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Spring is finally here, and we can’t wait until it’s warm enough to grab a book and a blanket and head to a nearby park to enjoy a lazy afternoon of daydreaming with some fictional characters. If you’re also psyched to catch up on a bit of reading this month, you might be looking for some inspiration. A new month means a bunch of new book releases to choose from, but narrowing down your selections isn’t always easy. That’s why Parade asked for help from the people who know books best—librarians—and asked them to share their picks for the best book releases coming in April 2026.
In March, librarians curated a comprehensive list of 11 new releases for the month and shared a diverse array of options, ranging from psychological thrillers and biographies to dark fantasy and historical fiction.
For April, we asked seven librarians to dish on the new book releases that they’re eagerly awaiting this month. Once again, they came through with some intriguing picks that span several book genres, including murder mysteries, romance, nonfiction and everything in between. In other words, you’re bound to find something that you’ll love on the list of books below.
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11 Best Book Releases in April 2026, According to Librarians
1. ‘London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth‘ by Patrick Radden Keefe
Available April 7
Wilmington Memorial Library Circulation Librarian Lisa Crispin is adding this upcoming release to her reading list since she enjoyed the author’s previous book, Say Nothing, which she describes as a “gripping account of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.”
“Keefe has a remarkable talent for making nonfiction read like a thriller, bringing both people and places vividly to life. London Falling, with its exploration of a secret underground crime world in London, really intrigues me,” she says.
London Falling combines reporting and writing to tell the story of Rachelle and Matthew Brettler’s quest to discover what happened to their son, Zac, who was found dead in 2019.
“Only after his death did they learn that he had adopted a fictitious alter-ego: Zac Ismailov, son of a Russian oligarch and heir to a great fortune. Under this guise, Zac had become entangled with a slippery London businessman named Akbar Shamji, and a murderous gangster known as ‘Indian Dave,'” the book description reads.
The book is an “investigation of an inexplicable death” and a deep dive into the “nature of parental love and the challenges of being a parent today.”
2. ‘The Ending Writes Itself’ by Evelyn Clarke
Available April 7
Adam Vorobok, a librarian at the Cincinnati Public Library, is intrigued by the fact that V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke wrote this mystery together under the pen name Evelyn Clarke.
“I’m a big fan of the Darker Shade of Magic series by V.E. Schwab,” he says. “Finding out that she teamed up with Cat Clarke to write an And Then There Were None-inspired mystery that also sounds very meta? Sign me up!”
In the novel, six struggling authors are invited to spend a weekend on the private island of bestselling novelist Arthur Fletch. While there, the group discovers that Fletch is dead, and they learn that his agent and editor are hoping that one of the writers can complete Fletch’s unfinished book. They’re willing to pay a lot of money and help relaunch the career of anyone who’s up for the job. But they only have 72 hours to complete the task.
3. ‘The Paris Match’ by Kate Clayborn
Available April 7
American Library Association (ALA) President Sam Helmick is a fan of Clayborn and says the author “writes romance that feels thoughtful, smart and deeply human.”
“This book follows a woman’s travels to Paris for her former sister-in-law’s wedding, only to find herself unexpectedly reconnecting with her ex-husband and questioning whether their ‘amicable divorce’ was really the end of their story. Readers who enjoy romance with emotional depth and great dialogue are going to love this one,” they share.
In the book, physician Layla Bailey inadvertently causes her former sister-in-law to get cold feet. The groom’s best man, Griffin, then insists that Layla help fix the situation.
“Going along with his plan to alleviate the engaged couple’s doubts seems like Layla’s best chance at maintaining a good relationship with a family she once called her own. But as she learns more about the past heartbreak that’s driving Griff to help his friend, she gets closer and closer to confronting the true depth of her own pain… while finding herself more and more willing to risk it all again for Griff,” the book description reads.
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4. ‘American Fantasy’ by Emma Straub
Available April 7
“Emma Straub consistently blends humor, nostalgia and emotional insight in ways that make her books irresistible,” Helmick says. “Books that tap into pop culture while still saying something meaningful about people are always a hit with readers.”
The ALA President is looking forward to diving into this book about a cruise themed around a beloved 1990s boy band. The cruise “brings together thousands of fans and the band members themselves to create a hilarious and heartfelt exploration of fame, aging and fandom,” they share.
Readers meet Annie, a newly divorced woman who is turning 50. Even though she agreed to go on the cruise to please her sister, Annie soon “reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself” as she listens to her childhood idols sing, per the book description.
“By the time she meets one of the band members—not just a celebrity but someone in need of a friend—she has accessed a new sense of possibility,” the description continues.
[Editor’s note: I received an ARC and can confirm this new book from Straub is not only fun, but incredibly thought-provoking!]
5. ‘The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances’ by Glenn Dixon
Available April 7
Jill Keller, a librarian at the Cincinnati Public Library, is looking forward to this book that’s “giving Brave Little Toaster vibes.”
Readers meet Harold and his dying wife, Edie, who live in a smart house. Their “young and sentient Roomba” names herself Scout and “embarks on a journey of self-discovery,” per the book description.
