December 20, 2022
In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of December 19th, December 26th and January 2nd that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.
This week, we are calling attention to our Reviewer Picks for 2022, where our reviewers reveal their favorite books of the year, and various "Best Of" lists that we've compiled from around the web. Let us know how many print books and e-books you've read, and how many audiobooks you've listened to, in 2022 in our latest poll.
Editorial Content for The Widow
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In THE WIDOW, Kaira Rouda uses multiple points of view as she plots a novel that by turns grips and repels us. Jody is the wife of Ohio congressman Martin Asher. They met in law school, and while she had hoped for him to reach higher than "mere" congressman, there he's been for over three decades. And while she loves being the spouse of a Member of Congress, with all the attendant functions and perks, she's tired of his indiscretions and his complaints about her spending. Read More
Teaser
Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. For 15 congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until it wasn’t. Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally, but professionally it’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished. When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative --- but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. There’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.
Promo
Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. For 15 congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until it wasn’t. Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally, but professionally it’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished. When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative --- but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. There’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.
About the Book
A husband with secrets. A wife with no limits. A riveting novel of marriage, privilege and lies by Kaira Rouda, the USA Today bestselling author of THE NEXT WIFE.
Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. She, the charming wife, would fuel his success. For 15 congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until he wasn’t.
Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally. But professionally? It’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished.
When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative --- but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. And there’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.
Audiobook available; read by Donna Postel, George Newbern and Nancy Wu
Editorial Content for Bryant & May: Peculiar London
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In 2004, Christopher Fowler kicked off his Peculiar Crimes Unit series with FULL DARK HOUSE, which revolved around a team of UK detectives, led by Arthur Bryant and John May, who were tasked with solving the most bizarre cases in and around London.
Eighteen years later, Fowler has composed a unique novel that finds Bryant, May and the other members of the Peculiar Crimes squad exploring many of London's most fascinating peculiarities. Hopefully, some of these stories will provide the impetus for more adventures. Read More
Teaser
It’s getting late. I want to share my knowledge of London with you, if I can remember any of it. So says Arthur Bryant. He and John May are the nation’s oldest serving detectives. Who better to reveal its secrets? Why does this rainy, cold, gray city capture so many imaginations? Could its very unreliability hold the key to its longevity? The detectives are joined by their boss, Raymond Land, and some of their most disreputable friends. Each character gives us a short tour of odd buildings, odder characters, lost venues, forgotten disasters, confusing routes, dubious gossip, illicit pleasures and hidden pubs. They make all sorts of connections --- and show us why it’s almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in London.
Promo
It’s getting late. I want to share my knowledge of London with you, if I can remember any of it. So says Arthur Bryant. He and John May are the nation’s oldest serving detectives. Who better to reveal its secrets? Why does this rainy, cold, gray city capture so many imaginations? Could its very unreliability hold the key to its longevity? The detectives are joined by their boss, Raymond Land, and some of their most disreputable friends. Each character gives us a short tour of odd buildings, odder characters, lost venues, forgotten disasters, confusing routes, dubious gossip, illicit pleasures and hidden pubs. They make all sorts of connections --- and show us why it’s almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in London.
About the Book
Thinking of a jaunt to England? Let Arthur Bryant and John May, London’s oldest police detectives, show you the oddities behind the city’s façades in this tongue-in-cheek travel guide.
It’s getting late. I want to share my knowledge of London with you, if I can remember any of it.
So says Arthur Bryant. He and John May are the nation’s oldest serving detectives. Who better to reveal its secrets? Why does this rainy, cold, gray city capture so many imaginations? Could its very unreliability hold the key to its longevity?
The detectives are joined by their boss, Raymond Land, and some of their most disreputable friends, each an argumentative and unreliable expert in their own dodgy field.
Each character gives us a short tour of odd buildings, odder characters, lost venues, forgotten disasters, confusing routes, dubious gossip, illicit pleasures and hidden pubs. They make all sorts of connections --- and show us why it’s almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in London.
Editorial Content for Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D'
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
I was a busboy at a Wisconsin resort one summer. Every day I worked two shifts in the dining room, serving breakfast/lunch and then dinner. My tasks were supposed to be keeping the guests satisfied with coffee, water and other liquids, as well as clearing the dishes off the tables and transporting them to the kitchen. I also worked with two waiters to make sure that the food was delivered to the proper tables. Nearly 60 years later, I can still recall the kitchen, the staff and how the food was prepared. Read More
Teaser
From his early career serving theater stars like Tennessee Williams and Dustin Hoffman at La Rousse right through to the last pre-pandemic-shutdown full houses at Le Coucou, Michel Cecchi-Azzolina has seen it all. In YOUR TABLE IS READY, he breaks down how restaurants really run (and don’t), and how the economics work for owners and overworked staff alike. The professionals who gravitate to the business are a special, tougher breed, practiced in dealing with the demanding patrons and with each other, in a very distinctive ecosystem that’s somewhere between a George Orwell “down and out in…” dungeon and a sleek showman’s smoke-and-mirrors palace.
Promo
From his early career serving theater stars like Tennessee Williams and Dustin Hoffman at La Rousse right through to the last pre-pandemic-shutdown full houses at Le Coucou, Michel Cecchi-Azzolina has seen it all. In YOUR TABLE IS READY, he breaks down how restaurants really run (and don’t), and how the economics work for owners and overworked staff alike. The professionals who gravitate to the business are a special, tougher breed, practiced in dealing with the demanding patrons and with each other, in a very distinctive ecosystem that’s somewhere between a George Orwell “down and out in…” dungeon and a sleek showman’s smoke-and-mirrors palace.
