Featuring: David Baldacci, Jonathan D. Beer, Janice Hallett, Mike Lawson, Lauren Nossett, K.J. Parker, Iain Reid & Ellie Foumbi, Joe Manganiello, Amy Rossi, Richard Russo, Hans van de Ven, Kevin Wade
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David Baldacci, ALL IN (Grand Central)
The 6:20 Man is leaving U.S soil—this time drawn into a storm of billion‑dollar secrets and international power plays that could shatter the world order.
When fearless war correspondent Theresa Lee is shot on a storm-swept Manhattan street and the man she was meeting, Bill Walker, vanishes, the 6:20 Man, aka former Army Ranger turned federal investigator Travis Devine, is called in. Theresa is an investigative journalist, Walker a legendary analyst for the Five Eyes alliance that gathers intelligence that could topple governments around the world. A professional hit team has tried to silence one and snatched the other—and Devine has to find out why.
From New York’s glass‑and‑steel canyons to the glittering harbors of Australia, Devine is pulled into the orbit of the Woolwine empire—an Australian dynasty whose fortune makes them more powerful than some nations. Partnering with Anais Jones, a driven, Sydney-based homicide detective, he uncovers a lethal convergence of rogue intelligence operations, Russian mobsters, compromised prisons, and a quiet campaign to redraw the global balance of power.
To stop a conspiracy fueled by weaponized data and manufactured truths, Devine will have to untangle a love story that may be a lie, a rescue that may have been conjured, and a billionaire’s ambition with a body count. In a world where enemies wear the faces of allies, the only currency that matters is information—and the 6:20 Man is running out of time to keep it all from crashing down.
The fourth novel in Baldacci’s 6:20 Man/Travis Devine series. I enjoyed the first three, and am looking forward to this latest outing for the character — particularly because it takes him outside of the US. It’ll be interesting to see how he operates overseas. All In is due to be published by Grand Central Publishing in North America (November 10th) and Macmillan in the UK (November 5th).
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via NetGalley
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Jonathan D. Beer, TOMB WORLD (Black Library)
Khemet, a disgraced praetorian charged with protecting her tomb world as it slumbers, is roused to action once more. This is her chance to prove she is meant for greater things. She will stop at nothing to see it done.
As the necron empire sleeps, the Triarch praetorians watch and wait.
Khemet has guarded the tombs of her people for millions of years, patiently waiting for the day when the numberless legions of the dead will rise again. As they finally begin to stir, old ambitions and treacheries are roused with them.
Betrayed and imprisoned, dogged by the shame of a terrible failure, Khemet has endured the gravest punishment necron ingenuity can conjure. Now she is free, offered a single chance to restore her honour and reclaim her standing. For Khemet to rise, a world must die.
I haven’t bought many BL books since they transitioned all of their direct eBook sales to their awful exclusive app, but Jonathan Beer is one of their authors I’ll always keep an eye out for. I saw this one become available via NetGalley and I jumped at the chance. The author writes great tech-/mech-based characters, and that includes the Necrons. I’ll be reading this hopefully very soon. Tomb World is out now in paperback, published by Black Library in North America and in the UK.
Also on CR: Interview with Jonathan D. Beer (2026); Review of The King of the Spoil
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via NetGalley
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Janice Hallett, THE SILENT APPEAL (Atria)
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
Hallett returns to the world of the Fairway Players, in the third book in the Appeal series. Strangely, I still haven’t read any of the books in the series — even The Appeal, which launched Hallett’s career… — but hav nevertheless enjoyed the author’s other, more-recent novels. I should really get around to reading the first in the series, so I can get up-to-date for this one. I’m looking forward to doing so, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. The Silent Appeal is due to be published by Atria Books in North America (September 1st) and Viper in the UK (September 3rd).
Follow the Author: Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via Edelweiss
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Mike Lawson, THE OPERATOR (Atlantic Crime)
It’s fixer versus fixer, and only one can win…
Joe DeMarco is a capable man. He works as a fixer for John Mahoney, the former Speaker of the House (though DeMarco prefers the term “troubleshooter”). He’s the one Mahoney calls upon when there’s a situation that requires creative problem solving.
Carla Andretti — a cutthroat lawyer at one of the world’s top firms — is a fixer too. On behalf of the ultra-wealthy tech-mogul Leo Cage, Carla helps her boss conquer whatever he desires, even if she too must bend the law to make it happen.
