May 23, 2023

May 23, 2023

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of May 22nd and May 29th 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 Father's Day contest, which we have brought back for an 18th year. From now through Friday, June 16th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our five prize packages, which includes all six of our featured titles. Click here to read more about the books and enter the contest.

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

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

Wednesday, May 24th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will talk to Kate Morton and Lee Smith about their latest novels: Kate's HOMECOMING and Lee's SILVER ALERT. Appearing on the Aftershow will be Susan Meissner, whose new book is ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL.

Wednesday, May 24th at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: J.T. Ellison will talk about THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT, the latest installment in her series starring Lt. Taylor Jackson. This time, Taylor will be brought face to face with a deadly assassin who wants nothing more than to finish what they started.

Tuesday, May 30th at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author and former FBI director James Comey for a live virtual discussion of his gripping crime fiction debut, CENTRAL PARK WEST, as part of the B&N Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. Comey will be in conversation with the author of the Vanessa Pierson series, Valerie Plame.

Tuesday, May 30th at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Laura Dave about her novel, THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME, which is now in paperback and is a limited series on Apple TV+. Laura also will answer questions from guests who will be "on stage," as well as from other members of the audience. If you would like to be one of our featured audience guests and ask Laura a question on camera, please send Carol an email with the subject line “Laura” by Tuesday the 30th at noon ET.

This Week's Bonus News:
Bookreporter.com's 18th Annual
Father's Day Contest: Best Books for Dad

On Sale the Week of May 22nd in Hardcover

May 23rd

THE ADULT by Bronwyn Fischer (Fiction)
Eighteen-year-old Natalie has just arrived at her first year of university in Toronto. Everyone she encounters seems to know exactly who they are. She reads advice listicles, watches videos online and thinks about how to fit in, how to really become someone, whoever that might be. And then she meets Nora, an older woman who takes an unexpected interest in her. She begins spending more and more of her time at Nora’s perfect, tidy home in her beautiful, quiet world. Natalie lies to her floormates about her absence, inventing a fake off-campus boyfriend, and carefully protects this sacred, adult relationship. This only deepens her obsession, even as she comes to suspect that Nora is hiding something.
Algonquin Books | 9781643752723

BAD SUMMER PEOPLE by Emma Rosenblum (Fiction/Satire)
None of them would claim to be a particularly good person. But who among them is actually capable of murder? Jen Weinstein and Lauren Parker rule the town of Salcombe, Fire Island, every summer. They hold sway on the beach and the tennis court, and are adept at manipulating people to get what they want. Their husbands, Sam and Jason, have summered together on the island since childhood, despite lifelong grudges and numerous secrets. Their one single friend, Rachel Woolf, is looking to meet her match, whether he’s the tennis pro --- or someone else’s husband. But even with plenty to gossip about, this season starts out as quietly as any other. Until a body is discovered, face down, off the side of the boardwalk.
Flatiron Books | 9781250887009

THE BOOK OF CHARLIE: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man by David Von Drehle (Self-Help/Personal Growth)
Born before radio, Charlie White lived long enough to use a smartphone. When a shocking tragedy interrupted his idyllic boyhood, he mastered survival strategies that reflect thousands of years of human wisdom. Thus armored, Charlie’s sense of adventure carried him on an epic journey across the continent, and later found him swinging across bandstands of the Jazz Age, racing aboard ambulances through Depression-era gangster wars, improvising techniques for early open-heart surgery, and cruising the Amazon as a guest of Peru’s president. David Von Drehle came to understand that Charlie’s resilience and willingness to grow made this remarkable neighbor a master in the art of thriving through times of dramatic change. As a gift to his children, he set out to tell Charlie’s secrets.
Simon & Schuster | 9781476773926

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: A Hayley Chill Thriller by Chris Hauty (Political Thriller)
When a justice of the Supreme Court is killed by the police officer assigned to protect him, the country is shocked. Hayley Chill’s superiors suspect the assassination is part of a major conspiracy. In Maui, where one member of the Supreme Court owns a vacation home, a busload of children is taken hostage with the justice’s death as ransom. Together with a deputy US marshal, Hayley embarks on the monumental task of rescuing the children while also protecting the justice. But with danger around every corner and no one to trust, has Hayley finally bitten off more than she can chew?
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781982175887

HALCYON by Elliot Ackerman (Fiction)
Virginia, 2004. Gore is entering his second term as president. Our narrator, Martin Neumann, recently divorced, is living at Halcyon, the estate of renowned lawyer and World War II hero Robert Ableson. When news breaks that scientists funded by the Gore administration have discovered a cure for death, it calls into question everything Martin thought he understood about life, not least his work as a historian. Who is Ableson, really, and why did he draw Martin into his orbit? Is this new science a miraculous good or an insidious evil?
Knopf | 9780593321621

I DIDN'T DO IT by Jaime Lynn Hendricks (Mystery/Thriller)
Murderpalooza, the premier thriller writers conference, is meant to be an exciting celebration of the genre and its preeminent writers. But when bestselling author and industry favorite Kristin Bailey is found dead in her hotel room, four rival authors --- a midlister, an egomaniac, a has-been and a newbie --- also get targeted by an anonymous social media account and wonder if they’re next. First, they find themselves bonding to try to find out who’s behind it. As the account taunts them, it slowly reveals secrets that each of them have connected to Kristin --- secrets that make them a suspect in each other’s eyes. Soon, they are turning on each other and silently accusing each as a killer. Time is running out until the awards ceremony, where the social media account has promised a big reveal.
Scarlet | 9781613164112

IDENTITY by Nora Roberts (Romantic Suspense)
Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate, Nina, helps her make the mortgage payments, as does her job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party --- attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy --- her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor. A horrific truth soon emerges: "Luke" is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder. It turns out that Nina wasn't his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan's nightmare is just beginning.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250284112

THE LATE AMERICANS by Brandon Taylor (Fiction)
In the shared and private spaces of Iowa City, a loose circle of lovers and friends encounter, confront and provoke one another in a volatile year of self-discovery. Among them are Seamus, a frustrated young poet; Ivan, a dancer turned aspiring banker who dabbles in amateur pornography; Fatima, whose independence and work ethic complicate her relationships with friends and a trusted mentor; and Noah, who “didn’t seek sex out so much as it came up to him like an anxious dog in need of affection.” As each prepares for an uncertain future, the group heads to a cabin to bid goodbye to their former lives --- a moment of reckoning that leaves each of them irrevocably altered.
Riverhead Books | 9780593332337

