strange and random happenstance

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There's power in a book...

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they're sent to Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There's Rose, a hippie who insists she's going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby's father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they're allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what's best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it's never given freely. There's always a price to be paid...and it's usually paid in blood."

Hopefully the blood of their oppressors! 

Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A taut, powerful psychological thriller following a mother who must confront a sudden and terrifying change in her daughter after the abrupt death of their babysitter.

Charlotte's daughter Stella is sensitive and brilliant, perhaps even a genius, but a recent change in her behavior has alarmed her mother. Following the sudden death of Stella's babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. But what's unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka's personality, from Blanka's repetitive phrases to her accent, to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.

Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, and depleted and sick with the pregnancy. She is convinced that Blanka herself is somehow responsible for Stella's transformation. But how could Blanka, dead, still be entwined in their lives? Has Blanka somehow possessed Stella? Has Stella become Blanka? As Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed, she is sure that only she can save her daughter...even though it's soon clear that her husband believes this is all in Charlotte's head.

Helena Echlin's singular, chilling voice holds light to the blurred lines of diagnosis in children and to the vital power of maternal instinct. Kaleidoscopic and tense, pulse-pounding and genuinely creepy, and infused with shades of the supernatural, Clever Little Thing is an ode to motherhood and a nuanced critique of the caretaking industry, a page-turner that will haunt readers long after its epic, surprising finale."

Seriously, when a kid's behavior changes, be suspicious. Be very suspicious. 

Honeysuckle and Bone by Trisha Tobias
Published by: Zando - Sweet July Books
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"On the run from her own dark secrets, a teen girl becomes the nanny for a prestigious family on their Jamaican estate, where she quickly discovers even paradise may be haunted.

Carina Marshall is looking to reinvent herself, and what better place to do it than Jamaica, her mother's alluring homeland where she conveniently has access to an au pair gig for the wealthy and powerful Hall family. After months of being the target of vicious rumors and hate online, Carina might have found everything she wants at the luxurious Blackbead House: a world of mango trees, tropical breezes, and glamorous parties - and a place to disappear.

Once there, Carina finds herself settling right into her busy, but comfortable, new life. Yes, the family runs a tight ship, and yes, there is some tension between the Halls, but Carina is content flying under the radar and hanging out with her new friends - not least, the handsome and charming Aaron. But when inexplicable things start happening to her in the house, only getting worse each night, Carina realizes that someone, or something, is out to get her. Is it the Halls? The house itself? Or is her own past catching up with her? With Aaron's help, she must figure out what is haunting her, and fast, before she's forced out of Blackbead House for good.

Honeysuckle and Bone is a deliciously atmospheric and utterly spooky young adult novel following an imperfect yet courageous teen as she seeks to remake herself in the homeland she always idealized, discovering that new beginnings don't always come easy."

A Wide Sargasso Sea vibe that's even more Gothic.

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this exhilarating tale by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, a disabled Nigerian American woman pens a wildly successful Sci-Fi novel, but as her fame rises, she loses control of the narrative - a surprisingly cutting, yet heartfelt drama about art and love, identity and connection, and, ultimately, what makes us human. This is a story unlike anything you've read before.

The future of storytelling is here.

Disabled, disinclined to marry, and more interested in writing than a lucrative career in medicine or law, Zelu has always felt like the outcast of her large Nigerian family. Then her life is upended when, in the middle of her sister's lavish Caribbean wedding, she's unceremoniously fired from her university job and, to add insult to injury, her novel is rejected by yet another publisher. With her career and dreams crushed in one fell swoop, she decides to write something just for herself. What comes out is nothing like the quiet, literary novels that have so far peppered her unremarkable career. It's a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the grown-over ruins of human civilization. She calls it Rusted Robots.

When Zelu finds the courage to share her strange novel, she does not realize she is about to embark on a life-altering journey - one that will catapult her into literary stardom, but also perhaps obliterate everything her book was meant to be. From Chicago to Lagos to the far reaches of space, Zelu's novel will change the future not only for humanity, but for the robots who come next.

