The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman.
It is an ordinary Thursday, and things should finally be returning to normal.
Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case - their favorite kind - leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.
Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or be killed. Suddenly the cold case has become red hot.
While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?
From an upmarket spa to a prison cell complete with espresso machine to a luxury penthouse high in the sky, this third adventure of the Thursday Murder Club is full of the cleverness, intrigue, and irresistible charm that readers have come to expect from Richard Osman's bestselling series."
You've all got the note that September is now Thursday Murder Club release month right?
Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A mother and daughter find the courage to go undercover after stumbling upon a Nazi cell in Los Angeles during the early days of World War II - a tantalizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series.
June 1940. France has fallen to the Nazis, and Britain may be next - but to many Americans, the war is something happening "over there." Veronica Grace has just graduated from college; she and her mother, Violet, are looking for a fresh start in sunny Los Angeles. After a blunder cost her a prestigious career opportunity in New York, Veronica is relieved to take a typing job in L.A. - only to realize that she's working for one of the area's most vicious propagandists.
Overnight, Veronica is exposed to the dark underbelly of her new home, where German Nazis are recruiting Americans for their devastating campaign. After the FBI dismisses the Graces' concerns, Veronica and Violet decide to call on an old friend, who introduces them to L.A.'s anti-Nazi spymaster.
At once, the women go undercover to gather enough information about the California Reich to take to the authorities. But as the news of Pearl Harbor ripples through the United States, and President Roosevelt declares war, the Grace women realize that the plots they're investigating are far more sinister than they feared - and even a single misstep could cost them everything.
Inspired by the real mother-daughter spy duo who foiled Nazi plots in Los Angeles during WWII, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is a powerful portrait of family, duty, and deception that raises timeless questions about America - and what it means to have courage in the face of terror."
I'm am more than a little intrigued by what that Nazis were up to in L.A. because history just doesn't talk about it that much and yet it happened.
Death Among the Diamonds by Fliss Chester
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 196 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Everyone in 1920s London knows the Honourable Cressida Fawcett: fiercely independent (though never apart from her little pug Ruby), lover of martinis and interior designer extraordinaire. She's solved many crimes of fashion...so how about murder?
Cressida Fawcett is heading to the English countryside for a weekend of cocktails and partying at her friend's glamorous mansion, the location of a recent diamond heist. But just hours after her arrival, Cressida is woken by an almighty scream. Rushing to the landing, she looks down into the great hall to find a trembling maid standing next to the body of Harry, the friendly young chandelier cleaner.
Everyone believes Harry's death was an accident. But as Cressida examines the opulent hall and the beautiful grounds, she thinks something darker is afoot. Why clean a chandelier in the early hours of the morning? And who overheard Harry boasting about coming into unexpected wealth? A small piece of torn silk found near the body has Cressida looking at the guests' elegant clothes with fresh eyes...
The short-tempered detective insists that she keeps her curious nose out of the investigation, but it's Cressida who realises the stolen diamonds were hidden in the sparkling chandelier. Convinced there is a connection between the theft and the murder, the case takes a sinister turn when a guest is killed in his sleep after a brandy-fueled night of cards. With everyone unable to leave, can Cressida's sharp eye for detail catch the killer before another life is taken?
An absolutely gripping and utterly charming 1920s murder mystery packed with wit, glamour and intrigue. The perfect whodunnit for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Downton Abbey."
Because I can never have enough 1920s British mysteries. NEVER!
The Girl in the Castle by James Patterson and Emily Raymond
Published by: jimmy patterson
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Beloved #1 bestselling author James Patterson delivers a thrilling novel about a teen caught between two worlds and the truths that could set her free - or trap her forever.
My name is Hannah Dory and I need you to believe me.
NOW: Hannah Doe is brought to Belman Psych, kicking and screaming, told she is suffering from hallucinations and delusions.
1347: Hannah Dory and her village are starving to death in a brutal winter. Hannah seeks out food and salvation in the baron's castle. If she is caught stealing, she will surely hang.
NOW: Hannah knows the truth: she is Hannah Doe and Hannah Dory, and she must return to the past before it's too late to save her sister. Can Jordan, the Abnormal-Psych student who seems to truly care, be the one to finally help her?
Jordan isn't sure what to believe, and Hannah has even bigger problems: if she doesn't make it back, her sister will die, but if she keeps going back, she might never escape."
James Patterson doing the timeslip!
O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In the tradition of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, a darkly humorous modern classic of Scottish literature about a doomed adolescent growing up in the mid-19th century - featuring a new introduction by Maggie O'Farrell, award-winning author of Hamnet.
Janet lies murdered beneath the castle stairs, attired in her mother's black lace wedding dress, lamented only by her pet jackdaw...
Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric Gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Brontës, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker's ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant. The family's motto - Moriens sed Invictus (Dying but Unconquered) - is a well-suited epitaph for wild and courageous Janet, whose fierce determination to remain steadfastly herself makes her one of the most unforgettable protagonists in contemporary literature."
I will read anything vaguely like Shirley Jackson, throw in Gothic Scotland and I'm really sold.
The Last Dreamwalker by Rita Woods
Published by: Forge Books
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From Hurston/Wright Legacy Award-winning author Rita Woods, The Last Dreamwalker tells the story of two women, separated by nearly two centuries yet inextricably linked by the Gullah-Geechee Islands off the coast of South Carolina - and their connection to a mysterious and extraordinary gift passed from generation to generation.
In the wake of her mother's passing, Layla Hurley unexpectedly reconnects with her mother's sisters, women she hasn't been allowed to speak to, or of, in years.
Her aunts reveal to Layla that a Gullah-Geechee island off the shore of South Carolina now belongs to her. As Layla digs deeper into her mother's past and the mysterious island's history, she discovers that the terrifying nightmares that have plagued her throughout her life and tainted her relationship with her mother and all of her family, is actually a power passed down through generations of her Gullah ancestors. She is a Dreamwalker, able to inhabit the dreams of others - and to manipulate them.
As Layla uncovers increasingly dark secrets about her family's past, she finds herself thrust into the center of a potentially deadly, decades-old feud fought in the dark corridor of dreams.
The Last Dreamwalker is a gripping, contemporary read about power and agency; family and legacy; and the ways trauma, secrets, and magic take shape across generations."
A little Southern magic.
Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Amanda Flower
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Emily Dickinson and her housemaid, Willa Noble, realize there is nothing poetic about murder in this first book in an all-new series from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Amanda Flower.
January 1855 Willa Noble knew it was bad luck when it was pouring rain on the day of her ever-important job interview at the Dickinson home in Amherst, Massachusetts. When she arrived late, disheveled with her skirts sodden and filthy, she'd lost all hope of being hired for the position. As the housekeeper politely told her they'd be in touch, Willa started toward the door of the stately home only to be called back by the soft but strong voice of Emily Dickinson. What begins as tenuous employment turns to friendship as the reclusive poet takes Willa under her wing.
Tragedy soon strikes and Willa's beloved brother, Henry, is killed in a tragic accident at the town stables. With no other family and nowhere else to turn, Willa tells Emily about her brother's death and why she believes it was no accident. Willa is convinced it was murder. Henry had been very secretive of late, only hinting to Willa that he'd found a way to earn money to take care of them both. Viewing it first as a puzzle to piece together, Emily offers to help, only to realize that she and Willa are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse that reveals corruption in Amherst that is generations deep. Some very high-powered people will stop at nothing to keep their profitable secrets even if that means forever silencing Willa and her new mistress...."
It was only a matter of time until Emily Dickinson started solving crime...
The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this stunning debut novel, the maligned and immortal witch of legend known as Baba Yaga will risk all to save her country and her people from Tsar Ivan the Terrible - and the dangerous gods who seek to drive the twisted hearts of men.
As a half-goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. She mostly keeps to her hut in the woods, where those in need of healing seek her out, even as they spread rumors about her supposed cruelty and wicked spells. But when her old friend Anastasia - now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness - arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia's. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves.
As she travels to Moscow, Yaga witnesses a sixteenth century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan - soon to become Ivan the Terrible - grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.
Olesya Salnikova Gilmore weaves a rich tapestry of mythology and Russian history, reclaiming and reinventing the infamous Baba Yaga, and bringing to life a vibrant and tumultuous Russia, where old gods and new tyrants vie for power. This fierce and compelling novel draws from the timeless lore to create a heroine for the modern day, fighting to save her country and those she loves from oppression while also finding her true purpose as a goddess, a witch, and a woman."
I am obsessed with Tsarists Russia, add in my fascination with Baba Yaga, and this book is for me.
Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The author of the visionary New York Times bestseller Dread Nation returns with another spellbinding historical fantasy set at the crossroads of race and power in America.
It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided - between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology - otherwise known as Mechomancy - not the traditional mystical arts.
Laura disagrees. A talented young queer mage from Pennsylvania, Laura hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage’s license and becoming something more than a rootworker.
But four months later, she's got little to show for it other than an empty pocket and broken dreams. With nowhere else to turn, Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane's Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy can thrive. There she meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past, who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice.
As they're sent off on their first mission together into the heart of the country's oldest and most mysterious Blight, they discover the work of mages not encountered since the darkest period in America's past, when Black mages were killed for their power - work that could threaten Laura's and the Skylark's lives, and everything they've worked for."
