strange and random happenstance

The Rose Field by Philip Pullman
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 23rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 672 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The breathtaking conclusion to Philip Pullman's Book of Dust! This landmark trilogy, set in the world readers first glimpsed in The Golden Compass, continues the story of Lyra: "one of fantasy's most indelible heroines" (The New York Times Magazine).

Picking up right where The Secret Commonwealth left off, this story finds Lyra alone in a city haunted by daemons, searching for her beloved Pan. Malcolm Polstead isn't far behind, searching for Lyra. And they are both racing toward the desert of Karamakan, following the trail of roses said to hold the secret of Dust.

Their allies and enemies are converging on the mysterious red building at the heart of the desert: Marcel Delamare and the military might of the Magisterium; the radical Men from the Mountains; scientists, scholars and spies; troops of witches and other people of the air. And awaiting them all is a previously unseen and chilling new threat that will change everything.

The intertwining odysseys of Malcolm and Lyra, their journeys both internal and external, will test their limits and challenge even their most dearly held beliefs.

As ever, Philip Pullman is using the language of fantasy to illuminate our world and to explore the deepest questions of what it means to be alive and awake to all the splendors and horrors around us. The extraordinary novels of The Book of Dust speak powerfully to today's readers and will take their place alongside the forever-favorites of His Dark Materials."

It's here! It's finally here! Yes, I'm slightly hyperventilating. What with Pullman's Long COVID I really never thought we'd see this day.

A Legacy of Blood and Bone by Millie Abecassis
Published by: Brick and Bloom
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: eBook, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Shannon Fay's Innate Magic and Alix E. Harrow's Starling House comes A Legacy of Blood and Bone - a spellbinding debut set in an alternate Belle Époque France, brimming with intrigue, dangerous magic, and a swooning, slow-burn sapphic romance.

"Blood is life. Bones are strength. Flesh is control. Skin is death."

Every blessed family knows this mantra, and Aubeline - gifted with blood magic and heiress to the powerful Sterraux line - is no exception.

When her father dies unexpectedly, Aubeline inherits the title of Countess. But her brother Renan soon challenges her claim, demanding the title of Count for himself - and quietly coveting guardianship of their young niece, Damarisse.

As sinister forces gather around Renan and his allies wield forbidden, deadly power, Aubeline must seek out unlikely companions to protect Damarisse, expose her brother's true intentions, and stop a catastrophe that could unravel their world.

She never expected her greatest ally to be Damarisse's new private teacher, Vinnie - a clairvoyant woman cursed with uncontrollable visions. Nor did she expect to fall in love with her, defying every rule of polite society and risking everything for a chance at love in a world built on blood and secrets."

There's something here that reminds me of Carnival Row at it's very best.

A Curious Kind of Magic by Mara Rutherford
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Howl's Moving Castle meets Little Thieves in this cozy fantasy about the teenage owner of a (mostly fake) magical curiosity shop and a girl cursed to turn everything she touches into magic.

Everyone in Ardmuir knows that Willow Stokes is a charlatan, including Willow herself. Her father's shoppe hasn't sold anything magical in decades, and it's only hanging on by the skin of the fake dragon's teeth Willow sells as charms, along with "enchanted" ostrich eggs, taxidermied chimeras, and talismans made of fools' gold.

Until outlander Brianna Hargrave appears and turns Willow's fakes into exactly what they're purported to be. But try as Willow might to enlist Bri's help, she wants nothing to do with Willow and her curiosities.

Because Brianna is harboring a secret of her own: everything she touches turns to magic, and the consequences have chased her all the way to Ardmuir. All she wants to do is find a particular missing grimoire, which contains a spell that can finally put an end to her curse.

Desperate to keep her father's shoppe, Willow proposes a bargain that could save them both. Together with the frustratingly handsome printer's assistant, the girls will uncover a plot that goes far deeper than either could have imagined. But when Willow is forced to participate in an ambitious collector's quest for the rarest magical object in the world - a quest that risks almost-certain death - she learns that not all treasure is for sale, and that true magic is closer than she ever could have imagined."

Yes, not all treasure is for sale, which is why there's theft. 

Psychopomp and Circumstance by Eden Royce
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Shirley Jackson and Nebula Award finalist author Eden Royce pens a Southern Gothic historical fantasy story of a contentious funeral in her adult fiction debut.

Phee St. Margaret is a daughter of the Reconstruction, born to a family of free Black business owners in New Charleston. Coddled to within an inch of her life by a mother who refuses to let her daughter live a life other than the one she dictates, Phee yearns to demonstrate she's capable of more than simply marrying well.

