Peter Spiegleman, whose latest book is Thick as Thieves (Knopf, 7/26; audio, Dreamscape Media; audio and ebook, OverDrive) was interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, Saturday.

According to NPR’s introduction, the author “is being acclaimed for bringing some of the hands-on expertise and literary grace that John LeCarre brought to espionage novels to stories of capers, heists and double crosses.” His hands-on experience was twenty years on Wall Street; the book’s main character is a corrupt hedge fund manager.

The debut novel, Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Viking, 7/26;  Books on Tape; Penguin Audio; audio on OverDrive), arrives on the 8/14 NYT Print Fiction best seller list at #16 (it’s tied with #15, so it’s on the main list rather than the extended).

Reviews have been strong. The San Francisco Chronicle captures the book’s appeal, “Even the most jaded New Yorker can see the beauty in Amor Towles’ Rules of Civility, the antiqued portrait of an unlikely jet set making the most of Manhattan.”

Watch for three notable debuts next week: two of them are comic family sagas – Kevin Wilson’s The Family Fang and Matthew Norman’s Domestic Violets – and the other is a modern update of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca set in Provence. Usual suspects include Lev Grossman, Julie Garwood and W.E.B. Griffin. In nonfiction, look for Geoffrey Gray’s account of notorious skyjacker D.B. Cooper.

Watch List

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (Ecco) is a debut novel about surviving the ultimate dysfunctional family: a clan of performance artists who create events in shopping malls that result in chaos, as a protest against superficiality. As we reported earlier, it’s received a strong NYT review today and a B+ from Entertainment Weekly. Featured in one of our GalleyChats in February, this one has been gathering buzz since then, and was a GalleyChat Pick of ALA.

Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (HarperPerennial; Trade Pbk Original) is a debut comedic novel about a divorced novelist father who moves in with his son, and takes on everything from the corporate machine and the literary machine, to adultery, family, and dogs with anxiety disorders. PW says, “despite a heavy reliance on pop-culture references and some stock characters — the pompous writer, his tough agent, the trophy wife — this is a thoroughly entertaining, light but thoughtful read.” It was also a buzz title in our own GalleyChat in July.

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (HarperCollins; Dreamscape Media; HarperLuxe) is a modern gothic about a younger woman married to an older man who refuses to discuss his former wife – think Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but set in contemporary Provence. It was a Galley Chat Pick of ALA, and the GalleyChatters agree with the publisher that it will be BIG. PW says, “Lawrenson expertly manages suspense and intrigue throughout and breathes great, detailed life into her lush French countryside setting, making one wonder why this, her sixth novel, is the first to be published in the U.S.” Kirkus, however, warns that “it never captures the delicious psychological creepiness of the original.”

Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn (Morrow; HarperLuxe), is about the  CIA and the MI6 as they are today by someone who knows the territory; he was a field agent. The publisher is backing it with a 150,000 first printing.

Rising Star

Thirteen Million Dollar Pop: A Frank Behr Novel by David Levien (Doubleday) is the third thriller to feature private investigator Frank Behr and the American heartland setting which began with the author’s first hit, City of the Sun.

Usual Suspects

The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Viking; Penguin Audio) is a sequel to The Magicians, a previous novel by the book critic for Time magazine. Here, Quentin and his friends are now kings and queens of the magical land of Fillory, but a life of royal luxury goes wrong when a magical ship brings Quentin back to his parents’ house in New England. LJ says “Grossman’s flawed characters struggle for what they want and often lose their way, a refreshing twist. Fillory’s pointed resemblance to Narnia gets a bit tiresome, however. This is best for readers who like some grit and realism in their fantasy and who have read the first book.”

The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood (Dutton) is a romantic suspense novel featuring FBI agent Max Daniels, who promises to protect shooting witness Ellie Sullivan through a dangerous trial – but it isn’t long before the sparks start flying. Booklist says, it “has all the literary ingredients her readers expect: snappy writing, sharp humor, a fast-paced plot spiced with plenty of danger and suspense, and an abundance of sexy chemistry between two perfectly matched protagonists.”

Victory and Honor: An Honor Bound Novel by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Putnam; Penguin Audio) takes place weeks after Hitler’s suicide, as Cletus Fraude and his fellow OSS agents are fighting for the agency’s survival with other U.S. government departments and facing the growing threat of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. PW calls it “slow-moving,” but adds that the detailed descriptions of weapons and aircraft won’t disappoint techno-thriller fans.

