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Week of December 1, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of December 1st include THE NOTE, a suspenseful story from Alafair Burke about a vacation in the Hamptons that goes terribly wrong for three friends with a complicated history; ISOLA by Allegra Goodman, an epic saga of love, faith and defiance that finds a young woman and her lover marooned on an island; THE WOMAN IN ME, Britney Spears' brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith and hope; APRIL STORM, a riveting, much-anticipated posthumous novel from Leila Meacham, in which a seemingly perfect suburban housewife is being pursued by a private detective --- and hunted by a murderer; and the paperback original THE GALLAGHER PLACE by Julie Doar, a layered exploration of family secrets, sibling misconceptions and an unsolved murder set in New York’s Dutchess County.

Erin O. White, author of Like Family

Ruth and her wife, Wyn, are living with their four children on their small farm in Radclyffe, New York. It’s a sweet life, but there’s a secret at its center, one that not even Ruth’s best friend, Caroline, knows. What Caroline does know is that she loves and depends on Ruth, and on the bond between their families. More than anything, she wants her tenderhearted son not to grow up lonely the way she did. Unfortunately, no one can assure her of that, especially not her husband. He just wants things to be easy and drama-free --- which is impossible, as he has donated his sperm to his cousin, Tobi, and her wife so that they could have kids of their own. Now those children are asking unanswerable questions. After an unexpected death in their community, all three couples are forced to confront the tensions that have long been buried beneath the surfaces of their lives.

December 2025

December's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The HousemaidDiary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, 100 Nights of Hero, The Chronology of Water and Not Without Hope; the series premiere of Paramount+'s "Little Disasters"; the season premiere of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" on Disney+ and Hulu; the season finales of HBO's "IT: Welcome to Derry" and Apple TV+'s "Down Cemetery Road"; the midseason finales of "Tracker" and "Watson" on CBS; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring and Black Phone 2.

November 26, 2025

This is the season for gratitude.

Let me start with you, our readers. Thank you for reading this newsletter and being a part of our Bookreporter audience. We appreciate you! We love pulling together weekly updates for you, as well as our lineup of events. But none of it would matter if it was not for you joining us each week to read our suggestions --- and watching and listening to the interviews and preview events that we produce. We truly love what we do and enjoy bringing it to you.

Anthony Hopkins, author of We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir

Born and raised in Port Talbot --- a small Welsh steelworks town --- amid war and depression, Sir Anthony Hopkins grew up around men who were tough, to say the least, and eschewed all forms of emotional vulnerability in favor of alcoholism and brutality. A struggling student in school, he was deemed by his peers, his parents and other adults as a failure with no future ahead of him. But, on a fateful Saturday night, the disregarded Welsh boy watched the 1948 adaptation of Hamlet, sparking a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted. With candor and a voice that is both arresting and vulnerable, Sir Anthony recounts his various career milestones and provides a once-in-a-lifetime look into the brilliance behind some of his most iconic roles.

Kathy Reichs, author of Evil Bones: A Temperance Brennan Novel

Small creatures have been turning up throughout Charlotte, North Carolina, mutilated and displayed in a bizarre manner. But one day, Temperance Brennan gets a disturbing call. The perp is upping the ante. This find could be human. Tempe visits the scene and discovers that the victim is a dog. As one who has always found animal cruelty abhorrent, Tempe agrees to help apprehend the person responsible, and she acquires an equally outraged ally in semi-retired homicide detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell. Then a woman is found disfigured and posed in a manner that mimics the animal killings. Subsequently, people Tempe cares about begin to go missing until it becomes clear she is being taunted, the target in a sick game that has her and Slidell racing against a ticking clock and facing a terrifying question: “What is pure evil?”

