strange and random happenstance

Secrets and Sacrifices by Cath Lauria
Published by: Aconyte
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Explore a new world of monsters and manners in this darkly captivating regency romance with an eldritch twist from renowned roleplaying game, Call of Cthulhu.

When Cassandra Wright's father was accused of murder her whole life fell apart, leaving her with no prospects, no money, and a broken engagement. But Cassandra always suspected foul play. Five years later, she's determined to discover the truth.

With her childhood friend Thomas reluctantly acting as her new husband-to-be, Cassie must talk her way into the home of her former fiancé, who she's convinced knows more than he ever let on. Once inside she'll have to navigate the pitfalls of polite society while attempting to dig deep into her father's life.

There are dark, twisted secrets lurking in the shadows, and Cassie must unravel them before they can consume her."

I mean, as a HUGE fan of Regency Magic, I have to ask, why hasn't anyone mashed-up Lovecraft and Austen before!?!

Panya: The Mummy's Curse by Mike Mignola
Published by: Dark Horse Books
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Thousands of years before Hellboy, the B.P.R.D., and Ragna Rok, there was Panya.

As a girl in ancient Egypt, she witnessed the fall of a dynasty and was gifted - or cursed - with abilities. As she ages, Panya aids those she passes as she journeys to seek out a mysterious light...

Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson join creative forces with artist Christopher Mitten and colorist Michelle Madsen to bring Panya's story to life.

Collects Panya: The Mummy's Curse #1-#4 and bonus material."

I mean, firstly, I love the world of Hellboy. Secondly, I love ancient Egypt. Combining them? Genius!

Empire of the Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson
Published by: Crimson Fox Publishing
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 476 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nice Victorian ladies don't run off to find legendary lost cities. One trifling little arrest shouldn't have cost Ellie Mallory her job, but it's only the latest in a line of injustices facing any educated woman with archaeological ambitions.

When Ellie stumbles across the map to a mysterious ancient city, she knows she's holding her chance to revolutionize Pre-Colombian history. There's just one teensy complication. A ruthless villain wants it, and Ellie is all that stands in his way.

To race him to the ruins - and avoid being violently disposed of - she needs the help of maverick surveyor Adam Bates, a snake-wrangling rogue who can't seem to keep his dratted shirt on.

But there's more than Ellie's scholarly reputation (and life) on the line. Her enemies aren't just looters. They're after an arcane secret rumored to lie in the heart of the ruins, a mythical artifact with a power that could shake the world.

Between stealing trousers, plummeting over waterfalls, and trying not to fall in love with her machete-wielding partner, will Ellie be able to stop the oracle of a lost empire from falling into the wrong hands?

Empire of Shadows is the first book in Jacquelyn Benson's smart, swashbuckling Raiders of the Arcana series. Read it now and dive into a rip-roaring historical fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Romancing the Stone and The Mummy."

But but I LOVE Romancing the Stone and The Mummy and men who tear off their shirts at a moments notice like Captain East in Austenland! 

Draw Down the Moon by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestsellers P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast return with Draw Down the Moon, the first book in a new duology set in a dark and magickal world filled with incredible danger and irresistible romance.

A mystical school. A mysterious death. A magickal romance.

Wren Nightingale isn't supposed to have any elemental powers. Born of magickal parents but not under one of the four fated astrological full moons, she is destined for life as a Mundane - right up until she starts glowing on her eighteenth birthday. In a heartbeat, Wren's life is turned upside down, and she's suddenly leaving her home for the mystical Academia de la Luna - a secret magickal school on a hidden island off the Seattle coast.

Lee Young has always known about his future at the academy. He has three goals: pass the trials, impress the Moon Council, and uphold his family's reputation. But he wasn't expecting to be attending alongside the girl he's been secretly in love with for as long as he can remember.

As Wren and Lee are thrown into the academy's grueling trials, they quickly learn there's something different - and dangerous - about the school this year. Wren will have to navigate a web of secrets, prophecies...and murder.

And Lee will have to decide what to protect: his family's legacy, or the girl he loves."

Everything about this book sounds awesome, but it's the title that gets me. I have always loved the concept of drawing down the moon.

Call Forth a Fox by Markelle Grabo
Published by: Page Street YA
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sapphic twist on the classic fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red, perfect for fans of Holly Black.

The western wood is where Ro's father built their garden, taught her to forage, and told her tales of the faeries who live there - how to summon them, how to protect herself, and warnings of what they are capable of. Now, her father is gone, the garden has withered, and their family is struggling. Her mother and sister want to move into town, but Ro doesn't want to give up the memories of her father and his stories - or the charming village girl who shares Ro's love of the trees. The forest isn't ready to let Ro go either.

One winter night, on her way home from foraging, Ro encounters a bear attacking a fox. She fights the bear to save the fox's life, only to see the bear turn into a boy after her sister shoots him with an arrow. When the boy wakes, he has no memory of who he is - all he knows is Ro's name and that he has to kill the fox.

Ro never believed in the faeries from her father's stories, but she can't deny the magic surrounding her and that both the boy and the fox are victims of a faerie curse. She'll have to remember everything her father taught her in order to extract herself from this deadly game and keep her precious fox out of harm's way."

Oh oh, who's the fox!?! Is it the village girl she loves?

The Proper Thing and Other Stories by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the end of the world to the beginning, with a nice charcuterie plate to sustain us on the way, it's time for another journey through the eccentric, eclectic short fiction of Seanan McGuire. From dangerous holidays to the beauty of the library, from the power of cheese to the power of love, this volume will take you from the past to the future, sometimes on the same page. Learn about the insecurities of the superheroic world, and how hard some people will work to survive the end of absolutely everything. Discover what everyone knows, and watch what happens when the cultural foundations are pulled from under your favorite cuisine. See what people will do when all else is lost, and watch what happens on the day the music dies. And when all that is through, visit our magical cheese shop for something truly delicious, impossible and unique. We have a little something for everyone in our box of delights. Don't be afraid - just reach in, and choose a treat to improve and enhance your day. We've been waiting for another trip to the store on the corner, where they sell Wensleydale and wishes side by side. Come along now, let's go."

