strange and random happenstance

The Witch Below by H.G. Parry
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of The Magician's Daughter comes a historical fantasy where dreams come to life and Arthurian legends are reborn, perfect for fans of The Everlasting and The Once and Future King.

Wales, 1941. As the second world war ravages the globe and bombs fall from the sky, people all over the world begin to dream of King Arthur. The dreams spread like a fantastical plague, flooding people's sleep night after night. Whispers arise of wonders and unexplained sights - dragons in the London Underground, and strange lights over Stonehenge. Self-proclaimed prophets claim they are miracles, heralding Arthur's return at the time of Britain's greatest need.

Elaine Ambrose has never dreamed of Arthur, and she doesn't believe in miracles. A librarian at the British Museum, she wants only to protect the museum's collection from the London Blitz, and is frustrated to be sent instead to catalogue a reclusive professor's private library on the coast of North Wales. But all is not as it seems. Soon Ellie must confront what she's tried to ignore: she dreams not of Arthur, but of Nimue - the Lady of the Lake. And her dreams promise not salvation, but a return to the darkness of the last days of Camelot."

The Arthurian geek in me is screaming for H.G. Parry's newest book!

The Haunting of Old Splinter by Jack Mackay
Published by: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Innocent wishes turn decidedly sinister in this chilling horror for fans of Katherine Arden and R.L. Stine.

Peter and his half brother, Adrian, live in the shadow of Old Splinter - a formerly lavish estate now in ruins. Rumored to have once housed an eccentric magician, it's now home to little more than spiderwebs and mold. Tasked with renovating the crumbling mansion on behalf of their wealthy uncle, Peter's stepdad is at his wits' end. And the cracks are beginning to show in their once-happy cottage.

A mysterious local legend may be their only hope. The wishing claw, a magical hand that grants your deepest desires, has spell-bound townsfolk for centuries. If it's real - if he can find it - then Peter might just save his family! But wishes are tricky things and they always come with a price. What starts innocently enough soon unearths much more than Peter bargained for, including a dark secret lurking in the walls of the mansion...and a monstrous hunger that comes knocking at his door."

Because maybe the house was meant to stay abandoned... 

Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden comes a high concept horror novel about a man trying to protect his dead mother's body from the evil that is hunting them.

Maggie Wise will take your eyes.

When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside.

But they're not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer's cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie's demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child - when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.

From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way."

I mean, I'm always here for anything Christopher Golden writes, but damn, that specter beneath the willow has me coming out in a cold sweat. 

The Lord of the Wood by E.M. Anderson
Published by: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The cozy fantasy of TJ Klune meets the creeping horror of T. Kingfisher in this magical novel about a man who enters a deadly enchanted forest expecting it to endanger his life, but not his heart...

Clockmaker Arthur Throckmorton lives a quiet life with his sister and her children, only dreaming of adventure. So when a wealthy client offers him a job that involves traversing Shiftleaf - an enchanted forest that claimed his father decades ago - he reluctantly accepts. The forest is treacherous, but the money will change his family's lives.

The journey quickly turns perilous. Fleeing from monstrous birds, Arthur stumbles upon a hidden vale where he meets the Lord of the Wood - a figure from his father's many stories. Instead of the fairy prince Arthur always imagined, Ira is a morose man, slowly transforming into a beast, his power over a dying forest waning.

Arthur enjoys the safety of the vale, and Ira's company. But he yearns for his family. To safely return home and rescue Ira from a cursed and lonely existence, Arthur and Ira must reach the heart of the wood to heal the forest. Except the further they venture from the vale, the more beastly Ira becomes. If they can't complete their mission before he turns completely, Arthur could lose the man he's falling for - and never see his family again."

Can I just say, this cover design captures the eye and the spirit of the book. Sheer perfection.

The Winter Folk by Jen Julian
Published by: Run for It
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman returns to the mysterious lodge in the woods where she once worked, and to the inscrutable creature that bound her there, in this haunting Appalachian gothic horror from singular voice Jen Julian. Perfect for fans of Alix E. Harrow and T. Kingfisher.

This is the story of Moth, who earned her name working for the Winter Folk.

Every year, the mythical Winter Folk gather at a secret lodge, a place known only as Deerhaven.

Moth was a housekeeper there once. A trusted confidant of Mr. Oslin, the enigmatic master of the house.

But Deerhaven is dangerous. The rules are exacting. The consequences for break them are dire.

Moth has not been allowed back in decades. Still, she feels its call. She will finder her way back. She needs to see him again. No matter the cost."

I can never get enough of Gothic horror. Especially one you throw in a mysterious lodge and its tenants. 

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring by Patrick Horvath
Published by: IDW Dark
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Eisner-nominated cozy-horror comic series returns in this sequel to the critically acclaimed first volume!

It's been eight long years since a bloodlusting brown bear drove into the city, kidnapped a kind young duck, dissected his body, and buried the pieces in the woods. The duck's family painstakingly sought justice…but this brown bear was smart...she covered her tracks…and in the '80s, there simply wasn't a way for the duck's family to find answers.

But it's not the '80s anymore. Almost a decade after cuddly brown bear Samantha Strong solidified herself as the sole serial killer in Woodbrook, the world is entering a new era. As Samantha will soon find out, there are no secrets in the age of the internet. And those who lost loved ones to her massacre haven't given up the flame of justice.

A reckoning is coming to Woodbrook. Join visionary writer and artist Patrick Horvath as he returns to the hit series that has taken the comic world by storm!"

I simply adored the first volume in this series, but to apparently wrap it up here seemed precipitous and wrong. Mainly because the focus shifts from Samantha onto the families of the victims and it just feels off.

The Mortons by Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Meet the Mortons: In this family, murder is currency - and business is booming.

The Mortons are a modern-day, old-money dynasty with impeccable taste, from their exquisitely crafted cocktails to their expertly tailored vintage garments. They are also stone-cold killers. For the Mortons, homicide is heritage.

They, along with the other crime families, send their progeny to Helshire College, where legacy students learn to exercise control over their wealthy peers. Jessica Morton has always excelled at Helshire, secure in the knowledge that she is the prodigy of her generation. Now, having committed her first kill, it should be Jessica's moment, her honor. But that kill will cut more ways than one, unknotting a series of revelations spanning the Mortons' country estate, the New York City art world, and Helshire itself.

Sharp and hypnotic, The Mortons is an epic novel of alliances and power, loyalty and kinship, and the consequences of ruthless ambition."

Ready or Not meets Dark Academia. 

Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls by Cynthia Murphy
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An addictive killer-thriller following an aspiring crime journalist's investigation into a case that blurs the line between art and life - perfect for fans of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

When aspiring crime journalist Fliss Keller attends an estate sale and uncovers a disturbing painting by a mysterious artist, she wants nothing to do with it. Unfortunately for her, her Art History professor dad buys it immediately. The portrait has been lost for decades and completes a set of four existing paintings of women by the same artist already hanging in the town's gallery.

But when a series of gruesome crimes rock the community and her father's gallery becomes the epicenter of a deadly game, Fliss discovers that the paintings may hold the key to a killer's identity.

