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Editorial Content for Ghosts of War: A Pike Logan Thriller

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Brad Taylor continues to amaze. With the newly published GHOSTS OF WAR, he has given us 10 novels and a number of shorter works in the space of five years. What is doubly remarkable is that he has produced this bountiful quantity without sacrificing quality, infusing an ostensible work of fiction with real-world threats. There may not be an off-the-books, extralegal counterterrorist group called --- or even like --- the Taskforce, and there may not be operatives like Pike Logan or Jennifer Cahill. Read More

Teaser

The Taskforce has stopped countless terrorist threats across the globe, operating outside of US law to prevent the death of innocents. But now, along the fault lines of the old Iron Curtain, the danger is far greater than a single attack. With Russia expanding its influence from Syria to the Baltic States, the Taskforce is placed on stand-down because of the actions of one rogue operator. Meanwhile, Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill travel to Poland, hired to verify artifacts hidden for decades in a fabled Nazi gold train, only to find themselves caught amid growing tensions between East and West.

Promo

The Taskforce has stopped countless terrorist threats across the globe, operating outside of US law to prevent the death of innocents. But now, along the fault lines of the old Iron Curtain, the danger is far greater than a single attack. With Russia expanding its influence from Syria to the Baltic States, the Taskforce is placed on stand-down because of the actions of one rogue operator. Meanwhile, Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill travel to Poland, hired to verify artifacts hidden for decades in a fabled Nazi gold train, only to find themselves caught amid growing tensions between East and West.

About the Book

World War is on the horizon in New York Times bestselling author Brad Taylor’s 10th heart-pounding Pike Logan thriller.
 
The Taskforce has stopped countless terrorist threats across the globe, operating outside of US law to prevent the death of innocents. But now, along the fault lines of the old Iron Curtain, the danger is far greater than a single attack. With Russia expanding its influence from Syria to the Baltic States, the Taskforce is placed on stand-down because of the actions of one rogue operator.
 
Meanwhile, Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill travel to Poland, hired to verify artifacts hidden for decades in a fabled Nazi gold train, only to find themselves caught amid growing tensions between East and West. A Russian incursion into Belarus under the facade of self-defense is trumped by a horrific attack against the United States, driving NATO to mobilize even as it tries to determine who is behind the strike. 
 
On the brink of war, Pike and Jennifer discover that there is a separate agenda in play, one determined to force a showdown between NATO and Russia. With time running out, and America demanding vengeance, Pike and Jennifer race to unravel the mystery before a point of no return is reached. Unbeknownst to them, there is another attack on the way. 

One that will guarantee World War III.

Audiobook available, narrated by Henry Strozier and Rich Orlow

Editorial Content for All the Missing Girls

Reviewer (text)

Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

Megan Miranda, who is best known for her young adult fiction, has penned her first novel for adults. The frame of the narrative is told in reverse over a two-week period, beginning on Day 15 and unwinding to Day 1. The protagonist, Nicolette "Nic" Farrell, left her home in Cooley Ridge to become a school counselor in Pennsylvania. The novel’s plot takes her back to Cooley Ridge over her summer vacation because her father's house must be sold and things moved out. Read More

Teaser

It’s been 10 years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. Told backwards --- Day 15 to Day 1 --- from the time Nic’s younger neighbor, Annaleise, goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her disappearance, revealing shocking truths about Nic's friends and family, and what really happened to Corinne that night 10 years ago.

Promo

It’s been 10 years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. Told backwards --- Day 15 to Day 1 --- from the time Nic’s younger neighbor, Annaleise, goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her disappearance, revealing shocking truths about Nic's friends and family, and what really happened to Corinne that night 10 years ago.

About the Book

A masterful psychological suspense debut about the disappearances of two young women --- a decade apart --- told in reverse. “ALL THE MISSING GIRLS is set to become one of the best books of 2016” (Los Angeles Review of Books).

Twenty-eight-year-old Nicolette Farrell returns to Cooley Ridge, North Carolina, 10 years after her best friend Corinne disappeared without a trace. Nic plans to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, but she is soon plunged into a new drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds that have not healed.