When word arrives that her Aunt Cleo, long estranged from the family, has passed away, Phee risks her mother's wrath to step up and accept the role of pomp - the highly honored duty of planning the funeral service. Traveling alone to the town of Horizon and her aunt's unsettling home, Phee soon discovers that visions and shadows beckon from every reflective surface, and that some secrets transcend the borders of life and death."

I have been dreaming of the day when I can add this book to my shelves. How could I not with that amazing cover?

The Black Carnival by Harlequin Grim
Published by: Quill and Crow Publishing House
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 258 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The year is 1886 in New Sarum, England, and Atherton Graves only knows a life surrounded by corpses. Amidst a rash of child deaths, he alone suspects they are the product of murder. At least, that's what the ghosts in his mortuary tell him. But there's hardly time to hunt the killer; Atherton has just sold a cadaver to a spiritualist at the notorious Black Carnival, and the town gang known as the Disciples is not going to take that lightly. Caught between a serial killer, a circus bursting with foul characters, and his spiraling madness amongst the restless dead, Atherton will undoubtedly become the villain of his own story. The question remains: who, if any, will be unscathed by the rampant destruction he's invited?"

Side hustle in cadavers to a spiritualist? Tell me more.

The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In 1890, the tolling of the Traeger Hall bell announces that death has come to the estate, leaving orphaned Waverly Pembrooke to piece together the puzzle behind her relatives' murders.

In the present day, the hall's new owner, Jennie Phillips, realizes its dark legacy threatens not only the Traeger descendants but also, chillingly, Jennie herself."

I'm all about Cornwall lately, and Traeger is a very Cornish name. So I'm in.

A Play About a Curse by Caroline Macon Fleischer
Published by: Clash Books
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 216 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the viral phenomenon The Roommate comes a literary horror novel following a young playwright who conjures up a true tragedy through a Machiavellian curse when spurned by her mentor.

Enter COREY, a passionate young nobody, and her professor, MAXINE, an award-winning playwright and living legend of the American theatre. When Maxine shatters Corey's dreams of artistic collaboration after graduation, Corey seeks revenge. At a clairvoyant's den in a violet-lit Dallas strip mall, the young playwright unleashes a life-altering curse on Maxine.

Possessed by dark powers and even darker ambitions, Corey follows Maxine to a prestigious playwriting residency in Chicago where the women become fatally entwined. Through three acts, two interludes, and one curse, Corey pushes her mentor toward theatre's haunted margins, where reality begins to crumble.

Caroline Macon Fleischer's A Play About A Curse reads like an A24 film. Part psychological horror and part theatrical fever dream, Curse shadows a heroine-turned-villain as she confronts the supernatural power struggle between mentor and protégé, learning that to achieve our dreams, someone else must suffer a nightmare."

Anyone else love the Rosemary's Baby prequel movie Apartment 7A? Because this has similar spooky vibes.

The Midnight Knock by John Fram
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A locked-room mystery meets white-knuckle horror in this mind-bending thriller, where strangers must survive a deadly night in a remote Texas motel.

In the frigid west Texas desert, weary travelers converge at a lonely roadside motel nestled at the foot of a massive mountain. Ethan and Hunter have left behind a corpse, a fire, and a horrific act of violence. Kyla and Fernanda are fleeing for the border. Stanley and his granddaughter are returning from Mexico with a mysterious man in hot pursuit. All of them are on the run from something. All of them are hiding something.

And somehow, they're all connected to the motel’s other guest, an enigmatic woman named Sarah Powers.

Within hours, Sarah is dead. The strange twins who run the Brake Inn Motel inform the surviving guests that her murder demands justice. The guests are given an ultimatum: uncover the killer by midnight - or die when the protective lights around the motel go out.

Because something very old and very dangerous lurks in this corner of the desert. And it's hungry.

But nothing at the Brake Inn Motel is quite as it seems. As time ticks away, alliances fracture, secrets unravel, and the guests will not only have to confront the violence of the past - they will need to face the darkness within themselves.

A masterful blend of psychological tension, supernatural horror, and layered storytelling, The Midnight Knock pushes the boundaries of what a mystery can be. And with its unforgettable climax, this novel cements John Fram as a contemporary master of the genre."

If Drew Goddard had added a soupcon of supernatural to Bad Times at the El Royale. 

