The #1 choice by librarians for the January 2017 LibraryReads list is The Girl Before by JP Delaney (PRH/Ballantine; RH Audio), a domestic psychological suspense novel.

“A page turner that is sure to be a hit. Each chapter alternates between two time periods. Back “then,” there is Emma, looking for the perfect flat. Her agent suggests One Folgate Street, built by architect Edward Monkford. In present day, Jane, a single thirty-something also ends up on Folgate Street. Both women learn the sinister history of the property and readers won’t know who to trust as Delaney’s debut clutches you by the throat and won’t let you go.” — Kara Kohn, Plainfield Public Library District, Plainfield, IL

Additional Buzz: Also a hit with our GalleyChatters, Jennifer Winberry, Hunterdon County Library (NJ) described it as “a high speed ride through a tale of obsessions with twists and turns that don’t stop until after the final page is turned.” The debut, which is being marketed as the first book under a “pseudonym of an author who has written award-winning fiction under other names,” was sold to Universal in a hotly contested 2015 bidding war, reports Deadline Hollywood. Ron Howard is set to direct the project. Deadline also reports that bestselling author Tony Strong is the suspected author.

It leads a list filled wit debuts including:

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden (PRH/Del Rey; RH Audio; OverDrive Sample).

“We journey to 14th century Russia where the old ways still hold sway in the outlying villages and spirits and magical creatures are real. When Vasya’s stepmother and the new village priest try to end the pagan offerings, it us up to Vasya to stop the Bear from awakening. Can she find the strength to accept who she really is and protect her family and village? This magical story captivated me and pulled me fully into that world. The last third and the pulse-pounding finish had me on the edge of my seat.” — Joseph Jones, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cuyahoga, OH

Additional Buzz: The hot debut Fantasy was one of our PRH EarlyReads Authors, which we featured in a chat in September. Also a GalleyChat pick. Andrienne Cruz (Azusa City Library, CA) said it will “cast a spell over adult readers.”

The Dry, Jane Harper (Macmillan/Flatiron Books).

“’Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral.’ These eight words will change everything for Agent Aaron Falk, summoned by the father or his former best friend. It appears Luke went on a rampage, murdering his wife, son, and then himself. At Luke’s father’s request, Aaron agrees to look into the murders/suicide and learns that the small town has long held grudges and secrets that may be best kept hidden in this atmospheric, chilling complex tale of anger and revenge.” — Jennifer Winberry, Hunterdon County Library, Flemington, NJ

Additional Buzz: Another big debut of the month, it is also a GalleyChat title. Vicki Nesting of St. Charles Parish Library (LA) said it was a “brilliantly plotted and atmospheric mystery.” Reese Witherspoon optioned film rights in advance of publication reports Deadline Hollywood. In draft form, the novel won the 2015 Victorian Premier Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript, netting the author $15,000 in prize money. A past winner of the same prize was The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion (Simon & Schuster, 2013).

The Second Mrs. Hockaday, Susan Rivers (Algonquin Books).

“Placidia is seventeen when she marries Major Hockaday, an older man and recent widower with a child. After he is recalled to service in the Civil War, she must manage his farm and take care of his son and all with little help. When he returns, it is to find that she has given birth, and said to have murdered the child. Told in journal entries, letters, and court documents, we learn about her life and the answers to this puzzling and horrifically charged event. A dark book that highlights the amazing strength so many of these women had to develop.” — Diane Scholl, Batavia Public Library, Batavia, IL

Additional Buzz: This debut is also a GalleyChat title. Vicki Nesting weighs in with “For fans of epistolary novels, this is a compelling and moving story.” Rivers is an award-winning playwright.

Heartstone, Elle Katharine White (HC/Harper Voyager).

“A fun take on Pride and Prejudice in a fantasy setting. Merrybourne Manor has a gryphon infestation and has contracted with a band of Riders to kill them. As you can imagine, the main Rider is a little haughty and our heroine has a long memory. Familiar trials and tribulations occur with some detailed world-building, laying the groundwork for a sequel. Good for readers who don’t mind literary re-imaginings, love P&P, and Anne McCaffery’s Pern novels.” — Jenna Persick, Chester County Library, Exton, PA

Additional Buzz: Another of the early debuts of the year, it is a RT Top Pick (subscription may be required).

HBO’s adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s 2014 best seller, Big Little Lies, begins airing on February 19, 2017.

The just-released first full-length trailer is making headlines. Glamour calls it “The Mom Version of Pretty Little Liars You’ve Been Waiting For” and Entertainment Weekly says that the “Trailer Hints At Dark Underbelly Of Parenting.”

The cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley, causing the  A.V. Club to note, “this one seems to star every famous white woman under the sun (plus Adam Scott).”

Tie-ins hit shelves in February:

Big Little Lies (Movie Tie-In), Liane Moriarty (PRH/Berkley trade pbk; February 7, 2017; Mass Market).

EDITORS NOTE:

Our GalleyChatter columnist Robin Beerbower, rounds up the most-mentioned titles from our latest chat, to add to your TBR pile.

If you fall in love with any of these titles, be sure to nominate them for LibraryReads. We’ve noted the deadlines in red.

Please join us for the next GalleyChat, this coming Tuesday, Dec. 6th, 4 to 5 p.m. ET, 3:30 for virtual cocktails. Details here.
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Below are highlights of some of the many titles recommended during the most recent GalleyChat. As always, GalleyChatters buzzed a dizzying array of titles. Take a look at the full list of here.

Distinctive Women

Even though it’s not due to be published until May, librarians are already professing their love for Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (PRH/Pamela Dorman, May 9; LibraryReads deadline: March 20), the story of a socially awkward and lonely 30-year-old woman in Scotland who finds unexpected companionship. Cheryl Hill, West Linn Library (OR) reference librarian, said, “Eleanor’s quirks and misunderstanding of certain human behaviors make for some very funny scenes. Her journey of self-discovery makes for a totally compelling novel that I could not put down. I look forward to the publication of this book so I can tell all my friends and family to read it.”

Another debut novel featuring an interesting woman is Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (Macmillan/St. Martin’s, January; link is to NetGalley DRC). On New Year’s Eve in 1984, Lillian walks to a dinner date but ends up strolling the length of Manhattan while reflecting back on her life as a highly-paid advertising executive, wife, and mother. Dana Rubin of New York Library’s Adult Services Department and lifelong New Yorker said, “I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the New York of the 1980s with Lillian Boxfish. I would love to have encountered her in real life, and listened to her stories. I love that she had such a full life, and lived it on her terms.”

More Women Worth Meeting

Fans of Liane Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret will flock to Nicola Moriarty’s The Fifth Letter (HarperCollins/Morrow, January), not just because the authors have the same last name (they are sisters), but because Nicola has her own equally distinctive voice. Four lifelong friends meet for an overdue getaway and during a drunken evening everyone writes an anonymous confessional letter, but someone writes an extra letter spewing hatred towards a fellow friend. Its discovery will test their bonds. I raced through the pages to find out who wrote the letter and how the multiple twists were resolved.

Kristan Higgins transitioned from writing romance to creating complex women’s relationships with If You Only Knew. She continues the genre in On Second Thought (HC/HQN Books, January), the story of two sisters reuniting after a spouse’s death and a break-up. Jane Jorgenson loved it, saying, “Being there for one another as adults, something they’ve never done before, makes each of the women re-examine their lives and the choices they’ve made. As always Higgins delivers an emotional read and one that flows naturally from start to finish.” Also giving it a shout out is Stephanie Chase Hillsboro PL (OR) library director: “Funny, charming, and a tear-jerker, all rolled up into one. Fans of early Jennifer Weiner will love.”

Novel History

Based on a true incident and court case, Susan Rivers’ debut historical novel The Second Mrs. Hockaday (Workman/Algonquin, January), received praise from Vicki Nesting of St. Charles Parish Library (LA). “For fans of epistolary novels, this is a compelling and moving story of a young bride accused of bearing and then killing a child while her husband was away fighting in the Civil War.” This has also received many “much love” votes on Edelweiss and is sure to be a good candidate for book groups.

Winter Thrillers

Already blindsiding readers with its between-the-eyes double whammy finale, Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (Macmillan/Flatiron, January) in a tense psychological suspense novel about Louise who begins an affair with her new boss while also becoming close friends with his wife. Jennifer Winberry from Hunterdon County Library (NJ) adds, “As Louise observes David and Adele’s relationship from the point of view of first a secretary, then a friend, then a lover, she knows something isn’t quite right in the marriage but the more questions she asks, the more things don’t seem right. A frightening tale of coming undone with an unforeseen, shocking twist at the end.”

