Indie Next List

What is the Indie Next List?

The Indie Next List is your next great read! This monthly list features the top nominations from independent booksellers across the country, showcasing the best of the best debuts and new releases in all categories and genres.

Tilt: A Novel

Emma Pattee (S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books)

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“Pattee takes us inside the mind of soon-to-be mother Annie in her attempt to reunite with her husband after a huge earthquake. Tilt poses imperative questions about our nature as individuals and collectively in the face of societal collapse.”

— Aubrey Winkler, Powell's Books, Portland, OR

Indie Next List Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers

The Sirens: A Novel

By Emilia Hart

St. Martin's Press

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“Somehow, Hart engages readers with both a contemporary mystery and an atmospheric historical imagining. The two narratives are expertly written and woven in a story that’s both unlike any other yet resonates as familiar. It’s literary magic!” — Jen Wills Geraedts, Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery, Park Rapids, MN

Audition: A Novel

By Katie Kitamura

Riverhead Books

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“This novel is strange and beguiling, with an actress at the center of the novel and play that will constantly shift your perspective of what is real or not. Who is she really, and what roles do other people play in our lives?” — Keith Vient, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

Wild and Wrangled: A Rebel Blue Ranch Novel

By Lyla Sage

Dial Press Trade Paperback

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“I have been so eager for Dusty and Cam’s story, and this delivered the perfect ending to the series. Dusty is the definition of the perfect man written by a woman, and witnessing their relationship finally come to fruition was worth the wait.” — Amy Dickinson, Book Ends Winchester, Winchester, MA

Say You'll Remember Me

By Abby Jimenez

Forever

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“Once again, Abby Jimenez brings us a love story we can root for. There’s always something more to her romances than just the romance. Jimenez puts just as much care and thought into the rest of the story, giving the reader so much more to savor.” — Layne Van Boxtel, Reads by the River, Waterford, WI

Heartwood

By Amity Gaige

Simon & Schuster

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“Heartwood is a mesmerizing novel that captures the precariousness of being alive. The story centers on 42-year-old Valerie who gets lost in the Maine Woods while hiking the Appalachian Trail and those invested in the search to find her.” — Shelby Newsome, Curious Iguana, Frederick, MD

The Story She Left Behind: A Novel

By Patti Callahan Henry

Atria Books

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“The Story She Left Behind transports us across the Atlantic along with these characters. Patti Callahan Henry’s gorgeous writing grips our hearts and won’t let go as she weaves a story of mothers and daughters full of mystery and imagination.” — Theresa Decker, Book Love the Bookshop of Senoia, Senoia, GA

I See You've Called in Dead

By John Kenney

Zibby Publishing

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“John Kenney’s coming-of-age novel is the story of an obituary writer who accidently publishes his own obituary, one inebriated night — but he’s not dead. Readers will laugh out loud, cry, and love each and every character.” — Eve Taben, Elm Street Books, New Canaan, CT

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

By John Scalzi

Tor Books

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“Ah, the Moon: inspiration for poets, light for lovers, our waxing and waning companion. Well, now it’s made of cheese, and humanity has to cope. A sprawling cast come to terms with this new reality in Scalzi’s thoroughly entertaining new novel.” — Stephen Allen, Forever Books, St. Joseph, MI

Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman #1)

By Olivia Waite

Tordotcom

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“This was fabulous! It was such a delight to read a murder mystery with a unique setting; I am begging for more of this world. This book is for the readers who love a classic murder mystery, yet want a fresh and vivid story.” — CoriAnn Theroux, The Green Dragon Bookshop, Fort Dodge, IA

Hot Air: A Novel

By Marcy Dermansky

Knopf

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“Hot Air is a delicious read — smart, funny, quirky, and unpredictable. While you’re gobbling up the plot, it sneakily brings up issues of class, parenting, and marriage. Take it with you on spring break — it’ll be right at home poolside with you.” — Kathryn Counsell, Watchung Booksellers, Montclair, NJ

Bad Nature: A Novel

By Ariel Courage

Henry Holt and Co.

