Narrative theme: sense of place

Book Synopsis#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs delivers a riveting story that challenges our deepest-held beliefs...Caught between two worlds, Caleb Stoltz is bound by a deathbed promise to raise his orphaned niece and nephew in Middle Grove, where life revolves around family, farm, faith—and long-held suspicions about outsiders. When disaster strikes, Caleb is thrust into an urban environment of high-tech medicine and the relentless rush of modern life.Dr. Reese Powell is poised to join the medical dynasty of her wealthy, successful parents. Bold, assertive, and quick-thinking, she lives for the addictive rush of saving lives. When a shocking accident brings Caleb Stoltz into her life, Reese is forced to deal with a situation that challenges everything she thinks she knows—and ultimately emboldens her to question her most powerful beliefs.Then one impulsive act brings about a clash of cultures in

Read more less

Book SynopsisA food truck from a famous New York City brand is roving around the island, selling goodies—and threatening her business.Lu Trusdale is spending the summer on her in-laws’ dime, living on Block Island with her two young sons while her surgeon husband commutes to the mainland hospital.Trade Review“Meg Mitchell Moore fills [Maeve Binchy’s] big shoes....If you’re feeling landlocked and water-deprived, The Islanders is the ticket to the getaway you need.” — New York Times Book Review “Moore’s narrative is fast-paced, and her lead characters are flawed and believable. Readers looking for an emotional tale will find much to enjoy.” — Publishers Weekly “A beautifully in-depth novel chronicling the intersection of the lives of three strangers during one fateful summer. [Moore’s] characters are strong, and the realistic situations are both heartfelt and heartbreaking. An excellent combination of character exploration and intrigue.” — Booklist “With complex characters and vivid landscape descriptions, this fun beach read from Moore has just enough drama to keep readers wondering how the story will unfold. For fans of women’s fictions such as the works of Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer.” — Library Journal "This fast-paced, witty beach read has all the elements of a great drama, including a Greek chorus of second-grade moms providing color commentary. Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere." — Booklist on Two Truths and a Lie

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"My kind of book-- tense and frightening and twisted and FUN. I guarantee you-- everything from EEKS to SHRIEKS!" — R. L. Stine, author of the bestselling Goosebumps series “OBLITERATION is a bloody war zone of throat-clutching suspense and horror, showcasing humanity at its best and worst. The action is unrelenting, a true rollercoaster of savage twists, turns, and rolls. So strap in and get ready for the ride of your life!” — James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crucible “What a finale to the trilogy. Obliteration is exactly what it says: loads of action, explosive fights, and of course…even more creatures. Join the fight and see how it ends. So much fun!” — Brad Meltzer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist "This grim vision of humanity's possible extinction should satisfy those looking for a gruesome, diverting read." — Booklist

Read more less

Book Synopsis?Scary amazing fun.??Brad MeltzerEvils both above and below ground arise once again, threatening the world and all its inhabitants with extinction in this electrifying science fiction thriller?the final novel set in the Awakened universe?from the #1 internationally bestselling author and star of television?s Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction writer.Thanks to the heroics of former New York City Mayor Tom Cafferty and his team, the world is once again safe. The villainous Foundation for Human Advancement has been dismantled, the cities of the world are safe from nuclear annihilation, and Cafferty is now on a hunt to decimate every nest of creatures on the planet.When Cafferty enters a nest underneath the Nevada desert, he is horrified to find it completely empty. It can only mean one thing: the battle for survival is not over. Across the planet, creatures are emerging from their subterranean homes. Now, the all-out war against humanity has begun?a war in which only one apex species will survive. Humankind has finally met its match.Cafferty knows that only one man can help him stop the onslaught. A man who is despised by the world. A man who has already caused the death of millions. A man who is a sworn enemy hell-bent on taking Tom Cafferty down forever: Albert Van Ness.But even this desperate move may not be enough to stop the creatures and save humanity . . .Trade Review"My kind of book-- tense and frightening and twisted and FUN. I guarantee you-- everything from EEKS to SHRIEKS!" — R. L. Stine, author of the bestselling Goosebumps series “OBLITERATION is a bloody war zone of throat-clutching suspense and horror, showcasing humanity at its best and worst. The action is unrelenting, a true rollercoaster of savage twists, turns, and rolls. So strap in and get ready for the ride of your life!” — James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crucible “What a finale to the trilogy. Obliteration is exactly what it says: loads of action, explosive fights, and of course…even more creatures. Join the fight and see how it ends. So much fun!” — Brad Meltzer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist "This grim vision of humanity's possible extinction should satisfy those looking for a gruesome, diverting read." — Booklist

