Editorial Content for Friends Like These
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
You are probably familiar with the expression “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” It is such a darkly comic line that you can practically hear it coming from the lips of a legendary stand-up comic, like Rodney Dangerfield or Jackie Mason. In the context of FRIENDS LIKE THESE, it accurately describes the highly dysfunctional, spoiled and privileged individuals who are at the center of Kimberly McCreight’s latest novel. Read More
Teaser
Six college friends have reunited for a glamorous weekend in the Catskills, a decade after a fatal accident that nearly destroyed them. Keith, once the ringleader of the group, is spiraling into addiction and stands at the edge of losing it all. This weekend is the last chance to save him. But Keith is not the only one who needs saving. By dawn on Sunday morning, a car has been found deep in the woods --- one of the friends is dead, another is missing. When a local detective turns up to investigate, it’s clear the group is hiding something ominous. Haunted by her sister’s murder years ago, Detective Julia Scutt has her own share of problems. But she is a skilled detective and knows a rehearsed story when she hears one. It is up to Julia to untangle a decade-long web of friendship, lies and betrayals to discover the truth.
Promo
Six college friends have reunited for a glamorous weekend in the Catskills, a decade after a fatal accident that nearly destroyed them. Keith, once the ringleader of the group, is spiraling into addiction and stands at the edge of losing it all. This weekend is the last chance to save him. But Keith is not the only one who needs saving. By dawn on Sunday morning, a car has been found deep in the woods --- one of the friends is dead, another is missing. When a local detective turns up to investigate, it’s clear the group is hiding something ominous. Haunted by her sister’s murder years ago, Detective Julia Scutt has her own share of problems. But she is a skilled detective and knows a rehearsed story when she hears one. It is up to Julia to untangle a decade-long web of friendship, lies and betrayals to discover the truth.
About the Book
In this relentlessly twisty literary thriller from New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight, a desperate intervention brings together a group of college friends 10 years after graduation --- a reunion marked by lies, betrayal and murder.
Six college friends have reunited for a glamorous weekend in the Catskills, a decade after a fatal accident that nearly destroyed them. Keith, once the ringleader of the group, was a handsome charmer on the fast track to success. Now he’s spiraling into addiction and stands at the edge of losing it all. This weekend is the last chance to save him.
But Keith, it turns out, is not the only one who needs saving.
By dawn on Sunday morning, a car has been found deep in the woods --- one of the friends is dead, another is missing. When a local detective turns up to investigate, it’s clear the group is hiding something ominous.
Haunted by her sister’s murder years ago, Detective Julia Scutt has her own share of problems. But she is a skilled detective and knows a rehearsed story when she hears one. It is up to Julia to untangle a decade-long web of friendship, lies and betrayals to discover the truth. But first she needs to face her own past --- including the secrets that could, in the end, offer the key to everything.
A story of unconditional love, obsession and the sometimes-impossible choices we have to make in the name of loyalty, FRIENDS LIKE THESE is a relentlessly twisty, roller-coaster of a novel.
Audiobook available; read by Carlotta Brentan, Ewan Chung, Susan Dalian, Lauren Fortgang, James Fouhey, Stacey Glemboski, Joe Knezevich and Alex McKenna
Editorial Content for The Missing Hours
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Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Claudia Castro was supposed to be in the delivery room with her sister, Edie, as she was giving birth to her first child. But when the baby is born, Claudia is nowhere to be found. She is completely unreachable, and her most recent posts involve a staycation. Read More
Teaser
From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: a famous family, a trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But look closer, and things are messier: her parents are separating, she’s just been humiliated by a sleazy documentary, and her sister is about to have a baby with a man she barely knows. Claudia starts the school year resolved to find a path toward something positive, maybe even meaningful --- and then one drunken night everything changes. She cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship. But when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing. Suddenly, the whole city is trying to piece together the hours of that terrible night.
