The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Psychological

Spotlight on: Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

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Catriona Ward, photo credit Robert Hollingworth

“I love horror. I think it’s one of the most expressive, most empathetic genres you can work in. Everyone feels afraid at some point in their life. Reading is a sustained act of telepathy or empathy, and reading horror is even more profound than that: it’s asking people to share real vulnerabilities of yours and open themselves up to their own. It is like going down a tunnel, and hopefully the writer is leading the way with a torch, taking the reader’s hand.

I think it’s because of the difficulty of engaging with it, and having to open yourself up to feelings which society dismisses as being quite childlike. Fear isn’t something we’re particularly interested in dissecting; it’s considered a bit schlocky. But when done right, horror is a transformative experience….” ― Catriona Ward, Interview, The Guardian

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

What booksellers are saying about Looking Glass Sound

  • A coming of age story that takes a very dark turn. Wilder meets Harper and Nathanial when his family is vacationing on the Maine coast. They discover friendship, love and a serial killer, The Dagger Man, that is plaguing the town. Fast-forward to college, where Wilder’s roommate, Sky, encourages him to write a story about his experiences from those times in Maine. Fast-forward many years ahead, and Sky has stolen Wilder’s story and now Wilder is plotting his revenge. This is three books in one and in typical Catriona Ward fashion, you will not know what hit you until the very end!
      ― Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia | Buy from Underground Books

  • I really enjoyed this and was hooked from the beginning. I was totally surprised by the ending and can definitely say it wasn’t like anything else I have read lately.
      ― Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina | Buy from Fiction Addiction

  • Dare I say this is my favorite yet from Catriona Ward? It’s a story inside a story thriller set on a small coastal town in Maine where a serial killer stalks the townspeople. Teenage Wilder and his summer friends Nat and Harlow form bonds that will last into adulthood – whether they want them to or not. Adult Wilder is an author who is down on his luck and struggling with his final manuscript. As he tries to put his memoirs down on paper, the past won’t set him or his friends free. Haunting , layered, and twisty, this kept me on the edge of my seat until the final reveal.
      ― Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia | Buy from Fountain Booksttore

About Catriona Ward

Catriona Ward was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She studied English at the University of Oxford and later earned her master’s degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Ward is a three-time winner of the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel: for The Girl from Rawblood, her debut; Little Eve; and The Last House on Needless Street. Little Eve also won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel. Ward is the international bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial.

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Spotlight on: The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James

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Kelsey James, photo credit Jody Soria Photographer

“I think one of the most important functions of art and literature is the way it can help us make sense of or simply cope with our present realities. The Woman in the Castello is about a young actress and single mother who’s cast in a horror movie in 1960s Italy, but at its core, it’s a book about the lengths we’ll go to for family.” ― Kelsey James, via, Publishers Weekly

The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James

What booksellers are saying about The Woman in the Castello

  • A mystery, some family drama, a romance, all set in a crumbling castle in Italy! Yes please! This debut novel has it all. Read it in a few days and highly recommend.
      ― Suzanne Lucey from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC | Buy from Page 158 Books

  • A crumbling Italian villa with a complicated past of its own seems like the perfect setting for a young actress’s first feature film. When real life starts to mimic the most startling aspects of the horror film being filmed, though, Silvia realizes she may be in for more than she bargained for. The perfect mix of gothic horror, historical fiction, and family intrigue, The Woman in the Castello is a story you won’t be able to put down! Perfect for fans of Rebecca, The Ancestor, and other books with a little more eerie than horror. A must read!
      ― Beth Seufer Buss from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC | Buy from Bookmarks Books

  • Atmospheric and eerie and the perfect way to combat the heat of summer, by hanging out in a damp, dark and crumbling Italian castle in the middle of a movie shoot!
      ― Jill Naylor from Novel in Memphis, TN | Buy from Novel

About Kelsey James

Kelsey James is a historical fiction author and content marketer whose work has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Insider, ABC News, and The Huffington Post, among other outlets. A graduate of Dartmouth College with a degree in Creative Writing and Classical Studies, she currently lives with her family outside New York City and can be found online at KelseyJamesAuthor.com. 

