Mystery
The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katharine Schellman - New York, 1924. Vivian Kelly has gotten a job at the Nightingale, a speakeasy known to the young and fun as a place where the rules of society can be tossed aside. Of course, things were even better before Uncle Pearlie, the doorman for the Nightingale, was poisoned. Pearlie's death is ruled a suicide, but there have been rumors of a mysterious letter writer, blackmailing Vivian's poorest neighbors for their most valuable possessions, threatening poison if they don't comply. With the Nightingale's dangerously lovely owner worried for her employees' safety, Vivian finds herself digging through a dead man's past in hopes of stopping a killer.
Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen - In 1952 the recipes of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire, for her signature scents are a well guarded secret―but it's not the only one. The Lamontaine estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. But to keep their secret, they've needed to keep others out. And now they're worried they're keeping a murderer in.
Irene’s widow hires Evander Mills to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death. Recently fired from the San Francisco police after being caught in a raid on a gay bar, Andy is happy to accept. Andy had never imagined a world like Lavender House. He's seduced by the safety and freedom found behind its gates, where a Queer family lives honestly and openly. But that honesty doesn't extend to everything, and he quickly finds himself a pawn in a family game of old money, subterfuge, and jealousy―and Irene’s death is only the beginning.
Thriller
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis - Bret Easton Ellis's masterful new novel is a story about the end of innocence, and the perilous passage from adolescence into adulthood, set in a vibrantly fictionalized Los Angeles in 1981 as a serial killer begins targeting teenagers throughout the city. Set against the intensely vivid and nostalgic backdrop of pre-Less Than Zero LA, The Shards is a mesmerizing fusing of fact and fiction, the real and the imagined, that brilliantly explores the emotional fabric of Bret's life at 17-sex and jealousy, obsession and murderous rage. Gripping, sly, suspenseful, deeply haunting and often darkly funny, The Shards is Ellis at his inimitable best.
The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz Kelly’s new life in Philadelphia has turned into a nightmare: She’s friendless and jobless, and the man she gave up everything for has just called off their wedding. The only bright spot is her newly rekindled friendship with her childhood friend Sabrina. When Sabrina and her handsome husband offer Kelly the spare room of their remote Virginia mansion, she jumps at the chance. There, Kelly finds herself falling for both her enchanting hosts. At first, Kelly loves being part of this risqué new world. But when Kelly discovers that the last woman Sabrina and Nathan invited into their marriage is missing, she starts to wonder if they could be dangerous . . . and if she might be next.
Horror/Fantasy
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw - From USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw comes The Salt Grows Heavy, a razor-sharp and bewitching fairytale of discovering the darkness in the world, and the darkness within oneself. You know how the fairytale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now, her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes. On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and the three 'saints' who control them. The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruellest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive.
Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey - “Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories -- she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there. Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back, and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?
There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them, and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.