The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.

Hailed “Hitchcockian” by The New York Times Book Review, ALL THE MISSING GIRLS is told backwards --- from the time Annaleise goes missing prompting Nic to unravel the truth about what really happened to Corinne that night 10 years ago. With plenty of twists and turns that lead down dark alleys and dead ends, Megan Miranda turns it all upside down and inside out and leaves you wondering just how far you might go to protect those you love.

Audiobook available, read by Rebekkah Ross

Editorial Content for First Strike

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Ben Coes has been on my “must read” list since the publication of POWER DOWN, an edge-of-your-seat-thriller that contains one of the most claustrophobic scenes I’ve ever read and introduced Dewey Andreas, an elite U.S. government operative with a Special Forces background. Coes, who is seemingly incapable of writing badly, has developed his protagonist over the course of five books, exceeding his own high standards with each successive novel. Read More

Teaser

Deep within the Pentagon, a covert, multi-billion arms-for-influence program was created. The objective was to protect the United States and its allies from terrorist acts by secretly enabling a hand-picked man to emerge as the most powerful leader in the Middle East. But the charismatic Tristan Nazir double-crosses America, twisting the program for his own violent ends to create ISIS. Now America is at great risk. Elite operative Dewey Andreas is sent to Syria to retrieve details about the source of ISIS’s funding, but his cover is blown mid-operation and chaos erupts in the streets of Damascus.

Promo

Deep within the Pentagon, a covert, multi-billion arms-for-influence program was created. The objective was to protect the United States and its allies from terrorist acts by secretly enabling a hand-picked man to emerge as the most powerful leader in the Middle East. But the charismatic Tristan Nazir double-crosses America, twisting the program for his own violent ends to create ISIS. Now America is at great risk. Elite operative Dewey Andreas is sent to Syria to retrieve details about the source of ISIS’s funding, but his cover is blown mid-operation and chaos erupts in the streets of Damascus.

About the Book

Deep within the Pentagon, a covert, multi-billion arms-for-influence program was created. The objective was to protect the United States and its allies from terrorist acts by secretly enabling a hand-picked man to emerge as the most powerful leader in the Middle East. But the charismatic Tristan Nazir double-crosses America, twisting the program for his own violent ends to create ISIS. Now America is at great risk.

Elite operative Dewey Andreas is sent to Syria to retrieve details about the source of ISIS’s funding but his cover is blown mid-operation and chaos erupts in the streets of Damascus. Trapped and outnumbered, Dewey manages to send proof of the awful truth --- unknown at even the highest levels in the government --- that ISIS’s munitions were indeed provided by America itself.

This information arrives in time to for the U.S. to cut off a final arms shipment before it reaches ISIS. But the vicious Nazir, is far from finished. He launches a bold strike into the heart of America, sending a terrorist cell to take over a dorm at Columbia University, capturing hundreds of college students as hostages. For every hour that the shipment of weapons is withheld, the terrorists will publicly execute one student. The potential loss of life is intolerable. A frontal assault is impossible. Releasing the shipment is unthinkable. There is nowhere to turn…

In a situation with no solutions, there remains only one option --- Dewey Andreas.

Audiobook available, read by Peter Hermann

Editorial Content for We Could Be Beautiful

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

Every once in a while, you encounter a character in fiction who is completely unlikable, as unsympathetic as it’s possible to be. Yet the novelist is skillful enough, the concept or the prose or the plot compelling enough, that you find yourself continuing to read and possibly, eventually, even caring about this character after all. Read More

Teaser

Catherine West has spent her entire life surrounded by beautiful things. Yet, despite all this, she still feels empty. One night, at an art opening, Catherine meets William Stockton, a handsome man who shares her impeccable taste and love of beauty. He is educated, elegant, and even has a personal connection --- his parents and Catherine's parents were friends years ago. But as he and Catherine grow closer, she begins to encounter strange signs, and her mother, Elizabeth (now suffering from Alzheimer's), seems to have only bad memories of William as a boy. Is William lying about his past? If so, is Catherine willing to sacrifice their beautiful life in order to find the truth?

