strange and random happenstance

Innamorata by Ava Reid
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A decadently dark gothic fantasy for readers who love "haunting atmospheres, morally tangled characters, and stories where love becomes doom" (Booklist, starred review), the first in a duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth.

Once there was an island where the dead walked the earth, and seven noble houses ruled by the arcane secrets of necromancy.

A conqueror's blade brought them low, burning their libraries, killing their lords, and extinguishing their eldritch magic.

But defiant against the new order stands the House of Teeth and its last living members: beautiful Marozia, the heiress to the House, and her cousin, the uncanny Lady Agnes.

Though she has not spoken a word in seven years, Agnes is the true carrier of the House's legacy. And she has her orders. She must recapture the secrets of death magic and avenge her family's fallen honor. She must arrange the betrothal of her beloved cousin Marozia to Liuprand, heir to the conqueror's throne, for access to the forbidden library in his grotesquely grand castle.

Revenge burns in Agnes's heart but so do stranger passions - and it is Liuprand, the golden prince, who speaks to her soul. This passion is as treasonous as it is powerful, poisoning the kingdom's roots and threatening to tear the already shattered realm in two.

For Agnes's final order is the gravest: She must not fall in love.

Book One of The House of Teeth Duology."

So. Many. Libraries! Any book with a library central to the plot is a book worth having in my library. Plus that cover!

The Daughters by Joanna Margaret
Published by: The Mysterious Press
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A grieving archivist uncovers a strange connection between recent disappearances and a small New York town's history of witch trials in this new thriller from the author of The Bequest.

Reeling from the dual deaths of her estranged father and ex-fiancé, Genevieve Tompkins has dropped out of her PhD program in New York City and is looking for a chance to start over in Wilton Springs, a faded Victorian spa town in upstate New York. Utilizing her background as an archivist, she is hired to catalogue the papers of the prominent Wilton family, who trace their lineage back to the founders of the town. But as she digs into their records, Genevieve discovers that the family's pharmaceutical business and their personal lives have been fraught with a history of tragedy. She also uncovers a series of disturbing disappearances and suspicious deaths among the women of the town.

Three centuries earlier, Wilton Springs was the site of a brutal witch trial - a fact which someone has gone to extreme lengths to erase from historical record. As Genevieve explores the connections between the modern disappearances and the town's ugly past, she becomes entangled in a web of conspiracy, where the line between superstition and reality begins to blur, and she fears she may become the next woman to go missing from Wilton Springs...

Blending elements of Gothic fiction and folk horror, The Daughters is a literary thriller that will keep readers guessing how the mysteries of the distant past may reverberate and resurface in the sinister and atmospheric present."

YES! THIS! ALL OF THIS!! 

You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Domestic suspense meets haunted house horror in this adult debut from the New York Times bestselling author of Don't Let the Forest In.

The walls are closing in on her perfect new life.

Single mother Elodie's life has become a fairy tale. She's met Bren, equal parts Golden-retriever-devoted and sinfully handsome. He's whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he's renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Until Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are "hurting" the house. Even Elodie can't ignore it - something strange is going on.

The question is, Is it with the house, or with her son?

And what is Elodie hiding?"

Goosebumps when Jude says the renovations are "hurting" the house. GOOSEBUMPS! 

Mother Is Watching by Karma Brown
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The chilling horror debut from a #1 international bestselling author - an art conservator's obsession with a mysterious painting spirals into a nightmarish descent, where the line between reality and the supernatural shatters, threatening both her sanity and her life.

Mathilde "Tilly" Crewson, a thirty-nine-year-old mother and art conservator, is tasked with restoring The Mother. The painting, believed to be the work of a female surgeon-turned-artist after a personal tragedy, is the rumored fourth piece in a collection of only three known works. But this newly discovered painting, scarred by fire, holds more than meets the eye.

Soon after receiving the painting, Tilly discovers she's unexpectedly pregnant, and strange, inexplicable occurrences begin: terrifying insect swarms, eerie visits from her long-deceased mother, and sinister whispers that invade her mind. As these malevolent forces intensify, Tilly comes to a harrowing realization: the only way to sever the perilous bond she shares with the painting is to destroy it. But The Mother has plans of her own - and they're darker than Tilly could ever imagine...."

Tilly should have looked into the history of how the painting got burned in the first place... Methinks history does repeat itself. 

The Creeping Below by Brian Azzarello and Vanesa Del Rey
Published by: BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"THE GODS ABOVE, THE CREEPING BELOW.

Val, an American heavy metal fanatic, is on her dream vacation: attending the Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo, Norway. There she meets a charismatic young band, who take her out to a remote forest to show her the local "haunts." Taken by their charm and oblivious to the danger, Val is drugged, beaten, and left for dead...

But her story is far from over.

She wakes at dawn, haunted by a vision of rain falling from a wolf's jowls. Stumbling back to Oslo, she finds that the festival has already ended - 13 years ago.

The world has moved on and the men who brutalized her are long gone, but when moss and roots begin to sprout from her skin… she realizes that everything has changed. Everything except her desire for revenge, that is.

In nature, there are gods older than man, and something ancient, something… hungry, has awakened powers in her that will guide her rage as she seeks to exact justice on those that wronged her.

Writer Brian Azzarello and Vanesa Del Rey deliver a bloodsoaked feminist revenge saga, blending Norse mythology and eco-horror into a boundary-pushing cocktail of metal, magic, and murder!

Collects The Creeping Below #1-5."

This is a skip unless you like an ugly story with even uglier art.

Wayward Souls by Susan J. Morris
Published by: Bindery Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The delightfully dark sequel to the gothic supernatural mystery Strange Beasts.

