In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of January 2nd and January 9th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.
This week, we are calling attention to the hardcovers and paperbacks releasing this month, which you can find in our Coming Soon feature.
Please keep in mind our very special End-of-the-Year contest featuring Carol Fitzgerald’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2016. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded all 40 books, while eight other winners will receive a selection of five of these titles. The deadline for entries is Monday, January 9th at noon ET.
On ReadingGroupGuides.com, we're asking book groups to help us compile our "Best Books of the Year" list. Share both your favorite book that you read with your group in 2016 and your favorite book that you read outside your group by Tuesday, January 31st at noon ET, and you will be eligible to win SIX advance copies of fantastic titles that are coming out this year: THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See, A PIECE OF THE WORLD by Christina Baker Kline, THE HOPE CHEST by Viola Shipman, MUSIC OF THE GHOSTS by Vaddey Ratner, THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE by Jessica Shattuck, and THE CHILBURY LADIES' CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan.
Last but certainly not least, be sure to cast your vote in the Bookreporter.com poll by Friday, January 6th at noon ET. We want to know how many books you read in 2016.
For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
This Week's Bonus News:
Bookreporter.com's Coming Soon Feature for January
In this newsletter, you will find some of the hardcovers and paperbacks that will be available the first two weeks of January. But since we always love looking ahead --- and there are lots of noteworthy books to look forward to in January --- we want to give you a sneak peek at the entire month's worth of releases. Below are some highlights, but for a much more comprehensive list, take a look at January's Coming Soon feature here.
Hardcovers:
Paperbacks:
Click here for more January hardcovers and paperbacks.
On Sale the Week of January 2nd in Hardcover
January 3rd
BELOW THE BELT: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller)
Newly ensconced in his Santa Fe abode with a lovely female companion, Stone Barrington receives a call from an old friend requesting a delicate favor. A situation has arisen that could escalate into an explosive quagmire, and only someone with Stone’s stealth and subtlety can contain the damage. At the center of these events is an impressive gentleman whose star is on the rise and who would like to get Stone in his corner. He is charming and ambitious and has friends in high places --- the kind of man who seems to be a sure bet. But in the fickle circles of power, fortunes rise and fall on the turn of a dime, and it may turn out that Stone holds the key not just to one man’s fate, but to the fate of the nation.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780399573972
THE DANGEROUS LADIES AFFAIR: A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini (Historical Mystery)
When a pleasant afternoon’s bicycling through Golden Gate Park with a friend ends with the revelation of threatening letters, followed by a gunshot in a mansion garden, Sabina Carpenter knows this is a case that demands her immediate and undivided attention. The questions her partner John Quincannon has to unravel are not difficult: Wrixton, a wealthy banker, has met his extortionist's first demand, but the order to pay another $5,000 is too much to face. The banker’s real problem is something he doesn't want to reveal. Meanwhile, a courier has been murdered, creating a trail that will take Quincannon through most of San Francisco’s less savory places and end with a riverboat trip that is anything but a relaxing cruise.
Forge Books | 9780765381057
DIFFERENT CLASS by Joanne Harris (Psychological Thriller)
After 30 years at St. Oswald’s Grammar in North Yorkshire, England, Latin master Roy Straitley has seen all kinds of boys come and go. But every so often there’s a boy who doesn’t quite fit the mold. A troublemaker. A boy with darkness inside. With insolvency and academic failure looming, a new headmaster arrives at the venerable school, bringing with him new technology, sharp suits and even girls to the dusty corridors. But while Straitley does his sardonic best to resist these steps toward the future, a shadow from his past begins to stir again. A boy who still haunts Straitley’s dreams 20 years later. A boy capable of terrible things.
Touchstone | 9781501155512
DIFFICULT WOMEN by Roxane Gay (Fiction/Short Stories)
The women in Roxane Gay’s latest collection of stories live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. A pair of sisters have been inseparable ever since they were abducted together as children, and must negotiate the elder sister's marriage. A woman married to a twin pretends not to realize when her husband and his brother impersonate each other. A stripper putting herself through college fends off the advances of an overzealous customer. A black engineer moves to Upper Michigan for a job and faces the malign curiosity of her colleagues and the difficulty of leaving her past behind.
Grove Press | 9780802125392
EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE by Mindy Mejia (Psychological Thriller)
High school senior Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good citizen. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death on the opening night of her high school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of her small-town community. Local sheriff Del Goodman vows to find her killer, but trying to solve her murder yields more questions than answers. It seems that Hattie’s acting talents ran far beyond the stage. Told from three points of view --- Del, Hattie, and the new English teacher whose marriage is crumbling --- EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE weaves the story of Hattie’s last school year and the events that drew her ever closer to her death.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781501123429
THE GIRL IN GREEN by Derek B. Miller (Thriller)
1991. Near Checkpoint Zulu, 100 miles from the Kuwaiti border, British journalist Thomas Benton meets Arwood Hobbes, an American private. Desert Storm is over and peace has been declared, but as they argue about whether it makes sense to cross the nearest border in search of an ice cream, they become embroiled in a horrific attack in which a young local girl in a green dress is killed as they are trying to protect her. The two men walk away into their respective lives. But something has cracked for them both. Twenty-two years later, in another place, in another war, they meet again and are offered an unlikely opportunity to redeem themselves when that same girl in green is found alive and in need of salvation. Or is she?
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 9780544706255
HIS FATHER’S SON: The Life of General Ted Roosevelt, Jr. by Tim Brady (Biography)
General Omar Bradley said of him, “I have never known a braver man or a more devoted soldier.” But for much of his life, Theodore Roosevelt’s son Ted seemed born to live in his father’s shadow. In the First World War, Ted braved gunfire and gas attacks in France to lead his unit into battle. Yet even after returning home a hero, he was unable to meet the expectations of a public that wanted a man just like his father. Then, with World War II looming, Ted reenlisted. In his mid-50s, with a gimpy leg and a heart condition, he was well past his prime, but his insistence to be in the thick of combat proved a vital asset. HIS FATHER’S SON delves into the life of a man as courageous, colorful and unwavering as any of the Roosevelt clan.
NAL | 9781101988152
HISTORY OF WOLVES by Emily Fridlund (Fiction)
Isolated at home and an outlander at school, 14-year-old Linda is drawn to the enigmatic, attractive Lily and new history teacher Mr. Grierson. When Mr. Grierson is charged with possessing child pornography, the implications of his arrest deeply affect Linda as she wrestles with her own fledgling desires and craving to belong. And then the young Gardner family moves in across the lake, and Linda finds herself welcomed into their home as a babysitter for their little boy, Paul. It seems that her life finally has purpose, but with this new sense of belonging she is also drawn into secrets she doesn’t understand. Over the course of a few days, Linda makes a set of choices that reverberate throughout her life.
Grove Press | 9780802125873
IDAHO by Emily Ruskovich (Fiction)
Ann and Wade have carved out a life for themselves from a rugged landscape in northern Idaho, where they are bound together by more than love. With her husband’s memory fading, Ann attempts to piece together the truth of what happened to Wade’s first wife, Jenny, and to their daughters. In a story told from multiple perspectives --- including Ann, Wade, and Jenny, who is now in prison --- we gradually learn of the mysterious and shocking act that fractured Wade and Jenny's lives, of the love and compassion that brought Ann and Wade together, and of the memories that reverberate through the lives of every character in IDAHO.
