strange and random happenstance

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From NYT bestselling author Rachel Gillig comes the next big romantasy sensation, a Gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a young prophetess forced on an impossible quest with the one knight whose future is beyond her sight. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Leigh Bardugo.

Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum's windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.

Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil's visions. But when Sybil's fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral's cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she'd rather avoid Rodrick's dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god."

I am so excited for this book I can barely contain it. Now to snag myself a signed copy....

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing fever dream of medieval horror following three women in a besieged castle that descends ravenously into madness under the spell of mysterious, godlike visitors.

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration.

Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar's walls.

As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness - forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy - these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle's new masters...or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself."

The Masque of the Red Death meets Gideon the Ninth. 

Strange New World by Vivian Shaw
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this witty conclusion to a delightful fantasy series finds Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, facing the latest and strangest challenge of her career...accompanying an anxious angel and a sullen demon on a road trip across America.

After narrowly avoiding the end of the world, the leaders of Heaven and Hell are struggling to collaborate according to the terms of their new treaty - especially because angels and demons are, quite literally, allergic to each other. Seeking a solution, the powers that be decide to see if the allergy persists on Earth by sending an angel and demon on a research trip, first stop: New York City. And what better chaperone than Dr. Greta Helsing, who happens to owe Hell a few favors of her own?

But there's unrest in New York's monster underworld and Greta and her team are about to land in the middle of it. Something is off in Heaven and on Earth, and Greta will have to figure out just what that is if she hopes to protect those she loves most."

I mean, if you need an alternative to Good Omens these days, I'd look no further... 

Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"No one betrays the Academy. But now Euphemia must decide: break the rules for her enemy, or let the rules break her heart.

On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim - train young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful lord's systematic attack on women's rights in Parliament, the Academy summons its brightest - and most bitter - pupil to infiltrate the odious man's inner circle. A deal is struck: bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom.

But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. The viscount is the perfect pawn to insulate Gabriel's underworld empire from government interference. He's not about to let some crinoline-clad miss destroy his carefully constructed enterprise - no matter how captivating he finds her threats.

From the rookeries of St. Giles to the ballrooms of Mayfair, Euphemia and Gabriel engage in a battle of wits and wills that's complicated by a blossoming desire. Soon Euphemia realizes it's not the broken promises to her Academy sisters she should fear....It's the danger to her heart."

Can we get a US chapter of The Crinoline Academy going to fight the patriarchy? 

Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Death at a Highland Wedding is the fourth installment in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's gripping Rip Through Time Novels.

After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn't what she expected, she's developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.

Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie's younger sister's wedding. The McCreadies and the groom's family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who's been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat's injuries don't match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost.

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's unique time travel mystery series continues to entertain as Mallory adjusts to life in the 1870s."

Kill the groom! Long live the cats!

The Gresham Scandal by Tracy Grant
Published by: NYLA
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Regency London, an elopement is always fodder for gossip. But this time it may be cover for murder...

Harriet Roth, a bookish spinster, lives a quiet, unassuming life; Tristram Gresham, a noted composer and even more noted roué, flaunts his disreputable reputation. When the two of them disappear, the scandalous implications are obvious to London's beau monde. But former spies Mélanie and Malcolm Rannoch, who are friends of both Harriet and Gresham, are sure something more complicated than an elopement is afoot. Especially because Harriet and Gresham left behind the dead body of an infamous international assassin in Gresham's fashionable bachelor rooms. How the missing couple were connected to the assassin is as puzzling as who killed him - and what brought him to London in the first place.

But neither the quiet Harriet nor the rakish Gresham were what they seemed. Both are harboring secrets that people will kill to uncover. Trying to help their missing friends, the Rannochs enter a deadly game that runs from London's glamorous diplomatic community to the corridors of power in Westminster and Whitehall. Even Almack's exclusive assembly rooms hold deadly dangers - and avoiding scandal suddenly seems less important than simply staying alive..."

Huh, I never thought of an elopement being a good excuse for murder.... This opens up so many possibilities. 

The Surgeon's House by Jody Cooksley
Published by: Allison and Busby
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"London, 1883.
The brutal murder of Rose Parmiter seems, at first glance, to be a random and senseless act. Rose was the beloved cook at Evergreen House, a place of refuge for women and children, a place from which they can start their lives afresh. Proprietor Rebecca Harris, is profoundly shocked by the death of her dear friend and alarmed at the mysterious events which begin to unfold shortly afterwards. Could the past be casting a shadow on the present? The malign legacy of the Everley family who called Evergreen home, cannot be ignored.

After two further deaths it becomes clear there is an evil presence infecting their sanctuary, and Rebecca must draw out the poison of the past so the Evergreen residents can finally make peace with the darkness in their lives."

Oh, houses haunted by the dark pasts are my jam.

The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a wealthy family goes on a South African safari, a series of shocking murders rocks their exclusive compound in this unputdownable thriller from the acclaimed author of the "rollicking good fun" (The Wall Street Journal) The Main Character.

Odelia Babel, CEO of a sustainable fashion empire, is about to marry for the second time - to a man twenty-five years her junior. Asher Bach is the thirty-something designer of Odelia's luxury clothing line, the darling of every high-fashion journalist, and madly in love with Odelia.

Eager to celebrate her nuptials with her nearest and dearest, Odelia invites her adult children, her daughter-in-law, her grandchild, and her best friend/assistant to an all-expenses-paid luxury safari at Leopard Sands in South Africa, the Babel family's favorite vacation spot. In its soil, they have deep roots - and even deeper secrets.

It seems like the perfect trip, but not everyone is thrilled for the happy couple. Amid game drives in the bush and bonfires beneath the desert stars, tensions among the family threaten to boil over. And then, the morning after a big fight with her son Sam - and hours before the wedding - Odelia is found murdered. Sam is immediately the prime suspect, but he claims he has an ironclad alibi - he was with his twin sister, Bailey. Only Bailey is nowhere to be found...

