strange and random happenstance

The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a daring art heist takes place at the Regency Grand, Molly's life is threatened. The question is who's out to get her, and why? Long-buried secrets will be revealed in this intriguing and heartwarming novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest.

A wedding. A heist. A secret.

Molly Gray's life is about to change in ways she could never have imagined. As the esteemed Head Maid and Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel, two good things are just around the corner - a taping of the hit antiquities TV show Hidden Treasures and, even more exciting, her wedding to Juan Manuel.

When Molly brings in some old trinkets to be appraised on the show, one item is revealed to be a rare and coveted artifact worth millions. Molly becomes a rags-to-riches sensation, and a media frenzy swirls as she prepares to sell her priceless treasure. Then, on auction day, the treasure suddenly vanishes. and Molly and her friends find themselves at the center of the boldest art heist in recent memory.

But the key to this mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly's Gran. For the first time ever, Molly learns about her grandmother's secrets: how she was born into a wealthy family and fell head-over-heels in love with a young man her parents deemed below her. As fate would have it, Gran's greatest love was someone Molly knows quite well.

A spirited heist caper and an epic love story, The Maid's Secret is a spell-binding whodunit that will capture your heart."

I really wonder how my life would be different if I had gone into art and jewel thefts and forgeries... 

This Is Not a Game by Kelly Mullen
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"MURDER
MARTINIS
A GRANDMOTHER-GRANDDAUGHTER SLEUTHING DUO
DACHSHUNDS (x2)
A GLAMOROUS ISLAND MANOR

Widow Mimi lives on idyllic Mackinac Island, where cars are not allowed and a Gibson martini with three onions at the witching hour is compulsory. Her estranged granddaughter, Addie, is getting over the heartbreak of not only being dumped by her fiancé, Brian, but also being cut out of the deal for the brilliantly successful video game Murderscape they invented together (with Addie doing most of the heavy lifting).

When Mimi gets an invitation from local socialite Jane Ireland - a seventysomething narcissist who's having a salacious affair with her son-in-law - to a charity auction, she invites Addie. But Mimi doesn't tell her that a blackmail threat from Jane looms over the party's invitation.

Once they arrive, a big storm rolls in, trapping everyone in the mansion. And then, Jane is murdered. Soon Mimi and Addie's strained relationship is put to the test when they must team up to narrow down the suspects. When another body turns up, the sleuthing pair realize someone else is playing a deadly game, and they might not survive the night."

Well, at least the murderer is stuck on the island with them. That's both a pro and a con in the sleuthing business.

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Jess Kidd, the bestselling author of Things in Jars who "is so good it isn't fair" (Erika Swyler, nationally bestselling author), the first in a cozy mystery series about a former nun who searches for answers in a small seaside town after her pen pal mysteriously disappears.

I believe every one of us at Gulls Nest is concealing some kind of secret.

1954: When her former novice's dependable letters stop, Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows. Haunted by a line in Frieda's letter, Nora arrives at Gulls Nest, a charming hotel in Gore-on-Sea in Kent.

A seaside town, a place of fresh air and relaxed constraints, is the perfect place for a new start. Nora hides her identity and pries into the lives of her fellow guests. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest it's time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind."

Jess Kidd is a fabulous writer, but what draws me most to this is the Goreyesque town of Gore-on-Sea.

What Remains of Teague House by Stacy Johns
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers of Megan Collins with the taut character study of Angie Kim comes a searing mystery that follows three siblings as they reckon with the darkness hidden within their family after multiple graves are discovered behind their childhood home.

All families are complicated. But not all families have bodies buried in their backyard.

One put there just that week...

When the Rawlins family matriarch unexpectedly passes, all three adult children rush home. What they find is a house bursting with grief, dark memories surfacing around each corner, and multiple bodies buried deep in the woods. The Rawlins want to believe the discovery points to a crime long past.

But one of the graves behind Teague House is fresh, the earth disturbed just that week - and its inhabitant a local woman they all knew.

Is the youngest Rawlins sibling with something to hide somehow involved in her murder? Is his sister experiencing false memories of her late father digging near the graves? And why is the Rawlins aunt in such a rush to leave town after her sister's funeral?

Enter private detective Maddie Reed, who has her own reasons for being curious about the bodies buried behind Teague House. Maddie sets out to unmask a killer. One she may have been hunting all her life."

I mean, this is the number one problem with moving, if you have bodies buried in the backyard you're screwed.

The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner and Booker longlisted author Belinda Bauer, a sweeping tale of obsession, greed, ambition, and a crime that has remained unsolved for a hundred years.