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“After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Hester embarks on a road trip to carry out one final task before she dies: killing her father. She finds herself traveling with a passionate activist investigating superfund sites across the US.” — Kyle Churman, Werner Books, Erie, PA

The Paris Express: A Novel

By Emma Donoghue

S&S/Summit Books

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“What a cast of characters! A 21-year-old anarchist armed with a bomb; a 7 ½-year-old boy traveling alone; a heavily pregnant young, unmarried woman; rich, poor, old, young, Black, white — it’s 1895 on the train to Montmartre. I loved it!” — Carol Katsoulis, Anderson's Bookshops, Naperville, IL

The Hymn to Dionysus

By Natasha Pulley

Bloomsbury Publishing

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“This isn’t your typical myth retelling — Pulley sets an ominous tone, perfectly complementing the story’s intrigue and intensity. It brims with monsters, mystery, and vivid, haunting imagery. An unforgettable reimagining.” — Dave Suiter, pages: a bookstore, Manhattan Beach, CA

Sky Daddy: A Novel

By Kate Folk

Random House

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“Did you ever want to read a book about a woman who is irresistibly sexually attracted to commercial jetliners? Me neither, but I did. It was delightful. Twisted, hilarious, and beautiful. Come for the absurdity; stay for the tenderness.” — Chantel McCray, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, KS

Murder at Gulls Nest: A Novel

By Jess Kidd

Atria Books

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“Jess Kidd is an absolute magician of storytelling. Be prepared to be caught under her spell with this atmospheric and cozy new mystery. Brew yourself a cuppa and dig in!” — Christina Heagney, Country Bookshelf, Bozeman, MT

Stop Me If You've Heard This One: A Novel

By Kristen Arnett

Riverhead Books

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“As a central Floridian myself, this book feels like home. It’s an homage to our weird, wonderful (yet often unwelcoming) state and the beautiful queer people who live here. I laughed, I teared up, and I now want to go on a deep dive into clown culture.” — Rayna Dunlop, Fern and Fable Books, Ormond Beach, FL

O Sinners!: A Novel

By Nicole Cuffy

One World

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“A beautiful novel that seamlessly weaves together themes of trauma, belonging, and belief. The underlying eeriness and sense of paranoia throughout are gripping, and the thought-provoking questions raised offer plenty to discuss.” — Maggie Shaw, Honest Dog Books, Bayfield, WI

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne

By Ron Currie

G.P. Putnam's Sons

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“Currie gives us an antiheroine for the ages — a sort of Mainer Grandma Tony Soprano — and the saga of her matriarchal crime family which mixes blood, levity, and heart like a perfect martini.” — Jonathan Hawpe, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY

Sour Cherry

By Natalia Theodoridou

Tin House Books

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“An outstanding debut! A retelling of Bluebeard that gives voice to the victims of a cruel man and curse. Theodoridou unlocks the door and takes you over the threshold to an ever-growing number of horrors with gorgeous writing.” — Nikki Siclare, Newtonville Books, Newton Centre, MA

This Book Will Bury Me: A Novel

By Ashley Winstead

Sourcebooks Landmark

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“Jane is depressed and suffering from the loss of her father. She ends up in true crime forums where she quickly becomes immersed. What seems like an easy way to pass the time is anything but safe. This is one of the best suspense books I’ve read this year.” — Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC

Killer Potential: A Novel

By Hannah Deitch

William Morrow

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“An SAT tutor stumbles upon a brutal murder, immediately becomes the prime suspect, and embarks on a wild cross-country ride with a mysterious, alluring woman found at the scene. Staying one step ahead of the law requires guts, brains, and trust.” — Mike Hare, Northshire Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, NY

Hunchback: A Novel

By Saou Ichikawa, Polly Barton

Hogarth

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“Saou Ichikawa makes disability visible in Japan. This book shakes you to the core and takes you on an unforgettable journey. A portrait of what it’s like to live with disability and what it’s like to be a strong woman who makes her own decisions.” — Rosita Georgiades, City of Asylum Bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA

The Night Trembles: A Novel

By Nadia Terranova, Ann Goldstein

Seven Stories Press

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“A gripping account of two strangers navigating a new world in the wake of an unfathomable natural disaster. Nicola and Barbara are brilliantly rendered, each grappling with the lives they had before the earthquake and uncovering what’s possible.” — Emily Tarr, Thank You Books, Birmingham, AL

Worthy of the Event: An Essay

By Vivian Blaxell

Littlepuss Press

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“As trans people, we know the spaces that open up to us when we decide to live in the world on our own terms. Blaxell’s essays bring us her invaluable and deeply generous thinking on how we become worthy of the life and the world that she clearly loves so much.” — Ren Dean, Skunk Cabbage Books, Chicago, IL

Now in Paperback Indie Next List Selections Come to Paperback