Summer Beach Bag of Books Promotion

Barry Eisler's new novel, REQUIEM FOR AN ASSASSIN, is the sixth book in the acclaimed John Rain series, which features a half-American, half-Japanese assassin attempting to leave the killing business behind. In this interview with Bookreporter.com's Joe Hartlaub, Eisler attempts to shed light on his character's actions in this latest installment and explains the steps he takes to plot each book. He also discusses the travel involved to both accurately capture the series' exotic settings and realistically portray the mindset of Rain, reveals details about a prequel in the works and shares with readers some of his favorite authors and writing influences. 

Following the tremendous success of his debut work of fiction, THE KITE RUNNER, Khaled Hosseini once again takes readers to the unfamiliar territory of his politically tumultuous homeland in A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. In this interview, Hosseini discusses his experiences visiting Kabul after an absence of over 25 years and explains how he was inspired to model his main characters after the Afghan women who have suffered from persecution, poverty and oppression under the rule of the Taliban. He also compares the thematic elements of his two novels, describes his humanitarian work with the UN and shares his thoughts on the current landscape of Afghanistan.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini (Fiction)
Khaled Hosseini's follow-up to the runaway bestseller THE KITE RUNNER is a worthy successor to that absorbing novel. Set against the turbulent and painful backdrop of recent Afghan history, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is the story of two remarkable women who endure persecution and violence. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

-Click here to read our review of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS.

Our third One to Watch author is Carol Goodman. In her fifth novel, THE SONNET LOVER --- which releases on June 12th --- the tantalizing question of whether Shakespeare penned a series of passionate sonnets praising a mysterious dark-haired beauty is raised in a letter to literature professor Rose Asher.

-Click here to see our advance copy winners.
-Click here to read an excerpt from THE SONNET LOVER.
-Click here to see Carol Goodman's backlist.

More about THE SONNET LOVER:
Did Shakespeare pen a series of passionate sonnets, unknown to modern scholarship, ardently praising a mysterious dark-haired beauty? This tantalizing question is raised in a letter to literature professor Rose Asher. But the letter’s author, Rose’s star pupil, is not telling. A troubled, enigmatic young man, he plunged to his death in front of the college’s entire faculty, an apparent suicide. Determined to find the truth, Rose journeys from New York to Italy, back to the magnificent Tuscan villa where as an undergraduate she first fell in love.

Lush, lyrical, and enthralling, THE SONNET LOVER vividly brings to life the Tuscan countryside and the fascinating world of the Renaissance poets. Unmatched in her ability to evoke atmosphere and intrigue, Carol Goodman delivers her most ambitious and satisfying work to date, a seductive novel that skillfully propels its reader headlong to the final suspenseful page.

A GOOD AND HAPPY CHILD by Justin Evans (Psychological Thriller)

As George Davies delves into his childhood memories, he begins to recall things he hasn’t thought of in twenty years. Events, people, and strange situations come rushing back. The odd, rambling letters his father sent home before he died. The jovial mother who started dating too soon after his father’s death. A boy who appeared one night when George was lonely, then told him secrets he didn’t want to know. How no one believed this new friend was real and that he was responsible for the bad things that were happening.

Terrified by all that he has forgotten, George struggles to remember what really happened in the months following his father’s death. Were his ominous visions and erratic behavior the product of a grief-stricken child’s overactive imagination (a perfectly natural reaction to the trauma of loss, as his mother insisted)? Or were his father’s colleagues, who blamed a darker, more malevolent force, right to look to the supernatural as a means to end George’s suffering? Twenty years later, George still does not know. But when a mysterious murder is revealed, remembering the past becomes the only way George can protect himself --- and his young family.

A psychological thriller in the tradition of Donna Tartt’s THE SECRET HISTORY --- with shades of THE EXORCIST --- the smart and suspenseful A GOOD AND HAPPY CHILD leaves you questioning the things you remember and frightened of the things you’ve forgotten.