In My TBR Stack:

Don't Look for Me
by Wendy Walker
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

They said she walked away. But what really happened to Molly Clarke? 
From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a compelling and emotionally powerful story of a daughter's desperate search to find her mother before it's too late.

They called it a “walk away.” The car abandoned miles from home. The note found at a nearby hotel. The shattered family. It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to start over. But what really happened to Molly Clarke?

The night Molly disappeared began with a storm, running out of gas, and a man offering her a ride to safety. But when the doors lock shut, Molly begins to suspect she has made a terrible mistake.

A new lead brings Molly’s daughter, Nicole, back to the small, desolate town where her mother was last seen to renew the desperate search. The locals are sympathetic and eager to help. The innkeeper. The bartender. Even the police. Until secrets begin to reveal themselves and Nicole comes closer to the truth about that night—and the danger surrounding her.

On My Radar:

A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son
by Michael Ian Black
Workman Publishing
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

In a world in which the word masculinity now often goes hand in hand with toxic, comedian, actor, and father Michael Ian Black offers up a way forward for boys, men, and anyone who loves them. Part memoir, part advice book, and written as a heartfelt letter to his college-bound son, A Better Man reveals Black’s own complicated relationship with his father, explores the damage and rising violence caused by the expectations placed on boys to “man up,” and searches for the best way to help young men be part of the solution, not the problem. “If we cannot allow ourselves vulnerability,” he writes, “how are we supposed to experience wonder, fear, tenderness?”

Honest, funny, and hopeful, Black skillfully navigates the complex gender issues of our time and delivers a poignant answer to an urgent question: How can we be, and raise, better men? 

In My TBR Stack:

The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience & Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World
by Shannon Huffman Polson
Harvard Business Review Press
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

What does it take for women to succeed in a male-dominated world? The Grit Factor. At age nineteen, Shannon Huffman Polson became the youngest woman ever to climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America. She went on to reach the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Kilimanjaro and spent more than a decade traveling the world. Yet it was during her experience serving as one of the Army's first female attack helicopter pilots, and eventually leading an Apache flight platoon on deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina, that she learned the lessons of leadership that forever changed her life. Where did these insights come from? From her own crucibles of experience--and from other women. In writing "The Grit Factor," Polson made it her mission to connect with an elite pack of tough, impressive female iconoclasts who shared with her their candid stories of combat and career. This slate of decorated leaders includes Heather Penney, one of the first female F-16 pilots, who was put on a suicide mission for 9/11; General Ann Dunwoody, the first female four-star general in the Army; Amy McGrath, the first female Marine to fly the F/A-18 in combat and a 2020 candidate for the US Senate--and dozens of other unstoppable women who got there first, including Polson herself. These women led at the highest levels in the most complicated, challenging, and male-dominated organization in the world. Now, in the post-#MeToo era, when positive role models of women leading are needed as never before, Polson brings these voices together, sharing her own life lessons and theirs with storytelling flair, keen insight, and incisive analysis of current research. With its gripping narrative and relatable takeaways, "The Grit Factor" is both inspiring and pragmatic, a book that will energize and enlighten current and aspiring leaders everywhere--whether male or female.

Now in Paperback:

Rock Monster: My Life with Joe Walsh
by Kristin Casey
Rare Bird Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Far from bitter or self-pitying, Rock Monster is an honest account of one woman's life-changing experience in a relationship with rock legend Joe Walsh. At once envious, glamorous, debauched and disturbing, it's her long and winding journey from life in the fast lane to sobriety and redemption.

Set in the late-eighties and nineties, these are some of Walsh's darkest years, from spiraling addiction to a stunning comeback with the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over tour. Loaded with true stories never before heard, Rock Monster is essential reading for classic rock fans and anyone touched by addiction. Kristin Casey pulls no punches, sharing gritty details with self-awareness, humor, and affection. Sharply written, bold and incisive, it's the worldly-wise tome only an ex-addict, ex-stripper, and ex-rock-chick could give us.

In the tradition of women-in-rock survivor tales―think Marianne Faithful, Crystal Zevon, Jo Wood et al.―Kristin Casey pulls a veil on the enduring myth of the lifestyle's glamorous decadence. Rock Monster is a sexy, crazy, cautionary tale of two addicts in love without a single relationship skill.

On My Radar:

Inside the NRA: A Tell-All Account of Corruption, Greed, and Paranoia within the Most Powerful Political Group in America
by Joshua L. Powell
Twelve Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Joshua L. Powell is the NRA–a lifelong gun advocate, in 2016, he began his new role as a senior strategist and chief of staff to NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre.

What Powell uncovered was horrifying: “the waste and dysfunction at the NRA was staggering.”

INSIDE THE NRA reveals for the first time the rise and fall of the most powerful political organization in America–how the NRA became feared as the Death Star of Washington lobbies and so militant and extreme as “to create and fuel the toxicity of the gun debate until it became outright explosive.”

