"The Banker"

New from Severn House: The Banker (An Andy Roark mystery, 6) by Peter Colt.

About the book, from the publisher:

Embezzlement, murder, and beautiful women . . . Andy Roark, Vietnam veteran turned private investigator is on the case in this thrilling hardboiled mystery that’s perfect for fans of Robert B. Parker and Jeremiah Healy.

Boston, 1986. Spring in Boston is always a miserable affair, and Andy Roark’s latest case offers nothing to raise his spirits. The ex-military operative turned private investigator has been hired by a bank president to investigate three of his staff. One of them has embezzled over two million dollars – and Brock wants Roark to find out who’s living above their means.

Sounds exciting enough, but after two weeks' tedious surveillance uncovers a grand total of nothing, Roark gives it up as a bad job. Brock needs a forensic accountant on the case, not a PI.

But several weeks later, the bank is held up, and one of Brock’s suspects is murdered by the robber. Is there a connection? Roark can’t see how, but he’s never been a fan of coincidence.

With the case niggling at him, he relaunches an investigation on his own dime. Soon he’s rubbing shoulders with some very shady characters – and trying his best not just to solve the case, but also to come out of it alive.

Written by a US Army veteran and New England police officer, the Andy Roark mystery series will appeal to fans of classic private detective novels, packed with wry humor, unexpected twists and explosive scenes.

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).

--Marshal Zeringue

"Gendering Secession"

New from Cambridge University Press: Gendering Secession: White Women and Politics in South Carolina, 1859–1861 by Melissa DeVelvis.

About the book, from the publisher:

Gendering Secession explores the lives and politics of South Carolina's elite white women from 1859 to 1861. The political drama that unfolded during the secession crisis of 1860 has long captured our attention, but scant regard has been paid to the secessionist women themselves. These women were astute political observers and analysts who filtered their “improper” political ideas through avenues gendered as feminine and therefore socially acceptable. In recreating the rhythms of the year 1860, Melissa DeVelvis spotlights the moments when women realized that national events were too overwhelming to dismiss. Women processed these changes through religious metaphor and prophecy, comparisons to history and the American Revolution, and language borrowed from popular novels. Drawing from emotions history, literary analysis, and even handwriting analysis, DeVelvis reveals how these fiercely patriotic South Carolinian women responded to threats of disunion with fears and misgivings that men would or could not express.

Visit Melissa DeVelvis's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Falling Overboard"

New from Montlake: Falling Overboard by Sariah Wilson.

About the book, from the publisher:

Forbidden love on the sun-kissed Mediterranean. Regardless of the risks, it’s easy to get swept away in a breathtaking romance by Sariah Wilson, the USA Today bestselling author of Hypnotized by Love.

Lucky Salerno’s dream is to own a bakery. To earn enough money to achieve it, she has secured a lucrative job as chief stewardess on a superyacht cruising the Mediterranean. Aboard the ship, there’s one unbreakable rule: no hookups among the crew. No problem. The last thing Lucky has time for is a man. Then she meets Hunter Smith, the gorgeous new deckhand sharing her cabin. Is the universe trying to test her willpower?

Who needs the drama that comes with a relationship? Not Hunter. Who can ignore a witty, beautiful bunkmate like Lucky? Also not Hunter. There’s something just as enticing for Lucky: a tantalizing mystery behind Hunter’s piercing blue eyes she can’t wait to solve. But at what risk?

As they get to know each other, a secret romance buds at sea, and Lucky has to choose. Abide by the rules to make her career dreams come true, or pursue her love for Hunter―another dream that’s just as near to her heart.

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

"Death Is Our Business"

New from Bloomsbury: Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare by John Lechner.

About the book, from the publisher:

From John Lechner, "an amazingly bold reporter" (Adam Hochschild), the shocking inside story of how the Wagner Group made private military companies inextricable from Russia's anti-Western foreign strategy.

In 2014, a well-trained, mysterious band of mercenaries arrived in Ukraine, part of Russia's first attempt to claim the country as its own. Upon ceasefire, the “Wagner Group” faded back into shadow, only to reemerge in the Middle East, where they'd go toe-to-toe with the U.S., and in Africa, where they'd earn praise for “tough measures” against insurgencies yet spark outrage for looting, torture, and civilian deaths. As Russia gained a foothold of influence abroad, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as “Putin's Chef,” went from caterer to commander to single greatest threat Putin has faced in his over-twenty-year rule.

Dually armed with military and strategic prowess, the Wagner Group created a new market in a vast geopolitical landscape increasingly receptive to the promises of private actors. In this trailblazing account of the Group's origins and operations, John Lechner-the only journalist to report across its many warzones-brings us on the ground to witness Wagner partner with fragile nation states, score access to natural resources, oust peacekeeping missions, and cash in on conflicts reframed as Kremlin interests. After rebelling, Prigozhin faced an epic demise-but Wagner lives on, its political, business, and military ventures a pillar of Russian operations the world over.

Featuring exclusive interviews with over thirty Wagner Group members, Death Is Our Business is the terrifying true tale of the renegade militia that proved global instability is nothing if not an opportunity.

Visit John Lechner's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Serial Killer Support Group"

New from Crooked Lane Books: Serial Killer Support Group: A Novel by Saratoga Schaefer.

About the book, from the publisher:

After her sister is murdered, a woman infiltrates a support group for serial killers in this biting queer feminist debut thriller, perfect for fans of The Final Girl Support Group and My Sister, the Serial Killer.

When Cyra Griffin’s younger sister is murdered by a serial killer, Cyra knows better than to expect justice from the hands of the police department. With the investigation already dying its own slow death, Cyra follows the blood trail and finds her own way forward.

Using insider information (don’t ask), Cyra infiltrates a support group for serial killers by pretending to be one herself in the hopes of finding the person who ended her sister’s life. Proving herself to them comes at a cost, but it’s one Cyra is willing to pay in the name of revenge.

But the dangerous men in the group aren’t the only obstacle in Cyra’s path for vengeance, and the further Cyra descends into the deadly world of serial killers, the harder it becomes to hold on to her own humanity.

