|
|
New Fiction December 16, 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
Disinheritance: The Rediscovered Stories
by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala began publishing fiction in 1956 and continued to do so until her death in 2013. Her short stories have appeared in various journals and magazines, many of them in The New Yorker. Disinheritance showcases some of the finest of these efforts, all demonstrating Jhabvala's powers of keen observation as she examines the westernization of India's middle class, the interplay of social and romantic ambition, and the social mores that plague her characters, regardless of their geographical background. Salman Rushdie has described her as a rootless intellectual, and John Updike called her an initiated outsider. All these qualities shine in this very special collection, with stories undiscovered for decades. Including an introduction from the author's 1979 lecture when awarded the Neil Gunn Prize in Scotland, Disinheritance balances a host of cultural influences to showcase Jhabvala's signature voice and her buoyant, satiric fiction-- Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
Winter Stories
by Ingvild Rishøi
The internationally acclaimed and nationally bestselling author of Brightly Shining returns with a trio of tender, powerful stories of courage and overcoming adversity. Ingvild Rish i is one of Scandinavia's most revered literary voices, winner of the Dobloug Prize from the Swedish Academy, and her American debut Brightly Shining made her into a national bestseller and earned her a wide English-language readership. Now, in the highly acclaimed and award-winning Winter Stories, Rish i paints three vivid and evocative portraits of the lives of those existing on the fringes of society. A young mother in financial trouble tries to steal a pair of underwear in front of the watchful eyes of her young daughter. A man fresh out of prison struggles to reintegrate into a daunting society and become a better father to his son. Three siblings run away and seek refuge in a remote cabin untouched by time in a desperate bid to keep their family from being torn apart. In these powerful and emotionally charged tales, Rish i delves into the complexities of family, poverty, and forgiveness, exploring the human desire for a better life, the longing for change, and the difficult choices we must sometimes make to protect those we love. Winter Stories is a masterful triptych from a major international writer renowned for her ability to say a great deal in few words. It is a poignant reminder of the power of hope, loyalty, and unexpected kindness during dark times.
|
|
|
|
The Ferryman and His Wife
by Frode Grytten
A LIBRARY READS PICK AND ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2025 In the spirit of Amor Towles and George Saunders, the renowned, bestselling Norwegian author Frode Grytten takes readers on a quietly epic journey: ferry driver Nils Vik's last route along the fjord, on what he knows will be his last day alive. Nils Vik wakes up on November the 18th and knows it will be the day he dies. He follows his morning routine as voices from his past echo in his mind, and looks around the empty house one last time, before stepping onto his beloved boat. His dog, dead these many years, leaps aboard with him, and then the other dead begin to emerge - from the woods along the fjord, from each of the ferry stops along the route, from his logbook full of memories and quotations and jotted-down notes about the weather conditions. The people from the past accompany him now, prodding him, showing him what he might have missed before, as he waits for his Marta, his late, remarkable wife, to finally join him on the boat again. Winner of the prestigious Brage Prize, and considered to be Grytten's long-awaited masterpiece, The Ferryman and His Wife is the story of a quiet, yet utterly profound, life told in reverse. Timeless and absorbing, this is a novel about what we take with us - those moments that might seem insignificant as they happen but prove to be the most meaningful, in the end.
|
|
|
|
Whites: Stories
by Mark Doten
Corrosive stories about the insatiable logic of Whiteness, by one of Granta's Best of Young American Novelists
|
|
|
|
Never Over
by Clare Gilmore
Twenty-five-year-old Paige Lancaster is one contract away from earning a living doing her favorite thing in the world: writing songs. But when a music industry professional suggests she might be holding back with her lyrics to lessen the heartbreak of an old flame, Paige doubts if her music is ready to be heard. In a rare, impulsive move, Paige reaches out to Liam Bishop after four years of no-contact to ask him for a small favor: date her, and then re-break her heart, all so she can remember what those big, songworthy emotions felt like. And since Liam is the one who first set Paige on this career path, he hesitantly agrees. Across two months of Liam's summer work travel, the exes are forced to share hotel beds, rehash the past, and date in the present, all while navigating the building attraction between them they both swore was the one line of their agreement they wouldn't cross. But when it becomes near impossible not to act on their rippling chemistry, and as ever intensifying feelings blur reality with what's driven by the music, Paige and Liam will both have to decide which is more important: art for the sake of it, or love over everything.
|
|
|
|
The Burial Tide
by Neil Sharpson
On an eerily quiet island off the coast of Ireland, a woman with no memory claws her way out of her grave and back to life. But not everyone welcomes the return of Mara Fitch. An island with a terrible secret. Inishbannock. Where strange misshapen figures watch from the trees and the roads are covered in teeth. Where two brothers gamble for nothing, the doctor only treats one patient, and the pub owner speaks in riddles. Where a poet loses and finds his soul. And a man without a heart claims he's the key to unlocking Mara's secrets. A past that refuses to stay buried. As Mara returns to her life on this upside-down island, her memories begin to leech their way back to the surface. The more she remembers, the more the village will do anything to stop her.
|
|
|
|
Starting from Here
by Paula Saunders
"A Midwestern girl balances her dreams of becoming a dancer with the complications of growing up on her own, far from her working-class family, in this stirring, stunning novel about the desire for a certain kind of life and the quest to find it." -Meg Wolitzer
"The sharp physicality of Paula Saunders's writing hooked me; it was utterly engrossing to feel chills, hunger and lust through the body of this young dancer.--Miranda July, New York Times bestselling author of All Fours.
