The Fall 2024 Reading Group Guide Preview

Dazzling Debuts

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder: A Novel
By C. L. Miller
(Atria Books, 9781668032015, $17.99, Oct. 1)
“A cozy mystery with Agatha Christie vibes! Freya reconnects with her adventurous past in a hunt to solve the murder of her mentor, Arthur, and track down a rare, sought-after antique. This promises to be a fun and intriguing murder series!”
—Susan Williams, M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers, Greenville, SC

The Great Transition: A Novel
By Nick Fuller Googins
(Atria Books, 9781668010761, $18.99, Aug. 20)
“A propulsive novel of the near future after an environmental crisis, full of family secrets and political intrigue. Loved the hopeful yet realistic view of humans coming together (albeit late) to solve climate disaster and rebuild society.”
—Danica Ramgoolam, Townie Books, Crested Butte, CO

Kala: A Novel
By Colin Walsh
(Vintage, 9780593470022, $18, June 25)
“Twenty years after Kala goes missing, three of her gang are back in Kinlough, Ireland, for a wedding. With the sudden appearance of Kala’s remains, the three investigate what’s been in plain sight. You’ll never forget Kinlough.”
—Kayleen Rohrer, InkLink Books, East Troy, WI

The Militia House: A Novel (Indies Introduce)
By John Milas
(Holt Paperbacks, 9781250857088, $17.99, July 9)
“The Militia House is a literary horror novel that opens a window into the mind of a soldier suffering from PTSD and survivor’s guilt. It explores many aspects of war: confusion, absurdity, and the lasting impact on those who experience it.”
—Bob Lingle, Good Neighbor Bookstore, Lakewood, NY

Mother-Daughter Murder Night
By Nina Simon
(William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780063315051, $18.99, Sep. 3)
“If you like your murder mystery with a side of thorny families and environmental and land management concerns, this one is for you. Simon immerses you perfectly in this part of California in a mystery that has a real emotional punch.”
—Anton Bogomazov, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

The Truth According to Ember (Indies Introduce)
By Danica Nava
(Berkley, 9780593642603, $19, Aug. 6)
“An Indigenous romance, written by an Indigenous author, featuring Indigenous characters? Yes, please! Ember and Danuwoa set the page on fire. Nava’s workplace romance seamlessly incorporates the difficulties Indigenous people face into a book I loved.”
—Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Decatur, GA

Family & Coming of Age

Amazing Grace Adams: A Novel
By Fran Littlewood
(Holt Paperbacks, 9781250857002, $17.99, Sep. 3)
“Amazing Grace Adams has the raw emotion and wit of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and the heartbreakingly realistic picture of what it means to be an exhausted and devoted mother that we loved and cried for in Parenthood.”
—Hannah Oxley, Mystery to Me, Madison, WI

The Berry Pickers: A Novel
By Amanda Peters
(Catapult, 9781646222384, $17.95, Oct. 29)
“A young Native girl vanishes from a migrant camp. A grieving white woman returns home with an ‘abandoned’ child. Connecting the two is obvious, but the beauty of this story lies in the portrayal of both families and the pain spiraling back and forward in time.”
—Jenny Stroyeck, The Homer Bookstore, Homer, AK

Day: A Novel
By Michael Cunningham
(Random House Trade Paperbacks, 9780399591365, $17, July 23)
“Day is an absolute gut punch of a novel. The novel examines a family before, during, and after the pandemic through just one day in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Michael Cunningham’s writing is truly masterful.”
—Kelli McDonald, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, MO

The Happy Couple: A Novel
By Naoise Dolan
(Ecco, 9780063330474, $17.99, Oct. 29)
“A wry book with a dry wit that joyfully surprised me. Following a happy couple and their friends and family in the year leading up to the wedding, this book perfectly expresses how we muddle through life, unconsciously dragging ‘supposed-tos’ in our wake.”
—Amy O'Hanlon, Bookbug, Kalamazoo, MI

