A change is as good as a rest, so they say. Such is the premise of Terry Fallis’s new novel, which takes readers on the journey of Jack McMaster as he finds new purpose when he follows his dream of visiting Paris. Jack, who is struggling to find his feet after the death of his wife during COVID, feels as if his life has lost meaning, and is unable to shake his melancholy—until a video from his son gives him the push he needs to begin to move on. In the City of Light, Jack finds the solace that provides him with a new lease on life. A warm and moving tale as only this beloved author can tell it, A New Season is a story with elements many of us will relate to, from playing ball hockey to family dynamics, to aging and losing loved ones, to seeing the world in a new light.

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A classic for thrill-seekers and literature connoisseurs, Donna Tartt is the perfect choice for a fall read. Set in a New England university town, the story follows a group of eccentric and frighteningly clever students as they fall under the influence of their mysterious and charismatic professor. As the school year goes by and their search for a transcendent way of thinking and living becomes obsessive, the narrative takes a dark and twisted turn. A classic murder mystery without the whodunnit element, The Secret History is a powerful and cerebral page turner and mind-twister that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

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3. Learned By Heart 

Historical fiction frequently focuses on overlooked people in the sphere of someone more charismatic or famous. Such is the case with Emma Donoghue’s Learned by Heart. This new novel imagines the relationship of Anne Lister—well-known landowner, diarist and “first modern lesbian” of Regency England—and her first love, Eliza Raine, from Raine’s point of view. Eliza, a biracial heiress from India, has become a footnote in the story of Lister, but here she takes centre stage in all her heartbroken glory. In this well-crafted, remarkable book, poignant letters from Raine to Lister punctuate the narrative chapters and reveal a woman struggling with her identity, her desperation to hold on to Lister’s love and her own growing mental illness.

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4. Holly

She’s baaaaaack! Those of you who, like us, have fallen in love with Holly Gibney, the resourceful private detective in the author’s previous novels Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and The Outsider, will be over the moon at the thought of this book devoted solely to her. In Holly, the titular character reluctantly takes on the search for missing girl Bonnie Dahl. Close to where Bonnie was last seen, Holly encounters professors Rodney and Emily Harris, 80-something academics who seem helpful and harmless. But, in true King fashion, there’s more going on in the Harrises’ house than meets the eye, and it will take all of Holly’s skills to outwit the bad guys and solve the case. It’s sharp, it’s chilling, it’s wild, and it’s pure genius Stephen King. 

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