strange and random happenstance

Off the top of my head I can name half a dozen actors who have memorably played Churchill from John Lithgow to Gary Oldman. Yet these award winning roles in Lithgow's and Oldman's case didn't excite me nearly as much as the fact that Robert Hardy had portrayed Churchill. For over thirty years he appeared as Churchill in a variety of shows, including an episode of Marple if you can fathom it. In fact I probably only saw him in Marple before finally tracking down a copy of Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years. The reason that Robert Hardy excited me as Churchill is that he is an effortless actor. Whatever role he's playing he is that character. Plus, there's something Churchillian about him that just felt right to me and obviously to him, or he wouldn't have kept going back to the role again and again. Oh boy was I in for a surprise. I will admit that by the end I had become accustomed to how he was playing Churchill so that I accepted him in the role but the problem is he's trying too hard. This isn't the effortless actor I have come to know and love, this is an actor working their hardest to capture the speech and mannerisms of an historical figure to such a degree that the role feels belabored. It was off-putting to see this great actor brought low by overthinking. This show has an amazing cast and yet, because of Hardy's insistence on how he played Churchill, the whole thing came off as a caricature. This is one instance where the fact that this show isn't readily available makes sense. This can be lost media and no one will mourn it's passing. What's more I just don't know what the focus was meant to be. While he was "out of office" in the British sense as not having a cabinet position, by American standards he was still in office because he retained his seat in Epping. So, he wasn't really out in the wilderness as I see it... But until we actually get to introduction of Hitler in episode three with the ramifications of that not seen until the end of episode four, we literally have a miniseries that is just India, India, India, Clemmie why won't you have sex with me, as she not so subtly chops down a beloved tree, India, India, India. I mean, I get that he's obsessed with India, so many Brits were, but what's the deal with his wife? I always thought that Winston and Clemmie had a good and solid marriage and here it's all her running off and not giving him what he wants and NEVER explaining anything and in the end just wasting the brilliance of Siân Phillips. You DO NOT waste Livia! Though you kind of forget the whole first half of the miniseries when the back half is all the lead-up to WWII. Years of Churchill warning what was to come and everyone ignoring him. Given what's going on in this country at the moment I just couldn't handle this. I'd zone out, I'd disassociate, by the end when they were doing an air raid test I was balling. So many people posit the question that if you had a time machine would you go back and kill Hitler. I just want to go back and bitch-slap Neville Chamberlain. So much of what he was saying to appease Hitler is the basic party line of the Democrats. Can't they see that history is repeating!?! Aren't they just as scared shitless as I am on a daily basis!?! Also, is Bernie our Churchill? Please let it be so. I need a small measure of hope.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bernie Sanders, Caricature, Democrats, Eric Porter, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Hitler, Marple, Neville Chamberlain, Politics, Robert Hardy, Siân Phillips, Winston Churchill, Winston Churchill The Wilderness Years, WWII

Inamorata by Ava Reid
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A decadently dark gothic fantasy for readers who love "haunting atmospheres, morally tangled characters, and stories where love becomes doom" (Booklist, starred review), the first in a duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth.

Once there was an island where the dead walked the earth, and seven noble houses ruled by the arcane secrets of necromancy.

A conqueror's blade brought them low, burning their libraries, killing their lords, and extinguishing their eldritch magic.

But defiant against the new order stands the House of Teeth and its last living members: beautiful Marozia, the heiress to the House, and her cousin, the uncanny Lady Agnes.

Though she has not spoken a word in seven years, Agnes is the true carrier of the House's legacy. And she has her orders. She must recapture the secrets of death magic and avenge her family's fallen honor. She must arrange the betrothal of her beloved cousin Marozia to Liuprand, heir to the conqueror's throne, for access to the forbidden library in his grotesquely grand castle.

Revenge burns in Agnes's heart but so do stranger passions - and it is Liuprand, the golden prince, who speaks to her soul. This passion is as treasonous as it is powerful, poisoning the kingdom's roots and threatening to tear the already shattered realm in two.

For Agnes's final order is the gravest: She must not fall in love.

Book One of The House of Teeth Duology."

So. Many. Libraries! Any book with a library central to the plot is a book worth having in my library. Plus that cover!

The Daughters by Joanna Margaret
Published by: The Mysterious Press
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A grieving archivist uncovers a strange connection between recent disappearances and a small New York town's history of witch trials in this new thriller from the author of The Bequest.

Reeling from the dual deaths of her estranged father and ex-fiancé, Genevieve Tompkins has dropped out of her PhD program in New York City and is looking for a chance to start over in Wilton Springs, a faded Victorian spa town in upstate New York. Utilizing her background as an archivist, she is hired to catalogue the papers of the prominent Wilton family, who trace their lineage back to the founders of the town. But as she digs into their records, Genevieve discovers that the family's pharmaceutical business and their personal lives have been fraught with a history of tragedy. She also uncovers a series of disturbing disappearances and suspicious deaths among the women of the town.

Three centuries earlier, Wilton Springs was the site of a brutal witch trial - a fact which someone has gone to extreme lengths to erase from historical record. As Genevieve explores the connections between the modern disappearances and the town's ugly past, she becomes entangled in a web of conspiracy, where the line between superstition and reality begins to blur, and she fears she may become the next woman to go missing from Wilton Springs...

Blending elements of Gothic fiction and folk horror, The Daughters is a literary thriller that will keep readers guessing how the mysteries of the distant past may reverberate and resurface in the sinister and atmospheric present."

YES! THIS! ALL OF THIS!! 

You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Domestic suspense meets haunted house horror in this adult debut from the New York Times bestselling author of Don't Let the Forest In.

The walls are closing in on her perfect new life.

Single mother Elodie's life has become a fairy tale. She's met Bren, equal parts Golden-retriever-devoted and sinfully handsome. He's whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he's renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Until Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are "hurting" the house. Even Elodie can't ignore it - something strange is going on.

The question is, Is it with the house, or with her son?

And what is Elodie hiding?"

Goosebumps when Jude says the renovations are "hurting" the house. GOOSEBUMPS! 

Mother Is Watching by Karma Brown
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The chilling horror debut from a #1 international bestselling author - an art conservator's obsession with a mysterious painting spirals into a nightmarish descent, where the line between reality and the supernatural shatters, threatening both her sanity and her life.

Mathilde "Tilly" Crewson, a thirty-nine-year-old mother and art conservator, is tasked with restoring The Mother. The painting, believed to be the work of a female surgeon-turned-artist after a personal tragedy, is the rumored fourth piece in a collection of only three known works. But this newly discovered painting, scarred by fire, holds more than meets the eye.

Soon after receiving the painting, Tilly discovers she's unexpectedly pregnant, and strange, inexplicable occurrences begin: terrifying insect swarms, eerie visits from her long-deceased mother, and sinister whispers that invade her mind. As these malevolent forces intensify, Tilly comes to a harrowing realization: the only way to sever the perilous bond she shares with the painting is to destroy it. But The Mother has plans of her own - and they're darker than Tilly could ever imagine...."

