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Editorial Content for The Plague of Thieves Affair: A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Roz Shea

It is 1896 in San Francisco. Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon, two former Pinkerton agents, joined forces five years ago to establish Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services. Their reputation for crime-solving has since grown. Read More

Teaser

John Quincannon has been hired by the owner of the Golden State brewery to investigate the ''accidental'' death of the head brewmaster, who drowned in a vat of beer. John is certain he can catch his quarry, but his partner, Sabina Carpenter, is not sure she even wants to catch hers: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity. A Mr. Roland W. Fairchild of Chicago claims the man is his first cousin, who is due to inherit a $3 million estate --- if Sabina can find him and if he can be proved sane.

Promo

John Quincannon has been hired by the owner of the Golden State brewery to investigate the ''accidental'' death of the head brewmaster, who drowned in a vat of beer. John is certain he can catch his quarry, but his partner, Sabina Carpenter, is not sure she even wants to catch hers: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity. A Mr. Roland W. Fairchild of Chicago claims the man is his first cousin, who is due to inherit a $3 million estate --- if Sabina can find him and if he can be proved sane.

About the Book

Sabina Carpenter and John Quinncannon are no stranger to mysteries. In the five years since they opened Carpenter and Quinncannon, Professional Detective Services, they have solved dozens, but one has eluded even them: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity, who keeps showing up with a frustrating (though admittedly useful) knack for solving difficult cases.

Roland W. Fairchild, recently arrived from Chicago, claims Holmes is his first cousin, Charles P. Fairchild III. Now, with his father dead, Charles stands to inherit an estate of over three million dollars --- if Sabina can find him, and if he can be proved sane. Sabina is uncertain of Roland's motives, but agrees to take the case.

John, meanwhile, has been hired by the owner of the Golden State brewery to investigate the "accidental" death of the head brewmaster, who drowned in a vat of his own beer. When a second murder occurs, and the murderer escapes from under his nose, John finds himself on the trail not just of the criminals, but of his reputation for catching them.

But while John is certain he can catch his quarry, Sabina is less certain she wants to catch hers. Holmes has been frustrating, but useful, even kind. She is quite certain he is mad, and quite uncertain what will happen when he is confronted with the truth. Does every mystery need to be solved?

Audiobook available, narrated by Meredith Mitchell and Mark Peckham

Editorial Content for All the Birds in the Sky

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Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

In a battle to save the world from destruction, magic and science reach a dangerous and fantastical stalemate. But that tension and violence are not the focus of Charlie Jane Anders' novel, ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY. Instead, it is the friendship and affection between two characters each typifying one of those powerful forces. Patricia Delfine represents the uncontrolled, organic and unpredictable powers of nature, while Laurence Armstead signifies the ordered yet hazardous promises of science. Read More

Teaser

Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn't expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one's peers and families. But now they're both adults, and the planet is falling apart around them. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together --- to either save the world or plunge it into a new dark age.

Promo

Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn't expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one's peers and families. But now they're both adults, and the planet is falling apart around them. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together --- to either save the world or plunge it into a new dark age.

About the Book

From the former editor-in-chief of io9.com, a stunning novel about the end of the world --- and the beginning of our future

An ancient society of witches and a hipster technological startup go war as the world from tearing itself. To further complicate things, each of the groups’ most promising followers (Patricia, a brilliant witch and Laurence, an engineering “wunderkind”) may just be in love with each other.

As the battle between magic and science wages in San Francisco against the backdrop of international chaos, Laurence and Patricia are forced to choose sides. But their choices will determine the fate of the planet and all mankind.

In a fashion unique to Charlie Jane Anders, ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY offers a humorous and, at times, heart-breaking exploration of growing up extraordinary in world filled with cruelty, scientific ingenuity and magic.

Audiobook available, narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

Editorial Content for The Black Calhouns: From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American Family

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Reviewer (text)

Maya Gittelman

Gail Lumet Buckley crafts a rich and crucial historical memoir with THE BLACK CALHOUNS: From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American Family. Born to actress and activist Lena Horne, Buckley was positioned somewhat uniquely at the crux of race and class, privilege and oppression: the extremities of wealth and the undeniable multifaceted savageries of post-Reconstruction America. THE BLACK CALHOUNS is written with the details of a journalist, the scope and context of a historian, and the intimacy of a family member. Read More

Teaser

Beginning with her great-great grandfather, Moses Calhoun, a house slave who used the rare advantage of his education to become a successful businessman in post-war Atlanta, Gail Lumet Buckley follows her family’s two branches: one that stayed in the South, and the other that settled in Brooklyn. Through the lens of her relatives’ momentous lives, Buckley examines major events throughout American history --- from Atlanta during Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, to New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, and then from World War II to the Civil Rights Movement.

