"The Art of Living Forever"

Coming November 3 from Orbit Books: The Art of Living Forever (The Sundered Gods, 1) by A. T. Rainach.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A centuries-old rivalry is reignited in A.T. Rainach’s dark romantasy debut, which follows the ancient God of War as he discovers the reincarnated soul of the woman he once loved.

He could never forget her. Not in any lifetime. Not even after a thousand years.

Grace is desperate to escape the future planned for her―a forced engagement to a vile English lord an ocean away―when a mysterious stranger who looks at her like he's known her for lifetimes catches her eye.

Aris is bound by a past he cannot escape. Haunted by a woman with eyes the same gray-blue as a raging sea, he is determined to have her back. No matter the cost.

But in the shadows of Napoleonic Europe, Grace finds herself caught between a love she is only beginning to understand and a darkness that has been waiting for her, setting off a millennia-old conflict between two powerful gods.

Visit A. T. Rainach's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"War in Pieces"

New from Rutgers University Press: War in Pieces: "War on Terror" Media and the Fracturing of American Identity by Renée Laurel Pastel.

About the book, from the publisher:

War in Pieces considers media representations of the first phase of the “War on Terror,” set between 2001 and 2013. The book argues that the central figures around which narratives of the conflicts cohered―the war journalist, the active-duty service member, the veteran, and the military family―served to mask the loss of the myth of a unified American national identity and embodied the negotiation of cultural anxieties. Offering a theory of narrative figuration that draws into conversation repetitions and differences across media forms (fiction and nonfiction films, television shows, and online videos), this book breaks down how these figures contributed to a continued sense of unified national identity even as different audiences came away with divergent understandings. This book frames these questions in terms of how US media packaged the “War on Terror” for future cultural memory even as the conflicts continued.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Thief of Hearts"

Coming November 1 from Montlake: Thief of Hearts (The Heart of the Goddess) by Sariah Wilson.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A battle-hardened warrior must ally with the cunning king of thieves to save innocent lives―even though trusting him could cost her everything in this thrilling fantasy romance by USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson.

Basileia has never lost a fight. Goddess-blessed and battle-hardened, she’s trained her whole life to lead her Thracian clan―until her mother names her sister as heir instead.

Desperate to change her mind, Basileia enters a deadly tournament in a hidden desert city. The prize: a diviner stone that can answer any question. But to claim it, she must survive brutal races, bloody combat, and fellow competitor Zain―the devastatingly roguish king of thieves, who’s far too willing to help.

Basileia doesn’t trust easily. And she definitely shouldn’t trust a thief whose every word might be a lie. But as the tournament’s dangers escalate and the attraction between them ignites, she begins to wonder if he might be the one person she can rely on.

Until he betrays her.

Furious but not broken, Basileia finds herself deep in the deadly Wastelands, where gods meddle with mortal lives and monsters guard a weapon that could save―or destroy―everything. To survive, she must give Zain what he doesn’t deserve: a second chance.

Visit Sariah Wilson's website.

The Page 69 Test: A Tribute of Fire.

My Book, The Movie: A Tribute of Fire.

Q&A with Sariah Wilson.

--Marshal Zeringue

"St. Joseph’s Day in New Orleans"

New from LSU Press: St. Joseph’s Day in New Orleans by Laura Guccione.

About the book, from the publisher:

St. Joseph’s Day in New Orleans investigates the origins and evolution of the St. Joseph’s Day holiday, revealing its deep connection to the mid-Lent celebration known as Mi-Carême. Initially conceived as a welcome break from Lent’s austerity, mid-Lent featured masked balls, dancing, and exuberant public revelry―traditions later associated solely with Mardi Gras. Through a meticulous review of historic newspaper accounts, archival resources, and city records, Laura Guccione shows that, in New Orleans, St. Joseph’s Day and mid-Lent were not separate observances but two names for the same festive occasion. In the city’s early and antebellum years, this holiday was a communitywide, inclusive event open to a broad cross section of residents.

After the Civil War and Reconstruction, these holidays changed, with celebrations shifting from public gatherings to private, exclusive balls. As Mardi Gras grew larger and more spectacular, gained cultural importance, and changed shape in response to an increasing Anglo-American influence, St. Joseph’s Day lost some of its prominence. Still, the holiday persisted as a more scattered, ethnically rooted tradition, gaining new meaning for groups whose histories have often been overlooked in mainstream narratives of New Orleans culture.

