"The Masquerade"

New from Yale Universty Press: The Masquerade: A History of Extravagance and Intrigue by Meghan Kobza.

About the book, from the publisher:

The first full history of an extraordinary eighteenth-century British entertainment

Glittering masquerades, held at the most fashionable London venues, dominated the calendars of the Georgian elite. A thrilling opportunity to gather, flirt, and consume, hosts such as “Empress of Pleasure” Teresa Cornelys welcomed the great and the good in elaborate costumes—including bear suits, harlequin outfits, or, in the case of Elizabeth Chudleigh, very little at all. The masquerade was a place of make-believe and revelry, and a party like no other.

Meghan Kobza invites us into these dazzling gatherings, and shows how they became a wider cultural obsession. Organised by wealthy impresarios, the masquerade allowed the aristocracy to flaunt their status and enjoy themselves behind the closed doors of opulent ballrooms, theatres, and gardens, dressed by an industry of ever more inventive habit makers. For the rest of society, the masquerade was notorious for mischief and misbehaviour, and a focus for voracious gossip.

Lavishly illustrated, full of life and originality, The Masquerade is a revelatory account of an event which captivates us to this day.

Visit Meghan Kobza's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Death at King's Cross"

Coming July 21 from Crooked Lane Books: Death at King's Cross: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery by Rosanne Limoncelli.

About the book, from the publisher:

DCI Lilian Wyles is confronted by a troubling case, one that only the four queens of crime can help solve—even amidst the ongoing war efforts.

Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh are back in the follow-up novel to The Four Queens of Crime.

1941, London. When DCI Lilian Wyles finds a young woman murdered at King's Cross Station, she needs the help of someone she can trust, but Richard Davidson, her former Scotland Yard partner, has joined MI5 and is busy tracking black market routes outside of London, so for now, she is on her own.

After having met the four queens of crime during a murder investigation two years earlier, DCI Wyles has kept in touch. But Agatha, Dorothy, Margery, and Ngaio are all involved in the war effort and have problems of their own.

Agatha is volunteering at the University Hospital Pharmacy, where a dangerous anesthetic has been stolen. Dorothy has heard unsettling information from her connections at the BBC regarding members of the Royal Navy. Margery, who has been in the countryside helping families escape the city from the bombing, is worried about one of her charges whose older sister has gone missing. And Ngaio, who has relocated to New Zealand and is volunteering as an ambulance driver, has begun gathering secret intelligence from wounded soldiers and sailors that may put her in danger.

When the four queens contact DCI Wyles for help, the information they share makes the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. DCI Wyles once again finds herself collaborating with her old partners in crime to solve the mystery and close the case in this thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Nicola Upson and Anna Lee Huber.

Visit Rosanne Limoncelli's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Four Queens of Crime.

The Page 69 Test: The Four Queens of Crime.

Q&A with Rosanne Limoncelli.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Wreck of the Mentor"

New from Liveright: The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail by Eric Jay Dolin.

About the book, from the publisher:

An astonishing true story―one of the most gripping maritime sagas of the nineteenth century―told by our era’s “expert literary steersman” (Washington Post).

From the best–selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters comes the story of the American whaleship Mentor, wrecked in 1832 on a remote reef in the western Pacific. With supplies dwindling, the eleven surviving crewmen face not only the miseries of shipwreck in unfamiliar territory but also the profound uncertainty of contact with the Indigenous people of the Micronesian archipelago of Palau, who within days approach the deserted men brandishing axes, clubs, and spears. In this gripping saga of cultural collision, tribal wars, and dashed hopes, award–winning historian Eric Jay Dolin vividly reconstructs the Mentor’s doomed voyage, the years of perilous captivity, and the delicate negotiations and fraught naval rescue mission that followed.

Illustrated by more than 100 images and maps, The Wreck of the Mentor is at once a powerful story of survival and a revealing window into the great Age of Sail a time when maritime ambition collided with local sovereignty, and when the outcome of one voyage rippled across oceans and empires.

Visit Eric Jay Dolin's website.

The Page 99 Test: Fur, Fortune, and Empire.

The Page 99 Test: When America First Met China.

The Page 69 Test: Brilliant Beacons.

The Page 99 Test: Brilliant Beacons.

The Page 99 Test: Black Flags, Blue Waters.

The Page 99 Test: A Furious Sky.

Writers Read: Eric Jay Dolin (May 2022).

The Page 99 Test: Rebels At Sea.

The Page 99 Test: Left For Dead.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Driftwood Bones"

New from Thomas & Mercer: The Driftwood Bones (Detective Tommy Kelly) by Peter Colt.

About the book, from the publisher:

A compromised homicide detective must confront his professional and personal risks when a woman is murdered on Nantucket Island in a gripping novel by the author of Cold Island.

Detective Tommy Kelly has been exiled to Nantucket as the island’s lone state trooper―punishment for professional misconduct that left him isolated, bitter, and relegated to traffic violations. For a homicide detective, there isn’t much to do in a place others call paradise. Until a young woman is found floating in the harbor in Pocomo.

