I have sooooo many books!
The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.
Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!
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by Laura Lippman
ARC ~ Published July 2019
The revered New York Times bestselling author returns with a novel set in 1960s Baltimore that combines modern psychological insights with elements of classic noir, about a middle-aged housewife turned aspiring reporter who pursues the murder of a forgotten young woman.
In 1966, Baltimore is a city of secrets that everyone seems to know--everyone, that is, except Madeline "Maddie" Schwartz. Last year, she was a happy, even pampered housewife. This year, she's bolted from her marriage of almost twenty years, determined to make good on her youthful ambitions to live a passionate, meaningful life.
Maddie wants to matter, to leave her mark on a swiftly changing world. Drawing on her own secrets, she helps Baltimore police find a murdered girl--assistance that leads to a job at the city's afternoon newspaper, the Star. Working at the newspaper offers Maddie the opportunity to make her name, and she has found just the story to do it: a missing woman whose body was discovered in the fountain of a city park lake.
Cleo Sherwood was a young African-American woman who liked to have a good time. No one seems to know or care why she was killed except Maddie--and the dead woman herself. Maddie's going to find the truth about Cleo's life and death. Cleo's ghost, privy to Maddie's poking and prying, wants to be left alone. Maddie's investigation brings her into contact with people that used to be on the periphery of her life--a jewelery store clerk, a waitress, a rising star on the Baltimore Orioles, a patrol cop, a hardened female reporter, a lonely man in a movie theater.
But for all her ambition and drive, Maddie often fails to see the people right in front of her. Her inability to look beyond her own needs will lead to tragedy and turmoil for all sorts of people--including the man who shares her bed, a black police officer who cares for Maddie more than she knows.'
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Campfire Confessions
by Kristine Ochu
ARC ~ Published March 2022
Can you ever really hide a secret from your best friends?
Annie, Sondra, and Jo were the best of childhood friends—but they haven’t seen each other in far too long. To the outside world, their lives are perfect. But appearances can be deceiving…
Married to a pastor in a small town she’s never left, Annie’s devoted her life to family and the church. Most people consider her a saint—but they don’t know she’s hiding a big secret. Sondra’s living it up married to one of the richest men in L.A. and appears to have it all—beauty, brains, and a successful career. But when a real estate deal becomes more than just a transaction, she quickly realizes she’s in over her head. Jo is four years sober and struggling through a divorce. After a one-night stand takes an unexpectedly comic turn, she’s forced to reckon with a lifetime of bad choices.
When Annie’s secret catches up with her, Jo and Sondra rush to her side, escaping on a hilarious canoeing trip that turns into a soul-searching, death-defying adventure. Lost in the woods as one thing goes wrong after another, they find themselves sharing their deepest secrets around the campfire. But as each new revelation unfolds, one thing becomes clear: it will take more than a night of true confessions for the three of them to find their way back home.
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