Settings for October’s books span the country: a poignant romance in Baltimore, a thriller set in an Atlanta nightclub and a look at modern relationships in the Midwest. Narrative nonfiction includes an affecting account of injustice in Florida and the story behind a notorious Atlantic Ocean voyage with outsize historical repercussions.
1. ‘Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida’ by Gilbert King
In 1987, 18-year-old Michelle Schofield’s body, covered in stab wounds, was found partially submerged in an isolated pond in central Florida. Her young marriage had been volatile, and her husband, Leo, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison. Like many inmates, Leo maintained his innocence, but in his case, a string of highly questionable factors indicated that justice may not have been served: a prosecution based mainly on a parade of disparaging character witnesses; testimony from an unreliable source; and a defense that ignored key evidence, specifically a set of fingerprints found at the crime scene that forensic technology later linked to a man already incarcerated for a murder in a nearby town. The Polk County justice system responded to the mounting proof that prosecutors had made a mistake by continuing to distort the facts to preserve Leo’s conviction. King, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Devil in the Grove,” thoroughly reports on his six-year investigation into the unraveling threads of the state’s flawed case. (Flatiron, Oct. 7)
2. ‘Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon’ by Matthew Norman
Grace and Henry both lost their spouses recently. Henry’s wife died in a tragic and public accident, and his life has been at a standstill in the year since. Although her husband’s cancer diagnosis allowed time to prepare, no-nonsense Grace still grapples with grief in ways that surprise her, and she is nowhere near ready to move on. When their mothers contrive an excuse for them to meet, Grace and Henry agree that each could use a friend who understands them in ways others don’t. Watching holiday movies together provides a safe space for them to open up to each other, slowly rebuilding their lives in the process. Norman weaves nostalgic references to modern holiday classics with nods to his hometown, Baltimore, throughout this comforting romance. (Dell, Oct. 14)
3. ‘Boom Town’ by Nic Stone
Michah Johanssen and Felice Carothers were the most popular dancers at one of Atlanta’s well-known strip clubs, Boom Town. They were also lovers, but a cancer diagnosis created a rift between the women, and while Michah was in treatment, Felice disappeared. Two years later, when another dancer at Boom Town vanishes, Michah, now the club’s manager, suspects a connection. As her investigation pulls her into the gritty side of nightlife, she uncovers secrets that could put lives in danger. Stone, best known for her socially aware young-adult novels, including “Dear Martin,” illustrates the way society often overlooks the disappearances of Black women, but she also portrays how powerful a sisterhood of women who look out for one another can be. (Simon & Schuster, Oct. 14)
4. ‘The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery’ by Siddharth Kara
The exceedingly dangerous triangular trade voyage – to Africa to pick up human cargo, to the Caribbean to trade for sugar, rum and tobacco, among other items, and back to the docks of Liverpool to sell these goods at a profit – was viewed as a calculated risk for investors seeking riches in 18th-century England. Bad weather, crew illness, revolt and a host of other hardships could derail a ship from its course, and such misfortune befell a Dutch ship, the Zorg. The ship was captured by a British privateer in Africa at the start of a protracted voyage whose many calamities eventually led the crew to throw less-valuable “cargo” – including women and children – overboard. The subsequent legal drama captured the attention of a horrified England and ignited an abolitionist movement that reverberated throughout that nation and the nascent United States. Kara’s research uncovers the engrossing story behind the public reckoning that was a catalyst for broader arguments against slavery. (St. Martin’s, Oct. 14)
5. ‘Sex of the Midwest: A Novel in Stories’ by Robyn Ryle
After the residents of Lanier, Indiana, receive an anonymously emailed survey about their private lives, reactions from the town’s eccentric characters vary. Former college basketball coach Don Blankman, having barely survived “the Covid,” envisions his run for school board as the solution to the depraved morals at the local middle school, just as soon as he can get that lung transplant. Loretta Sawyer, the city’s food inspector, spends an outsize amount of time tracking the farmers market hot dog vendor. Local bartender Rachel Barr, overwhelmed by orders for brunch-time bloody marys, jumps at the opportunity for a fellowship in Tampa, mainly so she can stay in a hotel’s Virginia Woolf room. Reverberations of Elizabeth Strout’s tales from Crosby, Maine, echo in Ryle’s charming series of linked stories about loneliness and belonging in a small town. (Galiot Press, Oct. 14)
6. ‘The Ten Year Affair’ by Erin Somers
Cora meets Sam, a new dad, at a baby group held in the back of an overpriced children’s clothing store, bonding with him over their shared distaste for the intensity of their aspirational cohort. Their fiery flirtation reignites a passion that was snuffed out by the daily demands of work and family. Should they act on their attraction or not? Somers explores both scenarios. In one world, well-intentioned Sam and Cora befriend each other’s spouses and raise their children while coping with the stressors of modern suburban life. In another, they sneak away for illicit encounters, where her hair always looks better and the rough edges of life are smoothed out. As the timelines diverge and dovetail, Cora grapples with the consequences of living as though a better world seems always out of reach. (Simon & Schuster, Oct. 21)