"The Beheading Game"

New from Crown: The Beheading Game: A Novel by Rebecca Lehmann.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Disgraced. Beheaded. And out for revenge . . .

We all know what happened to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. But what if she woke up the day after her execution and took it upon herself to seek justice?

“Nobody was surprised at Anne’s conviction. The world loves to put a woman in her place.”

The Beheading Game begins in the hours after Anne Boleyn’s beheading, when she wakes to find herself unceremoniously laid to rest in a makeshift coffin, her head wrapped in linen at her knees. Discarded by King Henry VIII for being unable to give him a male heir and reviled by Cromwell for being too smart for her own good, she was ultimately executed based on trumped-up charges of adultery, incest, and high treason.

Anne escapes the Tower of London, sews her head back on, then sets out on a quest to kill Henry VIII before he can marry her own lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. The stakes are high—if Jane gives birth to a rival heir, Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth, will lose her claim to the throne. Traveling the streets of London in the guise of a commoner, with the help of a prostitute who becomes a trusted friend (and perhaps something more), Anne soon realizes how little she knew about life in the real world.

A fantastical journey through the wilds of England and Tudor history, filled with danger and magic and steeped in Arthurian legend, The Beheading Game is a prescient reminder that “mouthy” women have always been punished. Now, thanks to debut novelist Rebecca Lehmann, nearly five hundred years after Anne Boleyn’s death, one of history’s most maligned women finally has the chance to tell her story.

Visit Rebecca Lehmann's website, and follow her on Instagram and Threads.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Inquisition for Blood"

New from LSU Press: Inquisition for Blood: The Making of a Black Female Serial Killer in the Jim Crow South by Lauren Nicole Henley.

About the book, from the publsher:

For three years in the early 1900s, a serial killer zigzagged across the rice belt region of the United States, using an everyday ax to slaughter Black families living within a mile of the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Sunset Route. The similarities among the murders were uncanny, yet lawmen in early twentieth-century America had neither the technology nor the vocabulary to identify the serial killer in their midst. Instead, regional authorities worked the cases as individual homicides.

This approach led to seemingly contradictory realities: the unknown killer was dubbed “the axman,” and a young Black woman named Clementine Barnabet was arrested as a suspect. She offered questionable confessions and swiftly gained international recognition, as the press reimagined Clementine as a cult-leading, ax-wielding, sacrifice-driven serial killer. But there was a problem: Clementine was already in jail by the time more than half of the murders occurred.

In Inquisition for Blood, Lauren Nicole Henley examines this conundrum as she describes how axman madness consumed an entire region for years. She unpacks these crimes and their aftermaths to show how Black communities responded to incomprehensible violence, how the state criminalized Blackness, and how a young Black woman ultimately came to be understood as a serial killer. Drawing on more than three thousand newspaper articles, hundreds of pages of court records, prison ledgers, death certificates, censuses, city directories, and more, Henley tells a historical narrative that is as intriguing as any true crime novel, challenging our assumptions about who has the ability to get away with murder.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Tore All to Pieces"

New from the University Press of Kentucky: Tore All to Pieces by Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr.

About the book, from the publisher:

Nestled in the mountains, in an out-of-the-way part of rural America, the fictional town of Mosely is home to ordinary people: proud, compassionate, and complex. Women serving biscuits at the gas station counter, kids listening to Loretta Lynn with their uncles, teenage boys flirting with one another at prom, and parents busy raising their children's babies. This community is woven together by family ties, church congregations, coal mines, and fast-food chains. In Mosely, the residents work hard to find belonging, love, and identity.

Tore All to Pieces is a fragmented novel that delves into the lives of Appalachian characters with similar struggles, backgrounds, and experiences and examines how people are often lonely despite these connections. Each narrative, presented in the form of a poem or short story, bends and weaves like the roads of Appalachia. Each character's voice is richly portrayed in gripping and lyrical language, uniting the stories in a quest for truth, genuine understanding, and respect.

