September 2016

While it’s been a long while since I have been back to school --- and these days my younger son drives himself back to college --- I find that September still has that new year kind of feel to it. Book groups that took the summer off head back to their meetings in September, and, as the leaves fall, planned social activities ramp back up.

Calendars also get filled with events. In our newsletter to our Registered Reading Groups in mid-August, we noted a number of book festivals that are on the horizon. The National Book Festival will be held in Washington, DC on Saturday, September 24th, and the Brooklyn Book Festival is this Sunday in Brooklyn, NY.

I love meeting readers, and I am happy to share my event calendar thus far for the fall. I will be at the Morristown Book Festival in Morristown, NJ on October 1st where I am moderating two panels. From 10:00-11:00 is a fiction panel called "You Can’t Choose Your Family" with Naomi Jackson (THE STAR SIDE OF BIRD HILL), Lynda Cohen Loigman (THE TWO-FAMILY HOUSE) and Matthew Thomas (WE ARE NOT OURSELVES). Then, from 11:15-12:15 is a panel called “It’s All in Your Head: Mind Bending Suspense" with Sharon Guskin (THE FORGETTING TIME), Peter Swanson (THE KIND WORTH KILLING) and Wendy Walker (ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN).

On October 15th, I will be in Hillsborough, NJ from 11:00-1:00 for their first-ever Book Lover’s Tea presenting book group-friendly titles. Signup for this event can be found here.

On October 22nd, I am returning to Ocean County for their Book Group Leaders event that is only open to their group members. And I am happy to share that I will be at the Miami Book Fair on November 18-20th with a panel about book groups at a time still to be determined.

The Hachette Book Group has their Annual Book Lover’s Brunch, which will be held on October 22nd. At the present time, tickets are going FAST! Click here for info.

Also, if you are in New York and interested in joining in a book discussion with or without your book group, we have information on Book the Writer’s Fall schedule of events here, which includes Jane Hamilton, Cathleen Schine and Ann Hood. See a list of more festivals here.

I wanted to be sure you were all aware of Random House’s 10th Open House, which will take place on Thursday, December 15th at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse in Manhattan. You can expect stellar programming, free books, great food, fun giveaways, and --- as per their press release --- their biggest gift bag yet. They have moved the event to the new larger location to ensure that more readers can attend. Mark your calendars to grab yourself tickets for the event as early as Friday, September 23rd at 9am. Featured authors include Diana Gabaldon, Jodi Picoult, George Saunders and many more. I’m a loyal Open House attendee, and they never disappoint!

This month, we have four contests to share with you. The first is in celebration of the trade paperback release of THE BITTER SEASON, bestselling author Tami Hoag’s long-awaited return to her popular series featuring detectives Kovac and Liska. Detective Sam Kovac is distracted from his troubles by an especially brutal double homicide: a prominent university professor and his wife, hacked to death in their home with a ceremonial Japanese samurai sword. Detective Nikki Liska’s case --- the unsolved murder of a decorated sex crimes detective --- is less of a distraction: Twenty five years later, there is little hope of finding the killer who got away. As the trails of two crimes a quarter of a century apart twist and cross, Kovac and Liska race to find answers before a killer strikes again. Many groups want to read mysteries and thrillers, and THE BITTER SEASON is a great title to discuss. We’re giving three groups the chance to win 12 copies; click here to enter by Wednesday, October 5th at noon ET.

We also have an ongoing contest for Imbolo Mbue’s BEHOLD THE DREAMERS, a phenomenal debut about a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy, which is now available. This book is already getting plenty of great buzz, and you won’t be surprised that it’s a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection; in honor of its early success, we’re giving three groups the chance to win 12 copies. If you like stories about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream, you won’t want to miss this one. See by Bets On copy later in this newsletter. Enter here by Wednesday, September 21st at noon ET for your chance to win. Imbolo also will be at the Morristown Book Festival at the end of the month on a panel with Nadia Hashimi, the author of THE PEARL THAT BROKE ITS SHELL, which we have featured here in the past!

