strange and random happenstance

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate.... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer.

It's 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances's night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn't happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances's lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt's fate instead of her fortune."

Just putting it out there, but perhaps in trying to prevent her murder she caused it to happen...

Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this spine-tingling, atmospheric "nail-biter of a novel" (Shelf Awareness), a woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at an alleged haunted house - the same place where a traumatic incident shattered their lives twenty years ago. Few in sleepy Sumner's Mills have stumbled across the Octagon House hidden deep in the woods. Even fewer are brave enough to trespass. A man had killed his wife and two young daughters there, a shocking, gruesome crime that the sleepy upstate New York town tried to bury. One summer night, an emboldened fourteen-year-old Clare and her best friend, Abby, ventured into the Octagon House. Clare came out, but a piece of Abby never did. Twenty years later, Clare receives word that Abby has attempted suicide at the Octagon House and now lies in a coma. With little to lose, Clare returns to her roots to uncover the darkness responsible for ruining their lives. A "spellbinding horror story, where the terror comes not from ghosts, but from the haunted places we find within ourselves" (Elizabeth Brundage, author of The Vanishing Point), Beneath the Stairs is perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon, Simone St. James, and Chris Bohjalian."

I mean, I get tingles up and down my spine just at the name of the house, Octagon House!

A Trace of Hares by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Published by: Embla Books
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A family wedding. An unsolved murder. Til death us do part?

Dr. Nell Ward is in the lush, emerald-green hills of Ireland to attend the wedding of two dear friends at a picture-perfect farmhouse.

But family tensions are running high in the days before the happy couple tie the knot. And when Nell hears a fox kill a hare in the early morning, the bad omen sends shivers down her spine. Almost like it is a sign of something to come...

Then one of the locals makes a gruesome discovery in a nearby peat bog. The habitats are famous for the ancient bodies they can preserve for thousands of years. This woman, however, died much more recently and was clearly a victim of foul play.

Nell and her friends are suddenly in the middle of another murder case. Can they trace the truth to unmask a long-hidden killer and save the wedding, before it's too late?

An absolutely gripping and page-turning cozy mystery to curl up with. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Robert Thorogood and Janice Hallett."

I mean, bodies in peat bogs is a thing with me. A thing I love.

Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The rhythm is gonna get you.

It's been five whole months since the last murder in Cedar River, Texas, and Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie have been humming along when disaster strikes again.

Their struggling vinyl records shop/coffee nook, Sip and Spin Records, is under pressure from predatory investors, though the Jessup sisters aren't ready to face the music and admit defeat. But the night after their meeting, the sketchy financier is killed outside their shop during a torrential Texas thunderstorm that washes out all the roads in and out of town. Now the sisters find themselves trapped in Cedar River with a killer, and Juni is determined to solve the case.

When the river spits out an unexpected surprise, Detective Beau Russell asks for Juni's help, never predicting her investigation will spin her into danger. Up until now, the Jessup sisters have been playing it by ear, but with the whole town watching, can they catch a killer before he strikes again?"

Plus, rain tends to wash away evidence, making it even trickier to catch a killer!

Off the Air by Christina Estes
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, Off the Air introduces Jolene Garcia in Emmy Award-winning reporter Christina Estes's Tony Hillerman Prize-winning debut.

Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments - anything from a monsoon storm to a newborn giraffe at the zoo - and special projects. Stories that take more time to research and produce. Stories that Jolene wants to tell.

When word gets out about a death at a radio station, Jolene and other journalists swarm the scene, intent on reporting the facts first. The body is soon identified as Larry Lemmon, a controversial talk show host, who died under suspicious circumstances. Jolene conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage. But not for long.

As the story heats up, so does the competition. Jolene is determined to solve this murder. It's an investigation that could make or break her career - if it doesn't break her first."

Get a murderous inside scoop from an author who knows what's what.

You'd Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 4336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A comic thriller following the trials and tribulations of Claire, a part-time serial killer, who is keen to keep her favorite hobby a secret - despite the efforts of a determined blackmailer.

The night after her father's funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink - even before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces - something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby.

The thing is, it's not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Will Claire finish off her blackmailer before her pursuer reveals all? Let the games begin..."

How can you not be enchanted by that cover?

Secrets of a Scottish Isle by Erica Ruth Neubauer
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spirited American Jane Wunderly must investigate a secret society on an isolated isle off the western coast of Scotland where esoteric rituals blur the line between what's real, what's illusion, and what's deadly...

