LJ’s Best Fall 2018 & Winter 2019 Debuts

Library Journal‘s best debuts of Fall 2018 & Winter 2019 include these 7 Macmillan titles:

A BORROWING OF BONES by Paula Munier
Both traumatized by war, retired soldier Mercy Carr and her bomb-sniffing Belgian Malinois Elvis are running in the Vermont woods when Elvis discovers an abandoned baby, which brings in state game warden Troy Warner and his search-and-rescue Newfoundland. An LJ Mystery Debut of the Month; read for “the believable dogs, the touches of humor, the independent, determined Mercy, and well-crafted characters.” (LJ 9/1/18)

HEARTS OF THE MISSING by Carol Potenza
Pueblo police sergeant Nicky Matthews investigates the suicide of a young woman linked to missing Fire-Sky tribal members who need intervention or their spirits will be condemned to wander. Winner of the Tony Hillerman Prize; “this action-packed mystery…vividly evokes the beauty of the New Mexico landscape and its indigenous peoples.” (LJ 8/18)

WOMAN WORLD by Aminder Dhaliwal
Originally serialized through Disney animation director Dhaliwal’s Instagram account, this graciously illustrated graphic novel imagines a world where men have died out owing to a genetic defect and women are rebuilding society. Mostly black-and-white artwork (so the color bits really mean something); “it’ll be hard to find a funnier, more moving or original debut this year.” (LJ 9/1/18)

ZERO SUM GAME by S.L. Huang
Cas Russell has special powers that allow her to locate a young woman held by a Colombian cartel. But the people now pursuing them both have even more impressive powers; they can get inside people’s heads and shape-shift their thoughts. An LJ SF Debut of the Month; “this hard-to-put-down, action-packed sf debut is intelligent and entertaining.” (LJ 8/18)

THE WIDOWS by Jess Montgomery
After Sheriff Daniel Ross is killed, coal miner’s widow Marvena Whitcomb shows up with her own troubles at his widow’s door. Richly observed writing with a touch of mystery; “a simultaneous examination of women’s rights, coal mining, Prohibition, and Appalachian life make this is a fantastic choice for historical fiction fans.” (LJ 10/1/18)

EVERYTHING UNDER by Daisy Johnson
Gretel was raised on a houseboat on the Oxford, England, canals by a mother who abandoned her when she reached her teens, and finally Gretel has found her. Never mind that the Oedipus myth frames the story, readers will first notice the fresh, lyrical voice and the way Gretel’s narration deftly reveals the impact of her unorthodox upbringing and her efforts at reunion. Always, there’s the water, says Gretel, imagining her mother: “The river was connected to your left shoulder and widened out behind you.”

THE NOWHERE CHILD by Christian White
“I don’t think you kidnapped Sammy Went. I think you are Sammy Went,” says the American accountant to Melbourne art teacher Kimberly Leamy after telling her the story of a two-year-old abducted years ago from her family in Manson, KY. Kimberly thinks it’s preposterous, but a little investigating sends her across the ocean to untangle her surprising history. The smartly conceived story cuts back and forth in time to reveal tautly troubled relationships in the past and Kim’s present struggle to adjust to a whole new identity.