Acceptable Loss: A William Monk Novel by Anne Perry (Ballantine) begins when a dead man surfaces in the river Thames, returning William Monk to a heinous case that he thought he’d left behind.

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension (#8) by Christie Golden (LucasBooks/RandomHouse; Books on Tape; Random House Audio) is the eighth installment in a nine-volume saga that takes palce 40 years after the Star Wars trilogy, and features Luke Skywalker, his Jedi son, Ben, and an apprentice as they travel the galley. LJ says, “Golden’s excellent storytelling captures the essence of the beloved space opera and should leave series followers eagerly anticipating the story’s conclusion.”

Young Adult

Thirst: The Shadow of Death #4 by Christopher Pike (Simon Pulse, Trade Pbk) is the conclusion to bestselling Thirst series, and follows five-thousand-year-old vampire Alisa Perne as she battles a new race of immortals: the Telar.

Nonfiction

Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray (Crown; Books On Tape; Random House Audio) is based on a New York magazine story about the search for the identity of the famed skyjacker, which immersed the author in the subculture that sprung up after his death four decades after Dan Cooper (a.k.a D. B. Cooper) parachuted out of a plane somewhere over Oregon or Washington, carrying a sack full of money.

Movie Tie-in

I Don’t Know How She Does It, by  Allison Pearson, (Anchor Books, Movie Tie-In Edition); The movie, coming in September (see trailer here), stars Sarah Jessica Parker, and sounds like Sex and The City with Kids. Will the book that was “the national anthem for working mothers” (Oprah) still resonate in its movie incarnation during a recession?

In addition to discussing dozens of forthcoming books, librarians on this week’s GalleyChat also talked about titles that are getting unexpectedly heavy holds.

State of Wonder, Ann Patchett, Harper. 6/6; Recorded Books; HarperLuxe; HarperAudio;  ebook from OverDrive

Like her blockbuster Bel Canto, this one has been a hit with most reviewers. It debuted on the NYT Print list at #3, and has slid down since, but is still at #8 as of 8/7. Holds continue to be very heavy on all formats.

 Before I Go To Sleep, S. J. Watson, (Harper, 6/14; Recorded Books; HarperLuxe; Audio and eBook from OverDrive)

Hey, people, we’ve been talking about this book ever since galleys first began arriving in December.Check those holds; time to get on the band wagon before it’s too late.

What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty, Amy Einhorn/Putnam, 6/2

It’s no surprise that people are fascinated with memory loss these days. Even so, three popular novels featuring it  in a single season may be a bit much. This book is about a 39 year-old woman who wakes up from a head injury, thinking she is still 29 and in love with her husband. Both are untrue. In Before I Got to Sleep (above), a woman tries to pieee together who she can and cannot trust after losing her memory. In Turn of Mind,  (Atlantic Monthly, 7/5; Audio, Brilliance; Large Print, Thorndike) a woman in the early stages of alzheimer’s fears she may have killed her best friend. All are showing holds. This one, the more light-hearted of the three, hasn’t received as much attention as the others, but it is on People‘s Great Summer Reads list. Warning; it could be dangerous to read all of them together.
 

Sister, Rosamund Lupton, Crown, 6/7; Recorded Books; ebook from OverDrive

Libraries say that holds began growing after the author appeared on the Diane Rehm Show in early June. One of last year’s biggest sellers in the UK, it hasn’t enjoyed quite that level of success here. It hit the NYT Extended list the second week of publication and slid down to #35 last week, but holds are still heavy in libraries.The author’s second novel, Afterwards, just published in the UK, went on the Times of London’s top ten in its first full week of sales; no word on when it will be released here.
 

