“I suspect the most we can hope for, and it’s no small hope, is that we never give up, that we never stop giving ourselves permission to try to love and receive love.” – Elizabeth Strout, Abide with Me
Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic, Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor by Hugo Vickers
nonfiction / biography / history.
Acclaimed biographer Hugo Vickers holds an encyclopedic knowledge of the Royal Family, but his fascination with the Duchess of Windsor runs deeper, going back to his own youth. Long misunderstood, the Duchess of Windsor and her story has both fascinated and polarized. While there have been many books the doomed couple, Behind Closed Doors brings a new perspective to Wallis specifically by focusing on the later years of exile.
While Vickers has his own theories about the Abdication itself—and he makes it very clear that Wallis did not lure the King from the throne—the drama of this narrative comes from the criminal exploitation of an old sick woman after the death of her husband. Readers will be shocked by the ruthless French lawyer known as Suzanne Blum and come to understand how the Duchess’s precarious position once she was widowed only added to her plight. Her once-glamorous life quickly spiraled into one of desperation and fear.
Using previously unpublished papers and other personal testaments, Hugo Vickers paints a resonant portrait of a complex and tragic icon and reveals the truth behind her final years.
“…deeply researched and dishy…” – Town & Country
“A page turner. Hugo Vickers’ compelling account makes one feel that Wallis did the Queen a favor.” – Jane Ridley, Literary Review
“With a lifetime’s interest in the subject, Vickers knows everything there is to know about the Windsors. The first half of Behind Closed Doors, as well as being an accumulation of evidence against Blum, is the story of a personal journey into the world of the Windsors. It is also a hugely entertaining account of the battle between biographers for ownership of their subject. The book’s second half is a biography of Wallis Simpson. Vickers delves into her family tree with his accustomed detail.” – Frances Wilson, The Telegraph
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett ★
fiction / historical fiction.
Oxford, Mississippi, 1933.
Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed.
Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister’s seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies.
Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fates—and Meg’s—converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan for them to take control of their lives. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women’s freedom is fragile, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences.
The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to underestimated women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.
“Fans of Stockett’s bestselling debut will love this engaging follow-up.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[So] immersive, exciting, and downright fabulous, you never want it to end.” – Marion Winik, Oprah Daily
“By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, this offers a memorable view into the impossible choices faced by women in the Great Depression.” – Publishers Weekly
“Stockett balances humor and heartbreak with an ease that makes the pages fly. One moment you’re laughing at a perfectly observed social disaster, the next you’re sitting with a character in a moment of raw vulnerability. If you’re looking for a character-driven novel with southern charm, biting social observation, and a cast of women you’ll fall in love with, The Calamity Club absolutely delivers.” – Tim Ehrenberg, Tim Talks Books
Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister
fiction / suspense / mystery.
There is nothing that Simone won’t do for her daughter, Lucy. The two have always been close, and with Lucy about to leave home for university, they depart the UK for a vacation to Texas to spend some quality time together. But when Simone awakens on their first morning in the desert, Lucy is gone, missing from their rental cabin. In her place is a cell phone, and a voice on the other line issues a shocking ransom demand. Don’t tell the police. Come to this location. And be prepared to do a deal…
Though Simone’s husband urges her to bring in the authorities for help, she knows she can’t take any chances. The kidnappers might kill Lucy if she tells anyone. No mother would take that risk. Instead, that night, she drives to the isolated meet-up.
What she finds there changes everything. The mysterious kidnapper doesn’t want money. They want Simone to do something. The unthinkable.
A catastrophic chain of events is set in motion, with chilling consequences that extend beyond Simone and her family. What follows is a heart-pounding journey through the small towns and punishing deserts of remote Texas, in which Simone’s courage—and morality—is pushed to the brink as she discovers what it truly means to be a mother.
Unbearably tense, compassionately told, and full of well-crafted moral dilemmas, Caller Unknown proves once again why Gillian McAllister’s thrillers are “the best of the best” (Lisa Jewell).
