Josh Bazell '92

Wild Thing

Reagan Arthur Books; ISBN: 978-031603219-3; Pub: 2/8/12; Price: $25.99, 10% off = $23.39

"Carl Hiaasen fans will relish Bazell's frenetic sequel to 2009's Beat the Reaper...Bazell expertly blends action, farce, and political satire, and his wide-ranging imagination bodes well for the future of the series."

--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

William Landay

Defending Jacob

Delacorte Press; ISBN: 978-038534422-7; Pub: 1/31/2012; Price: $26.00, 10% off = $23.40

"Evoking the specter of Presumed Innocent (there's reference to a character linked to the protagonist named 'Rusty,' and the first person narrator is an ADA in a compromising position whose marriage is not all it seems to be), this cracking suspenser is absolutely chilling.  Taught, tight, and well written, this is one I can't wait to sell!"

--Reviewed by Tova

February 2012 Indie Next List

Jan-Philipp Sendker

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Other Press; ISBN: 978-159051463-4; Pub: 1/31/2012; Paperback Original; Price: $14.95, 10% off = $13.46

"A daughter wants to know why and how her father just disappeared.   Following the trail to Burma, she meets a local man who claims he can help her out.  He spins a tale that seems incredulous to her.  Starting as a woman's search for her missing father, this story turns into a magical tale about enduring love.  Will you believe?"

--Reviewed by Percy

February 2012 Indie Next List

Mo Hayder

Hanging Hill

Atlantic Monthly Press; ISBN: 978-080212006-9; Pub: 2/7/2012(rel. early); Price: $25.00, 10% off = $22.50

"Mo Hayder's latest stand alone thriller takes place in Bath, England and has at its center 2 estranged sisters: police detective Zoe & financially challenged, divorced mother Sally.   As is typical of Hayder's work, darkness hides just below the surface.  The action begins with the murder of a classmate of Sally's daughter, and thus the sisters are brought together.   While the coincidences may stretch credulity, the action, and pacing are brisk and relentless, the characters engaging, and the outcome utterly chilling.  This dark and gripping mystery is great fun."

--Reviewed by Tova

Anne Holt

1222: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel

Scribner; ISBN: 978-145163471-6; Pub: 12/27/11; Price: $25.00, 10% off = $22.50

"Curmudgeonly, Norwegian, ex-police detective, Hanne Wilhelmsen is the crusty yet endearing protagonist of Holt's engaging mystery.  Enroute from Oslo to Bergen, a train is derailed in the middle of a fierce blizzard.  The 200+ passengers are relocated to a nearby hotel where they are isolated and trapped for the duration of the raging storm.  Before long a guest is murdered and Hanne is prevailed upon to help solve the crime before the crisis escalates and the panicking passengers wreak havoc.  Part Miss Marple, part belligerent anti-social misanthrope, Hanne is a gem; and this fun and exciting novel is a winner."

--Reviewed by Tova

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

Ryan Boudinot

Blueprints of the Afterlife

Grove Press - Black Cat; ISBN: 978-080217091-0; Pub: 1/3/12; Paperback Original; Price: $14.00, 10% off = $12.60

"Welcome to the future, where nothing is as it seems.  Medical care downloaded by nanotechnology, a full-scale replica of Manhattan under construction in Puget Sound, and then your sister is carried away in your mobile home.  Weird, but somehow plausible, this is a future where every day brings a new awakening.   Sit back, let go of reality as you know it, and enjoy the ride."

--Reviewed by Percy

January 2012 Indie Next List

David Treuer

Rez Life:

An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life

Atlantic Monthly Press; ISBN: 978-080211971-1; Pub: 2/7/2012; Price: $26.00, 10% off = $23.40

"Rez Life is a compelling and unvarnished look at the unique experience of life on an Indian reservation.  With a novelist’s eye for detail and a journalistic grasp of history, David Treuer reveals that this country’s crimes against its original inhabitants were not limited to the 18th and 19th centuries.  This is a must-read for anyone who cares about the ongoing plight of our Native Americans."

--Brian Hicks, author of Toward the Setting Sun:
John Ross, the Cherokees and the Trail of Tears

Indie Bound Reviews

John M. Barry

Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul

Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty

Viking; ISBN: 978-067002305-9; Pub: 1/5/12; Price: $35.00, 10% off = $31.50

"...Barry does impart enough detail about Williams to show how puzzling a character he was, exasperatingly admirable.  He attracted the powerful and the intelligent.  The jurist Edward Coke had been his patron during his youth; the poet John Milton was a later friend.  Even his critics found him an appealing personality.  The governor of Plymouth called him 'the sweetest soul I ever knew'..."

--Joyce E. Chaplin, Sunday New York Times Book Review

Rachel Herz,

Adjunct Asst. Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

That's Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion

W.W. Norton & Co.; ISBN: 978-039307647-9; Pub: 1/23/12; Price: $26.95, 10% off = $24.26

"In this smart and engaging book, Rachel Herz tells the story of disgust.  She shows how it permeates everything that matters.  It determines what we eat and who we talk to and who we sleep with.  It infuses our law and politics, and can, sometimes, be a source of great pleasure.  Disgust is, as Herz explains, the truest mirror of human nature.  This is a fascinating book on a disgusting but important topic."

--Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology, Yale University,

and author of How Pleasure Works

Caroline Frank,

Visiting Lecturer in Dept. of History & American Studies

Objectifying China, Imagining America:

Chinese Commodities in Early America

University of Chicago Press; ISBN: 978-022626028-0; Pub: 1/15/12; Price: $25.00, Paperback, 10% off = $22.50

"Frank not only recovers the widespread presence of Chinese commodities in early America and the impact of East Indies trade on the nature of American commerce, but also explores the role of the this trade in American state formation.  She argues that to understand how Chinese commodities fueled the opening acts of the Revolution, we must consider the power dynamics of the American quest for china--and China--during the colonial period.  Filled with fresh and surprising insights, this ambitious study adds new dimensions to the ongoing story of America’s relationship with China."

--publisher description

Indie Bound Description

Daniel Handler; Maira Kalman, Ill.

Why We Broke Up

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; ISBN: 978-031612725-7; Pub: 12/27/11; Price: $19.99, 10% off = $17.99

"Min has broken up with Ed and is writing him a letter chronicling their relationship and all the reasons that it has come to an end.  To prove to herself and her friends that the relationship is over, Min has put together all of the tokens she accumulated during the brief relationship.  The box and the letter are Min's goodbye present for Ed.  Each chapter begins with an illustration of an item in the box, followed by the chapter of the relationship associated with it.  What better way to get over your high school relationship than reading Min's story and adding your own?"

---- Marika McCoola, Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA

Indie Bound Winter 2012 Kids' Next List

Shana Corey; Hadley Hooper, Ill.

Here Come the Girl Scouts!

The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure

Scholastic; ISBN: 978-054534278-0; Pub: 1/1/12; Price: $17.99, 10% off = $16.19

"She loved the outdoors, and she yearned for adventure!  Born into a family of pathfinders and pioneers, she too wanted to make a difference in the world--and nothing would stop her.

Combining her ancestors’ passion for service with her own adventurous spirit and her belief that girls could do anything, she founded the Girl Scouts.  One hundred years later, they continue to have adventures, do good deeds, and make a difference!"

--publisher description

Indie Bound Description