Last night I was looking over this week's lineup and smiling. To me it's one of those quintessential weeks where the lineup just speaks to why I love doing what I do.
 
First, we have Sally Beauman's new book, THE SISTERS MORTLAND. Her book DESTINY, which came out in 1987, is one of my all-time favorite books. I think I bought ten copies of it to give to people over the years; something I am wont to do when I love a book. I was so pleased to read our reviewer Terry Miller Shannon's review yesterday since it's clear that while she had never read Beauman before, she's now a fan. I love sharing authors and seeing that kind of a reaction from people. By the way, I read THE SISTERS MORTLAND last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Often we miss a book when it first comes out and circle back later for a review. Last summer I picked up IMMORAL by Brian Freeman and spent the entire day floating in the pool reading it. Really enjoyed it. Well, somehow we did not get around to a review til this week, which I regret. Joe Hartlaub gives it a real rave, which I hope will have many of you picking it up even at this late date.
 
As you know Raymond Khoury is one of the debut suspense/thriller authors who we have been featuring this past month. We have a review of THE LAST TEMPLAR and an interview with Khoury this week as the book just hit stores. I am very excited to share that this book has been at number one in Germany for TWO weeks already. It's great to hear news like that about an author who we are so excited about introducing you to!
 
Little secret: I love pulling together the baskets for our contests. With this in mind I am happy to share that today we are unveiling a NEW contest for Valentine's Day with five books that oh so perfectly capture this holiday --- they are a mix of love, sex and intimacy. Once again, we are doing a contest with a twist. You either can win this basket for yourself or have it sent to your Valentine. Your choice! The contest is open until February 5th to give us enough time to get your basket to you. Read on for details and to enter.
 
This week I have been reading THE FAITHFUL SPY by Alex Berenson. It's about a CIA agent who infiltrates Al Qaeda and is brought into a plot against the United States. When he returns home, the Agency does not trust that he has not crossed over. He becomes a man between two worlds trying to foil a threat, but remain undercover enough to continue to be useful to the United States. The fiction reads so much like fact that I was wondering where John Wells, Berenson's character, was this week when I heard that Bin Laden had sent a new tape. Here's what Berenson does so well --- he captures how being in the Agency and living on the edge like this leads one to a world that is so over the top that being in the real world brings challenges that many of us cannot imagine. It's like running at Mach 10 on a go-cart course. It's out on April 25th. You'll hear more about it here.
 
This week we share our advance reader comments about Richard Hawke's SPEAK OF THE DEVIL. See what they had to say here.
 
And for any of you who were something like out of the country this week and did not know that Oprah's new selection is NIGHT by Elie Wiesel, well now you know. We have a reading group guide for this book and the other two titles in this trilogy -- DAWN and DAY.
 
I have both of my son's birthday celebrations this week. We kick off what looks like 10 days of non-stop celebrating tonight with my younger son's sleepover with his two best pals. One of them loves to read so MAYBE it will be a quiet night. Okay, I am kidding myself. Monday the Newbery and Caldecott children's book winners will be announced as well as a number of other prizes. Check back for our feature on these titles. In the middle of the week I am off to Nashville for the Christian Booksellers Association's winter show.

Have a great week. Here's hoping you find something terrific to read.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

List of titles reviewed and featured on January 20th.

List of titles reviewed and featured on January 13th.

Bookreporter.com's Suspense/Thriller Author Spotlight Team (Carol Fitzgerald, Joe Hartlaub and Wiley Saichek) interviewed veteran screenwriter Raymond Khoury about his novel, THE LAST TEMPLAR. Khoury discusses how he first became interested in the mysterious order of knights on which the book is based, and reveals the long and arduous process of writing and publishing this debut work of fiction. He also comments on the recent popularity of religion-themed thrillers, compares and contrasts screenplays with novels, and even recommends a few titles for further study on the period's history.