Haunted by the specter of a serial killer, Fliss races against time to solve the mystery before it claims another victim. In a world where every brushstroke hides a sinister secret, can she unravel the clues before she becomes a killer's muse?"

A combination of my favorite things, art and murder!

Deadly Does It by Abbi Waxman
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Natasha Mason's AA sponsor is in deadly danger, she turns to the cranky yet brilliant Julia Mann for help, in this exciting new mystery novel from the USA Today bestselling author of One Death at a Time.

Mason, a Gen Z adrenaline junkie, and Mann, an ex-con, ex-actress, and lawyer turned sleuth, have already solved one murder together. United by their commitment to sarcasm and general disappointment with the human race, they now face a second crime that's way too close to home. Alexa Rousso keeps having accidents, and no one but her thinks it's a coincidence. Could her checkered past be coming back to get her? Mason and Mann's investigation takes them to the Bay Area, to the Central Coast, and - of course - to the hippest spots in Los Angeles. Will the Berkeley boho vibe convert Mann from vintage couture? Will the wine snobs of Ojai drive Mason to drink (or to vinicide, which isn't even a thing)? More importantly, will they solve the mystery before the murderer's sights settle on the detectives themselves, or will this new challenge also be their last?"

Vinicide should be a thing.

The Masala Chai Mystery Club by MJ Soni
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Suspects abound when a much-despised neighbor is killed, perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building and Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club.

Retired librarian Neeti Shah was hoping for a restful life with her chai-loving friends, but when the body of a neighbor, a childhood friend of Neeti's, turns up dead and the killer's MO is similar to that of Neeti's most recent book club read, things start to get out of control.

When Neeti hears a commotion at a neighbor's house, she finds Rohit's body sprawled across the bottom of the staircase with Agatha Christie's Dumb Witness nearby. Blackmailing his neighbors, threatening them with lawsuits, and calling them by nasty nicknames were only some of the hateful things that made him so disliked. But were they angry enough to kill?

Neeti is indebted to her old friend, and she's determined to find his killer. But she can't do it alone, so she enlists her mystery-loving friends, the Masala Chai Mystery Club, to get to the bottom of the murder.

But Neeti and her club members need to be careful. As more bodies turn up and more suspects start to appear, they'll need to find the killer before they end up in hot water!"

I mean, what could go wrong if the book club has read enough murder mysteries? 

Death at King's Cross by Rosanne Limoncelli
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"DCI Lilian Wyles is confronted by a troubling case, one that only the four queens of crime can help solve - even amidst the ongoing war efforts.

Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh are back in the follow-up novel to The Four Queens of Crime.

1941, London. When DCI Lilian Wyles finds a young woman murdered at King's Cross Station, she needs the help of someone she can trust, but Richard Davidson, her former Scotland Yard partner, has joined MI5 and is busy tracking black market routes outside of London, so for now, she is on her own.

After having met the four queens of crime during a murder investigation two years earlier, DCI Wyles has kept in touch. But Agatha, Dorothy, Margery, and Ngaio are all involved in the war effort and have problems of their own.

Agatha is volunteering at the University Hospital Pharmacy, where a dangerous anesthetic has been stolen. Dorothy has heard unsettling information from her connections at the BBC regarding members of the Royal Navy. Margery, who has been in the countryside helping families escape the city from the bombing, is worried about one of her charges whose older sister has gone missing. And Ngaio, who has relocated to New Zealand and is volunteering as an ambulance driver, has begun gathering secret intelligence from wounded soldiers and sailors that may put her in danger.

When the four queens contact DCI Wyles for help, the information they share makes the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. DCI Wyles once again finds herself collaborating with her old partners in crime to solve the mystery and close the case in this thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Nicola Upson and Anna Lee Huber."

I mean, obviously they've all learned part of the solution in the disparate locals. 

If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Novel Love Story meets Love in the Time of Serial Killers in this rom-com following Roxie Mitchell, an adventure-loving romance reader who finds herself trapped in a meet-cute turned murderous.

When Roxie makes a tongue-in-cheek wish to live out the plot of her favorite author's next novel, she has romance in mind - namely, the sweet, safe, swoon-worthy storylines Anna Matthews is known for. It should be a dream come true when her wish is granted and she finds herself swept into a first date with a handsome stranger who seems designed to take her breath away.

Except for one little hiccup: That handsome stranger tries to take her breath away. Literally. With a knife. The thing is, Roxie may be the new Anna Matthews protagonist - but this time, Anna is writing a crime thriller.

Thrown into a perilous genre she's never read, Roxie is desperate for help. So when her escape takes her straight into the path of Grant Hoffman, an anxious English professor with a convenient love of crime novels, she decides that kidnapping a grown man is a small price to pay for her own survival. Together, Roxie and Grant navigate a madcap story in which the lines between fiction and reality blur. They'll find out if they have what it takes to make it to The End - or maybe even Happily Ever After."

Who has never read a mystery novel!?! I mean, that's the real mystery that needs to be answered here!

Savvy Summers and the Po'boy Perils by Sandra Jackson-Opoku
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The next delectable mystery featuring quick-witted, unforgettable Savvy Summers, owner of a soul food café in Chicago.

Savvy has her work cut out when an old friend hires her to cater a company luncheon at a nearby office building on Chicago's South Side. Stepping out of her traditional soul food comfort zone, Savvy whips together a menu of Creole classics, with her own spin, of course - mini po'boys with assorted fillings, sunburst salad, and bread pudding using Great Aunt Essie's famous buttermilk biscuits.

But when someone is found dead in the company's conference room, Savvy's culinary creations are suddenly in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. While the focus should be on their delicious flavors and inventive techniques, Savvy's beloved café instead becomes the center of a murder investigation once again.

Caught within a messy web of gossip, miscommunication, and fraught coworker relationships, Savvy will have to settle the confusion to clear her name. Somebody's hiding something, and with the help of her trusty assistant manager, Penny Lopés, Savvy sets out uncover exactly who is to blame. With familiar faces turning up the heat on her investigation and her café still in hot water, will Savvy be able to save her reputation before it's too late?"

Question, how many murder investigations centering on one restaurant have to happen before it's closed as a nuisance? 

Our Marriage is Murder by Carol Goodman
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the latest thrilling mystery from Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author Carol Goodman, a writers' conference at an Italian castle turns deadly when a killer begins using a husband-and-wife writing team's novel as a blueprint for murder.

Fred and Thea Morgan-Lane are the envy of the mystery community, the perfect partners in life and in writing. Together they coauthor the wildly successful Death Takes a Holiday series, and they've been invited to the Italian castle where it all began for a mystery conference celebrating their first novel, Death Takes the Castle.

But their story isn't quite the fairytale it seems to outsiders. Twenty years and twenty books after they met, Thea wants out. Their marriage and partnership haven't been working for some time, and what better place to announce the end of the series than where it started?

