strange and random happenstance

Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this next enthralling mystery in Tasha Alexander's bestselling series, Lady Emily chases down a killer in India along the misty banks of the sacred river Narmada.

1908: Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves, along with an eccentric group of English tourists, are vacationing in India at Ahilya Fort, the old home to the Maharaja's family, when a man is found shot along the Narmada River. Emily and Colin jump into action, but their suspect list is large, including a wonderful spinster and her not-so-wonderful companion; a local doctor; a widow who lives nearby; an English explorer; and an Englishman who now runs a tea plantation near Darjeeling.

1740: Fifteen-year-old Ahilyabai has been married to the son of Malharrao Holkar, the Lord of the Malwa territory, for seven years. Now the time has finally come to produce an heir. But though Ahilya's in-laws have shown her nothing but kindness, her notoriously-drunken husband remains a mystery to her, having rarely spoken to Ahilya since their wedding as children. Faced with this tortured and distant man, Ahilya's sense of loyalty is tested as she attempts to balance fulfilling her duty with forging her own destiny. Her decisions will have ripple effects across time - including Lady Emily's investigation almost two hundred years later.

Lady Emily's case takes a dramatic turn when a shocking new person arrives at the fort - and when the killer strikes again shortly afterwards, she and Colin must race to uncover the villain's identity before it's too late."

Tasha takes an in depth approach to researching her books. In other words, when she announced she was going to India I could not wait until I read about what Lady Emily and Colin got up to there. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down. 

Bright and Broken Things by Ryan Graudin
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young scholar learns he may be the key to uncovering an ancient Egyptian artifact coveted by a powerful cabal of magicians in this enchanting novel set among the glittering parties and Egyptology craze of 1920s London. Ezra Bright has returned to London after serving in World War I but, like many surviving soldiers, he's haunted - by the horrors of the front lines, the loss of his adoptive brother and the strange magic flickering at the edge of his vision. Desperate to outrun his past, Ezra falls into a dazzling new world of socialites known for their elaborate costume parties and sprawling scavenger hunts.

But these Bright Young Things are hungry. And none more than Celia, a disgraced heiress, who warns Ezra that these parties are only a glittering façade for a secret society of magicians. For centuries, the Order, at the behest of its mysterious leader, has plundered magical relics. Their ultimate prize lies buried in Egypt, and unlocking it requires ancient magic - one Celia believes Ezra alone possesses.

When a note in his room is mistaken for the opening clue of a scavenger hunt, Ezra and his friends are launched into high stakes race across Egypt. As secrets are unearthed and the dead refuse to stay buried, Ezra must confront the truth of his heritage - and the full cost of his power - before the Order claims it first."

Oh, forcing someone on a quest by making it look like a scavenger hunt? That's diabolical. I love it.

Murder on the Cornish Train by J.M. Hall
Published by: Hodder and Stoughton
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One missing passenger. One dead body. Is it murder on the Cornish train?

It is a dark and stormy night when Jeff boards the Cornish sleeper train at Paddington station.

As they make their way down the dark British coast, waves crash over the carriages and the wheels rattle in the gale.

Arriving in Cornwall the next morning, Jeff discovers one passenger has vanished into thin air.

The next day, another is found dead on a windswept beach.

Jeff can't accept these are coincidences.

Could he hold the clue to catch the killer who boarded the Cornish train?"

Obviously the bodies are connected, but could they be the same person?

The Cornish Halloween Murder by Fiona Leitch
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brand new cozy mystery to escape with this Halloween. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Rev Richard Coles.

It's (almost) Halloween in Penstowan, and strange things are afoot...

When a developer buys the abandoned convent and cottage hospital of St Ann's on the edge of town, locals are aghast at his plans to turn the site into apartments. And when menacing voodoo-like dolls are found hidden inside the walls, it looks like the building's past inhabitants are against it, too.

As the town prepares for the annual Bonfire Parade taking place on Halloween night, ex-police officer Jodie Parker finds herself in a world of witches and Wiccans, whispering voices and ghostly babies crying, as she tries to find out who's behind the campaign to stop the development. Then one of the builders is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Has a spectre from the convent's past come back to take revenge on the living, or are Jodie and her husband, DCI Nathan Withers, looking for a killer of flesh and blood?"

Why can't you have a live killer AND a real haunting?

A Killer for Christmas by Kim Harrington
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Wrapped in red has a bloody new meaning in this contemporary holiday romance with a murderous twist, perfect for readers who enjoyed The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

Christmasville, Maine, is the only place where Kelsey Hendricks has ever felt happy. When she loses both her job and her boyfriend, the move is a no-brainer, especially when she sees a listing for a position as Christmasville's social media manager. Surrounded by twinkling lights and candy canes and with the perfect job, this tinsel town is working its magic on Kelsey. With two heartthrobs vying for her attention, her life is now just like a Christmas movie.

Except for the murders.

The first one is dismissed as an accident. But after the second, and definitely the third, it becomes abundantly clear that Santa is leaving coal in someone's stocking this year.

Determined to bring back the holly jolly spirit to the town before tourists begin canceling their reservations, Kelsey must sleuth her way out of a chilling murder mystery and back to a holiday rom-com.

This charming and clever mystery-romance where a cozy winter wonderland warms the heart while suspense chills the bones is the perfect read for the holiday season."

Well it's already better than The Most Wonderful Crime of the year because there is actually a murder.

Eat, Drink, and Get Buried by Cleo Coyle
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the Village Blend caters a glittering rooftop party, their creative coffee concoctions are eclipsed by a shocking murder in this compelling new Coffeehouse Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

Years ago, when master roaster Clare Cosi was a newly divorced mom raising her daughter, Joy, Ava Welsh became Joy's best friend. Now the painfully shy girl next door has grown into a successful New York businesswoman, and Clare is delighted to be catering Ava's coffee-themed party, especially when her boyfriend, Ryan, confides his plan to propose that very night.

Then a scream shatters the celebration. A woman is thrown off the balcony to her death, and Ryan - who abruptly flees the party - is accused of murder. Clare vows to help Ava clear his name.

Her digging uncovers suspicious connections to a deadly event from which a teenaged Joy and Ava barely escaped with their lives. The stakes rise ever higher as a ruthless killer attempts to keep the ugly truth buried - even if it means sending Clare and her caffeinated crew six feet under."

So what I'm hearing is that Clare has always been a death magnet. 

A Map to Murder by Michelle Chouinard
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beloved true crime tour guide Capri Sanzio returns in Michelle Chouinard's A Map to Murder, the next book in the USA Today bestselling Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mysteries.

True crime tour guide and serial killer aficionado Capri Sanzio knows how central the Summer of Love is to San Francisco's identity - even if she's always had conflicted feelings about it. She's used to weaving feel-good hippie culture and music into her Haight-Ashbury true crime tales, centering her tours around what happens when a revolution looking to lift up the best ideals humanity has to offer clashes with the darkest souls hidden among humanity's shadows. But what she's not used to is a guest stepping out from those shadows to drop a murder investigation directly into her lap.

A woman has gone missing in San Francisco after trying to solve her aunt's murder: a cold case from the Summer of Love. Capri sees herself in the missing woman - both were unable to find the answers they desperately wanted as kids - and sees her own daughter in the tour guest begging for her help. Unable to turn the case away, Capri finds herself following a trail of flower-power footprints turned deadly - straight to a killer who has her in their sights."

Two things I adore, San Francisco and murder. 

How to Write a Murder by Jessica Brody
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 560 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One dead body. Seven mystery writers who all know how to get away with murder. In this wickedly clever whodunit from the bestselling author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, the only thing harder than writing the perfect plot twist...is surviving it.

If you want to write a murder, you have to set it in the right location - like an old, converted monastery with an ominous past, hidden deep in the mountains. Then, you have to invite the right people - like a group of authors attending a prestigious mystery-writing conference.

Of course, someone should show up uninvited - like a disgraced literary agent accused of stealing from his top client. Everyone in the story must be hiding something so they can all become suspects when someone ends up dead. That's when they'll turn on one another, digging into the past to uncover dark truths - like a book canceled on the eve of publication, two million dollars in missing royalties, and an obsessive fan with a hidden agenda.

But don't forget to trap everyone there - a landslide should do the trick - so they can't escape when more people turn up dead....

Welcome to the perfect murder. Nothing will go wrong. Because if anyone can get away with murder, it's a writer."

I mean, don't all writers have secrets?

Worry Box by Chris Panatier
Published by: Angry Robot
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An unsettling horror story with a mysterious twist from a celebrated voice in horror. Perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts.

The Martins need a new home for their growing family. For Alison, Nathan, daughter Dru, and foster child Lailah, it's love at first sight when they see the house in Tumbling Hills. It even has a cozy attic, which is great for Lailah; she needs a quiet place to be alone when her intrusive thoughts creep in.

(crack an egg into the coffee machine)

The family gets settled. The house is perfect, and so is the timing - Lailah's adoption will soon be finalized.

(push your sister down the stairs)

But as the date approaches, her intrusive thoughts get worse, and Lailah fears she's losing control.

(burn them alive in their beds)"

Just saying, the adoption isn't finalized...

The Gardens by Emma Babbington
Published by: HQ Digital
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It might look idyllic, but the secrets buried there are deadly...

When human bones are found in the garden attached to the glamorous London home where she grew up, Jess McIntyre prepares to receive the news she has dreaded for thirty-four years: that her sister, Nina, is dead and now here is the proof.

