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Mystery

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Almost Surely Dead is part thriller, part ghost story, part dive into South Asian folklore and superstition. This book explores what would happen if no one believed you were being haunted—not even you. This one is for those who love the stalker roots of You and the darkly humorous tone of The Flight Attendant, mixed with the speculative cultural commentary of Get Out.

When Dunia Ahmed is attacked in the subway, she assumes it’s a random attack and that now it’s over. She’s far too ordinary for someone to premeditate her murder. Little does she know that the attack runs far deeper into her past than she could ever imagine—and it won’t be the last attempt on her life. Now, two years later, Dunia is missing and is the subject of a hit true-crime podcast, as the people closest to her reexamine her life.

Told in multiple timelines, this genre-defying thriller is a standout. At Mindy’s Book Studio, Mindy Kaling is all about shining a light on a wide range of diverse voices, and author Amina Akhtar is truly one of a kind. Her writing is dark, twisty, and campy. I could go on and on about this book, but Mindy says it best: “This book took turns I never saw coming. I was up all night tearing through the pages as the mysterious pieces came together, leading to an explosive conclusion.”

—Megha Parekh, Editor

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Before I became his editor, I might have described Dean Koontz’s novels as terrifying. Thirteen-year-old me was scared and riveted by the sometimes-monstrous characters racing through the oft-action-packed pages. But Dean Koontz is also a very funny, thoughtful man.

With that in mind, I shouldn’t have been surprised that The Bad Weather Friend was more than a thrilling ride with some Koontzian villains and horrifying scenes so affecting you may not be able to turn out the lights. (I’ll never look at bugs in quite the same way.)

It’s also a funny, touching, and poignant novel (disguised as a buddy novel) about being a nice person with good intentions—something Dean and the very large and imposing character in his book (named Spike, of course) think deserves to be preserved and protected. “We are living in such dark and dangerous times that I believe readers need what this story offers,” he recently wrote to me. And I couldn’t agree more.

The Bad Weather Friend is an unexpected journey that combines the wit of The Princess Bride with the gothic and wry cross-genre appeal of Netflix’s Wednesday. But it’s that indelible thread of hope, something that touches every page of this thrilling ride, that will keep me coming back to Koontz for years to come.

—Jessica Tribble Wells, Editor

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Pulled from the fascinating period in American history when laws could be broken—as long as they were broken outside your own county line—Steve Weddle’s latest novel is an immaculate and immersive work of character, tone, and heart. If you loved shows like Deadwood and Boardwalk Empire and books like The Sisters Brothers, read on.

In 1933, if you decided to stick up a bank, you could hightail it right over the county line and hole up in an outlaw camp, a rickety bunch of cabins (in the case of this novel, right close by some catfish swamp) set up for hiding out and divvying up your loot. You and your small gang of miscreants could drink bootleg whiskey, play cards, and plan your next bit of mischief. There was a tenuous truce between lawmen and lawbreakers, and folks took care of their own.

This is the world where Cottonmouth Tomlin, the protagonist of this tale, grew up, and where he returns when his uncle kicks the bucket and leaves him the camp. But times are changing, and criminals are getting bolder. Why rob the bank when you can kidnap the bank manager’s son and get ransom delivered right to you? As the crimes become more vicious, the county’s tolerance wears thin. And the two octogenarian sisters who run the moonshine racket (and then some) start to get a little territorial.

The County Line is a wry, almost whimsically nostalgic look at a truly unique period of our past, peppered with the most interesting and lovable ne’er-do-wells I’ve read about in quite some time. Won’t you join us for some fictional malfeasance and misdeeds?

—Alison Dasho, Editor

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This is my third book with the New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice, and I am constantly amazed by her ability to transport me to another time and place. In Last Night, we find ourselves just days before Christmas, but all is not shiny and bright.

At the center of this dazzlingly compelling thriller is the murder of artist Maddie Morrison. Found just outside of the famed Ocean House, a five-star hotel perched on the bluffs of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, during a brutal blizzard. With the only witness—the young daughter of the victim—missing, and evidence hidden beneath several feet of snow, the authorities are left scrambling for answers.

Everyone carries secrets, but Maddie Morrison may have had more than most. And enemies can multiply with secrets this dangerous. Luanne Rice threads the needle so seamlessly that I never saw the ending coming, and that is the highest praise an editor can bestow on an author.

—Liz Pearsons, Editor

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Midwinter is about the time I usually start dreaming of summer—warm nights spent outside with friends, reminiscing about our younger days. But what if one summer, something so terrible happened that you’d rather forget? For one group of women, when their friend disappears, they spend years trying to do just that—until the day that her body is found.

Frankie, Poppy, and Cass realize they never really knew Sofia Lyon. And Marya brings her own secrets when she moves to town—secrets that could help the friends finally figure out who, or what, killed Sofia. Because whatever Sofia was dabbling in, it’s after them now. They must call upon powers long buried in order to defeat the evil that claimed her.

Debut author Mallory Pearson has written a novel that is both beautiful and terrifying. It had me reading with the lights on, utterly haunted by the gorgeousness of the prose. After this, like me, you may be glad for more cozy, cold days ahead—I certainly won’t be wishing for summer any time soon.

