strange and random happenstance

An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns to Victorian Scotland in the latest in the genre-blending Rip Through Time series.

Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Mitchell has grown accustomed to life in Victorian Scotland after travelling 150 years into the past into the body of a housemaid. She's built a new life for herself. Even though she works as an assistant to forensic-science pioneer Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie, she considers them true friends. And with Gray in particular, perhaps, someday, something more.

Late one night, Gray and Mallory are summoned urgently to the home of Lady Adler, a patron of Gray's undertaking business, and they assume there's been a death in the household. But instead, they arrive in the midst of a seance with a ghost demanding Gray's presence. The ghost is Lady Adler's former maid, who had gone missing but now requests that Gray investigate her murder. Although Gray and Mallory are skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, whether she's dead or alive. But unsure if there's been a murder or not, unable to call out the medium as a fraud, and concerned for the fate of the young maid, Gray and Mallory are once again drawn into a mystery much more puzzling - and more dangerous - than it first seems."

A seance!?! Oh, be still my heart! 

Piccadilly Reckoning by Tracy Grant
Published by: NYLA
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: eBook, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An explosion that rips through the elegant bustle of Mayfair. Three victims who seemingly have no connection to each other. A dangerous weapon. The glamour of Regency London explodes when a carriage carrying a former diplomat is attacked in front of a Piccadilly pub, exposing a deadly web of murder and international intrigue.

Summoned by Bow Street, former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch rush to the scene to find the wreckage still smoldering. Sir Stephen Strangeways, who is in line for a strategic cabinet post, died in the explosion. Baron Hauke, an Austrian diplomat, and Julien Mallinson, a fellow former agent - and one of Mélanie and Malcolm's closest friends - are seriously wounded. Their lives hang in the balance while questions hang in the air.

No one knows how the three men might be connected or who wants them dead. The search for answers sends the Rannochs deep into their past, from the scandalous history of exiled Queen Hortense Bonaparte to the dangerous intrigues of foreign revolutionaries. Julien's secrets are deeper and more deadly than even his friends know. Mélanie shares some of those secrets. Now she must reveal long buried truths that she's concealed from even her own husband. As the Rannochs race to solve the mystery and prevent a dangerous weapon from falling into the wrong hands, the safety of their country, the lives of their friends, and the future of their marriage hang in the balance..."

Tracy Grant and Regency London are my jam.

A Wasp in the Beehive by Mary Logue
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 200 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Salt Lake City, 1881: Brigid Reardon is again on the case when her new employer - a leader in the Church of Latter-day Saints - is murdered in his home.

Still reeling from the violence she encountered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Brigid Reardon presses on alone to Salt Lake City, where she decides to settle down in what she hopes is a safe community. Things look promising when she's hired to work at the Deseret Bookstore and offered a room in the home of her employer, Mr. Cutter, a high-ranking member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, and his five wives.

Despite Brigid's conflicting feelings about polygamy, she finds the Cutter wives warm and welcoming, and she thinks she may finally be happy here. As she settles in, Brigid learns that Mr. Cutter wants yet another wife, and he is set on Amelia, the daughter of one of his wives from a previous marriage. When Mr. Cutter is found apparently murdered in the women's sewing room, each of the wives (plus Amelia and Mr. Cutter's son) is a suspect, and Brigid knows it's up to her to figure out just who did it. As she continues to work in the bookstore and live with the grieving family, Brigid teams up with the local coroner to investigate - and with her undeniable knack for detection, it's not long before she discovers a telltale clue.

A Wasp in the Beehive continues Brigid's trek west in the United States after immigrating from Ireland with her brother, following her time in Deadwood, South Dakota, in The Streel and in Cheyenne in The Big Sugar. But with everything that has happened, will she stay in Salt Lake City, or will she move on again?"

I think she's moving on after she figures out all the wives were in on it Agatha Christie style.

The Book Club Murders by Maggie Allswell
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Kindle, 319 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What Judy's book club doesn't know about murder mysteries isn't worth writing about. Nothing beats cracking a fictional case over some wine and salt and vinegar crisps. But can they put their puzzle-solving skills to the test when the local librarian dies in a real-life murder?

For widower Judy, her murder book club is the highlight of the month: she gets to hear all the local gossip and even discuss a good fictitious poisoning or two. But when local librarian Wendy disappears, Judy follows in the footsteps of her fictional detective heroes only to find her dead in her home, clasping a copy of Romeo and Juliet...

The police rule it a tragic accident, but Judy knows that her friend hated Shakespeare, and suspects foul play. Gathering her fellow book lovers together, soon they discover that several townspeople had motive to want Wendy dead. Was it Nigel from the tavern, who may have been Wendy's secret boyfriend? Or could it be Bryan, the local bookshop owner, tangled in a bitter rivalry with the library?

The plot thickens at a charity murder mystery night held at Nigel's tavern. Suddenly more murders come to light, both real and very badly staged. And when Nigel makes an astonishing revelation, the book club agree it's a plot twist no-one saw coming. Can Judy and her book club solve the mystery before they too fall victim to a killer plot?

An utterly addictive and hilarious new cozy mystery series, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood and Faith Martin."

I've been trying to convince my book club for years that we could branch out and solve crimes, but they just want to do a podcast or supernatural investigations. 

Safari Murder Party by Rachel Moore
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this darkly funny, slightly unhinged, heart-pounding thriller, two office rivals must team up to escape wild animals and even wilder coworkers on a corporate retreat gone wrong.

