Searching for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing the week of August 16 – 22, 2026 with three debut series. I hope a few of these books take you on a reading adventure!
AUGUST 17
Delusional by James Patterson and James O. Born (Political Thriller)
In New York City, a series of deadly bombs explodes. Across the river, a military base is burglarized for munitions. In Montana, violence and arson rock a small town outside of Bozeman. Are the incidents related? Bennett, Trilling, and the ATF investigate. A single-minded group angry with the government keep turning up in unexpected places, insisting that they’re only trying to make the world a better place. To law enforcement, their claims seem delusional. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
As Long As She Lives by Kate Wiley (Psychological Thriller)
Carissa Withers—the Black Widow of Berkeley—has two months left on death row. Six husbands dead. A decade of calculated murder. Now Withers claims there were more, and she wants to tell Margot all about them. Margot specializes in coaxing the truth from killers. She knows manipulation when she sees it. This could be a desperate ploy to delay the inevitable. But what if Withers is telling the truth? Format: Digital, Print
AUGUST 18
True Crime Burbank by James T. Bartlett (True Crime)
Nellie May Madison shot her husband to death at their home in 1934 and became the first woman to be condemned to death in California. The brutal 1953 murder of Mable Monohan inspired an Oscar-winning movie, but that didn’t save Barbara Graham and her killer collaborators from the gallows. In the decades that followed, infamous and violent offenders such as the “Dating Game Killer,” the “Toolbox Killers,” and “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez hunted for victims in the area, while slayings of detectives, private eyes, bookies, and secret gamblers piled up in the cold case files of the police department. Format: Print
The Queen of Florida by Jeff Bercuson (Traditional Mystery)
June has spent a lifetime tending to the infinite needs of her four children, especially the youngest, Jimmy, who was the black sheep from the very beginning and who has dragged her down to hellish places she never expected or wanted to go: court, rehab, prison. After Jimmy’s latest relapse, June makes a break for it. She heads south to a place where so many like her have found their happiness: Boca. For the first time in her life, she does what she wants — until Jimmy knocks on her door unannounced with that strange hollow look in his eyes. Format: Digital, Print
Promise Me Never by Liv Constantine (Psychological Thriller)
Aspiring writer Savannah’s scheme to meet superstar horror novelist Bennett Bryson turns out better than she ever imagined: not only does her charming and handsome literary idol offer to read her work, he is instantly smitten with her. After a whirlwind romance, Savannah says “yes” to marriage, and the two settle into Bennett’s secluded upstate home. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Murder in a Yorkshire Village by Helena Dixon (Historical Mystery 1930s)
Kitty Underhay is enjoying a stroll in the Yorkshire town where she and her husband Matt are visiting his family. As she stops to take in the rolling hills, she suddenly sees a most unexpected sight. There’s a bike in the ditch just along the road… and the cyclist is dead. Format: Digital, Print
Board to Death by J.C. Eaton (Cozy Mystery)
Charcuterie chef, Katie Aubrey, is all agog, having been selected to cater a spectacular dining experience at The Pinnacle, a prestigious five-star senior residence. With twenty distinct charcuterie boards for the individual residents, Katie is certain this event will give her the publicity she needs to move up in the culinary world. But things don’t go as planned. A number of loose cattle block Cave Creek Road and the word sabotage is on everyone’s lips. To make matters worse, Edith Ellroy, former food critic and intolerable ghost, who occupies Katie’s residence, creates additional havoc at Katie’s Char-Board restaurant. Format: Digital, Print
Better Than Revenge by Bea Fitzgerald (Suspense)
Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore have been rivals since their first days at drama school, a feud that has consumed them. A feud more passionate, more clawing than the gossip magazines ever note. Hollywood’s It-Girl versus the acclaimed starlet, caught in an obsession that can only lead to one thing: someone’s downfall. After beating out Harper in every category for best actress, Nadine believes she has finally done it. She’s won – completely and irrefutably. So why are thoughts of Harper still tormenting her? Why doesn’t victory taste at all sweet? Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Don’t Look Close by Jaima Fixsen (Thriller)
When Peter Simmons calls his sister Edie from the polio rehabilitation ward, he expects to hear that she’s on her way to get him. Instead, he learns her ex-husband has been murdered – and whispers around town have turned her into a prime suspect. Determined to set things right, Peter checks himself out of the hospital and heads to Clairbeck, the rugged mining community Edie calls home. He can’t walk or drive unassisted, but armed with his camera and a stubborn streak, he’s intent on proving her innocence. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