Promo

Beginning with her great-great grandfather, Moses Calhoun, a house slave who used the rare advantage of his education to become a successful businessman in post-war Atlanta, Gail Lumet Buckley follows her family’s two branches: one that stayed in the South, and the other that settled in Brooklyn. Through the lens of her relatives’ momentous lives, Buckley examines major events throughout American history --- from Atlanta during Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, to New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, and then from World War II to the Civil Rights Movement.

About the Book

In THE BLACK CALHOUNS, Gail Lumet Buckley --- daughter of actress Lena Horne --- delves deep into her family history, detailing the experiences of an extraordinary African American family from Civil War to Civil Rights.

Beginning with her great-great grandfather, Moses Calhoun, a house slave who used the rare advantage of his education to become a successful businessman in postwar Atlanta, Buckley follows her family’s two branches: one that stayed in the South, and the other that settled in Brooklyn. Through the lens of her relatives’ momentous lives, Buckley examines major events throughout American history. From Atlanta during Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, from the two World Wars to New York City during the Harlem Renaissance and then the Civil Rights Movement, this ambitious, brilliant family witnessed and participated in the most crucial events of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Combining personal and national history, THE BLACK CALHOUNS is a vibrant portrait of six generations during dynamic times of struggle and triumph.

Editorial Content for Let the People Rule: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary

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Reviewer (text)

Ron Kaplan

Everything old is new again.

Just in time for the contentious campaign battles of 2016, we get some historical perspective from Geoffrey Cowan via his latest book, LET THE PEOPLE RULE: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary, a well-researched and remarkable saga of our current system.

“TR” had served almost two full terms as president, the first as a result of the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. The custom of the day was that no one should run for a third term because, basically, two had been good enough for George Washington. Read More

Teaser

In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt came out of retirement to challenge his close friend and handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, for the Republican Party nomination. To overcome the power of the incumbent, TR seized on the idea of presidential primaries, telling bosses everywhere to “Let the People Rule.” The cheers and jeers of rowdy supporters and detractors echo from Geoffrey Cowan’s pages as he explores TR’s fight-to-the-finish battle to win popular support.

Promo

In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt came out of retirement to challenge his close friend and handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, for the Republican Party nomination. To overcome the power of the incumbent, TR seized on the idea of presidential primaries, telling bosses everywhere to “Let the People Rule.” The cheers and jeers of rowdy supporters and detractors echo from Geoffrey Cowan’s pages as he explores TR’s fight-to-the-finish battle to win popular support.

About the Book

LET THE PEOPLE RULE tells the exhilarating story of the four-month campaign that changed American politics forever. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt came out of retirement to challenge his close friend and handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, for the Republican Party nomination. To overcome the power of the incumbent, TR seized on the idea of presidential primaries, telling bosses everywhere to “Let the People Rule.” The cheers and jeers of rowdy supporters and detractors echo from Geoffrey Cowan’s pages as he explores TR’s fight-to-the-finish battle to win popular support. After sweeping nine out of 13 primaries, he felt entitled to the nomination. But the party bosses proved too powerful, leading Roosevelt to walk out of the convention and create a new political party of his own.

Using a trove of newly discovered documents, Cowan takes readers inside the colorful, dramatic and often mean-spirited campaign, describing the political machinations and intrigue and painting indelible portraits of its larger-than-life characters. But Cowan also exposes the more unsavory parts of TR’s campaign: seamy backroom deals, bribes made in TR’s name during the Republican Convention, and then the shocking political calculation that led TR to ban any black delegates from the Deep South from his new “Bull Moose Party.”

In this utterly compelling work, Cowan illuminates lessons of the past that have great resonance for American politics today.

 Audiobook available, narrated by Joe Barrett

Editorial Content for Sweetgirl

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

Here’s a tip for you before you crack open Travis Mulhauser’s SWEETGIRL: make sure you’re snuggled into a comfortable chair with lots of pillows and blankets, preferably with a nice steaming mug of tea or hot cocoa at your side. Why, you ask? Well, two reasons, really: First, Mulhauser’s harrowing descriptions of a blizzard in the north woods are bound to make you chilly; second, you’re going to want to be comfortable because this book is so hard to put down. Read More

Teaser

As a blizzard bears down, Percy James sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta. Fearing she is strung out on meth and that she won’t survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter’s cabin. Searching the house, she finds the two-bit criminal and his girlfriend drugged into oblivion --- and a crying baby girl. Percy knows she must save her --- a split-second decision that is the beginning of a dangerous odyssey in which she must battle the elements and evade Shelton and a small band of desperate criminals, hell-bent on getting that baby back.

