Best Action & Adventure Books For Summer 2026
Buckle up for an adrenaline rush with the best action and adventure books that are blasting onto the scene this summer. If you're a Stunt Double Reader Type, you live for pulse-racing survival stories, spine-tingling horror/thrillers and action heroes crafted by master storytellers. We've handpicked these new releases to ensure that you stay locked in and on the edge of your seat from cover to cover. Ready to dive in?
August 2026 Action/Adventure New Releases
My Sister Is Going to Kill Me
by Nina Simon
From the New York Times bestselling author of the runaway hit Mother-Daughter Murder Night, a Reese's Book Club pick, comes another fun, family-centered whodunnit about two sisters who work together to find a killer as they raft down the rapids of the Grand Canyon.
"Propulsive and page-turning, this is armchair adventure at its best." -- Nita Prose, #1 bestselling author of The Maid series
What's a family vacation without a little murder?
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. But beyond the terrors of whitewater rapids, sibling squabbles and rogue reptiles, the ferocious beauty of the river carries a darker undercurrent and an unexpected guest: a murderer in their midst.
When a fellow traveler is found dead and another corpse hits the water, the rafting trip flips from idyllic sister vacation to high-stakes murder investigation. Every suspect has a secret, every clue is drenched in mystery, and Liv and Mandy can hardly trust each other, let alone their own instincts. With the river raging and danger around every bend, the Chisholm sisters must work together to catch a killer and keep their relationship from capsizing before it's too late.
The Sunken, the Adored
by Donyae Coles
A chilling Lovecraftian horror story from the author of Midnight Rooms, in which a recently freed slave from America making a new life for herself in 1800 Venice finds the mysterious plague that killed her former master may have followed her to Italy ... and now stalks the canals.
Venice, Italy, 1800's. The only survivor on a ship, Mercy disembarks in Italy, carrying two precious possessions: the first-ever camera that makes daguerreotype plates and a letter regarding an appointment meant for the dead slave holder.
The letter takes her to Umberto, an Anatomist. In his basement workspace, she learns he hired the man who formally owned her to capture images of dissected corpses. But that man is dead. With no other recourse for her or Umberto, Mercy assumes the position. In return for the sample plate she took, Umberto takes her to the home of the Contessa, a British woman who married into her title. Charmed by Mercy, she invites the young woman to stay for the season to take pictures.
Formerly enslaved, Mercy finds this new life of freedom heady, as she takes on the mantle of a photographer and guest in a decadent house of pleasure under the hospitality of an aristocrat. Under the Contessa's roof, she meets a diverse cast of friendly and strange individuals with whom she forms new bonds and friendships.
But all is not well in her new life. Something dark and hungry stalks the canals that snake through the city, biting at her heels. The same death that rode the waves with her now surrounds her in this strange place. What is this malevolence that haunts her? As she tries to understand this macabre force, she must grapple with a greater fear: that the horror that endangers her friends is herself.
The Sunken, The Adored is dark, eerie and wholly original, at once unsettling and irresistibly addictive.
Post Mortem: A Mystery
by David Lagercrantz - Ian Giles
From the bestselling author of The Girl in the Spider's Web comes another mystery led by detective duo Rekke and Vargas: this time, their hunt for a killer has a literary twist.
Professor Hans Rekke and police officer Micaela Vargas have earned a reputation for solving the unsolvable. But they've never been confronted by a serial killer. Until now.
Rekke receives a visit from Spanish chief inspector Rafael Corales, who is unable to forget the brutal, unsolved murder of a young woman in Santander in 1988. Now other bodies have come to light, marked with signs that seem to be some kind of numerical order. Still recovering from his latest manic episode, his relationship with Vargas strained by a secret she's keeping, Rekke agrees to help decipher these signs before the killer strikes again.
The victim was an aspiring writer, and clues from her posthumously published short story about a stray dog draw Rekke and Vargas deep into the murk of Sweden's literary scene. To unmask the killer, Rekke must relearn the difference between fact and fiction and discover what really happened that night back in the 1980s.
In yet another intricate and exciting puzzle mystery, David Lagercrantz draws on the literary world that he, and we, know all too well to tell a story about guilt, shame, repressed memories, human depravity and publishing.
The Unknown
by Riley Sager
The first edition of this stunning hardcover features designed endpapers, a foil-stamped case, hued edges and a shimmery jacket!
In 1926, five women disappeared from a remote island in Vermont. Now, 100 years later, it's happening again.