A book-within-a-book that blends the line between writing and being written, Death of the Author is a masterpiece of metafiction that manages to combine the razor-sharp commentary of Yellowface with the heartfelt humanity of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Surprisingly funny, deeply poignant, and endlessly discussable, this is at once the tale of a woman on the margins risking everything to be heard and a testament to the power of storytelling to shape the world as we know it."

And how once out in the world, an author's words are no longer theirs to control.

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike and enchanting fantasy novel.

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones - those who are lost - will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop's new owner to find it ransacked, the shop's most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana's father and the stolen choice - by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds. But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own - and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back."

Why can't I ever inherit a mystical shop or for that matter just stumble upon one...

The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds by Jennifer Moorman
Published by: Harper Muse
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Can one thoughtless wish erase a life?

Widowed at thirty-five, Josephine Reynolds wishes she could disappear, but her concerned sister convinces her to buy their ancestral home, a Craftsman bungalow in disrepair and foreclosure. It's a welcome distraction, and Josephine can't believe her luck when she finds the home's original door in a salvage yard.

When she installs the door and steps through it, Josephine is transported into 1927, where she meets her great-grandmother Alma, a vivacious and daring woman running an illegal speakeasy in the bungalow's basement. Immersed in the vibrant Jazz Age, Josephine forms a profound bond with Alma, only to discover upon her return to the present that history has been altered. Alma's life was tragically cut short in a speakeasy raid just a week after their fateful meeting.

Josephine has a chilling revelation - her own existence is unraveling/vanishing - and she must race against time to rewrite history. Josephine is desperate to not only save Alma but save her own future in a time-bending journey where past and present intertwine in a desperate battle for survival."

Always be careful to not Marty McFly yourself!

The Lost House by Melissa Larsen
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Melissa Larsen's The Lost House comes the mesmerizing story of a young woman with a haunting past who returns to her ancestral home in Iceland to investigate a gruesome murder in her family.

Forty years ago, a young woman and her infant daughter were found buried in the cold Icelandic snow, lying together as peacefully as though sleeping. Except the mother's throat had been slashed and the infant drowned. The case was never solved. There were no arrests, no conviction. Just a suspicion turned into a certainty: the husband did it. When he took his son and fled halfway across the world to California, it was proof enough of his guilt.

Now, nearly half a century later and a year after his death, his granddaughter, Agnes, is ready to clear her grandfather's name once and for all. Still recovering from his death and a devastating injury, Agnes wants nothing more than an excuse to escape the shambles of her once-stable life - which is why she so readily accepts true crime expert Nora Carver's invitation to be interviewed for her popular podcast. Agnes packs a bag and hops on a last-minute flight to the remote town of Bifröst, Iceland, where Nora is staying, where Agnes's father grew up, and where, supposedly, her grandfather slaughtered his wife and infant daughter.

Is it merely coincidence that a local girl goes missing the very same weekend Agnes arrives? Suddenly, Agnes and Nora's investigation is turned upside down, and everyone in the small Icelandic town is once again a suspect. Seeking to unearth old and new truths alike, Agnes finds herself drawn into a web of secrets that threaten the redemption she is hell-bent on delivering, and even her life - discovering how far a person will go to protect their family, their safety, and their secrets.

Set against an unforgiving Icelandic winter landscape, The Lost House is a chilling and razor-sharp mystery packed with jaw-dropping twists that will leave you breathless."

A true crime podcast, a family mystery, and Iceland? Sold!

The Last Room on the Left by Leah Konen
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Kerry's life is in shambles: Her husband has left her, her drinking habit has officially become a problem, and though the deadline for her big book deal - the one that was supposed to change everything - is looming, she can't write a word. When she sees an ad for a caretaker position at a revitalized roadside motel in the Catskills, she jumps at the chance. It's the perfect getaway to finish her book and start fresh.

But as she hunkers down in a blizzard, she spots something through the window: a pale arm peeking out from a heap of snow. Trapped in the mountains and alone with a dead, frozen body, Kerry must keep her head and make it out before the killer comes for her too. But is the deadly game of cat-and-mouse all in her mind? The body count begs to differ..."

I mean, everyone wants a nice read alike to The Shining right? It can't JUST be me.

