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TWO SIDES TO AND EVERY
EVERY STORY. PERSON.
“Evocative…shocks and chills.”

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Volume 266 January 28,
Number 04 2019
ISSN 0000-0019
Features
26 Spring Audiobooks
Our preview of forthcoming titles spotlights new offerings in tradi-
tionally big audio genres such as memoir, mystery, and romance, as
well as in growth areas such as politics and investigative nonfiction.
38 Writers to Watch TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

These geographically and thematically diverse spring fiction debuts
include vivid portrayals of several African countries, the Russian AND THE POOCH!
tundra, and Houston.
Whether you are just curious
44 Orphans of History about the keto craze or
Eliot Pattison’s 10th Insp. Shan Tao Yun mystery, Bones of the Earth, ready to fully embrace the
is about China’s fraught relationship with Tibet. keto lifestyle, this is your
comprehensive guide that
47–64 BookLife can help you answer the
In this month’s self-publishing roundup, we profile indie author question, why go keto?
Michael F. Stewart, who won the 2018 BookLife Prize for his YA
novel Ray vs. the Meaning of Life. “Newport is an undeniably
well-informed advocate
News for her diet of choice”
4 A Robust Winter Institute —Publishers Weekly (1/7/19)
At WI14, which was held in Albuquerque, N.Mex., last week, a con-
fident indie bookselling sector looked to the future. The Complete Book of Ketones
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the similar week last year, hurt by unfavorable comparisons to early Help your dog have a long,
2018, when Fire and Fury was hitting its stride. healthy life by following
the time-honored
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Vintage unveils a new one from E.L. James, Megan Abbott changes revised, expanded edition
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author Dr. Earl Mindell
12 Z2 Comics Finds Its Niche R. Ph., M.H., Ph.D. The
The New York indie publisher has seen its series of graphic novels expertise that deemed him
about bands and musicians take off and has more in the works. “Father of the Nutritional
Revolution” is now available
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18 Religion & Spirituality
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24 Open Book
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News
A Robust Winter Institute
At WI14, which was held in Albuquerque, N.Mex., last week, a confident
indie bookselling sector looked to the future
I
ndependent bookselling is more confident
photoby edward nawotka

of its role in the industry than it has been in
over a decade, as demonstrated by the evo-
lution of the American Booksellers Associa-
tion’s Winter Institute, the annual industry gath-
ering that took place in Albuquerque, N.Mex.,
last week. The event featured more than 700
indie booksellers,150 authors, and several hun-
dred other industry professionals, including pub-
lishers, sales reps, and service providers.
The independent sales channel is very healthy,
said ABA CEO Oren Teicher during a presentation
on industry trends and analytics. “Sales were up
5% for our member stores in 2018,” he noted.
“For us, we had a nice year, nationally.” Booksellers who self-identify as diverse gathered for a group photo following the ABA
Last year, booksellers were given an assist by Town Hall meeting at WI14.
strong customer interest in political books. “In 2018, political microphone to address the audience, who applauded Pishko’s
book sales were unprecedented,” said Alison Risbridger, an position. “None of us want to lose sales on any titles,” he said.
analyst with NPD Book, who participated in the presentation “We had titles that outperformed our expectations. While we
via speakerphone. “Lifestyle books also spiked, with cooking printed aggressively upfront, when we went back for reprints,
book sales up 26% and books about the home up 50%. In it took longer than any of us anticipated. We need to com-
the children’s books category, books about social situations, municate better and are trying to figure how to print better
holidays/religion, games and activities, and educational titles for next year—especially on the hot books for the fall.”
were the growth drivers. And, after a significant decline in Others at the Town Hall expressed frustration with occa-
2017, young adult science fiction/fantasy/magic novels sional outages of the ABA’s IndieCommerce online retail
rebounded.” platform, lack of child care at the Winter Institute, and the
A strong holiday season was also a positive factor in sales, lack of representation of genre titles among the selections
with Michelle Obama’s Becoming pulling customers into promoted to booksellers at the event.
stores; as a result, Penguin Random House reps found them- Rebecca George, owner of Volumes Bookstore in Chicago,
selves in the enviable position at Winter Institute of parrying asked for help strategizing about how to cope with a minimum
eager bookseller queries about when President Barack wage hike, and BrocheAroe Fabian, who is opening River Dog
Obama’s forthcoming book would be published. Books in Beaver Dam, Wis., asked for mentoring from the
Though PRH, as well as Hachette and HarperCollins, were ABA on how to acquire financing for her store.
praised for stellar performances in delivering key high-demand Indeed, several factors are impacting booksellers’ overall
titles to indie booksellers over the holidays, Simon & Schuster profitability, according to the most recent ABACUS bench-
encountered criticism for delays during Thursday’s ABA Town marking survey of bookstore financials. Though booksellers
Hall meeting, at which booksellers were given the opportunity have seen the cost of goods sold going down, from 57.6% of
to question the ABA’s board of directors and make suggestions. revenue in 2012 to 53.2% in 2017, they are also seeing
“Why can’t S&S just get its act together?” questioned Sarah minimum wage laws raise base payroll slightly, from 23.7%
Pishko, owner of Prince Books in Norfolk, Va. in 2012 to 23.9% in 2017. And total operating expenses
Simon & Schuster senior v-p of sales Gary Urda took the went up, from 11% in 2012 to 12.2% in 2017.
The Weekly Scorecard
News
With No ‘Fire,’ Print Units Fell
L. to r.: Erin
5% in Mid-January
photo by claire kirch

Morgenstern , Unit sales of print books fell 5% in the week ended Jan. 19, 2019,
Margaret Atwood, compared to the similar week in 2018, at outlets that report to
ABA CEO Oren NPD BookScan. All the major categories had declines in the week,
Teicher, and ABA including adult nonfiction, where units dropped 5.1%. Last year
board president at this time, Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury was hitting its sales
Robert Sindelar,
stride and sold nearly 326,000 copies in the week ended Jan. 20,
after a morning
2018. The #1 seller in the category in the most recent week was,
discussion
once again, Michelle Obama’s Becoming, which sold more than
between the
82,000 copies and is closing in on four million print copies sold
authors.
at outlets that report to BookScan. A big bestseller four years
ago was Maria Kondo’s The Life-Saving Magic of Tidying Up, and,
thanks to Kondo’s new Netflix series, the book was #3 on the
most recent adult nonfiction list, with more than 23,000 copies
Better discounts for book- sold. Print units dropped 6.8% in adult fiction in the week ended
photo by claire kirch
sellers is one thing that could Jan. 19, 2019, even though the books at top of the bestseller list
were selling at about the same rate as those at the top a year
help improve margins. Janet ago. In first place in the category in the most recent week was
G e d d i s, o w n e r o f Av i d the new book by James Patterson and Candice Fox, Liar Liar,
Bookshop in Athens, Ga., chal- which sold nearly 22,000 copies, while second-place Where the
Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens sold close to 20,000 copies. Last
lenged the ABA to work with
year at this time, The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn and City
publishers to ensure fairness of Endless Night by Douglas Preston were one-two on the fiction
in discounts given to indie list, with both selling just over 20,000 copies. Print units fell 5.2%
booksellers. “I am perpetually in juvenile fiction compared to 2018, despite a solid showing by
Dav Pilkey’s Brawl of the Wild (Dog Man #6), which sold more
confused as to why Amazon is than 44,000 copies.
allowed to get much deeper
discounts on books, and they TOTAL SALES OF PRINT BOOKS (in thousands)
are kept secret,” she said. “We JAN. 20, JAN. 19, CHGE CHGE
2018 2019 WEEK YTD
provide book reviews and do a
Novelist and new bookseller Alex Total 12,729 12,086 -5.0% -1.6%
lot of advance reading for pub-
George (l.) of Skylark Books in Columbia,
Mo.; Pamela Klinger-Horn of Excelsior lishers, yet our discounts are
UNIT SALES OF PRINT BOOKS BY CATEGORY (in thousands)
Bay Booksellers in Excelsior, Minn.; and so much lower. Is there any-
Macmillan director of sales Ken Holland JAN. 20, JAN. 19, CHGE CHGE
thing we can do as a group to 2018 2019 WEEK YTD
at the WI14 opening reception.
fight for this?” Adult Nonfiction 6,380 6,055 -5.1% 1.6%
Another potential change that could increase profitability Adult Fiction 2,396 2,232 -6.8% -7.2%
is the introduction of net book pricing, a system in which Juvenile Nonfiction 860 827 -3.8% 5.1%
publishers stop printing prices on jackets and allow book- Juvenile Fiction 2,352 2,228 -5.2% 2.0%
sellers to charge what they want. ABA board member Pete Young Adult Fiction 336 337 0.1% -2.7%
Mulvihill, the co-owner of Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Young Adult Nonfiction 32 38 17.7% 20.3%
asked for a show of hands in favor of net book pricing. Only a
smattering of hands were raised; just as few were raised in UNIT SALES OF PRINT BOOKS BY FORMAT (in th\sands)
JAN. 20, JAN. 19, CHGE CHGE
opposition. “I expected a stronger response,” Mulvihill said. 2018 2019 WEEK YTD
The idea of net pricing has been around for decades but has Hardcover 3,473 3,242 -6.7% 2.4%
never garnered much backing from booksellers or publishers. Trade Paperback 7,217 6,995 -4.2% 0.0%
Henry Rosenbloom, founder and publisher of Melbourne-
Mass Market Paperback 998 821 -13.4% -16.3%
based Scribe, attended Winter Institute for the first time this
Board Books 550 557 1.2% 12.2%
year. He heard about the net book pricing suggestion and
Audio 46 34 -26.3% -26.0%
remarked that books in the United States are inexpensive
compared to elsewhere in the world. “We have net book pricing
SOURCE: NPD BOOKSCAN AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. NPD’S U.S. CONSUMER MARKET PANEL COV-
in Australia, where the average price of a paperback is about ERS APPROXIMATELY 80% OF THE PRINT BOOK MARKET AND CONTINUES TO GROW.
A$29.95,” he said, noting that the higher margins provided
Open a new story
Mike Honeycutt’s World of Hunting

and Fishing
Mike Honeycutt
For author Mike Honeycutt, there’s nothing more
exciting than a remote trip with great scenery. In Mike
Honeycutt’s World of Hunting and Fishing, he shares
a travelogue that speaks to his passion for traveling
the world to exotic locales to hunt and fish for unusual
animal species. From airplanes to snowmobiles, to boats,
horses, jeeps, four-wheelers, and pickups, Honeycutt
has traversed the world experiencing an array of terrain,
cultures, religions, food, and personalities.
$13.99 paperback
978-1-4907-8804-3
also available in hardcover & ebook
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Betrayed Everything Is Matter Moving

Eve DeLange Through Space
This book follows the adventures of FBI Joseph Palazzo
Agents Ragetti and Smitty. Be on the lookout The hope underlying the ideas presented in
for these two sharp agents and see what kind Everything Is Matter Moving Through Space
of horrendous crime will land on their lap. is to sow the seeds for the next revolution so
$19.99 paperback desperately needed in physics.
978-1-9845-5937-1 $13.99 paperback
also available in hardcover & ebook 978-1-5462-5619-9
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www.authorhouse.com
Enjoy Entertaining Children A Test of Loyalty

with Theme Days More The Taming Fire Series
Than Two Dozen Ideas for Aislee Greenwood
Possible Themes This young adult novel features characters
Barbara Wilson-Battiss who feel their lives are unfulfilled. Told through
Prepare yourself for fun, laughter, and lots of different points of view, they find themselves
smiles with more than two dozen theme ideas thrust into adventures that give them purpose
in this workbook for elementary-aged children. and direction.
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978-1-5462-5026-5
978-1-5320-4508-0
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Real Authors, Real Impact

Discover a new universe
Determinate Lost Without Him

jdgray1425 Carol Scutt
Love blossoms in a future utopian society, while evil lurks Lost Without Him shares the journey of two teenagers’
on the fringes. Half a world away, war threatens all of love based on commitment and determination. Their love
civilization. Humanity has learned it shares this new future for each other and Christ drew them together during all
with an emerging species of its own making, a species that the difficult times. Paul made a vow to Carol that he would
once threatened extinction for all. But what are the true see that she has everything she ever dreamed of. He kept
intentions of these beings? that vow even on the last day of his life.
978-1-5320-5342-9 978-1-9845-6211-1
also available in ebook also available in hardcover & ebook
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Stories from the Pews Essentials for Food Safety

G. Modele “Dale” Clarke The Fight against Microorganisms
A collection of narratives about peculiar Roger Lewis
people and traditions in the black church. Essentials for Food Safety shares valuable
They represent a composite of church folk wisdom from an experienced food safety
who make church membership and attendance trainer that will ensure customer satisfaction
such a fascinating experience. and prevent foodborne illnesses.
978-1-9845-3115-5 978-1-5320-1619-6
also available in hardcover & ebook also available in ebook
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Coin of the Realm Olyvianna

A Novel The Incontinent Octopus
Peyton Hooper Hodge Cindy Graves
Written in a tone of affable outrage, Peyton This is a story about how a young octopus
Hooper Hodge’s Coin of the Realm portrays a learns to control her “ink” by releasing it,
further skirmish in the ongoing battle between thus gaining control by expression, rather
the shearers and the shorn. than repression.
978-1-5462-5048-7 978-1-5434-6368-2
also available in hardcover & ebook also available in ebook
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Visit us on Facebook & Twitter

News
photoby edward nawotka

by the higher prices make for a healthier book-
selling environment.
Rosenbloom was among nearly 100 Winter
RH Closes Spiegel & Grau
Spiegel & Grau, the imprint that was launched
Institute attendees from outside the U.S. A panel
14 years ago by editors Cindy Spiegel and on Wednesday morning sought to highlight the
Julie Grau, is being shuttered. With the closure, opportunity for booksellers to engage further
S&G’s founders are leaving Random House.
with the global publishing community through
Books still scheduled to be published by the
imprint will be supported by the Random the Bookselling Without Borders program, now
House, the Dial Press, and One World imprints. in its third year. The program offers a select
group of booksellers fellowships to attend book
Asher Sues SCBW for
Defamation fairs in Bologna, Frankfurt, Guadalajara, and
Author Jay Asher, who has been publicly refuting Turin. New this year will be fellowships for
sexual harassment charges levied against him
Former L.A. Laker great Kobe Bryant Istanbul and a three-week residency in India.
last year, has filed a lawsuit against the Society
of Children’s Book Writers and the group’s introduced the first YA novel from his “The hope is that booksellers will change the
executive director, Lin Oliver. He’s seeking new company, Granity Studios. way they think about selling international lit-
monetary damages for defamation and inten-
erature,” said Europa editor-in-chief Michael Reynolds, noting, “I find it extraor-
tional infliction of emotional distress.
dinary how many end-of-year lists about diverse books come out without a single
New Novel from James Coming title of translation.”
in Spring Education sessions, publisher pitches, and trade talks are all key components
Penguin Random House’s Vintage Books
imprint will publish The Mister, a new novel of the Winter Institute experience. But, when it comes down to it, it’s the roster of
by Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James authors in attendance that produces the most sparks. This year, Margaret Atwood’s
on April 16. Thursday morning conversation with Night Circus author Erin Morgenstern cre-
Wattpad Launches Book ated a buzz that lasted throughout the day, as the two spoke of the writing process,
Division defying literary conventions, and, of course, their next releases: Atwood’s The
Wattpad, the Toronto-based online reading Testaments, a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, will be published in September, and
and writing community, is starting its own
publishing division, Wattpad Books. The
Morgenstern’s Starless Sea will be released in November. Doubleday printed 250
debut list, which will be released this fall, will galleys of Starless Sea for WI14, and the huge line of booksellers hoping to get a
feature six young adult titles. signed copy extended from one wall of the ballroom to the opposite wall during
Thursday evening’s authors reception.
Thomas Nelson Faces Damages
of $15 Million in Lawsuit Describing BookExpo as having become too big, with book bloggers fighting
A jury found Thomas Nelson and its parent over galleys with booksellers, and the regionals as an essential opportunity for
company HarperCollins Christian Publishing
one-on-one time with the reps, Pamela Klinger-Horn, a bookseller at Excelsior Bay
liable for fraud and breach of contract,
awarding $15 million in damages to a Books in Excelsior, Minn., praised Winter Institute for having become the “best of
San Francisco Bay Area printing company. all worlds” for indie booksellers. “It’s big enough that it attracts the big names,”
she said. “But it’s not so big that one overlooks the small and university presses.
This is the conference at which I get the most work done.”
Call for
With 200 first timers at WI14, many of them young booksellers new to the busi-
ness, demographics at Winter Institute are evolving in such as way as to reflect
Information wider changes in the industry and society. “When it comes to diversity and inclusion,
it is good to see the ABA talking the talk, crawling the crawl, and, maybe soon,
Feature: Biographies & Memoirs
Issue: Apr. 1 Deadline: Feb. 11 walking the walk,” said Emmanuel Abreu of Word Up bookstore in New York City,
We’d like to hear about the most highly at the end of the Town Hall, when he invited any bookseller who self-identified as
anticipated memoirs and biographies for the diverse to the take the stage for a group portrait. “Last year, we took this photo
coming season. Adult titles only; three pitches
per imprint. Pub. dates: April–November. Email with just a small group,” he added. “This year, we will fill the front of the stage. Next
pitches to features@publishersweekly.com year, we’ll take it over.”
by February 11 and put “Call for Info: Bio &
Winter Institute will move east next year: WI15 will take place in Baltimore, Md.,
Memoir” in the subject line.
Jan. 21–24, 2020. —Ed Nawotka and Claire Kirch

DEALS
By Rachel Deahl
MOVIE DEALS DEAL OF THE WEEK

● Two of Leigh Bardugo’s best-
■ E.L. James’s ‘Mister’ Unveiled at Knopf
selling YA fantasy series, Shadow
E.L. James, the author of one of the bestselling adult series of all time, has a new
and Bone and Six Crows, are being
standalone novel. Anne Messitte, at Knopf’s Vintage imprint, took North Amer-
adapted into a series for Netflix.
ican and Spanish-language rights to The Mister from
Eric Heisserer, screenwriter of Bird
Valerie Hoskins at Valerie Hoskins Associates. The new
Box, is attached to adapt the books
novel from the Fifty Shades scribe, set for April 16, is, Vin-
and serve as the showrunner.
tage said, “a contemporary romance... that introduces
● In what Deadline called “a
readers to the privileged and aristocratic young Englishman
competitive auction situation,” Jenny Maxim Trevelyan and the mysterious, talented, and beau-
Lee’s forthcoming YA novel Ann K tiful Alessia Demachi, who’s recently arrived in London
© nino munoz
(Flatiron, 2020) was optioned for owning little more than a dangerous and troublesome
TV by Creative Engine Entertain- past.” The Fifty Shades trilogy has, per Knopf, sold more
ment and SB Projects. A modern James than 150 million copies worldwide.
take on Anna Karenina, the book,
Deadline said, follows “a Korean- ■ Abbott Moves to Putnam
American ‘it’ girl” and is “Gossip Girl After a 12-house auction, Megan Abbott signed a three-
and 13 Reasons Why meets Crazy book North American rights deal with Putnam’s Sally Kim,
Rich Asians.” [Deadline] moving from Little, Brown in the process. Though Putnam
offered no details about the titles under the deal, it con-
INTERNATIONAL firmed that the first is slated for 2021. Abbott, a celebrated
DEALS crime fiction author, was represented by Dan Conaway at
Writers House. Now a sought-after name in Hollywood,
● The Stray Cats of Homs, by
Abbott is a writer on the HBO drama The Deuce. She also,
Swedish journalist Eva Nour, was
Abbott Putnam noted, has nearly all of her novels in “active devel-
acquired by Transworld in a world
opment” for either TV or film, and is the cocreator of a USA
English rights acquisition. (Double-
Network series based on her novel Dare Me.
day bought the book in the U.S.)
Elisabet Brännström at Bonnier ■ Abrams, Fisher Re-up for Seven Figures
Rights Sweden, who brokered the
Dan Abrams and David Fisher closed a rumored seven-
deal, said the book “is based on the figure, two-book world rights deal with Peter Joseph at
true story of a young boy growing Hanover Square Press. The deal continues a relationship
up inside al-Assad’s Syria and—later that the pair have with the HarperCollins imprint, marking
on—his harrowing experiences their third and fourth books there. Hanover said both books
during the war as he chose to stay will “focus on a single court case” and “chronicle a trial that
in his home city of Homs.” Abrams
sheds new light on well-known characters from history.” The
● Moïra Fowley-Doyle’s All the books are tentatively set for 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Bad Apples has been acquired Frank Weimann at Folio Literary Management represented
by RCW in a world rights deal. Abrams, the chief legal affairs anchor for ABC News, and
The Bookseller said the YA novel Fisher, a bestselling author.
explores themes of “abortion,
illegitimate pregnancy” and “the ■ Immigrant Detainee’s Memoir to HC
tragedy of the Magdalen Laun- In a high-six-figure world English and world Spanish rights
dries, rape, and gay rights.” deal, HarperOne acquired a memoir titled Tender Mercies,
[The Bookseller] which the publisher claims will be the first by one of the
Pablo-Cruz detained immigrant mothers whose children have been
10 P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y ■ J A N U A R Y 2 8 , 2 0 1 9
News
separated from them at the border by the U.S. government.

The book, which Judith Curr and Shannon Welch acquired BEHIND THE DEAL
from Scott Mendel at Mendel Media Group, is, HC said, “a Robert Jordan’s first novel is
riveting, inspiring firsthand account of a heartbreaking about to see daylight. Known
journey.” It is being cowritten by Rosayra Pablo-Cruz, for his bestselling and iconic
whose story is the focus, and Julie Schwietert Collazo, who Wheel of Time series, the
cofounded a collective called Immigrant Families Together author, who was born James
Oliver Rigney Jr. and died in
to help detainees.
2007, wrote an epic fantasy
titled Warrior of the Altaii
Collazo ■ Kristoff’s ‘Vampire’ Flies to SMP that wound up in the hands of
In a rumored mid-six-figure acquisition, Pete Wolverton at a young publisher at Ace in
St. Martin’s Press bought North American rights to a new 1979. That young publisher,
fantasy series by Jay Kristoff (the Nevernight Chronicle Tom Doherty, is now chairman
series). Empire of the Vampire, an adult/crossover trilogy, of Tor Books.
was sold by Josh Adams at Adams Literary. He described Before Doherty could do
anything with the manuscript,
the series as “the love child of Interview with the Vampire,
another
The Road, and The Name of the Wind.” In separate deals,
© christopher tovo
editor at
rights to the series have been acquired in Germany, Poland, Ace, Harriet
Russia, and the U.K. McDougal,
Kristoff
published a
■ Harper Takes in Acosta’s ‘Enemy’ book by
Jim Acosta, chief White House correspondent for CNN, sold Jordan titled
The Enemy of the People to Harper in a world rights deal. Fallon Blood,
Jordan written
The reporter, who recently had a public tussle with the White
under another pen name,
House over his press credentials, was represented by
Reagan O’Neal. (McDougal
Beltway lawyer/literary deal maker Bob Barnett at Williams was also Jordan’s wife.)
& Connolly. Barnett brokered the agreement with Lisa As Doherty recounts, an
Sharkey and HC plans to release the title on June 11. The intense publishing schedule
publisher said the book, which is subtitled A Dangerous ensued as both publisher and
Time to Tell the Truth in America, “exposes the tumultuous author wound up at Tor. “The
and dangerous realities of the current White House and its Fallon Trilogy finished in ’81–
Acosta ’82, then came the Conan
war on truth and the First Amendment.”
novels, and, of course, the
Wheel of Time.”
■ Gardner Takes Dane Duo to Dutton Through it all, Warrior of the
In a two-book deal, with each title fetching a rumored sum Altaii remained in a drawer.
over seven figures, Lisa Gardner signed with Dutton to write The standalone novel will
two titles featuring Flora Dane as a central character. Dane finally be released in fall 2019.
(a kidnapping victim turned vigilante) first appeared in McDougal noted, “It has been
Gardner’s 2016 thriller Find Her, which is part of the sold twice, but never published,
until now. When I reread it this
author’s bestselling series featuring Boston detective D.D.
winter, after this long intermis-
Warren. Dutton claimed the appearance of Dane “spurred
sion, I was amazed at the fore-
© philbrick
sales of Find Her with new fans flocking to Gardner’s most shadowing of the Wheel of
psychological suspense yet.” The forthcoming Warren mys- Time.” According to Tor, the
Gardner
tery, Never Tell, which also features Dane and will be Wheel of Time series has sold
released by Dutton in February, has a first announced more than 14 million copies in
printing of 250,000 copies. Meg Ruley at the Jane Rotrosen North America alone.
Agency represented Gardner.
News
Z2 Comics Finds Niche in gest print run yet), and so far it has sold
more than half. Babymetal, Frankel
Graphic Novels and Music said, is one of the most popular

Japanese metal bands worldwide, and
the book got “great buys” from Amazon,
I
n 2017, Z2 Comics, a small indie based on music and the B&N, BAM, and Kinokuniya.
graphic novel house based in New bands that produce it. The “The book has the potential
York City, published Murder Bal- books are prized by the for a long life,” he added.
lads by Gabe Soria and Paul Reinwand, musicians’ fans, and the To grow the line, Z2 has
a graphic novel about a down-and-out genre has become a profit- teamed with Josh Bernstein,
music producer and a desperate effort able and distinctive pub- a longtime comic book and
to produce an album by two nearly for- lishing category for Z2 music publisher, “who is
gotten blues musicians. The book also Comics. helping us connect with the
featured a soundtrack composed by “Murder Ballads sold music world,” Frankel said.
Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach and about 6,000 copies and lost For Apocrypha, Frankel
soul singer Robert Finley. a little money, but it was the emailed Babymetal’s man-
Since the publication of Murder best thing we ever did,” Frankel said. agement group out of the blue and, he
Ballads, Z2 Comics copublishers Josh “It opened doors and taught us the said, the manager “liked the pitch.”
Frankel and Sridhar Reddy have ropes of producing books like this.” The Frankel said he has found that “the
released a series of graphic novels house followed Murder Ballads with musicians want to do the books; many
Instrumental, a supernatural tale by of them are comics fans and love that
musician and comics artist Dave it’s something different.” Since the
Bookstore Chisholm, featuring a jazz trumpeter

with an otherworldly instrument; The
musicians have sizeable fan bases and
the books don’t cost a lot to produce,
For Sale
Wonderful World of Perfecto by Paul he added, “we know the books will make
Oakenfold, a graphic autobiography of money, or at least break even, so it’s a
the Grammy-winning DJ; and small gamble.”
Apocrypha: The Legend of Babymetal, In 2019, Z2 will publish seven or eight
an epic fantasy narrative based on the books, Frankel said, all driven by music
performers and the music of Babymetal, or a musical component, in a variety of
a theatrical Japanese heavy metal band literary genres including science fiction
featuring a trio of young women. and horror. This month, Z2 launched a
Z2 released 40,000 copies of marketing campaign for Genesis One:
Apocrypha in October (the press’s big- A Poppy Graphic Novel, the first
graphic novel written by eerie musician
Call for and YouTube sensation Poppy, along

Information with her director/impresario Titanic
Sinclair and Ryan Cady, and drawn by
Feature: Books on Space Exploration Masa Minoura and Ian McGinty. The
Thriving Indie bookstore in the heart
Issue: Apr. 8 Deadline: Feb. 15 168-page, $24.99 hardcover will have
of Durango, Colorado Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the lunar
a 10,000-copy first printing and will go
• 34 year history landing, we’re looking at adult and children’s
books on space exploration, including histo- on sale in July, as well as a 500-copy
• 3100 sq. ft. historic building ries, biographies, pop science titles, and more. deluxe limited edition bundled with a
• long term lease/real estate option The focus is on 2019 books; backlist titles and
• community-oriented core values reissues will be considered on a case-by-case
vinyl album, which will be sold exclu-
basis. Email pitches to features@publishers- sively via the Z2 website. Poppy will kick
For more info, contact: weekly.com by February 15 and put “Call for off a 20-city tour at the end of January.
opportunity@mariasbookshop.com Info: Space Exploration” in the subject line.
—Calvin Reid
Behind the Bestsellers JAN. 13–19, 2019
By Carolyn Juris
Novel Approaches
Michelle Obama’s Becoming
retains its top position overall
and is the #1 title in each of
BookScan’s eight regions. In
adult fiction, the story’s more
mixed, with the debut of
James Patterson and Candice
Fox’s latest Harriet Blue
thriller, Liar Liar, plus
continued strong sales for
Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens and The
Tattooist of Auschwitz by
Heather Morris.
N E W & N O TA B L E Capital Reads

MY LIFE AMONG THE As the government shutdown neared the
UNDERDOGS one-month mark, people in Washington,
Tia Torres
D.C., were buying many of the same
#8 Hardcover Nonfiction
The star of Animal Planet’s Pit Bulls
books as those in the rest of the country,
& Parolees tells the stories of some with a few notable differences.
of the canines she and her team at StrengthsFinder 2.0, Tom Rath’s 2007
Villalobos Rescue Center in New Orleans “what should I do with my life” title, is the vast majority of this week’s sales for
have rehabilitated and rehomed. the #6 book in D.C.; it ranks nine notches the book. Samin Nosrat’s 2017 Salt, Fat,
lower in the country overall. Proud by Acid, Heat is #10 in the district, #26
WOMEN ROWING NORTH fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first overall. It’s a cooking instructional that
Mary Pipher Muslim-American woman to wear a hijab gave its name to a Netflix series—tapping
#19 Hardcover Nonfiction while competing for the U.S. in the into two interests of people spending
The clinical psychologist “best Olympics, is #9 in D.C., which represents time at home.
known for challenging the cultural
perspective on teenage girls in
1994’s bestselling Reviving Ophelia,” TOP 10 OVERALL
our starred review said, “brings her professional RANK TITLE AUTHOR IMPRINT UNITS
skill as a cultural anthropologist and her
personal experience as a woman transitioning 1 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 82,663
from middle age to old age to a work chock- 2 Brawl of the Wild (Dog Man #6) Dav Pilkey Graphix 44,140
full of wisdom and consoling messages.” 3 Girl, Wash Your Face Rachel Hollis Nelson 37,688
4 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Marie Kondo Ten Speed 23,550
DRAGON PEARL 5 Liar Liar Patterson/Fox Little, Brown 21,882
Yoon Ha Lee 6 It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way Lysa TerKeurst Thomas Nelson 21,752
#14 Children’s Frontlist Fiction 7 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 19,619
“Lee offers a perfect balance of 8 The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris Harper 19,150
space opera and Korean mythology 9 The House Next Door James Patterson Grand Central 15,758
with enough complexity to appeal 10 You Are a Badass Jen Sincero Running Press 15,443
to teens,” our starred review said of
the latest Rick Riordan Presents novel. INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY NPD BOOKSCAN. COPYRIGHT © 2019 THE NPD GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PRINT UNIT SALES PER NPD BOOKSCAN EXCEPT WHERE NOTED
Information supplied by NPD
Adult Bestsellers | JAN. 13–19, 2019 BookScan. Copyright © 2019

The NPD Group. All rights reserved.
Hardcover Frontlist Fiction

RANK LW TITLE AUTHOR IMPRINT ISBN UNITS
1 – Liar Liar Patterson/Fox Little, Brown 9780316418249 21,882

2 2 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 9780735219090 19,619
3 1 Turning Point Danielle Steel Delacorte 9780399179358 13,653
4 4 The Reckoning John Grisham Doubleday 9780385544153 10,056
5 6 Every Breath Nicholas Sparks Grand Central 9781538728529 7,326
6 5 Fire & Blood George R.R. Martin Bantam 9781524796280 7,324
7 8 Long Road to Mercy David Baldacci Grand Central 9781538761571 5,776
8 13 An Anonymous Girl Hendricks/Pekkanen St. Martin’s 9781250133731 5,074
9 9 Target: Alex Cross James Patterson Little, Brown 9780316273947 4,975
10 3 The New Iberia Blues James Lee Burke Simon & Schuster 9781501176876 4,817
11 7 Verses for the Dead Preston/Child Grand Central 9781538747209 4,800
12 15 Past Tense Lee Child Delacorte 9780399593512 4,697
13 12 The Boy Tami Hoag Dutton 9781101985397 4,466
14 11 A Delicate Touch Stuart Woods Putnam 9780735219250 4,390
1
5 18 Nine Perfect Strangers Liane Moriarty Flatiron 9781250069825 4,151
16 38 There There Tommy Orange Knopf 9780525520375 4,092
17 23 Elevation Stephen King Scribner 9781982102319 3,476
18 20 Of Blood and Bone Nora Roberts St. Martin’s 9781250122995 3,401
19 24 The Next Person You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom Harper 9780062294449 3,242
2
0 22 Dark Sacred Night Michael Connelly Little, Brown 9780316484800 3,191
Hardcover Frontlist Nonfiction

1 1 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 9781524763138 82,663

2 3 Girl, Wash Your Face Rachel Hollis Nelson 9781400201655 37,688
3 4 It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way Lysa TerKeurst Thomas Nelson 9780718039851 21,752
4 5 Educated Tara Westover Random House 9780399590504 13,037
5 8 Homebody Joanna Gaines Harper Design 9780062801975 10,857
6 6 The Clean Plate Gwyneth Paltrow Grand Central Life & Style 9781538730461 9,593
7 7 Best Self Mike Bayer Dey Street 9780062911735 9,036
8 – My Life Among the Underdogs Tia Torres Morrow 9780062419798 8,624
9 10 The First Conspiracy Meltzer/Mensch Flatiron 9781250130334 7,737
10 11 The Point of It All Charles Krauthammer Crown Forum 9781984825483 7,486
11 9 The Truths We Hold Kamala Harris Penguin Press 9780525560715 7,370
12 12 12 Rules for Life Jordan B. Peterson Random House Canada 9780345816023 7,151
13 2 Everyday Millionaires Chris Hogan Ramsey 9780977489527 6,849
14 16 Dare to Lead Brené Brown Random House 9780399592522 6,723
15 14 Magnolia Table Joanna Gaines Morrow 9780062820150 6,687
16 19 The Martha Manual Martha Stewart HMH 9781328927323 6,581
17 – 21 Lessons for the 21st Century Yuval Noah Harari Random/Spiegel & Grau 9780525512172 5,287
18 17 Undo It! Dean Ornish Ballantine 9780525479970 5,148
19 – Women Rowing North Mary Pipher Bloomsbury 9781632869609 5,025
20 21 Medical Medium Liver Rescue Anthony William Hay House 9781401954406 4,811
LW: rank last week
Adult Bestsellers | JAN. 13–19, 2019, 2019 BookScan. Copyright © 2019

Mass Market Frontlist

1 1 Leverage in Death J.D. Robb St. Martin’s 9781250161574 10,078

2 3 Accidental Heroes Danielle Steel Dell 9781101884119 7,210
3 2 Strawberry Hill Catherine Anderson Berkley 9780399586361 6,826
4 4 The Family Gathering Robyn Carr Mira 9780778307952 5,600
5 6 The Bishop’s Pawn Steve Berry St. Martin’s 9781250140241 5,446
6 5 Safe and Sound Fern Michaels Zebra 9781420146004 5,317
7 7 A Dog’s Way Home (movie tie-in) W. Bruce Cameron Forge 9781250301901 5,180
8 8 Cowboy Brave Carolyn Brown Forever 9781538744932 4,137
9 16 Princess Patterson/Jones Grand Central 9781538714478 4,079
10 26 Cave of Bones Anne Hillerman Harper 9780062391933 4,077
11 19 Y Is for Yesterday Sue Grafton Putnam 9780399185380 4,072
12 11 Night Moves Jonathan Kellerman Ballantine 9780345541482 4,057
13 9 The Black Hills William W. Johnstone Pinnacle 9780786044405 4,029
14 15 1105 Yakima Street Debbie Macomber Mira 9780778307891 3,831
15 – A Soldier’s Return RaeAnne Thayne Harlequin 9781335573643 3,748
16 13 The Rooster Bar John Grisham Dell 9781101967706 3,496
17 12 Just Kate & What a Westmoreland Wants Linda Lael Miller Harlequin 9781335804297 3,452
18 24 Somebody I Used to Know David Bell Berkley 9781984802637 3,403
19 10 Origin Dan Brown Anchor 9780525563709 3,391
20 18 O’Hurley Born Nora Roberts Silhouette 9781335666437 3,300
Trade Paperback Frontlist

1 1 The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris Harper Paperbacks 9780062797155 19,150

2 2 The House Next Door James Patterson Grand Central 9781538713891 15,758
3 3 A Dog’s Way Home (movie tie-in) W. Bruce Cameron Forge 9781250301895 9,625
4 5 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman Penguin 9780735220690 9,197
5 6 Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari Harper Perennial 9780062316110 8,674
6 8 Less Andrew Sean Greer Back Bay 9780316316132 7,373
7 11 The Wife Between Us Hendricks/Pekkanen Griffin 9781250130945 6,189
8 12 The Power Naomi Alderman Back Bay 9780316547604 5,469
9 14 Texas Ranger Patterson/Bourelle Grand Central 9781538713877 4,950
10 15 The Official ACT Prep Guide (2018–2019 ed.) – Wiley 9781119508069 4,912
11 4 The Plant Paradox Quick and Easy Steven R. Gundry Harper Wave 9780062911995 4,891
12 21 Sold on a Monday Kristina McMorris Sourcebooks Landmark 9781492663997 4,823
13 10 The Gown Jennifer Robson Morrow 9780062674951 4,636
14 19 It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way Study Guide Lysa TerKeurst Nelson 9780310094340 4,390
15 16 Everybody, Always Bob Goff Nelson 9780718078133 4,152
16 17 One Day in December Josie Silver Broadway 9780525574682 3,881
17 26 The Odd 1s Out James Rallison TarcherPerigee 9780143131809 3,857
18 25 The Paris Seamstress Natasha Lester Forever 9781538714775 3,792
19 39 The Flight Attendant Chris Bohjalian Vintage 9780525432685 3,732
20 13 Instant Pot Fast & Easy Urvashi Pitre HMH 9781328577863 3,714
LW: rank last week
Children’s Bestsellers | JAN. 13–19, 2019 BookScan. Copyright © 2019

Children’s Frontlist Fiction

RANK TITLE AUTHOR IMPRINT ISBN UNITS
1 Brawl of the Wild (Dog Man #6) Dav Pilkey Graphix 9781338236576 44,140
2 The Meltdown (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #13) Jeff Kinney Abrams 9781419727436 15,353
3 Lord of the Fleas (Dog Man #5) Dav Pilkey Graphix 9780545935173 8,708
4 The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm Christopher Paolini Knopf 9781984894861 7,041
5 The Wicked King (Folk of the Air #2) Holly Black Little, Brown 9780316310352 4,546
6 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald J.K. Rowling Scholastic/Levine 9781338263893 4,114
7 Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday (Dork Diaries #13) Rachel Renée Russell Aladdin 9781534426382 4,028
8 The Bad Guys in Superbad Aaron Blabey Scholastic 9781338189636 4,024
9 The Hive Queen (Wings of Fire #12) Tui T. Sutherland Scholastic Press 9781338214482 3,940
10 Five Feet Apart Rachael Lippincott Simon & Schuster 9781534437333 3,750
11 Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle... (Part 2) Dav Pilkey Scholastic 9781338271508 3,629
12 Two Can Keep a Secret Karen M. McManus Delacorte 9781524714727 3,264
13 The Hate U Give (movie tie-in) Angie Thomas HC/Balzer + Bray 9780062871350 3,175
14 Dragon Pearl Yoon Ha Lee Disney/Riordan 9781368013352 3,153
15 Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices) Cassandra Clare McElderry 9781442468436 2,998
16 Dear Evan Hansen Val Emmich et al. Poppy 9780316420235 2,729
17 To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (movie tie-in) Jenny Han Simon & Schuster 9781534438378 2,719
18 Always and Forever, Lara Jean Jenny Han Simon & Schuster 9781481430494 2,683
19 Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story Patterson/Butler LB/Patterson 9780316487481 2,328
20 Ashes in the Snow (movie tie-in) Ruta Sepetys Penguin 9781984836748 2,278
21 Dear Martin Nic Stone Ember 9781101939529 2,201
22 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Rowling/Selznick Scholastic/Levine 9781338299144 2,127
23 Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle... (Part 1) Dav Pilkey Scholastic 9781338271492 1,851
24 Crush Svetlana Chmakova Yen 9780316363242 1,830
25 Children of Blood and Bone Tomi Adeyemi Holt 9781250170972 1,785
Children’s Picture Books

RANK TITLE AUTHOR IMPRINT ISBN UNITS
1 The Wonky Donkey Smith/Cowley Scholastic 9780545261241 14,951

2 Pig the Pug Aaron Blabey Scholastic Press 9781338112450 6,933
3 You’re My Little Cuddle Bug Edwards/Marshall Silver Dolphin 9781684122585 6,593
4 Goodnight Moon Brown/Hurd HarperFestival 9780694003617 6,531
5 The Very Hungry Caterpillar Carle Eric Philomel 9780399226908 5,580
6 Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (anniv. ed.) Martin/Carle Holt 9780805047905 5,538
7 Love You Forever Robert Munsch Firefly 9780920668375 5,445
8 The Wonderful Things You Will Be Emily Winfield Martin Random House 9780385376716 4,883
9 Llama Llama I Love You Anna Dewdney Viking 9780451469816 4,867
10 First 100 Words Roger Priddy Priddy 9780312510787 4,819
11 Love from the Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle Grosset & Dunlap 9780448489322 4,808
1 2 The Night Before Christmas Moore/Birmingham Running Press 9780762424160 4,687
13 I Love You to the Moon and Back Hepworth/Warnes Tiger Tales 9781589255517 4,513
1 4 Giraffes Can’t Dance Andreae/Parker-Rees Cartwheel 9780545392556 4,512
1 5 I Love You, Stinky Face Lisa McCourt Scholastic 9780439635721 4,338
16 Dr. Seuss’s ABC Dr. Seuss Random House 9780679882817 4,226
17 On the Night You Were Born Nancy Tillman Feiwel and Friends 9780312601553 4,155
18 Little Blue Truck Schertle/McElmurry HMH 9780544568037 4,090
19 There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose! Colandro/Lee Scholastic 9780545352239 4,057
20 Everything Is Mama Fallon/Ordóñez Feiwel and Friends 9781250125835 3,988
21 Love Monster Rachel Bright FSG 9780374301866 3,888
22 Superheroes Are Everywhere Harris/Roe Philomel 9781984837493 3,785
23 Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Dr. Seuss Random House 9780679805274 3,780
24 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Martin/Archambault/Ehlert Little Simon 9781442450707 3,745
25 Guess How Much I Love You McBratney/Jeram Candlewick 9780763642648 3,678
Apple Books Bestsellers | JAN 14–20, 2019 Charts supplied by Apple Inc.,
copyright 2019 Apple Inc. All
rights reserved. Apple Books
is a trademark of Apple Inc.,
registered in the U.S. and
other countries.
Fiction & Literature

RANK TITLE AUTHOR IMPRINT ISBN
1 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 9780735219113

2 The Perfect Girl Gilly Macmillan Morrow 9780062476753
3 Turning Point Danielle Steel Delacorte 9780399179365
4 The Red Coat Dolley Carlson Skyhorse 9781510743328
5 Nine Perfect Strangers Liane Moriarty Flatiron 9781250069849
6 Hissy Fit Mary Kay Andrews HarperCollins 9780061746826
7 Last Bus to Wisdom Ivan Doig Riverhead 9781101634530
8 A Delicate Touch Stuart Woods Putnam 9780735219274
9 An American Marriage Tayari Jones Algonquin 9781616207601
10 Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows Balli Kaur Jaswal Morrow 9780062645135
11 The Light over London Julia Kelly Gallery 9781501172922
12 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman Penguin Books 9780735220706
13 Ladies’ Night Mary Kay Andrews St. Martin’s 9781250019653
14 The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Jonas Jonasson Hachette 9781401304393
Out the Window and Disappeared
15 A Discovery of Witches Deborah Harkness Penguin Books 9781101475690
16 Beautiful Lies Lisa Unger Broadway 9780307341822
17 The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris Harper 9780062797162
18 One Day in December Josie Silver Broadway 9780525574705
19 Circe Madeline Miller Little, Brown 9780316556330
20 The Kind Worth Killing Peter Swanson Morrow 9780062267542
Biographies & Memoirs