Tilly should have looked into the history of how the painting got burned in the first place... Methinks history does repeat itself. 

The Creeping Below by Brian Azzarello and Vanesa Del Rey
Published by: BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"THE GODS ABOVE, THE CREEPING BELOW.

Val, an American heavy metal fanatic, is on her dream vacation: attending the Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo, Norway. There she meets a charismatic young band, who take her out to a remote forest to show her the local "haunts." Taken by their charm and oblivious to the danger, Val is drugged, beaten, and left for dead...

But her story is far from over.

She wakes at dawn, haunted by a vision of rain falling from a wolf's jowls. Stumbling back to Oslo, she finds that the festival has already ended - 13 years ago.

The world has moved on and the men who brutalized her are long gone, but when moss and roots begin to sprout from her skin… she realizes that everything has changed. Everything except her desire for revenge, that is.

In nature, there are gods older than man, and something ancient, something… hungry, has awakened powers in her that will guide her rage as she seeks to exact justice on those that wronged her.

Writer Brian Azzarello and Vanesa Del Rey deliver a bloodsoaked feminist revenge saga, blending Norse mythology and eco-horror into a boundary-pushing cocktail of metal, magic, and murder!

Collects The Creeping Below #1-5."

This is a skip unless you like an ugly story with even uglier art.

Wayward Souls by Susan J. Morris
Published by: Bindery Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The delightfully dark sequel to the gothic supernatural mystery Strange Beasts.

Six days before Samhain - the night when the veil between worlds is thinnest - Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula's killer, and Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the famed criminal mastermind, are thrown into their next case: the mysterious disappearance of two Society field agents in Ireland. Only this time, the Royal Society is sending Jakob Van Helsing to keep an eye on them.

Sam and Hel may have solved the Paris case, but that doesn't mean the Society trusts them. Sam has the power to slip into the minds of monsters, and Van Helsing has sworn to kill her at the first sign of corruption. And if Hel can't prove her father's existence, she'll soon go down for his crimes.

Their investigation takes them from the crumbling ruins of Ireland's untamed wilds to the occult societies of the rich and powerful. The connection between the Sam and Hel is electric, but as they fall deeper into each other's orbit, their secrets only multiply. For Hel, it's the sins she committed when she was her father's pawn. For Sam, it's a plague of death omens, mysterious black feathers, and a siren song no one else can hear. And then comes a chilling revelation that is poised to shatter everything: The agents who disappeared were each haunted by a ghost. And so, it seems, is Sam.

With characters drawn from the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, Wayward Souls is a twisty puzzle box of a historical fantasy - perfect for fans of Genevieve Cogman, Theodora Goss, Freya Marske, T. Kingfisher, and Gail Carriger."

Historical fantasy and Gothic mashups for the win!

Moon Dark by E.A. Field
Published by: Rising Action
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dark and thrilling re-imagining of Frankenstein and The Phantom of the Opera, Moon Dark is an adult romantasy set in the manor and opera houses of late 1800s France.

1875 Fredericksburg, England: When Ian is born his father enlists Victor, a surgeon friend, to perform a series of depraved surgeries to correct his son's facial and limb deformity. But, when people start disappearing and body parts pile up in their lab, Ian becomes the victim of two men playing God.

Ian survives the forced experiments and grows up but his disfigurement and legacy from his father marks him as an unnatural demon among men. Outcasted and feared even though his intelligence far outstrips his generation, Ian escapes his father and Victor when they decide he's too dangerous to be left alive. But, Ian finds himself lost in a world order that will not accept him - until a Marquis takes an interest in him. Ian learns that love comes in all forms but that above all, power rules everything. The power to kill lets Ian survive but gets him no closer to existing in society or finding peace.

It's at the Marquis' estate that Ian meets Gisele, a seamstress employed by an opera company, who shows him what unconditional love is. She is able to see past his deformity to the unbroken soul inside. When Ian learns Victor is using his father to hunt him, Gisele's life is in danger. Victor will use Gisele as a bargaining piece and Ian is the only one who can protect her. He has lived as both man and monster and now is confronted with his prodigious creator. He will be forced to decide if he will give up his life for revenge or choose to save the woman who has given him everything."

Give yourself over to the opera, they accept all!

Masquerade by L.R. Lam
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the high-stakes conclusion to the Micah Grey Trilogy from the USA Today-bestselling author of Dragonfall, Micah faces his own magical power, nebulous alliances, and a conspiracy that unravels all the way to the Royal Palace.

The gifted can't hide their talents forever. But monsters await when they step into the light...

Micah's Chimaera powers are growing, just as dark visions threaten to overwhelm him. Drystan is forced to take him to the Royal Physician, but can they really trust the doctor? Especially when he gets Micah hooked on a mysterious medicine, and a close friend is revealed to be his spy.

Meanwhile, violent unrest is sweeping the country as anti-royalist factions fight to be heard. When a royal secret and an attack on Chimaera brings Micah into the heart of the conflict, he and his friends must fight an ancient sect that aims to spread terror once more. The fate of all Chimaera - and the world - hangs in the balance.

In this satisfying and thrilling conclusion to their inventive fantasy trilogy, L.R. Lam raises the stakes like never before."

Yeah, that doctor is totally sus.

Only Spell Deep by Ava Morgyn
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rebecca meets The Craft in this dark, atmospheric novel of one witch rediscovering her power while on the run from another willing to kill her for it.

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Bane Witch!

Judeth Cole has always had certain uncanny abilities. But when she arrived at Solidago, her grandfather's estate by the sea, she was forced to keep them secret. There she lived a harsh life under his rule and the haunting legacy of her late grandmother, Aurelia. Until the fateful day she ignited a fire with her magic. It was the last time she saw her family alive.

Seventeen years later, she's living in Seattle as Jude Clark, and failing at life, when she makes a last detour through her favorite bookstore, selecting a book to read as she waits to die. But when she pulls it from the shelf, an invitation to her for a clandestine midnight meeting slips out.

Jude is quickly swept up into a world of secrets and magic, discovering a circle of powerful new companions led by the mysterious, enigmatic Arla. The source of their magic, Arla tells her, is an entity, trapped and bound, that they call The Fathom. But Jude swiftly realizes Arla wants this power all to herself, and that she's willing to kill for it.

Terrified, Jude turns to Levi, the handsome bookseller who's seen her at her worst. With his help, she begins a research journey that leads her all the way back to Solidago, the house she swore to never return to. Now, the Fathom threatening to break free and Arla on the hunt, Jude must finally face her past to save her future.

Ava Morgyn's Only Spell Deep is a novel that takes readers on a journey into a dark, glittering world of magic, a place where power should never be caged and misplaced trust can have deadly consequences."

I was sold by the blurb saying this is Rebecca meets The Craft. I don't need any more details than that.

The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C.M. Waggoner
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A practical witch must sabotage her beloved son's ascension to the throne in order to keep the kingdom from ruin, in this delightful cozy fantasy from the author of The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry.

