September 26, 2023

September 26, 2023

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In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of September 25th and October 2nd 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 Mystery Mayhem Author Spotlight & Contest for VEIL OF DOUBT, a historical mystery/thriller by Sharon Virts, whose debut, MASQUE OF HONOR, was a Bookreporter.com Bets On title two years ago. We are giving 25 readers the opportunity to win a copy of the book, which releases on October 10th. The deadline for your entries is Friday, October 6th at noon ET.

In a special 24-hour Fall Preview contest that is now up, we are giving away five copies of DEVIL MAKES THREE by Ben Fountain, who many of you know as the award-winning, bestselling author of BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK. His latest novel, which is set in Haiti in 1991, is about greed, power and American complicity.

More about DEVIL MAKES THREE:
When a violent coup d’état leads to the fall of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, American expat Matt Amaker is forced to abandon his idyllic, beachfront scuba business. With the rise of a brutal military dictatorship and an international embargo threatening to destroy even the country’s most powerful players, some are looking to gain an advantage in the chaos --- and others are just looking to make it through another day.

Desperate for money --- and survival --- Matt teams up with his best friend and business partner, Alix Variel. They set their sights on legendary shipwrecks that have been rumored to contain priceless treasures off a remote section of Haiti’s southern coast. However, their ambition and exploration of these disastrous wrecks come with a cascade of ill-fated incidents.

- Click here to read an excerpt.
- Click here to read Ben Fountain's bio.

Click here to enter the contest by
TOMORROW, Wednesday, September 27th at noon ET.

Carol Fitzgerald's latest "Bookreporter Talks To" interview is with Ashley Audrain, whose new domestic thriller, THE WHISPERS, follows on the heels of her debut, THE PUSH. Both books are Bets On selections.

Ashley sets her latest in a neighborhood that is being gentrified. Some homes are remodeled, while others are original to the neighborhood. We follow two moms of young children, Whitney and Blair, as well as Rebecca, an ER nurse who longs to be a mother, and Mara, an older woman who is watching these families grow up.

Ashley explains why she created these four characters, as well as her inspiration for the block that they live on. She talks about the book’s explosive opening and how it sets up the story. And oh, that ending. Ashley also shares her process on writing, revising and editing. Click here to watch the video or here to listen to the podcast.

Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events

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

Wednesday, September 27th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": The "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- will celebrate the publication of Mary Kay's latest book, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS, a novella celebrating love and the warm, glittering charm of the holiday season.

Wednesday, September 27th at 8pm ET: "Bookaccino Live" Book Group: Carol Fitzgerald will talk to Alice Elliott Dark about her novel, FELLOWSHIP POINT, a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick that is now available in paperback. Alice 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 Alice a question on camera, please send Carol an email with the subject line “Alice” by Wednesday at noon ET.

Friday, September 29th at 1pm ET: Simon & Schuster's Book Club Favorites: Alice Hoffman will join members of the Simon & Schuster team to discuss her latest novel, THE INVISIBLE HOUR, which is September's pick for S&S's Book Club Favorites.

Monday, October 2nd at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome New York Times bestselling authors James Patterson and Mike Lupica for a live virtual discussion of 12 MONTHS TO LIVE as part of their Midday Mystery Virtual Event series. James and Mike will be in conversation with the New York Times bestselling author of THE HOUSE GUEST, Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Monday, October 2nd at 3pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Donna Leon will talk about her new book, WANDERING THROUGH LIFE. In this highly anticipated memoir, the internationally bestselling author of the Guido Brunetti mysteries tells her own adventurous life story as she enters her 80s.

Tuesday, October 3rd at 3pm ET: Barnes & Noble Book Club: Join Barnes & Noble as they welcome Angie Kim for a live virtual event to discuss HAPPINESS FALLS, September's B&N Book Club pick. She will be in conversation with Shannon DeVito, the Sr. Director of Book Strategy and Customer Experience at B&N, and Miwa Messer, the host and Executive Producer of B&N's “Poured Over” podcast.

This Week's Bonus News:
Our Mystery Mayhem Author Spotlight & Contest for
VEIL OF DOUBT by Sharon Virts
Enter to Win One of 25 Copies of the Book,
Releasing October 10th

On Sale the Week of September 25th in Hardcover

September 25th

12 MONTHS TO LIVE by James Patterson and Mike Lupica (Thriller)
Tough-as-nails criminal defense attorney Jane Smith is hip-deep in the murder trial of the century. Actually, her charmless client might’ve committed several murders. She’s also fallen in love with a wonderful guy. And an equally wonderful dog, a mutt. But Jane doesn’t have much time. She’s just received a terminal diagnosis giving her 12 months. Unless she’s murdered before her expiration date.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316405690

September 26th

THE ARMOR OF LIGHT by Ken Follett (Historical Fiction)
The Spinning Jenny was invented in 1770, and with that, a new era of manufacturing and industry changed lives everywhere within a generation. A world filled with unrest wrestles for control over this new world order: A mother’s husband is killed in a work accident due to negligence; a young woman fights to fund her school for impoverished children; a well-intentioned young man unexpectedly inherits a failing business; one man ruthlessly protects his wealth no matter the cost, all the while war cries are heard from France, as Napoleon sets forth a violent master plan to become emperor of the world. As institutions are challenged and toppled in unprecedented fashion, ripples of change ricochet through our characters’ lives as they are left to reckon with the future and a world they must rebuild from the ashes of war.
Viking | 9780525954996

BLACK RIVER ORCHARD by Chuck Wendig (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
It’s autumn in the town of Harrow, but something besides the season is changing there. Because in that town there is an orchard with seven most unusual trees. From those trees grows a new sort of apple: strange, beautiful, with skin so red it’s nearly black. Take a bite, and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger and more vital. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing --- and become darker. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples. However, something else is buried in the orchard besides the seeds of these extraordinary trees: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town. Now it’s harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.
Del Rey | 9780593158746

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS by Mary Kay Andrews (Romance)
When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother and his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family. And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his son, Austin, on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?
St. Martin's Press | 9781250285812

THE BURNING OF THE WORLD: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City's Soul by Scott W. Berg (History)
In October 1871, Chicagoans knew they were due for the “big one” --- a massive, uncontrollable fire that would decimate the city. There hadn’t been a meaningful rain since July, and several big blazes had nearly outstripped the fire department’s scant resources. On October 8th, when Kate Leary’s barn caught fire, so began a catastrophe that would forever change the soul of the city. The conflagration that spread from her property quickly overtook the neighborhood, and before too long the floating embers had spread to the far reaches of the city. Families took to the streets with everything they could carry. Over the course of the next 48 hours, Chicago saw the biggest and most destructive disaster the United States had ever endured, and Leary would be its scapegoat.
Pantheon | 9780804197847

THE CARETAKER by Ron Rash (Historical Fiction)
It’s 1951 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Blackburn Gant, his life irrevocably altered by a childhood case of polio, seems condemned to spend his life among the dead as the sole caretaker of a hilltop cemetery. But when his best and only friend, Jacob Hampton, is conscripted to serve overseas, Blackburn is charged with caring for Jacob’s wife, Naomi. Sixteen-year-old Naomi Clarke works as a seasonal maid in the town’s most elegant hotel. When Naomi eloped with Jacob a few months after her arrival, the marriage scandalized the community, most of all his wealthy parents who disinherited him. Shunned by the townsfolk for their differences and equally fearful that Jacob may never come home, Blackburn and Naomi grow closer and closer until a shattering development derails numerous lives.
Doubleday | 9780385544276

DEATH AND THE SISTERS: A Mary Shelley Mystery by Heather Redmond (Historical Mystery)
London, 1814: Mary Godwin and her stepsister, Jane Clairmont, possess quick minds bolstered by an unconventional upbringing. Though quieter and more reserved than the boisterous Jane, Mary’s imagination is keen, and she longs for real-world adventures. One evening, an opportunity arrives in the form of a dinner guest. At 21, Percy Bysshe Shelley is already a renowned poet and radical. When Mary comes downstairs in search of a book after the party has broken up, she finds instead a man face down on the floor --- with a knife in his back. The dead man, it seems, was a former classmate of Shelley’s, and lately had become a personal and professional rival. Mary, Jane and Shelley are all drawn to learn the truth behind the tragedy, especially as each discovery seems to hint at a tangled web that includes many in Shelley’s closest circle.
Kensington | 9781496737991