THE LOCK-UP by John Banville (Historical Mystery)
In 1950s Dublin, young history scholar Rosa Jacobs is found dead in her car. Renowned pathologist Dr. Quirke and DI St. John Strafford begin to investigate the death as a murder, but it’s the victim’s older sister Molly, an established journalist, who discovers a lead that could crack open the case. One of Rosa’s friends, it turns out, is from a powerful German family that arrived in Ireland under mysterious circumstances shortly after World War II. But as Quirke and Strafford close in, their personal lives may put the case --- and everyone involved --- in peril, including Quirke’s own daughter.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335449634

THE POISONER'S RING: A Rip Through Time Novel by Kelley Armstrong (Historical Mystery/Thriller)
Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she’s not housemaid Catriona Mitchell --- even though Mallory is in Catriona’s body --- and Mallory is now officially an undertaker’s assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows, the latest of whom is Gray’s oldest sister. Poison is said to be a woman’s weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it’s as simple as that. But she must tread carefully. Every move the household makes is being watched, and who knows where the investigation will lead.
Minotaur Books | 9781250820037

ROGUE JUSTICE by Stacey Abrams (Legal Thriller)
Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, a fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes that his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Another shocking murder leads Avery to a list of names --- all federal judges --- and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America’s "secret court." It is this body that grants permission to the government to wiretap Americans or spy on corporations suspected of terrorism. As Avery digs deeper, she begins to see a frightening pattern --- and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding inside the nation’s third branch of government.
Doubleday | 9780385548328

THE SENATOR'S WIFE by Liv Constantine (Psychological Thriller)
After a tragic chain of events led to the deaths of their spouses two years ago, D.C. philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are finally starting to move on --- with each other. They decide that hiring a home health aide will give Sloane the support and independence she needs after her upcoming hip replacement surgery. And they find the perfect fit in Athena Karras. Athena tends to Sloane and even helps her run her charitable foundation. But Sloane slowly begins to deteriorate, and her uncertainty quickly turns to paranoia as she begins to suspect the worst. Why is Athena asking her so many probing questions about her foundation --- as well as about her past? And could Sloane be imagining the sultry looks between Athena and her new husband?
Bantam | 9780593599891

SING HER DOWN by Ivy Pochoda (Thriller)
Florence "Florida" Baum is not the hapless innocent she claims to be when she arrives at the Arizona women's prison --- or so her ex-cellmate, Diosmary Sandoval, keeps insinuating. Dios knows the truth about Florida's crimes, understands the truth that Florence hides even from herself: that she wasn't a victim of circumstance, an unlucky bystander misled by a bad man. Dios knows that darkness lives in women too, despite the world's refusal to see it. And she is determined to open Florida's eyes and unleash her true self. When an unexpected reprieve gives both women their freedom, Dios' fixation on Florida turns into a dangerous obsession, and a deadly cat-and-mouse chase ensues from Arizona to the desolate streets of Los Angeles.
MCD | 9780374608484

SUMMER STAGE by Meg Mitchell Moore (Fiction)
Amy Trevino, a former aspiring playwright, takes on the production manager role for her brother’s play in an effort to mend rifting family relationships. Sam, Amy’s daughter, was a child star who continued her pursuit for fame in a Manhattan TikTok house. Her sudden arrival back home is shrouded in secrets, and Sam refuses to open up to Amy. Timothy, Amy's brother and a successful and well-loved actor, is directing a summer production at a storied Block Island theater --- and his famous ex-wife has the lead role. As they work together to ensure the production is a success, Amy, Sam and Timothy are forced to grapple with their desires for recognition and fortune, stand up for what they believe art and fame actually mean, and discover what they really want out of life.
William Morrow | 9780063026162

THE TAO OF SELF-CONFIDENCE: A Guide to Moving Beyond Trauma and Awakening the Leader Within by Sheena Yap Chan (Self-Help/Leadership)
In 2021, women represented 54.3% of the US workforce but only held 35% of senior leadership positions. Of that percentage, only 2.7% of Asian women were seen in management roles. While there have been great leaps for women in the workplace in the last decade, women of color still fall behind. THE TAO OF SELF-CONFIDENCE sets a foundation to help Asian women start being seen as leaders in work and life rather than by our stereotypes. In this book, you'll read about getting to the root causes of what's holding you back and stepping into your greatness; cultural and historical issues that affect our leadership potential; and finding and gaining more confidence as your authentic self.
Wiley | 9781394166572

TOM CLANCY FLASH POINT: A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel by Don Bentley (Thriller/Adventure)
When a benign surveillance operation takes a deadly turn, Jack Ryan Jr. finds himself locked in a struggle with an unseen enemy bent on destroying the Campus. The chase leads Jack to the South China Sea where a midair collision between aircraft from rival nations threatens to serve as a flash point for the entire region. As Jack frantically tries to put the pieces of the conspiracy together, the Campus is hit with a crippling attack. When the dust settles, Jack is one of the few operators still standing and the Campus’s de facto leader. But the fight is just beginning. As tensions escalate, Jack’s mysterious adversary executes a brilliant campaign to paralyze the American government even as China inches closer to invading Taiwan.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593422786

WHY FATHERS CRY AT NIGHT: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances by Kwame Alexander (Memoir)
Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He takes us through stories of his parents: from being awkward newlyweds in the sticky Chicago summer of 1967, to the sometimes-confusing ways they showed their love to each other, and for him. He explores his own relationships --- his difficulties as a newly wedded, 22-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. Alexander attempts to deal with the unravelling of his marriage and the grief of his mother's recent passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken dish. With an open heart, Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try to understand his greatest love: his daughters.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316417228

THE WILL OF THE MANY by James Islington (Historical Fantasy)
The Catenan Republic --- the Hierarchy --- may rule the world now, but they do not know everything. I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilised society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus --- what they call Will --- to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do. I tell them that I belong, and they believe me. But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
Gallery/Saga Press | 9781982141172

WOMEN WE BURIED, WOMEN WE BURNED: A Memoir by Rachel Louise Snyder (Memoir)
Rachel Louise Snyder was eight years old when her mother died, and her distraught father thrust the family into an evangelical, cult-like existence. Furiously rebellious, she was expelled from school and home at age 16. Living out of her car and relying on strangers, Rachel found herself masquerading as an adult, talking her way into college, and eventually travelling the globe. In places like India, Tibet and Niger, she interviewed those who had been through the unimaginable. In Cambodia, where she lived for six years, she watched a country reckon with the horrors of its own recent history. When she returned to the States with a family of her own, it was with a new perspective on old family wounds, and a chance for healing from the most unexpected place.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781635579123

On Sale the Week of May 22nd in Paperback

May 23rd

BLACK DOG: A Stone Barrington Novel by Stuart Woods (Thriller/Adventure)
After returning home from a treacherous adventure, Stone Barrington is all too happy to settle back down in his New York City abode. But when he's introduced to a glamorous socialite with a staggering inheritance, Stone realizes his days are about to be anything but quiet. As it turns out, his intriguing new companion has some surprisingly familiar ties and other far more sinister ones --- including a nefarious enemy who gets too close for comfort. When it becomes clear that this miscreant will stop at nothing to get what he wants and will endanger all whom Stone holds dear, Stone must step in to protect his friends and prevent a dangerous madman from wreaking havoc across the city.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593540022

THE CHALLENGE by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
Fishtail, Montana, is home to Anne and Pitt Pollock, who own the successful Pollock ranch. The sprawling foothills of the Beartooth Mountains surround the town, overlooking the Pollocks’ property and the nearby ranch belonging to Bill and Pattie Brown. The two couples have known each other since childhood. Their sons, Peter Pollock and Matt Brown, are also the best of friends. When they and two other local kids meet new girl Juliet Marshall, the five of them are soon inseparable. But one afternoon, their latest adventure takes a dangerous turn when they find themselves trapped on Granite Peak. In the aftermath of this fateful event, devastating secrets are revealed, new love appears on the horizon, and families are forced to reconsider what they once held dear.
Dell | 9781984821638

THE CITY INSIDE by Samit Basu (Science Fiction/Adventure)
Joey is a Reality Controller in near-future Delhi. Her job is to supervise the multimedia multi-reality livestreams of Indi, one of South Asia’s fastest rising online celebrities --- who also happens to be her college ex. Rudra is a recluse estranged from his wealthy and powerful family. When his father’s death pulls him back into his family’s orbit, an impulsive job offer from Joey becomes his only escape from the life he never wanted. But as Joey and Rudra become enmeshed in multiple conspiracies, their lives start to spin out of control. When a bigger picture begins to unfold, they each must decide how to do the right thing in a world where simply maintaining the status quo feels like an accomplishment.
Tordotcom | 9781250827500

CITY OF ORANGE by David Yoon (Fiction)
A man wakes up in an unknown landscape, injured and alone. He used to live in a place called California, but how did he wind up here with a head wound and a bottle of pills in his pocket? He navigates his surroundings, one rough shape at a time. Here lies a pipe, there a reed that could be carved into a weapon, beyond a city he once lived in. He could swear his daughter’s name began with a J, but what was it, exactly? Then he encounters an old man, a crow and a boy --- and realizes that nothing is what he thought it was, neither the present nor the past. He can’t even recall the features of his own face, and wonders: Who am I?
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593422182

DECEMBER '41: A World War II Thriller by William Martin (Historical Thriller)
On the day after Pearl Harbor, shocked Americans gather around their radios to hear Franklin Roosevelt declare war. In Los Angeles, a German agent named Martin Browning is planning to kill FDR on the night he lights the National Christmas Tree. Who will stop him? Relentless FBI Agent Frank Carter? Kevin Cusack, a Hollywood script reader who also spies on the German Bund of Los Angeles and becomes a suspect himself? Or Vivian Hopewell, the aspiring actress who signs on to play Martin Browning's wife and cannot help but fall in love with him? The clock is ticking. The tracks are laid. The train of narrow escapes, mistaken identities and shocking deaths is right on schedule.
Forge Books | 9781250839756

EMMA OF 83rd STREET by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Emma Woodhouse has lived 23 years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage --- and subsequent move downtown. Now, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor, George Knightley, would get out of her way. The only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. But despite his gripes, Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.
Gallery Books | 9781668008393

EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD by James Lee Burke (Thriller)
Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter, Fannie Mae, dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight. Aaron’s only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past.
Simon & Schuster | 9781982196608

EXIT STRATEGY by Linda L. Richards (Thriller)
Her assignments were always to kill someone. That’s what a hitman --- or hitwoman --- is paid to do, and that is what she does. Then comes a surprise assignment --- keep someone alive. She is hired to protect Virginia Martin, the stunning and brilliant chief technology officer of a hot startup with an environmentally important innovation that will change the world. She’s confused about the “why” of her new commission, but she addresses it with her usual skill and stealth, determined to keep the young CTO alive against the ever-increasing odds. The spirit of an assassin --- and her nameless dog --- permeates this struggle to help a young woman as powerful forces mount against her.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608095612

FOX CREEK by William Kent Krueger (Mystery)
The ancient Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters fill the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had come to the healer for shelter and the gift of his wisdom. Meloux guides this stranger and his great niece, Cork O’Connor’s wife, to safety deep into the Boundary Waters, his home for more than a century. On the last journey he may ever take into this beloved land, Meloux must do his best to outwit the deadly mercenaries who follow. Meanwhile, in Aurora, Cork works feverishly to identify the hunters and the reason for their relentless pursuit, but he has little to go on.
Atria Books | 9781982128722

HAVEN by Emma Donoghue (Historical Fiction/Adventure)
In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks --- young Trian and old Cormac --- he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds and claim it for God. In such a place, what will survival mean?
Back Bay Books | 9780316414135

THE HIDDEN ONE by Linda Castillo (Mystery/Thriller)
Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister. The town’s elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help. It turns out that the handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was Kate’s first love. Forced to confront a painful episode from her past, Kate travels to Pennsylvania’s Kishacoquillas Valley, where the Amish culture differs dramatically from the traditions she knows. Though Bishop Stoltzfus was highly respected, she soon hears about a dark side to this complex man. What was he hiding that resulted in his own brutal death?
Minotaur Books | 9781250889560

THE HOMEWRECKERS by Mary Kay Andrews (Fiction)
Hattie Kavanaugh went to work restoring homes for Kavanaugh & Son Restorations at 18, married the boss’s son at 20, and became a widow at 25. When Hattie falls head-over-heels for a money pit of a house, she’s determined to make it work. But disaster after disaster occurs, and her dream might cost Kavanaugh & Son their livelihood. When a slick Hollywood producer shows up in her hometown of Savannah, she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: star in a beach house renovation reality show, cast against a male lead who may be a love interest or the ultimate antagonist. But during the demolition, evidence comes to light that points to the mysterious disappearance of a young wife and mother years before.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250822345

