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Must-Read Books September 2026 |
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| Crocodilopolis by John Manuel AriasAfter his brother, Costa Rica's minister of the environment, prosecuted him while he headed an oil refinery, Seth has been in exile in Washington, D.C. But now he's planning his return home and plotting revenge on his sibling. Moving across time and focused on the two brothers and their politically connected family, this evocative novel explores power, masculinity, and privilege. Try this next: Tom Lin's The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu. |
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The Radiance
by Ayad Akhtar
When a hit-and-run shatters more than his body, a writer is plunged into a spiritual awakening he can't tell from madness. In its grip, he's drawn to a brilliant campus colleague by an uncanny pull, and into a scandal that threatens to destroy them both. What begins as a provocative portrait of academic and cultural warfare deepens into erotic entanglement, the exposure of a family secret, and the mystery surrounding the narrator's accident--both the violence and its aftermath. Moving between rural America and Europe, Islam and Christianity, the intimate and the metaphysical, The Radiance is of our American moment and beyond it--asking not only what has broken, but what radiance remains.
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Our Noble Selves
by Kate Atkinson
When crime correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn returns to Britain from Singapore in 1945, he takes a quiet job with the Festival of Britain, a government-funded endeavor aimed at celebrating the nation's creativity, grit, and ingenuity. There, he joins a team of misfits and eccentrics as they help to ready the Festival for launch. When a Frenchwoman goes missing, Flynn becomes the central suspect in her disappearance--and possible murder. He was the last person to see her alive, yet he has no memory of the evening they spent together.
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| In Stormy Weather by Chelsea CurtoMeteorologists and longtime rivals Quincy Monroe and Sebastian Dunn, who are competing for the same job at the National Weather Service, reluctantly team up to cover a record-breaking Florida hurricane season in this action-packed enemies-to-lovers romance. Try this next: Chase Me If You Can by Heather Frances. |
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| If Books Could Kill by Kate EberleWhen her wish to be the main character in romance novelist Anna Matthews' next book is magically granted, lovelorn Roxie Mitchell discovers that Anna has pivoted to thrillers...and that Roxie's so-called dream guy is actually trying to kill her. With the help of crime fiction-loving English professor Grant Hoffman, Roxie sets off on a globetrotting adventure to track down the killer -- and hopefully return to the real world. For fans of: meta romantic comedies like How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson. |
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| Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang; translated by Shanna Tan Yoohee's popular plant shop is known for reviving struggling plants -- but some customers seek help with far more dangerous problems. When abusive men begin disappearing, a determined detective starts asking questions. This darkly witty and atmospheric suspense novel pairs botanical charm with sharp social commentary, emotional depth, and satisfying vigilante justice. |
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| Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LacourIn 1944 New Orleans, 18-year-old Odette, from a Creole family, and her cousin Delphine share secrets, including Odette's affair with a woman and Delphine's with a married white man. To avoid Jim Crow, Odette and her sisters move to California. Passing as white, Delphine moves, too, eventually running into Odette. Inspired by the author's Creole family, this novel is "a masterpiece" (Booklist). Read-alikes: Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul; Kin by Tayari Jones. |
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| Runner by Ashton LattimoreIn 1923 Martha's Vineyard, a mysterious shipwreck kills Lena Jameson's father and his crew, so Lena takes over his rum-running business instead of attending college. With help from her brother, her on-and-off boyfriend, and Dee, a glamorous young woman with secrets, Lena branches out to Boston and Harlem while also investigating what caused her dad's shipwreck. For fans of: suspenseful Prohibition-era novels; atmospheric historical fiction featuring ground-breaking Black women. |
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| Die for Me by Shirlene ObuobiWhen cardiologist Sean Sullivan meets Julian Conrad, a mysterious younger man, at a wedding, the two have instant chemistry. But Sean can't shake the feeling that Julian is hiding something -- and he might just be something other than human. For fans of: steamy, own voices paranormal romances like Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi. |
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Mazywood
by Tananarive Due
When Johnny--a filmmaker and grandson of the famous Black actress Mazelle Washington--brings his family to Mazywood, the secluded California mountain lodge left behind by his grandmother, he expects a quiet retreat. Instead, he uncovers a legacy of rage, secrets, and terror that has haunted his family for generations. Set primarily in the present day, with haunting flashbacks to Hollywood's Golden Age, Mazywood explores three generations while following Johnny as he pieces together the true story of his grandmother.
