fall book releases
what I have on my radar and library holds list for the last quarter of the year
And just like that we’ve reached the end of September and it’s time to share my most anticipated book releases for the rest of 2024. The last quarter of the year tends to be the slowest for me in terms of releases, since most publishers want their biggest titles out on shelves well before holiday shopping begins.
I am going to restructure my anticipated release posts in the upcoming year, which I will share more about at the end of the year.
October
Coup de Grace by Sofia Ajram — October 1st
This is an experimental horror novel about a young man who finds himself trapped in an infinite Montreal subway station after contemplating suicide. This is compared to House of Leaves, which I haven’t read, and Piranisi, which I have and loved. It also clocks in at under 200 pages, which I’ve found is the sweet spot for me and horror: long enough to give me the vibes, but short enough that I won’t be kept up all night.
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister — October 1st
Five siblings in West Virginia unearth long-buried secrets when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly ruptured in this combination southern gothic-pyshcological drama-family saga. The bog in question is a cranberry bog, something very sentimental to me, as my husband and I got married at one. This also is a contender for my favorite cover of the year.
The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz — October 1st
This is literally the sequel to 2021’s The Plot, which was about a story too good not to steal and the writer who claimed it as his own. Without spoiling the end of the previous story, this follows the writer’s wife, whobegins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again from someone out there who knows too much about her.
The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose — October 1st
This novella is part of The Maid series, once again featuring Molly Gray. When a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential and personal mystery yet. I can’t wait to tear through this Thanksgiving weekend after getting our Christmas tree.
Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth — October 15th
Libby Weeks, author of the best-selling fantasy series “The Falling Children,” has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and needs help finishing the last book of her series. In a fit of desperation, she turns to 11-year-old superfan Peanut Bixton for help. The blurb describes this is a “book for people who don’t know who they are without the books they love.”
Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan — October 15th
A muder mystery set in a seaside town filled with pirate lore, family secrets, unforgiveable grudges, secret societys, and a treasure lost to time. Described as Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone (an all-time favorite mystery) meets “The Goonies.”
If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens — October 15th
Feuding authors Penelope Skinner and Neil Storm find themselves trapped together on a writing retreat in a haunted castle in Scotland. Of course all that tension is just a cover for the romantic feelings they’re developing for each other. This seems to be a combination of cozy horror and romance, which is a combo I haven’t encountered before but sounds intriguing.
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson — October 22nd
Ernest Cunningham hoped that he would spend Christmas not getting stuck in the middle of real-life murders, but of course he has no such luck when he finds himself backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just turned up dead. The blurb called this like if “Knives Out” and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe, so even if I wasn’t already attached to Stevenson’s series that would be enough for me to pick this novella up.
This Will be Fun by E. B. Asher — October 29th
Everyone knows the story of how best friends Beatrice and Elowen, handsome ex-bandit Clare, and valiant leader Galwell the Great defended the realm from darkness. It's a tale beloved by all, except the heroes themselves, who haven’t spoken in a decade, devastated by what their quest cost them. But when they all receive an invitation to the Queen’s wedding, the friends reunite, just in time for the dark forces from their past to also return. Compared to “The Princess Bride,” “Shrek,” and Legends and Lattes.
November
The Author's Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White — November 5th
Literary superstar Brett Saffron Presley has been found dead, under bizarre circumstances, in his castle's study. Years ago, he purchased the castle to lure paying guests with a taste for writerly glamour. Detective Chief Inspector Euan McIntosh, a local with no love for literary Americans, finds himself with the unenviable task of extracting statements from three American lady novelists. The prime suspects are Kat de Noir, a slinky erotica writer; Cassie Pringle, a Southern mom of six juggling multiple cozy mystery series; and Emma Endicott, a New England blue blood and author of critically acclaimed historical fiction. The women claim to be best friends writing a book together, but the authors' stories about how they know Brett Saffron Presley don't quite line up, and the detective is getting increasingly suspicious. Called a witty locked room mystery and literary satire for fans of Agatha Christie and “Murder, She Wrote.”
Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music by Rob Sheffield — November 12th
Rob Sheffield is my favorite music writer of all time. The care and appreciation he has for the craft of the artist is always apparent in everything he writes. So when it was announced he was writing a book on Taylor Swift, I knew I had to add it to my list.
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer — November 19th
The follow-up to Braiding Sweetgrass, as Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry's relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth--its abundance of sweet, juicy berries--to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival. Braiding Sweetgrass was a game-changer for me and I can only image this will be just as impactful.
December
Private Rites by Julia Armfield — December 3rd
In the grand glass house, , their cruel and revered architect father's most famous creation, sisters Isla, Irene, and Agnes sort through the secrets and memories he left behind, until their fragile bond is shattered by a revelation in his will. A speculative, queer reimagining of “King Lear,” taking place in a world where it’s been raining for so long that the land has reshaped itself from the author of Our Wives Under the Sea.
What are your most anticipated releases for the rest of the year? I’d love to chat about it in the comments. Until then,