Read more less

Book SynopsisNew York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan returns to the setting of her beloved Little Beach Street Bakery series for a timely and heartfelt novel set in a Cornish seaside village.Marisa Rossi can?t understand why everyone else is getting on with their lives as she still struggles to get over the death of her beloved grandfather, back home in Italy. Everyone loses grandparents, right? Why is she taking it so badly?Retreating further and further from normal life, she moves to the end of the earth?the remote tidal island of Mount Polbearne, at the foot of Cornwall, hoping for peace and solitude, whilst carrying on her job as a registrar, dealing with births, weddings, and deaths, even as she feels life is passing her by.Unfortunately?or fortunately??the solitude she craves proves elusive. Between her noisy Russian piano-teaching neighbor, the bustle and community spirit of the tiny village struggling back to life after the quarantine, and the pressing need to help save the local bakery, can Marisa find her joy again at the end of the world?

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAt long last, the legendary New York Times bestselling author returns with a heartfelt novel of womanhood, a wild heart, and the healing power of love.Run, run, as fast as you can!When life throws her one setback too many, midwife and young widow Tess Hartsong takes off for Runaway Mountain.Trade Review"...deeply felt romance...Phillips layers this poignant love story with robust descriptions of mountain scenery and society, and a well-handled subplot about Tess’s fight for comprehensive sex education for the town’s teens. This stirring romance is sure to capture readers’ hearts." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) "In this superbly written stand-alone, this master storyteller's flair for highly imaginative plots and flawless characterization are on full display, resulting an emotionally enriching, breathtakingly brilliant tale of heartbreak and hope... lively writing liberally laced with multiple layers of delicious wit and snarky charm." — Booklist (starred review) "Ian and Tess are pitch-perfect in this sweet and sizzling stand-alone story from best-selling Phillips." — Library Journal

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“There’s sun, sea and major drama—you’ll be carried away.” — People "Irresistible." — vogue.com "What a pleasure to open Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore and be invited for the summer to midcoast Maine. A novel full of rich, complex characters, deep blue-gray ocean views, and simmering secrets, Vacationland is as sophisticated and delicious as lobster bisque." — Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters and The Lifeguards "Engrossing....A truly lovely tale of families, love, mistakes, forgiveness, and, yes, happiness." — Kirkus Reviews "Delectable...Readers are in for a treat." — Publishers Weekly "Captures the breezy feel of a summer in Maine while addressing a variety of problems, from work/life balance to paternity, that will resonate with readers." — Booklist "Full of breathtaking Maine sunsets and family drama writ large and small, Vacationland is both an escapist summer read and a thoughtful examination of motherhood, privilege and what makes a family." — Shelf Awareness “[A] scintillating, dishy, and dark novel perfect for those who enjoyed Never Have I Ever and Big Little Lies.” — Bookreporter.com on Two Truths and a Lie “Meg Mitchell Moore fills [Maeve Binchy’s] big shoes....If you’re feeling landlocked and water-deprived, The Islanders is the ticket to the getaway you need.” — New York Times Book Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisPerformed by Reese Witherspoon#1 New York Times Bestseller“Go Set a Watchman is such an important book, perhaps the most important novel on race to come out of the white South in decades.  — New York Times A landmark novel by Harper Lee, set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird.Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—“Scout”—returns home to Maycomb, Alabama from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown in

