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Week of March 5, 2018

New in Paperback

Week of March 5, 2018

Paperback releases for the week of March 5th include CAMINO ISLAND, John Grisham's thriller from last year that opens with a gang of thieves staging a daring heist from a vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library --- and the action never lets up from there; THE LYING GAME, an instant New York Times bestseller from Ruth Ware, who has written a chilling novel of friendship, secrets, and the dangerous games that teenage girls play; THE RADIUM GIRLS by Kate Moore, which fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances; and THE CHILD, Fiona Barton's latest work of psychological suspense about a journalist who finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women --- and torn between what she can and cannot tell.

Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber - Psychological Thriller

March 6, 2018

Josie Buhrman has spent the last 10 years trying to escape her family’s reputation and with good reason. After her father's murder 13 years prior, her mother ran away to join a cult, and her twin sister Lanie, once Josie’s closest friend and confidant, betrayed her in an unimaginable way. Now, Josie has finally put down roots in New York, settling into domestic life with her partner Caleb, and that’s where she intends to stay. The only problem is that she has lied to Caleb about every detail of her past --- starting with her last name. When investigative reporter Poppy Parnell sets off a media firestorm with a mega-hit podcast that reopens the long-closed case of Josie’s father’s murder, Josie’s world begins to unravel.

Behaving Badly: The New Morality in Politics, Sex, and Business by Eden Collinsworth - Philosophy/Psychology

March 6, 2018

To call these unsettling times is an understatement. Our political leaders are less and less respectable; in business, cheating, lying and stealing are hazily defined; and in daily life, technology permits us to act in ways inconceivable without it. Yet somehow, people still draw lines between what is acceptable and what is not. In BEHAVING BADLY, Eden Collinsworth speaks with a wide range of figures --- from experts to everyday people --- to parse out the parameters of modern morality.

Beren and Lúthien written by J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien, with illustrations by Alan Lee - Fantasy

March 6, 2018

The epic tale of Beren and Lúthien became an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of J.R.R. Tolkien’s First Age of the World. Always key to the story is the fate that shadowed their love: Beren was a mortal man, Lúthien an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, imposed on Beren an impossible task before he might wed Lúthien: to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, of a Silmaril. Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and stand-alone story, BEREN AND LÚTHIEN reunites fans of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS with Elves and Men, along with the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Blackout by Marc Elsberg - Thriller

March 6, 2018

When the lights go out one night, no one panics. Not yet. The lights always come back on soon, don't they? Surely it's a glitch, a storm, a malfunction. But something seems strange about this night. Across Europe, controllers watch in disbelief as electrical grids collapse. There is no power, anywhere. A former hacker and activist, Piero investigates a possible cause of the disaster. The authorities don't believe him, and he soon becomes a prime suspect himself. With the United States now also at risk, Piero goes on the run with Lauren Shannon, a young American CNN reporter based in Paris, desperate to uncover who is behind the attacks. After all, the power doesn't just keep the lights on --- it keeps us alive.

Blame by Jeff Abbott - Psychological Thriller

March 6, 2018

Two years ago, Jane Norton crashed her car on a lonely road, killing her friend David and leaving her with amnesia. At first, everyone was sympathetic. Then they found Jane's note: I wish we were dead together. From that day, the town turned against her. But even now, Jane is filled with questions: Why were they on that road? Why was she with David? Did she really want to die? Most of all, she must find out who has just written her an anonymous message: I know what really happened. I know what you don't remember...

Camino Island by John Grisham - Thriller

March 6, 2018

A gang of thieves stage a daring heist from a secure vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library. Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts. Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer’s block. A generous offer of money convinces her to go undercover and infiltrate Cable’s circle of literary friends, ideally getting close enough to him to learn his secrets. But eventually Mercer learns far too much, and there’s trouble in paradise.

The Changeling by Victor LaValle - Supernatural Thriller/Fantasy

March 6, 2018

When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappeared, all he left his son were strange recurring dreams and a box of books stamped with the word IMPROBABILIA. Now Apollo is a father himself --- and as he and his wife, Emma, are settling into their new lives as parents, exhaustion and anxiety start to take their toll. Irritable and disconnected from their new baby boy, at first Emma seems to be exhibiting signs of postpartum depression, but it quickly becomes clear that her troubles go even deeper. Before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act and vanishes. Thus begins Apollo’s odyssey through a world he only thought he understood, to find a wife and child who are nothing like he had imagined.

