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Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight: The next Gone Girl?

“Like Gone Girl, it should be hailed as one of the best books of the year.” Entertainment Weekly on Reconstructing Amelia

Reconstructing Amelia is a stunning debut page-turner told in alternating voices of a daughter and mother, that unfolds the secrets and lies in the world of a teenager and tells the story of love and betrayal, trusted friends and vicious enemies—of how much a parent really knows a child . . . and how far a mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she could not save.

When Kate, single mother and law firm partner, gets an urgent phone call summoning her to her daughter's exclusive private school, she's shocked. Amelia has been suspended for cheating, something that would be completely out of character for her over-achieving, well-behaved daughter.

Kate rushes to Grace Hall, but what she finds when she finally arrives is beyond comprehension.

Her daughter Amelia is dead.

Despondent over having been caught cheating, Amelia has jumped from the school's roof in an act of impulsive suicide. At least that's the story Grace Hall and the police tell Kate. In a state of shock and overcome by grief, Kate tries to come to grips with this life-shattering news. Then she gets an anonymous text:

She didn't jump.

The moment she sees that message, Kate knows in her heart it's true. Clearly Amelia had secrets, and a life Kate knew nothing about. Wracked by guilt, Kate is determined to find out what those secrets were and who could have hated her daughter enough to kill. She searches through Amelia's e-mails, texts, and Facebook updates, piecing together the last troubled days of her daughter's life.

Jennifer McMahon calls Reconstructing Amelia “A heart wrenching story of secrets and betrayal.”  Check out the Reading Guide and use the discussion points to help steer the conversation when you meet with your book club!

Read an Excerpt!
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Guest Blogger: Hallie Ephron (Her Book Is "Deliciously Creepy")

Please welcome Hallie Ephron (author of Never Tell a Lie and Come and Find Me) to Book Club Girl today, the day her third mystery novel There Was an Old Woman, goes on sale everywhere.

When a reviewer called my book "deliciously creepy," I was over the moon. I used to love listening to ghost stories around a camp fire. Loved even more telling ghost stories and scaring the bejesus out of my friends.

I still watch reruns of Twilight Zone with its "journey into the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition . . ." And I'm a huge fan of Hitchcock movies.

I try to write the kind of creepy that earns its thrill because it feels real. Like that just-off moment when you arrive home and realize your front door is ajar. Or you hear water running and running and no one is turning it off. Or something isn't where you know you left it.

A misplaced pocketbook. A misplaced car. In There Was an Old Woman, those moments build until 91-year-old Mina Yetner wonders if she's losing her mind.

The daughter of Mina's neighbor comes back to her mother's house to find it's turned into a hoarder's nest, when her alcoholic mother was never a hoarder. On top of that, her medicine cabinet is chock full of vitamins she'd never take and she has cases of Scotch that she can't afford.

As I was writing, I consciously tried to pile on those not-quite-right moments when the everyday turns ominous. So though There Was an Old Woman is a mystery, it's more a what's-going-on-here than a whodunnit.

A touchstone for me, as a writer, is a famous scene from the Alfred Hitchcock movie Suspicion. The husband, a ne'er-do-well playboy (Cary Grant), climbs the stairs carrying a tray with a glass of warm milk up to his invalid wife (Joan Fontaine). She's sure the milk is laced with poison.

Tension mounts as Hitchcock's camera cuts back and forth between them, him climbing the stairs, her in bed tortured by the suspicion that he's going to kill her. When the camera focuses on just the milk, it seems to glow.

That's because Hitchcock put a light bulb in the milk. It's what I try to do in my novels, but with words.

Read an Excerpt 

Like Hallie on Facebook 

Buy the Book 

Meet Hallie on Tour 

Do you share an affinity with Hallie for creepy stories? If so, you should pick up There Was an Old Woman, and see for yourself how she uses words to makes moments and scenes glow.

The Wall Street Journal calls Peter Robinson's BEFORE THE POISON “a gripping tale that brings to mind not only old-time Hollywood but also British ‘golden age’ storytelling in the Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier tradition.”

There’s no doubt that some of you may be familiar with bestselling author Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks mystery series, but this time around Peter shifts gears, and the result is a stunning stand-alone novel called Before the Poison.

Before the Poison, in short, is the story of one man’s obsession with a decades-old murder that leads him down a dark and deadly path to find the truth. But believe me when I tell you there is nothing short about this novel. From the first page, which opens with the protagonist getting ready for her execution, Peter has us hooked. The transitions between past and present and the excerpts from Grace’s journal help to strengthen the story, giving readers a glimpse into life during WWII and into the mind and heart of a well-rounded heroine with a sense of adventure.  

Combining the rich, atmospheric narrative of his award-winning novel In a Dry Season with the twisting suspense of the classic noir film Laura, there’s a lot for readers to sink their teeth into here. So get started now and read the first chapter!

Click here for the reading group guide, and read an essay about what inspired Peter to write this novel.

Laura Lippman's I'd Know You Anywhere - Now on Sale in Paperback, Plus a Giveaway of Her Fall 2011 Novel!

Today my colleague Tavia joins us with this guest post about Laura Lippman, whose most recent novel, I'd Know You Anywhere, is just out in paperback. Some of you may remember how much I loved this book when I read it last year. I literally hid myself from my family so that I could keep reading it - it was that unputdownable. In any case, this is Tavia's post, not mine, so here you have her, and Laura!

One of the best parts of my job doing book marketing is developing long-term relationships with authors, many of whom are funny, kind, intelligent and grateful. Laura Lippman is the perfect example of this sort of author, and I have had the pleasure of marketing her novels since No Good Deeds, in 2006. There have been some unusually exciting moments along the way—the breakout What the Dead Know, and the stunning performance of I’d Know You Anywhere, which made news for its ebook sales, hit the New York Times list, was listed as a Best Book of 2010 by many, and was nominated for both Los Angeles Times and Edgar Awards.

When it came time to publish the paperback edition of I’d Know You Anywhere, we knew we had to do something special. Part of that special was to send a note to the booksellers who have been Laura’s supporters through the years. And while it’s addressed to booksellers, I think the sentiment is equally true for you, her readers. Here’s a little glimpse into our publishing process, as I share with you now the Laura’s letter, dated December 2010.

Dear Booksellers, 

First, I want to thank you for helping to make 2010 one of the best years of my life. I never lose sight of how much I need booksellers and bookstores, how nothing replaces the word-of-mouth enthusiasm created by those who truly love books. When people asked how I’d Know You Anywhere did, I could reply sunnily: “It had a very charmed life.” So thanks for waving your wands over it and I hope you'll continue to show it the same kind of support when it toddles out in the world in paperback. 

As I said, 2010 was simply one of the best years of my life, and I hope many of you can say the same thing. But whatever kind of year you had in 2010, there's no reason not to wish for an even better 2011. Every year, when I sit down to write a new book, my one-word resolution is “Better.” It's not a bad resolution for life in general, I have found. 

All my best, Laura 

Watch the video and read an excerpt from I'd Know You Anywhere. You can find Laura on Facebook  and at her blog and you can sign up for her mailing list. 

P.S. Just as Laura resolved, her next novel The Most Dangerous Thing really is better than the one before. What a writer! To prove it, we will send an early galley of this September publication to the first five readers to post a comment to this post.

Tavia Kowalchuk is a Senior Marketing Director at William Morrow and has the privilege of working on hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and cookbooks published within that imprint.