Promo

Catherine West has spent her entire life surrounded by beautiful things. Yet, despite all this, she still feels empty. One night, at an art opening, Catherine meets William Stockton, a handsome man who shares her impeccable taste and love of beauty. He is educated, elegant, and even has a personal connection --- his parents and Catherine's parents were friends years ago. But as he and Catherine grow closer, she begins to encounter strange signs, and her mother, Elizabeth (now suffering from Alzheimer's), seems to have only bad memories of William as a boy. Is William lying about his past? If so, is Catherine willing to sacrifice their beautiful life in order to find the truth?

About the Book

A spellbinding psychological debut novel, Swan Huntley's WE COULD BE BEAUTIFUL is the story of a wealthy woman who has everything --- and yet can trust no one.

Catherine West has spent her entire life surrounded by beautiful things. She owns an immaculate Manhattan apartment, she collects fine art, she buys exquisite handbags and clothing, and she constantly redecorates her home. And yet, despite all this, she still feels empty. She sees her personal trainer, she gets weekly massages and occasionally she visits her mother and sister on the Upper East Side, but after two broken engagements and boyfriends who wanted only her money, she is haunted by the fear that she'll never have a family of her own.

One night, at an art opening, Catherine meets William Stockton, a handsome man who shares her impeccable taste and love of beauty. He is educated, elegant, and even has a personal connection --- his parents and Catherine's parents were friends years ago. But as he and Catherine grow closer, she begins to encounter strange signs, and her mother, Elizabeth (now suffering from Alzheimer's), seems to have only bad memories of William as a boy. In Elizabeth's old diary she finds an unnerving letter from a former nanny that cryptically reads: "We cannot trust anyone..." Is William lying about his past? And if so, is Catherine willing to sacrifice their beautiful life in order to find the truth? Featuring a fascinating heroine who longs for answers but is blinded by her own privilege,

WE COULD BE BEAUTIFUL is a glittering, seductive, utterly surprising story of love, money, greed and family.

Audiobook available, read by Cassandra Campbell

Editorial Content for The Assistants

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

From sharp and funny newcomer Camille Perri comes THE ASSISTANTS, a Robin Hood-esque novel about two bright young women who accidentally begin a movement. Told in first person, this engaging, witty book will delight millennials and twentysomethings alike while enticing readers of all ages. Read More

Teaser

Tina Fontana is a 30-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the CEO of Titan Corp. But after six years, the glamour of working for a media company in New York has completely faded, though her student loan debt has not. When a technical error with Robert’s expense report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her loans with what essentially would be pocket change for her boss, she hesitates. As she begins to fall down the rabbit hole of her morally questionable plan, other assistants with crushing debt and fewer scruples approach her to say that they want in. Before she knows it, Tina is at the forefront of a movement that has implications far beyond what anyone anticipated.

Promo

Tina Fontana is a 30-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the CEO of Titan Corp. But after six years, the glamour of working for a media company in New York has completely faded, though her student loan debt has not. When a technical error with Robert’s expense report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her loans with what essentially would be pocket change for her boss, she hesitates. As she begins to fall down the rabbit hole of her morally questionable plan, other assistants with crushing debt and fewer scruples approach her to say that they want in. Before she knows it, Tina is at the forefront of a movement that has implications far beyond what anyone anticipated.

About the Book

The debut novel that J. Courtney Sullivan calls “addictive, hilarious, and smart. It’s "9 to 5 for the student loan generation” and Publishers Weekly describes as “if the characters from HBO’s 'Girls' were capable of larceny and blackmail.”

Rule #1: All important men have assistants. Rule #2: Men rule the world. Still. Rule #3: There is enough money. There is so much money.

Tina Fontana is a 30-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the CEO of Titan Corp., a multinational media conglomerate. She’s excellent at her job and beloved by her famous boss --- but after six years of making reservations and pouring drinks from bottles that cost more than her rent, the glamour of working for a media company in New York has completely faded, but her student loan debt has not. 

