“And the worst thing about being young is not being able to appreciate that you’re young because you aren’t old enough to know any better.” – Elin Hilderbrand, 28 Summers
Ask Me Again by Clare Sestanovich
fiction.
At sixteen, Eva meets Jamie by chance. She lives in middle-class south Brooklyn; he comes from the super rich of upper Manhattan. She’s observant, cautious, often insecure; he’s curious, bold, full of mysteries. These two questers are drawn together in a strange and profound friendship, tested by forces larger than themselves. As Eva follows a path of conventional achievement—a prestigious degree, a classic romance, the start of an ambitious career—Jamie seeks out more radical experiments in finding himself: renouncing his family, joining a political movement, and eventually even talking to God.
Carried forcefully along by Clare Sestanovich’s exquisite prose, these two characters are pulled into separate spheres but circle the same questions: how to define their values and find their purpose, how to create a sense of self while discovering what they owe to society and to the cause of justice. These reckonings propel a surprising story of intimacy across time, exploring the alchemy of identity, the mystery of destiny, and the difficult journey of finding faith—in yourself, and in the world.
“Sestanovich captivates with her distinctive characterizations and insights into the reverberating consequences of a gap between one’s intentions and one’s actions. The result is an intelligent exploration of lives in the making.” – Publishers Weekly
“…Clare Sestanovich’s prose asks the kind of questions that make you lean back—pondering daily paradoxes you’d never quite considered before—while her characters make you lean forward onto the edge of your seat.” – Kyla D. Walker, Electric Lit
Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart
fiction / suspense / mystery.
Mark was the most dangerous killer-for-hire in the world. But after learning the hard way that his life’s work made him more monster than man, he left all of that behind, and joined a twelve-step group for reformed killers.
When Mark is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant, he is forced on the run. From New York to Singapore to London, he chases after clues while dodging attacks and trying to solve the puzzle of who’s after him. All without killing anyone. Or getting killed himself. For an assassin, Mark learns, nonviolence is a real hassle.
“A wild and hugely entertaining ride.” – Brian Kenney, firstCLUE
“Bombastic whiz-bang fun.” – Kirkus Reviews
“…nail-biting… [with] strong characters and rattling suspense… Hart remains a formidable rising talent.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Clete by James Lee Burke
fiction / mystery / suspense.
Clete Purcel – private investigator, ex-member of the New Orleans Police Department, and war veteran with a hard shell and just a few soft spots – is Dave Robicheaux’s longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past. When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only to return to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade from Mexican cartels to Louisiana, it feels personal – his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and his fists curl when he thinks of the dealers who sold it.
Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow, a woman with a dark past hires Clete as a detective to investigate her scheming, slippery ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who seems to lurk around every corner. Clete is experiencing shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questioning Clara’s ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed his car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could’ve imagined.
Gripping, violent, yet interlaced with Clete’s humor and consistent drive to protect those he loves, Clete brings a fresh perspective to a truly iconic series. James Lee Burke proves yet again that he is the “heavyweight champ” and “great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed” (Michael Connelly).
“They don’t make authors like James Lee Burke anymore, and the veteran bestseller—never afraid to tell it like it is—comes out swinging yet again… Raw, real, and unfiltered, James Lee Burke’s latest is a throwback thriller to the glory, gritty heydeys of Dennis Lehane, John Sandford, and Robert Crais. Longtime fans will love this latest entry.” – Ryan Steck, The Real Book Spy
“Readers will delight in Burke’s sterling proseand take heart amid the surreal proceedings in Robicheaux’s assertion that ‘mysteries exist. The denial of them is an absurdity.’ This is a winner.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“It’ll come as no surprise to Burke’s fans that this is a perfectly constructed story told extremely well, and the opportunity to see Dave through the eyes of his best friend, from a new and rather intimate angle, absolutely should not be missed.” – David Pitt, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd
fiction / historical fiction / mystery / suspense.
