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May 6, 2016

It’s way colder than I would like in the month of May, but it’s good for getting work done, without the distractions of the pool and the garden. Ever the optimist, I know. Last Sunday, I sat on the couch and wrote nine sets of author interview questions, dropping into a zone where I took time to reflect on the books and the authors.

I am flying to Chicago on Wednesday morning for BookExpo America, the annual book trade convention. I have a VERY full schedule there, including a panel about audiobooks (looking forward to sharing what we have learned from our audiobook readers); interviews with the six authors whose books have been selected as BEA Buzz titles (more on those books next week); an interview with Chris Cleave, whose EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN we review this week; and Fredrik Backman, who's best known for his mega-hit A MAN CALLED OVE and whose BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE is just out this week, not to mention our Book Group Speed Dating session featuring 21 publishers. It’s going to be a very, very crazy couple of days, so please note that next week’s newsletter may be a tad less chatty than usual. Trust that I will be gathering tons of news to share with you in the next few weeks.

May 2016

May is finally here, which means summer is just around the corner! Why not take a break in between switching out your winter wardrobe and finalizing your summer plans with an exciting new book-to-screen adaptation?

First up we have Captain America: Civil War, the third movie about America's most patriotic superhero, which releases on May 6th. For all of you ALICE IN WONDERLAND fans out there, May 24th brings Alice Through the Looking Glass, yet another version of the trippy tale starring Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway. In this follow-up to the 2010 hit, Alice in Wonderland, Alice finds herself in the chamber of the Grand Clock and is forced to return the past of her friends --- and dangerous enemies.

Editorial Content for Everyone Brave is Forgiven

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Carole Turner

The first paragraph of Chris Cleave’s latest novel, EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN, jumps right into the story. Mary North, a bored 18-year-old socialite, leaves Swiss finishing school only moments after it is announced that England has entered World War II. She volunteers for the war effort, assuming that her social skills will be of use somehow. Read More

Teaser

It’s 1939, and Mary, a young socialite, is determined to shock her blueblood political family by volunteering for the war effort. She is assigned as a teacher to children who were evacuated from London and have been rejected by the countryside because they are infirm, mentally disabled, or --- like Mary’s favorite student, Zachary --- have colored skin. Tom, an education administrator, is distraught when his best friend, Alastair, enlists. Alastair, an art restorer, has always seemed far removed from the violent life to which he has now condemned himself.

Promo

It’s 1939, and Mary, a young socialite, is determined to shock her blueblood political family by volunteering for the war effort. She is assigned as a teacher to children who were evacuated from London and have been rejected by the countryside because they are infirm, mentally disabled, or --- like Mary’s favorite student, Zachary --- have colored skin. Tom, an education administrator, is distraught when his best friend, Alastair, enlists. Alastair, an art restorer, has always seemed far removed from the violent life to which he has now condemned himself.

About the Book

The instant New York Times bestseller from Chris Cleave --- the unforgettable novel about three lives entangled during World War II, told “with dazzling prose, sharp English wit, and compassion…a powerful portrait of war’s effects on those who fight and those left behind” (People, Book of the Week).

London, 1939. The day war is declared, Mary North leaves finishing school unfinished, goes straight to the War Office, and signs up. Tom Shaw decides to ignore the war --- until he learns his roommate Alistair Heath has unexpectedly enlisted. Then the conflict can no longer be avoided. Young, bright and brave, Mary is certain she’d be a marvelous spy. When she is --- bewilderingly --- made a teacher, she finds herself defying prejudice to protect the children her country would rather forget. Tom, meanwhile, finds that he will do anything for Mary.

And when Mary and Alistair meet, it is love, as well as war, that will test them in ways they could not have imagined, entangling three lives in violence and passion, friendship and deception, inexorably shaping their hopes and dreams.

Set in London during the years of 1939–1942, when citizens had slim hope of survival, much less victory; and on the strategic island of Malta, which was daily devastated by the Axis barrage, EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN features little-known history and a perfect wartime love story inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents. This dazzling novel dares us to understand that, against the great theater of world events, it is the intimate losses, the small battles, the daily human triumphs that change us most.

Audiobook available, read by Luke Thompson

Editorial Content for 15th Affair

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

May 2016 seems to be the month for pivotal novels in long-running series. This is true of 15th AFFAIR, the latest installment in the Women’s Murder Club series by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. It is difficult to believe that San Francisco Police Department homicide detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends have been clipping along for 15 years, yet the numbered titles of the installments of this must-read series tell me that is so. Read More

Teaser

Lindsay Boxer thinks she has found domestic bliss. But when an alluring blonde woman with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder at a luxury hotel, Lindsay's life begins to unravel. Before she can track down the woman for questioning, a plane crash plunges San Francisco into chaos and Lindsay's husband Joe vanishes. The deeper she digs, the more Lindsay suspects that Joe shares a secret past with the mystery blonde. Thrown into a tailspin and questioning everything she thought she knew, Lindsay turns to the Women's Murder Club for help as she tries to uncover the truth.

Promo

Lindsay Boxer thinks she has found domestic bliss. But when an alluring blonde woman with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder at a luxury hotel, Lindsay's life begins to unravel. Before she can track down the woman for questioning, a plane crash plunges San Francisco into chaos and Lindsay's husband Joe vanishes. The deeper she digs, the more Lindsay suspects that Joe shares a secret past with the mystery blonde. Thrown into a tailspin and questioning everything she thought she knew, Lindsay turns to the Women's Murder Club for help as she tries to uncover the truth.

About the Book

Detective Lindsay Boxer chases an elusive suspect...her husband.

