Showing posts with label Freya Marske. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freya Marske. Show all posts

Monday, September 14, 2026

Tuesday Tomorrow

Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The highly anticipated, explosive conclusion to the Ninth House trilogy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here...

Alex Stern made it to hell and back more than once, but this time she left the door open behind her. Demons are creeping through the streets of New Haven and the Yale campus, feeding on the souls of the living, terrifying the dead. Alex and her allies can hunt them, but it's only a matter of time before the gates to the underworld open and they face a war they cannot win. To stop it, they'll have to reach deep into the secrets of Yale and its societies, and discover the truth hidden in Alex's own blood.

While she struggles to hold onto the dream of a future Yale once offered, Alex must contend with the machinations of a corrupt Lethe Board and a deadly vampire with his own connection to the societies. But for the first time in her life, she won't have to face the fight alone. Dawes, Turner, Mercy, and even Tripp will have a role to play, none more so than Alex's mentor Darlington, the golden boy who lived so long in her head, now back in the flesh and cursed with dangerous powers of his own. Hell itself is stalking the delegates of Lethe House, and they're all about to learn that demons don't play by human rules."

YAS! Finally! Anyone else in the middle of a reread prior to the release?

Thoughts Be Bloody by Auden Patrick
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A struggling student, a resident golden boy, and the curse that will bring them together: this queer, trans retelling is Hamlet as you've never read it before.

Exploring classism, identity, and the true meaning of revolution, this dark academia novel is perfect for fans of R.F. Kuang's Babel.

The summer before his sophomore year, Horatio Bithersea walks into the university library to find Carson Hamlett, resident golden boy and master magician, cradling his father's dead body. Life at Elsinore, one of the most prestigious universities in the secretive magical world, simply goes on when the professor's death is ruled an accident - despite the mysterious circumstances and the bloody scene.

A year later, Horatio is keeping his head down, attempting to graduate without his out-of-control magic harming his classmates. That changes when the ghost of Hamlett's father appears and places a curse on Horatio and Hamlett: avenge his death by destroying Elsinore and its heart, lest the ghost robs them of their minds, memories, and their very souls.

Elsinore has given Horatio everything - knowledge of his magical ability, an escape from his abusive family, and freedom to pursue his life as a transgender man - and now he's to be its doom. As the two uncover more of Elsinore's secrets, Horatio finds himself becoming more and more ensnared in Hamlett's dark but charismatic web.

The question is not if Horatio will manage to destroy Elsinore. The question is if Hamlett will destroy him first. This twisty, queer, dark academia is a brand-new take on the questions that haunt Shakespeare's Hamlet."

Shakespeare 101, listen to the ghosts and do whatever they say. 

Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Grey's Anatomy meets A Deadly Education in this dark academia fantasy from USA Today bestselling author Freya Marske.

At the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with the healer's gift has five years to master their power and to prepare for the infamous Grand Exam - a five-day trial whose results will determine their entire future.

The list of exam rules includes:
• You will perform five practical cases.
• Your exam group is chosen at random.
• You pass together, or fail together.

It does not include:
• On the first day, your exam group will find a classmate's dead body in the exam hall.

And as they will soon discover, this particular group all have something to hide...and all have a connection with the dead girl, a brilliant scholar who would have been first in their class.

Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days in which to solve a murder, pass the most important exam of their lives, and uncover a secret larger than all of their own combined. One with the potential to change the world.

Are you ready?

Let's begin."

Oh, I would so fail this. Not the crime solving aspect, the teamwork aspect. 

The Rouse by China Miéville
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 1,260 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling, award-winning master of uncanny fiction comes a defining work, twenty years in the making - a deeply moving, decade - and continent-spanning epic of personal grief, global tumult, and grim conspiracy.

Maur's life has been shaped by loss: an apparently ordinary tragedy. But in its aftermath arise deeper, stranger questions. Their answers may lie within the dark heart and darker history of an old soldier who shares Maur's obsessions and who is violently pursued by the same unknown, unquiet forces.

So begins a book unlike any other: at once an encyclopaedic and multitudinous saga of a bloody century and the intimate story of two lives, their loves, regrets, and secrets - and a terrifying journey into infinite mystery."

The page count alone indicates this was twenty years in the making. 

Winterveil by Ava Reid
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Fable for the End of the World Ava Reid is back with a thrilling new duology unlike anything you've read before. 

It's a game - until it's war.
• A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.
• A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win.
• A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world.
• An expert female soldier with an enigmatic past - and a dangerous secret.

In an alternate future where the Cold War still rages, four precocious teenage criminals with dark skills and darker secrets are offered a fresh start at a secret military academy. But instead of training to end the war, they find themselves on a mysterious mission that will test loyalties, forge romances, and maybe end the world as they know it."

Those skillsets look like the belong in The Umbrella Academy. 

The Museum of Lost Things by Sam Kean
Published by: National Geographic
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spanning a million years of history, the mysteries in these pages include fabled relics, legendary cities, mythical species, and undeciphered languages that have bedeviled seekers for centuries.

Perhaps the single most common theme across all of history is loss. The loss of lands, loss of sacred objects, loss of languages, of rights, of life - the past groans with disappearances of all kinds. This enthralling narrative collects the most spellbinding tales of these experiences and weaves them into a thoughtful meditation on what it all means across the sweep of human history and the scope of human lives, including:

• The long-lost city of Troy
• The hidden tomb of Genghis Khan
• The destruction of the fabled library of Alexandria
• The near-destruction of the Mona Lisa and other art
• The decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs
• The extinction - and potential resurrection - of dodos, mammoths, and other iconic species

Provocative, surprising, and above all entertaining, this globe-trotting narrative acknowledges the sheer scale of humanity's losses, celebrates the treasures we have managed to retain, and reveals why they continue to captivate us centuries later."

I thought Miles Bron destroyed the Mona Lisa...

Locusta by Emily Dexter
Published by: Hay House LLC
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Circe meets The Lost Apothecary in the first book of this historical fantasy duology featuring Ancient Rome's most infamous poisoner who changed the course of history to save the woman she loved.

Born in the ancient region of Gaul, Locusta is the last of her kind - a Druid whose communion with the spirit world grants her the dangerous gift of identifying and wielding deadly substances. When Roman soldiers attack her home and slaughter her mother, Locusta is captured and enslaved, taken to the heart of the empire where political plots abound and death commands a high price. Guided by Arawn, the god of death, she must learn to survive within the brutal, glittering world of ancient Rome.

Her strange talents soon catch the attention of the Roman elite, and she becomes ensnared in a double life - poisoner by night for the cunning Antonia Augusta, and lady-in-waiting by day to Livia, the Emperor's ambitious cousin. As Locusta plants the seeds of revenge against those who destroyed her home, her connection with Livia deepens into a passionate, forbidden romance that threatens them both. Surrounded by danger and deceit, Locusta's poisons become their only protection against the increasingly unstable Emperor Caligula and the enemies lurking in every shadow.

Locusta reimagines the rise of one of history's most complex women through a lens of myth, power, and feminine rage. Rich with ruthless twists, deadly magic, and a sapphic love story that burns from sweet to spicy, this is a story of survival, defiance, and the dangerous alchemy of love and death in a world ruled by men."

Always here for Livia!

A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Saratoga Schaefer
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bluebeard gets a gothic horror and sapphic romance twist in this fairy-tale retelling from the author of Serial Killer Support Group and Trad Wife.

