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Week of February 5, 2018

New in Paperback

Week of February 5, 2018

Paperback releases for the week of February 5th include George Saunders' Man Booker Prize-winning novel, LINCOLN IN THE BARDO, a moving and original father-son story featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast of supporting characters, living and dead, historical and invented; BEARTOWN, Fredrik Backman's instant New York Times bestseller about a forgotten town fractured by scandal, and the amateur hockey team that might just change everything; UNRAVELING OLIVER by debut novelist Liz Nugent, a complex and disturbing psychological thriller about how and why a human being transforms into a sociopath; and Lynne Olson's LAST HOPE ISLAND, a groundbreaking account of how Britain became the base of operations for the exiled leaders of Europe in their desperate struggle to reclaim their continent from Hitler.

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster - Fiction

February 6, 2018

Nearly two weeks early, Archibald Isaac Ferguson is born. From that single beginning, Ferguson’s life will take four simultaneous and independent fictional paths. Four identical Fergusons made of the same DNA, four boys who are the same boy, go on to lead four parallel and entirely different lives. Family fortunes diverge. Athletic skills and sex lives and friendships and intellectual passions contrast. Each Ferguson falls under the spell of the magnificent Amy Schneiderman, yet each Amy and each Ferguson have a relationship like no other. Meanwhile, readers will take in each Ferguson’s pleasures and ache from each Ferguson’s pains, as the mortal plot of each Ferguson’s life rushes on.

Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser - Psychological Thriller

February 6, 2018

Three years into their marriage, Violet and Finn have a wonderful little boy. Life is good, and Violet can’t believe her luck. So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach and takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she’s shared her life with, she never really knew at all. Caitlin and Finn have been best friends for the longest time. But when Finn shows up on Caitlin’s doorstep with the son he’s wanted for kidnapping, demands that she hide them from the authorities, and threatens to reveal a secret that could destroy her own family if she doesn’t, Caitlin faces an impossible choice.

The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard - Historical Fiction

February 6, 2018

In November 1944, 18-year-old June Walker boards an unmarked bus, destined for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which has sprung up in a matter of months. There, June joins hundreds of other young girls operating massive machines whose purpose is never explained. They spend their evenings socializing and flirting with soldiers, scientists and workmen. June longs to know more about their top-secret assignment and begins an affair with Sam Cantor, a young Jewish physicist who oversees the lab where she works and understands the end goal only too well. Across town, African-American construction worker Joe Brewer knows nothing of the government’s plans. But a breach in security will intertwine his fate with June’s search for answers.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman - Fiction

February 6, 2018

A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, Beartown is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semifinals, and they actually have a shot at winning. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semifinal match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made, and like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

The Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance written by Anders Rydell, translated by Henning Koch - History

February 6, 2018

Through extensive new research that included records saved by the Monuments Men themselves, Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe’s libraries and bookshops, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own that they could use to wage an intellectual war on literature and history. But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. Instead many found their way into the public library system, where they remain to this day. Now, Rydell finds himself entrusted with one of these stolen volumes, setting out to return it to its rightful owner.

By the Book by Julia Sonneborn - Fiction

February 6, 2018

An English professor in California, Anne Corey is determined to score a position on the coveted tenure track at her college. All she has to do is get a book deal, snag a promotion, and boom! She’s in. But then Adam Martinez --- her first love and ex-fiancé --- shows up as the college’s new president. Anne should be able to keep herself distracted. After all, she has a book to write, an aging father to take care of, and a new romance developing with the college’s insanely hot writer-in-residence. But no matter where she turns, there’s Adam, as smart and sexy as ever. As the school year advances and her long-buried feelings begin to resurface, Anne begins to wonder whether she just might get a second chance at love.

Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child - Thriller

February 6, 2018

When renowned "enigmalogist" Jeremy Logan travels to an isolated writers' retreat deep in the Adirondacks to work on his book, he discovers the remote community has been rocked by the grisly death of a hiker on Desolation Mountain. The attack occurred during the full moon and the body was severely mauled, but the unusual savagery calls into question the initial suspicions of a bear attack. Logan's theories take a dramatic turn when he meets Laura Feverbridge, a respected scientist who is still struggling with the violent loss of her father months earlier. As Feverbridge shares her research with Logan, he begins to wonder whether he is actually up against something he can’t believe is real.

Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York by Francis Spufford - Historical Fiction

February 6, 2018

New York, a small town on the tip of Manhattan island, 1746. One rainy evening in November, a handsome young stranger fresh off the boat arrives at a countinghouse door on Golden Hill Street. Mr. Smith is amiable and charming, yet strangely determined to keep suspicion shimmering. In his pocket, he has what seems to be an order for a thousand pounds, a huge sum, and he won’t explain why, where he comes from, or what he is planning to do in the colonies that requires so much money. Should the New York merchants trust him? Should they risk their credit and refuse to pay? Should they befriend him, seduce him, arrest him --- maybe even kill him?

