New Fiction

 Wolcott's Ghost By Louise Penny

Penny, who’s never met a story idea big enough to daunt her, unspools the endless puzzles surrounding a corpse whose identity isn’t known but whose status as a murder victim is clear. “There’s a body in Lost Nation,” a dead-of-night telephone call informs Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of the homicide division at the Sûreté du Québec. Why is the informant calling Gamache’s personal line, and how did they get his number? For that matter, who placed the call? It certainly wasn’t Clara Morrow, the Gamaches’ neighbor and friend, whose phone seems to have been used by someone who visited her home. And where is Lost Nation? This last question, at least, yields an answer: It’s an Indigenous burial ground that’s been overgrown with trees and, more recently, a corpse too badly decomposed to be readily identified. An autopsy reveals that the victim was beaten to death. In the absence of further clues to his identity, Gamache and his colleagues focus on May 29, 1914, the date engraved on the otherwise unreadable headstone over the gravesite where the body was found. The trail to the killer leads back to a 1967 interview genealogist Jeannette Bouchard conducted with local historian Flossy Fuller the day before they were both killed in a car crash, and still further back to the real-life sinking of the Empress of Ireland, an ocean liner as unfamiliar to Penny’s characters as it will be to most of her readers. Even after Gamache has arrested the responsible parties, the biggest riddle remains: the secret of the balefully ugly plant known as Miss Wolcott’s Ghost.

 We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club takes a breather while Osman’s other group of amateur investigators handles its second case. After their adventure in We Solve Murders (2024), retired London cop Steve Wheeler, now happily retired to small-town Axley, England; his daughter-in-law, Amy, who’d been working for an international security company; and bestselling novelist Rosie D’Antonio teamed up to turn Steve’s little company, Steve Investigates—which looked into things like lost dogs and cheating spouses—into a more ambitious agency called We Solve Murders. The only problem is that there haven’t been any murders to solve. Then they get a call from Vern Blackwood, one of whose bodyguards has been killed outside his villa in Tuscany—and who saw Rosie promoting her latest book on TV, just when he needed a discreet investigator. The three friends hop on Rosie’s private jet and soon arrive at Vern’s hilltop villa, where they learn he’s involved in the shady business of selling counterfeit vitamins. The one person he’s sure didn’t kill his bodyguard is the person who signed the threatening note left on the body—Jakob Eriksson, the mysterious kingpin of the fake prescription drug business in Europe. They had an agreement, Vern says, though everyone else who’d been party to that agreement, made in Las Vegas five years ago, is now dead. Steve, Amy, and Rosie decide they’d better start looking for this Eriksson, even though their client doesn’t want them to. After getting off to a slow start, Osman sets the pieces in motion with his usual charm and deadpan humor. It’s fun to watch Amy and Steve try to fit into Rosie’s glamorous world: “Amy has never been to a book launch before—I mean, who on earth has?” As the friends zip around the world, the case becomes pleasantly complicated, and Osman wraps things up with a bang.

 You'll be Sorry by Lisa Gardner

A small-town sheriff uncovers centuries’ worth of secrets. Growing up in historic Shereford, New Hampshire, Mandy Grady chafed at being the sheriff’s daughter. After sowing her wild oats in New York for a few years, though, she eventually returned to the tiny town of her youth, and became the new sheriff when her father died. She not only took on his role, but also his obsession with one case he never solved—a case that haunts the town: The disappearance of the entire Dixon family—both parents and four children—during a summer storm in 1998. In the present day, two glamorous, wealthy outsiders, Raquel and Theo Collins, have bought the old Dixon house and are looking to restore it, maybe transform it into a B&B. A stray dog leads them to a gruesome discovery on the property: a well that contains both human bones and a ledger belonging to an 18th-century midwife. Everyone in Shereford knows the old rhyme: “Ding dong bell, the witch is in the well.” Could it be based in truth? Betty and Mason, the enthusiastic heads of the town historical society, connect the ledger to a journal already in their possession and, together with Raquel and a reluctant Mandy, begin to fill in the story. A young woman appeared in Shereford in the midst of a blizzard in the early 18th century. Taking pity, the townsfolk begged her to stay—until babies started dying under her watch, and she was sentenced to death for witchcraft. Now Mandy has to figure out how these ancient sins are related to the more contemporary crimes—because someone in Shereford knows exactly what happened to the Dixons. Gardner deftly juggles a number of characters, plot threads, secrets, time periods, and motives, delivering a satisfyingly layered novel that interrogates the insular lives and histories of small towns.