Artist Poppy Reed doesn't care if others think her marriage to Celia Marie Fox, a wealthy art dealer, is impulsive. Sure, they've only known each other for six months, and Celia has an infamous romantic reputation, but Poppy is brimming with excitement when she moves across the country to Celia's home: a formidable, isolated, and art-filled manor called Busirane.

As Poppy tries to celebrate her first weeks of marriage and enjoy her new home, Busirane seems intent on rebuffing her every attempt to settle in. Strange noises and confounding occurrences lead Poppy to believe the house is haunted, a suspicion worsened by Celia's insistence that Poppy avoid the locked basement.

When Celia leaves for a work trip, Poppy is left alone in the house, then finds herself snowed in. Surrounded by secrets, stalked by faceless statues, and beset by bodiless whispers, she struggles to trust her wife - and her own mind. When Poppy is eventually drawn to the forbidden basement, dark truths shatter everything she thought she knew, throwing her into a desperate bid for survival."

I can't express how perfect this cover design is. Just look at it. That's creepier than any Weeping Angel Doctor Who ever came up with. 

Rooted by Leopoldo Goût
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Author of Piñata, Leopoldo Goût's latest horror novel Rooted is a "a blood reckoning" (Marlon James) where one woman's return to Mexico City digs away the layers of her forgotten past and the Aztec gods she awakened.

There's nothing wrong with Aurora.

A successful art lawyer, she has returned to Mexico to celebrate a recent campaign for the repatriation of stolen artifacts - in particular a mysterious statue of an Aztec god, The Flayed One.

But Mexico City isn't as she remembered. Nothing is. Elements of her past hint at darkness and power, and reality begins to crack and warp the streets.

There's nothing wrong with Aurora.

As Aurora's sanity unravels, she must pry apart her family's secrets and accept the simplest of truths: The Flayed One cannot stay buried."

Perhaps a god named The Flayed One is best left forgotten? 

Wolves of No World: Lobizona and Cazadora by Romina Garber
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 704 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bestselling author Romina Garber's Wolves of No World duology weaves together Argentine folklore and what it means to belong, now in a gorgeous 2-in-1 paperback!

In Lobizona, Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented Argentine immigrant on the run from her father's crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. But now, her surrogate grandmother has been attacked, lifelong lies have been exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu falls into a secret world buried beneath her own. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong.

In Cazadora, Manu and her friends cross the mystical border into Kerana - a cursed realm in Argentina - searching for allies and a hiding place. As they chase down leads about the mythical resistance that might not even exist, the Cazadores set up traps to capture Manu. Soon, Manu and her friends are rescued by the resistance, and she realizes they need a revolution as much as she does. But is she the right one to lead them? And after running this far, for this long - how much farther can Manu go before she stops to take a stand?"

I love reissues with multiple volumes by an author combined. LOVE!

Unearthed edited by Dan Coxon and Philip Fracassi
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nineteen original horror stories exploring ancient sites, uncovering forgotten histories and prising open the tombs of the past, from award-winning authors and editors Dan Coxon and Philip Fracassi.

Perfect for fans of Ellen Datlow.

Unearthed digs beneath these crumbling structures to reveal their archaic pasts, and their darkest secrets. Featuring the best modern writers of horror and dark fantasy, these stories explore the caverns and the catacombs, the ruined temples and the monoliths - and drag an ancient evil back into the light.

Featuring stories from:
Tananarive Due
Christopher Golden
Josh Malerman
Tim Lebbon
Eric LaRocca
A.M. Shine
Jonathan Maberry
Hildur Knútsdóttir
Ai Jiang
A.G. Slatter
Mark Chadbourn
Priya Sharma
Benjamin Percy
V. Castro
Gemma Amor
Cavan Scott
Premee Mohamed
Hache Pueyo
Steve Toase"

The Indiana Jones fan in my is ecstatic, the Christopher Golden and Premee Mohamed fan in me is equally ecstatic. 

Observer by Nicholas Russell
Published by: Ecco
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A disquieting, atmospheric debut horror novel about a young woman investigating her mother's disappearance at an abandoned Nevada observatory, for fans of Jeff VanderMeer and Mariana Enriquez.

On a scorched summer day, Renata Scarborough comes home to find the contents of her estranged mother Corinne's life on her doorstep. Her aunt and cousin seem eager to conclude that the troublesome Corinne is dead. Renata isn't convinced and begins poring over her mother's journals for answers. Among descriptions of Corinne's work at the McNairy Observatory, Renata unearths a hidden obsession with an early twentieth-century surveyor whose encounters with a mysterious entity bear a startling resemblance to her mother's reports. Compelled beyond reason, Renata journeys to that now-abandoned outpost in the Nevada wilderness to search for the truth.

But in McNairy, a thorny, decades-long clash between science and the desert only complicates Renata's questions. The town's scarred and suspicious residents refuse to discuss the observatory's closure, leaving Renata to wonder if Corinne's version of events reflects reality. As she ascends the peak that looms over McNairy, Renata witnesses unnerving phenomena she can't explain and feels a creeping dread that what is waiting for her isn't her mother at all.

Haunting, darkly comic, and captivating, Observer reveals the pure cosmic terror of the desert, a place of wonder and menace, asking what happens when we look out at nature and find something inhuman looking back."

I've never really thought of the desert being connected to cosmic terror, but it makes so much sense now that it's been pointed out. The alien landscape with the stars above. 

I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"TIME ONLY MAKES THE NIGHTMARE MORE REAL.

Something lives under Willa's bed. As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read. Now thirty-two, Willa is a reclusive but successful painter until a bombshell news report exposes her identity as the controversial survivor of the unsolved Rapture Mystery Slayings, a small-town tragedy that splashed across headlines during her senior year of high school. Six teenagers died in the woods while Willa walked free, and everyone thinks she killed them.

When an old classmate calls about a funeral, Willa reluctantly travels to her sleepy hometown, where the possessed forest that stole her friends looms. The trees whistle for her attention, but she knows better than to listen. And the unexplained knocking from the shadows in the basement of her decaying childhood home is honestly the least of her problems.

As her past pulls her back to the place where she swore she'd never return, Willa is drawn toward the monster she left behind - and becoming the villain her hometown has always believed her to be."

And this is why you cram every inch under your bed with whatever storage containers you can.

Bigfoot Confidential by Jasmine Kuliasha
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 332 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jericho James is back for another hilarious and spicy cryptid romcom!

Supernatural Investigator Jericho James has a problem, and it's not the latest case she's working. Jericho can't shake the feeling that she's being watched. By the trees. Which is honestly not as improbable as the Bigfoot sightings reported in the area. After all, not every legend is real.

But there is something hidden in the woods. Something big, something strong, something...incredibly sexy. And Jericho vows to find it before it finds her.

Something BIG is coming September 2026."

Wait, she ditched the werewolf!?!

Corpse Creek by Vincent Ralph
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to Bleak Haven: The town you won't (or can't!) leave...

The next eerie novel in the Bleak Haven series, in Vincent Ralph's signature, terrifying style!

In 2008, Ethan's older brother drowned in Bleak Haven's cursed creek. While the coroner ruled out foul play, Ethan has always suspected that there's more to the story.

Four years later, 18-year-old Ethan chooses the anniversary of the tragedy to finally return to the creek, attempting to gain the closure that has always eluded him.

What starts as a healing process aided by his loyal friends turns sinister when something emerges from the shadows: a figure that looks unnervingly like Ethan's dead brother, begging for a sacrifice that could change everything.

As Ethan digs deeper into the creek's dark history, he discovers that someone did return when all seemed lost. Maybe they were the 'miracle' child the news reports painted them as. Or perhaps they only came back because someone took their place.