The case forces Tommy to partner again with NPD detective Jo Harris, reopening wounds from their shared past and reminding him of everything he destroyed. Keeping things professional and by the book, they quickly identify the victim―a house cleaner―and close in on their prime suspect. But the investigation takes an unexpected turn. So does Tommy’s judgment when he reignites an affair with a married college acquaintance.

As Tommy and Jo follow an unexpected twist in the case, they discover that beneath Nantucket’s pristine beaches and old-money elegance, something dark is festering. And it’s about to surface.

Visit Peter Colt's website.

My Book, The Movie: Back Bay Blues.

The Page 69 Test: Back Bay Blues.

Q&A with Peter Colt.

The Page 69 Test: Death at Fort Devens.

My Book, The Movie: Death at Fort Devens.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (June 2022).

My Book, The Movie: The Ambassador.

The Page 69 Test: The Ambassador.

The Page 69 Test: The Judge.

My Book, The Movie: The Judge.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (May 2024).

Writers Read: Peter Colt (March 2025).

My Book, The Movie: The Banker.

The Page 69 Test: The Banker.

The Page 69 Test: Cold Island.

Writers Read: Peter Colt (September 2025).

My Book, The Movie: Cold Island.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Waning of Wisdom"

New from Cambridge University Press: The Waning of Wisdom: The Psychology of Reasoning in the Post-Truth Era by E. Michael Nussbaum.

About the book, from the publisher:

In an era of rampant misinformation, conspiracy theories, and political polarization, this book confronts the paradox between rational models of human cognition and seemingly irrational behavior. Drawing on cutting-edge research in psychology and other social sciences, it explores practical tools such as fostering digital literacy and cultivating 'wise deliberative spaces' grounded in argument, perspective taking, and moral inquiry. Written for graduate students, researchers, and general readers, E. Michael Nussbaum provides an accessible introduction to contemporary models of reasoning, motivation, and dialogue. With chapters on truth, talk, trust, and thinking, the volume presents a revised model of dual-process theory, linking it to deliberative dialogue while integrating insights from education, communication studies, philosophy, and political science. The result is a timely vision of cautious optimism for navigating today's post-truth challenges.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Whose Body in the Library"

New from Crooked Lane Books: Whose Body in the Library: A Lighthouse Library Mystery by Eva Gates.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A new librarian’s first day goes terribly wrong when she finds a dead body on the front steps of the library.

In the thirteenth installment of the beloved Lighthouse Library mysteries, a new character takes the reins.

While Lucy McNeil is enjoying her new job as the mother of twin boys and library director, new librarian Nichelle Gilchrest has just arrived at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, reporting for duty. But life throws a wrench on Nichelle’s first day when she finds a body on the steps—a body that bears a startling resemblance to her father, who disappeared on a fishing trip to the Outer Banks thirty-eight years ago.

Fingerprints confirm the dead body is indeed Nichelle’s father, now living in Nags Head under the name Brian Saunders. Brian had been befriending older lonely women in exchange for money, but was he working alone?

Detective Rhonda Thomas is on the case, and the suspect list is only getting longer. Sorting through the wronged women and their relatives, Detective Thomas discovers Nichelle’s own brother, Brad, had been in Nags Head a few days before the murder happened and has been lying about his whereabouts.

Hoping to clear her brother’s name, Nichelle decides to investigate what happened. With seasoned sleuth Lucy’s gentle encouragement for the amateur, Nichelle is in for an exciting and dangerous first week at the library.

Follow Eva Gates on Facebook, and visit Vicki Delany's website.

The Page 69 Test: Death By Beach Read.

Writers Read: Eva Gates (June 2022).

The Page 69 Test: Death Knells and Wedding Bells.

Writers Read: Eva Gates (June 2023).

Writers Read: Eva Gates (May 2024).

The Page 69 Test: The Stranger in the Library.

The Page 69 Test: Shot Through the Book.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Print for the Pocket"

New from Oxford University Press: Print for the Pocket: Circulation, Scale, and Nineteenth-Century Imaginaries of the Book by Madeline Lee Zehnder.

About the book, from the publisher:

In Print for the Pocket, Madeline Zehnder examines how nineteenth-century Americans understood a common but often overlooked feature of their publishing landscape: the pocket-sized book.

Analyzing archival print artifacts alongside both major and little-known texts, Print for the Pocket argues that the material properties of small, portable books offered Americans conceptual frameworks as well as practical resources for grappling with challenges posed by their country's vast and growing size. During the early nineteenth century, the territorial growth and rapidly expanding population of the United States intensified national anxieties about cultural and social cohesion. For many nineteenth-century commentators, pocket-sized books suitable for carrying close to the body promised both to ease movement across long distances and to choreograph the opinions and embodied behaviors of newly dispersed reading audiences.

