All the August 2024 Prepub Alerts in one place, plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all titles from every post.

Fiction

Pop Fiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brickman, Sophie. Plays Well with Others. Morrow. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9780063371200. $28. F

Brickman’s (Baby, Unplugged) fiction debut receives a 100K-copy first printing. The epistolary novel, told through emails, texts, and more, satirizes viciously competitive NYC parenting, as Annie Lewin judges her fellow moms in her advice column—but then finds herself going to great lengths to secure a kindergarten spot for her own son.

Daré, Abi. And So I Roar. Dutton. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780593186558. $28. F

Daré’s best-selling debut, The Girl with the Louding Voice, was an LJ Best Book and a Read with Jenna pick. Her follow-up also stars 14-year-old Adunni, who has escaped an arranged marriage and indentured servitude and is excited to start school in Lagos, where she has found refuge with Tia. But she may not be safe for long.

Fischer, Maribeth. A Season of Perfect Happiness. Dutton. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780593474679. $28. F

After a 17-year hiatus, multiple Pushcart Prize winner Fischer returns with this story of Claire, who fled her hometown after a tragedy and started a new life in Wisconsin. There she finds love and friends, but when a person from her past shows up, Claire wonders if her new life will fall apart.

Heller, Peter. Burn. Knopf. Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9780593801628. $28. F

Best-selling Heller (The Last Ranger) pens a dystopian tale. Friends Jess and Storey take their annual, off-grid trip to Maine. When they emerge from the woods, they find towns bombed and buildings burned down by secessionists. Trying to make their way home, they encounter a child, altering their paths and upping the stakes of their survival.

Picoult, Jodi. By Any Other Name. Ballantine. Aug. 2024. 512p. ISBN 9780593497210. $30. F

Best-selling Picoult (Wish You Were Here) intertwines two narratives across centuries. In the 16th century, Emilia Bassano pays William Shakespeare for the use of his name to bring her plays to the stage. In the present, playwright Melina Green, Emilia’s descendant, wrestles with giving up credit for her play to see it performed.

Redmond, Pamela. The Matriarch. Zibby. Aug. 2024. 240p. ISBN 9781958506363. $27.99. F

Redmond, author of Younger, the basis of the long-running TV show, returns with a family drama about 60-something Helena Drummond, who went from being a struggling single mom to a successful entrepreneur. Now she presides over her Santa Barbara compound, but a culmination of events upend her life. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Seltzer, Sarah. The Singer Sisters. Flatiron. Aug. 2024. 272p. ISBN 9781250907646. $28.99. F

In 1996, alt-rocker Emma Cantor, daughter of a reclusive 1960s folk legend, is touring and hoping for a record deal. As she gains fame, and also uncovers family secrets, she grapples with her relationship with her mother and her future. Journalist and Lilith Magazine editor Seltzer debuts with a 100K-copy first printing.

Steel, Danielle. Joy. Delacorte. Aug. 2024. 256p. ISBN 9780593498613. $29. F

Allegra Dixon had a joyless childhood. As an adult, she falls in love with a young West Point cadet. They marry, but he returns from Afghanistan a changed man. Allegra feels alone again but won’t give up searching for joy in the latest from best-selling Steel (Resurrection).

Literary Fiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alison, Jane. Villa E. Liveright: Norton. Aug. 2024. 160p. ISBN 9781324095057. $23.99. F

Fictionalizing the artistic battle between Irish designer Eileen Gray and Swiss architect Le Corbusier over the French villa E-1027 (which Gray built and Le Corbusier painted, against her wishes), Alison plumbs the characters of both creatives and explores questions of power, obsession, and control.

Campbell, Jane. Interpretations of Love. Grove Atlantic. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9780802162885. $28. F

The octogenarian author of the buzzy collection Cat Brushing returns with a debut novel that gathers a family together for a weekend wedding, including Dr. Agnes Stacey, mother of the bride. Surrounding her are her uncle, her old therapist, her ex-husband, and others. All of them can see deeply into each other’s lives but are unable to discern their own. Love and secrets simmer through isolation, aging, and attachment.

Hamya, Jo. The Hypocrite. Pantheon. Aug. 2024. 240p. ISBN 9780593701034. $26. F

It’s August 2020, and playwright Sophia is wondering what her father, a famous author, thinks of her newest show. He is in the audience, about to watch, unaware it is about him, and the vacation they took two years ago to Sicily. From the buzzy author of Three Rooms.

Herngren, Moa. The Divorce. HarperVia. Aug. 2024. 352p. tr. from Swedish by Alice Menzies. ISBN 9780063352391. $28.99. F

A huge hit in Sweden, Moa makes her English-language debut with this mix of domestic drama and mystery about why a seemingly solid marriage begins to fall apart, told through the dual perspectives of adoring wife Bea and her husband Niklas, who, after a low-stakes tiff, texts that he wants out.

Hughes, Siân. Pearl. Knopf. Aug. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9780593802564. $28. F

Marianne’s life has been haunted by the disappearance of her mother. Searching for something to hold on to, she finds a medieval poem in one of her mom’s books. As she tries to navigate her life, the poem and the loss of her mother shape her future. A debut longlisted for the Booker Prize.

Reyes Jr., Ruben. There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven: Stories. Mariner. Aug. 2024. 240p. ISBN 9780063336278. $28. F

A debut story collection that explores migration, newness, and injustice. A man wakes to find he is suddenly a reggaetón star. An older woman changes into a puppet. Other characters include farmers, soldiers, and cyborgs. Through dreamlike changes, the characters face unrecognizable lives and hard choices in worlds ruled by technology and bureaucracy.

Morris, Priscilla. Black Butterflies. Knopf. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9780593801857. $28. F

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, and several others, Morris’s debut is set in Sarajevo in the early ’90s. Having sent her family to England, teacher and artist Zora continues to live in the city, which soon is besieged. Somehow, she and her friends find the strength to endure.

