This column was submitted by Evangeline Cessna, Local History Librarian at the Warren County-Vicksburg Public

This week, we have some New Adult Fiction for you to check out.

The latest in Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor series is called, “Galway Confidential.” Now that the whiskey-loving detective is out of his coma, Jack finds that Galway is a changed city. The pandemic that shut down much of the world happened while he was unconscious and devastated the city he loves so much. As he continues healing from the attack that put him in a coma, he is approached by a woman who wants him to investigate the beatings of two local nuns. The mysterious hammer-wielding perpetrator is sure to attack more of the Sisters and the police are at a loss. Jack can’t bring himself to stay away from this mystery, but he also can’t shake the feeling that there is a darkness stalking him through the streets of Galway.

Percival Everett retells Twain’s classic Huck Finn through the eyes of the runaway slave Jim in his novel, “James.” When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold downriver to a man in New Orleans, he decides to hide on Jackson Island until he can come up with a plan. He doesn’t want to be separated from his wife and daughter forever. Huck Finn—who faked his  death to escape his father—is back in town. As these two make their way down the dangerous Mississippi River toward the elusive Free States and beyond, they are faced with floods and storms; dead bodies and unexpected treasure. Through it all, this retelling captures Jim’s intelligence and compassion and thrusts this supporting character into the spotlight.

The latest from bestselling author Nicci French is titled, “Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?” Two families are shattered by tragedy as long-kept secrets come to light. At Alec Salter’s fiftieth
birthday party, his wife, Charlotte, disappears. Though most of the small village they live in is at the party, it’s hours before anyone notices that she is missing. Alec doesn’t seem fazed by his
wife’s absence, but their four children grow ever more anxious as hours turn into days. Then Charlotte’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Etty and her friend Morgan find Morgan’s father, Duncan, floating in the river. The police conclude that Duncan and Charlotte were having an affair and that Duncan killed Charlotte before taking his own life. Thirty years later, Morgan and his older brother return to do a podcast about their shared tragedy with the Salters. When the podcast makes national news, London sends Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor to reopen the
investigation.

“The Mystery Writer,” is by Sulari Gentill. Theodosia Benton expects a few challenges when she abandons her career as an attorney and shows up on her brother, Gus’s doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel. She doesn’t know if he will support her ambition or if he’ll send her back to finish her degree. And what will her parents say about this decision? Does she have what it takes to be a writer? When Theo’s highly successful mentor is found brutally murdered, she wants to make sure that the killer is found. Then the police begin looking at her brother as a suspect and Theo does the unthinkable to protect him. Gus finds the clues Theo has left and follows them to save his sister, but as the whole thing starts coming apart, Theo and everyone looking for her will have to die.

Gwendolyn Kiste pens a modern-day suburban ghost story in, “The Haunting of Velkwood.” This chilling novel tells the story of three young women who survive the night everyone in the
neighborhood turned into ghosts. The Velkwood Vicinity has long been the subject of occult theorists, tabloid documentarians and even pseudo-scientific investigations. The nearly impenetrable veil that surrounds the Velkwood area obscures the houses and people who once lived there. Talitha Velkwood, her estranged best friend Brett and their other friend Grace escaped their homes twenty years ago, but Talitha has returned to get some answers. Grace went in just after the incident but came out changed and hasn’t spoken to Talitha or Brett since. Will Talitha get the answers she seeks, or will it be another dead end?

“Expiration Dates,” is the latest novel from Rebecca Serle. For Daphne Bell, being single is like playing the lottery; there’s always the chance that with one piece of paper, she could win it all.
Every time Daphne meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and number on it the exact amount of time they will be together. These papers told her that she’d spend three
days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. She has been getting these numbered papers for over twenty
years, always wondering when she might get one without an expiration date. Finally, on the night of a blind date at her favorite LA restaurant, the paper only has a name: Jake. As their story
unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction.