July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

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In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of July 14th and July 21st 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 current Word of Mouth contest. Let us know by Friday, July 25th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win CULPABILITY by Bruce Holsinger and THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA by Lisa Scottoline, both of which will be Bookreporter.com Bets On picks.

Next month's “Bookaccino Live” book preview event will take place on Wednesday, August 13th at 2pm ET. The focus will be on books releasing between August 12th and September 2nd, as well as some October titles, that we think will appeal to you

This Week's Bonus News:
Bookreporter.com's Word of Mouth Contest
Win a Copy of CULPABILITY by Bruce Holsinger
and THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA by Lisa Scottoline

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, July 16th at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with Adriana Trigiani about her latest novel, THE VIEW FROM LAKE COMO, which is about one woman’s quest to build her own life before it’s too late.

Thursday, July 17th at 8pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Steve Berry will talk about his new novel, THE LIST. This compelling legal thriller features a young attorney who has returned to his small-town Georgia home, where he begins to unravel a corporate corruption scheme that targets locals, including those near and dear to him.

Saturday, July 19th at 1pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's and Books & Books present Rachel Joyce as she discusses her new book, THE HOMEMADE GOD, with Rachel McMillan. This powerful novel from the author of THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY reminds us that family is everything, even when it falls apart.

Monday, July 21st at 4pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Tom Mead will talk about THE HOUSE AT DEVIL'S NECK, in which amateur sleuth Joseph Spector pits his knowledge of stage magic against the seemingly supernatural when a séance at an isolated old hospital turns deadly.

On Sale the Week of July 14th in Hardcover

July 14th

THE IDAHO FOUR: An American Tragedy by James Patterson and Vicky Ward (True Crime)
The murders of four innocent college students attending the University of Idaho left us all with so many questions. Now, after more than 300 interviews, James Patterson and prize-winning journalist Vicky Ward finally have some answers. We know what it was like to live in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022, the day of the cold-blooded killings. We know what the local police and FBI did right. And what they did wrong. We’ve learned so much about the four heartbroken families --- the Mogens, Goncalveses, Kernodles and Chapins. And we have the backstory for Bryan Kohberger --- brilliant grad student, loner, apparent incel. Now you are the jury. The evidence is in.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316572859 

July 15th

ASHES TO ASHES by Thomas Maltman (Fiction) 
When the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering if they’ve been blessed or cursed. For Basil --- a “gentle giant” of a teen reeling from a farming accident that shattered his family and haunted by his mother’s decade-long confinement in a state mental hospital --- the ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world. Meanwhile, Basil and his friends, Lukas and Morgan (who self-identify as “a gay, a goth and a giant”), stumble upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications. As Basil’s relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.
Soho Press | 9781641296700 

THE AVIATOR AND THE SHOWMAN: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon by Laurie Gwen Shapiro (Biography)
In 1928, a young social worker and hobby pilot named Amelia Earhart arrived in the office of George Putnam, heir to the Putnam & Sons throne and hitmaker, on the hunt for the right woman for a secret flying mission across the Atlantic. A partnership --- professional and soon otherwise --- was born. THE AVIATOR AND THE SHOWMAN unveils the untold story of Amelia's decade-long marriage to Putnam, offering an intimate exploration of their relationship and the pivotal role it played in her enduring legacy. Their ahead-of-its time partnership supported her grand ambitions --- but also pressed her into more and more treacherous stunts to promote her books, influencing a certain recklessness up to and including her final flight.
Viking | 9780593295908 

THE BEWITCHING by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Historical Fantasy/Gothic Horror)
“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter, Minerva, who is now researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales. In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story. Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances. As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus.
Del Rey | 9780593874325 

CARVED IN BLOOD: A Hana Westerman Thriller by Michael Bennett (Thriller)
When Detective Inspector Jaye Hamilton stops at an Auckland liquor store for a bottle of champagne, it is supposed to be celebratory: his daughter, Addison, has just gotten engaged. Instead, he is suddenly gunned down at the register by a balaclava-clad assailant in what appears at first to be a random act. The getaway car is quickly recovered, containing the cell phone of a young Māori man, Toa Davis, who is immediately the object of an all-out police search. Jaye’s ex-wife, former Māori detective Hana Westerman, asks in on the investigation. The gun used in the assault is distinctive, and she learns that a local gang leader, Erwin Rendall --- who had threatened Hana in the past --- owns such a weapon. After Davis turns up dead, the hunt for Rendall is on.
Atlantic Monthly Press | 9780802164544

CHEESECAKE by Mark Kurlansky (Historical Fiction)
It’s the 1970s, and West 86th Street knows its desserts: poppyseed strudel, praline ice cream cake and New York cheesecake. But then Cato comes to town. Cato the Elder, a Roman born in 234 BCE, is credited with the earliest written recipe ever found. A recipe for…cheesecake. Suddenly, it's all anyone on West 86th Street can talk about. The Katsikases, a Greek cheesemaking family who immigrated to open a restaurant in New York, added Cato's pastry to their menu as a ploy to attract “upscale” diners. The recipe becomes a neighborhood fixation --- and the Katsikases' patriarch, Art, buys up as much of the block's real estate as he can. As the portentous pastry appears in the lives of the old-school residents Art is pricing out of their apartments, a sidewalk view of West 86th Street emerges.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781639735723 

CODED JUSTICE by Stacey Abrams (Legal Thriller)
Former Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is trying to put the past behind her at a prestigious high-end law firm in Washington, D.C. She is now working as an internal investigator when a high-profile client seeks her out. Camasca Enterprises is a tech company that has developed a new integrated AI system poised to revolutionize the medical industry. To prove its potential, Camasca’s charismatic founder, retired Major Rafe Diaz, has picked a complicated target: delivering cutting-edge health care to his fellow veterans. The potential is staggering, but their prototype has been plagued by a series of disturbing anomalies --- culminating in the mysterious death of a beloved Camasca engineer. Avery and her colleagues are brought into the secretive company to determine whether their technical troubles and rising body count reveal something sinister at work.
Doubleday | 9780385548342 

