Must-Read Books
October 2025

Adult Fiction
One of Us
by Dan Chaon

In 1915, 13-year-old orphaned twins Bolt and Eleanor, who share a psychic connection, run away from a murderous man claiming to be their uncle. They end up with Mr. Jengling’s Emporium of Wonders, which includes a death-foretelling woman and a dog-faced boy. While Bolt settles in, Eleanor doesn’t, and they still have their “uncle” on their trail in this “mesmerizing and macabre historical adventure” (Booklist). For fans of: Amiee Gibbs’ The Carnivale of Curiosities.
Gabriela and His Grace
by Liana De la Rosa

In this steamy 3rd and final Luna Sisters Victorian romance, Mexican heiress Gabriela Luna sparks an unexpected attraction with the arrogant Sebastian, Duke of Whitfield, with whom she is forced to share a ship cabin after fleeing from her would-be suitors. Try this next: A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera.
Guilty by Definition
by Susie Dent

A cryptic letter with references to Shakespeare arrives at the Clarendon English Dictionary offices in Oxford, England. Editor Martha Thornhill thinks the odd missive might be related to her sister’s disappearance a decade earlier, so when more notes appear, Martha and her team work to solve the clues and possibly a crime. This clever debut by English lexicographer and TV presenter Susie Dent will please both mystery fans and language lovers. Try this next: Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg.
Too Old for This
by Samantha Downing

In Samantha Downing’s wry, twist-filled new novel, 75-year-old Lottie Jones -- once a notorious serial killer -- lives quietly under a new identity. But when a journalist starts digging into her past, Lottie must confront old crimes and consider new ones to stay hidden. Murder, however, isn’t so easy at her age.
The Wasp Trap
by Mark Edwards

At a glamorous London dinner party, six old friends are forced into a deadly game: confess their darkest secrets or face elimination. Tied to a long-buried psychological experiment from 1999, their past resurfaces with chilling consequences. The Wasp Trap is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller about truth, betrayal, and hidden psychopaths.
House of Monstrous Women
by Daphne Fama

In 1986 Philippines, Josephine receives a letter from her childhood friend (and rumored witch) Hiraya, inviting her to Hiraya's labyrinthine family estate for a game in which the sole winner will be granted their heart's desire -- and the losers will die. For fans of: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
What We Can Know
by Ian McEwan

Rising seas have changed the landscape of the United Kingdom, where in 2119 Professor Thomas Metcalfe studies every detail he can find about “A Corona for Vivien,” a lost masterpiece read by an esteemed poet at his wife’s 2014 birthday party. In the second half of this eloquent novel, Vivien herself narrates. Try these next: C. Pam Zhang’s Land of Milk and Honey; Eiren Caffall’s All the Water in the World.
Automatic Noodle
by Annalee Newitz

In this cozy near-future novella, a group of decommissioned robots suddenly come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen in San Francisco and decide to make it their own, serving delicious hand-pulled noodles to the humans recovering from the aftermath of war. For fans of: science fiction with hope and heart such as Becky Chambers' Monk & Robot series. 
Blood Slaves
by Markus Redmond

In 1710 North Carolina, enslaved man Willie is nearly killed after a foiled escape attempt, but is offered a chance for freedom -- and revenge -- by fellow captive Rafazi, the last survivor of a centuries-old Ghanaian vampire tribe. Try this next: When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen; the African Immortals series by Tananarive Due.
Buckeye
by Patrick Ryan

On Victory in Europe Day, 1945, while her husband is away in the Pacific, beautiful Margaret shares a celebratory kiss with married hardware store clerk Cal Jenkins, whose physical disability kept him from enlisting. This leads to a connection between their small-town Ohio families for decades, where their sons grow up together but take different paths in the Vietnam era. For fans of: Read with Jenna books; vivid, heartfelt novels about families and war.
The Dead Come to Stay
by Brandy Schillace

Autistic American Jo Jones has relocated to rural England after inheriting a rundown family estate. In her 2nd outing, she once again teams up with handsome detective James MacAdams when her new tenant is killed in a case with links to missing teens. Meanwhile, she unearths more secrets about her ancestors. For fans of: Nita Prose’s Maid novels.
The Gilded Heiress
by Joanna Shupe

