Tuesday Tomorrow
VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"For fans of The Once and Future Witches and Practical Magic, comes an incredibly imaginative, highly anticipated new novel featuring witches, magic, and a road trip across America - from Cherie Dimaline, the critically acclaimed author of Empire of Wild.
Métis millennial Lucky St. James is barely hanging on when she learns she'll be evicted from the tiny Toronto apartment she shares with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella. But then one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. She burrows through a wall to find a tarnished silver spoon, humming with otherworldly energy, etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM.
Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon connects her to a teeming network of witches across North America who have anxiously awaited her discovery.
Enter VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money (its name is an anagram of "coven.") VenCo's witches hide in plain sight wherever women gather: Tupperware parties, Mommy and Me classes, suburban book clubs. Since colonial times, they have awaited the moment the seven spoons will come together and ignite a new era, returning women to their rightful power.
But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He's Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.
To find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where the final showdown will determine whether VenCo will usher in a new beginning…or remain underground forever.
A wildly imaginative and compulsively readable fantasia of adventure, history, Americana, feminism, and magic, VenCo is a novel only the supremely gifted Cherie Dimaline could write."
Dammit, I knew my book club could be something more!
The Spite House by Johnny Compton
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father's love, Johnny Compton's The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making - The Babadook meets A Head Full of Ghosts in Texas Hill Country.
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he's desperate for money - it's not easy to find steady, safe work when you can't provide references, you can't stay in one place for long, and you're paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.
When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house's horrors don't drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.
The job calls to Eric, not just because there's a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it'll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running."
Think how bad things must be to accept this bargain?
The Twisted Dead by Darcy Coates
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Keira must decide if she should use her ability to contact ghosts to help the man who once tried to kill her.
Hunted and haunted, all she wants is to put her mysterious past behind her and move forward with her new friends as Blighty Graveyard's groundskeeper. But then she receives an invitation to dinner at the local recluse's crumbling ancestral estate. The mansion is steeped in history that is equal parts complicated and bloody - and at its center is the man who once tried to kill her, now begging for her help.
Dane Crispin believes his home is haunted - and that the unquiet dead clawing through the ancient house are after him. Unnerved but intrigued, Keira opens her second sight and discovers he's right: resentful specters cling to Dane…and if she can't find a way to stop them, threaten to consume everything in their path.
There's something dark happening in the world beyond most peoples' vision, and if Keira isn't able to sever the ties between the living and the dead, the chained spirits may not be the only things twisted beyond saving."
If it wasn't a "fate of the world" situation I'd let the ghosts have him!
Such Pretty Flowers by K.L. Cerra
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A woman investigating her brother's apparent suicide finds herself falling for her prime suspect - his darkly mysterious girlfriend - in this "creepy, compelling, and utterly original" (Karen Dionne) thriller.
"Get it out of me."
It was the last message Holly received from her brother, Dane, before he was found cleaved open in the lavish Savannah townhouse of his girlfriend, Maura. Police ruled his death a suicide sparked by psychosis, but Holly can't shake the idea that something else must have happened - something involving another message he sent earlier that night about a "game" Maura wanted to play.
Determined to discover the truth, Holly begins to stalk Maura, a magnetic, black-eyed florist with a penchant for carnivorous plants. But what begins as an investigation quickly veers into a fixation that lures Holly into the depths of Maura's world: Savannah high society, eerie black roses, and a whisper of something more sinister. Soon Holly is feeling a dark attraction to the one woman she shouldn't trust. As Holly falls deeper for Maura and her secrets, she's left with only one choice: find out what happened to Dane or meet the same fate."
Rule number one, don't fall for anyone your sibling dated.
Never Too Old to Save the World edited by Alana Joli Abbot and Addie J. King
Published by: Outland Entertainment
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 318 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Once every generation there is a Chosen One, who will stand between humanity and darkness.
But why is the Chosen One so often a teenager? Why do only children get swept through portals to save the fantastic world on the other side? Whose idea was it to put the fate of the world in the hands of someone without a fully developed prefrontal cortex?
In Never Too Old to Save the World, nineteen authors explore what would happen if the Chosen One were called midlife. What would happen if the Chosen One were:
a soccer mom
a cat lady
a nosy grandmother
a social worker
a retiree
an aging swordmaster?
The Chosen One could be anyone - because when the universe calls, the real question is whether the hero will take up the mantle and answer their midlife calling. Sometimes the world needs a hero who's already been in the thick of chaos and survived. In those cases, age does matter."
Not that I'm willing to admit I'm in my midlife, I just love this concept so much. Think how experience could help in an end of the world/Chosen One situation?
Victory City by Salman Rushdie
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, only to be consumed by it over the centuries - from the transcendent imagination of Booker Prize - winning, internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie.
In the wake of an unimportant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for her namesake, the goddess Pampa, who begins to speak out of the girl's mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana's comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga - "victory city" - the wonder of the world.
Over the next 250 years, Pampa Kampana's life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga's, from its literal sowing from a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into existence, Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that the goddess set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex tapestry - with Pampa Kampana at its center.
Brilliantly styled as a translation of an ancient epic, Victory City is a saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling."
