Monday, March 18, 2024

Tuesday Tomorrow

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah ƀbĆ­kĆ©-ƍyĆ­mĆ­dĆ©
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Where Sleeping Girls Lie - a YA contemporary mystery by Faridah ƀbĆ­kĆ©-ƍyĆ­mĆ­dĆ©, the New York Times-bestselling author of Ace of Spades - a girl new to boarding school discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.

It's like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again...

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school after being home-schooled all her life. Misfortune has been a constant companion all her life, but even Sade doesn't expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade's first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls collectively known as the 'Unholy Trinity' and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them - especially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to - and playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But when it seems people don't care enough about what happened to Elizabeth to really investigate, it's up to she and Elizabeth's best friend to solve it.

And then a student is found dead.

As they keep trying to figure out what's going on, Sade realizes there's more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface...secrets that rival even her own."

Technically not dark academia, but technically yes...

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From 2023 Edgar Award nominee and bestselling author Sulari Gentill comes a literary thriller about an aspiring writer who meets and falls in love with her literary idol - only to find him murdered the day after she gave him her manuscript to read.

There's nothing easier to dismiss than a conspiracy theory - until it turns out to be true.

When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother's doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer?

What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served. Then the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die."

The dark world of the literati! 

The Stranger at Black Lake by Christina McDonald
Published by: Intrigue Ink Publishing
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 125 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Secrets, murder and revenge converge in this gripping prequel to Amazon charts bestselling thriller, These Still Black Waters, about a young Jess Lambert drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Because old ghosts often have old scores to settle.

Jess Lambert and her husband, Mac, have just moved to Black Lake, looking for a quieter, more peaceful life. Until one morning Jess befriends a stranger - beautiful and glamorous Annie Parker - who's also just moved to town.

Only a few hours later, Jess finds Annie wandering naked and in shock along the lake. And at Annie's house she encounters a gruesome scene that shows a violent attack. But then Annie disappears.

As Jess is pulled deeper into the mystery of what happened to Annie, she learns about the house's chilling past. And she begins to wonder: who was Annie really? Is she a witness, murderer, victim?

But it's dangerous hunting down old ghosts. And Jess becomes increasingly unsure if she's the hunter, or the prey. Who is the stranger at Black Lake?"

Can't wait to read, but I think the cover needs a redo. Hint, don't use the same stock photography associated with another book. It's How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix if you were wondering.

A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In heroine Tempest Raj, modern-day queen of the locked room mystery Gigi Pandian has created a brilliant homage to the greats of classic detective fiction.

Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her "accident" on the home renovation company's craftsmanship. Now the family business - known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls - is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest from the truth: they're being framed.

When Tempest receives an urgent midnight phone call from Julian, she decides to meet him at the historic Whispering Creek Theater - only to find his dead body, a sword through his chest. After a blade appears from thin air to claim another victim, Tempest is certain they're dealing with a booby trap... something Secret Staircase Construction could easily build. Tempest refuses to wait for the investigation to turn to her or her loved ones. She knows the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of her, she just has to put them together correctly before more disaster strikes.

Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian and her sleuth Tempest Raj return in A Midnight Puzzle, where an old theater reveals a deadly booby trap, secrets, and one puzzle of a mystery."

THIS is the series that true mystery aficionados love.

Murder in Moscow by Kelly Oliver
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 243 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Journey into the heart of 20th Century Russia in this fun and funny historical mystery, perfect for fans of Verity Bright and Helena Dixon.

1918 Moscow

Will following her heart mean losing her head? It could mean losing her job.

Fiona Figg trails her nemesis Fredrick Fredricks to Moscow. But when she arrives at the grand Metropol Hotel, the bounder has vanished.

After Fiona doesn't show up for work at the War Office, Kitty Lane raises a red flag and tracks her to Russia. Seeking haven at the British Embassy, Kitty and Fiona become embroiled in a plot to overthrow the Bolshevik government.

But the plot turns deadly when Fiona goes undercover as a governess in the household of Iron Viktor, the Bolsheviks' Head of Secret Police. And when Viktor turns up dead in his study, Fiona finds herself wanted for murder and on the lam.

Can Fiona and Kitty find the real killer and escape the Kremlin before it's too late? Or will this dangerous game of Russian roulette be their last?"

Don't mess with the Secret Police!

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Woods All Black is equal parts historical horror, trans romance, and blood-soaked revenge, all set in 1920s Appalachia.

Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service, under its usual mandate: vaccinate the flock, birth babies, and weather the judgements of churchy locals who look at him and see a failed woman. Forged in the fires of the Western Front and reborn in the cafes of Paris, Leslie believes he can handle whatever is thrown at him - but Spar Creek holds a darkness beyond his nightmares.

Something ugly festers within the local congregation, and its malice has focused on a young person they insist is an unruly tomboy who must be brought to heel. Violence is bubbling when Leslie arrives, ready to spill over, and he'll have to act fast if he intends to be of use. But the hills enfolding Spar Creek have a mind of their own, and the woods are haunted in ways Leslie does not understand.

The Woods All Black is a story of passion, prejudice, and power - an Appalachian period piece that explores reproductive justice and bodily autonomy, the terrors of small-town religiosity, and the necessity of fighting tooth and claw to live as who you truly are."

Our battles have been fought before and will be fought again.

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Young, brazen, beautiful, and unapologetically brilliant, Margaret Fuller accepts an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the celebrated Sage of Concord, to meet his coterie of enlightened friends. There she becomes "the radiant genius and fiery heart" of the Transcendentalists, a role model to a young Louisa May Alcott, an inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne and the scandalous Scarlet Letter, a friend to Henry David Thoreau as he ventures out to Walden Pond...and a muse to Emerson. But Margaret craves more than poetry and interpersonal drama, and her restless soul needs new challenges and adventures.

