strange and random happenstance

Question: What is it about the Holmes canon that has inspired so many offshoots starring everyone from irregulars to noncanonical wives, children, and siblings?

Answer: I wish I knew. No other fictional character ever has been as “real” as Sherlock Holmes. I wish I knew how Conan Doyle did it.

Question: What was it like infusing the world created by Conan Doyle with a feminine, one would say flowery touch?

Answer: Fun. Rollicking good fun.

Question: Have you always had an interest in ciphers or did the creation of Enola lead you into a deep dive of cryptography?

Answer: Writing about Enola Holmes led me there. I had no interest in secret codes until I learned how many of them Victorian women had to use, and why.

Question: It’s been over a decade since your last Enola Holmes Mystery, did the success of the Netflix movie, leading to renewed interest in the series, so much so that readers could literally not get a physical copy of any of the Enola Holmes books, inspire you to continue her adventures, hopefully over several books, or was it just a happy coincidence?

Answer: I actually wrote Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche* and some other Enola Holmes novels after the 2008 recession, but they didn't sell then.

Question: For me, adaptations are an obsession. Though contrarily I totally believe, unlike many others who don’t hold this stance, that books are the final product in and of themselves and adaptations are just a nice additional. Has having the first Enola Holmes book adapted changed your opinion on the series?

Answer: I'm not sure I understand your question**. I'll just say that when writing about Enola Holmes, I try to stick to my original vision of her and not let the movie intrude.

*Out today! 

**I was trying to weigh in on the book world controversy where some people don't believe a book has really "made it" until it has been adapted. Which is a total disservice to the awesomeness of literature in my humble opinion. But as you can see with so many people only picking up Nancy's work once it was adapted, to them, having work being adapted matters.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:01 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Blog Tour, Cryptography, Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, Nancy Springer, Q&A, Release Date, Secret Codes, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Victorian

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Now that Enola Holmes is no longer hiding from her famous, much older, brothers, she has the luxury of freedom. No longer constantly looking over her shoulder to see if Mycroft's lurking in a carriage to spirit her off to a dreadful and deadly boarding school. What's more, this means she can actually go and visit her brother Sherlock whenever she wants! Only her current visit to 221 Baker Street is at the insistence of Doctor Watson. Sherlock is suffering from melancholia. After triumphantly solving his last case he won't eat, he won't bath, he won't dress, and it took all of Doctor Watson's vast resources just to get him out of bed. So Enola swoops in. She is determined to get Sherlock off the sofa and back in the game. Thankfully a compelling case arrives on his doorstep. While he languishes on his sofa Miss Letitia Glover spins her story for Enola. Tish's twin sister Felicity has been declared deceased. But Tish just knows it can't be true. She would feel it if Flossie had left this mortal coil. They're twins after all. Therefore Flossie's husband must be lying. Felicity married above her station. While Tish is a humble typist, Flossie is a talented watercolourist and the wife of the Earl of Dunhench, Lord Cadogan Burr Rudcliff II. He wrote to Tish saying that Felicity had contracted a fever and died the same day and was immediately cremated in order to prevent the spread of the disease. Her ashes were included with the letter. Everything about this is too cavalier, too pat. But the case is enough to get Sherlock off the couch. Enola couldn't be happier. She's working a case with her brother! Or at least he'll soon realize they're working the case together once she arrives in Surrey. Of course she didn't intend to actually end up in Caddie's house. But since she's there she might as well investigate what happened to his first wife as well... because Caddie hasn't just tragically lost one wife in similar circumstances, but two. And things aren't adding up. For a family obsessed with death portraiture, neither of his wives have one. Then there's the secret message that Felicity hid in her most recent painting. And if they weren't convinced that Caddie was up to no good, the fact that Doctor Watson's signature was forged on the death certificate would be the nail in the coffin. Which begs the question, can they find Felicity before Caddie does something even more drastic?

Enola Holmes returns to her first home after her triumphant success on the small screen. When I was invited to be a part of the Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche Blog Tour I decided to do an Enola Holmes deep dive. I picked up my Scholastic Book Fair copy of The Case of the Missing Marquess and before I knew it, thanks to my local library, I had devoured Enola's entire back catalog of cases. For as long as I can remember Sherlock Holmes has always been in my life, primarily because of the Jeremy Brett adaptations for PBS which my parents adored. Personally though my Holmes canon revolves around Young Sherlock Holmes, The Great Mouse Detective, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, and perhaps the first two seasons of Sherlock. Though the later seasons soured me to the earlier ones. What I'm saying is, despite there being SO MUCH Sherlockian storytelling out there, from irregulars to noncanonical wives, children, and siblings, only a few things have sparked something inside me and made me really connect to the material. This rarefied list now includes Enola Holmes. There is such joy and daring and girl power in this series that I fell instantly in love with it. What's more, Nancy Springer's use of language is a delight to read. To have an author properly use fantods in a text, it almost had me suffering from the vapors while Edward Gorey gleefully rolled over in his grave. This newest adventure, the first published in over a decade, shows a more mature Enola. After the events in The Case of the Gypsy Good-Bye a shift has taken place. Enola is no longer having to divide her efforts between solving her cases and hiding from her famous brothers. Now she can concentrate on her work, or in this case, concentrate on inveigling herself into Sherlock's work. In fact, their one-upmanship brings about the funniest moments as Enola reverts a little to her more childish ways, because who doesn't revert to being a child around their siblings no matter their age? As for the case? Well, we are still dealing with the problems that only women suffer at the hands of Victorian society, but this time it's a little darker and a lot more Gothic, which has me very excited to see where Enola goes in future adventures and I can't wait.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Baker Street, Blog Tour, Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, Feminism, Mycroft, Sherlock Holmes, The Great Mouse Detective, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Victorian, Younger Sherlock Holmes

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Enola Holmes is back! Nancy Springer's nationally bestselling series and breakout Netflix sensation returns to beguile readers young and old in Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche.

Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of her more famous brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. But she has all the wits, skills, and sleuthing inclinations of them both. At fifteen, she's an independent young woman - after all, her name spelled backwards reads 'alone' - and living on her own in London. When a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, shows up on Sherlock's doorstep, desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister, it is Enola who steps up. It seems her sister, the former Felicity Glover, married the Earl of Dunhench and per a curt note from the Earl, has died. But Letitia Glover is convinced this isn't the truth, that she'd know - she'd feel - if her twin had died.

The Earl's note is suspiciously vague and the death certificate is even more dubious, signed it seems by a John H. Watson, M.D. (who denies any knowledge of such). The only way forward is for Enola to go undercover - or so Enola decides at the vehement objection of her brother. And she soon finds out that this is not the first of the Earl's wives to die suddenly and vaguely - and that the secret to the fate of the missing Felicity is tied to a mysterious black barouche that arrived at the Earl's home in the middle of the night. To uncover the secrets held tightly within the Earl's hall, Enola is going to require help - from Sherlock, from the twin sister of the missing woman, and from an old friend, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether!

Enola Holmes returns in her first adventure since the hit Netflix movie brought her back on the national bestseller lists, introducing a new generation to this beloved character and series."

Enola Holmes returns to her first home! The printed page! 

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All is far from quiet on the home front in USA Today bestselling author Anna Lee Huber's captivating mystery series, in which former Secret Service agent Verity Kent receives a visitor - who is being trailed by a killer...

