strange and random happenstance

The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City by Susanna Clarke
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi, an enchanting, beautifully illustrated short story set in the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

'He had already served three kings. He did not see why he should not be useful to a fourth.'

During the conquest of Northern England, the fairy host sweeps across the countryside. The city of Durham finds itself surrounded. But the encircling forces are not fairies, nor even other humans, but trees that trap the city within an eerie wood.

Ranulf, Bishop of Durham - a consummate politician - understands that the survival of the Northern English people depends on his finding a way to unite the two races, human and fairy. And he's not averse to improving his own position at the same time. With these aims in view, he sets off for the New Castle, in search of the new King - the leader of the fairy host, rumored to be a mysterious human boy, no more than fourteen years old, who speaks no word of any human language.

Set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is a bewitching, must-have addition to any fantasy reader's shelf, featuring beautiful illustrations throughout."

Whenever Susanna Clarke writes a short story everyone is hoping against hope that it is directly tied into the epic tale of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I can put your minds at ease, it is. Though from the timeline I think you'll understand it's someone important to that book's backstory. 

Royal Witch by Philippa Gregory
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Royal Witch: the gripping new novel from the international bestselling author.

Ambition. Sorcery. Treason. How far will one woman dare to go?

1420. Eleanor Cobham arrives at the court of Henry V. Pretty but not highborn, she hopes for nothing more than to marry well.

It is a golden age for England, its royal family's dynasty stretching across Europe. But chaos waits in the shadows. Betrayals and shifts of power change the flourishing world Eleanor has stepped into.

Working in the household of a Countess who commands her own army, Eleanor begins to see for the first time what a woman is capable of…what men's promises are truly worth.

As the safe, comfortable future she'd envisioned begins to shift, Eleanor changes with it. Now she must use her wits to survive - and to rise. Her newfound ambition will to carry her further than any woman before has dared. But if she is to rule England itself, she will need to turn to darker arts..."

I love that Philippa Gregory's stance is that if the people of the time viewed someone as a witch, well then she can write them as a witch. 

The Slantwise Histories by Alix E. Harrow
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Dive into a dazzling collection of short fiction from Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting and Starling House.

These are stories about the past as it wasn't quite, but might have been - or could still be.

These are stories about dreamers and liars and lovers and ghosts; people just like you.

These are stories about places the world has seen, and some that hide just beyond the periphery of possibility.

Most of all, these are stories for anyone who ever wanted more.

What's a legend, except a history told slantwise?

The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories presents the best known short fiction of Alix. E. Harrow, including the Hugo-award winning "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" as well as five all-new stories. The collection also includes the author's preferred text of previously published stories "The Long Way Up", "Roadside Attraction", "Mr. Death", "The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly", "The Sycamore and the Sybil", "Do Not Look Back, My Lion", "The Whisper in the Weld", "Dustbaby", and Amazon Original short stories, "The Six Deaths of the Saint" and "The Knight and the Butcherbird.""

I am not a fan of short stories. Too short is my opinion. But when they're written by the likes of Alix E. Harrow, bring them on.

The Chosen Ones by Jasmine Ahmad
Published by: Jasmine Ahmad
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 370 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For centuries, witches have lived among humans, hidden in plain sight - their magic passed down through bloodlines, their existence shrouded in secrecy.

Then, the fear of mere mortals nearly destroyed them, and one witch paid the ultimate price, her death meant to protect the future of witch kind.

Generations later, that future has arrived.

Carmen Jimenez knew her daughters' magic was different. Powerful. Dangerous. From the moment they were born, she understood their twin destinies.

The Chosen Ones.

Carmen spent her life preparing them for the darkness hunting them all. But when she sacrifices herself to ensure their kind's survival, the countdown to the end begins.

The underworld eagerly awaits, and now, the Jimenez sisters may be the only witches powerful enough to stop the danger rising from beneath their world.

Even if it costs them everything."

The most important things cost everything.

The Haunting of Lavender House by Natalie Kikić
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A crumbling home surrounded by lavender fields. A decades-long curse. A nightmare from Croatian folklore with a thirst for blood. The Lost Apothecary meets The Hacienda in this multigenerational, haunting gothic saga set on the Adriatic Sea.

2026. All Petra has inherited are tales of loss. Which is why, after her mother's passing, she is shocked to learn that her grandmother is not dead like she's always believed, but alive and living on Tolba, a small island in Croatia. Desperate to find her last surviving family member, Petra ventures to her ancestral home, famed for its sprawling lavender fields. While she's happy to be reunited with her grandmother, rarely does a night go by that Petra doesn't lose herself to vivid nightmares and the dizzying sense that something - or someone - is always watching in Lavender House.

1895. Whore. Sinner. Witch. No matter how many people Magdalena heals, the rumors persist. So, when she's asked to help the matriarch of Lavender House, she seizes the opportunity to rehabilitate her reputation. As Magdalena races against time to heal the ailing woman, she finds herself unexpectedly falling for the son of her greatest enemy, the man responsible for her ostracization. But are true love and acceptance possible for a woman who has always lived on the margins?

Back in the present, Petra finds it increasingly difficult to ignore the rumors plaguing her family: that a mora, a spirit from Croatian folklore, haunts Lavender House for revenge. As the sole heir to Lavender House, Petra must discover the truth of her inheritance, or else fall prey to the same curse that claimed her family.

Through the intersecting stories of Petra and Magdalena, Natalie Kikic's gorgeous debut asks us to consider the lengths to which we go to belong, the cost of choosing love, and what it really means to be a monster."

And also, what creates that "monster."

A Lady's Guide to Vampire Hunting by Michelle Maxstoke
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the gaslit dark, love is never tender. It's teeth at your throat. Blood on silk. It is the sweetest surrender - and the most exquisite damnation.

By day Lady Euphemia Butterworth is a dutiful daughter - corseted, perfumed, and groomed to marry a lecherous duke twice her age. By night, she dreams of freedom, the dangerous thrill of adventure and a life not dictated by men with money and cruel smiles. But when a vampire attack shatters her world, Effie is branded hysterical, locked away and desperate to prove the truth.

Liam Rafferty has ghosts of his own. Ex-orphan, ex-boxer, ex-patient of the asylum, he stalks the shadows as a reluctant hunter, his body inked with sins and his soul fraying at the edges. He finds refuge in a travelling circus, but it cannot silence the devil whispering in his ear - or the fangs waiting in the dark.

When Effie's gilded cage collides with Liam's world, the sparks are as dangerous as the bite of the monsters they hunt..."

Rule number one, if you think you've encountered a vampire, do not, I repeat, do not tell someone who has the power to have you locked up.

My Darling Girls by Marina Scott
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 251 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In 1904 Chicago, where secrets cling as thickly as the soot on every windowsill, Jo earns her living by photographing the dead. The work is quiet and cloistered, allowing her to hide from a past that haunts her: the grief over her husband's mysterious death, a spiraling addiction, and the guilt she carries over the things she's done to survive.

When a notorious crime family hires Jo to make a final portrait of their daughter Millie, it stirs up a spirit that refuses to rest. In opium-fueled dreams, Millie lures Jo into a realm called "the courtyard," where the dead burn to tell her their half-finished stories.

As Jo investigates Millie's murder, she forms a fragile bond with her sister, Grace, who's desperate for an escape of her own. Amid the whispers of the dead is a truth Jo must confront if she is to free them all from the shadows of the past."

So deliciously dark for this time of year!

Needlemouth by K-Ming Chang
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the award-winning author of Bestiary, three cousins are forced to complete an impossible and violent task set by a vengeful demon.

Cousins Cindy, Yangyang, and Mandy's hot, tedious summer unfolds in their grandmother's hauntingly familiar house. Mandy, the eldest, seeks connection online and exchanges emails with a stranger. Yangyang, the youngest, retreats into her own imagination in search of meaning. But every morning Cindy wakes with strange objects in her mouth: a button, a berry, a coin.

One night, a starved figure with a mouth the size of a needle-tip appears at Cindy's bedside. She is hunger-afflicted, a demon with no descendants to feed from: she is Needlemouth. Part vampire, part hungry ghost, Needlemouth forces the girls into a grim task to end a man's life.

Cindy, Yangyang, and Mindy are plunged in and out of the demon realm, where they are called to break out of the indifference and numbness of their claustrophobic worlds, and where they are met with the most rageful and resistant parts of themselves. In a quest to satisfy the demon's hunger, they unravel their shared grief and reckon with the cyclical violence that shaped their family. For readers of Akwaeke Emezi and Carmen Maria Machado, K-Ming Chang has crafted a reimagined coming of age novel that asks: what does it mean to become the monster instead of slaying it?"

Another shudder inducing read.

Is It There or Not? by Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Naoko Machida
Published by: VIZ Media LLC
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""It's dark up there...I couldn't stop wondering what was up there."

Deceptively simple picture books with sinister stories.

You went to live with Grandma in her rambling old house. High above the rafters is a world of darkness. You can't shake the feeling that something is lurking there.

Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Naoko Machida spin a riveting web of fear of the unknown."

Images can inspire fear more than words.

The Boy Behind the Wardrobe by Suzanne Poulter Harris and Mira Miroslavova
Published by: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 56 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lonely, imaginative boy becomes the world-renowned author of The Chronicles of Narnia in this spellbinding biography of C.S. Lewis.

Once a boy was born to make stories: C.S. Lewis. He insisted on being called "Jack" and loved to write and draw with his older brother. But after his mother died, he was shipped to boarding school, where he longed for real friends and sought refuge in books. And words and stories would strengthen him during World War I, connect him to bookish friends like J.R.R. Tolkien, and drive him toward his destiny as a world-renowned author...

With lyrical words from Suzanne Poulter Harris and lush, fantastical art from Mira Miroslavova, The Boy Behind the Wardrobe goes beyond the traditional picture book biography to explore the history and emotional trajectory of a child who struggled to fit in, yet created books beloved by millions around the globe. Like the wardrobe transporting the Pevensies to Narnia, this biography will transport readers into Lewis's solitary childhood, his fantastic imagination, and his journey of hope. An author's note, timeline, bibliography, and other back matter offer additional insights into Jack's life and inspiration.

The Boy Behind the Wardrobe is Suzanne Poulter Harris's debut picture book, shaped by the echoes of Narnia that she found in her homeland of Northern Ireland."

I've always found C.S. Lewis more lyrical and a better writer than Tolkien, even if Narnia went a bit too religious for me in the end. This book is a wonderful insight into his becoming.