How do you find something that doesn't exist?

1926. On the cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. A small girl - penniless and neglected by her family - retrieves one such treasure. Its discovery will forever alter the course of her life.

A century later. In a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort finds his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.

A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skullduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer's status as one of our greatest living crime writers."

Reminiscent of The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson.

Impact of Evidence by Carol Carnac
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Near St. Brynneys in the Welsh border country, isolated by heavy snow and flooding from the thaw, a calamity has occurred. Old Dr. Robinson, a known 'menace on the roads', has met his end in a collision with a jeep on a hazardous junction. But when the police arrive at the scene, a burning question hints at something murkier than mere accident: why was there a second body - a man not recognised by any locals - in the back of Robinson's car?

As the local inspectors dive into the muddy waters of this strange crime, Chief Inspector Julian Rivers and Inspector Lancing are summoned from Scotland Yard to the windswept wilds, where danger and deceit lie in wait.

Puzzling and atmospheric, this exceedingly rare mystery from one of the masters of crime fiction's Golden Age returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1954."

Wales with heavy snow! YAS!

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop.

Nestled among the cobblestone streets of Compiègne, there existed a bakery unlike any other.

Rumours were whispered through the town that its pastries offered a taste of magic, chasing away the darkest of sorrows. Just one bite of a croissant might bring luck, unlock a precious memory or reveal hidden longings.

But dark clouds were looming on the horizon...

For Edie Lane, a recipe for disaster doesn't require that many ingredients. Take an unhealthy amount of wishful thinking and a sprinkle of desperation and that's how Edie left everything behind in Ireland for her dream job at a bakery in Paris. Except the bakery isn't in Paris - and neither is Edie.

This might not be where Edie intended to be but she soon realizes it's exactly where she needs to be..."

Did Proust eat here?

The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the acclaimed author of Old Flames and New Fortunes comes a steamy enemies-to-lovers romantasy about a paranormal skeptic who is roped into a ghost hunting romp by the charming boy next door...who might just show her what real fantasies are made of.

Paranormal skeptic Zelda Tempest is hoping for a much-needed creativity boost for a new paranormal mystery novel. But despite the alleged magic of her hometown, Moonville, Ohio, she's as stuck as ever.

With two witch sisters, not believing in magic is strange for a Tempest, but no one is more disappointed than Morgan Angelopoulos, the charming man next door. So, to cure her of her writer's block and her disbelief in magic, Morgan ropes her into a ghost-hunting romp, only for Zelda to discover something else entirely: bizarre, never-before-seen creatures that appear as ordinary pets to everyone else.

Curious about what else might be lurking in Moonville's woods, Zelda and Morgan embark on a quest to uncover the true magic that lies in their midsts...and perhaps, just maybe, they will find that the magic they're searching for has been with them all along."

But but, how can you be a nonbeliever when you have magic literally in the family!?!

The Cat Who Saves the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa
Published by: HarperVia
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The long-awaited sequel to the #1 international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books - an uplifting tale from Japan about a talking cat, a book-loving girl and the power of books to make a difference in the world.

A chronic asthma condition prevents thirteen-year-old Nanami from playing sports or spending time with her friends after school. But nothing can stop her from one of her favorite activities. Nanami loves to read and happily spends much of her free time in the library, cocooned among the stacks.

Then one day, Nanami notices that, despite the library being as deserted as ever, some of her favorite books, including literary classics like Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Thief and Anne of Green Gables are disappearing from the shelves. When she alerts the library staff, they dismiss her concerns. But just as Nanami is about to return to her reading, she spots a suspicious man in a gray suit. Eager to discover what he's up to, she follows him. The chase is cut short when Nanami suffers an asthma attack. By the time she catches her breath, the man has disappeared and all that is left behind is a mysterious light filtering through the library's familiar passageways.

That's when Tiger, the talking tabby cat who saves books, comes to the rescue. Are Nanami and Tiger prepared to face the dangerous challenges that lie ahead? Why are faceless gray soldiers burning books in a stone castle? And what happened to Rintaro, the socially withdrawn hero who helped Tiger save books in a second-hand bookshop? At a time of increased book bannings worldwide, Sosuke Natsukawa urges us not to underestimate the power of great literature - and to be prepared to defend our freedom to choose."

Thursday Next with a cat and a more dystopian world... That is sadly too close to reality.

The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 720 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Carl and Princess Donut refuse to be prey in the fifth book in the New York Times bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series - now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition!

Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose.
Run, Run, Run.

A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed "The Butcher's Masquerade." But that's not all.

Just when Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, think they've seen it all as they compete to survive in the galaxy's most popular game show, the latest dungeon level introduces a terrible new threat.

The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.

As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.

But her prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.

Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the sixth floor of the dungeon."

It's like a never ending Hunger Games for the gaming generation! 

Slayers, Every One of Us by Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A memoir reflecting on heartbreak, perseverance, and life lessons learned from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from the hosts of the hit podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer.

Kristin and Jenny's marriage started with an ultimatum: to further their relationship, Kristin must watch Jenny's favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With the terms set, they began a journey that has led them through seven seasons of the beloved genre show, a podcast rewatching the series with their newly minted listenership of "Scoobies," unexpected success, and a divorce. Through it all, their love for Buffy and their commitment to their community held them together against the odds.

Slayers, Every One of Us is the story of how two queer women navigated divorce on a very public level and managed to stay in each other's lives through it all. While chock full of Buffy-related content (and Buffering!) for true fans, this is ultimately a memoir of queer love and chosen family. It's a heartwarming story for anyone who's experienced lost love, and a roadmap for staying close with your ex."

Seeing as I'm not really a podcast person I'm so here for this book about how Buffy forms and informs our lives and chosen family.

Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive.

A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo's apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.

The struggling writer is out of options. He's hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat. But Perihan's house isn't as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful. Perihan's group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there's something wrong in the greenhouse.

As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan's diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death. Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.

But he might not survive long enough to write it."

The age old question, to write the book or survive the horrors...

Don't Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From award-winning author Nghi Vo comes Don't Sleep with the Dead, a standalone companion novella to The Chosen and the Beautiful, her acclaimed reimagining of The Great Gatsby.

Nick Carraway - paper soldier and novelist - has found a life and a living watching the mad magical spectacle of New York high society in the late thirties. He's good at watching, and he's even better at pretending: pretending to be straight, pretending to be human, pretending he's forgotten the events of that summer in 1922.

On the eve of the second World War, however, Nick learns that someone's been watching him pretend and that memory goes both ways. When he sees a familiar face one very dark night, it quickly becomes clear that dead or not, damned or not, Jay Gatsby isn't done with him.

In all paper there is memory, and Nick's ghost has come home."

I love connected stories wherein you don't need to have read the previous volume. That being said, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you don't read The Chosen and the Beautiful. 

Perspective(s) by Laurent Binet
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A pulse-quickening murder mystery set in Renaissance Florence by the renowned author of HHhH.

As dawn breaks over the city of Florence on New Year's Day 1557, Jacopo da Pontormo is discovered lying on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart. Above him are the frescoes he labored over for more than a decade - masterpieces all, rivaling the works of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. When guards search his quarters, they find an obscene painting of Venus and Cupid - with the face of Venus replaced by that of Maria de' Medici, the Duke of Florence's oldest daughter. The city erupts in chaos.

Who could have committed these crimes: murder and lèse-majesté? Giorgio Vasari, the great art historian, is picked to lead the investigation. Letters start to fly back and forth - between Maria and her aunt Catherine de' Medici, the queen of France; between Catherine and the scheming Piero Strozzi; and between Vasari and Michelangelo - carrying news of political plots and speculations about the identity of Pontormo's killer. The truth, when it comes to light, is as shocking as the bold new artworks that have made Florence the red-hot center of European art and intrigue.

Bursting with characters and historical color, Laurent Binet’s Perspective(s) is a whodunit like no other - a labyrinthine murder mystery that shows us Renaissance Florence as we've never seen it before. This is a dark, dazzling, unforgettable read."

I'm here for everything Florence, but throw in Catherine de' Medici, and I'm wild for it!

The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Geography professors in a failed marriage of convenience inconveniently reconnect for an emergency mission in this swoony historical-fantasy rom-com.

Professor Elodie Tarrant is an expert in magic disasters. Nothing fazes her - except her own personal disaster, that is: Professor Gabriel Tarrant, the grumpy, unfriendly man she married for convenience a year ago, whom she secretly loves.

Gabriel is also an expert in magic disasters. And nothing fazes him either - except the walking, talking tornado that is his wife. They've been estranged since shortly after their wedding day, but that hasn't stopped him from stoically pining for her.

When magic erupts in a small Welsh village, threatening catastrophe for the rest of Britain, Elodie and Gabriel are accidentally both assigned to the case. With the fate of the country in their hands, they must come together as a team in the face of perilous conditions like explosions, domesticated goats, and only one bed. But this is easier said than done. After all, there's no navigational guide for the geography of the heart."

