July brings celebrations, fireworks, and a sparkling array of Texas-connected books. Grab the next installment in a trilogy from your favorite author, or check out the explosion of new stories bursting onto the Texas literary scene with adventure, intrigue, and edification.  Whatever your reading heart desires, Lone Star Lit has a gem waiting just for you.

Fear Not the Dead

Brad Ricks

Suffering a breakdown caused by the death of her father, Ann Walker finds herself convinced by her therapist to investigate repressed memories of her mother’s murder. She finds herself at a secluded bed and breakfast called Cardinal Crest Estate - the site of her mother’s tragic death. As she uncovers the truth about what happened during her childhood, she finds herself caught in a web of revenge and dark secrets, surrounded by the restless spirits of the many victims the remote estate has claimed.

Ann, her family, and the other guests of Cardinal Crest must find a way to survive both the living and the dead.

From the Sundering Snows: An Ilbeor Story

T.J. Klapprodt

The elves of the mountain village Shaamel still recall the time before a treaty forced them from their valley homes. A powerful elf named Altoneir has found happiness in his new home, but when tragedy takes away everything, his grief turns to a rage great enough to destroy worlds.

Bereft of home and family, Altoneir wanders alone. As his grief and wrath merge into destructive magic, he desires only to destroy those who had taken everything: the humans who had forced the elves into the mountains all those centuries ago.

As Altoneir’s destructive path attracts the attention of the world, a mysterious woman crosses his path, whispering words that entice him…and change the way he looks at himself, his power, and the world.

Irene in a Ghost Kitchen: An Irene in Chicago Culinary Mystery

Judy Alter

Irene’s back in her beloved Chicago. When she opens a French-inspired ghost kitchen, she ignites a fierce competition with her friend and colleague, Toby of La Petite Folie. When she rescues three abused children, she stirs up old family anger and resentments. And when a stalker haunts her, she is dismissive of danger. A rock thrown through the ghost kitchen window, a shadowy figure on the street late at night, Chance’s chauffeur beaten as he tries to flush out a stalker—the fear escalates. Something dark and threatening is lurking in the shadows, but Irene is dismissive of danger, refusing to take precautions. Can Chance and Henny keep everyone safe, especially Irene?

Lexi Sinclair and the Temple of the Moon: The Harleigh Sinclair Series, Book Three

by Tamara Grantham

My name is Lexi Sinclair, and I am not my sister.

When a scythe relic gets stolen by my ex from Greyson Industries, it’s my turn to take charge. I leave San Antonio and travel to Utah, then to Mexico, on my search for the relic, but I’m not ready for the dark secrets waiting to be uncovered.

To make things worse, I’m forced to work with an idiot archeologist named Dr. Arden Fletcher. Although he drives me crazy, I may be the teeniest bit attracted to him, despite my best efforts to hate him.

If we can’t find the scythe in time, my ex-boyfriend will use it in a ritual that could destroy half of Earth’s population.

But no pressure. It’s what I’m good at.

Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine: A Novel

Thao Votang

When twenty-seven-year-old Linh Ly’s recently divorced mother begins dating a coworker, Linh is determined to make sure he is worthy of her mother. She’s seen the kind of men her mother ends up with—she grew up watching her unreliable and volatile alcoholic father as her mother worked two jobs to make ends meet. Linh is certain that her mother can’t do this on her own, but what begins as genuine worry quickly turns obsessive.

Linh is slowly forced to reconcile the image of her mother from her childhood with the woman she’s getting to know as an adult. Growing up Vietnamese in the middle of Texas with a broken household taught Linh a certain guarded way of living—one she never quite left behind.

Love's First Light: The Women of Black Hawk Canyon Book One

Linda Broday

Rachel Malloy’s faith is shattered after burying the last of her family and then finding her home burned to the ground. She has nothing but the clothes on her back. Rancher Heath Lassiter offers a place to live and begins teaching her of God’s love. Heath also offers to marry her, which she promptly rejects. With the dark secrets she carries, she can marry no one. Then she discovers a newborn abandoned nearby. Love for the child blooms but she fears God will take it also as he had the others. Is a mysterious white dove a sign?

