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Publishing This Week
Hello,

Among this week's 29 new and notable books are seven nonfiction works, and seven debut novels including The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara which BookBrowse members reviewed for our First Impressions Program. They also reviewed Fly Girl, a memoir by Ann Hood about her formative years as a TWA stewardess during the "golden age" of airline travel. And we'll be opening up a discussion of another of this week's new books on May 14: The Book Woman’s Daughter, Kim Michele Richardson's follow-up to her book club favorite The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.

There  are also new novels from Mieko Kawakami, Ali Smith, Julia Glass, Jennifer Saint and E. Lockhart (Family of Liars, a prequel to We Were Liars).

You'll find brief information on 10 titles below and the remainder on our Publishing This Week page, including jacket descriptions and early reviews. Enjoy!

Davina, BookBrowse Publisher


This Week's New and Notable Books
There are too many books published each week for you to read about them all, let alone read them all. So we do the legwork for you, scouring the publishers' catalogs and the pre-publication reviews to pick out what we believe to be among the best and most interesting. For more about our process, see “Picking Books” and “Rating Books”.
The Immortal King Rao book jacket
The Immortal King Rao: A Novel
by Vauhini Vara

Debut Author
On sale May 3 from W.W. Norton & Company
Genre: Novels. 384 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5
Members' Rating: 3.6/5

In an Indian village in the 1950s, a precocious child is born into a family of Dalit coconut farmers. King Rao will grow up to be the most accomplished tech CEO in the world and, eventually, the leader of a global, corporate-led government.

Read More | Reader Reviews
The Book Woman's Daughter book jacket
The Book Woman's Daughter: A Novel by Kim Michele Richardson

On sale May 3 from Sourcebooks
Genre: Historical Fiction. 320 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek!

Read More | Discussion Coming Soon
Fly Girl book jacket
Fly Girl: A Memoir
by Ann Hood

On sale May 3 from W.W. Norton & Company
Genre: Biography/Memoir. 288 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
Members' Rating: 4.0/5

An entertaining and fascinating memoir of "gifted storyteller" (People) Ann Hood's adventurous years as a TWA flight attendant.

Read More | Reader Reviews
Family of Liars book jacket
Family of Liars: The Prequel to We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

On sale May 3 from Delacorte Press
Genre: Novels (Young Adult). 320 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5

The thrilling prequel to the TikTok phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Liars takes readers back to the story of another summer, another generation, and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come.

Read More
Vigil Harbor book jacket
Vigil Harbor: A Novel
by Julia Glass

On sale May 3 from Pantheon Books
Genre: Novels. 416 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5

From the National Book Award winner, a symphonic novel about a coastal community confronting climate instability, political violence, lost love, and the mysteries of the sea.

Read More
Elektra book jacket
Elektra: A Novel
by Jennifer Saint

On sale May 3 from Flatiron Books
Genre: Historical Fiction. 304 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5

A spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology's most infamous heroines, from Jennifer Saint, the author of the beloved international bestseller, Ariadne.

Read More
Trust book jacket
Trust
by Hernan Diaz

On sale May 3 from Riverhead Books
Genre: Historical Fiction. 416 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5

An unparalleled novel about money, power, intimacy, and perception.

Read More
The Bangalore Detectives Club book jacket
The Bangalore Detectives Club: Detective Kaveri Mysteries #1
by Harini Nagendra

Debut Author
On sale May 3 from Pegasus Crime
Genre: Mysteries. 304 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5

The first in a charming, joyful crime series set in 1920s Bangalore, featuring sari-wearing detective Kaveri and her husband Ramu. Perfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Read More
Unequal book jacket
Unequal: A Story of America
by Michael Eric Dyson, Marc Favreau

On sale May 3 from Little, Brown Books
Genre: Current Affairs (Young Adult). 368 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5

New York Times bestselling author Michael Eric Dyson and critically acclaimed author Marc Favreau show how racial inequality permeates every facet of American society, through the lens of those pushing for meaningful change.

Read More
Trailed book jacket
Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders
by Kathryn Miles

On sale May 3 from Algonquin Books
Genre: True Crime. 320 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5

A riveting deep dive into the unsolved murder of two free-spirited young women in the wilderness, a journalist's obsession - and a new theory of who might have done it.

Read More
View all 29 new and notable books publishing this week
Publishing This Week is one of BookBrowse's four free newsletters. We also publish BookBrowse Highlights every Thursday; and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly.

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