"Royal Liars"

New from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Royal Liars by Lindsey Duga.

About the book, from the publisher:

American Royals meets Gossip Girl in this scandal-driven sequel where four teenage royals team up to defend their beloved school from an unknown threat, risking their futures and their hearts in the process.

It’s been eight months since King Leander named Ashland’s heir apparent and a new year is about to begin at Almus Terra Academy…

Sadie is trapped in a fake dating scheme with one prince, while the other is dead set on winning her heart. Titus is desperate to make things right with the girl he wronged, but his own ambitions and secrets stand in his way. Emmeline has lost her friends, her dreams, and her family. For the first time in her life, she’s not sure she has what it takes to win them all back. Alaric goes down dark paths to strike against his traitorous father, but his quest for revenge will only keep him apart from the girl he loves.

When the Ashland heirs learn that the school and the country they’ve come to love are in danger, can they put their egos aside long enough to make a difference? Or will their rivalries cost them everything?

Complete with enemies-to-lovers romance, political intrigue, and legendary betrayals, this is the thrilling conclusion to the saga begun in Royal Heirs Academy.

Visit Lindsey Duga's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Reactionary Politics in South Korea"

New from Cambridge University Press: Reactionary Politics in South Korea: Historical Legacies, Far-Right Intellectuals, and Political Mobilization by Myungji Yang.

About the book, from the publisher:

In December 2024, South Korean president Yoon Seok-yeol stunned the world by declaring martial law. More puzzling was that Yoon's insurrection unexpectedly gained substantial support from the ruling right-wing party and many citizens. Why do ordinary citizens support authoritarian leaders and martial law in a democratic country? What draws them to extreme actions and ideas? With the rise of illiberal, far-right politics across the globe, Reactionary Politics in South Korea provides an in-depth account of the ideas and practices of far-right groups and organizations threatening democratic systems. Drawing on eighteen months of field research and rich qualitative data, Myungji Yang helps explain the roots of current democratic regression. Yang provides vivid details of on-the-ground internal dynamics of far-right actors and their communities and worldviews, uncovering the organizational and popular foundations of far-right politics and movements.

--Marshal Zeringue

"First Do No Harm"

Coming soon from Pegasus Books: First Do No Harm: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery by S. J. Rozan.

About the book, from the publisher:

In the latest novel in S. J. Rozan’s groundbreaking mystery series, Lydia Chin and Bill Smith face a dangerous task: they must unlock a hospital's many secrets in order to save an innocent man.

With River Valley Hospital in the midst of negotiations to avert a nurses' strike, a wealthy benefactor is set to give a large donation to honor of the Chief of Emergency Medicine: Dr. Elliott Chin, the brother of private investigator Lydia Chin.

Before the donation can be finalized, a member of the nurses' negotiating committee is found murdered. A morgue assistant is arrested and although he denies even knowing the victim his father and brother, both doctors at the hospital, are quick to urge him to take a plea. Another negotiating committee member abruptly resigns and a senior biomedical technician disappears. An officially off-limits section of the hospital basement turns out to be a hotbed of unauthorized—and in some cases criminal—activity.

Hired by the arrested man's lawyer, Lydia Chin and her partner Bill Smith start to dig into the events and personnel at the hospital. Among the union disputes, blackmail, thefts, lies, and a detective who really, really doesn't like them, one thing becomes clear: the dictum to "First Do No Harm” is not in effect at River Valley. As time runs short, Lydia and Bill face a complicated and dangerous task: they must unlock the hospital's secrets to save an innocent man.

Visit S.J. Rozan's website.

The Page 69 Test: Paper Son.

The Page 69 Test: The Art of Violence.

Q&A with S. J. Rozan.

Writers Read: S.J. Rozan (February 2022).

The Page 69 Test: Family Business.

Writers Read: S. J. Rozan (November 2023).

The Page 69 Test: The Mayors of New York.

--Marshal Zeringue

"High School Students Unite!"

New from the University of North Carolina Press: High School Students Unite!: Teen Activism, Education Reform, and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America by Aaron G. Fountain Jr.