Random House | 9780812994049
THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD: A True Story by Douglas Preston (History/Adventure)
Since the days of conquistador Hernán Cortés, rumors have circulated about a lost city of immense wealth hidden somewhere in the Honduran interior. In 1940, swashbuckling journalist Theodore Morde returned from the rainforest with hundreds of artifacts and an electrifying story of having found the Lost City of the Monkey God --- but then committed suicide without revealing its location. Three quarters of a century later, Douglas Preston joined a team of scientists on a flight that revealed the unmistakable image of a sprawling metropolis, tantalizing evidence of not just an undiscovered city but an enigmatic, lost civilization. But it wasn't until they returned that tragedy struck: Preston and others found they had contracted a horrifying, sometimes lethal --- and incurable --- disease.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781455540006
THE MISTRESS by Danielle Steel (Romance)
Discovered on a freezing Moscow street by Russian billionaire Vladimir Stanislas, Natasha Leonova has lived for seven years under his protection, immersed in rarefied luxury, while he pursues his activities in a dark world that she guesses at but never sees. Theo Luca is the son of a brilliant, world famous and difficult artist, Lorenzo Luca, who left his wife and son with a fortune in artwork they refuse to sell. Lorenzo’s widow, Maylis, has transformed their home into a celebrated restaurant decorated with her late husband’s paintings. There, on a warm June evening, Theo first encounters Natasha, the most exquisite woman he has ever seen. And there, Vladimir lays eyes on Luca’s artwork. Two dangerous obsessions begin.
Delacorte Press | 9780345531117
MRS. SHERLOCK HOLMES: The True Story of New York City’s Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation by Brad Ricca (Biography)
MRS. SHERLOCK HOLMES tells the true story of Mrs. Grace Humiston, the detective and lawyer who turned her back on New York society life to become one of the nation's greatest crime fighters during an era when women weren't even allowed to vote. After graduating from NYU law school, Grace opened a legal clinic in the city for low-income immigrant clients, and quickly established a reputation as a fierce but fair lawyer who was always on the side of the disenfranchised. But despite her many successes in social and criminal justice, Grace began to see chilling connections in the cases she had solved, leading to a final showdown with her most fearsome adversary of all and one of the most powerful men of the 20th century.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250072245
THE OLD MAN by Thomas Perry (Thriller)
To all appearances, Dan Chase is a harmless retiree in Vermont. But most 60-year-old widowers don’t have multiple driver’s licenses, savings stockpiled in banks across the country, and a bugout kit with two Beretta Nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run. Thirty-five years ago, Chase was sent to Libya to covertly assist a rebel army. When the plan turned sour, he reacted according to his own ideas of right and wrong, triggering consequences he never could have anticipated. Just as he had begun to think himself finally safe, Chase must reawaken his survival instincts to contend with the history he has spent his adult life trying to escape.
Mysterious Press | 9780802125866
REBIRTH: A Fable of Love, Forgiveness, and Following Your Heart by Kamal Ravikant (Fiction)
After the death of his estranged father, Amit takes his parent's ashes to the Ganges to fulfill a deathbed promise. Almost broke, unsure about his direction in life, and running from memories, he is led by fate to the Camino de Santiago, an ancient 550-mile pilgrimage route across northern Spain. Amit meets a variety of travelers on his journey: some are lost and searching for answers, others are doing their best to leave the past behind, and there are a few who walk to celebrate life. Once a reluctant pilgrim, Amit realizes he cannot stop until he completes the journey. With each step, Amit is challenged to confront his fear of following in the footsteps of his father, the loss of a woman he may love after all, and the reality of an uncertain future.
Hachette Books | 9780316312288
THE RED SPHINX: A Sequel to The Three Musketeers written by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Lawrence Ellsworth (Historical Fiction/Adventure)
After publishing THE THREE MUSKETEERS, Alexandre Dumas wrote a sequel, TWENTY YEARS AFTER, that resumed the adventures of his swashbuckling heroes. Later he wrote THE RED SPHINX, another direct sequel to THE THREE MUSKETEERS that begins a mere 20 days afterward. He wrote 75 chapters of it, all for serial publication, but never quite finished it, and so the novel languished for almost a century before its first book publication in France in 1946. While Dumas never completed the book, he had earlier written a separate novella, THE DOVE, that recounted the final adventures of Moret and Cardinal Richelieu. Now for the first time, in one cohesive narrative, THE RED SPHINX and THE DOVE make a complete storyline.
Pegasus Books | 9781681772974
THE RETURN OF THE RAVEN MOCKER: An Alafair Tucker Mystery by Donis Casey (Historical Mystery)
Alafair Tucker’s daughter, Alice, and son-in-law, Walter Kelley, have both come down with the flu, and Alafair has moved into town to care for them. One autumn afternoon, Alice’s neighbor, Nola Thomason, and her son Lewis suddenly and unexpectedly succumb. Yet there is something about the way the pair died that causes Alafair to suspect their deaths were due to poison rather than to influenza. The epidemic is so overwhelming that it is many days before the only doctor left in town can confirm Alafair’s suspicions. The only witness to their deaths, 12-year-old Dorothy Thomason, a special friend of Alafair’s daughter, Sophronia, is so traumatized that she is rendered mute. Were Nola and her son murdered? If so, why?
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781464207549
SELECTION DAY by Aravind Adiga (Fiction)
Manjunath Kumar is 14 and living in a slum in Mumbai. He knows he is good at cricket --- if not as good as his older brother, Radha. He knows that he fears and resents his domineering and cricket-obsessed father, admires his brilliantly talented sibling, and is fascinated by curious scientific facts and the world of “CSI.” But there are many things, about himself and about the world, that he doesn’t know. When Manju meets Radha’s great rival, a mysterious Muslim boy privileged and confident in all the ways Manju is not, everything in Manju’s world begins to change, and he is faced with decisions that will challenge his understanding of it, as well as his own self.
Scribner | 9781501150838
THE STRAYS by Emily Bitto (Historical Fiction)
On her first day at a new school, Lily befriends one of the daughters of infamous avant-garde painter Evan Trentham. Lily has never experienced anything like the Trenthams' home, where Evan and his wife have created a wild, makeshift family of like-minded artists, all living and working together to escape the stifling conservatism of 1930s Australia. Despite the Trenthams' glamorous allure, the artists' real lives are shaped by dire Faustian bargains and spectacular falls from grace. As the girls find themselves drawn closer to the white-hot flame of creativity, emotions and art collide with explosive consequences --- and Evan's own daughters may be forced to pay a dangerous price for his choices.
Twelve | 9781455537723
On Sale the Week of January 2nd in Paperback
January 3rd
1916: A Global History by Keith Jeffery (History)
The mud-filled, blood-soaked trenches of the Low Countries and North-Eastern Europe were essential battlegrounds during the First World War, but the war reached many other corners of the globe, and events elsewhere significantly affected its course. Covering the 12 months of 1916, eminent historian Keith Jeffery uses 12 moments from a range of locations and shows how they reverberated around the world.
Bloomsbury Paperbacks | 9781408834329
AFTER THE CRASH by Michel Bussi (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
A night flight from Istanbul bound for Paris, filled with 169 holiday travelers, plummets into the Swiss Alps. The sole survivor is a three-month-old girl who is thrown from the plane onto the snowy mountainside before fire rages through the aircraft. But two infants were on board. Is the miracle baby Lyse-Rose or Emilie? Both families step forward to claim the child --- one poor, one powerful, wealthy and dangerous.
