Four very different novels, spanning music history, historical fiction, literary fantasy and supernatural thriller, each explore what it means to be shaped by powerful forces. Whether it’s the mythmaking machinery behind The Rolling Stones, the upheaval of a nation on the brink of civil war, a haunting submerged world or a college campus stalked by something monstrous, these stories center on characters confronting identity, reinvention and survival under extraordinary pressure.
At the heart of each book are relationships that define and destabilize: Mick and Keith’s enduring creative bond, two women forging new lives across an ocean, a diver and a desperate mother descending into the unknown and a trio of young women united against a predator. Together, these works offer vivid portraits of resilience, obsession and the cost of chasing freedom — no matter the era or the danger.
The Rolling Stones: The Biography by Bob Spitz
All great music is a threat — and The Rolling Stones remain one of its most enduring forces. In this sweeping reexamination, Bob Spitz draws on decades of rock expertise to challenge myths and illuminate the band’s legacy. At its core is the volatile, creative bond between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a partnership that defined the group’s rise, trials and survival. Clear-eyed and incisive, Spitz captures both the spectacle and the cost of a story still pulsing with power after sixty years.
Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton by Jane Smiley
From a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist comes a vivid tale of two women on the run in a divided 1857 America. Widowed abolitionist Lidie Newton accompanies her spirited niece Annie, an aspiring actress, on a perilous journey to England. Reinventing themselves in Liverpool, Annie pursues the stage while Lidie becomes her maid. As they chase freedom and identity, both must confront past failures and uncertain futures in this sweeping, resonant portrait of courage, reinvention and a nation on the brink.
Underlake by Erin L. McCoy
Twelve years after fleeing her hometown, marine biologist Otta returns, burdened by guilt and unable to dive. When a stranger claims her missing daughter is alive beneath a nearby lake, Otta confronts a submerged community born from a flooded valley. As she and the girl’s mother descend into this eerie world, they face isolation, delusion and danger. Lyrical and haunting, Underlake explores memory, loss and what we cling to when the world shifts beneath us.
Thrall by Rebecca Mahoney
Lucy Easting arrives at college ready for a fresh start — only to wake after her first party with missing memories and vampire bites. As she begins to transform, a campus radio host and a wary archery champion reveal a predator stalking young women. Together, they hunt the vampire responsible, even as his influence tightens its grip on Lucy. Fast-paced and darkly romantic, Thrall is a story of survival, desire and fighting for a future that may already be slipping away.