Except shortly after their arrival at the beautiful Castellarosa, a shocking death takes place when the wrong person drinks a cocktail meant for Thea. The stunned conference-goers put it down to an unknown allergy, but Thea isn't so sure. Could someone be trying to kill her? Perhaps her loving husband isn't as ok with their series ending as he pretends, or maybe Nadine, the upstart young author who is vying to take Thea's place, wants her out of the way. Suddenly, it seems like everyone has a motive, and when a second death occurs, a disturbing pattern emerges - these deaths aren't random, they're following the murders in Death Takes a Castle exactly. Murders that Thea and Fred wrote.

In order to save the day - and maybe even their marriage - the unhappy couple will have to work together to figure out who is using their book as a blueprint for a killing spree. That is, if they can trust the person they've spent twenty years plotting murders with..."

I mean, for a superfan, ending a series by ending the authors would make a kind of sick sense...

How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After the untimely death of her bestselling crime novelist mother, a young woman teams up with the fictional "ghost" of the heroine from her mother's series in order to solve her mother's murder.

After the tragic death of bestselling crime writer Annie Morrisey, her daughter, Niamh, moves into her mother's country cottage to take care of her mother's estate. Shut away from the world, Niamh doesn't actually have to deal with the grief of her mother's untimely passing. Until the day that two things happen: the advance copy of her mother's final book lands on the doorstep and Leah Rebecca Overton appears in the kitchen.

Having a stranger show up in your house would be concerning at the best of times, but Leah isn't a stranger - she's the ultra-competent sleuth heroine from Annie's novels. The antithesis of Niamh in every way, she's lived in the fictitious character's shadow for years. But why (and how) has Leah turned up now? And why can only Niamh see her? Leah is the last thing Niamh wants in her house or in her head, but she can't ignore the sleuth...especially when Leah suspects there may have been more to Annie's death than first suspected."

Shades of Aunt Dimity. 

I Know the Ants by Lang Leav
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young woman's life spirals out of her control after her childhood best friend publishes a memoir that discusses the tragic events of their childhood, in this beautiful, powerful novel from the internationally bestselling author of Others Were Emeralds.

Mei's life isn't what she thought it would be. She's still entangled in a love triangle with Jacques and Kath that began when they were teens; her parents are drowning in debt; and she's stuck pulling off identity fraud jobs for her cruel auntie and her auntie's nauseating son, who won't leave Mei alone.

But Mei's world begins to truly unravel when she hears her childhood best friend Soey's voice for the first time in years, being interviewed on the radio about her new memoir, chronicling the childhood attack that left Soey with brain damage and killed her younger sister. When Mei reconnects with Soey, the leader of their childhood friend group known as the Daisy Chain, their encounter kicks off a series of events that culminate in another shocking death, putting Mei squarely in the public eye. As past and present collide, Mei starts spiraling after Soey implores her to find out who killed Daiyu - a search that leads Mei to uncover what happened that dark day in the woods behind their school, all those years ago.

Revered for her lyrical imagery, emotional acumen, and thoughtful voice, Lang Leav uses her gifts to brilliant effect, exploring unsolved mysteries, cycles of trauma and abuse, and the answers to a timeless question: how do you honor someone's memory without losing sight of yourself?"

I mean, life often doesn't turn out as expected for those who suffer trauma at a young age.

Give Me Everything You're Got by Imogen Crimp
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hot to the touch, an "utterly addictive" (Colin Walsh) modern gothic about a promising young filmmaker pushed to the brink.

In the middle of an unrelenting heat-wave, up-and-coming filmmaker Ruby arrives at the country house of her idol, Ellen. An iconoclastic feminist director, Ellen has offered Ruby mentorship and a room of her own in which to write her next film. Ellen's home is like something out of a dream - grand and imposing, with sprawling gardens and a shimmering swimming pool. But tension thrums beneath the picture-perfect surface. Ellen's reputation is under fire, and she chastises Ruby for refusing to turn her trauma into art. Meanwhile, Ellen's mercurial twenty-year-old daughter, Lara, lounges by the pool under the blistering sun, drawing her mother's latest houseguest towards her like a moth to a flame.

As her hopes for an artistic summer retreat unravel, Ruby finds herself entangled in a dangerous dynamic between mother and daughter, waiting for the heat to break. Ellen and Lara seem to be playing games with her, and only they know the rules. Soon the house itself begins to feel haunted, and Ruby has the unnerving sensation that she's not the first promising young woman to fall under its spell.

An incendiary fever dream of a novel set during one sun-bleached July, Imogen Crimp's Give Me Everything You've Got explores the dark corners of ambition, exploitation, and what it takes to be a woman artist."

I love the cat and mouse dynamic with a side of manipulation. 

The Subtle Pleasures of Indiscretion by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this latest installment of the beloved Isabel Dalhousie series, everyone's favorite moral philosopher and amateur sleuth takes on a new set of delicate disputes.

Isabel has an unwavering commitment to her principles, which means she is often asked to advise on the sensitive, personal affairs of others - even those whose business she would prefer to stay out of.

When Isabel receives a surprise visit from a friend who has recently discovered the existence of a long-lost brother, she will have to face this quandary in her usual deft and thoughtful way. The friend has always held her father in high regard, and is worried that knowledge of his affair will tarnish her siblings' perception of him. Meanwhile, Isabel's husband Jamie has been offered the gig of his dreams - the opportunity to play in a series of concerts at a prestigious venue in London. After meeting the series coordinator, it becomes clear to Isabel that the woman has a massive crush on Jamie. Isabel isn't sure whether to reveal the woman's intentions. Should she tell Jamie of her suspicions, or would that mean calling his talent into question?

And finally, the ever-frustrating Professor Lettuce returns, this time embroiled in a ridiculous dispute with his friend Professor Dove. Somehow, Isabel gets dragged into resolving the affair. As always, Isabel will have to use her pragmatic sensibility and kindness to navigate these tricky situations."

Hopefully she knows enough by now to trust her husband...

Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A fresh take on Groundhog Day with a dash of Practical Magic meets the magical escapism of One Italian Summer in this heartfelt and hilarious novel following a friend group so damaged that only a funeral could bring them back together.

When Babe - the complicated, magnetic matriarch of their teenage summers - dies, four estranged friends return to sleepy Mercy Island, a storm-swept stretch of coastal Georgia, summoned by the reading of her will.

Didion arrives at the timeworn pink house to find the friends she never thought she'd see again - along with the tensions, attractions, and unfinished business that once bound them together and broke them apart.

What should be a brief weekend of small talk quickly unravels when they wake up and discover...it's Saturday. Again. And again. And again.

Trapped in a time loop with no end and no instructions, they're forced to confront the betrayals, breakups, and buried truths that shattered them all those years ago. Because maybe, just maybe, an endless weekend is exactly what they all need to save their own lives."

Time loop to heal the trauma!

The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansion - beneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.

When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncle's library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her own - a story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?

Told in a dual narrative and set against the Gothic backdrop of Wurimbirra, Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say, weaves an intricate and compelling tale, inviting readers into the heart of a family's deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery."

An estate and a book that calls to you? Where can I sign up for this experience? 

Prince of Swords by Elise Kova
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome back to Arcana Academy. Tarot magic, forbidden desire, battle, and betrayal collide for the power to change the world in the thrilling second book of this New York Times bestselling fantasy romance series.