DEVIL MAKES THREE by Ben Fountain (Fiction)
Haiti, 1991. When a violent coup d’état leads to the fall of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, American expat Matt Amaker is forced to abandon his idyllic, beachfront scuba business. With the rise of a brutal military dictatorship and an international embargo threatening to destroy even the country’s most powerful players, some are looking to gain an advantage in the chaos --- and others are just looking to make it through another day. Desperate for money --- and survival --- Matt teams up with his best friend and business partner, Alix Variel. They set their sights on legendary shipwrecks that have been rumored to contain priceless treasures off a remote section of Haiti’s southern coast. However, their ambition and exploration of these disastrous wrecks come with a cascade of ill-fated incidents.
Flatiron Books | 9781250776518

THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab (Historical Fantasy/Adventure)
There were once four worlds, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. Now, only three Antari are known in recent memory --- Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk of White London. But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years --- and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland's absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own --- but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown it instead. And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion.
Tor Books | 9780765387493

GERMANY 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler's Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis written by Volker Ullrich, translated by Jefferson Chase (History)
1923 was a “year of lunacy” in Germany, defined by hyperinflation, violence, a political system on the verge of collapse, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and separatist movements threatening to rip apart the German nation. Most observers found it miraculous that the Weimar Republic --- the first German democracy --- was able to survive, though some of the more astute realized that the feral undercurrents unleashed that year could lead to much worse. Now, a century later, Volker Ullrich draws on letters, memoirs, newspaper articles and other sources to present a riveting chronicle of one of the most difficult years any modern democracy has ever faced --- one with haunting parallels to our own political moment.
Liveright | 9781324093466

KILLING THE WITCHES: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (History)
KILLING THE WITCHES revisits one of the most frightening and inexplicable episodes in American history: the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. What began as a mysterious affliction of two young girls who suffered violent fits and exhibited strange behavior soon spread to other young women. Rumors of demonic possession and witchcraft consumed Salem. Soon three women were arrested under suspicion of being witches --- but as the hysteria spread, more than 200 people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, 20 were executed, and others died in jail or their lives were ruined.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250283320

LAND OF MILK AND HONEY by C Pam Zhang (Dystopian Fiction)
A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly disappearing. A chef escapes her dying career in a dreary city to take a job at a decadent mountaintop colony seemingly free of the world’s troubles. There, the sky is clear again. Rare ingredients abound. Her enigmatic employer and his visionary daughter have built a lush new life for the global elite, one that reawakens the chef to the pleasures of taste, touch and her own body. In this atmosphere of hidden wonders and cool, seductive violence, the chef’s boundaries undergo a thrilling erosion. Soon she is pushed to the center of a startling attempt to reshape the world far beyond the plate.
Riverhead Books | 9780593538241

MURDER MOST ROYAL by SJ Bennett (Mystery)
Queen Elizabeth II is looking forward to a traditional Christmas gathering with her family in Sandringham when a shocking discovery interrupts holiday plans. A severed hand has been found --- but even more unsettling, she recognizes the signet ring still attached to a finger. It belongs to a scion of the St Cyr family, her old friends from nearby Ladybridge Hall. As reporters speculate about the proximity of the crime to the Crown and the police fail to investigate a suspicious accident on her doorstep, Elizabeth quietly begins to mull over the mystery herself. Someone in the quiet county of Norfolk seems to have a secret worth killing for, and the Queen is determined to find out who and what that is --- even if that means discovering that someone in her close circle is a murderer.
William Morrow | 9780063051201

THE MUSEUM OF FAILURES by Thrity Umrigar (Fiction)
When Remy Wadia left India for the United States, he carried his resentment of his cold and inscrutable mother with him and has kept his distance from her. Years later, he returns to Bombay, planning to adopt a baby from a young pregnant girl --- and to see his elderly mother again before it is too late. She is in the hospital, has stopped talking, and seems to have given up on life. Struck with guilt for not realizing just how ill she had become, Remy devotes himself to helping her recover and return home. But one day in her apartment, he comes upon an old photograph that demands explanation. As shocking family secrets surface, Remy finds himself reevaluating his entire childhood and his relationship to his parents, just as he is on the cusp of becoming a parent himself.
Algonquin Books | 9781643753553

NO RESERVE: A Dick Francis Novel by Felix Francis (Thriller)
Theo Jennings, an auctioneer in Newmarket, England, has been climbing the ladder at the bloodstock sales company for the past three years. He’s planning on making his first ever multi-million sale with a yearling colt. When he finds the colt dead a few days after the auction, Theo is suspicious that there was foul play involved. As Theo begins to investigate the death, he finds that answers aren’t coming readily from those who he questions. When a person’s body is discovered in the same stable a few days later, all fingers point to him. As his world turns upside down with the accusations, Theo decides to further his investigation. The only way to clear Theo’s name is to find the real murderer, but it isn’t just the police who have their eye on him --- the killer has a target on his back.
Crooked Lane Books | 9781639106745

PENANCE by Eliza Clark (Fiction)
On a beach in a run-down seaside town on the Yorkshire coastline, 16-year-old Joan Wilson is set on fire by three other schoolgirls. Nearly a decade after the horrifying murder, journalist Alec Z. Carelli has written the definitive account of the crime, drawn from hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, painstaking historical research and, most notably, correspondence with the killers themselves. The result is a riveting snapshot of lives rocked by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil. But how much of the story is true?
Harper | 9780063327856

THE RUNNING GRAVE: A Cormoran Strike Novel by Robert Galbraith (Mystery)
Private Detective Cormoran Strike is contacted by a worried father whose son, Will, has gone to join a religious cult in the depths of the Norfolk countryside. The Universal Humanitarian Church is, on the surface, a peaceable organization that campaigns for a better world. Yet Strike discovers that beneath the surface there are deeply sinister undertones, and unexplained deaths. In order to try to rescue Will, Strike's business partner, Robin Ellacott, decides to infiltrate the cult, and she travels to Norfolk to live incognito among its members. But in doing so, she is unprepared for the dangers that await her there or for the toll it will take on her.
Mulholland Books | 9780316572101

THICKER THAN WATER: A Memoir by Kerry Washington (Memoir)
While on a drive in Los Angeles, Kerry Washington received a text message that would send her on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. In an instant, her very identity was torn apart, with everything she thought she knew about herself thrown into question. In THICKER THAN WATER, Washington gives readers an intimate view into both her public and private worlds --- as a mother, daughter, wife, artist, advocate and trailblazer. Chronicling her upbringing and life’s journey thus far, she reveals how she faced a series of challenges and setbacks, effectively hid childhood traumas, met extraordinary mentors, managed to grow her career, and crossed the threshold into stardom and political advocacy, ultimately discovering her truest self and, with it, a deeper sense of belonging.
Little, Brown Spark | 9780316497398

THIS IS SALVAGED: Stories by Vauhini Vara (Fiction/Short Stories)
Pushing intimacy to its limits in prose of unearthly beauty, Vauhini Vara explores the nature of being a child, parent, friend, sibling, neighbor or lover, and the relationships between self and others. A young girl reads the encyclopedia to her elderly neighbor, who is descending into dementia. A pair of teenagers seek intimacy as phone-sex operators. A competitive sibling tries to rise above the drunken mess of her own life to become a loving aunt. One sister consumes the ashes of another. And in the title story, an experimental artist takes on his most ambitious project yet: constructing a life-size ark according to the Bible’s specifications. In a world defined by estrangement, where is communion to be found?
W. W. Norton & Company | 9780393541731