 The Witch by Freida McFadden

An unemployed 20-something probes her family’s dark history. After losing her job and exhausting her savings, Julia Barlow decamps from her Manhattan apartment to her grandmother’s northern Massachusetts estate. Barlow family forefather Archibald Eldridge built Pemberton in 1660, and the Woodhaven Museum wants desperately to buy the property and open it to the public. Though Julia’s dad supports this plan, as he suspects Gram belongs in assisted living, Gram’s sister and roommate, Ethel, swears Gram is fine and opposes the deal. Julia promises to assess both Gram’s safety and handsome museum curator Henry Ziegler’s intentions, but she gets distracted from her mission by the vengeful spirit terrorizing Pemberton. According to Ethel, the ghost is that of Archibald’s first wife, Caroline, who was burned in the town square for witchcraft and then replaced as “Goodwife Eldridge” by her own servant, Barlow ancestor Molly. Before she can even contemplate convincing Gram to sell, Julia feels a duty to help Caroline find rest. And to do that, she must uncover the truth surrounding Caroline’s unjust conviction and execution. Julia’s and Caroline’s storylines unfold in tandem via alternating first-person present-tense chapters. Caroline’s tale is riveting thanks to high stakes and gratifying twists, but Julia’s account disappoints, with anemic plotting and insipid characters. While fear and paranoia suffuse Caroline’s narrative, creating tension and drive, McFadden’s modern-day frame offers little more than Scooby-Doo villains, chemistry-free romance, and lukewarm chills.

 Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros

Thirteen different characters from Yarros’ popular Empyrean series share the story of the day they bonded with their dragon. At Basgiath War College, Threshing is the most important day for cadets in the Riders quadrant. Every Oct. 1, the first-years are positioned in an area of dense woods surrounding the college and must attempt to bond with a dragon that will become their lifelong companion. Many cadets are killed during Threshing, some by angry dragons, others by classmates who realize it’s the perfect time to settle scores since not everyone is expected to come back alive. The other books in the series are told almost exclusively from the point of view of Violet Sorrengail; here, 13 other characters narrate their own stories, including Violet’s older siblings, Brennan and Mira, and her future lover, series bad-boy Xaden Riorson. Each chapter contains a full-page dragon illustration, notes from the Compendium of Dragonkind written by a Basgiath professor, and the character’s description of how they met and bonded with their dragon. Each entry is more like a vignette, dropping the reader into a scene without an attempt to tell a full story and without the volume having an overarching plot. This is not a book for people new to the Empyrean series; instead, it’s intended for readers familiar with the characters, story, and world. Many entries contain easter eggs—small, fun details that will add texture and meaning to other books in the series. Although it’s a lovely, illustrated companion, it’s hard to see the appeal for anyone but die-hard fans. For devoted readers looking for more insight into the beloved world of the Empyrean series.

 The French Illusion by John Grishham

What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism. When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”

New Nonfiction

 The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge

Comprehensive history of a devastating plague that stretched over centuries. The outbreak of the Black Death, as it was known in England, has long been ascribed to a horrific siege in 1347 of a Genoese trade outpost in Crimea on the part of a Mongol army. Its commander, tired of catapulting rocks against the walls, instead launched the corpses of victims of “dreadful miasma” inside the walls. From there, writes University of London historian Asbridge, the plague spread quickly along trade routes into the Mediterranean, then up the Atlantic Coast of Europe, and then, most destructively, inland, reaching into every corner of the known world. Asbridge contributes to this well-known history in several ways. First, he notes that the plague was more devastating in Egypt and the Near East than anywhere else, in part because “according to orthodox Islamic dogma, the pestilence was not actually contagious, because those afflicted were selected by Allah,” and Muslims were forbidden to flee. Even Mecca and Medina, supposed safe harbors, were afflicted. The Scots felt the same way about God’s hand on the hated English, it appears, because a Scottish army attempted to invade England, only to be visited by a “monstrous death” that felled 5,000 soldiers overnight. Asbridge’s second contribution is to attempt to sort out the number of deaths worldwide, examining medieval accounts against modern scholars who have held that the figures are exaggerated. He suggests that the figure “must have been in excess of 100 million,” an appalling number that helps explain why the social order was overturned around the world, aiding the rise of both Protestantism and the Ottoman Empire, among many other manifestations. Finally, Asbridge, in a clear but too-long exposition, adduces the evidence for what the Black Death actually was and makes a convincing case for—well, read the book.