Isle of Iona, 1927 Cast away on a remote locale, Jane's latest assignment depends on concealing her identity and blending in at an occult gathering. Not even her fiancé, Redvers, can be too close as she uncovers the truth about Robert Nightingale, enigmatic leader of the Order of the Golden Dawn - a group made up of supernatural ceremonies, influential people, and an undefinable darkness. When a woman tries to escape to the mainland only to be found murdered in the moors, the shocking scene reveals it's easier to join the Golden Dawn than it is to leave.

Jane, set on solving the crime and catching the next ferry with Redvers, realizes she may be among the few still grasping reality. One high-ranking member searches for the killer by attempting to access otherworldly planes of existence, while others become immersed in a strange solstice ritual. Then there's Nightingale and the rivals who discarded him to start a new temple. As a second death brings fresh clues into focus, Jane needs to navigate a frightening dilemma - playing along won't help her crack the mystery, but revealing too much could be a fatal mistake..."

I mean, I'm always here for local author Erica Neubauer, but this volume? Scotland? An occult gathering? Sign me up!

Forgetting to Remember by M.J. Rose
Published by: Blue Box Press
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 226 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover a spellbinding love story in this dazzling time-travel adventure from the NYT bestselling author of The Last Tiara, M.J. Rose.

Setting aside grief from the fallout of the second World War and putting her energy into curating an upcoming show critical to her career as the Keeper of the Metalworks at London's renowned Victoria and Albert Museum, Jeannine Maycroft stumbles upon a unique collection of jewel-framed miniature eye portraits-a brilliant romantic device and clandestine love token of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

One piece among the assembly intrigues her more than all the others: a twilight-blue man's eye framed by opals shimmering with enchanting flashes of fiery color. But the beauty is just the beginning. Not only is the painting a self-portrait of one of her favorite Pre-Raphaelite artists, Ashe Lloyd Lewis, but the brooch itself is a portal eight decades into the past.

Despite being cast into an era she was never meant to be in, Jeannine and Ashe develop an immediate and passionate bond, complicated by the undeniable fact that she does not belong in 1867, and the disaster about to destroy her family and reputation in her time.

Striving to live a dual life and dangerously straddling two time periods, Jeannine fights to protect her career and her father from scandal in the present while desperately trying to save her lover's life in the past.

Forgetting to Remember - richly embroidered with historical detail and heartbreaking conflict - is another luscious and thrilling masterpiece by M.J. Rose. A beautiful and compelling story of art, war, magic, and survival, wrapped in a love that defies time."

Somewhere in Time with Pre-Raphaelites! 

The Duchess: The Scandalous Ladies of London by Sophie Jordan
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The thrilling second book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's amazing new high concept series, The Scandalous Ladies of London, which chronicles the lives of a group of affluent ladies reigning over glittering, Regency-era London, vying for position in the hierarchy of the ton. They are the young wives, widows, and daughters of London's wealthiest families. The drama is big, the money runs deep, and the shade is real. Life is different in the ton.

"I liked my husband well enough...but I like him even better dead."

It's been a year since her wretched cad of a husband died and Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, is finally her own woman. Flitting from party to party, freedom is sweet and life should be perfect. Until the new duke surfaces.

Nothing like the haughty noblemen who populate the ton, Rhain, the newly minted Duke of Dedham, is a big brawny Welshman with an accent that makes Valencia's knees go weak as he boldly moves into her home with his six wild unwed sisters. The rude and humorless usurper thinks her vain and spoiled. But with a pittance to her name, Valencia needs his support to remain in London and enjoy all the pleasures her new position as a merry widow has to offer.

So a bargain is struck. Valencia will usher his sisters into Good Society and see them happily betrothed. In return, he'll give her the financial security and independence she craves. But the more time they spend beneath the same roof, the more she realizes it's not safety she wants but the dangerously seductive Rhain. Valencia has vowed never to risk marriage again. And yet how can she resist the tempting man when he might be the greatest adventure of her life?"

Ah, to be a merry widow when a Welshman calls.

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.

Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: Tread lightly and survive.

It isn't easy when she's the only one in the family who doesn't quite fit in. Her twin brother, Benny, goes with the flow so much he's practically dissolved, and her older sister, Nicole, is so used to everyone - including her blandly docile husband and two kids - falling in line that Anna often ends up in trouble for simply asking a question. Mom seizes every opportunity to question her life choices, and Dad, when not reminding everyone who paid for this vacation, just wants some peace and quiet.

The gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails - the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself.

(Warning: May invoke feelings of irritation, dread, and despair that come with large family gatherings.)"

Damn, I love the "Warning!"

The Godd, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: March 26th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt's shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts - he's determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.

His grand gesture goes awry however, when it's discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans - one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it's only right to return the gift - after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta's most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it's up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all. Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission - but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible..."

Nothing more awkward then recovering a "gift." Moreso when things get dangerous.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Christina Estes, Erica Ruth Neubauer, Jennifer Fawcett, Jennifer Thorne, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Joanna Wallace, Knives Out, Kristen Perrin, M.J. Rose, Olivia Blacke, Pre-Raphaelite, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, Sophie Jordan

The Hedge Witch by Cari Thomas
Published by: Voyager
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An enchanting new novella set in the magical world of Sunday Times bestseller Threadneedle.

Rowan is visiting her aunt - Winne the hedge witch - in the Welsh countryside, to get back to nature and hone her skills, as well as taking a break from her annoying sisters and enjoying some peace and quiet. However, Rowan soon comes to realise that hedges are a serious business and this isn't quite the opportunity to rest and escape she thought it might be.

Not only that, but mysterious events around the town are causing panic in the secret magical community and cowans - non-magical folk - are starting to take notice.

Can Rowan hone her hedge craft, try to make some friends and solve the riddle of the mysterious goings-on, or is magic about to be revealed to the world...or at least Wales?"

I have been waiting for this novella ever since I got my copy of Threadneedle, which I ordered from England because it wasn't coming out soon enough here!

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Brilliant botanist Saffron Everleigh is back and ready for adventure in Kate Khavari's next mesmerizing historical mystery.

1920s London isn't the ideal place for a brilliant woman with lofty ambitions. But research assistant Saffron Everleigh is determined to beat the odds in a male-dominated field at the University College of London. Saffron embarks on her first research study alongside the insufferably charming Dr. Michael Lee, traveling the countryside with him in response to reports of poisonings. But when Detective Inspector Green is given a case with a set of unusual clues, he asks for Saffron's assistance.

The victims, all women, received bouquets filled with poisonous flowers. Digging deeper, Saffron discovers that the bouquets may be more than just unpleasant flowers - there may be a hidden message within them, revealed through the use of the old Victorian practice of floriography. A dire message, indeed, as each woman who received the flowers has turned up dead.

Alongside Dr. Lee and her best friend, Elizabeth, Saffron trails a group of suspects through a dark jazz club, a lavish country estate, and a glittering theatre, delving deeper into a part of society she thought she'd left behind forever.

Will Saffron be able to catch the killer before they send their next bouquet, or will she find herself with fatal flowers of her own in Kate Khavari's second intoxicating installment."

Just like my favorite Enola Holmes mystery! Never discount the danger of the language of flowers!

The Horror of Haglin House by M.R.C. Kasasian
Published by: Canelo
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 455 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jilted thriller writer Lady Violet Thorn has withdrawn to the Suffolk market town of Montford with two servants and her leading character, the adventuress Ruby Gibson, for company.

Violet's peace is disturbed when a stranger asks her for help, claiming that a friend is being kept prisoner in her own home. Her visitor seems so afraid that Violet, despite her scepticism, is persuaded to investigate.

A woman is killed outside Violet's house, then another murdered in the town and, as the deaths mount up, she becomes convinced that they all lead to one place: the increasingly forbidding Haglin House, and whoever lives there...

M.R.C. Kasasian returns with a fresh, witty and totally enthralling take on the classic crime genre, perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz, M. C. Beaton and Oscar De Muriel."

I love me the classic crime genre!

The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne
Published by: Harper Muse
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An archaeologist's estranged daughters.

1907: The dawn of Egyptology is a time of imperialism and plunder, opulence and unrest, and Dr. Warren Ford, esteemed archaeologist, is the man of the hour. His daughters - intellectual Lila, on the eve of her debut as a Manhattan socialite, and nonconformist Tess, who dreams of following in his footsteps - have always lived in his shadow, and their lives couldn't feel more different. But when a secretive organization seeks to find a lost relic legendary for its dangerous power, it isn't Dr. Ford they turn to - it's his two remarkable daughters.

A legendary artifact known as the Serpent's Crown.

