On Sale This Week

October 14, 2025

Never Miss a Contest or a Promotion!
Follow and Like Us on Social Media

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of October 13th and October 20th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for October, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, Oprah's Book Club, the PBS Books Readers Club, the "Read with Jenna" Book Club, and the Target Book Club.

Join Us NEXT Wednesday Evening!

This Week's Bonus News:
Our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for October

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

Here are two upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.

Wednesday, October 15th at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with Joe Hill about his latest thriller, KING SORROW, in which six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful --- calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice.

Tuesday, October 21st at 9pm ET: Killer Author Club: Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf and Kaira Rouda will talk to Nicole Baart about her latest book, WHERE HE LEFT ME. This twisty, atmospheric novel is about a newlywed whose husband disappears, leaving her isolated in Washington State’s North Cascades.

On Sale the Week of October 13th in Hardcover

October 13th

THE PICASSO HEIST by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Thriller)
A previously unknown Picasso worth $100 million is discovered in the attic of a French villa, and everyone wants to possess it: filthy-rich Manhattan art people, organized crime bosses, power-hungry government officials, a notorious forger, and a glamorous 22-year-old art thief. But only one person knows how to take it. She’s the rival none of the power players see coming. 
Little, Brown and Company | 9781538758434 

October 14th

AND TO ALL A GOOD BITE: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Two years ago, a gas leak in an office building led to a tragic explosion that killed seven people. Jeff Wheeler was there to pick up his girlfriend and ran into the building to help. All he heard was the barking of a dog, Rufus, and was able to save him. Initially, Rufus went to the Tara Foundation since his owner had died in the accident. But Andy Carpenter met Jeff and allowed him to adopt Rufus. Since then, Jeff and Rufus have formed an unbreakable bond. The accident never sat right with Jeff. He believed that one of the building’s owners was responsible for the tragedy. Now that owner has been murdered, and Jeff is arrested for the crime. Rufus is left with Jeff's sister, who begs Andy to take the case. Andy remembered Jeff's tremendous bravery, and with the lingering Christmas spirit, he decides to help reunite the two.
Minotaur Books | 9781250324573 

BOG QUEEN by Anna North (Mystery)
When a body is found in a bog in northwest England, Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is called to investigate. But this body is not like any she's ever seen. Though its bones prove it was buried more than 2,000 years ago, it is almost completely preserved. Soon Agnes is drawn into a mystery from the distant past, called to understand and avenge the death of an Iron Age woman more like her than she knows. Along the way, she must contend with peat-cutters who want to profit from the bog and activists who demand that the land be left undisturbed. Then there's the moss itself: a complex repository of artifacts and remains, with its own dark stories to tell. As Agnes faces the deep history of what she has unearthed, she's also forced to question what she thought she knew about her talent, her self-reliance, and her place in the world.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781635579666 

BOLEYN TRAITOR by Philippa Gregory (Historical Fiction)
Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where secrets are currency, every choice is dangerous, and even the faintest whisper can seal the fate of queens. For Jane, survival demands playing every role required of her: a loving wife who conceals her doubts, a devoted sister to Anne Boleyn at the height of her power, and an obedient spy who carefully wields her words. But in a court ruled by ambition and a tyrant’s sword, Jane must rely on her sharp wit and skillful maneuvering to outthink those around her, knowing that one wrong move could cost her everything.
William Morrow | 9780063439689 

BOOM TOWN by Nic Stone (Thriller)
When Damaris “Charm” Wilburn, a new daytime dancer, is missing for her shift at Boom Town, former headliner Michah “Lyriq” Johanssen suspects something more than a “no call, no show.” As Lyriq’s former headline partner and lover --- Felice “Lucky” Carothers --- also vanished under similar circumstances, Lyriq decides she’s going to find them. Delving deeper into Charm and Lucky’s disappearances, Lyriq uncovers a tangled web of deceit, privilege and power. The line between friend and foe blurs, forcing Lyriq to confront the question: Is finding these women worth the threat to her own life?
Simon & Schuster | 9781668056271 

THE DOGS OF VENICE by Steven Rowley (Fiction)
After months of planning a romantic holiday getaway in Venice, Paul is blindsided when his five-year marriage suddenly unravels. Fueled by heartbreak, Paul endeavors to take the trip alone. Soon after arriving in Italy, he notices a small, scruffy, self-assured dog trotting alongside a canal with the confidence he so desperately wants for himself. When their paths cross again, Paul feels compelled to learn how his new four-legged friend thrives on his own. Amid the food, sights and welcoming people of Venice, Paul’s journey culminates in a magical encounter that leads him to feel real connection --- to a dog, to a foreign city and, most importantly, to himself.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9798217047604

DYING CRY: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima (Mystery) 
Newlyweds Mattie and Cole Walker are teaching Cole’s daughters how to snowshoe in a remote canyon when a shattering scream pierces the air. From a distance, Mattie and Robo see a shadowy figure at the base of a cliff, but a rockslide buries the person under layers of stone and shale before they can provide help. Desperate to uncover the individual in case they’re still alive under the rock, their efforts are in vain. The victim is already dead. When they investigate the canyon rim from which the person fell, they discover evidence that indicates the fall was no accident. To make matters worse, the victim was one of Cole’s friends. The Timber Creek County investigative team springs into action, uncovering a trail of greed that leads to a killer who threatens Mattie’s cherished new family.
Crooked Lane Books | 9798892421959 

FUTURE BOY: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry (Memoir)
In early 1985, Michael J. Fox’s days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom “Family Ties,” but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg --- Back to the Future. Fox’s nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. In FUTURE BOY, Fox tells the remarkable story of playing two landmark roles at the same time. Using new interviews with the cast and crew of both projects, the result is a vividly drawn and eye-opening story of creative achievement by a beloved icon.
Flatiron Books | 9781250866783 

THE GALLERY ASSISTANT by Kate Belli (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
November 2001: Chloe Harlow wakes up late, with hazy memories of the party the night before but no recollection of how she got back to her Brooklyn apartment. When she finally arrives at the exclusive Upper East Side art gallery where she works, she is immediately called into her boss’s office. A pair of NYPD detectives greet her, also very curious to know how her evening ended…because the host of the party, a rising painter and the gallery’s newest artist, is dead. Navigating both the sophisticated high-stakes art world and her personal life in burgeoning Williamsburg, Chloe struggles to piece together a complete picture of that lost night. As she digs deeper, inconsistencies emerge between what she remembers and what people tell her actually happened, and more questions are raised.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781668093658

GONE BEFORE GOODBYE by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben (Thriller)
Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Army combat surgeon Maggie McCabe has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion. At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion. Halfway across the globe, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance. Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfills her end of the agreement. But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself --- or she will be the next one who is GONE BEFORE GOODBYE.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538774700 

THE GRACEVIEW PATIENT by Caitlin Starling (Psychological Thriller/Gothic Horror) 
Margaret’s rare autoimmune condition has destroyed her life, leaving her isolated and in pain. It has no cure, but she’s making do as best she can --- until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial. The conditions are simple, if grueling: she will live at the hospital as a full-time patient, subjecting herself to the near-total destruction of her immune system and its subsequent regeneration. The trial will essentially kill most, but not all, of her. But as the treatment progresses and her body begins to fail, she stumbles upon something sinister living and spreading within the hospital. Unsure of what's real and what's just medication-induced delusion, Margaret struggles to find a way out as her body and mind succumb further to the darkness lurking throughout Graceview's halls.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250340757 

A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar (Fiction)
In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, containing their treasured immigration documents, has been stolen. Set over the course of one week, A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom.
Knopf | 9780593804872 

