February 23, 2024

February 23, 2024

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Who is with Me?

I think we need a federal holiday every month. Who is with me on this? From what I see, we are missing ones in March, April and August. I say this as a three-day weekend last weekend was so helpful. I had a lot of reading time. I had lots of catching up around the house time. AND I had time to do the things that I rarely have time to do, like get a pedicure. The last time that I had one was on Columbus Day. See what I mean?

I finished reading DAUGHTER OF MINE, which releases on April 9th. Once again, Megan Miranda snagged me in right from the start, but I think she really ramped up her game here. It definitely will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection.

I then book surfed a while on a huge stack that I want to read. When I book surf, I read a few pages and decide if I am in the mood for the book. It has nothing to do with whether or not I am interested in reading it at some point, but rather that I want to read it NOW.

I found myself drawn to THE STOLEN CHILD by Ann Hood, which will be out on May 7th. Nick Burns, the protagonist, fought in World War I. The book starts there, and then we jump to 1974. With only months left to live, Nick wants to travel to France. He has been haunted by a decision that he made involving an artist and her child. He enlists a young woman to help him. She’s in love with the idea of being anywhere but home. It’s lovely, and I am enjoying their journey. And I honestly have no idea if they will find what he is looking for.

I also am listening to BROOKLYN, which I missed reading when it first came out in 2009. I want to catch up before Colm Tóibín's new book, LONG ISLAND, releases on May 7th.

Next up, I am going to listen to THE WIVES, a memoir that will be available on April 9th. I had the pleasure of meeting the writer, Simone Gorrindo, at an author lunch. Since she narrates the book, I think this will be the best way to enjoy it.

I am trying to get back to listening to audio when I am in the car. When I ride my recumbent bike, I read email or a book. When I jump on the Aeroski, I need music, but I may try an audiobook. I used to listen to so much more when I commuted into the city. I do not miss the commute, but that was extra reading time. Maybe now, an hour on the bike replaces that if I can read a book? At least I will not get stuck in traffic. 

My latest “Bookreporter Talks To” interview is with Hank Phillippi Ryan, whose new psychological thriller, ONE WRONG WORD, is a Bets On pick.

The idea for the book came from something that happened to Hank when she was 19. She talks about crafting the characters and how she tries to keep readers on top of the action by introducing the characters as chapter titles where they are speaking. Hank always writes organically without an outline; both the characters and the action come to her as she writes. She points to various details in the book and explains why it matters that they are presented as they are. And she talks about crisis management, which seems to be at the heart of many news situations today.

I would love Arden Ward to be an ongoing series character. And in the interview, you will find out which New York Times bestselling author would like to see the same thing! That is not what is next for Hank, but she tells us what is coming up in her 16th book, which will be out next year. Hank also comments on the interviews that she conducts with authors and why she loves doing them. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast.

This is your last Weekly Update newsletter reminder to sign up for this month’s “Bookaccino Live” Book Group event, which will take place next Wednesday, February 28th at 8pm ET.

Our guest will be Shelby Van Pelt, and she will be talking about her instant New York Times bestselling debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, which was a “Read with Jenna” Today Show Book Club pick when it released in 2022. This charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning and hope traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

You can register for the event by clicking here. If you would like to ask Shelby a question about the book on camera during the event and chat with her in our virtual green room before the event, please email me with your question using the subject line “Shelby” by Wednesday at noon ET. Be sure to include your name, city and state, as well as your question. If you do not want to appear on camera but still would like to ask a question, please note that you want to be off camera, and share your question --- adding your name, city and state.

A. J. Finn’s long-awaited second novel (following the international bestseller THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW) is now in stores, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it. I talked about how much I loved END OF STORY in last week’s newsletter, so much so that it will be a Bets On selection. The publisher has described the book as part Knives Out and part Agatha Christie…and those comps are right on the nose.
 
Ray Palen has our review and raves, “Nothing that comes before will quite prepare you for END OF STORY’s brilliant finale. A. J. Finn has been merely toying with us up to this point as the revelations that unfold, including one that is pure genius, will blow your mind. Finn is clearly making a stake as one of the world’s finest writers of complex mysteries, and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us next.” I so agree! Find out in next week’s newsletter why I’m betting you’ll love this book just as much as Ray and I did.

By the way, I was lucky enough to meet A. J.'s dog when I was in East Hampton, NY at Hamptons Whodunit last April. I interviewed him while he was working on this book, and he talked about how he needed to whittle down the page count.
 