King Sorrow by Joe Hill
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 896 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, a chilling tale of modern-world dangers, dark academia, and the unexpected consequences of revenge as six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful...calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice.

Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll - and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot - is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others - brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen - don't hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there's nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year - or become his next meal."

I never thought Joe Hill would go all dark academia. I am SO here for it.

A Heart So Haunted by Hollie Nelson
Published by: Alcove Press
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this evocative and stunning debut, secrets in the very bones of Harthwait House are disturbed when a new tenant moves in, for fans of Ashley Poston and A House with Good Bones.

Be wary the beds and the space beneath,
the cracks in the floors and the furnace teeth.
Keep your eyes from the shadows and tongue so still.
Because once Harthwait grows dark, the monsters become real.

Landry is ready to clean house - not just Harthwait, but the traumatic memories and family entanglements that haunt her. Left reeling from her aunt's sudden death, Landry knows she has to restore the old house and sell it for much needed cash. Preferably, before autumn arrives. But as renovations begin on Harthwait, she notices some peculiarities: motion sensors activate when no one is home, doors slam shut, and every night, at a quarter after midnight, the disembodied crying begins. Then, when she uncovers a hidden door during the renovations, she dares to open it.

Behind the door is a world of nightmares, some of which are hers, while others belong to a monster - who is trapped inside and desperate to get out. Both haunted by their pasts, Landry makes a deal with the monster, but as they develop feelings for each other, she realizes that the thing that looks like a beast may not be the most beastly thing after all.

This rich and spellbinding tale explores the idea of what we call home and who we call family."

If I house has a rhyme associated with it, run.

Death at the Door by Olivia Blacke
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The odd couple of crime-solving returns in Olivia Blacke's Death at the Door, where a ghost and her living roommate find another mystery on their doorstep.

Ruby Young is slowly adjusting to her new life in Boston. A big part of that is her unexpected roommate - the ghost of the woman who lived there before. For Cordelia Graves, she may no longer be breathing, but it's still her apartment and Ruby is the somewhat unwanted houseguest. They're both happy they've managed to become friends, which is a miracle considering they struggle to communicate with each other. Cordelia even set Ruby up with her old job.

When Ruby discovers the body of a delivery guy at work, the new life she's been building hangs in the balance. The last time Cordelia dragged Ruby into a murder investigation, it was almost two ghosts living in the apartment, not one. Determined to protect Ruby, Cordelia tries to shield her from the investigation, but Ruby has other ideas. It will take both of them working together to navigate the fine line between the dead and the living to bring a killer to light."

But would Ruby haunt the apartment as well if she was killed? I mean, she's a far more recent tenant... 

Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the deadly werewolf Asil is gifted five blind dates by some anonymous "friends," his reclusive life will never be the same, in this enthralling novel in stories from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mercy Thompson series.

Includes two all-new stories as well as three previously published stories.

Dear Asil:

We are worried about you. A werewolf alone is a sad thing, especially at Christmastime. So we have a challenge for you: five dates in three weeks. We have taken the work out of it and connected you with five people from online dating sites. You should also know that we have informed the whole pack and instigated a betting pool. Have fun!

Sincerely,
Your Concerned Friends."

Finally all Asil all in one place! With a bonus. And yes. I am mildly obsessed with Asil, as I am with anything in the Mercyverse. 

Slayers of Old by Jim C. Hines
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Golden Girls in this humorous contemporary standalone fantasy about a group of former Chosen Ones coming out of retirement to save the world one last time.

Three former Chosen Ones have joined together to spend their retirement in peace and quiet, running Second Life Books and Gifts in Salem, MA. A calm, peaceful, tourist-filled oasis, where they never have to worry about saving the world. Until some of the locals start summoning ancient creatures best left where they were...and they discover that their bookstore basement just may be the portal to the underworld. These ex-heroes may have thought they were done...but if they want to finish their retirement in peace, they’ll have to join together to save the world one last time.

Why leave saving the world to the young? Cozy mystery readers looking for an extra dash of magic will eat this story up: fun, funny, and heartwarming, it's a novel about community, second chances, and the healing power of scones."

Old Buffy in Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer is easily my favorite of the Buffy continuations, which is why I'm super hyped about this book. 

Firefly by Robert Macfarlane and Luke Adam Hawker
Published by: Magic Cat
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The first title in the forthcoming Night Creatures trilogy, created by two of the U.K.'s best- known book makers: Robert Macfarlane and Luke Adam Hawker.

From two of the U.K.'s best-known book makers, Robert Macfarlane and Luke Adam Hawker, comes a stunning picture book to ignite wonder in readers everywhere.

