determine how one million euros’ worth of AIDS vaccine disappeared, all while eluding angry poachers on a parallel trail. As the threat from Al-Shaabab militants interferes with his pursuit of Grace, Knox finds himself pitted against the most savage and suicidal fighters in the world.

Promo

When ex–military contractor John Knox receives a text from partner Grace Chu warning that she fears her cover may have been blown while on assignment, he jumps into action. Knox must locate her overseas handlers, convince them of the threat, and then try to retrace the well-hidden steps of a woman who had been attempting to determine how one million euros’ worth of AIDS vaccine disappeared, all while eluding angry poachers on a parallel trail. As the threat from Al-Shaabab militants interferes with his pursuit of Grace, Knox finds himself pitted against the most savage and suicidal fighters in the world.

About the Book

John Knox and Grace Chu, the incomparable duo of the Risk Agent novels, team up again in the latest international thrill ride from New York Times bestselling author Ridley Pearson.

When ex-military contractor John Knox receives a text from partner Grace Chu warning that she fears her cover may have been blown while on assignment, he jumps into action. Knox must locate her overseas handlers, convince them of the threat, and then attempt to retrace the well-hidden steps of a woman who had been attempting to determine how one million euros’ worth of AIDS vaccine disappeared, all while eluding angry poachers on a parallel trail.

Corruption isn’t a “problem” in Kenya, it’s the way of doing business. The poaching of ivory from African elephants, driven by insatiable demand from mainland China, fuels constant blood and slaughter. Knox faces police, national rangers, journalists and safari companies who are each in their own symbiotic relationship with elephants, both good and bad. As the threat from Al-Shaabab militants interferes with his pursuit of Grace, Knox finds himself pitted against the most savage and suicidal fighters in the world. And there’s this woman, Grace, always in his head. His gut. As Grace watches as her civilized self slips away while abandoned in the bush, Knox races against the clock to find her.

Audiobook available, read by Todd Haberkorn