Solitary Men

Move aside Jack Reacher, a new hero has arrived to save the day. Greg Hurwitz’s eagerly awaited sequel to the popular Orphan X, Nowhere Man (Macmillan/Minotaur, January) again features Evan Smoak. Andrienne Cruz, Azusa City Library, CA, says, “Smoak/Orphan X is a highly-trained assassin who was part of a covert operation but has now pledged to help others as ‘The Nowhere Man.’ Aside from dodging nefarious entities he is also being hunted down by his ruthless ex-group who deem him too dangerous to be let loose.”  This is also perfect for those who like Roger Hobbs’ Ghostman. Hurwitz is under contract to write three more books in the series and his hero Smoak may follow Reacher to the big screen, Warner Bros picked up the film rights last year.

Already gathering multiple “much love” Edelweiss votes, The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, Michael Finkel (PRH/Knopf, March; LibraryReads deadline: Jan. 20) is the fascinating study of a man who lived alone in the woods for decades until he was caught stealing food. Marika Zemke of Head of Adult Services at Commerce Township Public Library (MI) said, “At times we all might think that we would like to be alone for awhile. For Christopher Knight, that “for awhile” turned out to be 27 years. 27 years of living in solitude in the woods of Maine where he lived in a tent, never built a fire, spoke to anyone or even took a hot shower. Similar in style to Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, this book is destined to be on many reading lists.” This is also good for readers who liked Timothy Treadwell’s Among Grizzlies, but–spoiler alert–Stranger in the Woods has a better ending.

Please join us for the next GalleyChat on Tuesday, December 6, with virtual happy hour at 3:30 (ET) and the chat at 4:00, and for updates on what I’m anticipating on Edelweiss, please friend me.

The chat has now ended. The transcript is below.

Join us for the next live chat on Dec. 14, 5 to 6 p.m., ET with Jack Cheng, to discuss his upcoming book, See You in the Cosmos.

To join the program, sign up here
.

Grab the popcorn. 9 p.m. Sunday, February 19, 2017 is set as the premiere date for the HBO adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s 2014 best seller, Big Little Lies, reports Deadline Hollywood.

As we have previously written, the show features an all-star cast. Shailene Woodley plays Jane, a young single mother who moves to a coastal community so her son can attend a better school. There she becomes entangled in the messy lives of the seemingly perfect mothers of her son’s classmates, Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and Madeline (Reese Witherspoon). Laura Dern plays Renata Klein, another of the mothers at the center of the story.

Kidman and Witherspoon are producing. They originally acquired the rights to the book, planning to adapt it as a feature film but finally decided on a seven episode limited series. It became a hot property which HBO won away from Netflix. Following the same model as True Detective, the format, says Variety, allows major film stars “a chance to work in the TV arena without making an open-ended commitment to an ongoing series.”

Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) is directing. He also worked with Witherspoon on the adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild. David E. Kelley, known for shows such as Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, and Goliath is also on board.

A teaser trailer came out in October. UPDATE: First full trailer released 12/1/16:

Tie-ins, which as of yet do not have final cover art, will hit shelves in February:
Big Little Lies (Movie Tie-In), Liane Moriarty (PRH/Berkley trade pbk; February 7, 2017; Mass Market).

The adaptation of Lauren Oliver’s debut YA novel, Before I Fall, (HarperCollins, 2010) is scheduled for released on March 3, 2017. The first trailer has just been released.

Directed by Ry Russo-Young (Nobody Walks), the film stars Zoey Deutch (Vampire Academy), Halston Sage (Goosebumps), Logan Miller (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse) and Jennifer Beals (Flashdance, The L Word).

About a girl who dies in a car crash, but then gets to relive the last day of her life seven times, the book was a best seller.

A tie-in will be published in February.

The film adaptation of The Zookeeper’s Wife the true story of the valiant couple who rescued 300 Jews from the Nazis by hiding them in the bombed Warsaw Zoo (see the NYT review of the book here), is set for release on March 31, 2017.

The first trailer was released today.

It stars Jessica Chastain who wrote in an essay in The Hollywood Reporter‘s special “Women in Entertainment” issue, that although women make up only 20% of the crew of The Zookeeper’s Wife, that’s “way more” than any film she’s ever worked on. As a result, she said, “You don’t feel a hierarchy; you don’t have anyone feeling like they are being left out or bullied or humiliated.”

A trade paperback tie-in will be released in February

The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story
Diane Ackerman
(Norton;  February 7, 2017)

The final trailer for Ben Affleck’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s Live by Night (Harper/ Morrow; Harperluxe; HarperAudio) has been released. The movie opens in an Oscar-qualifying limited run on December 25th, followed by a nationwide release on January 13, 2017.

In addition to directing and writing the screenplay, Affleck stars with Zoe Saldana, Sienna Miller, Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Messina and Elle Fanning. It’s Affleck’s first time in the director’s chair since his award-winning Argo.

