Showing posts with label Edith Wharton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edith Wharton. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2026

Tuesday Tomorrow

The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rachel Gillig, the queen of gothic romantasy, returns with higher stakes, darker mysteries, and deeper longings in this gorgeous sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling sensation The Knight and the Moth.

Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew, and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead - and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquish him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom's faith - and herself - in the process.

But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the tournament lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil's ticket to undoing Benji's power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom's faith is to save it."

Anyone else have the Barnes and Noble signed special edition on order for months? 

Hawk and Sparrow by Ayana Gray
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sparks fly in this Gilded Age novel of mystery, magic, and romance by the author of the New York Times-bestselling Beasts of Prey.

Vesper Evans has always resented Basalton's high society, and the sorcery that provides them with a luxurious life unimaginable to most. Orphaned as a child and rescued by the editor of The Basalton Globe, Vesper is now an ambitious reporter determined to keep her newspaper afloat.

While covering a lavish society gala, Vesper happens upon a shocking scene: the murdered body of a man she had spoken with just minutes before. Several of the powerful magical elite may want the man dead, but the prime suspect is wealthy industrialist Maximilian Kite.

Max soon makes Vesper a tempting offer: Find the culprit and restore his reputation in exchange for a substantial fee. Despite her distaste for Max's world, Vesper agrees - the money would save the Globe, and the story would be the scoop of a lifetime. There's only one catch: In order for her to infiltrate society, the two must pose as a courting couple.

Their investigation takes them from the highest echelons of privilege to the seediest backstreets of Basalton. As they unearth the city's secrets and scandals, Vesper finds herself in grave danger - while falling for one of the most infuriating, arrogant, handsome men she has ever met..."

Just the right level of forced proximity crime solving I love.

The Wolf Queen's Curse by Kaylee Archer
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In The Wolf Queen's Curse, the much anticipated sequel to Witch of the Wolves, Cordelia and Bishop must seek alliances with other packs and confront their Alphas in order to restore their beloved Trevelyan, no matter the cost.

The previously quiet life of Cordelia Levine, half-werewolf, all witch, has been turned upside down. Both of her parents are now dead, and her grandmother's vicious attack on Trevelyan, her pack's home, has left the Albion Pack fleeing and severely reduced in number.

As they recover and strategize a path forward, Cordelia is navigating her role in the pack as well as her feelings for her new husband, the Alpha. But even as their love grows stronger, the fate of the pack lies in their hands, and they must focus on finding a way to survive.

The pack decides that the only way to defeat the cabal and forge a path back home is to rekindle old alliances. The journey proves complicated, however, as each Alpha they encounter has an agenda of his own. But Cordelia and Bishop will stop at nothing to protect their pack - and reclaim their rightful home."

Anyone who reads about werewolves knows, Alphas do not play nice with each other. Begrudgingly so when they have to.

Rider of Dragons by A.T. Qureshi
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Genevieve's family forbids her from joining the deadly dragon races. But she won't let them stop her.

He's the trainer she doesn't want, but needs.

Without her family's money, nobody will train her. Desperate for help, she agrees to a terrible deal: Qais, an alleged member of a dragon poaching gang, will train her to win the races, if she agrees to give him her prize money.

Every race could be their last.

The dragon races aren't just about being the fastest. There will be sabotage, attacks and all out violence. The devastatingly handsome Qais will teach her to be cunning and cruel, and Genevieve will be forced to answer a ruinous question: to win, is she willing to lose everything?"

Will the dragon help you stay safe? Because I think making an alliance with a dragon would be a deal breaker. 

An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A debut Gothic horror set in 1870s Brazil - a tale of creeping suspense in which a young pregnant woman finds herself unable to escape her lover's isolated family home, and a family's deal with the devil goes terribly wrong.

1877, Pernambuco, Brazil: Raised in a deeply religious household, Madalena knows Dante's Inferno by heart and fears her mother's reaction as much as she fears God. When she falls pregnant with a child conceived in sin, her mother issues a threat: marry or surrender the baby. Madalena is confident that the father, the dashing Leandro Neves, will do right by her and propose. But just as she is about to tell him about the baby, a violent storm sends their carriage careening off the road.

Madalena awakens in Leandro's sprawling, secluded home, under the care of the mysterious and larger-than-life Doctor Lobo. Leandro is there...but he is no longer the charming poet she knew. He's silent. Obsessed. Always watching.

Strange perfume haunts a locked room. Pages vanish from books. Jewels lie untouched in a forgotten wardrobe. And mirrors begin disappearing after Madalena sees something - or someone - ghastly in the reflection.

Leandro is unraveling. Doctor Lobo may be hiding something even darker. Trapped in a decaying house of secrets, Madalena must uncover the truth before the men around her destroy her, and before the hell she fears becomes the one she’s living in."

Well this wants to be Silvia Moreno-Garcia meets Isabel Cañas. Perhaps skeewing towards Cañas with that cover...

The Other Life of Mary English by GD Harper
Published by: Ginger Cat
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 386 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two different women. One shared destiny.

Mary English, a dockworker's daughter from Faversham, England, travels to South America to escape a scandal from her past. She ends up running a cacao plantation in Colombia, at a time when women were not legally allowed to own businesses there.

Manuela Sáenz, tempestuous lover of Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar, serves as a colonel in his army. She joins him in battle to fight the Spanish and twice saves his life from assassination attempts.

This is the story of two remarkable real-life women, both fighting oppression, hardship and danger in 1820s Colombia, who come together to change the course of a nation's history."

Women changing history? Hells yes!

Pomegranate Seed and Other Ghostly Tales by Edith Wharton
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"PENGUIN HORROR: A celebration of the very best literary horror, a series of terrifying novels and tales that for generations have thrilled, captivated and kept readers wide awake at night.

Known for writing some of the most incisive and elegant novels of the early twentieth century, Edith Wharton was also a master practitioner of the ghost story, producing dozens of frightful fictions throughout her lifetime. Combining pristine prose with strange, suffocating atmospheres and a profound sense of the uncanny, Pomegranate Seed and Other Ghostly Tales, a collection of Wharton's very best haunting narratives, detail spectral handwriting, isolated houses in lonely landscapes, and a husband with a terrible secret..."

