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Interview: Patrick Strickland, author of You Can Kill Each Other After I Leave: Refugees, Fascism, and Bloodshed in Greece

Apr 17, 2025

Based on hundreds of hours of on-the-ground reporting, YOU CAN KILL EACH OTHER AFTER I LEAVE is a remarkable work of narrative nonfiction and compelling journalism that tells how Greece's violent far right is trying to destroy the birthplace of democracy. In this interview conducted by Michael Barson, Senior Publicity Executive at Melville House, Patrick Strickland talks about what inspired him to write this book, why he relocated to Greece eight years ago, the importance of including personal stories in his work, and two upcoming projects that revolve around his home state of Texas.

The Far Side of the Desert by Joanne Leedom-Ackerman

Sisters Samantha and Monte Waters are vacationing together in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, enjoying a festival and planning to meet with their brother, Cal. But the idyllic plans are short-lived. When terrorists’ attacks rock the city around them, Monte, a U.S. foreign service officer, and Samantha, an international television correspondent, are separated, and one of them is whisked away in the frenzy.

April 15, 2025

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of April 14th and April 21st 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 current Word of Mouth contest. Let us know by Friday, April 25th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win SIX DAYS IN BOMBAY by Alka Joshi and STRANGERS IN TIME by David Baldacci, both of which released today.

April 15, 2025

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we know people will be talking about this spring. Read more about it, and enter our Spring Reading Contest by Wednesday, April 16th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of SHOW, DON'T TELL: A Writer, Her Teacher, and the Power of Sharing Our Stories by Kristine Gasbarre, which releases on Tuesday, April 29th. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Claire Anderson-Wheeler, author of The Gatsby Gambit

Greta Gatsby, Jay's younger sister, is finally free of her dull finishing school and looking forward to an idyllic summer at the Gatsby Mansion, the jewel of West Egg. Nothing could disrupt the blissful time she has planned…except finding out that Jay’s cadre of dubious friends --- Daisy and Tom Buchanan, along with Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker --- will be summering there, too. It's hard to be noticed when the luminous Daisy Buchanan is in the room, and Jordan keeps rather too close tabs on handsome Nick Carraway for Greta’s liking. But by far the worst is Daisy’s boorish husband, Tom, whose explosive temper seems always balanced on a knife-edge. But soon, bad blood is the least of their problems, as a shocking event sets the Gatsby household reeling. Death has come to West Egg, and with it, a web of scandal, betrayal and secrets.

Emma Pattee, author of Tilt

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there’s nothing to do but walk. Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she’s determined to change her life.

Colum McCann, author of Twist

Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist and playwright, is assigned to cover the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. The sum of human existence --- words, images, transactions, memes, voices, viruses --- travels through the tiny fiber-optic tubes. But sometimes the tubes break, at an unfathomable depth. Fennell’s journey brings him to the west coast of Africa, where he uncovers a story about the raw human labor behind the dazzling veneer of the technological world. He meets a fellow Irishman, the mysterious John Conway, who is a skilled engineer and a freediver capable of reaching extraordinary depths. When the ship is sent up the coast to repair a series of major underwater breaks, both men learn that the very cables they seek to fix carry the news that may cause their lives to unravel.

Jeff Hobbs, author of Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America

In 2018, poverty and domestic violence cast Evelyn and her children into the urban wilderness of Los Angeles, where she avoids the family crisis network that offers no clear pathway for her children to remain together and in a decent school. For the next five years, Evelyn works full time as a waitress yet remains unable to afford legitimate housing or qualify for government aid. All the while she strives to provide stability, education, loving memories and college aspirations for her children, even as they sleep in motels and in her car, living in fear of both her ex and the nation’s largest child welfare agency. Eventually Evelyn encounters Wendi Gaines, a recently trained social worker who decades earlier survived her own abusive marriage and housing crisis. Evelyn becomes one of Wendi’s first clients, and the relationship transforms them both.

Jennifer Weiner, author of The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits

Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were thrust into the spotlight as The Griffin Sisters, a pop duo that defined the aughts. Together, they skyrocketed to the top, gracing MTV, "SNL" and the cover of Rolling Stone. Cassie, a musical genius who never felt at ease in her own skin, preferred to stay in the shadows. Zoe, full of confidence and craving fame, lived for the stage. But fame has a price, and after one turbulent year, the band abruptly broke up. Now, two decades later, the sisters couldn’t be further apart. Zoe is a suburban mom warning her daughter, Cherry, to avoid the spotlight, while Cassie has disappeared from public life entirely. But when Cherry begins unearthing the truth behind their breathtaking rise and infamous breakup, long-buried secrets surface, forcing all three women to confront their choices, their desires, and their complicated bonds.

Editorial Content for You Killed Me First

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Roberta O'Hara

The name of this book intrigued me: YOU KILLED ME FIRST. When a title draws you in, it’s not a stretch to suspect that you’re in for a good ride with the story. John Marrs does not disappoint.

The prologue opens with a woman gagged and trapped in the middle of a burning bonfire. A mere three pages in, and Marrs already has established a mystery. How did she get there? Who put her there? Why is she there? WHO IS SHE? Read More

Teaser

It’s November 5th, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in; she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this? Rewind 11 months. Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend, Anna, watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretense of friendship, but each harbors her own deadly secret --- and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors. As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching, and someone is set to burn. But who will it be?

Promo

It’s November 5th, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in; she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this? Rewind 11 months. Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend, Anna, watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretense of friendship, but each harbors her own deadly secret --- and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors. As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching, and someone is set to burn. But who will it be?

About the Book

Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s November 5th, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in; she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind 11 months. Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend, Anna, watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretense of friendship, but each harbors her own deadly secret --- and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching, and someone is set to burn. But who will it be?

Audiobook available; read by Elizabeth Knowelden, Moira Quirk, Clare Corbett, Deepa Samuel, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Steve West, Gail Shalan and Rachael Beresford