Six days before Samhain - the night when the veil between worlds is thinnest - Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula's killer, and Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the famed criminal mastermind, are thrown into their next case: the mysterious disappearance of two Society field agents in Ireland. Only this time, the Royal Society is sending Jakob Van Helsing to keep an eye on them.

Sam and Hel may have solved the Paris case, but that doesn't mean the Society trusts them. Sam has the power to slip into the minds of monsters, and Van Helsing has sworn to kill her at the first sign of corruption. And if Hel can't prove her father's existence, she'll soon go down for his crimes.

Their investigation takes them from the crumbling ruins of Ireland's untamed wilds to the occult societies of the rich and powerful. The connection between the Sam and Hel is electric, but as they fall deeper into each other's orbit, their secrets only multiply. For Hel, it's the sins she committed when she was her father's pawn. For Sam, it's a plague of death omens, mysterious black feathers, and a siren song no one else can hear. And then comes a chilling revelation that is poised to shatter everything: The agents who disappeared were each haunted by a ghost. And so, it seems, is Sam.

With characters drawn from the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, Wayward Souls is a twisty puzzle box of a historical fantasy - perfect for fans of Genevieve Cogman, Theodora Goss, Freya Marske, T. Kingfisher, and Gail Carriger."

Historical fantasy and Gothic mashups for the win!

Moon Dark by E.A. Field
Published by: Rising Action
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dark and thrilling re-imagining of Frankenstein and The Phantom of the Opera, Moon Dark is an adult romantasy set in the manor and opera houses of late 1800s France.

1875 Fredericksburg, England: When Ian is born his father enlists Victor, a surgeon friend, to perform a series of depraved surgeries to correct his son's facial and limb deformity. But, when people start disappearing and body parts pile up in their lab, Ian becomes the victim of two men playing God.

Ian survives the forced experiments and grows up but his disfigurement and legacy from his father marks him as an unnatural demon among men. Outcasted and feared even though his intelligence far outstrips his generation, Ian escapes his father and Victor when they decide he's too dangerous to be left alive. But, Ian finds himself lost in a world order that will not accept him - until a Marquis takes an interest in him. Ian learns that love comes in all forms but that above all, power rules everything. The power to kill lets Ian survive but gets him no closer to existing in society or finding peace.

It's at the Marquis' estate that Ian meets Gisele, a seamstress employed by an opera company, who shows him what unconditional love is. She is able to see past his deformity to the unbroken soul inside. When Ian learns Victor is using his father to hunt him, Gisele's life is in danger. Victor will use Gisele as a bargaining piece and Ian is the only one who can protect her. He has lived as both man and monster and now is confronted with his prodigious creator. He will be forced to decide if he will give up his life for revenge or choose to save the woman who has given him everything."

Give yourself over to the opera, they accept all!

Masquerade by L.R. Lam
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the high-stakes conclusion to the Micah Grey Trilogy from the USA Today-bestselling author of Dragonfall, Micah faces his own magical power, nebulous alliances, and a conspiracy that unravels all the way to the Royal Palace.

The gifted can't hide their talents forever. But monsters await when they step into the light...

Micah's Chimaera powers are growing, just as dark visions threaten to overwhelm him. Drystan is forced to take him to the Royal Physician, but can they really trust the doctor? Especially when he gets Micah hooked on a mysterious medicine, and a close friend is revealed to be his spy.

Meanwhile, violent unrest is sweeping the country as anti-royalist factions fight to be heard. When a royal secret and an attack on Chimaera brings Micah into the heart of the conflict, he and his friends must fight an ancient sect that aims to spread terror once more. The fate of all Chimaera - and the world - hangs in the balance.

In this satisfying and thrilling conclusion to their inventive fantasy trilogy, L.R. Lam raises the stakes like never before."

Yeah, that doctor is totally sus.

Only Spell Deep by Ava Morgyn
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rebecca meets The Craft in this dark, atmospheric novel of one witch rediscovering her power while on the run from another willing to kill her for it.

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Bane Witch!

Judeth Cole has always had certain uncanny abilities. But when she arrived at Solidago, her grandfather's estate by the sea, she was forced to keep them secret. There she lived a harsh life under his rule and the haunting legacy of her late grandmother, Aurelia. Until the fateful day she ignited a fire with her magic. It was the last time she saw her family alive.

Seventeen years later, she's living in Seattle as Jude Clark, and failing at life, when she makes a last detour through her favorite bookstore, selecting a book to read as she waits to die. But when she pulls it from the shelf, an invitation to her for a clandestine midnight meeting slips out.

Jude is quickly swept up into a world of secrets and magic, discovering a circle of powerful new companions led by the mysterious, enigmatic Arla. The source of their magic, Arla tells her, is an entity, trapped and bound, that they call The Fathom. But Jude swiftly realizes Arla wants this power all to herself, and that she's willing to kill for it.

Terrified, Jude turns to Levi, the handsome bookseller who's seen her at her worst. With his help, she begins a research journey that leads her all the way back to Solidago, the house she swore to never return to. Now, the Fathom threatening to break free and Arla on the hunt, Jude must finally face her past to save her future.

Ava Morgyn's Only Spell Deep is a novel that takes readers on a journey into a dark, glittering world of magic, a place where power should never be caged and misplaced trust can have deadly consequences."

I was sold by the blurb saying this is Rebecca meets The Craft. I don't need any more details than that.

The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C.M. Waggoner
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A practical witch must sabotage her beloved son's ascension to the throne in order to keep the kingdom from ruin, in this delightful cozy fantasy from the author of The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry.

Once upon a time, a somewhat wicked witch named Gretsella lived in a cozy little cottage in the Dark Forest of Brigandale. She dispensed herbs and tinctures at reasonable prices, met with her slightly oddball coven on a regular basis, and had absolutely no need of any further company whatsoever, thank you very much. But then one afternoon, Gretsella came home to find a screaming infant on her doorstep.

