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The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives
by Elizabeth Arnott
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 BY MARIE CLAIRE AND A BEST BOOK FOR BOOK CLUBS IN 2026 BY GLAMOUR A remarkable trio whose lives have been cracked wide open by their husbands' crimes unite to catch a serial killer in this dazzlingly captivating novel. Beverley, Elsie, and Margot are not your average housewives. They are all wives of convicted killers. During the sun-drenched summer of 1966, the three women form an unlikely friendship after the discoveries of their husbands' brutal crimes. With their exes--some of California's most infamous murderers--dead or behind bars, they are attempting to forge a new future for themselves. Headstrong Beverley tries compulsively to maintain control of everything around her, all while raising two children. Bookish Elsie fights to make a name for herself in the newsroom, working among men who sneer at her career goals. Glamorous Margot prefers partying to homemaking and devotes all her energy to upholding the appearance that everything is fine--anything to quell the shame from her husband's deceit. They know people look at them and think only one thing: How could they not have known what their husbands were doing? How much are they to blame? And yet when a string of local killings hits the news, the three women--underestimated, overlooked, shrewd--decide to get to work. After all, who better to catch a killer than those who have shared their lives and homes with one? At once a riveting portrayal of shattered trust and a story of gripping suspense, The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives is a testament to the intricacies of women's lives and how the deep bonds of female friendship can empower, uplift, and lead us to endure.
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Missing Sister
by Joshilyn Jackson
From the New York Times bestselling author of Never Have I Ever comes a chilling story of sisters and revenge.Revenge...It's all relative.Born three minutes apart, Penny and Nix Albright grew up doing everything together, close as only twins can be. But when Nix dies in a tragic accident soon after college, she leaves behind a cryptic voicemail that has Penny guilt-ridden and desperate for justice. Five Years LaterPenny has found new purpose as a rookie cop. She's working to fulfill Nix's dream of making the world a safer place, but following that dream becomes a nightmare when she's called to her first murder scene. When she sees the victim, she knows him instantly. It's Danny Bowery--one of three men she's long blamed for Nix's death--splayed in a pool of blood outside a posh Atlanta shopping center, almost as if she'd wished it so.Stunned, Penny steps away to catch her breath and discovers a blonde in blood-drenched clothes gripping a box cutter. Before Penny can arrest her, the woman reveals that Bowery's murder is part of a larger story that is far from over. A story about sisters. And with that, the killer disappears.Now, Penny will stop at nothing to pursue this dangerous woman and learn why she's avenging Nix's death. The deeper she dives into the mystery, the less clear it becomes who is hunting whom in this captivating page-turner of hidden motives and deadly consequences.
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This Story Might Save Your Life
by Tiffany Crum
Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different against-all-odds survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy's experience with severe narcolepsy, they've been the best friends everyone wants to befriend - and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy's husband Xander, they've built a lucrative empire. The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander's one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple's disappearance is the incomplete, previously-unseen first draft of Joy's memoir. Benny is desperate to find them, even when the police soon zero in on him as their prime suspect. Millions of devoted listeners think they know the real Benny and Joy. But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world - and from each other-- Provided by publisher.
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The Keeper
by Tana French
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunter and the queen of Irish crime fiction (Time), an atmospheric tale of buried secrets, betrayals, and a small town on the brink of implosion On a quiet night in a remote Irish village, a girl turns up dead in a river. The truth behind her death could bring the town down with her. Cal Hooper, a former Chicago detective who moved to West Ireland in search of a quieter life, has mostly been able to sidestep the local drama. His days have fallen into a simple rhythm, sharing his fixer-upper with his fiancée, Lena, and the once-feral Trey Reddy, who he's helped raise to be a fierce and headstrong teenager. But when a seedy businessman and his hot-tempered son start snapping up land across the countryside, the trio begin to suspect a connection between their scheme and the girl's death, plunging them unwillingly into the town's tangled web of vicious rumors and generations-old grudges. As tensions boil over, Cal must uncover the secrets that threaten to tear apart the village--and his loved ones' lives--before there's nothing left to save. One of the greatest crime novelists writing today (Vox) crafts a masterwork of suspense about the tragedies that bind us, the lengths we'd go to unearth the truth, and what's at stake when we let things go, bringing the story of one of her most beloved characters to a spellbinding conclusion.
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The Best Little Motel in Texas
by Lyla Lane
A sharp, funny mystery bursting with heart and small-town secrets. I adored every page of The Best Little Motel in Texas - pure escapist joy with a wicked edge. -- Joanna Wallace, author of You'd Look Better as a Ghost An overall, absolute delight. - Booklist, starred review A charming, edgy mystery about a young woman who unexpectedly inherits the best little motel in Texas - replete with a feisty set of golden working girls, a poisoned priest, and a sleepy hometown thrown into chaos.After a childhood spent combing the dive bars of Sarsaparilla Falls to collect her fun-loving momma, Cordelia West now enjoys a simple, respectable life in Dallas. Then one phone call from the hometown she's spent years trying to forget throws it into chaos.Cordelia's great-aunt Penelope has passed away, naming Cordelia the sole heir to the Chickadee Motel. She has no memory of a great-aunt and no interest in hospitality, but the will stipulates that the motel can't be sold until its residents leave or pass away - so she reluctantly heads back down to Sarsaparilla Falls to figure out who's living in the Chickadee, and how to get them out.But upon her arrival, Cordelia discovers the Chickadee isn't a motel--it's a brothel, housing three women in their sixties known as the Chicks. For decades, Daisy, Arline, and Belinda Sue have entertained the men of Sarsaparilla Falls (with their wives' blessings)--including the upright Pastor Reed-Smythe, who thunders against the town's favorite sins when he's not indulging. Cordelia doesn't want to be a hotel manager or a madam, but she can't just sell the only home the Chicks have known--especially not after the pastor is found poisoned in Daisy's bed.With the Chicks--and the town--on the verge of a breakdown, Cordelia steps up to mop up the mess. For a small town, there are plenty of suspects: could it be the obsessed nurse with access to arsenic? Developers eager to gobble up the land? The righteously angry town librarian? Things are heating up in Sarsaparilla Falls, and with the Pastor's obnoxiously attractive son Archer--Cordelia's childhood nemesis--investigating the Chicks and getting close, straightlaced Cordelia may just have to get a little dirty to make a killer come clean.
