“A half-read book is a half-finished love affair.” – David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
FICTION
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell ★
Utopia Avenue are the strangest British band you’ve never heard of. Emerging from London’s psychedelic scene in 1967 and fronted by folksinger Elf Holloway, guitar demigod Jasper de Zoet and blues bassist Dean Moss, Utopia Avenue released only two LPs during its brief and blazing journey from the clubs of Soho and draughty ballrooms to Top of the Pops and the cusp of chart success, to glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome and a fateful American fortnight in the autumn of 1968.
David Mitchell’s new novel tells the unexpurgated story of Utopia Avenue; of riots in the streets and revolutions in the head; of drugs, thugs, madness, love, sex, death, art; of the families we choose and the ones we don’t; of fame’s Faustian pact and stardom’s wobbly ladder. Can we change the world in turbulent times, or does the world change us? Utopia means ‘nowhere’ but could a shinier world be within grasp, if only we had a map?
Description from Goodreads.
“Mitchell’s sprawling, engrossing look at the psychedelic era is lovingly rendered… His fans will appreciate the Easter eggs and a metaphysical interlude; those who enjoy revisiting the 1960s will groove on the cameos from many celebrities of the time.” – Library Journal
“…a sumptuous portrait of life in Swingin’ ’60s London… a sheer pleasure to read. Mitchell’s prose is suppler and richer than ever, and his ability to conjure a historical milieu he never actually experienced does not falter.” – Slate
“Mitchell’s magical, much anticipated latest… is a rollicking, rapturous tale of 1960s rock ’n’ roll… Mitchell makes the best use of his familiar elements, from recurring characters to an innovative narrative structure, delivering more fun, more mischief, and more heart than ever before. This is Mitchell at his best.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Noted novelist Mitchell returns with a gritty, richly detailed fable from rock’s golden age… The usual stuff of rock dramas—the ego clashes, the drugs, the hangers-on, and record-company parasites—is all there, but Mitchell, who wasn’t born when Utopia Avenue’s putative first album was released, knows exactly which real-life musicians to seed into the story: There’s Gene Clark of The Byrds, for example… Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Syd Barrett, Jackson Browne, and Jerry Garcia turn up… There’s even a highly learned if tossed-aside reference to how the Stones’ album Let It Bleed earned its name. Bone spurs and all, it’s realistic indeed and just the thing for pop music fans of a bygone era that’s still very much with us… Those whose musical tastes end in the early 1970s—and literary tastes are up to the minute—will especially enjoy Mitchell’s yarn.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
Available Formats:
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Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford ★
It’s 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and fifteen-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women, presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine’s father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church – a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But Justine does her best as a devoted daughter, until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever. Crooked Hallelujah tells the stories of Justine–a mixed-blood Cherokee woman– and her daughter, Reney, as they move from Eastern Oklahoma’s Indian Country in the hopes of starting a new, more stable life in Texas amid the oil bust of the 1980s. However, life in Texas isn’t easy, and Reney feels unmoored from her family in Indian Country. Against the vivid backdrop of the Red River, we see their struggle to survive in a world–of unreliable men and near-Biblical natural forces, like wildfires and tornados–intent on stripping away their connections to one another and their very ideas of home.
In lush and empathic prose, Kelli Jo Ford depicts what this family of proud, stubborn, Cherokee women sacrifice for those they love, amid larger forces of history, religion, class, and culture. This is a big-hearted and ambitious novel of the powerful bonds between mothers and daughters by an exquisite and rare new talent.
Description from Goodreads.
“Electrifying… A riveting and important read.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] magnificent debut… Ford adroitly, affectingly weaves indigenous history into her spellbinding narrative, exposing displacement, unacknowledged violence, cultural erasure, relentless racism and socioeconomic disparity.” – Shelf Awareness
“Ford’s storytelling is urgent, her characters achingly human and complex, and her language glittering and rugged. This is a stunner.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Ford’s Crooked Hallelujah is more than just a really great title; it’s the book that’s going to be taught in creative writing programs for decades to come… What else can you say about a writer who won the prestigious Plimpton Prize and was published in the Paris Review right out of the gate? Nothing beyond ‘Take my money.'” – Buzzfeed
Available Formats:
Print Book (Link Forthcoming) | Hoopla eBook
What You Wish For by Katherine Center
Samantha Casey loves everything about her job as an elementary school librarian on the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas—the goofy kids, the stately Victorian building, the butterfly garden. But when the school suddenly loses its beloved principal, it turns out his replacement will be none other than Duncan Carpenter—a former, unrequited crush of Sam’s from many years before.