If that's true, Ethan really could bring his lost brother home. But how far is he willing to go...and at what cost?"

A life for a life! 

Fear Farm by Vincent Ralph
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to Bleak Haven: The town you won't (or can't!) leave...

The nail-biting conclusion to the Bleak Haven series, in Vincent Ralph's signature, terrifying style!

The Fear Farm fright-fest is the one night of the year when Bleak Haven's residents are happy to be afraid.

Most people turn a blind eye to the "accidents" that have previously blighted the attraction, but seventeen-year-old Tori Swift has other ideas.

Convinced that there's an aspiring killer in their midst, Tori auditions alongside her classmates, perfecting her role as the ideal villain while secretly searching for the real thing.

But when tragedy strikes, a murderer is suddenly on the loose in a place where everyone pays to be terrified."

You SO knew that a murderer would get on the loose.

We're All Going to Die Tonight! by Veronica Bane
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A twisty, off-the-rails mystery about seven teens, forced to spend a stormy - and deadly - night together. Perfect for fans of There's Someone Inside Your House and No Place Left to Hide.

The members of the Coastal Canyon debate team have their reasons to hate each other: complicated pasts, thornier presents, a huge competition loss...Now they're stuck at an Airbnb together for a night during what feels like the storm of the century. Can it get any worse?

Yes. Yes, it can.

A flat tire, a severed landline, someone's unconscious, and there's a body outside. The night is unraveling, and it's becoming clear: No one is safe. But safe from who? A teammate? A teacher? Or is a stranger lurking in the woods?

Seven students.
Three teachers.
One body.
Lock all the doors and trust no one.

After all, death isn't up for debate."

Oh, but if they work together or on opposing teams, death COULD be up for debate. 

The Secret Bookstore Sleuth Society by Lindsay Currie
Published by: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this exciting series starter, four best friends are trapped in a book-themed inn during an ice storm and they must use each of their special skills, as well as a few tips from an armchair-detective grandma, to figure out who killed one of the regular customers. From #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Locked Rooms comes a thrilling murder mystery.

Merrick McGee has been having a tough time. When her Grandma Ida gets sick and moves in, the family can't afford to keep sending Merrick to her beloved private school. So, she spends most of her time in the small room at the back of the bookstore/inn her mother works at being homeschooled, bored out of her mind, and lonely for her best friends.

But when an ice storm hits their town, and fate brings her friends together to ride out the storm at the inn with her, she's stoked to finally be able to spend time with the people she loves the most. Until...the unthinkable happens, and someone is found dead - facedown in a birthday cake sitting right at Merrick's own desk.

With the storm picking up the police remove the body and suggest the victim died of old age. But to Merrick it seems more like a murder. Luckily, she and her friends love solving mysteries, and with the suspects all under the same roof, and her friends eager to crack the case - the Secret Bookstore Sleuth Society is born! As the club begins to investigate, more questions come to light, and Merrick soon realizes her own grandmother may be the key to solving the case..."

Is it wrong I feel worse for the wasted cake!?!

The Big Cats Dance Party by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this latest installment of Alexander McCall Smith's beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi volunteer for an important case up north involving an elephant sanctuary, leaving assistant detective Charlie to manage a complicated and potentially risky new one back home.

Botswana sometimes feels like a small town, so when a client wanders into the detective agency, it comes as little surprise that Mma Ramotswe has met him once before. But Mr. B has not made the trip to Gaborone for pleasure. The animal rescue center he runs, Elephant Havens, is in peril. Someone in the surrounding villages is tarnishing its reputation, and Mr. B cannot fathom why. Determined as ever to aid a noble cause, Mma Ramotswe, her trusted associate Mma Makutsi, and Mr. J.L.B Matekoni travel to Maun to restore the community's trust in the sanctuary.

While Mma Ramotswe is looking forward to their brief sojourn north, Mma Makutsi is apprehensive at the idea of leaving Charlie in charge of the business, especially with a new high-profile case in hand. Mr. Moepi, the owner of the carwash down the road and a great many others around the country, is facing a rather unusual problem - his carwashes are making money, too much money, and Mr. Moepi suspects something is not quite right. Determined to prove his mettle, Charlie delves headfirst into the case. Meanwhile, he imperils the agency by agreeing to sponsor a concert by a couple of smooth-talking musicians who go by the names Lion and Leopard.

In navigating these precarious situations, Mma Ramotswe and her associates must once again rely on their compassion, gentle humor, and good sense to win the day. Heartfelt and moving, The Big Cats Dance Party is a joyous celebration of life and the ones around us who make it worth living."

And elephants! Don't forget the elephants! They are everything to me.

Killer Kitsch by Joana Snowdon
Published by: Highland Quill Publications
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 244 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Scotland's Coastal Villages Look Picture-Perfect. Looks Can Kill.

Footdee is all painted fences, eccentric locals, and gardens crammed with cheerful ceramic Highland coos. When DCI Fraser sends Joana and Brian to investigate a spate of smashed figurines, neither is thrilled. Kitsch vandalism. But then the broken coos start connecting to bodies across the North East of Scotland. And a crime against neighbourhood knick-knacks turns out to be something far deadlier.

Joana, naturally, thinks she has it solved already, and marches off to interrogate a beautician, a care home manager, and a group of models trying to survive on a freezing Scottish beach in bikinis. She'd never admit it, but she's lost without Brian, her best mate from London. His signature chaos, from purple face masks to waterlogged lobbies, has a strange way of uncovering the truth.

A Highland Mystery, Book 5, but easily read as a standalone. As much comedy as cosy crime, with a sleuthing pair who don't take themselves too seriously. Their friendship has outlasted most marriages, possibly because they can never agree on anything, though they're firmly on the same side when it matters. A proper whodunit with a fast, page-turning plot and the kind of dry British humour that can bite. And, as ever, Scotland steals the show.

Perfect for fans of Midsomer Murders and Agatha Raisin."

Oh no, the coo is down a horn!

We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Osman's globe-trotting series "We Solve Murders" returns with the thrilling new mystery, We Chase Shadows.

Back together.
Back on the case.
And back to solving murders...

At sunrise, high in the Italian hills, a body is found on the steps of a beautiful private villa. On the body is a threatening note, signed by a mystery man.

Back at We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie, and Steve leap at the chance to take on their first proper case. So what if their new client seems to have his own reasons for avoiding the police? All they need to do is uncover who left the note, and then find them. Simple.

But once they start digging, the suspects keep piling up: there's Sweden's most-wanted criminal, a canny ex-wife and a fierce business rival - yet the murderer keeps evading them. And as the trio chase a villain through the shadows, danger travels closer to home...

Between Italy and Palm Springs, via Barcelona and Steve's village pub, can the team catch an elusive killer who knows EXACTLY where to hide?"

It's fall, meaning time for a new Richard Osman book!

Where the Truth Lies by Rupert Holmes
Published by: Avid Reader Press / Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Adapted into a major motion picture starring Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Murder Your Employer comes Where the Truth Lies, a tour de force of sinister mystery, sly comedy, grand cuisine, and all-consuming desire - "a narcotically addictive thriller" (Esquire).

Kerry O'Connor, a vivacious, free-spirited young journalist known for her penetrating celebrity interviews is hell-bent on unearthing the long-buried secrets that irrevocably shaped the lives of the magnetic showbiz team of singer Vince Collins and comic Lanny Morris. Once inseparable (and seemingly insatiable), the two celebrities were driven apart by a young woman's bizarre and unexplained death, in which either might have been complicit.