Promo
From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: a famous family, a trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But look closer, and things are messier: her parents are separating, she’s just been humiliated by a sleazy documentary, and her sister is about to have a baby with a man she barely knows. Claudia starts the school year resolved to find a path toward something positive, maybe even meaningful --- and then one drunken night everything changes. She cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship. But when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing. Suddenly, the whole city is trying to piece together the hours of that terrible night.
About the Book
From the critically acclaimed author of INVISIBLE CITY and CONVICTION, THE MISSING HOURS is a novel about obsession, privilege and the explosive consequences of one violent act.
From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: a famous family, a trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But look closer, and things are messier: her parents are separating, she’s just been humiliated by a sleazy documentary, and her sister is about to have a baby with a man she barely knows.
Claudia starts the school year resolved to find a path toward something positive, maybe even meaningful --- and then one drunken night everything changes. Reeling, her memory hazy, Claudia cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship. But when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing.
Suddenly, the whole city is trying to piece together the hours of that terrible night.
Audiobook available, read by Taylor Meskimen
Editorial Content for Fault Lines
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Reviewer (text)
From debut novelist Emily Itami comes FAULT LINES, an explosively resonant and shockingly witty look into the life of happy housewife Mizuki...who maybe isn’t so happy after all. Read More
Teaser
Mizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It’s everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether she would rather throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband and hanging up laundry. Then, one rainy night, she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. In him, she rediscovers freedom, friendship and the neon, electric pulse of the city she has always loved. But the further she falls into their relationship, the clearer it becomes that she is living two lives --- and in the end, we can choose only one.
Promo
Mizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It’s everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether she would rather throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband and hanging up laundry. Then, one rainy night, she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. In him, she rediscovers freedom, friendship and the neon, electric pulse of the city she has always loved. But the further she falls into their relationship, the clearer it becomes that she is living two lives --- and in the end, we can choose only one.
About the Book
Mizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It’s everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether she would rather throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband and hanging up laundry.
Then, one rainy night, she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. In him, she rediscovers freedom, friendship and the neon, electric pulse of the city she has always loved. But the further she falls into their relationship, the clearer it becomes that she is living two lives --- and in the end, we can choose only one.
Funny, provocative and startlingly honest, FAULT LINES is for anyone who has ever looked in the mirror and asked, Who am I, and how did I get here? A bittersweet love story and a piercing portrait of female identity, it introduces Emily Itami as a debut novelist with astounding resonance and wit.
Audiobook available, read by Lydia Wilson
Editorial Content for We Know You Remember
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Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Swedish author Tove Alsterdal makes her American debut with WE KNOW YOU REMEMBER, a riveting mystery that is a worthy addition to the series of novels by terrific Swedish authors that have captured the attention and praise of mystery lovers all over the world. The plot structure of this memorable work is brilliantly conceived and executed, and the development of an array of fascinating characters is impressive. As a matter of fact, it is as much a profound psychological study as it is a clever police procedural. Read More
Teaser
It’s been more than 20 years since Olof Hagström left home. Returning to his family’s house, he knows instantly that something is amiss. The front door key, hidden under a familiar stone, is still there. Inside, there’s a panicked dog, a terrible stench and water pooling on the floor: the father Olaf has not seen or spoken to in decades is dead in the bathroom shower. For police detective Eira Sjödin, the investigation of this suspicious death resurrects long-forgotten nightmares. She was only nine when Olof Hagström, then 14, was found guilty of raping and murdering a local girl. The case left a mark on the town’s collective memory and tinged Eira’s childhood with fear. Too young to be sentenced, Olof was sent to a youth home and exiled from his family. He was never seen in the town again. Until now.