Struggling actress Marin Keane is shocked when she lands a role in a major motion picture about the unsolved mystery of New Avalon, an island on sprawling Lake Faraday in Vermont. She's even more surprised when she learns that the role requires a weeklong research trip to that very spot.
Because New Avalon isn't your ordinary island. A century ago, it was a commune for spiritual mediums, until they all vanished in 1926. The only trace of them was five dresses hanging from the branches of an old oak tree in the middle of the island, one for each missing woman. Some locals say they simply left. Others think they were murdered. But the prevailing opinion, thanks to a diary left behind by one of the vanished, a young woman named Daisy Rue, is that a séance gone wrong conjured something supernatural that took them all one by one.
Not long after arriving, Marin and her castmates, including legendary actress Violet Wright and white-hot director Ronan Peters, begin to realize all is not right with New Avalon. They hear strange noises in the night and notice mysterious symbols left behind by the island's previous occupants. And after a sudden health emergency leaves Marin, Ronan and the other actors stranded on the island, the disappearances begin again.
Is it the work of someone trying to derail the movie? Or is the island's alleged supernatural past catching up with the present? As fear and suspicion mount, Marin turns to Daisy's diary, hoping it holds the key to figuring out what really happened to the women of New Avalon and how to keep the island's terrible history from repeating itself.
The Silent Appeal
by Janice Hallett
From "modern Agatha Christie" (The Sunday Times, London) Janice Hallett, a follow-up to her blockbuster debut novel The Appeal, featuring the Fairway Players as they put on Agatha Christie's play The Hollow and find themselves embroiled in murder, blackmail and betrayal once again.
Welcome back to Lower Lockwood. The Fairway Players return with Sarah-Jane and Kevin MacDonald as committee cochairs. This year, they have chosen to stage Agatha Christie's The Hollow. But auditions aren't their only problem: Sarah-Jane's sister, Nicky-Rose, is suddenly back in town under mysterious circumstances, having sold her home in Barbados, left her business providing entertainment on cruise ships and moved back into their mother Carol's house.
As always, they're short on men, and new Player Fran Elroy-Jones enlists a young married couple and the husband's cousin to join. But no one wants to play the part of the hated Gerda, leaving Kevin and Sarah-Jane with no option but to reach out to an old member they know would be happy to perform in any role.
As with any production, tensions run high, and our intrepid lawyers Femi and Charlotte are tasked with uncovering exactly what happened on the opening night of The Hollow and whether the correct person has taken the blame.
Devil Inside (Original)
by Clay McLeod Chapman
"A stunning, blood-soaked gem of a horror romance ..." -- Thea Guanzon
"This is horror and heartbreak at its finest."-- Kylie Lee Baker
A man who's back from the dead meets a woman who's from somewhere even worse in Clay McLeod Chapman's new horrormance about love, possession and just a little murder.
After a traumatic accident that almost cost Jordan his life, he's finally starting to feel normal again. Well, maybe not normal. Everything tastes like ash, and when he looks at the people around him, their faces start to melt. At least he's not dead, right? His friends are doing their best to get him back on his feet, maybe find someone to talk to, perhaps even find someone to take his mind off his last failed relationship.
Then he meets Lilith. The two share an instant connection but after a wild and passionate night together, she ghosts him. Jordan searches the city for Lilith, desperate to see her again. But when a woman claiming to be Lilith shows up, wearing a different face but knowing intimate details about Jordan, he worries he's losing his grip on reality. As he grows closer to this mysterious woman, he discovers that happily ever afters sometimes come at a cost. How far will Lilith take him, and how much darkness will he embrace to find love?
Reliquary
by Hannah Whitten
A young woman is lured to her late fiancé's remote island estate--only to uncover eerie family secrets, a haunting past and a monstrous hunger stirring beneath the sea in this deliciously atmospheric horror debut from New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten.
When Claire's fiancé mysteriously dies of an unknown neurological illness, she's prepared to sink back into the lonely life she lived before. Orphaned by a freak boating accident in her childhood, she never expected to find connection like she did with Elias, anyway. Their relationship wasn't perfect -- his coldness, his secrets, his strange aversion to the ocean -- but what relationship is?
When Elias's family reaches out, his incredibly wealthy family from whom he was estranged, invites Claire to a three-day wake at Harrow Point, their family home on a private island, Claire is given the chance to find family again. To belong to something, just like she's always wanted. Just like Elias knew she was desperate to have.
