New Title Radar – Week of 4/25
It’s the last gasp of the spring publishing season before we begin diving into summer. Below are the titles you will be hearing about next week.
Watch List
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe is the autobiography of the film and TV star who made his name with the 1980s Brat Pack. The New York Times‘s Janet Maslin is a fan: “Mr. Lowe emerges as a canny observer of both himself and others, and as someone whose instincts have grown increasingly sharp over time.” But Entertainment Weekly gives the book a “B”, taking Lowe to task for devoting only four paragraphs to his 1988 sex tape scandal, involving a 16 year-old and another woman, and for omitting his 2008 nanny scandal, involving sexual harassment and blackmail acccusations. That may be remedied when Lowe appears on Oprah on Thursday, 4/28. Libraries we checked have orders in line with mounting holds.
Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incrediblea Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff (HarperCollins) is “an engaging story about the survival and ultimate rescue of three American service people who crashed in the dense jungles of New Guinea toward the end of World War II,” says Library Journal. Well-received by librarians participating our special edition of GalleyChat, it’s the Indie Next #6 pick for May and lands with a 200,000 copy printing.
The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush by Howard Blum (Crown) gets an enthusiastic, yet mixed review from PW: “From a purely historical perspective, there should have been more information on Alaska as a Russian colony and American territory, but as an exciting narrative, this is a huge success.” Hollywood liked it so much that film rights were grabbed before publication; the author describes what it was like to make the film deal on WordAndFilm.
Fiction
The Preacher by Camilla Läckberg (Pegasus) is the latest Swedish crime thriller from one of Steig Larsson’s heirs apparent, according to USA Today. Kirkus calls it “An adequate thriller, though without Larsson’s deft touches; sure to please church-hating readers of the Hitchens-Dawkins set.”
Usual Suspects
Bel-Air Dead (Stone Barrington Series #20) by Stuart Woods (Penguin) brings together three characters from his various series, as Stone Barrington heads to Hollywood. PW says, “Series fans will find Barrington as shrewd, sexy, and glib as ever.”
A Turn in the Road (Blossom Street Series #8) by Debbie Macomber finds a mother on a cross country road trip with her daughter and ex-mother-in-law. PW says, “Themes of forgiving old hurts and finding new love will resonate with readers in search of a gently romantic tale.”
Born of Shadows (League Series #5) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Grand Central) unites a soldier of fortune and a body guard in the latest paranormal romance from the mega-bestselling author.
Young Adult
We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing) is the last installment in this trilogy romance. Kirkus says “Han’s impressive ear for and pitch-perfect reproduction of the interactions between not-quite-adult older teens make this an appealing conclusion.”