Five historical fiction titles about little known history

Rachel Brittain is a writer, Day Dreamer, and Amateur Aerialist. Her short fiction has appeared in Luna Station Quarterly, Andromeda Spaceways, and others. She is a contributing editor for Book Riot, where she screams into the void about her love of books. Brittain lives in Northwest Arkansas with a rambunctious rescue pup, a snake, and a houseful of plants (most of which aren’t carnivorous).

At Book Riot she tagged five "historical fiction books about little-known history [that] bring the more obscure sides of history to light." One entry on the list:

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

More lives were lost in the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff than the Titanic and Lusitania combined, but many people have never even heard of it. I hadn’t before reading this heartbreaking historical fiction novel by Ruta Sepetys. The ship, overcrowded with more than 10,000 wartime personnel and refugees on a craft only meant for 1,800, was hit by a Russian torpedo in the Baltic Sea. To tell its tragic story, Sepetys imagines the people who might’ve found their way to the Wilhelm Gustloff: a young Lithuanian nurse, a Prussian soldier ferreting away Nazi treasures, and a heavily pregnant Polish girl, all fleeing for their lives.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eleven thrillers that feature the mega-rich

Trisha Sakhlecha grew up in New Delhi and now splits her time between Berlin and London. She is a diplomat, currently working as Director of The Tagore Centre at the Embassy of India. In the past, Sakhlecha has worked in the fashion industry as a business consultant, designer, and trend forecaster.

The Inheritance is her U.S. debut.

At Electric Lit Sakhlecha tagged thrillers featuring the mega-rich in which "the themes of betrayal, secrecy, and ambition [are] explored with razor-sharp intensity." One title on the list:

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

This psychological thriller tells the story of Amber Patterson, a woman who infiltrates the life of a wealthy couple with sinister intentions. She is determined to take the place of the perfect, seemingly untouchable wife, and the narrative unravels with shocking twists as Amber’s own secrets are revealed.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Last Mrs. Parrish is among Jaime Lynn Hendricks's seven best unlikeable characters in thrillers, Eliza Jane Brazier's nine books that pit the Have against the Have-Nots, Seraphina Nova Glass's seven top obsession thrillers, Allison Dickson's top ten thrillers featuring a dance of girlfriends and deception, Kristyn Kusek Lewis's eight shocking thrillers featuring scandals, Margot Hunt's top nine thrillers featuring duplicitous spouses, and Jennifer Hillier's eight crime novels of women starting over.

The Page 69 Test: The Last Mrs. Parrish.

--Marshal Zeringue

Four tech thrillers rooted in the tensions between technology and human nature

Sara Sligar is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Southern California. Her first novel, Take Me Apart, was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year and a finalist for the Ned Kelly Award for Best International Crime Fiction. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.Phil. in Modern European History from the University of Cambridge. Her new novel is Vantage Point.

At CrimeReads Sligar tagged four books that "are living on the blade edge of progress, using fiction’s vast possibilities to imagine what comes next, for tech and for the people who use it." One title on the list:

Ken Liu, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories

I learned about Ken Liu’s work from one of my students, Luis Ferrer, who wrote his senior thesis on Liu this fall. This collection pulls together eighteen stories and a novel excerpt, some of which take place in fantasy worlds or distant futures. But the collection also features other stories that speak to more specific present fears. There’s a series of several linked stories beginning with “The Gods Will Not Be Chained”—the series Luis focused on, and which was also the inspiration for the TV show Pantheon—set in a world where it has become possible to upload individuals’ brains to computers, turning them into digital consciousnesses and effectively allowing their minds to “live” forever. In another story, “Byzantine Empathy,” cryptocurrency-literate nonprofits begin turning real atrocities into violent VR experiences to shock users into donating.

The story that hit me a little too close to home was “Real Artists,” in which an aspiring filmmaker learns that the films she loves are secretly made by artificial intelligence. An advanced algorithm called “Big Semi” tracks audiences’ real-time responses and creates countless story iterations until it reaches the “exact emotional curve guaranteed to make them laugh and cry in the right places”—then uses this information to make “perfect films.” When Big Semi’s film studio offers the protagonist a job, she discovers that in this world (as in our own), AI’s success depends on the exploitation of human creative expertise.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five wild girls of literature

Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum's most recent collection of fiction, What We Do with the Wreckage, won the 2017 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. Her two previous collections are Swimming with Strangers and This Life She’s Chosen, which was a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick of the Month.

Elita is her first novel. She lives near Seattle.

