January 2004

Nonfiction

• Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer
  Author: Cox, Lynne
  Publisher: Knopf $ 24.95 ISBN: 0375415076
  Kirkus
  The famous long-distance swimmer, known for her ability to withstand cold temperatures that might kill others, now tells the fascinating story of how she braved the frigid waters of Antarctica.
  Updated 11.12.03
• The Land That Never Was Sir Gregor MacGregor and the Most Audacious Fraud in History
  Author: Sinclair, David
  Publisher: Da Capo $ 26 ISBN: 0306813092
  KirkusBooklist
  On a cold January morning in 1823, a group of Scottish immigrants looking for a new life set sail for a tropical Eden called Poyais. The only catch was that it didn't exist. This is the dazzling and very funny story of one of the greatest hoaxes in history--a story as colorful and bizarre as the mastermind behind it.
  Updated 1.10.04

Fiction

• A Very Private Gentleman
  Author: Booth, Martin
  Publisher: St Martins $ 23.95 ISBN: 0312309082
  PWBooklist
  From the Booker Prize short-listed author of The Industry of Souls and Islands of Silence comes a fascinating portrait of a man with a double life and a dark trade.
  Updated 12.15.03
• Crofton's Fire
  Author: Coplin, Keith
  Publisher: Putnam $ 21.95 ISBN: 0399151125
  KirkusBooklist
  A highly original first novel, in which a green second lieutenant barely escapes Little Bighorn - only to find that his life's adventures have just begun.
  Suggested Reading: Historical Fiction | Western Stars | Fiction & Mystery Debuts
  Updated 11.25.03
• Marrying Mozart
  Author: Cowell, Stephanie
  Publisher: Penguin $ 24.95 ISBN: 0670032689
  Kirkus
  "I wanted to write a novel in the spirit of his great operas, where many things can and do go wrong but in the end the characters come together singing that all is well. And I was fascinated by the period in his early twenties when he was no longer a prodigy and yet no one would offer him a living, and how he fell in with a family of four beautiful musical sisters. Between his possessive father and the sisters’ manipulative mother, it would be a miracle if he married any of them, but he did marry one. Which one and how it happened is the story of the book." - Stephanie Cowell
  Suggested Reading: Music & Fiction
  Updated 11.24.03
• The Saints and Sinners of Okay County
  Author: Dunbar, Dayna
  Publisher: Ballantine $ 23.95 ISBN: 0345460391
  Kirkus
  In this heartfelt and compelling debut novel, a down-on-her-luck woman faces down pain to reclaim her own belief in herself and restore order to a life that's gone desperately off track.
  Suggested Reading: Fiction & Mystery Debuts
  Updated 11.12.03
• Bandbox
  Author: Mallon, Thomas
  Publisher: Pantheon $ 24.95 ISBN: 0375421165
  KirkusPWBooklist
  From the author of Henry and Clara comes a dazzling, hilarious novel that captures the heart and soul of New York in the Jazz Age. Mallon pens a madcap and poignant book that brilliantly portrays the gaudiest American decade of them all.
  Suggested Reading: All Stars | Historical Fiction Stars
  Updated 12.15.03
• The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters
  Author: Robinson, Elizabeth
  Publisher: Little Brown $ 23.95 ISBN: 0316735027
  KirkusPWBooklist
  The bestselling status (and subsequent blockbuster film adaptations) of Bridget Jones's Diary and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is proof of the enduring strength of this category. Although the novel is invented, Robinson is a successful Hollywood producer whose credits include Braveheart and Last Orders.
  Suggested Reading: Fiction & Mystery Debuts | All Stars
  Updated 11.12.03

Mystery & Suspense

• 18
  Author: Burke, Jan
  Publisher: Pocket $ 7.50 (paper) ISBN: 0743480511
  PW
  From the USA Today bestselling author comes a first-ever collection of 18 of her early short stories, including her first published work, "The Loveseat" and her first Irene Kelly story, "A Fine Set of Teeth."
  Updated 12.29.03
• 37th Hour
  Author: Compton, Jodi
  Publisher: Delacorte $ 21.95 ISBN: 0385337132
  Kirkus
  With a bold assurance that is especially striking in a debut novel, Compton introduces Detective Sarah Pribek, a successful missing persons specialist facing the most disturbing case of her career when her husband, another officer, simply vanishes into thin air.
  Suggested Reading: Fiction & Mystery Debuts
  Updated 10.8.03
• Perfect Sax
  Author: Farmer, Jerrilyn
  Publisher: Morrow $ 22.95 ISBN: 0380978903
  A sour note is struck at a hot L.A. gala when a priceless saxophone is stolen from the auction, a body is discovered, and Madeline Bean starts to suspect a killer may be gunning for her, too.
  Updated 12.29.03
• The Grenadillo Box
  Author: Gleeson, Janet
  Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 25 ISBN: 0743246861
  Booklist
  The debut novel from the bestselling author of The Arcanum transports readers to 18th century Georgian England for an intricate, romantic tale of murder and intrigue.
  Suggested Reading: Fiction & Mystery Debuts | Historical Fiction Stars
  Updated 11.25.03
• Retribution
  Author: Hoffman, Jiliane P.
  Publisher: Putnam $ 24.95 ISBN: 0399151273
  LJ
  An elite prosecutor faces the most lethal predator she's ever encountered, in this debut novel inspired by the author's own experiences as an Assistant State Attorney in Florida.
  Suggested Reading: Fiction & Mystery Debuts
  Updated 9.25.03
• Dating Dead Men
  Author: Kozak, Harley Jane
  Publisher: Doubleday $ 22.95 ISBN: 0385510187
  LJKirkusPW
  Kozak's debut novel is a smart, funny, fast-paced mystery in the tradition of Janet Evanovich featuring greeting card artist and small business owner Wollie Shelley, a woman who's looking for love--and job satisfaction--in all the wrong places when she literally stumbles across a murder that irrevocably changes her life (in some ways, for the better).
  Suggested Reading: Fiction & Mystery Debuts | All Stars
  Updated 12.8.03

Books for Kids, Teens & Readers of All Ages

• York's Adventures With Lewis and Clark: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition
  Author: Blumberg, Rhoda
  Publisher: Harpercollins $17.99 ISBN: 0060091118
  Kirkus
  Celebrate the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark's great expedition with this book that recognizes the contributions made by York, an African-American who took part in the Corps of Discovery's expedition.
  Grades: 3+ Category: Nonfiction | Biography | History