REQUIRED READING
The Postmistress of Paris
Meg Waite Clayton (f iction, Harper) From the author of “The Last Train to London” comes a novel about beautiful Naneé, an American heiress with a taste for adventure. As German tanks roll into Paris, she joins the Resistance — and becomes known as “the Postmistress” when she delivers information to those in hiding.
Five Decembers
James Kestrel (f iction, Hard Case Crime) It’s December 1941, and Honolulu police detective Joe McGrady has put on a homicide case that takes him across the Pacific while (unbeknownst to him), a Japanese fleet makes its way towards Pearl Harbor. A great blend of crime, war, and history.
Citizen Cash: The Political Life and Times of Johnny Cash
Michael Stewart Foley (nonf iction, Basic Books) Johnny Cash was an American music icon — but he was also, in his own unique way, a major political activist, despite not fitting easily into any one political category of Democrat or Republican, hawk or dove. Instead, the author points out, Cash was driven by empathy in a way that seems very modern and relevant.
True Crime Story
Joseph Knox (f iction, SourceBooks) Ten years ago, Zoe Nolan left her Manchester dorm room and was never seen again. The case goes cold until Evelyn Mitchell, a writer looking for new ideas, begins interviewing Zoe’s friends and relatives and sending chapters to her friend Joseph as she works through the case, which becomes more alarming by the day.
Competing with Idiots: Herman & Joe Mankiewicz, a Dual Portrait
Nick Davis (Nonfiction, Knopf) When Herman Mankiewicz headed to Hollywood in 1926 and met with almost immediate success in the movie business, he sent his brother Joe back east a telegram: “MILLIONS ARE TO BE GRABBED OUT HERE AND YOUR ONLY COMPETITION IS IDIOTS. DON’T LET THIS GET AROUND.” He heeded his brother’s advice; together, the two brothers would become Hollywood’s most famous brothers, known for classics like “Citizen Kane” and “All About Eve.”
W.E.B. Griffin Rogue Asset
Brian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson (f iction, GP Putnam’s Sons) In the 9th installment of the Presidential Agent series, the American Secretary of State has been kidnapped by Islamic extremists. The only thing left for President Natalie Cohen to do? Revive the Presidential Agent program and rescue the Secretary before it’s too late.