Such Charming Liars
Karen M. McManus
When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final heist, the job gets dangerously personal – and deadly. For all of Kat’s life, it’s just been her and her mother, Jamie – except for forty-eight hours twelve years ago when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in a swift divorce, and Kat and Liam haven’t spoken since. Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job – at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s 80th birthday party. Kat has figured out a way to tag along to the dazzling Sutherland compound, but neither she nor her mother know about the other surprise guests that weekend: Liam and his father, a serial scammer who has his own sights set on Ross Sutherland’s youngest daughter. Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might be in the killer’s crosshairs themselves.
Death at Morning House
Maureen Johnson
The fire wasn’t Marlowe Wexler’s fault. Dates should be hot, but not hot enough to warrant literal firefighters. Akilah, the girl Marlowe has been in love with for years, will never go out with her again. No one dates an accidental arsonist.
With her house-sitting career up in flames, it seems the universe owes Marlowe a new summer job, and that’s how she ends up at Morning House, a mansion built on an island in the 1920s and abandoned shortly thereafter. It’s easy enough, giving tours. Low risk of fire. High chance of getting bored talking about stained glass and nut cutlets and Prohibition. Oh, and the deaths. Did anyone mention the deaths?
Maybe this job isn’t such a gift after all. Morning House has a horrific secret that’s been buried for decades, and now the person who brought her here is missing. All it takes is one clue to set off a catastrophic chain of events. One small detail, just like a spark, could burn it all down―if someone doesn’t bury Marlowe first.
The Blonde Dies First
Joelle Wellington
Devon is always being left behind by her genius twin sister, Drew. At this point, it’s a fact of life. But Devon has one last plan before Drew leaves for college a whole year early – The Best Summer Ever. After committing to the bit a little too much, the twins and their chaotic circle of friends learn why you don’t ever mess with a Ouija board if you want to actually survive the Best Summer Ever, and soon find themselves being hunted down by – a demon? But while there’s no mistaking the creeping, venomous figure is not from around here, their method doesn’t feel very demonic at all. In fact, it’s downright human – going after them in typical slasher movie kill order. And that means Devon, the blonde, is up first and her decade-long crush, Yaya, is the Final Girl who must kill or be killed to end the cycle.
The Taking of Jake Livingston
Ryan Douglass
Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can’t decide what’s worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St. Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St. Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student, the handsome Allister – and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake. Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he’s a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake.
The Grandest Game
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime. Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year’s game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits – physically, mentally, and emotionally – it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.
Kill Creatures
Rory Power
Last summer, Nan’s three best friends disappeared into Saltcedar Canyon. She’s spent the year since grieving their loss and avoiding questions about what happened that night. Now, on the anniversary, she’s ready to say goodbye, and so are the girls’ families, who have reconvened to hold a memorial. But their vigil is interrupted by the shocking return of one of the missing girls alive. Everybody is overjoyed. Everybody, that is, except Nan, who was pretty sure they were dead. After all, she’s the one who killed them.
They Bloom at Night
Trang Thanh Tran
Ever since a hurricane devastated the small town of Mercy, Louisiana, a red algae bloom has taken over. Mutated wildlife lurks in the water that rises by the day, but Mercy has always been a place where monsters walk in plain sight. Especially at its heart: the Cove, where Noon’s life was upended long before the storm at a party her older boyfriend insisted on. Now, Noon is stuck navigating the submerged town with her mom, who believes their family have been reincarnated as sea creatures. Alone with the pain of what happened that night at the cove, Noon buries the truth: she is not the right shape. When Mercy’s predatory leader demands Noon and her mum capture the creature drowning residents, she reluctantly finds an ally in his deadly hunter of a daughter and friends old and new. As the next storm approaches, Noon must confront the past and decide if it’s time to answer the monster itching at her skin.
Ace of Spades
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they’re planning much more than a high-school game.
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me
Jamison Shea
Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cut-throat world of the Parisian ballet, Laure will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take centre stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood. The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she leaves a trail of broken bodies on her climb to stardom. But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter.
The Girls I’ve Been
Tess Sharpe
Meet Nora. Also known as Rebecca, Samantha, Hayley, Katie and Ashley – the girls she’s been. Nora didn’t choose a life of deception – she was born into it. As the daughter of a con artist who targeted criminal men, Nora always had to play a part. But when her mother fell for one of the men instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con herself: escape. For five years Nora’s been playing at normal – but things are far from it when she finds herself held at gunpoint in the middle of a bank heist, along with Wes (her ex-boyfriend) and Iris (her secret new girlfriend and mutual friend of Wes – awkward). Now it will take all of Nora’s con artistry skills to get them out alive. Because the gunmen have no idea who she really is. And that girl has been in hiding for far too long.