Skip to main content

Week of April 10, 2017

New in Paperback

Week of April 10, 2017

Paperback releases for the week of April 10th include THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware, a haunting novel about a journalist on a luxury cruise who witnesses a woman being thrown overboard --- but all passengers remain accounted for; BARKSKINS, Annie Proulx's bestselling epic about the demise of the world's forests; KICK KENNEDY, an unforgettable portrait of the Kennedy family's favorite daughter from Barbara Leaming, who has written a mesmerizing story of love, loss and war; and Howard Blum's THE LAST GOODNIGHT, a riveting biography of Betty Pack, the dazzling American debutante who became an Allied spy during World War II and was hailed by OSS chief General “Wild Bill" Donovan as “the greatest unsung heroine of the war.”

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders - Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

April 11, 2017

Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn't expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during middle school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one's peers and families. But now they're both adults, and the planet is falling apart around them. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together --- to either save the world or plunge it into a new dark age.

American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner's Legendary Rise by Joe Drape - Sports

April 11, 2017

Written by an award-winning New York Times sportswriter, AMERICAN PHAROAH is the definitive account not only of how the ethereal colt won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, but how he changed lives. Through extensive interviews, Joe Drape explores the making of an exceptional racehorse, chronicling key events en route to history. Covering everything from the flamboyant owner's successful track record, the jockey's earlier heartbreaking losses, and the Hall of Fame trainer's intensity, Drape paints a stirring portrait of a horse for the ages and the people around him.

Barkskins by Annie Proulx - Historical Fiction

April 11, 2017

In the late 17th century, two penniless young Frenchmen, René Sel and Charles Duquet, arrive in New France. Bound to a feudal lord for three years in exchange for land, they become woodcutters --- barkskins. Sel suffers extraordinary hardship, oppressed by the forest he is charged with clearing. He is forced to marry a Mi’kmaw woman, and their descendants live trapped between two inimical cultures. But Duquet runs away, becomes a fur trader and sets up a timber business. Annie Proulx tells the stories of the descendants of Sel and Duquet over 300 years, the revenge of rivals, accidents, pestilence, Indian attacks and cultural annihilation.

Daredevils by Shawn Vestal - Fiction

April 11, 2017

Fifteen-year-old Loretta slips out of her bedroom every evening to meet her so-called gentile boyfriend. Her strict Mormon parents catch her returning one night, and promptly marry her off to Dean Harder, a devout yet materialistic fundamentalist who already has a wife and a brood of kids. The Harders relocate to his native Idaho, where Dean’s teenage nephew Jason falls hard for Loretta. A Zeppelin and Tolkien fan, Jason worships Evel Knievel and longs to leave his close-minded community. When he and Loretta finally make a break for it, someone Loretta left behind is on their trail.

The Dark Lady's Mask: A Novel of Shakespeare's Muse by Mary Sharratt - Historical Fiction

April 11, 2017

Aemilia Bassano Lanier is beautiful and accomplished, but her societal conformity ends there. She frequently cross-dresses to escape her loveless marriage and to gain freedoms only men enjoy, but a chance encounter with a ragged, little-known poet named Shakespeare changes everything. They begin secretly writing comedies together and fall in love, but their collaborative affair comes to a devastating end. Will gains fame and fortune for their plays in London and years later publishes the sonnets mocking his former muse. Not one to stand by in humiliation, Aemilia takes up her own pen in her defense and in defense of all women.

The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day - Psychological Suspense

April 11, 2017

Anna Winger can know people better than they know themselves with only a glance --- at their handwriting. Hired out by companies wanting to land trustworthy employees and by the lovelorn hoping to find happiness, Anna likes to keep the real-life mess of other people at arm’s length and on paper. But when she is called to use her expertise on a note left behind at a murder scene in the small town she and her son have recently moved to, the crime gets under Anna’s skin and rips open her narrow life for all to see. To save her son --- and herself --- once and for all, Anna will face her every fear, her every mistake, and the past she thought she'd rewritten.

Eisenhower's Armies: The American-British Alliance During World War II by Niall Barr - History

April 11, 2017

The Anglo-American relationship from 1941 to 1945 proved to be the most effective military alliance in history. Yet there were also constant disagreements that threatened to pull the alliance apart. EISENHOWER’S ARMIES highlights why the unprecedented level of cooperation between the very different American and British forces eventually led to victory but also emphasizes the tensions and controversies that inevitably arose.