Word of Mouth Reminder
END OF STORY is one of the prizes in our Word of Mouth contest; the other is AFTER ANNIE by Anna Quindlen, which we plan to review next week. Submit your comments about the books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win both these titles. Please do so by Friday, March 1st at noon ET.

Wrapping Up Winter Reading --- and a Look Ahead to Spring Preview
This week, we gave away END OF STORY as our final Winter Reading prize book. Congratulations to the winners of our three contests, and many thanks to all who entered! Our next series of 24-hour giveaways will be our Spring Preview contests, which kick off the week of March 4th (the feature will go live next Friday). If you would like to receive a special newsletter announcing each day’s Spring Preview title, all you have to do is sign up here.

THE ATLAS MANEUVER is Steve Berry’s 18th and latest Cotton Malone adventure. This time, the retired Justice Department operative unravels a mystery from World War II involving a legendary lost treasure, worth billions, known as Yamashita’s Gold. Each move Cotton makes seems wrong, and nothing works, until he finally comes face-to-face with the Atlas Maneuver.

According to Ray Palen, “This novel is so engaging and comes with the expected Writer’s Note at the end, which separates fact from fiction. In this case, the Atlas Maneuver itself is purely fictional and from the great mind and imagination of Steve Berry. But like all of his prior works, it leaves readers with a sense of dread and the question ‘What if?’”

B. A. Paris --- the author of BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, THE BREAKDOWN, BRING ME BACK, THE DILEMMA, THE THERAPIST and THE PRISONER --- is back with a heart-pounding new domestic suspense novel. In THE GUEST, it won’t take long before secrets from each character’s past will unravel, some of which are more dangerous than they ever could have known.
 
Ray Palen has this to say in his review: “B. A. Paris may very well lay claim to the title ‘Queen of the Domestic Thriller’…. Paris strings you along with bits of new information to keep your mind racing towards a possible outcome. But trust me, you won’t get there before she does. In fact, my blood is still a bit icy from the chilling final words of this clever novel.”
 
Other books we’re reviewing this week include:

• SPLINTERS: Leslie Jamison has never shied away from challenging material, scouring her own psyche and digging into our most unanswerable questions across four books. But in her first memoir, she shines a light on some of the most intimate relationships of her life: her consuming love for her young daughter, a ruptured marriage once swollen with hope, and the shaping legacy of her own parents’ complicated bond.
   
• A MURDER IN HOLLYWOOD: On the evening of April 4, 1958, Hollywood star Lana Turner’s 14-year-old daughter allegedly killed Turner’s abusive boyfriend. In his latest true-crime book (following 2022’s HELLTOWN: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod), renowned investigative journalist Casey Sherman details the harrowing story of Turner’s rise to stardom and the abuse she suffered from Johnny Stompanato at the height of her fame.
   
• THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US: Originally published in the UK 20 years ago, Maggie O’Farrell’s third novel is now available in the US for the first time. Stella is sure that she recognizes a man she hasn’t seen in years. At the same time, Jake realizes that things are becoming dangerous as he is surrounded by people celebrating the Chinese New Year. They don’t know about each other's existence, but both Stella and Jake escape their lives.

I’m Betting You’ll Love…
My latest Bets On pick is Kristin Hannah’s new novel, THE WOMEN, which is at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided. Click here for my commentary. Please keep in mind our LIVE “Bookreporter Talks To” interview with Kristin on Wednesday, March 6th at 7pm ET. If you’d like to attend this special evening event, you can sign up by clicking here.
 
Remember to Vote in Our Poll
Our poll continues to ask if you follow the New York Times bestseller lists. Click here to let us know by Friday, March 1st at noon ET whether or not you do!

The Los Angeles Times has announced the finalists and honorees for the 44th annual Book Prizes. Among the nominees are DEARBORN: Stories by Ghassan Zeineddine (Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction), WE WERE ONCE A FAMILY: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America, by Roxanna Asgarian (Current Interest), BLACKOUTS by Justin Torres (Fiction), BLACK FOLK: The Roots of the Black Working Class, by Blair L.M. Kelley (History), and ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S. A. Cosby (Mystery/Thriller). Click here for all the finalists.
 
In addition, Jane Smiley will receive the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement; Access Books will be honored with the Innovator’s Award; and Claire Dederer will be presented with the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose.
 