When a technical error with Robert’s expense report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her loans with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she hesitates. She’s always played by the rules, but this would be a life-changer. As Tina begins to fall down the rabbit hole of her morally questionable plan, other assistants with crushing debt and fewer scruples approach her to say that they want in. Before she knows it, she’s at the forefront of a movement that has implications far beyond what anyone anticipated.

Featuring an eclectic clan of coconspirators, a love interest far too handsome to be trusted, and a razor-sharp voice full of wry humor, THE ASSISTANTS is a rallying cry for the leagues of overeducated and underpaid women who are asking themselves, How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?

Audiobook available, read by Jorjeana Marie

Editorial Content for Friendly Fire: A Jonathan Grave Thriller

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

L. Dean Murphy

Following AGAINST ALL ENEMIES (winner of the 2016 Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original Novel) and END GAME, John Gilstrap introduces his most complex work, an intriguing premise that potentially holds all of America hostage in a grip of terror. Read More

Teaser

Barista Ethan Falk chases a customer into the parking lot and kills him. He tells police that years ago the older man abducted and tortured him. Then Ethan's story takes an even stranger turn: he says he was rescued by a guy named Scorpion. Of course, there is no record of either the kidnapping or the rescue, because Scorpion --- Jonathan Grave --- operates outside the law and leaves no evidence. As Grave struggles to find a way to defend his former precious cargo without blowing his cover, he learns the dead man has secrets that trace to an ongoing terrorist plot against the heart of America.

Promo

Barista Ethan Falk chases a customer into the parking lot and kills him. He tells police that years ago the older man abducted and tortured him. Then Ethan's story takes an even stranger turn: he says he was rescued by a guy named Scorpion. Of course, there is no record of either the kidnapping or the rescue, because Scorpion --- Jonathan Grave --- operates outside the law and leaves no evidence. As Grave struggles to find a way to defend his former precious cargo without blowing his cover, he learns the dead man has secrets that trace to an ongoing terrorist plot against the heart of America.

About the Book

It begins with a shocking act of vengeance. Barista Ethan Falk chases a customer into the parking lot and kills him. He tells police that years ago the older man abducted and tortured him. Then Ethan's story takes an even stranger turn: he says he was rescued by a guy named Scorpion. Of course, there is no record of either the kidnapping or the rescue, because Scorpion --- Jonathan Grave --- operates outside the law and leaves no evidence.

As Grave struggles to find a way to defend his former precious cargo without blowing his cover, he learns the dead man has secrets that trace to an ongoing terrorist plot against the heart of America. It's up to Grave and his team to stop it. But first they must rescue Ethan Falk --- a second time.

Audiobook available, read by Basil Sands

Editorial Content for The Charmers

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Amie Taylor

When Mirabella Matthews inherits a villa in the South of France from her beloved Aunt Jolly, it's a bittersweet gain. As much as she is eager to take possession of the famous Villa Romantica, a sprawling home perched high atop the hills overlooking the Mediterranean, she's even more intent to find out who murdered her chatty, elegant, septuagenarian aunt. Read More

Teaser

When Mirabella Matthews’ Aunt Jolly dies unexpectedly and under mysterious circumstances, Mirabella suddenly finds herself the new owner of a villa in the South of France. But with the inheritance come unexpected mysteries…and dangers. On her way to the villa, Mirabella is run off the road by a motorcycle, and that’s only just the beginning. It turns out that Aunt Jolly had a past, and as the various men who were a part of it show up, Mirabella must find out who can be trusted and who is using charm to mask the face of a murderer.

Promo

When Mirabella Matthews’ Aunt Jolly dies unexpectedly and under mysterious circumstances, Mirabella suddenly finds herself the new owner of a villa in the South of France. But with the inheritance come unexpected mysteries…and dangers. On her way to the villa, Mirabella is run off the road by a motorcycle, and that’s only just the beginning. It turns out that Aunt Jolly had a past, and as the various men who were a part of it show up, Mirabella must find out who can be trusted and who is using charm to mask the face of a murderer.

About the Book

When Mirabella Matthews’ Aunt Jolly dies unexpectedly and under mysterious circumstances Mirabella suddenly finds herself the new owner of a villa in the South of France. But with the inheritance come unexpected mysteries…and dangers.

