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In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of October 6th and October 13th 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, October 17th at noon ET what books you’ve read, and you’ll have a chance to win GONE BEFORE GOODBYE by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben, which releases on October 14th, and TWICE by Mitch Albom, which is now available and is this month's “Good Morning America” Book Club pick.
Yes, it’s that time again --- time to get to know you, our readers. Last year's Reader Survey gave us a lot of insight into your reading and book-buying habits, which was so very helpful. At every meeting we attend with publishers, and in any conversation we have with authors, the lead question is “Who are your readers?” Also, people are always asking us about the specific habits of our readers, like the formats you are enjoying, the genres you love, and where you learn about books.
So we are doing a Reader Survey again this year to ensure that we have the latest information to share. At a time when a recent study said that only 16% of Americans read for pleasure, we want to hear from our readers who we KNOW are part of this very important group.
We are awarding three readers who finish the survey a $50 gift card to the bookstore of their choice, while five others will be selected to win a book from Bookreporter's shelves. The survey, which should take about 15 minutes to complete, will be open until Friday, October 24th at noon ET.
Please take the time to answer. We are so looking forward to hearing what you have to say! We can shape our coverage better if we know what interests you.
Join Us Tomorrow Afternoon!
This is your last newsletter reminder to sign up for this month's “Bookaccino Live” book preview event, which will take place TOMORROW, Wednesday, October 8th at 2pm ET.
The focus will be on titles releasing between now and November 4th, along with a few from December, plus January 2026, that we think will appeal to you. Those who join us live will be asked to answer a survey about the books from the presentation that they are most interested in reading and will be eligible to win a prize.
P.S. For those of you who shop online, if you use the store links that appear on our site for shopping, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound. As you read our reviews and features, we would appreciate your considering this as you buy!
This Week's Bonus News:
Bookreporter.com's Word of Mouth Contest
Win a Copy of GONE BEFORE GOODBYE
by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben
and TWICE by Mitch Albom
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars in our Word of Mouth contest. Three readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of GONE BEFORE GOODBYE by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben and TWICE by Mitch Albom. The deadline for your entries is Friday, October 17th at noon ET.
GONE BEFORE GOODBYE is the unforgettable story of an indomitable woman, trapped in a conspiracy she helped create but can’t understand. Carol Fitzgerald is reading the book now and thinks it is so well done.
The heart of TWICE, which is this month's “Good Morning America” Book Club pick, is a stunning love story that dares to explore how our unchecked desires might mean losing what we’ve had all along.
» To make sure other readers will be able to find the books you write about, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). For rules and guidelines, click here.
» To see reader comments from previous contest periods, click here.
Click here to enter the contest.
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
Here are three upcoming virtual book and author events that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links for more info and to register.
Wednesday, October 8th at 2pm ET: “Bookaccino Live” Book Preview Afternoon Event: Carol Fitzgerald will present titles releasing between October 7th and November 4th, along with a few from December, plus January 2026, that we would like to get on your radar. Included will be fiction; historical fiction; thrillers and mysteries; and memoirs, biographies and other nonfiction.
Wednesday, October 8th at 7pm ET: “Friends & Fiction”: Join “Friends & Fiction” for a conversation with Mitch Albom about his new novel, TWICE, a stunning love story that dares to explore how our unchecked desires might mean losing what we’ve had all along.
Friday, October 10th at 7pm ET: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Patricia Cornwell will talk to special guest host Jamie Lee Curtis about her latest Scarpetta mystery, SHARP FORCE. “Scarpetta” is soon to be a streaming series starring Curtis, along with Nicole Kidman.
On Sale the Week of October 6th in Hardcover
October 7th
AND I'LL TAKE OUT YOUR EYES by A. M. Sosa (Fiction)
Since the age of seven, Christian has been under the thumb of a curse. He reads its dark signs everywhere: in his bedridden mother’s wilting plants; in his brother’s estrangement; in his father’s eager fists and glassy stare. He reads it in his nightmares, in Stockton’s soundtrack of sirens and gunshots. Above all, he reads the curse in the mirror, watching himself “turn” into the crow his father always predicted he’d become. Maddened by the city’s heatwaves and his own unthinkable desires, often high and drunk, Christian rips through his neighborhood, desperate to escape not only the city but the monster of his pain. But even when he leaves, the curse follows. Can Christian ever be absolved? Or is he condemned to be consumed by the same violence as his father?
Algonquin Books | 9781643756912
BONE VALLEY: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida by Gilbert King (True Crime)
In 1987, Leo Schofield was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Michelle. Always insistent on his innocence, he was poorly served by his legal defense: the investigation was sloppy, the case was flimsy, and numerous pieces of evidence were ignored. He was sentenced to life in prison. Over 30 years later, Gilbert King is tipped off to Leo’s case and is astonished by what he finds: layers of corruption, flawed evidence and deep-seated errors. He can’t shake the story and starts to get to know Leo and his family. Leo shows an incomprehensible amount of grace and love about his situation, which spurs Gilbert even more to tell his story.
Flatiron Books | 9781250368546
CHRISTMAS AT THE NANTUCKET RESTAURANT by Pamela Kelley (Fiction)
Nantucket's famous Christmas Stroll is always the first week of December, and the co-owners of Mimi's Place want to do something extra special for the restaurant this year. It will be Emma and Paul's first Christmas together as a couple and Mandy's first holiday as a newly divorced mother of two. Although Mandy does have a promising new relationship, she wants to take things very slow. Their sister, Jill, and her new husband, Billy, are planning to spend the whole month of December on Nantucket too. Gina Caruso, the awesome bar manager, is spending her first winter on Nantucket after having lived in Boston for years. She's confused when someone she had a major crush on back in Boston moves to Nantucket, while Jared Hawthorne, the new sous chef at Mimi's Place, makes it his mission to introduce Gina to all of Nantucket's holiday festivities.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781464246210
CINDER HOUSE by Freya Marske (Gothic Fantasy/Romance)
Ella is a haunting. Murdered at 16, her ghost is furiously trapped in her father's house, invisible to everyone except her stepmother and stepsisters. Even when she discovers how to untether herself from her prison, there are limits. She cannot be seen or heard by the living people who surround her. Her family must never learn she is able to leave. And at the stroke of every midnight, she finds herself back on the staircase where she died. Until she forges a wary friendship with a fairy charm-seller and makes a bargain for three nights of almost-living freedom. Freedom that means she can finally be seen. Danced with. Touched. You think you know Ella's story: the ball, the magical shoes, the handsome prince. You're halfway right, and all-the-way wrong.
Tordotcom | 9781250341716
CRY HAVOC: A Tom Reece Thriller by Jack Carr (Historical/Political Thriller)
Just before the Tet Offensive, before President Johnson announces he will not run for reelection, before the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, as riots and protests rage across the nation, a spy ship is captured by communist forces off the coast of North Korea. The crew thought they had destroyed everything of intelligence value. They were wrong. As a KGB “illegal” elicits information from a high-ranking NSA official, and teams of special operators infiltrating into Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam disappear without a trace, an ambitious Soviet advisor launches an ingenious plan that could forever alter the world balance of power. Tom Reece, a SEAL operator attached to the highly classified and shadowy MACV-SOG, is about to be thrust into a bloody battle to discover the truth.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781668095256
THE ELOPEMENT: A Novel of the Austen Family by Gill Hornby (Historical Fiction)
1820. Mary Dorothea Knatchbull is living under the sole charge of her widowed father, Sir Edward, a man of strict principles and high Christian values. But when her father marries Miss Fanny Knight of Godmersham Park, Mary’s life is suddenly changed. Her new stepmother comes from a large, happy and sociable family, and Fanny’s sisters become Mary’s first friends. Her aunt, Miss Cassandra Austen of Chawton, is especially kind. Her brothers are not only amusing, but handsome and charming. And as Mary Dorothea starts to bloom into a beautiful young woman, she forms a special bond with one Mr. Knight in particular. Soon, they are deeply in love and determined to marry. It promises to be the most perfect match. Who would want to stand in their way?
Pegasus Books | 9781639369652
FINAL ORBIT by Chris Hadfield (Historical Thriller)
Houston, 1975. A new Apollo mission launches into orbit, on course to dock with a Russian Soyuz craft: three NASA astronauts and three cosmonauts, joining to celebrate a new dawn of Soviet-American cooperation. But as NASA Flight Controller Kaz Zemeckis listens in from Earth, a deadly accident onboard the orbiting spacecraft changes everything. Meanwhile, from a remote location in east Asia, the first Chinese spacecraft secretly launches. On board is China’s first astronaut, Fang Kuo-chun, whose mission puts him on a collision course with the Apollo crew. As Kaz races against an enemy on the ground and for answers beyond the sky, the safety of the remaining crew hangs in the balance.
Mulholland Books | 9780316581684
GIRL WARRIOR: On Coming of Age by Joy Harjo (Memoir)
“To know ourselves is the most profound and difficult endeavor. Though we are all made of the same questions, we have individual routes to the answers, or to reframing the questions. Why is there evil in the world? Why do people suffer, and some more than others? Why are we here? What are we doing here? What happens after death? Does anything mean anything at all? Who am I and what does it matter?” writes Joy Harjo. In POET WARRIOR, the renowned poet and activist led readers through her lifelong process of artistic evolution. In GIRL WARRIOR, she speaks directly to Native girls and women, sharing stories about her own coming of age to bring renewed attention to the pivotal moments of becoming --- including forgiveness, failure, falling, rising up, and honoring our vast family of beings.
W. W. Norton & Company | 9781324094173
THE HITCHHIKERS by Chevy Stevens (Psychological Thriller)
It’s the summer of 1976, and Alice and Tom set out on the remote Canadian highways in their new RV, hoping to heal their broken hearts after a devastating tragedy. They’ve planned the trip perfectly and taken care of every detail. Then they meet two young hitchhikers down on their luck and offer them a ride. But Simon and Jenny aren’t what they seem. They’ve left a trail of blood, destruction and madness behind them. Now Alice and Tom are trapped, prisoners in a deadly game, with nowhere to turn. As the tension builds, the lines blur, and the question becomes: In whose heart does evil truly lie? What secrets are Jenny and Simon hiding? And who will live another day?
