Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door, is back with a fast-paced thriller full of twists and turns that will leave you reeling. In Someone We Know (Doubleday Canada), a mother sends anonymous letters to let her neighbours know her teen son is sneaking into their houses and computers to learn their secrets...and maybe share some of them, too. And then, a woman in the neighbourhood is murdered. Are the two events related? Join these neighbours on a rollercoaster of a whodunnit that keeps you guessing to the end.

Charlotte Gray's expansive research and biographical writing are once again a winning combination in Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise (HarperCollins), the historical telling of the real story of Harry Oakes's murder. Known as the richest man in the British Empire, Oakes struck gold in Northern Ontario, then moved to the Bahamas while the gold mine kept, well, making him richer. There are so many stories that are directly and indirectly attached to this murder, my body was tingling with excitement.

Each one of the 15 short stories in Sweet Affliction by Anna Leventhal (Invisible Publishing) centres around a seemingly ordinary person or life but ends up concentrating on a socially prohibited or awkward theme. In “A Goddamn F*cking Cake,” a woman has a total meltdown at a party. In “Gravity,” a young lady takes a pregnancy test during a family wedding. Anna Leventhal treats her characters with compassion and humour despite their shortcomings, which makes for a comforting read. (Because aren’t we all f*ck-ups in some way or another?!)

In I’m Good and Other Lies by Bev Katz Rosenbaum (Cormorant Books), Kelsey is a high-school senior who, when the pandemic hits, gets stuck at home with her family. I can relate, as I was stuck in lockdown with my family and my mom. (Ugh.) Just like I did with mine, Kelsey deals with her family’s eccentricities, including depression and addiction, while trying not to mirror those behaviours.

The Intimacy Experiment is a swoon-worthy romance...with a hot Rabbi? Naomi Grant is a bisexual woman who co-founded a sex-positive start-up that becomes an international sensation. But when she wants to become a lecturer, no one will hire her. Meanwhile, Rabbi Ethan Cohen was named one of the city’s hottest bachelors, hired with the hopes that his dashing good looks will charm people into joining the synagogue. Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a seminar series on Modern Intimacy, which they just know may be the answer...until they start to use the syllabus they created for others as an experiment on themselves. Contemporary romance lovers will enjoy the scorching chemistry.

Chantel Guertin says she never expected or desired to be a mom. That is until she meets a man who has children…and hates social media. In Instamom (Doubleday Canada), Kit built her online brand around not having (or wanting) kids. Eventually, she becomes a stepmom and has to reevaluate how authentic her online persona of a successful childless influencer is with her new life story. This is a fun and romantic read about standing by your principles and accepting change.

Looking to up your lettuce literacy game? Then you'll definitely want to order Mandy’s Gourmet Salads: Recipes for Lettuce and Life (Appetite by Random House) by the founders of the famed Mandy’s in Montreal. The city’s create-your-own salad bar now boasts eight locations, including one coming to Toronto in October! This beautiful cookbook is packed with simple delicious recipes AND is every salad lover's dream come true. The authors show you how to create their coveted salads at home, including how to mix their famous dressings and combine flavours and textures to create a salad masterpiece. Lettuce is no longer lame, that’s for sure!

I'm giving away another $50 gift card to Indigo so you can get some bathroom reading materials for yourself. (Or if you don't want to read them on the throne, that's totally fine, too.) Enter now!