On her way to the villa, Mirabella is run off the road by a motorcycle, and that’s only just the beginning. It turns out that Aunt Jolly had a past, and as the various men who were a part of it show up Mirabella must find out who can be trusted and who is using charm to mask the face of a murderer.

Told with Elizabeth Adler’s signature attention to detail, strong female characters and luxurious setting, THE CHARMERS is a page-turner of a novel that will keep you riveted up until the very last page.

Editorial Content for Burn What Will Burn

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

One of my favorite books of 2014 was a golden piece of border noir titled BAD COUNTRY. It was the debut novel of CB McKenzie, a dark and rich piece of work that still bounces through my head at regular intervals. I eagerly have been awaiting its successor, and now that BURN WHAT WILL BURN has been published, I can tell you that it was more than worth the wait, even as it moves in what initially seems to be a very different direction. Read More

Teaser

Bob Reynolds is a newcomer to town who isn’t entirely welcome or on good footing with the sheriff. But he has interests other than drinking and spending his inheritance, including one that goes by the name Tammy Fay Smith and who may have caught the sheriff's eye as well. Reynolds would rather pretend he never saw the body in the creek, but when it disappears, he begins to doubt what little he knew about this secretive town. Try as he might, he just can't forget the body, despite the advice he's given to do so, and despite the evidence to suggest that he might be disappearing himself soon enough.

Promo

Bob Reynolds is a newcomer to town who isn’t entirely welcome or on good footing with the sheriff. But he has interests other than drinking and spending his inheritance, including one that goes by the name Tammy Fay Smith and who may have caught the sheriff's eye as well. Reynolds would rather pretend he never saw the body in the creek, but when it disappears, he begins to doubt what little he knew about this secretive town. Try as he might, he just can't forget the body, despite the advice he's given to do so, and despite the evidence to suggest that he might be disappearing himself soon enough.

About the Book

Bob Reynolds doesn't recognize the body in the creek, but he does recognize the danger of it. He's a newcomer to town, not entirely welcome, and not entirely on good footing with the sheriff. So far he's kept his head down, mostly over the bar at the Crow's Nest. But he has interests other than drinking and spending his inheritance, including one that goes by the name Tammy Fay Smith and who may have caught the sheriff's eye as well.

Reynolds would rather pretend he never saw the body, but when it disappears, he begins to doubt what little he knew about this secretive town, a town that seems to become more unwelcoming by the day. Try as he might, he just can't forget the body, despite the advice he's been given to do so, and despite the evidence to suggest that he might be disappearing himself soon enough.

Following his acclaimed, award-winning debut, BURN WHAT WILL BURN confirms CB McKenzie as a one-of-a-kind crime novelist with an unforgettably original voice.

Audiobook available, read by Bon Shaw

Editorial Content for My Father and Atticus Finch: A Lawyer's Fight for Justice in 1930s Alabama

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD has been and remains one of the most revered novels of the 20th century. 2015 saw the release of a new Harper Lee book, GO SET A WATCHMAN, that was published to much hype, anticipation, disappointment and debate. It also marked the passing of the legendary author, whose life after the publication of MOCKINGBIRD was unique in many aspects. Avoiding the public literary limelight, she spent the majority of her life in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, with her sister, Alice. Read More

Teaser

As a child, Joseph Beck heard about his father’s legacy: Foster Beck had once been a respected trial lawyer who defied the unspoken code of 1930s Alabama by defending a black man charged with raping a white woman. Now a lawyer himself, Beck has become intrigued by the similarities between his father’s story and the one at the heart of Harper Lee’s iconic novel. This riveting memoir seeks to understand how race, class and the memory of the South’s defeat in the Civil War produced the trial’s outcome, and how these issues figure into our literary imagination.

Promo

As a child, Joseph Beck heard about his father’s legacy: Foster Beck had once been a respected trial lawyer who defied the unspoken code of 1930s Alabama by defending a black man charged with raping a white woman. Now a lawyer himself, Beck has become intrigued by the similarities between his father’s story and the one at the heart of Harper Lee’s iconic novel. This riveting memoir seeks to understand how race, class and the memory of the South’s defeat in the Civil War produced the trial’s outcome, and how these issues figure into our literary imagination.

