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For My 30 Minutes of Pleasure Reading...
Summertime means schedules often get tossed up in the air as people head on vacation, work different hours, and in many parts of the country spend time at leisure activities not available at other times during the year. We also layered in an office move --- our first in 21(!) years, which brought with it a ton of details (phones, copier, mail) that required my attention. Whew! So glad that is behind us.
Though the days were long, I still read each morning and evening, but not as much as I would have liked. Remember when you were a child, they would say, “As part of your homework, read for pleasure for 30 minutes.” I felt like I was on that schedule, but was always bargaining with myself for “five more minutes.” I was wishing that DEAR (“Drop Everything and Read”) was part of the adult lexicon.
Mary from Lincoln, Nebraska, wrote this about the copies of LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly that she won with her book group: “Our Trinity Book Club discussed the book LILAC GIRLS this afternoon. We all enjoyed it. There was a great deal of discussion about Caroline Ferriday and her relationship with Paul. None of us enjoyed reading about the experiments on 'The Rabbits,' but understood that is what happens under those conditions. We appreciated Caroline's efforts to help the girls and bring them to the U.S., plus arrange for medical care on their legs as well as dental help. Another person who received lots of discussion was Herta and the circumstances that led to her actions. We look forward to reading Martha's upcoming book, GIN LANE, about Caroline's mother Eliza's fight to help Russian refugees displaced by the revolution there during WWI. We really appreciated winning the 12 LILAC GIRLS books.” We, too, look forward to seeing what Martha writes next!
The movie adaptation of THE GLASS CASTLE is scheduled to hit theaters on August 11th. Book clubs continue to read it; it’s typically a perennial favorite. I came across a terrific interview with Jeannette Walls from "CBS Sunday Morning" where she talks about the story --- and viewers also can see her with her mom today as part of this piece. You can see it here.
We have two new featured guides to tell you about in this newsletter. First up is THE LYING GAME, Ruth Ware’s third psychological thriller following IN A DARK, DARK WOOD and THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10. Three women in and around London receive a text they had been dreading for years --- “I need you” --- from Kate, the fourth member of their formerly inseparable clique. The four girls were best friends at their boarding school and were infamous for playing the Lying Game, telling lies to both students and faculty. But as a result of their little game, they were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s art teacher (who also happens to be Kate’s father). See the guide, along with our review and a Q&A on Bookreporter.com, and don’t miss my Bets On commentary in the August 4th Bookreporter.com Weekly Update newsletter.
Our second featured guide is for THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END, another standout beach read from Patti Callahan Henry. Bonny Blankenship and her best friend, Lainey McKay, has fond memories of their idyllic summers in Watersend, South Carolina, and spending time at the local bookshop. But when Lainey’s mother disappeared, everything changed. Now in her early 50s, Bonny wants desperately to escape after a tragic mistake puts her career as an emergency room doctor in serious jeopardy. So, accompanied by her troubled teenage daughter, she returns to the beloved river house, where she is soon joined by Lainey and her two young children. They reunite with bookshop owner Mimi, and for all three of these strong women, buried secrets and long-ago loves return like the tide. Click here for the guide and here for our Bookreporter.com review.
By the way, on Thursday night (August 3rd) at 6:30, I will be at the Brielle Public Library in Brielle, New Jersey, where Patti will be discussing the book and doing a Q&A/signing. Hope to see some of you there!
We’ve also added the guide for THE UNQUIET DAUGHTER by Danielle Flood, a journalist who seeks the truth behind her parents’ tangled affair that inspired Graham Greene’s THE QUIET AMERICAN after a youth of privilege, estrangement and cruelty. As she yearns for her father’s love and presence, Danielle’s mother leaves her in burlesque house dressing rooms in the American Midwest, in convent schools in Long Island and Dublin, and with strangers in New York City --- all the while lying to Danielle about their past. You can check out the guide for this powerful, moving and honest memoir here.
There’s still time to enter our “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month” contest, where three groups will win 12 copies of THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn, a Reese Witherspoon Summer Reading Pick. Here, we are introduced to two courageous women --- a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947 --- whose paths eventually cross as they embark on a mission to discover the truth, no matter where it leads. Please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, August 8th at noon ET for your chance to win copies of the book for your group.
In our previous “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest, here are the five books mentioned most frequently as titles that our book groups read: A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles, A MAN CALLED OVE by Fredrik Backman, THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah, COMMONWEALTH by Ann Patchett, and ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr.