This dark, witty debut novel is a cunning homage to women’s wrongs that will have you wondering exactly how many monsters walk unseen among us.

Visit Saratoga Schaefer's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Shakespeare and the Law"

New from Oxford University Press: Shakespeare and the Law by Gary Watt.

About the book, from the publisher:

Shakespeare and the Law appreciates Shakespeare and his works as expressions of an English early modern culture in which the shared rhetorical practices of dramatists and lawyers were informed by the renaissance of classical practice. It argues that Shakespeare was not primarily concerned with the technical accuracy of law, legal ideas, and legal performances, but with their capacity to generate dramatic interest through dispute, trial, the breaking of bonds, and the bending of rules. It follows that all Shakespeare's plays are in a sense “law plays”. Rhetorical practices can emerge as performances of power, but in Shakespeare's works they show more as instances of the human instinct to challenge power by playing with rules. Shakespeare employs the special magic of legal language, actions, and materials to conjure playgoers to act as a critical jury to events transacted on stage. This calls for close attention to Shakespeare's poetic sound effects and the ways they prompt audiences to confer a fair hearing.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Everybody Says It's Everything"

New from Random House: Everybody Says It's Everything: A Novel by Xhenet Aliu.

About the book, from the publisher:

In this unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Brass, twins growing up in the United States in the nineties unravel larger truths about identity and sibling bonds when one of them gets wrapped up in the war in Kosovo.

Raised in Connecticut, adopted twins Drita and Petrit (aka Pete) had no connection to their Albanian heritage. Their lives were all about Barbie dolls, the mall, and roller skating at the local rink. Although they were inseparable during their childhood, their paths diverged once they became teenagers: Drita was a good girl with good manners who was going to attend a good college; Pete was a bad boy going nowhere fast. Even their twinhood was not enough to keep them together.

Fast-forward to their twenties. Drita has given up on her dreams for the future, abandoning her graduate studies to move back home and take care of their mother. She hasn’t heard from Pete in three years when his girlfriend and their son unexpectedly show up without him and in need of help. Realizing that Pete’s child may offer the siblings a second chance at being family, Drita becomes determined to find her brother. But what she ends up discovering—about their connection to their Albanian roots, the war in Kosovo, and the story of their adoption—will surprise everyone, and become what brings them together, or tears them apart for good.

In Everybody Says It’s Everything, critically acclaimed author Xhenet Aliu tells the story of a family both fractured and foundering, desperate to connect with the other and the world at large, but not knowing how.

Visit Xhenet Aliu's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Novel Ecologies"

New from the University of Chicago Press: Novel Ecologies: Nature Remade and the Illusions of Tech by Allison Carruth.

About the book, from the publisher:

Tracing the convergence of ecology and engineering over the last three decades, this book pinpoints a new environmental paradigm that the author calls Nature Remade.

Allison Carruth’s Novel Ecologies shows how the tech industry has taken up the wilderness mythologies that shaped one strain of American environmentalism over the last century. Calling this twenty-first-century environmental imagination Nature Remade, Carruth describes a distinctly West Coast framework that is at once nostalgic and futuristic. Through three case studies (synthetic wildlife, the digital cloud, and space colonization), the book shows Nature Remade to be a quasi-religious belief in venture capitalism and big tech. This paradigm thus imagines a future in which species, ecosystems, and entire planets are re-generated and re-created through engineering.

Novel Ecologies challenges the conviction that climate change and other environmental crises must be met with ever larger-scale forms of technological intervention. Against the new worlds conjured by Google, Meta, Open AI, Amazon, SpaceX, and a host of lesser-known start-ups, Carruth marshals writers and artists who imagine provisionally hopeful environmental futures while refusing to forget the histories that have made the world what it is. On this track of the book, Carruth discusses the works of Octavia Butler, Becky Chambers, Jennifer Egan, Ruth Ozeki, Craig Santos Perez, Tracy K. Smith, Jeff VanderMeer, Saya Woolfalk, and many more. Their novels, poems, installation artworks, and expressive media offer a speculative world built on livable communities rather than engineered lifeforms.

Visit Allison Carruth's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Splinter Effect"

New from Minotaur Books: Splinter Effect: A Novel by Andrew Ludington.

Anout the book, from the publisher:

In Splinter Effect, an action-packed debut by Andrew Ludington, time traveling archaeologist Rabbit Ward maneuvers through the past to recover a long-lost, precious menorah hidden in ancient Rome.

Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward travels through time on sponsored expeditions to the past to secure precious artifacts moments before they are lost to history. Although exceptional at his job, Rabbit is not without faults. In a spectacular failure twenty years ago, he lost both the menorah of the second temple and his hot-headed mentee, Aaron. So, when new evidence reveals the menorah’s reappearance in 6th century Constantinople, Rabbit seizes the chance for redemption.

But from the moment he arrives in the past, things start to go wrong. Rabbit quickly finds out that his prime competition, an unlicensed and annoyingly appealing “stringer” named Helen, is also in Constantinople hunting the menorah. And that’s only the beginning. The oppressed Jewish population of the city is primed for revolution, Constantinople’s leading gang seems to have it out for Rabbit personally, and someone local is interested enough in the menorah to kill for it.

As the past closes in on him and his previous failures compound, will Rabbit be able to recover the menorah before it's once again lost in time? With new and old dangers alike hiding behind every corner, time might just be up for Rabbit’s redemption—and possibly his life.

Visit Andrew Ludington's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Texas: An American History"

New from Yale University Pres: Texas: An American History by Benjamin Heber Johnson.

About the book, from the publisher:

An exploration of the multifaceted characters and complex events that have defined the Lone Star State from its inception through today

When Americans turn on their laptops, play video games, go to church, vote, eat TexMex, shop for groceries, listen to music, grill steaks, or watch football, they are, knowingly or not, paying tribute to Texas. Tracing the profound and surprising story of the Lone Star State, Benjamin Heber Johnson shines new light on why Texas has had such a powerful influence on U.S. history.