Everybody knows that in 1938, runaway heiress artist Juliette Willoughby perished in an accidental studio fire in Paris, alongside her masterpiece “Self Portrait As Sphinx.”
Fifty years later, two Cambridge art history students are confounded when they stumble across proof that the fire was no accident but something more sinister. What they uncover threatens the very foundation of Juliette’s aristocratic family and revives rumors of the infamous curse that has haunted the Willoughbys for generations.
But what does their discovery mean? And how is it connected to a brutal murder in present-day Dubai?
A tale of love and madness, obsession and revenge, The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby unravels the riddle posed by a Sphinx who refuses to reveal her secrets…
“A delightful puzzle box of a novel.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“This cinematic and compelling book will appeal to fans of suspense that is enhanced by intellectual history.” – Cari Dubiel, Booklist
“Readers will enjoy unraveling the threads of history and mystery alongside Caroline and Patrick as they soak up art-world atmosphere and intrigue across the decades. The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a twisty and compelling exploration of power and obsession, secrecy and surrealism, artifice and art.” – Linda M. Castellitto, BookPage
The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne ★
nonfiction / memoir / biography / true crime / film.
At eight, Sean Connery saved him from drowning. At thirteen, desperate to hook up with Janis Joplin, he attended his aunt Joan Didion and uncle John Gregory Dunne’s legendary LA launch party for Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. At sixteen, he got kicked out of boarding school, ending his institutional education for good. In his early twenties, he shared an apartment in Manhattan’s Hotel Des Artistes with his best friend and soulmate Carrie Fisher while she was filming some sci-fi movie called Star Wars and he was a struggling actor working as a popcorn concessionaire at Radio City Music Hall. A few years later, he produced and starred in the now-iconic film After Hours, directed by Martin Scorsese. In the midst of it all, Griffin’s twenty-two-year-old sister, Dominique, a rising star in Hollywood, was brutally strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend, leading to one of the most infamous public trials of the 1980s. The outcome was a travesty of justice that marked the beginning of their father Dominick Dunne’s career as a crime reporter for Vanity Fair and a victims’ rights activist.
And yet, for all its boldface cast of characters and jaw-dropping scenes, The Friday Afternoon Club is no mere celebrity memoir. It is, down to its bones, a family story that embraces the poignant absurdities and best and worst efforts of its loveable, infuriating, funny, and moving characters—its author most of all.
“A poignant love letter and evidence that through it all, genuine love is the backbone that keeps a family strong.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] captivating memoir of celebrity from all sides… beyond entertaining, honest in confronting heartbreaks and jealousies, often genuinely funny, and somehow understated… clear-eyed, heartfelt… readers will hope for future books.” – Annie Bostrom, Booklist
“Dunne’s writing is vivid, openhearted, and full of a rich irony that inflects even the most emotional scenes… a raucously entertaining homage to an unforgettable dynasty.” – Publishers Weekly
“Griffin Dunne knows how to tell a story… Here he uses his authorial gifts — a filmmaker’s eye, photographic memory and way with a quip — to great effect, exploring how the seemingly charmed lives of the Dunnes unraveled.” – Leigh Haber, Washington Post
Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove with Ben Greenman ★
nonfiction / music / memoir / history.
When hip-hop first emerged in the 1970s, it wasn’t expected to become the cultural force it is today. But for a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in Philadelphia, it was everything. He stayed up late to hear the newest songs on the radio. He saved his money to buy vinyl as soon as it landed. He even started to try to make his own songs. That kid was Questlove, and decades later, he is a six-time Grammy Award–winning musician, an Academy Award–winning filmmaker, a New York Times bestselling author, a producer, an entrepreneur, a cofounder of one of hip-hop’s defining acts (the Roots), and the genre’s unofficial in-house historian.
