Skip to main content

Week of August 5, 2024

Paperback releases for the week of August 5th include THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS by Lisa Scottoline, a pulse-pounding novel of domestic suspense about family, justice and the lies that tear us apart; BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN, an exhilarating thriller from Jessica Knoll in which two women from opposite sides of the country are brought together by violent acts of the same man; Melanie Benjamin's CALIFORNIA GOLDEN, a gripping, emotional story about two sisters who navigate the thrilling, euphoric early days of California surf culture; ONE WRONG WORD by Hank Phillippi Ryan, a heart-racing psychological thriller that explores the insidious nature of gossip, scandal and lies --- and how careers, friendships and even marriages can be shattered forever; and Liza Mundy's THE SISTERHOOD, a fascinating history of three generations at the CIA centered on the women who fought to become operatives, transformed spycraft and tracked down Osama bin Laden.

August 6, 2024

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of August 5th and August 12th 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 Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for August, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, the PBS Books Readers Club, the "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, Reese's Book Club, and the Target Book Club.

August 6, 2024

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we think is a great summer reading selection. Read more about it, and enter our Summer Reading Contest by Wednesday, August 7th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of HOUSE OF GLASS by Sarah Pekkanen, which is now available and is this month's Top LibraryReads Pick. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Amy Neff, author of The Days I Loved You Most

In the summer of 1941, on the New England shores where they were raised, Evelyn and Joseph fell in love. Now, more than 60 years later, with a lifetime between them, they have gathered their three grown children to share the staggering news: she has received a tragic diagnosis, and he cannot live without her. So in one year’s time, they will end their lives on their own terms. As the couple comes to grips with their fate, they retrace their past --- the joys and regrets, the laughter and the sorrow --- that brought them to this moment. They embark on a journey to live out their greatest dreams and to comfort and connect with each of their children before they're gone. But as their final days draw closer, they must confront the stark reality of what they are about to do, and make peace with the legacy they will leave behind for their family.

Kimberly McCreight, author of Like Mother, Like Daughter

When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom’s bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened. But what? Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks. Kat has been lying. She’s not just a lawyer; she’s her firm’s fixer. And in the days leading up to her disappearance, Kat has become aware of multiple threats: demands for money from her unfaithful soon-to-be ex-husband; evidence that Cleo has slipped back into a relationship that’s far riskier than she understands; and menacing anonymous messages from her past --- all of which she’s kept hidden from Cleo.

Rainbow Rowell, author of Slow Dance

Shiloh and Carey were best friends. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha --- Shiloh would go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change. Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed. Now Shiloh is 33, and it’s been 14 years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house in which she grew up. When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is if Cary will be there --- and if she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything? The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

Shari Lapena, author of What Have You Done?

Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. But this morning that will change. And one innocent question could be deadly. What have you done? The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust that their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked. But Diana Brewer isn’t lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer. How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects, a place of fear and paranoia. Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers.

Editorial Content for Nicked

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

M. T. Anderson, the award-winning author of books for young adults and children, makes his long-awaited adult fiction debut with NICKED, which is based on a bizarre but true story. Read More

Teaser

The year is 1087, and a pox is sweeping through the Italian city of Bari. When a lowly monk is visited by Saint Nicholas in his dreams, he interprets the vision as a call to serve the sick. But his superiors, and the power brokers they serve, have different plans for the tender-hearted Brother Nicephorus. Enter Tyun, a charismatic treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs. The 700-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas are rumored to weep a mysterious liquid that can heal the sick, Tyun says. For the humble price of a small fortune, he will steal the bones and deliver them to Bari, curing the plague and restoring glory to the fallen city. And Nicephorus, the “dreamer,” will be his guide. What follows is a heist for the ages, as Nicephorus is swept away on strange tides, and alongside even stranger bedfellows, to commit sacrilegious theft.

