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Week of December 8, 2025

New in Paperback

Week of December 8, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of December 8th include GALAPHILE, Terry Brooks' triumphant return to the world of Shannara, which delves deep into the origin story of the druid order and its enigmatic creator that will change the face of the Four Lands forever; INVISIBLE HELIX by Keigo Higashino, a twisty, brilliant mystery featuring Detective Galileo, whose latest case involves hidden history and an impossible crime being linked by nearly invisible threads in surprising ways; Tessa Bickers' THE BOOK SWAP, a story of second chances and new beginnings, a love letter to books --- and a love letter to life; and the paperback original EVERYONE IN THE GROUP CHAT DIES by L.M. Chilton, a funny and thrilling page-turner about a TikTok true crime investigator, a ’90s serial killer who may not be as dead as everyone would like, a text thread from hell, and long-buried secrets that just won’t stay in the grave where they belong.

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers - Romance

December 9, 2025

Still reeling from a recent tragedy, Erin Connolly knows she needs to start living, but she has no idea how. When she accidentally donates her favorite book --- a heavily annotated copy of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD containing a memento she can’t be without --- to a local community library, she’s devastated. But then the book turns up a week later, back in the library with fresh notes in the margins, along with an invitation in a copy of GREAT EXPECTATIONS to meet her newfound pen pal. A life-changing conversation, written only in the margins of beloved classic books, begins between Erin and her Mystery Man. Following each other through the pages of their favorite novels as the book exchange continues, they both begin to open up, falling into a friendship…and maybe something more. But Erin and her pen pal have a shared history that neither of them has guessed.

Cold Storage: A Thriller of the Near Future by Michael C. Grumley - Technothriller

December 9, 2025

Technology never works well the first time. Or even the second. Army veteran John Reiff is living proof. John is revived in the back of a dilapidated ambulance, on the run from a shadowy organization that is desperate to take him back. He is the first one, their archetype, and they need to know what happened after his escape. What is happening to his body and his mind. And they need to know now. Because Reiff knows things he shouldn’t. About them and about what they are hiding. A secret that has been in cold storage for several hundred years. And the insidious, methodical plan that has been in motion for half a century. John Reiff is their key --- a problem and the solution. A lab rat gone rogue at the worst possible time. But they will find him. They have to. And they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton - Mystery & Thriller/Humor

December 9, 2025

Kirby Cornell needs a break from everything: Her crumbling apartment in the sleepy town of Crowhurst (famous for its bucolic countryside and a second-rate serial killer from the ’90s). Her dead-end job. Her sleazy landlord. Her messy roommates. And, most of all, the terrible thing they all did. Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message on their old group chat pops up: Everyone in the group chat dies. It’s the first text that her ex-roommate, Esme, has sent in ages, but that’s not the really weird thing. The really weird thing is that Esme died 12 months ago.

Galaphile: The First Druids of Shannara by Terry Brooks - Fantasy

December 9, 2025

One of the most iconic structures in the Four Lands is Paranor, the fortress home of the Druid Order. Legend holds that it was erected by an Elven leader known as Galaphile Joss. But who was this Galaphile, and how and why did he choose to establish this center of magic and learning? Within these pages we meet the real Galaphile, following him from a friendless teenage orphan stranded in the Human world to a powerful adult and master mage, studying under the infamous recluse, Cogline. Throughout it all, Galaphile’s goal is a noble one: to bring order to a chaotic world, and to make life better for those trying to survive it. To this end, he commences building the citadel that one day will be known as Paranor with the aid of the King of the Silver River. But there is one other who seeks dominion over the Four Lands --- and for far less virtuous ends.

Invisible Helix: A Detective Galileo Novel by Keigo Higashino - Mystery

December 9, 2025

The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay. But his death was no accident; Ryota Uetsuji was shot. He'd been reported missing the week before by his live-in girlfriend, Sonoka Shimauchi. But when detectives from the Homicide Squad go to interview her, she is nowhere to be found. When they learn that she was the victim of domestic abuse, they presume she was the killer. But her alibi is airtight; she was hours away in Kyoto when Ryota disappeared, forcing Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi to restart their investigation. But if Sonoko didn't kill her abusive lover, then who did? A thin thread of association leads them to their old consultant, brilliant physicist Manabu Yukawa, known in the department as "Detective Galileo." With Sonoko still missing, the detectives investigate other threads of association.

Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space: A Literary Mixtape by Rémy Ngamije - Fiction/Short Stories

December 9, 2025

ONLY STARS KNOW THE MEANING OF SPACE is presented as a literary mixtape. The A-Side, read as one narrative, tells the story of a soon-to-be 30-year-old aspiring writer navigating a complicated world. The B-Side, taken as a separate experience, features (seemingly) independent and unrelated short stories. There’s “Crunchy, Green Apples (or, Omo),” a story about loss told by the strangest of narrative devices: a shopping list. “Sofa, So Good, Sort Of (or, John Muafangejo)” is a first-person account of a family’s history and a long journey towards hope. A group of friends attempts to navigate a recent breakup in “From the Lost City of Hurtlantis to the Streets of Helldorado (or, Franco).” When read together, however, a third world emerges --- a complex, intergenerational and interconnected world exploring the universal gaping void of grief.

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick - Fiction/Magical Realism

December 9, 2025

Greta Perks was once the shining star of the iconic Maple Gold coffee commercials, the quintessential TV wife and mom. Now fame has faded, her marriage is on the rocks, her teenage daughter has become distant, and Greta’s once-glittering career feels like a distant memory. When Greta stumbles upon a mysterious coffee shop serving a magical brew, she wishes for the perfect life in those past Maple Gold commercials. Next thing she knows, Greta wakes in the idyllic make-believe town of Mapleville, where the sun always shines and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and second chances fill the air. Given the opportunity to live the life she dreamed, Greta is determined to rewrite her own script. But can life ever be like a coffee commercial? And what will happen when Greta has to choose between perfection and real life, with no turning back?