Rumored to reside in the mysterious Tomb of the Five Ladies, the Serpent's Crown will only be found by solving a seemingly impossible riddle that will open the tomb - and the organization believes that one of the Ford daughters holds the key to deciphering the code. What was supposed to be an elegant debutante ball for elder sister Lila quickly turns sinister when Tess is kidnapped and put on a ship across the Atlantic. When Lila and her father realize that Tess's life is in danger, they must act quickly to track her down and stop the Serpent's Crown from falling into the wrong hands.

A puzzle three millennia in the making.

A race for the Crown begins, with Lila and her father in hot pursuit of the organization and Tess. With lives at stake, the fractured family must keep their wits about them, find the artifact, and escape the ruthless men who are also determined to possess the Crown and use it to their own advantage - no matter the cost.

In this women-centered nod to the beloved Indiana Jones stories, The Antiquity Affair is a high-stakes, trans-Atlantic thrill ride, with the page-turning excitement and romance of classic adventure novels and a poignant story of sisterhood at its core."

And don't forget Egyptology! 

The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katharine Schellman
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In The Last Drop of Hemlock, the dazzling follow up to Last Call at the Nightingale, even a dance can come with a price...

The rumor went through the Nightingale like a flood, quietly rising, whispers hovering on lips in pockets of silence.

Life as a working-class girl in Prohibition-era New York isn't safe or easy. But Vivian Kelly has a new job at the Nightingale, an underground speakeasy where the jazz is hot and the employees look out for each other in a world that doesn't care about them. Things are finally looking up for her and her sister Florence...until the night Vivian learns that her friend Bea's uncle, a bouncer at the Nightingale, has died.

His death is ruled a suicide, but Bea isn't so convinced. She knew her uncle was keeping a secret: a payoff from a mob boss that was going to take him out of the tenements and into a better life. Now, the money is missing.

Though her better judgment tells her to stay out of it, Vivian agrees to help Bea find the truth about her uncle's death. But they uncover more than they expected when rumors surface of a mysterious letter writer, blackmailing Vivian's poorest neighbors for their most valuable possessions, threatening poison if they don't comply.

Death is always a heartbeat away in Jazz Age New York, where mob bosses rule the back alleys and cops take bootleggers' hush money. But whoever is targeting Vivian's poor and unprotected neighbors is playing a different game. With the Nightingale's dangerously lovely owner, Honor, worried for her employees' safety and Bea determined to discover who is responsible for her uncle's death, Vivian once again finds herself digging through a dead man's past in hopes of stopping a killer."

Because if there's one thing you don't do you don't target the weak.

Marion Lane and the Raven's Revenge by T.A. Willberg
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The raven had struck. And the thing was, she knew exactly who was next...

London, 1960. Marion Lane, a twenty-five-year-old apprentice detective at the elusive Miss Brickett's Investigations and Inquiries, is busier than ever and determined to prove herself worthy of an official Inquirer badge. But when her close friend's girlfriend, Darcy, is targeted by a dangerous gang leader and seeks out the Inquirers' assistance, Marion cannot help but get involved.

Just when Marion thinks she has the situation under control, Darcy disappears and the agency receives a package containing a dead raven. Everyone is puzzled by what the threat could mean, except for Marion. She recognizes it as the same calling card left on her mother's doorstep just before she died.

With harrowing twists and turns, Marion Lane and the Raven's Revenge follows Marion's most personal case to date. To uncover who is behind these ominous packages and find Darcy, she must piece together how they are related to her mother's mysterious death and secretive past."

But to be fair, a dead raven on your doorstep is never a good sign.

Death in Fine Condition by Andrew Cartmel
Published by: Titan Books (UK)
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Launching a new series, a cast of lovable rogues face fiendish puzzles and murderous villains in this love letter to Agatha Christie murder mysteries and classic whodunnits.

Introducing a new series from the creator of the beloved, bestselling Vinyl Detective novels.

Cordelia knows books. An addict-turned-dealer of classic paperbacks, when she's not spending her days combing the charity shops and jumble sales of suburban London for valuable collector's items, she's pining for the woman of her dreams and nimbly avoiding her landlord's demands for rent.

The most elusive prize of all, her white whale, has surfaced - a set of magnificent, vintage Sleuth Hound crime novels. Gorgeous, and as rare as they come. Just one problem. They're not for sale. Still, that won't stop a resourceful woman like Cordelia...One burglary later, the books are hers. Unfortunately, the man she's just robbed turns out be one of London's most dangerous gangsters, and now he's on her trail and out for blood.

Cordelia's best laid plans to pay the rent and woo the object of her affections start to fall apart, and she realises she may have placed herself in the crosshairs of a villain torn straight from the pages of her precious novels."

