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Editorial Content for The Good Killer

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

It is only February, but there have been some excellent books published so far this year. Chief among them is THE GOOD KILLER by Harry Dolan. You should file him at the top of your reading list under “Should be a household name.” I say that based not only on the strength of this new novel, which is perfect in every way, but also on the previous four that Dolan has written. Read More

Teaser

Sean Tennant and Molly Winter are living quietly and cautiously in Houston when a troubled, obsessive stranger shatters the safety they have carefully constructed for themselves. Sean is at a shopping mall when Henry Alan Keen, scorned by a woman he’s been dating, pulls out a gun at the store where she works and begins shooting everyone in sight. A former soldier, Sean rushes toward Keen and ends the slaughter with two well-placed shots --- becoming a hero with his face plastered across the news. But Sean’s newfound notoriety exposes him to the wrath of two men he thought he had left safely in his past. One of them blames Sean for his brother’s death. The other wants to recover a treasure that Sean and Molly stole from him.

Promo

Sean Tennant and Molly Winter are living quietly and cautiously in Houston when a troubled, obsessive stranger shatters the safety they have carefully constructed for themselves. Sean is at a shopping mall when Henry Alan Keen, scorned by a woman he’s been dating, pulls out a gun at the store where she works and begins shooting everyone in sight. A former soldier, Sean rushes toward Keen and ends the slaughter with two well-placed shots --- becoming a hero with his face plastered across the news. But Sean’s newfound notoriety exposes him to the wrath of two men he thought he had left safely in his past. One of them blames Sean for his brother’s death. The other wants to recover a treasure that Sean and Molly stole from him.

About the Book

In the newest thriller from best-selling author Harry Dolan, Sean Tennant stops a deadly mass shooter. And that act of courage may get him killed.

Sean Tennant and Molly Winter are living quietly and cautiously in Houston when a troubled, obsessive stranger shatters the safety they have carefully constructed for themselves. Sean is at a shopping mall when Henry Alan Keen, scorned by a woman he’s been dating, pulls out a gun at the store where she works and begins shooting everyone in sight. A former soldier, Sean rushes toward Keen and ends the slaughter with two well-placed shots --- becoming a hero with his face plastered across the news.

But Sean’s newfound notoriety exposes him to the wrath of two men he thought he had left safely in his past. One of them blames Sean for his brother’s death. The other wants to recover a treasure that Sean and Molly stole from him. Both men are deadly and relentless enemies, and Sean and Molly will need to draw on all their strength and devotion to each other if they hope to elude them. Thus begins a cross-country chase that leads from Texas to Montana, from Tennessee to New York to Michigan, as the hunters and their prey grow ever closer and, in a heart-stopping moment, converge.

A wickedly clever and exhilarating thriller, THE GOOD KILLER offers a sophisticated, breathtaking look at the extremes people will reach for love, greed and survival.

Audiobook available, read by James Patrick Cronin

Editorial Content for Behind Every Lie

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

Identity, more specifically questions about true identity, is a familiar trope in literary thrillers. Christina McDonald adds her efforts to this library with BEHIND EVERY LIE, a domestic thriller spanning two continents and 25 years. Read More

Teaser

Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers that her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened, but the police are highly suspicious of her. Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London --- Kat’s former home --- for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

Promo

Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers that her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened, but the police are highly suspicious of her. Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London --- Kat’s former home --- for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

About the Book

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of THE NIGHT OLIVIA FELL --- an “emotionally charged mystery” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author) --- comes a thrilling new suspense novel about the insidious nature of family secrets…and their deadly potential.

If you can’t remember it, how do you prove you didn’t do it?

Eva Hansen wakes in the hospital after being struck by lightning and discovers her mother, Kat, has been murdered. Eva was found unconscious down the street. She can’t remember what happened, but the police are highly suspicious of her.

Determined to clear her name, Eva heads from Seattle to London --- Kat’s former home --- for answers. But as she unravels her mother’s carefully held secrets, Eva soon realizes that someone doesn’t want her to know the truth. And with violent memories beginning to emerge, Eva doesn’t know who to trust. Least of all herself.

Told in alternating perspectives from Eva’s search for answers and Kat’s mysterious past, Christina McDonald has crafted another “complex, emotionally intense” (Publishers Weekly) domestic thriller. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell’s I FOUND YOU and Karin Slaughter’s PIECES OF HER, BEHIND EVERY LIE explores the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships, family trauma and the danger behind long-held secrets.