TRAITORS GATE by Jeffrey Archer (Mystery/Thriller)
The Tower of London is impenetrable, well-protected, secure, and home to the most valuable jewels on earth. But once a year, when the Queen attends the State Opening of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police must execute the most secret operation in their armory as they transport the Crown Jewels across London. For decades, the elite squad at Scotland Yard has been in charge of the operation. And for decades, it’s run like clockwork. But this year, everything is about to change. Because a master criminal has set his sights on pulling off the most outrageous theft in history --- and with a man on the inside, the odds are in his favor. Unless the team can stop him before it’s too late.
HarperCollins | 9780008607388

THE UNSETTLED by Ayana Mathis (Fiction)
From the moment Ava Carson and her 10-year-old son, Toussaint, arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter in Philadelphia 1985, Ava is already plotting a way out. She has been estranged from her own mother, Dutchess, since she left her Alabama home as a young woman barely out of her teens. But when Toussaint’s father, Cass, reappears, she is swept off course by the intoxicating power of his radical vision to destroy systems of racial injustice and bring about a bold new way of communal living. Meanwhile, Dutchess struggles to keep Bonaparte --- once a beacon of Black freedom and self-determination --- in the hands of its last five Black residents and away from rapidly encroaching white developers. As Ava becomes more enmeshed with Cass, Toussaint senses the danger simmering all around him.
Knopf | 9780525519935

On Sale the Week of September 25th in Paperback

September 26th

ALL THAT’S LEFT UNSAID by Tracey Lien (Fiction)
Just let him go. These are the words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother, Denny, out to celebrate his high school graduation with friends. That night, Denny is brutally murdered inside a busy restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, a refugee enclave facing violent crime, an indifferent police force and the worst heroin epidemic in Australian history. The police are stumped by Denny’s case. A dozen people were at Lucky 8 restaurant when Denny died, but each of the bystanders claim to have seen nothing. Desperately hoping that understanding what happened might ease her suffocating guilt, Ky sets aside her grief and determines to track down the witnesses herself.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063227743

AMERICAN DEMON: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower (True Crime/History)
On September 5, 1934, a young beachcomber made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Cleveland’s Lake Erie: the lower half of a female torso, neatly severed at the waist. The victim, dubbed “The Lady of the Lake,” was only the first of a butcher’s dozen. Over the next four years, 12 more bodies would be scattered across the city. Amid the growing uproar, Cleveland’s besieged mayor turned to his newly appointed director of public safety: Eliot Ness. Ness had come to Cleveland fresh from his headline-grabbing exploits in Chicago, where he and his band of “Untouchables” led the frontline assault on Al Capone’s bootlegging empire. Now he would confront a case that would redefine his storied career.
Minotaur Books | 9781250905727

BEST OF FRIENDS by Kamila Shamsie (Fiction)
Zahra and Maryam have been best friends since childhood in Karachi, even though --- or maybe because --- they are unlike in nearly every way. Yet they never speak of the differences in their backgrounds or their values, not even after the fateful night when a moment of adolescent impulse upends their plans for the future. Three decades later, Zahra and Maryam have grown into powerful women who have each cut a distinctive path through London. But when two troubling figures from their past resurface, they must finally confront their bedrock differences --- and find out if their friendship can survive.
Riverhead Books | 9780593421833

BLOOD MOON by Heather Graham and Jon Land (Thriller)
They may have managed to win a major battle against the powerful enemy determined to destroy civilization as we know it. But the war continues, with high school seniors Alex Chin and Samantha Dixon embarking on a desperate journey to save mankind. The roadmap for their journey lies in a mysterious book, the language of which has never been deciphered, until Alex finds himself able to translate the words that may hold the keys to saving the future. But an ageless foe, long the guardian of the secrets his race has left behind on Earth, arises to stop them at all costs. Over the ruins of the lost Mayan city of El Mirador, a blood moon is about to rise, triggering the end of mankind unless Alex and Sam can prevail in a struggle that will determine the fate of the planet.
Tor Books | 9780765389732

THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT by Debbie Macomber (Romance)
Peter Armstrong and Hank Colfax are best friends, but their lives couldn’t be more different. Peter is the local pastor who is dedicated to his community --- spending time visiting the flock, attending meetings, and, with the holiday season approaching, preparing for the Christmas service and live nativity. As a bartender, Hank serves a much different customer base at his family-owned tavern, including a handful of lonely regulars and the local biker gang. When Peter scoffs that Hank has it easy compared to him, the two decide to switch jobs until Christmas Eve. To their surprise, the responsibilities of a bartender and a pastor are similar, but taking on the other’s work is more difficult than either Peter or Hank expected.
Ballantine Books | 9780593500125

DON’T FEAR THE REAPER by Stephen Graham Jones (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock, Idaho. Convicted serial killer Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for 38 Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock. Dark Mill South’s Reunion Tour began on December 12, 2019, a Thursday. Thirty-six hours and 20 bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would be over.
Gallery/Saga Press | 9781982186609

THE DRESSMAKERS OF PROSPECT HEIGHTS by Kitty Zeldis (Historical Fiction)
Brooklyn, 1924. As New York City enters the jazz age, the lives of three very different women are about to converge in unexpected ways. Recently arrived from New Orleans, Beatrice is working to establish a chic new dress shop with help from Alice, the orphaned teenage ward she brought north with her. Down the block, newlywed Catherine is restless in her elegant brownstone, longing for a baby she cannot conceive. When Bea befriends Catherine and the two start to become close, Alice feels abandoned and envious, and runs away to Manhattan. Her departure sets into motion a series of events that will force each woman to confront the painful secrets of her past in order to move into the happier future she seeks.
Harper Paperbacks | 9780063026353

THE HACIENDA by Isabel Cañas (Supernatural/Historical Thriller)
During the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father was executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security that his estate in the countryside provides. But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined. When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears. But why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark the doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?
Berkley | 9780593436707

HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH: A Crescent City Novel by Sarah J. Maas (Fantasy/Romance)
Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar are trying to get back to normal. They may have saved Crescent City, but with so much upheaval in their lives lately, they mostly want a chance to relax, slow down and figure out what the future holds. The Asteri have kept their word so far, leaving Bryce and Hunt alone. But with the rebels chipping away at the Asteri’s power, the threat the rulers pose is growing. As Bryce, Hunt and their friends get pulled into the rebels’ plans, the choice becomes clear: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight for what’s right. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781639731756

THE LAST FOLK HERO: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson by Jeff Pearlman (Sports/Biography)
From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. His strength was legendary, and his power was unmatched. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, and turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat. He became the first person to simultaneously star in two major professional sports and overtook Michael Jordan as America’s most recognizable pitchman. Then, almost overnight, he was gone. He was Bo Jackson. Drawing on an astonishing 720 original interviews, Jeff Pearlman captures as never before the elusive truth about Jackson, Auburn University’s transcendent Heisman Trophy winner, superstar of both the NFL and Major League Baseball, and ubiquitous “Bo Knows” Nike pitchman.
Mariner Books | 9780063285316

LEARNING TO TALK: Stories by Hilary Mantel (Fiction/Short Stories)
Absorbing and evocative, these drawn-from-life stories by Hilary Mantel begin in the 1950s in an insular northern village “scoured by bitter winds and rough gossip tongues.” For the young narrator, the only way to survive is to get up, get on, get out. In “King Billy Is a Gentleman,” the child must come to terms with the loss of a father and the puzzle of a fading Irish heritage. “Curved Is the Line of Beauty" is a story of friendship, faith and a near-disaster in a scrap-yard. The title story sees our narrator ironing out her northern vowels with the help of an ex-actress with one lung and a Manchester accent. In “Third Floor Rising," she watches, amazed, as her mother carves out a stylish new identity.
Holt Paperbacks | 9781250825131

LIES AND OTHER LOVE LANGUAGES by Sonali Dev (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Bestselling advice columnist Vandy Guru built her career teaching others how to live honestly and courageously. But after the loss of her husband, Vandy’s public veneer can barely conceal her grief. When her beloved daughter Mallika suddenly disappears and her estranged childhood best friend Rani returns, Vandy’s carefully crafted life feels at risk. Aspiring choreographer Mallika Guru is tired of failure. When another audition ends in rejection, she signs up for a genetic study to find out why she’s so different from her accomplished family. But the results reveal her whole life to be a lie, and Rani seems to be the only one who knows the truth. Rani Parekh sacrificed everything for Vandy once. But to hold on to the life she’s rebuilt, she must confront her troubled history and face Vandy and Mallika.
Lake Union Publishing | 9781662509513