Newman, Nathan. How To Leave the House. Viking. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9780593654903. $29. F

With TV rights already sold, Newman’s debut is being billed as funny, tender, and incisive. It’s about Natwest and his last day at home before he leaves for university, the embarrassing package he’s waiting for, and the residents of the small UK town he lives in across one 24-hour period.

Ogawa, Yoko. Mina’s Matchbox. Pantheon. Aug. 2024. 288p. tr. from Japanese by Stephen B. Snyder. ISBN 9780593316085. $28. F

From the award-winning author of The Memory Police comes a novel set in 1972, when 12-year-old Tomoko leaves her mom in Tokyo for a spring spent with her 13-year-old cousin Mina, a girl caught up in elaborate storytelling. What is happening in Mina’s house of relations, gardens, even a pygmy hippopotamus?

Phillips, Helen. Hum. S. & S./Marysue Rucci. Aug. 2024. 272p. ISBN 9781668008836. $27.99. F

Multi-award-winning Phillips (The Need) sets her newest in the near future, where intelligent robots, climate change, and surveillance have changed the world. A mother, made jobless by AI, undertakes desperate measures to keep her family whole, raising unsettling, tense questions about the contemporary world and its possibilities.

Porter, Regina. The Rich People Have Gone Away. Hogarth: Crown. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9780593241868. $29. F

Porter’s (The Travelers) second book is set during the start of the COVID pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Privileged Theo and Darla leave Brooklyn for their upstate cottage during quarantine. Then Darla goes missing, and Theo is the prime suspect. Family, friends, and those left in the city all have thoughts.

Prcic, Ismet. Unspeakable Home. Avid Reader/S. & S. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781668015339. $28. F

Award-winning Prcic (Shards) explores storytelling and identity in a novel with multiple narrators. The central narrator was forced to flee his home in Bosnia, a trauma that has led to divorce and addiction. He shares this in fan letters he writes to a comedian. Through fragments and voices, the destructive impact of exile and shame unfolds.

Strout, Elizabeth. Tell Me Everything. Random. Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9780593446096. $29. F

Pulitzer Prize–winning Strout sets her newest in old surroundings, the beloved locale of Crosby, ME, populated by beloved characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess, and others—as she has them ponder the meaning of stories and of life, of friendship and love, all while a murder investigation unfolds.

Tang, Kat. Five-Star Stranger. Scribner. Aug. 2024. 240p. ISBN 9781668050149. $27. F

A gig worker known only as Stranger is the top-rated man for hire on the Rental Stranger app in Tang’s debut. He also has a long-term job, as father to a young girl. What happens when fake and temporary relationships cross lines? Tang wonders in this story of isolation, hyperconnectivity, commodification, and authenticity

Weinberg, Kate. There’s Nothing Wrong with Her. Putnam. Aug. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9780593717363. $27. F

Weinberg (The Truants) takes a stylistic turn in this short, sharp read about friendship and recovery, inspired by her experience with long COVID. Vita Woods was living a good life, but now she cannot get out of bed, might be hallucinating, and no one can figure out what is wrong.

Mystery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barton, Fiona. Talking to Strangers. Berkley. Aug. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9781984803078. $29. M

Best-selling and multi-best-booked Barton offers another Detective Elise King police procedural, after Local Gone Missing. King is called into to investigate when a woman, on multiple dating apps, is murdered on Valentine’s Day. Is a killer stalking the apps? Reporter Kiki Nunn also wants to find out.

Lalli, S.C. The Plus One. Morrow. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780063226319. pap. $18.99. M

Radhika Singh and Raj Joshi are murdered on the eve of their huge wedding at a luxury resort in Cabo. Shay Kapoor is in attendance as a plus one; she is dating Raj’s best friend, Caleb. By his side as chaos, and the police, descend, she starts to see the clues and untangle all the lies. The best-selling Lalli (Are You Sara?) gets a 75K-copy first printing.

Meyer, Nicholas. Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell. The Mysterious Pr. Aug. 2024. 284p. ISBN 9781613165331. $26.95. M

The Gold Dagger Award winner for the buzzy The Seven-Per-Cent Solution returns with his next Sherlock Holmes pastiche, sending Holmes and Watson across the Atlantic during WWI in hopes of stopping the dangerous plans of one of Holmes’s enemies, a German spymaster.

Sands, Stella. Wordhunter. Harper. Aug. 2024. 256p. ISBN 9780063345300. pap. $18.99. M

A true-crime author makes her crime fiction debut with this novel about books and language (complete with sentence diagrams and quotes) and a missing girl. The case is solved by the way suspects use language and involves emails, tweets—and ransom notes.

Taylor, Sarah Stewart. Agony Hill. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781250826626. $28. M

Starting a new series set in the 1960s, Taylor (of the Sweeney St. George and Maggie D’arcy series) brings Bostonian Franklin Warren to Bethany, VT, as a new state police detective. His first case is a puzzler: did Hugh Weber kill himself, or is there a murderer loose in this small, secret-filled town?

Vassell, Charlotte. The In Crowd. Doubleday. (Detective Inspector Caius Beau, Bk. 2). Aug. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9780593685976. $28. M

The second in the rompy, contemporary, Agatha Christie–esque Detective Inspector Caius Beau series, following The Other Half, sees Caius Beauchamp’s evening at the theater interrupted when a dead body is discovered. Two cold cases complicate matters further, as do politics and a duke-in-waiting.

Wright, Snowden. The Queen City Detective Agency. Morrow. Aug. 2024. 272p. ISBN 9780062963581. $30. M

Wright (American Pop) gets a 100K-copy first printing for this Southern noir as he introduces cop-turned-P.I. Clementine Baldwin. In a down-at-the-heels town, an affiliate of the Dixie Mafia is found dead. His mother wants answers. She hires Baldwin, who enters the crime-laden Queen City—and the crosshairs.

