Monday, March 6, 2023

Tuesday Tomorrow

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award - nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Veronica's natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party.

Tiberius has received a cryptic message - along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners - that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate.

As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening's events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that has led to the fatal present. But the truth might be far more sinister than what they were prepared for."

Time to cheer, the new Deanna Raybourn is here!

A Most Intriguing Lady by Sarah Ferguson
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, a sweeping, romantic compulsively readable historical saga about a Duke's daughter - the perfect Victorian lady - who secretly moonlights as an amateur sleuth for high society's inner circle.

Victorian London was notorious for its pickpockets. But in the country houses of the elite, gentleman burglars, art thieves and con men preyed on the rich and titled. Wealthy victims - with their pride and reputation at stake - would never go to the police. What they needed was a society insider, one of their own, a person of discretion and finely tuned powers of observation, adept at navigating intrigue.

That person was Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, the youngest child of Queen Victoria's close friends the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. Bookish, fiercely intelligent, and a keen observer, Mary has deliberately cultivated a mousey persona that allows her to remain overlooked and significantly underestimated by all. It’s the perfect cover for a sleuth, a role she stumbles into when trying to assist a close friend during a house party hosted by her parents at their stately Scottish home, Drumlanrig Castle.

It is at this party where Lady Mary also meets Colonel Walter Trefusis, a distinguished and extremely handsome war veteran. Tortured by memories of combat, Walter, like Mary, lives a double life, with a desk job in Whitehall providing a front for his role in the British Intelligence Service. The two form an unlikely alliance to solve a series of audacious crimes - and indulge in a highly charged on-off romance.

Pacy, romantic, and fun, A Most Intriguing Lady documents one remarkable woman's ability to be both the perfect lady, and a perfectly talented detective...and, of course, to find love too."

Is it wrong that if I were to ask her a question I'd be more interested in the welfare of the corgis than in this book, which does sound fascinating.

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about truth, illusion and the grave risks women will take to avenge the ones they love.

May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium...

1873. At an abandoned ch teau on the outskirts of Paris, a dark's seance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister's death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London's exclusive Seance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves..."

Here's the thing, I LOVE reading about seances, probably because I'm not stupid enough to ever be a part of one.

My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron
Published by: Feiwel amd Friends
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teen boy tries to discover the reason behind his best friend's disappearance - and the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic stranger - in misty Victorian London, in Kalynn Bayron's My Dear Henry, a Gothic YA remix of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, sixth in the Remixed Classics series.

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life - and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll - was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry's expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry's relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn't want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what's become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can't help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry's apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog - and not all of them are out for blood..."

I'm all about Jekyll and Hyde reinterpretations and this one is an entirely new take!

One Extra Corpse by Barbara Hambly
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hollywood intrigue, glamor...and murder: Enter the roaring twenties in this thrilling Silver Screen historical mystery, starring two very different female sleuths.

May, 1924. It's been seven months since young British widow Emma Blackstone arrived in Hollywood to serve as companion to Kitty Flint: her beautiful, silent-movie star sister-in-law. Kitty is generous, kind-hearted...and a truly terrible actress. Not that Emma minds; she's too busy making her academic parents turn in their graves with her new job writing painfully historically inaccurate scenarios for Foremost Studios, in between wrangling their leading lady out of the arms of her army of amorous suitors.

So when one of Kitty's old flames, renowned film director Ernst Zapolya, calls Emma and tells her it's imperative he meet with Kitty that morning, she's not surprised. Until, that is, he adds that lives depend on it. Ernst sounds frightened. But what can have scared him so badly - and what on earth does cheerful, flighty Kitty have to do with it?

Only Ernst can provide the answers, and Kitty and Emma travel to the set of his extravagant new movie to find them. But the shocking discovery they make there only raises further questions...including: will they stay alive long enough to solve the murderous puzzle?"

Hollywoodland calls to me. Always.

Weyward by Emilia Hart
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha's mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives - and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world."

