Lewis’s debut, the kickoff to a new series, will intrigue mystery readers from the opening lines. Frazzled and feeling watched, a young business woman leaves her job in Chicago and doesn't resurface until she’s in the mountains of Colorado, set on living a new life, under a new name and identity. Kim Jackson intends to live quietly, far from corporate fraud—and the murder she was framed for while working as an accounting manager for a Fortune 500 company. Her plan for a simple, low-key lifestyle is upended when Jackson finds herself involved in yet another homicide investigation.

Fast-paced and diving right into the thick of the plot, A Mountain of Evidence weaves an intricate mystery sure to keep readers engaged and guessing until its satisfying conclusion. Protagonist Kim is smart and well-developed, a fully fleshed out character that readers will root for as Lewis does an excellent job of building up the tension and suspense while teasing out insight into her past and present lives. Kim seems to settle into the small town life quite easily, making friends and discussing literature at the Montrose Community Center, while remaining hyperaware of her surroundings, what she says, and who is watching her—which serves to keep the reader on edge as well. That’s especially true once Kim starts poking around in the apparent murder of a local girl.

Lewis writes with vivid detail, capturing her heroine’s psyche and milieu and fleshing out secondary characters, while the parallel story lines—Kim's backstory and the new homicide investigation—offer enough action to keep things moving. The murdered girl, too, has a singular voice, through her notebooks and poetry. With themes such as small-town murder, corporate backdoor dealings, and starting over this layered, plot-driven story is a strong beach read, building to a satisfying yet open-ended conclusion that will appeal to fans of stand-alones and series both.

Takeaway: A fast-paced, plot-driven, suspenseful mystery thriller offering both small-town murder and corporate intrigue.

Great for fans of: Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, Jess Lourey’s May Day.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about A Mountain of Evidence

This hard-rocking sequel to Goldberg’s Runaway Train sees the return of Nico Sullivan in another eventful chapter of her life in the 1990s. Not long after the death of her sister, Nico becomes part of a grunge band, Grenade Bouquets, created by her guitarist boyfriend, Evan. Their music eventually catches the ear of an agent from Grouch Records, and from that moment her life becomes a cycle of performances, booze, and recognition they never would have imagined. But the upper reaches of the music world demand a high price for admittance, especially for a young woman. Facing the challenges of keeping the band relevant and original while maintaining the peace with the other members, Nico and company must keep it together to prevent Grenade Bouquets from being just another shooting star.

Nico lives up to the previous book’s title; despite being on track, this runaway train’s speed is often destructive, especially with her other band members. One scene finds her conspiring to kick out the lead singer, Clarissa, who also happens to be her boyfriend’s ex. In Machiavellian style, Nico petitions their agent to oust Clarissa with the reasoning that she’s no longer good for the band; this comes back to haunt Nico down the road as her luck begins to run out.

Goldberg’s take on a young woman approaching stardom is appealing and hits the right notes (and chords)about the temptations and hardships of possible fame and fortune. Savvy about how the industry actually worked, and laced with shout-outs to the rock of the era (“Gavin Rossdale singing about an ending, a break-up. Is that where this is all headed for me too?”), Grenade Bouquets invites readers to live this fantasy, for a brief moment. Nico’s descent proves explosive while offering hope that maybe, despite her rise and fall, there is a new stage for her to explore that won’t leave her defeated.

Takeaway: YA music lovers will be fully onboard with this encore performance in Goldberg’s grunge-era novel series about a young rock star.

Great for fans of: Tara Kelly’s Amplified, Sarah Nicole Smetana’s The Midnights.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about GREANDE BOUQUETS

In this taut historical drama set in the late 15th century, Gioconda offers an intriguing and gut-wrenching look at one of the Inquisition’s most infamous characters, the inquisitor Heinrich Institoris, the “Grand Inquisitor” who, as Gioconda puts it in an author’s note, stands as “perhaps the most prolific serial killer in human history.” Institoris summons the young novice Sebastian and dispatches him on a Church mission to research witchcraft and magic in all its forms. While Sebastian realizes that the women who practice the “witchcraft” that Institoris detests merely have a deep respect for nature, he still gets pulled into the hellish world of satanic worship. With the inquisitor’s presence and dark deeds looming over him, Sebastian finds himself torn between his beliefs and bringing the inquisitor to justice.

