strange and random happenstance

The Fatal Unpleasantness at Netherfield by Claudia Gray
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fifth book in New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray's Jane Austen sequel series, which finds amateur sleuths Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney investigating a suspicious murder at Netherfield Park.

Jonathan Darcy has recovered from the wound he received in a duel three months prior, during a disastrous London Season. But his parents aren't over the shock, and they remain convinced that, no matter how many murderers have been caught via their investigations, Jonathan must end his association with Miss Juliet Tilney - particularly now that she is a young lady of ruined reputation. He prays for some opportunity to be with her again, but unfortunately, the answer to those prayers comes in the form of murder: his uncle Charles Bingley's brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, is found dead from poisoning at Netherfield Park. Aunt Jane is desperate for answers, which means Miss Tilney must be invited to Netherfield to investigate!

Juliet, still reeling from her newfound ruination, is happy to be back in the thick of an investigation. The reunion with Mr. Darcy is difficult - Juliet has missed Jonathan terribly, but she is tormented by the knowledge that his parents will never approve their match. Adding to her troubles are the scheming Caroline Bingley Allerdyce and her daughter Priscilla, whose machinations threaten any hope Juliet might have of societal rehabilitation, much less an engagement. Then, Mr. Hurst proves to be only the first victim at Netherfield, casting a pall of danger - and worse, scandal - over the Bingleys' household. Jonathan and Juliet must find the culprit, and will ultimately be called to make a final choice between respectability...and love."

Hehe, Mr. Hurst. No one deserved death more.

The Missing Baroness by Bianca M. Schwarz
Published by: Central Avenue
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A cozy Regency mystery with a hidden heiress, slow-burn romance, and layered intrigue - perfect for fans of heroines who fight for their place in the world.

No one has seen Georgina Bligh in a decade - not since the night her uncle murdered her father and tried to eliminate her as well. Hidden away with her best friend's family, Georgina has spent the intervening years preparing to claim her rightful place as Baroness of Elmsford. But when a near collision with her uncle on a London street shatters her anonymity, she's forced to act before her twenty-first birthday.

Silas Bligh is desperate. Deep in debt and determined to control the Elmsford estate, he's on the verge of having Georgina declared legally dead. But unbeknownst to him, her father's true will disinherited Silas - and Georgina must find it to expose his lies.

With the aid of her steadfast beau, Lord Bertram Redwick, and a tight-knit group of loyal allies, Georgina embarks on a tense and dangerous search through hidden ledgers, long-buried secrets, and the upper echelons of London society. As the legal deadline looms, a new threat rises - someone willing to use extortion and violence to ensure the truth stays buried forever.

For fans of Mimi Matthews's fiercely independent heroines, Sophie Irwin's nuanced character arcs, and the dark intrigue of Kelly Bowen, this first book in The Inconvenient Heirs Series blends mystery, romance, and feminist grit in a compelling fight for justice and identity - set against the opulent and treacherous upper crust of Regency London."

Justice and identity in The Ton! 

Death Was Not on the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 267 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today bestselling author Jenni L. Walsh comes a witty Jazz Age mystery where rivalry, ambition, and deceit glitter under every chandelier...and no one gets out until the killer is unmasked.

In Chicago's Gold Coast district, twenty of the city's most glamorous socialites gather for a charity whist drive at the Bellevue House mansion. Brightest among them are Ginevra King Mitchell and Edith Cummings, real-life debutantes who inspired Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby.

But when their sharp-tongued hostess turns up dead and a blizzard traps everyone inside, suspicion and gossip give way to fear. After all, one guest has a habit of burying husbands, another a proclivity for poison. Their charming veneers belie jealousies, ambitions, and deceits aplenty, enough to drive any one of them to kill.

As whispers turn to accusations, the police start closing in. Ginevra and Edith compete to solve the murder, uncovering secrets far more dangerous than the gossip columns ever revealed. But when a second body is found - strangled with Ginevra's own pearls - their restless rivalry becomes a race for survival. Who's next? And is the answer hidden in Fitzgerald's exasperating novel?"

Those pearls must have been well strung to survive a strangling! 

The Butler by Clare Mackintosh
Published by: Podium Publishing
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times-bestselling author: A glamorous French villa. A carefully curated guest list. A body in the pool.

The South of France is stunning, though not without its imperfections, from pickpockets to burglars to the occasional cold-blooded killer. But in his twenty-five years of service, Baxter - with a spotless reputation as a polished, well-mannered butler - has never run into any issues catering to the ultrawealthy. Until now.

Baxter's latest assignment is at Villa Sérénité, where Alec Prescott is hosting a colorful cast of characters, including his ex-wife, his much younger lady friend, and some Hollywood hotshots, after the Cannes Film Festival. But it doesn't take long for a week of sun, wine, and a family birthday celebration to devolve into bickering and backstabbing. And soon, secrets aren't the only thing floating to the surface...

When one of the guests is found dead in the villa's glittering pool, the gendarmes turn to the unflappable Baxter to help determine who's responsible. A good butler is expected to see everything and say nothing - but what if he too becomes a target?"

If the butler didn't do it the butler knows who did.

The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When an over-the-hill American actor finds his wife, a rising star in Bollywood, dead in their Mumbai high-rise, he quickly becomes the prime suspect in this atmospheric, razor-sharp social mystery. Perfect for fans of The White Lotus, Only Murders in the Building and Age of Vice.

Washed-up American heart throb George Abercrombie hates India, even from his apartment on the 68th floor of Mumbai's grandest luxury skyscraper. He hates the noise, he hates the heat, and just maybe he's grown to hate his wife, the newest queen of Bollywood, Sweety Sahota, decades his junior. So when George wakes from a drunken stupor (free whiskey, for which he's the national spokesperson) to find his wife murdered in their bedroom, he knows quite well just how badly he's cooked. But where is her computer, her cellphone, and where has his personal assistant gone?

The Pinnacle is a dazzling and addictive thriller that's three plots in one, as George seeks to find the killer, as a conflicted young woman working as Sweety's P.A. struggles to find out who's blackmailing her, and as a servant who knows too much goes on the run. A dark sendup of world's most privileged coexisting with the world's most desperate, from the winner of the 2025 British Book Awards Thriller of the Year."

The contrast between the worlds living side by side is astonishing. 

The Last Time We Saw Her by Jaclyn Goldis
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ten years ago, a teenage summer camper disappeared while searching for a rumored treasure on a remote island. Now, the long-buried truth of what happened to her and the long-lost gold threatens the lives of her friends in this thriller from the critically acclaimed author of The Chateau.

Ten years ago, a group of American teenage summer campers went to a lush and isolated Azores island for a hiking and heritage trip. But when a clue to a local legend of buried treasure emerged, the summer devolved into a frenzied hunt and culminated in the disappearance - and rumored murder - of "it girl" camper, Sydney. She was never seen again and the treasure never found.

Now, a decade later, Sydney's closest circle returns to honor her memory: Sydney's sister and fellow camper, Olivia; a group of childhood camp friends; and their beloved counselors. They've all agreed to participate in a documentary probing what really happened to Sydney.

The group reunites in paradise and retraces their old haunts, hiking along crater lakes and submerging in thermal hot springs. But not everyone has innocent motives for returning to the island. And when the documentary filming reveals explosive truths and fresh hints resurrect the tantalizing treasure hunt, the group begins to implode. Old feuds reignite - and then one of them turns up dead.

