BIOGRAPHY

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CRAFT

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GENERAL FICTION

Safe Enough and Other Stories by Lee Child

Child (the Jack Reacher series) compiles 20 previously published short stories in this brooding collection. Featuring mobsters, con men, assassins, and corrupt cops, Child’s self-described “very, very, very short novels” mostly focus on the worst of humanity. In “The .50 Solution,” a hit man is hired to kill a racehorse; in “My First Drug Trial,” an addict gets high before their moment of judgment; in “Me and Mr. Rafferty,” a serial killer leaves behind grisly clues in hopes of forging a connection with a detective. Throughout, Child gleefully toys with readers’ expectations, mirroring his duplicitous characters as he performs a series of satisfying bait-and-switches, most memorably in “Ten Keys,” which initially appears to center on two men in a bar waiting for an assassin. His dialogue, too, has the grit and punch of top-shelf crime fiction, though it’s easy to spot that many of Child’s characters sound alike when reading the stories back-to-back. These stories prove that Child has more to offer than the head-splitting exploits of his most popular action hero. Publisher’s Weekly, July 2024

Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel by Sophie Green

Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel introduces four women who find themselves at the glamorous Duchess Hotel on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula in Victoria in 1999. We first meet Joan, who abandons everything to reconnect with her previous self and regain her passion for painting. She meets Frances, an almost 80-year-old who still hasn’t come to terms with losing the love of her life during the Second World War, and the two women start painting together. Soon enough, Kirrily, a hotel staff member, joins the painting sessions to escape her tiresome life. Finally, Alison, Frances’s seemingly least preferred child, enters the group to forget about her own family problems. Through each of the women’s voices, Green (The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club) writes in a slow-paced, conversational tone that invites us to philosophise about life’s what-ifs. Even Green’s secondary characters, like quirky bartender Shane, contribute to this discussion. Grief, friendship, remorse, marriage, motherhood, self-discovery, lust and love are strongly depicted in the novel. However, at the book’s core lies the revelation of what belonging truly means and how coming together can change lives. Almost as if a self-help book metamorphosed into a fictional form, Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel will make a great book club pick and will appeal mostly to women aged 30+, particularly fans of Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy by the Sea, Meg Bignell’s The Angry Women’s Choir, and Joanna Nell’s Mrs Winterbottom Takes A Gap Year. Books+Publishing, June 2024

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

A woman upends strangers’ lives by predicting their deaths in the powerful latest from bestseller Moriarty (Apples Never Fall). Travelers aboard a delayed flight from Hobart, Australia, to Sydney are already on edge when a woman stands, points at a fellow passenger, and pronounces, “I expect catastrophic stroke. Age seventy-two.” She moves down the aisle, foretelling the causes and ages of death of several more passengers before the cabin crew intervenes. She then sleeps until landing and disembarks as though nothing had happened. Most assume the “soothsayer” has mental health problems—until one of her prognostications comes true three months later. Everyone is rattled, but none more than the other passengers she hit with premonitions: a nurse apparently slated to get terminal cancer, a young mother and swim instructor whose child will supposedly drown, and starry-eyed newlyweds whose marriage (which their families look down upon) will purportedly end in “intimate partner homicide.” Moriarty’s meticulously plotted tale—which follows each of the doomed passengers as they reckon with their alleged fate—rivets even as it thoughtfully contemplates free will, determinism, and the value of living passionately. The exquisitely rendered characters earn readers’ full investment as they contemplate how much credence to give the Damoclean sword hanging over their heads, and the pinwheeling narrative maintains near-constant tension. Moriarty has outdone herself. Publisher’s Weekly, June 2024

