Intellect Genre

When Rosemary Harper joins the rag-tag crew aboard the cargo spaceship The Wayfarer, she is just looking for a job. What she finds is a loving chosen family of oddballs from across the Galactic Commons. But Rosemary is not who she says she is, and as she grows closer to her crewmates, she fears that the skeletons in her closet will be revealed. In her debut novel, Becky Chambers weaves together a fresh twist on the space opera with an intricate, character-driven story that despite featuring many aliens, makes a profound statement on human connection.

In The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia reimagines the story of the Wellsian mad scientist through the eyes of his daughter, Carlota, and his assistant, Montgomery. In this candid tale set against the backdrop of colonial Mexico, Doctor Moreau experiments with creating animal-human hybrids. The results, however, are not always successful.

Flash forward several years, the delicate peace established in the remote Yahaktun compound becomes a chaotic nightmare, and the line between human and animal becomes increasingly blurred.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Carlota and Montgomery, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau echoes H.G. Wells’ critique of the role of humans in nature, and the consequences that come to those who abuse it. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is perfect for science fiction fans of Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, and of course, H.G. Wells.

A remote island off the coast of Ireland where waves crash like a warning and graveyards are scattered across the land like a sign seems an unlikely place for a wedding. Yet, it’s where Jules, an elite magazine editor, and Will, a rising reality TV star decided to tie the knot. Or plan to, at least. This fast-paced novel is told from multiple points of view of invitees on the guest list. Readers quickly realize all is not well on the island. Uncertainty looms even before something tragic happens. Secrets are exposed and grudges are revealed fuelling the suspense of the ‘who did it’ plotline. Similarly to the writings of Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley writes The Guest List to keep you guessing, and you will most likely continue to be wrong until the end.

When the owner and manager of Asia Village, Thomas Feng, is found dead in his office, everyone is a suspect. His wife, Donna? His business partner, Ian Sung? The man who’s on the brink of eviction, Charles An? How about the daughter who’s picked up a secretive second job, Kimmy Tran? Or, most suspicious of all, Peter Huang, the cook that made the dumplings that killed him?

Lana Lee, twenty-seven, heartbroken, and working for her parents, is in no position to investigation Mr. Feng’s murder. But, seeing as she’s come under suspicion for delivering the deadly dumplings, she has to defend her name and Peter’s before it’s too late.

Heartwarming, funny, and at all turns suspicious, Vivien Chien’s Noodle Shop Mysteries are starting with a bang!

This is a Sci-Fi comedy about the most remarkable book ever that starts with the cover DON’T PANIC. The story starts on an ordinary Thursday mid-day for Arthur Dent who’s house will be demolished because a bypass needing to be created, a mistake that will take him on a journey with his friend Ford Perfect throughout space and time. Within the same time frame as the intergalactic mistake is made when a hyperspace bypass is needed to go through where Earth is, so Earth is destroyed. Their journey takes them through many highly improbable experiences leading to the conclusion of this volume one in the trilogy of five to the answer to the ultimate question being 42 and that Earth is a computer to find out the question to the answer to the ultimate question which is being conducted by mice.

After a lab accident results in the creation of the mysterious element “X”, scientist Dick Seaton believes he has found the key to long distance space travel. With the help of his business partner, Martin Crane, and his fiancé Dorothy, Seaton creates the Skylark. However, after a rival steals one of the Skylark prototypes, Seaton and Crane must set off in pursuit across the galaxy. Along the way, they’ll encounter strange planets, hideous monsters, and two warring factions who both want the Skylark for themselves. An adventure novel in the classic tradition, The Skylark of Space is good for anyone looking for a space opera adventure or fans of classic science fiction.

Diana Cowper is mysteriously strangled to death in her own home shortly after arranging plans for her own funeral, but the police are stumped: who murdered Diana and why? Anthony Horowitz, the famous fictionalized writer, pairs up with former police officer Hawthorne to solve the murder and write a novel on the harrowing details. Though the pair can’t quite seem to get along, together, they work to uncover Diana’s deadly past as the unknown killer tries to cover their tracks. Love a gripping murder mystery novel with twists and turns one could never suspect? A fan of Louise Penny or Agatha Christie? This might be just the book for you.

