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THE FOLLOWING IS A TENTATIVE LIST OF NEW FICTION RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 2013. NOTE: MOST TITLES ON THIS LIST ARE ON ORDER FOR THE LIBRARY AND CAN BE RESERVED, BUT WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE RELEASE DATE. COMPILED BY JUDY KAMIAT, WEST BOYNTON BRANCH LIBRARY Mitch Albom, THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN, (336 pgs) 11/12 One morning in the small town of Coldwater, Michigan, the phones start ringing. The voices say they are calling from heaven. Is it the greatest miracle ever? Or is it some cruel hoax? As news of these strange calls spreads, outsiders flock to Coldwater to be a part of it. At the same time, a disgraced pilot named Sully Harding returns to Coldwater from prison to discover his hometown gripped by "miracle fever." Even his young son carries a toy phone, hoping to hear from his mother in heaven. As the calls increase, and proof of an afterlife begins to surface, the town—and the world—transforms. Only Sully, convinced there is nothing beyond this sad life, digs into the phenomenon, determined to disprove it for his child and his own broken heart. Albom weaves a thread of satire into a narrative braided from the lives of smalltown residents; Coldwater becomes a media hotspot as well as battleground for religious and antireligious zealots, all awaiting the revelation they expect. A historical thread deals with Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone and how the instrument came to be the premier human connector. “This brisk, page-turner of a story climaxes at Christmas . . . Another winner from Albom; this book just about shouts “Give me for a holiday gift.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) David Baldacci, KING AND MAXWELL, (432 pgs) 11/19 (David Baldacci brings back Sean King and Michelle Maxwell-former Secret Service agents turned private investigators, featured in the hit TNT TV series King & Maxwell) It seems at first like a simple, tragic story. Tyler Wingo, a teenage boy, learns the awful news that his father, a soldier, was killed in action in Afghanistan. Then the extraordinary happens: Tyler receives a communication from his father . . . after his supposed death. Tyler hires Sean and Michelle to solve the mystery surrounding his father.
2 But their investigation quickly leads to deeper, more troubling questions. Could Tyler's father really still be alive? What was his true mission? Could Tyler be the next target? Sean and Michelle soon realize that they've stumbled on to something bigger and more treacherous than anyone could have imagined. And as their hunt for the truth leads them relentlessly to the highest levels of power and to uncovering the most clandestine of secrets, Sean and Michelle are determined to help and protect Tyler—though they may pay for it with their lives. Patricia Cornwell, DUST, (512 pgs) 11/12 After working one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, Scarpetta returns home to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Exhausted and ill, she’s recovering at home when she receives an unsettling call. The body of a young woman has been discovered on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's rugby field. The victim, a graduate student named Gail Shipton, is oddly draped in unusual cloth and posed in a way that is too deliberate to be the killer's first strike. A preliminary examination in the sea of red mud where the body has been left also reveals a bizarre residue that fluoresces blood red, emerald green and sapphire blue. Physical evidence links the case to a series of uniquely weird homicides in Washington, D.C., where Scarpetta's FBI husband has been deployed to help capture a serial killer dubbed the Capital Murderer. The cases all connect and yet seem to conflict. Gail Shipton was murdered for financial gain—or was she? It will require the usual ensemble of characters to find out the truth, including Scarpetta's sidekick Pete Marino, who has undergone a drastic change in his life that places him center stage in a Cambridge investigation that puts everyone at risk. Clive Cussler & Jack Du Brul, MIRAGE: A Novel of the Oregon Files, (416 pgs) 11/5 In October 1943, a U.S. destroyer sailed out of Philadelphia and supposedly vanished, the result of a Navy experiment with electromagnetic radiation. The story was considered a hoax—but now Juan Cabrillo and his Oregon colleagues aren’t so sure. There is talk of a new weapon soon to be auctioned, something very dangerous to America’s interests, and the rumors link it to the great inventor Nikola Tesla, who was working with the Navy when he died in 1943. Was he responsible for the experiment? Are his notes in the hands of enemies? As Cabrillo races to find the truth, he discovers there is even more at stake than he could have imagined—but by the time he realizes it, he may already be too late. “Above-average action from Cussler.” Kirkus Janet Evanovich, TAKEDOWN TWENTY, (320 pgs) 11/19 New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore “Uncle Sunny” Sunucchi