EMPIRE OF THE ELITE: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America by Michael M. Grynbaum (Popular Culture/Social History)
For decades, Condé Nast and its glittering magazines defined how to live the good life in America. The brilliant, complicated, striving characters behind Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, GQ, Architectural Digest and many other titles manufactured a vision of luxury and sophistication that shaped consumer habits, cultural trends, intellectual attitudes and political beliefs the world over. Condé’s billionaire owner, Si Newhouse, and his stable of star editors, photographers and writers were the gatekeepers who decided what and who mattered, and they offered those opinions to tens of millions of readers every month. EMPIRE OF THE ELITE is full of fresh behind-the-scenes reporting about a plethora of boldface names and sets out to explain how Condé Nast established itself as a de facto American aristocracy, anointing an elite and dictating the culture they presided over.
Simon & Schuster | 9781668003916 

THE ENCHANTED GREENHOUSE by Sarah Beth Durst (Fantasy/Romance)
Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium. This should have been the end of her story. Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. The only other human on the island is Yarrow, a grumpy gardener who offers her a place to sleep and clean clothes. As she grows closer with him, she learns that the magic that sustains the greenhouses is failing --- causing the death of everything within them. Assisted by Yarrow and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island --- and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
Bramble | 9781250333988 

A FLOWER TRAVELED IN MY BLOOD: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland (History)
In the early hours of March 24, 1976, the streets of Buenos Aires rumble with tanks as soldiers seize the presidential palace and topple Argentina’s leader. The country is now under the control of a military junta, which holds power until 1983 and decimates a generation. One of the military’s most diabolical acts is kidnapping hundreds of pregnant women. After giving birth in captivity, the women are “disappeared,” and their babies are secretly given to other families. For mothers of pregnant daughters and daughters-in-law, the source of their grief is twofold --- the disappearances of their children and the theft of their grandchildren. A group of fierce grandmothers forms the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, dedicated to finding the stolen infants and seeking justice from a nation that betrayed them. 
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781668017142 

THE GIRL I WAS by Jeneva Rose (Fiction/Magical Realism)
Alexis Spencer will use any inspirational quote to rationalize her failures and shortcomings. But when she loses her job and her relationship on the same day, there’s no quote strong enough to get her through that. In typical fashion, she blames the world for her problems, including her younger self, who should have tried harder. Feeling sorry for herself, Alexis finds a bottle of vodka from her college days and goes on a bender, blacking out in the process. Only this time, she doesn’t wake up at home, or in the right city. Alexis is back in her college town in the year 2002. Convinced this is her chance to do things over, she heads to her dorm --- and comes face-to-face with her 18-year-old unruly self, who goes by Lexi. Getting acclimated to life in the early 2000s is the easy part. Dealing with Lexi is where things prove difficult.
Mira | 9780778387480 

THE HOUSE AT DEVIL'S NECK: A Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mystery by Tom Mead (Historical Mystery)
An apparent suicide in a London townhouse uncannily mirrors a similar incident from 25 years ago, prompting Scotland Yard's George Flint to delve deep into the past in search of the solution to a long-forgotten mystery. Meanwhile, Joseph Spector travels with a coach party through the rainy English countryside to visit an allegedly haunted house on a lonely island called Devil’s Neck. The visitors hold a seance to conjure the spirit of a long-dead soldier, but a storm causes them to be stranded in the haunted house. Before long, the guests begin to die one by one, and it seems that the only possible culprit is the phantom soldier. Flint's and Spector's investigations are in fact closely linked, but it is only when the duo are reunited at the storm-lashed Devil's Neck that the truth is finally revealed.
Mysterious Press | 9781613166505 

IF YOU LOVE IT, LET IT KILL YOU by Hannah Pittard (Fiction/Humor)
A novelist learns that an unflattering version of herself will appear prominently --- and soon --- in her ex-husband’s debut. For a week, her life continues largely unaffected by the news --- she cooks, runs, teaches, entertains --- but the morning after baking mac ’n’ cheese from scratch for her nephew’s sixth birthday, she wakes up changed. The contentment she’s long enjoyed is gone. In its place: nothing. A remarkably ridiculous midlife crisis ensues, featuring a talking cat and a game called Dead Body.
Henry Holt and Co. | 9781250910271 

AN INSIDE JOB by Daniel Silva (Thriller/Adventure)
Gabriel Allon has been awarded a commission to restore one of the most important paintings in Venice. But when he discovers the body of a mysterious woman floating in the waters of the Venetian Lagoon, he finds himself in a desperate race to recover a lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci. The painting, a portrait of a beautiful young girl, has been gathering dust in a storeroom at the Vatican Museums for more than a century, misattributed and hidden beneath a worthless picture by an unknown artist. Because no one knows that the Leonardo is there, no one notices when it disappears one night during a suspicious power outage. No one but the ruthless mobsters and moneymen behind the theft --- and the mysterious woman whom Gabriel found in a watery grave in Venice. A woman without a name. A woman without a face.
Harper | 9780063384217 

JFK: Public, Private, Secret by J. Randy Taraborrelli (Biography)
More than the story of a presidency, this is an intimate study of a man whose public triumphs were shaped --- and at times overshadowed --- by the complex realities of his private life, from his legendary family to his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy. The book draws from hundreds of interviews conducted over 25 years --- as well as candid, first-hand oral histories from the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library, rare internal reports from the Secret Service, detailed files from the National Archives, and intelligence documents from both the CIA and the FBI. This is JFK as never before captured by history: brilliant yet fallible, revered yet human --- a figure whose legacy continues to shape America and the world.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250346384 

