13 New February Books
Here are works on and of the West, including Evil Genius, A Killing in Cannabis, and Fifty Mothers, that we’re excited to see published this month.
A KILLING IN CANNABIS: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, MURDER, AND CALIFORNIA WEED, BY SCOTT EDEN
In this exposé of the cannabis industry, journalist Eden traces the rise and fall of Tushar Atre, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who tried to secretly fund weed startups using money from the cannabis black market. Heavily researched and expertly reported, A Killing in Cannabis explores the risky overlap between legal and illegal marijuana and follows the eight-month investigation into Atre’s murder. Spiegel & Grau, February 3
JIGSAW, BY JONATHAN KELLERMAN
Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis are working together once again, and this time, things quickly turn personal. What appears to be an open-and-shut murder case—a woman killed by her ex-boyfriend—unravels when a second woman, someone Sturgis once knew, is found dead. As the two investigations begin to connect, Delaware and Sturgis are drawn into an increasingly tangled web of evidence, forcing them to question what they thought they knew about the cases. Ballantine Books, February 3
SALVATION, BY C. WILLIAM LANGSFELD
When Tom Horak kills his best friend, Rust Hawkins, their rural small town is thrown into turmoil. As the community reels, local pastor Morris Green begins to question his faith, while peace officer Marshal Thomlison leads the investigation and Hawkins’s now-orphaned son comes to live with Green. Through these intersecting storylines, Langsfeld crafts a Western noir that explores father-and-son bonds, redemption, and the weight of justice. Counterpoint, February 3
CLUTCH, BY EMILY NEMENS
Gregg, Reba, Hillary, Bella, and Carson are bound together by college friendship, even years later, with a group chat that has survived children and COVID. But when they meet up for a reunion in Palm Springs, two decades later, the stakes are high. Each of the women is navigating the edge of midlife and the challenges it brings: aging parents, marriage issues, career changes, and opportunities that approach with a startling velocity. In this story, Nemens asks what each of us owes our most treasured friendships, long after the height of the relationship. Tin House, February 3
THE LAST KINGS OF HOLLYWOOD: COPPOLA, LUCAS, SPIELBERG—AND THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF AMERICAN CINEMA, BY PAUL FISCHER
While Steven Spielberg worked as an apprentice at Universal Studios, across town, George Lucas was Francis Ford Coppola’s assistant as he started to make movies. The three became fast friends, and their movies came to define the best of American cinema. Within two decades, they were rich men with unbelievable power in the industry. By then, they were competitors, with movies outgrossing the others’, and they fell out and back in with one another along the way. They remain visionaries, even if, as Fischer divulges, their careers are peppered with failures. Celadon Books, February 10
CALL ME MOBY, BY LARS KENSETH
From Alta Journal’s contributing cartoonist comes a playful and hilarious reimagining of Moby-Dick. Physeter Macrocephalus, also known as Moby, is a fun-loving whale who enjoys backflips and making new friends. When he encounters a ship full of seafaring strangers, he’s eager to meet and befriend them. Fully illustrated in color, this charming picture book for young ones offers a lighthearted and inventive twist on the classic novel. Balzer + Bray, February 10
BLOODFIRE, BABY, BY EIRINIE CARSON
Motherhood should be soft and beautiful, Sofia believed, and for the first few weeks of her baby’s life, it was. But when her husband departs on a business trip and Sofia is consumed by her loneliness, she begins to sense that she’s being haunted, plagued by a generational curse beyond typical postpartum depression. As the shadow falls, sleep deprivation and terror combine with motherly instinct to create an internal battle for Sofia in which the light must prevail for the good of her child. Dutton, February 17
EVIL GENIUS, BY CLAIRE OSHETSKY
In this thrilling tale of love and madness, young Celia Dent is devoted to her husband and pleased with her normal job—until her adulterous colleague is murdered by her husband. Suddenly, Celia is consumed by the possibility of loving someone so intensely that you kill them. Her fantasies lead her to search out affairs and weapons, but she always manages to stop herself. Then one day, her passion and curiosity lead her to the point of no return. Ecco, February 17
FIFTY MOTHERS, BY PREETI VANGANI
From Vangani comes a collection of poems devoted to the figure of the mother. Vangani elegizes her own late mother while also reflecting on motherhood more broadly, examining inherited expectations, family dynamics, and the emotional weight women are asked to carry. These poems weave joy with grief and gain with loss. The result is a poignant collection for anyone shaped by a mother’s presence or absence. River River Books, February 23
ONE OF US, BY ELIZABETH DAY
In a story fit for The White Lotus, the eldest daughter of a wealthy and powerful family, Fliss, washes up on the beaches of Bali, triggering a joust for power and answers. Ben, her brother, leaps at the opportunity to climb the political ladder, but his daughter and his wife are wary of his ambitions and money. An old friend appears to seek revenge; another is determined to worm his way back into the family’s life, with the influence that comes with it. Through drama, mystery, and scenes of staggering wealth, Day develops a thrilling ride for her readers. Viking, February 24
WHY FLY: SEEKING AWE, HEALING, AND OUR TRUE SELVES IN THE SKY, BY CAROLINE PAUL
In this moving book, author and longtime pilot Paul reflects on the wonder and peril of flying—and how it mirrors the beauty and heartbreak of love. Reeling from the end of her marriage at 58 years old, she throws herself into learning a new form of flight: piloting a gyrocopter. In Why Fly, Paul considers the history and impact of aviation, from planes used in the fight against the Nazis to those used to protect endangered birds. Bloomsbury Publishing, February 24
A WORLD APPEARS, BY MICHAEL POLLAN
What do we really know about consciousness? Not enough, and Pollan is out to fix that. The study of consciousness within the discipline of neuroscience began in the 1990s, and much of the field remains a mystery. In A World Appears, Pollan shares what researchers have uncovered so far and explores where the science stands today. From attempts to give AI feelings to scientists searching for consciousness in plants, the book is a fascinating, wide-ranging exploration of the human mind. Penguin Press, February 24
I AM THE GHOST HERE: STORIES, BY KIM SAMEK
In this collection of short stories, 12 women navigate the complexities of modern life through a surreal and unsettling lens. One carries her heart in a mason jar, another’s limbs are transformed into scrambled eggs, and yet another loses her body parts to a mysterious cloud. I Am the Ghost Here blends absurd humor and speculative storylines to offer commentary on social media, tech, conformity, and more. The Dial Press, February 24
Jessica Blough is a freelance writer. A former associate editor at Alta Journal, Blough is a graduate of Tufts University where she was editor in chief of the Tufts Daily.
Elizabeth Casillas is an assistant editor at Alta Journal. A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, she has previously written for the Poly Post and Enspire Magazine.