Against all her better judgement, she took the baby in. She named him Bradley.

Eighteen years later, Bradley has grown into a bafflingly likable young man under Gretsella's extremely tolerant - one might even say doting - eye. But the witch's hopes for an unremarkable yet fulfilling life for her son are shattered when small woodland animals start prophesying that he is the lost prince and should ascend to the throne. Bradley ignores Gretsella's advice that prophecies and talking chipmunks are to be avoided at all costs, and sets off for the capital. But soon confusion and chaos are reigning, and scheming courtiers are using Bradley for their own ends. Sometimes a witch has to roll up her sleeves and take matters into her own cauldron. So Gretsella resolves to bring about the downfall of her darling son..."

I think the first mistake wasn't taking that baby in, it was naming him Bradley...

Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf by Isabelle Taylor
Published by: Harlequin
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The grumpy-sunshine appeal of It Happened One Summer meets the cozy fantasy vibes of The Baby Dragon Cafe in this utterly charming, spicy, Alaska-set fated-mates romance.

Welcome to Claw Haven, where monsters go to find some peace and quiet.

Spoiled heiress Luna Stack is meant to be sipping mai tais on a beach with her fun-loving fiancé. Instead, a snowstorm strands her in Claw Haven, Alaska, a cozy town full of monsters living the quiet life. At least the werewolf innkeeper's hot - until he opens his mouth.

Luna's more than ready to leave the grumpy wolf and his decrepit inn behind as soon as the snow clears, but when a potion mishap bonds the two of them together, she resigns herself to staying in Claw Haven, just for a little while.

She's only werewolf married, though, not married married, like, legally. No big deal.

Oliver Musgrove wants nothing to do with his new "wife." He has annoying, friendly townsfolk to ignore, and he's lost his ability to shift, which means his alpha ambitions are currently on hold.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Oliver wants to keep his distance from Luna, the bond says otherwise. Even though the two can't stand each other, maybe they can stop bickering long enough to explore the magical spark between them...

After all, what's a little knotting between enemies?"

As someone who reads A LOT of books with werewolves, werewolf married is A LOT more permanent that married married. 

Miss Wick and the Duke Dilemma by Violet Marsh
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The daughter of a pirate and a newly titled duke must team up to solve a decades-old family mystery in this clever historical rom com - perfect for fans of Evie Dunmore and Manda Collins!

Eoin Aucourte, the newly minted Duke of Foxglen, always played by his grandfather's rules. But now that the old man is dead, Eoin's first decision is to track down his long-lost mother. The only problem? He'll have to visit the infamous Black Sheep Coffeehouse to begin his search. Rumor has it that the owner, Miss Hannah Wick, knows all the gossip from the dingiest St. Giles alleyways to the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair. But the whip-smart daughter of a pirate also has a way of making Eoin forget all the lessons on propriety that his grandfather ruthlessly instilled in him.

The Duke of Foxglen represents everything Hannah disdains about the nobility. Even worse, his grandfather exiled her papa from England, setting her father on the course of piracy and endangering her entire family. Seeing an opportunity to seek vengeance on his family, Hannah pretends to "help" the shy, surprisingly handsome duke - but soon realizes Eoin may be the first truly honorable noble she's ever met.

With every clue they uncover, their search intensifies...and so does their attraction. But with so many secrets between them, does love even stand a chance?"

Love always wins in my world!

Death Wasn't Invited: A June's Journey Mystery by Carlene O'Connor
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Based on the hit mobile game, a cozy murder mystery set in 1920s Paris by a USA Today bestselling author, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Agatha Christie. June's friend has been brutally murdered and the police have the wrong man, can she solve the case before the killer catches up to her?

Paris, 1922. The marriage between the Auclair and Picard families is the talk of the town. June can't wait to attend the engagement party with her friends, Nate and Jack. But Nate has an ulterior motive: he's there to stop the wedding. Before he can complete his task, he's stabbed in the chest with Jack's knife. Jack is arrested, but June knows he wouldn't hurt a fly.

In this throwback to the classic whodunnits of Agatha Christie, June must find the real killer and clear Jack's name. As she becomes embroiled deeper and deeper into a corrupt web of Parisian old money, high society and politics, she uncovers deadly secrets. Can June solve the case before the killer strikes again?"

Unless you've been living under a log you know about June's Journey. Personally I have a moratorium on playing any games so this book is the perfect chance for me to get lost in this world. 

The Mastermind's Trap by Debbi Michiko Florence
Published by: Aladdin
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this sequel to A Study in Secrets that's Only Murders in the Building meets The Westing Game, Meg must figure out the identity of the mysterious Mastermind to save her school and her friends.

After winning a scavenger hunt with her new friends - Tana, Zane, and Ryan - Meg Mizuno is looking forward to winter break and enjoying their grand prize of an all-expenses paid trip to California. But after learning that their boarding school, Leland Chase Academy (called Last Chance Academy by students), is in danger of shutting down, it's hard to enjoy the sun and surf.

When they return, the Head of School reminds the student body of their mandatory participation in the Student Showcase, with the goal of bringing in needed funds to the school. If that weren't enough pressure, Meg discovers a new note: the Mastermind wants her to help him with one more scavenger hunt. This time, though, she must work alone, or else the Mastermind will not only ruin the school, but also publicly reveal secrets about all her friends that would turn their lives upside down."

I'm a sucker for this kind of story. I just wish I had had more books like this when I was young. At least I'm still young at heart.

Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson
Published by: Mariner Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ten heists. Ten suspects. A murder mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve in this delightfully clever and twisty new novel in Benjamin Stevenson's bestselling series - perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz.

I've spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I've never been a hostage before.

The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, everyone is a suspect.

THE BANK ROBBER
THE MANAGER
THE SECURITY GUARD
THE KID
THE FILM PRODUCER
THE PRIEST
THE RECEPTIONIST
THE PATIENT
THE CAREGIVER
ME

Turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money.

Who is stealing what? Are they willing to kill for it? And can I solve the crime before the police kick down the door and rescue us?"

Personally, after the first book I've never fully trusted Ernest, so he could totally be one of the thieves... 

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano comes Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line - the highly anticipated next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series.

Life hasn't been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where she's facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didn't commit. A prisoner to an ankle bracelet as she awaits her trial, Vero is forced to live with her overbearing mother and nosy aunt. Threatening messages keep arriving on her mother's door, demanding Vero "turn over the money...or else." And if she doesn't figure out who really stole her former sorority's treasury funds, her next home might be a prison cell.

But proving her innocence might be an impossible feat. Vero was the treasurer of her sorority when the money went missing - one of the only people who had access to the cash. And her alibi is a date who ghosted her. With her court date quickly approaching, and her mysterious stalker on her tail, Vero needs to clear her name fast.

Finlay decides a trip to Maryland is in order. After all, Vero stood by her through her darkest moments, and Finlay will be damned if she lets her best friend and children's nanny be convicted for something she didn't do. She sets off on a mission to suss out the real thief and bring Vero home."

I never trust anyone in a sorority house, which is probably why I was never in a sorority. 

Missing by E.A. Jackson
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this unputdownable crime thriller for fans of Tana French, a detective returns to a thirty-year-old case - an infamous disappearance in London - that has haunted her entire career and now may jeopardize her future.

In August 1990, London is suffering through an unprecedented heatwave when baby Bella Carpenter is snatched through the open window of her hotel room. Detective Inspector Martha Allen is assigned the high-profile case and, knowing that it could make or break her career, is determined to find Bella.

When a young woman named Nell Beatty walks into the police station with a baby who appears to be Bella, and whom Nell claims she found on a bench, it seems that the mystery is solved. Her family, the police, and the press are overjoyed at her return. But DI Allen isn't convinced, something about Nell's story doesn't ring true. As much as she wants to continue, however, now that the baby is safe, she's ordered to close the investigation.

Thirty years later, Nell Beatty is found dead. Now a superintendent, Allen has never really gotten over her doubts about the Carpenter case and can't resist doing a little digging on her own time, eager to find out what happened to Nell, and her involvement in the baby's disappearance all those years ago. But will her efforts uncover something darker than she could have ever imagined? And what is she risking as she tries once and for all to reveal the truth?"

You SO know that wasn't the same baby right?

Lucien by J.R. Thornton
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gifted yet financially disadvantaged artist falls victim to the manipulative control of his wealthy, enigmatic Harvard roommate in this incendiary novel from the author of Beautiful Country - a piercing exploration of class, ambition, identity, and the perilous cost of reinvention in the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Donna Tartt.

The son of working-class Czech immigrants, Christopher "Atlas" Novotny is a talented painter who arrives at Harvard on a full scholarship. Raised amid hardship, he is unprepared for the privileged world introduced to him by his freshman roommate, Lucien Orsini-Conti.

Born to wealthy European diplomats, Lucien plays the part of the confident, sophisticated bon vivant. Where Lucien is bold and brash, Atlas is timid and introverted. Growing up a lonely outsider, Atlas is insecure, impressionable, and in awe of his brilliant roommate. But is Lucien all that he seems?

Sensing a willing disciple, Lucien introduces Atlas to a glittering new world of lavish parties and elite social clubs. When Atlas struggles to afford his new lifestyle, Lucien offers a solution, convincing the naïve artist to become a forger, passing off fakes to galleries and dealers.

But Lucien's charismatic facade conceals something darker and more sinister. As Lucien's behavior grows increasingly unstable, Atlas is forced into escalating risks with devastating consequences.

Drawing inspiration from the true crime stories of Christian Gerhartsreiter (a.k.a. "Clark Rockefeller") and Adam Wheeler, Lucien is as darkly seductive and addictively readable as The Secret History, The Incendiaries, Creation Lake, and The Talented Mr. Ripley."

Personally, I'm all for people getting away with forgery of artwork, it's the other stuff that is problematic.

Black Bag by Luke Kennard
Published by: Zando
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An out-of-work actor accepts the role of a lifetime - sitting soundlessly in a lecture theater, zipped into a large leather bag - to aid a professor's psychological experiment. What could possibly go wrong?

In Luke Kennard's audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr. Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. How will Dr. Blend's students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of Fall lectures? The role, eagerly accepted, soon has unexpected consequences. A professor of post-humanism develops research questions of her own - in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag? - and the actor's childhood friend forms a vision for monetizing this new situation...

A warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, Black Bag is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane."

This sounds so like a stunt a modern artist would perform. In other words, yes please.

David Bowie by Philippe Margotin
Published by: Supernova Books
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 276 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Singer, Songwriter, producer, actor, painter... David Bowie is one of the most fascinating artists the world has ever known.

David Bowie is a creator who placed his art above all else. During an intense career, spanning some fifty years, he constantly renewed and challenged himself. He experimented with his music enriching it with various other genres, from soul to electronic music, even including avant-garde jazz.