The winners will be announced in a ceremony on Friday, April 19th at USC’s Bovard Auditorium on the eve of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which will take place the weekend of April 20-21.
 
News & Pop Culture

Reader Mail:
 
We heard from all three of our Word of Mouth winners. They won the aforementioned THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah and THE YEAR OF THE LOCUST by Terry Hayes.

Betty wrote, “Thank you so much for all you do and especially for your contests. I attend 'Bookaccino Live' and read all your emails. I am so excited that I won this one in particular as Kristin Hannah is my absolute favorite author. I can't wait to get the books and start reading them. Again, you and your team are much appreciated. Keep up the good work!”

Nancy wrote, “Oh my goodness. I could not have hand-picked two more desired books to win. Two of my favorite all-time authors, Kristin Hannah for THE NIGHTINGALE and Terry Hayes for I AM PILGRIM. I was #49 on the library wait list for THE WOMEN, which both my book clubs have scheduled to discuss, and my husband and I are champing at the bit to read THE YEAR OF THE LOCUST. Now comes the quandary: Which do I read first? I wish all my problems were that serious! Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Lisa Marie wrote, “Thank you so, so much. It’s been a tough start to the year, so this really helped. I love your newsletter so much, and I let my book club and my friends know to sign up. So many great recommendations. Thank you so, so much. Many blessings your way, and stay safe and well. Also, I love to hear what you are watching and, of course, the interviews with the authors. Have a peaceful weekend.”

Jane wrote on winning the aforementioned ONE WRONG WORD by Hank Phillippi Ryan in a Winter Reading contest: “This is my first win from a seasonal giveaway, and I was most delighted. This is only the second book of hers that I'll be reading, and I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again!”

“Expats” on Amazon Prime Video: Let’s see how the finale wraps up tonight.

“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” on FX (and next day on Hulu): I thought this week’s episode had too much Capote and not enough Swans.

“One Day” on Netflix: I devoured 14 episodes between Sunday night and Monday. It’s based on the book of the same name by David Nicholls, which I confess I have not read. There was a movie based on it made in 2011 starring Anne Hathaway, which I also did not watch. In it, we see two people as their lives unfold on a single day, July 15th, over 20 years beginning in 1988. The ending really did me in, and others have said the same thing.

“The Sympathizer” on HBO: Here's a trailer for this limited series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. It premieres on April 14th.

Next week, we will share coverage of the Savannah Book Festival from our own Lisa Hickman, who had a fabulous time at various events last weekend, as well as commentary from our longtime reader, Nancy Bader.

Featured Review: END OF STORY by A. J. Finn
An Upcoming Bookreporter.com Bets On Title

END OF STORY by A. J. Finn (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Helen Laser
“I’ll be dead in three months. Come tell my story.” So writes reclusive mystery novelist Sebastian Trapp to his longtime correspondent, Nicky Hunter, an expert in detective fiction. With mere months to live, Trapp invites Nicky to his spectacular San Francisco mansion to help draft his life story…while living alongside his beautiful second wife, Diana; his wayward nephew, Freddy; and his protective daughter, Madeleine. Soon Nicky finds herself caught in an irresistible case of real-life “detective fever.” Twenty years earlier --- on New Year’s Eve 1999 --- Sebastian’s first wife and teenage son vanished from different locations, never to be seen again. Did the perfect crime writer commit the perfect crime? And why has he emerged from seclusion, two decades later, to allow a stranger to dig into his past? Reviewed by Ray Palen.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read our review.

END OF STORY will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick.
Don't miss Carol's Bets On commentary in next week's newsletter.

Featured Review: THE ATLAS MANEUVER by Steve Berry

THE ATLAS MANEUVER: A Cotton Malone Novel by Steve Berry (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Scott Brick
In the waning months of World War II, Japan hid vast quantities of gold and other stolen valuables in boobytrapped underground caches all across the Philippines. By 1947, some of that loot was recovered by the United States government, which told no one about the find. Instead, those assets were stamped classified and secretly assimilated into something called the Black Eagle Trust. In the present day, retired Justice Department operative Cotton Malone is in Switzerland doing a favor for a friend. But what was supposed to be a simple operation turns violent, and Cotton is thrust into a war between the world’s oldest bank and the CIA, a battle that directly involves the Black Eagle Trust. He quickly discovers that everything hinges on a woman from his past, who suddenly reappears harboring a host of explosive secrets centering on bitcoin. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review: THE GUEST by B. A. Paris