I need something uncanny for this time of year.

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Part ghost story, part love story and steeped in magical realism, Paper Ghosts will transport you to a place where old secrets echo through the years and love finds a way of bringing us home.

Every family has its secrets...The Wester women live inside theirs.

For decades, the women of Wester House have unsettled and fascinated their small, timeless North Carolina town. Their home is full of whispers, old griefs, and uncanny knowing. But when Willamena Wester reaches out to the granddaughter she once pushed away, long-buried truths begin to stir.

1976: Restless young Willamena falls for a stranded musician who brings freedom and the promise of another life to her carefully controlled world. Their brief, incandescent love story promises to escape the pull of the Wester legacy until Willamena makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.

Present day: Returning home is the last thing Bailey Wester wants. Yet as she reconnects with Willamena, the grandmother she feared, Bailey begins to understand the love, heartbreak, and impossible choices that shaped the women in her family and realizes the past may not have been trying to haunt them after all. A luminous novel filled with Sarah Addison Allen's stunning prose and signature blend of romance, Southern charm, and wonder, Paper Ghosts reminds us that in order to have the future we really want, sometimes we need to live with the past, and not let go of it."

I find it beyond tragic that when we finally want to get answers and listen to our elders it's often too late. Perhaps that's why we're drawn to these types of stories.

Divine Oaths by Elizabeth Agyemang
Published by: Requited
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling dark academia novel following a new student fueled by questions about her prestigious university and the haunting answers she uncovers as her heart pulls her in two different, dangerous directions.

Westfield University was supposed to be Sianna Adu's dream school. But just when she's on the cusp of attending the elite academic institution hidden in Virginia's swampland, an unexpected tragedy changes everything. In one day, Sianna loses her family and gains an extraordinary power - the ability to see lifelines and witness other people's pasts and futures.

With all she's lost, Sianna puts her college dreams on pause and spends her days navigating dead-end jobs and a not-so-secret crush on her coworker. But when Kasem Saint James, the undeniably handsome heir to Westfield, approaches her with a strange request, the future Sianna has long deferred becomes a dangerous new reality. Worried that her powers are now tied to Kasem, she has no choice. Fate has called her to Westfield.

At an academy where secret societies abound, connections are everything, and an ominous history - stretching back centuries - determines the future, Sianna and Kasem must piece together the past to undo a curse that binds them to each other.

With a swoony romance and jaw-dropping twists, this layered dark academia novel introduces a university where nothing is quite as it seems."

Centuries old? I'm intrigued. 

Goodnight Monsters by Suzanne Junered
Published by: She Writes Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Ariana Harwicz's Die, My Love and Ashley Audrain's The Push, a psychological horror novel that follows a woman obsessed with death who must decide if she's fit to bring new life into this world - especially after someone she's fantasized about killing turns up dead.

Southern suburban housewife Lia and her husband Evan have long dreamed of becoming parents - but when a pregnancy test shows positive, Lia questions whether she wants the child and keeps her pregnancy a secret.

As she's holding new life inside, she intentionally surrounds herself with death by blackmailing her way into a job at a forensic anthropology center endearingly called The Body Farm. At The Farm, monsters emerge from within Lia - the desire to kill - and she begins daydreaming about murder. Because fantasizing never hurt anyone. Or so she thinks.

Then a body donation to The Farm turns out to be someone she's imagined killing, and reality and fantasy begin to blur. As people around her begin to die, Lia loses trust in her loved ones and herself...and ultimately must put her monsters to bed."

Yes, put those monsters to bed before you put your baby to bed!

Tell the Ghosts I'm Gone by Kalynn Bayron
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron comes a new horror novel about a group of teens with unique - and potentially deadly - gifts.

Moll, Redd, Agnes, and Ossie are powerful - and dangerous. But they don't want people to fear them. They've spent their lives trying to understand and control their supernatural gifts, trying to help people instead of hurt them.

That's why they offer paranormal investigative services to anyone who needs them. But when the case of a missing young woman brings them to an old (and potentially haunted) Victorian mansion, soon it's the four teens who are in the greatest danger. The secrets they uncover about the paranormal forces inhabiting the house may shed light on the darkness that exists at the edge of their powers and finally help them gain control - if they can make it out alive."

I wonder if ghosts are like bees.

Cards on the Table by Lana Harper and Jilly Gagnon
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two witchy sisters find themselves framed for the disappearance of millions of dollars in this atmospheric locked room mystery - from the New York Times bestselling author of Payback's a Witch and the critically acclaimed author of All Dressed Up.

As descendants of a Salem witch, sisters Tori and Cassie Bishop have the occult credentials - but their trickle of tarot readings isn't paying the bills. On the brink of eviction, they accept a too-good-to-be-true offer: play "witches in residence" for a dying, wealthy widow in her secluded Berkshires mansion for the Fall season.

But from the minute they arrive at the gothic estate, it's clear: they've been dropped into a far riskier game than their smoke and mirrors can save them from. Rose, the widow, is desperate. Her family is conniving. The staff is ominous. And some guests in the house are drawn to the sisters in ways that lean more...personal. But just as the sisters are starting to settle into the mysterious home and their role in it, Rose dies after a séance - and her millions vanish overnight.

Trapped in a viper's nest of competing motives and twisted secrets, Tori and Cassie must untangle a web of greed and deception using every trick they have - magical or not - to clear their names. Because someone else in Berwyn House is running their own con...and they've set up the sisters to take the fall."

Imagine being so wealthy that you could have a witch in residence?

Buried in the Woods Below by Daniel G. Miller
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden's The Housemaid, Riley Sager's The Only One Left and Alice Feeney's My Husband's Wife, this addictive psychological suspense-thriller is a must-read for anyone who loves dark secrets, isolated settings, and jaw-dropping twists.

SOME MEMORIES WERE NEVER MEANT TO STAY BURIED.

When Charlotte Hoffman's picture-perfect career implodes overnight, she retreats to the one place she swore she'd never return: Big Island, Minnesota. Home to her childhood best friend, Olivia Parker, and the place where her life first fell apart.

