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Week of May 11, 2026

New in Paperback

Week of May 11, 2026

Paperback releases for the week of May 11th include SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins, a deeply felt multigenerational family story that asks: What does it mean to call a place home?; WITH A VENGEANCE, Riley Sager’s brilliant spin on Agatha Christie's classic novel, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS; THE LOVE HATERS, yet another laugh-out-loud, all-the-feels rom-com from Katherine Center, who this time proves that there's a thin line between love and love-hating; CLASS CLOWN, a hilarious memoir by Dave Barry, who tells his life story with all the humor you’d expect from a man who made a career out of making fun of pretty much everything; and Giri Nathan's CHANGEOVER, which serves as a primer to the rivalry poised to define the next decade of tennis: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner.

All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan - Fantasy/Romance

May 12, 2026

Rae is a fantasy reader who’s been transported to her favorite fictional world of swords and sorcery, castles and monsters. Playing the villainess, she thought she could change the narrative, but this version of the plot is far more deadly than the one she knew. Her friends are on the run: the Cobra shelters in an eerie manor haunted by dark secrets, while Emer and Lia stoke a revolution in the gutters. Undead armies roam the kingdom, raiders camp at the city gates, and the all-powerful Emperor --- Rae’s favorite character ever, now possibly the greatest monster in the land --- wants her to be his evil queen.

Anima Rising by Christopher Moore - Historical Fantasy/Humor

May 12, 2026

Vienna, 1911. Gustav Klimt, the most famous painter in the Austrian Empire, spots a woman’s nude body in the Danube canal. He knows he should summon a policeman, but he can’t resist stopping to make a sketch first. And as he draws, the woman coughs. She’s alive! Back at his studio, Klimt and his model-turned-muse, Wally, tend to the formerly drowned girl. She is nearly feral and doesn’t remember who she is. Klimt names her Judith, after one of his most famous paintings, and resolves to help her find her memory. With a little help from Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, Judith recalls being stranded in the arctic 100 years ago, locked in a crate by a man named Victor Frankenstein, and visiting the Underworld. So how did she get here? And why are so many people chasing her?

Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan - Mystery

May 12, 2026

Between her high-demand job and taking care of her grandmother and her cats, Mia Crawford has little time for anything else. What time she does have, she pours into reading. Now, forced into taking a long-overdue vacation, she finds herself on a luxurious private island where she just might have a chance to reinvent herself --- for a little while, anyway. She can explore the island. Flirt shamelessly with a cute bartender. Have a vacation fling. Live like a heroine in one of her favorite novels. Or she can curl up with a good book on the beach. It turns out that reinventing yourself is easier planned than done. But when gossipy notes written in the margins of an old book turn out to be clues to the disappearance of another guest, Mia finds herself diving headfirst into a dangerous adventure.

The Cardinal: A Novel of Love and Power by Alison Weir - Historical Fiction

May 12, 2026

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s rise from humble beginnings coincided with young Henry VIII’s ascension to the throne in 1509, and they grew to be cherished friends. By 1515, Wolsey --- now a cardinal --- had become the controlling figure in all matters of church and state. Wolsey operated on an international stage and worked hard to broker universal peace. All was going dazzlingly well until Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn and sought to end his marriage to his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Swept up in the maelstrom of “the Divorce,” Wolsey, who successfully had given his master everything he wanted, found himself in an impossible situation. As he drew the ire of the future queen, the cardinal found his privileged life and his relationship with Henry crumbling around him.

The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward - Fiction

May 12, 2026

Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey have always struggled to relate, their familial bond severed after their mother vanished into the Thames. As infants they were adopted into different families. In adulthood, they are content to be all but estranged, until Clara sees a woman who looks exactly like their mother on the streets of London. The catch: this version of Serene, aged not a day, has enjoyed a childless life --- the very life, it seems, she might have had if the girls had never been born. As with most things, Clara and Dempsey cannot see eye to eye on the confounding appearance of this woman. Clashing over this stranger who burrows deeper and deeper into their lives, the sisters hurtle toward an altercation that threatens their very existence, forcing them to finally confront their pasts --- together.