St. Martin's Press | 9781250133656
HOLE IN THE SKY by Daniel H. Wilson (Science Fiction/Thriller)
On the Great Plains of Oklahoma, in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, a strange atmospheric disturbance is noticed by Jim Hardgray, a down-on-his-luck single father trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter, Tawny. At NASA’s headquarters in Houston, Texas, astrophysicist Dr. Mikayla Johnson observes an interaction with the Voyager 1 spacecraft on the far side of the solar system, and she concludes that something enormous and unidentified is heading directly for Earth. And in an undisclosed bunker somewhere in the United States, an American threat forecaster known only as the Man Downstairs intercepts a cryptic communication and sends a message directly to the president and highest-ranking military brass: “First contact imminent.”
Doubleday | 9780385551113
THE INTRUDER by Freida McFadden (Psychological Thriller)
Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window. She's young. She's alone. And she's covered in blood. The girl won't explain where she came from, or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse. The girl has a dark secret. One she'll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781464260919
IT GIRL: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin by Marisa Meltzer (Biography)
Jane Birkin was synonymous with chic. Her effortless style and artistic legacy have been immortalized through her music and film career. And, of course, she was the inspiration behind one of the world’s most coveted bags, the Hermès Birkin. But who was the real woman behind the it girl? Now, Marisa Meltzer sheds new light on Birkin’s enigmatic life and explores her profound influence on generations in a rigorously reported biography unlike any other. IT GIRL paints a vivid portrait of Birkin and her profound legacy, from her early years in 1960s London to her rise as a beloved celebrity in France, detailing personal challenges, her relationships with creative powerhouses, and the duality of her public and private selves.
Atria Books | 9781668060285
KEEP THIS FOR ME by Jennifer Fawcett (Literary Thriller)
One hot August night in 1993, a young couple go to a party. When their car breaks down, they are picked up by a truck driver who attacks the man and abducts the woman. She is never seen again. That woman was Fiona Green’s mother. When the trucker, Eddie Ward, is caught, a mass grave of bodies is discovered in his backyard, but Fiona’s mother isn’t there. Thirty years later, on his prison deathbed, Ward insists that he didn’t kill her, so Fiona finds herself back in the small town where her mother disappeared. Fighting demons of her own, she’s shocked when history repeats itself: another woman, another roadside breakdown, and another disappearance. Only this time the primary suspect is Jason Ward, Eddie’s son. Desperate, Fiona hunts down answers, unaware that she is being drawn into a dangerous trap.
Atria Books | 9781668050644
LAST RITES by Ozzy Osbourne (Memoir)
At the age of 69, Ozzy Osbourne was on a triumphant farewell tour, playing to sold-out arenas and rave reviews all around the world. Then: disaster. In a matter of just a few weeks, he went from being hospitalized with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour --- and all public life --- as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down. LAST RITES is the shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Ozzy's descent into hell. Along the way, he reflects on his extraordinary life and career, including his marriage to wife Sharon, as well as his reflections on what it took for him to get back onstage for the triumphant Back to the Beginning concert, streamed around the world, where Ozzy reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates for the final time.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538775417
MIRAGE CITY: An Evander Mills Mystery by Lev AC Rosen (Historical Mystery)
Private Investigator Evander “Andy” Mills’ next case takes him out of his comfort zone in San Francisco --- and much to his dismay, back home to Los Angeles. After a secretive queer rights organization called the Mattachine Society enlists Andy to find some missing members, he must dodge not only motorcycle gangs and mysterious forces, but his own mother, too. Avoiding her proves to be a challenge when the case leads Andy to the psychiatric clinic she works at. Worlds collide, buried secrets are dug up, and Andy realizes he's going to have to make some hard choices. With secrets, drugs and doctors swirling around him, time is running out for Andy to locate the missing and get them to safety. And for him to make it back to San Francisco in one piece.
Minotaur Books | 9781250322470
MOTHERS written by Brenda Lozano, translated by Heather Cleary (Fiction)
When the kidnapping of a little girl shocks the Mexican capital, the lives of two very different women become forever intertwined. Gloria Felipe lives a comfortable upper-class life with her husband and five children. Nuria Valencia comes from a working-class background and has been desperately trying to get pregnant in order to save her marriage. After traditional methods produce no results, she subjects herself to horrific fertility treatments designed and administered by men, and ultimately tries to adopt but is rejected on the basis that a woman in her early 30s is too old to adopt a baby. Failed time and again by the system and about to lose hope, she is presented with an opportunity that seems almost too good to be true.
Catapult | 9781646222537
MY BELOVED: A Mitford Novel by Jan Karon (Fiction)
When Father Tim’s wife, Cynthia, asks what he wants for Christmas, he pens the answer in a love letter that bares his most private feelings. Then the letter goes missing and circulates among his astonished neighbors. So much for private. Can a letter change a life? Ask Helene, the piano teacher who has avoided her feelings for a lifetime. Ask Hope, the village bookseller who desperately needs something that’s impossibly out of reach. Or, if you’d like to know how a brush with death can be the portal to a happy marriage, Cynthia will tell you all about it. In MY BELOVED, Harley gets an important letter of his own; a broken heart teaches the Old Mayor, Esther Cunningham, a lesson that’s been a long time coming; and thanks to Lace and Dooley, readers get what they’ve been waiting for: Sadie.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9798217047178
NEAR FLESH: Stories by Katherine Dunn (Fiction/Short Stories)
A woman invests in a series of sex robots to get her off and comes to terms with the limitations --- and real threat --- of automated companionship. A knowing young student pursues an affair with an older man, the poet in residence at the university where she studies writing, and weighs the benefits and costs of their arrangement. A mother moves to a farm with her family and must come to terms with the violence simmering beneath her skin. NEAR FLESH is the first and only collection of short fiction by Katherine Dunn, the author of the bestselling novel GEEK LOVE. These 19 stories are attuned to the spit and grit of tough living. They pulse with yearning for a more prosperous life, for sexual satisfaction, to escape abusive husbands and the disappointments of convention.
MCD | 9780374602352
OVERDUE by Stephanie Perkins (Romance)
Librarian Ingrid Dahl has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for 11 years without ever discussing marriage. But when Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory feel pressured to consider their future. Neither has ever been with anybody else, so they make an unconventional decision. They'll take a one-month break to date other people, then they'll reunite and move toward marriage. Ingrid even has someone in mind: her charmingly grumpy coworker, Macon Nowakowski, on whom she’s secretly crushed for years. But plans go awry, and when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they’re not ready to resume their relationship --- and Ingrid’s harmless crush on Macon has turned into something much more complicated.
Saturday Books | 9781250313461
PAPER GIRL: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America by Beth Macy (Memoir)
Urbana, Ohio, was not a utopia when Beth Macy grew up there in the ’70s and ’80s. Her dad was known as the town drunk, which hurt, as did their poverty. But Urbana had a healthy economy and thriving schools, and Macy had middle-class schoolmates whose families became her role models. But as her mother’s health declined in 2020, she couldn’t shake the feeling that her town had dramatically hardened. Macy had grown up as the paper girl, delivering the local newspaper, which was the community’s civic glue. Now she found scant local news and precious little civic glue. This was not an assignment Macy had ever imagined taking on, but after her mother’s death, she decided to figure out what happened to Urbana in the 40 years since she’d left. The result is an astonishing book that brings into focus our most urgent set of national issues.
Penguin Press | 9780593656730
PHOTOGRAPH by Brian Freeman (Mystery/Thriller)
Shannon Wells is a private investigator who helps women with nowhere else to go. Last year, a woman named Faith Selby came to Shannon with a strange request: Find out who I really am. Shannon soon discovered that Faith was hiding a whole other life, but was unable to penetrate the web of mystery the woman had built around her past. Now Faith is dead. The only clue to who she was and why she was murdered is an old photograph of a little girl in the rain outside a Midwestern motel. The hunt for answers takes Shannon from the hot beaches of Florida to a remote small town in Michigan as she peels away layer after layer of a shocking cold case that has rippled violently into the present. With each secret she uncovers, the danger around her grows --- and forces Shannon to confront the demons hiding in her own past.
Blackstone Publishing | 9781665109765
QUEEN DEMON by Martha Wells (Fantasy/Adventure)
Dahin, a beloved member of the Witch King's coterie, believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs' Well. The Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there's something he isn't telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself. Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch? And can he trust his companions to do what’s right?
Tor Books | 9781250826916
RACE AGAINST TERROR: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War by Jake Tapper (True Crime)
June 2011: The case has been cold for nearly 10 years when a terrorist fleeing the Arab Spring turns himself in and confesses to killing American soldiers in Afghanistan. This brazen act sets off an unlikely chain of events that puts the entirety of the American justice system to the test. They have the killer but no evidence to prove the murders happened. Determined to deliver justice, a team led by federal prosecutors Dave Bitkower and Shreve Ariail must traverse the globe, uncovering facts across thousands of miles and tracing shocking plots of terror in order to prevent tragedy from striking again. RACE AGAINST TERROR shows a man radicalized to enact violence, courageous soldiers who risked their lives for each other, and the diverse set of men and women who work tirelessly to stay one step ahead of disaster.
Atria Books | 9781668079447
THE SECOND CHANCE CINEMA by Thea Weiss (Fiction/Magical Realism)
At the end of a fog-covered alley glitters a glamorous cinema that’s nearly impossible to find. When Ellie and her fiancé, Drake, stumble upon it during a late-night walk, they’re shocked to discover what’s playing inside the red-velvet auditorium: their formative memories. Drake fears what the cinema might reveal, but he eventually gives in when Ellie insists they return for more viewings. She’s haunted by a night from her past that she doesn’t fully remember. This is her opportunity to piece the story back together. But as the memories displayed on screen inch closer to the present, they realize they’re both keeping secrets from each other. With their wedding on the horizon, Ellie and Drake must decide if seeing their pasts changes their plans for a future together.