At a time when the rights of queer individuals, women, and people of color are increasingly under threat, this work powerfully reaffirms the humanity and significance of marginalized people. Tore All to Pieces underscores their enduring presence and rightful belonging.

Visit Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr.'s website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Black and Blue TV"

New from Rutgers University Press: Black and Blue TV: Industry Responses to the Black Lives Matter Movement by Laurena Bernabo.

About the book, from the publisher:

Black and Blue TV explores the ways television productions have responded to the Black Lives Matter movement. Television programs’ engagement with BLM was common before George Floyd’s murder sparked international protests in the summer of 2020, at which point it became nearly unavoidable for many series. Images of police using violence against Black Americans fueled criticisms of the role of television―especially cop shows―in perpetuating “copaganda,” highlighting the fact that television’s cops are nearly always the good guys, even when they break the law and use excessive force. Black and Blue TV identifies trends and anomalies in television’s engagement with BLM but also investigates the people who influence what those representations look like. Pairing textual criticism with interviews with television creatives, executives, and media activists, author Laurena Bernabo traces shifts in how these individuals understand their role in televisual culture and the cultural forum of narratives that are produced and distributed as a result.

--Marshal Zeringue

'Hard Times"

New from Flatiron Books: Hard Times: A Novel by Jeff Boyd.

About the novel, from the publisher:

An extraordinary crime novel from a rising star, that follows the ripple effects of a tragic shooting throughout a Chicago community from the view of the teachers, police officers, and students impacted

Buddy Mack has been caught in the middle of two worlds at war.

As an English teacher at a South Side, Chicago, high school lauded for its football team, but at risk in every other way, he tries to instill a love of literature. While all of his students face challenges, he’s especially concerned with a trio of boys who test him to no end but are full of promise and heart: Zeke, the football star; Truth, the sweet-talking charmer; and Dontell, Buddy’s most promising student.

At home, his wife, Chrissy, a successful corporate lawyer, is ready to upgrade to a big house on the North Side and start a family, but Buddy’s torn over the implications. And the closest person he has in his life to talk to is Chrissy’s little brother, Curtis, a corrupt Chicago cop.

When the two worlds collide in a shocking moment that rocks the school, Buddy has to choose a side and fight for all he holds dear. Hard Times takes stock of what it means to be there for your people whether you want to or not and unflinchingly confronts the American Dream—a moving, engrossing, and necessary read.

Visit Jeff Boyd's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Sober State"

New from Cambridge University Press: Sober State: Origins of Alcohol Prohibition in India by Darinee Alagirisamy.

About the book, from the publisher:

What happens when a democratic state―still in the process of formation―commits to banning a substance, especially one as controversial as alcohol? This book traces the origins and evolution of alcohol prohibition in India, drawing on extensive archival research and rich vernacular sources to explain its surprising resilience over time. Since its inception, prohibition has served both as an ideal and a tool of state power―a dual role that has worked to shape its shifting trajectories. Each phase of enforcement has served to reaffirm prohibition's founding logic, thereby further embedding it in the machinery of governance―even as it has constrained its future implementation. Foregrounding intersections with caste and gender, the book illuminates how diverse social responses have made prohibition a deeply contested―sobering―yet enduring project. While prohibition may be a thing of the past in the West, history helps to keep it alive in India.

Visit Darinee Alagirisamy's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Stakeouts and Strollers"

New from Minotaur Books: Stakeouts and Strollers: A Mystery by Rob Phillips.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Amateur private investigator and new dad Charlie Shaw gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to track down a young girl’s missing father in Rob Phillips' 2024 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Mystery Novel award-winning debut.

Charlie Shaw is low on sleep. And cash. Otherwise, life is going pretty well for the ex-crime reporter: he’s happily married to his college sweetheart, he’s a first-time dad to the most adorable baby girl in existence, and he’s making ends meet as a rookie PI. But when Charlie meets Friday Finley, a frightened sixteen-year-old runaway on a stakeout-gone-wrong, his world gets a little more complicated.