Fletcher Spence is dying for a promotion. And her colleagues are more than happy to oblige.

After three years working seventy-hour weeks as assistant to the most terrifying CEO in the magazine world, Fletcher finally finagled a spot on Cartwright Media's annual corporate retreat - a famously luxurious week on the Cartwrights' private island, where promotions are handed out like party favors. And her plan to snag her dream job as a travel magazine photographer was going great...until her boss's dramatic death reveals his last will and testament: Whoever survives the week will inherit the company.

So now she's stuck on her billionaire boss's safari park island, surrounded by wild animals and on the run from coworkers who've swapped coffee cups for machetes and briefcases for hunting rifles.

To Fletcher's dismay, her only ally might be her boss's insufferably gorgeous son, Waylon Cartwright. Despite their hostile history, Fletcher is at least 80 percent sure he won't try to kill her this week. Plus, his experience on the island might come in handy while they fend off lions and tigers and...marketing executives? Oh my.

While Fletcher battles her own ambitions and her unexpected attraction to Waylon, her power-hungry, bloodthirsty colleagues will do anything to stop them from escaping with their lives. Everyone knows the media industry is cutthroat, but in this safari party, it's never been more true."

Send Help meets Westworld. 

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times-bestselling author of Ghosted and The Love of My Life comes an unmissable emotional thriller: an up-all-night, page-turning love story with a very dark secret at its heart.

Carrie and Johan marry on a beach in Thailand only months into their whirlwind romance. Carrie, a British surgical intern, is too happy to care that she's being impulsive. But as the wedding festivities stretch into the night, a group of armed men suddenly swarm the beach, taking Johan away. She never sees him again.

Twelve years later, Carrie is living in the English countryside with her husband, Robin, and their six-year-old twins, running a holiday cottage rental business on the side. One night, she stumbles across an online post in which she discovers that Johan escaped from Thailand years ago, and has been living in Stockholm ever since. As the memories of their passionate relationship flood her, she becomes obsessed with discovering what happened on their wedding day all those years ago.

But just when Carrie thinks she knows what she must do, a shocking twist tears apart everything Carrie thought she knew. The One Day You Were My Husband asks readers what - and whom - they would give up to return to a first love and to the people they once were."

If he wanted her to know she was alive, he would have reached out.

Startup Hell by Caitlin Rozakis
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A hilarious contemporary fantasy about a junior sales witch stuck in corporate hell, who has to evade devilish pacts and her kickass, world-saving, demon-slaying mum to save a (surprisingly hot) demon, and work out how to hit her quarterly target.

Morgan Blackwater's mother is a kickass, world-saving, demon-slaying Shadow Council wizard. As for Morgan? Morgan's a junior salesperson at a tech startup that can't even decide what its product is. But with magic dyslexia and a disinclination to kick ass, Morgan is doing her best carving out a niche for herself in the mundane world.

Leaving work late one night, she discovers her boss dead from the effort of summoning a demon to trade his soul in order to make his quarterly target. The disturbingly-attractive demon, Lucareoth (Luke for short), is trapped here until he finds someone to sell their soul. While trying to sneak Luke out of the building, Morgan runs into her infamous mother. Apparently, someone has been summoning demons and she's here to get to the bottom of it.

Trying to protect Luke from her mother, Morgan gets sucked into the Infernal Plane and discovers hell really is a corporate nightmare. She only gets back home with a promise to deliver a human soul of her own. While her coworkers are really annoying, she's not willing to sacrifice their souls. The company's tech bro CEO, though, is another story.

With Caitlin Rozakis's signature wit, Startup Hell is a contemporary fantasy that exposes the demonic nature of the corporate world."

But does a tech bro even have a soul?

The Arcane Arts by S.D. Coverly
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this thrilling and sensuous dark academia fantasy, an ambitious graduate student and her advisor dive into studying a taboo branch of magic, igniting a dangerous passion between them.

Tucked within an idyllic corner of New England, Newlyn University stands as a bastion for the academic elites. Inside its hallowed halls, students can pursue degrees in medicine, history, technology...or the Arcane Arts - the esoteric study of powerful magical forces. Enter Ellsbeth Storer: long determined to pursue a graduate degree in arcane mechanicals at Newlyn. Headstrong and driven, she convinces Thaddeus Rawlins, one of the field's most celebrated professors, to take her on as a student. Against his better judgment, Rawlins allows her to pursue a thesis on writ magic, the long-forbidden power to control and compel others.

While student and teacher both profess academic interest in the topic, each wants it for their own secret purpose. But they soon discover that Newlyn itself may be hiding the darkest secret of all....

As Rawlins and Ellsbeth undertake their clandestine research, their flirtation crosses into uncontrollable desire, which threatens to bloom into something even more troubling: love. But when their project begins to spin out of control, entangling them in a destructive web of lust and power, the question remains: can two people who are masters of manipulation ever trust each other?"

No, master manipulators can never trust each other. Especially once magic enters the picture.

Calling Me Home by Laurin Becker Macios
Published by: Holiday House
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A beautifully crafted YA novel in verse that follows a 17-year-old girl's backpacking trip across Europe - filled with awe, danger, friendships, and something like love.

Jenny Campbell, recent high school graduate, has spent her unrooted childhood planning for a future she can control: NYU, marketing major, big-city life. But first, a carefully mapped solo backpacking trip through Europe.

Only, the trip doesn't stay on the map. As she travels between countries and memories, Jenny begins to loosen her grip on the life she's scripted. She works at a bookshop in Greece, treks through the Balkans on overnight trains, falls in something-like-love in Rome.