She could look in the mirror and see it all happening, everything she'd dreamed of, the potential everyone had seen in her blossoming right in front of her eyes, as if her spirit and flesh were merging, being born as one into light. More than anything, René wants to be a dancer. Eve, her mother, supports René despite the overwhelming financial burden and increasing tension her training places on the family. But one thing is clear: René's dreams are never going to come true in Rapid City, South Dakota, circa 1973. Setting in motion a journey that will transform her from the inside out, René is sent to train alongside stick-thin, sculpted girls in Phoenix, then on to Denver and beyond, encountering along the way a dazzling sequence of eccentric and sometimes dangerous characters: creepy dads, mean girls, predatory radio announcers, kindly ex-opera singers, sham teachers, and avaricious cult leaders. Through it all, René pushes herself, doing everything she can to excel at her art while at the same time finding her way through the trials of adolescence. But leaving home is not the same as escaping it. And try as she might, René can't quite shake the aching she has for someone to love and accept her just the way she is, dancer or not, successful or not, perfect or imperfect. Lyrical and incisive, Starting from Here is a story of facing the many challenges and terrors of girlhood, of reaching for something that exceeds your grasp, of the enduring contradictions of familial love, of right steps and wrong turns, and of somehow finding your way from wherever you are to wherever you need to go.
|
|
|
|
Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting
by Richard Chizmar
New York Times bestselling author Richard Chizmar, one of horror's indispensable writers (Paste), and his son W.H. Chizmar, critically acclaimed author of Them (hailed by New York Times bestselling author Josh Malerman as one of the best debuts I've ever read) present a riveting found footage narrative about doomed thrill-seekers trapped in a haunted lighthouse. Longtime residents of Harper's Cove believe that something is wrong with the Widow's Point Lighthouse. Some say it's cursed. Others claim it's haunted. Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse's construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. That tragic accident was never explained, and it was just the beginning of the terror. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds. The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since- until now. Told across two harrowing incidents from 2017 and 2025, those who enter the Widow's Point Lighthouse searching for supernatural proof and the next big thing find themselves cut off from the outside world. And although no one has recently stepped foot inside the structure, they are not alone. In this remarkable collaboration, father and son writing team, Richard and W.H. Chizmar combine forces to tell a terrifying ghost story that will make you think twice about what's waiting for you in the dark.
|
|
|
|
The Award
by Matthew Pearl
David Trent is an aspiring novelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, trying to navigate his ambitions in a place that has writers around every corner. He lives in an apartment above a Very Famous Author named Silas Hale who, beneath his celebrated image, is a bombastic, vindictive monster who refuses to allow his new neighbor even to make eye contact with him--until young David wins a prestigious award for his new book. Suddenly Silas is interested--if intensely spiteful. But soon, the administrator of the award comes to David with alarming news, forcing the writer into a desperate set of choices.
|
|
|
|
A Tour to Die for: A Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mystery
by Michelle Chouinard
In Michelle Chouinard's A Tour to Die For, Capri Sanzio is back, giving a true crime tour her guests won't soon forget. After all, a tour guide who specializes in serial killers knows better than most that San Francisco is a city with killer charm.
|
|
|
|
Mrs Pargeter's Past
by Simon Brett
Mrs Pargeter's friends know two important details about her marriage to her late husband. First, that it was blissfully happy. And second, that Mr Pargeter was not a man to bring his work home with him. So, while the chance of her ever being asked by the police what he did for a living is, naturally, remote, Mrs Pargeter would be able to reply, in all honesty, that she doesn't know. What she does know is that Mr Pargeter's former associates are all respectable members of society, and if they were ever criminals, they are now 100% reformed. So when she learns that Short Head Shimmings, her late husband's former accountant, has fallen on hard times, she springs into action, checkbook at the ready. But Short Head has borrowed from the wrong people, and the infamous Batinga Brothers aren't out for his money- they're out for blood. The only way to save Short Head is to dismantle their criminal empire. But how can the highly law-abiding Mrs Pargeter, whose only weapons are her charm, her quick wits and her little black book of Mr Pargeter's contacts, hope to do such an impossible thing?
|
|
|
|
A Special Interest in Murder
by Mette Ivie Harrison
A brilliant neurodivergent female sleuth colliding with an FBI agent with a secret. A crime that is not all it seems. A page-turning, red-herring-filled murder mystery, perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz. Ada Latia is twenty-four years old. She used to be the youngest millionaire in the cosmetics industry. She used to be married. Now, she spends her time studying ways to communicate with aliens. After all, aliens could not possibly be more cruel or deceitful than other humans. Ada's spiteful ex-husband Rex believes autistic people like her are monsters, so she's not surprised when he calls her to share a clickbait article gleefully shouting that one autistic child has killed another at a special school in Idaho. Rex just means to hurt her, but when Ada reads the article, it's not the lies about autism being fake that catch her eye: it's a disturbing photograph of the dead child. The image of the girl is perfect - too perfect. As if someone has committed a murder, and then carefully staged the scene to cover it up. Ada reports her suspicions to the FBI, and the case crosses the desk of her old classmate Henry Bloodstone, who invites her to assist him. Ada's not a trained investigator. It's painful for her to come up against situations she's not an expert in. She barely remembers Henry, even though it's clear that he remembers her. But the death is a mystery, and Ada, who counts murder as one of her special interests, has never learned to let a mystery go.
|
|
|
|
A Rather Peculiar Poisoning
by Chrystal Schleyer
Twin brothers Easton and Weston are both in love with their childhood best friend Eloise. But headstrong Eloise prefers the younger brother, Wes, which is why she is heartbroken when, unexpectedly, Wes proposes to an heiress, and Eloise finds herself engaged to Easton, the twin she cannot stand. Then, during a week of celebration, Wes is poisoned. Murmurs of nightshade slip through the manor, and everyone seems to have a motive.