Hachette Books | 9780316309691
ALIVE, ALIVE OH!: And Other Things That Matter by Diana Athill (Memoir/Essays)
Diana Athill charmed readers with her prize-winning memoir, SOMEWHERE TOWARDS THE END, which transformed her into an unexpected literary star. Now, on the eve of her 98th birthday, Athill has written a sequel every bit as unsentimental, candid and beguiling as her most beloved work. Writing from her cozy room in Highgate, London, Athill begins to reflect on the things that matter after a lifetime of remarkable experiences, and the memories that have risen to the surface and sustain her in her very old age.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393353563
APPRENTICE IN DEATH by J. D. Robb (Thriller)
A talented young skater, a doctor and a teacher have been shot dead at Central Park’s ice-skating rink. A review of the security videos reveals that the victims were killed with a tactical laser rifle fired by a sniper, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. Though the list of locations where the shooter could have set up seems endless, the number of people with that particular skill set is finite. Eve Dallas’ husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources --- and genius --- at his disposal. When his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda.
Berkley | 9781101987995
BACK BLAST: A Gray Man Novel by Mark Greaney (Thriller)
Five years ago, Court Gentry was the CIA’s best covert asset. Then, without warning, the Agency put him at the top of its kill list. Court fled his country and became the enigmatic Gray Man. Now Court plans to find out what went wrong by getting his hands on the men who sent him on his last mission, Operation BACK BLAST. What he doesn’t realize is that questions from his time as an American assassin are still reverberating in the U.S. intelligence community, and he’s stumbled onto a secret that powerful people want kept under wraps. The result: everyone has Court in their crosshairs.
Berkley | 9780425282847
THE BANDS OF MOURNING: A Mistborn Novel by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy)
The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metalminds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way, he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set.
Tor Fantasy | 9780765378583
THE CAVENDON LUCK by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Historical Fiction)
It is 1938 in England, and Miles and Cecily Ingham have led the family in bringing the Cavendon estate back from the brink of disaster. But now, with the arrival of World War II, Cavendon Hall will face its biggest challenge yet --- one that is filled with intrigue and romance, sorrow and strife…and will push the Inghams and Swanns to protect each other and the villagers, and reveal their true capacity for survival.
St. Martin's Paperbacks | 9781250091284
A CERTAIN AGE by Beatriz Williams (Historical Fiction)
As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband. But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062404961
THE CHARM BRACELET by Viola Shipman (Fiction)
On her birthday each year, Lolly’s mother gave her a charm, along with the advice that there is nothing more important than keeping family memories alive. Now 70 and starting to forget things, Lolly knows time is running out to reconnect with a daughter and granddaughter whose lives have become too busy for Lolly or her family stories. But when Arden, Lolly’s daughter, receives an unexpected phone call about her mother, she and granddaughter Lauren rush home. Over the course of their visit, Lolly reveals the story behind each charm on her bracelet. One by one the family stories help Lolly, Arden and Lauren reconnect in a way that brings each woman closer to finding joy, love and faith.
A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin | 9781250071330
CHILD’S PLAY by Merry Jones (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
Just before the first day of school, second-grade teacher Elle Harrison learns that a former student, Ty Evans, has been released from juvenile detention where he served time for killing his abusive father. Within days of his release, Elle’s school principal, who had tormented Ty as a child, is brutally murdered, along with a teacher at the school and Ty’s former girlfriend. Ty seeks Elle out, confiding that she’s the only adult he’s ever trusted. But when she’s assaulted in the night, she suspects that Ty is her attacker. Is he a serial killer? Is she his next intended victim? Before Elle discovers the truth, she’s caught in a deadly trap that challenges her deepest convictions about guilt and innocence, childhood and family.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608091911
CITY OF THORNS: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence (Current Affairs/Ethnic Studies)
Situated hundreds of miles from any other settlement, deep within the inhospitable desert of northern Kenya, Dadaab is a city like no other. Over the course of four years, Ben Rawlence became a first-hand witness to a strange and desperate limbo-land, getting to know many of those who have come there seeking sanctuary. In CITY OF THORNS, Rawlence interweaves the stories of nine individuals to show what life is like in the camp and to sketch the wider political forces that keep the refugees trapped there.
Picador | 9781250118738
CROWNING DESIGN by Leila Meacham (Romance)
Paperback Original
When Deborah Standridge called off her wedding to the perfect man to pursue her passion as an architect, she didn't mean to hurt anyone. But she saw her chance to finally make her own dreams come and she took it, setting in motion a tragedy that has haunted her ever since. Now, as one of Denver's most successful architects, Deborah has avoided love at all costs...until Daniel Parker walks into her life. He commissions her to design his company's headquarters and soon makes her want to believe in love again. But Dan is keeping a shocking secret that could rip apart everything they've built --- and break Deborah's heart once and for all.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781455541393
DODGERS by Bill Beverly (Thriller)
Bill Beverly’s debut novel is the story of a young LA gang member named East, who is sent by his uncle along with some other teenage boys --- including East's hothead younger brother --- to kill a key witness hiding out in Wisconsin. The journey takes East out of a city he's never left and into an America that’s entirely alien to him, ultimately forcing him to grapple with his place in the world and decide what kind of man he wants to become.
Broadway Books | 9781101903759
DOMINION: The Chronicles of the Invaders, Book 3 by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard (Science Fiction/Adventure)
Syl Hellais and Paul Kerr have traveled through the mysterious wormhole known as Derith, from which no traveler has ever returned. Trapped in a dimension beyond their own, they emerge to discover a universe that has moved on without them. Years have passed, and Civil War rages among the Illyri. Earth is lost to alien parasites known as the Others, and the sinister Archmage Syrene of the Nairene Sisterhood has disappeared into the Sisterhood’s lair --- but not before choosing a new leader with her own plans for the future of her race. Syl and Paul must find a way to change the course of history and save the lives of billions.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781476757193
A DROP OF INK by Megan Chance (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
Penniless and disgraced, Adelaide Wentworth is feeling rather desperate. With nothing left to lose, she and her sister, Louisa, flee to Lake Geneva with Adelaide’s lover, the infamous poet Julian Estes. There, Louisa hopes to persuade her former lover, celebrated writer Bayard Sonnier, to advance Julian’s career. At the Villa Diodati --- the place that inspired the writing of FRANKENSTEIN 60 years earlier --- Louisa plots to rekindle her affair with Bayard, while Adelaide hopes to restore her fading love for Julian by being the muse he needs. But soon, a confused Adelaide turns to Giovanni Calina --- Bayard’s assistant and a man with his own secrets and deep resentments --- and the two form a dangerous alliance.
Lake Union Publishing | 9781503940994
EVEN THE DEAD: A Quirke Novel by Benjamin Black (Historical Mystery)
A car crashes into a tree in central Dublin and bursts into flames. The police assume the driver’s death was either an accident or a suicide, but Quirke believes otherwise. Then his daughter, Phoebe, gets a mysterious visit from an acquaintance, who later disappears. Phoebe asks her father for help, and Quirke in turn seeks the assistance of his old friend, Inspector Hackett. Before long, the two men find themselves untangling a twisted string of events that takes them deep into a shadowy world where one of the city’s most powerful men uses the cover of politics and religion to make obscene profits.
