Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History The Quest to Restore A Working Farm at Vita Sackville West's Legendary Garden by Adam Nicholson A lovely non-fiction summer escape read about one man's attempt to shape a farm's future based on its remarkable past. As a boy, Adam Nicholson spent his days romping through the grounds of Sissinghurst Castle made famous by the poet Vita Sackville-West. Nicholson has lived at Sissinghurst on and off for the last 45 years and set about to restore its vitality by pressuring the National Trust (the owner of Sissinghurst) to restore the fields to their original function. Sissinghurst is an ode to the land, to nature, plants, food and the unstoppable power of history and change. $27.95	DEMILLE! THE LION The much-anticipated sequel to The Lion's Game as Asad Khalil, a.k.a. the Lion, returns! Famous in the world of international terrorism, Khalil is in America to take care of some unfinished business, with federal agent John C. and his partner, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, at the top of his list. Audio available, too! PATTERSON! HONOR Richard North Patterson takes us inside a courtroom and a military tribunal prosecuting a lieutenant who, home from Iraq, kills his commanding officer. Was it self-defense, premeditated or the hell of post-traumatic stress syndrome? A chilling, close-to-the-bone thriller, so important that it absolutely demands to be read! HAIG! THE CAPITOL GAME Gordon says: "Wow, can this guy write!" Brian Haig is back for an eighth outing and he's never been better. The goal of The Capitol Game is to catch the biggest Wall Street investment bank, dubbed the Capitol Group, in illicit activities. Our hapless hero is caught in the middle of the corruption of big business and the politics of big government! AUG. 12! HUSTON! FALCON SEVEN One of the best thrillers Gordon has read this year! James Huston, a former naval flight officer and now a trial lawyer, pens a high-concept and timely thriller about captured American fighter pilots and the daring race to find them. Huston brilliantly mixes international intrigue and sizzling courtroom drama, and it reads like a bullet train! A perfect summer escape! VANCE! THE GARDENS OF BETRAYAL Perhaps you have forgotten thriller writer Lee Vance, but we haven't (we loved Restitution, his debut)! He's back with an eerily timely thriller that ties the 2008 global economic meltdown to the heartbreaking story of one family's loss. Lee Vance was a trader at Goldman Sacks before leaving as partner to write full time. AN EASY 10! EISLER! INSIDE OUT Gordon loved it! Barry Eisler, thriller author of our Johnny Rain series which we love, moves into the CIA arena (Eisler is an ex CIA operative). In 2007, the New York Times reported that the CIA had destroyed two secret videotapes that documented the interrogation of a pair of al Qaeda operatives. In early 2009, the story changed - the CIA had destroyed not two tapes, but 92! What happened to them and why? WOW! SILVA! THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR We are all huge fans of Daniel Silva! His ever-fascinating hero, Gabriel Allon, is drawn into a world of danger when an art restorer is brutally murdered and the newly discovered Rembrandt on which he is working mysteriously disappears. The always, always brilliant Silva just may be the best writer of spy novels today! MARTIN WALKER! THE DARK VINEYARD I can hear you saying: Who is Martin Walker? Well, he's the creator of the fabulous Bruno, Chief of Police, who's back wandering the French countryside, this time in a Dark Vineyard - HOORAY! Although Bruno is preoccupied by winemakers competing for land and vintage, as well as two mysterious murders, he still finds time for his famous truffle omelette, community grape-crushing and even a whole roast lamb! CLEVER! REICH! RULES OF BETRAYAL We love star espionage author Christopher Reich and his main characters - Jonathan and Emma Ransom. Thrust into the covert world he has long despised, Ransom, a Doctors Without Borders surgeon, embarks on a riveting adventure to discover the truth about his double-agent wife, Emma, a spy with her own agenda. We think this is his strongest outing! FURST! SPIES OF THE BALKANS Alan Furst is the master of World War II espionage thrillers, and he shifts his focus this time to Greece and the Balkans in the 1940s. A rich stew of the spoils of war and the hell of right and wrong, truth and loyalty. A FIERCE RADIANCE by Lauren Belfer Amazing, amazing! Set in 1940s New York City - a moment almost forgotten - we witness the fight to bring penicillin to the public, a public that is suffering the throes of war and a public that is dying from a simple scratch on the knee. A story that needs to be read and pondered. Cheers to Lauren Belfer! TATIANA AND ALEXANDER by Paullina Simons And cheers, of course, to our dear friend and author Paullina Simons and her 10-years-in-the-making sequel to The Bronze Horseman! We love these two star-crossed lovers, as do all our readers, and their epic saga of love and war continues as World War II rages and Tatiana, young and pregnant, flees to America. A paperback must for every beach bag! THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI by C.W. Gortner Fabulous! Walk into the amazing, ruthless, passionate world of Catherine De Medici - often dubbed France's savior, or, contrarily, France's devil! Gortner immersed me in 16th-century France and the mercurial and ever-fascinating Catherine. Expect to be tantalized! THE RED QUEEN by Philippa Gregory The second book in The Cousins' War series, this time focusing on the Lancaster side and the story of a determined woman, Lady Margaret Beaufort, who believes she is destined to shape the course of history. Lady Beaufort wants to see her son Henry on the throne of England and she vies with The White Queen to found the greatest dynasty that England will ever know - the Tudors! Aug. 2! RICH BOY by Sharon Pomerantz A debut! Oh my, what guilty pleasure! A decade in the making, Rich Boy is an extraordinarily well-crafted, first novel of class, money and love, spanning four decades in the life of a young man determined to escape his past. You will not, not want to put it down! Aug. 2! LOWCOUNTRY SUMMER by Dorothea Benton Frank Languid and luscious! I have become a huge fan of Dorothea Benton Frank and she weaves another great escape read set in the gorgeous, lush Lowcountry of South Carolina. ALWAYS rich with heady atmosphere of sky, water, birds and sunsets! THE ISLAND by Elin Hilderbrand I am a huge Elin Hilderbrand fan, as she always writes great escape getaway novels that you stay up all night reading and you take her characters into your own heart in a second! The Island stars a family hoping to find each other in an old family house on a tiny gorgeous island near Nantucket. Put The Island in your special beach bag! AS HUSBANDS GO by Susan Issacs So cheeky andfun! As always, Susan Issacs dishes up that rare mix of wit and social satire, with a dollop of suspense on the side! Susie Gerstein, suburban mom, floral designer and fashion plate, is adored by her plastic surgeon husband, BUT, BUT, he is found murdered in compromising circumstances! OH, MY! A VINTAGE AFFAIR by Isabel Wolff Already a U.K. superstar, we welcome Isabel Wolff to the U.S.! I loved Phoebe Swift and her journey to find herself by opening a vintage clothing store in London. The fun begins with cupcake dresses, empire waists and other simply divine fashion creations. Your feel-good book this summer! THE INHERITANCE by Simon Tolkien Loved, loved it! The grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, and a successful barrister in London and California, Simon Tolkien can weave a web of classic mystery and mayhem with the best of them! The L.A. Times describes him as "half Christie and half Grisham." I adored this deadly hunt for a priceless relic at the end of World War II in a tiny French village. Fans of clever, classic English mysteries will wallow in this!
