"It’s a thrilling mystery that will leave you wondering which characters you can and can’t trust... There’s a twist at the end that still keeps us up at night, it's THAT good." —Reese Witherspoon (A Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Selection)
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB x HELLO SUNSHINE Selection
A May BOOK OF THE MONTH Selection
1 of 22 New Books to Read This Summer ( TIME )
1 of 20 New Books to Read in June ( Entertainment Weekly )
1 of 30 Exciting New Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List (Buzzfeed)
1 of 9 New Books to Read this Month ( The Guardian )
1 of 10 Books to Read in June (BBC Culture)
1 of the Best Summer Beach Reads of 2018 (The Daily Beast)
1 of 10 Crime Books to Read in June (CrimeReads)
1 of the Best Books of June 2018 (Refinery29)
1 of 25 New Thrillers You Need to Have on Your Radar This Summer (PopSugar)
1 of 9 Books We Can't Wait to Read in June (PureWow)
1 of 15 Books Coming Out...That You Don't Want to Miss (HelloGiggles)
A Best New Book of June ( Chicago Review of Books )
1 of 22 Books You Must Get Your Hands on this June (Women.com)
1 of 50 New Book Suggestions to Wow Your Book Club (PopSugar)
1 of My Top 5 Most Anticipated Reads of 2018 (PatienceRandle.com)
1 of 20 Favorite Reads of June 2018 (Read It Forward)
1 of Summer's Most Anticipated Crime, Mystery, and Thrillers (CrimeReads)
A Perfect Book to Help You While Away the Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer ( Watertown Daily Times )
Read of the Week (Mag The Weekly)
Praise for Still Lives
"[A] mysterious page turner." — TIME , 1 of 22 New Books to Read This Summer
"Mystery and murder cloud this feminist story set in the heart of Los Angeles’ art scene. When an avant-garde artist goes missing on the day her groundbreaking exhibition opens, the story spins out in many provocative directions." — Entertainment Weekly , 1 of 20 New Books to Read in June
"It’s a thrilling mystery that will leave you wondering which characters you can and can’t trust... There’s a twist at the end that still keeps us up at night, it's THAT good." — Reese Witherspoon (A Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Selection)
"A suspenseful, splashy story about fame, sex, and how our culture views women’s bodies . . . I also loved that it tackled the sticky subject of how women are portrayed in art, culture, and the media—and the consequences of those portrayals. This is a thrilling book, and a much-needed one. Read it and you’ll see what I mean." — Book of the Month
"[A] splendid art-world thriller . . . Ms. Hummel captures characters in a single stroke . . . Having herself worked in a museum, she speaks with authority of that sealed world . . . Still Lives is both savvy and lyrical—the perfect beach read for either coast." — The Wall Street Journal
"Yet while Still Lives , evidently, has a heck of a hook to draw in a wide swath of readers, the book isn’t quite the escapist thriller the bones of the plot might indicate. Indeed, it’s a provocative book that digs deeply into art’s history of depicting women brutally and fetishistically, and that probes difficult questions about Western culture’s view and treatment of women’s bodies. It manages an impressive twofer: It sucks you into a compelling story, before forcing you to contemplate the big, uncomfortable ideas it’s considering. It’s a fresh choice for Reese’s Book Club, to be sure." — Entertainment Weekly
"Reese Witherspoon's new book club pick is a dark, feminist thriller, and you're not going to want to miss it." — Bustle
"Maria Hummel's Still Lives is moody and restless, propelled by a gradually intensifying sense of unease. Hummel envelops the reader in the LA art scene... [H]er journey illuminates the misogyny which allows a culture to turn murdered women into objects for consumption." — Buzzfeed , 1 of 30 Exciting New Books to Add to your Summer Reading List
"Hummel’s fourth novel shows her genius for layering levels of meaning, and her sophisticated sense of the mercurial, sometimes corrupt art world, from dealers to wealthy patrons, including those so secretive they want to purchase work (and drive up an artist’s worth) without leaving a trail . . . Maggie’s stake in this story makes for unrelenting suspense." — BBC Culture, 1 of 10 Books to Read in June
"A delicious Los Angeles noir that combines the glitz and glamor of fine art with the grit and grime of crime and sexual objectification, Still Lives is a thought-provoking novel packaged in one hell of a mystery." — The Daily Beast, One of The Best Summer Beach Reads of 2018
"Maria Hummel’s novel is classic noir made modern." — Refinery29, One of the Best Books of June 2018