Vantage Point by Sara Sligar
Published by: MCD
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Succession meets Megan Abbott in this seductive, technological suspense about the dramatic downfall of one of America's most affluent families.

The old-money Wieland family has it all - wealth, status, power. They're also famously cursed.

Clara and her brother, Teddy, grew up on a small island in Maine in the shadow of their parents' tragic deaths, haunted by rumors and paparazzi. Fourteen years later, they've mostly put their turbulent past to rest. Teddy has married Clara's best friend, Jess, and the three of them have moved back home to take over the sprawling, remote family mansion known as Vantage Point.

Then Teddy decides to run for the Senate - an unnerving prospect made much worse when intimate videos of Clara are leaked online. The most frightening part is that she doesn't remember filming any of them. Are the videos real? Or are they deepfakes? Is someone trying to take down the Wielands once and for all?

Everyone thinks Clara is losing her grasp on reality. But she knows the truth: the videos are only the beginning. Years ago, the curse destroyed her parents. Now, it's coming for her.

Sara Sligar, the critically acclaimed author of Take Me Apart, returns with a shocking family drama full of suspense. Brimming with palpable tension, Vantage Point carefully unravels a twisted web of family secrets and political ambition that raises questions about the nature of "truth" in our digital age."

First mistake, trying to run for office. That right there will activate a curse every time.

The New Rector by Rebecca Shaw
Published by: George Weidenfeld and Nicholson
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Peter Harris arrives in Turnham Malpas as the new rector, he finds the village people welcoming but set in their ways. Yet despite his own weaknesses, and a deeply felt sadness his wife keeps hidden, he comforts and advises his new parishioners, growing more and more involved with the rural way of life.

Then the whole village is rocked by spiteful trick that goes terribly wrong, and a gruesome murder that points to a killer in its midst. Now, more than ever, Peter's pastoral role is crucial - and yet he is wrestling with his own private hell that may still wreck his own life."

Is his own private hell the secret that he's a killer? Because that could be a fun twist...

Frankie by Graham Norton
Published by: Harpervia
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the internationally bestselling author and host of The Graham Norton Show, a dazzling and decades-sweeping story about love, bravery, and what it means to live a significant life.

Always on the periphery, looking on, young Frankie Howe was never quite sure enough of herself to take center stage - after all, life had already judged her harshly. Now old, Frankie finds it easier to forget the life that came before.

Then Damian, a young Irish caretaker, arrives at her London flat, there to keep an eye on her as she recovers from a fall. A memory is sparked, and the past crackles into life as Damian listens to the story Frankie has kept stored away all these years.

Traveling from post-war Ireland to 1960s New York - a city full of art, larger-than-life characters and turmoil - Frankie shares a world in which friendship and chance encounters collide. A place where, for a while, life blazes with an intensity that can't last but will perhaps live on in other ways and in other people."

As someone in entertainment I find it odd that Graham named his character Frankie Howe which is so close to Frankie Howerd... 

Unromance by Erin Connor
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A recently dumped TV heartthrob enlists a jaded romance novelist to ruin romance for him - one rom-com trope at a time - so he never gets swept off his feet again...

Sawyer Greene knows romance. She's a bestselling author of the genre - or she was, until her ex left her with nothing but writer's block and a broken heart. But when she gets stuck in the elevator with a handsome stranger, she sees their meet cute for what it is: just a one-night stand. It might have worked, too, if they could stop running into each other.

Actor Mason West sees Sawyer's reappearance in his life as a sign. Obviously, they're meant to cure each other. Him of the hopeless romanticism that only ends in heartbreak - and tabloid trainwrecks - and Sawyer of her writer's block. Their agreement is simple: 1. No (more) sex, and 2. No matter how swoony the circumstances, absolutely no falling in love.

It's a foolproof plan - until Sawyer and Mason find that, once set in motion, some plots can't be stopped - and that they might be hurtling towards a happy ending..."

I mean, how can you NOT fall for all the rom-com tropes? They're tropes for a reason.

