"It’s an impressive little book, concise, direct, and with a few ideas that add to the previously accepted truths, such as that Chamberlain might not have been the appeaser he was thought to be, that Hitler might have wanted only a local war in Poland and was stunned that a world war was set in motion, and that Britain fought as much to maintain a world order that was in decline as much as for any other reason, such as protecting the independence of the Poles. I hadn’t realized that Danzig was the focus of Hitler’s claims to the Polish corridor, or that there was so much of a Nazi influence there which he used to try to legitimize his annexation. Very well-done research with interesting premises. A welcome addition to other literature on the subject."

--Steve Corrigan, Davis-Kidd Booksellers
Memphis, TN

"I hadn’t realized how much I had missed Cathy McClure since reading her 2002 memoir Too Close to the Falls, but by page 3 of her sequel I felt like I was back in western New York, in the 1960’s, with an old friend. Picking up her story as her family drives away from her beloved Lewiston (literally close to THE Falls – Niagara) and to their new home in suburban Buffalo when she is 12, Cathy again shares, with her ascerbic wit and spot-on details of the era, her family’s history. Maturing in the iconic 60’s gave even the most pedestrian childhood a historic edge, but Cathy has a knack for living a life writ large, no matter where she is. During her college years in Ohio U’s Appalachia region, she managed to become deeply involved in the Civil Rights movement. But her parents are at the heart of her life, and her memoir, and she generously shares their family love and sorrows. Dare we hope for Part Three?"

--Cheryl McKeon, Rakestraw Books
Danville, CA

"Having been totally smitten with Too Close to the Falls, I have eagerly awaited the follow-up- this does not disappoint! From the unsettling move to Buffalo as a spirited twelve-year old, trying to fit in, to her wild and crazy political activist college years in the sixties, Gildiner takes us on a fantastic ride. Her writing is engaging and her stories are captivating; life with her parents is at once strange, funny, painful and yet poignant. When tragedy strikes at home she accepts and rises to the challenge. I loved this memoir and can't stop thinking about it!"

--Karen Ford, McLean & Eakin Booksellers
Petoskey, MI

"Packed with almost constant action and rich with historical detail, A Battle Won is a thoroughly gripping page-turner. After taking command of HMS Themis, Charles Hayden accompanies a convoy to Corsica, dealing with the enemy French, the perils of shipboard life and the intrigues of naval politics. Like its predecessor, Under Enemy Colors, A Battle Won is fast-paced and thoroughly absorbing!"

--Carol Schneck, Schuler Books and Music
Okemos, MI

"In these eight stories Evans proves herself a deft little heartbreaker. She captures the raw vernacular of adolescence, the vulnerability it hides and the search for grace in its brutal and clumsy fluctuations. Her characters live flush up against the confinements of their lives and are often silenced in the greater noise of the rest of the world. Still, they demand being explored and known on their own terms. Evans’ writing style leaves nothing wasted. Haunted vets, wicked grandmothers, brutal best friends and sexual beginnings merge to create an exciting collection of voices."

--Shannon, Elliott Bay Bookstore
Seattle, WA

"While I would hesitate to call Bent Road by Lori Roy psychological suspense or even a dedicated mystery, I can say that it is an engrossing read. This new novel brilliantly captures the small town aura of 1960’s Kansas. Flitting between the 3rd person narratives of four characters-Celia, her two youngest children Daniel and Eve-ee, and her sister-in-law Ruth-the novel manages to be both literary in its encapsulation of small town life and prejudice and intriguing in it’s presentation of its two mystery subplots-the unexplained death of Eve (Celia’s sister-in-law) decades before, and the sudden disappearance of a young girl. I say subplots because while both are essentially the blood in the veins of this story, their strength in terms of plot falls in comparison to the infinitely more interesting character study that this novel becomes. It is easy to become sucked into the world of these characters, to feel sorrow with them, fear for them, and to be angered by their actions. The ability of Roy to elicit this response from a reader as a first time novelist says a lot about her writing prowess. I would highly recommend this new novel to lovers of solid character-driven fiction."

--Heather Christman, Warwick's
La Jolla, CA

"Celia and Arthur Scott and their three children move from Detroit back to Arthur’s home town in Kansas. There is a slight tinge of strangeness to every person and place here, and an odd sense of menace and of things unspoken. A little girl disappears, something is wrong with Uncle Ray, and everyone changes the subject when Aunt Eve is mentioned. The suspense builds slowly, but gains in momentum, and the denouement is terrific!"

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"Bent Road is a stunning debut novel. The characters are have so much fullness and depth. The setting of small town Kansas is vivid. The secrets of the Scott family, and others in town, makes for palpable tension which builds with every page. The last few chapters, when the reader knows everything is going to boil over, are brilliant. From the point where Olivia, the cow, dies, I was glued to the book and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Lori Roy is an amazing new voice and I'll say it again: 'wow'!! Thank you, thank you! for sending me the ms. to read!"

--Susan Wasson, Bookworks
Albuquerque, NM

"I've finished Bent Road. Overall, I liked it very much. Several times as I read, I thought I knew where the story would go, but I was never right, which makes for an extremely entertaining story. The plot was very plausible…. I was impressed by the way Ms. Roy writes about the Midwest in the late 60's. Having lived in Oklahoma and Texas in the 50's, her depiction of families with secrets, and the fact that they just did NOT talk about them… struck me as very accurate.

I found the writing to be taut and concise. No wasted prose at all, which is very hard to do. Because of the sparse prose, it did take me awhile to warm up to the characters, and care what happened to them … but I did get to care. … The 'bent' plot never became absurd and always led me to want to read on. I also loved the way she keeps the reader anticipating horrible things, then letting you down, but never enough to not anticipate that the next thing will be horrible. I just knew Ray was going to abduct Eve-ie! I was certain Celia was going to get raped and/or shot by Ray! That it didn't happen never lessened the suspense on the next page!

Thank you for letting me read the book."

--Anne Gatts, M is For Mystery
San Mateo, CA

"Bent Road is a kind of modern prairie Gothic, with a heavy dose of Shakespeare thrown in. Very, very tense. A great debut that keeps you turning pages, even as shadows start taking the story into the darkness."

--Geoffrey Jennings, Rainy Day Books
Fairway, KS

"I read The Blind Contessa's New Machine in a few hours and absolutely loved this novella set in Italy during the 1800's. The young contessa Carolina is going blind and neither her family nor her much sought after fiance believe her. Only her best friend and eccentric inventor Turri helps her by inventing a typewriter so she can write letters, inducing a lighting bolt effect love affair between the two of them. Carolina's dark world turns to her vivid and real dreams, and to the passionate love of Turri. I couldn't recommend this novel highly enough!"

--Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books
Mystic, CT

"The Blind Contessa’s New Machine may turn out to be my favorite book of 2010. And it’s only January. It’s that good. Wallace’s language transports you—not just to a small, Italian town in the 1800s—but to the inner world of the blind contessa who lives there. It’s a story of profound loves, and extraordinary imaginations, and what they do to us. This is one of those rare books that combine beautiful literary achievement with a supremely entertaining tale."

