Books

If you are the sort of person who can’t bear to part with sentimental objects—“That belonged to Mamaw!”—this book is for you. Packed inside The Heirloomist: 100 Heirlooms and the Stories They Tell are photographs and stories of 100 items belonging to everyday as well as famous people, including Gloria Steinem, Rosanne Cash and Gabby

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside

For over a decade, health care journalist Shefali Luthra has been reporting on reproductive rights for Kaiser Health News and The 19th. In Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America, she details the public and private chaos that commenced when the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in its 2022 decision, Dobbs v.

Here’s what cooking today at Book Riot: The Most Unhinged Fictional Characters Ever Written But what is unhinged? Let’s picture a door. One with no hinges. It’s detached; it’s hanging by, at best, a thread, and it’s disconnected from the frame that holds it up. Unhinged, to me, implies a disconnect from reality — the

Some book titles are enigmatic, leaving you puzzling until a clue as to their meaning perhaps appears at an unexpected moment; others make no sense at all, even after you’ve turned the final page. Then there are those that lay it out, pure and simple – and I think you can guess which category Missing

The Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden’s debut novel, is set in 1961 rural Holland. At 30, Isabel is living in the house where she was raised after the death of her father forced the family’s move from the city and into a furnished house their uncle Karel found for them. Isabel lives a circumscribed and

A child heads outdoors, walking through a verdant and hilly rural landscape, as the sun rises and a shadow appears as the “last hint of night.” Thus begins an evocative exploration of shadows, both literal and metaphorical, in There Was a Shadow, written by Bruce Handy and illustrated by Lisk Feng.  Handy examines the omnipresent,

Sun, sea, sand and slaughter. What more could a body want from a summer holiday? Well, perhaps a decent all-you-can-eat buffet, a prime pool-side position and a good book to while away the time with. Luckily, Murder Under the Sun has the latter requirement covered in comprehensive style, collecting as it does nine vacation-based short

In rugby, Australia and New Zealand are sworn enemies. Off the pitch, they have more in common than they care to admit, whether it’s their shared landscapes, culture, troubled histories or love of the great outdoors. When it comes to crime fiction tastes are similar and Craig Sisterson’s second Dark Deeds Down Under anthology underlines

Has there ever been a more recognisable, more evil villain than Dr Hannibal Lecter? Not many of us will be able to shake the image of Anthony Hopkins’s eyes behind that facial restraint, nor the sound of his terrifying, slithering slurp. I’m also guessing that the popularity of the name Clarice declined sharply after Jodi

Helen FitzGerald is known primarily for writing gripping thrillers like The Cry (2013), which was adapted for television in 2018. If you have ever had the good fortune to attend a crime fiction festival with her on a panel, you will also be aware of her dark sense of humour. Occasionally, this seeps into her

It’s been seven years since the last Penn Cage novel from Mississippi author Greg Iles and so our lead book this week is Southern Man – a big deal for lovers of rural noir – and doesn’t its cover come with a unique sense of haunted beauty? Of course, inside all hell will break loose

Giles Kenworthy is: A) a hedge fund manager, B) belittling to everyone with whom he speaks, C) a supporter of a far right political party, D) rude and antagonistic to all the neighbours on Riverview Close in Richmond on Thames. Oh, and, E) he’s dead. Yes, someone shot him with a crossbow. Now, you might

“Shabbat is the best day of the week and today is the best best day of all.” So begins Joyful Song, a cheerful contemporary story celebrating Jewish naming traditions, from the award-winning team of Lesléa Newman and Susan Gal.   Zachary, the story’s narrator, is a new big brother—and especially proud to be pushing the carriage

This originally appeared in our Today in Books daily newsletter, where each day we round up the most interesting stories, news, essays, and other goings on in the world of books and reading. Sign up here if you want to get it. _______________________________________- How Fall Became The Big Season in Book Publishing We got an