Another stunning edition from Subterranean Press that also adds to Seanan McGuire's copious output. She has to support those cats somehow!

The Book of Thorns by Hester Fox
Published by: Graydon House
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars and the rise of the floriography craze in Europe, two sisters separated at birth are bound together by a secret language of flowers passed down to them by the mother they never knew. When Cornelia leaves her cruel uncle's home to join Napoleon's army as a traveling naturalist, her ability to heal any wound and bring soldiers back from the brink of death earns her praise - and exposes her to those who would exploit her powers for themselves.

Meanwhile, Lijsbeth lives in indentured servitude, her only respite her time spent flower arranging. When she meets a young English soldier and falls in love, Lisjbeth must decide whether to flee the clashing of two great armies at Waterloo or risk everything by staying. As the English and French armies collide in Waterloo, the sisters finally cross paths on opposite sides of the war.

With the sisters reunited on the battlefield, they must work together to solve the mystery of their mother's death, while surviving the war raging around them."

Flowers and the Napoleonic War! That's my jam.

The Orchids of Ashthorne Hall by Rebecca Anderson
Published by: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A ghostly estate. A handsome caretaker hiding a secret. And the intrepid Hyacinth Bell, who is set on solving the mystery of both.

1887, the Cornwall coast

For years, rumors have flown through the village of Suttonsbury about Ashthorne Hall - that its occupants hoard pirate treasure, that a ghost walks its halls - but botanist Hyacinth Bell cares only about the estate's extensive, one-of-a-kind orchid collection. As an independent woman, she is eager to focus on her career, even if it means waiting to pursue a romantic relationship. After all, love - like an orchid - must be nurtured and tended before it can bloom.

What she doesn't expect is to be swept away by Lucas Harding, the manor's caretaker, upon their first meeting. He is handsome and charming, and the connection between the two is nearly instantaneous. Hyacinth is certain this autumn will be the season that everything good in her life takes root.

But then strange things start happening in the seemingly empty halls of the estate: unexplainable noises, items appearing, then disappearing from her room, threatening messages, and glimpses of a woman in white who vanishes into the dark. Lucas dismisses Hyacinth's worries, insisting that there is no ghost at Ashthorne Hall, but Hyacinth suspects he is withholding information and decides to investigate the mystery herself.

Armed with little more than her instincts and her courage, Hyacinth must venture deep into the shadows of Ashthorne Hall to uncover the truth Lucas is keeping secret before she herself falls victim to the dangers hidden in the estate."

Please please say this goes all Wilkie Collins by way of Jane Eyre.

Something Kindred by Ciera Burch
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Magical realism meets Southern Gothic in this commanding young adult debut from Ciera Burch about true love, the meaning of home, and the choices that haunt us.

Welcome to Coldwater. Come for the ghosts, stay for the drama.

Jericka Walker had planned to spend the summer before senior year soaking up the sun with her best friend on the Jersey Shore. Instead she finds herself in Coldwater, Maryland, a small town with a dark and complicated past where her estranged grandmother lives - someone she knows only two things about: her name and the fact that she left Jericka's mother and uncle when they were children. But now Jericka's grandmother is dying, and her mother has dragged Jericka along to say goodbye.

As Jericka attempts to form a connection with a woman she's never known, and adjusts to life in a town where everything closes before dinner, she meets "ghost girl" Kat, a girl eager to leave Coldwater and more exciting than a person has any right to be. But Coldwater has a few unsettling secrets of its own. The more you try to leave, the stronger the town's hold. As Jericka feels the chilling pull of her family's past, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her mother, her childhood, and the lines between the living and the dead."

I mean, I'd choose a creepy town that doesn't want you to leave over the Jersey Shore any day.

Lark by Anthony McGowan
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 120 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Things are getting tense at home for Nicky and Kenny as they wait for a visit from their estranged mother. To escape, they go for a walk on the moors, taking their little Jack Russell terrier with them. But what should have been a laugh, a lark, turns deadly when the weather changes and they are caught in a blizzard. Nothing will ever be quite the same again..."

Blizzard on the moors!

The Sweet Blue Distance by Sara Donati
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 800 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young midwife travels west to the New Mexico Territory to care for women in need and faces dangers more harrowing than the ones she's fleeing in this epic tale of survival, redemption, and love from Sara Donati, the international bestselling author of the Wilderness series.

1857: In a bid to outrun her past, Carrie Ballentyne accepts a nursing position with a doctor in the New Mexico Territory. She knows the journey from New York to Santa Fe will not be easy, but she relishes the adventure. However, nothing could have prepared her for the wilderness she encounters. Its vastness and power are awe-inspiring, stunning in both beauty and brutality. To endure, she must learn to rely on her fellow travelers - and one enigmatic man in particular. As the small, tight-knit group tackles challenge after challenge, she feels her heart opening to this rugged land - and the people willing to risk so much for one another.

The trip west is only the beginning of Carrie's challenges, though. In Santa Fe, she compassionately helps women bring new life into the world, making her beloved among new mothers. Soon, however, she realizes that her employer and his wife are keeping secrets from her, and she must ferret out the truth to protect their young daughter. But to save the little girl she's come to cherish, Carrie will have to confront the demons in her own past - a feat that will take all of her bravery with the help of the man she's grown to love and depend on above all others.

With its vivid descriptions of the breathtaking western landscape and its irresistible characters, The Sweet Blue Distance is the unforgettable story of one woman's courage to heal herself, her family, and the women entrusted to her care."

When you need a good doorstop historical fiction you should always turn to Sara Donati, she never disappoints.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez
Published by: Algonquin Books
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Literary icon Julia Alvarez, bestselling author of In the Time of the Butterflies shares an inventive and emotional novel about storytelling and her homeland of the Dominican Republic.

Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories, doesn't want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories - literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and revisions, and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her.

Alma wants her characters to rest in peace. But they have other ideas, and the cemetery becomes a mysterious sanctuary for their true narratives. Filomena, a local woman hired as the groundskeeper, becomes a sympathetic listener as Alma's characters unspool their secret tales. Among them: Bienvenida, the abandoned second wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, consigned to oblivion by history, and Manuel Cruz, a doctor who fought in the Dominican underground and escaped to the United States.