“[A] pulse-pounding thriller… Readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering if and when the women will be caught—and what the consequences for their crimes will be. This is a knockout.” – Cari Dubiel, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Beneath the breathless pacing, McAllister offers a thoughtful meditation on the evolving bond between mother and daughter: what it means to let go and what it costs to hold on too tightly.” – Kerri Copus, Library Journal
“…another knockout book club pick… Members will come for the pulse-pounding action that lands somewhere between Taken and Narcos and stay for the meditation on their own relationships with their mothers and/or children.” – Amanda Mannen, Women.com
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop by Laurie Gilmore
fiction / romance.
The greatest love is the one you never expected to find.
Daisy is fed up with being unlucky in love. And since Mayor Kelly declared her beloved flower shop cursed in one of his infamous visions, business has been slow.
Dream Harbor newcomer Elliot has been adjusting to small-town life following his own relationship turmoil. And until now he’s avoided the flower shop at all costs. If the mayor is correct, he doesn’t need any more bad luck in his life.
When he finds himself walking through the door of the Daisy Chain Flower Shop, he doesn’t expect it to be a life-changing moment. But as the petals blossom in the sunlight, might the unluckiest woman in Dream Harbor finally find that love comes when you’re least expecting it?
“…another gentle small-town romance with Hallmark movie vibes… Dream Harbor remains a cozy spot to linger.” – Publishers Weekly
“With a setting that rivals the Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow for cozy charm and a plot that perfectly pivots between moments of comic absurdity, heartfelt emotions, and sexy romance, the latest wonderfully warm and whimsically witty entry in Gilmore’s Dream Harbor is sublimely satisfying.” – John Charles, Booklist
The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun
nonfiction / true crime.
In March 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and younger son at Moselle, their home in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. By then, the story had become headline news across the country, with its revelations of corruption in high places, massive fraud, opioid abuse, fake suicides, suspicious accidents, and the generational recklessness of the wealthy legal dynasty at its center. Having covered the case for The New Yorker, where his article became the magazine’s most read story of the year, the acclaimed novelist James Lasdun brings his long-standing interest in the darker drives of the human psyche to an investigation into the serial embezzlements, fatal boat crash, and other events leading up to the slaughter at Moselle. “Justice may have been served,” Lasdun writes in the preface to The Family Man, “but the human element of the story didn’t seem to add up.”
Having traveled extensively in the Lowcountry, Lasdun draws on original interviews (including with Murdaugh’s notorious “Cousin Eddie”), transcripts of phone calls Murdaugh made from prison, the literature of criminal psychology, and the murder trial itself. Deeply researched, sharply written, and with the page-turning intensity of a Southern gothic novel, The Family Man constructs a masterful portrait of Murdaugh and the mind-boggling crimes that wreaked havoc on his community.\
“[It] reads like a lengthy New Yorker investigation… Like Truman Capote before him with In Cold Blood, Lasdun leaves room for the weight of the unknown, carefully researched and vividly brought to life.” – Courtney Eathorne, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“With its humid Southern gothic atmosphere and healthy skepticism of both the defense and the prosecution, Lasdun’s account is a cut above most accounts of the case… a welcome addition to the shelf of books about this sordid affair.” – Publishers Weekly
“…novelist and poet James Lasdun, brings a literary voice and elaborate detail to a case that gripped the nation… tells the story of the precipitate fall of the house of Murdaugh in staggering, occasionally overwhelming detail… What The Family Man does illuminate to devastating effect is the way the case is emblematic of the direst aspects of contemporary American life: opioid addiction, litigiousness, brazen mendacity (and its bedfellow, gullibility), as well as guns… Not since Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil have I read so vividly wrought an account of the South… when the book reaches a crescendo in its stunning final chapters, the elaborate detail becomes the foundation for his chilling distillation of Alex’s crimes.” – Orlando Whitfield, New York Times
Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen
fiction / fantasy / romance.
Against all odds, Meryn Cooper has inherited the crown—and a deadly war. As the Kingdom of Nocturna splinters under the weight of generations of lies, it is up to Meryn, her bonded direwolf Anassa, and their allies to bring the country back from the brink.