|
|
|
|
Silent Horizons
by Chad Robichaux
Publisher Annotation: Foster Quinn is more than a former Force Recon Marine. He's a husband. A father. A faithful brother to his teammates. When one of them is killed during a high-risk operation to track down a dangerous arms dealer, Foster struggles to balance his roles as a dedicated family man and an elite warrior. Despite his inner demons- or maybe because of them- Foster can't walk away from his brothers. Then he gets the chance to step in where his best friend left off, assuming a cover identity in Iran that will get him close to the arms dealer and pave the way for a critical mission. On his own in a new country, he must carefully choose who to trust. An Iranian taxi driver. An American hunter. A British oil executive. One wrong move could spell disaster. Not just for the mission, but for Foster. The clock is ticking. A team of tier-one warriors is set to plummet through the night sky in enemy territory. They've trained for this. But their success hinges on just one man. FIRST BOOK IN A NEW SERIES, Silent horizons.
|
|
|
|
Alchemised
by SenLinYu
Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed. In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia's new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive. According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance's final gambit?.
|
|
|
|
When They Burned the Butterfly
by Wen-Yi Lee
In this fierce, glamorous adult fantasy debut, Silvia Moreno-Garcia meets Fonda Lee, with the feverish intensity of R.F. Kuang's Poppy War trilogy. Singapore, 1972: Newly independent and grappling for power in a fast-modernizing world. Here, gangsters in Chinese secret societies are the last conduits of their ancestors' migrant gods, and the back alleys where they fight are the last place magic has not been assimilated and legislated away. Loner schoolgirl Adeline Siow has never needed more company than the flame she can summon at her fingertips. But when her mother dies in a house fire with a butterfly seared onto her skin and Adeline hunts down a girl she saw in a back-alley barfight--a girl with a butterfly tattoo--she discovers she's far from alone. Ang Tian is a Red Butterfly: one of a gang of girls who came from nothing, sworn to a fire goddess and empowered to wreak vengeance on the men that abuse and underestimate them. Adeline's mother led a double life as their elusive patron, Madam Butterfly. Now that she's dead, Adeline's bloodline is the sole thing sustaining the goddess. Between her search for her mother's killer and the gang's succession crisis, Adeline becomes quickly entangled with the girls' dangerous world, and even more so with the charismatic Tian. But no home lasts long around here. Ambitious and paranoid neighbor gangs hunt at the edges of Butterfly territory, and bodies are turning up in the red light district suffused with a strange new magic. Adeline may have found her place for once, but with the streets changing by the day, it may take everything she is to keep it.
|
|
|
|
The Things Gods Break
by Abigail Owen
The gods want me dead...Hades will bury them. You'd think I'd have learned by now: Don't mouth off to deities. Don't fall for the King of the Underworld. And definitely don't get dragged into a divine death match where I'm the cursed mortal prize. But here I am--trapped in Tartarus, humanity's worst pit stop, squaring off against monsters who make the gods look merciful. Titans, twisted by centuries of rage and ruin, are sealed behind seven ancient locks. And guess what? I'm the key. To escape, I'll have to survive every horrifying trial they throw at me. To win, I might have to become something the gods never saw coming. Oh, and Hades? He's about to break every rule the gods ever wrote. Because to save me...the god of death will burn the world. But if I break free? So do the Titans. And the world won't just suffer- it'll beg for the end. (Book #2 in the Crucible series, which is best enjoyed in order- Book #1 is The Games Gods Play, Book #3 is The Wrath Gods Reap.)
|
|
|
|
The Queen Who Came in from the Cold: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates
by S. J. Bennett
Amateur sleuth Queen Elizabeth II is back on the case in 1960s England in the fifth installment of this historical mystery series the New York Times Book Review calls sheer entertainment, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Richard Osman.
1961, England- The Queen is spending a night on board the royal train with her entourage and her sister, Princess Margaret. But before they reach their destination, an unreliable witness claims to have seen a brutal murder from one of the carriages. The Queen and her assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, get to work on their second joint investigation. No one else saw the crime. If there is a victim, could he be the missing photographer friend of Margaret's new husband, Tony Armstrong Jones? This time, the Cold War threatens to undermine the Queen's upcoming visit to Italy. She and Joan must tackle dark forces that follow them all the way, in a tale of spies, lies, and treachery. This charming mystery will be perfect for fans of The Crown and Miss Marple.
|
|
|
|
Bride of Betrayal
by Abby Green
Bride of Betrayal is an enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, revenge romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Abby Green. Revenge tastes sweetest... served at the altar! Accused of a crime he didn't commit, billionaire Leonardo Falzone seeks two things: vengeance, and a respectable wife to restore his reputation. One woman meets both requirements- Angelica Malgeri, Leonardo's beautiful ex-lover who committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying his sworn enemy. Just as she had no choice in her previous groom, now widowed Angelica must become the dangerous Sicilian's trophy wife. She's determined to feel nothing for her new husband but hate... except belonging to Leonardo reawakens something more than memories- an addiction to his touch she's helpless to deny!
|
|
|
|
Amish Midwife Witness
by Dana R. Lynn
She overheard something she shouldn't have- now she's in a killer's crosshairs. After certified nurse midwife Vanessa Hall prevents a kidnapping attempt on a pregnant Amish patient, she becomes the target of a dangerous enemy. Lieutenant Carter Flint is determined to keep Vanessa safe as the police investigate an abduction and illegal adoption ring targeting Amish families. But after dodging several deadly attacks, Carter realizes the criminal seems to know their every move and no one can be trusted. Can they expose the kidnapper and stop his sinister plot before more innocent lives are put at risk?