The characters defy their author: they talk back to her and talk to one another behind her back, rewriting and revising themselves. The Cemetery of Untold Stories asks: Whose stories get to be told, and whose buried? Finally, Alma finds the meaning she and her characters yearn for in the everlasting vitality of stories.

Readers of Isabel Allende's Violeta and Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead will devour Alvarez's extraordinary new novel about beauty and authenticity, and will be reminded that the stories of our lives are never truly finished, even at the end."

Jasper Fforde meets magical realism.

The Monstrous Misses Mai by Van Hoang
Published by: 47north
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Paperback, 348 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A determined young woman in 1950s Los Angeles walks a darker city than she ever imagined in a spellbinding novel about the power to make dreams come true - whatever the sacrifice.

Los Angeles brims with opportunity in 1959 - though not for aspiring fashion designer Cordelia Mai Yin, the first-generation child of Vietnamese immigrants, who finds the city unkind to outsiders and as dispirited as her own family. When Cordi rents a cheap loft in an old apartment building, she quickly warms to kindred souls Tessa, Audrey, and Silly. They also want better things and have pasts they'd rather forget. That they all share the same middle name makes their friendship seem like destiny.

As supportive as they are of each other, it's a struggle just to eke out a living, let alone hope to see their wishes for success come true. Until an ever-present and uncannily charming acquaintance of the landlord's offers a solution to their problems. He promises to fulfill their every dream. All it takes is a little magic. And a small sacrifice.

As one surprisingly effective spell leads to another, their wishes get bigger. But so does the price they must pay. Amid the damaged seams of her life so far, Cordi must realize her own power in order to rip free, without losing everything she's worked so hard to achieve."

Never enter into any agreement that requires a sacrifice.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the multimillion-copy bestselling A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series and Five Survive comes a gripping thriller following one teen's search for the truth about her mother's shocking disappearance - and even more shocking reappearance - during the filming of a true crime documentary.

Lights. Camera. Lies.

Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom's mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can't wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn't sure it's real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And - could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead...

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl's search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is."

Family can be murder.

Nosy Neighbors by Freya Sampson
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nothing brings neighbors together like someone else's secrets... At Shelley House, the walls have ears, and they're attached to a ragtag duo of busybodies ready to pry, snoop, and generally annoy their neighbors into solving a crime.

Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling has lived in Shelley House longer than any of the other residents, and if you take their word for it, she's as cantankerous as they come. But Dorothy has her reasons for spying. And none of them require justifying herself to Kat Bennett.

Twenty-five-year-old Kat has never known a place where she felt truly at home, and crumbling Shelley House is no different. Her neighbors find her prickly and unapproachable, but beneath her tough exterior, Kat's plagued by a guilty secret from her past.

When their apartments face demolition, sworn enemies Kat and Dorothy agree on just one thing: they must save their historic building. But when someone plays dirty - and one of the residents is viciously taken down - Dorothy and Kat seek justice. The police close the investigation too soon, leaving it up to the unlikely amateur sleuths - with a playful Jack Russell terrier at their side - to restore peace in their community."

Batteries Not Included meets Only Murders in the Building.

Star Wars the High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment by George Mann
Published by: Titan Comics
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A hardcover illustrated collection of six Star Wars: The High Republic stories from the pages of Star Wars Insider written by New York Times bestselling author, George Mann. This volume includes an exclusive story only available in this collection.

A collection of six tales set during the galaxy far, far away featuring the Jedi Knights of the High Republic, including an exclusive story printed here for the first time! In addition to the stories, this collection also includes behind the scenes interviews and a guide to the second phase of The High Republic stories."

My man George bringing us some more High Republic adventures.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony McGowan, Cath Lauria, Ciera Burch, George Mann, Hester Fox, Holly Jackson, Jacquelyn Benson, Julia Alvarez, Kristin Cast, Markelle Grabo, P.C. Cast, Rebecca Anderson, Sara Donati, Seanan McGuire, Van Hoang

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film - and awakens one woman's hidden powers.

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She's a talented sound editor, but she's left out of the boys' club running the film industry in '90s Mexico City. And she's all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she's been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives - even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse...but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies."

I am always here for the dark side of film and Nazi occultism!

A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"You can check out of Room 9, but you can never leave.

The Haunting of Hill House meets Nina LaCour in this spine-chilling horror YA about the ghosts we carry with us.

Something is building, simmering just out of reach.

The room is watching. But Mira and Layla don't know this yet. When the two best friends are stranded on their spring break college tour road trip, they find themselves at the Wildwood Motel, located in the middle of nowhere, Indiana. Mira can't shake the feeling that there is something wrong and rotten about their room. Inside, she's haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. When she wakes up, he's still there.

Layla doesn't see him. Or notice anything suspicious about Room 9. The place may be a little run down, but it has a certain charm she can't wait to capture on camera. If Layla is being honest, she's too preoccupied with confusing feelings for Mira to see much else. But when they learn eight people died in that same room, they realize there must be a connection between the deaths and the unexplainable things that keep happening inside it. They just have to find the connection before Mira becomes the ninth.

Readers won't be able to put down this edge-of-your-seat thriller that includes over thirty interior black and white photos by the author!"

Because nothing adds to the creepy than being able to see the creepy.

Jackal, Jackal by Tobi Ogundiran
Published by: Undertow Publications
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 318 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Shirley Jackson award-nominated author Tobi Ogundiran, comes a highly anticipated debut collection of stories full of magic and wonder and breathtaking imagination!

In "The Lady of the Yellow-Painted Library" - featured in LeVar Burton Reads - a hapless salesman flees the otherworldly librarian hell-bent on retrieving her lost library book.

"The Tale of Jaja and Canti" sees Ogundiran riffing off of Pinocchio. But this wooden boy doesn't seek to become real. Wanting to be loved, he journeys the world in search of his mother-an ancient and powerful entity who is best not sought out.

"The Goatkeeper's Harvest" contains echoes of Lovecraft, where a young mother living on a farm finds that goats have broken into her barn and are devouring all her tubers. As she chases them off with a rake, a woman appears claiming the goats are her children, and that the young woman has killed one of them and must pay the price: a goat for a goat.

