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Week of May 26, 2025

New in Paperback

Week of May 26, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of May 26th include CLETE, the 24th installment in James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series, which brings Dave’s partner and friend, Clete Purcel, to the forefront for the first time as Clete and Dave attempt to stop ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug; FIRST FROST, the gripping 20th entry in Craig Johnson's series featuring Walt Longmire, who stands between the crossfire of good and evil, law and anarchy, and compassion and cruelty at two pivotal stages in his life; HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Joyce Maynard's beloved novel, COUNT THE WAYS --- a complex story of three generations of a family and its remarkable, resilient, indomitable matriarch, Eleanor; and THE WIDE WIDE SEA by Hampton Sides, an epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day.

Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria - Romantic Comedy

May 27, 2025

After Ava Rodriguez’s now-ex-husband declares he wants to “follow his dreams” --- which no longer include her --- she’s left questioning everything she thought she wanted. So when a handsome hotelier flirts with her, Ava vows to stop overthinking and embrace the opportunity for an epic one-night-stand. Roman Vázquez’s sole focus is the empire he built from the ground up. He lives and dies by his schedule, but the gorgeous stranger grimacing into her cocktail inspires him to change his plans for the evening. At first, it’s easy for Roman to agree to Ava’s rules: no strings, no feelings. But one night isn’t enough, and the more they meet, the more he wants. Roman is the perfect fling, until Ava sees him at her cousin’s engagement party --- as the groom’s best man, no less!

Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart - Thriller

May 27, 2025

Mark was the most dangerous killer-for-hire in the world. But after learning the hard way that his life’s work made him more monster than man, he left all of that behind and joined a 12-step group for reformed killers. When Mark is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant, he is forced on the run. From New York to Singapore to London, he chases after clues while dodging attacks and trying to solve the puzzle of who’s after him. All without killing anyone. Or getting killed himself. For an assassin, Mark learns, nonviolence is a real hassle.

The Burning by Linda Castillo - Mystery/Thriller

May 27, 2025

Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is summoned to a suspicious fire in the woods, where she discovers a charred body. According to the coroner, the deceased --- an Amish man named Milan Swanz --- was chained to a stake and burned alive. Kate knows all too well that the Amish prefer to handle their problems without interference from the outside world, and no one will speak about the murdered man. From what she’s able to piece together, Swanz led a deeply troubled life and recently had been excommunicated. When her own brother is implicated in the case, Kate finds herself not only at odds with the Amish, the world of which she was once a part, but also the English community and her counterparts in law enforcement. The investigation takes a violent turn when Kate’s life is threatened by a mysterious stranger.

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson - Mystery

May 27, 2025

Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center. But the five members disagree on everything, and a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk. Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael has been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there is a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play. While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect.

Clete: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke - Thriller

May 27, 2025

Clete Purcel is Dave Robicheaux’s longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past. When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only to return to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade from Mexican cartels to Louisiana, it feels personal. Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow hires Clete to investigate her scheming ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who seems to lurk around every corner. Clete is experiencing shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questioning Clara’s ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed his car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could have imagined.

A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd - Historical Mystery

May 27, 2025

Once upon a time, a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all. Romeo and Juliet are alive and well and the parents of seven kids. I’m the oldest, a certified spinster at 20. Each time they’ve presented me with a betrothal, I’ve set out to find the groom-to-be a more suitable bride. But their latest match, Duke Stephano, isn’t so easy to palm off on anyone else. At our betrothal ball, I stumble upon the Duke with a dagger in his chest. But who killed him? Half of Verona had motive. And when everyone around the Duke begins dying, disappearing or descending into madness, I know I must uncover the killer…before death lies on me like an untimely frost.

A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni - Thriller

May 27, 2025

Detective Tracy Crosswhite isn’t one to lose her cool. Until her interrogation of the taunting and malicious Erik Schmidt, a suspect in two cold case killings. Schmidt also has unnerving ties to the monster who murdered Tracy’s sister, stirring memories of the crime that shaped Tracy’s life. After a critical mistake during a shooting exercise, Tracy breaks. Haunted by nightmares and flashbacks, Tracy heads to her hometown of Cedar Grove to refocus. But her sleepless nights are only beginning. A legal glitch has allowed Schmidt to go free. And Tracy has every reason to fear that he has followed her. Forced into a twisted game of cat and mouse, Tracy must draw on all her training, wits and strength to defeat a master criminal before he takes away everyone she loves.