Forthcoming Series Titles

Andrews, Donna. Between a Flock and a Hard Place. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. (Meg Langslow Mystery, Bk. 35). Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781250894083. $28. M

Berenson, Laurien. Pumpkin Spice Puppy. Kensington Cozies. (Melanie Travis, Bk. 30). Aug. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9781496750624. $22.95. M

Childs, Laura. Peach Tea Smash. Berkley. (A Tea Shop Mystery, Bk. 28). Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9780593201015. $29. M

Cleeves, Ann. The Dark Wives. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. (Vera Stanhope, Bk. 11). Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781250836847. $29. M

Kellerman, Jonathan Jesse Kellerman. The Lost Coast. Ballantine. (Clay Edison, Bk. 5). Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780525620143. $30. M

Krueger, William Kent. Spirit Crossing. Atria. (Cork O’Connor, Bk. 20). Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781982179243. $28.99. M

Matheson, Nadine. The Kill List. Hanover Square: Harlequin. (Inspector Anjelica Henley, Bk. 3). Aug. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9781335455055. $30. M

Maxwell, Alyssa. Murder at Vinland. Kensington. (Gilded Newport Mystery, Bk. 12). Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781496736215. $27. M

Pryor, Mark. A Blood Red Morning. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. (Henri Lefort Mystery, Bk. 3). Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781250330604. $29. M

Quartey, Kwei. The Whitewashed Tombs. Soho Crime. (Emma Djan Investigation, Bk. 4). Aug. 2024. 340p. ISBN 9781641295888. $27.95. M

Quinn, Spencer. A Farewell to Arfs. Forge. (A Chet & Bernie Mystery, Bk. 15). Aug. 2024. 272p. ISBN 9781250331809. $27.99. M

Reichs, Kathy. Fire and Bones. Scribner. (Temperance Brennan, Bk. 23). Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9781668050927. $27.99. M

Schaffhausen, Joanna. All the Way Gone. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. (Detective Annalisa Vega, Bk. 4). Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781250904140. $29. M

Smith, Ian K. Eagle Rock. Amistad: HarperCollins. (Ashe Cayne, Bk. 4). Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9780063253759. $24. M

Tracy, P.J. City of Secrets. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. (Detective Margaret Nolan, Bk. 4). Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781250334350. $28. M

Walker, Martin. A Grave in the Woods. Knopf. (A Bruno, Chief of Police Mystery, Bk. 17). Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9780593536629. $29. M

Thrillers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bamford, Emma. Eye of the Beholder. Gallery/Scout. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781982170394. $28.99. SUSPENSE

Bamford follows her big debut, Deep Water, with a story inspired by Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Maddy Wight is ghostwriting the memoir of a cosmetic surgeon at her remote and disturbing estate in the Scottish Highlands. There Maddy meets Scott, only to be devastated months later by his death—but then she thinks she sees him in London.

Brown, Lauren Ling. Society of Lies. Bantam. Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9780593723357. $30. SUSPENSE

This debut from Princeton grad Brown was acquired in a pre-empt. A decade after she graduated, Maya returns to Princeton University for a reunion and her sister Naomi’s graduation. Then the police call to say that Naomi has died in an accident, but, knowing that her sister had joined the Sterling Club, Maya is sure the death wasn’t accidental.

Downes, Anna. Red River Road. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781250868015. $28. SUSPENSE

In Downes’s (The Shadow House) latest, Katy Sweeney is looking for her sister, who disappeared without a trace in the Australian outback while on a solo road trip. Using her sister’s social media posts as a map, Katy retraces her steps and searches for clues. With a 125K-copy first printing.

Flynn, Laurie Elizabeth. Till Death Do Us Part. S. & S. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781982144661. $28.99. SUSPENSE

Flynn (The Girls Are All So Nice Here) returns with a story set in Napa Valley. A decade after her husband, Josh, drowned on their honeymoon—his body never found—June is ready to move on with Kyle, but then she sees Josh, who seems to be alive and the owner of a winery in Napa, where she goes looking for answers.

Gauntlett, A.E. The Stranger at the Wedding. Holt. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9781250343369. $28.99. SUSPENSE

Annie and Mark connect at a group counseling session for trauma survivors and quickly fall in love, but on their wedding day, Annie stands at the altar and spots a stranger—and realizes that her life isn’t going to have a happily-ever-after. UK literary agent Gauntlett’s debut receives a 100K-copy first printing.

Mara, Andrea. Someone in the Attic. Pamela Dorman: Viking. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780593831434. $29. SUSPENSE

Best-selling Irish author Mara makes her U.S. debut with this psychological thriller. Anya is enjoying a bath when she sees the attic hatch open and a masked person emerges—then she’s dead. Meanwhile, Anya’s friend Julia sees an online video of a masked figure climbing out of an attic—inside her own house. Who could be after them?

Maxwell, Jessa. I Need You To Read This. Atria. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9781668008034. $27.99. SUSPENSE

Maxwell follows The Golden Spoon with a story about an advice columnist caught in a dangerous web. After Alex Marks’s childhood hero, advice columnist Francis Keen, is murdered, Alex applies for the columnist job and gets it, but soon she’s searching for Francis’s killer and worrying about her own secrets being revealed.

Mejia, Mindy. A World of Hurt. Atlantic Monthly. Aug. 2024. NAp. ISBN 9780802163110. $27. THRILLER

In Mejia’s sequel to the best-selling To Catch a Storm, drug trafficker Kara, still reeling from her girlfriend’s death, is pressured by the DEA to become an informant. Police officer Max isn’t happy to find out he’ll be babysitting Kara on the DEA task force, but they’ll have to work together to survive.

Montague, Eugenie. Swallow the Ghost. Mulholland. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9780316568067. $29. THRILLER

Montague’s debut considers public identities and private realities through interlocking stories told from multiple perspectives. Jane Murphy, who works at a social-media marketing startup, helps Jeremy Miller pen a viral internet novel, told through fake social media accounts. Then tragedy strikes, and Jane’s image begins to unravel.