In the darkness of December,
Through the winter's deepest snowing,
When the world is steep in camber,
And all hope is downwards-flowing
Then's the time to seek what's glowing...

Written in lyrical verse, this story follows one sun-seeking child who discovers a meadow illuminated by fireflies: "fallen constellations" that dance like stars among the summer grasses, setting fears to flight. Enchanting to read aloud and exquisite to hold in the hand, each scene is rendered in spellbinding detail, showing the power of hope in a world steeped in darkness."

Fireflies are pure magic, as are the words of Robert Macfarlane. 

The Sister's Curse by Nicola Solvinic
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There's something in the water in Bayern County...

When mysterious drownings plague her small town, a detective haunted by her serial killer father must uncover whether revenge, ancient legends, or something darker lurks beneath the surface.

Lieutenant Anna Koray thought she'd finally found solid ground and escaped her past as the daughter of a notorious serial killer. A loving boyfriend, a loyal dog, a life that almost feels normal - except darkness has a way of seeping in. When she saves a boy from drowning, the strange marks on his body tell a disturbing story: something in the depths tried to drag him under.

Days later, another victim surfaces with identical marks and Anna's instincts scream that these are no accidents. Both victims are connected to the Kings of Warsaw Creek - men of the town's wealthiest and most influential families. And they have enemies.

Others whisper that there are witches in Bayern County, seeking revenge for a long-ago murder. Perhaps it's the work of Vivian Carson, the enigmatic bartender who's rumored to cast hexes on those who wrong her. Or maybe it's a secret coven who's been leaving serpentine symbols and skulls behind at the scenes of the drownings.

But Anna's investigation reveals an even more sinister truth: something is stirring in the water, and it wants the Kings to pay.

With time running out and more victims appearing, Anna must separate superstition from truth. But in Bayern County, where legends and curses run deep as the water itself, one wrong step could drag her into the depths - this time for good."

Eh, let the wealthy pay for their crimes with their blood.

Witches of Honeysuckle House by Liz Parker
Published by: Alcove Press
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Haunted by a curse that kills someone close to their family every thirteen years, two sisters must come together to break the spell and save that which they hold most dear.

This enchanting novel explores the fraught lines between family and the secrets they keep, perfect for fans of Ava Morgyn and Heather Webber.

Florence and Evie Caldwell have long disagreed on how to break their family's curse, and tension has been high since their mother's death thirteen years ago. Honeysuckle House, the family estate where every Caldwell has lived, now only houses one of the sisters. Evie has crafted it into an enchanted bed and breakfast while Florence runs a magical bookstore in town, refusing to even set foot inside Honeysuckle House.

But when the house starts behaving dangerously and catches fire, Florence and Evie must set aside their differences and dig into past generations of their family and the town's history before the curse claims someone they love.

Witches of Honeysuckle House is an exploration of sisterhood, family, and the places we call home, perfect for readers who love the darker aspects of Weyward and the sister dynamics of The Crescent Moon Tearoom."

I mean, thirteen years isn't even a generation, so there will come a point where everyone is just dead unless the curse is broken...

The Book of Lost Stories by Trisha Ashley
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lost journal. A long-buried secret. A story waiting to be told.

Cleo Finch has loved gothic literature all her life. She's spent years researching and writing her thesis on the works of one gothic novelist in particular, Orlando Browne, and is determined to prove that Browne was the pen name of a female author, Alys Weston.

But as her best friend Tris never fails to remind her, she still hasn't succeeded in finding concrete evidence that proves this to be true.

That is, until Cleo's Uncle Ambrose unknowingly gifts her Alys' very own journal, forgotten in a stack of first-edition gothic novels.

As Cleo begins deciphering Alys' diary entries, she finds herself utterly absorbed by Alys' vivid descriptions of the people in her own life - particularly the rakish Lord Rayven - and the challenges Alys faced trying to keep Orlando's true identity a secret.

And so, newly inspired, Cleo sets aside her thesis to pen a gothic novel of her own..."

I have a friend who views that the holiday season cannot start until they read a Trisha Ashley book. This year my friend will have a new one to read!

The Land of Sweet Forever by Harper Lee
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From one of America's most beloved authors, a posthumous collection of newly discovered short stories and previously published essays and magazine pieces, offering a fresh perspective on the remarkable literary mind of Harper Lee.

