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Editorial Content for Find Me in California

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

Kerry Lonsdale’s FIND ME IN CALIFORNIA brims with star-crossed lovers, poor decisions, loss, abandonment and numerous secrets. Julia Hope and Matt Gatlin had vastly different experiences growing up with their grandmothers. Julia was loved and pampered by hers after her mother abandoned her, while Matt was ignored and isolated by his after the death of his parents, who loved him deeply. Read More

Teaser

Raised by her fiercely passionate and free-spirited grandmother, Julia Hope has never gone without love. But as she tends to her only living relative during her final days, Julia struggles to overcome her fear of being alone. A thousand miles away, Matt Gatlin has managed to avoid the coldhearted grandmother with whom he once lived. But after 12 years of her being blessedly out of sight, she needs him. His resentments still raw, Matt packs up his car and reluctantly heads to California to confront a bitter past he thought was long gone. Over the next six days, Julia’s and Matt’s fates intersect. An old diary exposes the tragedy of a long-lost love. A history of secrets in two families comes to light. And on a lonely back road, Matt picks up an unusual yet captivating hitchhiker with a secret of her own.

Promo

Raised by her fiercely passionate and free-spirited grandmother, Julia Hope has never gone without love. But as she tends to her only living relative during her final days, Julia struggles to overcome her fear of being alone. A thousand miles away, Matt Gatlin has managed to avoid the coldhearted grandmother with whom he once lived. But after 12 years of her being blessedly out of sight, she needs him. His resentments still raw, Matt packs up his car and reluctantly heads to California to confront a bitter past he thought was long gone. Over the next six days, Julia’s and Matt’s fates intersect. An old diary exposes the tragedy of a long-lost love. A history of secrets in two families comes to light. And on a lonely back road, Matt picks up an unusual yet captivating hitchhiker with a secret of her own.

About the Book

An achingly romantic novel about chance meetings, buried secrets, and the multiple facets of love and family bonds by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale.

Raised by her fiercely passionate and free-spirited grandmother, Julia Hope has never gone without love. But as she tends to her only living relative during her final days, Julia struggles to overcome her fear of being alone.

A thousand miles away, Matt Gatlin has managed to avoid the coldhearted grandmother with whom he once lived. But after 12 years of her being blessedly out of sight, she needs him. His resentments still raw, Matt packs up his car and reluctantly heads to California to confront a bitter past he thought was long gone.

Over the next six days, Julia’s and Matt’s fates intersect. An old diary exposes the tragedy of a long-lost love. A history of secrets in two families comes to light. And on a lonely back road, Matt picks up an unusual yet captivating hitchhiker with a secret of her own.

For Julia and Matt, something heartbreaking and heartwarming, mysterious and beautiful, will touch their lives --- with neither of them realizing that maybe they’re destined for each other.

Audiobook available, read by Amanda Leigh Cobb

Editorial Content for Jack's Boys

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

Award-winning author John Katzenbach has been producing top-rate thrillers for decades. In fact, three of his more popular works were turned into the hit films Just Cause, Hart’s War and The Mean Season. Now we are treated to what may be his most outstanding novel yet. At over 600 pages, JACK’S BOYS does not waste a spare word and will hold you in suspense and terror until the final page is turned. Read More

Teaser

Connected through a secure internet location, five serial killers communicate in a unique chat room they have named Jack's Special Place in homage to their ultimate model: Jack the Ripper. And so they are Jack's Boys. They delight in each other's crimes. They relish in taunting police around the world with odd clues and deep confusion --- the modern version of the Victorian-era killer they emulate. They feed on each other's killings and think they're untouchable. Until one day they are hacked. Two teenagers are fascinated by the world of the dark web, where they accidentally stumble upon Jack's Boys in their private space and immediately mock them. This triggers a landslide of anger and revenge as the killers decide to teach the teens a lesson in humility and respect for their betters.

Promo

Connected through a secure internet location, five serial killers communicate in a unique chat room they have named Jack's Special Place in homage to their ultimate model: Jack the Ripper. And so they are Jack's Boys. They delight in each other's crimes. They relish in taunting police around the world with odd clues and deep confusion --- the modern version of the Victorian-era killer they emulate. They feed on each other's killings and think they're untouchable. Until one day they are hacked. Two teenagers are fascinated by the world of the dark web, where they accidentally stumble upon Jack's Boys in their private space and immediately mock them. This triggers a landslide of anger and revenge as the killers decide to teach the teens a lesson in humility and respect for their betters.