Can I go to a cottage and transform through the power of the natural world?

The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"By turns suspenseful and enchanting, this breathtaking first novel weaves a story of love, family, history, and myth as seen through the eyes of one immortal woman.

Collette LeSange is a lonely artist who heads an elite fine arts school for children in upstate New York. Her youthful beauty masks the dark truth of her life: she has endured centuries of turmoil and heartache in the wake of her grandfather's long-ago decision to make her immortal like himself. Now in 1984, Collette finds her life upended by the arrival of a gifted child from a troubled home, the return of a stalking presence from her past, and her own mysteriously growing hunger.

Combining brilliant prose with breathtaking suspense, Jacqueline Holland's The God of Endings serves as a larger exploration of the human condition in all its complexity, asking us the most fundamental question: is life in this world a gift or a curse?"

I always find the concept of immortality one that needs to be read and explored in as many ways as is possible.

A Man Among Ghosts by Steven Hopstaken
Published by: Flame Tree Press
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"You'll love this if you like the movie Jacob's Ladder, Stephen King's The Dead Zone or Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.

After surviving a near-death experience, David finds himself haunted by ghosts in the old Victorian house he is renovating. These tortured souls beg for his help and offer him protection from a demonic presence that wants David dead for a crime he doesn't remember committing. Even more surprising, he soon learns these are spirits of people who are not yet dead. Is this real, is he hallucinating, or is someone trying to drive him insane? As his paranoia ramps up, he discovers the truth is even more bizarre. The haunting won't stop until he kills a man named "Fitz.""

Oh, insanity or haunting or both? 

Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Ripley Jones's Missing Clarissa is a gripping novel about two friends who start a true crime podcast - with dangerous consequences.

In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her - who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa’s beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found - dead or alive.

Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what - or who - happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa's relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode...

But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man - and help the true killer walk free?"

Fictional true crime is my new jam because I get the true crime aspect but I am also guaranteed a solution.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Only Murders in the Building meets The Maid in this darkly beguiling locked-room mystery where someone turns up dead on the set of TV's hottest baking competition - perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman, and Anthony Horowitz.

Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for "Bake Week" but also the childhood home of the show's famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as "America's Grandmother," Betsy Martin isn't as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it's merely sabotage - sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high - but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut."

Because everyone who is a fan of GBBO has been wanting that extra element of murder... 

The Medici Manuscript by C.J. Archer
Published by: C.J. Archer
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 286 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One book can change your life.

Finding an old manuscript in the attic has always been a fantasy of Sylvia's. She just never expected the fantasy to come true, or for it to lead her to answers about her mysterious family.

The silver clasps binding the pages contain rare magic - the same magic that might run through Sylvia's veins. To discover a link to her ancestors means understanding the book itself, but it's written in a code that proves difficult to crack. The only thing she knows for certain is that it was once owned by the Medicis, the powerful family that controlled Renaissance Florence.

With the help of Gabe and his friends, Sylvia investigates the book's origins. But following the clues throws up more questions - questions they need help answering. Trusting others is not Sylvia's strong suit, but with Gabe at her side, she becomes capable and confident. Until their trust is shattered when the book is stolen.

Uncovering the thief proves dangerous, particularly when someone is also trying to kidnap Gabe. With his own mysteries to unravel, Gabe's private life becomes more complicated. Sylvia tries to keep her distance but staying away from someone as magnetic as Gabe is impossible.

With so many distractions, can they find the thief before the book is lost forever? Or will the secrets contained within its pages remain unsolved and will Sylvia's past continue to be a mystery?"

Who doesn't want to have their past unlocked by a magical book owned by some of the most famous people in history?

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries brings us Birnam Wood, a gripping thriller of high drama and kaleidoscopic insight into what drives us to survive.

Birnam Wood is on the move...