Groups of artists have fled to the serene hills and sandy beaches of coastal Sussex to escape ‘them’, a violent group hostile to art, emotion, and individuality that brutalize anyone unwilling to conform. The artists’ innate desire to create, learn, and express themselves freely make them a target to the frightening figures that loom ever closer. As friends and families are punished, pillaged, or killed by ‘them’, those that resist attempt to cultivate authentic lives knowing that they will likely fall victim to a similar fate.

"Truth is a human right." 21-year-old Cora Sabino has spent most of her life feeling resentful toward her famous father, Nils Ortega, for abandoning his family and choosing his career and his reputation over them. However, when Cora accidentally stumbles upon a mysterious alien in her living room, the paths between her father's work and her own life begin to spiral towards a dangerous, potentially world-ending intersection. Reluctantly, Cora finds herself in the middle of an interplanetary conflict that only she - and the mysterious alien known as Ampersand - may be able to resolve.

By beginning at the end, English mystery writer Ruth Rendell creates dramatic irony—we know the Coverdale family’s grisly fate, but curiosity compels us to learn how such a fate came to be. A Judgement in Stone is a psychological suspense in which domestic tensions and class exploitation escalate to the murder of an upper-class family in their country chateau.

Eunice Parchman is a highly efficient but secretly illiterate live-in housekeeper for the cultured Coverdale family. Eunice faces chronic exposure to humiliation when performing tasks for her employers that require reading and writing. Eunice befriends the local postmistress, Joan—an impulsive loose cannon who despises Eunice’s bourgeois employers. Together, the two women form a destructive bond strengthened by dark, secretive pasts and cultural exclusion.

A Judgement in Stone is a slow burn of subtle indignities with tragic consequences. If you enjoy the novel, you must watch the masterful (and more ambiguous) film adaptation, La Ceremonie (1995). You may also enjoy Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity.

Detectives. Psychiatrists. Writers. Fans. Delving into the thoughts of a killer has preoccupied many of these. The case of Alicia Berenson, accused of murdering her husband and placed in a mental institution, presents a particular challenge: she hasn’t spoken a word since the deed was done. Therapist Theo Faber, trying to quiet his own troubles, seeks out Alicia’s lost voice. But with each new piece of the dark and twisted puzzle uncovered, he risks getting much too close. Fans of Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) or Caroline Kepnes (You) might find something to enjoy in this New York Times Bestselling psychological thriller from Alex Michaelides.

Fleeing a bad situation in England, Jess arrives at her half-brother’s apartment in Paris late at night, exhausted and ready to crash. But Ben isn’t answering her texts or calls and no one meets her at the door. After finding her way into the apartment she has an eery feeling that something isn’t right and the inhabitants of the other apartments in the building aren’t sitting right with her. Armed with little information, Jess sets out to find her missing brother. This book is fast paced and character driven, alternating between multiple points of view. You’ll have to pay close attention to details to have any hope of figuring out the mystery behind these characters. Fans of Lisa Jewell’s novels including Then She Was Gone will love the twists and turns in Lucy Foley’s newest novel.

Following the story of a teenager named Lauren, The Parable of the Sower speaks to religion, societal collapse, familial love, climate change, violence trickling down through political destruction, and the journey of refugees. Set in Los Angeles in the mid 2020s, the book begins with Lauren, her family, and a relatively tight knit community living in a barred and secure compound. Outside the walls is a life of absolute brutality of murder, drugs, and sexual violence. Political forces are not reliable, police forces will only partially aid civilians for money, and firefighting crews are less than helpful. Lauren lives with a condition known as hyperempathy which makes others pain her own, an illness that must be kept secret in order to maintain some sort of security. Destruction and violence ensue upon her community, and a pilgrimage to what is believed to be the safety of the North follows suit. Balancing life threatening events, Lauren holds closely her radical ideas of safety and salvation which she hopes will set herself free.

Over 20 years ago, an unidentified man was found dead in the woods of Maine after choking on a bite of steak. He had no wallet and no jacket. In his pockets were a Russian coin and a pack of cigarettes from Colorado with only one cigarette missing, despite an autopsy revealing he had never smoked. This is the story that elderly small-town newspaper reporters Dave and Vince are now telling their young protégée, Stephanie. In The Colorado Kid, the reader gets to unravel the threads of an unsolved mystery through Stephanie as she questions Dave and Vince about the investigation that’s haunted them for two decades.