1 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 9781524763152

2 Educated Tara Westover Random House 9780399590511
3 Can’t Hurt Me David Goggins Lioncrest 9781544512266
4 Elon Musk Ashlee Vance Ecco 9780062301260
5 Into the Fire Meyer/West Random House 9780679645443
6 Inheritance Dani Shapiro Knopf 9781524732721
7 My Point... And I Do Have One Ellen DeGeneres Bantam 9780307765628
8 The Sisters Mary S. Lovell Norton 9780393076103
9 Flight to Heaven Dale Black Bethany House 9781441211767
10 Priscilla Nicholas Shakespeare Harper 9780062297051
Romance
1 Deal with the Devil Meghan March Meghan March 9781943796229

2 The Secret Julie Garwood Berkley 9781101533512
3 The Cowboy Is a Daddy Mindy Neff Mindy Neff 9780991114122
4 Luck of the Devil Meghan March Meghan March –
5 Birthday Suit Lauren Blakely Lauren Blakely –
6 Every Breath Nicholas Sparks Grand Central 9781538728536
7 The Jersey Strong Romance Collection Barbara Bretton Barbara Bretton 9781386896067
8 Muffin Top Avery Flynn Entangled 9781640634589
9 Heart of the Devil Meghan March Meghan March –
10 How the Earl Entices Anna Harrington NYLA 9781641970396
Department | RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
New Repairing
this spring America
New books offer ways to mend Lynn Garrett
a divided country
T
here’s plenty of discord to go around these days. Arguments about gun
control, racial violence, climate change, and other headline-grabbing
issues have been the subject of numerous books. But looking into 2019,
it is the overarching topic of division in American religion and culture
that has spawned some of the most notable titles in the religion category.
Wrestling with Religious Freedom

Evolving ideas about which civil rights should be protected by law are increasingly
clashing with what some see as the principles and practices of their religious groups.
A baker in Colorado who refused to make cakes for gay weddings and a retail chain that
refused to cover birth control for its employees took their cases to the Supreme Court.
Some Christians argue that they should not be compelled to support behavior they
believe is against Christian principles and that religious
freedom itself is under attack.
9781506448213 | $18.99
In Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle
for Religious Freedom (HarperOne, May), Steven Waldman
reminds readers that conflicts over religious practices and
"
One Coin Found principles are not new. Since early in its history, America has
wrestled with integrating the different faiths of its citizens—
nourished me first Jews, Catholics, African slaves, and Native Americans; later
in way s I didn' t Mormons; and now Muslims. “The more successful American
paradigm has emerged over many years, shaped through civil
expect , inv it ing disobedience, elections, lawsuits, coalition building, and blood-
shed,” Waldman writes. “Won through great struggle, religious
t his lifelong freedom achieved an exalted status as a core element of our
church nerd to national identity.” The author also wrote Founding Faith and is
a Wall Street Journal columnist.
see stories from An attorney who specializes in religious freedom cases offers
his point of view in Free to Believe: The Battle over Religious
the Bible in fresh, Liberty in America (WaterBrook, Oct.). Luke Goodrich has
"
startling ways. represented many clients in religious freedom court cases; he
says that now many Christians see their beliefs being character-
—Rachel Held Evans, ized as bigotry. He writes, “We’ve long lived in a country
from the foreword where religious freedom was secure, and we didn’t need to give
it much thought. Now we’re realizing that the country is
changing, and we might not enjoy the same degree of religious freedom forever.” He
adds, “You don’t have to care about the Bible to care about religious freedom. Religious
freedom is worth protecting because it benefits society, protects our other rights, and is
Preorder now a fundamental human right.”
800.328.4648 In Faith in American Public Life (Baylor, Oct.), Melissa Rogers refutes the idea that
government and law are designed to curtail faith practices, contending instead that
fortresspress.com the executive, legislative, and judicial branches exist to foster expressions of faith in
public life. “Religious liberty has been central to our country’s history and still matters
RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY | Department
greatly today,” she writes. “The government has no say in decisions about the organiza-
tion or membership of congregations. And the right to speak out on public issues
belongs to religious speakers as much as secular ones.” Rogers served as special assistant
to President Obama and executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based
and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The Enemy Is Us
In addition to discord between religions and conflicts between religions and American laws
and culture, there are squabbling factions within faith groups. Brazos executive acquisitions
editor Robert Hosack says, “Most of the church’s enemies today have actually been drawn
from within Christianity itself.”
In The Church of Us vs. Them: Freedom from a Faith that Feeds on Making Enemies (Brazos,
July), David E. Fitch writes, “Because we [Christians] have been so used to power, we take
positions against other churches on the Bible, salvation or even justice.... Christianity
becomes a set of belief statements we either argue for or against other Christians. And the
actual practice of following Jesus becomes lost in the fray.” Fitch
is the author of The Great Giveaway: Reclaiming the Mission of the
Church from Big Business, Parachurch Organizations, Psychotherapy,
Consumer Capitalism, and Other Modern Maladies, which PW called
“a searing but loving insider critique of the individualism that
marks North American evangelicals.”
Presbyterian minister Layton E. Williams thinks division is MARCH 2019
not always a bad thing. In Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us 978-1-62203-825-1
Can Save Us (WJK, Oct.), she writes, “Disunity doesn’t have to
mean destruction. In the arguments and protests born from our
disunified state, we hear hard but important truths that push
back on our assumptions and our hubris.” Williams cautions
against unity at all costs, writing that “disunity may not be so “Diane
much a problem to be solved as a holy opportunity for growth
and transformation,” noting that disunity provides a chance to Poole Heller
engage those with whom we disagree.
Disillusioned Americans have backed away from politics,
with disastrous results, argues Peter Wehner in The Death Of
has given us
Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump
(HarperOne, June). The New York Times opinion writer, media [the] new
commentator, outspoken Republican, and Christian critic of
the Trump presidency defends the crucial role of politics in primer on
preserving democracy. A veteran of three Republican admin-
istrations, Wehner says that participation in politics is essential. “We have lost sight
of who we are as a people and as a nation,” he writes. “We need to relearn what American
attachment
politics ought to be about, and we need to realize that as citizens we have the power
and ability to repair the fraying we have witnessed.” theory.”
Jake Meador’s forthcoming book addresses the decline in the sense of community,
the worsening economic inequity, and the poisonous turn public discourse has taken
in the country. In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World (IVP, STAN TATKIN, PSYD
June) offers Meador’s vision of a renewed common life, with Christians focused on faith D E V E L O P E R O F PAC T
rather than the economy or politics. Meador is v-p of the evangelical Davenant Institute A N D AU T H O R O F
W I R E D F O R L OV E
think tank and editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy, an online magazine about Christian
AND WE DO
faith in the public sphere.
“Americans are living in a unique moment, one of those pivot-points in history that
textbooks will ponder over for decades to come,” says David Dobson, associate pub-
lisher of Westminster John Knox. WJK’s mission, he says, is “to provide people of faith
with the resources to help them live out that faith in their everyday lives.” He adds,
Department | RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
“That might mean talking with their neighbors who hold different political views, or
with a fellow churchgoer who has misunderstandings or fears about other religions. Or
it may mean helping them understand what it means to be privileged in contemporary
How can we North American society.”
respond urgently In his 2005 book, The Gospel According to America, David Dark warned Christians not
to conflate love of country with love of God. His new book, The Possibility of America: How
and effectively the Gospel Can Mend Our God-Blessed, God-Forsaken Land (Westminster, Apr.), applies
to the ecological theological, cultural, and political analysis to today’s political landscape, addressing the
rise of white supremacy, the surrender of evangelical principles in favor of expediency,
crisis—and stay and other Trump-era issues. “When confronted with the fact
that our government has tortured terrorist suspects, confiscated
sane doing it? rosaries, or forcibly separated children from their asylum-
seeking parents on our behalf, appeals to an earlier state of
righteousness don’t cut it,” he writes. “ ‘This isn’t who we are’
or ‘We’re better than this’ might work as a late step in a season
of repentance, but it fails on delivery in light of our history, a
crime scene of carnage, captivity, and seizure consistently
undertaken in the name of freedom and security and God.”
Getting Active
If there has been an upside to America’s current angst, it’s the
resulting surge in activism. Benedictine nun Joan Chittister
(Radical Spirit) invites readers disgusted with today’s political
and cultural climate to join her in opposition to Trump’s poli-
cies and the direction of the country; her latest, The Time Is
Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage (Crown, Mar.), is both a call
This landmark work to arms and a faith-based guide for activists. “Our world waits
is simultaneously a for you and me, for spiritual people everywhere,” Chittister
manifesto, a blueprint, a writes, “to refuse to be the pawns in the destruction of a global
call to action, and a deep world for the sake of national self-centeredness.” The author
comfort for troubling of dozens of books, Chittister has advocated for women’s
times. David R. Loy rights for more than 50 years; PW has called her “one of the
masterfully lays out the most well-known and trusted contemporary spiritual authors.”
principles and perspectives Longtime evangelical activist Jim Wallis offers his own guide for perplexed Christians
of Ecodharma—a in What About Jesus? Finding a Place to Stand in a Time of Crisis (HarperOne, Sept.), pro-
Buddhist response to our posing an activism that is grounded in the teachings of Jesus. Wallis is the author of
ecological predicament, America’s Original Sin, The Great Awakening, and God’s Politics and served on Obama’s
introducing a new term White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
for a new development of It’s never too early to shape the next generation of activists. And Social Justice for All:
the Buddhist tradition. Empowering Churches, Families, and Schools to Make a Difference in God’s World by Lisa Van
Engen (Kregel, Mar.) aims to help adults teach children about issues like poverty,
Ecodharma: Buddhist immigration, and environmental threats and to give them ways to respond. “As I wrote
Teachings for the this manuscript, the United States experienced discord,” Van Engen writes. “Kindness
Ecological Crisis disappeared into the background, and the need for justice seekers became even more
pronounced. Sometimes I desperately wanted to give up.” But, she adds, “each time I
David R. Loy wanted to quit... I would be left stunned again by each young person’s thoughtful
$17.95 | ebook $11.99 response, wise insight, and simple profundity.”
The temptation to give up is part of the battle, writes pastor Timothy Charles Murphy
in Sustaining Hope in an Unjust World: How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up (Chalice,
May). The problems seem intractable, and failure comes with the process of change. “If
EXPLORE MORE AT evil often wins, how can we faithfully respond in hope of a better day?” he writes. “How
WISDOMPUBS.ORG have people endured across generations, and how can we learn from them today? If we can
give compelling answers to these questions, then we just might have a shot at a better
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Department | RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
future after all.” Murphy is former executive director goal is to take over the West.
of the faith and social justice organization Progressive Charles A. Kimball counters that view in Truth
Christians Uniting and the author of Counter-Imperial over Fear: Combatting the Lies About Islam: A Guide for
Churching for a Planetary Gospel. Christians Working Together (WJK, Aug.). He points to
Is prayer activism? Your Life Is Your Prayer: Wake Up the ways politicians and religious leaders promote
to the Spiritual Power in Everything You by BJ Gallagher Islamophobia to achieve their own objectives, writing,
and Sam Beasley (Mango, Apr.) contends it is, defining “Wittingly or unwittingly, they add an explosive com-
prayer not only as a private conversation with God but ponent in the 21st century world where many turbu-
also as a way for people to live out their beliefs by lent forces and events are already in the mix.” The
helping others. “In times like these, people turn to book encourages readers to teach family and friends
religion and spiritual practices as rudders for navi- the facts about Muslim beliefs. “Simplistic stereotypes
gating the turbulence,” says Mango acquisitions chief of Islam, Muslims, and ‘core’ teachings in the Qur’an
Brenda Knight. “Everything is cyclical, and in many abound,” he notes. “The result is a caricature of Islam
ways we are experiencing a cycle familiar to us from and Muslims that reflects the highly visible actions of
the late 1960s and early ’70s.” extremists and revolutionaries.”
Physician Ayaz Virji confronted Islamophobia while
Fearing the Other practicing medicine in a small town in Minnesota, a
An American society that grows ever more diverse can story he tells in Love Thy Neighbor: A Muslim Doctor’s
spark anxiety. Some evangelical Christians fear the Struggle for Home in Rural America (Crown, June). After
encroachment of Islam and the imposition of sharia Trump won in his country in 2016, Virji’s children
law—a fear reflected in The Third Jihad: Overcoming were harassed and some of his patients questioned
Radical Islam’s Plan for the West by Michael Youssef whether the family belonged in their community. Virji
(Tyndale Momentum, Mar.). Pastor and evangelist Youssef warns planned to leave, until a local pastor invited him to speak at her
Western Christians that a third jihad is underway and that its church and address misconceptions about what Muslims practice
Resourcing the Social Justice Conversation

NOW IN
PAPERBACK
9781501870835 | $22.99 9781501879173 | $22.99 9781501878077 | $18.99
Moffic
ffi provides
id a compellinglli Black & White explores the Harvey offers age-appropriate
discussion to help readers understand world-changing power of forging insights for teaching children how
twenty-first century anti-Semitism and friendships with people of different to address racism and tackles tough
the historical pattern of discrimination cultures, ethnicities, and questions about how to help white
to other groups that often follows new backgrounds, and how God can use kids be mindful of racial relations,
waves of discrimination against those relationships to disrupt racism. understanding the role they can
Jewish communities. play for justice.
To learn more about Abingdon Press books,

visit AbingdonPress.com or call 800.251.3320
RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY | Department
and believe. That grew into lectures he delivers in of Strangers: What the Bible Really Says About Immigration
schools, libraries, community centers, churches, and by Mark Hamilton (Eerdmans, Apr.) applies the
colleges and universities throughout the country. Bible’s teachings to human movement and to how
host countries should treat migrants. He aims to save
Embracing the Stranger the church from nationalism and demagoguery and
As waves of migrants flee poverty and persecution in to show that the way we treat strangers has political,
their home countries, fear has fueled conflicts over economic, and religious implications. Hamilton’s
immigration policies around the world. Exclusion and other books include Slavery’s Long Shadow: Race and
Embrace (revised edition) by Miroslav Volf (Abingdon, Reconciliation in American Christianity.
Aug.) tackles the illusion that otherness is inherently Immigration advocate and writer Karen Gonzalez
evil. Using the New Testament metaphor of salvation journeyed with her family from Guatemala to Los
as reconciliation, Volf proposes the idea of embrace as Angeles and Florida in search of safety and stability, a
a theological response to the problem of exclusion. story she tells in The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible,
Volf, the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic and the Journey to Belong (Herald, May). Comparing her
Theology at Yale University Divinity School, won the odyssey to those of Hagar, Joseph, Ruth, and Jesus,
2002 Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion for who also experienced loss and displacement, Gonzalez
the first edition of Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological suggests ways to welcome immigrants and to work for
Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. a more fair and compassionate immigration system.
Croatian by birth, Volf analyzed civil war and ethnic One solution to all this strife is simple but not
cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. Now, he has easy. In A Politics of Love: A Handbook for a New
revised the book to take a second, post-9/11 look at American Revolution (HarperOne, Apr.), bestselling
today’s interethnic and international strife. author Marianne Williamson (Tears to Triumph) writes that
The Bible describes God’s people as strangers in this world love is the only way to mend the fractures in American society,
who are called to show grace and hospitality to others. Jesus, King envisioning a new politics of both head and heart. ■
POETRY FOR OUR TIME FROM

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—MARTÍN ESPADA, author of Vivas to Those Who Have Failed
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Column | OPEN BOOK
Hell Hath No Fury

Louisa Ermelino
A debut thriller by a former airline crew member features
an unstable flight attendant who stalks her pilot ex-lover,
determined to win him back at any cost
K
aren Hamilton tells me she had two ambitions: place. He’s a pilot, and she goes so far as to train as a member of
to be an airline attendant and to be a writer. the cabin crew with the airline he flies for. She secretly cleans
With her debut thriller, The Perfect Girlfriend, his apartment, puts food in his refrigerator, and sleeps in his bed
publishing in March as Graydon House’s lead when he’s away. In short, Juliette is your worst nightmare.
title for the season, she’s now checked off both Hamilton says she’s always been fascinated with people
of those boxes. Hamilton’s a Brit who flew 20 years for British behind uniforms. “When criminals are discovered, it’s always
Airways, a career that informs the novel, giving her the inspira- amazing to me how ordinary they usually are, and an airline
tion for the story as well as the ideal setting. crew is perfect for reinvention and anonymity. The crew changes
“I would always change out of my uniform in the airport every week. Your nature is not easily revealed—an excellent
bathroom as soon as we deplaned, because I have a terrible sense situation for Juliette to keep her obsession secret.”
of direction and if I was in uniform, people would always ask But think about being confined in an airplane with a psycho-
me which way to go,” Hamilton says. On one such occasion, path, 35,000 feet in the air. As Hamilton writes: “The exterior
while she was transforming into a “civilian,” she had an world shrinks to the size of the plane’s interior. A mini world,
epiphany about the faces we show to the world and how they trapped and cut off from the outside...”
relate to who we really are. She says she wondered, “What if a In writing The Perfect Girlfriend, Hamilton had the advantage
person who represents authority and responsibility is actually of behind-the-scenes knowledge of flight attendant life. “People
a psychotic stalker?” are so curious about what goes on,” she says, noting that she was
With that idea in Hamilton’s head, the character of Juliette always peppered with questions: What does the crew eat?
appeared. Then all she had to do was write the book. Where do they sleep? And of course, the inevitable mile-
Hamilton left flying in 2013 and now lives outside London high-club scenario (seems it’s real). She also did research into
with her family. Her third son was born in 2011, but she says it sociopaths and read self-help books, imagining how the strong
was after the birth of her second son, in 2009, that she began to language of “going after what you want” would translate to a
take her dream of becoming a writer seriously: writing every disturbed character like Juliette.
day, attending literary festivals, taking local classes. “I didn’t The Perfect Girlfriend is co-represented by Sophie Lambert of
really know where to start,” she says of her early writing efforts. Conville & Walsh in the U.K. and Hillary Jacobson at ICM in
“I wrote a really bad first book, tried unsuccessfully to get an New York (the two agencies have a partnership). Lambert saw
agent with a second book, and then signed up for a six-month a short excerpt and says she was “hooked by Juliette.” She adds,
writing course at Faber Academy [an offshoot of publishing “When Karen sent the finished manuscript, I offered her repre-
house Faber & Faber] in London.”
© emma moore
Encouraged to experiment,
Hamilton ditched the rewrite of
that second book and started The
Perfect Girlfriend. The class
response gave her confidence. She
says, “Juliette came alive. I also
realized how much I like the dark
side of human nature. My first
book was happy, and that didn’t
work.”
The Perfect Girlfriend is the story
of a spurned woman who will stop
at nothing to win back her lover,
Nate, convinced that he is delu-
Karen Hamilton
sional to have left her in the first
OPEN BOOK | Column
sentation immediately. We worked on it together, and I sub- can convince me to root for an unsettling character is something
mitted it widely. Alex Clarke at Wildfire [an imprint of Headline special. I conducted the auction from my childhood bedroom in
in the U.K.] preempted in a significant six-figure deal. We’ve L.A., thinking, ‘Where am I? High school?’ ”
since sold it in 12 territories.” The fact that The Perfect Girlfriend had already sold in the
Lambert sent it to Jacobson in December 2017, and Jacobson U.K. and had a great marketing plan attached to it appealed to
says she was “completely intrigued.” She adds, “Any book that Jacobson when she went looking for a book to represent.
Brittany Lavery at Graydon House, a Harlequin imprint
focusing on commercial women’s fiction, bought North
American rights, also in a six-figure deal.
“I was looking for dark thrillers and dramatic suspense, and
here it was,” Lavery says. She was sick in bed when she read the
manuscript over a weekend. “I didn’t know if I was clammy from
the flu or that the story was giving me chills,” she recalls. “It
was so completely creepy, and I read it in one sitting.”
As for Jacobson, The Perfect Girlfriend is her first adult novel
sale. “I was so happy to be looped in,” she says.
“This was a big buy for us,” Lavery tells me. “The imprint
launched in September 2017, and this was our first auction. It
was unusual, because the end of the year is when things are
winding down, not a time when deals happen.”
Lavery is also enthusiastic about a sympathetic unsavory char-
acter. “It’s the mark of a strong narrator,” she says. When
Jacobson asked if Lavery wanted to do more editing, Lavery told
her, “This book is done.”
Sales have been strong in the U.K., where The Perfect Girlfriend
was released last April and was #6 on the Sunday Times bestseller
list for January 20. In Canada, it was released Dec. 31, 2018,
and hit #1 on the Globe and Mail’s January 12 hardcover best-
seller list. Hamilton did an early promotional tour in November,
and an extensive media campaign and ARC giveaways at
regional and national trade shows are planned for the U.S.
launch.
Hamilton couldn’t feel luckier, she tells me. It took her nine
years to write the book and get an agent. “I was at my son’s
Beaver Scout meeting when Sophie’s number came up on my
phone. I ran outside to get away from the noise. There I was,
sitting in my car, when I got the good news!” ■
Brittany Lavery
Hillary Jacobson Sophie Lambert
A
udio publishers are finalizing their new titles for spring, and
SPRING 2019 we’ve selected some highlights of the season ahead. Sales
Audio
and production of digital audio continue to increase at the
blistering—often double-digit—pace of recent years,
making the category a noted bright spot of 2018 mentioned
by the Big Five publishers in their companies’ year-end reviews.
Announcements With “more, more, more” the call of the day, audio publishers are
developing original audio content and, of course, increasing offerings
in the traditional major genres of mystery/thriller/suspense, memoir,
By Shannon Maughan and romance, as well as in politics and investigative nonfiction, which
are well represented in our spring highlights.
Audiobook publishers have traditionally followed a “try it, you’ll
like it” approach to marketing and discoverability. PW recently
announced it is aiding in that effort by adding audio clips to the web
presentation of its book reviews. Penguin Random House is the first
publisher to join in this practice, providing more than 8,000 samples
of audiobooks that will appear within reviews of audiobooks and of
titles in print and e-book formats as well. We are talking to other
publishers about joining the program which we hope will enhance
listeners’ ability to find just what they’re looking for.
Note: All titles listed are available as digital downloads; many are available in multiple
formats. Where noted, retail CD pricing is included.
BLACKSTONE AUDIO in Ireland against the backdrop of com-

The Border by Don Winslow, read by petitive research and academia.
Ray Porter (Feb., unabridged CD, $44.95, The Test by Sylvian Neuvel, read by
ISBN 978-1-5047-1998-8). In the con- Neil Shah (Feb., unabridged CD, $19.95,
clusion to Winslow’s Cartel trilogy, hard- ISBN 978-1-982527-84-6). An immi-
ened DEA agent Art Keller continues his gration test is taken to extreme levels to
war against cartels and the government to prove just how loyal a prospective citizen
help stem the heroin epidemic. is to their new country.
The Jane Austen Diet: Austen’s
Secrets to Food, Fitness, and BRILLIANCE AUDIO
Incandescent Happiness by Bryan Blood for Blood by Victoria Selman,
Kozlowski (Mar., unabridged CD, $34.95, read by Karen Cass (Feb., unabridged CD,
ISBN 978-1-982612-12-2) posits that $34.99, ISBN 978-1-7213-8704-5). A
there’s a modern approach to health hidden former special forces profiler investi-
in Austen’s popular novels from the early gating a serial killer may have become his
19th century. target in this series starter.
The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull (June, Costalegre by Courtney Maum (July,
unabridged CD, $34.95, ISBN 978-1- unabridged CD, $29.99, ISBN 978-1-
5385-8458-3). After a race of advanced 7213-5492-4) is the tale of a privileged
aliens settles in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but neglected teenager living with her
two families confront the personal and impetuous mother and a group of surreal
social impact of the alien presence. artists at a mysterious Mexican resort.
The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan Fall, or Dodge in Hell by Neal
(May, unabridged CD, $24.95, ISBN 978- Stephenson (June, unabridged CD, $34.95,
1-5385-4337-5) is a murder mystery set ISBN 978-1-5113-2841-8) reimagines
Spring Audio Announcements
Paradise Lost as a sci-fi their very public fall from read by the author (Apr., unabridged CD,
thriller set in parallel grace as the superhero $36.99, ISBN 978-0-06-293948-7).
worlds in the near future. defenders of humankind, Inspired by the profiles of 9/11 victims
Ruffhouse by Chris the Fantastic Four con- that he wrote for the Boston Globe,
Schwartz, read by the front the loss of their rep- Zuckoff retells the story of that day.
author (June, unabridged utations and a new threat #IMomSoHard by Kristin Hensley
CD, $34.99, ISBN 978-1- from the depths of the and Jen Smedley, read by the authors
7213-7454-0), chronicles Negative Zone. (Apr., unabridged download, $23.99,
the rise of Ruffhouse ISBN 978-0-06-285900-6), showcases
Records founder Schwartz, hip-hop’s HACHETTE AUDIO the humorous duo who have a million
coming-of-age, and the trials and tribula- Cari Mora by Thomas Harris, read by followers on social media for their
tions of some of the label’s greatest artists. the author (May, unabridged CD, $40, humorous posts about being busy moms.
Run Away by Harlan Coben (Mar., ISBN 978-1-5491-4866-8), revolves The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam
unabridged CD, $44.99, ISBN 978-1- around the evil, greed, and dark obsession Jenoff, read by Elizabeth Knowelden,
5012-1776-0). Following a tip, parents connected to $25 million in cartel gold Henrietta Meire and Candace Thaxton
spot their runaway daughter in a park and hidden beneath a Miami waterfront (Feb., unabridged download, $24.99,
get tangled in violence when they try to mansion. ISBN 978-1-4882-0569-9). In a tale
rescue her from a dark and dangerous world. The First Lady by James Patterson and inspired by true events, a woman in
Brendan DuBois, read by Deborah 1946 Manhattan discovers an abandoned
DREAMSCAPE AUDIO McBride (Mar., unabridged CD, $30, suitcase containing the photos of 12
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang ISBN 978-1-5491-1938-5). The First heroic female secret agents who aided
(May, unabridged CD, $24.99, ISBN 978- Lady disappears when the president’s the war resistance in Europe, and sets
1-974926-69-5). An autistic Vietnamese scandalous affair with another woman is out to learn the truth about them.
woman is smitten with a man who is con- made public. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella
vinced he can’t feel love or other emotions. Sea Stories by William H. McRaven, Fortuna by Juliet Grames, read by Lisa
Good Kids, Bad City by Kyle Swenson, read by the author (May, unabridged CD, Flanagan (May, unabridged download,
read by Mia Barron (Feb., unabridged $35, ISBN 978-1-5491-9496-2). Admiral $29.99, ISBN 978-0-06-291761-4). A
CD, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-974930-90-6), McCraven relates stories of bravery from young woman tells the story behind two
offers a critical social and political history his career as a Navy SEAL and commander elderly sisters’ estrangement, unraveling
of Cleveland, Ohio, and tells the true story of America’s Special family secrets that go
of the longest wrongful imprisonment in Forces. back to their childhoods
U.S. history to end in exoneration. The Witches Are in Italy.
Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman, Coming by Lindy West, What Doesn’t Kill
read by Mia Barron (Feb., unabridged CD, read by the author (May, You Makes You Blacker
$24.99, ISBN 978-1-5385-4337-5). unabridged CD, $30, by Damon Young, read
Daphne’s secrets may end up being jeop- ISBN 978-1-5491-4285- by the author (Mar.,
ardized by a filmmaker neighbor who 7), provides a look at how unabridged download,
finds her late mother’s heavily annotated patriarchy, intolerance, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-
yearbook. and misogyny have con- 289822-7), is a humorous
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CD, $29.99, ISBN 978-1-68441-857-2). unknown women who shaped the suf- World by Melinda Gates, read by the
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by Sally Roesch Wagner, read by Bahni Stevie picks up billionaire Get Murdered: The
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L.A. THEATRE WORKS 250-22229-9). The voices behind the
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Japanese-American sisters return to their NAXOS AUDIOBOOKS
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but the once prosperous family finds it’s read by Rupert Degas (Mar., unabridged
not easy to pick up the pieces of their download, $17.50, ISBN 978-1-78198-
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MACMILLAN AUDIO at Whipsnade, an open-range animal
The Guest Book by Sarah Blake (May, exhibit, in 1945.
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22087-5) follows three generations of a NORTH ATLANTIC BOOKS AUDIO
privileged and powerful American family, Cancer as a Wake-up Call: An
exploring the mistakes and betrayals that Oncologist’s Integrative Approach to
have shaped their lives. What You Can Do to Become Whole
I.M.: A Memoir by Isaac Mizrahi, Again by M. Laura Nasi, read by Julie
read by the author (Feb., unabridged CD, Slater (Mar., unabridged download, $19.95,
$39.99, ISBN 978-1-4272-7464-9). The ISBN 978-1-62317-427-9), presents a
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PENGUIN AUDIO Cep (May, unabridged CD, $40, ISBN 978-
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Finding My Voice: My Journey to case.
the West Wing and the Path Forward The River by Peter Heller, read by
by Valerie Jarrett, read by the author (Apr., Mark Deakins (Mar., unabridged CD, $35,
unabridged CD, $40, ISBN 978-0-525- ISBN 978-1-984839-91-6). Two college
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Gingerbread: A Novel by Helen author (Apr., unabridged CD, $40, ISBN
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05-1). Jules’s new job as an apartment (Feb., unabridged download, $20, ISBN
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80-3). Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett Astrophysics for Young People in
tries to stop a mysterious, destructive drone TANTOR AUDIO a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, with
operator and the pack of four vicious killers Where Monsters Hide: Sex, Murder Greg Mone, read by LeVar Burton (Feb.,
who apparently want the mystery man dead. and Madness in the Midwest by unabridged CD, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-
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follows the friendship of The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle
two girls from very dif- THOMAS NELSON Clayton, read by Rosie Jones (Feb.,
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become divers on the Grateful American by 982575-11-3) continues the Belles fantasy
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The Fever King by Victoria Lee, read Lynch (June, unabridged turies apart—one a trou-
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plots magical revenge in this first volume HARPERAUDIO Furyborn.
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DREAMSCAPE AUDIO Entrada Kelly (May, unabridged download, (Mar., unabridged download, $27.50,
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monster from the Gray, she finds herself On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson, read
having to unearth the dark truths about read by Bahni Turpin (Feb., unabridged by the author (Mar., unabridged CD, $30,
her family and her abilities. download, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06- ISBN 978-1-984882-39-4). Anderson
A Place for Wolves by Kosoko Jackson 284068-4). Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to shares reflections, rants, and calls to
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The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali NBA-winning author of The Poet X. read by Emma Galvin (Feb., unabridged
Benjamin (Apr., unabridged CD, $25, CD, $39.99, ISBN 978-1-4272-9701-3),
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Amy Rose Carpetta, read by Lauren Fortang break from her Midwestern boarding ISBN 978-1-250-22082-0), closes out the
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5491-1588-2), reimagines the King Arthur suits her best. Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
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WARM UP
YOUR SPRING
(Apr., unabridged CD, $50.99, ISBN 978-1-250-22119-3) is the
first volume in the gothic Something Dark and Holy YA trilogy.
with RECORDED BOOKS

The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons, read by Soneela Nankani
VIBRANT LISTENS (Feb., unabridged download, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-980006-16-9).
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Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith (June, unabridged
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PHOTO BY BRIN A BLUM
ON UNSPL ASH Also available in print and ebook wherever books are sold heroic rescue of 12 boys trapped with their soccer coach in a
flooded cave in Thailand. ■
You know people around the world are struggling. A homeless
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You’re looking for long-term solutions. John D. Barry shares incredible,
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Economy is also deeply rooted in the Scriptures. It is a personal, sometimes
funny, often heartbreaking account that presents a revolutionary pattern
for lasting change.
Jesus Economy is based on self-sacriice. His currency is love. It’s
Jesus'
called Jesus’ Economy because it’s about creating a spiritual and physical
economy for those who need it most. Here is a thoroughly biblical and
compassionate pattern for addressing issues of poverty and offering the
hope of the gospel.
Jesus’ Economy is a call to address our own spiritual poverty—as people
Jesu
who can too easily become distant from Christ—and it is a call to address
the physical poverty all around us in a smart and sustainable way. Jesus’
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Jesus’ Economy
John D. Barry 978-1-64123-175-6 $15.99
Mike Pence’s faith sets him apart and deenes him as a man, a husband, a father,
and the vice president of the United States of America. What is the in uence of
Pence’s faith upon history? Can he really apply biblical truths to political decisions?
How does his faith deene his role as a family man and a national leader? In this
incredible book, the man emerges, not just because of faith, but because in ending
faith, Pence has discovered who he is and has stepped forward to become the man
God has called him to be.
T he Faith of Mike Pence is a powerful account of one of the most conservative
vice presidents in American history, with exclusive interviews and insightful
commentary from friends, family, and colleagues. It is a serious and moving
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The Faith of Mike Pence

Leslie Montgomery 978-1-64123-225-8 $24.99 Releasing August 2019
Available through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Brodart, whitakerhouse.com 1.800.444.4484

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WRITERS TO WATCH
ANTICIPATED
By Matt Seidel
SPRING DEBUTS
These geographically and thematically diverse fiction debuts include vivid portrayals of
several African countries, the Russian tundra, and, somewhat less exotically, Houston.
There is a psychological thriller based on Greek tragedy and a tragic American comedy on
racial strife; two works merging art criticism and drama; and narrators ranging from the
tiny (a swarm of mosquitos) to the titanic (God himself ).
María Gainza Alex Michaelides

An Eye for Art Speak, Memory
The narrator of María Gainza’s Optic Nerve (Catapult, Screenwriter Alex Michaelides remem-
Apr.), translated from the Spanish by Thomas bers showing a draft of his first novel,
Bunstead, states that “carelessly administered, the his- The Silent Patient (Celadon, Feb.), to a
tory of art can be lethal as strychnine.” Gainza, a friend. “He said,
43-year-old Argentine journalist and art critic, admin- ‘You’re a novelist
© rosana schoijett
isters a more vivifying dose in the novel, which and not a dramatist,’
explores the resonances between the narrator’s life and which is a wonderful
certain treasured paintings. thing to hear after
“My first idea was to write an exhibition catalogue, because every time I went to struggling for all
see some art, the wall texts struck me as so drab they instantly negated any enjoyment,” those years,”
Gainza says. “An entirely mercurial and whimsical catalogue, naturally.” Michaelides says.
Though she dropped that conceit, the narrator is still a docent of sorts, ruminating on Michaelides, 41,
the jewels of Buenos Aires’s art world, including an Alfred de Dreux hunting scene and grew up in Cyprus,
an El Greco. “All the paintings mentioned in the book exist in permanent collections—of where “they start
museums that until just a few months ago were free to the public,” Gainza notes. teaching you Homer
Optic Nerve blends fiction and biographical vignettes, exploring the parallel lives of when you’re about
the narrator and artists. “For me painting, literature, and life 13.” The classical text that fascinated
are intimately linked—essentially because I don’t consider him, though, was Euripides’s Alcestis.
works of art as sacred objects in any way removed from people,” “Alcestis dies for her husband and then
Gainza says. “My inner feeling when looking at a painting is comes back to life and doesn’t speak
a bit like walking into a garage sale and finding a bronze again.” In his updated iteration of the
sculpture, a shattered porcelain cup, and a microwave all on myth, a painter, Alicia, goes mute after
the same level, all existing together quite harmoniously.” shooting and killing her husband. Years
The narrator, despite her intense relationship to art, is not later, a psychotherapist who feels com-
a collector. Gainza’s walls are also bare. “There was an abbot pelled by Alicia’s case begins treating
of Cluny who scolded his monks for letting the reliefs on the her in a mental institution.
abbey’s columns distract them from their chores,” she says. After attending Cambridge
“So perhaps it’s some monastic antecedent that prevents me University, Michaelides trained as a psy-
from living in a house with paintings.” chotherapist in London, working at a
Wr i t e r s t o Wa t c h
Julia Phillips because it is so isolated,” she says of the region, which until the Soviet Union’s
collapse was largely inaccessible. “After the fall, Kamchatka became eager for
Cold Case integration and a site for exploitation.”
Julia Phillips’s Russophilia began with a crush on Phillips’s novel, Disappearing Earth (Knopf, May), opens as two young sis-
a Russian-American camp counselor. “I remember ters are abducted. “The first chapter, with its quiet menace, extraordinary
the feeling of a Russian sentence in an email he landscape, and battle cry for the power of story, was irresistible,” says her
sent and how fascinating it agent, Suzanne Gluck. Each subsequent chapter introduces
seemed,” she says. a Kamchatka resident who’s tangentially related to the girls’
Phillips, who grew up in disappearance.
Montclair, N.J., and is now 30, Disappearing Earth was, Phillips says, initially conceived
studied Russian at Barnard and as a thematically linked collection in which “there was always
secured a Fulbright scholarship some sort of loss.” With each new draft, the overarching
to visit Kamchatka, a peninsula mystery structure strengthened. “Interweaving the clues
in northeast Russia. “I had spent became the most exciting part of
almost all of my life within a the process,” she adds.
20-mile radius, and I wanted to Phillips’s editor, Robin Desser,
know what the world was like,” praises the “immersiveness that
© nina subin
she remembers. “Kamchatka is captures the beauty of Kamchatka

an extremely contained place as well as the social and ethnic fis-
sures and tensions of the people of this region.”
Despite her evocative portrayal, Phillips feels
secure unit for teenagers, before enrolling in the that she can never know Kamchatka the way
American Film Institute’s screenwriting program Russians do. “The book is my American observa-
in Los Angeles. However, he always wanted to tion of Kamchatka and my American placing of the
write a mystery novel. story into this land.”
“The first question you ask yourself if you
follow Agatha Christie is, ‘Is there an iconic loca-
tion?’ ” Michaelides says. “I know the psych unit Maurice Carlos Ruffin
really well, and I can bring that to life.”
“To Alex, structure is paramount,” Ryan A Prescient Parody
Doherty, Michaelides’s editor, says. “That’s learned About the narrator of We Cast a Shadow (One World, Jan.), Maurice Carlos
from his screenwriting days and shows in his Ruffin remarks, “Once his voice and the way he saw the world became
ability to pull the rug out from under the reader.” clear to me, it was like sitting next to someone on an airplane. You want
Sam Copeland, Michaelides’s agent, concurs. to ignore that person.” However, this importunate companion—no word
“It was just un-put-downable—so perfectly exe- on whether he hogged the armrest—grew on him. “I couldn’t stop
cuted, so controlled,” he says. listening.” continued on p. 40
Michaelides credits Uma Thurman, who is
starring in a forthcoming film he cowrote, with
making Alicia an artist. “She said it would be a
great way of getting her unconscious onto the
page,” he recalls.
Of Alicia’s psychother-
apist, who unethically
begins investigating
h i s patient’s crime,
Michaelides says,
“Therapists aren’t meant
to have an agenda but to
see what arises. That’s
quite a passive approach
for a novel. It would take
© clare welsh
six years instead of six

months.”
continued from p. 39
The narrator is a black lawyer at a white-shoe law firm that African-Americans neighborhoods are fenced-in ghettos. “Like
holds retreats at a restored plantation. He debases himself in all great fiction that interrogates culture through futurism, it
hopes of a promotion that will pay for a skin-whitening demela- feels relevant to our present,” says Ruffin’s agent, PJ Mark.
nization procedure for his teenage son. Ruffin, a columnist at VQR, is a lifelong New Orleanian and
“He’s gifted and cursed with the best and worst of America,” former corporate lawyer who now works for the Social Security
Ruffin says of his successful narrator’s self-hatred. Administration. He cofounded a writing group in 2007 and
The novel is set in the near future in a Southern city rife with later enrolled in an MFA program at the University of New
discriminatory laws (“the Dreadlock Ordinance”) and in which Orleans. “It took a lot of intention and patience to go from
Giacomo Sartori
As Told by Him
God, famously upstaged by Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost,
gives a livelier performance in Giacomo Sartori’s I Am God
(Restless, Feb.), his first novel to be translated from Italian into
English. Sartori’s feisty God becomes smitten with one of his
creations, an atheist geneticist named Daphne who earns extra
money inseminating cows.
“The tall inseminatrix is a highly intelligent, single-minded
woman scientist battling to be respected in Italian society,
where male chauvinism rules almost unchecked,” Sartori says.
“Unfortunately, however, God also turns out to be male.”
Sartori, 60, is from Trento, Italy, and studied agronomy at the University of Florence.
Whitney Scharer
A Life Exposed
An exhibit of Lee Miller’s photographs produced a strong reaction in Whitney
Scharer. “I was so taken by her photography, and so surprised and aggravated
that I hadn’t heard of her before,” she recalls. Scharer’s biographical novel, The
Age of Light (Little, Brown, Feb.), captures the glamorous, elusive artist.
“Miller played with the idea of memory and photography,” Scharer says.
© sharona jacobs
Namwali Serpell
Book Buzz
Namwali Serpell’s The Old Drift (Hogarth, Mar.)
emerged from a nearly two-decades-long process. “The
weird thing about thinking about a novel off and on
for 18 years is I knew the plot of land, I knew the
boundaries of the story, but I didn’t know exactly what
would grow within the plot of land,” she says. While
© peg skorpinski
cultivating her fictional garden, she became an English

professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and
continued on p. 42
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being an unpublished, not particularly good amateur writer to becoming a writer

someone might want to read.”
Ruffin’s incisive social vision was sharpened by his legal experience. “Because of our
training and experience in court,” he says, “we almost have an X-ray that allows us to
see behind walls, the studs and pillars that make up the structure of a house.”
The novel’s exuberant parody and heart leavens its weighty themes. “Maurice’s love
and optimism is infused into every sentence—and his sublime novel is an expression
of compassion for our flaws, our failures, and our attempts to make things right,” says
Ruffin’s editor, Victory Matsui.
� Girl, Stop
Apologizing: A
Shame-Free Plan
He worked as a soil scientist on development projects abroad before settling in Paris and
for Embracing and
has written five previous novels. I Am God, translated by Frederika Randall, is the “first of
Achieving Your
a trilogy dealing with ponderous contemporary issues in a nonponderous way,” he says.
Goals
The novel grapples with an increasingly jealous, fallible God and his linguistic con- Rachel Hollis.
straints. According to Satori, “[Human language] is quite inadequate to describe the HarperCollins Leadership,
transcendent. When we speak about God, we inevitably bring him down to our level.” $27.99 (240p)
Satori’s God is of two minds about man’s efforts to decode the universe. “He is actually ISBN 978-1-4002-0960-6
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but at the same time he’s disturbed by the scientific community’s arrogance, absolutism,
and inability to consider alternative explanations,” the author says.
God looks on humans with a sardonic eye, Sartori says. “For every theme a novelist might
treat in fiction, there is now a vast production of nonfictional documentation on an almost
H ollis (Girl, Wash Your Face)
presents strategies for women to pursue
infinite variety of topics. Irony is a way of adding something new to the mix: the short their ambitions in this passionate guide to
building confidence. She wants readers to
circuit between comic and grave can put matters in a new light.”
know that she “did not wake up” motivated
and organized and relates stories of
personal struggle to illustrate how lies can
“Depending on which order you show photo- hold women back; particularly revealing is
graphs in, you can create a narrative about your- her discussion of her decision to undergo
breast augmentation, which she originally
self that you want to tell.”
believed was “artificial and vapid” but
Miller began her career as a model in New York later realized “would make me feel more
City, moving in the 1920s to Paris, where she confident.” Being open about her own
became the collaborator, muse, and lover of the priorities (herself, her marriage, her kids,
surrealist photographer Man Ray. “She was and her work, in that order), Hollis writes
with an authority that feels grounded and
always seeing herself through other people’s,
tested: “So stop waiting for someday;
especially men’s, eyes,” observes Scharer, who is someday is a myth. Don’t wait to have
41 and has an MFA from the University of the time; start planning to make the time.”
Washington. Hollis’s plan comes in three phases: letting
“In this novel she is front and center in all her go of excuses (such as being unworthy of
success or paralyzed by fear of failure),
glory,” adds Scharer’s agent, Julie Barer.
adopting new practices (asking for help,
Interspersed with the story of Miller and Ray’s learning to say no), and honing new skills
tempestuous love affair are vignettes—“little shrapnel pieces” Scharer calls them— (organization, and optimism). She also
from Miller’s reportage while she was embedded with the Allied forces during WWII. provides a list of practices she calls the
“I think when she found photojournalism, she thought, this is who I am,” Scharer “five to thrive”: proper hydration, waking
up earlier, giving up one unhealthy food for
says. She worked for a fine arts printing company in Boston and later became one of
30 days, daily movement, and daily faith-
the first employees at the GrubStreet writing center. based gratitude practices. Hollis’s writing
The novel opens in the 1970s at a boozy dinner party at Miller’s British country is beautifully blunt, and she humbly thanks
house. “Her Vogue editor has come to give her an ultimatum: write about her love affair her fans for her success. Her actionable
with Man Ray or fade into the shadows,” says Judy Clain, Scharer’s editor. “This frame ideas and captivating voice will encourage
women to believe in themselves. (Mar.)
grabbed me powerfully.”
Scharer was attracted to Miller’s confidence as well as her vulnerability. “That piece —Publishers Weekly
of her that she spent her life trying to hide or overcome is what makes her a fascinating January 11, 2019
character for a novel.”
www.harpercollins.com
wrote a study of literary uncertainty. “Movious is a word we use in Zambia to mean people who
The novel explores the braided lives of three Zambian fami- move around a lot,” says Serpell, who is 39 and was born in
lies of English, Italian, and African origin, moving from the Zambia. She bounced between there, the U.S., and England
early days of colonialism to a protest movement in a technologi- while growing up.
cally advanced future. Equally movious is the novel’s narrator, a choral swarm of
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