A MERRY LITTLE MEET CUTE by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (Romantic Comedy)
Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. But when her favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career is about to take a more family-friendly direction. Her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. It isn’t long before Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel’s execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan’s singing career comes snooping around --- and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.
Avon | 9780063222595

MURDER IN WESTMINSTER: A Lady Worthing Mystery by Vanessa Riley (Historical Mystery)
Discovering a body on her property presents Lady Abigail Worthing with more than one pressing problem. The victim is Juliet, the wife of her neighbor, Stapleton Henderson. Although Abigail has little connection with the lady in question, she expects to be under suspicion. Abigail’s skin color and her mother’s notorious past have earned her a certain reputation among the ton, and no amount of wealth or status will eclipse it. Abigail can’t divulge that she was attending a secret pro-abolition meeting at the time of the murder. To her surprise, Henderson offers her an alibi. Though he and Juliet were long estranged, and she had a string of lovers, he feels a certain loyalty to his late wife. Perhaps together, he and Abigail can learn the truth.
Kensington | 9781496738691

NIGHT SHIFT by Robin Cook (Medical Mystery/Thriller)
Colleagues turned spouses Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton already have their plates full with crazy work schedules and family pressures. The last thing they need is a murder. When Laurie’s longtime friend, by all accounts healthy Dr. Sue Passero, dies mysteriously in the hospital parking garage, an autopsy is required, which falls squarely under Laurie’s purview as newly appointed chief medical examiner. So when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the case, he can hardly refuse. What starts out as an inquiry into Sue’s tragic passing soon turns into a deadly and dangerous chess game between Jack and the clever and deranged killer, who just might administer another lethal blow if Jack isn’t careful.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | ‎9780593717189

THE PASSENGER by Cormac McCarthy (Fiction)
1980, Pass Christian, Mississippi: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips the jacket of his wet suit and plunges from the Coast Guard tender into darkness. His dive light illuminates the sunken jet, nine bodies still buckled in their seats, hair floating, eyes devoid of speculation. Missing from the crash site are the pilot’s flight bag, the plane’s black box and the 10th passenger. But how? A collateral witness to machinations that can only bring him harm, Western is shadowed in body and spirit --- by men with badges; by the ghost of his father, inventor of the bomb that melted glass and flesh in Hiroshima; and by his sister, the love and ruin of his soul.
Vintage | 9780307389091

SEVEN GIRLS GONE: A Quinn & Costa Thriller by Allison Brennan (Mystery/Thriller)
For three years, women have been going missing --- and eventually turning up dead in the small bayou town of St. Augustine, Louisiana. Police detective Beau Hebert is the only one who seems to care, but with every witness quickly silenced and a corrupt police department set on keeping the cases unsolved, Beau’s investigation stalls at every turn. With nobody else to trust, Beau calls in a favor from his friend on the FBI’s Mobile Response Team. While LAPD detective Kara Quinn works undercover to dig into the women’s murders and team leader Matt Costa officially investigates the in-custody death of a witness, Beau might finally have a chance at solving the case. But it’s going to take the entire team working around the clock to unravel the truth.
Mira | 9780778305262

STELLA MARIS by Cormac McCarthy (Fiction)
1972, Black River Falls, Wisconsin: Alicia Western, 20 years old and with $40,000 in a plastic bag, admits herself to the hospital. A doctoral candidate in mathematics at the University of Chicago, Alicia has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and she does not want to talk about her brother, Bobby. Instead, she contemplates the nature of madness, the human insistence on one common experience of the world; she recalls a childhood where, by the age of seven, her own grandmother feared for her; she surveys the intersection of physics and philosophy. And she introduces her cohorts, her chimeras, the hallucinations that only she can see. All the while, she grieves for Bobby, who is not quite dead, not quite hers.
Vintage | 9780307389107

TRAITOR’S DANCE: A Sam Capra Novel by Jeff Abbott (Thriller)
Sam Capra is working for America's most secret espionage agency, known as Section K, when he is informed that Markus Bolt is missing. Bolt is the last American traitor, who had turned over allied agent names and military secrets to the Russians. He fled to Moscow when he was discovered, but now a trusted source inside Russia tells Section K that Markus Bolt has vanished from Moscow --- and the Americans need to find him before the Russians do. Sam is charged with making contact with Bolt's abandoned American daughter, Amanda, and determining if she's had any contact with her father. He must discover the reason behind Bolt's unexpected run and protect Amanda from the killers hunting her father.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538708750

THE WAKE-UP CALL by Beth O'Leary (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through. The hotel won't stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost and found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel --- and their jobs. As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there's more at stake here than the hotel's future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?
Berkley | 9780593640128

On Sale the Week of October 2nd in Hardcover

October 3rd

BROOKLYN CRIME NOVEL by Jonathan Lethem (Fiction)
On the streets of 1970s Brooklyn, a daily ritual goes down: the dance. Money is exchanged, belongings surrendered, power asserted. The promise of violence lies everywhere, a currency itself. For these children --- Black, brown and white --- the street is a stage in shadow. And in the wings hide the other players: parents; cops; renovators; landlords; those who write the headlines, the histories and the laws; those who award this neighborhood its name. The rules appear obvious at first. But in memory’s prism, criminals and victims may seem to trade places. The voices of the past may seem to rise and gather as if in harmony, then make war with one another. A street may seem to crack open and reveal what lies behind its glimmering facade. None who lived through it are ever permitted to forget.
Ecco | 9780062938824

A COLD HIGHLAND WIND: A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander (Historical Mystery)
In the summer of 1905, Lady Emily, husband Colin Hargreaves and their three sons eagerly embark on a family vacation at Cairnfarn Castle, the Scottish estate of their dear friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge. But a high-spirited celebration at the beginning of their stay comes to a grisly end when the duke’s gamekeeper is found murdered on the banks of the loch. Handsome Angus Sinclair had a host of enemies: the fiancée he abandoned in Edinburgh, the young woman who had fallen hopelessly in love with him, and the rough farmer who saw him as a rival for her affections. But what is the meaning of the curious runic stone left on Sinclair’s forehead?
Minotaur Books | 9781250872333

THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey (Dark Fantasy/Horror)
Julie is a coked-up, burnt-out 30-year-old whose only retirement plan is dying early. She’s been trying to establish herself in the NYC magic scene, and she’ll work the most gruesome gigs, exorcize the nastiest demons, and make deals with the cruelest gods to claw her way to the top. But nothing can prepare her for the toughest job yet: when her best friend, Sarah, shows up at her door in need of help. Keeping Sarah safe becomes top priority. Julie is desperate for a quick fix to break the dead-end grind and save her friend. But her power grab sets off a deadly chain of events that puts Sarah --- and the entire world --- directly in the path of annihilation.
Tor Nightfire | 9781250867025

DEATH VALLEY by Melissa Broder (Fiction/Magical Realism)
A woman arrives alone at a Best Western seeking respite from an emptiness that plagues her. She has fled to the California high desert to escape a cloud of sorrow --- for both her father in the ICU and a husband whose illness is worsening. What the motel provides, however, is not peace but a path, thanks to a receptionist who recommends a nearby hike. Out on the sun-scorched trail, the woman encounters a towering cactus whose size and shape mean it should not exist in California. Yet the cactus is there, with a gash through its side that beckons like a familiar door. So she enters it. What awaits her inside this mystical succulent sets her on a journey at once desolate and rich, hilarious and poignant.
Scribner | 9781668024843

GOING INFINITE: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis (Business & Economics)
When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side? In GOING INFINITE, Michael Lewis sets out to answer this question, taking readers into the mind of Bankman-Fried, whose rise and fall offers an education in high-frequency trading, cryptocurrencies, philanthropy, bankruptcy and the justice system.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9781324074335