November 1919. A relaxing few weeks by the seaside with her husband, Sidney, could almost convince Verity Kent that life has returned to the pleasant rhythm of pre-war days. Then Verity's beloved Great-Aunt Ilse lands on their doorstep. After years in war-ravaged Germany, Ilse has returned to England to repair her fragile health - and to escape trouble. Someone has been sending her anonymous threats, and Verity's Secret Service contacts can only provide unsettling answers.

Even deep in the Yorkshire Dales, where she joins Verity's family for the holidays, Ilse encounters difficulties. Normally peaceful neighbors are hostile, seeking someone to blame for the losses they've endured. When Ilse's maid is found dead, Verity must uncover whether this is anti-German sentiment taken to murderous lengths, or whether there is a more personal motive at work. Could Verity's shadowy nemesis, Lord Ardmore, be involved? And if so, how much closer to home will the blow land when he inevitably strikes again?"

Holidays in the Yorkshire Dales? YAS!

Murder at Wakehurst by Alyssa Maxwell
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the autumnal chill of Newport, Rhode Island, at the close of the nineteenth century, journalist Emma Cross discovers an instance of cold-blooded murder on the grounds of a mansion...

Following the death of her uncle, Cornelius Vanderbilt, in September 1899, a somber Emma is in no mood for one of Newport's extravagant parties. But to keep Vanderbilt's reckless son Neily out of trouble, she agrees to accompany him to an Elizabethan fete on the lavish grounds of Wakehurst, the Ochre Point "cottage" modeled after an English palace, owned by Anglophile James Van Alen.

Held in Wakehurst's English-style gardens, the festivities will include a swordplay demonstration, an archery competition, scenes from Shakespeare's plays, and even a joust. As Emma wanders the grounds distracted by grief, she overhears a fierce argument between a man and a woman behind a tall hedge. As the joust begins, she's drawn by the barking of Van Alen's dogs and finds a man on the ground, an arrow through his chest.

The victim is one of the 400's most influential members, Judge Clayton Schuyler. Could one of the countless criminals he'd imprisoned over the years have returned to seek revenge - or could one of his own family members have targeted him? With the help of her beau Derrick Andrews and Detective Jesse Whyte, Emma begins to learn the judge was not the straight arrow he appeared to be. As their investigation leads them in ever-widening circles, Emma will have to score a bull's eye to stop the killer from taking another life..."

This entry in this wonderful series sounds like Midsomer Murders Rhode Island! 

American Midnight: Tales of the Dark selected by by Laird Hunt
Published by: Pushkin Press
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A chilling collection of classic weird and supernatural tales from the dark heart of American literature.

A masquerade ball cut short by a mysterious plague; a strange nocturnal ritual in the woods; a black bobcat howling in the night: these ten tales are some of the most strange and unsettling in all of American literature, filled with unforgettable imagery and simmering with tension. From Edgar Allan Poe to Shirley Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorne to Zora Neale Hurston, the authors of these classics of supernatural suspense have inspired generations of writers to explore the dark heart of the land of the free.

The stories in this collection have been selected and introduced by Laird Hunt, an author of seven acclaimed novels which explore the shadowy corners of American history.

Contains:

'The Masque of the Red Death', Edgar Allan Poe
'Young Goodman Brown', Nathaniel Hawthorne
'The Eyes', Edith Wharton
'The Mask', Robert Chambers
'Home', Shirley Jackson
'A Ghost Story', Mark Twain
'Spunk', Zora Neale Hurston
'The Yellow Wallpaper', Charlotte Perkins Gilman
'An Itinerant House', Emma Frances Dawson"

The inclusion of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' along makes this a must buy! All other (AMAZING) authors are icing on the cake!

The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith
Published by: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this thrilling and atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.

In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet - her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.

Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.

Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?"

Because I love historical fiction and am still waiting for my letter from Hogwarts. 

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket
Published by: Liveright
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 168 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new stand-alone adventure - appropriate for all ages - by Lemony Snicket, one of the twenty-first century’s most beloved authors.

In the years since this publishing house was founded, we have worked with an array of wondrous authors who have brought illuminating clarity to our bewildering world. Now, instead, we bring you Lemony Snicket.

Over the course of his long and suspicious career, Mr. Snicket has investigated many things, including villainy, treachery, conspiracy, ennui, and various suspicious fires. In this book, he is investigating his own death.

Poison for Breakfast is a different sort of book than others we have published, and from others you may have read. It is different from other books Mr. Snicket has written. It could be said to be a book of philosophy, something almost no one likes, but it is also a mystery, and many people claim to like those. Certainly Mr. Snicket didn’t relish the dreadful task of solving it, but he had no choice. It was put in front of him, right there, on his plate."

Yes, I do claim to like mysteries. 

Friends Forever by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham
Published by: First Second
Publication Date: August 31st, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Following up their mega-bestselling Real Friends and Best Friends graphic memoirs, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are back with Friends Forever, a story about learning to love yourself exactly as you are.

Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing, her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy.

As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be?

With their signature humor, warmth, and insight, Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham have crafted another incredible love letter to their younger selves and to readers everywhere, a reminder to us all that we are enough."

If you haven't yet discovered the genius of Shannon Hale, well, now's your chance!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alyssa Maxwell, American Midnight, Anna Lee Huber, Enola Holmes, Gilded Newport, Hogwarts, Lemony Snicket, LeUyen Pham, Midsomer Murders, Nancy Springer, Sasha Peyton Smith, Shannon Hale, Sherlock Holmes

I've been a fan of Hayley Atwell's for what seems like forever, but looking at her credits it's been about fifteen years starting with the Sally Lockhart films. But it was her portrayal of Agent Carter, giving us a non-superpowered kick-ass female lead in the male dominated Marvel universe that forever made me a fan. That and her hilarious lip-synch videos and self-deprecating social media presence. So I was aware of The Long Song since the day it first started filming back in 2018. And since the day later in 2018 that it aired in England. Nowadays with shows being shown almost simultaneously stateside thanks to premium cable channels and services like BritBox I kept waiting for The Long Song to finally air here. And I waited. And I waited. Seriously, Howards End with Hayley's portrayal of Margaret Schlegel ran on Starz and even re-aired TWICE on PBS and still I waited for The Long Song. Until finally it was announced as part of Masterpiece's 51st season. I would finally get to see the adaptation of Andrea Levy's book! And ironically, considering how long I waited to see this, I think now was the perfect time for it to air. Right when America finally said enough and embraced Black Lives Matter on a scale it should have always been embraced it's more important than ever to look back and see the horrors of what we have done in the past. To not flinch away from uncomfortable truths. And the truth of the matter is Hayley is nothing more than odious comic relief, as she should be in this setting. As she herself said "I play a heinous, vile old cow [as] Variety reviews my portrayal: 'an actor who typically radiates warmth, does a remarkable job of curdling the atmosphere of every room unlucky enough to have Caroline in it.'" The real star is Tamara Lawrance as July. A slave who was taken away from her mother to be a plaything for Caroline. Who, despite everything, is a source of joy. Her life keeps beating her down again and again yet she is a "joyous survivor" as one reviewer said. And that's the heart of The Long Song, showing the horrors unflinchingly but celebrating the joy of surviving and creating a better world.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agent Carter, And the Emmy Goes To, Andrea Levy, Black Lives Matter, BritBox, Hayley Atwell, Howards End, July, Marvel, Masterpiece, PBS, Sally Lockhart, Slavery, Starz, Survivor, Tamara Lawrance, The Long Song