As she settles into motherhood and a happy marriage, Lindsay Boxer thinks she has found domestic bliss. But when a beautiful, alluring blonde woman with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder at a downtown luxury hotel, Lindsay's life begins to unravel. Before she can track down the woman for questioning, a plane crash plunges San Francisco into chaos and Lindsay's husband Joe vanishes. The deeper she digs, the more Lindsay suspects that Joe shares a secret past with the mystery blonde. Thrown into a tailspin and questioning everything she thought she knew, Lindsay turns to the Women's Murder Club for help as she tries to uncover the truth.

Filled with pulse-pounding international intrigue, 15th AFFAIR proves that all is fair in love, war and espionage.

Audiobook available, read by January LaVoy

Editorial Content for Robert B. Parker's Slow Burn: A Spenser Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

SLOW BURN is a pivotal novel in the Spenser canon. Creator Robert B. Parker knew how to walk a very precise fine line between growing the character and keeping him true to himself, a (rare) talent that Ace Atkins, who has earned the reins and spurs to continue the series, has in spades as well. Some of the changes are subtle, and we’ll discuss those in a moment. Others (one comes to mind in particular) impact like a sledgehammer, and I won’t give them away. Still others are left to play out in a book or two, but the hints, and thunders, portend changes for the series. Read More

Teaser

The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church killed three firefighters who were trapped in the inferno. A year later, there are still no answers about how the deadly fire started. Boston firefighter Jack McGee, who lost his best friend in the blaze, suspects arson. McGee is convinced that department investigators aren’t sufficiently connected to the city’s lowlifes to get a handle on who's behind the blaze, so he takes the case to Spenser. Spenser quickly learns that the fire might be linked to a rash of new arsons spreading through the city, burning faster and hotter every night.

Promo

The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church killed three firefighters who were trapped in the inferno. A year later, there are still no answers about how the deadly fire started. Boston firefighter Jack McGee, who lost his best friend in the blaze, suspects arson. McGee is convinced that department investigators aren’t sufficiently connected to the city’s lowlifes to get a handle on who's behind the blaze, so he takes the case to Spenser. Spenser quickly learns that the fire might be linked to a rash of new arsons spreading through the city, burning faster and hotter every night.

About the Book

Boston PI Spenser faces a hot case and a personal crisis in the latest adventure in the iconic New York Times bestselling series from author Ace Atkins.
 
The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church raged hot and fast, lighting up Boston’s South End and killing three firefighters who were trapped in the inferno. A year later, as the city prepares to honor their sacrifice, there are still no answers about how the deadly fire started. Most at the department believe it was just a simple accident: faulty wiring in a century-old building. But Boston firefighter Jack McGee, who lost his best friend in the blaze, suspects arson.

McGee is convinced department investigators aren’t sufficiently connected to the city’s lowlifes to get a handle on who's behind the blaze --- so he takes the case to Spenser. Spenser quickly learns not only that McGee might be right, but that the fire might be linked to a rash of new arsons, spreading through the city, burning faster and hotter every night. Spenser follows the trail of fires to Boston’s underworld, bringing him, his trusted ally Hawk and his apprentice Sixkill toe-to-toe with a dangerous new enemy who wants Spenser dead, and doesn’t play by the city’s old rules. Spenser has to find the firebug before he kills again --- and stay alive himself.

Audiobook available, read by Joe Mantegna

Editorial Content for War Hawk: A Tucker Wayne Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

In THE KILL SWITCH, James Rollins and Grant Blackwood introduced readers to the unique team of Tucker Wayne and Kane. Tucker is a former Army Ranger and sometime colleague of the Sigma Force team, and his partner Kane is a skilled military dog.

Tucker and his K-9 buddy are facing their most difficult situation yet in WAR HAWK. Before the action is over, they will be forced to confront what it means to be human or canine in modern warfare and recognize the non-living forces that threaten to permanently change the present and future state of military conflict. Read More

Teaser

Tucker Wayne’s past and his present collide when a former army colleague comes to him for help. She’s on the run from brutal assassins hunting her and her son. To keep them safe, Tucker must discover who killed a brilliant young idealist --- a crime that leads back to the most powerful figures in the U.S. government. From the haunted ruins of a plantation in the deep South to the beachheads of a savage civil war in Trinidad, Tucker and Kane must discover the truth behind a mystery that leads back to World War II, to a true event that is even now changing the world…and will redefine what it means to be human.

Promo

Tucker Wayne’s past and his present collide when a former army colleague comes to him for help. She’s on the run from brutal assassins hunting her and her son. To keep them safe, Tucker must discover who killed a brilliant young idealist --- a crime that leads back to the most powerful figures in the U.S. government. From the haunted ruins of a plantation in the deep South to the beachheads of a savage civil war in Trinidad, Tucker and Kane must discover the truth behind a mystery that leads back to World War II, to a true event that is even now changing the world…and will redefine what it means to be human.

About the Book

Former Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane are thrust into a global conspiracy that threatens to shake the foundations of American democracy in this second exciting Sigma Force spinoff adventure from New York Times bestselling authors James Rollins and Grant Blackwood.

Tucker Wayne’s past and his present collide when a former army colleague comes to him for help. She’s on the run from brutal assassins hunting her and her son. To keep them safe, Tucker must discover who killed a brilliant young idealist --- a crime that leads back to the most powerful figures in the U.S. government.

From the haunted ruins of a plantation in the deep South to the beachheads of a savage civil war in Trinidad, Tucker and Kane must discover the truth behind a mystery that leads back to World War II, to a true event that is even now changing the world...and will redefine what it means to be human.

With no one to trust, they will be forced to break the law, expose national secrets, and risk everything to stop a madman determined to control the future of modern warfare for his own diabolical ends. But can Tucker and Kane withstand a force so indomitable that it threatens our very future?

Audiobook available, performed by Scott Aiello