The Morrill Memorial Library, in partnership with Haley Booksellers, is proud to host acclaimed New England author, William Martin, on Thursday August 25 at 7:00 pm. William will discuss his newest historical thriller, "December '41", which The Historical Novel Society called, "a bullet train of thrills speeding to an unforgettable conclusion." Registration is required for this in-person event; please fill out the form below to reserve your space.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Americans, still reeling from Pearl Harbor, may have another shock coming. FDR insists on sticking with the plan to turn on the lights of the national Christmas tree in a public ceremony scheduled for December 24 on the White House lawn. But Nazi agent Martin Browning is sticking to another plan: assassinate the president just before he pulls the switch to light the tree. And, now, it looks like Browning may be able to get two for the price of one: Winston Churchill is in Washington and will be at FDR's side on the lawn. On the road to the Christmas Eve showdown, Martin concocts a devilishly complex and lusciously detail-rich thriller that winds its way from Hollywood, where script reader Kevin Cusack, who earns extra money posing as a member of the German Bund, picks up chatter about an assassination plot. Could it involve the Leslie Howard look-alike (Browning) working in a Los Angeles clothing store? Echoing Ken Follett's classic Eye of the Needle, Martin builds tension superbly while surrounding the assassin and his pursuer with a rich panoply of supporting players and backstories. (Book List Reviews)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: William Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels, a PBS documentary, book reviews, magazine articles, and a cult-classic horror movie, too. His first Peter Fallon novel, Back Bay, established him as "a master storyteller." He has been following the lives of the great and anonymous in American history ever since, taking readers from the Mayflower in Cape Cod to Ford's Theater in The Lincoln Letter to the South Tower on 9/11 in City of Dreams. Bound for Gold (2018), sweeps readers back to California in the legendary year of 1849 and "solidifies his claim as king of the historical thriller" (Providence Journal). And his latest, the "propulsive" December '41, captures the atmosphere in the United States int he weeks after Pearl Harbor. Learn more about William Martin.

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event, courtesy of Haley Booksellers.