"Written in Starlight"

New from Atria Books: Written in Starlight: A Novel by Sloane Brooks.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A storybook chambermaid’s and an intergalactic bounty hunter’s worlds—and hearts—collide through a magical book, threatening to rewrite fate in this romantic portal fantasy with a cosmic twist. Perfect for fans of Tusk Love and The Spellshop.

Della Farley has always known her place: scrubbing floors, keeping her head down, and dreaming of something more. But when she stumbles upon a strange book that seems to be writing itself—a story about a man named Ansel Tulzok, a wanted fugitive traveling the stars—her quiet life turns extraordinary.

Light-years away, Ansel finds a mirror copy of the same book. Page by page, the story unfolds with details of a woman he’s never met—one whose words feel achingly familiar. As the two begin writing to each other through the mysterious pages, they open doors not just to each other’s worlds, but to their most vulnerable hopes and fears.

But every story has its price. And as their worlds entwine and their hearts collide, Della and Ansel must decide how far they’re willing to go to change the ending fate has written for them.

Visit Sloane Brooks's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Black Cicero"

New from Oxford University Press: Black Cicero: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Ancient Romans in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries by Mathias Hanses.

About the book, from the publisher:

Black Cicero examines the black American scholar and activist W. E. B. Du Bois's lifelong engagement with the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. To Du Bois, Cicero's life and his opposition to Caesar provided a foundational example of anti-tyrannical thought and action, a tradition of which he considered himself a part alongside his ancient Roman forerunner. Despite this continuity in Du Bois's extensive oeuvre, the image of ancient Mediterranean life that informed his self-fashioning as a "Black Cicero" underwent tremendous changes as the nineteenth century yielded to the twentieth. Considering Cicero a white man at the start of his career, Du Bois later came to advertise ancient Rome's multi-continental positioning at the intersection of Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as the diversity of that space's populations. Du Bois travelled, read, and interacted with thinkers from across these same continents--and the Americas--evincing a complex intertextual rhizome within which Cicero ultimately turned non-white. From the Jim Crow era, through World War I and II, to the Cold War and his move to newly independent Ghana at the end of his life, Du Bois celebrated those who pursued liberty, and he condemned imitators of the imperialist oppression that he observed in the Roman empire.

Black Cicero embeds this duality in the discourses about the ancient Mediterranean that were proliferating at the time. Probing Du Bois's attractive yet also notably distorted view of a freedom-loving Cicero, this book traces how one of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries' most engaging thinkers and compelling writers made ancient Rome relevant to discussions about white supremacism and anti-blackness, to decolonial and anti-colonial thought, to communism, and to the fight against fascism.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Resurrection Kill"

Coming October 27 from Crooked Lane Books: Resurrection Kill: A Novel by Laura Joh Rowland.

About the novel, from the publisher:

An amnesic psychiatrist returns to the hospital where she was institutionalized as a teen to find answers, perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Shutter Island.

Forgetting can be dangerous. Remembering can be fatal.

New York State, 1953. Dr. Claire Kendall is a psychiatrist-in-training at Resurrection Kill Hospital, a luxurious private and isolated mental institution for the wealthy. But under her mask of professionalism, Claire has a secret: She was a patient at the hospital when she was fourteen.

With gaps in her memory, Claire is determined to discover what really happened the summer she was institutionalized—even if it means uncovering the dangerous secrets hiding at Resurrection Kill. Before long, Claire takes a special interest in a teenage patient, Rory Kirkpatrick—a free-spirited girl who is also determined to uncover Resurrection Kill Hospital’s dark past. Claire indulges Rory’s rebellious nature, hoping to glean clues that might help in her own search for the truth.

But the hunt for answers triggers flashbacks of Claire’s painful childhood—her father’s cruelty, her mother’s alcoholism, her beloved older brother’s death. The deeper she probes her own past, the more she remembers about the summer that changed everything. And as she delves deeper into her own mind, she’ll come to find that her sanity grows more fragile by the day and that some secrets are meant to stay buried. She’ll discover that remembering may come at the cost of her life.

Visit Laura Joh Rowland's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The People's Paper"

New from Columbia University Press: The People's Paper: The Rise and Fall of the New York Daily News by Matthew Pressman.