We’re also still celebrating the paperback release of New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf’s MISSING PIECES --- a Bets On pick when it originally published back in February --- with a contest that will give two groups the chance to win 10 copies. Gudenkauf knows how to deliver suspense, and this chilling page-turner about a woman who uncovers earth-shattering secrets about her husband's family definitely delivers. I have been a fan of Heather’s since her first book, THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE. Enter here by Wednesday, September 21st at noon ET to win.

Now that the film adaptation of M. L. Stedman’s THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS is in theaters, the verdict is in and it’s a must-see movie! And as we’ve said before, taking a field trip with your group to see a beloved book on screen is a great way to mix things up and bond even more. With that in mind, we’re giving three groups the chance to win 12 copies of it in September’s “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest. The years-long New York Times bestseller about an isolated couple, an orphaned child and an impossible choice is a heartbreaking read --- arguably even better the second time around. Enter here by Wednesday, October 5th at noon ET and tell us what your group is reading this month for your chance to win. We wanted to share that our tops books from the contest that ran through July and August are A MAN CALLED OVE by Fredrik Backman, CIRCLING THE SUN by Paula McLain, THE BOYS IN THE BOAT by Daniel James Brown, and THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah. There must have been so many great discussions!

We’re featuring three guides this month. The first is for WE ARE UNPREPARED, the “cli-fi” debut by former Treasury Spokesperson Meg Little Reilly. Ash and Pia move from hipster Brooklyn to rustic Vermont in search of a more authentic life. But just months after settling in, the forecast of a superstorm disrupts their dream. Fear of an impending disaster splits their tight-knit community and exposes the cracks in their marriage. WE ARE UNPREPARED is an emotional journey, a terrifying glimpse into the human costs of our changing earth and, ultimately, a cautionary tale of survival and the human spirit. I read this during the weekend when the hurricane was predicted, and I kept wanting to check the status of our generator. Click here for the featured guide and here for a Q&A with the author.

Next, we’re featuring the guide for bestselling author Gilly Macmillan’s excellent new thriller, THE PERFECT GIRL. It begins on the night that 17-year-old musical prodigy Zoe Maisey is giving a recital that her mother, Marie, has been planning for months. It needs to be the performance of her life. But instead, by the end of the evening, Marie is dead. In the aftermath, everyone --- police, family, Zoe’s former solicitor and Zoe herself --- tries to piece together what happened. But as Zoe knows all too well, the truth is rarely straightforward, and the closer we are to someone, the less we may see. I read this last week, and it was a real page-turner --- again a great choice for a discussion about a thriller. Click here for the featured guide.

Last but not least, we’re featuring the guide for BE FRANK WITH ME, the charming debut from Julia Claiborne Johnson. Reclusive literary legend M. M. “Mimi” Banning has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years. After losing her money in a Ponzi scheme, Mimi must write a new book for the first time in decades, and to ensure the timely delivery of her manuscript, her publisher sends an assistant to monitor her progress. When Alice Whitley arrives at the Banning mansion, she’s put to work as a full-time companion to Frank, the writer’s eccentric nine-year-old. As she slowly gets to know Frank, Alice becomes consumed with finding out who Frank’s father is, how his gorgeous “piano teacher and itinerant male role model” Xander fits into the Banning family equation --- and whether Mimi will ever finish that book. Frank is a character you will love! Click here for the featured guide.

Last month we ran a contest for Martha Kelly Hall’s phenomenal debut, LILAC GIRLS. The powerful story was inspired by Caroline Ferriday, a real life World War II heroine, so Martha did an astounding amount of research to get things just right. Lucky for readers, her website is a treasure trove of all the wonderful things she picked up along the way, including an extensive reading group guide, complete with recipe ideas and maps of the three locations where her book is set. We can see groups making a group trip to Caroline Ferriday’s home in Bethlehem, Connecticut; click here to watch Stacey Childers Fitzgerald interview Martha Hall Kelly on-site at the Bellamy-Ferriday House and Garden.

Our Fall Preview feature is back for a sixth year! On select days in September and October, we will spotlight a different title and offer a 24-hour contest to win five copies of the book. We also will be sending a special newsletter to announce each day's title. If you have not already done so, you can sign up here to receive the Fall Preview newsletter. We kick off this year’s contests by giving away MANITOU CANYON by William Kent Krueger and A LADY UNRIVALED, the finale to Roseanna M. White's Ladies of the Manor series. The first contest will go live on Tuesday, September 13th at noon ET.

We have a brand new Word of Mouth contest on Bookreporter we’d like to share with you. Let us know by Friday, September 23rd at noon ET what books you’ve finished reading, and you’ll be in the running to win HOME by Harlan Coben, along with Karin Slaughter’s latest, THE KEPT WOMAN. We’re also giving you a chance to win the audio versions of Sophie Hannah's CLOSED CASKET: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery, performed by Julian Rhind-Tutt, and Ann Patchett's COMMONWEALTH, performed by Hope Davis, in our Sounding Off on Audio contest. Let us know by Monday, October 3rd at noon ET what audiobooks you’ve finished listening to, and you may be the proud recipient of both audio titles.

We’ve updated our New in Paperback feature for September. Highlights include THE LAST MILE by David Baldacci; THE 14th COLONY by Steve Berry; YEAR OF YES: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person, by Shonda Rhimes (I selected the audiobook as a Bets On title last year); CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT? by Roz Chast; and BLACK MAN IN A WHITE COAT: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine, by Damon Tweedy, M.D. (who I interviewed last year at BookExpo America).

We’ve also updated our Books on Screen feature. September’s theatrical releases include The Light Between Oceans, Sully, Bridget Jones’s Baby and Snowden, and premiering on the small screen are "Queen Sugar," "Quarry" and "The Exorcist.”

We've updated our Reading Roundup feature for September. Indie Next's picks include COMMONWEALTH, the enthralling story of how an unexpected romantic encounter irrevocably changes two families' lives from acclaimed, bestselling author Ann Patchett; THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, bestselling author Colson Whitehead’s magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave’s adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South; and A GREAT RECKONING, the latest in Louise Penny’s #1 New York Times bestselling Chief Inspector Gamache series.

LibraryReads is spotlighting LEAVE ME, Gayle Forman’s irresistible new novel that confronts the ambivalence of modern motherhood head on and asks what happens when a grown woman runs away from home; THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER, a “valentine to readers, librarians and booklovers the world over” from bestselling author Jenny Colgan; and award-winning author Thomas Mullen’s DARKTOWN, a riveting police procedural set in 1948 Atlanta that explores a murder, corrupt police and strained race relations that feels ripped from today's headlines.

This month, we’re curious about who leads your group. Click here to let us know whether you have a designated leader (or organize another way!) by taking our poll by Wednesday, October 5th at noon ET.

Like I said…things heat up in September. Have friends in book groups? Then please share this newsletter with them and encourage them to subscribe! Here’s to a great book group discussion this month.

Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])

P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping for books, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
 

We are celebrating the paperback release of THE BITTER SEASON --- a thrilling new Kovac and Liska case that marks Tami Hoag's return to the bestselling series of her career --- with a special contest that will give three groups the chance to win 12 copies. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, October 5th at noon ET.

THE BITTER SEASON by Tami Hoag (Psychological Thriller)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag explores the devastating consequences of the secrets families keep in this powerful thriller.

