Titles to Know and Recommend, Week of Dec. 7, 2015
The output of titles slows down considerably this week, as stores move into high gear for the big holiday season. Even so, two big-name titles arrive to strong holds lists.
Secret Sisters, Jayne Ann Krentz, (PRH/Berkley)
A People pick this week, called “suspenseful, romantic escape,” LJ picked it as one of the best Romance novels of the year. Booklist stars it, saying, “the doyenne of sophisticated romantic suspense serves up another irresistible combination of sharply etched characters, suspenseful plotting, smoldering sexual chemistry, and wonderfully written dialogue that snaps, crackles, and pops with the author’s distinctive wit.”
Ashley Bell, Dean Koontz, (PRH/Bantam)
Further behind in holds, this is People magazine’s “Book of the Week,” described as “a mind-bender filled with satisfying surprises.” Booklist predicts, “Koontz hits the canny nexus of horror, mystery, and fantasy here, which should drive demand even higher than normal.”
The titles covered here, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of 12/7/15.
Media Attention
The Relic Master, Christopher Buckley, (Simon & Schuster)
Buckley moves his brand of satire from the present back to the Holy Roman Empire in 1517. PW calls the result “part Monty Python and part Ocean’s 11. The clever narrative is filled with laugh-out-loud one-liners but, amazingly, doesn’t stint on the suspense.”
The author is set to appear Dec. 8th on CBS This Morning and Dec. 12th on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Peer Picks
Paradise City by Elizabeth Day (Bloomsbury USA; OverDrive Sample).
A December Indie Next selection:
“When I was young, one of my favorite toys was my dollhouse. It looked just like a regular house from the front, but the back was open with all the rooms exposed. That’s what Paradise City reminded me of, with each chapter narrated by a different character, all inscrutable to the people around them, but giving the reader glimpses into their inner lives. Every character is richly detailed and Day’s clear, sharp prose had me relating to their every feeling from wild, unexpected happiness to deep, thudding sadness. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a book this much!” —Lauren Peugh, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
Tie-ins
Last week Nexflix began streaming a series based on the Marvel superhero comic Jessica Jones. Four books collect the original comics. Released earlier this fall were Jessica Jones: Alias Vol. 1 and Volume 2 (Marvel).
Coming next week is Jessica Jones: Alias Vol. 3 and in January, Jessica Jones : Alias Vol. 4.
Starring Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad) as Jones, a character with superhuman strength, The Guardian says the show explores “the after-effects of trauma, exploitation and abuse, with smart and subtle things to say about the way guilt affects the lives of the victims, and how exploitation corrupts the exploiter.”
The Disney film The Finest Hours, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck. coming Jan. 29th, is based on the middle-grade title, The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman (Macmillan/Holt, 2014)
In addition to the children’s tie-in (Macmillan/Square Fish, trade pbk), it is being released as an adult title (S&S. Scribner; mass market edition S&S/Pocket, 12/29).
The true story of the US Coast Guard’s efforts to rescue two tanker ships during a 1952 monstrous nor’easter was revisited recenty in a story in The Washington Post.