Book Buzz: Tennis Spies, Dracula Retellings, Flowers, Ninevah Tales, Wind Farms, and New England True Crime

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For April, we’re looking at historical fiction that depicts a fascinating little known WWII story, horror that sets Dracula in the present from Mina’s point of view, a heartwarming tale of grief and flowers and Titanic on audiobook, as well as historical fiction that weaves an epic tale of the city of Ninevah on audio, and nonfiction about environmental battles in Montana and true crime in 19th century New England.

If you love historical fiction:

Jenni L. Walsh’s Ace, Marvel, Spy (2025)*

This unusual historical espionage novel is based on the life of Alice Marble, an early women’s tennis champion who claimed to have worked as a spy during WWII after her husband’s death. In the novel, the grieving Alice is approached to play a tennis exhibition in Switzerland as a cover for spying.

Recommended for those who enjoy the work of Ariel Lawhon and Kate Quinn.

*Also available as ebook and audiobook on Hoopla.

If you prefer horror:

Dawn Kurtagich’s The Madness (2024)

For her first adult novel, YA writer Dawn Kurtagich transplants the story of Dracula to modern-day Wales, with Mina as a psychiatrist who’s left her life behind in London to return home. Her friend Lucy is battling unusual symptoms that connect with one of Mina’s patients. Complications ensue.

Recommended for fans of modern retellings of classic horror.

If you want an audiobook:

Sally Page’s The Secrets of Flowers (2024)

A heartwarming tale about life after loss, widowed florist Emma has remained in a shell since her husband’s death. After attending a talk about the Titanic, she becomes intrigued with the prospect of figuring out who handled the flowers aboard the ship, which leads her to learning about stewardess Violet Jessop, whose excellent memoir we profiled a couple of years ago.

Recommended for those who enjoy the work of Jojo Moyes or all things Titanic.

Elif Shafak’s There Are Rivers in the Sky (2024)

This is another audiobook novel that juxtaposes the past and present, though this one, from Turkish author Elif Shafak, is more literary. The connecting thread here is the ancient city of Ninevah, and the tale spans centuries, focusing on characters as disparate as an ancient king known for his library, a 19th century scholar, and a Yazidi girl fleeing ISIS.

Recommended for those who enjoy the work of Orhan Pamuk.

If you enjoy nonfiction:

Amy Gamerman’s The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind Prospector, and a War Out West (2025)

Debates about wind farms have been a hot topic in Carroll County over the past couple of years, and the debate isn’t just limited to Northwest Arkansas. This nonfiction book by journalist Amy Gamerman profiles a modern-day range war in Big Timber, Montana, pitting ranchers against each other when one of them decides to open a wind farm on his property.

Recommended for those who enjoy contemporary nonfiction about environmental issues.

Kate Winkler Dawson’s The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne (2025)

Many Americans read The Scarlet Letter in school, but few know about the real-life crime that inspired the novel (the mysterious death of Sarah Connell) or the early true crime book written about it, Fall River: An Authentic Narrative. This latest book from Kate Winkler Dawson recounts Sarah’s sad life and mysterious end–which was investigated as both a suicide and homicide–after she was found hanging on a Rhode Island farm following a scandal involving a Methodist minister, while also providing historical context about 1800s New England and chronicling the interesting background of Fall River writer Catherine Reed Arnold Williams.

Recommended for fans of historical true crime.

What’s your favorite new-ish books? What books are you buzzing about for 2025? Have you read any of these books? Tell us in the comments! As always, please follow this link to our online library catalog for more information on any of these items or to place them on hold.