Pekkanen, Sarah. House of Glass. St. Martin’s. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781250283993. $29. THRILLER

In best-selling Pekkanen’s (Gone Tonight) latest, eight-year-old Rose, whose parents are in the middle of a contentious divorce, witnesses the death of her nanny. Attorney Stella Hudson is appointed to serve as Rose’s representative in the custody case, but she finds a whole house full of secrets—and suspects. With a 150K-copy first printing.

Richter, Morgan. The Divide. Knopf. Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9780593685679. $27. THRILLER

Richter draws on her knowledge as a TV and film producer in her debut. Jenny St. John lands the lead role in an indie film with Serge Grumet, but the movie tanks. Decades later, when Serge is murdered and his ex-wife goes missing, Jenny is pulled into the case because she looks like the missing woman.

Sutanto, Jesse Q. You Will Never Be Me. Berkley. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9780593546949. $29. SUSPENSE

Best-selling Sutanto (I’m Not Done with You Yet) returns with her second suspense novel, with film rights already optioned. Mom-fluencer Meredith Lee helped fellow mom Aspen Palmer grow her social media reach but found herself ditched as soon as Aspen hit it big. Retaliating, Meredith manages to disrupt Aspen’s perfect image, but Aspen is determined to get her life back—no matter what.

Forthcoming Series Titles

Ledwidge, Michael. No Safe Place. Hanover Square. (Michael Gannon, Bk. 4). Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781335000415. $30. THRILLER

Preston, Douglas & Lincoln Child. Angel of Vengeance. Grand Central. (Agent Pendergast, Bk. 22). Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9781538765708. $30. THRILLER

Rollins, James. Arkangel. Morrow. (Sigma Force, Bk. 18). Aug. 2024. 528p. ISBN 9780062893161. $30. THRILLER

Slaughter, Karin. This Is Why We Lied. Morrow. (Will Trent, Bk. 12). Aug. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9780063336728. $30. THRILLER

Woodward, M.P. Tom Clancy Shadow State. Putnam. (Jack Ryan Jr., Bk. 12). Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9780593717943. $32. THRILLER

Romance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blumberg, Chandra. Second Tide’s the Charm. Canary Street. Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781335476999. pap. $18.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Blumberg (“Taste of Love” series) offers a slow-burn rom-com about two Black marine biologists with a shared past, who meet again on a shark study and must navigate close quarters and still simmering feelings. Filled with beloved tropes, including reunion romance, forced proximity, and a cinnamon roll hero.

Carlyle, Christy. The Duke and Lady Scandal. Avon. (Princes of London, Bk. 1). Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780063347342. pap. $9.99. HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Best-selling Carlyle begins a new Victorian series inspired by The Mummy and National Treasure. Alexandra Prince is left at home to run the family antique shop while her siblings go on adventures. When she overhears a plot to steal the crown jewels, she seeks the aid of Detective Inspector Benedict Drake. With a 100K-copy first printing.

Cho, Zen. The Friend Zone Experiment. Bramble. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781250330390. pap. $18.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Hugo and British Fantasy Award winner Cho writes a contemporary romance set in London. Estranged from her family in Singapore, Renee Goh gets a surprise call (her father might set her up as the next CEO of the family’s conglomerate) and a surprise visit (she bumps into her first love on a night that will change everything). With a 75K-copy first printing.

DeLuca, Jen. Haunted Ever After. Berkley. Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9780593641217. pap. $19. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

DeLuca turns to a paranormal rom-com after her “Well Met” series. Nick Royer, owner of the local coffee shop in the haunted town of Boneyard Key, loves the tourists that come with the ghost stories. When Cassie Rutherford moves to town—into her own haunted house—the two connect as they join forces to figure out her ghostly residents.

Desai, Sara. ’Til Heist Do Us Part. Berkley. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780593641316. pap. $19. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Desai (To Have and To Heist) offers another rom-com caper starring Simi Chopra and team. It has been a year since they, with the help of Jack Danger, got the reward money for the diamond necklace job. Now a mafia boss wants the diamonds and the money, and it will take another score to solve the problem.

Hart, Livy. The Great Dating Fake-Off. Entangled: Amara. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781649376510. pap. $17.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Hart (Planes, Trains, and All the Feels) offers a fun twist on the fake-date trope. Both Nora and Reid promise to help their friends by pretending to be their dates at a snazzy wedding. But it is the same wedding, and Reid has real, if unconfessed, feelings for Nora. But how to un-fake-date? With a 100K-copy first printing.

Kirwan, Noué. Frequent Fliers. Canary Street. Aug. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9781335427458. pap. $18.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Following her debut, Long Past Summer, Kirwan offers the story of Lanie Turner, serving as maid of honor and “best mate” at the wedding of her cousin and longtime crush. This requires her to go back and forth between NYC and London, during which she meets Dr. Ridley Aronsen. Their connection makes the continental commute easier and just might heal both their hearts.

McQuiston, Casey. The Pairing: Special 1st Edition. St. Martin’s Griffin. Aug. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9781250862747. pap. $20. LGBTQIA+ ROMANCE

Best-selling McQuiston (One Last Stop; Red, White & Royal Blue) offers a rom-com about two bisexual former lovers who go on the same European culinary tour. To prove they are (not) over each other, they propose a hookup game. Expect a special first edition with sprayed and decorated edges. With a 500K-copy first printing.

Meltzer, Jean. Magical Meet Cute. MIRA: Harlequin. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780778334415. pap. $18.99. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Faye creates a golem doll to be her perfect match, and then meets the man of her dreams the next day. Did she conjure the mysterious Greg, or is he a golem? Too bad Faye hit him with her bike and he has lost his memory. A follow-up to Meltzer’s The Matzah Ball.