Eighteen years ago, tragedy struck, and Charlotte's blamed herself for that bloody night ever since. Now she's back, staying with the Parkers in their isolated lakeside home, surrounded by dark woods shrouded in mist and the decaying remains of a long-abandoned amusement park.

But something isn't right.

The Parkers' young twin girls whisper about ghosts in the trees. Threatening notes appear on doors. An old carousel screams in the wind. And every night the island claims another victim.

As Charlotte wades ever-deeper into danger, she can't shake the feeling that someone brought her back to the isolated island for a reason.

Someone who wants to finish what was started all those years ago."

Do. Not. Go. Near. Abandoned. Amusement. Parks. It's like rule number one in my book.

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A late-night mayday call drives a grieving man to embark on an unexpected journey along the wild Alaskan coast, unraveling a decades-old mystery of stolen gold, missing women, and murder in this atmospheric and propulsive debut novel, perfect for fans of William Kent Krueger and Peter Heller.

After the loss of his wife, Marconi Franco is content drifting alone on his boat through the isolated waters of Southeast Alaska with no real destination in mind. But when a mysterious distress signal cuts through the static on his radio one sleepless night, Marco feels an overwhelming pull to help the woman whose plea he heard - a pull he can't explain or ignore.

His search for the missing woman draws him to Radioville, an abandoned 1930s communication outpost now decaying on an uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska. There, Marco begins uncovering fragments of a story long forgotten: a Depression-era theft, a shattered marriage, and a disturbing pattern of disappearances. As he sifts through the past, his own grief starts to mirror the tragedies that echo across decades, and his search draws the attention of someone determined to keep the truth buried.

Told across three evocative timelines - a radio operator in 1938 collecting more than just telegrams, a young woman in the 1980s fighting to survive her abusive husband, and Marco in the present day searching for a voice in the static - Untamed Coast is a story of fierce determination, missed signals, loneliness and connection, and the unseen ripples that reverberate across generations, standing the test of time and the tides."

Alaska is all one big mystery to me, which is why I love reading about it.

The Filbert Steps by Lila Blake
Published by: Sutro House Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 311 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A body on the steps. A neighborhood that saw nothing.

Vivian Salvatore came back to Telegraph Hill with a cat, a divorce settlement, and a book she cannot seem to write.

At fifty-two, newly single and trying to rebuild her life, she has settled into the rhythms of San Francisco's most beautiful staircase: coffee at the corner café, morning walks on the Filbert Steps, old neighbors on three corners, and the comforting illusion that everyone knows everyone.

Then, on a bright October morning, Vivian finds one of the city's most ambitious developers dead on the third landing.

The police are ready to call it a fall. But Vivian spent twenty-seven years reading teenagers' faces for a living, and she knows when a story does not fit. A coat buttoned wrong. A cigarette ground out where it should not be. Storefronts quietly sold to a post-office box in Delaware. And a neighborhood full of people who had reason to want one man gone.

As Vivian begins asking questions, she discovers that Telegraph Hill has been keeping secrets for years - about money, loyalty, grief, and who really gets to call a place home.

The Filbert Steps introduces Vivian Salvatore, a sharp-eyed, warm-hearted sleuth who notices everything and forgives almost as much.

Perfect for readers who love older women sleuths, atmospheric San Francisco mysteries, neighborhood secrets, found community, and fair-play cozy mysteries with literary depth."

I adore everything about San Francisco. But what I adore even more, is a mystery set in my favorite literary city. 

Muriel and the Mystery by Charlotte Parent
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 56 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A little shrew encounters the unexpected in this charming picture book that explores change and the fear of the unknown. For fans of Little Witch Hazel and The Hidden World of Gnomes.

Muriel is having a perfectly ordinary day in the forest she knows by heart, when, while gathering snails in the underbrush, she encounters a mystery!

It's different from anything she's seen before, and it certainly doesn't belong in her well-ordered life. Though she tries to put it out of her mind, that becomes difficult when the mystery won't leave her alone...

Muriel will need to muster her courage to face the unknown and embrace the changes it brings to her forest. And maybe, just maybe, she will make a new friend along the way."

Even moles deal with mysteries! 

Goldie Vance Book One by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams
Published by: KaBOOM!
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Intrepid teen detective Goldie Vance is on the case in this acclaimed upper middle-grade graphic novel mystery that reads like Nancy Drew meets Only Murders in the Building.

Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad and dreams of one day becoming the hotel's in-house detective. Armed with endless curiosity and unstoppable determination, she's ready to prove she has what it takes to solve any mystery, big or small!

When the current Crossed Palms Resort detective encounters a case he can't quite crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help. Will this budding sleuth be the key to revealing the truth? Or is Goldie in over her head?

Uncover secrets and adventures around every corner with this double-length detective adventure full of retro flair from New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award-winning writer Hope Larson (All Summer Long) and fan-favorite artist Brittney Williams (Mixed-Up, Girl on Fire)!

Collects Goldie Vance #1-8."

This looks like it would be the perfect read for me. It sadly wasn't. Goldie Vance and her mid-century Florida conspiracies of Communists and cosmonauts left me cold.   

The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set against the backdrop of post-WWII Oxford University, The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies is the irresistible debut from Kate Westbury that seamlessly layers mystery, romance, and a dash of academia to introduce the Crown's newest undercover operatives.

Oxford, England, 1951 - The Honorable Ginevra Bishop likes red lipstick, clever retorts, and earning top marks in her tutorials. She's following her mother's footsteps by studying at Oxford, eager to prove she's more than a debutante.

Sidney Braithwaite likes brooding, Latin, and ignoring his nightmares. He's determined to forge a new life for himself at Oxford, far from his childhood mining village and free from memories of the war.

Though Gin and Sidney have little in common, the British Security Service is keen to unite her charm with his espionage experience: there's a Soviet spy at the university, and the agent tracking them down was poisoned. MI5 wants Gin and Sidney to pick up the trail and identify the informant before more sensitive information is compromised. As a team, the pair of undergraduates clash in personality, upbringing, and taste - but have a connection neither can deny. Gin and Sidney must unite their respective talents to follow the clues before they're caught in the traitor's crosshairs...if the sparks flying between them don't blow up the operation first."