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson

Bestseller Swanson’s brilliant latest (following The Kind Worth Saving) revolves around a newlywed’s suspicions that her husband might be a murderer. Maine librarian Martha Ratliff is feeling uneasy about her recent marriage to traveling salesman Alan Peralta. Her fear that she doesn’t truly know Alan is exacerbated when he returns from a trip to Connecticut in an unusually severe mood. When Martha searches online for details about his trip, she turns up a news story about the supposed suicide of a young woman named Josie Nixon at the same art conference Alan visited. Soon, Martha starts drawing connections between Alan’s past trips and nearby homicides. For guidance, she turns to Lily Kintner, her old friend from graduate school (and a character from Swanson’s previous novels). Together, the women stage a meeting between Lily and Alan, which only serves to illuminate that little is as it seems when it comes to Josie’s death. Swanson’s gift for well-earned yet seismic reveals is on full display, and he fortifies them with unexpected heart through the story of Lily and Martha’s friendship. This is a masterpiece of misdirection. Publisher’s Weekly, June 2024

One perfect couple by Ruth Ware

A reality TV paradise becomes a nightmare for the show’s unlucky contestants. Lyla Santiago and Nico Reese have been dating for more than two years, and she’s beginning to feel like their relationship may be hitting a wall; she loves him, but his main focus at 28 is on his acting career, while, at 32, scientist Lyla is starting to dream about settling down. When Nico pleads with her to join him on a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, Lyla views it as an opportunity to see whether their relationship can go the distance—in reality as well as on TV. They arrive on a remote Indonesian island to find blue waters, white sands, romantic huts, and eight other contestants, all beautiful, glamorous, and clearly committed to bolstering their visibility by competing on the show. The director seems a bit shady; he insists (as their contract demands) that they turn in all electronics, plies them with booze, and then leaves with the crew—and the first ousted contestant. That night, a huge storm sweeps across the island. The next morning reveals a fatality among the wreckage: a hut and its inhabitant have been crushed by a tree, and the outbuildings have been destroyed. The remaining contestants are cut off from all communication, with the exception of one radio, and there is a very limited supply of food and water. So Love Island becomes Survivor, and one person in particular is set on being the last person standing. Ware offers another take on the locked-room mystery, but this time, her focus is less on creating a creepy atmosphere of dread, as she did in earlier novels, than on showing the absolute brutality of which some humans are capable. But she still has a good time herself: There’s a funny self-referential line to an earlier novel, plus some female characters MacGyver-ing a battery. The prolific Ware continues to stretch herself, taking on something new in each novel and writing strong—and increasingly kick-ass—female characters. The most cinematic Ruth Ware novel so far. Kirkus Reviews, February 2024

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MYSTERY

I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay

A Connecticut high school teacher stops a mass murder only to be targeted by a blackmailer in this hair-raising standalone from bestseller Barclay (The Lie Maker). Richard Boyle looks out his classroom window one afternoon just in time to spot Mark LeDrew, a “benign fuckup” of a former student, approaching the building while wearing a vest loaded with dynamite. Boyle tells his class to call 911 and lock themselves in, then goes to confront Mark. He convinces the 20-something to leave—but then Mark trips and sets off the explosives, killing himself and wounding Boyle. The fallout is swift. First, Mark’s parents, who blame Boyle for their son’s death, slap him with a lawsuit. Then Billy Finster, whom Boyle coached on the wrestling team, claims the news about Mark dug up memories that Boyle sexually abused him, and that he won’t go to the cops if the teacher comes up with an unspecified sum of cash. As Boyle scrambles to pay off Billy and hire a lawyer, he discovers links between Billy’s threat and a local crime network. Barclay makes his protagonist’s plight devastatingly immediate, and keeps readers on tenterhooks throughout. This is difficult to put down. Publisher’s Weekly, May 2024

