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February 25, 2025

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of February 24th and March 3rd 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 "What's Your Book Group Reading This Month?" contest on ReadingGroupGuides.com. One book group will win up to 12 copies of SHELTERWOOD by Lisa Wingate, a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller that is now available in paperback and was a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick when it released in hardcover last year. The deadline for your entries is Wednesday, March 12th at noon ET.

Bookreporter.com's Winter Reading 2025 Wrap-up

THANK YOU to all who subscribed to this Winter Reading newsletter and entered our contests! We appreciate your enthusiasm and participation.

This Bookreporter.com SPECIAL Winter Reading Wrap-up newsletter brings you a look at all of the titles that were included in our Winter Reading feature. We shared eight books with you this winter, and we thank our publisher sponsors who made this possible.

Below are all of this year's featured titles, and we've also created a list of these books in a PDF format that you can access here. A list of all the prize winners is here

Stay subscribed to this newsletter so you can participate in our 2026 Winter Reading contests, which will begin next January.

Tova Mirvis, author of We Would Never

No one appears more surprised than Hailey Gelman when she comes under suspicion for the murder of her soon-to-be ex-husband, Jonah. The months leading up to Jonah’s death have been fraught, including a bitter separation and a messy custody battle over their young daughter, Maya. When Hailey files a motion to relocate to Florida, Jonah retaliates, and the divorce begins to spiral dangerously out of control. Sherry, Hailey’s mother, will stop at almost nothing to keep Jonah from getting what he wants. Nate, Hailey’s impetuous and protective older brother, can’t stand to see his little sister suffer. And Solomon, the patriarch, is keeping a secret that threatens the stability and security Sherry has worked so hard to maintain. Soon, they are forced to reckon with who they are as individuals and as a family, and just how far they will go for each other.

Jo Nesbø, author of Blood Ties

By all accounts, Carl and Roy Opgard are doing quite well for themselves. Or at least they’re doing as well as can be expected in a small town like Os. Carl manages the area’s swanky and successful spa and hotel, while Roy runs a nearby gas station and harbors grand plans to build it out into an entire amusement park, complete with a roller coaster. But when news breaks about a new highway to be built nearby, bypassing Os and leaving the town cutoff and isolated, it’s clear that something has to be done…even if the methods are bound to be dirty. Fortunately, Carl and Roy have experience with just that kind of work. Meanwhile, the town sheriff has gotten his hands on new technology that will enable him to take a deeper look at a slate of unsolved murders from years past --- including that of his own father.

James Rollins, author of A Dragon of Black Glass

With the apocalyptic threat of moonfall looming ever closer, Nyx and her allies must venture into the eternally sunblasted lands to search for an ancient weapon buried untold millennia ago. All the while, enemies close upon her flanks, and a greater danger lurks ahead. For beneath a desert turned to glass, hidden from the scorching heat, life thrives --- both wondrous and monstrous. But a more fearsome menace lies even deeper, where an ancient army has been seeded to protect a secret from any who dare seek it out. Can Nyx truly trust those at her side? Or even herself? For while her gifts grow ever stronger, so does the danger of losing herself to a dark madness. Worst yet, the same afflicts Bashaliia, her winged and bonded brother. Elsewhere, a looming war explodes across the Crown, forging new alliances and greater enmities, as lands around the globe are drawn into fiery conflict.

Susan Morrison, author of Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live

Over the 50 years that Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of “Saturday Night Live,” he has become a revered and inimitable presence in the entertainment world. He’s a tastemaker, a mogul, a withholding father figure, a genius spotter of talent, a shrewd businessman, a name-dropper, a raconteur, the inspiration for Dr. Evil, the winner of more than a hundred Emmys --- and, essentially, a mystery. Generations of writers and performers have spent their lives trying to figure him out, by turns demonizing and lionizing him. LORNE will introduce you to him, in full, for the first time. With unprecedented access to Michaels and the entire “SNL” apparatus, Susan Morrison takes readers behind the curtain for the lively, up-and-down, definitive story of how Michaels created and maintained the institution that changed comedy forever.

Jojo Moyes, author of We All Live Here

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall, and her love life is…complicated. So when Lila’s real dad --- a man she barely has seen since he ran off to Hollywood 35 years ago --- suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.

Anne Tyler, author of Three Days in June

Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job --- or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay and without even a suit. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.

Editorial Content for Paranoia: A Michael Bennett Thriller

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

One of James Patterson’s longest-running series, outside of the Alex Cross thrillers that put him on the map, features NYPD Detective Michael Bennett. James O. Born teams up with Patterson once again for its 17th installment, PARANOIA.

Michael Bennett has an enormous clan. There is always something going on with one or more of the Bennetts, and this book is no exception as Bennett’s wife, Mary Catherine, is having a difficult pregnancy. Read More

Teaser

At every death scene, NYPD Detective Michael Bennett says a prayer over the victim. But recently, too many of the departed have been fellow cops. “I want you to look at these deaths on special assignment,” NYPD Inspector Celeste Cantor says. “Report only to me.” Bennett excels as a solo investigator. But he's chasing a killer who feeds on isolation...and paranoia.

Promo

At every death scene, NYPD Detective Michael Bennett says a prayer over the victim. But recently, too many of the departed have been fellow cops. “I want you to look at these deaths on special assignment,” NYPD Inspector Celeste Cantor says. “Report only to me.” Bennett excels as a solo investigator. But he's chasing a killer who feeds on isolation...and paranoia.

About the Book

NYPD Detective Michael Bennett will stop at nothing to protect family: his wife, his kids --- and his fellow officers --- in the latest psychological thriller from bestselling author James Patterson.

At every death scene, NYPD Detective Michael Bennett says a prayer over the victim.

But recently, too many of the departed have been fellow cops.

“I want you to look at these deaths on special assignment,” NYPD Inspector Celeste Cantor says. “Report only to me.”

Bennett excels as a solo investigator. But he's chasing a killer who feeds on isolation...and paranoia.

Audiobook available; read by Peter Giles, Will Collyer and Kiff VandenHeuvel

Editorial Content for Bonded in Death

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jennifer McCord

BONDED IN DEATH, the 60th book in J.D. Robb’s futuristic police procedural series, is one of her smartest and most enthralling thrillers. It delves into personal themes such as loyalty, honor and betrayal while also delivering a tense and suspenseful read. Read More

Teaser

His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes. The Rossi case is frustrating to Lieutenant Eve Dallas. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks that Summerset --- the man who had rescued her husband from the Dublin streets --- may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then. As Summerset eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must --- not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died.

Promo

His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes. The Rossi case is frustrating to Lieutenant Eve Dallas. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks that Summerset --- the man who had rescued her husband from the Dublin streets --- may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then. As Summerset eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must --- not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died.

About the Book

#1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb spins an epic tale of loyalty, treachery, murder and the long shadow of war.

His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She has an elderly victim who just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset --- fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, majordomo and the man who rescued her husband from the Dublin streets --- may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.

When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear --- because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must --- not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain --- and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished.

Audiobook available, read by Susan Ericksen