Mark Your Calendars for These 13 Exciting New Books in March

In Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering, what starts out as a love story between a well-to-do woman and her charming, older boyfriend spirals into a devastating thriller. Over the course of thirty-plus years, we learn all about two women who fell for his lies as the secrets and relationships of his past (and present) are revealed. Out March 2.

Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary is one of March’s most-anticipated books, and with good reason. Hidden away behind a secret door, an apothecary in 18th-century London sells potions to women who need to escape their abusers. In the present day, a historian struggling to forgive her cheating boyfriend discovers clues that may uncover the true story of this apothecary and a murder case tied to it. Out March 2.

The perfect nonfiction book for everyone who’s exhausted by checking email 24/7. In A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload, Cal Newport explores how constant communication actually slows meaningful work and increases burnout, while laying out potential solutions to create useful processes, streamline, and moving past the unending onslaught of constantly checking messages. Out March 2.

Jennifer Dupee debuts with The Little French Bridal Shop, a story about a small town, family secrets, and a wedding that doesn’t actually exist. Larisa impulsively buys a bridal gown and accidentally sets off an escalating chain of lies in her small hometown, which she leans into as a means of distracting herself from her worries over her mother’s escalating dementia. Out March 9.

Popular historical fiction author Kate Quinn is back with The Rose Code, a novel about one of the most famous (and secretive) elements of World War II. In the 1940s, three very different women join Bletchley Park, the famed code-breaking operation dedicated to unraveling German secret communications. A few years after the war ends, they’re pulled back together by a coded letter, a terrible betrayal, and an enemy come back to haunt them all. Out March 9.

Best known for his biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson is back with The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race. The nonfiction title describes the work of Doudna, a groundbreaking gene scientist who was part of the team that created a gene-editing tool. It’s not just a biography, though: It’s an exploration of the future of genetic research, the accompanying ethical concerns, and the potential future of humanity. Out March 9.

Talia Hibbert’s bestselling “The Brown Sisters” series continues with Act Your Age, Eve Brown. Eve is struggling to rein in her unpredictability and chaos, and she winds up landing a chef job at a bed-and-breakfast, despite making a terrible first impression on the uptight owner, Jacob. In time, Eve makes herself indispensible—much to Jacob’s chagrin—and the battling coworkers start to come to a truce (or something more). Out March 9.

Kim Neville’s debut novel, The Memory Collectors, is one part literary fiction, one part eerie magical realism. Eva’s strange gift—being able to sense emotions left behind on objects—has turned her into a purveyor of knickknacks. Meanwhile, Harriet has the same gift, but hoards objects until the emotions start leaking out into the rest of the world. When the women meet, they realize that they need each other, but a dark force is looming that could destroy them both. Out March 16.

Ronald Brownstein narrates a pivotal year in Los Angeles history with Rock Me on the Water: 1974—The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television, and Politics. It’s a nonfiction account of a single year, 1974, where Los Angeles was the center of American culture and news. The book not only traces the major events of the year, but also presents a narrative about a generational clash, shake-ups of the status quo, and how the lessons and events of 1974 feel every bit as relevant today. Out March 23.

In The Ladies of the Secret Circus, Constance Sayers weaves together multiple time periods and a fantastical, evocative premise. When Lara’s fiancé disappears on their wedding day, she starts to remember the strange happenings that have seemed to haunt the women in her family for a century. Her investigations lead her to a mysterious, magical, and nightmarish circus in 1920s Paris, which concealed an underworld of more than hedonism and a devilish family secret. Out March 23.

Bestselling author Jennifer Kelshin Armstrong is the mind behind When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today. It’s a powerful nonfiction narrative of the unsung, often unknown women who pioneered the transformation of media from radio to television, combined with the devastating fallout of mid-century politics and “culture wars” that marginalized these same pioneers. Out March 23.

Jamie Beck’s For All She Knows is a devastating story of two friends whose lives tear them apart when they need each other the most. Grace and Mimi’s friendship began when they joined the same toddler playgroup with their sons, so it’s only fitting that it ends with a tragedy involving their sons, too. After a party leads to tragedy, court cases and rumors abound in their small town, all while Grace’s marriage crumbles and Mimi wonders about finding a second chance at love. Out March 30.

Based on the true story of Georgeanna Woolsey, a New York debutante who becomes a Civil War nurse, Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly continues Kelly’s series of loosely connected novels about generations of remarkable women in one American family and the other women with whom their lives intersect. As she follows her passion for nursing straight to the battlefield, Georgeanna’s path slowly crosses with Jemma, an enslaved girl forced into the army, and Anne-May, the wife of a plantation owner. Out March 30.