Harper Lee remains a landmark figure in the American canon - thanks to Scout, Jem, Atticus, and the other indelible characters in her Pulitzer-winning debut, To Kill a Mockingbird; as well as for the darker, late-'50s version of small-town Alabama that emerged in Go Set a Watchman, her only other novel, published in 2015 after its rediscovery. Less remembered, until now, however, is Harper Lee the dogged young writer, who crafted stories in hopes of magazine publication; Lee the lively New Yorker, Alabamian, and friend to Truman Capote; and the Lee who peppered the pages of McCall's and Vogue with thoughtful essays in the latter part of the twentieth century.

The Land of Sweet Forever combines Lee's early short fiction and later nonfiction in a volume offering an unprecedented look at the development of her inimitable voice. Covering territory from the Alabama schoolyards of Lee's youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, The Land of Sweet Forever invites still-vital conversations about politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South, and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life.

This collection comes with an introduction by Casey Cep, Harper Lee's appointed biographer, which provides illuminating background for our reading of these stories and connects them both to Lee's life and to her two novels."

I am so excited for this collection, mostly for the nonfiction essays. 

Murder on the S.S. Cleopatra by Sara Rosett
Published by: McGuffin Ink
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 292 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Luxury, lies, and murder on a Nile cruise.

Join Blix Windway, an adventurous lady traveler, on a journey down the Nile in 1924. An eclectic mix of passengers boards the steamer, including a captain of industry, a former stunt-girl reporter turned lady of the manor, an archaeologist, an American teacher, a British doctor and his invalid wife, and a German photographer.

When a passenger is found dead, the elegant cruise turns into a floating crime scene. With everyone confined on board, tensions rise and secrets surface. Even her traveling companion, Hildy Honeyworth, is behaving as if she has something to hide. Blix must navigate the treacherous waters of the investigation and uncover the truth.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Nile River and the ancient wonders of Egypt, this classic whodunit is the second book in the 1920s Lady Traveler in Egypt series from USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett."

I adore Sara Rosett, and if you so happen to want a physical copy of this book and not just have it on an electronic device, might I advise you to check out her website... 

Apprehension/Red Star Hustle by Mary Robinette Kowal and Sam J. Miller
Published by: S and S/Saga Press
Publication Date: October 21st, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two expertly crafted crime stories set in a far-future science fiction universe, from two award-winning authors known for their gripping plots and unforgettable characters - a short novel and a long novella that will thrill fans of space adventures, mystery, and intergalactic intrigue in this Saga Double.

Red Star Hustle
Aran, a happy-go-lucky high-class escort, is on the run after he's framed for the assassination of his famous filmmaker client. The last thing he needs is to fall for the studly and noble clone of a murderous puppet monarch while he's trying to stay one step ahead of an ace bounty hunter, who is trying to keep a fatal secret from her toxic boss/mom, which means she can't stop to worry about a little thing like whether her target might actually be innocent. Set within a universe of epic mech battles, and billions of human-made wormholes that make traveling to a distant star as easy as walking through a door or scheduling car service. This science fiction thriller by Nebula Award-winning author Sam J. Miller is a crisscross of heartbreak, addiction struggles, queer messiness, and resisting evil empires, coming together in a space-hopping fight with the whole damn galaxy.

Apprehension
A family vacation arranged by Bonnyjean, a grieving mother, her son-in-law Jax, and her six-year-old grandson Tristan, quickly becomes disastrous as Tristan is kidnapped by a terrorist operation that is hoping to affect the planet's upcoming elections between rival parties. They believe Bonnyjean was given a secret by the double agent who died in her arms. However, not only is this a deadly misunderstanding, but it's also a dangerous one as Bonnyjean was last on Nahatanau when she was a special forces operative. Unfortunately, that was over thirty years ago, but she won't let the years nor her bad hip get in the way of rescuing her grandson. Beloved Hugo Award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal has crafted an intricate mystery of mistaken identity on an alien planet."

I mean, I literally will buy anything Mary Robinette Kowal writes. So this is a must buy for me with the added bonus of discovering Sam J. Miller. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Eden Royce, Harper Lee, Jaime Jo Wright, Jim C. Hines, Joe Hill, Liz Parker, Mary Robinette Kowal, Nicola Solvinic, Olivia Blacke, Patricia Briggs, Philip Pullman, Robert MacFarlane, Sam J. Miller, Sara Rosett, Trisha Ashley

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
Published by: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Haunting of Hill House meets Knives Out in a bid for an inheritance that will leave Helen Vaughan either rich...or dead.