The Premonition: A Novel
By Banana Yoshimoto, Asa Yoneda (Transl.)
(Counterpoint, 9781640096646, $16.95, Oct. 1)
“In this reissue of her international bestseller now available in English, Yoshimoto examines family and healing from the past. Yayoi is haunted by premonitions from her childhood. She goes on a journey of the past and present in order to reconcile her future.”
—Gerard Villegas, Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane, WA

Terrace Story: A Novel
By Hilary Leichter
(Ecco, 9780063265820, $17.99, Aug. 20)
“Terrace Story is another delightful blend of the fantastical and the weird with the mundane of our lives. Through these stories, Terrace Story explores home, love, loss, families, and the desire to belong, all with Leichter’s warmth, nuance, and humor.”
—Lizzy Rolando, Salmonberry Books, Port Orchard, WA

Historical Fiction

The Apartment: A Novel
By Ana Menéndez
(Counterpoint, 9781640096486, $16.95, Aug. 13)
“I feel as though I live in apartment 2B; its bumpy floors and cast iron pan are a part of me now, too. Menéndez fleshed out each life that touched this apartment so effectively, and the sense of place was so strong that Miami Beach was a character in itself.”
—Becca Sloan, Novel., Memphis, TN

Chenneville: A Novel of Murder, Loss, and Vengeance
By Paulette Jiles
(William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780063252691, $18.99, Sep. 24)
“The vibrant tale of John Chenneville, heir to his family farmland in St. Louis, Union soldier discharged with a brain injury, and telegrapher who seeks to avenge his sister’s murder. A stunning portrayal of our nation in disarray following the Civil War.”
—Sara Rottunda, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN

The Fraud
By Zadie Smith
(Penguin Books, 9780525558989, $19, Sep. 3)
“At its heart, The Fraud is about the appeal of populism, the erosion of authority, and the voices on the margins crying out to tell their stories. In other words, it could just as well be a story about ancient Rome or Silicon Valley.”
—Steve Iwanski, Charter Books, Newport, RI

The Lost Journals of Sacajewea
By Debra Magpie Earling
(Milkweed Editions, 9781639550746, $18, May 14)
“This book does more justice to Sacajewea’s story than many histories — no hiding of the fact that that she was stolen, sold, brutalized, and pregnant, all before the age of twelve. Written for the Lewis and Clark expedition’s bicentennial, now in book form.”
—Andrew King, Secret Garden Bookshop, Seattle, WA

The Secret Hours
By Mick Herron
(Soho Crime, 9781641296007, $18.95, Aug. 27)
“This new stand-alone spy novel is a fantastic additon to Herron’s work, perfect for fans and newcomers alike. His spies are grubby, smart, jaded, foolishly compliant, and fiendishly cunning, and his writing is brilliant.”
—Emma Aprile, Carmichael’s Bookstore, Louisville, KY

The Vaster Wilds
By Lauren Groff
(Riverhead Books, 9780593418406, $18, Sep. 10)
“The Vaster Wilds follows a servant girl fleeing alone into the wilderness of early colonial America, revealing the events that provoked her escape in memories. Only Lauren Groff could turn a bleak narrative into something so lush, sparkling, and alive.”
—Ocelia Stanley, Green Apple Books & Music, San Francisco, CA

Nonfiction & Memoir

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
By Michael Finkel
(Knopf, 9781984898456, $18, June 25)
“Wow! Heist after heist, this young thief successfully steals hundreds of artworks so he can surround himself with their beauty. I was completely fascinated by this truly strange and strangely true story.”
—Jeanne Costello, Maria's Bookshop, Durango, CO

Creep: Accusations and Confessions
By Myriam Gurba
(Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 9781982186487, $19.99, Sep. 3)
“A blisteringly brilliant read. Part biography of her own history and part scathing commentary on culture, racism, sexism, and homophobia with dark humor and sharp wit.”
—Scott Lange, The Bookman, Grand Haven, MI