Nina disappeared without a trace in 1992, aged eighteen, the summer she fell in with a charismatic group of friends who squatted in a vacant house on the other side of Willow Gardens.

Having moved to Australia years ago, widow and single mum Jess arrives back in London to provide a DNA sample to help the investigation, with her teenage son, Ollie, in tow.

As they try and unravel the secrets of Nina's past, and her connection to a sinister cult, will they discover that some bodies are best left buried...?"

So, the body was in the backyard the whole time? This is like season two of Prime Suspect. 

In the Woods They Wait by Carrie Lee South
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Years ago, she lost her brother. Now the woods have taken another.

From a powerful new voice, a story that's at once a haunting southern gothic and a satisfying page-turner, perfect for fans of Stephen King and Liz Moore alike.

Fifteen years ago, Audrey Figg's little brother, Benny, vanished on a family vacation to Devil's Den state park, a day that split her life in two. Now, Audrey is a park ranger in the very same woods with expertise in wilderness search and rescue. Audrey has found a rhythm to her days: training new rangers, tending to injured hikers, protecting the backcountry, and still, searching.

When a little girl, Ivy, suddenly goes missing on the trails, Audrey can't help but notice the similarities to her own brother's case. As Audrey widens the scope of her search, she begins to believe Ivy wasn't merely lost; it looks like she was taken by something - and maybe Benny was too. Yet the closer Audrey comes to answers, the more old memories push to the surface. Audrey is haunted not only by her brother's loss, but a terrible secret from that day. A secret she has never shared with anyone.

Utterly absorbing and disquieting, In the Woods They Wait is an enthralling page-turner, one that asks how far you would go for a sense of closure - and what would you be willing to face to get it."

Is Devil's Den based on Devil's Lake in Wisconsin? Cause I gotta say, strong similarities. So much death there every year.

Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.

There is something haunting Nuhad's childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.

And, in return, the house did the same for her.

After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother's home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina's mother, Haifa - named for the city that was lost to their family - reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.

But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family's past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad's ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.

As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all."

A new type of haunted house story. 

Mazywood by Tananarive Due
Published by: S and S/Saga Press
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All the Sinners Bleed meets Erasure in this literary thriller from the award-winning author of The Reformatory following the grandson of a famous Black actress who returns to his grandmother's cabin retreat in the California mountains only to encounter the legacy of her rage born in Old Hollywood.

When Johnny - a filmmaker and grandson of the famous Black actress Mazelle Washington - brings his family to Mazywood, the secluded California mountain lodge left behind by his grandmother, he expects a quiet retreat. Instead, he uncovers a legacy of rage, secrets, and terror that has haunted his family for generations.

Set primarily in the present day, with haunting flashbacks to Hollywood's Golden Age, Mazywood explores three generations while following Johnny as he pieces together the true story of his grandmother. As a young Black actress whose career spanned from the 1920s to the 1940s, Mazelle brushed shoulders with giants like Lena Horne, Clark Gable, and Hattie McDaniel. But beneath her public appearance, she carried a secret she had kept and nurtured since she was a child, when a dark wish came true and changed the course of her life forever.

Now, fifty years after Mazelle's death, Johnny finds himself confronting the truth she buried - and the consequences she left behind. For a monster lurks outside Mazywood, hidden for generations, and Johnny brought his family to its hunting grounds."

Tananarive Due is the author of the moment so DO NOT miss this magnificent book. 

All Her Beautiful Deaths by A. Rushby
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gothic tale in two timelines in which the lives of two women intersect through a series of mysterious, eerily beautiful photographs of the dead.

London, 1865. Minnie has been sent to Culpepper House to work as a maid. She's been told that the Culpepper twins are odd, and odd they are. Edmund and Edith seem to do as they please, with Edmund running a laboratory from the house and Edith running about with glass plates in order to create photographs. When Minnie spies what Edith is photographing - a young woman and swan, both dead - she is horrified. But with nowhere else to go, there is nothing to do but remain and try to unlock the mystery of Culpepper House's secrets before she becomes the victim of such a photograph.

London, present day. When Sydney-based artist Hadley is involved in an art world scandal revolving around an album of exquisite Victorian death photographs, she's met with a flurry of media attention and the offer to create an installation centering on a heartbreaking image of a young woman and a swan. Then comes a shocking offer from the enigmatic Kit Culpepper of the Culpepper Trust…an eye-watering sum of money, with the condition that Hadley sell him the album and never speak of its contents again. As Hadley digs deeper, she begins to suspect Kit Culpepper is guarding a deathly secret…and she's not entirely sure how far he'll go to keep it."

So, the kids like mementos of their kills...

A Dangerous Bargain by Erin Cotter
Published by: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young artist who has bargained away most of his life for divine inspiration pairs up with fellow apprentice Leonardo da Vinci to infiltrate the Medici family and find out the truth about his missing brother in this Renaissance-set young adult mystery perfect for fans of F.T. Lukens.

It's the height of the Italian Renaissance. In the golden city of Florence, art is equal to holiness - and angels walk among us, bestowing their talents...for a price.

Seventeen-year-old artist Virgil is in trouble. To support his family, he's bargained most of his life away to an angel - only to discover that his missing brother is in danger, and nothing but magic can rescue him. Now, with just a few months left to live, Virgil is desperate enough to try the one thing he swore he would never, ever do - team up with the infuriating, annoyingly talented, and most notorious playboy in all of Florence, the charming Leonardo da Vinci.

As the two journey through Florence's gilded streets, luxurious cathedrals, and glorious Medici palaces, they unearth dark truths beneath the city's facade.

Those in power will do anything to keep their deadly secrets safe, but with his feelings for Leonardo giving him new life, Virgil is determined to expose their lies before he runs out of time.

Even if it might cost him his soul."

So Virgil is OK with working with angels but not Leo? Someone has issues...

Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In her adult debut, award-winning author Tanaz Bhathena expertly weaves a tale of love and loss in ancient Persia with her take on the timeless tragedy of Tahmineh, a temptress, a witch, a victim, or, perhaps, a woman trying her hardest to protect her loved ones.

Rumors of witchcraft follow Princess Tahmineh like a storm cloud, making it impossible for her to secure herself a marriage or any kind of future. With her father, the king's health in question, it becomes shockingly clear how desperate her situation will soon become in his absence. If she doesn't act now, she will quickly find herself destitute and desperate.

Tahmineh seeks out a prophecy, from which she learns she will fall in love with a warrior of great renown named Rostam and bear him a son. However, she is warned this match is a dangerous one for her. Heedless of the warnings, Tahmineh boldly orchestrates a meeting with Rostam and the two develop a close friendship and ultimately fall in love and marry. At the peak of her joy, Tahmineh gives birth to Sohrab, Rostam's son.

All too soon, Tahmineh learns the tragic second part of the prophecy. Father and son will meet as enemies in battle and one will die at the hand of the other. What follows is a mother's desperate attempt to undo the threads of fate and try to protect her son at all costs."

Ever since reading A Bride's Story I might be mildly obsessed with ancient Persia. 

The Big Bad Book of Kaiju edited by Jonathan Marberry and Henry Herz
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A thrilling and cataclysmic collection of city-smashing titans and the desperate coalitions of humanity clinging to survival in the wreckage, from the New York Times-bestselling and multiple award-winning editors.

Featuring bestselling and award-winning authors such as Tananarive Due, Christopher Golden, Seanan McGuire, Scott Sigler and Steve Alten, author of The Meg.

An explosive collection of monster terror, featuring 25 original tales of creatures the size of skyscrapers. See cities shattered and worlds ended, as great beasts rise from the deep.

Featuring work from:
Linda D. Addison
Kevin J. Anderson
Kelley Armstrong
Maurice Broaddus
Tananarive Due
Luke Dumas
Taiyo Fuji
Kane Gilmour
Maxwell I. Gold
Christopher Golden and Daniel Golden
Henry Herz
Jamal Hodge
Ai Jiang
Alma Katsu
Tim Lebbon
Jonathan Maberry
Seanan McGuire
Lee Murray
Tobi Ogundiran
Cynthia Pelayo
Jeremy Robinson
Scott Sigler
Benjamin Spada
Anne Walsh"

Could any publisher other than Titan release this book? NO!

No Killing Goblins by Pirateaba
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 784 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this second volume of The Wandering Inn, Book One of the massive epic fantasy world that has become a LitRPG sensation, new characters take center stage as the Innverse expands beyond Erin Solstice's inn.

Even as Erin finds companions out of goblins, necromancers, drakes, and gnolls, Ryoka Griffin wants no part in making friends.

She just wants to run.

Luckily, there's a guild that allows her to do just that, and Ryoka soon finds herself delivering messages and packages across the city. But she's an oddity to the other runners, and not just because she doesn't wear shoes.

No, there's something about her that just doesn't fit in…and it's probably the fact that she's from the real world, and not the fantasy one she's been sucked into.

Like Erin, she has found herself pulled into a fantasy realm she doesn't understand. And like Erin, she wants to learn more…but wants to do it her own way. Yet even she is learning she can't do everything alone, and after a dangerous delivery introduces her to the adventuring group The Horns of Hammerad - and other deliveries bring her into the scope of a powerful Lady and a mysterious magic-user - her new world will never be the same.

Darkness is growing in the Innverse, with new players and monsters being added to the chessboard, and both Erin and Ryoka are finding out that as amazing magic can be, it's also incredibly deadly."

I'm really slow lately and just got the Wandering Inn joke...