 Babylon the Biography of a Metropolis by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Beyond “the quintessential City of Sin.” Babylon has not recovered from the bad press it received in the Hebrew Bible and remains an epitome of corruption, according to Llewellyn-Jones, author of Persians (2022) and The Cleopatras (2024). This is nonsense, he adds. It was a great civilization no less cultured than Egypt, China, or Greece. Rivals tended to write on papyrus or skins that rotted away. Babylonians wrote on clay tablets that hardened into rock; scholars have unearthed hundreds of thousands, and more continue to turn up. Most are legal, trade, and administrative records and worshipful descriptions of royal accomplishments, but there are enough diplomatic and personal letters, as well as literature, science, and history, to deliver a vivid portrait of the Middle Eastern metropolis that rose and fell between 2000 and 539 B.C.E. During the third millennium B.C.E., Babylon was overshadowed by the early empires of Ur and Sumer. As they declined, a pugnacious local chieftain began conquering nearby cities, using loot and taxes to benefit Babylon. What is known as the Old Babylonian Empire flourished between 1900 and 1600 B.C.E., peaking under the only ruler familiar to readers, Hammurabi (reigned 1792-1750 B.C.E.), who proclaimed his famous law code. Sacked and destroyed by the Hittites in 1595 B.C.E., it revived only to fall under Assyrian domination after 1200 B.C.E., a confused period that lasted until the seventh century B.C.E., when it flourished for a century, entering popular legend with the exile of the Jews and spectacular wealth but ended forever by the 539 B.C.E. Persian conquest. Llewellyn-Jones writes well, but this is great men and politics history, so he delivers a steady stream of rulers, cutthroat royal infighting, and war. The city was sacked and destroyed four times during its better years, although the Persian conquest was relatively benign. His detours into ancient culture, such as a recounting of Babylon’s legendary Epic of Gilgamesh, may tax the average reader.

 Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

Navigating our new linguistic landscape. According to Gen Z linguist and content creator Aleksic, social media algorithms are changing how we speak. “They shape who gets exposed to certain words, how those words spread, and how popular the words eventually become.” Furthermore, the author says, words initially used to circumvent content moderation are now being used offline, blurring the boundaries. For example, as Aleksic notes, “unalive” was initially used online to avoid censorship but has come to be used in general conversation as a euphemism for “kill” or to “commit suicide.” The author’s interest in algorithm censorship is what drew him to studying the language of social media, and through his research he found that every aspect of our language is being shaped by algorithms. Another form of evasive language that he explores is “subtweeting”—talking about someone online without stating their name, such as referring to the president as “cheeto” or “orange man.” By not mentioning the person directly, “Language, then, becomes an act of resistance.” Aleksic also explores the origins and meanings of popular terms used among young people, including “sussy baka” (“suspicious fool”) and “sigma” (“successful male”). Although some have labeled such slang words as “brainrot,” claiming that kids are corrupting the English language, Aleksic contends that slang has always provided youth with a sense of community and helped build their identity. The author considers, as well, the popularity of accents online—notably the “influencer accent,” with its rising intonation at the end of sentences—as American English has become the lingua franca of the internet. Hey, guys, the world is getting smaller?

 Exhumed by Aaron Mahnke

What possessed a group of 19th-century New Englanders to dig up a young woman’s remains, remove her heart and liver, and incinerate them so that their ashes could be fed to her sickly brother? Rhode Island farmer George Brown’s family was plagued by tuberculosis: His wife died in 1883, followed by his oldest child and then his father. Years later, his 19-year-old daughter Mercy succumbed to the illness; his son Edwin was on the verge of death, too, which led Brown to sanction what to modern readers will seem like a horrifying act. The incident was part of a larger hysteria that took hold first in Eastern Europe, then made its way to the United States: the New England Vampire Panic. But, to make sense of what happened, Mahnke—host of the podcast Lore devoted to urban legends and folklore—embarks on a journey through history as he explores our evolving understanding of the human body. The author takes the scenic route, with frequent detours and witty asides as he covers medical cannibalism, the death of George Washington (attempts to revive the deceased Founding Father serve as a jumping-off point for an examination of early blood transfusions), fears of being buried alive, and much more. With an eye for relevant and enjoyably macabre detail—all of which eventually coalesces into a rich whole—Mahnke deftly channels Mary Roach; her fans will appreciate Mahnke’s fresh observations and gift for metaphor. Lest readers dismiss our forebears as laughably ignorant, however, the author points out, “They were simply doing the best they could with the limited information they had at the time….They weren’t distant, superstitious barbarians; they were normal people just like you and me.” Indeed, though many will be expecting a bookish cabinet of curiosities, they’ll find instead a work that balances out the grotesque with real empathy. Above all, they’ll see how seemingly disparate events are often linked in surprising ways; as Mahnke notes, Mercy’s exhumation wasn’t “a single piece of rope anchored to one specific spot. It was a massive, braided rope, with many smaller strands joined together into something bigger.”