A HAUNTING ON THE HILL by Elizabeth Hand (Gothic Horror)
Holly Sherwin has been a struggling playwright for years, but now, after receiving a grant to develop her play “Witching Night,” she finally may be close to her big break. All she needs is time and space to bring her vision to life. When she stumbles across Hill House on a weekend getaway upstate, she is immediately taken in by the mansion, nearly hidden outside a remote village. It’s the perfect place to develop and rehearse her play. Despite her own hesitations, Holly’s girlfriend, Nisa, agrees to join Holly in renting the house for a month, and soon a troupe of actors, each with ghosts of their own, arrive. Yet as they settle in, the house’s peculiarities are made known. All too soon, Holly and her friends find themselves at odds not just with one another, but with the house itself.
Mulholland Books | 9780316527323

HELL IF WE DON'T CHANGE OUR WAYS: A Memoir by Brittany Means (Memoir)
Brittany Means’ childhood was a blur of highways and traumas that collapsed any effort to track time. Riding shotgun as her mother struggled to escape abusive relationships, Brittany didn’t care where they were going as long as they were together. But every so often, her mom would surprise her --- and leave. As Brittany grew older and questioned her own complicated relationships and the poverty, abuse and instability that enveloped her, she began to recognize that hell wasn’t only the place she read about in the Bible; it was the cycle of violence that entrapped her family. While untangling the web of her most painful memories, Brittany crafts a tale of self-preservation, resilience and hope with a unique narrative style --- a sparkling example of the human ability to withstand the most horrific experiences and still thrive.
Zibby Books | 9798985282894

HOW TO SAY BABYLON: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair (Memoir)
Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity --- in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. He worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure, and believed a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience. As Safiya watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under housework and the rigidity of her father’s beliefs, she increasingly used her education as a sharp tool with which to find her voice and break free. Inevitably, with her rebellion comes clashes with her father, whose rage and paranoia explodes in increasing violence.
37 Ink | 9781982132330

THE HURRICANE WARS by Thea Guanzon (Fantasy/Romance)
All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, she found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows. Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty shadow magic. He discovers the greatest threat yet in Talasyn. In a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen. But an even greater danger is coming, and the strange magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it.
Harper Voyager | 9780063277274

IN LIGHT OF ALL DARKNESS: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America's Child by Kim Cross (True Crime)
On October 1, 1993, 12-year-old Polly Klaas was kidnapped at knifepoint from her bedroom in Petaluma, California, during a sleepover with two friends. This rarest of all kidnappings --- a stranger abduction from the home --- triggered one of the largest manhunts in FBI history. The emotional gravity of Polly’s story touched every agent, police officer and forensic technician who worked on her case. Many of these investigators have never shared their stories --- until now. Kim Cross has written the first comprehensive account of what happened on that fateful night in October, as well as how the case forever transformed the Bureau’s approach to solving crimes.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538725061

INCENTIVE FOR DEATH by James Spoonhour (Mystery/Thriller)
A high-profile D.C. attorney is found dead in his office. McDermott “Mac” Burke and Oliver Shaw, homicide investigators for the Metropolitan Police Department, are called to investigate. There appear to be no signs of foul play, but there is also no obvious sign of a natural cause of death. The detectives are perplexed until the medical examiner notices a tiny pin prick on the lawyer’s neck and theorizes that he was injected with succinylcholine, which is a common horse tranquilizer that dissipates quickly in the body. As Mac and Oliver begin to look further, they discover that the lawyer had sold his life insurance policy to a large viatical company. Then they realize that more deaths under mysterious circumstances have occurred among those who have sold their policies to the same company.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608095766

THE INTERN by Michele Campbell (Legal Thriller)
Madison Rivera lands the internship of a lifetime working for Judge Kathryn Conroy. But Madison has a secret that could destroy her career. Her troubled younger brother, Danny, has been arrested, and Conroy is the judge on his case. When Danny goes missing after accusing the judge of corruption, Madison’s quest for answers brings her deep into the judge’s glamorous world. Is Kathryn Conroy a mentor, a victim or a criminal? Is she trying to help Madison or use her as a pawn? And why is somebody trying to kill her? As the two women circle each other in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game, will they save each other, or will betrayal leave one of them dead?
St. Martin's Press | 9781250274977

JUDGMENT PREY: A Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers Novel by John Sandford (Mystery/Thriller)
Alex Sand was playing basketball with his two young sons when all three were shot in cold blood. A wealthy federal judge, there’s no short list of people who could have a vendetta against Alex. But the gruesome murders, especially that of his children, turn their St. Paul community on its head. Alex was on the verge of a major donation to a local housing charity, Heart/Twin Cities. With the money in limbo, eyes suddenly turn to his grieving widow, Margaret Cooper, to see what she might do with the money. Margaret struggles to move forward and can’t imagine how or why anyone would target her husband. With public pressure mounting and both the local police force and the FBI hitting dead end after dead end, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to do what others could not: find answers.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593542811

LET HIM IN by William Friend (Gothic Psychological Thriller/Horror)
Alfie wakes up one night to find his twin daughters at the foot of his bed, claiming there's a shadowy figure in their bedroom. When no such thing can be found, he assumes the girls had a nightmare. He isn't surprised that they're troubled. Grief has made its home at Hart House: nine months ago, the twins' mother, Pippa, died unexpectedly. But the situation quickly develops into something more insidious. The girls set an extra place for him at the table. They whisper to him. They say he's going to take them away. Alfie calls upon Julia --- Pippa's sister and a psychiatrist --- to oust the malignant tenant from their lives. But as Alfie himself is haunted by visions and someone watches him at night, he begins to question the true character of the force that has poisoned his daughters' minds, with dark and violent consequences.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728275185

THE LIST by Yomi Adegoke (Fiction)
Ola Olajide, a celebrated journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is set to marry the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful and successful, she and her fiancé, Michael, are considered the “couple goals” of their social network and seem to have it all. That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message: “Oh my god, have you seen The List?” It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola usually would be the first to support such a list --- she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it.
William Morrow | 9780063274877

A MAN OF TWO FACES: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Memoir)
With insight, humor, formal invention and lyricism, Viet Thanh Nguyen rewinds the film of his own life. He expands the genre of personal memoir by acknowledging larger stories of refugeehood, colonization, and ideas about Vietnam and America, writing with his trademark sardonic wit and incisive analysis, as well as a deep emotional openness about his life as a father and a son. A MAN OF TWO FACES explores the necessity of both forgetting and of memory, the promises America so readily makes and breaks, and the exceptional life story of one of the most original and important writers working today.
Grove Press | 9780802160508

THE MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut (Fiction)
A prodigy whose gifts terrified the people around him, John von Neumann transformed every field he touched, inventing game theory and the first programmable computer, and pioneering AI, digital life and cellular automata. Through a chorus of family members, friends, colleagues and rivals, Labatut shows us the evolution of a mind unmatched and of a body of work that has unmoored the world in its wake. THE MANIAC places von Neumann at the center of a literary triptych that begins with Paul Ehrenfest, an Austrian physicist and friend of Einstein, who fell into despair when he saw science and technology become tyrannical forces. It ends a hundred years later, in the showdown between the South Korean Go Master Lee Sedol and the AI program AlphaGo.
Penguin Press | 9780593654477

MARY AND THE BIRTH OF FRANKENSTEIN written by Anne Eekhout, translated by Laura Watkinson (Historical Fiction)
Switzerland, 1816. A volcanic eruption in Indonesia envelopes the whole of Europe in ash and cloud. Amid this “year without a summer,” 18-year-old Mary Shelley and her lover, Percy Bysshe Shelley, arrive at Lake Geneva to visit Lord Byron and his companion, John Polidori. One famous evening, Byron issues a challenge to write the best ghost story. Contemplating what to write, Mary recalls another summer, when she was 14. Scotland, 1812. A guest of the Baxter family, Mary arrives in Dundee, befriending young Isabella Baxter. As their bond deepens, Mary and Isabella’s feelings for each other intensify. But someone has been watching them --- the charismatic and vaguely sinister Mr. Booth, Isabella's older brother-in-law, who may not be as benevolent as he purports to be.
HarperVia | 9780063256743

