[Manabi]

This month's Amazon First Reads selections are out, they are:

The Missing Sister by Elle Marr [Genre: Mystery]

In Paris, her twin sister has vanished, leaving behind three chilling words: Trust no one.

Shayna Darby is finally coming to terms with her parents’ deaths when she’s delivered another blow. The body of her estranged twin sister, Angela—the possible victim of a serial killer—has been pulled from the Seine. Putting what’s left of her life on hold, Shayna heads to Paris. But while cleaning out Angela’s apartment, Shayna makes a startling discovery: a coded message meant for her alone…

Alive. Trust no one.

Taking the warning to heart, Shayna maintains the lie. She makes a positive ID on the remains and works to find out where—and why—her missing sister is hiding. Shayna retraces her sister’s footsteps, and they lead her down into Paris’s underbelly.

As she gets closer to the truth—and to the killer—Shayna’s own life may now be in the balance…

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

If your twin sibling were in danger, would you know? Twins Shayna and Angela were incredibly close—but then their parents died and Angela moved to Paris. Over time they slowly began to grow apart. When she finds out Angela has been murdered, Shayna travels to Paris to pack up her sister’s apartment, where she finds a note from her sister, a note telling her she’s still alive. Then whose body is in the morgue?

Shayna recognizes she can’t trust anyone. Terrified, but determined to learn the truth, Shayna navigates the underbelly of Paris, using her shoddy French while avoiding the local police. As bodies pile up and she digs deeper into her sister’s disappearance, Shayna begins to learn things about Angela, things she doesn’t quite understand.

Marr’s depiction of Paris brings to life the sights and smells of the city, immersing me in the story and setting in a way that felt so real. The chilling suspense took me not only on a trip through the streets of Paris but also into the hearts of broken sisters whose bond might just set them both free. - Megha Parekh, Editor

The Other Family by Loretta Nyhan [Genre: Contemporary Fiction]

From the bestselling author of Digging In comes a witty and moving novel about motherhood, courage, and finding true family.

With a dissolving marriage, strained finances, and her life in flux, Ally Anderson longs for normal. Her greatest concerns, though, are the health problems of her young daughter, Kylie. Symptoms point to a compromised immune system, but every doctor they’ve seen has a different theory. Then comes hope for some clarity.

It’s possible that Kylie’s illness is genetic, but Ally is adopted. A DNA test opens up an entirely new path. And where it leads is a surprise: to an aunt Ally never knew existed. She’s a little wild, very welcoming, and ready to share more of the family history than Ally ever imagined.

Coping with a skeptical soon-to-be-ex husband, weathering the cautions of her own resistant mother, and getting maddeningly close to the healing Kylie needs, Ally is determined to regain control of her life. This is her chance to embrace uncertainty and the beauty of family—both the one she was born into and the one she chose.

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

Is it possible to cheat on your parents? If so, Ally Anderson didn’t mean to. All she did was connect with an aunt she never knew she had. She found her aunt Micki through a DNA test. And she took the DNA test only because Ally is adopted and desperate to determine if her daughter’s mysterious illness could be genetic.

It all started so innocently...Ally loves her adoptive mother, but she’s always felt a bit adrift and alone in the world. With a crumbling marriage, a dwindling bank balance, and a chronically sick daughter, she can use all the family she can get. Aunt Micki is warm and kooky and has an equally warm and kooky family. So it’s no wonder Ally can’t resist getting pulled into their world. Which causes more than a few problems at home.

I love how Loretta Nyhan plays with the idea that we have the family we’re given and we have the family we choose for ourselves. For Ally, it turns out that the lines are blurred, the roles interchangeable. Which, if everything works out, can only be a win-win situation! Right? - Jodi Warshaw, Editor

Wall of Silence by Tracy Buchanan [Genre: Domestic Suspense]

Her children have a deadly secret. Can she uncover it before the police do?

Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving.

One evening, Melissa arrives home to the unimaginable: her husband lies stabbed on the kitchen floor, their children standing calmly around him…With horror, she realises that one of them is to blame. But which one? And why would they attack their own father?

Her loyalties torn, in a split second she decides to protect her children at all costs—even if that means lying to the police. But when someone in the neighbourhood claims to know more than they should, Melissa discovers that some secrets are beyond her control…

Can she find out the truth of what happened before the rumours spread? And can the family unite to escape the spotlight of scandal—or are none of them as innocent as Melissa insists?

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

With the power to surprise, this multilayered novel asks the question, “What would you risk to protect your children?”

Tracy Buchanan is a thrilling storyteller, and I’m delighted to be sharing this book with you. It begins with an arresting opening chapter where Melissa Byatt, mother of three, comes home to find her husband stabbed in the kitchen. Her children stand around the body, refusing to say a word.

As husband Patrick lies in a coma, Melissa must unravel the many layers of this mystery before the community’s whispers begin to take over. After all, an inexplicable attack on a popular charismatic man is hard to hide in a tight-knit town like Forest Grove...especially when family photos of the Byatts start appearing pinned to trees in the forest, two heart-stopping words etched into the bark above them: I know...