1986: Stories by Will Stepp
Published by: Bookbaby
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 164 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ten interconnected stories about a boy growing up in a small town in Georgia, set against the backdrop of the 1980s. From a secret pond nestled in the woods to the fog-shrouded rooftop of an interstate truck stop, to the shadowy corridors of a YMCA basement, familiar landscapes transform into realms of childhood wonder and discovery. Together, these dreamlike and often surreal tales weave a nostalgic meditation on family, home, memory, and time."

You can't get more 80s than a YMCA basement. 

Everything Is Poison by Joy McCullough
Published by: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Blood Water Paint-style historical YA in prose and verse from New York Times bestselling author Joy McCullough.

Early Seventeenth-Century Rome.

For as long as she can remember, Carmela Tofana has desperately wanted one thing: to be a part of La Tofana's, her mother's apothecary in Campo Marzio, Rome. When she finally turns sixteen, she's allowed into the inner sanctum: the workroom where her mother and two assistants craft renowned remedies for their customers. But for every sweet-smelling flower extract in the workroom, there's another potion requiring darker ingredients. And then there's Aqua Tofana, the apothecary's remedy of last resort. In all Carmela's years of wishing to follow in her mother's footsteps, she never realized one tiny vial could be the death of them all.

Everything Is Poison is a story of a deadly secret hiding in plain sight and of the women who risk everything to provide care for those with nowhere else to turn."

Oh, feminist and deadly!

Queen of Diamonds by Beezy Marsh
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Peaky Blinders - but with women! In the thrilling final installment of Beezy Marsh's riveting crime trilogy about a real-life London gang that began with Queen of Thieves, we go back to crime queen Alice Diamond's bold beginnings in 1920s Soho.

London, 1922. Orphan girl Alice dreams of more than toiling long hours in Pink's jam factory. Inspired by stories about the legendary Queen of Thieves, Mary Carr, who terrorized the streets of Victorian London, Alice decides to set up her own gang: the Forty Thieves. She has an accomplice too: sly seamstress Kate Felix from Whitechapel persuades Alice they'd make the perfect team. Before long, the pair are making headlines in the glitzy world of 1920s Soho, known for their daring heists and for the row of heavy diamond rings that Alice uses like brass knuckles in her frequent brawls.

What Alice soon discovers is that a life of crime makes her powerful enemies, including some who are closer to home than they'd like. Alice must sacrifice more than she ever imagined - but the toughest and most beautiful diamonds are formed under pressure.

From squalid slums and the grim confines of Holloway Prison to the glittering nightclubs of London in the roaring twenties, Queen of Diamonds is a fast-paced, gritty story of love, loss, and loyalty to the gang. Women's fiction with brass knuckles on!"

You know how a few years back now Ada Lovelace was everywhere? Well, replace Ada with Alice Diamond. She's the star of the moment.

A Treasury of XXth Century Murder Compendium II by Rick Geary
Published by: Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"400 pages of real murder cases from the 20th century! From the famous Sacco and Vanzetti story through the ever-intriguing renowned Black Dahlia murder of a striking aspiring actress in Los Angeles, the mysterious murder of silent movie director William Desmond Taylor in early Hollywood to that of a preacher and his lover found murdered in a park, here is a collection of scandalous murders which were never solved or marked the century. Meticulously researched, they are presented in Geary's inimitable tongue-in-cheek style."

As someone who's read everything that Rick Geary has written in the true crime genre I have to say this reissued collection contains easily his best work. Especially Lovers' Lane!

Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - The Art of the Series by Jess Harrold
Published by: Marvel Universe
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jennifer Walters is a talented, ambitious lawyer trying to balance her work life and personal life just like anyone else...except hers is complicated by Hulk-like super-powers that she never asked for, gained from her cousin Bruce Banner! Now six feet tall, super-strong and emerald green, Jen has just landed her dream job at a prestigious law firm...but her first big case is representing Emil Blonsky, better known as Bruce's archnemesis the Abomination! Continuing their popular Art Of series of tie-in books, Marvel Studios presents another blockbuster achievement! Featuring exclusive concept artwork and in-depth interviews with the creative team, this deluxe volume provides insider details about the making of the highly anticipated series!"

