Jo Nesbø
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and the Novel Neighbor Present
#1 Bestselling Suspense Author
Jo Nesbø
Author of “Killing Moon: A Harry Hole Novel”
In Conversation with Bestselling Novelist Lori Rader-Day
Ethical Society of Saint. Louis
9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO 63117
314-994-3300
Master of Norwegian noir Jo Nesbø presents his latest thriller starring rogue Oslo police investigator Harry Hole. Two young women are missing, their only connection is a party they both attended, hosted by a notorious real-estate magnate. When one of the women is found murdered, the police discover an unusual signature left by the killer, giving them reason to suspect he will strike again. Finding the killer calls for a detective like no other. But the legendary Harry Hole is gone—fired from the force, drinking himself to oblivion in Los Angeles. It seems that nothing can entice him back to Oslo. Until the woman who saved Harry's life is put in grave danger, and he has no choice but to return to the city that haunts him and track down the murderer.
Books available for purchase from The Novel Neighbor.
Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison
SLCL Authors @ the J and the Arthur Gale Medical Arts Lecture Series Present
Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison
Author of “Fires in the Dark: Healing the Unquiet Mind”
(Seating is limited; early arrival is recommended.)
The J’s Staenberg Family Complex
Mirowitz Performing Arts Center at 2 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146
Professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, Kay Redfield Jamison is the author of the definitive book on bipolar disorder, “An Unquiet Mind,” and many other acclaimed books on mental health and artistic creativity. In “Fires in the Dark,” Jamison considers the age-old quest for relief from psychological pain and the role of the exceptional healer in the journey back to health. From the trauma of the battlefields of the twentieth century, to those who are grieving, depressed, or with otherwise unquiet minds, to her own experience with bipolar illness, Jamison demonstrates how remarkable psychotherapy and other treatments can be when done well.
Books available for purchase from The Novel Neighbor.
Megan Abbott
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor present
Bestselling Mystery Writer
Megan Abbott
Author of “Beware the Woman”
Bestselling author of “The Turnout” and “You Will Know Me,” Megan Abbott is revered for her suspense writing about women and power dynamics. In “Beware the Woman,” Abbott dissects the ongoing conversations about ownership and womanhood in an eerily prescient thriller. Newly married and with a baby on the way, Jacy and Jed visit his father, Dr. Ash, in a cozy cabin in Michigan’s far-flung Upper Peninsula. But their Edenic first days take a turn when Jacy has a health scare. Jacy begins to feel trapped in the cottage, her every move surveilled. The dense woods surrounding the cottage are full of dangers, but are the greater ones inside?
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
Viola Shipman
St. Louis County Library Foundation presents Popular Novelist
Viola Shipman
Author of "Famous in a Small Town"
Viola Shipman is the pen name for award-winning author Wade Rouse, who writes fiction under his grandmother’s name to honor the woman whose heirlooms inspire his writing. Bursting with memorable characters and small-town lore, the latest Viola Shipman novel is a magical story about the family you’re born with, and the one you choose. Mary Jackson, or Cherry Mary, as she’s known locally, runs the Very Cherry General Store–part post office, bakery and sandwich shop and the heart of Good Hart, Michigan. Ending up at the general store with Mary is admittedly not the beach vacation Becky Thatcher expected, As she works under Mary’s wing for the summer and finds she fits into this quirky community, she starts to believe that Cherry Merry’s Good Hart might hold something very special for Becky.
Annabel Monaghan
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor present
Popular Novelist
Annabel Monaghan
Author of “Same Time Next Summer”
Bestselling romance novelist Annabel Monaghan presents the ultimate summer nostalgia read. Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, a great job in Manhattan, and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, but then there’s Wyatt - the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Being back at this beach, hearing notes from Wyatt’s guitar float across the night air from next door as if no time has passed—Sam’s memories come flooding back. As Wyatt reenters Sam’s life, their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice.
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
Pat Simmons
The St. Louis County Library presents St. Louis Christian Romance Author
Pat Simmons
Author of “Day Not Taken: The Intercessors”
Popular St. Louis Christian romance author Pat Simmons shares her latest novel, "Day Not Promised," the first book in her new series, "The Intercessors." "Day Not Promised" reminds readers that the bad guys don't always win, especially when the Lord helps fight our battles. In recognition of the Juneteenth holiday, Simmons will also discuss her "Jamieson Legacy" series which weaves Black history and genealogy into the story of tenth and eleventh generation descendents of a royal African tribe.
