Taron Egerton’s She Rides Shotgun will be released in 4K on August 18. Photo: Lionsgate
Digital Release Alert: She Rides Shotgun
Where can you run when there’s nowhere to hide?
Taron Egerton stars as Nate, an ex-con on the run, in the new gritty action-thriller She Rides Shotgun. Based on Jordan Harper’s acclaimed 2017 novel of the same name, the film follows Nate as he tries to protect his 11-year-old daughter, Polly (Ana Sophia Heger), while being pursued by unrelenting enemies—including a corrupt sheriff who double-deals as the brutal leader of a criminal gang. (EG PR, 2026)
Photo: Barnes & Noble
As Nate teaches Polly how to fight and survive, she teaches him what unconditional love truly means in an intense, moving story about loyalty, strength, and redemption.
For fans of A Man Called Ove, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a charming, witty, and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope. This heartwarming story traces a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus, and it is finally making its way to the silver screen.
🎬 The Netflix Adaptation
The beloved novel has been adapted into a Netflix original movie featuring a powerhouse cast and creative team:
Starring: Sally Field as Tova and Alfred Molina as the voice of Marcellus.
Director/Co-Writer: Olivia Newman.
Release Date: May 8, 2026.
📖 Book Overview: A Tale of Eight Arms and One Big Secret
After Tova Sullivan’s husband passed away, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Keeping busy has always been Tova’s way of coping, ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)
While mopping floors and tidying up, Tova becomes acquainted with Marcellus, a curmudgeonly giant Pacific octopus. Marcellus is more observant than anyone can imagine, but he wouldn’t dream of helping his human captors, until he forms a remarkable bond with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces exactly what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. Now, he must use every trick his aging invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late. It is a gentle reminder that taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
📽️ Movie Snapshot
The film captures the essence of the novel, focusing on the life-changing discovery Tova makes through the unlikely bonds formed during her quiet night shifts. (IMDb, 2026)
Feature
Details
Genre
Drama
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic material, strong language, brief drug use)
Runtime
1hr 51min
“Sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.”
The movie adaptation of ‘Reminders of Him’ is now in theaters. Photo: Barnes & Noble
Book to Movie Spotlight: Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
Colleen Hoover has solidified her status as a titan of contemporary fiction. Driven by massive sales, #BookTok buzz, and a string of successful film adaptations, Hoover’s appeal lies in her emotionally intense storytelling. She blends romance with heavy themes like trauma and complex relationships, using an accessible writing style that creates a deep emotional bond with her audience.
Now Playing: The highly anticipated movie adaptation of Reminders of Him is currently in theaters everywhere.
The Book: A Journey of Redemption
A troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption.
After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong. Her goal is simple but daunting: reunite with her four-year-old daughter. However, the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut her out, regardless of how hard she works to prove she has changed.
The only person who hasn’t closed the door completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. As a connection forms between them, the stakes grow higher. If their relationship is discovered, both risk losing the trust of the people they love most. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past to build a future defined by hope and healing.
The Movie: At a Glance
After prison, a woman attempts to reconnect with her young daughter but faces resistance from everyone except a bar owner with ties to her child. As they grow closer, she must confront her past mistakes to build a hopeful future.
Production Credits & Details
Category
Details
Director
Vanessa Caswill
Writers
Colleen Hoover, Lauren Levine
Stars
Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Zoe Kosovic
Genre
Romance / Drama
Run Time
1h 55m
Rating
PG-13
Why We’re Watching
Whether you are a longtime member of the “CoHo” fandom or a newcomer to her stories, Reminders of Him promises to be a tear-jerker. Seeing Kenna’s journey from isolation to hope on the big screen adds a new layer of depth to an already powerful story.
Have you read the book yet, or are you heading straight to the theater?
Crime 101 is one of the short stories in Don Winslow’s Broken. Photo: Barnes & Noble
Broken by Don Winslow: From Gritty Crime Fiction to the Big Screen
“No matter how you come into this world, you come out broken…”
Don Winslow’s Broken is a blistering collection of crime stories that showcases why he’s long been considered one of the most powerful voices in contemporary crime fiction. Now, one of its standout stories—“Crime 101”—has made the leap from the page to a major motion picture, bringing Winslow’s razor-sharp storytelling to an even wider audience.
