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May 28, 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, May 29th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of I WILL RUIN YOU by Linwood Barclay, which is now available and is a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Sebastian Junger, author of In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face-to-Face with the Idea of an Afterlife

For years as an award-winning war reporter, Sebastian Junger traveled to many front lines and frequently put his life at risk. Yet the closest he ever came to death was the summer of 2020 while spending a quiet afternoon with his wife and two young children. Crippled by abdominal pain, Junger was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Once there, he began slipping away. As blackness encroached, he was visited by his dead father, inviting Junger to join him. That was the last thing Junger remembered until he came to the next day when he was told he had suffered a ruptured aneurysm that he should not have survived. This experience spurred Junger --- a confirmed atheist raised by his physicist father to respect the empirical --- to undertake a scientific, philosophical and deeply personal examination of mortality and what happens after we die.

Ruth Ware, author of One Perfect Couple

Lyla’s post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, “One Perfect Couple,” she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla finds herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, where they will compete against four other couples to win a cash prize. But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real --- and the stakes are life or death.

Stephen King, author of You Like It Darker: Stories

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to his new collection of 12 stories (many never-before-published) that delve into the darker part of life --- both metaphorical and literal. For half a century, King has been a master of the form, and these stories --- about fate, mortality, luck and the folds in reality where anything can happen --- are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,” and in YOU LIKE IT DARKER, readers also will feel that exhilaration, again and again.

Editorial Content for The Last Murder at the End of the World

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

On a remote island, what is left of Blackheath, a highly advanced lab, remains. And on that island lives Blackheath’s former director and founding genius, Niema Mandripilias. Niema is one of the three island elders --- a benevolent yet enigmatic leader of the hundred-plus people who live in the village. At first blush, the island is a utopia. Everyone is happy and has exactly what they need. They are safe from the deadly fog that blankets the rest of the earth. That is, until Niema is murdered. Read More

Teaser

Outside the island, there is nothing. The world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island, it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists are living in peaceful harmony. Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island --- and everyone on it. But the security system also has wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer --- and they don't even know it. And the clock is ticking.

Promo

Outside the island, there is nothing. The world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island, it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists are living in peaceful harmony. Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island --- and everyone on it. But the security system also has wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer --- and they don't even know it. And the clock is ticking.

About the Book

From the bestselling author of THE  DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE and THE DEVIL AND THE DARK WATER comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop and an audacious solution.

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island, there is nothing. The world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island, it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists are living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island --- and everyone on it.

But the security system also has wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer --- and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking.

Audiobook available, read by James Cameron Stewart

Editorial Content for Table for Two: Fictions

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Roberta O'Hara

In every generation, new, brilliant authors rise to the surface and stun us with their creativity, beautiful prose and exquisite storytelling. Read More

Teaser

Millions of Amor Towles fans are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter fiction: six stories based in New York City and a novella set in Golden Age Hollywood. The New York stories, most of which take place around the year 2000, consider the fateful consequences that can spring from brief encounters and the delicate mechanics of compromise that operate at the heart of modern marriages. Told from seven points of view, “Eve in Hollywood” describes how one of Towles’ most beloved characters, the indomitable Evelyn Ross from RULES OF CIVILITY, crafts a new future for herself --- and others --- in a noirish tale that takes us through the movie sets, bungalows and dive bars of 1930s Los Angeles.

Promo

Millions of Amor Towles fans are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter fiction: six stories based in New York City and a novella set in Golden Age Hollywood. The New York stories, most of which take place around the year 2000, consider the fateful consequences that can spring from brief encounters and the delicate mechanics of compromise that operate at the heart of modern marriages. Told from seven points of view, “Eve in Hollywood” describes how one of Towles’ most beloved characters, the indomitable Evelyn Ross from RULES OF CIVILITY, crafts a new future for herself --- and others --- in a noirish tale that takes us through the movie sets, bungalows and dive bars of 1930s Los Angeles.

About the Book

Millions of Amor Towles fans are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter fiction: six stories based in New York City and a novella set in Golden Age Hollywood.

The New York stories, most of which take place around the year 2000, consider the fateful consequences that can spring from brief encounters and the delicate mechanics of compromise that operate at the heart of modern marriages. Told from seven points of view, “Eve in Hollywood” describes how one of Towles’ most beloved characters, the indomitable Evelyn Ross from RULES OF CIVILITY, crafts a new future for herself --- and others --- in a noirish tale that takes us through the movie sets, bungalows and dive bars of 1930s Los Angeles.

Written with his signature wit, humor and sophistication, TABLE FOR TWO is another glittering addition to Towles’ canon of stylish and transporting fiction.

