|
|
|
|
|
|
The King Must Die
by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Fen's world is crumbling. Newearth, a once-promising planet gifted by the all-powerful alien Makers, now suffers from failed terraforming, leaving its people on the brink of collapse. Fen has spent her life working as a mercenary bodyguard for a cunning magistrate, entangled in the politics of the empire that shattered her family. But then her fathers--her last remaining tether to hope--are executed by the ruthless Sovereign, who marks Fen for the same fate. With nothing left to lose, Fen escapes with a single map and an old quarterstaff, embarking on a dangerous quest to seek out the last remnants of her parents' rebellion. But the underground insurgents she finds may be even more dangerous than the Sovereign's army. At the center of it all stands Alekhai, the Sovereign's heir--a brutal, power-hungry force of destruction. Though he embodies everything Fen despises, his dangerous plans might be the empire's last chance at survival...or the final push to its doom--
|
|
|
|
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
by Ace Atkins
It's 1985, what will soon become known as 'The Year of the Spy,' and fourteen-year-old Peter Bennett is convinced his mom's new boyfriend is a Russian agent. 'Gary' isn't in the phone book, has an unidentifiable European accent, and keeps a gun in the glove box of his convertible Porsche. Peter thinks Gary only wants to get close to his mom because she works at Scientific Atlanta, a lab with big government contracts. But who is going to believe him? He's just a kid into BMX and MTV. But after another woman who works at the lab is killed, Peter recruits an unlikely pair of allies--a has-been pulp writer and muckraker named Dennis Hotchner and his drag performer buddy and heavy, Jackie Demure. Both soon become the target of an unhinged Russian hitman (Is it Gary? Maybe!) with a serious Phil Collins obsession
|
|
|
|
Where He Left Me
by Nicole Baart
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER From Nicole Baart, the bestselling author of Everything We Didn't Say, comes a twisty, atmospheric novel about a newlywed whose husband disappears, leaving her isolated in Washington State's North Cascades. In every world, I'd find you. Sadie Sheridan's new husband Felix, a professor of planetary sciences, has vowed to never leave her. But when Felix doesn't return from a work trip, Sadie is stranded at Hemlock House, the remote mountain homestead where her husband grew up. Doubt creeps into Sadie's heart. Then panic. Where is he? Scared and alone in a place that feels haunted, Sadie struggles to make sense of what her missing husband left behind. But when she catches strangers lurking around the property, Hemlock House instantly becomes both a sanctuary and a prison. Navigating threats from outside and in, Sadie is forced to confront shocking secrets that leave her questioning whether she really knows Felix at all. As a powerful storm bears down, she must decide: is she fighting only for her own survival now--or for the man who promised her the stars? Filled with dark menace and the danger of the wild, Where He Left Me is at once heartfelt and heart-pounding, from an author who writes with a poet's eye for language and a storyteller's gift for suspense (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author).
|
|
|
|
The Queen Who Came in from the Cold: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates
by S. J. Bennett
Amateur sleuth Queen Elizabeth II is back on the case in 1960s England in the fifth installment of this historical mystery series the New York Times Book Review calls sheer entertainment, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Richard Osman. 1961, England.The Queen is spending a night on board the royal train with her entourage and her sister, Princess Margaret. But before they reach their destination, an unreliable witness claims to have seen a brutal murder from one of the carriages. The Queen and her assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, get to work on their second joint investigation. No one else saw the crime. If there is a victim, could he be the missing photographer friend of Margaret's new husband, Tony Armstrong Jones? This time, the Cold War threatens to undermine the Queen's upcoming visit to Italy. She and Joan must tackle dark forces that follow them all the way, in a tale of spies, lies, and treachery. This charming mystery will be perfect for fans of The Crown and Miss Marple.