About the Book

Five serial killers.

Known only to each other as:

Alpha. Bravo. Charlie. Delta. Easy.

Connected through a secure internet location, encrypted and concealed, a unique chat room they have named Jack's Special Place in homage to their ultimate model --- the one killer they hold in the highest esteem:

Whitechapel, London. 1888. The infamous murderer remembered in dark history as Jack the Ripper.

And so they are Jack's Boys.

They delight in each other's crimes. They relish in taunting police around the world with odd clues and deep confusion --- the modern version of the Victorian-era killer they emulate. While the original Jack sent letters to Fleet Street papers, they send pictures and online boasts and insults. In this fashion, they feed on each other's killings, a private community of death. Arrogant. Conceited. Untouchable.

Or so they thought.

Until one day they are hacked.

Two teenagers, lying on their bed at home. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Slightly disaffected, each with their own issues --- but deeply in young love and equally fascinated by the world of the dark web, where they accidentally stumble upon Jack's Boys in their private space.

Whom they immediately mock.

This triggers a landslide of anger and revenge as the killers decide to teach the two teenagers a lesson in humility and respect for their betters. And caught up in this web of death are the teenage boy's grandmother and grandfather --- an ICU nurse and a former college admissions counselor with his own hidden, murderous history, an ex-Marine, Viet vet, still haunted by his time in that conflict.

When the five killers emerge from their shadows, this odd band of young and old will have to find a way to expose them. Or defeat them. Or save their own lives.

Audiobook available, read by Bradford Hastings

Editorial Content for Old King

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

The idea of living deep in nature has been alluring for many in the modern age. Back-to-land movements may be based on Transcendentalist romanticism, anti-capitalist ideologies, religious worldviews and everything in between. Maxim Loskutoff’s fiction has previously explored the spaces where society meets natural wilds, and his new novel, OLD KING, is in the same vein. Here, he threads the real-life story of the infamous Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, with the fictional Duane Oshun, a man seeking solace and authenticity amongst the trees of Montana. Read More

Teaser

In the summer of 1976, Duane Oshun finds himself stranded in a remote Montana town beset by a series of strange and menacing events. He takes a job as a logger and builds a cabin on an isolated road near a reclusive neighbor --- a hermit named Ted Kaczynski. The two men are captivated by the valley’s endangered old-growth forest, but Kaczynski’s violent grievances against modern society soon threaten the lives of all those around him. As Kaczynski’s bombs crescendo to the book’s devastating conclusion, OLD KING wrestles with the birth of the modern environmental movement, the accelerating dominion of technology in American life, and a new kind of violence that lives next door.

Promo

In the summer of 1976, Duane Oshun finds himself stranded in a remote Montana town beset by a series of strange and menacing events. He takes a job as a logger and builds a cabin on an isolated road near a reclusive neighbor --- a hermit named Ted Kaczynski. The two men are captivated by the valley’s endangered old-growth forest, but Kaczynski’s violent grievances against modern society soon threaten the lives of all those around him. As Kaczynski’s bombs crescendo to the book’s devastating conclusion, OLD KING wrestles with the birth of the modern environmental movement, the accelerating dominion of technology in American life, and a new kind of violence that lives next door.

About the Book

In this haunting novel about the end of the frontier dream, a man tries to reinvent himself in one of America’s last wild territories, while his neighbor begins a crime spree that will tremble the nation.

In the summer of 1976, Duane Oshun finds himself stranded in a remote Montana town beset by a series of strange and menacing events. He takes a job as a logger and builds a cabin on an isolated road near a reclusive neighbor --- a hermit named Ted Kaczynski.

The two men are captivated by the valley’s endangered old-growth forest, but Kaczynski’s violent grievances against modern society soon threaten the lives of all those around him. As Kaczynski’s bombs crescendo to the book’s devastating conclusion, OLD KING wrestles with the birth of the modern environmental movement, the accelerating dominion of technology in American life, and a new kind of violence that lives next door.

Told in four parts sweeping across two decades, OLD KING establishes Maxim Loskutoff as one of the most thrilling and inventive authors of the American west, a writer “endowed with fearless audacity, stunning grace, and gutsy heart” (Nickolas Butler).

