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Big Books of the Week

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny (Minotaur; LJ starred review) leads holds this week. 

Other titles in demand include:

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins (Mariner)

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang (Del Rey: Ballantine; LJ starred review)

Throne of Secrets by Kerri Maniscalco (Little, Brown)

These books and others publishing the week of October 28, 2024, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Three LibraryReads and seven Indie Next picks publish this week:

Hall of Fame pick The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins (Mariner) is also an Indie Next pick:

“A remote Scottish Island hides dark secrets as a young museum curator investigates a human bone in the work of the artist he exhibits. Drawn into an artistic world of love and jealousy, will he find the truth behind the lies?”—Benedict Tanter, Main Point Books, Wayne, PA

This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wells (Poisoned Pen Pr.)

“Cordelia’s hobby of killing sexual predators and getting away with it exhibits her precise planning and execution skills. But things begin to unravel when her friend Diane starts dating someone Cordelia suspects is bad. Crazy things, such as a body in the bathtub, a kidnapped dog, and a smiling cop, combine to add dark humor, making this a thoroughly enjoyable read.”—Di Herald, Mesa County Libraries, CO

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang (Del Rey: Ballantine; LJ starred review)

“Sciona’s brains and ruthlessness enable her to become the first-ever female highmage in highly civilized and magical Tiran. Rampant sexism means the only lab assistant she can get is Thomil, a janitor refugee. The partnership is surprisingly effective until they make a breakthrough that threatens to destroy Tiran. This gripping and intense fantasy will appeal to readers of dark academia.”—Sarah Walker, Indianapolis PL, IN

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“An immersive fantasy with a lot to say. Wang crafts a fantastic magic system that sets the foundation for ethical questions and masterful framing of societal ills, all nestled within a plot that is beautifully complex, yet briskly paced.”—Michaela Devine, Invitation Bookshop, Gig Harbor, WA

Five additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

Masquerade by Mike Fu (Tin House)

“Past the layers of mirrors and doubles, peeling away history and memory, Masquerade is about resisting the inertia of remaining in life when and where it’s comfortable and instead (re)-writing the story as you would like to see it.”—Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA

Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel’s Messiah by Charles King (Doubleday)

“This story of Messiah has everything: war, a royal succession crisis, forbidden love, disgrace, and reinvention, all funded by the horrors of slavery. Thrilling stuff, no matter your religious beliefs or familiarity with classical music.”—Amy Woolsey, Bards Alley, Vienna, VA

The Bloodless Princes by Charlotte Bond (Tordotcom)

“The perfect follow up to The Fireborne Blade! The lore of Maddileh and Saralene runs even deeper than we previously knew. Just like last time the two prove that their names will be etched into the history books right alongside the lore.”—Katherine Nazzaro, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA

This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher (Avon)

“Shrek and the casts of Princess Bride and Legends and Lattes walk into a tavern…and there’s your new favorite cozy fantasy! E.B. Asher (who is three authors in a trenchcoat) brings readers a new quartet of heroes to fall in love with at a royal wedding.”—Allie Cesmat, Changing Hands, Tempe, AZ

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger (Dial)

“A fun read full of characters that you root for. A few of them may be prickly, but they have such depth and grace that you can’t help but fall in love. I love the friendship between Grace and Ruth the most; we could all use a friendship like that in our lives.”—Corrie Stone-Johnson, Black Rock Books, Buffalo, NY

In the Media

People’s book of the week is Roman Year: A Memoir by André Aciman (Farrar). Also getting attention are How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? by Anna Montague (Ecco; LJ starred review) and Masquerade by Mike Fu (Tin House). “Surreal Stories” include Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer (MCD); Canoes by Maylis De Kerangal, tr. by Jessica Moore (Archipelago); and Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Atlantic Monthly; LJ starred review). 

The “Picks” section spotlights Conclave, based on the novel by Robert Harris, and CBS’s Tracker, based on the novel The Never Game by Jeffrey Deaver. There’s a “taste of the crown” from Tom Parker Bowles and his new cookbook, Cooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III (Ten Speed). Plus, 1990s fitness guru Susan Powter has self-published a new memoir, And Then Em Died…: Stop The Insanity! Lastly, recipes from Eva Longoria, My Mexican Kitchen: 100 Recipes Rich with Tradition, Flavor, and Spice (Clarkson Potter), and Pamela Anderson, I Love You: Recipes from the Heart (Voracious).

Reviews

Washington Post reviews The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny (Minotaur; LJ starred review): “But this is not just an action-packed thriller. It’s a solemn treatise on power, greed, trust, devotion and the vulnerabilities of the world’s infrastructure. It will leave you shaken.”

NYT reviews Mondrian: His Life, His Art, His Quest for the Absolute by Nicholas Fox Weber (Knopf): “Weber does get this story told, if creakily, and he corrects errors that have slipped into other accounts.” Plus, reviews of new horror books and four spooky historical fiction books.

LA Times reviews This Motherless Land by Nikki May (Mariner): “This Motherless Land centers the inheritance plot of Mansfield Park, but the struggles of pride and petty prejudices are another explicit motif. The jealousies they spawn are the real driver of this melodramatic but satisfying story.”

The Guardian reviews Shattered: A Memoir by Hanif Kureishi (Ecco): “Shattered is its own lifeline, and a neat exemplar of what we mean when we describe a book as ‘necessary’: its value for readers is at one with its urgency of expression to the human being drowning in the experience it attempts to redeem.”

Briefly Noted

Publishers Weekly announces the best books of 2024.

The winners of the Geffen Awards are announced. Locus has details. 

Earlyword’s October “GalleyChat” spreadsheet is available now. 

CrimeReads suggests 10 books for the week. 

Esquire lists “The Best Horror Books of 2024.”

WSJ highlights 17 books for the week.

BookRiot names the best thrillers of the last 10 years. 

ElectricLit shares “7 Novels Featuring Protagonists Over 70.”

People has 10 astrology based book suggestions for Scorpios.

Washington Post recommends the best spooky stories of the season. 

People notes the biggest changes between the film Conclave and the novel by Robert Harris. Harris talks with Time about the origin of his bestseller and its surprise twist.

USA Today explains “TBR” for laypeople. 

The Rumpus talks with Kenzie Allen, author of the new poetry collection Cloud Missives (Tin House), about her sources of inspiration. 

Authors on Air

Nick Harkaway discusses his new book, Karla’s Choice (Viking), on B&N’s Poured Over podcast. 

Author and book critic Bethanne Patrick has launched a new podcast, The Book Maven: A Literary Revue.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Merlin’s Tour of the Universe, Revised and Updated for the Twenty-First Century: A Traveler’s Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far, illus. by Stephen J. Tyson (Blackstone), visits CBS Mornings.

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