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                                       | Fiction A to Z October 2025 |  |  
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	Alchemy of Secrets
	
 by Stephanie Garber
Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor's stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you'll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.
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	All That We See or Seem
	
 by Ken Liu
"Orphan hacker" Julia Z is pulled from digital obscurity when a lawyer's artist wife, a dream-weaving oneirofex kidnapped by criminals, is needed for her unique skills to retrieve stolen dreams from a dangerous virtual underworld.
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	The Amish Ballerina
	
 by Richelle Brunstetter
Dance along with Arie Kauffman as she secretly expresses herself through ballet despite her parents’ disapproval. Will a forbidden passion take her outside the bonds of faith and family?
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	Backslide
	
 by Nora Dahlia
Exes Nellie and Noah are thrown together at their best friends' wine country un-wedding and forced to reckon with their past...and lingering sparks that hide behind the eye rolls, snipes and awkwardness of their forced proximity. 
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	Bad Bad Girl
	
 by Gish Jen
Spanning continents and generations, traces the turbulent bond between a brilliant Chinese immigrant mother and her headstrong American daughter, as they navigate a lifetime of love, ambition and aching misunderstanding. 
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	Boom Town
	
 by Nic Stone
When a dancer goes missing from Boom Town, Lyriq risks everything to uncover the truth, plunging into Atlanta's underworld to expose the secrets behind two disappearances that may be more connected than anyone dares to admit.
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	The Christmas Ring ðŸŽ„
	
 by Karen Kingsbury
While searching for her family's missing Christmas ring, a military widow sparks a friendship with a handsome antiques dealer, who just might have the love and the lost heirloom she's been longing for.
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	Conform
	
 by Ariel Sullivan
A lifelong outcast, twenty-seven-year-old Emeline spends her days alone, sorting ancient art for destruction. Centuries after a catastrophic war nearly decimated humanity, society is now ruled by an elusive and technologically advanced group called the Illum, who constantly monitor the population's health and mandate procreation contracts. But Emeline's bleak existence is shattered when, for the first time in decades, an Illum named Collin takes a Mate: Emeline.
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	Cover Story
	
 by Mhairi McFarlane
Thirtysomething Connor left his seemingly perfect life in London for a chance to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a reporter, but after a bad first impression with journalist Bel, his internship begins to feel like another in a series of poor decisions, except that she's the first bit of excitement he's felt in a very long time. 
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	Cry Havoc
	
 by Jack Carr
Amidst the turbulent backdrop of 1968, Navy SEAL Tom Reece navigates a clandestine mission across Vietnam and beyond, uncovering a Soviet plot that threatens to reshape global power in a high-stakes tale of espionage, betrayal and brutal realism.
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	Dating After the End of the World
	
 by Jeneva Rose
Forced to return to her doomsday prepper dad's compound after a viral outbreak turns people into zombies, Casey is shocked to find her old high school bully among the survivors but decides to give him a second chance.
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	Death on Dickens Island
	
 by Allison Brook
Returning home to Dickens Island, Delia Dickens finds her island town embroiled in a murder investigation stemming from a family feud over a farm and seeks help from a ghostly grandmother to find the killer.
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	The Devil She Knows
	
 by Alexandria Bellefleur
Down-on-her-luck Samantha Cooper makes a deal with a crafty demon to win back her ex-girlfriend after a proposal gone awry, only to discover the girl of her dreams might be the devil she knows.
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	The Dogs of Venice
	
 by Steven Rowley
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.
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	The Everlasting
	
 by Alix E. Harrow
Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion's greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children's books and recruiting posters--but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten. Centuries later, Owen Mallory--failed soldier, struggling scholar--falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives--and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.
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	The Ex-Boyfriend's Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee
	
 by Saki Kawashiro
Heartbroken Momoko finds unexpected comfort in cooking her ex's favorite curry for kind strangers, and helps launch a café group where patrons heal through sharing breakup stories and recreating dishes that symbolized their lost relationships.
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	A Ferry Merry Christmas ðŸŽ„
	
 by Debbie Macomber
Separated for Christmas, siblings Avery and Reed Bond each find unexpected romance amidst travel delays: Avery meets a charming sailor on a stalled ferry, while Reed connects with a coworker, proving that even unexpected detours can lead to love.
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	Girl Dinner
	
