LibraryAware November 2024

Adult Fiction

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
by Ally Carter

Snowed in at an English country estate holiday party, cozy mystery author Maggie Chase is forced to investigate alongside her nemesis, thriller author Ethan Wyatt, when their hostess disappears without a trace. This banter-filled latest from Ally Carter (The Blonde Identity) blends romantic suspense with a locked-room mystery, perfect for fans of Knives Out.

Season of the Swamp
by Yuri Herrera

In exile due to Mexican dictator Santa Anna, Benito Juárez lands in New Orleans from December 1853 to June 1855. In this richly imagined short novel, the man who later becomes Mexico's first Indigenous president views the ugliness of slavery, works in a factory, and suffers from yellow fever. Try these next: Álvaro Enrigue's You Dreamed of Empires and Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January historical mysteries.

Our Evenings
by Alan Hollinghurst

In this "tour de force" (Publishers Weekly), sixtyish British Burmese actor Dave Win tells the story of his life, including being raised by a single mother in England, winning a scholarship to an elite boarding school in the 1960s, dealing with racism and homophobia, making a living in the theater, his romances, and seeing his childhood bully become a right-wing Brexit leader. Read-alikes: Shastri Akella's The Sea Elephants and Tan Twan Eng's The House of Doors.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea
by TJ Klune

In this highly anticipated sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea, Arthur Parnassus lives a simple life with his love Linus and their six orphaned wards. However, when Arthur has to make a statement at a government hearing about his own dark past, the peace he has established may be threatened.

Women's Hotel
by Daniel M. Lavery

Long-term residents of the women's hotel, The Beidermeier, take turns narrating and discussing their lives in 1960s New York City. Unfortunately, their days at the hotel may be numbered amidst its financial problems in this witty, quotable debut novel. Read-alikes: Gill Paul's The Manhattan Girls and Paulina Bren's The Barbizon (a nonfiction book about a real New York women's hotel).

Swordcrossed
by Freya Marske

With his family's wool business flagging, Mattinesh "Matti" Jay agrees to an arranged marriage to the daughter of a prominent family, though he'll need to hire a duelist in case he's challenged for her hand. Enter charismatic con artist Luca Piere, who teaches Matti to sword fight and perhaps follow his true desires. This steamy romantasy from the author of the Last Binding series "sizzles with the heat between Matti and Luca" (Booklist). Try this next: One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny.

This Motherless Land
by Nikki May

After her mother and brother die in a car accident in Lagos, Nigeria, young Funke is sent to Somerset, England, where she finds both her relatives and the weather to be cold. Still, she finds joy with her cousin Liv, though later events may tear them apart. Loosely based on Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, this vibrant novel explores identity, family, and belonging, and takes place between 1978 and the 1990s. Try this next: Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi’s Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop
by Mai Mochizuki

In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. If you are feeling lost, and you are kind to the right cat, you may find yourself with an invitation to a mysterious coffee shop run by talking cats who might be able to help you get your life back on track.

Hum
by Helen Phillips

After losing her job to artificial intelligence known as "hums," May makes one last splurge for her technology-addicted family to take a vacation to the Botanical Garden: a rare forest refuge in a world ravaged by climate change. However, when her children are in danger, May has to put her trust in the technology that ruined her life.

Polostan
by Neal Stephenson

Set in the early 20th century, this first book in an inventive historical epic series by Neal Stephenson follows Dawn Rae Bjornberg, born to cowboy anarchists and raised in Leningrad. After becoming involved in gunrunning during the Great Depression, she returns to Russia to be groomed as a KGB spy.

Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime
by Leonie Swann

This amusing follow-up to The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp has the elderly residents of Sunset Hall mixed up with murder again. This time, they're vacationing in Cornwall when multiple people are killed and a storm cuts off their resort. Lead by retired policewoman Agnes, the group try to set things right. Read-alikes: Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club books and Robert Thorogood's Marlow Murder Club novels.

The Puzzle Box
by Danielle Trussoni

In this "breathlessly paced and nail-bitingly suspenseful" (Booklist) thriller, puzzle master Mike Brink travels to Tokyo to tackle the legendary Dragon Box, a lethal and unsolvable puzzle from Japan's tumultuous Meiji era. While two resolute sisters chase the same treasure, Brink encounters booby traps and mind-bending challenges in a race against time.

The Author's Guide to Murder
by Beatriz Williams

On a remote island in the Scottish Highlands, superstar novelist Brett Saffron Presley is murdered at Castle Kinloch, where he hosts writing retreats. The cops focus on three Americans -- a cozy mystery author, an erotica writer, and a historical fiction novelist -- who decide to solve the mystery themselves. This locked-room tale will please fans of witty mysteries like Benjamin Stevenson's Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.

Adult Non-Fiction

Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
by Elyse Graham

Historian Elyse Graham's evocative and engaging account reveals the origins of the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which developed during World War II by recruiting librarians and academics for intelligence gathering. Try this next: Cracking the Nazi Code: The Untold Story of Agent A12 and the Solving of the Holocaust Code by Jason Bell.

John Lewis: A Life
by David Greenberg

Historian David Greenberg's comprehensive biography of beloved civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis draws upon never-before-seen FBI files, archival materials, and interviews with Lewis and others, offering a "passionately researched and defining portrait of an American hero" (Booklist). Further reading: Lewis' autobiography Walking With the Wind and John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community by Raymond Arsenault.

From Here to the Great Unknown
by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough

Based on hours of recordings she left behind prior to her 2023 death, Lisa Marie Presley's frank and moving memoir (completed by her daughter, actor Riley Keough) chronicles her lifetime in the spotlight as the daughter of Elvis Presley. For fans of: Elvis and Me by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.

The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi
by Wright Thompson

Mississippi native Wright Thompson (Pappyland) examines Emmett Till's 1955 murder and its ongoing impact in this "profoundly affecting, brilliantly narrated story" (Kirkus Reviews). Further reading: The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson and A Few Days Full of Trouble: Revelations on the Journey to Justice for My Cousin and Best Friend, Emmett Till by Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. and Christopher Benson.

Youth Fiction

The Bakery Dragon
by Devin Elle Kurtz

Gold-obsessed Ember the dragon is too cute to succeed as a scary thief, but with help from a kindhearted baker, he discovers a more satisfying kind of treasure. Glowing, jewel-toned illustrations bring visual appeal to this deliciously droll fantasy.

Twenty-Four Seconds From Now...
by Jason Reynolds

High school seniors Neon and Aria are ready to take their relationship to the next level. But first, Neon reflects on what brought him to this moment, especially conversations with close friends and family members who shaped his views on sex and love. Read-alikes: Lamar Giles’ Not So Pure and Simple; and James Ramos’ The Wrong Kind of Weird.

The Bletchley Riddle
by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

In the summer of 1940, two siblings face two deadly puzzles: 19-year-old Jakob works to break Nazi codes at Britain’s Bletchley Park, while 14-year-old Lizzie searches for the truth about their mother, who’s gone missing in Poland. Authentic details blend with white-knuckle suspense in this historical mystery. For fans of Alan Gratz.

Contact your librarian for more great books!