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Ronald K. Fried

Ronald K. Fried is the author of three novels --- MY FATHER'S FIGHTER, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS 2002 and FRANK COSTELLO --- and the nonfiction title CORNER MEN: Great Boxing Trainers. He is a regular contributor to The Daily Beast, and his work has appeared in The New York Times and other publications.

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May 20, 2023

Raise your hand (or twirl your mouse) if you are slightly intimidated by the size of a thick book. Can you see my hand waving? So when I saw that Oprah had picked a 736-page book for her latest Book Club selection, I gulped. But I enjoyed Abraham Verghese’s THE TENNIS PARTNER (I still remember so much about that one) and decided I did not want to miss out on reading THE COVENANT OF WATER like I had with CUTTING FOR STONE (658 pages). So I am going to read along with Oprah in what feels like it will be 100-page segments. You can read more about that here. I also listened to this interview with Abraham on the “Poured Over” podcast. Who else is reading along?

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RGG Speed Dating May 2023 Event

Links to https://tbrnetwork.com/12th-annual-book-group-speed-dating/.

Kate Morton, author of Homecoming

Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek in the grounds of the grand and mysterious house, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia. Many years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. After her beloved grandmother, Nora, suffers a fall, Jess discovers a book at Nora’s house that chronicles the police investigation into a long-buried crime: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the pages that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous event.

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Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars

Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE --- or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment --- a highly popular, highly controversial, profit-raising program in America’s increasingly dominant private prison industry. It’s the return of the gladiators, and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom. In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games.

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Crystal Smith Paul, author of Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?

When Kitty Karr Tate, a white icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters --- three young, wealthy Black women --- it prompts questions. Lots of questions. A celebrity in her own right, Elise St. John would rather focus on sorting out Kitty’s affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty’s journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could --- and between a cheating fiancé and the fallout from a controversial social media post, there are plenty. The truth behind Kitty's ascent to stardom from her beginnings in the segregated South threatens to expose a web of unexpected family ties, debts owed and debatable crimes that could unravel the all-American fabric of the St. John sisters and those closest to them.

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Mary Beth Keane, author of The Half Moon

Malcolm Gephardt, the longtime bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar. When his boss finally retires, Malcolm stretches to buy the place. He sees unquantifiable magic and potential in the Half Moon and hopes to transform it into a bigger success but struggles to stay afloat. His smart and confident wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career. After years of trying for a baby, she is facing the idea that motherhood may not be in the cards for her. Like Malcolm, she feels her youth beginning to slip away and wonders how to reshape her future. THE HALF MOON takes place over the course of one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place.

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Patti Callahan Henry, author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

In the war-torn London of 1939, 14-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Hazel distracts her young sister with a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own. When Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river, Hazel blames herself, and she carries that guilt into adulthood. Twenty years later, Hazel lives in an elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat with her charming boyfriend. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive?

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Abraham Verghese, author of The Covenant of Water

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, THE COVENANT OF WATER is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: In every generation, at least one person dies by drowning --- and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a 12-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her 40-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl --- and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi --- will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph, as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.

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Editorial Content for The Cuban Heiress

Book

The Cuban Heiress

Teaser

In 1934, a luxury cruise becomes a fight for survival as two women’s pasts collide on a round-trip voyage from New York to Havana in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton's page-turning new novel inspired by the true story of the SS Morro Castle.

Promo

In 1934, a luxury cruise becomes a fight for survival as two women’s pasts collide on a round-trip voyage from New York to Havana in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton's page-turning new novel inspired by the true story of the SS Morro Castle.

About the Book

In 1934, a luxury cruise becomes a fight for survival as two women’s pasts collide on a round-trip voyage from New York to Havana in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton's page-turning new novel inspired by the true story of the SS Morro Castle.

New York heiress Catherine Dohan seemingly has it all. There’s only one problem. It’s a lie. As soon as the Morro Castle leaves port, Catherine’s past returns with a vengeance and threatens her life. Joining forces with a charismatic jewel thief, Catherine must discover who wants her dead --- and why.

Elena Palacio is a dead woman. Or so everyone thinks. After a devastating betrayal left her penniless and on the run, Elena’s journey on the Morro Castle is her last hope. Steeped in secrecy and a burning desire for revenge, her return to Havana is a chance to right the wrong that has been done to her --- and her prey is on the ship.

As danger swirls aboard the Morro Castle and their fates intertwine, Elena and Catherine must risk everything to see justice served once and for all.