At Lit Hub Lunstrum tagged five works of literature featuring wild children, including:

Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson

No account of the literature of the wild nature of the child is complete without Marilynne Robinson’s canonical masterpiece. Here, in a Pacific Northwest landscape as untameable as the novel’s characters, the reader sinks into the fog of orphaned narrator Ruth’s adolescence and the year her aunt Sylvie comes to care for her and her sister Lucille. Ruth and Lucille form perfect opposites—Lucille moved by the sisters’ impoverished and uncertain childhood to mold herself into a model of adult stability and social acceptance; while Ruth is towed as if by invisible undercurrent away from all that, toward the mountains and the lake that define their Idaho town, toward Sylvie’s strange reveries and feral tendencies. The house these three keep is a house of silent, creeping discord, as Sylvie abandons typical caretaking routines in favor of tending her wild mind instead, and Ruth—unable to resist all that is also wild in her—follows. In Housekeeping, the question that drives the story is not how to hold onto the self but rather how to let it go that one might become absorbed, like Sylvie (whose name alone connotes her essential belonging in the wild) and the fog itself, into the true freedom of the larger world.

Read about the other entries on Lunstrum's list.

Housekeeping is among Cameron Walker's eight books about finding magic in the domestic, four books that changed Karen Foxlee, Yiyun Li's six favorite novels, Claire Cameron's five favorite stories about unlikely survivors, Sara Zarr's top ten family dramas, Philip Connors's top 10 wilderness books, Kate Walbert's best books, and Aryn Kyle's favorite books.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nine chilling thrillers about marriage

At BookRiot Courtney Rodgers tagged nine chilling thrillers about marriage. One title on the list:

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

One year after the kidnapping of her son, Marin is a shell of her former self. After the FBI case has gone cold, Marin hires a private investigator who discovers that Marin’s husband is having an affair. Unwilling to lose Derek, too, Marin sets off on a path to destroy Derek’s girlfriend. Hillier weaves emotional turmoil with psychological elements to create an intense read from start to finish.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Little Secrets is among Andromeda Romano-Lax's four top thrillers that explore a mother's worst nightmare, Jessica Hamilton's six top novels about extra marital affairs, and Lisa Regan's ten riveting reads filled with shocking secrets.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five titles that exploit our fear of being known

Melissa Larsen is the author of Shutter and The Lost House.

She received her M.F.A. from Columbia University and her B.A. from New York University.

When she isn’t traveling somewhere to research her next novel—and somehow hurting herself in the process—she lives in New York City and teaches creative writing.

At CrimeReads Larsen tagged five novels that embody "the fear of even letting someone get close to us, because once we submit to that ordeal, they have the potential to hurt us." One title on the list:

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie

Fifteen years ago, Syd Walker witnessed her best friend’s murder and barely escaped with her own and her sister’s life. Now, working far out of state as an archaeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd is called home by a threat: A skull placed near the scene of the crime, with her ID badge held in its teeth. Reluctantly, Syd returns to uncover old wounds and new horrors alike. Her sister, troubled and far too involved in the dark threads that hold their hometown together, has gone missing. I read this one so fast I was almost out of breath, both from the pace and the terrors within.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Blood Sisters is among Eliza Browning's 2023 list of sixteen new books by Indigenous authors.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten wintery horror novels

Claudia Guthrie is a writer covering culture, entertainment, and lifestyle content. Her work has appeared in ELLE, The Muse, Food52, and more. Originally from Kansas City, she now resides in Denver, where you can find her reading the newest thriller or knitting sweaters for her cats.

At Electric Lit Guthrie tagged ten wintery horror novels that will chill you to the bone, including:

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

On a cold winter night, a woman joins her new boyfriend on a roadtrip to meet his parents, despite her doubts about their relationship. Things get more and more eerie as the two drive through the snow and arrive at his parents’ farmhouse, and the woman can’t escape her intuition that something is deeply wrong.

At under 250 pages, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a short read with a twist that packs an ice-cold punch.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five titles where bad things happen in beautiful places

Sandra Chwialkowska is a television writer and producer who splits her time between Los Angeles and Toronto. Most recently, she served as writer and co–executive producer on the Golden Globe–nominated ABC series Alaska Daily, created by Oscar-winning writer Tom McCarthy and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. Chwialkowska holds a BA in literature from Yale.

The Ends of Things is her first novel.

At The Nerd Daily she tagged "five delicious mysteries and thrillers to feed our obsession with bad things happening in beautiful places." One title on the list:

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

A fast-paced mystery about the disappearance of two siblings, fourteen years apart, at an idyllic summer camp in the Adirondacks. The missing children are no ordinary campers either – they’re the kids of the family that owns the camp and employs the locals.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The God of the Woods is among Midge Raymond's eight books about women keeping secrets and Molly Odintz's eight thrillers & horror novels set at terrible summer camps.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten titles to make you rethink AI

Erika Swyler is the bestselling author of the critically acclaimed novels Light From Other Stars and The Book of Speculation.

