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A Wonderful Whirlwind Week of Author Meetups
When we left off last week, the staff and I were at BookExpo where we heard about dozens of new books and crossed paths with many authors. I had sit-down chats with Lisa Jewell, who was visiting from the UK (her recent I FOUND YOU was a Bookreporter.com Bets On title); Kaira Rouda, author of BEST DAY EVER, which is a thriller I am crazy about (coming September 19th); Mary Kay Andrews, who was walking the floor, which gave me a chance to tell her about the recipes I made from THE BEACH HOUSE COOKBOOK; Nelson DeMille (I dressed to match up with the spirit of his book cover for THE CUBAN AFFAIR, which will be in stores on September 19th); and Leah Cesare, whose FORKS, KNIVES, AND SPOONS we reviewed a couple of months ago.
And I always love meeting booksellers and readers --- I had met Pamela Klinger Horn from Excelsior Bay Books in Excelsior, MN at Winter Institute, and she came to our Book Group Speed Dating event, which was a huge success with 200 attendees who heard about new book group titles from 24 publishers. Another Speed Dating attendee, Margy Stratton, flew in from Milwaukee for the day to enjoy BookExpo. You can see photos of everyone I just mentioned on this page. This is just a sample of what when on at BookExpo. There were also lots of conversations at parties, lunches, dinners and even on the street!
On Monday, I got a call that my good friend Elisabeth Egan, who had been scheduled to interview Emma Straub at the Morristown Festival of Books Summer Spotlight event on Tuesday night, had laryngitis. I jumped in to sub for her. Readers may remember that I had selected two of Emma’s books --- THE VACATIONERS and MODERN LOVERS --- as Bets On selections. We’d never met before this evening, but from the moment we were introduced before the event started, we were chatting up a storm. On stage we spoke about her writing --- there are some parallels between the two books, as well as her love of her characters --- and the new bookstore that she and her husband opened about a month ago in Brooklyn called Books Are Magic. When she heard that her local bookstore, Book Court, was closing, she realized that there were two choices --- they could move, or they would have to open a store, as she could not live in a neighborhood without a bookstore. You can read a piece about the event here.
On Wednesday night, I enjoyed an evening celebrating the publication of Douglas Brunt’s TROPHY SON at a book party that was thrown by him and his wife, Megyn Kelly. It was a really fun, low-key evening; I have met Doug a couple of times and always enjoy talking to him. As he was in hot demand that night with many guests in attendance, we did not get much time to talk. But no worries...I had fun talking to his publishing team, as well as writer pals who included Harlan Coben and the aforementioned Nelson DeMille (they each had done a New York-area event with him over the last week or so). There was some lively banter with both of them about books and writing and life. Nelson was joined by his wife, Sandy, who I had not seen in far too long. The night was easy and fun, but we failed to take any photos! When I was talking to Megyn, she mentioned that she has a featured piece on J.D. Vance, the author of HILLBILLY ELEGY, coming up on her Sunday night show in a few weeks. I am looking forward to that; it's such a terrific book.
The timing of this event was perfect as TROPHY SON is one of my Bets On selections for this week; the other is NOT A SOUND by Heather Gudenkauf. Click on each of the titles for my Bets On commentary.
In a departure from his outstanding legal thrillers, John Grisham has given readers a thriller of a different kind with CAMINO ISLAND. Bookstore owner Bruce Cable is a prominent dealer in rare books and occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts. Mercer Mann, a young novelist with writer’s block, is offered a generous sum of money to go undercover and infiltrate Cable’s circle of literary friends, ideally learning his secrets in the process. Ultimately, though, Mercer learns far too much for her own good.
Stuart Shiffman has our review and says, “[I]f you are looking for a good, fast-paced read for the coming months, this is the book for you. Grisham always provides just enough information to let you think you know what the ending will be, and then skillfully pulls the rug right out from your analysis.”
In the March 3rd newsletter, I talked extensively about THE BRIGHT HOUR, Nina Riggs’ memoir about her battle with breast cancer. Nina, the mother of two sons, was just 37 when she was initially diagnosed and within a year received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal. What makes a meaningful life when one has limited time? That’s the question Nina tries to answer here as she explores motherhood, marriage, friendship and memory, even as she wrestles with the legacy of her great-great-great grandfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Sadly Nina passed away in February, though she did get to see her book’s cover and the bound manuscript, which she even edited.