Black Moon by Stephen Wright
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An utterly wild, debauched, romantic, and violent ride inspired by the 18th-century Irish pirate Anne Bonny, reimagined here as Amethyst "Meeks" Connell, one of the most extraordinary outlaws of any age. For readers of George Saunders, Percival Everett, and Maggie O'Farrell.

Meeks is a poor Irish orphan whose energy, wit, and native sensitivity to the "main chance" take her to the unlikeliest of places. She marries into the aristocracy and follows her war-besotted husband into the latest of England and France's seemingly endless scrapes where her husband is killed and she, on her way home, is taken prisoner by pirates, resulting in a tryst with the pirate captain that sets in motion an unlikely turn of events, leading her to join his crew. Upon the open sea, her ambition and cunning become her greatest assets as she reinvents herself anew.

From Irish reformatories to the battlefields of Europe to the swashbuckling high seas, Black Moon introduces a character you'll never forget in an adventurous world you'll never want to leave. Throughout Meeks' globe-spanning narrative, we come to know a heroine of unconquerable ambition, boundless intelligence, and insatiable appetite - and to recognize a lawless, brutal, and bounteous world much like our own."

If Becky Sharp boarded a ship.

The Queen's Command by Sarah Raughley
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Inheritance Games meets Bridgerton in the riveting companion novel to The Queen's Spade, where our heroine must play a deadly game and risk everything to get to the truth that's poisoning Victorian England's royal court.

Favored by Queen Victoria, Vicky Davies has survived royal courts, financial ruin, and the loss of her mother, Sarah Forbes Bonetta - the famous African princess turned royal goddaughter - but Cheltenham Ladies' College is about to test her in new and wicked ways.

Every Thursday evening, the senior girls play a secret game and Vicky just became their latest pawn. Truths must be confessed, commands obeyed, and whoever claims the coveted title of winner will have her wish granted, no matter how outrageous and seemingly impossible it may be.

But when the game yields frightening and fatal results, Vicky vows to put an end to this ghoulish tradition that twists minds and makes enemies out of friends. With dangerous foes closing in and truths that could shatter her world clawing to the surface, Vicky must uncover the secrets buried not only in Cheltenham but by her own mother. In a school where survival is a gamble, will she emerge victorious - or fall victim to its deadly game?"

Well if her mother in this book is anything like how she's portrayed in A Thousand Blows.... Watch out!

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford by Bethany Joy Lenz
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Dinner for Vampires, Bethany Joy Lenz, comes a romantic psychological suspense set in Victorian-era London amidst the Jack the Ripper murders.

1880s London. Cora Wexford is alone at thirty-eight, with secrets that drove her to flee life in America and come to London. Now, she makes a living by painting the dead. On the evening of her birthday, she is introduced through friends to a charming stranger named Miles Vale. As Cora falls deeper into trust and surrender with Miles, she's given an opportunity to catapult her career. A suffragist and esteemed gallery owner commission Cora to create a series of portraits featuring ordinary women whose recent deaths have been caused or enabled by a system that ignores them. Then a killer in Whitechapel begins murdering women in the same gruesome way.

As Cora works tirelessly to honor the victims of this "Jack the Ripper," she finds herself increasingly disoriented within her own relationship. Her unraveling leads to one question: will anyone notice a woman being dismantled over time by someone sharing her bed?

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford is a haunting novel of psychological suspense that examines themes of desire, manipulation and community complicity, showing how easily someone surrounded by witnesses can disappear - and how truly terrifying love can be."

I need an ARC of this book! I NEED IT! The artist and Ripperologist in me needs it!

The Body at Waterloo Station by Emily Organ
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 292 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A murdered clerk. A body at Waterloo. A letter with a deadly secret.

London, 1889. In the gloomy Dead Letter Office at St Martin's Le Grand, young clerk Andrew Peverell spends his days sorting through letters that never found their intended reader. When three anonymous notes cross his desk - each inviting a stranger to a public house near Buckingham Palace - Andrew makes a decision that will cost him his life.

Four days later, a foul smell leads to a black leather trunk in Waterloo Station's left-luggage office. Inside is Andrew's body.

When the story reaches the morning papers, Emma Langley recognises the victim's name - a man her late brother once knew as a boy. Together with her friend Penny Green, she sets out to find the truth. Their investigation takes them from the hushed rooms of the Dead Letter Office to the grand halls of Marlborough House, where a footman has vanished and a menacing lawyer is hunting him down.

But the truth about Andrew's death lies somewhere no one has thought to look. And by the time Emma understands what she is really searching for, the killer is closer than she has ever imagined..."

Huh. Naming a murder victim after a Harry Potter character sure is a choice.

Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas - a sweeping, richly layered Victorian novel about a trailblazing female economist who's determined to build Britain's first women's bank, but she must fight both financial corruption and a system intent on destroying the newly found family she's created.

In Victorian England, no woman - not even a brilliant economist like Reina Martin - is allowed to open her own bank account. Men will take care of everything, women are told. But Reina knows better. As the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother, she's haunted by the memory of living with unpaid grocer's bills and no coal for the hearth.

So together with her mentor, the powerful banker William Farlow, Reina will build the first all-women's bank, where women can manage their own financial security.

At home, Reina's domestic staff of recently paroled prisoners are building new lives and becoming a found family. But soon Reina is shocked to discover that her enigmatic butler, John Pembroke, is an undercover police detective. He's been assigned to investigate Farlow, who's suspected of financial crime on a scale so massive, it could destabilize the British economy. Pembroke needs Reina's expertise for a high-stakes nighttime heist to obtain incriminating evidence.

Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything. Either way, her dream of the women's bank may be over.

But courage and sacrifice aren't limited to the battlefield - they also occur at the kitchen table, where women who believe in compassion and community are working to remake the future. And when the stakes are highest, Reina knows to trust her heart as well as her intellect.

Based on real-life trailblazers such as Mary Paley Marshall, Britain's first female economist, and financial titan Hetty Green, Queen of Lombard Street brings to light the hidden history of extraordinary women whose achievements should be celebrated. How can we know who we are, if we don't know who we were?"

Lisa Kleypas in her Barbara Taylor Brandford era!

The Queen of Roses by Julia Kelly
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spanning the ballrooms of Pasadena and the sunlit gardens of Altadena, a new novel of love and sacrifice from the internationally bestselling author of The Light Over London and The Last Garden in England.

1960: Frustrated reporter Theresa Johnson's life changes when she receives a phone call from a Miss Pearce who claims her obituary about one of Pasadena's last great hoteliers is wildly inaccurate. Seeking the truth, Theresa drives to the mysterious Rosewood House nestled high in the Altadena foothills. Even more intriguing than the house's beautiful garden is Miss Pearce's proposal that Theresa help her settle old scores by writing her biography.

1903: Beautiful but haughty, Adele Pearce is reluctant to leave the London Season and her last hope of a proposal. When she arrives in California, she discovers the startling truth of why her mother has called her there: her father has squandered his fortune and Adele must marry a wealthy American to save the family.

Stifled by expectation as Pasadena's newest doyenne, Adele's only comfort is Rosewood House and the beautiful garden she creates with the help of taciturn gardener Alexander Macalister. However, as Adele's feelings for Alex flourish, a fire ignites in the San Gabriel Mountains above Rosewood House, threatening everything Adele holds dear, while in 1960, Miss Pearce learns that history has a terrible habit of repeating itself."

Of course she falls for the gardener. Honestly I would too.

Miss Wolcott's Ghost by Louise Penny
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Armand Gamache returns!

"There's a body in Lost Nation."

"Where?" demands Armand as he scribbles on the pad by his bed.

But the line goes dead before Chief Inspector Gamache can question the caller.

The head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec has no idea where Lost Nation is, or who woke him in the small hours of the morning at his home in Three Pines. What he does know is that the man was terrified.

And so Armand is thrust out of a deep sleep and into the surrounding forests in search of the mythical Lost Nation. And a body.

When he and his team of Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste find both, the situation only grows more bizarre. The unidentified dead man appears to be from an era more than a century old. He's lying in a long-abandoned cemetery, on top of a grave with a date, but no name.

Adding to the mystery, the early morning call appears to have come from Gamache's friend and neighbor, Clara Morrow. While she denies any knowledge of it, it becomes clear there is some connection between her, the Morrow family, and Lost Nation.

Soon, Gamache and his team are faced with tracking down not just the legend of Lost Nation, but a lost ship, lost documents belong to an eccentric Victorian botanist, and a mysterious plant not seen in a century, that might save, or take, countless lives.

As the murder investigation deepens, nightmarish spectres from the past begin to haunt the Sûreté officers, only heightened by the appearance of one of Gamache's former and now disgraced proteges, with whom he must form an uneasy alliance.

As the ghosts begin to gather, Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste, with the help of Reine-Marie, Clara, and the other villagers of Three Pines, realize that the body on the grave is far from the only death. To solve the crime and avert catastrophe they must look to rancid secrets and old lies no longer dead and buried."

Score! Victorian botanist and a mysterious plant not seen in a hundred years!

The Key to a Killer by Olivia Blacke
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman and her ghost roommate investigate their most personal case yet in Olivia Blacke's The Key to a Killer, the next book in the Anthony Award winning Ruby and Cordelia Mysteries.

When Ruby Young discovered that her Boston apartment was haunted, she did what any reasonable person would do: befriend the ghost. Their relationship overcame a shaky start - Cordelia Graves never wanted a roommate in life, she certainly didn't want one in death. After working together to solve a few murders, the two are close friends, but there's a lingering question neither of them have been able to answer: what led to Cordelia's death?

Lately things have been adding up that suggest foul play. And when Cordelia's memories of that day start to come back, the roommates can't ignore it anymore: Cordelia was murdered. Ruby and Cordelia are going to have to piece together what Cordelia's final days looked like - otherwise a killer could go free."

Just saying, you'd think that solving Cordelia's death might be more urgent than to wait until the third book...

A Reunion to Die For by K.J. Whittle
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They all wanted their bully dead. Now someone's granted the wish. From the author of Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests comes the twisted tale of a school reunion turned murderous - and the suspects must catch the real killer before they're framed. Perfect for fans of Benjamin Stevenson and We Solve Murders.

