LJ Best Books 2016

A jury of our peers discussed, debated, disagreed, and finally declared LJ’s annual Top Ten Best Books of the year, selected by our editors, as well as Top Five lists for genre fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, and SELF-e titles. VISIT THE WEBSITE

Eight Women Writers, from Best Sellers (Gray, Gregory) to Newcomers (Simpson, Zourkova) | Fiction Previews, Sept. 2014, Pt. 1

Crombie, Deborah. To Dwell in Darkness. Morrow. Sept. 2014. 384p. ISBN 9780062271600. $25.99. THRILLER
In the latest Duncan Kincaid–Gemma James outing, Duncan investigates a lethal bombing in crombiefamed St. Pancras Station after having been transferred to the London borough of Camden from Scotland Yard headquarters. Postponed from April; with a 100,000-copy first printing and a five-city tour (Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, and Washington, DC), plus regional appearances in New England and the metropolitan New York area.

Gray, Shelley Shepard. Joyful: Return to Sugarcreek, Bk. Three. Avon Inspire. Sept. 2014. 256p. ISBN 9780062204509. pap. $12.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062204516. AMISH/INSPIRATIONAL
Poor Randall Beiler. He once broke the heart of lovely young Elizabeth Nolt, but now she has been hired by his brother to tend house for Randall and their younger siblings. Will love rekindle? With a 100,000-copy first printing and big promotion, including features in the From the Heart and Bookperk newsletters, Book Club Girl on Air, and AvonRomance.com.

Gregory, Philippa. The King’s Curse. Touchstone. Sept. 2014. 608p. ISBN 9781451626117. $27.99. HISTORICAL
In this final entry in the “Cousins’ War” series, Margaret Pole, cousin to Elizabeth of York, starts by hosting Arthur, the Prince of Wales, and his new bride, Katherine of Aragon, and ends up as a lady-in-waiting to Katherine as she marries her dead husband’s brother, Henry VIII. A phenomenally popular series; with a reading group guide and a big push at the American Library Association conference.

Kellerman, Faye. Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel. Morrow. Sept. 2014. 384p. ISBN 9780062270184. $26.99. CD: HarperAudio. THRILLER
Having abandoned work at the LAPD for the slow lane at upstate New York’s Greenbury Police department, Peter Decker is finding things a little too quiet—until the Tiffany panels at the local cemetery’s mausoleum are replaced by forgeries and a coed at a high-end local college ends up dead. Postponed from July; with a 150,000-copy first printing.

Lynn, J. Stay with Me. Morrow Paperbacks. Sept. 2014. 336p. ISBN 9780062294807. pap. $13.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062294814. ROMANCE
Jax, a soldier devastated by his experiences in Afghanistan, meets Calla, scarred by the fire that kills her siblings, and the rest is romance. The first two books in Lynn’s New Adult falconthrone“Wait for You” series were both New York Times best sellers, so great expectations—and the 100,000-copy first printing—aren’t unreasonable.

Miller, Karen. The Falcon Throne. Orbit. Sept. 2014. 528p. ISBN 9780316120081. $20; ebk. ISBN 9780316235563. lib. ebk. ISBN 9780316402859. Downloadable: Hachette Audio. FANTASY
Australian author Miller launched herself in 2005 with The Innocent Mage, which has since sold over 175,000 copies; she’s also won Aurealis and James Tiptree, Jr. awards for her work. In this first in a reportedly bloody new series, various heirs battle for the crown of Harcia, a kingdom sundered years ago by jealous royal brothers. With a 30,000-copy first printing; note the special introductory hardcover price.

Simpson, Alice. Ballroom. Harper. Sept. 2014. 288p. ISBN 9780062323033. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062323064. POP FICTION
The work of internationally known artist Simpson has always been inspired by dance—she’s the daughter of a vaudeville dancer—so it’s no surprise that her fiction debut is set in a ballroom. The past-its-prime New York City dance hall of the title features several persevering patrons, including Sarah, 40 years old and yearning for love; perennial bachelor Joseph, who’s trying to catch Sarah’s eye; and aging dance instructor Harry, who adores Ballroom dance star Maria, an ambitious woman with dreams of her own. With a 30,000-copy first printing.

Zourkova, Krassi. The Wildalone. Morrow. Sept. 2014. 384p. ISBN 9780062328021. $25.95. OCCULT & SUPERNATURALwildaone
In her first year at Princeton and homesick for her Eastern European homeland, Thea Slavin becomes involved with the handsome, ambiguous Rhys and his equally enticing brother, Jake, who introduce her to a mythic underworld shaped by Greek mythology and dominated by the Samodivi, or Wildalones. These forest witches of Bulgarian folklore ensnare men, and Thea is ensnared by their story, even as she learns something frightening about her family. Bulgarian-born first novelist Zourkova herself studied at Princeton before graduating from Harvard Law School; it’s not known whether there are any Samodivi in her past. With a 50,000-copy first printing and a big promotional push.

Share
Barbara Hoffert About Barbara Hoffert

Barbara Hoffert (bhoffert@mediasourceinc.com, @BarbaraHoffert on Twitter) is Editor, LJ Prepub Alert; past chair of the Materials Selection Committee of the RUSA (Reference and User Services Assn.) division of the American Library Association; and past president, treasurer, and awards chair of the National Book Critics Circle.
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2014/03/prepub/fiction-previews/eight-women-writers-from-best-sellers-gray-gregory-to-newcomers-simpson-zourkova-fiction-previews-sept-2014-pt-1/
reviews.libraryjournal.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2017-09
81433
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:RXCSYKNBJOAEXOQMI3MO6CAVXAJTQ4OR
<urn:uuid:23d919e2-d261-4cad-a5e8-10a393cac35f>
2017-03-01T17:47:50Z
216.70.86.237
sha1:I37L25ZBGURZJD2XOBU3HXFIUZ6ORUCB
<urn:uuid:b2b5346e-dc05-4a6b-9ef9-800cf079b9cb>
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2014/03/prepub/fiction-previews/eight-women-writers-from-best-sellers-gray-gregory-to-newcomers-simpson-zourkova-fiction-previews-sept-2014-pt-1/
length
response
<urn:uuid:18b9ba17-875c-419f-bd82-215b78d5c46e>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-09
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for February 2017
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf