At the center of the narrative, set in the small town of Wintermere, are Sera Linden and Julian Vero, whose bond is revealed less through dialogue than through silence, shared labor, and gestures that skirt definition. Sera is leading a local revitalization project while Julian is undertaking a personal rebuilding task at the chapel.Their companions […]
As the story opens, it’s 1941, and the residents of Soviet-occupied Lithuania are receiving news that the German army is going to invade. University student Leva Koslowski and her younger brother, Al, decide to flee the country, because although Soviet control had been horrible, the Germans are rumored to be much worse. The pair head […]
In the near future, Daniel Bennett is the developer of an AI system called Castor, and he’s the creative force behind startup Promethean Systems. He creates Castor to recognize patterns in medical data, and it has the potential to save patients and insurers hundreds of millions of dollars and prevent needless deaths. For Daniel, the […]
Eager to cultivate his image, Johannes Brahms destroyed much of his early work before it could get out into the world. The composer felt the same about his correspondence. “A person has to be careful about writing letters,” he told a friend. “One day they get printed!” The man had a point. This enjoyable collection—part […]
In this heartwarming adventure story, McCarty takes readers on a modern-day romp in the woods of Boone, North Carolina. Ten-year-old Thomas has come with his family, who present white, to stay near Canaan Woods with Aunt Cecilia, a painter, in the home she and his mom grew up in. It’s a chance for Mom, who’s […]
On September 13, 2022, Iran’s morality police arrested 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini for having too much hair protruding from her hijab (“Members of the Gasht-e Ershad then grabbed Amini and began forcing her into their van”). Three days later, she was dead in Kasra Hospital, another victim of the country’s re-education centers. Photos of Amini in […]
Young Ria and her faithful dog, Cheetah, are busy preparing to welcome Baba and Dadi, who are flying in from India. Ria greets them with warm hugs, and they ply her with presents and a mithai box bursting with her favorite sweets. As Ria makes an offering of a ladoo to the god Ganesha, her […]
Editor Grisham points out that as “mankind’s first crime,” murder holds a fascination for readers that no other misdeed can match. So it’s appropriate that no less than 18 of the 20 stories include a killing, contemplated or committed. But murder is not always the main event. Often the tricky part is figuring out how […]
Now in his late-30s, author Anglade notes in the book’s opening lines that he “had a relatively good life, despite being born in one of the poorest countries in the world.” As recounted in the memoir’s harrowing opening chapters, the author’s childhood home was broken into twice by armed burglars during the night, prompting his […]
Poe is everywhere. The Raven’s “nevermore” echoes as a memory and a meme. His arch detectives invite us to see the weird behind the everyday. Police procedurals and horror tales would not exist today without his work. Poe’s name has become shorthand for a personal universe. This book by Leland, who leads a Poe walking […]