Friday is looking for her estranged father Shawn, an unreliable alcoholic who left when she was young—and who also happens to be her only shot at avoiding the foster care system since her mother’s death a few weeks earlier. At first, Charlie believes the man is simply hiding out somewhere, avoiding his responsibilities as usual, but the more he investigates, the more unsettling—and dangerous—Shawn’s disappearance becomes. When his own family is threatened, Charlie realizes he’s in over his head, but can he back out now that he’s begun to care for Friday as his own?

A perfect page-turning blend of humor and high stakes, Stakeouts and Strollers is a heartwarming story of fatherhood, family, and what it really means to be a “Girl Dad.”

Follow Rob Phillips on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Science of Repair"

New from Oxford University Press: The Science of Repair: How People who Believe in Facts Can Build a Better Future by Gwen Ottinger.

About the book, from the publisher:

A transformative account of the role science can play in combatting injustice--by deepening our moral commitments to each other through collaborative investigation.

For many people, science and social justice seem to be natural allies-the slogan "science is real" often accompanies affirmations of diversity and reproductive rights. In practice, too, doing science is an increasingly prevalent strategy of social and environmental justice movements. But while it seems apparent that science can aid in the pursuit of justice, it can be hard to explain how it does so-and thus hard to know how to deploy science most strategically.

In The Science of Repair, Gwen Ottinger draws on years of on-the-ground research to offer a much-needed explanation of how science works to combat injustice. Telling the stories of ordinary people who've turned to science in the hopes of reducing toxic pollution in their communities, the scientists and innovators who've developed methods to enable communities to better represent their experiences, and the charismatic technologies that they've deployed, Ottinger presents a surprising conclusion: proving that people have been harmed, in itself, rarely advances justice. The process of investigating injustice, on the other hand, can strengthen shared standards for right and wrong, increase ordinary people's ability to hold powerful actors accountable, and bolster hope that wrongs will be redressed-all essential elements of a just society.

For those who believe that science should matter to public discourse and decision-making, Gwen Ottinger's engaging new work offers clear steps to help ensure that scientific investigations further justice. It brings much needed nuance to our thinking about how science can do good in the world and why we should defend it.

--Marshal Zeringue

"You Did Nothing Wrong"

New from St. Martin's Press: You Did Nothing Wrong: A Novel by CG Drews.

About the book, from the publisher:

Domestic suspense meets haunted house horror in this adult debut from the New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In.

The walls are closing in on her perfect new life.

Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale. She’s met Bren, equal parts Golden-retriever-devoted and sinfully handsome. He’s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he’s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Until Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are “hurting” the house. Even Elodie can’t ignore it—something strange is going on.

The question is, Is it with the house, or with her son?

And what is Elodie hiding?

Visit CG Drews's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Unequal Worlds of Care"

New from the University of California Press: Unequal Worlds of Care: The Politics of Global Health in Malawi by Amy Zhou.

About the book, from the publisher:

Global health experts are optimistic that the end of AIDS is within reach. Yet while programs to combat HIV/AIDS have been essential, they exist alongside public healthcare systems that have struggled to gain donor attention and support. Unequal Worlds of Care examines how policymakers, providers, and patients in Malawi navigate a healthcare system transformed unevenly by foreign aid.

Whether through engaging in political resistance, refusing treatment, or leveraging the opportunities available to them, people contend with global health programs that only partially recognize their healthcare realities. Ultimately, overlooking fundamental aspects of healthcare limits even the best-intentioned efforts to improve people's health and well-being. Amy Zhou provides a comprehensive portrait of the human costs of institutional constraints―as well as the ingenuity and dignity of the people continuing to pursue care along these uncertain pathways.

Visit Amy Zhou's website.

--Marshal Zeringue