About the Book

The story of Foster Beck, the author’s late father, whose defense of a black man accused of rape in 1930s Alabama foreshadowed the trial at the heart of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

As a child, Joseph Beck heard the stories --- when other lawyers came up with excuses, his father courageously defended a black man charged with raping a white woman.

Now a lawyer himself, Beck reconstructs his father's role in State of Alabama vs. Charles White, Alias, a trial that was much publicized when Harper Lee was twelve years old.

On the day of Foster Beck’s client’s arrest, the leading local newspaper reported, under a page-one headline, that "a wandering negro fortune teller giving the name Charles White" had "volunteered a detailed confession of the attack" of a local white girl. However, Foster Beck concluded that the confession was coerced. The same article claimed that "the negro accomplished his dastardly purpose," but as in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, there was evidence at the trial to the contrary. Throughout the proceedings, the defendant had to be escorted from the courthouse to a distant prison “for safekeeping,” and the courthouse itself was surrounded by a detachment of sixteen Alabama highway patrolmen.

The saga captivated the community with its dramatic testimonies and emotional outcome. It would take an immense toll on those involved, including Foster Beck, who worried that his reputation had cast a shadow over his lively, intelligent and supportive fiancé, Bertha, who had her own social battles to fight.

This riveting memoir, steeped in time and place, seeks to understand how race relations, class and the memory of southern defeat in the Civil War produced such a haunting distortion of justice, and how it may figure into our literary imagination.

Editorial Content for Melville in Love: The Secret Life of Herman Melville and the Muse of Moby-Dick

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stephen Febick

“I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.”
     --- Ishmael, MOBY-DICK

This is the sense of adventure and worldly desire that fueled Herman Melville through his writing of MOBY-DICK in the winter of 1850. A longtime sailor, built stout and with a heavy beard, Melville had a borderline manic disposition --- the flights of fancy and outright gall that one needed to write such an epic novel. Overdone, enthralling and enormous in length, MOBY-DICK was Melville’s be-all and end-all. Read More

Teaser

Herman Melville’s epic novel, MOBY-DICK, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851. Because he was neglected by academics for so long and made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his “wicked book.” Scholars still puzzle over what drove him to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale. Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden sheds light on this literary mystery to tell a story of Melville’s affair with a married woman named Sarah Morewood, whose libertine impulses encouraged and sustained his own.

Promo

Herman Melville’s epic novel, MOBY-DICK, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851. Because he was neglected by academics for so long and made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his “wicked book.” Scholars still puzzle over what drove him to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale. Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden sheds light on this literary mystery to tell a story of Melville’s affair with a married woman named Sarah Morewood, whose libertine impulses encouraged and sustained his own.

About the Book

A new account of Herman Melville and the writing of MOBY-DICK, written by a Pulitzer  Prize finalist in Biography and based on fresh archival research, which reveals that the anarchic spirit animating Melville’s canonical work was inspired by his great love affair with a shockingly unconventional married woman.

Herman Melville’s epic novel, MOBY-DICK, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851, effectively ending its author’s rise to literary fame. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his “wicked book.” Scholars still puzzle over what drove Melville to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale.

In MELVILLE IN LOVE, Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden sheds light on this literary mystery to tell a story of Melville’s passionate, obsessive, and clandestine affair with a married woman named Sarah Morewood, whose libertine impulses encouraged and sustained Melville’s own. In his research, Shelden discovered unexplored documents suggesting that, in their shared resistance to the “iron rule” of social conformity, Sarah and Melville had forged an illicit and enduring romantic and intellectual bond. Emboldened by the thrill of courting Sarah in secret, the pleasure of falling in love, and the excitement of spending time with literary luminaries --- like Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and Nathaniel Hawthorne --- Melville found the courage to take the leap from light works of adventure to the hugely brilliant, utterly subversive MOBY-DICK.

Filled with the rich detail and immense drama of Melville’s secret life, MELVILLE IN LOVE tells the gripping story of how one of our greatest novelists found his muse.