Peg and Rose solve a murder by Laurien Berenson

With Melanie Travis away on vacation, it falls to her feuding aunts to solve a crime.Widowed Peg Turnbull is a respected breeder of standard poodles and a well-known judge for many different breeds. When her sister-in-law, Rose Donovan, a former nun married to a former priest, turns up at a show, Peg wonders why, as they have a bad relationship due to the disapproving things Rose said when Peg married her brother. Although Rose prefers cats and finds dog shows boring, she says she wants to get to know Peg better and asks her to be her partner at a bridge club. On their arrival, the pair meet their fellow players: a mixed group of men and women, some married, some not, some much better at bridge than others. Despite their own rusty skills and Peg’s observation that at least one of the teams is cheating, the women both enjoy themselves. At their second session, they go down to defeat against the most skilled of the group, Mick Doran and Stan Peters. When Stan is shot to death, the frenemies decide to do a little sleuthing and use the information they’ve picked up at bridge club to line up some suspects even though a detective Peg has crossed swords with before warns them off. Ignoring him, they question all the bridge players. But when someone shoots at Peg and her three precious poodles, it seems likely that they’re closing in on the killer. If you love dogs and bridge, this character-driven mystery will be especially pleasing. Kirkus Reviews, June 2022

The Lost Coast by Jonathan Kellerman & Jesse Kellerman

Father and son Kellerman collaborate on the fifth Clay Edison PI adventure. On Northern California’s Lost Coast, the executor of a woman’s estate needs help sorting out some curious monthly payments the deceased had been making. Having no luck with one private investigator, she asks Oakland ex-cop turned PI Clay Edison. Soon the original PI, Regina Klein, bawls him out in bleep-worthy terms for horning in on her case, but they form a temporary alliance to solve a complicated plot that’s rife with peril. It looks like someone is running a real estate scam on an isolated location on the Lost Coast called Swann’s Flat. A narrow and dangerous road twists and turns to the destination, and Clay sideswipes a teenage cyclist on a hairpin turn. The girl, Shasta, doesn’t blame Clay for her minor injuries, and she becomes a key in a story that’s peppered with vivid descriptions: Clay sees “the Pacific Coast baring its teeth. It was a crude, ax-hewn land, bunched like the front end of a head-on collision.” And Regina is one of an abundance of well-drawn, entertaining characters: She has a gift for acting and easily switches from garbage-mouth to sweetness and light as the situation calls for. As a pretend married couple, they go to Swann’s Flat and let a B.S. artist named Beau try to sell them property in this “private residential community”: “Find your heart on the Lost Coast!” Clay checks in frequently with his real wife, Amy, who’s at home with their two kids. He even consults with her on how much risk he should take; they are a loving family apparently devoid of flaws. Meanwhile, a one-hit-wonder novelist can’t be found, and another young man is missing. Years earlier, Shasta’s dad had fallen into oblivion off a cliff so high you couldn’t hear the thump at the bottom. Maybe it was an accident or maybe not. And maybe Pop won’t be the cliff’s last victim. Crisp, witty dialogue zips this well-paced story along so that when violence happens, it comes as a shock. Kellerman fans will love this one. Kirkus Reviews, August 2024

17 Years Later by J.P. Pomare

Hugely popular Australian true crime podcaster Sloane Abbott is on a high after winning a prestigious award and thinks she has found a new case that will keep her in the spotlight.Having been convicted of the brutal murders of the wealthy Primrose family who he worked for, former private chef Bill Kareama has been sitting in a New Zealand prison for 17 years and has maintained his innocence from the start.T K Phillips was Bill’s psychologist. T K lost his marriage and almost lost his career trying to fight for Bill, but when Bill’s appeals ran out, T K walked away to try to salvage his life.The plot device of true crime podcasters investigating cold cases is fast becoming a sub-genre in crime fiction and I am not surprised in the least. Unlike other criminal investigators, podcasters are not bound by the rules of evidence retrieval, procedures and processes. They also have the distinct advantage of being able to lean into people’s desire for their five minutes of fame.The story is told across three narratives: Sloane, T K and Bill. As more facts about what happened the night of the murders come to light, Bill’s claims of innocence start to look shaky. Pomare is a master of the red herring, and his characters are very relatable with their various foibles and flaws. He is not afraid to throw his characters under a metaphorical bus if it serves to ramp up the suspense and he always manages to keep his readers guessing right up to the last chapters. Once again with 17 Years Later, he has delivered a cracking tale. Good Reading Magazine, July 2024

Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs    

Reichs’s rewarding 23rd mystery featuring Temperance Brennan (after The Bone Hacker) finds the forensic anthropologist unraveling a complicated conspiracy in Washington, D.C. Brennan’s hopes for a getaway with her PI boyfriend are dashed by an urgent request from Jada Thacker, D.C.’s interim medical examiner, who’s probing a fire at an illegal Airbnb that killed four unidentified people. The case’s key questions—who was killed and whether the blaze was arson—are complicated by evidence that the building was used as a meth lab, and by Temperance’s discovery of a fifth corpse in the sub-basement. While investigating the building’s history, Temperance learns of its involvement in a 20th-century bootlegging operation, and decides to team up with a local journalist to learn more. Soon, more bodies pile up and other fires break out across the city, indicating the resurgence of a long-dormant gang. Reichs nimbly balances developments in Temperance’s romantic life with a propulsive investigation whose copious twists never feel cheap. Not only does this work as an entry point for series newcomers, it’s sure to satisfy longtime fans. Publisher’s Weekly, August 2024

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NON FICTION

The Men Who Killed the News by Eric Beecher

Early in The Men Who Killed the News, Eric Beecher wistfully remarks that he worked in a golden age of journalism; as a journalist starting out in the early 1970s, print journalism was at its height buttressed by the so-called ‘rivers of gold’ flowing from advertising revenues. He quickly rose through the ranks and at a young age became editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. He was then poached by Rupert Murdoch to come down to Melbourne and revive Melbourne’s afternoon broadsheet, The Herald. He soon formed the impression that behind its respectability News Corporation, ‘was a kind of medieval fiefdom where we all lived in the shadow of a proprietor whose predilections – commercial, editorial, ideological, personal, political, economic, philosophical, racial, sociological – were insinuated into every important decision and direction we took.’According to Beecher, Murdoch’s power is exercised overtly and subtly. Beecher recollects that one day a man started turning up to his editorial meetings; the man didn’t say who he was or why he was there, but Beecher soon came to believe he was Murdoch’s spy: ‘I told him to f**k off and never come back.’ Beecher reflects on Murdoch’s interactions with politicians, including a famous example when Murdoch responded to a question about how he was able to influence a politician: ‘Simple … I told him: look you can have a headline a day or a bucket of sh*t every day. What’s it to be?’Beecher gives a fascinating history of media’s evolution over the years, building a compelling case that ever since the advent of the modern newspaper there have been unscrupulous media barons solely interested in power and money. However, he takes the position that it is Murdoch’s arguable likeness to Lord Beaverbrook’s ‘unscrupulous man of genius’ that makes him unique. Murdoch had the foresight to anticipate the decline of print media and his creation of Fox News was a crucial step in securing his longevity; yet Beecher is scathing about Fox and the role it plays in shaping the world. That said, Beecher argues it is now the new media barons, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, that pose an even greater threat to public interest journalism: ‘The internet, despite all its benefits, has unleashed a series of missiles that have attacked the durability of the free press.’Can this be reversed? Perhaps, writes Beecher. Illuminated by many stories told with an irreverent humour that will make you gasp at their malevolent audaciousness, The Men Who Killed the News is one of the most important books published here in many years. It should be read by everyone who is interested in a civil society. Readings Magazine, July 2024

O’Leary of the Underworld by Kate Auty

O’Leary of the Underworld is a searing indictment of how white justice failed Aboriginal people. But it’s also a beautifully told, if not disturbing, journey into the mind of a sociopath. It’s all the more horrifying because it’s part of our history. Still, there’s something deeply satisfying in getting to the truth, as hard as it may be to reconcile. Good Reading Magazine, May 2023