As the heat roils, desperate poachers and ferocious animals lurk, and dark motives fester, it becomes clear that whoever killed Odelia isn't quite finished yet, and the rest of the Babel family is their prey."

I mean, at least let the woman get married before she's brutally murdered...

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"On a trip to the tropical paradise where her fiancée died, a young woman begins to suspect the death was no accident - and the killer's still on the island - in this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Reese's Book Club pick We Were Never Here.

Paradise hides a deadly secret.

When Abby steps foot on Isla Colel, she isn't sure what - if anything - she'll find. She only knows that she needs to see the place where her fiancée, Eszter, died to try and make sense of the tragic accident.

The island is nothing like Abby expected: Though it was once a bustling tourist hub, a hurricane has left it a shell of its former self, with only a handful of residents remaining. Even the once-daily ferry to the mainland now runs every week or so.

There, Abby befriends an alluring group of expats, but her sense of unease surges when one of them says he knows the truth about Eszter's final days. Before he can tell her more, though, he vanishes from the island. Hours turn to days with no sign of him, and the others are chillingly cavalier about his disappearance.

As her quest for the truth unearths dark secrets, shady pasts, and a web of lies, Abby grows more determined than ever to find out what happened to the love of her life. And the deeper she gets in the close-knit expat community, the more she suspects that one of them is Eszter's killer - and will do anything to keep the truth buried. But will Abby discover who it is before she becomes the island's next victim?"

If I was the killer I'd get ride of Abby stat. 

The Set Up by Jon Wynn
Published by: Belt Publishing
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ally, an aspiring actress, is about to give up on getting her big break. But then, after another disappointing audition, a charismatic scene partner says he has a fun gig for her. Soon, Ally is making easy money working for a guerrilla-marketing outfit called The Set Up. Now she's getting lots of practice pretending to be someone she's not - but each job seems more suspicious than the last.

Marshall is a washed-up journalist, teaching a summer class at the university and struggling to keep his students (and himself) focused on his planned lessons. Someone has been leaving copies of his old articles on his lectern every morning, forcing him to revisit the story of a decades-old tragedy and mistakes he's made...both personal and professional.

Web, a quirky loner, has always been ready to pick up and go at a moment's notice. In fact, he's very good at not being noticed, at least not unless he wants to be. That's been helpful in his years working for The Set Up, but the new hire's questions are starting to make Web feel less confident about his work as a con man.

What is The Set Up, and who's playing whom? The search for answers leads Ally, Web, and Marshall from the glitz of the Strip to the grit of Sin City's strip-mall suburbs, and from an abandoned Unification compound to a deadly bar mitzvah. As their paths converge, this unlikely trio uncover the shadowy power dynamics and shifting personalities that shape a city."

I mean, anything guerrilla is pretty shady, but this feels really shady. 

Whistle by Linwood Barclay
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed.

Evil has a one track mind....

Annie Blunt has had an unimaginably terrible year. First, her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident, then one of the children's books she's built her writing and illustrating career on ignited a major scandal. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her son Charlie to a charming small town in upstate New York where they can begin to heal.

But Annie's year is about to get worse.

Bored and lonely in their isolated new surroundings, Charlie is thrilled when he finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed on their property. Annie is glad to see Charlie happy, but there's something unsettling about his new toy. Strange sounds wake Annie in the night - she could swear she hears a train, but there isn't an active track for miles - and bizarre things begin happening in the neighborhood. Worse, Annie can't seem to stop drawing a disturbing new character that has no place in a children's book.

Grief can do strange things to the mind, but Annie is beginning to think she's walked out of one nightmare straight into another, only this one is far more terrifying..."

Oh, it would have been extra ironic if her husband was killed by a train...

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough
Published by: Flatiron Books: Pine and Cedar
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Award-winning author of New York Times bestselling breakout novel (and hit Netflix show) Behind Her Eyes returns with a haunting Gothic novel about a house - and a marriage - gone terribly wrong.

After an accident that nearly kills her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, move from London to a beautiful Dartmoor country house called Larkin Lodge. The house is gorgeous, striking - and to Emily, something about it feels deeply wrong.

Old boards creak at night, fires go out, and books fall from the shelves, and all of it stems from the terrible presence she feels in the third-floor room. But these things happen only when Emily's alone, so are they happening at all? She's still medically fragile; her post-sepsis condition can cause hallucinatory side effects, which means she can't fully trust her own senses. Freddie doesn't notice anything odd and is happy with their chance at a fresh start.

Emily, however, starts to believe that the house is being haunted by someone who was murdered in it, though she can find no evidence of a wrongful death. As bizarre events pile up and her marriage starts to crumble, Emily becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about Larkin Lodge.

But if the house has secrets, so do Emily and her husband.

And they live here now."

Give how bonkers Behind Her Eyes is I can't wait to see where this new novel goes!

Garth Marenghi's Incarcerat by Garth Marenghi
Published by: Coronet Books (GB)
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Garth Marenghi - Frightenerman, Darkscribe, Doomsage - is back with volume two of his TerrorTome...

Horror novelist Nick Steen is abducted and imprisoned at Nulltec, a shadowy technological research facility with excellent conference parking, concealed deep on the Stalkford Downs. There he is observed, tested and 'interfered with' (physically) by a team of scientific experts led by Dr. Barbara Nullman, determined to probe and 'nullify' his escaping imagination...

Will Nick regain control of his faculties, and crucially his particulars, before everyone, including his erstwhile editor Roz, dies horribly? To find out, you will need to read the book and, more importantly, purchase it.

I can say this much on this blurb (and no more) - not before Nick Steen has faced the ultimate monster. (Don't read the last story first or you'll wreck the entire flow.)

