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Editorial Content for Dictator

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Ray Palen

Robert Harris has accomplished quite a feat in DICTATOR. Similar to the New Fiction style that was so popular in the ’60s and ’70s, he has taken ancient history and transformed it to read like a modern thriller novel. For those who struggled through history class and could never get into the ancient Roman era, Harris’ latest focuses on the turbulent years in the life of Cicero. Many will recall that Cicero was an infamous figure of this time period, who came to fame mainly as an orator and later as a philosopher and political theorist. Read More

Teaser

At the age of 48, Cicero is in exile, his great power sacrificed on the altar of his principles. By promising to support his political enemy, Caesar, he is granted return to Rome. There, he fights his way back to prominence. DICTATOR encompasses some of the most epic events in ancient history --- the dissolution of the Roman Republic, the murder of Pompey, the assassination of Julius Caesar. But the central problem it presents is a timeless one: how to keep political freedom unsullied by personal ambition. 

Promo

At the age of 48, Cicero is in exile, his great power sacrificed on the altar of his principles. By promising to support his political enemy, Caesar, he is granted return to Rome. There, he fights his way back to prominence. DICTATOR encompasses some of the most epic events in ancient history --- the dissolution of the Roman Republic, the murder of Pompey, the assassination of Julius Caesar. But the central problem it presents is a timeless one: how to keep political freedom unsullied by personal ambition. 

About the Book

At the age of 48, Cicero --- the greatest orator of his time --- is in exile, his power sacrificed on the altar of his principles. The only way to return to Rome is to pledge his support to a charismatic and dangerous enemy: Julius Caesar. Harnessing his political cunning, unrivalled intellect, and the sheer brilliance of his words, Cicero fights his way back to prominence. Yet no public figure is completely safeguarded against the unscrupulous ambition of others.

Riveting and tumultuous, DICTATOR encompasses the most epic events in ancient history, including the collapse of the Roman Republic, the murder of Pompey, and the assassination of Caesar. But its central question is a timeless one: how to keep political freedom unsullied by personal gain, vested interests, and the corrosive effects of ceaseless foreign wars. In Robert Harris’s indelible portrait, Cicero is a deeply fascinating hero for his own time and for ours.

Audiobook available, narrated by David Rintoul

Editorial Content for The Past

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Michael Magras

Quiet, plotless novels are the wallflowers of contemporary fiction. The “Why this day above all others” ethos of modern writing programs, at least in the U.S., has led to a literary landscape full of attention-grabbing openings and constant action, and not just in commercial fiction. There’s nothing wrong with a gripping read, but contemplative novels that gradually build quiet tension have their place, too. The English author Tessa Hadley has been producing these novels for years. Read More

Teaser

Four middle-aged siblings meet in their grandparents’ home in the English town of Kington for a three-week holiday. They have convened to discuss whether or not to sell the house, but family tensions dominate conversations. The brother has brought his Argentinian third wife, whom the three sisters haven’t met. One sister brings an ex-boyfriend’s teenage son; another laments her unsatisfying love life. THE PAST is a quiet exploration of suppressed desire and internal struggles.

Promo

Four middle-aged siblings meet in their grandparents’ home in the English town of Kington for a three-week holiday. They have convened to discuss whether or not to sell the house, but family tensions dominate conversations. The brother has brought his Argentinian third wife, whom the three sisters haven’t met. One sister brings an ex-boyfriend’s teenage son; another laments her unsatisfying love life. THE PAST is a quiet exploration of suppressed desire and internal struggles.

About the Book

In her most accessible, commercial novel yet, the “supremely perceptive writer of formidable skill and intelligence" (New York Times Book Review) turns her astute eye to a dramatic family reunion, where simmering tensions and secrets come to a head over three long, hot summer weeks.

With five novels and two collections of stories, Tessa Hadley has earned a reputation as a fiction writer of remarkable gifts. She brings all of her considerable skill and an irresistible setup to THE PAST, a novel in which three sisters, a brother and their children assemble at their country house.

These three weeks may be their last time there; the upkeep is prohibitive, and they may be forced to sell this beloved house filled with memories of their shared past (their mother took them there to live when she left their father). Yet beneath the idyllic pastoral surface, hidden passions, devastating secrets and dangerous hostilities threaten to consume them.

Sophisticated and sleek, Roland’s new wife (his third) arouses his sisters’ jealousies and insecurities. Kasim, the 20-year-old son of Alice’s ex-boyfriend, becomes enchanted with Molly, Roland’s 16-year-old daughter. Fran’s young children make an unsettling discovery in a dilapidated cottage in the woods that shatters their innocence. Passion erupts where it’s least expected, leveling the quiet self-possession of Harriet, the eldest sister.