Helen Vaughan doesn't know why she and her mother left their ancestral home at Harrowstone Hall, called Harrow, or why they haven't spoken to their extended family since. So when her grandfather dies, she's shocked to learn that he has left everything - the house, the grounds, and the money - to her. The inheritance comes with one condition: she must stay on the grounds of Harrow for one full year, or she'll be left with nothing.

There is more at stake than money. For as long as she can remember, Harrow has haunted Helen's dreams - and now those dreams have become a waking nightmare. Helen knows that if she is going to survive the year, she needs to uncover the secrets of Harrow. Why is the house built like a labyrinth? What is digging the holes that appear in the woods each night?And why does the house itself seem to be making her sick?

With each twisted revelation, Helen questions what she knows about Harrow, her family, and even herself. She no longer wonders if she wants to leave...but if she can."

Firstly, in the last year I've really gotten into Kate Alice Marshall. Secondly, yeah to Hill House meets Knives Out!

The Trust by M.H. Eccleston
Published by: Head of Zeus - An Aries Book
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When London art restorer Laura Kisner's marriage unravels in spectacular fashion, she has no idea what to do. Then she finds out she has inherited a property in Dorset. She doesn’t hesitate in packing in her job and heading west. But when she gets there, she discovers the property isn't a pretty cottage by the sea, but a leaky boat on a muddy estuary.

Her new job at a nearby National Trust stately home brings a few surprises, too. Rather than a genteel charity, the Trust is a hotbed of politics and intrigue. As her new friend Kath from the village says, 'It's like the mafia, but with scones.' So when a local man is found murdered there, there are more than a few suspects. Laura thinks she's perfectly placed to solve the case: it's like restoring a painting, slowly peeling back the layers to reveal the clear, true picture beneath.

But as the suspicious deaths mount up and the threat draws closer, Laura has to use every gadget in her restorer's toolkit to solve the mystery, save her reputation - and maybe even her life."

If there's one thing years of British television and mysteries has ingrained in me, obviously nothing is as it appears, so I totally buy the National Trust as the Scone Mafia!

Dear Little Corpses by Nicola Upson
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It takes a village to bury a child...

September 1st, 1939. As the mass evacuation takes place across Britain, thousands of children leave London for the countryside, but when a little girl vanishes without a trace, the reality of separation becomes more urgent and more deadly for those who love her.

In the chaos and uncertainty of war, Josephine struggles with the prospect of change. As a cloud of suspicion falls across the small Suffolk village she has come to love, the conflict becomes personal, and events take a dark and sinister turn.

Blending a Golden Age mystery with the timeless fears of a child's abduction, Dear Little Corpses is an atmospheric snapshot of England in the early days of war."

But but where is the Mick Wiggins cover?

Nameless Acts of Cruelty by Julie Cameron
Published by: Scarlet
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 312 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Decades after the loss of his younger sister, a man haunted by horrific memories returns to the sleepy English village where she died.

Jeremy Horton is a man denying his past, haunted by a dysfunctional childhood full of dark secrets - including the suspicious death of his younger sister.

Married to lawyer Sarah and with children of his own, Jeremy keeps his eyes firmly focused on the present, never daring to glance in the rear-view mirror for fear of what he might see there. But when a chance encounter awakens the memories he's fought so hard to suppress, and the death of his estranged mother takes Jeremy back to his sleepy hometown and the scene of the family tragedy, he determines to finally uncover the truth behind his sister's death.

Villages hold long memories, and Jeremy's presence quickly becomes an unwelcome reminder of nameless cruelties and shameful secrets. The more he learns, the more the stories from his past take on a sinister significance, leading him to question his own innocence. Meanwhile, someone desperately wants him gone, and their efforts to drive him out escalate as Jeremy's anxiety spirals out of control. Do they fear him for what he knows - or for what he's done? "

Here's the thing, don't go back!

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to the "brilliantly chilling" (Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author) The Family Upstairs.

Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago.

Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock - news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer.

After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present.

As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined.

In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller, The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell proves she is writing at the height of her powers with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth."

Tell me more about this cold case in a Chelsea mansion!

Whatever Happened to Cathy Martin by Mim Eichmann
Published by: Living Springs Publishers Llp
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 348 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Midwest Gothic journey set in southern Indiana in 1978, unraveling a deadly tangled web of lies surrounding three former high school friends, one of whom has been missing for over a decade...but which one? And why?"

Always drawn to the Gothic, always drawn to 1978.

