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Anthony Horowitz, author of A Deadly Episode

Ex-Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne is dead. Or, rather, the actor playing him in the film adaptation of The Word is Murder is. Rising star David Caine has been stabbed, and it seems that everyone on the set had a motive. Caine had just fired his PA. He had fallen out with his director, slept with the screenwriter, humiliated his co-star, and dropped his agent days before he was about to sign a multi-million-dollar deal to appear in the next Spider-Man movie. But what if Caine’s murderer had made a mistake? What if it was the real Hawthorne who was the intended victim? For it turns out that the brilliant detective may have gotten it wrong 10 years earlier. An innocent man has died in jail. And perhaps someone has decided that Hawthorne must pay the price.

Tom Perrotta, author of Ghost Town

Jimmy Perrini lives in 1970s suburban New Jersey, a few miles from Manhattan, but a world apart. At the end of eighth grade, after tragedy strikes, Jimmy finds himself lost in a fog of grief that alienates him from friends and family, drifting instead into troubling friendships with two older teenagers. One is a notorious local burnout with a fast car, an endless supply of weed, and a shaky grasp of reality. The other is a smart, eccentric girl, to whom Jimmy finds himself drawn as they become entranced by her Ouija board, which just may offer the only salve to their grief. As a fateful public drama unfolds, Jimmy is torn between the occult beyond and the cold realities of the place he has called home. 

Laura Dave Book Group Event

Laura Dave Book Group Event

Which of the following fiction titles releasing in May have you read or do you plan to read? Please check all that apply.

May 1, 2026, 564 voters

May 1, 2026 - May 15, 2026

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of May 1 - May 15.

We are kicking off this year’s Mother’s Day Author Blog series with Devi S. Laskar. Her third novel, MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR, is about a reporter chasing the biggest story of her career as she contends with a tense newsroom, a dangerous global conflict, and all the problems she’s running away from at home. The book’s release has been bittersweet for Devi, as she explains in this heartwarming tribute to her family of voracious readers. She is especially eager to hear what her mother thinks of her latest work.

Devi S. Laskar

Devi S. Laskar is a poet, novelist, artist, photographer, songwriter and former newspaper reporter. Her debut poetry collection, SELF-PORTRAITS EX MACHINA, is out now from Finishing Line Press. Laskar is the author of the award-winning novel THE ATLAS OF REDS AND BLUES and, recently, CIRCA, a GOOP Book Club selection. Her third novel is the newly released MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR, and her first spoken-word album is coming out this spring. In 2022, USA Today named her one of 50 AAPI authors to read. She holds degrees from Columbia University, University of Illinois and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Editorial Content for Phases: A Memoir

Reviewer (text)

Barbara Bamberger Scott

In PHASES, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, producer and actress Brandy recounts the secrets, sorrows and successes that brought her into the limelight from an early age. Read More

Teaser

From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At 14, she landed her first record deal. At 15, her album went platinum. At 16, she was starring in the hit sitcom “Moesha” and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother Whitney Houston. Yet, as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors, “The Vocal Bible,” as she was known, was struggling. In PHASES, Brandy shares the humble roots of her decades-spanning career, her early struggles with bullies and insecurities as a high schooler, the inside stories behind her most iconic songs and albums, and so much more.

Promo

From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At 14, she landed her first record deal. At 15, her album went platinum. At 16, she was starring in the hit sitcom “Moesha” and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother Whitney Houston. Yet, as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors, “The Vocal Bible,” as she was known, was struggling. In PHASES, Brandy shares the humble roots of her decades-spanning career, her early struggles with bullies and insecurities as a high schooler, the inside stories behind her most iconic songs and albums, and so much more.

About the Book

The iconic, multiplatinum, Grammy Award®–winning performer Brandy brings us a raw, intimate portrait of her life, charting her growth to stardom from Mississippi churches to Hollywood spotlights.

From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At 14, she landed her first record deal. At 15, her album went platinum. At 16, she was starring in the hit sitcom “Moesha” and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother Whitney Houston.

Yet, as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors, “The Vocal Bible,” as she was known, was struggling.

In this piercing, revelatory memoir, Brandy shares:

  • The humble roots of her decades-spanning career
  • Her early struggles with bullies and insecurities as a high schooler
  • the inside stories behind her most iconic songs and albums
  • her star-studded connections with Whitney Houston and Diana Ross
  • the affirmation of friends and family, including her brother Ray J, that helped her through challenging times
  • her inspirational journey to reclaim her sense of self, and her autonomy as a woman in Hollywood and in music
  • and so much more

PHASES is a fearless and remarkable story of hope, resilience and the strength it takes to make peace with the past.

Audiobook available, read by Brandy

Editorial Content for The Caretaker

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

Marcus Kliewer, whose debut, WE USED TO LIVE HERE, announced him as a startling new voice in horror fiction, returns with THE CARETAKER. In this eerie, atmospheric work, a desperate young woman accepts a job as a caretaker to a house with strict, rigid protocols known as the Rites. “Follow the Rites,” her directions begin, “Nothing less than the survival of humanity is at stake.” Read More

Teaser

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY: Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY. Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention. It had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all --- vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for. Besides, it’s only three days’ work. Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness. What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property --- and Macy Mullins just might be the only thing standing between it and the rest of humanity.

Promo

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY: Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY. Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention. It had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all --- vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for. Besides, it’s only three days’ work. Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness. What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property --- and Macy Mullins just might be the only thing standing between it and the rest of humanity.

About the Book

Follow the Rites...

Nothing less than the survival of humanity is at stake.

From Marcus Kliewer, a new “titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), comes a supernatural horror about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater --- and more dangerous --- than she ever could have imagined.

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY:
Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.

Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention. It had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all --- vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.

Besides, it’s only three days’ work.

Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.

What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property --- and Macy Mullins just might be the only thing standing between it and the rest of humanity.

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

..--- / ..... / ---..

Audiobook available, read by Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Corey Brill