Which means that a murderer has surfaced...again."

I mean, doesn't anyone get that if you're going to do a true crime documentary there's a chance you will die!?!

The Summer Fun Massacre by Craig DiLouie
Published by: Run for It
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Surviving the massacre is just the beginning in this razor-sharp summer-camp slasher with a bloody twist from horror master Craig DiLouie.

It's 1992, and in the heat of Texas, camp Summer Fun rests by a crystalline lake surrounded by a shady forest. The counselors have set out the kayaks, prepped the kitchens, and refurbished the cabins. Now, on the night before camp begins, a bonfire and the teenage counselors' rites of passage await.

But the camp has a horrifying history. In the '80s, there was a massacre that left a sole survivor. One final girl. The killer never caught.

Deputy Tom Bailey is always on edge this time of year. There are rumors that the woods are haunted. That the killer might one day return. Tom has deeply personal ties to the '80s massacre, and those ties have plagued his dreams.

Then Tom gets a call reporting bloodcurdling screams coming from the camp. The real nightmare is just beginning...."

Love the concept, hate the cover.

Hemlock Bay by Martin Edwards
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The new seaside resort of Hemlock Bay offers something for everyone. For families, it's the ideal summertime playground for kids and parents alike. For artists, the seascapes are peerless. For swindlers and blackmailers, it's the perfect place to craft a new identity. And for murderers? That's what Rachel Savernake, the enigmatic heiress and brilliant amateur sleuth, is about to discover.

When crime-beat journalist Jacob Flint receives a visit from a fortune teller who insists he's had a vision of a murder soon to occur in Hemlock Bay, Jacob consults with Rachel to get her take on the man's outlandish claim. Rachel is so intrigued, she rents a cottage at the seaside resort where an artist she admires also happens to be spending the summer. Meanwhile, mild-mannered accountant Basil Palmer is en route to Hemlock Bay, determined to murder a man he's never met - a man he holds responsible for his beloved wife's death six months prior. Could this be the murder foretold by the fortune teller?

Whether pre-destined or plotted, a murder does occur. But as Rachel plunges deeper and deeper into the morass of mysterious events and suspects, and as alibis exonerate each suspect one by one, she begins to wonder whether she is equal to the case. Has Rachel finally mired herself in mystery she can't solve?"

Death foretold is a seed of death planted.

Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the second installment of the Nora Breen Investigates series - "perfect for cozy mystery lovers" (Book Riot) - beloved former nun Nora Breen returns, this time to track down a ghostly killer before it's too late.

When Dolores Chimes, a famous medium, arrives in Gore-on-Sea, even surly Detective Inspector Rideout is lured in by her promises of messages for the afterlife.

But after a reading goes disastrously wrong, Dolores loses her life - and the six sitters at the séance with her fall victim to supernatural deaths themselves in the days following the nightmare of a reading.

Determined to unveil the truth, Nora finds herself chasing a ghostly serial killer she believes to be responsible, before the sixth victim - Detective Rideout himself - perishes along with the others."

Dammit, nothing hits the spot quite like a séance gone sideways.

Tell Me My Future by Eileen M. Ruvane
Published by: Amulet Books
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Krystal Sutherland and Courtney Summers, this YA debut follows a girl who pretends to be a psychic to solve a long-ago murder - and starts having real visions of the future.

Kess Turner is used to starting over. Her mom has dragged her all around the country her whole life, never spending longer than a few months in one place.

But nothing is normal about their new home - a dusty psychic shop - or the the way Kess's mom was summoned when a mysterious accident left the psychic Madame Amalia in a coma. When Kess finds coded messages and cash hidden among the crystal balls and Tarot cards, she knows there's a lot more to the story than her mom is telling her.

Desperate for answers, Kess poses as a psychic in order to pump Madame Amalia's clients for information - only to start experiencing strange visions of events that actually come true. The more she investigates, the more she suspects her mom and Madame Amalia were involved in a murder years ago.

When Kess's visions escalate - and seem to predict her own death - it becomes clear that if she wants to save her future, she'll first have to unravel the secrets of the past..."

I'm even happy for a fake psychic... Though I don't think Kess will be one for long...

Such a Lucky Girl by Wendy Heard
Published by: Christy Ottaviano Books - Little Brown and Hachette
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Rory Power and Tiffany D. Jackson, this twisty horror novel follows a magnetic young influencer who gets ensnared in a web of dark, jealousy-fueled magic.

Three years ago, Bella dumped her best friend Kerry to follow her dreams of becoming an influencer. It worked; she is Such a Lucky Girl, famous for her epic manifesting glow-up and dedicated to helping other girls be "lucky," too. She's living the dream - success, sponsorships, and fame. She burned her old life to the ground and never looked back.

Leaving Kerry behind. Alone. Angry.

When Kerry picks up a vintage self-help book on shadow work, she's fascinated by the suggested rituals. Get back at those who have wronged her? Yes, please. She has one person in mind, and that girl is smiling at her millions of followers, having forgotten Kerry long ago. But there's something attached to the book, something dark and ancient, and Kerry and Bella may not be ready for what is about to be unleashed."

Anyone else think the cover girl looks like Sarah Michelle Gellar?

Three Coffin Problem by Lavie Tidhar
Published by: Jab Books
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 290 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Medieval Europe. A world of darkness. Of Gothic castles, isolated monasteries, of monks and knights and things that go bump in the night. A world where vampires can roam at will.... At least, as long as they obey the rules! For a vampire may not murder another vampire. Not unless they have a really good reason to, anyway.

Enter Judge Dee. Ancient. Immortal. Ascetic. His cold intellect draws him wherever a mystery is present, and he will rest at nothing to solve the puzzle. Jonathan, the judge's human assistant, on the other hand, mostly just wants cheese. With bread, if possible. And some pickles would be nice. After all, it's not easy spending your life in the company of murderous vampires who only see you as a tasty snack...

Their adventures take them from the warm Italian valleys to the heights of the French Alps as they come face to fang with fiendishly complicated puzzles - not the least of which is love! But as they are drawn inexplicably onwards to London, Jonathan wonders what awaits them when they finally arrive - and what choices he may have to make once they get there."

Cheese! I relate so hard to Jonathan. 

Blink and You'll Miss It by Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Keith Browning
Published by: BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the strange town of Perennial Harbor, time doesn't just heal wounds - it reopens them.

Decades after their love faded, Melody and Jesse find themselves caught in a spiraling mystery where the past is more alive than the present. As Melody slips further back in time, she finds herself reliving memories and rewriting fate for a time and place she thought she'd left behind. Can she discover the unsettling truth causing reality to unravel around her? Or will it ultimately destroy her and the only person she's ever truly cared for?

From the breakout writing team of Ethan S. Parker (Hello Darkness) and Griffin Sheridan (Kill Your Darlings) and featuring stunning debut art by Keith Browning, this genre-blurring emotional thriller blends sci-fi, romance, and psychological horror into one unforgettable story.

Collects Blink and You'll Miss It #1–5."

Isn't romance technically psychological horror?

Voyagers by Meg Charlton
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the Signal - a mysterious transmission pulsing from the edge of the solar system - arrives, the world changes overnight. Planes are grounded, satellites fail, and speculation abounds. With many believing this could be first contact with extraterrestrial life, humanity holds its breath. But for Alex, a thirtysomething lawyer who's spent years distancing himself from the unexplainable, the Signal feels deeply personal - the opening of an old wound.

