Books Publishing This Week
Books Publishing This Week: November 17 - 23
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It’s a crisp November evening, and you’re finally ready to sink into the quiet, comforting space you’ve created for yourself. All day, you’ve been looking forward to this moment, knowing that once everything else was done, you could curl up with a new book and let the world outside fade away. The night air has turned sharp, bringing a chill that makes you even more grateful for the warmth of your home. You can hear the faint rustling of leaves against the window, a soft reminder of the world outside, but tonight, you’re content to stay right here, wrapped in comfort.
You reach for the red knit throw blanket draped over the back of your armchair. It’s your favorite—a rich, deep red that feels like the perfect match for November’s lingering autumn vibes. The texture is soft and slightly weighty, and as you pull it around your shoulders, you feel instantly enveloped in warmth. It’s just what you need on a night like this, when the chill outside makes everything inside feel even cozier.
Beside you, a fall-scented candle flickers on the small table, casting a soft, warm light around the room. The scent is subtle but unmistakably autumnal—notes of cinnamon, clove, and maybe a hint of apple or pumpkin. Every time you catch a whiff of it, you’re reminded of the season’s comforts, of fallen leaves and warm spices. It’s like a little piece of autumn you’ve captured indoors, and it sets the perfect atmosphere for the evening ahead.
On the table, within easy reach, is a mug of hot tea. You chose a blend that feels just right for tonight—maybe something spiced or infused with hints of chamomile and cinnamon. You lift the mug to your lips, savoring the way the warmth seeps through the ceramic and into your hands. The first sip is soothing, the steam curling around your face, adding to the cozy atmosphere you’ve crafted for yourself.
With a contented sigh, you open the book that’s been waiting for you, turning to the first page. There’s something about beginning a new story on a November night that feels different from any other time. The darkness outside, the cold pressing against the windows, and the quiet stillness of the evening all seem to make the story feel even more immersive. The world around you feels paused, like it’s holding its breath, allowing you to lose yourself in the pages completely.
The candlelight flickers, casting soft shadows as you read, each page pulling you deeper into the story. The characters are slowly revealing themselves, the plot thickening as you let yourself sink into the words. Outside, the wind picks up slightly, a gentle reminder of the season’s edge, but you’re warm, snug under your red throw blanket, and the wind only makes you feel more grateful for your cozy retreat.
As the story unfolds, you glance up from your book every now and then, sipping your tea and watching the candlelight dance. The scent of cinnamon and clove fills the room, mingling with the warmth of the tea, creating a small cocoon of comfort. Each sip of tea brings a new wave of warmth, and with every page, the characters and settings start to feel like familiar friends, as if they, too, are part of this quiet evening ritual.
Time seems to drift in this peaceful bubble. The world outside has grown darker, the night deepening, but you’ve almost forgotten it’s there. The only sounds are the soft crackle of the candle and the gentle rustling of pages as you read. Occasionally, you adjust the blanket, pulling it tighter around your shoulders, cocooning yourself even more in its warmth.
As you reach the end of a chapter, you pause, letting the words linger, savoring the feeling of a story just beginning to take shape. The tea has cooled slightly, but it’s still warm enough to sip, each taste a reminder of the comfort surrounding you. The candle’s flame flickers one more time, sending a shadow dancing across the page, and you smile, grateful for the perfect atmosphere you’ve created.
This November night feels timeless, as if it’s held just for you, a moment of calm and escape wrapped in warmth and scented with cinnamon and clove. You take another sip of tea, letting the warmth seep into you as you pick up the book once more, ready to lose yourself in its pages again, knowing that there are many more November nights just like this one ahead.
Dead Below Deck by Jan Gangsei
When an heiress disappears from her superyacht and security footage shows her getting pushed, the main suspect has to prove her innocence in this thrilling mystery at sea told in reverse chronological order, perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Genuine Fraud.
It was supposed to be the best-ever girls’ trip: five days, four friends, one luxury yacht, no parents. But on the final night, as the yacht cruised the deep and dark waters between Florida and Grand Cayman, eighteen-year-old heiress Giselle vanished. She’s nowhere to be found the next morning even after a frantic search, until security footage surfaces . . . showing Maggie pushing her overboard.