When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he’s nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He’s become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety. Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security—and turn it into nothing short of a prison—Sam has to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone for good.
Description from Goodreads.
“The story’s message, that people should choose joy even (and especially) in difficult and painful times, seems tailor-made for this moment. A timely, uplifting read about finding joy in the midst of tragedy, filled with quirky characters and comforting warmth.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“What You Wish For has Center’s signature sprightly style and is a bubbly tonic to chase away the blues.” – Augusta Chronicle
“[A] fast-paced tale steeped with whimsical plot points. This is one for the beach bag.” – Publishers Weekly
Available Formats:
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SUSPENSE
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby ★
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.
He thought he’d left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can’t-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver’s seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.
Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland… or die trying.
Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.
Description from Goodreads.
“S.A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is the buzz book of the summer, and for good reason―this nailbiter of a thriller has everything, including road chases, fast cars, robberies gone south, carefully calibrated underworld shenanigans, standoff after standoff, and some deep family bonds.” – CrimeReads
“Cosby never misses a note in this high-energy read… A superb work of crime fiction, uncompromisingly noir but deeply human, too, much like Lou Berney’s November Road.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“We’re in Elmore Leonard land… Bug’s got a conscience not typical of the thriller genre, but other than that, this novel recalls almost perfectly the classic heist thriller in the vein of Richard Stark’s ‘Parker’ novels. It’ll go like hot cakes.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“High-octane neo-noir thriller… The gritty, brutal narrative is complemented by the author’s sublime use of sensory description and regional imagery. In addition, the epic, jaw-dropping chase sequences that figure prominently are reason alone to read this pedal-to-the-metal but profoundly sorrowful novel. Cosby is definitely a writer to watch.” – Publishers Weekly
Available Formats:
Print Book (Link Forthcoming) | eBook
The Order by Daniel Silva
Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into Venice for a much-needed holiday with his wife and two young children. But when Pope Paul VII dies suddenly, Gabriel is summoned to Rome by the Holy Father’s loyal private secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati. A billion Catholic faithful have been told that the pope died of a heart attack. Donati, however, has two good reasons to suspect his master was murdered. The Swiss Guard who was standing watch outside the papal apartments the night of the pope’s death is missing. So, too, is the letter the Holy Father was writing during the final hours of his life. A letter that was addressed to Gabriel.
While researching in the Vatican Secret Archives, I came upon a most remarkable book…
The book is a long-suppressed gospel that calls into question the accuracy of the New Testament’s depiction of one of the most portentous events in human history. For that reason alone, the Order of St. Helena will stop at nothing to keep it out of Gabriel’s hands. A shadowy Catholic society with ties to the European far right, the Order is plotting to seize control of the papacy. And it is only the beginning.
As the cardinals gather in Rome for the start of the conclave, Gabriel sets out on a desperate search for proof of the Order’s conspiracy, and for a long-lost gospel with the power to put an end to two thousand years of murderous hatred. His quest will take him from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, to a monastery in Assisi, to the hidden depths of the Secret Archives, and finally to the Sistine Chapel, where he will witness an event no outsider has ever before seen—the sacred passing of the Keys of St. Peter to a newly elected pope.
Swiftly paced and elegantly rendered, The Order will hold readers spellbound, from its opening passages to its breathtaking final twist of plot. It is a novel of friendship and faith in a perilous and uncertain world. And it is still more proof that Daniel Silva is his generation’s finest writer of suspense and international intrigue.
Description from Amazon.
“A refreshingly hopeful thriller for troubled times… Silva’s latest broad-canvas thriller starring the much-loved Gabriel Allon will quickly take its reserved seat atop most best-seller lists.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Relevant and compelling… Engaging and deftly paced, another thoughtfully entertaining summer read from Silva.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“The Order dives deep into the history of the Catholic church and the corruption within its most lauded ranks, while giving readers a fast-paced, twisty novel that keeps us guessing from beginning to end.” – Amazon Book Review
Available Formats:
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The Safe Place by Anna Downes
Emily is a mess.
Emily Proudman just lost her acting agent, her job, and her apartment in one miserable day.
Emily is desperate.
Scott Denny, a successful and charismatic CEO, has a problem that neither his business acumen nor vast wealth can fix. Until he meets Emily.
Emily is perfect.
Scott offers Emily a summer job as a housekeeper on his remote, beautiful French estate. Enchanted by his lovely wife Nina, and his eccentric young daughter, Aurelia, Emily falls headlong into this oasis of wine-soaked days by the pool. But soon Emily realizes that Scott and Nina are hiding dangerous secrets, and if she doesn’t play along, the consequences could be deadly.
Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downs’s debut is the perfect summer suspense, with the modern gothic feel of Ruth Ware and the morally complex family dynamics of Lisa Jewell.
Welcome to paradise… will you ever be able to leave?
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] mix of romantic escapism and gothic menace. Ruth Ware fans may want to check this one out.” – Publishers Weekly
“Downes’ debut novel is a slow burn of a story with Emily picking up on snippets of conversations as a breadcrumb trail leads her to an astounding conclusion. A great read for those looking for a side of mystery with their women’s fiction.” – Booklist
“…tension and mystery reminiscent of Du Maurier’s Rebecca and its ominous Mandalay… Downes shows herself more than adept at creating plot tension and an atmosphere that keeps you turning the pages.” – Booktopia
Available Formats:
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MYSTERY
The Revelators by Ace Atkins
Shot up and left for dead, Sheriff Quinn Colson has revenge on his mind. With the help of his new wife Maggie, rehabilitation, and sheer force of will, he’s walking again, eager to resume his work as a southern lawman and track down those responsible for his attempted murder. But someone is standing in his way: an interim sheriff, appointed by the newly elected Governor Vardaman, the man who Quinn knows ordered his murder. Vardaman sits at the top of the state’s power structure–both legal and criminal–and little does he know, Quinn is still alive. And coming for him.
Quinn will enlist the help of his most trusted friends, including federal agent Jon Holliday, U.S. Marshal Lillie Virgil, and Donnie Varner, a childhood buddy now working for the Feds as an informant. Since Quinn’s been gone, the criminal element in north Mississippi has flourished, with queenpin Fannie Hathcock enjoying unbridled freedom. As an ice storm bears down on north Mississippi and Memphis, and Tibbehah County is isolated from the outside world, the killers will return to finish the job.
But this time, Quinn Colson and company will be waiting, ready to bust apart a criminal empire running on a rigged system for far too long. This is the battle of Jericho, the epic showdown that’s been years in the making. In the end, the war will end–for better or worse.
Description from Goodreads.
“Perfect reading for socially distanced shut-ins who’ll be pleased to learn that things could indeed be much, much worse.” – Kirkus Reviews
“The Revelators is dedicated to the late, great Charles Portis, author of True Grit, and with its raucous humor, unflinching view of human weakness and arc of redemption, it’s a fitting tribute.” – Tampa Bay Times
Available Formats:
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ROMANCE
A Walk Along the Beach by Debbie Macomber
The Lakey sisters are perfect opposites. After their mother died and their father was lost in grief, Willa had no choice but to raise her sister, Harper, and their brother, Lucas. Then, as an adult, she put her own life on hold to nurse Harper through a terrifying illness. Now that Harper is better and the sisters are living as roommates, Willa has realized her dream of running her own bakery and coffee shop, bringing her special brand of caretaking to the whole Oceanside community.
Harper, on the other hand, is always on the go. Overcoming a terrible illness has given her a new lease on life, and she does not intend to waste it. When Harper announces her plan to summit Mount Rainier, Willa fears she may be pushing herself too far. Harper, for her part, urges Willa to stop worrying and do something outside of her comfort zone—like taking a chance on love with a handsome new customer.
Sean O’Malley is as charming as he is intriguing—a freelance photographer whose assignments take him to the ends of the earth. Soon Willa’s falling for him in a way that is both exciting and terrifying. But life has taught Willa to hedge her bets, and she wonders whether the potential heartache is worth the risk.
Life has more challenges in store for them all. But both sisters will discover that even in the darkest moments, family is everything.
Description from Goodreads.
“You can always trust Macomber… to tug at your heart strings and keep you turning pages.” – AARP
“Macomber scores another home run with this surprisingly heavy but uplifting contemporary romance between a café owner and a photographer. Eloquent prose… along with [a] charming supporting cast adds a welcome dose of light and hope. With this stirring romance, Macomber demonstrates her mastery of the genre.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Highly emotional… a hard-to-put-down page-turner, yet, throughout all the heartache, the strength and love of family shines through.” – New York Journal of Books
Available Formats:
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HORROR
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones ★
The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.
Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.
Description from Goodreads.