About the Book: Broken
Hailed by Stephen King as “one of America’s greatest storytellers,” #1 international bestselling author Don Winslow returns in Brokenwith six intense short novels. Some feature familiar characters, others introduce new ones, but all are connected by Winslow’s signature themes: crime, vengeance, guilt, and redemption.
With his trademark blend of insight, humanity, dark humor, and propulsive action, Winslow delivers stories that feel both immediate and timeless. These are tales of people living by codes, moral, criminal, or personal, and the devastating consequences when those codes are tested or broken.
Spotlight on “Crime 101”
At the heart of Broken is “Crime 101,” a tightly wound crime story that reads like a perfect noir film waiting to happen.
A series of high-level jewel heists along California’s Pacific Coast Highway has baffled law enforcement for years. The crimes are initially attributed to Colombian cartels, but Detective Lou Lubesnick suspects something else entirely: a lone thief operating under a strict personal philosophy known as Crime 101.
The jewel thief has followed his rules flawlessly, until now. As he plans one final, legendary score, Lou decides to do the unthinkable: break every rule of Crime 101 to stop him.
It’s a story about obsession, intuition, and the thin line between hunter and hunted, and it’s no surprise Hollywood came calling.
About the Movie: Crime 101
The film adaptation of Crime 101 brings Winslow’s story to life with an all-star cast and sleek, tension-filled direction.
Plot Overview
A jewel thief named Mike Davis has executed a series of daring heists along the 101 freeway, leaving police completely stumped. When he sets his sights on the ultimate score, his plans intersect with those of insurance broker Sharon Colvin. Meanwhile, Detective Lou Lubesnick believes he’s finally cracked the thief’s pattern and is determined to bring him down before the next job.
Film Details
Written and Directed by: Bart Layton
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, and Halle Berry
Crime 101 premiered on January 28, 2026, in London and is scheduled for U.S. release on February 13, 2026.
About the Author: Don Winslow
Don Winslow is the author of twenty-six acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including eight New York Times bestsellers such as Savages, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, and his epic City trilogy (City on Fire, City of Dreams, City in Ruins).
A former investigator, anti-terrorism trainer, and trial consultant, Winslow brings lived experience to his fiction, lending it an authenticity that sets his work apart. He has also written award-winning short stories for Audible, narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. Winslow currently lives in California and Rhode Island.
Final Thoughts
With Broken, Don Winslow once again proves his mastery of crime fiction, and Crime 101’s transition from short novel to feature film feels both natural and inevitable. Whether you encounter this story first on the page or on the screen, one thing is certain: Winslow’s world is gripping, morally complex, and impossible to forget.
The new book to movie adaptation starring Glen Powell hits theaters on November 7. Photo: Barnes & Noble
Stephen King’s “The Running Man” Returns — and Hits the Big Screen
Originally published under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982, The Running Man later appeared as part of The Bachman Books collection in 1985. Now, this dark, dystopian thriller is making its way to the big screen, with Paramount’s new adaptation set to premiere on November 7, 2025.
Ben Richards has lost everything—his job, his savings, and nearly his hope. With a sick daughter in need of urgent medical care, he takes a desperate gamble and signs up for the nation’s most popular (and brutal) reality show: The Running Man, where contestants are hunted for sport.
If Ben can stay alive for thirty days, he’ll win a billion dollars. The catch? No one has ever survived more than eight days. Pursued by a lethal strike force trained to kill, Richards must navigate a world where every step could be his last.
It’s a chilling story about desperation, power, and the lengths one man will go to save his family.
The Film Adaptation
The Running Man (2025) A man joins a game show where contestants can run anywhere in the world—while professional “hunters” track them down.
Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Michael Bacall, Stephen King, Edgar Wright
Stars: Glen Powell, Emilia Jones, Josh Brolin
Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi, Dark Comedy, Survival, Action Adventure
Running Time: 140 minutes
With Wright’s trademark style and a powerhouse cast, this adaptation promises to bring King’s high-stakes vision to thrilling, satirical life.
