With cooler temperatures in the forecast, November is the perfect time of year to cozy up with a good book or two. There is something for every reader hitting shelves this month, with new series titles from big-name authors like James Patterson, Nora Roberts, and Janet Evanovich; memoirs from Cher, Donald Sutherland, and Bill Clinton; and the fifth book in the sensational, cozy Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. Did you know you can place a hold on a book before it goes on sale? Simply print our November Coming Soon list, circle your favorites, and our librarians will take care of the reserve requests for you.
Before We Forget Kindess by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The gentle but poignant fifth light fantasy in Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold series (after Before We Say Goodbye) returns to Tokyo’s Café Funiculi Funicula. Run by the Tokita family, this otherwise unassuming café has one major draw: any customer who sits in one particular seat can travel in time, as long as they return before their cup of coffee gets cold. Each series installment comprises stories following different customers and the people with whom they hope to have one last conversation. The focus on regret and grief makes this a heart-wrenching outing, but kindness and empathy still shine through in Kawaguchi’s characters. Readers will find comfort even as they reach for the tissues. Available 11/5.
Flint Kill Creek by Joyce Carol Oates
Average people face the macabre in this grimly satisfying collection of 12 stories from Oates. The proximity of love and hate—or at least attraction and violence—animate most of the tales, each a compact gem of unease. In “Weekday,” a frantic mother worries that her forgetful, easily distracted husband has lost their infant daughter. In “The Phlebotomist,” a benign tale of parking lot seduction quickly careens into noir territory. “Friend of My Heart” is a delicious, near-operatic portrait of professional jealousy that focuses on a rumpled adjunct professor growing mad with envy over a colleague’s success. In each case, Oates’s prose is surgically precise, and her appetite for the grotesque falls on the right side of lurid. Available 11/5.
The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White
Agatha Christie meets Murder, She Wrote in this witty locked room mystery and literary satire. Three authors walk into a bar. That's how Cassie Pringle, a cozy mystery writer; Kat de Noir, writer of erotic romantic fantasy; and Emma Endicott, who writes historical portraits of forgotten women, end up at a writers' retreat on an isolated Scottish island. The besties are researching and writing a book called Fifty Shades of Plaid while staying at Kinloch Castle. When fellow author Brett Saffron Presley is murdered on the night of the village dance celebration, Detective Chief Inspector Euan Macintosh naturally eyes the American writers with suspicion. Their stories don't add up, and each of them has a history with the dead man. Knowing that they're suspects, the three women decide to find the person who really killed the man they all hated. This novel by Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White is a fun send-up of the publishing industry in which mystery-writing, imbued with humor and mixed with tropes of the genre, is turned on its head. Available 11/5.
Made Up, But Still True by Donald Sutherland
As one of the most enduring actors in Hollywood, Donald Sutherland made an indelible mark on the industry since his life-changing role in M*A*S*H catapulted him into the public eye nearly sixty years ago. With his raw honesty and wicked sense of humor, the renowned actor chronicles his life in this generation-defining book, from his loving relationship with his parents, to behind-the-scenes stories of the movies he’s starred in. With surprising candor and powerful, lyrical prose, these unforgettable reminiscences offer an unprecedented look at the remarkable life of a legendary—and legendarily private—Hollywood icon. Available 11/12.
Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Chef
After more than seventy years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in the first of a two-part memoir. Her remarkable career is unique and unparalleled. The only woman to top Billboard charts in seven consecutive decades, she is the winner of an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Grammy, and countless other awards and achievements. With her trademark honesty and humor, Cher: The Memoir, Part One traces how this diamond in the rough succeeded with no plan and little confidence to become the trailblazing superstar the world has been unable to ignore for more than half a century. Available 11/19.
Citizen by Bill Clinton
A powerful, candid, and richly detailed memoir from an American icon, revealing what life looks like after the presidency: triumphs, tribulations, and all. Citizen is Clinton’s front-row, first-person chronicle of his post-presidential years and the most significant events of the twenty-first century. More than a political memoir, these pages capture Clinton in a rare and unforgettable light—not only as a celebrated former president and a foundation leader, but as a father, grandfather, and husband. The highly anticipated follow-up to the best-selling My Life, Clinton pens an illuminating account of American democracy on a global stage, offering a frank reflection on the past and, with it, a fearless embrace of our future. Available 11/19.
Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens
Anna Appleby is a recently divorced mom of two who works as a columnist at Bath Living. She doesn’t have hobbies outside of her job and kids, but insists she is perfectly happy and has no interest in dating. But when her job is threatened by insufferable and annoyingly sexy colleague Will Havers, Anna goes out on a limb to freshen up her column by going on a series of dates—with people her children have chosen. With a cast of well-developed and memorable characters, Cousens expertly weaves together themes of self-discovery, romance, motherhood, and friendship, resulting in a rich story that is engrossing to the end. Available 11/19.
The Mirror by Nora Roberts
The suspenseful second installment of bestseller Roberts’s Lost Bride Trilogy (following Inheritance) brings more cozy romance and heightened ghostly scares. Sonya MacTavish and her best friend, Cleo Fabares, have settled into a comfortable life in Lost Bride Manor, the haunted house Sonya inherited in coastal Maine in book one, despite increasing antipathy from one of the manor’s many ghosts. This volume digs deeper into the haunting of Lost Bride Manor, elucidating more of the players and expanding the worldbuilding through effective flashbacks that deliver necessary backstory without slowing the momentum. The result is quintessential Roberts : richly detailed wish fulfillment seasoned with the mounting tension of a carefully plotted mystery. Captivating characters and a cliffhanger ending will leave readers eager for more. Available 11/19.
Now or Never by Janet Evanovich
With her personal life in turmoil, New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum navigates danger and intrigue in a high-stakes case that could change her life. Stephanie Plum has two fiancés and no idea what to do about it. But the way things are going, she might not live long enough to marry anyone. While Stephanie stalls for time, she buries herself in her work as a bounty hunter, tracking down an unusually varied assortment of fugitives from justice. With timely assists from her stalwart supporters Lula, Connie, and Grandma Mazur, Stephanie uses every trick in the book to reel in these men. But only she can decide what to do about the two men she actually loves, and she’s keeping a secret from them that is the biggest bombshell of all. Now or never, she’s got to make the decision of a lifetime. Available 11/19.
The House of Cross by James Patterson
In Washington, DC, the president-elect is planning her inauguration. The list of Supreme Court candidates is highly confidential—until it becomes evidence in Detective Alex Cross’s toughest investigation. One candidate is gunned down. A second is stabbed. A third is murdered near midnight on a city street. Cross is the FBI’s top expert in criminal behavior. Tasked with delving into the mind of a cunning killer, Cross must confront the most dangerous aspects of his work for the sake of his family, city, and nation. Available 11/25.