Everything/Nothing/Someone: A Memoir
By Alice Carrière
(Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118553, $20, July 16)
“What initially feels familiar in tone and topic gives way to a complex, unique healing journey unlike anything I’ve ever read. Carrière’s voice is commanding and lays bare the the knotty nature of trauma with striking precision.”
—Wesley Minter, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA

How to Say Babylon: A Memoir
By Safiya Sinclair
(37 Ink, 9781982132347, $18.99, July 9)
“Sinclair brings her sharp poet’s eye as she recounts her upbringing in Jamaica, the eldest of four children raised by a father who adhered to a strict sect of Rastafari and whose views on female purity she rebelled against.”
—Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS

Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance (Indies Introduce)
By Victoria Blanco
(Coffee House Press, 9781566896535, $19.95, June 11)
“Out of the Sierra is a uniquely stunning book. Told primarily by women and children, it’s a feminist, anti-capitalist, anti-colonial oral history, relayed intimately with sensitivity and beauty. An essential work that weaves a compelling narrative.”
—Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA

The Quickening: Antarctica, Motherhood, and Cultivating Hope in a Warming World
By Elizabeth Rush
(Milkweed Editions, 9781571311795, $20, Aug. 13)
“Rush’s first hand account of Antarctic melting and climate change pushes against her reckoning with motherhood and what it means to bring new life into a changing world, creating a book that is vulnerable, urgent, and not to be missed.”
—Sarah Cassavant, SubText Books, St. Paul, MN

Small Bites

Any Person Is the Only Self: Essays
By Elisa Gabbert
(FSG Originals, 9780374605896, $18, June 11)
“Elisa Gabbert has written yet another essay collection that is shrewd but personable, fact-packed but never dense. Readers of Leslie Jamison and Maggie Nelson will delight in Gabbert’s joyful curiosity about life and literature.”
—Ruth Fuller, Phoenix Books Burlington, Burlington, VT

Bluff: Poems
By Danez Smith
(Graywolf Press, 9781644452981, $18, Aug. 20)
“There is so much truth and power in Smith’s writing, and Bluff strikes an incredible tone of urgency and reckoning. This collection is an absolute must-read, bravely facing the violence, apathy, and shame that clouds American culture and history head on.”
—Amali Gordon-Buxbaum, Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, NY

The Hive and the Honey: Stories
By Paul Yoon
(S&S/Marysue Rucci Books, 9781668020807, $18, Oct. 8)
“A masterful story collection. Each is set in a different place and time, with the commonality of characters haunting the pages while seeking home and belonging. Yoon’s style sets him apart as a writer attuned to the plight of those displaced.”
—Damita Nocton, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC

Inciting Joy: Essays
By Ross Gay
(Algonquin Books, 9781643753959, $19.99, Oct. 8)
“In this new collection of essays, Ross Gay invites us to interrogate the joy in all facets of our lives — to coax it out from grief, from mundanity, even from the irritation of an invasive weed in our garden. Gay reminds us that leaning into joy is not just a privilege, it is a form of survival.”
—Holly Voorsanger, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

Mystery Lights
By Lena Valencia
(Tin House Books, 9781959030621, $17.95, Aug. 6)
“Mystery Lights is a collection of horror-adjacent stories, good for someone who is interested in dipping their toes into the genre. These literary stories gave me an unsettled feeling without having too much of the rug ripped out from under me.”
—Daniel Jordan, Pearl’s Books, Fayetteville, AR

Zan: Stories (Indies Introduce)
By Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh
(Dzanc Books, 9781950539932, $17.95, June 11)
“A beautiful and complex look at Iranian women and their struggles on the day-to-day, in their varied and full lives. With its poignant writing, this collection is moving and deep.”
—Arden Harris, A Seat at the Table Books, Elk Grove, CA