Morgan, Sophie H. De-Witched. Harlequin Feature. (Toil and Trouble, Bk. 2). Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781335146649. pap. $18.99. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Human Leah crashes a witch high-society masked ball where she anonymously meets warlock Gabriel Goodnight. Forced to live for months without his powers, Gabriel later walks into Leah’s bar. Prince Charming and Cinderella they are not, but they still might be made for each other. A follow-up to The Witch Is Back.

Nava, Danica. The Truth According to Ember. Berkley. Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9780593642603. pap. $19. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

In Nava’s debut, Ember Lee Cardinal, a Chickasaw woman, is turned down for job after job, leading her to fill out an employment application claiming she is white. She is hired and falls for Danuwoa Colson, an Indigenous IT colleague. The two date secretly, against the rules, but the truth is going to cost them.

Forthcoming Series Titles

Beck, Hazel. Truly Madly Magically. Graydon. (Witchlore, Bk. 3). Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781525804731. pap. $18.99. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Camp, Candace. A Scandal at Stonecliffe. Graydon. (Stonecliffe Novel, Bk. 3). Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781335513137. pap. $9.99. HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Feehan, Christine. Betrayal Road. Berkley. (Torpedo Ink, Bk. 9). Aug. 2024. 464p. ISBN 9780593638781. pap. $9.99. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Harper, Lana. Rise and Divine. Berkley. (The Witches of Thistle Grove, Bk. 5). Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9780593637982. pap. $19. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Hawley, Sarah. A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire. Berkley. (Glimmer Falls, Bk. 3). Aug. 2024. 448p. ISBN 9780593547960. pap. $19. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Jackson, Brenda. The Cottage on Pelican Bay. Canary Street. (Catalina Cove, Bk. 7). Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781335474971. pap. $18.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Reilly, Grace. Wicked Serve. Avon. (Beyond the Play, Bk. 4). Aug. 2024. 448p. ISBN 9780063387140. pap. $17.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Ridley, Erica. Hot Earl Summer. Forever: Grand Central. (Wild Wynchesters, Bk. 5). Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781538726150. pap. $17.99. HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Robert, Katee. Dark Restraint. Sourcebooks Casablanca. (Dark Olympus, Bk. 7). Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781728262826. pap. $16.99. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Rose, Karen. Buried Too Deep. Berkley. (New Orleans Mystery, Bk. 3). Aug. 2024. 528p. ISBN 9780593638583. $30. ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Sharma, Nisha. Marriage & Masti. Avon. (If Shakespeare Were an Auntie, Bk. 3). Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9780063001183. pap. $18.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Historical Fiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Constable, Harriet. The Instrumentalist. S. & S. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781668035825. $28.99. F

London-based journalist and filmmaker Constable debuts with a story set in 18th-century Venice that is inspired by the real life of Anna Maria della Pietà, an orphan and violin prodigy who studied under Antonio Vivaldi. Despite her challenging circumstances, she became his star musician and inspired several of his compositions.

Cooper, Tea. The Naturalist’s Daughter. Harper Muse. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9781400344710. pap. $18.99. F

Best-selling Cooper (The Butterfly Collector) writes about two women living a century apart in Australia as they become entangled in a scientific mystery. In 1808 Rose Winton works with her father on his groundbreaking study of the platypus, while a century later Tamsin Alleyn delves into the mystery of an old sketchbook’s origins.

Hopson, Carole. A Pair of Wings. Holt. Aug. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9781250347213. $29.99. F

Bessie Coleman dreamed of flying but couldn’t find anyone willing to train a Black woman in the U.S. in the 1920s. She learned French and went to Europe to train with combat fighter pilots. Based on Coleman’s life, pilot Hopson’s debut was originally self-published but is now being traditionally published with a 75K-copy first printing.

Jansma, Kristopher. Our Narrow Hiding Places. Ecco: HarperCollins. Aug. 2024. 272p. ISBN 9780063352896. $30. F

Jansma (The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards, a multi-award-winning ALA Notable book) sets his latest during World War II. Faced with questions from her grandson, 80-year-old Mieke Geborn finally shares the harrowing story of her family’s survival during the Hunger Winter in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Macallister, Greer. The Thirteenth Husband. Sourcebooks Landmark. Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781728294070. pap. $16.99. F

Macallister’s (The Arctic Fury) latest features the real 19th-century railroad heiress Aimee Crocker, who lived an opulent and extravagant life across the globe but also experienced multiple tragedies—each preceded by a vision of a woman in white surrounded by shadow.

Forthcoming Series Title

Clements, Oliver. The Queen’s Lies. Atria/Leopoldo & Co. (Agents of the Crown, Bk. 4). Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781982197483. $28.99. F

Myths

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gruender, Nataly. Medusa. Grand Central. Aug. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9781538765340. $30. F

In Gruender’s debut, Medusa is given space to tell her own story, from the daughter of sea gods to an outcast wandering through Greece, blindfolded, with snakes orbiting her head. Also part of the story is Perseus, who, as the myth foretells, is hunting Medusa down with the intent to murder.

Hong, Eunice. Memento Mori. Red Hen. Aug. 2024. 240p. ISBN 9781636281872. pap. $17.95. F

Considering anew the myths of Eurydice and Orpheus and those of Persephone and Hades, Hong ponders death and trauma as a Korean American woman comes to terms with both. Hong was a finalist for the Dzanc Prize for Fiction and the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize for this debut.

De Robertis, Caro. The Palace of Eros. Atria. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781668035238. $28.99. F

The winner of two Stonewall Book Awards and the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, De Robertis offers a new take on the myth of Psyche and Eros, exploring love, desire, secrets, trust, magic, and reality as Eros, the nonbinary deity of desire, defies the plans of gods.

Sinaki, Navid. Medusa of the Roses. Grove. Aug. 2024. 256p. ISBN 9780802163035. $27. F

Sinaki debuts with a queer literary noir that explores the contemporary criminalization of homosexuality in Iran and the country’s treatment of trans citizens. Referencing Persian and Greek myths while set in modern-day Tehran, the novel follows the fate of lovers Anjir and Zal and explores self-determination, love, and identity.

