The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Fiction

Every Man a King by Walter Mosley

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Every Man a King by Walter Mosley
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Joe "King" Oliver gets himself into not one but TWO complicated plots in this new detective thriller from the legendary Walter Mosely. What I love about Mosley’s writing is the cadence of the dialogue and the musical language his characters use. It gives his books a "classic" touch or feel harkening back to the old great noir mysteries. King is a fantastic character whose moral core is something we should all aspire to. He gets himself into so many more problems because of it, but I love that Mosley’s detectives have this strong center that drives them to seek justice.

Every Man a King by Walter Mosley, (List Price: 28, Mulholland Books, 9780316460217, February 2023)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall

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Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall
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This debut by Canadian author Heather Marshall captured my attention from the first sentence: "It was a perfectly ordinary day when a truly extraordinary letter was delivered to the wrong mailbox." When Andrea finds the stray letter 7 years later, she searches for the proper recipient, connecting events of the past to the present. Because this story is about of the trauma of adoption, abortion or lack of access, and other difficult topics, this book may not be for everyone, but it is well worth reading, especially for those who have an interest in the history of women’s issues and health care.

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall, (List Price: 27.99, Atria Books, 9781668013687, February 2023)

Reviewed by Amy, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama

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Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head

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Time's Undoing by Anne Wynter
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Inspired by true events from the author’s family, TIME’S UNDOING is the story of a Black journalist in 2019 investigating the unsolved mystery of her great-grandfather’s death in 1929 Birmingham. Told in alternating timelines, the novel explores racially-motivated crime, the lengths people will go to cover up the truth, and the powerful bonds of community, family, and love. This is a gripping story full of history, emotion, and suspense that I guarantee will be on my Best of 2023 list!

Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head, (List Price: $28, Dutton, 9780593471821, February 2023)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Victory City by Salman Rushdie

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Victory City by Salman Rushdie
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A woman who suffers a horrifying childhood trauma is transformed into the creator of a city, buildings and denizens alike. Who else but Salman Rushdie has the imagination required to create this woman, who has an almost endless imagination? Rushdie is a modern, male Scheherazade, spinning his fanciful tales of romance, religion, politics, and corruption, with dollops of laugh-out-loud humor and magical realism.

Victory City by Salman Rushdie, (List Price: $30, Random House, 9780593243398, February 2023)

Reviewed by Anne Peck, Righton Books in St Simons Island, Georgia

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On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel

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On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel
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I honestly can’t think of another novel that had quite the emotional impact on me that reading On The Savage Side did. Searing, brutal and unflinching in its portrayal of addiction and the devastation that it wreaks, the novel ripped my heart out and stomped all over it. In telling the story of identical twins Daffy and Arc, McDaniels gives voice to countless marginalized women, and her beautiful, lyrical prose reveals the humanity among the wreckage of lives, hopes and dreams lost to drugs.

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel, (List Price: $29, Knopf, 9780593320709, February 2023)

Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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Treacle Walker by Alan Garner

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Treacle Walker by Alan Garner
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Garner writes in a classic style passed down through the ages in British fantasy, it feels like a comforting balm in today’s fictional landscape. The boy at the center of Treacle Walker, Joe, goes through quite a mind-bending journey featuring swamp spirits, mystical treasures, and comic book characters coming to life. Give into the world and Treacle Walker will whisk you away.

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner, (List Price: $22, Scribner, 9781668025512, November 2023)

Reviewed by James Harrod, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina

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The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

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The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
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Brilliant, sublime and surprising. On my forever favorite shelf. Julie Otsuka has the mystical gift of telling just as much of a story with what she doesn’t say. Reader, treat yourself with care if you have or have had a loved one with dementia…but I think The Swimmers is more than worthy of the heart ache.

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka, (List Price: $16, Anchor, 9780593466629, January 2023)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Exiles by Jane Harper

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Exiles by Jane Harper
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As usual Jane Harper’s new novel, Exiles, is a slow burn of a read as she so beautifully describes yet another region of Australia, south Australia’s wine region. And, once again gives us a cast of characters so well-developed that you feel like you really know them. The book is about a small town with two unsolved events which have haunted the close-knit inhabitants. One the hit-and-run death of a well-liked accountant and the other the disappearance of a new mother who supposedly left her six-week-old child unattended at the annual wine and food festival and jumped to her death at the nearby reservoir – coincidentally the same weekend and same place as the hit and run. While this is Harper’s third book featuring Aaron Falk it easily reads as a standalone and will make you want to go back and read more about Aaron.