These and other tales of the dark and fantastic await."

If it's good enough for Levar it's good enough for me!

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the tradition of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box, Bruce Borgos's The Bitter Past begins a compelling series set in the high desert of Nevada featuring Sheriff Porter Beck...

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation.

In a case that unfolds in the past (the 1950s) and the present, it seems that a Russian spy infiltrated the nuclear testing site and now someone is looking for that long-ago, all-but forgotten person, who holds the key to what happened then and to the deadly goings on now."

There's something about nuclear testing sites that just exudes mystery and danger.

The Block Party by Jamie Day
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This summer, meet your neighbors.

The residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets and scandal utterly unknown to the outside world, and even to each other.

On the night of the annual Summer block party, there has been a murder.

But, who did it and why takes readers back one year earlier, as rivalries and betrayals unfold - discovering that the real danger lies within their own block and nothing - and no one - is ever as it seems."

Because neighbors are always up to something...

The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
Published by: Grove Press, Black Cat
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Lisa Halliday and Susan Choi, The Anniversary is a simmering page-turner about an ascendant writer, the unresolved death of her husband, and what it takes to emerge on her own. Novelist J.B. Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Her former professor, film director, and cult figure, Patrick is much older than J.B.. When they met, he seemed somehow ageless, as all gods appear in the eyes of those who worship them. But now his success is starting to wane and J.B. is on the cusp of winning a major literary prize. Her art has been forever overseen by him, now it may overshadow his. For days they sail in the sun, nothing but dark water all around them. Then a storm hits and Patrick falls from the ship. J.B. is left alone, as the search for what happened to Patrick - and the truth about their marriage - begins. Propulsive and fiercely intelligent, The Anniversary is exquisitely written with a swift and addictive plot. It's a novel that asks: how legible, in the mind of the writer, is the line between reality and plot? How do we refuse the people we desire? And what is the cost, to ourselves, to others and to our art, if we don't?"

And what really happens behind closed doors when a older professor marries his ingenue. 

The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy
Published by: MCD
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Girl One comes a spellbinding adventure about a strange power lurking in the Arkansas Ozarks, and the group of friends obsessed with finding it.

Five friends arrive back in Eternal Springs, the small town they all fled after high-school graduation. Each of them is drawn home by a cryptic, scrawled two-word letter: You promised.

It has been fifteen years since that life-changing summer, and they're anxious to find out why Brandi called them back, especially when they vowed never to return.

But Brandi is missing. She'd been acting erratically for months, in and out of rehab, railing at whoever might listen about magic all around them. About a power they can't see. And strange houses that appear only when you need them...

Told in two enthralling time lines, The Wonder State is a stunning, immersive follow-up to Girl One. Sara Flannery Murphy has created another dazzling, genre-blurring novel - an adventure story laced with nostalgia and magic, exploring belonging and the lasting power of community."

I've always been fascinated by the appearance of strange houses.

Sinners of Starlight City by Anika Scott
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the international bestseller The German Heiress, a gripping historical drama about a woman determined to avenge the crimes against her family, set at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

Vengeance is in the family, and the family is a bond like no other...

It's the worst year of the Great Depression, and America needs all the hope it can get. The Chicago World's Fair, a glittery city-within-a-city, becomes a symbol of the good that's yet to come. But every utopia has a seedy side - and that's Rosa Mancuso's world. As the mysterious Madame Mystique she mixes magic with a dose of bare skin burlesque, bringing customers to the home of the Fair's carnival rides and spectacles.

Rosa doesn't perform for fame, though. She has come from Mussolini's Italy to America, where she's plotting her revenge for the murders of her family. The perpetrator will soon arrive at the World's Fair via a celebrated Italian air fleet, and Rosa is determined to be prepared.

But when her estranged cousin, Mina, comes to her desperate for help, with a dangerous mobster close on her heels, Rosa agrees to protect Mina and her new baby, born across the color line. With the clock ticking, Rosa decides the only way to survive is to make vengeance a family affair and prompt everyone to, at last, confront the sins from their pasts.

A gripping story of retribution, belonging, and survival, Sinners of Starlight City boldly explores the complexity of identities straddling ethnic lines and asks, who gets to decide who we are and where we belong?"

I've always been obsessed with Chicago and the World's Fair. My grandfather actually went to it!

The Madwomen of Paris by Jennifer Cody Epstein
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two women fall under the influence of a powerful doctor in Paris's notorious women's asylum in this gripping historical novel inspired by true events, from the bestselling author of Wunderland.

When Josephine arrives at the Salpêtrière asylum, she is covered in blood, badly bruised, and suffering from amnesia. She is quickly diagnosed with what the Paris papers are calling "the epidemic of the age" hysteria, a disease is so baffling and widespread that Doctor Jean-Martin Charcot, the asylum's famous director, devotes many of his popular public lectures to the malady. Charcot often uses hypnosis to prompt his patients to reproduce their hysterical symptoms, and to his delight, Josephine proves extraordinarily susceptible to this unconscious manipulation. He is soon featuring the young woman on his stage, entrancing her into fantastical acts and hallucinatory fits before enraptured audiences and eager newsmen - many of whom feature her on their papers' front pages.

Laure, a ward attendant assigned to care for Charcot's new favorite, knows that Josephine's diagnosis is a godsend. Life in the Salpêtrière's Hysteria ward is far easier than in its dreaded Lunacy division, from which few inmates ever return. But as Josephine's fame grows, her memory starts to return - and with it, images of a terrible crime she's convinced she's committed. Haunted by these visions, and ensnared in Charcot's hypnotic web, she starts spiraling into seeming insanity. Desperate to save the girl she has grown to love, Laure begins to plot their escape from the Salpêtrière and its doctors. First, though, she must confirm whether Josephine is truly a madwoman, doomed to die in the asylum - or a murderer, destined for the guillotine.

Both are dark possibilities - but not nearly as dark as what Laure unearths when she sets out to discover the truth."

Male doctors historically misdiagnosing there female patients.

Awakenings by George Mann
Published by: Games Workshop
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sabbathiel returns! Now, facing mistrust wherever she turns, she must prove her worth once more.