Audiobook available, read by Edoardo Ballerini and J. Smith-Cameron

Editorial Content for The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Lorraine W. Shanley

George Stephanopoulos, the host of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and the co-anchor of “Good Morning America,” has written a well-researched account of how the Situation Room came to be and the crises that 12 presidents dealt with over 65 years. They include the Cuban Missile Crisis; the JFK assassination; the Vietnam War; Richard Nixon’s resignation; the Iranian Hostage crisis and failed “Desert One” rescue attempt; 9/11 and the subsequent hunt for Osama bin Laden; the early days of the pandemic; and even the war in Ukraine. Read More

Teaser

No room better defines American power and its role in the world than the White House Situation Room. And yet, none is more shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Created under President Kennedy, the Sit Room has been the epicenter of crisis management for presidents for more than six decades. Time and again, the decisions made within the Sit Room complex affect the lives of every person on this planet. Detailing close calls made and disasters narrowly averted, THE SITUATION ROOM will take readers through dramatic turning points in a dozen presidential administrations. It’s the definitive, past-the-security-clearance look at the room where it happened, and the people --- the famous and those you've never heard of --- who have made history within its walls.

Promo

No room better defines American power and its role in the world than the White House Situation Room. And yet, none is more shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Created under President Kennedy, the Sit Room has been the epicenter of crisis management for presidents for more than six decades. Time and again, the decisions made within the Sit Room complex affect the lives of every person on this planet. Detailing close calls made and disasters narrowly averted, THE SITUATION ROOM will take readers through dramatic turning points in a dozen presidential administrations. It’s the definitive, past-the-security-clearance look at the room where it happened, and the people --- the famous and those you've never heard of --- who have made history within its walls.

About the Book

George Stephanopoulos, the legendary political news host and former advisor to President Clinton, recounts the history-making crises from the place where 12 presidents made their highest-pressure decisions: the White House Situation Room.

No room better defines American power and its role in the world than the White House Situation Room. And yet, none is more shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Created under President Kennedy, the Sit Room has been the epicenter of crisis management for presidents for more than six decades. Time and again, the decisions made within the Sit Room complex affect the lives of every person on this planet. Detailing close calls made and disasters narrowly averted, THE SITUATION ROOM will take readers through dramatic turning points in a dozen presidential administrations, including:

  • Incredible minute-by-minute transcripts from the Sit Room after both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan were shot
  • The shocking moment when Henry Kissinger raised the military alert level to DEFCON III while President Nixon was drunk in the White House residence
  • The extraordinary scene when President Carter asked for help from secret government psychics to rescue American hostages in Iran
  • A vivid retelling of the harrowing hours during the 9/11 attack
  • New details from Obama administration officials leading up to the raid on Osama Bin Laden
  • And a first-ever account of January 6th from the staff inside the Sit Room

THE SITUATION ROOM is the definitive, past-the-security-clearance look at the room where it happened, and the people --- the famous and those you've never heard of --- who have made history within its walls.

Audiobook available, read by Peter Ganim and Elisabeth Rodgers

Editorial Content for Real Americans

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

Rachel Khong’s debut novel, GOODBYE, VITAMIN, was an instant hit and appeared on nearly every end-of-the-year list. It’s no secret that readers and critics alike have been anxiously awaiting her next book, and after reading REAL AMERICANS, you’ll see exactly why. Bold, poignant and surprisingly tender, this sophomore release solidifies Khong’s standing as a writer to watch. Read More

Teaser

REAL AMERICANS begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when 22-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love. In 2021, 15-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers.

Promo

REAL AMERICANS begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when 22-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love. In 2021, 15-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers.

About the Book

From the award-winning author of GOODBYE, VITAMIN: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?

REAL AMERICANS begins on the precipice of Y2K in New York City, when 22-year-old Lily Chen, an unpaid intern at a slick media company, meets Matthew. Matthew is everything Lily is not: easygoing and effortlessly attractive, a native East Coaster and, most notably, heir to a vast pharmaceutical empire. Lily couldn't be more different: flat-broke, raised in Tampa, the only child of scientists who fled Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Despite all this, Lily and Matthew fall in love.

In 2021, 15-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can't shake the sense she's hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers.

In immersive, moving prose, Rachel Khong weaves a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance --- a story of trust, forgiveness and finally coming home.

Exuberant and explosive, REAL AMERICANS is a social novel par excellence that asks: Are we destined, or made? And if we are made, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome?