About the Author
Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent works include Never Flinch, You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (co-written with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges Trilogy: Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch.
King is the recipient of numerous honors, including:
2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award
2018 PEN America Literary Service Award
2014 National Medal of Arts
2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein will have a limited theater release starting October 17. Photo: TV Insider
Frankenstein: From Mary Shelley’s Gothic Classic to Guillermo del Toro’s New Film
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. At just 18 years old, Shelley began the story that would become one of the most enduring works of literature. The first edition was published anonymously in London in 1818 when she was only 20, with her name appearing for the first time in the second edition, published in Paris in 1821.
The novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature through an unorthodox experiment—assembling it from different body parts. What begins as an ambitious pursuit of knowledge quickly becomes a haunting tale of responsibility, isolation, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. (Wikipedia/Barnes & Noble, 2025)
The Lasting Appeal of Frankenstein
For over two centuries, readers have been captivated by the dark atmosphere and moral questions at the heart of Shelley’s masterpiece. Themes of creator vs. creation, knowledge vs. consequence, and the search for humanity make Frankenstein a timeless story.
Its influence spans both Gothic and science fiction traditions, inspiring countless adaptations—from early silent films to Universal’s iconic monster movies, and modern reimaginings that explore empathy, fear, and morality in new ways.
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025)
The fascination with Frankenstein continues today with acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming adaptation. His 2025 American Gothic science fiction film is based directly on Mary Shelley’s original novel and features a star-studded cast:
Oscar Isaac
Jacob Elordi
Mia Goth
Felix Kammerer
Lars Mikkelsen
David Bradley
Lauren Collins
Charles Dance
Christoph Waltz
The film had its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2025. It is set for a limited theatrical release on October 17, 2025, followed by a global Netflix release on November 7, 2025. (IMDb, 2025)
A Tale That Endures
At its core, Frankenstein is the story of a brilliant but egotistical scientist who dares to play God—only to unleash a tragic chain of events. The novel’s haunting exploration of ambition and its consequences continues to resonate, making it as relevant in 2025 as it was in 1818.
With del Toro’s highly anticipated adaptation, a new generation of audiences will experience the enduring power of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece—proof that Frankenstein is far more than just a monster story.
‘The Thursday Murder Club’ by Richard Osman is now a Netflix movie. Photo: Barnes & Noble
The Charm of Cozy Mysteries
Cozy mystery books offer readers a delightful escape into charming worlds filled with intrigue but softened by warmth and comfort. Unlike darker crime novels, cozies balance suspense with lighthearted settings—small towns, bookshops, bakeries, or quaint villages—where everyday life continues even amid mystery.
Their appeal lies in clever puzzles, quirky characters, and the absence of graphic violence, allowing readers to enjoy the thrill of solving a crime without the heaviness. Often featuring amateur sleuths, cozy mysteries invite readers to feel part of the investigation. They’re the perfect blend of relaxation and mental challenge, making them irresistible comfort reads.
Spotlight: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop tackling her first big case
A brutal murder
And a retirement village with secrets to spare
In a peaceful retirement community, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes. Together, they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.
When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph beside the body, the group suddenly finds themselves facing their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, the unorthodox but brilliant gang must race to catch the killer—before it’s too late.
From Page to Screen
The Thursday Murder Club is now a Netflix film, directed by Chris Columbus with a screenplay by Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote. The star-studded cast includes Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie.
The story follows four irrepressible retirees who spend their days solving cold cases for fun, only to stumble into a real whodunit. With its blend of humor, heart, and suspense, the adaptation brings the cozy mystery spirit to life on screen.
About the Author
Richard Osman is an author, producer, and television presenter. The Thursday Murder Club was his debut novel, and it quickly became a New York Times bestseller.
Beyond writing, Osman is well known for his work on TV shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games. As creative director of Endemol UK, he has worked on popular programs such as Deal or No Deal and 8 Out of 10 Cats. He is also a regular face on panel shows like Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You, and Taskmaster.
✨ Cozy mysteries like The Thursday Murder Club prove that crime-solving can be clever, funny, and comforting all at once. If you’re looking for a mystery that keeps you guessing while wrapping you in charm, this series is the perfect place to start.
SA Examiner 