Does anyone else just want to stroke this book cover or is it just me?

House of Blight by Maxym M. Martineau
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The first novel in an eerie, darkly creative, and romantic new gothic fantasy duology from Maxym M. Martineau, for readers of Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig.

Edira Brillwyn is a threadmender. She holds a rare, lifesaving power that can cure disease and heal injuries in the blink of an eye. But magic always comes with a cost, and saving anyone sacrifices a sliver of her own life. She's always kept her abilities hidden…until the powerful Fernglove family discovers her secret.

The Ferngloves are charming and beautiful, possess powerful magic, and don't take no for an answer - especially Orin, the head of these ruling elites. When Edira's brothers unexpectedly contract blight - an incurable virus killing people throughout the town, and an illness too strong for her to heal them both - Orin offers to help. Together at his estate they'll research a cure while Orin slows their sickness and Edira hones her magic. His kindness and honesty surprises Edira, as does her undeniable attraction to him.

But the other Ferngloves are suspicious of her power and may be more dangerous than the ever-present disease. The longer Edira stays within the confines of the Manor, the more the family's pristine exterior begins to crack - until Edira discovers a terrifying secret and must choose who she can save and at what cost..."

It's a hard decision to make when your own life is on the line...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Belinda Bauer, Buffy, Carol Carnac, Evie Woods, India Holton, Jess Kidd, Kelly Mullen, Laurent Binet, Matt Dinniman, Maxym M. Martineau, Nghi Vo, Nita Prose, Sarah Hogle, Sosuke Natsukawa, Stacy Johns, Yigit Turhan

Glass Houses by Madeline Ashby
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A group of employees and their CEO, celebrating the sale of their remarkable emotion-mapping-AI-algorithm, crash onto a not-quite-deserted tropical island.

Luckily, those who survived have found a beautiful, fully-stocked private palace, with all the latest technological updates (though one without connection to the outside world). The house, however, has more secrets than anyone might have guessed, and a much darker reason for having been built and left behind.

Kristen, the hyper-competent "chief emotional manager" (a position created by her eccentric, boyish billionaire boss, Sumter) is trying to keep her colleagues stable throughout this new challenge, but staying sane seems to be as much of a challenge as staying alive.

Being a woman in tech has always meant having to be smarter than anyone expects - and Kristen's knack for out-of-the-box problem-solving and quick thinking has gotten her to the top of her field. But will a killer instinct be enough to survive the island?

A gleefully decadent near future whodunit from Madeline Ashby, the acclaimed futurist and author of Company Town - perfect for fans of Severance, The White Lotus, and Black Mirror."

Please say AI kills them. Fingers crossed! 

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The author of the "clever, atmospheric, and creepy" (Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon returns with a sly and addictive new mystery about an advice columnist searching for answers about her predecessor's murder.

Her most important letter might be her last...

Years ago Alex Marks escaped to New York City for a fresh start. Now, aside from trips to her regular diner for coffee, she keeps to herself, gets her perfectly normal copywriting job done, and doesn't date. Her carefully cultivated world is upended when her childhood hero, Francis Keen, is brutally murdered. Francis was the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance, and her words helped Alex through some of her darkest times.

When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to actually get the job. Against all odds, Alex is given the position and quickly proves herself skilled at solving other people's problems. But soon, she begins to receive strange, potentially threatening letters at the office. Francis's murderer was never identified, turning everyone around her into a threat. Including her boss, editor-in-chief Howard Dimitri, who has a habit of staying late at the office and drinking too much.

As Alex is drawn into the details surrounding her predecessor's murder, her own dark secrets begin to rise to the surface and Alex suddenly finds herself trapped in a dangerous and potentially deadly game of cat and mouse that takes her all the way from the power centers of Manhattan to Francis Keen's summer house, where her body was found and where the killer may just be waiting for her."

A body in a summer house? Oh, so much yes.

The Queen City Detective Agency by Snowden Wright
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Following an unforgettable cast of characters and a jaded female P.I. enmeshed in a criminal conspiracy in 1980s Mississippi, The Queen City Detective Agency is a riveting, razor-sharp Southern noir that unravels the greed, corruption, and racism at the heart of the American Dream.