As the dreary, bitter weather of late fall descends on Minneapolis, Detective Nikki Liska is restless, already bored with her new assignment to the cold case squad. She misses the rush of pulling an all-nighter and the sense of urgency of hunting a killer on the loose. Most of all she misses her old partner, Sam Kovac. Kovac is having an even harder time adjusting to Liska’s absence but is distracted from his troubles by an especially brutal double homicide: a prominent university professor and his wife, bludgeoned and hacked to death in their home with a ceremonial Japanese samurai sword. Liska’s case --- the unsolved murder of a decorated sex crimes detective --- is less of a distraction: 25 years later, there is little hope for finding the killer who got away.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis resident Evi Burke has a life she only dreamed of as a kid in and out of foster care: a beautiful home, a loving family, a fulfilling job. But a danger from her past is stalking her idyllic present, bent on destroying the perfect life she was never meant to have.

As the trails of two crimes a quarter of a century apart twist and cross, Kovac and Liska race to find answers before a killer strikes again.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
 

We are celebrating the release of BEHOLD THE DREAMERS --- Imbolo Mbue's unforgettable debut about a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy --- with a special contest that will give three groups the chance to win 12 copies. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, September 21st at noon ET.

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue (Fiction)
A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream, BEHOLD THE DREAMERS is the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy.

Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion and loyalty --- and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future.

However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades.

When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job --- even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.

-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why we're betting you'll love this book.
 

We are celebrating the paperback release of New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf's MISSING PIECES --- the chilling page-turner about a woman who uncovers earth-shattering secrets about her husband's family --- with a special contest that will give two groups the chance to win 10 copies. To enter, please fill out this form by Wednesday, September 21st at noon ET.

MISSING PIECES by Heather Gudenkauf (Thriller)
A woman uncovers earth-shattering secrets about her husband's family in this chilling page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.

Sarah Quinlan's husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. The case rocked the small farm town of Penny Gate, Iowa, where Jack was raised, and for years Jack avoided returning home. But when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, hospitalized in a coma, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded.

Upon arriving in Penny Gate, Sarah and Jack are welcomed by the family Jack left behind all those years ago --- barely a trace of the wounds that had once devastated them all. But as facts about Julia's accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. Caught in a flurry of unanswered questions, Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of Jack's past. But the farther in she climbs, the harder it is for her to get out. And soon she is faced with a deadly truth she may not be prepared for.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why we're betting you'll love this book.
 

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

In celebration of the release of its film adaptation, this month's prize book is M. L. Stedman's THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS --- the years-long New York Times bestseller about an isolated couple, an orphaned child and an impossible choice. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, October 5th at noon ET.

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS by M. L. Stedman (Historical Fiction)
The years-long New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Spielberg’s Dreamworks is “irresistible…seductive…with a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
-Click here to see why we're betting you'll love this book.
 

THE PERFECT GIRL by Gilly Macmillan (Psychological Suspense)
From Gilly Macmillan, the international bestselling author of the Edgar Award-nominated WHAT SHE KNEW, comes a sharp, gripping, whip-smart second novel about the secrets that unravel us.

Zoe Maisey is a 17-year-old musical prodigy with a genius IQ. Three years ago, she was involved in a tragic incident that left three classmates dead. She served her time, and now her mother, Marie, is resolved to keep that devastating fact tucked far away from their new beginning, hiding the past even from her new husband and demanding Zoe do the same.

Tonight Zoe is giving a recital that Maria has been planning for months. It needs to be the performance of her life. But instead, by the end of the evening, Marie is dead.

In the aftermath, everyone --- police, family, Zoe’s former solicitor and Zoe herself --- tries to piece together what happened. But as Zoe knows all too well, the truth is rarely straightforward, and the closer we are to someone, the less we may see.

Unfolding over a span of 24 hours through three compelling narratives, THE PERFECT GIRL is gripping, surprising and emotionally complex-a richly layered look at loyalty, second chances, and the way secrets unravel us all.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
 

BE FRANK WITH ME by Julia Claiborne Johnson (Fiction)
A sparkling talent makes her fiction debut with this infectious novel that combines the charming pluck of Eloise, the poignant psychological quirks of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME and the page-turning spirit of WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE.