Decades ago, Alex and a girl named Ana both vanished for thirty-six hours while on vacation near Palm Springs. When they returned, dazed but unharmed, the six-year-olds' account of their experience had all the hallmarks of an alien abduction. The media frenzy that followed made them famous, and the long months of child stardom, of talk shows and sitcom cameos, forged a seemingly unbreakable bond between them - until the mystery behind their disappearance began to tear them apart.

Now, with the world on edge and the Signal growing stronger, Alex is drawn back to the one person who might have answers. Ana - now a professional advocate for experiencers of extraterrestrial contact - is leading a retreat near Palm Springs, a stone's throw from the site of their childhood disappearance. As the former best friends tentatively reunite, what starts as a quest to confront the reality of their original experience becomes a larger reckoning with friendship, faith, family, and truth itself - what it means to see the stories we tell ourselves for what they really are.

With the imaginative scope and propulsive storytelling of Station Eleven and The Ministry of Time, Voyagers is a thrillingly original and brilliantly ambitious literary debut about friendship at the end of the world."

I read a book recently about experiencers and this is right up my alley.

The Frenzy: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates
Published by: Hogarth
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Frenzy (noun): a temporary madness; a violent mental or emotional agitation; intense usually wild and often disorderly compulsive or agitated activity

Joyce Carol Oates is a master of the short story and one of the legends of the form. Her collections of short fiction have twice been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and have won numerous awards, including the O. Henry Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Art of the Short Story. In The Frenzy: Stories, Oates plunges us into the lives of her characters at moments of crisis and confusion, when much of what they understand about themselves and those they love comes undone.

A young woman on a supposedly romantic weekend trip to Cape May, New Jersey, turns the tables on her older, married lover. A freak bicycle accident on a bridge haunts one family for decades. A girl jealous of her popular cousin discovers she is the lucky one. A widow waits at her riverside house for her dead husband's return. A young man hiking in the woods comes upon a couple in a heated, possibly violent argument - should he intervene?

Suspenseful and psychologically astute, Oates's short stories enthrall and captivate as they dissect her character's deepest fears - revealing our own in turn. "Literature is a texture of words," says Oates of her short fiction, "evoking life in the most vivid ways - psychologically, physically." These new stories blazingly evoke life at its most vivid and perilous, when fate and free will intersect, and one ominous encounter or bad choice can be the difference between an ordinary day and the point of no return."

I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but I make an exception for Joyce Carol Oates because my Dad thinks she might be one of the greatest living writers. 

Liberty Street by Heather Marshall
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the #1 internationally bestselling author of Looking for Jane comes a riveting novel about one journalist's harrowing journey into an infamous real-life 1960s women's prison - and the detective who uncovers her story decades later.

1961: Emily Radcliffe works as an editorial assistant at Chatelaine magazine, surrounded by the best women journalists in the country, whose articles tackle the controversial topics no other women's publication dares to touch. When a bombshell letter from an inmate at the notorious Mercer Women's Prison lands on Emily's desk, she senses a scoop that could launch her career as a real, hard-boiled journalist. But after going undercover to investigate the inmate's shocking claims, Emily discovers that getting into the prison is the easy part; the real challenge will be getting back out ...

1996: Unidentified female remains are discovered in an unmarked grave in a small-town Ontario cemetery, and Detective Rachel Mackenzie is tasked with unraveling the mystery. But when the investigation leads her to the now-shuttered Mercer Women's Prison, Rachel's own dark history threatens to surface from where she's kept it carefully buried.

Inspired by true events, Liberty Street weaves back and forth through time to shine a light on mental health, incarceration, and the various "prisons" that hold women captive."

After learning about Nellie Bly I vowed to never go undercover anywhere. 

Forever Stamps by Gail Anderson and Brian E. Smith
Published by: Clarkson Potter
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bold and beautiful, Forever Stamps tells the story of United States history, pop culture, and art through hundreds of vibrantly rendered stamps.

Forever Stamps is a visually stunning cultural celebration of the United States, told by the beautiful and unique stamps issued by the United States Postal Service since its inception in 1775. For the first time, this book looks at the breadth of American history through the lens of stamps. It showcases the artisty and pop culture influence of the tiny pieces of art we mail around the world in a way never seen before. Alongside the images, captions, essays, and interviews tell the stories behind the stamps and the historic moments, big and small that led to their creation.

Forever Stamps captures the essence of America's most memorable and influential stamps, including:
-Pop culture moments, from the iconic Elvis Presley stamp to the beloved Sesame Street collection
-Iconic artists who have contributed to U.S. stamps, like Ruth Asawa, Ellsworth Kelly, and Charles and Ray Eames
-Historic commemorative stamps that mark how the U.S. has changed over time, including stamps celebrating 1965 Voting Rights Act, memorializing the first openly gay elected official Harvey Milk, and honoring the Underground Railroad.

Organized into chapters covering U.S. historical events, activism and diversity, national parks and the American landscape, and pop culture, Forever Stamps covers 250 years of American history. This is a unique and captivating journey through the world of USPS stamps and the history of the United States, reminding us of the enduring impact and beauty of these miniature works of art."

Now THIS is how I want to celebrate 250 years of America. Cool books about cool things we've done. And trust me, stamps are cool. Ask any philatelist. 

Agnes, We're Not Murderers! by Jessica Alexander
Published by: Clash Books
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 236 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lesbian vixens from another dead world thread through moon-drenched cornfields and opulent drawing rooms in this literary horror remix of iconic gothic sagas.

Agnes is wasting away. In a bed of velvet and silk, she dreams of death - and Mary.

Mary - a wraith with bloodstained gown and mouth - drips mystery and menace. She materializes beside a lake, beneath a pear tree, outside the window. She turns servants feral and plunges the manor into anarchy. Since her arrival, nothing is right. The maids snarl. The nights grow strange. Agnes swoons.

Her brother, Arthur, calls it a sickness. A curse. He stalks the halls with scissors in his fist. He wants purity and order. He'll strike out the unintelligible. He is not the only one. Others have begun to stir - jilted lovers, disgraced doctors, moralists with sharpened knives. The disorder is spreading. It's riotous. Contagious. They'll purify the world in flame.

Written partially through footnotes and with a mystery of interwoven red text, Agnes, We're Not Murderers! is an atmospheric gothic vampire journey for fans of Kathe Koja and Mark Z. Danielewski."

I love how just the description of this book kind of breaks my brain and yet wants me to investigate further. Hence mentioning Mark Z. Danielewski is spot on. 

Six Savage Thrones by Holly Race
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From a major new voice in epic fantasy, Six Savage Thrones continues the Queens of Elben trilogy, a breathtaking epic fantasy of dragons, courtly intrigue, sapphic yearning, and the wives of Henry VIII defying their destiny.

DIVIDED HE WINS, UNITED HE FALLS.

The kingdom of Elben is in turmoil. One of its magical palaces lies in ruins at the bottom of the ocean and the king is on the hunt for the traitor Queen Seymour. He will not stop until he brings her to her knees.

No one would ever suspect Queen Howard of treachery or spy craft, but she is no longer content to be the king's songbird. She will see to Henry's downfall. But there is a new gentleman at court, one who seems to know more about her true motives than he should - is he friend or foe?

Queen Cleves has already survived a war. She knows what she must do to protect herself, but now she finds herself fighting a longing for another queen that is so fierce it might swallow her up.

