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Emma Donoghue’s latest work of historical fiction, The Paris Express (2025), takes place in 1895 during a single, doomed train ride in fin de siècle France. As the train prepares to depart from Normandy, a large cast of characters is introduced, including both railroad employees and passengers from all walks of life.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell (2018) by Robert Dugoni  is one of my favorite books. I became so attached to the characters that I didn’t want the book to end. The main character, and narrator, Sam Hill, was born in 1957 with a condition called ocular albinism, which made his pupils red. In school, he was ostracized and given the nickname “Devil Boy”.

If you're looking for a fun, fast-paced mystery with heart, humor, and a teapot full of charm, Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) (2025) by Jesse Q. Sutanto should be at the top of your reading list.

In this compelling historical adventure, siblings Lizzie (14) and Jakob (19) contribute to the war effort in 1940s England while also investigating what happened to their mother. Told in alternating points of view, reserved Jakob and precocious Lizzie share how they arrived at Bletchley Park, the epicenter of Allied codebreaking efforts to unlock the German Enigma machine (hint: one was recruited at school and the other evaded efforts to send her to America).

Golden Girls and cozy mystery = match made in heaven! The first in a new series by Rachel Ekstrom Courage, Murder by Cheesecake takes us back to 1980s Miami for a clash of cultures as Rose’s family from St. Olaf, Minnesota arrives in town for a family wedding.

In Swordheart (2025), T. Kingfisher takes readers on a cozy romp through a somewhat medieval land scattered with random vestiges of its magical past. Our middle-aged heroine, Halla, has recently inherited an estate and is struggling to fend off nasty relatives who are intent on marrying her for her wealth.

In Mo Rocca and Jonathan Greenberg’s latest collective biography (after Mobituaries, 2019), Rocca turns his gaze to people (and animals) who accomplished great things after they reached a certain age.

We Would Never (2025) by Tova Mirvis is a dark family drama inspired by an infamous 2014 murder in Tallahassee, Florida involving feuding ex-spouses and toxic family members. In the fictionalized story, Hailey and Jonah Gelman are going through a bitter divorce and fighting constantly over custody of their daughter.

This gothic horror, fairy-tale coming of age story is one of my favorite reads of 2025!  The Lamb (2025) by Lucy Rose is a wonderfully written easy read but not easy to digest.  I rooted for the main character, Little One, telling us her story of living in a cottage in the woods with her mother: a story of neglect, cannibalism, Sapphic love and growing up trying to find love in

Thomas Walsh is used to picking up the occasional odd job. When he accepts a job interpreting for an heiress who is mute by choice and uses sign language to communicate, he thinks it'll be an easy one: he has the experience growing up with a Deaf mother, after all. Sure, Vivienne's father keeps her on a short leash, won't let her out past sunset, and also kind of wants Thomas to follow her wherever she goes, but Thomas doesn't care about the weird family dynamics. He's just there for the money.