May's Treasures in My Closet

May's Treasures in My Closet pile isn't quite as intimidating as April's was. I may never catch up. But, here are some forthcoming books that you might want to order from your favorite bookstore or request at your public library.

Let's start with Gordon W. Dale's Fool's Republic. It's a political thriller in which Simon Wyley is imprisoned for crimes against the state after a lifelong pattern of battles against authority. It's a novel about one man's search for freedom.

I mentioned Vicki Delany's Among the Departed yesterday. Fifteen years earlier a young Moonlight Smith was the last one to see her best friend's father before he disappeared. Now, when a police dog uncovers bones, Constable Molly Smith is thrown back into that story, as Sergeant John Winters reopens that investigation.

Miranda James brings back librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine coon cat, Diesel, in Classified as Murder. Soon after Charlie starts the inventory of a rare book collection, he finds his client dead. Charlie suspects the man's family, and he'll need Diesel's help to solve the case.

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness is Brianna Karp's memoir. She went from a childhood of violence and abuse to a steady job and a home of her own. But, when the Great Recession hit, Karp lost her job, was forced into the streets, and began a life as a homeless person. This memoir tells her story, and the stories that inspired her to become an activist for the homeless community.

People have been waiting for Erik Larson's new book, In the Garden of Beasts. It's the story of one family in the shadow of Hitler's rise to power. In 1933, William E. Dodd became America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany, taking along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. Dodd grows fearful of the Nazis, while Martha becomes entranced, having one affair after another. It promises to be another powerful work of nonfiction.

Sons and Princes is James LePore's story of two people on a collision course with each other, and the Mafia. Chris Massi tried to stay on the right side of the law, despite his family connections to the mob. Michele Mathias is a drug addicted street player whose life intersects with Chris' when her roommate is murdered. It's a story of two people in a suspenseful drama.

British heartthrob Nicholas Hoult is scheduled to play R in the film adaptation of Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies. Who is R? He's a zombie whose relationship with a human girl will change his world and that of his fellow Dead. What happens when the cold heart of a zombie is tempted by the warmth of human love?

The Tender Mercy of Roses marks Anna Michaels' debut. The body of rodeo star Pony Jones is discovered in the northern Alabama woods, and it's her spirit that helps reveal clues about her murder. The mystery brings together Pony's father, determined to revenge his daughter's death, and a hard-drinking woman, a former detective who feels a connection to Pony Jones.

Ben Pastor's Lumen is called "A wartime political intrigue, a detective story, a psychological thriller, and a religious mystery rolled into one. It follows Wehrmact Captain Martin Boma and a Chicago priest in 1939 in Poland as the two investigate the murder of an abbess with alleged powers.

Edgar award-winning author Stefanie Pintoff brings back Detective Simon Ziele and criminologist Alistair Sinclair in the third book in the historical series, Secret of the White Rose. When the murder of a judge sets off a witch hunt against anarchists, the victim's widow enlists the criminologist to find the true killer.

Spencer Seidel takes readers deep into family secrets in his debut novel, Dead of Wynter. Alice Wynter reluctantly returns home to the Maine lake country following her father's murder and her brother's disappearance. But, it seems the family, including Alice's mother, have secrets to hide.


Purgatory Chasm is also a debut mystery. Steve Ulfelder tells of  smart-talking former alcoholic, just a car mechanic trying to make his way. When Conway Sax reluctantly helps another former alcoholic, he becomes suspect number one in the man's murder. Now, he needs to catch a killer, clear himself, and keep a promise.

And, the last debut novel is Jan Merete Weiss' These Dark Things. Captain Natalia Monte of the Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy, is called in to investigate the discovery of a college student's corpse in the ancient catacombs of Naples. While Monte's case becomes more dangerous, the city's crime families go to war.

May is bringing us novels in black and blue, exciting possibilities with debut novels, and, hopefully, good reading. Check back tomorrow for other forthcoming books in the Hot Titles column.