Amidst the turmoil, King Henry's sister Cecilia vies for the power she has been denied. But the queens will soon learn they must work together to break the bonds that tie them to the king. For Henry is delving deeper into strange old magics, ones that could birth a monster."

While I have somewhat tired of the Tudor era, I have fully embraced Tudor era fantasy. Thank you My Lady Jane for bringing me into this amazing historical fantasy subgenre. 

Wildflower by Becky Jenkinson
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A magical florist journeys from the kingdom's capital to its wild woods to fulfill an unusual request, and stumbles upon friendship, conspiracy, and the buds of new love in this debut cozy fantasy.

The book contains hand-drawn floral sketches inside!

Cursed from birth to always tell the truth, magical florist Felicity "Fliss" Farrow chooses her words carefully to avoid trouble. But when she receives an anonymous request for a mysterious flower, her search leads her directly into trouble's path: to Willoh Vane.

Fliss knows the outcast - yet teasingly handsome - sorcerer is rumored to have used dark magic to corrupt the northern forest five years ago. She's witnessed the resulting feud with Prince Bastion, whom her best friend, Card, is soon to marry. Despite her divided loyalty, Fliss reluctantly accepts Will's help with gathering rare flowers and finds herself increasingly drawn to him.

As the royal wedding approaches, Fliss fears the flowers she's delivered are intended for a sinister purpose. But when her warnings are ignored, can she and Will save the kingdom from disaster, and ultimately discover what Fliss has sought for so long - the truth."

There's nothing I find more interesting than death brought about by unexpected means. This is a whole new way for flowers to ruin a wedding.

The Shape of Monsters by Tessa Gratton
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: June 16th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 560 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A talented heretic and the emperor she both loathes and loves will learn what monsters are really made of in the second installment of the Moon Heresies trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Gratton.

Iriset - prodigy, outlaw, now sunderer - has broken the Moon-Eater god's prison at the heart of the empire. But the consequences of her actions land her in a city of monsters where the heretical magic of human architecture is freely practiced, and the only person she knows - and can trust - is Lyric, the emperor she's lied to and loved in equal measure.

As scheming kings and capricious gods drive them towards different extremes, they soon realize that to find their way home, they must remake the world...at the risk of breaking it forever."

Sometimes something has to be broken before it can be mended.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abir Mukherjee, Becky Jenkinson, Bianca M. Schwarz, Claudia Gray, Craig DiLouie, Heather Marshall, Holly Race, Jaclyn Goldis, Jess Kidd, Jessica Alexander, Joyce Carol Oates, Lavie Tidhar, Martin Edwards, Tessa Gratton

Isabella Beeton was the first domestic goddess. Given that she was a wife and mother during the Victorian era, you probably have a very specific image in your mind of what she looks like, an image that this delightful movie pokes fun at while showing you the truth. Isabella wasn't a matronly woman with a large brood, she died at the age of twenty-eight with only two surviving children, suppositions of syphilis fitting the bill thanks to her husband's premarital dalliances. In fact, she didn't know much about being a housewife, but what she didn't know she set out to learn, resulting in the publication of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. It was an instant bestseller, which was a good thing, as her husband's finances were rather precarious despite the popularity of his publication, Boy's Own Magazine. In fact, the life we see here is one of highs and lows, scrimping by while babies die only to have huge success and another pregnancy. The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton is such a hard movie to categorize. It's almost as if it's manic depressive. There's a life-affirming quality to it that is undercut by the fact that Mrs. Hall is wandering around a cemetery talking about her life now that she's dead. The music box score and the illustrations give it a light Victoriana feel. And one could even say that being narrated by a ghost just doubles down on the whole Victorian vibe. The tale of Isabella's short life is a headlong rush. You just connect to the story and, even though it's narrated by her young ghostly self, you can't help but hope that the ending somehow changes. Because what Isabella Beeton did changed the world. While her book projected a certain idea of the perfect wife, she didn't want to be that, she wanted to be something more. She wanted to be an equal to her husband, who, despite his syphilitic dick, wasn't such a dick because he encouraged her. She was allowed to try to be something more, editor, writer, wife, mother. She was a radical that changed women's lives. She gave them a book to exert control over the domestic sphere. She gave them power when they perhaps felt powerless. Her book is still in print to this day. I, of course, bought the replica of the first edition after watching this movie because I fell in love with it the very first time I saw it. And despite how sadly it ends, I still adore it. It's so alive. The way the delicious J.J. Feild as Samuel and delightful Anna Madeley as Isabella play off each other makes them human and real. You believe in them. You want them to succeed. You want them to find happiness. You know that this isn't going to happen. She's going to die and he's going to end up penniless, but for that short brief moment they burned like the sun. And their legacies? The trail of that comet can still be seen.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anna Madeley, Author, Domestic Goddess, Editor, Equality, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Housewife, Isabella Beeton, J.J. Feild, Mrs. Beeton, Revolutionary, Samuel Beeton, Syphilis, The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton, Victorian

When I first watched Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking it felt like a fresh take on Holmes and Rupert Everett seemed well cast. The problem is in the proceeding twenty years Sherlock Holmes kind of went boom then bust, with Robert Downey Junior playing him on the big screen in Guy Ritchie's films, to Jonny Lee Miller on Elementary, to Benedict Cumberbatch on Sherlock. Now people are wanting their Sherlock with a twist, look to Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes and Blu Hunt as Sherlock's daughter Amelia Rojas. We as the audience demand more of our stories and watching Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, we see the flaws. What will strike you most is that they didn't even bother to film this TV movie on a decent film stock. It lends that faux reality to it, wherein it almost feels like you're watching the news. This is actually a problem I have with all high-definition film conversion, which this is obviously not. But there's a weird surreality making them hyper real. If you doubt my theory watch Jaws in high-def, it's like watching a documentary about the seventies. But here they coupled their bad film stock with a bad transfer, wherein the PAL to NTSC transfer is jittery, making it look even shittier. Though the worst decision of all was they stuck to the when in doubt use a fog machine for atmosphere school of Victorian filmmaking. There is so much fog you can barely make out any of the action in outdoor scenes, yet incongruously there wasn't enough fog to hide the modern metal structures near the cemetery! The lack of production quality seeped over into the historical details. They very obviously had no historic adviser. Instead they had a slouching Duchess smoking filtered cigarettes almost thirty years before they existed. I mean seriously, she wouldn't have shown exasperation and insolence to a police officer, she would have shown hauteur! And that doesn't even cover the telephones and the improper titles for the King and Queen! They seemed to want to update Holmes, but instead of going all out like Elementary or Sherlock, they added incongruities that exasperate the audience versus adding to the story. But oddly enough what annoyed me the most was the lackadaisical floorplan for 221B Baker Street, which in an odd error is actually once referred to as 222B Baker Street. Of all locations in books and films, I don't think there's any one more regulated than 221B Baker Street. But then again, watching it all these years later, I seem to have nothing but problems with this production. I even question the casting of Rupert Everett as Holmes. He brought nothing to the role other than the required hawk-like profile. Holmes is fun for his excitability, his dark humor, his mood swings, yet Everett plays him almost atonally. But Holmes is supposed to be balanced by Watson. And Ian Hart was miscast abysmally as a lecturing antagonistic parental figure for Holmes, with a very rat like face. With their ongoing bickering one wonders why they are even colleagues at all, because with this behavior they are certainly not friends! Yet all these flaws could be overlooked if the conclusion and the revelation of the killer hadn't been so absurd. And in what is an even weirder turn of events, it isn't Holmes who expounds on how he figured it all out and when and why, but it's the killer explaining himself FOR NO REASON to his latest victim that we get his lame reasoning for killing. He's not a Bond villain for crying out loud! I actually applaud the production of a Sherlock Holmes story wherein Holmes is a nonentity. Not what I or anyone else would have done, but it's at least novel.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 221B Baker Street, Amelia Rojas, Bond Villain, Dr. Watson, Enola Holmes, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, High-Def, Ian Hart, Rupert Everett, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, Victorian

A Botanist's Guide to Tradition and Treachery by Kate Khavari
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Brilliant botanist Saffron Everleigh has set sail on her first research expedition, but it's disrupted by accusations of murder when one of her fellow scientists is murdered in this daring fifth installment.