The Henchperson's Guide to Unionizing by Marshall J. Moore
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"As the laboratory assistant to the brilliant but demanding Doctor, Igor spends his nights robbing graves, stitching together body parts, and ensuring that his master doesn't electrocute himself (too badly).

When a mob of peasants wielding torches and pitchforks drives them out of town (again), Igor and the Doctor relocate to the isolated Ravenwald Manor to resume their experiments creating new life from dead flesh. But Igor and the Doctor are not the only ones seeking refuge within the walls of Ravenwald. The manor is already home to a vampiric Count and his highly dissatisfied bride, Cornelia - and an enigmatic witch and her feline familiar, Grimalkin, intend to use it as the site of a magical ritual.

At Igor's suggestion, the three pairs come to an uneasy agreement to cohabitate in Ravenwald, lest they attract the suspicion of the nearby village. In the wake of this truce, Igor, Cornelia, and Grimalkin soon begin to realize that they might have more common with one another than their respective masters. When the trio discovers that they've been unwitting participants in a horrible plan to destroy the world as they know it, they must work together to stop their masters from bringing on armageddon...and stop the increasingly suspicious villagers from reaching for their pitchforks and torches.

Igor, Grim, and Cornelia must unite to cast off the chains of their masters and embrace life on their own terms in the hilarious, heartwarming, and just-scary-enough The Henchperson's Guide to Unionizing."

Just saying, the best thing EVER about What We Do in the Shadows was Sam, the cat familiar. ALWAYS here for a cat familiar. 

Soul Proprietor by Stephanie Vance
Published by: GFB
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 326 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The afterlife's most profitable innovation? Renting souls to the living.

Tiffani Lutatio, a top salesfiend for Hell's Soul Exchange, needs 142 more rentals to claw her way into Hell's C-suite-with Fred, her fire-breathing dachshund, in tow. But in her rush to the bottom, she accidentally rents out a porn star's recalled soul, violating one of Hell's commandments. To retrieve it before Hell's Information Agency finds out and stops her promotion, Tiffani must accept a humiliating bargain: Grant her customer three favors.

In present-day Portland, Oregon, where demons and angels haunt dive bars alongside the living, Tiffani and her band of misfit celestials and delinquent mortal teenagers stumble onto Hell's most classified secret. There's something far more dangerous for her career than even Hell's worst demon: a conscience.

Soul Proprietor is a darkly funny romp through a fantastical afterlife on Earth, where capitalism is eternal, good and evil are up for a rebrand, and redemption might finally be possible."

And why was the porn star's soul recalled?

The Magus Club by L.E. Sterling
Published by: Spell Shaker Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 350 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"She'd given up on magic-but this club won't take no for an answer.

You're invited to join the most exclusive-and dangerous-club in town....

Esme Wallace is happy to read tarot cards for Toronto's bar scene dupes. But she doesn't like it when the cards get too loud. When they tell her change is coming. And it does: in the form of handsome, rich Julian Holt. Esme can't help but fall under Julian's spell - until he inducts Esme into his ultra-secret magic club and asks her to train under his brainy best friend.

Michael Cairns acts like he detests Esme, but could he have another motive for keeping her at arm's length? Yet, as Esme's life begins to unravel and it looks like dark magic may be responsible, she turns to the lone club member she can trust - and the one man whose arms she shouldn't enjoy.

Because sometimes magic crosses over. Sometimes, it wants you dead. And once you're in this club, there's only one way out."

And this is why I'd never accept an invite to any kind of club. I'm a non-joiner. It's too dangerous. 

Roots and Wrath by E.J. Wenstrom
Published by: E.J. Wenstrom
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 446 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Once, there were six.

Six young witches were hungry to achieve remarkable things...until they performed a clandestine ritual in the dark wood. Only five witches returned. The secret they buried beneath a hungry great oak split them apart forever.

Now there are five.

Eighteen years later, the death of their legendary mentor forces them back together. In her will, the professor binds them to carry on her work until their magical bond is shattered for good...by death.

Soon, there will be four.

The remaining witches scramble to uncover who is willing to kill to escape their bond. Magical spells and broken alliances - not to mention a relentless ghost of their past deeds - drive them back to the dark wood to unearth their past.

Can any of them survive the specter of the dark wood and finally put the past to rest?

Roots and Wrath is a standalone dark fantasy featuring ruthless, unapologetic female characters in a twisty, suspenseful whirlwind of a plot. Perfect for fans of The Craft, Yellowjackets, Plain Bad Heroines, The Return, and Once and Future Witches."

I mean, what kind of mentor basically forces their pupils into The Hunger Games!?! 

The Secrets of the Séance Society by Lisa Perrin
Published by: Chronicle Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 216 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gorgeous and delightfully spooky compendium of famous (and infamous) spiritual mediums who communicate with the dead. Plus, it includes an entertaining and instructive medium's manual and usable Ouija board!

From the author-illustrator of the bestselling The League of Lady Poisoners, this lavishly illustrated treasury considers these haunting questions: What are spirits? Where can we find them? And how can we contact them? In answer, Lisa Perrin recounts, with respectful sincerity and a healthy dose of humor - complemented by clever Victorian-inspired portraits, icons, and lettering - the advent of Spiritualism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The book spotlights the era's larger-than-life characters who, unlike many Spiritualist mediums who shared their gifts privately with clients, found their way onto stages and into newspaper headlines, and ultimately explores the deeper question of why the living world is endlessly trying to connect with the dead.

• Learn about the Fox sisters and the birth of Spiritualism, when the sisters claimed to hear tapping, knocking, and rapping from a spirit of a peddler whose body had been buried in their cellar.
• Explore the outrageous occurrences at mediums' seances, such as the disembodied four-fingered hand that emerged from under the table of the Schneider brothers to play a musical instrument placed on the floor.
• Traverse through the disintegration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini's friendship due to their famously differing opinions on the topic of spirits.
• Delve into Perrin's documentation of celebrities, investigators, fraudsters, reformers, and rebels of the age, and her knowledgeable overview of Spiritualism's path that continues to stretch into modern culture.

Fascinating and fearsome all at once, this thrilling survey of mediums and their historical context will delight any reader who enjoys exploring the world beyond the veil. Through all the myths and legends, there is comfort to be found in the effort to contact the dead, for it is, at heart, time spent thinking about them and honoring their memories.

INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS: A medium's manual walks you through all the tools a medium needs and includes instructions on how to hold a proper Victorian séance, should you want to try to commune with spirits at home (at your own risk!). There is also an illustrated Ouija board and removable planchette for a more interactive paranormal experience.

GHOSTS NEVER DIE: Powerhouse author-illustrator Lisa Perrin is a perfect fit for this popular topic, offering an animated guide to communing with spirits that plays into our cultural obsession with the paranormal and occult, and also pokes a little understanding fun at it.

IRRESISTIBLE GIFT: Perrin's beautiful and distinctive art style perfectly captures the romantic allure of the afterlife and the urge to commune with the dead. Her irreverent voice makes this an especially fun read for all those drawn to the exquisitely macabre. Packaged in a bedecked hardcover as glorious as her first book, this makes an irresistible gift for fans of shows like Wednesday and Stranger Things, murder mystery readers, and true-crime podcast listeners.

Perfect for:

• Fans of ghost stories, true crime, and all things paranormal/occult
• People interested in spiritualism and other methods of contacting the dead
• Admirers of Victoriana and the golden age of Spiritualism
• Fans of Lisa Perrin's beautiful illustration and readers who loved The League of Lady Poisoners
• Shoppers looking for a unique spooky gift
• Fans of Living for the Dead, The Haunting of Hill House, Wednesday, and other spooky stories and popular media"

I'm questioning that whole "at your own risk!" caveat... 

Sometimes I Scare Myself by Jeneva Rose
Published by: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Not all nightmares come from sleep. Some come from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jeneva Rose.

Three horror stories.

A dinner party. A quiet house. A roadside stop.

You'll recognize the setup.

You won't recognize what comes next.

Never Kill the Medium

A thirtieth birthday dinner turns deadly after someone hires a medium for a playful séance. When the ritual spirals out of control and the medium dies, the guests cover it up - unaware that leaving the séance unfinished has allowed something dark to cross over.

The Nightmare House

The Dalton family moves into what they believe is their forever home, in the quiet town of Tillington - until the house whispers, the neighbors watch, and no one believes the one person who knows something is wrong. Newly postpartum, Kristin Dalton soon uncovers a horrifying truth: every family who has lived in this house has died or disappeared.

All Curses Are Final

On the way to a remote winter cabin, a group of friends stops at a roadside store with a hand-painted warning: "All items cursed. Curse lifted at time of sale." They laugh it off - until one of them discovers an item in her bag she never paid for. As the storm traps them inside the cabin and bodies start to pile up, paranoia takes hold and suspicion turns inward."

I'm just saying, from a logic point of view I'm final girl material. From any other point of view, I'm a goner.

Stranger Bedfellows by Amanda Mortlock
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dark and steamy debut novel about a girl, who is sometimes a cat, the witch she loves, and the toxic secrets from her past that are threatening to unravel the delicate balance of her future.

Cleo is a willfully aloof college student with an impossible secret. When she meets Wes, a brooding musician, at a Halloween party, their connection is instant, electric, and impossible to ignore. Their romance takes a mystical turn when Wes discovers what Cleo's been hiding: sometimes she takes the form of his pet cat.

Enter Bailey and Ollie - their magical counterparts - who reveal a deeper tie between Cleo and Wes: he's a witch, and she's his familiar. As past secrets collide with their entangled present, Cleo faces her greatest fear - losing Wes. With long-gone threats returning and danger looming, Cleo must confront her role in their dark and violent shared history and decide if she's willing to fight for their future."

