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Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack. Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.
View All posts by Erica Ezeifedi
First off, in BIPOC book news, a new Zora Neale Hurston book has been announced. It’s titled The Life of Herod the Great, and it’s coming out on January 7, 2025. And, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been announced. The awards for best novel and novella went to Tananarive Due for The Reformatory and LaToya Jordan for To the Woman in the Pink Hat, respectively. You can read about the other categories and nominees here.
I also wanted to let y’all know about something cool happening this summer. It’s an event called Black Writers Weekend, and it’s a festival that celebrates “Black literary creatives in publishing and film.” The Urban Book Bash, the Lit Crawl, the I Am Creative Masterclass, and more are among its featured events, and Tia Williams, Kwame Alexander, and Nikki Giovanni among the featured authors. Find out how you can attend by visiting Black Writers Weekend.
Now for the featured books — the ones I have below were inspired by how, a few weeks ago, I was writing our weekly roundup of the most popular books on Goodreads, and I noticed one book that kept popping up on lists, even across the world. It was The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, and while I’d heard of it, I didn’t realize it was so popular. Turns out, McFadden is outselling thriller writers like James Patterson and John Grisham.
I thought to include diverse authors like McFadden for readers who have finished her books but are still looking for unputdownable page-turners that are full of twists and interesting characters.
What Fire Brings by Rachel Howzell Hall
Bailey Meadows is the writer-in-residence for thriller author Jack Beckham, who’s trying to get back to the bestseller list. She’s not really there for that though — she’s really there to find community leader Sam Morris, a woman who finds missing people. She was last seen in the canyon around Beckham’s property, and Meadows, who learns more and more about the dangers of the fire-prone forest, realizes she needs to find out what happened to the missing woman before she herself becomes one of the string of women who have gone missing in the area.
Shutter by Ramona Emerson
In New Mexico’s Navajo Nation, Rita Todacheene works as a supernaturally good forensic photographer. She’s able to capture details no one else does because the ghosts of crime victims point her to clues that would otherwise go unnoticed. Sometimes this ability is more of a curse than a gift, though, as it has ostracized her from her reservation and is just generally stressful. And now it may even get her killed — the latest crime victim’s ghost has latched herself on to Rita and wants revenge.
Secret Identity by Alex Segura
In Secret Identity, award-winning Segura takes us back to 1975, when the comic book industry was going through it. Despite the stress of it all, Carmen Valdez keeps keeping on. She’s a Triumph Comics assistant, and has just been asked by a Triumph writer to contribute to the imprint’s first female hero, named “The Lethal Lynx.” But then the writer she was working with is found dead, and no one knows that Carmen was working on the character, which is turning out to be popular. Then things get even more complicated — there’s a detective who seems to be a little too knowledgeable about some things, the many secrets of petty comic book writers get revealed, and an unexpected visitor upends things.
My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa
Paloma has had a nice life since being adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage at 12 by philanthropists. Now 30, she’s cut off her parents and drinks too much. She also believes the same ghost that haunted her orphanage may be haunting her. On top of all that, she’s now found her roommate dead. She flees, but upon her return, she finds that he’s gone, along with every trace of his existence. Yikes. Jayatissa shows how the past can come back to bite in this thrilling debut.
*All-Access Members Can Continue Below for an Extended List + New Releases Out This Week*
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