The Following Is a Tentative List of New NONFICTION Releases For
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THE FOLLOWING IS A TENTATIVE LIST OF NEW FICTION RELEASES FOR OCTOBER 2013. NOTE: MOST TITLES ON THIS LIST ARE ON ORDER FOR THE LIBRARY AND CAN BE RESERVED, BUT WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE RELEASE DATE. COMPILED BY JUDY KAMIAT, WEST BOYNTON BRANCH LIBRARY Mary Kay Andrews, CHRISTMAS BLISS, (304 pgs) 10/15 Old favorites come together for Christmas as Savannah antique dealer Weezie Foley prepares for her wedding and deals with maid-of-honor BeBe Loudermilk’s steadfast refusal to marry the love of her life, Harry, who lives with BeBe. Readers will meet characters from Savannah Blues, Savannah Breeze and Blue Christmas. Jo Baker, LONGBOURN, (352 pgs) 10/8 Avid Jane Austen readers know Longbourn as the family home of the Bennets in Pride and Prejudice, where five unmarried daughters in search of husbands with fortunes and their put-upon parents reside. This, however, is not their story. The novel takes place beneath the staircase, where the servants prepare the meals, wait tables, scrub mud off boots and petticoats, drive the carriages, and otherwise cater to the daily demands of the household. While the drama of husband-hunting takes place largely offstage and the family goes about its familiar social engagements with the Bingleys, the Darcys, the insufferable Mr. Collins, and the mendacious Wickham, the real drama unfolds when the enigmatic James Smith arrives as a footman and catches the eye of Sarah, the young housemaid with dreams of a world beyond Longbourn. “A must- read for fans of Austen, this literary tribute also stands on its own as a captivating love story.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “This exquisitely reimagined Pride and Prejudice will appeal to Austen devotees and to anyone who finds the goings-on below the stairs to be at least as compelling as the ones above.” Library Journal “Irresistible . Sequels and prequels rarely add to the original, but Baker’s simple yet inspired reimagining does. It has best-seller stamped all over it.” Kirkus (Starred Review) 2 Charles Belfoure, THE PARIS ARCHITECT, (384 pgs) 10/1 How far would you go to help a stranger? What would you risk? Would you trade your life for another's in the name of what is right? Belfoure explores these questions and others in this debut novel set in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Lucien Bernard—who, like the book's author, is an architect—is offered a large sum of money to outsmart the Gestapo by devising unique hiding places for Jews, though he knows that anyone caught helping them will be tortured and killed by the Germans. Danger is everywhere: Lucien's mistress, Adele, a successful fashion designer, has an affair with a Gestapo colonel. Lucien's new assistant will betray him in a heartbeat. Offered a juicy German factory commission that involves working with a Nazi officer who admires architecture and art, Lucien's web weaves more complexly. And when he falls in love with Adele's assistant, rescues a child, and contacts some of the individuals he's saved, the stakes grow higher and Lucien's thoughts turn from money to vengeance. “Belfoure’s characters are well-rounded and intricate. Heart, reluctant heroism, and art blend together in this spine-chilling page-turner.” Publishers Weekly “Architect and debut author Belfoure's portrayal of Vichy France is both disturbing and captivating, and his beautiful tale demonstrates that while human beings are capable of great atrocities, they have a capacity for tremendous acts of courage as well.” Library Journal “Belfoure writes like an up-and-coming Ken Follett ... There's plenty of detail to interest architecture buffs, too.” Booklist FIRST NOVEL Kenneth Bonert, THE LION SEEKER, (576 pgs) 10/15 “A Stupid or a Clever, a lion or a lamb”: this refrain follows Isaac Helger as he comes of age in South Africa in the ’20s and ’30s. Both of Isaac’s immigrant Jewish parents suffered in anti-Semitic Europe, but they’ve learned opposite lessons from their respective ordeals. His iron-willed, mysteriously scarred mother teaches him to put himself first, to take rather than give—because if given the chance, anyone else would do the same. But his father favors a life of peaceful labor, preferring happiness to materialism. Which legacy will Isaac choose as he tries to strike it rich, woo an upper-class “goy” girl, and retaliate against anti-Semites? Bonert’s minorities are not blameless victims: unable to see the similarity between the persecution of Jews and blacks, Isaac is a bigot, too. When Hitler’s onslaught begins, endangering the Helgers’ Lithuanian relatives, Isaac must decide which comes first: his own dreams or the lives of others. “Bonert’s debut is lengthy, but the pages turn quickly, with suspenseful prose and colorful vernacular dialogue that