Sebastian’s characterization is one of the novel’s brightest spots. His desire to learn more about witchcraft and his admittedly anachronistic attitude toward women (he’s shocked to discover that Institoris’s book, The Malleus Maleficarum, is deeply sexist) will draw readers in to the grim milieu. Gioconda writes with a painterly sensibility, steeping readers in the milieu and its mysteries: “Eyeless generations of monks’ skulls gazed down at him,” he writes, of the inside of a crypt. With evocative prose and careful research, he captures the nuances of medieval Church politics and the frank realities of the prejudices of the time.

Gioconda’s use of modern expressions (a priest refers to a recently published book as “crazy”, and Institoris’s use of the term “field researcher”) and an emphasis on the alluring qualities of the bodies of the female characters are jarring additions that diminish the immersive intensity. An extensive bibliography and that letter from the author offer helpful context into the actual history behind Gioconda’s fictionalized account. For fans of the darker aspects of historical fiction, especially western religious history, The Pope’s Butcher will resonate.

Takeaway: A dark, well-researched story centered on the Inquisition’s most notorious killer.

Great for fans of: Theresa Breslin’s Prisoner of the Inquisition, Mitchell James Kaplan’s By Fire, By Water.

Production grades
Cover: B-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B-

Click here for more about THE POPE'S BUTCHER

This inspired paranormal romance, the first book in Holden’s Nightgarden Saga, introduces 17-year-old high school student Harper Ellory as she struggles with mysterious occurrences at her new home while coping with the recent loss of her twin sister, Tessa. Devastated by her sister’s death, Harper and her newly appointed legal guardian, Connor, purchase the Marigny mansion, a decayed Gothic-style estate along the Mississippi River. Connor secures a restoration grant in the hopes of building a home where they can be a family, a place they can always come back to. However, the mysterious Antoine Marigny, a descendant of the original landowners, stands in the way of their dream, along with a curse and the spirits of two vengeful vampires. To save her home and break the centuries-old curse, Harper teams up with Antoine—only to find herself enamored of the man who unsettles but fascinates her in equal measure.

Holden sets a fast pace, starting with a prologue that thrusts readers into Harper’s grief-stricken world. The momentum continues as mythical elements surrounding Harper’s new home are quickly introduced, and Holden establishes what’s at stake for Harper and Connor. As she hears voices and wonders about Antoine’s motives, Harper’s character proves wise beyond her teenage years, moving the story into new adult territory, as does the complex, distinctive relationship she and Antoine develop.

With a seeming effortlessness, Holden constructs a plot that weaves together elements of mystery with young adult romance and Southern Gothic fantasy. The heat level is mild at best, and while there is a significant age gap between Harper and Antoine, Holden cleverly keeps the steam appropriate yet intense. Although at times the romance takes a backseat to fantasy elements in the plot, fans of these genres will quickly become engrossed in this paranormal saga of ancient magic and generational curses.

Takeaway: This young adult romance combines paranormal and Southern Gothic elements into an intriguing, unconventional love story.

Great for fans of: Lauren Kate, L. J. Smith.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A+
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Red Magnolia

Clements’s deep dive into mid-century Mississippi offers a coming-of-age story that follows the growth of two boys, Daren Whaid and Jayson Chastain, from adolescence, through young adulthood, marriage, and parenthood, right up until their retirements. Through their childhoods, the boys' experience the trials common to many young, white men of their time and place: making good school grades, coming into their Christian faith, working part-time jobs, playing sports, meeting and wooing girls, facing the shadow of war, and growing conscious of the inequity of segregation. Even as rifts develop between them, Daren and Jayson continue to return to each other's sides as constant sources of friendship.

With great detail,Clements transports readers into these young men’s world, though his deep interest in side characters and heavy use of exposition to set scenes and establish the milieu leads to a story that’s more ruminative than a page turner. Clements is fascinated by the mundane or trivial activities of everyday life, such as what it was like to work at a Kreme Kone restaurant, which reinforces the title’s suggestion that it’s focus is on “points in time.” The novel’s often formal tone and grammar—most characters speak without contractions in their dialogue—may keep some readers from connecting to Clements's people, as may the fact that a pronounced Southern dialect (“What y’all pay?”) mostly only comes from the mouths of the Black characters, such as the young men Daren is eager to invite to join his football team.