But the commoners, the Bonded, and the nobles are distrustful of their new queen and Meryn is caught in a deadly game of politics. Meanwhile, Meryn’s beloved younger sister, Saela, is more at risk than ever.
Confusingly, the one person Meryn can trust is Stark Therion—the dark, dangerous Alpha she thought hated her as much as she loathed him. Yet, his loyalty is unshakeable. His presence is intoxicating. And with his guidance, Meryn can seize an unthinkable level of power.
With enemies closing in and shadows stirring in her dreams, Meryn stands to lose her kingdom—and her heart.
“…heartpounding…” – Tamara Fuentes, Cosmopolitan
“…it’s going to blow up on social media. If you want to be a part of that conversation, I would probably jump on the bandwagon right now.” – Bryce Olin, Winter is Coming
Ghost Stories: A Memoir by Siri Hustvedt ★
nonfiction / memoir / biography.
Ghost Stories is an intimate meditation on grief, memory, and enduring love, written after the death of Siri Hustvedt’s husband, Paul Auster. The book includes personal, never-before-seen writing by Auster—letters and notes to Siri and his last unfinished book addressed to his grandson, Letters to Miles. The memoir is both an elegy and a reckoning, a chronicle of personal loss that also bears witness to the sorrows of recent years—the tragic deaths of Hustvedt’s stepson and granddaughter.
Hustvedt explores how grief unmoors time, how the intimacy of a shared life continues to mark the everyday, and how the body experiences the absence of love as a presence. She reflects on the things and papers Auster left behind, the forty-three years they spent together, the rituals of mourning, and the nature of language, memory, and the self.
Part memoir, part philosophical inquiry, Ghost Stories is unflinching, tender, and wise. It is a story of a woman haunting her own life, and the ghosts that inhabit us even as we carry on.
“[An] elegy that’s at once heart-swelling and devastating.” – Publishers Weekly
“[A] forthright, richly faceted chronicle of grief… Interlacing the manifest with the mysterious, Hustvedt offers a vivid and intimate homage to Auster the man and the writer, and their loving and creative life together.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist
“…shattering and beautiful… From the first page of Ghost Stories Hustvedt captures grief’s extreme disorientation, that insoluble ‘derangement of time’ that accompanies the loss of someone very close. What follows, though, is the tenderest of bricollage, as Hustvedt gathers thoughts and memories in whatever format is at hand… Essential reading for anyone currently living who may someday encounter death (that’s everyone, folks).” – Literary Hub
“This book is cohesive, melancholy, distinctive and — despite the occasional longueur or ‘lyrical’ moment — genuinely moving… Hustvedt writes so intimately about their physical and intellectual companionship that she makes you feel, in a way not all memoirists can, the dimensions of the crater he left behind… a grainy and resonant book about loneliness, despair and confusion. It’s close to a howl. It’s as if Hustvedt were standing alone on a pedestrian island while cars shriek past.” – Dwight Garner, New York Times
He Who Fights with Monsters Vol. 1: Outworlder by Travis Deverell
fiction / fantasy / comedy.
What’s it like to wake up in a mysterious world of magic and monsters?
It’s not easy.
For Jason, making the career jump from office-supplies-store middle manager to heroic interdimensional adventurer is surreal. Jason tries to be heroic, but it’s hard to be good when all your powers are evil.
He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters… and that’s just on the first day.
Jason’s a stranger in a strange land, and if he’s going to survive, he’ll have to find something inside himself he never knew was there.
He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.
“[A] kind of soul food, light reading, perfect for that ‘just one more chapter’ craving.” – Stefan, Crossing the Pond
John of John by Douglas Stuart ★
fiction.
Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides to find that little has changed except for him. He returns to the windswept croft and the two pillars of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and lay preacher in the local Presbyterian church, and his maternal grandmother Ella, a profanity-loving Glaswegian whose steady warmth helped Cal weather the sudden departure of his mother.