In this landmark book, Hip-Hop Is History, Questlove skillfully traces the creative and cultural forces that made and shaped hip-hop, highlighting both the forgotten but influential gems and the undeniable chart-topping hits—and weaves it all together with the stories no one else knows. It is at once an intimate, sharply observed story of a cultural revolution and a sweeping, grand theory of the evolution of the great artistic movement of our time. And Questlove, of course, approaches it with not only the encyclopedic fluency and passion of an obsessive fan but also the expertise and originality of an innovative participant.
Hip-hop is history, and also his history.
“Questlove’s instincts as a superfan and artist take this history beyond the hype to something very special.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] rollicking account that offers a unique vantage point to the arc of hip-hop in miniature…” – Brandon Yu, San Francisco Chronicle
“This is a must-read for music lovers, cultural history buffs, and hip-hop fans, a work that provides valuable insights into pivotal artistic and community movements that will continue to shape our world. Questlove’s illuminating and insightful survey is as personal as it is expert.” – Sharon Wyatt, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Throughout, Questlove interweaves sharp and lyrical analyses of hip-hop’s evolution with fascinating, up-close recollections of the genre’s turning points… an exuberant account of a dynamic musical genre and the cultural climate in which it evolved.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay ★
fiction / horror / mystery.
In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.
The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.
The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions—demons of the past be damned.
But at what cost?
Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful feat of storytelling genius that builds inexorably to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.
“This book has plagued my brain for days after reading it (Thanks, Paul). It’s been an existential trip of a book hangover that I recommend everyone takes.” – Haley Newlin, Cemetery Dance
“Lock the windows and bolt the doors before picking up Paul Tremblay’s Horror Movie… Horror Movie delights in prodding the manipulation inherent to artistic creation, the slippery give-and-take between auteur and audience… It’s a smart book, smartly told, and should establish Tremblay as not just one of our great horror writers but one of our great fiction writers, full stop.” – Emily C. Hughes, New York Times
“…terrifying… a suspenseful story that is marked by its relentless unease and disturbing revelations about the characters, yes, but also about the readers themselves. An immersive reading experience that will forever alter the way those who encounter it watch horror movies.” – Becky Spratford, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Unease and terror rapidly build in the book as readers learn details of what happened on the original set and how it threatens the present. The novel is as unsettling and gripping as a slasher while also managing to be funny and thoughtful.” – Lila Denning, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden
fiction / suspense / mystery.
I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.
Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…
The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.
Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here?
I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?
“Once again, McFadden’s skillful storytelling keeps readers on the edge of their seats… every character is expertly crafted to heighten the suspense and keep readers guessing from beginning to end… Whether you’re a longtime fan of the Housemaid series or diving in for the first time, this book is sure to leave you breathless.” – Ryan Steck, The Real Book Spy
I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris by Glynnis MacNicol
nonfiction / memoir / travel.
When you’re a woman of a certain age, you are only promised that everything will get worse. But what if everything you’ve been told is a lie?
Come to Paris, August 2021, when the City of Lights was still empty of tourists and a thirst for long-overdue pleasure gripped those who wandered its streets.
After New York City emptied out in March 2020, Glynnis MacNicol, aged forty-six, unmarried with no children, spent sixteen months alone in her tiny Manhattan apartment. The isolation was punishing. A year without touch. Women are warned of invisibility as they age, but this was an extreme loneliness no one can prepare you for. When the opportunity to sublet a friend’s apartment in Paris arose, MacNicol jumped on it. Leaving felt less like a risk than a necessity.
What follows is a decadent, joyful, unexpected journey into one woman’s pursuit of radical enjoyment.
The weeks in Paris are filled with friendship and food and sex. There is dancing on the Seine; a plethora of gooey cheese; midnight bike rides through empty Paris; handsome men; afternoons wandering through the empty Louvre; nighttime swimming in the ocean off a French island. And yes, plenty of nudity.
In the spirit of Nora Ephron and Deborah Levy (think Colette… if she’d had access to dating apps), I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself is an intimate, insightful, powerful, and endlessly pleasurable memoir of an intensely lived experience whose meaning and insight expand far beyond the personal narrative. MacNicol is determined to document the beauty, excess, and triumph of a life that does not require permission.