Most alluring is Clements’s narrative structure. The mystery and suspense of the story rivets the reader as they bounce in between alternate timelines, which in the end ties the book’s theme of the sanctity of life together well. Clements’s scenes, character development, and contemplation of moral issues are the book’s heart. The bucolic towns and familiar tensions of growing up will tug at the heartstrings of readers seeking a glimpse of mid-century Americana with an emphasis on faith.

Takeaway: A deep and idyllic escape into mid-century Americana, powered by a sweet friendship of two boys and the complexities of life.

Great for fans of: John Grisham’s A Painted House, David Halberstam’s The Fifties, Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees.

Production grades
Cover: C+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B

Click here for more about Points in Time

A former lady of gentry turned spinster, twenty-year-old Margaret “Daisy” Merriot is pursued into an unlikely and highly improper courtship with the physically and emotionally scarred Tristan Brooks, the newly appointed Duke of Lyon, in this sweet yet slightly steamy regency romance. Daisy never imagined she would be left with “no title, no dowry, no expectations,” but that’s exactly where she finds herself when her father, Baron Rutherford, remarries and dies soon thereafter. Left wounded and severely scarred after a near-death experience, Tristan is convinced that only women looking to land a duke would show him any romantic interest. While out exploring his newly inherited estate, he meets Daisy during a chance encounter. concealing his true identity. This ignites a romance while setting into motion a series of events that will reveal long-lived secrets and lies.

In this first book of the Wallflowers of Wildwood series, Cole (author of, among others, the Secrets of the Zodiac novels) constructs a story that combines marriage-focused Regency high society with some classical fairy tale elements. Daisy is Cinderella–a woman scorned by her wicked stepmother, Lady Rutherford. Although reduced to a servant’s position and stripped of her birthright, Daisy maintains her kindhearted nature, especially with her perfect, calm stepsister, Bella Merriot. Cole presents a flawed Prince Charming in Tristan, who not only suffers physical scars, but exhibits aspects of PTSD and imposter syndrome, while inheriting an estate that is on the brink of financial ruin.

Written with sound romance structure and era-appropriate language, Daisy and the Duke finds its lovers facing convincing internal and external conflicts they must overcome. Still, the attraction between hero and heroine is instant and their budding relationship is straightforward, and despite Tristan’s trauma this isn’t a love story filled with angst. Readers wanting a sweet, no-fuss romance will enjoy this polished and accomplished Cinderella love story.

Takeaway: This sweet love story weaves together aspects of Regency romance with classic fairy tale elements and adventure.

Great for fans of: Lorraine Heath, Elizabeth Hoyt.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A+
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Daisy and the Duke

Burns’s debut sparkles with the wild wonder of the mid-1800s Colorado gold and silver rushes. Lizzie McCourt, the daughter of an Irish merchant from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, arrives on the scene amid thousands of men and women with dreams of wealth from the mines. Lizzie’s a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it – namely, the most eligible bachelor in town, Harvey Doe. Thus begins an almost fantastical tale of love and loss, triumph, and tragedy that turns simple Lizzie McCourt into the infamous Baby Doe, the most beautiful woman in the West–a literal, and figurative, gold digger.

Baby’s plight–from the wife of an unambitious, bitter drunk to mistress, to riches then back to nothing–highlights the role of women during this harsh time in American history. Baby was primed to be a good wife to Harvey, but he was ill-prepared to face a life of mining in the mountains, leaving it up to her to either pick up the slack or fail–and her grit refuses to let her give up. Liberally studded with tidbits of history that breathe life into the story, Burns’s narrative offers a rush of emotion in its portrayal of a time of contradictions, when the wave of moralistic movements was lapping at the mountains and making it challenging for women just trying to survive.

Burns pays loving attention to period detail, and her extensive research and investment in what it would actually be like to live in this milieu gives a nice balance to sometimes unlikable characters. While Baby’s determination is admirable, the coldly calculating aspects of her personality and her sense of entitlement may leave some readers with an uncomfortable sense of schadenfreude. However, the story’s twists and turns and larger-than-life personalities will leave fans of historical fiction breathless while offering a welcome glimpse into a captivating past

Takeaway: A whirlwind tale of triumphs and tragedies celebrating the Colorado gold rush era through the eyes of an infamous lady.

