BookTrib is highlighting four new books that span genres from thriller to literary fiction to romance to history, offering readers a wide range of choices for their next read.
In “The Final Second” by Jim De La Vega, a serial killer’s execution should close the case, but Sheriff Parker Chord receives a human eye and a message claiming an innocent man was put to death. When another victim appears with the killer’s signature, Parker calls his estranged sister, forensic psychologist Dr. Cassidy Chord, back to Georgia. With the killer announcing deadlines for more murders, Cassidy must reconsider the original evidence while navigating political interference and threats. De La Vega’s precise twists and irreverent Southern humor make this second installment in the Mind Hunter series an entertaining contest of wits. The book is available at https://tinyurl.com/the-final-second.
Larry Shields’ “A Personal Mistake” follows Jeremy Walker, who has come a long way from a childhood marked by bullying and loss. Now running a growing AI consulting firm, he faces a question success can’t answer: if machines learn from humanity’s prejudices and violence, can we teach them to do better? His search reconnects him with Robin Simon, now an MIT sociology professor and the woman he once brushed aside. As old feelings resurface and pressures mount, one mistake threatens the life Jeremy has built. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a fraught lifelong friendship between a man and a woman anchors this ambitious novel of ideas,” adding that Shields’ depiction of AI’s effects is “wonderfully cleareyed.” The book is available at https://tinyurl.com/a-personal-mistake.
Patricia Leavy’s “Sugar Sand Land” pairs a steamy celebrity romance with questions about reputation, loss and second chances. Emerson Blue, 28, is a reality-star-turned-influencer and the second most-followed celebrity on social media. Renn Walker, 48, is a Grammy-winning country singer whose career collapsed following allegations of sexual misconduct. When they meet, their attraction is immediate—and so is the public’s interest. As their unlikely romance develops, they discover how much their carefully managed images conceal. Beneath the glamour is a timely question: How much can we really know about people whose lives we follow on a screen? The book is available at https://tinyurl.com/sugar-sand-land-patricia-leavy.
In “Scenes of Visionary Enchantment: The Geology of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,” geologist John W. Jengo argues that Lewis and Clark understood the ground beneath their feet better than some scholars have suggested. Traveling by canoe, kayak, bike and on foot, Jengo followed portions of the explorers’ route to compare their journal entries with the landscapes they described. His research reveals the accuracy and detail of their geological observations, viewed through the scientific knowledge available in the early 1800s. Along the way, readers discover the forces that shaped the terrain, encounter Native American pictographs and oral histories, and meet pioneering geologists whose contributions have largely been forgotten. The book is available at https://tinyurl.com/visionary-enchantment.
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