This book is an immersion into the life and exceptional work of David Bowie, featuring the various characters he portrayed, such as Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, and The Thin White Duke, as his alter egos. From London to New York, from Los Angeles to Montreux, album after album, we enter his musical universe: glam rock, soul/funk, avant-garde rock, industrial rock, including timeless works such as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Station to Station, Heroes and Black Star. With songs that have also gone down in history: "The Man Who Sold The World," "Changes," "Rock'n'Roll Suicide," "The Jean Genie," "Rebel Rebel," "Word on a Wing," and "Lazarus."

David Bowie was a formidable showman; the world tours we highlight are testament to this. He was also a naturally seductive actor, able to embody characters far removed from each other, from the alien Thomas Jerome Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth, Major Jack Celliers in Furyo, Andy Warhol in Basquiat and Jareth, the Goblin King in Labyrinth."

I will buy anything David Bowie. So long as it isn't a comic. For some reason comics about him always suck.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ava Morgyn, Ava Reid, Benjamin Stevenson, C.M. Waggoner, David Bowie, Debbi Michiko Florence, E.A. Field, E.A. Jackson, Elle Cosimano, Isabelle Taylor, J.R. Thornton, Joanna Margaret, June's Journey, Luke Kennard, Violet Marsh

A Gentleman's Gentleman by T.J. Alexander
Published by: Vintage
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the acclaimed author of Chef's Kiss, a groundbreaking trans Regency romance that's both delightfully witty and refreshingly iconoclastic.

The notoriously eccentric Lord Christopher Eden is a "man of unusual make" and even more unusual habits: he prefers to live far from the prying eyes and ears of the ton, and would rather have the comfortable company of his childhood cook and his aged butler than the swarm of servants and hangers-on befitting a man of his station. But Christopher's pleasant, if occasionally lonely life is upended when he receives word from his lawyers that, according to his late father's will, he must find a wife by the end of the Season if he intends to keep his family's fortune and the Eden estate. Christopher cannot imagine a worse fate: as he isn't attracted to women, his chances of making a wife happy are slim. Furthermore, if his quest to marry has any hope of succeeding, he must move to London posthaste and acquire some more suitable staff.

Enter James Harding, Christopher's new, distractingly handsome - if rigidly traditional - valet. After a rocky start, the two strike up a fragile friendship amid the throes of the London Season...a friendship that threatens to shatter under the looming shadow of Christopher's impending nuptials - and the secrets both men are keeping. With its heady combination of dry wit, slow-burn romance, and a nuanced portrait of trans identity, A Gentleman's Gentleman stands to transform the historical romance genre as we know it."

Because life has never been as black and white as some people would have you believe. And everyone deserves representation! 

The Duke at Hazard by K.J. Charles
Published by: Orion
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Don't miss the second thrilling standalone Regency romance in the Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune series by K.J. Charles...

The Duke of Severn is one of the greatest men in Britain.

He's also short, quiet, and unimpressive. And now he's been robbed, after indulging in one rash night with a strange man who stole the heirloom Severn ring from his finger. The Duke has to get it back, and he can't let anyone know how he lost it. So when his cousin bets that he couldn't survive without his privilege and title, the Duke grasps the opportunity to hunt down his ring-incognito.

Life as an ordinary person is terrifying...until the anonymous Duke meets Daizell Charnage, a disgraced gentleman, and hires him to help. Racing across the country in search of the thief, the Duke and Daizell fall into scrapes, into trouble - and in love.

Daizell has been excluded from polite society, his name tainted by his father's crimes and his own misbehaviour. Now he dares to dream of a life somewhere out of sight with the quiet gentleman who's stolen his heart. He doesn't know that his lover is a hugely rich public figure with half a dozen titles. And when he finds out, it will risk everything they have..."

Love wins.

Murder in Covent Garden by Anita Davison
Published by: Boldwood Books Ltd
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 266 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The BRAND NEW installment in Anita Davison's gripping cozy mystery series! Nobody should be in the market...for murder!

Even though its famous opera house has shuttered its doors for the war, Covent Garden remains one of the most exciting, bustling areas of London. It's where Hannah Merrill and Aunt Violet have their bookshop and, in spite of the recent spate of burglaries in the area, it's generally thought to be a good neighbourhood.

So Hannah is surprised when she sees a fellow shopkeeper - a jeweller named Jacob Cornelis - having a heated argument with a stranger. Especially when the next day Cornelis is found dead in his shop, apparently the victim of another burglary.

But what shocks Hannah more is when she meets the policeman supposedly there to investigate the crime. Because he is none other than the man who Hannah saw arguing with Cornelis the day before.

Hannah knows it's up to her and Violet to investigate. But they don't know they're about to uncover a secret underworld of theft, murder and blackmail. And they must act fast, before the Covent Garden Killer strikes again...

A gripping and unputdownable Golden Age cozy crime mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Helena Dixon and Verity Bright."

I'm just saying... cops, right? 

Murder at Mill Ponds House by Michelle Salter
Published by: Boldwood Books Ltd
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 290 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The BRAND NEW installment in the page-turning Iris Woodmore Mysteries from Michelle Salter!

When murder hits close to home, Iris must fight to clear her name...

Spring, 1924. Reporter Iris Woodmore plans to move to London to avoid a shocking hometown scandal. Longtime enemy Archie Powell has been threatening to reveal her darkest secret - and she's desperate to flee before he does.

But when he's found murdered after a violent argument with her, there's no escape. Iris must stay and clear her name even though the truth could ruin her reputation.

With the police closing in, Iris has to find the real killer if she's to keep her secret. Can she prove her innocence without revealing the identity of the one man who can provide her with an alibi?

A gripping new mystery for fans of Verity Bright, Clara McKenna, and Helena Dixon."

I mean, there's your reputation and then there's prison, your choice...

The Four Queens of Crime by Rosanne Limoncelli
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this debut mystery, DCI Lilian Wyles, the first woman detective chief inspector in the CID, is determined to find a killer with the help of the four queens of crime, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, perfect for fans of Elly Griffiths and Claudia Gray.

