Knox and Mare’s effervescent sequel to Homemaker melds mystery and light romance as divorced Midwestern mom Prairie Nightingale launches her own PI agency. Fresh off solving her first murder, Prairie recruits three friends—podcaster Emma Cornelius, forensic genealogist Joyce Ozmanski, and office manager Marion Banks—to help make mystery solving her official business. The group’s first case, brought to them by local gossip blogger Bernie Dubicki, involves a series of unexplained deaths in Door County, Wis. Bernie’s convinced there’s a serial killer on the loose, and though at first glance the victims seem random, the subsequent disappearance of a female college student in the area raises alarm bells for Prarie and her team. Aided by FBI agent Foster Rosemare, Prairie’s love interest, they races to connect the dots before another person turns up dead. Despite the heavy subject matter, Knox and Mare maintain a witty tone that helps them straddle the line between cheeky cozy and full-blown thriller. With rich cast dynamics and a sweet central love story, this series shows promise. Agents: (for Knox) Pamela Harty, Knight Agency; (for Mare) Tara Gelsomino, One Track Literary. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

A quirky cast of wordsmiths vies for a life-altering prize in this deviously plotted satire of the publishing industry from Clarke, a pseudonym for Cat Clarke (The Lost and the Found) and V.E. Schwab (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue). Invited to the remote Scottish island of Skelbrae by bestselling thriller writer Arthur Fletch, a half-dozen commercially challenged authors—ranging from horror writer Kenzo Gray to bubbly YA novelist Millie Mitchell—assemble in his castle for one of his legendary salons. But after all the invitees sign NDAs, Fletch’s agent drops a bombshell: Fletch is dead, and the group has actually been summoned to compete in a 72-hour competition to ghostwrite the final chapter of his blockbuster Petrarch series. The winner will receive $1 million and a three-book deal with a healthy marketing budget. Soon enough, the contest morphs from battle of wits to cutthroat competition darker and twistier than the secret passageways honeycombing Fletch’s castle. In the home stretch, the narrative takes a turn so head-spinning it nearly undermines the careful plotting that came before, but fortunately Clarke has a few more surprises in store. The result is nothing short of dazzling. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

A woman returns to a deteriorating Australian mining town five years after her son’s disappearance in this satisfying slow-burn from Harper (Exiles). The once close-knit community of Carralon Ridge has thinned in recent years, with most residents either fleeing or contemplating buyouts from the ever-expanding Lentzer coal mine. Rowena “Ro” Crowley’s estranged husband, Griff, still works for Lentzer, though he spends most of his time grieving the couple’s son, Sam, who vanished five years earlier while conducting in-person interviews for a research paper about the socioeconomic impact of the mine’s expansion. Ro moved away from Carralon Ridge soon after, but she’s come back to be with her family on the fifth anniversary of Sam’s disappearance. When she arrives, the community is abuzz about the death of the local pub owner. His suspicious demise and the ensuing dispute over his property rights fuel gossip and speculation about Lentzer’s business practices; soon, Ro starts to suspect that the company might be hiding details about Sam’s disappearance. Harper’s evocative portrayal of a decaying landscape and the grief-burdened people who live there provides the narrative with simmering tension. It’s a solid outing. Agent: Dan Lazar, Writers House. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

Erratic pacing kneecaps Rose’s disappointing sequel to Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder. At the outset, flighty New York City hotel heiress Pomona “Pom” Afton is hoping to rebrand herself from hedonistic party girl to philanthropic society fixture. To that end, she’s planning an over-the-top gala for her nonprofit, the Pomona Afton Foundation, at the New York Public Library, to fund scholarships for needy students. The party descends into chaos when a guest and major donor turns up dead in the middle of the event, and Pom’s best friend Vienna becomes a key suspect in their murder. To smooth over the scandal and clear Vienna’s name, Pom drags her history teacher boyfriend Gabe to a series of clubs and private islands where they attempt to sniff out the culprit. Though Rose managed to draw laughs from Pom’s privileged cluelessness in the previous book, it mostly just grates this time around. Meanwhile, the mystery takes too long to heat up and ends with a whimper. Here’s hoping the author’s next outing is a return to form. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

Two plots intertwine in this playful literary mystery from Austrian crime novelist Haas (Brenner and God). Franz Escher is waiting alone in his apartment for an electrician to come and fix his power outlet. To pass the time, he works on jigsaw puzzles and reads a book about incarcerated Mafia snitch Elio Russo, who fears his cellmate Sven might kill him while he sleeps. Meanwhile, in prison, Elio reads one of Sven’s books to stay awake and alive; it’s about a man named Franz Escher who’s waiting for an electrician to fix his power outlet. Eventually, the two stories merge, and the plot expands to include a kidnapping and a ransom before a heartwarming act of selflessness redeems both men. Drawing inspiration from M.C. Escher’s mind-bending graphic art, Haas toys with literary conventions including double identities and problems of translation to dazzling effect, though knowing that the protagonists are only characters in each other’s books dulls the emotional impact. Still, this is a clever, wryly funny ride enhanced by a memorable supporting cast—especially the sympathetic Judge Falcone, who whisks Elio from his cell, and Frauke, Elio’s lively German tutor. Fans of Anthony Horowitz will find a lot to like. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