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ROMANCE

Love Unleashed by Melanie Saward

Melanie Saward’s Love Unleashed is a bingeable, warm and soulful romantic comedy. Saward (whose debut novel, Burn, was released in 2023) draws on her own experience in New York to scaffold the story of Brynn Wallace, a Bigambul woman who moves from Brisbane to New York to pursue her literary dreams. Brynn moves through the grief of losing her mother—who has left her missions to complete in New York—as well as the trauma of her past relationship, the nervousness of exploring her ambitions and the excitement and allure of new love interests. Saward skillfully crafts these moments with care, tenderness and a vulnerability that draws the reader in completely. Each aspect of Brynn’s new world is engaging and richly illustrated, from Brynn’s workplace—the doggy daycare and its unruly dogs—to the cosy apartment she shares with new friend Corey and her group chat with her cousin Brydie and friend Dotty. Although Brynn’s love interests—the handsome ‘dog dad’/editor Lucas and the beautiful burlesque dancer/vet nurse Sienna—are swoon-worthy, I found myself wishing there was more time spent exploring Brynn and Sienna’s dynamic, sketching out more groundwork for their tender and magnetic relationship, which seemed to lurch forward emotionally a little too soon. Saward has created a unique and joyful romantic comedy for readers who enjoy Anita Heiss, Amy Hutton and Natalie Murray. Even when Saward delves into tropes, she does so with her own vibrant twist, making Love Unleashed an absolute treat to read. Books + Publishing, June 2024

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SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

A Darkness Returns by Raymond Feist

Feist (Master of Furies) wastes no time in introducing a sense of foreboding into this epic first volume of the Dragonwar Saga, a spinoff of his Firemane series. A brief summary titled “Our Story So Far” orients new and returning readers to the world of Garn, the fate of which is indelibly linked to Midkemia, the world that has been the setting of Feist’s epic fantasies for decades. Magic wielder Hatu; his wife, Hava; and his roguish friend, Donte, have travelled through a magical rift from Garn to Midkemia, where they are hosted by magicians Magnus, Pug, and, eventually, Nakor, all characters that returning fans will be excited to revisit. Donte remains in Midkemia, while everyone else returns to Garn to find ways to support Hatu’s friend Declan, newly named prince of Marquensas, as he and his brother, King Daylon, face a new manifestation of the Void, the destructive force that Pug and his allies have opposed through the centuries. All the usual Feist elements are here: skullduggery, high seas action, military clashes, and ever-expanding types of magic. It’s a grand setup for what could be the ultimate battle between all of Feist’s heroes and their age-old nemesis. Publisher’s Weekly, June 2024

Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

When 19-year-old Feyre kills a wolf in the borderland forest between the human world and the faerie kingdom of Prythian, she unknowingly breaks a wary truce and must repay the murder with her life. Tamlin, the shapeshifting Fae who comes to collect, offers Feyre a way out: spend the rest of her days on his lands in Prythian. She reluctantly agrees, leaving her starving family behind for the deceptive luxury of the faerie world. As Feyre begins to accept and even enjoy her new surroundings, not to mention the attentions of her host, she learns that the faerie world is crumbling under a blight that robs people like Tamlin of their magic and lets monsters roam free. Maas (the Throne of Glass series) draws themes and plot points from several fairy tales, fueling a well-developed world and complex relationships. The gruesome politics and magical might of the Fae may seem to leave Feyre hopelessly outmatched, but her grit and boundless loyalty demand that her foes—and readers—sit up and pay attention. Publisher’s Weekly, March 2015

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New additions to eBooks at SMSA

eBooks & Audiobooks help

EBOOKS

The Fog by Brooke Hardwick

The atmospheric setting of Brooke Hardwick’s debut novel, a highly selective writers’ retreat on the isolated island of Rathlin, off the coast of Northern Ireland, is sure to entice readers of psychological thrillers. Retreat director Cormac guarantees his participants that his program will heal trauma and cure writer’s block in 10 days. The protagonist, Kate, is suffering from memory loss and has been unable to write since her husband, Hugh, left her. Following Cormac’s method, she must confront her painful past to continue writing her romance novel based on her marriage. For a retreat to produce such grand results, it is reasonable that each day will be intense, and participants will be pushed to their limits. However, the retreat participants soon suspect someone on the island does not want them to survive. The Fog is a disorientating Gothic novel and an intense psychological thriller with a startling conclusion. The novel has a dark, eerie sensibility, with dead sheep and Celtic symbols appearing mysteriously, as well as whispers of changelings, unexplained accidents, and an extraordinary amount of fainting. Scottish ‘man of all work’ Ewan, and his ever-present kilt, provide some much-needed charm and levity to offset the darkness. Readers who enjoyed The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz and Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty are likely to enjoy the 10 days on Rathlin. Publisher’s Weekly, July 2024