The pursuit of enjoyment is a political act, both a right and a responsibility. Enjoying yourself—as you are—is not something the world tells you is possible, but it is.
Here’s the proof.
“A fun memoir filled to the brim with humor and vulnerability.” – Kirkus Reviews
“In this vulnerable essay collection, plates of pain perdu and mugs of chocolat chaud punctuate meditations on writing, dating, and economic uncertainty—you know, all the essential existential crises of our era. Paris, with its stunning scenery and refined charm, is the perfect setting for MacNicol to soothe what ails her.” – Amy McCarthy, Eater
“The memoir is perhaps more aptly described as a tale, given its compressed, month-ish timeline. You could also interpret it as allegory: In her first memoir, 2018’s No One Tells You This, MacNicol reckoned with turning 40 and caring for her dying mother in the absence of the expected husband or children. (It made me cry on a plane.) Yet in I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, a spiritual sequel, MacNicol’s life is framed not by lack, but abundance. She not only defies convention, but richly enjoys doing so, dedicating 260 pages to the pleasures of being single and childfree… For mothers and wives in the throes of caretaking, MacNicol’s independence, her freedom to travel to Paris at all, may feel downright fantastical. But it also offers a profoundly hopeful counter-narrative: that age can come with an expanding, rather than a limiting, of possibilities… Delicious.” – Michelle Ruiz, Vogue
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe ★
fiction / comedy.
As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet’s always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.
Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?
Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.
“Deeply funny, thoughtful, riveting.” – Emily Gould, Vulture
“…in turns funny and moving, daring and satisfying, but above else, relentlessly charming—that rare book about storytelling that also tells a good story.“ – Emily Temple, Literary Hub
“I cannot stop telling people about this weird and wonderful gem of a book. It’s so completely different than anything I’ve ever read… This book was so singular and full of heart and I fell hard for both the titular Margo and her father, Jinx. If nothing else, read it for the last line alone, which FLOORED me. My prediction is this will be the Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow of 2024, so if that’s your jam, get in on the ground floor.” – Becca Freeman, Book Enthusiast
“Simultaneously irreverent and earnest, Thorpe analyzes contradicting social mores in an immersive and thoroughly entertaining way. Margo’s charming voice is the perfect vehicle for modeling the power gained by fashioning your own story in defiance of the criticism and dictates of others.” – Joelle Egan, Booklist
Moonbound by Robin Sloan
fiction / fantasy / science fiction.
In Moonbound, Robin Sloan has written a novel with the full scope and ambitious imagination of the very books that lit the engines of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore: an epic quest as only Sloan could conceive it, mixing science fiction, fantasy, good old-fashioned literary storytelling, and unrivaled enthusiasm for what’s next.
It is eleven thousand years from now… A lot has happened, and yet a lot is still very familiar. Ariel is a boy in a small town under a wizard’s rule. Like many adventurers before him, Ariel is called to explore a world full of unimaginable glories and challenges: unknown enemies, a mission to save the world, a girl. Here, as they say, be dragons. But none of this happens before Ariel comes across an artifact from an earlier civilization, a sentient, record-keeping artificial intelligence that carries with it the perspective of the whole of human history—and becomes both Ariel’s greatest ally and the narrator of our story.
Moonbound is an adventure into the richest depths of Story itself. It is a deeply satisfying epic of ancient scale, blasted through the imaginative prism one of our most forward-thinking writers. And this is only the beginning.
“Talking animals, robot pilgrims, and enthralling alternative technologies abound in this heartfelt mix of fantasy and sf that features imaginative world building and ingeniously crafted characters.” – Lucy Lockley, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Sloan’s thought-provoking novel explores the limits of what it means to be human… a captivating meld of fantasy and science fiction tropes that are both startling in scope and impressive in their concepts.” – Jeremiah Rood, Library Journal
“…full of wildly inventive and audacious worldbuilding delivered in a cozy tone reminiscent of Becky Chambers. With the flavor of a classic coming-of-age adventure or a complicated video game, this is a world readers will hope to come back to.” – Publishers Weekly
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
fiction / romance / comedy.
Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.
Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through—and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.
Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business—one that plays for keeps.
“The queen of STEMinist rom-coms is at the top of her game.” – Diana Tixier Herald, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Business and personal proposals collide in Hazelwood’s strongest book yet.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“The chemistry leaps off the page and Eli’s intelligence and thoughtfulness toward Rue will have readers swooning. Crafting a relationship that is both raunchy and emotionally nuanced, this is Hazelwood at her best.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon ★
fiction / suspense / mystery / horror.
Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the luxe wellness center at the top of the hill, which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world’s troubles.
Jasmyn’s only friends in the community are equally perplexed and frustrated by most residents’ outlook. Then Jasmyn discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders. Frustration turns to dread as their loved ones start embracing the Liberty way of life.
Will the truth destroy her world in ways she never could have imagined?
Thrilling with insightful social commentary, One of Our Kind explores the ways in which freedom is complicated by the presumptions we make about ourselves and each other.
“…provocative… sure to spark book club conversations for years to come. Who says you can’t tackle big, important contemporary ideas in a page-turning thriller?” – Paul Constant, Seattle Times
“A bracing tale of the perils of groupthink and willful ignorance.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“…masterful… brings to bear all the claustrophobia of Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives against the backdrop of systemic racism and police brutality… Yoon’s latest will linger in readers’ minds long after its horrifying conclusion.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] riveting tale spiked with surprises, laced with compassion, and designed for discussion as it raises unsettling questions about class, Blackness, parenthood, social responsibility, justice, and the hidden repercussions of deep, centuries-spanning trauma.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center ★
fiction / romance / comedy.
Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!—it’s a break too big to pass up.
Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone—much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script—it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.
But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter—even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But… what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much… more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules—and comes true?
“A winning romance that deftly balances heft and humor.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Winsome and charming, Center’s latest is that perfect blend of romance and overcoming life challenges that her readers treasure.” – Kristine Huntley, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“There’s something cosy, warm and moving about this story… Center did a fantastic job creating, developing and nurturing the many plot threads that make this book what it is. I followed each and every thread with anticipation, sometimes fear and most times excitement and couldn’t wait to see where they would lead us.” – Ahana Rao, The Nerd Daily
Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand
fiction / romance / mystery.
Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is about to retire. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. But when a 22-million-dollar summer home is purchased by the mysterious Richardsons—how did they make their money, exactly?—Ed, Sharon, and everyone in the community are swept up in high drama. The Richardsons throw lavish parties, flirt with multiple locals, flaunt their wealth with not one but two yachts, and raise impossible hopes of everyone they meet. When their house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is up in arms.
The last of Elin Hilderbrand’s bestselling Nantucket novels, Swan Song is a propulsive medley of glittering gatherings, sun-soaked drama, wisdom and heart, featuring the return of some of her most beloved characters, including, most importantly, the beautiful and timeless island of Nantucket itself.
“A must-read for Hilderbrand’s many enthusiastic followers.” – Jan Marry, Library Journal
“Strong characterizations and delicious moments of tension make this a worthy note to end on. Readers will be riveted.” – Publishers Weekly
“There are plenty of Easter eggs for longtime fans, but even those diving in to her exquisite writing for the first time are in for a treat: a story that feels like it’s being told over cocktails at the Oystercatcher, perfectly paced for maximum drama with characters you can’t get enough of. This is aspirational escapism at its finest. ” – Susan Maguire, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson
fiction / mystery / suspense.
Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she’d likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her work as a librarian in Maine. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured salesman whose job took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger.
A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he’d worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern—five unsolved cases of murdered women.
Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence? Unsure what to think, Martha contacts an old friend from graduate school for advice. Lily Kintner once helped Martha out of a jam with an abusive boyfriend and may have some insight. Intrigued, Lily offers to meet Alan to find out what kind of man he really is… but what Lily uncovers is more perplexing and wicked than they ever could have expected.
“Swanson has written many excellent novels, but this one is certainly his most shocking.” – David Pitt, Booklist
“Just when you think you’ve lost the ability to be surprised by a book, Peter Swanson writes twist after turn in A Talent for Murder… chilling, disquieting, and eerily smart. A gripping psychological thriller, A Talent for Murder will make you want to sleep with the lights on, become a detective, or both.” – Regina Montoya, Book of the Month
“…brilliant… Swanson’s gift for well-earned yet seismic reveals is on full display, and he fortifies them with unexpected heart through the story of Lily and Martha’s friendship. This is a masterpiece of misdirection.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Tehrangeles by Porochista Khakpour ★
fiction / comedy.
Iranian-American multimillionaires Ali and Homa Milani have it all—a McMansion in the hills of Los Angeles, a microwaveable snack empire, and four spirited daughters. There’s Violet, the big-hearted aspiring model; Roxanna, the chaotic influencer; Mina, the chronically-online overachiever; and the impressionable health fanatic Haylee. On the verge of landing their own reality TV show, the Milanis realize their deepest secrets are about to be dragged out into the open before the cameras even roll.
Each of the Milanis—even their aloof Persian cat Pari—has something to hide, but the looming scrutiny of fame also threatens to bring the family closer than ever. Dramatic, biting yet full of heart, Tehrangeles is a tragicomic saga about high-functioning family dysfunction and the ever-present struggle to accept one’s true self.
“[An] irresistible voice… compulsively readable… Think the Kardashians meet Little Women and Crazy Rich Asians… an indelible, uproarious snapshot of young womanhood…” – Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue
“Iranian and American cultures collide in a shower of glitter and tears in this sendup of the SoCal elite.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Fans of shrewd and funny pop-culture satire and reality TV will consume this with delight.” – Candace Smith, Booklist
“[]A wry, juicy satire that satisfied my urge for good sentences and great drama. Loosely, it’s Little Women meets Shahs of Sunset, with a cast of pitch-perfect characters who I found exasperating, heart-rending, and endlessly compelling… If you love talking to your smartest friends about the Bravoverse, this is the summer novel for you.” – Jessie Gaynor, Literary Hub
Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell by Ann Powers ★
nonfiction / biography / memoir / music.
For decades, Joni Mitchell’s life and music have enraptured listeners. One of the most celebrated artists of her generation, Mitchell has inspired countless musicians—from peers like James Taylor, to inheritors like Prince and Brandi Carlile—and authors, who have dissected her music and her life in their writing. At the same time, Mitchell has always been a force beckoning us still closer, as—with the other arm—she pushes us away. Given this, music critic Ann Powers wondered if there was another way to draw insights from the life of this singular musician who never stops moving, never stops experimenting.
In Traveling, Powers seeks to understand Mitchell through her myriad journeys. Through extensive interviews with Mitchell’s peers and deep archival research, she takes readers to rural Canada, mapping the singer’s childhood battle with polio. She charts the course of Mitchell’s musical evolution, ranging from early folk to jazz fusion to experimentation with pop synthetics. She follows the winding road of Mitchell’s collaborations with other greats, and the loves that emerged along the way, all the way through to the remarkable return of Mitchell to music-making after the 2015 aneurysm that nearly took her life.
Along this journey, Powers’ wide-ranging musings on the artist’s life and career reconsider the biographer’s role and the way it twines against the reality of a fan. In doing so, Traveling illustrates the shifting nature of biography, and the ultimate contradiction of celebrity: that an icon cannot truly, completely be known to a fan.