At summer's end, Jenny returns to the States ready to launch her New York City future. And then, she learns she's pregnant. Choosing to end her pregnancy, Jenny tries to keep her plans - but finds she may no longer be the person meant to live them.

Calling Me Home is part classic travel bildungsroman (you can almost taste the ouzo in Greece and feel the wind of Ireland) and part meditation on how abortion is just one piece of a person's story."

The point of backpacking through Europe before college is to make sure you're on the right track.

Glyph by Ali Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From a literary master, a novel of ghosts and history and family legacy, of the unexpected acts of care that shine light into our dark.

Ghosts don't exist.
They don't. End of.
Story, however.
It is haunting.
Everything tells it.

It all starts when Petra and her little sister Patch hear a horrifying story from the past and find themselves making up a ghost.

Is it imaginary? Is it real?

Then it all starts again thirty years later when Petra, now estranged from Patch, finds a phantom horse kicking the furniture to pieces in her bedroom.

What to do? She phones her sister.

In a chiarascuro dance through our increasingly antagonistic era, Glyph asks if we're attending to the history that's made us and to the history we're making.

A funny, warm and clear-eyed take on where we are now, Glyph is about what our imaginations are for and how, in a broken, brutal and divided time, we rekindle care, solidarity, resistance and openness. This anti-war novel, Ali Smith's most soulful, playful and vital yet, is a work of lightness that goes deep to counter the forces currently flattening the modern world."

Ali Smith is a writer who once you read you will never forget.

A Perfect Hand by Ayelet Waldman
Published by: Knopf
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A richly drawn, captivating, and endlessly amusing novel of love and subterfuge between a lady's maid and her clandestine lover, set in the country estates of nineteenth-century England.

Miss Alice Lockey, daughter of a tenant farmer, has by dint of hard work, innate intelligence, and a cunning ability to predict the moods of her betters, raised herself to the lofty status of lady's maid at Alderwick Park. Though her mother has advised Alice to work only until marriage, Alice has thus far resisted the temptations of matrimony among the neighboring widowers and pig farmers, more content to enjoy the fruits of her labor - or at least the portion of it her father will share after it is paid to him. Alice spends her days arranging Lady Jemima Alderwick's blond hair into the latest French styles, chignons and plaits, laundering her lady's surprisingly malodorous petticoats and drawers, and carefully sewing all manner of fripperies, ribbons, lace, and silk flowers, to her lady's bonnets and gowns.

But when a visiting servant, a valet named Charlie Wells, catches her eye, Alice begins to understand the constraints of her position. In a ploy to spend time with the object of her affection, Alice attempts to arrange a romance between Lady Jemima Alderwick and Charlie's employer, one Baronet Sir Nigel Wynstowe. If only they would fall in love - then Alice and Charlie might live together as man and wife! Challenged by Lady Jemima's love for another and Sir Wynstowe's eccentric personality, Alice must use all of her cunning to bring about this unlikely romantic union. Will this low-born servant successfully manipulate the hearts of these lords and ladies? Will Charlie and Alice ever improve their stations? Or, as the beginning of women's suffrage begins to percolate in the drawing rooms and salons of London, will Alice discover a different sort of path for herself?

A deliciously funny, gorgeously detailed, utter enthralling novel, A Perfect Hand is a glorious novel of class, gender, and England on the cusp of enormous change."

With that cover they missed out calling this book A Perfect Hat.

The Hope Keeper by Heather Webb
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"1919, Washington D.C. Elisabeth Beaumont comes from a renowned jeweler family, but after the untimely death of her twin brother, she's left on her own to run the failing family business. Desperate for work, she approaches the affluent crowd her brother Julien once courted to expand Beaumont Jewelers. Their ringleader is wealthy socialite Evalyn McLean, owner of the world's most infamous gemstone, rumored to curse all who travel within its orbit.

The Hope Diamond.

As Elisabeth is swept into Evalyn's toxic world of dark opulence, the lines defining who she is and where she belongs begin to blur, leading Elisabeth to question all she once believed. She's no longer certain she wants to take over the family business and be beholden to the wealthy elite of D.C. But she can't fathom leaving her father in the lurch. There's also Evalyn to consider, and the Hope Diamond, which beckons Elisabeth to admire it, touch it, care for it, despite every warning she's been told.

When tragedy strikes one night, not only is Elisabeth's fragile friendship with Evalyn put to the test, but her carefully constructed glamorous new life comes crashing down. Now Elisabeth must face the truth about her brother's death and decide what matters most."

On the whole, jewels don't interest me. Cursed jewels on the other hand? Oh yeah.

Salomé by Leslie Baird
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gothic-tinged fever dream that reimagines the young American in France, Salomé follows an adrift journalist who accepts an alluring stranger's invitation to stay at her home in a small French town, only to uncover a dangerous family history that could bend the course of humanity.

Don't open your eyes...

Courtney notices Salomé the moment she steps onto the plane. She's magnetic, quicksilver, and, best of all for incurable Francophile Courtney, French. So when Salomé invites Courtney to her mother's town in northwestern France, Courtney doesn't even have to think about it.

But things are, almost immediately, surreal. Despite feeling right at home with Salomé, Courtney is confronted by a house outfitted with cameras and the dark, watchful presence of Salomé's mother. Courtney senses she should leave, but with Salomé she feels as if she's rediscovered the "French Courtney," an alternate version of herself who made a life in France.