My late teens coincided with Ewan McGregor being the darling of Indie films. For those who were introduced to him through Star Wars and his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi, or, dare I utter the title, Moulin Rouge, let me tell you something, you are missing out on a whole heck of a lot of Ewan. As in all of Ewan. As in, he's naked. A lot. Like a lot a lot. Like full frontal in Velevet Goldmine, and in The Pillow Book, it's not just him naked, but his naked skin is then turned into a book and an old man does very inappropriate things to it... And let me tell you, that was memorable and creepy and it's been twenty-five years and I can't get it out of my head. When he was cast in Star Wars there were many jokes circulating as to how he'd get his "lightsaber" on screen... unless there is a cut of Star Wars I don't know about that didn't happen. Yet. Who knows what's going to happen on his Disney+ series. So, my point is, Ewan became mainstream and I missed the edge, I missed that wild abandon that marked his earlier roles. Seriously, Curt Wild in Velvet Goldmine, damn! Which is why I was so excited about Halston. It felt like it was a return to his roots while also being "Ryan Murphy Mainstream." The show is interesting in that while it does show a lot of the orgies and male prostitutes that surrounded Halston there's a disconnect. The pairings are very flat and emotionless and there's not as much naked Ewan as you'd expect. But it works. It's compartmentalizing Halston's life and it shows that his real passion, his real emotions, are for his work. With only five episodes Murphy does a wonderful job of showing us this way of life Halston lived and then how it all broke down. The series would not have worked with someone of lesser abilities than Ewan. He has the suave masters of the universe vibe that gets chipped away at piece by piece and the man who was almost glacial at the beginning is a sympathetic wreck by the end. It's a wonderful little piece that gives you insight into a man who changed fashion and a different time from the one we live in now. Looking back at Halston's life it's amazing how much he shaped the look of my childhood. He was one of a kind and deserved this tribute to his life.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1970s, 1980s, And the Emmy Goes To, Curt Wild, Ewan McGregor, Fashion, Halston, Indie Films, Lightsaber, Mainstream, Moulin Rouge, Netflix, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ryan Murphy, Star Wars, The Pillow Book, Velvet Goldmine

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: August 24th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's latest spellbinding novel.

You’re a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.

It starts innocently enough.

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.

He’s asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson’s views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion are so confused it’s near impossible to tell them apart.

Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.

Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.

And the madness of crowds."

My main question on looking at the cover is how the hell does that tie into the storyline?

Unholy Murder by Lynda La Plante
Published by: Zaffre
Publication Date: August 24th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Detective Jane Tennison must lift the lid on the most chilling murder case of her career to date - in the brand new thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante.

A coffin is dug up by builders in the grounds of an historic convent - inside is the body of a young nun.

In a city as old as London, the discovery is hardly surprising. But w hen scratch marks are found on the inside of the coffin lid, Detective Jane Tennison believes she has unearthed a mystery far darker than any she's investigated before. However, not everyone agrees. Tennison's superiors dismiss it as an historic cold case, and the Church seems desperate to conceal the facts from the investigation. It's clear that someone is hiding the truth, and perhaps even the killer. Tennison must pray she can find both - before they are buried forever...

In Unholy Murder, Tennison must lift the lid on the most chilling murder case of her career to date..."

My mom always loved a good Lynda La Plante mystery.

The Back to Front Murder by Tim Major
Published by: Titan Books (UK)
Publication Date: August 24th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sherlock Holmes assists a popular mystery writer whose plots seem to be coming to life.

May 1898: Sherlock Holmes investigates a murder stolen from a writer's research.

Abigail Moone presents an unusual problem at Baker Street. She is a writer of mystery stories under a male pseudonym, and gets her ideas following real people and imagining how she might kill them and get away with it. It's made her very successful, until her latest "victim" dies, apparently of the poison method she meticulously planned in her notebook. Abigail insists she is not responsible, and that someone is trying to frame her for his death. With the evidence stacking up against her, she begs Holmes to prove her innocence..."

I've found this series very enjoyable with it's vast array of authors and plots, my friend George Mann even wrote one!

Edie in Between by Laura Sibson
Published by: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 24th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A modern-day Practical Magic about love, loss, and embracing the mystical.

It's been one year since Edie's mother died. But her ghost has never left.

According to her GG, it's tradition that the dead of the Mitchell family linger with the living. It's just as much a part of a Mitchell's life as brewing healing remedies or talking to plants. But Edie, whose pain over losing her mother is still fresh, has no interest in her family's legacy as local "witches."

When her mother's teenage journal tumbles into her life, her family's mystical inheritance becomes once and for all too hard to ignore. It takes Edie on a scavenger hunt to find objects that once belonged to her mother, each one imbued with a different memory. Every time she touches one of these talismans, it whisks her to another entry inside the journal - where she watches her teenage mom mourn, love, and hope just as Edie herself is now doing.

But as Edie discovers, there's a dark secret behind her family's practice that she's unwittingly released. She'll have to embrace - and master - the magic she's always rejected...before it consumes her.

Tinged with a sweet romance with the spellbinding Rhia, who works at the local occult shop, Edie in Between delivers all the cozy magic a budding young witch finding her way in the world needs."

I was sold by the Practical Magic comparison, the fun cover is just icing on the cake!

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: August 24th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with a blazingly sexy, unapologetically feminist new series, Hell’s Belles, beginning with a bold, bombshell of a heroine, able to dispose of a scoundrel - or seduce one - in a single night.

After years of living as London’s brightest scandal, Lady Sesily Talbot has embraced the reputation and the freedom that comes with the title. No one looks twice when she lures a gentleman into the dark gardens beyond a Mayfair ballroom...and no one realizes those trysts are not what they seem.

No one, that is, but Caleb Calhoun, who has spent years trying not to notice his best friend’s beautiful, brash, brilliant sister. If you ask him, he’s been a saint about it, considering the way she looks at him...and the way she talks to him...and the way she’d felt in his arms during their one ill-advised kiss.

Except someone has to keep Sesily from tumbling into trouble during her dangerous late-night escapades, and maybe close proximity is exactly what Caleb needs to get this infuriating, outrageous woman out of his system. But now Caleb is the one in trouble, because he’s fast realizing that Sesily isn’t for forgetting...she’s forever. And forever isn’t something he can risk."

I've been so excited for this new series ever since Sarah MacLean talked about it on the inaugural Pink Carnation Read-Along! Though I'm still pissed at Avon for declining my ARC request. 

The Last Debutantes by Georgie Blalock
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: August 24th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fans of The Kennedy Debutante and Last Year in Havana will love Georgie Blalock’s new novel of a world on the cusp of change...set on the eve of World War II in the glittering world of English society and one of the last debutante seasons.

They danced the night away, knowing their world was about to change forever. They were the debutantes of 1939, laughing on the outside, but knowing tragedy - and a war - was just around the corner.

When Valerie de Vere Cole, the niece of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, makes her deep curtsey to the King and Queen of England, she knows she’s part of a world about to end. The daughter of a debt-ridden father and a neglectful mother, Valerie sees firsthand that war is imminent.

Nevertheless, Valerie reinvents herself as a carefree and glittering young society woman, befriending other debutantes from England’s aristocracy as well as the vivacious Eunice Kennedy, daughter of the U.S. Ambassador. Despite her social success, the world’s troubles and Valerie’s fear of loss and loneliness prove impossible to ignore.

How will she navigate her new life when everything in her past has taught her that happiness and stability are as fragile as peace in our time? For the moment she will forget her cares in too much champagne and waltzes. Because very soon, Valerie knows that she must find the inner strength to stand strong and carry on through the challenges of life and love and war."