Meridian, Mississippi - once known as the Queen City for its status in the state - has lost much of its royal bearing by 1985. Overshadowed by more prosperous cities such as New Orleans and Atlanta, Meridian attracts less-than-legitimate businesses, including those enforced by the near-mythical Dixie Mafia. The city's powerbrokers, wealthy white Southerners clinging to their privilege, resent any attempt at change to the old order.

Real-estate developer Randall Hubbard took advantage of Meridian's economic decline by opening strip malls that catered to low-income families in Black neighborhoods - until he wound up at the business end of a .38 Special. Then a Dixie Mafia affiliate named Lewis "Turnip" Coogan, who claims Hubbard's wife hired him for the hit, dies under suspicious circumstances while in custody for the murder.

Ex-cop turned private investigator Clementine Baldwin is hired by Coogan's bereaved mother to find her son's killer. A woman struggling with her own history growing up in Mississippi, Clem braves the Queen City's corridors of crime as she digs into the case, opening wounds long forgotten. She soon finds herself in the crosshairs of powerful and dangerous people who manipulate the law for their own ends - and will kill anyone who threatens to reveal their secrets."

There's something more gritty and real about crime set in the 80s.

Through the Midnight Door by Katrina Monroe
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Three sisters. Three keys. Three unspeakable horrors.

The Finch sisters once spent long, hot summers exploring the dozens of abandoned properties littering their dying town - until they found an impossible home with an endless hall of doors...and three keys left waiting for them. Curious, fearless, they stepped inside their chosen rooms, and experienced horrors they never dared speak of again.

Now, years later, youngest sister Claire has been discovered dead in that old, desiccated house. Haunted by their sister's suicide and the memories of a past they've struggled to forget, Meg and Esther find themselves at bitter odds. As they navigate the tensions of their brittle relationship, they draw unsettling lines between Claire's death, their own haunted memories, and a long-ago loss no one in their family has ever been able to face. With the house once again pulling them ever-closer, Meg and Esther must find the connection between their sister's death and the shadow that has chased them across the years...before the darkness claims them, too.

As emotional as it is haunting, Through the Midnight Door explores the sometimes-fragile bonds of sisterhood and the way deeply rooted trauma can pass from generation to generation."

Trauma, mystery, yeah yeah, this house totally eats people right?

The Dark We Know by Wen-Yi Lee
Published by: Zando - Gillian Flynn Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Gillian Flynn Books, a lyrical young adult horror by debut author Wen-yi Lee that's perfect for fans of She Is a Haunting, Stephen King's IT, and The Haunting of Hill House.

Growing up in Slater, Isadora Chang never felt at ease in the repressive small town, even before she realized she was bisexual - but after the deaths of two childhood friends, Slater went from feeling claustrophobic to suffocating. So, Isa took off before the town could swallow her, too. Even though it meant leaving everything she knew behind, including her last surviving friend, Mason.

When Isa's abusive father dies, however, she agrees to come back from art school just long enough to collect the inheritance. But then Mason turns up at the cemetery with a revelation and a plea: their friends were murdered by an evil that haunts the town, and he needs Isa to help stop it - before it takes anyone else.

When Isa begins to hear strange songs on the wind, and eerie artwork fills her sketchbook that she can't recall drawing, she's forced to stop running and confront her past. Because something is waiting in the shadows of Slater's valleys, something that feeds on the pain and heartbreak of its children. Whatever it is, it knows Isa's back...and it won't let her escape again.

Wen-yi Lee's young adult debut is an intimate and gripping exploration of trauma, healing, and the lasting power of friendship, as a runaway teen must finally face the sinister forces that defined her childhood, and in doing so, demand her right to survive."

I mean, if you're stupid enough to go back you have to see it through...

The Queen's Lies by Oliver Clements
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The latest in the thrilling and "lively" (The New York Times) Agents of the Crown series follows John Dee and his wife working together in an act of espionage that may turn out to be treason.

While working on a powerful new weapon for England, the country's first secret agent John Dee finds himself threatened from all sides. First, his secret plans are stolen, then his son is kidnapped by a vengeful enemy from his past. At the same time, Dee's wife, Jane, is sent by Queen Elizabeth I to console her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, whom court advisors are determined to try for treason.

But Jane suspects her assignment is much more than a visit from a sympathetic cousin. Is it possible that Elizabeth sent her to speed Mary to her death without the public trial that she knows will forever define the limits of royal power? Together, John and Jane begin to feel genuine sympathy for the Scottish queen and work to finish his invention, protect their son, and save Mary from the scaffold. But can they do that while still remaining loyal to the English crown?"

I am SUCH a sucker for John Dee!

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare's most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.

The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men.