Seriously, how did Rushdie NOT get a Noble Peace Prize last year?
Love a Lady at Midnight by Charlie Lane
Published by: Independently Published
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Kindles
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this sizzling Regency romance by USA Today Bestselling author Charlie Lane, a lady with a secret runs from the gentleman who loves her.
She's not who she says she is.
Shadows, secrets, and Jackson Cavendish - all things Miss Gwendolyn Smith runs from. She's determined to live a life of obscurity, studying dusty tomes. Better that steady present than her haunting past or a future she cannot have. When a letter arrives that threatens her secrets and Jackson tells her he's done waiting, she must choose - face her past and gain a future? Or continue running from both.
He fell first, but he'll win at last.
Mr. Jackson Cavendish has chased Gwendolyn for six years but only caught her once. In Paris at midnight. He'll never forget what she felt like in his arms. And he's determined to repeat the experience. Every night for the rest of their lives. But how to convince the woman he loves to trust him with her secrets?
He's tried seduction.
He's tried retreat.
Now he'll have to reveal his own fears and secret guilt.
When these two scholars must dig into their own pasts, they'll learn how to build a future from it or lose each other forever."
Aw, romantic scholars and their secrets!
Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Of Manners and Murder is the first in the delightful new Dear Miss Hermione mystery series from Anastasia Hastings.
1885: London, England. When Violet's Aunt Adelia decides to abscond with her newest paramour, she leaves behind her role as the most popular Agony Aunt in London, "Miss Hermione," in Violet's hands.
And of course, the first letter Violet receives is full, not of prissy pondering, but of portent. Ivy Armstrong is in need of help and fears for her life. But when Violet visits the village where the letters were posted, she finds that Ivy is already dead.
She'll quickly discover that when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in Britain, both marauding husbands and murder are par for the course."
Because solving crimes are second nature to solving problems for Agony Aunts! Even if it's a role that's thrust upon you!
The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In 1911, Mabel MacGinnis is Europe's strongest woman and has performed beside her father in the Manzo Brothers Circus her entire life. But at his unexpected death, she loses everything she's ever known and sets off in the company of acrobat Jake Cunningham for America in hope of finding the mother she's just discovered is still alive.
Isabella Moreau, the nation's most feted aerialist, has given everything to the circus. But age and injury now threaten her security, and Isabella, stalked by old fears, makes a choice that risks everything. When her daughter Mabel appears alongside the man who never wanted to see Isabella again, Isabella is forced to face the truth of where, and in what, she derives her worth.
In this evocative novel from Kimberly Duffy, the meaning of strength takes center stage as the lives of three circus performers become entangled beneath the glittering lights and flying trapeze of Madison Square Garden."
I'm a sucker for circuses, of the olden thyme variety.
Double the Lies by Patricia Raybon
Published by: Tyndale House Publishers
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In the cold and dangerous spring of 1924, amateur detective Annalee Spain races the clock to solve the murder of a white barnstorming pilot before the clever Black theologian - a target of the ruthless Colorado Klan - is framed for the crime, and before she is lured by the risky flirtations of the victim's dashing twin brother.
As this second installment of Patricia Raybon's critically acclaimed mystery series opens, Annalee Spain offers her fancy lace handkerchief - a gift from her complicated pastor boyfriend, Jack Blake - to a young woman crying in a Denver public library. But later that night, when police find the handkerchief next to the body of the young woman's murdered husband, Annalee becomes the number one suspect, and her panic doubles when she learns that Jack has gone missing.
With just days to solve the murder before the city's Klan-run police frame her for the crime, Annalee finds herself hunting for clues in the Colorado mountain town of Estes Park. She questions the victim's wife and her uncle, a wealthy Denver banker, at their mountain lodge, desperate for leads. Instead, she finds a household full of suspects and even more burning questions. Who keeps threatening her, why can't she find Jack, and will a dangerous flirtation be her undoing? Her answers plumb the depths of the human heart, including her own, exploring long-buried secrets, family lies, even city politics - all of which could cost the young detective her fledgling love...and perhaps even her life."
Tell me more about this households whose secret depths she must plumb?
Death by a Cornish Cove by Fliss Chester
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 289 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A seaside party at a Cornish mansion with plenty of fizz, what could be more perfect? But something fishy is afoot…a killer lurks among the guests, and only Cressida Fawcett can stop them.
When Cressida Fawcett is invited to stay at Penbeagle House on the Cornish coast for a fancy-dress ball, she is looking forward to sipping rum cocktails clad as a pirate, watching the red-sailed boats go by and relaxing in the sea air with her good friend Dotty. But before they can raise their glasses to toast Cressida’s former flame Lord Canterbury's engagement, he drops dead in front of the horrified guests.
The local doctor determines that Lord Canterbury was poisoned, and soon Detective Chief Inspector Andrews is on his way from Scotland Yard. But Cressida is dismayed by the murder of the intrepid explorer who once asked for her hand in marriage, and she cannot simply leave the case to the police. Together with Dotty and her little pug Ruby, Cressida searches for clues only to discover that many of the guests have a motive for murder. Did an irate journalist or a bitter fellow explorer send Lord Canterbury on his untimely final journey?