|
|
|
|
A Home for the Ranger: An Uplifting Inspirational Romance
by Audrey Wick
Can two little girls in need convince him to stay? For park ranger Shane Hutton, his job as head of Cottonwood Creek State Park has always just been a stepping stone toward his cowboy dreams. And when kind-hearted volunteer Allison Van Horn's request for help with two foster children in need stirs up painful memories from his past, Shane's first instinct to leave grows stronger. But the more time he spends with Allison and the adorable twins in her care, the more his heart begins to heal. When a head ranger position opens up in west Texas, he must choose: the opportunity he's always wanted, or the family he's always needed.
|
|
|
|
A Margin for Murder: A Charming Bookish Cozy Mystery
by Lauren Elliott
Addie travels to the neighboring town of Pen Hollow to attend a book sale, but the real find is a bookmobile bus, which she's excited to refit as a traveling bookstore. The bookmobile also holds a surprising treasure: several classic first editions and an early edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. But before the bookmobile can be delivered to Addie, a fatal car crash occurs. When an autopsy reveals poison in the victim's system and the first editions go missing, it's up to Addie to determine what would drive someone to murder.
|
|
|
|
Under the Cover of Murder
by Lauren Elliott
It promises to be Greyborne Harbor's wedding of the year. The impending nuptials of Serena Chandler and Zach Ludlow will take place aboard his family's luxurious super-yacht, currently moored in the harbor and the talk of the town. But on the day of the wedding, a man's body washes up on the beach with no ID, only a torn page from a book in his pocket. As owner of Beyond the Page Books and Curios, bibliophile Addie is called in to identify the book, but she cannot. The morning following the extravagant ceremony, a second body washes ashore and Addie has a sinking feeling that the two deaths are connected. While the guests are held on the yacht as the police investigate, at least Addie can peruse Zach's father's rare books library on board. A copy of Agatha Christie's first Hercule Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, provides a clue that the killer may still be on the ship--but narrowing down the suspects without becoming the next victim may prove a truly Herculean task.
|
|
|
|
To the Tome of Murder
by Lauren Elliott
Three weeks before Thanksgiving, bookshop owner Addie Greyborne already has a full plate--and a killer on her case. Addie's determined to turn a seemingly ordinary November in coastal Greyborne Harbor into one for the books. The windows of her shop display carefully curated works by American writers, including a rare selection of traditional holiday recipes from the influential 19th-century publication Godey's Ladies Magazine. And then there's the town's Civil War-era themed cooking and baking competition, with a hefty cash prize and free publicity going to the winning dish. But when she finds her cousin's boyfriend murdered, a stunned Addie reluctantly realizes she may be the only person who can blow the cover off a grisly crime. With so many unanswered questions surrounding the victim's death, Addie must figure out the strange connection between a mysterious vintage briefcase, the disappearance of a first edition copy of Sarah Josepha Hale's famous nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and a dangerously well-read culprit.
|
|
|
|
The Christmas Playbook: An Uplifting Inspirational Romance
by Lisa Carter
When the goal is love it's time to break the rules... When her football coach father has a sudden heart attack, Maddie Lovett finds help from an unlikely source: her high school crush, Tanner Price. Back in town to care for his mother, former star athlete Tanner agrees to step in temporarily. As he leads the team to the state championships, Maddie's support helps him see her as more than just the coach's daughter. But when a family crisis occurs, Tanner knows his time in Truelove is limited. With his Christmas departure quickly approaching, can Maddie convince him to stay...for more than just football?
|
|
|
|
Epilogue to a Christmas Murder
by Lauren Elliott
There's no place like the seaside Massachusetts town of Greyborne Harbor for the holidays, and there's no better feeling for Addie than donating to the lighthouse museum's Twelve Days of Christmas charity fundraiser. Of the dozen books she'll be offering as prizes from her Beyond the Page Books and Curios shop, the most special volume is a first edition of 'The gift of the magi' imported from England- signed by O. Henry! Addie receives an unexpected Christmas bonus when the book is hand delivered by visiting Detective Inspector Noah Parker, whom she met in England and has been daydreaming about ever since. But on the night Addie delivers the book to the museum, someone posing as one of Santa's Little Helpers swipes it and the rest of the charity gifts. As if the theft wasn't bad enough, a body is found on the rocks outside the lighthouse, believed to be murdered. Now, it's up to Addie to connect the clues, find stolen goods, and catch a killer--in order to usher in a Happy New Year.
|
|
|
|
Backslide
by Nora Dahlia
Nellie Hurwitz doesn't have a first love. She has a first hate: Noah-who-may-not-be-named. And she has refused to talk about what imploded their relationship since it ended abruptly near the end of high school. For two decades, Nellie and Noah have managed to avoid seeing each other, but the gig is up when their respective best friends, Ben and Cara, plan an intimate vow renewal at a vineyard compound in Sonoma, California. Nellie is determined to keep ancient history from ruining the trip Cara has worked so hard to plan--but dangerously close quarters bring up feelings both Nellie and Noah have carefully locked away for years. Even amidst the eye rolls, snipes and awkwardness of their forced proximity, the two can't shake the heady attraction they've always shared. Written in alternating timelines, teenage Nellie and Noah fall together and apart in 1990s New York, while, in the present day, they grapple with whether-despite the baggage of the past- there is still something real and unfinished brewing between them. Ultimately, can they find a way to move forward? Or will they backslide and blow things up for good?
