"In the Japanese Ballpark"

New from the University of Nebraska Press: In the Japanese Ballpark: Behind the Scenes of Nippon Professional Baseball by Robert K. Fitts.

About the book, from the publisher:

Baseball is the national pastime of both the United States and Japan, but the two countries approach and play the game differently both on the field and away from it. To shed light on these differences and help fans gain a greater appreciation for Nippon Professional Baseball, Robert K. Fitts turns to the true experts, the people who play, oversee, promote, and watch the game, to find out what makes Japanese baseball special. In the Japanese Ballpark features engaging interviews with twenty-six baseball personalities to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the game.

Fitts speaks with participants in the games such as players, managers, and an umpire; support staff including an interpreter, trainer, and data analyst; front office personnel such as an owner, general and assistant managers, and marketing directors; ballpark workers including cheerleaders, a mascot, beer vendor, and usher; and professionals who surround the sport, such as baseball writers, a player agent, and a sports card dealer; as well as a league commissioner. Through their personal experiences, these individuals reveal the inner workings of the Japanese game and explain the cultural aspects that make Nippon Professional Baseball different from Major League Baseball.

In the Japanese Ballpark features interviews with Bobby Valentine, Trey Hillman, Matt Murton, Robert Whiting, Marty Kuehnert, Tomoko Namba, Ambassador Ryozo Kato, and many others. Their experiences and insights provide inside knowledge to make the fan experience more enjoyable, for both those watching a Japanese game for the first time and well as for seasoned followers.

Visit Robert K. Fitts's website.

--Marhsal Zeringue

"Watch Us Fall"

New from Simon & Schuster: Watch Us Fall: A Novel by Christina Kovac.

About the book, from the publisher:

“A stunning work of suspense that’s impossible to put down. Christina Kovac masterfully combines a twisty missing person mystery, a heartbreaking love story, and an insightful exploration of the nature of obsession and trauma. I loved this novel.” —Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek

Lucy and her three best friends share a glamorous but decaying house in the heart of Georgetown. They call themselves “the Sweeties” and live an idyllic post-grad lifestyle complete with exciting jobs, dramatic love lives, and, most importantly, each other.

But when Addie, the group’s queen bee, discovers that her ex-boyfriend Josh has gone missing, the Sweeties’ worlds are turned upside down. In the days leading up to his disappearance, Josh, a star investigative journalist from a prominent political family, was behaving erratically—and Lucy is determined to find out why. All four friends upend their lives to search for him, but detectives begin to suspect that the Sweeties might know more than they’re letting on.

As the investigation unfolds, Lucy’s obsession with the case reaches a boiling point, and with it, her own troubling secrets begin bubbling to the surface of her carefully curated life. A thrilling account of the lies and delusions that lurk beneath cloistered groups of female friends and the sinister realities of celebrity, Watch Us Fall is a gripping mystery and an examination of the things we tell ourselves when we can’t face the truth.

Visit Christina Kovac's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Cutaway.

The Page 69 Test: The Cutaway.

Writers Read: Christina Kovac (March 2017.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Carolinian Crucible"

New from Cambridge University Press: Carolinian Crucible: Reforging Class, Family, and Nation in Confederate South Carolina by Patrick J. Doyle.

About the book, from the publisher:

Carolinian Crucible tells the story of South Carolina – particularly its upcountry region – at war. A state notorious for its political radicalism before the Civil War, this book avoids caricaturing the Palmetto State's inhabitants as unflinching Confederate zealots, and instead provides a more fine-grained appraisal of their relationship with the new nation that their state's political elite played a leading role in birthing. It does so by considering the outlook and actions of both civilians and soldiers, with special attention given to those who were lower-class 'common whites.' In this richly detailed account, Patrick J. Doyle reveals how a region that was insulated from Federal invasion was not insulated from the disruptions of war; how social class profoundly shaped the worldview of ordinary folk, yet did not lead to a rejection of the slaveholders' republic; and how people in the Civil War South forged meaningful bonds with the Confederate nation, but buckled at times under the demands of diehard nationalism.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Curse of the Cole Women"

New from Crooked Lane Books: The Curse of the Cole Women: A Novel by Marielle Thompson.

About the book, from the publisher:

Three generations of women struggle with a curse unfairly placed on their ancestor in this gothic story of magic, queer love, and mother-daughter relationships, perfect for fans of Spells for Forgetting and Practical Magic.

The Cole women are cursed. Each generation will birth a daughter, lose their love, and, as surely as the tide beats against the rocky shore, take her own life by giving herself to the sea. For generations, the Cole women have lived as outcasts, maintaining a lighthouse on a small island off the coast of New Hampshire. Ever since their ancestor was accused of witchcraft and cast into the sea hundreds of years prior, the islanders have ostracized the Coles, distrusting their rumored magic and their control of the lighthouse.

Despite their mistreatment, the Cole women are compelled to remain on the island because they know that if a Cole woman does not light the beacon on Juniper Island, anyone who is out at sea will be drowned. Out of guilt and obligation, the Cole women live out their solitary lives on the island, knowing someday their recompense for protecting the people from the sea will be to die in the sea themselves.

Told in three interwoven timelines in the late twentieth century, The Curse of the Cole Women unravels the lives of three women who struggle with their relationships with each other as they contend with the reality of their fates—is it truly a curse, or is it generational madness that drives Cole women to the sea?

Readers will be swept into this evocative and moving story about challenging misogyny, finding community, and struggling with fate.

Visit Marielle Thompson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Sonic Socialism"

New from the University of California Press: Sonic Socialism: Crisis and Care in Pandemic Hanoi by Christina Schwenkel.

About the book, from the publisher:

In an era dominated by visual information, what can the sounds of a pandemic reveal about crisis and care? How might attuning to sonic atmospheres uncover new dimensions to states of emergency and their implications for collective life? In Sonic Socialism, Christina Schwenkel examines the use of sound in COVID-19 response efforts in urban Vietnam. Based on "soundwork" conducted in Hanoi in 2020 during the pandemic's first year, she shows how acoustic technologies played a pivotal yet overlooked role in state efforts to achieve record-low infection rates worldwide. Across lived experiences of quarantine, lockdown, and spatial distancing, Schwenkel explores sound-based interventions to curb virus transmission, and the public's response to these auditory measures. From instant messaging alerts to public health videos and neighborhood loudspeakers, sonic governance sought to transform urban sounds and listening practices to mobilize action, drawing people into networks of care and control. As anthropology stands at a crossroads, Sonic Socialism makes the compelling case for the value of sensory autoethnography in reimagining a more careful and caring ethnographic practice in a post-pandemic world.