 Talking Classics by Mary Beard

What is the point of the ancient classics? asks the noted scholar and popularizer. Someone who taught ancient Greek and Roman culture at Cambridge for 50 years isn’t going to say there is no point, but Beard is quick to assure readers, in the breezy tone familiar from her television work, that she will make her case “without resorting to the tired clichés often used.” She doesn’t necessarily think the classics are “good for you” or impart “timeless truths.” What first sparked her interest was a 4,000-year-old piece of Egyptian bread at the British Museum that a kind curator took out of its case and held at eye level, so that 5-year-old Mary could see it up close; she still recalls the thrill of “an ordinary fragment of everyday life made by, and for, people who were unimaginably distant from me.” That sense of both nearness and distance is a through line in Beard’s short text, based on lectures she gave at the universities of Chicago and Edinburgh. Yes, classical literature still speaks to us of common, human emotions, but the world limned in, for example, the Iliad and the Aeneid is one in which slavery is a given, women have minimal rights, and violence is glorified, she reminds us; those pristine, marble statues praised by 19th-century classicists were originally painted in bright colors, and ancient Greeks and Romans weren’t monolithically white either. The ancients lived in a multicultural world and grappled with issues of free speech, good government, and many others still debated today. As is often the case in academic texts, there’s a lot of “on the one hand, on the other hand” here, but that’s Beard’s point. “Classics teaches you to discuss constructively questions to which there are no right answers,” she argues. “Part of the unashamed mission of humanities education is to celebrate and face up to complexity.”

 Empire of Ink by Alex Wright

A fresh, often startling account of newspapers’ early years. Reading all about it, way back when. In this engaging account, Wright, author of Cataloging the World: Paul Outlet and the Birth of the Information Age (2014), writes that 18th-century European printers worked for governments and booksellers, but their colonial counterparts were not just tradespeople but writers, editors, and provocateurs; our Revolution might not have happened without them. It was less our Constitution than two obscure laws that enshrined America’s press. Until tightened in 1909, the Copyright Act of 1790 excluded newspapers, so editors happily plagiarized from rivals and any writing that might entertain readers. The Post Office Act of 1792 provided a massive subsidy. At the time, mailing personal letters cost 6 to 25 cents; a newspaper might cost a penny. During that period, newspapers constituted perhaps 95% of U.S. mail, which reached everywhere, providing an information exchange anticipating today’s social media. Wright concentrates on the 19th century, when newspapers thrived. Many were small-town, one-person operations whose editors relied on scissors and paste, cutting stories from rivals to revise and republish along with local gossip, scandal, advertising, poems, and essays. Advances included making paper from wood instead of rags, which reduced costs by more than 90%. Hand-operated presses of 1800 were replaced by rotary, steam-operated models in the 1830s, 10 times faster, and then by the spectacular 1886 linotype, which eliminated human typesetters. By 1900, journalism became capital-intensive, attracting powerful printer-publishers such as Hearst, Pulitzer, and Newhouse, who soon dominated the industry but also created professional journalism that emphasized accuracy over advocacy and opinion. The first journalism school dates from 1908. Deploring the ongoing newspaper crisis (one-third of them have closed since 2005), Wright strains to find a silver lining, suggesting that the viral dynamics of social media may revive the free-wheeling artisanal industry of the 1800s.

