"Murder, Local Style"

New from Severn House: Murder, Local Style (An Orchid Isle Mystery, 3) by Leslie Karst.

About the book, from the publisher:

Retired caterer Valerie Corbin investigates a suspicious poisoning in this Orchid Isle cozy culinary mystery, featuring a feisty queer couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions in tropical Hilo, Hawai‘i.

A dinner to die for!

It’s been an eventful transition, but retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen are finally settling into life on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Val’s even joined the neighborhood orchid society to make some new friends. So when she’s asked to step in to cater their latest social event, as the newbie of the group she can’t exactly say no.

But what should have been a straightforward gig is soon a dining disaster when the food from th

e event poisons and kills the society president. As Val herself becomes a suspect in the murder investigation, she’s determined to uncover the truth. Who would want to kill the mild-mannered president of the orchid society?

Turns out the list is longer than a celebrity chef's tasting menu. Apparently some of the residents did not

"love thy neighbor." Can she reveal the killer’s identity before they strike again?

This mouthwatering cozy mystery is perfect for fans of Ellen Byron, Jennifer J Chow, Lucy Burdette, and Raquel V Re

yes, and includes a selection of delicious Hawaiian recipes to cook at home.

Visit Leslie Karst’s website.

Coffee with a Canine: Leslie Karst & Ziggy.

My Book, The Movie: The Fragrance of Death.

Q&A with Leslie Karst.

The Page 69 Test: Waters of Destruction.

My Book, The Movie: Waters of Destruction.

Writers Read: Leslie Karst (April 2025).

--Marshal Zeringue

"Smog and Sunshine"

New from the University of California Press: Smog and Sunshine: The Surprising Story of How Los Angeles Cleaned Up Its Air by Ann Carlson.

About the book, from the publisher:

A stirring account of one of our greatest environmental success stories: cleaning up Southern California's air.

Los Angeles and smog have been synonymous for decades. From the 1940s through the 1980s, children breathed air so heavy with lead that their blood was poisoned with it. In 1970 officials declared smog alerts on 235 days. But the last smog alert happened in 2003, and lead has virtually disappeared from the air. This is the story of how Los Angeles cleaned up its air.

In Smog and Sunshine, environmental law expert and LA native Ann Carlson recounts the dramatic policy fights and the determined scientists, lawyers, and community members who worked alongside public officials to face off against major polluters and save their city. In a time of unprecedented climate change and skepticism about government and science, this book is an inspiring reminder of what concerned residents, individual leaders, and all levels of government can achieve by working together.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Underlake"

New from Doubleday: Underlake: A Novel by Erin L. McCoy.

About the novel, from the publisher:

When a mother claims her missing daughter is alive beneath a lake in a flooded valley, a marine biologist descends into a hidden underwater settlement where those who refused to leave have built a sealed-off world—and where the consequences of that choice are beginning to surface.

Twelve years ago, Otta escaped her small town, determined to become a marine biologist. Now she’s returned, carrying the guilt of a friend’s disappearance during a deep-sea dive and unsure she’ll ever be able to dive again. Then a stranger, May, appears at her door, insisting that her daughter who ran away is under the nearby lake—alive.

It turns out the small-town legend is true: Three decades ago, the entire valley was flooded to build a dam, but the people who lived there refused to leave. These “refugees of a world obsessed with change” now inhabit an underwater realm. To find the missing girl, Otta and May come face-to-face with communities that have lived in isolation for decades, breeding extremes of delusion and nostalgia. As they push their bodies to the mortal limit, the women must confront the fear, control, and suspicion born of the misguided quest to construct a purer world.

Hypnotic and arresting, Underlake brings a poet’s attention to language, evoking the ethereal work of Marilynne Robinson, Lauren Groff, and Emily St. John Mandel and the imaginative brio of Margaret Atwood. In taking her place as a major new voice in American fiction, McCoy shrewdly explores the American obsession with land, inheritance, and race, asking what we cling to when the world changes—and who gets erased in the name of preserving it.

Visit Erin L. McCoy's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship"

New from Oxford University Press: Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants by Anna O. Law.

About the book, from the publisher:

Since the late nineteenth century, the US federal government has enjoyed exclusive authority to decide whether someone has the ability to enter and stay in US territory. But freedom of movement was not guaranteed in the British colonies or early US. By contrast, voluntary migrants were met with strict laws and policies created by colonies and states, which denied free mobility and settlement in their territories to unwanted populations.

Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship presents a story of constitutional development that traces the confluence of the logics of slavery and settler colonialism in early legal rulings and public policy about migration and citizenship. The book examines the division of labor between the national and state governments that endured for over a century, reasons why that arrangement changed in the late nineteenth century, and what the transformation meant for people subject to those regimes of control. Drawing into one study the migration policy histories of groups of people that are usually studied separately, and combining the methodologies of political science, history, and law, Anna O. Law reveals the unmistakable effects of slavery and Native American dispossession in modern US immigration policy.

Visit Anna O. Law's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Hold on to Tomorrow"

New from Severn House: Hold on to Tomorrow by M. B. Henry.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A young woman fights to follow her dreams at the start of the 1960s in this gripping, moving, and empowering read.

November 22, 1963. As Jolene Johnson prepares to watch President John F. Kennedy’s parade drive by the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas, she remembers the start of the decade, when the future seemed full of promise and hope.

America was on the brink of change when JFK entered the White House, and Jolene was in college with ambitions of her own. But she had no idea of the struggles that were to come...

As Jolene witnesses the country’s deep political divisions take the darkest of turns on that tragic day, can she somehow find the courage to keep her own dreams alive and follow her heart?

This enthralling, hopeful novel about a young woman's determination to fight for a brighter future against a backdrop of political turmoil and tragedy is a great read for fans of The Women by Kristin Hannah.

Visit M. B. Henry's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Early Tibetan Practice of Buddhist Philosophy"

New from the University of Virginia Press: The Early Tibetan Practice of Buddhist Philosophy: Metaphysics, Argumentation, and Identity in Rongzom's Dzokchen by Dominic Di Zinno Sur.

About the book, from the publisher:

Identifying the roots of the Tibetan Practice of Buddhist Philosophy in one seminal text

When, and why, did Tibetans first begin to practice Buddhist philosophy? What was the impetus behind this pivotal cultural development, now so inextricable from Tibetan identity? Dominic Sur illuminates this defining historical moment with his examination of the emergence of early dzokchen philosophy, a distinctive style of Buddhist thought and practice characteristic of Tibet. Sur offers a groundbreaking analysis of the form and content of Entering the Way of the Great Vehicle—Tibetan Buddhism’s first polemical apology, in which the great eleventh-century translator and polymath Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo presented a creative and masterful philosophical defense of authenticity and authority in Tibetan dzokchen—and documents the historical context and ideas that informed Rongzom’s foundational work. This is the authoritative intellectual history of the early Tibetan practice of Buddhist philosophy and the development of dzokchen, one that establishes Sur’s status as a leading voice in the field.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Twist in the River"

Coming June 23 from Harper Perennial: A Twist in the River: A Jake Jackson Mystery by Stig Abell.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Former London detective Jake Jackson finds his new life in the country threatened when women start disappearing in this beautifully written and deeply immersive novel that will challenge even the most diehard mystery lover’s deductive skills.

A beautiful summer’s day

When young nurse Claire Davidson goes missing on the riverbank, the only clues left behind are her phone and shoes.

A mystery that sweeps the nation

People disappear all the time, but this case sparks an online frenzy. Amateur investigators descend on the rural idyll. Everyone has a theory. Is Claire Davidson just the story of a swim that went wrong, or could there be truth to the conspiracies?

A killer growing bolder

But when another woman is discovered dead in the river, signs point to murder. Jake Jackson, a former detective who came to the countryside searching for peace, must investigate before more lives are taken.

Follow Stig Abell on Instagram and Threads.

Q&A with Stig Abell.

The Page 69 Test: The Burial Place.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Intentionally Infecting Humans: Is it Ethical?"

New from Oxford University Press: Intentionally Infecting Humans: Is it Ethical? by Seema K. Shah.