Being an English debutante is kind of weird with all the pomp and circumstance, hence I'm kind of obsessed.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Armand Gamache, Edie in Between, George Mann, Georgie Blalock, Laura Sibson, Louise Penny, Lynda La Plante, Practical Magic, Sarah MacLean, Sherlock Holmes, The Last Debutantes, Tuesday Tomorrow

The thing about David Tennant is you usually think of him as "the good guy." He was THE DOCTOR! Yes, there's the rare psychopath thrown in there, hello Kilgrave! But by and large he's the one bringing the baddies to justice, from killers of children to killers of song, and yes, I'm talking about Broadchurch and Blackpool. So it's interesting when he slips into the role of someone so evil and vile as Dennis Nilsen, the Scottish serial killer and necrophile who murdered at least a dozen young men in the late seventies and early eighties. He literally became Dennis Nilsen. It was beyond eerie. His flat affect, his casual way of discussing murder, everything came together to be the performance of a lifetime so much so that after the first few scenes you had to be remembered that this was David Tennant and NOT Dennis Nilsen. In fact there's one little trick they use in this adaptation that I usually disapprove of but which works to stunning effect here. I'm a stickler for shows that rely on old news footage thus breaking the forth wall. My problem is is that it usually doesn't work. It feels too out of place. Better to replace the footage with scenes you recreate. At first that is what I thought they were doing here. I literally thought the news footage was recreated to have David Tennant as Dennis Nilsen. It wasn't. This blew me away. David had nailed his performance so perfectly from appearance to body language that I couldn't tell the difference between scenes shot for this show and actual footage of Nilsen from the time of his arrest and trial. It's lucky I had the second season of Staged to binge after this three part series so that I could get the image of David Tennant as a serial killer out of my mind. But it's not just Tennant who shines, Jason Watkins, known for his rather deliciously over-the-top characters, many villainous, he's played over the years here brings in a wonderfully subtle performance as Brian Masters, whose book, Killing for Company, this miniseries is based on. The scenes between him and Tennant in the prison where they're having one on one conversations is the heart of this show. Watkins is able to show detachment when he needs to but also subtle disgust, of the level that will keep the channels open to Nilsen but not strip him fully of his humanity. Take it from me, who has watched a LOT of shows about serial killers over the years, this is one you don't want to miss.  

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Blackpool, Brian Masters, Broadchurch, David Tennant, Dennis Nilsen, Des, Jason Watkins, Kilgrave, Killing for Company, Necrophilia, News Footage, Serial Killer, Sundance, The Doctor

Firstly, a shout-out to the Fanibals who got #HannibalDeservesMore trending every Thursday when Clarice aired because this is a statement which I will never disagree with. But, the good news for Fanibals is that Clarice would in no way contradict or conflict with the continuation of Hannibal because this show doesn't take place in the present, like Hannibal, but right after the events of The Silence of the Lambs film, placing it firmly in 1992. So now that I've gotten those concerns addressed, lets talk Starling! From beginning to end this show had me on a roller coaster of emotions. There was a lot of bait and switch going on. You kind of expect a show following on the heels of The Silence of the Lambs to be about serial killers, and when at the end of the first episode they pull the rug out and are like, nope, it's about whistleblowers, it took me a few more episodes to lean into this new arc. Because this show doesn't really do "monster of the week." Each episode ties into the greater arc of what is going on with VICAP's investigation into Alastor Pharmaceuticals. So I had to embrace the whistleblowers and I heartily did. Because this isn't just relevant to now, but relevant to then. This was when Erin Brockovich was raising the alarm! And seriously, why have we stopped talking about Flint, Michigan, it's not like that magically got fixed? But Clarice also does an excellent job of discussing other issues of import that still matter, from sexism, to racism, to trauma, to transphobia. And what it did was eloquently handle transphobia. If you think about it, the original movie did a lot to make a monster out of Buffalo Bill because he was trans and as the trans character Julia Lawson played by Jen Richards puts it, this did a lot to hurt the trans community. Not just in the world of the show but in the real world. Her character arc over the three episodes she's on felt like an apology that we've been waiting a long time for and I applaud the show for leaning into the problematic source material versus just pretending it didn't exist. I do hope that this show is somehow able to continue because it is continually breaking down preconceptions and that makes it unique. Though I have to say circling back round to a serial killer by the end felt a little messy. If it wasn't for the amazing acting of Douglas Smith, previously killing it as Marcus Isaacson on The Alienist, it just wouldn't have worked.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Big Pharma, Clarice, Clarice Starling, Douglas Smith, Erin Brockovich, Fanibals, Hannibal, Racism, Sexism, The Alienist, The Silence of the Lambs, Transphobia, VICAP, Whistleblowers

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"1970s, Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest issue of Secret Romance. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger.

Her next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman - and journeying deeper into Leonora's secret life of student radicals and dissidents.

Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for Leonora at the behest of his boss, a shadowy figure who commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes violence and loves old movies and rock 'n' roll. But as Elvis searches for the missing woman, he watches Maite from a distance - and comes to regard her as a kindred spirit who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.

Now as Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora's disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies all aiming to protect Leonora's secrets - at gunpoint.

Velvet Was the Night is an edgy, simmering historical novel for lovers of smoky noirs and anti-heroes."

The must read author of the moment with seriously my favorite cover of the summer. Look at that type people!

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The New York Times bestselling coauthor of Gwendy’s Button Box brings his signature "thrilling, page-turning" (Michael Koryta, author of How It Happened) prose to this story of small-town evil that combines the storytelling of Stephen King with the true-crime suspense of Michelle McNamara.

In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman - and he’s playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.

Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer’s reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.

A clever, terrifying, and heartrending work of metafiction, Chasing the Boogeyman is the ultimate marriage between horror fiction and true crime. Chizmar’s "brilliant…absolutely fascinating, totally compelling, and immediately poignant" (C.J. Tudor, New York Times bestselling author) writing is on full display in this truly unique novel that will haunt you long after you turn the final page."

It's like someone out there went, true crime and horror, that's what she wants, and it came to pass!

The Family Plot by Megan Collins
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of The Winter Sister and Behind the Red Door, this "masterpiece of gothic suspense and horror, filled with dark family secrets and stunning twists" (Michele Campbell, author of It’s Always the Husband) follows a family obsessed with true crime as they gather to bury their patriarch - only to find another body already in his grave.

At twenty-six, Dahlia Lighthouse is haunted by her upbringing. Raised in a secluded island mansion deep in the woods and kept isolated by her true crime-obsessed parents, she is unable to move beyond the disappearance of her twin brother, Andy, when they were sixteen.

After several years away and following her father’s death, Dahlia returns to the house, where the family makes a gruesome discovery: buried in their father’s plot is another body - Andy’s, his skull split open with an ax.

Dahlia is quick to blame Andy’s murder on the serial killer who terrorized the island for decades, while the rest of her family reacts to the revelation in unsettling ways. Her brother, Charlie, pours his energy into creating a family memorial museum, highlighting their research into the lives of famous murder victims; her sister, Tate, forges ahead with her popular dioramas portraying crime scenes; and their mother affects a cheerfully domestic facade, becoming unrecognizable as the woman who performed murder reenactments for her children. As Dahlia grapples with her own grief and horror, she realizes that her eccentric family, and the mansion itself, may hold the answers to what happened to her twin."

While hanging out with a family as obsessed with true crime as I am would be cool... I think it's safer to read about them don't you?

The Watcher by Ralph Tedesco and Victoria Rau
Published by: Zenescope
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 120 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Catholic Deacon and his family relocate to a suburban New England home that's long been rumored to be haunted by an evil entity. As his teenage daughter, Erica, begins to adjust to a new school and new friends, her ongoing bouts with sleep paralysis worsen and she begins to wonder if there really is a presence inside the home. Meanwhile, when two of Erica's high school friends are brutally murdered, she begins to suspect the creepy neighbor who she's noticed watching her through his window.

