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Hardcover Fiction

Week of March 29, 2020

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1
NEW
THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT
Hilary Mantel
Cover of THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT

THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT

by Hilary Mantel · Holt

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Shortlisted for The Women's Prize for Fiction 2020 The long-awaited sequel to Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, the stunning conclusion to Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall trilogy. 'A masterpiece' Guardian 'It is a book not read, but lived' Telegraph 'Her Cromwell novels are, for my money, the greatest English novels of this century' Observer 'If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?' England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith's son from Putney emerges from the spring's bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour. Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry's regime to breaking point, Cromwell's robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. But can a nation, or a person, shed the past like a skin? Do the dead continually unbury themselves? What will you do, the Spanish ambassador asks Cromwell, when the king turns on you, as sooner or later he turns on everyone close to him? With The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man's vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
Delia Owens
Cover of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

by Delia Owens · Putnam

80 wks on list

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE—The #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 18 million copies sold, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature.” New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens. Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

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JOURNEY OF THE PHARAOHS
Clive Cussler and Graham Brown
Cover of JOURNEY OF THE PHARAOHS

JOURNEY OF THE PHARAOHS

by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown · Putnam

1 wks on list

Kurt and Joe tangle with the most determined enemy they've ever encountered when a ruthless powerbroker schemes to build a new Egyptian empire as glorious as those of the Pharaohs. Part of his plan rests on the manipulation of a newly discovered aquifer beneath the Sahara, but an even more devastating weapon at his disposal may threaten the entire world: a plant extract known as the Black Mist, discovered in the City of the Dead and rumored to have the power to take life from the living and restore it to the dead. With the balance of power in Africa and Europe on the verge of tipping, Kurt, Joe, and the rest of the NUMA team will have to fight to discover the truth behind the legends -- but to do that, they have to confront in person the greatest legend of them all: Osiris, the ruler of the Egyptian underworld.

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AMERICAN DIRT
Jeanine Cummins
Cover of AMERICAN DIRT

AMERICAN DIRT

by Jeanine Cummins · Flatiron

8 wks on list

Download a free excerpt from Jeanine Cummins's American Dirt! También de este lado hay sueños. On this side too, there are dreams. Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and "a new American classic", American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope. If it’s only a better life you seek, seek it elsewhere...This path is only for people who have no choice, no other option, only violence and misery behind you. And your journey will grow even more treacherous from here. Everything is working against you. —American Dirt Lydia Quixano Perez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with four books he would like to buy—two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same. Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia—trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to? American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed when they finish reading it. It is a page-turner, it is a literary achievement, it is filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.

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A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD
Therese Anne Fowler
Cover of A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

by Therese Anne Fowler · St. Martin's

1 wks on list

“Therese Anne Fowler has taken the ingredients of racism, justice, and conservative religion and has concocted a feast of a read: compelling, heartbreaking, and inevitable. I finished A Good Neighborhood in a single sitting. Yes, it’s that good.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light A provocative contemporary novel that examines the American dream through the lens of two families living side by side in an idyllic neighborhood, and the one summer that changes their lives irrevocably, from the New York Times bestselling author of Z and A Well-Behaved Woman. In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door—an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter. Thanks to his thriving local business, Brad Whitman is something of a celebrity around town, and he's made a small fortune on his customer service and charm, while his wife, Julia, escaped her trailer park upbringing for the security of marriage and homemaking. Their new house is more than she ever imagined for herself, and who wouldn't want to live in Oak Knoll? But with little in common except a property line, these two very different families quickly find themselves at odds: first, over an historic oak tree in Valerie's yard, and soon after, the blossoming romance between their two teenagers. Told in multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today — what does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don't see eye to eye? — as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful. Praise for A Good Neighborhood: "A Good Neighborhood is my favorite kind of novel — compelling, complicated, timely, and smart. With great humanity, Therese Anne Fowler imparts a full-hearted, unflinching indictment of a broken system and in so doing tells a story hard to put down and hard to forget." —Laurie Frankel, bestselling author of This is How it Always Is

