strange and random happenstance

Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: June 11th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"On a clear December morning in 1937, at the famous gold clock in Grand Central Terminal, Joe Reynolds, a hardworking railroad man from Queens, meets a vibrant young woman who seems mysteriously out of place. Nora Lansing is a Manhattan socialite whose flapper clothing, pearl earrings, and talk of the Roaring Twenties don’t seem to match the bleak mood of Depression-era New York. Captivated by Nora from her first electric touch, Joe despairs when he tries to walk her home and she disappears. Finding her again - and again - will become the focus of his love and his life.

Nora, a fiercely independent aspiring artist, is shocked to find she’s somehow been trapped, her presence in the terminal governed by rules she cannot fathom. It isn’t until she meets Joe that she begins to understand the effect that time is having on her, and the possible connections to the workings of Grand Central and the solar phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge, when the sun rises or sets between the city’s skyscrapers, aligned perfectly with the streets below.

As thousands of visitors pass under the famous celestial blue ceiling each day, Joe and Nora create a life unlike any they could have imagined. With infinite love in a finite space, they take full advantage of the “Terminal City” within a city, dining at the Oyster Bar, visiting the Whispering Gallery, and making a home at the Biltmore Hotel. But when the construction of another landmark threatens their future, Nora and Joe are forced to test the limits of freedom and love.

Delving into Grand Central Terminal’s rich past, Lisa Grunwald crafts a masterful historical novel about a love affair that defies age, class, place, and even time."

Firstly, I have to say it, this is easily my favorite cover of any book this year. It's too too divine. Add to that the wibbly-wobbly-timey-whimy-ness of the book and Manhattanhenge, a sight I've longed to see for myself, and this a the must read book no matter what time you're in.

Fatal Inheritance by Rachel Rhys
Published by: Washington Square Press
Publication Date: June 11th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Get swept away to the enchanting South of France with this “exquisite and shimmering” (Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone) suspenseful historical novel, where perilous secrets lurk under the glitz and glam of seaside wealth.

She didn’t have an enemy in the world...until she inherited a fortune.

London 1948: Eve Forrester is stuck in a loveless marriage, isolated in her gray and gloomy house when out of the blue, she receives a letter. A wealthy stranger has left her a mysterious inheritance but in order to find out more, she must travel to the glittering French Riviera.

There, Eve discovers she has been bequeathed an enchanting villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and suddenly, life could not be more glamorous. But while she rubs shoulders with the rich and famous, challengers to her unexplained fortune begin to emerge - challengers who would love to see Eve gone forever.

Alone in paradise, Eve must unlock the story behind her surprise bequest - before her unexpected twist of fate turns deadly...

With Rachel Rhys’s “thrilling, seductive, and utterly absorbing” (Paula Hawkins, #1 bestselling author of The Girl on the Train) prose, Fatal Inheritance is an intoxicating story of dysfunctional families and long-hidden secrets, set against the decadence of the Côte d’Azur."

I'm a sucker for a story where an inheritance appears out of nowhere and then the mystery truly begins!

The Paper Wasp by Lauren Acampora
Published by: Grove Press
Publication Date: June 11th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An electrifying debut novel from the acclaimed author of The Wonder Garden, The Paper Wasp is a riveting knife-edge story of two women’s dark friendship of twisted ambition set against the backdrop of contemporary Hollywood.

In small-town Michigan, Abby Graven leads a solitary life. Once a bright student on the cusp of a promising art career, she now languishes in her childhood home, trudging to and from her job as a supermarket cashier. Each day she is taunted from the magazine racks by the success of her former best friend Elise, a rising Hollywood starlet whose life in pictures Abby obsessively scrapbooks. At night Abby escapes through the films of her favorite director, Auguste Perren, a cult figure known for his creative institute the Rhizome. Inspired by Perren, Abby draws fantastical storyboards based on her often premonitory dreams, a visionary gift she keeps hidden.

