Skip to main content

Week of February 20, 2017

New in Paperback

Week of February 20, 2017

Paperback releases for the week of February 20th include Kathleen Grissom's GLORY OVER EVERYTHING, a heart-racing story about a man’s treacherous journey through the twists and turns of the Underground Railroad on a mission to save the boy he swore to protect; THREE SISTERS, THREE QUEENS by Philippa Gregory, the little-known story of three Tudor women who are united in sisterhood and yet compelled to be rivals when they fulfill their destinies as queens; THE SUMMER BEFORE THE WAR by Helen Simonson, a breathtaking novel of love on the eve of World War I that reaches far beyond the small English town in which it is set; and THE LEGENDS CLUB, the riveting inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends --- University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano --- from award-winning author and sportswriter John Feinstein.

Before the Wind by Jim Lynch - Fiction

February 21, 2017


The Johannssens are a sailing family: adventurous, fanatical, and, for now, a complete and total mess. Ruby, a prodigiously talented skipper, has taken off for Africa. Bernard is god-knows-where at sea. And at 31 years old, Josh Johannssen, the middle child, is fixing up an old family boat and trying to figure out where it all went wrong. When Josh’s father coaxes his children home for one last yacht race, the Johannssens find themselves reunited under thrilling circumstances that will change the course of their lives.

Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets - Mystery/Adventure

February 21, 2017


Driven to spend days alone in the wilderness, Amy Raye Latour, mother of two, is compelled by the quiet and the rush of nature. But this time, her venture into a remote area leaves her on the verge of the precarious edge that she’s flirted with her entire life. When Amy Raye doesn’t return to camp, ranger Pru Hathaway and her dog respond to the missing person call. After an unexpected snowfall and few leads, the operation turns into a search and recovery. BREAKING WILD lays bare Amy Raye’s ultimate reckoning with the secrets of her life and Pru’s dogged pursuit of the woman who, against all odds, she believes she can find.

Burning Down the House by Jane Mendelsohn - Fiction

February 21, 2017


It begins with two girls: Neva, from the Caucasus, sold into the sex trade; and Poppy, the adopted daughter of a wealthy New York real estate family, the Zanes. As their paths cross and their fates intertwine in an exquisite high drama that blurs the lines between realism and myth, we travel with them from lavish weddings to the transglobal underworld; from London and New York to Laos and Istanbul; and we watch as the mighty Zane dynasty slips from greatness. Jane Mendelsohn captures the emotional worlds of these characters with visceral immediacy, and transforms their private narratives into a larger story about the forces of globalization, human trafficking and sexual violence.

Death at Breakfast by Beth Gutcheon - Mystery

February 21, 2017


Indulging their pleasure in travel and new experiences, recently retired private school head Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, socialite Hope Babbin, are heading to Maine. The inn’s tranquility is soon shattered by the arrival of Alexander and Lisa Antippas, and Lisa’s actress sister, Glory. After a suspicious late-night fire is brought under control, Alex’s charred body is found in the ashes. Feeling that justice could use a helping hand --- as could the deputy sheriff --- Maggie and Hope decide that they could have a useful role to play in uncovering the truth.

The Devourers by Indra Das - Dark Fantasy

February 21, 2017


College professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion. So he agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments and once-living skins. From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old. With every passing chapter of beauty and brutality, Alok’s interest in the stranger grows and evolves into something darker and more urgent.

Double Switch by T. T. Monday - Mystery/Thriller

February 21, 2017


Relief pitcher/private investigator Johnny Adcock doesn't have an office; he has the bullpen. That's where he meets Tiff Tate, the femme-fatale stylist responsible for half the looks in Major League Baseball, from Brian Wilson's beard to Big Papi's gold ropes. Tiff has a problem. Her new client, the rookie phenom Yonel Ruiz, has been threatened by a cartel of smugglers. Adcock is her last best hope. As he embarks on this potentially deadly mission, Adcock tangoes with a mysterious, sexy assassin known only as La Loba. And he still has the playoffs to worry about.

The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government by Fergus M. Bordewich - History/Politics

February 21, 2017


The First Congress was the most important in US history, says prize-winning author and historian Fergus Bordewich, because it established how our government would actually function. Had it failed, it’s possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today. The Constitution was a broad set of principles. It was left to the members of the First Congress and President George Washington to create the machinery that would make the government work. Fortunately, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and others less well known today rose to the occasion.

Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom - Historical Fiction

February 21, 2017


The author of the New York Times bestseller and beloved book club favorite THE KITCHEN HOUSE continues the story of Jamie Pyke, son of both a slave and master of Tall Oakes, whose deadly secret compels him to take a treacherous journey through the Underground Railroad. This new, stand-alone novel opens in 1830, and Jamie, who fled from the Virginian plantation he once called home, is passing in Philadelphia society as a wealthy white silversmith. After many years of striving, Jamie has achieved acclaim and security, only to discover that his aristocratic lover Caroline is pregnant.

Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett - Fiction

February 21, 2017


When Margaret's fiancé, John, is hospitalized for depression in 1960s London, she faces a choice: carry on with their plans despite what she now knows of his condition, or back away from the suffering it may bring her. She decides to marry him. IMAGINE ME GONE is the story of what unfolds from this act of love and faith. At the heart of it is their eldest son, Michael, a brilliant, anxious music fanatic who makes sense of the world through parody. Over the span of decades, his younger siblings struggle along with their mother to care for his increasingly troubled and precarious existence.

Insidious: An FBI Thriller by Catherine Coulter - Thriller

February 21, 2017


Venus Rasmussen, a powerful woman who runs the international conglomerate Rasmussen Industries, believes someone is poisoning her. After FBI agents Savich and Sherlock visit with her, someone attempts to shoot her in broad daylight. Who’s trying to kill her and why? A member of her rapacious family, or her grandson who’s been missing for 10 years and suddenly reappears? Meanwhile, Special Agent Cam Wittier leaves Washington for Los Angeles to work with local Detective Daniel Montoya to lead the hunt for the Starlet Slasher, a serial killer who has cut the throats of five young actresses. When a sixth is murdered, Cam comes to realize the truth might be closer than she’d ever want to believe.

Interior Darkness: Selected Stories by Peter Straub - Literary Horror/Short Stories

February 21, 2017


In INTERIOR DARKNESS, Peter Straub explores the deepest, shadow-filled corners of his imagination. His world is made up of damaged people --- from the righteous to the depraved, from the working class to the wealthy. No one and no place is safe from the darkness that he reveals. In “Blue Rose,” an adolescent sociopath inflicts secret violence on his younger brother; in “Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff,” a stern estate lawyer hires a pair of "Private Detectives Extraordinaire" to investigate and seek revenge on his unfaithful wife; and in “The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine,” a man and his much younger lover explore their decadent and increasingly sinister fantasies aboard a luxurious yacht on the remotest stretch of the Amazon River.

The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry by John Feinstein - Sports

February 21, 2017


On March 18, 1980, the immensely powerful Duke basketball program announced the hiring of its new coach --- the man who would resurrect the team, restore glory to Duke and defeat the legendary Dean Smith, who coached down the road at UNC Chapel Hill and had turned UNC into a powerhouse. The table was set nine days later, when on March 27, Jim Valvano was hired by North Carolina State to be their new head coach. In the skillful hands of John Feinstein, this extraordinary rivalry --- and the men behind it --- come to life in a unique, intimate way.

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff - Historical Fiction

February 21, 2017


After discovering a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, 16-year-old Noa is reminded of the child who was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night. Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another --- or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson - Historical Fiction

February 21, 2017


East Sussex, 1914. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master. But just as Beatrice Nash, the teacher, comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha’s reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.

Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory - Historical Fiction

February 21, 2017


When Katherine of Aragon is brought to the Tudor court as a young bride, the oldest princess, Margaret, takes her measure. With one look, each knows the other for a rival, an ally, a pawn, destined --- with Margaret’s younger sister, Mary --- to a sisterhood unique in all the world. The three sisters will become the queens of England, Scotland and France. United by family loyalties and affections, they find themselves set against each other. As they experience betrayals, dangers, loss and passion, the three queens find that the only constant in their perilous lives is their special bond, more powerful than any man, even a king.

Treachery at Lancaster Gate: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel by Anne Perry - Historical Mystery

February 21, 2017


When an explosion in London kills two policemen and seriously injures three more, many believe that anarchists are the culprits. But Thomas Pitt knows the city’s radical groups well enough to suspect that someone with decidedly more personal motives lit the deadly fuse. As he investigates the source of the fatal blast, Pitt is stunned to discover that the bombing was a calculated strike against the ranks of law enforcement. But still more shocking revelations await. As he pursues each increasingly threatening lead, Pitt finds himself impeded at every turn by the barriers put in place to protect the rich and powerful.

War Shadows: A Tier One Thriller by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson - Thriller

February 21, 2017


John Dempsey, former Navy SEAL and Tier One operator, is back. Only a few months into his new life as an operative for Ember, the United States’ most covert counterterrorism entity, he must stop an old nemesis who has resurfaced after 10 years of operating in the shadows. From the deserts of Iraq, through the jungles of Guatemala, to the streets of suburbia, Dempsey and his Ember team race against time to stop a series of horrific and devious attacks against the homeland.

West of Eden: An American Place by Jean Stein - History

February 21, 2017


Jean Stein transformed the art of oral history in her groundbreaking book EDIE: American Girl, an indelible portrait of Andy Warhol “superstar” Edie Sedgwick, which was edited with George Plimpton. Now, in WEST OF EDEN, she turns to Los Angeles, the city of her childhood. Stein vividly captures a mythic cast of characters: their ambitions and triumphs as well as their desolation and grief. These stories illuminate the bold aspirations of five larger-than-life individuals and their families.