February 2025 Book News

A note from Mary

Happy February! There are many new releases coming into the store this month. Plus, there are wonderful displays for Black History Month, Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day and cozy reads for winter. Something for everyone!

Great news! Bookshop.org now sells e-books. There is a link to bookshop.org at the bottom of the email. Thank you to everyone who shops on this site which supports independent bookstores like mine.

See you soon,

Mary

Upcoming Author Event

We are very excited to welcome

author William Geroux

Monday, March 31st, at 6:00 PM

He will be discussing and signing copies of his new book

The Fifteen: Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America.

This is a $35 ticketed event

which includes a hardback copy of The Fifteen

which releases on March 18th

William Geroux will be in conversation with local historian and professor, Greg Hansard. I know you'll want to hear this wonderful discussion and meet both men in person. Don't miss this fabulous event!!

Purchase your ticket in-store or by phone to reserve your seat.

Space is limited, so register early!

804-464-1244

info@thelittlebookshopva.com

William Geroux wrote for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for twenty-five years. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Associated Press, and various regional magazines. His previous books are The Mathews Men and The Ghost Ships of Archangel. A native of Washington, DC, and a graduate of the College of William and Mary, he lives in Virginia Beach, VA.

The revelatory true story of the long-forgotten POW camps for German soldiers erected in hundreds of small U.S. towns during World War II, and the secret Nazi killings that ensnared fifteen brave American POWs in a high-stakes showdown.

Drawing on extensive research, journalist and author William Geroux shines a spotlight on this story of murder and high-stakes diplomacy, and on the fifteen American lives that hung in the balance.

Propulsive and vividly rendered, The Fifteen reminds us that what happens to soldiers after they exit the battlefield can be just as harrowing as what they experience on it.

TLB Spring 2025 Book Club

It's the best book club in town -- come join us!!

All participants must purchase the book from TLB in order to confirm your sign-up. You can pay for the book in-store or by phone. 804-464-1244. You will receive an email from the store when the books are available for pick-up.

Questions? Call or send an email to:

info@thelittlebookshopva.com

FEBRUARY

Swift River by

Essie Chambers

Hardback $27.99

Day Group meets:

Mon., Feb. 17th 1pm

Evening Group meets:

Tues., Feb. 25th 6:30pm

A tender and irreverently funny novel by a major new literary talent, Swift River is a revelatory debut set in 1987 about mothers and daughters living in poverty, a missing father, and the long-hidden racist history of a declining New England mill town.

-- publisher mkting

MARCH

Shred Sisters by

Betsy Lerner

Hardback $28.00

Day Group meets:

Mon., Mar. 17th 1pm

Evening Group meets:

Tues., Mar. 25th 6:30pm

“I loved this poignant story of a younger sister growing and forming herself around her older sister's erratic behavior. Betsy Lerner articulates moments I have observed but never put into words, and I both laughed out loud and was deeply moved. A brilliant novel.” —Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point

APRIL

The Stolen Queen by

Fiona Davis

Hardback $29.00

Day Group meets:

Mon., Apr. 14th 1pm

Evening Group meets:

Tues., Apr. 22nd 6:30pm

"[Davis] knows how to mix the worlds of high glamour and serious intrigue. She's outdone herself with this latest story, which involves a missing Egyptian artifact, a night at the Met Gala with Diana Vreeland, and the possibility of a centuries-old curse being reawakened." --Town & Country

New Releases this month

Historical Fiction / Thriller

3 starred reviews

In the final months of World War II, a clandestine group known as The Choir successfully smuggles thousands of escapees out of Nazi-occupied Rome via a secret route known as the Escape Line. When an unidentified airman falls wounded from the sky, The Choir is plunged into danger and the survival of the Escape Line itself is threatened.

-- publisher marketing

Historical Fiction / Mystery

2 starred reviews

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.

-- publisher marketing

Romance / Humor

2 starred reviews

From the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo, a podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating--but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love?

-- publisher marketing

"Holmes once again crafts an engaging, appealing tale of a woman coming into her own and learning to leave her people-pleasing ways behind. But it is not just Cecily who readers will connect with; all of the cast members are fully realized, with their own motivations and insecurities. Blending witty humor, a tender romance, and true character growth, this is a winner." --Booklist, starred review

Memoir

2 starred reviews

This is the story of how life moved forward for author Geraldine Brooks after her husband of thirty years, Tony Horowitz, died suddenly at the age of 60.

A spare and profoundly moving memoir that joins the classics of the genre, Memorial Days is a portrait of a larger-than-life man and a timeless love between souls that exquisitely captures the joy, agony, and mystery of life, from the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse.

-- publisher marketing

Memoir / History

3 starred reviews

Destined to be a classic, a poet's powerful look at the courage of resistance

With a foreward by Margaret Atwood

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Victoria Amelina was busy writing a novel, taking part in the country's literary scene, and parenting her son. Now she became someone new: a war crimes researcher and the chronicler of extraordinary women like herself who joined the resistance. On the evening of June 27th, 2023, Amelina and three international writers stopped for dinner in the embattled Donetsk region. When a Russian cruise missile hit the restaurant, Amelina suffered grievous head injuries, and lost consciousness. She died on July 1st. She was thirty-seven. She left behind an incredible account of the ravages of war and the cost of resistance. Honest, intimate, and wry, this book will be celebrated as a classic.

-- publisher marketing

History

2 starred reviews

National Humanities Medal recipient and two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize David Levering Lewis's own family history that shifts our understanding of the larger American story.

-- publisher marketing

Epic . . . Rich in family lore and historical fact, and a thoughtful addition to the literature of Black life in the American South." -- Kirkus (starred review)

Fantasy / Thriller / Romance / 13+

3 starred reviews

In order to investigate her father's past crimes, eighteen-year-old Maeve poses as a scriptomancy apprentice allowing her to send letters between worlds.

-- publisher marketing

"Bestselling author Taylor's transformative talent as a world builder shines in her sophomore novel, an epic dark fantasy tale of love, justice, the delicate magic of finding connection, and the complex art of scribing. A magically thrilling, gripping, and thoroughly enjoyable read." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Fantasy / Romance 13+

2 starred reviews

The first in a duology set in an alternate Victorian England, where one girl must enter into a competition for a fae prince’s heart to save her family.

-- publisher marketing

"The perfect blend of romance and fantasy, set in a vivid and reimagined 1840s England... Smith's intense storytelling and exceptional character work lead to Ivy's role as a fierce protagonist with wit and determination that shine." -- Booklist (starred review)

Historical Fiction / Mystery / Romance 14+

Kirkus starred review

"Three timelines converge to unveil the mysterious disappearance of two girls during World War II."--

...a breathtaking journey that will leave a lasting impression on readers' minds and hearts." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Mystery ages 8-12

The fabulous City Spies series continues with book 6: London Calling.

Book 6 in this series takes our team of agents on a dramatic mission through Rome, Istanbul, and ultimately to their new home base in London.

-- publisher marketing

Historical Fiction

ages 8-12

starred review

local author!

"In the midst of WWI, two girls discover they have more in common than they thought even though their countries are supposed to be enemies"

-- publisher marketing

Adventure / survival

ages 8-12

When an enemy pack attacks, Warm, the smallest wolf in the pack, is left alone to defend and feed four pups. Inspired by the real wolves of the American West, especially the extraordinary Wolf 8, who was reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park as a pup.

-- publisher marketing

Another winner from a proven author." -- Booklist