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The Great Silence: Britain From the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age by Juliet Nicholson Juliet Nicholson is on our HOT non-fiction list this summer 2010! The granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West, Nicholson also lives part-time at Sissinghurst and is the the author of the Perfect Summer: England 1911. She now focuses on 1918, amid the headiness of Armistice Day and the hideous aftermath and carnage of the Great War. Looking through the prism of daily life, The Great Silence takes us into this unknown history that unfurled from 1918 to 1920. As the Guardian writes: "A small treasure house of a book from a writer who understands the vital importance of small details." How they too chronicle and change history! $25.00
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PICTURE BOOKS! THE VERY FAIRY PRINCESS Written by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton Illustrated by Christine Davenier Amazing! We lead off the kids list with a dazzling picture book by a beloved mother-and-daughter team. Geraldine believes, definitely, in fairies, of course, and knows for certain she is one of them. In fact, Gerie is a Very Fairy Princess! HOW ROCKET LEARNED TO READ Written and illustrated by Tad Hills Fall in love with Rocket, an irresistible little dog, and his teacher, a little yellow bird! The fabulous author/illustrator of the Gossie Series will win your heart as Rocket realizes "words are built one letter at a time." Something to ponder, something magical and something profound to share with your children! MIDDLE READERS! BIG NATE IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF by Lincoln Pierce Move over Wimpy Kid! Sixth grader Nate, even if he cannot seem to do anything right, always keeps his cool. He knows he is destined for greatness - a fortune cookie told him so! For Wimpy Kid fans everywhere! SMELLS LIKE DOG by Suzanne Selfors Loved it! Adored it! An ordinary 12-year-old farm boy named Homer inherits a dog when his beloved uncle, the famous explorer Drake Pudding, mysteriously disappears. And what a dog! He can find treasure, murderers - he can smell them! What a great family readaloud! TEEN READERS! THIRTEEN DAYS TO MIDNIGHT by Patrick Carman I love the way Patrick Carman writes and this is his first teen novel. What if you had only Thirteen Days to harness a power? Well, this is Jacob's dilemma. A teenage boy with superhero powers, Jacob decides that his power will be the ability to never, never, be alone. Again, a great family readaloud and talkabout book this summer 2010! STEEL TRAPP: THE ACADEMY by Ridley Pearson We love this boy called Steel Trapp! In his newest adventure he is placed in an East Coast boarding school for gifted kids by his FBI agent dad. But there is something very, very strange about this exclusive school … HMMMM! GIRLS! THE DAUGHTERS by Joanna Philbin I so cared about these 14-year-old girls - three best friends, all daughters of famous people - and their attempts to find their own way. Debut novelist Joanna Philbin takes us into the arena she knows with so much respect, caring and talent. Joanna was our special guest June 19, and what a huge success it was! We are looking forward to a sequel in the fall! CHEERS, JOANNA! BLINDSIDED by Priscilla Cummings I expected great things because Priscilla Cummings wrote our store fave The Red Kayak, and I was not disappointed! Natalie O'Reilly, a typical 14 year old, has been gradually losing her sight since she was born without an iris in each eye. And now the verdict is clear - she will be blind, Blindsided by life. Chapter headings in braille! WOLVES, BOYS AND OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT KILL ME by Kristen Chandler An amazing debut! I fell in love with 16-year-old K.J., the only child of a fishing guide (the author herself grew up in Yellowstone Park). Wolves from Canada have been released into Yellowstone and the farmers are up in arms, literally. K.J. takes on the cause, writing for her school newspaper, writing about both sides of the story, so she too can understand. There's even a bit of romance with the new boy in town, Virgil! THE COUNTDOWN by Deborah Wiles This is, amazingly, a documentary novel interspersed with footage from 1962. Franny Chapman's world has fallen apart and everyone is walking around waiting for the next bomb to drop. Countdown is an experience you will never forget. For boys, girls, families. AGES 12 AND UP!