From the word processor (that's correct) of the Archduke O'Darkness, Garth Marenghi - Chief Frightener, Quakerman and Lord High Petrifier - come three new dark tales.

Will ye, too, become the...

Incarcerat..."

If you know you know.

String by Paul Tobin, Sara Colella, and Carlos Javier Olivares
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Yoon-Sook Namgung is a 25-year-old Korean-American woman with the remarkable ability to see two types of "strings" connecting various people. The first is blue and stretches between sexual partners. The second - dark black - connects murderers and their victims. If you have a murder that needs solving, Yoon can help. Worried your partner is cheating on you? Yoon can literally SEE the connections. Yoon's life - for all the drama and constant TMI - is good, at least until the day she notices a string, a BLACK string, connected to...herself! This means she'll either soon murder someone, or be murdered herself! So...dang. Which one?"

Just saying, perhaps one of the cheaters she ratted out has come back for a little vengeance... 

In Case You Read This by Edward Underhill
Published by: Quill Tree Books
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From acclaimed author Edward Underhill comes a trans rom-com about serendipity, chance encounter, and the ultimate missed connection. This joyful celebration of queer love and found family is perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli, Emery Lee, and Julian Winters.

Arden isn't excited about moving. Los Angeles was an easy place to fit in and find a supportive queer community. But Winifred, Michigan? That sounds like a much more difficult place to exist.

Pasadena, California, is the perfect city for Gabe's reinvention. Everyone knew everything about him in small-town Shelby, Illinois. Gabe, who wants to be out and proud, can't wait to relocate.

When Arden and Gabe randomly meet in the lobby of a motel in Nebraska, it feels like fate. Both are trans, but more importantly, both are huge fans of the band Damaged Pixie Dream Boi. Clearly, the universe is trying to tell them something. Right?

But after an incredible evening of hanging out, the pair part ways only knowing the other's first name. And as both boys struggle to adjust to their new homes, their thoughts keep being drawn back to their time together. Is one perfect night enough to bring Arden and Gabe back to each other, or will the boys need some help to find each other again?"

Oh, they have to get back to each other! Love must win!

The Rebel of Seventh Avenue by Annabelle Marx
Published by: Storm Publishing
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fashion, I came to realise, wasn't just about beautiful dresses. It was about self-respect, freedom of expression and power.

1910, Edinburgh. Young seamstress Maisie McIntyre's world shatters with her mother's death. Desperate to escape the grinding poverty that has defined her life so far, Maisie makes a daring choice: she steals a bolt of peacock-blue silk, a stash of money and sails for New York City.

With nothing but raw talent and fierce determination, Maisie's gift for dressmaking opens doors she never imagined. As she builds her couture empire, designing bold, modern fashions for Manhattan's elite, Maisie falls for Joseph Jackson, a talented Black architect with dreams as ambitious as her own. But in a world steeped in prejudice, she finds herself facing an impossible choice.

Vividly recreating the glamour and grit of early 20th century New York - from the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to the emerging women's rights movement - comes a sweeping tale of ambition, love and a woman determined to fashion not just beautiful clothes but her own place in a man's world. Fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, An American Beauty and novels by Marie Benedict will be spellbound by The Rebel of Seventh Avenue."

Maisie must not compromise! Grab her dreams, all of them!

An Unladylike Secret by Amita Murray
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Unladylike Rules of Attraction comes the swoon-worthy, suspenseful final installment of the Marleigh Sisters series.

Mira Marleigh, as far as the public is concerned, is an unassuming companion. She quietly drifts through London society accompanying her dear friend and confidant, Ursula. Mira flies under the radar, which is exactly how she likes it, because unbeknownst to everyone besides her sisters and Ursula, she is the anonymous author of one of the most popular society circulars under the pseudonym Aurelius. As a purveyor of society gossip, keeping a low profile allows her to see and hear nearly everything. But is this prosaic, passionless persona that she has carefully constructed really who Mira wants to be?

When one of her circulars detailing a heated argument between the blue-blooded brothers Stephen and Finnegan Underwood ends up as the basis for the case against Finnegan when Stephen turns up dead not two days later, Stephen's widow, Lucretia, is desperate for Aurelius's help in proving Finnegan innocent. So, acting as Aurelius's "assistant," Mira travels to the coastal town of Devonshire where she agrees to help the young widow.

But a chance seaside encounter with a smoldering mystery man might change everything...will he be the key to unlocking the truth, and perhaps Mira's heart, or could he be her downfall?"

I'm just saying, if you're trying to stay undercover, don't pose as an assistant...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amita Murray, Andrea Bartz, Annabelle Marx, Caitlin Starling, Garth Marenghi, Jaclyn Goldis, Jody Cooksley, Kelley Armstrong, Mimi Matthews, Rachel Gillig, Sarah Pinborough, Tracy Grant, Vivian Shaw

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution.

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island - and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer - and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking."

I am SO excited for this book. I already have my signed copy preordered!

Once Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
Published by: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Harkening to Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them - from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who "is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime" (The Washington Post).

Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she's pretty sure they won't extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren't going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples - Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana - in order to win a cash prize.

But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real - and the stakes are life or death.

A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense."

Yes, it's time for beach read season, and well, I think this is the winner out of the gate.

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A bestselling thriller author arranges a luxury train trip that is not what it appears to be in this electrifying modern homage to Agatha Christie from the author of the "tense and twisty" (Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author) The Chateau.

Reclusive, mysterious author Ginevra Ex is famous for her unusual approach to crafting her big bestselling thrillers: she hires real people and conducts intensive interviews, then fictionalizes them. Her latest main character, Rory, is thrilled when Ginevra presents her with an extravagant bonus - a lavish trip along Italy's Mediterranean coast on the famed, newly renovated Orient Express. But when Rory boards the train, she's stunned to discover that her brother, her best friend, and even her ex-fiancé are passengers, as well. All invited by Ginevra, all hiding secrets.