THE LAST SONGBIRD: A Pacific Coast Highway Mystery by Daniel Weizmann (Neo-Noir Mystery)
Paperback Original
A struggling songwriter and Lyft driver, Adam Zantz’s life changes when he accepts a ride request in Malibu and 1970s music icon Annie Linden enters his vehicle. Bonding during that initial ride, the two quickly go off app. Over the next three years, Adam becomes her exclusive driver, and Annie listens to his music. Then Annie disappears, and her body washes up under a pier. Left with a final cryptic text --- “come to my arms” --- a grieving Adam plays amateur detective, only to be charged as accomplice-after-the-fact. Desperate to clear his name and discover who killed the one person who believed in his music when no one else in his life did, Adam digs deep into Annie’s past and comes to question how well he (or anyone else) knew her --- if at all.
Melville House | 9781685890308

LIVID: A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell (Mystery/Thriller)
Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news. The judge’s sister has been found dead. At first glance, it appears to be a home invasion. But then why was nothing stolen, and why is the garden strewn with dead plants and insects? Although there is no apparent cause of death, Scarpetta recognizes telltale signs of the unthinkable, and she knows the worst is yet to come. The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past, and her time to catch the killer is running out.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538725184

MOTHER NOISE: A Memoir by Cindy House (Memoir)
MOTHER NOISE opens with Cindy House, 20 years into recovery after a heroin addiction, grappling with how to tell her nine-year-old son about her past. She wants him to learn this history from her, not anyone else, but she worries about the effect this truth may have on him. Told in essays and graphic narrative shorts, this is a stunning memoir that delves deep into our responsibilities as parents while celebrating the moments of grace and generosity that mark a true friendship --- in this case, her benefactor and champion through the years, David Sedaris.
S&S/Marysue Rucci Books | 9781982168773

ON FIRE ISLAND by Jane L. Rosen (Fiction)
Paperback Original
As a book editor, Julia Morse lived and breathed stories. Whether with her pen to a manuscript or curled up with a book while at her beloved Fire Island cottage, her imagination alight with a good tale, she could anticipate practically any ending. The ending she’d never imagined was her own. To be fair, no one expects to die at 37. So when the unthinkable happens to Julia, rather than following the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, she chooses to spend one last summer near those she loves most. As she follows her adoring, novelist husband Ben to their --- unexpectedly full --- home on Fire Island, she discovers the ripple effect her life has had on the trajectory of so many.
Berkley | 9780593546109

OUTSIDE by Ragnar Jónasson (Mystery/Thriller)
When a deadly snowstorm strikes the Icelandic highlands, four friends seek shelter in a small, abandoned hunting lodge. It is in the middle of nowhere, and there's no way of communicating with the outside world. As the night darkens and fears intensify, an old tragedy gradually surfaces --- one that forever changed the course of their friendship. Those dark memories could hold the key to the mystery the friends now find themselves in. And whether they will survive until morning.
Minotaur Books | 9781250833471

REWRITING ILLNESS: A View of My Own by Elizabeth Benedict (Memoir)
Paperback Original
By turns somber and funny, but above all provocative, Elizabeth Benedict’s REWRITING ILLNESS is a most unconventional memoir. With wisdom, self-effacing wit and the storytelling skills of a seasoned novelist, she brings to life her cancer diagnosis and committed hypochondria. As she discovers multiplying lumps in her armpit, she describes her initial terror, interspersed with moments of self-mocking levity as she indulges in “natural remedies” --- among them, chanting Tibetan mantras, drinking shots of wheat grass, and finding medicinal properties in chocolate babka. She tracks the progression of her illness from muddled diagnosis to debilitating treatment as she gathers sustenance from her family and an assortment of urbane, ironic friends, including her fearless “cancer guru.”
Mandel Vilar Press | 9781942134916

RIVER OF THE GODS: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard (History)
For millennia, the location of the Nile River’s headwaters was shrouded in mystery. In the 19th century, there was a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe --- and extend their colonial empires. Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton spoke 29 languages and was a decorated soldier. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officer determined to make his mark. From the start the two men clashed. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness and constant setbacks.
Anchor | 9780525435648

ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE BOURNE SACRIFICE by Brian Freeman (Thriller/Adventure)
Jason Bourne has faced many killers before, but none as dangerous or as cruelly inventive as the assassin who calls himself Lennon. Bourne thought he had Lennon cornered in Iceland, only to have the killer escape in a fiery explosion. Now Lennon’s trail leads Bourne to New York and then to Washington --- and the body count rises with each deadly encounter. But who is Lennon working for? Bourne believes the assassin has a shadowy new employer called the Pyramid. The only clue to the group’s agenda is a young German woman murdered in Washington on her way to a covert meeting. But the woman’s entire identity turns out to be a lie, and news reports of her death have been strangely twisted and suppressed.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593419878

SLEEPWALK by Dan Chaon (Literary Thriller)
At 50 years old, Will Bear has been living off the grid for over half his life. A good-natured henchman with a complicated and lonely past and a passion for LSD microdosing, he spends his time hopscotching across state lines in his beloved camper van, running sometimes shady, often dangerous errands for a powerful and ruthless operation. Out of the blue, one of Will's many burner phones heralds a call from a 20-year-old woman claiming to be his biological daughter. She’s entrenched in a widespread and nefarious plot involving Will’s employers, and for Will to continue to have any contact with her increasingly fuzzes the line between the people he's working for and the people he’s running from.
Holt Paperbacks | 9781250871138

SO HELP ME GOLF: Why We Love the Game by Rick Reilly (Sports)
This is the book Rick Reilly has been writing in the back of his head since he fell in love with the game of golf at 11 years old. He unpacks and explores all of the wonderful, maddening, heart-melting, heartbreaking, cool and captivating things about golf that make the game so utterly addictive. We meet the PGA Tour player who robbed banks by night to pay his motel bills, the golf club maker who takes weekly psychedelic trips, and the caddy who kept his loop even after an 11-year prison stint. We learn how a man on his third heart nearly won the U.S. Open, how a Vietnam POW saved his life playing 18 holes a day in his tiny cell, and about the course that's absolutely free.
Hachette Go | 9780306924927

SUGAR AND SALT by Susan Wiggs (Fiction)
Jerome “Sugar” Barnes learned the art of baking in his grandma’s bakery, also called Sugar, on historic Perdita Street in San Francisco. He supplies baked goods to the Lost and Found Bookshop across the street. When the restaurant that shares his commercial kitchen loses its longtime tenant, a newcomer moves in: Margot Salton, a barbecue master from Texas. Margot isn’t exactly on the run, but she needs a fresh start. She’s taken care of herself her whole life, and her dream has been to open a restaurant somewhere far, far from Texas. Margot instantly takes to Jerome’s grandmother, the lively, opinionated Ida. The older woman proves to be a good mentor, and Margot is drawn to Jerome. But just as she starts to relax into a happy new future, Margot’s past in Texas comes back to haunt her.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062914231

THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK by Jennifer Hillier (Psychological Thriller)
When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom --- covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her --- she knows she'll be charged with murder. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it's only a matter of time before someone from her long-hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she's worked so hard to build. Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early ’90s. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she's unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris' secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped.
Minotaur Books | 9781250889683

WITH A MIND TO KILL: A James Bond Novel by Anthony Horowitz (Thriller/Adventure)
Behind the Iron Curtain, a group of former Smersh agents want to use James Bond in an operation that will change the balance of world power. Bond is smuggled into the lion's den. But whose orders is he following, and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives? In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death, Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself. But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780063078420

THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT: A Taylor Jackson Novel by J.T. Ellison (Thriller)
Paperback Original
While the high-profile murder of a young country singer turns Nashville inside out, danger lurks in the woods beyond the city's border. There was a witness to the terrible crime, a college student who stumbled onto the scene. When the girl goes missing, the police don't know if she's run for cover or been taken...or if something more sinister is happening. The truth will shatter Taylor Jackson's career and bring her face to face with a deadly assassin who wants nothing more than to finish what they started.
Two Tales Press | 9781948967532

WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME by Gillian McAllister (Psychological Thriller)
Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your 17-year-old son. He’s late. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed. You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in custody. His future shattered. That night you fall asleep in despair. All is lost. Until you wake...and it is yesterday. And then you wake again...and it is the day before yesterday. Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. With another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lies an answer. The trigger for this crime --- and you don’t have a choice but to find it.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063252356

On Sale the Week of May 29th in Hardcover

May 30th

BEWARE THE WOMAN by Megan Abbott (Psychological Thriller)
Newly married and with a baby on the way, Jacy and her husband, Jed, embark on their first road trip together to visit his father, Dr. Ash. The moment they arrive at the cottage, snug within the lush woods, Jacy feels bathed in love by the warm and hospitable Dr. Ash. But their Edenic first days take a turn when Jacy has a health scare. Swiftly, vacation activities are scrapped, and all eyes are on Jacy’s condition. Suddenly, whispers about Jed’s long-dead mother seem to eerily impinge upon the present, and Jacy begins to feel trapped in the cottage. But are her fears founded? Or is it paranoia, or cabin fever, or --- as is suggested to her --- a stubborn refusal to take necessary precautions? The dense woods surrounding the cottage are full of dangers, but are the greater ones inside?
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593084939

BIG GAY WEDDING by Byron Lane (Fiction/Humor)
Barnett Durang has a secret. No, not THAT secret. His widowed mother has long known he’s gay. The secret is that Barnett is getting married. At his mother’s farm. In their small Louisiana town. She just doesn’t know it yet. It’ll be an intimate affair. Just 200 or so of the most fabulous folks Barnett is shipping in from the “heathen coasts,” as Mom likes to call them, turning her quiet rescue farm for misfit animals into a most unlikely wedding venue. But there are forces, both within this modern new family and in the town itself, that really don’t want to see this handsome couple march down the aisle. It’ll be the biggest, gayest event in the town’s history if they can pull it off. After a glitter-filled week, nothing will ever be the same.
Henry Holt and Co. | 9781250267146

THE CELEBRANTS by Steven Rowley (Fiction)
It’s been five years since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living --- that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves. But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593540428

CENTRAL PARK WEST by James Comey (Legal Thriller)
When a years-long case against a powerful mobster finally cracks and an unimpeachable witness takes the stand, federal prosecutor Nora Carleton is looking forward to putting the defendant away for good. The mobster, though, has other plans. As the witness’s testimony concludes, a note is passed to the prosecution offering up information into the assassination of a disgraced former New York governor, murdered in his penthouse apartment just days before. It’s enough to blow the case wide open, and to send Nora into a high-stakes investigation of conspiracy, corruption and danger.
Mysterious Press | 9781613164037

DEEP AS THE SKY, RED AS THE SEA by Rita Chang-Eppig (Historical Fiction/Adventure)
When Shek Yeung sees a Portuguese sailor slay her husband, a feared pirate, she knows she must act swiftly or die. Instead of mourning, Shek Yeung launches a new plan: immediately marrying her husband's second-in-command, and agreeing to bear him a son and heir, in order to retain power over her half of the fleet. But as Shek Yeung vies for control over the army she knows she was born to lead, larger threats loom. The Chinese Emperor has charged a brutal, crafty nobleman with ridding the South China Seas of pirates, and the Europeans --- tired of losing ships, men and money to Shek Yeung's alliance --- have new plans for the area. Even worse, Shek Yeung's cutthroat retributions create problems all their own.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781639730377

DROWNING: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T. J. Newman (Thriller)
Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors --- but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with 12 passengers trapped inside. More than 200 feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his 11-year-old daughter, Shannon, are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives. Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent --- Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife --- who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff. There’s not much time. There’s even less air.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781982177911

GENEALOGY OF A MURDER: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night by Lisa Belkin (True Crime)
In 1960, a young cop is murdered, shocking his close-knit community in Stamford, Connecticut. The killer remains at large, his identity still unknown. But on a beach not far away, a young Army doctor faces a chilling realization. He knows who the shooter is. In fact, the man --- a prisoner out on parole --- had called him only days before. By helping his former charge and trainee, the doctor may have inadvertently helped set the murder into motion. Alvin Tarlov, David Troy and Joseph DeSalvo were all born of the Great Depression, all with grandparents who had left different homelands for the same American Dream. How did one become a doctor, one a cop and one a convict? Journalist Lisa Belkin traces the paths of each of these three men --- one of them her stepfather.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393285253

GOOD NIGHT, IRENE by Luis Alberto Urrea (Historical Fiction)
In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiancé in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle. After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Through her friendship with Dorothy and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope is for all three of them to survive the war intact.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316265850

INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Törzs (Fantasy/Thriller)
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements. Half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect these books of magic. All magic comes with a price, though, and for years they have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna has isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book that Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined.
William Morrow | 9780063253469