Inquisitor Astor Sabbathiel has a problem: she's been dead for nearly a hundred years... or so everyone believes.

The last thing she remembers is being shot at point-blank range just as a roiling warp storm engulfed the Calaphrax Cluster. Now, she finds herself awakening on a distant Ecclesiarchy stronghold and indebted to a magos called Metik, who has brought her back from the brink of death.

Shortly after her resurrection, Sabbathiel is called to an audience on the planet Hulth by a high-ranking inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus, Heldren, who informs her that after being lost for so long, the members of her former conclave no longer trust her. Forced to undertake a mission to prove herself worthy and true, Sabbathiel soon discovers a secret agenda beginning to unfold - one that contains a burgeoning threat to the Imperium that only she can avert. Trying to assemble the fragments of the past to make sense of the mysteries of the present, Sabbathiel will need to act fast and decide who to trust quickly, or else risk the fate of the future."

A new George book!

Batman: One Bad Day: Catwoman by G. Willow Wilson and Jamie McKelvie
Published by: DC Comics
Publication Date: July 18th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 88 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Selina Kyle finds out an item from her past is being sold for way more than it used to be worth, it sends her into a spiral, and she'll do everything in her power to steal it back.

2023 Eisner Nominee - Best Limited Series

Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman, is the greatest thief that Gotham City has ever seen. She's effortlessly stolen countless items of immense value over the years and successfully evaded the GCPD and Batman. But when Catwoman finds out an item from her past is being sold for way more than it used to be worth, it sends Catwoman into a spiral, and she'll do everything in her power to steal it back. Batman tries to stop her before she goes too far, and a mysterious figure known as the Forger will change Catwoman's life forever. The all-star creative team of G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy, Ms. Marvel) and Jamie McKelvie (The Wicked and The Divine, Young Avengers) unite for this epic story!"

I am always here for Catwoman!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anika Scott, Bruce Borgos, Catwoman, George Mann, Jamie Day, Jennifer Cody Epstein, LeVar Burton, Meriam Metoui, Nazis, Sara Flannery Murphy, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Stephanie Bishop, Tobi Ogundiran, Warhammer

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past - and your family - can haunt you like nothing else.

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn't want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn't want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.

Most of all, she doesn't want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she'll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it'll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.

But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them...

Like his novels The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group, How to Sell a Haunted House is classic Hendrix: equal parts heartfelt and terrifying - a gripping new read from "the horror master" (USA Today)."

Oh, how I've been dying to read this book. Perhaps that's not the best thing to say about a book with a haunted house?

The Motion Picture Teller by Colin Cotterill
Published by: Soho Crime
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An enchanting new standalone novel from CWA Dagger winner Colin Cotterill, set in Bangkok: a mystery without a crime, where the line between fact and fiction blurs, and nothing is as simple as it appears.

Thailand, 1996: Supot, a postman with the Royal Thai Mail service, hates his job. The only bright spot in his life is watching classic movies with his best friend, Ali, the owner of a video store. These cinephiles adore the charisma of the old Western stars, particularly the actresses, and bemoan the state of modern Thai cinema - until a mysterious cassette, entitled Bangkok 2010, arrives at Ali's store.

Bangkok 2010 is a dystopian film set in a near-future Thailand - and Supot and Ali, immediately obsessed, agree it's the most brilliant Thai movie they've ever seen. But nobody else has ever heard of the movie, the director, the actors, or any of the crew. Who would make a movie like this and not release it, and why?

Feeling a powerful calling to solve the mystery of Bangkok 2010, Supot journeys deep into the Thai countryside and discovers that powerful people are dead set on keeping the film buried."

Mysterious films that only a few people know about? Yes, that is totally my jam, can't you here me hyperventilating over here?

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A novel of sensational literary and psychological suspense from the best-selling author of Less Than Zero and American Psycho that tracks a group of privileged high school friends in a vibrantly fictionalized 1980s Los Angeles as a serial killer strikes across the city.

Bret Easton Ellis's masterful new novel is a story about the end of innocence, and the perilous passage from adolescence into adulthood, set in a vibrantly fictionalized Los Angeles in 1981 as a serial killer begins targeting teenagers throughout the city.

Seventeen-year-old Bret is a senior at the exclusive Buckley prep school when a new student arrives with a mysterious past. Robert Mallory is bright, handsome, charismatic, and shielding a secret from Bret and his friends even as he becomes a part of their tightly knit circle. Bret's obsession with Mallory is equaled only by his increasingly unsettling preoccupation with the Trawler, a serial killer on the loose who seems to be drawing ever closer to Bret and his friends, taunting them - and Bret in particular - with grotesque threats and horrific, sharply local acts of violence. The coincidences are uncanny, but they are also filtered through the imagination of a teenager whose gifts for constructing narrative from the filaments of his own life are about to make him one of the most explosive literary sensations of his generation. Can he trust his friends - or his own mind - to make sense of the danger they appear to be in? Thwarted by the world and by his own innate desires, buffeted by unhealthy fixations, he spirals into paranoia and isolation as the relationship between the Trawler and Robert Mallory hurtles inexorably toward a collision.

Set against the intensely vivid and nostalgic backdrop of pre-Less Than Zero L.A., The Shards is a mesmerizing fusing of fact and fiction, the real and the imagined, that brilliantly explores the emotional fabric of Bret's life at seventeen - sex and jealousy, obsession and murderous rage. Gripping, sly, suspenseful, deeply haunting, and often darkly funny, The Shards is Ellis at his inimitable best."

A typical Bret Easton Ellis book, in that is loved and panned in equal measures.

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison. They were heroes...but they were liars.

Kate Alice Marshall's What Lies in the Woods is a thrilling novel about friendship, secrets, betrayal, and lies - and having the courage to face the past.

Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes.

And they were liars.

For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods - no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be."

I will read ANYTHING Kate Alice Marshall writes.

Jumping Jenny by Anthony Berkeley
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mystery dinner theater party thrown by local author with a taste "for rather gruesome humor" requires guests come dressed as infamous killers - Jack the Ripper, Dr. Crippen, and the like. Whatever could go wrong?

