Editorial Content for House of Bone and Rain
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Time stops for Gabe and his childhood friends when they learn that their friend Bimbo’s mother, Maria, has been murdered. Words are only a token of comfort in the wake of such an enormous loss. Gabe, Paul, Tavo and Xavier know they have to be there for Bimbo in his time of need. Upon arriving at his side, they can see how anger has consumed him. A void has been left in his heart, and now he wants revenge. There is little question of Gabe and the others being all in for Bimbo as they have been a strong group for years. Read More
Teaser
For childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul and Bimbo, death has always been close. Hurricanes. Car accidents. Gang violence. Suicide. Estamos rodeados de fantasmas was Gabe’s grandmother’s refrain. We are surrounded by ghosts. But this time is different. Bimbo's mom has been shot dead. We’re gonna kill the guys who killed her, Bimbo swears. And they all agree. Feral with grief, Bimbo has become unrecognizable, taking no prisoners in his search for names. Soon, they learn Maria was gunned down by guys working for the drug kingpin of Puerto Rico. No one has ever gone up against him and survived. As the boys strategize, a storm gathers far from the coast. Hurricanes are known to carry evil spirits in their currents and bring them ashore, spirits that impose their own order.
Promo
For childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul and Bimbo, death has always been close. Hurricanes. Car accidents. Gang violence. Suicide. Estamos rodeados de fantasmas was Gabe’s grandmother’s refrain. We are surrounded by ghosts. But this time is different. Bimbo's mom has been shot dead. We’re gonna kill the guys who killed her, Bimbo swears. And they all agree. Feral with grief, Bimbo has become unrecognizable, taking no prisoners in his search for names. Soon, they learn Maria was gunned down by guys working for the drug kingpin of Puerto Rico. No one has ever gone up against him and survived. As the boys strategize, a storm gathers far from the coast. Hurricanes are known to carry evil spirits in their currents and bring them ashore, spirits that impose their own order.
About the Book
In the latest from Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker award-winning author of THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME, a group of young men seek vengeance after one of their mothers is murdered in a Puerto Rican slum.
For childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul and Bimbo, death has always been close. Hurricanes. Car accidents. Gang violence. Suicide. Estamos rodeados de fantasmas was Gabe’s grandmother’s refrain. We are surrounded by ghosts. But this time is different. Bimbo's mom has been shot dead. We’re gonna kill the guys who killed her, Bimbo swears. And they all agree.
Feral with grief, Bimbo has become unrecognizable, taking no prisoners in his search for names. Soon, they learn Maria was gunned down by guys working for the drug kingpin of Puerto Rico. No one has ever gone up against him and survived. As the boys strategize, a storm gathers far from the coast. Hurricanes are known to carry evil spirits in their currents and bring them ashore, spirits that impose their own order.
Blurring the boundaries between myth, mysticism and the grim realities of our world, HOUSE OF BONE AND RAIN is a harrowing coming-of age-story; a doomed tale of devotion, the afterlife of violence and what rolls in on the tide.
Audiobook available, read by Jean-Marc Berne and Daya Mendez
Editorial Content for The Madness
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Since its publication in 1897, DRACULA has endured as a literary and horror classic. Much read and admired in its own right, Bram Stoker’s inventive vampire tale is the foundation for many chilling stories from page to stage to screen. Retellings are common but, in capable hands, always welcome. THE MADNESS by Dawn Kurtagich puts the action in Wales, adds underground clubs, folklore, and small town and familial drama but keeps many of the character names the same as she reimagines vampires, castles, swooning women and romantic men. Read More
Teaser
With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend, Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, she returns home to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious amnesiac patient hundreds of miles away. With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls, and the powerful, nameless force at its center --- one that has been haunting her for years. As terrible, ancient truths begin to reveal themselves, Mina prepares to confront her own darkest secrets and, with them, an evil beyond comprehension.
Promo
With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend, Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, she returns home to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious amnesiac patient hundreds of miles away. With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls, and the powerful, nameless force at its center --- one that has been haunting her for years. As terrible, ancient truths begin to reveal themselves, Mina prepares to confront her own darkest secrets and, with them, an evil beyond comprehension.
About the Book
Award-winning author Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves a captivating tale of suspense and horror, in which Dr. Mina Murray returns to the windswept shores of Wales to help her childhood friend fight the mysterious illness that plagues her. When the lines between reality and delusion begin to blur, Mina must face off against a monstrous legacy --- or be consumed herself.
Beware what waits in the shadows...
With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend, Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, she returns home to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious amnesiac patient hundreds of miles away.
With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls and the powerful, nameless force at its center --- one that has been haunting her for years.