In a dingy pub, a high school reunion brings five old friends back together. As they catch up after twenty years, painful memories surface, all centered around the disastrous prom night that broke them all apart and the school bully at the heart of it all. King of the class turned handsome sport superstar, Eric Stewart poses as a charming local celebrity, but his old friends know of his hidden cruel streak that made each of them miserable. The more they drink, the more a morbid plan takes shape, with everyone tossing in ideas for how they could get the ultimate form of revenge.

The next morning, heads-pounding and hearts racing, they discover Eric has been found dead, exactly the way they drunkenly planned it.

When a cryptic, anonymous message containing a recording of their conversation from the night before starts to circulate, the group knows they need to act, and fast. Who was listening to them? Who arranged the reunion? And, most importantly, who carried out their murderous plans? Soon, they find themselves dragged into a series of sinister games devised to reveal the truth about prom night and Eric's death. Before they become the main suspects, the group will need to share their secrets from all those years ago, or risk going down for murder."

Things are going to get messy!

The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this festive whodunit, set in a cozy snowed-in country house, an innocent mystery game goes horribly wrong, leaving the real-life couple who invented the game Clue to solve a real murder.

It is Christmas Eve, 1943, when Anthony and Elva Pratt arrive at a snowy English country house to host a murder mystery game, but instead find themselves solving a real murder.

The Pratts had planned on a festive game to liven up the dreary wartime atmosphere, where guests using prop weapons as clues would explore the house to solve the whodunnit.

It is all fun and games until Anthony discovers the cook's sister Miss Silver beaten to death, leaving the sleuthy couple to solve an all-too-real murder. The hotel manager Mr. Browning is trying to keep calm, but the guests are agitated, Colonel Colman seizes the opportunity to take over the hotel for the war effort - and the enigmatic Mrs. Threadgold's whereabouts remain a mystery.

Snowed-in with a murderer in their midst, the Pratts must investigate the novel's colorful cast. But can they solve this Christmas mystery before someone else is killed?"

This is the number one book I'm reading this Christmas! Country House and Clue!?! 

Death Under the Hammer by E.C. Bateman
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brilliant new whodunnit from fan favourite E.C. Bateman, perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton and Richard Osman!

It may be the season of goodwill, but when auctioneer Felicia Grant finds herself in the frame for murder, suddenly life doesn't feel so festive...."

For those who want a festive murder and are going through Lovejoy withdrawal. AKA, this was written for me.

Daphne and Me by Jane Leeves and Isabella Kathryn Coben
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Oh, hello! Caught me with me hand in the biscuit tin!"

With one iconic line, Daphne Moon burst onto the set of Frasier and Jane Leeves's life changed forever. A former ballerina from a small English town that David Hyde Pierce lovingly nicknamed "Muffin-on-Poot," Leeves perfectly embodied her character - a live-in physical therapist for Frasier Crane's father and a quirky, down-to-earth foil to pompous Frasier and his equally pretentious brother, Niles.

In Daphne and Me, Leeves offers a surprising, behind-the-scenes look at Frasier, filled with unexpected stories from the show's eleven seasons and beyond. She opens the door to the fabled - and shockingly cramped - greenroom, where John Mahoney started each morning with a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper, and where the tight quarters quickly bonded the cast into a family. (Nothing brings people together like sharing a bathroom.) She recounts the times Kelsey Grammer broke his scene-mates by delivering lines in a spot-on Bette Davis impression, and how Moose - the talented terrier who starred as Eddie - was a holy terror on set and upstaged the entire cast with his popularity, even flying in first class.

As Daphne and Niles were falling head over heels for each other in a great television romance, Leeves was finding her true love on the Paramount lot, too, and when she started a family of her own, it was Peri Gilpin who held her hand in the hospital.

Written with Leeves's daughter Isabella, Daphne and Me is the story of a young woman taking a risk, discovering herself, and finding a family on and off screen, and a love letter to one of the most successful sitcoms of all time."

I adore the cover for this book so much, the sketch looks so much like Niles it's eerie. 

Last Night I Dreamed of Home by Sophie Li
Published by: Norton Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After botching the only exam that matters in China, Alice arrives at college eager to party like the North Americans on TV - not to hang out with a studious boy who reminds her why she left home.

All Haoran wants is a business degree. His father has spent all his money sending Haoran overseas, and in return, he must graduate and find a stable job. If only he could get rid of the nagging itch to draw a comic book.

From burnt cooking, a stuck elevator, and late-night bubble tea, Alice and Haoran's unlikely friendship promises something more - unless their differences drive them apart. When a creative opportunity arrives, Haoran must choose between his passion and his family, and Alice must discover her own identity or lose touch with her roots altogether.

Last Night I Dreamed of Home is a richly nuanced and sweetly satisfying rom-com from a brilliant new graphic novel creator."

Can I get a late-night bubble tea?

The Little Shop of Gentle Magics by Jessica Rosenberg
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 300 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Meg MacIntosh comes from a long line of kitchen witches - women who can work miracles with a pinch of flour and a ray of moonlight. But there's nothing magical about Meg, or the beautiful hand-decorated sugar cookies she pours her heart into.

When her marriage falls apart, instead of going home to the family she never fit into, Meg impulsively buys a run-down tea shop in the tiny Scottish town of Banhaven.

Then Art walks through the door. One perfect date back home was all it took for Meg to feel truly seen - and to panic and end things. Now, thanks to a job transfer, a very meddling assistant and a housing disaster, he's suddenly here. With his two kids.

Before Meg can talk herself out of it, the rooms above her shop are full: a moody teenager, a boisterous five-year-old, a stray cat, and a man who already feels like home. It's all happening so fast. But as visions start to swirl in her teacup, Meg begins to wonder if some things are simply meant to be...

Falling apart isn't the end...it's the beginning. With the right people by your side, what comes next is magical. Perfect for fans of The Ex Hex and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches."

Oh, I really am feeling the vibe that falling apart is the beginning. 

Enchanted Village by Lily Starling
Published by: Avon a
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A cozy, magical, slice-of-life holiday romance set in a village adjacent to a magic school - if the Dream Harbor series were set at Hogsmeade!

I solemnly swear not to fall in love...

Silas Birchwood wasn't sure what to expect when he joined Emberwind Academy as the school's first non-magical teacher. But he knows he's found his calling, even if his wand-wielding pupils struggle with the scientific method.

Living in Hex Hollow, the quirky village adjacent to the magical school, certainly has its charms - most notably Margaret Nettle, the witch proprietor of The Toasty Owl. Every night, villagers gather in the glow of the fireplace to sip her warming magical drinks.

Margaret has devoted her life to running the pub left to her by her beloved mother and grandmother, even if it stings living so close to the magical school that rejected her.

When a rival bar opens across the street, Silas is determined to help Margaret save her business. And despite herself, Margaret finds herself warming to the man who can fix anything in her pub - with a smile that melts her grumpy heart.

When the secret to her magical drinks is stolen, Margaret fears she's destroyed her family's legacy. Can Silas help her see what he's always known…that the magic was hers all along?"

A bit tone-deaf to be so overtly Harry Potter fanfic. 

Creatures and Corridors by Brandon Auman and Andrea Mutti
Published by: The Lab Press
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 120 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the line between player and character disappears, a group of friends must face the consequences of the game they started.

In the summer of 1992, a forbidden role-playing game, Creatures and Corridors, takes a dark turn for five high school students, warping reality into a nightmarish fantasy. With orcs, tentacled horrors, and deadly traps, their living room, yard, and basement become a battleground. Now, they must navigate the game's perilous challenges, playing for their lives under the sinister scrutiny of a devilish Gamemaster. Blending fantasy, horror, and tabletop RPG storytelling, Creatures and Corridors explores what happens when survival becomes part of the story."

Here for everything RPG right now!

Goblin Market by A.J. Hackwith
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A goblin changeling caught between the human and fey worlds must find a way to save her home in this warm and heartfelt fantasy from the author of Toto and the Hell's Library series.

Being a changeling is hard enough, but Toast was older than most changeling children when her goblin parents stole her back from her human family and returned her to the harsh, bustling world of the Goblin Market, where anything from your fondest dream to your strongest talent can be bought - or sold.

Nearly a decade later, Toast has grudgingly cobbled together a life there as the Market's guide for mortal visitors. But when the next arrival is her long-lost sister and the ancient beast whose magic the Market depends on disappears under strange circumstances, everything starts falling apart.

Now the Market itself is dying. With the Summer Court of noble fey plotting to claim the weakened Market for themselves, Toast, her friends, and an infuriatingly charming fey knight with an agenda of her own must negotiate their differences to make the trade of a lifetime and win back the Market's future. To do so, Toast will have to decide what home - and the flawed community within - is ultimately worth."

I've always wondered how I would have fared as a goblin changeling. 

Knight of the God King by Lauren Blackwood
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: October 20th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A powerful knight and her handsome squire must stop the deadly schemes of a savior king in this romantic fantasy of dark deeds and court intrigue.

Calliope's wish has always been to become a knight, an elite healer and protector who uses music to summon magic. Yet despite her exceptional skill, she's stuck lifting up her talentless cousin, whose family begrudgingly took Cali in as a child. But when an opportunity to become the royal knight of the immortal God King arrives, Cali finally gets a chance at a fairytale life - until her cousin blackmails her.

Forced to bring her cousin to court so she won't share Cali's shameful past, Cali immediately snubs Beric, the alluring, handsome squire tending to her. Now she must contend with his ire, even while feeling helplessly drawn to him. If that wasn't enough, her duty means accompanying the king into The Dark, a demonic entity that only the king's magic is powerful enough to battle - a fight he has been waging for centuries. She must also keep the king's secret under pain of death: He's not a god at all, and the only thing keeping him alive is the magic held by the royal knight. It seems serving the God King isn't a fairytale at all, and when people start dying around her, she and Beric realize that they have no choice but to take their fate - and that of an entire kingdom - into their own hands.

In Lauren Blackwood's thrilling fantasy, Knight of the God King, a knight's power and her squire's love are the only things that can help her defeat a man playing at being a god."