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“It’s Catch Me if You Can meets Sweetbitter, from the woman who blew the whistle on Uber’s software engineering team—what’s not to love?” — Entertainment Weekly “[A] page-turner that’s hilarious in its dedication to vamping on viral news stories about real-life strivers and cons from Delvey to Instagram personality Caroline Calloway … a delicious read.” — TIME magazine “Taking inspiration from the Anna Delveys of the world, Cover Story is a delicious read about a young intern who gets caught up in a breathtakingly opulent—if claustrophobic—scheme (or four).” — Marie Claire “Rigetti's fiction debut has a roller-coaster plot that gives off huge Anna Delvey vibes and an ending that will leave you with your jaw on the floor…. If you're a fan of tales about scams, grifters, and mysterious schemes, Cover Story needs to be on your TBR list.” — Popsugar “Cover Story is a good read … man oh man, it’s got suites at the Plaza, the FBI closing in, Russian hackers, designer clothes and a plot that stays ahead of the reader. Rigetti has written a need-to-read story.” — San Francisco Chronicle “[A] ridiculously fun romp.” — E! Online “A clever epistolary novel with an elegant con woman at its center—in other words, perfect escapism for this moment.” — Seattle Times “[C]inematic…Rigetti’s propulsive narrative, which includes Instagram posts, text messages, and FBI case files, keeps the pages turning, and there’s a juicy twist.” — Publishers Weekly “Inspired by the stories of Anna Sorokin, Caroline Calloway, and others, Cover Story is a captivating novel that readers won’t be able to put down.” — Shondaland “Journalist Rigetti's debut kicks off beach-read season with a bang…. Drawing heavy inspiration from the true story of Anna Delvey, who conned New York's elite for several years in the mid-2010s, this book will be a must-read for the legions who followed Delvey's story with bated breath.… It’s The Devil Wear’s Prada meets Gone Girl, and it’s delightful.” — Booklist (starred review) “[E]ntertaining…clever, fast-paced…the crafty Rigetti makes fraud a lot of fun. An entertaining shell game of a novel.” — Kirkus Reviews “Cover Story by Susan Rigetti is an unforgettable tale of scams and double-crosses told through emails, diary entries, and FBI correspondence.” — Popsugar “I just loved Susan Rigetti's Cover Story, which is an insightful, tense story that's exactly what you want from a twisty thriller about a hustler (think Anna Delvey) who isn't what she appears.” — Linda Holmes, New York Times bestselling author of Evie Drake Starts Over “This juicy tale of stolen identities and ever-increasing fraud, set against a tony Manhattan backdrop, is told entirely through original documents—Instagram posts, FBI transcripts—that place the reader in the role of detective. But even self-styled Poirots won't see what's coming: the book ended with a wallop that made me literally gasp—and admire debut author Susan Rigetti's sure-handed, inventive page-turner all the more.” — Stephanie Clifford, New York Times bestselling author of Everybody Rise "The grifter gets a glow up in Susan Rigetti’s crafty caper. Devilish, innovative, and lightning-paced, Cover Story is like an internet rabbit hole you can hold in your hands. What fun!" — Lauren Mechling, author of How Could She “Cover Story is pure delight from its deceptively sweet start to its shocking finish—an ingénue tale unlike any I've read before. I audibly gasped at the end. Unpredictable, satisfying, and full of surprises." — Mary Adkins, author of Palm Beach “A cleverly constructed caper which beneath its charming exterior keenly examines grifter culture, the power dynamics of friendship, and the allure of the American dream. A deeply satisfying read which perfectly reflects today’s society.” — Kathy Wang, author of Impostor Syndrome “Every con woman needs a mark, and Susan Rigetti's clever telling of the friendship between sweet, naïve, ambitious Lora and the probably sociopathic Cat Wolff is a con woman/mark relationship for the ages. Cat may have seduced Lora, but Cover Story seduced me.” — Doree Shafrir, author of Thanks for Waiting and Startup “A breathless ride through a New York City of starving writers, glamorous con women, fashion magazines, and luxury hotels, Cover Story is irresistible and impossible to put down, a fast-paced tale of what we are willing to risk to make our dreams come true.” — Iris Martin Cohen, author of The Little Clan "Wow, I have to untangle my brain after reading this book! Rigetti's debut novel is compulsively readable and FUN. Well-crafted and irresistible, this caper will have readers gasping!" — Elissa R. Sloan, author of The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn endearingly off-kilter coming-of-age story. . . . Debbie will win your heart. —People, The Best New BooksSelected as the One Dublin One Book choice for 2024An exquisitely talented young Irish writer makes her literary debut with this powerful and haunting novel—a tale of love and family, depression and joy, and coming of age in the twenty-first century.Eighteen-year-old Debbie was raised on her family’s rural dairy farm, forty minutes and a world away from Dublin. She lives with her mother, Maeve, a skittish woman who takes to her bed for days on end, claims not to know who Debbie’s father is, and believes her dreams are prophecies. Rounding out their small family is Maeve’s brother Billy, who lives in a caravan behind their house, drinks too much, and likes to impersonate famous dead writers online. Though they may have their quirks, the Whites’ fierce love for on

