Katy Hays is a writer and adjunct Art History professor in California, where she teaches rural students from Truckee to Tecopa.
She holds an MA in Art History from Williams College and pursued her PhD at UC Berkeley. Having worked in curatorial and research roles at major art institutions, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Clark Art Institute, Katy brings an insider's knowledge of the workings of museums and galleries as well as in-depth research into the fascinating history of fortune-telling to The Cloisters, her first novel. She lives with her husband and dog, Queso, in Olympic Valley.
Dear Monica Lewinsky (2026) Julia Langbein "An original, tender, and outrageously funny novel about hunger, desire, and the vulnerable (sometimes shameful) moments that make us, Dear Monica Lewinsky is a miracle. With incomparable tact and warmth, Julia Langbein achieves the impossible: balancing humor, consequence, and an irresistible ensemble of personalities against the glittering backdrop of a French summer. Comic novels with heft are the rarest stars in the literary firmament, and this one burns as brightly as the sun."
The Ghost Women (2026) Jennifer Murphy "An intoxicating brew of murder, witchcraft, and artistic ambition, The Ghost Women is as propulsive as it is addictive. Murphy expertly ratchets up the tension even as she lets the Low Country atmosphere seep across every page and develops a cast of characters any reader would immediately recruit for their personal coven. The result is the southern gothic of my dreams; fans of Liz Moore will devour this one."
We Who Have No Gods (2026) (Acheron Order, book 1) Liza Anderson "Gorgeously written and lushly atmospheric, We Who Have No Gods sparkles with sexual tension and irresistible magic, drawing the reader into a high-stakes world where witches, humans, and monsters collide. A rich tapestry of family, romance, fate, and fantasy, Anderson's debut is a shimmering and original story that dares to ask the question: Can the mortal girl win on her own terms?"
Paper Cut (2026) Rachel Taff "Darkly addictive with a blistering pace and puzzle-box structure, Paper Cut takes all the juiciest elements of true crime and assembles them in a dazzling new constellation. Elegant and smart, readers will find Taff's debut as intoxicating as the cultish outpost at its core, and just as terrifying, too. An absolutely stunning crime novel."
The Belles (2025) Lacey N Dunham "An impeccable campus noir. In Dunham's dazzling debut, the girls of Bellerton college are ensorcelled by the ornate traditions they encounter when they arrive at the crumbling South Hall, but the secrets kept by the residents of that drafty dorm will prove fatal. A novel about the youthful, heady quest for sisterhood and the risk of considering a stranger family, The Belles is perfect for fans of Meagan Abbott and Rachel Hawkins."
The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective (2025) (Marigold Cottages, book 1) Jo Nichols "Superlatives can't do this delightful novel justice. Simply put, it's the most charming, heartfelt, and funniest mystery I've ever read. Readers of Richard Osman rejoice--your new obsession has arrived! If I could live in the witty, just, and sundrenched world Jo Nichols has created, I wouldn't hesitate to call the movers tomorrow."
L.A. Women (2025) Ella Berman "A truly exceptional novel about the vagaries of female friendship and creative ambition, L.A. Women fizzes with energy and intrigue. Berman's Los Angeles is a glittering, ecstatic party, full of fascinating, charismatic figures that made me want to linger even as the lights began to dim. Much like its subject matter, L.A. Women is nothing short of iconic."
The Art of Vanishing (2025) Morgan Pager "With irrepressible whimsy and a premise so original it enchants you instantly, The Art of Vanishing is a magical debut. Part love story, part heist, Morgan Pager's novel is the perfect portal fantasy for anyone who has ever wandered a museum and wondered about the worlds, works, and lives on display. I flew through the pages and fell hard for this imaginative jewel."
Tell Them You Lied (2025) Laura Leffler "[A] crackling tale of suspense about the personal and professional rivalries that make us and break us... the perfect mix of Stephanie Danler and Megan Miranda."
Academy of Muses (2025) (Academy of Muses, book 1) Andrea Max "Andrea Max's The Art of Exile is a delicious light academia romp. Simply put, I devoured this book. With an irresistible cast of characters, plenty of witty banter, and a collection of hair-raising secrets, this is a novel for anyone who ever dreamed that school should (and could) be a truly magical experience. Entirely propulsive and delightful, Max's novel is a remarkable debut."
The Amalfi Curse (2025) Sarah Penner "Penner's latest is her best yet - a thrill-seeking ride through the world of underwater archeology, the archives of Naples, and a coven of witches who will stop at nothing to protect those they love. Readers will be spellbound by this atmospheric, unmissable stunner. Pure magic!"