Over the course of this summer holiday, the family’s stories and silences intertwine, small disturbances build into familial crises, and a way of life --- bourgeois, literate, ritualized, Anglican --- winds down to its inevitable end.

With subtle precision and deep compassion, Tessa Hadley brilliantly evokes a brewing storm of lust and envy, the indelible connections of memory and affection, the fierce, nostalgic beauty of the natural world, and the shifting currents of history running beneath the surface of these seemingly steady lives. The result is a novel of breathtaking skill and scope that showcases this major writer’s extraordinary talents.

Audiobook available, narrated by Caroline Lennon

Editorial Content for American Housewife: Stories

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Reviewer (text)

Maya Gittelman

Helen Ellis’ AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE collects a myriad of darkly witty stories, from pageants to penthouses and many discontented marriages in between. Her style is as variable as her plot: some stories read like brief novellas; others, like “Take It From Cats,” are simply clever and pithy lists exploring the restrictions and absurdities of contemporary housewifery. Read More

Teaser

Meet the women of AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE. They wear lipstick, pearls and sunscreen, even when it’s cloudy. They casserole. They pinwheel. And then they kill a party crasher, carefully stepping around the body to pull cookies from the oven. Taking us from a haunted pre-war Manhattan apartment building to the unique initiation ritual of a book club, these 12 delightfully demented stories are a refreshing and wicked answer to the question: “What do housewives do all day?”

Promo

Meet the women of AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE. They wear lipstick, pearls and sunscreen, even when it’s cloudy. They casserole. They pinwheel. And then they kill a party crasher, carefully stepping around the body to pull cookies from the oven. Taking us from a haunted pre-war Manhattan apartment building to the unique initiation ritual of a book club, these 12 delightfully demented stories are a refreshing and wicked answer to the question: “What do housewives do all day?”

About the Book

Meet the women of AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE. They wear lipstick, pearls and sunscreen, even when it’s cloudy. They casserole. They pinwheel. And then they kill a party crasher, carefully stepping around the body to pull cookies from the oven.

Taking us from a haunted pre-war Manhattan apartment building to the unique initiation ritual of a book club, these 12 delightfully demented stories are a refreshing and wicked answer to the question: “What do housewives do all day?”

Audiobook available; narrated by Kathleen McInerney, Lisa Cordileone, Rebecca Lowman and Dorothy Dillingham Blue

Editorial Content for The Lost Tudor Princess: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas

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Reviewer (text)

Amie Taylor

When the Tudors of England are mentioned, most minds immediately stray to King Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. While the pair gained notoriety for their acts both on and off the throne, they're not the only Tudors who lived remarkable lives in the 16th century. While largely omitted from history books, Margaret Douglas --- the niece of Henry VIII, born to his eldest sister, Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland, and her husband, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus --- left a lasting impression on history itself. Read More

Teaser

THE LOST TUDOR PRINCESS is the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I. Drawing on decades of research and myriad original sources --- including many of Margaret’s surviving letters --- Alison Weir brings this captivating character out of the shadows and presents a strong, capable woman who operated effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels of power.

Promo

THE LOST TUDOR PRINCESS is the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I. Drawing on decades of research and myriad original sources --- including many of Margaret’s surviving letters --- Alison Weir brings this captivating character out of the shadows and presents a strong, capable woman who operated effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels of power.

About the Book

From New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir comes the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I.
 
Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs. Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was an important figure in Tudor England, yet today, while her contemporaries --- Anne Boleyn, Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I --- have achieved celebrity status, she is largely forgotten.
 
Margaret’s life was steeped in intrigue, drama and tragedy --- from her auspicious birth in 1530 to her parents’ bitter divorce, from her ill-fated love affairs to her appointment as lady-in-waiting for four of Henry’s six wives. In an age when women were expected to stay out of the political arena, alluring and tempestuous Margaret helped orchestrate one of the most notorious marriages of the 16th century: that of her son Lord Darnley to Mary, Queen of Scots. Margaret defiantly warred with two queens --- Mary, and Elizabeth of England --- and was instrumental in securing the Stuart ascension to the throne of England for her grandson, James VI.
 
The life of Margaret Douglas spans five reigns and provides many missing links between the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. Drawing on decades of research and myriad original sources --- including many of Margaret’s surviving letters --- Alison Weir brings this captivating character out of the shadows and presents a strong, capable woman who operated effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels of power.

