Seeing Double
Falling and Fallen, with similar titles and starred PW reviews, are new to our hardcover fiction list. The likeness ends there; here’s a primer on telling them apart.
Falling
#3 hardcover fiction, #6 overall
The author: T.J. Newman, previously a bookseller and a flight attendant, and now a debut thriller author
The story: A terrorist demands an airline captain crash the commercial flight he’s piloting, or he’ll kill the captain’s wife and children.
PW’s starred review: “Newman makes buy-in to the setup easy by ensuring every character, including [the terrorist], is multidimensional. This tense, convincing thriller marks the arrival of an assured new talent.”
Fallen
#16 hardcover fiction
The author: veteran crime novelist Linda Castillo
The story: In the author’s 13th Amish mystery, police chief Kate Burkholder investigates the murder of a young woman she once babysat.
PW’s starred review: “In addition to providing readers with plenty of Amish cultural context, Castillo adds surprising twists to the gripping plot and touches upon police brutality and Amish discrimination.”
Behind the Blade
Danny Trejo lands at #2 on our hardcover nonfiction list with Trejo, “a powerful and expertly crafted memoir that is tougher, more frightening, and more memorable than any of his films,” our starred review said. “This page-turner will thrill the legend’s huge fan base.” In addition to his on-screen fame—his recurring role as Machete is one among many—the actor is known for his namesake L.A. restaurants, Trejo’s Tacos (the 2020 cookbook of the same name also received a starred PW review). Fans in the Pacific region in general, and in Los Angeles specifically, showed the new book a lot of love.
In Clubland
The #5 book in the country is The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. “In Heller’s captivating debut, a woman’s visit to her family’s summer home on Cape Cod forces her to make a momentous decision,” our review said. “While the story takes a while to get going, Heller’s prose is full of lush atmospheric details. This will keep the reader guessing all the way to the end.” It’s the Reese’s Book Club and B&N Book Club selection for July.
NEW & NOTABLE
HOW I SAVED THE WORLD
Jesse Watters
#1 Hardcover Nonfiction, #1 overall
The Fox News host, a “pampered champion of right-thinking Americans,” per his publisher, “outlines the stark choices ahead of us, between all-American hamburgers and leftist Green New Deal breadlines.”
ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS
Rainbow Rowell
#2 Children’s Fiction, #8 overall
Rowell concludes her Potterverse-inspired YA fantasy trilogy (think “lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings,” as she writes on her website), which has sold 400K print copies to date.
FOX AND I
Catherine Raven
#10 Hardcover Nonfiction
“Biologist Raven reflects on her relationship with a red fox in her offbeat and charming memoir,” our review said. “Rich and meditative, Raven’s musings on nature and solitude are delightful company.”
