Fiction A to Z February 2026 |
|
|
|
| Departure(s) by Julian BarnesStarring a 70-something Booker Prize winner with a fatal illness, Departure(s) is the planned final novel by author Julian Barnes, who shares a name and many similarities with his main character. Exploring art, life, death, and memory while covering the fictional Julian's two matchmaking attempts for the same couple -- once in college and once decades later -- this short but powerful tale is candid and witty. Read-alikes: Paul Auster's Baumgartner. |
|
| Scavengers by Kathleen BolandAfter losing her New York finance job, lonely Bea Macon visits her estranged free-spirited mom, Christy, who's a member of an internet forum devoted to finding a hidden treasure. With an online boyfriend and a plan, Christy heads to the desert and Bea tags along. This character-driven debut novel explores mother-daughter relationships and has an evocative Utah setting and romantic elements. For a more romance-forward treasure hunting tale, try Christina Lauren's Something Wilder. |
|
| Sheer by Vanessa LawrenceIn 2015 New York, 40-something beauty mogul Maxine Thomas has been suspended after a transgression. As she awaits her fate from the board, she ponders her past, including her 1980s childhood in the New Jersey suburbs and growing her business in college and beyond. This compelling tale provides a revealing look at the beauty industry, ambition, and secrets. For fans of: Mona Awad's Rouge. |
|
| The Hitch by Sara LevineOpinionated Rose Cutler is excited to watch her six-year-old nephew Nathan and feed him vegan food while his parents vacation in Mexico. But things go bad when Rose's Newfoundland dog kills a corgi at the park, leading Nathan to proclaim the corgi is actually alive, its soul melded to his own. As Nathan acts strangely, Rose wonders if he might be right in this darkly humorous, offbeat tale. |
|
| How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigleyGrowing up in 1980s Wyoming as Reagan rules and the tabloids follow Charles and Diana's engagement, sisters Georgie and Aggie face racism as the only Brown kids around. Then, when their uncle and his family leave India and move in with them, the sexual abuse starts. The girls blame the abuse on various things as they plot to kill their uncle in this inventive, short debut novel featuring magazine-style quizzes. Try this next: Essie Chambers' Swift River. |
|
| This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal MueenuddinSpanning decades, this moving, lyrical look at life and social class in modern-day Pakistan follows memorable characters, from orphaned Bayazid, who rises to the position of chauffeur to Hisham, who's the heir to a large estate, to Hisham himself, who attended college in the United States, as well as others connected to these two. "This is a masterpiece," raves Publishers Weekly. Read-alike: When the Fireflies Dance by Aisha Hassan. |
|
| The Award by Matthew PearlIn Cambridge, Massachusetts, aspiring author David Trent and his girlfriend rent the upper floor in a house belonging to well-known writer Silas Hale. But while David dreams of mentorship, he gets the cold shoulder. That is, until he wins an award and Silas invites him to a literary party, which leads to murder and more in this witty send-up of the writing life. Read-alikes: Daniel Aleman's I Might Be in Trouble; R.F. Kuang's Yellowface. |
|
| Crux by Gabriel TallentIn California's Mojave Desert, two high school seniors share a tight friendship and a passion for rock climbing, though neither has money for good gear. While Dan dreams of college and his mom sacrifices to pay for it, Tamma wants to be a pro climber but must help her troubled family. For fans of: Allegra Goodman's Sam; suspenseful, richly detailed novels; character-driven stories about friendship. |
|
| The Jaguar's Roar by Micheliny VerunschkAn Indigenous girl and boy in Brazil are kidnapped by German scientists during a colonial expedition in 1817 and taken to Europe, where they die within months. Meanwhile, in contemporary São Paulo, a young woman sees pictures of the children in a museum, causing her to reflect on the horrors of the past in this English language debut by Brazilian author Micheliny Verunschk. For fans of: non-linear stories imbued with magical realism. |
|
| The Pelican Child: Stories by Joy WilliamsIn her latest collection, "a gift from a master of the form" (Publishers Weekly), author Joy Williams includes 12 lyrical, witty, and surreal tales, including "Nettle," "After the Haiku Period," and "Baba Iaga & The Pelican Child." For another acclaimed story collection, try: Margaret Atwood's Old Babes in the Wood. |
|
|
|
The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-GwangOn the outskirts of Rainbow Town, there is an old, abandoned house. They say that if you send a letter detailing your misfortunes there, you could receive a ticket. If you bring this ticket to the house on the first day of the rainy season, you'll be granted entrance into the mysterious Rainfall Market--where you can choose to completely change your life. No one is more surprised than Serin when she receives a ticket. Lonely and with no real prospects for a future, Serin ventures to the market, determined to create a better life for herself. There she meets a magical cat companion named Issha and they search through bookstores, perfumeries, and magical realms while Serin tries to determine what her perfect life will look like-- Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. Sharon Forks Library |
|
|
|
Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as human computers used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future. Saturday, March 07 at 11:00 a.m. Denmark Library |
|
|
|
The God of the Woods by Liz MooreA 13-year-old girl disappears in 1975 from the Adirondack summer camp that her wealthy parents own...just as her brother did 14 years earlier. This intricately plotted literary mystery includes various points of view as it compellingly details the searches for each of the siblings while exploring family, crime, and class. For fans of: All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers. Tuesday, March 10th at 7:00pm Forsyth Conference Center |
|
|
|
Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family's peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado-the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses. Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known, fleeing into the surrounding mountains, where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. Set amid Colorado's wild beauty, the heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. A tragic and uplifting novel of love and loss, family and survival, and hope. Wednesday, March 11 at 10:00 a.m. Post Road Library |
|
|
|
The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie BauerleinThis is the true story of Alex Murdaugh's violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case. Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator--the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers' association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family's law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family's 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect--and fear--for a hundred miles. When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex's world could no longer hold. To unwind the roots of Alex's ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina's Lowcountry. Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex's life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told. Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m. Sharon Forks |
|
|
|
The Night Circusby Erin MorgensternWaging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways. A first novel. Saturday, March 21 at 10:30 p.m. Hampton Park Library |
|
|
|
The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan MirandaAs a child, Arden Maynor was swept away while sleepwalking during a terrifying rainstorm. Found alive days later clinging to a storm drain, the girl from Widow Hills was a living miracle. Arden's mother wrote a book. Now a young woman living hundreds of miles away, Arden goes by Olivia. With the twentieth anniversary of her rescue approaching, the media will inevitably renew its interest in Arden. Then Olivia begins sleepwalking again. One night she jolts awake in her yard-- and at her feet is the corpse of a man she knows from her previous life. Tuesday, March 24 at 2:00 p.m. Post Road Library |
|
|
|
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Agatha ChristieFor the first time in forty-five years, Agatha Christie's legendary sleuth Jane Marple returns to solve twelve baffling cases penned by a host of acclaimed authors skilled in the fine art of mystery and murder. In St. Mary Mead, a Christmas dinner is interrupted by unexpected guests; the Broadway stage in New York City is set for a dangerous improvisation; bad omens surround an untimely death aboard a cruise ship to Hong Kong; and a bestselling writer on holiday in Italy is caught in a nefarious plot. These and other crimes committed in the name of love, jealousy, blackmail, and revenge are ones that only the indomitable Jane Marple can solve. A triumphant celebration of Christie's legacy and essential reading for crime lovers, Marple is a timely reminder of why Jane Marple remains one of the most famous detectives of all time. Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m. Cumming Library |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books! |
|
|