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Week of June 25, 2018

New in Paperback

Week of June 25, 2018

Paperback releases for the week of June 25th include SURPRISE ME, Sophie Kinsella's latest novel that delves into the heart of a marriage, and how those we love and think we know best can sometimes surprise us the most; THE RULES OF MAGIC by Alice Hoffman, the spellbinding prequel to PRACTICAL MAGIC and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick; THE SABOTEUR, Andrew Gross’ follow-up to the riveting historical thriller THE ONE MAN that portrays a hero who must weigh duty against his heart in order to single-handedly end the one threat that could alter the course of World War II; and MY ABSOLUTE DARLING, Gabriel Tallent's highly acclaimed debut novel about one 14-year-old girl's heart-stopping fight for her own soul.

Act of Betrayal: A Will Cochrane Novel by Matthew Dunn - Thriller

June 26, 2018

Three years ago, intelligence officer Will Cochrane was brought in by a Delta Force colonel to assassinate a terrorist financier in Berlin. After the job, the commander vanished and hasn’t been heard from since. The details don’t quite add up, and one of the CIA agents who was involved has been investigating the mission. He reaches out to Will for help, but before they can connect, the CIA man is poisoned. Will is determined to uncover the truth about Berlin, even if it means putting himself in the crosshairs. Framed for multiple murders, the skilled former spy has gone deep underground to evade his enemies and the feds. But honor and loyalty to his old colleague thrust him into danger once again.

Any Man by Amber Tamblyn - Thriller

June 26, 2018

A violent serial rapist who hunts for men is on the loose. Her victims must live the aftermath of their assault in the form of doubt from the police, feelings of shame, alienation from their friends and family, and the haunting of a horrible woman who becomes the phantom on which society projects its greatest fears, fascinations and even misogyny. All the while, the police are without leads and the media hound the victims, publicly dissecting the details of their attack. What is extraordinary is how as years pass, these men learn to heal, by banding together and finding a space to raise their voices.

Bonfire by Krysten Ritter - Psychological Thriller

June 26, 2018

It has been 10 years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small-town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands. But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life she painstakingly created starts to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’s biggest scandal from more than a decade ago, involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends --- just before Kaycee disappeared for good.

Book of Judas by Linda Stasi - Thriller

June 26, 2018

When her infant son is placed in mortal danger, New York City reporter Alessandra Russo is forced to save him by tracking down the missing pages of the Gospel of Judas, a heretical manuscript that was unearthed in Al-Minya, Egypt, in the 1970s. The manuscript declares that Judas was the beloved, not the betrayer, of Jesus. The Gospel disappeared for decades before being rediscovered, rotted beyond repair, in a safety deposit box. Rumors insist that the most important pages had been stolen --- pages that Alessandra now must find, if they even exist. Alessandra plunges into a dark world of murder, conspiracy and sexual depravity...and most importantly, a race against the clock to save her own child.

The Book of the Unwinding: A Witches of New Orleans Novel by J.D. Horn - Fantasy/Horror

June 26, 2018

With their magic diminishing, warring factions of New Orleans witches desperately search for the Book of the Unwinding --- a legendary grimoire, hidden by spells, that holds the key to unimaginable powers. As a ruthless struggle erupts in a maelstrom of malevolent magic, psychic Nathalie Boudreau finds her destiny intertwined with that of an exiled witch. Her name is Alice Marin, a vulnerable young woman trapped in a realm of illusion. Only Nathalie can free her, but first she must come to understand and master her own extraordinary abilities. Now, in a world where betrayals have become the order of the day, it will fall to two women to restore rightful balance amid terrifying chaos.

Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza - Fiction/Humor

June 26, 2018

When Janey Sweet, CEO of a couture wedding dress company, is photographed in the front row of a fashion show eating a bruffin --- the delicious lovechild of a brioche and a muffin --- her best friend and business partner, Beau, gives her an ultimatum: Lose 30 pounds or lose your job. So Janey throws herself headlong into the world of the fitness revolution, signing up for a shockingly expensive workout pass, sweating through boot camp classes run by Sri Lankan militants, and spinning to the screams of a Lycra-clad instructor with rage issues. As Janey eschews delicious carbs, pays thousands of dollars to charlatans, and is harassed by her very own fitness bracelet, she can't help but wonder: Did she really need to lose weight in the first place?

