These are great books published in 2023 that might have slipped under your radar.
Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
Sally is a middle-aged, neurodiverse woman who has recently lost her father. Her father used to joke that upon his passing, he wished to be incinerated and “taken out with the garbage.” Sally takes instructions literally, so she does exactly this. This sets off a chain of events with both the authorities and the press getting involved. It turns out Sally has a secret past that she has repressed, and her being in the spotlight brings some of these memories to light. Fans of psychological fiction won’t be able to put this title down.
Cold People by Tom Rob Smith
Liza and her family are on vacation in Portugal when alien spaceships suddenly appear in the sky. The aliens have decided to claim the planet for their own. They order all humans to relocate to Antarctica within 30 days. Even if Liza and her family manage the trek to Antarctica, how will they live in such a harsh environment? And how will humanity continue to survive into the future? Smith, the author of the popular Child 44 series, is back with an extremely readable science fiction thriller.
Erin Holl is an adult services librarian at Galaxie Library in Apple Valley. Read more at dakotacounty.us/library.
