strange and random happenstance

If you are looking for an author who is a BIG NAME in crime fiction you couldn't do better than Val McDermid. What's more, unlike other similar authors whose work has been adapted to the small screen she has either phenomenal good luck or is extremely involved in the process or maybe she's just incredibly picky because of the two series and one standalone that have been adapted they are all stellar. Wire in the Blood with Robson Green is a classic up there with Inspector Morse. As for Place of Execution? Stunning. It's one of those mysteries that stays with you forever. Every once in awhile I'll think on it and be amazed all over again. That miniseries also did a lot for changing the trajectory of Greg Wise's career to the deliciously dark. So I had expectations for Karen Pirie. But I also was totally blindsided by it because I got the wrong end of the stick. You see when they said that the show starred a "blonde from Outlander" I thought for some reason it was Nell Hudson who played Laoghaire, the bane of Jamie and Claire, instead it was Lauren Lyle who plays Marsali, Jamie and Claire's beloved daughter-in-law. Not that I'm complaining, because Lauren proved how perfect she was for this role, I'm just also really a fan of Nell Hudson because she was amazing on Victoria, though I'm still mad they killed her off. And in fairness I really didn't know how Lauren Lyle would have the time what with also filming Outlander, but thankfully that didn't seem to be a problem. What this adaptation showed more than anything is how to perfectly update you source material for the present day. In the original novel, The Distant Echo, the cold case that Karen Pirie is investigating happened in 1978 and is being investigated in 2003. Therefore to have that twenty-five year gap now this is heavy on the nineties nostalgia, but more than that it incorporates the citizen detective and true crime podcast culture that has just boomed in recent years. As for Karen herself, she's funny, she bounces around like a Whac-A-Mole. She has a sense of humor and lame style, she knows a good joke, knows she's good at her job, and knows it's a bad time to be a Karen. There's a sense of humor too which anyone who knows Val McDermid will know she possess, I remember she was doing a book signing in the US, sadly nowhere near me, but near my favorite bookstore, Murder by the Book, so I got a copy of her newest book for my mom's birthday, and I asked if she'd inscribe it "To Marian who's glad she doesn't live in Bradfield," Bradfield being where her Wire in the Blood books are set. She dutifully signed that and added "As am I." Which just cracked me up and made the present that much more special. So while there was a part of me who felt that the mtstery was a little pedestrian, it was riviting and fun and I am just so glad there's going to be more because I need more Karen Pirie in my life.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Greg Wise, Inspector Morse, Karen Pirie, Lauren Lyle, Nell Hudson, Nineties, Nostalgia, Outlander, Place of Execution, Podcast, The Distant Echo, True Crime, Val McDermid, Wire in the Blood

Winter's Gifts by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 232 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"We do things differently over here.

When retired FBI Agent Patrick Henderson calls in an 'X-Ray Sierra India' incident, the operator doesn't understand. He tells them to pass it up the chain till someone does. That person is FBI Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds. Leaving Quantico for snowbound Northern Wisconsin, she finds that a tornado has flattened half the town - and there's no sign of Henderson. Things soon go from weird to worse, as neighbors report unsettling sightings, key evidence goes missing, and the snow keeps rising - cutting off the town, with no way in or out...Something terrible is awakening. As the clues lead to the coldest of cold cases - a cursed expedition into the frozen wilderness - Reynolds follows a trail from the start of the American nightmare, to the horror that still lives on today..."

A book in the Rivers of London series set where I live!?! Oh my, I just can't with all the joy in me.

The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater
Published by: Olivia Atwater
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 322 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Olivia Atwater returns to the world of Half a Soul with "a sharp and beautiful gothic romance" (Alix E. Harrow). Dive into The Witchwood Knot, and enjoy a dark faerie tale set in a magical version of Victorian England.

The faeries of Witchwood Manor have stolen its young lord. His governess intends to steal him back.

Victorian governess Winifred Hall knows a con when she sees one. When her bratty young charge transforms overnight into a perfectly behaved block of wood, she soon realises that the real boy has been abducted by the Fair Folk. Unfortunately, the lord of Witchwood Manor is the only man in England who doesn't believe in faeries - which leaves Winnie in the unenviable position of rescuing the young lord-to-be all by herself.

Witchwood Manor is bigger than its inhabitants realise, however, and full of otherworldly dangers. As Winnie delves deeper into the other side of the house, she enlists the aid of its dark and dubious faerie butler, Mr Quincy, who hides several awful secrets behind his charming smile. Winnie hopes to make her way to the centre of the Witchwood Knot through wit and cleverness...but when all of her usual tricks fail, who will she dare to trust?"

Olivia Atwater is THE AUTHOR with the most books on my TBR list. I think I better start working on that...

Cocktails and Chloroform by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 136 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For modern-day detective Mallory Atkinson, being trapped in the body of a Victorian housemaid means overcoming endless obstacles. Her current challenge is winning over the suspicious young parlormaid, Alice. Mallory's plan starts with teaching the girl to make Molotov cocktails, which is a perfectly valid science experiment and not at all a desperate ploy to gain Alice's attention. Before the lesson can begin, though, Alice receives a letter that has her slipping off in the night. Concerned for her safety - and naturally curious - Mallory follows. Mallory finds Alice at what seems like a simple dance hall, watching young men and women flirting and whirling in pretty dresses and dapper suitcoats. But nothing here is what it seems, and what starts as a simple surveillance exercise turns into a full-scale spy mission with Mallory's boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, at her side. Before the evening is done, those Molotov cocktails are probably going to come in handy."

I mean, who wouldn't want to learn how to make Molotov cocktails?

The Pantomime Murders by Fiona Veitch Smith
Published by: Embla Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 289 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Someone is killing fairy godmothers in Cinderella...Can Miss Clara Vale crack the case before the clock strikes twelve?

1929, December: Snow is falling, and Miss Clara Vale is wrapped up against the cold as she braves the icy streets of Newcastle in her latest investigation.

When a young actress from the touring pantomime of Cinderella arrives at her door, Clara isn't sure what to make of her request. Sybil Langford, the legendary fairy godmother in their production, has mysteriously vanished. Could Clara help track her down?

But a few days into Clara's search, Sybil's body is pulled from an icy river, and Clara finds herself in the middle of yet another murder mystery.

With scheming stepsisters waiting in the wings, handsome princes who aren't all they seem, and clues as elusive as glass slippers, Clara will need every one of her scientific skills to catch the killer...

And when Sybil's replacement meets her own tragic end, Clara is in a race against time before the murderer sends a third cast member to their unhappily ever after...

The perfect Golden Age mystery to curl up with by the fire. Fans of Agatha Christie, Helena Dixon and Verity Bright will be gripped by this historical crime novel from the very first page."

Murder during holiday pantos are really my thing.

Death on the Scotland Express by Fliss Chester
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 243 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Someone on board has a deadly destination in mind...can Cressida stop them before it's too late?

After an eventful trip to the Scottish Highlands, Cressida Fawcett is looking forward to being back among her society friends in London. Enjoying an ice-cold martini in the lounge car of the express train, loyal pug Ruby on her lap, she's ready to blow off some steam!

But Cressida's hopes for a relaxing journey are dashed when a gunshot resounds through the carriages. Industrial tycoon Lewis Warriner has been shot dead in his cabin. And as this train has been racing through the countryside, the culprit must be among Cressy's fellow passengers...

Teaming up with Detective Andrews of Scotland Yard, also on his way back to London, they work their way through the suspects. Did Warriner's mistress, a famous dancer, see his death as her ticket on to the silver screen? Or was it the mysterious man who can’t take his eyes off Lewis’s close companion?

When the murder weapon is found in the compartment Mr Warriner's wife occupies alone, she becomes the chief suspect. Until there's another gunshot. When Cressida finds out that Andrews is hit, panic sets in, but she must try to stay calm.

But with her friend and co-investigator out of action, can Cressida get the journey, and the investigation, back on track? And will she catch the murderer before they reach their final destination?

Fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss will absolutely love this addictive Golden Age cosy mystery."

Agatha Christie knew it, a locked room mystery involving a train will always be a classic, especially if the time period is just right.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new mess. A new mystery. It's up to Molly the maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty, in this standalone novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid, a Good Morning America Book Club pick.

Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead - very dead - on the hotel's tearoom floor.

When Detective Stark, Molly's old foe, investigates the author's unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author's secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel's beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the high-profile death threatens the hotel's pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer's identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there's one thing she knows for sure, it's that secrets don't stay buried forever."

More secrets from the maid, a book I think everyone read.

The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today-bestselling Jillian Cantor, The Fiction Writer follows a writer hired by a handsome billionaire to write about his family history with Daphne Du Maurier and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of obsession, marital secrets, and stolen manuscripts.

The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel - a retelling of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca - was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her and she's battling a bad case of writer's block. So when her agent calls her with a high-paying ghostwriting opportunity, Olivia is all too willing to sign the NDA.

At first, the write-for-hire job seems too good to be true. All she has to do is interview Henry "Ash" Asherwood, a reclusive mega billionaire, twice named People's Sexiest Man Alive, who wants her help in writing a book that reveals a shocking secret about his late grandmother and Daphne Du Maurier. But when Olivia arrives at his Malibu estate, nothing is as it seems. The more Olivia digs into his grandmother's past, the more questions she has - and before she knows it, she's trapped in a Gothic mystery of her own.

With as many twists and turns as the California coast, The Fiction Writer is a page-turner that explores the boundaries of creative freedom and whose stories we have the right to tell."

I will ALWAYS read anything Du Maurier adjacent, especially if it plays with the supposed plagiarism of Rebecca.

Salt and Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher
Published by: 47north
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gifted healer unravels the mysteries of a cursed estate - and its enigmatic owner - in a witchy retelling of Jane Eyre.

Salt and broom, make this room.

Safe and tight, against the night.

Trunks packed with potions and cures, Jane Aire sets out on a crisp, clear morning in October to face the greatest challenge of her sheltered girls'-school existence. A shadow lies over Thornfield Hall and its reclusive master, Edward Rochester. And he's hired her only as a last resort.

Jane stumbles again and again as she tries to establish a rapport with her prickly new employer, but he becomes the least of her worries as a mysterious force seems to work against her. The threats mount around both Jane and Rochester - who's becoming more intriguing and appealing to her by the day. Jane begins to fear her herb healing and protective charms may not be enough to save the man she's growing to love from a threat darker and more dangerous than either of them imagined."

I like to think the Daphne Du Maurier is looking down and is happy that I paired a book "about" her with a Bronte retelling...

Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Godly Heathens is the first book in H.E. Edgmon's YA contemporary fantasy duology The Ouroboros, in which a teen, Gem, finds out they're a reincarnated god from another world.

Maybe I have always just been bad at being human because I'm not one.

Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Known for being their peers' queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who's a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn.

But even Enzo doesn't know about Gem's dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions, and seems to know things about them they've never told anyone else.

When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who've known and loved each other across lifetimes. But Gem - or at least who Gem used to be - hasn't always been the most benevolent deity. They've made a lot of enemies in the pantheon - enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming.

It's a good thing they've still got Enzo. But as worlds collide and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide."

It's never a good thing when your past life you can't remember comes calling.

Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A hilariously fresh and romantic send-up to You've Got Mail about a gamer girl with a secret identity and the online bestie she's never met IRL until she unwittingly transfers to his school, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, The Obsession, and Well, That Was Unexpected.

Seventeen-year-old Kiki Siregar is a fabulous gamer girl with confidence to boot. She can't help but be totally herself...except when she's online.

Her secret? She plays anonymously as a guy to avoid harassment from other male players. Even her online best friend - a cinnamon roll of a teen boy who plays under the username Sourdawg - doesn't know her true identity. Which is fine, because Kiki doesn't know his real name either, and it's not like they're ever going to cross paths IRL.

Until she transfers to an elite private school for her senior year and discovers that Sourdawg goes there, too.

But who is he? How will he react when he finds out Kiki's secret? And what happens when Kiki realizes she's falling for her online BFF?"

Firstly, so here for the You've Got Mail vibe, but also, I know so many people who've played different genders in games for protection, that I am so here for it.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Heartstopper meets A Knight's Tale in this queer medieval rom com YA debut about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history.

It's been hundreds of years since King Arthur's reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.

They're forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen's childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom's only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.

Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, they make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen's royal brother. Lex Croucher's Gwen and Art Are Not in Love is chock full of sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans destined to make readers fall in love."

I am here for this swoony Arthurian tale!

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This gloriously transportive reimagining of The Nutcracker tells the tale of twin sisters, divided by envy and magic, set against each another one fateful Christmas Eve.

Light and dark - this is the cursed birthright placed upon Clara and Natasha by their godfather, Drosselmeyer, whose power and greed hold an entire city in his sway. Charming Clara, the favorite, grows into a life of beauty and ease, while Natasha is relegated to her sister's shadow, ignored and unloved.

But Natasha seizes the opportunity for revenge one Christmas Eve, when Drosselmeyer arrives at the family gala with the Nutcracker, an enchanted gift that offers entry into an alternate world: the Kingdom of Sweets.

Following Clara into the glittering land of snow and sugar, Natasha discovers a source of power far greater than Drosselmeyer: the Sugar Plum Fairy, who offers her own wondrous gifts...and chilling bargains. But as Natasha uncovers the truth about a dark destiny crafted long before her birth, she must reckon with forces both earthly and magical, human and diabolical, and decide to which world she truly belongs."

I've never been a fan of The Nutcracker until I read Leigh Bardugo's short story retelling, and now I can't get enough of them! Bring on the better Nutcrackers!

The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper
Published by: Harper Muse
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A botanical illustration of a butterfly, a missing baby, and a twisty mystery fifty years in the making.

1868, Morpeth. Theodora Breckenridge, still in mourning after the loss of her parents and brother at sea, is more interested in working quietly on her art at the family's country estate than she is in finding a husband in Sydney society, even if her elder sister Florence has other ideas. Theodora seeks to emulate prestigious nature illustrators, the Scott sisters, who lived nearby. She cannot believe her luck when she discovers a butterfly never before seen in Australia. With the help of her maid Clarrie and her beautiful drawings, Theodora is poised to make a scientific discovery that will put her name on the map. Then Clarrie's newborn son goes missing and everything changes.

1922, Sydney. When would-be journalist Verity Binks is sent an anonymous parcel containing a spectacular butterfly costume along with an invitation to the Sydney Artists Masquerade Ball the same day she loses her job at The Arrow, she is both baffled and determined to attend. Her late grandfather, Sid, an esteemed newspaperman, would expect no less of her. At the ball, she lands a juicy commission to write the history of the Treadwell Foundation, an institution that supports disgraced young women and their babies. As she begins to dig, her research quickly leads her to an increasingly dark and complex mystery - a mystery fifty years in the making. Can she solve it? And will anyone believe her if she does?"

Firstly, I am totally obsessed with Australia at the moment. Add to that a twisty historical mystery and I am all in.

Ruined by Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Niki Smith
Published by: First Second
Publication Date: November 28th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Bridgerton comes a Regency-era romance graphic novel about the unexpected passion that blooms from a marriage of convenience.

The whole town is whispering about how Catherine Benson lost her virtue, though they can never agree on the details. Was it in the public garden? Or a moving carriage?

Only a truly desperate man would want her now - and that's exactly what Andrew Davener is. His family's estate is in disrepair, but Catherine's sizeable dowry could set it to rights.

After the two wed, Catherine finds herself inexplicably drawn to Andrew. But could falling in love with her husband tear her marriage apart? In this richly detailed Regency romance, duty and passion collide in a slow-burn tale of intertwined fates."