But Maggie has no memory of what happened. All she knows is that she woke up with a throbbing headache, thousands of dollars in cash in her safe, a passport that isn’t hers, and Giselle’s diary. And while Maggie had her own reasons to want Giselle dead, so did everyone else on board: jealous Viv, calculating Emi, even some members of the staff.
What really went down on the top deck that night? Maggie will have to work her way backward to uncover the secrets that everyone—even Giselle—kept below deck or she’s dead in the water.
Jan Gangsei crafts a compulsively readable tale of privilege, family, and identity wrapped in a wholly original mystery that will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the final twist.
The Estate by Sarah Jost
The Cloisters meets Starling House in THE ESTATE, a haunting speculative suspense novel following art historian Camille Leray, who becomes an unwitting player in a deadly game of deception when her secret ability to enter the world of any piece of artwork is discovered by an enigmatic aristocrat with a suspect agenda.
Camille seizes the opportunity of a lifetime when French aristocrat Maxime Foucault offers her a chance to authenticate the sculptures of Camille’s artist idol. She agrees to travel to D’Arvor castle: the Foucault family estate, the artist’s former respite, and the fabled medieval haunt of Merlin and Morgane. Driven first by an infatuation with Maxime but ultimately by the echoes of the unsung genius of the artist that haunt the estate, Camille won’t rest until she has uncovered the secrets of the mysterious sculptures—if only her ability to enter the art wasn’t suddenly and inexplicably compromised.
THE ESTATE is wondrously atmospheric, with lush, evocative prose and characters who feel like friends. Bursting with magic, suspense, the lure of Arthurian legend, gothic dark academia vibes, and a mystery to span generations, it’s the perfect escapist read for the goal-driven power reader and the discerning book club member alike.
The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews
Author Interview with Mimi Matthews
A silver-haired equestrienne and a charismatic artist turn a scandalous bargain into a vibrant portrait of love.
Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist—and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother’s pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic…like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who’s ever really seen her.
Aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist’s model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He’ll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience.
After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella’s luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture….
Take It from the Top by Claire Swinarski
Set at a camp over the course of six summers, this novel dives into the falling-out of two girls from different backgrounds who thought they'd be friends forever. Claire Swinarski, Edgar Award nominee of the ALA Notable What Happened to Rachel Riley?, tackles privilege, perspective, and the power of friendship in this page-turning puzzle that readers will devour.
Eowyn Becker has waited all year to attend her sixth summer at Lamplighter Lake Summer Camp. Here, she’s not in the shadow of her Broadway-star older brother; she’s a stellar performer in her own right. Here, the pain of her mom’s death can’t reach her, and she gets to reunite with her best friend, Jules Marrigan—the only person in the world who understands her.
But when she gets to camp, everything seems wrong. The best-friend reunion Eowyn had been dreaming of doesn’t go as planned. Jules will barely even look at Eowyn, let alone talk to her, and Eowyn has no idea why.
Well, maybe she does…
There are two sides to every story, and if you want to understand this one, you’ll need to hear both. Told in a series of alternating chapters that dip back to past summers, the girls’ story will soon reveal how Eowyn and Jules went from being best friends to fierce foils. Can they mend ways before the curtains close on what was supposed to be the best summer of their lives?
Why Won't You Sleep?! by Macall Gordon
Sleep training didn’t work for you? You’re not the only one—and you don’t need to give up.
Researcher and sleep coach Macall Gordon and the Sleep Lady Kim West offer a tried-and-true approach to shifting sleep behavior that actually works . . . even when nothing else has.
A tsunami of modern sleep training methods promise “easy” and “quick” results and for many parents and children, these methods work as intended. However, there is a large, exhausted group of parents whose children have sleep problems that are not responsive to those crying-based methods.
These children tend to be more reactive, persistent, and perceptive than their peers. And when it comes to sleep, little ones with this kind of temperament put up a much, much bigger fight.
They need a different approach. That’s where Why Won’t You Sleep? comes in.