Even if that family is a little strange. Even if their coastal home stirs up memories of the accident that killed her parents and sister. Even if Ash, Elias's older brother, seems insistent on Claire leaving as soon as possible.
As she dives deeper into the world of Harrow Point, she will uncover the nature of her own traumatic connection to the ocean. There is something swimming in the bowels of Harrow Point, and it is hungry. …
The Woman Who Wouldn't Die Quietly
by Katarina Bivald
When DCI Ian Ahmed agrees, reluctantly, to convalesce on a remote island in the Stockholm archipelago, he expects nothing more than bitter winds, silence and boredom. But just across the bay, a sleek, modern house stirs to life. Staff arrive in dark clothing, cleaning and prepping with military precision. And then Margrethe Cullenberg-Franzén appears, legend of the art world, notorious matriarch, and, as Ian soon learns, a woman used to bending the world to her will. She's come to the island to celebrate her 80th birthday, dragging her fractious, resentful family with her and inviting Ian and his enigmatic hostess, Berit Gardner, along for the ride.
But before the candles are blown out, Margrethe is dead, fallen from the cliff into the frigid sea during a stormy night. Accident? Suicide? Ian is certain it was murder. Trapped in a landscape of muted colors and long, creeping shadows, he and Berit begin to unravel the toxic family secrets festering behind Margrethe's imposing legacy. As winter deepens and the ice seals the island in silence, the question echoes louder: who stood to gain the most from the matriarch's fall? And how long will the killer wait before striking again?
July 2026 Action/Adventure New Releases
The Brides: A Feminist Horror Novel for Fans of Dracula (Original)
by Charlotte Cross
Creepy, sumptuous and incredibly gripping, The Brides is a feminist gothic horror about the three women who became the brides of Dracula - and the fourth who managed to escape ...
"Come to me, and be mine for eternity."
1884. When Mafalda journeys to Budapest to care for her grieving aunt, her secret love, Lucy, hurries from London to comfort her, with chaperone and lady's maid in tow.
But lady's maid Alice, blessed and cursed with the Sight, is tormented by terrifying visions. When chaperone Eliza falls prey to a disturbing wasting illness, the women hope to seek the healing waters of Transylvania. At a nobleman's invitation, they set out for Castle Dracula.
In the depths of the forest, miles from civilization, their host reveals his true intentions; a monstrous ambition which will tear the women apart.
And not all of them will survive.
Hide and Seek
by Soren Sveistrup
SOON TO BE A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
The author of The Chestnut Man and creator of the hit television series The Killing returns with a twisty, breakneck psychological thriller that takes an innocent children's game to its most terrifying and diabolical extreme.
Count to one, count to two . . .
A strange voice from inside the woods, repeating a child's counting rhyme.
Count to four, count to five . . .
A body discovered in the water.
You're trying to go home. Will you make it alive?
Thirty years later, a woman begins receiving a string of anonymous text messages, repeating that same rhyme.
Found you.
Then she disappears . . .
On Valentine's Day, detectives Naia Thulin and Mark Hess are searching to find the missing woman. But when they uncover links to a decades-old cold case, their investigation takes a terrifying turn.
A violent killer is on the loose. Can Hess and Thulin catch them, before they strike again?
Last Night Was Killer
by Mary Pauline Lowry
"An inventive mystery loaded with humor, heart, and found family." --People Magazine
"I have never had so much fun watching a fictional character try to figure out if she killed someone or not. Wild, outrageous, silly, smart, Tilly is a heroine for the ages and Mary Lowry writes like no one else. A damn delight." --Rufi Thorpe, Author of Margo's Got Money Troubles
A suspenseful, bighearted, and laugh-out-loud story of a single mom trying to do it all--including solve a murder she may or may not have committed...
When Tilly Turner signed up for an introductory pole-dancing class, she was looking for a distraction. Reeling from her mother's passing, and with her career as a stand-up comedian in ruins, Tilly has just moved back to the Idaho hometown she was desperate to leave, with her twin daughters in tow.
But Tilly gets more than she bargained for after a night out with her new pole-dancing pals. She wakes to a raging hangover, no memory of the evening before, and a dead body in the trunk of her car.
Who was the dead man? And more importantly, who killed him? Tilly has no alibi and needs answers. But investigating a murder is complicated, especially with an old frenemy circling, childcare plans falling through, and pole-dancing classes to attend. And don't even mention the sexy ATF agent who she's trying (and failing) to keep at arm's length.