As the tart-tongued, eye-catching O'Connor ventures deeper into this unsolved mystery, she finds herself compromisingly coiled around both men, knowing more about them than they realize and less than she might like, but increasingly fearful that she now knows far too much.

Where the Truth Lies confirms Rupert Holmes's status as one of the most ingenious writers of today, a Renaissance man who has succeeded in virtually every realm of the entertainment world: music, film, TV, Broadway, and fiction. As the Los Angeles Times observed, Holmes is "one of those gifted people who seem able to do anything they want with the English language.""

Wait, there'a film of this starring Colin Firth!?! 

A Deadly Entanglement by Cathy Pegau
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In A Deadly Entanglement, two queer women in turn-of-the-century New York must work together to uncover the rotten truth.

The truth isn't always easy...

Margot Baxter Harriman has just survived her deadliest scandal as President of B and H Foods, and now there's nowhere to go but up. Which is why she's organizing a fundraiser for the crowded, overworked city charity hospital, where she hopes to do good and give back - until a body falls past a second-floor window.

The nurse's death is quickly ruled a suicide, but fellow nurse CeeCee Foxmoor, Margot's friend and the live-in partner of investigator Rett Mancini, isn't so sure: this isn't the hospital's first suspicious death. CeeCee's concerns draw both Margot and Rett into an undercover scheme to untangle the threads behind the deaths everyone else is ready to overlook.

Then another death catches their attention: Margot's old classmate checked into the Caspian, a luxury clinic catering to the New York elite, but never checked out. And the circumstances surrounding her death feel eerily familiar...

As both the secrets and bodies pile up, Rett and Margot realize that while money can buy anything, behind ward doors, everyone pays a price. This time, their search for the truth might cost the people they love.

Cathy Pegau's A Deadly Entanglement is the captivating follow-up to A Murderous Business, where two women's determination challenges the cost of greed - and the price of failure."

I mean, you expect a certain amount of death at hospitals...

The Gates of Midnight by Helene Wecker
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The long-awaited final installment in the award-winning, bestselling Golem and the Jinni trilogy.

At the beginning of The Hidden Palace, the second book in Helene Wecker's Golem and Jinni trilogy, Ahmad the jinni travels to Syria with the copper flask that holds the captured wizard Yehudah Schaalman. There in the desert he buries the flask for all time...or so he thinks.

In The Gates of Midnight, the riveting conclusion to the saga of The Golem and the Jinni, it's 1930 and three decades have passed since Schaalman's defeat. Chava the golem quietly tends to her house and garden in Brooklyn, hoping to create a refuge for other magical beings. Meanwhile, Ahmad has found employment as an architect in Chicago, helping to build its towering skyline above the prairie.

But all is not well in the desert. Schaalman has managed to trick an unsuspecting passerby into digging up the flask, and now it passes from hand to hand as the wizard possesses his victims - first a French soldier traveling to New York, then a small-time mobster - all in an effort to get to Chava, the only one who can release him from his prison.

Meanwhile others are gravitating to New York as well: Ahmad, who has lost his job following the 1929 stock market crash; the mysterious Thomas Beshara, a riveter on the rising Empire State Building, who also has hidden ties to Chava and Ahmad; and Kreindel Altschul, who still grieves her own destroyed golem Yossele. Does the reluctant Kreindel hold the key to saving Chava from Schaalman's revenge? Will Schaalman succeed in escaping the flask, binding Chava to his will, and re-enslaving Ahmad? Or can they find a way to finally defeat him and free themselves from his power? An earth-shaking finale to the brilliant trilogy."

So here for this, but Chicago is more coastline than prairie... I'd allow you to call the suburbs prairie... It is a surprisingly flat and dull state. 

In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste
Published by: Creature Publishing
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Stoker winner Gwendolyn Kiste holds up a dark, queer mirror to The Great Gatsby in In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts, a haunting exploration of the obsession and control at the edges of an American classic.

In 1955, Daisy Buchanan is found dead in an abandoned West Egg mansion, but her daughter Mel knows she's really been gone for years. No one knows whether Daisy was murdered, or if it was a simpler, slower death: her yearslong spiral of alcohol, abuse, and helplessness. But when Mel enters the estate, she finds Daisy's ghost, somehow frozen at twenty-three, and a charming, bleeding phantom that used to be Jay Gatsby.

To free her mother, Mel must carve a path through family secrets and decaying revelers: deep into Gatsby's starving house as it gorges itself on unfulfilled love and grows stronger every night."

The Haunting of Hill House meets Grey Gardens. I'm sold!

The Hopeless Romantic's Guide to Enchantment edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rivalries ignite into heated romance, lost lovers seek second chances, and friendships turn to something more in these 12 stunning Romantasy stories.

Including brand-new stories from beloved and bestselling authors including Hannah Nicole Maehrer, Kelley Armstrong, Alexis Hall, L.R. Lam, and more.

Tumble head over heels for these 12 gorgeous Romantasy stories from bestselling and beloved authors.

A pair of harried servants try to romance their respective bosses into a universe-saving marriage. Two bitter political rivals discover they have interests in common, and decide not to let a little thing like murder get in the way. After years apart, childhood nemeses come together to resolve their differences, and face down a common foe.

From Regency England to a mysterious Romanian forest, and from a city made of flowers to a sinister faerie train, love conquers all in these 12 beautiful tales.

FEATURING BRAND-NEW STORIES FROM:
Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Kelley Armstrong
Rebecca Thorne
Alexis Hall
L.R. Lam
A.Y. Chao
Juliet Marillier
Chloe Neill
Olivia Atwater
Jen Williams
Greer Stothers
Vida Cruz-Borja"

I mean, the author list is to die for, but Regency England!?! SO THERE!

The Devoted by Kylie Fennell
Published by: Lorikeet Ink
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 420 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ash has always been the cheerful sidekick, hiding a heart broken by loss. Then Pia appears - wild, fearless and impossible to ignore - claiming the fae realm still survives and Ash must help save it.

Clashing at every turn, Ash and Pia must fight together, survive together...and maybe, just maybe, fall in love along the way. In a world on the brink, love is a battlefield - and Ash and Pia will have to fight for everything, together.

The Devoted is a standalone book in the Fae of the Crystal Palace series and brings together the historical romance of Bridgerton with fae and a sprinkle of Sherlock Holmes' mystery.

You know I love my Bridgerton with a side of mystery! 

The Teacup Dragon Sanctuary by Jessica Thorne
Published by: Boldwood Books Ltd
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 226 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Every lost soul can find a home on Starling Island...

When apothecary Portia Starling clashes with the Academy, she knows exactly how it will end. With her family's notorious reputation, someone has to take the blame - and it's going to be her. So, reluctantly, she retreats to Starling Island - a place she hasn't considered home in years - to await news of her future.

Noah Turner has always dreamed of travelling north to study the great dragons of Elanholm. However, as a vet with no magic, funding his research feels impossible. But when an opportunity arises to help at Iris Starling's dragon sanctuary, he can't afford to turn it down. If he can prove himself there, he might finally reach his dream.

Portia and Noah immediately dislike one another. Noah assumes Portia is an entitled Academy poser, collecting dragons as a trend, while Portia finds him bossy and overbearing. But with the lives of the poor, sickly rescue dragons on the line, can they see past their differences?"

Please say the dragons are like teacup pigs!

Grim Tidings by B.K. Borison
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author B.K. Borison comes a new whimsical, haunting romance. When a runaway grim reaper tries to save a life, she clashes with a skeptical Guardian, forcing them to form an unlikely partnership beyond the grave.