Death at Dead Man’s Stake by Nick Oldham

A London police officer is surprised to find her new rural post equally challenging and dangerous. A suspenseful prologue follows octogenarian Bart Morrison wandering away from his nursing home and drowning after he meets an apparently dangerous unnamed person. From there, Oldham’s new novel runs on parallel tracks. Sergeant Jessica Raker’s first day on the job in Lancashire, on the Irish Sea in the northwest of England, is far from routine. She’s been at her new station for only 10 minutes when a distress call comes from Dead Man’s Stake, a farm where a fireman’s being held hostage. Jess and Samira Patel, her new partner, arrest Bill Ramsden, the armed, drunken farmer who’s responsible for the fuss, but not before being subjected to harassment from the hostage. “I was going to say, thank God you’re here,” the firefighter says. “But is this the best the police can offer?” Jess’ backstory, unfolded in alternating chapters, explains her abrupt transfer from London to Lancashire. While responding to an alarm at Royale’s Jewellers in Greenwich, Jess killed armed robber Terry Moss, triggering both a mob contract on her life and a serious rift in her marriage to Josh, who, in a mind-boggling coincidence, was in the shop at the time of the robbery. Where next for this couple and their two children? Oldham heightens the tension via short, punchy chapters. The plot turns at length to the layered mystery surrounding the elderly Morrison’s death. Oldham’s tidbits of local color and invitingly fleshed-out portraits of Jess’ coworkers hint at the direction his new series will likely take, balancing Jess’ personal and professional challenges. A tangled rural mystery unraveled by a determined heroine. Kirkus Review, July 2024

The First Friend by Malcolm Knox

When a novel begins with historical maps of the Soviet Union, a timeline of events, and character lists, there can be some trepidation about whether the commitment required will be worthwhile. In the case of The First Friend, Malcolm Knox rewards the reader’s commitment with a disturbing and grimly fun ticking time-bomb of a thriller about workplace survival in the upper echelons of the murderous Soviet bureaucracy. In his exploration of the ‘indentured friendship’ between Lavrentiy Beria—the cunning head of Stalin’s secret police—and his ‘dumb driver’ (the fictional Vasil Murtov), Knox seems to be responding to the current fractious relationship between truth and reality in politics. Reading of the impunity Beria enjoys in ‘the one car that won’t be searched’ while processing news headlines about a US presidential candidate whose criminal conviction seems to mean little, it’s hard not to take Knox, a Walkley Award–winning journalist, seriously in his suggestion of parallels between 1938 Soviet Russia and the present day. The comparison is supported by his observations of pre- and post-1917 revolution generational dynamics, which echo today’s generational rifts as if in a funhouse mirror. The First Friend publishes in the middle of a year full of world-altering elections and global tensions, and thoughtful novels like it, which carve out a space to reflect on the present by way of the past, really do feel—to use the tired phrase earnestly—urgent. Books Publishing, July 2024

