
Joanna Quinn. Knopf, $29 (560p) ISBN 978-0-593-32170-6
The emotional upheaval of the interwar years in England is dramatized afresh in Quinn’s dazzling and imaginative debut. Cristabel Seagrave’s mother dies in childbirth, and Cristabel’s father, Jasper, who remarries when she is three, dies soon after. This leaves Cristabel to be raised by her disinter... Continue reading »

Wanda M. Morris. Morrow, $17.99 trade paper (400p) ISBN 978-0-06-308250-2
The notorious 1964 murder of three civil rights activists in Mississippi provides the backdrop for Morris’s stunning sophomore novel (after 2021’s All Her Little Secrets), which revolves around two Black sisters’ relationship while exploring racism, family, and small-town sensibilities. The... Continue reading »

Thilde Kold Holdt. Solaris, $16.99 trade paper (656p) ISBN 978-1-78618-745-1
Holdt sticks the landing with the satisfying conclusion to her Hanged God trilogy (following 2021’s Shackled Fates), a fascinating exploration of whether the universe is governed by fate or free will. The plot centers on whether Ragnarok, the long-foretold twilight of the Norse gods, can be... Continue reading »

Susan Mallery. HQN, $17.99 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-335-93400-0
Interweaving two heartfelt love stories, Mallery expertly captures a festive yuletide spirit in her sparkling second Wishing Tree novel (after The Christmas Wedding Guest). Camryn Neff left her life in Chicago to return to small-town Wishing Tree, Wash., and take care of her teenage sisters... Continue reading »

Nadia Shammas and Marie Enger. Nightfire, $17.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-250-75017-4
In this inventive horror comic, Dr. Amal Robardin is a therapist in training whose first client, a schizophrenic New York City theatre scene blogger named Yasmin, has been experiencing increasingly intense nighttime visions of a figure looming in the dark beside her bed. Grappling with her own inexp... Continue reading »

Safia Elhillo. One World, $16 trade paper (144p) ISBN 978-0-593-22948-4
In this spellbinding outing, Elhillo (The January Children) examines misogynist attitudes in religion and culture that incite violence against women. “Infibulation Study” addresses female genital mutilation, once a common practice in Sudan, from where the poet’s family emigrated. Conversati... Continue reading »

Carrie Stuart Parks. Thomas Nelson, $16.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-7852-3985-7
This propulsive thriller from Parks (Woman in Shadow) follows a small-town art instructor who must face her past to stop a murderer. Sam Williams is miraculously unscathed after an SUV crashes into the temporary classroom where she teaches art to elementary schoolers in LaCrosse, Wash. An i... Continue reading »

John A. Farrell. Penguin Press, $40 (752p) ISBN 978-0-525-55807-1
Biographer Farrell (Richard Nixon: The Life) untangles in this masterful account the complex blend of political dexterity, recklessness, and unflagging support of the less fortunate that defined Ted Kennedy’s rise from overlooked youngest son of a political dynasty to “Lion of the Senate.” ... Continue reading »

Lisa Eldred Steinkopf. Cool Springs, $25 (176p) ISBN 978-0-7603-7415-3
The Houseplant Guru blogger Steinkopf (Houseplants) offers clever tips on caring for flowering plants. Starting with the basics of light, potting medium, containers, and watering, Steinkopf advises on how to keep a plant healthy before, during, and after it blooms. The difference, ... Continue reading »

David A. Hollinger. Princeton Univ, $29.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0-691-23388-8
This cogent and comprehensive chronicle by historian Hollinger (Protestants Abroad) outlines how Protestant America’s “two-party system” came to be. Divided between progressive, cosmopolitan “ecumenicals” on the one hand and conservative evangelicals on the other, this system, Hollinger con... Continue reading »

Aaron H. Aceves. Simon & Schuster, $19.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-53448-5-655
Aceves’s debut balances brash humor and fumbling first loves in an East L.A. narrative that places serious significance on mental health. Bisexual, Mexican American Enrique “Quique” Lunahas, 17, has been head over heels for one of his closest friends, Palestinian Saleem, also 17, for as long as they... Continue reading »