With each stop, from Cinque Terre to Rome to Positano, it becomes increasingly clear that Ginevra has masterminded the ultimate real life twisty plot with Rory as her main character. And as Ginevra's deceptions mount, and the lies and machinations of Rory's travel companions pile up, Rory begins to fear that her trip will culminate like one of Ginevra's books: with a murder or two. In the opulent compartments of the iconic train, Rory must untangle the shocking reasons why Ginevra wanted them all aboard - and to what deadly end.

Another stylish and compulsively readable mystery from Jaclyn Goldis, this is the perfect read for fans of Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and Paula Hawkins."

I mean, someone who stages their books in real life? I want to meet this demented (sadly fictional) author!

Still Waters by Matt Goldman
Published by: Forge
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"If you're reading this email, I am dead. I know this will sound strange, but someone has been trying to kill me.

Liv and Gabe Ahlstrom are estranged siblings who haven't seen each other in years, but that's about to change when they receive a rare call from their older brother's wife. "Mack is dead," she says. "He died of a seizure." Five minutes after they hang up, Liv and Gabe each receive a scheduled email from their dead brother, claiming that he was murdered.

The siblings return to their family-run resort in the Northwoods of Minnesota to investigate Mack's claims, but Leech Lake has more in store for them than either could imagine. Drawn into a tangled web of lies and betrayal that spans decades, they put their lives on the line to unravel the truth about their brother, their parents, themselves, and the small town in which they grew up. After all, no one can keep a secret in a small town, but someone in Leech Lake is willing to kill for the truth to stay buried.

New York Times bestselling and Emmy award-winning author Matt Goldman returns with a gripping, emotional thrill ride in this compelling story on grief and uncovering the past before it's too late."

I mean, Leech Lake? If I had a resort there I'd try to do some rebranding...

When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An outsider threatens to expose the secrets at an elite private school in this suspenseful debut novel for readers of My Dark Vanessa and Dare Me.

Louise Manson is the newest student at Highfield Manor, Dublin's most exclusive private school. It seems nearly perfect: the high arched window alcoves and tall granite pillars, the overspill of lilac at the front gate and the immaculate playing fields, the giggling students, the dusty, oak-lined library, and the dark, festering secret she has come to expose.

At first, Lou's working-class status makes her the consummate outsider, though all that changes when she is befriended by the beautiful and wealthy Shauna Power. But Lou finds out that even Shauna is caught up in Highfield's web, and her time there ends with a lifeless body sprawled at her feet.

Thirty years later, Lou has rebuilt her life after the harrowing events of the so-called "Highfield Affair," when she gets a shocking phone call. Ronan Power, Shauna's brother, is a high-profile lawyer bringing a lawsuit against the school. And he needs Lou to testify.

Now with a daughter and career to protect, the last thing Lou wants is for Highfield Manor to be back in her life. But to finally free herself and others, she has to confront her past, go to battle once more, and discover, for once and for all, what really happened at Highfield. Powerful and compelling, When We Were Silent is an unputdownable, thrilling story of exploitation, privilege, and retribution."

Oh yes, don't keep silent any longer, spill the secrets! Tell me all!

Death Behind Every Door by Heather Graham
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the shadows of a Scottish castle, something deadly is lurking in every corner...

When FBI special agent Luke Kendrick discovers chilling evidence of dozens of victims at a crime scene in London, he recognizes the calling card of the notorious H. H. Holmes Society. Named for the eighteenth-century monster regarded as America's first serial killer, the society is comprised of a twisted web of killers, working to carry out heinous murders in Holmes's memory. And now the group's been linked to a Scottish castle turned B and B - where guests check in but never check out.

Arriving at the sinister Graystone Castle posed as a tourist, Luke is joined by Special Agent Carly MacDonald, and the pair is immediately confronted by dangers hidden in the castle's depths. With guests disappearing and a network of killers closing in, Luke and Carly have only each other to rely on - and they'll have to race to cut off the head of the snake before the blood trail of the past can culminate in a very real and deadly present."

Oh, H.H. Holmes acolytes! Time for me to check in.

The Village Detectives and the Art of Murder by Fiona Walker
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to the beautiful English village of Inkbury. Tucked deep in the North Wessex Downs, it's only claim to fame is the picturesque riverside that once appeared in a Richard Curtis movie. That is, until the murder...

Former stand-up comic Juno Mulligan has been suffering a serious sense-of-humour failure. Not only has she lost the love of her life, but she's having to relocate to the (admittedly idyllic) village of Inkbury to watch out for her elderly mother, who she's genuinely worried might be marrying a wife-killer.

She hopes that her old friend, disgraced-journalist-turned-novelist Phoebe Fredericks can help her crack the case of whether her mother's perma-tanned, iceberg-smiled, three-times-a-widower fiancé is hiding a murderous past.

But before they have a chance, the local art dealer washes up distinctly dead in the village's famous river. His lover is in the frame, but Juno and Phoebe suspect that there is a deeper secret…One that relates to Phoebe's own past and Juno's present.

Will the unofficial Village Detective Agency solve the mystery before the killer strikes again? In sleepy Inkbury, as they soon discover, living one's best midlife can be murder.

An utterly gripping cozy crime mystery, from million-copy bestselling Fiona Walker, guaranteed to absolutely delight fans of Richard Osman, Janet Evanovich and the Reverend Richard Coles."

The Richard Curtis reference made me snort laugh.

The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All will be revealed in this no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer - and possible double agent - Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany's nuclear program.

Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill's secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she's learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who's long held her heart.

British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany. She's shaken. An assassination is unlike anything she has ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture.