--Mary McDonald, The Learned Owl Book Shop
Hudson, OH

"This wonderful love story is set in 1800s Italy with Jane Austen-like characters. A young contessa who loses her sight, her handsome husband, the eccentric inventor who shows his love for her by creating the world's first typewriter... all based on historical fact. Suspenseful, beautifully descriptive, and a page-turner as well. I read it in two nights."

--Barb Mulford, R.J. Julia Booksellers
Madison, CT

"An appearance by V.I. Warshawski is always cause for celebration. The Chicago detective’s investigation into a seeming open and shut murder case leads her into the devastation of the Iraq war, private contractors and corporate corruption. As usual, Sara Paretsky writes with a level of insight, intelligence and social passion that places her fiction in its own special category."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"Reading Tina Sloan's Changing Shoes is like sitting down with a best friend and reminiscing about your lives. Since we can all identify with footgear, the longtime TV soap star (Guiding Light et al.) has recounted her life by recalling her shoes and using stories to illustrate where she was in her life with specific ones. Just like the author, we can remember those stilettos that made us feel sexy, the running shoes that gave us energy, the slippers that comforted us. When Sloan was wearing bunny slippers every day, she realized she had a problem and changed her footwear—a move that helped bring her back into her once active and satisfying life. As she made the changes necessary to return to the vibrant woman she was—and is once again—she offers excellent advice for us all. Told in a relaxed, easy style, this charming, refreshing book makes us want to change our shoes and charge back into life with verve, vigor, and vitality."

--Sheila Gallagher, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Pittsburgh, PA

"Thanks again for sending the Frederick Forsyth galley. Just finished it and enjoyed it very much! I remember reading his The Day of the Jackal when I was in high school. It was that book that started me on the path to reading thrillers ever since. I've read every one of his books since then and this new one, The Cobra, is certainly one of his best. It has all of his trademark plot twists and turns, and leaves you at the end wanting more. I especially liked the main character. This will certainly be a must read for anyone who likes thrillers or just wants a great beach read this summer."

--Patrick Ewing, Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Portland, OR

“The master is still at the top of his game, this book [COBRA] has everything we have come to expect from Frederick Forsyth. The story is centered around the cocaine trade from Colombia and how it could be taken down. There are many twists and turns as the action moves at a rapid pace. The book should be required reading for the drug enforcement agencies in the USA and Europe.”

--Douglas Westgate, Octavia Books
New Orleans, LA

"[The] Roseanne Cash memoir, Composed… had somewhat the same tone as Patti Smith’s recent book, Just Kids, in that both are filled with love, wisdom, and acceptance. Cash’s book, of course, is more concerned with family and a larger time frame. I liked its non-linear style, and it was beautifully written."

--Steve Corrigan, Davis-Kidd Booksellers
Memphis, TN

"Felix Francis is one of the very few of what I call 'follow on authors' who has completely captured the style and mode of writing of the original author, in this case , Dick Francis, who will be sorely missed. However Felix Francis is a worthy successor."

--Douglas Westgate, Octavia Books
New Orleans, LA

"The story of the 1920 bombing of Wall Street starts this novel and the author takes off from there with an NYPD Captain and a WWI veteran trying to solve the case. Mix in a French nurse who worked with Madame Curie and her mute brother that Sigmund Freud analyzes and you've got a great book that you can not put down."

--Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop
Southern Pines, NC

"Detective Jimmy Littlemore, and Dr. Stratham Younger, the Boston Brahmin, together once again. The plot, which is based on real events, will engross fans of history, but for me the primary appeal lies in the many intriguing characters, chief among them Littlemore, who has the perspicacity of Sherlock Holmes; also, a dispossessed Count in Vienna who has turned his family carriage into a taxi service, and Sigmund Freud showing a very human side. Thumbs up!"

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"Just finished reading the ARC of The Doctor & the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell (Viking). I know it will be on our shelves this coming week, but wanted to let you know what an amazing story it was for me to read...I couldn't put it down, so wanting to read ahead to the ending, but told myself this was not the book to do that. You would have been proud of me! I am so looking forward to selling it to our customers...and will not divulge the end to them either. This is an intriguing tale of love during the early 20th century when a young opera singer is torn between her career and motherhood. Erika's story takes the reader from 1903 Boston where she becomes involved in a relationship with Ravell, a doctor who treats Erika as a patient, but also becomes romantically involved in her life, taking her from Boston to South America, and finding her abandoning her family to search for her operatic career in Italy. Without revealing the ending to a beautiful debut novel, this is a story with excellent descriptive writing and strong characters that book club readers must consider for their future lists."

--Carol Hicks, Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks
Truckee, CA

"From the enticing cover to the last page, Adrienne McDonnell's The Doctor and the Diva is a luscious and sensual debut novel. Erika van Kessler is an aspiring opera diva who is caught between her passions of opera, motherhood and love. Set in foggy Boston, the lush tropical island of Trinidad and opera rich Italy, how could the reader not get immersed in this lushly written libretto. One can actually hear the diva sing through the fluttering curtains onto the streets of Venice or into the hummingbird and orchid rich gardens of Trinidad."

--Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books
Mystic, CT

"Opera and medicine, two unlikely subjects that come together beautifully in this stunning and haunting novel. As unlikely as the subject seemed at first, I could not put the book down and had to ration my reading time so as to draw it out. Adrienne McDonnell's first work, based on a true story about an ancestor, is lush with promise, ripe with feeling and totally absorbing. And that was only the first chapter. Follow Erika, a woman gifted with a huge talent as she struggles to find her place in a society that demands she give up her operatic dreams to raise and nurture a family. One she can't have.

Once Dr. Ravell takes it upon himself to help her, she finds herself with child and those dreams seem banished forever. But there's more to come. Cold Boston turns into steamy South America and then to the beauties of Florence. Will she find her way without losing herself?"

--Beth Bower, Watermark Books & Cafe
Wichita, KS

"Faithful Place by Tana French is just good storytelling. Frank, an undercover cop, is dragged back into his complicated and violent personal past by a shocking discovery, as a result finding himself at the center of a riveting tale of family and how it can turn destructively in on itself. The importance of Dublin as a setting - both in the present and recent past - can't be overlooked as French almost makes the city a living breathing character lurking in the back ground."

--Charlotte Tuinman, "M" is for Mystery
San Mateo, CA

"The haunting novel Faithful Place immediately grabs the reader with its dark atmosphere and suspenseful mystery. Tana French’s fabulous and complex characters are often gritty and raw and help to bring the setting of modern day Dublin to life. Deftly weaving together the decades old mystery of a vanished girl with the modern day repercussions, Faithful Place is Ms. French’s best book yet."

--Luisa Smith, Book Passage
Corte Madera, CA

"It's just so good. Brilliant, sharp writing, dialogue, characters, settings-- and an actual whodunnit mystery with unexpected twists. This is not a sequel, but the main character here is a not-well-liked character from the earlier books; he’s a jaded undercover cop investigating his own estranged and criminal-class-shakespeareian family. I loved the way this book recolors the earlier ones. The Irish slang is pretty thick but the dialogue moves along fast."