Killer Potential (2025) Hannah Deitch "Deliriously fun, provocative, and gripping, it's almost too easy to give Killer Potential a perfect score. Hannah Deitch has a voice I would follow anywhere and this book has such a breathless, propulsive pace that I found myself turning to it whenever I had a spare moment. I kid you not, I propped my Kindle on top of the bathroom faucet so I could read it while I brushed my teeth. . . I know this word is overused when talking about books, but truly: unputdownable."
Count My Lies (2025) Sophie Stava "Count My Lies is blisteringly fun and diabolically plotted. A novel that never tips its hand, readers will find themselves racing through the final, jaw-dropping pages, desperate to gather every last clue of this astonishing web of lies. Jump in, but be prepared: sharp turns ahead!"
All the Other Mothers Hate Me (2025) Sarah Harman "Harman's debut begins with a pace so blistering and a voice so funny that you can't help but wonder if she'll be able to sustain it throughout the entire novel. Reader: she does! This is the rarest kind of story: one that gets better with every page, that makes you laugh out loud, that keeps you up late at night, and that is full of heart and surprise. I adored All the Other Mothers Hate Me and can't wait to press it into the hands of everyone I know. An absolute gem."
Vantage Point (2025) Sara Sligar "Sara Sligar's new novel is a primal scream, sounding a harrowing alarm about how thin (and deadly) the line between synthetic and real has become. A terrifying and uncanny novel, Vantage Point takes dupes and deep fakes to another level. Even the shrewdest reader will be left off kilter and unable to answer the most simple question: what did I just see?"
The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey (2025) Astrid Dahl "Juicy, gossipy, and deliciously vicious, The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey is my platonic ideal of a novel. Whether this all-star cast of wives is throwing shade in their confessionals or literally killing to get more screen time, one thing is certain, this New Jersey neighborhood has enough secrets to guarantee renewal. Readers will be clamoring for Season Two of this funny, dark guilty pleasure."
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus (2025) Emma Knight "Whip smart, unrestrainedly fun, and bursting with heart. . . A novel about finding ourselves, falling in love, and meeting that precious group of friends whom we call family. . . Joyous, clever, and wholly transportive."
The Stone Witch of Florence (2024) Anna Rasche "Magical in every sense of the word, Rasche's debut stole my heart. A feast of a novel, The Stone Witch of Florence is erudite, transportive, and addicting. It's that precious and rare type of story--the kind that makes you want to fly through its pages while simultaneously savoring every word. Bottom line: The Stone Witch of Florence is a gem."
Strange Folk (2024) Alli Dyer "Delicious and haunting, Alli Dyer's Strange Folk invites readers into a world where extraordinary folk magic finds itself fighting against the ordinary evil that hums through the Appalachian community of Craw Valley. An atmospheric novel that somehow manages to be both sultry and homey at the same time, Strange Folk is a story that deftly weaves family legacy, uncanny inheritances, and the perennial question of how a place can shape who we become. Perfect for fans of Sarah Penners' The Lost Apothecary and Chloe Benjamin's The Immortalists."
I Need You to Read This (2024) Jessa Maxwell "No one expects their dream job to end up a nightmare, but that's precisely what happens to Alex Marks in Jessa Maxwell's latest perfectly plotted whodunnit, a novel that asks us point blank what price we're willing to pay for our ambition, because it just might be our life. With a crackling pace and series of irresistible twists, it's impossible to know who to trust at the New York Herald, especially when one of your co-workers might be a murderer. It's a killer job, if you can survive."
Ladykiller (2024) Katherine Wood "Full of sun, sex, money, and greed, not since Gone Girl have unreliable narrators been this fun."
The Astrology House (2024) Carinn Jade "A locked room thriller full of delicious secrets and deadly desire, Jade's expertly paced debut will have you racing for the end, heart in your throat. Addictively readable, this novel made the Virgo rising in me rethink every couples' weekend I've ever attended while my Sagittarius moon couldn't help but cheer for the chaos. If you love Lucy Foley, Carinn Jade is about to become your new favorite author."
Middletide (2024) Sarah Crouch "Middletide is the rarest of novels: a blistering page-turner and a dazzling love letter to the natural world. Tautly plotted, lushly atmospheric, and gorgeously written, Crouch's debut is stunning. Readers will feel the moss under their feet and smell the petrichor in the air, but they will never guess the twists hidden in this Pacific Northwest forest."
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby (2024) Ellery Lloyd "Expertly paced and extraordinarily plotted, Ellery Llyod's new novel mixes academic ambition and family secrets with explosive results. The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a deliciously erudite thriller that makes even a trip to the archives seem fun, if deadly. Truly, the perfect thing to read after you've finished watching Saltburn."