Den of Iniquity: A J. P. Beaumont Novel by J.A. Jance - Mystery/Thriller

May 27, 2025

Former Seattle homicide cop J. P. Beaumont faces trouble in the small town of Ashland, as both his personal and professional lives are thrown into turmoil. Beau’s daughter and son-in-law are having marital troubles, and his grandson, a senior in high school, shows up on his doorstep, wanting to live with Beau and his wife, Mel, as he finishes out the school year. Meanwhile, a friend from his past asks for Beau’s help in looking into what appears to be an accidental death. A young man died of a fentanyl overdose, but those closest to him are convinced that he would never have used the drug and that something much more sinister has happened. Beau agrees to unofficially reopen the case, and his investigation leads him to uncover similar mysterious deaths that all point to a most unlikely suspect.

An Eye for an Eye by Jeffrey Archer - Mystery/Thriller

May 27, 2025

In one of the most luxurious cities on earth, a billion-dollar deal is about to go badly wrong. A lavish night out is about to end in murder. And the British government is about to be plunged into crisis. Lord Hartley, the latest in a line of peers going back over 200 years, lies dying. But his will triggers an inheritance with explosive consequences. Two deaths. Continents apart. No obvious connection. So why are they both at the center of a master criminal's plot for revenge? And can Scotland Yard's elite squad uncover the truth before it's too late?

First Frost: A Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson - Mystery

May 27, 2025

It’s the summer of 1964, and recent college graduates Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear enlist to serve in the Vietnam War. As they catch a few final waves in California before reporting for duty, a sudden storm assaults the shores and capsizes a nearby cargo boat. Walt and Henry jump to action, but it’s soon revealed by the police who greet them ashore that the sunken boat carried valuable contraband from underground sources. The boys head out on Route 66. The question, of course, is how far they will get before the consequences of their actions catch up to them. Back in the present day, Walt is forced to speak before a judge following the fatal events of THE LONGMIRE DEFENSE. With powerful enemies lurking behind the scenes, the sheriff of Absaroka County must consider his options if he wishes to finish the fight he started.

The Gravedigger’s Almanac written by Oliver Pötzsch, translated by Lisa Reinhardt - Historical Mystery

May 27, 2025

Vienna, 1893. A gravedigger at the city’s famous Central Cemetery, Augustin Rothmayer is an unorthodox yet highly educated oddball who finds solace amongst the dead, as well as in writing the pages of the first almanac of his profession. But his fragile peace is abruptly disturbed when young inspector Leopold von Herzfeldt, an ambitious young transfer from Graz, arrives in need of help from someone expert in death. No one knows the subject better than Augustin Rothmeyer. A superstitious killer is on the loose. His victims include several maids, each brutally staked. Recognizing the killer is using an ancient ritual for keeping the undead buried, the gravedigger joins the inspector on a journey that will take them deep into the underworld of their glamorous cosmopolitan city.

The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez - Fiction

May 27, 2025

It is said that the Panama Canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. Ada Bunting is a bold 16-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. When she sees Omar, who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid. John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama with the goal of eliminating malaria. But his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada’s bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty and sacrifice.

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard - Fiction

May 27, 2025

Following the death of her former husband, Cam, 54-year-old Eleanor has moved back to the New Hampshire farm where they raised three children to care for their brain-injured son, Toby, now an adult. Toby’s older brother, Al, is married and living in Seattle with his wife; their sister, Ursula, lives in Vermont with her husband and two children. Although all appears stable, old resentments, anger and bitterness simmer just beneath the surface. HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN follows Eleanor and her family through 15 years (2010 to 2024) as their story plays out against a uniquely American backdrop and the events that transform their world (climate change, the January 6th insurrection, school violence) and shape their lives (later-life love, parental alienation, steadfast friendship).

It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan - Romantic Comedy

May 27, 2025

Jane Jackson spent her adolescence as "Poor Janey Jakes," the punch line on America's fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she’s trying to be taken seriously as a Hollywood studio executive. Desperate to get her first project greenlit and riled up by pompous cinematographer and one-time crush Dan Finnegan, she claimed that she could get mega popstar Jack Quinlan to write a song for the movie. Jack may have been her first kiss --- and greatest source of shame --- but she hasn’t spoken to him in 20 years. Now Jane must turn to the last man she’d ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan as she faces down her past is Jane's idea of hell, but he just might surprise her.

Joy by Danielle Steel - Fiction

May 27, 2025

Sent to live in her grandparents’ joyless home after her parents abandon her, Allegra Dixon finds her only solace through an escape into books. Attending boarding school, life finally takes a turn when she meets a dashing young West Point cadet named Shep Williams. Soon their friendship blossoms into something more, and they fall deeply in love. After college, Allegra has established herself as a book editor, and Shep is rising through the ranks of the military. But then Shep suddenly receives a posting to Afghanistan, and they decide to marry before he goes. Between his deployments, they cling to their brief and fraught stolen moments together. Each time he leaves, Shep promises the separations will come to an end. But soon Allegra realizes that the horrors of war have begun to change her husband into a man she no longer recognizes.