I am terrified. Yet my heart skips a beat. This man might be a monster, but he is my monster.

Clara Graysword is Oricalis's most wanted. Hunted and cornered, not even her mastery of tarot can save her this time...until the mysterious Worldkeepers appear. This secretive order may hold the key to changing Clara's fate. If she dares to trust them.

But the most dangerous alliance of all is one she's already deeply ensnared within: Prince Kaelis.

Kaelis, second-born prince of Oricalis and headmaster of Arcana Academy, is the one man she can't escape - maybe she doesn't want to escape. Ruthless, dangerous, and bound to Clara by destiny and desire, Kaelis tests her heart as much as her loyalty. Together, they grow closer to the most powerful secrets of the tarot...and to the truths they both hide that could destroy the passion that they no longer deny.

Hidden in plain sight within Arcana Academy, Clara walks the dagger's edge. Revelations about Oricalis threaten everything she thought she knew, and every choice she makes is the difference between salvation and ruin.

To change the world, Clara must risk everything - her power, her beliefs, and her heart."

Your new Romantasy obsession. 

Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One queen exiled. Another headed for the gallows. Both hungry for revenge. England's most infamous queens unite in vengeance against Henry VIII.

Anne Boleyn is going to die, and neither her cleverness nor her witchery can save her. So when her late rival, Catalina de Aragón, miraculously appears in her cell at the Tower of London on the eve of her execution, very much alive and offering a daring escape plan, no one is more surprised than Anne.

Lina doesn't have Anne's magic - but she has just as much hate for England's wretched king. Severed from her daughter and stripped of all her influence, Lina breathes only for the Hellebore Sisterhood, a clandestine and powerful society with a vested interest in keeping both queens alive...and using their particular skills to advance womankind.

Anne and Lina's old rivalries pale in comparison to a common enemy. And they're not alone. Anna von Kleve, Kat Howard, and even Catherine Parr all have their own bones to pick with the king. One by one, they capture their pawns, infiltrating the court and eliminating the men who plotted against them. Always inching closer to their true target...

And they want his head."

I mean, we need more feminist reinterpretations of vengeance on Henry VIII.

Livia by Caitlin C. Gillespie
Published by: Yale University Press
Publication Date: July 21st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A bold new portrait of Livia, ancient Rome's first First Lady, who shaped the empire from behind the throne.

Livia was no ordinary Roman woman. As wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberius - the first and second Roman emperors - she stood at the heart of the first imperial dynasty, wielding extraordinary influence in a world that denied women formal power. In this vivid biography, Caitlin C. Gillespie reclaims Livia (59 or 58 BCE-29 CE) from centuries of scandal and rumored villainy, tracing her journey from elite birth and early traumatic exile through her rise to wealth and influence as the matriarch of the imperial household.

Drawing on literary and archaeological sources, Gillespie explores Livia's inner life through her personal losses, including the death of her son Drusus; her political savvy; and her later life as Julia Augusta, high priestess of Augustus's divine cult. Though she never held an official political position, Livia emerges as a complex figure whose story of ambition, resilience, and maternal power resonates over millennia, captivating audiences from antiquity through today."

But I like thinking of her as having ulterior motives and perhaps a dash of villainy... 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abbi Waxman, Alexander McCall Smith, Caitlin C. Gillespie, Carol Goodman, Christopher Golden, Elise Kova, H.G. Parry, Imogen Crimp, Jillian Laine, Kelly Rimmer, Lang Leav, Paige Harbison, Sandra Jackson-Opoku, Sarah Lotz

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They're making a major feature film of the first Hawthorne/Horowitz mystery novel. Except - they're behind schedule, they've run out of money and...oh! The star has just been murdered.

Ex-Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne is dead.

Or, rather, the actor playing him in the film adaptation of The Word is Murder is. Rising star David Caine has been stabbed, and it seems that everyone on the set had a motive.

Caine had just fired his PA. He had fallen out with his director, slept with the screenwriter, humiliated his co-star and dropped his agent days before he was about to sign a multi-million-dollar deal to appear in the next Spider-Man movie.

But what if Caine's murderer had made a mistake? What if it was the real Hawthorne who was the intended victim? For it turns out that the brilliant detective may have got it wrong ten years earlier. An innocent man has died in jail. And perhaps someone has decided that Hawthorne must pay the price.

From the film set on the south coast of England, the story moves to Reeth, in Yorkshire, the village where Hawthorne grew up. A burned-down school, a car accident that isn't what it seems, blackmail and murder in an Elizabethan country house...somehow they combine to unlock the secret of what has happened in Hastings.

For once, the local police are helpful. DS Sarah Milnes gives Hawthorne carte blanche to investigate and there may even be a hint of romance in the air. Which leaves his hapless sidekick, Horowitz, on his own, stumbling his way to the truth.

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, A Deadly Episode is an intriguing page-turner that once again demonstrates why Anthony Horowitz is the reigning king of the modern whodunit."

I mean, the meta onion that is this series would so be upped if they adapted it, and, in particular, this volume, for the screen.

The Dead Room by Catriona McPherson
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 335 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this atmospheric thriller from Catriona McPherson, a young widow seeking refuge from her grief wades into the mists at the far end of memory lane - where something even darker awaits.

Reeling from the death of her husband, thirty-something audiobook narrator Lindsay Hale retreats to her Scottish hometown and the comforts of old times. The bungalow where she grew up is just as she left it, next to the scrapyard her family still owns. But something is wrong...something beyond grief.

Something she can only glimpse from the corner of her eye.

Lindsay's brother and best friend are there to welcome her back. An elderly widow helps Lindsay make sense of her new normal, and a kind man hints at unexpected possibilities. But when her widow friend vanishes, only Lindsay seems to notice. And while she starts "recognizing" strangers, she begins forgetting familiar faces.

Every night, as Lindsay's dream house fills with nightmares, she wonders whether she's truly unraveling - or if something more sinister's at play. Buried secrets surface and reality bends, forcing Lindsay to face the terrifying truth that her new haven isn't so safe after all."

But what if it's even more terrifying and she's unraveling while something sinister is at play?

The Girl Upstairs by Jessica R. Patch
Published by: Love Inspired Trade
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"She bought this house to save her marriage. Unearthing its secrets might just claim her life.

Gwen McDaniel's life is broken. But she knows the perfect place to fix it. Cold Harbor, Maine, an idyllic small town with views of Acadia National Park, is where she used to vacation with her parents as a child. Here, she and Steven can start over, renovating their cliff-side fixer-upper while patching up their marriage. Soon, everything will be better.

Except from the moment they arrive, Gwen sees and hears things, and it's more than just the drafts and shadows that are part of any old house. Steven downplays her fears, warning her not to fixate on problems as she has in the past. But Gwen spent years as a homicide detective, and her instincts don't lie. Something happened here. Proof comes when she rips up the attic's carpet to discover a chilling message carved into the wood underneath.

As Gwen delves into the history of the house and the Cold Harbor community, she begins to piece the fragments together. And gradually, a terrifying picture emerges: A missing girl. A house of horrors. And a dark, decades-old nightmare that is more haunting than Gwen ever imagined..."