Cal privately wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, while John is dismayed by his son’s long hair, strange clothes, and seeming unwillingness to be Saved. But Cal isn’t the only one in the croft house who is keeping secrets. As lambing season turns to shearing season, the threads holding the community together become increasingly frayed, and nothing will remain as it was before.
John of John is a singular novel about duty, passion, and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that cements Douglas Stuart’s reputation as one of our greatest novelists working today.
“With his gift for creating vibrantly specific characters and settings, Stuart again taps profound human truth.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Booker Prize winner Stuart is in peak form, telling this story with an evocative sense of place, precise and complicated characterizations, and laugh-out-loud humor. Even when characters act their worst, their vulnerabilities and humanity shine through, making the tragedy of their decisions more poignant. A triumph.“ – Jon Jeffryes, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“…Stuart showcases his impressive gift for characterization in this perceptive and propulsive story… The author continues his winning streak with this brilliant novel.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Stuart builds an absorbing, deliciously melodramatic story around the contrast between modernity and the old ways… Stuart’s every observation is profound; the simplest phrase is memorable for its beauty. Intriguing in its particularities but timeless in wisdom, John of John offers hope that relinquishing shame creates freedom to be true to oneself. It’s irresistible and an instant classic… a modern masterpiece with the weight of Scripture…” – Rebecca Foster, Shelf Awareness, STARRED REVIEW
Mothman Is My Boyfriend: Ten Tales of Cryptid Love and Lust by McKayla Coyle
fiction / short stories / romance / fantasy.
Welcome to Cryptid Creek, a secret town full of undiscovered creatures, from yetis to lake monsters. Only very special humans can find their way here, but when they do stumble in, they can’t resist the allure of this cozy locale—or its fascinating citizens.
Join the humans of this inclusive fantasy community as they browse the bookshop with Mothman, hit the skate park with nightcrawlers, wander the botanical garden with the Jersey Devil, and go on other dream dates that offer new spins on classic romance tropes. Stories include:
- A friends-to-lovers slow burn with the Loveland Frog
- A fake dating scheme with a swamp monster
- A butch/femme hookup with Sasquatch
- A second-chance drama with the Michigan Dogman
- And more fun trysts with your favorite creatures!
If you loved Legends and Lattes and That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf, get ready to dust off your cryptozoology equipment and put on your cutest outfit—because monster lovers, misfits, and anyone who relates to cryptids will never want to leave this mountain town.
“…Coyle packs a lot of sweetness and heart-melting warmth into each tale.” – Amanda Toth, Library Journal
“[A] quirky and bighearted collection of linked romantic shorts… The inclusive vibe, gentle humor, and endearing cast of creatures will appeal to anyone seeking cozy monster romance.” – Publishers Weekly
“[A] totally joyous collection of cryptid erotica. It’s unapologetically horny, utterly charming, by turns hilarious and sweet, and featuring all your faves—like the Mothman, Sasquatch, the Jersey Devil, and more—in a cute little town, falling in love (or lust). If you are even vaguely wondering if this might be for you, let me tell you: yes, yes, it is.” – Drew Broussard, Literary Hub
One Leg on Earth by ‘Pemi Aguda ★
fiction / horror.
Something is haunting the pregnant women of Lagos. Across the city, they are walking into water… and drowning.
Twenty-three-year-old Yosoye arrives in Lagos ready to start her life. Working for a slick architectural firm, she finds a city of adventure and opportunity. Her new world is one of fancy gallery openings, glamorous friends, and all the shiny potential of the future, encapsulated in projects like Omi City, the ultra-luxury development her company is building, a symbol of the dawn of a brighter Lagos.
But Yosoye’s idyllic vision of Lagos soon begins to seem naive, and its darker, stranger layers trouble her. Something is not right about Omi City, and as construction speeds ahead, stories of strange deaths in the city’s open waters reach a fever pitch. And then, after a chance encounter, Yosoye discovers she is pregnant… a revelation which puts her on a collision course with an inexplicable force that is as seductive as it is deadly. A masterwork by a writer hailed as “an astonishing talent” (Lauren Groff), One Leg on Earth is an ambitious novel like no other: a coming-of-age story, an uncanny exploration of motherhood, and a chilling vision of the dark side of progress.