Darcy Moore is tired of death. Which would be fine and good...if she wasn't a Grim Reaper. Determined to outrun her designation as the villain, Darcy decides she won't be dragging her next assignment to the underworld. She'll be saving him instead.

Unfortunately for Darcy, there's a complication in her plan. Guardian Angel Gabriel Aetos doesn't tolerate threats to his little corner of the world, and a Grim Reaper showing up at his bar is as deadly as it gets. But when he realizes Darcy is not as she seems, Gabriel must decide if he can trust his growing feelings or hold on to his long-standing grudge.

But magic doesn't come without consequences. And the Department of Hauntings and Spirits will eventually come calling for their missing Reaper.

A spooky yet simmering enemies-to-lovers tale to keep you warm this fall."

Angels can run bars!?!

Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun by Christine Pope
Published by: Dark Valentine Press
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Kindle, 234 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All Phoebe wanted was a fresh start. What she got was a roommate forty years past his expiration date.

Clairvoyant Phoebe Finch has spent her whole life learning to ignore the things only she can sense - the grief soaked into old houses, the secrets people don't say out loud, the occasional opinion from someone no longer technically alive. Burned out and done with all of it, she buys a dilapidated Victorian B and B in the foggy coastal town of Madrona Cove and plans to disappear into a quiet life of sanded floors and fresh paint.

Then she meets her permanent houseguest.

Lanny Olsen died in 1988 at the age of eighteen and has never left the building. He's loud, nosy, stuck in the decade that killed him, and convinced his death was no accident. He wants justice, and he's decided Phoebe is going to get it for him, whether she likes it or not.

She doesn't. But the more she pokes at the forty-year-old cold case, the more she realizes Lanny might be right. The town closes ranks. The handsome local archivist, Theo Lindgren, knows far more than he's letting on. And somewhere behind Madrona Cove's lavender beds and wellness retreats, someone is still protecting a very old, very ugly secret.

Phoebe just wanted to renovate a house. Instead, she's about to renovate the truth...one buried clue at a time.

Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun is a completely standalone paranormal cozy mystery - no prior books required, just a fresh start, a stubborn ghost, and a mystery that won't stay buried."

I am so here for all books that are fun reinterpretations of song lyrics. 

Magic and Murder by Sheri Lewis Wohl
Published by: Bold Strokes Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 242 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Reggie Scot runs a charming magic shop in Spokane, but the crystals and tarot cards hide a deeper purpose: guarding ancient, powerful relics that could unleash hell on earth. As a descendant of Paladins sworn to protect the world from dark magic, Reggie knows danger has arrived in the form of murders and stolen artifacts.

Detective Brooklyn Timmons doesn't believe in spells or omens - until her homicide case collides with Reggie's secret magical world. A killer is targeting the protectors of six talismans, each one the key to ultimate power. Reggie knows the stakes. Brooklyn knows the bodies are piling up. They must work together to save the world.

As they race to stop the deadly mage before he reunites the talismans and unleashes chaos, the line between duty and desire begins to blur.

Magic is real. And so is murder."

A murder is also murder. Say it like Shawn Spencer! 

Pretty Evil by Rebekah and David Ian McKendry and Tim Seeley
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"KPop Demon Hunters meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this sparkling, darkly funny young adult graphic novel following a teen pop star who must take up her missing mother's demon-slaying mantle and battle her way through the monster-infested world of social media influencers.

To her fans, Mallori (heart over the i, thank you very much) is the ultimate teen pop star: platinum albums, a massive online following, and a glittery pink lifestyle to die for. But in her own life, Mallori Martin just wants to be her own person, free from the pressures of stardom - not to mention her mom-ager's controlling hand.

After a particularly vicious fight with said mom, Mallori wakes to find her gone, with no clue where or why. In desperation, Mallori calls the police - whose search uncovers not her missing mother but several bodies buried in the basement of their Hollywood Hills mansion.

The bodies don't stay secret for long, not with Mallori's legions of fans watching her every move. With rumors flying about Mrs. Martin's secret serial-killer lifestyle, Mallori flees the public eye, only to discover her mom was indeed living a double life: as a demon slayer.

She's been abducted, and Mallori can't let that fight be their last conversation. So to get her back, Mallori will have to pick up where her mom left off, hacking her way through demons and boogeymen - with all her trademark sparkle."

I mean, 'tis the season for Buffy...

Doomsdate by Laura Piper Lee
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a first date between a doomsday prepper and a nerdy film professor goes horribly, zombie-apocalypse-level wrong, the mismatched pair team up on a road trip to safety in this delightfully feral rom-com.

With a new virus spreading and a lockdown on the horizon, Maisie Bennett is determined to check one item off her bucket list: Get laid. But that's no easy feat for an anxious doomsday prepper who's never made it past a first date. So when a handsome, stubbly-jawed professor swipes right and agrees to meet up, Maisie vows to act normal - and to leave her taser at home.

Dr. Everett Greer has lost all lust for life after a personal tragedy, but he doesn't have the heart to stand up the poor woman his best friend catfished to force him back "out there." Maisie turns out to be surprisingly lovely, but there's something off about her, too, with her clinking cargo pockets, shy smile, and utility belt full of - are those weapons? Unfortunately, their awkward first date goes from bad to doomed when the GI virus that's trapped half of America in the bathroom starts claiming its first casualties, then reanimates them into flesh-eating zombies. And this is precisely why Everett doesn't date anymore.

As the country spins out of control, Maisie and Everett find themselves an unlikely team of two - well, three, if you count Everett's cat, Chicken - as they travel north to hopeful safety. Along the way, Maisie and Everett make a deal: she'll teach the soft, liberal arts professor how to survive, and he'll teach her how to live - through movies, travel, and, to Maisie's delight, sex lessons. But when their growing feelings are put to the test, they're in danger of losing not only their brains to the zombies, but worse, their hearts to each other."

I adore this cover, it's Erica Slaughter and Rupert Giles getting it on!

Fall Me Maybe by Laney Hatcher
Published by: Avon a
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Unexpected sparks fly and a back seat gets put to good use when a small-town sweetheart falls head-first for her ride-share driver.

I'm supposed to be dating. Doing my level best to find The One™.

While I try to give all the guys on my dating app a fighting chance, I might accidentally be falling in love with my ride-share driver instead.

Between disaster first dates and getting stood up and ghosted, I've become friends with one of the only car service drivers in my tiny hometown of Cozy Creek, Colorado.

Maybe I'm looking forward to my dating fails because it means more time with Noah, the guy I can't stop thinking about. While guarded and cautious, he draws me in with his dry humor and reluctant smiles. But for some reason, Noah's presence in town is a mystery - a secret he isn't ready to tell.

You're not supposed to fall in love with the guy driving you to your potential happily ever after. But, unfortunately, nobody told my heart that.

Fall Me Maybe is part of the Cozy Creek Collection of small-town standalones. It is a steamy, full-length romantic comedy."

Just fall for him girl! FALL FOR HIM! I already have.

The Secret to Belonging by Megan E. Freeman
Published by: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A neglected teen travels to Norway for a fresh start in this "lush…aching" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) coming-of-age novel in verse about longing, love, and the courage to create joy from the ashes of despair by award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Megan E. Freeman.

You are invisible in your own family. Your parents spend all their care and attention on your brother, who is addicted to drugs. Your dreams don't matter to anyone but you.

Your only ticket out is a college fund left by your grandfather - until your parents use it to pay for your brother's drug rehab.

Just when your future seems about to collapse, you are offered a lifeline: a scholarship to become an exchange student in a remote part of Norway. It's an invitation to begin a new life in a new place with new people…a place where you might finally feel like you belong."