Promo
It’s been more than 20 years since Olof Hagström left home. Returning to his family’s house, he knows instantly that something is amiss. The front door key, hidden under a familiar stone, is still there. Inside, there’s a panicked dog, a terrible stench and water pooling on the floor: the father Olaf has not seen or spoken to in decades is dead in the bathroom shower. For police detective Eira Sjödin, the investigation of this suspicious death resurrects long-forgotten nightmares. She was only nine when Olof Hagström, then 14, was found guilty of raping and murdering a local girl. The case left a mark on the town’s collective memory and tinged Eira’s childhood with fear. Too young to be sentenced, Olof was sent to a youth home and exiled from his family. He was never seen in the town again. Until now.
About the Book
A missing girl, a hidden body, a decades-long cover-up and old sins cast in new light: the classic procedural meets Scandinavian atmosphere in this rich, character-driven mystery, awarded Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year, that heralds the American debut of a supremely skilled international writer.
It’s been more than 20 years since Olof Hagström left home. Returning to his family’s house, he knows instantly that something is amiss. The front door key, hidden under a familiar stone, is still there. Inside, there’s a panicked dog, a terrible stench and water pooling on the floor: the father Olaf has not seen or spoken to in decades is dead in the bathroom shower.
For police detective Eira Sjödin, the investigation of this suspicious death resurrects long-forgotten nightmares. She was only nine when Olof Hagström, then 14, was found guilty of raping and murdering a local girl. The case left a mark on the town’s collective memory --- a wound that never quite healed --- and tinged Eira’s childhood with fear. Too young to be sentenced, Olof was sent to a youth home and exiled from his family. He was never seen in the town again. Until now.
An intricate crime narrative in which past and present gracefully blend, WE KNOW YOU REMEMBER is a relentlessly suspenseful and beautifully written novel about guilt and memory in which nothing is what it seems, and unexpected twists upend everything you think you know.
Audiobook available, read by Hillary Huber
Editorial Content for Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
It isn’t until the very end of WINDSWEPT --- in her Acknowledgments, actually --- that UK writer Annabel Abbs references the onset of COVID-19 and its impact on the final trek in her ambitious project to physically trace the routes of eight extraordinary walking women of the 19th and 20th centuries. Read More
Teaser
WINDSWEPT is a beautifully written meditation on connecting with the outdoors through the simple act of walking. In captivating and elegant prose, Annabel Abbs-Streets follows in the footsteps of women who boldly reclaimed wild landscapes for themselves, including Georgia O’Keeffe in the empty plains of Texas and New Mexico, Nan Shepherd in the mountains of Scotland, Gwen John following the French River Garonne, Daphne du Maurier along the River Rhône, and Simone de Beauvoir --- who walked as much as 25 miles a day in a dress and espadrilles --- through the mountains and forests of France.
Promo
WINDSWEPT is a beautifully written meditation on connecting with the outdoors through the simple act of walking. In captivating and elegant prose, Annabel Abbs-Streets follows in the footsteps of women who boldly reclaimed wild landscapes for themselves, including Georgia O’Keeffe in the empty plains of Texas and New Mexico, Nan Shepherd in the mountains of Scotland, Gwen John following the French River Garonne, Daphne du Maurier along the River Rhône, and Simone de Beauvoir --- who walked as much as 25 miles a day in a dress and espadrilles --- through the mountains and forests of France.
About the Book
A provocative and meditative memoir that crosses continents and centuries in a poignant account of the power of women walking in nature.
Annabel Abbs-Streets' WINDSWEPT is a beautifully written meditation on connecting with the outdoors through the simple act of walking. In captivating and elegant prose, Abbs-Streets follows in the footsteps of women who boldly reclaimed wild landscapes for themselves, including Georgia O’Keeffe in the empty plains of Texas and New Mexico, Nan Shepherd in the mountains of Scotland, Gwen John following the French River Garonne, Daphne du Maurier along the River Rhône, and Simone de Beauvoir --- who walked as much as 25 miles a day in a dress and espadrilles --- through the mountains and forests of France.