I don't think many people remember that romance comics used to be commonplace. Let's make that happen again, starting with the swoony Regency read!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ben Aaronovitch, Fiona Veitch Smith, Fliss Chester, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Jillian Cantor, Kelley Armstrong, Niki Smith, Nita Prose, Olivia Atwater, Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Winifred Searle, Sharon Lynn Fisher, Tea Cooper

Most people aren't familiar with the actual text of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, instead they are familiar with the Christopher Hampton adaptation, who interestingly is an executive producer on this show. That adaptation for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985 has formed the basis of all the adaptations since, from John Malkovich and Glenn Close to Colin Firth and Annette Bening to Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar, they were all inspired by that interpretation of the text. In fact the 2015 National Theatre staging of Hampton's play with Janet McTeer and Dominic West might be one of my favorite productions ever. And yet, even in perfection there are a lot of issues I have with the source material, issues that are resolved in this adaptation by almost completely ignoring the book, the play, and any other form of the original story, to tell their own tale where revenge is justified and at some point every cast member of Game of Thrones shows up. You think I'm joking? Melisandre is married to Jaqen H'ghar in the most terrifying fanfic mashup of all time. But then again Valmont looks like the lovechild of Eddie Redmayne and Christian Slater while Camille is a pre-revolutionary French doppelganger for Portia from The White Lotus. And of course Lesley Manville shows up because she is now contractually obligated to be in everything. The only way that she had time to stop in as Valmont's opponent, Madame de Merteuil, is that they do the unthinkable and kill her off in the first episode. What is Valmont without Merteuil? Well, that is one of the things this series plays with. It takes things that are familiar in the book and all it's adaptations and it plays with it. It bats it around like a playful kitten until you get something entirely new yet familiar. The book is an epistolary novel and it is with letters that we begin, letters as weapons. Weapons that can be used for real revenge not just petty jealousies. It's not Merteuil pouting that her lover lost interest, it's Camille systematically destroying the society that ground her down and didn't believe her when she cried rape. This is Dangerous Liaisons for the MeToo era. Yes, there might still be rape, but it's not Madame de Merteuil telling Valmont to rape a rival, it's the seed for revenge. In fact Merteuil's taking Camille under her wing is so that this young, wronged woman will be able to exact the revenge that Merteuil herself could never enact against her own husband, who in an interesting sideline is involved in a high end brothel which ties into some murders. This story is propulsive and no longer insular due to Camille's background. While we are still cocooned to some extent within the higher echelons of society we see truth, we see reality, we see historical figures and the unrest on the streets that will soon lead to revolution. And while we see flashes of the original story from time to time the story is cyclical with Camille becoming the new Madame de Merteuil and the end of this series really being the beginning. Ah, if only Starz hadn't toyed with us we'd actually be getting that second season which I think would have brought everything full circle. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: #MeToo, And the Emmy Goes To, Christopher Hampton, Dangerous Liaisons, Epistolary, French Revolution, Game of Thrones, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Madame de Merteuil, National Theatre Live, Starz, Valmont

Growing up in my house there were a few authors whose books would always be found on our shelves, Tony Hillerman was one of them. Both my parents loved the Leaphorn and Chee series and it was a big event in our house when Mystery! adapted three of the books as Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries with the brilliant Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn. I remember one day my mom and I were trying to thin out our bookshelves and she decided it was time to finally let Tony Hillerman go. We got rid of the books and about a week later she bought a new copy of The Blessing Way. Because, as I've stated before, Tony Hillerman is always on our shelves, even if we attempt to change this. After the paperback repurchase I offered to get all the books for her for her Kindle, so that is now where our Tony Hillerman collection resides. Though I'm still kind of pissed we ever culled them in the first place. Never make decisions you may regret for expedience because there's nothing more comforting than an old familiar paperback, especially one that has strategically placed evidence as to who read it last. Hint, it was usually my grandmother because she'd use Halls wrappers as bookmarks, she was chaotic good. Therefore much excitement was felt in my household by the announcement of a new series based on Hillerman's books. And not just because I love Zahn McClarnon so much, though this ubiquitous actor was a major bonus. I was excited because the book series started in the 1970s and it was revealed that this adaptation would be a period piece. This was a seventies cop drama! My grandmother, she of the Halls wrappers, instilled in me that the pinnacle of televisual experiences is the seventies cop drama. The Rockford Files is ALWAYS at the top of the list, everything else follows, with Stephen J. Cannell shows ranked higher than others. But also in a far more important development, and I'm not talking about the big producer names, Redford having produced the earlier Mystery! series as well, I'm talking about the writers's room being all Native American. I mean, about fucking time! This is their story and they should be the ones to tell it. I mean, props to Hillerman for writing the books, but while he might have known Native Americans and gone to school with them and everything else, he isn't one of them. I feel with Dark Winds and Reservation Dogs Native Americans are finally getting to tell their stories for themselves and this is so long overdue. The first season was actually based on the third and forth books, Listening Woman and People of Darkness but they conveniently have Leaphorn and Chee pair up way earlier than in the books series. It wasn't groundbreaking for it's mystery, dealing with missing money from a bank heist, it was groundbreaking for how it was told and who told it. The second season continues the storyline from People of Darkness, delving into the cult that takes Native rituals and dumbs them down for mass consumption by white people, and is of course now run by corrupt white people. But it also continues a storyline thought resolved, the death of Joe and Emma Leaphorn's son which ends up making these six episodes feel like the second half of the first season. But a very satisfying second half. We get big emotions, danger, and, in the end, resolution and acceptance. If the show ends up not getting a third season, this was a beautiful ending. Of course I actually need this show to run for years and years for my sanity.      

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Dark Winds, GRRM, Jim Chee, Joe Leaphorn, Mystery, Native American, Reservation Dogs, Robert Redford, Stephen J. Cannell, The Rockford Files, Tony Hillerman, Wes Studi, Zahn McClarnon

There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 21st, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh, a remote estate in New Zealand's Southern Alps hosts a reunion no one will ever forget.

Seven friends.
One last weekend.
A mansion half in ruins.
No room for lies.
Someone is going to confess.
Because there should have been eight....

They met when they were teenagers. Now they're adults, and time has been kind to some and unkind to others - none more so than to Bea, the one they lost nine long years ago.

They've gathered to reminisce at Bea's family's estate, a once-glorious mansion straight out of a Gothic novel. Best friends, old flames, secret enemies, and new lovers are all under one roof. But when the weather turns and they're snowed in at the edge of eternity, there's nowhere left to hide from their shared history.

As the walls close in, the pretense of normality gives way to long-buried grief, bitterness, and rage. Underneath it all, there's the nagging feeling that Bea's shocking death wasn't what it was claimed to be. And before the weekend is through, the truth will be unleashed - no matter the cost...."

Yes yes, this is my jam.

Saevus Corax Captures the Castle by K.J. Parker
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: November 21st, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From one of the most original voices in fantasy comes a heroic tale of honor, friendship, and battlefield salvage.

It's important to look after your crew when you're in the battlefield salvage business. It's stressful work at the best of times, and although your employees are unlikely to be happy it makes sense to keep them alive.

So when Saevus Corax finds himself having to capture a castle to stop his men from being killed, he has no choice but to give it a try. Needless to say, the conventional rules of siegecraft are unlikely to be followed."

A little Monty Python, a little Terry Pratchett, I'm here for all these vibes. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Gothic, K.J. Parker, Monty Python, Murder, Nalini Singh, New Zealand, Saevus Corax Captures the Castle, Terry Pratchett, There Should Have Been Eight