THE GUN MAN JACKSON SWAGGER by Stephen Hunter (Historical Thriller/Western)
In the frying pan of a drought-scorched 1890s Southwest, an old man shows up at the region’s only prosperous spread, the Callahan ranch, seeking work. Jack is flinty, shrewd, tough, and a natural with a gun. As an incentive to be taken on at his age, he shows the foreman an uncanny skill with one of Mr. Winchester’s latest models. He knows a sharpshooter would be valuable to Colonel Callahan and head gunman Tom Voth. But he has his own mission. Aware that a young cowboy on the ranch has died mysteriously, Jack begins to investigate. He soon realizes that the death and the source of the Callahan wealth are dangerously entwined and that many of the dark forces of the American West are at play on the ranch. Soon enough, it’s the season of the six-gun and its fastest shootist.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781668030394

THE HAUNTING OF PAYNES HOLLOW by Kelley Armstrong
(Supernatural Thriller/Horror) 
When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in 14 years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted that her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body. But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact that she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words. When her aunt goes missing a couple of days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250360564

INTEMPERANCE by Sonora Jha (Fiction)
A woman who has left two husbands announces she will celebrate her 55th birthday by holding a swayamvar. Drawn from an ancient custom in her Indian culture, this is an event in which suitors line up to compete in a feat of wills and strength to win a beautiful princess’s hand in marriage. The woman, a renowned and respected intellectual in an American town who had once declared she was “past such petty matters as love,” knows she is now setting herself up for widespread societal ridicule. But her self-esteem and sexual libido are off the charts even as her body withers from disability, fading beauty, and her appetite for cake. To her surprise, a cast of characters shows up to support her call. As her whole plan spirals into a spectacle, she embarks on a journey to decide what feat her suitor must perform to be worthy of her wrinkling hand.
HarperVia | 9780063440845 

JOYRIDE: A Memoir by Susan Orlean (Memoir)
JOYRIDE is a magic carpet ride through Susan Orlean’s life and career, where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment holds the potential for wonder. Throughout her storied career, Orlean’s curiosity draws her to explore the most ordinary and extraordinary of places, from going deep inside the head of a regular 10-year-old boy for a legendary profile (“The American Man Age Ten”) to reporting on a woman who owns 27 tigers, from capturing the routine magic of Saturday night to climbing Mt. Fuji. Orlean takes us through her process of dreaming up ideas, managing deadlines, connecting with sources, chasing every possible lead, confronting writer’s block and self-doubt, and crafting the perfect lede --- a Susan specialty.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781982135164 

THE LAST WITCH by C. J. Cooke (Supernatural Thriller/Historical Horror)
Innsbruck, 1485. Helena Scheuberin should be doing what every other young wife is doing: keeping house, supporting her husband, and bearing his children. But as an outspoken, strong woman, she sometimes has difficulty fitting in. Then she draws the unwanted attention of a malign priest who is just starting his campaign to root out “witches” from among the women of her town. And when her husband’s footman dies, she finds herself accused not only of murder but of witchcraft. Helena must find the courage to risk her life and the lives of others by standing up to a man determined to paint her as the most wicked of all.
Berkley | 9798217187799 

MENU OF HAPPINESS written by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood (Mystery) 
Welcome to the Kamogawa Diner, where every meal is a mystery ready to be solved. This unique establishment is run by a father-daughter duo who offer more than just mouth-watering meals. They act as “food detectives,” delving into the past to produce nostalgia-infused dishes for their hungry clientele. Among the patrons is a once-renowned pianist whose promising career was marred by a self-inflicted injury. She longs to taste the yakisoba shared with the only man she ever truly loved. The diner also welcomes a man haunted by shadows of regret. His mind is haunted by the memory of gyoza served by the parents of a lover he once jilted. The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t just serve food --- it recreates forgotten recipes, helping its patrons to revisit memories lost to time.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9798217045358 

MINOR BLACK FIGURES by Brandon Taylor (Fiction)
New York simmers with heat and unrest as Wyeth, a painter, finds himself at an impasse in his own work. After attending a dubious show put on by a collective of careerist artists, he retreats to a bar in the West Village where he meets Keating, a former seminarian. Over the long summer, as the two get to know each other, they talk and argue about God, sex and art. Meanwhile, at his job working for an art restorer, Wyeth begins to investigate the life and career of a forgotten, minor Black artist. His search yields potential answers to questions that Wyeth is only now beginning to ask about what it means to be a Black artist making Black art amid the mess and beauty of life itself.
Riverhead Books | 9780593332368 

NEXT OF KIN: A Memoir by Gabrielle Hamilton (Memoir)
Gabrielle Hamilton took pride in her unsentimental, idiosyncratic family. She grew up to find enormous success, first as a chef and then as the author of award-winning, bestselling books. But her family ties frayed in ways both seismic and mundane until eventually she was estranged from them all. In the wake of one brother’s sudden death and another’s suicide, Hamilton was compelled to examine the sprawling, complicated root system underlying her losses. She began investigating her family’s devout independence and individualism with a nearly forensic rigor, soon discovering a sobering warning in their long-held self-satisfaction. By the time she was called to care for her declining mother, Hamilton had realized a certain freedom, one made possible only through a careful psychological autopsy of her family.
Random House | 9780399590092

RED CITY by Marie Lu (Urban Fantasy/Adventure)
Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more. Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city --- and the paths of their lives --- will be irrevocably transformed.
Tor Books | 9781250885678 

REMAIN: A Supernatural Love Story by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan (Paranormal Romance)
When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation --- that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world --- sits uneasily with him. But when Tate takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world. They forge an immediate connection. But below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom.
Random House | 9798217154043 

A SCAR IN THE BONE by Sophie Jordan (Fantasy/Romance)
It’s been a year since Tamsyn transformed. From royal whipping girl in the palace of Penterra to the bride of Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands. From the enemy in the Beast’s bed to the wife he sacrificed himself to save. From an ordinary girl...to a dragon. And not just any dragon --- a powerful fire-breather...and the best hope to keep magic from flickering out forever. With Fell gone, Tamsyn slowly forges herself into a warrior in the shadow of Fell’s enigmatic brother, Vetr, whose silver eyes track her with distrust...and maybe something more. But is Fell truly beyond her reach? Their bond pulls at her, as fiercely as the drive to protect both humans and dragonkind from the growing threat posed by Stig, once her closest friend, now a relentless enemy determined to hunt her down and destroy her --- and, with her, all things magic.
Avon | 9780063414341 

SUGAR AND SPITE: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton with R.W. Green (Mystery)
When a series of deaths within the small Cotswolds birdwatching community begins to unravel her village, Agatha and her team at Raisin Investigators are certain there has been foul play involved. Now, they must dig up decades' worth of tempestuous relationships and simmering secrets among the birdwatching enthusiasts of the village in order to prevent any further deaths. But with Agatha's own relationship with John Glass on the rocks after he is called away on his job as a cruise ship dance instructor, and Sir Charles Fraith now attempting to step into John’s shoes as her lover, Agatha has her work cut out for her. She will have to break out her binoculars and embrace her bitter side to solve the murders and wrangle the sickly-sweet temptations in her own life.
Minotaur Books | 9781250378569 

THE SWORD OF LIGHT by Heather Graham (Fantasy/Romance)
The mystical Tuatha Dé Danann walked the hills of ancient Ireland long before the first Rí, or king, ever ruled the land. Before they stepped back to make way for mankind, they left behind objects of incredible power that would reveal themselves when most needed. When invaders from the North arrive, it feels like the moment that has long been foretold has finally come. Deidre, the daughter of a Rí, and Kylin, the son of a Northman who found peace and a home in Éire, have little in common, until they begin seeing visions of these fantastical gifts. The revelation that a traitor exists among the many Irish kings forces them to work together using their newfound powers in defense of their homeland. As all they hold dear comes under threat, it may be more than just dreams that the two begin to share.
Mira | 9780778387633 