Changeover: A Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men's Tennis by Giri Nathan - Sports

May 12, 2026

For more than two decades, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer dominated men’s tennis so thoroughly that it became difficult to imagine how the game would keep its shine once they retired. Then came 2024 --- the first year since 2002 that none of them won a Grand Slam tournament --- and a technicolor future was revealed. The major titles were divided between a pair of prodigies in their early 20s: the effervescent showman Carlos Alcaraz and the relentlessly cool Jannik Sinner. Though other young contenders jostled for the spotlight, and Djokovic tried to hold his ground, the transcendentally gifted Alcaraz and Sinner just kept installing their new regime.

Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up by Dave Barry - Memoir/Humor

May 12, 2026

How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column read by millions of people? Dave Barry takes us on a hilarious ride, starting with a childhood largely spent throwing rocks for entertainment --- there was no internet --- and preparing for nuclear war by hiding under a classroom desk. After literally getting elected class clown in high school, he went to college, where, as an English major, he read snippets of great literature when he was not busy playing in a rock band (it was the ’60s). CLASS CLOWN isn’t just a memoir; it’s a vibrant celebration of a life rich with humor, absurdity, joy and sadness.

The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher - Paranormal Romantic Comedy

May 12, 2026

A lover of love and a champion for happily ever after. Those are two of many things people expect from Aphrodite’s daughter. To Adalyn Whitlock, “love” pays the bills. But business is dropping at Happily Ever Forever, with her latest wedding planning catastrophe ending in a negative social media storm. Phoenix "Nix" Cross --- songwriter and drummer for the hot new band The Stone Talons --- is no saint, but he's far from the womanizer the band’s image rep bestowed on him. With the record label pressuring him to deliver their next hit, Nix’s writer’s block couldn’t have come at a worse time. But when he opens his door to his irate new next-door neighbor, Nix feels the brief flash of inspiration for the first time in ages. And it just so happens that his new Muse is none other than his little sister’s new wedding planner.

Dark Agent by Neal Asher - Science Fiction/Space Opera

May 12, 2026

Captain Blite and Agent Cormac thought they had defeated the malevolent AI Straeger. But Straeger’s mission to plunge the galaxy into a devastating war is far from over. With a twisted p-Prador army bred from the Spatterjay virus, Straeger sets his plans in motion. Meanwhile, in the war-struck world of Yossander’s Hold, Blite and Cormac are trapped in a maelstrom of betrayal and violence. They must fight their way through the chaos as they seek to repair Blite’s damaged ship. But their escape requires resources from the Bracken, and aboard that ship, a terrifying transformation is underway. Recognizing the threat posed by the p-Prador, the Prador Kingdom and the human Polity’s ruling AI form an uneasy alliance. But with Straeger’s plans unfolding and reality itself under threat, the galaxy is poised on the brink of destruction.

The First Gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson - Political Thriller

May 12, 2026

The President of the United States is up for reelection. Her husband is on trial for murder. Is the First Gentleman a killer? A pair of brilliant investigative journalists set out to answer that burning question about the NFL star-turned-political spouse. THE FIRST GENTLEMAN has all the twists and turns, and the authenticity, one expects from the #1 bestselling authors of THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING and THE PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER.

Hunger written by Choi Jin-young, translated by Soje - Psychological Thriller/Horror

May 12, 2026

On an ordinary afternoon, a woman sees her partner murdered in the street. Time freezes. She lifts his body from the pavement, cradles him home, disinfects each inch of skin --- and sits down to begin. As he witnesses his own funeral from beyond, their two voices --- living and dead --- lament a lifetime of bone-grinding labor in a society that devours everyone whole. But the woman is no longer willing to bow before law, God or money. In an act of love and rebellion, she transforms his body into her own, entombing him within her flesh so that he may live again.

I Will Blossom Anyway by Disha Bose - Fiction

May 12, 2026

The third of four children born to a middle-class Calcutta family, quiet Durga is surprisingly the first to leave the nest of her loving, overbearing family. But when she arrives in Ireland to work at a tech company, she finds that for the first time ever she is free --- to have fun, to stay out, to sample everything that life has to offer. Suddenly, Durga can be whoever she wants to be. And she wants it all. But freedom comes at a price. Durga falls in love with handsome, charismatic Jacob and grows close with his sister, Joy. But when Jacob breaks up with Durga, she’s unmoored. Will she stay in Ireland with her newfound identity and livelihood, or will she return to India, where she is comfortable? Perhaps neither option is enough.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center - Romantic Comedy

May 12, 2026

Katie Vaughn has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer, or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie is not exactly qualified. She can’t swim --- but pretends that she can. Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen…but maybe a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two. Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes and stolen kisses ensue --- along with chances to tell the truth, face old fears, and be truly brave at last.