Audiobook available, read by Gregory Connors

Editorial Content for The House That Horror Built

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

Christina Henry began her career with dark retellings and alternate takes on classic fairy tales and fantasy stories like ALICE IN WONDERLAND and THE LITTLE MERMAID. It showed her appreciation for the origins of storytelling and allowed her to infuse her own style and creativity along the way. Her latest novel, THE HOUSE THAT HORROR BUILT, is no exception. Read More

Teaser

Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it’s not a total coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards --- until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the film industry. Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately and keep her head down. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. They sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of working for Javier, but she soon finds that the sinister house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.

Promo

Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it’s not a total coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards --- until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the film industry. Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately and keep her head down. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. They sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of working for Javier, but she soon finds that the sinister house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.

About the Book

A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets in the captivating new novel from the national bestselling author of GOOD GIRLS DON'T DIE and HORSEMAN.

Harry Adams has always loved horror movies, so it’s not a total coincidence that she took the job cleaning house for movie director Javier Castillo. His forbidding graystone Chicago mansion, Bright Horses, is filled from top to bottom with terrifying props and costumes, as well as glittering awards from his career making films that thrilled audiences --- until family tragedy and scandal forced him to vanish from the industry.

Javier values discretion, and Harry has always tried to clean the house immaculately, keep her head down, and keep her job safe --- she needs the money to support her son. But then she starts hearing noises from behind a locked door. Noises that sound remarkably like a human voice calling for help, even though Javier lives alone and never has visitors. Harry knows that not asking questions is a vital part of working for Javier, but she soon finds that the sinister house may be home to secrets she can’t ignore.

Audiobook available, read by Lisa Flanagan

Editorial Content for Becoming Ted

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

What starts out as an "ideal Sunday" at their home in a coastal village in northwest England turns into something of a nightmare when Ted Ainsworth's husband, Giles, turns to him and announces that he has met someone else and is moving out. Immediately. Ted and Giles have been together for 20 years, and now, at the age of 43, Ted isn't sure who he is anymore without Giles by his side. Read More

Teaser

If Ted Ainsworth were to compare himself to one of the ice cream flavors made by his family’s company, it might be vanilla --- sweet, inoffensive and pleasantly predictable. At 43, Ted is convinced there’s nothing remotely remarkable about him, except perhaps his luck in having landed handsome, charismatic Giles as a husband. Then Giles suddenly leaves him for another man, filling his social media feed with posts about #newlove and adventure. And Ted, who has spent nearly 20 years living with, and often for, another person, must reimagine the future he has happily taken for granted. But perhaps there is another Ted slowly blossoming now that he’s no longer in Giles’ shadow --- one who is funny, sassy and more uninhibited. Someone willing to take chances on new friendships and even new love.

Promo

If Ted Ainsworth were to compare himself to one of the ice cream flavors made by his family’s company, it might be vanilla --- sweet, inoffensive and pleasantly predictable. At 43, Ted is convinced there’s nothing remotely remarkable about him, except perhaps his luck in having landed handsome, charismatic Giles as a husband. Then Giles suddenly leaves him for another man, filling his social media feed with posts about #newlove and adventure. And Ted, who has spent nearly 20 years living with, and often for, another person, must reimagine the future he has happily taken for granted. But perhaps there is another Ted slowly blossoming now that he’s no longer in Giles’ shadow --- one who is funny, sassy and more uninhibited. Someone willing to take chances on new friendships and even new love.

About the Book

A MAN CALLED OVE meets “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” in this vibrant, joyful, universally relatable story about kindness, self-acceptance and blooming at any age from the acclaimed author of the LibraryReads and Indie Next picks, THE SECRET LIFE OF ALBERT ENTWISTLE.

If Ted Ainsworth were to compare himself to one of the ice cream flavors made by his family’s company, famous throughout his sleepy Lancashire hometown, it might be vanilla --- sweet, inoffensive and pleasantly predictable. At 43, Ted is convinced there’s nothing remotely remarkable about him, except perhaps his luck in having landed handsome, charismatic Giles as a husband.

Then Giles suddenly leaves him for another man, filling his social media feed with posts about #newlove and adventure. And Ted, who has spent nearly 20 years living with, and often for, another person, must reimagine the future he has happily taken for granted.

But perhaps there is another Ted slowly blossoming now that he’s no longer in Giles’ shadow --- funny, sassy, more uninhibited. Someone willing to take chances on new friendships, and even new love. Someone who’s been waiting in the wings too long, but who’s about to dust off a long-ago secret dream and overturn everyone’s expectations of him --- especially his own.