“A stunning and lyrical literary horror novel… richly imagined and deftly executed.” – Adam Morgan, Esquire
“…deftly entwines the anxieties of parenting with speculative elements…” – Hamilton Cain, Time
“A virtuoso of dread and suspense, Aguda splices eco-horror, cosmic distress and ideas of the monstrous feminine into a singularly nail-biting experience… the novel luxuriates in a state of deliberate spooky indeterminacy.” – Yagnishsing Dawoor, The Guardian
“…marvelous… Aguda delivers a clear-eyed exploration of daughterhood, community, and the human costs of urban development, powered by an immersive portrait of a woman wrestling with the question of whom and what she’s willing to sacrifice for the life she wants. This is unforgettable.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune ★
fiction / romance.
Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old. Both passionate, impulsive, and headstrong—they’ve always clashed… and come back together. Until now. It’s the eve of Frankie’s wedding weekend, and she doesn’t know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.
Then, at the start of the festivities, in walks George. For one glorious evening, surrounded by her loved ones, Frankie’s life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancé dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note as an explanation.
Crushed and confused, Frankie returns to her family’s home to wallow. But George has a different idea and a plan for healing Frankie’s broken heart. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.
Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.
“This is the only best-friends-to-lovers book you need…” – Bre Avery, Brit + Co
“This novel has romance, friendship, heartache, and steamy scenes, a perfect fit for fans of Emily Henry. It’s nothing short of perfection.” – Crystal Vela, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Move aside, Paris and Rome—Tofino, Canada is now at the top of our travel bucket lists! From the sprawling wooded landscapes to the romantic beach sunsets, this book feels like a vacation perfectly distilled into 400 pages.” – Book of the Month
Platform Decay by Martha Wells
fiction / science fiction / comedy.
Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.
After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn’t know.
Including human children. Ugh.
This may well call for… eye contact!
(Emotion check: Oh, for f―)
“Murderbot’s legion of fans will be thrilled by Wells’s latest series installment, and readers who love a good, snarky internal monologue will be glad to know that Murderbot is back in fine fettle after their self-doubt in the previous book, System Collapse.” – Marlene Harris, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“…wildly entertaining… [a] spectacular journey, punctuated with satisfying combat scenes… Equal parts action packed, humorous, and heartfelt, this proves the series shows no signs of slowing down.” – Publishers Weekly
“It’s an incredibly satisfying ride, and one of the funniest installments in the series… Wells returns to form with this one, offering a setting and cast that feels smaller and more intimate, more like her earlier novellas. At the same time, she sets up exciting possibilities for where this universe could go next. The family dynamic adds real poignancy, providing one of the most emotionally resonant Murderbot tales yet.” – John Keogh, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Rules for the Summer by Meghan Quinn
fiction / romance / comedy.
Renley Gossage has one shot to prove she’s more than Cape Meril’s favorite cautionary tale: restore her favorite candy shop before the town writes her off like they did her father. No help, no shortcuts, and definitely no rich men wielding engagement rings and making things messy.
Theo Williams never planned on ending up in Cape Meril. A drunken game of truth or dare turned into a botched online engagement, and now he’s across the ocean, escaping his father’s control with nothing but designer shoes, misplaced confidence, and a rental next door to Renley.
She’s practical, stubborn, and covered in paint. He’s posh, persistent, and willing to use a sander if it means earning her trust.
Between collapsing drywall, gossiping neighbors, and the chaotic schemes of Renley’s aunt, their forced proximity turns into something dangerously close to real.
But Renley’s future depends on standing on her own two feet, and Theo’s past isn’t done with him yet. By the time the candy shop doors open, they’ll have to decide if this is just a summer fling―or the happily ever after neither of them saw coming.