Trying to save your marriage by going through the hell of home renovation never works.

Live Through This by Douglas Corleone
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 303 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A crime novelist reunites with old college friends to solve a decades-old murder in a riveting novel of psychological suspense by the bestselling author of Falls to Pieces.

Crime writer Gregg Dryer returns to his Pennsylvania campus for Homecoming weekend to revisit the death of his girlfriend Jess. During their freshman year, everyone assumed she took her own life when she fell from the roof of D'Amelio Hall - everyone except Gregg. After thirty years of struggling with grief, guilt, and personal demons, Gregg still has his doubts about how and why Jess really died that night.

His search for answers is also a chance to reconnect with four friends from his college class. Most of them have moved on from that terrible tragedy. Not Gregg. Nor Jess's mother, who is convinced to this day that her daughter was murdered. As Gregg's investigation leads deeper into a past he doesn't recognize, the trail grows darker and more dangerous with each new revelation.

As a reunion among old friends becomes one of secrets and suspicions, Gregg must confront his own troubled history - and a truth with which he may not be able to live."

If you murdered someone in college, would you go back for a reunion? That just seems to be playing with fire.

How to Cheat Your Own Death by Kristen Perrin
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the gritty streets of 1960s Soho to the lofty galleries of present-day West London, two interlocking mysteries decades apart unfold in this latest instalment in the award-winning, New York Times bestselling Castle Knoll Murder Mystery series.

Some secrets are deadlier than others.

1968: Frances Adams is loving her new London life, and she's stepped into a world of glamour thanks to her new friend, Vera Huntington - a magnetic socialite as mysterious as she is provocative. Vera dances around London like she owns it, taking Frances with her.

Present day: When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her famous artist mother, Laura, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Laura's new protégée, left in an alley with her heart surgically removed from her chest.

Annie is no stranger to murder - after all, she's solved a few already. And something about this case feels familiar. She's read about one just like it in the journals of her late great aunt Frances, whose friend Vera was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way.

As Annie investigates, threats pile up on Laura's doorstep, and it soon becomes clear that she's next. With her mother's life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it's too late?"

A nice Last Night in Soho vibe.

A Murder Most Camp by Nicholas DiDomizio
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Guncle meets Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies in this fun, twisty mystery following a spoiled nepo baby forced to work at a struggling summer camp who stumbles into a real-life murder mystery he has no choice but to solve.

Rustic cabins. Lakefront bonfires. A painfully hot lifeguard. And a murder? Summer has never been this camp.

Mikey Hartford IV has coasted through his twenties in a distracted blur of yachts and sex and partying. But when his father discovers his latest million-dollar impulse buy and changes the terms of his trust, the party's finally over. Now, unless Mikey can make a positive contribution to the world before his thirtieth birthday - one that doesn't involve throwing cash at his problems - he'll never see another yacht again. (Or even so much as a canoe.)

Enter: Camp Lore, a struggling summer camp in upstate New York where Mikey has to work as the oldest, least-qualified staffer to prove that he can "do good" alongside his twelve-year-old aunt. (Yes, aunt.) But Mikey isn't sure he'll be able to survive the camp's ramshackle living conditions, let alone the gaggle of preteens who won't leave his side. And when his campers become obsessed with a local legend set at an abandoned cabin on the grounds, Mikey's chances of not making it through the summer become dangerously real - because it turns out there's a murder hidden beneath Camp Lore. And someone there will stop at nothing to keep it that way.

Solving a decade-old cold case will surely be enough "good" for Mikey to earn his inheritance. He just has to stay alive long enough to do it..."

My friend Johnnie has been talking about this book for quite awhile now. You don't want to disappoint Johnnie do you? So get this book!

The Witch Finder by Tracy Whitwell
Published by: Pan
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"History is revealing itself, and the lines between past and present are becoming hauntingly blurred...

The Witch Finder is the fifth and final installment in the hilarious Accidental Medium series featuring Tanz, who with the help of the dead, has become an unwilling crime-solver.

When Tanz returns to her hometown in Newcastle, she comes face-to-face with dark, ancestral secrets lurking in its shadows. Haunted by chilling visions of the witch-trials, a voice from the past warns her, You're the one. Burn it, chosen one. As a sinister figure threatens to ruin everything she's built for herself, Tanz must embrace her connection to the dead to uncover her destiny.

With everything on the line, Tanz finds herself entangled in a web of folklore, mystery and imminent danger. Elements collide as the echoes of history demand intervention and new relationships entwine in her mystical journey. Tanz must wield courage against paranormal forces and listen to old and new allies in order to prevent ominous threats from consuming her world.

Will Tanz unravel the mysteries surrounding the witch pricker and her own lineage in time, or will she fall prey to the darkness that stalks her?"

The last!?! Why the last!?! No final installment. Just another installment!

Confessions of an Amateur Sleuth by Lynn Cahoon
Published by: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bainbridge Island bookseller, aspiring author, and amateur sleuth Meg (no relation to Bill) Gates investigates the murder of a crabby food critic in New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon's latest Pacific Northwest-set mystery for fans of Kate Carlisle, Lorna Barrett, Jenn McKinlay, and Ellery Adams.

Twenty-something bookseller and sleuth Meg Gates has a confession: solving crimes may be easier than writing. She's been working on a guide to becoming a detective - but she's her own worst critic. She needs a how-to in order to write her how-to!

At the Bainbridge Island writers' group, she meets freelance food critic Lee Anderson, who invites her to join him for dinner at the Local Crab so he won't be suspected of reviewing the place. Lee is a bit of a crab himself and intends to do a hatchet job on the eatery.

Instead, someone does a job on the critic - he's found dead by the marina. Now Bainbridge's culinary elite are on the suspect list.

With help from her beau, Dalton, and the Mystery Crew at Island Books, Meg dons her sleuthing cap to solve the mystery du jour - before another murder is served cold..."

I feel like mentioning that you're no relation to Bill Gates, despite the same last name and Pacific Northwest locale, is weird. Turns me off even picking up the book.

In the Spirit of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After moving to France, Tabitha Knight has a new friend in fellow expat and Cordon Bleu student Julia Child, whose culinary tips can come in quite handy. But something's cooking in postwar Paris, and it isn't just cheese soufflé...

Tabitha has enjoyed an entertaining afternoon in Julia's kitchen, but her return home is a bit jarring. As she arrives at her grandfather's rue de l'Universitémansion, a woman bursts out the door babbling about messages from spirits and a warning Grand-père must heed. Oncle Rafe angrily sends the woman on her way, and neither man will answer Tabitha's questions.

It's not the last she sees of the mysterious visitor. While she's on a date that evening, she's accosted by her again - and learns that Madame Vierca is a medium who claims to have visions of a dark fate that awaits Grand-père and Oncle Rafe. The very next night, Tabitha's messieurs host a soiree at their new restaurant, inviting fellow Resistance fighters from the war known as the Nine Bluets. To commemorate the work of the Resistance network, the vase on the dinner table sports nine of the pretty blue flowers.