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MY DARK VANESSA
Kate Elizabeth Russell
Cover of MY DARK VANESSA

MY DARK VANESSA

by Kate Elizabeth Russell · Morrow

1 wks on list

En medio de la creciente ola de acusaciones de agresión sexual contra hombres poderosos en 2017, Vanessa Wye, de treinta y dos años, se entera de una que la involucra íntimamente: su profesor de inglés de secundaria Jacob Strane ha sido acusado de abuso sexual por otra exalumna. El escándalo le trae recuerdos de su pasado y del campus idílico del exclusivo internado al que asistió en Maine. Fue estudiante becada, seria, solitaria y que anhelaba madurar antes de su tiempo. Vanessa se sintió desconcertada de sus compañeros y cautivada cuando el profesor Strane comenzó a distinguirla. Aquí había un hombre que tenía tres veces su edad, que la reconocía y elogiaba su intelecto, su talento para escribir y su belleza, y, a los quince años, cayó en una relación ardiente con él que le cambió la vida. Ahora, casi dos décadas más tarde, otra mujer ha centrado su atención en Strane, y de repente, Vanessa se enfrenta a una elección imposible: permanecer en silencio, creyendo firmemente su "yo" adolescente se involucró voluntariamente en la relación con Strane o que por lo contrario fue su víctima. Pero ¿cómo puede Vanessa rechazar su primer amor, el hombre que la transformó fundamentalmente y ha sido una presencia persistente en su vida? ¿Cómo puede aceptar que el hombre que amaba cuando era adolescente, y que profesaba adorarla había seducido y abusado a otras chicas? Alternando entre el presente de Vanessa y el momento de la aventura y sus consecuencias, El lado obscuro de Vanessa yuxtapone la memoria y el trauma con la emoción sin aliento de una adolescente que descubre el poder que su propio cuerpo puede ejercer. Una representación magistral de los problemas de la adolescencia y los efectos de largo alcance del abuso sexual.

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LONG RANGE
C.J. Box
Cover of LONG RANGE

LONG RANGE

by C.J. Box · Putnam

2 wks on list

In the crosshairs, no one is safe. In the new Joe Pickett novel, the Wyoming game warden must investigate an attempted assassination on his own turf... Wyoming's Twelve Sleep County is shaken when a would-be assassin takes aim at a local judge. Their shot narrowly misses, severely wounding the judge's wife. All local law enforcement officers – including game warden Joe Pickett – are called in to track down the shooter. The shot appears to have been taken from an almost impossible distance. Inevitably, the Feds' first suspect is ex-special forces operative, Nate Romanowski. The only way Joe will be able to prove his friend's innocence is by finding the real shooter. Meanwhile, a startling grizzly attack in the next county draws Joe across the border to join the rescue efforts. But something in the victim's account isn't adding up, and Joe suspects all is not as it appears... Beset by threats both man-made and natural, Joe Pickett must go to great lengths to keep his loved ones safe and solve an impossible crime in the riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box.

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BLINDSIDE
James Patterson and James O. Born
Cover of BLINDSIDE

BLINDSIDE

by James Patterson and James O. Born · Little, Brown

3 wks on list

___________________________ The mayor of New York has a daughter who's missing. Detective Michael Bennett has a son who's in prison. Can one father help the other? Bennett and the mayor have always had a tense relationship, but now the mayor sees in Bennett an exceptional investigator who might be willing to take on a case that needs to be kept under the radar. The two men strike the deal. Sources lead Bennett to a homicide in the Bronx. The victim has ties to a sophisticated hacking operation - and also to the mayor's missing daughter. But this murder is part of a serial killing spree, one with national security implications. And suddenly Bennett is at the centre of a dangerous triangle anchored by NYPD, FBI and an international crime organization. Michael Bennett has always been an honourable man, but sometimes honour has to take a back seat. Survival comes first.