Barbara Bamberger Scott calls THE BRIGHT HOUR “a family history, a personal memoir, and a roadmap for others to follow” as well as “a story to embrace, learn from and recommend to good friends.” I will have much more on this honest, funny and brave memoir in next week’s newsletter as it will be a Bets On selection.
Jane Green is spreading a little sunshine to her readers with her new novel, THE SUNSHINE SISTERS. To her fans, Ronni Sunshine is a glamorous and charismatic movie star. To her family, though, she is a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters. But when Ronni learns she has a serious illness, she gets in touch with her now-grown children, requesting that they return home to fulfill her final wishes. Although Nell, Meredith and Lizzy have never been close, their mother’s failing health draws them together to confront the old jealousies and secret fears that have threatened to tear them apart.
According to reviewer Norah Piehl, “For the most part, Green avoids predictable resolutions, leaving things just unresolved enough that readers will be able to spend their remaining beach hours or days speculating about how, exactly, things will end up for the Sunshine sisters.”
We’re awarding the audio version of THE SUNSHINE SISTERS, read by the author herself, along with Fiona Barton’s THE CHILD (a future Bets On title), read by Mandy Williams, Rosalyn Landor and others, in this month’s Sounding Off on Audio contest. Let us know by Wednesday, July 5th at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve listened to, and you’ll have the opportunity to win both these audio titles.
Other books we’re reviewing this week include THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS, Arundhati Roy’s first novel in 20 years, following her 1997 book, THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS, which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction; MAGPIE MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz’s new thriller that weaves an Agatha Christie-like whodunit into a chilling modern-day mystery; BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate, an upcoming Bets On selection about two families, generations apart, that are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice; and DO NOT BECOME ALARMED, a thriller by Maile Meloy about a holiday cruise gone horribly wrong that leads to the mysterious disappearance of four children.
Continuing from last week is our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight and Contest for THE LIGHT IN SUMMER, Mary McNear’s latest Butternut Lake novel. We’re giving 25 readers the chance to win a copy of the book and give us their feedback on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, June 15th at noon ET.
In this week’s Summer Reading contests, we gave away ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doer (a Bets On title when it released in 2014 that is finally available in paperback), DAUGHTERS OF THE BRIDE by Susan Mallery, EDGE OF TRUTH by Brynn Kelly, and LOVE STORY: The Baxter Family, Book 1 by Karen Kingsbury. Next week’s prizes will be I'VE GOT SAND IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella, THE MAP THAT LEADS TO YOU by J.P. Monninger, THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See (another Bets On pick), and THE THINGS YOU CAN SEE ONLY WHEN YOU SLOW DOWN: How to Be Calm and Mindful in a Fast-Paced World by Haemin Sunim (I really need this book!). Be on the lookout for the next contest at noon ET on Monday, June 12th.
There’s still time to enter our Father’s Day contest, where five lucky winners will receive all 12 of our featured titles, which include Al Franken’s memoir, AL FRANKEN, GIANT OF THE SENATE, and THE FALLEN, the newest installment in Eric Van Lustbader’s Testament series. It’s really a great lineup that you will want to borrow from the father in your life. All you have to do is fill out this form by Monday, June 19th at noon ET.
To coincide with the lead-up to Father’s Day (June 18th) and the U.S. Open Championship (play starts Thursday, though Open Week kicks off Monday), our resident golf aficionado, the aforementioned Stuart Shiffman, takes a look at four recently released titles that he believes will make great summer reading for both golfers and golf fans alike. Looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift? Perhaps you’ll find just that in this year’s roundup.
We’ve updated our New in Paperback feature for June. Among the titles appearing in paperback this month are BEFORE THE FALL by Noah Hawley (another Father’s Day prize book, as well as a Bets On pick); NEWS OF THE WORLD by Paulette Jiles, a National Book Award finalist; THE FATE OF THE TEARLING, the conclusion to Erika Johansen’s popular Tearling trilogy; and Lionel Shriver’s near-future novel, THE MANDIBLES: A Family, 2029-2047.