I mean, who hasn't stolen a book before?

A Cornish Seaside Murder by Fiona Leitch
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Kindle, 270 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Don't miss the next Jodie 'Nosey' Parker cozy mystery!

A Siren's call...to murder.

Former Met police officer Jodie 'Nosey' Parker is working a trial period as an auxiliary Detective Sergeant with the Penstowan police force. But living and working alongside DCI Nathan Withers - while still trying to grow her catering company - brings its own challenges, especially when Jodie’s attention is quickly taken up by the suspicious drowning of a local fisherman.

While tourists and locals alike are falling under the spell of the annual mermaid festival with its captivating legends of Sirens luring fishermen to their deaths, Jodie and Nathan fear they may have found themselves in the middle of a very real - and very dangerous - turf war. As the casualties start to stack up, they must face the likelihood that something sinister has been going on under their noses for some time..."

But don't discount the danger of mermaids either!

The Game She Plays by Siena Sterling
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Tell Us No Secrets comes a twisty new novel. A young American woman is thrust into the closed social circle of English aristocrats, but beneath their charm and glamor lay secrets and dark betrayals that follow them - and her - around every corner. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Sherry Lapena, Ruth Ware, and Gilly MacMillan.

To everyone else it was "just" a weekend house party - complete with a pheasant shoot, inside jokes, and after-dinner games. But for American Nicola Harris, swept off her feet by aristocratic Englishman James Shuttleworth, the weekend is her first chance to penetrate his close-knit circle of posh friends - people with names like Badger and Trez, people who will soon have the titles of Earl and Countess. Nicola is eager to fit in, but she can't seem to navigate this insular world, where everyone speaks a private language and secrets are hinted at behind the jolly jokes and witty barbs.

Just as Nicola begins to feel welcome, Juliet arrives. Mysterious, stunning, charismatic Juliet is also James' first love - the one who left him heartbroken ten years before. Juliet holds the men in thrall and the women under her spell. And although it seems she can do no wrong, outsider Nicola senses something poisonous in her presence, something that sparks insecurity, jealousy, betrayal, and violence. Because Juliet is a champion game-player, able to lure you into her circle by finding your most vulnerable spot...and when the game she plays turns deadly, everyone is a suspect."

Oh, this sounds like the most recent season of You. I'm sold!

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me."

Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she's now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.

Rachel and Alistair's summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.

Joining a post #MeToo discourse, The Girls of Summer grapples with themes of power, sex, and consent, as it explores the complicated nature of memory and trauma - and what it takes to reframe, and reclaim, your own story."

Because sometimes what you thought was a fairy tale really was a nightmare.

The Summer Party by Rebecca Heath
Published by: Head of Zeus
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An atmospheric psychological thriller about a glamorous family living on the coast of southern Australia. 2023's most addictive beach read. A perfect family. A devastating secret.

Summer, 2000. In the tranquil town of Queen's Point in southern Australia, the Whitlam family marks the end of every season with a lavish party in their clifftop mansion. Here, clutching her first glass of real champagne, the summer breeze intoxicating on her skin, sixteen-year-old Lucy Ross is kissed for the very first time. And then, in the shadows of the rose garden, she sees something she shouldn't.

Winter, 2019. After two decades of silence, Lucy is back in Queen's Point. She hasn't planned on staying long. But when human remains wash up on the freezing beach, the police close the town. Unable to leave, Lucy is forced to rekindle old friendships - and examine old truths - she has long ago tried to forget. As long-buried secrets start to surface, Lucy must decide. Will she confront the past and tell the truth? Or will she still do anything to protect the people she loves?

A glamorous, escapist psychological thriller set in Australia, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, A.A. Torre and Adele Parks."

Oh, what did she see!?!

Starring Adele Astaire by Eliza Knight
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight returns with a story full of glitz and glam as she delves into the life of Adele Astaire, a spirited and talented woman who served up smiles and love both on and off the stage - with and without her also famous brother Fred Astaire - along with a determined young dancer with rags-to-riches dreams.

A spirited rising stage star...
Adele Astaire was a glittering, glamorous star, dancing with her brother, Fred, endearing herself to audiences from New York to London. But although she is toasted by royalty and beloved by countless fans, Adele Astaire has dreams of a loving husband and a houseful of children. And when she meets Lord Charles Cavendish, her wishes may just come true - but at what cost?

