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New Releases Week of October 11

With the bone-chilling winds and scattered leaves of the season upon us, it's time to put up those cobwebs, pull those skeletons out of the closet, and start collecting spooky stories! This is a big week for new releases, including books by Jodi Picoult, Margaret Atwood, and Laurell K. Hamilton. Looking for your next spine-tingling mystery? Check out Jennifer Harlow's series starter Beautiful Maids All in a Row! Searching for something on the steamy side? Grab bestselling author Claire Contreras' new release, The Player!

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Interview with C. Hoyt Caldwell, author of Savage Reckoning

What can you tell us about your new release, Savage Reckoning?

I’m a fan of clueless protagonists. I find books like Dog of the South by Charles Portis to be endlessly fascinating because it’s a story that features a protagonist that doesn’t possess the skillset to take on the conflict he faces, and as a result, his trek is compelling as he stumbles his way through bad luck after bad luck from one chapter to the next. That’s the kind of mood I wanted to establish in Savage Reckoning. While Dani is a perfectly competent deputy, she is still green and learning her way. Throwing her into the fire was the best way to get her into trouble, and trouble is where the fun happens. The same can be said of her eventual cohorts, Step and Kenny. They find themselves out of their element when they start trying to do the right thing. They all find a way to get to where they need to be, but they collect a lot of bumps and bruises along the way.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

A misguided notion of the romantic life of an author was my initial inspiration. I really thought this was going to be a life filled with cocktail parties and cigars. Once that fantasy was dashed, I was drawn to Stephen King books. Not because of the subject matter, but because of his colorful characters. He doesn’t get enough credit for his talent for character development. And then there’s Woody Allen, he made me want to inject humor into “big question” storylines. Erskine Caldwell and Charles Portis turned me towards stories that feature grit and humor in the face of tragedy. Finally, Cormac McCarthy turned me on to the artistry of depravity and brutality in a fictional setting.

Which book from your childhood or teenage years has stuck with you as an adult?

The first book I absolutely fell in love with is Durango Street by Frank Bonham. I had just moved from the Midwest to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I was having a hard time adjusting to the new culture. Durango Street is about a young black kid released from juvie and thrown back into a gang-filled environment where he struggles to stay out of trouble. I just felt an immediate connection with the main protagonist, and that book showed me that I didn’t have to have the same life experience as someone in order to empathize with them. It was a powerful message, and I still count that book as one of my all-time favorites. I re-read it not too long ago, and the chills and traumatic reactions from when I first read it came back.

If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell. It’s a book about extreme poverty in rural Georgia in the 1930s, and it’s startling how little things have changed. You can drive through the foothills and mountains of the Southeast today and find pockets of communities just like the one in Erskine Caldwell’s book. We really should have progressed to a more enlightened society by now. I think any reasonable person would read that book and see how a lack of education and radical income inequality is extremely destructive.

If you had to pick one place to vacation for the rest of your life, where would you choose?

This is going to sound strange coming from a Southerner like me, but I would choose New York City. I love the theater, and I’m a foodie. Add the fact that I can pretty much walk everywhere or take the subway, why would I ever need to leave the city? Besides, I’m married to a Brooklyn girl. How can I not love the city that produced the love of my life?

What scene in Savage Reckoning was your favorite to write?

It’s technically two scenes. I initially wrote it as one but broke it up into two parts in rewrites. It features Step and his girlfriend, Bones, in his house. Calling it my favorite makes me sound like a horrible person because it focuses on how tragic their lives are, but as a writer, exploring the destruction of a character’s life can be liberating. It gives you the illusion of knowing how real life works. This scene dives into the loss that turned Step to a life of crime, and it reveals how Bones stumbled onto heroin and completely destroyed her life. They’re two people who don’t love each other as much as they need someone in their lives as broken as they are. Someone who won’t judge them for the choices they’ve made. On the outside looking in, I was happy they found each other, while at the same time recognizing how bad they were for each other. Life is messy and those scenes illustrate that point in an extreme way.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

When it comes to writing, I certainly do. I’m involved in a number of writer’s groups and the discussion often turns to a writer’s obligation as an artist. Do we write for ourselves, or do we write for the reader? I decided very early on my responsibilities are to neither. I have a sacred contract with the characters in my books to write their stories, not mine and not the ones my readers expect. Once I start inserting myself or my readers into stories, my writing becomes stale and artificial. The only way to be authentic is to follow the flow of storyline and go where it takes you, even if it takes you to places you have no desire to see and explore. It can get uncomfortable and even stressful, but art should make us all face things we wouldn’t choose to face otherwise.