Romance author DiDomizio (Nearlywed) pivots to cozies with this charming mystery centered on gay 29-year-old Mikey Hartford IV, heir to the HartMart superstore fortune. Set to receive his inheritance on his 30th birthday, Mikey grows worried when his father demands he return from his latest yachting holiday for an emergency family meeting. There, Mikey’s dad reveals that he’s added a new condition to his son’s trust: Mikey must spend the remaining months of his 20s helping people or forfeit his fortune. As a result, Mikey is dispatched to a rustic summer camp in Upstate New York to work as a special activities coordinator and help his introverted 12-year-old aunt Annabelle—the daughter of his grandfather—come out of her shell. Mikey’s only skill is shooting iPhone videos, so Annabelle and her campmates enlist him to help make a documentary about the story of a counselor who mysteriously disappeared years earlier. Their innocent digging soon uncovers evidence of a long-ago murder with repercussions in the present. Buoyant humor and a sweet subplot involving Mikey’s romance with a lifeguard add to the fun, even if the mystery itself takes a while to arrive. A sequel would be welcome. Agent: Courtney Paganelli, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

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 Sub Rosa, reels from the disappearance of her friend Phoebe. Increasingly convinced the Ripper killed Phoebe, she retreats into drug use and conspiracist online forums while questioning her complicity in L.A.’s culture of violence. Principled defense attorney Doug Gibson becomes Kara’s closest ally when his investigation into a client’s suspicious jailhouse death points him toward nefarious goings-on at Sub Rosa. Meanwhile, cynical livestreamer Jake Deal, who attracts followers with his lurid true crime coverage, inadvertently films Phoebe’s abduction at a Hollywood party. As Harper’s three leads converge, each becomes both weapon and target for Tinseltown’s corrupt puppet masters. Razor-sharp dialogue and vivid prose (“The city blurs in the dashcam display.... Like everything has its own light. Like the fire is already burning”) conjure an intoxicating atmosphere of glamor and decay, while Harper’s distinct characters elicit deep emotional investment. The result is a glittering neo-noir with staying power. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

A body turns up in a lake during three sisters’ summer vacation in this sizzling mystery from Roberts (Juniper Isle). Every summer, adult sisters Esme, Regina, and Piper pend two weeks vacationing at their family’s summer home in Lake George, N.Y.. This year, each woman arrives amid private struggles: picture-perfect eldest daughter Esme’s husband is cheating on her with their former nanny, middle child Piper is battling postpartum anxiety, and youngest daughter Regina’s financial difficulties force her to ask Esme to buy out her share of the house. The morning after the sisters have a heated argument, they discover a corpse in the lake that appears to belong either to their estranged cousin or Esme’s former nanny. Even as the sisters hatch a plan to keep their names clear, they start to doubt if they can trust one another. Roberts gradually reveals the depths of their secrets, keeping the pages turning as she casts suspicion on even the most unlikely culprit. This will have readers guessing until the very end. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

A second-rate foreign correspondent gets sucked into deadly tensions between the U.S. and China in Martin’s lively if far-fetched debut. Hard-drinking reporter Dani Moreau has washed up in Ghana, where she’s looking for a big story to get her foundering career back on track. While poking around for leads, she stumbles on a shadow war between the CIA and Chinese operatives, who are jockeying for control of undersea fiber optic cables off the African coast, which power world communication. To report the story—and stay alive—Dani must navigate a landscape rife with oligarchs, assassins, and dishonorable politicos. Martin’s traumatized, messy lead often comes across more like a walking cliché than a three-dimensional character, and it’s hard to root for her journalistic success when she barely manages to conduct a single interview over the course of several months. A smattering of cliff-hangers and a hard-charging finale keep the pages turning, but Dani’s flatness as a character and some implausible late-stage plot developments muddy the waters. Though Martin shows promise, this doesn’t quite hang together. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink

Former British intelligence officer Wolff follows his excellent Discipline Files trilogy with a quirky and captivating espionage thriller. The action kicks off with the British intelligence service receiving an anonymous complaint regarding a covert operation to identify the assassin who murdered 10 people across Europe. Aphra McQueen, a researcher with Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, is tasked with digging into the matter. She has barely begun her investigation when she’s falsely accused of stealing a top-secret file, and the inquest is closed. Aphra has an undisclosed personal connection to the investigation, however, so she reaches out to Zak, a British Syrian dentist, after saving his contact information from the case file. Zak is a distant acquaintance of the suspected assassin, an Iranian chemistry professor from Tehran. Aphra convinces Zak that she’s a spymaster responding to his request to join the service, which sets all the players on a dangerous collision course. Sly asides and metacommentary from a cynical narrator who’s identified only as the “spirit of spying” complement the verisimilitude Wolff brings to the proceedings. Fans of Mick Herron’s Slough House series will appreciate this. (Apr.)

Correction: A previous version of this review misidentified the Iranian chemistry professor character.

Reviewed on 01/30/2026 | Details & Permalink