Audiobook available, narrated by Maggie Mash

Editorial Content for Written in Fire: Book Three of The Brilliance Trilogy

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Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

There is a part of me that is sorry to see this book published. The reason? It means that the Brilliance Trilogy is coming to an end. Those who love stories, who love reading, will understand. The series --- which consists of BRILLIANCE, the ironically titled A BETTER WORLD and the appropriately titled WRITTEN IN FIRE --- has been an event that has straddled genres with one volume or another shortlisted for several annual awards. Those who have read the first two installments know why; others who have not done so have an experience in store. Read More

Teaser

For 30 years, humanity struggled to cope with the brilliants, the one percent of people born with remarkable gifts. Now the White House is a smoking ruin. Madison Square Garden is an internment camp. In Wyoming, an armed militia of thousands marches toward a final, apocalyptic battle. Nick Cooper has spent his life fighting for his children and his country. Now, as the world staggers on the edge of ruin, he must risk everything he loves to face his oldest enemy --- a brilliant terrorist so driven by his ideals that he will sacrifice humanity’s future to achieve them.

Promo

For 30 years, humanity struggled to cope with the brilliants, the one percent of people born with remarkable gifts. Now the White House is a smoking ruin. Madison Square Garden is an internment camp. In Wyoming, an armed militia of thousands marches toward a final, apocalyptic battle. Nick Cooper has spent his life fighting for his children and his country. Now, as the world staggers on the edge of ruin, he must risk everything he loves to face his oldest enemy --- a brilliant terrorist so driven by his ideals that he will sacrifice humanity’s future to achieve them.

About the Book

The explosive conclusion to the bestselling Brilliance Trilogy.

For 30 years, humanity struggled to cope with the brilliants, the one percent of people born with remarkable gifts. For 30 years, we tried to avoid a devastating civil war. We failed.

The White House is a smoking ruin. Madison Square Garden is an internment camp. In Wyoming, an armed militia of thousands marches toward a final, apocalyptic battle.

Nick Cooper has spent his life fighting for his children and his country. Now, as the world staggers on the edge of ruin, he must risk everything he loves to face his oldest enemy --- a brilliant terrorist so driven by his ideals that he will sacrifice humanity’s future to achieve them.

From “one of our best storytellers” (Michael Connelly) comes the blistering conclusion to the acclaimed series that is a “forget-to-pick-up-milk, forget-to-water-the-plants, forget-to-eat total immersion experience” (Gillian Flynn).

Audiobook available, narrated by Luke Daniels

Editorial Content for The Good Goodbye

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Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

Rory and Arden have always been more like sisters than cousins. Only a few months apart in age, the two girls’ families have always been close. Their fathers are brothers; Rory’s dad, Vince, and Arden’s mom, Natalie, run a restaurant together. Even though outgoing Rory is more popular and artistic Arden is sometimes awkward, they always stick up for one another, for better or for worse. Read More

Teaser

Natalie Falcone gets a phone call every mother dreads: It’s from a hospital emergency room in the town where her daughter, Arden, attends college. Arden has been in a fire, along with Natalie’s niece, Rory --- her estranged brother-in-law's daughter and Arden’s best friend. Natalie rushes to the hospital and learns that both Arden and Rory lie unconscious, and that another student has died in the blaze. The case unearths a portrait of a complex friendship, a love triangle, a fight, and a girl who was struggling more than anyone realized.

Promo

Natalie Falcone gets a phone call every mother dreads: It’s from a hospital emergency room in the town where her daughter, Arden, attends college. Arden has been in a fire, along with Natalie’s niece, Rory --- her estranged brother-in-law's daughter and Arden’s best friend. Natalie rushes to the hospital and learns that both Arden and Rory lie unconscious, and that another student has died in the blaze. The case unearths a portrait of a complex friendship, a love triangle, a fight, and a girl who was struggling more than anyone realized.

About the Book

For fans of Jodi Picoult comes an enthralling domestic thriller about the lies we tell, and let ourselves believe, in the name of love.

The first thing you should know is that everyone lies. The second thing is that it matters.

How well do we know our children? Natalie Falcone would say she knows her daughter, Arden, very well. Despite the challenges of running a restaurant and raising six-year-old twin boys, she’s not too worried as she sends her daughter off to college --- until she gets the call that Arden’s been in a terrible fire, along with her best friend and cousin, Rory. Both girls are critically injured and another student has died. The police suspect arson.
 
Arden and Rory have always been close, but they have secrets they’ve never shared, secrets that reel all the way back to their childhoods, and which led them to that tragic night. Who set the fire, and why? As the police dig deep into both the present and the past, Natalie realizes that in order to protect her daughter, she’ll first have to find out who Arden really is, even if it means risking everything --- and everyone --- she loves most.

