Radical Remission is book written by Kelly Turner, a researcher in the field of Integrative Oncology. She spent a year traveling the world, finding and speaking with patients who were cured of cancer using non-traditional methods. In her book, she reveals the nine keys to an unexpected remission from cancer that can occur either in the absence of conventional medicine, or after conventional medicine has failed.
Savage Harvest by Carl Hoffman is blowing up! It is the incredibly cool story of the disappearance of Michael C. Rockefeller, one of the great mysteries of the last century. In the tradition of The Lost City of Z and Lost in Shangri-La, critically acclaimed journalist and author Carl Hoffman travels to the remote coast of New Guinea to solve the mystery, delving into the complex spiritual world of Asmat tribe, one that included head hunting and cannibalism.
Simon Winchester says “Hoffman has shown that with assiduous tradecraft, hard work and near-obsessive tenacity, it is possible to know, to solve the supposedly insoluble. . . . Savage Harvest is a remarkable testament to the revealed truth, and of its revealing – even if that truth is wholly bizarre and, to most, quite literally unpalatable.”
And it has gotten a plethora (fun word) of Starred Reviews:
“A bare-knuckle, adventure-filled journey in search of the answer to a half-century–old cold case: Whatever happened to Nelson Rockefeller’s son, Michael? . . . A searching, discomfiting journey yields an elegant, memorable report.”-Kirkus
“By dint of grueling fieldwork, startling archival discoveries, revelatory visits with a Dutch missionary relieved to break his 50-year silence, profound insights, and muscular writing, Hoffman tells the unforgettable story of a soothing and politically expedient cover-up and a brutal and tragic collision of cultures.” –Booklist
“In an expertly told tale that is begging for a film adaptation, Hoffman crafts a remarkable, balanced examination of this sensational case. . . . [He] deserves much credit for this riveting, multi-layered tale.” –Publishers Weekly
You should check out the book trailer too – so spooky and engaging!
– Annie
Ann Patchett. Richard Ford. Shelley Shepard Gray. Erika Johansen. Toni Blake. Elizabeth Boyle. Peter Swanson. Lori Wilde. Sophie Hannah. Quite the line-up, eh?
Hopefully all you public librarians are as excited for PLA 2014 as we are, so if you find yourself in Indianapolis from March 11-14, make sure you come to Booth 1837 to meet all of our authors! For a full schedule of HarperCollins events, click here. We hope to see you all there!
-Virginia, Annie, and Amanda
I know there are a lot of Kim Harrison fans out there, and today the #1 New York Times bestselling author celebrates her Book Birthday! Kim once again brings us the supernatural adventures of Rachel Morgan in the penultimate book of the Hollows series, The Undead Pool.
Strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong, and the truce between the races, between Inderlander and human, is shattering. Rachel must stop the occurrences before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and it becomes all-out supernatural war.
Can she do it?? I'm gonna wager yes, but you should check it out for yourself. Kirkus gave it a starred review and said, "a great ride in and of itself, rather than simply a buildup to the finale, which is sure to be whiz-bang.”
Also, how fly does she look on the jacket? She's rocking that corset!
Enjoy and savor this one, and then maybe go back and re-read the series before the last book comes out in September.
– Annie
As the perfect antithesis to our Frivolous Friday last week, today is devoted to learning about and experiencing the many facets of history and the modern day world through a nonfiction lens. Check out our three fabulous nonfiction picks, and, as a bonus, the first three people to send us an email at librarylovefest@harpercollins.com will receive a galley of each!
ADHD Does Not Exist by Richard Saul, MD: The author draws from his 50 years of medical practice and experience with over 5,000 patients to explain how other conditions are the culprits for ADHD related symptoms.
Dark Invasion by Howard Blum:a true-life WWI-era spy thriller about a German plot to wage terror on American soil, and the NYPD Inspector tasked with stopping it.
Updike by Adam Begley: Drawing on in-depth research and interviews with countless friends and relatives, this biography delivers a candid, detailed, 
and intimate look into the life of one of the most celebrated figures in American literature.
Take this chance to balance out all those suspenseful thrillers and corset-busting romances with three entertaining and healthy doses of knowledge.
Have a good weekend everyone! -Amanda
For some reason, I seem to be reading a lot of books involving stalkers lately (does everyone remember The Book of You?). I’m going to ignore what that possibly says about me and instead point out that stalkers make for exciting reading: case in point, Kate White’s Eyes on You.