|
|
|
|
Exo
by Colin Brush
A debut sci-fi mystery set on an abandoned future Earth, featuring a twisty mystery straight out of a John le Carr novel, a group of larger-than-life characters who'd be at home in the work of John Scalzi, and a deeply weird and dangerous hyperdimensional entity to haunt the dreams of any reader of Kim Stanley Robinson. Humanity is dying. Banished from the Earth, our descendants eke out lives in orbital habitats and moon colonies- and look with longing on our former home. But Earth is deadly. Over hundreds of years, its oceans have transformed into an annihilating liquid entity- the Caul. Every living creature approaching its shores is irresistibly compelled to enter... and is never seen again. Scientists, some of the few inhabitants left, work in facilities seeking to understand and stop the Caul. And scavenging the shores are the penitents- those who resist its siren lure. Among them is penitent Mae Jameson, an octogenarian former Service agent who arrived on Earth thirty years ago to find her lover. When she encounters Siofra, a mute girl, wandering alone by the shore and returns her home, they discover the girl's father, rogue scientist Carl Magellan, hanging from a noose, murdered. Unwilling to leave the matter in the hands of the facility Carl abandoned years ago, Mae takes Carl's journals- which detail his obsession with the Caul and its mysteries- and sets about investigating. In this page-turning, dual-timeline novel, both Mae and Carl's quests for the truth put them at the center of a dangerous conspiracy. Someone believes they can use the secret of the Caul to shape humanity's future, and they aren't afraid to kill to keep control of it.
|
|
|
|
Secret Nights and Northern Lights
by Megan Oliver
Childhood best friends and first loves are reunited on a make-or-break work trip to Iceland, with old feelings coming to the surface in this charming romance from debut author Megan Oliver. Mona Miller lives her life by platitudes: she's just fine, thanks; all good; not a problem! Everything is right as rain- even if it's all a lie. Everyone at the travel magazine where she works knows her as a team player (in other words, the one who won't complain about the endless fluff pieces pushed her way.) But, feeling snubbed after being passed over for a promotion, Mona jumps at an international assignment to Iceland, even though she's woefully unprepared. She's determined to prove her worth, though, and her can-do attitude will scale any glacier. But the freelance photographer paired with her is none other than Benjamin Carter. Ben, her childhood best friend who understood her even when her family didn't. Ben, her first love, first everything. And Ben, the boy who ghosted her fourteen years ago and left her brokenhearted. There is a decade's worth of resentment Mona needs to ignore if she wants to make it through this trip. She'll put on her No worries! façade and hold Ben at a distance. But the more time they spend together, the more the ice around her heart melts. And as those old feelings spark back to life, Mona must decide if she's willing to go on the biggest adventure of all.
|
|
|
|
And Then There Was You
by Sophie Cousens
At thirty-one, Chloe Fairway isn't where she wants to be in life. Stuck in a PA job for a boss who barely notices her and back home with her parents after a painful breakup, she feels like a failure. So, when she's invited to her college's ten-year reunion, the last thing she needs is to face the people who once voted her most likely to succeed. She definitely doesn't want to see her former best friend Sean Adler, now a hotshot film director living the life Chloe dreamed of. Desperate to make a splash- and to save face in front of the man who might be the one that got away- she turns to a mysterious dating service. Enter Rob, her handsome, successful, and charming match, who quickly makes Chloe feel like she's finally finding her way. But as Chloe digs deeper into her past and reconnects with old friends, she begins to question if Rob is really all that he seems. And maybe, just maybe, revisiting her past is exactly what she needs to move forward. Packed with heart, charm, and Sophie Cousens's signature humor, And Then There Was You is a witty exploration of love, second chances, and finding your place in the world.
|
|
|
|
Death and Dinuguan
by Mia P. Manansala
Love is in the air for the citizens of Shady Palms, but Cupid's arrow isn't the only thing striking the town--not with another killer on the loose. Things are looking up for the Brew-ha Cafe, and Lila Macapagal can't think of anything that could break the spell, especially with Valentine's Day coming up--she can't wait to celebrate with her boyfriend, Jae Park. Adding to the lovey-dovey atmosphere is Hana Lee, Shady Palms's newest resident. She's also Jae's beloved cousin and chocolatier at Choco Noir, the latest addition to the town's culinary offerings. Everything is coming into place for Hana, who left her old life in Minnesota behind to work at Choco Noir, owned by her best friend. Unfortunately, beneath the sweet surface of Shady Palms runs a bitter undercurrent, as a series of attacks against women-owned businesses in the area escalates from petty theft to assault and murder when Hana is found knocked unconscious inside Choco Noir, and the chocolate shop owner is put out of business- for good. With Hana left in a coma, a murderer hiding amongst them, and the safety of the women entrepreneurs of Shady Palms at risk, the Park brothers team up with the Brew-ha crew to put a stop to the villain before they strike again.
|
|
|
|
Gull & Bones
by Sally Goldenbaum
The sugar maples are beginning to turn, and the seasonal visitors have closed up their cottages- one more summer has been thoroughly packed away. But the residents of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, have a celebration to look forward to, until a killer calls sudden death...