Audiobook available, read by Samuel Barnett

Editorial Content for The Pecan Children

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

Quinn Connor is the pen name for Robyn Barrow and Alexandra Cronin, who had quite an impact with their debut novel, CICADAS SING OF SUMMER GRAVES. They met in college and have been communicating through the medium of writing ever since. Read More

Teaser

In a small southern pecan town, the annual harvest is a time of both celebration and heartbreak. Even as families are forced to sell their orchards and move away, Lil Clearwater, keeper of a secret covenant with her land, swears she never will. When her twin Sasha returns to the dwindling town in hopes of reconnecting with the girl her heart never forgot, the sisters struggle to bridge their differences and share the immense burden of protecting their home from hungry forces intent on uprooting everything they love. But there is rot hiding deep beneath the surface. Ghostly fires light up the night, and troubling local folklore is revealed to be all too true. Confronted with the phantoms of their pasts and the devastating threat to their future, the sisters come to the stark realization that in the kudzu-choked South, nothing is ever as it appears.

Promo

In a small southern pecan town, the annual harvest is a time of both celebration and heartbreak. Even as families are forced to sell their orchards and move away, Lil Clearwater, keeper of a secret covenant with her land, swears she never will. When her twin Sasha returns to the dwindling town in hopes of reconnecting with the girl her heart never forgot, the sisters struggle to bridge their differences and share the immense burden of protecting their home from hungry forces intent on uprooting everything they love. But there is rot hiding deep beneath the surface. Ghostly fires light up the night, and troubling local folklore is revealed to be all too true. Confronted with the phantoms of their pasts and the devastating threat to their future, the sisters come to the stark realization that in the kudzu-choked South, nothing is ever as it appears.

About the Book

For fans of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY and DEMON COPPERHEAD comes a breathtaking story of magical realism about two sisters, deeply tied to their small Southern town, fighting to break free of the darkness swallowing the land --- and its endless cycle of pecan harvests --- whole.

In a small southern pecan town, the annual harvest is a time of both celebration and heartbreak. Even as families are forced to sell their orchards and move away, Lil Clearwater, keeper of a secret covenant with her land, swears she never will. When her twin Sasha returns to the dwindling town in hopes of reconnecting with the girl her heart never forgot, the sisters struggle to bridge their differences and share the immense burden of protecting their home from hungry forces intent on uprooting everything they love.

But there is rot hiding deep beneath the surface. Ghostly fires light up the night, and troubling local folklore is revealed to be all too true. Confronted with the phantoms of their pasts and the devastating threat to their future, the sisters come to the stark realization that in the kudzu-choked South, nothing is ever as it appears.

Audiobook available, read by Tiffany Morgan

June 14, 2024

I love the colors this time of year. Yesterday I spent part of the morning picking out shade plants at a local nursery, and they had peacocks on the property. There were two in “my colors,” and one spread its feathers while we were there, which is called “train rattling.” Also, it may be to draw attention to another bird for mating or to ward off predators. So either the peacock I saw was flirting, or it was terrified of us. I wish I had snagged a better photo of the train rattling as it was gorgeous.

Interview: Greg Iles, author of Southern Man

Jun 13, 2024

After a five-year hiatus, Greg Iles is back with SOUTHERN MAN, the hugely anticipated new Penn Cage thriller that captures the political unrest of a nation dangling between a chaotic past and an unpredictable future. In this interview conducted by Bookreporter reviewer Ray Palen, Iles explains his inspiration for writing the Natchez Burning trilogy and this latest novel, which takes place 15 years ahead of the trilogy. He also talks about his decision to include the character of third-party candidate and conservative radio talk show host Robert E. Lee White in the story, the role that he feels fiction should play going forward, the possibility of adapting these books as a film or series, and the health crisis he went through while writing SOUTHERN MAN that nearly cost him his life.

David Nicholls, author of You Are Here

Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house. Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by. When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of 10-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they’ve been looking for.

Ally Condie, author of The Unwedding

Ellery Wainwright and her husband, Luke, were supposed to spend their 20th wedding anniversary together at the luxurious Resort at Broken Point in Big Sur, California. But now she’s traveling solo. To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery isn’t certain of anything except for her love for her kids and her growing realization that this place, though beautiful, is unsettling. When Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool in the rain, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed. Before the police can reach Broken Point, a mudslide takes out the road to the resort, leaving the guests trapped. When another guest dies, it’s clear something horrible is brewing.