Our poll continues to ask what you do if you read a book that you think would be perfect for your book group’s discussion. Click here to let us know! We always like to learn how you share the books you love.
On Bookreporter.com, we’re entering the final four weeks of our Summer Reading giveaways, and as always, we have our Word of Mouth and Sounding Off on Audio contests. Our current Word of Mouth giveaway ends this Friday, August 4th at noon ET, while July’s Sounding Off contest wraps up tomorrow, Tuesday, August 1st at noon ET --- so the time to enter is NOW. You can find all the details for these contests later in this newsletter.
We will be back in two weeks with our August update. The summer is going much too quickly!
Here’s to your next great book group discussion...
Carol Fitzgerald ([email protected])
P.S. For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, ReadingGroupGuides.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
Featured Guide: THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware (Psychological Thriller)
On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister...
The next morning, three women in and around London --- Fatima, Thea and Isabel ---receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”
The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second-rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other --- ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).
THE LYING GAME will be Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. You can read Carol's commentary in the August 4th Bookreporter.com Weekly Update newsletter.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read an interview with Ruth Ware.
Click here for the featured guide.
Featured Guide: THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER'S END
by Patti Callahan Henry
THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER'S END by Patti Callahan Henry (Fiction)
Bonny Blankenship’s most treasured memories are of idyllic summers spent in Watersend, South Carolina, with her best friend, Lainey McKay. Amid the sand dunes and oak trees draped with Spanish moss, they swam and wished for happy-ever-afters, then escaped to the local bookshop to read and whisper in the glorious cool silence. Until the night that changed everything, the night that Lainey’s mother disappeared.
Now, in her early 50s, Bonny is desperate to clear her head after a tragic mistake threatens her career as an emergency room doctor, and her marriage crumbles around her. With her troubled teenage daughter, Piper, in tow, she goes back to the beloved river house, where she is soon joined by Lainey and her two young children. During lazy summer days and magical nights, they reunite with bookshop owner Mimi, who is tangled with the past and its mysteries. As the three women cling to a fragile peace, buried secrets and long-ago loves return like the tide.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to visit Patti Callahan Henry's website.
Click here for the featured guide.
"What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" Contest:
Enter to Win 12 Copies of
THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn for Your Group
Each month, we ask book groups to share the titles they are reading that month and rate them. From all entries, three winners will be selected, and each will win 12 copies of that month’s prize book for their group. Note: To be eligible to win, let us know the title of the book that YOUR book group is CURRENTLY reading, NOT the title we are giving away.
This month's prize book is THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn, which is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Summer Reading Pick. Two women --- a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947 --- are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption. To enter, please fill out the form on this page by Wednesday, August 9th at noon ET.
THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn (Historical Fiction)
1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.
1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies," who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.
Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.
- Click here for the reading group guide.
Click here to enter the contest.
July Releases of Interest to Book Groups
THE ALMOST SISTERS by Joshilyn Jackson (Fiction)
A one-night stand produces a baby boy for 38-year-old Leia Birch Briggs. But before she can break the news of her impending single-motherhood (including the fact that her baby is biracial) to her conventional, Southern family, her stepsister Rachel’s marriage implodes. Worse, she learns her beloved 90-year-old grandmother is losing her mind and has been hiding her dementia. Tucked in the attic of the family’s big Victorian is a dangerous secret with roots that reach all the way back to the Civil War.
THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END by Patti Callahan Henry (Fiction)
Bonny Blankenship’s most treasured memories are of idyllic summers spent in Watersend, South Carolina, with her best friend, Lainey McKay. They swam and wished for happy-ever-afters, then escaped to the local bookshop. Until the night that changed everything, the night that Lainey’s mother disappeared. Now, in her early 50s, Bonny goes back to the beloved river house, where she is soon joined by Lainey. They reunite with bookshop owner Mimi, who is tangled with the past and its mysteries.
THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. Paris (Psychological Thriller)
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside --- the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? She just can’t forget that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt. Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her.
IN THE DAYS OF RAIN: A Daughter, a Father, a Cult by Rebecca Stott (Memoir)
Rebecca Stott both adored and feared her father, Roger Stott, a high-ranking minister in the Brighton, England, branch of the Exclusive Brethren, a separatist fundamentalist Christian sect. IN THE DAYS OF RAIN is her attempt to make sense of her childhood in the Exclusive Brethren, to understand her father’s role in the cult and in the breaking apart of her family.
THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware (Psychological Thriller)
Three women receive a text from Kate, the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, that says, “I need you.” The four girls were notorious for playing the Lying Game at their boarding school, telling lies at every turn. But they were all expelled under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, who also happens to be Kate’s father.
THE MARRIAGE PACT by Michelle Richmond (Psychological Thriller)
After receiving an enticing wedding gift, newlyweds Alice and Jake decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact. The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. But the young lovers will soon discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life.
SECRETS OF THE TULIP SISTERS by Susan Mallery (Fiction)
Kelly Murphy's life as a tulip farmer is pretty routine, but everything changes one sun-washed summer with two dramatic homecomings: Griffith Burnett --- Tulpen Crossing's prodigal son, who has set his sights on Kelly --- and Olivia, her beautiful, wayward and unwelcome sister. Tempted by Griffith, annoyed by Olivia, Kelly is overwhelmed by the secrets that were so easy to keep when she was alone. But Olivia's return isn't as triumphant as she pretends, and she feels cut off from her past.
Featured Guide: KISS CARLO by Adriana Trigiani
KISS CARLO by Adriana Trigiani (Historical Fiction)
It’s 1949, and South Philadelphia bursts with opportunity during the post-war boom. The Palazzini Cab Company & Western Union Telegraph Office, owned and operated by Dominic Palazzini and his three sons, is flourishing: business is good, they’re surrounded by sympathetic wives and daughters-in-law, with grandchildren on the way. But a decades-long feud that split Dominic and his brother Mike and their once-close families sets the stage for a re-match.
Amidst the hoopla, the arrival of an urgent telegram from Italy upends the life of Nicky Castone (Dominic and his wife’s orphaned nephew) who lives and works with his Uncle Dom and his family. Nicky decides, at 30, that he wants more --- more than just a job driving Car #4 and more than his longtime fiancée Peachy DePino, a bookkeeper, can offer. When he admits to his fiancée that he’s been secretly moonlighting at the local Shakespeare theater company, Nicky finds himself drawn to the stage, its colorful players and to the determined Calla Borelli, who inherited the enterprise from her father, Nicky must choose between the conventional life his family expects of him or chart a new course and risk losing everything he cherishes.
From the dreamy mountaintop village of Roseto Valfortore in Italy, to the vibrant streets of South Philly, to the close-knit enclave of Roseto, Pennsylvania, to New York City during the birth of the golden age of television, KISS CARLO is a powerful, inter-generational story that celebrates the ties that bind, while staying true to oneself when all hope seems lost.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the featured guide.
Featured Guide: COCOA BEACH by Beatriz Williams
COCOA BEACH by Beatriz Williams (Historical Fiction)
Burdened by a dark family secret, Virginia Fortescue flees her oppressive home in New York City for the battlefields of World War I France. While an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, she meets a charismatic British army surgeon whose persistent charm opens her heart to the possibility of love. As the war rages, Virginia falls into a passionate affair with the dashing Captain Simon Fitzwilliam, only to discover that his past has its own dark secrets --- secrets that will damage their eventual marriage and propel her back across the Atlantic to the sister and father she left behind.
Five years later, in the early days of Prohibition, the newly widowed Virginia Fitzwilliam arrives in the tropical boomtown of Cocoa Beach, Florida, to settle her husband’s estate. Despite the evidence, Virginia does not believe Simon perished in the fire that destroyed the seaside home he built for her and their young daughter. Separated from her husband since the early days of their marriage, the headstrong Virginia plans to uncover the truth, for the sake of the daughter Simon never met.
Simon’s brother and sister welcome her with open arms and introduce her to a dazzling new world of citrus groves, white beaches, bootleggers and Prohibition agents. But Virginia senses a predatory presence lurking beneath the irresistible, hedonistic surface of this coastal oasis. The more she learns about Simon and his mysterious business interests, the more she fears that the dangers that surrounded Simon now threaten her and their daughter’s life as well.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the featured guide.
Featured Guide: THE CHILD by Fiona Barton
A Bookreporter.com Bets On Title
THE CHILD by Fiona Barton (Psychological Thriller)
As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?
As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.
But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn --- house by house --- into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women --- and torn between what she can and cannot tell.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
- Click here to read Carol's Bookreporter.com Bets On commentary.