THE KNOWING: How the Oppression of Indigenous Peoples Continues to Echo Today by Tanya Talaga (History)
For generations, Indigenous People have known that their family members disappeared, many of them after being consigned to a coordinated system designed to destroy who the First Nations, Métis and Inuit people are. This is one of Canada’s greatest open secrets, an unhealed wound that until recently lay hidden by shame and abandonment. THE KNOWING is the unfolding of history unlike anything we have ever read before. Award-winning and bestselling Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga retells the history of her country as only she can --- through an Indigenous lens, beginning with the life of her great-great grandmother, Annie Carpenter, and her family as they experienced decades of government- and Church-sanctioned enfranchisement and genocide.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335015389 

THE LAKE ESCAPE by Jamie Day (Domestic Thriller)
Julia, David and Erika grew up together spending summers at their idyllic Vermont lake homes for as long as they can remember. Now adults, the three friends have amassed secrets over the years. This summer, David is eager to show off his newly renovated home and his much-younger girlfriend. He also, unwittingly, brings a nanny with a hidden agenda. When David’s girlfriend mysteriously vanishes after a shouting match, Julia and Erika wonder just how well they know their lifelong friend. The lake harbors a harrowing past: two young women vanished without a trace 30 years ago. Did the lake take another? As a search is mounted, an intricate web of lies, deceits and betrayals spanning generations starts to surface, and everyone finds themselves in danger of becoming the next victim.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250358196

MATCHMAKING FOR PSYCHOPATHS by Tasha Coryell (Psychological Thriller)
When Lexie's fiancé runs off with her so-called best friend on her birthday, her carefully crafted fairy-tale life shatters. To distract herself, Lexie throws herself into her unusual job: matchmaking psychopaths (a specialty her clients are blissfully unaware of). But the loneliness is crushing. So when a gorgeous, overprotective new client named Aidan insists they're soulmates, and another intriguing client, Rebecca, seems perfect to fill the best-friend-shaped hole in her life, Lexie can't help but find the attention comforting --- despite her own professional boundaries. Then a human heart appears on Lexie's doorstep. As more threatening packages arrive and her fiancé mysteriously disappears, she must confront a terrifying question: Did she inadvertently match herself with a killer?
Berkley | 9780593640302 

MRS. PLANSKY GOES ROGUE by Spencer Quinn (Mystery)
Mrs. Plansky is fresh off of winning a thrilling senior tennis championship with her doubles partner, Kev Dinardo, and is gearing up to celebrate with him on his yacht. That is, until the yacht is destroyed in a fire. Kev claims the fire was caused by a lightning strike, but there's one small problem --- Mrs. Plansky didn't see any lightning. Her curiosity turns to concern when Kev goes missing. Her suspicion gets the better of her and leads her to break into his house, only to find it ransacked. But Kev isn't the only person Mrs. Plansky has to worry about. A conversation with her dad reveals that not long ago, he'd introduced Kev to Jack, Mrs. Plansky's wayward tennis pro son. And now, her dad either can't remember or has no interest in divulging any details. Worse? Now Jack has gone missing, too.
Forge Books | 9781250331830 

ONE YELLOW EYE by Leigh Radford (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
British scientist Kesta Shelley has spent her life looking down the barrel of a microscope rather than cultivating personal relationships. But that changed when she met Tim. So when he was one of the last people in London to be infected with a perplexing virus that left the city ravaged, Kesta went into triage mode. Though the government has rounded up and disposed of all the infected, Kesta is able to keep her husband (un)alive --- and hidden --- with resources from the hospital where she works. As she races against the clock, her colleagues start noticing changes in her behavior and appearance. There are whispers of a top-secret lab working on a cure, and Kesta clings to the possibility of being recruited like a lifeline. But can she save her husband before he is discovered? Or worse, will they trigger another outbreak?
Gallery Books | 9781668081211 

THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA by Lisa Scottoline (Psychological Thriller)
Lately, Julia Pritzker is beginning to think she’s cursed. She’s lost her adoptive parents, then her husband is murdered. When she realizes that her horoscope essentially foretold his death, she begins to spiral. Then a letter arrives out of the blue, informing her that she has inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard --- but her benefactor is a total stranger named Emilia Rossi. In Tuscany, Julia is horrified to discover that Rossi was a paranoid recluse with delusions of grandeur, who believed herself to be a descendant of Duchess Caterina Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. Julia is stunned by her uncanny resemblance to Rossi, and even to Caterina. Then she unearths eerie parallels between them. Before long, Julia suspects that she’s being followed, and strange things begin to happen.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538769997 

UNTIL ALISON by Kate Russo (Literary Thriller)
When Rachel Nardelli finds out that her childhood rival, Alison Petrucci, is found dead in Pleasant Pond, the same place the two girls had first said goodbye to each other back in eighth grade, the town of Waterbury is outraged by the fear of losing one of their own --- the heir to Maine’s largest construction company. But it’s a little more complicated for Rachel. She saw Alison the night she died. Callous, she said something she shouldn’t have. She stirred up the past. The next morning, Alison was gone. Plagued by the complicated memories around Alison, Rachel joins her journalism crew to investigate the murder. But as she revisits their fraught relationship, she falls into a web of cruelties that threaten to undo everything she understood about her past.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9780593850688

WAYWARD GIRLS by Susan Wiggs (Historical Fiction)
In 1968, we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd, a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns. They include Mairin, the free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants, committed to keep her safe from her stepfather; Angela, who was denounced for her attraction to girls and was sent to the nuns for reform --- but instead she found herself the victim of a predator; Helen, the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China who saw her “temporary” stay at the Good Shepherd stretch into years; Odessa, who was caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident --- but she found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence; Denise, who was sentenced for brawling in a foster home and dared to dream of a better life; and Janice, who couldn’t decide where her loyalties lie --- except when it came to her friend, Kay.
William Morrow | 9780063118270 

