The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Fiction

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley

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How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley
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Spend a year in Wyoming in this one sitting read and you might just end up blaming the British, too. Dark, quirky, and complete with all the snarkiness of ’80s tween energy, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder will force you to confront the uncomfortable experiences of The Others. Agatha and Georgie’s story is so much more than a murder mystery; it’s about saving yourself and creating your own independence. Nina McConigley’s storytelling will stay with you for a long time — but most of all if teen magazine quizzes could be the solution to all things.

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley, (List Price: $26, Pantheon, 9780593702246, January 2026)

Reviewed by Jenny Gilroy, E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia

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The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave

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The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave
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I was thrilled to see this sequel coming out and Laura Dave absolutely nailed it, once again! We pick up exactly where we left off, and while most sequels spend the first 30 pages or so catching you up to the story, she does not waste our time, and we are thrown right into it. Not to worry, though, I remembered only the bare bones of the first book, and by telling this story on a dual timeline (now and years before), you get caught up bit by bit. Just like the first book, you will be racing through the pages to find out what happens next.

The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave, (List Price: $29, Scribner, 9781668002964, January 2026)

Reviewed by Allyn Oliver, The Bluffton Bookshop in Bluffton, South Carolina

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Television by Lauren Rothery

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Television by Lauren Rothery
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A traipse through time and the relationship of a movie star and his best friend/lover/partner. Set in the glamor and depravity of Hollywood, Rothery turns modern feelings of appearances and sex, phones and art, love and grief into a timeless and impressionistic drama. With each unexpected turn and change of form, you’ll relate to each character more intrinsically. I couldn’t put this down!!!

Television by Lauren Rothery, (List Price: $28, Ecco, 9780063443327, December 2025)

Reviewed by Ross Ramirez, E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia

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The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

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The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
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In the same way Joanna Cannon’s The Trouble with Sheep and Goats left me captivated and shaken to my core, this coming-of-age tale touched me deeply. While set around the Yorkshire murders in the late 1970s, it is a tale for our times. What two preteens find when they begin to observe carefully is a world more complex and frightening. Revealing the power of friendships and the hidden stories around us with spot-on emotional resonance, this is a book to be swept up in and to reflect on.

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, (List Price: $17.99, Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781464249051, December 2025)

Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Queen Esther by John Irving

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Queen Esther by John Irving
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Queen Esther is the new historical novel by one of America’s most beloved authors, John Irving. The story takes the reader on a journey from New England to Europe and Jerusalem through the backdrop of World War II, the Vietnam War era, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Much of the focus of this novel is on the role that history plays in shaping lives and identities. Queen Esther is a sweeping, multigenerational and multicultural novel full if memorable characters.

Queen Esther by John Irving, (List Price: $30, Simon & Schuster, 9781501189449, November 2025)

Reviewed by Karen Dugger, Righton Books in Saint Simons Island, Georgia

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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
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I’m now on the last 100 pages, and I find myself slowing down because I do not want it to end and dogearing nearly every other page because the writing is so astounding. The characters, the worlds they inhabit in Vermont, New York, and India, and the cultural and family dynamics are written with such depth and humanity. Kiran Desai has created another masterpiece!

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, (List Price: $32, Hogarth, 9780307700155, September 2025)

Reviewed by Alsace Walentine, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida

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House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk

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House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk
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House of Day, House of Night is a reversal of a common narrative structure; here, the setting, the rural Polish town of Nowa Ruda, is the main character, and the townsfolk are the setting within which the town’s legacy is formed. Each story fragment contributes to the never-ending cycle of life and death, of dreams and waking — from an old lady next door with elusive platitudes, to a gender-dysphoric monk on a journey to canonize a saint, to a knifemaking cult that worships the process of decay. Tokarczuk’s brilliant prose highlights the struggles of returning to a post-World War Poland, of feeling like a stranger in your own home, of sensing the ceaseless draw of entropy. Universal and bittersweet, this novel is a work of anthropology: a future classic in my book!

House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593716380, December 2025)

Reviewed by Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal

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Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal
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A late bloomer romance where 1) they meet at a sex club, 2) the plot critiques the use of genAi in entertainment & news, 3) the friendships get plenty of attention outside of the romance plot. I ate this debut adult romance right up.

Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593953839, December 2025)

Reviewed by Alex Reinhart, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton

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Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton
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Another funny and unputdownable murder mystery/killing spree from the author of Don’t Swipe Right!. Bridget Jones meets I Know What You Did Last Summer in this page-turner about a small British town with a dark past, and the four deadbeat flatmates that get caught up in it when an online sleuth shows up at their door. The hilarious narration from protagonist Kirby is just as entertaining as the mystery itself, which unfolds in a fast-paced dual-timeline format. It’s like Chilton can’t help but write fabulous and unfortunate characters you’re bound to fall in love with!

Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton, (List Price: $19, Gallery/Scout Press, 9781668094174, December 2025)

Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson

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The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson
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The second installment in Lana Ferguson’s Omegaverse romance series, as I call it, hits the mark! It’s hot, funny, and very endearing. For an Alpha, Hunter is such a cinnamon roll of a hero. He and Tess don’t get off on the right foot, but the attraction is immediate. Seeing them navigate their professional relationship while dealing with natural instincts is entertaining and balanced so well. Lana does an excellent job at maintaining boundaries in situations where it would seem impossible. I knew, having loved The Fake Mate, I would enjoy being back in this world, but I underestimated how much. I loved Mackenzie and Noah’s appearances and cameos in the story. It felt like visiting old friends. I really hope there are more Omegaverse romances to come, because they’re quickly becoming my favorites of Lana’s books to read!

The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593953693, December 2025)

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

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Our Gifted Hearts by Jennifer Kennedy

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Our Gifted Hearts by Jennifer Kennedy
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This book was the perfect spooky read! Reminded me a lot of the show Haunting of Hill House, but in the best way.

Our Gifted Hearts by Jennifer Kennedy, (List Price: $18.99, Angry Robot, 9781836730194, October 2025)

Reviewed by Elizabeth Dowdy, Baldwin & Co. in New Orleans, Louisiana

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The Definitions by Matt Greene

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The Definitions by Matt Greene
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A captivating, dystopian-esque story, The Definitions questions what truly makes one’s identity theirs. After a supposed virus ravages humanity and leaves people with no memory of themselves, victims of this virus are sent to the Center where they relearn things like ethics, language, and art. With no knowledge of who they were before arriving, the narrator waits for memories to return and to be released. But definitions aren’t adding up, and the ethical dilemma solutions seem skewed, and we learn there is something sinister going on. This is a quick read that you won’t want to put down until you find the real reason the patients are there.

The Definitions by Matt Greene, (List Price: $17.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250399342, December 2025)

Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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The Living and the Dead by Christoffer Carlsson

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The Living and the Dead by Christoffer Carlsson
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Christoffer Carlsson writes another moody, fast-paced Swedish crime thriller. The time is Christmas Eve 1999, just before Y2K. Police are called to the grisly scene of a wrecked car with the body of a teenager beaten to death in the trunk. The small community has many secrets of passion, envy, and fear, and the police never fully solve the mystery. Then, 20 years later, another murder occurs that seems connected to the first. An edge-of-your-seat mystery that keeps you guessing and an ending that I did not see coming!

The Living and the Dead by Christoffer Carlsson, (List Price: $29, Hogarth, 9780593733059, December 2025)

Reviewed by Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

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On the Calculation of Volume (Book III) by Solvej Balle

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On the Calculation of Volume (Book III) by Solvej Balle
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Another perfect installment of this astonishing series! Tara Selter discovers that she’s not alone inside her eternal November 18th, and the implications are deeply moving and endlessly exciting. Balle has unlocked a level of narrative that I scarcely knew was possible. Translators Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell deserve a lot of credit, too, for how pleasurable the work is to read.

On the Calculation of Volume (Book III) by Solvej Balle, (List Price: $15.95, New Directions, 9780811238397, November 2025)

Reviewed by Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

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Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz

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Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz
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I love everything about this book. From the title to the blurb, to the story and characters, Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore was exactly what I was hoping it would be- a story I couldn’t wait to pick up and fall into. It’s cozy, adorable, and just the right amount of sweet and spicy. My favorite is the theme of redemption and finding out who you are and what you want. Emily Krempholttz debut had me falling for Violet and Nathaniel, along with Dragon’s Rest. I want more murderous plants, small town, magic, and rock goblins. Take me back to Dragon’s Rest for more adventures! Emily Krempholtz’s Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore is the perfect fall/winter read to binge!

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz, (List Price: $19, Ace, 9780593954300, November 2025)

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

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