Eight Tip-of-the-Tongue Titles for the Week of 6/23/14
The watchword for next week is “stand-alones” as many brand-name authors publish books that are not part of their well-known series.
Leading in terms of holds is James Patterson’s Invisible, (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Large Print; Hachette Audio), a standalone and his third collaboration with David Ellis, following Guilty Wives and Mistress.
Coming in second, averaging half as many holds, is Karin Slaughter’s stand-alone, Cop Town, (RH/Delacorte).
The prolific Dean Koontz makes his latest appearance in the standalone The City (RH/Bantam; Recorded Books; Thorndike), hard on the heels of Innocence, which came out in December. He has yet another coming this December, the next in his Odd Thomas series, Saint Odd, (RH/Bantam). If you’re wondering what happened to the Odd Thomas movie, after some legal struggles, it was released on demand and DVD in February.
Readers Advisory Tips
Jacqueline Winspear is known for her Maisie Dobbs series, mysteries featuring WWI nurse turned private investigator in London between the wars. The books have arrived in quick succession since the first was published in 2003, and have grown in popularity, hitting best seller lists. Her new book is her first stand-alone, with an intriguing title, The Care and Management of Lies: A Novel of the Great War (Harper; HarperLuxe; Blackstone Audio). The “lies” are the half-truths people tell each other to help them through difficult times. In this case, a woman tries to keep her husband’s spirits up at the front during WWI, through letters that recount sumptuous meals she imagines preparing for him.
This is a stand-alone that may prove to bring new readers to the author, enticing those who came late to the party and may not have been willing to tackle the entire Maisie series. Fans of Maisie need not worry, however, the author is under contract for two more, with the next one, The White Lady, scheduled for some time in 2015
Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng, (Penguin Press)
Debuts don’t often get featured on Entertainment Weekly’s “Must List,” so it’s significant that reading this one is on their list of ten necessary things to do in the upcoming week. The book is described as “a propulsive mystery … an explosive debut.”
Many librarians were introduced to the author through our Penguin Debut Authors program; read our online chat with the author here. It’s about a young girl who goes missing, but don’t let readers be put off by the subject; it’s much more than a “ripped from the headlines” novel, using that event as a way to reveal the family dynamics.
The peer reviews on Edelweiss give clues on how to recommend it; “the reader uncovers the truth one person at a time … as each person moves through the tragedy that has befallen them,” and “The first line draws you in, and the multiple perspectives make it compelling reading, which is well worth the journey.” The author is scheduled to appear on NPR/Weekend All Things Considered on 6/28.
Identity, Ingrid Thoft, (Penguin/Putnam)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer review clearly made believers, causing holds to rise in local libraries on this second book in a series, after Loyalty, “a craftily plotted page-turner. Identity … is even better … sexy modern noir – and readers [will be] cheering on a new-generation, kick-ass heroine. Grade: A”
In The Media
Unfriending My Ex: And Other Things I’ll Never Do, Kim Stolz, (S&S/Scribner)
A book by a youg media-savvy author (an MTV VJ and contestant on America’s Next Top Model) about how her generation needs to follow her lead and quit social media, which she says has become an “addiction.” Sounds like catnip for the media and in fact, she is scheduled for an appearance on CBS This Morning, June 24 and for coverage in People magazine, among others.
Tie-Ins
After all those creepy teasers and trailers, the FX series, The Strain, will finally debut on July 17. Harper is releasing Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s entire vampire trilogy as tie-ins:
The Strain TV Tie-in Edition
The Fall TV Tie-in Edition
The Night Eternal TV Tie-in Edition