If you’re looking forward to seeing the backside of 2025, let me give you a great reason to look forward to 2026: new books! There are so many great reads hitting our shelves next year. Debut novels, unique classic retellings, dragons…books of 2026 bring bookworms the joy and fulfilment they are looking forward to when starting a new year. Check out this extensive list of highlighted 2025 book releases that you need to keep your eye on!

We’re focusing on books from January to June, with some highlights for the end of the year.

---

January Releases

Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet

Expected Publication Dates: January 6

When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer.

Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable.

Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs.

Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone.

Beth’s perspective told in flashback unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart. (Credit: Sarah Barley Books / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronika Dapunt

Expected Publication Date: January 6

Her job is to die for. Literally.

When most people think of Death, they picture a skeleton in a black potato sack. Maybe with a scythe. Truth is, she’s just a woman doing a job, and she’s very good at it. Still, even Death needs a break. But when she finally takes some time off to live on earth, things start to go terribly wrong. Someone is killing people not on her list (well, not yet anyway) and it’s up to her to find the killer before it’s too late.

To make matters worse, her sanctimonious sister Life – whom Death hasn’t gotten along with in millennia – won’t stop blaming her for the unplanned deaths . . . and then there’s the slight problem of the charming (and sexy) parasitologist she can’t quite trust.

But she’ll be fine, right?

After all, who better to investigate a murder than Death herself? (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

Oxford Blood by Rachael Davis Featherstone

Expected Publication Date: January 13

Love, Lies, Legacy…

Eva has one dream: to study English at Oxford University. Not only will she receive a world-class education – getting into Oxford is a path to freedom.

But when Eva and her best friend George are invited to interview week, they find themselves in the cutthroat ultra-competitive world of elite academia, and at the center of gossip on anonymous student forum Oxford Slays. When Eva finds George dead near the steps of a statue in the college, she knows he’s been murdered – but all eyes are now on her. Can she clear her name, catch the true killer and win her place at Beecham College?

Eva has one week to prove her innocence, and Oxford Slays will be watching.

Oxford Blood is a riveting murder mystery thriller, packed with narrative twists and turns, complex and appealing characters and a captivating, authentic setting in its searing examination of the true cost of privilege. (Credit: Wednesday Books)

It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara

Expected Publication Date: January 13

You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbors, it’s meant for your sister. But it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead.

As rumor spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighborhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten. But then you receive the first death threat.

The next day, a woman has been murdered. And what’s even more chilling is that she had the same address as you – 26 Oakpark – but in a different part of town. Did the killer get the wrong house? It won’t be long before you find out… (Credit: Pamela Dorman Books)

Fire Sword & Sea by Vanessa Riley

Expected Publishing Date: January 13

The Caribbean Sea, 1675. Jacquotte Delahaye is the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy tavern owner on the island of Tortuga. Instead of marriage, Jacquotte dreams of joining the seafarers and smugglers whose tall-masted ships cluster in the turquoise waters around Tortuga. She falls in love with a pirate, but when he returns to the sea, Jacquotte decides to make her own way. In Haiti she becomes Jacques, a dockworker, earning the respect of those around her while hiding her gender.

Jacquotte discovers that secret identities are fairly common in the chaotic world of seafaring, which is full of outsiders and misfits. She forms a deep bond with Bahati, an African-born woman who has escaped slavery and also disguises herself as a man to navigate the world. They join forces with Dirkje De Wulf, a fearless adventurer who also lives as a man at sea. As Jacques, Jacquotte falls in love with Lizzôa d’Erville, a beautiful courtesan who deals in secrets and sex. While others see their work clothes as a disguise, Lizzôa’s true self is as a woman.

For the next twenty years, Jacquotte raids the Caribbean, making enemies and amassing a fortune in stolen gold. When her fellow pirates decide to increase their profits by entering the slave trade, Jacquotte turns away from piracy and the pursuit of riches. Risking her life in one deadly skirmish after another, she instead begins to plot a war of liberation. (Credit: William Morrow)

• A War of Wyverns by S. F. Williamson (Expected Release Date: January 6)
• Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan (Expected Release Date: January 13)
• Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow (Expected Release Date: January 20)
• Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph (Expected Release Date: January 20)
• Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy (Expected Release Date: January 20)
• My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney (Expected Release Date: January 20)
• The Crown’s Silence: The Hidden History of The British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas by Brook N. Newman (Expected Release Date: January 27)
• The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass (Expected Release Date: January 27)
• The Great Shadow: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy by Susan Wise Bauer (Expected Release Date: January 27)
• Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar (Expected Release Date: January 27)

Auntie’s Bangles by Dean Atta and illustrated by Alea Marley

Expected Publishing Date: January 15

A heartfelt story about love, loss and the joy a person leaves behind, written by multi-prize winning poet Dean Atta and illustrated by the award-winning Alea Marley.

Auntie’s bangles used to jingle-jangle as she laughed, read and made delicious dishes, and especially as she danced. But everyone is so sad since Auntie died. It feels . . . quiet.

Slowly, Theo and his cousin, Rama, learn to celebrate their memories of Auntie, even after she’s gone.

This gentle and sensitive exploration of grief will open up important conversations and help little ones find their own way to remember and celebrate someone they’ve lost. (Credit: Hachette Children’s Group)

I Don’t Wish You Well by Jumata Emill

Expected Publication Date: January 20

Five years ago, the infamous Trojan murders turned the small town of Moss Pointe, Louisiana into a living nightmare. Four teen boys—all star players on Moss Pointe High’s football team—were murdered one after the other by a Trojan-mask wearing killer. 

Eventually, the murderer was unmasked. But the community has never forgotten—and some folks in town still wonder whether the police got it right.

Eighteen-year-old Pryce Cummings is one of them. An aspiring journalist, Pryce is pretty sure he just stumbled upon evidence that throws the killer’s guilt into question. It’s the perfect story for his own podcast, and a reason to go back to the hometown he’s avoided since coming to terms with his sexuality while at college.

But in Moss Pointe, digging into the past is anything but welcome. There’s so much more to what happened there five years ago, and Pryce is ready to crack it all wide open . . . if he lives to tell the tale. (Credit: Delacorte Press)

No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done by Sophie Hannah

Expected Publication Date: January 20

The twistiest murder mystery you are ever likely to read? A story about a family that does the unthinkable?

Both? Or something else altogether?

You think it will never happen to you.

The doorbell. The policeman. The words that turn your world inside out: I’m afraid there’s been an incident…

For Sally Lambert, those words mean only one thing–danger. Not just for her family, but for Champ, their loyal and beloved dog. A single accusation, a neighbor’s grudge, and suddenly the Lamberts are trapped in a nightmare with no escape.

Unless they make one.

Most people would never run. Most people would never leave behind everything they know to protect an animal who can’t defend himself. But for Sally, Champ is more than a dog–he’s one of her children. And most people aren’t the Lamberts.

No one has ever done this before. No one has ever gone this far. But the Lamberts have never been quite like any other family…(Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley

Expected Publication Date: January 20

Summer, 1986. The Creel sisters, Georgie Ayyar and Agatha Krishna, welcome their aunt, uncle and young cousin—newly arrived from India—into their house in rural Wyoming where they’ll all live together. Because this is what families do. That is, until the sisters decide that it’s time for their uncle to die.

