Skip to main content

Editorial Content for There's Something About Mira

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

One might be tempted to look at the cover of THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MIRA and think that Sonali Dev's latest novel is a rom-com. While there is plenty of romance in this very touching story that spans generations, states, continents, cultures and social status, there are also quite a few situations that force us to examine our own prejudices and misconceptions. Even in how we express ourselves, we often reveal our inner, often very unintentional microaggressions. Read More

Teaser

Mira Salvi has the perfect life --- a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. She hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone. While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira does: journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story. As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn’t been written yet.

Promo

Mira Salvi has the perfect life --- a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. She hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone. While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira does: journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story. As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn’t been written yet.

About the Book

From USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev comes the heartfelt story of a woman determined to reunite a lost ring with its owner, who ends up finding herself along the way.

Mira Salvi has the perfect life --- a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. Really, she hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone.

While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira does: journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story.

As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. She had to have found this ring for a reason…right? Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn’t been written yet.

Audiobook available, read by Soneela Nankani

Editorial Content for Track Her Down

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

While TRACK HER DOWN is the ninth book in Melinda Leigh's Bree Taggert series, it works well as a stand-alone. Of course, starting with the opening installment gives readers a chance to understand Bree’s whole backstory and how she came to be the sheriff in upstate New York. But each novel provides enough about all the main characters to ensure a satisfying read. Read More

Teaser

A teenager returns home from work and finds her parents shot to death in their bed. Responding to the call, Sheriff Bree Taggert realizes the crime wasn’t a burglary gone wrong. The couple was executed. The sole survivor: their traumatized teenage daughter, Claire Mason. Bree teams up with investigator Matt Flynn to work the case, but together they uncover more questions than answers. When Claire is stalked at the park, it’s clear the killer isn’t finished --- and she’s the next target. As Bree and Matt sift through the past --- suspect by suspect --- a tangled web of deception emerges, and the truth becomes harder to see. Because the victims’ entire lives were a lie. And the only way to protect the vulnerable girl is to unravel her parents’ secrets.

Promo

A teenager returns home from work and finds her parents shot to death in their bed. Responding to the call, Sheriff Bree Taggert realizes the crime wasn’t a burglary gone wrong. The couple was executed. The sole survivor: their traumatized teenage daughter, Claire Mason. Bree teams up with investigator Matt Flynn to work the case, but together they uncover more questions than answers. When Claire is stalked at the park, it’s clear the killer isn’t finished --- and she’s the next target. As Bree and Matt sift through the past --- suspect by suspect --- a tangled web of deception emerges, and the truth becomes harder to see. Because the victims’ entire lives were a lie. And the only way to protect the vulnerable girl is to unravel her parents’ secrets.

About the Book

For Sheriff Bree Taggert, a gruesome double murder exposes the secrets of the dead in a shocking novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.

A teenager returns home from work and finds her parents shot to death in their bed. Responding to the call, Sheriff Bree Taggert realizes the crime wasn’t a burglary gone wrong. The couple was executed. The sole survivor: their traumatized teenage daughter, Claire Mason.

Bree teams up with investigator Matt Flynn to work the case, but together they uncover more questions than answers. When Claire is stalked at the park, it’s clear the killer isn’t finished --- and she’s the next target.

As Bree and Matt sift through the past --- suspect by suspect --- a tangled web of deception emerges, and the truth becomes harder to see. Because the victims’ entire lives were a lie. And the only way to protect the vulnerable girl is to unravel her parents’ secrets.

Audiobook available, read by Christina Traister

Editorial Content for Idle Grounds

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

As we age, our childhood memories can take on a dreamy quality. Are we remembering everything accurately? Are we creating memories from what we have been told? How do our adult perspective and knowledge fill in important gaps as we piece together the stories of our past? Read More

Teaser

Lingering at the edge of a family party, a troop of cousins loses track of the youngest child among them. With their parents preoccupied with bickering about decades-old crises, the children decide they must set out to investigate themselves --- to the rickety chicken coop, the barn and its two troublesome horses, and into the woods that once comprised their late grandmother’s property. The more the children search, and the deeper they walk, the more threatening the woods become and the more lost they are, caught between their aunt’s home in the present day, their parents’ childhood home just through the trees, and the memory of the house their grandmother grew up in. Soon, what began as a quest for answers gives way to a journey that undermines everything they’ve been told about who they are, where they came from and what they deserve.