About the Book
A front-of-the-house KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL from a career maître d’hotel who manned the front of the room in New York City's hottest and most in-demand restaurants.
From the glamorous to the entitled, from royalty to the financially ruined, everyone who wanted to be seen --- or just to gawk --- at the hottest restaurants in New York City came to places Michael Cecchi-Azzolina helped run. His phone number was passed around among those who wanted to curry favor, during the decades when restaurants replaced clubs and theater as, well, theater in the most visible, vibrant city in the world.
Besides dropping us back into a vanished time, YOUR TABLE IS READY takes us places we’d never be able to get into on our own: Raoul's in Soho with its louche club vibe; Buzzy O’Keefe’s casually elegant River Café (the only outer-borough establishment desirable enough to be included in this roster), from Keith McNally’s Minetta Tavern to Nolita’s Le Coucou, possibly the most beautiful room in New York City in 2018, with its French Country Auberge-meets-winery look and the most exquisite and enormous stands of flowers, changed every three days.
From his early career serving theater stars like Tennessee Williams and Dustin Hoffman at La Rousse right through to the last pre-pandemic-shutdown full houses at Le Coucou, Cecchi-Azzolina has seen it all. In YOUR TABLE IS READY, he breaks down how restaurants really run (and don’t), and how the economics work for owners and overworked staff alike. The professionals who gravitate to the business are a special, tougher breed, practiced in dealing with the demanding patrons and with each other, in a very distinctive ecosystem that’s somewhere between a George Orwell “down and out in….” dungeon and a sleek showman’s smoke-and-mirrors palace.
YOUR TABLE IS READY is a rollicking, raunchy, revelatory memoir.
Audiobook available, read by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina
Editorial Content for The Ingenue
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Rachel Kapelke-Dale's debut novel, THE BALLERINAS, was an in-depth exploration of the ways in which female friendships both flourish in and are stifled by the high-pressure, high-stakes world of professional dance. In her second book, THE INGENUE, she focuses again on an art form, but one that is much more solitary in nature: classical piano. Read More
Teaser
When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man with whom Saskia shares a complicated history, she is forced to reexamine her own past --- and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life --- for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her? Set against a post #MeToo landscape, THE INGENUE delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you.
Promo
When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man with whom Saskia shares a complicated history, she is forced to reexamine her own past --- and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life --- for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her? Set against a post #MeToo landscape, THE INGENUE delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you.
About the Book
MY DARK VANESSA meets THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT in this new novel of suspense about the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition and the rewards of revenge.
When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man with whom Saskia shares a complicated history, she is forced to reexamine her own past --- and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life --- for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?
Set against a post #MeToo landscape, THE INGENUE delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia's childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.
Audiobook available, read by Stephanie Willis
Editorial Content for The Killing God: The Great God's War
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
It all started with a different title that was rejected. Then an illness that caused the author to miss the deadline. Then a first revision. Then a completed book that was not even read before being tagged as too big and needing 100,000 words removed. Which led to the book being pulled from the publication schedule. Enter the major editorial phase, and the author extracted 59,000 words and adjusted the work accordingly before resending it. And waiting. Now, at long last, it has arrived. Read More
Teaser
The kingdoms of Belleger and Amika had been fighting for generations. But then they learned of a terrible threat moving through them to destroy the Last Repository, an immense hidden library. To face this greater enemy, King Bifalt of Belleger and Queen Estie of Amika allied their lands and prepared for war. Now the time of preparation is over. Black ships and sorcery test the cannon that defend the Bay of Lights. Treachery and betrayal threaten the kingdoms. The priests of the Great God Rile sow dissent. And Estie rides for the Last Repository, desperate to enlist the help of their Magisters --- and to understand the nature of her own magical gift.
Promo
The kingdoms of Belleger and Amika had been fighting for generations. But then they learned of a terrible threat moving through them to destroy the Last Repository, an immense hidden library. To face this greater enemy, King Bifalt of Belleger and Queen Estie of Amika allied their lands and prepared for war. Now the time of preparation is over. Black ships and sorcery test the cannon that defend the Bay of Lights. Treachery and betrayal threaten the kingdoms. The priests of the Great God Rile sow dissent. And Estie rides for the Last Repository, desperate to enlist the help of their Magisters --- and to understand the nature of her own magical gift.
About the Book
Two kingdoms, ancient enemies, must stand alone against an implacable invader in the masterful conclusion of the Great God’s War epic from the New York Times bestselling author of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
They are coming.
The kingdoms of Belleger and Amika had been fighting for generations. But then they learned of a terrible threat moving through them to destroy the Last Repository, an immense hidden library. To face this greater enemy, King Bifalt of Belleger and Queen Estie of Amika allied their lands and prepared for war.
They are at the door.
Now the time of preparation is over. Black ships and sorcery test the cannon that defend the Bay of Lights. Treachery and betrayal threaten the kingdoms. The priests of the Great God Rile sow dissent. And Estie rides for the Last Repository, desperate to enlist the help of their Magisters --- and to understand the nature of her own magical gift.
They are here.
Bifalt hates sorcery as much as he loves Estie, and the discovery that she could become a Magister shatters him. But he must rally and fight. Belleger and Amika are all that stand between the Great God’s forces and his ultimate goal: the destruction of the Last Repository and its treasure of knowledge.
Audiobook available, read by Scott Brick