|
|
|
|
Huguette
by Cara Black
August 1945: Seventeen-year-old Huguette Faure is a survivor. The war has taken everything from her-both her parents and her sense of safety. Now, pregnant and on the lam, she cannot return to her childhood home in Paris. Forced to reinvent herself, she must outrun her father's enemies, who want her dead. After narrowly avoiding jail time-thanks to the help of a kind-hearted police officer named Claude Leduc-Huguette lands a job assisting a legendary film director. As her role develops from helping him with chores to cooking his books, she sees an opportunity to break free from the ghosts of her past once and for all--
|
|
| Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan BraithwaiteYears ago, a man's first wife cursed a later wife, plus all of the women in her family for generations. Ebbing and and flowing in time, this moving Read with Jenna pick from the author of My Sister, the Serial Killer follows three of the cursed Nigerian women: Monife, who drowns herself after losing her lover; her cousin, Ebun, who has a child the day of Monife's funeral; and Ebun's child, Eniiyi, who looks and acts like Monife. Read-alike: Olufunke Grace Bankole's The Edge of Water. |
|
|
|
The Living and the Dead: A Novel about a Crime
by Christoffer Carlsson
Two decades after an unsolved murder in a working-class town, another body turns up, ripping apart friendships and community--a ... mystery and graceful investigation of brotherhood and family by a renowned criminologist--
|
|
|
|
Everyone in the Group Chat Dies
by L. M. Chilton
A page-turner about a TikTok true crime investigator, a '90s serial killer that may not be as dead as everyone would like, a text thread from hell, and long buried secrets that just won't stay in the grave where they belong--
|
|
|
|
And Then There Was You
by Sophie Cousens
At thirty-one, Chloe Fairway isn't where she wants to be in life. Stuck in a PA job for a boss who barely notices her and back home with her parents after a painful breakup, she feels like a failure. So, when she's invited to her college's ten-year reunion, the last thing she needs is to face the people who once voted her most likely to succeed. She definitely doesn't want to see her former best friend Sean Adler, now a hotshot film director living the life Chloe dreamed of. Desperate to make a splash-and to save face in front of the man who might be the one that got away-she turns to a mysterious dating service. Enter Rob, her handsome, successful, and charming match, who quickly makes Chloe feel like she's finally finding her way. But as Chloe digs deeper into her past and reconnects with old friends, she begins to question if Rob is really all that he seems. And maybe, just maybe, revisiting her past is exactly what she needs to move forward. Packed with heart, charm, and Sophie Cousens's signature humor, And Then There Was You is a witty exploration of love, second chances, and finding your place in the world.--Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
Who Knows You by Heart
by C. J. Farley
Part social thriller, part modern love story, Who Knows You by Heart is a sly, witty, and endlessly discussable tale of Big Tech, new money, relationships, race, and discovering what's real in an age of artificial intelligence--
|
|
|
|
Higher Magic
by Courtney Floyd
Dorothe Bartleby has one more chance to pass her committee exam before she's kicked out of her higher magic program. Between her advisor's suggestion to try a new methodology and her anxiety-fueled panic attacks, it won't be easy. Then, students with disabilities start disappearing from campus, and administrators aren't taking it seriously. Bartleby can focus on polishing her research project or risk expulsion by digging deeper into the disappearances, but with a prophecy foretelling her greatest failure, she fears that whatever she does will end in disaster--
|
|
|
|
Daddy Issues
by Kate Goldbeck
Sam did everything right: she worked hard, went to college, then to graduate school. She was driven, career focused, and successful. She had always been told to follow her dreams, and she did. But when the pandemic hit just as she graduated with her master's in art restoration, and her perfect internship that would lead to her ideal career is cancelled, she did what everyone was doing: moved back in with her parents. But now, two years later, she's still sleeping on the pull-out couch in the office-slash-yoga room in her mother's condo, crowded with boxes of vintage comics she can't seem to part with, and applying for the few entry level jobs that seem relevant to her training. In the meantime, she begrudgingly waits tables and for her life to change. At least the condo complex has a pool. When Nick and his eight-year-old daughter move in next door, Sam's mother volunteers her as a babysitter--she's got abundant free time, after all--
