The rest of the best books out today include a South Korean workplace horror, a dual timeline mystery set in London, a high-pressure foodie memoir, and more.
Molka by Monika Kim
Junyoung is an IT technician who controls all of the cameras in his Seoul workplace. The women there dismiss him, not realizing the trove of images he has of their most private moments. Dahye is a woman who has grown up in the shadow of a perfect older sister. When her boyfriend leaves her in the aftermath of a hidden camera scandal, she begins to lose her grip on reality, and Junyoung’s obsession with her only grows… —Alex Luppens-Dale
How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin
I read the first of the Castle Knoll series, How to Solve Your Own Murder, back when it came out in 2024, and had a grand ole time listening to the audiobook switch between the 1965 and modern-day settings, as amateur sleuth Annie used her great aunt Frances’ diary to solve her murder. With the latest in the series, we see a young Aunt Frances living it up in a glamorous 1968 London, while Annie tries to solve the murder of her artist mother’s protégée in the 2020s. Funny thing is, she was murdered in the same way as great aunt Frances’ friend, Vera, was decades ago. —Erica Ezeifedi
All access members continue below for more of the best books out this week.
A Place for What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return to Tule Lake by Tamiko Nimura
In this memoir, Nimura traces the trauma of her father’s experience as a child in a US incarceration camp during WWII, and how it has reverberated throughout her family. Using the memoir her father wrote but never published, she revisits Tule Lake, opening inherited wounds, but also a path towards healing. —Erica Ezeifedi
A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper
For fans of fictional serial killers, multiple POV, and neo-noir!
Set in the same universe as Jordan Harper’s excellent Everybody Knows, this mystery follows three strangers in Los Angeles: Creepy Crawl podcast host Jake Deal; lawyer Doug Gibson, who knows way too much about stored evidence thanks to one of his recently dead clients; and Kara Delgado, an employee at a high-end concierge service whose friend recently went missing. What will connect them is a serial killer: the LA Ripper. —Jamie Canaves
Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu
Elizabeth Zhang is unremarkable in almost every way. She’s not particularly likable, and she’s extremely plain-looking. But at least she’s smart. Smart enough, she thinks, to get into Harvard Law School. Unfortunately, the admissions office has decided otherwise, finding Elizabeth’s application not remarkable enough to merit Harvard consideration. What’s worse, Elizabeth’s classmate, Laura Kim, somehow makes the cut, and Elizabeth can’t understand why. What makes Laura so special?
Curiosity drives Elizabeth to find out, following Laura as she goes about her life, noting where she goes, what she buys, and how she spends her free time. Why did Laura get the spot that Elizabeth so desperately wanted? And what lengths will Elizabeth go to get it back? —Emily Martin
Salt, Sweat & Steam: The Fiery Education of an Accidental Chef by Brigid Washington
If the phrase “Yes, Chef” has worked itself into your lexicon within the last few years, this memoir is for you. In it, Trinidadian food writer Brigid Washington gives us a personal look into the life of a student attending one of America’s best culinary schools. Washington takes us through the rough, unpaid internships, late-night struggle meals, and interviews she did for the school newspaper as an editor. All of the salt, sweat, and steam add up to a brilliant young food writer coming into her own. —Erica Ezeifedi
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about the books out this week we’re most excited about.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by genre, age category, and even LGBTQ new releases!
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