The Child by Fiona Barton - Psychological Thriller

March 6, 2018

As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers human remains, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but she's at a loss for answers. As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier. A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. She soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women --- and torn between what she can and cannot tell.

Close to Home by Cara Hunter - Psychological Thriller

March 6, 2018

When eight-year-old Daisy Mason vanishes from her family’s Oxford home during a costume party, Detective Inspector Adam Fawley knows that nine times out of 10, the offender is someone close to home. And Daisy’s family is certainly strange --- her mother is obsessed with keeping up appearances, while her father is cold and defensive under questioning. And then there’s Daisy’s little brother, so withdrawn and uncommunicative. DI Fawley works against the clock to find any trace of the little girl, but it’s as if she disappeared into thin air --- no one saw anything; no one knows anything. But everyone has an opinion, and everyone, it seems, has a secret to conceal.

A Colony in a Nation by Chris Hayes - Current Affairs/Social Science

March 6, 2018

In A COLONY IN A NATION, New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award–winning news anchor Chris Hayes upends the national conversation on policing and democracy. Drawing on wide-ranging historical, social and political analysis, as well as deeply personal experiences with law enforcement, Hayes contends that our country has fractured in two: the Colony and the Nation. In the Nation, the law is venerated. In the Colony, fear and order undermine civil rights. Hayes seeks to understand this systemic divide, examining its ties to racial inequality, the omnipresent threat of guns, and the dangerous and unfortunate results of choices made by fear.

Dangerous Boys by Greg F. Gifune - Thriller

March 5, 2018

Summer, 1984. For Richie Lionetti and his gang of friends, their years as teenagers are coming to an end. At a crossroad in their lives as petty criminals and thugs on the mean streets of New Bedford, Massachusetts, they have one final summer, one last chance to fall in love, brawl for their turf, rob and pillage, and one last chance to make a move and pull a job that could change their lives forever. As a series of brutal heatwaves hit southeastern Massachusetts, the city boils, and everyone is on edge. In the hopes of finding something better, Richie desperately searches for meaning in all the violence, sex and degradation that is his daily life. But at what price?

A Dark and Broken Heart by R.J. Ellory - Thriller

March 6, 2018

Detective Vincent Madigan is a good cop, but he’s up to his neck in debt to Sandia, a notorious East Harlem drug lord. When Madigan devises a scheme to eliminate his debt by robbing Sandia and then repaying him with his own money, he thinks his heist is foolproof. But things go horribly wrong when Madigan is forced to kill his co-conspirators and a child is shot in the crossfire. Now both sides of the law are hunting him down, and the cop assigned to lead the case is the very last person he could have expected. Employing every deception and ruse he can think of, Madigan must stay one step ahead in a battle of wits that will test him to his limits. Can he evade justice for his crimes, or will his own conscience be his final undoing?

Death at the Durbar: The Second Maharaja Mystery by Arjun Raj Gaind - Historical Mystery

March 6, 2018

A pair of British officers insist that Maharaja Sikander Singh of Rajpore accompany them to the British Encampment. To his surprise, they take him to the King Emperor's quarters where Sikander's old school friend, Malik Umar Hayat Khan, awaits. Malik Umar is serving Lord Hardinge, the Viceroy and the highest-ranked Englishman in the country. Lord Hardinge, overruling several subordinates, tells Sikander that his services as a sleuth are needed by King and country. Sworn to secrecy, Sikander is ushered into George V's personal chambers. And there he finds an exquisite nautch-girl, hanged until dead. Sikander examines the scene and demonstrates the girl was not a suicide, but murdered.

The Delight of Being Ordinary: A Road Trip with the Pope and the Dalai Lama by Roland Merullo - Fiction/Humor

March 6, 2018

What happens when the Pope and the Dalai Lama decide they need an undercover vacation? During a highly publicized official visit at the Vatican, the Pope suggests an adventure so unexpected and appealing that neither man can resist. Before dawn, two of the most beloved and famous people on the planet don disguises, slip into a waiting car, and experience the countryside as regular people. Along for the ride are the Pope's overwhelmed cousin Paolo and his estranged wife Rosa, an eccentric hairdresser with a lust for life who cannot resist the call to adventure --- or the fun.

