Fiction Reviews
FEBRUARY 2, 2026 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 89
private struggles: picture-perfect eldest daughter Esme’s husband is cheating on her with their former nanny, middle child Piper is battling postpartum anxiety, and youngest daughter Regina’s nancial di culties force her to ask Esme to buy out her share of the house. e morning a er the sisters have a heated argument, they discover a corpse in the lake that appears to belong either to their estranged cousin or Esme’s former nanny. Even as the sisters hatch a plan to keep their names clear, they start to doubt if they can trust one another. Roberts gradually reveals the depths of their secrets, keeping the pages turning as she casts suspicion on even the most unlikely culprit. is will have readers guessing until the very end. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Apr.) A Violent Masterpiece Jordan Harper. Mulholland, $29 (384p) ISBN 978-0-316-45840-5 ★ ❘ Edgar winner Harper’s riveting latest (a er e Last King of California ) follows a trio of Los Angeles strivers who investigate a series of horri c crimes. While the City of Angels is being haunted by a serial killer dubbed the L.A. Ripper, Kara, a xer for the elite concierge service Sub Rosa, reels from the disappearance of her friend Phoebe. Increasingly convinced the Ripper killed Phoebe, she retreats into drug use and conspiracist online forums while questioning her complicity in L.A.’s culture of violence. Principled defense attorney Doug Gibson becomes Kara’s closest ally when his investigation into a client’s suspicious jailhouse death points him toward nefarious goings-on at Sub Rosa. Meanwhile, cynical livestreamer Jake Deal, who attracts followers with his lurid true crime coverage, inadver- tently lms Phoebe’s abduction at a Hollywood party. As Harper’s three leads converge, each becomes both weapon and target for Tinseltown’s corrupt puppet masters. Razor-sharp dialogue and vivid prose (“ e city blurs in the dashcam display.... Like everything has its own light. Like the
the narrative with simmering tension. It’s a solid outing. Agent: Dan Lazar, Writers House. (Apr.) A Murder Most Camp Nicolas DiDomizio. Poisoned Pen, $17.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-1-4642-5006-4 Romance author DiDomizio ( Nearlywed ) pivots to cozies with this charming mystery centered on gay 29-year-old Mikey Hartford IV, heir to the HartMart superstore fortune. Set to receive his inheritance on his 30th birthday, Mikey grows worried when his father demands he return from his latest yachting holiday for an emergency family meeting. ere, Mikey’s dad reveals that he’s added a new condition to his son’s trust: Mikey must spend the remaining months of his 20s helping people or forfeit his fortune. As a result, Mikey is dispatched to a rustic summer camp in Upstate New York to work as a special activities coordinator and help his introverted 12-year- old aunt Annabelle—the daughter of his grandfather—come out of her shell. Mikey’s only skill is shooting iPhone videos, so Annabelle and her campmates enlist him to help make a documentary about the story of a counselor who mysteriously disap- peared years earlier. eir innocent digging soon uncovers evidence of a long-ago murder with repercussions in the present. Buoyant humor and a sweet subplot involving Mikey’s romance with a lifeguard add to the fun, even if the mystery itself takes a while to arrive. A sequel would be welcome. Agent: Courtney Paganelli, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Apr.) e Summer House Murder Ava Roberts. Crooked Lane, $19.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 979-8-89242-485-1 A body turns up in a lake during three siblings’ annual vacation in this sizzling mystery from Roberts ( Juniper Isle ). Every summer, adult sisters Esme, Regina, and Piper spend two weeks vacationing at their family’s vacation home in Lake George, N.Y.. is year, each woman arrives amid
Hollywood Thrillers These new titles wring drama and suspense from the dark side of the dream factory.
The Lost Angels Michele Domínguez Greene. Thomas & Mercer,
$16.99 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-6625-3168-2
Hollywood Payback Jon Lindstrom. Crooked Lane, $19.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 979-8-89242-399-1
We Would Never Tell Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau. Sourcebooks Landmark,
$17.99 trade paper (448p) ISBN 978-1-4642-2943-5
re is already burning”) conjure an intoxicating atmosphere of glamor and decay, while Harper’s distinct characters elicit deep emotional investment. e result is a glittering neo-noir with staying power. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. (Apr.) Short Circuit Wolf Haas, trans. from the German by Jamie Bulloch. HarperVia, $28 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-346916-7 Two plots intertwine in this playful literary mystery from Austrian crime novelist Haas ( Brenner and God ). Franz Escher is waiting alone in his apartment for an electrician to come and x his power outlet. To pass the time, he works on jigsaw puzzles and reads a book about incarcerated Ma a snitch Elio Russo, who fears his cellmate Sven might kill him while he sleeps. Meanwhile, in prison, Elio reads one of Sven’s books to stay awake and alive; it’s about a man named Franz Escher who’s waiting for an electrician to x his power outlet.
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