A House Divided
Through her blog, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma met the writer
NoViolet Bulawayo, who encouraged her to apply to MFA
programs in the U.S. Tshuma, who was studying economics
in South Africa at the time, says that she first had to inform
her relatives. “When you tell your family you want to be a
writer, they call a meeting and ask difficult questions,” she
adds.
Tshuma received a scholarship from the Iowa Writers’
© tribute nyoni-tribbaz
© david gracia
Bryan Washington
The Houston Chronicles
Bryan Washington’s debut collection, Lot (Riverhead, Mar.),
homes in on three or four of Houston’s distinctive neighbor- told,” says his editor, Laura
hoods. “You can live your life within a couple of blocks,” he Perciasepe. Half of the tales, which
says, “or you can speak one language in one part of town, and are named after Houston streets, follow one family in the city’s
another in another part, and live a multiplicity of lives in the East End. Others involve a male prostitute moving in with a
course of a single day.” client, an immigrant taken under the wing of an avuncular drug
Washington, who is 25, moved to Houston as a young child dealer, and two friends discovering what might be a real-life
and, apart from attending an MFA program in New Orleans, chupacabra. “I’m interested in characters in transition, whether
has lived there ever since. He writes for the New Yorker and the or not they reach the end of the goal,” Washington says.
Paris Review and writes a column on Houston, “Bayou Diaries,” “There is a vein of queerness in these stories that runs deep
for Catapult. and rich,” said PW’s starred review, and the collection depicts
“Bryan can write about anything—a city, a supermarket, the fraught search for male intimacy.
love, sex, food, hope—and completely captivate the reader,” “I think that each character who is not comfortable with
says his agent, Danielle Bukowski. himself, or his masculinity, or where he sees himself in relation
Lot offers a “glimpse into an often overlooked major American to the other males around him doesn’t have a terribly good end,”
city and into the lives of people whose stories aren’t always Washington says.
drifting mosquitos. “I’m super nerdy about bugs,” Serpell says, aspect of the novel reminded her of Gabriel García Márquez’s
and “every time I would learn something new about mosquitos, Buendía family from One Hundred Years of Solitude, while “the
it would open up this whole other set of ideas I could incorpo- book’s broad scope, multiple locations, and audacious visions
rate into a larger grand narrative.” of the future also bring to mind the novels of David Mitchell,
Serpell deploys certain genres (for example, magical realism) particularly Cloud Atlas.”
and tropes associated with Africa with delicate irony. “A lot of The Old Drift is a hymn to error and chance. “Aesthetically,
the moves I’m making have to do with overturning expectations I’m really into accidental connections,” Serpell says. “The idea
about what we think of when we read an African novel,” she of Zambia as a nation was something that was arbitrarily
says. imposed, but that very arbitrary thing has also been very
Serpell’s editor, Alexis Washam, says that the generational productive.”
Workshop that involved teaching. “Oh, so they really think I cide in the 1980s and finally to modern Zimbabwe. The nar-
can teach creative writing to Americans? This is going to be rator, Zamani, is the Mlambos’ unctuous, grandiloquent lodger
interesting,” she remembers thinking. who ingratiates himself with a family reeling from the disap-
Much of Tshuma’s debut novel, House of Stone (Norton, Jan.), pearance of their son.
is set in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, where she “Bold, funny, and lyrical, the voices on her page come alive
grew up. (Her 2005 story collection, Shadows, was published in for me instantly, each one distinct and declarative,” says
South Africa.) The novel began as a portrait of one family, but Tshuma’s agent, Samantha Shea. “It’s a rather amazing feat.”
Iowa classmates urged her to widen its scope. “The idea that A zealous excavator of the family’s—and the nation’s—past,
this could be a bigger book about Zimbabwe stuck in my head,” Zamani is an idiosyncratic historian. “He’s an ironist, forever
says Tshuma, who is 30 and now lives in Houston. questioning, which for me helps subvert ideology in the novel,”
The book follows the Mlambo family from the Zimbabwe Tshuma says of her scheming narrator. “Above all, though, I
War of Liberation through the subsequent Gukurahundi geno- wanted him to be entertaining.”
34-year-old New Yorker,

Lauren Wilkinson was interested in exploring
“whatever similarity existed
The Invisible Agent in America between being
Lauren Wilkinson’s continent-hop- black and being a spy,” she
ping novel, American Spy (Random says. “The books that
House, Feb.), sprung from a local- inspired me weren’t particu-
ized prompt. In a Columbia MFA larly spy novels—for
workshop, the writer John Freeman example Ralph Ellison’s
asked Wilkinson to write a story Invisible Man, where the
about suburban unhappiness. “The grandfather says he’s a spy in
craziest thing I could think of was a the enemy’s country.”
© niqui carter
suburban mom—one who’s very tra- Wilkinson says that

ditional, but an assassin is coming finding a way into her
for her,” she says. guarded character proved
Agent Kristina Moore jokes that challenging. “The novel started in the third person, and
after hearing Wilkinson read that everyone who read it said it was too distanced,” she recalls. She
story, she “ran up to Wilkinson, tried having the protagonist tell her story to her children in the
knocking chairs out of the way, to first person. “I needed her to be able to open up to somebody,
ask her if she might expand it into a but as a spy, she’s spent her whole life not doing that.”
novel.” That voice resonated with Wilkinson’s editor, Caitlin
American Spy’s protagonist is a McKenna. “I came to this book because of its concept, but I
black FBI counterintelligence officer stayed for its voice,” she says. “The first-person narrative
recruited in the late 1980s to infil- crackles with this amazing collision between anger, resentment,
trate the inner circle of Thomas and ambition.”
Sankara, the charismatic leftist pres-
ident of Burkina Faso. Wilkinson, a Matt Seidel lives in Durham, N.C., and is a staff writer for the Millions.
Orphans
Of History
Eliot Pattison’s 10th Insp. Shan Tao Yun mystery, Bones of the Earth, is about
China’s fraught relationship with Tibet
By Lenny Picker
F
ew successful mystery authors are also prominent Beijing inspector investigating cases that were linked to Tibet,
human rights advocates, and only one has been but then the author says he realized “that it would be more
honored with prestigious awards for both effective for him to be subjected to the same abuses suffered by
endeavors. Eliot Pattison, whose Insp. Shan Tao Tibetans in their prison gulag.” Shan became a man who knew
Yun mystery series uses the whodunit format to too much—an inspector general whose dogged pursuit of the
depict the harsh treatment of Tibetans by the Chinese govern- truth, in a case that ultimately implicated a powerful govern-
ment, is the only person to have won both the Mystery Writers ment official, led to his being exiled to a prison in Tibet with a
of America’s Edgar Award (in 2000, for best first novel, for very high death rate. In The Skull Mantra, the series’ debut, Shan
Shan’s debut, The Skull Mantra) and Tibet House’s U.S. Art of was tapped by the prison’s governor to probe the murder of a
Freedom Award (in 2015). prosecutor, whose death was attributed to a demon by the area’s
Pattison, an international trade law attorney, first traveled to monks.
China in 1979, soon after the United States had normalized About 20 publishers rejected Pattison’s manuscript, but he
relations with Beijing, to help U.S. companies interested in persisted and landed a deal with St. Martin’s. PW’s starred
investing there. That trip and many subsequent ones exposed review of The Skull Mantra stated that “a venerable plot device—
him to government officials and ordinary citizens throughout the discredited detective given one last chance—is invested
China and Tibet, which has been under Chinese sovereignty with stunning new life in this debut thriller,” and subsequent
since the 1950s. books (2009’s The Lord of Death, 2012’s Mandarin Gate, and
During one of those trips, Pattison saw something that 2014’s Soul of the Fire) were selected for PW’s yearly Best Books
changed his life. He had become interested in Tibet when he lists. Pattison’s 10th—and, for now, final—Shan novel, Bones of
studied Eastern religions in college. “When I witnessed the the Earth, in which the detective investigates a corrupt Chinese
physical suppression of peaceful Buddhist monks by Chinese development project that claimed the lives of two archeologists
police, my studies began to take on a more political slant,” he who’d been working to preserve Tibetan antiquities, will be
says. “What I had seen in Tibetan temples published by Minotaur in March.
increasingly haunted me. As the years went Pattison is passionate about explaining
by, my concerns about Tibet grew deeper and the importance of the setting and themes of
deeper. I began to recognize how unique its the Shan novels. “The dismantling of Tibet
culture was, and how important it was for the by the Chinese government over the past
world to know about its past and present.” two generations is one of the darkest chap-
Pattison’s books had consisted of titles such ters of Asia’s long, rich history,” he says.
as Breaking Boundaries: Public Policy vs. American “While examples of more technically
Business in the World Economy, one of the New advanced, militarized nations over-
York Times’ five best management books of whelming smaller countries can be found in
1996. “I was grappling with the dilemma of nearly every century, the scope of Beijing’s
where to take my writing,” Pattison recalls. conduct in Tibet and the scale of the damage
“I wanted to put a spotlight on the issues in inflicted has few parallels in any age. Tibet
Tibet, but I also wanted to shift from nonfic- didn’t just have a vibrant spiritually cen-
tion to mystery fiction. Then I had an tered culture, it had an entirely separate
epiphany, realizing that I could do both by civilization, with centuries-old institutions
writing a mystery series set in Tibet.” of medicine, literature, education, govern-
Initially, Shan, Pattison’s lead, was to be a ment, and religion that were unlike any in
Author Profile
© jerry bauer
planet, and nowhere on the planet are rights being suppressed
more severely than in the lands of Western China.”
The Shan novels have been translated into 20 languages.
Unsurprisingly, however, the series (which one of Pattison’s
editors credited with having created a new subgenre—that of
the campaign thriller, integrating a political message into a
puzzle mystery storyline) has been blocked from distribution in
China. Pattison has heard, however, that English-language Shan
books have been sold at Chinese flea markets.
In 2007, Pattison launched a second mystery series with Bone
Rattler; that book introduced Scotsman Duncan McCallum, who
finds himself transported to colonial North America and ends
up investigating murders. McCallum has now appeared five
times, with 2016’s Blood of the Oak and 2018’s Savage Liberty
landing on PW’s list of Best Books lists in their respective years.
Despite the different settings, Pattison says that the two series
have much in common. “They are both about peoples who have
been abandoned by history—essentially orphans in their broader
societies—who cannot rely on government for justice. Both
series have a deep spiritual context and offer lenses for under-
standing rich but unfamiliar cultures. Tibetans, Iroquois, and
Highland Scots all have cultures with important lessons for the
world.”
Behind the writing of the McCallum books, however, is
another kind of campaign—one aimed at addressing disturbing
surveys that concluded that a majority of Americans are not
historically literate. “Most of our fellow citizens have lost their
sense of history,” Pattison says. “Popular culture wants us to
believe that history is not relevant. Even worse, it often wants
us to be shamed by it because it is rife with acts that today may
be considered politically incorrect. We are suffering a peculiar
cultural psychosis in which our students are taught to be embar-
rassed by their own history.”
Specifically, Pattison says he writes the McCallum novels
“because Americans have become alarmingly disconnected from
the world. Tibet and its traditions of nonviolent compassion and the extraordinary story of their country’s founding.” He adds,
individual responsibility have vital relevance for the rest of the “The 18th century, particularly these middle years, was a pivotal
planet. Some of the most satisfying messages I receive from period in the history of mankind. It was a time of profound
readers around the world are from those who had never even tragedy, reflected in the near extinction of woodland tribes and
known about those issues until they read my Shan books.” Scottish Highland culture, as well as of transformative strides
Pattison’s advocacy for Tibetan human rights has landed him in science, medicine, technology, education, literature, and gov-
in the select company of recipients of Tibet House’s Art of ernment. The series provides fertile ground for explaining those
Freedom award, which includes Richard Gere and Martin aspects and engaging readers with new perspectives on our
Scorcese. Tibet House, located in Manhattan, was founded, at shared past.”
the request of the Dalai Lama, to ensure that Tibetan civilization Pattison says he has specific readers in mind when he writes—
and culture persist. Pattison is quick to put his efforts in con- readers “who want more than some short-lived escapism in their
text: conditions for Tibetans worsened over the past two decades, novels.” He adds, “They want to engage with the world on a
and he says he’s disturbed by trends he’s observed in Western broader scale and want to be confronted not just with complex
countries. “We have become too insular. A new, disturbing form crime mysteries but also with learnings and issues they have not
of human rights activism has evolved, with a very narrow focus previously considered. I very deliberately seek to provide that
driven by domestic politics that ignores vastly more severe engagement and those confrontations. I want my readers to be
conditions elsewhere on the planet. None of us should feel truly thinking about my books long after they have finished reading
free when human rights are being suppressed anywhere on the them.” ■
JA N UARY 2019
Your guide to self-publishing

Reducing Marketing Anxiety and Confusion •
Book Cover Redesign • First Lines from BookLife Authors •
Indie Scouting Report • 80 New Titles Listed
Finding the
Meaning of
Life
For inspiration,
BookLife Prize–winner
Michael F. Stewart
looks to his daughters
BY DANIEL LEFFERTS
M
ichael F. Stewart, the winner of the
2018 BookLife Prize for his YA novel
Ray vs. the Meaning of Life, is drawn
to narratives that move between platforms.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the intersec-
tion of tech and story,” he says.
Stewart’s past projects include a storytell-
ing app called NARR8R, which allowed users
to create multimedia “ad hoc social networks”
rooted in specific locations or periods of
time. He also worked with Scholastic Canada
on a story-based social media platform
called Bully for You that aimed to teach kids
about cyberbullying. And he’s been com-
missioned to write the second volume of
W e i r d w o o d M a n o r, a n i n t e r a c t i v e
® BOOKLIFE PRIZE
multimedia app whose
first volume was a runner-
up for Apple’s app of the
year in Canada, where
Stewart lives, in 2015. You want an
editor who’s
By comparison, Ray vs.
the Meaning of Life, which
is just a plain old book,
may seem like a low-tech
effort. But, in fact, the
smarter than you are.
novel was inspired in part
by social media.
The story, which BookLife Prize judge Rebecca questions Ray has, and they’re working on the
Sky called “darkly hilarious,” centers on a young same journey,” Stewart says.
man named Ray, who, in order to inherit his For now, Ray exists only as a traditional novel,
grandmother’s million-dollar trailer park, must but Stewart is cooking up ideas about how to bring
figure out the meaning of life. On social media, of it to other platforms. He thinks the guru character,
course, attempts to articulate the meaning of life Dalen Anders, deserves a spin-off. “I have toyed
abound. with bringing him to life: giving him a blog, a
“We’re all on Facebook, and we all get these Facebook—having him become a motivational speaker
inspirational quotes and memes and that kind of in his own right,” Stewart says. He’s even started
thing,” Stewart says. “Generally speaking, I ignore writing a book titled Be Your Own Pond, which
them. But I started to look at them a bit more. I would be “written” by Anders.
realized: You know what? A lot of them are pretty But Stewart also acknowledges that books in
useful. There’s a lot of wisdom in what are some- their purest form have their advantages. “The
times eye-rolling quotes. What was missing was easiest and least expensive way into storytelling
context.” in general is through writing books,” he says. “It
Stewart found this to be true of books by gurus, can cost nothing, effectively, to get your stories
as well, such as those by Robin Sharma, a Canadian out there, aside from your time.”
self-help author. “I noticed how people really took Still, Stewart attributes the success of Ray in
to inspiration wrapped in the envelope of story,” part to the fact that he worked with an editor,
Stewart says. But, in the case of gurus, the life Catherine Adams. He advises all indie authors to
advice always took precedence over the story. “I do the same. “You want an editor who’s smarter
thought they could probably do a better job on that than you are,” he says. Adams, he adds, “is part
front,” he says. of this award, too.”
Stewar t also took inspiration from his four Winning the BookLife Prize has given Stewart a
daughters, two of whom are in their teens. “At the sense of validation. “It really helps to have confi-
time they were asking questions like, ‘How do I dence in writing,” he says.
figure out what I want do with my life?’ ” he says. Ray, Stewart notes, represents something of a
“For me, novel writing has really become me help- departure for him—a kind of book that he began
ing answer questions from my kids.” working toward with a previous YA novel, 2017’s
Stewart’s daughters are also his first readers—and Counting Wolves. He calls these titles “happy-cry
critics: “If it doesn’t pass their test, it’s not going books.” “I’m looking to elicit a reaction at the end
to pass anyone else’s.” where you’re so proud of the hero it makes you
Ray vs. the Meaning of Life, which stars a cast tear up,” he says. “I’m challenging myself to take
of oddball characters, including a motivational that a step further in my next book.”
speaker in the mold of Sharma, seems to have met Winning the BookLife Prize, Stewart adds, has
their criteria. Stewart’s elder two daughters say encouraged him “to go deeper, and push harder.”■
it’s their favorite of his books—the one that most
resonates with them. “They’ve asked the same Daniel Lefferts is a writer living in New York.
48 B O O K L I F E , J A N UA RY 2 8 , 2 0 1 9
® COVER ART
Cover Redesign
This month, Michelle Argyle at Melissa Williams Design
reimagines the cover of Log Off: How to Stay Connected
After Disconnecting by indie author Blake Snow.
To submit a book for a free cover redesign, email us at booklifeeditor@booklife.com.
Original Cover
I loved the Using bright

digital-looking yellow for the
title of the title not only
original cover helps the book
and decided to stand out
keep that but also helps
digital feel in inject warmth
the subtitle. and optimism
into an other-
wise cold cover.
The first cover

is all about
staying
connected to All-white
others, yet it covers run the
feels cold and risk of getting
distant. I fixed lost on white
this problem by screens, so I
including the decided to go
human element with a dark blue
of a hand background
pressing a that really
power button. stands out.
® BOOK MARKETING
Reducing
Marketing Anxiety
And Confusion
Before considering new marketing
tactics and platforms, authors should
focus on understanding their goals
and assessing their resources
BY JANE FRIEDMAN Jane Friedman
I
’ll never forget a conversation I had years ago Some tactics may seem essential—because every-
with a colleague who runs online courses for one is using them and thus they are required to
authors. He emphasized the necessity of teach- play the game. But always question and assess. Is
ing tactics: tangible, actionable steps that students Amazon advertising going to be effective for the
can take toward their goals. If he focused too much book you’re trying to sell (factoring in your book’s
on big-picture strategy or abstract theory, he said, pricing, packaging, and positioning)? Is social
he lost attention and course satisfaction. media a suitable tool for your genre/category, given
He was right. Few things are more powerful in the amount of time that you have to wait to see
teaching than sharing a step-by-step process that results? Do you know enough about your target
leads to observable results. For better or worse, readers to understand how they discover books to
however, I often err on the side of strategy—which read?
means that students always ask me how to apply For example, I’m repeatedly told that I should
said strategy. They want to know what specific get into podcasting because it’s big and growing.
steps to take. All of us, especially today, welcome But should I adopt that tactic when it would require
such instruction in an increasingly changing pub- me to stop accepting paid work or stop other
lishing environment. activities that are effective and even growing?
Before I explore this tension further, let me first Possibly—but only an evaluation of my strategy
offer an example of the difference between strat- would lead to an informed answer.
egy and tactics. If you’re an author who wants to Strategy questions can be difficult to answer,
sell more books, you may want to learn how to and most of us like to avoid grappling with them.
advertise through Amazon Marketing Services or They also require awareness—an understanding of
Facebook, how to be active and engaged on social yourself and the market. And, while you may think
media, or how to podcast. Learning best practices you know your goals, when pushed and questioned,
in these areas would provide valuable tactics, but I find many writers aren’t clear on what they want.
doing so sidesteps larger, strategic questions that So consider the following:
affect your success. For instance, what are your
strengths as an author and what would you be able What outcomes are you looking for in the short
to execute well and repeatedly? Where can you term and long term? Consider how the short-term
gain early or easy traction with the resources outcomes play into the long-term outcomes. For
available to you? What part of the market is best example, getting a book traditionally published is
to focus on? Where are your best opportunities for usually a short-term goal that can have little in
growth and visibility? common with earning a living.
BOOK MARKETING ®
Are your outcomes specific? And do you know category but you lack a social media foundation,
when you’ve attained them? The more specific then a more sensible tactic is to target influencers
your desired outcome, the better. “I want to sell or VIPs who already have reach.
lots of books” isn’t as useful as “I want to sell In a great scene from Lost in Translation, Bill
1,000 copies through Amazon during the first year Murray’s character says, “The more you know who
of sales.” you are and what you want, the less you let things
upset you.” If I could customize that for today’s
What are all the possible methods you can use to authors, I’d say, “The more you know who you are
reach this outcome? List all the methods you know as an author and what readership you seek, the
of, no matter how unlikely you are to use them. less confused you’ll be about marketing.” And the
Then tr y to find methods that you might not less you’ll be influenced by the crowd.
know about yet. Consider which methods you are It’s easy to feel anxious about your progress when
well prepared to execute and succeed at—and you see your peers engaging in new forms of pub-
this is where you may need to experiment to know lishing or marketing and you feel pressured to join.
for sure. But the more you’re focused on your own long-term
outcomes and how to wisely use your time and
For instance, many authors are advised to use social resources, the better prepared you’ll be to consider
media as part of their book launches, but they or experiment with new tactics, adopting or dis-
establish accounts only for the purpose of book carding them as you see fit. ■
marketing. Such authors lack the years of experi-
ence and community building that are typically Jane Friedman teaches digital media and pub-
required to see sales results. If social media is a
BOOKWORKS_HALF_H_0715_Layout 1 7/24/15 10:12 AM Page 1
lishing at the University of Virginia and is the
critical factor for reaching readers in your genre/ former publisher of Writer’s Digest.
Calling all Indie Authors

What can BookWorks do for you:
● Help You Find Your Reader ● Chat With Our Experts
● Post Excerpts from Your Book ● Showcase and Sell Your Books With
for Peer Review Direct-to-Retailer Links
● Get a Featured Author Cover Medallion ● Find the Best Editors, Designers, Illustrators,
for Your Book Marketers, and Publicists in the Business
And that’s just for starters
Let us help you Prepare, Publish and Promote your books. We show you how to make
indie publishing easier and, yes it’s true —how to make it fun.
JOIN NOW!
bookworks.com
® BOOKS TO WATCH
Scouting Report
In this month’s roundup of the best-reviewed BookLife
titles, we highlight works of science fiction, romance, and
fantasy, as well as a comic thriller and some historical fiction.
★ A Printer’s While Gods Sleep

Choice L.D. COLTER
W.L. PATENAUDE
Synopsis: Colter peppers the
Synopsis: Patenaude’s vivid first book of her
masterly debut novel Perilous Gods series with
tells a gripping story of formidable deities, intimi-
the near future. dating monsters, and
PW’s Takeaway: vibrant variations of myths
Patenaude’s take on the inspired by classical Greek
possibilities of technology tales.
is inventive and in line PW’s Takeaway: Fans of
with contemporary science, and his work truly Greek myths and celestial fantasy will eagerly
shines as a nuanced, character-driven drama. await more adventures in this polished world.
Comparable Title: Mary Doria Russell’s The Comparable Titles: Jordanna Max Brodsky’s
Sparrow Olympus Bound trilogy
Sample Line: “As word spread, the work of Sample Line: “With his opponent watching from
rebuilding the city slowed, and bets were made the other side of the table, Ty rattled the cup
that the rumors were true—that there really and tossed the five small goat pasterns across
had been a murder in the orbits.” the green felt.”
Read the Review: Read the Review:
publishersweekly.com/9781642280074 publishersweekly.com/ASINB07GGPZFT5
Mad Bay State Terminal 19

Librarian Skye L.R. OLSON
MICHAEL JANICE S.C. PETRIE Synopsis: The last
GUILLEBEAU Synopsis: Petrie’s thing terminally ill
Synopsis: novel is based on Hope Reynolds
Guillebeau blends the real story of a wants is to start a
humor and mys- ship found float- relationship—but
tery perfectly in this comic ing empty, its crew lost to the then she meets wealthy and
thriller. sea. attractive Christian Lund.
PW’s Takeaway: Guillebeau keeps PW’s Takeaway: Readers will find PW’s Takeaway: Readers will enjoy
things light with frequent laugh- themselves caught up in the this tender romance with plenty
out-loud lines. stormy excitement and mystery. of international flavor.
Comparable Titles: Jo Dereske’s Comparable Title: Valerie Martin’s Comparable Title: Jojo Moyes’s
Miss Zukas Mysteries The Ghost of the Mary Celeste Me Before You
Read the Review: publishers- Read the Review: publishers- Read the Review: publishers-
weekly.com/9780997205527 weekly.com/9780970551047 weekly.com/ASINB07BBNT5N8
FIRST LINES ®
First Lines
Angel’s Lust
CHRISTINA HOAG
“He’d been branded like a steer.”
Our monthly look at some of the best

first lines from BookLife authors Debriefing the Dead
KERRY BLAISDELL
“I smelled death on the two men who
This month we’ve got the smell of death, exploding walked into my office that day. I should
stars, and more. To submit a first line, have listened to my nose.”
email booklifeeditor@booklife.com.
Dead to Them
Sky-Bound Misfit SMITA BHATTACHARYA
JANE POWELL “I decided to stop living today.”
“My life began in a pub.”
The Shape of the Atmosphere The Fire in the Rock

JESSICA DAINTY CHARLES HENDERSON NORMAN
“The day before my dad and sister died, “I am old now, old beyond counting.”
my father woke me in the middle of the
night to watch the stars explode.”
B O O K L I F E .C O M 55
® WRITING ADVICE
Ask confusion about affect and effect

is perhaps the most common
As adverbs, both can mean “at a
greater distance” or “to a greater
the
error in the English language. extent,” but farther tends to be
So, here’s the difference. used to refer to distance—for
Most of the time affect is used example: “My house is farther
Editer as a verb, and effect is used as

a noun. Affect, used as a verb,
means “to have influence on”:
from the playground than yours.”
Further tends to be used to mean
“to a greater degree”: “Let’s
A veteran editor answers “The teacher’s praise affected
Adelaide’s confidence.” Affect
look into the problem further.”
There you have it. I hope the
your writing questions as a noun is used in psychology effect of this description will
to mean emotion, but most of us serve to further your under-
BY BETTY KELLY SARGENT don’t ever have an occasion to standing of the differences
use it that way. between these pesky little words.
Dear Editor: Effect, when used as a noun,
C ould you please explain the

difference between affect
and effect and farther and
means result.“John’s speech had
a powerful effect on the audi-
ence.” But sometimes effect is
further? I always get these used as a verb. Then it means Betty Kelly Sargent is the
confused and could really use “to bring about or cause some- founder and CEO of BookWorks.
some help. —Jordy W. thing to happen”: “We all need to
do everything we can to effect If you have a question for the
A uthor and grammarian Roy

H. Copperud says that the
change.”
Now for farther and further.
editor, please email Betty Sargent
at booklifeeditor@booklife.com.
PAID LISTINGS
PW SELECT LISTINGS ®
New Titles from

Self-Publishers
Booksellers, publishers, librarians, and agents are encouraged to look at the 80
self-published titles below. Each appears with a list of retailers that are selling
the book and a description provided by its author. Some of these writers are
waiting to be discovered; others have track records and followings and are doing
it on their own. If you are a self-published author interested in listing titles in this
section, please visit publishersweekly.com/pw-select for more information.
Fiction criminal underworld, author Aggers paper (306p), ISBN 978-

All Love Prohibited reveals how revenge and envy come in 1-947983-79-3
Anders Eklof. Toplink Publishing. $15.99 all shapes and sizes. Amazon, BN.com, Kobo
paper (388p), ISBN 978- Olivia Novak loves
1-949804-66-9 Chris Lynheart: Daughter of Forayer family dirt, and her
Amazon, BN.com Dalton Reutlinger. AuthorHouse. $20.99 deceased mother’s
A young, idealistic, paper (284p), ISBN 978- novel begs for more
and naive foreigner 1-5462-3502-6; $3.99 investigation. But
falls in forbidden love e-book, ISBN 978-1- cracking open the dirtball requires her
with an exquisitely 5462-3501-9 two sisters and a pair of wise-guy ther-
beautiful black woman Amazon apy dogs.
in the tense Alabama of 1961. Jessica Holland dis-
covers the origins of “Is That Your Aunt in
Always Gardenia her bloodline. An the Attic?” Another
Betsy Hanson. Bryant ancient relic comes into her possession Edna and Edith
House Books. $25.99 that means either certain doom or Adventure
hardcover (231p), ISBN immense power. Barbara Fletcher and
978-0-9998093-1-0 Cheryl Gauthier.
Amazon The Gift of the Seer AuthorHouse. $20.99
Set in contemporary K.B. Laugheed. KB paper (262p), ISBN 978-
Seattle, this story fol- Laugheed. $18 paper 1-5246-2310-4; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-
lows 56-year-old Gardenia Pitkin as she (372p), ISBN 978-1- 1-5246-2309-8
adjusts to life as a widow. 7328862-0-9 Amazon
Amazon, BN.com, Ingram As they navigate through their adven-
The Cartel The conclusion of the tures, sister detectives Edna and Edith
Dennis Charles Aggers. story of Indian captive continue to find themselves in precari-
Xlibris. $23.99 paper Katie O’Toole, who pretends to be the ous and hilarious situations while strug-
(434p), ISBN 978-1- spirit keeper of a dead seer to preserve gling to avoid being assassinated for
4931-0399-7; $3.99 his people from annihilation. the bounty on their heads.
e-book, ISBN 978-1-
4931-0400-0 Indigo Legacy: Julie and Monica:
Amazon Book 3 of the Dushane Sisters Trilogy Hope Behind the Tears
In this action-packed portrayal of the Courtney Pierce. Windtree Press. $15.95 David Allen Smith. WestBow Press. $20.95
PAID LISTINGS
® PW SELECT LISTINGS
paper (52p), Publishing. $19 paper The Light Horse Ghost: World War I
ISBN 978-1- (272p), ISBN 978-1- Julie Janson. Nibago.
973604-85-3; 4809-9144-6 $2.99 e-book, ISBN
$3.99 e-book, Amazon 978-0-9876426-1-5
ISBN 978-1- A couple is drawn into Amazon
973604-86-0 a sinister organization The story of Iris, a
Amazon planning to excavate 16-year-old girl who
Two women Edgar Allan Poe’s struggles with the
face a similar crisis: the loss of a baby. grave for the potion of eternal life. A return of her soldier
When Julie and Monica meet, they find work of social criticism and modern-day father after World War I.
hope behind the tears. devilry.
The Wideawake Hat: Book 1 of the
Light of the Desert Shattered Triangle Applecross Saga
Lucette Walters. William Messenger. Black Amanda Giorgis. Amanda
AuthorHouse. $26.49 Rose Writing. $17.95 Spearing. $4.49 e-book,
paper (590p), ISBN 978- paper (290p), ISBN 978- ISBN 978-0-473-
1-4259-7748-1; $3.99 1-61296-370-9 45635-1
e-book, ISBN 978-1- Amazon, BN.com Amazon, Kobo
4918-4256-0 Three friends take dif- Three sets of foot-
Amazon ferent paths to adult- prints were found
A young woman’s remarkable journey of hood. In spite of the distances that when James Mackenzie was arrested for
survival, courage, and the ultimate act of emerge between them, they are thrust sheep stealing. Who made those foot-
humanity. together by the tragedy of death. Each is prints? And what happened to James?
affected in a different way.
Looper Poetry
Michael The Stranger: A Story of Romance and Distractions of the Heart
Conlon. Intrigue Allisha Marie.
Gatekeeper Eleanor Lee Gustaw. AuthorHouse. $17.95
Press. $6.99 Toplink Publishing. paper (112p), ISBN 978-
e-book, $15.99 paper (396p), 1-5462-4966-5; $10.95
ISBN 978-1- ISBN 978-1-949502- e-book, ISBN 978-1-
64237-370-7 25-1 5462-4965-8
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Google Play Amazon, BN.com Amazon
This nostalgic coming-of-age novel will A near-death tragedy This poetry collection
take readers back to the time of mix- takes a handsome stranger on a long reflects on distractions our hearts desire
tapes and the wonders of growing up in search for his lost love. His quest even- and deflect, including self-worth, gratifi-
the ’80s. tually brings him to a lovely publisher cation, and heartache from loving some-
and back to her old way of life. one too much or not enough, or the
The Outlandish and trauma we’ve experienced from others.
the Ego Temptation Rag
O. Ryan Hussain. Xlibris. Elizabeth Hutchison The Man You Didn’t
$19.99 paper (292p), Bernard. Belle Epoque Marry
ISBN 978-1-5245- Publishing. $14.95 paper Clifford Wayne Williams
8153-4; 99¢ e-book, (409p), ISBN 978-0- II. Archway Publishing.
ASIN B07965BCBL 9984406-4-4 $8.99 paper (66p), ISBN
Amazon Amazon, BN.com, Books- 978-1-4808-7290-5
A comedic tale that follows a secret a-Million Amazon, BN.com
society, a rigged presidential election, Love, betrayal, and ambition in ragtime- In a debut collection
and two dudes trying to save the day era New York. Characters from early of poetry, Williams reflects on relatable
while running from demon gnomes. vaudeville and African-American theater topics that explore his journey through
populate this fictionalized historical life.
The Sacred Fury saga.
Barton and Elizabeth Cockey. Dorrance
PAID LISTINGS
Walking on a Moonbeam: And Other symbols and how they can help him stop A troubled teen leaves Texas, becoming
Views from the Creek Bank a killer’s murderous reign of terror. a violent serial killer. He crosses paths
Bill McDonald. Xlibris. with Wally, Syd, and Dan. Soon Wally
$15.99 paper (80p), The Center Cannot becomes his next target. Who will be left
ISBN 978-1-5434- Hold standing?
3093-6; $3.99 e-book, Aaron Stander. Writers &
ISBN 978-1-5434- Editors. $17.95 paper The Forgotten Child
3094-3 (247p), ISBN 978-0- Melissa Erin Jackson. Ringtail Press. $15.99
Amazon, BN.com, 9975701-3-7 paper (426p), ISBN 978-
Books-a-Million Amazon, BN.com 1-73241-342-9; $7.99
McDonald’s first book is a collection of In the depths of winter e-book, ISBN 978-1-
poems written during his career as an in Cedar County, Mich., the iniquities of 73241-340-5
engineer-scientist in the U.S. space and some particularly unsavory ancestors Amazon, Apple iBooks,
national defense programs. are being visited on the current genera- BN.com, Kobo
tion. A reluctant medium is
Mystery/Thriller pulled into a decades-
The Bad Samaritan Death by the Devil’s old cold case when she’s contacted by
Lyon Bell. Brown Dog Books. $16.33 paper Hand: A Dan Williams the spirit of a boy who has been trapped
(225p), ISBN 978-1-78545-347-2; $5.05 and Syd Novel on the property of a dead serial killer
e-book, ASIN Michael L. Patton. since 1973.
B07LB6HHW4 CreateSpace. $4.99
Amazon e-book, ASIN Game Piece
The notorious art rob- B07KVN6WCX Alan Brenham. Black Opal Books. 99¢
bery at the Isabella Amazon e-book, ASIN B07HLCBG6J
Stewart Gardner
Museum in 1990 is
linked to a kidnapping
at Massachusetts General Hospital—
and a subsequent murder. But how?
A Balance of Evil
P.G. Barnett.
BookLocker. $17.05
paper (302p), ISBN 978-
1-63492-953-0; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-
63492-956-1
Amazon, BN.com
A novel of evil’s ability to exist unseen
among the living while promoting man-
kind’s race to self-destruction.
Blood Power
R.A. Davidson. RAD Publishing. $17.99 hard-
cover (292p), ISBN 978-0-9987972-0-5;
$7.99 e-book, ISBN
978-0-9987972-2-9 For information on
Amazon, BN.com
Jack Stephens follows publishing or film rights,
a trail of intrigue, please contact
racing against time
to learn the secrets
grimdarkwain@gmail.com
of ancient religious
PAID LISTINGS
Amazon The Power of the Three paign to save the world from those
Detective Barry P.G. Barnett. BookLocker. $35.95 hardcover entrusted with the world’s protection.
Marshall hunts for a (264p), ISBN 978-1-
killer, unaware the 64438-403-9; $20.95 Harlem Angel: Book 1 of the Circle
killer dated his wife paper, ISBN 978-1- Brenda M. Hardwick.
years ago. Seeing 64438-402-2 AuthorHouse. $13.99
Marshall with her Amazon, BN.com paper (226p), ISBN 978-
pushes the killer Some answers are 1-5462-2429-7; $3.99
over the edge. nothing more than e-book, ISBN 978-1-
doorways to more 5462-2495-2
In God We Trust questions, and sometimes answers to Amazon
Adam P. Gross and Seth K. Gross. East those questions might just kill you and A young lady learns
Channel Press. $14.95 paper (462p), ISBN the people you love. that she is gifted and that her gifts are
978-0-9984622-0-2; needed. Will she meet the challenge, or
$3.99 e-book, ASIN Return of the Brethren will she die along with those she needs
B07MD1TB99 P.G. Barnett. BookLocker. $20.95 paper to protect?
Amazon (490p), ISBN 978-1-
John Farragut, a termi- 63492-716-1; $3.99 Kargaroth:
nally ill former CIA e-book, ISBN 978-1- A Tale of the Great Onion Knighthood
operative, is lured out 63492-719-2 Mark B. Frost and
of retirement to Amazon, BN.com Andrew Bunny. Icerabbit
destroy the Supernote Press, a pipeline The brethren have Publishing. $34.99 hard-
for international terrorism. been with us for eter- cover (672p), ISBN 978-
nities, using their 1-73282-520-8
The Mist Rises over Notchey Creek: power to slip between slices of time and Amazon
A Harley Henrickson Cozy Mystery appear, resulting in death and the tor- A neo-medieval epic,
Elizabeth Feranchak. Amazon Kindle Direct ture of millions. influenced by modern
Publishing. $3.99 storytelling mediums such as comic
e-book, ASIN Truth, Fiction and books, video games, and Japanese
B07KX7566H Lies: A Merran manga. Larger-than-life heroes battle
Amazon Scofield Mystery ancient magics and divine threats.
Whiskey distiller and Susan Curry. Across
nerdy wallflower Ocean Books. $15.99 Radioactive Evolution
Harley Henrickson paper (289p), ISBN 978- Richard Hummel.
investigates a series 0-944176-05-4 Hummel Books. $16.99
of murders in her small hometown. Amazon, BN.com paper (492p), ISBN 978-
Merran Scofield leaves her San 1-73233-741-1; $4.99
Perfect Witness Francisco home for a class reunion in e-book, ISBN 978-1-
Richard Cody. Xlibris. $19.99 paper (225p), an Australian country town and is caught 73233-740-4
ISBN 978-1-4415-8240-9; $9.99 e-book, up in a web of lies regarding a murder- Amazon, Ingram
ISBN 978-1-4653-3232-5 suicide and a missing Japanese boy. Jared Cartwright sets out to explore an
Amazon earth ravaged by nuclear war. Society’s
The president of the SF/Fantasy/Horror elite left humankind to die in radioactive
Baltic Peoples Fid’s Crusade prisons. Jared seeks to break the bonds
Republic, Marshal David H. Reiss. David Reiss. $14.99 paper holding humanity captive.
Jurgis Tievas, returns (370p), ISBN 978-0-
to Gdainys to find 692-12011-8; $4.99 Restoration
himself besieged by e-book, ASIN Daniel C. McWhorter.
domestic enemies. B07C92PMDH Daniel C. McWhorter.
Moreover, he lives a secret that may Amazon, Ingram $12.99 paper (360p),
prove fatal to him. The story behind one ISBN 978-1-983204-
brilliant supervillain’s 90-6; $2.99 e-book,
decades-long cam- ASIN B07G63KHLW
PAID LISTINGS
Amazon quietly stalk their family. Kevinmilligangallery.com