MENEWOOD by Nicola Griffith (Historical Fiction)
Making a much-anticipated return to the world of HILD, MENEWOOD transports readers back to seventh-century Britain, a land of rival kings and religions poised for epochal change. Hild is no longer the bright child who made a place in Edwin Overking’s court with her seemingly supernatural insight. She is 18, honed and tested, the formidable lady of Elmet, now building her personal stronghold in the valley of Menewood. But old alliances are fraying. Younger rivals are snapping at Edwin’s heels. And war is brewing. Not knowing whom to trust, Edwin becomes volatile and recalls his young advisor to court. There Hild begins to understand the true extent of the chaos ahead --- and realizes she must find a way to navigate the turbulence and fight to protect both the kingdom and her own people.
MCD | 9780374208080

MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead (Gothic Thriller/Horror)
In her small hometown of Bottom Springs, Louisiana, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar --- and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town's secret underbelly in search of true evil.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781728269962

MOSCOW X by David McCloskey (Political Thriller)
CIA officers Sia and Max enter Russia under commercial cover to recruit Vladimir Putin’s moneyman. Sia works for a London law firm that conceals the wealth of the superrich. Max’s family business in Mexico, a CIA front since the 1960s, is a farm that breeds high-end racehorses. They pose as a couple to target Vadim, Putin’s private banker, and his wife, Anna, who --- unbeknownst to the CIA --- is a Russian intelligence officer under deep cover at the bank. As they descend further into a Russian world dripping with luxury and rife with gangland violence, Sia and Max’s only hope may be Anna, who is playing a game of her own.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9781324050759

THE MURDER OF ANDREW JOHNSON by Burt Solomon (Historical Thriller)
Andrew Johnson was called The Great Commoner, appealing to the masses, loathing the establishment and anyone he deemed elitist. Once Johnson made an enemy, you became his enemy for life. He saw insults where none were intended, and personal loyalty meant everything. He also was the first U.S. president to be impeached. Time, however, waits for no man, and even the Famous (or Infamous) must leave this world eventually. But when a man has as many enemies as the Devil, what death could really be a natural one? From political opponents to most of his own family, the suspects are endless, and the truth not really wanted. John Hay --- lawyer, sometimes governmental bureaucrat, and now journeyman investigative reporter --- is set on finding that truth. And it may wind up killing him.
Forge Books | 9780765392725

MY DARLING GIRL by Jennifer McMahon (Psychological/Supernatural Thriller)
Alison has never been a fan of Christmas. But with it right around the corner and her husband busily decorating their cozy Vermont home, she has no choice but to face it. Then she gets the call. Mavis, Alison’s estranged mother, has been diagnosed with cancer and has only weeks to live. She wants to spend her remaining days with her daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters. But Alison grew up with her mother’s alcoholism and violent abuse and is reluctant to unearth these traumatic memories. Still, she eventually agrees to take in Mavis, hoping that she and her mother could finally heal and have the relationship she’s always dreamed of. But when mysterious and otherworldly things start happening upon Mavis’ arrival, Alison begins to suspect that her mother is not quite who she seems.
Gallery/Scout Press | 9781668019061

THE NIGHT HOUSE written by Jo Nesbø, translated by Neil Smith (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
In the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths in a house fire, 14-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects he is responsible. No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider. Richard traces the number that Tom prank-called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Mirror Forest. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear: She’s going to burn. The girl you love is going to burn. There’s nothing you can do about it.
Knopf | 9780593537169

PRINCESS OF DUNE by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Science Fiction/Space Opera)
Raised in the Imperial court and born to be a political bargaining chip, Irulan was sent at an early age to be trained as a Bene Gesserit Sister. Now of marriageable age, Princess Irulan sees the machinations of the many factions vying for power and is determined to become much more than a pawn to be moved about on anyone’s gameboard. Meanwhile, on Arrakis, Chani is trained in the Fremen mystical ways by an ancient Reverend Mother. Brought up to believe in her father’s ecological dream of a green Arrakis, she follows Liet around to Imperial testing stations, surviving the many hazards of desert life. Chani soon learns the harsh cost of Fremen dreams and obligations under the oppressive boot heel of the long Harkonnen occupation.
Tor Books | 9781250906212

THE PROSPECTORS by Ariel Djanikian (Historical Fiction)
The middle daughter of struggling California fruit farmers, Alice Bush is accustomed to feeling inferior and destitute. But when her elder sister’s husband strikes a vein of gold in the Yukon Territory, Alice finally seizes control of her destiny by joining a wave of white settlers making the dangerous trek to the Klondike. By luck and circumstance, she becomes tightly intertwined in her sister and brother-in-law’s newfound fortune, as well as the beginning of a generations-long family quest for wealth. One hundred years later, in 2015, Alice’s great-great-granddaughter, Anna, must grapple with moral conflict and questions of justice as she travels to the Klondike to bequeath her would-be inheritance to the First Nations peoples who paid the price for its creation.
William Morrow | 9780063289734

THE SCANDALOUS CONFESSIONS OF LYDIA BENNET, WITCH by Melinda Taub (Historical Fantasy)
In this exuberant retelling of Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves, Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs. But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns. Her best-loved sister, Kitty, is really a barn cat. Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would one expect from a demon? And if Mr. Darcy is uptight about etiquette, that’s nothing compared to his feelings about magic. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that for a witch, promises have power.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538739204

SECOND ACT by Danielle Steel (Fiction)
As the head of a prestigious movie studio for nearly two decades, Andy Westfield has had every conceivable professional luxury. But then his world is upended. The studio is sold, and the buyer’s son demands the top seat. Out of a job and humiliated, Andy spirals. When his head clears, he decides to get as far away from Los Angeles as possible. Andy signs a six-month rental agreement for a luxurious home in a tiny, forgotten coastal town two hours from London. When he arrives, he hires Violet Smith to help get his affairs in order. But when Violet leaves the manuscript of her unfinished novel behind after work one day, Andy lets his curiosity get the best of him and is captivated by a story that begs to be adapted for the big screen. Could this be the miracle they’ve both been looking for?
Delacorte Press | 9781984821959

STARLING HOUSE by Alix E. Harrow (Gothic Fantasy)
Opal is determined to find a better life for her younger brother, Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive 19th-century author of The Underland, who disappeared over a hundred years ago. Everyone agrees that it’s best to ignore the uncanny mansion and its misanthropic heir, Arthur. Almost everyone, anyway. Opal has been obsessed with The Underland since she was a child. When she gets the chance to step inside Starling House, she can't resist. But sinister forces are digging deeper into the buried secrets of Starling House, and Arthur’s own nightmares have become far too real. As Eden itself seems to be drowning in its own ghosts, Opal realizes that she finally might have found a reason to stick around.
Tor Books | 9781250799050

THRONE OF THE FALLEN by Kerri Maniscalco (Fantasy/Romance)
When a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a deadly game, the Prince of Envy knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win and save his falling demon court. None of his meticulous plans prepare him for the frustrating artist who ignites his sin like no other. The trouble with scoundrels and blackguards is that they haven’t a modicum of honor, which Miss Camilla Antonius learns after one desperate mistake allows Waverly Green’s most notorious rake to blackmail her. To avoid a ruinous scandal, Camilla is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Envy, little expecting that his game will awaken her true nature. Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the Underworld while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316557290

A TRAITOR IN WHITEHALL by Julia Kelly (Historical Mystery)
1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms. However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out that David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.
Minotaur Books | 9781250865489

THE WITCHING YEAR: A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling Through Modern Witchcraft by Diana Helmuth (Memoir)
Thirty-three-year-old Diana Helmuth is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft. The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations and read all the liturgy. But there’s one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy and incantations are. As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real.
S&S/Simon Element | 9781668002988

YUMI AND THE NIGHTMARE PAINTER: A Cosmere Novel by Brandon Sanderson (Famtasy/Adventure)
Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society. But she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero --- a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone. Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect.
Tor Books | 9781250899699