Danger surrounds as she struggles to find her faith and accept Heath’s offer of marriage. Will the coming dawn bring hope or more sorrow?

Matters of the Heart: Amish Calling, Book Two

Kelly Irvin

Declan Miller is the joking auctioneer of his Amish community. Bethel King is a serious caregiver for siblings coping with a degenerative disease. Yet every time their paths cross, the sparks fly. Is there a future together for them?

Owl Shook Up: The Owl Star Witch Mysteries Book 16

Leanne Leeds

When Aunt Gwennie’s famous snickerdoodles go missing before the annual cookie competition, Astra and her sisters prepare for a bitter battle over the sweet treats. But the trouble turns deadly when Aunt Gwennie’s rival, Agatha Blackwell, is found dead with a snickerdoodle stuffed in her mouth.

Can Astra clear Aunt Gwennie’s name and crack the case before the cookie crumbles? Or will the sisters watch Aunt Gwennie's cookie legacy come crashing down like an underbaked soufflé?

Find out in this delectable tale filled with baked goods, betrayal, and bewitching hijinks galore.

Sugar on the Bones: A Hap and Leonard Novel

Joe R. Lansdale

Minnie Polson is dead. Burned to a crisp in a fire so big and bad it had to be deliberate. The only thing worse is that Hap and Leonard could have prevented it. Maybe. Minnie had a feeling she was being targeted, shaken down by some shadowy force. However, when she’d solicited Hap & Leonard, all it took was one off color joke to turn her sour and she’d called them off the investigation. Wracked with a guilty conscience, the two PIs—along with Hap’s fleet-footed wife, Brett—tuck in to the case. Irreverent, wise-cracking, and full of atmosphere and bite, Sugar on the Bones is not to be missed.

The Underground Murders: Mavis Davis Mystery Series, Book Six

Susan P. Baker

Sharp-witted Private Investigator Mavis Davis dives into a web of deceit, intrigue, and corruption on the Texas Gulf Coast when a determined banker’s widow challenges the M.E.’s ruling that her husband’s suspicious death was a suicide. As Mavis scrutinizes the autopsy and questions those involved, she uncovers a chilling truth: the supposed suicide was actually a gruesome murder.

Each revelation pulls Mavis deeper into the murky waters of political scandal and corruption, where the line between justice and vigilantism blurs. As she unravels a conspiracy designed to silence those entangled in covert activities echoing political headlines, Mavis realizes the widow, her associates, and she herself are perilously close to exposing dangerous truths and becoming the next victims.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

There are so many Texas-connected books publishing this month that we couldn’t feature all of them. The following books also publish in July:

CHILDREN'S, MIDDLE GRADE, & YOUNG ADULT BOOKS 

Innocence Taken by Stephanie M Seaton and Rondregus Underwood

Ode to Grapefruit: How James Earl Jones Discovered His Voice by Kari Lavelle

Pizza Face by Rex Ogle

Rainbow Allies by Nancy Churnin

Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin

MYSTERY / HORROR

April Storm by Leila Meacham

Breaking Silence by Alan Brenham

The Burning by Linda Castillo

Catch a Tiger by the Toe by Joe Congel

Death by Railway by Brittany E. Brinegar

The Dissonance by Shaun Hamill

Magpie Maggie on Thin Ice by Katherine H. Brown

Mayhem and Mandrill by Verena DeLuca

Mexicanos Hustle by J. Benjamin Sanders

No Road Home by John Fram

No Secrets Remain by LynDee Walker

The Pursuit of Marla Adams by Patrick Hanford

Sometimes You Lose by Dallas Gorham

Stone Cold Saint by Stephanie St. Klaire

Stone Cold Savage by Stephanie St. Klaire

Stone Cold Sinner by Stephanie St. Klaire

Tricksters by N L McLaughlin

Voices in the Vapors by Eva Pohler

NONFICTION 

Bubba Ephriam: Black Texas Basketball Trailblazer by Garner Roberts

Conscious Change by Jean Kantambu Latting and V. Jean Ramsey

Creating and Consuming Media Messages with Purpose by Jennifer W. Shewmaker Ph.D. and Amy Boone M.Ed.

