Small Game

June 1, 2022

Following a misjudged post gone nastily viral, popular mommy blogger Alex discovers that The Personal Assistant who knew too much about her has vanished, with USA Today best-selling author Belle shifting perspectives between the two (75,000-copy paperback and 10,000-copy hardcover first printing). In Small Game, a fiction debut from Braverman (Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube), survival instructor Mara lands on a reality TV show with a mixed bag of teammates hoping to win a pile of money by camping out in some undisclosed woodlands but not counting on being stranded (150,000-copy first printing). Slipped into German intelligence by the Soviets (and by Single Spy author Christie), Double Agent Alexsi Smirnoff is captured in 1943 by the British, who recruit him for their own purposes (50,000-copy first printing). In Connelly's Desert Star, LAPD detective Ren�e Ballard rejoins the force to run the newly minted Open-Unsolved Unit, where Harry Bosch volunteers so that he can pursue a psychopath who slaughtered an entire family (750,000-copy first printing). In this follow-up to Graham and Land's The Rising, high school seniors Alex Chin and Samantha Dixon must counter a threat to all humanity, signaled by the ascent of a Blood Moon over the vanished Mayan city of El Mirador (75,000-copy first printing). "Beware of The Couple at the Table nearest to yours" says the note to honeymooners Jane and William, but the tables at their swanky resort are all equidistant--New York Times best-selling Hannah's way of chilling protagonists and readers alike (50,000-copy first printing). Searching for a mountain caribou reportedly spotted in Washington State-- A Ghost of Caribou because this subspecies was thought extinct in the contiguous United States--wildlife biologist Alex Carter instead encounters environmental conflict and a murdered forest ranger; wildlife researcher Henderson follows up A Blizzard of Polar Bears (75,000-copy first printing). Living in the Soviet Union in 1973, above the Arctic Circle--Winterland, indeed--eight-year-old Anya is tapped as a promising gymnast even as she mourns her mother, who vanished after challenging state policies; following Meadows's LJ-starred I Will Send Rain (75,000-copy first printing). Having built a successful life for herself in London after being orphaned as a child in Paris, Amelie marries dashing billionaire Jed--and realizes when she's kidnapped that she feels less like The Prisoner now than she did in her marriage; from the mega-best-selling Paris (200,000-copy first printing). Grandson of action hero Doc Savage, nerdy professor Brandt Savage is pressed into a top-secret training program that re-creates him mentally and physically as The Perfect Assassin; following Patterson's first comic-book hero foray, The Shadow (250,000-copy paperback and 45,000-copy hardcover first printing). In Steadman's latest, emerging novelist Harry husband loves her husband, Edward, but he's one of the Holbecks--filthy rich and dangerous--and though he's tried to be shot of them, the couple is soon dragged into The Family Game. In Unger's Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, Hannah's rich techie brother is graciously facilitating a weekend getaway for themselves, their spouses, and another couple, but an intrusive rental host, the personal chef's creepy stories, and a sneaking suspicion that someone in the group has a vendetta put a damper on things (150,000-copy first printing).

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2022
Contestants on a survival reality show face unforeseen challenges. Like her main character, Braverman used to work for an adventure camping outfit, described in her debut memoir, Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube (2016), and her wilderness know-how is put to good use in her first novel. Mara is pretty sure she has what it takes to make it through six weeks in the great outdoors--she grew up off the grid, she teaches survival skills, she lives in a dilapidated trailer deep in the woods--and the $100,000 purse waiting at the end of the season is just what she needs to leave her boyfriend and start fresh. She's one of five people cast in Civilization, dropped by helicopter into a lake in the middle of the wilderness--they don't know where--wearing clothes that could be described as "fast-fashion prehistoric, canvas tunics and matching shorts, all dyed a dusty brown. And sandals made of thin leather, so they had to walk delicately, toe first, like girls playing fairies. The idea was that they'd find one another in the wilderness, this group of strangers, and over the course of six weeks would be tasked with building a new kind of community, something pure and sustainable and right." But before community, there's food, shelter, warmth, and wild animals to worry about--along with some unexpected elements thrown into the mix by the producer, who's a real jerk, and the crew, one of whom is sweet on Mara. Mara is willing to play that game, for what it's worth, but finds herself intensely drawn to Ashley, the only other woman in the group, clearly chosen for her magazineworthy looks rather than any scoutworthy aptitude. Braverman does a great job of developing the characters, building suspense and raising the stakes, but leaves the reader unhappily perplexed about some critical matters. A propulsive read marred by unanswered questions.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from September 26, 2022
Braverman’s spellbinding debut follows a cast of five as they film an ill-fated survival-reality series called Civilization. Mara works as an instructor at a survival-style camping school, which comes easily to her after having been raised by prepper parents. She joins Civilization hoping the prize money will improve her life. Her fellow cast members, all handpicked by the show’s producers for their archetypal value, include gorgeous, inexperienced Ashley, who wants to be famous; validation-seeking Eagle Scout Kyle; gruff carpenter Bullfrog, who hopes his estranged daughter will see him on TV; and James, who books it soon after filming begins at the show’s unidentified wilderness location. Clashes with insecure Kyle ensue, though Mara doesn’t anticipate falling for Ashley, whose sweet demeanor has a dark side. Mara also surreptitiously accepts food from Tom, a crew member who takes a shine to her. Braverman does a good job demonstrating how Mara’s expertise is constantly undermined by touchy would-be survivalists both on and off the show, and how the cast members’ relationships change once things get real and the crew mysteriously disappears. With danger setting in, the author keeps up a terrific sense of suspense about whether the crew’s abandonment is intentional. Like the best TV, readers won’t want this to end.

October 1, 2022
Mara works for a company called Primal Instinct, supervising people who seek extreme experiences in the outdoors. Homeschooled and raised in isolation, she's been prepared for this her whole life. But when she's invited to be on a new survivor-reality show, Civilization, Mara realizes just how much she has to learn about the wilderness. After jumping out of a helicopter into a remote forest, Mara finds herself among her team members: attention-seeking Ashley, sweet Eagle Scout Kyle, rugged Bullfrog, and straight-laced James. They'll be collaborating in front of the cameras, not working against one other, and they'll all be rewarded if they make it. When disaster strikes, the unlikely band must work together confronting the harrowing reality of their imminent future. As a polar adventurer, Braverman has faced her own challenges. She's written two nonfiction books about her time as a long-distance dogsledder. Her debut novel is chilling and intense, exposing the horror of a "safe" situation gone wrong. With tension and fear strung throughout, this is a perfect readalike for Erika Ferencik's The River at Night (2017).

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from September 1, 2022

DEBUT Dogsledder and nonfiction writer Braverman's (Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube) first novel skillfully blends psychological suspense with some nuanced modern-day themes, including the concept of life as a never-ending performance. With a secure job teaching outdoor survival skills and a steady long-term relationship, twentysomething Mara has created a comfortable adult life for herself after an unconventional childhood living off the grid with her activist parents. When she is asked to join the cast of a survival reality TV show, Mara sees it as a chance to win the $100,000 prize money, then earn her GED, leave her boyfriend, and start over somewhere new. On the show, her strategy is simple: remain as invisible as possible while observing the other contestants and the group's dynamics and using them to her advantage. But when the show's film crew disappears, the group's cohesion fractures, and food and supplies dwindle. Braverman draws on her extensive outdoors experience to bring alive the gritty details of the survival camp, and her characters are simultaneously engaging and terrifying as they battle nature and each other to stay alive. VERDICT This slim novel will appeal to fans of adventure and psychological fiction and would make a refreshing change for reading groups.--Kelsy Peterson

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.