According to Georgie, the British are to blame. And to understand why, you need to hear her story. She details the violence hiding in their house and history, her once-unshakeable bond with Agatha Krishna, and her understanding of herself as an Indian-American in the heart of the West. Her account is, at every turn, cheeky, unflinching, and infectiously inflected with the trappings of teendom, including the magazine quizzes that help her make sense of her life. At its heart, the tale she weaves is:   
    a)    a vivid portrait of an extended family
    b)    a moving story of sisterhood
    c)    a playful ode to the 80s
    d)    a murder mystery (of sorts)
    e)    an unexpected and unwaveringly powerful meditation on history and language,
           trauma and healing, and the meaning of independence

Or maybe it’s really:

    f)      all of the above. (Credit: Pantheon)

Sundown Girls by L.S. Stratton

Expected Publication Date: January 27

When sixteen-year-old Naomi Ward and her family head to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley for summer vacation they don’t know the small, mountain town of Sparksburg, Virginia has a dark and twisted past. But when they arrive, Naomi can’t shake the feeling that something about Sparksburg just isn’t right—and it smells god awful, but for some reason Naomi is the only who can smell the town’s stench. When she learns Sparksburg had once been a Sundown Town—a town where Black people weren’t allowed after sunset lest they be murdered—Naomi’s unease starts to make sense. 

As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger.

When Naomi decides to track the disappearance of the two girls herself, she becomes suspicious of a local man who has kindled fear in Naomi more than once. She soon learns he has a connection to one of the missing girls, and Naomi is certain he’s responsible for the disappearances.

When no one believes her, Naomi takes matters into her own hands. But to save the missing girls, she’ll have to finally face her own past trauma as a “missing girl” as she finds herself in a fight for survival. (Credit: Nancy Paulsen Books)

Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane

Expected Publication Date: January 27

As turmoil simmers within a divided nation, smoke from another blaze begins to rise. Sparked by individual acts of resistance among those enslaved across the American South, their seemingly disparate rebellions fuel a singular inferno of justice, connecting them in ways quiet at times, explosive at others. As these flames rise, so will they.

Luke, quick-witted and literate, and Henri, a man with a strong and defiant spirit, forge an unbreakable bond at a Virginia plantation called Magnolia Row. Both seek escape from unimaginable cruelty. And sure as the fires of hell, Luke and Henri will leave their mark, sparking resistance among the lives they touch…

One is Josephine, a young, sharp, and observant girl who wields silence as her greatest weapon. A witness to Luke and Henri’s resilience, she listens, watches, waits for the moment to make her move.

Then there is Charity Butler, her husband a formerly enslaved man who proved his ferocity as a young boy standing alongside Josephine. At his encouragement, Charity fights for her freedom in court and wins – only to battle a deeply unjust system designed to destroy the life they’ve built.

And finally, there is Nathaniel, who ruthlessly exploits other Black people and mirrors the cruelty of the white men who, like him, are enslavers. A perversion of the system of slavery, his fragile and contradictory rule will become a catalyst of its own. (Credit: Dafina)

February Releases

Imposter by LJ Ross

Expected Publication Date: February 3

There’s a killer inside all of us…

In the remote hills of western Ireland, fear spreads as the locals struggle to make sense of a killer who is seemingly one of their own…

Dr. Alexander Gregory, a psychologist recovering from the collapse of a high-profile criminal profiling unit, wants nothing more than a quiet life to finally sit and think things through. But his rare ability to understand the minds of violent offenders makes him hard to ignore—especially when a small town is shaken by a brutal murder. Reluctantly pulled into the case, Gregory finds himself confronting not only a cunning predator, but the darker corners of his own mind.

From internationally bestselling author LJ Ross comes a tense, atmospheric thriller that explores how far we’ll go to understand—and survive—the darkness around us. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by Takuya Asakura

Expected publication date: February 3

Welcome to The Cherry Blossom Bookshop, a mysterious haven for book lovers that appears only during the fleeting cherry blossom season. Nestled amidst the bloom of delicate petals, you’ll find a sanctuary for those burdened by regrets and past sorrows. Here, Sakura, the enigmatic young owner, and her wise tortoiseshell cat, Kobako, patiently await the arrival of souls in need of solace and healing.

Told over four seasons, each visitor to the bookshop holds a book that bridges their past and present, guiding them towards understanding and acceptance. Within the antique charm of the shop and the soothing aroma of freshly brewed coffee, Sakura and Kobako help their guests confront their lingering sadness through the power of stories, enabling them to move forward with renewed hope. (Credit: HarperCollins)

The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera

Expected publication date: February 10

Siriwathi Perera doesn’t quite know where she’s going in life. She never expected to be a taxicab driver in New York City, struggling to make ends meet and still living with her parents at twenty-eight. The true-crime podcasts that keep Siri company as she drives don’t do much to make up for the legal career she imagined for herself, or the brother she’s grieving.

When public defender Amaya Fernando gets into her cab, they make a quick connection through their shared Sri Lankan roots. Siri, whose social circle is limited to her grade-school best friend, Alex, thinks things might finally be looking up with this new potential friendship. But she’s suddenly dropped into her own true crime when she discovers her next passenger murdered in the backseat, and she has to call Amaya sooner than she’d expected.

Pinned as the obvious and only suspect, and desperate to clear her name, Siri chases down leads across the boroughs of New York City with Amaya’s help. But with her court date looming, they have just five days to find out who really killed the midnight passenger—or Siri’s life will be over before she can even truly live it. (Credit: Berkley)

The House of Fallen Sisters by Louise Hare

Expected publication: February 12

December, 1765. In the early hours of the morning, Sukey Maynard flees her home – a brothel in Covent Garden. Her maidenhood is about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, and she is too frightened to stay. But when she is captured and returned to the house of fallen sisters, she has a choice to make – should she stay, or should she run again?

As Sukey accepts her fate, she begins to learn how to navigate this strange new life of hers, and soon realises that there are those who wish her and her sisters harm. But this world that operates in the shadows has its own set of rules, and if Sukey is to survive then she must learn to play the game. (Credit: HarperCollins)

Holy Boy by Lee Heejoo

Expected publication: February 17

Four wildly different women are consumed by Yosep, a dreamy twenty-one-year-old K-pop idol known as “the boy.”

Ahna, a woman in her forties, first sought the company of younger men to quell the loneliness she experienced accompanying her husband on his trips abroad. When an affluent friend introduces her to the boy and she sees him on television, Ahna joins his cultish fandom. She soon bonds with Mihee, a beautiful, socially isolated woman in her twenties, who also worships the boy, and they eventually meet two other acolytes: Nami, a young shaman, and Heeae, who worked as a maid for Ahna’s family and is Yosep’s birth mother. Heeae gave her son up for adoption to ensure him a better life but yearns to be reunited.

Fierce and unapologetic, each woman has her own reason for wanting Yosep—a yawning desperation that spawns a dangerous plan. After taking the young singer hostage at a mansion in the mountains of South Korea’s Gangwon Province, Ahna, Yosep, Mihee, Nami, and Heeae will go to extreme lengths to keep him there, no matter how coercive—or murderous—the means. But the fervency that united this formidable team begins to fracture them, igniting a holy war over that sets each woman against the other. Who will emerge the victor? And just how far will she go to win the boy for herself?

A probing, page-turning psychological novel as thrilling as a rollercoaster ride, told in exquisite, breathtaking prose, Holy Boy is a subversive, intricately plotted novel that explores the perils of objectification, the dark undercurrents of female desire, and the precarity of love. (Credit: HarperVia)

• Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter by Joseph Coelho (Expected Release Date: February 3)
• Rebel of the Regency by Ann Foster (Expected Release Date: February 10)
• Call of the Dragon by Natasha Bowen (Expected Release Date: February 10)
• Ours Is A Tale of Murder by Nora Murphy (Expected Release Date: February 10)
• The Body by Bethany C. Morrow (Expected Release Date: February 10)
• Mayowa and the Sea of Words by Chibundu Onuzo (Expected Release Date: February 17)
• The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin (Expected Release Date: February 17)
• Adrift by Will Dean (Expected Release Date: February 17)
• Motherfaker by Anna Brook-Mitchell (Expected Release Date: February 26)
• Death at Daffodil Inn by R.L. Killmore (Expected Release Date: February 26)

Where The Wildflower Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

Expected publication: February 17

Leigh is the last of the Wildes. She knows this because she watched them all die.