Read more less

Book SynopsisNow in paperback, the mad and wonderful” (Roddy Doyle) debut from your next Irish literary obsession (Shondaland): a novel about joy and despair, family and love, and coming of age in the 21st century. “Snowflake is a wonderfully inventive, deeply felt novel full of the best kinds of surprises.”—Margot LiveseyAn exquisitely talented young Irish writer makes her literary debut with this powerful and haunting novel. Eighteen-year-old Debbie was raised on her family’s rural dairy farm, forty minutes and a world away from Dublin. She lives with her mother, Maeve, a skittish woman who takes to her bed for days on end, claims not to know who Debbie’s father is, and believes her dreams are prophecies. Rounding out their small family is Maeve’s brother Billy, who lives in a caravan behind their house, drinks too much, and likes to impersonate famous dead writers online. Though they may ha

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWinner of the Writers’ Guild Award for Best First NovelAn utterly original coming-of-age tale, marked by wrenching humor and staggering charisma, about a young woman resisting the savagery of adulthood in a community of the elderly rejecting the promise of youth.“Season Butler has written an imaginative, atmospheric and original novel that lingers in the memory long after reading. She is a bright new voice in literature.”  —Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other“It’s too hot for most of the clothes I packed to come here, when I thought this would only be for a week or two. My mother kissed me with those purple-brown lips of hers and said, we’ll be back, hold tight.”The seventeen-year-old Kid doesn’t know where her parents are. They left her with her grandmother Lolly, promising to return soon. That w

Read more less

Book SynopsisNew York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan returns to the setting of her beloved Little Beach Street Bakery series for a timely and heartfelt novel set in a Cornish seaside village.Marisa Rossi can’t understand why everyone else is getting on with their lives as she still struggles to get over the death of her beloved grandfather, back home in Italy. Everyone loses grandparents, right? Why is she taking it so badly?Retreating further and further from normal life, she moves to the end of the earth—the remote tidal island of Mount Polbearne, at the foot of Cornwall, hoping for peace and solitude, whilst carrying on her job as a registrar, dealing with births, weddings, and deaths, even as she feels life is passing her by.Unfortunately—or fortunately?—the solitude she craves proves elusive. Between her noisy Russian piano-teaching neighbor, the bustle and community spirit of the tiny village struggling back to life after the quarantine, and the pressing need to help save the local bakery, can Marisa find her joy again at the end of the world?

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisNew York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde’s delightful Twilight, Texas, series continues with this sparkling Christmas novel. A reality TV show producer returns to her hometown of Twilight in this lovers reunited story filled with holiday spirit and perfect for readers of Susan Mallery and Jill Shalvis. She was the one who got away…Noelle Curry has returned to Twilight to plan the most spectacular double wedding the town has ever seen—and do it on national television. But the woman known as “The Wedding Whisperer” is knocked speechless when she notices her teenage crush, Gil Thomas, is about to plunge into icy cold water wearing nothing more than a pair of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer swim trunks. He is the sexiest guy participating in the annual polar bear plunge and seeing him pushes all thoughts of white lace and rose blossoms right out of her mind. Trade Review“Second Chance Christmas is a sweet friends-to-lovers story set at Christmastime. It’s about making peace with the past and learning to let people in.” — HarlequinJunkie.com “A charming visit to two of our favorite Lori Wilde destinations: Cupid and Twilight, Texas, of course... [in this] sassy, sexy romantic tale set in the holiday season. Lori Wilde has created two wonderful somewhat crazy families that have captured our hearts.” — Fresh Fiction on The Christmas Backup Plan “Holiday spirit pervades this emotional second chance romance... Kelsey and Noah’s sizzling chemistry leaps off the page. Plenty of Christmas trimming will put readers in a festive mood.” — Publishers Weekly on The Christmas Dare “[A] joyful, romantic Christmas read with a mostly satisfying, redemptive second-chance arc.” — Kirkus Reviews on The Christmas Dare “An absolute crowd-pleaser...The magnetism between Naomi and Mark is breathtaking and real, and the magic of Christmas enhances their romance.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Christmas Key "Page-turning and passionate, Lori Wilde's novels are always a delight!" — Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author, on The Keepsake Sisters “Lori Wilde has created a rich and wonderful story about the charm of small town life combined with the power and passion of first love. Delicious!” — Robyn Carr “…A a superbly executed contemporary romance. From the book’s richly nuanced characters to its heartwarming small-town setting, each element plays off the others in perfect harmony. And when it comes to striking exactly the right balance between sweet and sexy, Wilde has the equivalent of perfect pitch.” — Booklist

