April 7, 2026
In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of April 6th and April 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 Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for April, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, the “Good Morning America” Book Club, the PBS Books Readers Club, the “Read with Jenna” Book Club, Reese's Book Club, and the Target Book Club.
April 7, 2026
Our latest Spring Reading newsletter spotlights Fredrik Backman's #1 New York Times bestseller, MY FRIENDS, which now has sold more than one million copies. This unforgettably funny, deeply moving novel is about four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life 25 years later.
We are giving five readers the chance to win a copy of the book.
PLEASE NOTE: Typically our Spring Reading giveaways are open for just 24 hours, but we are extending the deadline of this contest to Thursday, April 9th at noon ET. That gives you an extra day to submit your entries!
Editorial Content for The Hired Man
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Well-written, gripping historical fiction takes us back to another place and time and allows us to experience that setting through the eyes and usually meticulous research of the author.
THE HIRED MAN is set in 1937 Colorado during the Dust Bowl. Instead of rain falling from the sky, dirt blew in from neighboring states, blanketing the ground and covering everything with layers of dirt. Thanks to Sandra Dallas’ careful, detailed descriptions, we can almost feel the grit in our mouths and eyes during the storm. Read More
Teaser
1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl’s grim impact on families is everywhere. When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy and prejudice grip their neighbors --- and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.
Promo
1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl’s grim impact on families is everywhere. When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy and prejudice grip their neighbors --- and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.
About the Book
The Dust Bowl sweeps a handsome stranger into a small Colorado town to dangerous effect.
1937. It’s been seven years since the dust storms started in Colorado. Folks can barely remember a time when the clouds were filled with rain instead of dirt, and when the fields were green instead of brown. High school student Martha Helen Kessler and her family are luckier than most; they still eke out a living from the land. Even so, evidence of the Dust Bowl’s grim impact on families, especially on the women who bear the brunt of their husbands’ frustration and their children’s hunger, is everywhere.
When Martha Helen’s compassionate mother insists they take in Otis Hobbs, a handsome drifter who saves a local boy from a vicious storm, she quickly discovers a darker side to their rural community. Suspicion, jealousy and prejudice grip their neighbors --- and emotions reach a frenzy after Martha Helen’s best friend, Frankie, disappears and is then found murdered. Ultimately, Martha Helen is forced to make sense of her conflicting feelings and loyalties in order to help find retribution and to reconcile the difference between the law and justice.
Full of period detail and Sandra Dallas’ trademark focus on the lives of women, THE HIRED MAN entertains and ultimately surprises.
Audiobook available, read by Jesse Vilinsky
Editorial Content for Wolf Worm
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In my humble opinion, T. Kingfisher is producing gothic horror and fantasy in a class that includes Caitlin Starling and C. J. Cooke. I eagerly approach each of her novels with a level of expectation that is extremely high, and she never disappoints. That said, WOLF WORM may be her most chilling creation yet. Read More
Teaser
Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator, but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects or hope. So when the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house. Once there, though, she encounters dark happenings in the Carolina woods, and even darker questions come to light. What happened to her predecessor? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thieves”? With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a twisted road.
Promo
Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator, but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects or hope. So when the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house. Once there, though, she encounters dark happenings in the Carolina woods, and even darker questions come to light. What happened to her predecessor? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thieves”? With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a twisted road.
About the Book
Something darker than the devil stalks the North Carolina woods in WOLF WORM, a new gothic masterpiece from New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher.
“I saw the devil in these woods.”
Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator, but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects or hope.
So when the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use.
Once there, though, she encounters dark happenings in the Carolina woods, and even darker questions come to light. What happened to her predecessor? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thieves”?
With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a twisted road. His ground-breaking discoveries come with a cost --- one that Halder is paying with human flesh.
If Sonia can’t find a way to stop the monstrosity, she may be next under the knife.
Audiobook available, read by Mary Robinette Kowal
Editorial Content for Two Kinds of Stranger
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Steve Cavanagh has earned a reputation for producing crime and legal thrillers that are not afraid to show their dark side and always feature a battle between good and evil. TWO KINDS OF STRANGER is the latest in his Eddie Flynn series and finds the defense attorney up against the system and fighting to save his client from a truly depraved killer. Read More
Teaser
Social media influencer Elly Parker had the perfect life --- that is until she discovered her husband had been having an affair with her best friend. But as hurt, betrayed and unmoored as Elly is, she has made it her mission to help others in need. When Elly meets a man on the steps to the subway platform, crutches in one hand and a yellow suitcase by his feet, she can’t help but feel sorry for him. This small act of kindness sets off a chain of events more terrifying than anything she ever could imagine. To survive, Elly will need to convince the world that what happened to her was real. She needs a lawyer who can bend the rules to find the truth. Eddie Flynn and his team must find the stranger with the yellow suitcase. But little do they know this cunning killer is a master manipulator and is always one step ahead.
Promo
Social media influencer Elly Parker had the perfect life --- that is until she discovered her husband had been having an affair with her best friend. But as hurt, betrayed and unmoored as Elly is, she has made it her mission to help others in need. When Elly meets a man on the steps to the subway platform, crutches in one hand and a yellow suitcase by his feet, she can’t help but feel sorry for him. This small act of kindness sets off a chain of events more terrifying than anything she ever could imagine. To survive, Elly will need to convince the world that what happened to her was real. She needs a lawyer who can bend the rules to find the truth. Eddie Flynn and his team must find the stranger with the yellow suitcase. But little do they know this cunning killer is a master manipulator and is always one step ahead.
About the Book
Elly Parker helped a perfect stranger. She didn’t know he was the perfect killer...in another “unguessable and unputdownable” (Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author) psychological thriller from the author of WITNESS 8.
One offers a helping hand. The other is your worst nightmare.
Social media influencer Elly Parker had the perfect life --- until she discovered her husband had been having an affair with her best friend.
But as hurt, betrayed, unmoored as Elly is, she has made it her mission to help others in need. Even strangers.
When Elly meets a man on the steps to the subway platform, crutches in one hand and a yellow suitcase by his feet, she can’t help but feel sorry for him.
Just as he planned.
This small act of kindness sets off a chain of events more terrifying than anything she ever could imagine.
To survive, Elly will need to convince the world what happened to her was real. She needs a lawyer who can bend the rules to find the truth. Eddie Flynn and his team must find the stranger with the yellow suitcase. But little do they know this cunning killer is a master manipulator and is always one step ahead.
Audiobook available, read by Adam Sims