But shortly after the revelers leave the restaurant, one of Grand-père's old friends is found dead on the street...and one of the nine flowers is missing from the vase. When a second member of the Nine Bluets is found poisoned the next day, and a bluet flower is left with the body, Tabitha cannot ignore Madame Vierca's frightening predictions about her dear messieurs. She has no choice but to share her suspicions and fears with the enigmatic and unruffled Inspecteur Merveille.

Tabitha soon finds herself caught up in an investigation that takes her and Merveille to the seediest, most dangerous parts of the Left Bank - home of strange, fantastical legends, disquieting events, and unusual people. As she and Merveille desperately try to find a killer, they know they don't have much time before the rest of the Nine Bluets are targeted...including Grand-père and Oncle Rafe."

I'll read anything by Colleen Cambridge, but a medium!?! Heck yeah!

The Roaring Ridleys by K.M. Colley
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 283 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Jazz Age New York, a shocking murder shatters the privileged life of the city's most elite family in a propulsive mystery-thriller debut from author K.M. Colley that spans from Harlem to Long Island's Gold Coast and high society's glittering world of deadly secrets.

In the glittering world of 1920s New York, the seven Ridley heirs seem to have it all: wealth, status, and protection as the city's most powerful family. But when notorious gossip columnist Dale Caimen is found dead during their family's renowned summer soiree, their carefully constructed world begins to crack.

Behind the champagne and jazz, each adopted Ridley sibling harbors secrets that could destroy them. There's Amelia, the responsible eldest trying to hold it all together; Adesua, whose artistic ambitions in the Harlem Renaissance threaten her family's expectations; and wild child Kavita, whose dangerous nights in speakeasies may have finally caught up with her.

As the murder investigation intensifies, long-buried tensions surface and family loyalties unravel. Someone knows the truth about the Ridleys - and they're willing to kill to expose it. In a world where appearance is everything and power comes at a deadly price, the siblings must decide what matters more: protecting the family name or each other."

My grandmother would have so gotten along with Kavita.

A Murder in Marylebone by Emily Sullivan
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After over a decade away, widowed mother of two Minnie Harper has left sunny Greece and returned to her native England at the turn of the 20th century - just as a cloud of suspicion falls over her younger sister in this cozy historical mystery for fans of Jessica Fellowes, Tasha Alexander, Deanna Raybourn, Rhys Bowen, and the PBS series The Durrells in Corfu.

The world is changing at the dawn of the 20th century, but respectable English families still dread a public scandal. So Minnie agrees to accompany her reckless sister, Delia, for a night on the town with her Bohemian friends. The evening involves a raucous house party, a visit to a fortune-teller, and an encounter with a flirtatious baron, but none of that unsettles Minnie more than running into Stephen Dorian, her former employer in Corfu, who stirs in her a mix of resentment and attraction.

Soon after, Delia discovers the body of her rumored beau in his own home, and Minnie insists on playing by the rules and informing the police. After all, fleeing the scene could suggest Delia is guilty of more than an improper late-night rendezvous...

When the sisters return to the townhouse, their parents, dreading the threat of gossip, insist that Minnie help clear Delia's name. Her discreet investigation will take her back into Delia's decadent circle and have her crossing paths again with the baron - a collector of antiques - and the infuriating Stephen Dorian. But her new social life is soon overshadowed by dangerous intrigue that leads her to question even her own past..."

I'm sorry, but Lady Emily would not get on with the Durrells as depicted in the PBS series.

How to Fake It in Society by KJ Charles
Published by: Bramble
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bridgerton meets The Goldfinch in How to Fake It in Society, a stunning queer romance by rising genre star KJ Charles.

It is 1821 and Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte is making a splash in London Society. The son of Jeanne de Valois de La Motte, infamous for stealing a priceless diamond necklace meant for Marie Antoinette, Nico hopes to restore his wronged mother's reputation, if only he can raise the funds. But he must operate with great secrecy, because the Bourbon dynasty murdered his mother, and he fears for his life.

At least, that's what he tells Titus Pilcrow. Titus was a simple shopkeeper, making and selling artists' paints, when he found himself suddenly married to an immensely wealthy woman who wanted to disinherit her nephew on her deathbed. As word spreads of his fortune, Titus finds himself a target of every scammer and beggar in London...including one Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte.

Nico is on his last legs, out of money, and on the run from some terrifying gangsters. When Titus offers Nico a space in his household, it's the perfect chance for him to exploit London's newest golden purse - until he falls in love with the man he needs to cheat. Still, Nico is sure they can have a happy ending together. If he can just find his way out of his own web of lies..."

Oh, a tie in to the Affair of the Diamond Necklace!?!

The Duke's Got Mail by Samara Parish
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Anonymous love letters are all well and good...until you discover you've been flirting with the enemy.

Eleanor Wright is the best compositor in London and in high demand with every printing press in town. But when whispers spread of a new machine that could put her out of a job, writing to a mysterious pen pal quickly becomes her only relief from a life that's coming apart like a badly bound book.

Peter Montgomery, Duke of Strafford, has spent years trying to get his estate out of debt. Now he finally has the solution in a machine set to revolutionize the publishing industry. If only finding a wife was as straightforward. Peter wants a lady who cares about him, not his title. Someone like his charming, witty pen pal - the only person in London who knows his most intimate secrets but not his real name. But when Peter's invention makes them bitter rivals in person, can the bond they've created on paper survive the test?"

Please say Eleanor's letters are all typeset. Please. The letterpress geek in me demands it!

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A nearly divorced trophy wife enrolls in culinary school to win back her husband, only to find a fresh start in the unlikeliest of places in this new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.

Retirement should mean long-awaited trips to the sapphire waters of Santorini or careening down a sand dune in Dubai. For sixty-three-year-old Mebel, retirement means her husband of more than forty years announcing that he's leaving her for their private chef. Mebel isn't sure who's the bigger loss.

Not to worry, Mebel has the perfect plan: she's going to win back her husband. No one knows what he needs better than her - after all, she's been anticipating his needs their whole marriage. And if he wants a wife who can cook (why else would he leave her for a chef?), she will simply go to cooking school. And where better to learn to cook for your husband than France, the most romantic country in the world?

However, Mebel quickly learns that she has mistakenly enrolled in a culinary school not in glamorous Paris but rather in England - and in some small village outside of Oxford no less. Despite the less-than-warm welcome from her much younger classmates, Mebel manages to befriend Gemma, the breakout star of the program. And this unlikely friendship starts to show Mebel that maybe there's more to her than being the perfect trophy wife..."

Yeah, maybe there's more than cooking dinner for a man who no longer wants you...

Bertie's Theory of Ice Cream by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The latest installment in the lively and deliciously charming 44 Scotland Street series finds all our favorite residents of Scotland's most celebrated address navigating their enchanting and eventful lives.

Settle in and take a trip back to Scotland's favorite fictitious street with Bertie, Irene, Big Lou, newcomer Galactica Macfee and all the rest.

Once more, we catch up with the delightful goings-on in 44 Scotland Street. With his singular warmth and charm, Alexander McCall Smith gives us another installment in this popular series, where anything could happen to Bertie and the gang..."