This book asks us to consider what it This book has 120 color plates of the
means to be alive and whether we can Along the Darksome Road: The True author’s paint-
be digitized and transferred from one Story of a Family’s Unintended ings made
body to another without losing any part Discovery of a Young Woman’s Murder along the
of ourselves. from Decades Ago California
J.J. Maxwell. Reviresco. coast. The
Romance/Erotica $4.49 e-book, ISBN painted picto-
The Earl and the Enchantress 978-0-463-98669-1 rial is paired
(An Enchantress Novel, Book 1) Amazon, Apple iBooks, with text about
Paullett Golden. Paullett Golden. $16.99 BN.com, Kobo, artists and early pioneers.
paper (460p), ISBN 978- Smashwords
1-73283-420-0; $4.99 The innocent pur- Blood Sugar in Check: 7 Steps to
e-book, ISBN 978-1- chase of an antique children’s book Health and Happiness with Diabetes
73283-421-7 leads a family to rediscover the brutal Andrew Lawless. Andrew
Amazon murder of an American college student Lawless. $9.97 e-book,
Lizbeth risks every- in Switzerland in the autumn of 1932. ASIN B07HY549RP
thing to follow her Amazon
heart. Desperate to And Every Word Is True Live with diabetes and
hide the blood on his hands, Sebastian Gary McAvoy. Literati Editions. $27.99 hard- keep all your toes. Live
sabotages their happiness. Lizbeth must cover (300p), ISBN 978- with total confidence
unravel the truth to turn a villain into a 0-9908376-0-2; that you can handle
hero. $19.99 paper, ISBN your blood sugar levels. Effective strate-
978-0-9908376-1-9 gies for a rewarding life with diabetes.
Folly at Sausmarez Manor Garymcavoy.com,
(Majestic Estates Series) Amazon, Apple Books, The Bubble: Everything I Learned as
IreAnne Chambers. Purple Storm Publishing. Ingram, Kobo a Target of the Political, and Often
$2.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9964146-0-9 Based on new details, Corrupt, World of Youth Sports
Amazon, BN.com, Kobo this book lays out a fresh, meticulously Maya Castro. Maya
One act of chivalry researched perspective on the Clutter Castro. $14.99 paper
turns good sense to murder case made famous by Truman (260p), ISBN 978-1-
folly when the Capote’s In Cold Blood. 79043-072-7
Marquess of Daventry Amazon
is sealed inside Dehus A Backpack, a Eurorail Pass, and Some Learn how to
Dolmen on the island Serious Baggage breathe life back
of Guernsey in 1801. Jennie Withers. Wild into a kids’ game
Wisdom. $14.99 paper while reading about Castro’s chaotic
Nonfiction (305p), ISBN 978-0- soccer experience.
1946: A True Story of Wealth, 692-08332-1
Extraordinary Success and Great Amazon The Early Years
Tragedy Author Withers Rachel G. Carrington. iUniverse. $18.95
Diana Gillmor. AuthorHouse. $20.99 paper thought of traveling paper (240p), ISBN 978-1-4917-6567-8;
(328p), ISBN 978-1-5462-1481-6; $3.99 Europe as an escape $3.99 e-book, ISBN
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leads a life surrounded Big Sur to Mendocino: broken World War II
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unthinkable tragedy hardcover (204p), ISBN 978-0-692- true story of love, dedication, and God’s
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Essays in the Foundations of author gradually moves from feeling Amazon
Mathematics, 2nd ed. totally broken to a life of renewal and The true story of five-
Russell Connor. Dorrance hope. year-old Laura Small’s
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cover (48p), ISBN 978-1- God Threw Me Back: A Child Survives lion in a California
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essays. In this expan- 1-5462-4245-1; $3.99 unanticipated conclusions.
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claims to demonstrate Fermat’s Last 5462-4244-4 A Path to Life’s Fullness: A New
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say we’re fat, we’re no fun, we need to Deep into her waning Protected by Muslims During
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quickly running out of time to course- A. Robert Neurath.
Fool Me Twice: Confessions of a correct. This story chronicles her journey Neurath
Perpetual Internet Dating Neophyte as she confronts her life with patience, Publishing.
Jules Hannaford. Hasmark Publishing. $18 sweat, and humor. $49.95 hardcover
paper (224p), ISBN 978-1-989161-32-6 (289p), ISBN 978-
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began internet dating Elizabeth M. Washington. Ingram
and unwittingly invited Toplink Publishing. The employ-
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Rose B. ReadersMagnet. $8.74 paper (122p), you may be able to help another Reconstructing the Shield of Achilles
ISBN 978-1-948864- Christian or even the un-Christian. Kathleen Vail. Story
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ingful to anyone who Susan Mattern. CreateSpace. $12.99 paper B07HPDKNRB
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tual longing. The e-book, ASIN B01LDTR6KI Presenting images of
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the life-size shield she created, Vail fol- Saturday’s Child Amazon
lows the raging Achilles through the Deborah Burns. She Writes Press. $16.95 This guide to help readers deal with old
Trojan War and launches a search for paper (256p), ISBN 978- age is especially important for a society
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heal your soul and heal your life in such Charles A. Casto. Radius
a miraculous way you may find yourself Book Group. $24.95 Children’s/YA
to be better than ever before. hardcover (226p), ISBN Africa Meets India
978-1-63576-402-4 Anita Sax, illus. by Aija Jasuna. Anita Sax
Sailing Through the Storms of Amazon, Ingram Books. $17.95 hardcover (24p), ISBN 978-
Seizures: Living with Epilepsy, Author Casto shares 1-60131-073-6
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Jon Sadler. Xlibris. earthquake and tsunami response at India meet for
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with seizure disorders by sharing his $10.99 paper (192p),
experience and providing the per- ISBN 978-0-9993706- Alfred the Monarch Butterfly
spective of the child, student, father, 2-9; $10.99 e-book, Jerlene Crawford Hales. Xlibris. $24.99
and caregiver who are living with ASIN B07KDGDWBR paper (58p), ISBN 978-1-984517-66-1;
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Is America Doomed? broadcaster, CCTV, and how it works about the
Stephen Ray Williams. Toplink Publishing. with police in producing forced TV con- experiences of
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This book compares Map to Aging through the
the life of Samson Gracefully adventures of the southern monarch
with America. Sati Achath and Rishi butterflies as they migrate to northern
Samson was God’s Kumar Jain. Mexico.
chosen man at his time, but he relied CreateSpace. $9
more on self or man’s way instead of paper (226p), ISBN The Busy Toddler’s A to Z
God’s way. 978-1-72320-843-0 Susie and Vincent Pi. Archway Publishing.
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$16.90 hardcover The Great Wall Bernard Sees ASIN B07FHVVW1Z
(32p), ISBN 978- Connie Du. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. Amazon
1-4808-5453-6; $12.99 paper (52p), A hopeful story that reminds us of the
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ISBN 978-1- 963-8 loss, and the possibility of second
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Amazon, BN.com By journeying to visit
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help toddlers Bernard, a little boy,
master their A-to-Zs, as well as intro- readers will have a
duce them to various professions. glimpse of the fascinating Chinese his-
tory and culture.
A Chance to Be Normal
Koywan Keyes. iUniverse. $13.99 paper I Am Manifesto
(246p), ISBN 978-1-5320-4357-4; $3.99 S.B. Hilarion. BookBaby. $22.99 hardcover The Magical Balloons
e-book, ISBN 978-1- (40p), ISBN 978-0-9998284-0-3 Anita Sax, illus. by Aija Jasuna. Anita Sax
5320-4356-7 Amazon Books. $16.95 hardcover (24p), ISBN 978-
Amazon A book of 366 1-60131-028-6
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kids deals with bully- affirmations This book takes the reader on a jour-
ing, showing how one to raise and ney through the rainbow and teaches
boy called on his encourage children to appreciate the magic to be
friends to help him the self- found when sun and rain meet.
change the negative attention he was esteem and
getting at school. self-belief of children, told through the The Sex Decision
eyes of young siblings Hao and Sabine Ellen Piano.
Dorje the Yak Lee. CreateSpace. $9.95
Caryn Hartman, illus. paper (239p), ISBN
by Lexi Vay. Pema Katie and Kenny Tour the Railroad: 978-1-5077-6386-5
Publishing. $12.95 Is Saying Thank You Enough Amazon
paper (52p), ISBN Keith N. Corman. A teen journalist
978-1-73272-781-6 Dorrance Publishing. investigates teen
Amazon $24 hardcover (34p), pregnancies
A tale of triumph ISBN 978-1-4809- while struggling with demands for sex
over adversity. Written in both English 2653-0 from her popular boyfriend.
and Tibetan, it is a visual story of Tibet Amazon
and its culture for children. This book intro- That Summer We Stole Our
duces children to Permanent Records
The Giant Shoe the role railroads Kersti Niebruegge. Kersti Niebruegge.
M.J. Stevens. Xlibris. $31.99 paper (46p), play in our lives $13.99 paper (171p), ISBN 978-0-
ISBN 978-1-984540-61-4; $3.99 e-book, and their importance, and stresses 9908710-9-5;
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When she finds 9908710-8-8
a giant shoe, Life Happens on Amazon
Hazel, a girl liv- the Stairs: There’s Neighborhood
ing in the New No Running When friends steal their
England area, It’s Your Turn school permanent
discovers a Amy J. Markstahler. records, discover
new world and Amy J. Markstahler. a legendary map, and embark on a
goes on a $15 paper (429p), treasure hunt to save their elementary
magical adventure, meeting new ISBN 978-1-72022- school from closing during 1993. ■
friends. 614-7; $2.99 e-book,
REVIEWS ®
Fiction Wilson Jr. and defending his satirical ver- Beautiful Invention:
sion of the popular song “Boogie Woogie A Novel of Hedy Lamarr
Bugle Boy (of Company B)” in his play Let Margaret Porter. Gallica, $14.95 trade paper
Ascending: My People Come, Wood writes that the case (378p) ISBN 978-0-9907420-3-6
The Vardeshi Saga, Book 1 “is considered by many to be the pivotal case Hedy Lamarr is feted as much for her
Meg Pechenick. Ink Sigil, $11.99 trade paper establishing the principles of a valid parody intellect as for her beauty in this captivating
(490p) ISBN 978-1-73231-230-2 defense.” Other anecdotes include his novel set in the 1930s. As a young Austrian
First contact with aliens means learning involvement in introducing the Belvedere actress, Hedy (born Hedwig Kiesler) makes
how to say you’re sorry in this very personal vodka company to the U.S. market in 1998, a scandalous, avant-garde film in 1933
journal of a voyage to another world. Grad which begins as a simple legal affair and called Ecstasy that is star-making, but
student Avery Alcott is the first human to turns into an international adventure, with shadows her personally and professionally.
be taught the language of the alien Vardeshi, Wood surviving a helicopter crash in Soon after, she marries a jealous, domi-
who visited Earth briefly 25 years earlier. Poland. The narrative moves at a good pace, neering supplier of military weapons to
Upon returning, the Vardeshi ask for a rep- and Wood is a straightforward, candid dictators, including Hitler. After several
resentative to travel to their home world, writer (“those who are unhappy about attempts to leave her marriage for a movie
and Avery’s fluency makes her the perfect something I wrote, I offer no apology. Feel career in the United States, Hedy finally
candidate. After hurried training, she wins free to write about me. I have a thick skin”). obtains an MGM contract from Louis
a post aboard a Vardeshi ship and must begin Wood’s memoir is a refreshing look at an Mayer. Mayer molds Hedy into a glamorous
learning Vardeshi culture by immersion unusual legal career. movie icon, but she becomes frustrated with
while making a case for alliance with Earth. roles that do not show her dramatic range,
Courteous and reserved, the Vardeshi are not Bay State Skye and with her image as aloof. Hedy collected
quick to respond to her overtures, and some Janice S.C. Petrie. Seatales Publishing, six husbands and many lovers, and raised
are openly hostile. Though Avery starts to $14.99 trade paper (298p) ISBN 978-0- three children, yet the narrative’s focus on
make friends, sabotage threatens her hard- 9705510-4-7 her patented invention of a radio-controlled
won acceptance and even her life. Debut Petrie’s entertaining novel is based on the torpedo provides a window into a complex,
novelist Pechenick takes a slow, deliberate real story of the Bay State Skye, a ship found highly intelligent woman. The pacing of
path to unfolding the secrets of her charac- floating empty, its crew lost to the sea, near the story is spot-on: Hedy’s personal and
ters and her universe, which allows for close Gloucester, Mass. In August 1990, Brothers career trajectories are excellently balanced
observations but threatens to stall the nar- Jimmy and Murph Sweeney are headed to by the secondary characters, as well as a
rative. Readers who appreciate deep cultural port aboard their lobster boat when they thread about her mother being trapped in
worldbuilding akin to C.J. Cherryh’s come across the Bay State Skye, awkwardly Austria and, later, London as it was being
Foreigner books will stick with a maturing circling outside the Gloucester breakwater. bombed. Porter’s insightful account of a
Avery despite all her journey’s detours. When they pull alongside, they find that its gifted yet often misunderstood inventor
owner and crew are nowhere to be found, and movie star makes for a winning novel.
Asshole Attorney: presumed lost at sea. The Sweeneys also note
Musings, Memories, and that the boat had been dragging inside state Celtic Knot
Missteps in a 40 Year Career limits, which is illegal, and has gathered Ann Shortell. Friesen, $26.95 (336p)
Douglas J. Wood. Plum Bay, $26.99 (240p) hundreds of pounds more than the legal ISBN 978-1-5255-2090-7
ISBN 978-0-9988617-2-2 limit of 100 pounds of lobster. The illegal Shortell constructs her gripping histor-
Wood (Please Be Ad-Vised: A Legal fishing has also damaged the equipment of ical novel on the bones of an actual incident:
Reference Guide for the Advertising Executive) lobsterman Johnny Higgins, who could be the murder of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a
delivers an entertaining account of his financially devastated by the loss, but it staunch supporter of Canadian nationhood
adventures in media and entertainment law, helps to unite his community in a fund- and the subsequent hanging of Irish immi-
where, he writes, he had to be tough but raiser for him. The fish and lobster catch grant Patrick James Whelan, who professed
fair: “Maybe to some I was acting like an from the Bay State Skye is brought to market, his innocence of the crime to the end. Set
asshole attorney, but it felt right.” After but when bouts of bad luck and unfortunate mainly in Ottawa in 1868, the story is told
graduating from NYU law school in 1977, events follow various transactions, including with brio by 15-year-old Clara Swift, who
Wood landed a job with a firm that special- sales losses due to shipping accidents, the describes herself as an “Irish girl, British
ized in groundbreaking entertainment cases fisherman begin to believe the catch is subject and a Canadian all 21 months we’ve
such as the Monty Python’s Flying Circus cursed. Petrie’s novel includes fascinating had a country.” When Clara, McGee’s ser-
lawsuit in 1975 against the ABC network details about both the fishing industry and vant, hears a gunshot outside the door of
after the show’s producers argued that the market; readers will find themselves caught their boarding house, she opens the door to
American network “butchered their work” up in the stormy excitement and the tanta- find McGee dead. Suspicion immediately
by putting “commercial breaks at all the lizing touch of mystery. falls on members of the Fenian brotherhood,
wrong moments.” In representing Earl who considered the outspoken McGee to be
B O O K L I F E .C O M 64a
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a traitor to their cause. The authorities, Elinor “Nelle” Greene. It’s a venial depar- Africa Safari Tours takes them on what is
keen to find the culprit, hastily settle on ture from the legend, but it works. Due to supposed to be a getaway that quickly turns
Whelan. Clara, however, is not convinced her family’s diminished circumstances, into a nightmare when the safari caravan is
of his guilt. Shortell vividly conveys the headstrong, independent Nelle must marry derailed first by a pair of gunmen and then
atmosphere that surrounded the murder for money. Feeling like a sacrificial lamb, by a pack of ravenous hyenas that stalk the
and examines the profound impact that she agrees to wed a much older man. Then ever-dwindling group across the wilder-
McGee’s death had on the development of she meets Gavin, and both must choose ness. Collings is a capable writer, and his
the fledgling nation. This is a lively and between duty and love. Forgiving the 21st- pacing is captivating, but the story suffers
fascinating story, well told. century dialogue may be a challenge for from its portrayal of Africans as savage and
purists, but the story is genuine romance. the depiction of women as vixens or victims
Epitaph (including an excessive focus on female
Karla Brandenburg. Karla Brandenburg, MAD Librarian genital mutilation among the Maasai).
$3.99 e-book (245p) ASIN B01NCEF91X Michael Guillebeau. Madison, $20 trade pa- Readers may still be pulled along to the
Brandenburg (The Architect) kicks off a per (404p) ISBN 978-0-9972-0552-7 end, in which white people inevitably save
new paranormal romance series with an Guillebeau (Josh Whatever) blends humor the day, but they’re unlikely to return for a
exciting murder mystery set in the fictional, and mystery perfectly in this comic thriller reread.
sleepy town of Edgarville, Ill. Kevin set in the small city of Maddington, Ala.
McCormick is a reporter for the local news- Head librarian Serenity Hammer has dedi- ★ A Printer’s Choice
paper who wants to write more investiga- cated herself to keeping the Maddington W.L. Patenaude. Izzard Ink, $27.95 hardcover
tive pieces but is constantly assigned to Public Library “a calm oasis of normalcy.” (334p) ISBN 978-1-64228-007-4
write fluff. His current Halloween assign- But her idealism proves not to be enough Theologian Patenaude’s masterful debut
ment, about cemeteries, leads him to Amy when a change in the city’s administration novel tells a gripping story of the near
Benson, the daughter of a monument shop leaves the library perilously low on funds future. In 2088, life in outer space is now a
owner. Shy and enigmatic Amy writes the and at risk of closing its doors. At the 11th reality thanks to advanced 3-D printing
epitaphs that are the hallmarks of the fam- hour, Serenity happens upon an obscure city technology. A seemingly orderly world is
ily’s business, but few people know that account with a balance sufficient to meet shattered by the news of outer space’s first
Amy’s skill stems from her ability to hear her current needs—and more. Convinced homicide. The victim is a Catholic priest,
the dead. Amy shares her secret with Kevin of the righteousness of her cause, Serenity, leading to much speculation about both the
after she hears the voice of his sister, who aided by her assistant, Amanda Doom, priest’s reasons for going up to atheistic
says that her death was not accidental as it accesses the account and starts transferring outer space and the suspected murderer’s
appeared. Things heat up between Kevin money to the library. After she manages to motives. With political stability threat-
and Amy as they look into the case and start pay for repairs to the air conditioning and ened, the Vatican, still powerful on a war-
to fall for each other. Brandenburg seam- to their internet service provider, Serenity torn, environmentally damaged Earth,
lessly blends romance with a thrilling ghost dreams bigger. She plots to transform the sends a parish priest and former Marine,
story. The sex scenes are generally well library into an innovative center that would Father John McClellan, to investigate.
done, with one exception that involves a house a community space as well as books. McClellan’s experience with 3-D printers
sleeping person who hadn’t consented. The tension rises after Serenity receives may be the key to solving the mystery. This
Otherwise, this is a strong series start. threatening notes from gangsters, and a is a superb morality tale in which the power
murder occurs on the library’s premises. of free will and the implications of making
The Legendary Duke: Guillebeau keeps things light with fre- good choices are carefully woven together.
Put Up Your Dukes, Book 2 quent laugh-out-loud lines. Patenaude’s take on the possibilities of tech-
Margaret Locke. Locked on Love, $15.99 nology is inventive and in line with contem-
trade paper (395p) ISBN 978-1-946553-05-8 Predators porary science, and his work truly shines as
Locke follows her nearly flawless series Michaelbrent Collings. Michaelbrent Collings, a nuanced, character-driven drama. This
opener with a too-clever-by-half fusion of $4.99 e-book (351p) ASIN B07GZZZ9MT work is a must-read for those who enjoy
Regency romance and Arthurian legend, Collings’s vivid and gripping style can’t thought-provoking, challenging specula-
specifically the story of Gawain and the overcome the many flaws of this horror- tive fiction.
Green Knight. After growing up in Italy, thriller, which relies heavily on tired stereo-
Gavin Knight returns to England to claim types. After winning a trip to Africa, Evie The Song Peddler of the Pont Neuf
his inheritance as Duke of Cortleon. He’s a Childs and her abusive husband, Bill, join Laura Lebow. Settecento, $17.95 trade paper
formidable fighter and determined to per- a wide cast of fellow tourists that include a (410p) ISBN 978-1-7324-9720-7
sonally avenge the murder of his father. Hollywood starlet and her scandal-ridden Lebow (The Figaro Murders) vividly
Marriage is the last thing on his mind. In a director husband, a sick little girl traveling evokes the turbulent atmosphere of Paris on
diverting contrivance, his plan for revenge with her grandmother and father, and a the eve of the French Revolution in this
begins to waver when he lays eyes on Lady semifamous YouTube streamer. Happy well-researched series launch featuring con-
64b B O O K L I F E , J A N UA RY 2 8 , 2 0 1 9
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fidential inquirer Paul Gastebois. Most of pense novel, scientists around the world are plished blend of the historical and the
Paul’s work consists of keeping tabs on for- baffled when hundreds of dolphins beach personal.
eign diplomats for the police, a task that themselves in Texas, Virginia, and
keeps him loitering in the shadows and Mozambique, numbers far greater than ever While Gods Sleep
tailing his subjects through every previously observed. Angela Clarke, the L.D. Colter. Tam Lin, $3.99 e-book (267p)
arrondissement of the city. One evening, national director of Marine Mammal Health ASIN B07GGPZFT5
he’s approached by a new client, who asks and Stranding, a division of the Department Colter (A Borrowed Hell) peppers the
him to locate a missing friend, Gaspard of Commerce, flies to Galveston to investi- vivid first book of her Perilous Gods series
Bricon, an elderly song peddler. Just before gate the Unusual Mortality Event there. with formidable deities, intimidating mon-
Bricon disappeared, the old man confided Angela is unaware that the mass deaths are sters, and vibrant variations of myths
“that he had seen a ghost—a ghost from the not a shock to her boss, Rear Adm. Lawrence inspired by classical Greek tales. In 1958
past.” In his search for Bricon, Paul encoun- Collins, an undersecretary of Commerce Athens, hapless hero Eutychios “Ty” Kleisos
ters fully rounded characters from all levels who’s involved with the covert government accepts an offer he can’t refuse from his
of society, each of whom provides fasci- cabal known as the Few. Collins’s group has diminutive loan shark, Kairos. To pay off
nating insights into the social climate of the deployed CONCH, an advanced sonar his gambling debt, Ty, a locksmith, agrees
time. The action builds to a surprising and system to enhance America’s homeland to enter the mercurial underworld city of
satisfying solution. Lebow clearly loves security against terrorist attack from under- Erebus and steal a key belonging to the
Paris, and in Paul she has created a bold, water. While the admiral knows that the demigoddess Naia, the daughter of Eros.
intelligent protagonist. History buffs and dolphin strandings are connected to Naia explains that the gods are under a
lovers of well-plotted mysteries will be CONCH, the truth is kept from Angela, spell, amnesiac and slumbering in a hidden
pleased. who races to gather and analyze data from tomb that her key opens. As Naia battles
all three UME sites so that she can learn the ruthless conjoined twin queens, the
Terminal 19 enough to forestall a fourth. Fans of the film Graeae, who want to control the gods and
L.R. Olson. L.R. Olson, $4.99 e-book (295p) The Day of the Dolphin will enjoy this usurp their power, Ty realizes he is linked
ASIN B07BBNT5N8 unusual and intelligent thriller. to Erebus, as he has seen the tomb in visions
Half-truths and omissions abound in this during his two near-death experiences as a
poignant new adult romance. Nineteen- Where the Fulcrum Lies child. Shunning clichés, Colter crafts a sus-
year-old Hope Reynolds, who has a terminal Matt Lakes. Lanier Press, $14.95 trade paper penseful plot that dashes along to the
illness, arrives in Denmark from Florida, (429p) ISBN 978-1-61005-756-1 rousing ending, weaving in gryphons and
planning to celebrate what may be her last Lakes’s novel effectively probes the con- harpies, magical tattoos, transformations,
birthday by crossing a few important items tours of a Russian nuclear physicist’s mind and betrayal. Fans of Greek myths and
off her bucket list. Having left behind her during 1961, at the apex of the Cold War. celestial fantasy will root for Ty and eagerly
well-meaning family for some much- Daniil Kuryakin, a veteran and introspec- await more adventures in this polished
needed alone time, the last thing Hope tive patriot, is instrumental in designing world.
wants is to start a relationship. Then she and testing “Big Ivan,” the largest nuclear
meets wealthy Christian Lund, a disarm- bomb ever detonated. It changes Daniil’s The Witches of White Willow
ingly charming Scandinavian hottie. With life, but his world is rocked again when he Angela Addams. Weird Sister, $3.99 e-book
dogged persistence, he slowly chips away at learns his wife has died. As Daniil struggles (266p) ISBN 978-1-77527-745-3
her resolve to keep their burgeoning rela- to recover his equilibrium, Zoya Sergeyevna This cliché-driven series launch is set in
tionship in the casual fling zone. Olson enters his life; she’s a friend of the wife of a magical hospital near Salem, Mass., where
infuses her narrative with plenty of humor Daniil’s best friend and wartime comrade, a race of witches, magically hidden from
and chutzpah, and her main characters have Igor, who struggles with alcoholism. While humans, train to combat magical ailments.
just the right balance of need and vulnera- Daniil attempts to understand his swirling Hazel Knight is one of those witches,
bility to make the sexual tension between feelings for the alluring Zoya, he is also known as the Promised One. According to
them utterly irresistible. The story is fast- compelled to discover the truth behind the her mother, she is destined to sacrifice her-
paced and fueled by beautiful emotion, and strange circumstances of his wife’s death. self to feed the magic of the other healer
a late twist adds much-needed brightness All the while his work as a nuclear physicist witches. Those plans begin to go awry when
to Hope’s otherwise bleak future. Readers continues, as do shadowy KGB machina- Hazel discovers that the human she’s been
will enjoy this tender romance with plenty tions. Lakes is equally adept writing about sneaking out to see isn’t human at all, but a
of international flavor. love or physics, and sometimes his prose fellow witch named Duke Hart, who has
captures both simultaneously: “Given just been assigned to complete her training.
Wendall’s Lullaby enough time and exposure to an unre- Duke sees her mother’s plans as selfishness
Kip Koelsch. Kip Koelsch, $15.99 trade paper strained influence that surpasses their crit- rather than destiny, and he sets out to con-
(600p) ISBN 978-1-522021-10-0 ical mass, things will exhibit the ability to vince Hazel to choose love over what she’s
In Koelsch’s imaginative, plausible sus- turn into their opposites.” This is an accom- been taught to see as her duty. The relation-
B O O K L I F E .C O M 64c
® REVIEWS
ship, though strained by events in the plot, McAvoy’s curiosity spikes after the Kansas Bafflingly, the ending upends the overall
is already established when the book begins, attorney general demands the papers, upbeat feel and fixates on the author’s bitter
and the lack of development on the page claiming them to be the property of the dislike of her father-in-law and her melan-
makes it feel somewhat stale as the plot Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Challenges choly over the loss of her mother. Other
winds to a close. Undemanding fans of para- to the veracity of In Cold Blood are in no way than the off-putting ending, this memoir
normal tales will find this story a passable new, but McAvoy offers fresh details of a biracial, first-generation American is
way to spend a few hours. relating to Capote’s embellishments and pleasant and full of an infectious zest for life.
omissions, such as leaving out details con-
The Yellowstone Group cerning Bonnie and Herbert Clutter’s mar- Seeking Oz:
Robert Culliton. Robert Culliton, $12.99 trade riage and family reputation. McAvoy also My Twelve-Year Journey in a Cult
paper (290p) ISBN 978-1-977079-84-8 explores the possibility that the killers, Makena McChesney. Balboa, $18.99 trade
The urgency of surviving a rapidly Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith, paper (252p) ISBN 978-1-9822-0619-2
cooling Earth takes a back seat to the nar- were hired, as suggested in handwritten Following her flight from a cult,
rator’s laissez-faire coming-of-age in documents by Hickock. Intriguingly, he McChesney, now 71, recounts the torment
Culliton’s chilly debut. In the near future, also addresses the potential influence of law of her captivity in this tense but uneven
reflective material is injected into the atmo- enforcement on Capote’s work: “a case could memoir. She writes of growing up in a strict
sphere to hinder global warming, but the be made, then, that In Cold Blood was as family and attending a “fear-based, shame-
result is a frost. Seeking direction and self- much a product of the KBI’s guiding hand based” Pentecostal church in an unnamed
worth, recent college graduate and engineer as it was Capote’s flowing pen.” McAvoy’s rural community in the U.S., where she was
Sam Roberts moves from New York to disclosures are provocative, if not earth- reluctant to question authority. As a direc-
Wyoming to join the Yellowstone Group shaking; most notably, McAvoy echoes tionless 31-year-old in 1978 with two
think tank to design solutions for adapting Capote’s potent prose style and deep young children and an abusive alcoholic
to the cold. Led by erratic venture capitalist humanizing of his subjects, while broad- husband, she was drawn to a welcoming,
Hermann, the group consists of geneticist ening the conversation about truth, inten- fundamentalist group she refers to as the
Meaghan, veterinarian Caroline, geo- tion, and narrative representation. Fellowship. She left her husband and, with
thermal engineer Dave, and Sam, who is her two sons, moved to a Fellowship colony.
building a prototype bicycle that can travel Plantains and the 7 Plagues, The cult, under a charismatic leader she
over snow. Consistently doubting his value a Memoir: Half-Dominican, calls Bud, controlled every facet of her life:
among the other scientists, Sam observes Half-Cuban and Full Life she was expected to teach classes to the
nature, learns to ski, attends a Mongolian Paz Ellis. CreateSpace, $8.99 trade paper members’ children, to clean and take care
funeral rite, remembers childhood trauma, (180p) ISBN 978-1-5454-1078-3 of rental houses of new members, and to
and frets over genetic manipulation. The Ellis crafts a love letter to her family in take in and educate new members. It took
meager science-fiction premise is subordi- this flawed but charming memoir. Her years until she finally understood that cults
nate to the vignettes, observations, and story begins in 1966, with her Dominican are made up of “those who desired to control
philosophical musing. Despite cumber- mother’s reluctance to get involved with a and those who allowed it,” and she realized
some language, the story succeeds in deliv- divorced Cuban man who already had a that she needed to, and could, control her
ering its message of developing a sense of four-year-old child. He didn’t give up and own life. She left the cult with her teenage
purpose as one cares for the environment. they eventually married, with Ellis and her children in 1990, choosing no longer “to
younger sister born within a few years. give away her power to be loved.” The nar-
Nonfiction Ellis’s stories of being raised in and around

New Jersey and New York City are candid
rative can feel muddled at times, as she
hesitates describing the cult members and
and sometimes humorous, including such the cult itself in detail. Ultimately, how-
And Every Word Is True events as her mother slapping her kinder- ever, McChesney’s story is as uplifting as it
Gary McAvoy. Literati, $24.95 (300p) garten teacher (whom Ellis had dubbed “the is encouraging.
ISBN 978-0-9908376-0-2 wicked witch”) and her grandmother’s
McAvoy, a dealer of collectible manu- increasingly bizarre behavior, as with an Tummy Revolution 21:
scripts and other memorabilia, delivers an attempt to shoplift by hiding items under- Gut Health Made Simple
often captivating addendum to the Clutter neath her trench coat (but since she was Sara Chadwick. Tummy Revolution, $9.99
family murder case, immortalized in naked beneath the coat, they all fell out). e-book (234p) ISBN 978-1-5272-2972-3
Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. When Ron Ellis interweaves the personal material with Chadwick (along with her Tummy
Nye, the grown son of police investigator Cuban and Dominican political history, Revolution blog team of dietician Debra
Harold Nye, finds a box of his late father’s expanding the scope of an otherwise epi- Thomas and yoga instructor Kerry Morgan)
papers, he contacts McAvoy about selling sodic memoir. The writing is often unpol- offers a solid though familiar collection of
the material. Beyond his interest in the cor- ished and the beginning is confusing, with recipes intended to promote a healthy gut.
respondence between Capote and Nye, info dumps and skips in time and location. Chadwick uses a three-step approach: elimi-
64d B O O K L I F E , J A N UA RY 2 8 , 2 0 1 9
REVIEWS ®
nation (avoiding all foods proven to cause at times, even for a book with an unlikely
bloating, gas, cramps, and diarrhea), chal- premise (no repercussions following stu-
lenge (gradually reintroducing the elimi- dent injuries, for example). Still, Smith’s
nated foods to determine ones without side cartoon-style illustrations showcase a wide
affects), and personalization (devising a variety of Mikey’s successes and failures, and
customized diet based on the findings). She Kent skillfully introduces an inventive role
suggests tips for making certain meals model for budding problem solvers. Ages
ahead of time and freezing for later use, such 7–11.
as muffins, Swedish meatballs, and tomato
soup. Though most of the dishes are unre- Winter Melon Story
markable (toast with cinnamon, sugar and Naomi Lau. Wildberry Ink, $20 (30p) ISBN 978-
bananas; basic bruschetta; roasted chicken; 0-9905915-5-9
Greek pasta salad), there are occasional In a quiet story about patience, Sammy,
bright spots like salmon tacos with citrus a child with a chin-length bob and a gentle
salsa, and riffs on jam jar salads (to take to smile, visits her grandmother (“Poh Poh”)
work) such as one with roasted pumpkin in Minnesota. It’s summer, and Sammy
and feta. None of the recipes contain nutri- loves helping Poh Poh to garden and cook.
tional information, though they do offer When her friend Davey comes over to play,
estimates on level of difficulty and prep it’s an opportunity to learn about growing
time. The dishes come together quickly and things: a small, cucumberlike vegetable
are well within the abilities of even the most grows from a leafy vine. It’s a “winter
novice of cooks. This is a fine choice for melon. In Chinese, it’s called dong-gua,”
those wanting to improve their eating Sammy explains. In China, where Poh Poh
habits, but those wanting more gut-health lived, she would grow them in the summer
information would do better to look and enjoy them in a wintertime stew. After
elsewhere. waiting all season for it to grow, the chil-
dren decide to pick it one day early. When
Children’s/YA the melon accidentally rolls down the stairs

and breaks open, Poh Poh has a surprise in
store—one that leads the three to cook
Principal Mikey together. Lau’s spare illustrations render the
Derek Taylor Kent, illus. by Paul Louis Smith. characters simply and mark the passage of
Whimsical World, $15.99 (158p) ISBN 978-0- time with the visit of a small bird, two rab-
9995554-2-2 bits, and falling autumn leaves around the
A 10-year-old is placed in charge of his winter melon. A sweet multicultural story
school in this wish-fulfillment tale. Mikey that suggests that the best things in life are
McKenzie is a known problem solver: he worth a wait. Ages 3–7.
investigates situations such as Operation
Squirrel Circus with aplomb. After he and
his friend discover the source of a flu out-
break at Prairie View School by using the
scientific method (Operation Virus
Eradication), the school’s principal puts
Mikey in charge while she takes a two-week
vacation. What could go wrong? Mikey
implements his ideas to improve the school
(Operation Kids-in-Charge), complete
with go-karts, Slip ’n Slides, and every kid’s
Holy Grail: a homework ban. But after his
sister breaks the rules more than once,
Mikey discovers that there’s more at stake
than whether he can serve pizza for lunch
every day. Kent (El Perro con Sombrero) gives
Mikey the right balance of naivety and
altruism, though the story gets carried away
B O O K L I F E .C O M 64e
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Reviews
© april rocha
N.Y., with her fearful yet loyal dog, Bark,
after she and her husband, Eric, divorce.
She travels to Port St. Lucie, Fla., to live
with Nan, the grandmother who raised
her. Katie harbors distressing memories of
Fiction her father’s death and her mother’s aban-

donment, and treasures the time she spent
with Nan while growing up in Florida.
My Coney Island Baby Nan shares an album of old photos that
Billy O’Callaghan. Harper, $25.99 (256p) show her working as a mermaid at a pop-
ISBN 978-0-06-285656-2 ular Florida underwater show, and her
O’Callaghan’s stiff second novel (after fond memories spark an effort to recon-
The Dead House) maneuvers through the nect with her colleagues. Soon the aging
emotional and physical landscape of an former mermaids decide to put on a show
afternoon tryst in a seedy Coney Island as a fundraiser for the local community
hotel room. Unlike within their confined, Laila Lalami’s The Other Americans is a powerful center. As Katie is a talented tailor and
unfulfilling marriages, middle-aged lovers novel told through nine narrators (reviewed on costumer, she is nominated to make the
Michael and Caitlin are able to shed their this page). mermaid costumes. When Katie’s college
inhibitions during monthly rendezvous in flame, Luca, arrives to help film the
Coney Island. During one of these outings, estranged from her McCarthyite grandfa- mermaids’ reunion, Katie must decide
they muse on their pasts, regrets, and fond ther, Leon, whose serial infidelities have whether she is willing to take a chance at
memories. But as the day passes, both culminated in infatuation with a blonde rekindling their relationship. Emotional
begin to wonder whether they will ever be starlet. Roxanne demands that he dump and heartwarming, Larkin’s touching
fully together, as they’ve long planned; the starlet; he refuses. So she embarks on a story is complete with romance, nostalgia,
Michael’s wife is fighting kidney cancer pattern of pretending to take self-sufficient and genuine friendship. Agent: Mitch
and Caitlin’s husband’s career may require steps while still relying heavily on her Hoffman, Aaron Priest Literary. (Apr.)
them to move away from New York. While connections and family. Living in Leon’s
the boardwalk setting “at the end of the Malibu beach house, she boldly goes to ★ The Other Americans
world” before a large storm hits New York work as an agent in the movie business. Laila Lalami. Pantheon, $25.95 (320p)
is vividly rendered, heightening the ten- The venture isn’t initially successful—but ISBN 978-1-5247-4714-5
sion of what may be a final meeting, the she inherited a pile of cash from her grand- Lalami’s powerful third novel, after
thinness of the plot is frustrating, with mother, so life rolls on amid champagne 2014’s Pulitzer Prize finalist The Moor’s
Michael and Caitlin’s conversations coming and diamonds. She dares to hang out in Account, uses nine narrators to probe the
across as rather maudlin. And while the mixed-race spaces—but she and the other schisms of modern America. When Driss
story hinges on the assumed passion of white characters evince plenty of period- Guerraoui is killed in a hit-and-run, his
their relationship, the two lovers are awk- accurate casual racism, going beyond single daughter Nora—a struggling
ward and taciturn, and much of the dialogue “Negro” and “colored” to toss around the composer who survives by substitute
is delivered in one-sided, long-winded occasional outright slur. Eventually, teaching—leaves Oakland for her parents’
monologues. O’Callaghan excels at painting Roxanne enters a risky, albeit warmhearted home in Yucca Valley. There she navigates
a bleak portrait of physical and emotional business scam, and also falls for Terrence her strained relationships with her mother
isolation; unfortunately, the unsatisfying Dexter, a black journalist. She begins to Maryam, who hopes she will abandon music
character development and weak plot fail balance her whims with passions and for a law degree, and sister Salma, who
to live up to the intriguing setup. (Apr.) ethical commitments, sort of. But too many unlike Nora chose a conventional path of
hot-button issues and too little empathy marriage, children, and a lucrative career.
The Great Pretenders for less rich, less beautiful, less white As Nora grapples with grief for her sup-
Laura Kalpakian. Berkley, $16 trade paper humanity make this a superficial and portive father and pushes the police to find
(400p) ISBN 978-1-101-99018-6 often cringe-worthy exercise that comes the driver who killed him, her encounters
After a lengthy hiatus, Kalpakian across as an unironic travelogue of pam- with Jeremy Gorecki, a former elementary
(American Cookery, 2007) returns with a pered white obliviousness. Agent: Pamela school classmate, lead to intimacy she
lamentable chick-lit homage to 1950s Malpas, Jennifer Lyons Literary. (Apr.) isn’t sure she wants. Nora, whose parents
Hollywood. The opening, a self-absorbed emigrated from Morocco in 1981, initially
monologue by 20-something Roxanne Swimming for Sunlight worries that Jeremy, a veteran traumatized
Granville at her grandmother’s grave- Allie Larkin. Atria, $16.99 trade paper (352p) by his time in Iraq, represents an American
side, sets a lugubrious pace for the ISBN 978-1-5011-9848-9 aggression that she fears, even as their
copious, name-dropping backstory. Her Larkin enthralls with a revealing view relationship deepens. The novel depicts
movie mogul grandparents stood as par- of one woman’s life as she moves on after a characters who are treated differently
ents to her, but adult Roxanne is painful divorce. Katie leaves Rochester, because of their race, religion, or immi-
Review_FICTION
gration histories, but its focus is the sense