Once upon a time, a somewhat wicked witch named Gretsella lived in a cozy little cottage in the Dark Forest of Brigandale. She dispensed herbs and tinctures at reasonable prices, met with her slightly oddball coven on a regular basis, and had absolutely no need of any further company whatsoever, thank you very much. But then one afternoon, Gretsella came home to find a screaming infant on her doorstep.

Against all her better judgement, she took the baby in. She named him Bradley.

Eighteen years later, Bradley has grown into a bafflingly likable young man under Gretsella's extremely tolerant - one might even say doting - eye. But the witch's hopes for an unremarkable yet fulfilling life for her son are shattered when small woodland animals start prophesying that he is the lost prince and should ascend to the throne. Bradley ignores Gretsella's advice that prophecies and talking chipmunks are to be avoided at all costs, and sets off for the capital. But soon confusion and chaos are reigning, and scheming courtiers are using Bradley for their own ends. Sometimes a witch has to roll up her sleeves and take matters into her own cauldron. So Gretsella resolves to bring about the downfall of her darling son..."

I think the first mistake wasn't taking that baby in, it was naming him Bradley...

Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf by Isabelle Taylor
Published by: Harlequin
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The grumpy-sunshine appeal of It Happened One Summer meets the cozy fantasy vibes of The Baby Dragon Cafe in this utterly charming, spicy, Alaska-set fated-mates romance.

Welcome to Claw Haven, where monsters go to find some peace and quiet.

Spoiled heiress Luna Stack is meant to be sipping mai tais on a beach with her fun-loving fiancé. Instead, a snowstorm strands her in Claw Haven, Alaska, a cozy town full of monsters living the quiet life. At least the werewolf innkeeper's hot - until he opens his mouth.

Luna's more than ready to leave the grumpy wolf and his decrepit inn behind as soon as the snow clears, but when a potion mishap bonds the two of them together, she resigns herself to staying in Claw Haven, just for a little while.

She's only werewolf married, though, not married married, like, legally. No big deal.

Oliver Musgrove wants nothing to do with his new "wife." He has annoying, friendly townsfolk to ignore, and he's lost his ability to shift, which means his alpha ambitions are currently on hold.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Oliver wants to keep his distance from Luna, the bond says otherwise. Even though the two can't stand each other, maybe they can stop bickering long enough to explore the magical spark between them...

After all, what's a little knotting between enemies?"

As someone who reads A LOT of books with werewolves, werewolf married is A LOT more permanent that married married. 

Miss Wick and the Duke Dilemma by Violet Marsh
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The daughter of a pirate and a newly titled duke must team up to solve a decades-old family mystery in this clever historical rom com - perfect for fans of Evie Dunmore and Manda Collins!

Eoin Aucourte, the newly minted Duke of Foxglen, always played by his grandfather's rules. But now that the old man is dead, Eoin's first decision is to track down his long-lost mother. The only problem? He'll have to visit the infamous Black Sheep Coffeehouse to begin his search. Rumor has it that the owner, Miss Hannah Wick, knows all the gossip from the dingiest St. Giles alleyways to the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair. But the whip-smart daughter of a pirate also has a way of making Eoin forget all the lessons on propriety that his grandfather ruthlessly instilled in him.

The Duke of Foxglen represents everything Hannah disdains about the nobility. Even worse, his grandfather exiled her papa from England, setting her father on the course of piracy and endangering her entire family. Seeing an opportunity to seek vengeance on his family, Hannah pretends to "help" the shy, surprisingly handsome duke - but soon realizes Eoin may be the first truly honorable noble she's ever met.

With every clue they uncover, their search intensifies...and so does their attraction. But with so many secrets between them, does love even stand a chance?"

Love always wins in my world!

Death Wasn't Invited: A June's Journey Mystery by Carlene O'Connor
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Based on the hit mobile game, a cozy murder mystery set in 1920s Paris by a USA Today bestselling author, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Agatha Christie. June's friend has been brutally murdered and the police have the wrong man, can she solve the case before the killer catches up to her?

Paris, 1922. The marriage between the Auclair and Picard families is the talk of the town. June can't wait to attend the engagement party with her friends, Nate and Jack. But Nate has an ulterior motive: he's there to stop the wedding. Before he can complete his task, he's stabbed in the chest with Jack's knife. Jack is arrested, but June knows he wouldn't hurt a fly.

In this throwback to the classic whodunnits of Agatha Christie, June must find the real killer and clear Jack's name. As she becomes embroiled deeper and deeper into a corrupt web of Parisian old money, high society and politics, she uncovers deadly secrets. Can June solve the case before the killer strikes again?"

Unless you've been living under a log you know about June's Journey. Personally I have a moratorium on playing any games so this book is the perfect chance for me to get lost in this world. 

The Mastermind's Trap by Debbi Michiko Florence
Published by: Aladdin
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this sequel to A Study in Secrets that's Only Murders in the Building meets The Westing Game, Meg must figure out the identity of the mysterious Mastermind to save her school and her friends.

After winning a scavenger hunt with her new friends - Tana, Zane, and Ryan - Meg Mizuno is looking forward to winter break and enjoying their grand prize of an all-expenses paid trip to California. But after learning that their boarding school, Leland Chase Academy (called Last Chance Academy by students), is in danger of shutting down, it's hard to enjoy the sun and surf.

When they return, the Head of School reminds the student body of their mandatory participation in the Student Showcase, with the goal of bringing in needed funds to the school. If that weren't enough pressure, Meg discovers a new note: the Mastermind wants her to help him with one more scavenger hunt. This time, though, she must work alone, or else the Mastermind will not only ruin the school, but also publicly reveal secrets about all her friends that would turn their lives upside down."

I'm a sucker for this kind of story. I just wish I had had more books like this when I was young. At least I'm still young at heart.

Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson
Published by: Mariner Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ten heists. Ten suspects. A murder mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve in this delightfully clever and twisty new novel in Benjamin Stevenson's bestselling series - perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz.

I've spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I've never been a hostage before.

The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, everyone is a suspect.

THE BANK ROBBER
THE MANAGER
THE SECURITY GUARD
THE KID
THE FILM PRODUCER
THE PRIEST
THE RECEPTIONIST
THE PATIENT
THE CAREGIVER
ME

Turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money.

Who is stealing what? Are they willing to kill for it? And can I solve the crime before the police kick down the door and rescue us?"

Personally, after the first book I've never fully trusted Ernest, so he could totally be one of the thieves... 

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano comes Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line - the highly anticipated next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series.

Life hasn't been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where she's facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didn't commit. A prisoner to an ankle bracelet as she awaits her trial, Vero is forced to live with her overbearing mother and nosy aunt. Threatening messages keep arriving on her mother's door, demanding Vero "turn over the money...or else." And if she doesn't figure out who really stole her former sorority's treasury funds, her next home might be a prison cell.

But proving her innocence might be an impossible feat. Vero was the treasurer of her sorority when the money went missing - one of the only people who had access to the cash. And her alibi is a date who ghosted her. With her court date quickly approaching, and her mysterious stalker on her tail, Vero needs to clear her name fast.

Finlay decides a trip to Maryland is in order. After all, Vero stood by her through her darkest moments, and Finlay will be damned if she lets her best friend and children's nanny be convicted for something she didn't do. She sets off on a mission to suss out the real thief and bring Vero home."