Texas is known to outsiders for mob violence, swaggering self-conception, and conservative politics, but Johnson reveals that the state has also been on the forefront of taming frontier violence, establishing LGBTQ rights, and developing modern businesses such as organic food and personal computing. Neither looking away from the dark chapters of Texas history nor letting them overshadow the achievements of democracy and pluralism that are some of the state’s greatest legacies, Johnson offers a balanced and inclusive history of an often contentious and stereotyped region, covering such topics as the persistence of Native Americans, the frontier story of the Alamo, agrarian populism, racial segregation, the state’s porous border with Mexico, and the way historical memory continues to shape the state’s identity. The reality of Texas, Johnson shows us, is even bigger than we think it is.

The Page 99 Test: Escaping the Dark, Gray City.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Murder by Memory"

New from Tordotcom: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite.

About the book, from the publisher:

Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in this sci-fi ode to the cozy mystery, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective

A mind is a terrible thing to erase...

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty's most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes...

Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, this novella is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie, this well-paced story will leave readers captivated and hungry for the series’s next installment.

Visit Olivia Waite's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Killing the Messiah"

New from Oxford University Press: Killing the Messiah: The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth by Nathanael J. Andrade.

About the book, from the publisher:

Long ago, on a spring morning in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate passed judgement on a mysterious preacher. Jesus of Nazareth was nailed to a cross shortly after and died in agony. The effects of this verdict have reverberated throughout the world and have shaped two millennia of history. Even so, the trial remains shrouded in mystery to this day. The New Testament Gospels are unclear about what charges Pontius Pilate judged. They portray Pilate as embracing Jesus' innocence despite having him killed. We are left with more questions than answers. Why did Pontius Pilate condemn a man he believed innocent? What was Jesus' crime? How should we understand Pilate's role in Jesus' execution?

Killing the Messiah addresses these questions and analyzes Pilate's path to crucifying Jesus. It determines why and how Pilate deemed Jesus guilty of criminal behavior and the roles played by various people in ensuring Jesus' crucifixion. It also probes how the personal motivations and social obligations of Pilate and other authorities affected how they assessed Jesus' criminality. To do this, it situates Jesus' trial within the geo-political context of the Roman Middle East. In the decades before Jesus' lifetime, and throughout the centuries that followed, Roman courts determined the outcomes of millions of trials throughout the region. Jesus' trial took place in the same basic legal apparatus as all of these. By approaching the arrest, trial, and sentencing of Jesus from the perspective of Roman and legal history, this book sheds fresh light on the most famous conviction in world history.

My Book, The Movie: Zenobia: Shooting Star of Palmyra.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Prince Without Sorrow"

New from Harper Voyager: The Prince Without Sorrow: Book One of the Obsidian Throne by Maithree Wijesekara.

About the book, from the publisher:

Drawing on inspiration from the Mauryan Empire of Ancient India, debut author Maithree Wijesekara plunges readers into the first amazing book of the Obsidian Throne trilogy, a new fantasy series of hunted witches, romantic angst, and political intrigue. Perfect for fans of The Hurricane Wars and The Jasmine Throne.

A prince born into violence, seeking peace.

Prince Ashoka is the youngest son of the tyrannical Emperor Adil Maurya. Considered an outcast by his father for his rejection of the emperor’s brutal onslaught against the witches of the empire, Ashoka longs for change. When the sudden and unexpected death of his father leaves the monarchy in disarray, Ashoka is sent to govern a tumultuous region annexed by Emperor Adil that is terrorized by nature spirits—a task many see as doomed to fail. Suspected by a disdainful governor and evaded by distrustful witches, Ashoka must question his rigid ideals and fight against becoming the one person he despises the most—his father.

A witch shackled by pacifism, seeking revenge.

Shakti is a mayakari: a witch bound by a pacifist code. After witnessing the murder of her aunt and village at the hands of the emperor, Shakti hurtles down a path of revenge, casting a curse with unexpected consequences. Posing as a maidservant in the famed palace of the Mauryas and armed with newfound powers beyond her imagination, Shakti attempts to dismantle the monarchy from within by having the royal progeny ruin themselves and turn their father’s legacy into nothing but ash.

In a world where nature spirits roam the land, and witches are hunted to extinction, Ashoka and Shakti will be forced to grapple with the consequences of power: to take it for themselves or risk losing it completely.

Visit Maithree Wijesekara's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Dark Justice"

New from Cambridge University Press: Dark Justice: Inside the World of Paedophile Hunters by Mark de Rond.

About the book,from the publisher:

It is difficult to imagine a more heinous crime than the sexual abuse of children. Yet, terrifyingly, a new case of child sexual abuse is reported every seven minutes. In response to this crisis, self-appointed groups of citizens are fashioning themselves as 'paedophile hunters.' Operating outside the law, these groups use social media to bait and expose those seeking to engage children sexually, both on- and offline. Their work has been remarkably effective, but at what cost? Following four years of unprecedented access to the UK's most prolific team of paedophile hunters, Mark de Rond offers balanced and insightful answers to the perplexing question of why these groups persist in using extreme methods to hold predators to account in view of less harmful alternatives. In doing so, he invites us to consider the societal impacts of paedophile hunters on our laws and institutions, as well as societal cohesion and safety.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Killer Potential"

New from William Morrow: Killer Potential: A Novel by Hannah Deitch.

About the book, from the publisher:

Darkly funny and provocative, this edge-of-your-seat thrill ride follows two unlikely fugitives—an SAT tutor who finds her rich employers brutally murdered and the bound woman she frees from their mansion—an irresistible debut novel perfect for fans of The Guest and My Sister, the Serial Killer

Destined for greatness, wanted for murder. . .

A scholarship kid with straight As and big dreams, Evie Gordon always thought she was special, that she’d be someone. But after graduating from an elite university, she finds herself drowning in debt and working as an SAT tutor for the super-rich of Los Angeles.

Everything changes one Sunday, when she arrives for her weekly lesson at the Victors’ Beverly Hills estate and, in lieu of a bored teenager, finds the bloody remains of the parents strewn through their beautiful back garden, and a woman crying for help within a closet. As Evie works to free her, the two are spotted—and within moments, they go from bystanders to suspects to fugitives.

