A cover blurb written by Stephen King had already proclaimed one upcoming book a contender for the best mystery of 2026, and I kept thinking, “Steve, it’s 2025. Settle down.”

But Mr. “Misery” is right that the book biz is plowing ahead, and that there is a lot to look forward to. I already have my eye on jam-packed April 5, when two huge authors release books (Patrick Radden Keefe and Emma Straub), along with that mystery King loves (“The Ending Writes Itself,” by Evelyn Clark) and “The Last Letters of Sally and Walter,” which combines Scrabble and romance in a way that sounds right up my word-game-loving alley.

Here are 25 titles you should consider adding to your library queue now (this list is short on nonfiction titles, but that’s because we don’t have as much information on those yet, which means we — and King — will have to hold our horses):

Minnesota writers

‘The Shipikisha Club,’ Mubanga Kalimamukwento

The Mounds View writer’s latest is a multiple-perspective novel about a Zambian woman on trial for her husband’s murder. March 10

‘Outsider Animals,’ Marlene Zuk

We’re talking rats, raccoons and seagulls — and Zuk, who teaches ecology, evolution and behavior at the University of Minnesota, wants us to embrace them. Or, at least, not hate them. March 17

‘Python’s Kiss,’ Louise Erdrich

Anything from the Minneapolis-based literary superstar is good news. “Kiss” is a short story collection, paired with art by the Pulitzer Prize winner’s daughter and frequent cover designer, Aza Erdrich Abe. March 24

‘Ghosts of Fourth Street,’ Laurie Hertzel

The subject of the former Star Tribune books editor’s memoir is how secrets shape a family. Specifically, it’s about how her Duluth family responded to the death of her eldest brother. March 31

‘Where Is My Sister?,’ Shannon Gibney

In the Minneapolis writer’s upcoming book for young readers, a family grieves after Mama goes to the hospital to give birth but comes home without a baby. April 21

‘Patient, Female,’ Julie Schumacher

The author of bestselling “Dear Committee Members,” once dubbed “the funniest person in America,” takes a darker turn with a collection of short stories whose protagonists are ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances. May 5

Best sellers

‘Vigil,’ George Saunders

Like his Booker Prize-winning “Lincoln in the Bardo,” “Vigil” is set in a twilight world between life and death. “Vigil” turns on the connection between a dying oil executive and the woman charged with escorting him into the afterlife. Jan. 27

‘Dear Debbie,’ Freida McFadden

The author of “The Housemaid” keeps describing this thriller, in which a put-upon advice columnist decides to get revenge on all who have wronged her, as “unhinged.” Jan. 27

‘Brawler,’ Lauren Groff

I inhaled the first story in this collection from the writer of “Fates and Furies.” If the other eight are anything like that barn burner, about a family attempting to escape an abusive husband/dad, “Brawler” is gonna be huge. Feb. 24

‘Kin,’ Tayari Jones

As in her bestselling “An American Marriage,” Jones explores the bond between two Southerners who love each other but have been separated for many years. In “Kin,” it’s childhood besties whose lives took dramatically different turns. Feb. 24

‘London Falling,’ Patrick Radden Keefe

Keefe’s “Empire of Pain” and “Say Nothing” are two of the most spectacular works of nonfiction of this century. Can he make it a hat trick with the story of a London teenager whose death by suicide reveals a secret life? April 7

‘American Fantasy,’ Emma Straub

The “This Time Tomorrow” writer’s latest sounds like a banger: A middle-aged woman takes one of those music cruises, where her life is transformed by a connection with a boy band singer whose music she loved as a kid. April 7

‘The Things We Never Say,’ Elizabeth Strout

A schoolteacher who puts on a brave face for his students while secretly feeling alone? Sounds right in the wheelhouse of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Olive Kitteridge.” But, unlike her other books, this one is not set in Maine. May 5

‘The Calamity Club,’ Kathryn Stockett

The author of “The Help” is not a one-and-done Harper Lee, as it turns out, although it has taken her 17 years to follow up her 10 million-selling debut. Like “The Help,” “Calamity Club” is set in Mississippi among a group of women who form a sisterhood. May 5

‘Whistler,’ Ann Patchett

A woman re-establishes a bond with her stepfather, whom she has not seen for many decades, in Patchett’s first novel since “Tom Lake.” June 2

‘Land,’ Maggie O’Farrell

The “Hamnet” author returns to the history of Ireland in the story of a father and son who are surveying the country shortly after the potato famine ravaged the country. June 2

Also keep in mind

‘Homeschooled,’ Stefan Merrill Block

I’m getting strong “Running With Scissors” vibes from this memoir by a man who wonders what life was like away from his home and the idiosyncratic guidance of his mother, whose methods included teaching her 12-year-old to crawl again. Jan. 6

‘The Jilted Countess,’ Loretta Ellsworth

It’s billed as a novel, but it was inspired by a true story: A Hungarian woman came to Minnesota to be with the man she’d fallen in love with during World War II. He bailed on her. So Minneapolis Star columnist Cedric Adams became her matchmaker. Jan. 13

‘This Is Where the Serpent Lives,’ Daniyal Mueenuddin

The lives of dozens of characters intertwine in Pakistan in Mueenuddin’s follow-up to the award-winning “In Other Rooms, Other Wonders.” Jan. 13

‘99 Ways to Die and How to Avoid Them,’ Ashely Alker

Just to give you an idea of the hilarity and usefulness in store: “Consenting adults, it’s up to you, but urine will not help a jellyfish sting. Add some vinegar and tweezers to your beach bag and pee in the ocean like everyone else.” Jan. 13

‘The Typewriter and the Guillotine,’ Mark Braude

I’m always in the market for weird, historical true crime, so sign me up for the nonfiction account of Paris on the eve of World War II, menaced not just by the Germans but also by a vicious serial killer. Jan. 20

‘A Far-Flung Life,’ M.L. Stedman

An enormous sheep farm in Australia is the setting for an epic novel from the author of the popular “The Light Between Oceans.” March 3

‘Muv,’ Rachel Trethewey

England’s midcentury Mitford sisters seem to be everywhere, in the fictionalized Netflix series “Outrageous” and in the charming graphic novel “Do Admit,” for two. Their equally outrageous mother — or “Muv” — steps into the spotlight in this biography. March 3

‘Go Gentle,’ Maria Semple

In the new novel from the author of blockbuster “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” a woman has her life all figured out, content with work, family and friends. Then, she falls in love. April 14

‘Country People,’ Daniel Mason

His “North Woods” was my favorite book of 2023 so, yeah, I’m psyched about his upcoming novel, in which a family moves to Vermont and meets a bunch of eccentrics. July 14

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