I never trust anyone in a sorority house, which is probably why I was never in a sorority. 

Missing by E.A. Jackson
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this unputdownable crime thriller for fans of Tana French, a detective returns to a thirty-year-old case - an infamous disappearance in London - that has haunted her entire career and now may jeopardize her future.

In August 1990, London is suffering through an unprecedented heatwave when baby Bella Carpenter is snatched through the open window of her hotel room. Detective Inspector Martha Allen is assigned the high-profile case and, knowing that it could make or break her career, is determined to find Bella.

When a young woman named Nell Beatty walks into the police station with a baby who appears to be Bella, and whom Nell claims she found on a bench, it seems that the mystery is solved. Her family, the police, and the press are overjoyed at her return. But DI Allen isn't convinced, something about Nell's story doesn't ring true. As much as she wants to continue, however, now that the baby is safe, she's ordered to close the investigation.

Thirty years later, Nell Beatty is found dead. Now a superintendent, Allen has never really gotten over her doubts about the Carpenter case and can't resist doing a little digging on her own time, eager to find out what happened to Nell, and her involvement in the baby's disappearance all those years ago. But will her efforts uncover something darker than she could have ever imagined? And what is she risking as she tries once and for all to reveal the truth?"

You SO know that wasn't the same baby right?

Lucien by J.R. Thornton
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gifted yet financially disadvantaged artist falls victim to the manipulative control of his wealthy, enigmatic Harvard roommate in this incendiary novel from the author of Beautiful Country - a piercing exploration of class, ambition, identity, and the perilous cost of reinvention in the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Donna Tartt.

The son of working-class Czech immigrants, Christopher "Atlas" Novotny is a talented painter who arrives at Harvard on a full scholarship. Raised amid hardship, he is unprepared for the privileged world introduced to him by his freshman roommate, Lucien Orsini-Conti.

Born to wealthy European diplomats, Lucien plays the part of the confident, sophisticated bon vivant. Where Lucien is bold and brash, Atlas is timid and introverted. Growing up a lonely outsider, Atlas is insecure, impressionable, and in awe of his brilliant roommate. But is Lucien all that he seems?

Sensing a willing disciple, Lucien introduces Atlas to a glittering new world of lavish parties and elite social clubs. When Atlas struggles to afford his new lifestyle, Lucien offers a solution, convincing the naïve artist to become a forger, passing off fakes to galleries and dealers.

But Lucien's charismatic facade conceals something darker and more sinister. As Lucien's behavior grows increasingly unstable, Atlas is forced into escalating risks with devastating consequences.

Drawing inspiration from the true crime stories of Christian Gerhartsreiter (a.k.a. "Clark Rockefeller") and Adam Wheeler, Lucien is as darkly seductive and addictively readable as The Secret History, The Incendiaries, Creation Lake, and The Talented Mr. Ripley."

Personally, I'm all for people getting away with forgery of artwork, it's the other stuff that is problematic.

Black Bag by Luke Kennard
Published by: Zando
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An out-of-work actor accepts the role of a lifetime - sitting soundlessly in a lecture theater, zipped into a large leather bag - to aid a professor's psychological experiment. What could possibly go wrong?

In Luke Kennard's audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr. Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. How will Dr. Blend's students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of Fall lectures? The role, eagerly accepted, soon has unexpected consequences. A professor of post-humanism develops research questions of her own - in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag? - and the actor's childhood friend forms a vision for monetizing this new situation...

A warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, Black Bag is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane."

This sounds so like a stunt a modern artist would perform. In other words, yes please.

David Bowie by Philippe Margotin
Published by: Supernova Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 276 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Singer, Songwriter, producer, actor, painter... David Bowie is one of the most fascinating artists the world has ever known.

David Bowie is a creator who placed his art above all else. During an intense career, spanning some fifty years, he constantly renewed and challenged himself. He experimented with his music enriching it with various other genres, from soul to electronic music, even including avant-garde jazz.

This book is an immersion into the life and exceptional work of David Bowie, featuring the various characters he portrayed, such as Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, and The Thin White Duke, as his alter egos. From London to New York, from Los Angeles to Montreux, album after album, we enter his musical universe: glam rock, soul/funk, avant-garde rock, industrial rock, including timeless works such as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Station to Station, Heroes and Black Star. With songs that have also gone down in history: "The Man Who Sold The World," "Changes," "Rock'n'Roll Suicide," "The Jean Genie," "Rebel Rebel," "Word on a Wing," and "Lazarus."

David Bowie was a formidable showman; the world tours we highlight are testament to this. He was also a naturally seductive actor, able to embody characters far removed from each other, from the alien Thomas Jerome Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth, Major Jack Celliers in Furyo, Andy Warhol in Basquiat and Jareth, the Goblin King in Labyrinth."

I will buy anything David Bowie. So long as it isn't a comic. For some reason comics about him always suck.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ava Morgyn, Ava Reid, Benjamin Stevenson, C.M. Waggoner, David Bowie, Debbi Michiko Florence, E.A. Field, E.A. Jackson, Elle Cosimano, Isabelle Taylor, J.R. Thornton, Joanna Margaret, June's Journey, Luke Kennard, Violet Marsh

My mom had a special place in her heart for all things African. Books, movies, photography, anything to do with Africa she would devour. Even excruciatingly long slide shows from friends who had just gotten back from safari. I remember watching Out of Africa with her and her complete and total anger at Denys Finch-Hatton being played by Robert Redford. Her rage was incandescent. Whereas she thought Klaus Maria Brandauer was sheer perfection as Bror von Blixen-Finecke. As you can see, strong opinions run in my family. What she loved more than anything though was The Flame Trees of Thika written by Elspeth Huxley. In fact the 1987 edition published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson was one of her favorite books of all time. So one Christmas I bought her the 1981 miniseries on DVD assuming that she probably hadn't seen it because it aired right when she was pregnant with my brother. I never got to watch it with my mom, but my dad claims they did watch it and she enjoyed it. Personally I wish I could know her opinion on it because I am conflicted. I've now watched this series twice and the first time I saw it through Elspeth's eyes. A continent full of awe and wonder. The second time I watched it the paternalism and sheer theft of land by the British pissed me off. Even as I sit down to write this I'm not sure how to frame my thoughts. The Flame Trees of Thika is interesting in that it is set in Kenya before World War I when it wasn't yet the place to banish problematic relatives who then became known for their swinging lifestyle. Though I have a feeling had anyone brought up the notion to Elspeth's parents Robin and Tilly they might have been game. In fact a lot of my first viewing was how astonished that the scantily clad Robin with his toned muscles, high-waisted pants, and perfect coif was in fact David Robb who is most known for playing Dr. Clarkson on Downton Abbey. I actually got into the habit of taking screencaps and sending them randomly to my friends who are Downton Abbey fanatics and asking them if they could guess who the man in the picture was. My friend Sara literally, after almost giving up, said "Doctor from Downtown Abbey? Can't be…" And yet, she was right! This was just one distraction that made me take this show at face value. I was literally ogling the surface of David Robb, who I might add, is totally not my type. Also, Holly Aird as Elspeth is perhaps one of the best child actors I have ever seen. She's just the right level of intrigued and rebellious. Her awe and wonder at the world around her makes you feel the same way. Plus, she is untainted by prejudice, she takes the world as it is, the Africans are her friends, as are all the animals. She's a pure spirit in a cruel world. Because on rewatching this I was thinking again and again how cruel the British occupation of Kenya was. They just sold land that wasn't theirs to desperate people claiming that they could make their fortunes by growing coffee. The key thing is, this land wasn't theirs to buy or sell. And then the British hire the natives at slave labor wages and this is totally acceptable!?! It so so isn't. The Grants didn't have an easy go of things and they were trying to help all those they believed to be in their care, but for every Grant there are a dozen Palmers, people who build their big house and treat their servants horribly and are there to just go on a constant safari, killing their way across the continent. While I adore the work of John Hawkesworth and all the thought he puts into his shows, this show's British paternalism is too strong for me to wholeheartedly endorse it. As a look back onto another world it is valuable, but we have to take stock that it was wrong in the first place. And The Flame Trees of Thika doesn't do that.  

