Staff Picks

In "My Bookstore" our greatest authors write about the pleasure, guidance, and support that their favorite bookstores and booksellers have given them over the years. The relationship between a writer and his or her local store and staff can last for years or even decades. Often it's the author's local store that supported him during the early days of his career, that continues to introduce and hand-sell her work to new readers, and that serves as the anchor for the community in which he lives and works."My Bookstore "collects the essays, stories, odes and words of gratitude and praise for stores across the country in 81 pieces written by our most beloved authors. It's a joyful, industry-wide celebration of our bricks-and-mortar stores and a clarion call to readers everywhere at a time when the value and importance of these stores should be shouted from the rooftops.Perfectly charming line drawings by Leif Parsons illustrate each storefront and other distinguishing features of the shops.

A Chester County Book and Music Company Staff Pick.  We are grateful to Larry Kane for including us on page 183!  Be sure to attend the signing December 20, 2012 at 6:30 PM.

For fans of Patrick Suskind's classic Perfume comes a dazzling debut set in 18th century Sweden that brilliantly interweaves history, romance, and the art of the folding fan, in which one man's fortune holds the key to a nation's precarious fate. At times reminiscent of Laclos' Dangerous Liasons, this clever work of historical fiction portrays the intricacies of social heirarchy and political intrigue, peppered with artful entendre as Emil Larsson seeks to fulfill his destiny, guided by the Tarot and bedeviled by a haughty Baroness.  An Adam Pick

Just in time for the London games, Chris Cleave's Gold explores the lives of three friends and Olympic competitors, Zoe, Kate and Jack. All are top velodrome cyclists driven by their desire to win gold in London. Amid a whirl of complicated relationships, they must sort out their priorities and make gut-wrenching choices. Take this ride and you may end up viewing the 2012 games in a whole new light.  A Nan Pick       

Samuelsson's story is a fascinating glimpse into European and American restaurant kitchens from a unique perspective. It portrays Samuelsson's earnest approach to his chosen career as well as his challenges as an African-European. Although it is a contrast to the pirate adventures of Bourdain's memoir, it weaves an exciting, global tale with genuine characters.  A must-read for foodies and enthusiasts.  An Adam Pick

Now in paper! This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve. With its sparkling depiction of New York’s social strata, its intricate imagery and themes, and its immensely appealing characters, Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.  A Tim Pick

Now in paper! A story of survival and war, love and madness, loyalty and forgiveness, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is an intimate exploration of Fuller’s parents and of the price of being possessed by Africa’s uncompromising, fertile, death-dealing land. We follow Tim and Nicola Fuller hopscotching the continent, restlessly trying to establish a home. War, hardship, and tragedy follow the family even as Nicola fights to hold on to her children, her land, her sanity. But just when it seems that Nicola has been broken by the continent she loves, it is the African earth that revives and nurtures her. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is Fuller at her very best.  A Julia Pick

Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, the brash cop from Tana French’s bestselling Faithful Place, plays by the book and plays hard. That’s what’s made him the Murder squad’s top detective—and that’s what puts the biggest case of the year into his hands.

On one of the half-built, half-abandoned "luxury" developments that litter Ireland, Patrick Spain and his two young children are dead. His wife, Jenny, is in intensive care.

At first, Scorcher and his rookie partner, Richie, think it’s going to be an easy solve. But too many small things can’t be explained. The half dozen baby monitors, their cameras pointing at holes smashed in the Spains’ walls. The files erased from the Spains’ computer. The story Jenny told her sister about a shadowy intruder who was slipping past all the locks.

And Broken Harbor holds memories for Scorcher. Seeing the case on the news sends his sister Dina off the rails again, and she’s resurrecting something that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control: what happened to their family one summer at Broken Harbor, back when they were children.

With her signature blend of police procedural and psychological thriller, French’s new novel goes full throttle with a heinous crime, creating her most complicated detective character and her best book yet.  A June Pick

15 seconds can tear your life apart . . .

Henry Steadman didn't know what was about to hit him when he pulled up to a red light. A successful Florida plastic surgeon, suddenly his life becomes an unrelenting chase to stay alive. Stopped by the police for a minor traffic violation, the situation escalates and he is pulled from his vehicle, handcuffed and told he is under arrest.

Several other police cars arrive and the questioning turns scary, but just as Henry is released and about to move on, a blue sedan pulls up and the officer is suddenly killed. As the car speeds away, there is only one suspect left behind -- Henry. In that moment, his idyllic life becomes a free fall into hell as he becomes the target of a police manhunt, as well as being pursued by a cunning, unnamed perpetrator bent on some kind of vengeance.

When Henry turns to a close friend for help, and he, too, ends up dead, Henry realizes he's being elaborately framed.  A June Pick