A wild music scene and an illicit affair propel Scott’s entrancing English-language debut, which was originally published in France in 2000. In 1990s Paris, 31-year-old Louise has spent a year hanging out with a group of queer 20-something women who are fixtures in the city’s techno scene, including... Continue reading »

Edgar winner Harper’s riveting latest (after The Last King of California) follows a trio of Los Angeles strivers who investigate a series of horrific crimes. While the City of Angels is being haunted by a serial killer dubbed the L.A. Ripper, Kara, a fixer for the elite concierge service Su... Continue reading »

Baker (Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng) creates a breathless collision of timelines, cultures, and destinies in this impressive horror outing. In 2006, troubled New York City college student Lee Turner turns up at his father’s doorstep in Japan on the run from a horrific crime that ... Continue reading »

Kicking off the Hope Harbor series, this sweet and steamy contemporary from Nicole (the Boston Bolts series) sends aspiring chef Tally Darling home to her family’s New England daffodil farm to help with the spring season after her father’s death. Upon arrival, she’s shocked to find an incredibly han... Continue reading »

In her luminous debut, Stalvey meditates on her separation from fundamentalist Christianity and how she found love despite questioning her faith. Born into a “lineage of preachers and teachers,” young Stephanie and her sister grow up so conservative that they’re discouraged from looking at “unnecess... Continue reading »

Ondaatje (A Year of Last Things) presents a superb and comprehensive collection of selected works, or “condensary of time,” that crystallizes for devotees and new readers alike the poet’s lifelong devotion to place. “From now on I will drink my landscapes,” he writes, “here, pour me a cup o... Continue reading »

In this tour de force from Brotherton (A Bright and Blinding Sun) and Lee (A Single Light), four friends’ lives change irrevocably when America becomes embroiled in WWII. In 1930s Mobile, Ala., preacher’s son Jimmy Propfield shares an idyllic upbringing with childhood sweetheart Cl... Continue reading »

Lexicographer Stamper (Word by Word) takes readers on an uproarious journey into Merriam-Webster’s somber early-20th-century office and the decades-long, behind-the-scenes kerfuffle over the seemingly simple task of defining colors. Stamper tracks the “earnest and painstaking” editorial rel... Continue reading »

Emergency medicine doctor Alker (Goodnight Grandma Angel) explores in this witty yet indispensable guide 99 of the “most terrifying, interesting, and unfortunate ways to die.” Drawing on her experience as a “board-certified death escapologist,” Alker assumes the role of a medical translator... Continue reading »

In her penetrating debut, physician Lee uses the Japanese art of kintsugi, the practice of mending broken pottery with gold lacquer, to illustrate how she repaired a faith fractured by a childhood steeped in Western theology. Lee grew up in an immigrant church in Iowa that practiced Chinese customs ... Continue reading »

Luminous first-person narration by Stewart (The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner) relays an introspective slice-of-life tale that forefronts connection and the lessons to be learned about friendship, family, and oneself when approaching relationships with an open heart and mind. Following an ... Continue reading »