The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir by Edmund White - Memoir

May 12, 2026

In his final memoir, 85-year-old Edmund White recounted the 70-plus years of sexual escapades that inspired his many masterpieces. Through tales of transactional sex, mutual admiration, open relationships, domination, submission, love and loss, he painted an indelible portrait of queer history in America and abroad in a way only someone who has lived through it can.

Murder Like Clockwork by Nicola Whyte - Mystery

May 12, 2026

Every Thursday at midday, Audrey Brooks cleans the Petrov house. Mr. Petrov is never home, but that doesn't affect the care with which she mops, polishes and carefully winds each of the dozens of beautiful clocks that decorate the tall, elegant, empty London mansion. Until the morning she finds a corpse in the back bedroom and flees the house in panic. Fifteen minutes later, the police arrive…and find nothing. With no victim, the police are convinced there was no murder, but Audrey knows better. A man has been killed, and if they won't do anything about it, she --- and her annoying friend, Lewis --- will. Whodunit is one thing, but this detective duo also must wrestle with when --- and where on earth is the body? 

One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford - Supernatural Thriller/Horror

May 12, 2026

British scientist Kesta Shelley has spent her life looking down the barrel of a microscope rather than cultivating personal relationships. But that changed when she met Tim. So when he was one of the last people in London to be infected with a perplexing virus that left the city ravaged, Kesta went into triage mode. Though the government has rounded up and disposed of all the infected, Kesta is able to keep her husband (un)alive --- and hidden --- with resources from the hospital where she works. As she races against the clock, her colleagues start noticing changes in her behavior and appearance. There are whispers of a top-secret lab working on a cure, and Kesta clings to the possibility of being recruited like a lifeline. But can she save her husband before he is discovered? Or worse, will they trigger another outbreak?

Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski - Romance

May 12, 2026

By all appearances, Emily has a perfect life: a townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, two healthy children, and a husband who showers her with attention. But the truth is more complicated: Emily’s marriage is in trouble, her relationship with her parents is fraught, and she is still nursing a heartbreak from long ago. When Emily runs into her high school girlfriend at a cocktail party, that heartbreak comes roaring back. But Gen Hall is no longer the lanky, hungry kid with holes in her shoes who Emily loved in her youth. Instead, she is a famous Olympic athlete with sponsorship deals and a string of high-profile ex-girlfriends. Emily and Gen circle one another cautiously, drawn together by a magnetic attraction and scarred by their shared history.

Sleep by Honor Jones - Fiction

May 12, 2026

The surface of Margaret’s childhood is one of sunlit swimming pools and Saturday morning pancakes until, late one summer, she wakes to a new kind of peril, and the simple pleasures of girlhood slip away. Twenty-five years later, Margaret is newly divorced, discovering the pleasures of a new lover, and navigating her life as a co-parent when she brings her daughters back to the house where she was raised. As the past encroaches on the present, Margaret reckons with questions about how much of our lives are our own and what it takes to keep a child safe.

So Happy Together by Olivia Worley - Psychological Thriller

May 12, 2026

For 24-year-old Jane, finding love in New York City is even harder than making it as a playwright. So when Jane meets Colin, she can’t believe her luck: they’re perfect for each other. Even when Colin breaks off their relationship after six dates, Jane knows this is just a stumbling block. She’ll get him back. She knows she will. That is, until Colin starts dating Zoe --- perfect, luminous Zoe. Even worse, she’s actually kind of nice. But Zoe doesn’t have what it takes to love Colin. All Jane has to do is prove it, and they’ll be so happy together. But when Jane sneaks into Colin’s apartment, she makes a shocking discovery --- one that will ensnare them all in a dark web of lies, secrets and murder.

Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins - Fiction

May 12, 2026

On her wedding day in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1968, Rafaela Acuña y Daubón has mild misgivings, but she marries Peter Brennan Jr. anyway in a blaze of romantic optimism. She has no way of knowing how dramatically her life will change when she uproots her young family to start over in the American Midwest, unleashing a fleet of disappointments. In the 1980s, against the backdrop of her mother’s isolation in St. Louis, Missouri, Rafaela’s daughter, Ruth, wants only to belong. Eager to fit in, Ruth lets go of her language, habits and childhood memories of Puerto Rico. It’s not until decades later when Ruth’s own daughter, Daisy, returns to San Juan that her mother and grandmother begin to truly reflect on the choices that have come to define their lives.

Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair - Fantasy/Romance

May 12, 2026

Estranged from her powerful family, Lilith Leviathan finds refuge in Nineveh, a district in the city of Eden devoted to sin. There, she uses her magic to steal for a living, attracting the attention of the five governing families as well as the church, which expects women to remain pious and silent. When Lilith comes into possession of a beautiful blade, she thinks all her worries are over…until her usual buyer dies while inspecting it. Frantic, Lilith turns to the only man who can help her: Zahariev, head of the Zareth family and ruler of Nineveh. His currency is information, and his power is extortion, though he's always had a soft spot for Lilith. But when the dagger appears, he isn't sure he can protect her from what's to come. Together, they embark on a mission to discover the true power running their world.

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean - Fiction

May 12, 2026

Alice Storm hasn't been welcome at her family's magnificent private island off the Rhode Island coast in five years --- not since she was cast out and built her life beyond the Storm name, influence and untold billions. But the shocking death of her larger-than-life father changes everything. Alice plans to keep her head down, pay her final respects (such as they are), and leave the minute the funeral is over. Unfortunately, her father had other plans. The eccentric, manipulative patriarch left his family a final challenge --- an inheritance game designed to upend their world. The rules are clear: spend one week on the island, complete their assigned tasks, and receive the inheritance. But a whole week on Storm Island is no easy task for Alice. It will be a miracle if she manages to escape unscathed.

Twelve Post-War Tales by Graham Swift - Historical Fiction/Short Stories

May 12, 2026

Here are the soldiers and doctors and veterans, wives and lovers and children, who have been affected in ways both subtle and profound by the cataclysms of our times. In the aftermath of World War II, a young Jewish private, stationed in Germany, seeks the truth about lost family members. In the 1960s, a father focuses on his daughter’s wedding even as the Cuban Missile Crisis approaches the brink of global disaster. On September 11th, a maid working for U.S. Embassy staff in London wonders if her birth on the day of the Kennedy assassination determined the course of her life. And at the height of the pandemic lockdown, a respiratory disease specialist comes out of retirement and is faced with a formative childhood memory.

The White Crow: A Philomena McCarthy Novel by Michael Robotham - Psychological Thriller

May 12, 2026

Philomena McCarthy has defied the odds to become a young officer with the Metropolitan Police despite her father and her uncles being notorious London gangsters. On patrol one night, Philomena finds a barefoot child, covered in blood, who says she can’t wake her mother. Meanwhile, three miles away, a London jeweler has a bomb strapped to his chest in his ransacked store, and millions are missing. These two events collide and threaten Philomena’s career, her new marriage, and her life. In too deep, and falling further, she must decide who she can trust --- her family or her colleagues --- and on what side of the thin blue line she wants to live.

With a Vengeance by Riley Sager - Historical/Psychological Thriller

May 12, 2026

In 1954, Anna Matheson boards a luxury overnight train bound for Chicago that she’s commissioned, along with a list of names and a heart hardened by loss. Twelve years earlier, during the height of World War II, six people shattered her family’s life. Now, under a false guise, Anna has orchestrated a chilling reunion --- trapping each of them aboard. Her plan is precise: confront the ghosts of her past, unearth long-buried truths, and ensure justice is waiting at journey’s end. But when one of the passengers is found murdered before dawn, it becomes clear that Anna isn't the only one harboring secrets --- or seeking revenge. As the train hurtles into the icy night, Anna must navigate layers of deception, reckon with the cost of vengeance, and come to protect the very people she came to condemn.

You Can Tell Me by Melinda Leigh - Mystery/Thriller

May 12, 2026

On the three-year anniversary of true crime writer Olivia Cruz’s horrific kidnapping, she’s scheduled to walk her podcaster friend, Zoe March, through the crime scene, but Zoe fails to show. Zoe’s husband, who claims she never came home the night before, has reported her missing. But marital conflicts make the police suspect she has left him. Olivia thinks otherwise. Retracing her friend’s last steps, she finds Zoe’s phone and a text with one chilling word: Run. It soon becomes apparent that Zoe has been keeping secrets, and with her true crime podcast, there’s no telling what she has unearthed. To find her, Olivia must dig into her friend’s past. Did Zoe vanish to escape a killer, and is Olivia walking into a deadly trap?