The Orphans of Mersea House by Marty Wingate
Published by: Alcove Press
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the tradition of Kristin Harmel and Elise Hooper, USA Today bestseller Marty Wingate transports us to postwar England's Suffolk coast in a rich historical drama about love lost - and promise found.

England, 1957. Olive Kersey’s only love never returned from World War II, and now, she’s alone and penniless. Then, the last person she ever expected to see again returns to Southwold. Olive's childhood friend, Margery Paxton, arrives to claim her inheritance: Mersea House, a stately old home she plans to turn into the town's only lodging. Olive's life takes a sunny turn when Margery hires her to run the establishment. But Mersea House holds its own mysteries - and its own dangers.

First, rumors begin to fly when two enigmatic lodgers move in: Hugh Hodson, manager of the town cinema, and Mrs. Abigail Claypool, a recluse and war widow. And then, the completely unexpected: Margery is informed she has a new ward, eleven-year-old Juniper Wyckes, the orphaned daughter of Margery's first love. Mrs. Lucie Pagett, Children's Officer at the local authority, informs Margery that Juniper was severely stricken with polio as a child, and makes clear that she could be taken away if her welfare is in jeopardy.

But the past is never far behind for the inhabitants of Mersea House, and looming secrets may destroy these friendships they've created."

Oh, secrets at a boarding house that used to be a stately home? When can I visit?

House of a Thousand Lies by Cody Luke Davis
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Julia Heaberlin's We Are All the Same in the Dark and Megan Collins's The Family Plot, Cody Luke Davis' debut psychological thriller brings a sinister serial-killer tale to life with hair-raising twists and chilling turns.

How far will some families go to protect their legacy?

Diana Wolf likes to think she has it all: a rock god husband, an empty nest, a wine cellar, and a dream home in the woods. Life is good. It has to be. But when she hires a cartographer, Kerry Perkins, to survey and map her estate in rural Tennessee, she pulls back a frayed corner of the lie that is her fairytale life. On his first night at Wolf Hollow, Kerry stumbles across a young girl's skeleton buried in the woods. But what really scares Diana is a familiar symbol carved into the girl's skull: two wolves.

A week later, the cops are digging in her backyard. Diana begins to question how good her life really is. How good of a man is her husband and how good a father? She's not the only one with questions. Kerry Perkins can't shake what he saw in the woods that night. He suspects that Diana recognized that symbol, that she lied to the police; that someone is watching him, and that whoever it is, they desperately want him to keep his mouth shut.

His search for answers leads him to Pink, a deeply disturbed man obsessed with the Wolfs' celebrity. Pink knows the family better than they know themselves - and he knows that the more he and Kerry dig, the more bones they will find.

Told through the eyes of multiple narrators, none reliable, this is a story about parents, the lies they tell their children, and the lies they tell themselves."

Unreliable narrators and wolves carved on a skull? YAS!

You're Invited by Amanda Jayatissa
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What could be worse than your ex-boyfriend marrying your childhood best friend? Getting accused of her murder… From the author of My Sweet Girl comes a dangerously addictive new thriller about a lavish Sri Lankan wedding celebration that not everyone will survive.

When Amaya is invited to Kaavi's over-the-top wedding in Sri Lanka, she is surprised and a little hurt to hear from her former best friend after so many years of radio silence. But when Amaya learns that the groom is her very own ex-boyfriend, she is consumed by a single thought: She must stop the wedding from happening, no matter the cost. But as the week of wedding celebrations begin and rumors about Amaya's past begin to swirl, she can’t help but feel like she also has a target on her back. When Kaavi goes missing and is presumed dead, all evidence points to Amaya. However, nothing is as it seems as Jayatissa expertly unravels that each wedding guest has their own dark secret and agenda, and Amaya may not be the only one with a plan to keep the bride from getting her happily ever after..."

Is it just me or do destination weddings and murder just go together perfectly?

Terminal Peace by Jim C. Hines
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The third and final book of the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse follows a group of unlikely heroes trying to save the galaxy from a zombie plague.

Marion "Mops" Adamopoulos and her team were trained to clean spaceships. They were absolutely not trained to fight an interplanetary war with the xenocidal Prodryans or to make first contact with the Jynx, a race who might not be as primitive as they seem. But if there's one lesson Mops and her crew have learned, it's that things like "training" and "being remotely qualified" are overrated.

The war is escalating. (This might be Mops' fault.) The survival of humanity - those few who weren't turned to feral, shambling monsters by an alien plague - as well as the fate of all other non-Prodryans, will depend on what Captain Mops and the crew of the EDFS Pufferfish discover on the ringed planet of Tuxatl.