Great for fans of: C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills is Gold, Francine Rivers’s Redeeming Love.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Mrs. Tabor

Brutal yet somehow compulsively readable, Gherardi’s brisk debut certainly does not pull its punches. Each of the connected short stories in this hybrid of novel and collection either directly or indirectly recounts the turbulent lives of four main characters: Gracie, whose dad is a rather prominent mobster; Reeves, whose parents are religious to the point of extremism, calling television “the devil box”; Cole, whose father is veteran and stuck in the glory days; and Robbie, whose mother is an addict and whose mother’s boyfriend is a pimp. Taken together, this very adult collection of vignettes is not for the faint of heart, exploring how the worst of humanity lives—and, more importantly, how their children do, too.

Troubling topics and triggering language abound in this tight, potent collection, as do strong opening lines and cliffhangers: “So at a garage sale awhile back Paw Paw and I got a cast iron skillet for two bucks,” one chapter starts, exemplifying a prose style that remains conversational no matter how heavy the subject matter. Gherardi’s characters often talk about each other but only rarely dive into their own emotions as they endure the book’s relentless succession of traumatic events. At times, though, that tendency and (for the most part) a lack of connection between those events and how each of the protagonists ultimately ends up serves to obscure greater themes beyond shock and disgust.

However, that’s not true for all of Gherardi’s children of violence. Robbie’s arc is terribly affecting as it's clear how his situation affects his treatment of his little brother, his own life choices, and, ultimately, his end, as the conclusion to his story doubles as the book’s smart and heartbreaking final chapter. Readers will find themselves having to fill in some emotional and thematic gaps in this series of proudly sordid narratives, but spotting the threads that connect these lives does prove satisfying.

Takeaway: Fans of short, gritty stories that are unafraid to touch on almost every heavy subject will want to brave this succinct collection.

Great for fans of: Nelson Algren, Kate Walbert’s His Favorites.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B+

Click here for more about Children of Violence

A team of elite agents battles a mad genius in this lively feminist take on the international spy thriller subgenre. Kori Briggs works for the mysterious "Rampart" agency, which comes up against an opponent that has succeeded in building a nuclear bomb. Briggs must race to uncover her target, as well as a possible traitor in their midst, as she pairs up with her Russian counterpart Anya Kovalev on a globe-crossing adventure that moves from Tel Aviv, to Paris, and more. Meanwhile, she has to manage a romantic relationship—and an overly solicitous mother who thinks her daughter is a business executive.

Rawls keeps the plot briskly moving with neatly choreographed action scenes, from physical fights to airborne warfare. There's little gratuitous violence, and the tone is lightly humorous: a subplot finds a pair of semi-competent CIA agents stumbling onto Rampart's activities, and Briggs's colleagues find an amusing way to misdirect them. Rawls crafts running jokes about the donuts at Rampart staff meeting and how Briggs's fellow agents assume Kovalev, a woman, must be a man. Occasionally, some plot points strain credulity or edge toward the stereotypical, but the story zips along with no lulls.

Best of all are the characters, more three-dimensional than usually found in spy thrillers. Especially vivid is Briggs herself, a refreshingly modern feminine take on James Bond. She enjoys the casual relationships that have long been the prerogative of male action heroes and even finds time for flirtations in the middle of her investigations, while she and Anya humorously discuss how hard it is to keep a boyfriend without revealing their double life as super spies. And she always has time to soothe her worried mother, with increasingly elaborate lies explaining why she can't talk right now, even while she's saving the world from a nuclear holocaust. The always engaging Briggs paired with the lean plot will grab readers and keep them looking forward to further adventures.

Takeaway: Fans of spy actioners will revel in this swift-moving adventure and its delightful heroine.

Great for fans of: Stella Rimington, Ian Fleming, Rosalie Knecht’s Who is Laura Kelly?.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about The Dark Tetrad

After attending college for a year, Christopher Martin found himself listless; he was attending class less frequently and instead spending energy reading books more often than not. By the time he had conquered an entire library’s worth of wartime biographies, Martin knew something in his life had to change—instead of reading about history, he decided to become a part of it. To him, joining the Marines meant an opportunity to come alongside one of his idols, Alexander the Great. Martin guides readers through the history of Alexander while chronicling his own sojourn from a bright, but out-of-shape “grunt” to an emotion-filled, action-hungry corporal.