Visit Christina Schwenkel's website.

The Page 99 Test: The American War in Contemporary Vietnam.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Happiness Collector"

New from MIRA Books: The Happiness Collector: A Novel by Crystal King.

About the novel, from the publisher:

In this stunning contemporary fantasy novel for fans of V. E. Schwab and Kaliane Bradley, a historian’s dream job in Italy takes a dark turn when she discovers her employers aren’t exactly human…

After losing her book deal and her academic position, historian Aida Reale needs a new career, and fast. After all, she and her fiancé, Graham, have a wedding to pay for. So when a friend recommends her for an extremely high—paying position at a company called MODA, it feels like the perfect stroke of luck. And with a move to Italy and a breathtaking palazzo included, how could she say no?

Aside from a snooty assistant, a daunting NDA and some very stringent rules about the use of personal technology, working for MODA is a dream come true—at least at first. But the more research Aida conducts for this elusive company, the more things feel off. Not only does her relationship with Graham suffer, but it seems like every site she visits either vanishes or is struck by tragedy soon after she’s been there.

It’s only after a mysterious woman approaches Aida and Luciano, her devastatingly handsome and equally concerned MODA colleague, that they learn the truth—they are just mortal pawns in a game between gods. Now Aida must find answers to the question she's been avoiding: What's really happening to all the happiness she's been collecting…and can she stop the gods’ plans before it’s too late?

Visit Crystal King's website.

The Page 69 Test: Feast of Sorrow.

Writers Read: Crystal King (March 2019).

The Page 69 Test: The Chef's Secret.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Host Cities"

New from Yale University Press: Host Cities: How Refugees Are Transforming the World’s Urban Settings by Karen Jacobsen.

About the book, from the publisher:

A revealing study of how the arrival of refugees affects and transforms cities

Cities all over the world experience large humanitarian influxes, and refugees and citizens alike must navigate the related risks and opportunities. Over the past twenty-five years, Karen Jacobsen has studied the interaction of refugees and cities and has trained scores of graduate students, many of whom now work with United Nations agencies or humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. Her research team at Tufts and this global network of aid workers give her firsthand knowledge of the impact of forced migration on cities and the lives of refugees living there.

Focusing on cities and refugees in Africa and the Middle East, Jacobsen draws universal lessons, distilling her research findings and wisdom from decades of experience into clear, vivid prose. The book is valuable for researchers, policy analysts, donors, and humanitarian workers in cities around the globe and for all readers trying to understand, beyond the headlines, one of the most troubling and volatile issues of our time.

--Marshal Zeringue

"All My Bones"

New from Minotaur Books: All My Bones: An Old Juniper Bookshop Mystery by P. J. Nelson.

About the book, from the publisher:

Madeline Brimley, new owner of a bookstore in a small Georgia town, finds herself playing sleuth when a friend is charged with the murder of a much-disliked woman.

Madeline Brimley recently inherited a bookstore in Enigma, Georgia, is embarking on her second career, after her first one (acting) founders upon the metaphorical rocks. Settling in, Madeline recruits her friend Gloria Coleman, the local Episcopal priest, to help her plant azaleas in the front yard of the old Victorian that houses the bookstore. Turning the soil, however, uncovers the body of one Beatrice Glassie, a troublesome woman who has been missing for the past six months.

When her friend Gloria is arrested for the murder, Madeline is determined to prove her innocence and, as she quickly finds out, there aren't many people in town who hadn't wanted to kill Bea Glassie at one point or another. And the very expensive and rare first edition of a particular volume of Grimm's Fairy Tales—ordered by the victim and her sister is somehow tied to the grim death. With the help of her not-quite-boyfriend, a local lawman, and her deceased aunt's best friend, Madeline plans to set a trap to catch the real murderer—before she becomes the next victim.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Rise and Fall of Turkey's Democrat Party"

New from Cambridge University Press: The Rise and Fall of Turkey's Democrat Party: The Cold War and Illiberalism, 1945–60 by Reuben Silverman.

About the book, from the publisher:

More than sixty years after Turkey's Democrat Party was removed from office by a military coup and three of its leaders hanged, it remains controversial. For some, it was the defender of a more democratic political order and founder of a dominant center-right political coalition; for others, it ushered in an era of corruption, religious reaction, and subordination to American influence. This study moves beyond such stark binaries. Reuben Silverman details the party's establishment, development, rule, and removal from power, showing how its leaders transformed themselves from champions of democracy and liberal economics to advocates of illiberal policies. To understand this change, Silverman draws on periodicals and archival documents to detail the Democrat Party's continuity with Turkey's late Ottoman and early republican past as well as the changing nature of the American-led Cold War order in which it actively participated.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Art of Burning Heather"

New from Montlake: The Art of Burning Heather: A Novel by Devrie Brynn Donalson.

About the book, from the publisher:

A daughter’s escape to the Scottish Highlands becomes a mother’s reckoning, a sister’s choice, and a grandmother’s last chance in this witty, bittersweet novel about first loves, old ghosts, and the courage it takes to change.

When floral designer Deli MacDonald’s heart is broken by unrequited love and her best friend’s abandonment, she flees to the Scottish Highlands and her estranged aunt Mo’s cliffside cottage by the sea. There, embraced by a village of eccentric locals and her aunt’s unconditional, unfamiliar love, she finds herself drawn to brooding pub owner Lachlan Scott―whose path once crossed hers twenty years ago on these same heather-strewn hills.

As Deli fights to find her footing in the Highland soil among the wreckage of her life, she wakes family ghosts and accidentally reopens a decades-old rift. And when her mother and grandmother arrive unexpectedly, three generations of women must finally confront the painful patterns of love, lies, and grief that once drove them apart.