1938, London. The four queens of British crime fiction, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, are hosting a gala to raise money for the Women's Voluntary Service to help Britain prepare for war. Baronet Sir Henry Heathcote has loaned Hursley House for the event, and all the elites of London society are attending. The gala is a brilliant success, despite a few hiccups, but the next morning, Sir Henry is found dead in the library.

Detective Chief Inspectors Lilian Wyles and Richard Davidson from Scotland Yard are quickly summoned and discover a cluster of potential suspects among the guests, including an upset fiancée, a politically ambitious son, a reserved but protective brother, an irate son-in-law, a rebellious teenage daughter, and the deputy home secretary.

Quietly recruiting the four queens of crime, DCI Wyles must sort through the messy aftermath of Sir Henry’s death to solve the mystery and identify the killer."

And you'll have to read it to find out of Dorothy L. Sayers is as antisemitic on the page as she was in real life.

The Socialite's Guide to Sleuthing and Secrets by S.K. Golden
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hotel heiress Evelyn Murphy is on the hunt for a cunning killer and a mysterious thief in the third Pinnacle Hotel mystery, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.

New York, 1958. When Evelyn's mail is delivered during a luncheon in the Gold Room, she's surprised to find she has received a diamond tiara, which catches the attention of a costume jewelry sales team lunching nearby. Their leader, Lois Mitchel, is especially interested, but by the end of the lunch, Lois has choked and fallen into Evelyn's lap - and by the end of the day, she's dead.

The papers report on the death the next day, while also spreading news of a Gentleman Thief who's been leaving behind a red pocket square after robbing the city's wealthiest. Determined to figure out what happened to Lois, Evelyn devotes herself to the investigation.

The truth is as rare as a diamond and just as hard to crack, and Evelyn swiftly discovers that this particular mystery is multifaceted, too. From costume jewelry hawkers to wannabe Robin Hoods and a detective in residence at the Pinnacle, nothing is simple. But neither is Evelyn - and this case is hers to solve."

I love the Gentleman Thief trope, especially when they leave behind a pocket square. If it's monogrammed, be still my heart!

The Widows' Guide to Backstabbing by Amanda Ashby
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 275 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When librarian Ginny Cole discovers a body in Little Shaw's beloved haberdashery shop, she finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation. The victim? Arrogant shop owner and spring fete judge, Timothy Harlow, found with a pair of sewing scissors plunged into his back. While the police are quick to arrest Milos, a charming young upholsterer, Ginny thinks the case has been sewn up too neatly.

Together with her friends - no-nonsense JM, craft-obsessed Hen, and irrepressible Tuppence - Ginny delves into the village's secrets. Between apologising for her kleptomaniac cat and making marmalade for the spring fete, she discovers that behind Little Shaw's quaint façade lies a tapestry of rivalries, affairs, and deadly ambitions. And when her own car brakes are sabotaged, Ginny realizes the killer is still at large - and getting closer.

With help from the widows and an increasingly exasperated Detective Inspector Wallace, can Ginny unpick the clues before the murderer strikes again?

A fun, fast-paced mystery full of small-town charm, perfect for fans of Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, Robert Thorogood and The Thursday Murder Club series."

The real mystery is how a small town can still support their own haberdashery shop...

A Study in Secrets by Debbi Michiko Florence 
Published by: Aladdin
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Only Murders in the Building meets Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library in this action-packed novel about a girl pulled into a mysterious treasure hunt at her new boarding school.

Ever since her mom passed away, twelve-year-old Megumi "Meg" Mizuno has been spiraling. After too many low grades and cut classes, she's been expelled from school - apparently, everyone else has moved past her grief and expects the same from her. Her dad secures her a spot at the prestigious Leland Chase Academy, a boarding school in the middle-of-nowhere New York, called the Last Chance Academy by its student body. If Meg can't make it work there, she'll be forced to live with her horrible aunt.

At first, Leland Chase seems like an average, if very strict, boarding school, though Meg tentatively warms up to her roommate and some of their classmates. Then, one night, a mysterious envelope appears under her door, inviting Meg and her roommate to participate in a scavenger hunt. The only rules: don't get caught by faculty or staff and no cheating. The grand prize? A luxury stay at a fancy resort in California. And after learning her dad has plans to sell their family home - with all its memories of Mom - Meg knows she has to win the competition and use the trip to convince Dad to stay.

Thanks to her mom, who taught her how to solve ciphers, Meg has a knack for puzzles she uses to get ahead in the hunt. But she quickly learns that her classmates seem to have their own sets of skills keeping them in the competition. And as they get deeper in the game, Meg and her fellow competitors realize the anonymous creator has their own agenda…and LCA isn't quite what it seems."

Oh, what is their agenda!?! 

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""The missing boy is 10-year-old Alfie Risby, and to be perfectly honest with you, he's a little shit."

Florence Grimes is a thirty-one-year-old party girl who always takes the easy way out. Single, broke and unfulfilled after the humiliating end to her girl band career, she has only one reason to get out of bed each day: her ten-year-old son Dylan. But then Alfie Risby, her son's bully and the heir to a vast frozen food empire, mysteriously vanishes during a class trip, and Dylan becomes the prime suspect. Florence, for once, is faced with a task she can't quit: She's got to find Alfie and clear her son's name, or risk losing Dylan forever.

The only problem? Florence has no useful skills, let alone investigative ones, and all the other school moms hate her. Oh, and Florence has a reason to suspect Dylan might not be as innocent as she'd like to believe...

Hilarious and twisted, propulsive and furious, All the Other Mothers Hate Me is the must-read book of 2025."