|
|
|
|
Made You Look
by Tanya Grant
Sydney Kent is the ultimate It Girl. You want her effortless style, her charisma, her hair. You want to be her; you want to be with her. But the trouble with a star is that everyone else looks dull in comparison. Despite Caitlyn's social media cunning, it's impossible for her to step out from Sydney's shadow. Even Lucy, Sydney's best friend since before her fame, can't escape her role as full-time photographer to the influencer. When the women are invited to post content for a secluded new retreat in the Catskills, alongside Sydney's boyfriend Jeff, stylist Nash, and manager Brent, the weekend feels like it will be a fresh start. But an unexpected snowstorm traps the group together with no cell service, no Wi-Fi, and no way out. Then a killer strikes, and the dream trip becomes a nightmare. Secrets, lies, and scandals are forced to the surface, and the friends can't help but suspect the murderer might be among them. Worse, the killing has only just begun. But where there's danger, there's juicy, jaw-dropping, name-making content to be created. You know you want to look--
|
|
|
|
Haven't Killed in Years
by Amy K. Green
Marin Haggerty, daughter of a world-renowned serial killer, spent her early childhood training to follow in her father's bloody footsteps, before she developed her own sense of right and wrong. After his arrest, she's put in witness protection and happy to take on a new identity, that of harmless office worker Gwen Tanner. Even if keeping everyone at a distance is a little boring, at least she-and society-is safe. But when someone starts sending body parts to her house, the message is clear: I know who you are. To keep her identity secret, Gwen has to take on the highly inconvenient (but kind of exhilarating?) role of hunting down the killer herself, a journey that will take her from the twisted world of true crime fandom to drug-fueled house parties to an unlikely person from her past. She'll learn she is capable of deep, human connections after all . . . and that she's not the only one with secrets to hide. But is finally opening herself up going to help her catch the killer, or will it put her and others in even more danger?--
|
|
|
|
Helm
by Sarah Hall
Helm is a ferocious, mischievous wind - a subject of folklore and awe, part-elemental god, part-aerial demon blasting through the sublime landscape of Northern England since the dawn of time. Through the stories of those who've obsessed over Helm, an extraordinary history is formed: the Neolithic tribe who tried to placate Helm, the Dark Age wizard priest who wanted to banish Helm, the Victorian steam engineer who attempted to capture Helm -- and the farmer's daughter who fiercely loved Helm. But now Dr. Selima Sutar, surrounded by infinite clouds and measuring instruments in her observation hut, fears human pollution is killing Helm--
|
|
| When the Fireflies Dance by Aisha HassanOn the edge of Lahore, Pakistan, seven-year-old Lalloo's family lives in modern indentured servitude, making bricks by hand with no hope of freedom. When his brother is murdered, young Lalloo is spirited away by his father to be a mechanic's apprentice. As Lalloo grows, he makes friends and saves money, wanting to free his parents and sisters in this slow-burn, haunting debut that examines grief, hope, and family love. For fans of: Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. |
|
|
|
Simultaneous
by Eric Heisserer
Federal agent Grant Lukather works for an unknown department of Homeland Security called Predictive Analytics. They look for patterns in tips and chatter to prevent a terrorist event before it happens. One of these calls, about a possible explosion in New Mexico, leads Grant to a case with unimaginable consequences. He meets Sarah Newcomb, a therapist who uses past-life hypnosis in her treatment but has recently stumbled upon a phenomenon that seems to defy logic. Grant follows this thread to another crime: a copycat killer case in Colorado. With the help of one of Sarah's patients, they embark upon an investigation that spans multiple states, timelines, and consciousnesses. With limited time and only a tenuous grasp of how this phenomenon works, the unlikely trio are in a race for their lives--past, present, and future--
|
|
|
|
Sparks Fly
by Zakiya N. Jamal
