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Must-Read Books February 2025 |
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Horror movie : a novel
by Paul Tremblay
The only surviving cast member of a notorious, disturbing 1993 art house horror movie joins the remake, but begins having trouble distinguishing between reality and film in the new novel by the author of The Pallbearers Club. 150,000 first printing.
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| Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love by Marianne CroninEddie Winston, a 90-year-old charity shop volunteer in Birmingham, England, unexpectedly becomes friends with Bella, a pink-haired young woman mourning her boyfriend. When Bella realizes that Eddie has never been kissed, she sets out to help him find love. Read-alikes: Clare Pooley's How to Age Disgracefully; Anna Johnston's The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife. |
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| Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. DoveAs the new tribal marshal on the Oklahoma reservation where her dad grew up, ex-Chicago cop Carrie Starr, who struggles with addiction and her teen daughter's death, is assigned to work cold cases of missing Indigenous women. But on her third day, a new woman is reported missing and Carrie's determined to find her. "The suspense builds steadily into a stunning ending" (Booklist) in this compelling debut. |
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| Isola by Allegra GoodmanInspired by a real 16th-century heroine, an orphaned and betrayed young woman, Marguerite, is marooned on a desolate island with her lover, where she must confront nature's harshness and her own strength in a desperate fight for survival. |
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| Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady HendrixAt a home for unwed mothers in 1970 Florida, 15-year-old Fern is given a spellbook by a mysterious librarian, which she and her friends initially use to enact petty revenge on their keepers -- until they question whether they should use their newfound powers for darker purposes. This "pulpy throwback" (Kirkus Reviews) from bestselling author Grady Hendrix (How to Sell a Haunted House) offers a violent homage to Rosemary's Baby. |
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Always remember / : Ben's Story
by Mary Balogh
The ton suspiciously gossips about the bastard son of the Earl of Stratton who embarks on a friendship with Lady Jennifer, left unable to walk by a childhood illness, in the third novel of the series following Remember Me.
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| Hotel Lucky Seven by Kotaro IsakaIn this thrilling follow-up to Bullet Train, Tokyo's unluckiest assassin, Nanao, faces a new mission after a botched job at a hotel. A woman with an extraordinary memory seeks his protection from a team of killers. What follows in this "near-perfect thriller" (Booklist), is a high-stakes battle, culminating in shocking revelations and a surprising ending. |
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A Short Walk Through A Wide World
by Douglas Westerbeke
In 1885 Paris, nine-year-old Aubry Tourvel keeps a toy instead of sacrificing it, cursing her with immortality and the need to move locations every few days, never repeating locations. Embarking on a (mostly) solo journey spanning centuries and continents, Aubry looks for healing, connection, and meaning. Read-alikes: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab; How to Stop Time by Matt Haig.
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| We Do Not Part by Han KangBlurring reality with the mysterious, this poetic latest from 2024 Nobel Prize winner Han Kang follows Kyungha, a Korean author who isn't sleeping or eating much. After a friend is hospitalized and her pet bird needs care, Kyungha travels through wintery weather to Jeju Island, the setting of a 1940s military massacre, and encounters the spirit of her friend's mother. Try this next: The Liberators by E.J. Koh. |
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| The Last Room on the Left by Leah KonenHazel and Fox, former vigilante killers, settle in the suburbs to raise their baby. But when Hazel kills again, their peaceful life unravels. As a fellow mom investigates their past, Hazel must protect her family from the consequences of their deadly secret, threatening everything they've built. |
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| Temple of Swoon by Jo SeguraIn this banter-filled spin-off of Jo Segura's action-packed debut, Raiders of the Lost Heart, archeologist Miriam "Miri" Jacobs is appointed co-lead on an expedition in search of the Lost City of the Moon in the Brazilian Amazon. Tagging along for the trip is Rafael "Rafa" Monfils, a journalist whose ulterior motives are thwarted when he starts to fall for Miri. Try this next: The Jewel of the Isle by Kerry Rea. |
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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
by Tia Williams
Against her wealthy family's wishes, floral designer Ricki Wilde opens a flower shop in Harlem and befriends jazz musician Ezra "Breeze" Walker, a man who's fallen out of time. Light speculative elements and dual timelines add intrigue to this sweeping romance by the author of Seven Days in June. You might also like: Donna Hill's I Am Ayah: The Way Home; Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop.
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| Johnny Careless by Kevin WadeThis debut by Blue Bloods showrunner Kevin Wade introduces former NYPD detective Jeep Mullane, who's the new police chief in his Long Island hometown. Things start rocky when Jeep's high school best friend Johnny Chambliss is found drowned. Convinced it's murder, Jeep looks to the past and to Johnny's wealthy family. Fans of fast-paced police procedurals like those by John Sandford will want to give this a try. |
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| Out of the Drowning Deep by A.C. WiseScribe IV, an obsolete automaton living in an isolated monastery on the far reaches of space, must solve the murder of a visiting Pope with the help of a private investigator struggling with addiction and a curious angel. If they don't find the killer, the entire monastery will be punished by the elusive Sisters of the Drowned Deep. For fans of: unconventional sci-fi with intricate plots such as Becky Chambers' Wayfarers and Monk & Robot series, and The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older |
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| The Lotus Shoes by Jane YangIn 1800s China, six-year-old Little Flower, an exceptional embroiderer with coveted bound feet, is sold to the wealthy Fong family to be a lady's maid to jealous six-year-old Linjing, whose family has chosen to ignore the old ways and not bind her feet. Told from the viewpoints of the two well-realized main characters as they grow up, this moving debut will please fans of Lisa See's Lady Tan's Circle of Women. |
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| The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You by Neko CaseThe New Pornographers vocalist Neko Case's candid and compelling debut shares how she survived a childhood marked by poverty, abuse, and neglect to become a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter. For fans of: Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You by Lucinda Williams. |
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| I Am Nobody's Slave: How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free by Lee HawkinsPulitzer Prize finalist and What Happened in Alabama? podcast host Lee Hawkins' intimate and thought-provoking family history utilizes genealogical research and interviews to examine the ongoing impacts of generational trauma stemming from enslavement and Jim Crow. Further reading: Go Back and Get It: A Memoir of Race, Inheritance, and Intergenerational Healing by Dionne Ford. |
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| Before Elvis : The African American Musicians Who Made the King by Preston LauterbachIn this nuanced and illuminating examination of Elvis Presley's complicated legacy, music journalist Preston Lauterbach (The Chitlin' Circuit) spotlights four trailblazing Black musicians whose artistry and style inspired a young Presley, but whom he rarely (if ever) credited. Try this next: Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters by Lynnée Denise. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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