On Sale the Week of July 14th in Paperback

July 15th

BAT OUT OF HELL: An Anthology of New Mystery Short Stories edited by Don Bruns (Mystery/Short Stories)
Paperback Original
Edited by Don Bruns, this fourth installment in the Music and Murder Mystery series is a nonstop thrill ride of engrossing mysteries from some of the best authors in the business. It includes a brand-new Jack Reacher story from Andrew Child and a never-before-seen Pignon Scorbion prequel from Rick Bleiweiss, as well as exciting new mysteries from Heather Graham, Don Bruns, John Gilstrap, Dave Bruns, C. J. Kudlacz and Charles Todd. Whether you are familiar with the series or encountering it for the first time, BAT OUT OF HELL has something for everyone.
Blackstone Publishing | 9798212877978

COLORED TELEVISION by Danzy Senna (Fiction/Humor)
Jane and her family are living in luxury for a year, house-sitting in the hills above Los Angeles. The gig magically coincides with Jane’s sabbatical, giving her the time and space she needs to finish her second novel --- a centuries-spanning epic that her artist husband, Lenny, dubs her “mulatto WAR AND PEACE.” Finally, some semblance of stability and success seems to be within her grasp. But things don’t work out quite as hoped. Desperate for a plan B, Jane turns her gaze to Hollywood. When she finagles a meeting with Hampton Ford, a hot producer with a major development deal at a streaming network, he seems excited to work with a “real writer,” and together they begin to develop “the Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies.” Things finally seem to be going right for Jane --- until they go terribly wrong.
Riverhead Books | 9780593544389

THE CORE OF AN ONION: Peeling the Rarest Common Food — Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes by Mark Kurlansky (Cooking/History)
Flourishing in just about every climate and culture around the world, onions have provided the essential basis not only for sautés, stews and sauces, but for medicines, metaphors and folklore. Now they're Mark Kurlansky's most flavorful infatuation yet as he sets out to explore how and why the crop reigns from Italy to India and everywhere in between. Featuring historical images and his own pen-and-ink drawings, he begins with the science and history of the only sulfuric acid–spewing plant, then digs through its 20 varieties and the cultures built around them. Entering the kitchen, Kurlansky celebrates the raw, roasted, creamed, marinated and pickled. THE CORE OF AN ONION also includes a recipe section featuring more than 100 dishes from around the world.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781639736317

THE DEVIL RAISES HIS OWN by Scott Phillips (Historical/Noir Thriller)
Los Angeles, 1916: Photographer Bill Ogden has opened a portrait studio in the seedy noir world of early Hollywood, where he is joined by his granddaughter, Flavia, who is need of a fresh start after bludgeoning her drunken, abusive husband to death in Wichita. Though his business is mainly legit, Bill finds himself brushing up against the “blue movie” porn industry growing in the shadows of the motion picture mainstream. When a series of grisly murders take place across the city, Bill and his capable granddaughter are pulled into events as tricky and tangled as anything this side of The Big Sleep. We meet dreamers, opportunists, washed-up former stars and starry-eyed newcomers --- a cast of unforgettable characters living on the margins looking to make a quick buck, launch a career or just keep their family together.
Soho Crime ‎| 9781641297080

DOCILE: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl by Hyeseung Song (Memoir)
A daughter of Korean immigrants, Hyeseung Song spends her earliest years in the cane fields of Texas. With her parents at constant odds, she learns more words in Korean for hatred than for love. When the family’s fake Gucci business lands them in bankruptcy, Song moves to a new elementary school. Neither rich nor white, Song does what is necessary to be visible: she internalizes the model minority myth, as well as her beloved mother’s dreams to see her on a secure path. Years of self-erasure take a toll, and Song experiences recurring episodes of depression and mania. A thought repeats: I want to die. I want to die. Song enters a psychiatric hospital where she meets patients with similar struggles. So begins her sweeping journey to heal herself by losing everything.
Simon & Schuster | 9781668003671

EAGLE ROCK: An Ashe Cayne Novel by Ian K. Smith (Mystery)
Billionaire Elliott Kantor, who ruled over a mammoth real estate portfolio in Chicago, was a creature of habit. His trainer came to his house three mornings every week for a 5:30 workout. By 6:30 he was in the car, and his driver drove him down into the city where he’d get a shave and trim from his barber, then head over to his offices. He always ate breakfast at his desk, had two young assistants who tended to his every whim and demand, then spent all day in and out of meetings. There were few surprises in his world. Or so everyone thought, until Kantor died in his sleep at age 77, leaving behind a vast fortune and grieving wife, son and five grandchildren. When Simon Kantor enlists Ashe Cayne to explore his father's death, the probing private investigator learns there were plenty of "activities" Elliott participated in after hours, including a sex traffic ring.
Amistad ‎| 9780063253766

EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU by Jo Piazza (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Paperback Original
Lizzie and Bex were best friends in college. After graduation, Bex vanished, leaving Lizzie confused and devastated. Fifteen years later, Bex is now Rebecca Sommers, a “traditional” Instagram influencer with millions of followers who salivate over her perfect life on her ranch with her five children and handsome husband, Gray. One night out of the blue, Bex calls Lizzie with a career-making proposition --- an exclusive interview with her about her multimillion-dollar business venture and an invitation to MomBomb, the high-profile influencing conference. At the conference, Bex goes missing, and Gray is found brutally murdered on their ranch. Lizzie finds herself plunged into the dark side of the cutthroat world of social media, which includes jealousy, sordid affairs, swingers and backstabbing.
Dutton | 9798217046478

LAVENDER LIES BLEEDING: A Spice Shop Mystery by Leslie Budewitz (Mystery)
Paperback Original
Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper Reece is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend, Lavender Liz, offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved --- and occasionally maligned --- herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who has taken to the hills, though Liz herself is not convinced. Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves.
Seventh Street Books | 9781645060864

THE LOST BOY OF SANTA CHIONIA by Juliet Grames (Historical Mystery)
Calabria, 1960. Francesca Loftfield, a 27-year-old, starry-eyed American, arrives in the isolated mountain village of Santa Chionia tasked with opening a nursery school. There is no road, no doctor, no running water or electricity. And thanks to a recent flood that swept away the post office, there’s no mail, either. Most troubling, though, is the human skeleton that surfaced after the flood waters receded. Who is it? And why don’t the police come and investigate? When the local priest's housekeeper begs Francesca to help determine if the remains are those of her long-missing son, Francesca begins to ask a lot of inconvenient questions. As an outsider, she might be the only person who can uncover the truth. Or she might be getting in over her head.
Vintage | 9780593469811