Grief never truly fades and even as the tragedy haunts her, Leigh carries on, because survival is in her blood. So, when the transport bus taking her to prison careens off the road, killing everyone onboard except her, she does what’s in her nature. She survives.

While searching for a place to hide, Leigh stumbles upon an unexpected sanctuary: a flower farm in rural Alabama tucked away from the world. What Leigh doesn’t expect is the found family there who have built something from the wreckage of their own lives. Especially Jackson, the farm’s owner, who sees through Leigh’s defenses, offers her small moments of tenderness, encourages her to face her own tragedies. Slowly, Leigh finds peace with the hard pace and soft nature of the farm, taking comfort in the life blooming around her. Maybe she’s not beyond redemption, not too broken for something good. And maybe, just maybe, Leigh starts to heal.

But the past isn’t so easily buried.

No matter how far she runs, the truth of who she is and the ghosts of the Wildes follow. And when those secrets catch up to her, threatening everything she’s come to love, Leigh will have to truly face what she can survive. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)

Every Last Liar by Kate Francis

 Expected publication: February 24

All of them are guilty.

All of them must play the game.

But only one can survive.

On the first anniversary of a tragic fire at their high school, seven teenagers jump at the chance to attend a luxury desert retreat. But when they’re left at a rundown abandoned motel and a sinister text message accuses them of complicity in the fire, they realize someone is playing a deadly game of revenge.

The rules? Every hour, one of them must sacrifice themselves, leaving the motel to be killed, until only one survivor remains. Otherwise… they all die.

As the countdown begins, the stranded must answer the questions: when everyone’s guilty, who deserves to live? Who deserves to die?

With time running out, can they work together to uncover who’s running the game before the bodies pile up? Or will it be survival of the fittest? (Credit: Sourcebooks Fire)

Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi

Expected publication: February 24

YOU KNOW MY NAME, BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW ME.

Your historians call me seductress, but I was ever in love’s thrall.

Your playwrights speak of witchcraft, but my talents came from the gods themselves.

Your poets sing of my bloodlust, but I was always protecting my children.

How wilfully they refuse to concede that a woman could be powerful, strategic, and divinely blessed to rule.

Death will silence me no longer.

This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived. (Credit: Ballantine Books)

Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward

Expected publication: February 24

Secrets in the flames. Answers in the ashes.

Riley and her brother Oliver set off in the pitch-black night, fleeing their troubled home. They are heading for Nowhere—an abandoned ranch, once the playground of its former eccentric movie-star owner, now a haven for runaways.

What awaits could be the freedom they crave.

But this mysterious clan guards dark secrets, and the scorched grounds hold the ghosts of the past. Riley quickly realizes that while she and Oliver may have escaped the devil they knew, something darker lurks in the burnt shell of Nowhere.

Something which asks a terrible price for sanctuary… (Credit: Tor Nightfire)

How To Get Away With Murder by Rebecca Philipson

Expected Publication Date: February 24

This fresh debut thriller finds a Scotland Yard detective trying to find the author of a self-help book that promises quite literally to teach readers how to get away with murder, which seems to have inspired London’s newest murderer.

Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen has been on leave for six months, recovering from a breakdown she suffered at work, but when a fourteen-year-old girl is murdered in a local park, Sam jumps at the chance to return to the job and prove that she’s still got what it takes to be the Yard’s most successful homicide detective. One of the case’s only leads is a copy of a self-help book found in the victim’s backpack called How To Get Away With Murder by a man named Denver Brady.

Brady claims to be the most successful serial killer of our time, which is why no one’s ever heard of him. Chapter by chapter, he details his methodology and his past victims, and as Sam’s investigation progresses and the details of the book go viral, Sam begins to suspect that there’s more to the author than what he’s revealed. But in order to find a killer and get justice for young Charlotte, Sam must learn to trust her instincts once again, before Denver Brady–or someone else–really does get away with murder. (Credit: Minotaur)

Gone For Good by Sarah Crossan

Expected publication: February 26

Ebook from Bookshop.org

Connie Ryder is taken from her home in the dead of night and sent to Silver Lake Academy – a remote, high-security facility for ‘troubled’ teens. At Silver Lake, the vulnerable and the violent are locked in together under a brutal regime that aims to improve their behaviour. But when Connie learns she’s been given the bed of a missing girl named Belle, she is drawn deep into a chilling web of secrets and lies… 

A sensational, immersive and hugely propulsive ‘missing girl’ thriller, set against the backdrop of America’s controversial Troubled Teen industry. (Credit: Simon & Schuster UK)

Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce

Expected publication: February 26

When 18-year-old Christian Shaw is found dead in an Edinburgh park, the city reels – and the shock only deepens when police charge her best friends, Eliza Lawson and Isobel Smyth, with her murder.

As social media explodes and headlines scream for justice, rumours of bullying spiral into something darker: whispers of rituals, obsession, and a teenage pact gone wrong.

Matthew Phillips, a respected heart surgeon, is reluctantly called for jury duty. But as the trial unfolds – and the girls reveal a chilling defence no one saw coming – he begins to question everything: the motives, the evidence, even his own judgement.

Who’s telling the truth? Who can be trusted?
And what really happened to Christian Shaw?

Let the Witch Trial begin . . . (Credit: Headline Publishing Group)

March Releases

Her Hidden Fire by Clíodhna O’Sullivan

Expected Publication Date: March 3

In a world where dragons soar through the skies and magical abilities are an elite privilege, the ruling family of Ailm’s Keep is on a knife-edge: Can their son Ionáin prove that he can channel magic, or will his entire family be cast out in disgrace?

Éadha, a servant girl who loves Ionáin, is shocked to discover shortly before the test that she can wield magic herself. It’s extremely rare for a girl to have this talent, especially outside the few great Families. At Ionáin’s moment of truth, when it’s clear he is about to fail, Éadha makes a desperate gamble to save him from humiliation by pretending her magic is his, forfeiting her own claim to power.

Her decision sends them both to an academy of magic, where she must shield her secret from every grim Master and scheming apprentice—especially the handsome but enigmatic Gry. As Éadha enters this whirlwind of patriarchy, class, heartache, and jealousy, she also learns about magic’s terrible cost—the human price that Channellers willingly pay to maintain their power.

How far would you go to empower the one you love? (Credit: Viking Books for Young Readers)

The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson

 Expected Publication Date: March 10

DI Henley faces her darkest challenge yet…

When a string of grisly murders begins painting the city in terror, DI Henley soon realise a vigilante killer is scalping their victims before leaving them for dead. Henley is thrust into a web of secrets, unravelling connections between the victims while battling demons from her own past. As the killer raises the stakes, the line between predator and prey begins to blur. With time slipping away and her own life in jeopardy, Henley must outwit a psychopath who views murder as an art form. Can she hunt them down before the final stroke of the scalpel closes the case forever? (Credit: Hanover Square Press)

You Should Have Been Nicer To My Mom by Vincent Tirado

Expected Publication Date: March 10

When Papi Ramon, the patriarch of the wealthy Abreu family dies, he gives the family one last message in the will: “One of you is el bacà, the demon that I made a deal with. Get rid of them or you will be damned.” Xiomara, the uncontested favorite of Papi Ramon (and therefore the least liked in the family), watches as everyone dismisses this as the joke of a senile old man and demands the lawyer obtain the previous will Papi wrote.

