Books By Bay Area Authors

By Lynn Carey

Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s

Jason Turbow

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March)

Remember the crazy days of baseball in the 1970s when Finley owned the Oakland A’s and drama occurred on and off the field? Bay Area author Turbow follows up on his 2011 novel “The Baseball Codes” with a deep dive into the gossipy, outrageous and sprawling history of this winning team and its legendary stars—Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue.

In This Grave Hour

Jacqueline Winspear

(Harper, March)

Good news for fans of London detective Maisie Dobbs: the 12th book in the mystery series is here. With the first taking Maisie into World War I as a nurse, this one opens on the verge of World War II with Maisie investigating the murders of Belgian refugees from 23 years earlier. As Londoners prepare for invasion, Bay Area author Winspear gives Maisie another intriguing mystery to solve.

Cut: A Medical Murder Mystery

Amy Peele 

(She Writes Press, April)

After spending 35 years in the organ donation and transplant business, Marin County’s Peele decided to write about it. In her new novel, a transplant nurse and her best friend investigate the “equity” of organ distribution which takes them on a trip across the country and into the lives of the rich and famous. In their quest for answers, both women’s lives are endangered.

How to Be Married: What I Learned From Real Women on Five Continents

Jo Piazza

(Harmony, April)

Hours after the proposal, SF journalist Piazza bought a wedding dress on her iPhone and five months later wore it down the aisle. Smart enough to know it’s not all about cake and champagne, she wanted to know how to make marriage last. Piazza and her husband traveled the world, interviewing hundreds of men and women on everything from polygamy in Kenya, open marriage in France, sex in Orthodox Israel and marital equality in Sweden. 

La Vie Rustic: Cooking and Living in the French Style

Georgeanne Brennan

(Weldon Owen, March)

James Beard Award-winning author Brennan’s newest on rustic French cooking is full of food you can whip up at home. Brennan, who lives on a farm in Northern California, weaves stories from her life in Provence with more than 100 recipes—zucchini and pine nut fritters, home-cured olives, chicken liver pate, snail-stuffed mushrooms, and lavender-pepper goat cheese.

AUTHOR GALA Two local authors join former Contra Costa Times Book Club Diva Lynn Carey in conversation at the Acalanes Author Gala on May 23 at 7:00pm. Melanie Gideon’s “Valley of the Moon” features a single mom who discovers a village in Glen Ellen caught in a time-warp caused by the 1906 earthquake. Caroline Paul’s “The Gutsy Girl, Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure,” features historical women who were doing more than cross-stitching. Del Valle Theater, 1963 Tice Valley Boulevard, WC. Tickets $15; call 925-280-3980 ext. 4133.