The participation of Black masking Indians, who have long taken to the streets on St. Joseph’s Night, can be traced to the holiday’s mid-Lent origins. Their celebrations are a form of cultural resistance, emphasizing visibility and pride in a city where Black contributions are often overlooked. The Baby Dolls and other culture bearers also contributed to this intricate mix of street performance and celebration over the long history of St. Joseph’s Day.

Sicilian immigrants in New Orleans, who connected the holiday to the feast day of Sicily’s patron saint, also played a major role in adapting and reshaping St. Joseph’s Day. Through the building of elaborate St. Joseph’s altars―traditions brought from Sicily to New Orleans―they found a meaningful way to place themselves within the city’s cultural scene. Although St. Joseph’s Day is often seen as a shared celebration between Black masking Indians and Sicilian Americans, Guccione argues that the two groups interpret the day differently: One sees it as part of mid-Lent, while the other views it as a sacred feast day. Despite these differences, both groups have historically used St. Joseph’s Day as a platform to assert identity, cultural resistance, and community pride.

Visit Laura Guccione's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Clear Water"

Coming November 3 from Flatiron Books: Clear Water: A Novel by Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes.

About the novel, from the publisher:

An atmospheric, mesmerizing novel following one woman’s return to her small town, and the secrets of its haunted past, perfect for fans of Liz Moore and Samantha Schweblin

Alma Figueroa is the first person to see a girl in white. Later, more people will claim to have seen the girls: in the snow, in the woods, in the middle of roads. The girls don’t speak, and they don’t match any of the files for the young women who have been disappearing from Brewer, Wisconsin, for years. Rumors quickly spread that these girls aren’t entirely real, that they are dangerous. But Alma knows what she saw, and she begins investigating.

Back in high school, Alma’s sister, Kayla, was a girl who disappeared, into an addiction that claimed her life. After that, Alma vowed she would never return to Brewer, but the town has always pulled her back. She fell in love with her husband here, until the darkness of their shared history overwhelmed them. As Alma’s investigation deepens, she begins to uncover secrets the community has been ignoring for too long. These secrets might be able to explain Kayla’s death and Alma’s heartbreak―if Alma can figure out what the girls are trying to tell her in time.

Shatteringly beautiful and bracing, raw with grief and love, Clear Water is the story of a woman undone, who is still determined to avenge her losses. Seamlessly interweaving mystery, noir, myth, and horror, this singular novel is a tour de force and a warning: the lost girls of Brewer will not be forgotten.

Visit Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Undersea War"

New from PublicAffairs: Undersea War: The Battle to Control the Cables and Pipelines That Connect Our World by Elisabeth Braw.

About the book, from the publisher:

How sabotage and disorder threaten the fragile network of undersea cables and pipelines that makes modern life possible—and how it may already be drawing the world into an all-out underwater war.

The world depends on a tangle of underwater tubes on the ocean floor. Every day undersea cables transmit nearly all the world’s data, while intercontinental pipelines convey two-thirds of the world’s oil and gas. They do their jobs so reliably that few would guess that “the cloud” is actually underwater, or that global economic stability relies on pipelines on the seafloor. But as award-winning security expert Elisabeth Braw reveals, an invisible battle over those cables and pipelines is ramping up.

Undersea War tells the story of the underwater infrastructure that supports everyday life. In 2022, after decades of seeming undersea harmony, two pipelines in the Baltic Sea mysteriously exploded. Within months, the cutting of the data links between Taiwan’s Matsu Islands’ and the world along with the the subsequent destruction of additional Baltic cables and a pipeline signaled that the harmony in the ocean depths was over. Superpowers are now racing to protect themselves as the seabed itself becomes a battlefield.

Blending engrossing historical narrative with acute strategic analysis, Undersea War shows that the next battle for global supremacy may unfold on the ocean floor.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Serial Killer Wanted"

New from Crooked Lane Books: Serial Killer Wanted: A Novel by Nika Grace.

About the novel, from the publisher:

You need to kill and I need to die. Let’s talk.

Dexter meets Killing Eve in this sapphic psychological suspense when a woman contemplating suicide posts an online ad for a serial killer.

Being a killer comes easy to Dani. So easy that it’s getting boring, in fact. But this girl isn’t taking orders from anybody, not even fate. If she’s going to keep up with the stab-and-shovel work, she’s going to create her own code for who deserves a medal or a bullet. When she happens across a Help Wanted ad that would allow her to do just that…she’s intrigued.

Jeika wants to die. Preferably, before the cops who are on her tail find the evidence to prove what she did. Except the only one who can help her do that is also the one who’s starting to make her life interesting again.

