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August 23, 2025

August is a month where what’s happening depends on where you live. Some of the country is back in school --- cue cute kids in first-day-of-school outfits with their chalkboard dreams on social media. Others are trudging home from camp with dirty laundry and heading to family summer vacation. 

As I live in the New York area, I think of September as the month for a mini-reset. It does not bring the resolutions of January, but there are renewed goals. One might be “never miss book group” or “be sure to read the book.”

Garrett M. Graff, author of The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb

The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, 80 years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific. THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices and choices that will transform the course of history. Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries and transcripts from across the US, Japan and Europe, Garrett M. Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown.

Katherine Faulkner, author of The Break-In

Alice, a professional mother of one, is hosting a playdate with friends at her upscale London home when a disturbed man breaks in. With her child in the next room, Alice panics and kills him --- an act later ruled to have been in self-defense. Everyone tries to encourage Alice to move on with her life. But with strange comments appearing online, a mysterious phone call telling her all is not as it seems, and her husband, nanny and friends behaving strangely, Alice finds herself drawn to the mystery of who her intruder really was. As she digs deeper, she discovers a trail of dark secrets that spiral closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

Fannie Flagg, author of Something to Look Forward To: Fictions

Fannie Flagg once said that what the world needs now is a good laugh. And that is what she gives us in these warmhearted, always surprising stories about people who are finding clever ways to deal with the curveballs life sometimes throws at us. Velma in Kansas, a loving great-grandmother, struggles to bridge generational gaps with her family. We cheer for Helen, in Ithaca, New York, who takes an audacious course of action when her husband leaves her for a younger woman. In Bent Fork, Wyoming; in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; in Tucson, Arizona; and in towns and cities all across America, people figure out inventive ways to overcome obstacles to happiness. And in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Special Agent Frawley is studying the mysteries of being human from an original perspective.

Sharon Kurtzman, author of The Lost Baker of Vienna

In 2018, Zoe Rosenzweig is reeling after the loss of her beloved grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to her family during the war. Vienna, 1946: Chana Rosenzweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother and her younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn’t look like they’d imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe. Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father’s recipes. Soon, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions. How will Chana balance her love of baking against her family’s need for security?

Lisa Gardner, author of Kiss Her Goodbye

Recent Afghan refugee Sabera Ahmadi was last seen exiting her place of work three weeks ago. The local police have yet to open a case, while her older, domineering husband, Isaad, seems unconcerned. Sabera's closest friend, however, is convinced Sabera would never willingly leave her three-year-old daughter, Zahra. At her insistence, missing persons expert Frankie Elkin agrees to take up the search. Just in time for a video of the young mother to surface --- showing her walking away from the scene of a brutal double murder. Frankie quickly realizes there's much more to the Ahmadi family than meets the eye. When Isaad also disappears under mysterious circumstances and an attempt is made on Zahra's life, Frankie realizes that she quickly must crack the code of this family's horrific past.

Editorial Content for The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Lorraine W. Shanley

Bestselling author and journalist Garrett M. Graff produced an engrossing oral history of D-Day, WHEN THE SEA CAME ALIVE, which released in 2024. Read More

Teaser

The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, 80 years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific. THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices and choices that will transform the course of history. Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries and transcripts from across the US, Japan and Europe, Garrett M. Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown.

Promo

The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, 80 years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific. THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices and choices that will transform the course of history. Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries and transcripts from across the US, Japan and Europe, Garrett M. Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown.

About the Book

On the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the Pulitzer Prize finalist whose work is “oral history at its finest” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) delivers an epic narrative of the atomic bomb’s creation and deployment, woven from the voices of hundreds of scientists, generals, soldiers and civilians.

The building of the atomic bomb is the most audacious undertaking in human history: a rush by a small group of scientists and engineers in complete secrecy to unlock the most fundamental power of the universe. Even today, 80 years later, the Manhattan Project evokes boldness, daring and the grandest of dreams: bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific, a conflict that already had stretched from Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. As Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen fight those battles, men and women strive to discover the atom’s secrets at laboratories and plants in places like Chicago, Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Hanford and Los Alamos. On August 6, 1945, the world discovers what the end of the war --- and the new global age --- will look like. Science and politics will never be the same again.

