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Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End

Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, 30 years later, Vincent is being released. Duchess is a 13-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them, but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper into self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. When trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.

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Patricia Engel, author of Infinite Country

Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. She urgently needs to get out and get back home to Bogotá, where her father and a plane ticket to the United States are waiting for her. If she misses her flight, she also might miss her chance to finally be reunited with her family in the north. How this family came to occupy two different countries, two different worlds, comes into focus like twists of a kaleidoscope.

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Naima Coster, author of What's Mine and Yours

A community in the Piedmont of North Carolina rises in outrage as a county initiative draws students from the largely Black east side of town into predominantly white high schools on the west. For two students, Gee and Noelle, the integration sets off a chain of events that will tie their two families together in unexpected ways over the span of the next 20 years. As love is built and lost, and the past never too far behind, WHAT’S MINE AND YOURS moves between the years, from the foothills of North Carolina, to Atlanta, Los Angeles and Paris. It explores the unique organism that is every family: what breaks them apart and how they come back together.

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Alexandra Andrews, author of Who Is Maud Dixon?

Florence Darrow is a low-level publishing employee who believes that she's destined to be a famous writer. When she stumbles into a job as the assistant to the brilliant, enigmatic novelist known as Maud Dixon, the arrangement seems perfect. Maud Dixon (whose real name is Helen Wilcox) can be prickly, but she is full of pointed wisdom. Florence quickly falls under Helen’s spell and eagerly accompanies her to Morocco, where Helen’s new novel is set. But when Florence wakes up in the hospital after a terrible car accident, with no memory of the previous night --- and no sign of Helen --- she’s tempted to take a shortcut. Instead of hiding in Helen’s shadow, why not upgrade into Helen's life? Not to mention her bestselling pseudonym.

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March 3, 2021

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we know people will be talking about this spring. Read more about it, and enter our Spring Preview Contest by Thursday, March 4th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of THE KITCHEN FRONT by Jennifer Ryan, which is now available. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

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Win 12 Copies of WHO IS MAUD DIXON? by Alexandra Andrews for Your Group

Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.

Our latest prize book is WHO IS MAUD DIXON? by Alexandra Andrews, a taut, twisty and character-driven psychological thriller about a famous novelist and a small-town striver locked in a struggle for fortune and fame. To enter, please fill out the form below by Wednesday, April 7th at noon ET.
 

Chuck Sigars

I like coincidences. They make me wonder about destiny, and whether free will is an illusion or just a matter of perspective. They let me speculate on the idea of some master plan that, from time to time, we're allowed to see out of the corner of our eye.

Attribution

Chuck Sigars

March 2021

March's Books on Screen roundup includes the films My Salinger Year, Chaos Walking, Netflix's Moxie and HBO Max's "Zack Snyder's Justice League"; the series premieres of "The One" and "The Irregulars" on Netflix; the conclusions of "Beartown" on HBO and "The Luminaries" on Starz; the season finales of "A Discovery of Witches" on Sundance Now and "American Gods" on Starz; and the DVD releases of News of the World and Wonder Woman 1984.

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Week of March 8, 2021

Paperback releases for the week of March 8th include THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER by Kaira Rouda, a gripping psychological thriller set in an upscale Southern California community, perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Shari Lapena; RECOLLECTIONS OF MY NONEXISTENCE, Rebecca Solnit's memoir about her formation as a writer and as a feminist in 1980s San Francisco, in an atmosphere of gender violence on the street and throughout society and the exclusion of women from cultural arenas; MASTER CLASS, a suspenseful new novel from Christina Dalcher --- the critically acclaimed author of the international bestseller VOX --- which examines a disturbing near future where harsh realities follow from unreachable standards; and HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, Laura Hankin's dark and witty page-turner about a struggling young musician who takes a job singing for a playgroup of overprivileged babies and their effortlessly cool moms, only to find herself pulled into their glamorous lives and dangerous secrets.

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March 2, 2021

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of March 1st and March 8th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for March, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Reese's Book Club, the "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, and more.

Also, we are sharing Carol's latest "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Alex Berenson, who many of you know for his John Wells series of thrillers. His new book, THE POWER COUPLE, is his first stand-alone work of fiction and is a Bets On pick. Rebecca and Brian Unsworth are government agents --- one in the FBI, the other in the CIA. As the book opens, they are on a vacation in Europe with their teenage children as they celebrate their 20th anniversary. But when their daughter is abducted, Rebecca and Brian’s marriage is severely tested as they will do everything possible to find her. Alex talked to Carol about the tumultuous life of federal agents and how secrets can complicate their personal lives. They also discussed the book’s cover, and Alex shared something that Carol had completely missed about the design. Click here to watch the video and here to listen to the podcast.

Finally, we are spotlighting two of this week's most anticipated releases.

WE BEGIN AT THE END by Chris Whitaker, an extraordinary novel about people who deserve so much more than life serves them, is this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club selection, a #1 Indie Next pick and an upcoming Bets On title. It was announced today that 20th Television has snagged rights to the novel, and that "Hamilton" director Thomas Kail and producing partner Jennifer Todd will develop the book for the Disney-owned studio. Carol looks forward to chatting with Chris this week for a "Bookreporter Talks To" interview, which we will feature in Friday's Bookreporter Weekly Update newsletter.

Award-winning author Mitchell James Kaplan's new novel, RHAPSODY, tells the sweeping love story behind two of the Jazz Age's greatest composers: George Gershwin and Katharine "Kay" Swift. According to Therese Anne Fowler, "Mitchell James Kaplan [brings] his impressive knowledge of history, composition, and the heart's whims to bear on this shining rendition of Swift and Gershwin's star-crossed love." Kate Quinn adds, "A lilting, jazzy ballad as catchy as a Gershwin tune... RHAPSODY will have you humming, toe-tapping, and singing along with every turn of the page."

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