My mom loved this series so much. Pick it up in honor of her.

Liar's Dice by Juliet Faithfull
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An astonishing debut about a teenage girl in 1970s Brazil who is torn away from her twin sister - and who must learn what it means to fight for those she loves when all the odds are stacked against her.

Dolores and Mita grow up in rural Brazil, identical and inseparable. But Mita develops a mysterious illness that challenges the family. One day, Dolores wakes up to find her sister gone - sent to a hospital in their father's native London. There is no Dolores without Mita. And now Mita is gone.

When the family moves to Rio, Dolores' parents act as if Mita never existed. Lonely and grief-stricken, Dolores struggles to learn to read and write at the stodgy British School - until she meets Andrea, a headstrong, streetwise girl from the dangerous part of town. Andrea shows Dolores a new side of Rio - and how to survive it. As the dictatorship cracks down on dissenters, and people disappear, Dolores begins to wonder if her sister is dead, and her parents are lying. Determined to uncover the truth, Dolores is willing to do whatever it takes - lie, gamble and steal - to get her sister back.

Liar's Dice captures the precarious intensity of coming of age in a volatile time - when repression and silence are the fabric of everyday life - and the cost of family secrets. Heartrending and tender, Juliet Faithfull's debut novel is a testament to the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood."

Just growing up in a volatile time in anyone's life. Dolores's journey is just compounded by loss and danger.

We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A heart-wrenching standalone novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, We Burned So Bright follows an elder gay couple on an end-of-the-world road-trip.

The road stretched out before them. No other cars, just the headlights on the blacktop. Above, the cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky....

Husbands Don and Rodney have lived a good long life. Together they've experienced the highest highs of love and family, and lows so low that they felt like the end of the world.

Now, the world is ending for real. A rogue black hole is coming for Earth and in a month everything and everyone they've ever known will be gone.

Suddenly, after 40 years together, Don and Rodney are out of time. They're in a race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it's all over.

On the road they meet those who refuse to believe death is coming and those who rush to meet it. But there are also people living their final days as best they know how - impromptu weddings, bright burning bonfires, shared meals, and new friends.

And as the black hole draws near, among ball lightning and under a cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky, Don and Rodney will look back on their lives and ask if their best was good enough.

Is it enough to burn bright if nothing comes from the ashes?"

For those broken by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett on The Last of Us.

Hex House by Amy Jane Stewart
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A feverishly told, dark and unsettling Scotland-set fairy-tale about a safe haven for women which transforms them into vessels of revenge, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, A. G Slatter and Julia Armfield.

ELLY

Elly is running. Pregnant and still in her wedding dress, she flees the cottage that her new husband has rented for their wedding night. Because he's not what people think he is - and she knows that, one day, he'll hurt her in a way she can't fix. Freezing and lost in the dead of night, Elly begins to lose hope.

A woman in the woods alone is never the beginning of the story. It's usually the end.

So, when a beautiful house appears out of nowhere and a woman beckons her inside, it almost feels too good to be true.

Welcome to Hex House: a refuge, a home, a sanctuary. A place that can only be found by those who truly need it; a place that promises to teach Elly how to access a power more incredible - and more terrifying - than anything she could have imagined.

SIOBHAN

Four years after Siobhan meets Elly at Hex House, her life is in ruins. Once a promising filmmaker invited to the house to make a documentary with her brother, Theo, she's given up on her dream after witnessing unspeakable horrors there. Now, she spends her time drinking too much, toying with an older man in increasingly dangerous ways, and trying to get Theo to speak to her again. She ignores the scar on her stomach that never fully heals.

That is, until someone reaches out with news about Hex House that could change everything.

And Siobhan knows, deep down, that she was always destined to return."

The woods is where the story begins.

An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Sydney J. Shields, the breakout author of The Honey Witch, comes An Arcane Study of Stars, a historical dark academia fantasy filled with ancient secret societies, a swoon-worthy rivals-to-lovers romance, and dangerous deals made after dark. Perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

When Claudia Jolicoeur is rejected from Cygnus University, a devilish stranger named Dorian appears in her nightmares and offers her a bargain: he will get her into Cygnus if she learns how to free him from a prison of stars. He takes a bite of her soul to seal the deal, and Claudia wakes to a letter from the High Sage of Cygnus stating she will take the place of Odette Dufort, a Rhetoric student who passed away.

Her arrival raises suspicions, rumors that she had a hand in Odette's death spread like wildfire, and Cassius MacLeod, the High Sage's apprentice and Claudia's fellow Rhetoric student, seems hellbent on humiliating her. Determined to clear her name, she searches for any evidence that could prove her innocence. When someone - or something - starts slipping her pieces of Odette's diary, Claudia uncovers a horrifying truth: over the last century, celestial witches at Cygnus have been murdered. Odette was one of them, and Claudia could be next. For her own protection, Claudia needs to free Dorian - and fast.

By night, she studies the stars, slowly unraveling the mystery of Dorian's prison. By day, she and Cassius wage rhetorical war as debate partners in class. What begins as a fierce rivalry devolves into something deeper, darker, and dangerously sensual. As Claudia inches closer to the truth, she must decide: would trusting Cassius be the last mistake she ever makes?"

I can see why this is compared to The Atlas Six. 

The Boyfriend Academy by JS Strange
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 332 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Love is forbidden. Truth is dangerous. Survival is everything.

Ganymede's is no ordinary boarding school. Behind its spiral towers and manicured lawns, boys are forged into the men society demands - strong, obedient, perfect. Graduate, and the world is yours: a home, a career, a wife. But fail...and you're no longer useful to society.

For Dylan Cecil it should be simple: keep his head down, survive graduation, and earn his place. But when his friend, Blake, disappears, Dylan can't silence the questions gnawing at him, even as whispers of danger shadow the school's gilded halls.

As June's trials close in - eight tests that will decide who is worthy of manhood - Dylan is haunted by Blake's absence and drawn to Roman Edwards, a boy as magnetic as he is unknowable.

In a world rebuilt on order and obedience, Dylan must decide: will he become the man the academy wants - or the man he really is?"

Always be yourself. 

This Dream Will Devour Us by Emma Clancey
Published by: Amulet Books
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Inheritance Games meets Caraval in this YA contemporary fantasy debut about a girl thrust into the intoxicating and dangerous world of magical high society.

Sometimes you have to kill a dream to escape a nightmare.

Nora is the opposite of lucky. She's still wrangling her late father's debts when a mysterious illness lands her brother in the hospital. But her fortunes take an unexpected turn when she wins the lottery to attend the Lamour family's exclusive, magical Dream Gala.

If Nora can win over the Lamour heirs, she'll get a coveted spot on their magical training program - and the money she needs to save her brother.

There's just one problem: Nora never bought a lottery ticket.

Determined to discover who wants her at the gala - and why - Nora plunges headfirst into magical high society. Caught up in a decadent world of brutal billionaires and cutthroat celebrities, Nora is soon in over her head and entangled in a messy love triangle.

When her search for answers uncovers a sinister conspiracy, will Nora stay silent or risk the wrath of a family powerful enough to get away with murder?"

