Born and raised in Chicago, Jacquelyn Mitchard is the daughter of a plumber and a retail clerk. She became a newspaper reporter in 1976, eventually achieving a position as lifestyle columnist for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper. Her weekly column, The Rest of Us, is now nationally syndicated by Tribune Media. She is also a contributing editor for Wondertime Magazine. Jacquelyn Mitchard's first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was named by USA Today as one of the ten most influential books of the past 25 years - second only to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
Familia (2023) Lauren E Rico "Familia has it all: An old crime, unsuspecting victims, a genetic mystery that will explode a family, the enormous tenderness of desperate parents. By page 30, I would have walked on coals to finish reading this story."
Before You Found Me (2023) Brooke Beyfuss "Can there ever be sympathy for a kidnapper? A complex, compelling new novel that dissects the tangled psychology of right and righteousness."
Horses of Fire (2023) A D Rhine "The Trojan War is a much-storied saga of brave men, of treachery, and loss. Not since Euripides have the Trojan women been so celebrated in all their sacrifice and courage, as they fight for their children, their parents, and their right to be recognized as the warriors they are. In Horses of Fire, A.D. Rhine has written a novel of substance that you won't soon forget."
It's One Of Us (2023) J T Ellison "One of the most compelling psychological suspense stories I've read in years."
Shmutz (2022) Felicia Berliner "Shmutz is like nothing else I've ever read anywhere by anyone, a thoroughly wonderful novel made on the bones of the unlikeliest of setups. It is a testament to Felicia Berliner's considerable skill that the story of Raizl, obedient daughter, Orthodox Jew, porn addict, is absolutely authentic, hilarious and poignant. In heavier hands, this could have been a parable or a satire. Instead, it's a masterstroke."
Truth and Other Lies (2022) Maggie Smith "The political skews personal in this debut, which focuses on the bonds of powerful women in the rough-and-tumble world of politics and government. Smith's characters sometimes do each other in, more often do each other proud, always with an awareness of the fragility of reputation set against the abiding strength of spirit.Smith leads with boldness and heart from the first page."
What We Carry (2021) Kalyn Fogarty "In a tender story about one woman's anguished choices in her determination to become a mother, Kalyn Fogarty takes an unsparing look at the raw courage it sometimes requires to do those things most people take for granted. Fogarty understands human nature and the ways in which compassion for another species -- in this case, horses -- can teach us the truest understanding of ourselves."
The Moon is Missing (2020) Jenni Ogden "Jenni Ogden is a beautiful writer. In her newest, a tale of domestic suspense, Ogden tells the story of a neurosurgeon bedeviled by her own sophisticated brain and the memories of a long-ago tragedy that still has the power to destroy her and her family. Pick up The Moon is Missing. You won't put it down."
Yours, Jean (2020) Lee Martin "Readers expect either a true-crime page turner or a literary novel of exquisite prose?unless Lee Martin is doing the writing, and then they get both. In Yours, Jean ancient passions burn through the facade of small-town grace in a story that simply won’t let go, as Lee Martin proves again why he is one of the most gifted writers of our time."
Trace of Evil (2019) (Natalie Lockhart, book 1) Alice Blanchard "Alice Blanchard seems to be able to write just about anything she wants [and] shows off a veteran storyteller at the peak of her powers."
The Collector's Apprentice (2018) B A Shapiro "B.A. Shapiro is back with a platinum potion of art, love, and scandal, set against the big backdrop of Paris between the wars. If you can pu The Collector’s Apprentice down, you’re made of stronger stuff than I am. I read it in one sumptuous sitting. This is a big story, from a big talent."
Mary Rose (2018) Geoffrey Girard "Mary Rose is an elegant, classic ghost story that is, at once, truly literate and truly scary; Geoffrey Girard is a storyteller at the top of his game."
I Was Anastasia (2018) Ariel Lawhon "The fate of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, youngest daughter of the last Tsar, is an old mystery that never gets old. In the hands of Ariel Lawhon, it springs to life again, challenging everything we believe about what we remember and who we are. Was Anna Anderson really the only survivor of the Romanovs or was she a persistent fraud? Somehow, Lawhon, a masterly writer, not only leads her readers to ponder this riddle, but to care about it as well. This is a deft and deeply moving saga."
The History of Bees (2017) (Climate Quartet, book 1) Maja Lunde "When you think of coming to tears over a novel, a story about bee keepers and honey is not your first thought. But such is the genius of debut novelist Maja Lunde that her tale of three eras - the long past, the tenuous present and the biologically damned future - is strung on the fragile hope of the survival of bees. Without ever banging an apocalyptic drum, Lunde paints an achingly pure picture of what happens if we fail to protect the bees, our biospheric conscience, our fragile, sacred spinners of gold."
The Dog Year (2014) Ann Garvin "The story of a woman who had everything, lost everything, and now wants to shoplift the rest."
Far from Here (2012) Nicole Baart "Far from Here, Nicole Baart's tale of the certainties of absolute fear and uncertainty of love whirls the reader up and never lets go."
Jane Was Here (2011) Sarah Kernochan "Sarah Kernochan's second novel, Jane Was Here, has an insane premise -- that the presence of one young woman can literally cause the past and the future to collide in real time and space. How Kernochan, the writer of the film 'What Lies Beneath,' pulls it off, and she does, is nothing short of magic. See Jane break the world wide open."
Best Staged Plans (2011) Claire Cook "If I had a sister, I'd want her to be Claire Cook . . . Claire Cook is wicked good."
Jerusalem Maiden (2011) Talia Carner "As bold and fragile as its main character, Jerusalem Maiden is at heart a story of revolution..."
Here, Home, Hope (2011) Kaira Rouda "I loved Kaira Rouda's book. I love its irony and its courage and humor. . . . It's the real thing."
Gossip of the Starlings (2008) Nina de Gramont "When almost-good-girl Catherine Morrow, just 16, crosses paths at boarding school with the blithe, brilliant daughter of a senator, their friendship seems destined to soar, and it does -- but too close to the sun. Nina de Gramont has written a stunning story of youth at its zenith and the tragic allure of a reckless zest for life that masks something far darker. I inhaled this novel in one breath."
My Enemy's Cradle (2008) Sara Young "Tenderly and fiercely felt, Young's tale of a young Jewish woman trapped in the sinister web of the Nazi Lebensborn program is that true find, a story truly never before told. And yet, through emotions we know -- that a mother must cherish her child, that hope will refuse despair, that passion will deny even mortal danger -- it immediately becomes our own."
The Way Life Should Be (2007) Christina Baker Kline "Christina Baker Kline proves to us once again taht she is not only a deft and snappy writer but [also] a true cartographer of the human heart."
Bride Island (2007) Alexandra Enders "Enders writes with such bone-deep honesty we know from the opening pages that it is winner takes all."
Crybaby Ranch (2006) Tina Welling "Crybaby Ranch twists and dances like a bouncing bronco, but beneath the humor beats a strong foundation of heart."
The Richest Season (2006) Maryann McFadden "In Maryann McFadden's brave and carefully made novel, The Richest Season, two women set out on open-ended odysseys, one to find her life, one to find meaning in her death. Lonely Joanna gives up all she knows for a single chance at all she needs. When they meet, Grace relinquishes her aloof solitude to embrace life at its end, banking on the borrowed courage of a stranger. McFadden is out of the gate and on her way."
(b.1955)