When Abby encounters Elise again at their high school reunion, she is surprised and warmed that Elise still considers her not only a friend but a brilliant storyteller and true artist. Elise’s unexpected faith in Abby reignites in her a dormant hunger, and when Elise offhandedly tells Abby to look her up if she’s ever in LA, Abby soon arrives on her doorstep. There, Abby discovers that although Elise is flourishing professionally, behind her glossy magazine veneer she is lonely and disillusioned. Ever the supportive friend, Abby becomes enmeshed in Elise’s world, even as she guards her own dark secret and burning desire for greatness. As she edges closer to Elise, the Rhizome, and her own artistic ambitions, the dynamic shifts between the two friends - until Abby can see only one way to grasp the future that awaits her.

The Paper Wasp is a thrilling, unexpected journey into the psyche and imagination of a woman determined to fulfill her destiny from one of our most unique and incisive writers."

Dark female drama in Hollywood? Yes please!

Death at Burwell Farm by Betty Rowlands
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: June 11th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 236 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A rambling old house, surrounded by a gorgeous rose garden with an elegant fountain, looks too perfect to be true. But could this beautiful place be the link between a string of peculiar deaths?

Sukey Reynolds is photographing the scene of a burglary at Burwell Farm for the police, when she finds herself drawn to the crumbling building and peaceful surroundings. Burwell Farm doesn’t grow crops or raise animals, but as a retreat, the owners do make some extraordinary claims about healing the soul...

But before Sukey can get too intrigued, she’s called to another break-in at the house of a young widow, whose husband spent a great deal of time at… Burwell Farm. Sukey starts to wonder if there is something more sinister going on behind the perfectly manicured lawns...

After her police colleagues refuse to take her suspicions seriously, Sukey decides the time has come to do some sleuthing on her own. But who is the thorn in the rose garden? Is it the beautiful receptionist, the gardener with a secret to hide, or perhaps the leader who inspires such devotion?

Then someone is murdered in the garden of Burwell Farm while she is there and Sukey realises she has landed herself in deep water. Can Sukey solve the mystery that has blighted this stunning house? And can she catch the killer before they turn on her?

A completely addictive murder mystery for fans of P.D. James, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis that will have you hooked from the first page!"

Because everyone needs a little British murder mystery in their lives every now and then, or in my case, always. 

The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: June 11th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison - a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.

The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism - drugs and sex and endless parties - distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.

Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion - and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.

But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms."

Because everyone needs to sometimes escape the current dystopia for a fictional one.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Betty Rowlands, Death at Burwell Farm, Fatal Inheritance, Lauren Acampora, Lisa Grunwald, Rachel Rhys, Richard Kadrey, The Grand Dark, The Paper Wasp, Time After Time, Tuesday Tomorrow

The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A post-mortem photographer unearths dark secrets of the past that may hold the key to his future, in this captivating debut novel in the Gothic tradition of Wuthering Heights and The Thirteenth Tale.

All love stories are ghost stories in disguise.

When famed Byronesque poet Hugh de Bonne is discovered dead of a heart attack in his bath one morning, his cousin Robert Highstead, a historian turned post-mortem photographer, is charged with a simple task: transport Hugh’s remains for burial in a chapel. This chapel, a stained glass folly set on the moors of Shropshire, was built by de Bonne sixteen years earlier to house the remains of his beloved wife and muse, Ada. Since then, the chapel has been locked and abandoned, a pilgrimage site for the rabid fans of de Bonne’s last book, The Lost History of Dreams.

However, Ada’s grief-stricken niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he agrees to her bargain: before he can lay Hugh to rest, Robert must record Isabelle’s story of Ada and Hugh’s ill-fated marriage over the course of five nights.

As the mystery of Ada and Hugh’s relationship unfolds, so does the secret behind Robert’s own marriage - including that of his fragile wife, Sida, who has not been the same since the tragic accident three years ago, and the origins of his own morbid profession that has him seeing things he shouldn’t - things from beyond the grave.

Kris Waldherr effortlessly spins a sweeping and atmospheric Gothic mystery about love and loss that blurs the line between the past and the present, truth and fiction, and ultimately, life and death."

I was sold with post-mortem photographer, and all the other Gothic goodness steeped on top? Cherry on the sundae!

The House of Secrets by Terry Lynn Thomas
Published by: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 250 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sarah Bennett has two secrets: she sees ghosts, and she is in love with a spy.