TV host Robin Trainer is a woman on a mission. After losing her on-air job two years ago, Robin has once again reached the top: her new show is swiftly climbing in the ratings and her first book about the secrets women keep is a bestseller. But such success engenders jealousy, and soon little things start to go wrong, like a nasty note found in her purse. These incidents quickly escalate to some truly horrifying psychological and physical abuse, the most memorable incident for me being when Robin finds a Barbie doll dressed to look like her, but with the eyes gouged out. Robin’s fight to be on top turns into a fight for her life in a stunning conclusion that shows some of the people closest to you can also be your worst enemies.
Check it out on Edelweiss, but don’t blame me if you start looking over your shoulder at work!
-Amanda
I'm going to spare you from listening to my delightful singing voice and merely point out that today is a happy book birthday for J.W. Ironmonger's Coincidence!
Azalea Lewis’s life has been dominated by a baffling set of coincidences so perfect one almost is forced to believe an invisible hand of fate is directing them. Troubled by what she has uncovered about the disappearances and deaths all occurring on Midsummer's Day, she approaches Thomas Post, a rational-minded academic whose specialty is discrediting our belief in coincidence. As they fall in love, Thomas tries to help her to understand her past as a series of random events—not a divinely predetermined order. However, as the fateful day draws nearer, Thomas fears Azalea may throw herself into the very fate she fears and he will lose her forever. Warm and romantic, yet mind-blowing, Coincidence is an unforgettable novel of two souls trying to make sense of their place in the universe.
Celebrate by picking up a copy today!
-Amanda
As of Monday, February 17th, all HarperCollins Catalogs will be available through Edelweiss. If you haven't registered with Edelweiss already, make sure you do it now so you can take advantage of all the perks!
-Amanda
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Whether you’re in it for the romance, the piles of chocolate (hint: that’s me), or it’s just another Friday for you, take this time to enjoy a little fun frivolity in the form of Eloisa James’s Three Weeks With Lady X.
Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade. Thorn’s stepmother Eleanor hires Lady Xenobia India St. Clair to redecorate the rundown estate Thorn has just purchased, and maybe transform the owner into a gentleman in the process. Exquisite, head-strong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks. But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them.
Booklist recently gave Three Weeks With Lady X a starred review, so download your copy from Edelweiss today!
-Amanda
Anyone familiar with the hit series Pretty Little Liars will no doubt recognize Sara Shepard's name, and come May she will have an adult book on the shelves. The Heiresses is a deliciously fun book that follows the Saybrook family, the rich, glamorous, New York City based founders of a massive diamond empire.
At the start of the novel, Poppy Saybrook, the most beloved heiress is found dead, and what is initially thought of as a suicide is quickly shown to be murder. So begins the search for her killer, and her remaining four cousins must bond together to figure out what has happened.
Along the way, they each uncover an incredible number of juicy secrets concerning their family and the 'curse' that has followed the Saybrooks for generations.
This is a perfect summer read, and it's the first in a new series, so get ready to fall for The Heiresses. Be sure to snag an egalley on Edelweiss.
– Annie
Award-winning author and cat-loving California native Shirley Rousseau Murphy brings us behind the scenes of The Cat, the Devil and Lee Fontana (on sale today!) and what kick-started the inspiration for this mystery novel. Shirley has teamed up with her husband, co-writer Pat J.J. Murphy, and surprises her fans by spotlighting characters from Cat Bearing Gifts.
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It’s the cats who run the show. As I begin a book I employ the card system some authors use, as well as fragments of outline, but soon the notes are pushed aside and the cats indeed take over—Joe Grey, Dulcie, Kit and Pan and the feral band. The cats’ own thoughts and longings guide me, the story is theirs and they show me clearly what they experience and what they mean to do. I can only follow, seeing in my mind their ploys and troubles.
But when, after finishing Cat Bearing Gifts, I turned aside for a little while from Joe Grey and his pals, I needed no outline for the new tale, it was already in place. Pat’s story of Lee Fontana was there, whole and real, waiting for me to join him and, unknown to us at first, waiting for Misto to step into the story to add his own feline charm and swagger.
