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Editorial Content for Bitter Is the Heart

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

The cold or overbearing Jewish mother is a tired trope. But Mina Hardy manages to breathe new life into what is an otherwise harmful and inaccurate stereotype by amping up the supernatural horror and letting that Jewish mamele off the hook just a bit. BITTER IS THE HEART is Hardy’s latest scary novel, blending psychological drama, creepy monsters, Jewish folklore and even some romance. Read More

Teaser

Tamar Glass fled an abusive mother when she was 18 to find a better life elsewhere. She has lived in freedom from Ruth for decades until one night she wakes to find her now-elderly mother standing over her bed, disoriented and confused. When Tamar reluctantly takes in her mother, strange events start happening inside her home. Tamar learns that Ruth has been kicked out of her assisted living home, and other facilities refuse to house her and endanger their own residents. Tamar has spent years suppressing her childhood trauma, but it comes rushing back with each strange event in her home. As Tamar copes with their disturbing past, which her mother stubbornly refuses to admit to, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something worse than her mother lurking in the shadows.

Promo

Tamar Glass fled an abusive mother when she was 18 to find a better life elsewhere. She has lived in freedom from Ruth for decades until one night she wakes to find her now-elderly mother standing over her bed, disoriented and confused. When Tamar reluctantly takes in her mother, strange events start happening inside her home. Tamar learns that Ruth has been kicked out of her assisted living home, and other facilities refuse to house her and endanger their own residents. Tamar has spent years suppressing her childhood trauma, but it comes rushing back with each strange event in her home. As Tamar copes with their disturbing past, which her mother stubbornly refuses to admit to, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something worse than her mother lurking in the shadows.

About the Book

Haunted by childhood abuse, a woman is forced to care for her cruel elderly mother in this electrifying horror novel exploring generational trauma, perfect for fans of Cassandra Khaw and T. Kingfisher.

Tamar Glass fled an abusive mother when she was 18, running away from home to find a better life elsewhere. She has lived in freedom from her mother, Ruth, for decades, until one night she wakes to find her now-elderly mother standing over her bed, disoriented and confused.

When Tamar reluctantly takes in her mother, strange events start happening inside her home. The house becomes oppressively hot, lights flicker and cupboards open and shut on their own. Whispers filter beneath her bedroom door. Tamar learns that Ruth has been kicked out of her assisted living home, and other facilities refuse to house her and endanger their own residents. Tamar has spent years suppressing her childhood trauma, but it comes rushing back with each strange event in her home.

As Tamar copes with their disturbing past, which her mother stubbornly refuses to admit to, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something worse than her mother lurking in the shadows. Perfect for fans of THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, this terrifying novel unravels one dark strand at a time.

Audiobook available, read by Hallie Bee Bard

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

September 2024

I read all 501(!) pages of HERE ONE MOMENT by Liane Moriarty in a day. Needless to say, I loved it. I stayed up way too late reading one night and was up way too early the next morning to finish it. I think I still was working the story through as I slept!

In it, passengers are on edge when their flight from Hobart, Australia, to Sydney is delayed. But real mayhem breaks out when a woman makes her way through the plane identifying travelers with a prediction of how they will die and at what age. People are not sure what this means, but then the prediction for one of them comes true, and it goes viral. From there, readers get to track the lives of five of the passengers as they wonder what happened to others on that flight.

Which of the following titles releasing in paperback in September have you read or do you plan to read? Please check all that apply.

September 20, 2024, 859 voters

September 20, 2024 - October 4, 2024

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of September 20 - October 4.

September 20, 2024

On Tuesday, I learned the very sad news that Nelson DeMille passed away. He had been fighting esophageal cancer for about nine months. When I saw a note in my inbox on Tuesday night from his children, Lauren and Alex, I literally yelled “No!’ so loudly that my husband came in from the other room to see what had happened.

Over the past few days, I have been trying to remember which of his books I read first. I am not sure which of his 23 novels it was! Was it THE GOLD COAST or PLUM ISLAND or THE GENERAL’S DAUGHTER? I truly cannot recall. I do know that when I read one of his books, I was going to be enjoying a smartly written thriller that would make me think. It often would have Nelson’s wry humor laced in, especially with any of his eight John Corey books, the last being THE MAZE, which came out in 2022.

Author Talk: Irene Daria, Ph.D., author of I Didn't Believe Him

Sep 19, 2024

Irene Daria is a cognitive developmental psychologist who specializes in teaching children how to read, including those of Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, and Tom Brady and Bridget Moynahan. At the time of her memoir, I DIDN’T BELIEVE HIM, she was thrilled that her son had been accepted to one of the most esteemed public schools in Manhattan. Believing that he was on the path to a venerable education, she did not listen when her five-year-old told her that he --- like millions of other children --- was not being taught how to read in school. An entire, very painful school year passed before Eric got her to realize he was right. Follow along as Daria begins a perplexing but ultimately empowering journey to save his academic life, which she talks about in this insightful and eye-opening interview.

September 17, 2024

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of September 16th and September 23rd 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 review of the newly released HERE ONE MOMENT. If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate? This intriguing question lies at the heart of Liane Moriarty's new novel, which will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. According to our reviewer Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, “As a reader of HERE ONE MOMENT, you’ll be wondering how on earth Liane Moriarty can possibly resolve this premise…. But by then you're hooked.”

September 17, 2024

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we know people will be talking about this fall. Read more about it, and enter our Fall Reading Contest by Wednesday, September 18th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM by Laura Dave, which is now available and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Jeffery Deaver, author of Fatal Intrusion

Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who plays by the rules. But when her sister is attacked, revealing a connection to a series of murders across Southern California, she realizes that a conventional investigation will not be enough to stop the ruthless perpetrator. With nowhere else to turn, Sanchez enlists the aid of Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert who believes rules are merely suggestions. The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favor. They team up to catch the assailant, who has no discernible motive and fits no classic criminal profile. All they have to go on is a distinctive tattoo and a singular obsession that gives this chillingly efficient tactician his nickname: Spider. Over the next 72 hours, Sanchez and Heron find themselves in the midst of a lethal chess match with the killer as they race to stop the carnage.

Danzy Senna, author of Colored Television

Jane and her family are living in luxury for a year, house-sitting in the hills above Los Angeles. The gig magically coincides with Jane’s sabbatical, giving her the time and space she needs to finish her second novel --- a centuries-spanning epic that her artist husband, Lenny, dubs her “mulatto WAR AND PEACE.” Finally, some semblance of stability and success seems to be within her grasp. But things don’t work out quite as hoped. Desperate for a plan B, Jane turns her gaze to Hollywood. When she finagles a meeting with Hampton Ford, a hot producer with a major development deal at a streaming network, he seems excited to work with a “real writer,” and together they begin to develop “the Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies.” Things finally seem to be going right for Jane --- until they go terribly wrong.