Wilson, Emily H. Gilgamesh. Titan. Aug. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9781803364421. pap. $17.99. F

Wilson, the editor of New Scientist magazine, continues her retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh, following Inanna. Gilgamesh stands on the eve of a great battle, Inanna and Ninshubar seek revenge upon the king of the water gods, and the queen of the underworld encounters a man with a role in a long-running prophecy.

Magical Realism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balibrera, Gina María. The Volcano Daughters. Pantheon. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9780593317235. $28. F

Balibrera debuts with a novel spanning the 1920s–40s that follows two sisters who live in El Salvador under the rule of a brutal dictator and flee the genocide of the country’s Indigenous people. They are followed by the ghosts of their murdered friends as they travel the globe from Hollywood to Paris and reinvent their lives.

Collins, Bridget. The Silence Factory. Morrow. Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9780063220010. $30. F

Best-selling Collins’s (The Betrayals) latest begins in 1820 as James and Sophia Ashmore-Percy travel to a remote island in search of rare specimens. Decades later, audiologist Henry Latimer is summoned by Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy to cure his daughter of deafness, but Henry instead becomes obsessed with Edward’s business, which uses magical spiders to spin silk that can shield sound.

Dyer, Alli. Strange Folk. Atria. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781668045770. $28.99. F

In Dyer’s debut, Lee walked away from her magical family in Appalachia. She returns home when she has nowhere else to go, but she still doesn’t want to have anything to do with magic. After someone targeted by her grandmother’s spell dies, Lee searches for answers while rediscovering her own power.

Frey, Rea. In Every Life. Harper Muse. Aug. 2024. 368p. ISBN 9781400243136. pap. $18.99. F

Frey’s (The Other Year) latest explores dual realities. Harper’s husband has cancer, and he wants her to find a new partner before he dies. She doesn’t agree but then encounters the man who got away and finds herself in a parallel universe where all her what-ifs are reality.

Hough, Julianne & Ellen Goodlett. Everything We Never Knew. Sourcebooks Landmark. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781464217968. pap. $17.99. F

YA author Goodlett (Rise) and Hough, dancer and host on Dancing with the Stars, team up. Lexi Cole has built a successful, comfortable life, but then she begins experiencing strange events—she can feel other people’s emotions and glimpse their memories. She’ll need to face her past, however, before she can embrace these new abilities and help others.

Howard, Alex. The Ghost Cat. Hanover Square: Harlequin. Aug. 2024. 256p. ISBN 9781335012333. $21.99. F

UK author Howard (Library Cat) makes his U.S. debut with this tale of a ghost cat, who spends his last day alive curled up by the fire in 1902. He returns as a ghost cat, haunting the inhabitants of an Edinburgh tenement and witnessing history across two centuries.

Jones, Gayl. The Unicorn Woman. Beacon. Aug. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9780807030035. $26.95. F

Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Jones (The Birdcatcher) writes about Black army veteran Buddy Ray Guy, who returns home to a Jim Crow community rather than accolades. As he searches for love, meaning, and a mythical ideal, he also reminisces about his time in postwar France and those he met, including the Unicorn Woman.

Jungeun, Hwang. One Hundred Shadows. Erewhon Bks. Aug. 2024. 192p. tr. from Korean by Jung Yewon. ISBN 9781645661443. $19.95. F

South Korean author Jungeun’s debut novella is an award-winning international best seller written in response to the 2009 Yongsan Disaster, in which displaced tenants were attacked by police and security guards during protests. In a Seoul slum slated for demolition, residents’ shadows have begun to rise and wander away, and the community starts to fade.

Kurkov, Andrey. Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv. HarperVia. Aug. 2024. 416p. tr. from Russian by Reuben Woolley. ISBN 9780063354548. pap. $19.99. F

Previously published in the UK, this already made the International Booker Prize longlist while Kurkov’s last book, Grey Bees, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Here he writes of strange, magical occurrences in Lviv, Ukraine, as an eccentric group gathers around a mysterious grave and bands together to investigate the anomalies.

Horror

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutter, Nick. The Queen. Gallery. Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781668020975. $28.99. HORROR

Best-selling Cutter (The Troop; The Handyman Method with Andrew F. Sullivan) returns with another terrifying tale. One day Margaret finds an iPhone on her doorstep and sees a text from her missing best friend, Charity. Margaret thinks she knows everything about Charity, but as she searches for her friend, she uncovers a shocking secret.

Hendrix, Grady. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. Berkley. Aug. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9780593548981. $30. HORROR

Award-winning Hendrix’s previous best seller, How To Sell a Haunted House, was an LJ Best Book and is being adapted for film. His newest novel takes place in 1970s Florida, where five young women in a home for unwed mothers discover a guide to witchcraft.

Iglesias, Gabino. House of Bone and Rain. Mulholland. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9780316427012. $29. HORROR

Iglesias’s The Devil Takes You Home was an LJ Best Book and won the Shirley Jackson and Stoker Awards. His latest is set in Puerto Rico as a hurricane forms, carrying evil spirits, and a group of teenage boys seek vengeance after one of their mothers is murdered by men working for a drug kingpin.

Lyons, Matthew. A Mask of Flies. Tor Nightfire. Aug. 2024. 464p. ISBN 9781250889812. $28.99. HORROR

Lyons (A Black and Endless Sky) writes a crime horror novel in which criminal Anne Heller retreats to her family cabin with a wounded partner and a cop she’s taken hostage after a failed bank robbery. Then she discovers some strange relics, and her partner returns from the dead. With a 100K-copy first printing.

Neville, Stuart. Blood Like Mine. Hell’s Hundred. Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781641295413. $29.95. HORROR

From Soho Press’s new imprint comes the first work of horror by award-winning crime novelist Neville (The House of Ashes). Rebecca Carter and her daughter Moonflower are on the run from a grisly secret, while FBI agent Marc Donner hunts down a serial killer. Then his investigation begins to bring him closer to where Rebecca and Moonflower are hiding in Colorado.