KILLING MOON: A Harry Hole Novel written by Jo Nesbø, translated by Seán Kinsella (Mystery/Thriller)
Two young women are missing, their only connection a party they both attended, hosted by a notorious real-estate magnate. When one of the women is found murdered, the police discover an unusual signature left by the killer, giving them reason to suspect he will strike again. They’re facing a killer unlike any other. And exposing him calls for a detective like no other. But the legendary Harry Hole is gone --- fired from the force, drinking himself to oblivion in Los Angeles. It seems that nothing can entice him back to Oslo. Until the woman who saved Harry's life is put in grave danger, and he has no choice but to return to the city that haunts him and track down the murderer. However, as the evidence mounts, it becomes clear that there is more to this case than meets the eye.
Knopf | 9780593536964

THE KING'S PLEASURE: A Novel of Henry VIII by Alison Weir (Historical Fiction)
Young Henry began his rule as a magnificent and chivalrous Renaissance prince who embodied every virtue. He had all the qualities to make a triumph of his kingship, yet we remember only the violence. Henry famously broke with the pope, founding the Church of England and launching a religious revolution that divided his kingdom. He beheaded two of his wives and cast aside two others. He died a suspicious, obese, disease-riddled tyrant. His reign is remembered as one of dangerous intrigue and bloodshed --- and yet the truth is far more complex. THE KING’S PLEASURE brings to life the idealistic monarch who expanded Parliament, founded the Royal Navy, modernized medical training, composed music and poetry, and patronized the arts.
Ballantine Books | 9780593355060

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Siddhartha Deb (Fiction)
Delhi, the near future: Bibi, a low-ranking employee of a global consulting firm, is tasked with finding a man long thought to be dead but who now appears to be the source of a vast collection of documents. Bhopal, 1984: An assassin tracks his prey through an Indian city that will shortly be the site of the worst industrial disaster in the history of the world. Calcutta, 1947: A veterinary student’s life and work connect him to an ancient Vedic aircraft that might stave off genocide. And in 1859, a British soldier rides with his detachment to the Himalayas in search of the last surviving leader of an anti-colonial rebellion. These timelines interweave, and each protagonist must come to terms with the buried truths of their times, as well as the parallel universe that connects them all.
Soho Press | 9781641294669

THE NEW MOTHER by Nora Murphy (Domestic Thriller)
Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be. Enter Paul, the neighbor. Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest. But Paul wants something in return. It is no coincidence that he has befriended Nat. She is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?
Minotaur Books | 9781250822444

THE OVERNIGHTS: An Ashe Cayne Novel by Ian K. Smith (Mystery)
Someone wants Morgan Shaw dead --- or so the hugely popular evening news anchor of top-rated Chicago TV station WLTV believes. Fearing for her safety, she turns to P.I. Ashe Cayne for protection. Though he sympathizes, Ashe turns her down --- he’s not a bodyguard. But when Morgan’s car tires are slashed and she’s threatened again, he agrees to help her. Meanwhile, Morgan refuses to lose to her crosstown rival in the ratings and will risk everything to stay on top, including an audacious investigation into the suspicious shooting of an unarmed African American man by a white cop. The explosive case and her discoveries boost her ratings --- and create powerful enemies eager to protect their secrets.
Amistad | 9780063253711

THE SUMMER OF 1876: Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season That Defined the American West by Chris Wimmer (History)
The summer of 1876 was a key time period in the development of the mythology of the Old West. Many individuals who are considered legends by modern readers were involved in events that began their notoriety or turned out to be the most famous --- or infamous --- moments of their lives. Those individuals were Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickok and Jesse James. THE SUMMER OF 1876 weaves together the timelines of the events that made these men legends to demonstrate the overlapping context of their stories and to illustrate the historical importance of that summer, all layered with highlights of significant milestones in 1876.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250280893

WITCH KING by Martha Wells (Fantasy/Adventure)
After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well. But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence? Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions. He’s not going to like the answers.
Tordotcom | 9781250826794

On Sale the Week of May 29th in Paperback

May 30th

ACTS OF SERVICE by Lillian Fishman (Fiction)
Eve has an adoring girlfriend, an impulsive streak, and a secret fear that she’s wasting her brief youth with just one person. So one evening she posts some nudes online. This is how Eve meets Olivia and, through Olivia, the charismatic Nathan. Despite her better instincts, the three soon begin a relationship --- one that disturbs Eve as much as it enthralls her. As each act of their affair unfolds across a cold and glittering New York, Eve is forced to confront the questions that most consume her: What do we bring to sex? What does it reveal of ourselves, and one another? And how do we reconcile what we want with what we think we should want?
Hogarth | 9780593243787

DIRT CREEK by Hayley Scrivenor (Mystery)
When 12-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in rural Australia, the community is thrown into a maelstrom of suspicion and grief. As Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels arrives in town during the hottest spring in decades and begins her investigation, Esther’s tenacious best friend, Ronnie, is determined to find Esther and bring her home. When school friend Lewis tells Ronnie that he saw Esther with a strange man at the creek the afternoon she went missing, Ronnie feels she is one step closer to finding her. But why is Lewis refusing to speak to the police? And who else is lying about how much they know about what has happened to Esther?
Flatiron Books | 9781250834775

ESME CAHILL FAILS SPECTACULARLY by Marie Bostwick (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Esme Cahill thinks she has failed spectacularly. Fired from her New York City publishing job, divorced from her husband, and possessing little more than a broken-down car and a pile of unfinished manuscripts, she drives home to Asheville at the request of her late grandmother, Adele. There she discovers that the once-charming lakeside retreat run by her family is sliding toward financial ruin, so with the help of her grandfather, her estranged mother and a traveling chef, they set to work. In the attic, Esme unearths a trove of museum-worthy art quilts, sewn by Adele. Piecing together the inspiration behind them, Esme discovers a forgotten chapter in her family history and her grandmother’s untold story --- that of a gifted artist who never received her due.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062997319

FLORIDA WOMAN by Deb Rogers (Fiction/Humor)
Jamie is a Florida Woman. She grew up on the beach, thrives in humidity, has weathered more hurricanes than she can count, and now, after going viral for an outrageous crime she never meant to commit, she has the requisite headline to her name --- and the impending jail time with it. So when Atlas Wildlife Center, a shelter for exotic monkeys, offers Jamie the chance to take a community service sentence for the summer, it seems like just the fresh start Jamie needs to finally get her life back on track…until it’s not. Something sinister stirs in the dark palmetto woods, and secrets lurk among the three beguiling staff women of Atlas as they affectionately take Jamie under their wing. Soon her summer is set to become material for an even stranger Florida headline than she could’ve imagined.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335455031