My Batman fatigue set in in 2008. If Christopher Nolan couldn't be bothered to take down outdoor signage for the Lyric Opera of Chicago I don't know why I should be bothered to care about The Dark Knight. Also, controversial opinion, Heath Ledger didn't deserve the Oscar that year, but he did deserve it more than Robert Downey Junior. Since then we've gone through quite a few Batmen and my top picks might be a bit controversial, but with George Clooney being back maybe not as much as they once were. And wherever there is Batman there's his trusty butler. In fact for the who's who among actors I think Alfred has drawn the bigger names; Andy Serkis, Michael Caine, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gough, Sean Pertwee, Tom Hollander, Efrem Zimbalist Junior, and on and on. But one interesting development over the years is that Alfred has slowly become less and less posh, Michael Caine and Sean Pertwee really upping the ante. Sean Pertwee's rougher Alfred created by Bruno Heller for Gotham. But I just couldn't get into Gotham despite my Pertwee love. My problem was Gotham was still too rooted in the Batman mythology, seeing all these characters as younger versions of themselves and what they were to become. Which is why I was drawn to Pennyworth. Also created by Bruno Heller he seems to have realized the limitations of his previous series and limited his characters here. Here we have Alfred, and Batman's parents, Thomas and Martha. And that's it. Set in London during the swinging sixties the world created is a fascinating mashup of Last Night in Soho and V for Vendetta with a giant helping of Michael Caine's oeuvre. Our Alfie as played by Jack Bannon couldn't exist without Caine's Alfie. He exudes that cockney coolness and surety while also bringing a bit of Fred Thursday to the role, an inevitability as he played his son Sam on Endeavour for it's entire run. But the show isn't just a standout performance by Bannon, every actor is perfectly chosen to bring to life this vibrant alternative universe that mimics our Cold War but at the same time is wholly unique. Sadly season two leaned too far into mimicking World War II saved only by Peg and Bet. But then again Peg and Bet could save anyone and anything if they had a mind to. So how did they decide to fix the season two mistakes? By making sure everyone knew this show was about Batman's Butler by adding an absurdly ludicrous subtitle. I mean, surly people aren't so dumb they didn't connect the two. Please tell me I'm right because otherwise humanity is doomed. Much like London. Because while we're moving on from diamond geezers to the swinging sixties with hippies we're getting a darker side with the CIA experimenting with "MKUltra" and Patty Hearst and the Manson Family and an artist that looks like a stretched out Brian Eno. Trust me, he's up to no good. So while the aesthetic is very reminiscent of Adam West's Batman 66; brighter colors, dafter plots, and People With Enhancements, AKA PWEs, as pro superheroes and villains, there is a distinct underlying malevolence. Perhaps because they've fully embraced V for Vendetta in what I though was a lovely meta moment but according to the creators of the show is where they were heading all along because they view Pennyworth as a prequel to V for Vendetta as well as Gotham. Say what!?! Does James Purefoy know because I think he'd have something to say. Also you're still not getting me to watch Gotham. No matter how much I want closure and answers.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alfred Pennyworth, And the Emmy Goes To, Batman, Bruno Heller, Endeavour, Gotham, Jack Bannon, James Purefoy, Last Night in Soho, London, Michael Caine, MKUltra, Pennyworth, Sean Pertwee, V for Vendetta

You might be asking yourself what fool would watch House of the Dragon given the way that Game of Thrones ended. Well I am that fool! Say it in your best Raul Julia Gomez Addams voice if you please. The reason I will keep going back to the Game of Thrones universe is that I remember the magic of reading the first three books in the summer of 2002. My friend Jess introduced me to the books. We had just been to see Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man and we went out to eat and hung out at Barnes and Noble after. We were both picking up books and asking each other if we'd read it. I foisted Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials on her and she foisted I Am Legend and A Game of Thrones on me. We left the store poor in money but richer in stories. And I soon wanted a direwolf. Even sooner I went back to Barnes and Noble and picked up A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords and then started playing the real game you play if you're a fan of George R.R. Martin, the waiting game. Yep. I'm somehow still playing it. And there was a part of me that was like, do I want to watch House of the Dragon? Not only could it let me down again in epic fashion, but it's a prequel, with prequels you know where they're going. And then the cast was announced. I really had no choice after that point. Even if Matt Smith wasn't in it there's Paddy Considine, Rhys Ifans, and Olivia Cooke. These are some actors I truly love and every day it seemed like more were joining, in fact I was so unable to keep up with the announcements I didn't even know that Nicholas Jones was in it until he showed up on Dragonstone in the last episode. And if you don't know who Nicholas Jones is, do yourself a favor and watch some seventies and eighties British miniseries, Anna Karenina, Lillie, and The Flame Trees of Thika are a good start. But with all these great casting announcements a problem was revealed, a problem that the show has been rightly criticized for, the pacing. They were recasting characters with new actors every other episode because of the whooshing sound time was making as episodes jumped decades from one week to the next. This led to great confusion, and also great apathy. While I was looking forward to Olivia Cooke I had no idea how invested I'd get in Alicent being played by Emily Carey. Likewise with Milly Alcock as Rhaenyra. They became the characters to me and when they foisted the change in actors I felt no connection to them. It wasn't even until the last two episode that I felt that Olivia Cooke and Emma D'Arcy actually connected to their characters. But thankfully during this turmoil the show was carried by Paddy Considine as Viserys. He brought such pathos, such vulnerability to a king that you couldn't help but feel for him. So while the showrunners are claiming that next season will fix the pacing problem, and hopefully they'll remember to never do day for night again, the question remains, can the show succeed without Viserys carrying it on his frail shoulders? Perhaps if they better used Matt Smith they could solve their problem.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Clash of Kings, A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords, Emily Carey, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, House of the Dragon, Matt Smith, Milly Alcock, Olivia Cooke, Paddy Considine, Recasting, Rhys Ifans

The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 3240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times-bestselling phenomenon Patrick Rothfuss returns to the wildly popular Kingkiller Chronicle universe with a stunning reimagining of "The Lightning Tree." Expanded to twice its previous length and lavishly illustrated by Nate Taylor, this touching stand-alone story is sure to please new readers and veteran Rothfuss fans alike.

Bast knows how to bargain. The give-and-take of a negotiation is as familiar to him as the in-and-out of breathing; to watch him trade is to watch an artist at work. But even a master's brush can slip. When he accepts a gift, taking something for nothing, Bast's whole world is knocked askew, for he knows how to bargain - but not how to owe.

From dawn to midnight over the course of a single day, follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes and sneaks, dancing into trouble and back out again with uncanny grace.

The Narrow Road Between Desires is Bast's story. In it he traces the old ways of making and breaking, following his heart even when doing so goes against his better judgement.

After all, what good is caution if it keeps him from danger and delight?"

Here's a wee morsel to hold us over.

Disenchantment: Untold Tales Vol. 1 by Matt Groening
Published by: Titan Comics
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"No, you're not dreaming, it's Dreamland in print!

That's right, your favorite princess, demon, and elf-hybrid-thing from Matt Groening's popular animated series Disenchantment is now available in comic form! Easily streamable right to your brain via your eyes with no pesky Wi-Fi needed! Here lies the first of THREE all-new, all-comic volumes chronicling the stories you didn't see on screen."

In case, like me, you're suffering from withdrawal and haven't quite reached the phase of rewatching the entire series.

Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren't their own, from the author of Alice and Near the Bone.

Celia wakes up in a house that's supposed to be hers. There's a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family - and this life - is not hers...

Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip - but then her friend's boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. No one else believes Allie, but she is sure that something about this trip is very, very wrong...

Maggie just wants to be home with her daughter, but she's in a dangerous situation and she doesn't know who put her there or why. She'll have to fight with everything she has to survive...

Three women. Three stories. Only one way out. This captivating novel will keep readers guessing until the very end."

Come on, you know you need to know!

Past Lying by Val McDermid
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this latest installment to her acclaimed detective series, internationally bestselling author Val McDermid returns with DCI Karen Pirie in a propulsive new thriller of deceit and vengeance, set against the disquiet and investigative challenges of a global pandemic.

Hailed as Britain's "Queen of Crime" (Scotsman), Val McDermid is the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of over thirty novels that have enthralled readers for the past three decades. The long-awaited seventh novel in McDermid's acclaimed Karen Pirie series, Past Lying is a breakneck collision of ego, retribution, and just how far one will go to settle the score.

It's April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown, but that doesn't mean crime takes a holiday. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hot - the streets all but empty, an hour's outdoor exercise the maximum allowed - but when a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie's team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems it's game on again. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, but no one quite expects how many twists it will turn out to have.

Tense, atmospheric, and relentlessly captivating, Past Lying is another winner from Val McDermid, and new and longtime readers alike will delight in this triumphant return to a stellar series."

I have always been a fan of Val McDermid, but after watching Karen Pirie on BritBox I'm now obsessed with this series.

Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a film crew's location shoot delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi finds herself at the scene of a true crime in this showstopping entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

Only Murders in Gotham, the smash-hit streaming program, is famous for filming in authentic New York locations and using real New Yorkers as extras. For its second season, they've chosen to spotlight the century-old Village Blend and its quirky crew of baristas. Shop manager and master roaster Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production.

Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the landmark shop, reveals an old kinship with the star of the show, comedian Jerry Sullivan. Now a Hollywood legend, Jerry frequented the Blend during his early years performing in Greenwich Village comedy clubs. But the past may hold more than nostalgia for Jerry. Suspicious accidents begin plaguing his shoot. Then a real bullet is fired from a stage gun, and Clare becomes convinced something sinister is afoot.