In Gilded Age Boston, cash-strapped con artist Leo Hardy meets street performer Josie Smith, who bears a striking resemblance to a New York socialite whose daughter was kidnapped as a child. Leo concocts a scheme to pass Josie off as the daughter so he can collect a sizeable reward, but the pair's growing chemistry makes the deception difficult. For fans of: Anastasia-inspired romances like Kate Bateman's The Princess and the Rogue.
The Incredible Kindness of Paper
by Evelyn Skye

As a lonely child, Chloe makes a yellow origami rose for her new pen pal, whispering details about herself to the paper. When Oliver receives it, he somehow understands. The correspondents grow close as they grow up, until they lose touch. Years later, Chloe leaves paper flowers across Manhattan, where Oliver finds one in this heartwarming, magical tale exploring love and belonging. For fans of: Lynda Cohen Loigman’s The Matchmaker’s Gift.
Lucky Day
by Chuck Tingle

After the Low Probability Event (LPE) kills eight million people in absurd ways, bisexual statistics professor Vera Norrie teams up with Federal LPE Agent Jonah Layne to investigate a Las Vegas casino where the event may have originated, lest further catastrophe strikes. This fast-paced cosmic horror from the author of Bury Your Gays will appeal to fans of Jason Pargin.
Of Monsters and Mainframes
by Barbara Truelove

Demeter, an intelligent interstellar ship that ferries humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri, would rather do anything than ally herself with monsters. However, when an infamous ancient evil begins killing her beloved passengers, she'll have no choice but to assemble a paranormal crew of her own to take him down. For fans of: chilling science fiction horror with authentic and entertaining characters such as Peter Watts' Echopraxia and Mason Coile's William.
Adult Nonfiction
Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History
by Moudhy Al-Rashid

In her accessible and illuminating debut, historian Moudhy Al-Rashid utilizes eight artifacts, including cuneiform tablets and weapon fragments, to explore everyday life and culture in ancient Mesopotamia. Further reading: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World by Selena Wisnom.
Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City
by Bench Ansfield

Historian Bench Ansfield's thought-provoking exposé details the ongoing legacy of the 1970s arson epidemic, exacerbated by corrupt landlords and predatory insurance companies, that plagued urban neighborhoods throughout the United States, particularly in the South Bronx. Try this next: The Killing Fields of East New York: The First Subprime Mortgage Scandal, a White-Collar Crime Spree, and the Collapse of an American Neighborhood by Stacy Horn.
 
Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State
by Caleb Gayle

Journalist Caleb Gayle's compelling and well-researched history offers a nuanced portrait of Black separatist politician and entrepreneur Edward McCabe, whose attempts to establish Black-run communities in the post-Reconstruction Oklahoma Territory spurred the displacement of the Cherokee already living there. Try this next: The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance by Rebecca Clarren.
 
Youth Fiction
Cat Nap
by Brian Lies

After the determined Kitten chases a mouse into a poster for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, their pursuit takes on the styles of ten iconic masterpieces. Kids don’t need any museum knowledge to be fascinated by the hilarious, arresting illustrations (which include stained glass, ceramics, wooden masks, and more), all rendered in meticulous three-dimensional detail by Caldecott Honoree Brian Lies.
The Poisoned King
by Katherine Rundell

Ever since his first excursion, Christopher has been longing to return to the Archipelago, a hidden realm of mythological animals. So when he’s summoned by a dragon, Christopher is thrilled to follow it into a mystery involving a sphinx, a spreading poison, and a small girl bent on revenge. This exciting, illustrated sequel will be most fun if you’ve already read Impossible Creatures.
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories
by Cynthia Leitich Smith, editor

Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In is a food truck that appears wherever Indigenous people across North America need to meet. It provides the setting for the linked stories in this touching and magical anthology that takes readers from Hawai’i to Alaska to Manitoba and many liminal places in between.
Scarlet Morning
by N.D. Stevenson

Abandoned in the boring town of Caveat, orphans Wilmur and Viola trade their only valuable possession -- the mysterious Book -- to pirate captain Cadence Chase in exchange for a voyage on the high seas. But the secrets they uncover on the journey might have deadly consequences. Packed with complex characters and swashbuckling adventure, this illustrated fantasy from the creator of Nimona kicks off a new series. 
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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