At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel, a spy in her own right with ambiguous loyalties, has requested a mysterious meeting with the British ambassador in Madrid - and has requested Maggie join them. As the two play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg, but is faced with betrayal and a threat more terrifying than losing her own life.

Maggie desperately wants to find her happily-ever-after, but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves - with fateful implications for the future of the free world."

You just KNOW Susan Elia MacNeal has been holding on to this perfect title for the last book in her series.

The Lamplighter by Crystal J. Bell
Published by: Flux
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's an honor to bring light to the dark. The nineteenth-century whaling village of Warbler is famous for its lucky ship figureheads - and infamous for people disappearing into the nightly fog. In this murky locale, the lamplighter is synonymous with safety and protection, and it's a position Temperance assumes when her father is found hanging from one of the lampposts. Though Tempe proves competent, the town is still hesitant to let a woman handle this responsibility. When a girl disappears after two lamps go out, Tempe's ability to provide for her mother and younger sister hangs in the balance. She scrambles for answers, hindered at every turn by the village authorities' call for her removal. As more villagers vanish under her watch, Tempe discovers unsettling truths about the famous Warbler figureheads and her own beloved father. But her warnings of a monster are ignored, even by her own family. Now she must follow the light out of her own fog of despair, as she faces the choice to look the other way or risk speaking out and possibly dooming herself and her sister to be among the lost."

I mean, obviously there has to be a monster in the fog right? Even if it's shaped like a man, it's still a monster...

You Like It Darker by Stephen King
Published by: Scribner Book Company
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 3512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

"You like it darker? Fine, so do I," writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel "the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind," and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

"Two Talented Bastids" explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream," a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In "Rattlesnakes," a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. In "The Dreamers," a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. "The Answer Man" asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King's ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it."

Why does it sound like the sequel to Cujo might be about a haunted puppet? King does like his haunted dolls...

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Love brings down the haunted house in this captivating romance from the acclaimed author of The Romantic Agenda.

Lucky Hart has a special affinity for the supernatural but almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. She's estranged from her family, lost her friends, and has been rejected from graduate school. Twice. But her big break finally arrives when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation.

After scheming her way onto the show to investigate, Lucky meets Maverick Phillips and chemistry instantly crackles between them. He tempts her in ways no one ever has, challenging and supporting her, and making her finally feel seen. Their connection is so palpable everyone notices it - including Hennesee House.

Now Lucky and Maverick's relationship has a challenger: the lonely, sentient house desperate for her undivided attention. As love begins to clash with career, Lucky refuses to choose one over the other because everyone deserves a happily ever after, even houses with haunted hearts. But when all her plans begin backfiring one-by-one, she realizes that if she wants to have it all? She'll have to risk everything."

Aw, even the haunted house deserves a happy ending. Aw. 

The Incorrigibles by Meredith Jaeger
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today bestselling author Meredith Jaeger comes an emotionally resonant novel about two women whose lives intersect as one resists the gentrification of her San Francisco neighborhood, and the other, eighty years earlier, fights for her freedom in nineteenth-century America....

1890, San Francisco. Seduced by her employer's nephew, Annie Gilmurray, an Irish maid, is accused of stealing the ring he promised her. Sentenced to one year in San Quentin, Annie is heartbroken and frightened among the inmates of the women's ward: prostitutes, murderers, and pickpockets. But Annie finds beauty and friendship in a brutal place, where the women look out for one another, dreaming of a better life after release. But their world inside San Quentin's walls is a dangerous one, and when the unthinkable happens, Annie makes a choice that will alter the course of her future forever.

1972, San Francisco. Aspiring photographer Judy Morelli is grappling with the searing betrayal of her husband's infidelity, subletting a San Francisco apartment while she pieces her life back together. When Judy discovers Annie's mugshot, she becomes fascinated and invested not just in Annie's fate but also in the history of her gentrifying South of Market Street neighborhood, joining the fight against redevelopment to maintain its rich community.

Exploring the different ways in which we are imprisoned and how we can break free, The Incorrigibles is a story of women reaching across the barriers of time, the unbreakable bonds of female friendship, and the forgotten histories of those pushed to society's margins."

Yes, female empowerment in San Francisco through the ages!

A Gamble at Sunset by Vanessa Riley
Published by: Zebra
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Award-winning author Vanessa Riley turns all convention on its head for the first in an enchanting, dazzlingly diverse new Regency romance trilogy featuring a duke, three sisters, and a tantalizing bet with a most desirable reward...

When a duke discovers the woman he loves was tricked into marrying another, the master chess player makes the now-widowed Viscountess the highest-stakes wager of his life in a last-ditch effort to win her affection: he will find husbands for her two sisters - or depart forever...

Georgina Wilcox, a wallflower with hidden musical talents, is furious when her reclusive older sister - the recently widowed Viscountess - refuses sorely needed help from the Duke of Torrance, the only gentleman who has shown kindness to the bereft Wilcox sisters. Georgina decides to get back at her sister and shock the Viscountess by kissing the first willing stranger she meets in the enchanting gardens of Anya House. Unfortunately, her sister is not the sole witness. A group of reporters and the ton's leading gossips catch Georgina in a passionate embrace with a reticent composer, Lord Mark Sebastian.

The third son of an influential marquis, the tongue-tied Mark is determined to keep the scandal from ruining Georgina's reputation and his own prospects of winning the celebrated Harlbert's Prize for music. Under the guise of private voice lessons, the two embark on a daring gamble to fool the ton into believing that their feigned courtship is honorable while bolstering Georgina's singing genius to captivate potential suitors. Sexist cartoons, family rivalries, and an upcoming ball test the fake couple's resolve. Will their sudden fiery collaboration - and growing attraction - prove there's nothing false about a first kiss and scandalously irresistible temptation?"

Sigh, Regency romance and Vanessa Riley FINALLY getting a good cover to one of her books!