Editorial Content for The Seven Rings: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 3

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Pamela Kramer

Set on the rocky coast of Maine, in a beautiful manor house filled with ghosts, THE SEVEN RINGS wraps up Nora Roberts’ The Lost Bride Trilogy. Some of the ghosts are members of the Poole family who owned the mansion. Others worked there, and their spirits still inhabit the spacious rooms. But there is one entity that doesn't belong, an evil spirit, who longs to possess the house and is willing to eliminate anyone who gets in her way. She killed seven Poole brides and stole their wedding rings, and she is intent on being the mistress of the mansion. Read More

Teaser

Long ago, Arthur Poole built a grand house overlooking the turbulent ocean in a Maine village that bore his name. Today, Sonya MacTavish lives in that house --- a manor that has been cursed for generations. Within its walls, she has witnessed the deaths of seven brides and the thefts of seven wedding rings. And now, to break the curse and banish a malevolent spirit once and for all, a difficult task must be completed. After Sonya; her boyfriend, Trey; and their friends are forced to hear, see --- and feel --- the suffering of the house’s many ghosts, their bond only strengthens and their anger is renewed. Refusing to let her spirit be broken, Sonya searches each room for clues to her ancestors’ hidden story. But the enemy in the black dress continues to hover and come at her in frightening forms.

Promo

Long ago, Arthur Poole built a grand house overlooking the turbulent ocean in a Maine village that bore his name. Today, Sonya MacTavish lives in that house --- a manor that has been cursed for generations. Within its walls, she has witnessed the deaths of seven brides and the thefts of seven wedding rings. And now, to break the curse and banish a malevolent spirit once and for all, a difficult task must be completed. After Sonya; her boyfriend, Trey; and their friends are forced to hear, see --- and feel --- the suffering of the house’s many ghosts, their bond only strengthens and their anger is renewed. Refusing to let her spirit be broken, Sonya searches each room for clues to her ancestors’ hidden story. But the enemy in the black dress continues to hover and come at her in frightening forms.

About the Book

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts concludes her compelling Lost Bride trilogy as two women --- one dead, one alive --- prepare for a terrifying final showdown.

Long ago, Arthur Poole built a grand house overlooking the turbulent ocean, in a Maine village that bore his name. Today, Sonya MacTavish lives in that house --- a manor that has been cursed for generations. Within its walls, she has witnessed the deaths of seven brides and the thefts of seven wedding rings. And now, to break the curse and banish a malevolent spirit once and for all, a difficult task must be completed.

After Sonya, her boyfriend, Trey, and their friends are forced to hear, see --- and feel --- the suffering of the house’s many ghosts as their torment is reenacted by the evil presence, their bond only strengthens and their anger is renewed. Refusing to let her spirit be broken, Sonya searches each room for clues to her ancestors’ hidden story, putting the picture together, unearthing small treasures and uncovering the moments of joy that existed among the sorrows. She’s determined to bring light to this haunted place --- to fill it with people, with life and hope, once again.

But the enemy in the black dress continues to hover, to come at her in frightening forms. They may be illusions --- but illusions can be powerful enough to wound and kill. She feeds on fear and lies are her weapon. This dark-hearted witch wants to be mistress of Poole Manor, at any cost. And Sonya will need to fight a battle across two realms to finally take possession of the house on the clifftop --- and of her own future.

Audiobook available, read by Brittany Pressley 

Editorial Content for Robert B. Parker's Showdown: A Spenser Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

When Robert B. Parker passed away in 2010, he left behind a fine legacy of work and a unique collection of characters. Perhaps the most iconic of the bunch is Spenser. Thanks to the diligence of excellent writers like Mike Lupica who have helped keep the series alive, Spenser’s fans continue to enjoy watching him take his act into the present day. Read More

Teaser

Vic Hale is one of the biggest --- and loudest --- podcasters in the nation and got there by spewing overheated rhetoric that’s reviled by some but loved by even more. His particular brand of “entertainment” is so successful, he’s about to sign the biggest contract in the history of online broadcasting. Vic is riding high…until he gets a visit from Spenser. Spenser is there on behalf of Daniel Lopez, a young man who believes Hale may be his father. It’s a potentially explosive revelation for a man in the podcaster’s position, and it might even be enough to blow up his massive new deal. That could explain the bodies that start popping up --- bodies connected in one way or another with the mystery surrounding Daniel’s birth. There are a lot of questions remaining, and Spenser is going to have to find the answers before someone shuts Hale or Daniel up for good.