 by Olivie Blake
After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Once she's taken into their fold, the House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as easy prey. Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner's new position at the cutthroat University....As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs.
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	Gone Before Goodbye
	
 by Reese Witherspoon
When disgraced combat surgeon Maggie McCabe takes a secretive job treating a powerful man overseas, his sudden disappearance pulls her into a deadly conspiracy forcing her on the run to uncover the truth and clear her name.
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	Good Spirits ðŸŽ„
	
 by B. K. Borison
Ghost of Christmas Past Nolan Callahan haunts Harriet York who's not exactly Scrooge, but as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together -- and realize there might be more to moving on than expected. 
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	A Guardian and a Thief
	
 by Megha Majumdar
In a near-future Kolkata, India, which has been ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other.
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	The Gun Man Jackson Swagger
	
 by Stephen Hunter
A Pulitzer Prize winner returns with a classic Western—gunfights, horses, saloons and looming above, the ominous presence of the railroad—about a Civil War veteran investigating the dark reality of a prosperous ranch.
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	The Haunting of Paynes Hollow
	
 by Kelley Armstrong
When Samantha inherits her family's lakefront cottage under the condition she stay there a month, she returns to Paynes Hollow to confront buried memories, her father's alleged crime, and a chilling force beneath the lake that threatens her grip on reality.
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	The Hong Kong Widow
	
 by Kristen Loesch
In 1950s Hong Kong, refugee Mei enters a deadly séance competition in a haunted mansion to seek revenge against the man who ruined her life, but decades later, the horrors of that final night return, demanding she confront what truly happened.
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	I Am Cleopatra
	
 by Natasha Solomons
The favored daughter of the Pharaoh, Egyptian Princess Cleopatra spent her childhood hiding amid the scrolls in the great library of Alexandria, dreaming of one day writing her own story. When her father dies, naming both Cleopatra and her selfish brother Ptolemy as his successors to the throne, danger arises. While the young Queen sails the Nile to greet her people, her brother plots to eliminate her and rule the empire alone. But while Ptolemy has the power of the kingdom behind him, Cleopatra has her cunning wits. When the great Caesar arrives from Rome, she realizes he could be the key to her salvation--though courting this powerful man could cost her everything. Can Cleopatra save her life, her throne, and her beloved Egypt--and finally write her own history?
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	The Intruder
	
 by Freida Mcfadden
In the middle of a storm, a girl appears on Casey's doorstep, obviously in need of help, but soon things take a violent turn.
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	The Keeper of Magical Things
	
 by Julie Leong
An almost-mage discovers friendship-and maybe something more-in the unlikeliest of places in this delightfully charming novel.
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	King Sorrow
	
 by Joe Hill
Blackmailed into stealing rare books, Arthur's friends summon a dragon to save him, only to strike a deadly bargain that binds them to a terrifying choice: offer a yearly sacrifice or face King Sorrow's wrath themselves.
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	The Last Spirits of Manhattan
	
 by John A. McDermott
In 1950s Manhattan, Carolyn Banks takes refuge in her eccentric great-aunts' haunted mansion, where a Hitchcock-hosted party spirals into a surreal collision of ghosts, glamour, and buried family secrets that force her to confront love, legacy, and the supernatural.
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	Mate
	
 by Ali Hazelwood
As the first Human-Were hybrid, Serena is prey to the political machinations of Weres, Vampyres and Humans, while her mate, Koen, Alpha of the Northwest pack, may be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation.
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	Overdue
	
 by Stephanie Perkins
Ingrid Dahl, a cheerful twenty-nine-year-old librarian in the cozy mountain town of Ridgetop, North Carolina, has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years. But when Ingrid's sister announces her engagement to a woman she's only been with 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 reunite and move toward marriage. But when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they're not ready to resume their relationship--and Ingrid's harmless crush on grumpy coworker Macon has evolved.
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	Photograph
	
 by Brian Freeman
Shannon Wells must investigate the death of an amnesiac former client, and 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.
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	Remain
	
 by Nicholas Sparks
After his sister’s death and his treatment at a psychiatric facility, New York architect Tate moves to a Cape bed-and-breakfast, where he has an immediate connection with Wren; but hate and greed fester below the surface of Wren’s life, and Tate must unearth the truth about the past.
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	The Secret Christmas Library ðŸŽ„
	