Reclusive literary legend M. M. “Mimi” Banning has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years. But after falling prey to a Bernie Madoff-style ponzi scheme, she’s flat broke. Now Mimi must write a new book for the first time in decades, and to ensure the timely delivery of her manuscript, her New York publisher sends an assistant to monitor her progress. The prickly Mimi reluctantly complies --- with a few stipulations: No Ivy-Leaguers or English majors. Must drive, cook, tidy. Computer whiz. Good with kids. Quiet, discreet, sane.

When Alice Whitley arrives at the Banning mansion, she’s put to work right away --- as a full-time companion to Frank, the writer’s eccentric nine-year-old, a boy with the wit of Noel Coward, the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star, and very little in common with his fellow fourth-graders.

As she slowly gets to know Frank, Alice becomes consumed with finding out who Frank’s father is, how his gorgeous “piano teacher and itinerant male role model” Xander fits into the Banning family equation --- and whether Mimi will ever finish that book.

Full of heart and countless “only-in-Hollywood” moments, BE FRANK WITH ME is a captivating and unconventional story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their unforgettable world.

-Click here for the reading group guide.
 

The Morristown Book Festival in Morristown, NJ on October 1st:
Carol will be moderating two panels. From 10:00-11:00 is a fiction panel called "You Can’t Choose Your Family" with Naomi Jackson (THE STAR SIDE OF BIRD HILL, Lynda Cohen Loigman (THE TWO-FAMILY HOUSE) and Matthew Thomas (WE ARE NOT OURSELVES). Then from 11:15-12:15 is a panel called “It’s All in Your Head: Mind Bending Suspense" with Sharon Guskin (THE FORGETTING TIME), Peter Swanson (THE KIND WORTH KILLING) and Wendy Walker (ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN).

The Book Lover's Tea in Hillsborough, NJ on October 15th:
From 11:00-1:00, Carol will be presenting book group friendly titles. Signup for this event can be found here.

Ocean County's Book Group Leaders Event on October 22nd:
Carol will be returning to Ocean County for their Book Group Leaders Tea that is only open to their registered members.

The Miami Book Fair in Miami, FL on November 18-20th:
Join Carol at the Miami Book Fair on November 18-20th with a panel about book groups at a time still to be determined.
 

Fall is known as the biggest season of the year for books. The titles that release during this latter part of the year often become holiday gifts, and many are blockbusters. To celebrate the arrival of fall, we are spotlighting a number of outstanding books that we know people will be talking about in the days and months to come.

We will be hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days in September and October, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also will be sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.

Our first prize book will be announced on Tuesday, September 13th at noon ET.

This year's featured titles include:

• CROSSING THE HORIZON by Laurie Notaro
• THE FAMILY PLOT by Cherie Priest
• FRIDAY ON MY MIND: A Frieda Klein Mystery by Nicci French
• A LADY UNRIVALED: Ladies of the Manor, Book 3 by Roseanna M. White
• MANITOU CANYON by William Kent Krueger
• THE SECRET CHORD by Geraldine Brooks
• VICTORIA: The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird

YOU WILL KNOW ME by Megan Abbott (Psychological Thriller)
I confess to being an Olympics junkie. I am intrigued by those who put great effort towards such a singular goal. To succeed so young requires dedication of the athlete’s family, as well as drive and raw talent. And it starts young, often robbing these young protégés of so-called normal lives. Thus I was drawn to read Megan Abbott’s YOU WILL KNOW ME, a novel that on one level is the poetic story of a young gymnast’s road to success that reads like one of those saccharine stories that accompanies the Olympics broadcasts, and, on another, a nail-biting thriller.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.

I WILL SEND RAIN by Rae Meadows (Historical Fiction)
I have read a few books that take place during the years of the Dust Bowl storms. I find this time and place in history so very tragic and always want to learn more about it. So when I saw I WILL SEND RAIN by Rae Meadows, I immediately wanted to read it.