I mean, I sometimes wish I was a witch's familiar. It's totally normal right?

Out of Body by Chris Vanjonack
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A wildly inventive collection of interconnected speculative stories - spanning the multiverse, demonic attachment, and life after death - from an electrifying new voice in fiction.

An aimless ghost haunts his ex-girlfriend for evidence that she's actually upset about his death.

A group of teens discovers a machine that purports to predict the best day of its users' lives.

A young woman is horrified to discover that an aggressive stranger she met on a night of bar-hopping now manifests in every photo that is taken of her.

A drunken posse descends into the woods in search of clowns that have been terrorizing their small town.

Chris Vanjonack's fiction is haunted not only by specters of death, but by the elusive questions of life, and above all, the wonder and horror of the infinite. Uncanny, surreal, and infectiously clever, the stories in this linked collection contain horrors great and small, fueled as much by the fantastic as by longing, dread, and all-too-human frailties.

Morbidly funny and brilliantly observed, Out of Body is an atmospheric, dead original feast for the senses."

But what a disappointment if you've already lived the best day of your life?

Lucy Kline, Necromancer by Tom O'Donnell
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and highly bingeable thrillers, Lucy Kline, Necromancer, is a Nancy Drew-style murder mystery mixed with the occult.

It's been two years since Lucy's twin sister was presumed dead. As the only person who knew about Louisa's plan to sneak out on the night she was killed, Lucy still feels responsible for her sister's grim fate - despite the fact that it was Lucy who eventually cracked the case, putting Louisa's killer in jail.

Or so she thought.

When another girl who looks just like Louisa goes missing under similarly mysterious circumstances, and ghostly dreams begin to plague Lucy, she throws herself back into the investigation. The more clues she uncovers, the more her nightmares bleed into reality. And signs start to point to the impossible: necromancy.

With the help of her classmate Howie and a retired medieval history professor, Lucy must find the culprit behind these disappearances and finally come to terms with the grief that's haunted her for years."

And here I was thinking ghosts. Should have remembered the title of the book!

A New Witch in the Northwoods by Elise Posledni
Published by: Ten16 Press
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 380 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Small town life in the Wisconsin Northwoords is not like anything Mary expected.

When Mary Matherson moved into her late grandfather's house in small town northern Wisconsin, she was prepared to deal with the prying locals while digging for clues about her grandfather's curious death. What she was not prepared for was the veil between the supernatural plane practically in her backyard.

It turns out, Mary is a witch. Her new boyfriend is a demon. The Other world is hard to resist and Mary wants to learn the magic her grandfather kept secret from her. Instead of nosy neighbors and coffee shop gossip, Mary must deal with supernatural politics and a threat that has hunted her family's magic for generations."

Anyone who has been up north knows how thin the veil is. And yes, I read all books set in Wisconsin to judge them for accuracy. 

You're the One That I Haunt by Katie Jung
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"To save her best friend and lifelong crush from his family's deadly curse, Libby must team up with (and try not to catch feelings for) a handsome ghost only she can see.

Libby Lakoski has two major problems. First, she's secretly in love with her best friend, Carter Coldwell, and second, he's marrying someone else. Carter's the only person who has ever made Libby feel chosen, and sure, his fiancee is a British diamond heiress, but Carter and Libby have years of shared history and longing looks between them. Not to mention, Libby is the only person Carter trusted enough to tell about the dark magic that plagues his family.

But then a third and related problem presents itself - or, himself. Trip Coldwell is Carter's handsome, smart, flirtatious cousin who also happens to be...a ghost. Trip's "unfinished business" is to break the Coldwell curse, but the solution hinges on Libby encouraging Carter to allow his wedding to proceed. Unfortunately, Libby is the only person who can see Trip, and her objective is the exact opposite. Can Libby put aside her pining for Carter and work with his hot and not-quite-living cousin to save both men?

As they follow a trail of clues across New York City, Libby finds herself questioning just how much Carter reciprocated her friendship, feeling perplexed by a growing attraction to Trip, and fantasizing about actually touching him. With the countdown to the wedding in full swing, Libby must choose between saving the Coldwells and holding tight to her own happily ever after."

But if he's cursed there's no HEA. Let the wedding happen THEN fight to get him.

A Season for Falling by Kate O'Shaughnessy
Published by: Storytide
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A swoony, heartfelt, and evocative standalone paperback original romance about first love, second chances, and finding yourself in the season of change - perfect for fans of Misty Wilson's Falling Like Leaves and anyone looking for their next Gilmore Girls-esque fall read.

Some seasons change everything....

Five years ago, Claire was a child star, the goofy punchline of one of America's favorite sitcoms. Until a series of devastating betrayals by her manager-father left her broke, humiliated, and desperate to disappear.

Now she's just another high school senior in postcard-perfect Glenridge, Connecticut, determined to leave her past behind. Not even her best friend knows who she used to be - or that she's scraping together every spare dollar to hopefully attend NYU.

When a movie shoot lands in Glenridge - and with it, her former co-star and ex-best friend, Luke Cordova - it threatens to stir up not only Claire's past, but also the dizzying crush she once had on Luke. He offers Claire a deal: let him shadow her to research his role, and he'll pay enough to make her college dreams possible.

As the woodsmoke-tinged October air grows colder, and she falls for Luke (again), Claire must confront what really drove her to hide - and whether she can step back into herself without being consumed by everything she's tried to forget."

Gilmore Girls-esque with a character named Luke!?! A bit too on the nose.

Christmas in Austenland by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to Austenland at Christmastime in this delightfully charming romance by bestselling author Shannon Hale.

Kestrel Klein has always been too much. Too much for her mother to manage or for any path in life to actually work out. Too much for her sweet Hank - the guy she thought was her soulmate, before he broke her heart. Itching for a big change, Kestrel enters a contest and wins a vacation to Pembrook Park, an immersive Austen experience. Bonus: it's during Christmas, the one holiday where being too much is the whole point."

Austenland is my happy place, so I can't wait for Austenland at Christmas!

Well Versed by Jen DeLuca
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's a second chance at first love at the Renaissance Faire, where the search for a new queen shapes a destiny, from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Caitlin Parker was eighteen when she fell out of love with the magic of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire - the site of her first real heartbreak. But now, twenty-four and unemployed, she finds herself in her childhood bedroom and her childhood lady-in-waiting costume, assisting a rotating cast of substitute queens for the season. The very last person she wants to see is Alexander Wright - the sword-fighting, Shakespeare-spouting young man who won and broke her teenage heart. Yet there he is, older, annoyingly hotter, and back on stage at her Faire.

When Alex broke things off with Caitlin the first time, he thought he was just ending a summer fling. He didn't realize how much he'd fallen for her until he let her go, and he certainly didn't know he'd tarnished her memories of her cherished Faire and worse, shattered her view on love and relationships. His need to right that wrong this summer brings them together again and again, and this time, it won't be so easy to let go of this summer fling.

But as summer winds down, real life is catching up to both of them. Caitlin's always thought that being an adult with adult responsibilities means leaving whimsy behind. Alex, with a life full of stage combat, songs, and sonnets, doesn't know how to live any other way. Can they go after their dreams and find a future together where they can still say "huzzah"?"

Huzzah! I might have just binged all of The Great. Huzzah! 

Saddle Storm by Roxanne Tully
Published by: Embla Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: eBook, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Silas
Six weeks off the ice for a shoulder injury bearable. Six weeks back at Blue River Ranch to recover agonizing.

I traded my boots for skates a long time ago and never looked back. Not even at Storm Dalton. The girl I spent summers causing trouble with.

Now, she's working on my family's ranch proving she belongs here more than I ever did.

But those green eyes don't light up when they land on me anymore. They're throwing daggers. Fighting me at every turn.

And this time, I'm the one struggling to walk away.

Storm
Silas Thorne has always been good at two things. Hockey. And leaving in those shiny sneakers that match his golden boy charm.

Now, he's stuck here. Looking entirely too handsome with that easy grin like he didn't ghost me all those years ago.

But I've got priorities now. A life I built on my own. And a past better left behind.

I may have done some foolish things in my life, but none would be as foolish as wanting a man who's always had one foot out the door.

Saddle Storm is the third book in the steamy and highly addictive Blue River Springs series, featuring grumpy cowboys who love wildly and protect fiercely. If you love Lyla Sage, Elsie Silver and Jessica Peterson, Roxanne Tully's small-town cowboy romance series will have you head over boots."

Plus, if he's not going to stay, what's the point!?!

Actually, Nevermind by Taylor Tomlinson
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""One of the most acclaimed, in-demand superstars of comedy" (Jason Zinoman, The New York Times) Taylor Tomlinson explores all the things she's changed her mind about, from the serious to the absurd, in her hilarious, heartfelt, and brilliant debut.

As she approaches thirty-four - the same age her mother, Angela, was at her death - Tomlinson grapples with fear and ambition, identity and doubt, and all the ways her mind has changed since the day her mom died.

In these sharply observed, uproariously funny, and moving original essays, Tomlinson leads readers through a tour of her brain and her shifting opinions about everything from love and relationships, mental health and therapy, religion and sex, food and body image, being the eldest daughter and the only woman in late-night TV, to ghosts, morning people, and more.