Through a tapestry of wildflowers, family secrets, and fierce hearts, Deli must reckon with the truth of how she learned to be loved. But choosing between the familiar ache of her old life and the uncertain promise of a new one means finding the courage to let her family’s legacy, and the world she built, burn away completely.

Visit Devrie Brynn Donalson's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"American Medium"

New from Stanford University Press: American Medium: A New Film Philosophy by Eyal Peretz.

About the book, from the publisher:

In this masterful new work, film critic and philosopher Eyal Peretz forges a new connection between the concept of "America" and the medium of film. Through exemplary close readings of six fundamental American films—John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette—Peretz demonstrates the way the connection between "America" and film is enabled through the development of a philosophical concept of medium that allows both "America" and film to be thought anew. As Peretz shows, "America" can be understood as a medium providing a new framework for understanding human life in modernity—an era that's seen the demise of theology (or the "death of god," as Nietzsche declared). Through incisive readings of the films mentioned above, Peretz shows each to function in its own singular fashion as an allegory of the way that "America"—that is, the demand to ground human life non-theologically—becomes the notion around which the medium of Hollywood film circulates.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Fun City Heist"

New from Severn House: Fun City Heist by Michael Kardos.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A washed—up rockstar gets his old band back together for one final gig . . . and one daring robbery! A brilliantly funny, twisty heist caper from Pushcart Prize—winning author Michael Kardos.

Mo Melnick used to be a drummer in rock band Sunshine Apocalypse. He used to be someone. These days he rents beach umbrellas on the Jersey Shore.

The last thing he expects is for Johnny Clay, his old bandmate turned enemy, to ask him a favor. Johnny’s dying, and before he passes he wants Sunshine Apocalypse to reunite for one last gig at Fun City, the beachfront amusement park where their musical journey began.

Mo’s in—reluctantly. But then Johnny reveals his real plan: He doesn’t just want to play at Fun City on the fourth of July. He wants to rob it.

The plan is crazy. It has more holes than a golf course. But Mo’s sick of barely keeping his head above water, so he and his gang of middle—aged has—beens dive into what will be the most outrageous heist New Jersey’s ever seen—if, that is, they can pull it off alive . . .

Packed with astonishing twists and laugh—out—loud moments, Michael Kardos’ unique comedic thriller is perfect for fans of Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake.

Visit Michael Kardos's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Three Day Affair.

My Book, The Movie: The Three-Day Affair.

My Book, The Movie: Before He Finds Her.

The Page 69 Test: Before He Finds Her.

The Page 69 Test: Bluff.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Desert Imaginations"

New from the University of California Press: Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and Its Radical Consequences by Brahim El Guabli.

About the book, from the publisher:

Desert Imaginations traces the cultural and intellectual histories that have informed the prevalent ideas of deserts across the globe. The book argues that Saharanism—a globalizing imaginary that perceives desert spaces as empty, exploitable, and dangerous—has been at the center of all desert-focused enterprises. Encompassing spiritual practices, military thinking, sexual fantasies, experiential quests, extractive economies, and experimental schemes, among other projects, Saharanism has shaped the way deserts not only are constructed intellectually but are acted upon. From nuclear testing to border walls, and much more, Brahim El Guabli articulates some of Saharanism's consequential manifestations across different deserts. Desert Imaginations draws on the abundant historical literature and cultural output in multiple languages and across disciplines to delineate the parameters of Saharanism. Against Saharanism's powerful and reductive vision of deserts, the book rehabilitates a tradition of desert eco-care that has been at work in desert Indigenous people's literary, artistic, scholarly, and ritualistic practices.

Read an interview with Brahim El Guabli about Desert Imaginations.
--Marshal Zeringue

"All Eyes on Him"

New from Poisoned Pen Press: All Eyes on Him by Iliana Xander.

About the book, from the publisher:

From #1 bestselling author Iliana Xander comes a twisty, fast-paced psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Freida McFadden.

He's the Man of the Year. But what if he is a monster?

When Natalie saw her best friend leaving the club with a handsome stranger, she never would have thought that the next morning, her friend would be discovered unconscious at a bus stop.

What happened that night? Only her best friend knows. And until she recovers from her coma, she won't be able to tell her side of the story.

Natalie is desperate for answers—so she can't believe her luck when she comes across a photo of the man her friend left with. Except he's on the cover of a magazine, being heralded as the "Man of the Year." This man appears untouchable. He's a millionaire. He's famous. But Natalie suspects he's dangerous.

To prove it, she takes up a job as the housekeeper at his mansion. Her plan is simple. Watch his every move. Gather the evidence. And make him pay. But when she discovers that the last housekeeper went missing, she realizes she's in over her head.

She thought she was setting the trap—but has she just fallen into his?

Visit Iliana Xander's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Development Design"

New from the University of Pittsburgh Press: Development Design: Hotels and Politics in the Hispanic Caribbean by Erica Morawski.

About the book, from the publisher:

Underneath picturesque views of palm trees, fruity cocktails in hotel lounges, and day trips to preserved colonial zones lies a history of tourism design that intersects with larger projects of development and national and cultural identity formation. Locating modernity and coloniality as the key framework within which tourism development takes place, Development Design focuses on hotel design and its relation to larger urban and rural landscapes to uncover the way these seemingly carefree spaces are bound to local politics and international relations. Focusing on three sites in the Hispanic Caribbean—San Juan, Ciudad Trujillo, and Havana—Morawski traces different attitudes and approaches to tourism and its material design through five hotels that serve as case studies. Through examination of wicker chairs and lobby interiors, architecture and landscaping, public works and urban planning, Development Design illustrates the integral role hotel design played in negotiated and contested histories of development in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Dead Set on You"

New from Crooked Lane Books: Dead Set on You: A Novel by Lexi Alexander.

About the book, from the publisher:

A woman wakes up as a spirit in her rival coworker’s apartment in this charming contemporary romance for fans of The Dead Romantics and The Hating Game.

As workaholic Evie Pope nears thirty, she’s determined to slow down and start enjoying the “life” part of work-life balance. With a major promotion—and the financial security that comes with it—on the horizon, she might finally have her chance. But when she wakes up as a spirit in her work rival’s apartment and learns her body is stuck in a coma, her plans are officially DOA.