The story is set in Mulehead, Oklahoma in the mid-1930s during the early years of the Dust Bowl. Annie Bell, the protagonist, has a lot on her mind as she chases the dust swirling around her. The dust is killing the crops on her family’s farm, and the livestock are struggling to survive. She watches her husband, who is not coping well with all these changes. Life is closing in on her literally from the hardships of nature and from the pressure of trying to survive in a life where she feels she is lost and cannot find her way.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.

THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood (Fiction)
THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood works on so many levels. First, it’s a delightful read. Second, it’s full of great book suggestions. And third, it’s inspiration for book groups.

In it, Ava is recently separated from her husband of 25 years and nursing some powerful pain from this. A coveted spot in a select book group finally opens up, and she is invited to join. The group’s theme that year is “the book that mattered most to each of them.” I loved seeing what each of the characters selected, and I enjoyed the chance to “eavesdrop” on their recommendations. Ava selects a book and promises to bring the author to the discussion, which her fellow readers are excited about. One problem: She has no idea how to find this author. Every lead has come to a dead end. But there are some lovely surprises ahead for this.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B. A. Paris (Psychological Thriller)
There are few thrillers that make me look away from the page because they are so intense. But BEHIND CLOSED DOORS by B. A. Paris is one of them!

We start out meeting Jack and Grace, who seem to have a perfect life. Their home looks like something from a magazine, and they have amazingly perfect dinner parties. Jack has a great job as a lawyer, and he wins his cases. He is always by Grace’s side, but something feels a bit off. Grace does not seem at ease. It’s hard to put a finger on what’s going on, but readers know something is up.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.

THE DOLLHOUSE by Fiona Davis (Fiction)
When I worked at Mademoiselle, the Barbizon Hotel was legendary as our Guest Editors stayed there. Thus, when THE DOLLHOUSE by Fiona Davis came across my desk, I was eager to read it. The history of the hotel is woven into a modern-day story. When the hotel was converted into high-end condos, a limited number of apartments were allocated for longtime residents. A story about one of these fictitious tenants, Darby McLaughlin, forms one of the narratives in the book. The other is of a modern-day woman, Rose Lewin, who is at a crossroads in her life. How their stories intertwine includes a mystery that has its roots back in the 1950s.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.

THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR by Shari Lapena (Psychological Thriller)
In her debut thriller, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR, Shari Lapena took me on a ride where every turn brought a twist that propelled the story into a new direction. Some were more subtle than others, but each time I thought, Just keep reading. I was 100 pages in one night before I looked up, devoured another 200 pages the following morning, and then raced home to finish it. Most chapters had cliffhanger endings that made me turn the page and say “More!”

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue (Fiction)
I had the pleasure of hearing Imbolo Mbue present her debut novel, BEHOLD THE DREAMERS, a few months ago. Two minutes into her presentation, I found myself racing to get a copy of the book. She drew me in from the first page; I barely looked up as I read.

It’s the story of Jende and Neni Jonga, a young Cameroonian couple living in Harlem who are making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy. Jende wants his six-year-old son to have the best of what America has to offer --- an education and opportunity. But Jende lacks the papers to get a legal job. In the fall of 2007, luck comes his way as he takes a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, who works on Wall Street at Lehman Brothers in an executive spot. He gets to know Clark, his wife Cindy and his family as he drives them around town each day.

-Click here to read more of Carol's thoughts on the book.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
 

Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads, as well as the Target Book Club title and Pennie's Pick for Costco.

Indie Next's picks for September include COMMONWEALTH, the enthralling story of how an unexpected romantic encounter irrevocably changes two families' lives from acclaimed, bestselling author Ann Patchett; THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, bestselling author Colson Whitehead’s magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave’s adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South; and A GREAT RECKONING, the latest in Louise Penny’s #1 New York Times bestselling Chief Inspector Gamache series.