While Jerry's production moves to exciting new locations, Clare keeps the coffee flowing - and her investigation going - even as a murderer lurks in the wings. But can she root out the rotten player in this Big Apple production before the lights go out on her?

Includes a stellar menu of surefire recipes!"

I'm all about "Only Murders in" pick your New York location.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord, a dazzling first entry in a captivating new Regency-era mystery series with a feminist spin from Celeste Connally.

London, 1815. Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiancé in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London's loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means - and rather independent ways - Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the best of society without any expectations.

But when ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of a fit due to her "melancholia" while in the care of a questionable physician, Petra vows to use her status to dig deeper - uncovering a private asylum where men pay to have their wives and daughters locked away, or worse. Just as Petra has reason to believe her friend is alive, a shocking murder proves more danger is afoot than she thought. And the more determined Lady Petra becomes in uncovering the truth, the more her own headstrong actions and desire for independence are used against her, putting her own freedom - and possibly her life - in jeopardy."

I love the Regency Era and I love mysteries, therefore I love this book.

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a literary icon stays with the Dickinson family, Emily and her housemaid Willa find themselves embroiled in a shocking murder in this new mystery from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author Amanda Flower.

August 1856. The Dickinson family is comfortably settled in their homestead on Main Street. Emily's brother, Austin Dickinson, and his new wife are delighted when famous thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to Amherst to speak at a local literary society and decides he and his young secretary, Luther Howard, will stay with the newlyweds. Emily has been a longtime admirer of Emerson's writing and is thrilled at the chance to meet her idol. She is determined to impress him with her quick wit, and if she can gather the courage, a poem. Willa Noble, the second maid in the Dickinson home and Emily's friend, encourages her to speak to the famous but stern man. But his secretary, Luther, intrigues Willa more because of his clear fondness for the Dickinson sisters.

Willa does not know if Luther truly cares for one of the Dickinson girls or if he just sees marrying one of them as a way to raise himself up in society. After a few days in his company, Willa starts to believe it's the latter. Miss Lavinia, Emily's sister, appears to be enchanted by Luther; a fact that bothers Emily greatly. However, Emily's fears are squashed when Luther turns up dead in the Dickinson's garden. It seems that he was poisoned. Emerson, aghast at the death of his secretary, demands answers. Emily and Willa set out to find them in order to save the Dickinson family reputation and stop a cold-blooded fiend from killing again."

What a better way to end a questionable courtship than murder?

The Honor of Your Presence by Dave Eggers
Published by: McSweeney's
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 72 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this long short story, or short novella, Dave Eggers gives us an unforgettable duo, Helen and Peter Mahoney, a homebody niece and her adventurous, almost-British uncle. Helen designs invitations to parties and galas to which she is not welcome, and is quite comfortable with that. One day, though, Peter wonders, "Why not print an extra invite and I'll be your plus one?" What starts out as an innocuous lark becomes much more - a very funny and lyrical referendum on why humans congregate and celebrate."

This has very Mrs. Dalloway vibe which I can't wait to dig into.

Upon a Frosted Star by M.A. Kuzniar
Published by: HQ
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the snow falls, she will be free...

The invitations always arrive the same way - without warning, appearing around the city on the first snowfall of the year, simply inscribed with 'Tonight.'

When struggling artist, Forster, finds an invitation, he's bewitched by the magic of the evening, swept up in the glamour of this notorious annual party and intrigued as to who is behind them.

Determined to find out more about the mysterious host, Forster discovers an abandoned manor house silent with secrets and a cursed woman who is desparate to be free...

From the bestselling author of Midnight in Everwood, comes another spellbinding literary fairy tale that's The Great Gatsby meets Swan Lake."

Personally I'm here more for The Night Circus vibes.

Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman
Published by: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A stunning new edition of this prequel episode from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe that tells how aeronaut Lee Scoresby and the armored bear Iorek Byrnison first met. Now with full-color illustrations from Chris Wormell.

After winning his hot-air balloon in a poker game, Lee Scoresby and his dæmon, Hester, find themselves floating north. On landing, it's not long before Scoresby is embroiled in a deadly plot involving an oil magnate, a corrupt mayoral candidate, and Lee's longtime nemesis - a hired killer. Lee's been in tight spots before, but getting out of this mess will require some sharp shooting and the help of an unlikely new ally - the massive, surly, armored bear Iorek Byrnison.

Newly illustrated in full color by renowned print-maker Chris Wormell, this edition is a wonderfully gift-worthy production"

This is one of my favorite short pieces in the His Dark Materials universe and I'm so happy to see this lovely new edition.

Billy and the Giant Adventure by Jamie Oliver
Published by: Tundra Books (NY)
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One pinch of adventure, a dash of friendship, a sprinkle of mystery and a HUGE spoonful of magic...Jamie Oliver, bestselling author and internationally renowned chef, delivers the perfect recipe for a page-turning children's fiction debut!

Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; strange things are rumored to have happened there and no one in their village has ventured past its walls for decades...But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends, Anna, Jimmy, and Andy, can't resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic and inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures, including a whole community of sprites who need the children's help! With magical battles, a long-lost mythical city, fantastical flying machines, epic feasts and one GIANT rescue - not to mention some mouth-watering recipes at the back - get ready for an adventure you'll never forget!"

Jamie Oliver probably only actually wrote the recipes, but as long as it has his joy and enthusiasium for life then that's all I need.

System Collapse by Martha Wells
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells's New York Times bestselling Murderbot Diaries series.

Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there's an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can't have the planet, they're sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there's something wrong with Murderbot; it isn't running within normal operational parameters. ART's crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza's SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they're going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what's wrong with itself, and fast!

Yeah, this plan is... not going to work."

If you're sitting around to wait for the deadly droid revolut in the Star Wars comics to come out in trade paperback, might I suggest another murderous robot?

A Disturbance in the Force: How and Why the Star Wars Holiday Special Happened by Steve Kozak
Published by: Applause Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bea Arthur as the owner of the Mos Eisley Cantina. Long scenes entirely of Wookies bleating at each other, without subtitles. Harvey Korman, in drag, as a four-armed Space Julia Child. Six minutes of Jefferson Starship performing for Art Carney and a bored Imperial Guard. Mark Hamill, fresh from his near-fatal motorcycle accident, slathered in pancake makeup. A salacious holographic burlesque from Diahann Carroll. Even by the standards of the 1970s, even compared to Jar-Jar Binks, the legendary 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special is a peerlessly cringeworthy pop-culture artifact. George Lucas, who completely disowned the production, reportedly has said, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it." Just how on earth did this thing ever see the light of day? To answer that question, as Steven Kozak shows in this fascinating and often hilarious inside look into the making of the Special, you have to understand the cultural moment in which it appeared - a long, long time ago when cheesy variety shows were a staple of network television and Star Wars was not yet the billion-dollar multimedia behemoth that it is today. Kozak explains how the Special was one piece of a PR blitz undertaken by Lucas and his colleagues as they sought to protect the emerging franchise from hostile studio executives. He shows how, despite the involvement of some of the most talented people in the business, creative differences between movie and television writers led to a wildly uneven product. He gives entertaining accounts of the problems that plagued production, which included a ruinously expensive cantina set; the acrimonious departure of the director and Lucas himself; and a furious Grace Slick, just out of rehab, demanding to be included in the production. Packed with memorable anecdotes, drawing on extensive new interviews with countless people involved in the production, and told with mingled affection and bewilderment, this never-before-told story gives a fascinating look at a strange moment in pop-culture history that remains an object of fascination even today."

Let's not blame this all on an expensive Cantina set that's seen for only five minutes. This is nightmare fuel of the highest order and I for one will be traumatized forever for watching it. So this book will begin the healing.

Elmer Bernstein, Film Composer by Peter M. Bernstein
Published by: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Publication Date: November 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 280 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A behind-the-scenes look at the life and music of legendary Hollywood composer Elmer Bernstein, the only person to be nominated for an Academy Award in every decade from the 1950s to the 2000s Over a career spanning 54 years, he composed landmark scores in every available genre - epics, jazz, westerns, dramas, and comedies - and his credits read like list of the greatest films of his time: The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Man With the Golden Arm, The Great Escape, Ghostbusters, to name just a few. This biography, written by Elmer's son Peter, interweaves exclusive interviews, oral histories not otherwise available, estate archival materials, and personal experiences. Elmer Bernstein lived a colorful life: he was a first generation American; he was blacklisted; and he was a fearless advocate for film music not afraid to take on anyone in pages of trade papers. The book looks at many of his landmark scores in depth, collaborations with various producers and directors, and his success in navigating the rough and tumble of Hollywood. There is much to his story: a cycle of struggle, success, frustration, failure, and reinvention repeated many times over his career which connected the Old Hollywood with the modern era."