While the lawyer drives back to his office, a storm breaks out, forcing the entire family—Xiomara’s aunts and uncles and cousins—to remain in the house. And the words of Papi’s will hangs over their heads even heavier than the rain clouds. Over the course of the night, scandal after scandal is revealed to the public about the family. Suddenly a tense few hours of surviving her family turns into a vicious night of recrimination, violence, accusations…and murder.

Xiomara is faced with an impossible task: uproot a demon and somehow kill it or excise the ghosts that linger within her own family.

And the clock is ticking…(Credit: William Morrow)

The Quiet Girls by Dorothy Koomson

Expected Publication Date: March 12

US Publication: May 26

When MJ Hudson, an old work acquaintance, shows up at Dr Kez Lanyon’s house in the middle of the night, Kez knows she has no choice but to help.

At the prestigious boarding school that MJ’s daughter attends, a teacher has been killed and a pupil is missing. And it seems that the same thing happens every few years. Only this time, the school haven’t been able to cover things up and MJ’s daughter and her group of nice, quiet friends are right at the heart of the scandal.

Undercover as the new school therapist, Kez quickly realises there are some seriously powerful, well-connected forces at play. And by continuing to investigate the mystery, perhaps even stepping outside the law to do so, Kez risks putting her own family in serious danger.

Because no one wants their secrets aired. And some will go to any length to keep them buried. (Credit: Hachette Mobius)

The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent

Expected Publication Date: March 12

If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.’

Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode.

Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.

Not that Ruby wants to think about the past.

But it can’t stay a secret forever. (Credit: Penguin Books)

• A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert (Expected Publication Date: March 3)
• The Story of Marceau Miller by Marceau Miller (Expected Publication Date: March 3)
• The Gardeners’ Club by Marnie Riches (Expected Publication Date: March 3)
• Be Right Back by Bill Wood (Expected Publication Date: March 3)
• King of Nothing by Nathaniel Lessore (Expected Publication Date: March 10)
• Shut Up and Read: A Memoir from Harriett’s Bookshop by Jeannine A. Cook  (Expected Publication Date: March 10)
• The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J.D. Brinkworth (Expected Publication Date: March 10)
• Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Expected Publication Date: March 24)
• Missing by E.A. Jackson (Expected Publication Date: March 17)
• Brielle and Bear: Project Fairytale by Salomey Doku (Expected Publication Date: March 25)

Sisters In Yellow by Mieko Kawakami

Expected Publication Date: March 17

Hana has nothing – she’s fifteen years old and living in a tiny apartment in a suburb of Tokyo with her young mother, a hostess at a local dive bar. They have no money, no security. Then Kimiko appears.

Kimiko is older, a bright light in Hana’s dark world. Together they set up Lemon, a bar that, despite its shabby setting and seedy clientele, becomes a haven for Hana. Suddenly Hana has a job she loves, friends to share her days with, and the glittering promise of money. She feels like a normal girl. She feels invincible.

But in the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya, nothing is as it seems. Soon all of Hana’s hope, her optimism, and her drive will be pushed to the limit . . .

A story of enduring friendship and deep betrayal, Sisters in Yellow is a masterpiece of teenage dreams and adult cruelties that confirms Mieko Kawakami as one of the great writers of her generation. (Credit: Knopf)

Charmed and Dangerous by Shelly Page

Expected Publication Date: March 24

Magic lingers in the cozy town of Fair Glen, Illinois, and it’s up to the agents at the Bureau of Mystical Affairs to keep it in check. Monroe Bennett, a junior recruit at the Bureau, is ready to ace her first assignment: tracking down the source of a rogue love charm.

Protecting her charmed classmates, including the Bureau Director’s daughter Iris James, is top priority. But when Iris asks Monroe to fake date her to make her ex jealous, things get complicated. 

Monroe believes in duty, not romance. Yet the more time she spends with Iris, the harder it is to ignore the very real sparks flying between them. Can Monroe protect herself from love long enough to solve this case, or will her growing feelings get in the way? (Credit: Joy Revolution)

Robbie McNeil’s Hit List by Brianna Heath

Expected publication date: March 24

For this hitwoman, curiosity may be killer.

Contract killer Robbie McNeil never asks questions. Her mission is simple. Do the job. Get paid. Get back to running the karaoke bar she co-owns with her queerplatonic partner and fellow contract killer, Dee. And it works… Until their ambitious new theatrical venture breaks the bank.

When a mysterious new client hires Robbie for a hit, she takes the job, even though it’s sketchy as hell he won’t tell her anything but the target’s name. But hey, she didn’t build her reputation by being curious, and she desperately needs the cash.

Except something about this new target doesn’t add up. When he disappears with no record he ever existed, she chucks her no-questions-asked policy out the window, determined to figure out who this target really is. But the price for asking questions is high and might just cost Robbie everything she holds dear. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh

Expected Publication Date: March 26

He has a secret. She knows he’s lying…

You think you know the people you love.

Nadeeka is certain Jamie is having an affair. She knows the tell-tale signs.

She’s been here before.

You think you know who you can trust.

When Jamie claims to be at work late, she knows he’s lying. He’s with another woman, and she’s determined to catch him in the act.

You think you know how the story ends.

But when Nadeeka arrives home to confront him, Jamie can’t explain himself. The house has become a crime scene…

Jamie is dead.

It’s not what you think. (Credit: HarperCollins)

News from the Fallout by Chris Condon and illustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love

Expected Publication Date: March 31

In 1962 Nevada’s “Atomic Alley,” a nuclear bomb test goes horribly awry at the secretive Gaines Army Base and unleashes a contaminate into the atmosphere that turns people rotten. Otis Fallows, a private in the U.S. Army who is present for the test and is the only known survivor, flees the secret army base in search of a safe haven—but does such a place exist?

Written by Chris Condon, (THAT TEXAS BLOOD, Ultimate Wolverine), and drawn by the visionary artist Jeffrey Alan Love (The Last Battle at the End of the World, The Thousand Demon Tree), fans of 60s sci-fi films and TV shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits and the works of authors Stephen King and Richard Matheson will love this eery graphic novel. (Credit: Image Comics)

April Releases

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

Expected Publication Date: April 7

Arthur Fletch, one of the world’s bestselling novelists, is a reclusive genius known for his iconic protagonists and fiendish twists. When six struggling authors are invited to spend a weekend on his private Scottish island, they arrive to discover a shocking secret: Arthur Fletch is dead . . . and his last book is unfinished.

Desperate to publish the novel, Fletch’s agent and editor have summoned these writers in the hope that one of them will imagine a worthy ending for this final book. To sweeten the deal, they are offering an irresistible prize: in addition to ghost-writing the last chapter––for a mind-boggling sum––they will also help the lucky writer successfully re-launch their own career, guaranteeing future bestsellers. The catch: the writers have just seventy-two hours to finish Fletch’s magnum opus.

It’s the perfect plot. All it needs is a killer ending. (Credit: Harper)

A Killer In The Family by Amin Ahmad

Expected Publication Date: April 7

It’s time for Ali, a good-natured Mumbai party-boy, to grow up. The first step to settling down is an arranged marriage to Maryam, the daughter of Abbas Khan, a New York real estate tycoon. She’s pretty, demure, and respectable—unlike her sister, Farhan, a sexy, rebellious divorcée.