THE GUEST by B. A. Paris (Domestic Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Emily Joyce
Iris and Gabriel have just arrived home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their closest friends, Laure, is in their house. The atmosphere quickly becomes tense as she oversteps again and again: sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris' clothes, even rearranging the furniture. Laure has walked out on her husband --- and their good friend --- Pierre over his confession of an affair and a secret child. Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive of their friends, but as Laure's mood becomes increasingly unpredictable, her presence takes its toll. Iris and Gabriel's only respite comes in the form of a couple new to town. But with them comes their gardener, who has a checkered past. Soon, secrets from all their pasts will unravel, some more dangerous than they could have known. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here to read our review.

Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah

THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah (Historical Fiction)
I remember watching the evening news with footage from the Vietnam War. Walter Cronkite supplied the daily commentary of what was happening on the battlefields. It was the first time that a war was being shown in real time on television. Each night, I felt like we heard about napalm, Agent Orange and the jungle, and it was all so remote and alien. It also was a war that divided America deeply, and I recall watching protests, seeing draft cards being burned, and when the soldiers came home, there was lots of talk about how they were not treated as heroes. And when we left Vietnam, I remember the South Vietnamese clinging to the aircraft as we fled the country with a war neither won nor lost.

However, what was missing from all of this coverage and conversation were the women who served on the battlefields as nurses. I confess that until I heard the subject of Kristin Hannah’s latest novel, I never even thought about their roles in the war. But now, after reading THE WOMEN, I have a firm sense of what it must have been like to be a war nurse there.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here to read our review.
- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here for readers' comments about the book.
- Click here to visit Kristin Hannah's website.
- Click here to sign up for our LIVE "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Kristin Hannah on Wednesday, March 6th at 7pm ET.

Click here to read more of Carol's Bets On commentary.

Featured Review: SPLINTERS by Leslie Jamison

SPLINTERS: Another Kind of Love Story by Leslie Jamison (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Leslie Jamison
Leslie Jamison has become one of our most beloved contemporary voices, a scribe of the real, the true, the complex. In her first memoir, Jamison turns her unrivaled powers of perception on some of the most intimate relationships of her life: her consuming love for her young daughter, a ruptured marriage once swollen with hope, and the shaping legacy of her own parents’ complicated bond. In examining what it means for a woman to be many things at once --- a mother, an artist, a teacher, a lover --- Jamison places the magical and the mundane side by side in surprising ways. The result is a work of nonfiction like no other, an almost impossibly deep reckoning with the muchness of life and art, and a book that grieves the departure of one love even as it celebrates the arrival of another. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review: A MURDER IN HOLLYWOOD
by Casey Sherman

A MURDER IN HOLLYWOOD: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman (True Crime)
Audiobook available, read by Casey Sherman
Hollywood starlet Lana Turner seemed to have it all --- a thriving film career, a beautiful daughter, and the kind of fame and fortune that most people could only dream of. But when the famous femme fatale began dating mobster Johnny Stompanato, her personal life became violent and unpredictable. Lana's teenage daughter, Cheryl, watched her beloved mother's life deteriorate as Stompanato's intense jealousy took over. Eventually, the physical and emotional abuse became too much to bear, and Lana attempted to break it off with Johnny --- with disastrous consequences. The details of what happened that fateful night remain foggy, but it ended in a series of frantic phone calls and Stompanato dead on Lana's bedroom floor, with Cheryl claiming to have plunged a knife into his abdomen in an attempt to protect her mother. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read our review.

Featured Review:
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Maggie O’Farrell
Now Available in the US

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Maggie O'Farrell (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Susie Riddell
On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years but instantly recognizes. Or thinks she does. At the same moment on the other side of the globe, in the middle of a crowd of Chinese New Year revelers, Jake realizes that things are becoming dangerous. They know nothing of one another's existence, but both Stella and Jake flee their lives: Jake in search of a place so remote it doesn't appear on any map, and Stella for a destination in Scotland, the significance of which only her sister, Nina, will understand. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

- Click here to read more about the book.

Click here to read our review.

What’s New This Month on ReadingGroupGuides.com

More Reviews This Week

BRIDE by Ali Hazelwood (Paranormal Romance)
Audiobook available, read by Thérèse Plummer and Will Damron
Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is once again an outcast. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over. She has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange. Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was. Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.