 Two Ships by David S. Reynolds

An exploration of the contending cultures of North and South, long before the Civil War began. At the time of the Civil War, speakers and writers on both sides of the divide were fond of evoking the example of the two ships of Reynolds’ title. One was the White Lion, a British privateer that in 1619 seized a cargo of enslaved Africans from a Portuguese ship and took them to Virginia to be sold as chattel. The second was the Mayflower, which, a year later, brought Puritan colonists to chartered lands in Massachusetts. It’s something of an irony, as Reynolds writes, that the early Puritans “showed little antislavery sentiment,” and indeed, it was Oliver Cromwell who seized Jamaica and turned it into one vast slave plantation. Still, the two colonial regions were very different. As Reynolds notes, borrowing an aperçu from a fellow historian, “the North was a society with slaves, while the South was a slave society.” Drawing in turn on the seminal work of historian David Hackett Fischer, Reynolds charts the differences: The South was governed by the descendants of monarchists, given to a rigid system of social classes and inclined to leisure, while New England was populated by people of a resolutely democratic bent and the firm belief that “the only monarch…was Christ.” (It’s another irony, as Reynolds notes in passing, that both Virginia and the Plymouth Colony were administratively founded by the same man: the British entrepreneur Robert Rich.) The Puritans may have been slow to come around to opposing slavery, but of course they did, setting those two ships on an inevitable collision course. Indeed, as Reynolds also observes, it was the Puritans’ insistence on defending the rights of ordinary people of whatever race that the abolitionist cause flourished, with the Mayflower coming to be seen as “a driver of radical causes.”

 Lightning Beneath the Sea by James M. Tabor

Far more than basic cable. Tabor, author of the pulse-quickening Blind Descent: The Quest To Discover the Deepest Place on Earth (2010) goes deep again—underwater this time—to explore the largely forgotten history of the transatlantic telegraph cable. He’s resurfaced an engrossing tale, with much relevance to our time. At its heart is Cyrus Field, who at age 15 in 1835 ventured from rural Massachusetts to New York City and became, by his early 30s, in Tabor’s words, “one of the glittering metropolis’s richest men” by selling paper. Searching for his “next big project,” Field had a chance encounter with Frederic Newton Gisborne, an English inventor who pitched him the idea of joining the Old and New Worlds by a telegraph line—and carrier pigeons. Gisborne had lost his shirt trying to finance the system, but perhaps Field would be interested? The “sheer improbability” of Gisborne’s proposal attracted Field. And then the millionaire had a better idea: Drop the telegraph line to the floor of the Atlantic. Brilliant, but easier said than done. As Tabor recounts, Field’s ambitious plan stretched over a dozen years, and missions to lay cable ended in disaster. Designing a cable was one thing, but sinking it 10,000 feet into the Atlantic—under extreme pressure, along jagged terrain—was another. Doing so during dangerous storms did not help. Tabor is very good at immersing the reader in the grimy world of marine industrial work: the steam engines, cogwheels, and tons of cable. The cable itself was insulated by a resin called gutta-percha, from trees in Malaysia and Indonesia. Field’s eventual success led him to be celebrated as the “new Columbus,” but as Tabor writes, his cable “remained hidden,” and fame faded. Ironically, he observes, “up to 98 percent of information travels around the planet not on satellites, as many people assume, but through fiber-optic submarine cables that are direct descendants of Field’s transatlantic forerunner.”

New Young Adult

 A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas

(From the Court of Thrones series book 6) What was broken will be remade.  Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories, attracting powerful allies hell-bent on reclaiming what was once theirs: the human lands.  The Night Court will not stand idly by while innocents are attacked. But with Prythian still piecing itself together in the wake of the devastating Hybern War, the task of uniting is proving more difficult by the day.  To make matters worse, those who rule and protect the Night Court are reeling from recent betrayals and revealed truths. The rifts dividing them seem insurmountable.  But to defeat Koschei's creeping shadow, they must find a way back to each other and resurrect their former alliances. To survive, they must find a way to repair the splintered harmony all around them.

