JANUARY 2012 HARDCOVER
What It Was
George Pelecanos
978-0-316-20953-3, $35.00
Deluxe slipcover edition
Washington, D.C., 1972. Derek Strange has left the police department and set up shop as a private investigator. His former partner, Frank “Hound Dog” Vaughn, is still on the force. When a young woman comes to Strange asking for his help recovering a cheap ring she claims has sentimental value, the case leads him onto Vaughn’s turf, where a local drug addict’s been murdered, shot point-blank in his apartment.
Soon both men are on the trail of a ruthless killer: Red Fury, so called for his looks and the car his girlfriend drives, but a name that fits his personality all too well. Red Fury doesn’t have a retirement plan, as Vaughn points out - he doesn’t care who he has to cross, or kill, to get what he wants. As the violence escalates and the stakes get higher, Strange and Vaughn know the only way to catch their man is to do it their own way.
Rich with details of place and time - the cars, the music, the clothes - and fueled by non-stop action, this is Pelecanos writing in the urgent, immediate, detail-rich style that won him his earliest fans and placed him firmly in the ranks of the top crime writers in America.
About the Author: George Pelecanos is an independent film producer, an essayist, the recipient of numerous international writing awards, a producer and an Emmy-nominated writer on the HBO hit series The Wire, and the author of a bestselling series of novels set in and around Washington, D.C. He currently writes for the acclaimed HBO series Treme.
Publicity contact: Marlena Bittner, marlena.bittner@hbgusa.com
MARCH 2012 HARDCOVER
Guilty Wives
James Patterson and David Ellis
978-0-316-09756-7, $27.99
A luxurious Monte Carlo vacation lands four women in prison for a murder they didn’t commit.
Abbie Elliot gave up her life to follow her diplomat husband to Zurich. Now, she and her three best friends are in desperate need of a weekend getaway and decide it’s the perfect time for a fling in Monte Carlo.
They surrender themselves to every temptation: fine dining, high-stakes gambling, and gorgeous men. But the fun comes to a screeching halt when two bodies are found, and they become the police’s prime suspects. In a dramatic trial, the women’s lives are laid bare. It becomes clear that they have been framed, but one question remains: Who is trying to lock them away forever? With delicious twists and death-defying speed, Guilty Wives is a nonstop joy-ride of excess, friendship, and betrayal as only James Patterson can create.
About the Author: James Patterson holds the New York Times bestsellers list record with 61 titles. His stand alone thrillers have been enormous bestsellers, selling over 43 million copies worldwide.
David Ellis is the award-winning author of seven novels, including Line of Vision (Berkley, 2/02), for which he won the Edgar Allan Poe Award, and The Hidden Man (Putnam, 9/09), which earned him a 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize nomination. Ellis is the Chief Counsel to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and he recently served as the House Prosecutor who tried and convicted former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Publicity Contact: Sabrina Callahan, sabrina.callahan@hbgusa.com
JANUARY 2012 HARDCOVER
American Dervish: A Novel
Ayad Akhtar
978-0-316-18331-4, $24.99
A stirring and explosive debut novel about an American Muslim family struggling with faith and belonging in the pre-9/11 world.
Hayat Shah was captivated by Mina long before he met her: his mother’s beautiful, brilliant, and soulfully devout friend is a family legend. When he learns that Mina is leaving Pakistan to live with the Shahs in America, Hayat is thrilled. Hayat’s father is less enthusiastic. He left the fundamentalist world behind with reason. What no one expects is that when Mina shows Hayat the beauty and power of the Quran, it will utterly transform the boy.
Mina’s real magic may be that the Shah household, always contentious and sad, becomes a happy one. But when Mina finds her own path to happiness, the ember of jealousy in Hayat’s heart is enflamed by the community’s anti-Semitism and he acts with catastrophic consequences for those he loves most.
About the Author: Ayad Akhtar is a first generation Pakistani-American from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He holds degrees in Theater from Brown University and Directing from Columbia University, where he won multiple awards for his work. American Dervish is his first novel. He lives in New York.
Publicity Tour: New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
Publicity Contact: Nicole Dewey, nicole.dewey@hbgusa.com
JANUARY 2012 HARDCOVER
Girl Land
Caitlin Flanagan
978-0-316-06598-6, $25.99
The physical, emotional, and social milestones of every girl’s life: what we’ve lost and gained in the 21st century.
Caitlin Flanagan’s essays about marriage, sex, and families have sparked national debates. Now she turns her attention to girls: the biological and cultural milestones for girls today, and how they shape a girl’s sense of herself. The transition from girl to woman is an experience that has changed radically over the generations: everything from how a girl learns about her period to how she expects to be treated by boys and men. Girls today observe these passages very differently, and yet the landmarks themselves have remained remarkably constant—proof, Flanagan believes, of their significance. In a world where protections of girls’ privacy and personal freedom seem to disappear every day, the ultimate challenge modern parents face is finding a way to defend both.
About the Author: Caitlin Flanagan is a winner of the National Magazine Award. Her essays have appeared in Best American Essays and Best American Magazine Writing. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children.
Publcity Contact: Marlena Bittner, marlena.bittner@hbgusa.com
JANUARY 2012 HARDCOVER
Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? Trick Questions, Zen-like Riddles, Insanely Difficult Puzzles, and Other Devious Interviewing Techniques You Need to Know to Get a Job Anywhere in the New Economy
William Poundstone
978-0-316-09997-4, $19.99
More than 100 new puzzles from America’s toughest job interviews and the advice you need to land your dream job now.
You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and thrown in a blender. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do? If you want to work at Google, or any of America’s best companies, you need to have an answer to this and other puzzling questions.
Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? guides readers through the surprising solutions to dozens of the most challenging interview questions. The book covers the importance of creative thinking, ways to get a leg up on the competition, what your Facebook page says about you, and much more. Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google? is a must read for anyone who wants to succeed in today’s job market.
About the Author: William Poundstone is the author of 12 books, including How Would You Move Mount Fuji? and Fortune’s Formula, which was Amazon Editors’ pick for the #1 nonfiction book of the year in 2005. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Publicity Contact: Liz Garriga, elizabeth.garriga@hbgusa.com
JANUARY 2012 HARCOVER
The Rook: A Novel
Daniel O’Malley
978-0-316-09879-3, $25.99
A quick-witted, genre-bending, debut thriller about a secret organization keeping the world safe from supernatural threats, one staff meeting at a time.
“The body you are wearing used to be mine.” So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no memory of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind. She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency that battles supernatural forces. But there is a mole inside the organization and this person wants her dead.
Battling to save herself, Myfanwy will encounter a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, children transformed into deadly fighters, and an unimaginably vast conspiracy. Suspenseful, hilarious, and richly inventive, The Rook is a rip-roaring debut.
About the Author: After receiving degrees from Michigan State and Ohio State, Daniel O’Malley returned to his childhood home, Australia. He now works for the Australian government, managing media relations for the agency that investigates transportation accidents.
Publicity Contact: Michelle Aielli, michelle.aielli@hbgusa.com