When one of Leo’s schemes begins to crumble, it threatens to expose them both on a massive scale, forcing Carla to do what she does best: fix the situation. In order to keep her and Leo’s names clean, she’ll have to go after the people responsible for the unraveling. The only problem? Joe DeMarco’s onto her — and he knows all too well the tricks of the trade.
Extremely happy to have an early copy of this novel. I’ve long been a fan of Lawson’s thrillers — as anyone who’s been paying attention to CR will no doubt have noticed. This is the 20th novel in the series, too, which is an incredible milestone. If you’re a fan of politics set in and around the world of American politics, then you should definitely give this author’s novels a read. I started reading this on the same day that I received the DRC, and blitzed through it. Review very soon (TL;DR version: it’s very good). Mike Lawson’s The Operator is due to be published by Atlantic Crime in North America, on February 16th, 2027.
Also on CR: Reviews of House Rules/Dead on Arrival, House Secrets/Dead Man’s List, House Justice, House Divided, House Blood, House Odds, House Reckoning, House Rivals, and The Asset
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads
Review copy received via Edelweiss
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Joe Manganiello, BLOODLINES (Avid Reader Press)
Joe Manganiello seemed to have it all: a soaring career, a new marriage, and what many considered, the best physique in Hollywood. Then, without warning, his body began to fail him. A cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system, plunging him into a seven-year battle, plagued by chronic pain, a life-saving organ amputation, existential crisis, and a prolonged fight for survival that left doctors with few answers and no clear explanation.
As Manganiello struggled to stay alive amidst medicine’s inability to fully explain what ailed him, an unorthodox path emerged—shamans, pagan rituals, ancient myths, long lost family records, and the rebirth of his own spirituality. A search that led him deep into his own bloodline: to a survivor of the Armenian genocide, to ancestors shaped by violence and displacement, and the hidden patterns shared by others living with chronic illness.
In Bloodlines, Manganiello writes with candor and hard-won clarity about illness, masculinity, faith, ambition, and the identities we build to endure. More than a memoir of medical crisis, it is a searching account of what happens when the life you have constructed can no longer contain the truth of what you carry.
Deeply personal and emotionally expansive, Bloodlines considers how the past lives on in the body and in the stories we tell about strength, survival, and selfhood. The result is both a page-turning, heart-pounding book for the ages and an essential meditation on inheritance, loss, and the work of living with what remains
I’ve long been a fan of Manganiello’s work — he’s been a stand-out guest star in many shows and movies that I’ve enjoyed (How I Met Your Mother, Metal Lords), but after checking this IMDb page, I realized I hadn’t seen as much of his work as I’d thought. Very much looking forward to reading this soon. Bloodlines is due to be published by Avid Reader Press in North America, on October 13th.
Follow the Author: IMDb, Goodreads, Instagram
Review copy received via Edelweiss
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Lauren Nossett, INDIE DARLING (Flatiron Books)
A mystery set in Nashville, where a Dolly Parton-loving private detective is drawn into the disappearance of an enigmatic pop star.
Nashville is a city of two faces, where the glitter often masks the grit.
Kelly Williams, a Dolly Parton–loving, sports-car-driving private investigator in Nashville, helps women. Sisters in search of lost siblings. Wives determined to uncover affairs. Daughters haunted by men lingering outside their windows. Clients trust her because she listens, she believes them, and over the years she’s honed a specialized skill set.
Her latest client is Sarah Owens, better known as Seraph, the magnetic and polarizing lead singer of the indie sensation The Garden Snakes. After a series of threats turns violent, she hires Kelly to identify her assailant. With feminist anthems, cryptic lyrical easter eggs, and an electrifying stage presence, Seraph has built a fiercely loyal following—and attracted a number of critics. At that level of fame, her attacker could be anyone.
Then, in the middle of a Nashville performance, Seraph is shot on stage. The ambulance carrying her disappears. As the city reels and conspiracy theories swirl, Kelly is pulled into a dangerous web of secrets involving Seraph’s bandmates, her troubled past, and the high cost of stardom.
Propulsive and atmospheric, Indie Darling is both a page-turning mystery and a powerful meditation on art, obsession, and the perils of being a female artist in a celebrity-obsessed world.
I’ve been a fan of Nossett’s work since I read an advance copy of her debut, The Resemblance. The author’s second novel, The Professor was equally excellent, and I’ve been looking forward to reading Nossett’s third book ever since. One of my most-anticipated novels of the year. Indie Darling is out now, published by Flatiron Books in North America.