Check out this tense three issue thriller that blends the fun of Disturbia with the scares of The Conjuring from the minds of Zenescope Entertainment"

The Watcher is FINALLY out! I think I've been rescheduling this for over a year now!

Bloodless by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Agent Pendergast faces his most unexpected challenge yet when bloodless bodies begin to appear in Savannah, GA, in this installment of a #1 New York Times bestselling series.

A fabulous heist:
On the evening of November 24, 1971, D.B. Cooper hijacked Flight 305 - Portland to Seattle - with a fake bomb, collected a ransom of $200,000, and then parachuted from the rear of the plane, disappearing into the night…and into history.

A brutal crime steeped in legend and malevolence:
Fifty years later, Agent Pendergast takes on a bizarre and gruesome case: in the ghost-haunted city of Savannah, Georgia, bodies are found with no blood left in their veins - sowing panic and reviving whispered tales of the infamous Savannah Vampire.

A case like no other:
As the mystery rises along with the body count, Pendergast and his partner, Agent Coldmoon, race to understand how - or if - these murders are connected to the only unsolved skyjacking in American history. Together, they uncover not just the answer...but an unearthly evil beyond all imagining."

This ticks so many of my boxes, and in particular D.B. Copper! Though Loki "perhaps" solved that one for us...

Requiem of Silence by L. Penelope
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 576 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the vein of K. Arsenault Rivera and V.E. Schwab comes L. Penelope's Requiem of Silence, the epic conclusion in the stunning Earthsinger Chronicles.

Civil unrest plagues the nation of Elsira as refugees from their old enemy, Lagrimar, seek new lives in their land.

Queen Jasminda is determined to push the unification forward, against growing opposition and economic strife. But the True Father is not finished with Elsira and he may not be acting alone. He has built a powerful army. An army that cannot be killed. An army that can only be stopped by Nethersong and the help of friends and foes of Elsira alike to stop it.

Former assassin Kyara will discover that she is not the only Nethersinger. She will need to join the others to harness a power that can save or end Elsira. But time is of the essence and they may not be ready by the time the True Father strikes.

Sisterhood novitiate Zeli will go to the reaches of the Living World to unlock a secret that could save the kingdoms. When armies meet in the battlefield, a new world will be forged - whether by the hands of gods or men, remains to be seen."

Epic conclusion indeed!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: D.B. Cooper, Douglas Preston, L. Penelope, Lincoln Child, Megan Collins, Ralph Tedesco, Richard Chizmar, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Watcher, True Crime, Tuesday Tomorrow, Velvet Was the Night, Victoria Rau

Dash and Lily is the perfect cute Christmas series for literary and culture nerds of my generation. That being people born from 1977 to 1982, and no, we are NOT Gen X OR Millennial, we are are own thing so STOP trying to force us into one or the other. Also don't even get me started on Millennials, because really shouldn't they be people born around the millennium not those who graduated high school around the millennium? Would Buffy like to be called a Millennial? Hell no! So maybe I'll just call myself a child of the eighties and leave it at that. The reason I say this show is perfect for people of my generation is that the jokes and references don't work for high school students. The Home Alone jokes in particular work for those who grew up with these films and the cultural impact they had when they were released, which would not apply to kids who were born at least twelve years after the film's release. This isn't an uncommon problem with television shows, Veronica Mars was a big perpetrator of culture references that were out of date. My friend with whom I binge watched the entire first season of Veronica Mars in a day with was the first to point out this oddity to me. Veronica was always giving off quips that would make more sense to someone not in high school. This isn't so pressing anymore if you were to watch it now because all the references are out of date, but at the time it was like an itch you couldn't scratch. I think it just comes from having a writing room that isn't the same age as their characters. I mean David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, whose book this is based on, are firmly Gen X. The only other writer whose age I could discover is also Gen X. The three other writers appear to be far younger, but the truth is this could have been fixed with just having the characters be a little older. Make them in their late twenties and all is solved! See!?! Now I will only complain about the fact that doing product placement for the new Leigh Bardugo series doesn't mean her book should be out of alphabetical order at The Strand! Wait, I will also question how someone into fantasy would never have heard of The Chronicles of Narnia

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Christmas, Dash and Lily, David Levithan, Gen X, Home Alone, Leigh Bardugo, Millennial, New York City, Rachel Cohn, The Strand, Veronica Mars

Given how many times the Sherlock Holmes canon has been adapted there is surprisingly little out there with regard to the Baker Street Irregulars. There was the series written by Robert Newman which I didn't know was a series until a few years ago and another series written by Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks, and they were used abysmally by Anthony Horowitz in The House of Silk... but other than that, they haven't really been explored. Which is why The Irregulars is such an interesting take on Conan Doyle's work, because I really do mean his whole body of work, not just his casebooks on Holmes. Here we see Sherlock and Watson through the jaded eyes of a gaggle of kids on the street, and to put it mildly, they don't hold the two famous detectives in high esteem, in fact they rather think that Watson is a villain. Supernatural phenomena has been occurring in London and Bea and her gang, Jessie, Bea's gifted younger sister, Billy, a fellow orphan from the workhouse, Spike, and Leo, Prince Victoria's son hiding out from Royal duties, take it upon themselves to figure out what is going on. At first it's more a job, but then it becomes personal. The supernatural aspects are a nice backdrop, because they separate this show from the rest of the Conan Doyle canon, but at the same time tap into that which he firmly believed in, mediums and the ability to talk to the dead. So this is literally Conan Doyle to the max! The series does have a rocky start, the first few episodes seem determined to show that it's "hip" with out of place dubstep music, but thankfully once you get to "Chapter Three: Ipsissimus" the show finally comes together in a country house bottle episode that features Mycroft and a cult that he just happens to be in. This is the show at it's strongest, showing the relationships between the young cast and how much they need each other. In fact, I'd say this is the closest you'll ever get to Sherlock Holmes with heart. I look forward to more of their adventures now that they are somewhat out of the shadow of Sherlock. But they will still have to grapple with his legacy.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Anthony Horowitz, Baker Street Irregulars, Mediums, Queen Victoria, Robert Newman, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Supernatural, Terrance Dicks, The House of Silk, The Irregulars

Mrs. March by Virginia Feito
Published by: Liveright
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A twenty-first-century Highsmith, Virginia Feito conjures the unforgettable Mrs. March, an Upper East Side housewife whose life is shattered by her husband’s latest novel.

In this astonishing debut, the venerable but gossipy New York literary scene is twisted into a claustrophobic fun house of paranoia, horror, and wickedly dark humor. George March’s latest novel is a smash. No one is prouder than Mrs. March, his doting wife. But one morning, the shopkeeper of her favorite patisserie suggests that his protagonist is based on Mrs. March herself: "But... - isn't she...' Mrs. March leaned in and in almost a whisper said, 'a whore?" Clutching her ostrich-leather pocketbook, she flees, that one casual remark destroying her belief that she knew everything about her husband - as well as herself. Suddenly, Mrs. March is hurled into a harrowing journey that builds to near psychosis, one that begins merely within the pages of a book but may uncover both a killer and the long-buried secrets of her past."

The comparison to Patricia Highsmith is too much to pass up. That and literary New York!