Know-it-all amateur criminologist Roger Sheringham settles in for an evening of beer, small talk, and analyzing his companions. Ena Stratton, the host's sister-in-law, catches his attention. Her erratic mood swings and loud, gossipy talk is winning her more than a few enemies amongst the guests. When she's found dead, it's clear that one of the partygoers helped her to an early grave.

Noticing a key detail that could implicate a friend in the crime, Sheringham decides to meddle with the scene and unwittingly makes himself a suspect.

Tightly paced and cleverly defying the conventions of the classic detective story, Anthony Berkeley's dark sense of humor and taste for the macabre drive this 1933 classic.

This edition includes an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger and Edgar ® Award-winning author Martin Edwards."

I read the first two Roger Sheringham mysteries years ago when I was on a Golden Age kick and I simply adored them. I love that Poisoned Pen Press is re-releasing these classics with lovely covers. I want them all!

The Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A stunning speculative novel about a small English village preparing of the end of the world.

Edgar Hopkins is a retired math teacher with a strong sense of self-importance, whose greatest pride is winning poultry-breeding contests. When not meticulously caring for his Bantam, Edgar is an active member of the British Lunar Society. Thanks to that affiliation, Edgar becomes one of the first people to learn that the moon is on a collision course with the earth.

Members of the society are sworn to secrecy, but eventually the moon begins to loom so large in the sky that the truth can no longer be denied. During these final days, Edgar writes what he calls "The Hopkins Manuscript" - a testimony juxtaposing the ordinary and extraordinary as the villagers dig trenches and play cricket before the end of days.

First published in 1939, as the world was teetering on the brink of global war, R.C. Sherriff's classic science fiction novel is a timely and powerful missive from the past that captures human nature in all its complexity."

So eerily timely and timeless!

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Preston and Child
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Preston and Child continue their #1 bestselling series featuring FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene, as they cross paths with New York's deadliest serial killer: Pendergast's own ancestor…and now his greatest foe.

AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

Astoundingly, Constance has found a way back to the place of her origins, New York City in the late 1800s, leaping at the chance, although it means leaving the present forever.

A DESPERATE OPPORTUNITY

Constance sets off on a quest to prevent the events that lead to the deaths of her sister and brother. But along the road to redemption, Manhattan's most infamous serial killer, Dr. Enoch Leng, lies in wait, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

UNIMAGINABLE ODDS

Meanwhile, in contemporary New York, Pendergast feverishly searches for a way to reunite with Constance - but will he discover a way back to her before it's too late?"

I love a good mystery and a good time slip!

Tales of Carnival Row by George Mann, C.M. Landus, Charles Valasquez-Witosky, and Jordan Criar
Published by: Legendary Comics
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 156 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Take a trip down The Row with the official expansion of the hit Amazon television series!

In the dark and magical world of Carnival Row, there are many stories to be told. Explore the Burgue, where war-weary humans and fae strike an uneasy peace and eke out a meager co-existence in Legendary Comics' new anthology graphic novel Tales from Carnival Row. Take a closer look at the myths and half-truths surrounding Philo, Vignette, Millworthy, Agreus, Tourmaline, and Aisling.

Writers George Mann (Wychwood, Newbury and Hobbes) and series writers C.M. Landrus, Charles Valasquez-Witosky, and Jordan Criar have crafted tales that will shed light on some of the most popular characters from the neo-noir Victorian fantasy television series."

I adore Carnival Row. I love George Mann more than I can say. This is a match made in heaven, or you know, the Burgue.

Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
Published by: Harper Perennial,
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Steeped in mystery and rich in imagination, an exhilarating historical novel set in Georgian London where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations, and romance.

London, 1799. Dora Blake, an aspiring jewelry artist, lives with her odious uncle atop her late parents' once-famed shop of antiquities. After a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, her uncle begins to act suspiciously, keeping the vase locked in the store's basement, away from prying eyes - including Dora's. Intrigued by her uncle's peculiar behavior, Dora turns to young, ambitious antiquarian scholar Edward Lawrence who eagerly agrees to help. Edward believes the ancient vase is the key that will unlock his academic future; Dora sees it as a chance to establish her own name.

But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth, she comes to understand that some doors are locked and some mysteries are buried for a reason, while others are closer to the surface than they appear.

A story of myth and mystery, secrets and deception, fate and hope, Pandora is an enchanting work of historical fiction as captivating and evocative as The Song of Achilles, The Essex Serpent, and The Miniaturist."

The time period, the concept, the the, EVERYTHING!

I'm No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts by Kristin Chenoweth
Published by: Harper Celebrate
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Aristotle. Socrates. Descartes. And now, Chenoweth. (How about some women, am I right?)

From television actress, Broadway star, and New York Times bestselling author Kristin Chenoweth comes I'm No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts, an inspiring high-design, colorful book featuring philosophical-ish musings on connection, creativity, loss, love, faith, and closure. Just like Kristin's grandmother inspired her to trust her heart and develop her own belief system, you'll be inspired to develop your own life philosophies, as you journey through some of Kristin's most vulnerable and humorous personal stories, in her constant pursuit to make the most out of life.

In each chapter, you'll find:

Behind-the-scenes stories from Kristin's personal life
High-design, colorful pages of inspirational quotes
Engaging prompts, prayers, and inspiring quotes

Oh, and a warning: There will be Bible verses. There will be f-bombs. Read responsibly.

I'm No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts is the perfect book to pick up on days when you need an extra shot of encouragement, a little laughter, and a gentle reminder that kindness can take you a long way. This is a great gift to give for birthdays, holidays, graduations, Mother's Day, or for fans of Kristin Chenoweth, known for her Emmy Award-winning role in the ABC hit series Pushing Daisies and Broadway's Wicked."

I adore the cover, Kristen Chenoweth is a true muse!

The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore's high society to fulfill her dreams risks losing everything in the process - including herself - in this propulsive novel by debut author Kyla Zhao.

For as long as she can remember, Samantha Song has dreamed of writing for a high-society magazine - and she'd do anything to get there. But the constant struggle to help her mom make ends meet and her low social status cause her dream to feel like a distant fantasy.

