"Sheer Folly"

New from Minotaur Books: Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn.

About the book, from the publisher:

In March of 1926, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher and her friend and collaborator Lucy (a.k.a. Lady Gerald) head off for several days at stately home reputed to have the best grotto in the country. Working on a book of follies (architectural), they plan to research and photograph it. Leaving her husband and young twins behind, Daisy is expecting a productive weekend at Appsworth Hall, with the only potential difficulty being keeping Lucy from offending the current owner, a manufacturer of plumbing products. Alas, it’s not to be quite so simple. At the home, they find themselves faced with a curious assortment of people including the abominable, tactless Lord Rydal, who is rumored to be having an affair with one of the guests while at the same time in ardent and artless pursuit of the hand in marriage of another. When the grotto explodes with Lord Rydal in it, it’s not a question of who would do it—as most who’ve met him would be sorely tempted—but who actually did do it.

Visit Carola Dunn's website and Facebook page, and her group blog, The Lady Killers.

The Page 69 Test: Black Ship.

The Page 69 Test: Manna from Hades.

"The Pattern in the Carpet"

New from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws by Margaret Drabble.

About the book, from the publisher:

The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History with Jigsaws is an original and brilliant work. Margaret Drabble weaves her own story into a history of games, in particular jigsaws, which have offered her and many others relief from melancholy and depression. Alongside curious facts and discoveries about jigsaw puzzles — did you know that the 1929 stock market crash was followed by a boom in puzzle sales? — Drabble introduces us to her beloved Auntie Phyl, and describes childhood visits to the house in Long Bennington on the Great North Road, their first trip to London together, the books they read, the jigsaws they completed. She offers penetrating sketches of her parents, her siblings, and her children; she shares her thoughts on the importance of childhood play, on art and writing, on aging and memory. And she does so with her customary intelligence, energy, and wit. This is a memoir like no other.

Learn about Margaret Drabble's top 10 literary landscapes.

"Philippa Fisher and the Dream-Maker's Daughter"

New from Candlewick Press: Philippa Fisher and the Dream-Maker's Daughter by Liz Kessler.

About the book, from the publisher:

Philippa Fisher reunites with her spunky fairy godsister in a sparkling new adventure from the creator of Emily Windsnap.

Philippa Fisher is trying to have a good time on vacation with her parents, but she’s feeling lonely. When she meets Robyn, a girl with sad eyes and a strict father, she enjoys the company, but can’t help wondering what Robyn and her dad might be hiding. Meanwhile, Daisy, Philippa’s best friend (and fairy godsister), sneaks into her former charge’s room for a visit, but now has a furtive new mission and must dash away. Philippa longs to uncover the reasons behind her friends’ odd behavior, but friendships can be tricky when there are secrets — and unexpected danger — involved! Best-selling author Liz Kessler is back with a sympathetic story about navigating between old friends and new, a tale full of mystery, whimsy, and all the magic tween readers could wish for.

Visit Liz Kessler's website.

"The Venona Cable"

New from Henry Holt & Company: The Venona Cable by Brent Ghelfi.

About the book, from the publisher:

Russian agent and criminal Alexei Volkovoy pays an action-packed visit to the U.S. to uncover secrets of the infamous Venona cables and to attempt to clear his family name

The past erupts into the present when the police arrest Alexei Volkovoy, known as Volk, at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and take him to a murder scene. At first, the dead man appears to be just one more victim of Moscow’s out-of-control violence. But Volk soon discovers that he is a famous Hollywood filmmaker whose reputation was destroyed in 1995 when the CIA released decrypted documents from the Venona cables—the top-secret American and British crypto-analysis of Soviet messages that implicated the Rosenbergs, Alger Hiss, Kim Philby, and hundreds of other Soviet spies. Tucked inside the American’s pocket is a marked-up Venona intercept that refers to a Russian used as a spy by the Americans, a man who may have been Volk’s illustrious father.

Aided by his female partner, Valya, Volk’s only hope to clear his family name will be to solve this murder and discover how the Venona papers relate to his father’s disappearance, while powerful forces want to keep him from investigating the past and to remove him from the present.

The Page 69 Test: Volk's Game.

My Book, The Movie: Volk’s Game.

The Page 69 Test: Volk's Shadow.

Visit Brent Ghelfi's website and blog.

"The Brutal Telling"

New from Minotaur Books: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny.

About the book, from the publisher:

Chaos is coming, old son.

With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. As families prepare to head back to the city and children say goodbye to summer, a stranger is found murdered in the village bistro and antiques store. Once again, Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are called in to strip back layers of lies, exposing both treasures and rancid secrets buried in the wilderness.

No one admits to knowing the murdered man, but as secrets are revealed, chaos begins to close in on the beloved bistro owner, Olivier. How did he make such a spectacular success of his business? What past did he leave behind and why has he buried himself in this tiny village? And why does every lead in the investigation find its way back to him?

As Olivier grows more frantic, a trail of clues and treasures— from first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre to a spider web with the word “WOE” woven in it—lead the Chief Inspector deep into the woods and across the continent in search of the truth, and finally back to Three Pines as the little village braces for the truth and the final, brutal telling.

The Brutal Telling is the fifth novel in the Three Pines mystery series.

The Page 69 Test: Still Life.

My Book, The Movie: A Fatal Grace.