Audiobook available, read by Lisa Flanagan

Editorial Content for The Catch: A Novella

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Joe Hartlaub

THE CATCH is everything you want in a novella and a thriller. It is part of Mick Herron’s outstanding Slough House series, but you don’t have to know a thing about that to enjoy this excellent story. You can read it in a little over an hour, and the paperback and e-book include an excerpt from THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED, Herron’s 2018 financial espionage novel that you will be compelled to read after finishing this one. Yes, it’s that good. Read More

Teaser

John Bachelor is the saddest kind of spy: not a joe in the field, not even a desk jockey, but a milkman --- a part-time pension administrator whose main job is to check in on aging retired spies. Late in his career and having lost his wife, his house and his savings after a series of unlucky choices, John has been living in a dead man's London apartment, hoping the bureaucracy isn't going to catch up with him and leave him homeless. But keeping a secret among spies is a fool's errand, and now John has made himself eminently blackmailable.

Promo

John Bachelor is the saddest kind of spy: not a joe in the field, not even a desk jockey, but a milkman --- a part-time pension administrator whose main job is to check in on aging retired spies. Late in his career and having lost his wife, his house and his savings after a series of unlucky choices, John has been living in a dead man's London apartment, hoping the bureaucracy isn't going to catch up with him and leave him homeless. But keeping a secret among spies is a fool's errand, and now John has made himself eminently blackmailable.

About the Book

British spy master Mick Herron returns with an explosive novella set in the same world as his multiple CWA Dagger–winning Slough House series

John Bachelor is the saddest kind of spy: not a joe in the field, not even a desk jockey, but a milkman --- a part-time pension administrator whose main job is to check in on aging retired spies. Late in his career and having lost his wife, his house and his savings after a series of unlucky choices, John has been living in a dead man's London apartment, hoping the bureaucracy isn't going to catch up with him and leave him homeless. But keeping a secret among spies is a fool's errand, and now John has made himself eminently blackmailable.

Audiobook available, read by Gerard Doyle

Editorial Content for The Better Liar

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

How do we repress and distort our childhood memories? In THE BETTER LIAR, Tanen Jones explores how adult siblings remember their earlier times together. She also ventures into spooky territory, as the story is told using three different first-person narratives. Read More

Teaser

Robin Voigt is dead. If Leslie had arrived at her sister’s apartment just hours earlier, this would have been their first reunion in a decade. In the years since Robin ran away from home as a teenager, Leslie has stayed in New Mexico, taking care of their dying father. But when he passed away, Leslie received a rude awakening: She and Robin would receive the inheritance he left them together --- or not at all. Now her half of the money may be beyond her grasp. When she meets a charismatic young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Robin, the two make a reckless bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin’s half of the cash. But neither realizes how high the stakes will become when Mary takes a dead woman’s name.

Promo

Robin Voigt is dead. If Leslie had arrived at her sister’s apartment just hours earlier, this would have been their first reunion in a decade. In the years since Robin ran away from home as a teenager, Leslie has stayed in New Mexico, taking care of their dying father. But when he passed away, Leslie received a rude awakening: She and Robin would receive the inheritance he left them together --- or not at all. Now her half of the money may be beyond her grasp. When she meets a charismatic young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Robin, the two make a reckless bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin’s half of the cash. But neither realizes how high the stakes will become when Mary takes a dead woman’s name.

About the Book

When a woman conceals her sister’s death to claim their joint inheritance, her deception exposes a web of dangerous secrets in this addictive new thriller for fans of Megan Abbott, Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins.

“Like most of the dead, I want to be remembered.”

Robin Voigt is dead. If Leslie had arrived at her sister’s cramped Las Vegas apartment just hours earlier, this would have been their first reunion in a decade. In the years since Robin ran away from home as a teenager, Leslie has stayed in New Mexico, taking care of their dying father even as she began building a family of her own. But when their father passed away, Leslie received a rude awakening: She and Robin would receive the inheritance he left them together --- or not at all. Now her half of the money may be beyond her grasp. And unbeknownst to anyone, even her husband, Leslie needs it desperately.