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Africa, British Empire, David Robb, Denys Finch-Hatton, Downton Abbey, Elspeth Huxley, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Holly Aird, John Hawkesworth, Kenya, Out of Africa, Paternalism, Robert Redford, The Flame Trees of Thika

Danger UXB is about a bomb disposal unit during World War II created by the late great John Hawkesworth. The show goes into the danger and minutiae of dismantling a bomb and making it safe. The unit are constantly having to figure out the insidious new ways the Nazis have invented to create the most damage and to make bombs almost impossible to defuse. This even includes the introduction of the dreaded Butterfly Bomb. Now, I'm not saying that I could 100% disarm a bomb after watching this series, but I think I'm definitely in with a chance. Which is actually rather useful because they are still finding UXBs to this day. Not that I'd want to. Watching this show was stressful enough without having real world implications. The show starts with Anthony Andrews as Brian Ash, a man with no experience put in charge of bomb disposal. Which means that we the viewer get to follow him into this world that basically meant your life expectancy was measured in days. The problem with Brian Ash and therefore Anthony Andrews is he's too boring. He's your general romantic hero lead. The blue-eyed blonde haired boy who the women swoon over. In fact he's soon having a romance Susan Mount, the married daughter of boffin Doctor Gillespie who is a specialist in bomb fuses. Their romance is the definition of milquetoast. You don't care because you actually feel that deep down they probably don't care. It's too contrived and trope heavy. Which means, of course, she has a husband who's a codebreaker, who suffers mental breaks and whom she has to see to. Eventually he dies and that means they can be together and in the only moment of their relationship I approve of, she realizes he loves his men and the thrill of defusing a bomb more than he'll ever love her and that's where the series ends. Suck it Susan. Suck it! Because it's the men who make this show. 347 Section, 97 Company is made up of the best of the best in British character actors but Robert Pugh, George Innes, and Kenneth Cranham all deserve a special shout-out. Especially Kenneth Cranham. When I watched this show it happened to coincide with Kenneth Cranham being in everything I was watching. I don't know how he was so ubiquitous, but there he was on the stupidly renamed C.B. Strike, then popping up on the final season of Doc Martin, then on Inspector Morse and Pollyanna, even the nearly unwatchable Reilly: Ace of Spies. I was viewing shows spanning fifty years of British television in no particular order and there he was. There he always was. And he was always fabulous. His character of Lance Corporal Jack Salt was more interesting in one minute of screen time than Brian Ash was for the entire series. He had a wife up north but was conflicted and worried about the safety of this woman whom he'd met. Everything keeps compounding on him, even where he's home on leave and his house, with his wife inside, explodes before his very eyes. He's eventually taken out by a Butterfly Bomb in what I view as suicide by cop. He had so much trauma and that gave us viewers someone to root for. We wanted him to suceed. But, when you're not sure if you'll live another minute every minute is precious. If there's anything this series imparted to us, it was this. Oh, and that Nazis are evil. All Nazis are evil. There are no exceptions. They take delight in creating killing machines. If you're on the side of the Nazis YOU are a baddie.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Andrews, Bomb Disposal, Butterfly Bomb, C.B. Strike, Danger UXB, Doc Martin, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, George Innes, Inspector Morse, John Hawkesworth, Kenneth Cranham, Nazis, Pollyanna, Robert Pugh, Tropes, UXB, WWII

Benjamin by Ben H. Winters and Leomacs
Published by: Oni Press
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 104 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"IN ONE L.A. MOTEL ROOM, A COSMIC QUEST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN...

More than just a writer, more than just a science-fiction icon, Benjamin J. Carp was a cultural revolutionary. Over the course of 44 novels and hundreds of short stories - including the counterculture classic The Man They Couldn't Erase - Carp pushed the boundaries of literary respectability for the sci-fi genre and his readers' perception of reality itself...until decades of amphetamine abuse and Southern California excess finally ended a mind-bending career that always just escaped mainstream success. He died in 1982.

Until 2025...when Benjamin J. Carp awakens, alive, in a burned-out motel on the fringes of Los Angeles. He remembers dying. He knows he shouldn't exist. Is he a dream? A robot? A ghost? A clone? A simulation? In his own time, Carp pondered all of these scenarios through his fiction - and now, as he treks from Studio City to Venice Beach and onward into the paranoid sprawl of 21st-century Los Angeles, he will be called to investigate his greatest mystery yet: himself.

From Edgar Award nominee and Philip K. Dick Award winner Ben H. Winters (EC's Cruel Universe, The Last Policeman trilogy) and rising star Leomacs (EC's Epitaphs from the Abyss, Ghostlore) comes a uniquely fascinating and hilariously deranged excursion into the metatextual nexus where existence and oblivion, past and future, genius and madness, and glitter and grim reality all meet just beyond Hollywood Boulevard."

This is if Philip K. Dick came back from the dead and believed that he had be returned to Earth because he is a man of consequence only to be in for a rude awakening. It is epic and wonderful and human and if you love your science fiction and a stan of certain mid-century authors, this is for you.

Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in the second entry of this cozy sci-fi mystery series, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective.

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty's most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

A wild baby appears! Dorothy Gentleman, ship's detective, is put to the test once again when an infant is mysteriously left on her nephew's doorstep. Fertility is supposed to be on pause during the Fairweather's journey across the stars - but humans have a way of breaking any rule you set them. Who produced this child, and why did they then abandon him? And as her nephew and his partner get more and more attached, how can Dorothy prevent her colleague and rival detective, Leloup, a stickler for law and order, from classifying the baby as a stowaway or a piece of luggage?

Told from Dorothy's delightfully shrewd POV, this novella series is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take - perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie."

Can we maybe stop namechecking Dorothy L. Sayers? I know she's the big name from the Golden Age, but she's also really problematic. 

Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seanan McGuire's New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated InCryptid series continues with the fifteenth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us.