Now Samantha finds herself working at a drab PR firm. Living vicariously through her wealthy coworker and friend, Anya Chen, is the closest she'll get to her ideal life. Until she meets Timothy Kingston: the disillusioned son of one of Singapore's elite families - and Samantha's one chance at infiltrating the high-society world to which she desperately wants to belong.

To Samantha's surprise, Timothy and Anya both agree to help her make a name for herself on Singapore’s socialite scene. But the borrowed designer clothes and plus-ones to every glamorous event can only get her so far. The rest is on Samantha, and she's determined to impress the editor in chief of Singapore's poshest magazine. But the deeper Samantha wades into this fraud, the more she fears being exposed - especially with a mysterious gossip columnist on the prowl for dirt - forcing her to reconcile her pretense with who she really is before she loses it all."

Pretense and dreams.

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict comes an explosive novel of history's most notorious sisters, one of whom will have to choose: her country or her family?

Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters - each more beautiful, brilliant, and eccentric than the next - dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes. Though they've weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her wealthy husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister's lead all the way to Munich, inciting rumors that she's become Hitler's mistress.

As the Nazis rise in power, novelist Nancy Mitford grows suspicious of her sisters' constant visits to Germany and the high-ranking fascist company they keep. When she overhears alarming conversations and uncovers disquieting documents, Nancy must make excruciating choices as Great Britain goes to war with Germany.

Probing the torrid political climate in the lead-up to World War II and the ways that seemingly sensible people can be sucked into radical action, The Mitford Affair follows Nancy's valiant efforts to stop the Nazis from taking over Great Britain, and the complicated choices she must make between the personal and the political."

One of two Mitford books this week. You'd think they'd spread them out a bit... It's not like EVERYONE is writing about the Mitfords now is it?

The Mitford Secret by Jessica Fellowes
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 17th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mystery with the fascinating Mitford sisters at its heart, Jessica Fellowes's The Mitford Secret is the sixth and final intriguing installment in the Mitford Murders series.

It's 1941, and the Mitford household is splintered by the vicissitudes of war. To bring the clan together - maybe for one last time, Deborah invites them to Chatsworth for Christmas, along with a selection of society's most impressive and glamorous guests, as well as old family friend Louisa Cannon, a private detective.

One night, a psychic arrives, and to liven things up Deborah agrees she may host a séance. But entertainment turns to dark mystery as the psychic reveals that a maid was murdered in this very same house - and she can prove it.

Louisa steps forward to try to solve the cold case. But with a house full of people who want nothing more than to bury their secrets, will she be able to unmask the murderer? And how deep does the truth lie?"

And the series FINALLY ends.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anthony Berkeley, Bret Easton Ellis, Colin Cotterill, George Mann, Grady Hendrix, Jessica Fellowes, Kate Alice Marshall, Kristin Chenoweth, Kyla Zhao, Marie Benedict, R.C. Sherriff, Susan Stokes-Chapman

The Albion Initiative by George Mann
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"George Mann's Newbury and Hobbes steampunk series concludes as our special agent heroes discover a plot of empire-changing proportions in The Albion Initiative..."

But as George said recently on my blog, it's not REALLY the end! Because I couldn't handle that.

The Icarus Plot by Timothy Zahn
Published by: Baen
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New science fiction series from the creator of The Cobra Series and Star Wars' Admiral Thrawn. 

There wasn’t much money to be made as a Trailblazer, searching out new worlds for possible development. Still, it was safer than the bounty hunter career that had cost Gregory Roarke his left arm six years ago. And thanks to his Kadolian partner Selene’s ultrasensitive sense of smell, they occasionally discovered a medically promising seed or spore they could sell under the table. It was a quiet life, uneventful and mostly legal.

Until Roarke was approached by two men with a proposal: track down a mysterious woman named Tera and, through her, locate a secret project called Icarus.

The challenge was intriguing. The unlimited budget was tempting. But Roarke had a more personal reason to accept the job.

The chance for long-delayed payback."

Timothy Zahn made me the reader I am today, so I definitely read everything he writes!

Augusta Hawke by G. M. Malliet
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sometimes it's safer not to know your neighbors' secrets.

Where are Niko and Zora Norman? Crime writer Augusta Hawke puts her sleuthing skills to the test to solve the mystery of her disappearing neighbors in the first entry in a new series.

While Augusta Hawke is a successful author of eighteen crime novels, since her husband's death she's been living vicariously through her Jules Maigret-like detective Claude and his assistant Caroline. Then a handsome police detective appears investigating a real-life mystery.

Where are her neighbors, the Normans? No one has a clue what's happened - except Augusta. Although she isn't nosy, spending all day staring out the windows for inspiration means she does notice things. Like the Normans arguing. And that they've been missing a week.

Once the Normans' car is found abandoned, Augusta senses material for a bestseller and calls on the investigatory skills she's developed as a crime writer. But she soon uncovers long-hidden secrets and finds herself facing real-life dangers her characters never faced...ones she can't write her way out of."

Shades of Jessica Fletcher eat your heart out!

Cold, Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling thriller writer Kathy Reichs returns with her twenty-first novel of suspense featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan who, after receiving a box containing a human eyeball, uncovers a series of gruesome killings eerily reenacting the most shocking of her prior cases.

Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball.

GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens.

There seems to be no pattern to the subsequent killings uncovered, except that each mimics in some way a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyze. Who or what is targeting her, and why?

Helping Tempe search for answers is detective Erskine "Skinny" Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit - and still displaying his gallows humor. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe's Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective.

Could this elaborately staged skein of mayhem be the prelude to a twist that is even more shocking? Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on…and then her daughter disappears.

At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge - one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present."

Because who doesn't want more Bones?

The Ruins by Phoebe Wynne
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Phoebe Wynne's The Ruins is a suspenseful, femimist Gothic coming-of-age tale with shades of Patricia Highsmith and Atonement, pitched against the sun-soaked backdrop of the French Riviera.

The most dazzling summer casts the darkest shadows.

Welcome to the Chateau des Sètes, a jewel of the Cote d'Azur, where long summer days bring ease, glamour, and decadence to the holidaymakers who can afford it.