--Jack Rems, Dark Carnival Bookstore
Berkeley, CA

"The 1980's life in Dublin did not hold an ideal future for the young Irish. Frank Mackey and Rosie Daly had a dream: leaving Faithful Place and seeking a better life in London. Rosie's family disapproved of her relationship with Frank, so the couple's well- planned "escape" remained their secret. When Rosie didn't meet Frank as agreed, he moved on to build a life for himself away from Faithful Place. Twenty-two years later Rosie "interrupts" Frank's life when evidence turns up that might lead him to the cause of her disappearance. Frank, now an undercover detective, returns to his Faithful Place neighborhood hoping to follow up on clues that may put to rest his years of wondering what happened to the plans he and Rosie had for their future together. But when Frankie's younger brother is found in what could be a suspicious death, a web of suspense keeps him involved in trying to uncover events surrounding his family during the past two decades. French's writing talent weaves together a masterful mystery and her portrayal of the poor growing up in Dublin's inner city."

--Carol Hicks, Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks
Truckee, CA

"You don't get three five star, knocked-out-of-the-park-with-the-bases-loaded home runs from one author, and you certainly don't get them all in one go. It just doesn't happen. Yet Tana French has, in an almost completely unprecedented move, pulled it off. The last author I was this excited about their continuing work was Jonathan Lethem after Motherless Brooklyn, and not exactly every title in his catalog before that milestone was a smash-hit winner. French is an exquisite rarity, a great mystery writer whose prose is the equal of literary lions, capable equally by shocking with a plot twist or transporting with a passage of language. Her evocations of both character and place defy description: guilt and happiness leap off the page here, as do forlorn regret and, most often, red-dimmed rage. Ms. French's pacing and plotting are pinpoint excellence, as well: any halfway decent mystery author can lead a reader to a red herring of their own devising, but it takes a great one to trust that their audience can come up with wilder theories on their own. It's the mark of phenomenal story-telling: trusting her work enough to let its meaning rest in the mind of the reader. After I've finished, when I've closed the last page, it's become my book, my story, and what it truly means is known only to me, because of when and how and where and why I read it."

--Drew Williams, Little Professor Book Center
Homewood, AL

"I finished reading it today and don’t know how I missed her books before.

She transcends the crime novel genre like Richard Price and Dennis Lehane. The characters were so well-drawn, I feel as though I know them.

And she successfully uses a first-person, male narration. A perfectly believable voice."

--Steve Corrigan, Davis-Kidd Booksellers
Memphis, TN

"Whoa. What a book. This one's going to be a blockbuster. Follett has such an easy to read style of writing and his cast of characters are so easy to get wrapped up in. What's the pub date of the 2nd book? I can't wait to read the continuation of this story. Do I have to wait a year?!!!!"

--Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop
Southern Pines, NC

"Ken Follet has undertaken a massive task in writing the Century Trilogy. In Book One we follow five families – American, English, Welsh, Russian and German, the book starts in 1911 and ends in 1924. Their lives are seamlessly entwined as we are taken through the Russian Revolution, World War 1, women’s suffrage etc. The history is accurate and the writing is excellent, this is story telling at its best. Be warned the book is addictive, you will not want to put it down; I suggest you set aside some time to enjoy the story."

--Douglas Westgate, Octavia Books
New Orleans, LA

"In another age Ken Follett would have been a troubadour, telling his tales from town to town. Today, he is a master storyteller, as exemplified by the first volume of his century trilogy depicting the era that culminated in, and was destroyed by, World War II. As always, he maintains a tremendous pace with well drawn characters and historical detail that has no equal."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"Mustian debut novel fills a void left by other stories written about World War I. This story finds 92-year-old Emmett Conn dreaming a continuing story of experiences he had seventy years earlier when he lived a different life of suffering, cruelty, and bravery during a trek moving Armenian deportees from Turkey to Syria. As a gendarme, he becomes involved with protecting Araxie, a young girl who is among the deportees. But the trek ends, Conn is injured, and the war separates them. Now, seven decades later, affected with a memory loss from his war injuries and living a better life in America, a necessitated brain surgery and follow-up medication begins to bring back his memories of the events of those earlier years. Conn becomes obsessed with finding Araxie and to seek forgiveness for the acts his part in the war put upon her. A powerful novel about how love can transcend divisions of nationalities, race and politics created by war."

--Carol Hicks, Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks
Truckee, CA

"The Gendarme is about the deportation of Armenians from Turkey in 1915 told from the point of view of a Turkish gendarme, which is a soldier who escorted Armenians to Syria. Ahmet Khan falls in love with one of the Armenians, Araxie, who he struggles to protect and be with, spanning almost a century. A transcendent, important novel, this is a must read, if only to remind ourselves of how inhumane we can be without tolerance and love."

--Christina Meek, Davis-Kidd Booksellers
Memphis, TN

"Wounded in WWI, Emmet Conn suffered amnesia as a result of a head wound. Now, at 92, a brain tumor seems to be inducing vivid waking nightmares, in which he is a Turkish gendarme leading a group of Armenian refugees to tthe border. The brutality and despair, filth and degradation these people must endure on the forced march, mean little to him until he falls in love with Araxie, one of the Armenian refugees, and he begins to perceive his actions and his attitude through her eyes. Fascinating!"

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"This is an intensely powerful book! Emmett Conn is a 92 years old Americanized Turk who has never been able to remember his life prior to finding himself in a British hospital after a brutal battle during WWI. He now has a brain tumor which has prompted 'memories' of this unremembered life when he was a Turkish gendarme ordered to deport a group of Armenians to Syria. Are these real or hallucinations? This book asks us to acknowledge this extremely brutal part of history, for, as the author states, Forgetting, as Ahmet Khan learns, has its costs."

--Mary Cowen, Anderson's Bookshops
Naperville, IL

"This is a powerful story of the youth and death of Emmett Conn, aka Ahmet Khan, beginning in Turkey and ending in New York. His responsibilities as a military escort for Armenians who were being flushed from their homeland have left him bearing indelible physical and mental scars, and as the reader meets him in his last days he must revisit and come to terms with the past. His love for Araxie, which altered the course of his life, has never waned. Is it possible he might still find her . . . when they both would be in their nineties? A great choice for book groups."

--Sue Buschmann, Anderson's Bookshops
Naperville, IL

"I loved this book and learned so much from it. Mainly, I was deeply moved by Emmett Conn's story, told through his dreams that took place 70 yrs. earlier. Emmett is now 92 yrs. old and ready to die, but his dreams return him to a time during WWI when his Turkish government commits genocide against millions of Armenians. His true love, Araxie, was a deportee then, and the plight of these people is vividly described. The extermination of Jews was not the only unbelievebly cruel injustice that occurred. Thank you, Mark Mustian, for a job well done. Emmett's unflinching will to reconnect with his true love is a beautiful story of love and committment, and strength."

--Carol Katsoulis, Anderson's Bookshops
Naperville, IL

"The Gendarme is a beautiful, engrossing story of love, courage and perseverance. Its raw emotion grabs you like a strong current, carries you along, but then stays with you long after the tide goes out to sea."

