It’s September already, school is fully back in session, and for most of us, this is the sweet spot of the year where leaves are falling and cool weather is upon us. But not to fear because no matter the time of year, or the weather, there is always a good book on the horizon. Our list this month includes books about the gritty underbelly of San Diego, small-town romance, high-thrilling spies, hidden worlds of witches and werewolves, a female rowing team and teen detective Stevie Bell. Read on to pick your next best read!
Tear the City Down by Andre Hardy
September 1, 2026
Coltrane Davis wants out from his partnership with crooked kingmaker Saul Sollman, so he can focus on his teenage daughter’s tennis career and be the father he’s meant to be. But when the LA Charger’s star running back disappears, Saul pulls Coltrane into the search, leading to an investigation deep into San Diego’s underworld of drugs and prostitution. But Coltrane is determined to protect his family no matter what the cost. This gritty crime debut from former NFL player Andre Hardy blends jazz, football and the underbelly of San Diego in what NYT bestselling author S.A. Cosby calls “a fantastic journey through mean streets and shattered hearts.”
Beyond Honor by K.B. Brodsky
September 1, 2026
Written by husband-and-wife team, KB Brodsky, Beyond Honor is the debut political thriller you’ve been waiting for and has been compared to Red Sparrow and The Terminal List. Paramilitary operative Kevin Rhoads is deep in grief when he is sent on a solo extraction mission to Siberia. Meanwhile, Whitney Skyler, a CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian conspiracy in America that’s dangerously close to reaching the White House. This white-knuckled thriller will take readers on a journey from Damascus to the Siberian tundra from Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula to CIA headquarters as Rhoads and Skyler learn who they can trust and what they’ll have to risk in order to protect their country and uncover the truth.
The Refuge by Carly Hillman
September 8, 2026
Ava has led a sheltered life in the Refuge, far from the outside world, and her home in the wildlife is her paradise. She’s training to become a wildlife tour guide, and until now, she’s never been concerned about why her mother, Maeve, has never left the grounds. But when Ava starts to date a local boy, she begins to question her sheltered upbringing, sure that her mother is hiding a secret. Because outside of the fences of the Refuge is not the nightmare that her mother has led her to believe. What is her mother so frightened of, and is there really something beyond the Refuge that is to be feared?
Capsized by Charlotte Lillie Balogh
September 8, 2026
More than 8 million students compete in high school sports in the U.S. — over 3.5 million of them girls — yet elite young women’s rowing has rarely been depicted in fiction. That’s the territory screenwriter and former Division I rower Charlotte Lillie Balogh mines in Capsized, a dual-POV novel following senior captain Margaret Douglas, for whom rowing is everything, and freshman Jo Bryant, forced onto the team by the Olympian father she blames for her parents’ divorce. When Margaret returns from a mysterious summer disappearance to find the sisterhood she once led has shifted without her, she forms an unlikely bond with the outsider Jo, and as the season builds toward its biggest race, long-buried secrets threaten to fracture a team held together by brutal practices, blistered hands and the relentless pressure to win.
Clearly Charmed by Amy True
September 15, 2026
If you’re a fan of small-town romance with a touch of magic, you’ll want to read Amy True’s Clearly Charmed, the first in the Sisters of the Harvest Moon trilogy. Dandelion “Dani” McGuire is quite happy in Harvest Moon, Colorado despite the rumors that she and her sisters are part of the town’s magical lore. As the town’s only veterinarian, Dani seems to have a gift some think is supernatural when it comes to caring for animals. When a journalist comes to town to investigate the witchy rumors of the McGuire sisters, Dani’s peace is halted. Bryce O’Dell has questions for Dani, but she’s not talking. However, the more she tries to avoid Bryce, the harder it gets due to the undeniable chemistry between the two. Dani is pulled between protecting her family’s magical gifts, and falling for Bryce, not sure if he will keep her secrets safe.
Wolves of No World by Romina Garber
September 15, 2026
On September 15, 2026 — the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month — Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press releases Wolves of No World, a 2-in-1 collector’s edition of Argentine American author Romina Garber’s bestselling duology. First published in 2020, Lobizona and the subsequent sequel Lobizona, follows Manuela Azul, an undocumented immigrant hiding from ICE in Miami, who discovers a hidden world of witches and werewolves rooted in Argentine folklore — only to learn it’s not just her residency that’s illegal, but her entire existence. As book bans and immigration debates intensify, the novel has become a flashpoint, and it was the St. Paul Public Library’s 2026 Read Brave selection.
The Velvet Knife by Maureen Johnson
September 29, 2026
Fans of Truly Devious and teen sleuth Stevie Bell are in for a treat in the latest standalone murder mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson. She’s the greatest teen detective in the world, yet Stevie Bell has no idea what has happened to her boyfriend, David, and is he even her boyfriend any longer after he’s been caught kissing a girl at a British pub? Stevie needs a distraction so she heads to New York over winter break with her friend Nate where she gets the distraction she was hoping for when a dead body is found in a Manhattan apartment complex. Dead people don’t confuse Stevie like the living ones do. They aren’t manipulating and questionable, and dead people certainly don’t try to get you to join a cult. In signature Maureen Johnson fashion, The Velvet Knife is a personal emotional reckoning, featuring dark intrigue and dead body thrills.