When Sarah takes a job with occult expert Dr Matthew Geisler, he promises to help her understand the sorrowful spirit that seems to have attached itself to her.

As Sarah struggles to cope with the ghostly presence, she runs into Zeke, the man who left her six months earlier and is recovering from injuries suffered in an alleged accident. But Zeke has secrets of his own, and when an attempt is made on Geisler’s life, Sarah finds herself caught in a struggle between the living and the dead.

Unsure who she can trust, Sarah must solve the mystery of the soul determined to haunt her, and save Dr Geisler and herself from an unknown threat."

I've always been fascinated and equally scared about spirits that attach themselves to people.

The Girl in the Painting by Renita D'Silva
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 503 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"India, 1926: English Margaret arrives with her new husband Suraj at his family home, set amidst beautiful rolling hills, the air filled with the soft scent of spices and hibiscus flowers. Margaret is unwelcome, homesick and lonely, but her maid Archana, a young woman from an impoverished family, reminds her of her long-lost sister, a tiny glimpse of home in a faraway place.

As Margaret and Archana spend more time together, an unexpected friendship blooms. But in British India the divide between rich and poor, English and Indian, is wide, and the clash between Margaret’s modern views and the weight of tradition on Archana will lead to devastating results...

England, 2000: When Emma’s grandmother gives her a mysterious painting, and asks her to take a message of forgiveness to an old friend in India, Emma is relieved to have some time and space to make a decision about her future. But as she fulfils her grandmother’s wish, a secret kept for over seventy years is finally revealed - the story of a day spent painting by a stream full of water lilies, where a betrayal tore three lives apart forever..."

If you've been missing Indian Summers and like old family secrets, this is the book for you. 

A Snapshot of Murder by Frances Brody
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Critically acclaimed author Frances Brody is back with the tenth installment in her Kate Shackleton series, perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Nicola Upson.

Seven keen amateur photographers gather for the most popular openings of the decade. Only six will return.

Yorkshire, 1928. Indomitable sleuth Kate Shackleton is taking a well-deserved break from her detective work and indulging in her other passion: photography. When her local Photographic Society proposes an outing to the opening of the Bronte Museum, Kate jumps at the chance to visit the setting of Wuthering Heights. But the setting proves to be even more sinister than the dreary classic when a member of their party is found murdered.

The event is one of the most popular of the decade, and each of the seven photographers were there to capture the perfect shot of a lifetime. But Tobias, the deceased, was known for being loud-mouthed and didn’t care to curb his demeanor. Kate deduces that he must have had several enemies. But soon, she begins to suspect that perhaps the murderer is amongst them. And before they shrink to just a group of five, Kate must pick back up her magnifying glass and sleuthing cap to crack the case in A Snapshot of Murder, Frances Brody’s tenth brilliant Kate Shackleton mystery."

I love Frances Brody, but to have her new story be set at the Bronte Museum in Haworth!?! Hold me back!

Murder in a Country Garden by Betty Rowlands
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 268 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A perfect country garden is full of flowers and gently buzzing bees... But the man lying dead beneath the trees can no longer see the beautiful scene.

Melissa Craig is thrilled that summer has arrived. She has decided to give up her career as an amateur sleuth and enjoy a quiet life in her beautiful cottage. The only digging in Melissa’s life now happens in her garden.

However, when a keen beekeeper is found dead, covered in multiple stings, her new resolve is tested. As she gets to know the family of the dead man, she realises he was no saint. Could someone have possibly wanted him dead? Could this be a very clever murder?

As Melissa starts to probe the victim’s friends and acquaintances, another member of the family is also stung to death. Who could have turned the bees against their keeper? And when will they strike again?

With the residents of Upper Benbury now fearful to open their windows to the summer air, and the police treating the deaths as accidental, Melissa must solve this case herself. To find the killer with the sharpest sting, she may have to delve deep into the hive...

If you can’t get enough of mysteries by Agatha Christie, P.D. James or Faith Martin, you will love this unputdownable mystery novel."

I've always thought English gardens and murder go hand in hand... that's what happens when you are an addict of Agatha Christie and Midsomer Murders... 