Promo

The year is 1087, and a pox is sweeping through the Italian city of Bari. When a lowly monk is visited by Saint Nicholas in his dreams, he interprets the vision as a call to serve the sick. But his superiors, and the power brokers they serve, have different plans for the tender-hearted Brother Nicephorus. Enter Tyun, a charismatic treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs. The 700-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas are rumored to weep a mysterious liquid that can heal the sick, Tyun says. For the humble price of a small fortune, he will steal the bones and deliver them to Bari, curing the plague and restoring glory to the fallen city. And Nicephorus, the “dreamer,” will be his guide. What follows is a heist for the ages, as Nicephorus is swept away on strange tides, and alongside even stranger bedfellows, to commit sacrilegious theft.

About the Book

From the award-winning and bestselling author of FEED comes a raucous and slyly funny adult fiction debut. Based on a bizarre but true quest to steal the mystical corpse of a long-dead saint, NICKED is a fantastical, genre-defying and delightfully queer historical romp.

The year is 1087, and a pox is sweeping through the Italian city of Bari. When a lowly monk is visited by Saint Nicholas in his dreams, he interprets the vision as a call to serve the sick. But his superiors, and the power brokers they serve, have different plans for the tender-hearted Brother Nicephorus.

Enter Tyun, a charismatic treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs. The 700-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas are rumored to weep a mysterious liquid that can heal the sick, Tyun says. For the humble price of a small fortune, he will steal the bones and deliver them to Bari, curing the plague and restoring glory to the fallen city. And Nicephorus, the “dreamer,” will be his guide.

What follows is a heist for the ages, as Nicephorus is swept away on strange tides, and alongside even stranger bedfellows, to commit sacrilegious theft. Based on real historical accounts, NICKED is a swashbuckling saga, a medieval novel noir, a meditation on the miraculous and a monastic meet-cute, filled with wide-eyed wonder at the world that awaits beyond our own borders.

Audiobook available, read by Euan Morton

Editorial Content for The Best Lies

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Kate Ayers

Smart, charming Leo Balanoff had a rough and unconventional beginning in life. To start with, Leo Balanoff is not his given name. And his brother, Trace, is not his brother. Nor is his mother, Marilyn, his actual mother. So when Leo turns out to be a natural liar, who can really blame him? More about that later. Read More

Teaser

Leo Balanoff is a diagnosed pathological liar with unthinkable skeletons in his family's closet. He's also a crusading attorney who seeks justice at all costs. When a ruthless drug dealer is found dead and Leo’s fingerprints show up on the murder weapon, no one believes a word he says. But he might be the FBI’s only shot at taking down the dealer’s brutal syndicate. Risk his life going undercover for the feds or head straight to prison for murder? Leo accepts the FBI’s offer --- but it comes with a price, including a collision course with his ex, Andi Piotrowski, a former cop and “the one who got away.” Forced to walk a tightrope between an ambitious FBI agent and a cruel, calculating crime boss, Leo is trapped in a corner. But he has more secrets than anyone realizes, and a few more cards left to play.

Promo

Leo Balanoff is a diagnosed pathological liar with unthinkable skeletons in his family's closet. He's also a crusading attorney who seeks justice at all costs. When a ruthless drug dealer is found dead and Leo’s fingerprints show up on the murder weapon, no one believes a word he says. But he might be the FBI’s only shot at taking down the dealer’s brutal syndicate. Risk his life going undercover for the feds or head straight to prison for murder? Leo accepts the FBI’s offer --- but it comes with a price, including a collision course with his ex, Andi Piotrowski, a former cop and “the one who got away.” Forced to walk a tightrope between an ambitious FBI agent and a cruel, calculating crime boss, Leo is trapped in a corner. But he has more secrets than anyone realizes, and a few more cards left to play.

About the Book

Bestselling and award-winning author David Ellis delivers a fast-paced, twisty thriller that will surprise readers at every turn.

Leo Balanoff is a diagnosed pathological liar with unthinkable skeletons in his family's closet. He's also a crusading attorney who seeks justice at all costs. When a ruthless drug dealer is found dead and Leo’s fingerprints show up on the murder weapon, no one believes a word he says. But he might be the FBI’s only shot at taking down the dealer’s brutal syndicate.