The Steal by C.W. Gortner and M.J. Rose
Published by: Blue Box Press
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 135 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend - until they’re stolen. Ania Throne is devoted to her jewelry company. The daughter of one of the world’s most famous jewelers, she arrives in Cannes with a stunning new collection. But a shocking theft by the notorious thief known as the Leopard throws her into upheaval - and plunges her on an unexpected hunt that challenges everything she believes.Jerome Curtis thinks he’s seen it all, especially when it comes to crime. Until he’s hired to investigate the loss of Ania Thorne’s collection, his every skill put to the test as he chases after a mysterious master-mind responsible for some of the costliest heists in history - and finds himself in a tangled web with a woman he really shouldn’t fall in love with.From the fabled Carlton Hotel to the elegant boulevards of Paris, Ania and Jerome must race against time to catch a thief before the thief catches them. With everything on the line, can they solve the steal or will the steal take more than diamonds from them? Set in the late 1950s, The Steal is a romantic caper by bestselling authors C.W. Gortner and M.J. Rose."

August always needs a good Hitchcock To Catch a Thief vibe!

The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mother’s secret past and her daughter’s present collide in this richly atmospheric novel from the acclaimed author of The Animals at Lockwood Manor.

In the summer of 1973, Ruth and her four friends were obsessed with pre-Raphaelite paintings - and a little bit obsessed with each other. Drawn to the cold depths of the river by Ruth’s house, the girls pretend to be the drowning Ophelia, with increasingly elaborate tableaus. But by the end of that fateful summer, real tragedy finds them along the banks.

Twenty-four years later, Ruth returns to the suffocating, once grand house she grew up in, the mother of young twins and seventeen-year-old Maeve. Joining the family in the country is Stuart, Ruth’s childhood friend, who is quietly insinuating himself into their lives and gives Maeve the attention she longs for. She is recently in remission, unsure of her place in the world now that she is cancer-free. Her parents just want her to be an ordinary teenage girl. But what teenage girl is ordinary?

Alternating between the two fateful summers, The Ophelia Girls is a suspense-filled exploration of mothers and daughters, illicit desire, and the perils and power of being a young woman."

I was all in at "obsessed with pre-Raphaelite paintings" because I honestly think this is a phase all girls go through!

The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore
Published by: Catapult
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Wolf Hall meets The Favourite in this beguiling debut novel that brilliantly brings to life the residents of a small English town in the grip of the seventeenth-century witch trials and the young woman tasked with saving them all from themselves.

England, 1643. Puritanical fervor has gripped the nation. And in Manningtree, a town depleted of men since the wars began, the hot terror of damnation burns in the hearts of women left to their own devices.

Rebecca West, fatherless and husbandless, chafes against the drudgery of her days, livened only occasionally by her infatuation with the handsome young clerk John Edes. But then a newcomer, who identifies himself as the Witchfinder General, arrives. A mysterious, pious figure dressed from head to toe in black, Matthew Hopkins takes over the Thorn Inn and begins to ask questions about what the women on the margins of this diminished community are up to. Dangerous rumors of covens, pacts, and bodily wants have begun to hang over women like Rebecca - and the future is as frightening as it is thrilling.

Brimming with contemporary energy and resonance, The Manningtree Witches plunges its readers into the fever and menace of the English witch trials, where suspicion, mistrust, and betrayal run amok as a nation's arrogant male institutions start to realize that the very people they've suppressed for so long may be about to rise up and claim their freedom."

I always like a modern sensibility on another time period so long as it's done right.

Death and Sensibility by Elizabeth Blake
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bookstore owner Erin Coleridge seeks the scoundrel who silenced a conference's keynote speaker in Elizabeth Blake's second charming Jane Austen Society mystery.

When the quaint English town of York hosts a Jane Austen Society conference, bookseller Erin Coleridge is glad to get out of Kirkbymoorside for a while - until featured speaker Barry Wolf suddenly perishes from what appears to be a heart attack.

Erin is suspicious, since Barry had no history of heart disease. But who did him in? Was it the decedent's assistant, Stephen, who was observed chatting to Barry's young wife Luca earlier that night? Might it have been Barry's ex-wife Judith, who was seen arguing with her erstwhile betrothed at the bar? Meanwhile, conference co-chairs Hetty and Prudence have been at one another's throat since the conference. Is one of them the culprit?

Matters of the heart are putting Erin off her guard. Both Detective Inspector Peter Hemming and schoolteacher Jonathan Alder have made gestures of romantic interest, but Erin isn't sure who is her Willoughby and who is her Colonel Brandon. DI Hemming tries to persuade Erin that her entanglement in the murder investigation is far from sensible, but his entreaties come to naught. Dauntlessly, Erin joins forces with Kirkbymoorside's cat lady, Farnsworth, to ferret out the guilty party."

Did you know there's a Jane Austen themed episode of Midsomer Murders? Well there is and this series makes me relive the love!

At Summer's End by Courtney Ellis
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When an ambitious female artist accepts an unexpected commission at a powerful earl's country estate in 1920s England, she finds his war-torn family crumbling under the weight of long-kept secrets. From debut author Courtney Ellis comes a captivating novel about finding the courage to heal after the ravages of war.

Alberta Preston accepts the commission of a lifetime when she receives an invitation from the Earl of Wakeford to spend a summer painting at His Lordship's country home, Castle Braemore. Bertie imagines her residence at the prodigious estate will finally enable her to embark on a professional career and prove her worth as an artist, regardless of her gender.

Upon her arrival, however, Bertie finds the opulent Braemore and its inhabitants diminished by the Great War. The earl has been living in isolation since returning from the trenches, locked away in his rooms and hiding battle scars behind a prosthetic mask. While his younger siblings eagerly welcome Bertie into their world, she soon sees chips in that world's gilded facade. As she and the earl develop an unexpected bond, Bertie becomes deeply entangled in the pain and secrets she discovers hidden within Castle Braemore and the hearts of its residents.

Threaded with hope, love, and loss, At Summer's End delivers a portrait of a noble family - and a world - changed forever by the war to end all wars."

I'm an artist, why doesn't anyone invite me to country estates? All I have is living vicariously through books

Chasing Manhattan by John Gray
Published by: Paraclete Press
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of Manchester Christmas comes a new adventure full of love, generosity, and heart-pounding intrigue.

Following the runaway success of her first novel, Chase Harrington is hiding in Manhattan. Assuming the visions from her past are behind her, Chase takes an assignment that lands her in the center of a new mystery surrounding a mansion known as Briarcliff Manor and deceased millionaire Sebastian Winthrop.

A letter, left by Sebastian, reveals three secrets surrounding the mansion where Chase is now living. Silent messages begin to appear, urging her to help those closest to her who are now in peril, including a deaf child shut away from the world and a war veteran still haunted by his past.

With her handsome boyfriend Gavin and faithful dog Scooter at her side, Chase must unlock the secrets of Briarcliff, help those she has come to love and face the surprise ending not even she saw coming.

This latest Chase Harrington adventure is so full of romance, kindness, mystery, and astounding twists and turns, it will leave you wanting to grab a flashlight and best friend, to go searching for clues in the dark."

Here for Briarcliff Manor!!!

The Other Me by Sarah Zachrich Jeng
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two lives. The one you wanted. The one that wanted you.

Her birthday should be like any other night.

One minute Kelly's a free-spirited artist in Chicago going to her best friend's art show. The next, she opens a door and mysteriously emerges in her Michigan hometown. Suddenly her life is unrecognizable: She's got twelve years of the wrong memories in her head and she's married to Eric, a man she barely knew in high school.