When your leader isn't capable of leading you might be the one who has to save the kingdom. Never forget, you have the power.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A.J. Hackwith, Alix E. Harrow, Emily Organ, Jane Leeves, Jessica Rosenberg, Julia Kelly, K.J. Whittle, Lauren Blackwood, Lily Starling, Lisa Kleypas, Louise Penny, Nicola Upson, Olivia Blacke, Philippa Gregory, Susanna Clarke

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 5th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Jet is in the library when she hears the death watch beetle. She will die in seven days. She doesn't fight it. She doesn't rail against her fate. She decides to spend the last week of her life celebrating how wonderful it was. Now that her time is short she can tell the man she's been in love with from the day he saved her life that it is indeed love. The curse can't get them now. She gathers all those she loves to make sure they know she loved them. If only she could tell her brother Vincent how much she loves and misses him. But her message will arrive too late. Because some things just happen too late. On the last night of her life, in the library where Jet learned of her impending death she sees something she's never noticed before. The bricks under the display of Maria Owens's journals have different mortar. Behind them she finds the Book of the Raven. This grimoire, written by Shakespeare's "Dark Lady," turned Maria's daughter Faith down the left hand path. But it holds the key to breaking the curse the Owens family has lived under. To break the curse the witch must be willing to give up everything. Jet has nothing left to give. She leaves clues for her sister Franny to find the book if she must and dies knowing her life was well lived. At the funeral Sally's girls, Kylie and Antonia, learn of the curse for the first time from a distant relative. Sally has kept them ignorant of magic and if they were ever to fall in love, well, they'd tell her right? And then she'd put a stop to it. After all Antonia is levelheaded, she's in medical school and having a baby with her gay best friend and his partner and she doesn't believe in love. Kylie though has a secret. She's been desperately in love with her best friend Gideon. And she's a romantic. The one thing she takes from Jet's room is a book of Emily Dickinson's poems. Inside the book is a note for Franny about the grimoire. Which Kylie finds the day she proclaims her love for Gideon and he ends up in a coma. She returns to the house on Magnolia Street and retrieves the Book of the Raven from the library. She cuts off all contact with her family and flies to the other Essex County in England determined to break this curse once and for all. Sally, being to blame for not telling her children their heritage, knows it's her responsibility to fix this, but her own magic has been denied so long they need a finder. They need Vincent. Sally, Gillian, and Franny set off for France and collect Vincent before heading to England. But they need reinforcements, and Ian Wright has walked the thin line between right and left handed magic his whole life. And it seems that destiny has brought him and Sally together as he grew up where Maria Owens came from. With lives and love on the line, will this unlikely family grouping be able to finally break the curse or will Kylie and companionship be lost to them forever?

As I write this review Practical Magic 2, which is based on this book, has just been released, actually on VOD because I'm sometimes slow getting to writing reviews. I was determined to read no spoilers for the film, but I was equally determined to finish this book before watching said film. And, yeah me, I have succeeded. Though I'm also equally baffled as to how they could turn this book into a vehicle starring Sandra Bullock and Nichole Kidman because the journey their characters take literally takes a back seat on a train racketing through Essex to the story of the greats and Sally's children. Also, they're twenty years too old, but that's only if it's a direct adaptation and goddess knows the first movie in no way resembles the first book. Of the books in this tetralogy I fell most in love with The Rules of Magic, which is about Franny, Jet, and Vincent growing up in New York City in the fifties and sixties. The Book of Magic actually feels like a direct sequel. This is more about those three siblings and what they sacrificed and how they lived their lives than anything to do with Sally and Gillian. And that is why I loved this book. It was the perfect ending to the series. From the time Jet heard the death watch beetle until her last moments with her sister I was a complete wreck. The joy they had for life, the way they worked around what life, or more particularly, what Maria Owens, threw at them was so affirming. Life is magic and I think a lot of us need to be reminded of that every once in a while. Plus, seeing as this book relies on the backstory presented in the painfully bad Magic Lessons, I felt like I was finally being given a reward for slogging through its four-hundred pages. Vindication is mine! But more importunately, I loved how this book just brought everything full circle. This felt like a satisfying conclusion and in this day and age that is a rare thing. Oh, and the curse gets broken, so yeah! Though what I find interesting and frustrating about Alice Hoffman is that she doesn't really seem to have any kind of bible for her series and therefore events and meanings can shift. I actually can't remember if the curse is even explicitly named in the first book. So far left hand magic has always been bad magic. Here she expands on the concept of what left is in an almost confusing manner. Left has always been associated with the sinister. Sinister literally means "on the left side." Why do you think nuns forced left-handed children to write with their right? Here Alice Hoffman is using the left more colloquially, so that anytime someone does something wrong they were headed down the left hand path. But someone can be a criminal and not magical so this just annoyed me. I mean, not everyone is Ian who's been both. But I'm just being nitpicky. She couldn't have seen where this series was going when it started in the mid-nineties. That is unless she secretly has the sight! Oh, she's a witch! That's how she knows so much. Just a slightly forgetful witch.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alice Hoffman, Curse, Death Watch Beetle, Emily Dickinson, Maria Owens, Nichole Kidman, Practical Magic, Practical Magic 2, Sandra Bullock, Season of the Witch, The Book of Magic, The Book of the Raven, The Rules of Magic

Speak of the Devil by Sweeney Boo
Published by: HarperAlley
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

At the Younwity Hidden Institute of Witchcraft life has not returned to normal since the events that transpired a month earlier on Samhain. Since the botany professor was exposed and sent to prison along with the headmistress. The Coven now has security stationed at the school due to the geological and magical ramifications from Lilith's Samhain ritual of dark spell crafting. A magical fissure that has formed is most likely the cause of all that is wrong at Younwity. Ghosts are off, doorways aren't stationary, there's rain in the dining hall, and great cracks are appearing throughout the building with every tremor that rattles the bones. Because the student body doesn't know the truth about what happened on Samhain they are blaming poor Noreen. Noreen who was a victim of Lilith and who saved the day. She's now ridiculed and scorned. Plus she's suffering from sleepwalking and nightmares. The school has locked her in the highest tower and hopes that her problems will resolve themselves, or at the very least wait until after the fissure is sealed to be addressed. This isn't good enough for Abby. She still feels guilty she wasn't looking out for Noreen enough as her mentor. Which means that Abby is trying to seal the fissure. Sure the Coven has brought in one of their own, Cora Perenell, who specializes in sealing magic, but she appears to be making no headway, in fact the fissure is expanding. Which is why Abby has to succeed. Thankfully she has the help of her friends. But it's getting more and more dangerous for Abby to sneak out at night, let alone create a diversion to get near enough to the fissure. Her latest attempt seems to be succeeding when she's interrupted. Noreen's primary bullies, Cabnus and Rupert, followed Abby to prove that her and her friends are behind everything. Only because of their intrusion Rupert is drawn to the fissure and disappears into it. This is obviously next level bad. So of course the school will want to keep a lid on it. Unfortunately the school's incipient journalist, Atlas Hewett, was on hand to witness the whole debacle. He quite recently realized that wherever Abby and her friends are is where the story is. Which means that Abby has another problem to deal with. At least there's the oblivion of sleep. Or there used to be until she gets what is clearly a prophetic dream. So now Abby and her friends have to seal the fissure, clear Noreen's name, and figure out why Abby is dreaming about the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652. A family named Younwity tried to flee Newdory because of the peril of the witchfinder. Aurora and her three children, Diana, Lucius, and Magdalena, summoned the sisterhood, but if Abby's visions are anything to go by, they were too late. Could the past be what is leaking through the fissure to the present? And how dangerous can a powerless witch be?

This second volume in Sweeney Boo's Over My Dead Body series was a chance for her to take the series beyond being just Harry Potter FanFic and really make it her own and she just named a character Lucius. OK, deep breath, moving beyond Harry Potter, time for invisibility cloaking spells. Well, that is a choice. Oh, a hack journalist who has a "niffler" for a familiar!?! Yeah. No. Mole my ass. The point was to move beyond Harry Potter, to form a world of her own making, not just jump ahead a few books in the Harry Potter series to where everything is dark and there's Dumbledore's Army. Even if she wanted to do this just skipping ahead doesn't work because we didn't build to this point and that means the infodump was gigantic. The first book centered on four students and four faculty members, within the first few pages of Speak of the Devil we have an historical family of five who are all important, then in the present there's seven new students of import and two adults. At two-hundred and forty pages this is not a lot of time to develop a story and almost trebling the cast just bogs the narrative down. Throw in horrible Charmed worthy rhyming spells and a "haunting" song from the past that is drawn over the art in the ugliest pink font I've ever seen, and this story, for whatever it's worth within the sphere of Harry Potter FanFic, just feels cheap. Which we, as readers, know is not the case. It's obvious this took years to draw but therein I also have a problem. The style of the art has changed. While an artist's style will never remain consistent, they will change and grow, it's perhaps best if they don't regress. Reading these two volumes back to back you'd expect a little more consistency, but Sweeney Boo's style has changed so much that I felt annoyed looking at this new volume. All the characters had this flatness to their features now. They literally look as if they've been hit in the face with a frying pan. It's disconcerting. But it's nothing to the fact that when the characters are shown in profile the lower portion of their face around the mouth is distorted outward, almost as if they were drawn transforming into a werewolf. Which, for the record, they weren't. Instead you have this weird, unrealistic, beaver profile with a flatness viewed head-on. In the first volume they looked cartoonish but obviously based on humans. Here, they no longer look human. Each and every character is off-putting in their own special way. Though at least messing up the human form and flattening features to make it look like Monkey Christ is something that's happened before. Just look to Cecilia Giménez. Outlining every single character with vibrant color as if they all have a magical aura makes no artistic sense. Even Monkey Christ didn't get a halo. This book needed to narrow its focus to the history of the foundlings and their connection to Diana Younwity thus creating it's own mythology while maintaining the look of the previous volume. None of this came to pass. Sadly.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abby Younwity, Charmed, Dark Academia, Fanfiction, Graphic Novel, Harry Potter, Infodump, Massachusetts, Monkey Christ, Niffler, Noreen Younwity, Over My Dead Body, Season of the Witch, Speak of the Devil, Sweeney Boo, Witchfinder

Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 592 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The last living member of a family of historians who has been hunted by dark forces associated with Dracula finds himself in peril at the hands of a new threat in this thrilling novel from the #1 bestselling author of The Historian.

After his beloved mother passes away suddenly, Jay Turner finds himself at a crossroads. She was always secretive, and when he returns to their Boston home to clear out her possessions, he finds an unusual item: a partially burned scrap of newspaper bearing the name "Gael Brogan." Soon after, a deliveryman leaves behind a package containing a small antique volume bound in leather - and two bloody footprints.

The sight of the volume is chilling. As a young scholar, his mother had been given the medieval book - one of a set commissioned by Vlad Țepeș, otherwise known as Dracula, just before his death in 1477. She'd always warned Jay of the dangers associated with it, and had donated it to a museum before she died...yet here it is, back in his possession.

Jay sets out to learn more about Gael Brogan, a prominent nineteenth-century actor whose last and most famous role was based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. As Jay begins to dig deeper - with the help of a mysterious woman named Rhiannon - he uncovers the frightening story of a young actress who fell under Brogan's sway long ago. Before long, Jay and Rhiannon realize that something similarly implacable is pursuing them.

In this epic and riveting tale, Elizabeth Kostova takes us deep into the Gilded Age of the theater and across the Atlantic in pursuit of an ancient evil and its dramatic followers."

When it first came out I was beyond obsessed with The Historian. The fact she's finally delving back into that world and not about soup and women with daddy complexes has me doing cartwheels. Figurative cartwheels because I've never been able to do one.

Beau Scamp by C.M. Harris
Published by: Last Laugh
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 268 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"England, 1794: What a time to be alive!

Charlotte Goddard has spent her life performing. First, as Charlie, the stable hand raised in breeches by her highwayman father, and then as Beau Scamp, the notorious road thief whose reputation does considerably more work than her actual skills.

When a botched robbery brings her face to face with Lady Catherina Pemberton - the childhood friend Charlotte has loved since she was twelve - she finds herself talked out of fleeing to America to avenge her father's death and instead talked into the most ill-advised disguise of her career: maid to the woman she's desperately in love with, in the house she's been robbing, and under the noses of everyone who wants her hanged.

A screwball Georgian caper with real blood in its veins. Beneath the wigs and pistols, a tender meditation on grief, class, and the difference between a hiding place and a home.

For fans of Emma R. Alban, TJ Alexander, and Cat Sebastian."

I like to think Renegade Nell with a lighter touch of Fingersmith. 

The Ferryman's Rest Inn and Grogshop by Seana Kelly
Published by: Nancy Yost Literary Agency, Inc
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Meg, or Megaera, is one of the Furies you probably read about in Greek Mythology. She's also been sitting on one of Sam Quinn's stools in The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar since it opened, glaring into silence anyone who tries to strike up a conversation with her.

Sam, being Sam, eventually broke through Meg's walls and a tentative friendship grew - not a warm one, certainly. Meg doesn't do warm. She has, though, in a crisis situation, shown up to fight alongside Sam.

Until recently, that is.

Sam's getting more and more concerned about Meg's strange absences and then she and Clive receive a text that turns their lives upside down. Meg tells Sam and Clive it's their turn to help her...in Greece...in the Underworld.

Sam badgers her friend Stheno into coming with them. I mean, if you have to descend into Hades' realm, a Gorgon can be pretty handy.

Keep your fingers crossed. Things are about to get downright mythological around here."

I have always loved the mythological aspects of the series and in particular Stheno. 

Something is Killing the Children: Hope Is a Knife by James Tynion IV and Kiersten White
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to the dark. It has very sharp teeth.

Based on the internationally bestselling comic series, with millions of copies in print, the first full-length novel from the terrifying world of Something Is Killing the Children - a stunning collaboration between Eisner-winning co-creator James Tynion IV and #1 New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White

As a Black Mask, Erica Slaughter has a very straightforward job: find the monster, kill the monster, then do it all again. But when she arrives in Badwater, Idaho, nothing is simple. She can't determine whether the horrific killer of a twelve-year-old was a bear, a person, or something much worse. Complicating matters is the charismatic doomsday preacher who is quickly leading the small town to the verge of hysteria. If Erica wants to save the surviving children, she has to figure out which kid's fears might have summoned a monster - and fast. Erica must get to the truth before the Order and the town come to the same conclusion: to stop the monster, you have to kill the girl.

Hope Is a Knife is a chilling, original tale in SIKTC lore, where monsters are real and only the hunters of the Order of St. George are equipped to challenge them. Whether or not you've already devoured the Eisner Award-winning comics, this standalone vision of supernatural horror is a thrill ride of the highest order."

I've devoured the whole series, I have all the spinoffs, AND I'm getting I an Erica Slaughter Funko Pop! figure, so you know this book is for me. In fact I have a signed special edition already ordered from Barnes and Noble. 

A Darker Act by Amy Goldsmith
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A chilling romantic folk horror inspired by the legend of the Wild Hunt! Months after their harrowing final performance, a teen girl reunites with her acting troupe for a weekend in the woods - only to find something they awakened has followed them there.

There's something on those moors that likes to hunt young maidens for sport....

Senior Hazel Fletcher is thrilled when she scores the lead in her high school theater group's latest production: a doomed romance inspired by local legends of a fearsome huntsman who once rode over the moors. Reclusive and talented, the Edgemoor Players usually keep their parts - and their secrets - to themselves, most of all Roman Cavalero, their enigmatic leading man.

That was then. Now, months later, no one dares talk about the play, its disastrous final performance, or the eerie events that dogged their rehearsals.

When Hazel is unexpectedly reunited with her old castmates on an extra-credit camping trip, the group finds themselves holed up in a ruined church, deep within the wintry fold of an ancient wood. There, tragedy strikes, and Hazel and the rest of the Players are forced to confront old fears and reckon with a deadly truth: What they started last year isn't over.

Months ago, the Edgemoor Players woke something up - and now it won't rest until it hunts down its prey."

I have a mild obsession with the Wild Hunt. Through in a theatrical troupe in danger, and this is must read material.

Strange Cases by Riotbones
Published by: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A rakish law student inherits his late mother's practice - and its beastly secrets - in this sumptuous gothic graphic-novel debut from Riotbones, perfect for fans of James Tynion IV and paranormal crime dramas. In the wake of his attorney mother's sudden death, dutiful law student Jude Aguilar returns to the town of Lazaro to take over her practice - but the only thing stranger than the peculiar cases she left behind are the clients themselves.

As the cases unfold, Jude uncovers a tapestry of family secrets and local monsters. Can he save Lazaro, his mother's legacy, and himself before it all goes up in flames?

• The new-adult debut from queer creator Riotbones
• Coming-of-age paranormal horror meets crime drama
• An uncanny world inspired by Filipino and European history
• Lush, atmospheric, gothic graphic novel art
• The gloom of Emily Carroll meets the socio-political drama of Jose Rizal

Step onto the streets of Lazaro, where justice and monstrosity blur and leave an indelible mark."

Emily Carroll gloom? I have about ten friends I have to go tell about this book right away.

To Bewitch a Hunter by Luciano Lamberti
Published by: HarperVia
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Pet Sematary and Tender is the Flesh, an award-winning novel from Argentina that begins when an adopted woman is approached by someone claiming to know what happened to her real parents - an encounter that triggers a hallucinatory odyssey into the dark years of dictatorship and a family history of disappearances and blood sacrifice.

"I know who you think you are, and I know who you truly are."

One blustery winter's day in Buenos Aires, Julia Ruiz discovers that she is being followed. Her stalker, an elegantly dressed older woman named Griselda, promises to explain herself and so, cautiously, Julia agrees to listen. Claiming to be her grandmother - her real grandmother - Griselda insists that Julia's mother and father are not her true parents. For Julia, long estranged from her family, this earth-shattering revelation comes almost as a relief. But, unbeknownst to her, this newfound birthright has already laid claim to her with a frightening grip....

What follows is a terrifying odyssey into the dark years of the dictatorship that ruled Argentina and the story of the Lara family: the golden child Luis, his physician father Braulio, and the unforgettable Griselda - whose love and desperation drive them to strike a deal with a terror beyond comprehension. Winner of the prestigious Premio Clarín, To Bewitch a Hunter announces the chilling English debut of "an astonishing writer" (Mariana Enríquez).

Translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne."

It's all well and good reuniting with your lost family until the curse is revealed. 

Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones
Published by: S and S/Saga Press
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A ragtag group of activists sets out to repatriate the bones of a Blackfeet boy taken to the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School in author Stephen Graham Jones's return to the Blackfeet reservation of his award-winning New York Times bestsellers The Only Good Indians and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

Five years have passed since the massacre on the Blackfeet reservation in Stephen Graham Jones's breakout bestseller The Only Good Indians. Nathan Yellow Tail, one of the survivors of the revenge murders, finds himself in the hospital after a terrible accident that should've killed him and that nearly killed his best friend, Sebby, who is hanging on to life in a room a few doors down.

Nate's life is out of balance, so when he is given the chance to reset his life, and maybe save Sebby in the process, Nate steps up, again. This time it's into a camper van that is almost as run down as his broken body, filled with three older Blackfeet, to find the bones of the lone Blackfeet boy who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School - where many Indigenous children were abused - and repatriate this boy home. The problem is, when they get the bones, something terrible has escaped with them.

By turns terrifying and deeply moving, Off the Reservation is a haunting American Indian novel of survival, reckoning, and redemption, shining light on the dark corners of this country's history while also showing the desperate choices people make when they're put up against a wall."

I really don't think people know the history of how horrible places like the Carlisle Indian Industrial School were. They were a horror we perpetrated. 

What a Nightmare by Rebekah Faubion
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They called her a nightmare, so she became one.

Haven Powers has spent years trying to disappear. Once a loud, troublemaking girl who defied every expectation in her small town of Friendship, Texas, now she's learned to hide her fire behind a quiet receptionist's smile. It's safer that way - for her, and for everyone else.

When an unsettling encounter with her predatory boss cracks open the tightly locked box inside her, Haven dreams a terrifying dream about him, only to wake up and discover it's come true; he's dead. Desperate to gain control of this deadly power once and for all, Haven returns home.

Welcomed suspiciously with open arms, Haven is immediately met with the ghosts of her past. Under the suffocating pressure of the town and her family who believe obedience is next to godliness, Haven soon finds herself on a path to revenge. She'll show them what happens when the girl they called too much, too loud, too everything, finally lets her demons loose."

Sometimes you just gotta let those demons loose. 

The Forest Bleeds by Rachel Kitch
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A speculative horror-romance that combines the magical dark academia of The Atlas Six, the unsettling atmosphere of Mexican Gothic, and the psychosexual power dynamics of The Last Housewife.

Saige Chambers, Arcane Bioengineering student and blood witch, is constantly anxious and chronically over-prepared. When Saige and her fellow witch doctoral candidates depart for a conference, she plans and anticipates every last detail. Except she's not prepared for the moment their bus turns off the highway and takes them to a remote mansion in the Appalachian Mountains, the gates sealing shut behind them.