Click here for the featured guide.
Featured Guide: EVERY LAST LIE by Mary Kubica
EVERY LAST LIE by Mary Kubica (Psychological Thriller)
Clara Solberg's world shatters when her husband and their four-year-old daughter are in a car crash, killing Nick while Maisie is remarkably unharmed. The crash is ruled an accident…until the coming days, when Maisie starts having night terrors that make Clara question what really happened on that fateful afternoon.
Tormented by grief and her obsession that Nick's death was far more than just an accident, Clara is plunged into a desperate hunt for the truth. Who would have wanted Nick dead? And, more important, why? Clara will stop at nothing to find out --- and the truth is only the beginning of this twisted tale of secrets and deceit.
Told in the alternating perspectives of Clara's investigation and Nick's last months leading up to the crash, master of suspense Mary Kubica weaves her most chilling thriller to date --- one that explores the dark recesses of a mind plagued by grief and shows that some secrets might be better left buried.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
Click here for the featured guide.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. Paris
THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. Paris (Psychological Thriller)
“Don’t” is a powerful word. For Cass Anderson, “don’t” is what her husband, Matthew, says about her taking a shortcut on a road through the woods on a rainy, stormy night. But alas, Cass makes the turn anyway. She passes a car with a woman sitting inside, but keeping in mind her husband’s words about the dangers of being out there in the rain, she hesitates to stop to help.
The following morning, Cass learns that a woman named Jane Walters was killed in those woods, and she was sitting in that car. She is torn up by what happened. Did her not stopping cause this murder? At the same time, Cass finds her memory slipping. Her mother died of Alzheimer’s at a young age, and she fears this may be her fate as well. Cass is safe, but there is a keen sense that someone is watching her, and it's unraveling her. What’s going on?
While there is lots of repetition before the reveal, I was engaged and read THE BREAKDOWN in less than a day. For those who shied away from the violence in B.A. Paris’ debut, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, note that THE BREAKDOWN spares readers from physical violence, though there is lots of mind-bending drama.
- Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com.
Bookreporter.com Bets On:
The Hamptons Murder Mystery Series by Carrie Doyle
The Hamptons Murder Mystery Series by Carrie Doyle (Mystery)
There’s something fun about discovering a series that you love and just binging your way through it. That is exactly what I did with Carrie Doyle’s Hamptons Murder Mystery series. The books are fun reading with a great cast of characters that includes her protagonist, Antonia Bingham, who is both an innkeeper and a chef. Her storylines weave in great background on the history of the Hamptons, as well as some mouth-watering food descriptions. Carrie worked for Ina Garten when she owned and ran The Barefoot Contessa in the Hamptons, so she writes about food with great authority. She also has been a summer and weekend resident of East Hampton for decades, so she knows the lay of the land. Armchair vacation travel with a mystery; I love it.
I started with the first book, DEATH ON WINDMILL WAY, though they clearly can be read in any order as Carrie writes a very strong backstory. Here Antonia has just bought the inn and has learned that there is a history of killing the past proprietors, which puts her on edge as she does not want to become the next victim. On the case with her is Joseph Fowler, a 60-something widower who is another amateur sleuth. Since Antonia is new to innkeeping, we get a birds’-eye view of just what’s entailed in an operation like this. Lots of great details on decorating and mouth-watering dining are part of the story as well.
In DEATH ON LILY POND LANE, it is spring in the Hamptons. Antonia is now working a side business as an estate manager to earn some extra money in the low season, as well as running the inn. This gives her access to some stunning homes and wealthy homeowners. I love design and architecture details as well as mysteries --- house porn as I call it --- and here you will be inspired to redecorate, or at least rearrange, as you read. Oh, for the mystery, Antonia finds a dead body at one of the homes and is then on the case of solving the murder. It’s brisk and fun. Yes, murder and mystery is fun!
DEATH ON WEST END ROAD is set during the summer months when the town is buzzing in high season. Antonia here takes on a cold case, one where Susie Whitaker was brutally murdered in 1990 on a tennis court in the poshest part of town. Who’s hired Antonia? The prime suspect, a wealthy heiress, who is part of a powerful family. The stress has Antonia cooking and baking. The latter inspired me to bake savory muffins --- something I had not thought about making before. I used Jiffy Cornbread Mix and added fresh corn, jalapenos, cheese, Indian spice-infused honey and sage.