Books available for purchase at the event.
Fiona Davis
SLCL Authors @ the J and the Favorite Author Series Present
Historical Novelist
Fiona Davis
Author of “The Spectacular”
The J’s Staenberg Family Complex
Mirowitz Performing Arts Center at 2 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146
Bestselling historical fiction author Fiona Davis presents a thrilling story about love, sacrifice, and the pursuit of dreams, set amidst the glamour and glitz of Radio City Music Hall in its mid-century heyday. 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion Brooks feels trapped in her quiet life in the suburbs. So when an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes comes along, she jumps at the chance at the dazzling life of a performer. Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings by the “Big Apple Bomber.” The police turn in desperation to Peter Griggs, a young doctor who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling. Marion is unexpectedly pulled into Peter’s search for the bomber.
Susan Wiggs
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor present
Bestselling Novelist
Susan Wiggs
Author of “Welcome to Beach Town”
Beloved, bestselling author Susan Wiggs returns with a compulsively readable tale of an idyllic beach town forced to reckon with scandal. In Alara Cove, a California beach town known for its sunny charm and chill surfer vibe, it’s graduation day at the elite Thornton Academy. To the shock of everyone in the audience, class valedictorian Nikki Graziola veers off script while giving her commencement address and reveals a secret that breaks open the whole community. Nikki’s notoriety sends her into exile for years...until a personal tragedy compels her to return to Alara Cove. The people of the town have not forgotten Nikki, but as old friendships, rivalries, and an unexpected romance draw her back into the life of the beach town she’s never quite forgotten, she begins to learn that joy and redemption may be possible after all.
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
Aisha Harris
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and St. Louis Public Radio Present
“Pop Culture Happy Hour” Co-Host
Aisha Harris
Author of “Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me”
In Conversation with Elaine Cha, Host of St. Louis Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air”
Ethical Society of Saint Louis
9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO 63117
314-994-3300
As co-host of NPR’s popular “Pop Culture Happy Hour” podcast, Aisha Harris has made a name for herself as someone you can turn to for an engaging and incisive take on whatever new show or book or movie everyone is talking about. In her lively essay collection, “Wannabe,”she turns her analytical talents inward, reflecting on the culture that raised her into the person and thinker she is today. In essays that span the personal and political, the high-brow and low, she contrasts the formative touchstones of her 90s childhood with both iconic precursors and more recent sensations to analyze the various tropes that have shaped her heart and mind.
Susanna Moore
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor present
Acclaimed Novelist
Susanna Moore
Author of “The Lost Wife”
Drawing partly from a true story, acclaimed novelist Susanna Moore brings to life a devastating Native American revolt and the woman caught in the middle of the conflict. Fleeing a bad marriage in Rhode Island, Sarah Brinton arrives at a small frontier post in remote Minnesota Territory. Sarah finds acceptance and kinship among the Sioux women. But during the Sioux Uprising of 1862, Sarah is abducted. Sympathizing with her captors, Sarah becomes an outcast in both worlds. Intimate and raw. “The Lost Wife” is a brilliantly subversive tale of the conquest of the American West.
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
SOLD OUT: Ticketed Event–Ruth Ware
St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor Present
An Evening with #1 Bestselling Suspense Author
Ruth Ware
Author of “Zero Days”
Ethical Society of Saint. Louis
9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO 63117
314-994-3300
INDIVIDUAL TICKET $35 (Admits ONE and includes one copy of “Zero Days”)
OR
PACKAGE TICKET $40 (Admits TWO and includes one copy of “Zero Days”)
A book signing line will follow the presentation.
Internationally bestselling author of “The It Girl” and “The Woman in Cabin 10,” Ruth Ware presents her latest adrenaline-fueled thriller that combines “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with “The Fugitive.” Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack is the best penetration specialist in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect–her.
Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite starting at 9:00 a.m. on May 5. Seating will be offered on a first come, first served basis.
Books provided by The Novel Neighbor.
Linda Castillo
SLCL Authors @ the J Presents
Bestselling Suspense Writer
Linda Castillo
Author of “An Evil Heart: A Kate Burkholder Mystery”
The J’s Staenberg Family Complex
Mirowitz Performing Arts Center at 2 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146
Bestselling suspense writer Linda Castillo presents the latest installment in her popular mystery series set in Amish country. On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. But as she delves into Karn’s past, Kate begins to hear whispers about a dark side. What if Aden Karn wasn’t the wholesome young man everyone admired? The case spirals out of control when a young Amish woman comes forward with a horrific story that pits Kate against a dangerous and unexpected opponent.