Suddenly at the heart of a manhunt and accompanied by a mysterious woman who refuses to speak, Evie knows the only way to clear her name is to find the real killer. But first she’ll have to break down the barriers of her companion, who is quickly becoming the most important person in Evie’s upside-down life. Their breathless spree takes them across the U.S. as developments in the case shock the nation and the press runs wild with Evie’s story: a gifted kid turned killer. She's now on the cover of every magazine and newspaper—anointed the new Charles Manson, a bloodthirsty ninety-nine percenter looking to start a class war. Evie is finally someone.

By turns cuttingly hilarious and deeply insightful, Killer Potential is a strikingly original debut. A literary novel with the page-turning intensity of a thriller that asks timely questions about our belief in the romance of social mobility, and how the stories we’re sold about our potential can shape the course of our lives.

Visit Hannah Deitch's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"America's Military Biomedical Complex"

New from Oxford University Press: America's Military Biomedical Complex: Law, Ethics, and the Drive for Scientific Innovation by Efthimios Parasidis.

About the book, from the publisher:

War is an engine of innovation. It has motivated extraordinary achievements in medicine and science, many of which have generated benefits far beyond the battlefield. These advancements, however, have come at great cost. Countless individuals have been exposed to hazardous research, often without their knowledge or consent. Cities, towns, and rural areas have been used as test sites for atomic, chemical, and biological warfare, causing widespread environmental damage and a myriad of health ailments in generations of Americans. Health professionals have been intimately involved in enhanced interrogation programs, while warfighters face an emerging scenario where biomedical enhancements may become essential elements of military missions. Laws and ethical codes have been rewritten to facilitate these endeavors and shield wrongful conduct from the public. Due to secrecy mandates, governmental immunities, and lackluster healthcare, many individuals harmed by these actions have been left without legal remedies or adequate means to address their injuries.

America's Military Biomedical Complex shows how the drive for scientific and military superiority has shifted the moral compass of government and society, detailing scores of examples where untoward conduct has been rationalized as necessary to promote national security and achieve military goals. The book traces the fascinating story of how laws and ethical codes have co-evolved with the nation's military science pursuits, dating back to the founding of America. Without passing retrospective judgment, it explores the moral calculus conducted by decision-makers at key moments in military science. This analysis reveals that officials were keenly aware of ethical dilemmas, but nonetheless chose to engage in risky-and sometimes unlawful-activities to further press national security goals. Coupled with this historical reflection, America's Military Biomedical Complex recommends policies that harmonize contemporary national security concerns with fundamental principles of justice and human dignity. It introduces the concept of jus in praeparatione bellum-justice in war preparations-a doctrine of restraint and responsibility that aims to elucidate just and unjust means of preparing for war.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Summer I Remembered Everything"

Coming April 29 from Crown Books for Young Readers: The Summer I Remembered Everything by Catherine Con Morse.

About the book, from the publisher:

In search of a summer escape from her overbearing family, an Asian-Latine teenager becomes the mentee to a chic elderly woman. But as her mentor's memory starts to fade, the teenager is confronted with a choice that may jeopardize their friendship.

Emily Chen-Sanchez can’t do anything right. She’s been grounded for a bad grade; she can’t stop fighting with her perfect older sister; everyone’s tense because her mother’s just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer; and she hasn’t spoken to her best friend Matt in two weeks, four days, and about seven hours (not that she’s counting).

Her new summer job is the perfect escape: as companion to an eclectic, lively, Super Southern elderly lady, Mrs. Granucci. All Emily has to do is help Mrs. G ‘remember” her likes, dislikes, anything Mrs. G has a habit of forgetting, even Emily’s name. Emily feels closer to Mrs. G than everyone else until Mrs. G falsely accuses Emily. The betrayal will have ramifications for them both, and Emily must make a decision that will change their lives forever.

The Summer I Remembered Everything is a story of longing for an escape, finding yourself, caring for someone with an illness, and learning that sometimes the right decision is always the hardest.

Visit Catherine Con Morse's website.

Q&A with Catherine Con Morse.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Empire of Labor"

New from the University of California Press: Empire of Labor: How the East India Company Colonized Hired Work by Titas Chakraborty.

About the book, from the publisher:

Empire of Labor tells the story of how hired workers experienced and responded to the rise to power over the long eighteenth century of the English East India Company (EIC), which perennially hired thousands of people in and around its settlements in Bengal. Focusing on boatmen and silk reelers as well as sailors and soldiers—a remarkable look at both indigenous and European workers—the story begins with the earliest accounts of the EIC's dealings with hired labor in the region, from 1651. Prior to EIC dominance, hired workers drove hard bargains with their employers, making demands that drew upon their own notions of wages, work rhythms, and time. When their demands were not met, they ran away, often to rival indigenous or European employers. Empire of Labor explores these demands and how they conflicted with the EIC's notions of discipline. Analyzing Bengali literary sources and Dutch and English archival materials, the book rethinks the ascendancy of the company state as a violent process involving removing competing employers, imposing army and police power, introducing new production technologies, and instituting draconian regulations which eliminated indigenous cultures of work. Most importantly, it depicts the lifeworlds of these recalcitrant workers, showing how they lived and resisted. A major intervention in histories of colonialism, labor, migration, and law, Empire of Labor ultimately recasts colonial rule as a novel form of state-labor relationship.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Last Exile"

Coming soon from Harbour Publishing: The Last Exile by Sam Wiebe.

About the book, from the publisher:

PI Dave Wakeland returns to the streets of Vancouver for his most dangerous case yet.

Maggie Zito is being held for murder. The volatile single mother is accused of killing the retired leader of the notorious Exiles motorcycle gang and his wife aboard their million-dollar houseboat. With a mystery witness putting Maggie at the scene, and the Exiles baying for her blood, it’s unlikely she’ll make it to the trial alive.

Desperate, Maggie’s lawyer, Shuzhen Chen, calls in a favour to Dave Wakeland: Find evidence of Maggie’s innocence and get her client out of custody.

Wakeland reluctantly returns to a changing city, full of unfamiliar dangers. To prove Maggie’s innocence, he and Shuzhen must reckon with the Exiles crime syndicate and their bloodthirsty leader. The bikers are on the verge of a civil war, and an unseen foe is gunning for the top spot.