Atria Books | 9781668080405
SHADOW TICKET by Thomas Pynchon (Historical/Noir Mystery)
Milwaukee, 1932. The Great Depression is going full blast, the repeal of Prohibition is just around the corner, Al Capone is in the federal pen, and the private investigation business shifts from labor-management relations to the more domestic kind. Hicks McTaggart, a onetime strikebreaker turned private eye, thinks he’s found job security until he gets sent out on what should be a routine case: locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who’s taken a mind to go wandering. Before he knows it, he’s been shanghaied onto a transoceanic liner, eventually ending up in Hungary. By the time Hicks catches up with the runaway heiress, he will find himself entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them.
Penguin Press | 9781594206108
SHARP FORCE: A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell (Mystery/Thriller)
During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again. The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to a ghost-like hologram before being murdered in their beds. Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a notorious psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta’s past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538773963
THE SILVER HILLS BOARDING HOUSE by Linda Lael Miller
(Historical Romance/Western)
Lizbet Fontaine will do anything to keep her family together, even leave behind the only life she’s ever known to journey to the West. But as the jitney rumbles away, holding tightly to her little brother’s and sister’s hands, she knows something is wrong. Her stepfather has summoned an associate with a predatory glint in his eyes, and Lizbet knows she needs to save them all. She just doesn’t know how…until a kind man points out the Silver Hills Boarding House. Gabe Whitfield is no saint, but he won’t let a woman be threatened. Getting involved with Lizbet and little Frankie and Jubal is the last thing on his mind, though. When his wife and their child died a few years ago, a piece of him died, too. So he’ll help this family find their way at Miss Ornetta’s boarding house. Anything more is out of the question. But that one chance meeting changes Gabe forever.
Canary Street Press | 9781335424761
TWICE by Mitch Albom (Fiction)
When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again. The one catch: he must accept the consequences of his second try --- for better or worse. Eventually, Alfie turns his gift to his love life, studying his crushes and going back to make himself more appealing. In time, he falls deeply in love with Gianna, the woman he believes is the one. He seems to find contentment. But as the years pass, Alfie’s eye begins to wander. Which is when he learns a lone caveat to his power: once he undoes a love, that person can never fall in love with him again. Knowing that if he gives in to temptation, he will risk losing what he has with Gianna, Alfie makes a choice that changes his life forever.
Harper | 9780062406682
TWICE BLESSED: A Story of Unconditional Love by Stefanie Mercado Altman, Claire Altman and Stan Altman (Memoir)
TWICE BLESSED is a beautifully written memoir that explores the depths of love, resilience and the true meaning of family. Stefanie Mercado Altman, Claire Altman and Stan Altman share an intimate and inspiring story about the bonds that define us, from adoption to caregiving and beyond. When Stefanie was adopted by Claire and Stan, their family was built on love and trust rather than biology. As they navigated the joys and struggles of parenting, they faced challenges that tested their resilience, including Stefanie’s search for identity and connection with her birth mother, Rosa, a gifted artist whose struggles with AIDS cast a long shadow.
Empire State Editions | 9781531511807
VENETIAN VESPERS by John Banville (Historical Fiction)
1899. As the new century approaches, struggling English writer Evelyn Dolman marries Laura Rensselaer, the daughter of an American oil tycoon. Evelyn anticipates that he and Laura will inherit a substantial fortune and lead a comfortable, settled life. But his hopes are dashed when a mysterious rift between Laura and her father, just before the patriarch’s death, leads to her disinheritance. The unhappy newlyweds travel to Venice to celebrate the New Year at the Palazzo Dioscuri, the ancestral home of the charming but treacherous Count Barbarigo. From their first moments in the mist-blanketed floating city, otherworldly occurrences begin to accumulate. Where has Laura disappeared to? How to explain the increasingly sinister circumstances closing around him? Could he be losing his mind?
Knopf | 9780593801161
THE WOMEN OF WILD HILL by Kirsten Miller (Fiction/Magical Realism)
There are places on earth where nature’s powers gather. Girls raised there are bequeathed strange gifts. Such a place is Wild Hill. For centuries, the ghost of a witch murdered by colonists claimed the beautiful and fertile Wild Hill…until a young Scottish woman with strange gifts arrived. Sadie Duncan was allowed to stay. Five generations of Sadie’s descendants called Wild Hill home, each generation more powerful than the last. Then, in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, the last of the Duncans abandoned their ancestral home. Now Brigid, Phoebe and Sibyl have been brought to Wild Hill to discover their family legacy. The Old One, furious at the path mankind has taken, has chosen three powerful witches to turn the tide. The Duncans will fulfill their destinies --- but only if they can set aside their grievances and come together as a family.
William Morrow | 9780063282858
On Sale the Week of October 6th in Paperback
October 7th
BLOOD TEST: A Comedy by Charles Baxter (Fiction/Humor)
Brock Hobson, an insurance salesman and Sunday-school teacher, finds his equilibrium disturbed by the results of a predictive blood test. From his good-as-gold, gentle girlfriend to the macho subcontractor guy his ex-wife left him for, not to mention his well-raised teenage kids, now exploring sex and sexuality, the secondary characters in Brock's life all contribute meaningfully to the drama, as increasing challenges to his sense of self and purpose crash over him. The final battle --- no spoilers, but there is one --- couldn't be more delightful, as BLOOD TEST reminds us to choose the best people to love, accept the ones we love even if we didn’t choose them, and love them all well.
Vintage | 9780593685594
THE BOG WIFE by Kay Chronister (Gothic Horror)
Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a "bog-wife." Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails --- or refuses --- to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future. As youngest daughter Nora takes desperate measures to keep her warring siblings together, fledgling patriarch Charlie uncovers a disturbing secret that casts doubt over everything the family has ever believed about itself.
Counterpoint | 9781640097322
THE BOUNDARIES WE CROSS by Brad Parks (Domestic Thriller)
Charles Bliss, a teacher at an elite Connecticut boarding school, has been accused of engaging in a romantic relationship with a student. The student behind the accusation, Hayley Goodloe, is the daughter of a state senator, the granddaughter of an ex-governor, and an heiress to a massive fortune. But Charles has long prided himself on keeping proper boundaries with his students. He insists he would never cross the line. Or would he? Hayley’s diary makes it clear she had strong feelings for her teacher. Was it just an unrequited schoolgirl crush? Or was it something more? When Hayley disappears under suspicious circumstances, a daunting pile of evidence points to Charles as the chief suspect. Charles swears he’s being framed. And it soon becomes apparent there’s only one way he can clear his name. Find her.
Oceanview Publishing | 9781608096442
COVER STORY by Mhairi McFarlane (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Bel has just landed a job at the Manchester office of a big national newspaper. But she’s not impressed with the new intern, a thirtysomething man named Connor. Connor’s life is in a state of collapse. He’s left his seemingly perfect life in London for a chance to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a reporter. After a bad first impression with Bel, his internship begins to feel like another in a series of poor decisions. When Bel suddenly finds herself at the heels of a huge story, she’s determined to see it through --- even if it means involving the inscrutable and aloof Connor. Before they know it, they must convince people they’re not just a couple, but a couple madly in love. But as time goes on, they start to wonder if their cover story is just an act, or if their feelings are real.
Avon | 9780063292574
CRAFTING FOR SINNERS by Jenny Kiefer (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Paperback Original
Ruth is trapped. She’s stuck in her small, religious hometown of Kill Devil, Kentucky, stuck in the closet, and stuck living paycheck to paycheck. After her manager finds out that she lives with her girlfriend, Ruth is fired from her job at New Creations --- a craft store owned by the church that dominates life in Kill Devil. In an act of revenge, Ruth attempts to shoplift some yarn but is caught red-handed. Instead of calling the police, the employees lock her in the store --- and attack her. As Ruth fights for her life using only the crafting supplies at hand, she plunges deeper into the tangled web of the New Creationists, who are hiding a terrible secret that threatens not only her but the entire town.
Quirk Books | 9781683694700
DEALING WITH A DESPERATE DEMON by Charlotte Stein (Paranormal Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Nancy has just about given up on finding her special person when Jack Jackson walks into her bookstore. After a bit of gentle persuasion, he finally accepts her guidance in securing his dream girl. There’s just one problem: his dream girl might have more than an issue with his dating skills. Because Jack isn’t just a little clueless; he’s actually the demonic son of Satan. He’s spent his entire long underlife dragging evildoers to their fates, while really trying not to live up to his dad’s expectations. Now, it isn’t just about getting a date with his dream girl. He needs to become a better man to win over the woman to whom he’s been cosmically bound. If he fails, everyone he cares for will face a terrible fate. Luckily for him, Nancy may well be the witch she’s always tried to pretend she wasn’t.
St. Martin's Griffin | 9781250352354
HOLLOW OUT THE DARK by James Wade (Historical Fiction/Gothic Adventure)
A veteran of the Great War, Jesse Cole is grateful for the quiet life he now leads. But when his closest friend runs afoul of local criminals, Frog and Squirrel Fenley, Jesse is forced to spin his moral compass and enter a violent and volatile underworld. There he encounters corrupt lawmen, hired assassins and a dark family secret that will upend all he once knew. Complicating matters are Texas Ranger Amon Atkins --- who arrives to investigate the Fenleys just as their empire is threatened by a deadly new competition --- and the green-eyed, raven-haired Adaline, a love Jesse thought he'd lost forever. With resources scarce and winter falling hard on the town, a desperate Jesse must choose between the law and the lawless and find a way to survive while still protecting the people he loves.
Blackstone Publishing | 9798228569317
A JINGLE BELL MINGLE by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (Romantic Comedy)
Sunny Palmer has accidentally sold her very first screenplay to the Hope Channel. That was six months ago. Fast forward to a looming deadline, and an uninspired Sunny has returned to the source of her inspiration in Christmas Notch, Vermont, to immerse herself in the local Christmas miracle on which her fever dream of a movie pitch was based. Isaac Kelly, a former boy band heartthrob, is the latest owner of the town’s historic mansion. After his years of heartbreak following his young wife’s death, Isaac’s record label is done waiting for new music. What better place to attempt his first holiday album than a snow-covered mansion where he can become a hermit in peace? When Sunny and Isaac discover they’re both creatively blocked, they make a handshake deal: Isaac will help Sunny hunt down the truth behind the local lore, and Sunny will find Isaac a new muse.