Risk his life going undercover for the feds or head straight to prison for murder? Leo accepts the FBI’s offer --- but it comes with a price, including a collision course with his ex, Andi Piotrowski, a former cop and “the one who got away.” Forced to walk a tightrope between an ambitious FBI agent and a cruel, calculating crime boss, Leo is trapped in a corner. But he has more secrets than anyone realizes, and a few more cards left to play.

Audiobook available; read by Vas Eli, Emana Rachelle, Lee Osorio, Natasha Soudek and Philip Hernandez

Editorial Content for Sugar on the Bones: A Hap and Leonard Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Philip Zozzaro

Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are familiar with sticky situations, but their most recent case initially didn’t appear as such. Their best friend on the police force, Marvin Hanson, was trading in his gun and cuffs for bait and tackle. Marvin refers a possible client to the pair and asks if Hap will accompany his wife and investigative partner, Brett, to meet with Minnie Polson. Brett doesn’t hold back in expressing her opinion and is turned off by Minnie. Read More

Teaser

Minnie Polson has been burned to a crisp in a fire so big and bad that it had to have been deliberate. She had a feeling she was being targeted, but when she solicited Hap and Leonard, all it took was one off-color joke for her to call them off the investigation. As they look closer, Hap and Leonard dredge up troublesome facts. For one, Minnie’s daughter, Alice, has recently vanished. She’d been hard up after her pet grooming business went under and was in line to collect a whopping insurance sum should anything happen to her mother. The same was due to Minnie’s estranged husband, Al, whose kryptonite (beautiful, money-grubbing women) had left him with only a run-down mobile home. But did Minnie’s foolish, cash-strapped family really have it in them to commit a crime this grisly? Or is there a larger, far more sinister scheme at work?

Promo

Minnie Polson has been burned to a crisp in a fire so big and bad that it had to have been deliberate. She had a feeling she was being targeted, but when she solicited Hap and Leonard, all it took was one off-color joke for her to call them off the investigation. As they look closer, Hap and Leonard dredge up troublesome facts. For one, Minnie’s daughter, Alice, has recently vanished. She’d been hard up after her pet grooming business went under and was in line to collect a whopping insurance sum should anything happen to her mother. The same was due to Minnie’s estranged husband, Al, whose kryptonite (beautiful, money-grubbing women) had left him with only a run-down mobile home. But did Minnie’s foolish, cash-strapped family really have it in them to commit a crime this grisly? Or is there a larger, far more sinister scheme at work?

About the Book

In this holy mess of a case for the "perpetual bad boy" (New York Times) sleuths in the beloved Hap and Leonard series, P.I. duo Hap and Leonard investigate the untimely death of a woman whose family stood much to gain from her passing.

Minnie Polson is dead. Burned to a crisp in a fire so big and bad it had to be deliberate. The only thing worse is that Hap and Leonard could have prevented it. Maybe. Minnie had a feeling she was being targeted, shaken down by some shadowy force. However, when she’d solicited Hap and Leonard, all it took was one off color joke to turn her sour and she’d called them off the investigation. Wracked with a guilty conscience, the two P.I.s --- along with Hap’s fleet-footed wife, Brett --- tuck in to the case.

As they look closer, they dredge up troublesome facts: for one, Minnie’s daughter, Alice, has recently vanished. She’d been hard up after her pet grooming business went under and was in line to collect a whopping insurance sum should anything happen to her mother. The same was due to Minnie’s estranged husband, Al, whose kryptonite (beautiful, money-grubbing women) had left him with only a run-down mobile home. But did Minnie’s foolish, cash-strapped family really have it in them to commit a crime this grisly? Or is there a larger, far more sinister scheme at work?

Irreverent, wise-cracking, and full of atmosphere and bite, SUGAR ON THE BONES is not to be missed. 

Audiobook available, read by Christopher Ryan Grant