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First Position by Melanie Hamrick

The trope of the lovable anti-hero is beaten out only by that of the detestable anti-hero. Sylvie Carter is inherently unlikable, the hapless victim of every event of the story, including her own poor decisions, the least of which is becoming sexually involved with yet another member of her ballet company, even after the first affair launched her fall from grace. Possibly the most frustrating character since Scarlet O’Hara, her narration is filled with shocking scandal and incredibly loving description of a professional dancer’s lifestyle – and I adored every page.

First Position by Melanie Hamrick, (List Price: 17, Berkley, 9780593638149, June 2023)

Reviewed by Elizabeth Graben, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

Zero Days by Ruth Ware

Gabe and Jacinta are professional "hackers" hired by companies to investigate security weaknesses. After one such investigation, Jacinta returns home to find Gabe murdered. When Jacinta realizes she’s the prime suspect, she runs, trying to survive long enough to discover who murdered Gabe and why. You will be racing with her, pursuing the culprit in an effort to prevent his escape and stop Zero Day and disaster. You may recognize this story as a 21st century version of the movie, The Fugitive, with similar action and suspense. Zero Days…another exciting thriller by Ruth Ware!

Zero Days by Ruth Ware, (List Price: 29.99, Gallery/Scout Press, 9781982155292, June 2023)

Reviewed by Karen Solar, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

A June 2023 Read This Next! Title

I automatically love a creepy-camp scenario and Bayron’s first horror novel knocks it out of the park! Charity and her friends run the immersive horror game at Camp Mirror Lake, the site where a slasher movie was filmed years ago. The scares become all too real as her team starts to disappear without a trace and odd strangers show up at the camp. The disinterested owner is no help so Charity and her gang are left to find out what is going on – and to try to escape with their lives. Can this Final Girl save the day? This tense, scary book keeps you riveted until the last page!

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron, (List Price: 19.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547611546, June 2023)

Reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong

This book was full of twist and turns and had a bit of a science-fiction vibe, which is a refreshing take on a thriller. It reminded me of Catriona Ward’s Sundial and Delilah S. Dawson’s The Violence where you have children being brainwashed in the literal sense where they no longer remember their past and are raised to be completely different people and when those repressed memories eventually start to come through, violence happens.

When I started this audiobook, I was immediately hooked when Gabby flipped out and smashed a faculty member’s head in at school. I also loved that all of the kids were able to grow as characters because they were able to confront their past lives and accept that they are who they were and are now.

I also enjoyed the mystery. I was guessing and guessing who the person was that was sending the threatening emails. I can typically guess correctly, but this book threw me for a loop!

Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong, (List Price: 18.99, Tundra Books, 9780735270923, April 2023)

Reviewed by Kait Layton, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

City of Orange by David Yoon

I’ve had a hard time trying to decide what to say about this book. I don’t want to say anything about the plot because I don’t want to give anything away. This is a post-apocalyptic novel unlike any I have read. David’s writing is beautiful and propulsive though the story is kind of a slow burn. Like most of my favorite books, this one left me both heartbroken and hopeful.

City of Orange by David Yoon, (List Price: 18, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 9780593422182, May 2023)

Reviewed by Gaby Iori, E. Shaver, Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

Cousins by Aurora Venturini

My kinda fare: a colorful palette of characters reminiscent of school days when you mush all the cafeteria food together on the tray then dare your neighbor to eat it. Blushworthy moments galore, like being shot from an early-oeuvre John Waters canon, to land in a Leonora Carrington net. A gourmet gag-fest, even more chokingly delicious in hindsight.