Long-time resident Angus McPherron has a very special birthday coming up- his 100th! Known as the old man of the sea by Sea Harbor residents, he's lived in town all his long life and has shared plenty of colorful tales of the area. Back in town to fill a much-needed nursing position at the free clinic, Charlie Chambers, Izzy Perry's brother, is staying in one of the handful of cottages Angus owns. The yarn shop owner is thrilled he's in town--though she'd like to know more about his mysterious roommate, Annie Smith. Still, she's grateful that each morning Charlie checks Angus's vitals and makes sure he takes his meds. Meanwhile, Izzy and the other Seaside Knitters are busy planning Angus's birthday bash, knitting his beloved gulls into everything they make. With bands rehearsing and the menu set, Angus's celebration promises to be unforgettable. But the day before, when Charlie stops by Angus's cottage, he finds the old man has died in his sleep. Shocked and saddened, the town decides to go ahead with the festivities, which will now become a celebration of the old man's life. But when Angus's closest friend, Father Northcutt, is found on the floor of Angus's cottage, unconscious from a deadly blow to his head, Angus's death is examined more closely, and soon is a suspected homicide. As the knitters delve into Angus's history, more questions than answers surface. Soon the whole community is concerned over what now looks like murder, a tragedy buried deep in a shameful chapter in Sea Harbor's past. And one that may point to a killer still in their midst...
|
|
|
|
A Perilous Plot
by Lorna Barrett
Everything was going great for Tricia Miles, right up until her estranged mother, Sheila, arrives on her front step with an urn she says contains the remains of Tricia's father. Shocked and saddened, Tricia and her sister, Angelica, attempt to get to the bottom of what happened. But their efforts for clarity are dashed when Shelia disappears the very next day, leaving behind the urn and a cryptic note. Naturally, the sisters are upset- especially after they take the remains to the local funeral parlor and discover that not only is the urn filled with kitty litter, but hidden inside is a valuable (and stolen) Rolex watch. Digging deeper, the sisters find their parents are in dire financial trouble and seem to be lurking around Booktown. Tricia and Angelica can't help but wonder how many more secrets their mother was keeping- and whether that includes murder.
|
|
|
|
Apostle's Cove
by William Kent Krueger
A few nights before Halloween, as Cork O'Connor gloomily ruminates on his upcoming sixtieth birthday, he receives a call from his son Stephen, who is working for a nonprofit dedicated to securing freedom for unjustly incarcerated inmates. Stephen tells his father that twenty years ago, as the newly elected sheriff of Tamarack County, Cork was responsible for sending an Ojibwe man named Axel Boshey to prison for a brutal murder that Stephen is certain he did not commit. Cork feels compelled to reinvestigate the crime, but that is easier said than done. Not only is it a closed case but Axel Boshey is, inexplicably, refusing to help. The deeper Cork digs, the clearer it becomes that there are those in Tamarack County who are willing once again to commit murder to keep him from finding the truth. At the same time, Cork's seven-year-old grandson has his own theory about the investigation: the Windigo, that mythic cannibal ogre, has come to Tamarack County- and it won't leave until it has sated its hunger for human blood.
|
|
|
|
The Sister's Curse
by Nicola Solvinic
Lieutenant Anna Koray still can't outrun the darkness. She's started living with her boyfriend, and she even has a dog. Everything should be normal--except that mysterious things always find her. After she saves a little boy from nearly drowning, she notices bizarre marks on his body like something tried to drag him to the water's depths. When a similar case happens soon after, Anna can't shake the feeling that it's no coincidence, especially when the victims are family members of some of the wealthiest men in town, known as the Kings of Warsaw Creek. And they have enemies, like the local bartender who just may be a witch, hexing those who cross her. But a deeper look into the case leads her to a history of drownings in town. Could it have started from an old legend? A curse? Or maybe there's a shadowy being luring victims to their doom. Anna's not convinced. But whoever- or whatever- it is behind the recent drownings, Anna will have to uncover soon, or she'll find herself underwater, slipping into the darkness once again.
|
|
|
|
Shadow Ticket
by Thomas Pynchon
Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation business shifting from labor-management relations to the more domestic kind. Hicks McTaggart, a one-time strikebreaker turned private eye, thinks he's found job security until he gets sent out on what should be a routine case, locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who's taken a mind to go wandering. By the time Hicks catches up with her he will find himself entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them.
|
|
|
|
The Bookshop Below
by Georgia Summers
Below the streets of London, a secret network of magical bookshops has existed for millennia. But they're slowly disappearing, and no one knows why. Only one dishonored bookseller can uncover the truth and rewrite her story- in this spellbinding standalone fantasy novel from the author of The City of Stardust. If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron's bookshop is where you go. For those lucky enough to grace its doors, it's a glimpse into a world of powerful bargains and deadly ink magic. For Cassandra Fairfax, it's a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop. Since then, she's used her skills in less ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical readings to wealthy playboys and unscrupulous collectors. Then Chiron dies under mysterious circumstances. And if Cassandra knows anything, it's this: the bookshop must always have an owner. But she's not the only one interested. There's Lowell Sharpe, a dark-eyed, regrettably handsome bookseller she can't seem to stop bumping into; rival owners who threaten Cassandra from the shadows; and, of course, Chiron's murderer, who is still on the loose. As Cassandra tries to uncover the secrets her mentor left behind, a sinister force threatens to unravel the world of the magical bookshops entirely... "Georgia Summers's magical bookshop is my new favorite place. The Bookshop Below is a delicious read, I loved every second of it." -Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author. "Steeped in bookish magic and infused with the comfort and terror of a favorite tragic fairytale, The Bookshop Below is darkly whimsical and utterly heart-wrenching." -Tori Bovalino, author of My Throat is An Open Grave
|
|
|
|
The Burning Library
by Gilly MacMillan
From the internationally bestselling author of The Nanny and What She Knew comes a thrilling dark academic tale of murder, obsession and ruthless ambition, set in remote St Andrews, Scotland. A deadly rivalry. A chilling secret. One woman who can decipher the truth. On a frigid, windswept day in Scotland's Western Isles, Eleanor Bruton's body is discovered on the shore. To her family Eleanor was an ordinary middle-aged woman. She did flower arrangements and plumped kneeler cushions at church. Little did they know she was harboring a dark and all-consuming secret. A scrap of fraying embroidery that seems worthless at first glance. For over a century, two rival organizations of women have gone to deadly lengths to secure the valuable artifact in the hopes of finding the original medieval manuscript from which it was torn. The Order of St. Katherine: devoted to the belief that women must pull strings in the shadows to exercise control. And the Fellowship of the Larks, determined to amass as many overt positions of power for women as possible... so long as their methods of doing so never come to light. When Dr. Anya Brown garners international attention for her translation of the cryptic Folio 9, she is handpicked by Diana Cornish, a professor and high-ranking member of the Fellowship, to join the exclusive Institute of Manuscript Studies in St. Andrews. Unbeknownst to Anya she's been recruited at great personal danger to translate ancient texts that the Fellowship believes critical to their mission. Meanwhile at Scotland Yard, Detective Constable Clio Spicer begins a private investigation into the death of Eleanor Bruton. As all the women grow further entangled in this ancient web, circumstances spin wildly out of control and their lives may be in grave danger. Perfect for fans of Alex Michaelides and Ruth Ware, The Burning Library is the story of a centuries-old secret set to divide and consume those who seek to unearth it.