C. Hoyt Caldwell is the author of the new book Savage Reckoning

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Interview with Jackie Ashenden, author of Take Me Deeper

What can you tell us about your new release, Take Me Deeper?

Bossy, protective, alpha male bounty hunter has to take down a snarky, scrappy girl from the wrong side of the tracks. He handcuffs her to the bed to stop her escaping (since she's on the run from the law) while she's not having a bar of it. Sexy shenanigans ensue. 🙂

Who is your favorite couple from literature?
Oh wow, you're going to make me choose? Okay, well, I've always loved Jane Eyre and Rochester. One of my favorites since I'm a sucker for May to December romances.

If you were a teacher, what book would you assign to your class?
A good romance, because what love means doesn't get taught in school.

Say you're the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
Jane Austen. And I'd ask her what she thought of 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'. 😉

Do you listen to anything while you write? If so, what's your audio of choice?
Not often. I find it difficult to concentrate with music playing, especially when I'm singing along. The words of lyrics have been known to appear in my manuscripts, heh. But sometimes it's really good and can help set the mood. Usually when that happens the music is of angsty variety, like Muse or The Neighborhood or a few Twenty One Pilot songs.

What scene in Take Me Deeper was your favorite to write?
Any of the scenes featuring the three brothers. I love writing dudes. 🙂 Oh and I did like writing Iris being all sassy with Zane, too.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
As a writer, my favorite mantra is: Write the next book.

Jackie Ashenden is the author of the new book Take Me Deeper

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Interview with Christopher Greyson, author of And Then She Was GONE

What can you tell us about your new release, And Then She Was GONE?

And Then She Was GONE is a story about a young man, Jack Stratton, about to start his last summer before joining the Army and eventually, a career in law enforcement. But when a woman goes missing, Jack quickly gets drawn into the baffling mystery where everyone becomes a suspect - including himself. Caught between the criminals and the cops, Jack fights to discover the truth in time before he becomes the next victim.

What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?
Crime Noir of the 1940s.

If you were a teacher, what book would you assign to your class?
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emma Orczy

Who was your childhood hero?
Batman

You wouldn’t be caught dead, where?
A library. (There’s too much to read and if were dead I couldn’t!)

The question does remind me of another one. Someone once asked me what I would like someone to say about me at my funeral. I’d like someone to say; “Look, he’s breathing!”

What scene in And Then She Was GONE was your favorite to write?
The scene where Jack and Detective Vargas go head to head. The back and forth was enjoyable to write.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Dare to dream and dream big. Life is full of possibilities but you have to chase them.

Christopher Greyson is the author of the new book And Then She Was GONE.

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Books to Read if You Like Abbi Glines

Firsts can be fraught with emotion. First loves, first kisses, first... other things, is always paired with first heartbreak. Young adult and new adult romance author Abbi Glines takes this delicate time and explores it to its full extent in The Rosemary Beach Series and most recently in her Field Party series. So if you enjoy first loves and the tears that go along with it, check out these books to read if you like Abbi Glines.

Books to Read if You Like Abbi Glines

Travesty

Carrie Thomas

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Sophia Sawyer wakes up chained in a basement she doesn't recognize with no clue who she is or how she got there. Trying to work through her fear, she sets her sights on escaping. When an opportunity arises, she puts her trust in a boy she doesn't know, praying he'll be the one to save her. Abram Scott is experiencing the best and worst year of his life. Letting go of Sophia while not knowing if she will return, turns into the scariest decision Abram can make.

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The Silent Waters

Brittainy Cherry

Release Date: September 22, 2016

When Maggie was ten, she witnessed a deed so horrifying that she has been rendered speechless ever since. Brooks Griffin is the only one who truly understands. Best friends since they were six and planning their wedding at ten, Brooks and Maggie knew their love was inevitable. But when the dark days become more frequent, Maggie starts to wonder what Brooks is doing with such a broken person.

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A World Without You

Beth Revis

Release Date: July 19, 2016

Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he can travel through time. When he was ten, Bo traveled to the Titanic to witness it hit an iceberg, and at fifteen, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surround him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that Berkshire Academy is a school for superheroes. At Berkshire, Bo meets and falls in love with Sophia, a quiet girl with a tragic past and the superpower of invisibility. But even their love isn't enough to quell Sophia's deep depression. When she commits suicide, Bo is convinced that she's not actually dead. He believes she's simply stuck in time and he needs to find her.