The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo - Fiction

March 6, 2018

A masked man with a gun enters a sandwich shop in broad daylight, and Meredith Oliver suddenly finds herself ordered to the filthy floor, where she cowers face to face with her nemesis, Lisa Bellow. The minutes tick by inexorably, and Meredith lurches between comforting the sobbing Lisa and imagining her own impending death. Then the man orders Lisa to stand and come with him, leaving Meredith the girl left behind. After Lisa’s abduction, Meredith spends most days in her room. As the community stages vigils and searches, Claire, Meredith’s mother, is torn between relief that her daughter is alive, and helplessness over her inability to protect or even comfort her child. Her daughter is here, but not.

Fever Dream written by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell - Literary Thriller

March 6, 2018

A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He's not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family. FEVER DREAM is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale.

A Funeral in Mantova: A Rick Montoya Italian Mystery by David P. Wagner - Mystery

March 6, 2018

Following the murder of Roberto Rondini, an elderly fisherman, Rick Montoya soon receives a call from the States. The US Embassy in Rome has recommended his services to wealthy Angelo Rondini, Roberto’s cousin. Angelo has been invited to the funeral by Roberto's daughter, Livia Guarino. Out of respect, Angelo has agreed to connect with the Italian family he hasn't seen since he was a very young boy. Rick hires on as interpreter. And soon he receives another assignment: a local cop, Inspector Crespi, leads the murder investigation and asks Rick to observe and report. Rick agrees, if Angelo accepts his working undercover. And so Rick once again puts his linguistic skills to use for the local law in solving a crime.

The Gargoyle Hunters by John Freeman Gill - Fiction

March 6, 2018

Both his family and his city are crumbling when 13-year-old Griffin Watts stumbles headlong into his estranged father’s illicit architectural salvage business in 1970s Manhattan. Griffin clambers up the façades of tenements and skyscrapers to steal their 19th-century architectural sculptures. Desperate for money to help his artist mother keep their home, and yearning to connect with his father, Griffin fails to see that his father’s deepening obsession with preserving the treasures of Gilded Age New York endangers them all. As he struggles to hold his family together and build a first love with his girlfriend, Griffin must learn to develop himself into the man he wants to become, and discern which parts of his life may be salvaged --- and which parts must be let go.

Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister - Historical Mystery/Adventure

March 6, 2018

With no money and no husband, Kate Warne finds herself with few choices. The streets of 1856 Chicago offer a desperate widow mostly trouble and ruin --- unless that widow has a knack for manipulation and an unusually quick mind. In a bold move that no other woman has tried, Kate convinces the legendary Allan Pinkerton to hire her as a detective. Battling criminals and co-workers alike, Kate immerses herself in the dangerous life of an operative, winning the right to tackle some of the agency's toughest investigations. But is the woman she's becoming --- capable of any and all lies, swapping identities like dresses --- the true Kate? Or has the real disguise been the good girl she always thought she was?

The Girlfriend by Sarah J. Naughton - Psychological Thriller

March 6, 2018

Mags doesn't believe her brother's fall was an accident. In that 40-foot stairwell, he didn't just slip over the edge. But there is only one witness, Jody, the girlfriend grieving at his bedside. Which is another story Mags doesn't believe. Because Jody likes telling stories, and this may be her most twisted one yet. As Mags begins to unearth the secrets hidden in her brother's wake, she finds she isn't just looking for the truth. For Mags, this is more than a simple tragedy. This is an opportunity for revenge.

Havana: A Subtropical Delirium by Mark Kurlansky - Travel/Essays

March 6, 2018

Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky presents an insider's view of Havana: the elegant, tattered city he has come to know over more than 30 years. Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes, historic engravings, photographs, and Kurlansky's own pen-and-ink drawings throughout, HAVANA celebrates the city's singular music, literature, baseball and food; its five centuries of outstanding, neglected architecture; and its extraordinary blend of cultures.

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne - Fiction

March 6, 2018

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery --- or at least, that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead. At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from --- and over his many years will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more.