Read more less

Book SynopsisNew York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde returns to Twilight, Texas, with a delicious love story about a sexy cowboy and a love-shy nurse determined to win the Christmas Cookie Bake-off challenge. He’s sexy, single, and he can bake!Roan Sullivan is the answer to Jazzy Walker’s prayers. The doting single dad is also fresh off his win on a popular cooking show and a whiz at campfire cooking, so who better to help her win this year’s annual cookie bake-off? With his help, Jazzy is sure she can finally take first prize right out the grasping hands of Andi Browning, the gal who stole her fiancé right from under her nose.A widower with a four-year-old daughter, Roan tells himself there’s a million reasons not to help Jazzy. She’s too kind, too optimistic, and could do so much better than hitching up with a curmudgeon like him. But every time she draws near, he canTrade Review“Second Chance Christmas is a sweet friends-to-lovers story set at Christmastime. It’s about making peace with the past and learning to let people in.” — Harlequin Junkie “A charming visit to two of our favorite Lori Wilde destinations: Cupid and Twilight, Texas, of course... [in this] sassy, sexy romantic tale set in the holiday season. Lori Wilde has created two wonderful somewhat crazy families that have captured our hearts.” — Fresh Fiction on The Christmas Backup Plan “Holiday spirit pervades this emotional second chance romance... Kelsey and Noah’s sizzling chemistry leaps off the page. Plenty of Christmas trimming will put readers in a festive mood.” — Publishers Weekly on The Christmas Dare “[A] joyful, romantic Christmas read with a mostly satisfying, redemptive second-chance arc.” — Kirkus Reviews on The Christmas Dare “An absolute crowd-pleaser...The magnetism between Naomi and Mark is breathtaking and real, and the magic of Christmas enhances their romance.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Christmas Key

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe instant New York Times bestseller!?Sublime...Colgan infuses her latest book with humor, wit, suspense and a perfectly cast love triangle.?--USA TodayThe Christmas Bookshop is literary hot chocolate with a bourbon shot: hot, sweet but with a surprising emotional kick.--The Times (UK)Perfect for the holidays! A brand-new heartwarming Christmas novel from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Bookshop on the Corner and Christmas at the Island Hotel. Laid off from her department store job, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. The prospect of spending Christmas with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia's perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered yuppie life does not appeal.Frankly, Sofia doesn't exactly want her prickly sister Carmen there either. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help revitalizing his shabby old bookshop. So Carmen moves in and takes the job.Thrown rather suddenly into the inner workings of Mr. McCredie's ancient bookshop on the picturesque streets of historic Edinburgh, Carmen is intrigued despite herself. The store is dusty and disorganized but undeniably charming. Can she breathe some new life into it in time for Christmas shopping? What will happen when a famous and charismatic author takes a sudden interest in the bookshop and Carmen? And will the Christmas spirit be enough to help heal her fractured family?

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the author of Raft of Stars comes a heartfelt novel of marriage and whitewater rafting, following one couple as they navigate the changing currents of family, community, and the river itself.As the summer of 1993 begins, Sam and Swami Brecht roll into town with a twenty-six-foot Winnebago camper van, their three young kids, and the deed to Woodchuck Rafting Company. Sam and Swami met as young, adventurous river guides but, a decade later, find themselves weighed down by money worries and the demands of adulthood. The town of Thunderwater, in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, could be the fresh start their marriage needs. But Woodchuck, once the property of Sam’s eccentric uncle, has seen better days and will need a serious overhaul if it is going to stand a chance at survival.Soon Sam and Swami learn they are not the only ones looking for change and profit on the river. A competing rafting outfit, clashing raft guides, st

