Recreational Reading: New & Notable

Winner of the Sherley Jackson Horror Award
On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life.

Not for the faint of heart!
A virus that turns anyone with high enough testosterone levels into zombielike monsters transforms the U.S. into an apocalyptic nightmare. Another threat looms—anti-trans feminists plotting the mass murder of the surviving trans population. In this harrowing, action-packed story, two trans women, Beth and Fran, survive by hunting the feral creatures that were once men and harvesting their estrogen-rich testicles.

When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she’s moving back to Malaysia with her parents – a country she last saw when she was a toddler.
She soon learns the new voice isn’t even hers, it’s the ghost of her estranged grandmother. In life, Ah Ma was a spirit medium, avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a business magnate who has offended the god—and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it, whether Jess wants to or not.

Ming Tsu, the son of Chinese immigrants, is raised by the notorious leader of a California crime syndicate, who trains him to be his deadly enforcer. But when Ming falls in love with Ada, the daughter of a railroad magnate, and the two elope, he seizes the opportunity to escape to a different life. Soon, the tycoon's henchmen kidnap Ada and conscript Ming into service for the Central Pacific Railroad.
Aided by a troupe of supernatural magic-show troupe and a blind clairvoyant known only as the prophet, Ming sets out to rescue his wife and to exact revenge.

Heiress Tessa Crane planned on enjoying her honeymoon cruise to Mars in anonymous bliss, but when her new husband is accused of murder, Tessa brings her fame, her reputation, and her money to bear in order to find out who really committed homicide on the luxury space liner. Featuring a smart heroine with chronic pain and PTSD, this ultimate shipboard mystery is delivered with gin-soaked determination and a load of snark and sparkle.

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

When Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian of his niblings, Patrick has no idea what to expect. Quickly realizing that parenting--even if temporary--isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness. Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart.
An accidental letter leads to an unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares—each other?

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known. Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it―not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

When archivist Sol meets Elsie, the larger than life widow of a moderately famous television writer who's come to donate her wife's papers, there's an instant spark. But Sol has a secret: he suffers from an illness called vampirism, and hides from the sun by living in his basement office. On their way to falling in love, the two traverse grief, delve into the Internet fandom they once unknowingly shared, and navigate the realities of transphobia and the stigmas of carrying the "vampire disease."

Writer Freddie Kincaid is sharing a table with three others at the Boston Public Library when they hear a scream and discover that a woman has been murdered. As she narrates, Freddie recounts her growing friendship with and suspicion of the others. Then it becomes clear that a bestselling Australian novelist is writing Freddie’s story while coping with her own stalker.