I wonder if I should take up brooding as a pastime. I'd be willing to solve crimes against Britain in my spare time.

An A-List for Murder by Amy Patricia Meade
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An irresistible historical cozy series featuring Evelyn Galloway, Hollywood script supervisor turned sleuth!

The list you'd die to be on...

March, 1940, and script supervisor Evelyn Galloway is enjoying being reunited with Alfred Hitchcock on his new film. Until twenty-three-year-old Phoebe Dillon, an aspiring actress hoping to be an extra in the movie, is found strangled in downtown L.A. Evelyn encountered Phoebe in the studio just hours before she died. Did she really have audition jitters as she claimed, or was she frightened of something - or someone?

When Evelyn learns that Phoebe attended a birthday party for film producer Monty Carpenter the previous weekend, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's A-list, she quickly makes disturbing discoveries about some of the guests. It seems that powerful dark forces are at play in the film industry during war - and the reason for Phoebe's murder is more shocking than Evelyn could ever have imagined.

Effortlessly combining murder and glamour, the Evelyn Galloway mysteries are perfect for fans of Verity Bright and Nicola Upson's Shot With Crimson."

I love dark Hollywood and I love Hitchcock, so a perfect combo!

Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink
Published by: Love Inspired Trade
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this witty historical murder mystery set in a San Francisco hotel, an unlikely trio of amateur sleuths must uncover a killer before another guest checks out for good. This first book in the Murder Most Fowl Mysteries is perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building.

In 1905, the Grand Mallard Marquee is well known for its iconic style, as well as its daily duck parade. For Saul Niffler, a reformed jewel thief, working at the luxurious hotel offers a much-needed second chance. Staying out of trouble and in gainful employment is essential. Which makes seeing a body plummet from a penthouse window extra complicated.

Except...did he see it? There's no body to be found, and Saul knows he should concentrate on his new duties as "Duck Commandant" rather than meddle. If only Kitty Rossi, a persistent young guest yearning to be a Pinkerton detective, would leave well enough alone. Kitty has already roped in Henry, the elevator man, to investigate suspicious goings-on around the hotel. And against his better judgment, Saul feels compelled to join them.

Between the mystery of Saul's missing predecessor and a grisly discovery in a drain, all signs point to murder most fowl. And with a cold-blooded killer roaming the Marquee's lavish corridors, keeping his job may be the least of Saul's problems..."

A jewel thief named Niffler? I hope Dana Mentink has some good lawyers.

Murder in St. James's Park by Vanessa Riley
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for readers who love Bridgerton with a dark twist - a vibrant historical mystery series that embraces the true diversity of the Regency era.

Confessions from beyond the grave throw Lady Worthing into turmoil...

London, 1807. Lady Abigail Worthing's marriage of convenience to James Monroe, the Lord Worthing, is over. But James is out of her life quicker than Abigail anticipated when she finds his body in St. James's Park.

Shocked by her husband's brutal murder, Abigail is determined to catch his killer. But when she discovers that James's transgressions ran far deeper and darker than she thought possible, Abigail questions her own judgment. Did she make a terrible mistake when solving a past crime, and does the key to James's death lie in the letters he was writing shortly before his demise?

With her neighbor and good friend Stapleton Henderson by her side, Abigail confronts jealousy, resentment, and stunning betrayal that will shake her to her core...

This sharply observed, captivating Regency mystery series featuring a smart and fearless mixed-race aristocrat heroine with a notorious family history is a must-read for historical mystery fans."

A touch of Tasha Alexander. 

The Case of Bingley's Missing Aphrodite by Emma Aubrey
Published by: Emma Aubrey
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 374 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pride and Prejudice meets Sherlock Holmes in this sharp-witted Regency mystery, featuring a crime-solving Bennet/Darcy team-up in a Jane Austen variation where the Bennet sisters lost their estate before marriage saved them.

Fitzwilliam Darcy believes his worst problem is the mistake he made a year and a half ago, when he snubbed Miss Elizabeth Bennet and separated his friend Bingley from her sister Jane. That is, until a corrupt viscount is found murdered, just after Bingley's antique Aphrodite statue vanishes during a ball. The crimes appear to be linked - and Darcy's oldest adversary, Mr Wickham, may be trying to frame him for both.

They enlist an investigator, coincidentally the Miss Bennets' cousin, who has entirely the wrong impression of Darcy and Wickham's history. When Elizabeth Bennet finally re-enters the picture, Darcy must open up to her about the blackguard's lies - for in the end, they will need both her keen character observations and the investigator's cutting-edge methods to prove Darcy's innocence.

In a tangle of secrets and deceit, Darcy and his friends must race to uncover the true culprit - before he pays the ultimate price."

Here for all Pride and Prejudice variations! 

The Heiress of Northanger Abbey by Nancy Bilyeau
Published by: Admiral Road Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 260 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Steeped in the atmospheric charm of classic historical fiction, The Heiress of Northanger Abbey weaves a captivating Jane Austen sequel that breathes new life into Catherine Morland's world. Twenty-two years after her marriage to Henry Tilney, the imposing estate of Northanger Abbey passes to a new generation. When their spirited daughter Phoebe looks poised to inherit the grand estate, she inherits more than just wealth - she uncovers a web of long-buried secrets, hidden corridors, and a haunting legacy that refuses to stay buried. This spellbinding Gothic mystery masterfully balances Austen's signature wit and social commentary with the spine-tingling suspense of a classic Regency thriller.

Gloucestershire, 1820: Catherine Tilney receives a letter that resurrects her darkest fears. Her daughter Phoebe has fallen under the influence of the unscrupulous Thorpe family - the very figures who once nearly destroyed Catherine's happiness.

Determined to protect her child from dangerous fortune hunters, Catherine follows Phoebe to an isolated manor on Dartmoor. There, she finds a landscape of reckless passions, family secrets, and a dangerously charming aristocratic neighbor. It all feels eerily like the plot of the latest Gothic sensation, The Vampyre - but is Catherine once again letting her imagination run wild?