Executive Order by Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens - Thriller

April 11, 2017

In Eastern Europe, four CIA agents are dead --- geopolitical pawns caught in border dispute cross fire. Why were they there? Who sent them? Not even the President knows. Back in Washington, the Secretary of the Interior dies from an apparent allergic shock. As details emerge, so do suspicions that she was murdered. Investigating their respective cases, ex–Secret Service agent Joe Reeder and FBI Special Situations Task Force leader Patti Rogers recognize a dangerous conspiracy is in play. When suspects and government contacts are killed off with expert precision, their worst fears are confirmed. As the country edges closer and closer to war, Reeder and Rogers must protect the President --- and each other --- from an unseen enemy who’s somehow always one step ahead.

Exposure by Helen Dunmore - Historical Thriller

April 11, 2017

It’s London, 1960. The Cold War is at its height, and a spy may be a friend or neighbor, colleague or lover. Two colleagues, Giles Holloway and Simon Callington, face a terrible dilemma over a missing top-secret file. At the end of a suburban garden, in the pouring rain, Simon’s wife, Lily, buries a briefcase containing the file deep in the earth. She believes that in doing so she is protecting her family. What she will learn is that no one is immune from betrayal or the devastating consequences of exposure.

The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes - Fiction

April 11, 2017

When Sarah’s grandfather gives her a beautiful horse named Boo --- hoping that one day she’ll follow in his footsteps to join an elite French riding school, away from their gritty London neighborhood --- she quietly trains in city’s parks and alleys. But then her grandfather falls ill, and Sarah must juggle horsemanship with school and hospital visits. Natasha, a young lawyer, is reeling after her failed marriage: her professional judgment is being questioned, her new boyfriend is a let-down, and she’s forced to share her house with her charismatic ex-husband. Yet when the willful 14-year-old Sarah lands in her path, Natasha decides to take the girl under her wing. But Sarah is keeping a secret --- a secret that will change the lives of everyone involved forever.

I Almost Forgot About You by Terry McMillan - Fiction

April 11, 2017

Dr. Georgia Young's wonderful life --- great friends, family and successful career --- aren't enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, including quitting her job as an optometrist and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love. Georgia’s bravery reminds us that it’s never too late to become the person you want to be and that taking chances, with your life and your heart, are always worthwhile.

Kick Kennedy: The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter by Barbara Leaming - Biography

April 11, 2017

KICK KENNEDY begins with Kick’s arrival in England in 1938 as her father became the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St James’s. In the closed world of the British aristocracy, Kick was gloriously, exhilaratingly different, the girl with whom all the boys fell in love. But she was the star of a world in the midst of tumultuous social and political change, and as war came, she would have to confront crushing sadness and the consequences of forsaking much dear to her for love, before her heartbreaking death in 1948.

The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal by Howard Blum - Biography

April 11, 2017

Betty Pack was charming, beautiful and intelligent. As an agent for Britain’s MI-6 and then America’s OSS during World War II, these qualities proved crucial to her success. THE LAST GOODNIGHT is the remarkable story of this “Mata Hari from Minnesota” and the passions that ruled her tempestuous life --- a life filled with dangerous liaisons and death-defying missions vital to the Allied victory. For decades, much of Betty’s career working for MI-6 and the OSS remained classified. Through access to recently unclassified files, Howard Blum discovers the truth about the attractive blond, codenamed “Cynthia.”

The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley - Horror

April 11, 2017

When Smith was a boy, he and his family went on an Easter pilgrimage with their local parish to the Loney, a bleak stretch of the English coastline, to visit an ancient shrine, in search of healing for Smith’s disabled brother. But the locals were none too pleased to welcome them, and the two brothers soon became entangled in a troubling morass of dangerous rituals. For years after, Smith carries the burden of what happened that spring. And when he hears that the body of a young child has been found during a storm at the Loney, he’s forced to reckon with his darkest secrets, no matter the cost.

The Midnight Assassin: The Hunt for America's First Serial Killer by Skip Hollandsworth - True Crime/History

April 11, 2017

Beginning in December 1884, Austin, Texas was terrorized by someone equally as vicious and, in some ways, far more diabolical than London's infamous Jack the Ripper. For almost exactly one year, the Midnight Assassin crisscrossed the entire city, using axes, knives and long steel rods to rip apart women. Before it was all over, at least a dozen men would be arrested in connection with the murders. When Jack the Ripper began his attacks in 1888, London police investigators did wonder if the killer from Austin had crossed the ocean to terrorize their own city.

The Mirror Thief by Martin Seay - Fiction

April 11, 2017

In the 16th century, the famed makers of Venetian glass were perfecting one of the old world's most wondrous inventions: the mirror. The Venetian mirrors were state-of-the-art technology, and subject to industrial espionage by desirous sultans and royals world-wide. But for any of the development team to leave the island was a crime punishable by death. One man, a world-weary war hero with nothing to lose, has a scheme he thinks will allow him to outwit the city's terrifying enforcers of the edict. Meanwhile, in two other Venices --- Venice Beach, California, circa 1958, and the Venice casino in Las Vegas, circa today --- two other schemers launch similarly dangerous plans to get away with a secret.