The novel follows the rise of an Irish-American Boston gangster, Joe Coughlan, during the Prohibition era. Prophetically, Entertainment Weekly, called Live by Night a “ripping, movie-ready yarn that jumps from a Boston prison to Tampa speakeasies to a Cuban tobacco farm.” The book won Lehane an Edgar for Best Novel. In his acceptance speech, he thanked librarians for offering “a light in the darkness for the kids from the wrong side of the tracks.”

Live by Night follows The Given Day, which was the author’s first departure into historical crime. A third book in the series, World Gone By, was published last year.

The tie-in is set for Dec. 7, in mass market and trade paperback (HarperCollins/Morrow). It will contain a preview chapter of Lehane’s forthcoming novel Since We Fell (HarperCollins/Ecco; May 16, 2017).

EDITORS NOTE:

Our GalleyChatter columnist Robin Beerbower, rounds up the most-mentioned titles from our most recent chat, to add to your TBR pile.

If you fall in love with any of these titles, be sure to consider nominating them for LibraryReads. We’ve noted the deadlines in red.

Please join us for the next GalleyChat tomorrow Nov. 1, 4 to 5 p.m. ET, 3:30 for virtual cocktails. Details here.
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During the last GalleyChat, many of the top mentioned books were by authors whose names may not be familiar to most. Our crystal balls predict that, by the time  they are published, most will be on the tips of everyone’s tongues.

For a complete list of titles mentioned during the chat, check the Edelweiss compilation here.

Vicki Nesting of St. Charles Parish Library (LA) led the discussion for the hot title, The Dry by Jane Harper (Macmillan/Flatiron, January; LibraryReads deadline: Nov. 20) by saying it was a “brilliantly plotted and atmospheric mystery.” She continued, “When federal investigator Aaron Falk learns that his childhood best friend Luke has killed his family and himself, Aaron feels he has to attend the funeral. The drought itself becomes a character and its effects invade everything, from the devastated landscape to the fear in the people’s eyes as Aaron and the local sheriff begin to ask questions.” Many of us are hoping to see the return of Aaron Falk in a future story. (Reese Witherspoon has also snapped up the movie rights.)

George Saunders’ follow up to The Tenth of December (his NBA nominated book of short stories), the novel Lincoln in the Bardo (PRH/Random House, February; LibraryReads deadline: Dec. 20), is already starting to make a splash, reeling in 17 “much love” Edelweiss votes. Jen Dayton, collection development librarian from Darien, CT, said it’s “like a literary fever dream. Told by many voices of both the living and the dead it focuses on February 22, 1862. Willie Lincoln has been laid to rest in a marble crypt in a Georgetown cemetery. Abraham Lincoln, bowed by his loss and the war that is raging comes to the crypt to see his son one last time under the cover of darkness. You will find it hard to leave the world that Saunders has created behind long after you close the book.”

Two galleychatters gave major kudos to the domestic psychological novel A Separation by Katie Kitamura (PRH/Riverhead, February; LibraryReads deadline: Dec. 20). Soon after a couple quietly decides to separate, the husband  disappears into a remote area of Greece, and while the wife goes on a search and rescue effort, she’s unsure if she really cares to find him. Elliott Bay Bookstore staff member Kenny Coble implored us to get a copy ASAP, and sounding like it could be compared to a popular TV show, Andrienne Cruz said, “This is a book that was almost about nothing. However, there are plenty of ideas to ponder about what makes a marriage, what makes a life.”

A book gaining attention for both teens and adults is The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson (PRH/Random House, January; LibraryReads deadline: Nov. 20), a novel that portrays high schools as a “scary, tragic place for kids and teachers” (Kaite Stover, Kansas City, MO, readers’ services librarian). Another one impressed by this novel was Jennifer Winberry from Hunterdon County Library:  “Mill Valley just north of San Francisco may seem like an idyllic place to grow up, but for a group of high school juniors, all connected by the suicide of one of their peers in middle school, it is anything but. As these teenagers traverse the final years of adolescence, they are keenly observed by a first year teacher who is both fascinated by and in awe of these students, their struggles and their decisions, both good and bad.” [NOTE: The author recently chatted with librarians as part of  our PRH EarlyReads program].