About the book, from the publisher:

Mid-twentieth-century student activism is a pivotal chapter in American history. While college activism has been well documented, the equally vital contributions of high school students have often been overlooked. Only recently have scholars begun to recognize the transformative role teenagers played in reshaping American education.

High School Students Unite! highlights the crucial impact of high school activists in the 1960s and 1970s. Inspired by civil rights and antiwar movements, students across the nation demanded a voice in their education by organizing sit-ins, walkouts, and strikes. From cities such as San Francisco and Chicago to smaller towns such as Jonesboro, Georgia, these young leaders fought for curricula that reflected their evolving worldviews. Drawing on archival research and interviews, Aaron G. Fountain Jr. reveals how teenagers became powerful agents of change, advocating for constitutional rights and influencing school reform. Ironically, the modernization of school security, including police presence, was partly a response to these student-led movements. Through oral histories and FBI records, this fascinating history offers a fresh perspective on high school activism and its lasting impact on American education.

Visit Aaron G. Fountain Jr.'s website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Fire Must Burn"

New from Severn House: Fire Must Burn by Allison Montclair.

About the book, from the publisher:

The owners of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau are back, and more determined than ever to bring love matches to the residents of Post—WWII London . . . so something as trivial as being dragged into a spy mission isn’t going to stop them!

Sparks fly when an old friend comes to town . . .

London, 1947. After recent events have left the normally steadfast Iris Sparks thoroughly shaken, she’s looking forward to some peace. With The Right Sort doing well, she and business partner Gwen Bainbridge are due a holiday. Until Iris’s former boss enlists their help for a secret mission.

Iris, who left British intelligence after the war, is being recruited for her Cambridge connection to one Anthony Danforth. She hasn’t seen Tony in almost ten years, yet she and Gwen must manipulate him into hiring their marriage service.

Tony’s suspected of being a Soviet operative, and an undercover agent posing as his perfect match could discover the truth. Despite her reluctance at being dragged back into the world of espionage, Iris agrees. After all, Tony was once a very good friend. If he’s innocent, she’ll happily prove it. If not? Well, no one ever said being a spy was easy . . .

Those who enjoy reading Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher Mysteries and Dorothy Sayers will adore this warm and witty historical mystery!

Visit Alan Gordon's website.

The Page 69 Test: An Excellent Thing in a Woman.

Q&A with Allison Montclair.

My Book, The Movie: An Excellent Thing in a Woman.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Climate Politics"

New from Cambridge University Press: Climate Politics: Can't Live with It, Can't Mitigate without It by Caroline Kuzemko.

About the book, from the publisher:

By exploring the dynamic relationships between politics, policymaking, and policy over time, this book aims to explain why climate change mitigation is so political, and why politics is also indispensable in enacting real change. It argues that politics is poorly understood and often sidelined in research and policy circles, which is an omission that must be rectified, because the policies that we rely on to drive down greenhouse gas emissions are deeply inter-connected with political and social contexts. Incorporating insights from political economy, socio-technical transitions, and public policy, this book provides a framework for understanding the role of specific ideas, interests, and institutions in shaping and driving sustainable change. The chapters present examples at global, national, and local scales, spanning from the 1990s to 2020s. This volume will prove valuable for graduate students, researchers, and policymakers interested in the politics and policy of climate change.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Murder at World's End"

New from William Morrow: The Murder at World's End: A Novel by Ross Montgomery.

About the book, from the publisher:

Knives Out meets Downton Abbey! Secrets, murder, and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo—an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogenarian—hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world, in this locked-room mystery by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ross Montgomery.

Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom—every window, chimney, and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow.

All eyes turn to Stephen Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, eighty-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for.

Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges, and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late...

Visit Ross Montgomery's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Near Light We Shine"

New from Oxford University Press: Near Light We Shine: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam by Sara Ann Swenson.