We have a new Word of Mouth contest to tell you about. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll be in the running to win ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE BOURNE INITIATIVE by the aforementioned Eric Van Lustbader and THE SILENT CORNER by Dean Koontz. Please enter by Friday, June 23rd at noon ET.
The time we spent at BookExpo, coupled with this Wall Street Journal article about some of the blockbuster novels releasing this year, has inspired our latest poll question. We want to know which bestselling authors who have books releasing this year would you like to see in person, whether or not they will be on a book tour in your area. Click here to cast your votes.
Our previous poll asked what you do on vacation when it comes to books. 81% of you bring hardcovers or paperbacks, 61% download books to an eReader, and 31% buy books while on vacation. Click here for more results.
June is Audiobook Month, and to kick it off, the Audio Publishers Association announced the winners of the 2017 Audie Awards at their 22nd Annual Audies Gala in Manhattan. These awards recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment. Click here for all the winners. Of course, with our readers “Sounding Off on Audio” each month, we at Bookreporter.com celebrate Audiobook Month throughout the year!
News & Pop Culture
"House of Cards": I watched the first episode when I got home from BookExpo last Friday night. I was so tired that I had to re-watch it on Saturday as I could not even remember what happened. Somehow with politics all over the news, it’s just not the same escape as it was in the past. I have one episode left, but did not find it as fun as other seasons.
Knit in Public Day: Saturday is THE day for this! Whip out your needles and get them clicking.
Just in Time for Vacation Travel: 50 Unique Independent Bookstores You Need to Visit in Every US State: Checking off all the ones that I have visited and mapping out many, many more.
A Librarian Fighting the War on Drugs, Specifically Heroin: In between checking books out and doing research, she’s monitoring addicts who need Narcan.
Free Reads on the NYC Subway: Interesting program that is kicking off. Read more here.
Fresca: I remember this blizzard and the first ads.
The pool is looking good, and the weather looks like it finally will be summer-like this weekend, so sparkling pool floating time is on the horizon. I am reading Shari Lapena’s A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE, which I am enjoying. She does a brilliant job of building suspense and placing doubts all over the page; I love when a writer does that. Her book THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR, which was a Bets On selection, is just out in paperback and hit the New York Times list.
I am listening to MATCHUP, an anthology edited by Lee Child, which will be out on Tuesday. Here, 11 of the world’s most noted female thriller writers, including Diana Gabaldon, Sandra Brown, Lisa Scottoline and Charlaine Harris, are paired with male counterparts --- including Peter James, John Sanford, Steve Berry and Eric Van Lustbader --- to solve a crime with their iconic characters matched up. Each story is introduced by Lee, who also shares background on the writing style of each contributor, which feels like a brilliant writing tutorial from a thriller master. I love short stories for short drives, as well as when I am doing short tasks.
Greg is around doing something car-related that involves dropping the gas tank, which I will not be involved with. Cory has noted he will be making an appearance. Tom most likely is playing golf. After a very whirlwind couple of weeks, I am ready for no plans. Okay, maybe we will mulch. I know, how exciting can one get?
Read on, and have a great week.
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. 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!
Featured Review: CAMINO ISLAND by John Grisham
CAMINO ISLAND by John Grisham (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by January LaVoy
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. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE BRIGHT HOUR by Nina Riggs
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE BRIGHT HOUR: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Cassandra Campbell with Kirby Heyborne
Nina Riggs was just 37 years old when initially diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a year, the mother of two sons received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal. How does one live each day, “unattached to outcome”? How does one approach the moments, big and small, with both love and honesty? Exploring motherhood, marriage, friendship and memory, even as she wrestles with the legacy of her great-great-great grandfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nina Riggs’ memoir continues the urgent conversation that Paul Kalanithi began in WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR. She asks: What makes a meaningful life when one has limited time? Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.