INSIDE THE NRA explains this intentional toxic messaging was wholly the product of LaPierre’s leadership and the extremist branding by his longtime PR puppet master Angus McQueen. In damning detail, Powell exposes the NRA’s plan to “pour gasoline” on the fire in the fight against gun control, to sow discord to fill its coffers, and to secure the presidency for Donald J. Trump. 

On My Radar:

Rust in Peace: The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece
by Dave Mustaine
Hachette Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Rust in Peace details the making of Megadeth’s iconic record, which was released in 1990, at an incredible time of flux and creativity in the rock world. Relayed by the lead vocalist and guitarist of Megadeth himself, Dave Mustaine, the book covers the process of hiring the band and supporting cast, of trying to handle the ensuing success, and ultimately the pressure of fame and fortune — which caused the band to finally break-up. In short, it’s a true story of groundbreaking anti-pop that was moving toward the mainstream (or the mainstream that was moving toward the band), at a time of great cultural change, power, ego, drugs, and other vices that went hand-in-hand with Rock N’ Roll, circa the late eighties-early nineties.

Little did Mustaine know that the birth pangs of the record were nothing compared to the oncoming pain and torment that would surround it. Alcohol, drugs, sex, money, power, property, prestige, the lies the band was told by the industry — and the lies they told each other — were just beginning, and much like rust in real life, these factors would ultimately eat away at the band’s bond until only the music survived.

Rust in Peace is a story of perseverance, of scraping off the rust off that builds over time on everything: ourselves, our relationships, pop culture, art, and music. 

In My TBR Stack:

Act of Revenge: A Doc Brady Mystery
by John Bishop, MD
Mantid Press
Trade Paperback


From the author's website:

Plastic surgeon Lou Edwards’s life is complicated by two major issues.

One, his wife has lupus, possibly due to leaking silicone from breast implants Edwards himself inserted. And two, his malpractice insurance has been canceled, as it has been for many other plastic surgeons, due to the burgeoning breast implant problem.

But it gets worse.

Shortly after Edwards threatens an insurance company president on national TV, the president is found murdered in his penthouse.

Dr. Jim Bob Brady once again finds himself doing a bit of investigating, this time on behalf of a colleague. But how well does he know this colleague? Is the investigation worth the threat to Jim Bob’s own life? Will he discover that it was a burglary gone bad? A lover’s quarrel? Or is this an act of revenge?

On My Radar:

You've Never Heard Your Favorite Song: 100 Deep Cuts to Make Your World Sound Better
by Matthew Doucet
Cider Mill Press
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Let go of your musical biases and dive into the deep cuts that are what music is really about.

Let go of your musical biases and dive into the deep cuts that are what music is really about with You’ve Never Heard Your Favorite Song. From underground musicians to passed-over classics, your favorite song is out there waiting for you, you just need to go find it. Relearn what makes a song great and set those played out pop tunes on the back burner once and for all. The latest edition in the Curio series, this pocket-sized book is perfect for referencing on the go. So get reading to find out why you might not even know your favorite song yet, and why you should keep your musical mind open. 

On My Radar:

Proof of Corruption: Bribery, Impeachment, and Pandemic in the Age of Trump
by Seth Abramson
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

In the third volume of his Proof series, New York Times bestselling author Seth Abramson takes readers on a deep dive into the Ukraine scandal, revealing it to be more sinister, complex, and transnational than previously thought. Abramson’s research on Trump administration corruption positions the Ukraine scandal as the foreseeable culmination of years of clandestine machinations involving scores of players, from Beijing to Budapest, Ankara to Caracas, Warsaw to Jerusalem, Kyiv to Riyadh, and Moscow to D.C. 

While many know about the July 2019 telephone call that ignited the Ukraine scandal, most don’t know about the concurrent attempts by members of Trump’s inner circle to take over Ukraine’s national gas company and bolster dangerous pro-Kremlin Ukrainian oligarchs—moves that would have benefited Putin and destabilized Ukraine’s government and economy.

In Beijing, Trump’s dealings with the Chinese government not only enriched him and his family, but also culminated in him successfully seeking 2020 election interference from Xi Jinping in the form of closely held information about Joe Biden. In Venezuela, many of the actors involved in the Ukraine scandal engaged in similarly secretive, Kremlin-friendly negotiations that undermined U.S. policy. In Syria and Iraq, Trump’s personal indebtedness to autocrats in Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE cost untold lives. And Abramson brings the story back to an increasingly fractured and depleted United States, where the COVID-19 pandemic exposes the staggering domestic consequences of the Trump administration’s foreign machinations.

In Proof of Corruption, Seth Abramson lays bare Trump’s decades-long pattern of corruption. This globe-spanning narrative is an urgent warning about the unprecedented threat posed by a corrupt president and his administration.

On My Radar:

Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump
by Peter Strzok
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

When he opened the FBI investigation into Russia’s election interference, Peter Strzok had already spent more than two decades defending the United States against foreign threats. His career in counterintelligence ended shortly thereafter, when the Trump administration used his private expression of political opinions to force him out of the Bureau in August 2018. But by that time, Strzok had seen more than enough to convince him that the commander in chief had fallen under the sway of America’s adversary in the Kremlin. 