Promo

As a blizzard bears down, Percy James sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta. Fearing she is strung out on meth and that she won’t survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter’s cabin. Searching the house, she finds the two-bit criminal and his girlfriend drugged into oblivion --- and a crying baby girl. Percy knows she must save her --- a split-second decision that is the beginning of a dangerous odyssey in which she must battle the elements and evade Shelton and a small band of desperate criminals, hell-bent on getting that baby back.

About the Book

With the heart, daring and evocative atmosphere of WINTER'S BONE and TRUE GRIT, and driven by the raw, whip-smart voice of Percy James, a blistering debut about a fearless 16-year old girl whose search for her missing mother leads to an unexpected discovery, and a life or death struggle in the harsh frozen landscape of the Upper Midwest.

As a blizzard bears down, Percy James sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta. For years, Percy has had to take care of herself and Mama --- a woman who’s been unraveling for as long as her daughter can remember. Fearing Carletta is strung out on meth and that she won’t survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter’s cabin, deep in the woods of Northern Michigan. A two-bit criminal, as incompetent as he his violent, Shelton has been smoking his own cook and grieving the death of his beloved Labrador, Old Bo.

But when Percy arrives, there is no sign of Carletta. Searching the house, she finds Shelton and his girlfriend drugged into oblivion --- and a crying baby girl left alone in a freezing room upstairs. From the moment the baby wraps a tiny hand around her finger, Percy knows she must save her --- a split-second decision that is the beginning of a dangerous odyssey in which she must battle the elements and evade Shelton and a small band of desperate criminals, hell-bent on getting that baby back.

Knowing she and the child cannot make it alone, Percy seeks help from Carletta’s ex, Portis Dale, who is the closest thing she’s ever had to a father. As the storm breaks and violence erupts, Percy will be forced to confront the haunting nature of her mother’s affliction and finds her own fate tied more and more inextricably to the baby she is determined to save.

Filled with the sweeping sense of cultural and geographic isolation of its setting --- the hills of fictional Cutler County in northern Michigan --- and told in Percy’s unflinching style, SWEETGIRL is an affecting exploration of courage, sacrifice and the ties that bind --- a taut and darkly humorous tour-de-force that is horrifying, tender and hopeful.

Audiobook available, narrated by Cassandra Morris and MacLeod Andrews

Editorial Content for The Killing Forest

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Sara Blaedel is almost a thriller subgenre, all by herself, in her native Denmark. After being active in journalism and television editing for almost 10 years, Blaedel turned to writing crime fiction in 2004, and in the intervening decade has earned the title of most popular author in Denmark on four separate occasions, thanks to her series featuring Detective Louise Rick, a member of the Special Search Agency within the National Police Department. Read More

Teaser

Following an extended leave, Louise Rick returns to work at the Special Search Agency, an elite unit of the National Police Department. She's assigned a case involving a 15-year-old who vanished a week earlier. When Louise realizes that the missing teenager is the son of a butcher from Hvalsoe, she seizes the opportunity to combine the search for the teen with her personal investigation of her boyfriend's long-ago death. As she moves through the small town's cramped network of deadly connections, Louise unearths toxic truths left unspoken and dangerous secrets.

Promo

Following an extended leave, Louise Rick returns to work at the Special Search Agency, an elite unit of the National Police Department. She's assigned a case involving a 15-year-old who vanished a week earlier. When Louise realizes that the missing teenager is the son of a butcher from Hvalsoe, she seizes the opportunity to combine the search for the teen with her personal investigation of her boyfriend's long-ago death. As she moves through the small town's cramped network of deadly connections, Louise unearths toxic truths left unspoken and dangerous secrets.

About the Book

Following an extended leave, Louise Rick returns to work at the Special Search Agency, an elite unit of the National Police Department. She's assigned a case involving a 15-year-old who vanished a week earlier. When Louise realizes that the missing teenager is the son of a butcher from Hvalsoe, she seizes the opportunity to combine the search for the teen with her personal investigation of her boyfriend's long-ago death…

Louise's investigation takes her on a journey back through time. She reconnects with figures from her past, including Kim, the principal investigator at the Holbaek Police Department, her former in-laws, fanatic ancient religion believers and her longtime close friend, journalist Camilla Lind. As she moves through the small town's cramped network of deadly connections, Louise unearths toxic truths left unspoken and dangerous secrets.

Audiobook available, narrated by Christine Lakin

Editorial Content for Saving Jason

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Michael Sears is a marvel. His books, which feature a financial investigator who is as welcome in the hallways of his employer company as the flu, balance the cold and calculating digits and zeroes that are the hallmark of financial trading with the very emotional and human. I don’t know how he does it, but he pulls it off, and very well. Read More

Teaser

Jason Stafford used to be a hot Wall Street trader, went too far, and paid for it in prison. Now a financial investigator, he’s been asked to look into rumors of a hostile takeover of his firm, but he has no idea it will turn his whole life upside down. Suddenly embroiled in a grand jury investigation of Mob-related activities on Wall Street, and threatened by some very serious men, he is thrust into witness protection with his young autistic son. And then his son disappears. Stafford has no choice but to come out of hiding and risk everything to save his son, his firm, his pregnant girlfriend --- and himself.