The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.

The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.

But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.

She does not know this yet. But she will."

I'm loving this new trend of reexamining Lady Macbeth!

The House Keeper's Secret by Iona Grey
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Duty, desire, and deception reside under one roof.

Standing in the remote windswept moors of Northern England, Coldwell Hall is the perfect place to hide. For the past five years, Kate Furniss has maintained her professional mask so carefully that she almost believes she is the character she has created: Coldwell's respectable housekeeper.

It is the summer of 1911 that brings new faces above and below the stairs of Coldwell Hall - including the handsome and mysterious new footman, Jem Arden. Just as the house's shuttered rooms open, so does Kate's guarded heart to a love affair that is as intense as it is forbidden. But Kate can feel her control slipping as Jem harbors secrets of his own.

Told in alternating timelines from the last sun-drenched summer of the Edwardian Age to the mud-filled trenches of WWI, The Housekeeper's Secret opens its door to a world of romance, the truths we hold onto, and the past we must let go."

Why are so many deliciously unavoidable men named Jem?

Through the Mist by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 331 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two women disturb the dark history of a deceptively quiet postwar Cornwall village in a haunting novel by the bestselling author of A Feather on the Water and The Woman on the Orient Express.

It's winter 1947 when newlyweds Ellen and Tony Wylde move into an abandoned Cornish farmhouse overlooking the sea. For both, it's a new beginning in the country, and together they're bringing Carreg Cottage back to life. Yet Ellen can't hide a creeping unease. There's the ominous iconography painted on their bedroom ceiling, the sinister doll hidden away in the chimney. And Tony seems more familiar with the peculiar villagers than he's letting on.

Meanwhile, after nearly a decade away, young Iris returns to Cornwall seeking sanctuary in memories and longing for what she lost as a child. It was here that her mother died on the moors under a shroud of mystery and rumor - and was last seen alive in the isolated, long-shuttered cottage the Wyldes now call home.

Discovering more about each other and themselves, Ellen and Iris soon unite in a quest to uncover every dark secret this village - and the West Country mist - holds before it destroys them."

At doll hidden in chimney I would be already moving.

The Winged Tiara by J'nell Ciesielski
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Diamonds and danger dazzle in Ciesielski's latest enchanting romp through post-war Europe as estranged spouses and jewel thieves hunt an elusive Valkyrie tiara.

November 12, 1918. It was a match made in champagne-soaked heaven, but all too soon the bubbles dried up, and Esme Fox awakens the morning after celebrating the end of the Great War to find herself shockingly and accidentally married. She gathers her belongings and slips out before her new husband can stop her. After all, she knows it's best to leave before he does.

Four years later, Jasper Truitt, after having made a name for himself in the underground world of jewel thieves, is on the hunt for a valuable heirloom: a one-of-a-kind winged tiara - the last Valkyrie tiara ever created. So it's with great surprise that he discovers it at a charity event atop the head of a woman he's never forgotten. His long-lost wife...who happens to be pursuing the tiara for a vengeful opera diva desperate to obtain the jewel for herself.

The reunion is cut short when Esme vanishes - again - but their separation is temporary. With a hitman on their heels and a deadline looming, the pair find themselves in an epic game of cat and mouse across Europe following leads from the French Riviera to a shop of wonders in Venice, a fairy-tale castle in Bavaria, and a veritable circus thrown by a champagne heiress, all before a dramatic horseback flight through the French countryside.

In the end only one can win, and with both of their hearts on the line, the winner may well turn out to be the loser.

In her latest glamorous historical romance, J'nell Ciesielski spins a sparkling story filled with her signature snappy dialogue and vivid atmosphere that will keep you reading late into the night to see what happens next."

I love the trope of accidental marriage actually working out in the end. Even if they're both thieves.

A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a perfect wedding is called off just days before the big event, it sends two people - and their families - reeling, in this poignant novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun and Women in Sunlight.

A great marriage is an elusive thing, and only a few know the secret to making one.

Dara Willcox, in New York for a weekend, meets Austin Clarke at an art gallery. If love at first sight can happen, it happens to them. These two vivid, ambitious people are on different courses - he's British, working temporarily in New York. She's from North Carolina, set on law school. They don't care. They will make their lives together happen. At their April engagement dinner at Dara's family home, her mother, Lee, sets a beautiful table, and the family and close friends gather to celebrate. Rich, Dara's father, raises a toast. Suddenly, Lee spills the wine, a brilliant red stain splashing onto the tablecloth and onto Austin.