--Anderson McKean, Page & Palette
Fairhope, AL

"Emmett Conn is 92 years old but his dreams are forcing him to revisit his youth and memories long suppressed. As his self-awareness grows, Mark Mustian artfully takes the reader through a riveting story of love, horror, perception and redemption set during the Armenian genocide of 1915. This is a novel that stimulates the reader and forces the kind of examination that is the essence of great fiction."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"The Gendarme is an amazing book, though terribly disturbing, and reminiscent in some ways of The Kite Runner. The story of an elderly man, Emmett, struggling with a brain tumor, and his slowly returning memory. Sustaining an amnesia- inducing head injury during the war, Emmett was nursed in a British hospital, where he fell in love with an American nurse. Settling in the states, he made a life for himself and his family, and now with the onset of the brain tumor, he finds his memories returning. The horrors of what he experienced, and what he has done, overcome him. Mustian reveals a part of world history not often written about (the Armenian purge from Turkey),and he shows how dreadfully universal and unchanging the horrors of war remain. His descriptions are amazing- matter-of-fact, and so complete, with sights, smells, sounds.

The book addresses so many timeless, vital, issues (aging, war, love, torture, immigration, responsibility, tolerance), and presents characters impossible to forget. I loved the way the story unfolded, with one life ending as the other life (memory) returns. A beautiful, heart-breaking book.I know readers will talk about this one."

--Leslie Reiner, Inkwood Books
Tampa, FL

"Our staff has come to expect at least one blockbuster every season from Amy Einhorn Books. Following The Help and The Postmistres is a challenge incredibly well met by Mark Mustain's The Gendarme. This provocative and evocative view of unspeakable crimes, the all-conquering human spirit and one man's life-long search will be a sure-fire hit with readers looking for a mesmerizing story. I hesitate to use the oldest cliché in bookspeak, but I honestly could not put this one down."

--Jake Reiss, The Alabama Booksmith
Birmingham, AL

"I finished The Gendarme and just loved it. After being drawn in so quickly, I stayed. What an amazing story of aging and memory, again with great history that needs to be told. So, if The Postmistress ponders what if the postmistress didn't deliver a letter and the reporter didn't tell a story, The Gendarme seems to address the what if our memories reveal things we'd wished had stayed forgotten."

--Rona Brinlee, The Bookmark
Atlantic Beach, FL

"Just finished Getting To Happy and couldn't wait to email you and tell you how much I enjoyed it. It was like a family reunion getting back to these four amazing ladies, seeing what they've been up to and watching them grow some more. Sadly, these lovely ladies still bash white women from time to time, an element of the book I could really do without as a white reader, but at the same time I think there's a cultural point being made there and it's a valid one."

--Chris Rickert, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Pittsburgh, PA

"Prohibition Chicago during the year 1924 was a dangerous place to be an adulterer and a great place to be a killer. A lady killer. Just ask Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan, two murderesses who became media sensations thanks to Maurine Watkins, a lowly girl-reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Filled with detailed accounts of Jazz Age Chicago and 'Murderess Row' in Cook County Jail, Perry highlights a time when the newspapers clamored over these killers, giving birth to the celebrity criminal and the power behind the manipulations of the mighty press."

--Kristin Bates, McLean & Eakin Booksellers
Petoskey, MI

"You will love this story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who marries an American soldier at the end of World War II and travels to America to become the perfect housewife. Shoko's plan to reunite with her brother in Japan is put on hold because of health problems, and she sends her daughter and granddaughter instead for the visit that reveals family secrets and leads to forgiveness."

--Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop
Southern Pines, NC

"Just recently finished How To Read the Air and thought I'd send a quick blurb. Being a huge fan of his first novel, I was anxious to read this new one. I can honestly say that Mengestu has impressed me all over again! Though I found that my greatest appreciation for How To Read the Air wasn't fully realized until I turned the final page, the beauty of the language along the way was astounding. Once again he's written a psychological portrait of the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures involved, and the crossing of borders both literal and figurative. Jonas, a thirty-something son of Ethiopian immigrants, tells the story in parallel narratives of his own life and soon to be dissolved marriage, and that of his parents three decades earlier. A third story is beautifully woven in as well, the highly embellished tale Jonas tells to his students over the course of weeks, of his fathers' journey as a stowaway on a ship from Sudan. The genius of the novel as a whole however, lies in the analogous narratives of the parents dissolving marriage being played out once again in that of the son. His prose just flows so easily, his use of language so gorgeous, making it an absolute pleasure to read."

--Linda Grana, Lafayette Books
Lafayette, CA

"Dinaw Mengestu has beautifully chronicled the immigrant experience before, but now he goes further, examining history, both individual and shared, both real and imagined, as he delves into the forces that shape each person. As Jonas Woldemariam attempts to retrace his parent’s travels, he must also asses his own path if he is to ever reconcile his own life and possibly reach some form of redemption with himself and those he has loved."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"Not since The History of Love, have I felt so suspended in a book, among the fiction within the fiction. How to Read the Air is utterly brilliant in scope. Because the language is so beautiful, I looked forward to the intricacies of each sentence, and I love the story because it is so revealing of just how one's inner life is formed by the actions of others. I am in awe that Mengestu remains so focused on what could have been a broad and meandering plot. Awesome! I can’t wait to sell it."

--Nicole Magistro, The Bookworm of Edwards
Edwards, CO

"How to Read the Air is a powerful story of one family’s identity search. A search for the meaning of their past and what is to come of their future. Just like in the The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Dinaw captures the realness of love and its loneliness in a way that's incredibly easy to relate to. It's a great second novel!"

--Catherine Robinson, Davis-Kidd Booksellers
Nashville, TN

“Jonas Woldemariam, son of Ethiopian refugees, tells the story of his parents’ marriage through the almost mythical journey they took from Peoria to Nashville. The trip, their marriage and Jonas's life and marriage unfold and unravel in this brilliant story about storytelling. Once again, Dinaw Mengestu, author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears has crafted a gem of a novel that, when finished, leaves the reader in awe and slightly altered.”

--Cathy Langer, Tattered Cover
Denver, CO

"Part road novel, part Bildsdungroman, How to Read the Air will transcend all your expectations. As Jonas, a first-generation American, watches his career aspirations and marriage disintegrate, he imagines the life of his young immigrant parents recently arrived to the Midwest from Ethiopia, even though he knows only pieces of their past. From a fragmentary scattershot of knowledge built from memories of conversations, Jonas retraces his parent’s drive to their Nashville honeymoon in a search for self- identity among the false histories of his family’s life and the fairy tale promises of the American dream. This is a novel about the tenuous threads that connect us in our relationships and the role truth and fiction play in our self-understanding. Following an acclaimed and heartbreaking first novel isn’t easy but here Mengestu majestically soars."

--Lacey Dunham, Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse
Washington, DC

"Dinaw Mengestu follows his acclaimed debut, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, with How to Read the Air, a beautifully rendered, powerful, unsettling story of family and identity in two generations of an Ethiopian American family. The reader can struggle with the novel’s complexity and structure, or relax, as I chose to, secure in the hands of this deeply talented young author. I’m rather in awe. Puzzling out the title (the clue lies in Yosef’s escape by ship in a small box) and why the narrator, Jonas, feels compelled to tell layers upon layers of lies to his high school class and to his wife will make this a great choice for book groups."