Martin’s captivating recollection of boot camp and his deployment transports the reader into his journey, inviting them to experience Martin’s own excitement and boredom, both the everyday grind of military life and the moments of tragedy. With tact and clarity, he writes of mentors, friends, family, and his unit, imbuing the material with a strong sense of authenticity while revealing himself to be both humble and ambitious. Martin has the keen ability to write to a lay reader without condescending to their knowledge of the American military, while simultaneously honoring the complexity of his subject.

The titular “chasing” of Alexander the Great draws deeply on the life of the Macedonian king, which has guided Martin from his college days to his boot camp trials and on, even in his return to civilian life. The thread reads smoothly; Martin’s biographical account of Alexander is thorough but does not bog down the impact of his own story. Martin is compelling when capturing both mundane and the trauma and hardship of a Marine’s existence, illuminating their grief, terror, and agony. With grit and sincerity, Martin will have readers who appreciate action-packed war stories and history marveling at this truly enjoyable memoir.

Takeaway: Fans of military stories will enjoy this compelling account of searching not only for the Taliban, but also for himself.

Great for fans of: Mark Owen’s No Easy Day, Michael J. MacLeod’s The Brave Ones.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Chasing Alexander

Cohen’s sensitive, stirring account of the 160 days between his wife’s diagnosis with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and her last breath finds “beauty within crisis” and invites readers to take inspiration from the “Smooth River” approach to ending a life that Cohen and his wife, Marcia Horowitz, arrived at in those last months. “Normalizing end-of-life matters—and dispelling societal distortions that avoid addressing them—are critically important,” Cohen notes in an introduction, and the narrative that follows exemplifies his argument. Once treatment options had been exhausted, the couple determined to face Horowitz’s probable final days with clear eyes and open hearts, making the most of each day, thinking of her life not as a tragedy cut short but as fully lived.

In short, they prepared for her to “leave this world in peace.” In crisp prose suffused with feeling, Cohen contests the societal tendency, shared by many doctors, to view terminal disease as a “fight” to be won or lost. That’s not to say that Horowitz, a crisis management expert, didn’t “fight” in the traditional sense, consulting with numerous experts, undergoing chemo, and pursuing all viable options. But Cohen argues, with both persuasive and emotional power, “A win is not necessarily defeating the cancer. A win is having lived a good life.”

That’s the current that courses throughout: their dedication to ending a life well, on their own loving terms. The book memorializes that life while showcasing a healthy approach to preparing for hard possibilities. The couple developed and held to both a Medical and Life Plan, which Cohen details throughout. Cohen movingly covers the medical practicalities—choosing navigating the system; handling “a thin-skinned, sensitive doctor”; dealing with “chemo brain”—while emphasizing the Life Plan, especially the urgency of filling time well, with heart-to-heart talks, simple pleasures, and the embrace of loved ones. Bursting with life, The Smooth River leads by example.

Takeaway: An inspiring, beautifully written account of living a life of purpose when faced with a terminal illness.

Great for fans of: Patricia Weenolsen’s The Art of Dying, Nina Riggs’s The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Smooth River: Finding Inspiration and Exquisite Beauty during Terminal Illness. Lessons from the Front Line.

Desai’s (Trio) sweeping family drama charts the Sanjana clan’s loves and losses against the historical backdrop of India under British rule. When Dolly Dalal’s first husband Kavas dies tragically, she marries his younger brother Phiroze. Each of her two sons takes after his own father: Kavas’s son Sohrab is ambitious and ruthlessly practical, and Phiroze’s son Rustom is gentle and philosophical. Like their fathers, they are constantly at odds. When young Englishwoman Daisy Holiday, newly arrived in Bombay on the trail of a former lover, reaches out to the Sanjana family for help, both sons are taken with her, setting history up to repeat itself.