" Still Lives [is] the fast-paced feminist thriller about the L.A. art world you don't want to miss this summer . . . Still Lives is at once a gripping and entertaining mystery, and a biting cultural critique that seeks to understand our obsession with the violent deaths of beautiful women . . . Reading Still Lives is like being frozen in that feeling of fear, like being stuck in that moment right before the mysterious stranger lurches out from the darkened alley to grab you . . . Still Lives doesn't just ask why we are obsessed with female murder victims. It also asks how: how we interpret violence against women, how we consume and commodify it, and how use it as tool of oppression . . . Still Lives is a electrifying mystery, one that crackles with suspense and intrigue. But it is not just an exploration of the shady underside of the L.A. art scene, or a warning about the dangerous combination of fame, money, and sex, and it is certainly not just a titillating tale about a missing woman. Like the fictional exhibit it was named after, Still Lives is an indictment of how women's bodies are treated by a society that is determined to control and consume them, and it's so much more than a story. Because when it comes to fear, anxiety, violence, and abuse, as Maggie puts it, 'It's not a story to us,' it's an experience we face every day." — Bustle
"While Still Lives is a deeply affecting examination of how our culture fetishizes female victims of crime—be it in art, news, or publishing—it will also have readers feverishly turning pages to discover the fate of engaging characters who are more than symbols of what’s wrong or right about Los Angeles. It’s a stunning achievement for a writer who perfectly captures an outsider’s ambivalence about the city’s pluses and minuses, and most notably its sensational crimes and the dark angels we make of its victims." — Los Angeles Times
" Still Lives , both the fictional exhibit and the actual book itself, make an important statement about how our society too often fetishizes violence against women. Plus, it’s the perfect companion to this week’s other big art-centric story: Ocean’s 8." — HelloGiggles, 1 of 15 Books Coming Out This Week That You Don't Want to Miss
"[A] spellbinding new novel . . . No doubt comparisons to Raymond Chandler’s best work will rain down upon Still Lives , dotted as it is with trenchant observations of LA and the human condition. Like Chandler, Hummel is capable of limning out a ripping yarn replete with high fashion, high finance and high society . . . And not unlike another master of the mystery, Erle Stanley Gardner, Hummel includes an intellectually satisfying Perry Mason moment that also provides an interesting twist. It would be damning with faint praise to call Still Lives a contender for best beach read of the year—like calling Pablo Picasso a really good painter—but Still Lives is both that and so much more." —BookPage
"Does your book club love art, feminism, and a riveting mystery? If so, Still Lives is the ideal novel to discuss over a glass of wine and some snacks . . . Book clubs will love dissecting the gender commentary and the interpersonal relationships in Maria Hummel’s novel." — Bookish , A June Book Club Pick
"There's so much to recommend about Maria Hummel's Still Lives. It's a page-turner, for one. There's also some profound commentary on art and society—and, almost magically, she does it without sacrificing the pure story. The setting—the Los Angeles art scene—is cool, a little foreign-feeling, and really fun to read about. In a mystery, setting can lift the story to a higher realm. Such is the case in Still Lives." —Omnivoracious
"Within Still Lives , the new novel by Maria Hummel ( Motherland , Wilderness Run ), is a taut thriller with enough compelling elements for a propulsive book . . . Still Lives is an effective thriller with a delectable final 100 pages. It reaches an addictive pitch that all books of this ilk aspire to. The more Hummel settles into the plot machinations the better the novel gets, as the hazy ideological questions and confusing passages fall away . . . Hummel engages with complicated and challenging questions about the meaning and impact of art that depicts violence, and she writes a hell of an ending." — Los Angeles Review of Books
"The careful characterizations of the players . . . mean that, as the mystery unfolds to reveal them as suspects or victims, the reader feels deep empathy that comes from perceiving them as real people, not plot devices. Hummel builds visceral intimacy around 'women’s oppressive anxiety about [their] ultimate vulnerability' in this often uncomfortable tale about the media’s fetishistic fascination with the violent murders of beautiful women." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"In this taut take on noir, misogyny, and the art of responsible storytelling, Hummel ( Motherland , 2014, etc.) balances the glitz and glam of the Los Angeles art world with the town tourists don’t often see, from peeling, postwar bungalows to skid row tent cities and suffering junkies . . . This is a whip-smart mystery and a moving meditation on the consumption of female bodies all rolled into one." — Kirkus Reviews
"Hummel’s novel ultimately offers an intriguing insider’s view into a high-stakes, turbulent industry, from peculiar artists to fabulous exhibitions. With deliberate pacing increasing the tension, the story line revolving around the public’s fascination with graphic crimes against women serves as a chilling reminder that such violence continues to occur in many forms." — Library Journal
"Hummel . . . presents a polished, droll, and provocative art-world thriller . . . With a cast of strong and complicated female characters, headed by a determined, reckless, funny, and imperiled amateur sleuth, Hummel crafts a shrewd and suspenseful inquiry into womanhood and the dark side of the art market, punctuated by striking variations on identity, portraiture, and 'still lives.'" — Booklist