The last thing Dani expects is to fall for her next victim through the secret emails they share. But before they can decide if their new love is enough to change their very opposite fates, a twisted vigilante starts stalking them both.

They may not be ready to fight for themselves, but how far will they go to save each other?

With heart-pounding twists and deadpan snark, Serial Killer Wanted is a breathless binge-read for fans of They Never Learn and Butcher and Blackbird.

Visit Nika Grace's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Inventing the Calorie"

New from NYU Press: Inventing the Calorie: The Politics of Food in the Early Twentieth-Century US by Nina Mackert.

About the book, from the publisher:

Traces how the calorie became America’s way to quantify food, police bodies, and moralize behavior

From packaged foods, to lifestyle magazines, and public health discussions, calories are deeply woven into the fabric of everyday life. Promoted as a neutral scientific unit of measurement, they have come to measure more than food energy: from food value, to health, lifestyle, and even personal conduct.

Inventing the Calorie provides the first comprehensive history of the food calorie in the United States. Spanning the late 1880s to the 1930s, the book traces the calorie’s journey through labor disputes, scientific laboratories, wartime rationing, European food aid, and the rise of consumer culture, ending with the emergence of dieting as a popular practice. Nina Mackert explores how the calorie became regarded as not only a unit of measurement, but also a way of creating social differences as it translates to individual bodies and populations. It could address industrial productivity, racial improvement, colonial management, public health, and the anxieties of abundance.

By making food, bodies, and work measurable, the calorie offered a seemingly objective language for negotiating conflicts over the needs of workers, women, Black Americans, and aid recipients. In doing so, the calorie helped define the “consumer citizen” as responsible for managing diet, weight, and health―an ideal that fueled fat shaming and moralized body size while not challenging consumer capitalism. Shedding new light on the history of one of the most popular tools for dieting, Inventing the Calorie reveals how one small number transformed the way Americans think about food, bodies, health and citizenship, and why its legacy still shapes our most personal choices today.

Visit Nina Mackert's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Haunted Tapestry"

New from Severn House: The Haunted Tapestry (A Theatre of Thieves Mystery, 4) by Sarah Rayne.

About the book, from the publisher:

Scandal, lies and deceit await the thieving Fitzglens on their search for a legendary tapestry that is shrouded in secrecy in this fourth instalment of the compelling Theatre of Thieves gothic mystery series set in Victorian England.

A long-hidden secret will finally come to light – but at what cost?

London, 1910. Devastating news reaches the Fitzglens: the lease for the family’s theatre is about to expire and the secret freeholders, who demand an inordinate sum to sell, are none other than their long-time arch-enemies, the Gilfillans.

This dilemma calls for another big filch, and the legendary Silentium Tapestry is just the item to steal. But it’s said that the “Tapestry of Silence” was woven from the blood and guilt of murderers and that it depicts a highly delicate story full of lies and deceit.

Searching for the tapestry leads the Fitzglens to the dark and twisted history of 1820s London and to a Scottish castle that has a secret of its own. And if it’s to be believed, anyone who reaches the haunted tapestry is in danger of being confronted by its sinister guardian, and risks being silenced forever . . .

This atmospheric historical mystery from acclaimed British author Sarah Rayne will appeal to fans of Daphne du Maurier, Laura Purcell, Rebecca James, Sarah Waters and Stuart Turton.

Visit Sarah Rayne's website.

Writers Read: Sarah Rayne (November 2017).

The Page 69 Test: Chord of Evil.

The Page 69 Test: The Murder Dance.

Q&A with Sarah Rayne.

My Book, The Movie: Chalice of Darkness.

Writers Read: Sarah Rayne (February 2023).

The Page 69 Test: Chalice of Darkness.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Beyond Common Ground"

New from the University of California Press: Beyond Common Ground: How Everyday Places Solve Big Social Challenges by Daniel P. Aldrich.

About the book, from the publisher:

What if society could move past traditional "gray infrastructure" approaches like seawalls and prisons to address problems such as climate change, terrorism, and crime? In Beyond Common Ground, Daniel P. Aldrich argues that social infrastructure―physical and virtual spaces including parks, libraries, and radio programs―offers a more effective alternative by fostering coproduction and multiple benefits.

Drawing on qualitative and quantitative evidence from Africa, Asia, and North America, this book demonstrates how these systems build social capital and resilience and proposes practical policies for implementation. Beyond Common Ground positions social infrastructure as a "polysolution" for our interconnected crises, urging society to stop treating it as a Cinderella service and prioritize equitable distribution.

Visit Daniel P. Aldrich's website.

--Marshal Zeringue