God’s Country by William Kent Krueger (Private Investigator Mystery)
Cork O’Connor, preparing for a family trip into the Boundary Waters, is troubled by ominous visions about his future. Ignoring the warnings, he uncovers signs of violence while searching for his missing friend, Cordell Bishop. Soon, he is forced to negotiate with dangerous criminals, the Kennedy brothers, who are seeking their late father’s hidden stash. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
The Crying Killer by Jess Lourey (Psychological Thriller)
Tuesday Hendrickson has spent eight years running from memories of that night. Her sister’s screams. Blood on the walls. And Arsen Bauer, a monster known as the Crying Killer, shot down in a barrage of bullets as he fled. Case closed. Intending to build a safe new identity out of the ashes, Tuesday changed her last name and moved away. She’s now a private investigator who guards herself and her daughter, Julia, like their lives depend on it. And maybe they do. Because unless she’s imagining things, Tuesday has seen Arsen on the streets of Saint Paul. She’d know her sister’s killer anywhere. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Once More, With Murder by Katherine McRea (Historical Romance Mystery 1950s) *first book in a new series*
It’s 1959, and if a historic drought isn’t bad enough, it turns out murder is terrible for tourism. All Detective Inspector Jack Penny wants to do with his summer is solve petty crimes and flirt with pretty tourists. Investigating twisted poisonings and confronting the specters of the past are not on his to-do list. Unfortunately, both arrive in the Cotswolds’ village of Buxton-on-the-Water on the same day… riding on the heels of Jack’s estranged wife. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Murder on Charity Lane by Jo Nichols (Cozy Mystery)
Months after the shocking murders at Marigold Cottages, eccentric landlady Mrs. B finds the peace and quiet a little too peaceful. That’s why she invites her young friend CJ Moore to move into a now-vacant cottage: CJ is a suspect in the death of her employer, a wealthy Santa Barbara philanthropist who tumbled down the stairs of his mansion during a dinner party. The dead man’s much-younger widow claims she saw CJ push him, but Mrs. B is certain that she’s innocent. Why? Oh, just a feeling. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Death Takes a Holiday by Tammie Painter (Cozy Mystery) *first book in a new series*
After an eternity of escorting souls to the afterlife, Death — who really prefers you call him Mortimer — is bored. There’s been departmental divisions, technical developments, and fitness crazes that mean people just aren’t dying like they used to. What’s worse… He’s running low on romance novels to keep himself occupied. Format: Digital
My Sister Is Going to Kill Me by Nina Simon (Thriller)
Liv and Mandy Chisholm’s yearly sister trip is a sacred tradition, an attempt to bond as their lives increasingly diverge. Liv, the ever-practical older sister, packs the color-coded itineraries. Mandy, a bedazzled human tumbleweed, brings the spontaneity. This year, the sisters take off for a rafting adventure through the breathtaking depths of the Grand Canyon with a group of strangers. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
The Bathing Box Murders by Laraine Stephens (Historical Mystery 1920s)
A raging storm sweeps the beach at Brighton, toppling one of the bathing boxes and revealing the graves of J. Arnold Witherspoon, a successful businessman, and his wife, Hope. Crime reporter Reggie da Costa, devotee of fashionable suits and stylish automobiles, uncovers an intriguing mystery: How can the Witherspoons be controlling their financial affairs and property holdings from abroad if they are lying dead under the sand? Complicating matters, a respected shipping company owner, while attempting to rob a bank, turns the gun on himself. Is there a connection between these bizarre deaths? Can Reggie uncover the truth? Format: Digital, Print
For Services Rendered by Will Thomas (Historical Mystery 1890s)
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, would be reformer and revolutionary, turns up in London, running away from China’s Imperial Qing Secret Service, who has placed a substantial bounty on his head for his political activities. Captured by those agents, he’s imprisoned in the Chinese Embassy until he can be smuggled back to China to face execution. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
AUGUST 20
The Honourable Member for Murder by David Weir (Crime Caper Mystery) *first book in a new series*
Maxwell Murray’s job is simple: keep his hapless boss Eliot Oakcroft – the MP for Middlebury-Mid – out of trouble. It’s a full-time occupation. But when Miranda Cley asks for help freeing her imprisoned mother, an ordinary day turns extraordinary. Miranda’s father was murdered – or so everyone believes. The trouble is, she’s just seen him alive. Format: Digital, Print, Audio
Note: in some cases, print releases for digital titles will be forthcoming.
Publication date subject to change