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson - Psychological Thriller

March 6, 2018

Growing up, Kate Priddy was always a bit neurotic, experiencing momentary bouts of anxiety that exploded into full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and nearly ended her life. When Corbin Dell, a distant cousin in Boston, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees, hoping that time away in a new place will help her overcome the recent wreckage of her life. But soon after her arrival at Corbin’s grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery: his next-door neighbor, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered.

House of Names by Colm Tóibín - Historical Fiction

March 6, 2018

“I have been acquainted with the smell of death.” So begins Clytemnestra’s tale of her own life in ancient Mycenae, the legendary Greek city from which her husband King Agamemnon left when he set sail with his army for Troy. Clytemnestra rules Mycenae now, along with her new lover Aegisthus, and together they plot the bloody murder of Agamemnon on the day of his return after nine years at war. Judged, despised, cursed by gods she has long since lost faith in, Clytemnestra reveals the tragic saga that led to these bloody actions.

I Bring Sorrow: And Other Stories of Transgression by Patricia Abbott - Mystery/Short Stories

March 6, 2018

I BRING SORROW is a collection of stories from Edgar and Anthony Award nominee Patricia Abbott that explores the dark side of human behavior. A daughter finds a way to save a mother who no longer knows her name. A father eases his grief through an act of kindness that few will judge kindly. A savvy realtor closes her deal in an unexpected way. A society of women fares little better than their forbearers. An uxorious husband finds the limits of his love. These and more stories will bring you into the deepest, darkest corridors of the heart.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell - Psychological Suspense

March 6, 2018

In a windswept British seaside town, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside. Meanwhile, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: the man she married never even existed. Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. An enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable. Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?

If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin - Psychological Thriller

March 6, 2018

Late one night in the quiet Hudson Valley town of Havenkill, a distraught woman stumbles into the police station --- and lives are changed forever. Aimee En, once a darling of the ’80s pop music scene, claims that a teenage boy stole her car, then ran over another young man who had rushed to help. As Liam Miller’s life hangs in the balance, the events of that fateful night begin to come into focus. But is everything as it seems? The case quickly consumes social media, transforming Liam, a local high school football star, into a folk hero, and the suspect, a high school outcast named Wade Reed, into a depraved would-be killer. But is Wade really guilty? And if he isn't, why won't he talk?

If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating by Alan Alda - Personal Growth/Communication

March 6, 2018

Alan Alda has been on a decades-long journey to discover new ways to help people communicate and relate to one another more effectively. IF I UNDERSTOOD YOU, WOULD I HAVE THIS LOOK ON MY FACE? is the warm, witty and informative chronicle of how Alda found inspiration in everything from cutting-edge science to classic acting methods. His search began when he was host of PBS’s "Scientific American Frontiers," where he interviewed thousands of scientists and developed a knack for helping them communicate complex ideas in ways a wide audience could understand --- and Alda wondered if those techniques held a clue to better communication for the rest of us.

It's Not Yet Dark: A Memoir by Simon Fitzmaurice - Memoir

March 6, 2018

In 2008, Simon Fitzmaurice was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was given four years to live. In 2010, in a state of lung-function collapse, Simon knew with crystal clarity he was not ready to die. Against all prevailing medical opinion, he chose life. Despite the loss of almost all motor function, thanks to miraculous technology, he continued to work, raise his five children and write this astonishing memoir. IT’S NOT YET DARK is a journey into a life that, though brutally compromised, was lived more fully than most, revealing the potent power of love, art and the human spirit.

Lenin's Roller Coaster: A Jack McColl Novel by David Downing - Historical Thriller

March 6, 2018

Winter 1917: As a generation of Europe’s young men perish on the Eastern and Western fronts, British spy Jack McColl is assigned a sabotage mission deep in Central Asia, where German influence is strong. Meanwhile, the woman he loves, Irish-American radical journalist Caitlin Hanley, is in Bolshevik Russia, thrilled to have the chance to cover the Revolution. But four years of bloody war have taken their toll on all of Europe. Up until now, Jack and Caitlin have managed to set aside their allegiances and stay faithful to each other, but the stakes of their affair have risen too high. Can a revolutionary love a spy? And if she does, will it cost one of them their life?