Also on CR: Review of The Resemblance
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram
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K.J. Parker, SISTER SVANGERD AND THE CHOSEN ONE (Orbit)
The long-prophesied and miraculous conclusion to the Loyal Opposition trilogy.
Sister Svangerd and her slightly wayward priest have seen it all. They’ve faced down demons and walkers alike, thwarted the agents of the Loyal Opposition, and picked up more bruises and broken bones than they could possibly count. And through their trials and tribulations, they have never abandoned whatever faith they once had.
But even by their own standards, recent events have been… unusual. A tree bursting into flame in the desert. A voice booming down from on high. A walker saving their life, instead of killing them. If they didn’t know any better, they might be considered miracles heralding the Chosen One.
And with the Loyal Opposition bringing their great design to bear, the Chosen One is needed more than ever. Even if this particular Chosen One doesn’t believe a word of it.
The final novel in Parker’s Loyal Opposition series. I really don’t know how he’s able to write so quickly! I still haven’t got around to reading the first two books in the series, but I hope to get to them as soon as I can. Long-time CR readers will know that Parker is one of my favourite short-form authors (his novellas and short stories are superb, and highly recommended). Sister Svangerd and the Chosen One is due to be published by Orbit Books in North America and in the UK, on December 8th.
Also on CR: Reviews of The Devil You Know, The Last Witness, Downfall of the Gods, My Beautiful Life, Prosper’s Demon, Academic Exercises, The Big Score, The Long Game, Pulling the Wings off Angels, and Making History
Follow the Author: Goodreads
Review copy received via NetGalley
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Iain Reid & Ellie Foumbi, A NEW KIND OF CLEAN (Scribner)
Missy Djalo has spent years trying to mold herself into a real working actor. Someone who can become anyone. Someone who belongs in the spotlight. But so far, her life has been an endless loop of failed auditions, of sleepless nights running monologues in the seedy apartment she can barely afford, of constantly comparing herself to the prettier, richer, better-connected actresses that she’s passed over for again and again.
She knows her struggles will be worth it once she makes it big. Then, she’ll laugh in the face of everyone who ever doubted her. Like her mother, who never understood Missy’s passion.
When Missy is invited to audition for a lucrative commercial, it feels like a light at the end of the tunnel. The kind of paycheck and exposure that could change everything for her. But as the audition stretches on, the boundaries between reality and fantasy become increasingly blurred, and Missy begins to wonder: What will she have to sacrifice to reach her dreams?
Thought this mystery/thriller sounded quite interesting. I’ve been aware of Iain Reid’s work for some time, but for some reason have yet to get around to reading any of it… This collaboration sounds particularly intriguing, though, so I hope to get to it soon. A New Kind of Clean is due to be published by Scribner in North America, on October 6th.
Follow the Author (Reid): Goodreads, Instagram
Follow the Author (Foumbi): Website, Goodreads, Instagram
Review copy received via NetGalley
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Amy Rossi, GIRLS ON THE EDGE (Park Row)
Los Angeles, 1987: Dulcie arrives on the Sunset Strip chasing a feeling and is quickly swept up in the raucous scene. She finds a chosen family in the neon-bright clubs, falling for the allure of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and cementing the kind of friendship she’s always been desperate for with Tamsen, an aspiring filmmaker documenting their chaotic corner of the Strip. Dulcie and Tamsen have both always felt like too much, but for a moment, together on the edge of adulthood, on the edge of everything, they finally belong.
Years later, Tamsen is eager to make her mark with a bold, explosive film about the glam rock scene and its groupies — her chance to step into a world she’s always felt closed off from. But when the film reshapes their shared history into a public spectacle, both women are forced to confront the gaps between their memories, who they see on the screen, and who they want to be.
Unfolding across three decades, Girls on the Edge immerses readers in the sparkling world of ambition and excess, examining the complexities of friendship, womanhood, and the struggle to live with — or outrun — our past selves.
The new novel by the author of Cover Girl. Shouldn’t be a surprise or mystery to long-time CR readers why this caught my attention: music, Los Angeles, and the past rearing its head — all themes I’m a fan of. This isn’t out for some time, but I nevertheless will probably read it quite soon. (I’ll hold off posting a review until closer to release. Maybe.) Girls on the Edge is due to be published by Park Row in North America, on March 16th, 2027.