The Main Character (2024) Jaclyn Goldis "All aboard this glamorous thriller! A novel with more twists than a train winding through the Italian countryside, THE MAIN CHARACTER will surprise even the most eagle-eyed reader. Goldis has mixed the family drama of Knives Out with the locked room atmosphere of Murder on the Orient Express and the resulting cocktail is like an Aperol on a hot summer's day: perfect."
The Incorrigibles (2024) Meredith Jaeger "A story of immense strength and beauty, The Incorrigibles illustrates the way in which women fighting for justice can unite across historical and class divides. A novel for anyone who has ever found themselves a frustrated, lonely voice shouting for what's right, this book offers one message: hope. Jaeger is a master storyteller."
The Stars Turned Inside Out (2024) Nova Jacobs "Nova Jacobs's novel is a gripping murder mystery. But it's also so much more - it's an invitation into the secretive world of CERN, an exploration of the limits of science, and a haunting reminder of how easily we can be made to believe the unthinkable. A dark and absorbing novel, The Stars Turned Inside Out will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the scientific method and academic competition."
The Last Verse (2024) Caroline Frost "Told with the perfect amount of twang, The Last Verse pulls readers deep into the timeless allure of Music City and the raw female ambition that lights up the intimate stages of Nashville. An irresistible southern gothic dripping with atmosphere, Frost deftly weaves together class tensions, the struggle for country music stardom, and the vulnerability demanded of every artist trying to hit it big. A perfect read for fans of Taylor Swift or Kacey Musgraves."
The Divorcees (2024) Rowan Beaird "A stunning debut, Rowan Beaird's The Divorcees is a glittering desert mirage behind which lurks a shocking web of secrets. Despite the new friendships and lives being built at the Golden Yarrow, each woman on the ranch harbors a truth they aren't willing to share: that they're playing a part and they're willing to do whatever it takes to keep the fiction alive. Tense, dark, and richly layered, lovers of Patricia Highsmith will devour this compulsively readable, standout novel."
Mother-Daughter Murder Night (2023) Nina Simon "A lively and tender story of family that Simon deftly transforms into an edge-of-your-seat murder mystery... One part The Maid and one part family drama a la The Nest, Mother-Daughter Murder Night is a resounding and impressive triumph."
Alchemy of a Blackbird (2023) Claire McMillan "A dazzling kaleidoscope of surrealist voices animates this beguiling novel of artistic ambition, perseverance, and friendship. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War's great artistic exodus, Alchemy of A Blackbird insists on the essential role art plays in the lives of its two dynamic female protagonists - Lenora Carrington and Remedios Varos. McMillan transports us to the magical, uncanny world of the Surrealists by deftly using tarot--a practice vital to the art of both Carrington and Varos - to shape her narrative in unexpectedly dramatic and evocative ways. I wanted to linger along the French Riviera and get a coffee in Veracruz, Mexico with her incredible ensemble cast of characters. And maybe, if I was lucky, have them offer me a tarot spread, too."
Old Enough (2023) Haley Jakobson "Haley Jakobson's Old Enough is an absolute snack. Full of humor and heartache, Jakobson makes the hard thing look easy: crafting a novel that explores the messy way we navigate who we were and who we're becoming with tenderness and grace. Part campus novel, part coming of age story, Old Enough is about the secrets we keep from others (and ourselves) and how community can transform our lives. A novel for anyone who's lost a friend, found themselves, and survived their twenties, Old Enough is a gem."
The Night Flowers (2023) Sara Herchenroether "Haunting and compulsively readable, The Night Flowers is impossible to put down. A novel that is as much ghost story as mystery, Herchenroether has crafted a truly original narrative that unfolds with a shocking array of twists and turns against the backdrop of the Gila National Forest. Every voice in the chorus that makes up this novel sings a siren song of suspense you won't be able to resist. I devoured it."
The Enchanted Hacienda (2023) J C Cervantes "The warmth and humor of The Enchanted Hacienda immediately cast a spell over me. A novel full of heart and family, The Enchanted Hacienda crafts a charming story of family, love, legacy, and self-discovery. If I could have moved in with Harlow and the entire Estrada clan, I would have done so without hesitation. Exhibiting the rarest of alchemies, The Enchanted Hacienda is a delightful, funny, and uplifting novel with the perfect amount of heat."
Endpapers (2023) Jennifer Savran Kelly "Achingly evocative and thoroughly satisfying, Jennifer Savran Kelly's Endpapers follows a genderqueer bookbinder through post-9/11 New York as she searches the city for answers about a long-hidden love letter and the outlines of her own identity. Part historical mystery, part meditation on the shifting nature of creativity and self, Endpapers is a story that bursts with warmth, community, and the sometimes-heartbreaking decisions we make when we begin to stitch together the spine of our lives."