Exiles by Jane Harper, (List Price: $27.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250235350, January 2023)

Reviewed by Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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The Applicant by Nazli Koca

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The Applicant by Nazli Koca
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The Applicant is the debut novel I truly think I’ve been waiting to find my whole life. We follow Leyla, a twenty-something-year-old Turkish woman living in Berlin and working at a hostel. Her days consist of cleaning Alice in Wonderland-themed bedrooms, dipping in and out of hazy, techno-heavy clubs, and trying to find a balance of love, all while also trying to retain her German citizenship. Everything is so well done in this, but the themes of immigration and modern love struggles were perfectly executed. It’s raw, it’s real, it’s brilliant.

The Applicant by Nazli Koca, (List Price: $26, Grove Press, 9780802160546, February 2023)

Reviewed by Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook

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The Madstoneby Elizabeth Crook
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Westerns are back in the spotlight, and this one doesn’t disappoint! It has everything you need in a book rolled into one. When Benjamin happens on a pregnant woman and her child, he envelopes them and scurries away with them to escape Texas. It’s the wild west, so shenanigans are afoot, and some savory characters are on the trail. But this isn’t one of those, it is filled with heart. Fascinating.

The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook, (List Price: $29, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316564342, November 2023)

Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

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The Neighbor Favorby Kristina Forest
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A February 2023 Read This Next! Title

Lily is stuck in a dead-end job as an editor’s assistant, the one Greene sister who hasn’t managed to make a success of her life. On a whim, one day she emails the author of her favorite fantasy book — and he unexpectedly writes back! They correspond regularly, opening up to each other in ways neither of them has before and becoming close, until Strick breaks things off suddenly. Lily is heartbroken…until she meets her hot new neighbor, who figures out pretty quickly that Lily is the Lily from the emails. But he has reasons for keeping his identity secret, so he agrees to help Lily find a date for her sister’s wedding, even though he can’t get her out of his own head. A fun, flirty, bookish romance that will appeal to anyone who’s had fantasies of hitting it off with their favorite author.

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (List Price: $17, Berkley, 9780593546437, February 2023)

Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

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The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
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A February 2023 Read This Next! Title

Set in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson is a wonderful historical fiction novel that tells the story of two young women who are working hard to achieve their dreams. 15 year old Ruby lives in Philadelphia. She wants to be a doctor but is struggling to make ends meet while living with her aunt. A secret love affair forces an impossible choice upon her. Eleanor is a student at Howard University in D.C. and struggling to pay her tuition when she meets a handsome young man who brings her into an elite world of wealth and privilege. What will she do to fit in and stay in? This novel pulls you in from the first page and doesn’t let go until the very end. Highly recommended!

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson (List Price: $27.99, Simon & Schuster, 9781982197360, February 2023)

Reviewed by Mary Patterson, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, Virginia

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Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
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This book is such an unexpected delight! It’s told in an epistolary style- journal entries, with you, the reader, being an outside observer to events that have already happened. However, Heather Fawcett’s style of writing is such that it seamlessly blends with the narrative and you forget entirely that you’re reading a journal! It’s cozy, heart-warming, absolutely page-turning, and will leave you both satisfied and wanting more. It’s unique, enchanting, and one of my favorite reads of this year, perfect for anyone who loves fantasy and especially the fae!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, (List Price: $28, Del Rey, 9780593500132, January 2023)

Reviewed by Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur, Georgia

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Everything Calls for Salvation by Daniele Mencarelli

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Everything Calls for Salvation by Daniele Mencarelli
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Over seven days in a psychiatric ward in 1994 in Italy, the main character Daniele Mancarelli (who shares the author’s name and some life experiences) documents his involuntary committal. We spend most of our time on the ward itself with occasional flashbacks of the six patients’ and staff’s pasts. Mencarelli (author and character) is also a poet, and the language is beautiful and delicately translated by Wendy Weathly. While not dismissing the need for the truly suffering or dangerous to be treated, the author presents much to be considered about the way society categorizes those who are simply different or passing through a difficult phase of life.

Everything Calls for Salvation by Daniele Mencarelli, (List Price: $22, Europa Editions, 9781609458065, January 2023)

Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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The Boy with a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund

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The Boy with a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund
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Owen has an exposed space in his chest where Gail, a wise and chatty java sparrow, has lived since he was a newborn. His mother has hidden him from those who would hurt him because of his difference, but he’s a teenager now and must figure out who to trust and how to be — or even if he CAN be. I really enjoyed this sensitive and heartbreaking coming-of-age story about a queer boy, his bird, and their friends. Though not usually drawn to magical realism, I found myself almost believing in the possibility of Gail, and that was a real joy.

The Boy with a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund, (List Price: $17, Atria Books, 9781982171940, January 2023)

Reviewed by Serena Wyckoff, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida

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