I have personally been contemplating Norway a lot lately. 

Lost and Found by Mercury Stardust
Published by: DK
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The trans handy ma'am is back...and this time she's buying a house and taking her loyal audience along on the journey.

Buying your first home can be an intimidating process filled with questions and uncertainties - how do you know you're working with a trustworthy lender? What are closing costs and how much should you budget for them? Can you actually afford to fix a fixer-upper?

In this successor to the #1 New York Times bestseller Safe and Sound, Mercury Stardust demystifies the path to homeownership and sets you up for homeowning success. Learn about the ups and downs of the house hunting process - from putting in an offer to going through inspections and closing - and then join Mercury as she tackles her first year with a fixer-upper that needs to be renovated and updated.

With DIY projects and guides for renovating and maintaining every part of your new house, as well as with tips for weather-proofing and maintaining outdoor spaces like a deck or garden, Lost and Found will empower you to create your dream home. Mercury reveals the good, the bad, and the ugly, including all the emotional highs and lows when things break, emergencies arise, and the unexpected inevitably happens."

If there's anyone I want there for my highs and lows it's handy ma'am Mercury Stardust. 

Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this stunning and compulsively readable memoir, the Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan, tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history.

Ke Huy Quan's Hollywood adventure began when he was twelve years old, a mere five years after his family escaped Communist Northern Vietnam and settled down to a relatively peaceful life in L.A.'s Chinatown. After attending an open call audition on a whim, he was unexpectedly swept up in the wild world of filmmaking: learning to swim from Harrison Ford on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, receiving trucks full of toys from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for his birthday, meeting Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, and making lifelong friends on the set of The Goonies.

A star of two of the most beloved movies of the '80s, there appeared to be no limit to Ke's rise. But just a few years later, the roles had dried up and it seemed like Hollywood no longer had a place for him. He eventually left acting to work odd jobs behind the scenes for directors like Wong Kar Wai. His confidence was badly shaken, but his love of performing never abated. It wasn't until decades later, when he was 49 years old, that he stepped back in front of the camera to star in a strange little indie film called Everything Everywhere All at Once, which surprised everyone with its incredible box-office and awards season success. To call Ke's Oscar-winning performance a triumphant return would be an understatement.

In this moving, inspirational memoir, Ke paints a vivid self-portrait, telling both heart-wrenching and funny stories of his early rise, slow fall from the spotlight, the resilience that kept him going through his darkest times, and his eventual resurrection on one of the biggest stages in Hollywood. Never Say Die is the story of Ke's extraordinary life, a love letter to the movies and people that shaped him, and a powerful testament to never giving up on your dreams."

The reason everyone loves Ke is his eternal optimism. He never gave up and look what happened!

Daughters of the Wreckage by Stefanie Koens
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two women. One shipwreck. And four centuries of secrets.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, after years as a hard-working English teacher who never did anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia's remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers - both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

In 1628, Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies - only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship's taciturn under surgeon.

Tess, Saskia, and Aris - their lives linked by secrets that span generations - carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they may find qualities that echo through centuries: faith, acceptance, and love.

A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them - and much more - in the wreckage and haunting stories of the Batavia shipwreck."

Dual timeline goodness. 

Turncloak by L.K. Steven
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 15th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Three rival mages race for power, vengeance, and the fate of Atherin in the epic second installment of the Silvercloak Saga, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates.

Revenge drove Saffron Killoran to go undercover in the Bloodmoon gang. But now, with any chance of retribution gone, she sees only one path forward: harnessing a long-dormant power to fix her ruinous mistakes.

Meanwhile, the new kingpin of the Bloodmoons has discovered Saffron's true identity as a Silvercloak - and her ultimate goal of bringing his empire down. As old wounds resurface and fresh enemies close in, he finds himself torn between the cause to which he has devoted his life and the fate of the traitorous mage he loves.

Hot on their heels is an ambitious rookie detective sent to stake out the Bloodmoons' growing rivals. She will stop at nothing to destroy both gangs - and anything or anyone who dares to stand in her way.

Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of trust and betrayal spanning continents, Saffron must choose where her loyalties lie - and determine if her quest to unmake time itself is worth becoming a villain to the whole world."

This series has such amazing cover art. 

Monday, November 6, 2023

Tuesday Tomorrow

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini
Published by: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 704 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle. Join Dragon Rider - and fan favorite - Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air - and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.

In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini's blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time...or to joyfully return."

Oh my. Paolini is finally returning to Alagaësia!

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher
Published by: Ace Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fate of the Cinder Spires may be decided by crossed swords in the next exhilarating fantasy adventure from the author of the Dresden Files, in this New York Times bestselling series of noble families, swordplay, and airships.

For centuries the Cinder Spires have safeguarded humanity, rising far above the deadly surface world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses rule, developing scientific marvels and building fleets of airships for defense and trade.

Now, the Spires hover on the brink of open war. Everyone knows it's coming. The guns of the great airship fleets that control the skies between the last bastions of humanity will soon speak in anger, and Spire Albion stands alone against the overwhelming might of Spire Aurora's Armada and its new secret weapon - one capable of destroying the populations of entire Spires.

A trading summit at Spire Olympia provides an opportunity for the Spirearch, Lord Albion, to secure alliances that will shape the outcomes of the war, and to that end he dispatches privateer Captain Francis Madison Grimm and the crew of the AMS Predator to bolster the Spirearch's diplomatic agents.

It will take daring, skill, and no small amount of showmanship to convince the world to stand with Spire Albion - assuming that it is not already too late."

I will read whatever Jim Butcher writes.

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree's Bookshops and Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk - so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected."

See! Books heal!

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Power Unbound is the final entry in Freya Marske's beloved, award-winning Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light.

Secrets! Magic! Enemies to...something more?

Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he's drawn reluctantly back into that world.

Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross.

Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.

When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham Hall - Jack's ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that it's grown a personality as prickly as its owner - Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice...and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end."

The fan favorite series comes to an end.

Loveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen
Published by: Harperteen
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the sparkling world of Loveboat, this time with Pearl Wong, on an entirely new, romantic, whirlwind adventure from Abigail Hing Wen, New York Times bestselling author of Loveboat, Taipei, streaming now on Paramount+ (adaptation titled Love in Taipei).

Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.

Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned - until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans...and a new image.

Where better to revamp her "brand" than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.

But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat - the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn - and there's more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor...and a summer that will change her forever.

Sweeping, glamorous, and deeply soulful, this companion to the New York Times bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei and Loveboat Reunion will reunite readers with their favorite characters, in a thrilling new journey of romance, self-discovery, and empowerment. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen."

But does she also have time to practice her music!?! Fun and games are all good, but you need some discipline occasionally...

Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A wild, sweeping novel that imagines an alternate secret history of Korea and the traces it leaves on the present - loaded with assassins and mad poets, RPGs and slasher films, pop bands and the perils of social media

In 1919, far-flung patriots establish the Korean Provisional Government to protest the Japanese occupation of their country. This government-in-exile proves mostly symbolic, though, and after Japan's defeat in World War II, the KPG dissolves and civil war erupts, resulting in the tragic North-South split that remains today.

But what if the KPG still existed - now working toward a unified Korea, secretly pulling levers to further its aims? Same Bed Different Dreams weaves together three distinct narrative voices with an archive of mysterious images, and twists reality like a kaleidoscope. Korean history, American pop culture, and our tech-fraught lives come together in this extraordinary and unforgettable novel.