And maybe we'll get a second season? Pretty please!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Erin Connor, Grady Hendrix, Graham Norton, Helena Echlin, Jennifer Moorman, Leah Konen, Melissa Larsen, Nnedi Okorafor, Rebecca Shaw, Rick Geary, Sara Sligar, She-Hulk, Trisha Tobias, Will Stepp

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Where Sleeping Girls Lie - a YA contemporary mystery by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, the New York Times-bestselling author of Ace of Spades - a girl new to boarding school discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.

It's like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again...

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school after being home-schooled all her life. Misfortune has been a constant companion all her life, but even Sade doesn't expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade's first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.

With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls collectively known as the 'Unholy Trinity' and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them - especially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to - and playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But when it seems people don't care enough about what happened to Elizabeth to really investigate, it's up to she and Elizabeth's best friend to solve it.

And then a student is found dead.

As they keep trying to figure out what's going on, Sade realizes there's more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface...secrets that rival even her own."

Technically not dark academia, but technically yes...

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From 2023 Edgar Award nominee and bestselling author Sulari Gentill comes a literary thriller about an aspiring writer who meets and falls in love with her literary idol - only to find him murdered the day after she gave him her manuscript to read.

There's nothing easier to dismiss than a conspiracy theory - until it turns out to be true.

When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother's doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer?

What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served. Then the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die."

The dark world of the literati! 

The Stranger at Black Lake by Christina McDonald
Published by: Intrigue Ink Publishing
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 125 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Secrets, murder and revenge converge in this gripping prequel to Amazon charts bestselling thriller, These Still Black Waters, about a young Jess Lambert drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Because old ghosts often have old scores to settle.

Jess Lambert and her husband, Mac, have just moved to Black Lake, looking for a quieter, more peaceful life. Until one morning Jess befriends a stranger - beautiful and glamorous Annie Parker - who's also just moved to town.

Only a few hours later, Jess finds Annie wandering naked and in shock along the lake. And at Annie's house she encounters a gruesome scene that shows a violent attack. But then Annie disappears.

As Jess is pulled deeper into the mystery of what happened to Annie, she learns about the house's chilling past. And she begins to wonder: who was Annie really? Is she a witness, murderer, victim?

But it's dangerous hunting down old ghosts. And Jess becomes increasingly unsure if she's the hunter, or the prey. Who is the stranger at Black Lake?"

Can't wait to read, but I think the cover needs a redo. Hint, don't use the same stock photography associated with another book. It's How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix if you were wondering.

A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In heroine Tempest Raj, modern-day queen of the locked room mystery Gigi Pandian has created a brilliant homage to the greats of classic detective fiction.

Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her "accident" on the home renovation company's craftsmanship. Now the family business - known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls - is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest from the truth: they're being framed.

When Tempest receives an urgent midnight phone call from Julian, she decides to meet him at the historic Whispering Creek Theater - only to find his dead body, a sword through his chest. After a blade appears from thin air to claim another victim, Tempest is certain they're dealing with a booby trap... something Secret Staircase Construction could easily build. Tempest refuses to wait for the investigation to turn to her or her loved ones. She knows the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of her, she just has to put them together correctly before more disaster strikes.

Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian and her sleuth Tempest Raj return in A Midnight Puzzle, where an old theater reveals a deadly booby trap, secrets, and one puzzle of a mystery."

THIS is the series that true mystery aficionados love.

Murder in Moscow by Kelly Oliver
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 243 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Journey into the heart of 20th Century Russia in this fun and funny historical mystery, perfect for fans of Verity Bright and Helena Dixon.

1918 Moscow

Will following her heart mean losing her head? It could mean losing her job.

Fiona Figg trails her nemesis Fredrick Fredricks to Moscow. But when she arrives at the grand Metropol Hotel, the bounder has vanished.

After Fiona doesn't show up for work at the War Office, Kitty Lane raises a red flag and tracks her to Russia. Seeking haven at the British Embassy, Kitty and Fiona become embroiled in a plot to overthrow the Bolshevik government.

But the plot turns deadly when Fiona goes undercover as a governess in the household of Iron Viktor, the Bolsheviks' Head of Secret Police. And when Viktor turns up dead in his study, Fiona finds herself wanted for murder and on the lam.