LibraryReads is spotlighting LEAVE ME, Gayle Forman’s irresistible new novel that confronts the ambivalence of modern motherhood head on and asks what happens when a grown woman runs away from home; THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER, a “valentine to readers, librarians and booklovers the world over” from bestselling author Jenny Colgan; and award-winning author Thomas Mullen’s DARKTOWN, a riveting police procedural set in 1948 Atlanta that explores a murder, corrupt police and strained race relations that feels ripped from today's headlines.
 

September's roundup of New in Paperback fiction titles includes THE LAST MILE by David Baldacci, which marks the return of Detective Amos Decker --- the man who can forget nothing --- who readers first met last year in MEMORY MAN; THE 14th COLONY by Steve Berry, a Cotton Malone thriller that poses the intriguing question: What happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office?; and THE PAST by Tessa Hadley, which revolves around a dramatic family reunion, where simmering tensions and secrets come to a head over three long, hot summer weeks.

Among our nonfiction highlights are YEAR OF YES, a poignant, intimate and hilarious memoir in which Shonda Rhimes, the creator of "Grey’s Anatomy" and "Scandal" and executive producer of "How to Get Away with Murder," reveals how saying YES changed her life --- and how it can change yours too; the graphic memoir CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT?, Roz Chast's account of the last several years of her aging parents' lives, told through four-color cartoons, family photos and documents; and BLACK MAN IN A WHITE COAT, Dr. Damon Tweedy's passionate and profound memoir of his experience grappling with race, bias and the unique health problems of black Americans.

-Find out what's New in Paperback for the weeks of September 5th, September 12th, September 19th and September 26th.

 

The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:

BE FRANK WITH ME by Julia Claiborne Johnson (Fiction)
Full of heart, BE FRANK WITH ME by Julia Claiborne Johnson is a captivating and unconventional story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their world.

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue (Fiction)
A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race and the trapdoors in the American Dream --- the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy.

THE BITTER SEASON by Tami Hoag (Psychological Thriller)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag explores the devastating consequences of the secrets families keep in this powerful thriller.

FIRST STAR I SEE TONIGHT by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Mystery/Romance)
“There’s no one better at writing romantic fiction. Susan is the absolute queen of contemporary romance” (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE NIGHTINGALE).

HERE I AM by Jonathan Safran Foer (Fiction)
A monumental new novel about the disintegration of a Jewish-American family, set against the backdrop of a major earthquake and three-week war in Israel, from the bestselling author of EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED and EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE.

LOVE WARRIOR: A Memoir by Glennon Doyle Melton (Memoir)
The highly anticipated new memoir by bestselling author Glennon Doyle Melton --- the latest Oprah's Book Club pick --- tells the story of her journey of self-discovery after the implosion of her marriage.

MISSING PIECES by Heather Gudenkauf (Thriller)
A woman uncovers earth-shattering secrets about her husband's family in this chilling page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.

THE PERFECT GIRL by Gilly Macmillan (Psychological Suspense)
From Gilly Macmillan, the international bestselling author of the Edgar Award-nominated WHAT SHE KNEW, comes a sharp, gripping, whip-smart second novel about the secrets that unravel us.

THE SHATTERED TREE: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Todd (Historical Mystery)
From New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd comes another captivating mystery featuring WWI battlefield nurse Bess Crawford.

THE TOTAL PACKAGE by Stephanie Evanovich (Romance)
The amazing Stephanie Evanovich is back with another steamy love story set in the world of professional sports, this time the story of a hunky football player whose big NFL comeback requires him to win back the spirited woman he dumped years earlier.

WE ARE UNPREPARED by Meg Little Reilly (Thriller)
The superstorm of the year is coming…prepare for the thrilling climate fiction debut from former Treasury Spokesperson Meg Little Reilly.

Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they appeared in hardcover, are now available in paperback:

THE ART OF MEMOIR by Mary Karr (Literary Criticism)
Bestselling author and renowned professor Mary Karr offers a master class in the essential elements of great memoir --- delivered with her signature wit, insight and candor.

 

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