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| The Masala Chai Mystery Club by MJ SoniAt loose ends after being forced to retire early, librarian Neeti Shah turns amateur sleuth after her New England neighbor dies in a fall. Was it an accident or murder? Many people wanted the unpleasant man dead, leading Neeti to think his death was deliberate, so she teams up with her niece and her mystery-loving friends to solve the case. For fans of: Eva Gates; Uzma Jalaluddin; Richard Thorogood. |
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| Misery's Wife by Joan TierneyElixane was too young to remember much about her elder sisters before they were each stolen away to wed the magical beings known as the King of the Air, the King of the Sea, and the King of Misery. But now that she's older, she sets off on a journey, determined to save them with all the luck and courage she can muster. This queer and cli-fi influenced retelling of a Portuguese folktale is a great choice for fans of J.R. Dawson's The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World and Rose Sutherland's A Sweet Sting of Salt. |
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| The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate WestburyIn 1951 Oxford, England, Gin Bishop is a clever student with no plans to marry the well-to-do man her aristocratic father has selected, while Sidney Braithwaite, a veteran and former spy, studies Latin and Greek. At first, Gin and Sidney annoy each other, but when a kindly librarian is murdered and they learn he had been tracking a Soviet agent, they team up to investigate in this "cracking good debut" (Kirkus Reviews). For fans of: Susan Elia MacNeal. |
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| The Spy Keeper of Marseille by Roseanna M. WhiteIn Nazi-occupied France, newly widowed Zelie Bellerose joins the Resistance, becoming a leader against all odds. She works with pianist Marcel Laurent, who gathers intelligence from loose-lipped music patrons and airs coded messages during radio performances. Zelie and Marcel grow close, but their world is steeped in danger. "Profound and masterful," raves Booklist. Read-alikes: Elizabeth Musser's From the Valley We Rise; Sarah Sundin's Until Leaves Fall in Paris. |
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| Etna by Paul YoonAfter Etna is selected from his farm by Soojin, who can communicate with animals, he becomes a United States military dog, sniffing out bombs and more amid an unnamed war in an unnamed country. The conflict ends after four years, and Etna quietly leaves one evening to try to find his way back home. Traveling a desolate land, he encounters others, human and animal, trying to restart their lives. For fans of: The Odyssey; thought-provoking stories narrated by dogs. |
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How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time
by Sarah Longwell
Featuring a foreword by Jonathan V. Last. After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Sarah Longwell did what she's done nearly every week for the past eight years: She sat down with voters. She conducted hundreds of focus groups, listening to thousands of ordinary Americans--Republicans, Democrats, and the politically homeless--with the goal of understanding politics through the eyes of the people who will decide our country's future. American voters, and what they want for their country, are at the heart of How to Eat an Elephant.
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| The Biggest Lie: The Prehistory of American Fascism, 1818-1915 by Joseph KellyHistorian Joseph Kelly's well-researched revisionist account explores the origins of American fascism in the Antebellum South, detailing how the 1818 Missouri Compromise helped advance the ideology. Further reading: The Secret War Against Hate: American Resistance to Antisemitism and White Supremacy by Steven J. Ross. |
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The Only Thing There Is to Want: A Memoir of Three Loves
by Sarah Hepola
Sarah Hepola wanted so much: a big career; travel and adventure; deep relationships; passion. Having realized so many of those desires, she also grieved the ways her life was not what she'd always imagined it would be. Did I make the wrong choices? she wondered. Love the wrong people? Is love even a choice? In The Only Thing There Is To Want, she revisits three complicated love affairs from her past, seeking to understand how they might have kept her from the life she'd envisioned, but also made her who she is. Tracing her search for love, she uncovers the myths she once believed could make her whole. This dazzling portrait of modern romance captures the paradox of desire: wanting propels us forward and holds us back. Funny, achingly tender, and fearlessly intimate, The Only Thing There Is to Want is about discovering the beauty in the life you've built.
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The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic
by Malcolm Gladwell
The United States has far more homicides than any of its peers around the world. Why? In this groundbreaking book, Malcolm Gladwell explores the American peculiarity--how the world's wealthiest country came to suffer from a problem typically only seen in the world's poorest countries. Drawing on original interviews, archival and social science research, and his trademark insight, Gladwell approaches the American paradox through a series of stories. What can we learn from the miracle of a young gunshot victim in Washington, D.C.? How have the legal troubles of a seventeenth-century English knight influenced American attempts at gun control? Why would a European police chief be baffled by the graduation ceremony at any American police academy? In a sweeping narrative, Gladwell travels from a shooting range in North Carolina, to the South Side of Chicago, to an old plantation house in Alabama, painting a picture of a country that does not understand its most pressing social problem, and as result, does not understand how to fix it.
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| No Place on Earth by Andrea Beatriz ArangoAfter his parents separate, anxious Puerto Rican 11-year-old Gustavo moves with his mom to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. There, his anxiety dreams get even worse -- until he meets new classmate Kordell inside a shared dreamscape. This hopeful and emotionally powerful read blends fantasy with realistic mental health challenges. |
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| Nest of Tongues by Randy RibaySiblings Lily and Caleb are Bay Area teens with a big secret: they’re vampires. When a monster hunter targets Caleb, the two seek to uncover the hunter’s identity before it’s too late. This page-turning horror novel is rooted in Filipino vampire mythology. |
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| Immortal Game by Allison SaftWhen Midir of Bri Leith, the fae High King of the Otherworld, hosts a chess tournament, the prize is the granting of a single wish. Chess grandmaster Shea Fury knows this is her chance to reclaim her sister, lost to the fae realm six years ago. Read-alikes: Malindo Lo’s Huntress; Bex Hogan’s Nettle. |
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| The Skeleton and the Cat by Brandon James ScottIn five bite-sized stories, young readers will get to know an irresistible duo: Skeleton, who lives alone in her cheerful, cozy home; and Cat, who patiently charms his way into Skeleton's quiet life. For fans of: the gentle, quirky vibes of classic easy reader series such as James Marshall's George and Martha or Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad. |
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| That You Are Here Is No Small Thing by Traci N. Todd; illustrated by Vashti HarrisonIn striking illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Vashti Harrison, a ribbon of blue light connects three contemporary Black American children to the diverse diasporic history that makes their lives possible. Publishers Weekly deems this picture book "a reverent reflection on ancestry, cultural memory, and hope." Read-alike: Zetta Elliott's A Song for Juneteenth. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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