Avon | 9780063338227
JOHN LEWIS: A Life by David Greenberg (Biography)
Born into poverty in rural Alabama, John Lewis rose to prominence in the civil rights movement, becoming second only to Martin Luther King, Jr. in his contributions. As a Freedom Rider, he played a crucial role in integrating bus stations across the South. Lewis was a prominent leader in the Nashville sit-in movement and delivered a historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington. As the youngest speaker and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he transformed it into a major civil rights organization. His legacy endures through the harrowing events at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he survived a brutal beating on “Bloody Sunday.” Rich with new insights, David Greenberg’s biography follows Lewis’ journey beyond the civil rights era.
Simon & Schuster | 9781982143008
THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING by Jason Rekulak (Domestic Thriller)
Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic and determined to finally make things right. He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose her forever.
Flatiron Books | 9781250895820
LETHAL PREY: A Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers Novel by John Sandford (Mystery/Thriller)
Doris Grandfelt, an employee at an accounting firm, was brutally stabbed to death, but nobody knew exactly where the crime took place. Despite her twin sister Lara Grandfelt’s persistent calls to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the killer was never found. Twenty years later, Lara has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is determined to find Doris’ killer once and for all. She dumps the entire investigative file on every true-crime site in the world and offers a $5 million reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review anything that might be a new lead. When one of the bloggers locates the murder weapon, Lucas and Virgil begin to uncover vital details about the killer’s identity. But what they don’t know is that the killer lurks in plain sight.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 9780593718414
LIES HE TOLD ME by James Patterson and David Ellis (Thriller)
Everyone in Hemingway Grove, Illinois, knows David and Marcie Bowers. David owns the local pub. Marcie is a former big-city lawyer who practices family law. When David jumps into Cotton River to save a drowning stranger, he’s celebrated as a hero. His muscled physique, shaved head and piercing blue eyes are broadcast on every news outlet. For most people, newfound fame is a lifeline. For David Bowers, it’s a death sentence. For Marcie Bowers, it’s a test. A wife knows the difference between a loving husband and father and a cold-blooded assassin. Right?
Little, Brown and Company | 9781538710708
MAGIC SEASON: A Son's Story by Wade Rouse (Memoir)
As a queer kid in a conservative Ozarks community, Wade Rouse struggled at a young age to garner his father Ted’s approval and find his voice. But Wade and Ted had one thing in common: an undying love for the St. Louis Cardinals. When his father's health takes a turn for the worse, Wade returns to southwest Missouri. Together, during their own magic season, they'll move toward forgiveness, reconciliation and peace.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335462848
MATE by Ali Hazelwood (Paranormal Romance)
Paperback Original
Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left --- if he’ll have her. As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. Nothing will stop him from keeping her safe. But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her --- and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation.
Berkley | 9780593952580
A MERRY LITTLE LIE by Sarah Morgan (Fiction)
Paperback Original
Becky is stranded at the airport, so when she bumps into her brother’s best friend, Will, and he suggests they drive home together, Becky reluctantly agrees. For the first time, Becky is dreading Christmas, and only Will knows why. Can she trust him to keep her secret? Her twin sister, Rosie, married Declan after a whirlwind romance, and now the cracks are starting to appear. Rosie and Declan have agreed to hide their problems from her family, but Rosie’s insecurities are growing. Will this Christmas bring them closer or drive them apart? Hayley can’t wait for her first Balfour family Christmas with Jamie. The Balfour Christmas traditions sound wonderful, but she’s worried about her place in this close-knit family. Will there be room for her too? And how will they react to the secret she and Jamie have been keeping?
Canary Street Press | 9781335013224
MISS WINTER IN THE LIBRARY WITH A KNIFE by Martin Edwards (Mystery)
Paperback Original
Six down-on-their-luck people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust. The challenge seems simple but exciting: Solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote but wonderfully atmospheric village in north Yorkshire to win a prize that will change your fortunes for good. Six staff members from the shadowy Trust are there to make sure everyone plays fair. The contestants have been meticulously vetted, but you can never be too careful. And with the village about to be cut off by a snowstorm, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Midwinter can play tricks on people's minds. The game is set --- but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781464252969
PRECIPICE by Robert Harris (Historical Thriller)
In 1914 London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley --- aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless --- is part of a fast group of upper-crust bohemians and socialites known as “The Coterie.” She’s also engaged in a clandestine love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state. As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer with Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents. Suddenly, what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that could topple the British government --- and will alter the course of political history.
Harper Perennial | 9780063248069
THE RESTLESS WAVE: A Novel of the United States Navy by Admiral James Stavridis (Historical Fiction)
Scott Bradley James arrives in Annapolis, Maryland, as a plebe in the class of 1941 without a terribly good idea why he wants to be a naval officer, other than that his father was a sailor, and he wants to see the world, whatever that means. Scott and his roommate become fast friends, and, after surviving scrapes of their own making, the two fetch up at Pearl Harbor. War is brewing, and their class has graduated early. They have been sent to battle stations. Admiral James Stavridis is an acclaimed novelist, a decorated military leader and a great student of military history. He draws on it all to capture the experience of being storm-tossed by the bloody first years of the Second World War. Scott Bradley James is a talented young officer, but he has a lot to learn. And war will have a lot to teach him.
Penguin Books | 9780593652633
ROUGH PAGES: An Evander Mills Mystery by Lev AC Rosen (Historical Mystery)
Private Detective Evander “Andy” Mills has been drawn back to the Lavender House estate for a missing person case. Pat, the family butler, has been volunteering for a book service, one that specializes in mailing queer books to a carefully guarded list of subscribers. With bookseller Howard Salzberger gone suspiciously missing along with his address book, everyone on that list, including some of Andy's closest friends, is now in danger. A search of Howard’s bookstore reveals that someone wanted to stop him and his co-owner, Dorothea Lamb, from sending out their next book. The evidence points not just to the Feds, but to the Mafia, who would be happy to use the subscriber list for blackmail. With his own secrets closing in on him, can Andy find the list before all the lives on it are at risk?
Minotaur Books | 9781250322463
SAFE ENOUGH: And Other Stories by Lee Child (Thriller/Short Stories)
You know Jack Reacher. Now meet 20 more heroes and heavies from the brilliant mind of legendary crime author Lee Child. A drug-dealing hit man feels that he must unburden his fears and guilt to a stranger in “Ten Keys.” A rookie cop in “Normal in Every Way” is assigned to the department’s file room, where he makes connections to historic dates that could lead to solving crimes. A methodical bodyguard quits his job when he’s outsmarted. A military mission is planned to perfection. A potential worker for the Manhattan Project is carefully surveilled by an FBI agent. A killer preys on other killers. Taken together, these stories are a riotous calamity of criminals and crime fighters; individually, they are expertly crafted, piercing tales that hit hard enough to leave a mark.
Mysterious Press | 9781613167144
THE SALT GROWS HEAVY by Cassandra Khaw (Dark Fantasy/Horror)
You may think you know how the fairy tale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes. On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood and the three “saints” who control them. The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruelest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive.
Tor Nightfire | 9781250417978
THE SALVAGE by Anbara Salam (Historical/Gothic Literary Thriller)
Paperback Original
It is 1962, and Marta Khoury, a trailblazing marine archaeologist, has been called to Cairnroch, a small island off the east coast of Scotland. A Victorian shipwreck holds the remains of a celebrated explorer and the treasures of his final expedition. But on her first dive down to the ship, Marta becomes convinced she has seen a dark figure lurking amid the wreckage. When the Cuban Missile Crisis and the deep chill of a record-breaking winter keeps Marta stranded on Cairnroch, she forms a relationship with Elsie, a local woman working in the island’s only hotel. When the ship's artifacts inexplicably disappear, Marta and Elsie have to brave the freezing conditions to search for the missing objects before anyone else catches on.
Tin House Books | 9781963108477
SLAVEROAD by John Edgar Wideman (Fiction/History/Memoir)
For centuries, the buying and selling of human beings was legal, and millions of Africans were kidnapped and then forcibly transported across the Atlantic Ocean to serve as slaves. The enduring legacies of this slave road traffic --- denied, unacknowledged, misunderstood, repressed --- continue to poison the experiences and journeys of all Americans. In a section of “Slaveroad,” called “Sheppard,” William Henry Sheppard, a descendant of enslaved Virginians, travels back to Africa where he works as a missionary, converting Africans to Christianity alongside his Southern white colleague. Wideman imagines drinking afternoon tea with Lucy Gant Sheppard, William’s wife, who was on her own slaveroad, as she experienced her husband’s adultery with the African women he was trying to convert.
Scribner | 9781668057223
SNOW KISSED by RaeAnne Thayne (Romance)
Paperback Original
Christmas has always been single mom Holly Goodwin Moore’s favorite time of year. But she’s just not feeling it this year. The wedding in her ex’s family is almost here, her daughter, Lydia, is bursting at the seams to be a flower girl…and Holly couldn’t be dreading it more. She told a little white lie about having a new boyfriend as her plus-one, hoping to save face. She needs a date for the wedding…and she needs it now. Ryan Caldwell wants to be free this holiday season. So even he isn’t sure how he landed in Shelter Springs, looking after his niece, Audrey, with his estranged father down the road. But when he meets Holly, she makes him want to belong for the very first time. So they make a deal: he’ll be her date if she’ll help him give Audrey a true Christmas to remember while her mom is away.
Canary Street Press | 9781335013170
THE THIRD REALM written by Karl Ove Knausgaard, translated by Martin Aitken (Fiction)
For several days, a strange and bright new star in the sky above Norway has sown an unyielding sense of foreboding, agitation and fear. Tove, a painter on holiday with her family, has spiraled into a psychosis that stirs her into a flurry of unbridled creativity. Geir, a policeman who has been investigating a grisly triple murder, comes to a sinister revelation he must keep to himself. Nineteen-year-old Line falls in love with the lead singer of a metal band and is lured into a secret and frightening world. But most bewildering, and disquieting, is the discovery made by Syvert, an undertaker. Since the star has appeared, no one has died. In THE THIRD REALM, Karl Ove Knausgaard returns to the spellbinding world of THE MORNING STAR and THE WOLVES OF ETERNITY, as a cast of new and familiar characters continue to reckon with the meaning of this star. What is haunting them, and why?