After the wedding, Ali moves to New York and enjoys the privileges of being an honorary Khan: private helicopters, supertall skyscrapers, and a Gatsbyesque house in the Hamptons. But soon rumors begin to surface about Abbas Khan—accusations of corruption and hidden affairs—and Farhan hints that a violent secret underlies Abbas’s success. Though Ali’s wife insists the insinuations are unfounded, he can’t shake the feeling that there’s something he doesn’t know.

To uncover the truth, Ali launches his own investigation, which takes him deep into Abbas’s dealings and past. As he closes in on the truth, Ali must decide: Can he remain part of the Khan family, and pay the moral price demanded by unimaginable wealth and power? (Credit: Henry Holt and Co.)

We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower

Expected Publication Date: April 7

Nearly everyone died the first night they came…

Two years ago, monstrous beings tore through Britain, leaving few survivors. Now Sara and her family live on the run, relying on scraps of folklore and fading pagan rituals to stay safe from the eldritch creatures they call “witches”.

While her mother grows increasingly paranoid, Sara longs for something more than fear.

Then a strange girl appears in the garden of their current camp. Her name is Parsley, and she cannot remember where she came from or why she’s there. Despite her family’s suspicions, Sara feels drawn to her.

But when Sara’s younger brother is taken by the Witches, she and Parsley must cross desolate moors full of merciless terrors to get him back. As their bond deepens, so do the dangers they face–and Sara begins to question whether anything is truly as it seems.

In a world ruled by terror and myth, trust is the only thing more dangerous than the Witches themselves. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

Echostar Is Always Listening by Melinda Salisbury

Expected Publication Date: April 7

Ruby and her best friend Deva have won free places at the Ash Tree Foundation Performing Arts Camp over the summer. There’s just one problem: they won’t be able to attend unless their grades seriously improve. When Deva suddenly starts getting high marks in all their subjects, a confused and hurt Ruby feels left behind. Then she finds out Deva’s success is due to EchoStar, a new app that’s helping her get ahead.

Ruby is desperate to start using it too, but there is much more to EchoStar than she has imagined. Because EchoStar is always watching and listening. (Credit: Union Square & Co.)

The Midnight Show by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne

Expected Publication Date: April 7

In the 1980s, women were not supposed to be funny. But when a group of college improv comedians gets the chance to join a new late-night show, it’s Lillian Martin who stands out. The new show was called The Midnight Show and it would air every Friday night, live from New York, and change the landscape of TV and comedy forever.

But first it would change Lillian’s and her friends’ lives. When the show becomes a runaway hit, the cast is thrown into the spotlight. Suddenly, they’re skipping the line at the city’s hottest clubs and posing on the cover of Rolling Stone. Lillian, in particular, seems destined for bigger things—until one winter night in Lower Manhattan, she vanishes, leaving nothing behind but questions. Was Lillian a victim of her own excesses? Was it a mugging gone wrong? Or could she have been killed by someone in her own inner circle?

Forty years later, Lillian’s disappearance has still never been solved. But when a budding journalist looking to examine Lillian’s story from a modern lens begins asking questions, she stirs up decades-old drama—as well as tightly-held secrets some comedy legends would much rather stay buried. (Credit: Crown)

• Unapologetic Love Story by Elle McNicoll (Expected Publication Date: April 2)
• The Name Game by Beth O’Leary (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• The Beast You Let In by Dana Mele (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• The Counting Game by Sinéad Nolan (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• Olive Oakes and the Haunted Carousel by Kalynn Bayron (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• Enemies To Lovers by Alisha Rai (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• How To Build a Haunted House by Caitlin Blackwell Baines (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• How The Other Half Die by P.C. Roscoe (Expected Publication Date: April 7)
• Whatever Happened to Madeline Stone by Louise O’Neill (Expected Publication Date: April 9)

Last One Out by Jane Harper

Expected Publication Date: April 14

Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, has become a shell of itself, its houses and buildings bought up and left to rot by the mining company operating at its borders. A decade into its slow death, surrounded by industrial noise and swathed in thick layers of dust, the skeletal town is all but abandoned, with just a handful of residents clinging onto what remains.

After years of scorning those who left the Ridge behind as it fell into ruin, Ro never imagined she’d become one of them. But everything changed when she lost her son. Five years ago, Sam vanished while visiting during a break from college, leaving behind a rental car with his belongings inside. Sam had loved Carralon Ridge, and had been working on an oral history of the town to preserve its legacy before it vanished altogether. It wasn’t long after his disappearance that the rest of the family began to crumble away too.

But when Ro returns to Carralon Ridge to be with her husband and daughter on the anniversary of Sam’s disappearance, she begins to suspect that something important was overlooked in his case. Because while nothing can stop Carralon Ridge from dying, someone seems to want to make sure that its secrets die with it. (Credit: Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar)

The Drop by S.R. Masters

Expected Publication Date: April 21

Six hundred and fifty feet in the air, no one can hear you scream.

Some might say that thirtysomething Cady Ellison landed herself a strange creative career, but Cady finally feels like she’s found her footing. Now an online theme park influencer, she is invited to the opening of a brand-new park by her old friend, Danny, who wants to use her online profile to help build buzz for its flagship ride, Hysteria, a record-breaking 650 foot-tall roller coaster.

When she arrives at the half-complete theme park site in the middle of the desert, Cady is unexpectedly met with her old college friend group: Femi, an award-winning actor, Naseem, a decorated novelist, and Winston, a member of a popular rock group. Wanting them all to sing the praises of Hysteria online, Danny has arranged an exclusive private ride for them, capped off with the stunning desert sunset. But when their coaster cars get to the top of the first hill, the ride stalls 650 feet above ground. With no one due on site for days and over 100-degree heat awaiting them once the sun rises, the four friends soon realize that they must unravel the secrets from their complicated past if they are to find their way to safety. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

Expected Publication Dates: April 21

‘October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge–his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.

October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.

One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.

Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it. (Credit: Hanover Square Press)

Survival Show by Juno Dawson

Expected Publication Date: April 23

US Publication Date: August 4

Taryn Beck and her family don’t have much, and her younger brother needs vital medication to survive. Medication they can’t access or afford. So Taryn secretly enters Starmaker, the most watched reality TV show in the world.

The rules are simple; young women from all over the globe compete to join an all-singing, all-dancing pop group. If you win, a life of luxury, stardom and wealth awaits . . . But there’s a catch. Eliminated contestants are literally eliminated. 
 
Taryn soon realises that reality TV is far from real. She and her fellow trainees are pitted against each other in cruel challenges and she is determined to expose the brutal regime and destroy Starmaker from the inside.
 
Get ready for the performance of Taryn’s life. (Credit: Simon & Schuster)

A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas Didomizio

Expected Publication Date: April 28

Rustic cabins. Lakefront bonfires. A painfully hot lifeguard. And a murder? Summer has never been this camp.

Mikey Hartford IV has coasted through his twenties in a distracted blur of yachts and sex and partying. But when his father discovers his latest million-dollar impulse buy and changes the terms of his trust, the party’s finally over. Now, unless Mikey can make a positive contribution to the world before his thirtieth birthday–one that doesn’t involve throwing cash at his problems–he’ll never see another yacht again. (Or even so much as a canoe.)