Picador | 9781250117878
THE FIREMAN by Joe Hill (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies --- before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected, and blazes erupt everywhere. A mysterious and compelling stranger straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted…and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062200648
THE FORGOTTEN SOLDIER: A Pike Logan Thriller by Brad Taylor (Thriller/Adventure)
A Special Forces soldier is killed on an operation in Afghanistan, and complicit in the attack is a government official of an allied nation. While the US administration wants to forget the casualty, one Taskforce member will not. When he sets out to avenge his brother's death, his actions threaten to not only expose the Taskforce's activities, but also destroy a web of alliances against a greater evil. Pike Logan is now forced to choose between his friend and the administration he's sworn to protect, while unbeknownst to either of them, the soldier's death is only the beginning.
Dutton | 9780451477194
FRANCIS BACON IN YOUR BLOOD: A Memoir by Michael Peppiatt (Memoir)
In June 1963, when Michael Peppiatt first met Francis Bacon, the former was a college boy at Cambridge, the latter already a famous painter. And yet, Peppiatt was welcomed into the volatile artist's world; Bacon proved himself a devoted friend and father figure, even amidst the drinking and gambling. Though Peppiatt would later write perhaps the definitive biography of Bacon, his sharply drawn memoir has a different vigor, revealing the artist at his most intimate and indiscreet, and his London and Paris milieus in all their seediness and splendor.
Bloomsbury Paperbacks | 9781408856307
THE GAMES: A Private Novel by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan (Thriller)
Beautiful white-sand beaches, gorgeous women, and stunning natural beauty. It sounds like heaven on earth, but to Jack Morgan, head of the renowned international security firm Private, it's a place where threats are coming fast and furious. As summer reaches full swing, prominent clients he's supposed to protect are disappearing and bodies mysteriously start to litter the streets. The countdown to a deadly spectacle has begun. Jack must fight his way deep into the heart of a ruthless underworld and stop his most destructive enemies ever. Before their dark plan can reach its catastrophic end.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781455585335
GOOD AS GONE by Amy Gentry (Psychological Suspense)
Anna’s daughter, Julie, was kidnapped from her own bedroom when she was 13 years old, while Anna slept just downstairs, unaware that her daughter was being ripped away from her. For eight years, she has lived with the guilt and the void in her family, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night, the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is finally, miraculously, home safe. Anna and the rest of the family are thrilled, but soon Anna begins to see holes in Julie’s story. When she is contacted by a former detective turned private eye, she is forced to wonder if this young woman is even her daughter at all. And if she isn’t Julie, what is it that she wants?
Mariner Books | 9781328745552
THE MAN WITHOUT A SHADOW by Joyce Carol Oates (Psychological Suspense)
In 1965, neuroscientist Margot Sharpe meets Elihu Hoopes --- the “man without a shadow” --- whose devastated memory, unable to store new experiences or to retrieve the old, will make him the most famous and studied amnesiac in history. Over the course of the next 30 years, Margot herself becomes famous for her experiments with E. H. --- and inadvertently falls in love with him, despite the ethical ambiguity of their affair. Though he remains forever elusive and mysterious to her, she is haunted by mysteries of the past.
Ecco | 9780062416100
RIVER ROAD by Carol Goodman (Psychological Thriller)
Nan Lewis, a creative writing professor, hits a deer while driving home from a faculty holiday party. But when she gets out of her car to look for it, the deer is nowhere to be found. The next morning, Nan is informed that one of her students was killed in a hit-and-run the night before. And because of the damage to her car, Nan is a suspect. In the days following the accident, Nan finds herself shunned by the same community that rallied around her when her own daughter was killed in an eerily similar accident. When she begins to find disturbing tokens that recall the death of her daughter, Nan suspects that the two accidents are connected.
Touchstone | 9781501109911
ROBERT B. PARKER’S BLACKJACK by Robert Knott (Historical Mystery/Western)
Appaloosa, the hometown of Territorial Marshals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, continues to prosper, but with prosperity comes a slew of new trouble: carpetbaggers, gamblers, migrants, peddlers, drifters, thieves and whores. And there’s a new menace in town: Boston Bill Black, the owner of Appaloosa’s new casino who is wanted for a series of murders. As they set out to track him down, Cole and Hitch find themselves back in Appaloosa --- where one woman in particular may, or may not, prove to be the apple of Boston Bill’s eye.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9781101982525
THIS CENSUS-TAKER by China Miéville (Paranormal/Urban Fantasy)
In a remote house on a hilltop, a lonely boy witnesses a profoundly traumatic event. He tries --- and fails --- to flee. Left alone with his increasingly deranged parent, he dreams of safety, of joining the other children in the town below, of escape. When at last a stranger knocks at his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation might be over. But by what authority does this man keep the meticulous records he carries? What is the purpose behind his questions? Is he friend, enemy…or something else altogether?
Del Rey | 9781101967348
A VOICE FROM THE FIELD by Neal Griffin (Thriller)
Gunther Kane and his white supremacist group are using forced prostitution to finance the purchase of automatic weapons. Kane snatches young women off the streets and sells them to hundreds of men. When a victim is used up, she's killed and dumped. Physically recovered from being shot but struggling with PTSD, Tia Suarez almost doesn't believe her eyes when she glimpses a Hispanic teenager bound and gagged in the back of Kane's van. The look of terror on the woman's face makes Tia desperate to rescue her, and nothing will stop her.
Tor Books | 9780765389497
WHERE IT HURTS by Reed Farrel Coleman (Hard-boiled Noir Mystery)
Following the loss of his family, Gus Murphy has settled into a mindless, soulless routine that barely keeps his grief at arm’s length. But his comfortable waking trance comes to an end when ex-con Tommy Delcamino asks him for help. Four months earlier, Tommy’s son T.J.’s battered body was discovered in a wooded lot, yet the Suffolk County PD doesn’t seem interested in pursuing the killers. It’s a dangerous favor Gus has taken on as he claws his way back to take a place among the living, while searching through the sewers for a killer.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780425283271
On Sale the Week of January 9th in Hardcover
January 10th
THE AFTERLIFE OF STARS by Joseph Kertes (Historical Fiction)
When Russian tanks roll into the public squares of Budapest to crush the Hungarian Revolution, brothers Robert and Attila Beck flee with their family to the Paris townhouse of their great-aunt Hermina. The year is 1956, and as their country changes forever, these two boys transform as well, confronting danger and wonders previously unknown. As they travel through minefields both real and imagined, Robert and Attila grapple with sibling rivalry, family secrets and incalculable loss. Along the way they encounter mysterious fellow travelers, bewildering sights of a nation in transition and surprising hilarity, all in pursuit of the one place they thought they'd lost forever: home.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316308113
ALWAYS HAPPY HOUR: Stories by Mary Miller (Fiction/Short Stories)
ALWAYS HAPPY HOUR weaves tales of young women --- deeply flawed and intensely real --- who struggle to get out of their own way. They love to drink and have sex; they make bad decisions with men who either love them too much or too little; and they haunt a Southern terrain of gas stations, public pools and dive bars. Though each character shoulders the weight of her own baggage --- whether it’s a string of horrible exes, a boyfriend with an annoying child, or an inability to be genuinely happy for a best friend --- they are united in their unrelenting suspicion that they deserve better.
Liveright | 9781631492181
THE ANTIQUES by Kris D'Agostino (Fiction)
On the night of a massive hurricane, three estranged siblings learn that their father is dying. For the first time in years, they convene at their childhood home, where the storm has downed power lines, flooded houses, and destroyed the family’s antique store. Armie is living in their parents’ basement. In Manhattan, Josef, a sex-addicted techie, is struggling to repair his broken relationship with his daughters. Their sister, Charlie, who works in Hollywood as a publicist for a wayward young actress, just learned that her son has been expelled from preschool. Amid the storm, they come together to plan their father’s memorial service, only to learn his dying wish --- they must sell his priceless Magritte painting.