About the book, from the publisher:

In controlled human infection (CHI) research, researchers intentionally expose people to pathogens to gain scientific insights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, proposals to use CHI research to speed up vaccine development captured public imagination and bioethicists’ attention, with more papers written on the ethics of CHI research than ever before.

Intentionally Infecting Humans: Is it Ethical? argues that ongoing ethical controversy about CHI research is fuelled by fundamental confusion. This book draws on past uses and abuses of CHI research, the experiences of volunteers, and social psychology research to help explain the status of these studies in the public imagination. It then provides an ethical framework for these studies, demonstrating that the biggest ethical challenge with this research is when scientists determine how to infect humans for the first time in a novel CHI model. Once a model has been shown to be safe and reliable, it is much less controversial to use CHI models in studies that can, for example, test new vaccines and treatments. Furthermore, given the time it takes to create a safe and reliable model, CHI research is not the "silver bullet" for vaccine development some promised during the COVID-19 pandemic but still may be a smart investment in the longer term. Distinguishing types of CHI research that raise more and less ethical concern also helps clarify when CHI research can be used by low- and middle-income countries embarking on new research programs, and for populations traditionally considered "vulnerable." The book leaves the reader with a richer understanding of the history that feeds into ongoing controversies over CHI research, ways that CHI research could be deployed ethically to enhance preparedness for future pandemics and address neglected diseases, and ideas to help resolve longstanding debates in research ethics more generally.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Faces of the Dead"

New from Severn House: The Faces of the Dead (A Cathy Marsden Thriller) by Chris Nickson.

About the book, from the publisher:

Sergeant Cathy Marsden investigates the death of a local gangster in WWII Leeds.

Leeds, 1944. Cathy Marsden’s happiness at her boyfriend Tom’s brief leave from the army and marriage proposal is short-lived as she embarks on a new case in the Special Investigation Branch.

Eric Carr, a local gangster, is dead after crashing his car on the outskirts of Leeds. Not only that, but an alarming discovery is made in the boot: weapons, including guns, stolen from a US military base, to be sold on the black market.

Was the crash simply an accident, or something more sinister? One thing’s for sure – Eric’s death has set a chain of murder and gangland chaos in motion. As the number of people disappearing increases, and men start dying, Cathy must work out who is pulling the strings, and why.

This fast-paced and twisty World War II thriller is perfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Rhys Bowen and Kelly Rimmer.

Visit Chris Nickson's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Constant Lovers.

The Page 69 Test: The Constant Lovers.

The Page 69 Test: The Iron Water.

The Page 69 Test: The Hanging Psalm.

Q&A with Chris Nickson.

The Page 69 Test: The Molten City.

My Book, The Movie: Molten City.

Writers Read: Chris Nickson (August 2021).

The Page 69 Test: Brass Lives.

The Page 69 Test: The Blood Covenant.

The Page 69 Test: The Dead Will Rise.

Writers Read: Chris Nickson (March 2023).

The Page 69 Test: Rusted Souls.

Writers Read: Chris Nickson (September 2023).

The Page 69 Test: The Scream of Sins.

Writers Read: Chris Nickson (March 2024).

The Page 69 Test: Them Without Pain.

Writers Read: Chris Nickson (September 2024).

Writers Read: Chris Nickson (March 2025).

The Page 69 Test: No Precious Truth.

--Marshal Zeringue

"American Bacon"

New from the University of Georgia Press: American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon by Mark A. Johnson.

About the book, from the publisher:

In American Bacon, Mark A. Johnson asks (and answers) a seemingly simple question: How has bacon overcome centuries of religious prohibition, cultural contempt, and dietary advice to become a twenty-first-century culinary and cultural powerhouse? Starting in early modern Britain and tracing the story of bacon through the colonial era, Civil War, Progressive Era, modern fad diets, and the emerging craft bacon industry, Johnson provides a new perspective on some familiar American narratives. More than a story of production, marketing, and consumption, Johnson argues, this cultural history connects bacon to race, class, and gender while also illuminating major historical forces, such as migration, warfare, urbanization and suburbanization, reform movements, cultural trends, and globalization. For Johnson, bacon’s story from “most dangerous food in the supermarket” to pop culture and gastronomic phenomenon reflects the cultural values of a nation.

--Marshal Zeringue