A determined young dancer ...
Ever since Violet Wood could walk she's wanted to dance on the London stage. Befriended by Adele, filled with ambition, she is more than willing to make the sacrifices it will take to becomes a star herself, and her rags-to-riches hopes are within reach. But the road to fame is never easy.

Two women with unquenchable spirit ...
From the fast-paced world of roaring 20s New York to the horrors and sacrifice of wartime London, Adele's and Violet's lives intertwine, and each must ask themselves is fame worth the price you must pay?"

Perhaps the price of dreams is being forgotten by time.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This powerful and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta weaves together past and present, tracing the ripple effects of war and immigration on one child in Europe in 1938 and another in the United States in 2019.

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht - the night his family loses everything. As her child's safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel's mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.

Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita's mother.

Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers - and never stop dreaming."

Survive!

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young noblewoman must pair up with an alleged witch to ward off a curse in this irresistible sapphic romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material.

It is the year 1814, and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider, and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers.

Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape.

However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchelmore must seek out aid, even if that means mixing with undesirable company. And there are few less desirable than Lady Georgianna Landrake - a brooding, alluring young woman sardonically nicknamed "the Duke of Annadale" - who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune. If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress. Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.

With the Duke's help, Miss Mitchelmore delves into a world of angry gods and vindictive magic, keen to unmask the perpetrator of these otherworldly attacks. But Miss Mitchelmore's reputation is not the only thing at risk in spending time with her new ally. For the reputed witch has her own secrets that may prove dangerous to Miss Mitchelmore's heart - not to mention her life."

Um, methinks this counts as Regency Magic!

Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo
Published by: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Cemetery Boys meets The Haunting of Bly Manor in this spellbinding debut!

For Jaime, returning to the Vermont town of Saint Juniper means returning to a past he's spent eight years trying to forget. After shuttling between foster homes, he hopes to make something out of this fresh start. But every gossip in town already knows his business, and with reminders of his past everywhere, he seeks out solitude into the nearby woods - Saint Juniper's Folly - and does not return.

For Theo, Saint Juniper means being stuck. He knows there's more out there, but he's scared to go find it. His senior year is going to be like all the rest, dull and claustrophobic. That is until he wanders into the Folly and stumbles on a haunted house with an acerbic yet handsome boy trapped - as in physically trapped - inside.

For Taylor, Saint Juniper is a mystery. She tries to practice the magic her dad banned from the house after her mom, an accomplished witch, suddenly died. But without someone to guide her, she's floundering. Then a wide-eyed teenager barges into her life, rambling about a haunted house and a trapped boy. He needs a witch.

The Folly and its ghosts will draw these three teenagers together. But can they each face their demons to forge a bond strong enough to escape the Folly's shadows?

Alex Crespo's queer haunted house mystery is equal parts spine-tingling thrills, a celebration of found family, and must-read for paranormal romance fans."

Queer haunted house mystery centering on found family? Yes, yes, yes!

The Endless Vessel by Charles Soule
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: June 6th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Combining the wonder of The Midnight Library, the inventiveness of Ready Player One, and the artistry of Cloud Atlas, this novel by the bestselling author of The Oracle Year and Anyone explores the way we're all connected - and what can happen when we lose our capacity for joy.

A few years from now, in a world similar to ours, there exists a sort of "depression plague" that people refer to simply as "The Grey." No one can predict whom it will afflict, or how, but once infected, there's no coming back.

A young Hong Kong based scientist, Lily Barnes, is trying to maintain her inner light in an increasingly dark world. The human race is dwindling, and people fighting to push forward are increasingly rare. One day, Lily comes across something that seems to be addressing her directly, calling to her, asking her to follow a path to whatever lies at its end. Is this the Endless Vessel to happiness? She leaves her life behind and sets out through time and space to find out.

From its opening heart-stopping scene in the present day at the Louvre in Paris, through the earthly meetings between Lily and her loved ones past and present, to a shocking and satisfying conclusion in a truly enchanted forest, Charles Soule has channeled history, science and drama to create a story for the ages - a story of hope and love and possibility. This is a novel you will not soon forget."

I'm totally banking on Charles Soule to write a book nothing like the three books namechecked in this blurb.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexis Hall, Andrew Cartmel, Cari Thomas, Charles Soule, Eliza Knight, Fiona Leitch, Isabel Allende, Jennifer Thorne, Kate Khavari, Katharine Schellman, Katie Bishop, M.R.C. Kasasian, Siena Sterling, T.A. Willberg