3 goes on the lam in Trenton, it’s up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in—not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because—just Stephanie’s luck—the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail. It’s not just Uncle Sunny giving Stephanie the runaround. Security specialist Ranger needs her help to solve the bizarre death of a top client’s mother, a woman who happened to play bingo with Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Before Stephanie knows it, she’s working side by side with Ranger and Grandma at the senior center, trying to catch a killer on the loose—and the bingo balls are not rolling in their favor. With bullet holes in her car, henchmen on her tail and a giraffe named Kevin running wild in the streets of Trenton, Stephanie will have to up her game for the ultimate takedown Sebastian Faulks, JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS, (256 pgs) 11/5 Bertie Wooster (a young man about town) and his butler Jeeves (the very model of the modern manservant)—return in their first new novel in nearly forty years: Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks. P.G. Wodehouse documented the lives of the inimitable Jeeves and Wooster for nearly sixty years, from their first appearance in 1915 (“Extricating Young Gussie”) to his final completed novel (Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen) in 1974. Now, forty years later, Bertie and Jeeves return in an affair of mix-ups and mishaps. With the approval of the Wodehouse estate, acclaimed novelist Sebastian Faulks brings these two back to life for their legion of fans. Bertie, nursing a bit of heartbreak over the recent engagement of one Georgina Meadowes to someone not named Wooster, agrees to “help” his old friend Peregrine “Woody” Beeching, whose own romance is foundering. That this means an outing to Dorset, away from an impending visit from Aunt Agatha, is merely an extra benefit. Almost immediately, things go awry and the simple plan quickly becomes complicated. Jeeves ends up impersonating one Lord Etringham, while Bertie pretends to be Jeeves’ manservant “Wilberforce,”—and this all happens under the same roof as the now affianced Ms. Meadowes. “Faulks notes that he has "tried to provide an echo" of the originals. He has done more than that. He has captured Bertie's voice, his innocent zest and his spirited banter with Jeeves to a fare-thee-well. Faulks has risen to the challenge splendidly with this "homage" to Wodehouse. Jeeves and Wooster live again! Kirkus (Starred Review) Nathan Filer, WHERE THE MOON ISN’T, (320 pgs) 11/5 Nineteen-year-old Matthew is writing the story of his life and that of his older brother, Simon, who had Down syndrome. Simon, Matthew writes,
4 had a beautiful smiley face like the moon. But thinking about the past is like digging up graves, for Simon died in an accident when he was 11, and Matthew, 10 years later, still blames himself for his brother’s death. Although the moon that was Simon’s face now isn’t, Matthew continues to hear his voice where he is being kept in an acute psychiatric ward. For Matthew is schizophrenic. Mental illness turns people inwards, he writes. Will writing about what he finds there offer him healing and relief from his guilt? “The story Filer tells is deeply affecting and insightful in its account of mental illness. And Matthew is a character the reader won’t soon forget.” Booklist “A startlingly authentic portrayal of the rigors and tribulations of navigating the modern health care landscape while struggling with mental illness . . . works on many levels – as family drama, as a searing indictment of Western health care and as a confession.” Kirkus “In this very assured debut, performance poet and mental-health nurse Filer shows that he knows what he's writing about. It should prove catnip to book group participants and will appeal to anyone looking for a serious (but not ponderous) story that's impossible to put down.” Library Journal FIRST NOVEL Fannie Flagg, THE ALL-GIRL FILLING STATION’S LAST REUNION, (368 pgs) 11/5 Mrs. Sookie Poole of Point Clear, Alabama, has just married off the last of her three daughters and is looking forward to relaxing and perhaps traveling with her husband, Earle. The only thing left to contend with now is her mother, the formidable and imposing Lenore Simmons Krackenberry—never an easy task. Then one day, quite by accident, Sookie discovers a shocking secret about her mother’s past that knocks her for a loop and suddenly calls