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Editorial Content for The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

In 2015's DREAMLAND, Sam Quinones chronicled the start and rise of America’s opioid epidemic. It began with Oxycontin, created by the Sackler family’s Purdue pharmaceutical company, and morphed into an all-out drug war as users turned to heroin, resulting in harrowing nationwide death tolls and a booming drug trafficking market. But a new "star" has emerged in the epidemic’s third phase: fentanyl. Read More

Teaser

Sam Quinones traveled from Mexico to main streets across the US to create DREAMLAND, a groundbreaking portrait of the opioid epidemic. As the nation struggled to put back the pieces, Quinones was among the first to see the dangers that lay ahead. In fentanyl, traffickers landed a painkiller a hundred times more powerful than morphine, causing tens of thousands of deaths. At the same time, Mexican traffickers made methamphetamine cheaper and more potent than ever, creating swaths of mental illness and a surge in homelessness across the United States. Quinones hit the road to investigate these new threats, discovering how addiction is exacerbated by consumer-product corporations.

Promo

Sam Quinones traveled from Mexico to main streets across the US to create DREAMLAND, a groundbreaking portrait of the opioid epidemic. As the nation struggled to put back the pieces, Quinones was among the first to see the dangers that lay ahead. In fentanyl, traffickers landed a painkiller a hundred times more powerful than morphine, causing tens of thousands of deaths. At the same time, Mexican traffickers made methamphetamine cheaper and more potent than ever, creating swaths of mental illness and a surge in homelessness across the United States. Quinones hit the road to investigate these new threats, discovering how addiction is exacerbated by consumer-product corporations.

About the Book

From the New York Times bestselling author of DREAMLAND, a searing follow-up that explores the terrifying next stages of the opioid epidemic and the quiet yet ardent stories of community repair.

Sam Quinones traveled from Mexico to main streets across the US to create DREAMLAND, a groundbreaking portrait of the opioid epidemic that awakened the nation. As the nation struggled to put back the pieces, Quinones was among the first to see the dangers that lay ahead: synthetic drugs and a new generation of kingpins whose product could be made in Magic Bullet blenders. In fentanyl, traffickers landed a painkiller a hundred times more powerful than morphine. They laced it into cocaine, meth and counterfeit pills to cause tens of thousands of deaths --- at the same time as Mexican traffickers made methamphetamine cheaper and more potent than ever, creating, Sam argues, swaths of mental illness and a surge in homelessness across the United States.

Quinones hit the road to investigate these new threats, discovering how addiction is exacerbated by consumer-product corporations. “In a time when drug traffickers act like corporations and corporations like traffickers,” he writes, “our best defense, perhaps our only defense, lies in bolstering community.” Amid a landscape of despair, Quinones found hope in those embracing the forgotten and ignored, illuminating the striking truth that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable.

Weaving analysis of the drug trade into stories of humble communities, THE LEAST OF US delivers an unexpected and awe-inspiring response to the call that shocked the nation in Sam Quinones’ award-winning DREAMLAND.

Audiobook available, read by Tom Jordan

Editorial Content for The Apollo Murders

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pauline Finch

Several years ago, I was half-listening to a radio interview in which an unnamed expert commented on how profoundly the commercial news industry affects our perception of who deserves recognition. Read More

Teaser

NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it. But even as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is quite who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide on the lunar surface, far beyond the reach of law or rescue.

Promo

NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it. But even as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is quite who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide on the lunar surface, far beyond the reach of law or rescue.

About the Book

An exceptional debut thriller and “exciting journey” into the dark heart of the Cold War and the space race from New York Times bestselling author and astronaut Chris Hadfield (Andy Weir, author of THE MARTIAN and PROJECT HAIL MARY).
 

1973: a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny spaceship, a quarter million miles from home. A quarter million miles from help.

NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it.

But even as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is quite who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide on the lunar surface, far beyond the reach of law or rescue.
 
Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of THE MARTIAN loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists and tension of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, THE APOLLO MURDERS is a high-stakes thriller unlike any other. Chris Hadfield captures the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of space, and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour as only someone who has experienced all of these things in real life can.
 
Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.

Audiobook available, read by Ray Porter

Editorial Content for Comfort Me With Apples

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Katherine B. Weissman

It’s definitely apple season --- I like the kind that aren’t too sweet or soft, with real bite --- and this new fantasy novella has both the brightness and the incipient gloom of autumn.

The title is a biblical phrase from the Song of Solomon (“Comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love”), also used by Ruth Reichl, former editor of Gourmet magazine, for a memoir about her life in food. Reichl, of course, was interested in culinary possibilities. Catherynne M. Valente is way more engaged by the apple’s symbolic potential. Read More

Teaser

Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect. It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband, and everything is perfect. But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze. But everything is perfect. Isn't it?