THE LAST TEMPLAR by Raymond Khoury (Suspense)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Following a bizarre incident at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, in which four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights steal an artifact from "The Treasures of the Vatican" exhibit, an FBI investigation led by anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly is launched. Soon, he and archaeologist Tess Chaykin are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the Templar Knights, plunging them into a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars.

Valentine's Day is all about love, sex and intimacy --- and our Valentine's Day Basket is filled with books about just that.

How about the love poems of Pablo Neruda? Sexy tips from relationship expert Tracey Cox? Three wry and witty Valentine's Day murder-mysteries? A book to "share" the inner you? --- and another to fill out with your lover to get to know each other better? Yes, these are books to fall in love with.

From January 20th through February 5th, readers will have the chance to win one of our five Bookreporter.com Valentine's Day baskets. They are filled with one copy of each of our featured books --- ALL ABOUT ME and ALL ABOUT US by Philipp Keel, THE HOT SEX HANDBOOK by Tracey Cox, TWENTY POEMS OF LOVE AND A SONG OF DESPAIR by Pablo Neruda and VALENTINE'S DAY IS KILLING ME by MaryJanice Davidson, Leslie Esdaile and Susanna Carr. Also included: some irresistible Valentine's Day goodies --- a red heart-shaped candle from Illuminations; pink, white and red roses that are mineral bath salts; a heart-decorated picture frame; Lucky Lovers Message Dice; a red comfy pillow; and Godiva heart-shaped candies in a heart-shaped box.

What makes this contest even more romantic? You can have your basket shipped either to yourself or to your valentine! If you want to fete your valentine, send us the name and address of the person you want it sent to along with your entry. Also tell us what you would want the gift card to say. Either way,we'll notify you if you win.

GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS by Joanne Harris (Thriller)
Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
For generations, privileged young men have attended St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys. But this year the wind of unwelcome change is blowing, and Roy Straitley, the eccentric Classics teacher who has been a fixture there for more than thirty years, is contemplating retirement. He is joined this term by five new faculty members --- and one of them has nefarious plans that involve the ultimate demise of St. Oswald's.

-Click here to read an excerpt from GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS. 

Our newest featured One to Watch author is Keri Arthur, whose supernatural novel FULL MOON RISING hits shelves on January 31st. Deliciously sexy and mysterious, with a touch of humor, FULL MOON RISING is a sinfully delicious little bonbon of thrills, chills and romance.

-Click here to see our list of advance copy winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from FULL MOON RISING.

More about FULL MOON RISING:
In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone envisioned.

A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne's Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races-and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker --- until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn't be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.

She must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior --- by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind --- and just how much it needs her.

JUST REWARDS by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Romance)
Reviewed by Amie Taylor
Join the Harte women as they carry on the tradition started by their ancestor, Emma Harte --- a tradition of strength, determination and pride in the face of life's challenges --- while they run a successful, world-famous retail giant. This brand-new novel from Barbara Taylor Bradford is the dramatic conclusion of the extraordinary tale of Emma's great granddaughters.

January's roundup of New in Paperback titles includes GILEAD, Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century; THE THIRD SECRET, an international thriller from Steve Berry that takes place during a papal conclave where the third secret of Fatima is revealed; DANCE OF DEATH by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, which marks the return of FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast and his diabolical brother Diogenes; THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER, Nicholas and Micah Sparks's touching memoir about their life-affirming journey around the world; LOVE, ROSIE, (initially published in hardcover as ROSIE DUNNE), a lighthearted novel from Cecelia Ahern about what happens when two people who are meant to be together just can't seem to get it right; and THE GLASS CASTLE, the New York Times bestselling memoir by Jeanette Walls in which she recalls her deeply dysfunctional, nomadic and occasionally homeless childhood.

What book are you recommending most these days?

Please note: Our question of the week will update on February 3rd.

Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.

This week we have two great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of CELL by Stephen King and GONE by Lisa Gardner.

Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on February 3rd.