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ID: 562402

Title: Retail Gangster: The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie

Author: Gary Weiss

Narrator: Richard Ferrone

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11:59:42

Language: English

Release date: 08-23-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Business & Economics, History, Non-Fiction, True Crime, Mystery, Thriller & Horror, North America, Sales & Retail

Summary:

A biography of the spectacular rise and fall of Eddie Antar, better known as "Crazy Eddie," whose home electronics empire changed the world even as it turned out to be one of the biggest business scams of all time

Back in the fall of 2016 we heard the news about the passing of Eddie Antar, "Crazy Eddie" as he was known to millions of people, the man behind the successful chain of electronic stores and one of the most iconic ad campaigns in history. Few things evoke the New York of a particular era the way "Crazy Eddie! His prices are insaaaaane!" does. The journalist Herb Greenberg called his death the "end of an era" and that couldn't be more true. What's insane is that his story has never been told.

Before Enron, before Madoff, before The Wolf of Wall Street, Eddie Antar's corruption was second to none. The difference was that it was a street franchise, a local place that was in the blood stream of everyone's daily life in the 1970s and early '80s. And Eddie pulled it off with a certain style, an in your face blue collar chutzpah. Despite the fact that then U.S. Attorney Michael Chertoffcalled him "the Darth Vader of capitalism" after the extent of the fraud was revealed, one of the largest SEC frauds in American history after Crazy Eddie's stores went public in 1984, Eddie was talked about fondly by the people who worked for him. They still do--there are myriads of ex-Crazy Eddie employee web pages that still attract fans, and the Crazy Eddie fraud scheme is now taught in every business school across the United States. 

Many years have passed since the franchise went down in spectacular fashion but Crazy Eddie's moment has endured the way that iconic brands and characters do--one only need Google the media outpouring that accompanied his death. Maybe it's because it crystallized everything about 1970s New York almost perfectly, the merchandise and rise of consumer electronics (stereos!), the ads (cheesy!), the money (cash!). In Retail Gangster, investigative journalist Gary Weiss takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most unbelievable business scam stories of all time, a story spanning continents and generations, reaffirming the old adage that the truth is often stranger than fiction.

 

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 562404

Title: Overkill

Author: Sandra Brown

Narrator: Kyf Brewer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10:11:00

Language: English

Release date: 08-16-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

Summary:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown delivers a riveting thriller where a conflict of conscience for a former football star and an ambitious state prosecutor swiftly intensifies into a fight for their lives.

 

Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger hasn’t seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for some time—not since their volatile marriage imploded—so he’s shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he—despite their divorce—has medical power-of-attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the responsibility and the glare of public scrutiny, Zach ultimately walks away, letting Rebecca's parents have the final say.

 

Four years later, Rebecca's attacker, Eban—the scion of a wealthy family in Atlanta—gets an early release from prison. The ludicrous miscarriage of justice reeks of favoritism, and Kate Lennon, a brilliant state prosecutor, is determined to put him back behind bars. Rebecca’s parents have kept her alive all these years, but if her condition were to change—if she were to die—Eban could be retried on a new charge: murder.

 

It isn’t lost on Zach that in order for Eban to be charged with Rebecca’s murder, Zach must actually be the one to kill her. He rejects Kate’s legal standpoint but can’t resist their ill-timed attraction to each other. Eban, having realized the jeopardy he’s in, plots to make certain that neither Zach nor Kate lives to see the death of Rebecca—and the end of his freedom. 

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 571288

Title: Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis

Author: Beth Macy

Narrator: Beth Macy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10:31:33

Language: English

Release date: 08-16-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Business & Economics, Non-Fiction, Law, Business Development

Summary:

A “deeply reported, deeply moving” (Patrick Radden Keefe) account of everyday heroes fighting on the front lines of the overdose crisis, from the New York Times bestselling author of Dopesick (inspiration for the Peabody Award-winning Hulu limited series) and Factory Man.

Nearly a decade into the second wave of America's overdose crisis, pharmaceutical companies have yet to answer for the harms they created. As pending court battles against opioid makers, distributors, and retailers drag on, addiction rates have soared to record-breaking levels during the COVID pandemic, illustrating the critical need for leadership, urgency, and change. Meanwhile, there is scant consensus between law enforcement and medical leaders, nor an understanding of how to truly scale the programs that are out there, working at the ragged edge of capacity and actually saving lives.

Distilling this massive, unprecedented national health crisis down to its character-driven emotional core as only she can, Beth Macy takes us into the country’s hardest hit places to witness the devastating personal costs that one-third of America's families are now being forced to shoulder. Here we meet the ordinary people fighting for the least of us with the fewest resources, from harm reductionists risking arrest to bring lifesaving care to the homeless and addicted to the activists and bereaved families pushing to hold Purdue and the Sackler family accountable. These heroes come from all walks of life; what they have in common is an up-close and personal understanding of addiction that refuses to stigmatize—and therefore abandon—people who use drugs, as big pharma execs and many politicians are all too ready to do. 