As Tilly races to solve the mystery before the police come knocking, she finds herself implicated in a larger plot that includes political subterfuge and arms dealing. But who knows--maybe busting a criminal enterprise will be just the shake-up she needs.
Balancing both heart and hilarity, and with a witty take on the struggles of modern motherhood, Last Night Was Killer is a charming introduction to the most unlikely--and likable--of sleuths.
The Country Road Murders: A Thriller
by James Patterson - Mike Lupica
After a shocking accident, Silas Tucker's legendary football career is suddenly over in this action-packed sports thriller powered by loyalty, competition, and family.
Humbled, but never defeated, he returns to his backwoods hometown, Cross Rivers, North Carolina, where his father was murdered.
He goes back to what's left of his family and their small, struggling farm. He reunites with his best friend in the world--Taylor McCarter Webb, who is now married.
Then Silas is pulled into a deadly battle with the Southern Mafia who control drugs, trafficking and murder.
As the suspense crescendos, Silas follows one rule for survival: you don't ride these country roads alone, or in the dead of night.
Killer Vibes: The First Peter Key Mystery
by Jack Friday
A wild and wickedly funny series debut, introducing readers to the irresistible and irrepressible private investigator, Peter Key.
"Everything you want in a great mystery." -- Steven Rowley
"Peter Key is my new favorite amateur sleuth." -- Elle Cosimano
Meet Peter Key: self-proclaimed "laziest private investigator in Texas" (it's harder than it looks), unapologetic bisexual, dedicated stoner, and the surprised recipient of a windfall inheritance from an uncle he barely knew. Peter's life was a mess before, but now-- as the owner of a dilapidated house in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Austin--he has a mountain of debt to deal with and pressure to sell from every side.
But Peter doesn't like to be pushed around. And when he discovers a bag full of cash, he starts to suspect his uncle's death wasn't an accident. He soon finds himself pulled into a lethal game where not everybody plays by the rules.
Fortunately, Peter's never been good at following rules.
Sexy, suspenseful, and packed with Austin's quirks, Killer Vibes is a wild and wickedly funny romp that introduces us to the irresistible and irrepressible PI, Peter Key.
Ransom
by Daniel Silva
Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon searches for the missing wife of a British billionaire in the electrifying new tale of greed, corruption, and betrayal from #1 New York Times-bestselling novelist Daniel Silva.
Alice Winter, one of Britain's most dazzling socialites, seemingly has the perfect life--a lavish home in posh Knightsbridge, a grand estate in Devon, millions of followers on social media who eagerly await her next post. But when she disappears without a trace while on holiday with three old friends from Cambridge, her desperate husband, the real estate baron Edward Knight, turns to none other than Gabriel Allon to find her.
He soon discovers that Alice Winter is not the woman she appears to be, that she has a reckless side, that she has secrets. But Edward Knight has a secret too, a secret so dangerous that Gabriel will have no choice but to return to the life he thought he had left behind. An old enemy lurks there, waiting for him to make one misstep, waiting for the perfect moment to exact vengeance.
From its irresistible opening chapters to its heart-pounding climax and shocking final twist, Ransom is a riveting, page-turning tour de force that proves yet again why Daniel Silva is the reigning master of international intrigue and suspense.
The Intrigue
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a sizzling noir about desire, danger, and greed, in which seduction is the ultimate con.
"Lush and passionate with magnetic prose ... The Intrigue will grab you by the throat and not let go until its earth-shaking finale!" -- S. A. Cosby, author of King of Ashes
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, People, Book Riot, Southern Living
Handsome con artist Ulises has long charmed lonely women via letters in order to steal their money, but money is hard to come by in 1940s Mexico. Ulises knows his looks won't last forever, and he's desperate to get his hands on a real fortune.
He thinks he's found it when he captivates his newest correspondent, Perla, the owner of a small-town boardinghouse in picturesque Veracruz. But when he meets her, he finds something he didn't expect. The woman has a niece, Inés, who is as observant as she is desperate to escape her aunt's household.
When Inés discovers Ulises's true intentions, she wants in on the scheme. They'll convince her aunt that Ulises is a great catch, Perla will marry him, and her money will vanish. Easy, fast, and clean. But Perla is not the desperate, silly spinster Ulises imagines. She harbors secrets. And although Ulises does not believe in true romance, Inés is more alluring than he bargained for. Suddenly, a simple plan may become perilously complicated.