“There’s plenty of background zaniness—Renley, for example, lives with an aunt who is obsessed with hobby horses—alongside the family drama, steamy scenes, and emotional declarations. It will be catnip for the author’s fans.” – Publishers Weekly
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout ★
fiction.
Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?
And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.
Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one man’s fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.
“Another perceptive character study from Elizabeth Strout, this time centered around a Massachusetts high school history teacher who presents an amiable face to the world but is riddled with self-doubt and pessimism.” – Anne Peck, The Indie Next List
“The Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist unveils a fresh setting and troupe of characters that lifts her literary game with energized prose and gimlet-eyed insights.” – Hamilton Cain, Time
“We’re all familiar with the concept of being alone in a crowd. But leave it to Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout to find new dimensions to the feeling in this powerful new novel. Strout’s story follows high school teacher Artie Dam, who seems to have made a pleasant life for himself—a time-tested marriage, a large group of friends, a sailboat for goodness sake—until a revelation upends it all and makes him consider just how powerful his connections have really been.” – Town & Country
“Revered for her deeply empathetic and perceptive approach, Strout creates existentially complex interior worlds for seemingly simple characters… Tantalizingly perceptive and compassionate glimpses into the backstories of the key contributors to Artie’s crisis of the soul will give readers hope that these indelible individuals will one day appear in a trademark Strout spin-off of their own. Strout fans will flock to her latest, thrilled to meet new characters in her always compelling fictional universe.” – Carol Haggas, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
True Crime: A Memoir by Patricia Cornwell
nonfiction / memoir / writing.
Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta’s began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue.
In this achingly honest memoir, Cornwell excavates her own life, detailing her traumatic childhood being raised by neglectful parents, her father abandoning the young family on Christmas day, her mother being institutionalized twice, an abusive foster family, and developing a parental relationship with evangelist Billy Graham’s wife Ruth. Cornwell depicts a harrowing hospitalization and near-death car accident. She unflinchingly shares overcoming obstacles that later gave her the ambition to become an award-winning police reporter. From there it was research in a medical examiner’s office that would turn into a full-time job. She would become a forensic expert and worldwide publishing phenomenon.
Cornwell leaves no stone unturned in this deeply candid account of her life, offering inspiring insight into what made her into the international sensation she is today.
“If you’ve ever wondered how crime writers manage to dream up the mayhem they write about, this book is an excellent window into the process.” – Marion Winik, Oprah Daily
“This literary memoir is as good as it gets, with more action and drama than many novels.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
The Undergrads: Student Union by Julie Murphy
fiction / romance.
Clover Rowan Walsh knows The Plan™.
1. Get a full ride to her dream school, Wexley University.
2. Conquer the school of business.
3. Say goodbye to the paycheck-to-paycheck life she and her mom have known for years.
There’s just one hiccup. With the first semester rapidly approaching, Clover learns her housing grant has fallen through. But a loophole presents itself: Married couples can live in the dorms for the price of one student. Clover is willing to sacrifice the sanctity of marriage… even if it means proposing to the one person she swore she’d never speak to again.
Bennett Andrew Graves is the only heir to the Graves Coffee empire. After spending his first year at Wexley, squeaking by in classes and becoming personally acquainted with the female student body, he is looking forward to living off campus. Until the girl he grew up with (and whom he completely devastated years ago) walks back into his life with the most absurd question: Will you marry me?
Bennett can’t refuse Clover. He owes her this, but that doesn’t change the fact that these two can barely carry on a conversation without getting at each other’s throats. Forget about sharing a dorm―much less one bed.
But as Clover and Bennett hide the true nature of their marriage, they find that playing house isn’t all that bad―especially with certain marital benefits in the mix. In fact, Clover and Bennett are soon forgetting the most important part of their fake marriage of convenience… that it’s supposed to be fake.
“Julie Murphy is taking us back to school for the ultimate lesson in romance with a brand-new college-set series that absolutely has us feeling like we’re getting an A+ in Chemistry. This time she’s even taking some of our favorite tropes and putting never-before-seen spins on it and, trust us when we say that we are mind blown by it all.” – Tamara Fuentes, Cosmopolitan
Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr. by Lerone Martin
nonfiction / biography / history.