That is, until she starts to experience paralyzing nightmares in which strange voices intone Don't open your eyes...and encounters Salomé's charismatic stepfather, Marco, whose pyramid-scheme vitamin company offers a tempting segue into an even more insidious group obsessed with eternal life. Or is it an actual cult? And how much does Salomé really know? As a conspiracy unfurls, Courtney is torn between her loyalty to Salomé and what might be the story of a lifetime, the kind that could make a journalist's career - if it doesn't kill her first.

A modern reclamation of the original femme fatale whose story, until now, has been almost exclusively told by men, Salomé is a tantalizing, feminist tale exploring power, loyalty, connection, and the measures we'll take to harness our deepest desires."

I like the hints of Bluebeard as well.

The Temptation of Charlotte North by Camilla Bruce
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a sinister spirit invades an isolated community, three lives will be forever altered, in this dark gothic fantasy from the acclaimed author of At the Bottom of the Garden.

A rebellious young woman desperate to escape her predetermined life.

The handsome but married priest who has caught her eye.

And the resolute schoolteacher who values science above all.

In 1910, on a small, remote island that boasts more sheep than people, the fates of Charlotte North, Jasper Hill, and Ruth Russel are perched on the edge of a cliff, and a strange wind is blowing....

When an ancient tower - rumored to have once imprisoned a witch - crumbles, it releases something powerful: a restless spirit that knocks inside the walls and sends household objects flying. A spirit that seems to be drawn to Charlotte, who sees in it a potential for power and change.

But first she must overcome Jasper's piety and Ruth's fierce determination to banish the terrifying entity. Only then will she gain the power to claim the life that she desires."

Windswept and Gothic, two things I crave.

The Lustrous Dark by Loretta Chefchaouni
Published by: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Sabaa Tahir and Guillermo del Toro comes The Lustrous Dark, a sweeping YA fantasy, in which a young midwife's apprentice rises up to take back the power that's been stolen from women.

Orphaned as a baby, Shay has spent her life training as the midwife's apprentice. Her role grants her stability, yet Shay has always yearned for more. Namely, motherly affection and answers regarding her mysterious birth - neither of which the midwife deems practical to provide.

After Shay discovers her birth mother, Hind, is still alive and addicted to a magical drug called Snow, she determines to get the woman clean. But when Hind betrays Shay to get her hands on more Snow, Shay's abandoned within a deadly forest and forced to rely on a band of monstrous ghouls for safety.

Shay's realm has long stood on the brink of war between the men who control magic and the revolutionaries who want to eliminate it. But in the forest, Shay hears the pleading call of ancient spirits who claim that not only has magic been stolen, but Shay has the power to return it. With the help of a spitfire revolutionary and the boy who's winning over her heart, Shay discovers the horrific truth of who produces Snow and will have to decide for herself whether to heed the spirits' charge or fade into obscurity.

This emotionally raw and gorgeously rendered fairy tale combines the lush worldbuilding of This Woven Kingdom with the mother trauma of Snow White and a dash of Tim Burton. Steeped in mysticism and mythology, The Lustrous Dark confronts injustices against women with a righteous scream that'll inspire readers to rally against the patriarchy and oppressive regimes worldwide.

Perfect for readers who love Political Revolutions, Fighting the Patriarchy, Toxic Mothers, Reawakening the Gods, Ancient Magic, Bone-Chilling Monsters, Haunted Forests, Female Friendships, Fairy Tale Retellings, and Cinnamon Roll Love Interests."

Yes, I love all that. Now can we start a revolution with some ancient Gods?

A Star Cursed Heart by Annie Mare
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two women are cursed to be mortal enemies, despite their love for each other, in this queer, fantastical novel by Annie Mare.

In the lead-up to the Salem witch trials, a desperate man made a deal with the devil - a deal that would drag two families down with him. Now, over 400 years later, the Steadfasts and the Prynnes remain caught in a curse that sentences both families to an existence of rigid rules, torturous consequences, and half-lives.

Lucy Prynne and Ashes Steadfast are the latest to take on the mantle of this centuries-old deal: Lucy, born to try to reap the souls of the hopeful; and Ashes, born to stop Lucy, no matter the cost. But before they inherited their respective curses, it sure felt like Ash's purpose was Lucy. Her best friend, her closest confidant, her true love.

Ash knows the rules. She keeps her head down, her emotions in check, and she fights Lucy, no matter the personal cost. They are doomed to an incessant battle between good and bad, self-righteous and carnal.

Or so Ash thinks. But when she resists her instincts to fight Lucy and finally starts to fight the curse instead, she realizes there might just be a way to end this once and for all. If not in this timeline, then the next. As generational secrets begin to unravel, Ashes and Lucy join forces against the true threat that has haunted their families for centuries, even if it costs them their lives - and their love."

You need to read the fine print when making a deal with the devil and think about your family. Unless you're too self-centered to think of them then you're already damned. 

And Side by Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An intergalactic art heist by a ragtag group of underqualified misfits. What could go wrong?

For three hundred years, humanity's greatest works of art have been on loan at the Greenwood Museum. It was finally time for them to come home...but the alien curators were disinclined to return them.

Force was out of the question. Earth's government was clear: They were not going to press the issue. So, all we had was guile and hubris to fuel our little intergalactic art heist.

My old friend Tarquin was our leader, but not the captain. That was Tchik-tchik, though whether Tchik-tchik was our insectoid pilot's name or species is still unclear to me. Misora, with her extremely illegal biotech mods, was our muscle.