The Page 99 Test: The Cruelest Month.

The Page 99 Test: A Rule Against Murder.

Learn more about the book and author at Louise Penny's website and blog.

"The Invisible Mountain"

New from Knopf: The Invisible Mountain by Carolina De Robertis.

About the book, from the publisher:

From the verdant hills of Rio de Janeiro to Evita Perón’s glittering Buenos Aires, from the haven of a corner butcher shop to the halls of the United States Embassy in Montevideo, this gripping novel—at once expansive and lush with detail—examines the intertwined fates of a continent and a family in upheaval. The Invisible Mountain is a deeply intimate exploration of the search for love and authenticity in the lives of three women, and a penetrating portrait of the small, tenacious nation of Uruguay, shaken by the gales of the twentieth century.

On the first day of the year 1900, a small town deep in the Uruguayan countryside gathers to witness a miracle—the mysterious reappearance of a lost infant, Pajarita—and unravel its portents for the century. Later, as a young woman in the capital city—Montevideo, brimming with growth and promise—Pajarita begins a lineage of fiercely independent women with her enamored husband, Ignazio, a young immigrant from Italy and the inheritor of both a talent for boat making and a latent, more sinister family trait. Their daughter, Eva, a fragile yet ferociously stubborn beauty intent on becoming a poet, overcomes an early, shattering betrayal to embark on a most unconventional path toward personal and artistic fulfillment. And Eva’s daughter, Salomé, awakening to both her sensuality and political convictions amid the violent turmoil of the late 1960s, finds herself dangerously attracted to a cadre of urban guerrilla rebels, despite the terrible consequences of such principled fearlessness.

Provocative, heartbreaking and ultimately life-affirming, The Invisible Mountain is a poignant celebration of the potency of familial love, the will to survive in the most hopeless of circumstances, and, above all, the fierce, fortifying connection between mother and daughter.

Visit the website of Carolina De Robertis.

"Top Producer"

New from Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books: Top Producer by Norb Vonnegut.

About the book, from the publisher:

In a world that moves as fast as finance does, top producers have to think three steps ahead and make snap decisions. Theirs is a blurred version of reality, one that conceals moves as much as it rewards the bold ones. All too easily, scams can be disguised as success; plotting can be mistaken for killer instincts. And as Grove O’Rourke finds out, “Nothing obscures vulnerability like success. Nothing that is, except for friendships.”

But this book isn’t about stocks and bonds—it’s about people. About Grove O’Rourke, top producer at the investment firm of Sachs, Kidder, and Carnegie, and about his best friend, Charlie Kelemen, whose spectacular murder is carried out in front of hundreds of horrified party-goers at the opening of the novel. It’s about Charlie’s widow, who comes to Grove for help after her husband’s death, even though she’s hiding a dark secret. And it’s about how money—vast sums of money—can cover up even the most glaring imperfections in relationships, and fool everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

With the ease of someone who has lived in the world of top producers, Norb Vonnegut has crafted a sharp, dark thriller that will make you think—and then double-check your investments.

Visit Norb Vonnegut's website.

"Vengeance Road"

New from Mira Books: Vengeance Road by Rick Mofina.

About the book, from the publisher:

The murder of a brokenhearted woman…

The body of Bernice Hogan, a troubled young former nursing student with a tragic past, is found in a shallow grave near a forest creek.

…and the chilling disappearance of her friend…

Jolene Peller, a single mom struggling to build a new life with her little boy, vanishes the night she tries to find Bernice.

…raise questions about their ties to a respected detective…

Hero cop Karl Styebeck is beloved by his community, but privately police are uneasy with the answers he gives to protect the life—and the lie—he's lived.

…and lead to one journalist's obsession to find the truth…

The case haunts Jack Gannon, a gritty, blue-collar reporter whose own sister ran away from their family years ago. Gannon risks more than his job to pursue the story behind Styebeck's dark secret, his link to the women, and the mysterious big rig roaming America's loneliest highways on its descent into eternal darkness.

Visit Rick Mofina's website.

"Girl Trouble"

New from Harper Perennial: Girl Trouble: Stories by Holly Goddard Jones.

About the book, from the publisher:

Girl Trouble, a Harper Perennial paperback original, is Rona Jaffe Award winner Holly Goddard Jones’s debut short story collection, set around small-town Southerners caught in moral and sometimes mortal quandaries. Written with extraordinary empathy and maturity, and with the breadth and complexity of a novel, these eight beautifully written, achingly poignant, and occasionally heartbreaking stories explore the fine line between right and wrong, good and bad, love and violence.

Book Description:

A high school basketball coach learns that his star player is pregnant—with his child. The nightmare of a college student's rape and murder is relived by both her mother and her killer, whose contradictory accounts call to question the very nature of victimhood. In these eight stories, the fine line between right and wrong, good and bad, love and violence is walked over and over again.

Visit Holly Goddard Jones' website.

"The Good Soldiers"

New from Sarah Crichton Books: The Good Soldiers by David Finkel.

About the book, from the publisher:

It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it the surge. “Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences,” he told a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.

Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad, and almost every grueling step of the way.

What was the true story of the surge? And was it really a success? Those are the questions he grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines. Combining the action of Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down with the literary brio of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, The Good Soldiers is an unforgettable work of reportage. And in telling the story of these good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also produced an eternal tale—not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.