We know who Martin Luther King, Jr. became, but who was he at the beginning of his life? How did his youth inform his outlook and activism?
Before Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader, a Nobel Laureate, and a global hero, he was an emotional boy, a middling high school student devoted to fashion, dancing, and dating. Lerone A. Martin, Faculty Director of the Martin Luther King Institute at Stanford University, traces these roots to develop a fuller understanding of the influential preacher’s emotional life, his youthful confusion about his future and career direction, his teenage missteps, and his inspiration to fight for justice.
Revelatory, humanizing, and compassionate, Young King unearths:
- MLK’s Childhood on Auburn Avenue: his days as “Little Mike”—the ever-eager middle child and a precocious prankster—spent at Ebenezer Baptist Church and the Auburn Avenue Library in Atlanta
- Early Encounters with Racism: his early experiences of segregation and the summers he spent on a Connecticut tobacco farm, his first trip outside the Jim Crow South
- College Life at Morehouse: his transformative time at Morehouse, playing basketball, hosting parties, studying sociology, and joining the Ministers’ Union
- Path to Seminary and Activism: his winding path to seminary and the co-development of his activist consciousness, his spiritual devotion, and his relationship with Coretta, his wife-to-be
As America undergoes another era of turmoil and change, this powerful biography provides a vital roadmap for how greatness comes to light. This essential work is a testament to how history shapes a leader.
Young King includes rarely seen black-and-white photographs of an adolescent MLK from his high school days and college years.
“A vibrant and illuminating account of an icon’s early years.” – Kirkus Reviews
“This revealing, vividly told biography illuminates a fact worth remembering: Our greatest leaders do not emerge fully formed in the moment in which they are most needed, but are molded by family, community and education.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“Lerone Martin’s biography of Martin Luther King Jr. is compelling precisely because it restores movement and youth to a figure too often treated as monument. By focusing on formation, teenage life, and the making of political consciousness, Young King offers a more complicated and therefore more useful portrait.” – Pamela Thomas-Graham, Dandelion Chandelier
Young World by Soman Chainani
fiction / young adult / mystery / suspense.
America is on the brink of collapse, and the youth have lost all faith in their leaders. As a pivotal election approaches, Benton Young, a high school senior trying to impress a girl, impulsively uploads a video, daring everyone to interfere with the vote and write him in for President. The video explodes online, igniting election chaos and a national revolt, until the Supreme Court intervenes to put Benton in the White House. Galvanized by Benton’s rise, more global youth take to the streets, and more governments fall, until eight of the world’s most powerful nations are led by teenagers.
When these young leaders convene at their first summit in Sweden, they face the monumental task of setting a new course for history. But the first night, their unity is shattered when a leader is murdered in cold blood… and Benton is the only suspect. Hunted by enemies young and old, he must untangle a deadly web of secrets, betrayal, and power plays—while the future of the world hangs in the balance.
With globe-spanning action, stunning twists, and an electric new brand of storytelling, Young World is a heart-stopping thriller that asks: What happens when the future really does belong to the young?
“[A] provocative political thriller… fast-moving and thrilling from start to finish with moments of angst, emotion, and love sprinkled throughout.” – Upasna Kakroo, Peerbagh
“…exhilarating… Characters sling profane humor, jockey for power by leveraging popular-kid or mean-girl energy, and—in a cloak-and-dagger second act that turns this campy thought experiment into a pell-mell thriller—engage in imperial expansion, cleverly mirroring and critiquing contemporary politics… a searing and uncanny reflection on political reach, restriction, and corruption, and the friction that emerges when a wide-eyed idealist collides with the unyielding guardians of the status quo.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“This book is incredibly creative… extremely timely and innovative… a unique commentary on the times, and how difficult it can be to not only do the right thing, but to get others to join you in it.” – Elisha Jachetti, YA Books Central
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