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden - Historical Fantasy

June 26, 2018

Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family’s wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Her gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko --- Frost, the winter demon from the stories --- and together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost’s aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch. So Vasilisa opts to dress herself as a boy and sets off astride her magnificent stallion. But after she prevails in a skirmish with bandits, the Grand Prince of Moscow anoints her a hero for her exploits. Before she can untangle herself from Moscow’s intrigues, Vasilisa will also confront an even graver threat lying in wait for all of Moscow itself.

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye: A Lisbeth Salander Novel by David Lagercrantz - Thriller

June 26, 2018

When a sadistic gang leader nicknamed Benito starts to torture Faria, a young Bangladeshi prisoner, Lisbeth Salander finds it impossible not to intervene. Now a target of Benito and her gang, Salander's time in prison is further complicated by news from her old guardian, who tells her she may have been a subject in a secret experiment known as the Registry. She enlists her friend Mikael Blomkvist, crusading editor of Millennium magazine, to help her look into it. Once Salander is released, she devotes her time to uncovering the truth in the case that landed Faria in prison, and Blomkvist continues his search into Salander's background. But when the two cases start to dovetail, Salander and Blomkvist must join together to fight for justice and their lives.

The Goddesses by Swan Huntley - Psychological Suspense

June 26, 2018

When Nancy and her family arrive in Kona, Hawaii, they are desperate for a fresh start. Nancy's marriage is in shambles, and she and her husband sleep in separate bedrooms. Their twin sons have been acting out, exhibiting risky behavior. But Hawaii is a refreshing paradise, and Nancy resolves to make a happy life for herself. It's then that she takes a yoga class and is stricken by the charismatic teacher, Ana. Soon, they are spending all their time together and relaxing in Ana's hot tub. Nancy starts neglecting her family, skipping dinners, and leaving her children to their own devices. But she doesn't care. She feels understood in a way she's never experienced, and she knows that she will do anything Ana asks of her.

Grace by Paul Lynch - Historical Fiction

June 26, 2018

Early one October morning, Grace's mother snatches her from sleep and brutally cuts off her hair, declaring, "You are the strong one now." With winter close at hand and Ireland already suffering, Grace is no longer safe at home. And so her mother outfits her in men's clothing and casts her out. When her younger brother Colly follows after her, the two set off on a remarkable odyssey in the looming shadow of their country's darkest hour. The broken land they pass through reveals untold suffering as well as unexpected beauty. To survive, Grace must become a boy, a bandit, a penitent and, finally, a woman --- all the while afflicted by inner voices that arise out of what she has seen and what she has lost.

The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker - Historical Fantasy

June 26, 2018

Ragnvald Eysteinsson, the son and grandson of kings, grew up believing that he would one day take his dead father’s place as chief of his family’s lands. But sailing home from a raiding trip to Ireland, the young warrior is betrayed and left for dead by men in the pay of his greedy stepfather, Olaf. Rescued by a fisherman, Ragnvald is determined to have revenge for his stepfather’s betrayal, claim his birthright and the woman he loves, and rescue his beloved sister Svanhild. Opportunity may lie with Harald of Vestfold, the strong young Norse warrior rumored to be the prophesied king. Ragnvald pledges his sword to King Harald, a choice that will hold enormous consequence in the years to come.

Keep the Midnight Out: A DCI Lorimer Novel by Alex Gray - Mystery

June 26, 2018

When the body of a red-haired young man is washed up on the shore of the beautiful Isle of Mull, Detective Superintendent Lorimer’s tranquil holiday away from the gritty streets of Glasgow is rudely interrupted. The body has been bound with twine in a ghoulishly unnatural position that strongly reminds Lorimer of another murder: a 20-year-old Glasgow case that he failed to solve as a fledgling detective constable. As a local cop takes charge of the island murder investigation, Lorimer tries to avoid stepping on her toes. But as the similarities between the young man’s death and the cold case grow more obvious, Lorimer realizes that there could be a serial killer on the loose after all these years.

The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal - Psychological Thriller

June 26, 2018

It begins with a phone call that Nora Watts has dreaded for 15 years --- since the day she gave her newborn daughter up for adoption. Bonnie has vanished. The police consider her a chronic runaway and aren’t looking, leaving her desperate adoptive parents to reach out to her birth mother as a last hope. Caring despite herself, Nora sets out to find Bonnie, knowing she risks reopening wounds that have never really healed --- and plunging into the darkness with little to protect her but her instincts and a freakish ability to detect truth from lies. The search uncovers a puzzling conspiracy that leads Nora on a harrowing journey of deception and violence.

