Tuesday Tomorrow
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Vampires and vaqueros face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.
As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters - her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead.
Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.
Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind.
When the United States invades Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion - and Nena's rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago - is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.
And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn."
A From Dawn to Dusk vibe written in the way only Isabel Cañas can!
Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 400Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Five harrowing novellas of horror and speculative fiction from the singular mind of the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box.
Josh Malerman is a master weaver of stories - and in this spine-chilling collection he spins five twisted tales from the shadows of the human soul:
A sister insists to her little brother that "Half the House Is Haunted" by a strange presence. But is it the house that's haunted - or their childhoods?
In "Argyle," a dying man confesses to homicides he never committed, and he reveals long-kept secrets far more sinister than murder.
A tourist takes the ultimate trip to outer space in "The Jupiter Drop," but the real journey is into his own dark past.
In "Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM)," a trendy married couple buys the latest home gadget only to find themselves trapped by their possessions, their history...and each other.
And in "Egorov," a wealthy old cretin murders a young man, not knowing the victim was a triplet. The two surviving brothers stage a savage faux-haunting - playing the ghost of their slain brother - with the aim of driving the old murderer mad."
Does one wonder if Josh Malerman's growing up was akin to the Addams Family?
The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage of Opposites and the Practical Magic series comes an enchanting novel about love, heartbreak, self-discovery, and the enduring magic of books.
One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia's mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community - an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden, and books are considered evil. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?
Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.
As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: "A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities."
This is the story of one woman's dream. For a little while it came true."
Because words have to power to transform us, even if I'm not the biggest fan of Nathaniel Hawthorne, his works are memorable.
Thronhedge by T. Kingfisher
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From USA Today bestselling author T. Kingfisher, Thornhedge is the tale of a kind-hearted, toad-shaped heroine, a gentle knight, and a mission gone completely sideways.
There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
But nothing with fairies is ever simple.
Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold..."
Never trust fairies. Never.
The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this queer YA psychological thriller from the author of Some Girls Do and Hot Dog Girl, the sole surviving counselors of a summer camp massacre search to uncover the truth of what happened that fateful night, but what they find out might just get them killed.
Sloan and Cherry. Cherry and Sloan. They met only a few days before masked men with machetes attacked the summer camp where they worked, a massacre that left the rest of their fellow counselors dead. Now, months later, the two are inseparable, their traumatic experience bonding them in ways no one else can understand.
But as new evidence comes to light and Sloan learns more about the motives behind the ritual killing that brought them together, she begins to suspect that her girlfriend may be more than just a survivor - she may actually have been a part of it. Cherry tries to reassure her, but Sloan only becomes more distraught. Is this gaslighting or reality? Is Cherry a victim or a perpetrator? Is Sloan confused, or is she seeing things clearly for the very first time? Against all odds, Sloan survived that hot summer night. But will she survive what comes next?"
Always here for the final girls!
More Perfect by Temi Oh
Published by: Gallery / Saga Press
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 592 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A reimagining of the Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, for fans of Becky Chambers and William Gibson by Alex Award-winning author Temi Oh. Using the myth of Eurydice as a structure, this riveting science fiction novel is set in a near-future London where it has become popular for folks to have a small implant that allows one access to a more robust social media experience directly as an augmented reality. However, the British government has taken oversight of this access to an extreme, slowly tilting towards a dystopian overreach, all in the name of safety."
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice seems rife for a William Gibson-esque retelling.
Contrarian by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"L. E. Modesitt, Jr., bestselling author of Saga of Recluce and the Imager Portfolio, continues his gaslamp political fantasy series which began with Isolate and Councilor. Welcome to the Grand Illusion.
In Contrarian, protests against unemployment and poor harvests have become armed riots as the people sink deeper into poverty. They look to a government struggling to emerge from corruption and conspiracy.
Recently elected to the Council of Sixty-Six, Steffan Dekkard is the first Councilor who is an Isolate, a man invulnerable to the emotional manipulations and emotional surveillance of empaths - but not the recent bombing of the Council Office Building by insurrectionists.
His patron, the Premier of the Council, has been assassinated, leaving Dekkard with little first-hand political experience and few political allies.
Not only must Dekkard handle political infighting, and continued assassination attempts, but it appears that someone high up in the government and corporations has supplied arms and explosives to insurrectionists.
Insurrectionists who have succeeded in taking over a naval cruiser that no one can seem to find."
Because sometimes we can only truly understand our own politics seeing them through a fantastical lens.
Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Stories of Joe. R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale
Published by: Tachyon Publications
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Edgar Award winner and bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale (the Hap and Leonard series), one of America's most essential crime writers, heads back to the dangerous woods of East Texas. In his first crime career-retrospective, including previously uncollected work, Lansdale shows exactly why critics continue to compare him to Elmore Leonard, Donald Westlake, Flannery O'Connor, and William Faulkner.
"Pulpy, blackly humorous, compulsively readable, and somehow both wildly surreal and down-to-earth. Lansdale is a national fucking treasure." - Christa Faust, author of Money Shot
In the 1950s, a young small-town projectionist mixes it up with a violent gang. When Mr. Bear is not alerting us to the dangers of forest fires, he lives a life of debauchery and murder. A brother and sister travel to Oklahoma to recover the dead body of their uncle. A lonely man engages in dubious acts while pining for his rubber duckie.
In this collection of nineteen unforgettable crime tales, Joe R. Lansdale brings his legendary mojo and gritty, dark humor to harrowing heists, revenge, homicide, and mayhem. No matter how they begin, things are bound to get ugly - and fast."
If you've ever wondered, where should I start with Joe R. Lansdale, where here's your answer!
A Generation of Vipers by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Published by: Embla Books
Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Format: Kindle
To Buy
The official patter:
"A killer is hiding in plain sight, like a snake in the long grass...
When Dr Nell Ward stumbles across a woman's body amongst the purple heather on Furze Heath, she was on the lookout for nests of poisonous adders.
But something is lurking out here far more dangerous than vipers.
A cold-blooded killer is on the loose and this is not his first victim. As DI James Clark begins to investigate, a pattern emerges pointing towards this being the work of a serial killer. Every victim shares the same physical characteristics - all of which are a match to Nell herself.
As Nell is pulled into a tightly coiled mystery, she can't help feeling someone is tracking her every move...
Can she unmask the murderer before they strike again?
A completely gripping and page-turning cosy mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and Robert Thorogood."
I KNOW the title is based on a famous quote, but it's also an episode title from Lewis, and that makes me happy.