into question everything she ever thought she knew about herself, her family, and her future. Feeling like a stranger in her own life, and fearful of confronting her mother with questions, Sookie begins a search for answers that takes her to California, the Midwest, and back in time, to the 1940s, when an irrepressible woman named Fritzi takes on the job of running her family’s filling station. With so many men off to war, it’s up to Fritzi and her enterprising younger sisters to keep it going. Soon truck drivers are changing their routes to fill up at the All-Girl Filling Station. But before long, Fritzi sees an opportunity for an even more groundbreaking adventure when she receives a lifechanging invitation from the U.S. military to assist in the war effort. As Sookie learns more and more about Fritzi’s story, she finds herself with new answers to the questions she’s been asking her whole life. “The author forms a comfortable bond with readers and offers just the right blend of history and fiction. Flagg flies high, and her fans will enjoy the ride.” Kirkus (Starred Review) Ronald Frame, HAVISHAM, (368 pgs) 11/5
5 Before she became the immortal and haunting Miss Havisham of Great Expectations, she was Catherine, a young woman with all of her dreams ahead of her. Spry, imperious, she is the daughter of a wealthy brewer. But she is never far from the smell of hops and the arresting letters on the brewhouse wall—HAVISHAM—a reminder of all she owes to the family name and the family business. Sent by her father to stay with the Chadwycks, Catherine discovers elegant pastimes to remove the taint of her family's new money. But for all her growing sophistication, Catherine is anything but worldly, and when a charismatic stranger pays her attention, everything—her heart, her future, the very Havisham name—is vulnerable. Frame unfurls the psychological trauma that made young Catherine into Miss Havisham and cursed her to a life alone; roaming the halls of the mansion in the tatters of the dress she wore for the wedding she was never to have. “Frame offers a convincing recreation of the iconic Dickens character.” Publishers Weekly “Frame’s presentation of the era is substantial but not overdone....An intelligently imagined Dickens prequel.” Kirkus Sissel-Jo Gazan, THE DINOSAUR FEATHER, (448 pgs) 11/5 Biology postgraduate and hopeful PhD Anna Bella Nor is just two weeks away from defending her thesis on the origin of birds when her supervisor, the arrogant and widely despised Dr. Lars Helland, is found dead in his office chair at the University of Copenhagen. In the dead man’s bloody lap is a copy of Anna’s thesis. When the autopsy suggests that Helland may have been murdered in a fiendishly ingenious way, the brilliant but tormented young Police Superintendent Søren Marhauge begins the daunting task of unraveling the knotted skeins of interpersonal and intellectual intrigue among the scientists at the university. Unfortunately for him, everyone involved—from embittered single mom Anna Bella Nor to Marhauge's own ex-wife, who is pregnant with her current husband’s child—has something to hide, presenting the detective with the greatest professional and personal challenge of his entire career. (Winner of the Danish Crime Novel of the Decade) “Gazan orchestrates the suspenseful action and overlapping lives of her complex characters with deceptive ease . . . A moving exploration of such broader themes as parenthood, love, and the potentially poisonous results of living with lies.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) FIRST NOVEL Dashiell Hammett, THE HUNTER AND OTHER STORIES, (256 pgs) 11/4 This volume includes both new Hammett stories gleaned from his personal archives along with screen treatments long buried in film-industry files. The best of Dashiell Hammett's unfamiliar treasures have been rescued from deep in these archives: screen stories, unpublished and rarely published fiction, and intriguing unfinished narratives. Hammett is regarded as both a pioneer and master of hard-boiled detective fiction,
6 but these dozen and half stories that explore failed romance, courage in the face of conflict, hypocrisy, and crass opportunism, show him in a different light. The collection also includes two full-length screen treatments. "On the Make" is the basis for the rarely seen 1935 film Mr. Dynamite, starring a corrupt detective who never misses an opportunity to take advantage of his clients rather than help them. "The Kiss-Off" is the basis for City Streets (1931), with Sylvia Sydney and Gary Cooper caught in a romance complicated by racketeering's obligations and temptations. Publication of these new volumes is due to the passion of Julie M. Rivett, Hammett's granddaughter and a well-regarded Hammett scholar, as well as Richard Layman, the author of the first