With the same unflinching honesty that fuels her beloved stand-up specials, she captures the dizzying contradictions of adulthood in the modern world: wanting independence while craving reassurance, chasing self-improvement while resisting change, and finally learning that certainty can be overrated. "True wisdom," writes Tomlinson, "is accepting how little you know, and real maturity is becoming as flexible as possible. (Emotionally, not physically. Real maturity also means needing to stretch way more)."

A "fearless" (NPR) comedian who "makes even the heaviest subjects seem spikily funny" (Jason Zinoman, The New York Times), Tomlinson now brings her natural storytelling gifts and incisive wit to the page in Actually, Nevermind."

I adore Taylor Tomlinson. I also hope she's as against morning people as I am. 

Mobu's Diary by Kathy Lam
Published by: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An anxious calico upends her cozy life to work in a cat cafe in this hilarious, heartwarming graphic novel debut from international sensation Kathy Lam. For fans of Pusheen and A Man and His Cat.

Meet Mobu: she's a three-year-old calico with pink toe beans and a big dream: stop being a pampered house cat and earn her own keep. Shy and easily spooked, Mobu takes a fearful leap by applying for a job at the Chat Chat Café.

In her search for freedom, Mobu learns that community helps more than self-reliance ever could. Can Mobu overcome her fears to help strangers, co-exist with other cats, and even save the day?

• International sensation Kathy Lam's English debut
• Delightfully weird and relatable cat gags
• Uplifting celebration of small wins and gradual progress
• Wholesome charm and laughs for all ages
• Bonus comics, gallery, and exclusive author interview
• Perfect for fans of Pusheen and A Man and His Cat

Pick up this charming manga and celebrate the healing power of cat companionship."

Always here for cats.

Revolution in the Heart edited by Jonathan Strahan
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"15 brand-new short stories inspired by and in honour of legendary writer Ursula K. Le Guin.

Featuring Ann Leckie, Karen Joy Fowler, Charlie Jane Anders, Kelly Link, Ai Jiang and many others.

Ursula K. Le Guin was a master storyteller and one of the most beloved and respected writers the science fiction and fantasy field has known. An SFWA Grand Master, World Fantasy Award Lifetime Achievement recipient, and Science Fiction Hall of Fame Recipient, she created work that touched hearts, changed minds, and inspired generations.

With Revolution in the Heart award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan asked fifteen of the most celebrated writers working in science fiction and fantasy today to create new and urgent works inspired by Le Guin's work and words. Stories that breathe life into new worlds of their own - venturing beyond Earthsea and the tales of the Hain - and that answer the challenge that Le Guin raised in 2014 when she gave a speech at the National Book Awards:

Hard times are coming, when we'll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We'll need writers who can remember freedom - poets, visionaries - realists of a larger reality.

Hard times have, indeed, come and the fifteen writers whose stories make up Revolution in the Heart are all realists offering us unique glimpses of different and larger realities that we need right now.

Featuring stories by:
Ann Leckie
Molly Gloss
Kelly Link
Charlie Jane Anders
Sarah Pinsker
Chana Porter
Ai Jiang
Alaya Dawn Johnson
S. Qiouyi Lu
E. Lily Yu
Vandana Singh
Aliya Whiteley
Premee Mohamed
Darice Little Badger
Karen Joy Fowler"

Here's an idea, we find someone whose dreams come true and fix everything, that could totally work right!?!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Cleo Coyle, Elise Posledni, Fiona Leitch, J.M. Hall, Jen DeLuca, Jessica Brody, Kate O'Shaughnessy, Kathy Lam, Katie Jung, pirateaba, Roxanne Tully, Shannon Hale, Tasha Alexander, Taylor Tomlinson, Tom O'Donnell, Ursula K. Le Guin

Chase Me If You Can by Heather Frances
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two storm chasers find a love that could blow them away in this electric debut romance.

Wedding photographer Sloane Michaels spends most of her year running after brides, but she lives for the six weeks each spring she chases tornadoes instead. When the prestigious magazine Nature Shots announces a storm cover contest, Sloane knows that winning could be her best opportunity to establish herself in landscape photography.

The last thing she needs is a distraction in the form of reckless "Wild Wes" Talbot. A legend among storm chasers, he's been Sloane's close, personal frenemy for the last decade and is the man to beat for the cover contest.

Sloane isn't surprised when Wes gets in an accident that jeopardizes his chances. But with an active weather pattern emerging, she doubles down on her need to beat Wes fair and square, and begrudgingly invites him to join her for the remainder of the season.

As they race through hail, high winds, and stormy skies, Sloane realizes that Wes might be more than the rich, flirty, Texas wildcard she thought she knew - and that the feelings blooming between them are more charged and dangerous than the storms they're chasing."

It's officially Twister season and this book hits all the right notes. And yes, Twister season is a recognized time of year in my house when Twister is airing on TV at any time of day or night. If you find it on, you must watch. Minimally until the drive-in theater scene. 

When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 3464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young widow returns to her late father's New England estate, only to be drawn into the hunt for the rumored pirate treasure that consumed his life, in this thrilling and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Husbands and Lovers.

Local history insists that a legendary pirate buried his treasure somewhere beneath Windward, the decayed Cooper estate on Winthrop Island, but Lucy Cooper never trusted the fable that broke her family apart. When a widowed Lucy returns with her young daughter to grieve her estranged father, she discovers catastrophe: The property is mired in debt she can't repay, and Ben Ressler has unexpectedly turned up on her doorstep.

Thirteen summers ago, the teenaged Lucy never meant to fall in love with Ben, a Dartmouth football star vacationing nearby at the Peabody estate and the object of an all-consuming crush by Laura Peabody, Lucy's best friend. Those few weeks were the best and worst of Lucy's life, dooming her friendship with Laura. Now, after a fatal accident ended his dazzling NFL career, Ben has returned to live quietly in the Peabodys' caretaker lodge. He's also the last person who saw Lucy's father alive.

As Lucy reconstructs her father's troubling final days, she uncovers his research on the frozen winter of 1717, when a desperately wounded pirate sought refuge on Winthrop Island with an enigmatic healer. To Lucy, this history points the way to a different kind of treasure: how to heal from the fractures of the past and earn a second chance at love. But just as Lucy's long-buried emotions sear to the surface, a shocking turn of events reveals that someone else on the island will do whatever it takes to claim the fabled plunder.

A timeless story of love and atonement, When You Loved Me maps both a centuries-old treasure hunt and the intimate territory of the human heart, weaving together past and present as only Beatriz Williams can."

I am always here for any member of Team W. Though in pirate treasure and I'm doubly there. 

Worse Than Strangers by Kyleigh Leddy
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A debut novel for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls, Worse Than Strangers is a beachy retelling of Austen's Persuasion set against the backdrop of a cottage on Nantucket about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life.

Rose and Lily are best friends first, mother-daughter second, which is good because right now, Lily could really use a friend. Recently fired from her NYC magazine job and heartbroken, Lily has fled to the family cottage in Siasconset. She is shocked when she stumbles across her first love at the grocery store holding hands with his new fiancé - a fiancé he never mentioned on their many, many late-night phone calls.

Rose has secrets, too. A therapist about to start her own private practice, Rose's world is rocked by the handsome renter staying in their guest cottage, Thomas Wentworth: the one person she thought she would never see again and the man who has always (unfortunately) held her heart.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion set against a backdrop of blue and purple hydrangeas, swollen brick sidewalks, tall sea grass, and uniform, shingled houses, Lily and Rose Gardner's summer journey of second chances, healing, and hope begs the question: Can you repeat the past, and is it ever too late to try again?"

I'm always a sucker for a Jane Austen retelling. Throw in some hydrangeas and I'm so there.

The Very Definition of Love by Sophia Benoit
Published by: Slowburn
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bridgerton meets Emily Henry in this fresh take on regency romance about a wallflower writing a dictionary of bawdy slang who arranges her own marriage to the ultimate instructor: the town rake.

1816 - Harriet Bancroft doesn't mind that she's on her fifth season with no marriage prospects, it gives her more time to write her dictionary of modern slang. Words are her passion, especially the exciting, filthy ones men have kept hidden from women for far too long.

Enter the ultimate teacher...

When Harriet accidentally finds herself in a compromising situation with the notorious rake Lord Alexander, she has no choice but to sort of kidnap him and strong-arm him into an elopement. This arranged marriage has a very particular condition - it will be in-name-only, leaving each of them to follow their own interests. For Harriet that's her work; for Alexander, that's women.

But love has a different lesson in mind...

But soon Alexander's rakish lifestyle is not nearly as fun as spending time with Harriet, and Harriet's beginning to worry that she might actually like her husband. Behind the closed doors of their respectable home, things become a little...complicated. After all, who better teach her the very thorough meaning of these indecent words than the renowned lover, Lord Alexander Stirling? 

Perhaps this marriage will teach them both a little more about that word they've been avoiding - love.

Tropes: Enemies-to-lovers / Marriage of convenience / There's only one bed / Yearning / A misunderstanding / He teaches her / Regency era / Rake x wallflower."

It's Devil in Winter but with a wordy bent!

Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A desperate debutante meets a ragtag smuggler in this sexy Regency romp by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.

Eccentric heiress Lady Ruby Ballimore has had enough of the Marriage Mart. After offending yet another Very Important Marquess - and imperiling her father's diplomatic career - Ruby flees London for the holiday house of a glamorous (and better yet, absent) princess. Armed with a forged invitation and accompanied by her like-minded friends, Ruby arrives at the Cornwall estate expecting a summer of blissful freedom.

Instead, she discovers a derelict mansion and the most suspiciously charming man she's ever met.