Venture into the streets of a small town where a patina of convention and good manners conceals a cauldron of avarice and lust.
Sisters of the Midnight Sun: A Murder in Arctic Alaska
by Rebecca Wright Stevens
The stunning true story of a double homicide in the vibrant native Alaskan Iñupiat community at the arctic edge of the United States--written by the public defender at its center
Rebecca Wright is a defense attorney living in the Lower 48 when she suddenly finds herself a widow and an empty nester. In need of a radical change, she accepts a public defender position in Utqiagvik on Alaska's North Slope, an oil-rich area the size of Wyoming where the Iñupiat community holds great cultural, political, and economic power. Though she'll always be a tanik--an outsider--she works hard to gain the trust and friendship of the folks who call this singular place home.
When two well-known sisters, Bernice and Wanda Ipalook, are found murdered, Wright is tasked with representing Amos Lane, a drifter on the short-list of murder suspects. Criminal charges are looming. But this is summer in northern Alaska, the season of the midnight sun, when twenty-four-hour sunlight makes it difficult for witnesses to confirm the time--or even the day--they last saw the sisters, Amos, or anyone else. Wright must navigate an unreliable client, a prosecution willing to entrap her to get a conviction, a budding romance, and a community that believes Amos might deserve a different form of justice from what the tanik legal system can provide.
Weaving a detailed portrait of Utqiagvik alongside Wright's complex self-portrait of an outsider in an isolated community, Sisters of the Midnight Sun is a riveting true account that brings to vivid life a land at the edge of the habitable world.
Cuisine to Kill for (New 2026 Cookbook): Over 50 Recipes and True Crime Stories from the World's Most Haunted Places
by Amy Bruni
From bestselling author, paranormal investigator, and Kindred Spirits co-host Amy Bruni, Cuisine to Kill For intertwines the macabre with the culinary to uncover some of history's most gruesome true crime stories and the ghosts they left behind. Whether set in a haunted castle, a mysterious hotel, an abandoned prison, or a popular pub, these paranormal tales span the entire globe--and their accompanying culinary treats are equally wide-ranging.
Featuring nearly 60 locations, this book includes:
- Gruesome true crime tales paired with spine-tingling paranormal encounters.
- 59 recipes inspired by history, local flavors, or even eerie menu items served at these haunted spots.
- Authentic vintage photographs from each haunted site, bringing these violent histories to life.
- Mysteriously mouthwatering food photography, styled to inspire a killer kitchen experience.
Sink your teeth into tempting dishes and devilish drinks, including:
- Sunday Roast with Gravy from Ten Bells Pub in England (Jack the Ripper, anyone?).
- Meat Stew with Polenta and Egg from Romania's foreboding Bran Castle.
- The Elderflower Rose Gin Trifle from Canada's stunning Empress Hotel.
- Louis XV's Drinking Chocolate from the Palace of Versailles.
- The Reindeer Fart from Alaska's spirited Red Onion Saloon.
- Shrimp Wiggle from the Pennhurst Asylum in Pennsylvania (only if you dare).
Whether you're drawn to the paranormal, obsessed with true crime, or simply hungry for a historic culinary escape, this cookbook is for:
- true crime aficionados who love a good (and gory) backstory.
- history buffs and travel enthusiasts fascinated by the darker side of iconic locations.
- hosts and entertainers craving unique ways to captivate guests.
- foodies with guts to try centuries-old--and disturbingly "authentic"--recipes.
Amy Bruni effortlessly merges her love of the mysterious with jaw-droppingly delicious recipes, offering a cookbook that's as deathly as it is delectable. Cuisine To Kill For isn't just a collection of recipes; it's a passport to haunted history with every chilling page. If you've got an appetite for eerie tales, blood-curdling history, and global flavors, this haunted cookbook is your ultimate culinary companion.
Fabulous Bodies
by Chuck Tingle
From Chuck Tingle, USA Today bestselling author of Bury Your Gays, comes Fabulous Bodies, a supernatural joyride where Drive meets Beetlejuice.
Poppy Stringer was born to be a star.
An aspiring fashion influencer by day, Poppy moonlights as a grave robber to make ends meet, wheeling and dealing dead bodies across Palm Springs.
When her hero, the flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar Eddie Michaels, unexpectedly dies, Poppy gets a call to retrieve his body from the medical examiner's office for a lucrative sum. It could be the last job she'll ever need--if everything goes to plan. But the night's delivery quickly veers off course when Eddie wakes up.