This Beautiful Life, Helen Schulman, Harper, 8/2; Blackstone Audio; audio and ebook from OverDrive

Just out Tuesday and already showing heavy holds, this is another title that taps into current fears. It is about a teenager whose life becomes a nightmare after a sexting incident. Janet Maslin took a NYC-centric view of it in her NYT review, “Ms. Schulman holds a mirror up to the lives of moneyed, elite New York private-school families and invites such people to nod in recognition. In terms of a less provincial audience This Beautiful Life should please anyone who enjoys seeing the destruction of a happy family framed as a self-fulfilling prophecy.” The Washington Post was less condescending in Monday’s review, calling it a  “modern-day viral nightmare [made] all the more chilling because it is so easy. Because it can happen to anyone. The wrong moment, the impulsive message, one quick touch of a key — and even the most accomplished lives can come tumbling down.” It was also the cover of 7/31 NYT BR.

Summer Rental, Mary Kay Andrews, St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike LT

Andrews, of course, is a perennial favorite, but librarians report holds are higher than usual on this one.

GalleyChat favorite, Family Fang by Kevin Wilson, which arrives next week, gets a good start with a strong review by Janet Maslin in todays NYT as well as a B+ from Entertainment Weekly. Wilson is respected for his short stories, gathered in the collection Tunneling to the Center of the Earth. Family Fang is his first novel, the story of performance artists who force their kids into the “family business” of protesting American superficiality by creating events in shopping malls that result in chaos. The parents call this art, their two children,  call it “making a mess.” GalleyChatters appreciated Wilson’s sly humor and flights of fantasy, employed to explore how parents’ ambitions can affect their children, making it a good candidate for book discussions. In a starred review, Booklist said, “Don’t be surprised if this becomes one of the most discussed novels of the year.” This is borne out by the number of times the book has come up on GalleyChat since it was first discussed back in February.

The Family Fang: A Novel Kevin Wilson Retail Price: $18.99 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Ecco – (2011-08-09) ISBN / EAN: /780061579035/ 006157903

Holds are heavy in many libraries for Alice LaPlante’s debut novel, Turn of Mind  (Atlantic Monthly, 7/5; Audio, Brilliance; Large Print, Thorndike). The author will appear on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show today.

The book has been rising on the IndieBound Fiction Bestseller list and is now at #9. It debuted on the 8/7 extended NYT Hardcover Fiction list at #35.

NPR’s Morning Edition jumps the gun by interviewing George Pelecanos a month in advance of the release of his next novel, The Cut.

The Cut (Spero Lucas) George Pelecanos Retail Price: $12.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books – (2011-08-29) ISBN / EAN: /

Hachette Audio; AudioGo

NPR adds their kudos to a growing list for the debut Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Viking, 7/26;  Books on Tape; Penguin Audio; audio on OverDrive), calling it a “stylish, elegant and deliberately anachronistic debut novel.”

Several libraries are showing heavy holds on modest orders.

Friday’s Washington Post review of Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago (Knopf, 7/12) reads like a fan letter. The novel features Ana Cubillas, a female sugar plantation owner in Puerto Rico during the mid-19th C. With lines like the following, it’s no wonder that the book rose on Amazon’s sales rankings;

Santiago’s storytelling is thrilling, and her descriptions of the island and its multinational denizens are luminous. Her characters’ complexities emerge and collide while the plot twists like tropical vines.

Given the time and place and her main character’s position, author Santiago had to come to grips with the fact that Ana would have owned slaves. She tells USA Today that she “never thought she would create or love a heroine who owned slaves.” The NYT Book Review focuses on this aspect of the novel “The book’s strength is its Rubik’s Cube portrait of Ana, an unconventional, ambitious woman whose attitudes toward children, slaves and lovers perplex and engross.” People (which makes it a a People Pick in the 7/12 issue) hits that note more clearly,

With her tough portrait of a female planter, Santiago speculates, charitably but unromantically, about those who didn’t speak [about slavery[. Ana is emotionally intelligent enough to imagine how slaves might feel, to understand their longing for freedom, yet ruthless enough to use and punish them in order to flourish herself. Neither white witch nor angel, she is convincing despite her contradictions — indeed, because of them.

Conquistadora Esmeralda Santiago Retail Price: $27.50 Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2011-07-12) ISBN 9780307268327

Audio, Books on Tape;  Random House Audio;  Spanish, Suma/antillana
Audio and ebook on OverDrive

Next week, look for a debut novel set amid P.T. Barnum’s Manhattan circus, a debut thriller with a half-Inuit protaganist, and a controversial religious thriller from Christian publisher Howard Books – as well as appearances from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Charlaine Harris and Sara Shepard. In nonfiction, there’s a 9/11 survivor’s drama, a look at the history of the FBI by bestselling investigative writer Ronald Kessler, and an entertaining search for the Garden of Eden.