When she meets a charismatic young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Robin --- and has every reason to leave her past behind --- the two make a reckless bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week in exchange for Robin’s half of the cash. But neither realizes how high the stakes will become when Mary takes a dead woman’s name. Even as Mary begins to suspect Leslie is hiding something, and Leslie realizes the stranger living in her house, babysitting her newborn son, and charming her husband has secrets of her own, Robin’s wild, troubled legacy threatens to eclipse them both.

An electric, twisted portrait of sisterhood and the ties that bind, THE BETTER LIAR is a stunning debut with a heart-stopping, twist-after-twist finale that will beg the question: How far would you go to get what’s yours?

Audiobook available; read by Lisa Flanagan, Karissa Vacker and Kristen Sieh

Editorial Content for The Whispers of War

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

Following the 2019 release of her tremendously popular book, THE LIGHT OVER LONDON, Julia Kelly returns with THE WHISPERS OF WAR, a work of historical fiction focusing on the lives of three young women living in London during the start of World War II. Bound by a deep, lasting friendship and their sense of loyalty to one another and their country, they fight for their freedom as the world is thrown into disarray. Read More

Teaser

In August of 1939, as Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany, three childhood friends must choose between friendship or country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labeled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost.

Promo

In August of 1939, as Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany, three childhood friends must choose between friendship or country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labeled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost.

About the Book

For fans of historical novels by Kristin Harmel and Martha Hall Kelly comes a “gripping tale by a writer at the top of her game” (Fiona Davis, author of THE CHELSEA GIRLS) following three friends who struggle to remain loyal as one of them is threatened with internment by the British government at the start of World War II.

In August of 1939, as Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany, three childhood friends must choose between friendship or country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labeled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost.

Featuring Julia Kelly’s signature “intricate, tender, and convincing” (Publishers Weekly) prose, THE WHISPERS OF WAR is a moving and unforgettable tale of the power of friendship and womanhood in the midst of conflict.

Audiobook available, read by Mary Woodvine

Editorial Content for Margaret Thatcher: Herself Alone: The Authorized Biography

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pauline Finch

For openers, I freely admit to having been thoroughly daunted by the sheer physical presence of Charles Moore’s MARGARET THATCHER: HERSELF ALONE, the third and final volume in his definitive biography of one of the Western world’s most noteworthy leaders. Read More

Teaser

How did Margaret Thatcher change and divide Britain? How did her model of combative female leadership help shape the way we live now? How did the woman who won the Cold War and three general elections in succession find herself pushed out by her own MPs? Charles Moore's full account, based on unique access to Margaret Thatcher herself, her papers and her closest associates, tells the story of her last period in office, her combative retirement, and the controversy that surrounded her even in death. It includes the fall of the Berlin Wall, which she had fought for, and the rise of the modern EU that she feared. It lays bare her growing quarrels with colleagues and reveals the truth about her political assassination.

Promo

How did Margaret Thatcher change and divide Britain? How did her model of combative female leadership help shape the way we live now? How did the woman who won the Cold War and three general elections in succession find herself pushed out by her own MPs? Charles Moore's full account, based on unique access to Margaret Thatcher herself, her papers and her closest associates, tells the story of her last period in office, her combative retirement, and the controversy that surrounded her even in death. It includes the fall of the Berlin Wall, which she had fought for, and the rise of the modern EU that she feared. It lays bare her growing quarrels with colleagues and reveals the truth about her political assassination.

About the Book

Charles Moore's masterful and definitive biography of Britain's first female prime minister reaches its climax with the story of her zenith and her fall.

How did Margaret Thatcher change and divide Britain? How did her model of combative female leadership help shape the way we live now? How did the woman who won the Cold War and three general elections in succession find herself pushed out by her own MPs?

Charles Moore's full account, based on unique access to Margaret Thatcher herself, her papers and her closest associates, tells the story of her last period in office, her combative retirement, and the controversy that surrounded her even in death. It includes the fall of the Berlin Wall, which she had fought for, and the rise of the modern EU that she feared. It lays bare her growing quarrels with colleagues and reveals the truth about her political assassination.

Moore's three-part biography of Britain's most important peacetime prime minister paints an intimate political and personal portrait of the victories and defeats, the iron will but surprising vulnerability of the woman who dominated in an age of male power. This is the full, enthralling story.