Five years ago, Mira Bunting founded a guerrilla gardening group: Birnam Wood. An undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic gathering of friends, this activist collective plants crops wherever no one will notice: on the sides of roads, in forgotten parks and neglected backyards. For years, the group has struggled to break even. Then Mira stumbles on an answer, a way to finally set the group up for the long term: a landslide has closed the Korowai Pass, cutting off the town of Thorndike. Natural disaster has created an opportunity, a sizable farm seemingly abandoned.

But Mira is not the only one interested in Thorndike. Robert Lemoine, an enigmatic American billionaire, has snatched it up to build his end-times bunker - or so he tells Mira when he catches her on the property. Intrigued by Mira, Birnam Wood, and their entrepreneurial spirit, he suggests they work this land. But can they trust him? And, as their ideals and ideologies are tested, can they trust each other?

A gripping psychological thriller from the Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton's Birnam Wood is Shakespearean in its drama, Austenian in its wit, and, like both influences, fascinated by what makes us who we are. A brilliantly constructed study of intentions, actions, and consequences, it is a mesmerizing, unflinching consideration of the human impulse to ensure our own survival."

After I read The Luminaries I will never not read an Eleanor Catton book.

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A legendary YA debut. This dazzling sapphic fantasy inspired by Greek mythology will captivate fans of Circe and The Song of Achilles.

Each spring, Ithaca condemns twelve maidens to the noose. This is the price vengeful Poseidon demands for the lives of Queen Penelope’s twelve maids, hanged and cast into the depths centuries ago.

But when that fate comes for Leto, death is not what she thought it would be. Instead, she wakes on a mysterious island and meets a girl with green eyes and the power to command the sea. A girl named Melantho, who says one more death can stop a thousand.

The prince of Ithaca must die - or the tides of fate will drown them all.

Sarah Underwood weaves an epic tapestry of lies, love, and tragedy, perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Alexandra Bracken, and RenƩe Ahdieh."

I real physical arc of this book showed up on my doorstep and it really, truly, made my day.

Mr. and Mrs. Witch by Gwenda Bond
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Mr. and Mrs. Witch, the next novel from bestselling author Gwenda Bond, a couple discovers at the altar the surprising secret identities they've kept from each other.

Savannah Wilde is a witch, a very powerful one - an identity that only her fellow witches know. Following a whirlwind romance that surprised herself and her family, Savvy is all set to marry the love of her life. But she isn’t the only one with a secret that needs to be kept, even from her soon-to-be husband.

Griffin Carter is a top agent for a clandestine organization that, well, used to primarily hunt witches, but now mainly tries to shut down supernatural threats their own way. He can’t wait to lay his eyes on the woman he’s about to spend the rest of his life with.

As Savvy walks down the aisle to Griffin, the wedding quickly goes from blessed day to shit show when their true identities are revealed. To say there’s bad blood between their factions is putting it mildly. Savvy and Griffin are tasked to take the other out, but when they discover a secret that could take down both of their agencies, they realize the only way to survive is to team up. With assassins hot on their trail, will Savvy and Griffin make it out alive to try again at 'I do'?"

Love the author. Love the concept. Hate the cover so much.

Instinct edited by L.J. Hachmeister
Published by: Source 7 Productions, LLC
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 342 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Danger. Evil. Death. Heroes can face it all, but they cannot do it alone.

Throughout history, creatures both big and small have stood alongside heroes and helped them through trying times, whether on the battlefield or in their laps. In these brand-new stories, seventeen bestselling authors regale us with adventures of animal companions and how they often are the ones rescuing the rescuer.

New stories by / in the world of

Jim Butcher - from The Dresden Files
Faith Hunter - from Jane Yellowrock
Patricia Briggs - from Mercy Thompson
Seanan McGuire - standalone
L. E. Modesitt - from Archform: Beauty and Flash
Kelley Armstrong - from Cainsville
L. J. Hachmeiste - from the Triorion Universe/Laws of Attraction
Sam Knight - from The Abandoned Lands
Eliza Eveland - from Talons and Tethers
Hailey Edwards - from The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy
D. J. Butler - from Abbott in Darkness
Lucienne Diver - from The Latter-Day Olympians
A. J. Hartley - from The Bowescroft Series
Alex Erickson - from Furever Pets
John Hartness - from Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter
R.R. Virdi - from Tales of Tremaine
Jennifer Blackstream - from Blood Trails

Purchasing this book saves a puppy’s life! Book sale profits are donated to: Lifeline Puppy Rescue."