Watch List

Among the Wonderful by Stacy Carlson (Steerforth) is a debut set in 1840s Manhattan, and follows a giantess and a taxidermist in the employ of P.T. Barnum, as they struggle to break free of their personal and emotional shackles. It’s an Indie Next Pick for August and a buzz title on our very own GalleyChat. Kirkus says, “a nice commentary on the entertainment racket, with carefully crafted prose that too often goes on just a beat too long. Still, a refreshing take on an aspect of and time in American history that are too little known.”

White Heat by M.J. McGrath (Viking; Blackstone Audio; Thorndike Large Print) is a debut thriller about a half Inuit/half white  woman who makes her living leading white (or qalunaat) tourists on hunting expeditions near her tiny outpost town of Autisaq on Canada’s Ellesmere Island. In a starred review, Booklist says it “transports the reader to a land of almost incomprehensible cold and an unfamiliar but fascinating culture, taking on issues of climate change, energy exploration, local politics, and drug and alcohol abuse. Edie, a fiercely independent woman in a male-dominated milieu, is sure to win fans. Expect great things from this series.” Holds are building quickly: Cuyahoga quintupled their original order as a result and other libraries are showing 10:1 holds.

The Second Messiah: A Thriller by Glenn Meade (Howard/S&S) follows an archeologist and a police inspector investigating a controversial Dead Sea scroll. PW says, “Fans of Davis Bunn or Dan Brown won’t bat an eye at Meade’s unblinking look at the Vatican and the religious secrecy that fuels such novels. With a plot that screams, a controversial edge, and characters with attitude and something to prove, this has all the makings to be the next Da Vinci Code.”

Usual Suspects

Cold Vengeance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central; Hachette Audio) is the latest mystery featuring Special Agent Pendergast.

Retribution (Dark-Hunter Series #20) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio) is a supernatural thriller about a vampire who has sworn to protect humans locked in confrontation with a human adopted by vampires who has sworn to protect them.

Home Improvement: Undead Edition by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (Ace; Brilliance Audio) is a collection of paranormal short stories about the perils of do-it-yourself, with a never-before- published Sookie Stackhouse story.

The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (Hyperion) is the final installment in the series that began with The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose, with a mix of familiar characters and the story of the star-crossed romance between two intrepid adventurers in the arly 20th Century. Booklist says, “Donnelly has leaned more toward Indiana Jones than Barbara Taylor Bradford, and the result is a perfect vacation read.”  

Young Adult

Never Have I Ever (Lying Game Series #2) by Sara Shepard is the second book in the latest series from the author of the bestselling Pretty Little Liars series.

Nonfiction

Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor by Genelle Guzman-McMillan (Howard/S&S); Simon and Schuster Audio) tells the story of a woman who was buried under the rubble of the World Trade Center for 27 hours.

The Secrets of the FBI by Ronald Kessler (Crown; Random House Audio; Center Point Large Print) uncovers the history and espionage techniques of the federal agency. LJ says, “Having reported on the FBI for decades and written two best sellers on the agency, Kessler really does have some secrets to share. These have less to do with how the FBI functions than with what its agents have learned while dealing with the White House, Wall Street, terrorists, spies, the Mafia, and more.”

Paradise Lust: Searching for the Garden of Eden by Brook Wilensky-Lanford (Grove Press) investigates the many searches for the “real” location of the Garden of Eden. Booklist says, “Wilensky-Lanford’s tone is indeed light and entertaining, she portrays her obsessed subjects with respect and even a little sympathy. In the end, the book is less about Eden-finding or myth-busting than it is a study of the undying human need for meaning, symbolism, and unity in a fractured and profane world.”

Now in Trade Paperback

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal (Picador). This was Nancy Pearl’s favorite work of nonfiction published in 2010.

I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson (Picador)

What writer wouldn’t love this opening section from the Washington Post ‘s review,

You’re unlikely to find a wittier, more ingenious, more compulsively readable novel this year than Tom Carson’s latest, a satiric revue of the dearly departed American Century starring an 86-year-old woman who saw it all. The daughter of that charmer whose “voice is full of money,” as gold-hatted Gatsby said of Daisy, Pamela Buchanan tells what happened after the last mournful pages of The Great Gatsby.