The road to the first atomic bomb ends in Hiroshima, Japan, but it begins in Hitler’s Europe, where brilliant physicists following the path that Einstein blazed are forced to flee fascism and antisemitism --- bringing to America their determination to harness atomic power before it falls into the Führer’s arsenal. THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY traces the breakthroughs and the breakneck pace of atomic development in the years leading up to 1945, then takes us inside the B-29 bombers carrying Little Boy and Fat Man and finally to ground zero at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff, THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is the panoramic narrative of how ordinary people grapple with extraordinary wartime risks, sacrifices and choices that will transform the course of history. Theorists and engineers dare to experiment with forces of terrifying power for the purpose of creating an atomic bomb, knowing each passing day costs soldiers’ lives --- but fearing too the consequences of their creation. Hundreds of thousands of workers toil around the clock to produce uranium and plutonium in an endeavor so classified that most people involved learn the reality of their effort only when it is announced on the radio by President Truman. The 509th Composite Group trains for a mission whose details are kept a mystery until shortly before takeoff, when the Enola Gay and Bockscar are loaded with bombs the crew has never seen. And the civilians of two Japanese cities that have been spared American attacks --- preserved for the sake of judging the power of the bomb on an intact city --- escape their pulverized homes into a greater hellscape.

Drawing from dozens of oral history archives and hundreds of books, reports, letters, diaries and transcripts from across the US, Japan and Europe, Graff masterfully blends the memories and perspectives from the known and unknown --- key figures like J. Robert Oppenheimer, General Leslie Groves and President Truman; the crews of the B-29 bombers; and the haunting stories of the Hibakusha --- the “bomb-affected people.” Both a testament to human ingenuity and resilience and a compelling drama told by the participants who lived it, THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY is a singular, profound and searing book about the inception of our most powerful weapon and its haunting legacy.

Audiobook available, read by Edoardo Ballerini and a full cast

Editorial Content for Hatchet Girls: A Hap and Leonard Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Philip Zozzaro

Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are an inseparable pair who have tangled with more than a few formidable adversaries. Still, they have their work cut out for them when they must corral an out-of-control 400-pound pig for a client and manage to barely escape with their lives. The fruits of their labor are bruises and a wrecked house for their client. Read More

Teaser

When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge. The timing couldn't be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case. Both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives. Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with his fiancée, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group's mission and the plans they already have set in place for helter-skelter-esque mayhem.

Promo

When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge. The timing couldn't be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case. Both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives. Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with his fiancée, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group's mission and the plans they already have set in place for helter-skelter-esque mayhem.

About the Book

Your next dose of pitch-black comedy, mystery and mayhem has arrived as Hap and Leonard find themselves in a vicious and ridiculous situation --- just as the best friends may finally be calling it quits.

When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge.

The timing couldn't be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case. Both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives. Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with his fiancée, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group's mission and the plans they already have set in place for helter-skelter-esque mayhem.

Life changes, midnight sneaks and dark encounters with misguided dames who yell "Chop, Chop" lead Hap and Leonard into one of their darkest adventures yet.

Audiobook available, read by Christopher Ryan Brandt

Editorial Content for The Surrogate Mother

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

In her Author’s Note that opens THE SURROGATE MOTHER, Freida McFadden points out that her readers can count on her psychological thrillers never to contain gratuitous sex scenes or anything too gory. To be perfectly honest, her intricately plotted novels do not need any of that. The payoff lies in the fact that we must follow along very closely to pick up on each and every clue, red herring and plot twist that will lead to the ultimate reveal. Read More

Teaser

Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant, Monica, makes a generous offer to serve as a surrogate. It's an offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true. But soon, strange things start happening. And it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Promo

Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant, Monica, makes a generous offer to serve as a surrogate. It's an offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true. But soon, strange things start happening. And it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

About the Book

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a page-turner that will redefine what it means to be in the family way.

She was promised a miracle. She got more than she bargained for. 

Abby wants a baby more than anything.

But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. 

That is, until her personal assistant, Monica, makes a generous offer to serve as a surrogate. It's an offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true. 

But soon, strange things start happening. And it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret.

And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Audiobook available, read by Alyson Krawchuk 

Editorial Content for Hemlock and Silver

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

The work of T. Kingfisher has run the gamut from dark fantasy to horror, often within the same novel, and her respect for and devotion to classic gothic fairy tales always rings true with each story she tells. Her latest effort, HEMLOCK & SILVER, draws heavily from “Snow-White and Rose-Red” with a smattering of THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, all to terrific effect that will have readers squealing with delight. Read More

Teaser

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison. Not to die, but to save --- seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on. But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her. Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick. Or it might be the thing that kills them all.

Promo

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison. Not to die, but to save --- seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on. But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her. Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick. Or it might be the thing that kills them all.

About the Book

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes HEMLOCK & SILVER, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue and treason of the most magical kind.

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.

Not to die, but to save --- seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.

But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.

Or it might be the thing that kills them all.

Audiobook available, read by Jennifer Pickens