Like the treatment innovators she profiles, Beth Macy meets the opioid crisis where it is—not where we think it should be or wish it was. Bearing witness with clear eyes, intrepid curiosity, and unfailing empathy, she brings us the crucial next installment in the story of the defining disaster of our era, one that touches every single one of us, whether directly or indirectly. A complex story of public health, big pharma, dark money, politics, race, and class that is by turns harrowing and heartening, infuriating and inspiring, Raising Lazarus is a must-read for all Americans.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 562403

Title: Gangland

Author: Chuck Hogan

Narrator: Justin Price

Format: Unabridged

Length: 09:34:15

Language: English

Release date: 08-02-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Mystery, Thriller & Horror, Historical

Summary:

In this "masterly" thriller from the acclaimed author of The Town, the right‑hand man of one of the most infamous mob bosses in American history goes on a dangerous mission (New York Times Book Review).

In the late 1970s, The Outfit, led by Tony Accardo, has the entire city of Chicago in its grip. When the bracelet he bought his wife is stolen in a jewelry heist, Tony has his  loyal soldier Nicky Passero track it down—by whatever means necessary. What Accardo doesn't know: Nicky has a secret which has made his life impossible and has put him in the pocket of the FBI.

Based on the true story of Tony Accardo, the longest‑reigning mob capo in history, Gangland is a Shakespearean drama of integrity, lost honor, and revenge. Gritty and action‑packed, it is Chuck Hogan's most thrilling novel yet.

 

2023 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel and a New York Times Best Crime Novel of 2022 

 

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 511913

Title: Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World's First Modern Computer

Author: Kathy Kleiman

Narrator: Erin Bennett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 07:53:34

Language: English

Release date: 07-26-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: History, Biography & Memoir, Science & Technology, World, Women

Summary:

Discover a fascinating look into the lives of six historic trailblazers in this World War II-era story of the American women who programmed the world's first modern computer.

After the end of World War II, the race for technological supremacy sped on. Top-secret research into ballistics and computing, begun during the war to aid those on the front lines, continued across the United States as engineers and programmers rushed to complete their confidential assignments. Among them were six pioneering women, tasked with figuring out how to program the world's first general-purpose, programmable, all-electronic computer—better known as the ENIAC—even though there were no instruction codes or programming languages in existence. While most students of computer history are aware of this innovative machine, the great contributions of the women who programmed it were never told—until now. 

Over the course of a decade, Kathy Kleiman met with four of the original six ENIAC Programmers and recorded extensive interviews with the women about their work. Proving Ground restores these women to their rightful place as technological revolutionaries. As the tech world continues to struggle with gender imbalance and its far-reaching consequences, the story of the ENIAC Programmers' groundbreaking work is more urgently necessary than ever before, and Proving Ground is the celebration they deserve.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 556990

Title: Old Country

Author: Harrison Query, Matt Query

Narrator: Juliette Goglia, Kiff Vandenheuvel

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12:44:46

Language: English

Release date: 07-26-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller & Horror, Paranormal, Psychological

Summary:

In this terrifyingly twisted thriller, a young couple discovers the horror held within their newly purchased dream house.

 

It’s the house of their dreams. Former marine Harry and his wife, Sasha, have packed up their life and their golden retriever, Dash, and fled the corporate rat race to live off the land in rural Idaho. Their breathtaking new home sits on more than forty acres of meadow, aspen trees, and pine forest in the Teton Valley. Even if their friends and family think it’s a strange choice for an up-and-coming pair of urban professionals, Harry and Sasha couldn’t be happier about the future they’re building, all by their lonesome.

That is, until their nearest neighbors, Dan and Lucy Steiner, come bearing more than housewarming gifts. Dan and Lucy warn Harry and Sasha of a malevolent spirit that lives in the valley, one that with every season will haunt them in fresh, ever-more-diabolical ways. At first, it seems like an old wives’ tale. But when spring arrives, so does the first evil manifestation, challenging everything Harry and Sasha thought they knew about the world.

As each season passes, the spirit grows stronger, the land more sinister, and each encounter more dangerous. Will Harry and Sasha learn the true meaning of a forever home before it’s too late? Haunting and bone-chilling, Old Country is a spellbinding debut in the horror genre.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 556985

Title: Confidently You

Author: Joyce Meyer

Narrator: Jodi Carlisle

Format: Unabridged

Length: 02:45:15

Language: English

Release date: 07-26-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Counseling & Inspirational

Summary:

Live boldly in the love of Christ with Bible teacher and #1 New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer.  What keeps women from feeling and being their best? For years, Joyce has been helping women better identify emotional barriers and physical, mental, and spiritual obstacles in their lives. Now she provides another answer: Confidence.

Our society has an insecurity epidemic. Women in particular compensate by pretending to be secure--a common response--which only leads to feelings of shame. Lack of self-confidence causes great difficulty in relationships of all kinds, and can even lead to divorce.