The Heiress's Daughter by Anne Gracie
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dashing rake must prove he has changed his scandalous ways to win his one true love from the arms of another, in a witty new Regency romance from the national bestselling author of The Rake's Daughter.

Heiress Clarissa Studley yearns to be loved for more than her fortune. Warmhearted, but plain and shy, she wishes to marry, but has two firm rules: no rakes and no fortune-hunters - her father was both, and she'll never forget the misery he caused.

So, when Race, Lord Randall, starts to pay Clarissa attention, she knows she must keep him at a distance. Attractive and charming he might be, Race's reputation precedes him and she's observed first hand his flirtatious ways with London society beauties. But Race sees a beauty in Clarissa that others cannot, and for the first time in his life, he is truly in love. And when a rival for Clarissa's affections appears - a handsome, wounded war hero, heir to his great-aunt's fortune - Race becomes desperate as Clarissa seems tempted to make a safer, tamer choice.

Can Race convince Clarissa that his love is true and that she can trust him with her heart? And can Clarissa put aside her unhappy past, and follow her heart, despite the risk of loving a rake?"

Come on, rakes are the most fun to romance!

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and the myth of Hades and Persephone, this lush and enchanting enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Scarlett St. Clair.

Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. With her parents gone, it's Wren's responsibility to ensure she and her sister survive the harsh and endless winter, but if the legends are to be believed, their home may not be safe for much longer.

For three hundred years, the land surrounding Edgewood has been encased in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier that protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond, weakens. Only one thing can stop the Shade's fall: the blood of a mortal woman bound in wedlock to the North Wind, a dangerous immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules. And the time has come to choose his bride.

When the North Wind sets his eyes on Wren's sister, Wren will do anything to save her - even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. But mortal or not, Wren won't go down without a fight...

The North Wind is a stand-alone, enemies-to-lovers slow-burn fantasy romance, the first in a series sprinkled with Greek mythology."

I've always been a sucker for anything Beauty and the Beast related, throw in the gorgeous cover and I'm sold. 

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler's laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

Davi has done this all before. She's tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she's rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she's killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she's been defeated every time.

This time? She's done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that's who she needs to be. It's Davi's turn to play on the winning side."

Because who says you can't be the Dark Lord of your own story?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anne Gracie, Claire Kann, Crystal J. Bell, Fiona McPhillips, Fiona Walker, Heather Graham, Jaclyn Goldis, Matt Goldman, Meredith Jaeger, Ruth Ware, Stephen King, Stuart Turton, Susan Elia MacNeal, Vanessa Riley

Such Good Friends by Stephen Greco
Published by: John Scognamiglio Book
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Reveling in the star-studded parties, fashionable restaurants and gilt-edged inner circles of its most exclusive events, Truman Capote and his flock of glamorous socialite "swans" rule the highest echelons of 1960s and 70s high society New York. Stephen Greco brings this scandalous world to life in a fascinating recreation of the tumultuous friendship between Capote and his most elegant yet unconventional swan: princess and sister of Jackie Kennedy, Her Serene Highness Lee Radziwill.

On a Thursday morning in May 1961, a well-mannered twenty-one-year-old named Marlene enters the Fifth Avenue apartment of Lee Radziwill to interview for the position of housekeeper and cook. The stylish wife of London-based Prince Stanislaw Radziwill, Princess Lee is intelligent and creative, with ambitions beyond simply jet-setting. But to the public, she is always First Lady Jackie Kennedy's little sister.

As Marlene becomes a trusted presence in the Radziwill household, she observes the dazzling array of famous figures who flit in and out of Lee's intimate circle, including Gloria Vanderbilt, Rudolf Nureyev, Jackie and the President, Ari Onassis, Gore Vidal, Andy Warhol, and, most regularly, celebrated author Truman Capote. At the height of his fame following the success of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman has granted Lee place of honor in his flock of glamorous socialite "swans."

Their closeness stems from an unexpected kinship. Both know too well the feeling of being second-best. Seeing his shadow in the woman he refers to as his most unconventional swan, Truman uses his influence and talent to try and make Lee a star.

Their bond deepens through the decade's extraordinary events, from JFK's assassination to the era-defining Black and White Ball. But Marlene, who Truman has taken under his wing as an aspiring writer, can see Truman's darker side - especially his penchant for mining his friends' private lives for material. And there are betrayals on either side that may signal the end not just of a friendship, but of the shared expectation that wealth and fame can shield against every heartbreak."

Everything's coming up Capote these days!

A Starlet's Secret to a Sensational Afterlife by Kendall Kulper
Published by: Holiday House
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A budding starlet and her handsome-but-moody co-star go from bitter enemies to reluctant partners when they get tangled up in the disappearance of a beautiful young actress in 1930s Hollywood.

Eighteen-year-old Henrietta arrives in Los Angeles in 1934 with dreams of trading her boring life for stardom.

She's determined to make it as an actress, despite her family's doubts and rumors of would-be starlets gone missing. And by the skin of her teeth, she pulls it off! A serendipitous job offer arrives and Henrietta finds herself on a whirlwind publicity tour for a major film role - with a vexingly unpleasant actor tapped by the studio to be her fake boyfriend.

But fierce Henrietta has more in common with brooding Declan than she realizes. They both have gifts that they are hiding, for fear of being labeled strange: he is immune to injury and she can speak to ghosts. When the co-stars get tangled up in the disappearance of a beautiful young actress, they go from bitter enemies and pretend lovers to reluctant partners - and possibly even friends.

Together, they might be the only people in Hollywood who can do something about these poor missing girls. And in doing so...they might just fall in love for real.

This whip smart, seductive caper by the author of Murder for the Modern Girl has the perfect combination of romance, vengeance, and a hint of the supernatural, set in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Hand to fans of These Violent Delights and My Lady Jane."