THE UNVEILING by Quan Barry (Literary Horror)
Striker isn’t entirely sure she should be on this luxury Antarctic cruise. A Black film scout, her mission is to photograph potential locations for a big-budget movie about Ernest Shackleton’s doomed expedition. Along the way, she finds amusement in the behavior of both the native wildlife and the group of wealthy, mostly white tourists who have chosen to spend Christmas on the Weddell Sea. But when a kayaking excursion goes horribly wrong, Striker and a group of survivors become stranded on a remote island along the Antarctic Peninsula, a desolate setting complete with boiling geothermal vents and vicious birds. As the polar ice thaws in the unseasonable warmth, the group’s secrets, prejudices and inner demons will also emerge, including revelations from Striker’s past that could irrevocably shatter her world.
Grove Press | 9780802165350 

VAGABOND: A Memoir by Tim Curry (Memoir) 
There are few stars in Hollywood today who can boast the kind of resume that Tony award-nominated actor Tim Curry has built over the past five decades. From his breakout role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to his iconic depiction as the sadistic clown Pennywise in It to his critically acclaimed role as the original King Arthur in both the Broadway and West End versions of Spamalot, Curry redefined what it meant to be a “character actor,” portraying heroes and villains alike with complexity, nuance and a genuine understanding of human darkness. Now, in his memoir, Curry takes readers behind the scenes of his rise to fame --- from his early beginnings as a military brat to his formative years in boarding school and university, to the moment when he hit the stage for the first time.
Grand Central Publishing | 9780306835841 

THE WAYFINDER by Adam Johnson (Historical Fiction)
Talking corpses, poetic parrots, and a fan that wafts the breath of life. This is the world that young Kōrero finds herself thrust into when a mysterious visitor lands on her island, a place so remote that its inhabitants have forgotten the word for stranger. Her people are desperate and on the brink of starvation, and the wayward stranger offers them an impossible choice: they can remain in the only home they’ve ever known and await the uncertainty to come, or Kōrero can join him and venture into unfamiliar waters, guided by only the night sky and his assurance of a bountiful future in the Kingdom of Tonga. What Kōrero and her people don’t know is that the promised refuge is no utopia. Instead, Tonga is an empire at war and on the verge of collapse.
MCD | 9780374619572 

A WOODED SHORE: And Other Stories by Thomas McGuane (Fiction/Short Stories)
In these nine peerless stories, a family boating trip veers into emotional disaster while very narrowly avoiding the physical; a would-be cheater hands over his car --- his prized possession --- for a shot with a pretty girl; a furniture magnate and his filmmaker daughter visit his impoverished hometown; a doctor’s long-ago affair returns with a bitter pill. Crackling with wry humor, shot through with both wisdom and pain, these are stories of grifters and dreamers, of the lovelorn and the lawless, stories of the ongoing dissonance between the lives we want and the lives this world will allow.
Knopf | 9780385350235 

WORKHORSE by Caroline Palmer (Fiction/Humor)
At the turn of the millennium, Editorial Assistant Clodagh “Clo” Harmon wants nothing more than to rise through the ranks at the world’s most prestigious fashion magazine. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t have the right pedigree. Instead, Clo is a “workhorse” surrounded by beautiful, wealthy, impossibly well-connected “show horses” who get ahead without effort, including her beguiling cubicle-mate, Davis Lawrence, the daughter of a beloved but fading Broadway actress. Harry Wood, Davis’ boarding school classmate and a reporter with visions of his own media empire, might be Clo’s ally in gaming the system --- or he might be the only thing standing between Clo and her rightful place at the top.
Flatiron Books | 9781250360083

On Sale the Week of October 13th in Paperback

October 14th

THE ANCIENTS by John Larison (Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction)
A young boy and his older sisters find themselves suddenly and utterly alone, orphaned in an abandoned fishing village. They set out across a breathtaking yet treacherous wilderness in search of the last of their people. Down the coast, raiders deliver the children's mother, along with the rest of their human cargo, to the last port city of a waning empire. Determined to reunite with her family, she plots her escape --- while her fellow captives plan open revolt. At the center of power in this crumbling city, a young scholar inherits his father's business and position of privilege, along with the burden of his debts. As the empire's elite prepare to flee to new utopia across the sea, he must decide where his allegiance lies. With a rapidly changing climate shifting the sands beneath their feet, these three paths converge in a struggle for the future of humanity.
Penguin Books | 9780593831182

BONE CHILLING: An Alexa Glock Forensics Mystery by Sara E. Johnson (Mystery)
Paperback Original
Alexa Glock is spending a ski weekend with her boyfriend, DI Bruce Horne, and his two daughters. When she finds herself dangling in a crevasse waiting for the experts to rescue her, she discovers a pelvis frozen in the ice. The heartbreaking task of identifying multiple remains and bringing closure to families begins. When a body is discovered in the smoldering ruins of a nearby pizza joint, Alexa works to identify a family's long-lost loved one and the charred remains of the fire victim. Then an avalanche during a snowboard competition leaves Bruce's oldest daughter missing along with the snowboarder she's been hanging out with. As Bruce and other rescuers race to find the missing teens, evidence begins to suggest that neither the fire nor the avalanche were accidents, and that the daughter's boyfriend might have information about both.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728257402

BRIGHT I BURN by Molly Aitken (Historical Fiction)
Alice, the daughter of a wealthy innkeeper in Kilkenny, grows up watching her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities --- and she vows that she will never suffer the same fate. In time, she discovers she has a flair for making money and takes her father's flourishing business to new heights. But as her riches and stature grow, so too do rumors about her private life. By the time she marries her fourth husband --- the three earlier are dead --- a storm of local gossip and resentment culminates in a life-threatening accusation.
Vintage | 9780593080924

A CERTAIN KIND OF STARLIGHT by Heather Webber (Fiction/Magical Realism)
Everyone knows that Addie Fullbright can’t keep a secret. Yet, 12 years ago, Addie was entrusted with a devastating truth. One so shattering that she left her hometown of Starlight, Alabama, to keep from revealing it. But when her beloved aunt gets a shocking diagnosis and asks her to return to help run the family bakery, Addie knows it is time to go home again. Tessa Jane Wingrove-Fullbright has always been able to see the lighter side of life, but lately darkness has descended. When she is called back to Starlight to help her aunt, she is barely holding herself together and fears she will never find her way back to who she used to be. Under the bright side of the stars, Addie and Tessa Jane come to see that magic can be found in trusting yourself, that falling apart is simply a chance to rise up again, and that the heart usually knows the best path through the darkness.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250867308

THE DROWNED by John Banville (Historical Mystery)
1950s, rural Ireland. A loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field. Knowing he shouldn’t approach but unable to hold back, he soon finds himself embroiled in a troubling missing person case, as a husband claims his wife may have thrown herself into the sea. Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, who soon turns to his old ally --- the flawed but brilliant pathologist Quirke --- a man he is linked to in increasingly complicated ways. But as the case unfolds, events from the past resurface that may have life-altering ramifications for all involved.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335471994

EXPOSURE by Ramona Emerson (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
In Gallup, New Mexico, a serial killer is operating unchecked, his targets indigent Native people whose murders are easily disguised as death by exposure on the frigid winter streets. He slips unnoticed through town, while the voices in his head guide him toward a terrifying vision of glory. As the Gallup detectives struggle to put the pieces together, they consider calling in a controversial specialist to help. Rita Todacheene, Albuquerque PD forensic photographer, is at a crisis point in her career. Her colleagues are watching her with suspicion after the recent revelation that she can see the ghosts of murder victims. Her unmanageable caseload is further complicated by the fact that half the department has blacklisted her for ratting out a corrupt fellow cop. Maybe it’s time for her to leave police work behind entirely --- if only the ghosts will let her.
Soho Crime | 9781641297356