Dave and Shuzhen have to put aside their complicated past to learn the identity of the witness, and find out why Maggie was framed for this killing. To complicate matters, Wakeland’s business partner is nowhere to be found. The security firm they started teeters on the verge of bankruptcy. Even if the case can be solved, and the business saved, can the partners ever trust each other?

Visit Sam Wiebe's website.

My Book, The Movie: Invisible Dead.

The Page 69 Test: Invisible Dead.

The Page 69 Test: Cut You Down.

Q&A with Sam Wiebe.

The Page 69 Test: Hell and Gone.

Writers Read: Sam Wiebe (March 2022).

My Book, The Movie: Hell and Gone.

My Book, The Movie: Sunset and Jericho.

Writers Read: Sam Wiebe (April 2023).

The Page 69 Test: Sunset and Jericho.

The Page 69 Test: Ocean Drive.

My Book, The Movie: Ocean Drive.

Writers Read: Sam Wiebe (January 2025).

--Marshal Zeringue

"Doctors by Nature"

New from Princeton University Press: Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves by Jaap de Roode.

About the book, from the publisher:

The astonishing story of how animals use medicine and what it can teach us about healing ourselves

Ages before the dawn of modern medicine, wild animals were harnessing the power of nature’s pharmacy to heal themselves. Doctors by Nature reveals what researchers are now learning about the medical wonders of the animal world. In this visionary book, Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long and shows how the study of self-medicating animals could impact the practice of human medicine.

Drawing on illuminating interviews with leading scientists from around the globe as well as his own pioneering research on monarch butterflies, de Roode demonstrates how animals of all kinds—from ants to apes, from bees to bears, and from cats to caterpillars—use various forms of medicine to treat their own ailments and those of their relatives. We meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms, sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites, and bees that incorporate sticky resin into their hives to combat pathogens. De Roode asks whether these astonishing behaviors are learned or innate and explains why, now more than ever, we need to apply the lessons from medicating animals—it can pave the way for healthier livestock, more sustainable habitats for wild pollinators, and a host of other benefits.

Doctors by Nature takes readers into a realm often thought to be the exclusive domain of humans, exploring how scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Beauty of the End"

Coming April 1 from Little A: The Beauty of the End: A Novel by Lauren Stienstra.

About the book, from the publisher:

In this provocative work of speculative fiction, two sisters navigate the complex moral terrain of reproductive ethics, individual freedoms, and society’s duty to a future facing imminent extinction.

Charlie Tannehill and her twin sister, Maggie, are just eight years old when an unfortunate scientific discovery upends their world―and the world order. The revelation? Extinction, encoded in every creature’s DNA. The expiration date for humans? Only four generations away.

A decade later, unsure of what tomorrow holds, Charlie and Maggie enroll as counselors in a government-run human-husbandry program. By offering cash rewards for reproduction, they hope to forestall humanity’s decline and discover a genetic mutation that might defeat it. While Charlie struggles with the ethical implications of the work, Maggie makes unspeakable sacrifices to improve her odds of success―but such unchecked ambition could come at a greater cost than even she realizes.

Torn between her own morality, her love for her sister, and the pressures of a vanishing civilization, Charlie must search deep within to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice―for herself, for Maggie, and for society―to salvage hope for the whole of humankind.

Visit Lauren Stienstra's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Sleep Works"

New from Johns Hopkins University Press: Sleep Works: Experiments in Science and Literature, 1899–1929 by Sebastian P. Klinger.

About the book, from the publisher:

An exploration of sleep at the intersection of literature, science, and pharmacology in the early twentieth century.

At the turn of the twentieth century, sleep began to be seen not merely as a passive state but as an active, dynamic process crucial to our understanding of consciousness and identity. In Sleep Works, cultural historian and literary scholar Sebastian P. Klinger explores the intriguing connections between scientific inquiry and literary expression during an era when sleep was both a scientific mystery and a cultural fascination.

Scientists, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies were at the forefront of this newfound fascination with sleep: some researchers distinguished sleep from related states such as fatigue and hypnosis, while others investigated sleep disorders and developed treatments for insomnia. Meanwhile, literary giants like Franz Kafka and Marcel Proust grappled with their own sleep disturbances and channeled these experiences into their writing. Through the lens of their discoveries, Klinger reveals the broader implications of sleep for concepts of selfhood and agency.

Tracing the emergence of interdisciplinary sleep science and the cultural production of sleep through literature, Sleep Works weaves together literary analysis, historical context, and research in the archives of the pharmaceutical industry to provide a comprehensive and compelling account of how sleep has been understood, represented, and experienced in the modern era.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Vanishing Kind"

New from William Morrow: The Vanishing Kind: An Action-Packed Mystery Thriller with a Wildlife Twist by Alice Henderson.

About the book, from the publisher:

From highly acclaimed author Alice Henderson comes the eagerly anticipated and electrifying fourth book in the Alex Carter series, in which the wildlife biologist encounters anti-immigrant vigilantes, rugged terrain, and threatening intruders in search of a sleek, powerful, and furtive animal—the jaguar.

When wildlife biologist Alex Carter is tasked with locating jaguars on a vast desert preserve in New Mexico, she is ecstatic. While jaguars once roamed throughout the Southwest, they are now endangered, with only a handful remaining, and Alex hopes some of the sleek and elusive creatures have found their way to the protected sanctuary.

Meanwhile, an archaeological team is excavating the gravesite of a sixteenth-century Spanish conquistador on a neighboring piece of land. Curious about the dig, Alex meets the team and, while learning about their discoveries, she encounters a dangerous group of anti-immigrant vigilantes roaming the area, threatening the archaeology team, demanding they leave. And when the militants learn of Alex’s mission, they become bent on stopping her. Because jaguars are federally endangered, the vigilantes worry that if Alex finds them, concessions will be made so that wildlife can cross the border wall. And they want no one crossing it…

And then there are the strange holes that keep appearing on the preserve—Who is digging them, and what are they looking for?

As tensions mount, Alex soon finds herself in a fight for her life against those who would prevent her from restoring jaguars to their historical habitat.

