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Week of February 23, 2026

New in Paperback

Week of February 23, 2026

Paperback releases for the week of February 23rd include GRAVE DANGER, an edgy thriller from James Grippando that finds criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck defending a single mother accused of kidnapping her own child in a perilous case involving politics and international diplomacy that will test his legal expertise and his marriage; WHAT HAPPENED TO THE McCRAYS? by Tracey Lange, a poignant story about the resilience of family, the importance of community, and the magic of middle-school hockey; Olivia Campbell's SISTERS IN SCIENCE, the extraordinary true story of four female pioneers in physics during World War II and their daring escape out of Nazi Germany; and RAISING HARE by Chloe Dalton, a fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, loss and our relationship with the natural world, explored through the story of one woman’s unlikely friendship with a wild hare.

And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison - Romantic Comedy

February 24, 2026

Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover a historic snowstorm, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together. Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal: If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With unexplored chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship. But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm?

Back After This by Linda Holmes - Romantic Comedy

February 24, 2026

After a disastrous relationship with a colleague who stole her heart and her ideas, podcaster Cecily Foster has put romantic love on hold. When the boss who’s disappointed her again and again finally offers her the chance to host her own show, she wants to be thrilled. But the show will be about Cecily’s dating life, and she has to follow the guidance of influencer and newly minted relationship coach Eliza Cassidy. Once she’s committed to 20 blind dates of Eliza’s choosing, Cecily finds herself unable to stop thinking about Will, a photographer she helped to rescue a lost dog. Even though there are sparks between the two, Will’s own path is uncertain, and Eliza’s skeptical comments about Cecily’s decision-making aren’t helping. As Cecily struggles to balance the life she truly desires and the one Eliza wants to create for her, she finds herself at a crossroads.

Boy by Nicole Galland - Historical Fiction

February 24, 2026

Alexander “Sander” Cooke is the most celebrated “boy player” in the Chamberlain’s Men, William Shakespeare’s theatre company. Indeed, Sander’s androgynous beauty and deft portrayal of female roles have made him the toast of London. Often, he wishes he could stop time and remain a boy forever. Joan Buckler, Sander’s best friend, is whip-smart and fascinated by the snippets of natural philosophy to which she’s been exposed. As a woman, she has no place in the intellectual salons and cultural community of the day. Only in disguise can she learn to her heart’s content. Joan’s covert intellectual endeavors, coupled with Sander’s theatrical triumphs, attract the attention of none other than Francis Bacon. Their lives will be changed forever as they become embroiled in an intricate game of political intrigue that threatens their very survival.

Bronshtein in the Bronx by Robert Littell - Historical Fiction

February 24, 2026

January 12, 1917: An ocean liner docks in New York Harbor. Among the disembarking emigrants is Lev Davidovich Bronshtein --- better known by his nom de guerre, Leon Trotsky. Bronshtein has been on the run for a decade, driven from his beloved Russia after escaping political exile in Siberia. He lives for --- and is ready to sacrifice his life for --- a workers’ revolution, at any cost. But is he ready to become an American? In the weeks leading up to the February Revolution that eventually will see Lenin’s Bolsheviks seize power, Bronshtein haunts the streets, newspaper offices and socialist watering holes of New York City, wrestling with the difficult questions of his personal revolutionary ideology, his place in his own family, his relationship to Lenin, and, above all, his conscience.

Crush by Ada Calhoun - Romance

February 24, 2026

She’s happy and settled and productive and content in her full life --- a child, a career, an admirable marriage, deep friendships, happy parents, and a spouse she still loves. But when her husband urges her to address what the narrow labels of “husband” and “wife” force them to edit out of their lives, the very best kind of hell breaks loose. Using Ada Calhoun’s personal experiences as a jumping-off point, CRUSH is about the danger and liberation of chasing desire, the havoc it can wreak, and, most of all, the clear sense of self one finds when the storm passes.

The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O'Connor - Historical Thriller

February 24, 2026

In the final, perilous months of WWII, a secret network known as The Choir smuggles thousands out of Nazi-occupied Rome via a route known only as the Escape Line. But when a wounded airman falls from the sky, the entire operation is thrown into jeopardy. From the Vatican, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty struggles to maintain the fragile network as the ruthless SS Commander Paul Hauptmann closes in. Enter Contessa Giovanna Landini, a bold and defiant member of the Resistance whose actions will tip the balance of power. But in whose favor?