Promo

Jason Stafford used to be a hot Wall Street trader, went too far, and paid for it in prison. Now a financial investigator, he’s been asked to look into rumors of a hostile takeover of his firm, but he has no idea it will turn his whole life upside down. Suddenly embroiled in a grand jury investigation of Mob-related activities on Wall Street, and threatened by some very serious men, he is thrust into witness protection with his young autistic son. And then his son disappears. Stafford has no choice but to come out of hiding and risk everything to save his son, his firm, his pregnant girlfriend --- and himself.

About the Book

Jason Stafford used to be a hot Wall Street trader, went too far and paid for it in prison. Now a financial investigator, he’s been asked to look into rumors of a hostile takeover of his firm, but he has no idea it will turn his whole life upside down. Suddenly embroiled in a grand jury investigation of Mob-related activities on Wall Street, and threatened by some very serious men, he is thrust into witness protection with his young autistic son. And then his son disappears. Has he been kidnapped, or worse? With no choice but to act, Stafford has no choice but to come out of hiding and risk everything to save his son, his firm, his pregnant girlfriend --- and himself.

Audiobook available, narrated by David Chandler

Editorial Content for Shame and Wonder: Essays

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jane Krebs

David Searcy’s 21 essays, collected in SHAME AND WONDER, are at once sublime and surreal, knowing and unknowing, earthy and ethereal. Each piece starts in a seemingly familiar place with recognizable silhouettes and easy images but moves to reflections on somehow nonparallel topics: the possums in “Didelphis Nuncius” connect to the bedrooms in a new house of his children after his divorce. Figuring out which new car to buy slides into nude photos of young girls close to home (“Sexy Girls Near Dallas”). Read More

Teaser

The pieces in SHAME AND WONDER are born of a vast, abiding curiosity, one that has led David Searcy into some strange and beautiful territory, where old Uncle Scrooge comic books reveal profound truths and the vastness of space becomes an expression of pure love. Whether ruminating on an old El Camino pickup truck, those magical prizes lurking in the cereal boxes of our youth, or a lurid online ad for “Sexy Girls Near Dallas,” Searcy brings his unique blend of affection and suspicion to the everyday wonders that surround and seduce us.

Promo

The pieces in SHAME AND WONDER are born of a vast, abiding curiosity, one that has led David Searcy into some strange and beautiful territory, where old Uncle Scrooge comic books reveal profound truths and the vastness of space becomes an expression of pure love. Whether ruminating on an old El Camino pickup truck, those magical prizes lurking in the cereal boxes of our youth, or a lurid online ad for “Sexy Girls Near Dallas,” Searcy brings his unique blend of affection and suspicion to the everyday wonders that surround and seduce us.

About the Book

For fans of John Jeremiah Sullivan, Leslie Jamison, Geoff Dyer and W. G. Sebald, the 21 essays in David Searcy’s debut collection are captivating, daring --- and completely unlike anything else you’ve read before. Forging connections between the sublime and the mundane, this is a work of true grace, wisdom and joy.

Expansive in scope but deeply personal in perspective, the pieces in SHAME AND WONDER are born of a vast, abiding curiosity --- one that has led David Searcy into some strange and beautiful territory, where old Uncle Scrooge comic books reveal profound truths, and the vastness of space becomes an expression of pure love. Whether ruminating on an old El Camino pickup truck, those magical prizes lurking in the cereal boxes of our youth, or a lurid online ad for “Sexy Girls Near Dallas,” Searcy brings his unique blend of affection and suspicion to the everyday wonders that surround and seduce us. In “Nameless,” he ruminates on spirituality and the fate of an unknown tightrope walker who falls to his death in Texas in the 1880s, buried as a local legend but without a given name. “The Hudson River School” weaves together Google Maps, classical art, and dental hygiene into a story that explores --- with exquisite humor and grace --- the seemingly impossible angles at which our lives often intersect. And in “An Enchanted Tree Near Fredericksburg,” countless lovers carve countless hearts into the gnarled trunk of an ancient oak tree, leaving their marks to be healed, lifted upward and, finally, absorbed.

Haunting, hilarious and full of longing, SHAME AND WONDER announces the arrival of David Searcy as an essential and surprising new voice in American writing.

Socrates

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

Attribution

Socrates

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

February 2016

I read --- and swooned over --- THE SWANS OF FIFTH AVENUE by Melanie Benjamin. It’s a juicy story of the friendship between Truman Capote and socialite Babe Paley. Her friends, known to Truman as “the Swans,” included Slim Keith, C. Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness and Pamela Churchill.