Enter: Camp Lore, a struggling summer camp in upstate New York where Mikey has to work as the oldest, least-qualified staffer to prove that he can “do good” alongside his twelve-year-old aunt. (Yes, aunt.) But Mikey isn’t sure he’ll be able to survive the camp’s ramshackle living conditions, let alone the gaggle of preteens who won’t leave his side. And when his campers become obsessed with a local legend set at an abandoned cabin on the grounds, Mikey’s chances of not making it through the summer become dangerously real–because it turns out there’s a murder hidden beneath Camp Lore. And someone there will stop at nothing to keep it that way.

Solving a decade-old cold case will surely be enough “good” for Mikey to earn his inheritance. He just has to stay alive long enough to do it… (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

May Releases

Five by Ilona Bannister

Expected Publication Date: May 5

Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister’s Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories.

None of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all.

These are the candidates for this morning’s misfortune. But they don’t know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.(Credit: Crown)

Goldenborn by Ama Ofosua Lieb

Expected Publication Date: May 5

Akoma Addo has one rule: don’t get too close to the supernatural.

Ever since a blazing orb of light left her father in a coma, she’s buried herself in her secret job investigating magical crimes in San Francisco’s AfricaTown — just enough to keep her grief at bay. But when a body turns up in a pool of molten gold and ash, Akoma’s pulled into something much bigger — and far more dangerous. At the center of it all is Anansi, the trickster god of stories, who makes her an impossible offer: help him catch a killer and awaken the ancestral magic buried deep in her blood… and in return, he’ll give her a chance to bring her father back. To take the deal, Akoma will have to lie to everyone she loves and embrace the very power she’s spent years trying to deny. And as her connection grows with Xander, the new guy in town with secrets of his own, Akoma must decide who she can trust — especially when she’s no longer sure she can even trust herself. (Credit: Scholastic Press)

She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang

Expected Publication Date: May 5

Parents should pass down stories, not spirits…

Avery and Carlos Tam have built their lives on logic, not legends. Carlos, the host of a hit reality show that exposes paranormal hoaxes, has made a name disproving the supernatural.

But when they travel to his ancestral home in the Philippines, darkness clings to every corner. The mirrors are shrouded. The housekeeper won’t stay in the house alone. And no one will speak of the tragedies the family has seen.

Then a brutal car crash leaves Carlos trapped in his own body–silent, helpless, and utterly vulnerable. As Avery tends to him, the house begins to stir. It watches. It listens. And it speaks–in a voice only Carlos can hear–offering a twisted kind of comfort.

And as the lies buried by Carlos and his family begin to surface, Avery must confront the truth: if the past won’t rest, their future may never begin.

Some inherit memories. Others inherit monsters.(Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

Your Murder Next by Ravena Guron

Expected Publication Date: May 7

Myra is new to town and so desperate to make friends that she lets the popular clique hang out at her parents’ restaurant – until Scarlett freezes to death in the walk-in chiller. A terrible accident apparently. But wannabe journalist Myra suspects foul play.

And when a strange boy holds her up at gunpoint in the woods, telling her he’s killed one of her rich new friends in revenge for Scarlett’s murder, Myra is plunged into a twisty world of envy, backstabbing and death. Who killed Scarlett? Who is her avenging angel? And who will die next? (Credit: Usbourne Publishing)

Wonderland by Patience Agbabi

Expected Publication Date: May 14

Colwyn Bay, 1980. Sixteen-year-old Tamilola has moved up from London; everything’s different, everyone belongs except her. Then she discovers an amazing Northern Soul club at the end of the pier scene with its athletic dancers and rare records. But conflict comes with a rival nightclub. This book’s about finding your tribe, finding a record, finding romance and finding yourself. (Credit: Firefly Press)

 

Rani Deshpande Takes the Wheel by Arushi Avachat

Expected Publication Date: May 19

Nineteen-year-old Rani Deshpande is on a mission to reinvent herself the summer before transferring to her new university. After a challenging freshman year, Rani can’t help but feel like she’s playing catch up. To that end, she’s crafted a packed summer to get back on track: a dream internship, adventures with her hometown best friend, and regular driving lessons so that she can finally lose her passenger princess reputation – even if it means learning from her aggravating family friend (and childhood crush), Kush Khanna.

Kush and Rani grew up together, but they couldn’t be less alike. Within their close-knit Desi community – a Jane Austen style cast of ridiculous, meddlesome families – Kush is the beloved model son; Rani is more the black sheep. Kush is pre-med; Rani plans to teach elementary school. Kush is cool and collected, bordering on reticent; Rani couldn’t keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it. So when their mothers first force the pair to drive together, the arrangement feels like a recipe for disaster. As the lessons progress, however, Rani discovers there’s more to the boy she’s known her whole life than meets the eye. (Credit: Wednesday Books)

Person Unlimited: An Ode to My Black Queer Body by Dean Atta

Expected publication date: May 12

You’ve fought and you’ve run away.
You’ve danced with other Black queer bodies until sunrise.
Sometimes you wanted to be caught and sometimes you wanted to be held.
With all that you’ve endured, you are nothing less than miraculous.

From choirboy to drag act, grandson to mentor, poet to lover, Dean Atta has played many roles in his life. In this formally inventive, candid and courageous book, he explores what he has carried in his body: wins and losses, shame and pride, pain and joy. Dean also investigates how radical self-acceptance and a willingness to abide with discomfort open up the possibility of a life lived beyond definition: a person unlimited. (Credit: Canongate)

• Drop Dead Famous by Jennifer Pearson (Expected Publication Date: May 5)
• The Cove by LJ Ross (Expected Publication Date: May 5)
• Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister (Expected Publication Date: May 5)
• She Knows All The Names by Michelle Jabès Corpora (Expected Publication Date: May 5)
• Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray (Expected Publication Date: May 7)
• Such A Nice Girl by Andrea Mara (Expected Publication Date: May 7)
• A Plot to Die For by Ardal O’Hanlon (Expected Publication Date: May 7)
• The Kindness of Strangers by Emma Garman (Expected Publication Date: May 12)
• All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan (Expected Publication Date: May 12)
• Andromeda by E.S. McLeod (Expected Publication Date: May 14)
• Score by Kennedy Ryan (Expected Publication Date: May 19)
• Bone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen (Expected Publication Date: May 26)

A Very Vexing Murder by Lucy Andrew

Expected Publication Date: May 12

“Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure.” —Jane Austen, EMMA

Is a killer lurking in the idyllic country domain of Emma Woodhouse?

No longer Emma’s naïve companion, Harriet Smith is a feisty con-woman-turned-detective tasked with breaking off Frank Churchill’s engagement and uncovering his aunt’s would-be murderer. The shrewd Mrs. Churchill suspects Frank’s unsuitable fiancée, Jane Fairfax, is out to kill her, while Harriet suspects little more than a society scandal. But what begins as a routine investigation among Highbury’s elite quickly spirals into a web of deception, deadly secrets, and a game of survival.

As Harriet interrogates a growing list of suspects with the help of her long-suffering best friend, Robert Martin, not only does she have to contend with a potential homicidal maniac and striking out as a single woman in Regency society but is also afraid her father (and former partner-in-crime) is out for revenge.

With a cast of unforgettable characters—including a charming scoundrel, a lovesick farmer, a ghoulish butler, and a ruthless heiress determined to hide her skeletons at any cost— this brilliantly reimagined mystery featuring the characters from Jane Austen’s Emma is as deliciously dark as it is delightfully clever. (Credit: William Morrow)

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

Expected Publication Date: May 26

When your life flashes before your eyes, where would you stop?

No one can change the past, but the Midnight Train can take you there.
The chance to re-live the moments that meant most.
To see what kind of person you really were.

For Wilbur his best days were with Maggie, the love of his life. On his honeymoon in Venice.

Before he gave it all away.

He wishes he could go back and live differently. But to do so risks everything . . .