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Exquisite and gripping. . . . The Gulf is a page turner to be savored; Cochran is a master of both prose and plot.”—Ilana Masad, author of All My Mother’s LoversIn this electrifying debut literary thriller, set on the gulf coast of Texas in the 1970s at the height of the women’s liberation movement, a closeted young woman attempts to solve her surrogate mother’s murder in a tight-knit, religious small town.In Parson, Texas, a small town ravaged by a devastating hurricane and the Vietnam War, twenty-nine-year-old Lou is diligently renovating a decaying old mansion for Miss Kate, the elderly neighbor who has always been like a mother to her. Mourning her brother’s death in Vietnam, Lou dreams of enjoying a more peaceful future in Parson. But those hopes are crushed when Miss Kate is murdered, and no one but Lou seems to care about finding the killer.The situation becomes

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford: the final novel in the world of Frank Bascombe, one of the most indelible characters in American literature Over the course of four celebrated works of fiction and almost forty years, Richard Ford has crafted an ambitious, incisive, and singular view of American life as lived. Unconstrained, astute, provocative, often laugh-out-loud funny, Frank Bascombe is once more our guide to the great American midway.Now in the twilight of life, a man who has occupied many colorful lives—sportswriter, father, husband, ex-husband, friend, real estate agent—Bascombe finds himself in the most sorrowing role of all: caregiver to his son, Paul, diagnosed with ALS. On a shared winter odyssey to Mount Rushmore, Frank, in typical Bascombe fashion, faces down the mortality that is assured each of us, and in doing so confronts what happiness might signify at the end of days.In this mem

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Trade Review"Masterly... Quade has created a world bristling with compassion and humanity. The characters and the challenges they face are wholly realized and moving; their journeys span a wide spectrum of emotion and it is impossible not to root for [them]." -- Alexandra Chang - New York Times Book Review"[A] fine-grained domestic saga... Quade is masterful with [her characters'] fragility... [A] big-hearted novel." -- Mark Athitakis - USA Today"Gorgeously textured... [Quade's] sinewy sentences and emotional daring astound... Quade glides elegantly across a silken tightrope between comedy and tragedy, twists of fate that buoy her narrative to its resonant conclusion. The Five Wounds is destined to be one of this year's most celebrated works of fiction." -- Hamilton Cain - Minneapolis Star Tribune"Kirstin Valdez Quade's debut novel hooked me on page one... It's a wholehearted, radiant, and darkly funny exploration of family, faith, and forgiveness." -- Arianna Rebolini - Buzzfeed"A gorgeously written, epic tale of one Latinx family's via dolorosa." -- O Magazine"With beautifully layered relationships and an honest yet profoundly empathetic picture of a rural community—where the families proudly trace their roots back to the Spanish conquistadors while struggling with poverty and a deadly drug epidemic—this novel is a brilliant meditation on love and redemption. Perfectly rendered characters anchor a novel built around a fierce, flawed, and loving family." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Penetrating... The well-developed characters convey palpable emotion as Amadeo's failures as a father, partner, entrepreneur, and even as Jesus translate into fits of rage and frustration. Quade's rendering of a singular community is pitch perfect." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Profoundly affecting... Expertly crafted, this story of family and community introduces us to often needy characters for whom readers come to care deeply. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal (starred review)"Quade ably delivers a story that is nuanced and authentic without a whiff of melodrama... [A] generous tale of characters who understand the inevitability of fate but try to forge ahead anyway in the hope of breaking free." -- Booklist (starred review)"A masterful novel of family, faith, doubt. Quade's storytelling gift is her ability to capture the mysterious pulse of belief and ground them in visceral ritual on the page." -- Millions"In this cruel and divisive era, Kirstin Valdez Quade has brought healing and regeneration with The Five Wounds. It is bracing and wise, and it breaks us in the best ways. Then builds us back up again. It should find many grateful readers." -- Luis Alberto Urrea, author of House of Broken Angels"Kirstin Valdez Quade writes with exquisite precision about the fragility and resilience of the Padilla family…I loved The Five Wounds, which reminded me that growing pains are not confined to adolescence and that people can be newborn at any age. Even its most excruciating moments are charged with a luminous compassion." -- Karen Russell, author of Orange World and Other Stories"The characters in this engrossing novel are created in luminous and memorable detail. Just as the pacing is perfect, so too are the tact and care with which each scene is made. Kirstin Valdez Quade, by concentrating on the truth of small moments, has brought a whole world into focus." -- Colm Tóibín, author of House of Names"With deep empathy, fierce intelligence, and subtle wit, Kirstin Valdez Quade has crafted an indelible portrait of a family living in precarity. The characters in The Five Wounds are so vivid, their grasping efforts toward love and redemption so finely wrought, and each page full of such immaculate prose, that I read this novel with ever-increasing breathless urgency." -- Phil Klay, author of Missionaries"You hold in your hands a small, complete universe vibrating with joy and grief, humor and absurdity and delight. All the fabulous mess of humanity is, somehow, in these pages. The Five Wounds is bighearted, tender, wise, and shot through with moments of pure grace." -- C Pam Zhang, author of How Much of These Hills Is Gold