Being a spirit is bad enough. Discovering that Rafael Vela—the man who used to be her friend and is now her biggest rival—is the only person who can help her? It’s a special kind of purgatory. In no position to negotiate, she strikes a desperate deal: He gets the promotion if he helps reunite Evie’s spirit with her body.

As they begin to spend more time together, Evie discovers there’s more to Rafael than his bedroom eyes and his hey-there dimpled smile. With only a week until Evie’s body is transferred to long-term care and out of Rafael’s reach, Evie must choose between trusting the man who betrayed her years ago and figuring things out the way she’s always done it: alone.

This contemporary romance with a paranormal twist blends heated banter, old grudges, and unfinished business, perfect for anyone who believes in second chances.

Visit Lexi Alexander's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Lieutenants and Light"

New from the University of New Mexico Press: Lieutenants and Light: Mapping the US Army Heliograph Networks in Late Nineteenth-Century Arizona and New Mexico by Robert E.C. Davis.

About the book, from the publisher:

Lieutenants and Light provides an accurate, detailed historical study of the U.S. Army’s use of the heliograph as a tactical means of communication and command and control in the desert environment of Arizona and New Mexico in the late nineteenth century.

The heliograph network in the Southwest, which began development in 1882, used mirror-based signaling devices to facilitate communication across remote outposts, forts, and detachments. Heliographs enabled soldiers to send messages over long distances using Morse code transmitted through sunlight reflections. During and immediately following the campaign against Geronimo in 1886, General Nelson A. Miles implemented a heliograph network that connected key locations from Nogales, Arizona, to Fort Stanton, New Mexico, enhancing command and control. Additional tests and expansions solidified the heliograph’s role as an essential military communication tool.

Reports from the officers tasked with establishing these stations and modern geospatial analysis have identified almost ninety networked heliograph stations established between 1882 and 1893, culminating in the greatest heliograph network ever built.

Many of the officers who helmed these stations went on to distinguished careers in the military, business, or public service. Some had served in the Civil War, and most were veterans of the Indian Wars. Almost a third of these young officers would go on to become general officers, several serving in leadership roles during World War I. Thus, the heliograph not only connected points across the Southwest but also linked a group of officers whose experience and leadership spanned from the Civil War through World War I.

Visit Robert E.C. Davis's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Before I Forget"

New from St. Martin's Press: Before I Forget: A Novel by Tory Henwood Hoen.

About the book, from the publisher:

A funny, heartfelt, late coming-of-age story that examines the role of memory in holding us back—and in moving us forward—for fans of The Collected Regrets of Clover and Maame.

Call it inertia. Call it a quarter-life crisis. Whatever you call it, Cricket Campbell is stuck. Despite working at a zeitgeisty wellness company, the 26-year-old feels anything but well. Still adrift after a tragedy that upended her world a decade ago, she has entered early adulthood under the weight of a new burden: her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

When Cricket’s older sister Nina announces it is time to move Arthur from his beloved Adirondack lake house into a memory-care facility, Cricket has a better idea. In returning home to become her father’s caretaker, she hopes to repair their strained relationship and shake herself out of her perma-funk. But even deeply familiar places can hold surprises.

As Cricket settles back into the family house at Catwood Pond—a place she once loved, but hasn’t visited since she was a teenager—she discovers that her father possesses a rare gift: as he loses his grasp of the past, he is increasingly able to predict the future. Before long, Arthur cements his reputation as an unlikely oracle, but for Cricket, believing in her father’s prophecies might also mean facing the most painful parts of her history. As she begins to remember who she once was, she uncovers a vital truth: the path forward often starts by going back.

With laugh-out-loud humor and profound grace, Before I Forget explores the nuances of family, the complexities of memory, and how sometimes, the people we know the best are the ones who surprise us the most.

Visit Tory Henwood Hoen's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Six Loves of James I"

New from Atria Books: The Six Loves of James I by Gareth Russell.

About the book, from the publisher:

A groundbreaking and insightful exploration of King James I, enigmatic successor to Queen Elizabeth I, from the “meticulous researcher” (The Wall Street Journal) and author of the “enjoyable and readable” (Philippa Gregory, #1 New York Times bestselling author) The Palace.

From the assassination of his father to the explosive political and personal intrigues of his reign, this fresh biography reveals as never before the passions that drove King James I.

Gareth Russell’s “rollicking, gossipy” (Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets), and scholarly voice invites us into James’s world, revealing a monarch whose reign was defined by both his public power and personal vulnerabilities. For too long, historians have shied away from or condemned the exploration of his sexuality. Now, Russell offers a candid narrative that not only reveals James’s relationships with five prominent men but also challenges the historical standards applied to the examination of royal intimacies.

This biography stands as a significant contribution to the understanding of royal history, illuminating the personal experiences that shaped James’s political decisions and his philosophical views on masculinity and sexuality.

Visit Gareth Russell's website.

The Page 99 Test: The Ship of Dreams.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Huguette"

New from Soho Crime: Huguette by Cara Black.

About the book, from the publisher:

In the lawlessness of post–World War II France, a resilient young woman fights to survive and make a living, no matter the cost—from the New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris and the Aimée Leduc series

After Libération, spring 1945: Seventeen-year-old Huguette Faure is a survivor. The war has taken everything from her—both her parents and her sense of safety. Now, pregnant and on the lam, she cannot return to her childhood home in Paris. Forced to reinvent herself, she must outrun her father’s enemies, who want her dead. After narrowly avoiding jail time—thanks to the help of a kindhearted police officer named Claude Leduc—Huguette lands a job assisting a legendary film director. As her role develops from helping him with chores to cooking his books, she sees an opportunity to break free from the ghosts of her past once and for all.

In this big-hearted story of resilience, New York Times bestselling author Cara Black offers a wholly original depiction of postwar France as well as introduces Claude Leduc—the man who decades later inspired his granddaughter, Aimée, to become a private investigator.

Visit Cara Black's website and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads.

The Page 69 Test: Murder at the Lanterne Rouge.

My Book, the Movie: Murder at the Lanterne Rouge.