THE WARM HANDS OF GHOSTS by Katherine Arden (Historical Fantasy)
Audiobook available, read by Michael Crouch and January LaVoy
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, she returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something --- or someone --- else? November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. They take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE BOY WHO CRIED BEAR: A Haven's Rock Novel by Kelley Armstrong (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Thérèse Plummer
Haven’s Rock is a well-hidden town surrounded by forest that serves as a refuge for those who need to disappear. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, already feel at home in their new town, which reminds them of where they first met in Rockton. And while they know how to navigate the woods and its various dangers, other residents don’t. Which is why people aren't allowed to wander off alone. When Max, the town’s youngest resident --- taught to track animals by Eric --- fears a bear is stalking a hiking party, alarms are raised. Even stranger, the 10-year-old swears the bear had human eyes. Casey and Eric know the dangers a bear can present, so they’re taking it seriously. But odd occurrences are happening all around them, and when a dead body turns up, they’re not sure what they’re up against. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

EVERYONE WHO CAN FORGIVE ME IS DEAD by Jenny Hollander (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Marisa Calin
Nine years ago, with the world's eyes on her, Charlie Colbert fled. The press and the police called Charlie a "witness" to the nightmarish events at her elite graduate school on Christmas Eve --- events known to the public as "Scarlet Christmas" --- though Charlie knows she was much more than that. Now, Charlie has meticulously rebuilt her life: She's the editor-in-chief of a major magazine, engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry, and hell-bent on never, ever letting her guard down again. But when a buzzy film made by one of Charlie's former classmates threatens to shatter everything she's worked for, Charlie realizes how much she's changed in nine years. Now, she's not going to let anything --- not even the people she once loved most --- get in her way. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.

GRETA & VALDIN by Rebecca K Reilly (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Natalie Beran, Jackson Bliss, Eilidh Beaton, Nico Evers-Swindell and Gary Furlong
It’s been a year since his ex-boyfriend dumped him and moved from Auckland to Buenos Aires, and Valdin is doing fine. He has a good flat with his sister Greta, a good career where his colleagues only occasionally remind him that he is the sole Maaori person in the office, and a good friend who he only sleeps with when he’s sad. But when work sends him to Argentina and he’s thrown back in his former lover’s orbit, Valdin is forced to confront the feelings he’s been trying to ignore --- and the future he wants. Greta is not letting her painfully unrequited crush get her down. She would love to focus on the charming fellow grad student she meets at a party and her friendships with a circle of similarly floundering twenty-somethings, but her chaotic family life won’t stop intruding. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

FLOAT UP, SING DOWN: Stories by Laird Hunt (Fiction/Short Stories)
Audiobook available, read by Holly Palance
Candy Wilson has forgotten to buy the paprika. Turner Davis needs to get his zinnias in. Della Dorner told her mother she was going to the Galaxy Swirl, but that's not where she's really headed on her new Schwinn five-speed. FLOAT UP, SING DOWN is the story of a single day. But in that day, how much teeming life! The residents of this rural town have their routines, preferences, joys, grudges and regrets. Gossip is paramount. Lives are entwined. Retired sheriffs climb corn bins and muse on lost love, French teachers throw firecrackers out of barn windows, and teenagers borrow motorcycles to ride the back roads. Each of these 14 stories follows one character's day in the life in one of Laird Hunt's most beloved and enduring landscapes. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.

THE FRAMED WOMEN OF ARDEMORE HOUSE by Brandy Schillace (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Lindsey Dorcus
Jo Jones has always had a little trouble fitting in. As a neurodivergent, hyperlexic book editor and divorced New Yorker transplanted into the English countryside, Jo doesn’t know what stands out more: her Americanisms or her autism. After losing her job, her mother and her marriage all in one year, she couldn’t be happier to take possession of a possibly haunted (and clearly unwanted) family estate in North Yorkshire. But when the body of the moody town groundskeeper turns up on her rug with three bullets in his back, Jo finds herself in potential danger --- and she’s also a potential suspect. At the same time, a peculiar family portrait vanishes from a secret room in the manor, bearing a strange connection to both the dead body and Jo’s mysterious family history. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