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THE NUMBERS GAME
Danielle Steel
Cover of THE NUMBERS GAME

THE NUMBERS GAME

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

2 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In Danielle Steel’s stunning novel, modern relationships come together, fall apart, and are reinvented over time, proving that age is just a number. Eileen Jackson was happy to set aside her own dreams to raise a family with her husband, Paul. Together they built an ordinary life in a Connecticut town, the perfect place for their kids to grow up. But when Eileen discovers that Paul’s late nights in the city are hiding an affair with a younger woman, she begins to question all those years of sacrifice and compromise. On the brink of forty and wondering what she’s going to do with the rest of her life, is it too late for her to start over? Meanwhile, as Paul is thrust back into the role of suburban fatherhood, his girlfriend, Olivia, is in Manhattan, struggling to find herself in the shadow of her mother, a famous actress, and her grandmother, a fiercely independent ninety-two-year-old artist. With their unique brands of advice ringing in her head, Olivia takes a major step, expanding her art gallery business internationally. Seeing her mother pursue old dreams and even find new love, Olivia realizes that there is so much she must learn about herself before committing her life to someone else. Ultimately, Eileen decides to chase her own dreams as well. She’s off to Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. What awaits is an adventure that reinvents her life and redefines her. At every age, there are challenges to be met and new worlds to discover. In this surprising, illuminating novel, Danielle Steel gives us a warmhearted portrait of people driven by their emotions, life experiences, and loyalties, who realize that it’s never too late to turn a new page and start again.

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IN FIVE YEARS
Rebecca Serle
Cover of IN FIVE YEARS

IN FIVE YEARS

by Rebecca Serle · Atria

1 wks on list

'SMART, EMOTIONAL, INTRIGUING AND COMPELLING - I LOVED IT!' JILL MANSELL Dannie Kohan has held true to her meticulously crafted 5-year plan since she understood the concept. On the day that she nails the most important interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she's well on her way to fulfilling her life goals. But that night Dannie falls asleep and dreams of a night five years in the future where she's engaged to another man. It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind. That is, until five years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream . . . Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day, this heart-breaking story of love, loss and life will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about destiny. ------------------------------------- 'What a clever, beautiful, special book. The writing is stunning, the concept is so original - it just has everything going for it. I loved every page!' Beth O'Leary, author The Flatshare and The Switch 'Such a touching, soulful experience' Goodreads reader 'In Five Years is a stunningly beautiful, brilliant and insightful love story' Goodreads reader 'Heartbreaking and poignant' Glamour 'I loved In Five Years. A beautiful, intelligent story about friendships and love' Clare Mackintosh, author of After the End 'Full of twists and turns, this is a heart-breaking yet uplifting story about love and friendship' Heat magazine **** *IF YOU LOVED IN FIVE YEARS, REBECCA'S NEXT HEARTBREAKER EXPIRATION DATES IS AVAILABLE NOW!* New York Times bestseller, March 2020

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THE SILENT PATIENT
Alex Michaelides
Cover of THE SILENT PATIENT

THE SILENT PATIENT

by Alex Michaelides · Celadon

41 wks on list

- THE RECORD-BREAKING, MULTIMILLION COPY GLOBAL BESTSELLER AND TIKTOK SENSATION - Discover the #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that everyone is talking about - as seen on TikTok. Soon to be a major film. Alicia Berenson lived a seemingly perfect life until one day six years ago. When she shot her husband in the head five times. Since then she hasn't spoken a single word. It's time to find out why. READERS LOVE THE SILENT PATIENT ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Everything you need from a psychological thriller with a killer twist that is impossible to see coming!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Fiendishly clever ... believe the hype.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Grabs your afternoon from the start and never lets go' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A fantastic thriller with an incredible plot twist that I really didn't see coming. I highly recommend.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'OMG, my heart is still pounding from the final chapters of this amazing thriller.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I'm honestly speechless, best book I have read for a very long time' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The twists when they come, wow oh wow!' CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED 'The perfect thriller' AJ FINN 'Terrific' - THE TIMES Crime Book of the Month 'Smart, sophisticated suspense' - LEE CHILD 'Compelling' - OBSERVER 'Absolutely brilliant' - STEPHEN FRY 'A totally original psychological mystery' - DAVID BALDACCI 'One of the best thrillers I've read this year' - CARA HUNTER 'The pace and finesse of a master' - BBC CULTURE