--Chris Higashi, Washington Center for the Book at The Seattle Public Library
Seattle, WA

"Easy it could have been, following the acclaim and success of his debut, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, to play it safe and go for the familiar, but Dinaw Mengestu in How to Read the Air, reaches for more - and grasps it, hauntingly, powerfully, movingly. He has taken a layered, textured story - that of an Ethiopian immigrant couple trying to make their way into this country, and to each other, and their son, who, years later, seeks to know this story, its urgencies, its necessities, its possible explanation of the world he feels he must learn to know in order to live. Dinaw Mengestu has given us another great American novel, another telling tale of this world."

--Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company
Seattle, WA

"How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu is a remarkable multi-layered novel about the fictions we create and the lies we tell to create our identities for the sake of love and family. Mengestu's prose is beautiful. He tells both a grand-sweeping tale of an immigrant experience, an African experience. He also tells a deeply intimate story, one that illustrates a second-generation immigrant's American experience as they negotiate their footing seeking a sense of place."

--Cindy Dach, Changing Hands Bookstore
Tempe, AZ

"A series of murders disrupt the tranquility of the Sussex countryside in 1780 and it is left to a woman running her husband’s estate and a reclusive anatomist to see that justice is done. With a distinctive cast of characters, a missing heir to an earldom and the backdrop of the American revolution and English societal change, this novel envelopes the reader and Harriet Westerman and Gabriel Crowther are the Emma Peel and John Steed of the Georgian Era."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"Finished Lucifer's Tears tonight. Fantastic. I think the one thing harder than writing a great first mystery novel is writing a second great mystery novel. Thompson has done it. Rather than calling either book a "Scandanavian Mystery" I think Lucifer's Tears can stand on it's own; Thompson makes the Finnish mindset an integral part of story, rather than just an exotic setting. Henning Mankell does this exceptionally well with his Swedish Wallander novels. Also liked the change of local, moving Vaara out of the Finnish countryside to Hellsinki, then moving the story around.

Lucifer's Tears reminded me of two of my favorite writers, Henning Mankell and Michael Connelly. In recommending Lucifer's Tears it should be noted that Thompson mentions the killer from the previous book in the first chapter, so any potential readers really should pick up Snow Angels first."

--Dan Foster, Classic Bookshop
Palm Beach, FL

"The Mullah's Storm by Thomas Young is a thriller that resonates on so many levels. It's the compelling story of a downed plane in the wilds of Afghanistan where the survivors have to struggle to survive despite the horrific weather and the fact that they are pursued by Taliban fighters intent on rescuing the Mullah they have in tow. Young delivers a story of resilience and loyalty while capturing the sense of place that is the mountains of this country. we can feel the cold and the desperation as they try to survive. His main characters Parson and Gold are so well crafted that we come to really know them. I particularly enjoyed the way he made us see what it would be like for a woman as a soldier in this type of situation. It is so nice to see once again a writer who can write such well developed characters of both sexes. This book will be a hit with lovers of great adventure stories."

--Barbara Kelly, University of Southern Maine Bookstore
Lewiston, ME

"I totally enjoyed it. The characters and settings were very real sounding and I hope he does a sequel so we find out what the outcome of this adventure will be."

--Jeff Jacobus, Classic Bookshop
Palm Beach, FL

"Thomas Young knows something of what he writes about, and his imagination fills in the rest in this vividly written page turner set in the current war in Afghanistan. His plane shot down in the snow-blasted mountains of the Hindu Kush, U.S.A.F. Major Michael Parson leads his prisoner (a Taliban mullah) and an interpreter through a storm, trying to keep them alive until they can be rescued. If the weather won't kill them, it's almost certain that the Taliban or al-Qaeda will track them down and do it more unpleasantly. With just the right amount of explanation, precise detail, and a stream of action that never lets up, it's a breathtaking race against time, nature, and a variety of sadistic insurgents as Parson tries to complete his mission.

This is NOT my kind of book, and after the first 50 pages I wondered if I would be able to finish it. The fact that I was not only able to finish it, but had a hard time putting it down, attests to the strong appeal of Young's writing. It's Flashman without the snide humor, Jack Aubrey in a contemporary wartime setting, a chilling and very compelling tale of modern warfare that adrenaline junkies will enjoy immensely.

--Alice Meloy, Blue Willow Bookshop
Houston, TX

"I read The Mullah's Storm last week and loved it. I thought it not only showed the difficulty of fighting a war in Afghanistan, but that many of the people there are on "our" side, and suffer terribly at the hands of the Taliban. It was definitely a page- turner with a lot of excitement and intrigue."

--Lois, Lowry's Books
Sturgis, MI

"Thomas Young's debut works on so many levels. This is a fast-paced adventure that combines the threads of a struggle for survival against a determined enemy and the elements, with the sort of insider, high-tech military background that comes from the author's service in the Air National Guard. The authenticity woven into the tale along with the timeliness of the plot makes for an exciting work. I'm looking forward to selling this. I think it will readily find a market."

--Bob Thiel, The Book Stall at Chestnut Court
Winnetka, IL

"What makes the difference in Mullah's Storm is the authenticity of action, setting and characters. Young delivers a vivid description of the hostile environment faced mentally and physically by the main characters . Their actions and heroism facing a highly motivated and extremely dangerous enemy are portrayed very much like Hemingway's characters. 'grace under pressure' And the pressure is intense, violent and unrelenting. I will highly recommend Young to all my thriller readers."

--David Chaplin, Media on Main
Sarasota, FL

"I really enjoyed Mullah's Storm. It was a solid debut novel which kept me turning pages rather than going to bed. I am a bit jaded about thirllers, especially military action adventue thrillers, but The Mullah's Storm is a winner."

--Dan Foster, Classic Bookshop
Palm Beach, FL

"Fans of Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, and authentic action are to like Thomas Young’s debut, The Mullah's Storm."

--Geoffrey Jennings, Rainy Day Books
Fairway, KS

"I loved The Mullah's Storm. I thought it not only showed the difficulty of fighting a war in Afghanistan, but that many of the people there are on ‘our’ side, and suffer terribly at the hands of the Taliban. It was definitely a page-turner with a lot of excitement and intrigue.” "

--Lois, Lowry's Books
Sturgis, MI

"The Mullah's Storm is a stunning debut novel, a C-130 plane carrying a high value Taliban asset is taken down by a missile shortly after take off from Bagram AFB in Afghanistan. The initial attempt to rescue the mullah is driven off. The injured commanding officer instructs the navigator, Major Parson, and the female Pashto interpreter, Sergeant Gold, to take the mullah and get him back into US hands. Snow storms have shut down all helicopter flights so they have no choice but to walk out.

Their journey is a roller coaster of despair and hope as they are chased by the Taliban. They meet up with Afghan villagers, some friendly and some not so friendly as well as US Special Forces. The writing is crisp, clean and economical; I had no trouble visualizing the terrain and could almost feel the snow in my face. I felt I was with Major Parson and Sergeant Gold every step of the way.