full-length biography of Hammett, Shadow Man, the definitive bibliography, and other works. “Fans of crime writer Dashiell Hammett . . . have been waiting decades to read the stories collected in this book.” Publishers Weekly “Fans of Hammett's gift for swiftly paced plotting and his ear for the language of the day will be pleased to find much evidence of this in these stories.” Library Journal Kay Hooper, HOSTAGE, (320 pgs) 11/26 Haven operative Luther Brinkman has been sent into the wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee to locate escaped felon Cole Jacoby, a mentally unstable bank robber. Supposedly, Jacoby hid more than ten million dollars from his last heist before he was captured—and rather mysteriously escaped federal custody. And once Brinkman finds Jacoby, the agent is left severely wounded, with no way to convey his location to Haven. Callie Davis, an agent with the FBI’s Special Crimes Unit, has been in the area for some time, due to the foresight of her boss and unit chief, Noah Bishop. But when she finds the wounded Brinkman, her rescue mission turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse. What neither Luther nor Callie knows is that their quarry is far more than an escaped bank robber. And that in hunting him, they will find themselves being hunted by him, and will discover him to be the worst monster either of them has ever known. Lisa Jackson & Nancy Bush, SINISTER, (448 pgs) 11/26 Twenty years ago, a fire ravaged the Dillinger family's old homestead, killing Judd Dillinger and crippling his girlfriend. Most people blamed a serial arsonist who'd been around town. But strange things are happening in Prairie Creek, Wyoming, again. Ira Dillinger, the family's wealthy patriarch, has summoned his children home for his upcoming wedding. Eldest son, Colton, and his siblings don't approve of their father's golddigging bride-to-be. But someone is making his displeasure felt in terrifying ways, setting fires just like in the past. Only this time, there will be no survivors. As fear and distrust spread through Prairie Creek, soon all the Dillingers, and those closest to them, are targets - and suspects. A
7 killer has been honing his skill, feeding his fury, and waiting for the moment when the Dillingers come home - to die. Paul Lynch, RED SKY IN MORNING, (288 pgs) 11/5 In 1832, Coll Coyle kills a powerful local landowner, then flees in fear of frontier justice at the hands of the landlord’s sadistic henchman, John Faller. But Lynch, an Irish writer living in Dublin, has set his story not west of the Mississippi, but in the west of Ireland (a rural area in County Donegal). Coyle leaves his wife and daughter behind and eventually strikes out for America, Faller hot on his heels. Coyle’s sick with fever and endures a frightening, brutal transatlantic passage, but eventually lands in Philadelphia, where he joins other immigrants as laborers on “a new kind of engineering . . . A locomotive line. “The plot line of this rewarding debut has the feel of a classic American western. Lynch’s prose is sharply observed, and his themes are elemental and powerful” Publishers Weekly “Lynch's poetic prose is gorgeous. He lovingly crafts every sentence . . . A novel of great beauty and violence from Irish writer Lynch.” Kirkus FIRST NOVEL Alexander McCall Smith, THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON, (256 pgs) 11/5 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency could be about to lose its #2 investigator in Smith's 14th installment of the bestselling Botswana-set series (after 2012's The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection). One hardly needs the renowned deductive powers of agency head Mma Precious Ramotswe to notice the growing bulk beneath the increasingly voluminous garb of recently married second-in-command Mma Grace Makutsi. But the normally frighteningly efficient assistant stays mum as the pair try to establish whether the young nephew attempting to claim a dead man's estate is in fact an imposter. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe allows herself to be snookered into figuring out who's mounting a smear campaign against the titular beauty establishment. “The two story lines work as serviceably as Mma Ramotswe's doughty white van to propel the story forward, but the book's appeal lies less in deduction than irrepressible characters, intriguing local lore, and bone-deep love of Africa.” Publishers Weekly “There are leisurely, wonderfully crafted descriptions of life in the agency and at home, the beauties of Botswana, and the joys, big and small, of life. This latest novel is, especially, a tribute to enduring friendship.” Booklist (Starred Review) Colleen McCullough, SINS OF THE FLESH, (288 pgs) 11/12 It’s August 1969, and police Captain Carmine Delmonico is away on a family vacation. Back at home, in the sleepy college town of Holloman, Connecticut, first one, then two anonymous male corpses turn up— emaciated and emasculated. After connecting the victims to four other