Pedersen, Kailee. Sacrificial Animals. St. Martin’s. Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781250328243. $29. HORROR

Pedersen’s debut combines supernatural horror with Chinese mythology. Nick and Joshua walked away from their abusive, racist father and their family farm in Nebraska, but now their dying father has summoned them back. A shadowy presence stalks the farm, and Joshua’s wife may have sinister motivations for a romance with Nick. With a 75K-copy first printing.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ashby, Madeline. Glass Houses. Tor. Aug. 2024. 272p. ISBN 9780765382924. $27.99. SF

Futurist and novelist Ashby (ReV) writes a near-future sci-fi thriller. A start-up team and their billionaire CEO crash onto a tropical island, where they find a mysteriously deserted, AI-run mansion—with no connection to the outside world. Then people begin to disappear one by one. With a 100K-copy first printing.

Corey, James A. The Mercy of Gods. Orbit. (The Captive’s War, Bk. 1). Aug. 2024. 432p. ISBN 9780316525572. $30. SF

Corey (pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) follows the Hugo Award–winning and best-selling “Expanse” books with a new space opera series. Captured by the Carryx, humans are brought into a war and competition with other captive species as they fight for their survival. With a 150K-copy first printing.

Feist, Raymond E. A Darkness Returns. Harper Voyager. (Dragonwar Saga, Bk. 1). Aug. 2024. 480p. ISBN 9780062315847. $32. FANTASY

Best-selling Feist launches a new epic fantasy series that joins the worlds from his “Firemane Saga” and “Riftwar” novels. The last scion of the Firemane dynasty has been transported to Midkemia to explore his magical abilities, which he’ll need to save his war-torn world of Garn. With a 100K-copy first printing.

Graudin, Ryan. The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois. Redhook: Orbit. Aug. 2024. 480p. ISBN 9780316418690. $30. FANTASY

YA author Graudin (Invictus) makes her adult debut with this historical fantasy. In the early 1900s, ailing con artist Céleste Artois learns about the existence of hidden magical pockets of Paris. Then she’s offered a deal to extend her life in exchange for her talents, but this newly discovered world of magic proves to be powerful—and deadly.

Hess, Al. Key Lime Sky. Angry Robot. Aug. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9781915998125. pap. $18.99. SF

Hess (author of the LJ Best Book World Running Down) writes about pie aficionado Denver Bryant, who sees a UFO explode over his small town and then notices the residents’ subsequent strange behavior, but the only one who believes him is handsome bartender Ezra. When people start disappearing, they try to leave town—but the town won’t let them.

Hopkinson, Nalo. Blackheart Man. S. & S./Saga. Aug. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9781668005101. $28.99. FANTASY

Award-winning Hopkinson (Skin Folk: Stories) pens a tale about a magical island called Chynchin, where Veycosi trains as a griot with hopes of becoming a scholar. His plans are derailed, though, when an ancient invading army that was frozen into statues by island witches comes to life, led by the demon Blackheart Man.

Kingfisher, T. A Sorceress Comes To Call. Tor. Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781250244079. $27.99. FANTASY

Best-selling and Hugo Award–winning Kingfisher (Thornhedge; LJ Best Book What Moves the Dead) retells the story of “the Goose Girl.” A suspicious death sends Cordelia and her wicked sorcerer mother fleeing to the home of a wealthy man. His sister Hester must face down the witch if she wants to save her brother and Cordelia. With a 150K-copy first printing.

MacLean, S.A. The Phoenix Keeper. Orbit. Aug. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9780316573092. pap. $19.99. FANTASY

MacLean debuts with a cozy queer romantasy set in a zoo of magical creatures, from dragons and unicorns to kelpies and krakens. Aila is head phoenix keeper at the zoo, where she’s trying to save the endangered firebirds from extinction, but she’ll need some help from her gorgeous archrival, the hotshot griffin keeper Luciana.

Maehrer, Hannah Nicole. Apprentice to the Villain. Entangled: Red Tower. (Assistant to the Villain, Bk. 2). Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9781649377173. pap. $19.99. FANTASY

Maehrer offers the follow-up to the best seller Assistant to the Villain, which was an Amazon and B&N best book and a Goodreads Choice Award Romantasy finalist. The story ponders the question: What happens when the assistant develops into something more? With a 300K-copy first printing.

Okorafor, Nnedi. She Who Knows: Firespitter. DAW. (She Who Knows, Bk. 1). Aug. 2024. 176p. ISBN 9780756418953. $25. SF

Multi-award-winning Okorafor begins a new trilogy with a novella that combines sci-fi and fantasy with West African culture, taking place before the events of Who Fears Death. Thirteen-year-old Najeeba, who becomes the mother of Onyesonwu, receives the Call. She joins them on the journey to mine salt, and her presence changes everything.

Virdi, R.R. The Doors of Midnight. Tor. (Tales of Tremaine, Bk. 2). Aug. 2024. 832p. ISBN 9781250796189. $34.99. FANTASY

In Virdi’s sequel to the epic fantasy The First Binding, Ari the Binder is an immortal hiding as a legendary storyteller and spreader of myth while awaiting judgment for the murder of a prince. But what is the truth in the stories he is telling? With a 75K-copy first printing.

Walter, Heather. The Crimson Crown. Del Rey: Ballantine. Aug. 2024. 544p. ISBN 9780593598368. $29.99. FANTASY

Following her “Sleeping Beauty” retelling in the “Malice” duology, Walter offers a queer, witchy version of “Snow White” from the wicked queen’s perspective. To prove herself to her coven, a young witch embarks on a quest that leads her to the White Palace, where she encounters the charismatic king and the witch who broke her heart.