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In Every Way

Amy Sparling

Release Date: September 13, 2016

When Josh's best friend goes on vacation for the whole summer and Josh is left working at his parent's surf shop with Bryce, he resigns himself to a crappy summer. To keep himself occupied, him and Bryce make a list of what the "perfect girlfriend" would be like, and now they plan to find her. Bess Navarre is chubby, dorky and a self-proclaimed loser and her grandmother is set on embarrassing her this summer by making her work at a bikini boutique by the beach. When Bess and Josh's paths collide, sparks fly. But Bryce is pushing Josh to date the supermodel "perfect girlfriend' and Beth won't give herself a chance to even be considered.

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Just Friends

Monica Murphy

Release Date: September 13, 2016

Olivia, Emily and Dustin have been inseperable since middle school, the three best friends anyone could ask for. Olivia and Dustin have hooked up a few times but Olivia doesn't want to go any further because she thinks it will ruin the friendship between the three of them. So when her best friends betray her in the worst possible way, who's there to pick up the pieces?

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Holding Up The Universe

Jennifer Niven

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Following her mother's death, Libby Strout, a girl once dubbed "America's Fattest Teen", attempted to pick up the pieces of her life in the privacy of her own home. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends and love but hoping no one remembers her from the time she was airlifted out of her house on the evening news. So when Libby gets tangled up in a cruel high school game with Jack Masselin, the charming, popular badass, she's pissed that her plan of fitting in didn't work. But as Jack and Libby start to get to know each other, she learns he doesn't fit in as well as she once thought.

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Books to Read if You Like Kristen Callihan

Romance readers have decided: sports are most definitely in. These books are chock full of athletic playboy hunks waiting for the chance to change and misunderstood sports superstars who just want an opportunity to connect. Kristen Callihan does just that in her football-centric series Game On. If you enjoy jocks with secret hearts of gold, check out these books to read if you like Kristen Callihan.

Books to Read if You Like Kristen Callihan

Days of You and Me

Tawdra Kandle

Release Date: September 27, 2016

In the third-part of the Keeping Score trilogy, Leo finds himself alone... and even football isn't a distraction anymore. He realizes that without Quinn all of his glory is meaningless. He only has one chance left to prove to her that he's willing to put her before football. Is Quinn fed up once and for all? Or is it time to finally give the man who has always loved her above anything else a chance?

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The Goal

Elle Kennedy

Release Date: September 26, 2016

Sabrina James had goals. She was going to graduate from college, kick butt at Harvard Law and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path is clear except for one gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night is all she's willing to give him but one night is all it takes to change your life. When John Tucker learns he's going to be a dad, he's determined to win Sabrina's locked-up-tight heart.

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Fastball

A.M. Hargrove & Terri E. Laine

Release Date: September 20, 2016

Gina has two rules: no relationships and no falling in love. After what should have been a one night stand, Ryder Wilde intends to make her break them. A Major League Baseball pitcher who's used to winning, Ryder is on a mission to own Gina body and soul. And she's powerless to stop him.

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Stadium of Lights

Tia Lewis

Release Date: September 15, 2016

Max has always been a ladies' man and he never had a problem with that until he saw Abby again. She used to be just one of the guys but now she's a redheaded bombshell. Abby hid her feelings for Max back when they were kids but now she doesn't think she'll be as capable. She doesn't think she has a shot of being anything more than a notch in his bedpost, so she's determined to keep her distance, but as time goes on she thinks maybe the heartache will be worth it.

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The Playbook

Avery Wilde

Release Date: September 4, 2016

When newly-drafted Jacob Maddox is shown the Jupiter Suns' secret playbook, he's more than a little intrigued. Inside contains the numbers of hundreds of girls each given ratings by the various players who have played them. One name, though, has a huge X next to it, untouchable. He takes this as a challenge but what he doesn't know is that there's a reason Lucia hasn't been touched by the rest of the football team — she's the owner's daughter.

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Turn Over

Violet Paige

Release Date: September 15, 2016

Bad boy and football god Luke Canton was enjoying his carefree lifestyle filled with a never-ending line of women in his bed. But when a rumor is started that threatens to take away everything he's worked for, the owner makes him promise to change his image. Luke agrees to try but it won't be so easy When he meets Alexa — pure, sweet and a successful country singer — everything changes and trying doesn't seem so hard. When you're both in the public eye, though, falling in love is a lot more complicated.