Hollywood and a hint of the supernatural, those are my magic words!

An Unsuitable Heiress by Jane Dunn
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Kindle, 376 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"'Do you realise, Corinna, just how hard it is for a young woman of irregular birth, without family, fortune or friends in the world? Marriage is the only way to get any chance of a life.'

Following the death of her mother, Corinna Ormesby has lived a quiet life in the countryside with her cantankerous Cousin Agnes. Her father's identity has been a tantalising mystery, but now at nineteen Corinna knows that finding him may be her only way to avoid marriage to the odious Mr. Beech.

Deciding to head to London, Corinna dons a male disguise. Travelling alone as a young woman risks scandal and danger, but when, masquerading as a youth, she is befriended by three dashing blades, handsome and capable Alick Wolfe, dandy Ferdinand Shilton and the incorrigible Lord Purfoy, Corinna now has access to the male-only world of Regency England. And when she meets Alick's turbulent brother Darius, a betrayal of trust leads to deadly combat which only one of the brothers may survive.

From gambling in gentleman's clubs to meeting the courtesans of Covent Garden, Corinna's country naivety soon falls away. But when she finds her father at last, learns the truth about her parentage and discovers her fortunes transformed, she must quickly decide how to reveal her true identity, while hoping that one young man in particular can see her for the beauty and Lady she really is.

Sunday Times bestselling author Jane Dunn brings the Regency period irresistibly to life in a page-turning novel packed with romance, scandal, friendship and colour. Perfect for fans of Jane Austen. Janice Hadlow, Gill Hornby, and anyone with a Bridgerton-shaped hole in their lives."

Oh, I think everyone has a Bridgerton-shaped hole in their lives... 

The Duchess Takes a Husband by Harper St. George
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A scandalous arrangement between a London rogue and an American duchess leads to lavish stakes - perfect for fans of Bridgerton!

Despite her illustrious title, Camille, Duchess of Hereford, remains what she has always been - a pariah. Though her title means she's technically accepted by London Society, the rebellious widow with her burgeoning interest in the suffrage movement and her American ways isn't exactly high on every hostess's guest list. But Camille starts to wonder if being an outcast is not without its perks when the tantalizing answer to her secret fear appears in the shape of Jacob Thorne, the illegitimate son of an earl and co-owner of London's infamous Montague Club.

Jacob is used to making deals with his club members - he's just not accustomed to them being beautiful women. Nor have the terms ever been so sweetly seductive as Camille's shocking proposition. To finally buy his own club and gain the crucial backing of investors, Camille offers Jacob the respectability of a fake engagement with a duchess. In return, the tempting widow has one condition: she wants Jacob to show her if it's possible for her to experience pleasure in bed.

The lure of such a bargain proves too delicious to resist, drawing the enterprising rogue and the wallflower duchess into a scandalous game and an even more dangerous gamble of the heart."

I'd say more for fans of Lisa Kleypas personally...

The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A modern-day homicide detective is working as an undertaker's assistant in Victorian Scotland when a serial poisoner attacks the men of Edinburgh and leaves their widows under suspicion.

Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she's not housemaid Catriona Mitchell - even though Mallory is in Catriona's body - and Mallory is now officially an undertaker's assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows... the latest of which is Gray's oldest sister.

Poison is said to be a woman's weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it's as simple as that. But she must tread carefully. Every move the household makes is being watched, and who knows where the investigation will lead.

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong is known for her exquisite world building, and this latest series is no exception. The Poisoner's Ring brings the intricacies of Victorian Scotland alive as Mallory again searches for a 19th-century killer as well as a way home."

A time slip with a twist!

The Big Sugar by Mary Logue
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 216 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A grisly death near her new homestead draws Brigid Reardon into a complicated mystery soon after her arrival in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1881.

After the harrowing events that entangled her in Deadwood, Brigid Reardon just wants to move west and get on with her new life in America. But shortly after traveling to Cheyenne to join her brother Seamus, she finds herself caught up in another deadly mystery - beginning with her discovery of a neighbor's body on the plains near their homes. Was Ella murdered? Are either of the two men in Ella's life responsible? With Seamus away on a cattle drive, her friend Padraic possibly succumbing to a local's charms, and the sheriff seemingly satisfied with Ella's fate, it falls to Brigid to investigate what really happened, which puts her in the crosshairs of one of Cheyenne's cattle barons, called "big sugars" in these parts. All she really wants is something better than a crumbling, soddy homestead on the desolate plains of Wyoming - and maybe, just maybe, she wants Padraic - but life, it seems, has other plans: this young immigrant from Ireland is going to be a detective on the western frontier of 1880s America, even if it kills her.

Loosely based on the true story of Ellen Watson in Cheyenne in 1889, The Big Sugar continues the adventure begun in Mary Logue's celebrated mystery The Streel, which introduced a "gritty, charming, clever protagonist" (Kirkus Reviews). With a faultless sense of history, a keen eye for suspense, and a poet's way with prose, Mary Logue all but guarantees that readers, like Brigid, will find the mystery at the heart of The Big Sugar downright irresistible."

I'm glad I recently watched all of Ballykissangel so I know how to pronounce Padraic.

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dream girls trip to a luxurious French chateau devolves into a deadly nightmare of secrets and murder in this stylish, twisty thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.

Welcome to picturesque Provence, where the Lady of the Chateau, Séraphine Demargelasse, has opened its elegant doors to her granddaughter Darcy and three friends. Twenty years earlier, the four girlfriends studied abroad together in France and visited the old woman on the weekends, creating the group's deep bond. But why this sudden invitation?

Amid winery tours, market visits, and fancy dinners overlooking olive groves and lavender fields, it becomes clear that each woman has a hidden reason for returning to the estate after all these years. Then, following a wild evening's celebration, Séraphine is found brutally murdered.