Move Like Water: My Story of the Sea by Hannah Stowe - Memoir

May 27, 2025

As a young girl, Hannah Stowe was raised at the tide’s edge on the Pembrokeshire coast of Wales, falling asleep to the sweep of the lighthouse beam. Now in her mid-20s, working as a marine biologist and sailor, Stowe draws on her professional experiences sailing tens of thousands of miles in the North Sea, North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Celtic Sea and the Caribbean to explore the human relationship with wild waters. Why is it, she asks, that she and so many others have been drawn to life at sea --- and what might the water around us be able to teach us? In MOVE LIKE WATER, Stowe invites readers to fall in love, as she has, with the sea and those that call it home, and to discover the majesty, wonder and vulnerability of the underwater world.

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood - Romance

May 27, 2025

Maya Killgore is 23 and still in the process of figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is 38, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life. But not everything is as it seems --- and clichés sometimes become plot twists. When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs --- even if it’s a problematic one.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden - Historical Fiction

May 27, 2025

It is 1961, and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should be --- led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother, Louis, brings his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, leaving her at Isabel’s doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season. Eva is Isabel’s antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through the house, and touches things she shouldn’t. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house, Isabel’s suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel’s paranoia gives way to infatuation --- leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known.

Sandwich by Catherine Newman - Fiction/Humor

May 27, 2025

For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals and messes of all kinds. This year’s vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past --- except, perhaps, for Rocky’s hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing; her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends her into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family’s history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst - Fantasy/Romance

May 27, 2025

As a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, Kiela and her assistant, Caz --- a magically sentient spider plant --- have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite. When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers a nosy neighbor who keeps showing up to make sure she’s fed and to help fix up her new home. In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have --- jam --- and her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries. She risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much-needed secret spellshop.

Stuart Woods' Golden Hour: A Teddy Fay Novel Featuring Stone Barrington by Brett Battles - Thriller/Adventure

May 27, 2025

Teddy Fay is ready to embark on the European press tour of Peter Barrington’s latest film, Storm’s Eye, when he receives an unexpected visit from Lance Cabot, director of the CIA. Several CIA agents have been turning up dead. The commonality? They were all part of a mission Teddy was involved in: Golden Hour. Lance wants Teddy to use his trip as a cover to investigate who is behind these killings. From Venice and Budapest to their last stop at a film festival in Berlin, Teddy must dodge excited fans, enamored women, and a few too many assassins who seem dead set on tracking down Golden Hour agents. And if Teddy doesn’t work fast enough, his identity --- and life --- just might be the next target in the killer’s ruthless plot for revenge.

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson - Psychological Thriller/Mystery

May 27, 2025

Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she’d likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her work as a librarian in Maine. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured salesman whose job took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger. A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he’d worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern --- five unsolved cases of murdered women. Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence?

Very Bad Company by Emma Rosenblum - Mystery/Dark Humor

May 27, 2025

Every year, executives at the trendy tech startup Aurora gather the company’s top employees for an exclusive retreat in Miami, and this year Caitlin Levy --- Aurora’s newest hire --- is joining the team as head of events. The benefits are outstanding: a seven-figure salary, stock shares, a discretionary bonus, limitless vacation days. What could possibly go wrong? When a fellow high-level executive vanishes after the first night, the disappearance has the potential to derail the future of the company’s sale and cost everyone on the team millions. Now more than ever, Caitlin and her colleagues must continue the charade --- partaking in team-building exercises, group brainstorms, dinners --- in order to keep the future of Aurora afloat amid all the fatal speculations.

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White - Mystery/Fantasy

May 27, 2025

For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To mark this incredible feat, the emperor’s ship embarks upon a 12-day voyage to the sacred Goddess’s Mountain. Aboard are the 12 heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing. All except one: Ganymedes Piscero --- class clown, slacker and all-around disappointment. When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes’ odds of survival are slim. But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their secret Blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?

Whispers of Dead Girls by Marlee Bush - Psychological Thriller

May 27, 2025

Ten years have passed, and Ren Taylor is back at square one, having accepted a job at her old high school. She'd hoped to make peace with the past, but now she's thrust back into it: her murdered teenage sister is still immortalized in town, and Ren can't stop seeing her wherever she goes. She's dogged by the scandal that ruined her childhood and killed her sister. Then Ren meets physics teacher Bryson Lewis. Handsome and charismatic, all the other teachers and students seem to fall at his feet. But Ren knows men like him --- she knows they can't be trusted. The more Ren watches him, the more suspicious she becomes. And when she notices his close relationship with a girl in one of his classes --- a girl just like her sister --- she worries history is about to repeat itself.

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides - History

May 27, 2025

On July 12, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship, the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s.

You Are Here by David Nicholls - Romance/Humor

May 27, 2025

Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house. Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by. When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of 10-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they’ve been looking for.