VILLAGE IN THE DARK by Iris Yamashita (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Sophie Oda, Blaire Chandler and Aspen Vincent
On a frigid February day, Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy stands by the graves of her husband and son, watching as their caskets are raised from the earth. It feels sacrilegious, but she has no choice. Aaron and Dylan disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances. Somehow tied to the mystery is Mia Upash, who grew up in an isolated village called Unity, a community of women and children in hiding from abusive men. Mia never imagined the trouble she would find herself in when she left home to live in Man’s World. Although she remains haunted by the tragedy of what happened to the man and the boy in the woods, she has her own reasons for keeping quiet. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

WHAT IS MINE by Lyn Liao Butler (Domestic Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Nancy Wu
Hope Chen and her husband are raising her nine-year-old nephew, Luca, in the wake of his troubled mother’s death. One day, Luca and his dog disappear without a trace. Guilt-ridden, fearing the worst but praying for the best, Hope finds her imagination running wild. Meanwhile, a woman with dangerous secrets to keep buried will do anything to protect her marriage. In one fleeting instant, it’s all within her reach. She finally can give her husband the one thing that will make him love her again. Hope will do anything to get Luca back. The other woman will do anything to stop Hope. As Hope’s search grows more desperate and the other woman’s plans more twisted, their lives collide in an explosive battle of wits. With a boy caught in the middle, nothing on this deadly path of love and revenge is what it seems. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.

ALL THE RAGE: A D.I. Adam Fawley Thriller by Cara Hunter (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Lee Ingleby and Emma Cunniffe
After being abducted and assaulted, a teenage girl somehow managed to escape from her captor. She is traumatized and needs to heal, but the police need her help to catch her assailant --- information she clearly knows but is unwilling to give. Without the girl’s assistance, DI Adam Fawley’s investigation is at a dead end. When another girl vanishes under the same circumstances, he recognizes a disturbing pattern --- and a link to something long buried in his past. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

THE TWELVE STEP PATHWAY: A Heroic Journey of Recovery by Michael Cowl Gordon (Self-Help/Psychology)
A hero is a person who faces great danger, overcomes incalculable odds, and accomplishes that which would have been thought (especially by the hero) to be impossible to achieve. This is not a book for people who might want to become heroic someday. It is for people who are in the midst of a crisis and must decide if they are going to face their situation, survive, rise above themselves, and share their newfound knowledge with others who may need salvation. Employing the 12-step framework for understanding the inner work a person must do in order to overcome addiction, Michael Cowl Gordon walks readers through the journey to inner salvation and peace. Using the hero's journey as the path on which to travel through these steps, he uncovers the deep work that it takes to be the hero in your own story. Reviewed by Jack Kramer.

Next Week's Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on
February 27th and March 1st

Below are some notable titles releasing on February 27th and March 1st 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 available the week of February 26th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.

February 27th

AFTER ANNIE by Anna Quindlen (Fiction)
Anna Quindlen’s trademark wisdom on family, friendship and the ties that bind us are at the center of this novel about the power of love to transcend loss and triumph over adversity.

BURN BOOK: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher (Business & Economics/Memoir)
From award-winning journalist Kara Swisher comes a witty and scathing but fair accounting of the tech industry and its founders who wanted to change the world but broke it instead.

CARSON McCULLERS: A Life by Mary V. Dearborn (Biography)
Here is the first major biography in more than 20 years of one of America’s greatest writers, based on newly available letters and journals.

GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE by Sloane Crosley (Memoir)
Disarmingly witty and poignant, Sloane Crosley’s memoir explores multiple kinds of loss following the death of her closest friend.

NO BETTER TIME: A Novel of the Spirited Women of the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Directory Battalion by Sheila Williams (Historical Fiction)
The acclaimed author of THE SECRET WOMEN and THINGS PAST TELLING returns with an engrossing historical novel about a little-known aspect of World War II --- the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only Black WACs to serve overseas during the conflict.

NORMAL WOMEN: Nine Hundred Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory (History)
#1 New York Times bestselling historical novelist Philippa Gregory delivers her magnum opus --- a landmark work of feminist nonfiction that radically redefines our understanding of the extraordinary roles ordinary women played throughout British history.

THE OTHER VALLEY by Scott Alexander Howard (Science Fiction)
This elegant and exhilarating literary speculative novel is about an isolated town neighbored by its own past and future, and a young girl who spots two elderly visitors from across the border: the grieving parents of the boy she loves.

SHARING TOO MUCH: Musings from an Unlikely Life by Richard Paul Evans (Essays)
Before he was the #1 New York Times bestselling author of holiday classics such as THE CHRISTMAS BOX, Richard Paul Evans was a young boy being raised by a suicidal mother and dealing with relentless bullying. In this intimate and heartfelt collection of personal essays, Evans shares his moving journey from childhood to beloved author.