of alienation all of them share. In a narra- ★ The Selected Works of
tive that succeeds as mystery and love
story, family and character study, Lalami Abdullah the Cossack
captures the complex ways humans can be H.M. Naqvi. Grove/Black Cat, $16 trade paper (320p)
strangers not just outside their “tribes” ISBN 978-0-8021-2894-2
but within them, as well as to themselves.
N
(Mar.) aqvi’s second novel (after Homeboy) is an uproariously
funny, poignant family saga told by a glib septu-
Waiting for Bojangles agenarian contemplating life in his beloved city of
Olivier Bourdeaut, trans. from the French by Karachi. Once manager of his father’s Hotel
Regan Kramer. Simon & Schuster, $25 Olympus, the philosophical Abdullah, nicknamed
(176p) ISBN 978-1-5011-4591-9
“Cossack” because he once outdrank a contingent of
Bourdeaut’s debut, an international
visiting Russians, now lives, overweight and diabetic, in
bestseller, is a wacky, melancholy tribute
the upstairs quarters of a crumbling family house shared
by a loving young son to his charmed life
with his brother Babu’s family. Beloved uncle of the “Childoos” downstairs, and
in the company of his eccentric parents.
fancying himself a phenomenologist, Abdullah is nevertheless seen by the majority
In his own words, and quoting diaries his
of his relatives as profligate and irresponsible. Things go treacherously haywire
father kept—each often falling into rhyming
after he’s rescued from thugs in the street by a mysterious lady named Jugnu, and
verse—the boy recalls his unconventional
his old friend, a jazz musician dubbed “the Caliph of Cool,” asks him to act as
upbringing. His mother is beautiful and
guardian for his grandson Bosco. It so happens that both Jugnu and Bosco’s family
mad, and dances her way through his child-
hood. His father is indulgent and kind, are in danger from the Karachi mob. As threats mount, including from Abdullah’s
giving up his job when his son is born and own family, who are pressuring him to give up the title deed to the house so they
always telling “such beautiful lies for love.” can sell it, the nostalgic, courageous Abdullah comes up with a scheme to save
The two met and married one night on a everyone. Touching on the metaphysical, the moral, and the absurd, this bawdy
whim, and their life proceeds as a succes- epic is a fresh-voiced testament to place, family, and the importance of loyalty.
sion of parties and holidays, even after the Agent: Pande Literary. (Mar.)
boy’s birth. The narrator chronicles
alcohol-fueled evenings, an old-fashioned ★ Queenie directly into the pitfalls of being black in
turntable always playing Nina Simone’s Candice Carty-Williams. Scout, $26 (336p) white spaces and (through flashbacks with
“Mr. Bojangles,” sunlit weeks in Spain ISBN 978-1-5011-9601-0 Tom) the challenges of interracial relation-
after being confronted by the tax man, Carty-Williams’s smart, fearless debut ships. Carty-Williams doesn’t shy from
and so many days late to school that the follows Queenie Jenkins, a Jamaican- the messiness of sexual relationships, racial
boy is simply allowed to stop going alto- British woman, after her longtime white justice issues such as police brutality, or
gether. Their household is chaotic, and boyfriend, Tom, asks for a “break.” Queenie’s Queenie’s promiscuity, and the narrative
includes an exotic squawking crane and impulsive behavior (promiscuity; dis- is all the more effective for its boldness.
occasionally a famous senator (whom the tancing herself from friends) begins to This is an essential depiction of life as a
father worked for). But the boy’s mother unearth memories of childhood abuse, black woman in the modern world, told
teeters on the brink of insanity, and sorrows causing her to make more bad choices in in a way that makes Queenie dynamic and
fall on her “from somewhere very, very an effort to alleviate her pain. When her memorable. Agent: Deborah Schneider,
high.” When darkness threatens to over- career as a newspaper reporter begins to Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners. (Mar.)
come the intensity of light she has always suffer and she’s issued her final warning
thrown off, father and son go to great before being fired, she decides to confront The Promise of Elsewhere
lengths to try to protect her. This fanciful her demons head on. To emerge from her Brad Leithauser. Knopf, $26.95 (352p)
love story, fraught with sadness, is a sweet crisis, Queenie begins psychotherapy, ISBN 978-0-525-65503-9
meditation on the more unorthodox gifts much to the consternation of her grand- In this charming and moving ramble of
that parents leave the children they mother, who sees Queenie’s mental health a novel from Leithauser (The Art Student’s
cherish. (Mar.) issues as a weakness she need only be strong War), 43-year-old bipolar Louie Hake is
to overcome. The result is a novel that stares going through a rough patch. Teaching
▲
Our Reviewers
Paul Goat Allen Mitzi Brunsdale Krystyna Poray Goddu Bridget Keown Elizabeth Morse Ingrid Roper
Allen Appel IV Charlene Brusso Sara Grochowski Kendra Korte Julie Naughton Antonia Saxon
Marleen Barr Donna Chavez Kate De Groot Gary M. Kramer Eric Norton Martha Schulman
Chris Barsanti Oline H. Cogdill Idris Grey Sally Lodge Chelle Parker Erin Talbert
Michael Barson Phoebe Cramer Patricia Guy Victoria McManusConstance Leonard Picker Kathy Weeks
Judy Bates Glen Downey Jennifer de Guzman L. Martin Gwyn Plummer Erica Wetter
Nancy Bloch Lance Eaton Zina Hutton Sheri Melnick Holly Rice
Vicki Borah Bloom Shaenon Garrity Michael M. Jones Patrick Millikin Christina Rinaldi
Review_FICTION
architectural history at a college in the is realized masterfully, as the characters assistant, is efficient in her nebulous work
academic backwaters of Michigan, his look to escape violence however they can, of “showing up in order to serve as witness
second wife, Florence, has just left him for be it exile, alcohol, or love. Aramburu’s to the Widdicombes’ minidramas and
another man, and he has been diagnosed remarkable novel is an honest and empa- well-heeled existential crises.” Michelle
with a degenerative macular disorder. thetic portrait of suffering and forgiveness, captures the interest of the urbane Bradford
The latter propels him to leave his job home and family. (Mar.) Dearborne, a young family friend back
and embark on a tour of the world’s great from a trip to California funded by his
architectural sights before he can no longer ★ Minutes of Glory father, while self-help guru Gracie Sloane,
see them. His first stop is Rome, where he Ngũgl̃ wa Thiong’o. New Press, $24.99 (208p) visiting Carol for the summer, eventually
meets Louie Koepplinger, a widowed den- ISBN 978-1-62097-465-0 warms to the Widdicombe’s new gardener,
tist from Philadelphia who has philosoph- Thiong’o’s outstanding collection (after a recovering alcoholic named Marvelous
ically adjusted to the indignities of old Wrestling with the Devil: A Prison Memoir), Matthews. Frank, a retired near-profes-
age. From there, Louie Hake moves on to set over decades in Kenya, follows a range sional tennis player with a psychology
London, where he is approached by another of characters: mothers and children, degree, embarks on writing a self-help
American, Sophie Pfister, who has been fighters and martyrs, secret lives and book, while his wife throws her energy
jilted by her husband-to-be and decided shadows and priests. “And the Rain Came into the interior design of the home, and
to enjoy their honeymoon itinerary on her Down!” is about Nyokabi, a childless gay, haughty Christopher, home from a
own. Louie’s final destination is Greenland, woman who isn’t able to have relationships year abroad, watches his parents with
where he makes the acquaintance of an with mothers due to her overwhelming artistic, youthful derision. The dynamic
argumentative Dane named Bendiks jealousy. One evening, in a storm, she finds characters will satisfy many tastes, and it’s
Overgaard and follows him to his home in a lost child and brings him home, intending with a writerly sleight-of-hand that the
the remote village of Qaqqatnakkarsimasut, to keep him. In “The Martyr,” Mrs. Hill peculiar humor and quirky truths of family,
there to be dazzled by nature’s architecture and her European settler neighbors are friendship, and love are revealed. (Mar.)
in the form of calving glaciers. Leithauser’s shocked to learn about a Caucasian couple
novel offers civilized comforts of beguiling who were murdered in their home. Mrs. ★ The Irishman’s Daughter
characters, witty dialogue, and trenchant Hill, who owns a tea plantation, considers V.S. Alexander. Kensington, $15.95 trade
observations about modern life that enshrines herself to be a woman who trusts her ser- paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-4967-1229-5
the visceral pleasures of armchair travel. vants, but nevertheless feels unsettled. In this powerful historical saga,
(Mar.) Meanwhile, Njoroge, her servant, dislikes Alexander (The Taster) explores how
Mrs. Hill (she flaunts her kindness, and Ireland’s Great Potato Famine of 1845
★ Homeland he’s been on the land longer than her) and changed lives forever, and how love can
Fernando Aramburu, trans. from the Spanish believes that she does too much for the help, blossom against even the greatest of odds.
by Alfred MacAdam. Pantheon, $29.95 yet he finds that he has misguided loyalty. Briana Walsh is satisfied with her life as
(608p) ISBN 978-1-5247-4712-1 The title story follows Beatrice, who the daughter of an impoverished but
With a single broadcast in 2011, the scrapes by working in bars. She meets a happy estate agent in Carrowteige, County
ETA Basque separatist group abandoned fellow outcast and they become involved, Mayo, Ireland, even if her governess sister
its campaign for an independent Basque yet a criminal act changes their trajecto- Lucinda (whose employer owns the estate)
homeland, ending more than 50 years of ries. Thiong’o weaves together disparate isn’t. In love with Rory Caulfield, a poor
armed conflict with the Spanish govern- stories of people attempting to deal with but honorable farmer, Briana hopes to
ment. Its legacy—wounded families and change in their lives, either chosen or marry and settle nearby—until the blight
broken communities—is the heart of forced upon them, showing his under- destroys the main source of nutrition for
Aramburu’s magnificent novel, his first standing of human nature, its frequent most Irish, driving many to emigrate and,
to be translated into English. The cease- resistance to change, and its ability to sur- for numerous who stay, death by starva-
fire allows Bittori, an elderly widow whose prise. This is a masterful collection. (Mar.) tion. Irish tenants who can’t pay rent are
husband was assassinated by an ETA ruthlessly driven from their homes by
gunman, to return to her provincial village, Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe British land-
setting off a reckoning with her childhood Evan James. Atria, $26 (288p) ISBN 978-1- owners, and the
best friend Miren, a fervent nationalist 5011-9961-5 New World of
who distanced herself from Bittori after James’s debut blends saucy wit with a America has
her eldest son joined the ETA. Bittori is fresh voice as it outlines a summer with a treachery of its
welcomed back by Miren’s daughter, family that’s so neurotic they’re almost own, as a mar-
Aranxta, who sets out to find them a mea- normal. Frank Widdicombe; his wife, ried and preg-
sure of peace. Aramburu spends decades Carol; and his son, Christopher, have moved nant Briana
with the families as the conflict contorts into a beautiful home called Willowbrook learns when
their lives. The cast is sprawling—with in the Pacific Northwest, where they she makes the
both matriarchs, husbands, five children, indulge in a life of ease with a few chosen journey to
spouses, grandchildren—but each’s story friends. Michelle Briggs, Carol’s personal Boston, with
Review_FICTION
Rory expected to follow. Alexander’s unreliable narrator and delivers a page- Republican congressman Nick Longworth.
research lends unquestionable weight to turner that’s both charming and Perhaps the greatest tragedy of Alice’s life
the story, which is by turns tragic and thoughtful. (Mar.) is the death of her only child, Paulina,
hope-filled. Accompanied by an expertly widely believed to be the daughter of
rendered plot, bold and empathetic char- American Princess: A Novel of Senator William Borah, with whom Alice
acters, and prose that jumps off the page, First Daughter Alice Roosevelt was said to have had a long and ongoing
this tale will particularly satisfy fans of Stephanie Marie Thornton. Berkley, $16 trade affair. Thornton’s impeccable research and
historicals and those looking for stories paper (448p) ISBN 978-0-451-49090-2 command of her subject fills this tale with
about the redeeming grace of faith and hard The wild, wonderful, outsize person- authenticity, and her unerring instinct for
work. (Mar.) ality of presidential daughter Alice knowing what to fictionalize and what to
Roosevelt is on full and fantastic display keep factual is finely balanced, making
Tomorrow There Will Be Sun in this lightly fictionalized take on her what could be dull in lesser hands consis-
Dana Reinhardt. Viking/Dorman, $26 (288p) unapologetic, unconventional life from tently entertaining. Alice herself would
ISBN 978-0-525-55796-8 the author of Daughter of the Gods. After undoubtedly have loved this take on her
Reinhardt, the author of such young President William McKinley was assas- unorthodox life—as will the many des-
adult titles as 2016’s Tell Us Something True, sinated, Theodore Roosevelt moves into tined to read it. (Mar.)
makes a successful leap to adult fiction the White House—and his headstrong
with this vibrant chronicle of two couples daughter Alice becomes one of The Club
navigating tensions on a vacation in Mexico. Washington’s favorite denizens and a Takis Würger, trans. from the German by
Writer Jenna Carlson books a luxury villa fixture in newspaper columns. Whether Charlotte Collins. Grove, $26 (224p) ISBN 978-
for her husband Peter’s 50th birthday. carting around a pet snake named Emily 0-8021-2896-6
Jenna’s both fond and resentful of Peter’s Spinach, jumping into a swimming pool Würger’s chilling if obvious debut opens
charismatic best friend and business completely clothed while on a diplomatic as Hans Stichler, an orphaned German
partner, Solly mission, or cavorting with Chinese 19-year-old, is contacted by his English
Solomon, who’s empress Cixi, Alice revels in being a rebel aunt, Alexandra Birk. She teaches art
also celebrating with a singular verve for life, even if history at Cambridge and says that she
his 50th. Years others disapprove. But Alice also suffers can get him accepted into St. John’s
ago, Solly left heartbreak thanks to her cheating husband, College, but there’s a catch: she wants
Jenna’s close
friend Maureen
for the younger ★ Little Faith
Ingrid, who
Nickolas Butler. Ecco, $26.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-246971-7
accompanies
I
them to Puerto n Butler’s breathtaking yet devastating novel (following
Vallarta. Jenna
The Hearts of Men), a family is ripped apart and nearly
exercises her control-freak tendencies on
destroyed when one of its own gets involved with a
her obnoxious 16-year-old daughter
radical church. Set in a gorgeously rendered rural
Clem, whose texts she monitors via an
Wisconsin, the story unfolds over the course of a year, as
app. Also on the trip is Malcolm, Solly
65-year-old Lyle and his wife, Peg, grow increasingly
and Maureen’s good-natured 17-year-old
uneasy as they watch their once estranged adopted
son, who’s gotten into some trouble at his
daughter, Shiloh, fall under the influence of—and
school. Peter’s beautiful assistant
eventually get engaged to—Steven, a charlatan disguised
Gavriella won’t stop calling him; Jenna
interrogates him and takes his nonanswer as a devout pastor and founder of the cultlike Coulee
to mean that Solly is having an affair and Lands Covenant. Their worry intensifies when Steven
Peter is covering for him. Jenna’s insecuri- convinces Shiloh that Isaac, her six-year-old son from a previous relationship, is a
ties are further triggered when Ingrid faith healer and he uses Isaac’s “gift” to attract new parishioners and solicit donations
reveals that she’s written a book that, after for the church. At first, Lyle—who has grappled with the existence of God ever
Jenna reads it, turns out to be quite good, since his infant son died—tries to accept the situation so as not to alienate his
while Jenna continues to struggle with daughter again. But when Isaac is diagnosed with diabetes, and the boys’ parents
writer’s block. Her well-meaning, busy- choose prayer instead of giving him access to medical treatment, even after he
body nature leads her to confrontations slips into a coma, Lyle intervenes. Butler weaves questions surrounding faith,
with both Clem—regarding cheating on regret, and whether it’s possible to love unconditionally into every page of this
her boyfriend with Malcolm—and Ingrid, potent book. Secondary plots, including Lyle’s friend Hoot’s slow decline from
the results of which force Jenna to reflect cancer, Shiloh’s adoption story, and Peg and Lyle’s early courtship, are brief but
on her blind spots. Reinhardt adroitly equally resonant. This is storytelling at its finest. (Mar.)
navigates the mind of a memorable and
Review_FICTION
him to infiltrate a Cambridge institution wraps up the memory recovery and crime the ship’s surgeon, who takes a liking to
known as the Pitt Club, which is 200 plotlines a bit abruptly, but readers will her. As the ship navigates the war between
years old and whose members past and enjoy Augusta’s attempt to understand Britain and Spain, Patricia finds that she
present are generations of the English herself. (BookLife) enjoys the seafaring life and learning from
establishment. To help him, Aunt Alex the surgeon. The fast-paced story never
introduces Hans to one of her PhD students, Days to the Gallows: A Novel of relents as the crew faces yellow fever, death,
Charlotte, whose father, financier Sir the Hartford Witch Panic and imprisonment. Collison does a mag-
Angus Farewell, is a former member of Katherine Spada Basto. Createspace, $12.99 nificent job of capturing the excitement
the club. Charlotte arranges a dinner with trade paper (278p) ISBN 978-1-5369-7804-9 and danger of life on the high seas. Patricia
Hans and her father, so the latter can Basto’s chilling debut serves as a pro- is a steel-willed heroine, and readers will
nominate the former to the club. Despite vocative reminder of how the term “witch look forward to her further adventures.
Charlotte’s initial reservations about hunt” became part of the American lex- (BookLife)
Hans, they are soon an item. A boxer for icon. In 1662 Hartford, Conn., 17-year-
the school’s highly competitive varsity old Hester Hosmer follows her friend The It Girl and Me
team, Hans is asked to join the Butterflies, Ann Cole to watch an eerie moonlit gath- Laini Giles. Sepia Stories, $2.99 e-book (438p)
a secret subset of the Pitt Club. Delving ering of some of their neighbors. In a sub- ASIN B01MV52EQV
into the real purpose of this club-within- sequent prayer meeting, Ann claims that Giles (The Forgotten Flapper) provides
a-club, Hans finds sinister links to those at the gathering are witches, and an intriguing look at the life of an impov-
Charlotte, Aunt Alex, and Angus on the the float-or-sink water tests and trials erished Kentucky girl who became best
way to a dramatic and inevitable ending. begin. Hester watches with growing friends with a famous actress and the
Though it moves at a good pace, the novel horror as those with unacceptable reli- betrayal that ruined them both. Narrator
is contrived in its depiction of upper-class gious beliefs—and some Puritans—are Daisy DeBoe, a bootlegger’s daughter,
snobbism, hypocrisy, and corruption, condemned by the righteous Marshal grew up poor in rural Kentucky before
resulting in a diverting if thin story. (Mar.) Gilbert and are publicly hanged. As eventually moving to California and
Hester’s fear that she will be one of the landing a job in 1927 as silent film star
Famous Last Words ones accused intensifies, the handsome Clara Bow’s secretary. Though the two
Sara Hammel. Sara Hammel, $15.95 trade young Tom, whose family are traveling grew up in similar circumstances, Daisy
paper (384p) ISBN 978-0-692-07673-6 traders, could offer a way out. Basto’s use and Clara’s lives are worlds apart:
Journalist Hammel (The Underdogs) of period language can make for awkward Intelligent, pragmatic Daisy manages
mines her years of writing about celebrities prose, but her descriptions can be rather Clara’s life and finances and stops people
for this strong novel that stars a celebrity striking. (“Rumors swirled like the from taking advantage of her. However,
reporter who just may be a murderer. powdered snow that drifted off the the sexy, outrageously excessive Clara con-
Hammel switches between Augusta Noble’s wind-blown mounds.”) The ugliness of tinues to make reckless decisions with
work as a stringer for pop culture maga- early American religious persecution her money and her personal life (at one
zine CelebLife on a “quest to interview and misogyny are admirably captured in point she gives her two dogs a diamond-
exactly 107 celebrities” and her past with this well-researched story. (BookLife) encrusted vanity case as a chew toy).
her best friend, Caroline Rain. Augusta’s Things come to a head when Clara marries
interview quest is her chosen means to Barbados Bound: a man who hates Daisy and subsequently
recover her memory of what exactly hap- Book 1 of the Patricia MacPherson fires her. Thrown out with nothing after
pened after she arrived in Caroline’s apart- Nautical Adventure Series Clara promised to take care of her, Daisy
ment months ago to find her friend barely Linda Collison. Fireship, $19.95 trade paper threatens to blackmail her former friend,
alive after being attacked by one of the (360p) ISBN 978-1-61179-229-4 and soon after, the police get involved.
two men in her life. Caroline’s boyfriend Collison packs an engrossing blend of Giles does a great job of bringing old
at the time, wealthy chocolate heir Joe historical fiction, romance, and adventure Hollywood to life, and her characters are
Lannells, died at the scene, and it is pos- into this coming-of-age tale about a young so fully realized they nearly walk off the
sible that Augusta’s memory loss conceals girl desperate to claim her inheritance, page. Based on true events, this scan-
her own culpability in his death. Her first published as young adult novel Star- dalous tale is marvelously entertaining.
memory stubbornly refuses to return as Crossed (Knopf, 2006) and here rewritten (BookLife)
she works for CelebLife, first in London for adults. In November 1760, 16-year-old
and then L.A., writing juicy stories and Patricia Kelley stows away on an English
receiving pearls of wisdom and the occa- merchant ship in order to get to Barbados, Mystery/Thriller
sional rude response from beautiful people where she believes she is entitled to inherit
ranging from royals to musicians and Hatterby Estate, a sugar plantation, as she Afternoon of a Faun
Hollywood A-listers. In London, she meets is the illegitimate daughter of its recently James Lasdun. Norton, $25.95 (160p)
and is charmed by fellow reporter Alexander deceased owner, Sheldon Hatterby. After ISBN 978-1-324-00194-2
Matten, who she learns is also attracted to she’s discovered hiding on the ship by the In this thought-provoking psycholog-
her and is an actual viscount. Hammel crew, she’s forced to become indentured to ical thriller from Lasdun (The Fall Guy),
Review_FICTION
journalist
Marco Rosedale,
[Q&A] an English
expat living in
PW Talks with Craig Russell New York,
The Archetype of Evil stands accused

of sexual assault
from an
Innovative psychiatrist Viktor Kosarek tackles a serial killer in 1935 encounter 40
Czechoslovakia in Russell’s The Devil Aspect (Doubleday, Mar.). years earlier.
When Rosedale
Why set the novel in pre-
© jonathan russel
finds out that
WWII Czechoslovakia? an old flame has written a memoir that
Czechoslovakia in the 1930s explores the sexual landscape of the
was a new concept, a promise 1970s, including details of him raping
of a bright future built on her in a hotel room, he realizes immedi-
countless layers of history ately that if the memoir is published his
and culture, that was about career will be over and his reputation
to be snuffed out by the tarnished forever. Told from the point of
darkness of Nazism and later view of an old acquaintance of Rosedale’s,
Soviet Communism. Added who’s unsure of his friend’s proclaimed
to this is the immensely rich innocence and attempting to remain
mix of cultures and creativity that narratives, and we have the knowledge objective throughout the ordeal, the story
exemplified Czechoslovakia. I’m a of the crimes committed by the Nazis. is a powerful social commentary that
huge Kafka fan, and, for me, Kafka We have been exposed to the “banality examines the consequences of such an
embodies that uniquely dark—often of evil” and have seen how the most accusation on both parties. Set in the days
darkly humorous—and absurdist cre- remarkable wickedness can manifest just after Trump won the Republican
ativity of that unique place and time. itself in the most unremarkable ves- nomination—and referencing disgraced
sels. I think that for us today, evil is figures including Anthony Weiner and
Kosarek advances the notion of a recognized not as a presence, but a Roger Ailes—this novel comes to a bril-
“devil aspect” as an explanation for deficit or absence: the absence of liantly ironic conclusion that will leave
human evil. Can you explain that? empathy. readers reeling. Mainstream literary
Jungian psychology has comparable— fiction readers will appreciate this one as
but not exactly matching—concepts. Given the pre-WWII setting, how well. Agent: Irene Skolnick, Irene Skolnick
In creating the devil aspect I took did you handle foreshadowing? Literary. (Apr.)
Jung a stage further, suggesting that, Many people in the 1930s had a sense
as both concept and engine in our of something monstrous to come. ★ Before She Knew Him
collective unconscious, there is an However, the majority remained Peter Swanson. Morrow, $26.99 (320p)
ISBN 978-0-06-283815-5
archetype that is the psychological oblivious to the gathering storm,
At the start of this exceptional psycho-
embodiment of ineffable, unalloyed despite the clear intentions expressed
logical thriller from Swanson (All the
evil; that this element is what lies in the passing of the Nuremberg
Beautiful Lies), bipolar Hen “Henrietta”
behind all the cruelty, violence, war, laws in September of ’35. And, of
Mazur and her husband, Lloyd Harding,
and malice of the human race. The course, most Czechs had a sense of
have dinner one night at the suburban
theory suggests that this great evil approaching doom, given the pro-
Boston home of neighbors Mira and Matt
resides in us all, but is only awoken tests of three million ethnic Germans
Dolamore, with whom they’ve recently
in those whose “psychological within the borders of the new
bonded over their mutual childlessness.
immune system” is compromised. republic, combined with the clear
At one point, Hen spots a fencing trophy
territorial ambitions of Hitler. In on their hosts’ fireplace mantel that she
Was anything like the devil aspect writing the book the important believes was won by Dustin Miller, a col-
part of psychiatry at the time? thing for me, therefore, was to focus lege student who was murdered two years
Back then, it is perfectly conceivable on the creeping paranoia of that earlier and who attended the high school
that the psychiatric establishment period and eliminate as much modern where Matt teaches history. Matt claims
would explore such concepts. Today, hindsight as possible. that he bought the trophy at a yard sale,
however, we tend not to think in grand —Lenny Picker but Hen, who’s become obsessed with
Dustin’s case, suspects that Matt killed
Dustin. The next day, when she visits the
Review_FICTION
Dolamores, the trophy is missing, rein-

forcing her suspicions. However, Hen
gets little support from Lloyd or the
★ Smoke and Ashes
Abir Mukherjee. Pegasus Crime, $25.95 (352p) ISBN 978-1-64313-014-9
police because of her history of mental
M
health problems and of falsely accusing ukherjee makes the most of his setting, 1921
others of murder. An uneasy relationship Calcutta, in his superior third mystery featuring
soon develops between Hen and Matt, the all-too-human Capt. Sam Wyndham, of the
whose traumatic childhood adds emotional British Imperial Police, and his Indian assistant,
heft to the narrative. Surprising twists Sgt. “Surrender-Not” Banerjee (after 2018’s A Necessary
help keep the suspense high to the end. Evil). Wyndham’s drug addiction puts him in a tight
Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. (Mar.) spot when the opium den he’s visiting is raided by his
colleagues. In the course of escaping, he comes upon a
The Last Woman in the Forest dying Chinese man, whose eyes have been gouged out
Diane Les Becquets. Berkley, $26 (352p)
and who has been stabbed in the chest. Wyndham doesn’t
ISBN 978-0-399-58704-7
report the encounter in order to keep his substance abuse
Marian Engström, the 26-year-old her-
a secret from his superiors, but that choice becomes
oine of this elegantly written thriller from
problematic when another person is murdered in the same way. His efforts to catch
Les Becquets (Breaking Wild), joins a con-
the killer, which aren’t welcomed by the military for some reason, are complicated
servation study group in northeastern
by the threat of mass peaceful demonstrations, timed to coincide with a visit to the
Alberta, where she begins her instruction
city by the Prince of Wales, which would embarrass the British Crown. Mukherjee,
as a dog handler. Her mentor is charis-
who only gets better and better with each book, has established himself as a leading
matic Tate Mathias, who charms her with
stories from his adventurous life. Soon historical mystery writer. Agent: Sam Copeland, Rogers, Coleridge & White (U.K.). (Mar.)
Marian is head-over-heels in love. While
she’s away on another assignment, Tate is might benefit from an internet-generated and claims his life depends on coming
killed, horribly mauled by a bear. She sub- social life. Meanwhile, Paige’s BFF Chloe up with the cash. Meanwhile, Mayor
sequently meets Tate’s sister and discovers turns to the app after an anonymous Bascomb suddenly decides Lake Eden
that he wasn’t always truthful about his phone call suggests that her husband should host a film festival, though it’s
exploits. One of his claims was that he had might have his own dating profile. Paige, the middle of winter and there’s hardly
found the body of one of the victims of a Joan, and Chloe each come into contact any time to prepare. In an irrelevant sub-
serial killer. She contacts Nick Shepard, a with a handsome, smooth-talking serial plot, budding actress Lynne Larchmont
psychologist and former forensic profiler murderer, Mr. Right Now, without comes to town and confides to her friend
who worked on the still-unsolved serial raising much tension. Only toward the Hannah that her husband, Tom, wants a
killer case, and asks him to confirm Tate’s end, when Heather decides to imper- divorce, but she’s hoping to work things
claim. From that point, the story revs up, sonate Paige on a date with the killer, is out. A murder eventually occurs, but the
providing more than enough tension and there any real suspense. Occasional vast majority of the action is either eating
suspense as Marian inches closer to the chapters in the voice of Mr. Right Now, or baking, with recipes taking up much
dangerous and disturbing truth. Eloquent, though grim, feel diluted and fall short of the book. This one’s strictly for series
detailed descriptions of nature and of rescue of carrying the necessary threat of fans who will appreciate the many unex-
dog training, survival techniques, and the looming jeopardy. Fielding’s fans will plained references to past incidents and
peripatetic life of conservationists enrich hope for better next time. Agent: Tracy people. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen
the narrative. Agent: Michelle Brower, Folio Fisher, WME Entertainment. (Mar.) Agency. (Mar.)
Literary. (Mar.)
Chocolate Cream Pie Murder ★ The Malta Exchange
All the Wrong Places Joanne Fluke. Kensington, $27 (304p) Steve Berry. Minotaur, $28.99 (416p) ISBN 978-
Joy Fielding. Ballantine, $27 (368p) ISBN 978- ISBN 978-1-4967-1886-0 1-250-21017-3
0-399-18155-9 In bestseller Fluke’s subpar 24th mys- Bestseller Berry’s enthralling 14th
In this near-miss of a thriller from tery featuring Lake Eden, Minn., baker Cotton Malone novel (after 2018’s The
bestseller Fielding (The Bad Daughter), Hannah Swensen (after 2018’s Christmas Bishop’s Pawn) finds former U.S. Justice
33-year-old Bostonian Paige Hamilton Cake Murder), Hannah stands before her Department operative Malone on a free-
needs a shot of validation. Recently fired church’s congregation and tearfully con- lance assignment to retrieve long-lost
from her advertising job due to a merger, fesses that her marriage to Ross Barton correspondence between Benito
and betrayed by a cheating boyfriend has been a sham. Since Ross’s recent Mussolini and Winston Churchill.
with her look-alike cousin, Heather, no departure from Lake Eden, Hannah has Malone goes to Malta, the home of the
less—she decides to try online dating. learned that he’s already married. Hannah Knights of Malta, an ancient order dedi-
She even recommends an online dating later hears from Ross when he demands cated to serving the Vatican. The current
app to her widowed mother, Joan, who money that he left in her bank account pope has died, and Luke Daniels, who
Review_FICTION
works with the Magellan Billet, the spe- tages, known as swine, for ransom on her estranged and now deceased father’s
cial investigations unit of the Justice behalf of the mob. The narrator recalls failing funeral home. The last funeral
Department that once employed Cotton, that by “the age of nineteen we had stolen, held at the home is for a woman who was
is also in Malta, investigating why robbed, kidnapped, and killed. In a world shot in her own house, and Ilka learns
Cardinal Kastor Gallo has fled Rome to we rejected because it was not our own, that the murder victim was blackmailing
the island nation. Kastor seeks the Nostra we took anything and everything we Ilka’s father for 20 years. As Ilka tries to
Trinità, the Catholic Church’s “ultimate wanted.” The characters don’t get any understand why her father mysteriously
secret,” to secure his ascension to pontiff. more sympathetic as they become drug abandoned her over 30 years earlier, she
Luke and Cotton team with Laura Price, traffickers in the 1980s and 1990s, aware meets a handful of his friends and ene-
an agent with the Malta Security Service, of the deaths they were responsible for, mies, including his cold ex-wife (not
and Pollux Gallo, leader of the Knights but only interested in the wealth and Ilka’s mother) and his best friend, who
of Malta and Kastor’s estranged twin influence yielded by narcotics dealing. has been accused of felony fraud. Blaedel
brother, to stop Kastor from seizing the Some events in their lives, such as the does a fine job of fleshing out each of
throne of the Holy See. Fans of Dan Brown summer that they rooted for Italy in the these characters, and readers will enjoy
will have fun, and some may even prefer World Cup final, are passed over too watching Ilka transform from frustrated
Berry’s action-oriented hero to Brown’s quickly to leave much of an impression. and confused to utterly confident in her
cerebral Robert Langdon. 400,000-copy While the narrator ultimately claims to sleuthing as she discovers some of her
announced first printing. Agent: Simon Lipskar, accept some degree of moral responsibility father’s painful secrets. Several questions
Writers House. (Mar.) for his friends’ crimes, that rings hollow. remain unanswered. Nevertheless, the
Others have done a better job of getting book’s cliffhanger ending will make
Black Souls inside the head of an amoral killer and readers look forward to the next set of
Gioacchino Criaco, trans. from the Italian by making his mindset a little less alien. (Mar.) secrets for Ilka to unravel. Agent: Victoria
Hillary Gulley. Soho Crime, $25.95 (288p) Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (Mar.)
ISBN 978-1-61695-997-5 Her Father’s Secret
Set in Calabria, Criaco’s debut suffers Sara Blaedel, trans. from the Danish by Mark We All Fall Down
from its unnamed narrator’s lack of emo- Kline. Grand Central, $26 (320p) ISBN 978-1- Daniel Kalla. Simon & Schuster Canada, $16
tional reaction to the violence he com- 5387-6325-4 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-5011-9693-5
mits. The narrator, along with his friends Blaedel’s grim sequel to 2018’s The A familiar story line weighs down this
Luciano and Luigi, grew up used to their Undertaker’s Daughter takes Ilka Jensen medical thriller from Kalla (Pandemic).
families’ involvement in holding hos- from Denmark to Racine, Wis., to inherit Alana Vaughn, a veteran of outbreak con-
tainment missions around the world for
the World Health Organization, is now
★ Wolf Pack: A Joe Pickett Novel the director of biological surveillance for
NATO. A text from her former lover, Dr.
C.J. Box. Putnam, $27 (384p) ISBN 978-0-525-53819-6
Nico Oliva, brings her to Genoa, Italy,
W
hen game warden Katelyn Hamm observes a where Nico asks for her help with an
herd of elk being stampeded by a drone in unusual case: a construction worker,
Edgar-winner Box’s excellent 19th novel starring Vittoria Fornero, has been diagnosed with
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett (after 2018’s the pneumonic plague, which has not been
The Disappeared), she enlists Joe’s aid in tracking down seen in Italy since medieval times. The
the drone’s owner. It turns out to be Bill Hill, who lives patient was working on a controversial
apartment tower project being built on the
with several bodyguards in an upscale compound. After
site of an ancient monastery. The plague
Hill scoffs at being fined by Joe for tormenting the elk,
begins to spread, helped in part by a health
Joe tries to research Hill online, only to find him devoid
care worker being casual about her potential
of any background or history. Meanwhile, Joe’s old
exposure to the disease. Predictably, Alana’s
friend Nate Romanowski offers to take down the drone
boss is unhappy about her involvement in
with his trained falcons, and Nate’s falcon attack on the
the investigation, during which Alana
drone leads to a pair of arrogant FBI agents warning first Hamm and then Joe not
meets yet another hunky doctor. Fears
to hassle the drone owner again, on pain of prosecution. But when dead bodies
mount that bioterrorism is responsible for
begin turning up showing clear signs of torture, Joe realizes that his county has the deaths. Making Alana into a gun-toting
been infested with something far more dangerous than a drone: a team of profes- action hero doesn’t enhance the novel’s
sional killers, sent by a Colombian cartel to eliminate a witness. The action- capacity to suspend disbelief. Hopefully
packed final quarter of the book ranks among Joe and Nate’s best and bloodiest Kalla, who has done good work in the past,
confrontations. Box is the king of contemporary crime fiction set in the West. will return to form next time. Agent: Henry
Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary. (Mar.) Morrison, Henry Morrison Literary. (Mar.)
Review_FICTION
★ A Friend Is a Gift You Give becoming the target for CIA operatives killer is on the loose. Meanwhile, Shorie
Yourself as well as the Russian secret service. discovers that someone, probably a
William Boyle. Pegasus Crime, $25.95 (320p) Fascinating historical details encompass person connected to Jax, is siphoning off
ISBN 978-1-64313-058-3 uranium mining, the gulags, and cultural money from Jax’s client base. She also
Early in this addictive hardboiled life in the Soviet era. Natalie’s tense and comes to realize that somebody involved
crime novel from Boyle (Gravesend), illuminating adventure will enthrall in the intervention wanted her mother
Rena Ruggiero, the widow of mur- readers. Agent: Esmond Harmsworth, out of the way for nefarious purposes. The
dered Brooklyn mobster “Gentle Vic” Aevitas Creative Management. (Mar.) tension rises as Erin battles for her life,
Ruggiero, hits her octogenarian neighbor, and Shorie desperately tries to uncover
Enzio, over the head with a heavy ashtray Border Son who’s responsible for Jax’s problems.
after he makes an unwanted pass at her. Samuel Parker. Revell, $14.99 trade paper Carpenter keeps the suspense high all the
Thinking him dead, she takes off in (320p) ISBN 978-0-8007-2925-7 way to the shocking conclusion. Agent:
Enzio’s prized ’62 Impala. With no real Appliance store owner Ed Kazmierski, Amy Cloughley, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc.
plan, she flees to the Bronx, the home of the protagonist of this so-so crime novel (Mar.)
her estranged daughter, Adrienne, and from Parker (Purgatory Road), hasn’t seen
her 15-year-old granddaughter, Lucia. or heard from his 26-year-old son, Tyler, ★ The Dutch Shoe Mystery
When Adrienne slams the door in Rena’s in many years. After his wife abandoned Ellery Queen. Penzler, $25.95 (336p) ISBN 978-
face, Adrienne’s neighbor, con artist and the family, Ed withdrew from Tyler 1-613161-26-5; $15.95 trade paper ISBN 978-1-
retired porn star Lacey Wolfstein, invites emotionally, and Tyler started down a 613161-27-2
her into her home. Meanwhile, Adrienne’s path of bad habits and lawlessness. First published in 1931, this excep-
ex-boyfriend, Richie Schiavano, has just When Ed receives a call from Camilla tional entry in the American Mystery
killed members of a major mob family, Ibanez, who works at a restaurant in Classics series from MWA Grand Master
stolen a briefcase full of cash, and plans to Hurtado, N.Mex., to say that Tyler Queen (the pen name of Fredric Dannay
grab Adrienne and Lucia and run. A vio- needs his help, he travels from his and Manfred B. Lee) offers a scrupulously
lent confrontation between the hapless home in rural Kansas to the border town. fair puzzle. After well-to-do Abigail
Richie and a brutal mob enforcer ensues, Tyler, who’s been involved in narcotics Doorn collapses into a diabetic coma, she’s
and Rena, Lacey, and Lucia end up in smuggling in Mexico, has ripped off taken to Manhattan’s Dutch Memorial
possession of the money fleeing for their Hector Salazar, the local drug lord. Hospital, where she revives, but later falls
lives. Boyle skillfully mixes a classic Salazar has marked Tyler for death, but down a flight of stairs and ruptures her
Westlake/Leonard–style caper with the Camilla’s son, Roberto, a gun for hire, gall bladder. But when she’s brought into
powerful tale of three women facing the helps Tyler escape execution because the operating room, she’s found to have
ghosts of their pasts. Agent: Nat Sobel, Tyler once saved his life in prison. A cor- been garroted to death, possibly by
Sobel Weber Assoc. (Mar.) rupt DEA agent complicates things as someone impersonating a surgeon. Her
Ed struggles to get Tyler back to the U.S. wealth leaves no shortage of suspects for
Finding Katarina M. and safety. The forced parallels between Ellery Queen and his father, NYPD Insp.
Elisabeth Elo. Polis, $26 (352p) ISBN 978-1- the two single parents with criminal sons Richard Queen. Ellery, who epitomizes
947993-43-3 who try to redeem themselves by doing the infuriatingly brilliant detective,
At the start of this gripping thriller good diminish the bloody plot’s impact. announces at
from Elo (North of Boston), surgeon Natalie (Mar.) one point that
March meets Saldana Tarasova, a Russian he has learned
ballerina performing in the city, in her Until the Day I Die practically
Washington, D.C., office. Saldana tells Emily Carpenter. Lake Union, $16 trade paper everything
Natalie that they are cousins and that (268p) ISBN 978-0-9972575-4-0 about the crim-
Katarina Melnikova, their mutual In this chilling psychological thriller inal, except the
grandmother, now 89, is living in Siberia. from Carpenter (The Weight of Lies), grief- person’s iden-
Natalie and her mother, Vera, believed stricken Erin Gaines is forced to take over tity. An inter-
that Katarina had died in a Stalin-era the leadership of Jax, the Birmingham, lude in which
work camp more than five decades ago Ala., tech company that her recently Ellery and
when Vera was a small child. Saldana deceased husband ran. After a harrowing Richard discuss
confides that she’s worried about the incident in which Erin arrives seemingly their theories is printed with extra-wide
safety of her own mother and brother and drunk in pajamas at a fraternity party margins for note-taking. Appearing before
asks Natalie to help her settle in the U.S. that her college-age daughter, Shorie, is the final reveal is a challenge that asserts
Before Natalie can contact an immigra- attending at Auburn University, friends the reader now has all the relevant evidence
tion lawyer, Saldana is murdered. Vera, and family, including Shorie, stage an to deduce Doorn’s murderer. This is a
meanwhile, begs Natalie to go to Russia intervention. Erin agrees to go to a spa genuine treat for those who love to match
and find Katarina. Once there, Natalie is and rehab facility on a small Caribbean wits with fictional detectives. (Mar.)
pulled into a maelstrom of intrigue, island, where she soon figures out that a
Review_FICTION
The Conviction of Cora Burns her lead that fits in well with the previous When Freya is
Carolyn Kirby. Dzanc, $16.95 trade paper books. Agent: Meryl Zegarek, Meryl Zegarek given a virtual
(344p) ISBN 978-1-945814-84-6 PR. (Mar.) assistant,
In 1874, nine-year-old Cora Burns, the designed to
protagonist of British author Kirby’s anticipate her
meandering debut, along with a fellow SF/Fantasy/Horror every desire and
workhouse resident, Alice Salt, whom calculate her
she regards almost like a sister, murder a The Quanderhorn Xperimentations most likely
toddler to see what it feels like, though Rob Grant and Andrew Marshall. Gollancz choices, she is
Cora’s subsequent memories of what hap- (Trafalgar Square, dist.), $24.99 (480p) shocked to dis-
pened after she picked up the knife used ISBN 978-1-4732-2402-5 cover that the
on the child are vague. After serving 11 This adaptation of Grant and software has
years in a Birmingham prison, she’s hired Marshall’s BBC Radio 4 series is a ridicu- adopted Ruby’s vibrant personality by
by Thomas Jerwood as a house maid. lous mash-up of bad 1950s sci-fi and dis- accessing Ruby’s archived online life.
Jerwood, an advocate of physiognomy, tinctly British humor. Primary narrator This sparks a renewed hope that her sister
photographed her before her release, as Brian Nylon is bereft of his memories and might still be alive, but living off-the-grid.
part of his efforts to validate his conten- living through the first days of 1952 for Drawn to the community and tourist
tion that facial features are indicators of the 66th time. This “infernal temporal attraction Medieville, where people can
criminality. Cora, who must constantly Möbius band” is one of the many bizarre choose to live without social feeds, virtual
battle to keep her violent rage in check, effects of Prof. Darius Quanderhorn’s reality games, and customer service
seeks to reunite with Alice and finally weird experiments. His research team robots, Freya hopes to learn her sister’s
learn the truth about her crime. Sections includes Dr. Gemini Janussen, who has whereabouts. Child’s portrait of the future
presenting Jerwood’s theories, which mechanical emotions; Quanderhorn’s is astute and immersive, and makes for an
include his belief that human nature can part-insect “son,” Troy Quanderhorn, impressively detailed backdrop for her
be measured statistically, slow the less who is a “major breakthrough in heroine’s gripping quest. Agent: Julie Crisp
than gripping plot. Kirby is at her best Artificial Stupidity”; and Guuuurk, a (U.K.). (Apr.)
in depicting Birmingham’s mean streets hostage from the last Martian invasion. It
and in conveying Cora’s inner struggles. also includes Brian, who has no idea he’s One Bronze Knuckle
(Mar.) the group’s test pilot as well as a secret Kenneth Hunter Gordon. Lanternfish, $20
agent of Prime Minister Winston trade paper (436p) ISBN 978-1-941360-25-5
★ The Horseman’s Song Churchill and others who want to thwart Initially set in the town of Bergerton,
Ben Pastor. Bitter Lemon, $14.95 trade paper Quanderhorn’s unspecified plans. somewhere in pre–Industrial Revolution
(376p) ISBN 978-1-912242-11-5 Quanderhorn’s team faces dangers such as Europe, Gordon’s rambling, ridiculous
Set in 1937, Pastor’s outstanding sixth a giant broccoli woman, a hypnotizing debut, narrated by a witch whose visions
mystery featuring German investigator meteorite, and being stranded in a bus come true (but otherwise devoid of fan-
Martin Bora (after 2017’s The Road to shelter on the moon. The hapless Brian tastical elements), introduces readers to
Ithaca) makes effective use of the death of comes from a long line of British milksop the self-involved members of the Berger
Federico García Lorca, the celebrated heroes such as Douglas Adams’s Arthur family, after whom the town is named.
poet, during the Spanish Civil War. Bora, Dent. There’s nothing here that really When war comes to the region and an
who’s serving as a lieutenant in Franco’s makes any sense, but that’s part of the accidental fire ravages the town, the
Spanish Foreign Legion, discovers Lorca’s humor, and fans of absurdist science fic- family is separated: twin sons go off to
body on the edge of a mule track in the tion will find it very enjoyable. (Apr.) the front, nephews Robert and Cordage
Aragon region. Bora doesn’t recognize land in an orphanage in a nearby city,
the dead man, who has a bullet hole in the ★ Everything About You granddaughter Princess and handmaid
back of his head. Bora’s commanding Heather Child. Orbit UK, $26.99 (352p) Lexi are taken in by vagabonds, and
officer, Col. Jacinto Costa y Serrano, ISBN 978-0-356-51070-5 patriarch Jonathan (“the Burgermeister...
identifies Lorca from a photograph Bora Child’s rousing debut features striking He simply liked the sound of the title,
retrieved from the body, but when sol- prose and a well-imagined reality that show- thinking it had a certain grandness to it”)
diers are dispatched to retrieve the corpse, cases the author’s careful attention to the is left at home with his grieving daughter,
it’s no longer there. Serrano fears that attractions and downfalls of technology. sister, and sister-in-law. With each party
the Reds will use the killing against the Passive Freya has lived for eight years believing the others are dead, the Bergers
Nationalists. Bora’s inquiries parallel without closure since the disappearance are thrown headlong into a series of bum-
those of American Philip Walton, a vol- of her foster sister, Ruby. This is especially bling adventures involving con-artistry,
unteer with the anti-Franco forces, who’s strange in Child’s vision of future London, string-making, incarceration, prophecy, and
also opposed to the murder being used where technology has evolved to the point even a thousand-year flood. Diminishing
as political propaganda. Pastor does an that an individual’s data is constantly the tale, the characters never seem to gen-
excellent job of creating a backstory for accessed and broadcasted to the public. uinely enjoy one another or show any love
Review_FICTION
or kindness. Though clever and easily