Can Fiona and Kitty find the real killer and escape the Kremlin before it's too late? Or will this dangerous game of Russian roulette be their last?"

Don't mess with the Secret Police!

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Woods All Black is equal parts historical horror, trans romance, and blood-soaked revenge, all set in 1920s Appalachia.

Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service, under its usual mandate: vaccinate the flock, birth babies, and weather the judgements of churchy locals who look at him and see a failed woman. Forged in the fires of the Western Front and reborn in the cafes of Paris, Leslie believes he can handle whatever is thrown at him - but Spar Creek holds a darkness beyond his nightmares.

Something ugly festers within the local congregation, and its malice has focused on a young person they insist is an unruly tomboy who must be brought to heel. Violence is bubbling when Leslie arrives, ready to spill over, and he'll have to act fast if he intends to be of use. But the hills enfolding Spar Creek have a mind of their own, and the woods are haunted in ways Leslie does not understand.

The Woods All Black is a story of passion, prejudice, and power - an Appalachian period piece that explores reproductive justice and bodily autonomy, the terrors of small-town religiosity, and the necessity of fighting tooth and claw to live as who you truly are."

Our battles have been fought before and will be fought again.

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Young, brazen, beautiful, and unapologetically brilliant, Margaret Fuller accepts an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the celebrated Sage of Concord, to meet his coterie of enlightened friends. There she becomes "the radiant genius and fiery heart" of the Transcendentalists, a role model to a young Louisa May Alcott, an inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne and the scandalous Scarlet Letter, a friend to Henry David Thoreau as he ventures out to Walden Pond...and a muse to Emerson. But Margaret craves more than poetry and interpersonal drama, and her restless soul needs new challenges and adventures.

And so she charts a singular course against a backdrop of dizzying historical drama: From Boston, where she hosts a salon for students like Elizabeth Cady Stanton; to the editorial meetings of The Dial magazine, where she hones her pen as its co-founder; to Harvard's library, where she is the first woman permitted entry; to the gritty New York streets where she spars with Edgar Allan Poe and reports on Frederick Douglass. Margaret defies conventions time and again as an activist for women and an advocate for humanity, earning admirers and critics alike.

When the legendary editor Horace Greeley offers her an assignment in Europe, Margaret again makes history as the first female foreign news correspondent, mingling with luminaries like Frédéric Chopin, William Wordsworth, George Sand and more. But it is in Rome that she finds a world of passion, romance, and revolution, taking a Roman count as a lover - and sparking an international scandal. Evolving yet again into the roles of mother and countess, Margaret enters the fight for Italy's unification.

With a star-studded cast and sweeping, epic historical events, this is a story of an inspiring trailblazer, a woman who loved big and lived even bigger - a fierce adventurer who transcended the rigid roles ascribed to women and changed history, all on her own terms."

The day I spent in Concord was magical. I want to go back. Luckily I can go back there and back in time with this book.

Barbie: The World Tour by Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal
Published by: Rizzoli International Publications
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For the press tour following the record-breaking release of Greta Gerwig's award-winning, acclaimed Barbie movie, producer and star Margot Robbie and her stylist Andrew Mukamal immersed themselves in some of Barbie's most iconic outfits and curated vintage pieces, then approached designers, from Giorgio Armani to Donatella Versace, to create looks inspired by the doll-size originals. Many of these looks were not seen as the official Barbie press tour was cut short - so Margot and Andrew worked with renowned fashion photographer Craig McDean to shoot her in the looks exactly as they were curated: Schiaparelli in Los Angeles, Vivienne Westwood in London, vintage Chanel with matching Streamline luggage at the airport, and beyond.

Accompanying McDean's sumptuous photography are original Barbie dolls from the period, a treasure trove of rare materials from Mattel's Barbie fashion archives, and the designers' sketches and Polaroids from fittings, layered into evocative collage by art director Fabien Baron. With text by Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal, as well as handwritten contributions from the designers behind the looks (from Olivier Rousteing and Michelle Ochs to Manolo Blahnik and Jeremy Scott), this unique book blends the serious chic of high fashion with the serious fun of Barbie world - the dolls, the history, and the style that have captured imaginations for 65 years."