The Page 69 Test: Murder below Montparnasse.

The Page 69 Test: Murder in Pigalle.

My Book, The Movie: Murder in Pigalle.

My Book, The Movie: Murder on the Champ de Mars.

The Page 69 Test: Three Hours in Paris.

The Page 69 Test: Night Flight to Paris.

Writers Read: Cara Black (March 2023).

Writers Read: Cara Black (March 2024).

The Page 69 Test: Murder at la Villette.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Classroom and the Crowd"

New from Columbia University Press: The Classroom and the Crowd: Poetry and the Promise of Digital Community by Al Filreis.

About the book, from the publisher:

For more than a decade, Al Filreis has taught a free online course about experimental poetry, known as “ModPo,” that has drawn some 435,000 students from 179 countries. Online classes even a fraction of ModPo’s size have been criticized as impersonal and unengaging. But the citizens of ModPo have formed a generous and enduring intellectual community as together they read poems typically dismissed as difficult and inaccessible.

In The Classroom and the Crowd, Filreis reflects on his decades of experience as a founder of participatory literary communities and teacher of online courses, demonstrating that student-centered education offers new possibilities for humane social networking. Introducing readers to ModPo participants and their open-ended, round-the-clock conversations, he shows how online learning can not only be accessible and educational but also deepen our commitment to democracy. Filreis argues that the emphasis on collaborative learning, space for discussion, and the inherent openness of poetry allows for a sense of community, continuity, and even intimacy that often eludes other online educational endeavors. ModPo embodies principles underlying both modern poetics and cooperative education: Writers and readers, like teachers and learners, create meaning together; many voices are clearer than one; and democracy is a creative practice. Proposing an optimistic vision of mass learning, this book contends that asynchronous education has surprising advantages over the traditional classroom, that panics about a crisis of attention and the death of reading are overblown―and that instead of logging off, we should all start reading with a crowd.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Snow Lies Deep"

New from Minotaur Books: The Snow Lies Deep: A Mercy Carr Mystery by Paula Munier.

About the book, from the publisher:

The latest thrilling installment in the bestselling Mercy Carr mystery series

Mercy and Troy are looking forward to baby Felicity’s first holiday season, and they’re determined to make it a Christmas to remember. At Northshire’s annual Solstice Soirée, hosted by Northshire’s finest and funded by Mercy’s billionaire pal Feinberg, Amy’s little girl Helena is sitting on Santa Claus’s lap. She’s telling him she’d like a Bitty Baby doll just like little Felicity when the bearded man leaps up, thrusts the toddler at her mother Amy, and staggers away from the festivities. He disappears into the woods. By the time Elvis and Mercy find him, Santa Claus aka the town mayor, is lying on his back, dead. A yule log made of oak sits on his chest, burning bright, a beacon of light on the darkest day of the year.

This strange murder is the first of a series of similar Solstice-themed killings targeting the town’s most prominent citizens. Beloved family friend Lillian Jenkins, the grande dame of Northshire, could be next. Mercy and Troy and the dogs must team up with Thrasher and Harrington to capture The Yuletide Killer before he strikes again, this time far closer to home.

Visit Paula Munier's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Paula Munier & Bear.

My Book, The Movie: A Borrowing of Bones.

The Page 69 Test: A Borrowing of Bones.

Writers Read: Paula Munier (October 2019).

My Book, The Movie: Blind Search.

The Page 69 Test: Blind Search.

My Book, The Movie: The Hiding Place.

The Page 69 Test: The Hiding Place.

Q&A with Paula Munier.

My Book, The Movie: The Wedding Plot.

The Page 69 Test: The Wedding Plot.

Writers Read: Paula Munier (July 2022).

Writers Read: Paula Munier (October 2023).

My Book, The Movie: Home at Night.

The Page 69 Test: Home at Night.

My Book, The Movie: The Night Woods.

The Page 69 Test: The Night Woods.

Writers Read: Paula Munier (October 2024).

--Marshal Zeringue

"Facing Decay"

New from Penn State University Press: Facing Decay: Beauty, Aging, and Cosmetics in Early Modern Europe by Erin Griffey.

About the book, from the publisher:

The pursuit of youth and beauty transcends time periods. As now, women in the early modern period also sought to turn back the clock using cosmetic recipes promising beauty and clear, younger-looking skin.

Facing Decay systematically examines early modern visual art, anti-aging recipes, and a range of other writings to investigate the period’s obsession with youth and beauty―and the corollary anxiety about age and decay. It provides the first examination of not only why but how early modern women sought to fight the appearance of old age. Author Erin Griffey argues that youthful skin was not simply a cosmetic pursuit; it was regarded as a signal of health, and thus beauty regimens intersected with medical practice. She takes beauty and its decay seriously and links therapeutic cosmetics to not only medical knowledge but also scientific ingenuity, social benefit, and cultural agency.

This interdisciplinary book negotiates both the representations and the practical applications of beauty culture in early modern Europe through the history of art, society, medicine, and science. It is a fascinating and frequently surprising work that should appeal to anyone interested in the history of women, aging, medicine, beauty culture, and beauty recipes.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Probable Son"

New from Lake Union: The Probable Son: A Novel by Cindy Jiban.

About the book, from the publisher:

A mother secretly believes she’s raising the wrong son, mistakenly switched at birth. But secrets unravel in a gripping and affecting novel about parental love, impossible choices, and what it means to truly be there for someone.

For fourteen years, teacher Elsa Vargas has hidden her belief that she’s mothering the wrong child, accidentally switched at birth. Her beloved son Bird is not like the rest of the family. He’s the introvert among extroverts, the optimist among skeptics. But Elsa knows love is more important than truth, and the best way to keep Bird is to leave well enough alone.

Then the odds catch up with her. A student named Thomas in Elsa’s math class is suddenly uncannily familiar, an older version of Bird’s little brother. When she realizes Thomas shares a birthday with Bird, Elsa has a terrible realization: Thomas is probably her long-lost son.

Soon Elsa is on a clumsy journey to get to know Thomas―and to confirm the truth. Testing the bonds of family, friendship, and even community will surely all be worth it if she gains a son. But what if she loses Bird, the boy she has loved and mothered since his first days of life?