Visit Alice Henderson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Contemplative Democracy"

New from Oxford University Press: Contemplative Democracy: Politics, Practice, and Pedagogy by Shannon L. Mariotti.

About the book, from the publisher:

Contemplative practices are increasingly mainstream in the United States. From meditation, mindfulness, and yoga, to writing, walking, and gardening, contemplative practices aim to cultivate embodied awareness, attunement, and attention. What is the political value of the attentional ecologies created by the "Mindfulness Revolution"?

In Contemplative Democracy, Shannon L. Mariotti explores how contemplative practices represent a form of world-building that is valuable for meaningful democracy and an overlooked form of ordinary political theory. As Mariotti shows, what appear to be mostly apolitical, self-cultivating activities--even ones that require withdrawal from society--can also make us more attuned to how we interact with the wider world in any given moment. Meditative practices can advance the goals of autonomy and community that are implied by the concept of democracy. Bringing disparate fields into dialogue, Mariotti highlights resonances between how theorists talk about meaningful democracy and how ordinary people talk about contemplative practice. Analyzing theorists, such as Jacques Rancière and Gloria Anzaldúa, alongside qualitative interviews, participant-observation, and a case study, this book integrates political theory--a discipline shaped by "The Enlightenment"--with meditative practices questing after other forms of "enlightenment."

Reimagining the work of political theory, employing feminist approaches, and with a focus on educational spaces and democratic modes of pedagogy, Mariotti examines contemplative practices as spaces where ordinary people do the work of democracy, creating new political imaginaries, finding new selves, and founding new states of being. Further, Contemplative Democracy is an inclusive, accessible, and embodied book that reveals how the larger body politic may be reshaped by the everyday work people do in their own bodies.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Map to Paradise"

New from Berkley: A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner.

About the book, from the publisher:

1956, Malibu, California: Something is not right on Paradise Circle.

With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor, Elwood, but the screenwriter’s agoraphobia allows for just short chats through open windows. He’s her sole confidante, though, as she and her housekeeper, Eva, an immigrant from war-torn Europe, rarely make conversation.

Then one early morning Melanie and Eva spot Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his beloved rose garden. After that they don’t see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone?

As they try to find out if something has happened to him, unexpected secrets are revealed among all three women, leading to an alliance that seems the only way for any of them to hold on to what they can still call their own. But it’s a fragile pact and one little spark could send it all up in smoke…

Visit Susan Meissner's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Susan Meissner & Bella.

My Book, The Movie: Stars Over Sunset Boulevard.

My Book, The Movie: A Bridge Across the Ocean.

The Page 69 Test: A Bridge Across the Ocean.

The Page 69 Test: The Last Year of the War.

The Page 69 Test: Only the Beautiful.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Sounds of Black Switzerland"

New from Duke University Press: Sounds of Black Switzerland: Blackness, Music, and Unthought Voices by Jessie Cox.

About the book, from the publisher:

Writing as a scholar, composer, and musician, Jessie Cox foregrounds the experience of Black Swiss through sound and music in his first book, Sounds of Black Switzerland. Cox, himself Black Swiss, affirms the value of Black life through sound while critiquing anti-Blackness as a cause of erasure, silence, and limitation. He examines Swiss Nigerian composer Charles Uzor’s pieces for George Floyd, work by Black Swiss musicians such as DJ Maïté Chénière, clarinetist Jérémie Jolo, and rapper Nativ, as well as his own musical collaborations with the Lucerne Festival. In these analyses, Cox tackles the particularities of anti-Blackness in Switzerland, creating a practice of listening beyond what can be directly heard to explore the radical potential of Black thought and experience in a nation often claimed to be race-free. In so doing, he ultimately shifts thinking about Blackness in relation to citizenship, immigration laws, gender, kinship, and belonging. By listening to Black Swiss and other voices inaudible to the current world, Cox theorizes new ways of practicing scholarly study and general ways of relating to others and the world. Report an issue with this pr

Visit Jessie Cox's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Six Weeks in Reno"

New from Lake Union: Six Weeks in Reno: A Novel by Lucy H. Hedrick.

About the book, from the publisher:

A woman at a “divorce ranch” in 1930s Reno strives to live life on her own terms in a powerful novel about heartbreak, hope, and the allure of the unknown.

September 27, 1931. Today my new life begins.

After twenty years in a loveless marriage, Evelyn Henderson will do anything to escape her stifling suburban life. She boards a train for Reno, Nevada, a former frontier town that’s booming thanks to “six-weekers”: women from all walks of life who take up residence there just long enough to secure an uncontested divorce―a right they don’t yet have in their home states.

Evelyn settles into the Flying N Ranch and soon bonds with her housemates, most of whom have never ventured this far from home―or from societal conventions. The Biggest Little City in the World offers a heady taste of freedom for the six-weekers: horseback riding in denim and fringe by day and being courted by dance-hall cowboys by night. But underneath the glamour are the grim realities of Depression-era America, as well as the devastating consequences of escape.

As Evelyn is drawn out of her shell by a Hollywood-handsome wrangler and challenged by her new friends to reengage with the world in all its heartbreaking complexity, one thing becomes clear: six weeks will change her life forever.

Visit Lucy H. Hedrick's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Celluloid Atlantic"

New from SUNY Press: The Celluloid Atlantic: Hollywood, Cinecittà, and the Making of the Cinema of the West, 1943–1973 by Saverio Giovacchini.

About the book, from the publisher:

Offers a fresh look at American and Italian cinema in the postwar period.

The Celluloid Atlantic changes the way we look at American and Italian cinema in the postwar period. In the thirty years following World War II, American and Italian film industries came to be an integrated, transnational unit rather than two separate, nation-based entities. Written in jargon-free prose and based on previously unexplored archival sources, this book revisits the history of Neorealism, World War II combat cinema, the "Western all'Italiana," and the career of John Kitzmiller, the African American star who made Italy his home and was the first person of color to win the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The Celluloid Atlantic makes the trailblazing argument that culturally hybrid genres like the so-called spaghetti Western were less the exceptions than the norm. Giovacchini argues that the waning of the Celluloid Atlantic in the early 1970s was due to the economic policies of the first Nixon administration, specifically its important, but largely neglected, Revenue Act of 1971, as well as to the ideological debates between Europeans and Americans that intensified during the American intervention in Vietnam.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Aunt Tigress"

New from DAW: Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin.