8 bodies, Sergeant Delia Carstairs and Lieutenant Abe Goldberg realize that Holloman has a psychopathic killer on the loose. Luckily, Carmine’s beloved wife Desdemona sends him home from vacation early. Carmine’s team begins to circle a trio of eccentrics, who share family ties, painful memories, and a dark past. They readily admit to knowing all the victims, but their stories keep changing. When another vicious murder rocks Holloman, Carmine realizes that two killers are at large with completely different modus operandi. Like Delia, he finds this case too close to home when he barely escapes being next on the body count. Suddenly the summer isn’t so sleepy anymore. “McCullough’s fifth Capt. Carmine Delmonico novel (after 2012’s The Prodigal Son) will be welcomed by readers who just love that creepy feeling.” Publishers Weekly “In her enthusiastic style McCullough delves into small town intrigue with welldefined characters and vivid descriptions . . . Entertaining.” Booklist Charles Pallister, RUSTICATION, (336 pgs) 11/4 Expelled from Cambridge in disgrace in 1863, 17-year-old Richard Shenstone returns to remote Thurchester and a family hiding in its own secrets. His father has died, tainted by scandal no one will explain; his mother and sister, now penniless, cling to a decaying mansion. Along with lubricious fantasies and opium highs, Richard’s journals chronicle their puzzling behavior. Who is the “Willy” his mother briefly mistakes him for? What is his sister’s real relationship with her wealthy former suitor Davenant Burgoyne, now engaged to another woman? Anonymous letters full of crude sexual taunts and a rash of animal mutilations soon begin to plague the district. Evidence implicates Richard in these crimes, and in Burgoyne’s subsequent murder and mutilation. As he discovers the truth, Richard matures from careless rake into a man facing a moral dilemma. “The novel wraps a genuinely memorable reflection on family and human fallibility in a wickedly entertaining, intricately plotted read.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “Palliser vividly captures the claustrophobic feeling of a small Victorian community being overwhelmed by anxiety and mistrust, and fans of twisty plots will enjoy guessing at the town's many secrets as they sift through the rumors and gossip offered up by a welldrawn cast of darkly quirky characters.” Library Journal James Patterson, CROSS MY HEART, (448 pgs) 11/25 Detective Alex Cross is a family man at heart—nothing matters more to him than his children, his grandmother, and his wife Bree. His love of his family is his anchor, and gives him the strength to confront evil in his work. One man knows this deeply, and uses Alex's strength as a weapon against him. When the ones Cross loves are in danger, he will do anything to protect them. If he does anything to protect them, they will die.
9 Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, WHITE FIRE, (384 pgs) 11/12 Special Agent Pendergast arrives at an exclusive Colorado ski resort to rescue his protégée, Corrie Swanson, from serious trouble with the law. His sudden appearance coincides with the first attack of a murderous arsonist who—with brutal precision—begins burning down multimilliondollar mansions with the families locked inside. After springing Corrie from jail, Pendergast learns she made a discovery while examining the bones of several miners who were killed 150 years earlier by a rogue grizzly bear. Her finding is so astonishing that it, even more than the arsonist, threatens the resort's very existence. Drawn deeper into the investigation, Pendergast uncovers a mysterious connection between the dead miners and a fabled, long-lost Sherlock Holmes story—one that might just offer the key to the modern day killings as well. Now, with the ski resort snowed in and under savage attack—and Corrie's life suddenly in grave danger—Pendergast must solve the enigma of the past before the town of the present goes up in flames. “Sherlock Holmes fans will relish Preston and Child’s 13th novel featuring eccentric FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast (after 2012’s Two Graves), one of their best in this popular series . . . easily stands on its own with only passing references to Pendergast's complex backstory” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “Preston and Child have again given the readers a vibrant, thrilling, and sometimes shocking read with unexpected twists and surprises that is sure to delight.” Library Journal (Starred Review) Ruth Rendell, NO MAN’S NIGHTINGALE, (288 pgs) 11/5 In Rendell’s 24th Inspector Wexford