THE BRIGHT HOUR will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. You can read Carol's commentary in next week's newsletter.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Featured Review: THE SUNSHINE SISTERS by Jane Green
THE SUNSHINE SISTERS by Jane Green (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Jane Green
Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters. Still, when Ronni discovers she has a serious illness, she calls her now-adult girls home to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith and Lizzy have never been close, their mother’s illness draws them together to confront the old jealousies and secret fears that have threatened to tear these sisters apart. As they face the loss of their mother, they will discover if blood might be thicker than water after all. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
- Click here to read more about the book.
Click here to read the review.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE TROPHY SON by Douglas Brunt
and NOT A SOUND by Heather Gudenkauf
TROPHY SON by Douglas Brunt (Fiction)
Douglas Brunt’s novel, TROPHY SON, looks at the tennis world through the eyes of Anton, a prodigy who is coached and pushed to excel by his tennis-obsessed father, until he rebels against the pressure. I confess to having zip knowledge of tennis, let alone competitive tennis (I could not even score a match), but reading TROPHY SON I was quickly drawn inside that world and never felt over my head.
What I loved best is how Brunt captured the tension that exists in professional sports on so many levels, as well as the alienation of celebrity and the pressure of being in a world where the clock to retirement is always ticking.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
NOT A SOUND by Heather Gudenkauf (Mystery/Thriller)
Years ago, I discovered Heather Gudenkauf with her first book, THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE, and became a passionate reader of her work. In her latest, NOT A SOUND, she again delivers a sharp story with strong characters and a tightly drawn plot.
Unknown Object
In it, her protagonist, Amelia Winn, is a nurse who is deaf following an accident years ago. After her accident, Amelia dropped into a deep depression that robbed her of her life with her husband, her job and her stepdaughter, who she adored. One afternoon while paddleboarding, she discovers the body of a fellow nurse near a river in the woods by her cabin. Who murdered this woman and why? When she finds the body, she has a hearing dog named Stitch as her steady companion and a promising job interview lined up. Things are looking brighter, but then she starts grappling with her friend’s murder.
- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
Click here to read more of Carol's commentary.
Women's Fiction Author Spotlight & Contest:
THE LIGHT IN SUMMER by Mary McNear
We have 25 copies of THE LIGHT IN SUMMER: A Butternut Lake Novel by Mary McNear --- a heartwarming story about a woman coming to terms with her past as she learns to have faith in herself and that happiness doesn’t always mean perfection --- to give away to readers who would like to read the book, which releases on June 20th, and share their comments on it. To enter, please fill out this form by Thursday, June 15th at noon ET.
THE LIGHT IN SUMMER: A Butternut Lake Novel by Mary McNear (Fiction)
It’s summertime on Butternut Lake, where the heat of noon is soothed by the cool breezes of the evening, where the pace grows slower, and sometimes, just sometimes, the summer light makes everything clearer...
For the lovely Billy Harper, Butternut Lake is the place she feels most at home, even though lately she feels the only one listening to her is Murphy, her faithful Labrador Retriever. Her teenage son, Luke, has gone from precious to precocious practically overnight. Her friends are wrapped up in their own lives, and Luke’s father, Wesley, disappeared before his son was even born. No wonder she prefers to spend time with a good book, especially ones where everything ends in perfection.
But Billy is about to learn that anything is possible during the heady days of summer. Coming to terms with her past --- the death of her father, the arrival of Cal Cooper, a complicated man with a definite interest in Billy, even the return of Wesley ---will force her to have a little bit of faith in herself and others...and realize that happiness doesn’t always mean perfection.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Mary McNear's bio.
- Connect with Mary McNear on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to read more in our Women's Fiction Author Spotlight
and enter the contest.
Bookreporter.com's 12th Annual
Father's Day Contest: Best Books for Dad
Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the men in our lives who have raised and loved us. Why not show him your appreciation by inspiring him with a great book? In our 12th annual "Best Books for Dad" contest, we have a selection of books that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for Dad, keeping him busy through the rest of the year. Five readers will be awarded a copy of each of our featured titles. To enter, please fill out this form by Monday, June 19th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles are:
Click here to enter the contest.
Bookreporter.com's Summer Reading
Contests and Feature
Summer will be here before you know it! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through August 24th, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
Our next prize book will be announced on Monday, June 12th at noon ET.
This year's featured titles include:
Click here to read all the contest details
and see the prize books being awarded in May, June, July and August.