digestible, this aggressively digressive
story lacks the gut-busting laughs or the [Q&A]
heart and human insight that would make
it truly satisfying. (Mar.) PW Talks with Meg Elison
The Widening Gyre A Handmade Future
Michael R. Johnston. Flame Tree, $24.95
(288p) ISBN 978-1-78758-145-6 In The Book of Flora (47North, Mar.), Elison concludes a trilogy of
In this flawed but promising debut, novels about the postapocalypse lives of women and trans people.
good-hearted empathy and solid escapist
space-fighting that emphasizes the power Your work has a lot to say about how transgression. The further along these
of teamwork break through a heavy- people mythologize and simplify very societies go with this extreme gender
handed anticolonialist plot, stereotyped complicated events, identities, people, parity, the more I thought people
aliens, and unsubtle human psychology. choices—what about that sparked would be freer to express transness or
It’s been 800 years since the lizardlike your interest? nonbinariness in a way that is not
Zhen found the last human survivors of a There’s a tendency—I think just about exactly pressured by the population
colony ship and forced them into servi- everywhere, but it’s especially notable and the way that we live today. So
tude in the intergalactic Zhen Empire. as an American—to mythologize when I got to know Flora, and I
Loner pilot Tajen Hunt is the only human founders. I started thinking about started thinking about Flora’s unique
who’s ever been a war hero in the Zhen the way the founder effect works in position and the position of trans
military; he also presided over a disas- language and in culture, and the way women in the society that I’ve created,
trous battle that ended in the deaths of we have taken traits that she had the most interesting
millions of humans and Zhen, including have nothing to do with journey and the most inter-
his brother’s wife. Just after saving a the foundation of our esting place in society. Also,
human ship’s crew from marauders, he country because we asso- not to give any spoilers, but
learns that his brother has been killed by ciate them with our with the specific ending of
Empire agents for discovering pointers founders. Like, our The Book of Flora and the
that reveal the location of Earth. ongoing love affair with way that humanity has to
Determined to complete his brother’s neoclassical architecture change over time, I thought
© devin cooper
search for the human homeworld, Tajen immediately comes to that she was the best person
brings his new friends and teenage niece mind, because Thomas to tell that story.
on his quest. Themes of belonging come Jefferson had such a hard-
though sweetly as Earth nostalgia sits on for it, we just can’t stop doing it. You portray characters with really
alongside Tajen’s process of self-forgive- So when I was looking at creating intense compassion in a violent,
ness and building connections, but a spir- societies that had survived the end of brutal world. How did you balance
itless side romance plot seems placed only the world and had changed and those emotional modes while writing?
to establish Tajen as gay in a story that morphed and adapted, I was thinking: As a writer, it’s exhausting to continue
otherwise does not engage LGBTQ what were the qualities of these to write hard and compassionless
themes. Readers will feel invested in founders that would become the worlds. Flora was written over a
Tajen’s team of affable human rebels and Monticello of those people? If you had longer period of time than most of my
their futures, but Johnston will have to
two really influential weirdos, in a books, primarily because my work
develop the Zhen into a more nuanced
hundred years you could have a colony was derailed by the election of 2016. I
enemy to sustain interest in additional
of people in Virginia, like, worshipping had a really hard time facing what I
adventures. (Mar.)
Superman. That’s not even that far- had written and what I had put into
fetched, because we can make a myth the world. So I ended up tearing apart
★ The Perfect Assassin: into anything, and you can make a the last 40% of the book and
The Chronicles of Ghadid, Book 1
myth into a religion easiest of all. rewriting it in 2017. I wanted to see
K.A. Doore. Tor, $17.99 trade paper (320p)
the future differently, which is, I
ISBN 978-0-7653-9855-0
Doore wows with this outstanding fan- Why did you promote Flora from think, why everybody writes science
tasy debut based on mythology from secondary character to viewpoint fiction. It’s both that I want to write a
Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa. After five character for this volume? cautionary tale and that I want to
years of training in the family art of assas- As I was writing the series, I became believe that something else is possible.
sination to defend the city of Ghadid, more and more interested in gender —Leah Bobet
19-year-old Amastan Basbowen learns his
trade has been outlawed. As Amastan pre-
Review_FICTION
pares to resume his earlier apprenticeship foray into covert operations, and soon mentor at the women’s shelter where she
as a historian, a series of clandestine assas- Kovalic is needed on the ground after all, works confirming the existence of magic
sinations puts his family at risk of being to resolve the chaos. In interspersed chap- and explaining that some otherworldly
exterminated by the city’s leadership, the ters, Kovalic privately reminisces about power has been transferred to her. As ene-
often corrupt Drum Chiefs. The victims his early career. By the end, Moren solidi- mies threaten her, Maeve flees in the
have not merely been murdered: their fies the cooperative, interdependent social company of the studly but annoying Silas
bodies have been hidden, and when a body dynamics of Kovalic, Brody, and their Valeron. While Maeve takes magical
is not promptly discovered, its jaani, or team in a way that leaves readers ready to battles, sword fights, and strange crea-
spirit, cannot be quieted and shepherded root for them, setting up for future adventures admirably in stride, she also creates
to the afterlife. If jaan are left unquieted tures. Fans of suspenseful space opera obstacles for herself and her allies through
for too long, will look eagerly for the next book. Agent: impulsive and emotional responses.
they turn wild Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary. (Mar.) Some worldbuilding details are given
and violent, short shrift by the fast pace, but there’s a
jeopardizing not Last Dream of Her Mortal Soul: lot here for readers of Seanan McGuire
only the assas- Portland Hafu, Book 3 and Patricia Briggs. (Mar.)
sins accused in K Bird Lincoln. World Weaver, $13.95 trade
their deaths but paper (200p) ISBN 978-1-73225-464-0 Death & Honey
all of Ghadid. Series heroine Koi, who can enter and Kevin Hearne, Lila Bowen, and Chuck Wendig.
As the threat of manipulate other people’s dreams, comes Subterranean, $45 (304p) ISBN 978-1-59606-
the jaan looms into her own in Lincoln’s capable third 914-5
and Amastan’s urban fantasy. Immediately following the In this blood-soaked collection of fan-
assassin rela- events of Black Pearl Dreaming, Kwaskwi, tasy novellas tied to larger series, three
tives try to clear their names, Amastan ill- head of the Portland Kind in Portland, otherwise unconnected tales are linked by
advisedly falls in love with Yusfit, a man Ore., calls Koi back from Japan. A pow- the thematic inclusion of murder and
who may have information about the true erful member of the Portland Kind has bees. Kevin Hearne’s “The Buzz Kill”
perpetrator of the crimes. Doore is a force been murdered, and Kwaskwi wants Koi returns to the Iron Druid Chronicles after
to be reckoned with, blending a stirring to repay her debt to him by using her the events of 2018’s Scourged. As narrated
plot, elegant worldbuilding, effortless powers to help track down the killers. by the faithful sausage-loving wolfhound
style, and diverse, empathetic characters. Antagonist identities are easy to guess at Oberon, druid Atticus O’ Sullivan inves-
Her debut is sure to be a hit with fans of as it becomes clear that one of the Portland tigates the mysterious death of a man
Sarah J. Maas and George R.R. Martin. Kind has betrayed them to the most terri- deep in the wilds of Tasmania. In the
Agent: Kurestin Armada, P.S. Literary. (Mar.) fying dragon yet: a Grand Dragon of a weird west story “Grist of Bees” by Lila
white supremacist group called the Bowen, retired monster-hunter Rhett
The Bayern Agenda: Nordvast Uffheim. Lincoln’s convincing Walker (last seen in 2018’s Treason of
The Galactic Cold War, Book 1 merger of myth and culture from around Hawks) is tempted back into service to
Dan Moren. Angry Robot, $12.99 trade paper the Northern Hemisphere creates a strong rescue a kidnapped girl from a malevo-
(432p) ISBN 978-0-85766-819-6 contrast with the Nordvast Uffheim’s big- lent oracle on a mountain, a quest that
Moren revisits the world and key char- otry. The ongoing themes of dreams and leads the reluctant hero to face elements
acters from The Caledonian Gambit in the dragons sometimes feel a little muddled, of his checkered past. Meanwhile, Chuck
bombastic Galactic Cold War series but series fans will enjoy watching Koi Wendig checks in on the world of Miriam
launch, telling a frenzied story full of learn to control her abilities and sort out Black in “Interlude: Tanager,” which fea-
bold spycraft and exciting ground and her romantic life along the way. (Mar.) tures Wren, a psychic teenager unable to
air chases. Rumors are swirling that the escape her life as a hunter of serial killers.
planet-sized Bayern Corporation, usually Fate Forged Though all three stories rely heavily upon
known for strict political neutrality, is (Bound Magic, Book 1) previous knowledge of their respective
discussing a financial arrangement with B.P. Donigan. Red Adept, $15.99 trade paper series, they’re still accessible for new-
the Illyrican Empire, a rival of the (418p) ISBN 978-1-948051-24-8 comers. Established fans and completion-
Commonwealth of Independent Systems. Donigan’s solid debut urban fantasy ists will undoubtedly enjoy seeing what
Though Commonwealth agent Simon introduces self-sufficient Bostonian Maeve these characters are up to now. (Mar.)
Kovalic should lead his special projects O’Neill and her trusty knife, Ripper, to
team undercover to investigate, an injury the magical parallel realm of Aeterna and Circle of the Moon
leaves him home while his ex-wife, Lt. its inhabitants, many of whom have a Faith Hunter. Ace, $7.99 mass market (400p)
Cmdr. Natalie Taylor—whom the author vested interest in Maeve. She thinks magic ISBN 978-0-399-58794-8
unfortunately relegates to a femme fatale is fictional until nightmare visions lead In Hunter’s electrifying fourth Soulwood
plot role—takes the team to Bayern. New her to a warehouse, where she discovers a novel, probationary special agent Nell
team member Elijah Brody, a pilot and metal charm that matches a tattoo on her Ingram must help Unit Eighteen of
Illyrican defector, makes a clumsy first arm. Events escalate rapidly, with Maeve’s PsyLED, which investigates paranormal
Review_FICTION
events, confront a vicious foe that seems past her fears and become independent
to be targeting her boss, wereleopard Romance/Erotica again, he admits he came across another
Rick LaFleur. Nell is mostly recovered secret: that Matthias was cheating. As
from their last mission, and she’s hoping ★ Moonlight & Whiskey Sunday faces the truth of what her mar-
to gain custody of her 12-year-old sister, Tricia Lynne. Loveswept, $4.99 e-book (291p) riage really was, she also works to rebuild
Mud. Her colleague and tentative boy- ISBN 978-1-984800-16-9 relationships with her children and to
friend, wereleopard Occam, is still Love and self-esteem are as tangled as enjoy farm life again, and Flynn realizes
healing from being seriously burned over the sheets in this sensual masterpiece set how much he enjoys being a part of her
much of his body. Now magic circles, in New Orleans. NOLA is known for spicy life. Slowly Flynn and Sunday feel their
complete with blood sacrifices, are being food, lively music, and vibrant colors; it’s friendship deepen into romance. Readers
invoked all over Knoxville, Tenn., and the perfect place for engineer Avery Barrows will appreciate the heartwarming tale of a
their tainted magic is calling to Rick— to unleash her inner wild child for a few couple’s second chance at love. (Mar.)
putting him, and the rest of the team, in days. Tired of being judged—and insulted—
grave danger. Someone from Rick’s past about her few extra pounds, Avery sets out This Scot of Mine
may have a connection to the circles, as on a mission to learn to love herself, with Sophie Jordan. Avon, $7.99 mass market
well as to a string of violent vampire her best friend, former model Katia, along (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-246366-1
attacks. Luckily, Nell has the power of for the ride. Bass guitarist and lead singer In Jordan’s satisfying fourth Rogue
the earth at her fingertips, but she must Declan McGinn watched his father pine Files Regency (after The Duke Buys a
fight her burgeoning bloodlust, which is his life away over unrequited love, and he Bride), a Scottish laird burdened by a
tied directly to her land, Soulwood. refuses to let any of his many female admirers family curse tries to avoid death by
Hunter’s tense narrative cranks up the get too close. When he encounters the avoiding love. Lady Clara Autenberry, a
danger to a fever pitch, and some genu- feisty Avery, he loves that she speaks her duke’s daughter who’s about to marry
inely terrifying scenes will have readers mind—including a lot of swearing—and the dangerous Earl of Rolland, gets out
on the edges of their seats. Nell is an realizes her filthy words are the counter- of her betrothal by convincing Rolland
appealing heroine who really hits her point to her sensitive, caring side. With she’s pregnant by another man. Her repu-
stride in this intense installment. (Mar.) Avery planning to return home to Dallas tation in London now ruined, she moves
within a week, Declan doesn’t have much to her brother’s home in Scotland to live
Emergent: time to change his mind about being in a out her life. Her brother’s friend Laird
Android Chronicles: Book 3 relationship, while Avery battles her inse- Hunt MacLarin, who becomes infatuated
Lance Erlick. Kensington, $3.99 e-book curities (but never whines or throws a pity with her after he encounters her in a road-
(300p) ISBN 978-1-63573-054-8 party). Lynne has created a world filled with side inn, hears of her situation and thinks
Illegal android Synthia Cross and her delightful, complex characters and vivid it might be the loophole he needs: if she
human companion, Maria Baldacci, settings. Declan’s fellow band members bears another man’s child, he won’t be
await an opportunity to flee from their are mutually loyal and devoted, much like subject to the curse that kills each Laird
Evanston, Ill., safe house in Erlick’s Katia and Avery. The witty dialogue, MacLarins between when he sires an heir
gratifying third Android Chronicles steamy sex scenes, and heartfelt talks will and when the heir is born. He proposes to
futuristic adventure (after Unbound). leave readers eager for the next installment. her, and they marry—but then she con-
The FBI, special ops, and several other Agent: Saritza Hernandez, Corvisiero Literary. fesses that she’s not pregnant after all, and
androids continue to hunt Synthia, but (Mar.) Hunt and Clara must try to find a way to
while this chase does have its high points, break the curse. The balance of heat and
Synthia’s tactic of hacking cameras, drones, Home at Last suspense will delight Regency romance
and self-driving cars to evade pursuit Shirlee McCoy. Kensington, $7.99 mass readers. Agent: Maura Kye-Casella, Don
becomes repetitive through the middle. market (282p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4526-7 Congdon Assoc. (Mar.)
The love-hate dynamic between Synthia In this sweet third Bradshaw Brothers
and her human companions entertains contemporary (after Home Again), McCoy Defending Morgan
while behavior changes provide a con- tells the story of an injured young widow’s Susan Stoker. Montlake Romance, $12.95
vincing growth arc for the android. recovery, bolstered by the potential of a trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-5420-4225-3
Continued subversive attacks by a new, new, unexpected love. A terrible car crash Stoker thrills with the sizzling hot,
more powerful AI enemy force Synthia to killed Sunday’s husband, Matthias fast-paced, and occasionally heart-stop-
plan a confrontation with those hunting Bradshaw, and left Sunday with a traumatic ping third contemporary Mountain
her as Erlick sets up several clever plot brain injury. As she recuperates, Matthias’s Mercenaries novel (after Defending Chloe).
twists leading into a satisfying denoue- brothers help raise her six children and Former Marine Archer “Arrow” Kane
ment. Despite a dreary middle, this is a run her farm—and find secrets she tried and his team of mercenaries are in the
solid conclusion to a fun sci-fi trilogy. to keep about the money Matthias spent Dominican Republic to rescue a small
Agent: Bob Diforio, D4EO Literary Agency. while running the farm into the ground. child who was kidnapped by her father.
(Mar.) When the oldest brother, Flynn, comes to To his astonishment, he also finds Morgan
stay with the intention of helping her get Byrd, a fellow American who was snatched
Review_FICTION
from an Atlanta parking garage a year ear- further developments. Geissinger man- is aiming at the under-30 set with millen-
lier. Impressed by Morgan’s strength and ages to make this simplistic story action- nial touchstones such as Keurig cups and
her protection of the rescued child, honor- packed and sexy, and her readers will love internet shaming, though the steamy sex
able Arrow takes Morgan under his wing, it. Agent: Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary. scenes have wider appeal. A large cast of
bringing her to safety and working to (Mar.) secondary characters promises a long life
find out who wanted her to disappear, for the series. Agent: Sarah Hershman,
but not to die. As Morgan and Archer’s Borrowed Heart Hershman Rights Mgmt. (Mar.)
relationship deepens, the stakes rise. The Andrew Grey. Dreamspinner, $7.99 mass
far-fetched and very unlikely villain of market (240p) ISBN 978-1-64108-137-5 Hot Texas Sunrise:
the tale is cartoonishly evil in a way no This charming contemporary by the Coldwater, Texas, Book 2
one sees coming, making for a jarring prolific Grey (Buried Passions) opens with Delores Fossen. HQN, $7.99 mass market
ending. But Robin, an American tour guide in Germany, (384p) ISBN 978-1-335-04105-0
when that recovering from a broken heart after being Fossen’s second Coldwater, Texas con-
person gets dumped by his ex, Mason. Robin is also temporary (after Lone Star Christmas) falls
their just des- still adjusting to a literal heart transplant flat. Having a criminal record and being
erts, readers that left him with scars and devastated his a bar owner prevents Cleo Delaney from
will cheer. self-image. When Johan, the tour’s hunky fostering her deceased best friend’s three
Stoker sensi- bus driver who likes to sleep in the nude, sons. She turns to her former foster
tively deals has to share a room with Robin, there is a brother, Deputy Judd Laramie, for help.
with tough potential for romance. But Robin’s self- Although his alcoholism is not on record,
subjects such doubts keep him from seeing how perfect Judd has been sober only one year, making
as rape (and Johan is. Just as their relationship starts him doubt he’s ready to handle such a big
its devastating looking up—after some fun at a water responsibility. However, he endured sev-
aftermath) and parental kidnapping, and park—Mason joins the tour in progress eral abusive foster parents himself before
draws readers into a richly woven tale, ably and gives Robin grief. While Johan makes being placed with kindly Buck Laramie,
setting up the next story. This series is Robin feel safe and secure, Mason engages who showed him what a truly loving
perfect for romantic thriller aficionados. in some suspicious behavior that causes family looks like, and he doesn’t want
(Mar.) trouble. The thin plot functions as an the boys to stay with their abusive grand-
excuse for travelogue scenes and romantic mother, Lavinia. He ropes in his family
Dangerous Beauty moments, as well as chats about living life to assist. Cleo’s plan is for the Laramies to
J.T. Geissinger. Montlake Romance, $12.95 to the fullest and the benefits of second foster in name only, as she will take on
trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-1-5420-4231-4 chances, and Grey’s breezy style makes it the responsibility, but the family is all in.
Geissinger (Ache for You) launches a new all go down smoothly. Fans of destination Lavinia doesn’t want the boys, but she
series with this passable romantic thriller, romances will find this one perfectly fits blames Cleo (rather than her own destruc-
set primarily in Mexico. Naz Mansouri, the bill. (Mar.) tive behavior) for shattering Lavinia’s
familiar to readers of Geissinger’s Bad relationship with her daughter, the boys’
Habit series, is an ex-bodyguard on his Ice Hot: mother, so she wreaks havoc on Cleo’s
first assignment for a high-powered secu- New York Nighthawks, Book 1 business and challenges the placement.
rity firm. All he has to do is observe and Tracy Goodwin. Loveswept, $4.99 e-book The premise is promising and the charac-
report on Evalina Ivanova, the runaway (248p) ISBN 978-1-984800-12-1 ters are complex and loyal, but the plot is
wife of billionaire Dimitri Ivanov. But Family wealth faces off against celeb- forced. There is no chemistry between
once he meets and falls for beautiful Eva, rity in Goodwin’s breezy contemporary Cleo and Judd and the romance is more of
he learns she was abused by the sinister series launch. The upcoming season is an afterthought. Even Fossen’s fans may
Dimitri for seven years, and fled for her hockey ace Christian Chase’s debut as the want to give this one a pass. (Mar.)
life. Naz tells his new boss they need to New York Nighthawks’ team captain, and
help Eva, not spy on her, even if that the model-handsome hunk is the latest Playing the Pauses
means offending Dimitri’s father, an sports media darling. That’s good for the Michelle Hazen. CreateSpace, $9.99 trade
important client and member of the team, but the mantle of celebrity all but paper (374p) ISBN 978-1-983913-61-7
Russian mafia. As Naz and Eva alternate kills his love affair with independent busi- Hazen returns to the rough-and-
narration, Geissinger captures the thrill nesswoman Serena Ellis, daughter of a tumble rock music world with her snappy
and tenderness of developing romance famous real estate mogul and owner of her second Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll con-
between two people reluctant to trust. own boutique line of clothing for women temporary (after A Cruel Kind of Beautiful).
The plot is clichéd and the banter tire- of all sizes. At first the attention boosts Kate Madsen’s father bailed when she was
some, and it seems unlikely that someone both their careers, but then internet trolls 10, and her mother’s mental illness com-
who was sexually abused for years would decide that Serena is a tasty target, and pounded her trauma. Now a music tour
heedlessly plunge into a new relationship, their attacks threaten to destroy both manager, she doesn’t let anyone get too
but a cliff-hanger ending leaves room for boutique and romance. It’s clear Goodwin close. Tattoo artist turned bassist Danny
Review_FICTION
O’Neil never lived up to his exacting par- does their affection. While faith plays a and danger to a group of young ladies in
ents’ expectations, even after his band, the minor role, fans of the series will enjoy this rousing solo debut novel from Hitchock
Red Letters, started to take off. When the Connealy’s rough-riding romance. (after the anthology The Southern Belle
two meet, it’s with a lust-filled, BDSM- (Mar.) Brides Collection). Winnifred Wylde, the
fueled passion, and once they’re on tour police inspector’s debutante daughter who
they sneak in trysts wherever and when- Almost Home yearns more for adventure than for matri-
ever possible. Even as Kate tries to keep Valerie Fraser Luesse. Revell, $15.99 trade mony, witnesses a woman’s abduction at
her emotional distance—knowing that paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-8007-2963-9 the fair. In need of help with the case, her
nothing will be certain once the tour’s Luesse (Missing Isaac) creates an father allows her to discreetly investigate
over—she falls in love. Hazen’s command engrossing ensemble cast in this historical and assigns detective Jude Thorpe to tail
of the music business imbues every scene romance about the strength of new friend- her for protection. Winnie quickly dis-
with authenticity, and her hero with a ship during times of war. As WWII rages, covers the undercover cop, and when she
heart of gold will make readers swoon. In a small band of strangers deal with home meets the man she believes is the crim-
addition to the complex, quirky heroine front hardships in Blackberry Springs, inal, Mr. Henry Howard Holmes, Jude
of this tale, Hazen brings back previous Ala. Dolly Chandler takes in boarders to partners with her in a sting operation.
heroine Jera in a considerably deeper and pay the bills. First come a couple of quiet, Winnie finds real-life danger much dif-
more appealing fashion than in her first unemployed professors from Chicago, ferent from that in the novels she enjoys
appearance. By turns funny, sad, and then an obnoxious couple from Reno, and reading, but her fortitude and faith sus-
introspective, Hazen’s story will strike a soon the house is filled as workers come to tain her through several suspenseful
chord with readers. (BookLife) work in munitions plants. Arriving from moments. Will she find the evidence she
a small farming needs to reveal Holmes’s perfidy, or will
town in Illinois, she become his next victim? The dan-
Inspirational Jesse and Anna gerous project draws Winnie and Jude
Williams are closer together, but her father’s refusal to
The Unexpected Champion having a hard consider a lawman as his daughter’s hus-
Mary Connealy. Bethany House, $14.99 trade time with their band thwarts their desires. Hitchcock
paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-76421-931-3 marriage when keeps the pace quick and tension high as
Set in 1868 Dismal, Nev., this pleasing they move into the characters face dangers both physical
third installment of Connealy’s High Sierra the house and and emotional. Readers will enjoy the
Sweethearts series (after Reluctant Warrior) meet Army snappy dialogue, vivid depictions of the
features a romance between unlikely com- medic Reed famous World’s Fair, and the surprising
panions. Outlaw Raddo Landauer has Ingram, who historical details. Agent: Tamela Hancock
just been shot to death in the streets of has just returned from the war. Having Murray, Steve Laube Agency. (Mar.)
Dismal, and local Penny Scott and vis- grown up nearby, Reed hopes returning
iting businessman John McCall meet for to the place of happier memories will A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh
the first time when they rush to the scene heal his emotional and physical scars. Carolyn Miller. Kregel, $15.99 trade paper
of the shoot-out. As they wait outside the Dolly, a deeply faithful woman, offers (336p) ISBN 978-0-8254-4589-7
sheriff’s office while he questions witnesses prayers and her own guidance to help Miller (The Making of Mrs. Hale)
to the shooting, they are taken prisoner by him. Anna also bonds with a young delivers a winsome exploration of life,
three masked gunmen who want answers widow from Mississippi and an elderly love, and faith in Regency England. The
about Raddo’s death. After traveling some boarder after they discover old journals snobbish Caroline Hatherleigh can’t
distance in the back of a wagon, Penny left by Charlotte Chauvin, the wife of a imagine finding interesting people of the
manages to free herself and John, and the local Robin Hood character who built right social rank in the coastal town of
two escape into the wilderness. Meanwhile, Dolly’s house. The mysterious disappear- Devon, where she is visiting her grand-
Penny’s brother Cam is convinced that ance of the couple decades earlier fostered mother, until she meets Emma Kirby and
John kidnapped her due to eyewitness rumors, including the possibility of her husband, the handsome and intelli-
accounts of the kidnapping. When the two undiscovered treasure. Luesse presents a gent fossil scientist Gideon Kirby. Her
finally return after several days lost in the heartwarming story of the power of rela- growing friendship with Emma and
woods, John is given the choice to hang tionships, and how the most inopportune attraction to Gideon brings Caroline
for kidnapping (despite Penny’s protests) circumstances can yield unexpectedly inner discontent and curiosity about their
or marry Penny. He opts for the latter, rewarding results. (Mar.) Christian faith—for Emma seems to
and soon the horrified newlyweds set off radiate peace. Indeed, Gideon and Emma
to restore their reputation by hunting The White City: True Colors are hiding a secret that could erupt in
down the men who kidnapped them, and Grace Hitchcock. Barbour, $12.99 trade paper scandal if discovered: they are actually
also to determine whether they can stand (256p) ISBN 978-1-68322-868-4 siblings, and Emma is hiding from her
each other enough to live as man and wife. In 1893 Chicago, the World’s Fair abusive husband. Between tending to his
As the danger and violence ramp up, so brings excitement to residents and visitors, sister’s well-being, his burgeoning career,
Review_FICTION
and his growing feelings for Caroline, doesn’t quite give due justice to its rich favor, as it lacks variation in page layout
Gideon’s world threatens to unravel—but source material. (May) to guide the pacing. A few pieces are more
he prays for a miraculous resolution. successful, such as a three-page story
Caroline, determined to mature from her Manfried Saves the Day about a recurring character, the video
haughty aloofness, learns how to be a true Caitlin Major and Kelly Bastow. Quirk, $14.99 game-obsessed Susan Something, logging
friend, and how to trust her newfound (224p) ISBN 978-1-68369-108-2 into a virtual pet website. After 17 years
faith. In a lively subplot, Miller delves The sequel to Manfried the Man, an away from the site, where Susan says she
into the 19th-century conflict between eccentric online comic strip adapted into learned to “fixate all my energy on main-
the Christian faith and the science of a graphic novel, continues the day-to-day taining a digital fantasy,” she finds that
paleontology. But it is the inclusion of adventures of humanoid cat Steve Catson her pet has abandoned hope of ever seeing
faith issues with an authentic portrayal and his pet man, Manfried, in a world her and moved on to an independent exis-
of Regency society that will delight her where human and feline roles are reversed. tence. By referencing an experience many
growing fan base. (Mar.) This time, it’s up to Steve and his man- digital natives share, the gag moors its
loving friends to save the local man shelter abstract vibe. Undoubtedly, there are
from destruction via real-estate develop- browsers who will know and connect to
Comics ment, prove nonpedigreed men can win this particular mocking brand, but for
the Manflower Man Show, and make a hit general readers, it’s much like scrolling
Six Days: The Incredible True out of Steve’s pet project “man comic” (a through a long GIF-filled comment
Story of D-Day’s Lost Chapter Garfield allusion), all while adopting out thread: the moments of amusement aren’t
Robert Venditti, Kevin Maurer, and Andrea as many adorable men as possible. Like worth slogging through quite so many
Mutti. Vertigo, $24.99 (148p) ISBN 978-1- the first volume, this installment is less blobby bits. (Apr.)
4012-9071-9 comedic than the premise suggests;
Based on a little-known episode from despite the cartoonish art, the narrative The Rolling Stones in Comics
WWII, this action-packed graphic novel gives a surprisingly straight-faced treat- Céka et al., trans. from the French by
tells the story of 182 paratroopers from ment to the cat characters as they go about Montana Kane. NBM, $26.99 (192p)
the 82nd Airborne Division mistakenly their daily work, struggle to make ends ISBN 978-1-68112-198-7
dropped 15 miles from their target zone meet, and care for their pets—tiny naked Fans of the Rolling Stones, or rock
on the night before D-Day. Regrouping in men that nap, bat, and preen like (real- music in general, will find this informa-
a small French village and bonding with world) cats and say only “Hey!” The tive graphic volume provides an insightful
the townspeople, the Americans dig in and sequel is also inconsistent in the level of and illuminating biography of how the
wait for the realism it grants to its high-concept uni- Stones came together as a group and
Wehrmacht to verse, shifting from gritty plot threads emerged from humble beginnings in the
attack. The plot about financial problems, relationship early 1960s. Its value lies not only in
is powerfully woes, and illness to melodrama about painstaking research, but a multimodal
dramatic, pit- stopping a scheming “fat cat” and win- approach that intersperses comics narra-
ting the out- ning the big competition. What makes tive with textbook style sections of prose,
numbered this unusual series a hit, though, is ample photography, and quotes from those
Allies against a canny drawings of men and their antics within and close to the band. Céka’s 21
massive Nazi for the man fanciers out there. (May) graphic stories are drawn by a variety of
counterattack. different artists, whose styles range from
But while the 3D Sweeties the mono and dichromatic palettes of
kinetic art by Julian Glander. Fantagraphics, $24.99 (176p) Marin Trystam’s illustration on “Blessed
Mutti (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) ISBN 978-1-68396-180-2 Be the Vinyl” to Mao Suy-Heng’s exuberant
just about jumps off the page with furious This collection of comic-strip commen- caricatures in “Century Tour.” Every few
color, the narrative is strangely discon- tary on Millennial life and digital exis- pages rotates to a different visual style in
nected. The dialogue sounds canned, when tence, rendered in pastel 3-D, falls flat. telling the sometimes electrifying and
it doesn’t ring like a Sgt. Rock comic Originally published online on sites sometimes tragic story of the Stones’ rise
(complete with grizzled non-com barking including Vice, the shorts feature a cast of to prominence, as though the book, like
“the war ain’t waiting for your boots to slimes, grimacing blobs, and claymation- the band, is in a dizzying, constant state
dry” at his men). Some attention is paid to style human figures who go to the movies, of reinventing itself. Extras include “Nine
the anxious bravery of the French civil- buy furniture, and have mundane conver- Fun Facts About This Legendary Band!”
ians, who know they will be punished for sations in short scenarios. But the setups and a “Find Out More” section with books,
any assistance to the American soldiers. lack bite, and the gags go on a beat too films, and article listings for the diligent-
The final battle is well-calibrated, but the long, without the indefinable element of reading Stones fan. Rock history doesn’t
aftermath feels oddly perfunctory. Timed discomfort that would make them cross lack for drama; and this trivia-packed
for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, this into the truly absurd. The static panel volume delivers some real hits. (Mar.)
effort will appeal to war comics fans, but format doesn’t work in the narrative’s
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© faber & faber

Nonfiction
Gather at the River:
25 Authors on Fishing
Edited by David Joy, with Eric Rickstad. Hub City,
$18 trade paper (216p) ISBN 978-1-938235-52-8
Novelists Joy (The Line That Held Us)
and Rickstad (What Remains of Her) have
pulled off the feat of assembling a fishing
anthology that even non-anglers can
enjoy, featuring essays from various
writers that pay tribute to the beauty,
peacefulness, and, sometimes, humor that
accompany this pursuit. Novelist and
memoirist Jim Minick, for one, describes
fishing for suckers, the fish that feed on
lake bottoms and are generally considered
inedible, as a metaphor for his attitude
toward life: “in suckerhood, not all is bad; Jon Savage’s oral history This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else focuses on the English
I’m a sucker for the nip and run of dogs at band Joy Division, pictured here onstage in Manchester in 1980 (reviewed on p. 84).
play.” Novelist Jill McCorkle fondly
recalls a summer on a beach in North in detail that will make many readers the two suicide attempts that resulted from
Carolina and the new perspective it gave want to head for Montauk themselves it. Dedicating their book to “every LGBT
her on her father, a surf fishing devotee. (“the beaches were sweeping and majestic, character who deserved better,” the pair
Novelist Ron Rash dreamily reflects on and the town had a surfery charm”). As a describes obstacles they’ve faced as a same-
how finding and returning to a special microcosmic rendition of a lost summer’s sex couple (they are sometimes asked,
place of one’s own—in his case, a gorge drunken rhythms and Glynn’s slowly “Aren’t you too pretty to be gay?”). Dix
hidden off the Blue Ridge Parkway in unfolding realization about his own sexu- and Spaughton accomplish their lofty goal
North Carolina—produces happiness. ality, the writing resonates with a shim- of educating, consoling, and entertaining,
Joy, in his own essay, reflects that “all I mery tingle (falling for a man, he felt “a and do so in a fluid narrative. Extremely
know of beauty I learned with a fishing kind of giddy, queasy, terrifying down- personal, this is a satisfying extension of
rod in my hand,” a sentiment which aptly rush”). Glynn’s point of view, however, the couple’s online life particularly well-
sums up this meditative, lyrical collection remains so swaddled in privilege that his suited to readers who already follow them.
as a whole. (May) emotional distress registers as mere enti- Those seeking YouTube stardom may pick
tlement (“Not everyone had money, but up some helpful tips as well. (May)
Out East: everyone had access”). Ultimately this is a
Memoir of a Montauk Summer neatly observed but light story about What My Mother
John Glynn. Grand Central, $26 (256p) coming out. (May) and I Don’t Talk About:
ISBN 978-1-5387-4665-3 Fifteen Writers Break the Silence
In this sun-dazed debut memoir about Overshare: Love, Laughs, Edited by Michele Filgate. Simon & Schuster,
loss, identity, and partying with the Sexuality and Secrets $26 (288p) ISBN 978-1-982107-34-5
preppy set, book editor Glynn turns the Rose Ellen Dix and Rosie Spaughton. Trapeze, Filgate, contributing editor at Literary
magnifying glass on his inner turmoil but $22.99 (256p) ISBN 978-1-4091-7641-1 Hub, collects a fascinating set of reflections
never manages to inspire much sympathy Dix and Spaughton, married British on what it is like to be a son or daughter.
for his plight. Raised by happy and loving comedians whose Rose and Rosie YouTube One of this anthology’s strengths lies in
parents and now working in publishing channel has more than 819,000 subscribers, its diversity, both in the racial and socio-
(currently at Hanover Square), living in spare no secrets in this thoroughly enjoy- economic backgrounds represented, and
TriBeCa, and surrounded by friends, able joint memoir. The first-person narra- in the experiences depicted—some loving,
Glynn seems to have it all. Yet, he writes, tive toggles between the two women, who others abusive. The strongest pieces are the
“I was compulsively afraid of dying discuss their marriage, careers (“After most revealing: in Kiese Laymon’s essay
alone.” Attempting to escape that tor- months of uploading videos we discovered about “the harm and abuse I’ve inflicted
ment, Glynn plunked down $2,000 for a it was possible to earn money from on people who loved me,” he asks “Why
summer share in Montauk, on the tip of YouTube”), and struggles with anxiety do I... want to lie?”—a question that
Long Island in 2013. The weekends of and depression. The most touching part of resounds throughout this book. Nayomi
beachy boozing with “the girls, the the book occurs when Rose shares her Munaweera offers an attention-grabbing
finance guys, and the gays” are described debilitating experiences with OCD, and account of growing up in an immigrant
Review_NONFICTION
household and with a mother with a per-

sonality disorder, while Brandon Taylor
[Q&A] conveys the shattering pain of verbal and
physical abuse. In a sunnier entry, Leslie
PW Talks with Claire Harman Jamison explores the magic of having a
Guilty Victorian Pleasures great mom and describes the spell cast by
a parent shaped by a different time and
place, hippie-era Berkeley. Despite the
In Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens’s London title, the contributors find it difficult to
(Knopf, Mar.), Harman explores how the murder of William talk about what’s unsaid, with most dis-
Russell in 1840 led to a vigorous debate about the influence cussing what has already been spoken.
of a fictionalized account of the life of criminal Jack Sheppard. Nevertheless, the range of stories and
styles represented in this collection makes
What interested you about Russell’s How much did the controversy about for rich and rewarding reading. Agent:
murder? the appropriateness of fictional depic- Melissa Flashman, Janklow & Nesbit. (May)
While I was researching the life of tions of violent crime and criminals in
Charlotte Brontë and reading the affect authors such as Dickens? ★ Autumn Light:
periodicals and newspapers of the The success of Jack Sheppard had Season of Fire and Farewells
1830s and ’40s, references to it kept shown Dickens how much money Pico Iyer. Knopf, $25.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-
appearing on the edges of the mate- and fame could be had from writing 451-49393-4
rial I was looking at—particularly in criminal romance, but the furore over Aging, death, and family fracturing are
the papers of Thackeray and the book’s moral impact certainly seen through the lens of Japanese culture
Dickens. It piqued made him nervous about in this luminous memoir. Iyer (The Lady
my curiosity: aristoc- his own credentials. and the Monk), a British-Indian-American
racy, mystery, blood Dickens learned the lesson novelist and Time journalist who lives in
and gore, plus the that sensational plots had Japan with his Japanese wife, Hiroko,
intriguing and unin- to be leavened with other, recounts their efforts to cope with her
vestigated literary more “intellectual” elements, father’s death, her mother’s entry into a
connections. a puzzle to be solved, a nursing home, and her estrangement from
social issue to be aired. her brother. He revisits Hiroko’s family
Does the debate Explicit blood and gore stories, explores Japan’s mourning rituals
as she tends relatives’ graves and offers
© caroline forbes
around fictional was left to the newspapers

violence in TV and and broadsheets, while the cups of tea to her father’s spirit, and
movies today resemble better writers started to probes the feelings of guilt and betrayal—
the condemnation of evolve the world’s most especially when her mother wants to live
sensationalized depictions of crime popular genre—detective fiction. in their home—that rites can’t assuage.
in newspapers and books back then, Iyer weaves in sharp observations of a
such as those of the Jack Sheppard Was there something about the vilifica- graying Japan, particularly of the vig-
case? tion of novel writers that was uniquely orous but gradually faltering oldsters in
his ping-pong club, and visits to the
Definitely. I think people are always British, or did such things happen
Dalai Lama, a family friend, who dis-
on the lookout for the potential around the time in other countries?
penses brisk wisdom on life’s imperma-
moral impact of anything with a No, it wasn’t uniquely British.
nence (“Only body gone,” the Dalai Lama
widespread cultural impact, and Sensational fiction was deplored on both
says reflecting on death. “Spirit still
part of what I found fascinating sides of the Atlantic—think of the
there”). The book is partly a love letter
about the Jack Sheppard craze was derided yellow-back novels in the States
to the vibrant Hiroko, whose clipped
how many members of what one and Penny Dreadfuls in Britain—but
English—“I have only one speed. Always
might call the chattering classes felt that was much less to do with moral
fastball. But my brother not so straight.
guilty about their own enjoyment of decline than with the sharp decline in Only curveball”—unfolds like haiku, and
William Ainsworth’s sensational the price of printed stories as print it’s partly an homage to the Japanese cul-
book about Sheppard and its adap- technology improved. There was ture of delicate manners, self-restraint,
tations, while worrying that less suddenly a cheap mass market, and of and acceptance that “sadness lasts longer
educated or cultivated consumers course publishers and writers rushed than mere pleasure.” The result is an
might not be able to filter its mixed to gratify it. engrossing narrative, a moving medita-
messages. —Lenny Picker tion on loss, and an evocative, lyrical
portrait of Japanese society. (Apr.)
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Looking Back at Stonewall

Three fascinating books commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Stonewall protests.
★ The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History perspectives: in one piece, activist and journalist Dick Leitsch
Marc Stein. New York Univ., $35 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4798-1685-9 recounts the events in more or less direct prose; the following
History professor Stein (Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian piece, by a former Stonewall patron, more lyrically describes
Movement) presents a comprehensive collection of 200 tran- the incident as “Mother Stonewall giving birth to a new era.”
scribed documents from the early stages of the LGBTQ rights This collection is significant for its inclusion of essays and
movement, centered around the riots at the selections from memoir that provide a more intimate under-
Stonewall Inn. The book’s first section traces standing of the movement’s history. In a selection from Karla
the causes of the riots through, among other Jay’s memoir, the activist recalls protesting homophobia in
documents, legal rulings attesting to an the feminist community, and an interview with Kiyoshi
increase in harassment by police, who Kuromiya explores the misogyny and racism in the early
arrested gay bar patrons on trumped-up stages of the LGBTQ movement. This window into the daily
charges of “disorderly conduct.” The second lives of activists and ordinary people fighting passionately
section collects eyewitness perspectives on against injustice is illuminating and inspiring. (Apr.)
the riots themselves, highlighting fascinating discrepancies
in rhetoric; for example, while the New York Times reported Love and Resistance:
that “hundreds of young men went on a rampage,” LGBTQ Out of the Closet into the Stonewall Era
organization the Mattachine Society compared a patrolling Edited by Jason Baumann. Norton, $24.95 (224p) ISBN 978-1-324-
policeman to “a slave-owner surveying the plantation.” The 00206-2
third section focuses on the four years post-riots, as activists of Baumann, coordinator for the New York Public Library’s
vastly different political persuasions and identities attempted LGBT Initiative, brings together the photographs of two
to form a united front featuring “influences of anticolonial chroniclers of the 1960s and 1970s gay rights movement,
politics, antiwar protest, black radicalism, countercultural Kay Tobin Lahusen and Diana Davies, in this moving collec-
activism, and women’s liberation.” Stein is a capable curator; his tion that accompanies an upcoming exhibit at the New York
insightful opening essay and brief introductions to the chapters Public Library. Baumann describes Lahusen’s photos as
provide needed context, but he refrains from editorializing, “working for rights-based inclusion” while Davies’s “called
leaving the documents to speak for themselves. This worthwhile for the radical questioning of society as a whole.” The photos—
dive into LGBTQ history unearths many little-known docu- candids taken in homes, at protests, at parties—document an
ments and presents them in a manner accessible to scholars evolution of activism (mostly in major cities on the East Coast),
and ordinary readers alike. (May) a burgeoning public pride, and a diverse group of figures:
Barbara Gittings, Lahusen’s activist partner (and frequent
The Stonewall Reader subject) who participated in events including a 1965 march
Edited by the New York Public Library. Penguin Classics, $17 trade on the White House protesting federal bans on hiring gays
paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-14-313351-3 and lesbians and a “Hug a Homosexual” booth at a 1971
This expansive collection of documents from the New York American Library Association conference; Frank Kameny, the
Public Library’s LGBTQ history archive constructs a vital and first openly gay candidate for Congress; and Martha P. Johnson,
dynamic narrative of the early days of gay liberation through cofounder of Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries
the words of activists, writers, and other eyewitnesses. The (STAR) and a protester at Stonewall. Baumann organizes the
book follows the movement through the years just before more than 100 photographs into four sections, each about a
Stonewall, the event itself, and the years after. Plenty of the “mode of resistance”: visibility, love, pride, and protest.
essays and excerpts are not specifically about Stonewall, but Baumann’s brief captions provide details about the actions
provide a broader picture of inequality and persecution, as and lives of the players that shaped history with their bravery.
with the salacious press coverage of trans woman Christine This collection provides important archival visuals to a still-
Jorgensen’s transition. The riots are revisited from multiple underreported slice of history. (Mar.)
The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, of growing up in 1970s California. When mother but bonded and found safety, first
Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees her newly separated mother brought May with her kind step-grandfather, and later
Meredith May. Park Row, $24.99 (336p) and her brother from Rhode Island to the with the bees he kept to produce his
ISBN 978-0-7783-0778-5 West Coast to live with her parents, bees prized honey. Nicknamed “The Beekeeper
Journalist May (coauthor, I, Who Did were terrifying to the five-year-old. May of Big Sur” by his customers, he drove his
Not Die), a fifth-generation beekeeper in was forced to grow up fast with an retrofitted former military bus to tend to
San Francisco, delivers a powerful account increasingly unstable and neglectful his 100 hives along the coast and provided
Review_NONFICTION
May a fascinating education, teaching her A Season on the Wind: Bernard Sumner, and drummer Stephen
about how bees communicate, eat, and Inside the World of Spring Migration Morris were inspired by the Sex Pistols’
protect their queen. It was through the Kenn Kaufman. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, infamous 1976 Manchester show (“learn
honeybees, she writes, that “I learned to $26 (288p) ISBN 978-1-328-56642-3 three chords, write a song, form a group,
persevere.” Leaving for college was a Thanks to the author’s firsthand experi- that’s it,” Sumner says). While Joy
turning point for her: it was then that her ences and deep knowledge of his subject, Division’s performances were characterized
mother shared her own history of physical readers will learn about winged migration by the crowd’s punk energy and Curtis’
abuse at her father’s hands. May learned and better understand the significant possessed dancing, his haunting lyrics—
that, unlike her mother, she needed to look threats to bird environments covered in inspired by atrocity-laden military texts,
at what she had—her grandfather and a gift this thoughtful, informative book. When J.G. Ballard, and William S. Burroughs—
for beekeeping—rather than what was Kaufman, a naturalist, artist, and avid made them stand out in the British music
missing. May’s chronicle of overcoming birder, moved to Ohio, “the epicenter of scene. Savage doesn’t shy from the band’s
obstacles and forging ahead is moving spring migration,” he found a new fasci- obsession with Nazism (the band’s name
and thoughtful. (Apr.) nation with this aspect of birds’ lives. He was taken from a brothel at a Nazi con-
writes of coming to welcome an unlikely centration camp, and according to music
I’m Writing You from Tehran: species—crows, common year-round writer Bob Dickinson, “they were haunted
A Granddaughter’s Search for elsewhere but typically sparse where he by the ghosts of Nazism and by what it
Her Family’s Past and Their lives—as the harbinger of spring, and, did to Europe”). Just as the group achieved
Country’s Future perhaps equally unexpectedly, appreciate notice, Curtis’s epileptic seizures worsened,
Delphine Minoui, trans. from the French by duck hunters as a crucial ally in preserving and he killed himself in 1980. His widow
Emma Ramadan. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, marshland bird habitats. In the most Deborah Curtis notes, “People admired
$26 (320p) ISBN 978 0-374-17522-1 fascinating passage, Kaufman describes him for the things that were destroying
In this riveting memoir, French journalist the blackpoll warbler, which weighs less him.” Savage wonderfully captures the
Minoui revisits a decade she spent in Iran, than half an ounce but can fly over six spirit of the band and an era. (Apr.)
beginning in 1997. As a child growing thousand miles, both a “miraculous and
up in Paris, Minoui considered herself monstrous experience” of endurance, The Twenty-Six Words That
French, even though her father had emi- Kaufman adds. However, he notes that Created the Internet
grated from Iran. After she entered seasonal bird migrations can’t be discussed Jeff Kosseff. Cornell Univ., $26.95 (328p)
adulthood, Minoui yearned to know more without also considering how wind tur- ISBN 978-1-5017-1441-2
about the country of her paternal ances- bines have been killing thousands of birds Kosseff, a U.S. Naval Academy cyber-
tors, so she successfully pitched a docu- and bats yearly. To keep construction away science professor and Pulitzer finalist for
mentary project on Iranian youth to Radio from crucial stopover sites for migratory reporting, insightfully analyzes Section
France and packed her bags to explore species, he argues, conservationists must 230 of the Communications Decency Act
the volatile and repressive country. Her show winged migration’s importance to of 1996, which grants internet service
interest in Iran grew and she decided to local economies as a stimulus for birder providers near-complete immunity from
stay longer, moving in with her widowed tourism. Nature-loving readers will be lawsuits over content posted by their
grandmother, who eagerly welcomed her moved by Kaufman’s detailed look at a users. Kosseff convincingly argues that,
and shared family secrets. The story is full fascinating yearly process. Agent: Wendy without this protection, the risk of liti-
of suspense and surprises: at a new friend’s Strothman, Strothman Agency. (Apr.) gation would have chilled expression
clandestine party early on, Minoui is and discouraged the many beneficial
frightened and dismayed when the This Searing Light, the services now available online. His
“morality police” arrive seeking to arrest Sun and Everything Else: account of how Republican Chris Cox
women who have thrown off their chadors Joy Division: The Oral History and Democrat Ron Wyden drafted the
(head covering) and are dancing and Jon Savage. Faber & Faber, $26.95 (272p) section together provides an exceptionally
drinking alcohol. As she plumbs Iran’s ISBN 978-0-571-34537-3 clear picture of the legislative process, and
complex political landscape, including In this excellent oral history, Savage his discussion of the cases in which federal
political protests and social unrest, (England’s Dreaming) chronicles the short courts adopted an expansive interpretation
Minoui is interrogated by police, and, life of Joy Division, the band that married of Section 230 is both accessible and
later, her press pass is revoked by the punk’s anger with hypnotic bleakness. Joy legally astute. Kosseff brings these cases
Ministry of Culture. The powerful under- Division was born of northern English to life with brief, well-chosen excerpts
lying story is one of love of family and admi- postindustrial stoic despair; Manchester, from courtroom arguments and illustrative
ration for the courage and passion of the where the band was formed, had fallen details about the players, such as the first
Iranian people. Readers will be spell- from industrial might to blighted “concrete judge to issue an opinion, former naval
bound by this profound and gripping gulags,” Savage writes. The dozens of aviator T.S. Ellis III, “notorious for
memoir of a woman’s search for knowledge, interviews with band members, friends, writing long opinions that leave no fact or
understanding, and identity. (Apr.) family, and hangers-on tells how singer argument unaddressed.” Kosseff concludes
Ian Curtis, bassist Peter Hook, guitarist by considering how best to guarantee
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Extreme Racing
Two titles highlight outdoor endurance races.
★ Rough Magic: This Much Country: A Memoir

