Spring Reading List: Three Books Worth Checking Out

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My to-read list is never ending. However, there are three books that are near the top of the list and I think you should check them out.

One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline

Lisa Scottoline is one of my favorite authors and I love her emotional thrillers, which is why I’m looking forward to reading her newest book: One Perfect Lie. Here’s a summary of what to expect from this novel:

A handsome stranger moves to the small Pennsylvania town of Central Valley, and his name is Chris Brennan. He’s applying for a job as a teacher and varsity baseball coach at the local high school, and he looks perfect, on paper. But his name is an alias, his resume is false, and everything about him is a lie. And he has a secret plan – for which he needs a pawn on the baseball team.

Susan Sematov loves her younger son Raz, the quirky and free-spirited pitcher of the team. But Raz’s adored father died only a few months ago, and the family is grief-stricken. Secretly, Raz is looking to fill the Daddy-shaped hole in his heart.

Heather Larkin is a struggling single mother who’s dedicated to her only son Justin, the quiet rookie on the team. But Justin’s shy and reserved nature renders him vulnerable to attention, including that of a new father-figure.

Mindy Kostis is the wife of a busy surgeon and the queen bee of the baseball boosters, where her super-popular son Evan is the star catcher. But she doesn’t realize that Evan’s sense of entitlement is becoming a full-blown case of affluenza, and after he gets his new BMW, it’s impossible to know where he’s going – or whom he’s spending time with.

The lives of these families revolve around the baseball team – and Chris Brennan. What does he really want? How far will he go to get it? Who among them will survive the lethal jeopardy threatening them, from the shadows?

Enthralling and suspenseful, One Perfect Lie is an emotional thriller and a suburban crime story that will keep readers riveted to the shocking end, with killer twists and characters you won’t soon forget.

Change of Seasons: A Memoir by John Oates

I recently interviewed John Oates about his new autobiography and illustrious career, but I’ve been a fan for many years. And I look forward to checking out this music legend’s autobiography. Here’s more information about this memoir:

John Oates was born at the perfect time, paralleling the birth of rock ‘n roll. Raised in a small Pennsylvania town, he was exposed to folk, blues, soul, and R&B. Meeting and teaming up with Daryl Hall in the late 1960s, they developed a style of music that was uniquely their own but never abandoned their roots. John uncovers the grit and struggle it took to secure a recording contract with the legendary Atlantic Records and chronicles the artistic twists and turns that resulted in a DJ discovering an obscure album track that would become their first hit record. This is not your typical rock and roll story. John was focused creating great music. Along the way he achieved incredible success, battling the ever-changing pop music landscape and coming to terms with complex managerial, business, and personal challenges.

Daryl Hall and John Oates have over 20 albums together, more than 60 million records sold, and 29 Top 40 hits. They are the most successful pop duo in the world and members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And yet John’s story has never been told. Relying on his many hand-written journals, he brings to light many fascinating stories spanning his entire life with a journalist’s eye and a poet’s heart.

In Change of Seasons, John shares his highs, lows, triumphs, and failures. He takes the reader on a wild ride through all the eras, personalities and music that has shaped him into what he is.

The Adventures of the Real Tom Sawyer: A Memoir by Tom Sawyer

While covering ThrillerFest in New York City, I had the good fortune of meeting Tom Sawyer, the former head writer of Murder, She Wrote, which is one of my favorite TV shows. As you can see from the description below, Tom has had a fascinating life and his new autobiography provides us with a glimpse of what it’s like being the real-life Tom Sawyer:

He did not grow up on the Mississippi River, but he did illustrate comic strips, and he wrote produced, and directed films and television series that entertained hundreds of millions of people.

If you fondly remember Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins Onstage, Stan Drake’s The Heart of Juliet Jones, Al Capp’s Li’l Abner, or Wonder Woman (1978), Chico and the Man (1978), All in the Family (1979), or Murder, She Wrote (1993-1996), then you’ve unknowingly been a Tom Sawyer fan for decades.

Discover Tom’s multiple careers, from helping illustrate comic books at the age of twenty-two for Stan Lee, to top advertising illustrator, to award-winning filmmaker, and on through his Emmy and Edgar-nominated career in Hollywood and beyond.

This Tom Sawyer does not whitewash any fences. You will delight to his entertaining memories of Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Mary Tyler Moore, Mickey Rooney, Leonard Goldberg, Leonard Starr, Stan Drake, Al Capp, Ruth Terry, Milton Caniff, Lila Garrett, Mort Lachman, Howard Hughes, Jack Klugman, Buddy Hackett, Dick van Dyke, and Steve Lawrence.

2 thoughts on “Spring Reading List: Three Books Worth Checking Out

  1. Tom Sawyer – Malibu, CA – Novelist, screenwriter, playwright Thomas B. Sawyer was Head Writer/Showrunner of the classic CBS series, MURDER, SHE WROTE, for which he wrote 24 episodes. Edgar and Emmy-nominated, Head Writer/Showrunner or Producer/Story Editor on 15 network TV series. He has written 9 series pilots, 100 episodes, both comedy and drama. He wrote/directed/produced the feature-film cult comedy, GOSH ALICE GOODBODY. His documentary film, REUNION, was honored by the New York Film Festival, the Rochester and Edinburgh Festivals, and received national theatrical release. Tom is co-librettist/lyricist of JACK, an opera about John F. Kennedy which, backed by the Shuberts, has been performed to acclaim in the US and Europe. He is publisher of STORYBASE 2.0 writer’s software. Tom’s book, FICTION WRITING DEMYSTIFIED, and STORYBASE software are Writer's Digest Book Club Selections. The best-selling mystery/conspiracy thriller, THE SIXTEENTH MAN, about JFK's assassination, is his first novel. His latest thriller is the best-selling NO PLACE TO RUN, the first novel to make the case that 9/11 was a conspiracy. He's taught writing at UCLA, at other colleges and universities, at numerous major writers conferences, and online at Screenwriters University. www.ThomasBSawyer.com
    Tom Sawyer on said:

    Michael:

    Thanks sooo much for the lovely plug. Hope you enjoy the book!

    See you in July, I hope, at Tfest.

    Tom http://www.ThomasBSawyer.com

    On Sat, Apr 15, 2017 at 7:31 PM, Michael Cavacini wrote:

    > Michael Cavacini posted: “https://www.instagram.com/p/ > BSBbDZEB6El/?taken-by=mcavacini My to-read list is never ending. However, > there are three books that are near the top of the list and I think you > should check them out. One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline Lisa Scott” >

    • No problem, Tom! I won’t be at ThrillerFest this year because of expenses related to the wedding in September. However, I’ll be back in 2018!

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