From the Booking Desk:

It is a great week to be a reader. You can’t go wrong with any of these choices, so why not read them all.

Hallie Ephron – Careful What You Wish For (William Morrow, Hardcover, $26.99, 08/06/2019)

BOLO Books Comments:

Every book by Hallie Ephron has been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark award. Read the BOLO Books review of Careful What You Wish For to find out why. I guarantee you will want to read the book and maybe some of Hallie’s other fantastic books like There Was An Old Woman, You’ll Never Know Dear, and Night Night, Sleep Tight as well.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

Emily Harlow is a professional organizer who helps people declutter their lives; she’s married to man who can’t drive past a yard sale without stopping. He’s filled their basement, attic, and garage with his finds.

Like other professionals who make a living decluttering peoples’ lives, Emily has devised a set of ironclad rules. When working with couples, she makes clear that the client is only allowed to declutter his or her own stuff. That stipulation has kept Emily’s own marriage together these past few years. She’d love nothing better than to toss out all her husband’s crap. He says he’s a collector. Emily knows better—he’s a hoarder. The larger his “collection” becomes, the deeper the distance grows between Emily and the man she married.

Luckily, Emily’s got two new clients to distract herself: an elderly widow whose husband left behind a storage unit she didn’t know existed, and a young wife whose husband won’t allow her stuff into their house. Emily’s initial meeting with the young wife takes a detour when, after too much wine, the women end up fantasizing about how much more pleasant life would be without their collecting spouses.

But the next day Emily finds herself in a mess that might be too big for her to clean up. Careful what you wish for, the old adage says . . . now Emily might lose her freedom, her marriage . . . and possibly her life.

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Laura McHugh – The Wolf Wants In (Spiegel & Grau, Hardcover, $26.00, 08/06/2019)

BOLO Books Comments:

Look for a very special launch day review of The Wolf Want In here on BOLO Books tomorrow morning. Just by the virtue of being on this list today, you know it’s going to be a very strong review, but trust me when I say that this is a very special book.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

Sadie Keller is determined to find out how her brother died, even if no one else thinks it’s worth investigating. Untimely deaths are all too common in rural Blackwater, Kansas, where crime and overdoses are on the rise, and the small-town police force is consumed with the recent discovery of a child’s skull in the woods. Sadie is on her own, delving into the dark corners of a life her brother kept hidden and unearthing more questions than answers.

Eighteen-year-old Henley Pettit knows more than she’d like to about the seedy side of Blackwater, and she’s desperate to escape before she’s irreparably entangled in her family’s crimes. She dreams of disappearing and leaving her old life behind, but shedding the past is never easy, and getting out of town will be far more dangerous than she ever imagined.

As more bones are found in the woods, time is running out for Sadie to uncover the truth and for Henley to make her escape. Both women are torn between family loyalties and the weight of the secrets they carry, knowing full well that while some secrets are hard to live with, others will get you killed.

Like Laura McHugh’s previous award-winning thrillers, The Weight of Blood and Arrowood, The Wolf Wants In is an atmospheric, beautifully told novel that barrels toward a twisting, chilling end andkeeps us turning the page to find out how these small-town secrets will unravel—and who will survive.

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Donna Andrews – Terns of Endearment (Minotaur, Hardcover, $26.99, 08/06/2019)

BOLO Books Comments:

Twenty-five books into this series and Donna Andrews shows no sign of slowing down. Taking many of our favorite regulars away from Caerphilly for a bit lends a freshness to the proceedings without losing track of what makes these books fan-favorites.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

Meg Langslow’s grandfather has been booked by a cruise line to give lectures on birds and other environmental topics as part of their ship’s education/entertainment itinerary, and Grandfather has arranged for a passel of family members to join him.

The passengers’ vacation quickly becomes a nightmare when they wake up to find themselves broken down and in need of repairs in the Bermuda Triangle. To keep the stranded passengers calm, Meg’s family and friends band together to keep things organized and provide entertainment. Some even take up the cause of nursing an injured tern back to health.

But things get even worse when a crew member announces to all that a woman has jumped overboard, leaving behind her shoes, shawl, and a note. The note reveals she’s the mortal enemy of group of writers who came on board for a retreat, and the group is split on whether suicide is in-character for her. Meanwhile, grandfather’s assistant Trevor seems to have gone missing too!

The captain decides not to investigate, saying he’ll notify American authorities when they reach their destination. But Meg’s father thinks they should find out whether there was foul play while the prime suspects are all stuck on board. Who wanted the writer dead? Why doesn’t the captain seem concerned? What happened to Trevor? It’ll be a race against the clock to solve these mysteries before they make the necessary repairs and return to shore.

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Melissa De La Cruz – The Birthday Girl (Dutton, Hardcover, $27.00, 08/06/2019)

BOLO Books Comments:

The BOLO Books Review of The Birthday Girl ran a few weeks ago. I’ve been a long-time fan of Melissa’s Young Adult output, so I was thrilled to see how this evolved in her first adult thriller.

Jacket Copy (Publisher’s Description):

Before she became a glamorous fashion designer, Ellie de Florent-Stinson was a trailer-park teen about to turn sixteen. But a night of birthday celebration doesn’t go exactly as planned and descends into a night she’ll never be able to forget.
 
Now, on the cusp of her fortieth birthday, it appears Ellie has everything she ever wanted: a handsome husband; an accomplished, college-age stepdaughter; a beautiful ten-year-old girl; adorable and rambunctious six-year-old twin boys; lush, well-appointed homes in Los Angeles, Park City, and Palm Springs; a thriving career; and a dazzling circle of friends.
 
Except everything is not quite as perfect as it looks on the outside—Ellie is keeping many secrets. And hiding those skeletons has a cost, and it all comes to a head the night of her fabulous birthday party in the desert—where everyone who matters in her life shows up, invited or not. Old and new friends and frenemies, stepdaughters and business partners, ex-wives and ex-husbands congregate, and the glittering facade of Ellie’s life begins to crumble. 
 
Beautifully paced and full of surprises, The Birthday Girl is an enthralling tale of a life lived in shadow and its unavoidable consequences.