Riding the World’s Loneliest Horse Race Kristin Knight Pace. Grand Central, $27 (320p) ISBN 978-1-5387-6240-0
Lara Prior-Palmer. Catapult, $25 (288p) ISBN 978-1-9482-2619-6 Sled dog racer Pace debuts with an earnest chronicle of the
First-time author Prior-Palmer transforms from hopeless ups and downs of a life spent living in the wilds of Alaska.
19-year-old underdog into surprising champion of the gru- After graduating from high school in Texas, Pace passed on a
eling 2013 Mongol Derby in this exhilarating, visceral college scholarship and instead moved to Montana to live
account of her attempt to win a 1,000-kilometer horse race with Alfred, a guy she’d met online, then
across the Mongolian countryside. Driven by her own restless- spent the summer of 2009 at the Denali
ness, Prior-Palmer, an English woman who had been National Park Sled Dog Kennels in Alaska.
working as an au pair in Austria, decided to enter the 10-day When Alfred left her for a co-worker, a dev-
contest on a lark, unprepared for the arduous competition astated Pace moved to Alaska for good with
involving dozens of riders each racing a series of 25 wild a “head full of possibilities” and a “heart
ponies across Mongolia to recreate the horse-messenger ready to accept them.” Living in a cabin
system established by Genghis Khan. Struggling with an and caring for a team of sled dogs, she
uncooperative pony at the beginning, the headstrong author writes of “figuring out who I was while being alone.” What
battles GPS troubles (the devices show the participants she discovered was an inner strength to match her physical
straight line routes, rather than following the intended toughness and a love for dog sledding that led her on her
trails), minor nuisances (a group of boys chase and throw “greatest” journey—the Yukon Quest and the grueling
stones at her), and intense competition (she eagerly referred Iditarod sled dog races. Pace wonderfully captures the
to logs at checkpoints to see who was ahead of her and by adrenaline rush of flying across a snow-covered landscape in
how long) as she discovers the race is as much an existential 40-below temperatures, as well as the despair of later burying
journey as it is a sports competition (“The race reclaims me two of her beloved dogs in the frozen tundra (“I stroked
as an animal—my original form, my rawest self, my favorite Moose’s fur.... The last of his living warmth was still there,
way to be”). Filled with soulful self-reflection and race but he didn’t respond to my touch”). Pace is candid about life
detail, this fast-paced page-turner is a thrill ride from start in the frozen north, and her self-awareness makes this a
to finish. (May) worthy addition to the outdoor adventure genre. (Mar.)
internet providers’ rights and freedom of aid of renowned actor David Garrick, who Authentic Gravitas:
expression while simultaneously preserving had built his career around Shakespeare, Who Stands Out and Why
the government’s ability to regulate whom he revered. While the Jubilee itself Rebecca Newton. TarcherPerigee, $26 (272p)
dangerous content, such as content that was largely a disaster, plagued by heavy ISBN 978-0-1431-3208-0
facilitates human trafficking or compro- rains, flooding, price gouging, and tacky Organizational and social psychologist
mises national security. Kosseff has a displays, Garrick emerged unscathed. The Newton, CEO of the business training
thorough grasp of his material, and ode he wrote to Shakespeare was the hit of company CoachAdviser, offers tips on
readers will find his exploration of Section the festival, and Stratford-upon-Avon exuding an air of respectability and trust-
230 balanced, timely, and consistently became a popular tourist destination. worthiness in this dry and jargon-clogged,
thought provoking. (Apr.) However, it’s James Boswell, famous as if thorough, guide. She begins by stating
Samuel Johnson’s biographer, who emerges that people in the workplace want to radiate
What Blest Genius? The Jubilee as the book’s true star. Boswell, a good gravitas—which she defines, quoting the
That Made Shakespeare friend of Garrick’s, shameless self-promoter, Cambridge English Dictionary, as “serious-
Andrew McConnell Stott. Norton, $26.95 and fervent Shakespeare lover, attended ness and importance of manner, causing
(208p) ISBN 978-0-393-24865-4 the Jubilee, recorded and published his feelings of respect and trust in others”—
Stott (The Poet and the Vampyre) enter- impressions, and managed to enjoy himself not primarily for professional advancement
tainingly chronicles the 1769 Shakespeare despite the event’s many failings. Whether but to feel valued, trusted, and respected,
Jubilee in Stratford-upon-Avon, which he or not the Jubilee was the watershed and for who they are, not just how they
asserts cemented Shakespeare’s status as moment in Shakespeare veneration Stott present themselves. So how, she asks, can
the “weightiest of cultural authorities.” claims, he provides a lively, page-turning professionals cultivate an intangible,
The book describes the Jubilee as the narrative, and proves that shamelessly unteachable quality? Newton identifies
brainchild of Stratford-upon-Avon’s civic overhyped media events are not just two fallacies commonly holding people
leaders, who hoped to thereby raise their modern phenomena. (Apr.) back: the myth of the gravitas gift—that
town’s profile. To do so, they enlisted the this quality is innate—and the myth of
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confidence—that confidence is the key to

possessing gravitas. She argues that
[Q&A] anyone can actively build the skills that
allow them to present the best version of
PW Talks with Ruth Reichl their “real self” in public, first by making
Remembering ‘Gourmet’ the “three commitments”: to courage,

connection, and curiosity. Making overly
heavy use of buzzwords—e.g., IMPACT
In Save Me the Plums (Random House, Apr.), Reichl tells the story of (insight, motivation, perception, advocate,
her 10 years as editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. content, technique)—throughout the
text, Newton goes on to discuss verbal
What inspired you to write about race issues. Food was way too big a and nonverbal techniques, distin-
your time at Gourmet? subject to just be about recipes and guishing between powerful and power-
It was a dream, and I thought it restaurant reviews and wonderful trips less language, inspiring oneself in order
deserved to be written about, that you can take. I thought I would have to inspire others, taking on one’s “grem-
time which is gone forever now. I to persuade the staff into doing this, lins” or anxieties, and adapting one’s
don’t think anyone will ever publish but it was very much a collaboration self-presentation, without compromising
magazines in that way again. I had between all of us. They were bringing integrity, to different situations. This
loved Gourmet my entire life, and then these great stories and writers in. It well-meaning but repetitive guide is
I got a chance to run it. was thrilling to be around all those unlikely to make much of a splash. (Mar.)
like-minded people.
You were eight years old when you The Case for Trump
came across a story in How did the New York of Victor Davis Hanson. Basic, $28 (400p)
Gourmet that captivated the early 2000s shape your ISBN 978-1-5416-7354-0
you. How did that expe- time at the magazine? Yes, President Trump is vulgar, petty,
rience shape your career 9/11 was a stunning event cruel, and occasionally incoherent, but he
in food? for all of us in New York. is also a political maestro with an impres-
There I am with my father When the staff of Gourmet sive record in office who champions for-
in a used bookstore, and I went down there with our gotten Americans, argues this enthusiastic
happened upon this beau- trays of lasagna and chili apologia. Hanson (The Second World Wars),
© michael singer
tiful piece of writing by and brownies, the fire- a Hoover Institution scholar of classics
Robert P. T. Coffin, poet fighters came staggering and military history and National Review
laureate of Maine. It was out of the hell that was columnist, credits Trump’s tax cuts,
so vivid. I could taste the Ground Zero and fell on deregulation initiatives, and hard-line
food, feel the air, and it changed how I the food. I remember one man saying, stances on trade and foreign policy with
thought about writing. I had read “Thank you, you brought me a taste igniting an economic boom and advancing
children’s books that were fanciful, of home.” I think, for all of us, it America’s national interests. Trump has
but this was about real life. For me, it underlined how important food is, also, he argues, revolutionized American
was: Oh! You don’t need magic. You and made us all the more determined politics with crude, blunt rhetoric and a
populist vision that addresses the belea-
don’t need fantasy. It was life- to tackle the subjects with seriousness.
guered white working class that feels
changing because it made me feel like
threatened by globalization, mass immi-
food was a kind of magic door that I How has the world of food publishing
gration, and left-wing identity politics.
could walk through any time, as long changed since your time at Gourmet?
Hanson is shrewd and insightful on
as I paid attention. Everything has changed. The iPhone
Trump’s appeal—even the dyed hair and
didn’t exist in those days. People were
tan bespeak an endearing authenticity,
How did you want Gourmet to grow not taking pictures of their food. Now
he notes, “proof that even aging billion-
during your tenure? there are people doing amazing things
aires were patched-together, creaking
I felt it was time for the magazine to every day on the internet. It’s changed everymen and insecure humans”—and
start tackling serious issues. I wanted what magazines can be. Magazine edi- on the disdain with which liberal (and
to give people information that they tors have to ask themselves, “What is Never-Trump Republican) politicians,
could use in their cooking. I wanted it the purpose of this print magazine? media, and celebrities portray Trump’s
to embrace everything about food, Why are we doing this? What should supporters as bigots and losers. He’s less
including its science, politics, and we be doing?” cogent when dubbing Trump a “tragic
sociology. We tiptoed into gender and —Randle Browning hero” like Achilles or Dirty Harry, and
when he cursorily dismisses the impor-
tance of welfare initiatives like Obamacare
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to working-class people of all races. But an unparalleled view of a modern dance judicial philosophy she employed to
this is one of the smartest conservative legend. Preger-Simon met Cunningham craft her opinions on such issues as a
defenses of Trump yet published. Agents: in Paris during woman’s right to choose, affirmative
Glen Hartley and Lynn Chu, Writers’ a college year action, and the separation of church and
Representatives. (Mar.) abroad in 1949 state. Thomas identifies O’Connor’s
and was genius in her pragmatism, her ability to
Daily Rituals: Women at Work inspired to join look beyond abstract legal concepts and
Mason Currey. Knopf, $24.95 (416p) ISBN 978- Cunningham’s instead focus on how the outcome of a
1-5247-3295-0 eponymous particular ruling would affect the liti-
In Currey’s previous Daily Rituals: How dance troupe, gants and the public at large. Readers
Artists Work, only 27 of the 161 profiles following him will appreciate the gossipy intrigues of
were of women; as a corrective, Currey to New York the Supreme Court, including the mutual
explains, in this fascinating sequel he City along with dislike between O’Connor and Antonin
offers 143 vibrant depictions of the rou- fellow dancers Scalia that was kept under a lid at work,
tines of creative women, living and dead, Carolyn Brown and Karen Kanner and but became obvious during a doubles
drawn from letters and diaries. composer John Cage, Cunningham’s tennis match. In 2006, O’Connor
Photographer Margaret Bourke-White romantic partner. “Many of us dancers resigned from the Court to care for her
was a morning person (“The world is all were somewhat in love with him,” Preger- husband, who was suffering from
fresh and new then”); actress Tallulah Simon writes, “having little comprehen- Alzheimer’s, and the years after her resig-
Bankhead prayed on opening nights sion of homosexuality.” While nation are poignantly and affectingly
(“Dear God, don’t let me make a fool of Cunningham is celebrated as a dance described. This insightful account is
myself”); artist Alice Neel was a “lifelong genius today, his early days were lean, and worthy of its subject. Agent: Amanda
shoplifter”; Margaret Mitchell depended Preger-Simon writes of her well-off father Urban, ICM. (Mar.)
on Johnnie Walker; Frida Kahlo depended treating Cunningham and Preger-Simon
on Demerol. Currey quotes women on to fine meals (“It was such a pleasure to be Gray Day:
their men, from the helpful (George able to give him something, in exchange My Undercover Mission to
Eliot’s and Elizabeth Bishop’s Georges) to for all he gave us”). Preger-Simon also Expose America’s First Cyber Spy
the hindering (choreographer Agnes de reminisces about the troupe’s early days, Eric O’Neill. Crown, $28 (336p) ISBN 978-0-
Mille’s unfaithful husband); on their remembering such budget outings as a 525-57352-4
women (Rosa Bonheur’s and Romaine 22-hour bus trip to Asheville, N.C., in Former FBI undercover operative
Brooks’s Natalies); and their children 1953. One of Cunningham’s oft-repeated O’Neill delivers an adrenaline-laced
(Ruth Asawa, six; Anne Bradstreet, eight; sayings to Preger-Simon was “The only memoir of his clandestine efforts to bring
writers Eudora Welty and Virginia Woolf, way to do it is to do it”—a philosophy by down Robert Hanssen, FBI agent and
none). He includes writers (Harriet which the author has since lived her life. double-agent Russian spy. His assign-
Jacobs), sculptors (Harriet Hosmer, Niki While Preger-Simon officially left the ment: go undercover as one of Hanssen’s
de Saint Phalle), filmmakers (Jane troupe in 1958 to have a baby, her friend- FBI reports in order to better gather evi-
Campion, Agnes Varda), composers ship with Cunningham remained tight dence of his wrongdoing. O’Neill gives a
(Charlotte Bray, Julia Wolfe), journalists until his death in 2009. This slim volume nearly day-by-day account of his investi-
(Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothy Thompson), is a sweet treat for dance and theater afi- gation, from his first uncomfortable inter-
and video artists (Joan Jonas). He covers cionados, as well as anyone interested in action with his target in January 2001 to
women who succeeded young (writer the arts. (Mar.) Hanssen’s downfall several weeks later.
Françoise Sagan, 18) and old (artist Alma He is best at relating the tactical ins and
Thomas, 80). Currey’s encyclopedic tour First: Sandra Day O’Connor outs of undercover work, like commit-
respectfully and entertainingly addresses Evan Thomas. Random House, $30 (496p) ting every interaction with Hanssen in
Colette’s question about George Sand: ISBN 978-0-3995-8928-7 detailed notes to his superiors and the
“How the devil did she manage?” Agent: Historian Thomas (Being Nixon) offers a highly choreographed efforts used to
Meg Thompson, Thompson Literary Agency. well-sourced and sympathetic biography obtain crucial pieces of evidence (for
(Mar.) of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman example, a superior’s surprise offer to take
appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and Hanssen to the shooting range, for which
Dancing with Merce Cunningham frequently the tie-breaking vote in piv- O’Neill had to ensure Hanssen was sitting
Marianne Preger-Simon. Univ. Press of Florida, otal decisions on divisive social issues. down, so he’d leave his phone behind).
$19.99 trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-8130- Utilizing Supreme Court records and These moments are as compulsively read-
6485-7 interviews with his subject and many of able as any thriller. O’Neill has a knack
In her insightful debut, former dancer her clerks, friends, and family, Thomas for ratcheting up tension so that foregone
Preger-Simon, a close friend and contem- draws a three-dimensional portrait of historical conclusions, such as Hanssen’s
porary of the late choreographer Merce O’Connor that reflects the importance of capture, feel like white-knuckle cliff-
Cunningham (1919–2009), gives readers her personal relationships, as well as the hangers. The prose occasionally veers into
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potboiler territory (“This would be the literary analysis, philosophical rumination, sold. Puzo subsequently abandoned serious
first lie I ever told her. It would also be and scientific discourse, British naturalist fiction, changing his fortunes permanently.
far from the last”), but the book Dee offers an homage to gulls. He discusses Moore is clearly a big fan of Puzo, to the
largely succeeds in its efforts to create a viewing them in the U.K. and South Africa book’s detriment. Heavy-handed editori-
tightly wound narrative around a remark- while quoting, at length and almost ran- alizing abounds, as when Moore recounts
able investigation into a Russian asset. domly, the thoughts of various British Puzo’s run-in with Frank Sinatra, offering
O’Neill’s page-turner deglamorizes ornithologists specializing in gulls. He that only “one of the two men [Puzo] had
undercover work while conveying the also offers critiques of various literary works the decency (and balls) to look at the other.”
uncertainty, stress, and excitement that that feature these birds, including both While a rich subject for a biographer,
accompany a successful investigation. Samuel Beckett’s bleak play Endgame and Puzo’s life and literary legacy deserve a
Agent: Becky Sweren, Aevitas. (Mar.) Richard Bach’s kitschy novel Jonathan more objective, detailed treatment. (Mar.)
Livingston Seagull. While intriguing, the
Invisible Women: Data Bias in disparate parts don’t quite come together. ★ The Mastermind:
a World Designed for Men A theme consistent throughout, however, Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal.
Caroline Criado Perez. Abrams, $26 (416p) is Dee’s contention that gulls have changed Evan Ratliff. Random House, $28 (496p)
ISBN 978-1-4197-2907-2 their behavior in response to both climate ISBN 978-0-399-59041-2
Feminist activist and journalist Criado change and urbanization, moving inland Investigative journalist Ratliff, the
Perez (Do It Like a Woman) exposes a per- in many cases, and living lives much more coauthor of Safe: The Race to Protect Ourselves
sistent and disturbing data gap that con- entwined with humans. As this has occurred, in a Newly Dangerous World, makes the most
tributes to discomfort, poverty, and risk humans have begun to see gulls as pests, of the stranger-than-fiction story of Paul
for women. An assumption that “male” and even to fear their presence. Dee is best Le Roux (aka the Mastermind), who was
traits and experience are universal, she at discussing scientific conundrums, such “a multiple murderer, a prodigious global
argues, is both cause and consequence of as the genetic advances that have led to drug and arms trafficker, a solicitor of rogue
skewed designs in public spaces, govern- taxonomists splitting long-recognized regimes, and a
ment, medical studies, and the workforce. species into newly separate categories that man who had
She produces solid evidence that the white appear, to birders in the field, to be the supplied hun-
male default infiltrates everything from same. While there’s much to savor, Dee’s dreds of millions
artificial intelligence algorithms to disaster scope is so broad that few readers will find of doses of pain-
relief in Europe, Asia, and North America, their attention held throughout. (Mar.) killers” to
leading to police officers who can’t find Americans. Le
protective gear that fits them, cellphone Mario Puzo: Roux, who grew
users whose devices are too large for their An American Writer’s Quest up in what was
hands, and gender-neutral parental-leave M.J. Moore. Heliotrope, $16.50 (250p) then Rhodesia
policies that unwittingly disadvantage ISBN 978-1-942762-63-8 and was first
workers who have recently given birth or This lackluster biography of Mario Puzo arrested as a
are primary caregivers. She draws on new from novelist Moore (For Paris—With Love teen for selling pornography, made him-
research and interviews with experts in such and Squalor) describes how an aspiring self into a software genius. His first major
disciplines as city planning that suggest literary fiction writer instead achieved criminal venture involved setting up, in
considering women’s needs in designs is fame with the bestselling mob thriller the mid-2000s, a massive online pharmacy
more cost-effective, as well as more just. The Godfather. Moore begins by recounting scheme, which billed itself as simply a more
Criado Perez handles this material with Puzo’s Hell’s Kitchen upbringing, his efficient prescription refill service. Actually,
subtle wit, calm authority, and a tendency Army service as a clerk during and after it delivered millions of doses of addictive
to turn toward solutions. She inaccurately WWII, his persistent money troubles painkillers that weren’t legitimately
treats womanhood as interchangeable with due to a gambling addiction, and his prescribed. Ratliff makes the complex
certain traits or experiences—like small investigation by the FBI for selling draft story accessible by starting with the one
stature, having given birth to one’s chil- deferments. Moore is at his best when using thread law enforcement chanced upon that
dren, or facing gender discrimination in these details to convey the background to resulted, in 2012, in Le Roux’s arrest and
professional settings—which will turn off Puzo’s first, more seriously intended books. eventual, controversial cooperation with
some readers. But this is still a provoca- However, readers looking for nuanced the Justice Department. Two low-level
tive, vital book. (Mar.) critical evaluations of Puzo’s work will be Minnesota DEA investigators, whose focus
disappointed. Moore prefers to recount was on the diversion of prescription drugs to
Landfill: anecdotes gleaned from other published illegal markets, decided to look at FedEx
Notes on Gull Watching and memoirs, such as Puzo’s own story of how, shipping records, which led to the unrav-
Trash Picking in the Anthropocene at a meeting with his publisher, Atheneum, elling of Le Roux’s entire criminal empire.
Tim Dee. Chelsea Green, $25 (240p) ISBN 978- an editor lamented that if only Puzo‘s second Le Roux’s profits from his cybercrimes
1-60358-909-3 novel, The Fortunate Pilgrim, “had a little funded his expansion into other illegal
In an eclectic book taking in memoir, more of the Mafia stuff in it,” it might have ventures, including cocaine trafficking and
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contracting with the Iranian government posits that evil the oasis in deliberate defiance of the
to buy and sell weapons, and his ordering is real and rules” detailing when and where kaya-
hits on those who crossed him. Ratliff’s human, and king is permitted. She makes a valuable
dogged investigation, which included that by point here and elsewhere—that parks
interviews with multiple co-conspirators of studying and post rules for a reason, typically to protect
Le Roux’s, has yielded a true crime classic. quantifying evil the environment. But that point is under-
Agent: David Kuhn, Aevitas. (Mar.) acts, more can mined by overheated prose, as when, while
be done to pre- describing the exhilaration of Grand
The Next Ones: How McDavid, vent them. The Canyon river rafting trips, Lawton writes,
Matthews and a Group of authors also “the unbinding of souls came from an
Young Guns Took Over the NHL present the authentic immersion into a mile-deep
Michael Traikos. Douglas & McIntyre (PGW, arguable notion place.” She has a gift for expressing the
dist.), $18.95 trade paper (240p) ISBN 978-1- that the rise in certain forms of violent rationale behind conservation policies
77162-198-4 crime, including “murder with extreme clearly and simply, but the book’s pas-
Canadian sportswriter Traikos draws on sadism” and “serial sexual homicide,” can sages of memoir and commentary don’t
his decades covering hockey to present be traced to changing social norms in the measure up to these lucid explanations.
readers with a candid and insightful bio- 1960s, notably as an insidious backlash to (Mar.)
graphical account of today’s young NHL the feminist movement. Additionally,
stars. Traikos interviewed 10 players, Stone and Brucato explore the impact of the Overrun: Dispatches from the
including Connor McDavid (21-year-old internet and social media on criminality Asian Carp Crisis
center for the Edmonton Oilers) and Aaron and more modern phenomena such as spree Andrew Reeves. ECW, $18.95 trade paper
Ekblad (22-year-old Florida Panther killings and school shootings. The vignette- (384p) ISBN 978-1-77041-476-1
defenseman), who discussed their experi- style narratives provide fascinating, dis- Environmental journalist Reeves sets
ences along the road to the NHL. Traikos turbing, and, at times, wearisome descrip- out to “fill in the gaps of Asian carp’s long,
provides amusing anecdotes about their tions of perpetrators and their crimes. But strange American tale” in this illuminating
early lives (Johnny Gaudreau’s father had despite the concentration on brutality, the study of the invasive species. Seeking to
him chase Skittles on the ice to teach the authors are earnest in their efforts to discover “how they arrived here” and
future Calgary Flames forward to skate), understand the darkest of human “why they’re dangerous,” Reeves talks
skillfully weaves narratives of personal impulses. Budding criminologists will find with scientists, economists, chefs, and
struggle and financial hardship (the parents this a useful resource for study and contem- policymakers throughout the U.S. Early
of Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres couldn’t plation, while true crime enthusiasts will be chapters will intrigue environmentally-
afford the extra classes wealthier kids took riveted by the assiduous prodding into the conscious readers by describing the Asian
advantage of), and shows how hockey has criminal mind. Agent: Don Fehr, Trident carp’s arrival in the 1960s, at the behest
been a lifelong ambition for these young Media Group. (Mar.) of academic researchers and Fish and
players (Auston Matthews improbably Wildlife Service officials, and Arkansas
rose to NHL stardom in spite of growing The Oasis This Time: Living and fish farmer Jim Malone’s endeavors to
up in Arizona, where he “learned how to Dying with Water in the West capitalize on them as a way “to eat aquatic
play hockey in the desert”). This is a must- Rebecca Lawton. Torrey House, $18.95 trade weeds and clean aquaculture ponds,” despite
read for hockey fans, but also a satisfying paper (200p) ISBN 978-1-937226-93-0 biologists’ warnings of the ecological
narrative for anyone invested in knowing Part memoir, part conservation trea- threat posed. Later sections, on the fishing
what drives individuals to play at the tise, and part history lesson, this essay col- and restaurant industry’s attempts to
pinnacle of their sport. Photos. (Mar.) lection from a fluvial geologist and handle the carp surplus, prove equally fas-
former river raft guide is well-inten- cinating. Distributors including Schafer
The New Evil: tioned but uneven. Lawton’s focus is on Fisheries in Illinois came to consider carp
Understanding the Emergence how human lives are urgently shaped by “a readily available and protein-rich”
of Modern Violent Crime their connection to water, whether it is in source of food, feed, fertilizer, and even pet
Michael H. Stone and Gary Brucato. pieces on her love for her favorite river, food, and advocates such as Louisiana chef
Prometheus, $18 trade paper (512p) the Stanislaus in California; a past Native Philippe Parola tried to drum up culinary
ISBN 978-1-63388-532-5 American community’s connection to interest. But Asian carp’s many small bones
Clinical psychiatrist Stone and clinical that same river; or the 1970s engineers made the fish a challenge to work with
psychologist Brucato revisit the who built the dam that inundated it and both in the kitchen and at the table.
“Gradations of Evil” scale, introduced in erased those connections. While this cen- Reeves rounds out his investigation by dis-
Stone’s The Anatomy of Evil. The scale, tral theme is resonant, the essays them- cussing government efforts to manage the
Stone explains, is a tool used to measure selves often feel forced, as when Lawton, Asian carp population, particularly
the hierarchy of human depravity behind discussing her time working in a national around the Great Lakes, and the Trump
violent acts (from justifiable violence to park, melodramatically describes how a administration’s disregard for environ-
torture murder). Stone’s central thesis lone kayaker answered “a siren call to mental protections. In so doing, he
Review_NONFICTION
delivers a thorough look at an important— responsibilities and other goals they might not be accepting of deviations from
and multifaceted—topic. (Mar.) will have to give up. Then, they attack the gender binary: “For some people,
the illusion of balance, writing that gender matters a lot. It is a system that
Once a Wolf: passion and balance are antithetical. For they’re deeply invested in, and a set of
The Science Behind Our Dogs’ the authors, rules they believe everyone should follow,
Astonishing Genetic Evolution self-awareness is including children like you.” Ryle
Bryan Sykes. Liveright, $27.95 (304p) more important explores various cultures’ genders, dis-
ISBN 978-1-63149-379-9 that living a cussing the South Asian third gender
Sykes (The Seven Daughters of Eve), an balanced life. label hijra, the “sworn virgins” of the
Oxford genetics professor, delivers an “Self-aware- Balkans, and masculine archetypes of
uneven look at how wolves evolved along- ness—which, 18th-century America. She argues that a
side humans into docile companions and paradoxically rigid binary gender system hurts everyone.
helpers. The book is rich with details comes from Though the chapters are short, often about
about how humans have studied and distancing your a page, together they form an expansive
shaped dog evolution, including profiles ‘self’—is the account of gender that reflects exhaustive
of researchers Shaun Ellis and Farley only force research. With its unique format and
Mowat, who studied dogs’ evolutionary strong enough to counter passion’s over- accessible language, the text is perfect for
roots by living among wolf packs in the whelming inertia,” they counsel. As readers of any age who are questioning their
wild; and dog breeding case studies, such long as passion is harmonious and an genders, generally curious about gender, or
as how Victorian naturalist and sportsman individual is aware of what he or she is interested in better understanding a loved
Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks engineered sacrificing, there is no wrong choice, one’s identity. Agent: Brent Taylor,
the golden retriever to include “all the they write; the only danger comes from a TriadaUS Literary Agency. (Mar.)
features required for a modern gun-dog.” passion controlling an individual. By
Sykes also explores the diverse relation- including short profiles of those they Topgun: An American Story
ships humans have with dogs, or dog sur- believe successfully navigate the passion Dan Pedersen. Hachette, $28 (320p)
rogates, ranging from working dogs on a paradox, particularly Warren Buffett ISBN 978-0-316-41626-9
New Zealand wool farm to the compan- and his unbalanced yet altruistic moti- In this fast-paced memoir, Dan “Yank”
ionship between a Scottish academic and vations, the authors outline the rewards of Pedersen, who cofounded the U.S. Navy
his robotic dog. Along with an obvious investing time, attention, and energy to Fighter Weapons School (widely known
fluency with genetics, Sykes also has a gift achieve excellence. Motivational “Passion by its nickname “Topgun”) in 1969, looks
for rendering complex concepts, such as Practices,” such as “adopt the mind-set back at his 29-year Navy aviation career.
mitochondrial DNA or genetic microsat- of a super champion” and “don’t become Pedersen and the men who worked for and
ellites, accessible to lay readers. However, overly discouraged or saddened by with him in Topgun developed innovative
passages outside his specialty, such as a failure,” are included at the end of each aerial combat tactics and techniques that
discussion of cave paintings or a selection chapter. Readers looking for direction on significantly increased the effectiveness of
of interviews with dog owners, can come how to better cultivate their passions will American jet fighter pilots in the Vietnam
across as filler. Including moments of fas- want to give this a look. (Mar.) War. Full of reflection and blow-by-blow
cinating history and insight alongside a accounts of wartime air combat action,
few too many discursive moments, She/He/They/Me: the book is a paean to the “brotherhood”
Sykes’s survey ends up being less than the For the Sisters, Misters, of “committed, driven,... crisp, smart,
sum of its parts. (Mar.) and Binary Resisters quick, deadly and confident” Topgun
Robyn Ryle. Sourcebooks, $22.99 (400p) Navy fighter jet pilots. Pedersen includes
The Passion Paradox: ISBN 978-1-4926-6694-3 a sharp critique of how the Johnson
A Guide to Going All In, Finding In this unusual, useful resource, soci- administration managed the air war in
Success, and Discovering the ology professor Ryle (Questioning Gender: Vietnam, blasting LBJ and Secretary of
Benefits of an Unbalanced Life A Sociological Exploration) explores the Defense Robert S. McNamara for micro-
Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. Rodale, intersections of gender, sexuality, race, managing and for imposing stifling rules
$19.99 (192p) ISBN 978-1-63565-343-4 culture, and history in the form of a of engagement, and a word of praise for
Journalist Stulberg and long-distance choose-your-own-adventure book. Each Tom Skerritt’s character in the movie
running coach Magness (Peak Performance) chapter presents a different aspect of a Topgun, who “captured the character of
team up again for a valuable volume about gender-based experience; as readers make Topgun leadership.” He also includes
finding and embracing passion, avoiding their way through, they might choose to details of his two broken marriages and
burnout, and carefully navigating an see what happens when one is born the large chunks of time he spent away
unbalanced life. They first outline how intersex or discovers they are nonbinary or from his three children—the “one regret”
to determine the level of commitment transgender. Ryle defines such terms as of his military career. This remembrance
required to go all-in on a passion, asking compulsory heterosexuality and gender of aerial derring-do is sure to appeal to
readers to think deeply about what socialization, explaining why some people military aviators and fans of the world of
Review_NONFICTION
fighter pilots, past and present. Agent: Jim tanism is told through political, theolog- colleagues, Pistono tracks Sivaraksa’s early
Hornfischer, Hornfischer Literary ical, and personal conflict in this excep- conservative loyalties to the Thai mon-
Management. (Mar.) tional history from Univ. of Georgia archy; his creation of The Social Science
history professor Winship (Godly Review, a Thai journal; his support for the
Republicanism). Spanning from the 1540s student uprisings against the Thai govern-
Religion/Spirituality to the 1690s, Winship’s overview covers ment during the 1970s; and his periods of
extensive physical ground—Bermuda, being persecuted and exiled. Sivaraksa’s
★ America’s Unholy Ghosts: England, New England, and Switzerland, work as a social activist is placed in contrast
The Racist Roots of Our Faith among other locations—while emphasizing to Thailand’s shifting political and social
and Politics the movement of people and ideas. climate: Sivaraksa has been critical of
Joel Edward Goza. Cascade, $28 trade paper Inevitably, the mixing of cultures that military dictatorship, ineffectual kingship,
(222p) ISBN 978-1-5326-5143-4 accompanied the rise of mercantilism, entanglement in the Vietnam War,
In his sharp debut, Goza, former pastor Winship writes, provided the incremental American economic imperialism, and
at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in and unpredictable processes necessary for more. He argues that the legitimacy of
Houston, Tex., writes with passion about religious and political reformation. Central the Thai monarchy is dependent on it
the racist and classist roots of America’s to this change was widespread questioning attending to the suffering of the poor
political and religious institutions. of the nature of authority (and asserting and cultivating righteous dharma with
Grounding his work in the philosophies the right to monastic support, but, Pistono claims, the
of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Adam redefine it), monarchy has not met these conditions,
Smith, Goza convincingly argues that sparking and Sivaraksa leads an ongoing movement
America’s Founding Fathers deliberately debates over a in Thailand critical of the government’s
designed a racist and inequitable society. bishop’s inves- practices. Pistono’s hagiography is an
In his estimation, America’s founders, titure garments, accessible and flattering exploration of
basing their thinking on the ideas of the indepen- the world of Socially Engaged
Locke, structured government around dence of the Buddhism, the 20th century in Thailand,
protecting property rights rather than congregation, and a Buddhist activist who fights socio-
promoting the common good. Goza goes and the economic injustice. (Mar.)
on to illustrate how the founders also, authority of the
influenced by Hobbess, concluded that British mon- Saint Patrick Retold: The Legend
equality did not rest in economic equity. archy. The book’s episodic treatment of and History of Ireland’s Patron Saint
And, finally, Smith (unintentionally) themes also serves to emphasize how per- Roy Flechner. Princeton Univ., $27.95 (320p)
created a potent image for justifying sonal choices can shape the course of ISBN 978-0-691-18464-7
inequality with his idea of an economic puritan history. Highlights are Winship’s Flechner (Converting the Isles), professor
“invisible hand” that would eventually explanations of Jeremiah Dyke’s “God is of early medieval history at University
balance out wealth. With this new economic departing from us” address to the House College Dublin, attempts a bold reconsid-
paradigm, Goza asserts, justice became an of Commons and the religious tensions eration of the life and work of St. Patrick,
exercise in punishing those who challenged that led to the Second English Civil War in unsuccessfully aiming to speak to both a
the status quo, rather than a system for 1648. Winship concludes with a discus- general and academic audience. Flechner
ensuring a more just society. Goza also sion of the Salem witch trials, an overreach begins with Patrick’s life in Britain, then
argues that Christianity, around the time of authority that, for him, signaled the his initial captivity in Ireland, his return
of the Renaissance, began rooting itself twilight of puritanism. With a clear narra- to Britain, and his final missionary work
in individual salvation, which created a tive tied together with helpful clarifica- in Ireland in the fifth century CE. Flechner
break from its historic pursuit of the tions, Winship’s cogent work nicely lays out takes each chunk of Patrick’s life as a
common good. Within these frameworks, the history of how puritans emerged from chapter, and in each he attempts to situate
Goza concludes, it became possible to Protestantism. (Mar.) Patrick in a greater context through the use
justify ignoring racism and economic ineq- of other medieval documents, as well as
uity. Goza’s ability to sharply discern and Roar: archaeological evidence, such as fragments
clearly explain ideas underlying American Sulak Sivaraksa and the Path of Roman texts. In attempting to appeal
thinking will open important conversations of Socially Engaged Buddhism to two audiences at once, Flechner seems
about the nature of equality. (Mar.) Matteo Pistono. North Atlantic, $15.95 trade likely to appeal to neither: a general audi-
paper (264p) ISBN 978-1-62317-332-6 ence will find his dense style hard-going,
★ Hot Protestants: Pistono (Fearless in Tibet) tells the life while academics are likely to be put off by
A History of Puritanism story of Sulak Sivaraksa, the Thai leader his oversimplifications (for instance: “It is
in England and America of the Socially Engaged Buddhism the archaeology and the Roman sources
Michael P. Winship. Yale Univ., $28 (368p) movement, in this admiring biography. that are the best windows on contempo-
ISBN 978-0-300-12628-0 Drawing from interviews with Sivaraksa rary Ireland, and they compensate for the
The rise and fall of transatlantic puri- and his friends, students, associates, and absence of any Irish written source from
Review_NONFICTION
the period”). Flechner also has a habit of tion of the rapture in his hometown of ples of how Jesus’ life and teaching offer
continually referring to a discussion Dickson, Tenn., to college rebellion, fulfillments of Scripture. Luke and Acts,
taking place at a different point in the informed skepticism, and current doubt. considered as a two-volume text, offer
book, forcing readers to flip back-and- Between his personal stories are large parallel stories, which can be performed
forth between chapters in order to follow sections of Biblical exegesis where Hunt sequentially so that prophesies in Luke are
his lines of argument, only adding to the examines the origins of prominent ideas fulfilled in Acts. And in his opening
confusion. However, those really inter- and predictions in end-times theology, intricate poem, John presents his gospel’s
ested in the life of St. Patrick might enjoy such as John Darby’s popularization of the major theme: that believers will have power
Flechner’s account, despite the frus- rapture and other dispensationalist readings “to become children of God.” In excavating
trating presentation. (Mar.) of the Bible. Hunt also provides a cogent the gospel narratives’ intricate structure,
critique of aspects of contemporary evan- this perceptive work of scholarship reveals
The Time Is Now: gelical culture that he views as out of thematic nuances long overlooked by
A Call to Uncommon Courage harmony with Jesus’s teachings, such as Christian readers. (Mar.)
Joan Chittister. Convergent, $18 (144p) focusing on the end-times at the expense
ISBN 978-1-9848-2341-0 of serving the poor and improving the Zen Beyond Mindfulness: Using
Benedictine nun and activist Chittister world. Hunt, who has a master’s degree in Buddhist and Modern Psychology
(The Gift of Years) offers a pulpit- Christian history from Yale Divinity School, for Transformational Practice
thumping call to assume a stance and demonstrates scholarly expertise on the Jules Shuzen Harris. Shambhala, $17.95
voice of prophetic spirituality to resist apocalypse, but also makes the book trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-1-61180-662-5
oppression and injustice. The idea is as accessible to the lay reader through his Zen priest and psychotherapist Harris
old as the Hebrew Bible, Chittister personal stories, sense of humor, and argues in his weighty debut that American
writes, with its great prophets castigating conversational tone. Readers looking for Buddhists are prone to avoid problems while
a corrupt nation. She refers to Isaiah, a new voice in progressive Christianity, or seeking enlight-
Micah, Jeremiah, and others from the simply eager to learn more about biblical enment and
biblical tradition, but also widens her prophecies for the end-times, will appre- disconnect from
lens to include such modern thinkers as ciate this informed take. (Mar.) the ethical roots
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther of Buddhism.
King Jr. While Chittister’s intent is Written to Be Heard: Recovering As a remedy,
admirable, her execution is undercooked. the Messages of the Gospels Harris offers a
Unfortunately, too much of her argument Paul Borgman and Kelly James Clark. three-pronged
gets bogged down in generalities (“We Eerdmans, $30 (328p) ISBN 978-0-8028-7704-8 solution: study
watch bureaucrats in big cars pretending Positing convincingly that the four of Abhidharma
to be important. We see resident critics gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke-Acts, psychological
come and go”), and the prose can be florid and John—were written to be heard, not models (Bud-
(“The hopes of the human heart once read, Borgman (David, Saul, and God), dhist models of the mind), utilization of
aflame were impossible to extinguish”). professor emeritus at Gordon College, Mind-Body Bridging psychotherapeutic
Chittister so frequently drags in a thought and religion professor Clark (Abraham’s techniques (a method involving writing
or injunction from a panoply of leaders Children) analyze how themes embedded down reactions or responses to such
and inspirational figures—Helen Keller, in each text resonate when listened to. questions as “What am I attached to?”),
John F. Kennedy, Mary Pickford, and The authors contend that the gospel and committed zazen practice (a Zen
John A. Shedd among them—that the writers constructed their texts as “oral tradition of meditation). Where the
effect becomes one of a motivational pas- performances” with “hearing cues,” nar- Abhidharma psychological models are
tiche rather than a powerful prod. This rative patterns, repetition, rhythm, and concerned with the emptiness or lack of
will be a disappointment to fans of other literary constructions that helped permanence of self, the Mind-Body
Chittister’s more rigorous work. (Mar.) original listeners comprehend key ideas, Bridging, in Harris’s estimation, creates
and contemporary readers (lacking this and sustains one’s sense of self using the
Unraptured: How End Times awareness) misinterpret fundamental presumption that the self is damaged and
Theology Gets It Wrong themes. In extensive detail, the authors needs to be fixed. Harris provides questions
Zack Hunt. Herald, $16.99 trade paper examine the narrative devices each writer for mind maps and bridging as well as
(256p) ISBN 978-1-5138-0415-6 employs. Employing an “authority- zazen meditations that readers can use as
Hunt, a former youth minister, investi- response” pattern throughout his gospel, they work their way through the program.
gates apocalyptic end-times theology in Mark heightens the cautionary tale about A refreshing alternative to the profusion
American Christianity, particularly the true discipleship. From his opening of mindfulness literature, this usefel if
concept of the rapture, in his piquant debut. genealogy (which is usually skimmed complicated guide will be handy for
Partly constructed as a memoir, the book while reading) Matthew tells the story of practitioners interested in the integration
explains Hunt’s journey from youthful the “next (and last) chapter in Jewish of Buddhism and psychology. (Mar.)
enthusiasm for eschatology and anticipa- history,” framing his gospel with exam-
Review_CHILDREN’S
Children’s/YA with the tidy resolution of a child’s struggle