Penguin Books | 9780593655238
TO DIE FOR: A 6:20 Man Thriller by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Travis Devine has become a pro at accomplishing any mission he's given. But this time it’s not his skills that send him to Seattle to aid the FBI in escorting orphaned, 12-year-old Betsy Odom to a meeting with her uncle, who’s under investigation for RICO charges. Instead, he’s hoping to lay low and keep off the radar of an enemy --- the girl on the train. But as Devine gets to know Betsy, questions begin to arise around the death of her parents. Devine digs for answers, and what he finds points to a conspiracy bigger than he ever could’ve imagined. It finally might be time for Devine and the girl on the train to come face to face. Devine is going to find out the difference between his friends and his enemies --- and in some cases, they might well be both.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538757925
WAR by Bob Woodward (Politics)
WAR is an intimate and sweeping account of one of the most tumultuous periods in presidential politics and American history. We see President Joe Biden and his top advisers in tense conversations with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. We also see Donald Trump, conducting a shadow presidency and seeking to regain political power. With unrivaled, inside-the-room reporting, Bob Woodward shows President Biden’s approach to managing the war in Ukraine, the most significant land war in Europe since World War II, and his tortured path to contain the bloody Middle East conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
Simon & Schuster | 9781668052280
WE BURN DAYLIGHT by Bret Anthony Johnston (Fiction)
Waco, Texas, 1993. People from all walks of life have arrived to follow the Lamb’s gospel --- signing over savings and pensions, selling their homes and shedding marriages. They’ve come here to worship at the feet of a former landscaper turned prophet who is preparing for the End Times with a staggering cache of weapons. Jaye’s mother is one of his newest and most devout followers, though Jaye herself has suspicions about the Lamb’s methods --- and his motives. Roy is the youngest son of the local sheriff, a 14-year-old boy with a heart of gold and a nose for trouble who falls for Jaye without knowing of her mother’s attachment to the man who is currently making his father’s life hell. The two teenagers are drawn to each other immediately and completely, but their love may have dire consequences for their families.
Random House Trade Paperbacks | 9780399590146
THE WITCHING MOON MANOR by Stacy Sivinski (Historical Fantasy/Romance)
Paperback Original
The Crescent Moon is thriving after a much-needed expansion, with the ladies who step through its doors continuing to seek comfort in the glimpses of their futures found in the swirls at the bottom of their teacups. Anne is leading the city’s witches as Chicago’s Diviner, Beatrix is swept away on a book tour across the country, and Violet has found her place with her feet swinging through the air above the circus crowds. That is, until the Quigley sisters find themselves stumbling on their chosen paths, and they are drawn back home in search of refuge in each other’s company. But when the threads of fate begin to unravel, Anne must lean on her sisters and team up with a mysterious --- and oddly infuriating --- necromancer to save the city from an uncertain destiny and help old friends find a happy end.
Atria Books | 9781668058411
YOU WILL NEVER BE ME by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Psychological Thriller)
Influencer Meredith Lee didn’t teach Aspen Palmer how to blossom on social media just to be ditched as soon as Aspen became big. So can anyone really blame her for doing a little stalking? Then, Mer gets lucky; she finds one of Aspen’s kids’ iPads and swipes it. Now, she has access to everything. Would anyone else be able to resist tweaking things a little here and there, showing up in Aspen’s place for meetings with potential sponsors? Meanwhile, Aspen doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart. If she doesn’t find out who’s behind everything, she just might lose it all. When Meredith suddenly goes missing, Aspen’s world is upended, and mysterious threats begin to arrive. But she won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect life again.
Berkley | 9780593546963
On Sale the Week of October 13th in Hardcover
October 13th
THE PICASSO HEIST by James Patterson and Howard Roughan (Thriller)
A previously unknown Picasso worth $100 million is discovered in the attic of a French villa, and everyone wants to possess it: filthy-rich Manhattan art people, organized crime bosses, power-hungry government officials, a notorious forger, and a glamorous 22-year-old art thief. But only one person knows how to take it. She’s the rival none of the power players see coming.
Little, Brown and Company | 9781538758434
October 14th
AND TO ALL A GOOD BITE: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Two years ago, a gas leak in an office building led to a tragic explosion that killed seven people. Jeff Wheeler was there to pick up his girlfriend and ran into the building to help. All he heard was the barking of a dog, Rufus, and was able to save him. Initially, Rufus went to the Tara Foundation since his owner had died in the accident. But Andy Carpenter met Jeff and allowed him to adopt Rufus. Since then, Jeff and Rufus have formed an unbreakable bond. The accident never sat right with Jeff. He believed that one of the building’s owners was responsible for the tragedy. Now that owner has been murdered, and Jeff is arrested for the crime. Rufus is left with Jeff's sister, who begs Andy to take the case. Andy remembered Jeff's tremendous bravery, and with the lingering Christmas spirit, he decides to help reunite the two.
Minotaur Books | 9781250324573
BOG QUEEN by Anna North (Mystery)
When a body is found in a bog in northwest England, Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is called to investigate. But this body is not like any she's ever seen. Though its bones prove it was buried more than 2,000 years ago, it is almost completely preserved. Soon Agnes is drawn into a mystery from the distant past, called to understand and avenge the death of an Iron Age woman more like her than she knows. Along the way, she must contend with peat-cutters who want to profit from the bog and activists who demand that the land be left undisturbed. Then there's the moss itself: a complex repository of artifacts and remains, with its own dark stories to tell. As Agnes faces the deep history of what she has unearthed, she's also forced to question what she thought she knew about her talent, her self-reliance, and her place in the world.
Bloomsbury Publishing | 9781635579666
BOLEYN TRAITOR by Philippa Gregory (Historical Fiction)
Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where secrets are currency, every choice is dangerous, and even the faintest whisper can seal the fate of queens. For Jane, survival demands playing every role required of her: a loving wife who conceals her doubts, a devoted sister to Anne Boleyn at the height of her power, and an obedient spy who carefully wields her words. But in a court ruled by ambition and a tyrant’s sword, Jane must rely on her sharp wit and skillful maneuvering to outthink those around her, knowing that one wrong move could cost her everything.
William Morrow | 9780063439689
BOOM TOWN by Nic Stone (Thriller)
When Damaris “Charm” Wilburn, a new daytime dancer, is missing for her shift at Boom Town, former headliner Michah “Lyriq” Johanssen suspects something more than a “no call, no show.” As Lyriq’s former headline partner and lover --- Felice “Lucky” Carothers --- also vanished under similar circumstances, Lyriq decides she’s going to find them. Delving deeper into Charm and Lucky’s disappearances, Lyriq uncovers a tangled web of deceit, privilege and power. The line between friend and foe blurs, forcing Lyriq to confront the question: Is finding these women worth the threat to her own life?
Simon & Schuster | 9781668056271
THE DOGS OF VENICE by Steven Rowley (Fiction)
After months of planning a romantic holiday getaway in Venice, Paul is blindsided when his five-year marriage suddenly unravels. Fueled by heartbreak, Paul endeavors to take the trip alone. Soon after arriving in Italy, he notices a small, scruffy, self-assured dog trotting alongside a canal with the confidence he so desperately wants for himself. When their paths cross again, Paul feels compelled to learn how his new four-legged friend thrives on his own. Amid the food, sights and welcoming people of Venice, Paul’s journey culminates in a magical encounter that leads him to feel real connection --- to a dog, to a foreign city and, most importantly, to himself.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9798217047604
DYING CRY: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima (Mystery)
Newlyweds Mattie and Cole Walker are teaching Cole’s daughters how to snowshoe in a remote canyon when a shattering scream pierces the air. From a distance, Mattie and Robo see a shadowy figure at the base of a cliff, but a rockslide buries the person under layers of stone and shale before they can provide help. Desperate to uncover the individual in case they’re still alive under the rock, their efforts are in vain. The victim is already dead. When they investigate the canyon rim from which the person fell, they discover evidence that indicates the fall was no accident. To make matters worse, the victim was one of Cole’s friends. The Timber Creek County investigative team springs into action, uncovering a trail of greed that leads to a killer who threatens Mattie’s cherished new family.
Crooked Lane Books | 9798892421959
FUTURE BOY: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry (Memoir)
In early 1985, Michael J. Fox’s days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom “Family Ties,” but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg --- Back to the Future. Fox’s nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. In FUTURE BOY, Fox tells the remarkable story of playing two landmark roles at the same time. Using new interviews with the cast and crew of both projects, the result is a vividly drawn and eye-opening story of creative achievement by a beloved icon.
Flatiron Books | 9781250866783
THE GALLERY ASSISTANT by Kate Belli (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
November 2001: Chloe Harlow wakes up late, with hazy memories of the party the night before but no recollection of how she got back to her Brooklyn apartment. When she finally arrives at the exclusive Upper East Side art gallery where she works, she is immediately called into her boss’s office. A pair of NYPD detectives greet her, also very curious to know how her evening ended…because the host of the party, a rising painter and the gallery’s newest artist, is dead. Navigating both the sophisticated high-stakes art world and her personal life in burgeoning Williamsburg, Chloe struggles to piece together a complete picture of that lost night. As she digs deeper, inconsistencies emerge between what she remembers and what people tell her actually happened, and more questions are raised.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781668093658
GONE BEFORE GOODBYE by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben (Thriller)
Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Army combat surgeon Maggie McCabe has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion. At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion. Halfway across the globe, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance. Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfills her end of the agreement. But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself --- or she will be the next one who is GONE BEFORE GOODBYE.
