From female revenge, a romcom and a new illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in fiction, to a wry look at parenting and an eye-opening history of peasants in non-fiction, there’s something for all kinds of readers this week.

Fiction

The End of the Vodka by Oscar De Muriel (Extraordinary Books, $35)

In 1938, socialite, arts enthusiast, and former actress Dorothy Hale falls to her death from a Manhattan skyscraper, becoming, “the most delicious fodder for gossip”. Her best friend, Clare Boothe Luce, a writer with influential connections, commissions a memorial portrait of Dorothy from Frida Kahlo, which is duly delivered. Luce is horrified by Kahlo’s stark depiction of the subject matter. Such details are true and in the public record, but aside from these facts, Oscar De Muriel’s book braids imagination with reality. Hale’s death was officially deemed a suicide, but there are rumbles of suspicion that suggest otherwise.…