Without a doubt one of the best written and most exciting books I have read in along time, I foresee a bright future for the author, Thomas W. Young."

--Douglas Westgate, Octavia Books
New Orleans, LA

"Mullah’s Storm is excellent! It is so fast paced that I read it in 3 sittings. I will recommend it to anyone who likes military fiction & the authors, WEB Griffin and Dale Brown."

--Jay Vernau, Jay & Mary’s Book Center

"Airforce navigator Michael Parson is transporting a Taliban mullah prisoner out of Afghanistan when his plane is shot down over the mountains. On foot in a bitter, blinding snowstorm, Parson, the mullah, and the mullah's interpreter, Sergeant Gold, must evade the enemy long enough for a rescue team to airlift them to safety. This is a story that draws you into the pulsing heart of the war in Afghanistan, a story of courage and gripping adventure, and a moving and timely glimpse into a soldier's mind. Outstanding!"

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"This is an excellent book. Once I started reading it I could not put it down.

Wow, This will be an easy hand sell. I will be passing this copy on to my dad and brother-in-law, probably before Easter. Thank you for sending me this arc. This is the kind of book that I love to read and personally find easy to hand sell."

--Tony Laco, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cleveland, OH

"Ron Rash was right when he read eight pages and told Mr. Young he had a novel. The reader is immersed in the story immediately and the novel is just gripping in its intensity. This is on account of characters battling not just the enemy, the terrain and the elements but, also, themselves. I doubt seriously there has been better fiction to have come out of the Afghanistan conflict so far."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"I devoured this debut novel in large gulps, needing to know how Rachel DuPree, African-American pioneer, would sustain her strength, protect her children, pluck food from a parched earth and a dry cow, all the time attempting to understand her proud, stubborn, aloof husband. My image of the West, the Native Americans, the racism in its various iterations that spreads with emigration, is forever impacted by her story."

--Cheryl McKeon, Third Place Books
Lake Forest Park, WA

"I liked the way the author dropped in little teases about what really happens. The characters reminded me a little of The Likeness by Tana French…I found it intriguing and it did hook me in. I'm thinking people will like it. I can see it being an Indie pick."

--Jane Oros, Gallery Bookshop
Mendocino, CA

"Okay, I must admit I love these assignments where you ask me to read a good book. This was a grabber and a page turner. Unlike most books, you know the end in the beginning. You also know there's lots you don't know about how we got to this point. The clues that only hint at the truth but remind you that you'd better pay attention keep you riveted. The characters get more complex as the details unfold, and the surprises continue to the very last page. William Blake's poem of the same name is an apt metaphor for this book.

Keep these great reads coming!"

--Rona Brinlee, The Bookmark
Atlantic Beach, FL

"I thought The Poison Tree was very good…It reminded me of The Secret History, with that complicit bystander narration that gives it a haunting feel. It's one of those books that has cast a bit of a shadow over me; I keep forgetting I've finished it and find myself looking forward to reading more"

--Christie Olson Day, Gallery Bookshop
Mendocino, CA

"This atmospheric and beautifully written debut from Erin Kelly opens with a woman who is heading out to face an unnamed crisis with “the strength of a woman who has everything to lose.” As the story slowly builds with delicious tension, alternating between the woman’s present and the past that brought her to this moment, the reader is taken on a powerful journey. With the knowledge a tragedy has occurred, Kelly relentlessly builds the psychological pressure between the vividly developed characters to a powerful and surprising ending. This book is about love and pain and the lengths a woman will go through to protect her family."

--Lanora Hurley, Next Chapter Bookshop
Mequon, WI

"Cole Vining wakes up after a pandemic flu has decimated the world to find out that he is now an orphan. He is in the process of being adopted by Pastor Wyatt and his wife, who are the exact opposite of his atheist parents. I originally thought Salvation City would be an apocalyptic novel, but it is really a story about change. Cole is forced to think about who he is and who he wants to be in this new world. Despite not being as bloody as I expected, I liked it anyway."

--Jason Kennedy, Boswell Book Company
Milwaukee, WI

"Not only are the messages captivating and the characters intriguing, but the language is beautiful. Sigrid Nunez has captured just the right images for every scene.

It seems that the literary world is moving from the idea of the individual to the idea of family. In times such as these, this is really important, because we are losing everything we used to take for granted. This novel fits this shift, showing the world love from a familial journey....In this, this novel truly captured my attention and my heart."

--Andrea Wilhelm, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"Everyone knows that the right song, even if only overheard faintly in the grocery store, can take you straight back to a particular time and place. For me, the song is 'Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats or almost any song by The Cure. The new book by the author of Love is a Mix Tape will resonate with any child of the '80's. Rob Sheffield has given us the soundtrack of his teens and college years. His memory is far better than mine, and it was great fun to recall some of the one-hit wonders that I haven't thought about in years."

--Sharon Nagel, Boswell Book Company
Milwaukee, WI

"Much like his friend Chuck Klosterman, there is very little Rob Sheffield could write that I wouldn't read, and love. And while coming off of a book as emotional and personal as Love Is a Mix Tape has to make for a heck of a sophomore slump, Sheffield does his best to remind you that he has more to offer than a sad story. The man knows his stuff, and he loves talking about it, and he's good at talking about it.

Better, in a lot of cases, than Klosterman. Can't wait to recommend it to everyone in the world. Highlights: the chapters on New Wave, Paul McCartney"

--Brooke Raby, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Lexington, KY

"Do not be afraid of this book! Chernow has plumbed every possible resource to build a comprehensive portrait of George Washington and his times. More than just a compilation of facts, his lucid insight and narrative skill create a remarkable biography that is truly engrossing. It’s sure to please American history buffs!"

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"It is an impossibility to truly encompass the multiple facets of George Washington’s life in one volume, but Ron Chernow succeeds in coming as close as can be imagined. Chernow puts a human face on the iconic figure yet demonstrates Washington was that extremely rare exception, the legend whose substance matched the myth, and a man who truly was indispensable to the creation of the United States."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"Rose, Cordy and Bean--or, more formally, Rosalind, Cordelia and Bianca--are the very bright and very confused daughters of a Professor of Shakespeare at a fine small college in a lovely, small town in Ohio.

The weird sisters of the novel, in their late 20's to early 30's, all find themselves living back at home as their mother is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The author is gifted in her depiction of the sisters’ dynamic and their roles within the family which inform, and perhaps cripple, the way they move forward in their lives. Shakespeare, ever present in their lives and language, is a delightful thread as this family struggles to deal with its pain, mistakes and healing."

--Cathy Langer, Tattered Cover
Denver, CO

"A fine & lovely novel about the failings and struggles of three sisters whose father quotes Shakespeare and mother battles cancer. The three sisters come alive and you find yourself willing them to let their past go and be happy. You won't soon forget Rose, Bean & Cordy. The author's writing style is so rhythmic, I felt as is she were speaking the words out loud to me."

--Christina Meek, Davis-Kidd Booksellers
Memphis, TN

"I just finished reading You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know by Heather Sellers. I literally could not put it down. To think that this disorder exists and I have never heard of it. To go around your whole life and not recognize anyone- to not even know what your husband looks like.