In this psychologically charged sequel to Jane Austen's classic, award-winning historical novelist Nancy Bilyeau transforms Catherine's youthful adventures into a mystery with the highest of stakes. The Heiress of Northanger Abbey is a story of mothers and daughters, deception and desire - and of a woman who must learn to trust her power of perception before it's too late.

For Austen fans who adore a high-spirited Regency tale, savor a hint of the Gothic - and long to be transported to the mist-shrouded moors."

But how would Catherine's daughter inherit? I have so many questions. I guess I just have to read the book!

Land of Oz edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"13 original stories of dark fantasy inspired by the classic tales of L. Frank Baum and the land of Oz, from the masters of fantasy and science fiction, including M.R. Carey, Christina Henry and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Journey beyond the yellow brick road, click your heels together and enter the dark heart of the tornado...if you dare.

Join the award-winning Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane as they bring together some of genre fiction's bestselling and acclaimed authors as they explore the wild imagination of L. Frank Baum and his wonderful Land of Oz.

Featuring stories by
Simon R. Green
Caitlin Rozakis
Louise Carey
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Ian Whates
M. R. Carey
Paul Magrs
Delilah S. Dawson
Robert Shearman
Stark Holborn
Christina Henry
Una McCormack
Jonathan Maberry"

My friend Paul has a story in this. I'm so excited for him! And me! And you! Because we all get to enjoy it!

The Snow Witch by Kirsty Ferry
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: eBook, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover the next enchanting, atmospheric read from Kirsty Ferry, perfect for fans of C.J. Cooke and Laura Purcell.

In the dead of winter, 1650...

As the Newcastle Witch Trials spread fear across the north, suspicion takes hold in Newbrough, near Hadrian's Wall. Meg Noble - healer, midwife, and the so-called 'Snow Witch' - finds solace at Coventina's Well. But when tragedy strikes, whispers of witchcraft begin to swirl, and something ancient is stirred - bound to a sacred dagger and a forgotten goddess.

Now, beneath the same well...

Historian Violet Marsh arrives at Hadrian's Wall to research the legend of the Snow Witch, but what begins as curiosity soon turns personal. As visions haunt her and the past bleeds into the present, Violet uncovers a story that was never laid to rest - and a presence that has been waiting centuries to reclaim what was taken.

The Snow Witch is a chilling, atmospheric tale of buried vengeance and unyielding female power - where the past doesn't die, it freezes and waits."

Because Witch Trials are nothing more than men trying to destroy powerful women, if they're witches or not...

A Time of Witches by Madeline Martin
Published by: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two women, bound by blood and betrayal, must break silence across centuries - or be silenced forever, in the dazzling new novel by New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin.

Lilith Legare's life is unraveling. Since her mother's death, strange things have been happening - plants turn toward her touch, animals linger in her path, and the birthmark on her arm has started tingling. Worse still is her recurring nightmare of being burned alive at the stake.

Her search for answers brings her from Savannah to England, to the decaying Brackenmere Manor where the past blurs with the present. There, Lilith discovers a legacy she never asked for and along with it, the threat of peril. History must be rewritten, or she too will die.

In 1645 Suffolk, Sybil Brantham stands accused as a witch. An educated, wealthy widow, she is branded a threat by men who fear her independence. As arrests begin and suspicion abounds, Sybil must protect her younger sister, even as betrayal takes root within her household.

Across centuries, Lilith and Sybil are bound by blood and by danger. To save themselves, and each other, they must confront the silence that has stolen women's power for generations - and dare to claim their voices before it's too late."

Take back your voice! It is you power!

The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona Buttercup
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 3652 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Shrek meets The Princess Bride in this cozy, low-stakes romantic fantasy. The Pumpkin Bride delivers all the autumnal feels, a dash of spice, and a guaranteed HEA!

Some curses just need a cozy fire, a little magic, and a second chance to break them.

A cursed knight.
Sir Bram Duncan was once a knight of legend in Harvest Hollow - until the whim of a jealous prince and the trickery of an autumn sprite turned him into the hulking orc Jask Bone-Cracker, and tethered him to Grimroot Farm. For three long, lonely years, he's hidden his monstrous form and the truth of what happened the night he lost everything, including his true love, Princess Marigold.

A runaway princess.
Fleeing an arranged marriage to the vain and intolerable Prince Crispin, Marigold finds a safe haven when she stumbles across Jask's charmed pumpkin farm deep in the forest. Sensing glimmers of gentleness - and a surprising talent for baking - beneath the grumpy orc's imposing exterior, she begins to feel a familiar longing she believed dead when her Bram disappeared.

One true love.
As magic stirs and pies are baked, truths about Jask's curse begin to surface. But curses don't break easily, and wronged princes don't capitulate. As their peace is threatened, Jask and Marigold must decide: cling to the lies that protect them, or risk everything for a love that could set them free."

I mean, who can resist an orc that can bake? Cursed true love or not.

The Hocus Pocus Handbook by Ann Aguirre
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From NYT bestselling author Ann Aguirre comes a cozy fae fantasy romance featuring a sunshine-shadow slow burn, a grumpy-but-secretly-tender love interest, an unforgettable found family, and a world lush with wildcraft magic. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries.

Thea Winter didn't choose to be a changeling - stolen from the mortal world as a baby, raised in the wildlands by a hobgoblin named Mudge who taught her everything worth knowing. How to read the weather in a crow's wing. How to barter with brownies. How to stay alive in a world of capricious fae courts. What Mudge couldn't teach her was how to stay out of trouble. Which is why she's entangled in a objectionable marriage of convenience.

Or would be, but her spouse bolted. Now she has to hunt down Devan J. Fenelon, but she's been saddled with a taciturn, humorless hunter known as Winter's Hound. He answers only to his cousin, and she's not looking forward to this quest at all.