Former privateer and current con artist Captain Malcolm Archer has dragged his ramshackle crew into a new life. Posing as staff at a princess's abandoned estate provides the perfect cover for Archer's smuggling scheme (not to mention free rent). Everything's going according to plan - until an unorthodox London heiress crashes the party.

But when Archer and his crew attempt to frighten off their uninvited guests, Ruby's unfazed by insect invasions and sham sea monsters. Harder to ignore? The scorching heat between the rakish pirate and the debutante who can see right through him. As sparks fly, deceptions run wild - because in this Great Cornish Fake Off, the only thing riskier than telling the truth is falling in love."

Is it weird that I very specifically find it funny when pirates try to pose as staff in a grand house?

A Bitter Cut by Anna Lee Huber
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lady Kiera Darby plans to spend the summer reconnecting with friends and family in anticipation of the betrothal of her beloved brother. But when a future in-law is implicated in a murder, the party takes a deadly turn....

July 1833. Lady Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage, are settling into their newly renovated home at Bevington Park in Warkwickshire with their young daughter. With the breach between them and Sebastian's father recently healed, they've agreed to help host a country house party for friends and family to share in their joy. Kiera is also anxious to help promote a match between her brother, Trevor, and the woman he's fallen in love with, inviting her family to join them. However, Kiera swiftly discovers that the would-be bride's family is not without their detractions. Her brother is unpleasant. Her mother is abrasive. And her father - the prosperous industrialist Jeremiah Birnam - is brusque, discourteous, and, at times, downright rude.

So when Mr. Birnam's secretary is found murdered with Birnam standing over her body, many are content to allow him to take the blame. But neither Kiera nor Sebastian believes he did it, and in spite of his bluster and boorish behavior, they can't let an innocent man be hung for another's crime. Unfortunately, Birnam had his fair share of enemies at the house party, and any one of them might have struck out at his secretary in order to get to him. It's up to Kiera and Sebastian to uncover the truth and salvage Birnam's reputation. As the couple slowly inches their way closer to the truth and threats emerge against their loved ones, Kiera begins to fear that the price of solving the crime may mean sacrificing her brother's future happiness."

That dress on the cover is all wrong.

The Door in Penrose Forest by Sean David Robinson
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A man returns to his strange hometown twenty years after his mother climbed a staircase in the wilderness and disappeared in this speculative mystery where We Used to Live Here meets The Midnight Library.

As a boy, Nico once accompanied his mother on a research trip to investigate a stalled migration of monarch butterflies. One night, upon hearing her sneak out of their rented cabin, he followed her to a clearing in the forest where a famed mansion once stood. Paralyzed with fear, he watched his mother climb a staircase and vanish, along with the stairs and the strange glowing door at its peak. No one believed his story, and as he grew older, he too stopped believing it was real.

As an adult, Nico returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father. But something strange is happening to the town. There are unexplained power fluctuations, people are going missing, and, reportedly, phantoms are roaming the woods. When Nico finds his mother's field journal from the week she disappeared, including her account of the vanishing staircase, he begins to pick apart the mystery.

All the tangled strings trail back to the same starting point: the Gilded Age family whose mansion burned down under mysterious circumstances in those very same woods where his mother vanished.

Equally a compelling mystery and a moving story of family and destiny, this speculative novel will spellbind readers of Emily St. John Mandel and Susanna Clarke."

Who can resist a house that wasn't there?

Little Wild by Laura Evans
Published by: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Weyward meets Atonement in a shimmering debut novel of first love, betrayal, and revenge set on a crumbling British estate.

Suffolk, 1937. As the English countryside swelters in a historic heat wave, preparations for a party at Snare House are in full swing. The Winthers' only daughter, Joanie, is returning from a summer on the Continent, a flying visit before she leaves for university at Oxford. Only Margaret, longtime ward of the family and Joanie's closest friend, knows the truth: Joanie won't be going to Oxford. Instead, the two will be leaving the stultifying society they know to live together in London, as lovers.

Then the pair is discovered, and everything goes wrong. Banished to a cabin in the nearby woods, Margaret is alone with her estranged father. As summer curdles into autumn and magpies throng the forest, Margaret begins to lose herself. Her dreams turn dark and terrifying, and she wakes from them with dirt on the soles of her feet and scratches on her back. Everything suggests that a perverse power is awakening within her - perhaps the very one that led to her mother's ostracism and eventual death. If she can harness it, Margaret may be able to secure an approximation of the love she's always crave - but at what cost?

Little Wild is at once a feminist fairy tale, a haunting meditation on the dangers of desire, and a gripping debut from a talented new voice."

I'm in for anything at a crumbling British estate. If it has feminist justice, all the better.

Hunt the Ever Wild by S.E. Kiser
Published by: Angry Robot
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gothic standalone combining the gaslamp fantasy of C.L. Polk's Witchmark with the slow-burn rivals-to-lovers romance of Isa Agajanian's Modern Divination and the whimsy of Howl's Moving Castle.

When the king calls a hunt for the Lichtenwald forest's elusive phoenix, wizard Sy jumps at the chance. Years ago, he indentured himself to the crown to pay for his magical education, and an unbreakable spell binds him to carry out the king's every wicked whim, or face certain death. The prize is enough to pay off his debt, but he can't survive the forest alone. Seeking help, he finds Anya, a skilled huntress living on the Lichtenwald's edge, and lies about splitting the prize.

But Anya's lying too. Cursed by a witch after killing her familiar, Anya must find the phoenix and bind it to the witch by the summer solstice, or else suffer a gruesome transformation. With the curse worsening and the Lichtenwald swarming with wizards, she needs Sy on her side - for now.

Neither of them can split the prize, nor win alone. And despite the growing attraction between them, betrayal remains their only option.

But anything is possible in the forest.

And the forest is hungry."

I have a feeling that forests are always hungry.

A Treason of Magic by Melissa Marr
Published by: 47north
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 315 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a world where magic, desire, and duty collide, it is beauty who is fated to kill the beast in a lush historical fantasy of secrets and star-crossed love by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr.

Two young women. Heirs to altogether different hereditary burdens. Yet bound by a monstrous threat to their village.

Gabrielle is the first woman in Alveus to carry the mantle of Hunter, which comes with an obligation to kill the faery beasts murdering travelers in Brimmond Wood. Wary of the power she wields as guardian of her people, Gabrielle is summoned by her first love, a seductress who shattered her heart into pieces a decade ago.

Isabeau is the rarest of nobility - a lady duke. She is also afflicted by a curse that leaves her in a deep sleep between the gloaming and daylight. How can she begin her tenure as protector when she can't keep her village safe from whatever stalks its darkest hours? For that, she needs the help of the Hunter.

Against her will, Gabrielle is falling in love all over again. But what new threats will arise when Gabrielle and Isabeau's star-crossed destinies collide with the beast of Brimmond Wood?"

Bit of a Ladyhawke vibe. I like it.

All We Hunger For by Anna Mercier
Published by: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young woman sneaks her way into a magical baking contest but gets pulled into an elusive aristocrat's lavish world and his nefarious plan as rebellion brews in their city - for fans of This Woven Kingdom.

In Anespérer, where magic comes alive through artistic skill, Elara Rousseau knows she'll never be selected for the Objet d'Art. The high-stakes baking competition will elect a new Souverain to join the ruling council, and someone from the slums would never be considered. But when a brooding figure from her past sneaks her into the Objet, Elara has the chance to compete for a better future...as long as no one uncovers her traitorous secret.

Nikolas Dupont will do whatever it takes to impress his powerful father, a Souverain who hasn't officially recognized his son - like handpick a contestant to win and become his father's political pawn. But Elara is more than he bargained for, and she ignites his own subdued passions.

Against all odds, Elara excels and becomes a hero to the city's poor, all while Nik's faith in his father crumbles and the sparks between them burn brighter. As the competition heats up, Elara and Nik must choose: fight to win the competition and secure a future of safety for them both, or use the power of Elara's art to spark a revolution."

I vote for revolutionary baking!

Tales of a Monstrous Heart by Jennifer Delaney
Published by: Diversion Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An instant Sunday Times bestseller and love letter to the Brontë sisters, Tales of a Monstrous Heart is a delicious gothic fantasy, filled with forbidden romance, magic, and monsters.

Be careful of the dark and those that call it friend.

Katherine Woodrow is fey, and all she wants is to graduate from the Institute of Magic. But when the prejudiced mortal council threaten her position at the institute, she is left with only one option: accept a Mage Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn.

Emrys Blackthorn is a riddle Kat is fearful of solving. The mysterious, cursed war hero with his stormy eyes and unpredictable ways leaves Kat with more questions than answers. What she does know is that she is irresistibly drawn to him...no matter how forbidden it might be.

In this intoxicating gothic fantasy where passion collides with peril, and sorcery awakens monsters, a string of murders and fey disappearances herald the return of dark magic. Kat and Emrys are thrown into a world of ancient books that hide hideous monsters, dark fiends who play with nightmares, and mortal men who wish nothing more than to see them both burn.

But what haunts them both are secrets even ghosts dare not whisper, while insidious shadows lick their teeth and sharpen their claws, waiting for the moment that all tales will come to light - even the monstrous ones."

Does Emrys have a monster in the attic?

Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A not-so-evil villain strikes a deal with a not-quite-perfect hero to fake a feud, boost their reputations...and try not to fall in love in the process - in this hilarious, tender, sexy, and outrageously fun romp that blends the humor of Assistant to the Villain with the unforgettable romance of Heated Rivalry and the cozy fantasy vibes of Legends and Lattes.