About the book, from the publisher:

From debut author Emily Yu-Xuan Qin comes a snarky urban fantasy novel inspired by Chinese and First Nation mythology and bursting with wit, compelling characters, and LGBTQIA+ representation

Readers of Seanan McGuire, Ilona Andrews, and Ben Aaronovitch will devour this gory story—and the sweet-as-Canadian-maple-syrup sapphic romance at its monstrous heart

Tam hasn’t eaten anyone in years.

She is now Mama’s soft-spoken, vegan daughter—everything dangerous about her is cut out.

But when Tam’s estranged Aunt Tigress is found murdered and skinned, Tam inherits an undead fox in a shoebox, and an ensemble of old enemies.

The demons, the ghosts, the gods running coffee shops by the river? Fine. The tentacled thing stalking Tam across the city? Absolutely not. And when Tam realizes the girl she’s falling in love with might be yet another loose end from her past? That’s just the brassy, beautiful cherry on top.

Because no matter how quietly she lives, Tam can’t hide from her voracious upbringing, nor the suffering she caused. As she navigates romance, redemption, and the end of the world, she can’t help but wonder…

Do monsters even deserve happy endings?

With worldbuilding inspired by Chinese folklore and the Siksiká Nation in Canada, LGBTQIA+ representation, and a sapphic romance, Aunt Tigress is at once familiar and breathtakingly innovative.

Visit Emily Yu-Xuan Qin's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Fine Art of Persuasion"

New from Duke University Press: The Fine Art of Persuasion: Corporate Advertising Design, Nation, and Empire in Modern Japan by Gennifer Weisenfeld.

About the book, from the publisher:

Commercial art is more than just mass-produced publicity; it constructs social and political ideologies that impact the public’s everyday life. In The Fine Art of Persuasion, Gennifer Weisenfeld examines the evolution of Japanese advertising graphic design from the early 1900s through the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, a pivotal design event that rebranded Japan on the world stage. Through richly illustrated case studies, Weisenfeld tells the story of how modern corporations and consumer capitalism transformed Japan’s visual culture and artistic production across the pre- and postwar periods, revealing how commercial art helped constitute the ideological formations of nation- and empire-building. Weisenfeld also demonstrates, how under the militarist regime of imperial Japan, national politics were effectively commodified and marketed through the same mechanisms of mass culture that were used to promote consumer goods. Using a multilayered analysis of the rhetorical intentions of design projects and the context of their production, implementation, and consumption, Weisenfeld offers an interdisciplinary framework that illuminates the importance of Japanese advertising design within twentieth-century global visual culture.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Blood Beneath the Snow"

New from Ace Books: Blood Beneath the Snow by Alexandra Kennington.

About the book, from the publisher:

A heart-pounding romantasy following a rebellious princess who must compete to the death against her siblings for the crown to ensure justice, while fighting her feelings for her country's most powerful enemy by debut author Alexandra Kennington

Revna is no stranger to struggle. As the only member of the royal family without a magical ability, she is seen as an embarrassing mistake by her kingdom and a blight on her bloodline. Luckily, Revna has found family in other outcasts in her kingdom. But when her two closest friends’ lives are put in danger, she is determined to save them by any means necessary, no matter the cost. The Bloodshed Trials—a competition where the last sibling in the royal family standing takes the throne—might just be the ultimate price.

Revna turns down her arranged marriage and commits to competing for the throne only to be kidnapped by the mysterious and terrifyingly powerful Hellbringer, the general of her country’s greatest enemy. He has the ability to rend souls with the flick of his wrist and is every inch as intimidating as the war stories say he is. But Revna wonders if there may be some humanity left in him—especially when he reveals there are other parties who want her on the throne for their own secret reasons.

Visit Alexandra Kennington's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Who Am I to Judge?"

New from Yale University Press: Who Am I to Judge?: Judicial Craft versus Constitutional Theory by Mark Tushnet.

About the book, from the publisher:

A leading legal scholar asks a fundamental question: Do we need a theory of constitutional interpretation?

Do we need a theory of constitutional interpretation? It is a common argument among originalists that however objectionable you may find their theory, at least they have one, whereas their opponents do not have any theory at all. But as Mark Tushnet argues, for most of the Supreme Court’s history, including some of its most exceptional periods, the Court operated without a theory. In this book, Tushnet shows us what a constitutional theory actually is; what judges need from it and why they probably can’t get what they need; and the great harm that results when judges allow theory to dictate bad policy. It is not theory that matters, Tushnet argues. The vitally important, indispensable quality in a judge is good judgment.

The Page 99 Test: Mark Tushnet's Taking Back the Constitution.

The Page 99 Test: Power to the People.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Ends of Things"

New from Blackstone Publishing: The Ends of Things: A Novel by Sandra Chwialkowska.

About the book, from the publisher:

A propulsive literary debut, The Ends of Things is both a thought-provoking suspense and a meditation on female friendship and agency—perfect for fans of The White Lotus and authors like Catherine Steadman and Rachel Hawkins.

She thought she had the perfect life … until she met a stranger in paradise.

Laura Phillips always wanted to travel the world but was too afraid to go it alone. So when her new boyfriend, Dave, invites her on a romantic getaway to the remote island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, she jumps at the chance.

As soon as they arrive at the Pink Sands resort, Laura and Dave are handed cocktails garnished with umbrellas and led to a luxurious suite. It’s a lovers’ paradise. But when they head down to the pristine beach, Laura notices an oddity among the sunbathing couples: a woman vacationing alone. Intrigued, Laura befriends the woman, Diana, and as they spend time together, Laura finds herself telling Diana secrets she’s never shared with anyone.

But when Diana unexpectedly disappears, Laura suddenly realizes how little she knows about this mysterious woman.