The Girl and the Gravedigger written by Oliver Pötzsch, translated by Lisa Reinhardt - Historical Mystery

February 24, 2026

Vienna, 1894. Augustin Rothmayer, the oddball gravedigger from Vienna’s Central Cemetery, is approached by Inspector Leopold von Herzfeldt with an unusual favor: he needs Augustin to teach him everything he knows about preserving a dead body, information vital to a new investigation. Opening an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, employees of Vienna’s Museum of Art History have discovered the well- (and quite recently) preserved body of Alfons Strössner, famed professor of Egyptology. Some believe that the professor was the victim of an ancient curse. But neither Rothmayer nor von Herzfeldt give credence to such superstitious rumors. They are certain it was murder. The trail to unmask a killer leads them to fin-de-siecle Vienna’s unscrupulous upper class and to some eccentric and unusual places, including “mummy parties” and human zoos.

The Good Mother Test by Michael R. French - Fiction

February 23, 2026

When Emily, a bright but impulsive UCLA student, gives birth to her daughter Violet, she vows to be the kind of mother she never had. But as Violet grows into a gifted and unpredictable child, Emily’s instinct-driven parenting collides with a world obsessed with achievement, social expectations and expert advice. When Violet’s father, Doug, reenters her life --- now in a relationship with Amanda Hoenig, a respected family therapist --- an uneasy triangle begins to form. What starts as an amicable co-parenting arrangement turns into a psychological tug-of-war over Violet’s future. Emily’s intuition and Amanda’s professional authority clash as everyone insists they are fighting for the same thing: what is best for the child. Violet has her own opinions about this.

Grave Danger: A Jack Swyteck Novel by James Grippando - Legal Thriller

February 24, 2026

Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk. Everything in this case isn’t what it seems, though, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case? Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is.

I Would Die for You by Sandie Jones - Psychological Thriller

February 24, 2026

California, 2011: A writer knocks on Nicole Forbes’ door asking for her personal insight into the downfall of the biggest British band of the 1980s. The same day, her daughter goes missing. The school claims her aunt picked her up…but she doesn’t have an aunt. Convinced of a link between the two, Nicole is forced to revisit long-abandoned memories from her past to protect everything she now holds dear. London, 1986: Sixteen-year-old Cassie is obsessed with Secret Oktober, the hottest band of the moment. Harboring an intense crush on the leading man, Ben Edwards, she will do anything she can to capture his attention. But when Ben discovers her older sister, Nicole, singing at a local bar one night, he can’t help but feel drawn to her, setting in motion a collision course that could tear their family apart.

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen - Mystery/Thriller

February 24, 2026

Forty years ago, a young woman and her infant daughter were found buried in the cold Icelandic snow. The mother’s throat had been slashed and the infant drowned. The case was never solved. Just a suspicion turned into a certainty: the husband did it. When he took his son and fled halfway across the world to California, it was proof enough of his guilt. Now, nearly half a century later and a year after his death, his granddaughter, Agnes, accepts true crime expert Nora Carver’s invitation to be interviewed for her popular podcast and hops on a flight to the remote town of Bifröst, Iceland. She wants to clear her grandfather’s name once and for all. Is it merely coincidence that a local girl goes missing the very same weekend Agnes arrives? Suddenly, Agnes and Nora’s investigation is turned upside down, and everyone in the small Icelandic town is once again a suspect.

Mickey & Billy: The Glory and Tragedy of a Yankee Friendship by Tony Castro - Sports/Biography

February 24, 2026

Through meticulous research and exclusive interviews with the late Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin --- and those who knew them best --- journalist and historian Tony Castro reveals the double-edged sword of their friendship: how the New York Yankees legends, an inseparable duo, epitomized the swagger and spirit of their era while paying the price for fame’s excesses. While leading a 1950s Yankees dynasty, they lived life at full throttle: wild partying, barroom brawls and run-ins with the law. As the years wore on, the very traits that made Mantle and Martin extraordinary figures exacted a heavy price, but in MICKEY & BILLY, we see that their friendship was the saving grace. Only together could Mickey and Billy face life’s next difficult pitch.

Playworld by Adam Ross - Fiction

February 24, 2026

Griffin Hurt is in over his head. Between his role as Peter Proton on the hit TV show “The Nuclear Family” and the pressure of high school at New York's elite Boyd Prep --- along with the increasingly compromising demands of his wrestling coach --- he's teetering on the edge of collapse. Then comes Naomi Shah, 22 years Griffin’s senior. Unwilling to lay his burdens on his shrink --- whom he shares with his father, mother and younger brother, Oren --- Griffin soon finds himself in the back of Naomi’s Mercedes sedan, again and again, confessing all to the one person who might do him the most harm.