In the midst of this shocking crime, a sinister Instagram account pops up, exposing snapshots from the friends' intimate moments at the chateau, while threatening to reveal more.

As they race to uncover who murdered Séraphine - and is now stalking them - the friends begin to suspect each other. Because the chateau houses many secrets...several worth killing for."

Big old chateau and murder? Yes and yes.

Hard Dough Homicide by Olivia Matthews
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Someone in Brooklyn's Little Caribbean neighborhood has an appetite for murder in Olivia Matthews' Hard Dough Homicide.

Spice Isle Bakery owner Lyndsay Murray is always looking for new ways to grow her family's business. But she already regrets agreeing to host the retirement dinner for local high school principal Emily Smith. The tyrant used to be her mother's boss and they did not get along. Six guests arrive for the celebration, but only five survive. Emily starts convulsing - right after eating the curry chicken - and dies soon after. It's not long before the police are knocking on Spice Isle's door, bringing the Murray family back into the heart of another murder investigation - driving away customers in the process. Lyndsay can't help but wonder if this is the end of the bakery, even though it's just begun. She must put aside her reservations about investigating another crime, because the Murrays refuse to go down without a fight."

The real mystery, why is a bakery making curry chicken?

Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams
Published by: Doubleday Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of While Justice Sleeps returns with another riveting and intricately plotted thriller, in which a blackmailed federal judge, a secret court and a brazen murder may lead to an unprecedented national crisis.

Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unraveling an international conspiracy in While Justice Sleeps. But as the sparks of Congressional hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Avery is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, an unassuming young man and fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Desperate to understand what happened, he gives Avery a file, a burner phone, and a fearful warning that there are highly dangerous people involved.

Another shocking murder leads Avery to a list of names - all federal judges - and, alarmingly, all judges on the FISA Court (the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), also known as America's "secret court." It is this body which grants permission to the government to wiretap Americans or spy on corporations suspected of terrorism. As Avery digs deeper, she begins to see a frightening pattern - and she worries that something far more sinister may be unfolding inside the nation's third branch of government. With lives at stake, Avery must race the clock and an unexpected enemy to find the answer.

Drawn from today's headlines and woven with her unique insider perspective, Stacey Abrams combines twisting plotlines, wry wit, and clever puzzles to create another immensely entertaining suspense novel."

Damn I love Stacey Abrams.

The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them there. This first book in a new epic space opera trilogy by award-winning author Megan E. O'Keefe is perfect for fans of Children of Time, Semiosis, and Ancillary Justice.

She's a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they're found and Naira Sharp thinks she knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity's expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He's the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin's father has tasked him with monitoring the settlement of a new planet, and he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin's new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy the settlement ship before they make land. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she's sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that's bigger than both of them."

What about fans of Enemy Mine?

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An immortal Knight of the Round Table faces his greatest challenge yet - saving the politically polarized, rapidly warming world from itself - in this slyly funny contemporary take on Arthurian legend.

Legends don't always live up to reality.

Being reborn as an immortal defender of the realm gets awfully tiring over the years - or at least that's what Sir Kay's thinking as he claws his way up from beneath the earth yet again.

Kay once rode alongside his brother, King Arthur, as a Knight of the Round Table. Since then, he has fought at Hastings and at Waterloo and in both World Wars. But now he finds himself in a strange new world where oceans have risen, the army's been privatized, and half of Britain's been sold to foreign powers. The dragon that's running amok - that he can handle. The rest? He's not so sure.

Mariam's spent her life fighting what's wrong with her country. But she's just one ordinary person, up against a hopelessly broken system. So when she meets Kay, she dares to hope that the world has finally found the savior it needs.

Yet as the two travel through this bizarre and dangerous land, they discover that a magical plot of apocalyptic proportions is underway. And Kay's too busy hunting dragons - and exchanging blows with his old enemy Lancelot - to figure out what to do about it.

In perilous times like these, the realm doesn't just need a knight. It needs a true leader.

Luckily, Excalibur lies within reach.

But who will be fit to wield it?

With a cast that includes Merlin, Morgan le Fay, the Lady of the Lake, and King Arthur himself - all reimagined in joyous, wickedly subversive fashion - Perilous Times is an Arthurian retelling that looks forward as much as it looks back...and a rollicking, deadpan-funny, surprisingly touching fantasy adventure."

You know I'm a sucker for a good Arthurian retelling.

The Tales Behind Tarot by Alison Davies
Published by: Leaping Hare
Publication Date: May 23rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In an introduction to the tarot unlike any other, join storyteller, tarot reader and teacher, Alison Davies, and read 78 unforgettable tales behind all the cards in the modern tarot deck.

Every tarot card has a story to tell and is rich in symbolic meaning. In this gorgeous book for aspiring and experienced tarot readers alike, expert practitioner Alison Davies brings the stories of the cards alive. With key words and themes to help you understand the meanings of the cards, use this storybook as a tool to learn the tarot, or take your tarot readings to the next level.

Follow The Fool on his journey through the Major Arcana as he travels down the path of life, meeting iconic characters along the way such as The Magician, The Hermit, Death, and The High Priestess. Follow the stories of the four suits in the Minor Arcana, and watch three sisters rise to power in the Suit of Pentacles, and a world-changing idea is born in the Suit of Wands.

Stories give us context, context gives us knowledge, and knowledge is empowerment. Enhance your tarot practice, and learn to understand, decode, and apply the wisdom and meaning of the tarot in your life through the power of these stories."

It's the story that helps in the understanding.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Arthurian, Bridgerton, Harper St. George, Jaclyn Goldis, Jane Dunn, Kelley Armstrong, Kendall Kulper, Mary Logue, Megan E. O'Keefe, Olivia Matthews, Stacey Abrams, Stephen Greco, Tarot, Thomas D. Lee, Truman Capote