A much more honest, and hilarious, take on children and what they can do.

Fan Service by Rosie Danan
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The truth is stranger than fan fiction in the next sexy paranormal rom-com from the beloved author of The Roommate.

The only place small-town outcast Alex Lawson fits in is the online fan forum she built for The Arcane Files, a long-running werewolf detective show. Her dedication to archiving fictional supernatural lore made her Internet-famous, even if she harbors a secret disdain for the show's star, Devin Ashwood. (Never meet your heroes - sometimes they turn out to be The Worst.)

Ever since his show went off the air, Devin and his career have spiraled, but waking up naked in the woods outside his LA home with no memory of the night before is a new low. It must have been a coincidence that the once-in-a-century Wolf Blood Moon crested last night. The claws, fangs, and howling are a little more difficult to explain away. Desperate for answers, Devin finds Alex - the closest thing to an expert that exists. If only he could convince her to stop hating his guts long enough to help....

Once he makes her an offer she can't refuse, these reluctant allies lower their guards trying to wrangle his inner beast. Unfortunately, getting up close and personal quickly comes back to bite them."

I mean, this book was written for me, and has me totally fantasizing about Seth Green turning into a werewolf...

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Follow Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo as they fight their way to the next level in the USA Today bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman - now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition!

New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.

You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that's talent.

Surviving in a multilevel dungeon that also happens to be the set of the galaxy's most watched game show has taught Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, that there's only one thing they can count on apart from each other: they never know what's coming next. And this floor is no exception.

A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps.

It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the stairwell is unlocked. Here's the thing. It's never easy. Going it alone is not an option this time, so Carl and his team must rely on the help of the low-level, I-can't-believe-these-idiots-are-still-alive crawlers trapped in the bubble with them. But can they be trusted?

Welcome, Crawlers. Welcome to the fifth floor of the dungeon."

Oh, I remember several quests I'm had that ended in less than five minutes with total failure. None were this entertaining though.

Installment Immortality by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Seanan McGuire's New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated InCryptid series continues with a whirlwind adventure....

After four generations of caring for the Price family, Mary Dunlavy has more than earned a break from the ongoing war with the Covenant of St. George. Instead, what she's getting is a new employer in the form of the anima mundi, Earth's living soul made manifest, and a new assignment: to hunt down the Covenant agents on the East Coast and make them stop imprisoning America's ghosts.

All in a day's work for a phantom nanny, even one who'd really rather be teaching her youngest charges how to read.

One ghost can't take on the entire Covenant without backup, which is how she winds up on a road trip with the still-mourning Elsie and the slowly collapsing Arthur, both of whom are reeling in their own way from the loss of their mother. New allies and new enemies await in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the path of the haunting leads.

With the anima mundi demanding results and Mary's newfound freedom at stake, it's down to Mary to make sure that everyone gets out of this adventure alive.

It's been a long afterlife, but Mary Dunlavy's not ready to be exorcised quite yet."

It's March and this is only Seanan's second book of the year!?! Is something off!?!

The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In The Tomb of Dragons, Katherine Addison returns to the award-winning world of The Goblin Emperor, deftly wrapping up The Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy.

Thara Celehar has lost his ability to speak with the dead. When that title of Witness for the Dead is gone, what defines him?

While his title may be gone, his duties are not. Celehar contends with a municipal cemetery with fifty years of secrets, the damage of a revethavar he's terrified to remember, and a group of miners who are more than willing to trade Celehar's life for a chance at what they feel they're owed.

Celehar does not have to face these impossible tasks alone. Joining him are his mentee Velhiro Tomasaran, still finding her footing with the investigative nature of their job; Iäna Pel-Thenhior, his beloved opera director friend and avid supporter; Anora Chanavar, his stalwart friend and fellow prelate of Ulis; and the valiant guard captain Hanu Olgarezh.

Amidst the backdrop of a murder and a brewing political uprising, Celehar must seek justice for those who cannot find it themselves under a tense political system. The repercussions of his quest are never as simple they seem, and Celehar's own life and happiness hang in the balance."

The one thing I cannot deny Katherine Addison is that she delivers on unforgettable atmosphere. 

She Waits for You Beyond the Dark by Kristen Simmons
Published by: Tor Teen
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The finale to Kristen Simmons's masterful horror duology that's "Jumanji but Japanese-inspired" (Kendare Blake) about estranged friends playing a deadly game in a nightmarish folkloric underworld.

"Death is not an ending, it's simply the next chapter. Do not be afraid to turn the page...."

It's been one month since Ian's reunited friends escaped the hellish game of Meido and saved him. The survivors may have sealed the gate to the world of the dead shut and destroyed Empress Izanami, but that doesn't mean they aren't still reeling over the challenges they endured. Trying to relax back in the world of the living, they take solace in the fact that they rescued Ian from the nightmare that tried to steal him away. But there's just one problem - Ian didn't come home alone.

The empress - now possessing Ian's heart - hitched a ride into their world and the only way to free Ian from her grasp is to find three artifacts for her, sacred objects which have been hidden across many realms. Unwilling to leave Ian behind a second time, his friends dive into a new deadly game, with terrifying challenges that not only test their mettle, but demand sacrifices - including their very lives.

If they don't retrieve the empress's artifacts, Ian will be lost forever, but if they do, it could be the end of their world as they know it."

Always beware hitchhikers! 

Rose of Jericho by Alex Grecian
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Red Rabbit comes a supernatural horror where ghosts and ghouls are the least of a witch's problems in nineteenth-century New England.

Something wicked is going on in the village of Ascension. A mother wasting away from cancer is suddenly up and about. A boy trampled by a milk cart walks away from the accident. A hanged man can still speak, broken neck and all.