It's incredible. It's insane and scary. I honestly don't know if I could go through life as this woman and all others with prospagnosia. These people are brave and wonderful."

--Andrea Wilhelm, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"I recently read the galley of You Had Me at Woof that you sent, and enjoyed it. It was light (but not too light), amusing, well paced--and I love the cover photo of the author's ugly dog. We adopted a 10-year-old Boston Terrier/Pug mix a couple of years ago, so I had to read this book about the author's Bostons. To my surprise I've become a big fan of the breed--googly eyed, homely, but full of personality."

--Julie Larson, Partners Book Distributing
Holt, MI

"Virginia Ironside has once again delivered us a dose of down to earth wit, in a charmingly irreverent and almost celebratory way with You're Old, I'm Old... Get Used to It! . Among others, Ironside delivers the liberating observation that with age you earn your place in, as she phrases it, " your anecdotage". I can't wait to reach the age where I can consider myself the utmost authority on any given subject, less because of my expertise but more by virtue of the number of years I've been kicking around. What a lovely thought!"

--Brenda Seward, Simple Pleasures Books & Gifts
Ashland, VA

"How do we come to understand the unique and new experiences in our lives? Often we will begin by comparing them to previous events, relying on something older, something more familiar, to help us navigate through the unfamiliar towards a new understanding, a new normal. But does applying the narrative of the past limit or short change our experience of 'the new'? How do we understand something that's completely new, something that has zero history?

These questions are at the core of William Gibson's superb new book, Zero History. Completing a trilogy that began with his previous works, Pattern Recognition and Spook Country, we see our post 9/11 world fresh through Gibson-colored glasses. Closer in theme and ambition to The Great Gatsby than it is to genre science fiction, we are introduced to characters and a world that is trying to make sense of, and in some cases trying to exploit, the zeitgeist roller-coaster they find themselves on.

Zero History begins shortly after the previous book ends and shortly after the global recession has depleted the financial resources of Hollis Henry, the heroine of Spook Country. Hollis, who is described as looking like a 'weaponized version of Francoise Hardy', is forced once again into the employ of the appropriately named Hubertus Bigend. This time the manipulative Bigend has her searching for the source of an item that is so unique that it seems to have no context, no precedent, zero history. This search not only takes her across Britain and Europe but deep into our collective culture. We're shown a world transformed by events and technology where distinctions of space, time and culture are blurred.

Did you have to Google Francoise Hardy? I did. Now her past is part of my present.

All of this is told with Gibson's marvelous eye for detail, nuance and wry humor. As insistent and relevant as your morning cup of coffee, Zero History will have the reader reevaluating their past, freshly examining the world around them and see new possibilities

--Michael Wienecke, University Book Store
Seattle, WA

"Gibson has always been spookily prescient in his focus. In his first trilogy (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive), just as the internet age was dawning, he directed our gaze towards the socio-political (and metaphysical) ramifications of the collision with human consciousness and what he branded as "cyberspace". The next trilogy (Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties) focused on the intersection of fame, location, and technology and gave us a conceptual framework in which to understand what would evolve as the Reality TV self-exploitation of America.

I think his current trilogy is truly excellent. It seems to be grappling with how individual, almost invisible cultural fetishes —random products of film, fashion, art, and music— work their way into the marketplace, and from there into the collective consciousness. That Gibson could write such an elegant, suspenseful novel around some search for a non-brand of clothing is a testament to his skill. I've said this before, but I think he's among the most important writers of this generation."

--Bill Verner, The Gothic Bookshop at Duke University
Durham, NC

"A young Amish boy has disappeared, but his grandparents don't trust the police, enlisting instead the help of a local pastor, and his friend Professor the professor. The protagonists have no superpowers of detection, or excess of brilliance, but in spite or perhaps because of this, the story feels fresh and absorbing."

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"The Breaking of Eggs is the story of Feliks Zhukovski, Polish by birth, Communist (make that "leftist" ) at heart, who, at age 61, finds that just about everything he has based his life on is crumbling. Sole owner of a soon-to-be-outdated series of travel guides to Eastern Europe, Feliks, self-controlled and overly rational, falls ill and is forced by a chance remark ("It's always good to be at home when you are ill") to confront the fact that he has no sense of home. With great charm, humor and wisdom,( and a vast amount of modern European history), Powers tells of Feliks' rebirth from a political to an emotional creature. This story manages to take well-worn themes -the horrors of wars, the decisions made and misunderstood or regretted, the costs of political allegiances, the elasticity of families - and make them into a fresh and moving and remarkable story. Unforgettable."

--Leslie Reiner, Inkwood Books
Tampa, FL

"The most exhilarating, exasperating, inspiring, infuriating and, in the end, unknowable institutions to humans is that of marriage. Elizabeth Gilbert expertly combines an account of her own return to being wedded (which, of course, is not simple) with a general history of marriage in the west to give us a provocative and incisive account of what really is the bedrock of society."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"Elizabeth Gilbert is back in perfect form as the witty and wise globetrotting woman who now fearlessly explores the institution of marriage in her new book Committed. Gilbert effortlessly and hilariously catalogues all the pleasures, pains, and paradoxes inherent to marriage. Her historical and worldly findings on matrimony are balanced against her own poignant personal struggle to take on, once again, the full emotional and legal obligations of getting hitched. Gilbert's tale is utterly captivating and the woman is seemingly incapable of writing a paragraph that doesn't delight and instruct in equal measure."

--Linda Barrett-Knopp, Malaprop's Bookstore/Café
Asheville, NC

"It is rare to pick up a novel, let alone a zombie novel, that grabs you from the first sentence and doesn't relinquish its grasp until the last. The pre-pub buzz is true -- Dust will do for zombies what Twilight did for vampires.

Nineteen-year-old Jessie has been a member of the undead for a few years and actually loves her unlife. Her ragtag gang of friends functions like a dysfunctional family, complete with rivalry, romance, and rough-housing. The gang is untypical undead - they don't feast on humans & they segregate themselves from the rest of the world. But when a disease starts picking off the human population, Jessie begins to investigate a nearby laboratory and uncovers a serious threat to the world's population. As humans get sicker and the undead get stronger, Jessie stumbles onto a familial secret that has astronomical consequences.

First-person narration drives this novel - the unique perspective creates instant sympathy & understanding of the undead, something never-before-seen in the genre. Jessie's voice propels the story through her investigation, comprehension, and resolution of the disease that affects her families. While Dust will become a genre crossover sensation, the language, description, and violence are very adult (comparable to Breaking Dawn, although that didn't stop parents from buying it for their 8-year-olds). It'll make a great addition to this year's Halloween display - I'm glad we'll have something to counteract the bloodsuckers."

--Megan Fecko, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Lyndhurst, OH

"Robert Crais has created one of the truly distinctive characters in fiction in Joe Pike. Pike is one of George Orwell's rough men which society, sadly, still needs so often. When a former associate is killed in a home invasion, Pike confronts the Serbian mafia in another of Crais' beautifully crafted morality tales."

--Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books
Ann Arbor, MI

"Peter Force is in New York City in the early 1900's working in the subway tunnels. He meets a woman and through her meets JP Morgan, Thomas Edison & Nikola Tesla, in what becomes a quest to discover if travel to another world is possible. Get ready to be transported through time yourself as you read this book."

--Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop
Southern Pines, NC

"Steeped in Southern history and atmosphere, the story tracks a string of killings over thirty years that haunt a man from teens to midlife."

--Scott Montgomery, BookPeople
Austin, TX

"Every so often, not often enough, a book comes along that makes us say, "Whoa, Nellie!" Shadow of the Wind was one of them. So was Water for Elephants. Let's not forget King of Lies or Serena. Sometimes it just happens. And it has happened again. Meet our new favorite book, which will be yours too.

R. J. Ellory (known to me as Roger; we've exchanged emails) is a proper Englishman who decided rather than follow the edict of "write what you know," decided he'd rather write what interested him. And that just happened to be the American South. His new novel A Quiet Belief in Angels is set in southern Georgia starting at the time World War II is breaking out. Joseph Vaughan is thirteen, and living in the small-town world of Augusta Falls. The calm and sense of community get shattered early on when young girls start turning up murdered. The killer remains a shadowy presence throughout the novel. Joseph becomes obsessed with the murders, and gathers his friends to become the Guardians. Together, they try to keep the girls of Augusta Falls safe.

The past, of course, follows Joseph even when he moves to Brooklyn to be a writer. Faulkner's famous quote "The past is never dead. It's not even past" really applies here. You won't believe what happens, and you won't see the ending coming at all. (Sally claims she did; I have my doubts!)

A Quiet Belief in Angels is simply stunning. The writing is gorgeous and evocative; you'd never believe it was written by a non-Southerner. It's rich and deep, and the prose is positively Conroy-esque in its description. Sally and I both stayed up way too late reading this novel.

Read this book. Just read it."

--Frazer Dobson, Park Road Books
Charlotte, NC

"I read the prologue. I read the first page. Then I had to close the book and catch my breath. What an extraordinary writer! Vigorous and tender. Beguiling. Allow yourself to open this book. Be amazed."

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"Chevalier's written another fabulous story about two women who become friends as they search the English coast for fossils. Elizabeth Philpot is a spinster, 20 years senior to the younger, uneducated Mary Anning, who discovers a fossilized skeleton of an unknown creature. You won't be able to put this book down once you start reading it."

--Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop
Southern Pines, NC

"Beth Hoffman has this smooth prose that captures the idiosyncrasies and nuances of southern life and style. The cast of characters is vivid in personality, feminine intelligence, and southern charm. Hoffman also manages to convey a hard core of strength and determination beneath her sweetly loving and exuberant female characters."

--Heather Christman, Warwick's
La Jolla, CA

"Saving CeeCee Honeycutt will make you laugh, cry and remind us of true kindness. A debut Southern novel full of strong women and a generous extended family reads like the first bite into a warm juicy peach on a sultry summer afternoon. I hope you fall in love with young Cee Cee as much as I did."

--Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books
Mystic, CT

"Set in a future world in which a caste system of color rigidly defines each individual, our naive young hero, who wants nothing more than to marry up-color, is sent to conduct a chair census as punishment for prideful behavior. Here, on the outskirts of the civilized world, he falls in love with a girl with a retrousse nose, who raises uncomfortable questions and exposes dangerous truths. No one can match the originality of Jasper Fforde. His characters are quirkily fresh and engaging, and he draws from a seemingly bottomless well of hilarity. Funny, fast-paced, and fabulous!"

--Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Cincinnati, OH

"For my money, it's the best in the series…I hope Penguin translates all 11! The contrast between the central consciousness of Chief Inspector Winter, laconic and urbane, and the voice of the little girl who has been kidnapped is particularly chilling. I'm hooked."

--Annie Bloom, Annie Bloom's Books
Portland, OR

"I finished reading James Thompson's Snow Angels Monday night and just had to dash off a note to tell you how much I liked it. Of course, reading it during one of the coldest cold snaps we've had in a while added to the experience. I kept finding myself trying to re-orient my sense of time, since Thompson set the novel during the dark time of the year in the Arctic Circle, and darkness was no indicator of time of day like it normally would be. I was fascinated with his depiction of a people and a place that I'm almost wholly unfamiliar with. Having Kari's wife, Kate, be an American who was, herself, trying to adjust to an alien way of life allowed Mr. Thompson to explain things, such as the Finnish temperament, in a way that forwarded the story rather than stopping it. I've already started recommending the book to people and telling them to keep an eye out for it when it's published. I can't wait to read more about Kari and Kate and the strange (to me) world they inhabit.

Thank you for giving me a new mystery author on your list to get all obsessive over. Now that Henning Mankell isn't writing any more Wallander novels, I'll get my bleak, Nordic fiction fix from James Thompson."

--Billie J. Bloebaum, Powells PDX

"Australian writer Kate Veitch brings readers another powerful novel in Trust with the story of a woman determined to allow herself to grow with her art while raising her family and taking care of her husband in the traditional way. After a car accident brings tragedy to her family, Susanna comes to terms with how fragile and fleeting life can be and puts her mind to becoming the artist she wants to be. Her independence threatens her husband who is obsessed with making his son into a tennis star, missing the signs that his son prefers men to tennis. Susanna's creativity has been inherited by her daughter Tessa who designs vintage clothing but remains in a coma after the accident. Without being whiny or just another book about a woman who is unhappy in life, Trust is able to show us that sometimes strength and perseverance can help one get to where they truly want to be in life."

--Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books
Mystic, CT

"Desperate to find her lover, adulterous Naomi Jenkins decides to embellish a lie to speed up a missing persons investigation. She relates a horrific experience in which she was a victim, yet, changes the identity of the perpetrator in hopes of finding Robert, her true love. How else will she save him? However, Naomi isn’t aware of that telling her long ago secret, she is eerily close to figuring out the truth. This psychologically tense thriller will keep you on the edge with its many dark turns and frightening twists. Will Naomi manage to shed her victim skin while catching a despicable psychopath or is she destined to be broken for the remainder of her days?"

--Kristin Bates, McLean & Eakin Booksellers
Petoskey, MI

"Isn't this cover just wonderfully eerie? And you WOULD be creeped out if you lived in the world Rachel does. In this futuristic landscape, the USA is split in half by the Line, an electronic marvel which the government claims is protecting citizens from Away and its supposedly deformed inhabitants, the Others. Growing up next to the Line, Rachel has always been fascinated by Away. But when she receives a mysterious message events are set in motion which bring the dark realities of the Line - and the Others - to life. A great read for fans of The Giver by Lois Lowry and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld."

--Alli, Changing Hands Bookstore
Tempe, AZ

"This book is about two teen boys who share the name Will Grayson. The boys have no connection to one another and aren't even aware of each others’ existence, until one day, they meet in an unlikely place, and forever change each others’ lives. The pacing of the boys’ stories seemed a little off, but not enough to detract from a very endearing story. You will find yourself drawn into the story, especially one of the Grayson's best friends, a large, flamboyant gay boy named Tiny Cooper. A worthy addition to your bookshelf."

--Pedro, Changing Hands Bookstore
Tempe, AZ