Desai unravels the complex relationships of the Sanjana family through lengthy flashbacks (throughout), all tied together in a single scene of a family breakfast that steadily builds toward the book’s climax. Spanning both decades and continents, the characters’ backstories are infused with evocative details of period and place, transporting readers to King George VI’s Jubilee in London, the brutal Burma campaign of the second world war, a steamer sailing from London to Bombay, and an India on the cusp of independence from Britain. While the book’s vivid historical and cultural exposition can occasionally pause the plot, Desai offers fascinating insight into the complicated realities of race, class and colonialism the characters face.

The story’s broad scope is balanced by its finely-tuned characters. Their motivations and struggles are well-defined and relatable, and readers will find their self-determination in the face of difficult circumstances inspiring. In particular, Dolly and Daisy, far from being hemmed in by vintage attitudes, are well-rounded, complex individuals whose dilemmas and choices will resonate with contemporary readers. Desai’s nuanced portrayal of marriage also proves appealing, with each couple’s relationship depicted with sharp but non-judgemental insight. This engrossing chronicle of a complicated family that builds to a stunner of a conclusion.

Takeaway: History lovers will appreciate how this sensitive Indian family saga puts a human face on epic events.

Great for fans of: Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Those Days, Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about A Googly in the Compound

This inventive twist on the conspiracy thriller hinges on a provocative new way of looking at both the past and the present. When speech therapist Melissa Speyer uses eye drops to soothe her irritated eyes, she finds herself overwhelmed by sudden and shocking visions. Speyer’s love interest William Clarkson may know more about her visions than he lets on: he works for an organization dedicated to uncovering how important historical figures, such as Jonas Salk and Leif Erikson, may have experienced similar visions that guided the course of human history. Speyer’s new abilities have enormous potential, but their revelations, it turns out, also makes them dangerous.

This fast-paced blend of mystery, thriller, and detective story is brimming with curiosity and enthusiasm. Though the cast of characters is large, each is unique and well-crafted. Readers will find handsome and intelligent—if conflicted—Clarkson especially appealing and enjoy the subtle banter between the gritty, determined pair of gumshoes Stanley Young and Ed Dawson. Though the dialogue is occasionally weighed down by exposition, transitions between subplots and cities are easy to follow. It’s less clear exactly how Speyer’s visions work, but their ambiguity adds to the intrigue, and Cardone keeps readers guessing until the very last paragraphs of the book.

The mysteries of the present and those of the past are well-balanced throughout the story. A deep love for history and historical research lies at its heart, and Cardone invents detailed, interesting context for each of the proposed alternative histories. The wide range of historical figures who come up, from Madam C.J. Walker to Aristander of Telmessos, may offer new information, even to students of history. This well-paced page-turner offers an intriguing, imaginative take on the secret sources of human achievement, and adventurous, open-minded readers will enjoy Cardone’s entertaining ramble through the hypotheticals of history.

Takeaway: This bold conspiracy thriller finds a present-day heroine surveying history through (literal) fresh eyes.

Great for fans of: Matthew Reilly, Raymond Khoury.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about THE VISION EXPERIMENTS

With a spirit of cheerful straight-talk, and a zeal for debunking bad yet familiar advice, Descy lays out practical strategies for becoming what he calls a “power presenter”—someone who communicates with clarity, confidence, and power in professional presentations in in-person or virtual settings. Drawing on decades of experience in giving presentations, Descy offers “PoweredPointer”s for communicating effectively, with an emphasis on process and understanding the role of a speaker. Descy points out that when you hold the stage “You are the actor and the director,” meaning the director in you must push the actor to rehearse, to win trust, to master the power of pauses and the pitch of your voice, and to keep humor self-directed and appropriate. It’s the director’s role to understand the audience and the venue and to guide the actor in customizing the performance.

But he argues that it’s nobody’s role, no matter what you may have been taught, to endeavor to “be yourself.” Descy reminds readers throughout that a presentation is a performance, and that preparing to perform—rather than merely memorizing the words and counting on your innate qualities to get them across—is the crucial work that puts a presentation over the top. His advice digs deep into concerns like clothes, (“dress one step above” your audience), eye contact (“PoweredPointer 37: Lock on to people’s eyes for three to five seconds”), how to design effective slides, and how to face audience questions.

“Use personal language as if you are just talking to one person,” Descy advises. He exemplifies that advice throughout Behind the Bullet Points, writing in a direct, friendly voice that inspires nods and occasional laughter. This volume can at times seem repetitious, and the guidance for virtual presentations (check your lighting, test your platform) isn’t as thorough and seasoned as the rest. This isn’t a book about composing a presentation—it’s instead a thorough, persuasive guide to getting one across and even making it fun.