In Confidently You, Joyce explores the characteristics of a woman with confidence, which include a woman who knows she is loved, who refuses to live in fear, and who does not live by comparisons. Joyce explains that confidence stems from being positive in your actions and living honestly, but most importantly from having faith in God and in ourselves.  Derived from material previously published in The Confident Woman.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 511897

Title: Going Public: How Silicon Valley Rebels Loosened Wall Streets Grip on the IPO and Sparked a Revolution

Author: Dakin Campbell

Narrator: Brian Troxell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11:47:47

Language: English

Release date: 07-26-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Business & Economics, Marketing & Advertising, Accounting & Finance, Business Development

Summary:

A behind-the-scenes tour of the high-stakes world of IPOs and how a visionary band of startup executives, venture capitalists, and maverick bankers has launched a crusade to upend the traditional IPO as we know it.

GOING PUBLIC is a character-driven narrative centered on the last five years of unparalleled change in how technology startups sell shares to the public. Initial public offerings, or IPOs, are typically the first time retail investors can own a piece of the New Economy companies promising to rewire economic rules. Selling IPOs is also one of the most profitable businesses for Wall Street investment banks, who have spent the last 40 years protecting their profits. In an era when algorithms and software have made the financial markets more efficient, the pricing of IPOs still relies on human judgment.

 

In 2018, executives at music-streaming service Spotify sought to upend the status quo. Led by a trim and understated CFO, Barry McCarthy, and a shy but brilliant founder, Daniel Ek, they took a wild idea and forged something new. GOING PUBLIC explores how they got comfortable with the risk, and how they lobbied securities watchdogs and exchange staff to rewrite the regulations. Readers will meet executives at disruptive companies like Airbnb, DoorDash, venture capitalists, and even some bankers who seized on Spotify’s labor and used it to knock Wall Street bankers off the piles of fees they’d been stacking for so long.

 

GOING PUBLIC weaves in earlier attempts to rethink the IPO process, introducing readers to one of Silicon Valley’s earliest bankers, Bill Hambrecht, whose invention for selling shares online was embraced by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they auctioned their shares in 2004. And it examines the recent boom in blank-check companies, those Wall Street insider deals that have suddenly become the hottest way to enter the public markets. GOING PUBLIC tells stories from inside the room, and more.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 546658

Title: Godparent Trap

Author: Rachel Van Dyken

Narrator: Jacob York, Maria Liatis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 07:12:53

Language: English

Release date: 07-19-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Romance, Rom-Com, Contemporary

Summary:

Life's Too Short meets The Unhoneymooners in this sparkling, steamy, and swoon-worthy novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken, in which two sworn enemies must share house, home—and maybe their hearts—when they become co-parents after a sudden loss.

Colby's living her best life: as a popular food blogger, she gets to fulfill her dreams of exploring the globe. But her world comes crashing down when a tragic accident leaves her co-guardian of her best friend's two adorable children. Not only does she need to put down roots—fast—but she'll be sharing custody with the one man she can't stand sharing a continent with, let alone a house.  

Accountant-extraordinaire Rip values rules and plans. But when he loses his sister and his best friend and becomes an insta-guardian all in one night, Rip sees his organized life imploding. What he really doesn't need is his sister's irresponsible, flighty—albeit kind and gorgeous—best friend making it worse.

Rip doesn't trust Colby to take their new responsibilities seriously, while Colby can't believe Rip thinks children will thrive under his rigid control. Yet soon Rip and Colby discover they need each other more than they hate each other. Could it be possible that following their hearts is just what their new little family needs?

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 556982

Title: Hokuloa Road: A Novel

Author: Elizabeth Hand

Narrator: Kaleo Griffith

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12:05:17

Language: English

Release date: 07-19-22

Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA

Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller & Horror, Detective Stories, Paranormal

Summary:

A young man is drawn into the dark side of paradise in this haunting and "perfectly crafted" mystery (Grady Hendrix), about the eerie secrets of one Hawai’ian island—and the lengths some will go to keep them.

On a whim, Grady Kendall applies to work as a live-in caretaker for a luxury property in Hawaiʻi, as far from his small-town Maine life as he can imagine. Within days he's flying out to an estate on remote Hokuloa Road, where he quickly uncovers a dark side to the island’s idyllic reputation: it has long been a place where people vanish without a trace.

When a young woman from his flight becomes the next to disappear, Grady is determined—and soon desperate—to figure out what's happened to Jessie, and to all those staring out of the island’s “missing" posters. But working with Raina, Jessie’s fiercely protective best friend, to uncover the truth is anything but easy, and with an inexplicable and sinister presence stalking his every step, Grady can only hope he'll find the answer before it's too late.

Perfect for fans of Peter Heller and The White Lotus, and from award-winning writer Elizabeth Hand, a master of crime fiction known for her magnetic characters, seductive prose, and fearless excavations into the darkest corners of our world, comes a chilling and illuminating new novel about a place unlike any other—and the deadly cost of keeping it so.

"Set in a Hawaii so vividly imagined I'm still shaking sand out of my shoes."—Grady Hendrix

“Twisty and dark . . . easily one of the best thrillers I've read.” —Rachel Hawkins

 

“This is the perfect book for your summer beach bag—an evocative mystery set in a tropical island paradise . . . I was completely enthralled!” —Jason Rekulak

  

 

Contact: [email protected]