Jack was there to hack the security systems of the biggest museum in the galaxy. He was a sensynth, a sentient synthetic being, and the most powerful machine intelligence on Earth uncorrupted by alien technology.

My name is Fennel Tycho. I'd like to tell you I was there because of my expertise in Art History. Truth is, I was there because without me, Jack would not have agreed to go. He was notorious for being difficult to work with - but it was a mistake to think I could make things any easier.

A meditation on the nature of love, life, and the "culture of the copy," And Side by Side They Wander asks the question: In a future where there are clones, androids, and a sentient mycelium that creates fungal simulacra, who is real and what is fake?"

I love art and art history and taking the discussion of the genuine to outer space and the future is just fascinating. 

Pollock's Last Lover by Stephen P. Kiernan
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: May 19th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set in New York City in alternating time periods - the 1950s and the early 2000s - Pollock's Last Lover is the engrossing tale of two women whose lives collide as they contend with the art and legacy of the brilliant, tragic painter Jackson Pollock.

In 2006, Sotheby's sells a painting by Jackson Pollock for $140 million - the highest sum ever paid for a work of art. Two weeks later, an older woman named Ruth Kligman, in high heels and a dusty fascinator, contacts a smaller, less prominent auction house to announce that she was Pollock's lover, and that he gave her his last painting. She declares that it was selfish to keep it in her apartment for fifty years, and that people should see this masterpiece in galleries and museums the world over. The bidding will start at $50 million.

Gwen, an up-and-coming associate at the firm, is assigned the task of verifying the painting's authenticity. For Gwen, an ambitious woman in a field often dominated by men, it is her biggest project yet. And the company must have absolute certainty. Yet each step of the investigation raises larger questions - about Ruth's cunning climb in the art world, and even about what caused Pollock's sudden and violent death.

What follows, in alternating chapters and time periods, is a multigenerational portrait of women's ambition set against the life and work of Jackson Pollock. From smoky Greenwich Village dive bars to glitzy art auctions, from the empty studio of a man once known for his artistic stamina to the fine museums where his works hang, Ruth's controversial painting provides a window into two eras - and the ongoing struggle of women to develop power and freedom on their own terms."

Please don't be like one of my art history professors who was convinced Pollock's death in a car crash was a suicide. In other news, I hated that art history professor with a passion. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ali Smith, Annie Mare, Ayelet Waldman, Caitlin Rozakis, Camilla Bruce, Heather Webb, Jackson Pollock, Kelley Armstrong, Laurin Becker Macios, Leslie Baird, Loretta Chefchaouni, Mary Logue, Molly Tanzer, S.D. Coverly, Tracy Grant

A Lively Midwinter Murder by Katy Watson
Published by: Mobius
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"First comes love... and then comes murder.

A high society Christmas Eve wedding at a secluded Scottish castle sounds like the perfect winter getaway for the three Dahlias - until a dead body wearing a wedding dress and a stolen diamond necklace turns up in the snow outside the family chapel, and the bride and groom are suddenly the prime suspects in a murder case..."

Oh boy! A new Three Dahlias book AND a Christmas murder mystery. Is it my birthday or something?

We Three Queens by Rhys Bowen
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New mother Lady Georgiana "Georgie" Rannoch finds herself trying to separate fact from fiction when a murder occurs while a film is being made on the grounds of her estate in a new Royal Spyness Mystery from beloved bestselling author Rhys Bowen.

It's late 1936, and King Edward is in turmoil, having fallen in love with the scandalously divorced and even more scandalously American Wallis Simpson. He wants to marry her but knows that doing so will jeopardize his crown. Edward confides in his dear friend Darcy, Georgie's husband, and the couple agree to hide Wallis in their home while Edward figures out what to do.

But unbeknownst to Georgie and Darcy, Sir Hubert, the owner of the estate, has given a film crew permission to shoot a motion picture about Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn on the grounds. Trying to keep Mrs. Simpson hidden while raising a newborn baby seems like it couldn't be any more stressful for the Rannochs, until one of the stars of the film is found murdered on set. Georgie must solve the murder for king and country before scandal threatens to envelop them all."

Oh, the delicious irony of Wallis Simpson AND Anne Boleyn! BTW if you need to know I'm pro Anne anti Wallis.

A Deadly Legacy by E.V. Hunter
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 282 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A tragic accident or an untimely death?

When Drew Hopgood's brother, Frank dies whilst out climbing, it's initially thought his death was simply a tragic accident. But when Frank's much younger wife, Stella arrives at Hopgood Hall demanding half of Frank's inheritance the Hopgoods and Alexi Ellis begin to suspect foul play...

Stella has no claim to Frank's legacy, but she isn't giving up easily. And with the reputation of Hopgood Hall still fragile, Alexi can't afford to lose any more money because of Stella's greed.

So Alexi, her partner Jack, and Cosmo of course, decide to dig deeper into Stella's background. Just how did she meet Frank and were they really as in love as she claims?

As the trio investigate, they discover Stella has her own reasons for being back at Hopgood Hall. And rather than console the grieving widow, Alexi and Jack think they might need to look again at Frank’s tragic death - because rather than an accident this could have been a deadly fall - planned by his own wife!

A boutique hotel. A feral cat. A recipe for murder!

A gripping murder mystery, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Frances Evesham and Emma Davies."

The feral cat totally knows everything and is keeping it from them.

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"'Tis the season! The Crown meets When Harry Met Sally in the latest heartwarming historical novel from Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, bestselling authors of Last Christmas in Paris, Meet Me in Monaco, and Three Words for Goodbye.