The mansion's owner, Arius Medea, issues a simple mandate: fix his injured, rotting leg or die. But it's no ordinary injury - the flesh melts off the bone, emitting waves of foul magic that set Saige's blood alight. Saige's colleagues want to fight back and escape. Saige thinks their best chance is to fix him fast and get out.

As tensions rise, Saige finds herself growing closer to Vaishnavi Sri, a poison witch and Saige's long-term crush. But first impressions can be misleading, and as Saige's reluctant attraction to Arius grows, she begins to wonder if there's a better life waiting for her in the walls of this mansion.

But, as one by one, Saige's colleagues start to disappear, Saige realizes that dying may not be the worst option - because there are far worse fates lurking in the woods."

Or just being trapped IN the mansion might not be too great either...

The Water House by Nneoma Ike-Njoku
Published by: S and S/Summit Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 592 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An unexplained tragedy. A handsome stranger. A house of ghosts and memories. In this fresh take on the Gothic tale, a young Nigerian woman returns to the family mansion where her brother died - only to find the past ready to consume her - perfect for readers of Tananarive Due and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

1967, Nigeria. Celia has been estranged from her family since they banished her to St. Agnes's reform school after her brother's death. When the school closes down, she has nowhere to go and no one to write for help.

She secures a job as a typist, marking the beginning of a new chapter; she hopes to leave behind the demons of her past and become a normal, happier person. And when a charismatic yet secretive aspiring politician hires her to be his fiancé, Celia begins to dream of a possible new future. But when everything falls apart, Celia, in desperation, returns to her childhood home - the Water House.

There, Celia is confronted by her hostile mother, a past love, and the horrors that the house holds deep in its walls. As a civil war brews in the outside world, Celia begins to suspect that the truth behind her brother's death might be more sinister than she imagined.

In a twist on Jane Eyre and Rebecca, Nneoma Ife-Njoku weaves a mesmerizing story of a woman confronting a home where the past refuses to stay buried."

Jane Eyre and Rebecca you say? 

Solo Female Traveler by Jasper Lowe
Published by: Run the Game Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 316 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Solo Female Traveler: The Straightest Path Into Night by Jasper Lowe is an edge-of-your-seat, historical thriller set in 1973 South America that blends fact and fiction.

Our narrator: eighteen-year-old English solo traveler, Fran, is embarking on a gap year, just as her parents are filing for divorce. She takes a job working for sixty-something, Jewish-German émigré couple, Agatha and Dieter Voss, who run a quaint Argentine ski hostel, Beethoven House, located in picturesque Patagonia.

Little does Fran know that Agatha and Dieter are harbouring a diabolical secret. With Juan Perón returned from political exile and about to take up the presidency once more, Fran becomes an unwitting pawn in their game.

What follows is a fast-paced, gap year thrill ride, played out across Argentina and Brazil, and against the backdrop of the politics and history of the era.

Original, addictive, bold and unhinged, Solo Female Traveler is The Serpent meets The Talented Mr.Ripley, and will have your pulses racing until the final page.

With a wildly inventive plot that examines guilt, power and buried trauma, this is THE debut thriller everyone will be talking about in 2026."

I took a gap year. I thankfully did not end up in the same situation as Fran.

Hazelwood by I.L. Jordan
Published by: Spark and Quill
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 322 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Hazelwood desires fear and blood. Always and forever."

To uphold the blood oath bound to an ancient manor that stands as one of the seals between this world and Hell, five elite families of a secret society host an annual gathering filled with balls, blood and deadly games where they must sacrifice new souls to feed Hazelwood.

But this year, things go awry as Raena Raith, the reigning bloodline's heiress, goes rogue and brings chaos upon the festivities.

Each bloodline holds their own secrets and motives as dangerous pasts and deceptive future plans clash with the sinister spirits and beasts that roam the halls of the opulent and voracious Hazelwood manor.

Daegan Brooks: Raena's biggest rival, former lover and resident chaos master.

Kurt Cavanaugh: Shadowguard, logistics mastermind and hopelessly in love with the woman he is sworn to protect.

Jace Raith: Raena's stepbrother, Daegan's best friend, and third to their throuple before his death that just didn't stick.

Between these four, the laws of life, death and normal human morality cease to exist.

Welcome to Hazelwood. Will you survive?"

I'm picturing blood actually raining down. I don't think that's too far off.

Mothsblood by Lynn D. Jung
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An ambitious alchemist must uncover her university's dark secrets while trying to escape from her mysterious past in this electrifying debut.

On a rain-soaked night in modern-day Paris, Larkspur Lee and her academic rivals find themselves at the center of an impossible crime - the murder of their university's headmistress, the immortal Petronelle Flamel.

In the aftermath of Flamel's death, the school devolves into chaos. The mysterious investigator assigned to the case, Violaine, believes a cult known as the Promethean Genesis is responsible for Flamel's murder. But Lark, who is all too familiar with the Prometheans' horrors, will do anything to stay out of the cult's reach. Matters are complicated when the mentor she crossed an ocean and a continent to escape re-enters her life, enticing her to his side once again while secretly wielding an agenda of his own.

As the Prometheans' plans come to fruition and the university's dark history comes to light, Lark has no choice but to decide whether the power she desires is truly worth the price."

Power rarely is.

Monstera by Delilah S. Dawson
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A reclusive young woman moves into what seems like the perfect apartment and is obsessively drawn to her mysterious neighbour, who keeps a lush garden and is hiding a deadly secret...Eat the Ones You Love meets Wilder Girls in this sensual, sapphic, botanical horror novella from the New York Times-bestselling author of Bloom and House of Idyll.

When Lucy McClintock moves into a dreamy Victorian in downtown Savannah after years of suffering under the rule of her overbearing grandfather, she feels like she's won the lottery - well, outside of the creepy landlord. She soon notices a glorious green haven in the backyard and meets her downstairs neighbor, Saskia, a weightlifter who lives in a magical apartment overflowing with plant life and beautiful artwork. Naïve and lonely Lucy is drawn to strong and secretive Saskia, and as the two women grow closer, they discover they share more than just an apartment building...

A seductive, heady, sinister read: breathless romance and bone-chilling suspense collide in this sweet and deadly tale."

Never trust anyone who can keep that many plants alive.

Solace House by Will Maclean
Published by: Grove Press
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"You are about to enter a place of strange genius, possible madness, and timeless love...

An addictive and brilliant puzzle box of a novel following a group of university students who discover an astonishing secret while clearing out a neglected Victorian mansion.

For Alex Lane's wealthy university friends, the summer break stretches out before them, full of promise and fabulous plans. But for Alex, broke as usual, going home is not an option. So when the university offers him an unusual summer job clearing out a dilapidated Victorian mansion, Solace House, he jumps at the chance.

Alex joins an unlikely crew of students, from stoner Clive to uptight, short-tempered Helen, and the extremely peculiar Adam. Alex is particularly drawn to mercurial, red-headed Ella, and as the students begin sorting through piles of old newspapers and magazines, dusty antiques, and esoteric junk, Alex and Ella become enthralled by the elaborate and eerie journals of the house's former owner, Edwin Flayne. In these diaries, Flayne details his obsession with his missing mother and his belief in a mysterious realm lying parallel to ours, along with coded instructions on how it might be reached.

As the students gradually uncover the house's secrets, the rift between those who want to delve further and those who believe they've already gone too far grows ever wider."

I have a particular obsession with secrets found while cleaning out houses. After all I've cleaned out my share of houses.

Rottenheart by Kat Dunn
Published by: Zando
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of Hungerstone, an intoxicating and chilling gothic horror novel that reimagines Hamlet with a seductive sapphic twist - and where the only thing more dangerous than a family secret is a mother's revenge.

Revenge me. For I am murdered...

Odette and her best friend, Cecilia, grow up between two grand homes, one in Hampstead and one in Suffolk, the ancient and imposing Herne House. Odette's mother, Lydia, is almost parasitic in her neediness, but despite her, Odette and Cecilia come of age together - free to roam, to learn, and to love. When Lydia inexplicably sickens and dies, a dark veil falls. Odette's father retreats to his study, while her aunt - the cold and cruel Claudine - increasingly takes charge of the household. Lost in grief and spiraling into madness, Odette disappears into the shadows, leaving Cecilia alone and with her affections tested. As Claudine is announced as Odette's new stepmother, the girls reckon with this final betrayal, and a sinister presence awakens. To her horror, Odette realizes that her mother never truly left. She now haunts the manor, ready to drag long-held secrets into the light and exact revenge against those who thought her dead and gone. A visceral tale of grief and madness, Rottenheart exhumes the heart of Hamlet to tell a fearless queer love story laced with an unforgettable haunting, asking whether we can truly outrun our suffering, or if we are forever indebted to the vengeful dead."

Hamlet and the vengeful dead. AKA a perfect fall read.

Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After a true crime podcast reopens her cousin's murder case, a woman must confront her past at a glamorous European castle where she follows a trail of toxic family secrets and deadly lies in this "addictive, atmospheric" (Tiffany Crum, New York Times bestselling author), gothic-tinged thriller perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

When they were teenagers, Mia's beloved cousin was murdered during their stay at an infamous castle in the Austrian Alps. As the only witness, Mia's testimony put the killer behind bars, but it tore her life apart: the media accused her aunt, a controversial true crime author, of being involved. Now, a decade later, the murderer is appealing his conviction, and a popular true crime podcast starts covering the case, determined to exonerate him, and resurfacing lies about Mia's family in the process.

Desperate to protect her aunt - and what she knows to be the truth - Mia returns to Austria. The castle is being revamped as a luxury hotel, and Mia gets a job as a nanny for the new owner, hiding in plain sight as she investigates, needing to set the story straight once and for all. But after someone mysteriously disappears on the property and sinister new evidence emerges regarding her cousin's death, she realizes she might have accused the wrong man...and put her own life in danger."

When trying to find the truth it's best if you try to avoid putting your own life in danger. 

The Woman of the House by Kate Mooney
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A terrifying, twisty, and impossible-to-put-down supernatural thriller that reminds us that houses are never just houses - and secrets never stay buried.

Rose Crawley isn't the perfect wife - or the perfect woman - that her husband thinks she is. And she isn't about to let him find that out, ever. She's finally gotten everything she's ever wanted: a house by the lake, an adoring husband, and a fresh start from the past she's long tried to outrun.