Now Poppy must fight for her life if she hopes to survive this blood-soaked joyride of carnage and extravagant entertainment.
June Action/Adventure New Releases
Clive Cussler Cold Fire
by Graham Brown
When a NATO weapon that could ensure peace or start World War Three vanishes in the Arctic, Kurt Austin and NUMA race to recover it before it falls into enemy hands in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series created by the "grand master of adventure" Clive Cussler.
In the frigid air high above the Arctic Ocean an American C-17 carrying a cutting-edge laser of immense power, successfully shoots down a ballistic missile nearly four hundred miles away. Before the celebration can even begin, the aircraft goes dark, vanishing off radar and disappearing into mist at the top of the world.
As the details emerge it becomes obvious that the aircraft has been hijacked, the crew murdered at their stations. Its last known heading would take it directly to Russia, but the CIA insisted it never arrived. An odd signal suggests it crashed into the Arctic Ocean halfway between Norway and the North Pole. In a tense meeting the President asks how deep the waters are in that area. Not deep enough, is the answer.
Russian ships are seen putting out to sea in large numbers. Chinese vessels are spotted north of Norway. The only American asset in the area is a small research vessel operated by NUMA. The President orders NUMA to send it into the fray. Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala lead the search but soon find that all is not as it seems. The Chinese were waiting for the planes arrival, the Russians had expected it to land on their territory and now all three are closing in on a shooting war to keep the others from finding the missing plane.
With the rules of engagement suspended and lives hanging in the balance, Kurt and the NUMA special projects team pull on the threads connecting the mystery only to discover the great nations of the world being manipulated by a single man with a deadly plan of revenge.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep
by Paul Tremblay
Philip K. Dick meets the Coen Brothers in this genre-bending near-future tech nightmare that is as bitingly funny as it is horrifically believable from the New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie.
Meet Julia Flang, a twenty-something former semi-professional gamer, living with her retired uncle, and working two jobs she doesn't like. Out of the blue, her estranged mother, a CFO for one of the world's largest tech companies, offers her a temp job with a payday Julia can't refuse. One sham interview later, she's offered the job: to chaperone a man in a vegetative state--one with proprietary AI implanted in his head--from California to the East Coast.
To sum up in Julia's own words: "You want me to remote control this dead dude across the country." In a word, yes. But he's not dead dead.
Meet a middle-aged man who wakes within a disorienting hellscape filled with monstrous grotesqueries. Worse than the fluid, morphing reality in which he's trapped, he has no memory of who he is. He certainly doesn't remember getting the rabbit tattoo on his arm. He only knows that he must find a certain person. Who? He can't remember.
Using a cell phone modeled after a video game controller, Julia fumblingly navigates the man she calls "Bernie" from the company campus and onto planes and through one of the largest airports in America. All the while, the man endures an ever-changing and worsening nightmare that offers clues as to who he was--and who he must track down. And as their two lives intertwine, Julia and Bernie become unlikely allies and fugitives on a collision course with reality.
Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep is a heady, horrific genre-bender from one of the most groundbreaking voices in fiction today.
Hunger and Thirst
by Claire Fuller
From the celebrated author of Bitter Orange and Swimming Lessons comes an "atmospheric, psychologically vivid, and unputdownable" new novel of complicated friendship and the desperate need to belong (Alice Winn).
1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job delivering mail at a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and some new friends, including wild-child Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at the Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can't resist this hodgepodge family. But as Sue's behavior and demands become more extreme, Ursula, who has always been hungry--for food, but more importantly for love and acceptance--carries out her friend's terrible dare. And, for this, Ursula finds herself literally haunted.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned but reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by a true-crime documentarian researching an unsolved disappearance. But the filmmaker is not the only one who has discovered Ursula's whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without--and if they will finally make her pay for her past mistakes.
Part gothic horror, part coming-of-age, and a with contemporary twist on the haunted-house story, Hunger and Thirst is a chilling tale of loneliness, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.
In Deep Water: A True Story of Sharks, Survival, and Courage
by Michael J Tougias
The terrifying true story of a fight for survival for 28 hours in shark-infested waters.
October, 8, 2022: Three friends are fishing for red snapper when their boat, tied to an oil rig, begins taking on water and sinks 15 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly, the three men find themselves in a struggle for their lives. Their vessel succumbs to the building seas so quickly that the fisherman are unable send out a radio Mayday call, and their cell phones have no reception. They only have time to don their life jackets and hold onto a cooler as they are swept further out to sea.