Promo

Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect. It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband, and everything is perfect. But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze. But everything is perfect. Isn't it?

About the Book

COMFORT ME WITH APPLES is a terrifying new thriller from bestseller Catherynne M. Valente, for fans of GONE GIRL and SPINNING SILVER.

Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.

It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband, and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze.

But everything is perfect. Isn't it?

Audiobook available, read by Karis Campbell

Editorial Content for The Return of the Pharaoh: From the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

It is no secret that I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. What impresses me the most about Nicholas Meyer’s latest effort is that he refers to himself as the editor instead of the writer. Everyone in the know will immediately smirk at this literary wink to the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who made it clear that he was merely utilizing the journals written by John H. Watson, M.D. to compose his stories. Read More

Teaser

In 1910, Dr. John Watson travels to Egypt with his wife, Juliet. Her tuberculosis has returned, and her doctor recommends a stay at a sanitarium in a dry climate. But while his wife undergoes treatment, Dr. Watson bumps into an old friend --- Sherlock Holmes. An English Duke with a penchant for Egyptology has disappeared, leading to enquiries from his wife and the Home Office. Holmes has discovered that the missing duke has indeed vanished from his lavish rooms in Cairo and that he was on the trail of a previous undiscovered and unopened tomb. With the help of Howard Carter, Holmes and Watson are on the trail of something much bigger, more important and more sinister than an errant lord.

Promo

In 1910, Dr. John Watson travels to Egypt with his wife, Juliet. Her tuberculosis has returned, and her doctor recommends a stay at a sanitarium in a dry climate. But while his wife undergoes treatment, Dr. Watson bumps into an old friend --- Sherlock Holmes. An English Duke with a penchant for Egyptology has disappeared, leading to enquiries from his wife and the Home Office. Holmes has discovered that the missing duke has indeed vanished from his lavish rooms in Cairo and that he was on the trail of a previous undiscovered and unopened tomb. With the help of Howard Carter, Holmes and Watson are on the trail of something much bigger, more important and more sinister than an errant lord.

About the Book

In Nicholas Meyer's THE RETURN OF THE PHARAOH, Sherlock Holmes returns in an adventure that takes him to Egypt in search of a missing nobleman, a previously undiscovered pharaoh's tomb, and a conspiracy that threatens his very life.

With his international bestseller, THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION, Nicholas Meyer brought to light a previously unpublished case of Sherlock Holmes that reinvigorated the world's interest in the first consulting detective. Now, many years later, Meyer is given exclusive access to Dr. Watson's unpublished journal, wherein he details a previously unknown case.

In 1910, Dr. John Watson travels to Egypt with his wife, Juliet. Her tuberculosis has returned and her doctor recommends a stay at a sanitarium in a dry climate. But while his wife undergoes treatment, Dr. Watson bumps into an old friend --- Sherlock Holmes, in disguise and on a case. An English Duke with a penchant for Egyptology has disappeared, leading to enquiries from his wife and the Home Office.

Holmes has discovered that the missing duke has indeed vanished from his lavish rooms in Cairo and that he was on the trail of a previous undiscovered and unopened tomb. And that he's only the latest Egyptologist to die or disappear under odd circumstances. With the help of Howard Carter, Holmes and Watson are on the trail of something much bigger, more important and more sinister than an errant lord.

Audiobook available, read by David Robb

Editorial Content for Burntcoat

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

It’s perhaps inevitable that the next several months and years will see a flood of pandemic novels. Some of them will be very good at saying something new about what our recent history means, while others will be less so. But it’s almost certain that at least some readers will compare everything that follows to Sarah Hall’s exquisite BURNTCOAT, which manages to transform the pandemic into a commentary on what it means to be an artist, and to be human. Read More

Teaser

In an unnamed British city, a deadly global virus is spreading, and like everyone else, the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness retreats inside. She isolates herself in her immense studio, Burntcoat, with Halit, the lover she barely knows. As life outside changes irreparably, inside Burntcoat, Edith and Halit find themselves changed as well: by the histories and responsibilities each carries and bears, by the fears and dangers of the world outside, and by the progressions of their new relationship. And Burntcoat will be transformed, too, into a new and feverish world, a place in which Edith comes to an understanding of how we survive the impossible --- and what is left after we have.