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Bonnie Jo Campbell has quietly become one of our best writers. She brings news you haven’t heard before, and that’s why I read. Her new novel, The Waters, is written in prose strong and lyrical, and tells a story so deeply rooted in a specific place that the accumulation of details approaches the magical." -- Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter’s Bone"Bonnie Jo Campbell’s The Waters is a novel, a living myth, and a place.… Imagine a mash-up of Flannery O’Connor and the Brothers Grimm, of Angela Carter’s reimagined fairy tales and William Faulkner’s gothic sublime. And yet, The Waters is all Bonnie Jo. If you’ve read her, you know what I mean, how she sees and evokes us, and this land we inhabit, covered in mayapples and dogwood, cuntshells and quickmuck, with a masterful, tender objectivity. The Waters is no utopia. It is muddy and bloody; it swallows us whole and effervesces into fog. It is the magic we’d inhabit if we still believed in magic, the dream we’d have if we could sleep." -- Diane Seuss, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Frank: Sonnets"The Waters will suck you into its muddy gut and not let go.… A powerful, fragrant, readable, almost edible novel. In The Waters, Bonnie Jo Campbell, who understands the women and men of the no-longer-prosperous rural Midwest better than anyone, dreams up a marshy Northwoods township where factual flora and fauna, soil quality and agricultural practice, demographics and religious affiliation somehow share a long, dotted, antic boundary line with Oz and The Blue Fairy Book, with märchen, folkways, and ancient myth." -- Jaimy Gordon, National Book Award–winning author of Lord of Misrule"There are scenes of sadness and turmoil in Bonnie Jo Campbell’s superb new novel, but at its core is an abiding sense of wonder. We encounter that wonder in Campbell’s minute attentive-ness to her rural Michigan landscape as well as to her understanding of the complexities of the human heart. Nevertheless, for all the novel’s vividness, The Waters has an ethereal quality that we enter as if into a waking dream, and even after we turn the last page, we remain under its spell, enchanted" -- Ron Rash, author of Serena"On a swampy island in Michigan, an outcast herbalist and her granddaughter contend with traumatic family secrets and an absent mother in this vividly drawn corner of rural America." -- New York Times Book Review"For Campbell, the dose of pixie dust is thoroughly diluted in a stream of gritty reality; her style never leaves the loamy land behind[.] Once you get thoroughly sunk into the story, you’ll resent ever having to leave this matriarchal family that insists on preserving its own peculiar ways in a world determined to move on…Campbell’s most astonishing feat is bringing The Waters to a climax that abandons the fantasy of her “once upon a time” opening and yet eventually delivers us to a place of real magic we never could have anticipated." -- Ron Charles - Washington Post Book Review"Campbell has been exploring hardship, especially the hardships that independent and exploratory women have to work through, for most of her writing career. She knows that unexpected misfortunes have to be put up with, and the question is always whether to do it your own way or to give in to the people around you and embark on a life you do not want…The Waters is a thought-provoking and readable exploration of eccentricity and of all different kinds of love—familial love, romantic love, love of knowledge, love of animals and love of one’s own environment, even when it is a difficult place to live." -- Jane Smiley - Los Angeles Times Book Review"Campbell, who lives outside Kalamazoo, Michigan, is one of American fiction’s leading voices about rural life: the struggle to make a living, the beauty of the wild environment, the thorny and sometimes violent relationships between men and women, and the economic and industrial pressures that threaten everything…filled with vivid descriptions of the diverse flora of this wetlands, The Waters is a realistic novel with a strong thread of fairy tale running through it[.] The Waters builds toward an incredible climactic episode that addresses the great divide running through this imperiled community." -- Jim Higgins - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"If you enjoy reading about strong, independent, purposeful women who thrive in the face of adversity and in spite of serious flaws, both personal and professional, this is a book for you[.] From lurking vengeful locals with firearms to deadly snakes protected by federal law, this tale moves irresistibly to an end that fulfills the promise of the rest of the book. It also addresses some trenchant current issues that appear in the news daily but are not, in fact new, but age-old problems that continue to baffle those with prospective solutions. It is a muscular and meaningful book that should be great book group material." -- Reading the West"With its detailed portrayal of nature and its mystical elements, The Waters paints a vivid picture of life in a rural area." -- Julie Hinds - Detroit Free Press"This is a verdant, gripping, and clarion saga of home, family, and womanhood, of meaningful work and metamorphosis, of poisons and antidotes, and the urgent need for us to heal and sustain the imperiled living world that heals and sustains us." -- Donna Seaman - Booklist (starred review)"With an electrifying vocabulary all its own (here, cigarettes are coffin nails, and plant names roll off the tongue with ease), The Waters is a novel that is rife with enchantments—a classic in the making, introducing generations of heroines who are destined to be beloved." -- Michelle Schingler - Foreward (starred review)"…one of the most important voices in American fiction. " -- Rebecca Jones Schinski - Book Riot"Bonnie Jo Campbell is one of the chief practitioners of Midwestern Gothic, and the National Book Award finalist’s first novel in a dozen years is reason to rejoice. The Waters is an indelible portrait of rural Michigan and the women tough enough to live there, with writing so evocative it practically sprouts in your hands. Lush, brackish, and bracing, The Waters is not so much read as steeped in." -- The Christian Science Monitor"I especially loved all the descriptive details…[The Waters] is a wonderful winter read that has you inspired for warmer springtime weather ahead." -- Victoria Giardina - New York Post