Grand Central Publishing | 9781538774700
THE GRACEVIEW PATIENT by Caitlin Starling (Psychological Thriller/Gothic Horror)
Margaret’s rare autoimmune condition has destroyed her life, leaving her isolated and in pain. It has no cure, but she’s making do as best she can --- until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial. The conditions are simple, if grueling: she will live at the hospital as a full-time patient, subjecting herself to the near-total destruction of her immune system and its subsequent regeneration. The trial will essentially kill most, but not all, of her. But as the treatment progresses and her body begins to fail, she stumbles upon something sinister living and spreading within the hospital. Unsure of what's real and what's just medication-induced delusion, Margaret struggles to find a way out as her body and mind succumb further to the darkness lurking throughout Graceview's halls.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250340757
A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar (Fiction)
In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, containing their treasured immigration documents, has been stolen. Set over the course of one week, A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom.
Knopf | 9780593804872
THE GUN MAN JACKSON SWAGGER by Stephen Hunter (Historical Thriller/Western)
In the frying pan of a drought-scorched 1890s Southwest, an old man shows up at the region’s only prosperous spread, the Callahan ranch, seeking work. Jack is flinty, shrewd, tough, and a natural with a gun. As an incentive to be taken on at his age, he shows the foreman an uncanny skill with one of Mr. Winchester’s latest models. He knows a sharpshooter would be valuable to Colonel Callahan and head gunman Tom Voth. But he has his own mission. Aware that a young cowboy on the ranch has died mysteriously, Jack begins to investigate. He soon realizes that the death and the source of the Callahan wealth are dangerously entwined and that many of the dark forces of the American West are at play on the ranch. Soon enough, it’s the season of the six-gun and its fastest shootist.
Atria/Emily Bestler Books | 9781668030394
THE HAUNTING OF PAYNES HOLLOW by Kelley Armstrong
(Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in 14 years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted that her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body. But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact that she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words. When her aunt goes missing a couple of days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again.
St. Martin's Press | 9781250360564
INTEMPERANCE by Sonora Jha (Fiction)
A woman who has left two husbands announces she will celebrate her 55th birthday by holding a swayamvar. Drawn from an ancient custom in her Indian culture, this is an event in which suitors line up to compete in a feat of wills and strength to win a beautiful princess’s hand in marriage. The woman, a renowned and respected intellectual in an American town who had once declared she was “past such petty matters as love,” knows she is now setting herself up for widespread societal ridicule. But her self-esteem and sexual libido are off the charts even as her body withers from disability, fading beauty, and her appetite for cake. To her surprise, a cast of characters shows up to support her call. As her whole plan spirals into a spectacle, she embarks on a journey to decide what feat her suitor must perform to be worthy of her wrinkling hand.
HarperVia | 9780063440845
JOYRIDE: A Memoir by Susan Orlean (Memoir)
JOYRIDE is a magic carpet ride through Susan Orlean’s life and career, where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment holds the potential for wonder. Throughout her storied career, Orlean’s curiosity draws her to explore the most ordinary and extraordinary of places, from going deep inside the head of a regular 10-year-old boy for a legendary profile (“The American Man Age Ten”) to reporting on a woman who owns 27 tigers, from capturing the routine magic of Saturday night to climbing Mt. Fuji. Orlean takes us through her process of dreaming up ideas, managing deadlines, connecting with sources, chasing every possible lead, confronting writer’s block and self-doubt, and crafting the perfect lede --- a Susan specialty.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster | 9781982135164
THE LAST WITCH by C. J. Cooke (Supernatural Thriller/Historical Horror)
Innsbruck, 1485. Helena Scheuberin should be doing what every other young wife is doing: keeping house, supporting her husband, and bearing his children. But as an outspoken, strong woman, she sometimes has difficulty fitting in. Then she draws the unwanted attention of a malign priest who is just starting his campaign to root out “witches” from among the women of her town. And when her husband’s footman dies, she finds herself accused not only of murder but of witchcraft. Helena must find the courage to risk her life and the lives of others by standing up to a man determined to paint her as the most wicked of all.
Berkley | 9798217187799
MENU OF HAPPINESS written by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood (Mystery)
Welcome to the Kamogawa Diner, where every meal is a mystery ready to be solved. This unique establishment is run by a father-daughter duo who offer more than just mouth-watering meals. They act as “food detectives,” delving into the past to produce nostalgia-infused dishes for their hungry clientele. Among the patrons is a once-renowned pianist whose promising career was marred by a self-inflicted injury. She longs to taste the yakisoba shared with the only man she ever truly loved. The diner also welcomes a man haunted by shadows of regret. His mind is haunted by the memory of gyoza served by the parents of a lover he once jilted. The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t just serve food --- it recreates forgotten recipes, helping its patrons to revisit memories lost to time.
G.P. Putnam's Sons | 9798217045358
MINOR BLACK FIGURES by Brandon Taylor (Fiction)
New York simmers with heat and unrest as Wyeth, a painter, finds himself at an impasse in his own work. After attending a dubious show put on by a collective of careerist artists, he retreats to a bar in the West Village where he meets Keating, a former seminarian. Over the long summer, as the two get to know each other, they talk and argue about God, sex and art. Meanwhile, at his job working for an art restorer, Wyeth begins to investigate the life and career of a forgotten, minor Black artist. His search yields potential answers to questions that Wyeth is only now beginning to ask about what it means to be a Black artist making Black art amid the mess and beauty of life itself.
Riverhead Books | 9780593332368
NEXT OF KIN: A Memoir by Gabrielle Hamilton (Memoir)
Gabrielle Hamilton took pride in her unsentimental, idiosyncratic family. She grew up to find enormous success, first as a chef and then as the author of award-winning, bestselling books. But her family ties frayed in ways both seismic and mundane until eventually she was estranged from them all. In the wake of one brother’s sudden death and another’s suicide, Hamilton was compelled to examine the sprawling, complicated root system underlying her losses. She began investigating her family’s devout independence and individualism with a nearly forensic rigor, soon discovering a sobering warning in their long-held self-satisfaction. By the time she was called to care for her declining mother, Hamilton had realized a certain freedom, one made possible only through a careful psychological autopsy of her family.
Random House | 9780399590092
RED CITY by Marie Lu (Urban Fantasy/Adventure)
Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more. Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city --- and the paths of their lives --- will be irrevocably transformed.
Tor Books | 9781250885678
REMAIN: A Supernatural Love Story by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan (Paranormal Romance)
When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation --- that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world --- sits uneasily with him. But when Tate takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world. They forge an immediate connection. But below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom.
Random House | 9798217154043
A SCAR IN THE BONE by Sophie Jordan (Fantasy/Romance)
It’s been a year since Tamsyn transformed. From royal whipping girl in the palace of Penterra to the bride of Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands. From the enemy in the Beast’s bed to the wife he sacrificed himself to save. From an ordinary girl...to a dragon. And not just any dragon --- a powerful fire-breather...and the best hope to keep magic from flickering out forever. With Fell gone, Tamsyn slowly forges herself into a warrior in the shadow of Fell’s enigmatic brother, Vetr, whose silver eyes track her with distrust...and maybe something more. But is Fell truly beyond her reach? Their bond pulls at her, as fiercely as the drive to protect both humans and dragonkind from the growing threat posed by Stig, once her closest friend, now a relentless enemy determined to hunt her down and destroy her --- and, with her, all things magic.
Avon | 9780063414341
SUGAR AND SPITE: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton with R.W. Green (Mystery)
When a series of deaths within the small Cotswolds birdwatching community begins to unravel her village, Agatha and her team at Raisin Investigators are certain there has been foul play involved. Now, they must dig up decades' worth of tempestuous relationships and simmering secrets among the birdwatching enthusiasts of the village in order to prevent any further deaths. But with Agatha's own relationship with John Glass on the rocks after he is called away on his job as a cruise ship dance instructor, and Sir Charles Fraith now attempting to step into John’s shoes as her lover, Agatha has her work cut out for her. She will have to break out her binoculars and embrace her bitter side to solve the murders and wrangle the sickly-sweet temptations in her own life.
Minotaur Books | 9781250378569
THE SWORD OF LIGHT by Heather Graham (Fantasy/Romance)
The mystical Tuatha Dé Danann walked the hills of ancient Ireland long before the first Rí, or king, ever ruled the land. Before they stepped back to make way for mankind, they left behind objects of incredible power that would reveal themselves when most needed. When invaders from the North arrive, it feels like the moment that has long been foretold has finally come. Deidre, the daughter of a Rí, and Kylin, the son of a Northman who found peace and a home in Éire, have little in common, until they begin seeing visions of these fantastical gifts. The revelation that a traitor exists among the many Irish kings forces them to work together using their newfound powers in defense of their homeland. As all they hold dear comes under threat, it may be more than just dreams that the two begin to share.
Mira | 9780778387633
THE UNVEILING by Quan Barry (Literary Horror)
Striker isn’t entirely sure she should be on this luxury Antarctic cruise. A Black film scout, her mission is to photograph potential locations for a big-budget movie about Ernest Shackleton’s doomed expedition. Along the way, she finds amusement in the behavior of both the native wildlife and the group of wealthy, mostly white tourists who have chosen to spend Christmas on the Weddell Sea. But when a kayaking excursion goes horribly wrong, Striker and a group of survivors become stranded on a remote island along the Antarctic Peninsula, a desolate setting complete with boiling geothermal vents and vicious birds. As the polar ice thaws in the unseasonable warmth, the group’s secrets, prejudices and inner demons will also emerge, including revelations from Striker’s past that could irrevocably shatter her world.
Grove Press | 9780802165350
VAGABOND: A Memoir by Tim Curry (Memoir)
There are few stars in Hollywood today who can boast the kind of resume that Tony award-nominated actor Tim Curry has built over the past five decades. From his breakout role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to his iconic depiction as the sadistic clown Pennywise in It to his critically acclaimed role as the original King Arthur in both the Broadway and West End versions of Spamalot, Curry redefined what it meant to be a “character actor,” portraying heroes and villains alike with complexity, nuance and a genuine understanding of human darkness. Now, in his memoir, Curry takes readers behind the scenes of his rise to fame --- from his early beginnings as a military brat to his formative years in boarding school and university, to the moment when he hit the stage for the first time.