Fake nemeses. It's a dastardly plan that can't go wrong...until love crashes the act.

Nobody is more surprised than Cyrus to learn that he's no longer considered the greatest villain in the land of Athaca. Sure, he's lying about the fact that his magical power is making flowers grow. And maybe lately he's spent more time embroidering pillowcases than tormenting the locals. But that doesn't mean he's ready to be yesterday's evil news.

Enter the hero Maximillian: the realm's golden boy, complete with a blinding smile, chiseled abs, and an infuriating habit of spreading hope and joy. (Gross.) If Cyrus wants to be taken seriously, he'll have to take this guy down.

But Maximillian isn't quite as perfect as he seems. When he proposes a scheme to fake an epic rivalry and increase their fame, Cyrus can't resist. Stage the battles, soak up the spotlight, share the spoils - it's a villainously good marketing plan.

There's just one hitch. Pretending to hate your nemesis becomes a lot harder when you start falling for them instead.

Nemesis Mine is a wickedly funny, steamy, and big-hearted rom-com set in a cozy fantasy world, featuring:

-A gleefully villainous protagonist with the comedic flair of Megamind and The Grinch
-An irreverent take on a fantasy kingdom for fans of Shrek and The Princess Bride
-Enemies to reluctant allies to lovers (M/M)
-"Ye Olde Heated Rivalry" for those who love a twist on fake rivals/secret relationship
-Black cat/golden retriever energy
-Dagger to the throat moments
-Falling for the hot* villain (*added by request of Cyrus)
-"Touch him and die""

Strong Nimona energy. 

Arcana: The Cursed Fate by Sam Prentice-Jones
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In The Cursed Fate, a tarot-inspired young adult graphic novel from creator Sam Prentice-Jones, five friends must break a generational curse in order to free their futures.

After uncovering harrowing secrets about their pasts and enduring a devastating loss, James, Daphne, Koko, Sunny, and Eli are determined to break the bonds of the ancestral curse that holds their futures in limbo. Confronting the secretive Majors leads to a vital revelation: a group of rebel witches known as the New Moon Order was responsible for casting the curse, and the Majors are not quite as all-powerful as they seem.

With the might of the Majors now on their side, the group sets out to undo the curse, once and for all, returning to the place where everything began: the seemingly abandoned farm house where Eli first began exploring his magic. The five friends must face their ghosts, both real and imagined, in this compelling examination of generational trauma, power, and what it means to craft a family of your own making.

Arcana: The Cursed Fate is book two in the Arcana duology."

I love nothing more than sinking into a completed duology. 

Rainsong by Lila Riesen
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a small town haunted by unsolved disappearances, a teen with a secret ability must unravel a deadly mystery - before she becomes the next victim.

Mendocino is not the quaint coastal California town Zayn Pereira imagined. It's shrouded in a fog that never lets up. Posters of a missing teen girl are plastered everywhere, and just offshore is an island called Rainsong, rumored to be haunted.

At her new school, everyone is tense and suspicious of each other. So when charismatic Ollie takes Zayn under her wing, it's a relief - but is her charm hiding something? People assume brooding Tiago, the missing girl's ex-boyfriend, is responsible for her disappearance...but Zayn can't keep her eyes off him. Is he really who everyone says he is?

Besides, Zayn has a secret of her own. And when Tiago is struck by a car one night, she is forced to reveal it to save him. In doing so, Zayn discovers her connection to a generations-old feud that still rages today. Can she break herself from the grip of Mendocino's past tragedy? Or will she become the next girl on the missing poster?

Filled with angsty romance, supernatural powers, murder, and vengeance, this is a chilling and propulsive read."

I might be biased, but I'd totally trust Tiago, because there was a cute guy in my high school with that name.

Tillinghast by Clare Cavenagh
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dark and utterly original literary horror debut, following a priest whose bloodthirsty life has extended far longer than any mere human's - and is upended when a stranger comes to town.

Stutley Tillinghast lives a solitary life, ostensibly as the minister of a remote rural parish in Rhode Island. For many decades now, what little human contact he's allowed himself has been brief, frenzied and bloody, and has always ended in a shallow grave in his cellar. There's a name for what he is, but he prefers not to use it: it is simple enough that he has his needs, and that when they become unbearable, he fulfils them. In his long and lonely life, he has met only one other like him - the woman he still yearns for, the one who made him what he is.

Then a girl arrives, searching for him. She has his last name, and bears an uncanny resemblance to that woman, awakening memories Tillinghast had long suppressed; the connection he feels for her is immediate and overwhelming. She's also sick, very sick, with symptoms Tillinghast recognizes all too well...and only he knows how to cure her.

Inspired by the real events of the New England vampire panic of the nineteenth century, Tillinghast is a novel to sink your teeth into: at once a gripping, atmospheric horror that turns the classic monster narrative on its head; a literary work of exceptional prose about giving into - or resisting - our impulses; and a remarkably moving father-daughter story that will leave you unexpectedly hopeful - and rooting, despite your every instinct, for the killers."

Has all the great Chapelwaite vibes. Damn I wish that had gotten a second season.

Magic City Mayhem by Marcus X. Figuerola
Published by: Bannermen Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Archmagus Pablo Díaz is Miami's most overworked necromancer. Unfortunately, Miami keeps dying - violently, inconveniently, and in places that ruin his shoes.

Struggling to meet the expectations of his Cuban-born father and swamped by Papi's medical bills, Pablo sells his abilities to anyone willing to pay, from grieving widows to homicide detectives.

But when two mutilated corpses wash out of Biscayne Bay and point their bony fingers toward Miami's criminal underbelly, Pablo's moonlighting makes him a target of the Russian mob, the police department, and his ruthless colleagues at the College of Practical Arts.

As he struggles to clear his name, Pablo's investigation unleashes eldritch monsters on the streets of Miami. Now Pablo must balance his duty to the city against his dwindling chances of survival - and the complicated business of being a good son. Because something dark is stirring in the Magic City, and this time, even a necromancer might be in over his head."

At least if the dead hold the answers he can ask them? Always look for the silver lining, no matter how slim.

Escape by Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 184 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"SHOT DOWN. HUNTED. OUT OF TIME.

Set in a brutal, fully painted world of anthropomorphic animals - equal parts Inglourious Basterds and Watership Down - Escape is a gritty, bullet-riddled journey through war's scorched aftermath. It's about the violence we inflict, the souls we try to save, and the courage it takes to crawl out of fire.

From the creative team of New York Times bestselling author Rick Remender (Deadly Class, Uncanny X-Force) and powerhouse Daniel Acuña (Captain America, Black Panther) - the duo behind Marvel's Uncanny Avengers - comes a savage, full-throttle wartime thriller where survival isn't given...it's taken.

Milton Shaw is a battle-hardened bomber pilot, flying missions over a war-torn world ruled by a ruthless empire. But when his plane is shot out of the sky, Milton wakes up behind enemy lines - in the smoldering ruins of a city he helped burn. And in less than 24 hours, his own side is dropping the big one to finish the job.

Now, injured, unarmed, and being hunted through enemy streets, Milton's only shot at escape comes from the unlikeliest place: a grieving father and his son - civilians shattered by the same fascist regime that rules this land with an iron claw. Enemies by blood. Allies by circumstance. Together, they'll have to fight their way out before the bomb drops and erases everything...and everyone.

Collects issues #1-6"

Such a fan of Rick Remender. 

Birds of Prey edited by Harlan Coben and C.J. Box
Published by: The Mysterious Press
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The world's greatest thriller writers prove they're up to a unique challenge in this action-packed collection.

It all started with a simple, yet sneakily difficult challenge from global best-selling author Harlan Coben: Pick a bird of prey, then use it as the inspiration for a brand-new story.

The response from some of the best writers on the planet: Game on!

The result: Eleven stories that are twisty, scary, surprising, and bursting with imagination. An egg worth more than its weight in gold. A mysterious operative known only as Owl. An eagle-watcher who sees more than she should. Even a story that somehow places the Maltese Falcon in a nursing home.

Contributors include:
-Tess Gerritsen
-C.J. Box
-Kathy Reichs
-Ace Atkins
-Heather Graham
-S.A. Cosby
-Hank Phillippi Ryan
-Robert Dugoni
-Allison Brennan
-Gregg Hurwitz
-Kelley Armstrong

Commissioned by International Thriller Writers, Birds of Prey is a highly bingeable anthology that’s a treat for thriller fans."

I mean, the concept alone is killer. But I wouldn't expect anything less from Harlan Coben. 

Thrilling Tales of Modern Men by Danny McBride
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An addictive, unpredictable, darkly hilarious collection of stories from Danny McBride - the beloved creator and star of The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound and Down.

There are many sides to Danny McBride: He's starred as the iconic character Kenny Powers in the cult classic HBO show Eastbound and Down, a series he also wrote and created - just as he did with Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones. He's produced horror films (Halloween) and starred in sci-fi (Alien: Covenant). And ever since he was young, he's been writing short fiction.

An amateur magician gets in way over his head with a deadly stunt in a local mall. A washed-up sitcom actor takes revenge on the coyote who killed his dog. Two young runaways decide to part ways, but not before embarking on one last big adventure.

Hilarious, razor-sharp, unexpectedly emotional, and full of wild twists and turns, the stories in Thrilling Tales of Modern Men are like nothing else. And yet they have one thing in common - each probes the fragile masculinity that has become an inescapable part of modern American culture. In this audacious and unforgettable debut collection, McBride redefines the tale of the modern man."