THE LOST STORY by Meg Shaffer (Romantic Fantasy/Adventure)
As boys, Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived. Fifteen years later, Rafe is a reclusive artist who has no memory of what happened during those months. Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator and is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as him and Rafe. The two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes that they will find Emilie’s sister there. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins.
Ballantine Books | 9780593598894

MAKE YOUR WAY HOME: Stories by Carrie R. Moore (Fiction/Short Stories)
Paperback Original
In 11 stories that span Florida marshes, North Carolina mountains, and Southern metropolitan cities, MAKE YOUR WAY HOME follows Black men and women who grapple with the homes that have eluded them. A preteen who is pregnant alongside her mother refuses to let convention dictate who she names as the father of her child. Centuries after slavery separated his ancestors, a native Texan tries to win over the love of his life, despite the grip of a family curse. A young deaconess, who falls for a new church member, wonders what it means when God stops speaking to her. And at the very end of the South as we know it, two sisters seek to escape North to freedom, to promises of a more stable climate.
Tin House Books | 9781963108286

RETURN TO BLOOD: A Hana Westerman Thriller by Michael Bennett (Thriller)
After the perils of a case that landed much too close to home, Hana Westerman turned in her badge and abandoned her career as a detective in the Auckland CIB. Hoping that civilian life will offer her the opportunity to rest and recalibrate, she returns to her hometown of Tātā Bay, where she moves back in with her beloved father, Eru. Yet the memories of the past are everywhere, and as she goes for her daily run on the beach, Hana passes a local monument to Paige, a high school classmate who was murdered more than 20 years ago and hidden in the dunes overlooking the sea. A Māori man with a previous record was convicted of the crime, although Eru never believed he was guilty. When her daughter finds another young woman’s skeleton in the sands, Hana soon finds herself awkwardly involved.
Grove Press | 9780802165299

THE RULE OF THREE by Sam Ripley (Psychological Thriller/Horror)
I didn’t believe in the Rule of Three. Not at first. It was just one of those urban myths you hear about all the time. A story my boyfriend told me about a girl cursed by the number three. A girl whose parents had killed themselves after her sibling had died in an accident. Which meant that she was doomed to die too because that’s the Rule of Three. Bad things always happen in threes, they say, and they are right. Because it’s happening again. But this time the curse is coming for me. And worst of all? It’s coming for you, too.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781668047705

A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL by T. Kingfisher (Dark Fantasy/Adventure)
Cordelia knows her mother is…unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers. When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. As her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.
Tor Books | 9781250244062

THE VILLAIN EDIT by Laurie Devore (Romantic Comedy)
Romance novelist Jacqueline Matthis’ big career has gone bust, and she has ditched the bright lights of New York City for her more affordable South Carolina hometown. Jac dreams up a comeback plan --- she is going to be a contestant on “the 1,” the most obsessively watched reality dating show in the world. On set, Jac quickly establishes herself as a front-runner for bachelor Marcus’ heart, but she’s shocked to discover who’s actually pulling the strings. How was she to know that Henry Foster, her last one-night stand before the show, was actually a longtime producer on “the 1”? As Jac plays the game and the show unfurls, she slowly discovers that she’s getting the villain edit. They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but as Jac’s secret plan begins crumbling around her, she’s not so sure.
Avon | 9780063337619

THE WILDS by Sarah Pearse (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Since the dark events that scarred her childhood, Kier Templer escaped her hometown to live life on the road. She and her twin have never lost contact until, on a trip to a Portuguese national park, Kier vanishes without a trace. Detective Elin Warner arrives in the same park ready to immerse herself in its vast wilderness  --- only to hear about Kier’s disappearance and discover a disturbing map she left behind. The few strangers at an isolated campsite close ranks against Elin’s questions, and the park’s wild beauty starts to turn sinister. Elin must untangle the clues to find out what really happened to Kier. But when you follow a trail, you have to be careful to watch your back.
Penguin Books | 9780593654064

WRITERS AND LIARS by Carol Goodman (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Paperback Original
Fifteen years ago, Maia Gold attended a prestigious --- and very exclusive --- writers retreat hosted by billionaire Argos Alexander on the Greek island of Eris. But something dark happened on that island, a betrayal that has hung over her ever since. Now, Maia has been invited to return to Eris, and she’s not the only one from that first retreat who’s been invited back. Almost all of the writers from 15 years before have returned to Eris, bringing unresolved resentments with them. The guests soon learn that their illustrious host is absent, though he has left instructions for them to participate in a contest. Whoever can write the most suspenseful mystery while on the island will win a fortune and literary acclaim. But when the guests gather in the morning to share their first chapters, they find Argos Alexander dead.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063398733

On Sale the Week of July 21st in Hardcover

July 21st

THE HAMPTONS LAWYER: A Jane Smith Thriller by James Patterson and Mike Lupica (Legal Thriller)
The Hamptons on Long Island is known for its beautiful beaches, its luxury lifestyle --- and its exclusive legal advice. When Jane Smith takes on a famous celebrity client, she’s armed and ready: with brilliant arguments, hard evidence --- and two Glocks. Yet she is chased down, shot at and risks contempt of court. That’s when mounting a legal defense turns into self-defense. Knowing every day in court could be her last, she’s a survivor. For now.
Little, Brown and Company | 9780316569934