Scribner | 9781501138973
AT ROPE'S END: A Dr. James Verraday Mystery by Edward Kay (Mystery)
The body of a young woman has been found in a cranberry bog, and Detective Constance Maclean is convinced that this murder is tied to an earlier killing. The Seattle police already have a suspect in custody for that case, but Maclean suspects the lead detective is knowingly putting away an innocent man to boost his numbers and quiet his critics. Dr. James Verraday, a professor of forensic psychology specializing in eyewitness recall and criminal profiling, reluctantly agrees to use his skills as a profiler to help out with the investigation. They form an unlikely alliance and soon find themselves tied up in a deadly game to locate a serial killer whose wealth and influence make him almost untouchable.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781683310006
THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden (Historical Fantasy)
In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift --- a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, Pytor hides the gift away and Vasya grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay.
Del Rey | 9781101885932
BIG LAW by Ron Liebman (Legal Thriller)
As a young partner at Dunn & Sullivan, one of New York’s most prestigious law firms, Carney Blake has represented dozens of high-profile clients. But being a pawn of Big Law often means defending the corporate dirt bags of the world --- the spillers, the drillers and the killers. When Carney is suddenly asked by his firm’s chairman to represent the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit --- and not, as usual, the corporate bad guys --- he warily accepts. As Carney digs deeper into the case, he uncovers corruption and maliciously orchestrated schemes that go straight to the top of Dunn & Sullivan --- along with the true motives behind his placement on the case.
Blue Rider Press | 9781101982990
BURNING BRIGHT: A Peter Ash Novel by Nick Petrie (Thriller)
While on a trip to the towering redwoods of northern California, war veteran Peter Ash meets investigative journalist June Cassidy, who just days ago escaped a kidnapping by the men who are still on her trail. She suspects they’re after something belonging to her mother, a prominent software designer who recently died in an accident. June needs time to figure out what’s going on, and help from someone with Peter’s particular set of skills. Only one step ahead of their pursuers, Peter and June must race to unravel this peculiar mystery. What they find leads them to an eccentric recluse, a shadowy pseudo-military organization, and an extraordinary tool that may change the modern world forever.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780399174575
CLASS by Lucinda Rosenfeld (Fiction)
For idealistic forty-something Karen Kipple, it isn't enough that she works full-time in the non-profit sector, aiding an organization that helps hungry children from disadvantaged homes. She's also determined to live her personal life in accordance with her ideals. This means sending her daughter, Ruby, to an integrated public school in their Brooklyn neighborhood. But when a troubled student from a nearby housing project begins bullying children in Ruby's class, the distant social and economic issues Karen has always claimed to care about so passionately feel uncomfortably close to home. As the situation at school escalates, Karen can't help but wonder whether her do-gooder husband takes himself and his causes more seriously than her work and Ruby's well-being.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316265416
THE DARK ROOM by Jonathan Moore (Thriller)
Gavin Cain, an SFPD homicide inspector, is in the middle of an exhumation when his phone rings. San Francisco’s mayor is being blackmailed and has ordered Cain back to the city; a helicopter is on its way. The casket, and Cain’s cold-case investigation, must wait. At City Hall, the mayor shows Cain four photographs he’s received: the first, an unforgettable blonde; the second, pills and handcuffs on a nightstand; the third, the woman drinking from a flask; and last, the woman naked, unconscious and shackled to a bed. The accompanying letter is straightforward: worse revelations are on the way unless the mayor takes his own life first.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 9780544784673
DEAD AND BREAKFAST: A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery by Kate Kingsbury (Cozy Mystery)
Melanie West is getting her life back on track after a messy divorce when her grandmother, Liza Harris, asks her to open a B&B with her. Together, Liza and Melanie purchase a purportedly haunted mansion and jump right into clearing out the cobwebs. But while attempting to remove wallpaper in an upstairs bedroom, the new B&B owners stumble upon a very real skeleton in their closet. As the inn owners try to juggle renovations with their own amateur investigations, their grand opening looms closer and closer --- and a friendly ghost in their walls starts playing tricks. But it all comes crashing to a halt when a new body is found stabbed to death on the beach below the inn --- the victim chillingly close in resemblance to Melanie herself.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781683310099
DOCTOROW: Collected Stories by E. L. Doctorow (Fiction/Short Stories)
These 15 stories, written from the 1960s to the early 21st century --- and selected, revised and placed in order by the author himself shortly before he died in 2015 --- are a testament to the genius of E. L. Doctorow. In “A House on the Plains,” a mother has a plan for financial independence, which may include murder. “Jolene: A Life” follows a teenager who escapes her home for Hollywood on a perilous quest for success. “Heist,” the account of an Episcopal priest coping with a crisis of faith, was expanded into the bestseller CITY OF GOD. “The Water Works,” about the underbelly of 1870s New York, grew into a brilliant novel. “Liner Notes: The Songs of Billy Bathgate” is a corollary to the renowned novel and includes Doctorow’s revisions.
Random House | 9780399588358
THE DRY by Jane Harper (Mystery)
After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead. Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them.
Flatiron Books | 9781250105608
DUPLICITY by Ingrid Thoft (Mystery)
When Ceci Renard hires Ludlow and Associates to sue the hip new church that she believes has brainwashed her daughter, Fina Ludlow is assigned to the case. Covenant Rising Church has all the trappings of a less-than-holy organization, including a slick young pastor and devoted congregants who seem eager to part with their money. Fina wonders if Ceci disapproves of Covenant Rising’s theology or the pastor’s ability to solicit generous donations --- until a prominent church member dies unexpectedly. Fina’s investigation requires her to delve into the woman's life and ask a host of difficult questions. Is the pastor leading his flock astray? Did the church have a hand in the death, or were there less savory elements in the woman's life outside the parish?
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780399171192
FALSE FRIEND by Andrew Grant (Mystery/Thriller)
An arsonist is targeting schools in Birmingham, Alabama, with devastating effect. Detective Cooper Devereaux --- a man you can’t quite trust and should never ignore --- must put a stop to the elusive pyromaniac’s reign of terror before more damage is done. Or worse, before students’ lives are lost. But as Devereaux sifts through the ashes of the case, a grisly discovery at a burned-out school sends the investigation spiraling in a new, terrifying direction. The detective and his partner are dragged into a nightmare world by revelations of gruesome rituals, the disappearance of local citizens, and allegations against city officials of shocking crimes that stretch back decades.
Ballantine Books | 9780399594304
FEVER DREAM written by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell (Literary Thriller)
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.
Riverhead Books | 9780399184598
FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL: A Novel of the Trojan War by Emily Hauser (Historical Fiction)
Three thousand years ago, a war took place where legends were born: Achilles, the greatest of the Greeks, and Hector, prince of Troy. But what if there was more to the tale of these heroes than we know? How would the Trojan War have looked as seen through the eyes of its women? Krisayis, the ambitious, determined daughter of the High Priest of Troy, and Briseis, loyal and passionate princess of Pedasus, interweave their tales alongside Homer’s classic story of the rage of Achilles and the gods of Olympus. These two brave women, the heroes of the Trojan War, and the gods themselves come face to face in an epic battle that will decide the fate of Troy.
