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Week of August 11, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of August 11th include TELL ME EVERYTHING by Elizabeth Strout, a hopeful, healing novel about new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world; THE BIG EMPTY, a twisty, satisfying thriller from Robert Crais in which private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, face a cryptic case and a terrifying, unpredictable killer; Louis Bayard's THE WILDES, a vivid and poignant story of secrets, loss and love that brings Oscar Wilde’s wife, Constance, and two sons out from the shadows of history; MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY by Anna Marie Tendler, a powerful memoir that reckons with mental health, as well as the insidious ways that men impact the lives of women; and the paperback original THE HARVEY GIRLS, Juliette Fay's big-hearted tale of two very different women who must learn to trust each other as one tries to save her family and the other to save herself.

August 5, 2025

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of August 4th and August 11th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our New Release Spotlight of Samsun Knight's latest novel, LIKENESS. According to author Margot Livesey, Knight “has an exquisite gift for capturing those moments when a character reaches the edge of their known feelings and steps into terra incognita. The result is a wonderfully suspenseful and deeply pleasurable novel.”

August 5, 2025

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that we think is a great summer reading selection. Read more about it, and enter our Summer Reading Contest by Wednesday, August 6th at noon ET for a chance to win one of five copies of THE LOCKED WARD by Sarah Pekkanen, which is now available. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

Week of August 4, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of August 4th include COUNTING MIRACLES by Nicholas Sparks, an emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change --- or even make our peace with --- the path we’ve taken; Kate Atkinson's DEATH AT THE SIGN OF THE ROOK, which marks the highly anticipated return of private eye Jackson Brodie, who uncovers a string of unsolved art thefts that lead him down a dizzying spiral of disguise and deceit; THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN, Marjan Kamali's heartfelt, epic novel of friendship, betrayal and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran; OUT OF THE DARKNESS by Ian O'Connor, the definitive biography of the legendary yet mysterious Aaron Rodgers; and EDEN UNDONE, a chilling, stranger-than-fiction tale from Abbott Kahler in which a power-hungry baroness with two lovers disrupts life on an Eden-like island in the Galápagos, and an isolated community descends into madness and murder.    

The Librarians of Lisbon: A WWII Story of Love and Espionage by Suzanne Nelson

WWII rages Europe. Lisbon stands alone as a glamorous city on the brink of chaos, harboring spies trading double-edged secrets. Among them are Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan, Boston librarians turned Allied operatives. Officially enlisted to collect banned books, both women are undercover agents tasked with infiltrating the Axis spy network. Soon, they’re caught up in games of deception with two of Lisbon’s most notorious men --- the outcast Portuguese baron, Luca Caldeira, and the lethal spy, code name Gable.

As Selene charms her way through lavish ballrooms with Luca, the more bookish Bea is plunged into Gable’s shadowy world of informants. But when a betrayal unravels a carefully spun web of lies, everything they’ve fought for is thrown into jeopardy.

James Patterson, author of The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy

The murders of four innocent college students attending the University of Idaho left us all with so many questions. Now, after more than 300 interviews, James Patterson and prize-winning journalist Vicky Ward finally have some answers. We know what it was like to live in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022, the day of the cold-blooded killings. We know what the local police and FBI did right. And what they did wrong. We’ve learned so much about the four heartbroken families --- the Mogens, Goncalveses, Kernodles and Chapins. And we have the backstory for Bryan Kohberger --- brilliant grad student, loner, apparent incel. Now you are the jury. The evidence is in.

Beatriz Williams, author of Under the Stars

Audrey Fisher has struggled all her life to emerge from the shadow of her famous mother by forging a career as a world-class chef. Meredith Fisher’s glamorous screen persona disguises the trauma of the tragic accident that haunts her dreams. She has one last chance to sober up and salvage her big comeback. And where else but discreet, moneyed Winthrop Island can a famous actress spend the summer without the intrusion of other people? Until Audrey discovers an old wooden chest among the belongings of her estranged bartender father, and the astonishing contents draw the women deep into Winthrop’s past and its many secrets. How did a trove of paintings from one of America’s greatest artists wind up in the cellar of the Mohegan Inn? And who is the mysterious woman portrayed on every canvas?