Man of the Year: A Memoir by Lou Cove - Memoir

June 26, 2018

In 1978, 12-year-old Lou Cove is uprooted from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Salem, Massachusetts --- a backwater town of witches, Puritans and sea-captain wannabes. An old friend of Lou’s father, free-wheeling (and free-loving) Howie Gordon, announces his intention of posing nude for Playgirl magazine and a wild idea for how to do it: win Playgirl’s Man of the Year. And he knows just who should manage his campaign. As Lou and Howie canvas Salem for every vote in town --- little old ladies at bridge club, the local town witch, construction workers, and everyone in between --- Lou is forced to juggle the perils of adolescence with the pursuit of Hollywood stardom.

Midnight Blue by Simone van der Vlugt - Historical Fiction

June 26, 2018

Following the sudden death of her husband, 25-year-old Catrin leaves her small village and takes a job as a housekeeper to the successful Van Nulandt merchant family. Madam Van Nulandt passes her time taking expensive painting lessons from a local master, Rembrandt van Rigin. When Catrin takes up a brush to finish some of her mistress's work, Rembrandt realizes the maid has genuine talent and encourages her to continue. When a figure from her past threatens her new life, Catrin flees to the smaller city of Delft, where she earns a living painting pottery at a local workshop. But when tragedy strikes, Catrin must decide whether to defend her newfound independence or return to the village that she had fled.

The Misfortune of Marion Palm by Emily Culliton - Fiction

June 26, 2018

Marion Palm prefers not to think of herself as a thief but rather "a woman who embezzles." Over the years she has managed to steal $180,000 from her children’s private school, money that has paid for European vacations, a Sub-Zero refrigerator they had to have, and state-of-the-art exercise equipment, gathering dust. When the school faces an audit, Marion pulls piles of rubber-banded cash from her basement and runs. Leaving her husband and two daughters to grapple with the consequences of her crime, and the mother-shaped hole in their house, Marion is on the lam, hiding in plain sight.

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent - Fiction

June 26, 2018

At 14, Turtle Alveston roams the woods along the northern California coast. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous: Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother. Her social existence is confined to her middle school and her life with her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. Motivated by her first experience with real friendship and a teenage crush, Turtle starts to imagine escape, using the very survival skills her father devoted himself to teaching her.

On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service: A Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys Bowen - Historical Mystery

June 26, 2018

When royal sleuth Georgie Rannoch receives a letter from her dearest friend Belinda, who’s awaiting the birth of her illegitimate baby, she yearns to run to her side. If only she could find a way to get there! But then opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way --- her cousin the queen asks her to attend a house party in the Italian Lake Country. The Prince of Wales AND the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding. What luck! A chance to see Belinda, even if it is under the guise of stopping unwanted nuptials. Only that’s as far as Georgie’s fortune takes her. She soon discovers that she attended finishing school with the hostess of the party --- and the hatred they had for each other then has barely dimmed.

The Reason You're Alive by Matthew Quick - Fiction

June 26, 2018

After 68-year-old David Granger crashes his BMW, medical tests reveal a brain tumor that he readily attributes to his wartime Agent Orange exposure. He wakes up from surgery repeating a name no one in his civilian life has ever heard --- that of a Native American soldier whom he was once ordered to discipline. David decides to return something precious he long ago stole from the man he now calls Clayton Fire Bear. It may be the only way to find closure in a world increasingly at odds with the one he served to protect. It may also help him to finally recover from his wife’s untimely demise.

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman - Historical Fiction/Magical Realism

June 26, 2018

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the ’60s, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. From the start, she sets down rules for them, the most important of which is to never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Yet the children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart.

The Saboteur by Andrew Gross - Historical Thriller

June 26, 2018

February 1943. Both the Allies and the Nazis are full speed ahead to construct the decisive weapon of the war. Kurt Nordstrum, an engineer in Oslo, puts his life aside to take up arms against the Germans as part of the Norwegian resistance. After the loss of his fiancée, and with his outfit whittled to shreds, Kurt escapes to England to transmit secret evidence that the Nazis are closing in on the atomic bomb. His mission: to disrupt their plans before they advance any further. Parachuted onto the unforgiving terrain in Europe, Kurt must lead the most daring raid of the war. But completing it may come at the cost of the one person he has grown to love.

Scorpion Strike: A Jonathan Grave Thriller by John Gilstrap - Thriller

June 26, 2018

An island paradise held hostage. A band of dangerous killers unleashed. A sinister plot that could push the superpowers to the brink of war. For Jonathan Grave and Gail Bonneville, the Crystal Sands Resort has become the ultimate flashpoint. Their mission: defeat the attackers before more lives are lost. Their only hope is Grave’s partner Boxers, but he’s hundreds of miles away. Grave may be without weapons, but he’s never without resources. That’s when he’s most lethal --- when he will strike fast, hard and without warning.