Visit Cindy Jiban's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Discovering the Okapi"

New from Johns Hopkins University Press: Discovering the Okapi: Western Science, Indigenous Knowledge, and the Search for a Rainforest Enigma by Simon Pooley.

About the book, from the publisher:

The captivating history of the okapi and its symbolic role in science, culture, and conservation.

In Discovering the Okapi, Simon Pooley offers a fascinating portrait of the okapi―an elusive short-necked giraffid with zebra stripes, surviving in the rainforests of central Africa's Congo basin―and unpacks the complicated layers of Western science and Indigenous knowledge that shaped the world's understanding of this unique creature. Pooley tells the story of the okapi's "discovery" in 1900 by British naturalist Sir Harry Johnston, as well as the overlooked contributions of the Indigenous African people whose expertise made this sighting and subsequent hunt for specimens possible. The book traces how colonial politics and scientific racism shaped early accounts of the animal's study and examines the enduring biases that continue to influence conservation efforts today. The okapi became a symbol of scientific curiosity, colonial power, and conservation challenges, revealing complex intersections among biodiversity, cultural heritage, and environmental stewardship. Its precarious existence in captivity and the wild exposes how Western and Indigenous approaches to conservation can―and must―find common ground for its survival.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Heiress of Nowhere"

Coming March 17 from Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee.

About the book, from the publisher:

An orphan races to uncover a killer—who may have come from the sea—when she and her beloved orcas fall under suspicion in this historical gothic mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl, Stacey Lee.

1918. Orcas Island, Washington.

Lucy Nowhere has spent her life working on the vast estate of the eccentric shipbuilder who took her in after she washed ashore as a baby in a green canoe. Still, she has long wished for a life off the island, which holds no answers for her.

After a series of seal heads begin appearing on beaches, Lucy stumbles upon her employer’s severed head on the shoreline. Rumors swirl that a mischievous spirit has struck again, much like it commanded its minions, the sea wolves, to kill a nameless cannery worker years ago. But the science-minded Lucy believes a murderer, not the sea wolves, is at fault.

Then Lucy is named the heiress of the estate, displacing a dashing relation. The inheritance casts Lucy herself under suspicion. And worse, paints a large target on her back.

Though her friend, the watchful estate cowboy guard, urges her to leave the island with him, Lucy knows the only way she can discover who she is, and to free the island of its curse, is to find the real killer—before she becomes the next victim.

Visit Stacey Lee's website.

Writers Read: Stacey Lee.

My Book, The Movie: Under a Painted Sky.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Japan Reborn"

New from Columbia University Press: Japan Reborn: Race and Eugenics from Empire to Cold War by Kristin Roebuck.

About the book, from the publisher:

At the peak of imperial expansion in World War II, Japan touted itself as a multiracial paradise. The state, eugenicists, and media supported intermarriage and adoption as tools of empire, encouraging “blood mixing” to fuse diverse populations into one harmonious family. Yet after defeat in World War II, a chorus of Japanese policy makers, journalists, and activists railed against Japanese women who consorted with occupying American men and their mixed-race children. Why did Japan embrace “mixed blood” as an authoritarian empire yet turn to xenophobic racial nationalism as a postwar democracy?

Tracing changing views of the “mixed blood” child, Japan Reborn reveals how notions of racial mixture and purity reshaped Japanese identity. Kristin Roebuck unravels the politics of sex and reproduction in Japan from the invasion of Manchuria in the 1930s to the dawn of US-Japan alliance in the 1950s, uncovering eugenic ideas and policies that policed the boundaries of kinship and country. She shows how the trauma of defeat sparked an abhorrence of interracial sex and caused a profound devolution in the social status of “mixed” children and their Japanese mothers. She also unpacks how Japan’s postwar identity crisis put pressure on the United States to bring Japanese brides and “mixed blood” children into the Cold War American family. Shedding light on the sexual and racial tensions of empire, occupation, and the Cold War, this book offers new ways to understand the shifting terrain of Japanese nationalism and international relations.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Queen of the Dead"

New from Angry Robot: Queen of the Dead by Sarah Broadway.

About the book, from the publisher:

A fun and fast-paced paranormal urban fantasy with a touch of romance and supernatural hijinks galore, perfect for fans of The Whispering Dead by Darcy Coates.

Speaking with the dead is nothing new for Lou. It’s a curse she’s learned to hide from everyone – sometimes even herself. After running away from a past that took advantage of those abilities, Lou finally carves out a normal life for herself. That is, until she receives a mysterious message from a ghost – the Veil is thinning – and a cult of necromancers infiltrates her small town.

In a race to discover and defeat her foe, Lou learns she’s not alone in the fight. She grudgingly leans on her allies but wonders who to trust. What’s more impossible is suddenly finding herself the romantic interest of a man who somehow isn’t afraid of all the dark, creepy things about her... but even he has secrets for her to discover.

Time is running out, and reality seems to be slipping away. To save her new life and the people she loves, Lou must learn to accept who she is and embrace her true abilities, no matter where they might take her.

Visit Sarah Broadway's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Sense of Space"

New from the University of Chicago Press: A Sense of Space: A Local's Guide to a Flat Earth, the Edge of the Cosmos, and Other Curious Places by John Edward Huth.

About the book, from the publisher:

From global navigation to natal charts to memory palaces and beyond, a thrilling journey through humanity’s visualization of new spaces.

When you give directions, do you tell someone to go straight ahead and turn left? Or do you suggest that they head north before moving west? Your answer reveals more than you might think.

In A Sense of Space, writer and physicist John Edward Huth uses these two kinds of navigation—either centered on or independent of people—to help readers chart a path through evolving spatial models. In doing so, he offers an astonishing exploration of how changing scientific models of space alter our social perceptions, and vice versa. New visions of space can emanate from human considerations, he argues, and those new visions can in turn spawn new cultural phenomena. With accessible introductions to topics including mental maps, astrology, astronomy, particle physics, and Einstein’s relativity, Huth makes clear that, although our minds have evolved to comprehend space in terrestrial distances, we routinely extend this understanding to realms far removed from our everyday experiences, from cosmological to subatomic scales.