About the book, from the publisher:

When the New York Daily News launched in 1919, it didn’t just sell papers―it reinvented them. Brash, populist, and impossible to ignore, the United States’ first tabloid quickly became the country’s best-selling newspaper, reaching millions of readers and reshaping the way Americans consumed news. The swaggering epitome of big-city journalism, it mixed sensationalist stories about crime and celebrities with in-depth reporting about local and national politics. Yet by the 1970s, the paper was struggling to adapt to changes both in New York City and in how Americans got their news. On top of that, the Daily News faced bruising competition with Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post, a devastating strike, a shrinking newsroom, and repeated accusations of racism. Somehow, for decades, it weathered these setbacks―until the late 2010s, when the cuts went so deep that they reduced the publication to a shadow of its former self.

Drawing on never-before-cited documents and more than sixty interviews, The People’s Paper tells the story of the Daily News through the eyes of the owners, journalists, and readers who defined it. Matthew Pressman shows how the paper both reflected and shaped the transformations of New York City and American journalism. He argues that tabloids, despite their reputation, were crucial to an informed public, giving ordinary people reliable news in a relatable, digestible way. Lively and definitive, The People’s Paper links the history of the Daily News to today’s crises in media and politics.

--Marshal Zeringue

"She Dies in the End"

New from Thomas & Mercer: She Dies in the End by Elle Marr.

About the novel, from the publisher:

To hide her darkest secret, a woman must submit to a killer’s twisted demands in a shocking novel of psychological suspense from bestselling author Elle Marr.

Body broker Penny Lin keeps her distance from the past as she transports donated cadavers in Portland, Oregon, to laboratories, universities―anyone who can justly benefit from the dead. Then, among the deceased, Penny finds murder victim Cesar Velasquez, her ex-lover and a major figure in medical research, whose body comes with an anonymous warning: Don’t tell a soul.

The sender knows too much about Penny and the traumas she’s fled from. The grifting family members she left behind. The dark and devastating secrets she carries. To keep them hidden, Penny must comply with a killer and dispose of the dead, laundering their remains. When the blackmailer begins delivering more bodies to Penny’s shop, she’s torn between wanting justice for the victims and fearing her complicity in murder. Then, Penny is attacked, shattering any illusion of safety she once held.

As the maddening game continues, Penny begins to question her memories, her sanity, and how to escape a killer’s twisted revenge―without becoming another body in her inventory.

Visit Elle Marr's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Missing Sister.

The Page 69 Test: Lies We Bury.

My Book, The Movie: The Lie She Wears.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Territorial Discontent"

New from the University of North Carolina Press: Territorial Discontent: CHamorus, Filipinos, and the Making of the United States Empire in Guåhan by Kristin Oberiano.

About the book, from the publisher:

This one-hundred-year history of the island of Guåhan, also known as Guam, charts how Indigenous CHamorus and Filipino migrants navigated and negotiated the expansion of US imperialism and militarism in the Pacific. Throughout the twentieth century, CHamorus and Filipinos living in Guåhan expressed their discontent with the inequities created by the US empire. Instead of partaking in outright anticolonial movements, they advocated for liberal solutions such as individual rights, land ownership, economic opportunities, and US citizenship. In Territorial Discontent, Kristin Oberiano unravels this entangled history and exposes the limitations of liberalism in anticolonial resistance.

Tracing the long history of CHamoru-Filipino relations, from the exile of Filipino revolutionaries to Guåhan to the burgeoning CHamoru self-determination movement, Territorial Discontent grapples with the varied motives that propelled CHamorus and Filipinos to rely on the limited liberal promise of freedom. Oberiano reveals that implementing these solutions for one group too often required the continued colonization of the other, entrenching US colonialism in Guåhan and enflaming tensions between CHamorus and Filipinos. Examining these antagonisms, Oberiano argues that building relationships with the CHamoru virtue of inafa’maolek—“to make good”—can nurture CHamoru-Filipino solidarities and illuminate alternative possibilities for Guåhan’s ongoing decolonization movement.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Good Guys"

New from Melville House: Good Guys by Mindy Misener.