They vow to stay together no matter what and must make several life or death decisions. Suffering from hypothermia and severe stings from giant jelly fish, the men desperately try to stay afloat as they realize there are circling sharks below.
In Deep Water is an hour by hour account of a desperate and determined struggle for survival, as well as the Coast Guard's all-out effort to find the missing men. This fast-paced story has a number of surprising turns in both the survival ordeal and the rescue efforts. Based on interviews with the three survivors and the crew of the Jayhawk helicopter who rescue them, In Deep Water is a white-knuckle tale of bravery and brotherhood and a battle against the ocean's deadliest predators.
Kingdom of Devils: A Tale of Murder in the Shadow of the American Revolution
by Katherine Grandjean
The chilling true story of a brutal string of deaths on the post-Revolutionary frontier that reveal the violence at the heart of the young United States
"In Cold Blood for the 1790s … Part true crime, part western, part ghost story, Kingdom of Devils plumbs the dark underbelly of the American West in the years following the Revolution." -- Jane Kamensky, president and CEO, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello
Kentucky, 1798: A harrowing series of murders begins. The first body, discovered by cattle drovers, lies bloody at the bottom of a ridge. Then another--a dead boy staring up from a sinkhole. Bodies turn up along roadsides, stuffed into brush. They float to the surface of muddy brooks. For nine terrifying months, over hundreds of miles of Kentucky and Tennessee countryside, the terror unfolds. The killers--two men with hazy backgrounds--are brothers, named Wiley and Micajah Harp.
The Harps killed dozens, but why they did it has eluded folklorists and historians for generations. Almost every story imagines that their motive was pure bloodlust, but for historian Katherine Grandjean, that's too simple. Instead, she uses the Harp murders to reveal the dark side of the young United States' independence. These were uncertain and dangerous years--a time when the fledgling federal government could do little to protect its citizens. And if the American Revolution was liberating, it was also deeply destabilizing, politically and socially. Even as it built up some men, it stacked the deck against others, punishing them with volatile markets, lost safety nets, and shattered aspirations. Unspooling the mystery of what sent the Harps reeling exposes the hidden, violent legacies of the revolutionary era.
Bristling with tense, page-turning storytelling--and driven by a historian's obsessive detective work--Kingdom of Devils recovers these long-forgotten murders as a haunting tale about the darkness at the heart of the American dream.
Marion
by Leah Rowan
AN INDIE NEXT PICK - A Goodreads Most Anticipated Book of the Summer
"A fiendishly clever feminist remix of Psycho. Rowan's bold take on Hitchcock's classic benefits from wicked humor, a well-rounded heroine fueled by righteous anger, and a breakneck pace." -- Publishers Weekly
NORMAN WAS HER FIRST. … Marion is in deep. She's stolen money from the Manhattan ad agency where she works in a desperate bid to help her sister escape an abusive marriage, but the bus breaks down before she can make it to Saratoga Springs.
It's late at night, and the only place with vacancies is an old set of cabins on the outskirts of town. She pays for a room in cash, and ends up chatting with Norm, the young innkeeper who's handsome, charming and a touch hung-up on his elderly mother. Back in her room, she steps into the shower, scrubbing off the late-summer heat, when the curtain is pulled back.
Norm Billings is there with a knife. He raises his arm to strike, but before he does, Marion knees him in the balls, grabs the knife, and stabs the life out of him. Now, she's covered in blood, and she's a woman on the run--not just a thief, but a killer, too. Where will she go? How will she save both herself and her sister? And what mysteries will she uncover as she does?
In Psycho, Hitchcock shocked audiences when he killed off his protagonist. But what if the leading lady had fought back? Marion offers an alternate history of the most famous dead blonde to ever grace the silver screen. Only this time, the knife is in her hands--and she's no victim.
Mister Magic: The Graphic Novel
by Kiersten White - Scott Peterson - Veronica Fish - Andy Fish
Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show--and discover the secret of its enigmatic host--in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel adaptation of the thrilling national bestseller Mister Magic.
Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children's program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic.
But with no surviving videos or scripts, no evidence of who directed or produced the show, and no records of who--or what--the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former circle of friends has. In Val's case, kidnapped by her father and in hiding ever since, she doesn't even have those.
A surprise encounter with Val's old castmates brings them all together for a reunion. Back to the remote desert filming compound that feels like it's been waiting for them all this time. Back among friends they haven't seen for years, but who somehow understand one another better than anyone has since.