I dare you to just read one. The nicest part is you don’t have to. You can line them up and binge read --- and enjoy! Upon finishing them, I wrote Carrie to ask when the next will be published. Stay tuned for more on that!
Bookreporter.com's Summer Reading
Contests and Feature
Summer is here! At Bookreporter.com, this means it's time for us to share some great summer book picks with our Summer Reading Contests and Feature. We are hosting a series of 24-hour contests for these titles on select days through August 24th, so you will have to check the site each day to see the featured prize book and enter to win. We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.
Click here to read all the contest details.
See the prize books that were awarded in May, June and July,
and that will be awarded in August.
Enter Our Ongoing Bookreporter.com Contests:
"Word of Mouth" and "Sounding Off on Audio"
Word of Mouth Contest:
Tell Us What You're Reading --- and You Can Win Two Books!
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from July 21st to August 4th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware and MRS. FLETCHER by Tom Perrotta.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For rules and guidelines, click here.
Click here to enter the contest.
Please note: A new Word of Mouth contest will be up
on Friday, August 4th at noon ET.
Sounding Off on Audio Contest:
Tell Us What You're Listening to --- and You Can Win Two Audiobooks!
Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from July 5th to August 1st at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Daniel Silva's HOUSE OF SPIES, performed by George Guidall, and Adriana Trigiani's KISS CARLO, performed by Edoardo Ballerini.
To make sure other readers will be able to find the audiobook, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For complete rules and guidelines, click here.
Click here to enter the contest.
Please note: A new Sounding Off on Audio contest will be up
on Tuesday, August 1st at noon ET.
The following guides are now available on ReadingGroupGuides.com:
THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn (Historical Fiction)
A female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER'S END by Patti Callahan Henry (Fiction)
The women who spent their childhood summers in a small southern town discover it harbors secrets as lush as the marshes that surround it.
THE CHILD by Fiona Barton (Psychological Thriller)
As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?
COCOA BEACH by Beatriz Williams (Historical Fiction)
The New York Times bestselling author of A CERTAIN AGE transports readers to sunny Florida in this lush and enthralling historical novel --- an enchanting blend of love, suspense, betrayal and redemption set among the rumrunners and scoundrels of Prohibition-era Cocoa Beach.
EVERY LAST LIE by Mary Kubica (Psychological Thriller)
Mary Kubica, the New York Times bestselling author of THE GOOD GIRL, is back with another exhilarating thriller as a widow's pursuit of the truth leads her to the darkest corners of the psyche.
KISS CARLO by Adriana Trigiani (Historical Fiction)
From Adriana Trigiani, the beloved New York Times bestselling author of THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE, comes an exhilarating epic novel of love, loyalty and creativity --- the story of an Italian-American family on the cusp of change.
THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware (Psychological Thriller)
Three women receive a text from the fourth member of their former boarding school clique that reads, simply, “I need you” --- and they fear their lives will never be the same.
NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE US by Stephanie Powell Watts (Fiction)
NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE US is a revelatory debut from an insightful voice; with echoes of THE GREAT GATSBY, it is an arresting and powerful novel about an extended African American family and their colliding visions of the American Dream.
THE UNQUIET DAUGHTER by Danielle Flood (Memoir)
A journalist seeks the truth behind her parents’ tangled affair that inspired Graham Greene’s THE QUIET AMERICAN after a youth of privilege, estrangement and cruelty.
Please note that these titles, for which we already had the guides when they released in hardcover, are now available in paperback:
THE BONES OF PARADISE by Jonis Agee (Historical Fiction)
The award-winning author of THE RIVER WIFE returns with a multigenerational family saga set in the unforgiving Nebraska Sand Hills in the years following the massacre at Wounded Knee.
THE BOOK THAT MATTERS MOST by Ann Hood (Fiction)
Ava’s 25-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group’s goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them.
This Month's Poll: Suggesting Titles for Your Book Group
When you read a book that you think would be perfect for your book group’s discussion, which of the following do you do? Please check all that apply.
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I immediately email my book group to let them know about the book.
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I make a note and mention it at my next book group meeting.
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I save it on a list for when my book group makes its selections.
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Our book group has an online page, and I share it there.
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I usually forget to share it with other book group members.
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Other (Please specify)
Click here to vote in the poll by Tuesday, September 12th at noon ET.
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