 Trust Fall by Lynn Painter

A surprise inheritance thrusts a small-town Nebraska teen into Manhattan’s elite society—and the orbit of a boy who’s determined to prove she doesn’t belong. Julia Lowell’s life changes overnight when the 80-something man they know as Lou leaves his fortune to her family instead of his New York City relatives. Lou, who lived in a fishing cabin, was a regular customer of the Lowells’ small grocery store and became a family friend. To inherit, they must live in his Upper West Side home for at least six months, and Julia and her twin brother must attend Gardenwood Academy, a Gossip Girl–esque private school. Julia struggles to navigate her rude, privileged classmates—like Damion Rutledge. Unbeknownst to her, Lou—whose real name was Remington—was Damion’s beloved great-uncle. When a teacher assigns Damion to be Julia’s math tutor, he seizes the opportunity to search Uncle Remi’s house, which he believes is his by right, for evidence of the Lowells’ deceit. But as suspicion gives way to genuine feelings, Julia and Damion, who are cued white, question their assumptions about one another. Painter delivers her signature blend of banter, slow-burn chemistry, and emotionally grounded characters. Told in the leads’ alternating points of view, the familiar enemies-to-lovers setup is complicated by Damion’s secret and Julia’s past heartbreak. While the story follows a predictable path and resolution, the central relationship feels earned and heartfelt.

 Shadow Reaper by Lynette Noni

A hunter of magic-stealing reapers aspires to find her parents’ murderer in this duology opener from bestselling Australian author Noni. On Elverdine Isle, ellixen is needed to fuel the four obsidian obelisks that protect the city of Aravell from the lethal blackmist. Reapers, who are addicted to this magic, siphon off ellixen to increase their own power—mostly taking from children, who possess more than adults. People need only a drop of ellixen to live, so during the Impartation ceremony, children under age 14 donate nearly all their ellixen to the obelisks, nearly eliminating the risk of a deadly reaper attack. Seventeen-year-old reaper hunter Viridia Solace, who’s pale, with silver-streaked red hair and lavender eyes, learns that Reeve Ashton, part of the elusive Reaper Priest’s inner circle, has been captured. Desperate to confront the Priest and avenge his murder of her parents seven years ago, Viri infiltrates the prison where charismatic “golden-tanned” Reeve is being held. The two have a complex history, and he promises to answer Viri’s questions about the Priest in return for help escaping. Kidnappings, shocking twists, and romance unfold against the backdrop of imaginative worldbuilding, making for an utterly engrossing tale. Noni artfully portrays Viri’s conflicted feelings of attraction to and mistrust of Reeve, who expresses himself with dry wit. Revelations about their past add depth, beautifully heightening their already charged passions.

 In Case I go Missing by R.N. Swann

In this twisty debut, two teens piece together clues left by their missing friend. In their tiny South Dakota town of Richmand, which is best known for its apocryphal gold mines, best friends Sarah Vincenty, Sam Kelly, and Fenny Allen band together under Sarah’s strong direction, catching cheating boyfriends in action and discovering the truth about crimes, like who hit elderly little dog Mr. Puffins with their car. When Sarah goes missing, Fenny (who’s “the getaway driver, or the distraction, or the lookout” of the operation) and Sam (who’s “the brain”) quickly learn that her disappearance is highly suspicious. Sarah is no runaway; she left them a binder entitled “In Case I Go Missing,” complete with a suspect list—but four pages have been torn out. As the pair searches for the truth about Sarah’s fate, they find themselves embroiled in a townwide plot spanning generations. Richmand’s shadowy history may harbor ominous secrets that residents are willing to kill for. Swann’s fast-paced mystery is immersive and tightly plotted, drawing the reader into the fictional town and its cleverly wrought history. The narrative’s emotional depth, exploring themes like grief, addiction, and trauma, should resonate with fans of Megan Lally who appreciate encountering revelations with a tissue at the ready. 

 The Heirs by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

When a billionaire is found dead on his yacht, his teenage children become suspects. Sixteen years ago, billionaire Leontes Button, founder of the global sensation Button Games, a puzzle and toy company, infamously embarked on a test of his provocative theory about nature versus nurture, despite ethical concerns from the scientific community. Button hypothesized that a child taken from an orphanage could be made into a genius. His five “experiments (also known as his children)” unknowingly sealed their fate as babies by crawling toward objects that represented specific fields of achievement. Adopted from countries around the world, they were subjected to tutoring, strictly controlled diets, and countless hours of practice to mold them into true prodigies. Now 17, Fola the Brain, Octavius the Maestro, Bilal the Olympian, Perdita the Artist, and Romeo the Failure struggle to have relationships with their father—or with one another. The siblings reluctantly reunite for Leontes’ annual Prodigy Ball at Button Manor in New York’s Westchester County. But when their father is found dead, all the attendees, themselves included, are suspects. 