When Stella Renee Johnson's roommate invites her to a sex club party only to bail, Stella decides to use the opportunity to finally cash in her V-card. But just when things are heating up between Stella and a sexy stranger, the fire alarm goes off and Stella, taking it as a sign this wasn't meant to be, flees. Frustrated in more ways than one, Stella is shocked to learn that the digital media website where she works is partnering with an AI company. She's even more shocked when the alluring man from the previous night walks in. Max Williams is the CEO's brother and the creator of the AI program now threatening her job. Despite the conflict of interest, Stella and Max can't resist their magnetic attraction towards each other, and agree to keep their personal lives separate from what's happening at work. But the more similarities they discover at home-both Black, booksmart, and bisexual-the more they butt heads at work. Stella and Max must decide whether to think with their heads and walk away from their budding relationship, or follow their hearts and take a chance on love, no matter the cost--
|
|
|
|
Best Offer Wins
by Marisa Kashino
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick * A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick * An ELLE Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025 * A BookRiot Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025 It starts out feeling pretty light and fun, but I promise you, you have no idea where this story is going. -Taylor Jenkins Reid, recommended for her Must-Read Book of 2025 in TIME MagazineAn insanely competitive housing market. A desperate buyer on the edge. In Marisa Kashino's darkly humorous debut novel, Best Offer Wins, the white picket fence becomes the ultimate symbol of success--and obsession. How far would you go for the house of your dreams? Eighteen months and 11 lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the overheated Washington, DC suburbs, 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month. Desperate to escape the cramped apartment she shares with her husband Ian -- and in turn, get their marriage, plan to have a baby, and whole life back on track -- Margo becomes obsessed with buying the house before it's publicly listed and the masses descend (with unbeatable, all-cash offers in hand). A little stalking? Harmless. A bit of trespassing? Necessary. As Margo infiltrates the homeowners' lives, her tactics grow increasingly unhinged--but just when she thinks she's won them over, she hits a snag in her plan. Undeterred, Margo will prove again and again that there's no boundary she won't cross to seize the dream life she's been chasing. The most unsettling part? You'll root for her, even as you gasp in disbelief. Dark, biting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Best Offer Wins is a propulsive debut and a razor-sharp exploration of class, ambition, and the modern housing crisis.
|
|
|
|
The Bodyguard Affair
by Amy Lea
Andi Zeigler lives a double life. By day, she's the no-nonsense, steadfast personal assistant to the Prime Minister of Canada's wife. By night, she slips out of her heels and writes romance novels under a top-secret pen name. But when her steamiest book, The Prime Minister & Me, unexpectedly becomes a bestseller, rumors of a real-life affair between her and the PM start swirling out of control. Enter Nolan Crosby, the PM's new close protection officer (aka bodyguard)--and Andi's failed one-night stand from three years ago. Nolan's in town very temporarily to care for his mother, who's battling early-onset Alzheimer's. But when the scandal erupts, Andi ropes him into a plan: as loyal employees, they'll pretend to date for the summer--
|
|
|
|
The Red Scare Murders
by Con Lehane
This wry, big-hearted noir brings 1950s New York to life, from the tenements of Hell's Kitchen to the mansions of Riverdale, from Sing Sing to City Hall, with a gripping murder mystery laying bare the explosive conflicts between its big wheels, its working stiffs, its gangsters, and its dreamers. July 1950: Mick Mulligan has just hung out his shingle as a private investigator in New York's sweaty Hell's Kitchen. A former Hollywood cartoonist who was blacklisted during a communist witch hunt, Mick is broke, divorced, and in need of a paying gig to make his child support payments. But maybe not this gig. First off, it's impossible. Worse, it's liable to get him killed. Last year, universally reviled cab company owner Irwin Johnson was murdered. One of his drivers, an African American Communist Party member named Harold Williams, was arrested, tried, and found guilty, despite scant evidence. Now his execution date is two weeks away. New York City labor leader Duke Rogowski asks Mick to find fresh evidence that might buy Harold a stay of execution. Lots of people might have wanted Irwin Johnson dead--anyone from his betrayed wife to his jilted mistresses' jealous husbands to the mafiosi he was stealing business from. But no one has any reason to help Mick exonerate Harold Williams, and some of Irwin's former associates are happy to take a blunt object to the head of anyone asking awkward questions. Yet Mick can't abandon a potentially innocent man to the electric chair. Can he pull off a miracle?