As terrible, ancient truths begin to reveal themselves, Mina prepares to confront her own darkest secrets and, with them, an evil beyond comprehension. Together with a group of smart, savvy women, Mina seizes one last, desperate chance to stop the cycle that began so long ago. But there are dangers to inviting the attentions of what might not be a man, but a monster.
Audiobook available, read by Imogen Church
Editorial Content for The Paris Gown
Book
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Reviewer (text)
Christine Wells' new historical novel, THE PARIS GOWN, takes us back to the capital of France, where SISTERS OF THE RESISTANCE was set. The title gown is a Christian Dior confection, and while the story doesn't center on the gown itself, the couture dress serves as a symbol of the ties that bind the three main characters together. Read More
Teaser
Three friends, who parted as very young women, reunite in Paris years later. Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef, but her dream is to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric Madame Vaughn abruptly leaves town and makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown. Meanwhile, Gina lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement. Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball, she is torn. And what on earth is she going to wear? Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball. At Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, living in Paris under an assumed name. Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?
Promo
Three friends, who parted as very young women, reunite in Paris years later. Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef, but her dream is to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric Madame Vaughn abruptly leaves town and makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown. Meanwhile, Gina lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement. Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball, she is torn. And what on earth is she going to wear? Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball. At Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, living in Paris under an assumed name. Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?
About the Book
From perennially popular historical novelist Christine Wells, the delightful tale of three young women in 1950s Paris who share a single dazzling Christian Dior gown.
Paris, 1955
Three friends --- Claire, Gina and Margot --- who parted as very young women with their whole lives ahead of them, reunite in Paris years later, determined to start life anew.
Parisian Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef one day, but ever since the heady time she spent in the company of socialites Gina and Margot, her dream has been to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric and wealthy Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire’s family brasserie, abruptly leaves Paris, asking Claire to mind her apartment. More bafflingly, Madame Vaughn also makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown.
Meanwhile Gina, a cool American blue blood, lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement after her father lost all of the family money in a risky business venture. A journalist aspiring to be a novelist, Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball in the hopes of persuading Hal Sanders, her former fiancé, to invest in her father’s new business venture, she is torn. She wants to help her father, but seeing Hal again will be exquisitely painful. And what on earth is she going to wear?
Warm-hearted Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball, and after some hesitation, Gina accepts. At Dior for Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, the friend they thought had gone back to Australia to be married. But Margot is living in Paris and working at Dior under an assumed name, and clearly, she is not happy to have been found.
Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?
Gorgeous, perfectly fitted, lustrous and luxurious, the Dior gown has the power to change lives --- as these three remarkable women are about to discover.
Audiobook available, read by Saskia Maarleveld
Editorial Content for The Rule of Three
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Bad things always happen in threes, they say.
Oh, the superstitions humans dream up. But are they actually superstitions? One person’s opinion might be. However, if you were to ask each of the three narrators in THE RULE OF THREE, the answer will be a resounding no. This is very real. But why do they believe so fervently? After doing much research, Ila begins to wonder if it’s not a mere rule, a curse or even fate. Could it be a serial killer? Read More
Teaser
I didn’t believe in the Rule of Three. Not at first. It was just one of those urban myths you hear about all the time. A story my boyfriend told me about a girl cursed by the number three. A girl whose parents had killed themselves after her sibling had died in an accident. Which meant that she was doomed to die too because that’s the Rule of Three. Bad things always happen in threes, they say, and they are right. Because it’s happening again. But this time the curse is coming for me. And worst of all? It’s coming for you, too.
Promo
I didn’t believe in the Rule of Three. Not at first. It was just one of those urban myths you hear about all the time. A story my boyfriend told me about a girl cursed by the number three. A girl whose parents had killed themselves after her sibling had died in an accident. Which meant that she was doomed to die too because that’s the Rule of Three. Bad things always happen in threes, they say, and they are right. Because it’s happening again. But this time the curse is coming for me. And worst of all? It’s coming for you, too.
About the Book
THE WHISPER MAN meets the paranoia of The Blair Witch Project in this terrifying suspense thriller about an urban legend coming true.
That’s the one. That’s the girl who’s going to die.
I didn’t believe in the Rule of Three. Not at first. It was just one of those urban myths you hear about all the time. A story my boyfriend told me about a girl cursed by the number three. A girl whose parents had killed themselves after her sibling had died in an accident. Which meant that she was doomed to die too because that’s the Rule of Three.
Bad things always happen in threes, they say, and they are right. Because it’s happening again.
But this time the curse is coming for me. And worst of all?
It’s coming for you, too.