Just Margot Robbie's dedication is so inspiring.

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A compulsively readable queer sci-fi novel about a marriage of convenience between a Mars politician and an Earth refugee.

In the wake of an environmental catastrophe, January, once a principal in London's Royal Ballet, has become a refugee in Tharsis, the terraformed colony on Mars. There, January's life is dictated by his status as an Earthstronger-a person whose body is not adjusted to lower gravity and so poses a danger to those born on, or naturalized to, Mars. January's job choices, housing, and even transportation are dictated by this second-class status, and now a xenophobic politician named Aubrey Gale is running on a platform that would make it all worse: Gale wants all Earthstrongers to naturalize, a process that is always disabling and sometimes deadly.

When Gale chooses January for an on-the-spot press junket interview that goes horribly awry, January's life is thrown into chaos, but Gale's political fortunes are damaged, too. Gale proposes a solution to both their problems: a five year made-for-the-press marriage that would secure January's future without naturalization and ensure Gale's political success. But when January accepts the offer, he discovers that Gale is not at all like they appear in the press. They're kind, compassionate, and much more difficult to hate than January would prefer. As their romantic relationship develops, the political situation worsens, and January discovers Gale has an enemy, someone willing to destroy all of Tharsis to make them pay-and January may be the only person standing in the way.

Un-put-downably immersive and utterly timely, Natasha Pulley's new novel is a gripping story about privilege, strength, and life across class divisions, perfect for readers of Sarah Gailey and Tamsyn Muir."

It's also perfect for readers of Natasha Pulley. Seriously, everyone should be a fan of hers.

Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words by Boel Westin
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Publication Date: March 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 576 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An in-depth, perceptive account of the unconventional life of the Moomins' beloved creator, now available in the United States.

Tove Jansson achieved fame as the creator of the Moomins, beloved by generations of readers around the world. Remarkably, the Moomins were only part of the prodigious creative output of this Finnish-Swedish writer and artist. Jansson's work also includes short stories and five novels for adults, as well as paintings, murals, and book illustrations. In this acclaimed biography, Boel Westin relies on numerous conversations with Jansson and unprecedented access to her journals, letters, and personal archives to present an engrossing and comprehensive review of the life and world of Scandinavia's best-loved author.

As Westin's meticulous research makes clear, Jansson's artistic and literary works reflected what was most important to her: the love of family and nature and the desire to pursue her art. Guided by her personal motto, "Love and work," Jansson seized both with uncompromising joy. And while her romantic relationships with men proved unfulfilling, she found those with women--especially with her longtime partner, the artist Tuulikki Pietilä--both grounding and inspiring.

Westin weaves together the many threads of Jansson's rich, complex life: an education interrupted to help her family; the bleak war years and her emergence as a painter; the decades of Moominmania across books, newspaper comic strips, merchandise, and adaptations; her later fictions, including her popular The Summer Book; and her time with Pietilä on the solitary island of Klovharu. Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words offers fans and admirers around the world the most complete portrait of the writer Philip Pullman described as "a genius, a woman of profound wisdom and great artistry.""

Moomins! Oddly enough my book club just read a book that referenced the Moomins. Moomins are life.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Allison Pataki, Barbie, Christina McDonald, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Gigi Pandian, Grady Hendrix, Kelly Oliver, Lee Mandelo, Margaret Fuller, Moomin, Natasha Pulley, Sulari Gentill, Tove Jansson

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 Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 13th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In horror movies, the final girls are the ones left standing when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives...but what happens after?

Like his bestselling novel The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady Hendrix’s latest is a fast-paced, frightening, and wickedly humorous thriller. From chain saws to summer camp slayers, The Final Girl Support Group pays tribute to and slyly subverts our most popular horror films - movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream.

Lynette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre. For more than a decade, she’s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, working to put their lives back together. Then one woman misses a meeting, and their worst fears are realized - someone knows about the group and is determined to rip their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about final girls is that no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up."

I really wanted to read Grady Hendrix's first book but was waived off by many people I trust for it's white savior issues. I hope this one is issue free.