|
|
|
|
Red City
by Marie Lu
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--Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
Silent Bones
by Val McDermid
Scotland, 2025. When torrential winter rain causes a landslide on a motorway, it dislodges more than mud and asphalt--it reveals a skeleton, concealed when the road was built eleven years prior. Sam Nimmo, an investigative journalist who'd been poking his nose into the murky politics of the Scottish independence referendum, had become the prime suspect in the brutal murder of his girlfriend when he vanished. Now he's reappeared, buried under the motorway. It's the perfect cold case for DCI Karen Pirie, chief of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit. But when an allegation of murder surfaces over the supposedly accidental death of a hotel manager, it unearths a series of interlinked puzzles that will test Karen and her team unlike ever before--Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
The Land in Winter
by Andrew Miller
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 BOOKER PRIZENEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICENPR BEST BOOK OF 2025NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2025SHELF AWARENESS BEST BOOK OF 2025WINNER2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction2025 Winston Graham Historical Prize for FictionTender, elegant, soulful and perfect...Superb.--Samantha Harvey, Booker Prize-winning author of OrbitalDecember 1962: In a village deep in the English countryside, two neighboring couples begin the day. Local doctor Eric Parry commences his rounds in the village while his pregnant wife, Irene, wanders the rooms of their old house, mulling over the space that has grown between the two of them.On the farm nearby lives Irene's mirror image: witty but troubled Rita Simmons is also expecting. She spends her days trying on the idea of being a farmer's wife, but her head still swims with images of a raucous past that her husband, Bill, prefers to forget.When Rita and Irene meet across the bare field between their houses, a clock starts. There is still affection in both their homes; neither marriage has yet to be abandoned. But when the ordinary cold of December gives way--ushering in violent blizzards of the harshest winter in living memory--so do the secret resentments harbored in all four lives.An exquisite, page-turning examination of relationships, The Land in Winter is a masterclass in storytelling--proof yet again that Andrew Miller is one of the most dazzling chroniclers of the human heart.Andrew Miller's writing is a source of wonder and delight.--Hilary MantelThis book is really special.--Sarah Jessica Parker, 2025 Booker Prize Judge
|
|
|
|
The Burning Grounds
by Abir Mukherjee
In The Burning Ghats of Calcutta, where the dead are laid to rest, a man is found murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear. The body is that of a popular philanthropist and patron of the arts. A man, who was, by all accounts, beloved by all. So what could possibly be the motive for murder? Though out of favour with the Imperial Police Force, Detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case, and finds himself thrust into the glamorous world of cinema when his investigation leads him to a film the victim was funding. Meanwhile Sam's former colleague, Surendranath Banerjee, recently returned from Europe after three years running from the fallout of his last case, is searching for a vanished photographer, one of the first women in the profession. When he discovers the missing woman is somehow linked to Sam's murder investigation, the two men are forced to work together once again--but will Wyndham and Banerjee be able to put their differences aside to solve the case?--Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
Slow Gods
by Claire North
My name is Mawukana na-Vdnaze, and I am a very poor copy of myself ling my story, there are certain things I should perhaps lie about. I should make myself a hero. Pretend I was not used by strangers and gods, did not leave people behind. Here is one truth: out there in deep space, in the pilot's chair, I died. And then, I was reborn. I became something not quite human, something that could speak to the infinite dark. And I vowed to become the scourge of the world that wronged me. This is the story of the supernova event that burned planets and felled civilizations. This is also the story of the many lives I've lived since I died for the first time. Are you listening?--Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
The Summer War
by Naomi Novik
Celia discovered her talent for magic on the day her beloved oldest brother, Argent, left home. Furious at him for abandoning her in a war-torn land, she lashed out, not realizing her childish, angry words would become imbued with the power of prophecy, dooming him to a life without love. While Argent wanders the world, forced to seek only fame and glory instead of the love and belonging he truly desires, Celia attempts to undo the curse she placed on him. Yet even as she grows from a girl to a woman, she cannot find the solution--until she learns the truth about the centuries-old war between her own people and the summerlings, immortal beings who hold a relentless grudge against their mortal neighbors. Now, with the aid of her unwanted middle brother, Celia may be able to both undo her eldest brother's curse and heal the lands so long torn apart by the Summer War.--