Death of a New American by Mariah Fredericks
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Death of a New American by Mariah Fredericks is the atmospheric, compelling follow-up to the stunning debut A Death of No Importance, featuring series character, Jane Prescott.

In 1912, as New York reels from the news of the Titanic disaster, ladies’ maid Jane Prescott travels to Long Island with the Benchley family. Their daughter Louise is to marry William Tyler, at their uncle and aunt’s mansion; the Tylers are a glamorous, storied couple, their past filled with travel and adventure. Now, Charles Tyler is known for putting down New York’s notorious Italian mafia, the Black Hand, and his wife Alva has settled into domestic life.

As the city visitors adjust to the rhythms of the household, and plan Louise’s upcoming wedding, Jane quickly befriends the Tyler children’s nanny, Sofia - a young Italian-American woman. However, one unusually sultry spring night, Jane is woken by a scream from the nursery - and rushes in to find Sofia murdered, and the carefully locked window flung open.

The Tylers believe that this is an attempted kidnapping of their baby gone wrong; a warning from the criminal underworld to Charles Tyler. But Jane is asked to help with the investigation by her friend, journalist Michael Behan, who knows that she is uniquely placed to see what other tensions may simmer just below the surface in this wealthy, secretive household. Was Sofia’s murder fall-out from the social tensions rife in New York, or could it be a much more personal crime?"

A little hint of a Lindbergh baby?

The Last by Hanna Jameson
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of high-concept thrillers such as Annihilation and The Girl with All the Gifts, this breathtaking dystopian psychological thriller follows an American academic stranded at a Swiss hotel as the world descends into nuclear war - along with twenty other survivors - who becomes obsessed with identifying a murderer in their midst after the body of a young girl is discovered in one of the hotel’s water tanks.

Jon thought he had all the time in the world to respond to his wife’s text message: I miss you so much. I feel bad about how we left it. Love you. But as he’s waiting in the lobby of the L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland after an academic conference, still mulling over how to respond to his wife, he receives a string of horrifying push notifications. Washington, DC has been hit with a nuclear bomb, then New York, then London, and finally Berlin. That’s all he knows before news outlets and social media goes black - and before the clouds on the horizon turn orange.

Now, two months later, there are twenty survivors holed up at the hotel, a place already tainted by its strange history of suicides and murders. Those who can’t bear to stay commit suicide or wander off into the woods. Jon and the others try to maintain some semblance of civilization. But when the water pressure disappears, and Jon and a crew of survivors investigate the hotel’s water tanks, they are shocked to discover the body of a young girl.

As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, Jon becomes obsessed with investigating the death of the little girl as a way to cling to his own humanity. Yet the real question remains: can he afford to lose his mind in this hotel, or should he take his chances in the outside world?"

It's post-apocalyptic Poirot! 

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: April 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestseller Cassandra Clare and award-winner Wesley Chu comes the first book in a new series that follows High Warlock Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood as they tour the world after the Mortal War. The Red Scrolls of Magic is a Shadowhunters novel.

All Magnus Bane wanted was a vacation - a lavish trip across Europe with Alec Lightwood, the Shadowhunter who against all odds is finally his boyfriend. But as soon as the pair settles in Paris, an old friend arrives with news about a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand that is bent on causing chaos around the world. A cult that was apparently founded by Magnus himself. Years ago. As a joke.

Now Magnus and Alec must race across Europe to track down the Crimson Hand and its elusive new leader before the cult can cause any more damage. As if it wasn’t bad enough that their romantic getaway has been sidetracked, demons are now dogging their every step, and it is becoming harder to tell friend from foe. As their quest for answers becomes increasingly dire, Magnus and Alec will have to trust each other more than ever - even if it means revealing the secrets they’ve both been keeping."

If Cassandra Clare's books had had this shitty of a cover from day one you would have known it as crap fanfiction. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Betty Rowlands, Cassandra Clare, Frances Brody, Gothic, Hanna Jameson, Haworth, Kate Shackleton, Kris Waldherr, Mariah Fredericks, Rentia D'Silva, Terry Lynn Thomas, The Lost History of Dreams