Okay, get out your "to be read list" and grab a pen since there are some real winners to share this week...

For weeks now at the office we all have been looking forward to sharing Paul Levine's latest book, ILLEGAL, with you. It's a complete departure for readers who know Levine from his Solomon vs. Lord series. Here he takes on the subject of illegal immigration in a thriller that packs a punch. It reads authentically, which is a true testimony to the meticulous research that Levine did, and you can read more about in our interview with him. It was a house favorite for a while now, so we are glad it's now in stores for you to enjoy!

Last Sunday night I started reading an advance reading copy of a memoir that was sent my way called CRAZY FOR THE STORM by Norman Ollestad. Here's the copy from the cover: "On February 19, 1979 I was in a plane crash with my father; his girlfriend, Sandra; and the pilot of our chartered Cessna. Sandra was 30 years old. My dad was 43. I was 11. Just after sunrise, we slammed into a rugged 8,600-foot mountain engulfed in a blizzard. By the end of our nine-hour ordeal, I was the only survivor." Intrigued I started reading and then found myself only stopping when my eyes could no longer stay open. In the morning, I pulled the book into bed as soon as I was awake. All day at the office, I was sneaking a page here and a page there until I could get home and just keep reading.

What worked was not just the story, but also the language, the pacing, the way I "saw" it unfold. When the action builds the chapters shorten and seem to volley back and forth so it has amazing pitch. It's coming June 2nd. And I think you will read it and remember it for a long time. Everyone who I told about it (and I did that a lot this week) said, I want to read it now. Mark your calendars. You will be hearing a lot more about this in the weeks to come, and I cannot wait to hear the conversation about it as more and more people hear about it. Ah, yet another moment where I would like to move the calendar ahead!

Speaking of books I love, I am ready to name my next Bookreporter.com Bets On pick, A RELIABLE WIFE by Robert Goolrick. I am going to one of Goolrick's New York events on Tuesday night at the B&N on 82nd and Broadway, so I think it's fair to share my pick now in hopes that those of you in New York might join me there as well. The past few weeks when booksellers, reviewers and librarians were talking about books they loved, very often we all were talking about A RELIABLE WIFE.

The book opens with Ralph Truitt standing on a train platform on a cold winter morning waiting for a woman who had answered his ad looking for "a reliable wife;" "a simple honest woman." But Catherine Land is not the woman who she appears to be, and she, like Ralph, has secrets to hide and thus their story takes you on one very wild ride. The official pub date is April 7th, but if you are going to the B&N event, drop me a line so I can say hi. I think it will be moving into stores next week.

Okay, for those of you who ever wanted to read a Lee Child book, we have a chance for you to do that online --- for free. At ReadLeeChild.com you have the opportunity to read the entire book, PERSUADER. You can read it on screen in the handy dandy very cool format they have there where you can flip the pages, or you can download it to any of the following applications -- eReader, Kindle, Issuu widget, Scribd widget and Stanza app for iPhone. Before you think I am really a tech chick, note I know what just two of those are. And we share that Lee's next book, GONE TOMORROW, is on sale May 19, 2009. As always, we'll remind you closer to the on-sale date. And we also will tickle you when you can get a sneak peek of Chapters 1-5 starting May 4th at Blood on the Page.

This Sunday night HBO will have the premiere airing of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" at 8pm only on HBO. Since "Big Love" has ended, I was hoping there might be something terrific to fill my Sunday this week to justify that I pay for HBO!

Speaking of "Big Love," I am going to read a whole group of books about polygamy until the season starts again. I have lined up THE 19th WIFE by David Ebershoff, UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN by Jon Krakauer, SHATTERED DREAMS by Irene Spencer and THE CHOSEN ONE by Carol Lynch Williams, a brilliant YA title coming in May that I started last night, which is the story of a 13-year-old girl growing up on a compound who is promised to her 60-year old uncle, who already has six wives. The voice of Kyra is amazing, and when you read of her secret visits to the bookmobile for weekly escape, you will treasure your freedom to read books all the more. I also confess that whenever I see a Hummer on the street I panic that it's Roman. Seriously.