Kerboros has survived the Winter Court by being exactly what they made him: relentless, invisible, and careful never to want anything at all. His life is an endless series of ceaseless commands from his reprehensible cousin, Lord Liskaal. Since his father's failed rebellion, Kerboros has been permitted to survive only as an example to others, an object lesson as to how far one may fall. But traveling with Thea - wild, warm, impossible Thea - is a glorious torment for an enforcer who has never known freedom.

She is sunshine. He is shadow.

Their love is forbidden, but when irresistible force sweeps up an immovable object, the resulting reaction might be magical..."

I mean, if the groom bolts it seems a shame to have to chase after him if you never wanted him in the first place...

Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Every wedding guest's worst nightmare is on repeat in this wild and twisty new horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of So Thirsty and Play Nice.

It's the picture-perfect wedding weekend: The venue is dreamy, the weather is beautiful, love is in the air - and Willa Sullivan is having a bad time. She's excited to celebrate her best friends' finally having the big wedding they've always wanted, but this is the first time she's seen her ex-fiancé in months, and he brought a date. Everything feels off, like she stumbled into an alternate universe. But things start to look up when Willa meets Danny, the groom's charming and single childhood best friend. When they sneak off together, their rendezvous is interrupted by a masked killer terrorizing the reception. Willa and Danny fight to save the ones they love and survive the night, but the killer is unrelenting. A final girl Willa is not.

Or is she? She wakes up and it's the morning of the wedding. She just had the most intense nightmare of her life. Only as the day unfolds, there are some uncanny coincidences that make her question whether it was really a dream, déjà vu, or something more sinister. After a horrifying turn of events, Willa comes to understand that she's stuck in a loop of carnage and terror that she must learn how to escape or else suffer a fate worse than death - being an eternal wedding guest."

I mean, as long as the cake is good and you can avoid the killer, things could be worse?

The Treasure House by Amy Matthews
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this tender-hearted novel, a single mom's fixer-upper may also open a new door to love - from the award-winning author of Someone Else's Bucket List.

Zoe Copeland and her daughter Florence need a new start. The only problem is, Zoe can't really afford one.

So when she stumbles across a listing for a charming cottage in Maine that is in her price range, she has no choice but to seize the opportunity. The catch? It's a treasure house - filled to the brim with junk, and being sold as is.

Eleven-year-old Florence, who's always longed for a room of her own, loves the old house full of cat figurines and other people's memories, but Zoe is daunted by the mess and the cost of fixing up the place. Their grumpy new neighbor, Jake, thinks Zoe's crazy for undertaking this task - though that doesn't stop him from lending a hand, and it's not long before Zoe starts daydreaming about the handsome handyman.

As the air turns crisp and fall sets in, Zoe becomes increasingly intrigued by the woman who lived in the house before them. Who was Marly, and how did her beloved home end up in such disrepair? As Zoe digs for more information, she can't help but draw parallels between herself and Marly...but what does it say about her future if she's still stuck in the past?

This was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to give Florence the security she never had. But as Zoe uncovers Marly's secrets and her own past comes crashing into the present, Zoe's life is quickly becoming even messier than the coastal house she's renovating. With her heart and her home on the line, can Zoe put all of the broken pieces of her life back together?"

How can I get a treasure house? Yes, I get it's a lot of work, but I'm up to the challenge!

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
Published by: David R. Godine Publisher
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 250 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sometimes a second chance comes in the most unexpected way....

Following the loss of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. She retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle - as though even for death there is a queue."

Then, one cold winter night, a chance encounter with a mouse sets Helen on a surprising journey. Over the course of two weeks in a small English town, this reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live.

Sipsworth is a reminder that there is always reason for hope. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes life has plans of its own. With profound compassion, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only a deep friendship forged between two lonely creatures, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from that unique bond."

The littlest thing can literally change everything. 

Friday, October 4, 2024

The Buccaneers

Back in the nineties everyone was obsessed with the new adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with moist Colin Firth. I wasn't an exception to this rule, I was fully committed, six tape VHS boxset and all watched over and over again. But there were two other period pieces I gravitated towards more often, mainly because you could always stumble across one or the other in the middle of the night on upper cable channels. I'm talking about Louisa May Alcott's The Inheritance and Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers. For years I didn't know what either was called, in my mind it was TV movie with mom from Family Ties with Greg from Dharma and Greg and the miniseries with girl from Son in Law. And yes, that's the Pauly Shore movie. I don't think it was until the advent of Netflix that I was finally able to watch all of The Buccaneers in order, but I loved watching it knowing so much of the cast from other shows I loved. I recently had time to rewatch it and the ending left me cold. The women were pushed aside for the men to take center stage which narratively made absolutely no sense at all. Which made me super excited when I heard that Apple was going to be making a new adaptation of the Wharton book. And not to put to fine a point on it, but she never finished the book so there's a lot of liberties you can take, which Apple of course was quick to capitalize on, hello Lesbians! But I was also worried, would they go all Gossip Girl with this? Or, horror of horrors, Bridgerton? And while yes, you could see they were veering toward the wisteria laden land of the Bridgertons, thankfully without trying to pass off modern music as "art," there was actually a more Clueless vibe. I had hope. At least in the beginning. I was baffled by them starting the show quite far into the story and making Saratoga Springs out to be like it's in the sticks, when it wasn't, it was about new money versus old money, and then there was the swapping of character traits and backstories in an attempt to make it fresh. OK, I can kind of see where you're going, but the main problem was they created this to be a series so while the adaptation in the nineties covered ground fairly quickly here, once the girls get to England, the story stagnates. Nothing happens. They brood over their lives and then get together and scream. A lot. There's a lot of childish hen night behavior used to pad the episodes. And Nan's courtship would never drap on this long. The episode though that broke me was the Christmas episode. Nan's love interest looks like he's wearing Colin Firth's sweater from Bridget Jones's Diary. In the library there's a globe with Alaska on it. And then to add insult to injury, they take the loving governess Miss Testvalley and turn her into Mary Kay Letourneau. It's not spelled out, but given how her three charges turned out, I think she sexually abused them all, preying on them from the shadows. It's just so fucking creepy. There could have been depth here but there's no depth at all, it's all lets run around and giggle without evolving. And as for the "ending!?!" Nan gives everything up for her evil sister? Nope. No way. That's it for me. The least I expected was a reveal that Miss Testvalley was Nan's mother, instead Miss Testvalley is a pedophile and they decided to do a Dynasty and hold the reveal of Nan's mother until next season to see if they can get a big name star. My advice to anyone offered this role? Run, don't walk. You do not want to be involved in this trainwreck.