In the Margins by Gail Holmes

Inspired by the life of Frances Wolfreston, a book collector who preserved the earliest part of Shakespeare’s legacy, Gail Holmes’s elegant debut speaks about the injustices and lack of freedom women endured in the 17th century. In the Margins takes place when a civil war gives way to an extremist and punitive England, and citizens must abide by the laws of Puritanism. Following her mother’s imprisonment for religious crimes, Frances sets out on a journey of self-discovery, willing to risk everything to remain faithful to her principles and to protect those she loves. As she juggles her roles of mother, daughter, wife, friend and community member, Frances’s choices reflect the complex realities even readers today face. The first-person narrative gives us a perfect insight into a character whose compassion makes it difficult to fulfil her duties as the rector’s wife, having to inform on those who fail to attend church. The significance of this novel goes beyond Holmes’s beautiful narrative voice and illuminates a hero known to us solely because the real Frances Wolfreston signed her name in each of her books. In an era marked by low female literacy rates and limited women’s ownership rights, this highlights the immense value Wolfreston placed on her books and underscores our progress since then. This deeply moving debut will appeal to fans of Pip Williams’ The Bookbinder of Jericho and Kayte Nunn’s The Silk House. Books Publishing, July 2024

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AUDIOBOOKS

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

Cooper, an Army veteran struggling with PTSD and the narrator of this grim and evocative novel of suspense from Grant (Fallen Mountains), is raising his eight-year-old daughter, Finch, in a remote cabin in the Appalachian Mountains. Their only contact with the outside world is an annual visit from Jake, a fellow veteran who brings them provisions for the winter. When Jake fails to appear on the appointed day one December, Cooper is forced to venture into the outside world and confront the violence that has driven him into the wilderness. When his tenuous sanctuary is further threatened by Finch’s growing fascination with a hiker who stumbles across them, tragedy ensues. Meanwhile, Cooper reflects on the brief happiness he enjoyed with his girlfriend Cindy, Finch’s mother, before Cindy died in a car accident shortly after Finch was born. It eventually emerges that Cooper kidnapped Finch from Cindy’s parents, who disapproved of him, and has been hiding from them since. Grant does a fine job of making Cooper sympathetic, despite his obvious faults. The beauty of the book’s prose as well as its deeply felt message of redemption and hope will please many. Grant is a writer to watch. Publisher’s Weekly, August 2021

Dark Tide by Edna Cowell Martin

Martin delivers a wrenching account of her relationship with her cousin, Ted Bundy, both before and after she learned he was a serial killer. In 1975, Martin was in the middle of her shift at a seafood processing plant in Seattle when her brother called to tell her that Bundy had been arrested in Utah. From there, the narrative flashes back to Martin’s childhood in 1950s Seattle, where she grew up with Bundy’s family (Bundy’s mother moved in with her sister, Martin’s mother, shortly after Bundy was born). Martin and Bundy were fast friends and hung out together well into their teenage years, prompting Martin to wonder how “he could be the cool Ted with me and my girlfriends, and then turn around and abduct and violently murder girls who looked just like us.” The author’s search for answers led her to have some tough conversations with her family, who privately hoped Bundy had been wrongly arrested. She also communicated with Bundy, whose chillingly chipper post-arrest letters to Martin are included. Martin imbues this well-covered story with fresh emotional urgency, pointing out that “Ted could be anyone. Even those we’d never suspect.” For fans of true crime, this is a must-read. Publisher’s Weekly, June 2024

Witch King by Martha Wells

Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winner Wells takes a break from her sci-fi Murderbot series to delve into a complex secondary world fantasy exploring the past and present of Kaiisteron the Witch King, a demon in human form. The past story line follows Kai’s first possession of a human body and his relationship with Prince Bashasa, who orchestrates a coup against the autocratic Hierarchs to avenge his sister’s death. The present begins with Kai abruptly waking to find his consciousness separated from his body—which is now a corpse entombed in a watery prison—and setting out to investigate his own murder. Among those helping him are Ziede Daiyahah, a witch searching for her missing wife; Sanja, a street urchin; and Ramad, a vanguarder and historian. The enormous cast is difficult to keep track of and the dry, workmanlike prose that works so well when Wells is writing robots can make it difficult to feel particularly close to any of these living characters. Laudably, however, Wells treats sexuality and gender (demons can move between male and female bodies) with a refreshing matter-of-factness and depicts the cultures of this world with an anthropologist’s care. Fans will not be disappointed by Wells’s return to fantasy. Publisher’s Weekly, March 2023

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