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Week of July 7, 2025

New in Paperback

Week of July 7, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of July 7th include THE BRIAR CLUB by Kate Quinn, a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C., boardinghouse during the McCarthy era; THE BRIGHT SWORD, Lev Grossman's triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium; THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOSTa heart-wrenching, life-affirming novel from Amy Neff that asks: How much would you sacrifice for the one you love?; David Ellis' THE BEST LIES, a fast-paced, unpredictable thriller featuring a crusading attorney with unthinkable skeletons in his closet who is also a diagnosed pathological liar; and the paperback original FAST BOYS AND PRETTY GIRLS by Lo Patrick, a gritty, coming-of-age, slow-burn Southern mystery with devastating characters and a twist that will leave you aching --- exposing the all-consuming, obsessive power of first love and what it can do to a person.

All We Trust by Gregory Galloway - Thriller

July 8, 2025

Peck and Al have a good thing going. The two brothers own a bar and a hardware store and make a comfortable living. They also launder money for a criminal organization. Everything is perfectly fine until Peck begins to suspect that his brother is going to betray him to the local District Attorney. Things get even more complicated between them when Al’s hard drive with millions of dollars in Crypto goes missing --- Peck was the only other person with access. What starts out as a family squabble turns into an international battle between competing crime organizations, moving from small-town New England to San Francisco to Mexico. Along the way, the brothers encounter betrayal, double-dealing, kidnapping and, ultimately, revenge.

The Anthropologists by Aysegül Savas - Fiction

July 8, 2025

Asya and Manu are looking at apartments, envisioning their future in a foreign city. What should their life here look like? What rituals will structure their days? Whom can they consider family? As the young couple dreams about the possibilities of each new listing, Asya, a documentarian, gathers footage from the neighborhood like an anthropologist observing local customs. “Forget about daily life,” chides her grandmother on the phone. “We named you for a whole continent and you're filming a park.” Back in their home countries, parents age, grandparents get sick, nieces and nephews grow up --- all just slightly out of reach. But Asya and Manu's new world is growing, too, they hope. As they open the horizons of their lives, what and whom will they hold onto, and what will they need to release?

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade - Psychological Thriller

July 8, 2025

Margot has been working 80-hour weeks as a newly minted partner at her law firm. She’s disconnected from her brother, Adam, the only family she has left. And she’s still not pregnant after years of trying. Stars Harbor Astrological Retreat promises rest, relaxation and wisdom for Margot and her friends. With Instagram-worthy views and nightly astrology readings, this getaway should be nothing but idyllic fun. For Adam, it’s the perfect opportunity to rekindle the romance that fuels his writing. But his wife, Aimee, hides the darkness of her past with a beautiful social media feed. Their friend, Farah, is a successful doctor who cannot admit that she’s losing control. Yet no one holds a greater secret than their astrologer host, Rini. She has a plan for all of her guests, and one of them won’t be leaving Stars Harbor alive.

The Best Lies by David Ellis - Thriller

July 8, 2025

Leo Balanoff is a crusading attorney with unthinkable skeletons in his closet. He's also a diagnosed pathological liar. When a predatory gangster with a long list of victims is found dead and Leo’s fingerprints show up on the murder weapon, no one believes a word he says in his defense. But he might be the FBI’s only shot at taking down the gangster's even more lethal boss. Risk his life going undercover for the feds, or head straight to prison for murder? Leo accepts the FBI’s offer --- but it comes with a price, including a collision course with his ex, Andi Piotrowski, a former cop and "the one who got away." Anyone else forced to walk this tightrope between an ambitious FBI agent and a cruel, calculating crime boss would fail. But this isn't Leo's first balancing act, and he still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn - Historical Fiction

July 8, 2025

Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendships. Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. When a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club women must decide once and for all: Who is the true enemy in their midst?

The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur by Lev Grossman - Historical Fantasy

July 8, 2025

A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place at the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left. The survivors aren’t the heroes of legend like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. But it's up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as God abandons Britain and the fairies and old gods return, led by Morgan le Fay. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again.

Darling Beasts by Michelle Gable - Fiction/Magical Realism

July 8, 2025

Gabby, Talia and Ozzie Gunn, heirs to a media empire, are in trouble. After several bad investments and one major scandal, their father is now trying to restore their family’s good name with a senatorial run. Even worse? He’s demanding they move to California to join the campaign or risk being cut off. It’s easy to say you don’t care about money when you have enough, but with mounting debts, unconventional hobbies, and, in the case of Gabby, Portum Bestiae Syndrome --- a very expensive condition in which strange symptoms arise and then an exotic animal appears --- the siblings don’t have much of a choice. But when a family secret rears its head, reopening old wounds, this new existence is thrown into chaos, and the stage is set for a long-overdue reckoning.