Promo

Lingering at the edge of a family party, a troop of cousins loses track of the youngest child among them. With their parents preoccupied with bickering about decades-old crises, the children decide they must set out to investigate themselves --- to the rickety chicken coop, the barn and its two troublesome horses, and into the woods that once comprised their late grandmother’s property. The more the children search, and the deeper they walk, the more threatening the woods become and the more lost they are, caught between their aunt’s home in the present day, their parents’ childhood home just through the trees, and the memory of the house their grandmother grew up in. Soon, what began as a quest for answers gives way to a journey that undermines everything they’ve been told about who they are, where they came from and what they deserve.

About the Book

On a New England morning in the late 1980s, a group of young cousins wander deep into the woods on their family’s property, drawn in by uncanny visions and the disappearance of one of their own --- but the farther they go, the stranger their surroundings become.

Lingering at the edge of a family party, a troop of cousins loses track of the youngest child among them. With their parents preoccupied with bickering about decades-old crises, the children decide they must set out to investigate themselves --- to the rickety chicken coop, the barn and its two troublesome horses, and into the woods that once comprised their late grandmother’s property. The more the children search, and the deeper they walk, the more threatening the woods become and the more lost they are, caught between their aunt’s home in the present day, their parents’ childhood home just through the trees and the memory of the house their grandmother grew up in. Soon, what began as a quest for answers gives way to a journey that undermines everything they’ve been told about who they are, where they came from and what they deserve.

Disquieting and delightful, IDLE GROUNDS is a rich exploration of the interior lives of children and a gripping meditation on birthright, decline and weight of family history. A fable of the distortions of privilege and the impossibility of keeping secrets hidden, this is a novel about straying from home --- only to come back unraveled, unsettled and irrevocably changed.

Audiobook available, read by Robyn Holdaway

Editorial Content for The Wolf Tree

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

If you like your mysteries and thrillers filled with gothic intrigue and just a touch of village paganism, then Laura McCluskey’s THE WOLF TREE should be right up your alley.

Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock off the coast of Scotland with a small population of very secretive, suspicious inhabitants. Their claim to fame up until a recent tragedy was the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in 1919. Now, at the base of that very same lighthouse, the body of a young man named Alan Ferguson is found and initially is written off as a suicide. Read More

Teaser

Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock best known for the unsolved mystery of the three lighthouse keepers who vanished back in 1919. But when a young man is found dead at the base of that same lighthouse, two detective inspectors are sent from Glasgow to investigate. Georgina “George” Lennox is happy to be back from leave after a devastating accident. That is, until she meets the hostile islanders and their enigmatic priest, who seem determined to thwart their investigation. George’s partner, Richie, just wants to close the case and head home to his family. But he hasn’t heard the wolves howling or seen the dark figures at their window at night. He’s too busy watching George as if waiting for her to break. With the dark secrets of the island swirling around them, George and Richie must decide who to trust and what to believe as they spin closer to the terrible truth.

Promo

Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock best known for the unsolved mystery of the three lighthouse keepers who vanished back in 1919. But when a young man is found dead at the base of that same lighthouse, two detective inspectors are sent from Glasgow to investigate. Georgina “George” Lennox is happy to be back from leave after a devastating accident. That is, until she meets the hostile islanders and their enigmatic priest, who seem determined to thwart their investigation. George’s partner, Richie, just wants to close the case and head home to his family. But he hasn’t heard the wolves howling or seen the dark figures at their window at night. He’s too busy watching George as if waiting for her to break. With the dark secrets of the island swirling around them, George and Richie must decide who to trust and what to believe as they spin closer to the terrible truth.

About the Book

Eilean Eadar is a barren, windswept rock best known for the unsolved mystery of the three lighthouse keepers who vanished back in 1919. But when a young man is found dead at the base of that same lighthouse, two detective inspectors are sent from Glasgow to investigate.

Georgina “George” Lennox is happy to be back from leave after a devastating accident. That is, until she meets the hostile islanders and their enigmatic priest, who seem determined to thwart their investigation. George’s partner, Richie, just wants to close the case and head home to his family. But he hasn’t heard the wolves howling or seen the dark figures at their window at night. He’s too busy watching George as if waiting for her to break.

With the dark secrets of the island swirling around them, George and Richie must decide who to trust and what to believe as they spin closer to the terrible truth. Laced with Scottish legend yet sharp and modern in voice, THE WOLF TREE announces a spellbinding new voice in crime and mystery fiction.

Audiobook available, read by Kirsty Cox

Editorial Content for The Last Room on the Left

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Christine M. Irvin

When Kerry signs up to live for a month as a caretaker at a roadside motel in the Catskill Mountains, she is looking forward to some peace and quiet away from the city, an escape from her mixed-up life, and the time to write a book that she is under deadline to finish. But what she gets is nothing like what she had envisioned. Read More

Teaser

Kerry’s life is in shambles. Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal --- the one that was supposed to change everything --- is looming, she can’t write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It's the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh. But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ.