Remember, there's more than one famous Bernstein out there! Also, they were friends but not family. Though this was written by Elmer's son.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amanda Flower, Celeste Connally, Christina Henry, Cleo Coyle, Dave Eggers, Disenchantment, Elmer Bernstein, Jamie Oliver, M.A. Kuzniar, Martha Wells, Patrick Rothfuss, Philip Pullman, Star Wars, Val McDermid

When Queen Charlotte was announced I honestly think that I was more excited to see it than I was another season of Bridgerton. I have many issues with Bridgerton. Many. Mostly musical. In fact almost none of my issues involve the cast, which is lucky because several of them appear in Queen Charlotte as a "current" framing device, which honestly, aside from two heartbreaking scenes in the final episode they could have done without. But I have a feeling Shonda Rhimes might be playing the long game and was sneaking in a backdoor pilot to a new series starring Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton. Because as Lady Danbury so succinctly puts it, the likes of Lady Whistedown don't talk about the likes of them. Older women and their needs and their stories aren't talked about, they are fed on gossip and forgotten, which I heartily agree with and will agree with even faster if I never have to hear about euphemistic gardens ever again. As for the rest of the show? I'm of two minds. Part of me loved every single second of it, they obviously had a bigger budget, which apparently couldn't stretch to original music, please, seriously, stop it with the bad covers, but another part of me is seriously questioning the underlying meaning of the show. While this show is all about love conquering all, even mental illness, there's this other message that everything is in service to the King. The Queen loves the King, that I do not doubt, but her way of sacrificing all else for him means that she lost out on connecting with her children. She is a good Queen, but not a good mother, which is where the "current" storyline is important. But it undercuts this message that love conquers all. The dynastic push that George will live on is heartbreaking because it takes the journey we've been on and makes it transactional. Get wife get heir. And while their story starts out that way they find love. We don't see this happening with any of her children, which is why I think they should have been left out. The vision would have been clearer had they taken one concept and told it perfectly. And that one concept should have been love conquers all. Because Charlotte's love for George is all that matters in the end, much like George's mother loves him, and in a wonderful secondary plot how Brimsley loves Reynolds. This is what matters, love. And hella amazing acting. Seriously, I know Yellowjackets has really raised the bar on casting when it comes to the same character at different ages, but I really think that India Amarteifio takes it to a whole other level. I think that she and Golda Rosheuvel might be the same person at different ages. It's uncanny. But in the end, would I watch another season? Again, more willingly than Bridgerton but honestly I'm more excited to read the book and see how Julia Quinn put her spin on it.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Bridgerton, Brimsley, Dynasty, George III, Golda Rosheuvel, India Amarteifio, Julia Quinn, Lady Danbury, Love, Mental Illness, Queen Charlotte, Shona Rhimes, Violet Bridgerton, Yellowjackets

At the beginning of the pandemic my friends and I wanted to keep in touch so we started a Thursday tradition of using Teleparty to watch a show together. Three years on and the tradition is still alive. It's really the highlight of our weeks if we're honest. We've watched British comedies, animation, comic book adaptations, and then we got into The Witcher universe. Mainly at my insistence because we were wrapping up The Umbrella Academy and rumors were the new season of The Witcher was going to drop summer 2023 and I had yet to watch a single episode, I know, simply shocking. And then the new season of The Witcher was announced and we had some spare time. Not much, but just enough to squeeze in a few prequels, where in one, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Vesemir who is played to perfection by Kim Bodnia is nonsensically voiced by Theo James and his posh accent. I won't dwell on this though because that story is best forgotten. The Witcher: Blood Origin though was surprisingly interesting. Not in the story itself, it's pretty basic, but when you get down to it all stories are basic, it's how you tell them that makes them original. And this had just enough to make it memorable. Just enough and Dylan Moran. Which, when I heard his voice from a clifftop before even seeing his face I yelled out "Fuck me Dylan Moran!" Which you can literally take both ways, because it's Dylan Moran. In fact most of this show just had me shouting declarative sentences over and over. "Damn this music sounds like someone really wants to imitate Bear McCreary's Black Sails score." Five seconds later, oh, that's because it is Bear! Following which I wanted to know why Bear doesn't do the flagship show, because come on, it's Bear people! Also despite what the internet says I swear this show had to have a higher budget, the camerawork is lush, the sets are jaw-dropping, and everything just felt more polished. But what this show is really for is answers. The flagship show is kind of vague, they don't know exactly what monoliths are for, they're not sure how monsters entered their world, they can't even make any more Witchers, which all starts to slowly tie together near the end of the second season and then in walks The Witcher: Blood Origin and they're like, you want answers? Here's some answers; Monolith's take you to alternate dimensions where the monsters AND chaos magic originate from. Elves didn't used to be oppressed, they were the oppressors, those hypocrites, the way they treated the dwarves, but then the racial genocide seems kind of cyclical. And as for the conjunction? That event which if you grew up watching The Dark Crystal you assumed was a nice planetary alignment, it was rather a smashing together of dimensions that ended up bringing humans to the Continent. I mean, realities literally crashing together! And as for the first Witcher? Well, oddly enough the magic and the commingling of the I want to say powers or possibly blood of all our warrior friends is back to the vague, with possibly a baby being the first Witcher. That was unclear. Odd given how many answers were given and the title of the show. Which means this one-off show needs a sequel. How hard could it be to green light it? We are now in the age of Michelle Yeoh after all. Minimally I need a spinoff with Meldof and Gwen.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Bear McCreary, Black Sails, Dylan Moran, Kim Bodnia, Michelle Yeoh, Monoliths, The Dark Crystal, The Umbrella Academy, The WItcher, The Witcher: Blood Origin, Theo James, Vesemir, Witcher

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini
Published by: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 704 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle. Join Dragon Rider - and fan favorite - Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air - and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.

In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini's blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time...or to joyfully return."

Oh my. Paolini is finally returning to Alagaësia!

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher
Published by: Ace Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fate of the Cinder Spires may be decided by crossed swords in the next exhilarating fantasy adventure from the author of the Dresden Files, in this New York Times bestselling series of noble families, swordplay, and airships.

For centuries the Cinder Spires have safeguarded humanity, rising far above the deadly surface world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses rule, developing scientific marvels and building fleets of airships for defense and trade.

Now, the Spires hover on the brink of open war. Everyone knows it's coming. The guns of the great airship fleets that control the skies between the last bastions of humanity will soon speak in anger, and Spire Albion stands alone against the overwhelming might of Spire Aurora's Armada and its new secret weapon - one capable of destroying the populations of entire Spires.

A trading summit at Spire Olympia provides an opportunity for the Spirearch, Lord Albion, to secure alliances that will shape the outcomes of the war, and to that end he dispatches privateer Captain Francis Madison Grimm and the crew of the AMS Predator to bolster the Spirearch's diplomatic agents.

It will take daring, skill, and no small amount of showmanship to convince the world to stand with Spire Albion - assuming that it is not already too late."

I will read whatever Jim Butcher writes.

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree's Bookshops and Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk - so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected."

See! Books heal!

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Power Unbound is the final entry in Freya Marske's beloved, award-winning Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light.

Secrets! Magic! Enemies to...something more?

Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he's drawn reluctantly back into that world.

Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross.

Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.

When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham Hall - Jack's ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that it's grown a personality as prickly as its owner - Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice...and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end."

The fan favorite series comes to an end.

Loveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen
Published by: Harperteen
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the sparkling world of Loveboat, this time with Pearl Wong, on an entirely new, romantic, whirlwind adventure from Abigail Hing Wen, New York Times bestselling author of Loveboat, Taipei, streaming now on Paramount+ (adaptation titled Love in Taipei).

Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.

Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned - until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans...and a new image.

Where better to revamp her "brand" than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.

But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat - the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn - and there's more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor...and a summer that will change her forever.