Monday, January 22, 2024

Tuesday Tomorrow

No One Can Known by Kate Alice Marshall
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The author of What Lies in the Woods returns with a novel about three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.

Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment, her husband gets laid off, and Emma discovers she's pregnant - right as the bank account slips into the red.

That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset: her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters. They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband: that the house is not a run-down farmhouse but a stately mansion, and that her parents died there.

Were murdered.

And that some people say Emma did it.

Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now, her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don't want revealed. As Emma struggles to reconnect with her old family and hold together her new one, she begins to realize that the things they have left unspoken all these years have put them in danger again."

Kate Alice Marshall has become a must read author for me.

The Clinic by Cate Quinn
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Tarryn Fisher!

Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.

There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can't believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself - to investigate what really happened from the inside.

Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family - and anyone who could help her."

A perhaps evil and remote rehab clinic wreathed in fog? Oh yes.

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A whip-smart and "fast-paced mystery" (The Daily Telegraph, London) from the internationally bestselling author of The Twyford Code and The Appeal about a true crime journalist who revives a long-buried case about a cult - and finds herself too close to the story.

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared.

Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby's trail.

As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they'd ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it."

Though fiction this is two of my favorite things, true crime and cults.

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Published by: Head of Zeus
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""Something has been let loose..."

In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.

When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.

Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen - and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past.

Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free by the bestselling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air. Wakenhyrst is an outstanding new piece of story-telling, a tale of mystery and imagination laced with terror. It is a masterwork in the modern Gothic tradition that ranges from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Neil Gaiman and Sarah Perry."

This book has been on my "must buy" list since it came out in 2019 in England.

The Last Immortal by Natalie Gibson
Published by: BHC Press
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 422 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I am Lady Ramillia Winmoore, daughter of the very late Earl of Brooksberry, or I was lifetimes ago. I am an immortal, and this is my story. Do what you will with it, but I must warn you: this tale is not for the faint of heart. Highborn Victorian Lady that I was, my life was one of violence and cruelty.

Lady Ramillia Winmoore has suffered gaps in her memory her entire life. This darkness has proven to be a blessing until the day she awakens strapped to an examination table at the West Freeman Asylum for Lunatics. Imprisoned for the gruesome murder of her parents, she is forced to endure years of torture until salvation arrives in the form of a benefactor named Sir Julian Lawrence. Betrothed to her through an arranged marriage, Julian helps her gain freedom.

But appearances are deceiving and soon Ramillia learns the cost she must pay. The horrors she encounters in his household are far worse than the asylum. When he inducts her into a society of bloodthirsty, cruel immortals, she is forced to join them and accept their way of life.

Armed with talents she doesn't know she has, Ramillia must break free of a prison she cannot see, kill an enemy who cannot die, and find a daughter who she cannot remember - all with the help of an ally she does not know.

In this chilling gaslight-era Gothic horror novel where paranormal powers are bred and collected, friends and foes are not always what they seem when immortality is at stake."

I mean, the winter months were meant for gaslight Gothic right?

Picasso's Lovers by Jeanne Mackin
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A tangled and vivid portrait of the women caught in Picasso's charismatic orbit through the affairs, the scandals, and the art - only this time, they hold the brush.

The women of Picasso's life are glamorous and elusive, existing in the shadow of his fame - until 1950s aspiring journalist Alana Olson determines to bring one into the light. Unsure of what to expect but bent on uncovering what really lies beneath the canvas, Alana steps into Sara Murphy's well-guarded home to discover a past complicated by secrets and intrigue.

Sara paints a luxurious picture of the French Riviera in 1923, but also a tragic one. The more Sara reveals, the more cracks emerge in Picasso's once-vibrant social circle - and the more Alana feels a disturbing convergence with her own life. Who are these other muses? What became of them? What will become of her?

Desperate to trace the threads, Alana dives into the glittering lives of the past. But to do so she must contend with her own reality, including a strained engagement, the male-dominated world of art journalism, and the rising threat to civil rights in America. With hard truths peeling apart around her, it turns out that the most extraordinary portrait Alana encounters is her own."

Here because of and for the women.

Diva by Daisy Goodwin
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she'd found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

In this remarkable novel, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph."

I mean, I know it's not another season of Victoria, but Daisy Goodwin is always able to make the historical human.

The Devil's Daughter by Gordon Greisman
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 258 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Emmy-nominated screenwriter Gordon Greisman, The Devil's Daughter is a noir thriller full of the best - and worst - of New York City in the 1950s.

Most nights PI Jack Coffey can be found hanging out in smoky Greenwich Village jazz clubs with well-known mobsters, jazzmen, and hoods. So, when an uptown financier calls him in for a job, it seems like he's headed for tonier climes. But it turns out the view from Louis Garrett's lavish penthouse overlooks the same vice-ridden Manhattan streets, which explains why he's so desperate to find his missing teenage daughter, Lucy.

When Jack's search for Lucy leads him to swanky nightclubs packed with well-dressed pimps and wealthy drug dealers, he begins to wonder if Garrett is really concerned about his daughter's welfare or if he simply fears she may reveal his own shocking secrets. After an attack outside Jack's own apartment and Lucy's boyfriend is found floating face down in the East River, the story kicks into high gear.

But death threats, crooked cops, lies, or ugly truths can't stop Jack from finishing the job - whether an angel or a devil, Lucy is still a kid in danger, and Jack will do whatever it takes to find her."

A little noir isn't a bad thing.

The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mariah Fredericks' mesmerizing novel, The Wharton Plot, follows renowned novelist Edith Wharton in the twilight years of the Gilded Age in New York as she tracks a killer.

New York City, 1911. Edith Wharton, almost equally famed for her novels and her sharp tongue, is bone-tired of Manhattan. Finding herself at a crossroads with both her marriage and her writing, she makes the decision to leave America, her publisher, and her loveless marriage.