|
|
|
|
The Reluctant Reaper
by Maryjanice Davidson
From bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson comes The Reluctant Reaper, a delightful romantasy- with a twist- featuring Death's daughter. What's a death god to do... A lot of twentysomethings might look forward to inheriting the family business. Amara Morrigan's got zero interest in hers. The mantle she stands to assume is currently worn by her father, Death. Amara's childhood included helplessly watching as her best friend and her favorite teacher were taken away. She knows her dad didn't do it on purpose... it was just their time. But Amara refuses to accept the job. It's bad enough that she can sense when the final moment will be for anybody she meets- including her best (and only) friend, Gray. He knows who she is, and he's cool with it. And though he's the funniest, kindest, most understanding guy she's ever met, she can't allow him to get any closer (however much she might want to), because his moment is coming all too soon. But now her father is dying. Ominous portents she can't ignore pull Amara home to Minot, North Dakota, where Death is comatose- something that shouldn't be possible. Thank all the gods that Gray refuses to be left behind. Amara's mother is a mess, and Gray gives her somebody to cook for while the other death gods are gathering. Alas, there's not enough lefse in all of North Dakota to fix the situation. With their options waning, Amara agrees to (temporarily!) take up her father's mantle--but she has to figure things out, and fast, because there is no way she's doing this forever.
|
|
|
|
Gray Dawn: An Easy Rawlins Mystery
by Walter Mosley
A number of below-the-law powerbrokers plead with Easy to locate a mysterious, dangerous woman Lutisha James, though she's gone by another name that Easy will immediately recognize. 1970s Los Angeles is a transient city of delicate, violent balances, and Lutisha has disturbed that. She also has a secret that will upend Easy's own life, painfully closer to home.
|
|
|
|
A Murderous Business: A Harriman & Mancini Mystery
by Cathy Pegau
Margot Baxter Harriman took the reins of B&H Foods after her father passed. It's not easy being a business woman in 1912, but she is determined to continue what her grandparents started decades ago, no matter what it takes. So when Margot finds Mrs. Gilroy, her father's former assistant, dead in the office with a half-finished note confessing to nebulous misdeeds at B&H, she seeks out help from a very discreet, private investigator to figure out what's going on. Her company, and her good name, are at stake if scandal breaks--and she could lose everything, including her freedom. Loretta 'Rett' Mancini has run her father's investigation operation since he started becoming increasingly forgetful. When Margot offers her the chance to look into the potential scandal with B&H, she jumps at it. But the more the two dig in, the more it becomes clear that Margot's company may be too far lost--and someone is willing to kill them both to keep things quiet--Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
The Tattered Cover
by Ellery Adams
As the residents of Miracle Springs, North Carolina, select their costumes, plan parties, and get excited for a night of tricks or treats, Nora joins in on the festivities by hosting medium memoirist Lara Luz at the bookstore. Charismatic and compelling, Lara mesmerizes the audience with her life story. Struck by a bolt of lightning as a child, she was pronounced dead only to be resurrected with the ability to connect with those on the other side. Lara performs a reading for a select group of bookstore patrons when the encroaching storm knocks out the power. In the sudden darkness, howling cold winds intensify, and Lara clutches her heart, collapsing dead without warning. But Nora doesn't believe she died of natural causes--
|
|
|
|
In the Time of Five Pumpkins: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (26)
by Alexander McCall Smith
The rains are coming, but not just yet. When they do, there will be green shoots of growth throughout Botswana. Pumpkins will flourish--particularly those of Mma Potokwani, matron of a children's home and old friend of Precious Ramotswe. Mma Potokwani and Mma Ramotswe have many other things to talk about, including a new friendship that Mr J.L.B. Matekoni has struck up with Mr Freddie Mohlala, a prominent figure in the motor trade. Freddie Mohlala has invited Mr J.L.B. Matekoni to go fishing with him on the local dam--which is home to some fairly nasty crocodiles. They do not catch anything, but something nearly catches them. In the meantime, Mma Ramotswe looks into what seems to be a straightforward matter involving a husband who thinks his wife may be having an affair. But there is a surprise in store--she, it transpires, suspects that he himself has a lover. This is obviously a case that will require tact--which of course is a quality Mma Ramotswe has in abundance--
|
|
|
|
Fox and Furious
by Rita Mae Brown
It's hunting season in the foothills of Virginia, and 'Sister' Jane Arnold is content to spend it alongside her friends, particularly one Olivia Bradford. Olivia is a formidable figure in town--not least because she keeps the peace between her sons Winston and Andrew. But when she passes away, the brothers return to their squabbling ways. Faced with contention over their inheritance, tensions escalate, and the two get into a fierce fight--and soon after, one of them turns up dead--
|
|
|
|
Die Another Dane
by Laurien Berenson
After seeing a Great Dane at a dog show, Melanie's younger son Kevin has become obsessed with the giant breed. ... Aunt Peg introduces Melanie and her son to Audrey Kane, a charming older woman who breeds and shows the big dogs. Aware of Melanie's talent for sleuthing, Audrey asks for her help in finding a missing brooch. She suspects her stepsister Lara. Sam and Melanie are showing their Standard Poodle puppy Plum at a dog show where Lara will also be exhibiting her Great Dane. Melanie makes contact with Lara but gets no answers. When Audrey is found dead in her home, Aunt Peg enlists the help of the local Great Dane Club to foster Audrey's 10 dogs, one of whom Melanie takes on--