Saffron Everleigh is newly engaged and full of optimism as she sets off on the adventure of a lifetime for any scientist: a research expedition. She sails to newly formed Turkey with her fiancé, Alexander Ashton, and a bevy of fellow researchers under the watchful and reformed eye of Dr. Henry. With only two other women on board, Saffron soon finds she is right back in the same infuriatingly misogynistic environment that marked the earliest days of her career. Only this time, Saffron is determined to show everyone, including Alexander, that she can handle the trials of an expedition.

And trials she has in spades. Before the expedition team has even arrived, Saffron has managed to find an enemy in historian Joseph Clark, who frequently torments the assistant that Saffron has taken under her wing, Martin Neill. But when Martin unexpectedly dies, Saffron is targeted as the main suspect.

Falling ruins, venomous snakes, and mysteriously blocked passages are the least of Saffron's worries. With unexpected help from a familiar face, Alexander and Saffron have to work fast to prove not only that Saffron is innocent but that they both have nothing to do with a larger conspiracy at play among the expedition crew."

An expedition and murder!?! Be still my heart.

Feast by Catherine Kurtz
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In nineteenth-century France, a young woman with a magical sense of taste saves a duc from poison, and her new role as poison taster thrusts her into the world of the nobility, where secrets and danger lurk around every corner.

Minha is born on the backstreets of late nineteenth-century London, the daughter of an Indian spice merchant and an English prostitute. She has a remarkable gift: an incredible sense of taste. She can taste the earth in which potatoes were grown or the tree on which fruits have ripened. She can smell each ingredient - and identify a single false note. But Minha's gift and her mixed-race heritage provoke mistrust and rejection, even within her own family. Escaping alone to France, Minha chances upon work in the Château de Bellefalaise, where for the first time her strange abilities are lauded.

As official poison taster for Duc Nicolas, Minha must taste every morsel of food that will pass his lips. Others in the household are hostile to her, but when she discovers a man hiding in the stables, their unexpected meeting turns into the first true connection she's felt since arriving in France.

But mystery and paranoia continue to swirl around the château, with the Duc's poisoner unidentified and antagonism toward Minha growing. She knows it's only a matter of time before fingers begin pointing her way. Will she run again, or is this the time to stand and fight?

A thoroughly addictive novel about food, possession, race, love, and a young woman fighting to build a fulfilling life against all odds, this is a gorgeously written debut by author Catherine Kurtz."

I've always wondered about poison tasters. Because what if the poison is slow acting? Then everyone dies?

Letters from the Last Apothecary by Bita Behzadi
Published by: Hay House LLC
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Emily Wilde meets Divine Rivals in this debut cozy historical romantic fantasy about a grumpy apothecarist, the whirlwind woman who comes to save his shop, and the letters that secretly unite them. You've Got Mail with a magical twist!

Nestled between steel skyscrapers lies a small shop stocked with old magic and experimental elixirs. This cozy historical romantic fantasy debut is a tale of mistaken identity, reluctant partnership, and the quiet, transformative magic of being truly seen - on and off the page.

Josephine Pinova doesn't believe in fate. Yet, it must be fate when she walks into one of the last magical apothecaries in the city and they offer her a job after she's just been fired.

Struggling against a tide of anti-magic sentiment amidst the city's rapid industrialization, the shop is slated to close in six short months unless Josie can save it. Luckily, she's no stranger to impossible odds - she's applying to study magic at the local university, something women are typically excluded from - even as the shop's prickly apothecarist, Aufidius Reid, seems determined to dislike her.

Reid finds her unbearably insistent. She finds him infuriatingly uptight - nothing like the sensitive scholar Josie has been exchanging anonymous letters with as they study together for entrance to a graduate magic program. A scholar who just so happens to be Reid himself, unbeknownst to either of them.

Letter by letter, they fall in love. But at work, Josie and Reid clash constantly about the direction of the business. As pressure rises, they discover the threat to the shop is more dangerous than they could have ever imagined, and working together to save it might be their only chance at true purpose, and at each other."

I'd say more The Shop Around the Corner than You've Got Mail, even if one is a reimagining of the other.

The Sourdough Compendium by A.G. Slatter
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 688 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Award-winning stories from the world of All the Murmuring Bones and The Briar Book of the Dead, this is a compendium of fantastic tales from the dark gothic heart of the Sourdough universe. Witches, assassins and pirates are brought to life in immersive, sinister and magical prose.

Within these pages, coffin-makers work hard to keep the dead buried and their own murderous urges in check; poison girls are schooled in the art of marital assassination; books carry forth stories and forbidden secrets; a young witch wreaks a terrible revenge on an old lover; the Little Sisters of St Florian devote their lives to knowledge good and bad; a dying forest god is reinvigorated; mermaids and seamstresses make dangerous bargains; changelings bring havoc. Saints slumber, hind-girls dance across the countryside, bears show their true colours, and the fate of the upper and lower worlds rests on the whim of a volatile plague maiden...

Comprised of three collections (Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings and The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales) these award-winning storms form much of the foundational mythology for Slatter's dark fairy-tale gothic Sourdough novels. Exquisite, compelling and rich with unforgettable characters, these tales layer and intertwine in the dextrous hands of a master storyteller."

There's nothing a love more than big compendiums to get really stuck into the lore of a fantastical world.

Devils We Know by L.T. Thompson
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The sequel to the Stonewall Honor winner Devils Like Us.

Three queer teens must bring Death out of hiding to save one of their own in book two of this YA historical fantasy duology that's Our Flag Means Death meets The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy.

We need to find Death.

Cas, Remy, and Finn are on the run from the Order of Lazarus, a secret society that wants to use Cas's prophetic powers to capture Death and ensure that only the "unworthy" and "immoral" will meet their ends. Which will not only upend nature's balance but also tear apart the only place the friends have ever felt safe to be themselves: Aboard the Mori, where Cas can live openly as a trans boy, and where Remy and Finn are beginning to fall for each other. No matter what, they can't let that happen.

To protect their found family of queer sailors, the three teens will need to find Death first and strike a bargain of their own. But the society is hot on their heels - and so is a demon who's determined to claim the soul he's owed."

Found family fighting Death? I mean, that's the purpose of our lives isn't it?

Black River by Ruby Jean Cottle
Published by: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"JUST ONE TASTE CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.

All seventeen-year-old Dusty wants is to escape into books and the Adirondack wilderness that surrounds her small town. But in the dead of night, strange things have been happening in Black River.

