Bookreporter.com Bets On...

Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T. J. Newman

June 2023

T. J. Newman wrote a terrific debut novel, FALLING, a couple of years ago. She knows her stuff about airplanes and flying as she was a flight attendant for a number of years. Her new thriller, DROWNING, has a very similar cover, which I have not seen done before. But this time, the plane is not in danger of crashing. Flight 1421 crashes very early in the book. Forget the drinks and the snacks. The flight crew here is in full crisis mode as the plane headed to San Francisco from Hawaii goes down a mere six minutes into the trip, and suddenly passengers have a view of the Pacific Ocean from below. The plane has been ditched.

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Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott

June 2023

Megan Abbott is a very sunny person. I want to share this as she writes books that often have such dark personalities in them.

BEWARE THE WOMAN sees Jacy and her husband, Jed, on a trip to his father’s house in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which sounds quite idyllic. Jed is not like the other men she has dated. Kind and caring, he’s a neon artist, and her description of his work has me longing to explore it more. Jed’s father is a retired doctor, and he clearly is not enamored with his art. At first, Jacy has been told that Jed’s mother passed away when Jed was young. But she learns another story as the trip goes on. Oh, and to this cast of characters, add Mrs. Brandt, the house manager who lives at the cottage year round.

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The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay

June 2023

It’s no secret to Bookreporter readers that Linwood Barclay is one of my favorite authors. With THE LIE MAKER, he has written what I think is his best book. I love the way that he introduces us to characters, and as we come to know them, we immediately start thinking, Hmmmm, how are these people all going to come together?

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Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

June 2023

YELLOWFACE is the first book that I have read by R. F. Kuang (her first name is Rebecca). She has written award-winning fantasy titles, but this is a genre that I rarely dip into. The cover is arresting, and when it arrived at my house, I felt like those eyes were calling to me and saying, “I dare you to read me.”

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Homecoming by Kate Morton

April 2023

It’s been five years since Kate Morton’s last book, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of HOMECOMING. During the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Kate and her family decided to head to Australia from their house in London, pushing up their planned spring break timing. Now it’s 2023, and they’re still there. Kate was working on another book before they left, but her enthusiasm for that one faded as they found themselves living on a small farm in southern Australia in the Adelaide Hills.

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The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda

April 2023

Megan Miranda once again nails a twisty thriller with THE ONLY SURVIVORS. The premise drew me in quickly: “Seven hours in the past. Seven days in the present. Seven survivors remaining. Who would you save?”

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Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson and Susan DiLallo

April 2023

THINGS I WISH I TOLD MY MOTHER is the kind of book that is a real treat. It has heart, soul, armchair travel and food. Both Susan Patterson and Susan DiLallo enjoyed life with their mothers, who lived well into their 90s. Susan Patterson mentioned one day that she had “things I wished I had told my mother.” And from there the idea was born.

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The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland

April 2023

It’s true joy when an author whose debut novel was a Bets On pick (FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER) follows up with a book that I similarly want to rave about. Rachel Beanland’s THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE is a well-written, immersive work of historical fiction. Years ago, when Rachel moved to Richmond, her realtor showed her around town citing the location of a theater fire that killed a number of the city’s residents in 1811. This nugget stayed with her, and when the pandemic limited her travel, she moved on to do deep research into the fire, its origins and the aftermath.

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Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline

April 2023

In LOYALTY, Lisa Scottoline takes us to Sicily in the 1800s where the Mafia was born. The Mafia was originally organized to offer protection from those who were trying to hijack lemon crops on their way to market. But this quickly became more criminal and radical, as the “price” to protect crops spilled into other businesses. And the idea of “the family” was born. Lisa brings us inside Sicily at this time, sharing a story through the eyes of four characters. One will be the head of “the family”; another will be cast from her village; a shepherd, who is a Jew, will lose his flock, and a lawyer will look for justice for a boy who was kidnapped. Once you start reading, you will wonder how these disparate characters will come together.

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Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

March 2023

PINEAPPLE STREET arrived just when I needed what I call an “escape book.” I had heard Jenny Jackson talk about this one at a publisher preview, and I knew her name as she edits a wide range of bestselling authors: Emily St. John Mandel, Kevin Kwan, Erin Morgenstern, Lauren Fox, J. Courtney Sullivan, Chris Bohjalian and Gabrielle Zevin, to name a few. So she knows her way around publishing, but this time she delivers from the other side of the desk.

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