The idea that even certain kinds of magic can become obsolete through automation and the industrial revolution is just facet of this book that is fascinating to me.
In the Coils of the Labyrinth by David Annandale
Published by: Aconyte
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"An unnatural terror penetrating our reality preys on the dreams of its victims, in this darkly captivating novel set in the world of Arkham Horror.
Professor Miranda Ventham is having bad dreams - nothing new in 1920s Arkham - but hers are horrifying glimpses of a dark future. Now seriously ill, she books herself into the new sanatorium, Stroud Institute. With luck, the town's eldritch taint won't reach her there. And yet the nightmares worsen. With the aid of her friend, parapsychologist Agatha Crane, they delve into the background of the sanatorium's enigmatic director, Donovan Stroud. Plagued by doubts, delusions, and terrifying visions, Miranda must unravel the shrouded history of the Strouds before she is trapped in a labyrinthine nightmare. Something sinister lurks at its heart, and it longs to be set free."
Would you want to go into a sanatorium in Arkham? Hell no. Which is why it's so fun to read about it.
Daphne by Josh Malerman
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Horror has a new name: Daphne. A brutal, enigmatic woman stalks a high school basketball team in a reimagining of the slasher genre by the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box.
It’s the last summer for Kit Lamb: The last summer before college. The last summer with her high school basketball team, and with Dana, her best friend. The last summer before her life begins.
But the night before the big game, one of the players tells a ghost story about Daphne, a girl who went to their school many years ago and died under mysterious circumstances. Some say she was murdered, others that she died by her own hand. And some say that Daphne is a murderer herself. They also say that Daphne is still out there, obsessed with revenge, and will appear to kill again anytime someone thinks about her.
After Kit hears the story, her teammates vanish, one by one, and Kit begins to suspect that the stories about Daphne are real...and to fear that her own mind is conjuring the killer. Now it's a race against time as Kit searches for the truth behind the legend and learns to face her own fears - before the summer of her lifetime becomes the last summer of her life.
Mixing a nostalgic coming-of-age story and an instantly iconic female villain with an innovative new vision of classic horror, Daphne is an unforgettable thriller as only Josh Malerman could imagine it."
This is Stephen King level horror here.
The Collectors by Philip Pullman
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 80 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A chilling Gothic tale with a revealing glimpse of the iconic Mrs. Coulter - one of Philip Pullman's most enigmatic characters. This companion story to His Dark Materials is now in print for the first time in a beautiful gift edition.
In this darkly delicious tale, internationally acclaimed author Philip Pullman invites readers to meet the mysterious girl who will one day become the sinister Mrs. Coulter.
On a cold winter's night, two art collectors are settled before a fire in the senior common room of a college in Oxford, discussing two new unusual pieces - a portrait of a striking young woman and a bronze sculpture of a fearsome monkey. How could they imagine that they are about to be caught in the cross-fire of a story that has traveled across time and worlds...."
I'm curious how they turned a 24 page e-book into an 80 page "gift edition..."
The Old Place by Bobby Finger
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A bighearted and moving debut about a wry retired schoolteacher whose decade-old secret threatens to come to light and send shockwaves through her small Texas town.
Billington, Texas, is a place where nothing changes. Well, almost nothing. For the first time in nearly four decades, Mary Alice Roth is not getting ready for the first day of school at Billington High. A few months into her retirement - or, district mandated exile as she calls it - Mary Alice does not know how to fill her days. The annual picnic is coming up, but that isn't nearly enough since the menu never changes and she had the roles mentally assigned weeks ago. At least there's Ellie, who stops by each morning for coffee and whose reemergence in Mary Alice's life is the one thing soothing the sting of retirement.
Mary Alice and Ellie were a pair since the day Ellie moved in next door. That they both were single mothers - Mary Alice widowed, Ellie divorced - with sons the same age was a pleasant coincidence, but they were forever linked when they lost the boys, one right after the other. Years later, the two are working their way back to a comfortable friendship. But when Mary Alice's sister arrives on her doorstep with a staggering piece of news, it jeopardizes the careful shell she's built around her life. The whole of her friendship with Ellie is put at risk, the fabric of a place as steadfast as Billington is questioned, and the unflappable, knotty fixture that is Mary Alice Roth might have to change after all."
You NEED to know the "staggering piece of news" just as much as I do, right?
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone - a steamy plus-size holiday rom-com about an adult film star who is semi-accidentally cast as a lead in a family-friendly Christmas movie, and the former bad-boy pop star she falls in love with.
Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn't ask for more. But when Bee's favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he's making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee's career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.
Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan's promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he'll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.
But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he's a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel's execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan's singing career comes snooping around - and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.
And if Bee and Nolan can't keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor."
Not ALL my Christmas reading can be about murder, sometime one needs a nice steamy romance.