Soon Sheen, a former writer now employed by the tech behemoth GLOAT, comes into possession of an unfinished book seemingly authored by the KPG. The manuscript is a riveting revisionist history, connecting famous names and obscure bit players to the KPG's grand project - everyone from Syngman Rhee and architect-poet Yi Sang to Jack London and Marilyn Monroe. M*A*S*H is in here, too, as are the Moonies and a history of violence extending from the assassination of President McKinley to the Reagan-era downing of a passenger plane that puts the world on the brink of war.

From the acclaimed author of Personal Days, Same Bed Different Dreams is a raucously funny feat of imagination and a thrilling meld of history and fiction that pulls readers into another dimension - one in which utopia is possible."

Because who doesn't love alternative history?

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty
Published by: Ace Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, and fled to outer space to avoid it...but when one of the new human arrivals on a space shuttle is murdered, she's back in the game.

Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her - and only she seems to be able to solve the crime. After fleeing to an alien space station in hopes that the lack of humans would stop the murders, a serial killer had the nerve to follow her to Station Eternity. (Mallory deduced who the true culprit was that time, too.)

Now the law enforcement agent who hounded Mallory on Earth has come to Station Eternity, along with her teenage crush and his sister, Mallory's best friend from high school. Mallory doesn't believe in coincidences, and so she's not at all surprised when someone in the latest shuttle from Earth is murdered. It's the story of her life, after all.

Only this time she has more than a killer to deal with. Between her fugitive friends, a new threat arising from the Sundry hivemind, and the alarmingly peculiar behavior of the sentient space station they all call home, even Mallory's deductive abilities are strained. If she can't find out what's going on (and fast), a disaster of intergalactic proportions may occur...."

The fact that this series is called The Midsolar Murders continues to entertain me to no end.

Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today bestselling horror/thriller author Darcy Coates comes the chilling legend of a monster no one can escape.

DON'T WALK ALONE, OR THE STITCHER WILL FIND YOU.

Abby Ward lives in a town haunted by disappearances. People vanish, and when they're found, their bodies have been dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways. But is it the work of a human killer...or something far darker?

DON'T STAY OUT LATE, OR THE STITCHER WILL TAKE YOU.

She and her younger sister live by a strict set of rules designed to keep them safe - which is why it's such a shock when Hope is taken. Desperate to get her back, Abby tells the police everything she knows, but they claim their hands are tied.

DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, OR THE STITCHER WILL REMAKE YOU.

With every hour precious, Abby and her friends are caught in a desperate game of cat and mouse. They have to get Hope back. Quickly. Before too much of her is cut away. And before everything they care about is swallowed up by the darkness waiting in the tunnels beneath the home they thought they knew."

Yeah, I love reading about this town but I don't want to go there.

The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny and What She Knew comes the terrifying story of what can happen after all your dreams come true.

Be careful what you wish for...

Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple - until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight.

Soon they've moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined.

But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Was Tom's death a tragic accident, or was it something worse?

Nicole is devastated. Tom was her rock. And their beautiful barn  - with all its smart features that never seem to work for her - is beginning to feel very lonely. But she's not entirely by herself out there in the country. There's a nice young couple who live in the Manor itself along with their middle-aged housekeeper who has the Coach House. And an old friend of Tom's from school has turned up to help her get through her grief.

But big money can bring big problems and big threats. And is Nicole's life in danger as well?

Nicole's beginning to feel like a little fish in a big glass bowl.

Surrounded by piranhas."

And that right there is the problem with winning the lottery.

The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle
Published by: Alcove Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With a genderfluid protagonist and 21st-century twist, this spirited debut pays homage to the British classics while joyfully centering an LGBTQ+ point of view, perfect for fans of Emily M. Danforth.

Orphaned young and raised with chilly indifference at an all-boys boarding school, Brontë Ellis has grown up stifled by rigid rules and social "norms," forbidden from expressing his gender identity. His beloved novels and period films lend an escape, until a position as a live-in tutor provides him with a chance to leave St. Mary's behind.

Greenwood Manor is the kind of elegant country house Bron has only read about, and amid lavish parties and cricket matches, the Edwards family welcomes him into the household with true warmth. Mr. Edwards and the young Ada, Bron's pupil, accept without question that Bron's gender presentation is not traditionally masculine. Only Darcy, the eldest son, seems uncomfortable with Bron - the two of them couldn't be more opposite.

When a tragic fire blazes through the estate's idyllic peace, Bron begins to sense dark secrets smoldering beneath Greenwood Manor's surface. Channeling the heroines of his cherished paperbacks, he begins to sift through the wreckage. Soon, he's not sure what to believe, especially with his increasing attraction to Darcy clouding his vision.

Drawing energy and inspiration from Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, E.M. Forster, and more while bowing to popular fiction such as Plain Bad Heroines, The Manor House Governess is destined to become a modern classic."

I mean a Bronte and a house fire? I have to read this!

A Dark Roux by Blaine Daigle
Published by: Wicked House Publishing
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beneath the black waters of the Louisiana bayou hides a world of dark mysticism. A world steeped in superstition and the decay of family legacies. A world Rhiannon LeBeau thought she'd left behind fifteen years ago after a summer of tragedy and horror.

But following the death of their mother, Rhiannon and her younger brother Rhett find themselves drawn back to their crumbling ancestral home deep in the sugarcane farms of Terrebonne Parish. A place full of family secrets and lost memories that will force both siblings to come face to face with the demons of their past...and present.

Because something has been waiting for their return. Something with a long memory and a debt to collect. Something tied to the bayou in blood. Something that intends to make sure Rhiannon and Rhett never leave again."

The dark magics of the Louisiana bayou always gets me.

Vamp by Loren D. Estleman
Published by: Forge
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Vamp is a hot new Valentino mystery by Loren D. Estleman, the master of the hard-boiled detective novel and recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award.

Renowned film detective Valentino is on a quest to help restore The Comet, an extinct drive-in movie theater, and his trail leads him to Leo Kalishnikov, who requests a favor first - rid him of a blackmailer from his shady past, and he'll gladly hand over the money that The Comet needs.

With only an uncashed check for a clue, Valentino embarks on a treacherous path to save not only The Comet but the last remaining print of the 1917 film Cleopatra, which has been lost for over a century. The film is somewhere in Los Angeles, and Valentino is willing to risk it all to find it. He must navigate the shady underbelly of Hollywood once more, in a dangerous adventure that threatens not only his career - but his life."

I love hard-boiled detectives involved in the seedy underbelly of the film industry.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perhaps the best place in 1943 Hollywood to see the stars is the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. Murder mystery playwright Annie Laurence, new in town after a devastating breakup, definitely hopes to rub elbows with the right stars. Maybe then she can get her movie made.

But Hollywood proves to be more than tinsel and glamour. When despised film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie realizes any one of the Canteen's luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona's friends, a bitter and cynical group - each as uniquely unhappy in their life and career as Annie is in hers - that call themselves the Ambassador's Club.

Solving a murder in real life, it turns out, is a lot harder than writing one for the stage. And by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador's Club, Annie just might have put a target on her own back."

A real showstopping Hollywood mystery!

Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Escape to Enchanted Hill in this historical mystery where two people with a dark, shared past collide while working undercover at a glittering mansion on the California coast.

The year is 1930 and Cora McCavanagh is posing as a maid at Hollywood magnate Truman Byrd's legendary estate. She's closing in on the damning evidence she needs for a high-profile client.

An aspiring PI, Cora was trained by her father, a former prison guard at the notorious Pelican Island, where Cora grew up surrounded by hardened criminals.

Which is why she recognizes Jack Yates as soon as he walks through the door. The last time she saw him was on an ill-fated night that changed the course of her life and still haunts her more than a decade later. Cora never expected to see Jack again - and now a single misstep could cause both their secret identities to come crashing down.