Sarah Zellaby is a Johrlac, a member of a species of psychic ambush predators colloquially referred to as "cuckoos." Eight years ago, she survived the difficult, painful process of becoming a cuckoo queen…although not without costs. In the wake of her transformation, the man she loved was entirely erased from his own mind, forcing her to reconstruct him from the memories of the people who knew and loved him.

Sarah has been struggling to come to terms with her actions ever since. But there's no one else on the planet with the power to hold her accountable - until the Johrlac authorities show up. It's time for her to stand trial for what she's done, something which can only happen on Johrlar, home world of her species, where the population is controlled by a system of unyielding hiveminds and crime is punishable by erasure.

With Sarah's life on the line, her family will need to find a way to cross dimensional borders and survive a hostile, telepathic world in order to get her back - before the Sarah they know ceases to exist.

But no matter what happens, actions have consequences...and Sarah Zellaby is about to learn that lesson the hard way.

Chaos, noun:
1. The inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system.

Chaos theory, noun:
1. A branch of mathematical and physical theory that deals with the nature and consequences of chaos and chaotic systems.
2. The study of unpredictable systems.
3. See also "impossible math.""

After watching The Midwich Cuckoos twice in the last year this hits different. In a good way.

You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Demons clash with inheritance claims as secrets unfold and violence is unleashed over twelve harrowing hours trapped in a house with the worst thing imaginable: family.

When Papi Ramon, the patriarch of the wealthy Abreu family dies, he gives the family one last message in the will: "One of you is el bacà, the demon that I made a deal with. Get rid of them or you will be damned." Xiomara, the uncontested favorite of Papi Ramon (and therefore the least liked in the family), watches as everyone dismisses this as the joke of a senile old man and demands the lawyer obtain the previous will Papi wrote.

While the lawyer drives back to his office, a storm breaks out, forcing the entire family - Xiomara's aunts and uncles and cousins - to remain in the house. And the words of Papi's will hangs over their heads even heavier than the rain clouds. Over the course of the night, scandal after scandal is revealed to the public about the family. Suddenly a tense few hours of surviving her family turns into a vicious night of recrimination, violence, accusations...and murder.

Xiomara is faced with an impossible task: uproot a demon and somehow kill it or excise the ghosts that linger within her own family.

And the clock is ticking..."

I think you should be able to handle demons and ghosts both.

Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hache Pueyo returns after But Not Too Bold with her new novella Cabaret in Flames, where Interview with the Vampire meets Certain Dark Things in an alternate-Brazil where brutal flesh-hungering Guls stalk the night streets and manipulate the government from their glittering cabaret.

Guls can be brutal. Few know this better than Ariadne, who lost half her body to their appetites, but their brutality is a predictable constant amid Brazil's political chaos. Now, she treats them in the specialized clinic she inherited from Erik Yurkov - the mentor who rescued her as a child, trained her in medicine, built her prostheses, and disappeared without a trace.

Ariadne's routine is disturbed when Quaint knocks on her door: a charming, tattooed gul claiming to be Erik's oldest friend. Quaint suspects foul play in Erik's disappearance, and they soon discover Erik sought asylum at Cabaré, an infamous club in Rio de Janeiro frequented by the gul elite.

Together, Ariadne and Quaint will unravel the conspiracy behind their friend's disappearance, navigate the labyrinthine world of Ariadne's memories, and discover what Erik means to them - and what they are starting to mean to each other."

I mean, evil in a cabaret? Sold.

The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An obsession with an immortal serial killer entangles a vampire hunter's daughter in a sapphic romance in this enthralling gothic fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lucy Undying.

Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing - doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to the study of vampires - until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. A woman who leaves no trace behind, other than the dreams and nightmares that now plague Anneke every night.

Spurred by her desire for vengeance and armed with the latest forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch this mysterious serial killer. Because her father isn't the only inexplicable dead body. There's a trail of victims across Europe, and Anneke is certain they're all connected.

But during the years spent relentlessly hunting the killer, Anneke keeps crucial evidence to herself: infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola.

The closer Anneke gets to her devil, though, the less sense the world makes. Maybe her father wasn't a madman after all. Diavola might be something much worse than a serial killer...and much harder to destroy. Yet as Anneke unearths more of Diavola's tragic past, she suspects there's still a heart somewhere in that undead body.

A heart that beats for Anneke alone."

I mean, rule number one in life is you have to be open for anything. That means knowing that vampires might exist. Especially if your father's been hunting them for years.

Bitterbloom by Teagan Olivia King
Published by: Keylight Books
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Hannah Whitten and Ava Reid comes a thrilling new fantasy by the author of Spit Back the Bones.

In a village plagued by mysterious deaths, Adelaide Thorn wonders if she is truly touched by the Devil.

The villagers of Rixton - including Adelaide's father, the vicar - believe her to be the monster responsible for all the town's tragedies, spurred on by the strange visions and blackouts caused by her chronic illness. Kept locked away except for funerals, even Addie herself begins to wonder if she is the one with blood on her hands.

But when she discovers a peculiar bell nestled in a riverbed, Addie realizes the truth behind her strange visions - they are actually the ghosts of the village's dead searching for rest. With the bell's strange power allowing her to see the lost souls and open a doorway to the Rowan Wood where they are trapped, she strikes a deal with the ghost of Bram Avery and the young lord Ransom Black to venture into the hellish purgatory.

As the three make their way deeper into the Wood, each motivated by their own desperate desires, trust turns to betrayal and flawless facades begin to flicker. It may be that the ones Addie has so longed to reunite are those who have been lying to her her entire life."

Here's to all the "Devil touched girls!" May the prosper and live long enough to see the destruction of those who would end them.

Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A thrilling gothic debut. The untimely death of a student at a girls' boarding school marks the first in a haunting series of escalating supernatural events, and uncovers buried truths of teenage repression, queer desire, and the everyday horror of coming of age.

In 1928, Emily Locke's final year at the isolated Briarley School for Girls is derailed when Violet, the school's brightest star (and a cunning beauty for whom Emily would do anything), falls to her death on her eighteenth birthday. Emily and her buttoned-up rival Evelyn are, for once, in agreement: Violet's death was no accident. There's an obvious culprit, the French schoolmistress with whom Violet was getting a little too close - they only need to prove it.

Desperate for answers, Emily and her classmates turn to spiritualism, hoping for a glimpse of wisdom from the great beyond. To their shock, Violet's spirit appears, choosing pious Evelyn as her unlikely medium. And Violet has a warning for them: the danger has just begun.

Something deadly is infecting Briarley. It starts with rotten food and curdled milk, but quickly grows more threatening. As the body count rises and the students race to save themselves, Emily must confront the fatal forces poisoning the school. Emily's fight for survival forces her to reevaluate everything she knows: about Violet, Evelyn, Briarley, and, ultimately, herself. Avery Curran channels the indelible ambience and intrigue of the classic boarding school novel while turning the beloved genre on its head in this visceral, exuberant debut."

Yes! Mediums!