Taking us across the eons from the myth of a flat earth to the mysteries of the multiverse, A Sense of Space is an energetic, thoughtful guide to how we orient ourselves in our world—and beyond.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Grave Deception"

Coming soon from Crooked Lane Books: A Grave Deception: A Kate Hamilton Mystery by Connie Berry.

About the book, from the publisher:

Antiques expert Kate Hamilton dives into the past to solve a fourteenth-century mystery with disturbing similarities to a modern-day murder in the sixth installment of the Kate Hamilton mystery series.

Kate Hamilton and her husband, Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, have settled into married life in Long Barston. When archaeologists excavating the ruins of a nearby plague village discover the miraculously preserved body of a fourteenth-century woman, Kate and her colleague, Ivor Tweedy, are asked to appraise the grave goods, including a valuable pearl. When tests reveal the woman was pregnant and murdered, the owner of the estate on which the body was found, an amateur historian, asks Kate to identify her and, if possible, her killer. Surprised, Kate agrees to try.

Meanwhile, tensions within the archaeological team erupt when the body of the lead archaeologist turns up at the dig site with fake pearls in his mouth and stomach. Then a third body is found in the excavations. Meanwhile, Kate’s husband Tom is tracking the movements of a killer of his own.

With the help of 700-year-old documents and the unpublished research of a deceased historian, Kate must piece together the past before the grave count reaches four.

Visit Connie Berry's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Art of Betrayal.

My Book, The Movie: The Art of Betrayal.

Q&A with Connie Berry.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Digital Future of English"

New from Oxford University Press: The Digital Future of English: Literary Media Studies by Simone Murray.

About the book, from the publisher:

More than any other academic discipline, literary studies is the creation of print culture. How then can it thrive in the digital era? Early 1990s predictions of the book's imminent demise presented a simplistic either/or choice between the legacy of moribund print and triumphalist digital technology. Yet we have grown to experience the two media as complexly interdependent and even complementary. Clearly, digital does not kill print. But literary studies in the digital era cannot simply resume business as usual. It is urgently necessary to reconsider the discipline's founding assumptions in light of digital technology.

The digital era prompts a rethinking of literary studies' object of study, as well as its methods, theories, audiences and pedagogical practices. What counts as literature necessarily shifts in an age of proliferating born-digital texts and do-it-yourself (DIY) online publication. Where should literary studies sit institutionally, and how might it graft contextually-oriented social sciences methods onto its traditionally humanistic mode of textual analysis? Why should literary study continue to marginalize emotional responses to texts when online communities bond via readerly affect? Who is the audience for literary criticism in an age where expertise is routinely challenged yet communication with global book-loving publics has never been technologically easier? Finally, how can we utilize digital tools to rejuvenate literary studies pedagogy and help English staff better connect with millennial-age students?

Literary studies has been convulsed for decades by debates over electronic literature and, more recently, digitally-aided 'distant reading'. But these discussions still mostly confine themselves to demarcating our proper object of study. We need to think more expansively about digital technology's impact on the underpinning tenets of the discipline. Literary Media Studies is pitched at fellow literary scholars, book historians, media theorists, cultural sociologists, digital humanists and those working at the interface of these converging disciplines. It models constructive engagement with contemporary digital culture. Most importantly, it brings a burst of sorely needed optimism to the question of literary studies' digital future.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Ten Thousand Light Years from Okay"

New from Lake Union: Ten Thousand Light Years from Okay: A Novel by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman.

About the book, from the publisher:

A widowed and grieving young novelist believes her words create realities―both tragic and charmed―in a hopeful and surprising novel about family, newfound love, and moving on.

Four years after her husband Sam’s tragic death mirrored a fatal plotline in her debut novel, Thea Packer hasn’t written another word, afraid that what she writes could come true again. Resigned to raising her young daughter in her in-laws’ guesthouse, Thea is on the verge of abandoning her literary career when inspiration strikes.

Her new book is a fairy-tale romance featuring a long-lost astronaut who miraculously returns home to his family, with the hero loosely drawn from Thea’s memories of Sam. Thea considers the fantasy a harmless way to process her grief.

That is, until a charismatic man walks into her life―and he’s an astronaut.

Thea can’t believe it’s happening again. Or is it? Her mother-in-law doesn’t think so―she sees only a woman increasingly detached from reality. Now, as coincidences between Thea’s writing and reality pile up, Thea must unravel the secrets of her past and tackle her grief head-on before she loses more than she ever imagined.

Visit Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Artisans and Designers"

New from The Kent State University Press: Artisans and Designers by Rebecca Jumper Matheson.

About the book, from the publisher:

One couple's bold vision for American fashion

Long before the fashion industry formally addressed questions of sustainability and advocated for “slow fashion,” William and Elizabeth Phelps, a husband-and-wife design duo, were already working to create hand-crafted leathergoods and functional women’s sportswear that could be worn for decades. Active from the 1940s to the late 1960s, Phelps Associates quickly won acclaim and found commercial success, attracting a broad clientele and becoming known for quality, utility, and craftsmanship.

Using vintage metal insignia and hardware, often military surplus, the Phelpses designed bags and belts that answered the need for American-made luxury goods during and after World War II. In the post-war period, the Phelpses experimented with new methods of production and branched into ready-to-wear fashion. Meanwhile, the pair worked to revive artisan workshops, emphasized fostering positive work environments for their employees, and offered employment opportunities for injured veterans.

Artisans and Designers is the first in-depth analysis of the Phelpses’ partnership, their often overlooked contributions to the fashion industry, and their forward-thinking business practices. Rebecca Jumper Matheson draws on their pieces to connect their work to larger conversations about sustainable fashion, consumerism, industrialization practices, and the intersection of art with American identity during and after World War II. The result is an engagingly written, richly illustrated account of a brand committed to creating classic pieces that have stood the test of time.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Queen Who Came in from the Cold"

New from Crooked Lane Books: The Queen Who Came in from the Cold: Her Majesty The Queen Investigates by S. J. Bennett.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Amateur sleuth Queen Elizabeth II is back on the case in 1960s England in the fifth installment of this historical mystery series The New York Times Book Review calls “sheer entertainment,” perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Richard Osman.