Days later, Austin hears unsettling news from London that wrecks their plans. Dara abruptly cancels the wedding. She refuses to reveal the reason, not even to her best friends or her parents or grandmother, disrupting their family tradition of openness. As everyone knows, Lee and Rich have a great marriage, and Charlotte, her grandmother, had a colossal one, to the late Senator Mann. Charlotte literally wrote the book on the subject: She's the author of international bestsellers on what makes a good or possibly a great marriage.

While Dara escapes to California and Indigo Island, South Carolina, Austin, back in London, faces a major tragedy, the consequences of which are life-altering. But it's Lee, Dara's mother, whose impulsive visit to London alters their fate.

With her signature warmth, humor, and incisive style, beloved author Frances Mayes creates a multigenerational probe into the complexity of love and the great mystery ride of marriage. A novel of casual choices and fateful consequences, A Great Marriage introduces two unforgettable families and the arrival of a stranger who rearranges their futures."

Come on, like me, I know you need to know what they broke up!

Beyond Ivy Walls by Rachel Fordham
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, a recluse and a young woman discover that the scars of life are no match against an act of love.

Iowa, 1903. All of Monticello believes Otis Taylor has been away fostering his musical genius. But the truth is that his father exiled him long ago, rejecting Otis's appearance and the scars that came with it. Now that he is the last living Taylor, Otis has covertly returned to settle his family's affairs and rid himself of his past for good. However, he soon discovers that he may not have been the only abandoned Taylor and begins a tireless search for his missing toddler niece.

At twenty-three years old, Sadie West left her family farm and found employment at the Hoag feather duster factory. It isn't a romantic job, but she's hardly had a glimmer of romance since her beau went off to college, leaving her with no promise of a future together. Desperate to save money and help her family make ends meet, she trespasses and finds shelter in an abandoned building - and is thrown in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor.

Otis's wounds are deep, but as Sadie's friendship with him grows, she begins to fall for the man beneath the mask. Locating his long-lost niece, however, is more difficult than either could have imagined, and Sadie West may be the key to Otis Taylor finally finding his way home."

Yes, romance, yes, recluse, I want to know more about the Hoag feather duster factory!

Netherford Hall by Natania Barron
Published by: Solaris Nova
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 360 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pride and Prejudice and Witches.

After a mysterious fire at their home in Regency London displaces Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood and her now much-reduced family to their ancestral seat of Netherford Hall in Kent, she faces a new threat in the form of her tenant-the chaotic and lovely Poppy Brightwell.

The repairs on the old pile are prohibitive, Edith's standing is uncertain, and her inheritance has been challenged by a forgotten American branch of the family. It is clear she needs to marry, soon and wisely-but the lively girl from Harrow House gradually comes to occupy all of her thoughts.

As tenants, rivals, suitors and enemies start to circle Netherford, and dark secrets about both women's pasts come to light, Edith and Poppy must confront what it means to fight for love and family, and to be their authentic selves."

Regency Magic Bitches! Or should I say Witches?

A Bachelor Establishment by Jodi Taylor
Published by: Headline
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"High adventure and dark mystery combine in this sparkling historical romance from the internationally bestselling author of the Chronicles of St Mary's series.

Elinor Bascombe, widowed and tied to an impoverished estate, has learned to ask little of life. With no hope of leaving, the years have passed her by.

Lord Ryde, exiled abroad after a scandal, has returned to strip his estate and make a new start in America.

A chance encounter changes their plans, plunging Elinor and Lord Ryde into adventure and not a little peril until, finally, they are forced to confront the mystery of what happened on That Night, all those years ago.

Are they both so entangled in the riddles of the past that they are about to miss this one last opportunity for future happiness?"

Come on, a night so mysterious it's capitalized!?!

Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans
Published by: Headline
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hello? Can you hear me? Probably not. I'm Dr Miriam Price...and I'm dead.

The local police, who couldn't investigate their own nostrils, think I drank myself into an early grave. The nerve! I was murdered. I was just too plastered to know whodunnit, that's all.

Unless I prove to my inquest this week that my death was no 'misadventure', I'm condemned to 50 years in Limbo. I have to find my killer - but I can't communicate with any living human. Well, there's one, but she barely qualifies...Winnie - my neighbour and nemesis. It seems the dying can interact with the dead, which is helpful news for me, if not stellar for Winnie. Oh well. She'll live. Maybe.

Suspects? How long have you got? My saintly husband, who'd reached his limit? My best friend, who was anything but? My secret lover, or his wife? My disgruntled colleague? The mother who wrongly holds me responsible for her child's death? Professor Plum? Your guess is as good as mine.

