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Week of September 29, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of September 29th include REVENGE OF THE TIPPING POINT, a brand-new volume from Malcolm Gladwell that reframes the lessons of his groundbreaking first book, THE TIPPING POINT, in a startling and revealing light; PLAYGROUND by Richard Powers, a sweeping, panoramic novel set in the world’s largest ocean where four lives are drawn together; Paula Hawkins' THE BLUE HOUR, a masterful work of fiction that is as page-turning as it is unsettling and recalls the sophisticated suspense of Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith; THE SEQUEL, the eagerly awaited follow-up to THE PLOT, in which Jean Hanff Korelitz gives readers an antihero to root for while illuminating and satirizing the world of publishing; and FIRE AND BONES by Kathy Reichs, a twisty, unputdownable thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who finds herself at the center of an arson investigation that spawns deepening levels of mystery and, ultimately, violence.

Pictures of Him by Clare Leslie Hall

October 2025

I loved Clare Leslie Hall’s BROKEN COUNTRY, so I was eager to read her two earlier books, both of which had not been published in the States until late August and late September. I wrote about DAYS YOU WERE MINE, her second book, earlier this month. Now I turn my attention to PICTURES OF HIM, her debut novel.

As it opens, Catherine is mute. Something happened that has rendered her speechless, and readers are set on a journey to her life 15 years ago, four months before, and now. It is told only in the voices of Catherine and Lucian.