The Heirs by Susan Rieger - Fiction

February 6, 2018

Six months after Rupert Falkes dies, leaving a grieving widow and five adult sons, an unknown woman sues his estate, claiming she had two sons by him. The Falkes brothers are pitched into turmoil, at once missing their father and feeling betrayed by him. In disconcerting contrast, their mother, Eleanor, is cool and calm, showing preternatural composure. Struggling to reclaim their identity, the brothers find Eleanor’s sympathy toward the woman and her sons confounding. Widowhood has let her cast off the rigid propriety of her stifling upbringing, and the brothers begin to question whether they knew either of their parents at all.

High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic by Glenn Frankel - History

February 6, 2018

It's one of the most revered movies of Hollywood's golden era. Starring screen legend Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in her first significant film role, High Noon achieved instant box-office and critical success. Yet what has been often overlooked is that the movie was made during the height of the Hollywood blacklist, a time of political inquisition and personal betrayal. In the middle of the film shoot, screenwriter Carl Foreman was forced to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities about his former membership in the Communist Party. Examined in light of Foreman's testimony, High Noon's emphasis on courage and loyalty takes on deeper meaning and importance.

The Hollywood Daughter by Kate Alcott - Historical Fiction

February 6, 2018

In 1950, Ingrid Bergman has a baby out of wedlock with her Italian lover, film director Roberto Rossellini. Previously held up as an icon of purity, Bergman's fall shocked her legions of American fans. Growing up in Hollywood, Jessica Malloy watches as her PR executive father helps make Ingrid a star. Over years of fleeting interactions with the actress, Jesse comes to idolize Ingrid. In a heated era of McCarthyism and extreme censorship, Ingrid's affair sets off an international scandal that robs 17-year-old Jesse of her childhood hero. When the stress placed on Jesse's father begins to reveal hidden truths about the Malloy family, Jesse's eyes are opened to the complex realities of life --- and love.

Huck Out West by Robert Coover - Historical Fiction

February 6, 2018

At the end of HUCKLEBERRY FINN, on the eve of the Civil War, Huck and Tom Sawyer decide to escape “sivilization” and “light out for the Territory.” In Robert Coover’s vision of their Western adventures, Tom decides he’d rather own civilization than escape it, leaving Huck “dreadful lonely” in a country of bandits, war parties and gold. In the course of his ventures, Huck reunites with old friends, facing hard truths and even harder choices.

Last Hope Island: Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War by Lynne Olson - History

February 6, 2018

When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over continental Europe in the early days of World War II, the city of London became a refuge for the governments and armed forces of six occupied nations who escaped there to continue the fight. So, too, did General Charles de Gaulle, the self-appointed representative of free France. As the only European democracy still holding out against Hitler, Britain became known to occupied countries as “Last Hope Island.” Getting there, one young emigré declared, was “like getting to heaven.” Acclaimed historian Lynne Olson takes us back to those perilous days when the British and their European guests joined forces to combat the mightiest military force in history.

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo - Fiction

February 6, 2018

Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever. Together, they decide they want their lives to mean something. When they meet again a year later, it seems fated --- perhaps they’ll find life’s meaning in each other. But then Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East, and Lucy pursues a career in New York. What follows is a 13-year journey of dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals and, ultimately, love. Was it fate that brought them together? Is it choice that has kept them away? Their journey takes Lucy and Gabe continents apart, but never out of each other’s hearts.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - Historical Fiction

February 6, 2018

It’s February 1862, and the Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved 11-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. The boy finds himself in a strange purgatory where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state --- called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo --- a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie’s soul.

The Missing Wife by Sheila O'Flanagan - Fiction

February 6, 2018

When Imogen Naughton vanishes, everyone who knows her is shocked. She has a perfect marriage. Her handsome husband treats her like a princess. She’s always said how lucky she is. So why has she left? And how will she survive without Vince? What goes on behind closed doors is often a surprise, and Imogen surprises herself by taking the leap she knows she must. But as she begins her journey to find the woman she once was, Imogen's past is right behind her. Will it catch up with her? And will she be ready to face it if it does?

No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts - Fiction

February 6, 2018

JJ Ferguson has returned home to Pinewood, North Carolina, to build his dream house and to pursue his high school sweetheart, Ava. But as he reenters his former world, where factories are in decline and the legacy of Jim Crow is still felt, he’s startled to find that the people he once knew and loved have changed just as much as he has. JJ’s return --- and his plans to build a huge mansion overlooking Pinewood and woo Ava --- not only unsettles their family, but stirs up the entire town. The ostentatious wealth that JJ has attained forces everyone to consider the cards they’ve been dealt, what more they want and deserve, and how they might go about getting it.

The Possessions by Sara Flannery Murphy - Romantic Suspense

February 6, 2018

In an unnamed city, Eurydice works for the Elysian Society, a private service that allows grieving clients to reconnect with lost loved ones. She and her fellow workers, known as "bodies," wear the discarded belongings of the dead and swallow pills called lotuses to summon their spirits. But when Edie, a body, channels Sylvia, the dead wife of recent widower Patrick Braddock, she becomes obsessed with the glamorous couple. Despite the murky circumstances surrounding Sylvia’s drowning, Edie breaks her own rules and pursues Patrick. After years of hiding beneath the lotuses’ dulling effect, Edie discovers that the lines between her own desires and those of Sylvia have begun to blur, and takes increasing risks to keep Patrick within her grasp.

Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell - Biography

February 6, 2018

RICHARD NIXON opens with young Navy lieutenant "Nick" Nixon returning from the Pacific and setting his cap at Congress, an idealistic dreamer seeking to build a better world. Yet amid the turns of that now-legendary 1946 campaign, Nixon's finer attributes quickly gave way to unapologetic ruthlessness. It is a stunning overture to John A. Farrell's magisterial portrait of a man who embodied postwar American cynicism.

Seeing Red by Sandra Brown - Thriller

February 6, 2018

Twenty-five years ago, Major Franklin Trapper became a national icon when he was photographed leading a handful of survivors to safety after the bombing of a Dallas hotel. For years, he gave frequent speeches and interviews but then suddenly dropped out of the public eye. Now TV journalist Kerra Bailey is willing to use any means necessary to get an exclusive with the Major --- even if she has to secure an introduction from his estranged son, former ATF agent John Trapper. When the interview goes catastrophically awry, Trapper realizes he needs Kerra under wraps if he's going to track down the gunmen and finally discover who was responsible for the Dallas bombing.

A Separation by Katie Kitamura - Fiction

February 6, 2018

A young woman has agreed with her faithless husband: it's time for them to separate. For the moment it's a private matter, a secret between the two of them. As she begins her new life, she gets word that Christopher has gone missing in a remote region in the rugged south of Greece; she reluctantly agrees to go look for him, still keeping their split to herself. In her heart, she's not even sure if she wants to find him. As her search comes to a shocking breaking point, she discovers she understands less than she thought she did about her relationship and the man she used to love.

Things to Do When It's Raining by Marissa Stapley - Fiction

February 6, 2018

Mae Summers has it all: a loving fiancé, Peter, a job at the flourishing company he owns, and a beautiful New York City apartment. But Mae’s life shatters when she wakes up one morning to discover Peter gone and the company in shambles. There’s only one place for Mae to go: home to Alexandria Bay, where she was raised by her grandparents. And not all is right in Alex Bay, either: Mae finds her grandmother struggling with dementia, separated from Mae’s grandfather thanks to a terrible secret she never meant to reveal. She also finds Gabe, her childhood best friend who became the love of her young life --- now a handsome if brooding adult, working through a private trauma that still haunts him.

A Time of Love and Tartan: A 44 Scotland Yard Novel by Alexander McCall Smith - Fiction

February 6, 2018

When Pat accepts her narcissistic ex-boyfriend Bruce's invitation for coffee, she has no idea of the complications in her romantic and professional life that will follow. Meanwhile, Matthew, her boss at the art gallery, attracts the attention of the police after a misunderstanding at the local bookstore. Whether caused by small things such as a cup of coffee and a book, or major events such as Stuart's application for promotion and his wife Irene's decision to pursue a PhD in Aberdeen, change is coming to Scotland Street. But for three seven-year-old boys --- Bertie Pollock, Ranald, and Big Lou's foster son, Finlay --- it also means getting a glimpse of perfect happiness.

Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent - Psychological Thriller

February 6, 2018

Oliver Ryan is happily married to his wife, Alice, who illustrates the award-winning children’s books he writes and devotedly cares for him in their comfortable suburban home. Their life together is one of enviable privilege and ease --- until, one evening, Oliver delivers blows to Alice that render her comatose. As Alice hovers between life and death in her hospital bed, the couple’s circle of friends, neighbors and acquaintances try to understand what could have driven Oliver to commit such an astonishing act of savagery. Oliver tells his story, peeling away the layers to reveal a life of shame, envy, breath-taking deception and masterful manipulation. As details about his past catch up with him, even he is in for a shock.

White Tears by Hari Kunzru - Fiction

February 6, 2018

Seth is a shy, awkward twentysomething. Carter is more glamorous, the heir to a great American fortune. But they share an obsession with music --- especially the blues. One day, Seth discovers that he's accidentally recorded an unknown blues singer in a park. Carter puts the file online, claiming it's a 1920s recording by a made-up musician named Charlie Shaw. But when a music collector tells them that their recording is genuine --- that there really was a singer named Charlie Shaw --- the two white boys, along with Carter's sister, find themselves in over their heads, delving deeper and deeper into America's dark, vengeful heart.

Will's Red Coat: The Story of One Old Dog Who Chose to Live Again by Tom Ryan - Memoir

February 6, 2018

Drawn by an online post, Tom Ryan adopted Will, a frightened, deaf and mostly blind elderly dog, and brought him home to live with him and Atticus. Tom hoped to give Will a place to die with dignity, amid the rustic beauty of the White Mountains of his New Hampshire home. But when Will bites him numerous times and acts out in violent displays, Tom realizes he is in for a challenge. With endless patience and the kind of continued empathy Tom has nurtured in his relationship with Atticus, Will eventually begins to thrive. Soon, the angry, hurt, depressed and near-death oldster has transformed into a happy, gamboling companion with a puppy-like zest for discovery.