Pegasus Books | 9781681773018
FOR TIME AND ALL ETERNITIES: A Linda Wallheim Mystery Set in Mormon Utah by Mette Ivie Harrison (Mystery)
Mormon bishop's wife Linda Wallheim is stunned to learn that her son, Kenneth, has gotten engaged to a young woman from a polygamous family. Stephen Carter, Naomi's father, invites the Wallheims over to their family compound; he wishes to extend an olive branch to his future in-laws and introduce them to his five wives and 22 children. Upon their arrival, Linda has her eyes peeled for signs that Stephen's wives and children are unhappy or abused. Although she can't find concrete evidence of mistreatment, Linda's gut instinct tells her that something on the Carter family compound is deeply wrong. She can't quite put her finger on what --- until it's too late, and one of the family members is found murdered.
Soho Crime | 9781616956660
HER EVERY FEAR by Peter Swanson (Psychological Thriller)
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.
William Morrow | 9780062427021
HUCK OUT WEST by Robert Coover (Historical Fiction)
At the end of Mark Twain’s 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 HUCK OUT WEST, the boys do just that, riding for the famous but short-lived Pony Express, then working as scouts for both sides in the war. They are suddenly separated when Tom decides he’d rather own civilization than leave it, returning east with his new wife, Becky Thatcher, to learn the law from her father. He rides shotgun on coaches, wrangles horses on a Chisholm Trail cattle drive, joins a gang of bandits, guides wagon trains, gets dragged into U.S. Army massacres, and suffers a series of romantic and barroom misadventures.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393608441
IN THE GREAT GREEN ROOM: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown by Amy Gary (Biography)
The extraordinary life of the woman behind the beloved children’s classics GOODNIGHT MOON and THE RUNAWAY BUNNY comes alive in Amy Gary’s biography of Margaret Wise Brown. Margaret’s books have sold millions of copies all over the world, but few people know that she was at the center of a children’s book publishing revolution. Her whimsy and imagination fueled a steady stream of stories, book ideas, songs and poems, and she was renowned for her prolific writing and business savvy, as well as her stunning beauty and endless thirst for adventure.
Flatiron Books | 9781250065360
KILL THE FATHER by Sandrone Dazieri (Thriller)
A woman is beheaded in a park outside Rome, and her six-year-old son goes missing. The chief of Rome’s major crimes unit secretly lures to the case two of Italy’s top analytical minds: Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli, a fierce, warrior-like detective still reeling from having survived a bloody catastrophe, and Dante Torre, a man who spent his childhood trapped inside a concrete silo while being fed by the gloved hand of a masked kidnapper who called himself “the Father.” All evidence suggests that the Father is back and active after being dormant for decades. But when Colomba and Dante begin following the ever-more-bizarre trail of clues, they grasp that what’s really going on is darker than they ever imagined.
Scribner | 9781501130731
LITTLE HEAVEN by Nick Cutter (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
A trio of mismatched mercenaries is hired by a young woman for a deceptively simple task: check in on her nephew, who may have been taken against his will to a remote New Mexico backwoods settlement called Little Heaven. Shortly after they arrive, things begin to turn ominous. Stirrings in the woods and over the treetops --- the brooding shape of a monolith known as the Black Rock casts its terrible pall. Paranoia and distrust grip the settlement. The escape routes are gradually cut off as events spiral towards madness. The remaining occupants are forced to take a stand and fight back, but whatever has cast its dark eye on Little Heaven is now marshaling its powers...and it wants them all.
Gallery Books | 9781501104213
LUCKY BOY by Shanthi Sekaran (Fiction)
Eighteen-year-old Solimar Castro-Valdez embarks on a perilous journey across the Mexican border. She arrives in Berkeley, California weeks later, dazed by a lost first love and pregnant, but discovers that her son, Ignacio, can become her touchstone. Meanwhile, Kavya Reddy has created a beautiful life in Berkeley, but can’t get pregnant. When Soli is placed in immigrant detention and Ignacio comes under Kavya’s care, Kavya finally gets to be the singing, storytelling kind of mother she dreamed of being. But she builds her love on a fault line, her heart wrapped around someone else’s child. Ignacio is steeped in love, but his destiny and that of his two mothers teeters between two worlds as Soli fights to get back to him.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9781101982242
THE MIDNIGHT COOL by Lydia Peelle (Historical Fiction)
A middle-aged Irish immigrant, Billy has a gift for illusion --- making damaged objects look new. His companion, Charles, the smooth-tongued teenage son of a prostitute, is a natural salesman, just like the mythical father he’s never met. Longtime horse traders and partners, they’ve recently turned their talents to trading mules. But in the summer of 1916, these seasoned grifters skilled in the art of the underhanded deal have just been swindled themselves. They’re saddled with the one thing they may not be able to unload: a gorgeous, murderous black mare named The Midnight Cool.
Harper | 9780062475466
THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH by Lindsey Lee Johnson (Fiction)
The wealthy enclaves north of San Francisco are not the paradise they appear to be, and nobody knows this better than the students of a local high school. Despite being raised with all the opportunities money can buy, these vulnerable kids are navigating a treacherous adolescence in which every action, every rumor and every feeling is potentially postable, shareable and viral. Lindsey Lee Johnson’s kaleidoscopic narrative exposes at every turn the real human beings beneath the high school stereotypes.
Random House | 9780812997279
NICOTINE written by Gregor Hens, translated by Jen Calleja (Memoir)
Written with the passion of an obsessive, NICOTINE addresses a lifelong addiction, from the thrill of the first drag to the perennial last last cigarette. Reflecting on his experiences as a smoker from a young age, Gregor Hens investigates the irreversible effects of nicotine on thought and patterns of behavior. He extends the conversation with other smokers to meditations on Mark Twain and Italo Svevo, the nature of habit, and the validity of hypnosis. With comic insight and meticulous precision, Hens deconstructs every facet of dependency, offering a brilliant analysis of the psychopathology of addiction.
Other Press | 9781590517932
A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery by Deanna Raybourn (Historical Mystery)
Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task --- saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman’s noose in a week’s time if Veronica cannot find the real killer. But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems, and unmasking her true identity is only the first of the many secrets Veronica must uncover.
Berkley | 9780451476159
RING OF FIRE: A Pike Logan Thriller by Brad Taylor (Thriller/Adventure)
A former Delta Force commander, author Brad Taylor has lived in the world about which he writes, and his novels have tackled very real and current threats ranging from ISIS to Chechen terrorists to Boko Haram. In his latest action-packed thriller, RING OF FIRE, a chilling terrorist plot is about to unfold in the United States --- one involving simultaneous attacks across multiple locations in America --- and it’ll be up to Pike Logan, Jennifer Cahill and the Taskforce to prevent the threat from becoming a terrifying reality.
Dutton | 9781101984765
THE RIPPER'S SHADOW: A Victorian Mystery by Laura Joh Rowland (Historical Mystery)
Miss Sarah Bain, a photographer, is an independent woman with dark secrets. In the privacy of her studio, she supplements her meager income by taking illicit “boudoir photographs” of the town's local ladies of the night. But when two of her models are found gruesomely murdered within weeks of one another, Sarah begins to suspect it's more than mere coincidence. Teamed with a motley crew of friends, Sarah delves into the crime of the century. But just as she starts unlocking the Ripper's secrets, she catches the attention of the local police, who believe she knows more than she's revealing, as well as from the Ripper himself, now bent on silencing her and her friends for good.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781683310051
THE RIVER AT NIGHT by Erica Ferencik (Thriller)
Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a 15-year marriage, Winifred Allen reluctantly agrees to join her three best friends on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls’ trip. What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare. A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. A fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long-buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test.