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Interested in more Steamy Contemporary Romances? Check out our posts on Lexi Ryan, Melissa Foster, Ilsa Madden-Mills, Karina Halle, Renée Carlino, Alice Clayton, Rockstar Romances, Elle Casey, Penelope Ward, Toni Anderson, Jami Davenport, Colleen Hoover, Bad Boys of Summer, and Fall Sports Romances.

Books to Read if You Like Lee Child

Everyone loves an underdog. And even more so, an underdog with a mission. Long before Tom Cruise took the role, Lee Child introduced to the world ex-military policeman Jack Reacher whose exploits and vengeance seeking take him all over the world with nothing more than a toothbrush, ATM card and passport. If you enjoy espionage, intrigue and suspense all with the world on one man's shoulders, try these books to read if you like Lee Child.

Books to Read if You Like Lee Child

And Then She Was GONE

Christopher Greyson

Release Date: October 1, 2016

A hometown hero with a heart of gold, Jack Stratton was raised in a whorehouse by his prostitute mother. Jack seemed destined to become another statistic, but now he's headed for a life in law enforcement and his life seems to be getting better. When his foster mother asks him to look into the disappearance of a girl, Jack quickly gets dragged into a baffling mystery. Stacy Shaw had a new job, new house and a baby on the way when she vanished on her way home from work. The police race to find her, but the clues don't add up. As Jack digs deeper, everyone becomes a suspect — including himself. Caught between the criminals and the cops, can Jack discover the truth in time to save the girl? Or will he become the next victim?

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Spider's Web

Mike Omer

Release Date: May 25, 2016

Twenty-year-old Kendele Byers is savagely killed and buried in a shallow grave. She had a violent past, a kinky line of work and the suspect list grows longer every day. But when another woman is murdered, Detective Mitchell Lonnie realizes there's a connection between the two. Both victims had received a clue hinting their oncoming demise several minutes before they were attacked. There's a serial killer in Glenmore Park. Now Mitchell and his partner need to locate the killer before more innocent women die.

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Foreign Agent

Brad Thor

Release Date: June 14, 2016

With his Navy SEAL training and lengthy experience in espionage, Scot Harvath is the perfect man to help the CIA with their newest mission. He is sent to search for an informant who caused the ambush of an American operations team near Syria, but he ends up finding another man who is dead-set on drawing America into a deadly confrontation. Harvath must work quickly if he wants to defeat one of the greatest evils the world has ever seen.

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The Body Reader

Anne Frasier

Release Date: June 21, 2016

For three years, Detective Jude Fontaine was held in an underground cell by a sadistic captor. He was her only contact with the outside world and reading his face was her entire existence. She memorized and analyzed every line, every movement and every flicker of thought. Now that she's escaped she is left with a heightened ability to interpret body language and a desire to return to work at Homicide. Her new partner doesn't trust her sanity but with a killer on the loose murdering young women, the detectives have no choice but to work together.

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In Sheep's Clothing

David Archer

Release Date: September 5, 2016

After the devestation of their last mission, Team Camelot is back to work taking out an entire drug cartel in the US. The mission comes off better than expected and the team heads for home. But then all four of them receive an incoming message: Neverland is under attack. With all the other teams unable to function, Team Camelot is given orders: go out on their own, and get the people that did this.

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Fractured State

Steven Konkoly

Release Date: May 17, 2016

After an environmental catastrophe leaves the southwestern United States a chaotic, depleted ruin, California becomes a totalitarian state with oppressive social controls and surveillance to preserve the rapidly dwindling resources they have. When a California congresswoman is assassinated for her support of the state's secession from the United States,Nathan Fisher—accidental witness to a clandestine military-style operation—is drawn into an unraveling conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of power and threatens the lives of Fisher and his family. Now Fisher and his family must stay a step ahead of their relentless pursuers with only the help of a loyal Marine officer with a mysterious agenda.

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Looking for more thrillers? Check out our list on John Grisham, and Summer's Most Thrilling!

Indie Author Day 2016 Coming to a Library Near You

Written Word Media is proud to be a partner of the inaugural Indie Author Day celebration taking place at libraries across the U.S. and Canada. This is an opportunity for the indie community to come together in the library to help local authors get discovered and for readers to find great new books from local writers. Beyond the inaugural event that will be happening on October 8th, 2016, the Indie Author Day community will offer programming on the indieauthorday.com website to help libraries and authors stay connected throughout the year.

Events happening at libraries include poetry readings, panel discussions, book signings, workshops and more. This is your chance to learn and explore the talent in your own community while getting a chance to meet your favorite indie authors in an intimate setting!