But the house she now calls home seems to have other plans. She wakes with bloody scratches lining her arms. She sees reflections in mirrors, only to find she's standing alone. She hears the floors creak under invisible footsteps. And when Rose lies awake in the dark, the air feels heavy, like the house is pressing in on her, waiting for her to crack.

When Rose learns that the previous occupant, a wife and mother named Angela, vanished under suspicious circumstances, she becomes obsessed with uncovering what happened. Drawn deeper into the disappearance by her peculiar and prying neighbor, Rose digs into Angela's past. But the more she discovers, and as the house's strange occurrences escalate, Rose finds herself questioning not just what happened to Angela, but whether she'll share the same fate."

If you don't get out, you will share the same fate!

Look What the Cat Dragged In by Jason Rekulak
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Pictures and The Last One at the Wedding comes a new supernatural thriller about a young woman pet-sitting a cat with a mysterious secret, featuring more than eighty pages of illustrations.

Meet Penny Padgett, a twenty-seven-year-old cartoonist in Philadelphia who agrees to pet-sit a very peculiar cat named Godfrey in her home. At first, he's a warm and affectionate companion who follows Penny all around the house and insists on sleeping by her side every night. But soon strange things are happening: Penny is haunted by disturbing and violent nightmares. There's a terrible insect infestation in her basement. Her cute cartoon illustrations turn dark and surreal, as if influenced by some invisible hand. And her health starts failing, as if her mind and body are under attack by a sinister, malevolent force.

Penny may be a cat person, but she's starting to think Godfrey is no ordinary cat....

Fully illustrated with more than eighty pages of original artwork, Jason Rekulak's new novel is intensely plotted, wonderfully frightening, and wildly clever. He more than lives up to his reputation as having "a freakishly fertile imagination" (The New York Times)."

Always here for a cat. Not matter what it really is.

Merry Spooky Love by Josie Silver
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A ghostbuster and her motley crew face the ghosts of Christmas - and the exes of Christmas past - in this haunted holiday rom-com from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Spooky Love.

Melody Bittersweet's Christmases are always more haunted than holly jolly, but even she's not used to a heartbreak holiday - which this one could end up being, if she can't save a beloved family-run department store...and if, despite their incredible chemistry and deepening emotional connection, her on-and-off boyfriend, Fletcher Gunn, still won't believe in her paranormal abilities.

When Lucy Libertine, namesake of the charming old-school department store Libertines, unexpectedly dies, the store goes to her deceased sister's three children: businessmen twins Francis and Tom, and their younger sister Fleur.

Despite Fleur and the local community protesting, the twins are excited to sell up. They hold all the cards as the majority shareholders - that is, until Lucy Libertine herself decides to even the playing field, haunting the twins out of house and home (and department store).

While the twins call in Melody's ghost-hunting ex to defend them, Lucy goes to Melody to represent Fleur and the deceased Libertine family. Melody is all too happy to take another job, save a beloved local store, and maybe knock her ex down a paranormal peg or two.

But old paperwork states that the store cannot be sold within three months of the death of a board member - and Lucy has already been dead for one. With tensions riding high and her relationship with Fletcher caught in the crosshairs, Melody and her crew only have two months left to save the store.

If they don't, Libertines will close its doors on Christmas Eve - forever."

Nothing goes more logically together than ghosts and Christmas.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder by Ally Carter
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A billionaire's grandson and the housekeeper's daughter square off in this cat-and-mouse holiday romance-mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

Ella Chambers didn't kill Liam Montgomery.

If she had, she certainly wouldn't have done it outside his family's mansion during the Christmas party of the year. She definitely wouldn't have loaded his body into the trunk of her car. And she absolutely would not have announced to the town that the boy who ruined her life ten years ago was "so dead to her."

But now Liam is missing - nothing but a bloody spot on the drive and a host of unanswered questions - and Ella is the only person who knows he's still alive.

So it's up to her to prove it.

Liam Montgomery didn't want to die.

But, it turns out, when you're the sole heir to a billionaire, someone might want you dead. Luckily for Liam, being dead works for him.

Now he's on the hunt for a killer. Unfortunately, Ella is on the hunt for him.

She'll have to prove he's still alive to clear her name, but that's easier said than done in a quaint mountain town where everyone knows your story but no one knows the truth. Can the billionaire's grandson and the housekeeper's daughter join forces to catch a killer? Or is their past too steeped in secrets and lies?

As the storm of the century blows in, every step will bring these two childhood rivals closer to a killer - and each other.

Because, this Christmas, only one thing is certain: it's beginning to look a lot like murder."

Please say this one, unlike The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, has actual murder in it. I'm fine with holiday romance, I just like a corpse or two as well.

Not Another Bloody Christmas by Jo Middleton
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Anna's taking the family away for a quiet Christmas in this hilarious, standalone murder mystery...

Unlike last year, there will be no risk of her burning the turkey, far less nagging from her mother-in-law and - crucially - a zero per cent chance of finding a dead body in her larder.

All she wants is to relax with a glass of wine in front of the fire. But when another group of guests show up just before a snowstorm, her plans begin to go awry. And the appearance of a dead body threatens to bugger up Christmas once again...

Can Anna get merry and root out the murderer? Or will this be another bloody Christmas nightmare?

A hilarious whodunnit that will keep you guessing this Christmas, perfect for fans of Gill Sims, Ian Moore and Richard Osman."

If holiday murderers are drawn to you, what's a girl to do? Holidays just won't cut it.

'Twas the Night by Kevin Johnson
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young reporter follows a string of disappearances into the middle of a terrifying Christmas cult inspired by our favorite holiday classics.

You better watch out. You better not cry.

It's Christmas in the village of Yule, Maine.

In fact, it's always Christmas in Yule. Here, Santa Claus isn't a storybook figure. He's an icon. A god. The villagers don't just believe in him - they worship him. And the world is better for it.

Halley Belanger hates Christmas, and she doesn't have much love for Santa either. But when a string of child disappearances across Maine seems to spare only the village of Yule, Halley - a sharp, skeptical reporter - decides to investigate.

What she finds is a town that guards its secrets with gingerbread smiles and a snow globe sheen. Outsiders aren't welcome. She isn't welcome. And something sinister is keeping the Christmas spirit alive.

As Halley digs deeper, she begins to uncover the horrifying truth behind Yule's eternal cheer. Christmas comes at a grisly cost. And Santa Claus is no saint."

This is giving me Joe Hill vibes.

The Bluff by Wade Rouse
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Succession meets The Family Stone in bestselling author Wade Rouse's humorous and sharply observant look at a family teetering on the edge of merry mayhem.

The Chapmans do Christmas the way they do everything: impeccably, expensively, and with the unshakable belief that good lighting can conceal bad blood. Their annual Christmas card may look picture-perfect, but behind the polite smiles there's a storm brewing. This year, at their grand lakefront cottage on Mackinac Island, a snowstorm traps generations of Chapmans - and their schemes - under one roof.

Chris Chapman is on the verge of losing everything: his father's trust, his role at the helm of the family business, and his wife's respect. Kat Chapman is already fed up with hosting her critical, stuck-up in-laws and their impossibly inflexible holiday traditions. Her solution? Invite her working-class parents - born and bred Islanders - for Christmas, much to the horror of the Chapmans, whose rule that "We do not share Christmas with other people" is about to be broken.

As the snow piles up, so do the grievances: their children - fiercely liberal Leah and conservative golden-boy Chip - are locked in a battle of wits, Chris's vaguely corrupt brother Cormac and his calculating trophy wife are stirring the pot, and Kat's mother is holding onto a secret that could upend the entire game.

Deliciously messy and surprisingly tender, The Bluff is a feisty festive family drama about money, marriage, power, and all the things we bring to the holiday table besides the turkey."

And if you're trapped on Mackinac Island you're REALLY trapped. 

Cue the Murder by Claire Hart-Palumbo
Published by: Sibylline Digital First
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 310 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"How do you go from acting in Nöel Coward plays to catching psycho killers?

Thirty-two-year-old stage actress Darcy Donovan juggles five jobs to follow her art. With two shows closing, and laid off from job #3, she is hired as a freelancer by a magazine run by her dream guy, but romance is upstaged by the return of her not quite ex-husband.

Playing investigative reporter has its own risks. When her favorite security guard at the theater takes a swan dive off a skyscraper, she sets out to prove it wasn't suicide and find the granddaughter he talked about. It's a wild ride through the streets of H-town in her billboard VW bug, as she becomes a murder suspect, rescues an abused woman only to be run off the road by the maniacal husband, investigates her own divorce lawyer, encounters a desperate real-estate tycoon, and is thoroughly intimidated by her NPR radio-reporter mom before scoring her first cover story and the love of her editor."

The most unbelievable part of this is that she gets a job at a magazine. 

A Murder at Midnight by Ellie Alexander
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's autumn in Redwood Grove, and Annie and Fletcher have their hands full running the Secret Bookcase and handling their growing caseload at the Novel Detectives.

To add to the excitement, a popular ghost hunter has set his sights on the old English estate to feature on his hit TV show - Sleeping with the Spirits - and is going to record an episode overnight at the bookstore. It seems like a great idea for publicity and a fun way to generate more revenue.

But when the star of the show is found dead, Annie and Fletcher know they're dealing with something much more alarming than an angry poltergeist.

It's up to the Novel Detectives to track down the real culprit and put an end to any otherworldly rumors - before someone else gets hurt.

This gripping cozy mystery will have you sleeping with the lights on! Perfect for fans of Lauren Elliott, Merryn Allingham and M.C. Beaton."

A traumatic cozy!?! New subgenre? 

Samantha: The Next Chapter by Fiona Davis
Published by: American Girl Publishing
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From American Girl and New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis comes the next chapter of Samantha Parkington's story - now an adult searching for justice after her legacy is stolen in New York City in 1920.

It's 1920, and 25-year-old Samantha Parkington is working hard to educate women in New York about suffrage and encourage them to vote in their first presidential election that fall. But when Samantha's large inheritance, including her childhood Mount Bedford home, is stolen in a shocking scheme, she goes from socialite to shop girl overnight and experiences a very different side of New York City living in a boarding house. Searching for clues regarding the theft of her inheritance, she infiltrates the business of a notorious criminal in New York City. Determined as ever, Samantha will do whatever it takes to find answers and save her family's legacy."

As a girl who grew up in the home of American Girl and as a fan of Fiona Davis, this is so exciting for me.

