February’s new fiction releases dive deep into secrets, identity and the stories we tell the world.
From a glamorous 1960s television family on the brink of collapse to chilling psychological thrillers and heart-racing survival stories, this month’s novels explore what happens when carefully constructed lives begin to unravel.
Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
For two decades, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America’s Favourite Family. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless, black-and-white versions of themselves.
But now it’s 1964, and the Newmans’ perfection suddenly feels woefully out of touch. Ratings are in free fall, as are the Newmans themselves.
Del is keeping an explosive secret from his wife, and Dinah is slowly going numb— literally. Steady, stable Guy is hiding the truth about his love life, and rock ‘n roll idol Shep may finally be in real trouble. When Del, the creative motor behind the show, is in a mysterious car accident, Dinah decides to take matters into her own hands. She hires Juliet Dunne, an outspoken young reporter, to help her write the final episode.
But Dinah and Juliet have wildly different perspectives about what it means to be a woman and a family in 1964. Can the Newmans hold it together to change television history? Or will they be cancelled before they ever have the chance? Funny, big-hearted, and deeply moving, Meet the Newmans is a rich family story about the dual lives we lead. Because even when our lives aren’t televised weekly, we all have a behind-the-scenes.
My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney
Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.
One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying. Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.
My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.
Run on Red by Noelle W. Ihli
No phone signal for miles. A terrifying game of cat-and-mouse. By the time Laura and Olivia notice the headlights tailing them through the hills, it’s too late. What seems, at first, like a case of road rage quickly unfolds into a heart-pounding chase – and a battle for survival.
Who are the men in the truck? What do they want? And can Laura and Olivia outrun – and outsmart – them long enough to call for help, even if it means taking their chances in the hills on foot?
As their situation grows more perilous, the girls realize that the real terror has only just begun. But flight won’t save them from their pursuers. If they’re going to make it home alive, they’ll have to fight . . . Run on Red is a pulse-pounding thriller from bestselling BookTok sensation Noelle W. Ihli, author of Ask for Andrea.
Whether you’re drawn to richly layered literary fiction or fast-paced suspense that keeps you up late turning pages, these February releases offer compelling reasons to escape into a great story.
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