GANGLAND by Chuck Hogan (Thriller)
In the late 1970s, The Outfit has the entire city of Chicago in its hands. Tony Accardo is its fearless leader. Nicky Passero is his loyal soldier, though no one knows he has a direct line in to the boss of bosses. When the Christmas gift Accardo got for his wife, an inscribed bracelet with gold and diamond inlay, is stolen along with other items in a jewelry heist, Nicky is charged with tracking down and returning all of the items --- by whatever means necessary. Forced into an impossible situation, Nicky must find a way to carry out Accardo's increasingly unhinged instructions and survive the battle for control of Chicago. What Accardo doesn't know: Nicky has a secret that has made his life impossible and has put him in the pocket of the FBI.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538751763

A GOOD FAMILY by Matt Goldman (Domestic Thriller)
Paperback Original
Katie Kuhlmann's marriage is falling apart. But she has a secure job, her children are healthy, and her house, a new construction in the prestigious Country Club neighborhood of Edina, Minnesota, is beautiful. She can almost ignore the way her husband, Jack, has been acting. Tension in the Kuhlmann house only gets worse when Adam "Bagman" Ross, a mutual friend from college, happens to be in the neighborhood and in need of a place to stay. Jack is quick to welcome him into the sanctity of their home, but Jack's strange behavior only gets worse, and Katie fears their new guest is also harboring a dark secret. As she begins to uncover the truth, she realizes that something is terribly wrong --- and she must race to protect her family as danger closes in.
Forge Books | 9781250810175

GRACELAND by Nancy Crochiere (Fiction)
Paperback Original
People-pleasing Hope Robinson can’t seem to please anyone lately --- not her slogan-spewing boss, not her pink-haired teenage daughter, and especially not her mother, flamboyant soap star Olivia Grant. Olivia loves Elvis more than Jesus, and now that she’s on oxygen, she insists that Hope take her on a final trip to Graceland. Eighteen years earlier, pregnant and distraught, Hope fled Tennessee with a secret agreement: to never reveal her baby’s father and never return to Memphis. Olivia, though, has never learned the word no. After she wrangles Hope’s impulsive daughter, Dylan, to drive her from Boston to Memphis with the promise of meeting her mystery father, Hope has no choice but to chase after them. Along the road to Memphis, everyone’s long-held secrets begin to unravel.
Avon | 9780063288430

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY by David Sedaris (Humor/Essays)
Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask --- or not --- was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most. As the world gradually settles into a new reality, Sedaris too finds himself changed. His offer to fix a stranger’s teeth rebuffed, he straightens his own and ventures into the world with new confidence. Newly orphaned, he considers what it means, in his seventh decade, no longer to be someone’s son. And back on the road, he discovers a battle-scarred America.
Back Bay Books | 9780316392433

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS by Therese Anne Fowler (Fiction)
Meet the Geller sisters: Beck, Claire and Sophie, a trio of strong-minded women whose pragmatic, widowed mother, Marti, will be dying soon. Marti’s will surprises them with its provision that the family’s summer cottage in Maine must be sold, the proceeds split equally between the three sisters. While there’s a ready buyer in C.J. Reynolds, he’s an ex-con with a complicated past and a tangled history with one of the women. Before long, everyone in this cast of indelible characters will have to come to terms with the ways their lives have turned out differently than they expected, as well as the secrets they’ve been keeping from each other --- and themselves.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250819482

JUST LIKE HOME by Sarah Gailey (Gothic Thriller)
“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories, she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he'd built for his family. Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting. But who else could it possibly be? There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House.
Tor Books | 9781250174710

MASTER OF FURIES: Book Three of the Firemane Saga by Raymond E. Feist (Fantasy)
War has swept across Marquensas. Ruthless raiders have massacred the inhabitants of Beran’s Hill, including Gwen, the beloved wife of Declan Smith. Declan swears to track down and destroy the raiders, an ambition shared by Baron Daylon Dumarch, whose family was massacred as they fled the capital. Meanwhile, Hava, whose gift for piracy has seen her acquire the treasure ship Borzon’s Black Wake and the swift Azhante sailing vessel, Queen of Storms, and won her the name of “the Sea Demon,” is closing in on the whereabouts of those who unleashed the murderous hordes. Her husband, Hatushaly, the last remaining member of the ruling family of Ithrace, the legendary Firemanes, seeks to control the magical powers he has inherited.
Harper Voyager | 9780063305403

METROPOLIS by B. A. Shapiro (Psychological Thriller)
Six people, six secrets, six different backgrounds. They would never have met if not for their connection to the Metropolis Storage Warehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When someone falls down an elevator shaft at the facility, each becomes caught up in an intensifying chain of events. We meet Serge, an unstable but brilliant street photographer; Marta, an undocumented immigrant finishing her dissertation and hiding from ICE; Liddy, an abused wife and mother, who recreates her children’s bedroom in her unit; Jason, a former corporate lawyer now practicing in the facility; Rose, the office manager, who takes illegal kickbacks to let renters live in the building; and Zach, the building’s owner and an ex-drug dealer, who scans Serge’s photos as he searches for clues to the accident. But was it an accident?
Algonquin Books | 9781643753881

MISS CHLOE: A Memoir of a Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison by A. J. Verdelle (Memoir)
Toni Morrison, born Chloe A Wofford, was a towering figure in the world of literature when she entered A.J. Verdelle’s life. Their literary friendship was a young writer’s dream --- simultaneously exhilarating, intimidating, fulfilling and challenging. Like many women friends, these two writers imagined and built a relationship that was responsive, inventive and engaged. MISS CHLOE powerfully situates the risks writers face and the freedom they find when they put Black women’s lives into words. Verdelle chronicles her grief at Morrison’s passing and finds comfort in Morrison’s astute advice --- wisdom Verdelle didn’t always recognize at the time.
Amistad | 9780063031678

MRS. ENGLAND by Stacey Halls (Historical Fiction)
West Yorkshire, 1904. When recently graduated Ruby May takes a nanny position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear something is not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. England. Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband and is far from the angel of the house Ruby was expecting. As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew.
Mira | 9780778333531

THE MUSEUM OF ORDINARY PEOPLE by Mike Gayle (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to empty her childhood home so it can be sold. As she sorts through a lifetime of memories, everything comes to a halt when she comes across something she just can’t part with: an old set of encyclopedias. In the process of finding the books a new home, Jess discovers an unusual archive of letters, photographs and curious housed in a warehouse and known as the Museum of Ordinary People. Irresistibly drawn, she becomes the museum's unofficial custodian, along with the warehouse’s mysterious owner. As they delve into the history of objects in their care, they not only unravel heart-stirring stories that span generations and continents, but also unearth long-buried secrets that lie closer to home.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538740842