Forthcoming Series Title

Sagara, Michelle. Cast in Atonement. MIRA: Harlequin. (Chronicles of Elantra, Bk. 18). Aug. 2024. 448p. ISBN 9780778369721. pap. $18.99. FANTASY

Nonfiction

Biography & Memoir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Das, Anupreeta. Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest To Shape Our World. Avid Reader/S.& S. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781668006726. $32. BIOG

Das, the finance editor of the New York Times, considers Bill Gates both as a technology leader and as a billionaire in an age obsessed with the rich. Not just a maker of products, Gates presented himself as a national thought leader, shaping political and social agendas.

Jones, Amanda. That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America. Bloomsbury. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9781639733538. $29.99. MEMOIR

Jones, a School Library Journal School Librarian of the Year, writes about her experiences fighting for the right to read. In the face of campaigns fueled by shadowy money and hard right politicians, she fought back, suing those who waged attacks against her and the United States’ readers.

Lee, Heath Hardage. The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady. St. Martin’s. Aug. 2024. 416p. ISBN 9781250274342. $32. BIOG

With a TV deal in hand for The League of Wives, Lee, an award-winning historian, focuses on Pat Nixon, exploring her role as first lady as she supported the Equal Rights Amendment, nominating a woman for the Supreme Court, reproductive rights, and her husband’s diplomatic efforts.

Peri, Camille. A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. Viking. Aug. 2024. 464p. ISBN 9780670786190. $32. BIOG

Peri, founder of the website Mothers Who Think, turns her attention to the unlikely romance between Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. They met in France when she was married, with children, 10 years older than he, and both living within Victorian society—and yet forged a creative, loving, and stormy partnership.

Rosenberg, Jane. Drawn Testimony: My Four Decades as a Courtroom Sketch Artist. Hanover Square: Harlequin. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781335008046. $30. MEMOIR

Rosenberg, a courtroom artist who illustrated trials such as those of John Gotti, Woody Allen, the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, Martha Stewart, and Donald Trump, writes about and sketches her four-decade career.

History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allman, T.D. In France Profound: The Long History of a House, a Mountain Town, and a People. Atlantic Monthly. Aug. 2024. 512p. ISBN 9780802127846. $30. HIST

Allman, longlisted for the National Book Award for Finding Florida, offers a deep dive into the ancient mountain village of Lauzerte, France. Using his 800-year-old house as a focal point, he surveys the past history of the town and its present and also comments on his modern life.

Friss, Evan. The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore. Viking. Aug. 2024. 352p. ISBN 9780593299920. $30. HIST

Friss writes a deeply researched book about U.S. bookstores, ranging from the 18th century to modern times and from indies to department-store chains. Each chapter focuses on a different bookshop and explores not just its own individual creation but the culture it supported.

Gordon, Linda. Seven Social Movements That Changed America. Liveright: Norton. Aug. 2024. 512p. ISBN 9781631493713. $35. HIST

Two-time winner of the Bancroft Prize, Gordon considers the ways social movements shape the nation as they arise, make change, hold power, and fall. She begins in the 1900s and ends in the 1970s, considering, among others, the civil rights, women’s liberation, and farmworkers movements.

Talaga, Tanya. The Knowing: The Enduring Legacy of Residential Schools. HarperCollins. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781443467506. $29.99. HIST

Award-winning and best-selling Anishinaabe author Talaga (Seven Fallen Feathers) investigates the reverberating legacy of the residential school system in Canada. Inspired by her great grandmother’s experiences, she details the crimes of the system and gives voice to her family and thousands of others.

VanDeMark, Brian. Kent State: An American Tragedy. Norton. Aug. 2024. 416p. ISBN 9781324066255. $35. HIST

VanDeMark offers a full consideration of the events of May 4, 1970, when National Guardsmen opened fire on Kent State University students protesting the Vietnam War. The work highlights new research and interviews, including those of Guardsmen.

Wineapple, Brenda. Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation. Random. Aug. 2024. 544p. ISBN 9780593229927. $35. HIST

A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a NYT “100 Notable Books” author, Wineapple delves into the history of the 1925 Scopes case, exploring how the “trial of the century” limned religion, censorship, teaching, and science as two giants in legal circles argued about the future of the nation.

Science

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bierman, Paul. When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth’s Tumultuous History and Perilous Future. Norton. Aug. 2024. 304p. ISBN 9781324020677. $27.99. SCI

Environmental science professor Bierman (who led the team that discovered that Greenland’s ice sheet melted 400,000 years ago without humans changing the climate) reports on what is on the horizon—what will flood and by how much—if society does not address the planet’s rising temperatures.

Bjornerud, Marcia. Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks. Flatiron. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9781250875891. $28.99. SCI

Bjornerud (author of the LJ Best Book Geopedia), a professor of environmental studies and geosciences at Lawrence University, returns with this exploration of the ways geology explains the planet and its constantly changing state. In addition to tracing her life as a scientist and the many transformations of her field, she delves into the rocks.

Cabrol, Nathalie A. The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist’s Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life. Scribner. Aug. 2024. 320p. ISBN 9781668046685. $30. SCI

Cabrol, director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute, leads readers through the profound quest of the people searching for life beyond this planet. The book moves from the moon, past Pluto, to beyond the solar system in its pursuit of answers.

Dolnick, Edward. Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World. Scribner. Aug. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781982199616. $30. SCI

Dolnick, a former chief science writer at The Boston Globe and Edgar Award winner for The Rescue Artist, pens a scientific adventure of how the Victorian world stumbled upon fossilized dinosaur bones and changed human understanding of everything.

Kershenbaum, Arik. Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication. Penguin Pr. Aug. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9780593654934. $30. SCI

Kershenbaum (zoology, Univ. of Cambridge; The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy) offers a guide to the wealth of research that has changed human perception and understanding of animal communication. His work allows readers to understand howls, songs, clicks, and grunts from the perspective of the animals who utter these sounds.