A master of page-turning suspense, Tracy has written a riveting new novel that I couldn’t put down. I read it in one sitting, and even now, long after I turned the last page, I still find myself thinking about how well we know the family members that surround us. Prepare for an engrossing read that repeatedly leaves you guessing! - Sammia Hamer, Editor

The Last Bathing Beauty by Amy Sue Nathan [Genre: Historical Fiction]

A former beauty queen faces the secrets of her past—for herself and the sake of her family’s future—in a heartfelt novel about fate, choices, and second chances.

Everything seemed possible in the summer of 1951. Back then Betty Stern was an eighteen-year-old knockout working at her grandparents’ lakeside resort. The “Catskills of the Midwest” was the perfect place for Betty to prepare for bigger things. She’d head to college in New York City. Her career as a fashion editor would flourish. But first, she’d enjoy a wondrous last summer at the beach falling deeply in love with an irresistible college boy and competing in the annual Miss South Haven pageant. On the precipice of a well-planned life, Betty’s future was limitless.

Decades later, the choices of that long-ago season still reverberate for Betty, now known as Boop. Especially when her granddaughter comes to her with a dilemma that echoes Boop’s memories of first love, broken hearts, and faraway dreams. It’s time to finally face the past—for the sake of her family and her own happiness. Maybe in reconciling the life she once imagined with the life she’s lived, Boop will discover it’s never too late for a second chance.

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

Dirty Dancing meets How to Make an American Quilt? Sign me up! The Last Bathing Beauty is a pitch-perfect blend of nostalgia and romance—a story of family, friends, and second-chance love.

Amy Sue Nathan has created such a vivid picture of life at a Lake Michigan resort in the 1950s that you’d think she actually lived it. Turns out, Amy is a native Philadelphian, and instead she found much of her inspiration for the book on a visit to South Haven, Michigan. It’s there that she met Charlene Klein, whose grandparents owned a hugely popular resort on the lake in the fifties. Coincidentally, when Amy and Charlene crossed paths, Amy had already started writing a book set in the same era about a young woman whose family owns a resort. How’s that for serendipity? Charlene’s stories about her teenage years and her present life inspired many of the twists and turns in the novel.

Heartwarming, heartbreaking, and brimming with delightful period detail, this is one novel you won’t want to miss! - Jodi Warshaw, Editor

Rain Will Come by Thomas Holgate [Genre: Thriller]

A thrilling, page-turning debut about a twisted killer and a broken cop—both with nothing to lose.

Paul Czarcik, the longest-tenured detective in the Illinois Bureau of Judicial Enforcement, puts the rest of the team to shame. Ruthless and riddled with vices, Czarcik always gets his man. And fast. Until now…

A double slaying isn’t the open-and-shut case of urban crime he’s used to. Connecting it to a high-profile Texas judge, Czarcik realizes something bigger is going on. It’s the work of a serial killer for whom Chicago is just the beginning. Now he’s inviting Czarcik to play catch-me-if-you-can on a cross-country murder spree.

Going rogue, Czarcik accepts the challenge. But as the bodies pile up, he must come to grips with the fact that nothing—not the killer, the victims, or the rules—is what it seems in this bloody game of cat and mouse.

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

What if you could rid the world of someone horrible? What if you could make someone pay for their crime? What if you could restore some balance and good in dark times? Would you do it?

In Rain Will Come, author Thomas Holgate taps into our deepest desire for justice—even if it comes outside the law. Our cop isn’t perfect. The vigilante he’s pursuing has baggage. His version of justice is messy. And even still, I couldn’t turn away.

For cop Paul Czarcik, the world is a dark place. He’s seen too much hurt, too much deception, and too much abuse. But he knows that he has to stay on this side of the law, however much it pains him. The killer he’s chasing does horrible things to his victims. He’s calculating and vicious, and as far is Czarcik is concerned, the killer is right. The victims got what they deserved.

I’m glad this vigilante is just a fictional character. He scares me. And I’m glad that Paul Czarcik isn’t a real cop. He isn’t the hero type. Nonetheless, this dark and twisted thriller makes for a propulsive read that will keep you turning pages and asking yourself how far you’d go for justice. - Jessica Tribble Wells, Editor

Now, Then, and Everywhen (Chronos Origins Book 1) by Rysa Walker [Genre: Science Fiction]

From the bestselling author of the Chronos series comes a page-turning novel of time travel, fast-paced action, and history-changing events.

When two time-traveling historians cross paths during one of the most tumultuous decades of the twentieth century, history goes helter-skelter. But which one broke the timeline?

In 2136 Madison Grace uncovers a key to the origins of CHRONOS, a time-travel agency with ties to her family’s mysterious past. Just as she is starting to jump through history, she returns to her timeline to find millions of lives erased—and only the people inside her house realize anything has changed.

In 2304 CHRONOS historian Tyson Reyes is assigned to observe the crucial events that played out in America’s civil rights movement. But a massive time shift occurs while he’s in 1965, and suddenly the history he sees isn’t the history he knows.