Summer Golf Reading for 2017
In anticipation of the U.S. Open Championship, which tees off on Thursday, June 15th, Bookreporter.com's Stuart Shiffman talks about four golf books that you may want to consider adding to your summer reading list. First up is GARY PLAYER'S BLACK BOOK, which contains 60 questions and detailed responses from 18-time major winner Gary Player. The book focuses on specific scenarios and problems that arise in golf, life and business. Next is BE A PLAYER, in which Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, the founders of VISION54’s groundbreaking and innovative golf program, explain how golfers can unite technical skills and on-course performance seamlessly and effectively. Then we have SARAZEN, David Sowell’s biography that details Gene Sarazen’s life and storied career, from his days sweeping floors in a pro shop through his rise in the golfing world to become one of the country’s foremost players. Finally, Stuart takes a look at THE RANGE BUCKET LIST, a funny, intimate and nostalgic journey of self and sport in which beloved golf writer James Dodson completes his golfing “bucket list.”
Click here for Stuart Shiffman's roundup of summer golf titles.
June’s New in Paperback Roundups
June’s roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes BEFORE THE FALL, Noah Hawley's much-talked-about thriller that revolves around the aftermath of a plane crash and the backstories of the passengers and crew members; Paulette Jiles' NEWS OF THE WORLD, a National Book Award finalist about an aging itinerant news reader who, in the aftermath of the Civil War, agrees to transport a young captive of the Kiowa back to her people; THE MANDIBLES, a near-future novel from Lionel Shriver that explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating U.S. sovereign debt default on four generations of a once-prosperous American family; and BEHOLD THE DREAMERS, Imbolo Mbue's debut novel about a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy.
Among this month’s nonfiction offerings are I’VE GOT SAND IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES, another collection of funny and relatable true stories in the everyday lives of modern women, from the mother-daughter team of Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella, who give their multigenerational take on a variety of topics; IRENA'S CHILDREN by Tilar J. Mazzeo, the extraordinary and gripping account of Irena Sendler --- the “female Oskar Schindler” --- who took staggering risks to save 2,500 children from death and deportation in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II; and SWIMMING IN THE SINK, a stunning memoir of life after loss, in which open-water swimming legend Lynne Cox tells of facing the one challenge that no amount of training could prepare her for.
Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of
June 5th, June 12th, June 19th and June 26th.
THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS by Arundhati Roy (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Arundhati Roy
THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS begins with Anjum --- who used to be Aftab --- unrolling a threadbare Persian carpet in a city graveyard she calls home. We encounter the odd, unforgettable Tilo and the men who loved her --- including Musa, sweetheart and ex-sweetheart, lover and ex-lover; their fates are as entwined as their arms used to be and always will be. We meet Tilo’s landlord, a former suitor, now an intelligence officer posted to Kabul. And then we meet the two Miss Jebeens: the first a child born in Srinagar and buried in its overcrowded Martyrs’ Graveyard; the second found at midnight, abandoned on a concrete sidewalk in the heart of New Delhi. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
MAGPIE MURDERS by Anthony Horowitz (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, performed by Samantha Bond and Allan Corduner
When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. Conway’s latest tale has Atticus investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition and murder. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber
Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge --- until strangers arrive in force, and the children are thrown into an orphanage. Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all. But when she returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that ultimately will lead either to devastation or to redemption. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.
BEFORE WE WERE YOURS will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. You can read Carol's commentary in next week's newsletter.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
DO NOT BECOME ALARMED by Maile Meloy (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Maile Meloy
When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. But when they all go ashore for an adventure in Central America, a series of minor misfortunes and miscalculations leads the families farther from the safety of the ship. One minute the children are there, and the next they’re gone. The disintegration of the world the families knew --- told from the perspectives of both the adults and the children --- is riveting and revealing. The parents, accustomed to security and control, turn on each other and blame themselves, while the seemingly helpless children discover resources they never knew they possessed. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
PAPI: My Story by David Ortiz with Michael Holley (Sports/Memoir)
David “Big Papi” Ortiz is a baseball icon and one of the most popular figures ever to play the game. As a key part of the Boston Red Sox for 14 years, David helped the team win three World Series, bringing back a storied franchise from “never wins” to “always wins.” He helped them upend the doubts, the naysayers, the nonbelievers and captured the imagination of millions of fans along the way, as he launched balls into the stands again, and again, and again. Now, looking back at the end of his legendary career, Ortiz opens up fully for the first time about his last two decades in the game. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.