Promo

In an unnamed British city, a deadly global virus is spreading, and like everyone else, the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness retreats inside. She isolates herself in her immense studio, Burntcoat, with Halit, the lover she barely knows. As life outside changes irreparably, inside Burntcoat, Edith and Halit find themselves changed as well: by the histories and responsibilities each carries and bears, by the fears and dangers of the world outside, and by the progressions of their new relationship. And Burntcoat will be transformed, too, into a new and feverish world, a place in which Edith comes to an understanding of how we survive the impossible --- and what is left after we have.

About the Book

A "masterpiece" (Daisy Johnson) of mortality, passion and human connection, set against the backdrop of a deadly global virus --- from the Booker–nominated writer.

You were the last one here, before I closed the door of Burntcoat. Before we all closed our doors...

In an unnamed British city, the virus is spreading, and like everyone else, the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness retreats inside. She isolates herself in her immense studio, Burntcoat, with Halit, the lover she barely knows. As life outside changes irreparably, inside Burntcoat, Edith and Halit find themselves changed as well: by the histories and responsibilities each carries and bears, by the fears and dangers of the world outside, and by the progressions of their new relationship. And Burntcoat will be transformed, too, into a new and feverish world, a place in which Edith comes to an understanding of how we survive the impossible --- and what is left after we have.

A sharp and stunning novel of art and ambition, mortality and connection, BURNTCOAT is a major work from “one of our most influential short story writers” (The Guardian). It is an intimate and vital examination of how and why we create --- make art, form relationships, build a life --- and an urgent exploration of an unprecedented crisis, the repercussions of which are still years in the learning.

Audiobook available, read by Louise Brealey

Editorial Content for Never Fall for Your Fiancée

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

John Vena

Set in 1825 England, NEVER FALL FOR YOUR FIANCÉE is a light and breezy romantic comedy. Hugh Standish, the rakish Earl of Fareham, has concocted an enormous web of lies to keep his intrusive mother out of his personal life. Even though she lives in America, her desire to see him wed has caused him to create an imaginary fiancée named Minerva. Read More

Teaser

The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one. So Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep her matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns that she is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman. Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. So when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that the offer is too good to pass up. Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course nothing goes according to his meticulous plan.

Promo

The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one. So Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep her matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns that she is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman. Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. So when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that the offer is too good to pass up. Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course nothing goes according to his meticulous plan.

About the Book

The first in a new historical rom-com series, a handsome earl hires a fake fiancée to keep his matchmaking mother at bay, but hilarity ensues when love threatens to complicate everything.

The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one, even from across the other side of the ocean. So Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep his mother’s matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns his interfering mother is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his complicated, convoluted but convenient ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman, who might just be the miracle he needs.

Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. Work as a woodcut engraver is few and far between, and the Merriwell sisters are nearly penniless. So when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that while the scheme sounds ludicrous, the offer is too good to pass up.

Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course nothing goes according to his meticulous plan. As hilarity and miscommunication ensue while everyone tries to keep their tangled stories straight, Hugh and Minerva’s fake engagement starts to turn into a real romance. But can they trust each other when their relationship started with a lie?

The first book in the Merriwell Sisters series, NEVER FALL FOR YOUR FIANCÉE is a hilarious, sparkling historical romantic comedy from Virginia Heath.

Audiobook available, read by Shane East and Shakira Shute

Editorial Content for Star Mother

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

Charlie N. Holmberg follows up her Spellbreaker duology with a new fantasy series, which kicks off with STAR MOTHER. In the world she creates, the Earth is much like ours but without the technology, and humans worship a Sun god. In fact, the gods have children, there are demigods and godlings, and stars are born from the Sun god and a human mother. Read More

Teaser

When a star dies, a new one must be born. The Sun God chooses the village of Endwever to provide a mortal womb. The birthing of a star is always fatal for the mother, and Ceris Wenden sacrifices herself to secure her family’s honor. But after her star child is born, Ceris does what no other star mother has: she survives. When Ceris returns to Endwever, it’s not nine months later --- it’s 700 years later. Inexplicably displaced in time, Ceris is determined to seek out her descendants. Being a woman traveling alone brings its own challenges, until Ceris encounters a mysterious --- and desperate --- godling. Ristriel is the only being who can guide Ceris safely to her destination. Now, as Ceris traverses realms both mortal and beyond, her journey truly begins.

Promo

When a star dies, a new one must be born. The Sun God chooses the village of Endwever to provide a mortal womb. The birthing of a star is always fatal for the mother, and Ceris Wenden sacrifices herself to secure her family’s honor. But after her star child is born, Ceris does what no other star mother has: she survives. When Ceris returns to Endwever, it’s not nine months later --- it’s 700 years later. Inexplicably displaced in time, Ceris is determined to seek out her descendants. Being a woman traveling alone brings its own challenges, until Ceris encounters a mysterious --- and desperate --- godling. Ristriel is the only being who can guide Ceris safely to her destination. Now, as Ceris traverses realms both mortal and beyond, her journey truly begins.

