The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

December 2024

There are times when I wonder WHY I did not get to a book sooner. This was the case with THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon. It came out a year ago, and I just got to it last week. I loved the first-person voice of Martha Ballard, a renowned midwife who delivered babies in Maine. The novel is set in the winter of 1789 when the river has frozen --- and a man’s body is discovered there. The mystery of how he got there and who was responsible sets up the backbone of the book. What Martha is able to uncover --- and how she does it --- is what makes the story special.

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What I Ate in One Year: (and related thoughts) by Stanley Tucci

December 2024

I love it when authors who write memoirs or share their thoughts narrate their own work. So when I saw that Stanley Tucci narrated WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR, I was all in for a listen. What a fun idea to chronicle what one ate/cooked/dined out on over the course of a year. As I am writing this, I just devoured a Trader Joe’s Green Chile Macaroni and Cheese. I realize that instead I should have zeroed in on one of the recipes in the book’s pages and whipped up something that was much more of a culinary delight.

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End-of-the-Year Contest 2024

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December 2024

December's Books on Screen roundup includes the films Nickel Boys, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Nightbitch, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Room Next Door and Oh, Canada; the series premieres of "Dexter: Original Sin" on Paramount+ and "One Hundred Years of Solitude" on Netflix; the season premiere of Netflix's "Virgin River"; the conclusion of "The Day of the Jackal" on Peacock and "Like Water for Chocolate" on Max; the season finales of HBO's "Dune: Prophecy" and The CW's "Sullivan's Crossing"; the continuation of "Outlander" on STARZ and "Tracker" on CBS; and the DVD releases of Conclave, White Bird and The Wild Robot.

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Week of December 30, 2024

Paperback releases for the week of December 30th include THE MYSTERY GUEST, the second installment in Nita Prose's fun and entertaining series featuring Molly Gray, the esteemed Head Maid of the five-star Regency Grand Hotel, who must uncover the truth behind the death of a world-renowned mystery author, no matter how dirty; SHE'S NOT SORRY by Mary Kubica, a chilling thriller about an ICU nurse who accidentally uncovers a patient’s frightening past; B. A. Paris' THE GUEST, a heart-pounding work of domestic suspense in which each character’s past unravels, some of which are more dangerous than they ever could have known; and MARTYR!, an electrifying, funny and wholly original novel from Kaveh Akbar, which revolves around a newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants who --- guided by the voices of artists, poets and kings --- embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum.

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Weeks of December 16 and 23, 2024

Paperback releases for the weeks of December 16th and 23rd include IT HAD TO BE YOU, the latest thrilling entry in the Under Suspicion series by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, which finds television producer Laurie Moran investigating the unsolved murder of a beloved couple celebrating the college graduations of their successful twin sons; HARBOR LIGHTS, a dynamic, gripping collection of short stories from one of the most popular and widely acclaimed icons of American fiction, James Lee Burke, featuring a never-before-published novella; COLD VICTORY by Karl Marlantes, a propulsive and sweeping novel in which loyalty, friendship and love are put to the ultimate test; and WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN VEGAS, a dazzling journey in which James Patterson and Vanity Fair contributing editor Mark Seal show the real Vegas, transporting readers from the thrill of adrenaline-fueled vice to the glitter of A-list celebrity and entertainment.

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Week of December 9, 2024

Paperback releases for the week of December 9th include HOLMES, MARPLE & POE by James Patterson and Brian Sitts, a thrilling story of crime and corruption in which three detectives keep their identities secret, and NYPD Detective Helene Grey is on a mission to unmask them --- no matter who gets killed along the way; Jonathan Evison's AGAIN AND AGAIN,   a poignant and endlessly surprising story about love lost, found and redeemed; A GIANT WIN, a fascinating self-portrait of legendary New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin during his signature game --- the unforgettable Super Bowl that changed NFL history; THE DOOR-TO-DOOR BOOKSTORE, Carsten Henn's charming international bestseller about an unlikely friendship between an elderly door-to-door bookseller and a nine-year-old girl that changes his life; and the paperback original NOT IN MY BOOK, a sexy and hilarious enemies-to-lovers romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice, Katie Holt. 

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