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SUCH A FUN AGE
Kiley Reid
Cover of SUCH A FUN AGE

SUCH A FUN AGE

by Kiley Reid · Putnam

11 wks on list

_______________ 'Essential. This year's hit debut' - Guardian 'A biting tale of race and class' - Sunday Times 'I couldn't put this down' - Jojo Moyes _______________ The instant Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller Longlisted for the Booker Prize A Times, Guardian, Sunday Times, Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, Red, Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan Book of the Year _______________ When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for 'kidnapping' the white child she's actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with the best of intentions, resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix's desire to help. When a surprising connection emerges between the two women, it sends them on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know – about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege. _______________ 'Bites into the zeitgeist then spits it out with gusto. You really should read it, ASAP' - Stylist 'About power dynamics, race, social commentary, and also why and how we are the woman we are' - Pandora Sykes 'An extraordinarily deft debut, written with wisdom, kindness and sharp humour' - Daily Mail 'A beautiful tale of how we live now' - Elizabeth Day _______________ A Reese Witherspoon and Zoella Book Club Pick

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DEACON KING KONG
James McBride
Cover of DEACON KING KONG

DEACON KING KONG

by James McBride · Riverhead

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK From author of NYT bestseller, THE HEAVEN & EARTH GROCERY STORE A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD winner & WINNER OF THE 2024 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRIZE FOR AMERICAN FICTION TOP TEN books of the year, NEW YORK TIMES & WASHINGTON POST 'Brilliantly imagined, larger than life, a tragicomedic epic.' JOYCE CAROL OATES 'Deeply felt, beautifully written and profoundly humane.' JUNOT DIAZ 'Among the greatest American storytellers of our time.' BOOKPAGE 'A modern day Mark Twain' NYT Book Review *** The year is 1969. In a housing project in south Brooklyn, a shambling old church deacon called Sportcoat shoots - for no apparent reason - the local drug-dealer who used to be part of the church's baseball team. The repercussions of that moment draw in the whole community, from Sportcoat's best friend - Hot Sausage - to the local Italian mobsters, the police (corrupt and otherwise), and the stalwart ladies of the Five Ends Baptist Church. DEACON KING KONG is a book about a community under threat, about the ways people pull together in an age when the old rules are being rewritten. It is very funny in places, and heartbreaking in others. From a prize-winning storyteller, this New York Times bestseller shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, and that the communities we build are fragile but vital. ______________________ 'When I met James McBride, I felt like I'd had coffee with a hysterically funny Leo Tolstoy' Ethan Hawke 'A hilarious, pitch-perfect comedy set in the Brooklyn projects of the late 1960s. This alone may qualify it as one of the year's best novels.' The Washington Post What Goodreads readers are saying: ***** 'Deacon King Kong is one of those novels whose brilliance sneaks up on you. I haven't been this pleasantly surprised by a book in a while.' ***** 'I do believe I just finished one of my all time favorite books. I loved every minute spent with Sportcoat and his community. A good old fashioned yarn shot through with truth, spirit, and humor. I LOVED it!' ***** 'This book was a balm for my soul, a portrait of a black church community circa 1969 with sweet characters (well, most of them), interconnections that stretch back decades, and a plot with more than one mystery at its heart.' ***** '"Deacon" has the texture of folk lore and fable mixed with the unexpected rhythms of jazz and the noisy streets of late 1960s Brooklyn.' ***** 'The ending was one of those where you clutch your heart and want to hug the book (or your Kindle).' Author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, a Waterstones Book of the Month 2024

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.