Animals are being ravaged by something unnatural. And Dusty wakes up one day with dirt on her feet, changed and starving. When new kid Will arrives, Dusty feels an attraction unlike anything she's felt before. She wants him...or she wants his blood. As Dusty realizes she's transforming into something she can't control, she reluctantly turns to the only person she somehow knows will understand: the annoyingly attractive Eli Blake.

Together, Dusty and Eli must uncover the mystery of their town and their new, insatiable desires. Have they become vampires or some other kind of monster?

Whatever they are, they're not the only ones.

An irresistible blend of suspense and romance, this paranormal small town mystery is perfect for fans of Stephanie Meyers and Tigest Girma."

What's the collective noun for a group of vampires? I want something cooler than coven or brood.... A Sanguine of Vampires? 

The Way It Haunted Him by Laura R. Samotin
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A terrifying and claustrophobic queer dark academia horror set in a demon-infested archive about trauma, grief and the lengths we will go to for love.

Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Tori Bovalino.

GUILT. GRIEF. OBSESSION.

Michael Stein arrives at the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies battered and broken, blaming himself for the tragic accident that took his boyfriend's life. He is haunted by his guilt and grief, but is determined to repent by completing his boyfriend's research into demonic entities.

But instead of being welcomed by the archivist, Michael is met by Jacob Schechter - the archivist's enigmatic, brooding grandson, who has inherited the Institute after his grandfather's death. As Michael explores the archive, delving into cryptic texts and whispered histories, shadows from the past begin to seep into the present. Tormented by demons both real and imagined, Michael's grief warps into something far darker - an intoxicating, yet increasingly toxic obsession with Jacob, whose own secrets threaten to destroy them both.

Now, Michael must confront the terrible truth behind his boyfriend's death - and his obsession with Jacob - before the darkness they awaken in each other claims more than just their love, and consumes them entirely."

If his boyfriend's death had anything to do with his research perhaps it's better for Michael to leave well enough alone?

The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones by Lex Croucher
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Lex Croucher comes an extraordinary dark academia fantasy about dangerous privilege, corrupted power, and two former best friends caught on opposite sides of the secrets rotting at the heart of Britain's most prestigious boarding school.

For as long as they can remember, Briar Jones dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Behind its looming ornate gates, the elite boarding school - the place that has produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in British history - is whispered to be magical.

Briar's best friend, Sebastian Wolfe, never cared about Temple. He just wanted them to stay together forever.

When, at age eleven, Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn't, their childhood friendship is shattered. Seb vanishes onto Temple's grounds and Briar resigns themself to a mundane life. But they can't completely forget their yearning for Temple, for the extraordinary, to be one of the chosen in the ivory tower.

Seven years later, Briar secures a temp job sorting through the junk in Temple's attics. And when Briar takes it, they discover that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become Bastian: a beautiful, arrogant villain feared by the entire school. And worse, the secrets Temple is hiding might not be so enchanting after all."

Oh, do we have some Neverending Story vibes?

The Making of a Witch by Judy Molland
Published by: She Writes Press
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspired by true events, this novel tells the tale of young Alice Molland, who must grapple with accusations of witchcraft and the persecution of women with mysterious gifts in turbulent seventeenth-century England.

In the tumultuous era of seventeenth-century Exeter, England, ten-year-old Alice Molland is forced to attend the brutal execution of her mentor in the healing arts, Goody Luscombe, who has been condemned to death for witchcraft.

In the years that follow, with her use of herbs such as mugwort, slippery elm, and comfrey, Alice becomes well known as a magical healer. But such gifts come accompanied by danger in the misogynistic age she lives in, and it's only a matter of time before a prominent Exeter merchant raises suspicion that she is a witch. When a love spell leads to an unexpected pregnancy, Alice becomes a target and must flee for her life."

It just didn't pay to be a smart woman on your own in the past. Even if you were actually a witch.

Kingdom of Devils by Katherine Grandjean
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The chilling true story of a brutal string of deaths on the post-Revolutionary frontier that reveal the violence at the heart of the young United States.

Kentucky, 1798: A harrowing series of murders begins. The first body, discovered by cattle drovers, lies bloody at the bottom of a ridge. Then another - a dead boy staring up from a sinkhole. Bodies turn up along roadsides, stuffed into brush. They float to the surface of muddy brooks. For nine terrifying months, over hundreds of miles of Kentucky and Tennessee countryside, the terror unfolds. The killers - two men with hazy backgrounds - are brothers, named Wiley and Micajah Harp.

The Harps killed dozens, but why they did it has eluded folklorists and historians for generations. Almost every story imagines that their motive was pure bloodlust, but for historian Katherine Grandjean, that's too simple. Instead, she uses the Harp murders to reveal the dark side of the young United States' independence. These were uncertain and dangerous years - a time when the fledgling federal government could do little to protect its citizens. And if the American Revolution was liberating, it was also deeply destabilizing, politically and socially. Even as it built up some men, it stacked the deck against others, punishing them with volatile markets, lost safety nets, and shattered aspirations. Unspooling the mystery of what sent the Harps reeling exposes the hidden, violent legacies of the revolutionary era.

Bristling with tense, page-turning storytelling - and driven by a historian's obsessive detective work - Kingdom of Devils recovers these long-forgotten murders as a haunting tale about the darkness at the heart of the American dream."

Long-forgotten indeed! How have I not heard of these serial killers?

Red Sheet by James Ellroy
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Turn to the first page. Disavow what you think you know about the so-called Red Scare. This is commie malfeasance and '60s L.A. as you've never read it before.

It's late October 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis has just concluded. The Russkies blinked and pulled their ICBMs out of Cuba. Attorney General Robert Kennedy fears reprisals from seething commies. He orders a red probe and puts the LAPD on the job.

Freddy Otash is injudiciously named the lead investigating officer. He's a stone-cold criminal with police sanction and a harrowing dope habit. He homes in on a red-front trade union. There's a murder on Halloween night. It may link to ex-VP and current gubernatorial candidate Richard Nixon and two commie snuffs from eight years back. Freddy's overworked and overamped. He's running the probe, and Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman - Tricky Dick Nixon's head goons - have hired him to keep Nixon away from the smear-minded press.

L.A. is coming unglued. Ex-cop/lawyer Tom Bradley is running for a city council seat and pushing the Rumford Fair Housing Act. Playboy kingpin Hugh Hefner is along for the ride, out to exploit racial tension and peddle untold copies of his smut rag.

Red Sheet is James Ellroy's most crazed kamikaze run and a daring, subversive work of fiction."

The truth about humanity is there is always corruption. Everywhere. It just happens that James Ellroy has made a successful career about telling these tales set in Tinseltown. 

The Man Who Led a Dream Life by David Handler
Published by: The Mysterious Press
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Stewart Hoag and his new bride dive into married life with the discovery of a murdered millionaire in this mystery from early in the crime-solving career of the author-sleuth.

January 1983: Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag is getting married to the love of his life Merilee at New York City Hall. Hoagy's college chum, Ezra Spooner, stands up for him. Merilee's lovely cousin, Phoebe, stands up for her. And their young basset hound Lulu stands up for both of them. After they say "I do" and pop open the Dom Perignon, Phoebe somberly announces that she and her husband, the legendary adventurer and old money multi-millionaire Junior Singleton, are now officially divorced.