On Sale the Week of October 2nd in Paperback

October 3rd

ACROSS THE SAND by Hugh Howey (Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic Thriller)
The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes, a land of howling wind and infernal sand. In this barren home, siblings Conner, Rob, Palmer and Violet daily carve out a future. They live in the shadow of their father and oldest sister, Vic, two of the greatest sand divers ever to comb the desert’s depths. But these branches of their family tree are long gone, leaving the younger siblings scratching in the dust, hopeful for a better life. On the other side of No Man’s Land, Anya was born beside the abundant mines knowing her prospects would be to marry, have a family and work in ore. But when an atomic bomb delivered by a stranger destroys most of her town, she follows her father to a strange land of dunes to bring vengeance to their enemies.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063286986

AESTHETICA by Allie Rowbottom (Fiction)
At 19, she was an Instagram celebrity. Now, at 35, she works behind the cosmetic counter at the “black and white store,” peddling anti-aging products to women seeking physical and spiritual transformation. She, too, is seeking rebirth. She’s about to undergo the high-risk, elective surgery Aesthetica™, a procedure that will reverse all her past plastic surgery procedures, hopefully returning her to a truer self. Provided she survives the knife. But on the eve of the surgery, her traumatic past resurfaces when she is asked to participate in the public takedown of her former manager/boyfriend, who has rebranded himself as a paragon of “woke” masculinity in the post-#MeToo world. With the hours ticking down to her surgery, she must confront the ugly truth about her experiences on and off the Instagram grid.
Soho Press | 9781641295321

BILLIE STARR’S BOOK OF SORRIES by Deborah E. Kennedy (Fiction)
In a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny Newberg is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother’s sorries. Then a pair of strangers in black suits offers her a hefty check to seduce someone known as the Candidate. But nothing ever goes as Jenny plans, and she is swept into the Candidate’s orbit. Surrounded by a wide universe of new ideas, she realizes how constrained her life has been by the expectations of everyone around her, and she starts to see how much more she might be capable of.
Flatiron Books | 9781250138453

BROTHER, SISTER, MOTHER, EXPLORER by Jamie Figueroa (Fiction)
In the tourist town of Ciudad de Tres Hermanas, in the aftermath of their mother's passing, two siblings spend a final weekend together in their childhood home. Seeing her brother, Rafa, careening toward a place of no return, Rufina devises a bet: If they can make enough money performing for privileged tourists in the plaza over the course of the weekend to afford a plane ticket out, Rafa must commit to living. If not, Rufina will make her peace with Rafa's own plan for the future, however terrifying it may be. As the siblings reckon with generational and ancestral trauma, set against the indignities of present-day prejudice, other strange hauntings begin to stalk these pages.
Catapult | 9781646221219

THE DEATH OF US by Lori Rader-Day (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
One rainy night 15 years ago, Ashley Hay stood on Liss Kehoe’s front porch and handed over her brand-new baby, Callan. She was never seen or heard from again. Since then, Liss has raised Callan as her own and loves him as fiercely as any mother would. But in the back of her mind, she’s always wondered if Ashley is still out there somewhere --- and feared what might happen if she comes back. When Ashley does reappear, it’s not in the way Liss expected. After all these years, Ashley’s car has been found…in the quarry pond on Kehoe property. But the discovery of the car dredges up more questions than answers. What really happened on the night of Ashley’s disappearance? Was it a tragic accident, or something far more sinister? Someone in town knows the truth, and they’ll go to great lengths to keep it quiet.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063293335

DOWN AND OUT IN PARADISE: The Life of Anthony Bourdain by Charles Leerhsen (Biography)
Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide in June 2018 shocked people around the world. Bourdain seemed to have it all: an irresistible personality, a dream job, a beautiful family and international fame. The reality, though, was more complicated than it seemed. Bourdain became a celebrity with his bestselling book, KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL. He parlayed it into a series of hit television shows, including Food Network’s “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” and CNN’s “Parts Unknown.” But his charisma belied a troubled spirit. DOWN AND OUT IN PARADISE is the first book to tell the true and full Bourdain story, relating the highs and lows of an extraordinary life.
Simon & Schuster | 9781982140458

GHOSTLY: A Collection of Ghost Stories introduced and illustrated by Audrey Niffenegger (Horror/Short Stories)
From Edgar Allan Poe to Kelly Link, M. R. James to Neil Gaiman, H.H. Munro to Audrey Niffenegger herself, GHOSTLY spans the whole history of the ghost story genre from gothic horror to the modern era. Each story is introduced by Niffenegger, with short original commentary and background on why she chose to include it. Also featured is her own story, “A Secret Life with Cats.”
Scribner | 9781501111204

THE HERO OF THIS BOOK by Elizabeth McCracken (Fiction)
Ten months after her mother’s death, the narrator of THE HERO OF THIS BOOK takes a trip to London. The city was a favorite of her mother’s, and as the narrator wanders the streets, she finds herself reflecting on her mother’s life and their relationship. Thoughts of the past meld with questions of the future: Back in New England, the family home is now up for sale, its considerable contents already winnowed. The woman, a writer, recalls all that made her complicated mother extraordinary and finds herself wondering how her mother had endured. Even though she wants to respect her mother’s nearly pathological sense of privacy, the woman must come to terms with whether making a chronicle of this remarkable life constitutes an act of love or betrayal.
Ecco | 9780062971296

HESTER by Laurie Lico Albanese (Historical Fiction)
Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic --- leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country. When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250825162

A HISTORY OF FEAR by Luke Dumas (Literary Thriller/Horror)
Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil’s Advocate. The 25-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate, Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it. When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that’s haunted the nation for years: Was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along?
Washington Square Press | 9781982199036

THE HOLLOW KIND by Andy Davidson (Gothic Horror/Thriller)
When Nellie Gardner learns that she has inherited a turpentine estate from her long-lost grandfather, she throws everything she can think of in her pickup and flees to Georgia with her 11-year-old son, Max, in tow. August Redfern’s “estate” is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie sees it as the perfect refuge --- a safe place to hide from her violent husband and the chance for a fresh start. But Max sees what his mother can’t: Redfern Hill is no haven. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. And Nellie’s return is about to wake it up.
Picador | 9781250893529

THE LAST CHAIRLIFT by John Irving (Fiction)
In Aspen, Colorado, in 1941, Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships. Little Ray, as she is called, finishes nowhere near the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Back home, in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor. Her son, Adam, grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past. Years later, looking for answers, Adam will go to Aspen. In the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some ghosts. In THE LAST CHAIRLIFT, they aren’t the first or the last ghosts he sees.
Simon & Schuster | 9781501189289

THE LAST KINGDOM by Steve Berry (Thriller)
King Ludwig II of Bavaria was an enigmatic figure who was deposed in 1886, mysteriously drowning three days later. Eccentric to the point of madness, history tells us that in the years before he died, Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom --- a place he could retreat into and rule as he wished. But a question remains: Did he succeed? Enter Cotton Malone. After many months, Malone’s protégé, Luke Daniels, has managed to infiltrate a renegade group intent on winning Bavarian independence from Germany. In a race across Bavaria for clues hidden in Ludwig’s three fairy-tale castles --- Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee --- Malone and Daniels battle an ever-growing list of deadly adversaries, all intent on finding the last kingdom.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538759240

THE LOCKED DOOR by Freida McFadden (Psychological Thriller)
Paperback Original
While 11-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement. Until the day the police arrived at their front door. Decades later, Nora's father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence. Nobody knows about her past, and she'll do anything to keep it that way. Then one of her young female patients is murdered, killed in the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims. Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she's not like her father. The police can't pin anything on her. As long as they don't look in her basement.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728296180

MURDER ON THE CHRISTMAS EXPRESS by Alexandra Benedict (Mystery)
Paperback Original
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train from London to the Highlands derails, along with the festive plans of its travelers. With the train buried in snow in the middle of nowhere, the passengers have only each other, and not all of them will reach their holiday celebrations. As a killer tries to pick passengers off one by one, former Met Detective Roz Parker can't resist one last investigation, but murder in a locked room is a formidable puzzle for even the most seasoned investigator. As accusations begin to fly, the group of travelers fractures and unexpected alliances form. Can Roz find the culprit before anyone else is lost?
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728284415

