Indie Next List: January

"When a tornado dips into Emlyn Springs, Nebraska, it swoops up Hope Jones and never sets her down. Decades later, her grown children are still looking ... for the lives left incomplete. This epic moves expertly between the pre- and post-tornado years, and among the three siblings and the townspeople. As in her debut novel, Broken For You, Stephanie Kallos carefully weaves a complex tale featuring quirky, sympathetic characters." --Cheryl McKeon, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA

"The Vietnam war, discrimination, and family secrets combine in this story of forgiveness and redemption. Greenwood effortlessly balances tenderness and grit, resulting in a moving portrait of Harper Montgomery's efforts to make good on past actions and regain a sense of integrity." --Bev Denor, LaDeDa Books, Manitowoc, WI

"The Book of Unholy Mischief is a delicious thriller set in Venice in 1498. Luciano is a street kid -- using his wits and his friends to survive until a master chef literally plucks him from the street and takes him to live in the doge's kitchen. There, Luciano learns about food, life, and integrity -- and also about a mysterious book. The quest for the book and surviving its impact bring chills and thrills in this fantastic novel." --Linda Dewberry, Whodunit? Books, Olympia, WA

"Carol O'Connell's first stand-alone book is a winner -- an intricately plotted story of an unsolved murder of a teenage boy. This extraordinary thriller will keep you hooked." --Patricia Worth, River Reader LLC, Lexington, MO

"This debut novel is a slim treasure that, through the lives of a New England father and his son, quietly takes on nothing less than the measure of a life and the sublime and fearful notes that make it up. Harding lifts the face off small moments in quiet lives with a language both heartbreaking and exhilarating." --Ty Wilson, Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, CA

"High school sweethearts David and Ivy, expecting their first child, meet a former classmate at their garage sale. When the classmate disappears after David takes her on a tour of their house, their lives start to unravel. Vengeance -- and its havoc -- is the subject of this taut and exciting thriller." --Kathy Ashton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

"Daemon is a terrifying thriller about rogue technology by an author who really knows his tech. You'll never watch someone playing an Internet game again without wondering what real-world consequences their online actions might be having." --Caleb Wilson, Pages for All Ages Bookstore, Savoy, IL

"Slater Brown arrives in San Francisco with dreams of writing the great American novel. However, fate has different ideas, handing Slater the ability to find great stories and restore a newspaper to its former glory. Throw in a beautiful woman and a mad scientist, and you have a debut novel that's hilarious, unpredictable, and lovely." --Meaghan Leenaarts, Island Bookstore, Corolla, NC

"Meet police detective Harry Hole and travel the streets of Oslo in the latest thriller from Norway's bestselling Jo Nesbo. This is the best kind of mystery, impossible to put down as you read on to see if Harry will expose his own nemesis in the police force while solving a crime that exposes deeper layers and networks of criminals." --Linda Ramsdell, The Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick, VT

"Since I can't get landscape and garden designer Julie Moir Messervy to come overhaul my house, this great guide is the next best thing." --Diana Portwood, Bob's Beach Books, Lincoln City, OR