FALLEN STAR by Lee Goldberg (Thriller)
Paperback Original
A 55-gallon drum washes up in the Malibu Lagoon stuffed with the corpse of Gene Dent, the key player in a bribery scandal that ensnared several local politicians. LASD detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone know the case --- and all the likely suspects --- well. Just as they begin their investigation, the sheriff publicly reveals evidence linking the crime to LA’s mayor. But Eve and Duncan realize the bombshell allegation arises from corruption within the sheriff’s own office…because they helped cover it up years ago. If the sheriff goes down, so will they. Eve is agonizing over her moral dilemma when a helicopter crashes in the hillside below her Calabasas home. It’s not a coincidence. Eve soon discovers among the twisted wreckage and dead passengers shocking connections to her own past.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662526480

FATHERS AND FUGITIVES written by S.J. Naudé, translated by Michiel Heyns (Fiction)
Estranged from his elderly, senile father, Daniel nonetheless returns to South Africa to care for him during his final months. Shortly after arriving in Cape Town, however, Daniel learns of an unusual clause in the old man’s will. He will inherit his share of his father’s estate only if he spends time with Theon, a cousin whom he hasn’t seen since they were boys, and who lives on a sprawling farm in the Free State. With the conditions bearing on Daniel’s inheritance shifting in real time, Theon and Daniel travel to Japan to seek out an experimental cure for the son of the woman Theon lives with. The trip will change their lives forever.
Europa Editions | 9798889661375

A GIRL LIKE US by Anna Sophia McLoughlin (Thriller)
As a former reality star and 2004's current it-girl, Maya Miller is the center of attention more often than not. And with her recent marriage to the most eligible bachelor in the world, Colin Sterling, of the famous Sterling family, Maya once again finds herself under scrutiny. When Colin's cousin, Arianna, is found dead, and Maya is named as her successor, it isn't long before Maya becomes the prime suspect in Arianna's murder. Rushed into lockdown with the rest of the Sterling family at Silver House, the family's ancestral estate in the English countryside, Maya now has no choice but to discover and expose the truth about the Sterling family to protect her own name. But Maya has secrets of her own, and she knows that in order to survive the Sterlings, she'll have to beat them at their own game.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781728296128

GRACE & HENRY’S HOLIDAY MOVIE MARATHON by Matthew Norman (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
The new year had barely begun when Grace White and Henry Adler both lost their spouses. Now, nearly a year later, the first holiday season since their "Great and Terrible Sadnesses" approaches. Although their mothers scheme to matchmake the two surviving spouses, it’s clear that neither is ready to date again. Yet no one understands what they are going through better than each other, and a delicate friendship is born. When Henry sees an ad for a Christmas movie marathon --- once an annual tradition for him and his wife --- Grace offers to watch some films with him, despite her aversion to a few of his picks. With each movie, Grace and Henry’s shared grief eases as they start to see a life beyond the sadness. But as they draw closer, other romantic possibilities leave them uncertain about their future together.
Dell | 9780593975053

I’LL BE WAITING by Kelley Armstrong (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Nicola Laughton was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. Medical advances let her live into her 30s, and she met Anton, who taught her to dream of a future…together. Months after they married, Anton died in a horrible car crash, but he lived long enough to utter five words to her: “I’ll be waiting for you.” That final private moment became public when someone from the crash scene took it to the press --- the terminally ill woman holding her dying husband as he promised to wait for her on the other side. Worse, that person claimed it wasn’t Anton who said the words but his ghost, hovering over his body. A reputable medium is brought in to conduct a séance, but throughout it all Nicola is haunted by nightmares of her past. Because this isn’t her first time contacting the dead. And Nicola isn’t her real name. That’s when she finds the first body.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250397171

JANUARIES: Stories of Love, Magic & Betrayal by Olivie Blake
(Fantasy & Romance/Short Stories)
Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a wish-granting spirit rapidly approaches burnout. Meanwhile, a banished fairy answers a Craigslist ad, a Victorian orphan navigates an occult situationship, and a multiverse assassin contemplates the one who got away. With both iconic fan-favorite stories and entirely original pieces, JANUARIES features modified fairy tales, contemporary heists, absurdist poetry, and at least one set of actual wedding vows. Escape the slow trudge of mortality by diving into these enchanting new worlds with a master of imagination.
Tordotcom | 9781250330703

THE KEEPER OF MAGICAL THINGS by Julie Leong (Fantasy/Romance)
Paperback Original
Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful --- to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice and to the little brother who depends on her. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone. When Certainty has the chance to earn her magehood via a seemingly straightforward assignment, she takes it. She and Mage Aurelia --- the brilliant, unfairly attractive overachiever who’s managed to alienate everyone around her --- must transport minorly magical artifacts somewhere safe: Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. The Guild’s uneasy relationship with citizens is at a tipping point, and the last thing needed is a magical incident. Still, as mage and novice come to know Shpelling’s residents --- and each other --- they realize the Guild’s hoarded magic might do more good being shared. But magic is fickle. Add attraction, and it might spell trouble.
Ace | 9780593815946

LIFEFORM by Jenny Slate (Humor/Essays)
Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love because of past injury. And then what happened was that she became a wild-pregnant-mammal-thing, and then she exploded herself by having a whole baby blast through her vagina. Herein lies an account of this journey, told in five phases --- Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby and Ongoing --- through luminous, laugh-out-loud funny essays that take the form of letters to a doctor, dreams of a stork, fantasy therapy sessions, gossip between raccoons, excerpts from an imaginary olden timey play, obituaries, theories about postpartum hair loss, graduation speeches and more.
Back Bay Books | 9780316264037

THE MAN NEXT DOOR by Sheila Roberts (Romantic Comedy/Mystery)
Paperback Original
Zona never thought her life was headed this way. But here she is, newly divorced and moving back in with her mom, Louise. This wasn't Louise's plan, either, laid up at home with a broken leg after one unfortunate tumble on a senior singles cruise. But if she's going to spend all her time at home, at least she has her daughter there with her. And there's some hot new eye candy next door to distract them both from their troubles. He appears to be single and just around Zona's age. But there’s something lurking under that man’s surface charm, something…dangerous? And who's the woman they can hear him in all-out shouting matches with on the other side of the fence? When the woman seems to disappear without a trace, imaginations run wild. Or at least, Zona hopes it's just her mother's imagination.
Mira | 9780778360285

THE MISSING PAGES by Alyson Richman (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
1912: Harry Widener, a promising and passionate book collector, boards the Titanic holding tight to a priceless volume he’s just purchased in London. After catastrophe strikes the ship, Harry’s last known words are that he must return to his cabin to retrieve his latest treasure. Neither the young man nor the book is ever seen again. Honoring her son’s memory, Harry’s mother builds the Harry Widener Memorial Library at Harvard to house his extensive book collection and ensure his legacy. Decades later, Violet Hutchins, a Harvard sophomore recovering from her own great loss, is working as a page at the Widener Library. When mysterious things begin happening at the library, Violet wonders if Harry Widener’s ghost is trying to communicate with her, seeking Violet to uncover a long-buried secret that Harry took with him to the grave. 
Union Square & Co. | 9781454953210

