From The Booking Desk:

Weeks like this are wonderful for readers, but thankfully they don’t come along too often. So many high-profile and wonderful books are being released – each of them a must-read – that even narrowing it down to four was difficult. I hope that you kept some of those holiday gift cards as this week is certainly a budget buster. But only in the best possible way!

Alafair Burke – The Wife (Harper, Hardcover, $26.99, 01/23/2018)

BOLO Books Comments:

Topical and thrilling, the BOLO Books review of The Wife already told you this book is “an instant classic.”  You don’t want to miss this one!  Check back later this afternoon for an interview with Alafair with some additional tidbits to tempt you. This novel is the very definition of must-read!

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

His Scandal
Her Secret

From New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke, a stunning domestic thriller in the vein of Behind Closed Doors and The Woman in Cabin 10—in which a woman must make the impossible choice between defending her husband and saving herself.

When Angela met Jason Powell while catering a dinner party in East Hampton, she assumed their romance would be a short-lived fling, like so many relationships between locals and summer visitors. To her surprise, Jason, a brilliant economics professor at NYU, had other plans, and they married the following summer. For Angela, the marriage turned out to be a chance to reboot her life. She and her son were finally able to move out of her mother’s home to Manhattan, where no one knew about her tragic past.

Six years later, thanks to a bestselling book and a growing media career, Jason has become a cultural lightning rod, placing Angela near the spotlight she worked so carefully to avoid. When a college intern makes an accusation against Jason, and another woman, Kerry Lynch, comes forward with an even more troubling allegation, their perfect life begins to unravel. Jason insists he is innocent, and Angela believes him. But when Kerry disappears, Angela is forced to take a closer look—at both the man she married and the women she chose not to believe.

This much-anticipated follow-up to Burke’s Edgar-nominated The Ex asks how far a wife will go to protect the man she loves: Will she stand by his side, even if he drags her down with him?

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Sarah Vaughan – Anatomy of a Scandal (Atria, Hardcover, $26.00, 01/23/2018)

BOLO Books Comments:

Another timely tale, this one set in the United Kingdom. The BOLO Books review of Anatomy of a Scandal ran last week, so hopefully you have already placed your pre-order.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

An astonishingly incisive and suspenseful novel about a scandal amongst Britain’s privileged elite and the women caught up in its wake.

Sophie’s husband James is a loving father, a handsome man, a charismatic and successful public figure. And yet he stands accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is convinced he is innocent and desperate to protect her precious family from the lies that threaten to rip them apart.

Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case: an experienced professional who knows that the law is all about winning the argument. And yet Kate seeks the truth at all times. She is certain James is guilty and is determined he will pay for his crimes.

Who is right about James? Sophie or Kate? And is either of them informed by anything more than instinct and personal experience? Despite her privileged upbringing, Sophie is well aware that her beautiful life is not inviolable. She has known it since she and James were first lovers, at Oxford, and she witnessed how easily pleasure could tip into tragedy.

Most people would prefer not to try to understand what passes between a man and a woman when they are alone: alone in bed, alone in an embrace, alone in an elevator… Or alone in the moonlit courtyard of an Oxford college, where a girl once stood before a boy, heart pounding with excitement, then fear. Sophie never understood why her tutorial partner Holly left Oxford so abruptly. What would she think, if she knew the truth?

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Jessica Fellowes – The Mitford Murders (Minotaur, Hardcover, $25.99, 01/23/2018)

BOLO Books Comments:

Finding an idea to hang a series on can be challenging, but here Jessica Fellowes maps out six books – each one focused on a different Mitford sister – for a wonderful new historical series. Needless to say, it will appeal to Downton Abbey fans (given Jessica’s lineage), but this one is also perfect for fans of traditional mysteries not unlike those of the legendary Dame Agatha Christie.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

It’s 1920, and Louisa Cannon dreams of escaping her life of poverty in London.

Louisa’s salvation is a position within the Mitford household at Asthall Manor, in the Oxfordshire countryside. There she will become nursemaid, chaperone and confidante to the Mitford sisters, especially sixteen-year-old Nancy, an acerbic, bright young woman in love with stories.

But then a nurse―Florence Nightingale Shore, goddaughter of her famous namesake―is killed on a train in broad daylight, and Louisa and Nancy find themselves entangled in the crimes of a murderer who will do anything to hide their secret…

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Karen Cleveland – Need to Know (Ballantine, Hardcover, $26.00, 01/23/2018)

BOLO Books Comments:

A launch-day review of this novel will post tomorrow, but for now, it’s enough to know that this book is a unique blend of domestic suspense, thriller, and spy novel – and it is impossible to put down.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

In pursuit of a Russian sleeper cell on American soil, CIA analyst Vivian Miller uncovers a dangerous secret that will threaten her job, her family—and her life. On track for a much-needed promotion, she’s developed a system for identifying Russian agents, seemingly normal people living in plain sight.

After accessing the computer of a potential Russian operative, Vivian stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents within America’s borders. A few clicks later, everything that matters to her—her job, her husband, even her four children—is threatened.‎

Vivian has vowed to defend her country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But now she’s facing impossible choices. Torn between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, love and suspicion, who can she trust?