Sweeping, glamorous, and deeply soulful, this companion to the New York Times bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei and Loveboat Reunion will reunite readers with their favorite characters, in a thrilling new journey of romance, self-discovery, and empowerment. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen."

But does she also have time to practice her music!?! Fun and games are all good, but you need some discipline occasionally...

Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves on the present - loaded with assassins and mad poets, RPGs and slasher films, pop bands and the perils of social media

In 1919, far-flung patriots establish the Korean Provisional Government to protest the Japanese occupation of their country. This government-in-exile proves mostly symbolic, though, and after Japan's defeat in World War II, the KPG dissolves and civil war erupts, resulting in the tragic North-South split that remains today.

But what if the KPG still existed - now working toward a unified Korea, secretly pulling levers to further its aims? Same Bed Different Dreams weaves together three distinct narrative voices with an archive of mysterious images, and twists reality like a kaleidoscope. Korean history, American pop culture, and our tech-fraught lives come together in this extraordinary and unforgettable novel.

Soon Sheen, a former writer now employed by the tech behemoth GLOAT, comes into possession of an unfinished book seemingly authored by the KPG. The manuscript is a riveting revisionist history, connecting famous names and obscure bit players to the KPG's grand project - everyone from Syngman Rhee and architect-poet Yi Sang to Jack London and Marilyn Monroe. M*A*S*H is in here, too, as are the Moonies and a history of violence extending from the assassination of President McKinley to the Reagan-era downing of a passenger plane that puts the world on the brink of war.

From the acclaimed author of Personal Days, Same Bed Different Dreams is a raucously funny feat of imagination and a thrilling meld of history and fiction that pulls readers into another dimension - one in which utopia is possible."

Because who doesn't love alternative history?

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty
Published by: Ace Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, and fled to outer space to avoid it...but when one of the new human arrivals on a space shuttle is murdered, she's back in the game.

Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her - and only she seems to be able to solve the crime. After fleeing to an alien space station in hopes that the lack of humans would stop the murders, a serial killer had the nerve to follow her to Station Eternity. (Mallory deduced who the true culprit was that time, too.)

Now the law enforcement agent who hounded Mallory on Earth has come to Station Eternity, along with her teenage crush and his sister, Mallory's best friend from high school. Mallory doesn't believe in coincidences, and so she's not at all surprised when someone in the latest shuttle from Earth is murdered. It's the story of her life, after all.

Only this time she has more than a killer to deal with. Between her fugitive friends, a new threat arising from the Sundry hivemind, and the alarmingly peculiar behavior of the sentient space station they all call home, even Mallory's deductive abilities are strained. If she can't find out what's going on (and fast), a disaster of intergalactic proportions may occur...."

The fact that this series is called The Midsolar Murders continues to entertain me to no end.

Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today bestselling horror/thriller author Darcy Coates comes the chilling legend of a monster no one can escape.

DON'T WALK ALONE, OR THE STITCHER WILL FIND YOU.

Abby Ward lives in a town haunted by disappearances. People vanish, and when they're found, their bodies have been dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways. But is it the work of a human killer...or something far darker?

DON'T STAY OUT LATE, OR THE STITCHER WILL TAKE YOU.

She and her younger sister live by a strict set of rules designed to keep them safe - which is why it's such a shock when Hope is taken. Desperate to get her back, Abby tells the police everything she knows, but they claim their hands are tied.

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, OR THE STITCHER WILL REMAKE YOU.

With every hour precious, Abby and her friends are caught in a desperate game of cat and mouse. They have to get Hope back. Quickly. Before too much of her is cut away. And before everything they care about is swallowed up by the darkness waiting in the tunnels beneath the home they thought they knew."

Yeah, I love reading about this town but I don't want to go there.

The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny and What She Knew comes the terrifying story of what can happen after all your dreams come true.

Be careful what you wish for...

Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple - until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight.

Soon they've moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined.

But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Was Tom's death a tragic accident, or was it something worse?

Nicole is devastated. Tom was her rock. And their beautiful barn  - with all its smart features that never seem to work for her - is beginning to feel very lonely. But she's not entirely by herself out there in the country. There's a nice young couple who live in the Manor itself along with their middle-aged housekeeper who has the Coach House. And an old friend of Tom's from school has turned up to help her get through her grief.

But big money can bring big problems and big threats. And is Nicole's life in danger as well?

Nicole's beginning to feel like a little fish in a big glass bowl.

Surrounded by piranhas."

And that right there is the problem with winning the lottery.

The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle
Published by: Alcove Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With a genderfluid protagonist and 21st-century twist, this spirited debut pays homage to the British classics while joyfully centering an LGBTQ+ point of view, perfect for fans of Emily M. Danforth.

Orphaned young and raised with chilly indifference at an all-boys boarding school, Brontë Ellis has grown up stifled by rigid rules and social "norms," forbidden from expressing his gender identity. His beloved novels and period films lend an escape, until a position as a live-in tutor provides him with a chance to leave St. Mary's behind.

Greenwood Manor is the kind of elegant country house Bron has only read about, and amid lavish parties and cricket matches, the Edwards family welcomes him into the household with true warmth. Mr. Edwards and the young Ada, Bron's pupil, accept without question that Bron's gender presentation is not traditionally masculine. Only Darcy, the eldest son, seems uncomfortable with Bron - the two of them couldn't be more opposite.

When a tragic fire blazes through the estate's idyllic peace, Bron begins to sense dark secrets smoldering beneath Greenwood Manor's surface. Channeling the heroines of his cherished paperbacks, he begins to sift through the wreckage. Soon, he's not sure what to believe, especially with his increasing attraction to Darcy clouding his vision.

Drawing energy and inspiration from Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, E.M. Forster, and more while bowing to popular fiction such as Plain Bad Heroines, The Manor House Governess is destined to become a modern classic."

I mean a Bronte and a house fire? I have to read this!

A Dark Roux by Blaine Daigle
Published by: Wicked House Publishing
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beneath the black waters of the Louisiana bayou hides a world of dark mysticism. A world steeped in superstition and the decay of family legacies. A world Rhiannon LeBeau thought she'd left behind fifteen years ago after a summer of tragedy and horror.

But following the death of their mother, Rhiannon and her younger brother Rhett find themselves drawn back to their crumbling ancestral home deep in the sugarcane farms of Terrebonne Parish. A place full of family secrets and lost memories that will force both siblings to come face to face with the demons of their past...and present.

Because something has been waiting for their return. Something with a long memory and a debt to collect. Something tied to the bayou in blood. Something that intends to make sure Rhiannon and Rhett never leave again."

The dark magics of the Louisiana bayou always gets me.

Vamp by Loren D. Estleman
Published by: Forge
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Vamp is a hot new Valentino mystery by Loren D. Estleman, the master of the hard-boiled detective novel and recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award.

Renowned film detective Valentino is on a quest to help restore The Comet, an extinct drive-in movie theater, and his trail leads him to Leo Kalishnikov, who requests a favor first - rid him of a blackmailer from his shady past, and he'll gladly hand over the money that The Comet needs.

With only an uncashed check for a clue, Valentino embarks on a treacherous path to save not only The Comet but the last remaining print of the 1917 film Cleopatra, which has been lost for over a century. The film is somewhere in Los Angeles, and Valentino is willing to risk it all to find it. He must navigate the shady underbelly of Hollywood once more, in a dangerous adventure that threatens not only his career - but his life."

I love hard-boiled detectives involved in the seedy underbelly of the film industry.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perhaps the best place in 1943 Hollywood to see the stars is the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. Murder mystery playwright Annie Laurence, new in town after a devastating breakup, definitely hopes to rub elbows with the right stars. Maybe then she can get her movie made.

But Hollywood proves to be more than tinsel and glamour. When despised film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie realizes any one of the Canteen's luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona's friends, a bitter and cynical group - each as uniquely unhappy in their life and career as Annie is in hers - that call themselves the Ambassador's Club.

Solving a murder in real life, it turns out, is a lot harder than writing one for the stage. And by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador's Club, Annie just might have put a target on her own back."

A real showstopping Hollywood mystery!

Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Escape to Enchanted Hill in this historical mystery where two people with a dark, shared past collide while working undercover at a glittering mansion on the California coast.