New Children's

 Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving is a read-aloud classic written in the rhythmic style of Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, with a clever and funny holiday twist.  The signature Pilkey style, with read-aloud rhythmic text paired with bold, vibrant, hilarious illustrations, perfectly captures the heartwarming humor of the holiday spirit.  On the day before Thanksgiving, a group of children visit a turkey farm and meet Farmer Mack Nuggett and his coop of cockerels: Ollie, Stanley, Larry, Moe, Wally, Beaver, Shemp, and Groucho. When the kids realize, the turkeys are destined to become dinner, they sneak the bird's home under their clothes to save them, reminding people and poultry alike that there is much to be thankful for.

 Bear Sayd Thanks by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman

Bear is bored and lonely and decides that a dinner party is the perfect way to gather all his friends for some sharing and fun, but there is no food to be found in his cave. One by one his friends stop by, each bringing something delicious with open-hearted enthusiasm. Mouse, Hare, Badger, Gopher, Mole and feathered friends Owl, Raven and Wren pool their goodies and create a glorious feast. Bear is grateful and warmed by their generosity and, as in previous works, the title refrain is repeated at every offering. But he is also embarrassed at having nothing to contribute. His friends reassure him that he has stories to share that will make the feast special. The lilting verse is neither trite nor singsong, and movement and excitement are conveyed as the animals flap, flitter, hurry and tromp into Bear’s home. Rich autumn hues abound throughout, from the opening double-page spread to the glowing earth-toned cave strewn with twigs and colorful leaves. Deep friendship is supremely evident in facial expressions and body language and their joy at being together. Who would not love this cuddly, soft, furry creature?

The Last Leaf by Ali Pye

When doomsayers dictate disaster, what’s a panicky pup to do? As the first autumn leaf floats onto his nose, Parker treats it like a toy to chase. But more and more drift down, and he begins to fret: “What if the trees ran out of leaves altogether?” He consults the big dogs, who have no answers and seem unconcerned, but the leaves keep dropping. Unnerved, Parker follows the trees “out of the city…and into the forest,” where looking up makes him so dizzy that he keels over. Thoroughly unsettled, he meets a know-it-all squirrel who amplifies his anxiety, followed by more of the same from a bird and a fox. A sudden loud noise makes him sure that everyone was right: “The SKY IS FALLING DOWN!” But it was just a “ground-trembling” yawn, and the source, a kindly bear, helps Parker survive the final lovely leaf fall. They play together as new friends before bedding down in their respective homes, looking forward happily to spring. Well-chosen, often witty words channel Parker’s fears and the other animals’ voices, while an effectively paced arc delivers a sweet ending. Pye’s art, warmed by golden highlights, with noteworthy changes of perspective, successfully blends realism and abstraction. Poignant and funny, this splendid seasonal story conveys reassurance as gently as a falling leaf. 

 Lola Loves Pickles by B. Wellerson

Get ready for a deliciously delightful adventure with Lola, a little girl who absolutely, positively adores pickles! In this charming and vibrant children's book, join Lola as she discovers the joy of her favorite crunchy, tangy snack.Lola loves all kinds of pickles: dill, sweet, bread and butter, tiny gherkins, and giant kosher dills! She eats them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – even on her spaghetti, in her mashed potatoes, and (gasp!) in her ice cream. But one morning, Lola wakes up and discovers something amazing... and a little bit strange. Right on top of her head, a tiny, perfect, crunchy pickle is growing! Soon, pickles are sprouting all over her body – on her ears, nose, chin, fingers, toes, elbows, and knees! Lola becomes a walking, talking, crunchy green bush, making the whole classroom smell like vinegar. She cries, "I don't want to be a pickle plant anymore!" How will Lola become herself again?

 Dill Gets in a Pickle by Danielle Elison Webb

When a young cucumber named Dill hears about a dangerous new craze, he is left with a difficult choice. Will Dill follow the trend and get pickled? Or will he stay out of the brine and find himself in the spotlight?

 The Hardy Boys Secret Files #1 Trouble at the Arcade by Franklin W. Dixon

The first book in the chapter book refresh of the classic Hardy Boys series.  In Trouble at the Arcade, nine-year-old Frank and eight-year-old Joe Hardy discover trouble lurking at the local arcade and decide they make pretty good detectives—just like their dad!