The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff - Fiction

July 8, 2025

In the summer of 1941, on the New England shores where they were raised, Evelyn and Joseph fell in love. Now, more than 60 years later, with a lifetime between them, they have gathered their three grown children to share the staggering news: she has received a tragic diagnosis, and he cannot live without her. So in one year’s time, they will end their lives on their own terms. As the couple comes to grips with their fate, they retrace their past --- the joys and regrets, the laughter and the sorrow --- that brought them to this moment. They embark on a journey to live out their greatest dreams and to comfort and connect with each of their children before they're gone. But as their final days draw closer, they must confront the stark reality of what they are about to do, and make peace with the legacy they will leave behind for their family.

Falling for You Again by Kerry Lonsdale - Fiction

July 8, 2025

Having already given marriage a shot --- for all of 24 hours during a Las Vegas fling --- furniture artisan Meli Hynes still made her choice. The wood-crafting shop that is her family legacy will always come first. But when her uncle decides to sell to a competitor, Meli’s promised inheritance goes belly-up. She’ll do anything to muddle the deal. Including a marriage of convenience to an unforgettable and very practical old friend --- the competitor’s son, Aaron. With a controlling family of his own, Aaron is in. After all, this isn’t the first time he and Meli got hitched on a whim. The rules of the ruse are simple: public displays of affection and live together as happy newlyweds. The hardest rule of all? Never let real feelings get in the way of what they plan to be a purely professional second time around.

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick - Mystery

July 8, 2025

Following a semi-successful career as a teen model in New York City, Danielle Greer has moved back to the mountains of North Georgia and is living in her childhood home with her husband and four daughters. One stifling, lazy afternoon, the girls are exploring the ravine behind the house when they come across a body. Danielle knows the body doesn't belong to Benji Law, a younger local misfit who she had an illicit relationship with as a teenager. No, his body was found after he was killed in a motorcycle accident on the road in front of her family's house. Danielle has a good idea who the body might be, but she doesn't know how it got there. When local police officer Cady Benson is called in to investigate, Danielle's world is turned upside down, and she's thrust back into those dark, confusing days leading up to Benji's death.

The Finer Things by J.D. Barker and Kyle Dunn - Historical Thriller

July 8, 2025

In the shadows of 1950s New York, a brilliant mind teeters on the edge of madness. Edgar Maguire's sculptures are taking the art world by storm, but behind each masterpiece lies a horrifying secret. When Fiona, the object of Edgar's lifelong obsession, reenters his life, it ignites a passion that blurs the lines between creation and destruction. As his art evolves into something terrifyingly beautiful, a trail of bodies begins to surface across the city. Detective George Snyder is closing in, but can he unravel the connection between the murders and Edgar's rising star before it's too late? 

Flashpoint: An FBI Thriller by Catherine Coulter - Thriller

July 8, 2025

A year has passed since Elizabeth Palmer was nearly killed with hundreds more in the attempted bombing of St. Paul’s in London, believed to be a terrorist act until the police discovered it was a cover for something even more sinister. With three new attempts on Elizabeth’s life, and her connection to the terrorist attack, MI-5 gets involved to find out who is trying to kill her and why. Twelve-year-old Autumn Backman begrudgingly accepts a summer job to shepherd Tash Navarro, a shy, bullied little boy. She learns that Tash is gifted psychically, like her, and Tash’s father, Archer Navarro, is suspected of embezzling from his own firm. The FBI and Interpol are on the case, but Archer and his new wife have disappeared. Tash is convinced that his father needs help, so Autumn reaches out to Dillon Savich, the only person she knows who can find them.

The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart - Fantasy/Adventure

July 8, 2025

A divine war shattered the world, leaving humanity in ruins. Desperate for hope, they struck a deal with the devious god Kluehnn: He would restore the world to its former glory, but at a price so steep it would keep the mortals indebted to him for eternity. And, as each land was transformed, so too were its people changed into strange new forms --- if they survived at all. Desperate to protect herself and her sister, Rasha, Hakara flees her homeland for the safety of a neighboring kingdom. But when tragedy separates them, Hakara is forced to abandon her beloved sister to an unknown fate. She discovers she can channel the magic from the mysterious gems they are forced to mine for Kluehnn. With that discovery comes another: Rasha is alive, and only the rebels plotting to destroy the God Pact can help rescue her. But only if Hakara goes to war against a god.

How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold - Supernatural Thriller/Horror

July 8, 2025

When legendary horror author Mortimer Queen passes, a group of writers find themselves invited to his last will and testament reading expecting a piece of his massive fortune. Each have their own unique connection to the literary icon --- some known, some soon to be discovered --- and they've been waiting for their chance to step into the author's shoes for some time. Instead, they arrive at his grand manor and are invited to play a game. The rules are simple: solve the riddle and progress to the next room. If they don't, the manor will take one of them for itself. You see, the Queen estate was built on the bones of Mortimer's family, and like any true horror story, the house is still very, very hungry.

Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi - Historical Fantasy

July 8, 2025

In the bustling city-state of Navola, business is power, and power is everything. For generations, the di Regulai family has nurtured their merchant-banking empire. Though they claim not to be political, their staggering wealth buys cities and topples kingdoms, and no one obstructs them twice. Soon, Davico di Regulai, sole heir to the di Regulai fortune, must take his place beside his father and prove himself worthy of his name. But Davico’s heart is soft where it should be hard. He prefers sunlit hills and green-dappled forests to the shadowy plots of his family. And something else beckons him. A fossil dragon eye, an ancient relic of raw power that sits upon his father’s desk. A thing that should be dead, and yet calls to Davico with increasing hunger. As plots unfold, armies march, and assassins slip down shadowy marble halls, Davico will be tested past his limits.

Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan - Fiction

July 8, 2025

It's 1990 in London, and reporter Tom Hargreaves’ star seems set to rise when he stumbles across a sensational scoop: a dead child on a London estate, grieving parents beloved across the neighborhood, and the finger of suspicion pointing at one reclusive family of Irish immigrants and “bad apples”: the Greens. At their heart sits Carmel: beautiful, otherworldly, broken, and once destined for a future beyond her circumstances until life --- and love --- got in her way. Crushed by failure and surrounded by disappointment, there's nowhere for her to go and no chance of escape. Now, with the police closing in on a suspect and the tabloids hunting their monster, she must confront the secrets and silences that have trapped her family for so many generations.

State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg - Fiction

July 8, 2025

It’s another summer in a small Florida town. After an illness that vanishes as mysteriously as it arrived, everything appears to be getting back to normal: soul-crushing heat, torrential downpours, sinkholes swallowing the earth, ominous cats, a world-bending virtual reality device being handed out by a company called ELECTRA, and an increasing number of posters dotting the streets with the faces of missing citizens. Living in her mother’s home, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author tracks the eerie changes. Then, during a violent rainstorm, her sister goes missing. She returns a few days later, sprawled on their mother’s lawn and speaking of another dimension. Now the ghostwriter must investigate not only what happened to her sister and the other missing people but also the uncanny connections between ELECTRA, the famous author she works for, and reality itself.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth - Fiction

July 8, 2025

It’s the early 1990s in the small town of Crossmore, Ireland, and Lucy knows what she’s expected to do. Fall in love with the son of the farmer next door, marry him, pray for children, and never reveal the truth --- that she doesn’t think marriage or motherhood or staying in Crossmore is for her. That the reason she knows this is because of her close friend, Susannah. For years, Lucy buries her obsession, until one summer, right before graduation, when her friendship with Susannah escalates. Now, Lucy will do anything to keep their secret safe. But when Susannah decides she no longer wants to hide, Lucy must make a devastating choice.

Syndicate: A Dick Francis Novel by Felix Francis - Thriller

July 8, 2025

Chester Newton has built his fortune organizing racehorse syndicates, where top horses are co-owned and managed by several parties. These joint enterprises are high risk and high reward --- and for Chester, it’s almost always been reward. The stakes only get higher as the syndicates grow larger, and every race means the possibility of complete failure --- or ecstatic success. After an anxious morning waiting for the results of the Epsom Derby, the premier flat race in the UK, Chester has an afternoon of explosive triumph --- and an evening of total terror. Someone tries to take over one of his syndicates by force --- and by threats of serious harm to him and his family. For the first time in Chester’s life, it’s not just a horse race or money at stake --- it’s his life and the lives of his loved ones.

This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour - Science Fiction/Political Thriller

July 8, 2025

Welcome to the Northwestern Hemisphere, 2529. An equally exciting and terrifying world born from the ashes of our own, where almost half of the people are born invisible, and thus relegated to second-class citizenship. Sweetmint, a young invisible woman, has done everything right her entire life, from excelling in school to landing a highly sought-after apprenticeship with a mysterious, powerful inventor. But all she has fought so hard to earn comes crashing down when she learns that her missing brother, whom she had presumed dead, is not only alive and well but also the primary suspect of a high-profile political murder. Armed with nothing more than courage, intellect and unwavering love for her brother, Sweetmint sets off on the mission of a lifetime: to find her brother before it’s too late.

A Vow of Embers by Sariah Wilson - Fantasy/Romance

July 8, 2025

Lia is always prepared for battle, but being blackmailed into marriage by Prince Alexandros is a challenge too far. She has no choice. He’s holding her sister hostage to force her hand. But with this union built on betrayal and rage comes a contract. By the goddess’s law, the marriage must not be consummated, which is a relief to Lia. She’d rather commit regicide than fall into bed with a man she loathes. There is one other saving grace. Marriage gives Lia access to the palace and a chance to uncover the truth about the treasured eye of the goddess --- and the magic it holds. But something inexplicable and impossible to ignore soon binds Lia and the prince. As longing and trust grow between them and inhibited desires are set free, outside forces rise against them, posing an ever-present danger.

The Wrong Hands: The New Detective Miller Novel by Mark Billingham - Mystery/Thriller

July 8, 2025

Unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem. Well, two problems. First, there's his dead wife and her yet-to-be-solved murder. He really should stop talking to her ghosts. Second, and most pressing, a young man has just appeared on his doorstep with a briefcase…containing a pair of severed hands. Miller knows that this case is proof of a contract killing commissioned by local ne'er-do-well Wayne Cutler --- a man he suspects also might be responsible for his wife's death. Now Miller has leverage, but unfortunately, he also has something that both Cutler and a villainous fast-food kingpin are desperate to get hold of.