THE MORE THE TERRIER: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter is relieved to be headed back to Paterson, New Jersey, after a week-long family vacation in the Adirondacks. He's ready to put the holly jolly season way behind him and settle in at home with his three dogs. But when they finally arrive, there is an extra dog eagerly awaiting them, as well as one anxious dog sitter. When the dog showed up on the doorstep a few days ago, the sitter knew Andy would know what to do. Indeed, Andy recognizes Murphy, who the Carpenters fostered before the dog went home with BJ Bremer and his mother. When Andy goes to take Murphy back to the Bremers, instead of the happy reunion he expects, he finds BJ's mother in tears. It turns out Murphy ran off…after BJ was arrested for murder. The case isn’t as simple as Andy thought it would be, with BJ suspected of killing one of his professors.
Minotaur Books | 9781250324566

ON THE SAVAGE SIDE by Tiffany McDaniel (Fiction)
Arcade and Daffodil are twins born one minute apart. With their fiery red hair and thirst for escape, they form an unbreakable bond nurtured by their grandmother’s stories. Together, they disappear into their imaginations and forge a world all their own. But what the two sisters can’t escape are the generational ghosts that haunt their family. Growing up in the shadow of their rural Ohio town, the sisters cling tightly to one another. Years later, Arcade wrestles with the memories of her early life, just as a local woman is discovered drowned in the river. Soon, more bodies are found. As her friends disappear around her, Arcade is forced to reckon with the past while the killer circles closer.
Vintage | 9780593315125

POLOSTAN: Volume One of Bomb Light by Neal Stephenson (Historical Thriller)
The first installment in Neal Stephenson’s Bomb Light cycle, POLOSTAN follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora. She spends her early years in Russia but then grows up as a teenager in Montana, before being drawn into gunrunning and revolution in the streets of Washington, D.C., during the depths of the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062190383

PONY CONFIDENTIAL by Christina Lynch (Mystery)
Pony has been passed from owner to owner for longer than he can remember. Fed up, he busts out and goes on a cross-country mission to reunite with Penny, the little girl who he was separated from and hasn’t seen in years. Penny, now an adult, is living an ordinary life when she gets a knock on her door and finds herself in handcuffs, accused of murder and whisked back to the place she grew up. Her only comfort when the past comes back to haunt her is the memory of her precious, rebellious pony. Hearing of Penny’s fate, Pony knows that Penny is no murderer. So, as smart and devious as he is cute, the pony must use his hard-won knowledge of human weakness and cruelty to try to clear Penny’s name and find the real killer.
Berkley | 9780593640371

THE RAGPICKER KING by Cassandra Clare (Fantasy/Romance)
Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace --- and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold --- a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores. Meanwhile, to save the life of a dying friend, Lin Caster has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn. Now the terrifying leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.
Del Rey | 9780525620044

RING SHOUT by P. Djèlí Clark (Historical/Dark Fantasy)
In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Ku Klux Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die. Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan's demons straight to Hell. But something awful is brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up. Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?
Tor Nightfire | 9781250393814

THE SECRET CHRISTMAS LIBRARY by Jenny Colgan (Mystery/Romance)
Paperback Original
Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home. But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser. Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063437371

SHOCK INDUCTION by Chuck Palahniuk (Fiction/Satire)
The best and brightest students at a seemingly reputable high school are disappearing. Every day it seems another overachiever is lost to an apparent suicide. But something far more sinister is lurking beneath the surface. These kids have been under surveillance since birth, monitored and measured by an online service called “Greener Pastures.” It’s here that billionaires observe and recruit the next generation of talent. The highest test scores, the best grades and the most niche extracurriculars just might land these teenagers an enticing offer at auction. A couple billion dollars in exchange for the remainder of your life and intellectual labor sounds like a pretty fair deal. Doesn’t it? In SHOCK INDUCTION, students must choose between the risk of following their dreams or the security of money and a lifetime of servitude to the world’s wealthiest and most elite.
Simon & Schuster | 9781668021453

SHY CREATURES by Clare Chambers (Historical/Literary Mystery)
The London suburb of Croydon, 1964: Helen Hansford is an art therapist at the Westbury Park psychiatric hospital, where she has been having a rebellious love affair with her colleague Gil, a dashing but married doctor. One spring afternoon, they receive a call about a disturbance at a derelict, vine-covered Victorian house. There the police find a mute, 37-year-old man called William Tapping. It appears he lives in the old house with his elderly, frail aunt, who expires as soon as she’s admitted to the hospital. No one knows why William has been shut away for decades, unseen by neighbors. When it emerges that William is not only sane but a talented artist, Helen comes to see him as something of a personal project. But as she tries to solve the puzzle of the Hidden Man’s past, Helen’s own carefully constructed life of secrets begins to unravel.
Mariner Books | 9780063258235

TIME WILL TELL by Rita Mae Brown (Mystery)
“Sister” Jane Arnold and her friend, Tootie Harris, are helping to lure home hunt club member Cindy Chandler’s two escaped cows, Clytemnestra and Orestes, when they discover an expensive watch carelessly abandoned on an overgrown path. The last thing Sister needs is another mystery to solve, but when one falls into her lap, she can’t help but get involved. Days later, a young man is murdered, one with seemingly no connection to the pricey jewelry or a life of crime. His mother is distraught, and Sister vows to find the murderer. But when hounds on the hunt discover a truck covered in blood --- with no body in sight --- she quickly realizes she’s in over her head with a cunning and clever adversary. Can she find the link and stop the murderer before they strike again? Only time will tell.
Bantam | 9780593874073

THE TOURISTS by Christopher Reich (Thriller)
Paperback Original
Retired special agent Mac Dekker travels to Paris to propose to Ava Attal, once Mossad’s deadliest operative. After too long, life is good. But before he can propose, Ava leaves the table to take an urgent call. And never returns. Mac launches a frantic search, spiraling through the city’s brightest and darkest places. People are lying, agents are dying, and he finds himself caught in the crosshairs of CIA shadows and enigmatic assassins while battling a wealthy, ruthless prince planning a truly terrifying act of violence. With only hours to find Ava and save thousands of lives, Mac’s CIA training kicks in, along with his instincts: Is Ava truly missing, or did she come to Paris on a mission even more secretive than his own?
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662516566

WE COULD BE RATS by Emily Austin (Fiction/Humor)
Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal. But having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend, Greta. Her older sister, Margit, is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society. But Sigrid’s detachment veils a deeper turmoil and sensitivity. She’s haunted by the pains of her past --- from pretending her parents were swamp monsters when they shook the floorboards with their violent arguments to grappling with losing Greta’s friendship to the opioid epidemic ravaging their town. As Margit sets out to understand Sigrid and the secrets she has hidden, both sisters discover that reigniting their shared childhood imagination is the only way forward.
Atria Books | 9781668058152

On Sale the Week of October 20th in Hardcover

October 21st

BAD BAD GIRL by Gish Jen (Historical Fiction)
Gish’s mother, Loo Shu-hsin, is born in 1924 to a wealthy Shanghai. Her beloved nursemaid is torn from her even as she is constantly reprimanded: “Bad bad girl! You don’t know how to talk!” Sent to a modern Catholic school by her progressive father, she receives not only an English name --- Agnes --- but a first-rate education. Agnes finds solace in books and, in 1947, announces her intention to pursue a PhD in America. As the Communist revolution looms, she sets sail --- never to return. Lonely and adrift in New York, she begins dating Jen Chao-Pe, an engineering student. They do their best to block out the increasingly dire plight of their families back home and successfully establish a new American life. By the time Gish is born, though, the news from China is proving inescapable; their marriage is foundering; and Agnes recapitulates the harshness of her own childhood.
Knopf | 9780593803738 

