Boswell events for week of February 24 - Mark Greaney with Nick Petrie, Mary Kubica at Lynden, poet David Southward, Michael Zapata's genre-bending novel, Mark Rader's Indie's Introduce pick

Here's what's happening with Boswell this coming week.

Monday, February 24, 7 pm, at Boswell
Mark Greaney, author of One Minute Out: Gray Man V9, in conversation with Nick Petrie

New York Times bestseller Mark Greaney, author of Mission Critical and a coauthor of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels, visits Boswell with his latest high-stakes thriller featuring the world's most dangerous assassin. He’ll chat with Nick Petrie, Milwaukee author of the Peter Ash series.

Is it ever the wrong time to do the right thing? While on a mission to Croatia, Gray Man Court Gentry uncovers a human trafficking operation with a trail that leads from the Balkans all the way to Hollywood. Gentry is determined to shut it down, but his CIA handlers have other plans, and the criminal ringleader has intelligence about a potentially devastating terrorist attack on the US. The CIA won’t move until they have that intel. It’s a moral balancing act with Gentry at the pivot point.

Greaney’s Gray Man series has earned starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, which says, “Outstanding… Fans will close the book happily fulfilled and eagerly awaiting his next adventure.” And Steve Berry, bestselling author of the Cotton Malone novels, says, “Mark Greaney reigns as one of the recognized masters of action and adventure.”

Tuesday, February 25, 7 pm reception, 7:30 pm talk, at Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W Brown Deer Rd
Mary Kubica, author of The Other Mrs.

The Lynden Sculpture Garden’s Women’s Speaker Series, produced by Milwaukee Reads and cosponsored by Boswell Book Company, presents the bestselling author of The Good Girl, Pretty Baby, and Don’t You Cry. Mary Kubica will chat about her twisty new psychological thriller in which a young couple moves from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine.

Tickets cost $31, $26 for Lynden members, and include a copy of The Other Mrs., light refreshments, and admission to the sculpture garden - come early to stroll the grounds. Register at lyndensculpturegarden.org/MaryKubica or by phone at (414) 446-879. Register today, as walk-up tickets may not be available.

Sadie and Will have just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when the murder of their neighbor rocks their tiny coastal island. No one is more shaken than Sadie, who is terrified by the thought of a killer in her very own backyard. As the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery, but the more she uncovers, the more she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.

Wednesday, February 26, 7 pm, at Boswell:
David Southward, author of Bachelor’s Buttons: Poems

Southward, a member of the UWM Honors Faculty and winner of the Lorine Niedecker Prize from the Council for Wisconsin Writers, reads from and chats about his new collection of poems.

Marilyn L Taylor, former Wisconsin Poet Laureate, says, “Southward's Bachelor's Buttons offers new insights and sensations that stimulate the mind while simultaneously sharpening one's sensory perceptions. The poet's skillfully crafted and often witty verse on human subjects as disparate as Walt Whitman, Teena Marie, and the Earl of Sandwich, along with vistas as unique as the shoreline at Sanibel or the muddy banks of the Milwaukee River, plus a handful of love sonnets, ekphrastics, and considerable metrical whimsy, all combine to make this collection a uniquely memorable read.”

Thursday, February 27, 7 pm, at Boswell:
Michael Zapata, author of The Lost Book of Adana Moreau

Chicago author Zapata chats about his mesmerizing debut novel, a genre-bending literary sci-fi of storytelling, heritage, and theoretical physics. Cosponsored by UWM’s Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Cultures and Communities.

Blending the high-stakes mystery of Shadow of the Wind, the science fiction echoes of Exit West, and the lyrical signatures of Bolaño and Marquez, Zapata shines a breathtaking light on the experiences of displacement that define our nation. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau tells the story of a Latin American sci-fi writer living in exile from her home country and the lives her lost manuscript unites decades later in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Laura van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel calls Zapata’s debut “a stunner - equal parts epic and intimate, thrilling and elegiac. As the novel bounds effortlessly through time, a powerful ode to the mysteries that echo across generations, the wonder of artistic creation, and the profound unknowability of what exactly constitutes ‘reality’ emerges. Michael Zapata’s inventive, twisty plot will keep you reading through the night, and his indelible characters will make a home in your heart.”

Sunday, March 1, 3 pm, at Boswell:
Mark Rader, author of The Wanting Life

Boswell presents a special Indies Introduce event with Green Bay native Mark Rader. Rader’s stories have appeared in Glimmer Train, Epoch, The Southern Review, and he was shortlisted for an O Henry Award, and the Best American Non-Required Reading anthology.

Rader’s novel is a poignant, panoramic family drama that travels from Sister Bay, Wisconsin to Cape Cod and Rome through the intertwined stories of Father Paul, a closeted gay Catholic priest who’s dying of cancer, his sister Britta, still mourning her husband’s death, and his niece Maura, who is torn between her own husband and family and a new man.

Of the new book, Publishers Weekly says, “Fans of The Great Believers will appreciate this story of heartfelt empathy.” Booklist also offers this starred review: “With indelible images, exquisite emotional nuance, and genuine wisdom, Rader explores faith, regret, shame, fear, and, most of all, love.” Finally, Boswellian Chris Lee says, "Rader's writing is immersive. He's a writer's writer, with an eye for pinpointing the overlooked details that draw you into each scene. The Wanting Life explores the complexities of the guilt that accompanies happiness and the regret that accompanies duty in this lovely novel about the choices people make through their years and the unlived lives they leave behind."

More on Boswell's upcoming events page.