LLIAM is the world’s most powerful supercomputer, built to make the toughest decisions for its users. But when it suddenly goes offline with no explanation, the world is thrust into chaos. Then, on every continent, mysterious envelopes arrive in the mail, exposing people’s darkest secrets and most shocking crimes. All beginning with the same chilling words: “We must confess.” With millions of people suddenly made to confront their past transgressions, CEO Kaitlan Goss must track down the only person who can help undo the resulting violent chaos: Maud Brookes, an ex-nun who taught LLIAM what it means to be human. But when Maud receives a letter herself, revealing Kaitlan’s own unforgivable sin, the two women are forced into a deadly game of deceit as the world teeters on the brink.
THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author’s father, as they are caught up on two sides of World War II. At 16, Eddie Willner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler’s Nazis. He was forced into slave labor alongside his father and his best friend, Mike, and spent the next three years of his life surviving the death camps. Meanwhile, in the United States, boys only a few years older than Eddie were joining the army and heading toward their own precarious futures. A company of 3rd Armored Division tankers, led by 23-year-old Elmer Hovland, quickly became battle-hardened and weary, constantly questioning whether the war was worth it. They got their answer when two emaciated boys stepped out of the woods with their tattooed arms raised.
The Hamptons on Long Island is known for its beautiful beaches, its luxury lifestyle --- and its exclusive legal advice. When Jane Smith takes on a famous celebrity client, she’s armed and ready: with brilliant arguments, hard evidence --- and two Glocks. Yet she is chased down and shot at, and she risks contempt of court. That’s when mounting a legal defense turns into self-defense. Knowing every day in court could be her last, she’s a survivor. For now.
When Slutty Cheff finds herself bored and fed-up with her 9–5 job in corporate marketing, she turns to the only thing that she really likes to do: cooking. So she quits her job, swaps emails for emulsions, and sets off to pursue her dreams of becoming a chef. The world of London’s fine dining restaurants is so much more than she imagined. There are the exhausting lows of 60-hour work weeks in windowless kitchens and the shock of stepping into the changing room as the only woman. There are the thrilling highs of a busy night, when service is running smoothly; electrifying run-ins with hot bartenders and even hotter chefs; and, always, the exhilaration of cycling hands-free through a city that is still sleeping. This is a story about searching for your purpose, and experiencing and embracing life to the fullest along the way.
Josie may be the youngest sister, but she takes care of everyone. She is the left-brained scientist to her twin sisters’ right-brained artistic chaos. She also has been their de facto band manager since she was a teenager. When Ara, her middle sister, calls from jail, it isn’t exactly a surprise, and Josie knows exactly how to snap into action. Emma is the quintessential frontwoman, but the success of The Twins’ first (and only) album is two decades behind her. Hiding under the surface of her swagger is a long-held guilt that has turned her into her sister’s enabler. Bertie, who raised her three daughters as a single mother, has always taught them that family won’t always be around to take care of you. But now she must decide if she should reenter their lives in their greatest time of need --- or watch to see if the resilience she’s taught them will help carry them through.
Alice, a professional mother of one, is hosting a playdate with friends at her upscale London home when a disturbed man breaks in. With her child in the next room, Alice panics and kills him --- an act later ruled to have been in self-defense. Everyone tries to encourage Alice to move on with her life. But with strange comments appearing online, a mysterious phone call telling her all is not as it seems, and her husband, nanny and friends behaving strangely, Alice finds herself drawn to the mystery of who her intruder really was. As she digs deeper, she discovers a trail of dark secrets that spiral closer to home than she ever could have imagined.
Enter the time space, a soaring library filled with books containing the memories of those who have passed and accessed only by specially made watches once passed from father to son. This is where 11-year-old Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in 1938, waiting for her watchmaker father to return for her. When he doesn’t, she grows up among the books and specters, able to see the world only by sifting through the memories of those who came before her. As she realizes that government agents are entering the time space to destroy books and maintain their preferred version of history, she sets about saving these scraps in her own volume of memories. Until the appearance of an American spy named Ernest Duquesne in 1949 offers her a glimpse of the world she left behind, setting her on a course to change history and possibly the time space itself.
Isla Hansen, a mother reeling from a devastating loss, is beside herself when a mysteriously orphaned child appears on the outskirts of the Hansens’ secluded Colorado property. Although strange and unexplainable, the child’s presence breathes new life into Isla. But as the child settles in, Isla’s husband, Luke, and their five children notice peculiarities that hint at something far beyond the ordinary --- anomalies that challenge the very fabric of reality itself. The tension within the Hansen household grows, and with it, the sense that there is something very wrong with the new kid in the house.
On Halloween, a group of teenage students meet in the woods near Sally in the Wood, a road steeped in local lore and rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a murdered girl. By the end of the night, one student will be dead. Rachel, the school guidance counselor, is trying to keep a handle on her increasingly distant teenage daughter, Ellie, while students and parents panic and mourn. Her ex-husband and detective Ben, dealing with a personal crisis of his own, has concerns about his daughter’s safety as he investigates the death. Meanwhile, Ellie is keeping secrets from both her parents, including one about where she was that night.
Charlotte Crowninshield was born into one of the finest Boston society families. Now she’s on the run from a brutal husband. Billie MacTavish is the oldest of nine children born to Scottish immigrants in Nebraska. She quit school in the sixth grade to help with her mother’s washing and mending business, but even that isn’t enough to keep the family afloat. Desperate, both women join the ranks of the Harvey Girls, waitresses who serve in America’s first hospitality chain on the Santa Fe railroad. Hired on the same day, they share three things: a room, a heartfelt dislike of each other…and each has a secret that certainly will get them fired. But when they’re sent to work at the luxurious El Tovar hotel at the Grand Canyon, Billie struggles to hide her young age from would-be suitors, and Charlotte discovers the little-known dark side of the national park’s history.
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from August 22nd to September 5th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of APOSTLE'S COVE by William Kent Krueger and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY? by Sarah McCoy.
Our major goal for 2025 is to redesign Bookreporter and the rest of the sites in The Book Report Network. How can you help? We have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are asking for donations. Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. If you would prefer donating via check, please send to:
The Book Report, Inc.
16 Mt. Bethel Road, Suite 365
Warren, NJ 07059
Click here to read more about our plans and to donate.
Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
August's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Thursday Murder Club, My Oxford Year and Night Always Comes on Netflix, the Providence Falls trilogy on Hallmark, The Map That Leads to You on Prime Video, and She Rides Shotgun in theaters; the conclusion of "And Just Like That..." on HBO Max and "The Institute" on MGM+; the series premieres of "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" on STARZ and "The Terminal List: Dark Wolf" on Prime Video; the season premieres of "The Marlow Murder Club" on PBS "Masterpiece" and "My Life with the Walter Boys" on Netflix; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of The King of Kings and How to Train Your Dragon.