Gabino Iglesias

Andrea Lankford delves deep into the cases of three men who vanished while hiking, but also explores the history of the PCT and the rich, nuanced subculture, practices and literature that surround it.

In many ways — setting, historical elements, the mix of romance and horror, the use of Spanish — Vampires of El Norte is the spiritual sister of The Hacienda, and a perfect example of genre mixing.

Alexandra Robbins illuminates how teachers, who shape our future, live a constant battle against financial pressure, entitled parents, politicians, and the educational system at the local level.

In Alex North's skilled hands, this narrative that juggles so many elements becomes a very cohesive, enthralling ride into some of the darkest corners of extreme religiousness and human nature.

In less capable hands, all of this would be too much. But Rebecca Makkai manages to juggle every subplot brilliantly; each sings with a unique voice that harmonizes with the crime story at the heart.

Daniel Black's essays call for an overhaul of the U.S. criminal justice system, of the Black church, of the way Black people see themselves, and of the country itself — and do so with authority

Grady Hendrix's tale of siblings who come together after the deaths of their parents to sell their house fully embraces all the elements readers have come to love about Hendrix's storytelling.

Hermetic, paranoid, sleek, dark — and with brief explosions of the sex and violence that have characterized Ellis' oeuvre — The Shards is a stark reminder that the author is a genre unto himself.

Visually striking — NatGeo and superb photography have always walked hand-in-hand — and incredibly complete, deep and nuanced, this is a book that comes close to the impossible.

Luda is a magical, multilayered, intoxicating story about identity, stardom, performance, lust, and death that could only have come from the prodigious mind of Grant Morrison.