Promo

Kerry’s life is in shambles. Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal --- the one that was supposed to change everything --- is looming, she can’t write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It's the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh. But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ.

About the Book

The caretaker at an isolated mountain hotel finds herself fighting for her life --- and sanity --- in this twisty, addictive thriller.

Kerry’s life is in shambles. Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal --- the one that was supposed to change everything --- is looming, she can’t write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It's the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh.

But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ.

Audiobook available; read by Karissa Vacker, Erin Bennett and Julie Webster

Editorial Content for A Time for Reflection: The Parallel Legacies of Baseball Icons Willie McCovey and Billy Williams

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Stuart Shiffman

If you love sports, you probably have one that you prefer over the others. For me it is baseball, which I first enjoyed in the early 1950s when I sat in the right field bleachers of Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs played the Brooklyn Dodgers. Read More

Teaser

Professional baseball has featured a bevy of superstars over the past century and a half, but only a few of them have impacted their sport and cities as deeply as Willie McCovey and Billy Williams. Born just a handful of miles apart in 1938, they grew up in and around one of the sport’s true cradles, Mobile, Alabama, on their way to producing two iconic careers in Major League Baseball. In A TIME FOR REFLECTION, Jason Cannon examines these two legends of the game. Overcoming the heinous racism of the Jim Crow South as part of the second generation of African American major leaguers who followed in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson, they became two of baseball’s all-time greatest players. Off the field, they took impactful stands for racial progress that continue to resonate today.

Promo

Professional baseball has featured a bevy of superstars over the past century and a half, but only a few of them have impacted their sport and cities as deeply as Willie McCovey and Billy Williams. Born just a handful of miles apart in 1938, they grew up in and around one of the sport’s true cradles, Mobile, Alabama, on their way to producing two iconic careers in Major League Baseball. In A TIME FOR REFLECTION, Jason Cannon examines these two legends of the game. Overcoming the heinous racism of the Jim Crow South as part of the second generation of African American major leaguers who followed in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson, they became two of baseball’s all-time greatest players. Off the field, they took impactful stands for racial progress that continue to resonate today.

About the Book

A fascinating look back at the incredible lives and careers of baseball Hall of Famers Willie McCovey and Billy Williams.

Professional baseball has featured a bevy of superstars over the past century and a half, but only a few of them have impacted their sport and cities as deeply as Willie McCovey and Billy Williams. Born just a handful of miles apart in 1938, they grew up in and around one of the sport’s true cradles, Mobile, Alabama, on their way to producing two iconic careers in Major League Baseball.

In A TIME FOR REFLECTION, Jason Cannon examines these two legends of the game. Overcoming the heinous racism of the Jim Crow South as part of the second generation of African American major leaguers who followed in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson, they became two of baseball’s all-time greatest players. Off the field, they took impactful stands for racial progress that continue to resonate today. Their personal resolve, leadership in the clubhouse and dedication to their baseball communities endeared them to teammates and fans alike.

Featuring original interviews with family members, friends, teammates and Williams himself, A TIME FOR REFLECTION brings to life their monumental accomplishments on the diamond, while also detailing how McCovey and Williams grew into pillars of San Francisco and Chicago and inspired future generations of ballplayers.

February 14, 2025

Wow, this has been one great week, with lots of wonderful author experiences.

On Monday night, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marie Benedict about THE QUEENS OF CRIME (an upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On pick) at the Brielle Public Library. To give those of you who have not attended a book event a look at the excitement behind the scenes, above you can see Marie and me before we headed on stage; me with Peter Albertelli, the owner of BookTowne in Manasquan, NJ, the bookseller for the event; and Marie as she's getting ready to sign books. She loved how they had the books all lined up!

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

February 2025

I was a huge fan of Charmaine Wilkerson’s first novel, BLACK CAKE. So when I heard that she had a new book coming out, I was looking forward to reading it. I am happy to share that GOOD DIRT is another powerful work of fiction that spans generations. Charmaine has a beautiful way of telling a family story, filling it with emotion and history.

Ebby Freeman is at the heart of the book. As a young girl, she witnessed her brother being killed in a home invasion, but she holds back from revealing everything she saw that day. For years, she is looked upon as “the poor Freeman girl,” and what happened to her is whispered about. Ebby already stands out as the stunningly beautiful Black woman in her affluent, all-white neighborhood. All this history makes the pain of being left at the altar on the day of her wedding at her family home that much sadder. She stumbles through life for a while before jetting off to France to get away from it all. But even there Ebby’s past follows her.

Do you look at blurbs (brief quotes from authors and influencers) when considering buying or reading a book? Please check all that apply.

February 14, 2025, 662 voters

February 14, 2025 - February 28, 2025

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of February 14 - February 28.