The Eighth Life (for Brilka) by Nino Haratischwili
Published by: HarperVia
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 944 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"War and Peace for the twenty-first century, the internationally bestselling, award-winning multigenerational epic that begins with the Russian Revolution and spans a century - a novel of war, loss, love requited and unrequited, ghosts, joy, massacres, tragedy, and hot chocolate.

At the start of the twentieth century, on the edge of the Russian empire, a family prospers. It owes its success to a delicious chocolate recipe, passed down from generation to generation with great care and caution. A caution which is justified: it is a recipe for ecstasy that carries a very bitter aftertaste...

Stasia learns it from her Georgian father and takes it north, following her new husband, Simon, to his posting in St. Petersburg, the center of the Russian Revolution. Stasia's is only the first in a symphony of grand but all too often doomed romances that swirl from sweet to sour in this epic tale of the red century.

Moving across years and vast expanses of longing and loss, each succeeding generation of this remarkable family hears echoes and sees reflections of their past. A ballet dancer's dream of performing in Paris never comes to fruition; a singer pines for Vienna. These and other unforgettable characters engage in larger-than-life relationships that come and go and come again; their world shakes and shakes more. A grand and sweeping epic, The Eighth Life (for Brilka) is one of those glorious classic books that readers can embrace and learn, be lost and found, and make indelible new friends."

Keep in mind this book is almost a thousand pages which means get a LOT of hot chocolate ready before you dive in.

The Two Deaths of Lillian Carmichael by Paulette Kennedy
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 255 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young woman, perceived dead, plots to reinvent herself in a gripping historical gothic about secrets, superstition, and murder by the bestselling author of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport.

South Carolina, 1853. Lillian Carmichael, privileged daughter of a disgraced Charleston family, is due to be hanged for the murder of her sister when fate gives her a second chance at life.

After a catatonic episode on the long walk to the gallows, Lillian is declared dead and entombed in the family mausoleum. She awakens days later, buried alive, and flees to the Lowcountry marshes to survive on her wits and reinvent herself. All the while, a series of exsanguination murders holds the terrorized city in thrall - as do the superstitions that the vanished Lillian is some craven creature, resurrected and out for blood.

Lillian finds sanctuary in a crumbling former plantation and a friend in Kate O'Malley, a charismatic actress adept at fashioning new identities. The two form an intimate and powerful alliance, but as the body count rises, the manhunt for Lillian reaches a fever pitch. It will take both women's cunning for her to escape the gallows again, and to find her freedom, Lillian must first cross paths with the real killer and confront her own family's deepest, darkest secret."

But if she's somehow become a vampire, I'm just saying, the gallows won't really do her in...

A Lady for All Seasons by TJ Alexander
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the acclaimed author of Chef's Kiss and A Gentleman's Gentleman comes a riotous Regency romp, featuring a charming and unforgettable genderfluid lead.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman who has lost her fortune must be in need (not want) of a husband. Beautiful, cunning Verbena Montrose must marry to save herself and her odious family from abject poverty. Fortunately, what she lacks in a dowry, she makes up for in the currency of gossip.

When she hears an alarming rumor about her very dear, very queer friend Étienne that could ruin him, she comes to his aid with a proposal - for a marriage of convenience, that is. But when Verbena discovers that a mysterious and celebrated poet by the name of Flora Witcombe has been publishing verses that hint she is onto their scheme, Verbena has no choice but to pretend to be a poet herself to confront her in a local salon. And - unexpectedly - be charmed by her.

Flora, in turn, is terrified by and smitten with Verbena in equal measure. But she holds a secret of her own: he is also William Forsyth, a struggling novelist and fifth son of a minor noble family. And if circumstances don't allow Flora to woo Verbena, perhaps William can. Faced with two suitors and a fiancé, Verbena, who has always had to be clever to survive in society, starts to realize she may need to think outside of society's constraints to find true happiness."

Oh, suitors aplenty and a proposed lavender marriage!

The Pie and Mash Detective Agency by J.D. Brinkworth
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Oddball couple Jane and Simon take a private detective class and must use their (admittedly limited) skills to solve a series of mysterious disappearances in this delightful debut mystery.

Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a millennial couple with a little extra time on their hands. Jane was recently let go from her position as a back-end programmer, having never been quite sure what that meant. And Simon's career as a corporate collaboration consultant seems to be less collaborating and more scrolling the internet in search of matching velour tracksuits and well-balanced charcuterie boards. When they sign up for a private detective class on a whim, they quickly realize they've bitten off more than they can chew.

Their instructor, having a feeling his two worst students don't have a chance of solving anything beyond finding the classroom, assigns them the case of Nellie Thorne, a woman recently reported missing. But she's not the first Nellie Thorne to disappear. In fact, she's the fifth in fifty years. Jane and Simon set out to solve the case, armed with just a few days of notes, matching trench coats, and a feeling they should have enrolled in a different class. The investigation leads the newly minted Pie and Mash Detective Agency to places they never thought they'd go, including haunted woods, mysterious archives, and, most terrifyingly for Jane, Simon's mum's house.

As clues emerge, more questions than answers begin to pile up. What links the missing Nellies? Why do locals think she's a ghost? Is their teacher hiding something? So what if they're heavy on heart but light on experience. Jane and Simon are determined to uncover the truth in time to pass the class and save the day."

Wait, searching the internet for velour tracksuits and well-balanced charcuterie boards isn't a job!?! My dreams have been dashed.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum
Published by: Flatiron Books: Pine and Cedar
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Best friends Benny and Joy like to say they've been saving each other's lives since the moment they met. Until the day Joy disappears and Benny is suspected of murder...

Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different "against all odds" survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy's experience with severe narcolepsy, they've been the best friends everyone wants to befriend - and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy's husband, Xander, they've built a lucrative empire.

The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander's one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple's disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy's memoir. Benny is desperate to find them, even when the police soon zero in on him as their prime suspect.

Millions of devoted listeners think they know the "real" Benny and Joy. But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world - and from each other."

Oh, oh, I need to know the terrible secrets!

The Free Verse Society by Delali Adjoa
Published by: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A tender hate-to-love YA romance about two teens who connect through their high school poetry club, where the power of the written word tears down the walls they've built around their hearts.

No one in Delray knows Jae Aƒenyo's story - that she's a teen mom who placed her baby for adoption - and she intends to keep it that way. After moving in with her uncle, Jae is looking for a fresh start. But an accidental run-in with the school's delinquent, Derek Patel, is not exactly what she had in mind. She soon finds a haven in the poetry club - at least, until Derek joins.

Derek Patel is desperately clinging to his old life - where his dad was alive, his mom was healthy, and they lived in an oceanfront estate instead of a run-down pink bungalow. He'll do anything to hide his problems from his friends, including breaking into his old house to keep up the charade that he still lives there. But the house now belongs to the school's lit teacher, who offers him the chance to join the poetry club as a penance.

As the newest members of the club, Jae and Derek are tasked with planning the end-of-semester poetry reading. While Derek is hell-bent on keeping his broken family a secret, Jae is desperate to prove to her uncle that she's more than a walking statistic - which means guarding her heart against Derek, who her uncle thinks is no good.