My trip to the Virginia Festival of the Book ended just as smashingly as it started. There were many special moments, including the Saturday evening event that I attended with S.J. Rozan and Denise Hamilton where John Grisham and Stephen L. Carter were the featured authors --- and the talk was about the law and legal thrillers. The banter and conversation was great both on stage and in the car going back to the hotel. The previous evening I had heard Rozan and Hamilton speak along with Dan Fesperman and Caroline and Charles Todd on a wonderful crime-themed panel brilliantly moderated by Willetta Heising. Heising always does meticulous research in advance of her interviews, which ensures that readers walk away with a terrific in-depth look at the authors and their work. She really captures the essence of each author's work.

Brad Meltzer was the perfect lunch speaker on Saturday, and it was such fun to sit at a table with Rosemary Harris, whose gardening mysteries are laced with comedy. Her latest is THE BIG DIRT NAP, and I thank her here for the gardening gloves she had for all the guests at her table. May I remember where I put them when the ground softens up! Later in the day I was at a panel on humor in crime where she, Nancy Martin and Harley Jane Kozak were presenting and Marcia Talley was moderating. THAT was fun! As always, great to see my friend Mayapriya Long while I was in town, as well as pals from New York and all over the country who make this Festival an annual event. Love these reunions.

And I want to give a shout out to Mimi at Needle Lady in Charlottesville. Besides doing bookish things, I had some knitting moments there. I designed the concept for a window treatment for my office that I am going to knit. Hey, when you cannot find fabric you love, you make it up! And then thanks to one of our readers named Kathryn, who read the newsletter. I managed to go back to the store on Saturday and buy some amazing yarn to make a very cool wrap that I had been on the fence about. See, I listen to our readers!

Since March came in like a lion, I think it needs to exit like a lamb. Anyone want to vote with me on this? Have a great week.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson has written over 75 novels, and more than 12 million copies of her books are in print. In MALICE, her new novel releasing on March 31st, Jackson crafts a riveting edge-of-your-seat thriller of deception and betrayal as a New Orleans detective is forced to confront the ghosts of his past --- and a killer's twisted vengeance.

-Click here to read a second excerpt from MALICE.
-Click here to read Lisa Jackson’s bio.
-Click here to see Lisa Jackson's backlist.
-Click here to read critical praise for MALICE.
-Visit Lisa Jackson's official website, www.LisaJackson.com.
-Click here to view a trailer for MALICE.
-Click here to see our advance copy winners.

More about MALICE:
The scent is unmistakable --- gardenias, the same perfume that his beautiful first wife, Jennifer, always wore. Opening his eyes in the hospital room where he is recovering from an accident, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz sees her standing in the doorway. She blows him a kiss and disappears. But Jennifer died 12 years ago...

The murders begin soon after this peculiar encounter. Each victim is a part of Jennifer’s past, and each grisly corpse points to Bentz as the prime suspect.

SERENDIPITY by Louise Shaffer (Fiction)
A child of theatrical royalty, Carrie Manning is having a hard time getting her own act together. Thirty-seven, aimless, and having just buried a famous mother she never understood, she is desperate to uncover her family’s mysterious past in the hopes that it will help her understand herself.

Carrie’s search reveals the fascinating life stories of her estranged grandmother Lu, a glamorous Broadway star whose dreams came with a price; her great grandmother Mifalda, who gave up everything to come to America as a 16-year-old Italian bride; and her father, Bobby, the charismatic Broadway genius who wrote some of Lu’s greatest musicals and died tragically young. At the heart of Carrie’s discoveries lies the reason for her mother’s complicated life, and a dark secret that has been buried for 30 years.