Unspeakable Things by Elizabeth Hand
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A chance meeting on a windswept English moor sparks an obsessive - and soon deadly - love affair between two lonely young women in this clever inversion of the Gothic classics, with a fresh spin that could only come from the award-winning author of A Haunting on the Hill.

It's the 1920s and the English countryside is quiet - which suits Olivia and Tamsin, two young women happy to be overlooked by society. Their relationship is complicated: unruly, working-class Tamsin was brought to Kerrith Manor to be tutored at Olivia's side, but the two quickly have found something more than friendship - a bone-deep recognition that ignites an endless passion.

But an unexpected visitor and an unexplained death disrupt their idyll, sending both women on the run. They find harbor at Ledges, the dazzling estate of ruthlessly wealthy and mysterious Rex de Voil - and a favorite hang-out for the bohemian "bright young things" eager to cut loose far from London's prying eyes. Olivia and Tamsin revel in their newfound freedom...until they learn that nothing in Rex's world is without cost.

Richly evoking a vibrant time in queer history, Unspeakable Things is a seductive historical thriller that explores the haunting bond between two women coming into their power even as it unspools their obsession to its deadly end."

Hopefully it's Rex that ends up dead.

The Dancer and the Dream Thief by Rowenna Miller
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dancer finds herself at the center of a bootlegging scheme run by elfin creatures in this sweeping Prohibition-era historical fantasy from the author of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill.

Working as a dancer in the Palace Ballroom, Evelyn Pulaski has become familiar with the idea of selling dreams. For a dime a dance she plays into a cheap fantasy of romance before returning to the independent life she's made for herself. When a group of elfin bootleggers start to hang around the Palace, Evelyn and her friends grow wary. Several dancehall girls have disappeared, and the bootleggers are the prime suspects.

Raife is also in the business of selling dreams. One of the bootleggers at the Palace, he is part of an operation stealing dreams from humans and selling them in the elfinlands. Raife takes a shine to Evelyn, suspecting her to be a rare, vivid dreamer. As he investigates further, Rafe tells himself his interest is purely professional, but there is something entrancing about Evelyn.

When her best friend disappears, Evelyn forges an uneasy alliance with Raife to find her. But their rescue mission sets off a chain of events that endangers them both and reveals to Evelyn that her dreams hold more power than she could ever imagine."

To actually live the dream of romance for a dime a dance is a fascinating conceit. 

Entities to Lovers by Mallory Marlowe
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 5368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A connection that's more than supernatural emerges between two rival tour guides who wish they could ghost each other in this sparkling romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author Mallory Marlowe.

Paranormal medium Rory Woods spends her days offering psychic readings at Ye Olde Spirit Shop and nights haunting the streets of Boston as a ghost-tour guide. Sure, business could be better, but she's proud of the shop she runs with her mom.

Enter Ezra Blackwell: adjunct history professor, noted thorn in Rory's side, and - though she'd only admit it under threat of medieval torture he surely knows too much about - a distractingly handsome, charismatic coworker.

Rory can't stand Ezra's know-it-all, show-offy behavior. Ezra loves to tease the gorgeous, brilliant medium at the shop. And when the two are forced to host a tour together? It's no wonder they end up hexed after disturbing a matchmaking ghost.

Saddled with perpetual bad luck unless they're physically near each other, Rory and Ezra will try anything, from séances to kissing, to stop the jinx from wreaking havoc on both their lives. But in their quest to appease the spirit, they realize that growing closer might not be the curse they once thought it was."

Perhaps the ghost knew exactly what it was doing?

A Waltz of Sinister Import by Stephanie Burgis
Published by: Stephanie Burgis
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: eBook
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the notorious Lady Riven is summoned to Vienna to solve a supernatural mystery, her debonair vampiric husband insists on accompanying her. However, neither of them is prepared for the true scope of the danger lurking within the sprawling Hofburg Palace...and by the time they uncover the truth behind every glittering illusion, their relationship may change forever.

The third and final (for now!) sparkling installment of The Supernatural Adventures of Lady and Lord Riven contains copious amounts of delicious cake, a protective vampire husband, unexpected new friendships, and a waltz that might just sweep the whole continent into war unless Margaret is stubborn enough to prevent it."

Let's give it up for a new Stephanie Burgis book! What what!

Written in the Starlight by Sloane Brooks
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A storybook chambermaid's and an intergalactic bounty hunter's worlds - and hearts - collide through a magical book, threatening to rewrite fate in this romantic portal fantasy with a cosmic twist. Perfect for fans of Tusk Love and The Spellshop.

Della Farley has always known her place: scrubbing floors, keeping her head down, and dreaming of something more. But when she stumbles upon a strange book that seems to be writing itself - a story about a man named Ansel Tulzok, a wanted fugitive traveling the stars - her quiet life turns extraordinary.

Light-years away, Ansel finds a mirror copy of the same book. Page by page, the story unfolds with details of a woman he's never met - one whose words feel achingly familiar. As the two begin writing to each other through the mysterious pages, they open doors not just to each other's worlds, but to their most vulnerable hopes and fears.

But every story has its price. And as their worlds entwine and their hearts collide, Della and Ansel must decide how far they're willing to go to change the ending fate has written for them."

Anyone else getting Firefly meets Outlander vibes?

The Gilded Rose by Joanna Shupe
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe returns with an angst-filled retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set against the excess and opulence of Gilded Age New York.

Love isn't always a fairy tale.

Charming and popular, Orson Grey is the most sought-after bachelor in Manhattan. When Caroline pledges to spend her life with him, it feels like the beginning of a fairy tale.

The fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare.

Behind closed doors, Orson is controlling and cruel. Trapped by laws that prevent women from leaving unhappy marriages, Caroline has no choice but to endure her husband's behavior. Each day grows more intolerable, and her frustration and resentment mounts. Even her passion for rare books is stifled, leaving her isolated and lonely, a fading rose trapped under glass.

When Caroline is offered the opportunity to catalogue a private library, she seizes it like a lifeline. Exploring the literary treasures, she discovers a friend in the library's owner, Zane Bishop - a brilliant, wealthy recluse who was disfigured in an explosion years ago.

Thoughtful and kind, Zane is everything Orson is not. As their trust builds, Zane realizes that Caroline's pain runs much deeper than she lets on. He suffers with her, knowing precisely of Orson's cruelty firsthand. Zane will stop at nothing to set Caroline free, even if it means risking everything.

The Gilded Rose is a story of resilience, passion, and the transformative power of love."

I love that because of Disney all Beauty and the Beast retellings must not include a fantastic library.

Wench by Erynne Rivers
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
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The official patter:
"Maid Marian's life is over.

Her cowardly father has betrothed her to the most reviled man in the land: the Sheriff of Nottingham. Devastated, she's sent on the quickest path to meet her husband, through the fae-infested Sherwood Forest.

But everything changes when her carriage is attacked by the most feared fae of all: the Merry Men, followers of the infamous Robin Hood. Kidnapped and waiting on the Sheriff's rescue, Marian finds herself surrounded by the magical creatures she's been raised to fear. But the more time she spends in their presence, Marian realises that not everything she's been taught by her family is true.

And Marian can't help but find herself drawn to her captor - the sinfully handsome Robin, who stands between her and returning to life amongst the humans.

As the Sheriff's men close in on Marian's location, she will soon be faced with the ultimate choice: the family she's always known, or the love she can choose for herself...

A breathtaking debut romantasy novel for lovers of Robin Hood, The Knight and the Moth and Heavenly Bodies."

Please say Robin Hood is a shapeshifter who turns into a fox. If you know, you know. 

Cooking Up Magick by H.L. Bernabe
Published by: Hl Bernabe
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 426 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Paisley Dell just wants to cook. A halfling with big culinary ambitions, she sets off across the realm of Erdea to learn its cuisines - only to discover, days into her journey, that she can wield magick no one has seen in five hundred years. That's a problem, because the sorcerer who wiped out magick users the first time around is back, raising an army of orcs to finish what he started.

With a talking cat, a pair of dwarven companions, and an orc prince determined to restore his people's honor, Paisley is pulled from spice markets into a siege - and finds that she and her friends may be the only thing standing between Erdea and ruin. Cozy fantasy warmth meets epic fantasy stakes in a story where kindness, love, and community aren't weaknesses to overcome, but the very strengths that win wars.

Includes a map of Erdea and appendices featuring a pronunciation guide, glossary, and cast of characters."

Always stronger together. Especially if there's a talking cat.

When the Magic Comes by Shereen Vedam
Published by: Shereen Vedam
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: eBook
To Buy

The official patter:
"Magic. Prophecy. Murder.

It's been said that Kennard of Grimm is destined to be the first in a long line of warriors who battle evil with magic.

Just one problem: he teaches magic at a prestigious university, but he has no magical abilities.

What he has is a dangerous curiosity, piercing instincts, and a responsibility for a baby dragon named Tala. Normal chaos rules Kennard's life until a student is murdered, and another is blamed. Convinced the accused is innocent, he sets out to find the real killer.

To further complicate Kennard's life, his mother and sister visit him, sparking Tala's protective instincts. Then things turn more dangerous when a second body shows up.

The killer's audacity is mounting.

Kennard must stop the murderer and soothe his indignant dragonet or risk death and destruction on a much larger scale.

If you enjoy your mystery with a hint of fairy tale, you'll love meeting Kennard of Grimm and his dragonet, and sharing in their epic adventure as amateur detectives in a magical medieval fantasy world."

Everything is better with a hint of fairy tale. 

Liberal Arts by David McGlynn
Published by: Triquarterly Books
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A kaleidoscopic novel-in-stories set at a fictional Midwest college.

Two centuries old and covered in ivy, Wisconsin's Buchanan College is populated by an eclectic mix of students, staff, and professors hailing from the nearby suburbs to the far corners of the globe. From the outside, Buchanan seems an idyllic world of higher learning. Yet behind its bucolic exterior, a series of interconnected dramas play out: a slew of first-year students mysteriously disappear within days of moving in; an injured hockey star discovers an unlikely fountain of youth; an alumna returns to campus after fifty years in the hope of reconnecting with a former love. And throughout the novel we follow the story of Jenny Ramirez, a social worker and the wife of a popular professor, who commits an act that alters how the college sees her, and how she sees herself. Over a span of four years, from orientation to graduation, the characters in Liberal Arts are forced to weigh their ideals and aspirations against the harsh and often ridiculous realities of the world, and are left asking what, if anything, a liberal arts education has left to teach them."

Obviously fictional because no one in any Wisconsin college graduates in four years.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

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