The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth

Published in paperback Jan 2016, 320 pages. Also in ebook

The Secrets of Midwives tells the story of three generations of women devoted to delivering new life into the world - and the secrets they keep that threaten to change their own lives forever.

Black River by S. M. Hulse

Published in paperback Jan 2016, 320 pages. Also in ebook

A former prison guard and talented fiddler returns to his Montana hometown to bury his wife and confront the inmate who, twenty years ago, held him hostage during a prison riot.

Discussions Coming Soon. Mark Your Calendars!

First Impressions: Members Recommend

Each month we give away books to U.S. resident members to read and review. Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every three months. Here are their opinions on four recent releases.

 The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner

 Flatiron Books,  Hardcover & ebook Jan 2016
 Memoir, 352 pages

 Number of reader reviews: 30
 Readers' consensus: 4.6/5.0

Members Say
"Ruth Wariner's memoir The Sound of Gravel is an honest, straight-forward, mesmerizing and eye-opening account of her precarious childhood upbringing in a polygamous household in Colonia LeBaron on the outskirts of Chihuahua, Mexico written without self-pity or histrionics." - Linda H. (Glasgow, KY)

"This book is great. It will be a terrific book for book clubs because there is so much to be analyzed and discussed." - Anita S. (Boynton Beach, FL)

"Ruth tells her story with honesty and love, but the reader's heart breaks for her and her siblings. Her survival and her ability to triumph over adversity make this gritty account shine with hope for the human heart and spirit." - Priscilla M. (Houston, TX)

First Impressions: Members Recommend

 The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

 Publisher: St. Martin's Press
 Publication Date: Jan 2016
 Novel, 352 pages

 Number of reader reviews: 17
 Readers' consensus: 4.5/5.0

Members Say
"It's been a while since I've read something that I don't want to end. The Things We Keep, like Still Alice, is about early onset Alzheimer's. But I found this book more heartwarming than Still Alice... A great story about love, grief, and what we are willing to risk for others." - Michele

"The Things We Keep is a wonderful find which I am going to highly recommend to my book club." - Patricia S. (Yankton, SD)

"It's so difficult to talk about Alzheimer's Disease, especially early onset Alzheimer's. But Sally Hepworth has written a beautiful account of two young people with the disease and the things that they want to hold on to the most... I have read her first book, The Secrets of Midwives, and also recommend it. I will eagerly await her next book!" - Beth P. (Rensselaer, NY)

First Impressions: Members Recommend

 Hunters in the Dark by Lawrence Osborne

 Publisher: Hogarth Books
 Publication Date: Jan 2016
 Thriller, 320 pages

 Number of reader reviews: 23
 Readers' consensus: 3.9/5.0

Members Say
"Very enjoyable book that captures the sights, sounds, smells and thoughts of a different culture. One of the very few books I might read again just for the pleasure of the language." - Bink W. (Sopchoppy, FL)

"I enjoyed this mystery, a fascinating look at Cambodia and its mysteries and enigmatic culture that westerners could never fully understand. The book is full of rain, ruins, ghosts, and superstitions." - Molly B. (Longmont, CO)

"I found this book to be addictive, and would recommend it for book clubs." - Barbara C. (Fountain hills, AZ)

First Impressions: Members Recommend

This Month's Book Club & First Impressions Books

We've got a fantastic line up of books on offer to members this month to read and review or discuss. Even if you're not a member, you'll want to take a moment to check out these books as the First Impressions selection offers some really interesting titles publishing later this year to put on your "want to read" list, and the Book Club discussions are open to all - so please mark your calendar and join us!

Beyond the Book: What Defines a Novel?

Every time we review a book we also explore a related topic. Here is a recent "beyond the book" article for My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Hardcover & ebook (January 05, 2016), 208 pages.
Buy at Amazon |  B&N |  Indie

Many of the reviews of Strout's latest novel, My Name is Lucy Barton, have called it a "slim volume." Some might even say that its length of just over 200 pages makes it a novella not a novel. This raises the question, what page/word count defines a novel? Opinions on this differ widely. For example, Writer's Digest suggests to writers who want to submit manuscripts in the adult fiction, ...continued

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From the Jacket
Ruth and Nat are orphans, packed into a house full of abandoned children run by a religious fanatic. To entertain their siblings, they channel the dead. Decades later, Ruth's niece, Cora, finds herself accidentally pregnant. After years of absence, Aunt Ruth appears, mute and full of intention. She is on a mysterious mission, leading Cora on an odyssey across the entire state of New York on foot. Where is Ruth taking them? Where has she been? And who - or what - has she hidden in the woods at the end of the road? 

In an ingeniously structured dual narrative, two separate timelines move toward the same point of crisis. Their merging will upend and reinvent the whole. A subversive ghost story that is carefully plotted and elegantly constructed, Mr. Splitfoot will set your heart racing and your brain churning. Mysteries abound, criminals roam free, utopian communities show their age, the mundane world intrudes on the supernatural and vice versa. 

Making good on the extraordinary acclaim for her previous books, Samantha Hunt continues to be "dazzling" (Vanity Fair) and to deliver fiction that is "daring and delicious" (Chicago Tribune.)

5 people will each win a hardcover copy of Mr. Splitfoot.
This giveaway is open to residents of the USA only, unless you are a BookBrowse member, in which case you are eligible to win wherever you might live.

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