Pro Bono by Thomas Perry - Thriller

February 24, 2026

Los Angeles attorney Charles Warren has dedicated his career to aiding people in financial straits. He is particularly skilled at the art of recovering assets that have been embezzled or hidden. In his newest case, helping a beautiful young widow find the money missing from her late husband’s investment accounts, Charlie recognizes a familiar scheme --- one that echoes the con job that targeted his own widowed mother many years before and led him, as a teenager, to commit a crime of retribution that still weighs on his conscience. He can’t get the present case out of his mind, but within hours of starting his investigation, he is followed, shot at and has his briefcase stolen. As Charlie continues to pursue answers, he quickly becomes too entangled in the web of fraud, betrayal and career criminals surrounding the theft to escape its deadly snare.

Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton - Memoir

February 24, 2026

Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention. Imagine that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it, slept in your house for hours on end, and gave birth to leverets in your study. For political advisor and speechwriter Chloe Dalton, who spent lockdown deep in the English countryside, far away from her usual busy London life, this became her unexpected reality. RAISING HARE chronicles their journey together, while also taking a deep dive into the lives and nature of hares, and the way they have been viewed historically in art, literature and folklore.

Robert B. Parker's Buried Secrets: A Jesse Stone Novel by Christopher Farnsworth - Mystery

February 24, 2026

Chief of Police Jesse Stone is on his way home from a long shift when a call comes in for a welfare check on an elderly resident of the wealthy seaside town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Inside a house packed with junk and trash is a man’s dead body. It’s a sad, lonely end, but nothing criminal…until Jesse finds the photos of murder victims strewn around the corpse, on top of a treasure trove of $2 million in cash. Jesse takes on the case and finds a trail leading to an aging mobster who will do whatever it takes to keep the past from coming to light. Before long, Jesse has a price on his head as hit men converge on Paradise to take back the cash and destroy any remaining evidence. But the real danger might be coming from inside his own department.

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne by Ron Currie - Literary Thriller

February 24, 2026

Babs Dionne --- proud Franco-American, doting grandmother, and vicious crime matriarch --- rules her small town of Waterville, Maine, with an iron fist. She controls the flow of drugs into Little Canada with the help of her loyal lieutenants, girlfriends since they were teenagers, and her eldest daughter, Lori, a Marine vet struggling with addiction. When a drug kingpin discovers that his numbers are down in the upper northeast, he sends a malevolent force, known only as The Man, to investigate. At the same time, Babs' youngest daughter, Sis, has gone missing, which doesn't seem at all like a coincidence. In 24 hours, Sis will be found dead, and the whole town will seek shelter from Babs’ wrath.

Scorched Earth: A Jonathan Grave Thriller by John Gilstrap - Political Thriller

February 24, 2026

Disgraced U.S. President Darmond has been ousted from office, but his minions have taken aim at everyone they perceive to be enemies. Off-the-record contractors on a secret list are being eliminated, one by one. Jonathan Grave and his Security Solutions team manage to turn the tables when the assassins come for them. But the ultimate attack will strike deep at the heart of what’s best about American values. High-tech weapons, terror-driven fanatics and top-level betrayal shred the peace of a peaceful gathering in the rolling hills of rural North Carolina. In this showdown, the winner will take all.

Six Little Words by Sally Page - Fiction

February 24, 2026

Kate gave up her dreams of being a painter years ago. But six little words pinned to the noticeboard of her local café could change her path forever. "To be, or not to be..." --- printed on an orange card with no explanation --- appears one morning. Each day, a new line from a different Shakespeare play is added, sparking curiosity throughout the café. Among the regulars is Bardy, a retired English teacher grappling with writer's block. As Kate and Bardy follow this breadcrumb trail, they discover a local community group encouraging people to rediscover their own creative spark --- and the long-lost courage to chase it. For Kate, their new group might just offer a second chance at happiness, if only Bardy can find the strength to share his story too.

Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History by Olivia Campbell - History

February 24, 2026

In the 1930s, Germany was a hotbed of scientific thought. But after the Nazis took power, Jewish and female citizens were forced out of their academic positions. Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer and Hildegard Stücklen were eminent in their fields, but they had no choice but to flee due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments. Their harrowing journey out of Germany became a life-and-death situation that required Herculean efforts of friends and other prominent scientists. Lise fled to Sweden, where she made a groundbreaking discovery in nuclear physics, and the others fled to the United States, where they brought advanced physics to American universities. No matter their destination, each woman revolutionized the field of physics when all odds were stacked against them, galvanizing young women to do the same.