And so she charts a singular course against a backdrop of dizzying historical drama: From Boston, where she hosts a salon for students like Elizabeth Cady Stanton; to the editorial meetings of The Dial magazine, where she hones her pen as its co-founder; to Harvard's library, where she is the first woman permitted entry; to the gritty New York streets where she spars with Edgar Allan Poe and reports on Frederick Douglass. Margaret defies conventions time and again as an activist for women and an advocate for humanity, earning admirers and critics alike.

When the legendary editor Horace Greeley offers her an assignment in Europe, Margaret again makes history as the first female foreign news correspondent, mingling with luminaries like FrƩdƩric Chopin, William Wordsworth, George Sand and more. But it is in Rome that she finds a world of passion, romance, and revolution, taking a Roman count as a lover - and sparking an international scandal. Evolving yet again into the roles of mother and countess, Margaret enters the fight for Italy's unification.

With a star-studded cast and sweeping, epic historical events, this is a story of an inspiring trailblazer, a woman who loved big and lived even bigger - a fierce adventurer who transcended the rigid roles ascribed to women and changed history, all on her own terms."

The day I spent in Concord was magical. I want to go back. Luckily I can go back there and back in time with this book.

Barbie: The World Tour by Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal
Published by: Rizzoli International Publications
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For the press tour following the record-breaking release of Greta Gerwig's award-winning, acclaimed Barbie movie, producer and star Margot Robbie and her stylist Andrew Mukamal immersed themselves in some of Barbie's most iconic outfits and curated vintage pieces, then approached designers, from Giorgio Armani to Donatella Versace, to create looks inspired by the doll-size originals. Many of these looks were not seen as the official Barbie press tour was cut short - so Margot and Andrew worked with renowned fashion photographer Craig McDean to shoot her in the looks exactly as they were curated: Schiaparelli in Los Angeles, Vivienne Westwood in London, vintage Chanel with matching Streamline luggage at the airport, and beyond.

Accompanying McDean's sumptuous photography are original Barbie dolls from the period, a treasure trove of rare materials from Mattel's Barbie fashion archives, and the designers' sketches and Polaroids from fittings, layered into evocative collage by art director Fabien Baron. With text by Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal, as well as handwritten contributions from the designers behind the looks (from Olivier Rousteing and Michelle Ochs to Manolo Blahnik and Jeremy Scott), this unique book blends the serious chic of high fashion with the serious fun of Barbie world - the dolls, the history, and the style that have captured imaginations for 65 years."

Just Margot Robbie's dedication is so inspiring.

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A compulsively readable queer sci-fi novel about a marriage of convenience between a Mars politician and an Earth refugee.

In the wake of an environmental catastrophe, January, once a principal in London's Royal Ballet, has become a refugee in Tharsis, the terraformed colony on Mars. There, January's life is dictated by his status as an Earthstronger-a person whose body is not adjusted to lower gravity and so poses a danger to those born on, or naturalized to, Mars. January's job choices, housing, and even transportation are dictated by this second-class status, and now a xenophobic politician named Aubrey Gale is running on a platform that would make it all worse: Gale wants all Earthstrongers to naturalize, a process that is always disabling and sometimes deadly.

When Gale chooses January for an on-the-spot press junket interview that goes horribly awry, January's life is thrown into chaos, but Gale's political fortunes are damaged, too. Gale proposes a solution to both their problems: a five year made-for-the-press marriage that would secure January's future without naturalization and ensure Gale's political success. But when January accepts the offer, he discovers that Gale is not at all like they appear in the press. They're kind, compassionate, and much more difficult to hate than January would prefer. As their romantic relationship develops, the political situation worsens, and January discovers Gale has an enemy, someone willing to destroy all of Tharsis to make them pay-and January may be the only person standing in the way.

Un-put-downably immersive and utterly timely, Natasha Pulley's new novel is a gripping story about privilege, strength, and life across class divisions, perfect for readers of Sarah Gailey and Tamsyn Muir."

It's also perfect for readers of Natasha Pulley. Seriously, everyone should be a fan of hers.

Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words by Boel Westin
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 576 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An in-depth, perceptive account of the unconventional life of the Moomins' beloved creator, now available in the United States.

Tove Jansson achieved fame as the creator of the Moomins, beloved by generations of readers around the world. Remarkably, the Moomins were only part of the prodigious creative output of this Finnish-Swedish writer and artist. Jansson's work also includes short stories and five novels for adults, as well as paintings, murals, and book illustrations. In this acclaimed biography, Boel Westin relies on numerous conversations with Jansson and unprecedented access to her journals, letters, and personal archives to present an engrossing and comprehensive review of the life and world of Scandinavia's best-loved author.

As Westin's meticulous research makes clear, Jansson's artistic and literary works reflected what was most important to her: the love of family and nature and the desire to pursue her art. Guided by her personal motto, "Love and work," Jansson seized both with uncompromising joy. And while her romantic relationships with men proved unfulfilling, she found those with women--especially with her longtime partner, the artist Tuulikki PietilƤ--both grounding and inspiring.

Westin weaves together the many threads of Jansson's rich, complex life: an education interrupted to help her family; the bleak war years and her emergence as a painter; the decades of Moominmania across books, newspaper comic strips, merchandise, and adaptations; her later fictions, including her popular The Summer Book; and her time with PietilƤ on the solitary island of Klovharu. Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words offers fans and admirers around the world the most complete portrait of the writer Philip Pullman described as "a genius, a woman of profound wisdom and great artistry.""

Moomins! Oddly enough my book club just read a book that referenced the Moomins. Moomins are life.

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