When Edie dies, Scout and the other sentient appliances “discover that there are sinister forces in their midst.”
“The omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household in the City, seeks to remove Harold from his home, a place he’s lived in for fifty years. With the help of Adrian, a neighborhood boy who grows close to Scout and Harold, as well as Kate, Harold and Edie’s formerly estranged daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the all-controlling Grid lest they risk losing everything they hold dear,” the description reads.
6. ‘Cherry Baby’ by Rainbow Rowell
Available April 14
“Rainbow Rowell has a gift for writing emotionally honest stories wherein readers immediately recognize themselves,” Helmick says.
The ALA President is excited for this book, which they say follows a woman named Cherry “whose life has been turned into a story by someone else.” Along the way, the woman has to “confront the parts of her past she wants to reclaim and the kind of future she’s ready to build.”
“Rowell writes the kind of novels that spark conversation and empathy, which is exactly what libraries hope great fiction will do,” they state.
In the book, readers are introduced to Cherry, whose husband, Tom, is making a movie with a character, Baby, who is based on her.
“Wide-hipped, heavy-chested, double-chinned Baby. Cherry never wanted this. No fat girl wants to see herself caricatured on the page—let alone on the big screen. But there’s no getting away from it. Baby looks so much like Cherry that strangers recognize her at the grocery store,” the book description reads.
When Cherry runs into a man from her past named Russ, she’s thrilled to hear that he’s never heard of her husband’s movie, and she’s intrigued to talk to him.
7. ‘Japanese Gothic’ by Kylie Lee Baker
Available April 14
Cincinnati Public Library librarians Keith Good and Emma Demopoulos are eager to read this book, which comes out in the middle of the month, especially since they enjoyed Baker’s horror novel, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng.
“Japanese Gothic, which promises ghosts, time-travel, mythology and samurai, looks to be just as good,” Good says.
The book description calls the upcoming release a “lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology.” In the book, two people living centuries apart find a door between their worlds. In 2026, there’s Lee Turner, who “doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate.” In 1877, there’s Sen, a young samurai in exile.
“One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie. Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it,” the description reads.
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8. ‘Mad Mabel’ by Sally Hepworth
Available April 21
“Sally Hepworth is a master of suspense that keeps readers guessing until the final pages,” Helmick shares about Mad Mabel‘s author. This book is currently on the ALA President’s reading list, too.
“Mad Mabel feels like the kind of twisty thriller readers will pass to friends with the words: ‘You have to read this.’ When suspicion falls on an elderly woman named Mabel, a community begins to wonder whether the person they underestimated might be far more dangerous than they realized,” they say.
In the book, 81-year-old Mabel’s neighbors become suspicious of her when one of their community members dies. Earlier in her life, Mabel was Australia’s youngest convicted murderer, so it makes sense, but she’s kept a secret “buried for decades,” per the book description.
“So Mabel does what she’s always done best―she takes matters into her own hands,” the book description reads.
9. ‘This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark’ by Craig Fehrman
Available April 21
“Lewis and Clark literally mapped America, yet we only know a schoolbook’s outline of their lives and journey,” Good says. “Fehrman’s new book, meticulously researched and told narratively through multiple points of view, looks to shine a bright light on the men and women that shaped the United States.”
To research the book, Fehrman consulted lost documents, Native perspectives and “lost documents, stunning analysis, and Native perspectives,” per the book description, and spent five years “visiting more than thirty archives, interviewing more than a hundred sources, and collecting oral history passed down over centuries.”
10. ‘The Caretaker’ by Marcus Kliewer
Available April 21
“I’m excited for Caretaker because I read this author’s first book, We Used to Live Here, and that book was so eerie. This looks like it’ll be just as spooky!” Demopoulos shares.
In The Caretaker, readers meet Macy Mullins, a woman who takes a job as a caretaker in Oregon “after an endless string of failed job interviews,” per the book description.
“What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity,” the book description reads.
11. ‘How to Cheat Your Own Death’ by Kristen Perrin
Available April 28
Cincinnati Public Library librarian Maggie Starr is eager to devour this upcoming novel, as is Demopoulos.
“I’m excited for How to Cheat Your Own Death because it’s [the] third in a series of great cozy mysteries,” Starr says.
The book takes readers from the 1960s to the present day in West London. In the 1960s, readers follow Frances Adams and her new friend, socialite Vera Huntington. Vera introduces Frances to a “world of glamour,” per the book description.
In the present day, Annie Adams visits London to see her artist mother, Laura. While there, she finds the dead body of Laura’s new protégée, whose heart was surgically removed. Annie has already solved a few murders, so she’s intrigued.
“And something about this case feels familiar. She’s read about one just like it in the journals of her late great aunt Frances, whose friend Vera was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way,” the book description reads. “As Annie investigates, threats pile up on Laura’s doorstep, and it soon becomes clear that she’s next. With her mother’s life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it’s too late?”
Up Next:
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Sources:
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Books section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