December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father's Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change.

As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, old friends - Jack Devereux and Olive Carter - are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn't go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously.

Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition.

As Jack and Olive's paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything.

Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen's first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver..."

Chance encounters can often lead to change during the most magical time of the year.

Duchess Material by Emily Sullivan
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When her student goes missing, an independent bluestocking must seek the help of the arrogant duke who spurned her in this sizzling tale of romance and intrigue, perfect for fans of Netflix's Bridgerton series.

Phoebe Atkinson is what society might call unconventional. Instead of marrying well like other women born to wealth, she chose to be a schoolteacher. Not to mention she lives in a leaky flat in an unfashionable part of town rather than stay in her parents' mansion. But when her most promising pupil goes missing she has only one option: beg her sister's best friend, the powerful Duke of Ellis, for help.

The last thing William Margrave ever expected was to inherit a dukedom. But now that he has it, he's determined to act the part perfectly - and that includes marrying the perfect duchess. A bluestocking Bohemian schoolteacher is decidedly not duchess material. But he can't resist her plea for help regarding her missing student.

As they fall further into the mystery, William discovers that he never got over his childhood crush on Phoebe..."

I think a bluestocking Bohemian schoolteacher would be the better duchess by far. She'd be so well organized!

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A silver-haired equestrienne and a charismatic artist turn a scandalous bargain into a vibrant portrait of love.

Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist - and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother's pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic...like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who's ever really seen her.

Aspiring painter Edward "Teddy" Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist's model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He'll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience. After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella's luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture...."

Aw, I love this, it sounds like a plotline for a seventies British miniseries. Must read!

The Estate by Sarah Jost
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""The world of art is blown wide open" (Jonathan Santlofer, national bestselling author of The Lost Van Gogh) in this novel for fans of The Cartographers, a simmering speculative suspense following art historian Camille Leray, whose secret ability lands her in the middle of the dangerous schemes of the most powerful players in the industry...

Art historian Camille Leray has spent her career surrounding herself with fineries and selling pieces worth millions. But she harbors a secret: she has the ability to enter the world of any piece of artwork, and she can take others with her. But tapping into history comes with great risks. And someone has been watching, someone who knows about her magic, and her mistakes...

After Camille ruins her career and reputation by misusing her powers, she vows to get her old life back. So when Maxime Foucault, an enigmatic aristocrat who owns a sprawling French estate, enlists her help in authenticating the statues of a mysterious artist, whose disappearance she has been trying to solve for years, she knows this could be her chance to turn her career around and get the man she's always wanted.

But something isn't right about the Foucault family and the grand chateau they inhabit, and as Camille gets sucked into its walls, she finds a world of luxury and greed that causes her to risk losing herself, and everything she has ever known, forever.

Filled with magic, suspense, the allure of Arthurian legend, and dark academia, The Estate unravels a mystery that spans generations. This captivating tale will leave readers pondering the fine lines between reality and imagination, creation and destruction, and being haunted or free."

A book that is hard to quantify and yet I just want to move into its pages.

The Memory Place by Nate Dimeo
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Incredible true stories reveal strange new magic in American history in this wondrous first book from the creator of the award-winning podcast The Memory Palace.

The Memory Palace is a collection of crystalline historical tales that read like luminous short fiction and, like Nate DiMeo's acclaimed podcast of the same name, conjure lost moments and forgotten figures who are calling out across time to be remembered.

Space capsules filled with fruit flies and future senators. A socialite scientist who gives up her glamorous life to follow love and the elusive prairie chicken. A boy genius on a path to change the world who gets lost in the theoretical possibilities of streetcar transfers. An enslaved man who steals a boat and charts a course that leads him to freedom, war, and Congress. A farmer's wife who puts down her butter churn, picks up the butter, and becomes an international art star. An amusement park glowing at the water's edge when electric lights are a brand-new thing. This cabinet of curiosities teems with wonder.

For fifteen years, Nate DiMeo has turned to the past to make sense of the way we live today, finding beauty and meaning in history's dustier corners, holding things up to the light and weaving facts, keen insight, wit, and poignant observation into unforgettable tales. With new stories and treasured favorites from the beloved podcast assembled alongside dynamic illustrations and archival photographs for the first time, enchantment awaits you."

Because everything needs to be remembered. And it's often the stories we overlook that might be the most fascinating. 

The Unfinished Harauld Hughes by Richard Ayoade
Published by: Faber and Faber
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Richard Ayoade's fictional quest to rescue Harauld Hughes - the almost mythical mid-century playwright - from obscurity.

The gifted filmmaker, corduroy activist and amateur dentist, Richard Ayoade, first chanced upon a copy of The Two-Hander Trilogy by Harauld Hughes in a second-hand bookshop. At first startled by his uncanny resemblance to the author's photo, he opened the volume and was electrified. Terse, aggressive, and elliptical, what was true of Ayoade was also true of Hughes's writing, which encompassed stage, screen, and some of the shortest poems ever published.

Ayoade embarked on a documentary, The Unfinished Harauld Hughes, to understand the unfathomable collapse of Hughes's final film O Bedlam! O Bedlam!, taking us deep inside the most furious British writer since the Boer War. This is the story of the story of that quest."

What they don't mention here is that Richard Ayoade got SO DEEP into the character of Harauld Hughes he wrote all of Harauld's books. 