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn NPR Best Book of 2018 "Devastating.…Grows increasingly bizarre and haunting until it’s left an indelible mark." —Janet Maslin, New York TimesTrade Review"A new kind of American Western." -- Jolie Myers - NPR"A ferocious love letter to the forgotten and the scorned." -- Matt Gallagher"Fans of Cormac McCarthy and Russell Banks will find plenty to like in Loskutoff’s fresh voice and keen instincts for drama." -- LA Weekly"Like postcards from a truthful place, Come West and See holds a mirror up to America—a brutal, ferocious image that carries a beauty unto itself." -- Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire mysteries, basis for the Netflix original series Longmire"Maxim Loskutoff highlights life on the other side— the disenfranchised, angry, sullen, rebellious, gun-packing side. See them attempt to create a homeland of their own." -- William Kittredge, author of Hole in the Sky"Violence waits for its moment in the quietest of lives, and Loskutoff shows us that we had better face it and do our best to understand it. A tough, human work of fiction." -- Tom Bouman, author of Dry Bones in the Valley"[A] visceral debut.… Come West and See almost invites comparison with books in the vein of Juan Rulfo’s enigmatic midcentury masterpiece Pedro Páramo.… Whereas Rulfo’s novel is full of corpses, Loskutoff’s characters are very much alive." -- Adam DePollo - Michigan Quarterly Review"It is impossible not to be struck by the tenderness in Loskutoff’s writing: the sublime setting; the vivid characters, so precise and unique it seems like he dreamed them up whole and fully fledged; the intricacies of love, fear, and fatigue that resonate so strongly they left me actually breathless." -- Ploughshares

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Complex, entirely original, and whip-smart.” —John LescroartTrade Review"Michael McGarrity does for New Mexico what James Lee Burke does for Louisiana. The land is in his blood. So is crime writing." -- David Morrell"[McGarrity’s] portrait of [New Mexico] is a strong one, built on meticulously detailed intelligence gathered, sifted and analyzed for unspoken secrets and lies by the author’s own deeply cunning mind." -- Marilyn Stasio - New York Times"With each succeeding mystery, McGarrity is ever more sure of his central character, Kerney. Richly textured in setting and character, this series gets better with each outing." -- Dallas Times Herald"An ex-cop, McGarrity knows what he’s writing about—and how to write it." -- Tony Hillerman

Read more less