I mean, I'd buy this just for Patricia Briggs and the cause, but all the other authors? This book is stacked!

Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seanan McGuire's New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated urban fantasy InCryptid series continues with the twelfth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us.

Reunion, noun:
1. The state of being united again.

Reconciliation, noun:
1. An act of reconciling, as when former enemies agree to an amiable truce.
2. The process of making consistent or compatible.
3. See also "impossible."

Alice Price-Healy gave up her life for fifty years to focus completely on the search for her missing husband. The danger of focus like that is that it leaves little room for thinking about what happens after…and now that she’s finally managed to find Thomas, she has no idea what she’s supposed to do next. The fact that he comes with a surrogate daughter who may or may not have some connection to Alice’s recently adopted grandson is just icing on the complicated cake.

So the three of them are heading for the most complicated place in the universe: they're going home.

But things on Earth have changed while Alice, Thomas, and Sally have been away. The Covenant of St. George, antagonized by Verity's declaration of war and Sarah's temporary relocation of an entire college campus, is trying to retake North America from the cryptids and cryptozoologists who've been keeping the peace for the past hundred years. And they’re starting in New York.

Alice and company have barely been back for an hour before the Ocean Lady and the Queen of the Routewitches are sending them to New York to help, and they find themselves embroiled in the politics of dragons, kidnappings, and of course, the most dangerous people of all: family.

Getting "back to normal" may be the hardest task Alice has undertaken yet."

Seanan's fiftieth release of the year. I kid. Slightly. OK, it's only the third if you include the anthology above, but that's already one a month!

The Curator by Owen King
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Owen King comes a Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are revered as religious figures, thieves are noble, scholars are revolutionaries, and conjurers are the most wonderful criminals you can imagine.

It begins in an unnamed city nicknamed "the Fairest", it is distinguished by many things from the river fair to the mountains that split the municipality in half; its theaters and many museums; the Morgue Ship; and, like all cities, but maybe especially so, by its essential unmappability.

Dora, a former domestic servant at the university has a secret desire - to find where her brother went after he died, believing that the answer lies within The Museum of Psykical Research, where he worked when Dora was a child. With the city amidst a revolutionary upheaval, where citizens like Robert Barnes, her lover and a student radical, are now in positions of authority, Dora contrives to gain the curatorship of the half-forgotten museum only to find it all but burnt to the ground, with the neighboring museums oddly untouched. Robert offers her one of these, The National Museum of the Worker. However, neither this museum, nor the street it is hidden away on, nor Dora herself, are what they at first appear to be. Set against the backdrop of a nation on the verge of collapse, Dora's search for the truth behind the mystery she's long concealed will unravel a monstrous conspiracy and bring her to the edge of worlds."

Eastern European in scope and mythmaking.

The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neill
Published by: Random House Graphic
Publication Date: March 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Being a Moth Keeper is a huge responsibility and a great honor, but what happens when the new Moth Keeper decides to take a break from the moon and see the sun for the first time? From the author of the beloved Tea Dragon Society comes a must-read for fans of the rich fantasies of Hayao Miyazaki and the magical adventures of Witch Hat Atelier.

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what Anya thought it would be?

Night after night, it is lonely in the desert, with only one lantern for light. Still, Anya is eager to prove her worth, to show her thanks to her friends and her village. But is it worth the cost? And yet something isn’t right. When Anya glimpses the one thing that could destroy what she’s meant to protect, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.

K. O'Neill brings to life a beautifully illustrated fantasy with lush, gorgeous art and intricate world-building. A story about coming of age and community, The Moth Keeper is filled with magic, hope, and friendship."

Anything K. O'Neill does I need. Desperately.

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