In 1970s Mississippi, a Black detective and his temporary partner are assigned to a case that shifts from murder to paranormal conspiracy with life-altering repercussions.Wenton, Mississippi: A man enters the bathroom of a local gay bar and doesn't come back out. Instead he's found cold, on the floor, and facing the wall. And no one seems to know how this happened.Samuel Barkley is Wenton's only Black detective. Assigned to the case, Samuel's one goal is to keep his head down with eyes on moving up in the police ranks. But it's not easy with Harvey, a new, temporary partner who Samuel can't seem to like...or hate. Nor with the cold, questioning eyes and fake smiles from those in town. Persistent. Judging. Wrong. Samuel is reaching his breaking point.As his investigation leads him to a curious plane crash cover-up, Samuel's placid existence is turned on its head. Because what crashed in Wenton isn't a plane. There are others here. They like it here. And if Samuel can't stop them, they will find a way to stay.With shades of The X-Files and S. A. Cosby, There Used to Be People Here deftly explores race, queerness, and existing as other in a society that demonizes everything different.

“Where were you thinking of going?” “Nowhere.” “Great,” he says lightly, putting the car in gear. “Then we’ll go there.” Seventeen-year-old Deedee’s life is full of family ghosts and questions she can’t ask. She longs for an escape, but guilt holds her back—that, and the fact that her strict Filipino single mom won’t let her learn to drive. But one sleepless night leads Deedee down a road she never thought possible: secret driving lessons with the new boy next door, Jay, whose turbulent family life also keeps him up until sunrise. As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they’ve both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.

Hereditary meets You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight. A depressed teen returns to her grandmother's remote village in Vietnam to bury her half-brother, accompanied by her two best friends and half-sister, only to discover something demonic in the woods that has consumed her family for decades is now hunting them down, and they only have until dawn to break the ritual—or to decide who among them should be sacrificed. Publication is set for winter 2027.

Lights Out meets Butcher & Blackbird in Dead Lift, a serial killer romcom from indie author Clio EvansMurdering a man isn't hard. Getting rid of the body, though? That’s another story.Forensic scientist Shelby has a simple plan. Get justice for her sister, kill the men who murdered her, and (hopefully) get away with it. But when a hot himbo with a man-bun catches Shelby in the act—her simple plan becomes a lot more complicated.With her pink hazmat suit and butcher knife, Shelby is the most alluring woman Brad has ever met. He’s in danger, but he’s never felt more alive. He needs to be in her life, even if it means risking his.Brad offers to be her henchman. Shelby grudgingly decides to spare his life. What could possibly go wrong?It turns out everything. Will Shelby finally get the justice she’s sacrificed her future for? Or will falling for her hot himbo henchman ruin it all?

A masterfully captivating Gothic fantasy standalone full of murder, family secrets, and a mysterious succession trial from the author of The Unspoken Name, perfect for fans of The Tainted Cup, The Raven Scholar, and One Dark Window.The Mallory-Blythe cousins have been summoned to their ancestral home by the Banisher, their great-aunt Sophia. Whoever can survive on the island for ten days and ten nights will inherit her house, her title, and her magic.But the island is riddled with ghosts and worse, and the cousins have their own scores to settle. By the time ten days are up, almost everyone on the island will be dead.The only surviving witness is Kit Lanyer, a petty criminal and self-proclaimed bystander. The time has come, she says, to tell the truth.

An unsuspecting heiress with a target on her back must enlist the protection of a vampire whose wealth and secrets rival her own, in a brand new paranormal romance series from New York Times bestselling author Elena Armas.Valle Cepeda's life changes drastically over the course of a winter break, when she goes from being an Ivy League scholarship student one day to inheriting a fortune from the mother she’s never met by the next. The fate of Alma, a coveted fashion empire, is now in Val's hands.Hadrian Cruz presents himself as a calculating, self-serving player in the game of who takes over Alma, but that isn't his true aim. A blood debt that chains him to a hundred-year-old wound is finally being collected, and it involves Val. Furious at everyone who would try to manipulate her, Val returns to Icarus University, only to see her world has changed shape dramatically and Hadrian is now at the center of it. She doesn’t trust him, but there are things only Hadrian can protection, and the way to satiate a longing she craves more than fears.Plagued by nightmares, can Val decipher the secrets of her legacy? And can she accept that what she feels for Hadrian runs deeper than attraction? Answers always come at a cost, and these could shatter her heart… Or bind her soul to the monster she desires the most.

This joyful romp from Robby Weber, perfect for fans of Jason June and Morgan Matson, follows a boy who will do anything to win his drama club's scavenger hunt in New York City, even if it means teaming up with a tech crew loner…and discovering unexpected sparks between them. Theater star Teddy McGuire is ready for all his dreams to come true. He and his best friend, Annie, have been counting down the days to the end-of-the-year drama club trip to New York City. To make it even more magical, if they can win the annual scavenger hunt, they’ll get a chance to meet their popstar idol, Benji Keaton. But the universe has other plans: when Annie can’t go on the trip, Teddy is forced to room with tech crew loner Sebastian, who has no interest in the scavenger hunt—or Teddy—and seems to have a secret agenda of his own. On a larger-than-life adventure across the city, the boys will discover a lot more than what’s on their checklist, including masquerade mishaps, obstacles of Jurassic proportions, Hollywood starlets, and, most surprisingly of all, sparks beginning to fly between them. In a story about chasing your destiny, Teddy and Sebastian are about to learn the secret to making their own luck.