Chatters who were impressed with Peter Heller’s first novel, Dog Stars, were anxious to read Celine (PRH/Knopf, March; LibraryReads deadline: Jan. 20), a private eye mystery that introduces aristocratic sixty-nine year old Celine who travels to Yellowstone National Park in a camper to find a missing photographer.  Susan Balla quickly finished it and said, “Heller is a master of depicting man against nature and his writing transports you into the wilds, and yes, even into the RV, with Celine and Pete. Beautifully written with wonderful, memorable characters, Celine is a fun, smart, and thoroughly enjoyable novel.”

The Possessions by Sara Flannery Murphy (HarperCollins/Harper, February; LibraryReads deadline: Dec. 20), a futuristic novel about channeling the dead so the living can reconnect with loved ones, has the unsettling undertones of  Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and Jessica Chiarella’s Two Again with many moral and ethical issues for book group discussion. Kimberly McGee from Lake Travis (TX) Community Library, “Edie is a body which means she takes a lovely pill, adds something personal from the person she is channeling and helps grieving people spend time with the deceased. This futuristic thriller raises some interesting questions and moral dilemmas.”

He may be more familiar than anyone mentioned above, but mainly by librarians who adore author Nail Gaiman for both his library-loving attitude and his excellent novels. His newest, Norse Mythology (WW Norton, February; LibraryReads deadline: Dec. 20), hasn’t disappointed any early readers with Janet Lockhart leading the shout outs by saying, “Neil Gaiman retells the Norse myths with wit and a keen eye for character.  Thor and Loki in particular leap off the page.  Sure to please his many fans and create new admirers.”

Please join us for the spirited discussion during our next GalleyChat on Tuesday, November 1,  and for updates on what I’m anticipating on Edelweiss, please friend me.

After several variations on the superhero genre, comes the latest, the grim and aging superhero.

The final in the Wolverine X-Men spinoff movies, Logan arrives on March 3rd. Entertainment Weekly unpacks 5 takeaways from the brief trailer.

Following the release of the trailer yesterday, a collection of the comics the film is based on by Mark Millar soared up Amazon’s sales rankings. Originally released in 2010, it is being reissued next year.

Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, (Hachette/Marvel; reissue of 2010, pub date, 2/14/17)

Someone had amazing foresight when they decided to hire Alec Baldwin to voice the Baby in DreamWorks Animation’s adaptation of Marla Frazee’s Boss Baby (S&S/Beach Lane, 2010).

The trailer has just been released and, naturally, allusions are being made to the host of The Apprentice.

Directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar), it also features the voices of Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow as the Baby’s parents. It is set for release well after the election, on March 31.

The movie is described as “inspired” by Frazee’s picture book and adds several story lines. The tie-in, coming in February, is a novelization of the movie script:

The Boss Baby Junior Novelization
Tracey West
S&S/ Simon Spotlight
February 14, 2017
Hardcover and trade paperback

A new trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One debuted today on CBS This Morning.

The two and a half minute trailer is examined for clues to the story line by The Verge noting, “Disney has been careful to downplay its expectations for Rogue One. It’s the first major film set outside of the traditional saga, and has been characterized as ‘an experiment’ by the company’s CEO, Bob Iger.”

There are several tie-ins, of course but, following the precedent set by The Force Awakens, the official novelizations for Rogue One will not be released until after the film premieres on Dec. 16, 2016, to avoid spoilers.

Arriving ahead of the movie is a prequel, the Catalyst (Star Wars): A Rogue One Novel, (PRH/Del Rey, Nov. 15, 2016) written by James Luceno, the author of a number of earlier Star Wars titles.

See our downloadable list here. Our full list of upcoming tie-ins here.

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Join us for the next live chat with Alex George, author of Setting Free the Kites, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 4 to 5 p.m., ET.

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The first trailer for the Netflix adaptation of Daniel Handler’s (aka Lemony Snicket) A Series of Unfortunate Events (HarperCollins) has just been released. In keeping with the books’ tongue-in-cheek tone, it is not a traditional trailer. Rather than building anticipation with a litany of exciting scenes and major stars, just one character appears, Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket, wandering through the dimly-lit stage set, warning people to “look away.”

The entire series will be available on Netflix beginning January 13, 2017 (which happens to be a Friday).

Watch closely, several visual jokes are embedded in the teaser.

According to Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Count Olaf in the show, the series is Netflix’s most expensive production to date. While co-hosting Live! with Kelly last month, he described the new adaptation as “super dark … a much darker take on the material than has been seen before”  but also “fun” and “exciting” and said it’s been planned as a “four-quadrant show,” to appeal to kids, teens, 20-somethings, and adults. The eight-episode first season will cover the first four titles in the 13-book series.

So far, no tie-ins have been announced.