After nine years fighting the Trojan War, the Greeks sense imminent defeat. The gods have cursed them with a plague; the Trojans have set their ships on fire; and their best warrior, the impenetrable Achilles, has turned his back on them. But when the Trojans go too far and kill Patroclus, his beloved brother-in-arms, Achilles returns to the battlefield with a vengeance so terrible that it shocks even the gods. Written by Homer more than twenty-five hundred years ago, The Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature—the seminal epic narrative of infantry combat, the scars of battle, and the inevitability of fate. Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War.

Everyone’s favorite octogenarian killer is back in this new collection of stories by Swedish crime writer Helene Tursten that is sure to have you in stitches. Eighty-eight-year-old Maud is never looking for trouble, but it always seems to find her. First, a woman in her building met an untimely end: tragic. Then, just recently, a dead body mysteriously appeared in her very own apartment, prompting an investigation by the local Gothenburg authorities. Such a strange coincidence. When it seems suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is, Maud decides to skip town and splurges on a trip to South Africa for herself. In these six interlocking stories, memories of unfortunate incidents from Maud’s past keep bubbling to the surface, each triggered by something in the present: an image, a word, even a taste. When she lands in Johannesburg at last, eager to move on from the bloody ordeal last summer, she finds certain problems seem to be following her. Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands . . . even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process. Don’t let her age fool you. Maud may be nearly ninety, but this elderly lady still has a few tricks before she’s ready to call it quits. *Includes cookie recipes*

A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers. Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

A general plans to use a nobleman's bride to teach him a lesson. After meeting her, he decides to keep her for himself. Content notes/warnings: ableism, blood, death of secondary characters, dubious consent, infertility, violence

A monster hunter who secretly runs a sanctuary for monsters must form an unlikely alliance in this rich and moving novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Keeper of Magical Things. The life of a monster hunter is simple: Have spear, will travel. Meixin and her hound slay winged and wicked roaming beasts for coin. But Meixin has a few secrets: Her dog is actually a fire-breathing huodou, she rescues half as many monsters as she kills, and she herself is one of the most powerful monsters in the kingdom. Meixin is the last shapeshifting dragon and has no memory of how the others disappeared. Though she grieves, she finds peace in her island sanctuary full of tame monsters—a peace unexpectedly threatened the day a man nearly dies on her doorstep. Faran the Green is an upstart sorcerer with dreams of sailing beyond the magical fog that isolates the kingdom. But to earn the rulers’ permission, he must win the Great Hunt by capturing a living dragon. He’s determined to hire the best monster hunter for help, but when his first attempt goes awry, he ends up dragged onto Meixin’s isle. To save her creatures from discovery and for a chance to find the only kin she may have left, Meixin joins Faran on his search (omitting a few personal details). She knows humans can’t be trusted, even pretty ones who speak gently to flowers, never tell lies, and don’t mind her scars. But when their hunt comes to a head, she must choose a side—man or monster—even if the line between them is as thin as water.