The World According to Cunk by Philomena Cunk
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November 19th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Romans! Madrigals! The Dark Ages! Revolutions! Trumpets! The Oranges of The First World War! All of this (except trumpets) and more, is covered in this definitive, easy-clean history of all world history so far, written by the 21st Century's leading historian, philosopher and thinkerer Philomena Cunk.

Focussing on the inventions, art, and brainboxes that made the modern world the unbearable place it is today, The World According To Cunk is the history book to end all history books: more unputdownable than Andrew Marr's History Of The World, less unpickupable than Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, and noticeably less in ancient Greek than Herodotus' Histories.

Philomena Cunk says: "About the world, written on the world, and available at all the world's remaining bookshops, The World According To Cunk is the definitive history of the world. There will never need be another history book. Unless something major happens. Even then they'll probably just put something up on TikTok about it. A word of warning: please don't buy it if you're expecting anything about trumpets in it. You will only be disappointed.""

Dammit, I wanted trumpets. But only in the ancient Greek.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bridgerton, Christmas, E.V. Hunter, Emily Sullivan, Harauld Hughes, Hazel Gaynor, Heather Webb, History, Katy Watson, Mimi Matthews, Nate Dimeo, Philomena Cunk, Podcast, Rhys Bowen, Richard Ayoade, Sarah Jost

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this irresistible and thrilling debut novel, a former antique hunter investigates a suspicious death at an isolated English manor, embroiling her back in the dangerous world of tracking stolen artifacts.

What antique would you kill for?

Freya Lockwood is shocked when she learns that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and her estranged mentor, has died under mysterious circumstances. She has spent the last twenty years avoiding her quaint English hometown, but when she receives a letter from Arthur asking her to investigate - sent just days before his death - Freya has no choice but to return to a life she had sworn to leave behind.

Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Freya follows clues and her instincts to an old manor house for an advertised antiques enthusiast's weekend. But not all is as it seems. It's clear to Freya that the antiques are all just poor reproductions and her fellow guests are secretive and menacing. What is going on at this estate and how was Arthur involved? More importantly, can Freya and Carole discover the truth before the killer strikes again?"

An isolated English manor having an antiques weekend? YES!

The Holy Terrors by Simon R. Green
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Six people locked in a haunted hall...Cameras watching their every move...And then someone dies...This first in a spine-tingling new paranormal mystery series from New York Times bestselling British fantasy author Simon R. Green will make you doubt your judgement - and believe in ghosts!

Welcome to Spooky Time, the hit TV ghost-hunting show where the horror is scripted...and the ratings are declining rapidly. What better way to up the stakes - and boost the viewership - than by locking a select group of Z-list celebrities up for the night in The Most Haunted Hall in England (TM) and live-streaming the 'terrifying' results?

Soon Alistair, a newly appointed Bishop, actress Diana, medium Leslie, comedian Toby, and celebrity chef Indira are trapped inside Stonehaven town hall, along with June, the host and producer of the show. The group tries to settle in and put on a good show, but then strange things start happening in their hall of horrors.

What is it about this place - and why is the TV crew outside not responding? Are they even on air? Logical Alistair and intuitive Diana attempt to keep the group's fears at bay and rationalize the odd events, but there are things that just can't be explained within reason...Can the pair stop a cold-blooded would-be killer - even if it's come from beyond the grave?

This locked-room mystery with a paranormal twist is classic Simon R. Green, featuring his trademark humour and imagination, irresistible characters, and thoroughly entertaining plotting."

I mean, how else but by adding a dash of the paranormal can you up the locked-room story? Bravo!

The Road from Belhaven by Margot Livesey
Published by: Knopf Publishing Group
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times best-selling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy, a novel about a young woman whose gift of second sight complicates her coming of age in late-nineteenth-century Scotland.

Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small child that she can see into the future. But her gift is selective - she doesn't, for instance, see that she has an older sister who will come to join the family. As her "pictures" foretell various incidents and accidents, she begins to realize a painful truth: she may glimpse the future, but she can seldom change it.

Nor can Lizzie change the feelings that come when a young man named Louis, visiting Belhaven for the harvest, begins to court her. Why have the adults around her not revealed that the touch of a hand can change everything? After following Louis to Glasgow, though, she learns the limits of his devotion. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice, she makes a terrible mistake. But her second sight may allow her a second chance."

I'm all about second sight and it's complications.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Holmes and Watson-style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett.

In Daretana's greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead - killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire's borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it's a death both terrifying and impossible.

Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana's brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior - but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana's mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire's greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he's barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra - and wonders how long he'll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

By an "endlessly inventive" (Vulture) author with a "wicked sense of humor" (NPR), The Tainted Cup mixes the charms of detective fiction with brilliant world-building to deliver a fiendishly clever mystery that's at once instantly recognizable and thrillingly new."

Take what is standard and add a twisted tree.

The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton
Published by: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Moulin Rouge meets Holly Black in a thrilling sapphic friends-to-lovers romantasy!

This lavish and decedent LGBTQ+ fantasy romance will leave fans of Divine Rivals and Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries utterly enchanted!

After running away from home, Sybil Clarion is eager to embrace all the freedom the Belle Époque city of Severon has to offer. Instead, she's traded high-society soirées for empty pockets. At least she has Esme, the girl who offered Sybil a home, and if either of them dared, something more.

Ever since Esme Rimbaud brought Sybil back to her flat, the girls have been everything to each other - best friends, found family, and secret crushes. While Esme would rather spend the night tinkering with her clocks and snuggling her cats, Sybil craves excitement and needs money. She plans to get both by stealing the rare posters that crop up around town. With rent due, Esme agrees to accompany - and more importantly protect - Sybil.