The dead are not dying.

When Rabbit and Sadie Grace accompany their friend Rose to Ascension to help take care of her ailing cousin, they immediately notice that their new house, Bethany Hall, is occupied by dozens of ghosts. And something is waiting for them in the attic.

The villagers of Ascension are unwelcoming and wary of their weird visitors. As the three women attempt to find out what's happening in the town, they must be careful not to be found out. But a much larger - and more dangerous - force is galloping straight for them..."

Nineteenth-century New England and the undead in many forms? Yes please!

Fear in the Blood edited by Mike Ashley
Published by: British Library
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Timothy followed, in his dream, and saw the ungainly, yet agile creature clamber in through the cat-flap... He could hear the flip-flop as it went up the stairs, and he woke himself, screaming, in a tangle of sheet and blanket. On Sunday night the dream was even worse.

Through eighteen dark tales bubbling with the ghostly and the occult, Mike Ashley traces the phenomenon of families in which a talent for channeling the Weird passes down the generations, showcasing six lineages whose names echo through the halls of speculative fiction: Dickens, Hawthorne, Le Fanu, Pangborn, Marryat and Aiken.

With a story each from selected members of these families along with introductions on the history of their bloodlines, this collection explores unexpected connections and the strange influences that define us while offering a rare selection of chilling Weird fiction."

Because we all need a little weird.

Vanishing Daughters by Cynthia Pelayo
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A haunted woman stalked by a serial killer confronts the horrors of fairy tales and the nightmares of real life in a breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by a Bram Stoker Award-winning author.

It started the night journalist Briar Thorne's mother died in their rambling old mansion on Chicago's South Side.

The nightmares of a woman in white pleading to come home, music switched on in locked rooms, and the panicked fear of being swallowed by the dark...Bri has almost convinced herself that these stirrings of dread are simply manifestations of grief and not the beyond-world of ghostly impossibilities her mother believed in. And more tangible terrors still lurk outside the decaying Victorian greystone.

A serial killer has claimed the lives of fifty-one women in the Chicago area. When Bri starts researching the murders, she meets a stranger who tells her there's more to her sleepless nights than bad dreams - they hold the key to putting ghosts to rest and stopping a killer. But the killer has caught on and is closing in, and if Bri doesn't answer the call of the dead soon, she'll be walking among them."

A serial killer and ghostly horrors!

Rose/House by Arkady Martine
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rose/House is a breathtaking and taut sci-fi Gothic thriller from Arkady Martine, Hugo Award-winning author of A Memory Called Empire.

"I'm a piece of architecture, Detective. How should I know how humans are like to die?"

All of Basit Deniau's houses were haunted. Rose House, his final architectural triumph built in the remote Mojave desert, was perhaps the most.

A house embedded with an artificial intelligence is a common thing. But a house that is an artificial intelligence, infused in every crevice and corner with a thinking creature that is not human? That is something else altogether. That is Rose House.

When Detective Maritza Smith gets a call from Rose House, she's shocked to learn that there is a dead body behind its sealed-up door. Everybody in town knows it's haunted. But Basit died more than a year ago, and everybody also knows that only his former protege, Dr. Selene Gisil, is permitted inside. But Selene wasn't in the country when Rose House called in the death. Who is the dead body? How did they get in? And who - or what - killed them?

The answers lie within the labyrinthine halls of Rose House. But even if Martiza can get inside, there is no guarantee she will ever be able to leave..."

Technological ghost story! YAS!

The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow
Published by: Amazon Original Stories
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 36 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this dystopian fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, a small town's storyteller struggles to protect a local demon from the knight hired to kill it.

Hundreds of years after the end of the world, the Appalachian community of Iron Hollow finds itself beset by demons. Such horrors are common these days in the outlands, where most folks die young - if they don't turn into monsters first.

When a legendary knight is summoned to hunt down the latest unearthly beast to haunt their woods, the town's new oral historian, Shrike, has more reason than most to be concerned. Because that demon was her wife. And while Shrike is certain that May still recognizes her - that May is still herself, somewhere beneath it all - she can't prove it.

Determined to keep May safe, Shrike stalks the knight and his demon-hunting hawk through the recesses of the forest. But as they creep through toxic creeks and overgrown kudzu, Shrike realizes the knight has a secret of his own. And he'll do anything to protect it."

All dystopian and post-apocalyptic tales need kudzu.

The Antidote by Karen Russell
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: March 11th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Pulitzer finalist, MacArthur Fellowship recipient, and bestselling author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove Karen Russell: a gripping dust bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town.

The Antidote opens on Black Sunday, as a historic dust storm ravages the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska. But Uz is already collapsing - not just under the weight of the Great Depression and the dust bowl drought but beneath its own violent histories. The Antidote follows a "Prairie Witch," whose body serves as a bank vault for peoples' memories and secrets; a Polish wheat farmer who learns how quickly a hoarded blessing can become a curse; his orphan niece, a basketball star and witch's apprentice in furious flight from her grief; a voluble scarecrow; and a New Deal photographer whose time-traveling camera threatens to reveal both the town's secrets and its fate.

Russell's novel is above all a reckoning with a nation's forgetting - enacting the settler amnesia and willful omissions passed down from generation to generation, and unearthing not only horrors but shimmering possibilities. The Antidote echoes with urgent warnings for our own climate emergency, challenging readers with a vision of what might have been - and what still could be."

There's a very Ozian undercurrent... 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex Grecian, Alix E. Harrow, Arkady Martine, Cynthia Pelayo, Debbi Michiko Florence, Karen Russell, Katherine Addison, Kristen Simmons, Matt Dinniman, Mike Ashley, Rosie Danan, Sarah Harman, Seanan McGuire