Audiobook available; read by Sarah Pitard, Katie Beudert, Sandra-Mae Lux and Richard Attlee
Editorial Content for The Brothers Kenney
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Critically acclaimed author Adam Mitzner has been called a master of the mystery genre. For my money, he also is one of the best legal thriller writers in the business. His latest effort, THE BROTHERS KENNEY, is different from anything he previously has penned. It’s a family drama wrapped up inside a murder mystery that sets up suspects, motives and opportunity in a case that initially appeared to be straightforward Read More
Teaser
Former track star Sean Kenney used to be on top of the world, but that was a very long time ago. Now he's been estranged from his loved ones for the past two years --- until the unthinkable calls him home. While struggling to make sense of the devastating death that has shaken the Kenney family to its core, Sean grasps at the opportunity to seek forgiveness for his past mistakes --- from his family and himself --- while clinging to the belief that if he can discover what really happened that day, he might somehow be redeemed.
Promo
Former track star Sean Kenney used to be on top of the world, but that was a very long time ago. Now he's been estranged from his loved ones for the past two years --- until the unthinkable calls him home. While struggling to make sense of the devastating death that has shaken the Kenney family to its core, Sean grasps at the opportunity to seek forgiveness for his past mistakes --- from his family and himself --- while clinging to the belief that if he can discover what really happened that day, he might somehow be redeemed.
About the Book
From master of the mystery genre and bestselling author Adam Mitzner comes THE BROTHERS KENNEY, a murder mystery that pushes one family to the breaking point.
Former track star Sean Kenney used to be on top of the world, but that was a very long time ago. Now he's been estranged from his loved ones for the past two years --- until the unthinkable calls him home.
While struggling to make sense of the devastating death that has shaken the Kenney family to its core, Sean grasps at the opportunity to seek forgiveness for his past mistakes --- from his family and himself --- while clinging to the belief that if he can discover what really happened that day, he might somehow be redeemed.
Both a family saga and a thrilling mystery, THE BROTHERS KENNEY searches for forgiveness and the meaning of home as assiduously as it does the identity of a killer.
Audiobook available, read by Stacy Carolan
Editorial Content for Five-Star Stranger
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
FIVE-STAR STRANGER, a provocative novel centered on the gig economy, follows the exploits of New York’s top performer on the Rental Stranger app, where users can hire a fake fiancé, a wingman or an extra mourner for a funeral. Known only as Stranger, the narrator likes to maintain a professional distance from his clients and, it becomes apparent, from his own demons. Read More
Teaser
In an age where online ratings are all-powerful, FIVE-STAR STRANGER follows the adventures of a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger app --- a place where users can hire a pretend fiancé, a wingman or an extra mourner for a funeral. Referred to only as Stranger, the narrator navigates New York City under the guise of characters he plays, always maintaining a professional distance from his clients. But when a nosy patron threatens to upend his long-term role as father to a young girl, Stranger begins to reckon with his attachment to his pretend daughter, her mother and his own fraught past. Now, he must confront the boundaries he has drawn and explore the legacy of abandonment that shaped his life.
Promo
In an age where online ratings are all-powerful, FIVE-STAR STRANGER follows the adventures of a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger app --- a place where users can hire a pretend fiancé, a wingman or an extra mourner for a funeral. Referred to only as Stranger, the narrator navigates New York City under the guise of characters he plays, always maintaining a professional distance from his clients. But when a nosy patron threatens to upend his long-term role as father to a young girl, Stranger begins to reckon with his attachment to his pretend daughter, her mother and his own fraught past. Now, he must confront the boundaries he has drawn and explore the legacy of abandonment that shaped his life.
About the Book
In Kat Tang’s exciting and resonant debut, a “Rental Stranger” --- a companion hired under various guises --- walks the line between personal and professional in surprising new ways.
Would you hire someone to be the best man at your wedding? Your stand-in brother? Your husband?
In an age where online ratings are all-powerful, FIVE-STAR STRANGER follows the adventures of a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger app --- a place where users can hire a pretend fiancé, a wingman or an extra mourner for a funeral. Referred to only as Stranger, the narrator navigates New York City under the guise of characters he plays, always maintaining a professional distance from his clients.
But when a nosy patron threatens to upend his long-term role as father to a young girl, Stranger begins to reckon with his attachment to his pretend daughter, her mother and his own fraught past. Now, he must confront the boundaries he has drawn and explore the legacy of abandonment that shaped his life.
FIVE-STAR STRANGER is a strikingly vivid novel about the commodification of relationships in a gig economy, isolation in a hyperconnected world and the risk of asking for what we want from those who cannot give. This is the story of a man who finds out who he is by being anyone but himself.
Audiobook available, read by Julian Cihi
August 23, 2024
Next week, on Tuesday, August 27th, Bookreporter will turn 28! I still remember that first day when we launched on…wait for it…AOL! Yes, that proves how old we are (I still can hear that dial-up sound). At the time, it was a choice between being hosted on AOL, Prodigy or CompuServe! It feels like a lifetime ago --- and yesterday. Here’s a look at our first home screen.
How long have you been a Bookreporter.com reader?
August 23, 2024, 501 voters