The Little French Bistro by Nina George - Fiction

March 6, 2018

Marianne is stuck in a loveless, unhappy marriage. After 41 years, she has reached her limit, and one evening in Paris she decides to take action. Following a dramatic moment on the banks of the Seine, Marianne leaves her life behind and sets out for the coast of Brittany, also known as “the end of the world.” Here she meets a cast of colorful and unforgettable locals who surprise her with their warm welcome and the natural ease they all seem to have, taking pleasure in life’s small moments. And, as the parts of herself she had long forgotten return to her in this new world, Marianne learns it’s never too late to begin the search for what life should have been all along.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware - Thriller

March 6, 2018

Three women in and around London --- Fatima, Thea and Isa --- receive the text they had always hoped would never come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.” The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second-rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty. But their little game had consequences, and as the four converge in present-day Salten, they realize their shared past was not as safely buried as they had once hoped.

Mangrove Lightning: A Doc Ford Novel by Randy Wayne White - Thriller/Adventure

March 6, 2018

A legendary charter captain and guide named Tootsie Barlow has come to Doc Ford, muttering about a curse. The members of his extended family have suffered a bizarre series of attacks, and Barlow is convinced it has something to do with a multiple murder in 1925, in which his family had a shameful part. Ford doesn’t believe in curses, but as he and his friend Tomlinson begin to investigate, following the trail of the attacks from Key Largo to Tallahassee, they, too, suffer a series of near-fatal mishaps. Is it really a curse? Or just a crime spree? The answer lies in solving a near-hundred-year-old murder…and probing the mind of a madman.

My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith - Fiction

March 6, 2018

Paul Stuart, a renowned food writer, finds himself at loose ends after his longtime girlfriend leaves him for her personal trainer. To cheer him up, Paul’s editor, Gloria, encourages him to finish his latest cookbook on-site in Tuscany, hoping that a change of scenery will offer a cure for both heartache and writer’s block. But upon Paul’s arrival, things don’t go quite as planned. A mishap with his rental-car reservation leaves him stranded, until a newfound friend leads him to an intriguing alternative: a bulldozer. With little choice in the matter, Paul accepts the offer, and as he journeys into the idyllic hillside town of Montalcino, he discovers that the bulldozer may be the least of the surprises that await him.

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson - Science Fiction

March 6, 2018

As the sea levels rose, every street became a canal and every skyscraper an island. For the residents of one apartment building in Madison Square, however, New York in the year 2140 is far from a drowned city. There is the market trader, the detective, the beloved internet star and the building's manager. There also are two boys who don't live there, but have no other home --- and who are more important to its future than anyone might imagine. Lastly there are the coders, temporary residents on the roof, whose disappearance triggers a sequence of events that threatens the existence of all --- and even the long-hidden foundations on which the city rests.

The Night of the Flood: A Novel in Stories edited by E.A. Aymar and Sarah M. Chen - Crime Fiction/Short Stories

March 5, 2018

It happened the night Maggie Wilbourne was to be put to death, the first woman executed by the state of Pennsylvania in modern times. That was when a group of women passionately protesting Maggie’s imprisonment struck. They blew up a local dam, flooding the town of Everton and indirectly inspiring a hellish night of crime and chaos. Fourteen of today’s new and most exciting contemporary crime writers will take you to the fictional town of Everton, with stories from criminals, cops and civilians that explore the thin line between the rich and the poor, the insider and the outsider, the innocent and the guilty.

One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel - Fiction

March 6, 2018

A 12-year-old boy, his older brother and their father have won the war: the father’s term for his bitter divorce and custody battle. They leave their Kansas home and drive through the night to Albuquerque, eager to begin again, united by the thrilling possibility of carving out a new life together. The boys go to school, join basketball teams and make friends. Meanwhile, their father works from home, smoking cheap cigars to hide another smell. But soon the little missteps --- the dead-eyed absentmindedness, the late night noises, the comings and goings of increasingly odd characters --- become worrisome, and the boys find themselves watching their father change, grow erratic, then dangerous.

Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner - Mystery

March 6, 2018

As dusk falls, a young man staggers through a park, far from home, bleeding from a stab wound. He dies where he falls, cradled by a stranger, a woman’s name on his lips in his last seconds of life. Detective Manon Bradshaw handles only cold cases, but the man died just yards from the police station where she works, so Manon can’t help taking an interest. And as she sidles in on the briefing, she learns that the victim, a banker from London worth millions, is more closely linked to her than she could have imagined. When the case begins to circle in on Manon’s home and her family, she finds herself pitted against the colleagues she once held dear: Davy Walker and Harriet Harper.