About the Book

A woman’s heart proves as infinite as the night sky in a breathtaking fantasy by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.

When a star dies, a new one must be born.

The Sun God chooses the village of Endwever to provide a mortal womb. The birthing of a star is always fatal for the mother, and Ceris Wenden, who considers herself an outsider, sacrifices herself to secure her family’s honor and take control of her legacy. But after her star child is born, Ceris does what no other star mother has: she survives. When Ceris returns to Endwever, however, it’s not nine months later --- it’s 700 years later. Inexplicably displaced in time, Ceris is determined to seek out her descendants.

Being a woman traveling alone brings its own challenges, until Ceris encounters a mysterious --- and desperate --- godling. Ristriel is incorporeal, a fugitive, a trickster, and the only being who can guide Ceris safely to her destination. Now, as Ceris traverses realms both mortal and beyond, her journey truly begins.

Together, pursued across the Earth and trespassing the heavens, Ceris and Ristriel are on a path to illuminate the mysteries that bind them and discover the secrets of the celestial world.

Audiobook available, read by Khristine Hvam

Editorial Content for In Another Light

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Christine M. Irvin

Phoebe Glassman is a sculptor who joined her husband, Logan McClary, in his mortuary business as a cosmetologist. As such, not only does she do hair and makeup for the deceased prior to viewings, in many cases she must restore parts of the person’s face that is missing because of disease, accidents or gunshots. Read More

Teaser

Three years ago, mortuary cosmetologist Phoebe Glassman lost her husband in a tragic accident. No longer the hopeful wife and mother she once was, Phoebe is disappearing into her grief and into the quietude of her job --- restoring to the dead the illusion of life. Then the body of a woman named Pauline Steele arrives in the mortuary, and for Phoebe, everything changes. Pauline is unmistakably Phoebe’s mirror image and bears an alarmingly familiar tattoo. Even more startling is that among Pauline’s effects is a faded photograph of Phoebe. Aided by an eccentric colleague, her curiosity sparked, Phoebe investigates her doppelgänger’s life and death --- and uncovers surprising clues to a shared past.

Promo

Three years ago, mortuary cosmetologist Phoebe Glassman lost her husband in a tragic accident. No longer the hopeful wife and mother she once was, Phoebe is disappearing into her grief and into the quietude of her job --- restoring to the dead the illusion of life. Then the body of a woman named Pauline Steele arrives in the mortuary, and for Phoebe, everything changes. Pauline is unmistakably Phoebe’s mirror image and bears an alarmingly familiar tattoo. Even more startling is that among Pauline’s effects is a faded photograph of Phoebe. Aided by an eccentric colleague, her curiosity sparked, Phoebe investigates her doppelgänger’s life and death --- and uncovers surprising clues to a shared past.

About the Book

The death of a look-alike stranger leads a grieving woman down a troubling path in this riveting novel by A. J. Banner, bestselling author of THE POISON GARDEN.

Three years ago, mortuary cosmetologist Phoebe Glassman lost her husband in a tragic accident. No longer the hopeful wife and mother she once was, Phoebe is disappearing into her grief and into the quietude of her job --- restoring to the dead the illusion of life. Then the body of a woman named Pauline Steele arrives in the mortuary, and for Phoebe, everything changes.

Pauline is unmistakably Phoebe’s mirror image and bears an alarmingly familiar tattoo. Even more startling is that among Pauline’s effects is a faded photograph of Phoebe. Aided by an eccentric colleague, her curiosity sparked, Phoebe investigates her doppelgänger’s life and death --- and uncovers surprising clues to a shared past.

Phoebe’s emotional journey soon leads to shocking revelations about those closest to her...and even herself. When she’s driven to the brink, how much of what she discovers can she trust?

Audiobook available, read by Vaneh Assadourian

November 12, 2021

I loved the extra hour last weekend, which I did spend 24 ways --- and it was really nice  not to have to drag myself out of bed on Monday in the dark!

I finally got a head start on my January 2022 reading with two books that I am enjoying. First up is OLGA DIES DREAMING by Xochitl Gonzalez, which is both smart and fun...and yes, if you recognize the title, it's because it's a current contest book (more on that later). I am loving Olga’s adventures as a wedding planner and her zest for life. I liked it so much that when I had an appointment the other morning, I brought it with me so I could read while I waited. But when I came home, I could not find it. I called the office where I had been, twice, and I searched the car again.

Vincent van Gogh

I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate.

Attribution

Vincent van Gogh