Gallery/Scout Press | 9781501143199
SAVAGE THEORIES written by Pola Oloixarac, translated by Roy Kesey (Fiction)
Rosa Ostreech, a pseudonym for the novel’s beautiful but self-conscious narrator, carries around a trilingual edition of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, struggles with her thesis on violence and culture, sleeps with a bourgeois former guerrilla, and pursues her elderly professor. Elsewhere on campus, Pabst and Kamtchowsky tour the underground scene of Buenos Aires, dabbling in ketamine, group sex, video games and hacking. And in Africa in 1917, a Dutch anthropologist named Johan van Vliet begins work on a theory that explains human consciousness and civilization by reference to our early primate ancestors --- animals, who, in the process of becoming human, spent thousands of years as prey.
Soho Press | 9781616957353
THE SECOND MRS. HOCKADAY by Susan Rivers (Historical Fiction)
When Major Gryffth Hockaday is called to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband’s 300-acre farm and infant son. Placidia, a mere teenager herself living far from her family and completely unprepared to run a farm or raise a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two years later, Placidia is bound for jail, accused of having borne a child in his absence and murdering it. What really transpired in the two years he was away?
Algonquin Books | 9781616205812
SHE STOPPED FOR DEATH: A Little Library Mystery by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli (Cozy Mystery)
Bear Falls's own elusive and highly secretive poet, Emily Sutton, has lived her life cloistered away with her sister. But now Emily has started leaving scraps of poetry in Dora's Little Library, and Dora makes it her mission to befriend the sheltered woman. Meanwhile, Zoe Zola is hard at work on a new book, this one about the inner life of Emily Dickinson. And once again, Zoe's literary work starts making uncanny connections with the events in her own world as Emily Sutton reemerges into society. But Zoe begins to suspect that things aren't anywhere near normal at Emily's swamp house or in the lives of the people she claims have abandoned her...until looking further into the poet's half-truths leads Zoe and Dora’s daughter, Jenny, to a horrible murder.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781683310136
THE SLEEPWALKER by Chris Bohjalian (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
When Annalee Ahlberg goes missing, her children fear the worst. Annalee is a sleepwalker whose affliction manifests in ways both bizarre and devastating. When the police discover a small swatch of fabric, a nightshirt, ripped and hanging from a tree branch, it seems certain Annalee is dead, but Detective Gavin Rikert continues to call and stop by the Ahlbergs' Victorian home. As daughter Lianna peels back the layers of mystery surrounding Annalee's disappearance, she finds herself drawn to Gavin, but she must ask herself: Why does the detective know so much about her mother? Why did Annalee leave her bed only when her father was away? And if she really died while sleepwalking, where was the body?
Doubleday | 9780385538916
THREE DAYS IN JANUARY: Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission by Bret Baier with Catherine Whitney (History)
Bret Baier, the Chief Political Anchor for Fox News Channel and the Anchor and Executive Editor of “Special Report with Bret Baier,” illuminates the extraordinary yet underappreciated presidency of Dwight Eisenhower by taking readers into Ike's last days in power. Baier casts the period between Eisenhower's now-prophetic farewell address on the evening of January 17, 1961, and Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the closing act of one of modern America's greatest leaders --- during which Eisenhower urgently sought to prepare both the country and the next president for the challenges ahead.
William Morrow | 9780062569035
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations by John Avlon (History)
George Washington’s Farewell Address was a prophetic letter from a “parting friend” to his fellow citizens about the forces he feared could destroy our democracy: hyper-partisanship, excessive debt and foreign wars. Once celebrated as civic scripture, more widely reprinted than the Declaration of Independence, the Farewell Address is now almost forgotten. However, its message remains starkly relevant. In WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL, John Avlon offers a stunning portrait of our first president and his battle to save America from self-destruction.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476746463
On Sale the Week of January 9th in Paperback
January 10th
ALL THE WINTERS AFTER by Seré Prince Halverson (Fiction)
Alaska doesn't forgive mistakes. That's what Kachemak Winkel's mother used to tell him. A lot of mistakes were made that awful day 20 years ago, when she died in a plane crash with Kache's father and brother --- and Kache still feels responsible. He fled Alaska for good, but now his aunt Snag insists on his return. She admits she couldn't bring herself to check on his family's house in the woods --- not even once since he's been gone. Kache is sure the cabin has decayed into a pile of logs, but he finds smoke rising from the chimney and a mysterious Russian woman hiding from her own troubled past.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781492635215
ARCADIA by Iain Pears (Supernatural Thriller/Fantasy)
In Cold War England, Professor Henry Lytten, having renounced a career in espionage, is writing a fantasy novel that dares to imagine a world less fraught than his own. He finds an unlikely confidante in Rosie, an inquisitive young neighbor who stumbles through a doorway in his cellar and into a stunning and unfamiliar bucolic landscape. There she meets a young boy named Jay, who is about to embark on a journey that will change both their lives. Elsewhere, in a dystopian society where progress is controlled by a corrupt ruling elite, the brilliant scientist Angela Meerson has discovered the potential of a powerful new machine. When the authorities come knocking, she will make an important decision --- one that will reverberate through all these different lives and worlds.
Vintage | 9781101970836
THE CELLAR by Minette Walters (Psychological Thriller/Horror)
On the day Mr. and Mrs. Songoli’s young son fails to come home from school, 14-year-old Muna’s fortunes change for the better. Until then, her bedroom was a dank windowless cellar, her activities confined to cooking and cleaning. Now that Scotland Yard has swarmed the Songoli house to investigate the disappearance of the son, Muna is given a real bedroom and clothing, yet her world remains confined. Before long, though, it becomes clear that young Muna is far more clever --- and her plans more terrifying --- than the Songolis, or anyone else, can ever imagine.
Mysterious Press | 9780802126283
THE CROOKED HOUSE by Christobel Kent (Psychological Thriller)
Alison lives her life under the radar. She has no ties, no home, and she spends her days at a backroom publishing job. Which is how she wants it. Because Alison used to be a teenager named Esme, who was the only survivor in a brutal attack on her family. In order to escape from the horror she witnessed, she moved away from her village, changed her name and cut herself off from her past. But soon Alison realizes that that night's events have left a terrible mark on everyone in the village, and she begins to suspect they are all somehow implicated in her family's murder.
Picador | 9781250117908
THE DOGS OF LITTLEFIELD by Suzanne Berne (Fiction)
Littlefield, Massachusetts, named one of the Twenty Best Places to Live in America, is full of psychologists and college professors, proud of its fine schools, girls’ soccer teams, leafy streets and quaint village center. Yet when sociologist Dr. Clarice Watkins arrived in Littlefield to study the elements of “good quality of life,” someone begins poisoning the town’s dogs. Are the poisonings in protest to an off-leash proposal for Baldwin Park --- the subject of much town debate --- or the sign of a far deeper disorder?
Simon & Schuster | 9781501124747
DON'T YOU CRY by Mary Kubica (Psychological Thriller)
In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to My Dearest is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate, Quinn Collins, to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she's the person Quinn thought she knew. Meanwhile, in a small Michigan harbor town an hour outside Chicago, a mysterious woman appears in the quiet coffee shop where 18-year-old Alex Gallo works as a dishwasher. He is immediately drawn to her charm and beauty, but what starts as an innocent crush quickly spirals into something far more dark and sinister than he ever expected.