|
|
|
|
There Is No Antimemetics Division
by Qntm
They're all around us, hiding in plain sight. One could be in the room with you now, just to your left. You could be seeing it right now--but from this second to the next, you'll forget that you did. If you managed to jot down a note, the paper would look blank to you afterward. These entities can feed on your most cherished memories, the things that make you you--and you'll never even know anything changed. They can turn you into a living ghost--make it so you're standing next to your spouse, screaming in their ear, and they won't know you're there. They're predators equipped with the ultimate camouflage, living black holes for information, able to consume our very memories of their existence. And they aren't just feeding on us. They're invading. But how do you fight an enemy when you can never even know that you're at war? How do you contain something you can't record or remember? Welcome to the Antimemetics Division. No, this is not your first day--
|
|
| The Eleventh Hour by Salman RushdieA New Yorker best book of 2025, this bestselling collection of five stories thoughtfully and wittily explores life and death for a variety of characters (older men, a ghost, a musician, and more) who live in various locations (India, England, and the United States). Try this next: The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories by Denis Johnson; An Oral History of Atlantis: Stories by Ed Park. |
|
|
|
Conform
by Ariel Sullivan
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - THE MUST-READ FIRST NOVEL FROM JENNA BUSH HAGER'S NEW VENTURE, THOUSAND VOICES In the far future, one young woman finds herself torn between two loves--and two sides of a rebellion boiling under the surface--in the luminous (People) first novel of a sweeping dystopian romance series. The stunning hardcover of Conform features a custom-stamped case, beautiful endpapers, and foiled jacket. Compulsively readable and vividly written--it kept me awake long past my bedtime --Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Court of Thorns and Roses An irresistible romantic debut with a love triangle that will have you picking sides . . . then changing sides . . . then changing sides again.--Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divergent 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. Baffled as to why she was chosen, Emeline is swept into the dangerous game of the Courting, where one wrong move can mean elimination. Soon, she discovers a rebellion rising in secret, and that her Mate may be keeping secrets of his own. Collin is confusing, both cold and protective, and worse, she finds herself drawn to the very last person she should be falling for: Hal, one of the resistance leaders. As she draws closer to both Collin and Hal, the Illum exercise their power in increasingly brutal ways, forcing Emeline to question everything--most of all whether she'll have to give up her heart and even her life to stop them.
|
|
|
|
Kill the Beast
by Serra Swift
The night Lyssa Cadogan's brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a promise: she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced. Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster's lair, and-even more surprising-retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast. Alderic is ill-equipped for a hunt and almost guaranteed to get himself killed. But as the two of them search for the rest of the materials that will be the Beast's undoing, Alderic reveals hidden depths: dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa's better judgment, an unlikely friendship begins to bloom-one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa's quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both--
|
|
| House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk; translated by Antonia Lloyd-JonesThis reissuing of a book first published in Polish in 1998 by a Nobel and Booker Prize winner explores life in a small village along the Polish-Czech border. Stylistically complex and using a variety of elements (stories, gossip, recipes, etc.), Tokarczuk's "scattered fragments are beautifully tied together to form a unified whole" (Library Journal). Try this next: Vaim by Jon Fosse. |
|
|
|
The Botanist's Assistant
by Peggy Townsend
Margaret Finch knows that when she turns fifty-one, the day won't be celebrated. Like every other day, she will follow the same meticulous routine that she's had for the past ten years as Research Assistant II for Roosevelt University's brilliant professor of botany, Dr. Jonathan Deaver. No surprises. But as it turns out, she couldn't be more wrong. On the morning of her fifty-first birthday, Margaret finds her boss lying dead in his office, a pool of blood around his once-handsome head. That day of all days marks quite the dramatic shift in her otherwise mundane life. At the time of his death, Professor Deaver was on the cusp of a discovery that could bring a new treatment for lung cancer. As expected, his death shakes the tight-knit community of academics, but the coroner rules it to have been caused by a genetic heart defect. Margaret, however, isn't so sure--
|
|
|
|
Beasts of the Sea
by Iida Turpeinen