Junior leads what most men would consider a dream life. He has climbed Mount Everest twice, captained his yacht to an America's Cup victory, raced Formula One Ferraris in Europe, surfed the most dangerous Maui waves, and slept with as many women as he chose to despite being married to sweet and gentle Phoebe, who works as a music teacher and plays violin in a chamber music quartet. The pair could not be more different, and most of their friends predicted the marriage wouldn't last. They were right. Phoebe is done putting up with Junior's constant absence and compulsive philandering. She's not even asking for much of his fortune in the divorce - just $1 million and their gorgeous townhouse in the East Sixties, which she intends to sell. In fact, she'd love to sell it to Hoagy and Merilee.

The newlyweds agree to tour the home and find that it's almost exactly what they're looking for: There's a fabulous gourmet kitchen, a paneled office where Hoagy can write, a garden where Lulu can romp, a luxurious master suite with his and hers dressing rooms. The only drawback - and it's a mighty big one - is that they find Junior dead on the floor of his dressing room with a rosewood handled Claude Dozorme steak knife plunged into his left eyeball.

Who would want to kill Junior Singleton? Plenty of people, as it turns out. Junior's autopsy reveals that he was HIV-positive, which means any of the women with whom he had unprotected sex have been exposed to the deadly AIDS virus - including the hot-shot realtor Siena Bing who was supposed to be helping them sell the house. And that's just the start of the suspect list. As the NYPD's top Homicide Lieutenant, Meyer Golden, pursues the case he finds it unfolding in several different directions, and Hoagy, who possesses not only amazing insights into the criminal mind but also a gifted short-legged partner, gets drawn deeper and deeper into the fascinating and utterly bizarre world of New York City's elite."

I'm just saying, if Junior knew then he deserved to die.

Heather by Caitlin Mullen
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A small-town detective reopens an unsolved case, sending shock waves across generations of women in this gripping new mystery from the Edgar Award-winning author of Please See Us.

1990. In the myth-riddled woods of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, sixteen-year-old Annabelle Riley's twin sister, Sabrina, has been having an affair with a mysterious older man, and Annabelle is determined to uncover what's going on. Then, inexplicably, both sisters disappear.

In this same town years later, newly instated police chief Callie Hauser makes an arrest that unexpectedly resurrects details from a heartbreaking cold case. As she digs deeper, the past and the present collide, challenging everything Callie believes about right and wrong, who she is, and the town she's always called home.

A propulsive mystery as incisive as it is forgiving, Heather bears a visceral reminder that the truth of a woman's life is often complicated and unknowable - to those on the outside, and sometimes even to herself."

Introspection in the Pine Barrens might be a dangerous habit. 

Summer's Never Over by Darby Bozeman
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this addictive dual-timeline debut novel, a woman confronts her past at the remote Southern summer camp where the tragic death of her fellow counselor may not have been an accident after all.

Five years ago, Greer left her family's summer camp in the mountains of Georgia and vowed she'd never return. An idyllic season had turned into a nightmare after a mysterious Phantom began stalking the camp - and ended with Greer's friend and fellow counselor dead. Losing Steph shattered everything, and Greer's been fleeing from the grief ever since.

But then Greer's mother dies, and Greer finds herself back at Dread's Cove, surrounded by the people she was closest to that intense summer. Two ex-boyfriends - one a childhood sweetheart, the other the guy she's never gotten over - and old friends. Including Margo, Steph's best friend.

Greer and Margo didn't leave things on the best of terms. But now, Margo needs her. Margo never believed that Steph's death in that horrific fire was an accident - and she's on the trail of an explosive secret Steph took to her grave.

Greer has to make a choice: keep the Cove's secrets and her own, or finally face the truth about that summer."

You know your camp Dread's Cover, you HAVE to expect something bad to go down. Isn't it delicious?

Strangers Behind Closed Doors by Catherine Adel West
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A twisty thriller about a woman who vanishes from a luxury hotel, and the detective who believes the case is tied to the unsolved disappearances of other Black women in the city.

Giovanni Mason worked hard to become the first Black head concierge at Chicago's exclusive and glamorous Ivory Hotel. It's a job that requires patience, perfection, and, above all, self-control. But when Giovanni reunites with her former best friend, makeup influencer Natalie Moore, things get heated as a mending of fences morphs into a public argument in the hotel restaurant, and Giovanni loses her cool. Hours later, Natalie is missing. Evidence piles against Giovanni - a ransacked, blood-spattered hotel room, fresh bruises on her body, and a troubling gap in her memory from the last twelve hours.

Detective Redding Stark is the only one unconvinced of Giovanni's guilt. She sees disturbing parallels to a series of disappearances targeting Black women and believes Natalie's case is part of something bigger. Together, she and Giovanni are pulled into a dangerous web of privilege, power, and betrayal inside - and far beyond - the walls of the Ivory Hotel.

Will Giovanni and Detective Stark find Natalie or join the missing?"

Murders in hotel are catnip to me. Elisa Lam for example....

Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughan
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A compelling novel about power, money and lies from the author of Anatomy of a Scandal.

All families have secrets. But it's the lies that can kill.

A lavish seventieth birthday party. A body found on a storm-lashed beach. And a secret that someone is dying to tell....

Famed children's author Dame Eleanor Kingman has summoned her family and friends to her exquisite manor house on the cliffs. They're celebrating her birthday - and her latest number one bestseller in her series of books based on a mother fox and her cubs.

But the night before the party, Eleanor receives an email that threatens to expose the lie she's kept up for over half a century.

Someone knows her secret. Is it her estranged literary agent? Is it her ex-husband, to whom she no longer speaks? Is it the nanny she fired all those years ago, who always did have a knack for storytelling? Or is it one of her three daughters, all of whom have a stake in the publishing empire she has built...

With a television crew arriving to film a documentary of her life, Eleanor needs to find out who sent the email - and preserve her legacy and multimillion-pound career.

But when push comes to shove, and it's time to tell the truth will anyone actually believe her?"

If you have deep dark secrets, perhaps a documentary on your life isn't the best idea.

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less, showcases his wit, sophistication, and deep knowledge of focaccia in this tale of a young man who takes an unspecified job with a charismatic elderly Baronessa at her crumbling villa in the Tuscan hills.

An aspiring archivist determined to begin a "serious" life after an undistinguished undergraduate career takes up residence in the Italian countryside. Here, he becomes the all-purpose assistant to the Baronessa, known to her friends as Coco, a defiantly youthful and naturally flamboyant woman of ninety-two. Amid a chaotic and colorful milieu of gin-swilling princesses, incomprehensible handymen, roaming boarhunters, nuns, and other local wildlife, our young man does his best to catalog the villa's extensive collection of art and antiques - although he notices that things seem to go missing from right under his nose.

Despite himself, he tumbles into an affair with a married man, complicating his future plans considerably. And when the Baronessa loses someone close to her, he becomes an unwitting accomplice in the acceleration of Coco's great and final plan: to locate the love of her life and be reunited before it's too late. Told with the signature wit, charm, and humanity that made Less an international phenomenon, Villa Coco is a dazzling, sun-soaked ode to life itself, a meditation on how seriously we ought to take ourselves, and a bawdy Mediterranean ballad about becoming who we've always wanted to be."

I can totally see my grandmother fitting in at Coco's villa.

Contrapposto by Dave Eggers
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sweeping novel about friendship, love, and the lifelong pursuit of art from Dave Eggers, the award-winning, bestselling author of The Circle, Hologram for the King, and The Eyes and the Impossible.