Even if you aren't aware of the genius that is Danny McBride, any fan of short fiction should pick this up.

Five Gears in Reverse by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, and Jacob Phillips
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A brand new Criminal graphic novel featuring the legendary Ricky Lawless and the crazy tale of how he and Mallory fell in love in the midst of a crime spree.

In one of the wildest, most action-packed books that Brubaker and Phillips have ever done, we delve deep into the life of one of Criminal's most complex and tragic characters, Ricky Lawless as he tries to pay off a deep debt to a mobster, while things just keep going from bad to worse.

Five Gears in Reverse will have long-time Criminal fans cheering the return of Ricky Lawless and new readers will find it a perfect jumping-on-point for the greatest crime comic series of the 21st century."

I agree that Criminal is the greatest crime series of the 21st century. I disagree on Ricky's legendary status. Any story where he's the star just doesn't interest me. So this is for the Criminal completists. 

Every Hunter is Hunted by Barry Lyga
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the world of Barry Lyga's New York Times bestselling I Hunt Killers trilogy comes a thrilling adult mystery about the hunt for a monstrous serial killer.

Brides are being murdered on their wedding nights. Soaked in blood and draped in lace. With nothing left behind to help them find the killer, the FBI is at an impasse. Their only, desperate hope is to convince Jasper Dent, the son of two serial killers and a former teen prodigy at hunting down such monsters, to emerge from his self-imposed exile.

When he was a teenager, both of Jasper's parents were members of a secret society of serial killers. Today, his father is in prison, and his mother is in a coma, both results of their final confrontation with Jasper years ago. Now wealthy from a bestselling memoir about his parents, Jasper still carries the scars from their parenting - and the uncanny, unwanted ability to understand killers that they instilled in him.

Jasper wants nothing more than to hide from his past - cash his royalty checks and never think about murder and blood again. But he knows the only way to find any meaning or redemption in his life is to face his demons once again. His skills rusty, his confidence shaken, Jasper races against a ticking clock, frantically seeking to solve the impossible mystery before more women meet a horrific end."

Like Prodigal Son but with both parents being evil!

Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this campy love letter to the slasher films of the 1980s, seven friends reunite for a weekend of fun - only to be hunted down by a cold-blooded killer. But the real horror is not being able to escape who you were in high school....

The sleepy town of Cedar Lake is best known as the shooting location of the campy '80s horror flick Slasher. In high school, preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, and nerdy Mikey had played the cast of Slasher during midnight showings, with virginal Carrie as the Final Girl, of course.

Years later, the friends reunite at the remote cabin where Slasher was filmed. They've changed since high school - Carrie found a boyfriend, Patrick came out, Mikey bulked up, and, well, Freddy's still stoned - and they're looking forward to a weekend to catch up. But when night falls, and the eponymous masked killer is spotted, the reunion takes a deadly turn. The friends discover their tires deflated and the phone line disconnected, and soon they're being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?

One thing is for sure. Before the night is over, they each will have to take on the role they thought they'd left behind."

I love the Rocky Horror aspect of it all.

Nine Lives by Catherine Steadman
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When she begins to peer into the lives of her glamorous neighbors, one woman discovers a terrifying secret in this riveting psychological thriller with nine lives worth of twists, from the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water, a Reese's Book Club pick.

These are your neighbors. One is a killer.

Reeling from a very recent divorce, Frankie has moved into a glamorous London neighborhood. This is a new chapter in her life. She's decided to put down roots with Blue, the beautiful Persian cat she left her marriage with.

But little doubts about her perfect new life start to grow, and when Blue returns one night from slipping into places he shouldn't, Frankie's concerns solidify. Two words are roughly scratched into his collar: help me. Unsettled and unwilling to ignore the incident, Frankie roots out an old unused "cat cam" collar. What slowly begins as a voyeuristic fascination with her neighbors and the secrets they're hiding soon turns into a perilous quest for the truth that threatens to bring untold terrors to her doorstep.

A riveting thriller about the terrible secrets hidden behind the pastel-colored façade of one of London's most upscale enclaves, Nine Lives is catnip for suspense readers everywhere and perfect for fans of modern classics like The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window."

She should not be letting her cat out OR using it for detective work. Bad human servant. 

A Twist in the River by Stig Abell
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Former London detective Jake Jackson finds his new life in the country threatened when women start disappearing in this beautifully written and deeply immersive novel that will challenge even the most diehard mystery lover's deductive skills.

A beautiful summer's day.

When young nurse Claire Davidson goes missing on the riverbank, the only clues left behind are her phone and shoes.

A mystery that sweeps the nation.

People disappear all the time, but this case sparks an online frenzy. Amateur investigators descend on the rural idyll. Everyone has a theory. Is Claire Davidson just the story of a swim that went wrong, or could there be truth to the conspiracies?

A killer growing bolder.

But when another woman is discovered dead in the river, signs point to murder. Jake Jackson, a former detective who came to the countryside searching for peace, must investigate before more lives are taken."

That's the problem of retiring to the countryside, the crimes will just follow you!

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell brings her "thrilling, chilling" (Chris Whitaker) suspense to this shocking new thriller about a lost dog, a missing woman, and a house of long buried secrets.

Jane Trevally is walking her dogs on her country estate when a small white terrier appears, alone and with no sign of the teenaged girl he'd been staying with nearby. When the teenager is reported missing, Jane offers to return the dog to his registered owner, hours away in London. Arriving at a run-down house called Thornwood in the deepest backwaters of Hampstead, she is immediately on alert - because Jane has a dark history with this house.

The man who answers the door is not the man that Jane remembers from her past. He is cagey, and claims to know nothing about the missing teenage girl. Then, through the window of the house, Jane catches a glimpse of a haunted-looking woman.

Conjuring her memories from twenty-five years ago, Jane knows this unsettling house holds the key - to the missing teenager, to her own traumatic story, and to the dark secrets of the past."

Creepy house in Hampstead!?! YES!

The Cornish Honeymoon by Fiona Leitch
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Kindle, 281 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone always says that your honeymoon should be a holiday to remember...

Ex-Metropolitan Police sergeant Jodie Parker and her new husband, DCI Nathan Withers, are honeymooning at a luxurious eco-resort on a secluded Cornish island. But there's a twist: they're undercover, as the resort's owner has hired them to investigate a series of sabotages, and Jodie's mum Shirley and daughter Daisy - and their dog, Germaine - have somehow managed to get themselves invited along too.

The happy couple plan to make the most of the five star facilities, while discreetly questioning staff and guests. However, when a fierce storm traps everyone on the island, tragedy strikes - a guest is found dead in the wreckage of the boathouse, and it looks like murder...

With a killer among them, it's up to Jodie and Nathan to solve the mystery before another life is lost."

Luxury resort and locked room tropes? Yes please!

The Devil's Banquet by Phil Lecomber
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The second novel in the Piccadilly Noir series, this dark historical thriller sees Cockney private eye George Harley return to the streets of London's Soho, populated by gangsters, wide-boys and lowlifes, to investigate a missing cabaret dancer. For fans of Dominic Nolan and Laura Shepherd Robinson.

It is 1933, four years after Cockney private eye George Harley brought the infamous child-killer the 'Nursery Butcher' to justice, and he's back in business operating a new detective agency in Soho. For their first case, Harley and his new assistant Bunty are engaged to find a young girl who has run away from home to join a cabaret troupe led by the notorious 'Queen of Depravity' Ilse Blau.

But in Harley's liminal world, things are never straightforward, and the detective soon finds himself embroiled in another pitch-dark scenario, with London's decadent, thrill-seeking gentry on one side and West End mobsters and wide-boys in search of easy cash on the other.

Returning to London's frowzy alleyways and sleazy nightclubs, Harley will hunt down answers - no matter how uncomfortable they might turn out to be. But when he becomes ensnared in the mind games of a wily femme fatale, and finds himself up against ruthless Glaswegian gangsters, well-connected occultists, and undercover SS agents, those answers become increasingly hard to find."

Here for the well-connected occultists! 

A Morbid Passion by Robert Holtom
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gripping 1930s-set whodunnit and love letter to Golden Age crime, this sequel to A Queer Case features amateur sleuth Selby Bigge, who must solve a murder at Lady Malcolm's Servants' Ball in London's Royal Albert Hall. Perfect for fans of Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey novels.

London 1930.

Selby Bigge and his aristocratic sidekick Theodora Smythe are invited to dine with Doctor Hector Fortescue and his family. While the Victorians might have defined heterosexuality and homosexuality as perversions, the doctor believes the former can be redeemed and the latter cured.

Later that evening Theodora becomes Theo and attends the Servants' Ball with Selby - a fancy-dress dance for servants, which attracts queers of all classes. There they meet the impossibly glamorous singer Lady Splendid and various members of the Fortescue household, including the doctor's handsome son, Lancelot. Before the night is out Selby and Theo will have another murder to solve.

Digging deeper, the duo discover that secrets abound both above and below stairs in the Kensington home of the Fortescue family. And the stakes get even higher when Selby encounters policemen he's met before - ones who'd love to arrest him for being queer.

Can Selby solve the crime or will this be his last dance?"

I hope the murder is of the Doctor. Anyone who believes in a "cure" can go die a horrible death.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexandra Vasti, Anna Lee Huber, Beatriz Williams, Catherine Steadman, E.L. Chen, Ed Brubaker, Fiona Leitch, Harlan Coben, Heather Frances, Lisa Jewell, Melissa Marr, Phil Lecomber, Robert Holtom, Sean Phillips, Stig Abell