DEFECTORS by Joseph Kanon (Historical Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by John Bedford Lloyd
In 1949, Frank Weeks of the newly formed CIA was exposed as a Communist spy and fled the country to vanish behind the Iron Curtain. Now, 12 years later, he has written his memoirs and has asked his brother Simon, a publisher, to come to Moscow to edit the manuscript. At first Frank is still Frank --- the same charm, the same jokes, the same bond of affection that transcends ideology. Then Simon begins to glimpse another Frank, still capable of treachery, still actively working for “the service.” He finds himself dragged into the middle of Frank’s new scheme, caught between the KGB and the CIA in a fatal cat and mouse game that only one of the brothers is likely to survive. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth for HeadButler.com.
THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING by Grant Ginder (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Dan Bittner and Khristine Hvam
Paul and Alice’s half-sister, Eloise, is getting married. There will be fancy hotels, dinners at “it” restaurants, and a reception at a country estate. They couldn’t hate it more. THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING is the story of a less than perfect family. Donna, the clan’s mother, is now a widow living in the Chicago suburbs. Alice is stuck in a dead-end job where she is mired in a rather predictable, though enjoyable, affair with her married boss. Her brother Paul lives in Philadelphia with his tenured track professor boyfriend who eyes undergrads. And then there’s Eloise, who has spent her school years at the best private boarding schools and a post-college life cushioned by a fat, endless trust fund. To top it off, she’s infuriatingly kind and decent. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
EVERYBODY'S SON by Thrity Umrigar (Fiction)
Audiobook available, performed by Josh Bloomberg
During a terrible heat wave in 1991, 10-year-old Anton has been locked in an apartment in the projects alone for seven days. Hot, hungry and desperate, he shatters a window and climbs out. Juanita, his mother, is discovered in a crack house less than three blocks away, nearly unconscious and half-naked. Though the bond between mother and son is extremely strong, Anton is placed with child services while Juanita goes to jail. Desperate to have a child in the house again after the tragic death of his teenage son, Judge David Coleman uses his power and connections to keep his new foster son, Anton, with him and his wife --- actions that will have devastating consequences in the years to come. Reviewed by Amy Haddock.
YOU WILL PAY by Lisa Jackson (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Scott Merriman and Teri Clark Linden
Lucas Dalton, a senior detective with the sheriff’s department, is investigating the discovery of human remains in a cavern at what used to be Camp Horseshoe. His father, a preacher, ran the camp, and Lucas worked there that infamous summer when two girls went missing. Seven former female counselors are coming back to the small Oregon town --- among them, Bernadette Alsace, the woman Lucas has never forgotten. Each one knows something about that terrible night. Each promised not to tell. And as they reunite, a new horror unfolds. First come texts containing a personal memento and a simple, terrifying message: YOU WILL PAY. Then the murders begin. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.
WOULD EVERYBODY PLEASE STOP?: Reflections on Life and Other Bad Ideas by Jenny Allen (Humor/Essays)
Audiobook available, read by Jenny Allen
In Jenny Allen's debut essay collection, the longtime humorist and performer declares no subject too sacred, no boundary impassable. One moment she’s flirting shamelessly --- and unsuccessfully --- with a younger man at a wedding; the next she’s stumbling upon X-rated images on her daughter’s computer. She ponders the connection between her ex-husband’s questions about the location of their silverware, and the divorce that came a year later. While undergoing chemotherapy, she experiments with being a “wig person.” And she considers those perplexing questions that we never pause to ask: Why do people say “It is what it is”? What’s the point of fat-free half-and-half ? And haven’t we heard enough about memes? Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth for HeadButler.com.
