September 2025 list by Holly Whistler |
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Typewriter Beach
by Meg Waite Clayton
Aspiring star Isabella Giori and blacklisted writer Léon Chazan forge a bond on California's foggy coast in 1957, while in 2018, Léon's granddaughter Gemma uncovers long-buried secrets about identity, authorship, and hidden history in the ruins of Hollywood's golden age.
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A Bookseller in Madrid
by Mario Escobar
An exciting and rigorously documented novel by one of the most translated and read Spanish authors in the world, this hopeful and inspiring story in the face of the horror of intolerance is, above all, an indisputable tribute to literature.
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Not They Who Soar
by Amanda Flower
Katharine Wright, sister of the flying Wright Brothers, attends the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis with best friend Margaret Goodwin Meacham and stumbles upon a woman who says“aeronautics competition” before dying, and Katharine convinces Margaret to help her investigate.
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Our Last Vineyard Summer
by Brooke Lea Foster
After her father's death, Betsy hopes to spend the summer with her boyfriend, but her mother calls Betsy and her sisters to Martha's Vineyard, announcing that they must sell their summer house to pay their father's debts, and the women must decide if the home they love is worth saving.
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Before Dorothy
by Hazel Gaynor
Chicago, 1924: Emily Gale and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle of Chicago behind for the promise of their own American dream. But leaving the city means leaving Emily's beloved sister, Annie, who was once closer to her than anyone in the world. Kansas, 1932: Emily and Henry have made a life in the warmth of the community of Liberal, Kansas, and their lives hold a precarious and hopeful purpose, until tragedy strikes and their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep.
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Calamity James
by William W. Johnstone
Haunted by legendary misfortune, Calvin“Calamity” James stumbles through major moments in American history—from Chicago's great fire to infamous shootouts—while chasing a dancehall girl and unwisely joining his outlaw brothers, only to find his luck spiraling further out of control.
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The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey
by Kathleen Kaufman
Gifted medium Nairna Liath flees an itinerant life with her deceptive father in rural Scotland and rises in elite Spiritualist circles in Edinburgh and Boston, where visions of her imprisoned grandmother draw her toward a fateful confrontation with her past and her power.
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Angel Down
by Daniel Kraus
World War I soldier Cyril Bagger and his squad venture into No Man's Land on a mission, only to discover a fallen angel whose fate could end the war, if they can overcome their own greed, paranoia and darkest instincts.
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A Beacon in the Night
by David Lewis
London, 1941. Britain has endured the relentless bombing campaign of the Blitz and emerged, scarred but unbroken. Caitrin, too, strives to weather each challenge that comes her way, though her ever-ready banter belies deep heartbreak and loss.
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Anima Rising
by Christopher Moore
Vienna, 1911. Gustav Klimt, the most famous painter in the Austrian Empire, the darling of Viennese society, spots a woman's nude body in the Danube canal. He knows he should summon a policeman, but he can't resist stopping to make a sketch first. And as he draws, the woman coughs. She's alive!
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Mrs Spy
by M. J. Robotham
Maggie Flynn isn't your typical 1960s mum. She's a spy, an unsuspecting operative for MI5, stalking London's streets in myriad disguises. Widowed and balancing her clandestine career with raising a Beatles-mad teenage daughter, Maggie finds comfort and purpose in her profession – providing a connection to her late husband, whose own covert past only surfaced after his death.
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An Unquiet Peace
by Shaina Steinberg
As an undercover operative for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, Evelyn Bishop routinely embarked on deadly missions. By contrast, civilian life should be simple. Yet Evelyn, now back in Los Angeles, struggles with the responsibility of being the new president of Bishop Aeronautics...With Nick Gallagher, at least, Evelyn can be entirely herself.
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The Midwife of Berlin
by Anna Stuart
1945, Berlin: Ester Pasternak walked out of the gates of Auschwitz barely alive. She survived against devastating odds, but her heartbreaking journey is only just beginning. In the camp, Ester gave birth to a tiny fair-haired infant, only for her precious baby to be snatched from her and given to a German family. Now that the war is over, Ester is desperate to find her little girl.
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Wayward Girls
by Susan Wiggs
In 1968 Buffalo, six teenage girls are sent to the Good Shepherd Refuge, an institution controlled by the Sisters of Charity, for reasons ranging from being gay to rebellious, where they face forced labor, exploitation, and personal struggles while finding strength and solidarity.
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Under the Stars
by Beatriz Williams
Providence Dare vanishes during a steamship disaster near Winthrop Island in 1846, leaving behind a trail of mystery that resurfaces two centuries later when chef Audrey Fisher and her actress mother Meredith uncover hidden paintings and long-buried family secrets that link past and present across generations.
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The Lies They Told
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
In 1930s Virginia, Lena Conti, a young immigrant mother separated from her family at Ellis Island, builds a new life in the Blue Ridge Mountains but must resist a brutal eugenics campaign that targets her community and threatens to take her daughter.
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