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New month means new highlighted authors from Simply Held. March’s authors are Isabel Allende for fiction and Robert Crais for mystery.
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Our March fiction author is Isabel Allende. Allende was born in Peru to Chilean parents and became an American citizen in 1993. Her first book, The House of the Spirits, was published in 1982. Since then she has sold more than 77 million books that have been translated into more than forty-two languages. Allende is an accomplished writer who devotes much time to human rights causes. She has received fifteen honorary doctorates as well as more than 60 awards in over 15 countries, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014. Allende is known for writing literary fiction, both mystery and historical, as well as young adult fantasy.
Allende’s latest book is The Wind Knows My Name, which is set to be published June 6, 2023.
Curious what this book is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher:
This powerful and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta weaves together past and present, tracing the ripple effects of war and immigration on one child in Europe in 1938 and another in the United States in 2019.
Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht—the night his family loses everything. As her child’s safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel’s mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.
Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita’s mother.
Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers—and never stop dreaming.
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Our March mystery author is Robert Crais. He is a native of Louisiana, having grown up in a blue collar family of oil refinery workers and police officers on the banks of the Mississippi River. Crais is most well known for his Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series, which currently has 19 titles. In addition, he has written the Scott James and Maggie series, three stand-alone novels, several omnibus collections, and contributed to other series. Before he wrote his first novel, Crais worked in Hollywood writing scripts for major television series such as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Miami Vice, Cross of Fire, among many others. Crais resigned from his job as a contract writer and television producer in the mid-eighties to pursue his dream of becoming a novelist. His first novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, is the first in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series. It won the Anthony and Macavity Awards and was nominated for the Edgar Award. Robert Crais’s novels have been published in 62 countries and are also bestsellers around the world. He has been nominated for and won many awards. He currently lives in the Santa Monica mountains with his wife and their two cats, surrounded by thousands of books. Crais writes mysteries and thrillers.
Crais’s newest book is Racing the Light, book 19 in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series. This title was published in November 2022.
Curious what this book is about? Below is a description provided by the author:
Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner Joe Pike are back on the case in this brilliant new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.
Adele Schumacher isn’t a typical worried mom. When she hires Elvis to find her missing son, a controversial podcaster named Josh Shoe, she brings a bag filled with cash, bizarre tales of government conspiracies, and a squad of professional bodyguards. Finding Josh should be simple, but Elvis quickly learns he isn’t alone in the hunt — a deadly team of mysterious strangers are determined to find Josh and his adult film star girlfriend first.
With Elvis being watched and dangerous secrets lurking behind every lead, Elvis needs his friend Joe Pike more than ever to uncover the truth about Josh, corrupt politicians, and the vicious business cartels rotting the heart of Los Angeles from within. And when Elvis Cole’s estranged girlfriend Lucy Chenier and her son Ben return, Elvis learns just how much he has to lose…if he survives.
Written with the heart, humor, and relentless suspense for which Crais is famous, Racing The Light delivers Elvis Cole’s most dangerous case yet.
This title is also available in the the following formats: