Dig Me a Grave: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer Who Seduced the South by Richard A. Harpootlian with Shaun Assael

Of the hundreds of murder cases that noted South Carolina attorney Dick Harpootlian has prosecuted, one in particular haunts him. Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins was a serial killer and rapist, a master manipulator who claimed to have killed over 100 people and is known to have murdered over a dozen, including a toddler, and his own teenage niece. Yet it was on Death Row that he pulled off his most audacious murder—killing another inmate with a military grade explosive.

As personable as he was ruthless, Pee Wee defied easy categories. He killed to avenge minor slights as well as for pleasure, using any convenient method—including stabbing, shooting, poison, suffocation, and drowning. Evidence suggested he forced at least one victim to dig his own grave, stand in it, and be shot.

With escalating callousness, Pee Wee murdered acquaintances, friends, family members, and strangers. Yet within his North Charleston community he was well-liked—a family man who took neighborhood kids to the beach and hosted cookouts. Ice-cold within but outwardly charming, he joked with judges, reporters, and Harpootlian himself, but didn’t hesitate to hatch a plot to kidnap the prosecutor’s daughter in order to extort an escape.

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

When Olivia Kaspen spots her ex-boyfriend in a Miami record shop, she ignores good sense and approaches him. It’s been three years since their breakup, but when Caleb reveals he’s suffering from amnesia after a recent car accident, first she feels regret—and then opportunity. If he doesn’t remember her, then he also doesn’t remember her manipulation, her deceit, or the horrible way she broke his heart. Seeing a chance to reunite with Caleb, she keeps their past, and the details around the implosion of their relationship, a secret.

Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid history under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked new girlfriend, Leah, who’s equally determined to possess the man who no longer remembers her. But soon Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.

The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty

22-year-old Vera is at a crossroads: waiting tables, grieving her previous relationship, and jogging aimlessly each morning as if toward an uncertain future. Then an odd man shows up at her workplace, insisting that she was once the legendary Queen Guinevere of Camelot, and that her lost memories hold the key to changing both the past and the present. Somehow, it all feels like the direction she’s been looking for. But when she asks the mysterious man to tell her more about Lancelot, Arthur, and a faithless queen, he can only say that much of what she’s heard about Camelot is wrong. The truth, he claims, is something she must see for herself.

After jumping through a portal in Glastonbury’s historic center, Vera is not prepared for what she finds. Magic is everywhere, but a curse on the kingdom means it dwindles every day. She has no idea how to perform a queen’s duties. Her fast friendship with Lancelot sets gossip flowing, and the stranger she must call “husband” often refuses to meet her eye. Arthur is a puzzle: cold, forbidding, and, while angry to her face, keeps leaving secret tokens of tenderness in her chambers. Worst of all, Vera’s memories—and the answers locked within them—show no signs of returning. If Vera is truly destined to save Camelot, she’ll have to trust her instincts. And her king will have to trust her.

Embroidering Life: Stitching Patterns and Projects for Every Season by Yumiko Higuchi

Containing 44 new embroidery patterns and 9 projects spanning all four seasons, this new book from successful artist Yumiko Higuchi offers embroiderers ​plenty of new designs to work with over the year. Each month has a unique motif, largely inspired by Japan—a cherry blossom tree for March, a bonsai for May, Tanabata festival decorations for July, a winter globe for December, and more. Aside from Higuchi’s classical botanicals, this collection also includes designs for cocktails, coral forests, instruments, airplanes and suitcases, sweet treats, and traditional Japanese Hinamatsuri items. Projects include an ornament, sachet, tapestry, fabric panel, potholder, lesson bag, book cover, ribbon brooch, and ring pillow.

Each design and project is accompanied by step-by-step instructions, including recommended materials, thread colors, stitching style variations, and measurements. Accessible and easy to follow, this book is suited for both beginners and experienced embroiderers alike, offering unique, charming, and cozy designs for crafters of all kinds.

May Contain Murder by Orlando Murrin

While his flooded house undergoes repairs, chef-turned-writer Paul Delamare has been offered an accommodation upgrade—an all-expenses-paid trip aboard a private superyacht in the company of Xéra, one of his dearest friends. Paul will help Xéra work on her memoirs as Maldemer glides its sumptuous way to the Caribbean. The scenery is stunning, the luxury is unparalleled, and the food…well, at least the dishes that Paul is roped into preparing are delicious. The hired chef, meanwhile, seems completely out of her depth.

She’s not the only one. Much as Paul adores Xéra, a Parisian socialite who he was introduced to by his late lover, Marcus, he has little in common with the other guests, a motley crew consisting of Xéra’s new husband and his grasping family.

When Xéra’s priceless new necklace goes missing, Paul falls under suspicion. But there’s far worse in store, as one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious and grisly circumstances. The stormy weather matches the threatening mood onboard, and as Maldemer veers off course, every semblance of order goes with it.

The French Bookshop Murder by Greg Mosse

Zoe Pascal has decided to live her dream: leave England and open up a bookshop in a small village in the south of France. She wants to spend her later years in life eating croissants, reading her beloved books, and getting to know her charming new hometown.

When the body of a tourist is found inside the local church, Zoe begins to discover that something is afoot in the village of Sainte-Catherine. And as the last person to have seen the deceased alive, Zoe suddenly becomes a prime suspect in a murder investigation.

Can she prove her innocence and discover who the real murderer is, or will Zoe have to say au revoir to her French countryside dream?