Part historical inquiry and part memoir, the stories of these writers and artists are laced together by moments in Abbs-Streets' own life, beginning with her poet father who raised her in the Welsh countryside as an “experiment,” according to the principles of Rousseau. Abbs-Streets explores a forgotten legacy of moving on foot and discovers how it has helped women throughout history to find their voices, to reimagine their lives and to break free from convention.
As Abbs-Streets traces the paths of exceptional women, she realizes that she, too, is walking away from her past and into a radically different future. WINDSWEPT crosses continents and centuries in a provocative and poignant account of the power of walking in nature.
Audiobook available, read by Fenella Fudge
Editorial Content for The Last House on Needless Street
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Ted lives alone in his childhood home with his cat, Olivia. Abused as a child, he has turned mostly into a recluse in his adult life, going out to get food when necessary and see his therapist so he can get his meds. Ted has blocked out the outside world as much as possible, except for his daughter, Lauren, who visits him from time to time. He boards up all the windows of his house with plywood that just has peepholes drilled into them so he can see in but no one can see out. Read More
Teaser
In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.
Promo
In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.
About the Book
Catriona Ward's THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is a shocking and immersive read perfect for fans of GONE GIRL and THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE.
In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.
A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time.
A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory.
And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.
An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.
Audiobook available, read by Christopher Ragland
Editorial Content for The Yards
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
When you get a feeling that something is not quite right, you really should pay attention to it. Otherwise, be ready for the consequences. Git O’Rourke ignored that warning nagging at the back of her mind, and she paid dearly. Read More
Teaser
A single mother, Git O’Rourke works hard to support her daughter Charlie, but still finds time to cut loose every once in a while and find a companion for the night. Which is exactly how she ends up in a hotel room with a strange man passed out on heroin, and how she comes to possess the bag of money and guns that he left open as he got his fix. When the dead body is discovered at the Skyview Motor Court, officer Delia Mariola recognizes the victim as the perpetrator in an earlier crime --- a domestic violence call. She knows he’s connected to the local mob, but the crime scene doesn’t exactly resemble their typical hit. Instead, all signs point to a pick-up gone wrong. Which means that all signs point to Git.
Promo
A single mother, Git O’Rourke works hard to support her daughter Charlie, but still finds time to cut loose every once in a while and find a companion for the night. Which is exactly how she ends up in a hotel room with a strange man passed out on heroin, and how she comes to possess the bag of money and guns that he left open as he got his fix. When the dead body is discovered at the Skyview Motor Court, officer Delia Mariola recognizes the victim as the perpetrator in an earlier crime --- a domestic violence call. She knows he’s connected to the local mob, but the crime scene doesn’t exactly resemble their typical hit. Instead, all signs point to a pick-up gone wrong. Which means that all signs point to Git.
About the Book
In this twisty crime novel, a hotel hook up gone wrong finds a single mother suspected of murder.
Git O’Rourke is from the wrong side of the tracks --- even if, in the depressed Rust Belt town of Baxter, it’s not always clear where that designation begins. A single mother, she works hard to support her daughter Charlie, but still finds time to cut loose every once in a while, to go to a local bar, drink martinis and find a companion for the night. Which is exactly how she ends up in a hotel room with a strange man passed out on heroin, and how she comes to possess the bag of money and guns that he left open as he got his fix.
When the dead body is discovered at the Skyview Motor Court, a bullet through its forehead, officer Delia Mariola is one of the first on the scene. She recognizes the victim as the perpetrator in an earlier crime --- a domestic violence call --- but that does little to explain how he ended up in the situation in which they find him. She knows he’s connected to the local mob, but the crime scene doesn’t exactly resemble their typical hit. Instead, all signs point to a pick-up gone wrong. Which means that all signs point to Git.
A twisted tale set in a tough town, THE YARDS is a multiple-voiced mystery with two unforgettable women at its core; its suspenseful, thrilling and unpredictable plot will keep the reader guessing until the very last page.
Audiobook available, read by Amy McFadden and Cody Roberts