Megan Miranda, author of You Belong Here

Beckett Bowery never thought she’d return to Wyatt Valley, a picturesque college town in the Virginia mountains steeped in tradition. Her roots there were strong: Beckett’s parents taught at the college, and she never even imagined studying anywhere else --- until a tragedy her senior year ended with two local men dead, and her roommate on the run, never to be seen again. For the last two decades, Beckett has done her best to keep her distance. Then her daughter, Delilah, secretly applies to Wyatt College and earns a full scholarship, and Beckett can only hope that her lingering fears are unfounded. But deep down, she knows that Wyatt Valley has a long memory, and the past isn’t the only dangerous thing in town.

Shari Lapena, author of She Didn't See It Coming

Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden, who is working from home that day, has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment, her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall. Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out. How can she have disappeared from her own home? And did she even leave the building at all?

Editorial Content for Guess Again

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I still cannot fathom why Charlie Donlea is not a household name. With the release of his latest novel, GUESS AGAIN, Donlea once again proves that he is one of the best psychological thriller authors working today. Read More

Teaser

Ten years ago, 17-year-old high school volleyball star Callie Jones vanished from her quiet Wisconsin lake community. A highly publicized search followed, but her body was never found. Ethan Hall, a former renegade detective turned ER doctor, left law enforcement to escape the horrors of the kid crime division. But on the 10th anniversary of Callie’s disappearance, his former partner, Pete Kramer, makes a desperate request. Pete is the veteran detective who originally investigated the case. Now he’s dying, and he needs Ethan to return to the haunting work he left behind --- and solve what happened to Callie, once and for all. It turns out there is much more to the nightmare of Callie’s disappearance than Ethan imagined, including a connection with his own dark past…and secrets that are still worth killing for.

Promo

Ten years ago, 17-year-old high school volleyball star Callie Jones vanished from her quiet Wisconsin lake community. A highly publicized search followed, but her body was never found. Ethan Hall, a former renegade detective turned ER doctor, left law enforcement to escape the horrors of the kid crime division. But on the 10th anniversary of Callie’s disappearance, his former partner, Pete Kramer, makes a desperate request. Pete is the veteran detective who originally investigated the case. Now he’s dying, and he needs Ethan to return to the haunting work he left behind --- and solve what happened to Callie, once and for all. It turns out there is much more to the nightmare of Callie’s disappearance than Ethan imagined, including a connection with his own dark past…and secrets that are still worth killing for.

About the Book

Behind bars, a killer holds the key. Outside, an obsession turns deadly in this masterfully twisty new thriller from the bestselling author of TWENTY YEARS LATER.

Silence of the Lambs meets “Cruel Summer” in GUESS AGAIN, as #1 internationally bestselling author Charlie Donlea dives into the long shadow of trauma on a small town, hybristophilia and the allure of evil, and the toll the truth can take on those who hunt for it.

A missing girl: Seventeen-year-old Callie Jones was the all-American sweetheart of her small Wisconsin community. No one could have guessed that one summer night at her friends’ lake party would be the last time anyone would see her. A highly publicized search followed, but her body was never found. Callie’s case went cold.

A former renegade cop: Ten years ago, Ethan Hall was the detective assigned to Callie’s case. When all leads slipped through his fingers and the trail went cold, Ethan’s guilt led him to leave law enforcement and the trauma of the child crime unit. But now, when Ethan’s former partner requests his help on the 10th anniversary of Callie’s disappearance, Ethan reluctantly agrees to be brought back into the fold.

A twisted killer: Serial killer Francis Bernard was sentenced to life behind bars --- but he has no plans to stay locked up in his tiny cell. When cop Ethan Hall turns to him for information on Callie’s case, Francis sees his chance. Twisting him into his psychological web, Ethan thinks he’s safe with Francis locked up, but little does Ethan know, Francis has hands on the outside. And she’s willing to die for him.

A woman with a dangerous obsession: Eugenia Morgan is lucky, she knows some people spend a lifetime trying to find their soulmate, but she’s already got hers. She just has to break him out of prison first.

Audiobook available, read by Vivienne Leheny