Reed Farrel Coleman
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor present
Bestselling Mystery Writer
Reed Farrel Coleman
Author of “Sleepless City: A Nick Ryan Novel”
Reed Farrel Coleman is the bestselling author of thirty-one crime fiction novels. With “Sleepless City,” Coleman launches a thrilling new series with an unforgettable antihero, Nick Ryan. When you’re in trouble, you call 911. When cops are in trouble, they call Nick Ryan. He’s the mayor’s private cop, the fixer, the first call when the men and women who protect and serve need protection themselves. With conflicted loyalties and a divided soul, he’s a veteran cop still fighting his own private war. But what happens when the man who knows all the city’s secrets becomes a threat to both sides of the law?
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
Steenz
St. Louis County Library Foundation’s Reading Garden Series for Young Audiences Presents
Comic and Graphic Novel Artist
Steenz
Author of “Heart Takes the Stage: A Heart of the City Collection”
St. Louis-based, nationally-syndicated cartoonist Steenz presents a collection of their beloved comics about Heart Lamarr, a middle-grade girl with big dreams. Heart has her sights set on a life of theater, but she runs into plenty of drama off-stage, too. Luckily her best friends form a stellar supporting cast.
Books available for purchase from The Novel Neighbor.
This project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Anupam B. Jena and Christopher Worsham
St. Louis County Library’s Arthur Gale Medical Arts Lecture Series Presents
Anupam B. Jena and Christopher Worsham
Authors of “Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces that Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health”
Co-hosts of the popular “Freakonomics MD” podcast, doctors Anupam Jena and Christopher Worsham present a groundbreaking book at the intersection of health and economics, revealing the hidden side of medicine. They help us see the way our health is shaped by forces invisible to the untrained eye. Is there ever a good time to have a heart attack? Do you choose the veteran doctor or the rookie? Do you really need the surgery your doctor recommends? These questions are rife with significance; their impact can be life changing. Addressing them in a style that’s both animated and enlightening, Jena and Worsham empower you to see past the white coat and find out what really makes medicine work—and how it could work better.
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
Dr. Aomawa Shields
St. Louis County Library and the Saint Louis Science Center present
Dr. Aomawa Shields
Author of “Life on Other Planets: Finding My Place in the Universe”
Monday, July 17, 7:00 p.m. (Free Event! Doors open at 6:00 p.m.)
Saint Louis Science Center OMNIMAXⓇ Theater
5050 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110
As a kid, Aomawa Shields dreamed of becoming an astronaut. A year into an astrophysics PhD program, plagued by self-doubt and discouraged by a white male professor who suggested that she didn’t belong, she left astronomy for a decade, before a day job working for NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope drew her back to the stars. She was the oldest and the only Black student in her PhD cohort. This time, no professor, and no voice in her own head, would stop her. Now an astronomer and astrobiologist at the top of her field, Dr. Shields studies the universe, researching and uncovering the planets circling distant stars with just the right conditions that could support life. “Life on Other Planets” is a journey of discovery on this world and on others and asks one of our biggest questions: Is anybody else out there?
Katherine Center
SLCL Authors @ the J and The Novel Neighbor Present
Bestselling Novelist
Katherine Center
Author of “Hello Stranger”
(Seating is limited; early arrival is recommended.)
The J’s Staenberg Family Complex
Mirowitz Performing Arts Center at 2 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146
BookPage calls New York Times bestselling novelist Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads” and readers love her hilarious and heartfelt books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. In her hotly-anticipated new novel “Hello Stranger,” love isn’t blind, it’s just a little blurry. One minute Sadie Montgomery is celebrating a major art prize—the next she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a condition known as face blindness. Every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. As she struggles to hang on to her artistic dream, she falls in love—not with one man but two. Making judgment calls on anything right now is a nightmare. If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to have it all.
Laura Lippman
SLCL Authors @ the J Presents
Acclaimed Suspense Writer
Laura Lippman
Author of “Prom Mom”
The J’s Staenberg Family Complex
Mirowitz Performing Arts Center at 2 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146
Since Laura Lippman's debut in 1997, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the "essential" crime writers of the last 100 years. In her provocative new thriller, “Prom Mom,” Lippman introduces an unforgettable anti-hero, Amber Glass. Amber has spent her entire adult life desperately trying to get away from her tabloid past but compulsively drawn back to the city of her youth and the prom date, Joe, who destroyed everything she was reaching for. But when circumstances bring Amber home, she realizes she can have a second chance - if she’s willing to help Joe do the unthinkable.