 Nancy drew Diaries by Carolyn Keene

Nancy and her friends must try to figure out why a girl is acting strangely after visiting a haunted house in this sixteenth book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to the classic mystery series.  Nancy’s classmate, Willa, needs her help. Willa is convinced something is terribly wrong with her friend Izzy, but everyone has dismissed Willa’s concerns, saying it’s just teen angst. But Willa thinks it’s more than that; she thinks Izzy is possessed. It all started when Willa and Izzy snuck into an abandoned house with some of their friends. After running around and exploring, Willa went into the basement and found Izzy staring into space. Izzy was conscious, but she was acting weird—she wouldn’t speak and she didn’t seem to recognize Willa. And when Izzy finally woke up from her trance, she had no memory of the previous few hours. Since then, Izzy’s continued to act strangely. She’s usually funny and easygoing, but now she’s high strung and has intense fits. Once she even threatened to hurt Willa. Nancy is sure there’s a rational explanation for all of this and has a feeling she’ll find it at the “haunted” house. But what she finds has her questioning her resolve. Could Willa be right? Is Izzy possessed by the ghost of Heliotrope Lane?

 Queenie Jean is in Trouble Again by Christine Read

Enter the world of a spirited, neurodiverse fifth grader with ADHD. Queenie Jean Merriam, a precocious red-haired girl, moved with her family to West Vancouver from a small town in Ontario. Her fresh start at her new private school starts off badly when her dad, trying to get stuck gum out of her hair, accidentally gives her a terrible haircut. Worse, Queenie keeps ending up in trouble, especially with the principal. Queenie impulsively talks out of turn, can’t control the volume of her voice, and struggles to fit in socially. Some wealthy mean girl classmates make things especially hard, but thankfully, two kind new friends help her navigate the school’s social dynamics and the upcoming mandatory speech competition. Queenie’s first-person voice, marked by rambling monologues and bursts of creative thinking, conveys her inner world and good intentions. Her narration includes misspelled emails and lists, which will be relatable to readers who have similar difficulties. Queenie’s parents support her patiently and with humor and help her navigate emotional outbursts, focus on her homework, and integrate herself into her new school. In the end, Queenie’s resilience is symbolized by her crossing a swinging bridge that she’s terrified of, foreshadowing her ability to overcome fear, stigma, and academic barriers. Short chapters and comedic moments make this an appealing read.

 Dog Man Big Jim Believes by Dav Pilkey

Following his debut in Big Jim Begins (2024), the sunnily optimistic purple cat returns to demonstrate the power of positive thinking, despite the best efforts of his misanthropic cellmate, Grampa. “Just because you believe something doesn’t make it TRUE!!!” snarls Grampa, to which the unfailingly cheerful Big Jim replies, “It does for me.” Once again, Pilkey positions the two cats in comedic counterpoint, using Grampa’s determined negativity to throw into relief Big Jim’s unwavering faith that even “bad luck [can be] a GOOD THING!!!” This is a Dog Man story, and Pilkey accordingly conveys Big Jim’s truth via a madcap plot that finds Big Jim, Grampa, Dog Man, Li’l Petey, Molly the psychokinetic tadpole, and robot 80-HD defending the world against the latest incursion of the terrifying Space Cuties from Space. The mayhem includes some truly inspired Flip-O-Ramas, raining cupcakes, and a fight scene that plays out to lyrics including, “On the First Epic Smackdown…the Cuties gave to me…A punch in my tummy tum-tum” (sung to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and no doubt soon to be heard on playgrounds everywhere). Pilkey has by now polished his formula, which embeds nuggets of genuinely sweet philosophy in carefully constructed storylines that come across as gleefully anarchic. This outing hits every note, and despite Grampa’s scornful “WHOOP-DEE-DOO,” readers should emerge with an appreciation of Big Jim’s earnest conviction that “it’s about believing in the cupcakes.”

 Pickle Words by April Pulley Sayre

This sweet and spicy celebration of all things pickled is the perfect poetry picture book for foodies of all ages! Open this book to savor a riotous rainbow of pickles. Not just green cucumbers, but yellow peppers, pink cabbages, and purple plums! Pickles come in all shapes and sizes—and so do the words that describe them. Punchy poetry and zesty art tell the story of a diverse community drawn together by their love of pickles. From kosher dills to sweet chutney to tangy kimchi, Pickle Words describes them all in this global tour of pickled foods. Back matter includes the science of pickling, an easy recipe for refrigerator pickles, and a visual glossary of pickles from around the world.