Mira | 9780778330516
DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD by Janie Chang (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
In 1908, seven-year-old Jialing is abandoned in the courtyard of a once-lavish estate outside Shanghai. Jialing is Eurasian and faces a lifetime of contempt from both Chinese and Europeans. Without her mother’s protection, she can survive only if the estate’s new owners, the Yang family, agree to take her in. Jialing finds allies in Anjuin, the eldest Yang daughter, and Fox, an animal spirit who has lived in the courtyard for centuries. But Jialing’s life as the Yangs’ bondservant changes unexpectedly when she befriends a young English girl who then mysteriously vanishes. Jialing grows into womanhood guided both by Fox and by her own strength of spirit, away from the shadows of her past and toward a very different fate --- if she has the courage to accept it.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062388957
FALLEN LAND by Taylor Brown (Historical Fiction)
Callum, a seasoned horse thief at 15 years old, came to America from his native Ireland as an orphan. Ava, her father and brother lost to the war, hides in her crumbling home until Callum determines to rescue her from the bands of hungry soldiers pillaging the land. Ava and Callum have only each other in the world and their remarkable horse, Reiver, who carries them through the destruction that is the South. Pursued relentlessly by a murderous slave hunter, tracking dogs and ruthless ex-partisan rangers, the couple race through a beautiful but ruined land, surviving on food they glean from abandoned farms and the occasional kindness of strangers.
St. Martin's Griffin | 9781250116840
FLIGHT OF DREAMS by Ariel Lawhon (Historical Thriller)
On the evening of May 3, 1937, 97 people board the Hindenburg for its final, doomed flight. Among them are a frightened stewardess who is not what she seems; the steadfast navigator determined to win her heart; a naive cabin boy eager to earn a permanent position; an impetuous journalist who has been blacklisted in her native Germany; and an enigmatic American businessman with a score to settle. Over the course of three champagne-soaked days, their lies, fears, agendas and hopes for the future will be revealed --- and one in their party will set a plot in motion that will have devastating consequences for them all.
Anchor | 9781101873922
FORTY THIEVES by Thomas Perry (Thriller)
Last spring, a body was recovered from one of Los Angeles’s overwhelmed storm sewers. The victim was identified as James Ballantine, a middle-aged African-American who worked as a research scientist for a prestigious company. But two bullets to the back of the head looked like nothing if not foul play. Now, with the case turning cold, Ballantine’s former employers bring in detectives Sid and Ronnie Abel to succeed where the police have failed. Meanwhile, assassins-for-hire Ed and Nicole Hoyt’s mysterious contractors want to make sure that the facts about Ballantine’s death stay hidden.
Mysterious Press | 9780802126382
THE LOST TUDOR PRINCESS: The Life of Lady Margaret Douglas by Alison Weir (Biography)
THE LOST TUDOR PRINCESS is the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I. Drawing on decades of research and myriad original sources --- including many of Margaret’s surviving letters --- Alison Weir brings this captivating character out of the shadows and presents a strong, capable woman who operated effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels of power.
Ballantine Books | 9780345521408
MOTHERING SUNDAY: A Romance by Graham Swift (Romance)
On an unseasonably warm spring day in 1924, 22-year-old Jane Fairchild, a maid at an English country house, meets with her secret lover, the young heir of a neighboring estate. He is about to be married to a woman more befitting his social status, and the time has come to end the affair --- but events unfold in ways Jane could never have predicted. As the narrative moves back and forth across the 20th century, what we know and understand about Jane --- about the way she loves, thinks, feels, sees and remembers --- expands with every page.
Vintage | 9781101971727
NAPOLEON: Soldier of Destiny by Michael Broers (Biography)
Michael Broers' biography draws on the thoughts of Napoleon himself as his incomparable life unfolded. It reveals a man of intense emotion, but also of iron self-discipline; of acute intelligence and immeasurable energy. Tracing his life from its dangerous Corsican roots, through his rejection of his early identity, and the military encounters of his early career, it tells the story of the sheer determination, ruthlessness and careful calculation that won him the precarious mastery of Europe by 1807.
Pegasus Books | 9781681773056
QUICKSAND: What It Means to Be a Human Being by Henning Mankell (Memoir)
Paperback Original
In January 2014, Henning Mankell received a diagnosis of lung cancer. QUICKSAND is a response to this shattering news --- but it is not a memoir of destruction. Instead, it is a testament to a life fully lived, a tribute to the extraordinary but fleeting human journey that delivers both boundless opportunity and crucial responsibility. In a series of intimate vignettes, Mankell ranges over rich and varied reflections. Along the way, he ponders the meaning of a good life, and the critically important ways we can shape the future of humanity if we are fortunate enough to have the choice.
Vintage | 9780525432159
RUSH OH! by Shirley Barrett (Historical Fiction)
1908: It's the year that proves to be life-changing for our teenage narrator, Mary Davidson, tasked with providing support to her father's boisterous whaling crews while caring for five brothers and sisters in the wake of their mother's death. But when the handsome John Beck --- a former Methodist preacher turned novice whaler with a mysterious past --- arrives at the Davidsons’ door pleading to join her father's crews, suddenly Mary's world is upended. She will soon discover a darker side to these men who hunt the seas, and the truth of her place among them.
Back Bay Books | 9780316261531
THE TRAVELERS by Chris Pavone (Thriller)
Meet Will Rhodes: travel writer, recently married, barely solvent, his idealism rapidly giving way to disillusionment and the worry that he’s living the wrong life. Then one night, on assignment for the award-winning Travelers magazine in the wine region of Argentina, a beautiful woman makes him an offer he can’t refuse. As he’s drawn further into a tangled web of international intrigue, it becomes clear that nothing about Will Rhodes was ever ordinary, that the network of deception ensnaring him is part of an immense and deadly conspiracy with terrifying global implications --- and that the people closest to him may pose the greatest threat of all.
Broadway Books | 9780385348508
TWO DAYS GONE by Randall Silvis (Mystery/Thriller)
Paperback Original
What could cause a man, when all the stars of fortune are shining upon him, to suddenly snap and destroy everything he has built? This is the question that haunts Sergeant Ryan DeMarco after the wife and children of beloved college professor and bestselling author Thomas Huston are found slaughtered in their home. Huston himself has disappeared and so is immediately cast as the prime suspect. DeMarco knows --- or thinks he knows --- that Huston couldn't have been capable of murdering his family. But if Huston is innocent, why is he on the run? And does the half-finished manuscript he left behind contain clues to the mystery of his family's killer?
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781492639732
VERSION CONTROL by Dexter Palmer (Science Fiction)
Rebecca Wright has found her way out of grief and depression following a personal tragedy years ago. She spends her days working in customer support for the Internet dating site where she first met her husband. However, she has a persistent, strange sense that everything around her is somewhat off-kilter. Her husband Philip's decade-long dedication to the causality violation device (which he would greatly prefer you do not call a "time machine") has effectively stalled his career and made him a laughingstock in the physics community. But he may be closer to success than either of them knows or imagines.
Vintage | 9780307950352
WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor (Mystery)
From the creators of the wildly popular "Welcome to Night Vale" podcast comes an imaginative mystery of appearances and disappearances that is also a poignant look at the ways in which we all struggle to find ourselves...no matter where we live. Located in a nameless desert somewhere in the great American Southwest, Night Vale is a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens and government conspiracies are all commonplace parts of everyday life. It is here that the lives of two women, with two mysteries, will converge.
Harper Perennial | 9780062351432
|