About the book, from the publisher:

Buddhists in Vietnam are meeting humanitarian needs by popularizing charity. Vietnam's rapid urbanization has intensified social service demands while straining public infrastructure. In response, charity volunteers are building roads, subsidizing medicine, and giving away food. Near Light We Shine draws on two years of ethnographic research conducted in Ho Chi Minh City to analyse why and how people join these grassroots movements.

Volunteers adapt practices from Vietnam's dominant religion--Buddhism--to attract donors and advocate for different programming styles. However, there can also be clashes over the ultimate purpose of philanthropy. Volunteers approach both Buddhism and altruism in different ways depending on their personal values and demographic communities. These communities include low-income day laborers, elderly women, Buddhist nuns, urban migrants, college students, and queer men. Volunteers promote altruism by citing the proverb, "What is near ink, darkens; what is near light, shines." They use this axiom to distinguish themselves as good people "with heart" [co tam], whose charities are more caring and ethical than other organizations. Disputes over who practices true charity are rooted in different phenomenological and ontological experiences of how altruism influences the world. Volunteers promote distinct Buddhist cosmologies that are traditional, pro-socialist, sceptical, queer, modern, scientific, magical, and often at odds with one another. Altogether, people draw on Buddhism as an adaptable resource to build moral communities and transform the world. Near Light We Shine provides unprecedented insights into how Buddhism functions as a highly adaptable tool for people to build moral communities in Southeast Asia.

Visit Sara Ann Swenson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Devil in the Details"

Coming soon from Crooked Lane Books: The Devil in the Details: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery by Vicki Delany.

About the book, from the publisher:

The game is once again afoot in Vicki Delany’s eleventh Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery, when birthday festivities end in freezing-cold murder.

Gemma Doyle is excited about celebrating Jayne Wilson’s big day. It’s supposed to mark not only the birthday of Jayne, her partner in crime, but also that of the Great Detective himself. Following the festivities at the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, Gemma heads for the Blue Water Café, the site of Jayne’s party. To make things even better, Jayne’s wedding is only a week away.

But the much-anticipated affair quickly turns to disaster with the presence of the bride and groom’s respective exes in attendance and other unruly guests. With drama at every corner, Gemma and Jayne take a break on the chilly deck overlooking the ocean when they spot the body of a party attendee floating in the water below.

As Detective Ryan Ashburton takes a closer look at the guest list, Jayne’s wedding is in peril, especially when it is revealed that her fiancé, Andy, is a prime suspect. With the police closing in and more lives on the line, it’s up to Gemma to keep Andy from prison and save Jayne’s wedding day from ruin.

Visit Vicki Delany's website, and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

The Page 69 Test: Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen.

The Page 69 Test: A Scandal in Scarlet.

The Page 69 Test: Murder in a Teacup.

Writers Read: Vicki Delany (September 2021).

The Page 69 Test: Deadly Summer Nights.

The Page 69 Test: The Game is a Footnote.

Writers Read: Vicki Delany (January 2023).

Writers Read: Vicki Delany (January 2024).

The Page 69 Test: The Sign of Four Spirits.

The Page 69 Test: A Slay Ride Together With You.

Writers Read: Vicki Delany (December 2024).

The Page 69 Test: The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime.

Writers Read: Vicki Delany (July 2025).

The Page 69 Test: Tea with Jam & Dread.

Writers Read: Vicki Delany (October 2025).

The Page 69 Test: O, Deadly Night.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Making Our Beasts"

New from the University of California Press: Making Our Beasts: Paleontology in the United States by Elana Shever.

About the book, from the publisher:

Making Our Beasts is an ethnography of science in action that uses a familiar topic—dinosaurs—to lead readers to understand science and its objects in new ways. Through fieldwork and interviews conducted at laboratories, dig sites, museums, and entertainment sites, Elana Shever explores vertebrate paleontology in the United States, showing how the practices of scientists and the materiality of fossils together shape the social world and also are shaped by it. Foregrounding elements of scientific inquiry that have been sidelined—including affect, touch, material agency, and the labor of volunteers, technicians, and other nonscientists—Shever reveals how paleontology continues to be structured by race, gender, and colonialism.

--Marshal Zeringue