 by Jenny Colgan
Hired to uncover a legendary book that could save a crumbling Scottish estate, antiquarian book hunter Mirren Sutherland joins a charming laird and her rival in a snowbound castle, where secrets, clues, and unexpected sparks make for a festive literary treasure hunt.
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	Shadow Ticket
	
 by Thomas Pynchon
Milwaukee 1932, private eye Hicks McTaggart searches for a Wisconsin cheese fortune heiress, but he's shanghaied onto a transoceanic liner to Hungary; before he finds her he will be entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal and outlaw motorcyclists.
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	Sing the Night
	
 by Megan Jauregui Eccles
A retelling of Phantom of the Opera takes place in a high-fantasy setting and features mages and sorcery.
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	Snow Kissed ðŸŽ„
	
 by RaeAnne Thayne
Christmas in Shelter Springs is full of magic, but for divorced single mom Holly Goodwin Moore, that magic can be hard to come by.
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	Twice
	
 by Mitch Albom
Young Alfie Logan can rewind any moment for a do-over -- but must accept the results of his second try -- and having navigated through adolescence and finding seemingly lasting love with Gianna, he must confront an impossible choice when his power unravels during a casino arrest.
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	The Widow
	
 by John Grisham
Already struggling at work and at home, rural Virginia attorney Simon Latch finds himself accused of her murder after he secures wealthy widow Eleanor Barnett's secret inheritance only to see her fortunes unravel in the wake of a car crash.
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	Witches of Dubious Origin
	
 by Jenn McKinlay
Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded. Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire.
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	Wreck
	
 by Catherine Newman
In Western Massachusetts, Rocky juggles family life with her husband, adult children and aging father, until her fixation on a local accident and an ominous medical concern stirs up anxieties that threaten to upend her fragile sense of normalcy.
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| Continuing Series - New Releases |  | 
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	The Black Wolf
	
 by Louise Penny
Weeks after foiling an attack in Montréal and arresting the so-called Black Wolf, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, confined by his injuries to Three Pines, quietly leads a covert investigation with agents Beauvoir and Lacoste, fearing the conspiracy he uncovered is only a deliberate misdirection.
 Book 20 of the Chief Inspector Gamache Series.
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	Death at the Door
	
 by Olivia Blacke
Ruby Young is slowly adjusting to her new life in Boston. A big part of that is her unexpected roommate—the ghost of the woman who lived there before. For Cordelia Graves, she may no longer be breathing, but it’s still her apartment and Ruby is the houseguest. When Ruby discovers the body of a delivery guy at work, the new life she’s been building hangs in the balance. The last time Cordelia dragged Ruby into a murder investigation, it was almost two ghosts living in the apartment, not one. Determined to protect Ruby, Cordelia tries to shield her from the investigation, but Ruby has other ideas.
 Book 2 in the Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries series.
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	Dying City
	
 by Margaret Mizushima
While snowshoeing with her new family, K-9 handler Mattie Cobb discovers a suspicious death in the Colorado wilderness and must track a killer whose motives threaten everything she holds dear. 
 Book 10 in the Timber Creek K-9 series.
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	Fallen Star
	
 by Lee Goldberg
When a body tied to a political scandal surfaces and a deadly crash hits close to home, Detective Eve Ronin and her partner face a spiraling case of betrayal and murder. 
 Book 6 in the Eve Ronin series.
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	Fox and Furious
	
 by Rita Mae Brown
When a fierce inheritance dispute between two brothers ends in murder, Sister Jane Arnold begins to suspect the killer may be someone she's hunted with for years and as secrets surface, long-held loyalties are put to the test.
 Book 17 in the Jane Arnold series.
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	The Tin Men
	
 by Nelson DeMille
Army CID Special Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor are sent to the isolated Camp Hayden to investigate a major's death amid secret war games pitting Rangers against autonomous weapons, where the truth is obscured amidst desert isolation, internal rivalries and hidden agendas.
 Book 3 in the Scott Brodie series.
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	Two Truths and a Murder
	
 by Colleen Cambridge
While her famous employer investigates aboard the Orient Express, sleuth Phyllida is called to a dinner party where a bold murder claim and the subsequent death of a shy guest thrust her into a deadly mystery involving two murders and hidden secrets.
 Book 5 in the Phyllida Bright mystery series.
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