What Are We Reading? Check Out Our Staff’s First Spring Book Picks

Two women haunted by their sisters’ unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.

“Sharp, slick, and chilling, with a whiplash ending you’ll never see coming.”—Jeneva Rose, author of Home Is Where the Bodies Are

Inspired by a footnote to history—the true story of the little-known Simnel, who was a figurehead of the 1487 Yorkist rebellion and ended up working as a spy in the court of King Henry VII—The Pretender is historical fiction at its finest, a gripping, exuberant, rollicking portrait of British monarchy and life within the court, with a cast of unforgettable heroes and villains drawn from fifteenth-century England. A masterful new work from a major new author.

“A ripping adventure.” —Booklist, starred review

On Sale February 25, 2025

Moving from Brooklyn bars to San Francisco dance floors, Deep Cuts examines the nature of talent, obsession, belonging, and above all, our need to be heard.

“This dazzling debut isn’t so much a ‘will they/won’t they’ story as it is a ‘should they?’ With an assured, conversational tone, appealing characters, and an emotionally resonant love story, this one is sure to win the hearts of many readers.”—Booklist, starred review

Fake dating, enemies to lovers, and a wonderfully unique forced proximity debut romance, perfect for fans of Elena Armas’s The American Roommate Experiment and Drew Barrymore’s classic rom-com Fifty First Dates.

“The fake dating trope takes on unexpected emotional depth in Murphy’s utterly endearing debut . . . [With] perfect pacing and chemistry that leaps off the page.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Prairie Fires comes a terrifying true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond—a gripping investigation of how a new strain of psychopath emerged out of a toxic landscape of deadly industrial violence.

“This story is a menace and a beauty. It left me deeply unsettled—by the idea of monsters, by the myth of free will, and by all the realms of cause and effect that remain unexplored.” —Wright Thompson (The Barn)

In Homes for Living, urban planner and oral historian Jonathan Tarleton introduces readers to 2 social housing co-ops in Brooklyn and Manhattan. With a deft hand for mapping personal histories atop the greater housing crisis, Tarleton explores housing as a public good, movements for tenant rights and Indigenous sovereignty, and questions of race and class to lay bare competing visions of what ownership means, what homes are for, and what neighbors owe each other.

“[A] captivating debut study . . . [A] colorful, drama-filled narrative.”
—Publishers Weekly

From the New York Times besetselling author of Dreadful, Big Little Lies goes to magic school, cozy fantasy perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Olivia Atwater and Heather Fawcett. Featuring orange sprayed and stencilled edges, with magic symbols, unicorns and baked goods from the book.

Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.

“Harry Potter meets Gilmore Girls. . . Seriously, what’s not to like?”—author Tom Holt

Read by Sutton Foster

On Sale March 4, 2025

Tony award-winning actress Sutton Foster narrates the beloved story of a strong, spunky girl and her hilarious adventures in this new recording, celebrating the 80th anniversary of Pippi Longstocking!

“Central to this audiobook’s success is Foster’s portrayal of Pippi. . . Foster’s narration crackles with dynamic vibrancy.”—AudioFile