Grand Central Publishing | 9780306835841
THE WAYFINDER by Adam Johnson (Historical Fiction)
Talking corpses, poetic parrots, and a fan that wafts the breath of life. This is the world that young Kōrero finds herself thrust into when a mysterious visitor lands on her island, a place so remote that its inhabitants have forgotten the word for stranger. Her people are desperate and on the brink of starvation, and the wayward stranger offers them an impossible choice: they can remain in the only home they’ve ever known and await the uncertainty to come, or Kōrero can join him and venture into unfamiliar waters, guided by only the night sky and his assurance of a bountiful future in the Kingdom of Tonga. What Kōrero and her people don’t know is that the promised refuge is no utopia. Instead, Tonga is an empire at war and on the verge of collapse.
MCD | 9780374619572
A WOODED SHORE: And Other Stories by Thomas McGuane (Fiction/Short Stories)
In these nine peerless stories, a family boating trip veers into emotional disaster while very narrowly avoiding the physical; a would-be cheater hands over his car --- his prized possession --- for a shot with a pretty girl; a furniture magnate and his filmmaker daughter visit his impoverished hometown; a doctor’s long-ago affair returns with a bitter pill. Crackling with wry humor, shot through with both wisdom and pain, these are stories of grifters and dreamers, of the lovelorn and the lawless, stories of the ongoing dissonance between the lives we want and the lives this world will allow.
Knopf | 9780385350235
WORKHORSE by Caroline Palmer (Fiction/Humor)
At the turn of the millennium, Editorial Assistant Clodagh “Clo” Harmon wants nothing more than to rise through the ranks at the world’s most prestigious fashion magazine. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t have the right pedigree. Instead, Clo is a “workhorse” surrounded by beautiful, wealthy, impossibly well-connected “show horses” who get ahead without effort, including her beguiling cubicle-mate, Davis Lawrence, the daughter of a beloved but fading Broadway actress. Harry Wood, Davis’ boarding school classmate and a reporter with visions of his own media empire, might be Clo’s ally in gaming the system --- or he might be the only thing standing between Clo and her rightful place at the top.
Flatiron Books | 9781250360083
On Sale the Week of October 13th in Paperback
October 14th
THE ANCIENTS by John Larison (Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction)
A young boy and his older sisters find themselves suddenly and utterly alone, orphaned in an abandoned fishing village. They set out across a breathtaking yet treacherous wilderness in search of the last of their people. Down the coast, raiders deliver the children's mother, along with the rest of their human cargo, to the last port city of a waning empire. Determined to reunite with her family, she plots her escape --- while her fellow captives plan open revolt. At the center of power in this crumbling city, a young scholar inherits his father's business and position of privilege, along with the burden of his debts. As the empire's elite prepare to flee to new utopia across the sea, he must decide where his allegiance lies. With a rapidly changing climate shifting the sands beneath their feet, these three paths converge in a struggle for the future of humanity.
Penguin Books | 9780593831182
BONE CHILLING: An Alexa Glock Forensics Mystery by Sara E. Johnson (Mystery)
Paperback Original
Alexa Glock is spending a ski weekend with her boyfriend, DI Bruce Horne, and his two daughters. When she finds herself dangling in a crevasse waiting for the experts to rescue her, she discovers a pelvis frozen in the ice. The heartbreaking task of identifying multiple remains and bringing closure to families begins. When a body is discovered in the smoldering ruins of a nearby pizza joint, Alexa works to identify a family's long-lost loved one and the charred remains of the fire victim. Then an avalanche during a snowboard competition leaves Bruce's oldest daughter missing along with the snowboarder she's been hanging out with. As Bruce and other rescuers race to find the missing teens, evidence begins to suggest that neither the fire nor the avalanche were accidents, and that the daughter's boyfriend might have information about both.
Poisoned Pen Press | 9781728257402
BRIGHT I BURN by Molly Aitken (Historical Fiction)
Alice, the daughter of a wealthy innkeeper in Kilkenny, grows up watching her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities --- and she vows that she will never suffer the same fate. In time, she discovers she has a flair for making money and takes her father's flourishing business to new heights. But as her riches and stature grow, so too do rumors about her private life. By the time she marries her fourth husband --- the three earlier are dead --- a storm of local gossip and resentment culminates in a life-threatening accusation.
Vintage | 9780593080924
A CERTAIN KIND OF STARLIGHT by Heather Webber (Fiction/Magical Realism)
Everyone knows that Addie Fullbright can’t keep a secret. Yet, 12 years ago, Addie was entrusted with a devastating truth. One so shattering that she left her hometown of Starlight, Alabama, to keep from revealing it. But when her beloved aunt gets a shocking diagnosis and asks her to return to help run the family bakery, Addie knows it is time to go home again. Tessa Jane Wingrove-Fullbright has always been able to see the lighter side of life, but lately darkness has descended. When she is called back to Starlight to help her aunt, she is barely holding herself together and fears she will never find her way back to who she used to be. Under the bright side of the stars, Addie and Tessa Jane come to see that magic can be found in trusting yourself, that falling apart is simply a chance to rise up again, and that the heart usually knows the best path through the darkness.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250867308
THE DROWNED by John Banville (Historical Mystery)
1950s, rural Ireland. A loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field. Knowing he shouldn’t approach but unable to hold back, he soon finds himself embroiled in a troubling missing person case, as a husband claims his wife may have thrown herself into the sea. Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, who soon turns to his old ally --- the flawed but brilliant pathologist Quirke --- a man he is linked to in increasingly complicated ways. But as the case unfolds, events from the past resurface that may have life-altering ramifications for all involved.
Hanover Square Press | 9781335471994
EXPOSURE by Ramona Emerson (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
In Gallup, New Mexico, a serial killer is operating unchecked, his targets indigent Native people whose murders are easily disguised as death by exposure on the frigid winter streets. He slips unnoticed through town, while the voices in his head guide him toward a terrifying vision of glory. As the Gallup detectives struggle to put the pieces together, they consider calling in a controversial specialist to help. Rita Todacheene, Albuquerque PD forensic photographer, is at a crisis point in her career. Her colleagues are watching her with suspicion after the recent revelation that she can see the ghosts of murder victims. Her unmanageable caseload is further complicated by the fact that half the department has blacklisted her for ratting out a corrupt fellow cop. Maybe it’s time for her to leave police work behind entirely --- if only the ghosts will let her.
Soho Crime | 9781641297356
FALLEN STAR by Lee Goldberg (Thriller)
Paperback Original
A 55-gallon drum washes up in the Malibu Lagoon stuffed with the corpse of Gene Dent, the key player in a bribery scandal that ensnared several local politicians. LASD detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone know the case --- and all the likely suspects --- well. Just as they begin their investigation, the sheriff publicly reveals evidence linking the crime to LA’s mayor. But Eve and Duncan realize the bombshell allegation arises from corruption within the sheriff’s own office…because they helped cover it up years ago. If the sheriff goes down, so will they. Eve is agonizing over her moral dilemma when a helicopter crashes in the hillside below her Calabasas home. It’s not a coincidence. Eve soon discovers among the twisted wreckage and dead passengers shocking connections to her own past.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662526480
FATHERS AND FUGITIVES written by S.J. Naudé, translated by Michiel Heyns (Fiction)
Estranged from his elderly, senile father, Daniel nonetheless returns to South Africa to care for him during his final months. Shortly after arriving in Cape Town, however, Daniel learns of an unusual clause in the old man’s will. He will inherit his share of his father’s estate only if he spends time with Theon, a cousin whom he hasn’t seen since they were boys, and who lives on a sprawling farm in the Free State. With the conditions bearing on Daniel’s inheritance shifting in real time, Theon and Daniel travel to Japan to seek out an experimental cure for the son of the woman Theon lives with. The trip will change their lives forever.
Europa Editions | 9798889661375
A GIRL LIKE US by Anna Sophia McLoughlin (Thriller)
As a former reality star and 2004's current it-girl, Maya Miller is the center of attention more often than not. And with her recent marriage to the most eligible bachelor in the world, Colin Sterling, of the famous Sterling family, Maya once again finds herself under scrutiny. When Colin's cousin, Arianna, is found dead, and Maya is named as her successor, it isn't long before Maya becomes the prime suspect in Arianna's murder. Rushed into lockdown with the rest of the Sterling family at Silver House, the family's ancestral estate in the English countryside, Maya now has no choice but to discover and expose the truth about the Sterling family to protect her own name. But Maya has secrets of her own, and she knows that in order to survive the Sterlings, she'll have to beat them at their own game.
Sourcebooks Landmark | 9781728296128
GRACE & HENRY’S HOLIDAY MOVIE MARATHON by Matthew Norman (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
The new year had barely begun when Grace White and Henry Adler both lost their spouses. Now, nearly a year later, the first holiday season since their "Great and Terrible Sadnesses" approaches. Although their mothers scheme to matchmake the two surviving spouses, it’s clear that neither is ready to date again. Yet no one understands what they are going through better than each other, and a delicate friendship is born. When Henry sees an ad for a Christmas movie marathon --- once an annual tradition for him and his wife --- Grace offers to watch some films with him, despite her aversion to a few of his picks. With each movie, Grace and Henry’s shared grief eases as they start to see a life beyond the sadness. But as they draw closer, other romantic possibilities leave them uncertain about their future together.
Dell | 9780593975053
I’LL BE WAITING by Kelley Armstrong (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Nicola Laughton was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. Medical advances let her live into her 30s, and she met Anton, who taught her to dream of a future…together. Months after they married, Anton died in a horrible car crash, but he lived long enough to utter five words to her: “I’ll be waiting for you.” That final private moment became public when someone from the crash scene took it to the press --- the terminally ill woman holding her dying husband as he promised to wait for her on the other side. Worse, that person claimed it wasn’t Anton who said the words but his ghost, hovering over his body. A reputable medium is brought in to conduct a séance, but throughout it all Nicola is haunted by nightmares of her past. Because this isn’t her first time contacting the dead. And Nicola isn’t her real name. That’s when she finds the first body.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250397171
JANUARIES: Stories of Love, Magic & Betrayal by Olivie Blake
(Fantasy & Romance/Short Stories)
Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a wish-granting spirit rapidly approaches burnout. Meanwhile, a banished fairy answers a Craigslist ad, a Victorian orphan navigates an occult situationship, and a multiverse assassin contemplates the one who got away. With both iconic fan-favorite stories and entirely original pieces, JANUARIES features modified fairy tales, contemporary heists, absurdist poetry, and at least one set of actual wedding vows. Escape the slow trudge of mortality by diving into these enchanting new worlds with a master of imagination.