July 22nd

THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT: An Extraordinary World War II Story of Survival, Faith, and Brotherhood by Nina Willner (History) 
THE BOYS IN THE LIGHT follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author’s father, as they are caught up on two sides of World War II. At 16, Eddie Willner was among the millions of European Jews rounded up by Hitler’s Nazis. He was forced into slave labor alongside his father and his best friend, Mike, and spent the next three years of his life surviving the death camps. Meanwhile, in the United States, boys only a few years older than Eddie were joining the army and heading toward their own precarious futures. A company of 3rd Armored Division tankers, led by 23-year-old Elmer Hovland, quickly became battle-hardened and weary, constantly questioning whether the war was worth it. They got their answer when two emaciated boys stepped out of the woods with their tattooed arms raised.
Dutton | 9780593471272

THE CONFESSIONS by Paul Bradley Carr (Thriller)
LLIAM is the world’s most powerful supercomputer, built to make the toughest decisions for its users. But when it suddenly goes offline with no explanation, the world is thrust into chaos. Then, on every continent, mysterious envelopes arrive in the mail, exposing people’s darkest secrets and most shocking crimes. All beginning with the same chilling words: “We must confess.” With millions of people suddenly made to confront their past transgressions, CEO Kaitlan Goss must track down the only person who can help undo the resulting violent chaos: Maud Brookes, an ex-nun who taught LLIAM what it means to be human. But when Maud receives a letter herself, revealing Kaitlan’s own unforgivable sin, the two women are forced into a deadly game of deceit as the world teeters on the brink.
Atria Books | 9781668074404

DEAD OF SUMMER by Jessa Maxwell (Psychological Thriller)
Orla O’Connor hasn’t been to the isolated New England enclave of Hadley Island since she graduated from high school a decade ago. As a teenager, her best friend, Alice, disappeared from its shores without a trace. Now, Orla returns to her family’s beachfront home to clean it out before her parents sell it. Unfortunately, her childhood crush, David, is back for the summer with his girlfriend, Faith. Meanwhile, local Henry hasn’t left his house since the young girl went missing, in an attempt to let the accusations against him die down. But Orla’s return has shaken him, and lately he’s been seeing strange things. When there’s another disappearance on the island, all three find themselves pulled into an eerie and twisty mystery that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Atria Books | 9781668070390

GIRL, 1983 written by Linn Ullmann, translated by Martin Aitken (Fiction) 
Paris, a winter’s night in 1983. She is 16 years old, lost in unfamiliar streets. On a scrap of paper in her pocket is the address of a photographer, K, 30 years her senior. Almost four decades later, as her life and the world around her begin to unravel, the grown woman seeks to comprehend the young girl of before. Set in Oslo, New York and Paris, GIRL, 1983 is a genre-defying and bravura quest through layers of memory and oblivion. As in her landmark previous work, UNQUIET, Linn Ullmann’s narrator continues to probe the elegiac sway of memory as she looks for ways to disclose a long-guarded secret.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9781324066354

GREENWICH by Kate Broad (Fiction)
Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost 18 when she arrives at her aunt and uncle’s mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury, and Rachel wants to help --- and escape her own troubles back home. But her aunt is oddly spacey, and her uncle is consumed with business. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate, an aspiring artist, and the live-in babysitter for Rachel’s cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel eagerly hopes their friendship might grow into more. But when a tragic accident occurs, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. Caught between her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, she’s the only one who knows what really happened --- and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250363046

INK RIBBON RED by Alex Pavesi (Mystery/Thriller)
Anatol invites five of his oldest friends to his family home in the Wiltshire countryside to celebrate his 30th birthday. At his request, they play a game of his invention called Motive Method Death. The rules are simple: Everyone chooses two players at random, then writes a short story in which one kills the other. Points are awarded for making the murders feel real. Of course, it’s only natural for each friend to use what they know. But once they’ve put it in a story, each secret is out. It’s not long before the game reawakens old resentments and brings private matters into the light of day. With each fictional crime, someone new gets a very real motive. Can all six friends survive the weekend, or will truth turn out to be deadlier than fiction?
Henry Holt and Co. | 9781250755957

THE LAST WIZARDS' BALL by Charlaine Harris (Dark Fantasy/Thriller)
Lizbeth Rose’s sister, Felicia, attends the Grand Wizards’ Ball, and as one of the most powerful --- and beautiful --- death wizards in a generation, she is highly sought after as one of the belles of the ball. However, war and violence are on the rise in Europe as German and Japanese wizards are also courting Felicia…and some are refusing to take no for an answer. As the façade of genteel wizard society turns deadly, Lizbeth must learn not only to protect her sister, but also to navigate the arcane world that is pulling her sister and husband into a dangerous dance with death that could change the world as they know it.
S&S/Saga Press | 9781668038123 

THE LIBRARY AT HELLEBORE by Cassandra Khaw (Dark Fantasy/Horror)
The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance and a normal life after graduation. At least that’s what Alessa Li is told after she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. But the Institute is more than just a haven for monsters. On graduation day, the faculty embark on a ravenous rampage, feasting on their students. Trapped in the school’s cavernous library, Alessa and her surviving classmates must do something they were never taught: work together. If they don't, this school will eat them alive.
Tor Nightfire | 9781250877819 

THE LIST by Steve Berry (Legal Thriller)
After a 10-year self-imposed exile, Brent Walker is returning home to Concord, a quaint town in central Georgia. His father died two years ago, and now Brent --- hired by Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company as its assistant general counsel --- is returning to care for his ailing mother. Southern Republic’s success is based largely on a highly unorthodox and deadly system to control costs, known only to the three owners of the company. Now, one of them, Christopher Bozin, has had a change of heart. Brent’s return to Concord, a move Bozin personally orchestrated, provides his conscience with a chance at redemption. So a plan is set into motion, one that not only will criminally implicate Bozin’s two partners but also will place Brent square in the crosshairs of men who want him dead --- with only one course left available.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538770870 

MAGGIE; OR, A MAN AND A WOMAN WALK INTO A BAR by Katie Yee
(Fiction/Humor)
A man and a woman walk into a restaurant. The woman expects a lovely night filled with endless plates of samosas. Instead, she finds out her husband is having an affair with a woman named Maggie. A short while after, her chest starts to ache. She walks into an examination room, where she finds out the pain in her breast isn’t just heartbreak --- it’s cancer. She decides to call the tumor Maggie. Unfolding in fragments over the course of the ensuing months, MAGGIE; OR, A MAN AND A WOMAN WALK INTO A BAR follows the narrator as she embarks on a journey of grief, healing and reclamation.
S&S/Summit Books | 9781668084212 