I had already based part of Cat Bearing Gifts on Lee Fontana’s stolen money (with Pat’s permission) and on Lee’s mysterious little sister, so somewhere in the back of my mind, the connection had already formed. But we didn’t see clearly, yet, that Misto himself would move from Cat Bearing Gifts into Lee’s adventure, appearing not as the living cat he was in that book, but in ghost form. Suddenly the ghost Misto was there with Lee, insinuating himself into the action as he tries to guard Lee from harm. The minute Misto joined Lee to face off the devil we knew this was right, this was the way the tale was meant to be as Misto’s spirit, between two of his nine lives, battles the devil to save the soul of the old convict.
Last Night at the Blue Angel is a wonderful debut. I was very impressed because Rotert's characters were all so engaging and well formed. Also, it painted a very cool picture of the jazz scene in 1960s Chicago.
The narration switches between ten year old Sophia, the precociously awkward and old-before-her time daughter of single mom Naomi Hill (the second narrator), an aspiring singer and extreme beauty.
We meet them on the night Naomi becomes famous, her last performance at the Blue Angel nightclub, then they both take us back in time through the events leading up to that night.
Sophia is the sadly sweetest story teller – thoughtful, painfully worried about her mother, dreading the nuclear bomb she's concerned will drop and staying busy creating lists of all the inventions she will need to recreate. Her anxieties about her living situation permeate the book, and mirror the feel of the larger events of the time: segregation, sexual experimentation and free love. It is a story full of revelations, surprises and a heartbreaking conclusion.
Definitely worth checking out on Edelweiss.
– Annie
The Top 10 LibraryReads picks for March have finally been released! A big congrats goes out to Panic by Lauren Oliver for being chosen by you lovely librarians as one of the best books being published in March! Seriously, if you aren't already in the LibraryReads fun parade, join in and have your voices heard.
-Amanda
You guys, I promise not to bore you too much more with my love for Willy Vlautin's books, but The Free finally went on sale on February 4th (my sister's b-day, PS – so much love on one day!), and other people have been gushing about him too, so I thought I'd share.
From the Starred Library Journal Review:
Verdict Despite touching on urgent national issues such as health care and the death of the middle class, Vlautin’s deeply sympathetic novel never feels labored or overtly political, telling its characters’ stories in direct, unvarnished prose that recalls the best of John Steinbeck.
From the Starred Booklist Review:
“There are number of musician-novelists turning out fine work in both fields, but singer-songwriter Vlautin is clearly at the head of this multitalented group…At times, reading the heartbreaking, interlocking stories of these circumstance-ravaged souls can almost seem unbearable, but just when you’re ready to put the book down in despair, Vlautin delivers a moment of not hope exactly but unvarnished, aching humanity that takes your breath away.”
BEYOND THE BOOK is a project that showcases HarperCollins authors who are also musicians. Each specialized program includes original music and insight from the authors. It is a unique way to get the feel for the novels and a sense of who the authors are.
Each program can be downloaded for free on Soundcloud.
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Located in a nameless desert somewhere in the great American Southwest, Night Vale is a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens, and government conspiracies are all commonplace parts of everyday life. It is here that the lives of two women, with two mysteries, will converge.
“Encompasses The Twilight Zone, Stephen King, and Twin Peaks, with a bit of Tremors thrown in.” —The Guardian
“Brilliant, hilarious, and wondrously strange. I’m packing up and moving to Night Vale!” —Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
“There is nothing like Night Vale, in the best possible way.” —Maureen Johnson, author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Name of the Star
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/sets/beyondthebook_nightvale
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New York Times bestselling humorist Michael Perry, author of Population 485 and Visiting Tom, brings us a debut novel about a Wisconsin farmer whose newborn calf bears the face of Jesus. Loaded with an unforgettable cast of characters, The Jesus Cow is a comic yet sincere exploration of faith, a hilarious and improbable tale with a big heart and an explosive climax.
“Warmhearted…engaging…down-to-earth and genuine.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Humorous without being cynical and heartfelt without being overly sentimental.” —Shelf Awareness
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/jesuscow_beyondthebook
In Last Night at the Blue Angel, debut novelist Rebecca Rotert tells the tale of Naomi Hill, a talented but troubled jazz singer, her precocious ten-year-old daughter, Sophia, and their heartbreaking relationship. It is an unforgettable story, set int 1960s Chicago, about what happens when the passion for the life you want is at sharp odds with the life you have. In this recording, Rotert, an experienced singer/songwriter, performs two jazz standards from the novel, shares her inspirations behind the characters, and does a reading that provides insight into Naomi’s origins.