About the novel, from the publisher:

In a small New England town in 2008, two estranged sisters become embroiled in a war crime involving a local hero …

Georgie and Jo are sisters, but they aren’t close. The situation seems worse once Jo goes off to college, making it obvious she’s happy about leaving Curtisville and Georgie and their disabled father behind.

Then, Gary Clemmons dies in the Iraq War. Gary—the son of their pastor, the hero of their hometown, and the brother of Georgie’s secret girlfriend—was famous for being a good guy.

But Georgie stumbles on a dark secret about Gary, and once Jo finds out, things begin to spiral out of control. The fallout will change both sister’s lives forever.

In the end, Good Guys uncovers the underbelly of a small town—the darkness of patriotism and masculinity, the harm caused by blind religious fervor, and the ways these dynamics can destroy families.

Visit Mindy Misener's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The First Woman Judge"

New from the University of California Press: The First Woman Judge: The Life and Legacy of Florence Allen by Tracy Thomas.

About the book, from the publisher:

The story of Florence Allen, the first woman judge in the United States, and women’s transformation of the legal system.

Florence Allen was the first woman judge many times over―first federal appellate court judge, first elected to a state supreme court, and first shortlisted for the U.S. Supreme Court. During Allen’s forty years on the bench, the country swung between progressivism and conservatism, with passage of a constitutional amendment for women’s voting rights, two world wars, the Red and Lavender Scares, and the New Deal.

Amid these changes, women used their new political standing to transform the courts, first by becoming active agents in the justice system, and then by developing theories of public law, social justice, and fair process. Exploring Allen’s fascinating legal life, Tracy Thomas recounts the larger history of how women infiltrated the legal system as judges, lawyers, jurors, and legislators to demand a more representative system of justice for the welfare of all.

Visit Tracy Thomas's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch"

Coming October 20 from Lake Union: The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch: A Novel by Laura Jensen Walker.

About the book, from the publisher:

From the author of Death of a Flying Nightingale comes the moving story of a solitary seventy-year-old curmudgeon embracing the connection of family and daring to follow her dreams.

Primrose Honeychurch doesn’t really “get” people. Books, though, make perfect sense.

At seventy, the sharp-tongued recluse prefers to keep company with her own routines. But when a life-altering diagnosis leaves her worried she’ll never be missed, she decides it’s finally time to do something to leave her mark: something no one will ever forget.

Clutching her mother’s ashes and the book of her heart, Primrose hops on a plane, bound for Hay-on-Wye, the legendary Welsh “Town of Books.” Unfortunately, her literary pilgrimage just won’t follow the plot. After an accident derails her trip, she finds herself staying awhile with estranged family. But she senses a kindred spirit in the niece she’s getting to know, who uncannily understands the world much the same as Primrose herself does.

As rolling green hills and book-lined streets frame an unexpected season of discovery, what began as an unwelcome detour becomes something more profound. For the first time in her life, Primrose begins to glimpse the beauty―and courage―of true human connection.

Visit Laura Jensen Walker's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Alphabet Sleuths.

Q&A with Laura Jensen Walker.

The Page 69 Test: The Alphabet Sleuths.

Writers Read: Laura Jensen Walker (February 2026).

My Book, The Movie: The Postmistress of Puddlington.

The Page 69 Test: The Postmistress of Puddlington.

--Marshal Zeringue

"We Have the Rights"

New from Cambridge University Press: We Have the Rights: Protest and Democracy in Three African Cities by Marcus Walton.

About the book, from the publisher:

Does democracy matter for urban protest? Africa is the fastest urbanizing region in the world, with more citizens every day requiring access to goods like housing, energy, food, and transportation. At the same time, citizens across the continent have also indicated declining satisfaction with democracy. Thus, many citizens have turned to strategies like protest to meet their basic needs. Yet for urban communities fighting for access to these goods, does democracy still make a difference? Drawing on a decades-long comparison of urban protest in Cairo, Lagos, and Johannesburg, We Have the Rights challenges the conventional wisdom of the social movement literature, by showing that even when democratization has not altered the prevailing forms of protest, it can significantly improve protest outcomes. These findings suggest that democracy can empower urban communities, not by enclosing citizen participation, but by expanding the avenues and boundaries of institutional engagement.

--Marshal Zeringue