MURDER IN SAINT-GERMAIN: An Aimée Leduc Investigation by Cara Black (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Carine Montbertrand
Private investigator Aimée Leduc is walking through Saint-Germain when she is accosted by Suzanne Lesage, a Brigade Criminelle agent on an elite counterterrorism squad. Suzanne has just returned from the former Yugoslavia, where she was hunting down dangerous war criminals for the Hague. Back in Paris, Suzanne is convinced she’s being stalked by a ghost --- a Serbian warlord her team took down. She’s suffering from PTSD and her boss thinks she’s imagining things. She begs Aimée to investigate; is it possible Mirko Vladić could be alive and in Paris with a blood vendetta? Reviewed by Ray Palen.
YOU'LL NEVER KNOW, DEAR by Hallie Ephron (Psychological Suspense/Mystery)
Audiobook available, performed by Amy McFadden
Seven-year-old Lissie and her four-year-old sister, Janey, were playing with their porcelain dolls in the front yard when a puppy scampered by. Lissie chased after the pup as it ran down the street. When she returned to the yard, Janey and her precious doll were gone. Every year on the anniversary of her disappearance, Lis and Janey’s mother places an ad in the local paper with a picture of the toy Janey had with her that day, offering a generous cash reward for its return. For years, there’s been no response. But this year, the doll came home. It is the first clue in a decades-old mystery that is about to turn into something far more sinister --- endangering Lis and the lives of her mother and daughter as well. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
A GOOD COUNTRY by Laleh Khadivi (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Assaf Cohen
Laguna Beach, California, 2010. Alireza Courdee, a 14-year-old straight-A student and chemistry whiz, takes his first hit of pot. In as long as it takes to inhale and exhale, he is transformed from the high-achieving son of Iranian immigrants into a happy-go-lucky stoner. For the first time, Reza --- now Rez --- feels like an American teen. But then he changes again, falling out with the bad boy surfers and in with a group of kids more awake to the world around them, who share his background, and whose ideas fill him with a very different sense of purpose. Within a year, Reza and his girlfriend are making their way to Syria to be part of a Muslim nation rising from the ashes of the civil war. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
ODD NUMBERS: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel by Anne Holt (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Kate Reading
On an early April afternoon, a bomb goes off in the Islamic Cooperation Council’s offices in Oslo, killing 23 people. The Police and Security Service suspect an extremist organization to be responsible for the attack, a suspicion that grows stronger when threats of yet another, bigger explosion during the planned celebration of the Norwegian constitution reach the authorities. Hanne Wilhelmsen is approached by her long-lost friend, Billy T., whose son Linus has undergone some disturbing changes recently. As the mood of the city darkens, Hanne tries to help Billy T. reach out to Linus and realizes that Oslo is up against forces far more terrible and menacing than ever before. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
GIVE UP THE DEAD: A Jay Porter Novel by Joe Clifford (Mystery/Thriller)
Three years have passed since estate-clearing handyman Jay Porter almost lost his life following a devastating accident on the thin ice of Echo Lake. The traumatic, uncredited events cost him his wife and his son, and left him with a permanent leg injury. Jay is just putting his life back together when a mysterious stranger stops by with an offer too good to be true: a large sum of cash in exchange for finding a missing teenage boy who may have been abducted by a radical recovery group. Skeptical of gift horses and weary of reenlisting in the local drug war, Jay passes on the offer. The next day his boss is found beaten and left for dead, painting Jay the main suspect. As clues begin to tie the two cases together, Jay finds himself back on the job and back in the line of fire. Reviewed by L. Dean Murphy.
Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on June 13th
Below are some notable titles releasing on June 13th that we would like to make you aware of. We will have more on many of these books in the weeks to come. For a list of additional hardcovers and paperbacks releasing the week of June 12th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.
THE BLACK ELFSTONE: The Fall of Shannara by Terry Brooks (Fantasy)
In the first book of Terry Brooks’ epic four-part conclusion to the Shannara series, the Four Lands has been at peace for generations. But now a mysterious army of invaders is cutting a bloody swathe across a remote region of the land.
FOREVER AND A DEATH by Donald E. Westlake (Hard-boiled Mystery)
Two decades ago, the producers of the James Bond movies hired Donald E. Westlake to come up with a story for the next Bond film. The movie was never made due to political concerns, so instead he wrote an original novel based on the film’s premise. Hard Case Crime is proud to be giving that novel its first publication ever.