As Madi’s and Tyson’s journeys collide, they must prevent the past from being erased forever. But strange forces are at work. Are Madi and Tyson in control or merely pawns in someone else’s game?

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

1960s America: A time of protest, war, and peace; space exploration; the Beatles; and bell-bottoms. Some even say pop culture was born during this pivotal era. If I had the ability to time travel, the sixties would definitely be at the top of my list. But what if history...didn’t...quite go as planned?

In the future world that bestselling author Rysa Walker imagines, where time travel is possible, there are those who study history by literally traveling to it. But, as historian Tyson Reyes finds out, there’s always the danger that one misstep could erase everything. When he encounters another traveler, one who could hold the key to the science of time travel itself, the two must join forces to figure out what, or who, may have caused a massive shift in the timeline.

Understanding our history is crucial to ensuring our world evolves the way we hope it will, avoiding previous mistakes, and charting a course to a civilization that makes our ancestors proud. As Walker blends our past and an imagined future, I began to realize just how precarious our present truly is, and I’m thankful that this novel’s characters are there to guide the way. - Adrienne Procaccini, Editor

Rosie: Stronger than Steel by Lindsay Ward [Genre: Children's Picture Book]

A brave tractor farms for freedom in a story inspired by women who acted with courage and strength in American factories and on British farms during World War II.

This is our Rosie,
stronger than steel.
She’ll plow all the land
with a turn of her wheel.

Built by women in the United States and sent to England to dig and plow alongside female farmers during World War II, Rosie the tractor does whatever is needed to support the war effort. She works day and night to help grow crops for the troops…even when she has to hide in the fields. This is because she knows, like the women who built her and the women who farm with her, that they all must do their part.

Inspired by the group of American women collectively known as “Rosie the Riveter” and the British Women’s Land Army, this is a story about taking action and coming together for the greater good.

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

Just in time for the seventy-fifth anniversary of V-E Day comes a picture book unlike any I’ve ever read. It’s one part plucky vehicle story, one part World War II women’s history, and one part reminder about coming together when it counts the most.

Because it weaves historical context into an entertaining, rhythmically told tale, Rosie will appeal to kids at different ages and levels of understanding. For the very youngest, it may simply seem a story about a little tractor that could, determined to do her best no matter how tough the job. Older readers will know that Rosie was built by American women and sent to England to work alongside female farmers during a war. An author’s note includes more historical information; adults can share whatever parts of it make best sense for their child.

Lindsay Ward wrote this book as a way to honor the courage and contributions of those who stepped into new roles to support the greater good across continents. I’m so glad she did—and I hope you and the children in your life enjoy this book. - Kelsey Skea, Editor

The Club King: My Rise, Reign, and Fall in New York Nightlife by Peter Catien [Genre: Memoir]

A behind-the-scenes look at the meteoric rise and stunning takedown of a nightclub empire, by the man who held the reins.

Limelight, Tunnel, Club USA, and Palladium—the cutting-edge, insanely successful, and notoriously decadent clubs that dominated New York City’s entertainment scene, their influences reverberating around the world. Across four decades, a single mysterious figure stood behind them all: Peter Gatien, the leading impresario of global nightlife. His clubs didn’t follow the trends—they created movements. They nurtured vanguard music acts that brought rock, house, grunge, hip-hop, industrial, and techno to the beautiful ones who showed up night after night to tear the roof off every party. But as Peter and his innovative team ramped up the hedonistic highs, Rudolph Giuliani was leading a major shift in the city. Under the guise of improving New York City’s “quality of life,” the club scene was targeted—and Peter Gatien’s empire became a major focus of the administration.

In this frank and gritty memoir, Peter Gatien charts the seismic changes in his personal and professional life and the targeted destruction of his nightclub empire. From Peter’s childhood in a Canadian mill town to the freedom of the 1970s, through the excesses of the 1980s and the ensuing crackdown in the 1990s, The Club King chronicles the birth and death of a cultural movement—and the life of the man who was in control of every beat.

Editor Notes:

Spoiler:

Think back to the time when the internet mostly consisted of chat rooms, to the reign of baby-doll dresses and rugby shirts, of eight-ball jackets and those impossible to open CD jewel cases. Imagine those years when megaclubs threw massive dance parties every weekend and lines of young people would stretch around the block in order to spend the night packed shoulder to shoulder on a dance floor, the air humid with sweat, the energy electric.

Whether or not you can actually remember the scene, The Club King is going to give you a whole new understanding of that moment in time. Told through the eyes of the man who ran some of the most successful, iconic clubs of the era, this story caught me off-guard with its earnest depiction of a young boy who dreamed beyond his blue-collar Canadian town.

Peter Gatien went on to become an innovative entrepreneur, working over decades to learn the club business, push the right boundaries, and create an inclusive atmosphere where people could come together and let loose. And while there are police raids, and some drugs, and even a ham-fisted sting operation that punctuate Peter’s story, The Club King cuts through the sensational accounts and the parade of famous actors, musicians, and artists who funneled through the doors of his clubs, to focus on the vision, the talented team, and the relentless drive it took to create an unforgettable moment, night after night after night. - Laura Van der Veer, Editor