could easily be used in a blockbuster film.” Publishers Weekly “Bonert's book is worth the effort . For readers interested in Jewish or African fiction or literary, multicultural fiction.” Library Journal FIRST NOVEL 3 William Boyd, SOLO: A James Bond Novel, (336 pgs) 10/8 It's 1969, and, having just celebrated his forty-fifth birthday, James Bond—British special agent 007—is summoned to headquarters to receive an unusual assignment. Zanzarim, a troubled West African nation, is being ravaged by a bitter civil war, and M directs Bond to quash the rebels threatening the established regime. Bond's arrival in Africa marks the start of a feverish mission to discover the forces behind this brutal war— and he soon realizes the situation is far from straightforward. Piece by piece, Bond uncovers the real cause of the violence in Zanzarim, revealing a twisting conspiracy that extends further than he ever imagined. Emma Chapman, HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE, (288 pgs) 10/15 Marta and Hector have been married for a long time; through the good and bad; through raising a son and sending him off to life after university. So long, in fact, that Marta finds it difficult to remember her life before Hector. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife—as advised by a dog-eared manual given to her by Hector’s aloof mother on their wedding day. But now, something is changing. Small things seem off. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, elapsed moments that she can’t recall; visions of a blonde girl in the darkness that only Marta can see. Perhaps she is starting to remember—or perhaps her mind is playing tricks on her. As Marta’s visions persist and her reality grows more disjointed, it’s unclear if the danger lies in the world around her, or in Marta herself. The girl is growing more real every day, and she wants something. “Chapman excels at creating tension and suspense . a chilling debut.” Publishers Weekly FIRST NOVEL Jennifer Chiaverini, THE SPYMISTRESS, (368 pgs) 10/1 Born to slave-holding aristocracy in Richmond, Virginia, and educated by Northern Quakers, Elizabeth Van Lew was a paradox of her time. When her native state seceded in April 1861, Van Lew’s convictions compelled her to defy the new Confederate regime. Pledging her loyalty to the Lincoln White House, her courage would never waver, even as her wartime actions threatened not only her reputation, but also her life. Van Lew’s skills in gathering military intelligence were unparalleled. She helped to construct the Richmond Underground and orchestrated escapes from the infamous Confederate Libby Prison under the guise of humanitarian aid. Her spy ring’s reach was vast, from clerks in the Confederate War and Navy Departments to the very home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Although Van Lew was inducted posthumously into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame, the scope of her achievements has never been widely known. Lee Child (Editor Jonathan Santlofer), INHERIT THE DEAD, (288 pgs) 10/8 4 Pericles “Perry” Christo is a PI with a past—a former cop, who lost his badge and his family when a corruption scandal left him broke and disgraced. When wealthy Upper East Side matron Julia Drusilla summons him one cold February night, he grabs what seems to be a straightforward (and lucrative) case. The socialite is looking for her beautiful, aimless daughter, Angelina, who is about to become a very wealthy young woman. But as Christo digs deeper, he discovers there’s much more to the lovely “Angel” than meets the eye. Her father, her best friend, and her boyfriends all have agendas of their own. Angel, he soon realizes, may be in grave danger . and if Christo gets too close, he just might get caught in the crossfire. “Despite the usual serial-novel pitfalls, C.J. Box, Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Charlaine Harris, Val McDermid, and the 15 other distinguished crime authors who each contribute a chapter to this team project succeed in fashioning an engaging and cohesive plot. The chapters move seamlessly as clues and storylines set up by one author are expanded by the next.” Publishers Weekly “Not merely a genre curiosity, the book is a well-told mystery that stands on its own two (or 40) feet.” Booklist (Royalties in excess of editor and contributor compensations go to Safe Horizon, America’s largest provider of services for domestic violence victims) Jeffery Deaver, THE OCTOBER LIST, (320 pgs) 10/1 Thriller Award–winner Deaver (Edge) delivers a stand-alone that moves backward in time over the span of a three-day weekend, from Sunday evening to early Friday morning. In the first chapter, office manager Gabriela McKenzie, whose six-year-old daughter, Sarah, has been kidnapped, waits in her Manhattan apartment for news from fund manager Daniel Reardon, who’s attempting to deal with kidnapper Joseph Astor.