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The Drowned Siren
by Callisto Lodwick
Eleanor Sanders' friends are dead. Everyone knows that. But the exact circumstances of their deaths... she'll take that to the grave. She was driven by success. Now, she's driven by obsession. After years of being viewed as plain and boring, university student Eleanor is thrilled when the beautiful Cheyenne notices her and starts showering her with attention. Soon, the lines between friendship and love become blurred, at least for Eleanor. Until she realises that Cheyenne's love isn't unconditional ... Years later, Eleanor's life has changed completely. After moving to LA to pursue her dreams, she now lives mostly in isolation. Her days are spent locked up in her hotel suite, dreaming up revenge fantasies. As her past and present collide, Eleanor is forced to ask the question she dreads most: what happens when your darkest fantasies become reality?
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Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart
by Emma Simmerman
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder meets Tell Me Lies in this binge-worthy debut murder mystery about a college student whose senior year takes a dark turn when her exes start turning up dead...Every time a guy breaks my heart, I write him a eulogy in my journal. It's kind of my thing--closure through creative mourning. They don't actually die... or, at least, they didn't.Now? These guys aren't just dead to me, they're dead to everyone. And I'm the prime suspect.With my senior year at Pembroke College--and my entire future--on the line, I've got no choice but to play detective. Unfortunately, that means teaming up with my long-standing frenemy, Asher, who is insufferable and somehow always there when I need him the least. We bicker, we banter, we occasionally almost hook up, but with the body count rising and my name all over the suspect board, there's no time to get distracted. Between college parties, messy exes, suspicious deaths, and a murder investigation I never asked to be a part of--one thing's for sure: this is not how I thought my last year would go.Here's to hoping I can find out who the real killer is... before someone ends up writing my eulogy.As bingeable as your favorite Netflix series, Emma Simmerman has managed to spin a story that is both spicy and suspenseful, mixed with humor and heart. Chock-full of witty banter, a messy protagonist you can't help but root for, and an intriguing mystery at the center of it all, HERE LIE ALL THE BOYS WHO BROKE MY HEART is one seriously entertaining debut. -- Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of Forget Me Not
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Ours Is a Tale of Murder
by Nora Murphy
A shocking collision made all the more satisfying by Murphy's brilliant twists...Clear your schedule-you won't be putting this down until that last, mesmerizing page. -Carter Wilson, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of Tell Me What You Did One quiet neighborhood Three different families Bound by murder Klara never wanted the house with the white picket fence. Troy never wanted anything else. Nothing is quite right with this happy couple, but they fit right in. The mother in the blue house, Mary, is cleaning out her son's old room before she sells, haunted by the mistakes of her past and afraid of what her home has become. Next door, Henry, freshly laid off and back living with his parents, has plenty of time to watch everyone-especially wives. He knows something is wrong. But then then nothing is quite as it seems, and sometimes you miss what is right in front of you. Murder will soon thread its way through this world in ways no one will see coming-unless you've been plotting all along-- Provided by publisher.
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A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage
by Mk Oliver
A whip-smart and darkly funny crime novel--perfect for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Maid--that follows a wife and mother with a deadly secret that she must suppress if she wants to maintain her picture-perfect façade. Meet Lalla Rook. Lalla has a lot on her plate: She needs to guarantee her husband makes partner, secure her dream house in Hampstead, and get her daughter into a prestigious prep school. And on the afternoon she stabs a stranger seven times after he breaks into her living room, she has a four-year-old's birthday party to host. With an unambitious partner, two demanding children, and a barely adequate large house in a nice (if not quite fashionable) part of town, Lalla's life isn't quite perfect yet. And she can't pretend she hasn't missed the adrenaline rush that comes with transgressing. Besides, as a wife and mother, she's already an expert multi-tasker. So, disposing of a body, framing a friend, and being the world's best mother can easily be managed alongside the usual domestic minutiae. It's just that her husband Stephen seems distracted, her daughter's drowning of the class hamster is affecting her academic future, and then there is the unexpected intruder. Who is this man and what does he want from her? Because Lalla has a past she'd rather keep hidden--and the sudden appearance of the police means that avoiding them will be yet another task to cross off her to-do list. Funny, calculating, hypercompetent, and ambitious, Lalla is your next favorite antiheroine. Just don't mention it to her mother-in-law.
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I'm Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home
by Fergus Craig
After a decades-long stint in prison, former serial killer Carol is looking to kick back and relax in her new retirement home...until a fellow resident drops dead and Carol has to prove she actually didn't do it this time... Carol is delighted to be leaving her tiny prison cell behind to take her place in a luxury retirement home. She's hoping her past as a serial killer won't come to light so she can make a few friends and find some murder-free hobbies. But it's not long before a fellow resident-who happens to be a former police commissioner-drops dead, and Carol's true identity is leaked-making catching up over daily activities of bingo and baking rather awkward. Just her luck, Carol soon realizes that the victim wasn't the only former law enforcement officer at Sheldon Oaks-it's filled to the brim with former cops, barristers, and government representatives, her newfound friends included. And everyone thinks Carol's guilt is a no-brainer, but she is ready to prove them dead wrong...without killing anyone, for once-- Provided by publisher.
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