Monday, January 6, 2020

Tuesday Tomorrow

In the Shadow of Vesuvius by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In skillfully intertwined storylines from the dawn of the twentieth century and the heyday of the Roman Empire, Tasha Alexander's In the Shadow of Vesuvius, the latest installment to her bestselling series, brings Lady Emily and her husband to Pompeii, where they uncover a recent crime in the ancient city.

Some corpses lie undisturbed longer than others. But when Lady Emily discovers a body hidden in plain sight amongst the ruins of Pompeii, she sets in motion a deadly chain of events that ties her future to the fate of a woman whose story had been lost for nearly two thousand years.

Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, have accompanied her dear friend Ivy Brandon on a trip to Pompeii. When they uncover a corpse and the police dismiss the murder as the work of local gangsters, Emily launches an investigation of her own. She seems to be aided by the archaeologists excavating the ruins, including a moody painter, the enigmatic site director, and a free-thinking American capable of sparring with even the Duke of Bainbridge. But each of them has secrets hiding among the ruins.

The sudden appearance of a beautiful young woman who claims a shocking relationship to the Hargreaves family throws Emily’s investigation off-course. And as she struggles to face an unsettling truth about Colin’s past, it becomes clear that someone else wants her off the case - for good. Emily’s resolve to unearth the facts is unshakable. But how far below the surface can she dig before she risks burying herself along with the truth?"

Ever since Tasha went to Pompeii I've been desperate to read about Emily's adventures there! Thankfully the wait is FINALLY over! 

The Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Rowland
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 294 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"London, June 1890.

Sarah Bain and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and Mick O'Reilly are crime scene photographers for the Daily World newspaper. After solving a sensational murder, they're under pressure to deliver another big story. On a foggy summer night, they're called to the bank of the river Thames. The murder victim is an unidentified woman whose face has been slashed. But as Sarah takes photographs, she discovers that the woman is still alive.

The case of "Sleeping Beauty" becomes a public sensation, and three parties quickly come forward to identify her: a rich, sinister artist who claims she's his wife; a mother and her two daughters who co-own a nursing home and claim she's their stepdaughter/sister; and a precocious little girl who claims Sleeping Beauty is her mother. Which party is Sleeping Beauty's rightful kin? Is someone among them her would-be killer?

Then Sleeping Beauty awakens - with a severe case of amnesia. She's forgotten her name and everything else about herself. But she recognizes one of the people who've claimed her. Sarah is delighted to reunite a family and send Sleeping Beauty home - until one of the claimants is murdered. Suddenly, Sarah, her motley crew of friends, and her fiancé Detective Sergeant Barrett are on the wrong side of the law. Now they must identify the killer before they find themselves headed for the gallows."

Even more English sleuthing! It's definitely my week!

A Game of Snakes and Ladders by Doris Langley Moore
Published by: Dean Street Press
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 326 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fanny Burney would not approve of some of my chapters, but it was my affection for the novels of her school, in which the heroine goes through all kinds of distresses but emerges in a sweeping triumph at the end, that made me long to try my hand at the same theme - treating it, however, in our down-to-earth twentieth-century way.

This brilliant homage to the 19th century novel begins with two young women - Lucy, sturdy and unflappable, and Daisy, charming but self-interested - performing with a theatre company in Egypt after World War I. The show closes, and Daisy stays on with a well-to-do businessman while Lucy eagerly plans her return to England. But then she falls seriously ill, then in debt to Daisy's lover. She finds that Daisy, anxious not to alienate her meal ticket, has rashly promised that Lucy will remain in Egypt and work for him until he's repaid.

Thus in Egypt they remain, over the course of nearly 20 years, while Moore's intricate, lovely plot unfolds. Frivolous Daisy, the cause of Lucy's woes, ascends the ladder of wealth while Lucy, downtrodden but diligent, slaves and toils. Misunderstandings, deceptions, and self-deceptions abound, and finally the stage is set for Lucy's "sweeping triumph", as giddy and satisfying a climax as any a 19th century master could have conceived. A Game of Snakes and Ladders may remind readers of Fanny Burney or George Eliot, or even Jane Austen, but it's always, definitively and incomparably, Doris Langley Moore. This new edition includes an introduction by Sir Roy Strong."

The fact that Fanny Burney wouldn't approve made me smile and want to read this book. 

Wyntertide by Andrew Caldecott
Published by: Jo Fletcher Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The town of Rotherweird has been independent from the rest of England for four hundred years, to protect a deadly secret.

Sir Veronal Slickstone is dead, his bid to exploit that secret consigned to dust, leaving Rotherweird to resume its abnormal normality after the travails of the summer...but someone is playing a very long game.

Disturbing omens multiply: a funeral delivers a cryptic warning; an ancient portrait speaks; the Herald disappears - and democracy threatens the uneasy covenant between town and countryside.

Geryon Wynter's intricate plot, centuries in the making, is on the move.

Everything points to one objective: the resurrection of Rotherweird's dark Elizabethan past - and to one date: the Winter Solstice.

Wynter is coming..."

Wait, is "Winter is Coming" allowed to used outside Game of Thrones references and snowpocalypse annoucments now?

Moral Compass by Danielle Steel
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"At an elite private school in Massachusetts, a wide circle of lives will be forever changed by a devastating series of events in Danielle Steel’s riveting new novel.

Saint Ambrose Prep is a place where the wealthy send their children for the best possible education, with teachers and administrators from the Ivy League, and graduates who become future lawyers, politicians, filmmakers, and CEOs. Traditionally a boys-only school, Saint Ambrose has just enrolled one hundred and forty female students for the first time. Even though most of the kids on the campus have all the privilege in the world, some are struggling, wounded by their parents’ bitter divorces, dealing with insecurity and loneliness. In such a heightened environment, even the smallest spark can become a raging fire.