Editorial Content for Husband Material

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

Known as the “Numbers Girl” at her flashy tech startup, 29-year-old Charlotte Rosen has an unusual reason for being so attracted to the promise and potential of facts and figures: she is a secret widow --- and is desperate to reclassify her marital status. Part rom-com and part powerful redemption story, Emily Belden’s HUSBAND MATERIAL is a pop culture-filled romance about accepting one’s past and racing towards the future, algorithm-approved or not. Read More

Teaser

Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, she has worked hard to move forward and has a great job at a hot social media analytics company. Yet Charlotte’s algorithms could never have predicted that her late husband’s ashes would land squarely on her doorstep five years later. Stunned but determined, Charlotte sets out to find meaning in this sudden twist of fate, even if that includes facing her ex-mother-in-law --- and her husband’s best friend, who seems to become a fixture at her side whether she likes it or not. But when her quest reveals a shocking secret, Charlotte is forced to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness.

Promo

Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, she has worked hard to move forward and has a great job at a hot social media analytics company. Yet Charlotte’s algorithms could never have predicted that her late husband’s ashes would land squarely on her doorstep five years later. Stunned but determined, Charlotte sets out to find meaning in this sudden twist of fate, even if that includes facing her ex-mother-in-law --- and her husband’s best friend, who seems to become a fixture at her side whether she likes it or not. But when her quest reveals a shocking secret, Charlotte is forced to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness.

About the Book

A young widow must face the grief she’s always set aside when an unexpected delivery throws her life into disarray.

Twenty-nine-year-old Charlotte Rosen has a secret: she’s a widow. Ever since the fateful day that leveled her world, Charlotte has worked hard to move forward. Great job at a hot social media analytics company? Check. Roommate with no knowledge of her past? Check. Adorable dog? Check. All the while, she’s faithfully data-crunched her way through life, calculating the probability of risk --- so she can avoid it.

Yet Charlotte’s algorithms could never have predicted that her late husband’s ashes would land squarely on her doorstep five years later. Stunned but determined, Charlotte sets out to find meaning in this sudden twist of fate, even if that includes facing her perfectly coiffed, and perfectly difficult, ex-mother-in-law --- and her husband’s best friend, who seems to become a fixture at her side whether she likes it or not.

But when her quest reveals a shocking secret, Charlotte is forced to answer questions she never knew to ask and to consider the possibility of forgiveness. And when a chance at a new life arises, she’ll have to decide once and for all whether to follow the numbers or trust her heart.

Audiobook available, read by Piper Goodeve

Ariana Neumann, author of When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains

Of 34 Neumann family members, 25 were murdered by the Nazis. One of the survivors was Hans Neumann, who traveled to Berlin and hid in plain sight under the Gestapo’s eyes. What Hans experienced was so unspeakable that, when he built an industrial empire in Venezuela, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. All his daughter Ariana knew was that something terrible had happened. When Hans died, he left Ariana a small box filled with letters, diary entries and other memorabilia. Ten years later, Ariana finally summoned the courage to have the letters translated, and she began reading. What she discovered launched her on a worldwide search that would deliver indelible portraits of a family loving, finding meaning, and trying to survive amid the worst that can be imagined.

Jonathan Kellerman, author of The Museum of Desire: An Alex Delaware Novel

LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis has solved a lot of murder cases. On many of them --- the ones he calls “different” --- he taps the brain of brilliant psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware. But neither Alex nor Milo are prepared for what they find on an early morning call to a deserted mansion in Bel Air. This is predation, premeditation and cruelty on a whole new level. Four people have been slaughtered and left displayed bizarrely and horrifically in a stretch limousine. Confounding the investigation, none of the victims seems to have any connection to any other, and a variety of methods have been used to dispatch them. As Alex and Milo make their way through blind alleys and mazes baited with misdirection, they encounter a crime so vicious that it stretches the definitions of evil.

Douglas Preston, author of Crooked River: A Pendergast Novel

Appearing out of nowhere to horrify the quiet resort town of Sanibel Island, Florida, dozens of identical, ordinary-looking shoes float in on the tide and are washed up on the tropical beach --- each one with a crudely severed human foot inside. In short order, Agent Pendergast finds himself facing the most complex and inexplicable challenge of his career: a tangled thread of evidence that spans seas and traverses continents, connected to one of the most baffling mysteries in modern medical science. Through shocking twists and turns, all trails lead back to a powerful adversary with a sadistic agenda and who --- in a cruel irony --- ultimately sees in Pendergast the ideal subject for their malevolent research.