Yeah, that ticket is sus.

The Night King's Court by Elisa A. Bonnin
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Caraval meets Flowerheart in this rich and immersive cozy fantasy, where dazzling magic, lush descriptions, and a sweet sapphic romance cast an irresistible spell.

Ida's father went missing without a trace seven years ago, last seen at the court of the enigmatic Night King, which comes to life only after dark with magic and revelry.

So when a position opens up for a new court Luminaire, Ida doesn't hesitate. She inherited her gift for enchantments from her father - and with this position, she'll use it to find him again.

Ida is swept into the king's collection of magical beings, those who bring light and entertainment to the Court's midnight gatherings - and swept away by the Court, where faerie gardens edge into underwater masquerades, dreaming revels offer blissful escapes, and life is a mesmerizing euphoria.

Yet a sinister thread interrupts Ida's nights of decadence. Memories go missing, the castle's magic takes on a malevolence, and Ida can't seem to leave the boundaries of the court itself.

Enlisting the help of the king's breathtakingly beautiful daughter Lenore, Ida must unravel the castle's secrets...before this enchanted world destroys her."

First, let's just stop comparing books to Caraval. Second, of course you mind goes in a faerie court...

By Blood, Shadow, and Fire by Orin Steele
Published by: Emrae Publishing
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 502 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Marked by gods. Hunted by fate. Bound to a warrior she shouldn't want.

In a realm teetering on the edge of war, Islyn never asked to be chosen by the gods, by destiny, or by the dangerously compelling warrior sworn to protect her. But power like hers doesn't stay hidden for long. As ancient forces stir and enemies close in, she must navigate a world of secrets, shifting alliances, and a connection that burns hotter than it should.

Caught between duty and desire, Islyn has to decide who she can trust and what she's willing to become to survive.

By Blood, Shadow, and Fire is a sweeping fantasy romance about fate, forbidden longing, and the kind of magic that demands everything."

Doesn't magic always demand everything?

Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara
Published by: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"DO NOT MEDDLE IN THE AFFAIRS OF BARRANI.

Kaylin has been warned to steer clear of the lords of the Barrani High Court. She'd be more than happy to oblige, but it's a bit difficult considering she lives with ten of them, all sent to the green to gain power or die. With Kaylin's help, they finally escaped their imprisonment. But their attempts at freedom had devastating consequences - and a price that has yet to be paid.

The first warning sign is the Consort's invitation to visit the High Halls - a Barrani invitation, which means an immediate visit.

The second sign is less subtle: Kaylin finds Nightshade's unresponsive body. He hovers on the edge of death, beyond saving through Kaylin's healing power. No one can explain his state, nor why she's powerless to save him. And if she and her Barrani friends can't figure out a way to bring him back, he'll be lost forever.

Yet even as Kaylin struggles to keep Nightshade from death, there is deeper magic at play, a growing threat with the potential to affect the entire Barrani race. Factions are shifting, new lines are being drawn - and Nightshade's near assassination is only the beginning. Can Kaylin uncover the nebulous forces that threaten the balance of Barrani - and their entire world - before it's too late?"

Always here for Michelle Sagara.

The Redwood Bargain by Markelle Grabo
Published by: Page Street YA
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I'm the fourth Redwood girl, and I mean to be the last.

Indentured servant Katrien longs to make amends after a difficult choice extended her cousin Helsa's servitude with their lord of the manor. So when a dark creature in the forest known as The Redwood Man demands the lord's youngest daughter as payment for saving his life, Katrien is eager to make her own bargain that will guarantee her cousin's freedom - so long as she can successfully lie.

Katrien must fool The Redwood Man into believing she is the daughter he was promised, Lady Zaviera. Yet three girls have already lost their lives trying to pose as the young noblewoman, with the increasingly impatient forest lord seeing through each deception and exerting his wrath in return.

To ensure Katrien's success where the girls before her have failed, Zaviera and her sisters teach her how to be the perfect imposter, even as The Redwood Man's sentient vines threaten to consume the manor and its staff. Turning a kitchen maid into a proper lady is no simple task, and matters are complicated further as Katrien begins to fall for the tenderhearted lady she might die for. Caught between duty, desire, and Zaviera's own blooming feelings, Katrien must decide if she's truly willing to risk her life to right past wrongs and sacrifice herself for the girl she's come to love."

Can't the sentient vines, I don't know, spy on their plans and thus make success impossible?

Death Meets Cute by J. Penner
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I am more than capable of being evil today. I think...

Iris Weyward wants to be bad. Truly bad. Terrifyingly, gloriously villainous. But after helping her sisters unleash a spell to throw the realm into chaos, Iris is left feeling strangely empty - and not at all like the villain of her dreams. So, she sets off for the quiet town of Fraywell to build her wicked legacy alone.

Things start promisingly: a crooked little cottage, a reputation for curses and potions, and a healthy dose of fear from the locals. But when her ogre bodyguard disappears, Iris needs new muscle. Good thing a fearsome orc just toppled over in her yard. Naturally, she decides to reanimate him. It's a perfect solution.

Only, Talon isn't the brooding warrior she was hoping for. He's gentle. He bakes. Worst of all, he's nice. But Iris can't possibly have a thing for her new employee. She's supposed to be the most wicked witch in town!

While Iris struggles to turn Talon into the enforcer she deserves, her sisters arrive seeking help - their magic is fading, and the cause may be closer than any of them realize. The timing couldn't be worse, and falling for an orc wasn't supposed to be part of her villain era, but love might turn out to be the best spell she's ever cast..."

I mean, who wouldn't fall for a baking orc?

The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt, and Bill Crabtree
Published by: Oni Press
Publication Date: April 28th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 146 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In celebration of 15 years of one of the most beloved smash hits in the history of creator-owned comics, return to the Eisner Award–nominated world of The Sixth Gun as co-creators Cullen Bunn (Harrow County) and Brian Hurtt (The Midnite Show) reunite for an all-new, self-contained entry point into the acclaimed saga that fantasy icon Michael Moorcock calls "an epic in its own right."

Becky Montcrief's great sacrifice destroyed the Sixth Gun - and the Grey Witch Griselda with it - but the power of the timeless weapons was also released into the world, ready to be reborn.... Familiar heroes - Ghost Eyes, Izzy, Henry Grey, Unega, and more - race to prevent the deadly cabal of villains old and new from gaining control of the reborn mythical weapons known as the Six. With the power of travel on the mystical Crossroads, the whole world is the stage for the newest battle to control its fate - the Battle for the Six!

Collecting The Sixth Gun: Battle for the Six #1–3, plus the three prelude short stories collected in The Sixth Gun: Road to the Six #0!"

Always here for Cullen Bunn and awhile back I read the first art which was enough to intrigue me. Plus, this is self-contained! 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexander McCall Smith, Anthony Horowitz, Catriona McPherson, Colleen Cambridge, Cullen Bunn, J. Penner, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Kristen Perrin, Lynn Cahoon, Markelle Grabo, Michelle Sagara, mily Sullivan, Orin Steele, TJ Klune