novel (after 2011’s The Vault), the Kingsmarkham, England, sleuth tries to find out who strangled the Rev. Sarah Hussain in the vicarage of St. Peter’s Church, and why. The fact that Hussain was biracial and a single mother had galvanized bigots near and far, who resented her very existence as well as her modernizing the liturgy. Is a white power group responsible for killing Sarah, or had a personal relationship curdled into fury? Suspects abound: the shiftless depressive Jeremy Legg; the Anglican traditionalist Dennis Cuthbert; and Gerald Watson, a stuffy old flame of the murdered woman. As Wexford searches the vicar’s house alongside the police, he sees a book, Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua, lying on Hussain’s bedside table. Inside it is a letter serving as a bookmark. Without thinking much, Wexford puts it into his pocket. Wexford soon realizes he has made a grave error—he’s removed a piece of evidence from the crime scene. Yet what he finds inside begins to illuminate the murky past of Sarah Hussain. Is there more to her than meets the eye? “Wexford's strengths as a man and as a detective are his calmness and resilience. A serene atheist, he looks to the conscience of humanity and Britain's flawed but well-intended laws to glean whatever justice can exist today.” Publishers Weekly “Must reading for Rendell’s many well-earned fans.” Booklist
10 Diane Setterfield, BELLMAN & BLACK: A Ghost Story, (336 pgs) 11/5 Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget . . . Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn—and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business. And Bellman & Black is born. (Diane Setterfield is the author of the extremely popular gothic novel The Thirteenth Tale “Poetic and mysterious.” Booklist Anita Shreve, STELLA BAIN, (272 pgs) 11/12 Shreve’s 17th novel is a story of love, memory, loss, and rebuilding. A young woman wakes up with amnesia in a battlefield hospital tent in Marne, France, in 1916. She thinks her name is Stella Bain, and she thinks she knows how to nurse and drive an ambulance. As she recovers, she returns to duty in this new environment, caring for the wounded and dying. When she arrives in the city exhausted and destitute, she’s discovered in a park by a doctor’s wife, who takes her in. The doctor, Augustus Bridge, is a cranial surgeon with an interest in psychiatry. Stella becomes a “quasi-patient”; he finds a way to get her into the Admiralty, and, when a former friend recognizes her by name, her memories return, including the fact that she has children—and the reason why she left them. The amnesia and its cause are only part of the story; the lack of understanding at the time of the consequences of witnessing the horrors of war, for both men and women, also plays a key role. “The novel is both tender and harsh. Shreve’s thoughtful, provocative, historical tale has modern resonance.” Publishers Weekly “The characters are well-drawn and sympathetic. Many surprises are in store. An exemplary addition to Shreve's already impressive oeuvre.” Kirkus Martin Cruz Smith, TATIANA: An Arkady Renko Novel, (304 pgs) 11/12 The fearless reporter Tatiana Petrovna falls to her death from a sixth-floor window in Moscow the same week that a mob billionaire, Grisha Grigorenko, is shot and buried with the trappings due a lord. No one else makes the connection, but Arkady is transfixed by the tapes he discovers of Tatiana’s voice describing horrific crimes in words that are at odds with the Kremlin’s official versions. The trail leads to Kaliningrad, a Cold War “secret city” that is separated by hundreds of miles from the rest of Russia. The more Arkady delves into Tatiana’s past, the more she leads him into a surreal world of wandering sand dunes, abandoned children,
11 and a notebook written in the personal code of a dead translator. Finally, in a lethal race to uncover what the translator knew, Arkady makes a startling discovery that draws him still deeper into Tatiana’s past—and, paradoxically, into Russia’s future, where bulletproof cars, poets, corruption of the Baltic Fleet, and a butcher for hire combine to give Kaliningrad the “distinction” of having the highest crime rate in Russia. “The most intriguing “character” after Renko is contemporary Russia— freer than it was at the height of the cold war, but at least as corrupt and vastly more unequal—into which Smith offers many insights.