They strike a tentative truce to help each other during a week of parties overflowing with champagne and caviar. But there are puzzles hidden in every corner of Truman Byrd's labyrinthine estate, and if Cora is to finally learn the truth about Jack Yates, she must unravel a sinister history that the rich and powerful will do anything to keep concealed.

Filled with intrigue and Old Hollywood glamour, Enchanted Hill is an unforgettable historical romance set in a world you won't want to leave, and is perfect for fans of historical fiction books like the Molly Murphy Mysteries, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Kate Morton books."

A labyrinthine Old Hollywood estate? Yes please!

The Proof of the Pudding by Rhys Bowen
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lady Georgiana Rannoch is looking forward to her first ever turn as hostess for her very own house party when the festivities lead to murder...

Georgie, back home at her estate in Eynsleigh, impatiently awaits the birth of her baby. But she has plenty to occupy her: her new chef, Pierre, has arrived from Paris, and Sir Hubert, who owns Eynsleigh, is back from his latest expedition. It's time for Georgie to throw her first house party to celebrate his return and show off her new chef. The dinner party is a smashing success. Sir Mortimer Mordred - famous author of creepy Gothic horror novels - is one of the guests. He recently purchased a nearby Elizabethan manor nearby because it has a famous poison garden. After the dinner, Sir Mortimer approaches Georgie and asks to borrow her new chef for his upcoming party, and Georgie and Darcy, her dashing husband, are invited!

The tour of the poison garden is fascinating, as is Sir Mortimer's laboratory. Shockingly, just after the banquet several of the guests become sick. And one dies, apparently poisoned by berries from the garden. But how could this be when they all ate the same meal and the same delectable dessert? Georgie has to find the culprit to save her new chef and her own reputation - all before her bundle of joy arrives!"

Rhys Bowen has said the magic words that are my catnip; poison garden.

Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher is up to her elegant eyebrows in mystery once again!

Awakening unusually early one morning, Phryne Fisher finds herself with a rare stretch of free time to fill. After dropping her daughters off for their school-sponsored charity work at the Blind Institute, she visits a university professor whose acquaintance she'd made - and admired - on a prior case. At lunch, the smitten professor invites Phryne to dine at his home in Williamstown later that week.

Bookending her pleasant dinner with her new friend Jeoffrey, Phryne makes two disturbing discoveries: first, a discarded opium pipe in the park, and later the body of a Chinese man on the beach - cause of death not apparent, yet ultimately ruled a homicide. Shortly thereafter, the teenaged sister-in-law of Phryne's longtime lover Lin Chung disappears from her home. But when one of Jeoffrey's colleagues is murdered in front of a houseful of guests at a Chinese-themed party he is hosting, Phryne can't help but wonder - are the incidents all related somehow? And who on earth has been leaving notes in her letterbox, warning her to "REPENT" and that "THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH?"

In addition to the formidable and fashionable Phryne, this clever mystery once again features Phryne's three wards with their own mysteries to solve: Ruth and Jane, tracking an embezzler at the Institute, and Tinker, whose help Phryne enlists to uncover the author of the threatening missives."

I love the whole world of Miss Fisher, and after finishing the lamentably over Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries I need more Fishers in my life!

A Christmas Vanishing by Anne Perry
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Charlotte Pitt's clever grandmother investigates the sudden disappearance of her dear friend in this chilling holiday whodunit by New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

Mariah Ellison, Charlotte Pitt's grandmother, accepts her longtime friend Sadie's gracious invitation to spend Christmas with her and her husband, Barton, in their picturesque village. But upon arrival, Mariah discovers that Sadie has vanished without a trace, and Barton rudely rescinds the invitation. Once Mariah finds another acquaintance to stay with during the holiday season, she begins investigating Sadie's disappearance.

Mariah's uncanny knack for solving mysteries serves her well during her search, which is driven by gossip as icy as the December weather. Did Sadie run off with another man? Was she kidnapped? Has someone harmed her? Frustratingly, Mariah's questions reveal more about the villagers themselves than about her friend's whereabouts. Yet in the process of getting to know Sadie's neighbors, Mariah finds a kind of redemption, as she rediscovers her kinder side, and her ability to love.

It is up to Mariah to master her own feelings, drown out the noise, and get to the bottom of what occurred, all before Christmas day. With the holiday rapidly approaching, will she succeed in bringing Sadie home in time for them to celebrate it together - or is that too much to hope for?"

A must read this Christmas and perhaps our last Christmas story from Anne Perry who sadly passed this year.

The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"James Bennett has been invited to stay at White Priory for Christmas among the retinue of the glamorous Hollywood actress Marcia Tait. Her producer, her lover, the playwright for her next hit and her agent are all here, soon to become so many suspects when Tait is found murdered on a cold December morning in the lakeside pavilion. Only the footprints of her discoverer disturb the snow which fell overnight - and which stopped just shortly after Marcia was last seen alive. How did the murderer get in and out of the pavilion without leaving a trace?

When Bennett's uncle, the cantankerous amateur sleuth Sir Henry Merrivale arrives from London to make sense of this impossible crime, the reader is treated to a feast of the author's trademark twists, beguiling false answers and one of the most ingenious solutions in the history of the mystery genre."

Now THIS is what I need this holiday season. I think I might have to start my Christmas reading now to get it all in!

Grandiloquent Words: A Pictoric Lexicon of Ostrobogulous Locutions by Jason Travis Ott
Published by: Countryman Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Words confirm and deny, guarantee and deceive, elucidate and obfuscate.

The more words you know, the better you can express yourself and the more you can do in life. The founder of Grandiloquent Word of the Day accordingly presents a voluptuary of verbiage encompassing rare and obscure terms that confound or delight, antiquated argot from myriad epochs, and lexemes for venturesome bibliophiles.

Featuring a short, insightful introduction, Grandiloquent Words offers more than 250 preternatural terminologies for you to ingurgitate and brandish with aplomb for countless occasions. Bask in cataracts of mundane morphemes, bookish locutions, beef-witted blatteroons, corporeal catastrophes, playful patois, and jolly jubilations.

These always-extra expressions encompass timeless topics and modern phenomena, painting a group portrait of our foibles and joys. Replete with pronunciations, etymologies, examples, and whimsical illustrations, it will edify and entertain.

*This rare collection of definitions celebrates the marvels of our language."

I have been following them for years and Facebook and it's just as fascinating as it sounds.

Lamentation by Cullen Bunn, Arjuna Susini, and Hilary Jenkins
Published by: Oni Press
Publication Date: November 7th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the mind's eye of master storyteller Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun, Basilisk) and rising star Arjuna Susini (Made Men) comes a darkly glamorous tale of bone-splintering terror at the intersection of shadow and light...dream and nightmare...life, and the grim specter of Death himself.

After weeks of grueling rehearsals, a new production is set to begin at the famed Requiem theatre: Razide's Lament, three acts of Gothic horror set inside a haunted castle with a story that some say is more than mere fantasy. Under the stern rule of a dedicated but temperamental director, the script seems to be ever-changing, and, more mysterious still, our lead actress has found herself cast in the role of a lifetime without so much as an audition. Her opening night is coming fast-and, with it, a barrage of razors in the night that will terrorize audiences and actors alike. There is no exit, no escape, and when the curtain finally rises, Razide himself will take center stage to cross the threshold into the unholy darkness that lies just beyond..."

I will read ANYTHING by Cullen Bunn. But when he brings the Gothic, oh he brings it!

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