"The book is both murder mystery and social commentary, and likely to resonate with anyone who has tried to redefine themselves in a new city far from home . . . Though Still Lives critiques the societal obsession with violence and death, particularly death of women, it is also a story about the opportunities one gains by flinging oneself into a new environment. It's about trying on masks and deciding which to keep, or which most resembles one's own face." — Seven Days
"[A] suspenseful and profound novel . . . This suspenseful crime novel has echoes of far more profound questions than 'who done it?' though: What is the role of women in the art world? Objects? Artists? How do we view women in our society at large? What is truly dangerous? SoCal readers will appreciate Hummel’s insider view of L.A., too. Not just her portrayal of the sparkling L.A. art scene, informed by her days working at MOCA, but a deep understanding of the 'real' city: sun-bleached, peeling reality. " — Whittier Daily News , 1 of 5 Summer Beach Reads
" Still Lives offers its readers that delicious combination of entertainment and brilliance. It's at once profound and suspenseful, and while the plot kept me up nights (the ending had me gasping in surprise!), the book as a whole asks important questions about art and representation and how we, as a culture, objectify and endanger and victimize women. Maria Hummel has written a remarkable, relevant, and necessary novel." —Edan Lepucki, author of Woman No. 17 and the New York Times bestselling California
"There’s nothing I like better than a well-written page-turner about the art world, and Maria Hummel has delivered this and more with her new literary thriller, Still Lives. Flawed characters abound as do clever plots and subplots along with irresistible peeks into hidden chambers of the L.A. art scene. Riveting." —B.A. Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of The Art Forger and The Muralist
"A gripping mystery set inside the world of contemporary art, Still Lives is the kind of book we all hope to stumble upon: the perfect combination of terrific prose and compelling storytelling. Maria Hummel has delivered the smartest, most original page-turner I've read in a long time." —Maggie Shipstead, author of Astonish Me and the New York Times bestselling Seating Arrangements
“While her protagonist investigates the disappearance of a major artist, Maria Hummel runs a shrewd parallel investigation into culture, gender, violence, and art. Still Lives is a propulsive, carefully crafted mystery with real thematic focus and heft.” —Chris Bachelder, author of The Throwback Special , finalist for the National Book Award
“As gritty and glittering as the L.A. art world it depicts, Maria Hummel’s latest novel soars into the sun-swept heights of fame and beauty, then plunges us into violence. In Still Lives , Hummel does what she does best: delves with sensitivity and wit into complex, intertwined lives, lives that strain the frames that enclose them. Intelligent, vivid, and impeccably paced, this thrilling novel forces us to confront how dangerous art can be.” —Kirstin Valdez Quade, author of Night at the Fiestas
"In Still Lives , Maria Hummel delivers not only a deftly plotted mystery, but also a rich and timely meditation on violence, authenticity, and the cool and deceptive exteriors of modern Los Angeles." —Jim Gavin, author of Middle Men
Praise for Motherland: A Novel
A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2014
"Hummel's haunting novel is set in the ravaged landscape of Germany just before the country's collapse at the end of World War II…Searing and honest, her book illuminates the reality of war away from the front lines —betrayal and compromise, neighbor turning on neighbor, the unexpected heroism of ordinary people — with a compassion and depth of understanding that will touch your heart." — People Magazine , Four Stars
"…deeply researched, painstakingly written, and, above all, heartfelt." — New York Times Book Review
"Hummel's focus on the concrete, physical experiences of one family is a fine, brave antidote to abstraction, and does what good historical fiction does best: explores what has passed in those undocumented rests between the things we know to be true." — San Francisco Chronicle
"Fear, grief, and the will to survive fuse in this beautiful novel about the inner life of a German family in the final months of World War II… The humiliations and guilt that each family member endures for the others are described with grace and humanity. While stunningly intimate, Motherland is expansive in feeling and scope. Extending beyond a simple historical drama, this book is a reminder of the reach of love, how it can blind, and how it can heal." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"These characters appear to have, at best, blinders on and, at worse, to be in denial about the fate of their missing Jewish neighbors and what is actually going on at camps like Buchenwald. However, these all-too-human failings are so honestly rendered that a stark question emerges: Who among us, faced with similar circumstances, would have acted differently? Heart-rending and chilling." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This is a tender, profound novel of a young woman who steps into a shattered German family and makes it her own. The radiance of her sacrifice, and of Hummel's storytelling, illuminates this dark chapter of human history with heart and revelation." —Adam Johnson, author of The Orphan Master's Son , winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"In stunning, pitch-perfect prose, Maria Hummel gives us a deeply moving portrait of lives on the wrong side of history. This isn't just another World War II novel; it's a spectacular story about what it means to love and hope in the most difficult times." —Jesmyn Ward, author of Salvage the Bones , Winner of the National Book Award
"Through the intimate story of one German family at the end of the Second World War, Motherland weaves a universal tale of moral obligation, wartime complicity, and the lengths we will go to protect those we love. From the bare bones of her own family's history, Maria Hummel has built a visceral, magnificent creature." —Anthony Marra, author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
"Maria Hummel draws upon her family history to create a spellbinding novel that examines the many facets of motherhood, during a time of war and beyond. Motherland is a vivid, heart-stopping depiction of a German family's struggle to stay together during the devastating Allied bombing of their small town. You won't soon forget these characters or the stories they have to tell." —Susan Sherman, author of The Little Russian
"A courageous and unsettling novel arising from the questions that Maria Hummel had about her grandparents' lives during the Third Reich. How much did they know? How did they survive?" —Ursula Hegi, author of Stones from the River
"In prose that is both spare and heavily laden with the exhausted emotion of hard living, Hummel maintains a claustrophobic undercurrent of fear even when describing mundane daily tasks. Dark and uncompromising, Motherland illuminates a little-examined aspect of the war." — Booklist
"Hummel gathered her raw material from the life of her grandfather, reflected in letters written during the war and discovered in an attic wall. Just as Londoners suffered under the Blitz, German citizens spent the last year of the war living as no human being should, amid the horrors of daily air raids and the loss of those they loved. Hummel somehow manages, without sensationalism, to drive home the humanity and suffering of the people who are frequently considered only as the enemy. Without canceling out our sympathy for those targeted by the Nazis, this humane and compelling story may extend it to those who (often unwittingly) assisted in some of humanity's worst crimes—and who themselves got flicked by the tail of the beast." — BookPage
" Motherland is a moving tale of hope, compassion, and the lengths we go to for the ones we love. Petition your book club to add it to the roster." — PureWow
"Inspired by letters between her paternal grandparents towards the end of the Second World War, Motherland explores love through the unfamiliar lens of Nazi sympathizers. Romantic endeavors during wartime are not unusual by any means, but rarely are we given the chance to make sense of, and furthermore, sympathize with, a love between those finding themselves on the wrong side of history... Like Sebastian Faulk's Birdsong , Motherland is more than a story of separated lovers — it charts, with great poise and more than a little poetry, the challenges of a time when allegiances, to one side or the other, were both necessary and potentially disastrous." — Bustle
Praise for Wilderness Run: A Novel
"Maria Hummel has a way with the stuff of battle, turning the horrific sounds, sights and smells into evanescent moments of exquisite lyricism… Writing of death and drawing rooms with equal aplomb, Hummel has created an utterly devourable historical novel." — Los Angeles Times
"A gifted poet has immersed herself in the history of her home territory to write a mesmerizing first novel." —David Huddle, author of The Story of a Million Years
"A gripping debut, shot through with poetry and violence, Wilderness Run traces the demons that divide us, whether as a nation or in our hearts. At turns radiant and shocking, understated and unbearable, Wilderness Run proceeds with the force of a coming locomotive." —Nick Flynn, author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City
"This carefully wrought historical novel is rich in period detail that Civil War scholars will certainly appreciate, while its appropriately tragic romance will appeal to those looking for an absorbing read." — Booklist
"The horrors of the Civil War are the crucible of romance for two Vermont cousins in Hummel's debut, which is gracefully and evocatively written… Hummel creates solid characters while capturing the day-to-day reality of military life during the Civil War, and her well-paced, elegant prose turns especially poignant at the end." — Publishers Weekly
"Hummel's language is lyrical and vivid, and her portrayal of the everyday life of the Lindsey family and of Laurence's regiment is detailed and realistic." — Library Journal
