Aqilah Rahman
As we have entered the second month of 2022, here are eight new releases to consider including on your reading list. Among them are a story about a witch and a detective on the hunt for a serial killer, a haunted spaceship found 20 years after it disappeared, and a soldier determined to find the truth among superstition and strange happenings around him.
DEAD SILENCE BY SA BARNES, STACEY KADE
The disappearance of luxury spaceship Aurora made headlines 20 years ago and no one has ever found a single lead, until Claire and her crew pick up a distress signal. Their investigation leads them to the Aurora, and they might be set up for life if they could salvage the ship.
But boarding the Aurora is more horrifying than everything they have encountered, where they find messages written in blood and what remains of the passengers.
THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA BY AXIE OH
For generations, Mina’s home has fallen victim to deadly storms and floods while the villagers fight over what little resources they have left. Believing that they have been cursed by a Sea God, the villagers attempt to appease him by sacrificing a maiden as his bride each year, hoping that one day it will bring an end to the disasters.
Shim Cheong, the beloved of Mina’s brother Joon, is next to be sacrificed. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea and intervenes. Mina throws herself into the water to save her brother and gets whisked away to the Spirit Realm where gods and mythical beasts dwell. Mina teams up with a young man named Shin to awaken the Sea God and bring peace to the village.
THE RAVEN SPELL BY LUANNE G SMITH
After a heavy blow to the skull, private detective Ian falls unconscious and is found by a pair of witches Edwina and Mary. Convinced that Ian will soon draw his last breath, Mary steals his memories in the form of a shiny orb to add to her collection. Ian survives and comes to their shop, seeking his lost memories. The three of them work together to find the missing son of a well-known master wizard, linked to a string of murders in the city.
ONE NIGHT ON THE ISLAND BY JOSIE SILVER
Dating columnist Cleo remains single as her 30th birthday approaches. Her boss comes up with the idea of spending some time alone on a remote Irish island for some time alone – all expenses paid. While Cleo doesn’t exactly agree to it, her boss has already booked a ticket and she would rather escape from her family’s surprise party where she will be surrounded by former schoolmates and people she no longer knows, with wedding rings on their hands.
Photographer Mack is also looking for some time alone on the same Irish island, but his plan goes haywire when she finds out that Cleo has booked the same room as him. The next ferry is a week away, there’s no other place to stay and neither of them refuses to give up their accommodation.
BLACK CAKE BY CHARMAINE WILKERSON
Byron and Benny are estranged siblings coping with the loss of their mother. What she left behind is a black cake which she specifically instructed to share when the time is right, and a voice recording in which she tells the story of a swimmer who flees the island after being accused of murder. The story begins in the 1960s, Caribbean and unveils the secrets of their family history.
THE SWIMMERS BY JULIE OTSUKA
For Alice, swimming at her local pool is the only constant in her life. When a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, Alice finds her routine plunged into chaos as her dementia gradually worsens.
Her daughter, now an accomplished writer, laments the distance between them ever since she left for college. The Swimmers explores the relationship between a mother and a daughter as the former loses herself to dementia.
THE LEVIATHAN BY ROSIE ANDREWS
As a Civil War continues to divide nations, soldier Thomas returns home after his sister accuses their servant of improper conduct with their widowed father. When Thomas arrives, he finds dead sheep on their field while his father is on death’s door having suffered a stroke and their servant is behind bars for witchcraft.
Not believing in witchcraft and superstition, Thomas sets off to investigate what really happened and discovers something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck from years ago.
WE WERE KINGS BY COURT STEVENS
Twenty years has passed since Frankie was convicted of murdering her best friend and sentenced to death. Now that the Accelerated Death Penalty Act has passed, Frankie has 30 days left to live.
Nyla’s mother is obsessed with Frankie, and with the lack of concrete evidence, Nyla begins to think Frankie may be innocent after all. Together with the country island boy Sam, they set up a YouTube channel to investigate the case and uncover secrets of Nyla’s family.