So Winnie - slap on your deerstalker and strap on your granny pants. Let's catch a killer! Assuming we don't kill each other first..."

But maybe the killer had a good reason?

The Story Collector by Evie Woods
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An evocative and charming novel full of secrets and mystery, from the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop.

In a quiet village in Ireland, a mysterious local myth is about to change everything...

One hundred years ago, Anna, a young farm girl, volunteers to help an intriguing American visitor translate fairy stories from Irish to English. But all is not as it seems and Anna soon finds herself at the heart of a mystery that threatens her very way of life.

In New York in the present day, Sarah Harper boards a plane bound for the West Coast of Ireland. But once there, she finds she has unearthed dark secrets - secrets that tread the line between the everyday and the otherworldly, the seen and the unseen.

With a taste for the magical in everyday life, Evie Woods's latest novel is full of ordinary characters with extraordinary tales to tell."

All about the fairy stories being translated. Perhaps something was released?

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
Published by: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's love at first haunting in a seaside town that raises everyone's spirits in this new series from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn't have to run air-conditioning.

Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there's something unusual with her new home (her laptop won't charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn't read "WRONG" and "MY HOUSE" when she put them up), she's charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she's catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.

As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don't get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie's worried she's in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing...and Nick's afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good."

What's a ghost or two when love is on the line?

Clickbait by Holly Baxter
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With the dark comedy and sharp observations of Monica Heisey and Dolly Alderton, a whip-smart and laugh-out-loud funny debut novel about a disgraced, newly divorced journalist demoted to a "clickbait" job at a Manhattan tabloid.

The first thing they tell you when you begin your training is never to become the news.

Natasha has screwed up royally. Her mistake isn't just embarrassing, it's a breach of journalistic ethics that makes headlines and costs her a plum job reporting from London. Back in New York at thirty-five and single, divorced from a kind man she loved, she finds herself at the bottom of the media food chain - a junior reporter at a clickbait factory, rewriting sensational tabloid stories to make them just different enough to avoid lawsuits.

As if her professional fall from grace weren't bad enough, she's taken the money she'd saved for a down payment for a home on a charming Brooklyn block with her husband, and rashly bought a boxy apartment overlooking the gray ocean in Rockaway Beach, Queens.

Though seeing friends and family only serves to remind her of what she's lost, things begin to pick up when her ex-boyfriend Zach moves back to New York and accepts her offer of a spare bedroom. The arrangement is strictly platonic, of course - for him. But Natasha can't help but wonder whether he might be the solution to all her problems.

As Natasha's obsession with Zach grows and her involvement in increasingly dystopian "churnalism" deepens, her worlds threaten to collide in the most cataclysmic, extremely public way."

Never go down the internet rabbit hole. It's a deep dark well.

New Adventures in Space Opera edited by Jonathan Strahan
Published by: Tachyon Publications
Publication Date: August 13th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ann Leckie / Becky Chambers / Alastair Reynolds / T. Kingfisher / Charlie Jane Anders / Anya Johanna DeNiro / Yoon Ha Lee / Lavie Tidhar / Tobias S. Buckell / Arkady Martine / Aliette de Bodard / Seth Dickinson / Karin Tidbeck

Award-winning Australian science-fiction editor Jonathan Strahan (The Best Science Fiction of the Year series) presents the quintessential guide to the exciting New Space Opera. This skillfully curated, must-read volume gathers fifteen dramatic, newly classic interstellar adventures from some of the most highly acclaimed and popular speculative-fiction authors.

In "Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance," a cloud-based contractor finds a human war criminal clinging to the hull of the ship. The clones of "All the Colors You Thought Were Kings," about to attend their coming-of-age ceremony, are also plotting treason. During "A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime," two outlaws go on the run after stealing a device from a space cult.

Take a faster-than-light trip to the future. Discover where memes rise and fall in moments. Here are the new and adventurous takes on interplanetary battles, sentient starships, and galactic intrigue. This must-read volume gathers fifteen dramatic, newly classic stories from some of the most highly acclaimed speculative authors."

I mean, you have to buy it for the T. Kingfisher story alone.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ava Reid, Evie Woods, Frances Mayes, Holly Baxter, Iona Grey, Jen DeLuca, Jessa Maxwell, Jodi Taylor, Katrina Monroe, Madeline Ashby, Maz Evans, Natania Barron, Oliver Clements, Rachel Fordham, Space Opera