In Compromised, Strzok draws on lessons from a long career—from his role in the Russian illegals case that inspired The Americans to his service as lead FBI agent on the Mueller investigation—to construct a devastating account of foreign influence at the highest levels of our government. And he grapples with a question that should concern every U.S. citizen: When a president appears to favor personal and Russian interests over those of our nation, has he become a national security threat? 

On My Radar:

The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi
by Richard Grant
Simon & Schuster
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Natchez, Mississippi, once had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in America, and its wealth was built on slavery and cotton. Today it has the greatest concentration of antebellum mansions in the South, and a culture full of unexpected contradictions. Prominent white families dress up in hoopskirts and Confederate uniforms for ritual celebrations of the Old South, yet Natchez is also progressive enough to elect a gay black man for mayor with 91% of the vote.

Much as John Berendt did for Savannah in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and the hit podcast S-Town did for Woodstock, Alabama, so Richard Grant does for Natchez in The Deepest South of All. With humor and insight, he depicts a strange, eccentric town with an unforgettable cast of characters. There’s Buzz Harper, a six-foot-five gay antique dealer famous for swanning around in a mink coat with a uniformed manservant and a very short German bodybuilder. There’s Ginger Hyland, “The Lioness,” who owns 500 antique eyewash cups and decorates 168 Christmas trees with her jewelry collection. And there’s Nellie Jackson, a Cadillac-driving brothel madam who became an FBI informant about the KKK before being burned alive by one of her customers. Interwoven through these stories is the more somber and largely forgotten account of Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, a West African prince who was enslaved in Natchez and became a cause célèbre in the 1820s, eventually gaining his freedom and returning to Africa.

Part history and part travelogue, The Deepest South of All offers a gripping portrait of a complex American place, as it struggles to break free from the past and confront the legacy of slavery.

 

On My Radar:

Red, White, and the Blues: A Long and Hard Ride Over Treacherous Terrain
by John R. Hall
Red, White, and the Blues Publishing, LLC
Trade Paperback

From the book publicity:

WARNING: if you are a Donald Trump minion . . . then this book is probably NOT for you. “KEEP THE SHINY SIDE UP” Biker, street performer, cab driver, magician, IT/IS specialist, long-haul trucker, soldier, and oil field worker John Richard “Little Ricky” Hall has done damn near everything in this life—and taken more than his fair share of hard knocks in the process. Red, White, and the Blues is both a riveting account of a fateful cross-country motorcycle ride and a searing indictment of the American dream. In 2011, North Dakota’s Bakken oil boom was turning the earth (literally) and men (figuratively) inside out, even as it generated unprecedented wealth. John R. Hall was on the verge of securing his future in the Bakken when a confrontation with a coworker led him to leave it all behind and head across the US on his Harley “Deuce.” Pursued by the screeching demons of abuse, financial distress, and his own tortured thoughts, John would find heartache and rough terrain on the open road—but also the kindness of strangers and sights of heartbreaking beauty. Part memoir, part collection of essays, part political treatise, Red, White, and the Blues is a must-read for motorcycle enthusiasts and anyone who’s struggled to find their place in the world. At turns funny, emotionally devastating, and incisive, Hall’s work will enthrall readers as he offers affecting commentary on racism, politics, and depression—as well as friendship and the incomparable freedom of riding long and hard. 

JOHN R. HALL is author of the HuntingForThompson.com writers blog. John studied journalism, communications, psychology, and the dramatic arts while attending City College in San Diego, California. A lifelong motorcycle enthusiast, John has been a street performer, cab driver, magician, IT/IS specialist, long-haul trucker, soldier, and oil field worker—all while struggling with PTSD, childhood abuse, parental abandonment, and dyslexia. At sixty-two, John now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he penned the stories of his travels while hoping to get back home to Seattle, Washington.

In My TBR Stack:

Fire and Vengeance: A Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery
by Robert McCaw
Oceanview Publishing
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Having killed his father’s nemesis and gotten away with it, Hilo, Hawai'i Chief Detective Koa Kāne, is not your ordinary cop. Estranged from his younger brother, who has been convicted of multiple crimes, he is not from a typical law enforcement family. Yet, Koa’s secret demons fuel his unwavering drive to pursue justice.

Never has Koa’s motivation been greater than when he learns that an elementary school was placed atop a volcanic vent, which has now exploded. The subsequent murders of the school’s contractor and architect only add urgency to his search for the truth.

As Koa’s investigation heats up, his brother collapses in jail from a previously undiagnosed brain tumor. Using his connections, Koa devises a risky plan to win his brother’s freedom. As Koa gradually unravels the obscure connections between multiple suspects, he uncovers a 40 year-old conspiracy. When he is about to apprehend the perpetrators, his investigation suddenly becomes entwined with his brother’s future, forcing Koa to choose between justice for the victims and his brother’s freedom.