OCEAN’S ECHO by Everina Maxwell (Science Fiction/Space Opera)
Rich socialite, inveterate flirt and walking disaster Tennalhin Halkana can read minds. Tennal, like all neuromodified “readers,” is a security threat on his own. But when controlled, readers are a rare asset. Not only can they read minds, they can navigate chaotic space, the maelstroms surrounding the gateway to the wider universe. Conscripted into the military under dubious circumstances, Tennal is placed into the care of Lieutenant Surit Yeni, a duty-bound soldier, principled leader and the son of a notorious traitor general. Whereas Tennal can read minds, Surit can influence them. Like all other neuromodified “architects,” he can impose his will onto others, and he’s under orders to control Tennal by merging their minds.
Bramble | 9781250758873

ONE LAST KILL by Robert Dugoni (Mystery/Thriller)
Paperback Original
Tracy Crosswhite is reopening the investigation into Seattle’s Route 99 serial killer. After 13 victims, he stopped hunting and the trail went cold, stirring public outrage. Now, nearly three decades after his first kill, Tracy is expected to finally bring closure to the victims’ families and redeem the Seattle PD’s reputation. Even if it means working with her nemesis, Captain Johnny Nolasco. Lead detective of the original task force, Nolasco dares Tracy to do what he failed to: close the case. Forming an uneasy alliance, Tracy and Nolasco revisit old leads and pursue new evidence only to unearth high-level corruption and cover-ups as dangerous as the elusive killer himself. At the risk of being exposed, such deadly and powerful forces will go to extremes to stay in the shadows.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662500213

PERIL IN PARIS: A Royal Spyness Mystery by Rhys Bowen (Historical Mystery)
When I receive a letter from my glamorous best friend, Belinda, Darcy suggests we take a trip to Paris to visit her. It seems he also has a spot of business of which to take care, so I will be staying in Belinda’s flat as she works feverishly on Coco Chanel’s fall collection. Darcy has asked me to take on a small chore as a part of his latest assignment. I am to covertly retrieve something from an attendee of Coco’s show. It seems easy enough, but I discover that this little errand could have terrifying consequences for a world on the brink of war. When things go horribly wrong, I am left to find a killer all while trying to fend off a French policeman who is certain that I am a criminal mastermind.
Berkley | 9780593437872

A RESTLESS TRUTH by Freya Marske (Historical Fantasy)
Maud Blyth has always longed for adventure. She expected plenty of it when she volunteered to serve as an old lady’s companion on an ocean liner, in order to help her beloved older brother unravel a magical conspiracy that began generations ago. What she didn’t expect was for the old lady in question to turn up dead on the first day of the voyage. Now she has to deal with a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and the lovely, dangerously outrageous Violet Debenham, who’s also returning home to England. Violet is everything that Maud has been trained to distrust yet can’t help but desire: a magician, an actress and a magnet for scandal.
Tordotcom | 9781250831897

THE REVIVALISTS by Christopher M. Hood (Dystopian Fiction)
Bill and Penelope are the lucky ones. Not only do they survive the Shark Flu emerging from the melting Icelandic permafrost to sweep like a scythe across the world, they begin to rebuild a life in the wreckage of the old. A garden to feed themselves planted where the lawn used to be, a mattress pulled down to the living room fireplace for warmth. Even Bill’s psychology practice endures the collapse of the social order, the handful of remaining clients bartering cans of food for their sessions. But when their daughter’s voice over the radio in the kitchen announces that she’s joined a cult 3,000 miles away in Bishop, California, they leave it all behind to embark on a perilous trek across the hollowed-out remains of America to save her.
Harper Perennial | 9780063221406

THE ROARING DAYS OF ZORA LILY by Noelle Salazar (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
2023, The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History: A costume conservator is preparing an exhibition featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As she gingerly places a gown once worn by Greta Garbo on a mannequin, she discovers another name hidden beneath the designer's label, leaving her to wonder. Who is Zora Lily? 1924, Seattle: Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in extra money. But at night, she secretly dreams of becoming a designer. When her best friend gets a job dancing in a club downtown, Zora is lured in by her stories of music, glittering dresses and boys. But as her ambition is challenged by tragedy and duty to her family, she will learn that dreams come with a cost.
Mira | 9780778305200

SECRETS OF THE NILE: A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander (Historical Mystery)
Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, have joined his formidable mother on a holiday to visit the exotic treasures of Egypt. Their host, Lord Bertram Deeley, is a renowned amateur British collector of antiquities, who has invited his closest friends on a lavish cruise up the Nile to his home at Luxor. But on the first night of their journey, he suddenly collapses after offering a welcome toast, a victim of the lethal poison cyanide. Who amongst this group of his nearest and dearest would want to kill their generous host? Emily and Colin’s investigation soon reveals that even his closest friends had reasons to want him dead. A key clue may lie with several ancient ushabtis, exquisite 3,000-year-old sculptures that played a role in a hidden story from the time of Ancient Egypt.
Minotaur Books | 9781250819710

SOMEWHERE SISTERS: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family by Erika Hayasaki (Biography)
It was 1998 in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and Liên struggled to care for her newborn twin girls. Hà was taken in by Liên’s sister, and she grew up in a rural village with her aunt. Hà’s twin sister, Loan, was adopted by a wealthy, white American family who renamed her Isabella. Isabella grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with a nonbiological sister, Olivia, also adopted from Vietnam, and they attended a predominantly white Catholic school. But when Isabella’s adoptive mother learned of her biological twin back in Vietnam, all of their lives changed forever. Erika Hayasaki spent years and hundreds of hours interviewing each of the birth and adoptive family members. She brings the girls’ experiences to life on the page, challenging conceptions about adoption and what it means to give a child a good life.
Algonquin Books | 9781643755366

UNMASKED: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes, with Robin Gaby Fisher (True Crime/Memoir)
In UNMASKED, cold case investigator Paul Holes takes us through his memories of a storied career and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary American history, including the hunt for the Golden State Killer, Laci Peterson's murder and Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping. This is also a revelatory profile of a complex man and what makes him tick: the drive to find closure for victims and their loved ones, the inability to walk away from a challenge --- even at the expense of his own happiness. Holes opens up the most intimate scenes of his life: his moments of self-doubt and the impact that detective work has had on his marriage.
Celadon Books | 9781250622808

WHITE HORSE by Erika T. Wurth (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Kari James spends most of her time at her favorite spot in Denver, a bar called White Horse. There, she tries her best to ignore her past and the questions surrounding her mother who abandoned her when she was just two years old. But soon after her cousin, Debby, brings her a traditional bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, Kari starts seeing disturbing visions of her mother and a mysterious creature. When the visions refuse to go away, she must uncover what really happened to her mother. Kari’s journey toward a truth long denied by both her family and law enforcement forces her to confront her dysfunctional relationships, thoughts about a friend she lost in childhood, and her desire for the one thing she’s always wanted but could never have.
Flatiron Books | 9781250847676

WILDFIRE: A Maple Hills Novel by Hannah Grace (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name. Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father’s gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they can’t put out?
Atria Books | 9781668026274

A WINTER IN NEW YORK by Josie Silver (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Iris moves to New York to restart her life. While at a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye. Could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s? Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, the sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is recovering from a stroke and can no longer remember it. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. She offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life --- and new love --- she’s been building all winter long.
Dell | 9780593722862

WRECK THE HALLS by Tessa Bailey (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Melody Gallard spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight. But when a producer offers her a lot of money to reunite her mother’s band on live TV, Mel begins to wonder if it’s time to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life…and see him again. The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas. Beat Dawkins, the lead singer’s son, is Melody’s opposite --- the camera loves him, he could charm the pants off anyone, and his mom is not a potential cult leader. Still, they might have been best friends if not for the legendary feud that broke up the band. When they met as teenagers, Mel felt an instant spark, but it’s nothing compared to the wild, intense attraction that builds as they embark on a madcap mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show.
Avon | 9780063308305

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