When they're caught selling a poster by none other than its subject, Maeve, the glamorous girl invites Sybil and Esme to The Absinthe Underground, the exclusive club she co-owns, and reveals herself to be a Green Faerie, trapped in this world. She wants to hire thieves for a daring heist in Fae that would set her free, and is willing to pay enough that Sybil and Esme never have to worry about rent again. It's too good of an offer to pass up, even if Maeve's tragic story doesn't quite add up, and the secrets could jeopardize everything the girls have so carefully built.

Jamie Pacton, author of The Vermilion Emporium, dazzles in this whimsical and daring romantic fantasy. Fans of Fae lore, slow-burn sapphic pining, and decadently magical worlds will find The Absinthe Underground as ensorcelling as a fairy delight."

I love the real history of the Belle Époque intermingled with fantasy and fairies.

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Cheesemaker Brie has the world's worst luck in love, which is how she ends up falling for a lactose intolerant werewolf, in this raunchy, laugh-out-loud rom-com fantasy by the genre's freshest new voice, Kimberly Lemming.

Brie's never been particularly coordinated...or lucky. Who else would accidentally throw a drink at someone's head only to miss entirely and hit a stranger behind them? And who else would have that stranger fall madly in love with them because it turns out that the drink she threw was a love potion? Yeah, probably just Brie....

Running her cheese business and dealing with a pirate ship full of demons that just moved into town was hard enough. Now on top of it, she has to convince a werewolf that she's not really his fated mate. Though even she's got to admit...having a gorgeous man show up and do all her chores while telling her she's beautiful isn't the worst thing to happen to a girl."

I love this new cozy fantasy genre that's emerging. 

To Woo and to Wed by Martha Waters
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The final installment in the "hilarious and steamy" (PopSugar) Regency Vows series follows the heir to a dukedom and a young widow, once very much in love, as they reunite years later to fake an engagement for the benefit of her sister.

West, the Marquess of Weston, and Sophie, Lady Fitzwilliam Bridewell, have lately been spending a considerable amount of time together. But West and Sophie are not new acquaintances. In fact, years ago, they had once been nearly engaged until West's almost fatal curricle accident and his meddling father threw them off course.

Now recently widowed, Sophie has put aside all thoughts of romance. But when her widowed sister, Alexandra, mentions a fondness for an earl, Sophie realizes that she may be holding her sister back. Alexandra won't move forward with an engagement until Sophie, too, settles down again, and so Sophie approaches West with a plan. They will announce their engagement and break things off once Alexandra is happily married. It'll be simple. After all, it's not like she is going to fall for West a second time, not when Sophie has sworn not to risk her heart again."

Sigh, Regency Romance!

I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Unforgettable, snarky, and romantic, I Hope This Doesn't Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class." It's not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course - she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings - but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work.

All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids.

"You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain...I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft..."

Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them...that is, until they're accidentally sent out.

Overnight, Sadie's carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare - now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the "real" Sadie - Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate..."

This is literally my worst nightmare. Not that I'm sitting around writing bad things about people, just that there will be wires crossed with technology and something I don't want someone to know will be outed.

Lenny Henry by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
Published by: Frances Lincoln Ltd
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the incredible life of Sir Lenny Henry, the multi-talented comedian, actor, writer and activist.

Ever since he was small, Lenny Henry wanted to be a comedian. At home in Dudley, England, he would pretend to be the characters he watched on TV, copying scenes from his favorite shows to entertain his six brothers and sisters. But life wasn't always easy, and at school, Lenny found himself the subject of racist bullying - until he figured out a way to beat the bullies using humor. This was when he realized he had a gift: he could make people laugh. He shot to fame aged 16 and the following decades were full of great successes, such as his hugely popular TV show The Lenny Henry Show.

Lenny co-founded the charity Comic Relief in response to a terrible famine in East Africa. Over 25 years later, Lenny and the charity remain committed to creating a just world, free from poverty, and have raised millions of pounds. An actor, a comedian, an author, and a champion of inclusivity, Lenny is a much-loved figure whose story encourages us to keep smiling."

And the thing is, unlike in the United States, Comic Relief in England is amazing and funny.

Queens of London by Heather Webb
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Maybe women can have it all, as long as they're willing to steal it.

1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA "Diamond Annie," is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she's determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She's ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes of which no one has ever seen. Alice demands absolute loyalty from her "family" - it's how she's always kept the cops in line. Too bad she's now the target for one of Britain's first female policewomen.

Officer Lilian Wyles isn't merely one of the first female detectives at Scotland Yard, she's one of the best detectives on the force. Even so, she'll have to win a big score to prove herself, to break free from the "women's work" she's been assigned. When she hears about the large-scale heist in the works to fund Alice's new dynasty, she realizes she has the chance she's been looking for - and the added bonus of putting Diamond Annie out of business permanently.

A tale of dark glamour and sisterhood, Queens of London is a look at Britain's first female crime syndicate, the ever-shifting meaning of justice, and the way women claim their power by any means necessary, from USA Today bestselling author Heather Webb."

Everybody is getting on the Alice Diamond trade!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ann Liang, Belle Epoque, C.L. Miller, Comic Relief, Heather Webb, Jamie Pacton, Kimberly Lemming, Lenny Henry, Margot Livesey, Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Martha Waters, Robert Jackson Bennett, Simon R. Green