Cousins by Aurora Venturini, (List Price: 17.95, Soft Skull, 9781593767297, May 2023)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

Clover our main character is already a bit of a loner when she experiences her first death at an early age when her teacher dies suddenly while reading Peter Rabbit. She also experiences the death of her parents and is moved to a new city to live with her grandpa who raises her. Shunned by others, because of our societies fear of death and the fact that no one ever speaks about it Clover becomes even more of a loner. She finds that her job makes it hard for her to meet and keep friends as speaking of death makes people extremely uncomfortable. This book definitely had me thinking and reflecting on my life, made me cry, and I walked away loving the characters and rooting for Clover feeling very happy with the way the book ended. I really enjoyed the originality of our main characters job as a death doula it very much intrigued me and peaked my curiosity to pick this book up definitely would recommend.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, (List Price: 28, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250284396, May 2023)

Reviewed by Angela Hudson, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina

Spotlight on: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

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Rebecca Makkai, photo credit Brett Simison

“This is a book where if you read it, by the end, you’ll know what happened. But not everything is tied up in a neat bow. My job is not to give answers. My job is to ask questions. My job is to, in fact, take the questions that I already have and to complicate those even for myself. I should be confusing myself greatly as I write. I should be banging my head on the wall. I shouldn’t be coming in already knowing what I want to say.” ―Rebecca Makkai, Interview, NPR

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

What booksellers are saying about I Have Some Questions for You

  • Another brilliant book from Rebecca Makkai. I love the way she emotionally manipulates me as a reader — in the best possible way! She makes me feel so much by creating rich characters and drawing you in to their lives. This is so timely and the brilliance of the narration is complex and daring. You cannot read this book without stopping and reflecting on the moral dilemmas Bodie faces and asking yourself what you would have done. It’s a brilliant look at the stories we tell, how those change as we grow, and how we see the world from different perspective as society progresses. I will be thinking about this book for a long time!
      ―Jamie Southern from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC | Buy from Bookmarks

  • I should’ve known that Rebecca Makkai taking on a true-crime mystery would knock me off my feet, but I was not prepared for I Have Some Questions For You to hold me captive for days straight while I devoured every chapter. To put it mildly, I am obsessed with this book—it’s gripping, character-driven, and just ridiculously well-written.
      ―Lindsay Lynch from Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN | Buy from Parnassus

  • Man, do I have some questions after finishing this absorbing story. So. Many. Questions. If a high school friend was murdered long ago on the campus of your boarding school, how many years would you continue thinking about it? Would you get involved decades later if you believed the wrong person was convicted? What if it brought pain to the victim’s family and disrupted the lives of other former students? If you believed you knew who the real murderer was, would you expose him? And what if, in your quest for justice, you realize that your own perspective may be biased and your logic may be faulty? Get ready, because this novel asks you to reflect on so many questions, about power and privilege, media and the me too movement, sexual relationships and friendships. It’s the must-read of the season.
      ―Lady Smith from The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, AL | Buy from Snail on the Wall
  • An immaculate feat of story-telling, I Have Some Questions for You takes on complicated contemporary issues and tropes with propulsive verve and moral clarity that gets buried in our Twitter-fied, new-as-infotainment world.
      ―Matt Nixon from A Cappella Books in Atlanta, GA | Buy from A Cappella Books

About Rebecca Makkai

Rebecca Makkai is the author of the novels I Have Some Questions for YouThe Great BelieversThe Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower, and the story collection Music for Wartime. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, The Great Believers received an American Library Association Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, among other honors, and was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2018 by The New York Times. A 202 Guggenheim fellow, Makkai is on the MFA faculties of the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe and Northwestern University, and is the artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago. She lives on the campus of the midwestern boarding school where her husband teaches, and in Vermont.

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Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada

If there’s one thing you should know about me – it’s that I adore a book about an unhappy housewife, not because I like seeing women unhappy, but because I love to support women fighting wrongs. Seeing how a woman reclaims her space, life, and situation – even if she goes about it in questionable ways, is a ride I want to be on. Kashimada’s novel is a prime example of all these elements, with the perfect blend of sparse, deeply impactful prose that explore themes of religion, tragedy, identity, and isolation.

Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada, (List Price: $17, Europa, 9781609458195, March 2023)

Reviewed by Elizabeth Findley, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Spotlight on: The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

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Julia Bartz, photo credit Savannah Lauren

It was very fun to write Roza because she makes her own rules and she has certain boundaries and in other ways she doesn’t have any boundaries at all, she’s very intimidating. I started to write this book was really to explore my "shadow parts" those are the parts of ourselves we repress, usually when we’re young. And for women and girls a lot of those parts have to do with anger, aggression, sexuality…and when we do experience those feelings it can bring a lot of shame. So I wanted to really focus on a character who feels no shame.” ―Julia Bartz, Interview, She Wore Black Podcast

 

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

What booksellers are saying about The Writing Retreat

  • You know how sometimes you think ,”If someone would just make me do this, I’d really knock it out and do great”… well be careful what you wish for! This twisty novel of mind games and winter weather will leave you gasping. Loved that it was as much about the craft of writing as it is an unsettling thriller.
      ―Susan Williams from M. Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, SC | Buy from M. Judson, booksellers

  • OK, I thought this was going to be a particular type of thriller with a predictable albeit revamped plot- dear lord was I incorrect. Halfway through, I’m reading a passage about drug induced sex with a demon with kaleidoscopic eyes. Heck yes! More of this! More of these terrifying, queer, uncomfortable books. I am so delighted and surprised. And this is a debut? Isn’t it kind of hard to write a successful mystery? Let alone, an expose on queer shame, toxic relationships, and social nuances? Dang, Julia. When this book comes out, it’s going straight to my staff picks.
      ―Aimee Keeble from Main Street Books (NC) in Davidson, NC | Buy from Main Street Books

  • The Writing Retreat explores what happens when Alex, a horror writer experiencing a wretched bout of writer’s block finds themself at their idol’s estate for an amazing chance of finally being published. Oh yeah, did I mention her ex-best friend and source of said writer’s block is also in the house? A wildly imaginative psychological thriller that explores the question: who do our stories and memories really belong to?
      ―Eden Hakimzadeh from Oxford Exchange in Tampa, FL | Buy from Oxford Exchange

  • Nightmares, sleepwalking, poisons, drugs, dark basements, ghosts, secret passageways, hauntings, and dangers await talented young women as they step into the mansion Blackbriar for a month-long writing retreat. Roza Vallo, a successful feminist horror writer, is the owner of this magnificent mansion and promises that in the month one of these participants could win a million dollars and fame and fortune for writing the best story. What would these women do to become wealthy and realize their dream of being a famous writer? Beginning with the mysterious necklaces, these women become discombobulated as they dwell in Blackbriar and face terrors and secrets and dangers in the spooky, horrifying situation. No reader will forget this thriller or easily put down this shocking story until the last page.
      ―Nancy Pierce from Bookmiser, Inc. in Marietta, GA | Buy from Bookmiser

About Julia Bartz

Julia Bartz is a Brooklyn-based writer and practicing therapist. Her fiction writing has appeared in The South Dakota ReviewInDigest Magazine, and more. The Writing Retreat is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter @JuliaBartz and Instagram at @JuliaBartz.

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Everything Calls for Salvation by Daniele Mencarelli

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

The Hunter by Jennifer Herrera

It’s a great debut, spooky, atmospheric, with family drama, and full of small town secrets. Gotta love a strong female main character, who is unafraid of danger. There are twists and turns in every moment…the suspense is palpable. This book is impossible to put down.

The Hunter by Jennifer Herrera, (List Price: $27, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 9780593540213, January 2023)

Reviewed by Amy Loewy, Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana

Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong

A beautifully odd and weird story, full of imagination, obsession, and layers upon layers of intrigue. Katrina Kim is living on the edges of life, barely able to afford her shared apartment, struggling with her temp job, and lowkey stalking her coworker Kurt. There’s something about him and his strangeness that compels her to watch him. Then one night she sees Kurt jump off a bridge, drawing Katrina into the mystery that was his life. I can’t recommend this strange book enough!

Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong (List Price: $28, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538723562, January 2023)

RReviewed by Kate Towery, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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