Her new novel is We Lived on the Horizon.

At People magazine Swyler tagged ten favorite books examining the impact of artificial intelligence on our lives and humanity. One title on the list;

Hum by Helen Phillips

Unemployed after being replaced by artificial intelligence, Mae subjects herself to experimental surgery to support her family, and to pay for a moment of escape to a botanical garden in a city rife with surveillance and devoid of nature. The novel’s AI — called hums — are an extension of the ways corporations and governments use surveillance technology, sometimes even taking on the role of caretaker in a literal nanny state. Most striking is the way Philips portrays the impact that tech has on parents and children alike as it considers both the anxiety around being watched, and the comfort in being able to watch and track another.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five top mystery romances

Lynn Slaughter is addicted to the arts, chocolate, and her husband’s cooking. Following a long career as a professional dancer and dance educator, she earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She’s the author of four young adult novels: Leisha's Song, an Agatha Nominee for Best Mystery Novel in the MG/YA category, a Moonbeam Children's Book Awards' Bronze Medalist, and a recipient of the Silver Falchion Award and the Imadjinn Award for best young adult novel; It Should Have Been You, a Silver Falchion Finalist; While I Danced an EPIC finalist; and Deadly Setup, recipient of the NYC Big Book Award, the Maincrest Media Book Award, the Book Excellence Award, as well as a Moonbeam Silver Medalist and a finalist for the M&M Chanticleer International Book Awards, the Silver Falchion, and Imadjinn Awards. Her first adult mystery, Missed Cue, received the Independent Press Award for Distinguished Favorite in the mystery category.

Slaughter's latest novel is Missing Mom.

At CrimeReads she tagged five favorite mystery romances, including:

The Body In the Backyard by Lucy Score

The latest entry in the Riley Thorn mystery series features a madcap cast of characters. Riley’s over-the-top narcissistic ex-husband, Griffin Gentry, unexpectedly shows up begging for help tracking down the person who’s trying to kill him. Not surprisingly, Riley’s sexy private investigator boyfriend, Nick Santiago, refuses to take the case. But he’s overruled by Mrs. Penny, his eighty-year-old business partner, who points out their nearly empty bank account.

Their client’s selfish behavior and endless betrayals have enraged a bunch of people, so even with Riley’s psychic abilities and Nick’s skills as a detective, sorting through all the potential suspects is no easy task. There’s even a support group for women who hate the impossibly self-absorbed Griffin!

Meantime, the roof of the mansion next door has collapsed, and Riley and Nick’s elderly neighbors move in. Nick longs for some alone time with Riley for romance and a marriage proposal, but finding time alone proves to be almost as difficult as identifying Griffin’s would-be murderer.

For readers partial to romantic comedy capers and snappy dialogue, seasoned with a touch of the paranormal, this is a thoroughly entertaining read.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top classic retellings

At Fully Booked Meaghan Mains tagged ten of the best classic retellings, including:

Great by Sara Benincasa

Inspired by: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A young adult take on a jazz-age classic, Great shifts its glitz from Long Island over to the Hamptons. Mysterious socialites and unexpected tragedy shape the story, with a social scene that would make F. Scott Fitzgerald proud. The twists are modern, but the glam is all Gatsby. This readers’ 1920s’ loving heart is all about the Gatsby updates.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Great is among Sadie Trombetta's nine gender-swapped retellings of classic stories, Jenny Kawecki's five top steamy YA New York–set summer stories, Sabrina Rojas Weiss's four top YA retellings of classic works and Dahlia Adler's six great Young Adult retellings of classics.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten literary adaptations coming to TV & film in 2025

Jalen Giovanni Jones is a Black and Filipino writer from Los Angeles, and is an editorial intern at Electric Literature. His work has been supported by the Tin House Workshop, the Lambda Literary Retreat, and ART PAPERS. Jalen’s work has won the David Madden MFA Award, and has been published by The Offing. He is the Assistant Editor of the New Delta Review, an MFA candidate in Louisiana State University’s Creative Writing Program, and is working on a collection of short stories and a novel.

At Electric Lit Jones tagged ten of the most anticipated literary adaptations coming to TV and film in 2025. One title on the list:

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Longlisted for the Booker Prize and the Carnegie Medal in Fiction, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun follows the solar-powered Klara, an Artificial Friend that carefully watches over Josie, a sickly child that chooses her to be her companion. Directed by Taika Waititi, and starring Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, and Aran Murphy, this devastating sci-fi novel’s adaptation gives fans much to be excited about. The film is slated for a 2025 release.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Klara and the Sun is among Sierra Greer's seven top stories of robot-human relationships.

--Marshal Zeringue