The police suspect Diana may be in danger, and soon Laura herself becomes embroiled in the investigation. Her worries swiftly turn into obsession: Who is Diana? Where did she go? Is she dead? Murdered? As Laura races to find out what happened—and prove her own innocence—she quickly realizes that nothing in this sun-soaked paradise is what it seems, and it’s impossible to know who she can trust. What started out as a dream getaway is turning into a terrifying nightmare…

Visit Sandra Chwialkowska's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Protestant Bodies"

New from Cambridge University Press: Protestant Bodies: Gesture in the English Reformation by Arnold Hunt.

About the book, from the publisher:

Religious worship is an embodied act, consisting not of words alone, but of words and gestures. But what did early modern English Protestants think they were doing when they went through the motions of worship? In Protestant Bodies, Arnold Hunt argues that the English Reformation was a gestural reformation that redefined the postures and motions of the body. Drawing on a rich array of primary sources, he shows how gestures inherited from the medieval liturgy took on new meanings within a drastically altered ritual landscape, and became central to the enforcement of religious uniformity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Protestant Bodies presents a challenging new interpretation of the English Reformation as a series of experiments in shaping and remaking the body, both individual and collective, with consequences that still persist today.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Just Want You Here"

New from Little A: Just Want You Here: A Novel by Meredith Turits.

About the book, from the publisher:

An intimate and deeply moving coming-of-age novel about second chances and the inextricable bonds between lovers and friends.

The only love Ari has known is Morgan. Engaged and planning a life with him in New York, Ari is shocked when Morgan sits her down one rainy afternoon and tells her their decade-long relationship is over. They’ve been over for a long time now, he says―and Ari knows he’s right.

Twenty-eight years old and suddenly alone, Ari throws herself into a new job in Boston, as assistant to a tech CEO. Wells is British, twelve years her senior, a devoted husband and father. He’s also captivated by Ari, in a way neither of them can explain. Ignoring every warning signal from friends and their own instincts, they dive into a fiery affair, which becomes more dangerous as Ari finds herself intricately tangled with his wife, Leah.

Nothing can prepare Ari for the choices she must make as she tries to uncover what’s right for herself, and for the people she can’t let go. As a new path opens―a journey of lies and the twisted calculus of protecting them―Ari’s second chance at happiness forces her to consider who she really is. Can you love someone without dragging them under? What does it take to start over again?

Visit Meredith Turits's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Great Retreat"

New from Oxford University Press: The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't by Didi Kuo.

About the book, from the publisher:

As the crisis of democratic capitalism sweeps the globe, The Great Retreat makes the controversial argument that what democracies require most are stronger political parties that serve as intermediaries between citizens and governments.

Once a centralizing force of the democratic process, political parties have eroded over the past fifty years. Parties now rank among the most unpopular institutions in society--less trusted than business, the police, and the media. Identification with parties has plummeted, and even those who are loyal to a party report feeling that parties care more about special interests than about regular citizens. What does a "good" political party look like? Why do we urgently need them? And how do we get them?

The Great Retreat explores the development of political parties as democracy expanded across the West in the nineteenth century. It focuses in particular on mass parties, and the ways they served as intermediaries that fostered ties between citizens and governments. While parties have become professionalized and nationalized, they have lost the robust organizational density that made them effective representatives. After the Cold War, a neoliberal economic consensus, changes to campaign finance, and shifting party priorities weakened the party systems of Western democracies. As Didi Kuo argues, this erosion of political parties has contributed to the recent crisis of democratic capitalism, as weak parties have ceded governance to the private sector.

For democracy to adapt to a new era of global capitalism, Kuo makes the case that we need strong intermediaries like mass parties--socially embedded institutions with deep connections to communities and citizens. Parties are essential to long-term democratic stability and economic growth, while the breakdown of party systems, on the other hand, has historically led to democratic collapse. As trust in political parties has plummeted, The Great Retreat provides a powerful defense of political parties--for without parties, democratic representation is impossible.

Visit Didi Kuo's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Red Clay"

New from Blackstone Publishing: Red Clay by Charles B. Fancher.

About the book, from the publisher:

An astounding multigenerational saga, Red Clay chronicles the interwoven lives of an enslaved Black family and their white owners as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins.

In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave--on the morning following his funeral--his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words "... a lifetime ago, my family owned yours." Adelaide Parker has a story to tell--one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption--that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker.

But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she's come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full. In an epic saga that takes us from Red Clay to Paris, to the Côte d'Azur and New Orleans, human frailties are pushed to their limits as secrets are exposed and the line between good and evil becomes ever more difficult to discern. Red Clay is a tale that deftly lays bare the ugliness of slavery, the uncertainty of the final months of the Civil War, the optimism of Reconstruction, and the pain and frustration of Jim Crow.

With a vivid sense of place and a cast of memorable characters, Charles B. Fancher draws upon his own family history to weave a riveting tale of triumph over adversity, set against a backdrop of societal change and racial animus that reverberates in contemporary America. Through seasons of joy and unspeakable pain, Fancher delivers rich moments as allies become enemies, and enemies--to their great surprise--find new respect for each other.

Visit Charles B. Fancher's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Tides of Fortune"

New from Yale University Press: Tides of Fortune: The Rise and Decline of Great Militaries by Zack Cooper.

About the book, from the publisher:

An ambitious look at how the twentieth century’s great powers devised their military strategies and what their implications mean for military competition between the United States and China

How will the United States and China evolve militarily in the years ahead? Many experts believe the answer to this question is largely unknowable. But Zack Cooper argues that the American and Chinese militaries are following a well-trodden path. For centuries, the world’s most powerful militaries have adhered to a remarkably consistent pattern of behavior, determined largely by their leaders’ perceptions of relative power shifts. By uncovering these trends, this book places the evolving military competition between the United States and China in historical context.

Drawing on a decade of research and on his experience at the White House and the Pentagon, Cooper outlines a novel explanation for how militaries change as they rise and decline. Tides of Fortune examines the paths of six great powers of the twentieth century, tracking how national leaders adjusted their defense objectives, strategies, and investments in response to perceived shifts in relative power. All these militaries followed a common pattern, and their experiences shed new light on both China’s recent military modernization and America’s potential responses.

--Marshal Zeringue