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In The Devotion of Suspect X (2011), by Keigo Higashino, when Yasuko’s abusive ex-husband shows up at her apartment, they get into an altercation and he ends up dead. A single mother, Yasuko plans to turn herself into the police but worries about the effect this would have on her daughter.

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

Five years ago, pub owners Sue and Mal Eastwood disappeared. Their nephew, Dominic, is shopping their story to various media outlets. The Killer Question (2025) lets the reader observe through text messages and other communications the lives of Sue and Mal when they owned the pub, especially the controversies that arose around the weekly trivia quiz they held on Monday nights. The situation gets even murkier when a body is found nearby.

Mercury Carter has a delivery to make to Rachel Stanfield. When Carter arrives at Rachel's house, he finds that Rachel and her husband Glenn are being held hostage by a guy named Finn and his henchmen. Carter just wants to make his delivery and leave, but Finn kidnaps Rachel and leaves with her before Carter can complete the task. Carter then finds himself, accompanied by Glenn, on Finn's trail trying to rescue Rachel because Finn is convinced that Rachel has information that he needs--and Finn is prepared to kill for it.

The Aosawa Murders (first published in Japan in 2004 and translated to English in 2020), by Riku Onda, centers on a mass poisoning at a birthday party in 1970s Japan, which killed 17 people including every member of the Aosawa family except for their daughter Hisako, who is blind.

I really enjoyed Bunny (2019) by Mona Awad! For fans of dark academia and psychological thrillers, it’s one you can’t miss. It was so engaging that I finished it in about two sittings.

Written by Steph T., Tech Services

When Luna's twin sister, Solina, dies suddenly, Luna knows it wasn't an accident like the police are trying to make it out to be. Luna suspects Solina's death has everything to do with Kingswood Academy, the prestigious and reputable boarding school that Solina attended-- the school she wanted to drop out of with only one semester left. Kingswood Academy doesn't know that Solina is dead, so Luna takes the opportunity to pretend to be Solina and investigate her death.

When Jordyn first arrives at Frasier, a prestigious Black university, she instantly finds belonging among her new roommates and classmates. She used to live in a predominately white town, and being at Frasier means she doesn't feel like the outsider anymore. Things are going well-- up until Devonte, Jordyn's roommate's older brother, arrives. Recently out of prison for credit card fraud he claims he was framed for, he asks to stay at the girls' dorm to get back on his feet. At first, Devonte seems charming and alluring, amazing the girls with his seemingly all-knowing-wisdom.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch is looking forward to a lazy summer of fishing and spending her days outdoors, while her twin sister Pauline and good friend Lucas take part in her tribe's summer intern program. But when Perry wrecks her car, her Aunt Daunis (from Firekeeper's Daughter) requires Perry to take an internship position to pay her back for the repairs.

In 1898, Harriet Morrow has just been hired as an investigator at the Prescott Detective Agency in downtown Chicago. She is given a week to find Agnes Wozniak, a maid who has disappeared from the home of her employer, Pearl Bartlett. Harriet starts by delving into the life of Agnes and whose paths would have crossed Agnes', since Agnes worked six days a week and only had Wednesdays off. In addition, many of Harriet's fellow detectives and the secretaries at the Prescott Agency resent Harriet's presence there, making her job even tougher.

Too Old for This (2025), by Samantha Downing, is told from the perspective of Lottie Jones, a “retired” serial killer in her 70s. Her quiet life, mostly consisting of church social events, is upended when a documentary filmmaker knocks on her door and asks to interview her about her past, when she was “wrongfully” accused of murder many years ago.

The first in the Secret Staircase mystery series features magician Tempest Raj after her career implodes. Something went horribly wrong during her last show in Las Vegas and everyone assumes she’s to blame. Tempest returns to her childhood home in small-town California, reluctantly joining the family business of renovating homes to add magical features such as secret reading rooms and hidden entrances.