Just when we get back into the swing of work, here comes a three-day weekend for most of you! And it's the first holiday in a few months that does not require entertaining, gifts or other reveling. Make the most of it.

Earlier this week I went to see a screening of HOTEL RWANDA. What a powerful and wonderfully done film that will stay with me a long time. See more about what I had to say about this in the Bookreporter.com Blog from January 12th.

As promised, this week we bring you our newest selection for a Debut Suspense/Thriller Author, Michele Martinez. Her novel, MOST WANTED, will be in stores February 15th. This is one of the books that I enjoyed over the holidays. Martinez does a wonderful job of creating a lead character who is half Latina, but she does not fall into writing the typical stereotypes that often get written when an author creates a Latina character. Interested in reading an advance copy and commenting on it? Then send your name and mailing address toDebutSuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, January 21st.

Do you belong to a book club? Has your club ever considered having an author participate in your book club chat? Or perhaps you have dismissed this as you know it will not work for your group. We want to know what you have to say on this topic. Please answer our Poll on ReadingGroupGuides.com and give us your two cents.
 
Want to begin the new year by reading the books by your favorite authors --- in order? The author bibliographies on AuthorsOnTheWeb.com may help. This is information that is not easily found, but Tom Donadio, our Editorial Manager, spent this week updating and revising the bibliographies, complete with copyright dates to help you organize your reading.

Short opening note this week since we have a lot for you to read...so scroll on.

Have a great week. I am off to watch NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. Jesse Kornbluth recommended it on his website, HeadButler.com as a MUST-SEE! I am trading a mouse for a remote.

Carol Fitzgerald (Carol@bookreporter.com)

Our new featured Debut Suspense/Thriller author is Michele Martinez. Her novel, MOST WANTED, is a solidly written pageturner that will have you craving the second book in the series. It will be in stores on February 15th.

Interested in being one of 10 readers to win an advance copy of the book to comment on? If so please send your name and mailing address to DebutSuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, January 21, 2005.

Here's more about MOST WANTED:

Melanie Vargas is a hardworking, hotshot federal prosecutor in New York City with a rising career in the law and a marriage that's on the rocks. On an innocent evening stroll with her child, Melanie stumbles across a horrifying crime scene. It's the kind of high-profile case that can make her name, and Melanie wants in. But what she doesn't realize is that this opportunity will bring her dangerously close to a hard-to-resist FBI agent who may have secrets of his own -- and even closer to a dark, sadistic killer who seems to be one step ahead of her every inch of the way.

Read about Michele Martinez.
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Go to the website for Michele Martinez.

Our newest One To Watch author is Miranda Beverly-Whittemore. Her novel, THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT, is beautifully and delicately written. It will be in stores on February 1st.

New: Read an excerpt from THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT

Here's more about THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT:

A chance encounter sent writer Josceline Dimbleby on a quest to uncover a mystery in her family's past. After talking with Andrew Lloyd Webber about a beautiful, dark portrait in his art collection, she decided to find out more about the subject of the painting: her great-aunt Amy Gaskell. Dimbleby had always known her great-aunt's face from this haunted portrait by the well-known Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones.

At the start of her search, Josceline came across a cache of unpublished letters from Burne-Jones to her great-grandmother May Gaskell, Amy's mother. These letters turned out to be part of a passionate correspondence-adoring, intimate, sometimes up to five letters a day-which continued throughout the last six years of the painter's life.

In piecing together the eventful life of her grandmother, Dimbleby takes readers through a turbulent period in history that includes the Boer War, the Great War, and the Second World War and visits the most far-flung corners of the British Empire.

Poll:  Which of the following books are you looking forward to reading? (Note: for more on books being published in the upcoming months, go here: Coming Attractions

Alice in Jeopardy by Ed McBain
Alone by Lisa Gardner
Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
The Broker by John Grisham
Cage's Bend by Carter Coleman
Conviction by Richard North Patterson
Entombed by Linda Fairstein
The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva
The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King
Tool & Die: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery by Sarah Graves
Unexpected Blessings by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Valley of Bones by Michael Gruber
None of the above

Question: What did you read over the holiday?

Please note: Our next question update will be on January 21st.

Tell us what books YOU are reading and loving --- or even those you don't.

This week we have some great prizes: FIVE readers each will win a copy of ALONE by Lisa Gardner and JASS by David Fulmer.Please note that our next Word of Mouth update will be on January 21st.