The Day's Hard Edge by José Antonio Rodríguez

Desire to Serve by Cheryl Brown Wattley

Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl by Hyeseung Song

Farm-to-Freedom by Roy Vu

Franciscan Friars of Hebbronville by Juan Jose Ibarra

Helicopter Training at Fort Wolters: Mineral Wells and the Vietnam War by Wes J. Sheffield

Inside the Well by Lance Lunsford

Late Bronze-Age Metal Artifacts off Hahotrim, Israel by Shelley Wachsmann

Native Texan: Stories from Deep in the Heart by Joe Holley

One Scoop at a Time by Ricky Dickson

The Poetry Diaries by Cody Schilling

Shouts from the Republic by Blake A. Pfeffer

Texas Legend: Jim Hall and his Chaparrals by George Levy

This is Going to Hurt by Bekah McNeel

Tracking the Texas Ranger Historians edited by Bruce A. Glasrud, Harold J. Weiss, Jr. 

Warriors for Social Justice by Linda J. Quintanilla

West University Place by Richard Lee Cunningham

OTHER FICTION

Earth Jumped Back by Philip Reari

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu

Future Unfolds by John & Leanne Yarrow

The Hollywood Assistant by May Cobb

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

Janeology by Karen Harrington

A Map of My Want by Faylita Hicks

The Misplaced Warrior by Sarah Noffke & Michael Anderle

My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes

Nate the Texas Story by Mark Warren

Prime Cuts by Chris Miller

Prom: At Trails End by John Strother

The River of Goodness by David Marquis

The Root of the Matter by Lynn Tagawa

Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba

Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews

The Sons of Thunder by Chris Miller

Tales from the Texas Timberlands by J. Andrew Rice

Teddy by Emily Dunlay

We Burn Daylight by Bret Anthony Johnston

The World After Alice by Lauren Aliza Green

ROMANCE

Beneath the Christmas Star by Hope August

Chasing Hearts by Staci Stallings

Cosmic Heat by Clio Evans

Courtship at Shadowcrest by Alexa Aston

The Cowboy Billionaire's Secret by Syliva McDaniel

Dangerous Devotion by Natasha L. Black

Defying My Duty by D.L. Howe

The Design of Us by Sajni Patel

Dub: Time Served MC by Cee Bowerman

An Enchanted Love by Lorna Hoopes

Fortune's Secret Marriage by Jo McNally

Handling the Boss by Rose Bak

Honeymoon for Seven by Chris Keniston

Houston by Lori Wilde

I Want to Dance With Somebody by Syliva McDaniel

Into the Starlight by Amanda Cabot

The Lion's Mate by Darlene Tallman

Loaded by B.E. Baker

Lone Star Witness by Delores Fossen

Mail Order Mellow by Kirsten Osbourne

Mail Order Menial by Kirsten Osbourne

The Middle of Nowhere by Cree Nations

One Lucky Cowboy by Kristine Lynn

PenPal Hero by Jo Grafford

The Protector's Rescue by Ginny Sterling

Ranch Ambush by Barb Han

Ranger Bravery by Lynn Shannon

Redemption by Jenna Hartley

Rose by Another Name by Lee Carver

The Sawmill Book Club by Carolyn Brown

Script of Love by Alexa Aston

Seaside Cowboy's Christmas Wish by Alexa Verde

The Secrets She Keeps by Calle J. Brookes

Sunset Daydreams by L.B. Benson

Sunshine for Shadow by Cassi Hart

Sworn to Defend by Charlee James

Take Me Home by Melanie Sweeney

Temptation by Brenda Jackson

The Virgin Widow by Robyn DeHart