There were a lot of great titles in February’s Titles to Watch For post, but it’s already time to jump ahead to a new month and a new bunch of great fiction to add to your reading list.
by Lauren Groff (March 13th)
“In the fields and forests of western New York State in the late 1960s, several dozen idealists set out to live off the land, founding what becomes a famous commune centered on the grounds of a decaying mansion called Arcadia House. Arcadia follows this lyrical, rollicking, tragic, and exquisite utopian dream from its hopeful start through its heyday and beyond.” –author’s website.Author Kate Walbert describes this new literary novel as “Part Stone Diaries, part Lord of the Flies”. Groff is also the author of the novel The Monsters of Templeton and the short story collection Delicate Edible Birds.
The Expats (M)
by Chris Pavone (March 6th)
Fans of espionage thrillers take note of this first novel that’s getting a lot of buzz. Kate Moore leaves the CIA when her husband takes a job in Europe and the family moves to Luxembourg. Europe is beautiful but her agent’s instincts tell her that she won’t be living the quiet expat life: something is just not quite right, and she needs to find out what. Starred reviews in Booklist, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus for this spy story with a strong female lead that the publisher proclaims “has everything: the exoticism of Graham Greene; the smarts of John le Carre; and the non-stop action of Robert Ludlum!”
The Imposter Bride (M)
by Nancy Richler (March 20th)
If you don’t already know the name of Canadian author Nancy Richler, now’s your time to get on board with this, her third, novel. Set in post World War II Montreal, it is the story of a war bride, who isn’t who she claims to be. A secret, a disappearance and more bring intrigue to this engaging historical tale. The novel received a feature review in the March issue of Canadian publishing journal Quill and Quire.
Forgotten Country (M)
by Catherine Chung (March 1st)
A first novel of family history and Korean culture with advance praise coming from the big review sources as well as authors like Julie Otsuka and Chang-Rae Lee. From the publisher: “On the night Janie waits for her sister, Hannah, to be born, her grandmother tells her a story: Since the Japanese occupation of Korea, their family has lost a daughter in every generation, so Janie is charged with keeping Hannah safe. As time passes, Janie hears more stories, while facts remain unspoken. . . Years later, when Hannah inexplicably cuts all ties and disappears, Janie embarks on a mission to find her sister and finally uncover the truth beneath her family’s silence. To do so, she must confront their history, the reason for her parents’ sudden move to America twenty years earlier, and ultimately her conflicted feelings toward her sister and her own role in the betrayal behind their estrangement” View the book trailer on the author’s website.
Elegy for Eddie: a Maisie Dobbs novel (M)
by Jacqueline Winspear (March 27th)
I’ve been telling people who are looking for light historical mysteries with a British setting about the Maisie Dobbs series for a few years now, and I’m always surprised by the number of avid readers who haven’t encountered the series yet. The eponymous first title in the series introduced Maisie Dobbs a private detective in post-World War I London. As the series progresses we follow Maisie through cases, learning much about her person story and of the lives of women in the workforce in this era. Set in 1933, Elegy for Eddie is the 9th in the series, and Maisie investigates a death that was ruled a suicide that many believe was murder.
Source: http://www.thereader.ca/2012/03/5-fiction-titles-to-watch-for-in-march.html