HUNGER: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay (Memoir)
As a woman who describes her own body as “wildly undisciplined,” Roxane Gay understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care. In HUNGER, she casts an insightful and critical eye on her childhood, teens and 20s, and brings readers into the present and the realities, pains and joys of her daily life.
THE IDENTICALS by Elin Hilderbrand (Fiction)
Harper Frost, laid-back and easygoing, has inherited her father’s rundown house on Martha’s Vineyard. Tabitha Frost, dignified and refined, has inherited a flailing fashion boutique on Nantucket. After more than a decade apart, Harper and Tabitha switch islands --- and lives --- to save what's left of their splintered family.
LOCKDOWN by Laurie R. King (Psychological Suspense)
A year ago, Principal Linda McDonald arrived at Guadalupe determined to overturn the middle school’s reputation for truancy, gang violence and neglect. One of her initiatives is Career Day --- bringing together children, teachers and community presenters in a celebration of the future. But there are some in attendance who reject McDonald’s bright vision.
MATCHUP edited by Lee Child (Thriller/Short Stories)
MATCHUP takes the never-before-seen bestseller pairings of FACEOFF and adds a delicious new twist: gender. Eleven of the world’s best female thriller writers, from Diana Gabaldon to Charlaine Harris, are paired with 11 of the world’s best male thriller writers, including John Sandford, C.J. Box and Nelson DeMille.
THE RISE AND FALL OF D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland (Science Fiction/Thriller)
From bestselling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.
ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE BOURNE INITIATIVE by Eric Van Lustbader (Thriller/Adventure)
General Boris Karpov, head of the feared Russian FSB, is dead. But Karpov has reached out from the grave with an unstoppable cyber operation he conceived before his murder, aimed at the heart of the United States --- a way to steal the president's nuclear launch codes. Who has taken over the operation? Karpov trusted only one man: Jason Bourne. But can Bourne be working against his own country?
THE SWITCH by Joseph Finder (Thriller)
Michael Tanner accidentally picks up the wrong MacBook in an airport security line. He later discovers that the owner is a US senator and that the laptop contains top secret files. Senator Susan Robbins broke the law by uploading classified documents onto her personal computer. Suddenly Tanner finds himself a hunted man, terrified for the safety of his family and able to trust no one.
THE ULTIMATUM by Karen Robards (Thriller)
Bianca St. Ives is known as the Guardian. Running a multinational firm with her father, she makes a living swindling con men out of money they stole. But her latest gig had a little hiccup --- if you count 200 million dollars and top secret government documents going missing as little. Her father also died on the mission, though the US government doesn't believe he's really dead.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME: A Memoir by Sherman Alexie (Memoir)
Family relationships are never simple. But Sherman Alexie's bond with his mother Lillian was more complex than most. When she passed away, the incongruities that defined his mother shook Sherman and his remembrance of her. Grappling with the haunting ghosts of the past in the wake of loss, he responded the only way he knew how: he wrote.
Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.
Our Latest Poll: Seeing Authors in Person
Which of the following bestselling authors, all of whom have books releasing this year, would you like to see in person, whether or not they will be on tour near you? Please check all that apply.
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David Baldacci
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Dan Brown
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Sandra Brown
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Lee Child
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Michael Connelly
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Nelson DeMille
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Louise Erdrich
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Janet Fitch
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Ken Follett
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Sue Grafton
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Philippa Gregory
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John Grisham
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Paula Hawkins
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Alice Hoffman
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Jan Karon
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Stephen King
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John le Carré
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James Patterson
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Nora Roberts
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Karin Slaughter
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Brad Thor
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None of the above
Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, June 23rd at noon ET.
Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What You're
Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from June 9th to June 23rd at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE BOURNE INITIATIVE by Eric Van Lustbader and THE SILENT CORNER by Dean Koontz.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For rules and guidelines, click here.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
Sounding Off on Audio Contest: Tell Us What You're Listening to --- and You Can Win Two Audiobooks!
Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from June 1st to July 5th at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Fiona Barton's THE CHILD, read by Mandy Williams and Rosalyn Landor with a full cast, and THE SUNSHINE SISTERS written and read by Jane Green.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the audiobook, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.
- To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
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