My Father, the Pornographer: A Memoir by Chris Offutt - Memoir

April 11, 2017

When Andrew Offutt died, his son, Chris, inherited a desk, a rifle and 1,800 pounds of porn. Andrew had been considered the “king of 20th century smut,” a career that began as a strategy to pay for his son’s orthodontic needs and soon took on a life of its own, peaking during the ’70s when the commercial popularity of the erotic novel was at its height. Over one long summer in his hometown, helping his mother move out of the house, Chris began to examine his deceased father’s possessions and realized he finally had an opportunity to come to grips with the mercurial man he always feared but never understood.

The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt, A Lifetime of Exploration, and the Triumph of American Natural History by Darrin Lunde - History

April 11, 2017

No U.S. president is more popularly associated with nature and wildlife than Theodore Roosevelt --- prodigious hunter, tireless adventurer and ardent conservationist. We think of him as a larger-than-life original, yet Darrin Lunde has firmly situated Roosevelt’s indomitable curiosity about the natural world in the tradition of museum naturalism. Drawing on his diaries and travel journals, as well as Lunde’s own role as a leading figure in museum naturalism today, THE NATURALIST reads Roosevelt through the lens of his love for nature.

Panther's Prey: A Leo Maxwell Mystery by Lachlan Smith - Mystery

April 11, 2017

Leo Maxwell has left private practice and is working as a public defender in San Francisco. He and his co-counsel, Jordan Walker, are brilliantly defending Randall Rodriguez, a mentally ill homeless man whom they contend falsely confessed to the rape of a young San Francisco socialite. After their client is acquitted, Leo and Jordan fall into an intense relationship --- until Jordan is found brutally raped and murdered in her apartment. The story takes a shocking turn when Leo and Jordan's freshly acquitted client walks into the police station and offers to confess to Jordan's murder.

Reliance, Illinois by Mary Volmer - Historical Fiction

April 11, 2017

With a birthmark covering half her face, 13-year-old Madelyn Branch is accustomed to cold and awkward greetings, and expects no less in the struggling town of Reliance. After all, her mother, Rebecca, was careful not to mention a daughter in the Matrimonial Times ad that brought them there. When Rebecca weds, Madelyn poses as her mother’s younger sister and earns a grudging berth in her new house. Deeply injured by her mother’s deceptions, Madelyn soon leaves to enter the service of Miss Rose Werner, prodigal daughter of the town’s founder. Madelyn wants to feel beautiful and loved, and she pins her hopes on William Stark, a young photographer and haunted Civil War veteran.

Titans by Leila Meacham - Historical Fiction

April 11, 2017

Texas in the early 1900s was on the cusp of an oil boom that, unbeknownst to its residents, would spark a period of dramatic changes and economic growth. In the midst of this transformative time in Southern history, two unforgettable characters emerge and find their fates irrevocably intertwined: Samantha Gordon, the privileged heiress to the sprawling Las Tres Lomas cattle ranch, and Nathan Holloway, a sweet-natured and charming farm boy. As changes sweep the rustic countryside, Samantha and Nathan's connection drives this narrative compulsively forward as they love, lose and betray.

The Verdict by Nick Stone - Legal Thriller

April 11, 2017

Terry Flynt is a struggling legal clerk, desperately trying to get promoted. And then he is given the biggest opportunity of his career: to help defend a millionaire accused of murdering a woman in his hotel suite. The only problem is that the accused man, Vernon James, turns out to be not only someone he knows, but someone he loathes. This case could potentially make Terry's career, but how can he defend a former friend who betrayed him so badly?

Where the Light Gets In: Losing My Mother Only to Find Her Again by Kimberly Williams-Paisley - Memoir

April 11, 2017

Many know Kimberly Williams-Paisley as the bride in the popular Steve Martin remakes of the Father of the Bride movies, the calculating Peggy Kenter on “Nashville,” or the wife of country music artist Brad Paisley. But behind the scenes, Kim was dealing with a tragic secret: her mother, Linda, was suffering from a rare form of dementia that slowly crippled her ability to talk, write and eventually recognize people in her own family. WHERE THE LIGHT GETS IN tells the full story of Linda’s illness --- called primary progressive aphasia --- from her early-onset diagnosis at the age of 62 through the present day.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware - Mystery/Thriller

April 11, 2017

Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for --- and so the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.