BIG KISS, BYE-BYE by Claire-Louise Bennett (Fiction)
Uprooted by circumstance from city to deep countryside, a woman lives in temporary limbo, visited by memories of all she’s left behind. The most insistent are those of Xavier, who has always been certain he knows her better than anyone, better than she knows herself. Xavier, whom she still loves but no longer desires, a displacement he has been unable to accept. An unexpected letter from an old acquaintance brings back a torrent of others she’s loved or wanted. The ephemera left by their passage --- a spilled coffee, an unwanted bouquet, a mind-blowing kiss --- make up a cabinet of curiosity she inventories, trying to divine the essence of intimacy. What does it mean to connect with another person? What impels us to touch someone, to be touched by them, to stay in touch? How do we let them go?
Riverhead Books | 9798217046645 

A CHRISTMAS WITNESS: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Novella by Charles Todd (Historical Mystery)
December 1921: Being single and a new Chief, Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard gets the short straw at Christmastime and is called upon by Chief Superintendent Markum to go to the Kentish home of a lord recovering from an attempt on his life. In bed with a concussion, the man is convinced someone is trying to kill him after he claims he was struck by the hoof of a running horse whose rider never stopped to check on him. Struggling with his own demons from the war and misgivings about helping a man who, as a colonel, oversaw the suffering of those on the frontlines from afar, Rutledge undertakes an uneasy investigation. And as the winter holiday approaches, he becomes increasingly convinced that nothing is as it seems.
Mysterious Press | 9781613166895 

DAMAGED PEOPLE: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons by Joe McGinniss Jr. (Memoir)
Joe McGinniss was a paradox: a brilliant writer whose dazzling achievements were overshadowed by personal demons. At age 26, he became the youngest living person to top the New York Times bestseller list, for his book THE SELLING OF THE PRESIDENT, about Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign. Shortly after, he walked out on his wife and their three young children. His oldest son, Joe McGinniss Jr., went on to become a writer himself, known for his critically acclaimed novels THE DELIVERY MAN and CAROUSEL COURT. In DAMAGED PEOPLE, McGinniss Jr. vividly recounts his affectionate yet stormy relationship with his famous father, capturing moments of tenderness and humor amid the chaos and tension.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781668004852 

A FERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS by Debbie Macomber (Romance)
Avery and Reed Bond grew up sharing a close-knit relationship. Even so, Avery often finds herself exasperated by her brother’s relentless matchmaking, while Reed can’t resist teasing his sister. Facing their first Christmas without their beloved Grams, the woman who lovingly raised them, Reed and Avery decide to spend the holiday together at Reed’s home. However, their plans take an unexpected turn when the ferry Avery is traveling on stalls in the middle of Puget Sound, stranding its passengers and leaving Reed waiting a now undetermined length of time for her arrival. What is at first an inconvenience threatens to ruin the plans of a number of commuters, but Avery and Reed soon discover that this unforeseen delay might end up being a perfectly timed blessing in disguise.
Ballantine Books | 9780593974674 

FINDING MY WAY: A Memoir by Malala Yousafzai (Memoir)
Thrust onto the public stage at 15 years old after the Taliban’s brutal attack on her life, Malala Yousafzai quickly became an international icon known for bravery and resilience. But away from the cameras and crowds, she spent years struggling to find her place in an unfamiliar world. Now, for the first time ever, Malala takes us beyond the headlines. FINDING MY WAY is a story of friendship and first love, of anxiety and self-discovery, of trying to stay true to yourself when everyone wants to tell you who you are. In it, Malala traces her path from high school loner to reckless college student to a young woman at peace with her past. Through candid, often messy moments --- like nearly failing exams, getting ghosted, and meeting the love of her life --- Malala reminds us that real role models aren’t perfect. They’re human.
Atria Books | 9781668054277 

GIRL DINNER by Olivie Blake (Horror/Dark Humor)
Every member of The House --- the most exclusive sorority on campus --- and all its alumni are beautiful, high-achieving and universally respected. After a freshman year she would like to forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows that being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner's new position at the cutthroat University. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in the way the alumnae seem to have it all, achieving a level of collective perfection that she so desperately craves. As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs.
Tor Books | 9781250883452 

KING SORROW by Joe Hill (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine. But his idyll --- and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot --- is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library. Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which they must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year --- or become his next meal.
William Morrow | 9780062200600

THE LAND OF SWEET FOREVER: Stories and Essays by Harper Lee
(Short Stories/Essays) 
THE LAND OF SWEET FOREVER combines Harper Lee’s early short fiction and later nonfiction in a volume that offers an unprecedented look at the development of her inimitable voice. Covering territory from the Alabama schoolyards of Lee’s youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, the book invites still-vital conversations about politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South, and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life. This collection comes with an introduction by Casey Cep, Lee’s appointed biographer, which provides illuminating background for our reading of these stories and connects them both to Lee’s life and to her two novels, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and GO SET A WATCHMAN.
Harper | 9780063460515 

THE PROVING GROUND: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel by Michael Connelly (Legal Thriller)
Following his “resurrection walk” and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a 16-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Representing the victim’s family, Mickey’s case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy’s digging ultimately delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316563826 

RACEBOOK: A Personal History of the Internet by Tochi Onyebuchi
(Memoir/Essays) 
When Tochi Onyebuchi realized that his acclaimed science fiction and fantasy storytelling career had been centrally preoccupied with race, it prompted him to consider his responsibilities as a Black writer in the Internet age. Excavating the Internet of the late 1990s and early 2000s, RACEBOOK explores how the writer and public intellectual Onyebuchi is today was formed in that crucible. Beginning with the current moment when everything, including personal identity, is a matter of dispute, and tracing his online persona in reverse chronological order back to Web 1.0’s promises of greater equality and a bright digital future, Onyebuchi deftly examines the evolution of internet culture and the ways that culture has shifted in the ensuing decades. 
Roxane Gay Books | 9780802166258

RUNNING DEEP: Bravery, Survival, and the True Story of the Deadliest Submarine in World War II by Tom Clavin (History)
There was one submarine that outfought all other boats in the Silent Service in World War II: the USS Tang. Captain Richard Hetherington O’Kane commanded the attack submarine that sunk more tonnage, rescued more downed aviators, and successfully completed more surface attacks than any other American submarine. The Tang achieved its greatest success on October 24, 1944, when it took on an entire Japanese convoy and destroyed it. But its 24th and last torpedo boomeranged, returning to strike the Tang. Mortally wounded, the boat sunk. After hours of struggle, nine of the 87 crewmen, including O’Kane, made it to the surface. Captured by the Japanese, the Tang sailors joined other submariners and flyers at a “torture camp,” where O’Kane was a special target. Against all odds, when the camp was liberated in August 1945, O’Kane still lived.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250374479 

THE TEN YEAR AFFAIR by Erin Somers (Fiction)
When Cora meets Sam at a baby group in their small town, the chemistry between them is undeniable. Both are happily married young parents with two kids, and neither sees themselves as the type to engage in an affair. But as their lives continue to intertwine, the romantic tension between them becomes all-consuming --- until their worlds unravel into two parallel timelines. In one, they pursue their feelings. In the other, they resist. As reality splits, the everyday details of Cora’s life --- her depressing marketing job, her daughter’s new fascination with the afterlife, her husband’s obsession with podcasts about the history of rope --- gain fresh perspective. The intersecting and diverging timelines blur the boundaries of reality and fantasy, questioning what might have been and what truly matters.
Simon & Schuster | 9781668081440 