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker - Fiction

February 24, 2026

A year after her child is born, Jane suffers a series of strange episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations and an inexplicable sense of dread. Three days after her first visit to a psychiatrist, Jane suddenly goes missing. A day later she is found unconscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, in the midst of what seems to be an episode of dissociative fugue. When she comes to, she has no memory of what has happened to her. Are Jane’s strange experiences the result of being overwhelmed by motherhood, or are they manifestations of a long-buried trauma from her past? Why is she having visions of a young man who died 20 years ago and who warns her of a disaster ahead? Jane’s symptoms lead her psychiatrist ever deeper into the farthest reaches of her mind and cause him to question everything he thinks he knows about so-called reality --- including events in his own life.

The Talent by Daniel D'Addario - Fiction/Humor

February 24, 2026

As Hollywood prepares for its most glamorous evening, five actresses compete to see who will claim the top prize. Adria, a dignified and highly regarded grand dame of the movie industry, is intent on cementing her legacy as one of the greatest thespians of all time. Bitty must keep a nervous breakdown --- and an increasingly debilitating alcohol addiction --- at bay as she searches for genuine closeness in an unforgiving landscape. Contessa, a former child star, is determined to make the world, and her leading man, take her seriously. Davina attempts to find her footing in superficial Los Angeles, a far cry from her roots as a serious London stage actress. And Jenny --- always the underdog to her rival, Adria --- sees this awards season as her personal redemption, a chance to atone for past mistakes and make up for missed opportunities.

Ted Bell's Monarch: An Alex Hawke Novel by Ryan Steck - Thriller/Adventure

February 24, 2026

Following a successful but costly mission to destroy an enemy outpost in Antarctica, Alex Hawke is looking forward to some quiet time at Teakettle Cottage, his home in Bermuda, along with his family. But he's not a man who can avoid trouble. Former Chief Inspector of Scottland Yard Ambrose Congreve calls him with stunning news. Just days away from a controversial vote threatening to tear the United Kingdom apart at the seams, King Charles has disappeared while vacationing at Balmoral Castle. The prime minister believes she can keep the news quiet for no more than 72 hours. After that, Britain will be plunged into chaos. With the fate of the kingdom hanging in the balance, it's up to Lord Hawke to find and rescue the missing monarch before it's too late.

What Happened That Night by Nicci French - Psychological Thriller

February 24, 2026

Tyler Green, convicted of murdering his friend, Leo, at a student house party in 1993, has been released after almost three decades in prison. He has always protested his innocence. On a warm evening in London, Tyler summons eight of his university friends who were present on that fateful night. Is it just a reunion --- or something else? With wine --- and accusations --- flowing liberally, the reunion descends into violent chaos, and one friend will end the night with their throat slit in the upstairs bedroom…the same way that Leo’s was in 1993. When Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor gets called to investigate, she has her own doubts about Tyler’s guilt, despite what his old friends, the rest of the Metropolitan Police Force, and even the Home Secretary would like her to believe.

What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange - Fiction

February 24, 2026

When Kyle McCray gets word that his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, he returns to his hometown of Potsdam, New York. Kyle left suddenly two-and-a-half years ago, abandoning people who depended on him: his father, his employees, his friends --- not to mention Casey, his wife of 16 years and a beloved teacher in town. He plans to lie low and help his dad recuperate until he can leave again. The longer he’s home, the more Kyle understands the impact his departure has had on the people he left behind. When he’s presented with an opportunity for redemption as the coach of the floundering middle-school hockey team, he begins to find compassion in unexpected places. Kyle even considers staying in Potsdam, but that’s only possible if he and Casey can come to some kind of peace with each other.

When We Grow Up by Angelica Baker - Fiction

February 24, 2026

Married to the love of her life, with a major deal for her first novel, Clare has everything she thought she wanted. So then why does it all feel so wrong? When she agrees to a weeklong vacation with five of her oldest friends, she is hoping for an escape with the people who know her best. There is Jessie, who won’t stop talking about her new boyfriend; Mac, who is trying to pretend he hasn’t outgrown the group; Kyle, the eternal peacemaker; and Renzo, who brought them all together but keeps picking fights. And then, of course, there’s Liam, the guy Clare barely has seen since high school but somehow can’t get out of her head --- or her bed. But when a terrifying news alert shatters their peace, it becomes harder to ignore how much the world has changed since they were teenagers.