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky
Review copy received via Edelweiss
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Richard Russo, UNDER THE FALLS (Knopf)
A crime in a small town exposes long-held secrets and betrayals among a group of lifelong friends…
When Tyler Sinclair left Stone Mountain at eighteen, he had no plans of returning. With only a duffel bag full of clothes, a few bucks stolen from his father’s dresser, and a guitar, his most prized possession, Tyler disappeared without so much as a goodbye. Eighteen years later, Tyler, now the frontman of a famous band aptly named Stone Mountain, finds himself returning to his hometown for a one-night-only benefit concert to support his old friend, Doc, who lost feeling in his legs following a childhood accident. As Tyler ascends the mountain, memories of his childhood come rushing back — memories of his abusive father and despondent mother, of the friends he left behind — and he quickly learns that, for many people on Stone Mountain, the past does not feel like so long ago, and not everyone has been eagerly awaiting Tyler’s return.
At the concert, resentment simmers just beneath the surface, and Tyler finds himself confronted with faces new and old: there’s Curt, Tyler’s childhood best friend, now Stone Mountain’s chief of police, and his star officer, Deb, an out-of-towner who may have bitten off more than she can chew by accepting a job in Stone Mountain. And then there’s Freddi, Curt’s wife and Tyler’s former lover, a woman whose questionable dealings and fraught history with Tyler will become the catalyst for a tragedy that will upend each of their lives and threaten to validate Tyler’s worst fear: that “Stone Mountain is the kind of place you might escape from once, if you’re lucky, but not twice.”
Feels like a stuck record, noting (once again) that Russo is one of my favourite authors, fiction and non-fiction alike. This latest novel is another that ventures into crime/mystery territory, and I’ve had this on pre-order since it was announced, pretty much. A must-read author. Under the Falls is out now, published by Knopf in North America and, I believe, is due to be published in the UK by No Exit Press, in March 2027 (based no a listing on Amazon UK).
Also on CR: Reviews of Trajectory and Chances Are…
Follow the Author: Goodreads
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Hans van de Ven, BLOOD DAWN (Basic Books)
A momentous new history of Asia’s Second World War.
Drawing on deep archival research across continents, historian Hans van de Ven tells the dramatic story of how Asia’s people mobilized to defeat both Japanese aggression and European imperialism, forging modern Asia in the process.
By the early twentieth century, from India to China, Western imperial powers dominated Asia. Then, in the 1930s, Japan began to tear down this old order in pursuit of its own imperial ambitions—first by invading China, and then by launching its assault against British, Dutch, and American outposts across Asia and the Pacific in December 1941.
As Japanese forces seized vast swaths of territory and pressed toward India, the brutal fighting cost millions of lives across the continent. Simultaneously, the war’s chaos and suffering supercharged anti-colonial movements from British India to Dutch Indonesia. Ultimately, it was the charismatic leaders of these movements—Mao, Nehru, Sukarno—who built the new Asia of independent nation-states that emerged in the war’s bloody wake.
An interesting-looking new history, about a subject that deserves much more attention. At least, more attention in the West: often, the Southeast Asian portion of WW2 history is overlooked, or dealt with too quickly, and always through a lens of what the US and/or UK did and wanted. I heard about this via a historian’s Instagram account, I think (maybe Paul French’s?), and it immediately caught my attention. Blood Dawn is due to be published by Basic Books in North America (September 8th) and in the UK (out now).
Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads
Review copy received via NetGalley
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Kevin Wade, ONE GOOD EYE (Celadon)
As a hurricane makes landfall on Long Island’s Gold Coast, Police Chief Jeep Mullane responds to a plea for help at the estate of his longtime friend Jenny Racine, who has been violently assaulted in a home invasion. Jenny was the girl next door growing up, is now a rich and famous entrepreneur, and has always been a compelling, infuriating, and magnetic presence in his life.
Though Jenny is adamant she wants no investigation of the incident, Jeep sets off on a lonely and dangerous path to find out who attacked her. As he makes alarming discoveries, he must pry open the secrets of Jenny’s ex-military ex-husband, a fugitive police captain, officious federal agents, steely blue-blooded women, and two local biker gangs, casting aside his protocol as a police chief to challenge the criminals himself.
All this unfolds across five action-packed days and twenty-five years of shared past as Jeep must grapple with his complicated history with Jenny, the thorny customs and secrets of his homeland, and a long-buried truth that leads him to the painful resolution.
The second novel in Wade’s Jeep Mullane series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book — Johnny Careless — and have been looking forward to more ever since. Recommended for anyone interested in small-town crime series. I’ll be reading this very soon. One Good Eye is out now, published by Celadon Books in North America.
Civilian Reader 