Reassessing longstanding scholarly associations between increased print circulation and liberal progress, this study of early American print cultures shows how books designed “for the pocket” inspired fantasies as well as practices of nineteenth-century spatial and population management. Its chapters shed light on diverse American reading audiences-from children to soldiers-while illuminating pivotal national sites ranging from the frontier to the Union Army camp. Although rhetoric of the great and vast has dominated understandings of American literature and culture, Print for the Pocket establishes smallness as a concept deserving of fresh critical attention.

Visit Madeline Lee Zehnder's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Beauty of the Days Gone By"

New from Atlantic Montly Press: The Beauty of the Days Gone By: A Novel by Jason Stone.

About the book, from the publisher:

1866. On a sun-drenched stretch of West Texas prairie, the Terry brothers are playing near their family ranch when a Kiowa war party suddenly descends. Former Texas Ranger RL Terry returns to total devastation: his home in flames, his wife Sally mortally wounded, and his two boys carried off into captivity.

With the help of his close friend, the great cattleman Charles Goodnight, Terry begins a relentless search for his missing sons. He rides across the vast Southern plains and into the heartland of the Comanche Empire, where buffalo hunters massacre the great herds that once blackened the horizon and soldiers under Colonel Ranald Mackenzie wage brutal campaigns to exterminate the tribes. Meanwhile, Terry’s eldest, Sam, realizes that if he is to survive his captivity, he must abandon his old life for a new one. Under the tutelage of the legendary Comanche chief Quanah Parker, he takes a new name and slowly learns the ways of a proud, embattled people.

Years pass. Track is laid, fences go up, and reservation lines redraw the map of the West. Sam forgets the world of his childhood, and father and son find themselves on opposite sides of an existential conflict. Their paths are destined to cross at the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon, where the captured horse herds are slaughtered by the thousands and the fate of the Comanche nation hangs in the balance.

The story unfolds across two eras: the brutal post–Civil War frontier and the 1920s, where an aging Goodnight is cared for by a devoted young woman and a historian determined to record his memories. As they draw out his stories of blazing the Goodnight-Loving Trail and settling the land once known as Comancheria, the old plainsman reflects on the clash of cultures that defined the American West—and must at last confront the full truth of what passed between him and his old friend RL Terry.

Visit Jason Stone's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Stay Tuned"

New from Rutgers University Press: Stay Tuned: Listening to the Network Era by Patrick Sullivan.

About the book, from the publisher:

Since the 1950s, television flooded the American soundscape with not just pictures but sounds, a constant aural stream infiltrating domestic life. In Stay Tuned, Patrick Sullivan treats network-era television sound not as background noise or auxiliary signal but as a formative texture of aesthetic life in postwar America. He theorizes how television’s sonic forms―asynchronous audiovisuals, noises, affective rhythms, what he collectively terms “network aurality”―trouble traditional aesthetic theory. Stay Tuned takes up critiques of television sound and repurposes them as evidence of a deeper philosophical discomfort: Namely, that television sound does something to aesthetic categories that they weren’t built to handle. From the laugh track to the cartoon “boinks,” from noises to the jingle, Sullivan reads television sounds not as cultural detritus but as formal interventions―forcing a redefinition of what aesthetics means when form is mass-produced, commercial, and built for syndication. What emerges is not just a new theory and history of television sound but a reimagined account of aesthetic experience itself―expanded, recalibrated, and a little wacky.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Every Lie I Told"

New from Blackstone: Every Lie I Told by Hilary Davidson.

About the novel, from the publisher:

From bestselling and award-winning author Hilary Davidson, Every Lie I Told is a propulsive, twisty thriller about the devastating consequences of the lies we tell to protect others--and ourselves.

How far would you go to protect a killer?

Jackie Swift does whatever it takes to succeed. At work, she spins lies to protect questionable clients at a shady public-relations firm. At home, she helps her younger sister, Madi, evade consequences for dangerous choices she's made about friends and drugs. But Jackie's professional and personal worlds collide one night when she gets a call from Madi telling her she overdosed. Rushing to the rescue, Jackie stumbles on an awful scene at an Upper East Side mansion. Madi is nowhere to be found, but she's left behind a dead body.

Worse for Jackie, she knows the dead man all too well: He's her former boss and mentor, and she's been paid to cover up his crimes in the past.

Jackie is willing to do anything to protect her missing sister, even as the NYPD builds a case against Madi, who may be involved in the deaths of other sexually abusive men. As Jackie searches for her sister--and sets up plausible suspects to take Madi's place in the eyes of the police--she's haunted by the terrible things she's done in service of her career. And she soon discovers there are people who've been waiting in the shadows for a chance to take her down.

Visit the official Hilary Davidson site.

The Page 69 Test: The Damage Done.

The Page 69 Test: Blood Always Tells.

The Page 69 Test: One Small Sacrifice.

Writers Read: Hilary Davidson (July 2019).

The Page 69 Test: Don't Look Down.

The Page 69 Test: Her Last Breath.

Q&A with Hilary Davidson.

--Marshal Zeringue