Audiobook available, narrated by Ali Ahn, Suzy Jackson and Eva Kaminksy

Editorial Content for Even the Dead: A Quirke Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

Gradually, incrementally, the Quirke series has found its way onto my drop-dead, must-read list. While this historical canon (set around 1950) by Benjamin Black (the pen name/alter ego for “mainstream” author John Banville) is primarily character-driven by a troubled Dublin, Ireland consulting pathologist, each of the novels that comprise this gem of a series moves Quirke’s life forward, for better or worse, while introducing an always interesting mystery to sink the hook, as it were, deeper into the reader. Read More

Teaser

A car crashes into a tree in central Dublin and bursts into flames. The police assume the driver’s death was either an accident or a suicide, but Quirke believes otherwise. Then his daughter, Phoebe, gets a mysterious visit from an acquaintance, who later disappears. Phoebe asks her father for help, and Quirke in turn seeks the assistance of his old friend, Inspector Hackett. Before long, the two men find themselves untangling a twisted string of events that takes them deep into a shadowy world where one of the city’s most powerful men uses the cover of politics and religion to make obscene profits.

Promo

A car crashes into a tree in central Dublin and bursts into flames. The police assume the driver’s death was either an accident or a suicide, but Quirke believes otherwise. Then his daughter, Phoebe, gets a mysterious visit from an acquaintance, who later disappears. Phoebe asks her father for help, and Quirke in turn seeks the assistance of his old friend, Inspector Hackett. Before long, the two men find themselves untangling a twisted string of events that takes them deep into a shadowy world where one of the city’s most powerful men uses the cover of politics and religion to make obscene profits.

About the Book

EVEN THE DEAD --- Benjamin Black’s seventh novel featuring the endlessly fascinating Quirke --- is a story of surpassing intensity and surprising beauty.

A car crashes into a tree in central Dublin and bursts into flames. The police assume the driver’s death was either an accident or a suicide, but Quirke believes otherwise. Then his daughter Phoebe gets a mysterious visit from an acquaintance, who later disappears. Phoebe asks her father for help, and Quirke in turn seeks the assistance of his old friend Inspector Hackett. Before long the two men find themselves untangling a twisted string of events that takes them deep into a shadowy world where one of the city’s most powerful men uses the cover of politics and religion to make obscene profits.

Audiobook available, narrated by John Keating

Editorial Content for Cut Me In

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Reviewer (text)

Tom Callahan

2016 starts with yet another treat from Hard Case Crime: the second lost Ed McBain novel from the 1950s. June 2015 saw the publication of SO NUDE, SO DEAD, written in 1952, which (along with CUT ME IN) predated the 87th Precinct books by several years. During this time, McBain (whose real name was Salvatore Lombino) was working in a literary agency by day and learning the writing craft by penning dozens of stories for the pulps in his free time. He covered different genres --- including mysteries, crime fiction and westerns --- and published under various pen names. Read More

Teaser

CUT ME IN was a novel originally published by a 29-year-old Ed McBain in 1955 entitled THE PROPOSITION. Literary agent Del Gilbert had a lot of enemies. His partner, Josh Blake, discovers him dead in the office one day next to an open safe. A singed letter worth millions is missing from the safe, forcing Blake to search out a killer.

Promo

CUT ME IN was a novel originally published by a 29-year-old Ed McBain in 1955 entitled THE PROPOSITION. Literary agent Del Gilbert had a lot of enemies. His partner, Josh Blake, discovers him dead in the office one day next to an open safe. A singed letter worth millions is missing from the safe, forcing Blake to search out a killer.

About the Book

WHEN A MAN’S PARTNER IS KILLED
HE’S SUPPOSED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

Maybe no one liked Del Gilbert a whole lot, not the men he ruthlessly did business with, not the women who discovered they weren’t his only lover, not even his partner in the Gilbert and Blake literary agency --- me. But when I found him shot to death on the floor of his office, I had no choice. I had to track down the person responsible. And not just to lay Del to rest, either. Next to his body, the office safe was wide open, and a contract worth millions was missing...

From the pen of MWA Grand Master Ed McBain comes this unforgettable story of warring agents and Hollywood dealmaking, murder and scandal --- and passions igniting in the dark of night.

Editorial Content for I Am Your Judge

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

You should have Nele Neuhaus on your reading list of authors if you like your mystery novels deep and complex. Neuhaus is a household name in her native Germany, thanks to her series of police procedural novels set in the Taunus region (near Frankfurt) and featuring detectives Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein. Read More

Teaser

An elderly woman has been shot and killed while walking her dog. A short while later, another murder is committed, and the modus operandi is eerily similar. Two more murders follow in short order. None of the victims had enemies, and no one knows why they were singled out. As fear of the Taunus Sniper grows among the local residents, the pressure rises on Police Detective Pia Kirchhoff. She and her partner, Oliver von Bodenstein, search for a suspect who appears to murder at will, but as the investigation progresses, the police officers uncover a human tragedy.