One day after the school’s annual Halloween event, a student lies in the hospital, her system poisoned by dangerous levels of alcohol. Everyone in this sheltered community - parents, teachers, students, police, and the media - are left trying to figure out what actually happened. Only the handful of students who were there when she was attacked truly know the answers and they have vowed to keep one another’s secrets. As details from the evening emerge, powerful families are forced to hire attorneys and less powerful families watch helplessly. Parents’ marriages are jeopardized, and students’ futures are impacted. No one at Saint Ambrose can escape the fallout of a life-altering event.

In this compelling novel, Danielle Steel illuminates the dark side of one drunken night, with its tragic consequences, from every possible point of view. As the drama unfolds, the characters will reach a crossroads where they must choose between truth and lies, between what is easy and what is right, and find the moral compass they will need for the rest of their lives."

It's like Gilmore Girls meets The Secret History with a bit of Gossip Girl. AKA, all things I love! 

The God Game by Danny Tobey
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A technological thriller with an all-too-believable premise, award-winning author Danny Tobey's The God Game follows five teenagers obsessed with an online video game that connects them to their worst impulses and most dangerous desires.

They call themselves the Vindicators. Targeted by bullies and pressured by parents, these geeks and gamers rule the computer lab at Turner High School. Wealthy bad boy Peter makes and breaks rules. Vanhi is a punk bassist at odds with her heritage. Kenny's creativity is stifled by a religious home life. Insecure and temperamental, Alex is an outcast among the outcasts. And Charlie, the leader they all depend on, is reeling from the death of his mother, consumed with reckless fury.

They each receive an invitation to play The God Game. Created by dark-web coders and maintained by underground hackers, the video game is controlled by a mysterious artificial intelligence that believes it is God. Obey the almighty A.I. and be rewarded. Defiance is punished. Through their phone screens and high-tech glasses, Charlie and his friends see and interact with a fantasy world superimposed over reality. The quests they undertake on behalf of "God" seem harmless at first, but soon the tasks have them questioning and sacrificing their own morality.

High school tormentors get their comeuppance. Parents and teachers are exposed a hypocrites. And the Vindicators' behavior becomes more selfish and self-destructive as they compete against one another for prizes each believes will rescue them from their adolescent existence. But everything they do is being recorded. Hooded and masked thugs are stalking and attacking them. "God" threatens to expose their secrets if they attempt to quit the game. And losing the game means losing their lives.

You don't play the Game. The Game plays you...."

 A far more deadly and riveting version of Ready Player One.

The Complete Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale
Published by: Bookvoice Publishing
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Includes all three Drive-In novels from the Mojo Storyteller in one paperback.

TITLES INCLUDE:

The Drive-In: A B-Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas

The Drive-In 2: Not Just One of Them Sequels

The Drive-In 3: The Bus Tour."

Three Lansdale for the price of one! 

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fifth installment in New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire's award-winning Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down picks up the threads left dangling by Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones.

When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister - whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice—back to their home on the Moors.

But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.

Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken.

Again."

I mean, Seanan McGuire has to have a clone of herself OR perhaps fairies working for her to keep up this output...

Chosen by Kiersten White
Published by: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nina continues to learn how to use her slayer powers against enemies old and new in this second novel in the New York Times bestselling series from Kiersten White, set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Now that Nina has turned the Watcher’s Castle into a utopia for hurt and lonely demons, she’s still waiting for the utopia part to kick in. With her sister Artemis gone and only a few people remaining at the castle - including her still-distant mother - Nina has her hands full. Plus, though she gained back her Slayer powers from Leo, they’re not feeling quite right after being held by the seriously evil succubus Eve, a.k.a. fake Watcher’s Council member and Leo’s mom.

And while Nina is dealing with the darkness inside, there’s also a new threat on the outside, portended by an odd triangle symbol that seems to be popping up everywhere, in connection with Sean’s demon drug ring as well as someone a bit closer to home. Because one near-apocalypse just isn’t enough, right?

The darkness always finds you. And once again, it’s coming for the Slayer."

MORE BUFFY!!!

Birds of Prey: Huntress by Greg Rucka
Published by: DC Comics
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 152 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In celebration of the feature film Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) comes Birds of Prey: Huntress.

Meet the character that inspired the film in this classic story!

The Huntress is framed for murder! Avoiding the Gotham City police, Huntress must revisit her childhood to discover the true culprit. While she seeks the clues necessary to prove her innocence, Batman and Nightwing are tracking her every move! As the mystery unravels, Huntress will uncover the terrible truth about the death of her parents.

From Eisner Award-winning author Greg Rucka (Gotham Central, Wonder Woman) and the Eisner Award-winning artist Rick Burchett (Batman, Superman), this volume collects Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood #1-6."

Because I'm all about Rucka lately! 

Murder at the Museum by Lena Jones
Published by: HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A second mystery for thirteen-year-old Agatha Oddly - a bold, determined heroine, and the star of this stylish new detective series.

Agatha Oddlow's set to become the youngest member of the Gatekeepers' Guild, but before that, she's got a mystery to solve.

There's been a murder at the British Museum and, although the police are investigating, Agatha suspects that they're missing a wider plot going on below London - a plot involving a disused Tube station, a huge fireworks display, and five thousand tonnes of gold bullion..."

Grade school me would have lived for this book, hence now me is all about it too.

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