Racing to get back to her old life, Kelly's search leads only to more questions. In this life, she loves Eric and wants to trust him, but everything she discovers about him - including a connection to a mysterious tech startup - tells her she shouldn't. And strange things keep happening. The tattoos she had when she was an artist briefly reappear on her skin, she remembers fights with Eric that he says never happened, and her relationships with loved ones both new and familiar seem to change without warning.

But the closer Kelly gets to putting the pieces together, the more her reality seems to shift. And if she can't figure out what happened on her birthday, the next change could cost her everything..."

I love Sliding Doors like stories!

Paper and Blood by Kevin Hearne
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There's only one Al MacBharrais: Though other Scotsmen may have dramatic mustaches and a taste for fancy cocktails, Al also has a unique talent. He's a master of ink and sigil magic. In his gifted hands, paper and pen can work wondrous spells.

But Al isn't quite alone: He is part of a global network of sigil agents who use their powers to protect the world from mischievous gods and strange monsters. So when a fellow agent disappears under sinister circumstances in Australia, Al leaves behind the cozy pubs and cafes of Glasgow and travels to the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria to solve the mystery.

The trail to his colleague begins to pile up with bodies at alarming speed, so Al is grateful his friends have come to help - especially Nadia, his accountant who moonlights as a pit fighter. Together with a whisky-loving hobgoblin known as Buck Foi and the ancient Druid Atticus O'Sullivan, along with his dogs, Oberon and Starbuck, Al and Nadia will face down the wildest wonders Australia - and the supernatural world - can throw at them, and confront a legendary monster not seen in centuries."

Australia bound!

The Big Hurt by Erika Schickel
Published by: Liveright
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This complex memoir shows what it was like growing up in the shadow of a literary father and a neglectful mother, getting thrown out of boarding school after being seduced by a teacher, and all of the later-life consequences that ensue.

In 1982, Erika Schickel was expelled from her East Coast prep school for sleeping with a teacher. She was that girl - rebellious, precocious, and macking for love. Seduced, caught, and then whisked away in the night to avoid scandal, Schickel's provocative, searing, and darkly funny memoir, The Big Hurt, explores the question, How did that girl turn out?

Schickel came of age in the 1970s, the progeny of two writers: Richard Schickel, the prominent film critic for TIME magazine, and Julia Whedon, a melancholy mid-list novelist. In the wake of her parents' ugly divorce, Erika was packed off to a bohemian boarding school in the Berkshires.

The Big Hurt tells two coming-of-age stories: one of a lost girl in a predatory world, and the other of that girl grown up, who in reckoning with her past ends up recreating it with a notorious LA crime novelist, blowing up her marriage and casting herself into the second exile of her life.

The Big Hurt looks at a legacy of shame handed down through a maternal bloodline and the cost of epigenetic trauma. It shines a light on the haute culture of 1970s Manhattan that made girls grow up too fast. It looks at the long shadow cast by great, monstrously self-absorbed literary lives and the ways in which women pin themselves like beautiful butterflies to the spreading board of male ego."

It's James Ellroy if you got to that section and were wondering who it was like me!

Pumpkin Heads by Wendell Minor
Published by: Charlesbridge
Publication Date: August 10th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Halloween is time to pick pumpkins and carve them into pumpkin heads - jack-o'-lanterns of every shape and size!

Award-winning author and artist Wendell Minor uses simple language and striking autumn settings to celebrate jack-o'-lanterns in this reissue of a Halloween classic. The perfect holiday read aloud, Pumpkin Heads takes readers and trick-or-treaters from the pumpkin patch for picking, all the way home for carving, and gets everyone in the Halloween spirit."

The universal rule in my house is, if Wendell Minor had anything to do with the book it belongs on our bookshelves.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A.K. Blakemore, C.W. Gortner, Courtney Ellis, Elizabeth Blake, Erika Schickel, James Ellroy, Jane Austen, Jane Healey, John Gray, Kevin Hearne, M.J. Rose, Sarah Zachrich Jeng, Virginia Feito, Wendell Minor

I'm that person who picks apart a show as I'm watching it. What is happening, who is to blame. I don't just want to get to the bottom of it all before the reveal, I need to. So while I actually got the ending of Behind Her Eyes wrong I was technically right. Confusing no? But that's what Behind Her Eyes is all about. It's about gobbling up each and every clue you're given and trying to piece together the puzzle until at the end you didn't quite see it coming because it changed the rules while you weren't fully aware that it did. The show starts out with the classic comedy trope, what if you met a handsome stranger at a bar and you find out the next day he's your new boss? That's exactly what happens to Louise. The problem is her connection to David is electric. It doesn't matter that David is married, that Louise even ends up befriending his wife Adele behind his back, they are drawn to each other like magnets. Though Louise suspects that David doesn't understand his wife, but, for me, I knew from day one that Adele was the problem and David was right. Why else would she be so closely monitored and medicated by her husband? It didn't feel like control to me, it felt like barely maintained equilibrium. But while a three-hander show about infidelity isn't that original, this show has something else going for it, lucid dreaming. Yes, it might seem odd that the other aspect of a show about a torrid affair would be about lucid dreaming, but that's what sets this show apart. I have known about lucid dreaming as a cure for night terrors for years. But I'm actually able to exert some control in my dreams anyway and I'm not full into night terrors, but the possibility of complete control over your sleeping mind has always been interesting to me. So while Louise's dreams are kind of cartoonishly bad and then cartoonishly good, I mean, they're happy and Disney and she's in the land of the Teletubbies where there are no shadows... this is all leading somewhere deeper. It's not about the first door, it's about the second door. And it's all about Adele's past and her friend Rob who she met in rehab. Rob is the key. He's also an amazing actor. In a show with such a strong cast that boasts Tom Bateman and Eve Hewson, well, it's impressive that Robert Aramayo stands out. And yes, his real name is Rob too!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Affair, And the Emmy Goes To, Behind Her Eyes, Cartoonish, Disney, Eve Hewson, Infidelity, Lucid Dreaming, Netflix, Robert Aramayo, Sarah Pinborough, Teletubbies, Tom Bateman

As you all should know by know, I'm a bit of a Janeite. So when my friend Misty was putting the call out for posts for Austen in August I made my interest quite clear. Therefore go check out my post about Bridgerton today on her book The Book Rat!  

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Austen in August, Bridgerton, Jane Austen, Janeite, Misty, The Book Rat

Now I do understand that changes are necessary for an adaptation to be successful. But that comes with the caveat that you have to maintain the spirit of the book. Just look to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and it's adaptation! A perfect pair without being carbon copies. The reason I mention Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is because that is a book I am fanatically devoted to, much as I am to Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries. Seeing as I just fell in love with this book last year I didn't know that it's one of those books that was viewed as unadaptable, and this adaptation kind of proves the point. The nonlinear narrative and large cast of characters were viewed as the primary stumbling blocks. So this adaptation decided to hone in on five characters to the detriment of all others. This also brought the two female leads into a more prominent role, which, given that it aired on Starz, is kind of their M.O., but it just didn't work. They need to be mysterious, but as you'll see below, they apparently don't like mysteries. In fact, aside from the casting, nothing about this adaptation worked. I want to do my own Snyder Cut on this because it could work, if it was entirely reconceptualized. The book works because it's a mystery you're working to solve along with the characters. Here there was literally no mystery. Unless you count the missing heart of the book in this adaptation as a mystery. Gone was the nonlinear narrative and instead everything was told step by step from beginning to end with a few glimpses into the future. We know from day one that Anna and Emery are "astral twins" and the mystery of their connection is just swept aside as a given instead of a riddle to be solved. Instead of trying to find out the mystery of the gold found in Crosbie Wells's cottage we just follow the gold around New Zealand as it changes hands. Boring. Also, the machinations of Francis Carver are laid out so simply and so plainly that you don't see the evil and the Machiavellian scheming playing out. You don't see him as the center of a vast conspiracy that unfolds over time. I just am baffled by this adaptation in that they had the building blocks and they made this!?! Why!?! Perhaps we'll never know, much like what kind of accent Eva Green was trying to accomplish.      