Takeaway: Readers eager to improve their skills at professional presentations will find much fresh, helpful insight.

Great for fans of: Garr Reynolds’s Presentation Zen, Nancy Duarte’s Resonate.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Behind The Bullet Points

Kendrick’s suspenseful memoir tells the story of her and her husband Jeff’s years risking arrest as, motivated by their strong faith, they smuggled Bibles and Christian literature behind the Iron Curtain. Their work began in the early 1980s, when Bibles were considered contraband in many Communist countries, regulations that would only start to change in 1988. Posing as tourists and using only pseudonyms, the Kendricks would pass border checkpoints under the watching eyes of armed militia, their contraband stashed in RVs, pickup campers, a fifth wheel, and anywhere else the resourceful couple could find.

Kendrick’s stories are gripping, full of close calls (including the opening anecdote in which a Soviet officer discovers a hidden recorder in Kendrick’s purse) and some disappointments, such as being turned back within the Soviet Union after attempting a short cut. Maps of the places where the Kendricks journeyed as well as diagrams of how the smuggling occurred will help to orient readers, while offering the thrill of revealing possibly still-sensitive trade secrets. Christian readers will be encouraged by Kendrick’s reliance on scripture for comfort in difficult situations (“God’s peace filled me and as we proceeded, I was amazingly relaxed,” she writes), and the appendix containing “Scripture References for Battling Fear” will prove a welcome resource.

Kendrick keeps the focus on—and directs the glory to—the Eastern bloc Christians they served by providing Bibles and, periodically, financial help, men and women whom she insists took even more risks for their beliefs than she and her husband did. The Kendricks’s story—and their faith—will inspire readers while staying relatable and humble: Kendrick shares honest incidents of marital tension, reveals difficult travel moments and physical ailments, confesses to deep loneliness, and relates anxious encounters with authority. Christian readers seeking motivation in difficult ministry, or simply searching for an exciting faith-based memoir, will find this an uplifting read.

Takeaway: Christians looking for an inspiring, suspenseful real-life story will find much to love this Cold War memoir.

Great for fans of: Richard Wurmbrand’s Tortured for Christ, Haralan Popov’s Tortured for His Faith.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-

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For many, adulthood feels like an endless slog, and emotional numbness often accompanies this loss of innocence, quashing our ability to have transformational experiences and connect with the natural world. Kruijff’s translation of Dutch writer Herman Gorter’s epic poem, originally published in 1889, resonantly mourns the loss of the “sweet melancholy of youth,” which Kruijff defines in an introduction as “an unbounded intensity of the senses.” Translated here in English, Gorter’s poem personifies its namesake month–the epitome of springtime–by bringing to life a young girl (“the sweetest, blondest, yes, the little May”) bursting with excitement and possibility. Over time, however, she is dragged “finally into submission in the face of mundane city life,” leaving her jaded and bereft.

Unfolding like an impressionist painting, each line of Gorter’s poem is rich with vivid sensory details–colors, textures, and sounds of the countryside that illustrate the depth and intensity of his longing, though he was just 24 when his Mei was published. Kruijff’s translation juxtaposes May’s childlike beauty and innocence with arresting and sometimes jarring images that hint at the tragedy to come: “Awakening and rising on the palms / Of her flat hands, as frail shells were crackling / Underneath her – while on her delicate chin, / Still moist from sleep, a tilted sunray shot / Off the dune’s edge, and made for trembling blood.”

Though it is more than a century old, Gorter’s signature work carries a sentiment still relevant in the modern age. Readers will find this 4,381-line poem both nostalgic and slightly gut wrenching as it inevitably kicks up memories of lost love--and lost possibility. For those who are still young at heart–or wishing to reclaim the fervor of youth–this thoughtful, lyrical translation will stir the imagination and invite consideration of what makes the heart sing, even if the joy, like May, is only temporary. The poem, though, will endure.

Takeaway: Kruijff’s translation Herman Gorter’s epic poem mourns the loss of the “sweet melancholy of youth.”

Great for fans of: Willem Kloos, Hendrik Marsman.

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Cover: B+
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