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Mystery novelist Alison Gaylin has built a career exploring obsession, secrets, and the dark corners of modern life. An Edgar Award winner known for novels like 'The Collective and If I Die Tonight,' Gaylin has also stepped into the world of Robert B. Parker, continuing his beloved Sunny Randall series.In 'Robert B. Parker’s Booked,' Boston private investigator Sunny Randall is hired by a bestselling author to uncover the identity of an online reviewer whose brutal takedowns are threatening careers. But when the critic turns up dead, the literary feud becomes a murder case tangled in grudges, publishing politics, and social media fury.

James Lasdun's latest is 'The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh,' turns to the real-life Southern saga that captivated the country. Lasdun digs beneath the headlines surrounding disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh, tracing generations of privilege, power, corruption, and violence in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.The result is part true-crime page-turner, part portrait of a family dynasty collapsing in public. His novels, memoir, poetry, and short story collections have won many awards, and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, the London Review of Books, and The New Yorker, among other publications.

Mark Frost has long moved between worlds television, film, and fiction co-creating the landmark series ‘Twin Peaks’ and writing acclaimed novels that blend history with imagination. Now he turns to one of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century in his new work of historical fiction ‘The Yankee Sphinx.’ Mark Frost will appear at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, on Wednesday, May 13. He will discuss and sign his new historical novel, ‘The Yankee Sphinx: An FDR Novel.’

In 2018, Gemma Correll had a panic attack that lasted for weeks. She began navigating anxiety -- her new book is a graphic memoir called ‘Anxietyland.'Gemma Correll is an award-winning cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Elle, and Forbes, among many others.

On the latest 51%, we speak with sociologist Gretchen Sisson about her book Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. Sisson studies the relationship between abortion and adoption in the U.S., and is part of a team of researchers for "The Turnaway Study" at the University of California, San Francisco. In Relinquished, Sisson compiles a decade's worth of interviews with women who gave their newborns up for adoption through a private adoption agency. In unpacking how some agencies pressure (and rely on) struggling moms to relinquish their children, Sisson pushes back on the idea that adoption is an ethical alternative to abortion, and questions whether it's really a choice at all.Encore Episode.

On the latest 51%, we speak with sociologist Gretchen Sisson about her book Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. Sisson studies the relationship between abortion and adoption in the U.S., and is part of a team of researchers for "The Turnaway Study" at the University of California, San Francisco. In Relinquished, Sisson compiles a decade's worth of interviews with women who gave their newborns up for adoption through a private adoption agency. In unpacking how some agencies pressure (and rely on) struggling moms to relinquish their children, Sisson pushes back on the idea that adoption is an ethical alternative to abortion, and questions whether it's really a choice at all.Encore Episode.

In the new book ‘Won’t Back Down: Heartland Rock and the Fight for America,’ music journalist Erin Osmon takes a closer look at the genre often seen as quintessentially American. Popularized by artists like Bruce Springsteen and Ton Petty, Heartland Rock has long told stories of labor, longing, and life on the margins. But Osmon argues that beneath those familiar themes lies a more complicated history one in which these songs had been used to express both solidarity and division.

'Diamond Fever!' is a bit of a departure from Steve Sheinkin's other books and is perfect for emerging readers. Both shorter and faster paced, it also features an engaging mixture of prose and comics from renowned illustrator Jon Chad. With these additions, readers will fully immerse themselves in the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872, a time full of deception, fortune, and greed.Steve Sheinkin and Jon Chad will be at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga for a talk and signing about 'Diamond Fever' on Monday, May 18, 2026, at 6:00pm. northshire.com. You’re listening to the RT on WAMC.

So, what can we do to feel better about our relationship with money? Financial expert and strategist Lev Mandel has a new book and a workbook out called ‘Money is Weird.’ It offers a place to unpack your history, explore habits, and experiment with new ones; maybe even feel ok about it all. To actually feel confident and safe about your relationship with money.

Historian Victoria Johnson has a gift for uncovering the human stories behind American culture. In her new book, ‘Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America’ and America to the World, she turns to Frederic Church, the Hudson River School painter whose sweeping landscapes helped define a young nation’s sense of itself.Johnson traces Church’s global travels - from the Arctic to South America - and shows how his art connected American audiences to a wider world.