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “Smith is a master storyteller, delivering sharp dialogue, a tight plot, memorable descriptions and an understated hero in Arkady Renko. Anyone who enjoys crime novels but hasn't read Smith is in for a treat. Read this book, then look for other Arkady Renko adventures.” Kirkus Robert Stone, DEATH OF THE BLACK-HAIRED GIRL, (288 pgs) 11/12 Stone's latest novel takes place on the campus of an elite college in Connecticut. The dark-haired girl of the title is Maud Stack—beautiful, talented, and hopelessly in love with her married professor, Steven Brookman, with whom she has been having an affair. His newly pregnant wife and daughter are returning from an extended trip, and Steven is looking to extricate himself from the affair and renew his connection with his family. As their relationship crumbles, Maud begins drinking heavily, makes a scene in the street, and is killed by a hit-and-run driver. The question of whether her death was accidental leads to the police becoming involved, even as Maud's father, Eddie Stack, a retired police officer in New York City, begins an unofficial investigation. The novel builds to a confrontation between the father, in failing health, and the professor, who feels remorse but is prepared to defend himself and his family. “Stone imbues his characters with a rare depth that makes each one worthy of his or her own novel. With its atmosphere of dread starting on page one; this story will haunt readers for some time.” Publishers Weekly “Stone (Dog Soldiers; Damascus Gate) is a major literary figure, and this novel is readable, tense, and stimulating. Vivid scenes with razor-sharp dialog are plentiful; a powerful work.” Library Journal (Starred Review) “What emerges from Stone's crisp storytelling is a critique of tribalism of all sorts--religious, academic, police--that doesn't damn those institutions but reveals how they work to protect their own interests at the expense of those of others.” Kirkus (Starred Review)” The publication of any book by Stone is a literary event; this one is no exception.” Booklist (Starred Review) Amy Tan, THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT, (608 pgs) 11/5 Shanghai, 1912. Violet Minturn is the privileged daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching
12 dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother in a cruel act of chicanery. Half-Chinese and half-American, Violet grapples with her place in the worlds of East and West—until she is able to merge her two halves, empowering her to become a shrewd courtesan who excels in the business of seduction and illusion, though she still struggles to understand who she is. Back in 1897 San Francisco, Violet's mother, Lucia, chooses a disastrous course as a sixteen-year-old, when her infatuation with a Chinese painter compels her to leave her home for Shanghai. Shocked by her lover's adherence to Chinese traditions, she is unable to change him, despite her unending American ingenuity. Fueled by betrayals, both women refuse to submit to fate and societal expectations; persisting in their quests to recover what was taken from them: respect; a secure future; and, most poignantly, love from their parents, lovers, and children. “Tan's mastery of the lavish world of courtesans and Chinese customs continues to transport.” Publishers Weekly “Tan’s prodigious, sumptuously descriptive, historically grounded, sexually candid, and elaborately plotted novel counters violence, exploitation, betrayal, and tragic cultural divides with beauty, wit, and transcendent friendships between women.” Booklist (Starred Review) “This utterly engrossing novel is highly recommended to all readers who appreciate an author’s ability to transport them to a new world they will not forget. As a plus, this reviewer sensed the harbinger of a sequel by the last page.” Library Journal (Starred Review) “Tan is a skilled storyteller. . . A satisfyingly complete, expertly paced yarn.” Kirkus Adriana Trigiani, THE SUPREME MACARONI COMPANY, (352 pgs) 11/5 Trigiani (The Shoemakers Wife) picks up the cobbler's toolkit to craft a story about love and work that ranges from New York to Italy and beyond. As Valentine Roncalli seeks to maintain the 100-year-old family business— the Greenwich Village-based Angelini Shoe Company—she complicates her life by falling in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner whose secrets start to emerge on Christmas Eve as the couple celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes with Valentine's family. “Superb. Trigiani’s ability to bring the large, warm, enveloping--if somewhat dysfunctional--family to life will keep any reader engrossed and entertained.” Publishers Weekly “Val's eccentric family keeps the book going at a quick pace. Recommended for all Trigiani fans and those who've enjoyed a good cookie table (an Italian tradition commonly seen at weddings.” Library Journal “Trigiani reenters familiar territory here, both in that this book follows two previous novels about the Roncalli family and in that it has many of her hallmarks: sprawling Italian families, old-world craftsmanship, and melodious love letters to New York City and Italy” Kirkus