Proving Ground by Peter Blauner - Thriller

March 6, 2018

Nathaniel Dresden never really got along with his father, an infamous civil rights lawyer who defended criminals and spearheaded protest movements. As an act of rebellion, Natty joined the U.S. Army and served in Iraq, coming back with a chest full of commendations and a head full of disturbing memories. But when his father is found murdered near the peaceful confines of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, Natty is forced to deal with the troubled legacy of their unresolved relationship. He also has to fend off the growing suspicions of NYPD Detective Lourdes Robles, a brash Latina cop with something to prove, who thinks Natty might bear some responsibility for his father’s death.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore - Social History/Biography

March 6, 2018

The Curies’ newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” are the luckiest alive --- until they begin to fall mysteriously ill. But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women’s cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America’s early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights that will echo for centuries to come.

The Reluctant Fortune-Teller by Keziah Frost - Fiction/Humor

March 6, 2018

At 73, Norbert Zelenka is broke and alone except for the company of a Chihuahua. But when “Carlotta’s Club” --- three strong-willed seniors --- decides to make Norbert their latest project, he reluctantly agrees to their scheme: establishing himself as the town’s fortune-teller. Soon his life begins changing in unexpected ways. It turns out that years of observing other people make Norbert an excellent card reader. As Norbert’s lonesome world expands with new friendships and a newfound self-confidence, he finally finds himself in a place where he belongs. But when a troubled young woman goes missing after a bad reading, Norbert must find a strength beyond the cards to bring her home safely.

Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor, an Island, and the Voyage That Brought a Family Together by Nathaniel Philbrick - Sports/Memoir

March 6, 2018

In the spring of 1992, Nat Philbrick was in his late 30s, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for that thrill of victory he once felt after winning a national sailing championship in his youth. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist-turned-stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again. With the bemused approval of his wife and children, Philbrick used the off-season on the island as his solitary training ground. On ponds, bays, rivers, and finally at the championship on a lake in the heartland of America, he sailed through storms and memories, racing for the prize, but finding something unexpected about himself instead.

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell - Gothic Horror

March 6, 2018

When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure --- a silent companion --- that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of the estate are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition --- that is, until she notices the figure’s eyes following her.

Two Good Dogs by Susan Wilson - Fiction

March 6, 2018

Single mom Skye Mitchell has sunk her last dime into a dream, owning the LakeView Hotel in the Berkshire Hills. It’s here where she believes she’ll give her 14-year-old daughter, Cody, a better life. But Cody is keeping an earth-shattering secret that she’s terrified to reveal. When Adam March and his pit bull Chance check into the hotel, it becomes the first of many visits, as he and the beleaguered innkeeper form a tentative friendship. And then there is Mingo, a street kid with a pit bull dog of his own. When Cody discovers an overdosed Mingo, Adam takes the boy’s dog not just for safekeeping, but to foster and then rehome. A makeshift family begins to form as four lost people learn to trust and rely on each other, with the help of two good dogs.

When the World Stopped to Listen: Van Cliburn's Cold War Triumph, and Its Aftermath by Stuart Isacoff - Music/History

March 6, 2018

In April 1958, the Iron Curtain was at its heaviest, and the outcome of the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition seemed preordained. Nonetheless, as star musicians from across the globe descended on Moscow, an unlikely favorite emerged: Van Cliburn, a polite, lanky Texan whose passionate virtuosity captured the Russian spirit. This is the story of what unfolded that spring --- for Cliburn and the other competitors, jurors, party officials, and citizens of the world who were touched by the outcome.

The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye - Historical Mystery/Short Stories

March 6, 2018

Lyndsay Faye was introduced to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries when she was 10 years old and her dad suggested she read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.” She immediately became enamored with tales of Holmes and his esteemed biographer, Dr. John Watson. Later, she began spinning these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction. Faye’s best Holmes tales, including two new works, are brought together in THE WHOLE ART OF DETECTION, which spans Holmes’ career --- from self-taught young upstart to publicly lauded detective --- both before and after his faked death over a Swiss waterfall in 1894.