[center] Find your participating local library to see what events they are offering [/center]

In addition to the activities that will be happening at your local library, there will be a live streaming panel presentation featuring industry leaders Jon Fine, previously from Amazon, Robin Cutler of IngramSpark, Kiera Parrott of Library Journal, Library Journal 2012 Mover and Shaker Jim Blanton of Louisville Free Public Library and the 2016 Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) Literary Ebook Award recipient L. Penelope. This portion of the event will be taking place at 2 PM EST. This panel can be viewed at home computers or at a local library.

Use the hashtag #AuthorDay16 to share pictures of your library’s Indie Author Day event on Facebook and Twitter!

Books to Read if You Like Louise Penny

New York Times Bestselling author Louise Penny relishes secrets in her breathtaking mysteries. Known best for Chief Inspector Gamache's adventures, Penny has a way of taking a simple police procedural and twisting and turning it into a thrilling adventure. If you enjoy detectives investigating extraordinarily mysterious cases, try these books to read if you like Louise Penny.

Books to Read if You Like Louise Penny

Savage Reckoning

C. Hoyt Caldwell

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Deputy Dani Savage is used to being treated like a woman in a man's world. The townsfolk in Baptist Flats, Tennessee call her "little deputy" but when she stumbles upon some disturbing facts about a missing teen, people start paying attention. Unfortunately, not all of the attention is good. When Dani discovers that this case spans decades and there's a history of young women being stolen from the Tennessee hills, things take a turn for the worst.

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All the Little Liars

Charlaine Harris

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Newlywed Aurora Teagarden is basking in the news of her pregnancy when disaster strikes her small Georgia town: four kids vanish from the school soccer field. Aurora's 15-year-old brother Phillip is one of them. While the police search the town, Aurora and her true crime writer husband Robin, begin their own investigation. Aurora is determined to find these kids but she's more than a little worried Phillip may be the reason the four of them are missing.

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Death Sentence

Damien Boyd

Release Date: October 4, 2016

The body of an elderly man is found in an abandoned World War Two pillbox beside the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal. With no obvious motive and no credible suspect, DI Nick Dixon starts digging into the victim’s past. The more he digs, the deeper Dixon is drawn into a case that takes him from the cave systems beneath rural Somerset to the heart of government, and threatens to expose a military cover-up at the highest level. Blocked by a wall of silence, Dixon must unravel a dangerous conspiracy before the killer strikes again.

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Blood on the Tracks

Barbara Nickless

Release Date: October 1, 2016

A young woman is found brutally murdered, and the main suspect is the victim’s fiancé, a hideously scarred Iraq War vet known as the Burned Man. But railroad police Special Agent Sydney Rose Parnell, brought in by the Denver Major Crimes unit to help investigate, can't shake the feeling that larger forces are behind this crime. Parnell and her K9 partner, Clyde―both haunted by their time in Iraq―descend into the underground world of a savage gang of rail riders. There, they uncover a wide-reaching conspiracy and a series of shocking crimes. Crimes that threaten everything Parnell holds dear.

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In the Clearing

Robert Dugoni

Release Date: May 17, 2016

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a soft spot for unsolved crimes so when her former police academy classmate asks Tracy to help solve a case, she agrees. Now Tracy is involved in the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier. Following up on evidence, Tracy probes one small town's memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden in the community's fabric. Can Tracy keep her promise to solve this case? Or will she become the next victim?

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The Trespasser

Tana French

Release Date: October 4, 2016

Being on the Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she’s getting close to the breaking point. Her new case looks like yet another lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There’s nothing unusual about her—except that Antoinette’s seen her somewhere before.And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be. Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can’t tell just how far gone she is. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface?

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Looking for more thrilling, chilling mysteries? Check out our lists on Anne Frasier, The Girl on the Train, and Janet Evanovich.

New Releases Week of October 4

Welcome to another month full of pumpkin, spice, and books by bestselling authors! This week boasts new releases from notables like James Patterson, Jefferson Bass, Sharon Sala, J. Kenner, and Connie Willis. Given the spooky nature of the season, maybe you're looking for a thrilling read? If that's the case, check out And Then She Was Gone by bestselling author Christopher Greyson, and Savage Reckoning by award-winning author C. Hoyt Caldwell. More interested in something sweeter than apple cider? Check out bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken's latest release The Bachelor Auction, and Take Me Deeper by bestselling author Jackie Ashenden.