A magical, time-travelling love story, from the world of The Midnight Library. (Credit: Viking)

Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven

Expected Publication Date: May 26

Penny Paxton is the daughter of an icon. Her supermodel mother has legions of adoring fans around the world, and Penny is ready to begin her journey to international adoration, starting with joining the elite Dorian Drama School. When Penny’s new mentor offers her an opportunity she cannot refuse, to have a portrait painted by a mysterious artist who can grant immortal beauty to all his subjects, Penny happily follows in the footsteps of Dorian’s most glittering alumni, knowing that stardom is sure to soon be hers. But when her trusted mentor is found murdered, Penny realises she’s made a terrible mistake – a sinister someone is using the uncanny portraits to kill off the subjects one by one. As more perfectly beautiful students start to fall, Penny knows her time is running out . . . A seductive and searing exploration of beauty, identity, and what the pursuit of perfection can truly cost. (Credit: Wednesday Books)

Behind Five Willows by June Hur

Expected Publication Date: May 26

As the dutiful second-eldest daughter of a poor family, society would have Haewon believe that her only hope of a decent life is to marry well. But during a time of rampant government censorship and book banning, she instead works as an illegal book transcriber to make a little extra money. It’s dangerous work, but she loves it—especially when she gets to transcribe the work of her favorite author, known as Black Lotus.

When her older sister becomes smitten with a wealthy young gentleman, Haewon is roped into chaperoning them during their courtship. Which wouldn’t be so terrible… if it weren’t for the young man’s uptight and annoying best friend who also accompanies them.

As the only son of a noble, Seojun has a lot expected of him. Wealth. Status. Respectability. Certainly not frivolous and often illicit activities such as reading fiction. But Seojun loves to do something even more scandalous: writing. He’s kept his work secret from his father and friends, but with each passing day, the pressure of being his father’s son and the dispiriting actions of the government make Seojun question the purpose of it all. The only thing keeping him going are the encouraging letters he receives from his transcriber, known only as Magpie.

When his best friend falls hard for a girl of lower social status, Seojun finds himself forced to act as chaperone to the infatuated couple—along with the girl’s younger sister, who is as irritating as she is judgmental. But as Haewon and Seojun spend more time together, they begin to suspect they may have judged each other too quickly… (Credit: Feiwel & Friends)

Beneath a Broken Sky by Joshua Moehling

Expected Publication Date: May 26

It’s a hot, miserable summer in the small town of Sandy Lake. Detective Ben Packard has settled into his life here just in time for a tornado to sweep through the county, causing irreparable damage. Trees are felled, homes destroyed, and people are desperate. Worse, the winds have blown in a group of storm chasers with something to hide.

When a mother unpopular among locals for raising hell on behalf of her bullied gay son is killed in her home, there’s almost too many suspects to count. For Ben Packard, the case is personal. And when someone from his past shows up on his doorstep out of the blue, he realizes he’ll have to confront the reality of navigating life as a gay man in a small town bent on tradition, no matter the cost.

The heat suffocates. The violence simmers. Before the summer is out, someone else will die. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

June Releases

The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé 

Expected Publication Date: June 2

Five prodigies, one dead father, a mansion full of suspects…

Octavius the Maestro.
Fola the Brain.
Bilal the Olympian.
Perdita the Artist.
Romeo the Failure.

These are the five heirs of the illustrious billionaire Leontes Button. Adopted and viciously trained with their father’s infamous “Button Method” to prove his hypothesis for creating prodigies—child geniuses—the Button siblings have had no choice but to be brilliant according to their father’s impossibly high standards.

Until he is murdered at his annual Prodigy Ball.

Now, all who attended the ball are required to stay in the Button Manor while the police investigate. But the officers have their work cut out for them—each of the Button siblings has something to hide, but The Heirs aren’t the only ones with secrets. After all, Leontes Button was especially good at making enemies. . . (Credit: Feiwel & Friends)

Breakout: A Novel

Expected Publication Date: June 2

For Thurgood Marshall Academy’s best and brightest–five friends who’ve been thick as thieves since kindergarten–this spring break is all about forgetting: they want nothing more than to wash away last year’s tragedy, and the human-shaped hole it left in their friend group.

It’s a hole the new kid, Anthony Brooks, seems to fit right into. So when he invites the Five to join him on a private island for a week at his dad’s luxury resort, they agree with zero hesitation. No one’s counting on a freak tropical storm swooping in and killing the vibe. And speaking of killing, they’re also ill-prepared for the mounting collection of dead bodies… including (another) one of their own.

As their dream trip unravels, everything they tried to leave behind–secrets, lies, betrayals, dead best friends–seems to be washing up on the shore of their lives for everyone to see. Will any of them make it out alive?

From the bestselling, award-winning team behind Blackout and Whiteout—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—comes a thriller that begs the question: is it possible to outrun the worst thing you’ve ever done? (Credit: Quill Tree Books)

Sol Goes for Goal! by Julio Anta and illustrated by Gabi Mendez

Expected Publication Date: June 9

Welcome back to Hillside Valley-this time it’s Game On for Sol!

Twelve-year-old Sol is a great friend, a model student, a beloved daughter and a star soccer player. At least that’s what everyone always expects of her. But when the soccer team captain Lily walks by, Sol starts to lose focus. What’s with this heart fluttering feeling she has around Lily?! And how can she stay the star player–the star everything–that people see her as if she can barely remember her name (much less how to play soccer) around Lily? Is Sol destined to let everyone down, including herself? Or can she figure out how to be the Sol she wants to be…on and off the field. Settle back into the cozy community of Hillside Valley in this second irresistible graphic novel! And don’t miss the first Hillside Valley Graphic Novel, Speak Up, Santiago! (Credit: Random House Graphic)

What Happens In The Dark by Kia Abdullah

Expected Publication Date: June 16

Lily and Safa were best friends growing up. Now, Lily is the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter and Safa, once a renowned journalist, is reeling from a recent fall from grace. When news breaks about suspicious bruises on Lily’s body, Safa attempts to rekindle their old friendship. But Lily claims the bruises are nothing to worry about. And then one night the police are called to Lily’s home. Lily is strangely calm – and a body lies dead at her feet. Lily pleads not guilty, and then says nothing more. Driven by her desire to give a voice to all victims, Safa begins her own investigation into what happened that night. But Safa is not prepared for what her quest for justice will uncover … (Credit: HQ)

The Fatal Unpleasantness At Netherfield by Claudia Gray

Expected Publication Date: June 16

Jonathan Darcy has recovered from the wound he received in a duel three months prior, during a disastrous London Season. But his parents aren’t over the shock, and they remain convinced that, no matter how many murderers have been caught via their investigations, Jonathan must end his association with Miss Juliet Tilney—particularly now that she is a young lady of ruined reputation. He prays for some opportunity to be with her again, but unfortunately, the answer to those prayers comes in the form of murder: his uncle Charles Bingley’s brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, is found dead from poisoning at Netherfield Park. Aunt Jane is desperate for answers, which means Miss Tilney must be invited to Netherfield to investigate! 