A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni - Mystery/Thriller

June 26, 2018

The body of a young woman turns up in an abandoned well. Estranged from her family, the victim had balked at an arranged marriage and had planned to attend graduate school. But someone cut her dreams short. Solving the mystery behind the murder isn’t Tracy Crosswhite’s only challenge. The detective is keeping a secret of her own: she’s pregnant. And now her biggest fear seems to be coming true when a new detective arrives to replace her. Meanwhile, Tracy’s colleague, Vic Fazzio, is about to take a fall after his investigation into the murder of a local community activist turns violent and leaves an invaluable witness dead. Two careers are on the line. And when more deadly secrets emerge, jobs might not be the only things at risk.

Strange Weather: Four Short Novels by Joe Hill - Thriller/Horror

June 26, 2018

In STRANGE WEATHER, a collection of four chilling novels, Joe Hill deftly exposes the darkness that lies just beneath the surface of everyday life. A Silicon Valley adolescent finds himself threatened by "The Phoenician," a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories. A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump…and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud. On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails --- splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. And a mall security guard courageously stops a mass shooting, but under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it.

The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan - Fiction

June 26, 2018

Laura and Casey were once inseparable: as they floated on their backs in the sunlit lake and teamed up for the wild scavenger hunts in their small California lakeside town. Until one summer night, when a shocking betrayal sent Laura running through the pines, down the dock and into a new life, leaving Casey and a first love in her wake. But after 17 years away, Laura is pulled home and into a reunion with Casey she can’t resist --- one last scavenger hunt. With a twist: this time, the list of clues leads to the settings of their most cherished summer memories. But just as the game brings Laura and Casey back together, the clues unravel a stunning secret that threatens to tear them apart.

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella - Fiction

June 26, 2018

After 10 years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another 68 years…and panic sets in. They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me, mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all.

Three Days Missing by Kimberly Belle - Thriller

June 26, 2018

When Kat Jenkins awakens to the police on her doorstep, her greatest fear is realized. Her nine-year-old son, Ethan, is missing --- vanished from the cabin where he’d been on an overnight class trip. Another mother from the school, Stef Huntington, seems like she has it all. She hardly knows Kat, except for the vicious gossip that swirls around Kat’s traumatic past. But as the police investigation unfolds, Ethan’s disappearance has earth-shattering consequences for Stef, as her path crosses with Kat. As the two mothers race against the clock, their desperate search for answers reveals how the greatest dangers lie behind the everyday smiles of those they trust the most.

The Whale: A Love Story by Mark Beauregard - Historical Fiction

June 26, 2018

In the summer of 1850, Herman Melville finds himself hounded by creditors and afraid his writing career might be coming to an end. His last three novels have been commercial failures, and the critics have turned against him. In despair, Melville takes his family for a vacation to his cousin’s farm in the Berkshires, where he meets Nathaniel Hawthorne at a picnic --- and his life turns upside down. THE WHALE chronicles the fervent love affair that grows out of that serendipitous afternoon. The two develop a deep connection marked by tensions and estrangements, and feelings both shared and suppressed.

The Widow of Wall Street by Randy Susan Meyers - Fiction

June 26, 2018

Phoebe recognizes fire in Jake Pierce’s belly from the moment they meet as teenagers. As he creates a financial dynasty, she trusts him without hesitation --- unaware his hunger for success hides a dark talent for deception. When Phoebe learns that her husband’s triumph and vast reach rest on an elaborate Ponzi scheme, her world unravels. As Jake’s crime is uncovered, the world obsesses about Phoebe. Did she know her life was fabricated by fraud? Was she his accomplice? While Jake is trapped in the web of his deceit, Phoebe is caught in an unbearable choice. Her children refuse to see her if she remains at their father’s side, but abandoning him feels cruel and impossible.

The Witches' Tree: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton - Mystery

June 26, 2018

Driving home from a dinner party in the village of Sumpton Harcourt, Rory and Molly Devere, the new vicar and his wife, strain to see the road ahead --- and then suddenly brake, screeching to a halt. Right in front of them, aglow in the headlights, a body hangs from a gnarled tree at the edge of town. An elderly spinster has been murdered --- and the villagers just can’t fathom who among them could commit such a crime. Agatha Raisin rises to the occasion (a little glad for the excitement, she must admit, after a long run of lost cats and divorces on the books). But when two more murders follow the first, Agatha begins to fear for her reputation and, since the village happens to have its own coven of witches, her own life.