THREE-INCH TEETH: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box (Mystery/Thriller)
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett faces two different kinds of rampaging beasts --- one animal, one human --- in this riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box.

WANDERING STARS by Tommy Orange (Fiction)
Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous.

March 1st

BLANK by Zibby Owens (Fiction)
A wife, mother and frustrated writer faces an impossible deadline for turning her life around in a hilarious debut novel about family, friendship, success and exhilarating self-(re)discovery.

Click here to see the latest "On Sale This Week" newsletter.

From left to right: Shelby Van Pelt, Michelle Min Sterling, Lisa Unger

 Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

Here are six upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.

Monday, February 26th at 3pm ET: Murder By The Book: B. A. Paris will talk to Mystery & Thriller Maven’s Sara DiVello about her latest novel, THE GUEST, in which she invites readers into another home full of heart-pounding secrets.

Monday, February 26th at 8pm ET: Murder By The Book: Mark Greaney will talk to Mystery & Thriller Maven’s Sara DiVello about his new thriller, THE CHAOS AGENT, in which artificial intelligence leads to shockingly real danger for the Gray Man.

Monday, February 26th at 8pm ET: Murder By The Book: Lisa Unger will talk to Mystery & Thriller Maven’s Sara DiVello about her latest unputdownable thriller, THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B, in which a couple inherits an apartment with a spine-tingling past.

Tuesday, February 27th at 1pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites: Michelle Min Sterling will join members of the Simon & Schuster team to discuss her debut novel, CAMP ZERO, which is February's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.

Wednesday, February 28th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Pulitzer Prize finalist Tommy Orange about WANDERING STARS, the highly anticipated follow-up to his 2018 debut novel, THERE THERE.

Wednesday, February 28th at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Shelby Van Pelt about her novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, which is a "Read with Jenna" pick. Shelby also will answer questions from guests who will be "on stage," as well as from other members of the audience. If you would like to be one of our featured audience guests and ask Shelby a question on camera, please email Carol with the subject line “Shelby” by February 28th at noon ET.

 "Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts

“Bookreporter Talks To” is a video and podcast series that delivers a long-form, in-depth author interview every week. For years, Carol has moderated book festivals and author events around the country. But we know that readers often do not live where they can attend an author event. Our goal is to bring these author interviews to readers, wherever they may be. Watch on video, or listen as a podcast. (The podcasts include audio excerpts.)

Here is our latest interview:

• Hank Phillippi Ryan (ONE WRONG WORD) Video | Podcast

Other authors we've interviewed include:

• Ashley Audrain (THE WHISPERS) Video | Podcast
• Douglas Brunt (THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I) Video | Podcast
• Fiona Davis (THE SPECTACULAR) Video | Podcast
• Ashley Elston (FIRST LIE WINS) Video | Podcast
• Katherine Faulkner (THE OTHER MOTHERS) Video | Podcast
• Tess Gerritsen (THE SPY COAST) Video | Podcast
• Jessica Knoll (BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN) Video | Podcast
• William Kent Krueger (THE RIVER WE REMEMBER) Video | Podcast
• Jean Kwok (THE LEFTOVER WOMAN) Video | Podcast
• Gilly Macmillan (THE MANOR HOUSE) Video | Podcast
• Amanda Peters (THE BERRY PICKERS) Video | Podcast
• Nita Prose (THE MYSTERY GUEST: A Maid Novel) Video | Podcast
• John Sargent (TURNING PAGES: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Publisher)
  Video | Podcast
• Thrity Umrigar (THE MUSEUM OF FAILURES) Video | Podcast
• Sharon Virts (VEIL OF DOUBT) Video | Podcast

Upcoming interviews include:

• Tamron Hall (WATCH WHERE THEY HIDE: A Jordan Manning Novel)
• Kristin Hannah (THE WOMEN)

Click here for a complete list of our
"Bookreporter Talks To" videos and podcasts.

Our Latest Poll:
The New York Times Bestseller Lists

Click here to vote in the poll by Friday, March 1st at noon ET.

Word of Mouth Contest: Tell Us What
You're Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!

Click here to enter the contest.

Quick Links to Features on Bookreporter.com

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"Bookreporter Talks To" Videos & Podcasts | "Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books"
  Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks | Book Festivals

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