Promo

Vic Hale is one of the biggest --- and loudest --- podcasters in the nation and got there by spewing overheated rhetoric that’s reviled by some but loved by even more. His particular brand of “entertainment” is so successful, he’s about to sign the biggest contract in the history of online broadcasting. Vic is riding high…until he gets a visit from Spenser. Spenser is there on behalf of Daniel Lopez, a young man who believes Hale may be his father. It’s a potentially explosive revelation for a man in the podcaster’s position, and it might even be enough to blow up his massive new deal. That could explain the bodies that start popping up --- bodies connected in one way or another with the mystery surrounding Daniel’s birth. There are a lot of questions remaining, and Spenser is going to have to find the answers before someone shuts Hale or Daniel up for good.

About the Book

Spenser may have uncovered an explosive secret that threatens the career of a controversial figure in this latest installment of Robert B. Parker’s beloved series.

Vic Hale isn’t anyone’s idea of a father figure. He is one of the biggest --- and loudest --- podcasters in the nation and got there by spewing overheated rhetoric that’s reviled by some but loved by even more. His particular brand of “entertainment” is so successful, he’s about to sign the biggest contract in the history of online broadcasting. Vic is riding high...until he gets a visit from Spenser, who specializes in bringing guys like Hale back down to Earth.

Spenser is there on behalf of Daniel Lopez, a young man who believes Hale may be his father. It’s a potentially explosive revelation for a man in the podcaster’s position, and it might even be enough to blow up his massive new deal. That could explain the bodies that start popping up --- bodies connected in one way or another with the mystery surrounding Daniel’s birth. There are a lot of questions remaining, and Spenser is going to have to find the answers before someone shuts Hale or Daniel up for good.

Audiobook available, read by Joe Mantegna

Editorial Content for Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen's Unsung Characters

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jane T. Krebs

Fair warning: To get the most enjoyment from each of the stories in LADIES IN WAITING, which has been published in honor of Jane Austen's 250th birthday, it will be more fun to have a good grasp of Austen’s novels. Read More

Teaser

In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, nine authors --- Adriana Trigiani, Sarah MacLean, Eloisa James, Elinor Lipman, Audrey Bellezza, Karen Dukess, Emily Harding, Nikki Payne and Diana Quincy --- have come together with wildly imaginative reboots of the lives of several of Austen’s minor characters. Written with plenty of love and wit, these clever stories star everyone from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE’s snobbish Caroline Bingley to the modern descendant of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY’s Eliza Williams, and much more. Blurring genres and taking us across the oceans, LADIES IN WAITING is a heartfelt celebration of Jane Austen and her timeless masterpieces.

Promo

In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, nine authors --- Adriana Trigiani, Sarah MacLean, Eloisa James, Elinor Lipman, Audrey Bellezza, Karen Dukess, Emily Harding, Nikki Payne and Diana Quincy --- have come together with wildly imaginative reboots of the lives of several of Austen’s minor characters. Written with plenty of love and wit, these clever stories star everyone from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE’s snobbish Caroline Bingley to the modern descendant of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY’s Eliza Williams, and much more. Blurring genres and taking us across the oceans, LADIES IN WAITING is a heartfelt celebration of Jane Austen and her timeless masterpieces.

About the Book

Celebrate Jane Austen’s classic novels with this short story anthology starring forgotten characters as they experience their own happy endings.

In honor of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, nine authors --- Adriana Trigiani, Sarah MacLean, Eloisa James, Elinor Lipman, Audrey Bellezza, Karen Dukess, Emily Harding, Nikki Payne and Diana Quincy --- have come together with wildly imaginative reboots of the lives of several of Austen’s minor characters.

Written with plenty of love and wit, these clever stories star everyone from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE’s snobbish Caroline Bingley to the modern descendant of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY’s Eliza Williams, and much more. Blurring genres and taking us across the oceans, LADIES IN WAITING is a heartfelt celebration of Jane Austen and her timeless masterpieces.

Audiobook available; read by Shiromi Arserio, Billie Fulford-Brown, Fiona Hardingham and Angel Pean