23 new books to add to your TBR pile today.
I couldn’t even narrow it down to 20 this time. That’s how good this week’s bounty is! We’ve got new books from Akwaeke Emezi, Morgan Jerkins, John Freeman, Karin Slaughter, Jeffrey Toobin, and (what?) Guillermo del Toro. We’ve got exciting debuts. (Hello, Raven Leilani!) You’re going to want to head over to your local indies with your biggest tote bags this week, friends.
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Raven Leilani, Luster
(FSG)
“Leilani’s radiant debut belongs to its brilliant, fully formed narrator. Old soul Edie has an otherworldly way of seeing the world and reflecting it back to readers.”
–Booklist
Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji
(Riverhead)
“This is another knockout performance from a writer who, much like Emezi’s complex protagonist, refuses to color within the lines.”
–Booklist
Laura Lippman, My Life as a Villainess
(William Morrow)
“Candid and quirky, this book will have special appeal to fans of her crime fiction … A wryly observed collection from a reliably good writer.”
–Kirkus
Peter Cameron, What Happens at Night
(Catapult)
“In this dreamlike, resonant fable, Cameron (Coral Glynn) depicts a pair of lost souls who travel to the edge of the world … emotionally affecting.”
–Publishers Weekly
Morgan Jerkins, Wandering in Strange Lands
(Harper)
” A revelatory exploration of the meaning of blackness.”
–Kirkus
John Freeman, Tales of Two Planets
(Penguin Books)
“Assembling the creative work of respected writers from both the developed and developing world, Freeman offers a sobering meditation on the future challenges that everyone will face.”
–Kirkus
Edward Ball, Life of a Klansman
(FSG)
“Spanning most of the 19th century, Life of a Klansman is a nuanced case study of one cog within a machine of terrorism and oppression.”
–Shelf Awareness
Jessica J. Lee, Two Trees Make a Forest
(Catapult)
“A beautiful and personal view of an island—and an author—shaped by environment and history.”
–Kirkus
Karin Slaughter, The Silent Wife
(William Morrow)
“The emotionally sophisticated characters work through the brutality of their jobs in this dynamic psychological thriller and police procedural that will please readers.”
–Library Journal
Edmund White, A Saint From Texas
(Bloomsbury)
“Equally tender and salacious, White’s deeply satisfying character study demonstrates his profound abilities.”
–Publishers Weekly
Yun Ko-Eun, tr. by Lizzie Buehler, The Disaster Tourist
(Counterpoint)
“[A]nother fresh and sharp story about life under late capitalism … Translator Lizzie Buehler deftly coveys the subtle tonalities of the prose, variously graceful and light.”
–The Guardian
Ingrid Persaud, Love After Love
(One World)
“The skilled treatment of the characters brings them to vivid life, as it does the richly realized Trinidadian setting.”
–Booklist
Caroline Leavitt, With or Without You
(Algonquin)
“This is a highly readable exploration of the fluid nature of relationships and redemptive power of self-reflection.”
–Publishers Weekly
Jessica Goudeau, After the Last Border
(Viking)
“This moving and insightful dual portrait makes an impassioned case for humane immigration and refugee policy.”
–Publishers Weekly
Tamsyn Muir, Harrow the Ninth
(Tor)
“The masterful second genre-bending tale in Muir’s Locked Tomb trilogy ratchets up the horror, hijinks, and gallows humor of the series to a fever pitch.”
–Publishers Weekly
David Nicholls, Sweet Sorrow
(Houghton Mifflin)
“With fully fleshed-out characters, terrific dialogue, bountiful humor, and genuinely affecting scenes, this is really the full package of a rewarding, romantic read.”
–Booklist
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, The Hollow Ones
(Grand Central)
“Fans of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s Pendergast books will be enthralled.”
–Publishers Weekly
Catherine Cho, Inferno
(Henry Holt)
“[A] brilliantly frightening memoir about Cho’s two weeks on the psychiatric ward, elegantly interwoven with tales from her past.”
–The Guardian
Jeffrey Toobin, True Crimes and Misdemeanors
(Doubleday)
“By integrating the Russian interference story with all the twists and turns of Trump’s defensive moves and the segue to the Ukraine arms-for-favors deal, Toobin presents a persuasive summation to the jury of his readers.”
–NPR
Sophy Roberts, The Lost Pianos of Siberia
(Grove)
“Quest-travel books are a rich subgenre, and Roberts is indefatigable. She is serious and never ironic about the quest. She loves pianos and pianists but she also loves the stories they bring to light.”
–The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Steve Olson, The Apocalypse Factory
(W. W. Norton)
“A riveting history of a lesser-known Manhattan Project triumph that, like so many wartime triumphs, has lost its luster.”
–Kirkus
Charlotte Wood, The Weekend
(Riverhead)
“Wood’s technique in this novel is masterly.”
–The Sydney Morning Herald
Jonathan C. Slaght, Owls of Eastern Ice
(FSG)
“Top-notch nature writing in service of a magnificent, vulnerable creature.”
–Kirkus