Ah, here we are in May 2024, looking back on 1944 with an elegant European crime novel from Ben Pastor as her excellent Martin Bora series takes the German detective to Salò in search of a painting. We’ve also got the classic mystery approach remixed for the modern age in Ruth Wares latest; a batchelorette-party-of-death

Summer vacation has arrived, and with it the euphoric urge to pack a bag and hit the road (or skies. Or sea). But what is a well-traveled LGBTQIA+ person (or ally!) to do when the same old vacation spots have gotten a bit too-well trodden? Let Out in the World: An LGBTQIA+ (and Friends!) Travel

Happy May, everyone! I hope you’re getting nice weather where you are. We’ve been alternating between rain and sunny skies here — often on the same day — as spring is wont to do. Luckily, both rain and sun are reading weather. This week, I shared some recommendations for task #10: Read a historical fiction

Well known for his series of mysteries set in 1920s colonial India, Abir Mukherjee has produced his first contemporary standalone thriller. Hunted is a fascinating exploration of what people will do when they think they have no choice, that sense of desperation which makes them feel vulnerable. It’s also a critique of unethical political leaders

Apples Never Fall Challengers was all about competition and the drive to be the best. Competing with lovers and friends is one thing, but what if the conflict was within your own family? Apples Never Fall stars a tennis dynasty, made up of two retired stars—Stan and Joy—whose four adult children also played professionally. When

Here’s a new crime thriller that will upend your expectations at every turn – Steven Max Russo’s The Debt Collector. The literati say there are only two plots in all of literature: a person goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town. This story flows from the latter tradition, and it’s about a

Welsh author Carys Davies (West) is still breaking into American readership, but it won’t take her long. Her latest historical novel, Clear, which thoughtfully explores a passionate friendship set against religious and civic changes in mid-19th century Scotland, is bound to expand her audience. John Ferguson is a poor Presbyterian minister struggling to provide for

This originally appeared in our Today in Books daily newsletter, where each day we round up the most interesting stories, news, essays, and other goings on in the world of books and reading. Sign up here if you want to get it. _______________________________ ‘Fyre Festival of Books’ conference descends into chaos Now that is a

Translated by Quentin Bates — Last year, Stella Blómkvist made their debut in English with Murder at the Residence and we discovered that the author’s identity is a mystery, even among the Icelandic writing community, which seems quite amazing. Now as second novel from this long running popular series, which has even been made into

Cat Sebastian’s latest queer historical romance is a love letter to resilience and the power of bravery. Set in 1960 New York City, the same midcentury journalism milieu of Sebastian’s 2023 novel, We Could Be So Good, You Should Be So Lucky tells the story of shortstop Eddie O’Leary and journalist Mark Bailey, both of

Pulitzer-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer) takes his first foray into children’s books with Simone, a thoughtful and emotionally intense family story set during the California fire season. Simone, a young Vietnamese American girl, is dreaming of floating in the ocean when she is awakened by her mother (whom she calls M&aacute, the only

Beyoncé’s new album, Cowboy Carter, has sparked a sometimes contentious debate about the nature and identity of country music. It’s an invigorating topic that has long been explored by writers and scholars. A number of excellent books, such as Charles L. Hughes’ Country Soul, Francesca Royster’s Black Country Music and Daphne Brooks’ Liner Notes for

The women of the WISE Enquiries Agency, Wales’s premier private detectives, face a busy summer of sleuthing in The Case of the Bereaved Butler. It marks the ninth outing for Cathy Ace’s intrepid female investigators, who are once again faced with a plethora of complex cases, both at home in the picturesque village of Anwen-by-Wye

The Northern Irish author Stuart Neville probably doesn’t get credit he deserves, but crime fiction lovers know him as one of Britain’s leading authors in the genre. A couple of years back we enjoyed his domestic noir novel The House of Ashes, and he’s written standalone novels and series from political thrillers like Ratlines to