Susan Casey
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor present
Bestselling Science Writer
Susan Casey
Author of “The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean”
Bestselling science writer Susan Casey presents an awe-inspiring portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves. For all of human history, the deep ocean has been a source of wonder and terror, an unknown realm that evoked the compelling question: What’s down there? But now cutting-edge technologies allow scientists and explorers to dive miles beneath the surface, and we are beginning to understand this strange and exotic underworld. For “The Underworld,” Casey traversed the globe, joining scientists and explorers on dives to the deepest places on the planet, interviewing the marine geologists, marine biologists, and oceanographers who are searching for knowledge in this vast unseen realm.
Books available for purchase from The Novel Neighbor.
John David Mann
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and Left Bank Books present
Bestselling Thriller Writer
John David Mann
Author of “Blind Fear: A Finn X Novel”
In Conversation with Kent Sanders, St. Louis author and host of the Daily Writer podcast
Bestselling thriller writer John David Mann presents his latest Finn X series novel. By day, AWOL Navy SEAL Finn is hiding out in a tiny island paradise off the coast of Puerto Rico, living in a spare room behind a seafood restaurant owned by a blind local. By night he scours the dark web, hunting for the rogue officer responsible for the crimes he is accused of committing. But Finn’s world is about to be turned upside down by a new nightmare, when his employer’s two grandchildren go missing. To find them, he’ll have to expose a shadowy crime network—even if it means exposing himself in the process.
Books available for purchase from Left Bank Books.
Jennifer Chiaverini
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor Present
Bestselling Historical Novelist
Jennifer Chiaverini
Author of “Canary Girls”
Early in the Great War, men left Britain’s factories in droves to enlist. Struggling to keep up production, recruitment posters beckoned: “Be the Girl Behind the Man Behind the Gun.” Thousands of women answered their nation’s call. Bestselling historical novelist Jennifer Chiaverini tells the story of one group of “munitionettes” who formed the arsenal’s ladies’ football club. The football pitch is the one place where class distinctions and fears for their men fall away. As the war grinds on, the Canary Girls persist despite the dangers, proud to serve, determined to outlive the war and rejoice in victory and peace.
Books available for purchase from The Novel Neighbor.
Catriona Ward
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor Present
Popular Thriller Writer
Catriona Ward
Author of “Looking Glass Sound”
From Catriona Ward, author of “The Last House on Needless Street,” comes a masterful story about dark obsessions. In a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow has begun the last book he will ever write. It is the story about the sun-drenched summer days of his youth, and the blood-stained path of the killer that stalked his small vacation town. But the more Wilder writes, the less he trusts his memory. He starts to see things that can’t be real – and entire chapters he doesn’t recall typing appear overnight. No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does.
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
Madeline Martin
The St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor Present
Bestselling Historical Novelist
Madeline Martin
Author of “The Keeper of Hidden Books”
Bestselling author of the historical novels “The Last Bookshop in London” and “The Librarian Spy,” Madeline Martin shares a heartwarming story about the power of books to bring us together, inspired by the true story of the underground library in WWII Warsaw. All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage. But the closer Warsaw creeps toward liberation, the more dangerous life becomes for the women and their families – and escape may not be possible for everyone.
Books available from The Novel Neighbor.
SOLD OUT: Ticketed Event–Ruth Ware
St. Louis County Library Foundation and The Novel Neighbor Present
An Evening with #1 Bestselling Suspense Author
Ruth Ware
Author of “Zero Days”
Ethical Society of Saint. Louis
9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO 63117
314-994-3300
INDIVIDUAL TICKET $35 (Admits ONE and includes one copy of “Zero Days”)
OR
PACKAGE TICKET $40 (Admits TWO and includes one copy of “Zero Days”)
A book signing line will follow the presentation.
Internationally bestselling author of “The It Girl” and “The Woman in Cabin 10,” Ruth Ware presents her latest adrenaline-fueled thriller that combines “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with “The Fugitive.” Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack is the best penetration specialist in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect–her.
Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite starting at 9:00 a.m. on May 5. Seating will be offered on a first come, first served basis.
Books provided by The Novel Neighbor.