Promo

An elderly woman has been shot and killed while walking her dog. A short while later, another murder is committed, and the modus operandi is eerily similar. Two more murders follow in short order. None of the victims had enemies, and no one knows why they were singled out. As fear of the Taunus Sniper grows among the local residents, the pressure rises on Police Detective Pia Kirchhoff. She and her partner, Oliver von Bodenstein, search for a suspect who appears to murder at will, but as the investigation progresses, the police officers uncover a human tragedy.

About the Book

Police Detective Pia Kirchhoff is about to leave on her long-delayed honeymoon when she receives a phone call. An elderly woman has been shot and killed while walking her dog. A short while later another murder is committed and the modus operandi is eerily similar --- a woman is killed by a bullet that smashes through her kitchen window...and in both cases the same weapon fired the shot. Two more murders follow in short order. None of the victims had enemies and no one knows why they were singled out. As fear of the Taunus Sniper grows among the local residents in the German mountains, the pressure rises on Detective Kirchhoff. She and her partner, Oliver von Bodenstein, search for a suspect who appears to murder at will, but as the investigation progresses, the police officers uncover a human tragedy.

Nele Neuhaus' I AM YOUR JUDGE is tightly plotted and delivers surprise twists at every turn with a story that is ripped from the headlines.

Audiobook available, narrated by Robert Fass

Editorial Content for The Cinematic Legacy of Frank Sinatra

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ron Kaplan

You get the feeling that most people think acting was just an afterthought for Frank Sinatra. He was a singer first --- perhaps the singer for a generation --- who made movies on the side. But even a cursory examination of THE CINEMATIC LEGACY OF FRANK SINATRA, David Wills’ wonderful tribute, shows a surprising depth of screen work. Read More

Teaser

In THE CINEMATIC LEGACY OF FRANK SINATRA, author David Wills presents a stunning collection highlighting the work of one of Hollywood's greatest stars. Pairing more than 200 first-generation photos with reflections on Sinatra from co-stars and work associates, and including contributing essays by his children Nancy Sinatra, Tina Sinatra and Frank Sinatra, Jr., it is an unforgettable showcase of the actor's transformation from world-famous singer, to movie star, to Academy Award winner, and finally to one of the most enduring icons in cinema history.

Promo

In THE CINEMATIC LEGACY OF FRANK SINATRA, author David Wills presents a stunning collection highlighting the work of one of Hollywood's greatest stars. Pairing more than 200 first-generation photos with reflections on Sinatra from co-stars and work associates, and including contributing essays by his children Nancy Sinatra, Tina Sinatra and Frank Sinatra, Jr., it is an unforgettable showcase of the actor's transformation from world-famous singer, to movie star, to Academy Award winner, and finally to one of the most enduring icons in cinema history.

About the Book

In a film career spanning more than five decades, Frank Sinatra proved to be a roulette wheel of constantly spinning talent, the likes of which Hollywood has rarely seen. Film history is filled with stars created by the studio system. Occasionally, however, a performer emerged who, against all preconceived odds of what a star should be or look like, knocked down the walls of convention by becoming nothing other than what they already were. Frank Sinatra was the embodiment of this fundamental truth. The legacy of his work stands apart from many of his contemporaries, who essentially based their performances on an extension of a core character type. Sinatra, however, was able to take his signature persona and translate it successfully into many film genres --- first as the comedic song-and-dance man, then as the dramatic actor and romantic lead, and finally as the tough guy and action hero. Sinatra also respectfully challenged contemporary ideals of acting technique. While being humble enough to learn from his peers, he kept his acting style fresh and instinctual, and earned an Oscar at a time when many actors were either classically trained or coached in the "Method."

In THE CINEMATIC LEGACY OF FRANK SINATRA, author David Wills presents a stunning collection highlighting the work of one of Hollywood's greatest stars in roles as varied as those in the classics Anchors Aweigh, From Here to Eternity, Suddenly, Guys and Dolls, The Man With the Golden Arm, Ocean's 11, The Manchurian Candidate, Von Ryan's Express and The Detective. Pairing more than 200 first-generation photos with reflections on Sinatra from costars and work associates, and including contributing essays by his children Nancy Sinatra, Tina Sinatra and Frank Sinatra, Jr., it is an unforgettable showcase of the actor's transformation from world-famous singer, to movie star, to Academy Award winner, and finally to one of the most enduring icons in cinema history.