After all, they're the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as Val reclaims parts of her past, she wonders: Are they there by choice, or have they been lured into a trap?
Because magic never forgets the taste of friendship. … Rendered in striking full-color art by beloved comic artists Veronica Fish and Andy Fish, this gripping graphic adaptation of Mister Magic fully immerses you in the psychological thriller that PopSugar, CrimeReads, and the Chicago Public Library named a best book of the year.
Stuart Woods' Deep Water
by Brett Battles
In the latest action-packed adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, Stone Barrington must avenge attacks on two of his dear friends.
When Stone Barrington meets one of his clients, Trenton Sidney, for a sunset drink on Trenton's new yacht, the last thing he expects is to be a victim of a shipwreck. As one of the four survivors of the incident but with little memory of the sinking, Stone finds himself diving straight back into work. His first task? To reach out to the beneficiaries in Trenton's will.
But when new evidence that points to foul play comes to light, Stone must probe the tragedy in more ways than one in order to uncover the identity of the perpetrator … before they find another lethal way to get themselves out of deep water.
The Yahoo Boys: Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria's Romance Scammers
by Carlos Barragán
A New York Times Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of 2026
"I have found few books lately as immediately compelling as Barragán's, and as a reader, I could not put it down … The Yahoo Boys is a tour-de-force." -- Jon Lee Anderson
"An eye-popping window onto the strange new connections blossoming in our fully globalized, too-online world … It only gets wilder from there." -- Publishers Weekly Summer Reads 2026
"An enviable feat of reportage and writing--as intrepid as it is sympathetic." -- Gideon Lewis-Kraus
An astonishing work of immersion journalism about four young romance scammers in Lagos, Nigeria, exploring how and why they scam, and the moral dilemmas they face
When his mother started emailing with a handsome American soldier who promised to send gold bars to her Madrid apartment, the journalist Carlos Barragán came face to face with the human toll of online romance fraud. After tracing the emails to an IP address in Nigeria, he set off on a journey to Lagos find his mother's scammer, where he stumbled on a much bigger story. There, in a crowded and impoverished neighborhood in the midst of Africa's largest city, he encountered thousands of young men engaged in romance scamming. They call themselves "Yahoo Boys," and each year they catfish millions of dollars from lonely victims overseas, building a dizzying local economy from their phones.
In this astonishing work of immersion journalism, Barragán takes us inside the lives of four of the Yahoo Boys of Lagos. We meet Biggy and Chibuike, each struggling with the temptations of fast money; Azeez, a tailor's apprentice caught between the lure of crime and Nigeria's economic crisis; and Richie, who is convinced that he's responsible for the death of a woman in Kentucky he manipulated online for years. Some Yahoo Boys attain the status of folk heroes, buying houses and cars with the money they make, while others become dependent on drugs and "cash out"--successfully scam a victim--only to lose it all.
Through the Yahoo Boys' twisting fortunes, Barragán discovers the psychological tactics they perfect, the brutal economic realities that drive them, and the moral dilemmas they confront. A work of radical empathy, this book reveals the human face behind a global phenomenon, and shows how loneliness in the West and poverty in Nigeria are two sides of the same screen.
Rocket's Red Glare: A Thriller
by James Patterson - Matthew Eversmann
From the world's #1 bestselling author: They're ex-Special Forces. They're on American soil. Their code name is "Rocket's Red Glare."
"A military thriller that captures the best of American heroism. There's courage and nonstop action on every page. Nat Phillips is the hero we need." -- Bret Baier
"Rocket's Red Glare brings the heat! In a summer read you will not soon forget, James Patterson and Matt Eversmann combine forces to create unforgettable characters and plot, with breakneck pacing that will keep you riveted through the night! This one is a banger!" -- Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fourth Option
Nat Phillips leads an elite roster of special operators. They are ex-Special Forces, communications specialists, and intelligence officers. Phillips is a brilliant strategist and battle-tested leader who inspires total loyalty in his team. Now these decorated veterans of international warfare are at home and on stand-by--until a presidential campaign is interrupted by murder.
Suddenly, the plan is no longer the stuff of Mission: Impossible. Emergency operations happening not overseas but in the centers of American power, from Nantucket to Washington, DC. This national crisis is real.
Related: If you enjoy bestsellers, check out our Trendsetter Book Recommendations, or take a look at our Spring Book Recommendations for Stunt Doubles to see if there are any must-read titles that you may have missed.