March’s roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes NOTHING TO LOSE, the 12th installment in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series that introduces readers to Hope and Despair, two lonely towns in Colorado; GUILTY by Karen Robards, a suspenseful and romantic thriller in which a feisty female attorney's life is threatened when her hidden past resurfaces in an unexpected way; THE THIRD ANGEL, a remarkable work of fiction from prolific author Alice Hoffman that charts the lives of three women in love with the wrong men; THE CURE FOR MODERN LIFE, Lisa Tucker’s wise, thought-provoking and morally compelling novel that raises questions about major social issues and the unpredictability of human relationships; THE EX-DEBUTANTE by Linda Francis Lee, a funny and poignant story of one ex-debutante who must decide if she’ll risk everything for love; and MUDBOUND, debut novelist Hillary Jordan’s award-winning portrait of two families caught up in the blind hatred of a small Southern town.

Among our nonfiction highlights are A WOLF AT THE TABLE, the prequel to the bestseller RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, in which Augusten Burroughs recreates the unspeakably terrifying relationship between a sociopathic father and a son yearning for unconditional love; LADIES OF LIBERTY by Cokie Roberts, a colorful blend of biographical portraits and behind-the-scenes vignettes chronicling women's public roles and private responsibilities; and THE WARRIOR, a heart-rending memoir written in 28 poems that Frances Richey dedicates to her son, Ben, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Green Beret who served two tours of duty in Iraq.

THE LONG FALL: The First Leonid McGill Mystery by Walter Mosley (Mystery)
Bestselling author Walter Mosley introduces a new private-eye mystery series set in contemporary New York. Leonid McGill is a down-at-the-heels PI often known to bend the law to help his clients. He is trying to go straight, but when his current job leads to murder, he learns that the past is not so easily escaped. Reviewed by Tom Callahan.

EXECUTION DOCK by Anne Perry (Mystery)
Anne Perry returns to Victorian London with her first William Monk mystery in three years. EXECUTION DOCK pits Commander Monk against the nefarious Jericho Phillips, who is allegedly guilty of a string of child abductions and murders along the bustling docks of the Thames River. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

REUNION by Therese Fowler (Fiction)
Blue Reynolds is a super-famous talk show host, with a big secret in her past: a baby boy she gave up for adoption. As she jets off to Key West to film her program, her life is about to become very complicated as the search for her son intensifies and the big love of her life resurfaces. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

-Click here to read an excerpt from REUNION.

DANTE’S NUMBERS by David Hewson (Suspense)
In Rome, a legendary director is premiering his new film version of Dante’s INFERNO. But within moments, the event is in chaos. A man is dead. The film’s star is missing --- and a priceless relic has vanished. In David Hewson’s new novel of suspense, Detective Nic Costa, numb from the recent death of his wife, finds himself and his fellow detectives drawn into a strange and terrifying limbo --- the first of Dante’s nine circles of Hell. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

DON'T CRY: Stories by Mary Gaitskill (Fiction/Short Stories)
From the powerful pen of Mary Gaitskill comes DON'T CRY, her first collection of short stories in more than a decade. The tales here are intense and thought-provoking, compelling and often tragic, yet filled with a subtle magic. In just 10 stories Gaitskill explores the spectrum of emotion: lust, greed, sorrow, hope, anger and many forms of love. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

GRAVE GOODS: A Mistress of the Art of Death Novel by Ariana Franklin (Historical Mystery)
Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar has finally achieved a peaceful, happy, if somewhat unorthodox life for herself. Into her satisfied existence, however, bursts a new request from her so-called benefactor, the man who enables the native Italian to settle safely and without challenge in England. In this third spectacular mystery featuring medieval physician Adelia Aguilar, Ariana Franklin delves into an even older story: the legend of King Arthur and Guinevere. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

WHISPER TO THE BLOOD: A Kate Shugak Novel by Dana Stabenow (Mystery)
Kate Shugak, the irrepressible Aleut private investigator, is back as Dana Stabenow spins her 16th story in this amazing series. Packed with action, adventure, mystery and romance played out against the backdrop of the Alaskan Bush, steeped in Native culture, WHISPER TO THE BLOOD is sure to attract new fans and please devoted Stabenow rats as well. Reviewed by Maggie Harding.