Kaleidoscopic in scope, and intimate in its detail, Traveling is a fresh and fascinating addition to the Joni Mitchell canon, written by a biographer in full command of her gifts who asks as much of herself as of her subject.
“[A] brilliant and personal distillation of a singular artist.” – June Sawyers, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“A top-notch music critic set loose on a worthy subject.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] dazzling portrait of a legendary musician… a dynamic portrayal of an artist whose ‘journey would be, throughout her life, her destination.’” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“A daring, intimate book about a daring, intimate artist, Traveling is a thrilling provocation from Ann Powers, one of the greatest cultural critics of our time. Merging biography, memoir and analysis, Powers paints a gorgeous map of the artist’s influence over a lifetime, puncturing myths and finding electric new connections, always in search of the deeper meaning.” – Emily Nussbaum, The New Yorker
What Fire Brings by Rachel Howzell Hall
fiction / suspense / mystery.
Bailey Meadows has just moved into the remote Topanga Canyon home of thriller author Jack Beckham. As his writer-in-residence, she’s supposed to help him once again reach the bestseller list. But she’s not there to write a thriller—she’s there to find Sam Morris, a community leader dedicated to finding missing people, who has disappeared in the canyon surrounding Beckham’s property.
The missing woman was last seen in the drought-stricken forest known for wildfires and mountain lions. Each new day, Bailey learns just how dangerous these canyons are—for the other women who have also gone missing here… and for her. Could these missing women be linked to strange events that occurred decades ago at the Beckham estate?
As fire season in the canyons approaches, Bailey must race to unravel the truth from fiction before she becomes the next woman lost in the forest.
“[An] exciting and memorable read.” – Vicki Weisfeld, Crime Fiction Lover
“Nothing is what it seems in this tour de force.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Classic gothic and Hitchcockian themes take on post-COVID-19 twists here, fueling paranoia and shifting realities as Hall crafts harrowing what-ifs around writers’ relationships with their stories.” – Christine Tran, Booklist
White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
nonfiction / politics / current events / economics / history / sociology / memoir / religion.
One of the most pernicious and persistent myths in the United States is the association of Black skin with poverty. Though there are forty million more poor white people than Black people, most Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, continue to think of poverty—along with issues like welfare, unemployment, and food stamps—as solely a Black problem. Why is this so? What are the historical causes? And what are the political consequences that result?
These are among the questions that the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, a leading advocate for the rights of the poor and the “closest person we have to Dr. King” (Cornel West), addresses in White Poverty, a groundbreaking work that exposes a legacy of historical myths that continue to define both white and Black people, creating in the process what might seem like an insuperable divide. Analyzing what has changed since the 1930s, when the face of American poverty was white, Barber, along with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, addresses white poverty as a hugely neglected subject that just might provide the key to mitigating racism and bringing together tens of millions of working class and impoverished Americans.
Thus challenging the very definition of who is poor in America, Barber writes about the lies that prevent us from seeing the pain of poor white families who have been offered little more than their “whiteness” and angry social media posts to sustain them in an economy where the costs of housing, healthcare, and education have skyrocketed while wages have stagnated for all but the very rich. Asserting in Biblically inspired language that there should never be shame in being poor, White Poverty lifts the hope for a new “moral fusion movement” that seeks to unite people “who have been pitted against one another by politicians (and billionaires) who depend on the poorest of us not being here.”
Ultimately, White Poverty, a ringing work that braids poignant autobiographical recollections with astute historical analysis, contends that tens of millions of America’s poorest earners, the majority of whom don’t vote, have much in common, thus providing us with one of the most empathetic and visionary approaches to American poverty in decades.
“A meaningful call to revise our view of poverty and to insist on real action to rectify the situation.” – Kirkus Reviews
“White Poverty resonates like a powerful sermon. Like Jeremiah, Amos and other Old Testament prophets, Barber condemns the injustice perpetrated on the poor. And also like them, Barber offers a hopeful way forward to a more just and equitable society.” – Deborah Mason, BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
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