A poignant exploration of love, loss, and the power of words to draw people together, The Free Verse Society announces the arrival of an important new voice in YA romance.

Perfect for readers who love Forced Proximity, Forbidden Love, Opposites Attract, Hate to Love, the Misunderstood Bad Boy, Opposite Sides of the Tracks, and Reading/Literature Club Bonding!"

Who doesn't love a misunderstood bad boy?

How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend by Jordon Greene
Published by: F/K Teen
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 366 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Feeling of Falling in Love meets While You Were Sleeping in this delightful rom-com about a nonbinary teen kitchen witch finding both family and romance in the least likely of circumstances.

Standing at the foot of my comatose crush's hospital bed is not how I envisioned becoming Hayden's partner. First I needed to find out if he's even into the theys, then hopefully some flirting, a cute date up in the valley or at Taco Bell, a kiss. The normal cutesy stuff, but this? No! Hayden wasn't supposed to get hurt, especially not a trauma-induced extended nap from slipping on a wet floor at my job. On top of that, one of the nurses told his family we're dating. Sure, it might have been because that's what I told her when I was trying to get to his room to see him...but it's not true.

The wild part is his family believes it! They really think I'm the Hayden Marcus's short little curly-haired enbyfriend. His partner! With one little lie, now they think he isn't straight, and I'm terrified he actually is.

So now I'm having Thanksgiving with a family I barely know because, as far as they're concerned, I'm "dating" their son. I can't tell if this is a sign my love spell worked, or if I royally messed up and I'm being punished. I mean this family is amazing. It's everything I wish I had, and honestly more. But it's all based on a lie.

Oh, and as if all of that wasn't bad enough, my comatose crush has an even cuter brother who I think I might be falling for..."

After reading this I really need to rewatch While You Were Sleeping.... Love it.

Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a magical hotel appears smack-dab in the middle of the most unmagical of worlds, the last thing the residents expect is to fall in love.

Manager of the Number Five Wayside Inn and World Travel Hub, Pax Nomen has one of the easiest jobs in all the known universes, unless you count the occasional plumbing disaster. When Number Five Wayside gets stranded on a non-magical world, even Pax's trusty Wayside Handbook can't help him. How is he going to "reboot" the hotel and keep it on its magical journey?

Josie LaChusia is a single mom experiencing debt, having parenting doubts, and tipping dangerously toward depression when an ad pops up on her phone that an apartment is available in a building she's never seen before.

Pax needs a new guest to restart his hotel, and Josie needs a nudge to restart her life. In a building occupied by faeries, gargoyles, and a gnome with a bad attitude, two souls from very different places come together to create a home like no other."

Found family and magic! Yeah!

Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Gilmore Girls meets Charmed in this spellbinding cozy mystery featuring a magical bookshop run by three generations of women.

When her grandmother suffers a nasty fall and asks for help managing the family business, coffee-addicted single mother Veronica Blackthorne moves her sixteen-year-old rom-com-obsessed daughter to Mystic Hollow, Connecticut. Veronica is ecstatic to return to New England, but when she arrives, she quickly finds out that Mystic Hollow Books, her grandmother's pride and joy, needs more than a little TLC.

Hoping to save the bookstore from a big-box rival, Veronica enlists her sometimes mentor and sometimes crush, Adam Whitford, a controversial but popular author, as the keynote speaker to kick off a literary festival that will hopefully bring in a new wave of customers. But when Adam turns up dead, all that romantic potential turns into a nightmare as Veronica becomes the prime suspect in his murder.

As the local sheriff investigates his murder, Veronica decides to take matters into her own hands to solve the case and clear her name. With the bookstore's future on the line, the stakes couldn't be higher. Until her gran reveals the biggest secret of all - the bookstore is magical, and it was a botched love spell that led to this entire mess.

Witty and heartfelt, this mystery explores the price of magic and how it might be more hefty than one can hope, perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Nina Simon."

I mean, sure a popular author could bring in customers.... But a popular author's death might actually bring in more...

Entwined by H.M. Long
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Three sisters join the hunt for a stolen magical artefact in the start of this Gilded Age fantasy duology. Perfect for fans of heists, skullduggery and stolen kisses, and authors such as Nghi Vo and M.A. Carrick.

Ottilie Rushforth hides from the mighty Sorcerer's Guild as secretary to a has-been detective. She is Entwined - threads of magic run beneath her skin, and the Guild would trap her in service.

But Ottilie has a plan to escape the Guild forever with her estranged fiancé, the enigmatic poet, soldier and smuggler Lewis Illing. All she must do is track down a mysterious artefact, claim the bounty, and leave the city forever. But Ottilie's sisters - Pretoria, a quick-witted sorceress and thief recently emerged from exile, and Madge, a guild mage to the core, appear to make equally unwelcome offers. A new life at the cost of everything she has ever wanted, or prestige and safety in a gilded cage.

With her life on the line, Ottilie must track down the artifact in a city torn apart by prejudice and violence, and choose between the two sides of herself - the fugitive and the Entwined."

Decisions, decisions... 

Pretenders to the Throne of God by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Published by: Head of Zeus - an AdAstra Book
Publication Date: March 10th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Arthur C. Clarke winner and Sunday Times bestseller returns to a world steeped in magic – and the Tyrant Philosophers' campaign to bring reason, logic and 'perfection' to it.

As the Palleseen's campaign to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world rages on, Eres Ffenegh - "the City on the Back of a Crab" - is the next state slated for conquest. But its citizens won't give up sovereignty easily.

The siege has dragged into winter and the defenders - both locals and Pal renegades - hold an uneasy alliance against the enemy at the gates, while the Pal army is looking over its shoulder for the next self-destructive dictate of their government back home.

Within the city, Devil Jack, a good man apprenticed to the notorious conjurer known as the Widow, is driven to bargaining with hell to get back what he's lost. Meanwhile Kiffel ea Leachan is the city's champion, a child of privilege who's just lost everything to the invaders. Both must try to survive the siege and make their own destinies in a world that's cut them loose.

Outside the city, Pal reinforcements have arrived to take the city, but it's the sort of help that might just damn them all...

THE TYRANT PHILOSOPHERS
1. City of Last Chances: portrait of Ilmar, a city under Palleseen occupation.
2. House of Open Wounds: portrait of the Palleseen war machine at work.
3. Days of Shattered Faith: portrait of a kingdom consumed, piece-by-piece, by Palleseen diplomatic subterfuge.
3.1 Lives of Bitter Rain: a prequel novella to Days of Shattered Faith, portrait of a life in the Palleseen diplomatic corps.
4. Pretenders to the Throne of God: portrait of a city under siege.
5. The Grave of Perfection: will take us back to Ilmar, the 'City of Last Chances' where our story began."

Need a good series to dig into? Well, here you go!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ben H. Winters, Delali Adjoa, Elizabeth Everett, H.M. Long, J.D. Brinkworth, Jordon Greene, Kiersten White, Leomacs, Olivia Waite, Paulette Kennedy, Seanan McGuire, Stacie Ramey, Tiffany Crum, TJ Alexander