MUSTIQUE ISLAND by Sarah McCoy (Fiction)
Tucked into the southernmost curve of the Caribbean, Mustique is a private island that has become a haven for the wealthy and privileged. Its owner is the eccentric British playboy Colin Tennant, who is determined to turn this speck of white sand into a luxurious neo-colonial retreat for his rich friends and into a royal court in exile for the Queen’s rebellious sister, Princess Margaret. Willy May Michael, a former beauty queen from Texas, seeks out Mustique for its peaceful isolation. Determined to rebuild her life and her relationships with her two daughters, she constructs a fanciful white beach house across the island from Princess Margaret. But when Willy May’s daughters arrive, they discover that beneath its veneer of decadence, Mustique has a dark side.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062984388

THE PARIS DECEPTION by Bryn Turnbull (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
Sophie Dix fled Stuttgart with her brother as the Nazi regime gained power in Germany. Now, with her brother gone and her adopted home city of Paris conquered by the Reich, Sophie reluctantly accepts a position restoring damaged art at the Jeu de Paume museum under the supervision of the ERR --- a German art commission using the museum as a repository for art they’ve looted from Jewish families. Fabienne Brandt was a rising star in the Parisian bohemian arts movement until the Nazis put a stop to so-called “degenerate” modern art. She has resolved to muddle her way through the occupation until her estranged sister-in-law, Sophie, arrives at her door with a stolen painting in hand. Soon the two women embark upon a plan to save Paris’s “degenerates.”
Mira | 9780778333418

PROPERTIES OF THIRST by Marianne Wiggins (Historical Fiction)
Rockwell “Rocky” Rhodes has spent years fiercely protecting his California ranch from the LA Water Corporation. It is here where he and his beloved wife, Lou, raised their twins, Sunny and Stryker, and it is here where Rocky has mourned Lou in the years since her death. As Sunny and Stryker reach the cusp of adulthood, the country teeters on the brink of war. Stryker decides to join the fight, deploying to Pearl Harbor not long before the bombs strike. Rocky and his family soon find themselves facing yet another incomprehensible tragedy. But when the government decides to build a Japanese-American internment camp next to the ranch, Rocky realizes that the land faces even bigger threats than the LA watermen he’s battled for years.
Simon & Schuster | 9781416571278

RACING THE LIGHT: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais (Thriller)
Adele Schumacher isn't a typical worried mom. When she hires Elvis Cole to find her missing son, a controversial podcaster named Josh Shoe, she brings a bag filled with cash, bizarre tales of government conspiracies, and a squad of professional bodyguards. Finding Josh should be simple, but Elvis quickly learns he isn't alone in the hunt --- a deadly team of mysterious strangers are determined to find Josh and his adult film star girlfriend first. With dangerous secrets lurking behind every lead, Elvis needs his friend Joe Pike more than ever to uncover the truth about Josh, corrupt politicians, and the vicious business cartels rotting the heart of Los Angeles from within.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780525535737

THE SHORE by Katie Runde (Fiction)
Brian and Margot Dunne live year-round in Seaside with their daughters, Liz and Evy. The Dunnes run a real estate company, but their future becomes quite precarious when Brian develops a brain tumor. Amidst the chaos and new caretaking responsibilities, Liz still seeks out summer adventure and flirting with a guy she should know better than to pursue. Her younger sister, Evy, works in a candy shop, falls in love with her friend Olivia, and secretly adopts the persona of a middle-aged mom in an online support group, where she discovers her own mother’s most vulnerable confessions. Meanwhile, Margot faces an impossible choice driven by grief, impulse and the ways that small-town life in Seaside has shaped her.
Scribner | 9781982180188

SIREN QUEEN by Nghi Vo (Historical Fantasy)
Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, Luli Wei knows how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill --- but she doesn't care. She’d rather play a monster than a maid. But in Luli's world, the worst monsters in Hollywood are not the ones on screen. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. For those who do survive to earn their fame, success comes with a steep price. Luli is willing to do whatever it takes --- even if that means becoming the monster herself.
Tordotcom | 9781250820563

WE SPREAD by Iain Reid (Psychological Thriller)
Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades. She is resigned to the mundane rituals of old age, until things begin to slip. Before her longtime partner passed away years earlier, provisions were made for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where Penny finds herself after one too many “incidents.” Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping and looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny begins to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling?
Gallery/Scout Press | 9781982169367

THE WEDDING DRESS SEWING CIRCLE by Jennifer Ryan (Historical Fiction)
After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the London Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. Her niece, Violet Westcott, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay. But just as Cressida arrives, so does Violet’s conscription letter. How will she ever find a suitably aristocratic husband if she has to spend her days wearing a frumpy uniform and doing war work? Meanwhile, the local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother’s gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida appears at the local Sewing Circle meeting, Grace asks for her help --- but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.
Ballantine Books | 9780593158845

WOKE UP THIS MORNING: The Definitive Oral History of The Sopranos by Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, with Philip Lerman (Performing Arts/Oral History)
Inspired by the incredibly successful "Talking Sopranos" podcast, "The Sopranos" stars Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri) finally reveal all the Soprano family secrets in this surprising, funny and honest book. WOKE UP THIS MORNING is the definitive behind-the-scenes history of the groundbreaking HBO series that became a worldwide cultural phenomenon, ushered in a new Golden Age of Television, and to this day continues to be one of the most binged shows of all time. The book covers the entire history of "The Sopranos" series and answers many of the thousands of fan questions sent to the podcast, as well as dispel some widely propagated myths and reveal things no one outside the show would even know to ask.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063090019

YERBA BUENA by Nina LaCour (Fiction)
Sara Foster runs away from home at 16, leaving behind the girl she once was, capable of trust and intimacy. Years later, in Los Angeles, she is a sought-after bartender, renowned as much for her brilliant cocktails as for the mystery that clings to her. Across the city, Emilie Dubois is in a holding pattern, yearning for the beauty and community her Creole grandparents cultivated but unable to commit. On a whim, she takes a job arranging flowers at the glamorous restaurant Yerba Buena. The morning Emilie and Sara first meet at Yerba Buena, their connection is immediate. But soon Sara's old life catches up to her, upending everything she thought she wanted, just as Emilie has finally gained her own sense of purpose. Will their love be more powerful than their pasts?
Flatiron Books | 9781250810519

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