“Gritty and gorgeous.” – New York Times
“A heartbreakingly beautiful story about hope and survival, grappling with themes of cultural identity, family, and traditions.”- Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Subtly funny and wry at turns, this novel will give you nightmares. The good kind, of course.” – Buzzfeed
“This novel works both as a terrifying chiller and as biting commentary on the existential crisis of indigenous peoples adapting to a culture that is bent on eradicating theirs.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Jones… has written a masterpiece. The book is… as instinctive and essential as it is harsh. Despite the blood and bleakness, The Only Good Indians is ultimately also about hope and the promise of the future… Read it.” – Locus
Available Formats:
Print Book (Link Forthcoming) | eBook | eAudiobook
NONFICTION
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow & Ann Friedman ★
A close friendship is one of the most influential and important relationships a human life can contain. Anyone will tell you that! But for all the rosy sentiments surrounding friendship, most people don’t talk much about what it really takes to stay close for the long haul.
Now two friends, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, tell the story of their equally messy and life-affirming Big Friendship in this honest and hilarious book that chronicles their first decade in one another’s lives. As the hosts of the hit podcast Call Your Girlfriend, they’ve become known for frank and intimate conversations. In this book, they bring that energy to their own friendship—its joys and its pitfalls.
An inspiring and entertaining testament to the power of society’s most underappreciated relationship, Big Friendship will invite you to think about how your own bonds are formed, challenged, and preserved. It is a call to value your friendships in all of their complexity. Actively choose them. And, sometimes, fight for them.
Description from Goodreads.
“Big Friendship is an anatomy of the way one particular friendship works, but it is also an argument for taking all amicable relationships more seriously, for understanding them in the terms we usually reserve for romance (the authors share their “meet cute” and discuss the ‘spark’ and ‘chemistry’ between them), and for appreciating the sometimes difficult and time-consuming work it takes to maintain these friendships.” – Vogue
“A deeply funny and immensely heartfelt look into what makes a friendship last despite time, distance, trials and major life changes.” – Elle
“Big Friendship will bring a smile to your face, remind you why you love your friends (and sometimes get angry with them too!) and make you want to call your girlfriend.” – PopSugar
“…couldn’t be more apt in the time of COVID-19. Read it with your friends across the country.” – Entertainment Weekly
Available Formats:
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Miracle Country: A Memoir by Kendra Atleework
Kendra Atleework grew up in Swall Meadows, in the Owens Valley of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where annual rainfall averages five inches and in drought years measures closer to zero.
Kendra’s family raised their children to thrive in this harsh landscape, forever at the mercy of wildfires, blizzards, and gale-force winds. Most of all, the Atleework children were raised on unconditional love and delight in the natural world. But it came at a price. When Kendra was six, her mother was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, and she died when Kendra was sixteen. Her family fell apart, even as her father tried to keep them together. Kendra took flight from her bereft family, escaping to the enemy city of Los Angeles, and then Minneapolis, land of all trees, no deserts, no droughts, full lakes, water everywhere you look.
But after years of avoiding the pain of her hometown, she realized that she had to go back, that the desert was the only place she could live. Like Wild, Miracle Country is a story of flight and return, bounty and emptiness, and the true meaning of home. But it also speaks to the ravages of climate change and its permanent destruction of the way of life in one particular town.
Description from Goodreads.
“Drawing parallels between her upbringing and the region’s history, [Atleework’s] memoir celebrates her home and the region while lovingly portraying her family’s eccentricities. Her ability to relay naturalistic majesty in exquisite detail is dynamic yet tender, resulting in captivating storytelling… A breathtaking environmental history. Atleework is a shrewd observer and her writing is a gratifying contribution to the desert-literature genre.” – PopMatters
“[A] shimmering memoir… A bittersweet tribute to home and family in breathtaking prose that will appeal to lovers of memoirs and history, as well as anyone who enjoys beautifully crafted writing.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] beautiful debut… Atleework’s remarkable prose renders the ordinary wondrous and firmly puts this overlooked region of California onto the map.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Available Formats:
Hoopla eBook
A Short History of Russia: How the World’s Largest Country Invented Itself, from the Pagans to Putin by Mark Galeotti
Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has been subject to invasion by outsiders, from Vikings to Mongols, from Napoleon’s French to Hitler’s Germans. In order to forge an identity, it has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders.
In A Short History of Russia, Mark Galeotti explores the history of this fascinating, glorious, desperate and exasperating country through two intertwined issues: the way successive influences from beyond its borders have shaped Russia, and the way Russians came to terms with this influence, writing and rewriting their past to understand their present and try to influence their future. In turn, this self-invented history has come to affect not just their constant nation-building project but also their relations with the world.
Description from Goodreads.
“A slim, accessible account of the megacountry.” – Kirkus Reviews
“An accessible and illuminating summary of how modern Russia came to be.” – Publishers Weekly
“A fantastic read… insightful and leaves the reader wanting more in the best of ways.” – Diplomatic Courier