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, And the Emmy Goes To, Crosbie Wells, Eleanor Catton, Eva Green, Eve Hewson, Francis Carver, Himesh Patel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Mystery, New Zealand, Snyder Cut, Starz, The Luminaries

Death in Castle Dark by Veronica Bond
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Actor Nora Blake finds her dream job when she is cast in a murder-mystery troupe that performs in an imposing but captivating old castle. When she stumbles upon a real murder, things take a nightmarish turn in this first book in an exciting new series.

Maybe it was too good to be true, but when Nora Blake accepted the job from Derek Corby, proprietor of Castle Dark, she could not see any downsides. She would sink her acting chops into the troupe’s intricately staged murder-mystery shows, earn free room and board in the fairy tale - like castle, and make friends with her new roommates, which include some seriously adorable kittens.

But something sinister lurks behind the walls of Castle Dark. During Nora’s second performance, one of her castmates plays the part of the victim a little too well. So well, in fact, that no one can revive him. He has been murdered. Not ready to give up her dream gig - or to be the next victim - Nora sets out to see which one of her fellow actors has taken the role of a murderous real-life villain."

It's like Austenland's darker sequel, Midnight in Austenland!

Murder Always Barks Twice by Jennifer Hawkins
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A charming tea room owner and her excitable talking corgi will need to work together to bring a killer to heel in this delightful cozy mystery.

For ex-accountant Emma Reed and her beloved corgi, Oliver, opening Reed's Classic Tea and Cakes in the idyllic village of Trevena in Cornwall has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Her cakes are popular, she has a host of wonderful new friends, and even a potential new romance. There's even time left over for plenty of long country walks with Oliver, who is not only the cutest corgi on record (at least to Emma), he happens to talk (at least to Emma). What could be better?

How about being asked to help cater the local Daphne Du Maurier literary festival?

But when the festival organizer is found dead and foul play is suspected, Emma, Oliver and their friends are plunged deep into a poisonous mix of village jealousy, family tension, money troubles, and secret love affairs. Emma quickly realizes it's up to her and her intrepid corgi to discover a canny killer whose bite is worse than their bark."

I want to live in a world with corgi crime solvers and Daphne Du Maurier literary festivals! I've watched enough Midsomer Murders to hopefully survive!

Escape to Honeysuckle Hall by Rebecca Raisin
Published by: HQ Digital
Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021
Format: Kindle, 258 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A fresh start brings a second chance at love...

When Orly’s boyfriend and business partner dumps her for a celebrity fling, she finds solace in tacos, tequila and tears. One terrible hangover later, she’s packed her bags and swapped her London apartment for the overgrown grounds of Honeysuckle Hall.

After years spent catering to others’ whims, Orly is going after what she wants: a simpler life, surrounded by nature. Her plan to set up countryside retreats for burned-out city-dwellers means she soon has the social life she’s been dreaming of – and gorgeous carpenter Leo is always around when she needs something fixed...

As Orly’s new life blossoms, so does her friendship with Leo, and she wonders if she’s finally found somewhere to put down roots - until she discovers a series of anonymous notes, warning her off. Was she wrong to trust Leo? Or is someone else trying to sabotage her future?

A heartwarming romance full of humour and friendship, perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and Holly Martin."

I want to ditch my apartment and go to Honeysuckle Hall as well! At least I can through my frequent flyer miles with armchair air!

Her Heart for a Compass by Sarah Ferguson
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From one of the most famous former members of the British royal family, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York  - a mesmerizing novel of a young noblewoman’s coming-of-age that richly details both high society and low in Victorian England.

Queen Victoria’s close friend, the Scottish Duke of Buccleuch, Lady Margaret Montagu Scott is expected to make an advantageous marriage. But Margaret is an impulsive and outspoken girl in a repressive society where women are, quite literally, caged in corsets and required to conform.

When Lady Margaret’s parents arrange a society marriage for her, she tries to reconcile herself to the match. But shortly before her betrothal is announced, Margaret flees, leaving her parents to explain her sudden absence to an opulent ballroom stuffed with two hundred distinguished guests.

Banished from polite society, Margaret throws herself into charitable work and finds strength in a circle of female friends like herself - women intent on breaking the mold, including Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise. Margaret resolves to follow her heart - a journey of self-discovery that will take her to Ireland, America, and then back to Britain where she finds the life she was always meant to lead.

A bold and thoughtful story about a rebellious woman finding herself and her voice in an age of astounding technological change and great social unrest, Her Heart for a Compass is a delicious costume drama rich in atmosphere, history, and color."

Fergie wrote a book!?! And OK, I'm REALLY behind on the times because she's written a TON of books! Also, Diana Rigg played the Duchess of Buccleuch on Victoria!

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dark, twisty, atmospheric thriller about a centuries-old, ivy-covered boarding school haunted by its history of witchcraft and two girls dangerously close to digging up the past. The fierce and dangerous romance and evocative setting makes it a perfect read for Pride month and for fans of dark academia vibes.

Felicity Morrow is back at the Dalloway School to finish her senior year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students - girls some say were witches.

Felicity was once drawn to the dark legacy of witchcraft. She's determined to leave that behind her now; but it's hard when Dalloway's occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won't let her forget it.

It's Ellis Haley's first year at Dalloway. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can't shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can't say no. And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway - and in herself."

Haunted boarding school? Yes please!

Where the Truth Lies by Anna Bailey
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a teenaged girl disappears from an insular small town, all of the community’s most devastating secrets come to light in this stunningly atmospheric and slow-burning suspense novel - perfect for fans of Megan Miranda and Celeste Ng.

The town of Whistling Ridge guards its secrets.

When seventeen-year-old Abigail goes missing, her best friend Emma, compelled by the guilt of leaving her alone at a party in the woods, sets out to discover the truth about what happened. The police initially believe Abi ran away, but Emma doesn't believe that her friend would leave without her, and when officers find disturbing evidence in the nearby woods, the festering secrets and longstanding resentment of both Abigail’s family and the people of Whistling Ridge, Colorado begin to surface with devastating consequences.

Among those secrets: Abi's older brother Noah’s passionate, dangerous love for the handsome Rat, a recently arrived Romanian immigrant who has recently made his home in the trailer park in town; her younger brother Jude's feeling that he knows information he should tell the police, if only he could put it into words; Abi's father's mercurial, unpredictable rages and her mother's silence. Then there is the rest of Whistling Ridge, where a charismatic preacher advocates for God's love in language that mirrors violence, under the sway of the powerful businessman who rules the town, insular and wary of outsiders.

But Abi had secrets, too, and the closer Emma grows to unraveling the past, the farther she feels from her friend. And in a tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark - the truth of what really happened that night - to change their community forever."

I am ALL IN for mysteries tearing small towns apart!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anna Bailey, Corgis, Daphne Du Maurier, Diana Rigg, England, Fergie, Jennifer Hawkins, Midnight in Austenland, Murder, Mystery, Rebecca Raisin, Sarah Verguson, Tuesday Tomorrow, Veronica Bond, Victoria Lee