“Luminous and deeply affecting, this book swept me along and stole my heart.” -Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife
“Last Night at the Blue Angel is many things, all of them hugely admirable.” -Jim Shepard, author of Like You’d Understand, Anyway
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/lastnightattheblueangel_rotert
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In Bird Box, brilliantly imaginative debut author Josh Malerman captures an apocalyptic near-future world, where a mother and her two small children must make their way down a river, blindfolded. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them – but is it man, animal, or monster?
Within these tracks, Malerman, a professional musician and lead singer of the band The High Strung, discusses his love of horror and invokes an ethereal and atmospheric experience in an homage to Orson Welles a la War of the Worlds.
“This completely compelling novel contains a thousand subtle touches but no mere flourishes – it is so well, so efficiently, so directly written I read it with real admiration.” -Peter Straub
“Chilling and beautifully told. A Must Read.” -Hugh Howey, author of Wool
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/birdbox_malerman
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The Free by Willy Vlautin was the inaugural Beyond the Book project. In this novel, Vlautin captures the experience of three memorable characters who are looking for meaning in distressing times. Vlautin addresses issues that transform ordinary people’s lives – the cost of health care, the lack of economic opportunity, and the devastating scars of war – and celebrates the resiliency of the human heart. Here, Vlautin reads excerpts from The Free, discusses the inspiration for the book, and shares his thoughts on its main characters. Accompanied by Vlatin’s own music, the recording offers a behind-the-scenes look at this unforgettable novel.
“The straightforward beauty of Vlautin’s writing, and the tender care he shows his characters, turns a story of struggle into indispensable reading. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.” -Ann Patchett
“Courageous, powerful, and mercifully refreshing.” -Jonathan Evison, author of The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/sets/thefree_vlautin
Peter Swanson is the debut author of The Girl With a Clock for a Heart, a fantastically sexy noir thriller. Reminiscent of the 1980’s film, Body Heat, Wiley Cash says, "This novel burns faster and hotter than a lit fuse, and you’ll be feeling its heat long after the explosive ending.”
Peter celebrates his book birthday today, and he's popped in to share some of his history with libraries:
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I was lucky. I was one of those kids who was taken to the library at least once a week. And I was doubly lucky because the library I was taken to, The Gleason Public Library in Carlisle, Massachusetts, was one of the great ones. It was on the small side, being the library of a small town, but that meant that all the librarians knew me by sight, and knew the type of books I liked to read. But what I loved most about the library was the building itself. It was gothic revival, built in the 1890s, made of brick with deeply slanted shingle roofs. It was cozy and creepy at the same time—just the way I like it.
My book choices, even when I was very young, were a little bit cozy and a little bit creepy at the same time, as well. My favorite picture book as a kid was Mercer Mayer’s One Monster After Another, even though, or maybe because, it gave me some pretty vivid nightmares. I loved anything with monsters, ghouls, ghosts, secret passageways, and dark and stormy nights. When I got a little older, and started reading chapter books, I loved John Bellairs, especially his first book, The House With a Clock in its Walls, which, now that I’ve written that title out, might have had something to do with me naming my first novel The Girl With a Clock for a Heart.
John Bellairs’ books were perfect for me. They dealt in supernatural creepiness, and yet, they were firmly grounded in a world of eccentric but good-natured characters. Again, it’s that coziness thing. My second favorite Bellairs’ book, The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn, takes place mainly in a library in Hoosac, Minnesota, where the librarian, Miss Eells, and the young protagonist, Anthony Monday, search for a treasure hidden in the library. This book confirmed what I’d long believed—that libraries were special places full of mysterious secrets.
As I got older, the books I chose to read changed, although not the subject matter. I fell in love with Stephen King, naturally, but also with mystery novels and thrillers. To this day, when I enter a library I haven’t been to before, I always go first to the mystery section. I love looking at all the spines of books I have and haven’t read, especially when they have those little skull stickers that some libraries affix to them to identify them as mystery and suspense.
And now that I’ve become a thriller writer myself, I’m hoping that someone somewhere on a cold winter night curls up on their favorite reading chair, and enjoys my tale of murder, obsession, and identity. See, I’m still equating cozy and creepy, because I think they go together, and I’ve been thinking that ever since those early trips to the library.
And one more thing. If you’re a librarian, and you’re reading this, and you receive The Girl With a Clock for a Heart, please put one of those little skull stickers on its spine. That would make me very happy.
***
Thank you, Peter. Please snag a copy of his book, it's completely gripping!
– Annie