Based on extensive research and proven methods used with thousands of families just like yours, this guide gives you strategies tailored to your child’s unique temperament. Readers will learn:
Why popular sleep training techniques, don’t work for some children
Simple changes to your child’s routine and environment that prime their nervous system for slumber
A step-by-step plan for your child, using the time-tested approach that doesn’t require leaving babies alone to cry
Tips, tricks, and workarounds for night wakings, co-sleeping, and more
How to gently push past plateaus and setbacks
The Mirror by Nora Roberts
#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts continues the hauntingly spectacular Lost Bride Trilogy with book two, The Mirror.
When Sonya MacTavish inherits the huge Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, she has no idea that the house is haunted. The footsteps she hears at night, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. In the present she finds portraits of brides. And when she has visions of an antique mirror, she is drawn to it, sensing it holds dark family secrets.
Then one night the mirror appears and Sonya glides through this looking glass, into the past—and sees a bride murdered on her wedding day, the circle of gold torn from her finger. It is a scene that will play out again and again—a centuries-old curse that must be broken—and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse.
Heir to Thorn and Flame by Ben Alderson
Heir to Thorn and Flame is a passionate and page-turning fantasy romance that will have you reading late into the night. Featuring slow-burn, dark secrets, arranged marriage and found family, it is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Elise Kova and C.S. Pacat.
Married to a ruthless prince…
For years, Max had to serve and obey the vicious magical nobles. Now he is one of them.
When the heir to the throne attacks him, Max accidentally responds with a lethal burst of magic. Max is certain he will be executed. But his power is too rare and precious for that…
Instead, the king forces him to become the boy he killed, taking on the identity and duties of the heir. That included an arranged marriage—to the dangerously attractive Prince Camron.
Living a lie, Max knows he can trust no one. Not Camron. And definitely not Simion, a handsome, dragon-riding spy sent to test his loyalty.
As a deadly struggle for power begins and desire sparks, Max must protect his secret and his heart at all costs.
The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ryeong
Black Mirror meets Convenience Store Woman in this English language debut from bestselling Korean author Kim Ryeo-ryeong – an edgy, arresting drama about a secret marriage service for Korea’s wealthy elite, and one unlikely couple in the thick of it all
Meet Noh Inji: thirty years old, with five wedding rings and counting, and she’s never once been in love.
When Inji first accepted a job at Wedding & Life, the popular matchmaking service that’s taken Korea by a storm, she never imagined her role would be with NM, their secret marriage division that rents out “husbands” and “wives” to their wealthiest clientele. Just like a real marriage, Inji's assignments involve a wedding, some sex and a bit of housework, all tailored exactly to the client’s desires and length of time before they go their separate ways – no legal battles, no fights, no emotional baggage.
After several marriages, Inji has become an old hand. She certainly isn’t interested in finding real love, despite everyone trying to convince her otherwise (her brazen neighbor Granny, her flirtatious best friend Shi-jeong, and her failed blind date, Tae-seong, who won’t take no for an answer).
Then one of Inji's old husbands, a mysterious high profile music producer, requests her back for another year. Over the course of their marriage, the secrets of Inji’s past begin to unravel – as well as the dark, sinister underbelly of the NM’s management team, who will stop at nothing to preserve their reputation… and their clients…
We Three Queens by Rhys Bowen
Listed in Books Set in the 1930s
Author Interview with Rhys Bowen
It's late 1936, and King Edward is in turmoil, having fallen in love with the scandalously divorced and even more scandalously American Wallis Simpson. He wants to marry her but knows that doing so will jeopardize his crown. Edward confides in his dear friend Darcy, Georgie's husband, and the couple agree to hide Wallis in their home while Edward figures out what to do.
But unbeknownst to Georgie and Darcy, Sir Hubert, the owner of the estate, has given a film crew permission to shoot a motion picture about Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn on the grounds. Trying to keep Mrs. Simpson hidden while raising a newborn baby seems like it couldn't be any more stressful for the Rannochs, until one of the stars of the film is found murdered on set. Georgie must solve the murder for king and country before scandal threatens to envelop them all.
Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler
As a former lawyer, bestselling novelist Bonnie Kistler brings her real-world expertise to her fiction, and thus her novels’ plots are usually ripped from the headlines. Her last novel Her, Too, published amid many #MeToo cases, asked why a woman lawyer would defend an accused serial rapist. Her novel The Cage explored the primal fear of elevators and being stuck in one with a potential killer. As one would expect with hooks these good, both novels have been optioned for film. With her new novel Shell Games (Harper Paperbacks; ISBN: 9780063378964; $18.99; Trade Paperback Original; on-sale: November 19, 2024), Bonnie steps seamlessly into the realm of domestic, psychological suspense. This is a whodunit, a whydunit, and a satire of the lives of the rich, famous, and sometimes clueless—in today’s Florida.
The Bright Freight of Memory by Greg Fields
Author Interview with Greg Fields
Matthew Cooney and Donal Mannion shared their time as boys in a rundown neighborhood, without fathers, without comfort, without a sense of tomorrow, then went their separate ways, one to chase the trappings of maturity, the other to the streets. Their days shrouded in boredom, their nights filled with the thrill of the chase, each sought his place and his purpose.
Within their struggles are the challenges of escape, of outrunning the roll of the dice that placed them where they are, and, in the end, of defining what it means to be alive, to constantly strive for the things that are just out of reach.
Stealing Time by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs and Norman Birnbach
Good news for everyone who loved Back to the Future, The Time Traveler's Wife, and Time and Again: the newest page-turner is Stealing Time, a smart, funny caper that will steal your heart.
When there’s no time left, you have to steal it!
New York, 2020. Tori’s world is falling apart. Between the pandemic and her parents’ divorce, what else could go wrong?
Plenty! Like discovering that a jewelry heist forty years ago sent her grandfather to jail and destroyed her family.
New York, 1980. Bobby’s life is pretty great—until a strange girl shows up in his apartment claiming to be a visitor from the future. Specifically, his future, which apparently stinks. Oh, and did she mention she’s his daughter?
Soon Bobby and Tori have joined forces to save the mystical gemstone at the heart of all their troubles. But a gang of thugs wants it too, and they’re not about to let a couple of teenagers get in their way.
The Liberty Scarf by Aimie K. Runyan, J’nell Ciesielski, Rachel McMillan
Author Interview with Aimie K. Runyan
In the midst of a seemingly endless war, a scarf connects three women in the cold winter of 1917 . . .
London: As an ambitious scarf maker, Iris Braxton spends her days surrounded by color and luxury not often seen during the dark days of war that promised to be over by Christmas. That promise has come and gone for three years with still no end in sight and her days continue in a monotony of rations and threads while she spins a dream of becoming Liberty's first female pattern designer. She hasn't the time or interest in rakish soldiers, but the temporarily-on-leave Captain Rex Conrad is persistent--and before long his charm wins her over. But war is cruel and all too soon Conrad leaves once more for the Front, but not before vowing to meet again in Strasbourg, France, the most magical of Christmas cities. Iris begins stitching small messages into each of the scarves she makes in hopes that one will find a way into Rex's hands to let him know she's thinking of him. And when she receives word that he's wounded in Strasbourg, she rushes to his side. Along the way, she passes a woman wearing one of her scarves . . .
Maine: Geneviève Tremblay, a French-Canadian immigrant, is a telephone operator living in Lewiston, Maine. Her beau is a member of a prominent family who has helped to Americanize her in a community often unfriendly to Canadians. As part of this effort, she enlists in the US Army Signal Corps to serve as a bi-lingual operator. Along the way, she meets a French officer who makes her question whether losing her identity is too heavy a price for acceptance.
Belgium: Clara Janssens, a Flemish Nurse, and Roman Allaire, an Alsatian violinist, connect in a Brussels palace-turned-hospital far beyond their routine provincial and countryside lives—and the expectations in those towns. Their love of music creates a spark between them, but the destruction of battle and the transient nature of their relationship threatens the bond they have built. Still, the appearance of a kind stranger and the unexpected gift of a treasured scarf bind them long beyond their stolen moments and offer them a future brighter than they could have even hoped.