1961, England. The Queen is spending a night on board the royal train with her entourage and her sister, Princess Margaret. But before they reach their destination, an unreliable witness claims to have seen a brutal murder from one of the carriages.

The Queen and her assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, get to work on their second joint investigation. No one else saw the crime. If there is a victim, could he be the missing photographer friend of Margaret’s new husband, Tony Armstrong Jones?

This time, the Cold War threatens to undermine the Queen’s upcoming visit to Italy. She and Joan must tackle dark forces that follow them all the way, in a tale of spies, lies, and treachery.

This charming mystery will be perfect for fans of The Crown and Miss Marple.

Visit S.J. Bennett's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"A Tolerance for Inequality"

New from the University of Chicago Press: A Tolerance for Inequality: American Public Opinion and Economic Policy by Andrew J. Taylor.

About the book, from the publisher:

A nuanced reassessment of US democratic responsiveness and public opinion on economic policy that explores the real reasons government does not do more to mitigate inequality.

Many believe that the United States’ growing economic inequality is the result of a political system that has been captured by wealthy elites. But is economic capture actually the problem? In A Tolerance for Inequality, Andrew J. Taylor examines this question from multiple angles, drawing on public opinion data and analyses of representation in Congress. Taylor finds that economic policy outcomes are more reflective of public opinion than the common wisdom suggests.

Broadly, less-affluent Americans’ policy preferences are not meaningfully different from the preferences of other Americans, and Washington is responsive to these preferences. Although politicians are more affluent, on average, than most Americans, this does not prevent them from representing the economic views of their poorer constituents. Today’s Democratic Party is more interested in regulation and supplying public goods than redistributing wealth downwards, and political reforms designed to provide more equal outcomes are largely misguided. In short, Americans get the kind of economy they at least say they want.

Visit Andrew J. Taylor's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Flightless Birds of New Hope"

Coming January 1 from Lake Union: The Flightless Birds of New Hope: A Novel by Farah Naz Rishi.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Three estranged siblings―and a high-maintenance cockatoo―reunite in a luminous novel about forgiveness, connection, and the complexities of family by the author of Sorry for the Inconvenience.

Upon the sudden deaths of their bird-obsessed parents, the three Shah siblings reunite.

Aliza has spent years holding their crumbling family together, caring for their younger brother, Sammy. And Aden, named executor of the estate, finds himself resentfully facing the one member of the family who always got their parents’ undivided love: their famous Bollywood-bopping cockatoo, Coco.

One reckless night, Aden opens Coco’s cage, letting her do what he did a decade ago―fly away from home.

In a panic, the siblings set off to recover her, armed with only Coco’s tracking chip and the fragile hope they might set things right. What they think will be a quick search and rescue becomes a two-week cross-country road trip, where old grudges resurface, relationships are tested, and long-buried dreams stir awake.

As Coco, meanwhile, forges her own path to the past, Aden, Aliza, and Sammy follow―not just the bird, but the possibility of something more: a way back to each other.

Visit Farah Naz Rishi's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Forgotten Debate"

New from the University Press of Kansas: The Forgotten Debate: The Korean War and the Roots of America's Ideological Divisions by Dane J. Cash.

About the book, from the publisher:

A deeply researched political history that finds a new origin story to today’s deeply entrenched partisanship. Cash reminds us that the “forgotten war” in Korea was also the occasion for the “forgotten debate” between liberals and conservatives.

When it comes to the origins of today’s sharp partisan divide, most have pointed to the usual suspects—Newt Gingrich’s Republican Revolution in 1994, Watergate, and the Vietnam War. In The Forgotten Debate, Dane J. Cash suggests that we need to look further back in history. He argues that we can trace the roots of the current ideological divide in America to the period of the Korean War.

The 1950s were hardly a time of “liberal consensus,” as Cash maintains that liberals themselves were quite divided about the proper course of action in Korea and in the Cold War more generally. Left liberals supported containment policy and its manifestation as a limited war in Korea, whereas hawkish liberals favored a much more aggressive strategy, particularly one vis-à-vis Communist China, which was largely indistinguishable from the position taken by avowed conservatives. The seeds of neoconservatism were thus sown much earlier than is typically appreciated. Furthermore, conservative voices were galvanized by what they perceived to be American timidity (and ultimately failure) in prosecuting the Korean War. Their frustrations about Korea and American weakness toward China led them to develop a unilateralist, “America First” foreign policy, which coalesced into a coherent movement several years prior to the founding of William F. Buckley, Jr.’s National Review in 1954—generally considered to be the genesis of modern conservatism.

Drawing on a range of opinion journals, The Forgotten Debate shows that conflict, rather than consensus, marked elite attitudes to the Korean War. Cash thus reminds us that the divisions in society today have a much longer history than we typically realize. The Korean War is often ignored and overshadowed by later developments, like the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, but many of our current ideological positions were forged in that forgotten period.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Lost Heiress"

New from Lake Union: The Lost Heiress: A Novel by Elizabeth Klehfoth.

About the book, from the publisher:

From the author of All These Beautiful Strangers comes a haunting and operatic tale of the love, regret, and family secrets that beat in the dark heart of a towering cliffside mansion.

Wealthy heiress Saoirse Towers vanished during her eighteenth birthday gala four decades ago. Now her remains have finally been found under Cliffhaven, the aristocratic family’s mansion high atop the windswept Central Coast of California. But the mystery only deepens…for her skeleton is not alone.

In vibrant 1982, Ana Rojas arrives to care for the supposedly frail Saoirse, who turns out to be a beautiful, spirited young woman straining against her family’s standards. But Ana bears secrets of her own. She’s come to Cliffhaven with a hidden agenda, one complicated by her growing feelings for Saoirse’s handsome brother.

But it’s formidable housekeeper Florence Talbot who truly holds the key to the past―a locked box teeming with secret betrayal, forbidden love, and hard-won redemption. Casting a long shadow, one tragedy binds the three women’s lives together. And as the truth about Saoirse’s fate and those it entangled comes to light, the legacy of Cliffhaven will be forever changed.

Visit Elizabeth Klehfoth's website.

Writers Read: Elizabeth Klehfoth (July 2018).

--Marshal Zeringue