MENDELL STATION by J.B. Hwang (Fiction)
It's January 2020, and Miriam is already getting a sense that the world might be ending. First, she learns that her best friend, Esther, has died. Then her faith in God --- in everything, really --- follows suit. Her job teaching Scripture at a private Christian school suddenly seems untenable, so she quits. Thankfully, the postal service is hiring. While Miriam finds comfort in her route, the mail truck can hardly outpace the memory of her lost friend and eroded faith. She finds herself composing letters to Esther that she will never deliver, reflecting on their shared childhoods and deep understanding of each other's difficult families.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781639736188 

NOT QUITE DEAD YET by Holly Jackson (Thriller)
In seven days Jet Mason will be dead. Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time. Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm. Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend. She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates, she has only her childhood friend, Billy, for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something: Jet is going to solve her own murder.
Bantam | 9780593977057 

PARIAH by Dan Fesperman (Thriller)
Hal Knight, a comedian and movie star-turned politician, is no stranger to controversy. But after an embarrassing and humiliating encounter on set, Knight resigns from Congress and disappears to the tiny Caribbean island of Vieques. Shortly after his arrival, he is approached by a trio of CIA operatives hoping to recruit him to infiltrate the power structure of Bolrovia --- a hostile Eastern European country whose despotic president, Nikolai Horvatz, happens to be a longtime fan of Knight’s adolescent male humor. Knowing that Horvatz plans to invite the disgraced star for an official visit, the CIA coaxes Knight to accept, which he does. Upon arrival as President Horvatz’s guest of honor, Knight confronts his ultimate acting challenge.
Knopf | 9780593802236

THAT LAST CAROLINA SUMMER by Karen White (Fiction) 
As a child, Phoebe Manigault developed the gift of premonition after she was struck by lightning in the creek near her Charleston home. Plagued throughout her life by mysterious dreams, Phoebe eventually moves to the West Coast. Now, years later, she is summoned back to South Carolina to help her sister, Addie, care for their ailing mother. As Phoebe’s return lures her back into deep-rooted tensions and conflicts, she is drawn to Celeste, whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Their connection brings comfort to Phoebe, while Celeste’s adult grandson, Liam, resurrects complicated emotions tied to Phoebe’s past. But the longer Phoebe spends in her childhood home, the more her recurring nightmares intensify --- bringing her closer to the shocking truth that irrevocably will change everything.
Park Row | 9780778310693 

THERE WILL BE BODIES: A Flavia Albia Novel by Lindsey Davis (Historical Mystery)
In first-century Rome, Flavia Albia is once again faced with uncovering the truth. Quite literally. Only 10 years earlier, Mount Vesuvius erupted and rained ash down about the Roman cities and towns along the Bay of Naples. But while some cities were destroyed, others were merely badly damaged. And the uncle of Flavia Albia’s husband seizes the opportunity to buy a villa…cheap! It just has to be dug out of the ash and restored. Oh, and any bodies uncovered, including the previous owner, given a proper burial. As the Villa is being renovated, there are indeed bodies found. But one is not like the others. Instead of buried in the ash, the previous owner’s body is found in a locked storeroom, and Albia is immediately suspicious that he didn’t die in the eruption.
Minotaur Books | 9781250906731

On Sale the Week of July 21st in Paperback

July 22nd

THE BOOK OF ELSEWHERE by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville
(Science Fiction/Adventure)
There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who has seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had many names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as “B.” And he wants to be able to die. In the present day, a U.S. black-ops group has promised him they can help with that. And all he needs to do is help them in return. But when an all-too-mortal soldier comes back to life, the impossible event ultimately points toward a force even more mysterious than B himself. One at least as strong. And one with a plan all its own.
Del Rey | 9780593446607

BURN by Peter Heller (Dystopian Thriller)
Every year, Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to the most remote corners of the country. Although the state of Maine has convulsed all summer with secession mania --- a mania that simultaneously has spread across other states --- Jess and Storey figure it’s a fight reserved for legislators or, worst-case scenario, folks in the capital. But after weeks hunting off the grid, the men reach a small town and are shocked by what they find: a bridge blown apart, buildings burned to the ground, and bombed-out cars abandoned on the road. Trying to make sense of the sudden destruction all around them, they set their sights on finding their way home, dodging armed men as they seek a path to safety. Then a startling discovery drastically alters their path and the stakes of their escape.
Vintage | 9780593687505

DIDION & BABITZ by Lili Anolik (Biography)
Eve Babitz died on December 17, 2021. Found in the wrack, ruin and filth of her apartment was a stack of boxes packed by her mother decades before. Inside was a lost world that centered on a two-story rental in a down-at-the-heel section of Hollywood: 7406 Franklin Avenue, a combination salon-hotbed-living end where writers and artists mixed with movie stars, rock ’n’ rollers and drug trash. 7406 Franklin Avenue was the making of one great American writer: Joan Didion. It also was the breaking and then the remaking --- and thus the true making --- of another great American writer: Eve Babitz. Didion and Babitz formed a complicated alliance, a friendship that went bad, amity turning to enmity. Didion, in spite of her confessional style, is so little known or understood. She’s remained opaque, elusive. Until now.
Scribner | 9781668065495

FRIENDS TO LOVERS by Sally Blakely (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Best friends Joni and Ren have been inseparable since childhood. So when Joni moves across the country for her job, the two devise a creative way to stay in touch: they’ll be each other’s plus-ones every year for wedding season, no matter what else is happening in their lives. It’s a tradition that works, until a line is crossed and the friendship they once thought was forever is ruined. Now Joni is back at their families’ shared summer home for her sister’s wedding, and she’s determined to make the week perfect, even if it means faking a friendship with Ren. How hard can it be to pretend to be friends with the person who once knew you best? But as sunny beach days together turn into starry nights, Joni begins to question what her life is without Ren in it.
Canary Street Press | 9781335014245