THIS IS THE ONLY KINGDOM by Jaquira Díaz (Fiction)
When Maricarmen meets Rey el Cantante, the beloved small-time Robin Hood and local musician on the rise, she begins to envision a life beyond the tight-knit community of el Caserío, Puerto Rico. But breaking free proves more difficult than she imagined, and she soon finds herself struggling to make a home for herself; Rey; his young brother, Tito; and, eventually, their daughter, Nena. Until one fateful day changes everything. Fifteen years later, Maricarmen and Nena find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation as the community that once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Now Nena, a teenager haunted by loss and betrayal and exploring her sexual identity, must learn to fight for herself and her family in a world not always welcoming.
Algonquin Books | 9781616209148 

THE WIDOW by John Grisham (Legal Thriller/Mystery)
Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it. Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder. Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer.
Doubleday | 9780385548984 

WILD ANIMAL written by Joël Dicker, translated by Robert Bononno (Domestic Thriller/Mystery)
On July 2, 2022, two criminals set out to rob a jewelry shop in Geneva. But even with a foolproof plan, their “perfect” heist will prove far from uneventful. Twenty days earlier, on a luxurious estate along the shores of Lake Geneva, Sophie Braun prepares to celebrate her 40th birthday. Her life seems perfect, but her idyllic world is about to crumble. Her husband is becoming embroiled in petty schemes. Her neighbor, a policeman with a spotless reputation, is obsessed with her and spies on the most intimate moments of her life. Then, on her birthday, she receives a gift from a mysterious prowler that endangers her life. It will take many journeys into the past, far from Geneva, to unravel the origins of this diabolical plot from which no one will emerge unscathed.
HarperVia | 9780063426023 

WINSTON AND THE WINDSORS: How Churchill Shaped a Royal Dynasty by Andrew Morton (Biography)
In WINSTON AND THE WINDSORS, Andrew Morton, one of the world’s best-known biographers and a leading authority on celebrity, presents a meticulously researched joint biography of Winston Churchill and the House of Windsor. Throughout the course of his career and life, Churchill’s connection to the Windsors fluctuated wildly. At times, he was the royal family’s trusted confidant. At others, he was their leading antagonist. In exploring the complex dynamic between the two, Morton argues that, regardless of whether the attitudes of the royal family were warm or icy toward Churchill, their relationship was central to the 20th-century history of the British monarchy.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335250995 

WRITING CREATIVITY AND SOUL by Sue Monk Kidd (Memoir/Self-Help)
When Sue Monk Kidd was in high school, a home economics teacher wrote a list of potential occupations for women on the blackboard: teacher, nurse, librarian, secretary. “Writer” was nowhere to be found. On that day, Kidd shut the door on her writerly aspirations and would not revisit the topic until many years later when she announced to her husband and two children that she was going to become a writer. And so began her journey into the mysteries and methods of the writerly life. In WRITING CREATIVITY AND SOUL, Sue Monk Kidd pulls from her own life and the lives of other writers --- including Virginia Woolf, Maya Angelou and Harper Lee --- to provide a map for anyone who has ever felt lost as a writer.
Knopf | 9780593804643

On Sale the Week of October 20th in Paperback

October 21st

ABSOLUTION: A Southern Reach Novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Speculative Fiction)
ABSOLUTION opens decades before Area X forms, with a science expedition whose mysterious end suggests terrifying consequences for the future --- and marks the Forgotten Coast as a high priority for Central, the shadowy federal agency that monitors extraordinary threats. Many years later, the Forgotten Coast files wind up in the hands of a washed-up Central operative, Old Jim. He starts pulling a thread that reveals a long, troubling record of government agents meddling with forces they clearly cannot comprehend. Old Jim’s investigation culminates in the first Central expedition into what has now been labeled Area X. A border has come down, and a full team has been assembled to find Area X’s “off switch” somewhere in the volatile, dangerous terrain that has defied all attempts to be explored, mapped or controlled.
Picador | 9781250397805

AMERICAN HEROES by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, with Tim Malloy (Biography)
U.S. soldiers who served in overseas conflicts --- from World War II, Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan --- share true stories of the actions that earned them some of America’s most distinguished military medals, up to and including the Medal of Honor. They never acted alone, but always in the spirit of camaraderie, patriotism and for the good of our beloved country. There has never been a better time for all of us to think about duty, sacrifice and what it means to be an American hero.
Little, Brown and Company | 9781538710906

BANDIT HEAVEN: The Hole-in-the-Wall Gangs and the Final Chapter of the Wild West by Tom Clavin (History)
Robbers Roost, Brown’s Hole and Hole-in-the-Wall were three hideouts that collectively were known to outlaws as “Bandit Heaven.” During the 1880s and ‘90s, these remote locations in Wyoming and Utah harbored hundreds of train and bank robbers, horse and cattle thieves, the occasional killer, and anyone else with a price on his head. Tom Clavin's BANDIT HEAVEN is the entertaining story of these tumultuous times and the colorful characters who rode the Outlaw Trail through the frigid mountain passes and throat-parching deserts that connected the three hideouts --- well-guarded enclaves that no sensible lawman would enter.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250852557

DEADLY ANIMALS by Marie Tierney (Mystery/Thriller)
Ava Bonney is a compassionate and studious 14-year-old girl with a dark secret: she has an obsessive interest in the macabre. She is fascinated by the rate at which dead animals decompose. The highway she lives by regularly offers up gifts of roadkill, and in the dead of night she loves nothing more than to pull her latest discovery into her roadside den and record her findings. One night, she stumbles across the body of her classmate. Fearing that her secret ritual could be revealed, she makes an anonymous call to the police. But when Detective Seth Delahaye is given the case, Ava won’t step back --- not while teenagers continue to go missing. Racing alongside the police or against them, Ava is determined to figure out who is hunting her classmates before she becomes the next prey.
Holt Paperbacks | 9781250357618

THE DEADLY BOOK CLUB by Lyn Liao Butler (Mystery/Thriller)
Paperback Original
Five of the most prominent book influencers in the US make up an exclusive virtual book club that’s the envy of the online book world. Once a month, they get on a video call to sip cocktails, chat about social media campaigns and book events, and discuss their monthly book club pick. Until one meeting, when all of their screens freeze, and they listen to gut-wrenching screams as one of them is brutally attacked. As the investigation unearths secrets each of them needs to keep buried, the jealousies, hidden resentments, and trouble in their personal lives begin to surface. The remaining four women are suspicious of each other, pointing fingers to take the heat off their own indiscretions. But if they want to figure out who killed their friend, they need to band together and put past hurts behind them. Or one of them will be next.
Crooked Lane Books | 9798892422918

THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS by Alexandria Bellefleur (Paranormal Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
In less than 24 hours, Samantha Cooper’s life has unraveled, leaving her single and with nowhere to live. Adding insult to injury, she’s trapped in an elevator with a gorgeous woman claiming to be a demon. Daphne is here to offer Samantha a deal she can’t refuse: six wishes in exchange for one tiny trade --- Samantha’s soul. There’s a glaring loophole in their contract, one Samantha fully intends to exploit so she doesn’t fork over her soul. Hell-bent to gather the last of the 1,000 souls she needs so that she can be free of her own devilish deal, Daphne grants each of Samantha’s wishes…with a twist, so that Samantha is forced to make another. As Samantha’s wishes dwindle and Daphne offers her glimpses into the life she thought she wanted, the unlikely pair grows close. But they will have to outsmart the Devil himself if they want a chance at happily ever after.
Berkley | 9780593952504

DOGS AND MONSTERS: Stories by Mark Haddon (Fiction/Short Stories)
Greek myths have fascinated people for millennia, seeing in them lessons about fate and hubris and the contingency of existence. Mark Haddon digs into the heart of these ancient fables and sees them anew. These tales cover a vast range, from the mythic to the domestic, from ancient Greece to the present day, from stories about love to stories about cruelty, from battlefields to bed and breakfasts, from dogs in space to doors between worlds --- all of them bound together by a profound sympathy and an understanding of how human beings act, think and feel when pushed to the very edge.
Vintage | 9780593688236