Ruby Ashby adores her parents' house in France, but this August, everything feels different. Unexpected guests have descended upon the chateau - friends of her parents, and their daughters - and they are keen to enjoy the hot, extravagant summer holiday to its fullest potential. Far from England, safe in their wealth and privilege, the adults revel in bad behavior without consequence, while the girls are treated as playthings or abandoned to their own devices. But despite languid days spent poolside and long nights spent drinking, a simmering tension is growing between the families, and the sanctuary that Ruby cherishes soon starts to feel like a gilded cage.

Over two decades later the chateau is for sale, its days of splendor and luxury long gone, leaving behind a terrible history and an ugly legacy. A young widow has returned to France, wanting to purchase the chateau, despite her shocking memories of what transpired that fateful summer. But there is another person who is equally haunted by the chateau, and who also seeks to reclaim it. Who will set the chateau free - and who will become yet another of its victims?

With riveting psychological complexity, The Ruins captures the tangled legacy of abuse, the glittering allure of the Mediterranean - and the dark shadows that wait beneath the surface of both."

I was sold at Gothic and Patricia Highsmith, but the hints of Riviera add just the something extra.

Death by Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two cousins who start a food stall at their local night market get a serving of murder in this first novel of a delicious new cozy mystery series by Jennifer J. Chow, author of Mimi Lee Gets a Clue.

When Yale Yee discovers her cousin Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, she is obliged to play tour guide to a relative she hasn't seen in twenty years. Not only that, but her father thinks it's a wonderful idea for them to bond by running a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night Market. Yale hasn't cooked in years, and she hardly considers Celine's career as a social media influencer as adequate experience, but because she’s just lost her job at her local bookstore, she feels she has no choice.

Yale and Celine serve small dishes and refreshing drinks, and while business is slow, it eventually picks up thanks to Celine's surprisingly useful marketing ideas. They're quite shocked that their bubble tea, in particular, is a hit - literally - when one of their customers turns up dead. Yale and Celine are prime suspects due to the gold flakes that Celine added to the sweet drink as a garnish. Though the two cousins are polar opposites in every way, they must work together to find out what really happened to the victim or the only thing they'll be serving is time."

I'm obsessed with anything bubble tea related. So THIS is in my wheelhouse. Though I am pretty sure most gold flakes aren't edible.... And that knowledge is thanks to Dynasty.

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The glittering RMS Queen Mary. A nightclub singer on the run. An aristocratic family with secrets worth killing for.

London, 1936. Lena Aldridge wonders if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn't worked out. Instead, she's stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho, and her married lover has just left her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage.

She's feeling utterly hopeless until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn't be better, and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. But death follows her onboard when an obscenely wealthy family draws her into their fold just as one among them is killed in a chillingly familiar way. As Lena navigates the Abernathy's increasingly bizarre family dynamic, she realizes that her greatest performance won't be for an audience, but for her life.

With seductive glamor, simmering family drama, and dizzying twists, Louise Hare makes her beguiling US debut."

Strip it down and it's a locked room mystery, ON A BOAT! YAS!

A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sumptuous novel based on the fascinating true story of La Belle Époque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, who shattered the boundaries of fashion with her magnificently sensual and enchantingly unique designs.

Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her?

When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. As a little girl, the dresses she made for her dolls were the envy of her group of playmates. Now, she uses her creative designs and her remarkable eye for color to take her place in the fashion world—failure is not an option.

Then, on a frigid night in 1912, Lucy’s life changes once more, when she becomes one of 706 people to survive the sinking of the Titanic. She could never have imagined the effects the disaster would have on her fashion label Lucile, her marriage to her second husband, and her legacy. But no matter what life throws at her, Lucy will live on as a trailblazing and innovative fashion icon, never letting go of what she worked so hard to earn. This is her story."

The interesting intersection of a Belle Époque icon AND the Titanic!

Twice Upon a Time: Selected Stories, 1898-1939 by L.M. Montgomery
Published by: University of Toronto Press
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Although L.M. Montgomery (1874-1942) is best remembered for the twenty-two book-length works of fiction that she published in her lifetime, from Anne of Green Gables (1908) to Anne of Ingleside (1939), she also contributed some five hundred short stories and serials to a wide range of North American and British periodicals from 1895 to 1940. While most of these stories demonstrate her ability to produce material that would fit the mainstream periodical fiction market as it evolved across almost half a century, many of them also contain early incarnations of characters, storylines, conversations, and settings that she would rework for inclusion in her novels and collections of linked short stories.

In Twice Upon a Time, the third volume in The L.M. Montgomery Library, Benjamin Lefebvre collects and discusses over two dozen stories from across Montgomery's career as a short fiction writer, many of them available in book form for the first time. The volume offers a rare glimpse into Montgomery's creative process in adapting her periodical work for her books, which continue to fascinate readers all over the world."

I mean, I HAVE to feature this book because of the editor right? Not just for L.M....

Joan by Katherine J. Chen
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: July 5th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Girl. Warrior. Heretic. Saint? From the acclaimed author of Mary B comes a stunning, secular reimagining of the epic life of Joan of Arc.

1412. France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. From this chaos emerges a teenage girl who will turn the tide of battle and lead the French to victory, becoming an unlikely hero whose name will echo across the centuries.

In Katherine J. Chen's hands, the myth and legend of Joan of Arc is transformed into a flesh-and-blood young woman: reckless, steel-willed, and brilliant. This meticulously researched novel is a sweeping narrative of her life, from a childhood steeped in both joy and violence, to her meteoric rise to fame at the head of the French army, where she navigates the perils of the battlefield and the equally treacherous politics of the royal court. Many are threatened by a woman who leads, and Joan draws wrath and suspicion from all corners, while her first taste of fame and glory leaves her vulnerable to her own powerful ambition.

With unforgettably vivid characters, transporting settings, and action-packed storytelling, Joan is a thrilling epic, a triumph of historical fiction, as well as a feminist celebration of one remarkable - and remarkably real - woman who left an indelible mark on history."

Always here for all things Joan.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Bubble Tea, G.M. Malliet, George Mann, Gothic, Jennifer J. Chow, Katherine J. Chen, Kathy Reichs, L.M. Montgomery, Louise Hare, Newbury and Hobbes, Phoebe Wynne, Tessa Arlen, The Albion Initiative, Timothy Zahn