Audiobook available; read by Louisa Zhu, Eric Yang and Eunice Wong

Editorial Content for Mind Games

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

Part thriller, part love story and part ode to rural Kentucky, MIND GAMES is New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts' latest addition to her huge library of work (over 200 books and counting). Often, Roberts dabbles in the paranormal in her novels. In this one, the main character can read the minds of others. This ability has been passed on to the women in her family for generations, and her gift is strong. Read More

Teaser

Thea Fox has become a renowned video game designer, a job that allows her to move back to her childhood home in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky. Now she lives in her own cozy cottage, down the road from her beloved Grammie and the house where she grew up. But Thea carries the burden of a special ability, one that she shares with her Grammie. They can both see into people's minds and souls. Sometimes, they can even see the future. Grammie calls it a gift, but ever since the day when Thea saw her parents get murdered in a dream, it’s felt like a curse. Thanks to her vision, the police caught the man who did it. But no matter how far away the killer is, Thea can still hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts. He knows it because he can see into her mind too --- and now he's made it his mission to get the ultimate revenge.

Promo

Thea Fox has become a renowned video game designer, a job that allows her to move back to her childhood home in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky. Now she lives in her own cozy cottage, down the road from her beloved Grammie and the house where she grew up. But Thea carries the burden of a special ability, one that she shares with her Grammie. They can both see into people's minds and souls. Sometimes, they can even see the future. Grammie calls it a gift, but ever since the day when Thea saw her parents get murdered in a dream, it’s felt like a curse. Thanks to her vision, the police caught the man who did it. But no matter how far away the killer is, Thea can still hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts. He knows it because he can see into her mind too --- and now he's made it his mission to get the ultimate revenge.

About the Book

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of IDENTITY presents a suspenseful novel of tragedy and trauma, love and family, and the evil that awaits.

Thea Fox is getting the life she always wanted. She’s become a renowned videogame designer, a job that allows her to move back to her childhood home in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky. Now she lives in her own cozy cottage, down the road from her beloved Grammie and the house where she grew up. And when her new neighbor turns out to be her teenage crush, the gorgeous lead singer of Code Red, Tyler Brennan, it seems that life can't get any better.

However, it hasn't been easy getting here. Thea carries the burden of a special ability, one that she shares with her Grammie. They can both see into people's minds and souls. Sometimes, they can even see the future. Grammie calls it a gift, but ever since the day when Thea saw her parents get murdered in a dream, it’s felt like a curse. Thanks to her vision, the police caught the man who did it and put him behind bars.

But no matter how far away the killer is, Thea can still hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts. He knows it because he can see into her mind too --- and now he's made it his mission to get the ultimate revenge.

Audiobook available, read by January LaVoy

Editorial Content for And Then? And Then? What Else?

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jana Siciliano

“You never love a book the way you love a book when you are ten,” proclaims Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket). AND THEN? AND THEN? WHAT ELSE? is a delightful, dark, honest, funny and altogether compelling look at Handler’s life thus far. And at the relatively young age of 54, we assume he has a lot more living to do. From his favorite books, Handler finds ideas, images and theories that relate directly to his own life and uses them to give us the 411 on what he’s been up to during his fascinating time on Earth. Read More

Teaser

Writing as Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler has led several generations of young readers into that special and curious space of being hopelessly lost, and joyfully finding yourself, in the essential strangeness of literature. The wondrous and perilous journey of the Baudelaire orphans sprung from the author’s own path, from his childhood discovery of Baudelaire’s poetry through the countless peculiarities of his pursuit of a literary life --- abject failure and startling success, breakthrough and breakdown, concordance and controversy --- lit along the way by the books and culture he loved best. AND THEN? AND THEN? WHAT ELSE? is a book not just for anyone curious about the creator of Lemony Snicket, but for anyone who loved books when they were a child and still loves them now.

Promo

Writing as Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler has led several generations of young readers into that special and curious space of being hopelessly lost, and joyfully finding yourself, in the essential strangeness of literature. The wondrous and perilous journey of the Baudelaire orphans sprung from the author’s own path, from his childhood discovery of Baudelaire’s poetry through the countless peculiarities of his pursuit of a literary life --- abject failure and startling success, breakthrough and breakdown, concordance and controversy --- lit along the way by the books and culture he loved best. AND THEN? AND THEN? WHAT ELSE? is a book not just for anyone curious about the creator of Lemony Snicket, but for anyone who loved books when they were a child and still loves them now.

About the Book

You never love a book the way you love a book when you are 10.

Writing as Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler has led several generations of young readers into that special and curious space of being hopelessly lost, and joyfully finding yourself, in the essential strangeness of literature. The wondrous and perilous journey of the Baudelaire orphans sprung from the author’s own path, from his childhood discovery of Baudelaire’s poetry through the countless peculiarities of his pursuit of a literary life --- abject failure and startling success, breakthrough and breakdown, concordance and controversy --- lit along the way by the books and culture he loved best.

At once a personal memoir and a literary exploration, a how-to book and a critical inquiry, a sequence of stories and a series of events, AND THEN? AND THEN? WHAT ELSE? is a book not just for anyone curious about the creator of Lemony Snicket, but for anyone who loved books when they were a child and still loves them now.

Audiobook available, read by Michael Crouch