The year is 1930 and Cora McCavanagh is posing as a maid at Hollywood magnate Truman Byrd's legendary estate. She's closing in on the damning evidence she needs for a high-profile client.

An aspiring PI, Cora was trained by her father, a former prison guard at the notorious Pelican Island, where Cora grew up surrounded by hardened criminals.

Which is why she recognizes Jack Yates as soon as he walks through the door. The last time she saw him was on an ill-fated night that changed the course of her life and still haunts her more than a decade later. Cora never expected to see Jack again - and now a single misstep could cause both their secret identities to come crashing down.

They strike a tentative truce to help each other during a week of parties overflowing with champagne and caviar. But there are puzzles hidden in every corner of Truman Byrd's labyrinthine estate, and if Cora is to finally learn the truth about Jack Yates, she must unravel a sinister history that the rich and powerful will do anything to keep concealed.

Filled with intrigue and Old Hollywood glamour, Enchanted Hill is an unforgettable historical romance set in a world you won't want to leave, and is perfect for fans of historical fiction books like the Molly Murphy Mysteries, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Kate Morton books."

A labyrinthine Old Hollywood estate? Yes please!

The Proof of the Pudding by Rhys Bowen
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lady Georgiana Rannoch is looking forward to her first ever turn as hostess for her very own house party when the festivities lead to murder...

Georgie, back home at her estate in Eynsleigh, impatiently awaits the birth of her baby. But she has plenty to occupy her: her new chef, Pierre, has arrived from Paris, and Sir Hubert, who owns Eynsleigh, is back from his latest expedition. It's time for Georgie to throw her first house party to celebrate his return and show off her new chef. The dinner party is a smashing success. Sir Mortimer Mordred - famous author of creepy Gothic horror novels - is one of the guests. He recently purchased a nearby Elizabethan manor nearby because it has a famous poison garden. After the dinner, Sir Mortimer approaches Georgie and asks to borrow her new chef for his upcoming party, and Georgie and Darcy, her dashing husband, are invited!

The tour of the poison garden is fascinating, as is Sir Mortimer's laboratory. Shockingly, just after the banquet several of the guests become sick. And one dies, apparently poisoned by berries from the garden. But how could this be when they all ate the same meal and the same delectable dessert? Georgie has to find the culprit to save her new chef and her own reputation - all before her bundle of joy arrives!"

Rhys Bowen has said the magic words that are my catnip; poison garden.

Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher is up to her elegant eyebrows in mystery once again!

Awakening unusually early one morning, Phryne Fisher finds herself with a rare stretch of free time to fill. After dropping her daughters off for their school-sponsored charity work at the Blind Institute, she visits a university professor whose acquaintance she'd made - and admired - on a prior case. At lunch, the smitten professor invites Phryne to dine at his home in Williamstown later that week.

Bookending her pleasant dinner with her new friend Jeoffrey, Phryne makes two disturbing discoveries: first, a discarded opium pipe in the park, and later the body of a Chinese man on the beach - cause of death not apparent, yet ultimately ruled a homicide. Shortly thereafter, the teenaged sister-in-law of Phryne's longtime lover Lin Chung disappears from her home. But when one of Jeoffrey's colleagues is murdered in front of a houseful of guests at a Chinese-themed party he is hosting, Phryne can't help but wonder - are the incidents all related somehow? And who on earth has been leaving notes in her letterbox, warning her to "REPENT" and that "THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH?"

In addition to the formidable and fashionable Phryne, this clever mystery once again features Phryne's three wards with their own mysteries to solve: Ruth and Jane, tracking an embezzler at the Institute, and Tinker, whose help Phryne enlists to uncover the author of the threatening missives."

I love the whole world of Miss Fisher, and after finishing the lamentably over Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries I need more Fishers in my life!

A Christmas Vanishing by Anne Perry
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Charlotte Pitt's clever grandmother investigates the sudden disappearance of her dear friend in this chilling holiday whodunit by New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

Mariah Ellison, Charlotte Pitt's grandmother, accepts her longtime friend Sadie's gracious invitation to spend Christmas with her and her husband, Barton, in their picturesque village. But upon arrival, Mariah discovers that Sadie has vanished without a trace, and Barton rudely rescinds the invitation. Once Mariah finds another acquaintance to stay with during the holiday season, she begins investigating Sadie's disappearance.

Mariah's uncanny knack for solving mysteries serves her well during her search, which is driven by gossip as icy as the December weather. Did Sadie run off with another man? Was she kidnapped? Has someone harmed her? Frustratingly, Mariah's questions reveal more about the villagers themselves than about her friend's whereabouts. Yet in the process of getting to know Sadie's neighbors, Mariah finds a kind of redemption, as she rediscovers her kinder side, and her ability to love.

It is up to Mariah to master her own feelings, drown out the noise, and get to the bottom of what occurred, all before Christmas day. With the holiday rapidly approaching, will she succeed in bringing Sadie home in time for them to celebrate it together - or is that too much to hope for?"

A must read this Christmas and perhaps our last Christmas story from Anne Perry who sadly passed this year.

The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"James Bennett has been invited to stay at White Priory for Christmas among the retinue of the glamorous Hollywood actress Marcia Tait. Her producer, her lover, the playwright for her next hit and her agent are all here, soon to become so many suspects when Tait is found murdered on a cold December morning in the lakeside pavilion. Only the footprints of her discoverer disturb the snow which fell overnight - and which stopped just shortly after Marcia was last seen alive. How did the murderer get in and out of the pavilion without leaving a trace?

When Bennett's uncle, the cantankerous amateur sleuth Sir Henry Merrivale arrives from London to make sense of this impossible crime, the reader is treated to a feast of the author's trademark twists, beguiling false answers and one of the most ingenious solutions in the history of the mystery genre."

Now THIS is what I need this holiday season. I think I might have to start my Christmas reading now to get it all in!

Grandiloquent Words: A Pictoric Lexicon of Ostrobogulous Locutions by Jason Travis Ott
Published by: Countryman Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Words confirm and deny, guarantee and deceive, elucidate and obfuscate.

The more words you know, the better you can express yourself and the more you can do in life. The founder of Grandiloquent Word of the Day accordingly presents a voluptuary of verbiage encompassing rare and obscure terms that confound or delight, antiquated argot from myriad epochs, and lexemes for venturesome bibliophiles.

Featuring a short, insightful introduction, Grandiloquent Words offers more than 250 preternatural terminologies for you to ingurgitate and brandish with aplomb for countless occasions. Bask in cataracts of mundane morphemes, bookish locutions, beef-witted blatteroons, corporeal catastrophes, playful patois, and jolly jubilations.

These always-extra expressions encompass timeless topics and modern phenomena, painting a group portrait of our foibles and joys. Replete with pronunciations, etymologies, examples, and whimsical illustrations, it will edify and entertain.

*This rare collection of definitions celebrates the marvels of our language."

I have been following them for years and Facebook and it's just as fascinating as it sounds.

Lamentation by Cullen Bunn, Arjuna Susini, and Hilary Jenkins
Published by: Oni Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the mind's eye of master storyteller Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun, Basilisk) and rising star Arjuna Susini (Made Men) comes a darkly glamorous tale of bone-splintering terror at the intersection of shadow and light...dream and nightmare...life, and the grim specter of Death himself.

After weeks of grueling rehearsals, a new production is set to begin at the famed Requiem theatre: Razide's Lament, three acts of Gothic horror set inside a haunted castle with a story that some say is more than mere fantasy. Under the stern rule of a dedicated but temperamental director, the script seems to be ever-changing, and, more mysterious still, our lead actress has found herself cast in the role of a lifetime without so much as an audition. Her opening night is coming fast-and, with it, a barrage of razors in the night that will terrorize audiences and actors alike. There is no exit, no escape, and when the curtain finally rises, Razide himself will take center stage to cross the threshold into the unholy darkness that lies just beyond..."

I will read ANYTHING by Cullen Bunn. But when he brings the Gothic, oh he brings it!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abigail Hing Wen, Anne Perry, C.A. Castle, Carter Dickson, Christopher Paolini, Cullen Bunn, Darcy Coates, Freya Marske, Gilly Macmillan, Jim Butcher, Kerry Greenwood, Mur Lafferty, Rhys Bowen, Travis Baldree