to stay focused, but spare yet spirited
matte illustrations by Lozano (Miles of
Smiles) create a winning aesthetic, with a
Picture Books subdued palette punctuated by splashes of
bright color. Images of the plucky heroine,
The Hug sporting oversize eyeglasses and displaying
Eoin McLaughlin, illus. by Polly Dunbar. Faber an array of facial expressions and stances,
& Faber, $15.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-571-34875-6 bolster the book’s humor—as do the antics
Open this double-sided book one way of her tutu-clad canine sidekick. Ages 3–6.
and meet sad and very cute Tortoise, (Mar.)
whose polite request for a restorative hug
is met with equally polite but clearly Grumpy Duck
cooked-up excuses from other animals Idiosyncratic confections consider self-actual-
Joyce Dunbar, illus. by Petr Horáček. Candlewick,
(“Unfortunately, I’m digging a very ization in Watkins’s charming new picture book $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5362-0424-7
important hole,” says Rabbit, who isn’t). (reviewed on this page). Duck is sulking and stomping around
“It’s your shell,” Owl explains. “It’s just so the farmyard with highly expressive orange
very hard. But don’t worry, there’s someone squishy and how to stand in rows.” feet. Her grumpiness is justified in one
for everyone.” Flip the book over, and it’s Crucially, though, some marshmallows respect—the pond has dried up, so there’s
the same trajectory for sad and adorable resist conformity. They “somehow no paddling—but otherwise it’s self-
Hedgehog, whose quills are the deal- secretly know that all marshmallows can indulgent. She claims she has no one to
breaker. Tortoise and Hedgehog retreat do anything”: perform in circuses, explore play with, even though her friends are the
from the world into tight little spheres of outer space, move beyond what they are very definition of solicitous (Goat, who is
shell and prickles, respectively, until they told is possible. Following one’s dreams is munching on the laundry hung out to dry,
notice each other. In a vertically oriented an idea well worth celebrating, and so is even offers to share a shirt snack). Duck
spread that serves as a visual center appreciating a world’s details. Close-ups just gets grumpier, peering down her
between the two versions, they embrace of this marshmallow universe—the lawn pointy beak with scorn and disdain as a
without any qualms at all, “as happy as flamingo, the infant mallows growing gray cloud that’s been forming over her
two someones can be.” Debut author out of acorn cups, the solemn classroom head grows bigger and bigger, turning
McLaughlin doesn’t break new ground in diagrams of how to recover after being “blue and purple and yellow until it was
this story of two lonely animals finding squished—will draw readers back for BLACK!” and putting everyone in a foul
comfort and friendship, but he and another look. Ages 3–5. Agent: Rosemary mood (Tortoise decides “to stay in his
Dunbar (A Lion Is a Lion) bring a good Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Apr.) shell forever and ever”). Horáček, usually
measure of wit to the story. Dunbar’s animal a solo act, makes a winning team with
portraits, drawn along a single, cream- Diana Dances Dunbar (Pat-a-Cake Baby), her brisk,
colored plane with minimal background Luciano Lozano, trans. from the Spanish by direct prose providing sufficient person-
detailing, are funny and astute, suggesting Yanitzia Canetti. Annick, $18.95 (40p) ality and emotional momentum to match
that animals can be every bit as awkward ISBN 978-1-77321-248-7 his gorgeously textured animal portraits:
and endearing as humans. Ages 3–up. (Apr.) First seen skateboarding into her a radiantly pink pig wallows in brocade-
classroom, Diana clearly has spunk, but like crimson mud; a rooster is a riot of
Most Marshmallows she is bored at school and has a hard time copper and emerald feathers. A glorious,
Rowboat Watkins. Chronicle, $16.99 (40p) concentrating. After a pediatrician suggests giddy group rain dance—and homage to
ISBN 978-1-4521-5959-1 a visit to a psychologist, Diana has a dra- “Singin’ in the Rain”—closes the book,
Marshmallows, with their uniform matic breakthrough, spontaneously showing that no cloud or mood can stay
appearance and soft outlines, make fine dancing to music playing on the radio and dark forever. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)
stand-ins for average citizens. Watkins prompting a fittingly theatrical diagnosis:
(Big Bunny) draws black hair on their “Madam, your daughter is not sick! Your Gondra’s Treasure
heads, gives them big eyes that blink and daughter is a dancer!” At the psychologist’s Linda Sue Park, illus. by Jennifer Black
stare, and in constructed mixed-media sets, recommendation, Diana’s mother enrolls Reinhardt. Clarion, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-
supplies them with winsome furnishings, her in dance school, where she blissfully 544-54669-1
books, and food made of cardboard, con- joins other children in a buoyant, free- Gondra is a little dragon whose father is
struction paper, fabric, and sprinkles. form class. Diana transforms immediately, from the East, where dragons are blue and
“Most marshmallows don’t grow on trees,” discovering that “it was easier for her to green, breathe mist, and fly with magic.
the text begins. “They go to school... think if she was moving” and practicing Her mother comes from the West, where
[marshmallow pupils peer from a school dance moves while memorizing multipli- dragons have bronze scales, breathe fire,
bus as more wait on the sidewalk, wee cation tables. She even begins “to have a and fly with wings. The parents engage in
knapsacks on their backs] and learn to be good time at school.” Some may take issue some friendly rivalry about their respective
continued on p. 96
Review_CHILDREN’S
From Season to Season

Picture books celebrate summer, fall, winter, and especially spring.
The Song of Spring things out: “It is just what the little pink Rosebud did in this
Hendrik Jonas. Prestel Junior, $12.95 (48p) ISBN 978-3-7913-7379-9 story!” Ages 3–6. (Mar.)
All of the birds are singing their spring songs to “attract
some friends” (“When Mr. Blackbird sings the ‘blackbird Growing Season
song,’ Mrs. Blackbird comes flying by”). But for one little bird Maryann Cocca-Leffler. Sterling, $16.95 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4549-2704-4
with spiky head feathers, spring sounds Cocca-Leffler draws an easy metaphor between growing
come out as a “woof.” A friendly dog children and growing potted plants in this relatable story. El
answers back and encourages the and Jo are the smallest students in their class, and they do
bird—“Have another go”—but the everything together (“Even their names were short”). One
bird’s attempts to sing result in an spring, though, Jo starts to grow, just like the plants that the
“oink,” a “moo,” a “meow,” a “meh,” students will care for at home over the summer; neither El
and a “hee-haw,” along with visits nor her plant, though, grow any taller. While Jo is away all
from the corresponding animals. summer, the girls exchange letters and El plants both of the
Jonas renders the animals with expressive eyes, streaky color flowers in the garden. Finally, Jo arrives home to find that
lines, and collage elements. Along with the cast of kind both of the plants have bloomed—and she and El are the
barnyard animals, readers will enthusiastically take part in same height. Cocca-Leffler proffers a reassuring message to
this gentle readaloud, in which the work of finding one’s readers: no two growing up experiences are alike, and one
voice can also mean finding friends. Ages 2–up. (Mar.) develops at one’s own pace. A note on plant life cycles concludes.
Ages 4–8. (Apr.)
Seasons
Philip Giordano. Twirl, $14.99 (10p) ISBN 978-2-408-00789-8 Good-bye, Winter! Hello, Spring!
A kinetic, oversize board book introduces readers to the sea- Kazuo Iwamura. NorthSouth, $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-7358-4345-5
sons’ distinctive characteristics. In geometric shapes, layered Winter transitions into spring in Iwamura’s quiet woodland
patterns, and vibrant color accents enliven the spreads. Wheels story, first published in Japan in 1985. Three squirrel children
turn to show different color and image combinations that observe the changing weather from their treetop home. They
readers can locate within the abstract outdoor scenes (“Can you scamper toward the sound of dripping, then water—signs that
find it in the big picture?”). In the winter scene, woodland winter’s snow is melting—and ride downstream on a fallen
animals such as a deer, rabbit, and fox appear in red, orange, log. Iwamura writes with casual
and yellow, as do cascading snowflakes. For fall, readers can lyricism: “A nightingale’s voice
spot a pink pumpkin, toadstool, and acorn. Giordano’s summer trembled like a dream./ The three of
spread shows a bright underwater scene crowded with sea them on their tree-trunk boat—/
creatures; the wheel presents a crab, squid, sea urchin, and Merrily away—began to float.”
sea snail for readers to spot. Playfully cluttered scenes and Iwamura illustrates in subtle earth
interactive elements ensure readers will discover more with tones; pale grays gradually turn to
each reading, and in each season. Ages 3–5. (Feb.) soft yellow and a milky green-blue
as the stream leads into a tree-lined lake that dwarfs the
The Little Pink Rosebud squirrels’ tiny boat. With the arrival of three friendly ducks
Sara Cone Bryant, retold by Jennifer Shand, illus. by Sally Garland. (who escort them home on their backs), the squirrels learn
Flowerpot, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4867-1555-8 that, “in spring, the snow goes back into the earth/ And the
Shand retells a classic story of change and growth starring a sea and the sky—it’s a time of rebirth.” Graceful artwork
spritelike figure with a bulb-shaped head, pink cheeks, and a captures the visceral experience of seasonal transition. Ages
leafy torso. Rosebud lives “under the ground in her tiny, dark 4–8. (Mar.)
house,” and is surprised when the sun and the rain knock at
her door. “I like it quiet,” Rosebud says firmly, but when their Poetree
pestering proves relentless, she feels compelled to open her Shauna LaVoy Reynolds, illus. by Shahrzad Maydani. Dial, $17.99
door. When she emerges, the friendly sun and rain are waiting, (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-53912-1
as is a verdant garden of fellow flowers. In Garland’s smudgy, Reynolds explores the joy of unexpected kinship in this
playful art, a squiggly sprout and pink flower emerge from gentle springtime ode. A thoughtful girl welcomes spring
the bud’s head, and she stands among the others, “the hap- with a poem, which she ties to a birch tree that stands atop
piest... she had ever been.” A note about germination closes a hill; the birch’s response precipitates a back-and-forth
Review_CHILDREN’S
between the two. “White birch on the hill/ Speaks out loud for spring; eventually, he hears music outside his window.
through rustling leaves/ Great green Poetree,” the child writes The children have returned to the garden, now blooming, and
in haiku form. The tree responds in kind: “I’ve wondered a the giant knocks down the wall. While Wilde’s unsettling
while/ Can a tree and child be friends?/ Your words give me ending and introduction of a Christ-like child bearing “the
hope.” Maydani illustrates in airy pink, blue, and yellow wounds of love” may prove perplexing for today’s readers, this
pastel layers that call up the loveliness of the season. In one remains a hopeful—and strangely timely—story about gener-
spread, readers will see Sylvia’s classmate Walt also visiting osity and redemption. Ages 5–8. (Apr.)
the tree. Both children are disappointed to learn that they
were communicating with one another all along, but their When Spring Comes to the DMZ
mutual interest leads them to strike up a friendship of their Uk-bae Lee, trans. from the Korean by Chungyon Won and Aileen
own, and a useful message for all: “A friend of the tree is okay Won. Plough, $17.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-87486-972-9
with me.” Ages 4–8. (Mar.) Created after the truce that ended the Korean War in 1953,
the Korean demilitarized zone split the country in two,
Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations dividing its population and separating families. In the swath
Laura Purdie Salas, illus. by Micha Archer. Charlesbridge, $16.99 between the countries’ barbed wire borders, though, the
(32p) ISBN 978-1-58089-798-3 natural world flourishes: “When spring comes to the DMZ,/
Salas posits that fully experiencing the seasons means green shoots spring up in the meadows.” South Korean
looking through the lenses of both scientific study and art: peace activist Lee celebrates the animals that thrive despite
“science + poetry = surprise!/ Science is why and how a/ flower the political tension: “The seals don’t know about the line./
grows. Poetry is/ looking at that flower and/ seeing a fire- They come and go freely.” Throughout the seasons, an old
work. Surprise!” In the early spring, “warmth + light = alarm man climbs the observation tower to look through a tele-
clock.” Salas explains that scope; finely worked landscapes are drawn through his eyes:
“hibernating animals wake up “Grandfather wants to fling the tightly locked gates wide
when spring days/ grow warmer open.” A bold gatefold lets readers do just that, and Lee
and stronger.” Elsewhere, “bark imagines Grandfather walking through the meadow with
+ beak = drum.” The beak his grandson. Greater historical context beyond the included
belongs to a woodpecker tapping back matter would have been beneficial, but the story’s poi-
against a tree “to claim its terri- gnancy will resonate. Ages 5–8. (Mar.)
tory/ or attract a mate.” Archer’s torn paper collage and oil art
offers sharp contrast in visual textures and colors. A bright, Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons
feathery blue and green river flows past a yellow riverbank; Laura Purdie Salas, illus. by Mercè López. Millbrook, $19.99 (32p)
above lies the white of the melting snow. Elsewhere, child ISBN 978-1-5124-9809-7
characters play and explore outdoors, one boy climbing a tree Organized in four sections beginning with spring, Salas’s
to the sound of frog songs (“frogs + night = symphony”). lovely haiku are written in the voices of animals and organic
Nature, the book suggests, offers abundant surprises to or inanimate objects related to the seasons. “Fire in our bellies,/
those who take the time to notice. Ages 4–8. (Feb.) we FLICKER-FLASH in twilight—/ rich meadow of stars,”
speak the summer’s fireflies. Each haiku contains a riddle
The Selfish Giant element—readers must guess the
Oscar Wilde, illus. by Jeanne Bowman. Familius, $17.99 (32p) narrator (in an author’s note, Salas
ISBN 978-1-64170-126-6 refers to the form as a “riddle-ku”).
In a modern reimagining of Wilde’s classic tale, school- It’s not always clear who, or what, is
children find refuge in a beautiful garden, but when a speaking, but López’s evocative
snarling, ginger-haired giant arrives, he angrily chases the acrylics visually communicate the
children away and builds a “high wall” to keep them out— imagery within the poems. “I’m a
“He was a very selfish Giant.” But while spring flowers bud WRIGGLING tube,/ soft under-
beyond the garden, winter persists inside. Bowman per- ground tunneler—/ I fear early birds,” one announces. The
sonifies the snow and frost as two vulpine figures clothed in small bird hovering over a hole clues readers in to the speaker’s
garments of snowflakes and ice, the North Wind as an owl identity: a worm. The book’s meditative tone and resonant
with bright blue eyes, and hail as a basket-toting baboon. images invite readers to embrace new ways of seeing the world
As the seasons pass, the Selfish Giant hunkers down, wishing around them. Ages 5–9. (Apr.)
Review_CHILDREN’S
backgrounds: Mom thinks her husband’s ★ ¡Vamos! hilariously tries to fell the weed with
mist “seems... um... pretty boring”; Dad Let’s Go to the Market! nunchakus, a jackhammer, a cannon, and
points out that he never complains about Raúl the Third. Versify, $14.99 (48p) ISBN 978- more, but Sweetie foils his efforts at every
tired wings during a flight. But their 1-328-55726-1 turn. He finally has a clear shot when
mutual adoration of Gondra makes her This picture book graphic novel by Raúl Sweetie heads to swim class, then realizes
proud to embody qualities from both of the Third (Low Riders to the Center of the he can’t go through with it. It seems the
her parents—and confident that she’ll Earth) celebrates the richness of border- weed will live—that is, until Daddy drops
grow up to be a dragon living on her own town culture. his shears, mangling it beyond repair. When
terms. Writing in the chatty voice of her The artist the cub returns and discovers her drooping
protagonist, Park (Yaks Yak) captures the shows Little friend, her father shows Sweetie how to
easygoing, day-to-day intimacy of a family Lobo and his blow dandelion seeds around the yard,
animated and anchored by unconditional dog Bernabé “dandy” consequences or no. Layered with
love. Some of the larger and more elaborate as they make handmade pencil textures, digital illus-
watercolor, ink, and collage drawings by deliveries to trations by Santoso (Wishtree) play up the
Reinhardt (Sometimes You Fly) lack focus, Mercado de drama of Daddy’s outsize emotions and
but Gondra is wonderfully imagined: the Chauhtémoc outrageous attempts to expel the dande-
epitome of “ugly-cute,” she’s bright-eyed, la Curiosidad, “a maze of pathways, shops, lion. A well-paced comic tale for all ages.
adventurous, resilient (flying is problematic and booths.” Spanish and English words Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Scott Treimel, Scott
right now, but she’s certain she’ll get the intermingle on the page as Little Lobo Treimel New York. Illustrator’s agent: Justin
hang of it) and, in her red-striped footie goes first to a warehouse to pick up items Rucker, Shannon Assoc. (Apr.)
pajamas, utterly huggable. Ages 4–7. (Apr.) merchants have asked for (“clothes pins—
pinzas para la ropa”), then heads for the Giant Tess
Lenny the Lobster Can’t Stay market. Witty, stylish panel artwork Dan Yaccarino. HarperCollins, $17.99 (40p)
for Dinner crackles with funky comic energy, and the ISBN 978-0-06-267027-4
Finn Buckley, with Michael Buckley, illus. by market churns with activity as merchants In Tess’s town of Myth-hattan, everyone
Catherine Meurisse. Phaidon, $16.95 (32p) sell sweets (Little Lobo buys a churro), is some kind of mythical creature: there
ISBN 978-0-7148-7864-5 make piñatas, and paint on velvet. Little are centaurs and Minotaurs, fairies and
With a dapper lobster in the leading role Lobo brings the clothespins to Señor mer-people, and nobody thinks twice if
and a soupçon of dark humor, the collabora- Duende, who gives him a comic book you have snakes
tion of Buckley père et fils will delight about his favorite luchador, El Toro. “It for hair. Tess,
omnivore foodie families and appall tender- would be great if we could meet El Toro however, is the
hearted readers. Readers who’ve attended one day,” Little Lobo sighs. Miraculously, only giant, the
lobster dinners will know what’s coming as if the pleasures of churros and comics adopted
when Lenny arrives breathlessly at the were not enough, he gets to give his hero a daughter of
dinner party he’s been invited to and the ride home. Most pleasing is the market’s fairy parents,
hosts offer him two rubber band “brace- atmosphere of warmth and affection: and after a series
lets.” “Why, thank you!” ever gracious “Siempre tiene prisa!” the jarmaker clucks of mishaps tied
Lenny says. “They match my hat beauti- fondly after Little Lobo: “Always in a to tourist
fully!” When the guests reappear in bibs hurry!” Spanish words define background touchpoints in the real Big Apple (cracking
bearing Lenny’s image, a note appears at objects throughout (fuego describes a fire the ice at a famous skating rink, accidently
the bottom of the page: “HOLD ON! Are breather’s warm emanation) and a Spanish- smushing a float in the city’s big parade),
you getting a funny feeling about this to-English glossary concludes this inven- she’s convinced she doesn’t belong any-
party?” If readers don’t skip forward to the tive picture book. Ages 4–7. (Apr.) where: “I’m just too big!” But when she
alternate ending, they’ll watch as a small helps a giant green dragon with a sore
girl named Imogen swoops in to save Dandy paw, her life turns around as the two
Lenny, dumping him back in the ocean, Ame Dyckman, illus. by Charles Santoso. “became best friends right away, they were
and as the determined crustacean makes Little, Brown, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316- the same size!” And size does seem to
his way back to the dinner party, where 36295-5 matter (as does having a BFF who can fly)
his eagerness to please lands him on a It’s love vs. lawn care in this laugh-out- when the mayor of Myth-hattan starts to
platter—a death made almost palatable loud story by Dyckman (Wolfie the Bunny). float off on a runaway parade balloon.
by the graceful finesse of French cartoonist When a lone dandelion appears in a lion This tale by Yaccarino (I Am a Story) follows
Meurisse. If they skip forward, Lenny father’s front yard, he’s determined to a familiar arc, taking his putative misfit
survives to attend more dinner parties. remove it. There’s just one problem: his from wanting to be “like everyone else” to
Witty lines occur throughout, but the daughter, Sweetie, has gotten there first. feeling she’s “just the right size.” His
sight of the hero served for dinner may “Her name is Charlotte,” she says, patting posterlike graphics, though, and obvious
rattle the sensitive. Ages 4–7. (Apr.) the bloom. “She’s my best friend.” Egged glee in sharing an alternate reality N.Y.C.
on by friends and neighbors, Daddy (a map on the end pages shows “Grand
Review_CHILDREN’S
Cyclops Station” and “The Lower Beast gripping the leg of an airborne spider animal gestation spans and straightfor-
Side”) infuse the story with goofy sweet- (ostensibly Ananse, mentioned in the end- wardly answer questions about multiple
ness. Ages 4–8. (Apr.) papers). The book’s most encompassing and premature births, as well as miscar-
missive is the richness of Maisie’s mixed riages. This appealing treatment of the
I Love My Colorful Nails heritage: light-skinned Mama wears subject strikes a perfect balance between
Alicia Acosta and Luis Amavisca, illus. by linen, cooks risotto, and plays the viola, biology—minus the birds and bees—and
Gusti, trans. from the Spanish by Ben while dark-skinned Dada wears kente a gentle relevancy for young, soon-to-be
Dawlatly. NubeOcho, $15.95 (36p) ISBN 978- cloth, cooks jollof rice, and plays marimba. siblings. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)
84-17123-59-8 Loring-Fisher’s subtly textured mixed-
Ben loves to paint his nails for many media art weaves these various cultural
reasons. He likes the brilliant colors images into a comforting portrait of an Fiction
(“Pistachio and orange! A match made in all-embracing and loving family,
heaven!” he and his friend Margarita embodied by the confident girl, who is One Speck of Truth
exclaim), and the polish makes his fingers “as relentless as spring rain,” “as bright Caela Carter. HarperCollins, $16.99 (288p)
feel both familiar and strange (“He likes as a summer’s day,” “as spirited as autumn ISBN 978-0-06-267266-7
picking things up just to look at his leaves,” and “as pure as winter’s snow.” This poignant novel explores the
hands”). But when some boys at school The story’s key message resounds clearly: destructive power of secrets. Thoughtful
start in with no matter the season, and no matter what 12-year-old narrator Alma roils with
gendered Mama and Dada are wearing, cooking, questions for her avoidant mother, Mercy,
jeering and playing, “They love her in the same about her Portuguese father, whose tomb
(“Ben is a way.” Ages 4–8. (Mar.) Alma looks for in local Pittsburgh
girly girl!”), graveyards, and about Mercy’s unexplained
Ben quietly ★ Nine Months: recent split from Alma’s stepdad, Adam.
stops Before a Baby Is Born Carter (Forever, or a Long, Long Time)
painting his Miranda Paul, illus. by Jason Chin. Holiday effectively heightens the tension when
nails on House/Porter, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234- Alma learns on the first day of school that
school days, even after his dad paints his 4161-7 she’s not registered for class; then, days
own in solidarity. On his birthday, Ben Realistic, light-infused paintings by Chin later, that they’re moving; and finally, at
enters his classroom and receives a daz- (Grand Canyon) and spare rhymes by Paul the airport, that they’re headed to Lisbon.
zling surprise. Coauthors Acosta (Little (Are We Pears The city’s romantic charm, the lure of
Captain Jack) and Amavisca (Bang Bang I Yet?) highlight meeting her father’s family, and the toxicity
Hurt the Moon) keep their focus tight, con- a fetus’s devel- of secrets propel Alma to explore on her
centrating on Ben’s feelings and the way opmental mile- own as she searches for more information
the boys’ taunting torments him (“He felt stones inside a about her dad. For much of the narrative,
even sadder than the day his fish went to mother’s womb Alma’s mother seems absent and unknow-
fishy heaven”). Loose-lined drawings while outside, a able beyond her absurd concealments, but
with gently tinted wash by Gusti (Mallko family lovingly as Adam encourages Alma during phone
and Dad) underscore the intimacy and prepares, month calls to find answers, Mercy’s story and
loyalty of Ben’s family. This isn’t a story by month, for sacrifices come into focus. A compelling
in which the bullied child takes things the baby’s arrival. Labeled illustrations of portrait of family and all its flaws, and the
into his own hands; instead, Ben’s class dividing cells, an embryo, then a fetus freeing power of the truth. Ages 8–12.
helps him to realize that the bullies’ (depicted actual size from months four to (Mar.)
scorn doesn’t represent everyone’s feelings. nine) sit opposite inviting scenes of the
Ages 4–8. (Apr.) family at the same stage getting ready to Stand on the Sky
welcome its newest member. “Lips./ Flips./ Erin Bow. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99
Maisie’s Scrapbook Curve, dip, and groove./ She has a face./ She (336p) ISBN 978-1-328-55746-9
Samuel Narh, illus. by Jo Loring-Fisher. likes to move!” declares the “Month Five” In Mongolia, 12-year-old Aisulu chafes
Lantana, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-911373-57-5 spread, which attends the family assembling at the expectations of her Kazakh commu-
In this lyrical tribute to a family’s a crib. Along the way, the expecting par- nity, which confines her to “girls’ work,”
unconditional and universal love, Maisie’s ents proffer a “big sister” T-shirt to their despite her skills in math, science, and
parents encourage her adventurous spirit preschool-age child, and mother and horseback riding: “In a land where girls
and vivid imagination throughout the daughter share tender tummy-touching are supposed to have hearts made of milk,
seasons. The folklore her father shares moments prior to the birth, which is Aisulu had a heart made of sky.” Aisulu,
plays an influential role in Maisie’s flights marked by a close-up of the squalling concerned about her older brother, Serik,
of fancy (“She’s the hero in Dada’s tall newborn. Illustrated back matter explains betrays his confidence about his persistent
tales”); on one whimsical spread, she’s the gestational stages in greater depth. limp after he breaks his leg, and he is sent
pictured dressed in a bull costume while Additional sections compare human and for medical treatment. While her sibling
Review_CHILDREN’S
and parents are away, Aisulu rescues an to understand why her father has become breakup with her boyfriend, New Yorker
orphaned eaglet. She begins to feel as if she so different and her mother so withdrawn; Lu develops writer’s block, leaving her at
could be one of the burkitshi, the eagle a strong counterpoint to Lyndie’s family risk of losing her job as a weekly love and
hunters, and she and her bird prepare to troubles is the development of her friend- dating columnist for a big online teen mag-
compete in the Eagle Festival, with a ship with the “criminal boy” living with azine, and the journalism scholarship to
monetary prize that could fund the med- her best friend Dawn’s family. Noteworthy NYU that goes with it. Instead of taking
ical treatment Serik needs. Though her for its strong narrative voice and dramatic her best friend’s advice to write about
uncle’s wife says “there have been women character development, including well- herself, she distracts herself by observing
with eagles since ancient days,” Aisulu’s drawn secondary figures, this book other people’s relationships. She overhears
father thinks her inclusion will defy local depicts both the troubling and uplifting Cal and Iris, also recent graduates, planning
convention. The narrative traces Aisulu’s vicissitudes of family and camaraderie to break up in anticipation of the separate
growth, including her shifting role with unflinching honesty and humor. paths they’ll take come fall—but the
within her community, her burgeoning Ages 10–up. (Mar.) teens later decide to stay together for the
relationship with her eagle, and her summer. After hearing the news of their
maturing sense of self. And while Bow Fear of Missing Out reunion and becoming better acquainted
(Sorrow’s Knot) creates a vivid sense of Kate McGovern. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, with Iris, Lu becomes obsessed with
place, she is writing from outside the $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-374-30547-5 learning the secret of their seemingly per-
culture, drawing from a home stay with In this novel by McGovern (Rules for fect relationship. Having decided their
a family of nomadic eagle hunters. Her 50/50 Chances), protagonist Astrid has a story would be the perfect subject for an
lyrical work of fiction offers readers and terminal form of cancer (astrocytoma, a article, she is all too happy to accept their
educators an opportunity to explore heartbreaking, thematic link to her name), invitations to accompany them on their
essential questions about cultural appro- which reaches through the brain in “star- escapades, but Lu’s writing block remains,
priation and the #OwnVoices movement. shaped cells.” Her cancer is back after a and things get complicated when she forms
Ages 10–12. (Mar.) lengthy period of remission, during which a crush on Cal. While the novel offers a
science lover Astrid began to study the strong New York City vibe and a relatable
★ The True History of brain with her doctor. Astrid’s diagnosis situation, Lu’s procrastination and one-note
Lyndie B. Hawkins raises the stakes in all of her relation- focus on perfect love eventually grows
Gail Shepherd. Penguin/Dawson, $16.99 ships—with her mother, who is desperate tedious. Snappy dialogue provides relief,
(304p) ISBN 978-0-525-42845-9 to get Astrid into a clinical trial; with her but the characters exhibit less substance
Which is more important: telling the best friend, Chloe, who is there for Astrid and fewer dimensions than those found in
truth or “honorable lying” out of loyalty through her illness; and with her soulful Alsaid’s North of Happy. Ages 12–up. Agent:
to family? In 1985, this question plagues boyfriend, Mohit, whose fierce love for Peter Knapp, Park Literary & Media. (Apr.)
11-year-old Lyndon Baines Hawkins Astrid and spiritual faith give him courage
(named after the to understand their predicament. When White Rose
36th U.S. presi- Astrid’s sudden interest in the scientifically Kip Wilson. Versify, $17.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-
dent), especially questionable cryopreservation startles 328-59443-3
now that she everyone around her, she bravely explores Based on historical participants in the
and her parents this possible path, enlisting friends and nonviolent White Rose resistance move-
have been loved ones to help. “What is a person?” she ment against Hitler, the events in Wilson’s
living with her asks Mohit when he worries about whether debut unfold in Germany between 1935
paternal grand- a future-Astrid, courtesy of cryonics, would and 1943. Sophie Scholl, a non-Jewish
parents in Love’s still be the real Astrid. Questions about life German who is 14 in 1935, narrates in
Forge, Tenn., and death, God and faith pervade this candid and absorbing present-tense free
since her father, novel. Mohid and Astrid are in a constant verse. One of five siblings, Sophie enjoys a
a troubled state of wonder over life’s infinite mysteries, carefree life with family and friends until
Vietnam vet, lost his job. Lyndie, a Civil giving this title emotional, spiritual, and Hitler begins imposing labor service
War history buff and a “stubborn, sassy intellectual heft. Astrid’s unusual pursuit decrees and arresting teenagers—including
know-it-all,” faces a stiff adversary in her of possible life beyond cancer and death her beloved older brother, Hans—for dis-
stuffy grandmother, Lady, who values will draw readers into this thought-pro- loyalty to the government. As Hitler’s
saving face at all costs to preserve the voking story. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jessica attacks on the Jewish population and
family reputation. The dynamic between Regel, Foundry Media. (Mar.) military actions abroad snowball, Sophie
the two plays out in Shepherd’s crackling is also forced into labor service and grows
debut, which—in addition to examining Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid desperate to act against the injustice.
the importance of truth on both a personal Heartbreak Wilson traces the growing rage and rebel-
and a historical level—tackles alcoholism, Adi Alsaid. Inkyard, $18.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1- lion that drive her into collaboration with
PTSD, and juvenile crime. The story 335-01255-5 Hans and university students to publish
moves at a quick pace as Lyndie struggles After high school graduation and a and distribute leaflets of resistance to the
Review_CHILDREN’S
German public—an offense punishable by King of Scars tutu.” Even as his friends pitch in to help
death. Occasional entries by a Gestapo Leigh Bardugo. Imprint, $19.99 (528p) him assemble an act, Newell feels that he
investigator pursuing the group create ISBN 978-1-250-14228-3 might be a lost cause. Debut author Platt,
mounting tension, even though the book’s In this sweeping dramatic fantasy, creator of the web comic Mister & Me,
opening scene reveals the outcome of his Bardugo returns to her Grishaverse and relies on sparse backgrounds and elastic
mission: Sophie’s capture and subsequent the events in both the Shadow and Bone line work to direct the focus toward his
trial. Illuminating back matter on the trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. characters’ often hyper-reactive states.
real-life Sophie and the White Rose Young King Nikolai struggles to maintain The end result is a smooth-flowing
movement adds additional context to this order in the kingdom of Ravka following Calvin and Hobbes–like school and family
strong addition to the canon of WWII war against the malevolent Darkling. narrative that will keep readers enjoying
fiction for young readers. Ages 12–up. Nikolai’s efforts are complicated by the both the gags and the plight of the
Agent: Roseanne Wells, Jennifer De Chiara nocturnal emergence of a demon residing fourth-wall-breaking protagonist—
Literary Agency. (Apr.) within him, and only his trusted confi- equal parts Walter Mitty and Dennis
dante Zoya can help him maintain con- the Menace—all the way up to the
Night Music trol. Meanwhile, Grisha-turned-spy grand finale. Final art not seen by PW.
Jenn Marie Thorne. Dial, $17.99 (400p) Nina, still mourning the death of her Ages 8–12. (Apr.)
ISBN 978-0-7352-2877-1 beloved Matthias, works in secret to
In the mostly white world of classical protect Grisha fugitives while investi-
music, 17-year-old Ruby Chertok seems gating strange occurrences in the coun- Nonfiction
like a crown princess. Her father is a tryside. When Nikolai and Zoya vanish
composer and teacher, her mother is a during an attempt to rid the king of his Enemy Child: The Story of Norman
pianist, and her three older siblings are demon, it’s up to his closest friends to Mineta, a Boy Imprisoned in a
musicians. But after failing an audition protect the country in his absence, little Japanese American Internment
for the summer realizing that the chain of events might Camp During World War II
program that lead to the resurgence of a great evil. Andrea Warren. Holiday House/Ferguson,
her father runs, This duology opener strongly relies on $22.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-8234-4151-8
Ruby wonders at least a passing familiarity with the With great sensitivity, Warren
who she truly previous series, making it less than ideal (Charles Dickens and the Street Children of
is. Then her for newcomers. But Bardugo’s portrayal London) traces the experiences of former
father’s new of flawed, mentally and physically congressman Norman Mineta, whose
protégé arrives: scarred protagonists is sympathetic and family was forcibly relocated in 1942
he’s handsome, insightful, while the strong mixture of during the WWII-era internment of
super talented, political intrigue, worldbuilding, and Japanese-Americans. Interweaving
and staying in fantastical elements helps to drive the historical background, various accounts,
their basement. various story lines. Ages 14–up. Agent: and Mineta’s first-person recollections,
He and Ruby connect immediately, Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary. (Jan.) Warren skillfully illuminates what it
but can Oscar really date his mentor’s felt like to be targeted and imprisoned.
daughter? More pressingly, the school’s Mineta’s memories range from seeing
board, headed by Ruby’s godmother, wants Comics his father cry after the bombing of Pearl
to position African-American Oscar as the Harbor, to his own pride at the passage
answer to its diversity problems, even if it Middle School Misadventures of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which
means misrepresenting and stereotyping Jason Platt. Little, Brown, $24.99 (232p) apologized for and provided restitution
him. Thorne (The Wrong Side of Right) keeps ISBN 978-0-316-41686-3; $12.99 paper to internment survivors. One powerful
a complex plot moving—encompassing ISBN 978-0-316-41688-7 chapter recounts the day that future sen-
Ruby’s reconnection with a childhood Newell is struggling to survive the ator Alan Simpson, then a Wyoming
friend, her fraught relationship with her final weeks of the school year when, on Boy Scout, met Mineta in the nearby
absent mother, and Oscar’s drive to com- one calamitous day in May, Principal internment camp; the two remain
pose work—while convincingly depicting Todd sentences him to a fate worse than friends and ardent defenders of consti-
the casual racism of seemingly well-inten- extra math homework: summer school. tutional rights. Archival photos
tioned liberals. Given all this, a thread Newell has one possible out—if he can throughout are augmented by additional
about the board’s financial chicanery seems perform spectacularly at the school talent information, multimedia sources, a bibli-
almost superfluous. At heart, though, this show, which is just a few days away, Mr. ography, and notes. There are still too few
is a timely and romantic story about teens Todd will return his summer freedom. books for youth about U.S. Japanese-
who feel like fish out of water finding the Unfortunately, Newell’s talents are American internment, and this affecting
person who understands them. Ages 14– lacking, and his prospects look even volume offers an essential view. Ages 10–
up. (Mar.) worse after his archenemy, Clara, signs up. (Apr.) ■
him up to perform “as a penguin in a
Soapbox
“Touring has been my MFA plus my MBA, too.”
Just Showing Up introduced to readers I’d never

have met, and I make friends and
fans and important contacts
who’d otherwise be strangers.
A publisher turned author discovers I’ve learned about contempo-
that there is more to touring than rary bookselling over dinners in
Scottsdale, Ariz., and Austin,
just selling books Tex.; about the evolving roles of
libraries in Stamford, Conn., and
Rockport, Mass.; about the ter-
rific mystery conferences in
By Chris Pavone Albany, N.Y., and Toronto; and
about honing elevator pitches for
In the abstract, a book tour looks like it might be tremendous radio in Amsterdam and Dublin. I’ve invented characters at a
fun: packed houses of adoring fans, expense-account dinners in library fund-raiser in Grand Rapids, Mich.; during a film-
fancy far-flung restaurants. I’ve now promoted three books industry lunch in Beverly Hills; while recording a promotional
across a couple dozen states and 10 countries, and my experience video in Paris; and after a q&a in Zurich. I’ve answered eye-
has looked much more like bleary-eyed airport breakfasts at one opening questions from readers in San Diego and Chicago and
end of the day and modest register tallies at the other, which Houston—questions that forced me to examine the way I write,
begs the question, was this worth it? and for whom.
But that depends on the answer to a different question: what’s At a hotel lounge in Arizona, I learned that something I
the goal? thought I really wanted to do—create a TV show—was in fact
not something I wanted to do, saving a year or two (or more) of
A dozen years ago, before I’d started writing books and

was still publishing them, I asked my brilliant boss,
Peter Workman: Why do we expend such a huge effort
producing seasonal catalogues? Why do we run around like
lunatics to finalize covers, on-sale dates, point-of-sale promo-
my life. At a hotel bar in Florida, touring for a novel that fea-
tures a blonde spy taking a seat next to the protagonist of my
book, a blonde spy took a seat next to the protagonist of my life
and set me straight about some things.
I’ve spent immense amounts of time with other writers over
tions, and everything else—such a frenetic outburst of rede- lunch and dinner and many, many drinks, and it’s from these
signing, numbers crunching, consensus building, and decision people that I’ve learned how to do the very odd job of being an
making—all just to produce this printed marketing item? Who author. At conferences in Raleigh, N.C., and New Orleans and
cares? at festivals in Tucson, Ariz., and Los Angeles and Rancho
Peter put things into perspective. All that work, all those Mirage, Calif., and Hong Kong, I’ve shared panel tables and bar
decisions—that was the real point; the catalogue was the tables with the novelists I want to be when I grow up.
impetus to get it all done. Touring has been my MFA plus my MBA, too—estab-
I look at going out on the road through a similar lens. I do, lishing a professional network, understanding the market-
of course, want to achieve the obvious immediate goal of selling place, polishing creative output, and even inspiring me to
units of the new title, just as we did, of course, need to get the generate an entire book. Because in Las Vegas and Manchester
catalogue to sales conference. But selling those hardcovers is just and New York City, I met three very different writers whose
one component of my goal and my publisher’s too, and the Paris books made me want to write my own, and then in a
booksellers’ too—we all have bigger long-term priorities: the Left Bank bookstore I envisioned the specific Paris book I
next book, the one after, all the future books in all the years should write, which is the one for which I’m about to hit the
ahead, keeping the lights on. road. The Paris Diversion is a novel that wouldn’t exist if not
For my part, I want to write better and better books, pub- for the unanticipated lessons learned out there and the ineffable
lished better and better, making for a satisfying and successful benefits of just showing up. ■
career. And I think it’s the lessons learned, the experiences had,
and the people met on the road that can make this achievable. Chris Pavone is the bestselling author of The Expats. His new thriller, The
On book tours, I go places I’d otherwise never have visited, I’m Paris Diversion, will be published in May by Crown.
TO SUBMIT AN ESSAY FOR THE SOAPBOX COLUMN, EMAIL SOAPBOX@PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM.
D I S COV E R YO U R N E X T FAVO R I T E R E A D
BUZZWORTHY FICTION
“[A] heartfelt and thrilling debut.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review
4.9.19 3.26.19 1.22.19

“Funny, smart, “[A] charming story.” “Noirish…compelling…
and nails our innovative.”
1.29.19 —Publishers Weekly
current moment.” —New York Times
—Arianna Huffington, Book Review
founder and CEO,
Thrive Global
L I T E R A R Y M Y S T E R Y A N D N E X T- L E V E L
P SYC H O LO G I C A L T H R I L L E R S
“So addictive it should come with a warning.”

—Alice Feeney, author of Sometimes I Lie
4.16.19 6.25.19 2.5.19

“Eerily page-turning and “Subtle, insidious, “Tightly plotted,
wonderfully twisty.” clever… Dear Wife brilliantly conceived
3.26.19 is spellbinding.” and totally gripping.”
—Kimberly McCreight,
bestselling author of —J.T. Ellison, —Lisa Jewell,
Reconstructing Amelia bestselling author of bestselling author of
Tear Me Apart Then She Was Gone
D I S COV E R YO U R N E X T FAVO R I T E R E A D
T H O U G H T- P R O V O K I N G N O N F I C T I O N A N D M E M O I R
“Dan Abrams and David Fisher write the
heart-pounding pulse of history.”
—Diane Sawyer on Lincoln’s Last Trial
4.30.19 5.7.19 4.2.19

“Lockley and Girard “Witty, entertaining, “Filled with hope,
bring [Yasuke] and and slightly grace, beauty, and
5.21.19 his world to life with distressing but wisdom, this book is
incredible research ultimately endearing.” like warm honey in
and style.” —Sarah Knight, the sunshine.”
—Bret Witter, bestselling author of —Stacey O’Brien,
bestselling author of Get Your Sh*t Together bestselling author of
The Monuments Men Wesley the Owl
SWEEPING HISTORICAL FICTION

“Fraught with danger, filled with mystery, and
meticulously researched… A fascinating tale.”
—Lisa Wingate, bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
3.19.19 2.19.19 5.7.19

“Fans of “An intricate and “A heartbreaking
The Nightingale and sensitive portrayal of a story told with such
1.29.19
Lilac Girls will adore brave, tenacious young humanity and grace.”
The Things We Cannot girl carving her place in —Marti Leimbach,
Say…a poetic and the world.” bestselling author of
unforgettable tale.” —Heather Morris, Daniel Isn’t Talking
—Pam Jenoff, bestselling bestselling author of The
author of The Orphan’s Tale Tattooist of Auschwitz

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