Steel Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: July 13th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The moment Navy SEAL sniper Finn sets foot on the USS Abraham Lincoln to hitch a ride home from the Persian Gulf, it's clear something is deeply wrong. Leadership is weak. Morale is low. And when crew members start disappearing one by one, what at first seems like a random string of suicides soon reveals something far more sinister: There's a serial killer on board. Suspicion falls on Finn, the newcomer to the ship. After all, he's being sent home in disgrace, recalled from the field under the dark cloud of a mission gone horribly wrong. He's also a lone wolf, haunted by gaps in his memory and the elusive sense that something he missed may have contributed to civilian deaths on his last assignment. Finding the killer offers a chance at redemption...if he can stay alive long enough to prove it isn't him."

It's like Jack the Ripper written by Michael Crichton!

The Shadow by James Patterson and Brian Sitts
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July 13th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Before Alex Cross, before Michael Bennett, before Jack Reacher, there was The Shadow! The world’s bestselling author, James Patterson, reimagines one of America’s iconic thriller heroes.

Only two people know that 1930s society man Lamont Cranston has a secret identity as the Shadow, a crusader for justice. One is his greatest love, Margo Lane, and the other is fiercest enemy, Shiwan Khan. When Khan ambushes the couple, they must risk everything for the slimmest chance of survival...in the future.

A century and a half later, Lamont awakens in a world both unknown and disturbingly familiar. The first person he meets is Maddy Gomes, a teenager with her own mysterious secrets, including a knowledge of the legend of the Shadow.

Most disturbing, Khan's power continues to be felt over the city and its people. No one in this new world understands the dangers of stopping him better than Lamont Cranston. And only the Shadow knows that he’s the one person who might succeed before more innocent lives are lost."

I might have become a tad Shadow obsessed when I was younger because of the Alec Baldwin movie... so am I ready for this book? Hell yas!

Hollywood Heroine by Sarah Kuhn
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: July 13th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The fifth book in the smart, snarky, and action-packed Heroine series continues the adventures of Asian-American superheroines Evie Tanaka, Aveda Jupiter, and Bea Tanaka in a demon-infested San Francisco.

Over the years, the adventures of superheroines Aveda Jupiter and Evie Tanaka have become the stuff of legend--and now they'll be immortalized in their very own TV show!

The pair head to LA for filming, but Aveda struggles to get truly excited. Instead, she's preoccupied wondering about the fate of the world and her role in it. You know, the usual. Now that Otherworld activity has been detected outside the Bay Area, Aveda can't help but wonder if the demon threat will ever be eradicated.

When the drama on set takes a turn for the supernatural, Evie and Aveda must balance their celebrity commitments with donning their superhero capes again to investigate. And when the evil they battle reveals a larger, more nefarious plot, it's time for the indomitable Aveda Jupiter to rise to the occasion and become the leader she was meant to be on a more global scale - and hopefully keep some semblance of a personal life while doing so."

Note to cover artist: Look at a real pregnant lady. 

Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: July 13th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Regency widow Lily Adler didn't expect to find a corpse when visiting a family friend. Now it's up to her to discover the killer in the charming second installment in the Lily Adler mysteries.

Regency widow Lily Adler has finally settled into her new London life when her semi-estranged father arrives unexpectedly, intending to stay with her while he recovers from an illness. Hounded by his disapproval, Lily is drawn into spending time with Lady Wyatt, the new wife of an old family friend. Lily barely knows Lady Wyatt. But she and her husband, Sir Charles, seem as happy as any newly married couple until the morning Lily arrives to find the house in an uproar and Sir Charles dead.

All signs indicate that he tripped and struck his head late at night. But when Bow Street constable Simon Page is called to the scene, he suspects foul play. And it isn't long before Lily stumbles on evidence that Sir Charles was, indeed, murdered.

Mr. Page was there when Lily caught her first murderer, and he trusts her insight into the world of London's upper class. With the help of Captain Jack Hartley, they piece together the reasons that Sir Charles's family might have wanted him dead. But anyone who might have profited from the old man's death seems to have an alibi...until Lily receives a mysterious summons to speak with one of the Wyatts' maids, only to find the young woman dead when she arrives.