Starring: Gemma Doyle, the British expat owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium in West London, Massachusetts, who sometimes, albeit reluctantly, uses her analytical mind to solve crimes.

 

What happens: After several odd nighttime occurrences at Scarlet House, a local historical re-enactment museum, Gemma, her friend Jayne, and a few others camp out. When the night ends with a dead body, Gemma investigates.

 

Series alert: Featuring endearing characters, this is the 8th in a charming series that starts with Elementary, She Read.

Meet... Grayson Hale, a sensitive if neurotic grad student studying in Edinburgh. A childhood fraught with neglect and religious fanaticism have left him ill-prepared for adulthood. His teetering sanity soon dissolves, leading to a brutal crime. Did the devil really make him do it?

Try this next: The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell.

How it begins: Estranged 30-something siblings Louise and Mark Joyner have a tense reunion in their South Carolina family home following the mysterious deaths of their parents.

 

What happens next: As the pair squabble over inheritance and prepare to sell the house, their mother's prized puppets and dolls seem to take on a life of their own, forcing traumatic family secrets out into the open.

 

Read it for: an unforgettable villain in maniacal puppet Pupkin.

What it's about: Shortly after her sister's tragic death, grief-stricken Cree woman Mackenzie is haunted by vivid dreams that take shape in the waking world. She returns to her family in Alberta hoping to put her nightmares to rest, but something has followed her.

 

Want a taste? "Before I look down, I know it's there. The crow's head I was clutching in my dream is now in bed with me."

 

For fans of: White Horse by Erika T. Wurth and The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.

What it is: a sobering and well-researched rumination on the history of gun violence in America, from the colonial era to the present.

 

Featuring: stark black-and-white photographs of sites where mass shootings have occurred; author Paul Auster's candid reflections on his own family's history with gun violence.

 

Reviewers say: "exceptional in its clarity and arresting in its sense of urgency" (Kirkus Reviews).

What it is: a memoir and travelogue by Scottish actor Sam Heughan, star of the TV series Outlander, who walked the West Highland Way, pondering his childhood, life as an actor, whiskey, and more.

 

About the route: At nearly 100 miles, the lovely Scottish path, which is part of the International Appalachian Trail, runs from just past Glasgow to Fort William in the Highlands, passing Ben Nevis along the way.

 

Read this next: Clanlands by the author and his Outlander costar Graham McTavish, Robert Macfarlane's The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, or Rory Stewart's The Marches.

Meet: Celine Bangura. Her conspiracy theory TikTok account is thriving, but her former best friend Bradley Graeme left her for the cool kids years ago.

 

Survival of the fittest: When a scholarship program requires Celine to complete a wilderness survival course, she and Bradley are teamed up. If they can re-establish trust, they just might win it all.

 

What sets it apart: Author Talia Hibbert's YA debut overflows with sincere emotion and witty banter, just like her popular adult romances.

What it is: an autobiography by award-winning picture book creator Jerry Pinkney.

 

What's inside: Jerry's memories of growing up in segregated 1950s America, dealing with a learning disability, and finding his first jobs as an artist. Although the illustrations weren't finished when Jerry died in 2021, the included sketches give you a peek into how he made art.

 

Who it's for: aspiring artists hoping to make it big like Jerry, as well as anyone who loved his picture books.