Cricket Dib, born on the American prairie, has no particular prospects or ambitions until, in grade school, he realizes he can draw. He soon meets a girl, Olympia Argyros, one year older, who is captivating and brilliant and far more worldly. Recognizing his talent, she convinces him to deface, with profound vulgarity, a popular playground. Under her direction, he does it willingly, already in love, and thus begins a sixty-five-year entwining between Cricket and Olympia, encompassing friendship, working partnership and love affair. Together they go to art school - an experience of dubious value - and then navigate the art world for the next fifty years, together and apart.

Contrapposto is a moving and very funny novel about allies and art, and what it means to be an artist. All through their lives, Cricket sees Olympia as his soulmate and destiny, and while she is always his champion, romantically her eyes are always seeking something - and someone - else. Their love changes over the decades, but their commitment to each other, and their search for meaning in the making of art, never wanes. The novel spans the globe, from New York to Thailand, Indiana to Paris, and follows Cricket and Olympia through sickness and health, war and death.

The novel is a wild and beautiful examination of the rules and market forces of the art world, but chiefly it's about two friends who believe they can change that world, and bring new meaning to it, if only they can start their own movement, dodge charlatans, remain open-eyed and open-hearted, avoid going mad, avoid dying young of rare cancers, stay true to their ideals, and never tire of beauty. Not easy, but not impossible, either."

No matter how dubious the value of art school, it is kind of necessary to learn the proper language to take the art world by storm... 

Sometime This Century by Samantha Silva
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A riotous rom-com meets a swoon-worthy Regency comedy of manners in this heartfelt time-travel story about sisters, love, identity - and how Jane Austen just might change your life.

Annabel Blake was born in the wrong century. An Austen-loving book nerd, she dreams of being a writer herself, with a just-penned Regency novel to prove it. Her hopes sink when her hot author crush rejects her: The novel reads like she's never been in love. Ouch.

Annabel sees a chance to rewrite it when her ex-pat boss sends her to England to sort out her family's "crumbling old pile" of a country house. Tempted by an invitation tucked in an antique writing desk and a "period" coachman at her door, Annabel's whisked away to a local Regency Society ball - cue candlelight, costumes, dancing - that might be just the inspiration she needs. There's even the achingly perfect - and wildly out of her league - Henry Leighton D'Evercy.

When Annabel's audacious influencer sister crashes the party with her super-chill ex-boyfriend, the unlikely trio wake to find themselves trapped in the actual Regency era. No Wi-Fi, lattes, cellphones - just a world where manners, money, and marriage rule.

As Annabel falls deeply for D'Evercy, she must decide: write her perfect love story...or live it."

While Jane Austen did indeed change my life, I have never once thought I'd want to live back then. The healthcare alone!

A Shop Girl's Guide to Wooing a Lord by Shana Galen
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A down-on-her-luck shop girl and the son of an earl find they have more in common than they thought - including sexual chemistry they can't resist - in this fresh Regency romance by Shana Galen.

Tamsin Archer might just be having the worst year of her life. And that's saying something, considering her father is dead, her mother was maimed at work, and her family regularly sleeps under London's bridges. But when her younger siblings go missing, Tamsin decides it's time to step up and fight.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Tamsin's more than willing to take a few risks to reunite with her siblings. But while disguising herself to sneak into homes and steal from the rich, Tamsin is caught by Garret Kildare, the second son of an earl. Much to Tamsin's surprise, Garret doesn't want to turn her in. He wants to help her. Though Tamsin's wary - she's learned to never trust supposed "good luck" - the unlikely pair form an alliance, one that quickly muddles their class differences.

Garret knows he must be careful. Falling for a woman of a lower class could be the nail in the coffin for his family's tenuous social standing, and there are eyes everywhere. Ignoring their attraction proves impossible, though, and soon the lines they've drawn around their partnership begin to blur. As more focus lands on Tamsin and Garret, they wonder if their red-hot connection means giving up everything - and everyone - they've ever known."

So forget about the siblings and run off with the son of an earl? OK....

How to Not Marry a Lord by Emma Orchard
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: eBook, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover the BRAND NEW gorgeous, super spicy Regency romance from Emma Orchard.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a good fortune must not be in want of a husband...

After four weary years on the marriage mart, Cecilia longs for an appealing match - or maybe, shockingly, no match at all. So when she and her sisters discover they are unexpectedly heiresses to a substantial Suffolk estate, Cecilia dares to imagine a future shaped by her own choosing.

There is, however, one strict condition: to secure their inheritance, none of the sisters may become engaged for a full year.

Cecilia is confident she can manage - but that's before fortune hunters in the shape of handsome lords begin to circle, matchmakers sharpen their claws, and a taciturn Major proves far more difficult to ignore than any conventional proposal.

Can Cecilia protect her heart, her sisters, and the freedom she has only just discovered...or will desire cost her everything she stands to gain?"

Totally take the money and remain a spinster. It's a far safer prospect all around.

It Came From Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Peter Pan meets Stephen King's It in this twisted horror retelling of a classic childhood fairy tale set during WWI.

1914, Wendy Darling works by day as a school teacher, and by night, she assists soldiers who have returned home from the Western Front. There is one mysterious patient who, despite all the care they've given him, is in a deep sleep, unable to wake up. One night, when he murmurs the words "Peter Pan," Wendy is thrown back to a darker time, one that she wishes she could forget.

When one of her students goes missing, it brings back memories of when children went missing and were later found murdered in London many years ago. Wendy is convinced that Peter Pan, the entity that she believes killed those children, is back. She and her brothers had a close encounter with Peter Pan, after all. But her brothers only remember Peter Pan and Neverland as a fantasy of childhood games.

When another child goes missing and signs start to point to Wendy, Scotland Yard digs into old reports, finding that Wendy knew the names of all the children who had been killed. As Wendy tries to prove her innocence, she also has to find a way to stop Peter Pan once and for all."

If the Sandman came in a warped our childhood memories.

Mister Magic by Kiersten White, Scott Peterson, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish
Published by: Ten Speed Graphic
Publication Date: June 9th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show - and discover the secret of its enigmatic host - in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel adaptation of the thrilling national bestseller Mister Magic.

Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children's program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic.

But with no surviving videos or scripts, no evidence of who directed or produced the show, and no records of who - or what - the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former circle of friends has. In Val's case, kidnapped by her father and in hiding ever since, she doesn't even have those.

A surprise encounter with Val's old castmates brings them all together for a reunion. Back to the remote desert filming compound that feels like it's been waiting for them all this time. Back among friends they haven't seen for years, but who somehow understand one another better than anyone has since.

After all, they're the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as Val reclaims parts of her past, she wonders: Are they there by choice, or have they been lured into a trap?

Because magic never forgets the taste of friendship....

Rendered in striking full-color art by beloved comic artists Veronica Fish and Andy Fish, this gripping graphic adaptation of Mister Magic fully immerses you in the psychological thriller that PopSugar, CrimeReads, and the Chicago Public Library named a best book of the year."

I love it when prose books get adapted into graphic novels. LOVE IT!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A.G. Slatter, Andrew Sean Greer, Caitlin Mullen, Catherine Adel West, Cynthia Pelayo, Darby Bozeman, Dave Eggers, Emma Orchard, James Ellroy, Kate Khavari, Kiersten White, Lex Croucher, Samantha Silva, Sarah Vaughan, Shana Galen