Juliet, still reeling from her newfound ruination, is happy to be back in the thick of an investigation. The reunion with Mr. Darcy is difficult—Juliet has missed Jonathan terribly, but she is tormented by the knowledge that his parents will never approve their match. Adding to her troubles are the scheming Caroline Bingley Allerdyce and her daughter Priscilla, whose machinations threaten any hope Juliet might have of societal rehabilitation, much less an engagement. Then, Mr. Hurst proves to be only the first victim at Netherfield, casting a pall of danger—and worse, scandal—over the Bingleys’ household. Jonathan and Juliet must find the culprit, and will ultimately be called to make a final choice between respectability…and love. (Credit: Vintage)

• Land by Maggie O’Farrell (Expected Publication Date: June 2)
• Hunger & Thirst by Claire Fuller (Expected Publication Date: June 2)
• Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson (Expected Publication Date: June 2)
• Death At The Museum by Janice Hallett (Expected Publication Date: June 2)
• A History of Booksellers and the Bookshop by Jean-Yves Mollier (Expected Publication Date: June 4)
• Hemlock Bay by Martin Edwards (Expected Publication Date: June 16)
• A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray (Expected Publication Date: June 16)
• Maiden by Georgia Leighton (Expected Publication Date: June 18)
• The House On Otley Road by Rosa Silverman (Expected Publication Date: June 18)
• Fellow Creatures by Emma Lowther (Expected Publication Date: June 18)

You Girls Play Nice by KD Aldyn

Expected Publication Date: June 16

Four friends. Four plans for revenge. One secret killer.

When Helen Wyatt is brutally murdered, her four best friends anxiously wait in the courtroom to ensure justice is served. But when her attacker is acquitted of all charges, the women decide to get revenge.

Hypothetically, of course.

The friends host a girl’s night, each presenting a different way they would kill the culprit to avenge Helen. It’s a silly thing, a way to ease their grief. Until, a week later, a murder is discovered that mirrors one of their imagined killings. Then another. What started as a cathartic exercise soon ends in carnage, with suspicion quickly falling on the four friends.

Someone has discovered their secrets. And now, the women will have to hunt down who is framing them for murder. Or, even more chillingly, question who among them may be capable of being a killer themselves…(Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)

Praying Mantis by RV Raman

Expected Publication Date: June 16

ISOLATION

The idyllic Peter Dann Castle is a picture of tranquility as summer blooms in the Himalayan foothills. The heritage hotel has a reputation of being blessed – whatever happens here is said to happen for the good. Detective Harith Athreya is taking a well-earned break, but his holiday is cut short when mysterious bloody handprints appear on the walls around the resort, and he determines to find their origin.

INCRIMINATION

When a guest – Mrinal – falls to her death, the hotelier casts suspicion on five young people who checked in at the same time as the victim but who all claim not to know her – or each other. An angel investor, an interior designer, a popular singer, a religious girl and a freelancer. Would such a group really be plotting something nefarious?

INTRIGUE

Does one of these guests have something to do with the tragedy? Evidence and lies quickly pile up, and it becomes apparent that all the five guests did know Mrinal despite their claims to the contrary. Will Athreya be able to unmask the killer before the hotel claims another victim? Harith Athreya must get to the bottom of the case before the murderer strikes again… (Credit: Pushkin Vertigo)

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell

Expected Publication Date: June 23

Jane Trevally is walking her dogs on her country estate one May afternoon when a small white dog appears. The teenaged girl that had been staying nearby with the dog is nowhere to be found, and Jane decides to return it to his registered owner hours away in London, in the deepest backwaters of Hampstead. But when Jane arrives, she is immediately unsettled—because she has a dark history with this house.

The man who answers the door tells her the dog, Hugo, must have been stolen from the Heath, but Jane very much doubts that is true. Through the window, she catches a glimpse of a haunted-looking woman, not the missing girl she’d hoped to find.

Facing a crossroads similar to the one that first led her to this home twenty-five years ago, Jane knows that the house holds the key—to the missing teenager, to the lost dog, and to dark secrets they’d all rather leave buried. (Credit: Atria Books)

Doe by Rebecca Barrow

Expected Publication Date: June 23

Maris Larsen is the captain of the West Eaton High cheer team. She’s Coach’s favorite and the team worships her. Being on the team makes her feel special—powerful. When she’s leading the girls on the mat, Maris doesn’t have to think about her dead-end life in a dead-end town. She can forget about her depressed mother and absent father and the fact that her girlfriend doesn’t really love her. But when newcomer and Coach’s new golden girl, Genevieve Ray, joins the team, the only thing going right in Maris’s life is suddenly in jeopardy. A bitter rivalry develops between the two, but Maris is determined to take Genevieve down. The knife she needs to wield comes to Maris in her dreams.

While sleepwalking, Maris is visited by a monstrous, decaying beast in the shape of an enormous deer. Doe is an ancient, tired creature who has been wandering, trapped in her current form for decades. She cannot die, but she cannot go on living as she has. Only a girl related by blood to those who bound her in this form can free her, but those girls she loved died years ago—murdered in a fire.

But Maris is somehow linked to Doe’s beloved girls—linked by blood—and so she has the power to free Doe, to unleash her immense power. In Maris’s dreams, she and Doe form a bond, but Maris doesn’t know the creature from her dreams is real. Maris doesn’t understand the danger she’s in. She only knows Doe has promised her a way to win her battle with Genevieve. But for Maris to win, someone has to die, and the only real winner in the end will be Doe. (Credit: Nancy Paulsen Books)

Good Morning, Salwa (Buuza!! Volume 1) by Shazleen Khan

Expected Publication Date: June 25

US Publication Date: May 26

On New Year’s Eve 1997, in the bustling city of Salwa, Zach, a down-on-his-luck phone operator, receives a misdialed call from a distressed man named Zhen which sparks an undeniable connection. Zach is thrown into a search for his mystery man that stretches across multiple cities and a tangled web of exes, missed connections, and frenemies.

Set in the vibrant, low-fantasy realm of Dawlat Al-Harir–an eclectic melting pot inspired by Silk Road history and rich Asian and African Islamic cultures–BUUZA!! is a queer YA romance that features a uniquely dynamic blend of magical realism and political drama, with a richly diverse cast and an intricate plot that explores themes of identity, family, and transformation. This story will take readers on a captivating journey through a world where the divine and mundane collide in the most unexpected ways. (Credit: Abrams Fanfare)

Highlighted Releases Later In the Year

• Queenie Is Working On It by Candice Carty-Williams (Expected Publication Date: July 2)
• Most Ardently Yours by Freya Sampson (Expected Publication Date: July 7)
• Heartstopper Vol. 6 by Alice Oseman (Expected Publication Date: July 7)
• The Love Dare by Abiola Bello (Expected Publication Date: July 7)
• Our Wicked Gifts by Kathryn Foxfield (Expected Publication Date: July 7)
• Miss Bates: Emma Revisted by Catherine Cliff (Expected Publication Date: July 7)
• The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee (Expected Publication Date: July 14)
• Eternally Yours by Anika Hussain (Expected Publication Date: July 16)
• Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls by Cynthia Murphy (Expected Publication Date: July 21)
• Buyer Beware by Catherine Ryan Howard (Expected Publication Date: July 28)
• Ghost In the Night by Tiffany D. Jackson (Expected Publication Date: August 4)
• Sweet Pea by Kit De Waal (Expected Publication Date: August 4)
• The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes (Expected Publication Date: August 4)
• Liars In Paradise by Olesya Lyuzna (Expected Publication Date: August 4)
• Everything That Is Beautiful by Louise Nealon (Expected Publication Date: August 4)
• The Magic We Made by Meg Cabot (Expected Publication Date: August 11)
• Bridget & Gabe Are Not Okay by Lex Croucher (Expected Publication Date: August 11)
• The Ladies Hall by Vanessa Miller (Expected Publication Date: August 11)
• The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett (Expected Publication Date: August 25)
• Styx: The River by Nikita Gill (Expected Publication Date: September 15)

---

Please note that this blogpost includes affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you buy through them.

---