Tordotcom | 9781250330703
THE KEEPER OF MAGICAL THINGS by Julie Leong (Fantasy/Romance)
Paperback Original
Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful --- to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice and to the little brother who depends on her. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone. When Certainty has the chance to earn her magehood via a seemingly straightforward assignment, she takes it. She and Mage Aurelia --- the brilliant, unfairly attractive overachiever who’s managed to alienate everyone around her --- must transport minorly magical artifacts somewhere safe: Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. The Guild’s uneasy relationship with citizens is at a tipping point, and the last thing needed is a magical incident. Still, as mage and novice come to know Shpelling’s residents --- and each other --- they realize the Guild’s hoarded magic might do more good being shared. But magic is fickle. Add attraction, and it might spell trouble.
Ace | 9780593815946
LIFEFORM by Jenny Slate (Humor/Essays)
Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love because of past injury. And then what happened was that she became a wild-pregnant-mammal-thing, and then she exploded herself by having a whole baby blast through her vagina. Herein lies an account of this journey, told in five phases --- Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby and Ongoing --- through luminous, laugh-out-loud funny essays that take the form of letters to a doctor, dreams of a stork, fantasy therapy sessions, gossip between raccoons, excerpts from an imaginary olden timey play, obituaries, theories about postpartum hair loss, graduation speeches and more.
Back Bay Books | 9780316264037
THE MAN NEXT DOOR by Sheila Roberts (Romantic Comedy/Mystery)
Paperback Original
Zona never thought her life was headed this way. But here she is, newly divorced and moving back in with her mom, Louise. This wasn't Louise's plan, either, laid up at home with a broken leg after one unfortunate tumble on a senior singles cruise. But if she's going to spend all her time at home, at least she has her daughter there with her. And there's some hot new eye candy next door to distract them both from their troubles. He appears to be single and just around Zona's age. But there’s something lurking under that man’s surface charm, something…dangerous? And who's the woman they can hear him in all-out shouting matches with on the other side of the fence? When the woman seems to disappear without a trace, imaginations run wild. Or at least, Zona hopes it's just her mother's imagination.
Mira | 9780778360285
THE MISSING PAGES by Alyson Richman (Historical Fiction)
Paperback Original
1912: Harry Widener, a promising and passionate book collector, boards the Titanic holding tight to a priceless volume he’s just purchased in London. After catastrophe strikes the ship, Harry’s last known words are that he must return to his cabin to retrieve his latest treasure. Neither the young man nor the book is ever seen again. Honoring her son’s memory, Harry’s mother builds the Harry Widener Memorial Library at Harvard to house his extensive book collection and ensure his legacy. Decades later, Violet Hutchins, a Harvard sophomore recovering from her own great loss, is working as a page at the Widener Library. When mysterious things begin happening at the library, Violet wonders if Harry Widener’s ghost is trying to communicate with her, seeking Violet to uncover a long-buried secret that Harry took with him to the grave.
Union Square & Co. | 9781454953210
THE MORE THE TERRIER: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt (Mystery)
Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter is relieved to be headed back to Paterson, New Jersey, after a week-long family vacation in the Adirondacks. He's ready to put the holly jolly season way behind him and settle in at home with his three dogs. But when they finally arrive, there is an extra dog eagerly awaiting them, as well as one anxious dog sitter. When the dog showed up on the doorstep a few days ago, the sitter knew Andy would know what to do. Indeed, Andy recognizes Murphy, who the Carpenters fostered before the dog went home with BJ Bremer and his mother. When Andy goes to take Murphy back to the Bremers, instead of the happy reunion he expects, he finds BJ's mother in tears. It turns out Murphy ran off…after BJ was arrested for murder. The case isn’t as simple as Andy thought it would be, with BJ suspected of killing one of his professors.
Minotaur Books | 9781250324566
ON THE SAVAGE SIDE by Tiffany McDaniel (Fiction)
Arcade and Daffodil are twins born one minute apart. With their fiery red hair and thirst for escape, they form an unbreakable bond nurtured by their grandmother’s stories. Together, they disappear into their imaginations and forge a world all their own. But what the two sisters can’t escape are the generational ghosts that haunt their family. Growing up in the shadow of their rural Ohio town, the sisters cling tightly to one another. Years later, Arcade wrestles with the memories of her early life, just as a local woman is discovered drowned in the river. Soon, more bodies are found. As her friends disappear around her, Arcade is forced to reckon with the past while the killer circles closer.
Vintage | 9780593315125
POLOSTAN: Volume One of Bomb Light by Neal Stephenson (Historical Thriller)
The first installment in Neal Stephenson’s Bomb Light cycle, POLOSTAN follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora. She spends her early years in Russia but then grows up as a teenager in Montana, before being drawn into gunrunning and revolution in the streets of Washington, D.C., during the depths of the Great Depression. When a surprising revelation about her past puts her in the crosshairs of U.S. authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780062190383
PONY CONFIDENTIAL by Christina Lynch (Mystery)
Pony has been passed from owner to owner for longer than he can remember. Fed up, he busts out and goes on a cross-country mission to reunite with Penny, the little girl who he was separated from and hasn’t seen in years. Penny, now an adult, is living an ordinary life when she gets a knock on her door and finds herself in handcuffs, accused of murder and whisked back to the place she grew up. Her only comfort when the past comes back to haunt her is the memory of her precious, rebellious pony. Hearing of Penny’s fate, Pony knows that Penny is no murderer. So, as smart and devious as he is cute, the pony must use his hard-won knowledge of human weakness and cruelty to try to clear Penny’s name and find the real killer.
Berkley | 9780593640371
THE RAGPICKER KING by Cassandra Clare (Fantasy/Romance)
Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace --- and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold --- a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores. Meanwhile, to save the life of a dying friend, Lin Caster has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn. Now the terrifying leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.
Del Rey | 9780525620044
RING SHOUT by P. Djèlí Clark (Historical/Dark Fantasy)
In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Ku Klux Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die. Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan's demons straight to Hell. But something awful is brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up. Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?
Tor Nightfire | 9781250393814
THE SECRET CHRISTMAS LIBRARY by Jenny Colgan (Mystery/Romance)
Paperback Original
Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home. But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser. Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside.
William Morrow Paperbacks | 9780063437371
SHOCK INDUCTION by Chuck Palahniuk (Fiction/Satire)
The best and brightest students at a seemingly reputable high school are disappearing. Every day it seems another overachiever is lost to an apparent suicide. But something far more sinister is lurking beneath the surface. These kids have been under surveillance since birth, monitored and measured by an online service called “Greener Pastures.” It’s here that billionaires observe and recruit the next generation of talent. The highest test scores, the best grades and the most niche extracurriculars just might land these teenagers an enticing offer at auction. A couple billion dollars in exchange for the remainder of your life and intellectual labor sounds like a pretty fair deal. Doesn’t it? In SHOCK INDUCTION, students must choose between the risk of following their dreams or the security of money and a lifetime of servitude to the world’s wealthiest and most elite.
Simon & Schuster | 9781668021453
SHY CREATURES by Clare Chambers (Historical/Literary Mystery)
The London suburb of Croydon, 1964: Helen Hansford is an art therapist at the Westbury Park psychiatric hospital, where she has been having a rebellious love affair with her colleague Gil, a dashing but married doctor. One spring afternoon, they receive a call about a disturbance at a derelict, vine-covered Victorian house. There the police find a mute, 37-year-old man called William Tapping. It appears he lives in the old house with his elderly, frail aunt, who expires as soon as she’s admitted to the hospital. No one knows why William has been shut away for decades, unseen by neighbors. When it emerges that William is not only sane but a talented artist, Helen comes to see him as something of a personal project. But as she tries to solve the puzzle of the Hidden Man’s past, Helen’s own carefully constructed life of secrets begins to unravel.
Mariner Books | 9780063258235
TIME WILL TELL by Rita Mae Brown (Mystery)
“Sister” Jane Arnold and her friend, Tootie Harris, are helping to lure home hunt club member Cindy Chandler’s two escaped cows, Clytemnestra and Orestes, when they discover an expensive watch carelessly abandoned on an overgrown path. The last thing Sister needs is another mystery to solve, but when one falls into her lap, she can’t help but get involved. Days later, a young man is murdered, one with seemingly no connection to the pricey jewelry or a life of crime. His mother is distraught, and Sister vows to find the murderer. But when hounds on the hunt discover a truck covered in blood --- with no body in sight --- she quickly realizes she’s in over her head with a cunning and clever adversary. Can she find the link and stop the murderer before they strike again? Only time will tell.
Bantam | 9780593874073
THE TOURISTS by Christopher Reich (Thriller)
Paperback Original
Retired special agent Mac Dekker travels to Paris to propose to Ava Attal, once Mossad’s deadliest operative. After too long, life is good. But before he can propose, Ava leaves the table to take an urgent call. And never returns. Mac launches a frantic search, spiraling through the city’s brightest and darkest places. People are lying, agents are dying, and he finds himself caught in the crosshairs of CIA shadows and enigmatic assassins while battling a wealthy, ruthless prince planning a truly terrifying act of violence. With only hours to find Ava and save thousands of lives, Mac’s CIA training kicks in, along with his instincts: Is Ava truly missing, or did she come to Paris on a mission even more secretive than his own?
Thomas & Mercer | 9781662516566
WE COULD BE RATS by Emily Austin (Fiction/Humor)
Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal. But having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend, Greta. Her older sister, Margit, is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society. But Sigrid’s detachment veils a deeper turmoil and sensitivity. She’s haunted by the pains of her past --- from pretending her parents were swamp monsters when they shook the floorboards with their violent arguments to grappling with losing Greta’s friendship to the opioid epidemic ravaging their town. As Margit sets out to understand Sigrid and the secrets she has hidden, both sisters discover that reigniting their shared childhood imagination is the only way forward.
Atria Books | 9781668058152
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