In 1741, thirty-two-year-old naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller joins Captain Bering's Great Northern Expedition to scout out a sea route from Asia to America. Plagued with hardships, captain and crew never reach their goal, but they do make a unique discovery, a gentle giant that will be named for the young explorer who described it: Steller's sea cow. In 1859, the governor of the Russian territory of Alaska sends his men to recover the skeleton of the massive marine mammal rumored to have vanished a hundred years before. Two years later, a revered Helsinki professor hires a talented illustrator--a woman!--to make precise drawings of a set of bones sent from afar. The ill-fated beast will help introduce to a skeptical public the concept of human-caused extinction. Finally, in 1952, the Museum of Zoology assigns its most talented restorer the task of refurbishing the antique skeleton, a testimony to the sea cow's fate that will fire the imaginations of future generations--
|
|
|
|
Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World
by Mark Waddell
WARNING! If encountered by any unauthorized personnel or otherwise in Dark Enterprises's company elevators, take extra precaution and do not engage or enter into any deals with them. Any such behavior could result in world destruction. Colin, a lowly employee at Dark Enterprises, a Hell-like corporation solving the world's most difficult problems in the most questionable ways, is ready to start exerting his own power...at the top of the corporate ladder. The only problem is he's pretty sure he's getting fired (aka killed because no one gets an exit interview at DE). Tough, since his bff has just set him up with a great guy...maybe a little too great...and he weirdly likes corporate life. When Colin meets a shadowy figure promising his heart's desire if he agrees to a small favor, he can't resist the urge to fast-track his goals. He asks for the thing anyone would in this situation-a promotion. But that small favor unleashes an ancient evil. People in New York are disappearing. The world might be ending and Management is starting to notice. The ladder to the top is never easy and now it's up to Colin to save the world...or at least get a bonus for doing so--
|
|
Books You May Have Missed
|
|
| My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel AllendeRaised by her Irish former nun mother and a loving stepdad in San Francisco, Emilia del Valle never knows her Chilean aristocrat father. As a young journalist covering the Chilean Civil War of 1891, she begins a romance and also finally meets the father who abandoned her. Isabel Allende fans will relish reading about the del Valles, whose various members often appear in her work. Try this next: Kaitlyn Greenidge's Libertie. |
|
| Spent by Alison BechdelIn this comic graphic novel, author and cartoonist Alison Bechdel -- who shares a name and striking similarities with the author of the book -- lives on a goat farm in Vermont with her partner Holly and works on her next book project that deals with late-stage capitalism while helping her sister, spending time with friends, and pitching a reality show where people try to live more ethically. Kirkus Reviews raves, "Bechdel is incisive, tender, and funny -- often at the same time." |
|
| The Heart of Winter by Jonathan EvisonThis poignant portrait of a marriage begins on Abe Winter's 90th birthday. While he's uncomfortable with the attention, his 87-year-old wife, Ruth, has a tooth that's causing her problems. When Ruth's diagnosed with oral cancer, Abe tries to care for her in this novel that looks back over 70 years, from their opposites-attract college romance to marriage problems, raising kids, and more. Try these next: Jessica Soffer's This Is a Love Story; Mikki Brammer's The Collected Regrets of Clover. |
|
| The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham JonesIn 2012, college professor Etsy Beaucarne learns about a 100-year-old diary written by her great-great-grandfather, Lutheran minister Arthur Beaucarne, and hopes she can utilize it to secure tenure. Contained within its pages are the confessions of Good Stab, a Blackfeet vampire seeking vengeance for the massacre of his people. For fans of: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo; Lone Women by Victor LaValle. |
|
| Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins ReidIn 1980, physics and astronomy professor Joan Goodwin is selected to train as an astronaut at Houston's Johnson Space Center. As the astronaut candidates work together and become friends, Joan unexpectedly finds herself falling in love with one of them. This acclaimed, suspenseful tale cuts back and forth between training and a 1984 mission gone wrong. Read-alikes: Eliana Ramage's To the Moon and Back; Bonnie Garmus' Lessons in Chemistry. |
|
| Woodworking by Emily St. JamesIn autumn 2016, recently divorced 35-year-old Erica Skyberg, a closeted trans woman in small-town South Dakota, teaches, does community theater, and makes friends with openly trans transfer student Abigail. Though they bond, Abigail is also a snarky 17-year-old trying to find her own way. With characters who feel real, this debut novel is an "engrossing drama [and] a must-read" (Publishers Weekly). Try this next: Edward Underhill's The In-Between Bookstore. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Morton Grove Public Library
6140 Lincoln Ave
Morton Grove, Illinois 60053
(847) 965-4220www.mgpl.org/ |
|
|
|