IDENTITY UNKNOWN: A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell (Mystery/Thriller)
Summoned to an abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once had an intense love affair with. The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Sal Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy, believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find that her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue. As the investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her mind, is far more evil.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538770405

IT WAS HER HOUSE FIRST by Cherie Priest (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Paperback Original
Silent film star Venita Rost's malevolent spirit lurks spider-like in her cliffside mansion, a once-beautiful home that's claimed countless unlucky souls. Snared in her terrible web, Inspector Bartholomew Sloan --- her eternal nemesis --- watches her wreak havoc in helpless horror. Now the house has yet another new owner. This time it's Ronnie Mitchell, a grieving woman who buys the run-down place sight unseen. She arrives armed with an unexpected inheritance, a strong background in renovation, and a blissful ignorance regarding the house's blood-soaked history. In the shadows, unseen eyes watch. Then, a man comes knocking. He brings wild stories and a thinly veiled jealousy, as well as a secret connection to the house that can only lead to violence. Venita's fury awakens, and a deadly game unfolds.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728292854

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER by Kimberly McCreight (Domestic Thriller)
When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom’s bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened. But what? Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks. Kat has been lying. She’s not just a lawyer; she’s her firm’s fixer. And in the days leading up to her disappearance, Kat has become aware of multiple threats: demands for money from her unfaithful soon-to-be ex-husband; evidence that Cleo has slipped back into a relationship that’s far riskier than she understands; and menacing anonymous messages from her past --- all of which she’s kept hidden from Cleo.
Vintage | 9780593470039

THE MADNESS by Dawn Kurtagich (Gothic Thriller/Horror)
With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend, Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, she returns home to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious amnesiac patient hundreds of miles away. With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls, and the powerful, nameless force at its center --- one that has been haunting her for years. As terrible, ancient truths begin to reveal themselves, Mina prepares to confront her own darkest secrets and, with them, an evil beyond comprehension.
Graydon House | 9781525830440

THE MONSTER OF ELENDHAVEN by Jennifer Giesbrecht (Dark Fantasy)
Set against the backdrop of the plague-ridden city of Elendhaven, clinging to the edge of the ocean and stripped of all hope, you’ll find a tale of retribution, magic and monstrosity. In the deep shadows of this forsaken city dwells a monster. With a soul as icy as it is cunning, it weaves its hands around throats, immune from the grips of death. A puppet to its fragile master who sends it on perilous errands, it becomes a weapon in a scheme too horrible to name. As the bond between the master and the monster tightens, a catastrophic revenge plan is formed. These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.
Tor Nightfire | 9781250225368

NICKED by M. T. Anderson (Historical Fantasy)
The year is 1087, and a pox is sweeping through the Italian city of Bari. When a lowly monk is visited by Saint Nicholas in his dreams, he interprets the vision as a call to serve the sick. But his superiors, and the power brokers they serve, have different plans for the tenderhearted Brother Nicephorus. Enter Tyun, a charismatic treasure hunter renowned for “liberating” holy relics from their tombs. The 700-year-old bones of Saint Nicholas are rumored to weep a mysterious liquid that can heal the sick, Tyun says. For the humble price of a small fortune, he will steal the bones and deliver them to Bari, curing the plague and restoring glory to the fallen city. And Nicephorus, the “dreamer,” will be his guide. What follows is a heist for the ages, as Nicephorus is swept away on strange tides, and alongside even stranger bedfellows, to commit sacrilegious theft.
Vintage | 9780593688007

ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP by Emily Layden (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Since releasing her debut album her senior year of high school, Dylan Read has spent 15 years growing up in the public eye. In the circles of fame and celebrity in which she now travels, the careful maintenance of Dylan Read, the pop star, is often more important than the songs themselves. And so lots of people think they understand everything about her. But what no one knows is the part of her origin story she successfully has kept hidden: her childhood best friend, Kelsey, vanished the year before Dylan became famous. Now, as Dylan is at the height of her career, Kelsey’s body is found at the bottom of their hometown lake --- forcing Dylan to reckon with their shared past, her friend’s influence on her music, and if there’s more to their story than meets the eye.
Mariner Books | 9780063315105

THE ONE AND ONLY VIVIAN STONE by Melissa O'Connor (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
After her grandmother’s death, thirty-something Margot DuBois prepares to sell the house quickly so she can go back to her predictable life in Santa Barbara. While cleaning out the attic, she comes across eight unlabeled cassette tapes. Unable to use the damaged tape player, she calls in a favor from Leo --- her first love and first epic heartbreak --- and they strike a deal: he’ll fix the player if he can hear what’s on the tapes. When they manage to listen, the two are shocked to hear the voice of comedic legend Vivian Stone. Why did she record these tapes, and how did Margot’s grandmother get them? Margot and Leo fall down a memory lane of their own. Margot is inspired by Vivian’s tenacity and courage to keep fighting for the life she wants, but everything changes when Vivian reveals a secret tied to her past.
Gallery Books | 9781668074831

PINK SLIME written by Fernanda Trías, translated by Heather Cleary (Dystopian Fiction/Horror)
In a city ravaged by a mysterious plague, a woman tries to understand why her world is falling apart. An algae bloom has poisoned the previously pristine air that blows in from the sea. Inland, a secretive corporation churns out the only food anyone can afford --- a revolting pink paste, made of an unknown substance. In the short, desperate breaks between deadly windstorms, our narrator stubbornly tends to her few remaining relationships: with her difficult but vulnerable mother; with the ex-husband for whom she still harbors feelings; with the boy she nannies, whose parents sent him away even as terrible threats loomed. Yet as conditions outside deteriorate further, her commitment to remaining in place only grows --- even if staying means being left behind.
Scribner | 9781668049785

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