And when a young maid is found dead, floating in the shimmering waters of the cove, Cressida knows time is running out to catch the killer. Could aclue hidden among some rather pungent crab sandwiches help her solve the case before there is another murder?
A witty and totally addictive cozy mystery packed with intrigue and glamour. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss."
A fancy-dress ball in Cornwall? Yes please!
Post After Post-Mortem by E.C.R. Lorac
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
""Now tell us about your crime novel. Take my advice and don't try to be intellectual over it. What the public likes is blood."
The Surrays and their five children form a prolific writing machine, with scores of treatises, reviews, and crime thrillers published under their family name. Following a rare convergence of the whole household at their Oxfordshire home, Ruth - middle sister who writes "books which are just books" - decides to spend some weeks there recovering from the pressures of the writing life, while the rest of the brood scatter to the winds again. Their next return is heralded by the tragic news that Ruth has taken her life after an evening at the Surrays's hosting a set of publishers and writers, one of whom is named as Ruth's literary executor in the will she left behind.
Despite some suspicions from the family, the verdict at the inquest is suicide - but when Ruth's brother Richard receives a letter from the deceased which was delayed in the post, he enlists the help of CID Robert Macdonald to investigate what could only be an ingeniously planned murder."
Poisoned Pen Press delivers again with another forgotten British Crime Classic!
The Sanctuary by Katrine Engberg
Published by: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 3536 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From internationally bestselling author Katrine Engberg, the series that is a "gripping addition to the Scandinavian crime fiction pantheon" (Oprah Daily) comes to a stunning conclusion as Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner rush to untangle a long-simmering mystery before a brutal killer strikes again.
Jeppe Kørner, on leave from the police force and nursing a broken heart, has taken refuge on the island of Bornholm for the winter. Also on the island is Esther de Laurenti, a writer working on a biography on a female anthropologist with a mysterious past and coming to terms with her own crushing sense of loneliness in the wake of a dear friend’s death. When Jeppe lends a helping hand at the island’s local sawmill, he begins to realize that the island may not be the peaceful refuge it appears to be.
Back in Copenhagen, Anette Werner is tasked with leading the investigation into a severed corpse discovered on a downtown playground. As she follows the strange trail of clues, they all seem to lead back to Bornholm. With an innocent offer to check out a lead, Jeppe unwittingly finds himself in the crosshairs of a sinister mystery rooted in the past, forcing him to team up with Anette and Esther to unravel the island’s secrets before it’s too late.
With her signature "unforgettable characters and brilliant plot twists" (Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Katrine Engberg weaves a satisfying and white-knuckled finale to her Korner and Werner series that is a modern classic of Scandinavian noir."
When you need to remove yourself in an island refuge, you know things are about to go down.
I'm Not Charlotte Lucas by Kasey Stockton
Published by: Covenant Communications
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Northern California girl Charlotte "Charlie" Lucas has two great loves: Diet Coke and Pride and Prejudice. But her passion for Regency classics is tempered by a very real fear: Charlie is terrified of having to endure the fate of her namesake - spinsterhood. Despite her best attempts to maintain a modern sensibility, she can't say no when an elderly neighbor asks Charlie to attend a charity ball with her grandson. Blind date or not, Charlie is powerless to resist the allure of a real-life ball. Soon it's clear that she will struggle to resist the charms of her blind date too.
Liam Connell is every bit the swoon-worthy leading man, straight out of Charlie's daydreams. But he's completely unattainable - his last girlfriend was a gorgeous actress and a far cry from Charlie's world. So after a magical evening with Liam, Charlie is ready to get back to reality, even if her best option right now is a former boyfriend who wants to give it another shot. Unfortunately, despite imagining she’'l never see Liam again, he seems to be everywhere. How is a lady to move past a fantasy when life suddenly seems to be imitating fiction to an alarming degree?"
I'm sorry, but everyone should EMBRACE the Charlotte Lucas within, and be pragmatic but also hope for love.
Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes by Colleen Gleason
Published by: Oliver Heber Books
Publication Date: February 7th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 227 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Jacqueline Finch and her mystical, magical bookshop is back in this third entry of the bestselling Three Tomes Bookshop series!
Spring is in full swing in lakefront Button Cove, and Jacqueline is embracing her new life - her friends, her new home, the crones down the street, and especially the detective with a hot-Viking vibe. It's not half bad, considering the fact that she has the bickering literary characters of Mrs. Hudson (Sherlock's landlady) and the dour, creepy housekeeper Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca "helping" her to run the bookshop, and her nemesis Egala Stone is opening her own store down the block.
And then there's the handsome new undertaker - er, mortician - who's taken over the town funeral parlor and who has all the women ga-ga over him - including Jacqueline's friends. Things get a little weird when Detective Massermey's daughter seeks out help from Jacqueline, but surely she can handle that...right?
But when an old book falls off the shelf, signaling the arrival of yet another literary character Jacqueline has to deal with, and strange accidents and thefts begin to happen in Button Cove, Jacqueline once again finds herself in a big, fat mess."
Few things make me happier than a new Colleen Gleason book!
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