|
|
|
|
The Last Death of the Year
by Sophie Hannah
New Year's Eve, 1932. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the tiny Greek island of Lamperos to celebrate the holiday with what turns out to be a rather odd community of locals living in a dilapidated house. A dark sense of foreboding overshadows the beautiful island getaway when the guests play a New Year's Resolutions game after dinner and one written resolution gleefully threatens to perform 'the last and first death of the year.' Hours later, one of the home's residents is found dead on the terrace--
|
|
|
|
Scot's Eggs
by Catriona McPherson
It's egg-hunt season, but Lexy Campbell is spending Easter hunting a killer! Not even Cuento's Easter bonnet parade can distract Lexy Campbell from conception woes and missing tourists Bill and Billie Miller. The Millers' vintage Mustang has been abandoned, its interior covered in blood. Is this a double murder, and if so, where are the bodies? Why were the Millers spending the night in their car? Did they pitch up at the Last Ditch Motel only to be turned away? Are they really dead? The Trinity for Trouble are quickly on the case! As they start to identify the guests staying at the motel the weekend before Easter - including a Goth and a barbershop singer on stilts - disturbing evidence comes to light. Can Lexy see though all the deception to unmask the truth and save the Last Ditch? Fans of Janet Evanovich and Sarah Strohmeyer will fall head over heels for this addictive mystery that's full of twists and laugh out loud humour.
|
|
|
|
The Hallmarked Man: A Cormoran Strike Novel
by Robert Galbraith
A dismembered corpse is discovered in the vault of a silver shop. The police initially believe it to be that of a convicted armed robber -- but not everyone agrees with that theory. One of them is Decima Mullins, who calls on the help of private detective Cormoran Strike as she's certain the body in the silver vault was that of her boyfriend -- the father of her newnorn baby -- who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. The more Strike and his business partner Robin Ellacott delve into the case, the more labyrinthine it gets. The silver shop is no ordinary one: it's located beside Freemasons' Hall and specializes in Masonic silverware. And in addition to the armed robber and Decima's boyfriend, it becomes clear that there are other missing men who could fit the profile of the body in the vault.--
|
|
|
|
After That, the Dark
by Andrew Klavan
In this newest entry in Andrew Klavan's USA Today bestselling Cameron Winter series, the ex-spy turned English professor finds love--and murder.
|
|
|
|
As Many Souls as Stars
by Natasha Siegel
For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, an inventive and romantic speculative novel about two women-a witch and an immortal demon-who make a Faustian bargain and are drawn into a cat-and-mouse chase across multiple lifetimes-- Provided by publisher.
|
|
|
|
Revenge of Odessa
by Frederick Forsyth
At last, the long-awaited sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller classic, The Odessa File. Fifty years after revealing the secrets of Odessa, an underground organization of former Nazis angling to regain power, Peter Miller is a retired legend in the journalism community. He's spent the last decade caring for his grandson Georg, after the death of his son and daughter in law in a tragic cara accident. Always suspecting that his own long list of enemies might have been behind his son's death, Peter pulled back from his career to keep Georg safe. But he could do nothing to stop the young man from following in his footsteps, Georg's reputation and renown for fearless journalism growing fast in a digital world. But Georg Miller is not the only aspect of Peter's past that has thrived. By 2025 Odessa has been replace by Medusa which has reached a level of secret power greater than Odessa ever achieved, its every long-term plan nearing fruition. The subtle rise of the far-right in German politics; the dozens of seemingly unconnected 'patriotic' parties growing across Germany's constituent states and districts; the spike in violence and terrorism against Germany's immigrant population; and the angry reaction of her citizens. All are symptoms of a man-made, hidden danger, fuel for a planned inferno that must be stopped at all costs. All while, elsewhere, the children of Odessa play for the highest power of all--a seat in the West Wing.
|
|
|
|
North Country
by Matt Bondurant
A taut literary thriller set along the northern border, North Country explores the monsters frozen in the depths of the human soul.North Chazy, New York, is the heart of the North Country, a frigid region nestled against the Canadian border, characterized by the beautiful landscapes of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain--plus a steady stream of Quebecois drugs flowing south, spirited by snowmobile across the ice.Tom Kaiser, fresh off a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force, returns to North Chazy for his ailing father's final days. It's an uneasy homecoming--ever since his little sister was lost under the ice in mysterious circumstances when they were children, Kaiser has felt a terrible presence swimming in the deep.Needing work, Kaiser falls in with Donnie LeClair, a slumlord, loan shark, and aesthete whose private collection of landscapes would rival a modest museum's. Kaiser earns his keep roughing up unsavory locals who are late on their rent. But his true value is his aptitude for satellite telemetry, allowing him to find gaps in border surveillance, a useful skill for working with a Montreal kingpin who wants to move large quantities of ecstasy into the US.As Kaiser spirals through the underbelly of drugs and crime, he finds the roots of evil run deep in the North Country--as bleak, impenetrable, and foreboding as the frozen lake.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|