The book is Daisy Buchanan’s Daughter, published by the Washington DC-area small independent, Paycock Press.

It was also reviewed in the 6/26 NYT BR, where it didn’t get as strong a reception. It seems the editors disagreed with that assessment; it is listed as “Editors’ Choice” title in the 7/3 issue.

A limited number of libraries have ordered it.

Daisy Buchanan’s Daughter Tom Carson Retail Price: $24.95 Paperback: 628 pages Publisher: Paycock Press – (2011-06-22) ISBN / EAN: 0931181348 / 9780931181344

Rights to he best selling oral history of the all-sports network, ESPN, Those Guys Have All The Fun are in the process of being sold to 20th Century Fox, according to Deadline.

Coincidentally, today’s NYT story about early release of paperback reprints mentions that the book will arrive in paperback on Dec. 1, just over six months after the hardcover release.

Libraries are showing heavy holds.

Librarian favorite Patrick deWitt’s The Sisters Brothers is one of the thirteen books on the longlist for the Booker Prize, just announced in London. The author currently lives in Oregon, but was born in Canada, making him eligible for the prize.

The short list will be announced on Sept. 6th and the winner on Oct. 18.

The Sisters Brothers Patrick Dewitt Retail Price: $19.99 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Ecco – (2011-04-26) ISBN / EAN: /

Audio, Dreamscape; Large Print edition from Thorndike in August. ISBN 9781410439567, $30.99.

Below are the other twelve titles on the list, with U.S. publication information:

Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending, Knopf, 1/24/12

Sebastian Barry, On Canaan’s Side, Viking,  9/8/11; Large Print, Thorndike, Dec., ISBN 9781410443465; Blackstone Audio

Carol Birch, Jamrach’s Menagerie, Doubleday, 6/14/11; UPDATE: Thanks to AudioFile for pointing out that BOT has the audio of this title.

Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues, Serpents Tail in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet

Yvvette Edwards, A Cupboard Full of Coats, Oneworld, 6/16/11; Debut

Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger’s Child, Knopf, 10/11/11; RH Audio

Stephen Kelman, Pigeon English, HMH, 7/19/11; Debut

Patrick McGuinness, The Last Hundred Days, Seren Books in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet; Debut

A.D. Miller, Snowdrops, Doubleday, 1/22/11, Anchor Pbk, 2/7/12; Debut

Alison Pick, Far to Go, Harper Perennial, Orig. Trade Pbk, 3/31/11

Jane Rogers, The Testament of Jessie Lamb, Headline Review in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet

D.J. Taylor, Derby Day, Chatto & Windus in the UK; no listing for the U.S. yet

No less a critic than the Washington Post‘s Jonathan Yardley calls Turn Right at Machu Picchu, (Dutton, June 30) an “entirely delightful book.” Author Mark Adams decided to celebrate the centenary of the “discovery” of Machu Picchu by following the trek himself, a challenge he was not fully prepared for.

He was interviewed on NPR Weekend Edition Sunday. The book is also on NPR’s list of the “Summer’s Biggest, Juiciest Nonfiction Adventures,” which calls it, “as close to an armchair vacation as you’ll get all summer long.”

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time Mark Adams Retail Price: $26.95 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Dutton Adult – (2011-06-30) ISBN / EAN: 0525952241 / 9780525952244

Dorothy Wickenden, author of Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West (Scribner, 6/21) was interviewed on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday.” The book has been receiving a steady stream of attention since its publication last month, including this assessment from the 6/24 NYT Book Review,

At its best, this book can recall Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s classic A Midwife’s Tale, [Vintage, 1990] which pioneered the method of teasing out an expansive story from the record of “unremarkable” women’s daily lives. Individual scenes emerge with a lovely, almost pointillist clarity — like a Christmas party at the schoolhouse in the midst of a blizzard, with rustic dancing and gifts for the dazzled children sent by Dorothy’s and Ros’s families — while we never lose track of the larger forces at work, including the removal of the Indians and the brutal fights for mining and railroad riches.

Holds are heavy in many libraries. Nothing Daunted is one of O magazine’s “16 Books to Watch for in August 2011“