And then, dashing novelist David Graham Phillips - a writer with often notorious ideas about society and women's place in it - is shot to death outside the Princeton Club. Edith herself met the man only once, when the two formed a mutual distaste over tea in the Palm Court of the Belmont hotel. When Phillips is killed, Edith's life takes another turn. His sister is convinced Graham was killed by someone determined to stop the publication of his next book, which promised to uncover secrets that powerful people would rather stayed hidden. Though unconvinced, Edith is curious. What kind of book could push someone to kill?

Inspired by a true story, The Wharton Plot follows Edith Wharton through the fading years of the Gilded Age in a city she once loved so well, telling a taut tale of fame, love, and murder, as she becomes obsessed with solving a crime."

I like how they're trying to pretend the Gilded Age wasn't over by saying it's "fading" and in it's "twilight years."

The Diamond of London by Andrea Penrose
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Born into an illustrious family of swashbuckling war heroes and brilliant political leaders, Lady Hester Stanhope was a Regency-era adventuress who lived on her own terms and refused to conform.

Fans of Shana Abé, Theresa Ann Fowler, and Fiona Davis will be captivated by the unforgettable spirit at the heart of USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose's dazzling new historical novel based on the real life of Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839), a British aristocrat, antiquarian, and adventurer who defied all conventional strictures of what a woman could and couldn't do during the Regency era.

Even with her privileged life, Lady Hester Stanhope knows that claiming the adventurous life she truly wants will not be easy, thanks to her eccentric father's stifling grip. With the help of her renowned statesman uncle William Pitt the Younger, she takes on the glittering, treacherous heights of London Society. Her formidable intelligence, outspoken opinions, and headstrong determination gain the favor of the beau monde's leading taste-maker Beau Brummell - and she quickly learns to bend the rules of the ton to her own advantage. And as her uncle's hostess, she astutely uses her skills to preside over - and give advice to - the most influential figures of her day, rising to a position unequaled in society...

But when it comes to holy matrimony, Hester will settle for no less than a passionate match of equals - a search marked by challenges and heartbreak. Her affair with a charismatic naval officer tempts her with forbidden pleasures - even as it threatens her reputation. Her love for a sophisticated, brilliant diplomat offers the marriage of her dreams...and unsuspected betrayal. And as England is plunged into war, Hester's world changes forever, causing her to find courage and strength amid loss, chart a completely unexpected future - and make a glorious legacy forever hers..."

I know, I know, it's not a new Wrexford and Sloane or Lady Arianna book, but it's the same time period and so so fascinating.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Book Review - Lisa Kleypas's Secrets of a Summer Night

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: October 26th, 2004
Format: Paperback, 390 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Annabelle Peyton is desperate. But not desperate enough to become the mistress of Simon Hunt. She is coming to the end of her forth and final season and unless she marries well her family will be ruined. Her brother won't be able to continue his education and maybe she would be better off becoming the mistress to a well heeled member of the aristocracy. Simon Hunt is far from the aristocracy but he is well heeled and if Annabelle is to become anyone's mistress it will be his. Ever since he took a liberty with her during her second season, stealing a kiss in the dark, he has been unable to forget the penniless beauty. But this penniless beauty has taken a drastic step to improve her marital prospects, she has made friends. Why did it take her so long to reach out to her fellow wallflowers? The American Bowman sisters, Lillian and Daisy, are delightful if sadly looked down upon for being Americans, and as for the stammering Evangeline Jenner, she needs someone to just listen to her problems with her overbearing family. The four of them make a pact. They will help each other make the match they need and seeing as Annabelle is the most desperate, she will be their first project. Marcus, Lord Westcliff, is having a three week long house party that the Bowmans can wrangle an invite to. This will be the perfect opportunity to entrap a husband. Because let's face it, Annabelle is desperate, and she is willing to compromise herself, but in such a way that marriage is the only option for the unwitting male. She will be dressed in the finest clothes thanks to Lillian and Daisy, who have more clothes and pocket money than they know what do to with, and all three of her friends will help her choose her mark. The only problem is that Simon Hunt happens to be the best friend of Lord Westcliff and he sees what she is about. He doesn't want her to marry, he wants her to be his mistress. But when Annabelle falls prey to an accident and Simon starts to spend more time with her he wonders, does he really want her as his mistress or as his wife?

I know it might be an odd first reaction, but mine was, why can't we save our families through marriage anymore? Yes, it's very draconian selling yourself to the highest bidder, and love matches only happen in books, rarely in real life, but why can't selling yourself for money in the particulars of this hypothetical discussion still be a reality? Because I want to make it clear, I'm not talking prostitution or being a kept women, I'm talking about marriage and a nice big purse and hopefully an ancestral pile and at least the financial strains of life are lifted. One can fantasize about that right? Moving beyond my trying to get my finances in order by marrying a member of the aristocracy, I loved The Buccaneers vibe of this book. And yes, I'm talking about the 1995 miniseries adaptation of Edith Wharton's unfinished novel. But just the beginning episodes when Nan, Virginia, Conchita, and Lizzy were still happy and carefree and not trapped in miserable loveless marriages. There was such a spirit to these characters in the miniseries that easily translates to their counterparts in this book. Only here that happiness is trapped and allowed to remain. Who wouldn't want to revisit the world of The Buccaneers if you could avoid all the misery that follows? I recently rewatched it and I wanted the light and happiness to persist and here it does. This is now my jam. This right here, and Lillian and Daisy are my buccaneers! And I know I can't be the only one who drew another miniseries conclusion while reading this book. Let's face it, Simon Hunt IS Richard Armitage as John Thornton in North and South. The timing is just right! And if it wasn't planned? Well, then Lisa Kleypass has precognition. It's that simple. But what I love about the idea of this North and South vibe in this book, aside from Richard Armitage, is that it takes the book to another level. It's not just about wallflowers making the perfect match, it's also about prejudices and how society was changing and how the aristocracy, the world so many of these young women have been brought up to, is dying and there are different ways of looking at the world. They just have to have their eyes opened, like Annabelle has.

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