—Adrienne Procaccini, Editor

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If you are like me and love Daisy Jones & the Six, La La Land, and The Notebook, then oh, do I have a treat for you. Kelley McNeil’s sophomore novel is an incredibly moving tale imbued with the magic of friendship, the beauty of family, the beating pulse of the music world, and a star-crossed love story that left me reaching for the tissue box.

Following Evie and Carter from their first electric meeting in the 1990s as young career hopefuls—him of musical stardom, her of journalist excellence—to the present day when Evie’s now-grown children find a box of memorabilia hinting at their mother’s previous life, this novel alternates between the early, explosive embers of first love and the joys of motherhood and stability, and everything in-between. What really happened all those years ago? Who inspired the album that skyrocketed Carter Wills and his band, Mayluna, to fame? And why had nobody heard the story until now?

Braiding ambition, love, and the celestial powers of fate, McNeil delivers a page-turning story that will break your heart wide open and ever so slowly piece it back together—perhaps not quite as neatly as it was before, but it’ll be whole once again.

—Alicia Clancy, Editor

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Have you ever just wanted to get away when the going gets tough? Leave all of your problems behind and start over somewhere fresh? I certainly have, and that’s exactly what Alma Hughes, the protagonist in Jessica Bryant Klagmann’s stunning debut novel, does when faced with a terrible loss.

After the tragic disappearance of her fiancé, Alma chooses to leave behind her grief and, along with her beloved dog Jupiter, sets sail for a remote island that has been almost entirely evacuated due to rising sea levels. But aside from her aunt and cousins who chose to remain, nobody there will know what happened or look at her with pity, and so she embarks to the turbulent coastal town. Once she arrives, however, she quickly realizes that while you can try to run from your past, it’s not that easily done. In the magical seaside town of Violette, other forces are determined to help Alma find her way back to a place of community and living. In this new town that is as quirky as it is mysterious, Alma finds herself caught up in an inexplicable incident that will show her time and time again that the only way to move past one’s pain is to go through it, and that on the other side, there is hope.

For fans of Station Eleven and Migrations, This Impossible Brightness is an incredibly beautiful novel about the power of connection, about finding joy in the difficult moments of life, and about what might be waiting for us on the other side. It’s a novel of loss and grief but also of love and friendship and, through it all, of hope.

—Alicia Clancy, Editor

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I was so deeply moved by this family drama that is both a thoughtful look at the sometimes-fraught relationship between mother and daughter, and also a page-turning suspense novel about them coming together to protect their family.

The Young of Other Animals is the story of a mother and her college-age daughter who are grieving the passing of the father. Things are tense, but when the daughter is assaulted and nearly kidnapped one night, both women become determined to find out who is after their family. And in the process, they uncover explosive secrets about the father.

The writing is so visceral, perhaps because the novel is inspired by the author’s real-life events when she was kidnapped and almost murdered as a college student. She never spoke about what happened. Recently, the author decided she was ready to write about the experience, through the safe space of fiction. The Young of Other Animals is the stunning result.

—Carmen Johnson, Editor

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From the very first page of The Real Deal I knew this book was something special. Caitlin Devlin’s electrifying debut effortlessly drew me into a world I felt like I knew inside out—the world of reality television. But wow, was I wrong! Instead, all my preconceptions were thrown out the window, because as much as we think we know what really happens behind the scenes, not everything we see on TV is real.

When Belle was twelve, she was on a reality TV show about six girls as they set out to become world-renowned actresses, singers, and dancers under the expert tutelage of shining stage star Donna Mayfair. Donna had the power to make Belle famous, and Belle trusted Donna completely. Now twenty-six, Belle is returning for a TV special reunion of The Real Deal, but one thing’s for sure: Belle won’t talk about what happened in that final episode, no matter what people speculate, no matter what people say. Because when it comes to reality TV, there are three sides to the story—Belle’s, Donna’s, and the camera’s. The only question is, Who is telling the truth?

The Real Deal is the perfect novel for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Liane Moriarty. It had me desperately turning the pages of this addictive and lyrical story until the final scene. Because while we can all speculate, can we ever really separate the truth from the gossip and know what really happened?

—Victoria Oundjian, Editor

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Provocative. Visceral. Suspenseful. Kinky. Authentic. Sizzling.

When I’m asked to describe Heather Levy’s latest, these are the words that bubble up time and time again. And it’s not just me who is abuzz with excitement: there is a secret club of authors who have one thing in common. They love Heather Levy’s writing, and they are all singing the praises of Hurt for Me. (Just look below at those glowing recommendations!)

This is a no-holds-barred romantic thriller in which a woman becomes embroiled in a missing-persons case that quickly devolves into murder…and it gets grislier from there. You’ll be thrust into a world of grunge and grime, but also of leather and lace. Velvet ropes, handcuffs, and exquisite intimacy are juxtaposed with those who take advantage, lie, steal, and abuse. Told in dual timelines, this novel feels like the best of the early ’90s erotic thriller films…but with a distinctly feminist bent.

So now it’s time for you to decide: Will you accept my invitation to the exclusive, burgeoning Heather Levy fan club? Herein lies a distinctive reading pleasure…and perhaps your new favorite author.

—Alison Dasho, Editor