THE EIGHT HEARTBREAKS OF HANUKKAH by Jean Meltzer (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah planned: eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol. But an accident on set lands her in the medical bay with one of her chronic migraines, and she’s shocked to find her ex-husband, David Adler, filling in for the usual studio doctor. It’s been two years since David walked away from Evelyn. But when Evelyn begins hallucinating “ghosts” tied to her past heartbreaks, and every single one leads to David, he finds himself spending much more time with her than he anticipated. And denying the still-smoldering chemistry between them becomes impossible. As Evelyn revisits her ghosts of Hanukkah past, she and David both begin to wonder if they can have a Hanukkah future.
Mira | 9780778334422

GOOD SPIRITS by B.K. Borison (Paranormal Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Ghost of Christmas Past Nolan Callahan intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other --- get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he’s faced with Harriet York, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future. Harriet York has no idea why she’s being haunted. She’s a good person --- or, at least, she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what’s expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together --- and realize there might be more to moving on than expected. With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other’s pasts? Or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection?
Avon | 9780063430402

I AM CLEOPATRA by Natasha Solomons (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
The favored daughter of the Pharaoh, Egyptian Princess Cleopatra spent her childhood hiding amid the scrolls in the great library of Alexandria, dreaming of one day writing her own story. When her father dies, naming both Cleopatra and her selfish brother, Ptolemy, as his successors to the throne, danger arises. While the young Queen sails the Nile to greet her people, her brother plots to eliminate her and rule the empire alone. But while Ptolemy has the power of the kingdom behind him, Cleopatra has her cunning wits. When the great Caesar arrives from Rome, she realizes he could be the key to her salvation --- though courting this powerful man could cost her everything. Can Cleopatra save her life, her throne and her beloved Egypt, and finally write her own history?
Harper Perennial | 9780063449756

IMPOSTOR SYNDROME by Andrew Mayne (Thriller)
Paperback Original
The FBI calls on former agent Jessica Blackwood to look at a puzzling crime. A wildlife officer has found the body of a popular YouTuber encased in an obelisk made of salt in a remote refuge. When the agency is tipped off to a second body, that of a TikTok star chained to the bottom of Nevada’s Pyramid Lake --- her hands clasped in prayer --- Jessica recruits a trusted colleague of her own: Floridian underwater investigator Sloan McPherson. It appears to be the work of a ritualistic serial killer preying on influencers. That tracks when a third victim --- a fantasy-game live streamer --- barely survives a pipe bomb attack. As the threats multiply across the country, Jessica and Sloan fear they’re playing with something more extreme than they imagined: a killer’s endgame that could be nothing less than apocalyptic.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662522505

KARLA’S CHOICE: A Novel of John le Carré's Circus by Nick Harkaway (Historical Thriller)
It is spring in 1963, and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West’s spy war against the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only for a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumor that Smiley might almost be happy. But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Susanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But in his absence, the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley soon finds himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come and set him on a collision course with the greatest enemy he will ever make.
Penguin Books | 9780593833513

MY GOOD BRIGHT WOLF: A Memoir by Sarah Moss (Memoir)
A girl must watch her figure but never be vain. She must be intelligent but never a know-it-all. She must be ambitious, if she is clever, but not in a way that shows. She must cook and sew and make do and mend. She must know (but never say) that these skills are, in some fundamental way, flawed and frivolous --- feminine. Girls must stay small, even as they grow. Women must show restraint.  And yet. In books, in the landscape of imagination, a girl can run free. Here, with MY GOOD BRIGHT WOLF, Sarah Moss takes on these rules, these lessons from the fables of girlhood, and uses them to fearlessly investigate the nature of memory, the lure of self-control, the impact of privilege, scarcity, parents and love.
Picador | 9781250397713

OLD KING by Maxim Loskutoff (Historical Fiction)
In the summer of 1976, Duane Oshun finds himself stranded in a remote Montana town beset by a series of strange and menacing events. He takes a job as a logger and builds a cabin on an isolated road near a reclusive neighbor --- a hermit named Ted Kaczynski. The two men are captivated by the valley’s endangered old-growth forest, but Kaczynski’s violent grievances against modern society soon threaten the lives of all those around him. As Kaczynski’s bombs crescendo to the book’s devastating conclusion, OLD KING wrestles with the birth of the modern environmental movement, the accelerating dominion of technology in American life, and a new kind of violence that lives next door.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9781324110965

ROMAN YEAR: A Memoir by André Aciman (Memoir)
In ROMAN YEAR, André Aciman captures the period of his adolescence that began when he and his family first set foot in Rome, after being expelled from Egypt. Though Aciman’s family had been well-off in Alexandria, all vestiges of their status vanished when they fled, and the author, his younger brother and his deaf mother moved into a rented apartment in Rome’s Via Clelia. Though dejected, Aciman’s mother and brother found their way into life in Rome, while Aciman, still unmoored, burrowed into his bedroom to read one book after the other. The world of novels eventually allowed him to open up to the city and, through them, discover the beating heart of the Eternal City. Aciman’s time in Rome did not last long before he and his family moved across the ocean, but by the time they did, he was leaving behind a city he loved.
Picador | 9781250397683

SOMEONE LIKE US by Dinaw Mengestu (Fiction)
After abandoning his once-promising career as a journalist in search of a new life in Paris, Mamush meets Hannah, a photographer. Now, five years later, with his marriage to Hannah on the verge of collapse, he returns to the close-knit immigrant Ethiopian community of Washington, DC, that defined his childhood. At its center is Mamush’s stoic, implacable mother, and Samuel, the larger-than-life father figure whose ceaseless charm and humor have always served as a cover for a harder, more troubling truth. But on the same day that Mamush arrives home in Washington, Samuel is found dead in his garage. With Hannah and their two-year-old son back in Paris, Mamush sets out on an unexpected journey across America in search of answers to questions he'd been told never to ask.
Vintage | 9780345805676

THIS BOOK WILL BURY ME by Ashley Winstead (Psychological Thriller)
After the unexpected death of her father, college student Jane Sharp longs for a distraction from her grief. She becomes obsessed with true crime, befriending armchair detectives who teach her how to hunt killers from afar. So when news of the shocking deaths of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho, takes the world by storm, and sleuths everywhere race to solve the crimes, Jane and her friends are determined to beat them. But the case turns out to be stranger than anyone expected, and they begin to suspect that the killer may be smarter and more prolific than any they've faced before. Told one year after the astounding events that concluded the case, when Jane has finally decided to break her silence about what really happened, she tells the true story of the Delphine Massacres. And what she has to confess will shock even the most seasoned true crime fans.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781728270036

WE THREE QUEENS: A Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys Bowen (Historical Mystery)
It's late 1936, and King Edward is in turmoil, having fallen in love with the scandalously divorced and even more scandalously American Wallis Simpson. He wants to marry her but knows that doing so will jeopardize his crown. Edward confides in his dear friend Darcy, Georgie's husband, and the couple agree to hide Wallis in their home while Edward figures out what to do. But unbeknownst to Georgie and Darcy, Sir Hubert, the owner of the estate, has given a film crew permission to shoot a motion picture about Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn on the grounds. Trying to keep Mrs. Simpson hidden while raising a newborn baby seems like it couldn't be any more stressful for the Rannochs, until one of the stars of the film is found murdered on set. Georgie must solve the murder for king and country before scandal threatens to envelop them all.
Berkley | 9780593641378

Please visit the other websites in TheBookReportNetwork.com: ReadingGroupGuides.com and AuthorsOnTheWeb.com.

And be sure to connect with us on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.