But the Jynx on Tuxatl are fighting a war of their own, and their world's long-buried secrets could be more dangerous than the Prodryans.

To make matters worse, Mops is starting to feel a little feral herself..."

Any chance Mops and her team could come clean up the mess that is Earth? They couldn't make it worse!

Death at the Manor by Katharine Schellman
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The tortured spirits of the dead haunt a Regency-era English manor - but the true danger lies in the land of the living in the third installment in the Lily Adler mysteries, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn.

Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to spending the autumn away from the social whirl of London. When she arrives in Hampshire with her friends, the Carroways, she doesn’t expect much more than a quiet country visit and the chance to spend time with her charming new acquaintance, Matthew Spencer.

But something odd is afoot in the small country village. A ghost has taken up residence in the Belleford manor, a lady in grey who wanders the halls at night, weeping and wailing. Half the servants have left in terror, but the family seems delighted with the notoriety that their ghost provides. Intrigued by this spectral guest, Lily and her party immediately make plans to visit Belleford.

They arrive at the manor the next morning ready to be entertained - only to find that tragedy has struck. The matriarch of the family has just been found killed in her bed.

The dead woman’s family is convinced that the ghost is responsible. Lily is determined to learn the truth before another victim turns up - but could she be next in line for the Great Beyond?"

Ghosts and a Deanna Raybourn namecheck? YES!

High Times in Low Parliament by Kelly Robson
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Award-winning author Kelly Robson returns with High Times in the Low Parliament, a lighthearted romp through an 18th-century London featuring flirtatious scribes, irritable fairies, and the dangers of Parliament.

Lana Baker is Aldgate's finest scribe, with a sharp pen and an even sharper wit. Gregarious, charming, and ever so eager to please, she agrees to deliver a message for another lovely scribe in exchange for kisses and ends up getting sent to Low Parliament by a temperamental fairy as a result.

As Lana transcribes the endless circular arguments of Parliament, the debates grow tenser and more desperate. Due to long-standing tradition, a hung vote will cause Parliament to flood and a return to endless war. Lana must rely on an unlikely pair of comrades - Bugbite, the curmudgeonly fairy, and Eloquentia, the bewitching human deputy - to save humanity (and maybe even woo one or two lucky ladies), come hell or high water."

There's an air of Regency Magic here! 

Fire Touched by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"L. E. Modesitt, Jr., bestselling author of Saga of Recluce and the Imager Portfolio, continues his brand new, gaslamp, political fantasy series with Councilor the thrilling sequel to Isolate. Welcome to the Grand Illusion.

Continued poor harvests and steam-powered industrialization displace and impoverish thousands. Protests grow and gather followers.

Against this rising tide of social unrest, Steffan Dekkard, newly appointed to the Council of Sixty-Six, is the first Councilor who is an Isolate, a man invulnerable to the emotional manipulations and emotional surveillance of empaths.

This makes him dangerous.

As unknown entities seek to assassinate him, Dekkard struggles to master political intrigue and infighting, while introducing radical reforms that threaten entrenched political and corporate interests."

Yes to all things gaslamp fantasy!

Hellboy: The Silver Lantern Club by Mike Mignola
Published by: Dark Horse Books
Publication Date: August 9th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 136 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hellboy learns firsthand about the history of the famed Silver Lantern Club!

His uncle and former member Simon Bruttenholm relates tales from his time with the Silver Lantern Club, which included Sir Edward Grey, Sarah Jewell, Lady Bai, and Major Singh, as they investigated the mysterious happenings in London near the end of the 19th century!

Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson expand the Hellboy universe with a new tale of strange spiritual happenings. They're joined by artists Ben Stenbeck and Christopher Mitten, with colors by Dave Stewart.

Collects Hellboy: The Silver Lantern Club #1–#5."

I've been dying to read more about the Silver Lantern Club since I've read about Sarah Jewell and was so sad everything was out of print. It's like someone read my mind...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amanda Jayatissa, Cody Luke Davis, Jim C. Hines, Julie Cameron, Kate Alice Marshall, Katharine Schellman, Kelly Robson, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Lisa Jewell, M.H. Eccleston, Mike Mignola, Mim Eichmann, Nicola Upson

The Revenant Express by George Mann
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The grand adventure continues in George Mann's Newbury and Hobbes steampunk mystery series, as a Victorian special agent races across a continent to save his beloved's life on board The Revenant Express.

Sir Maurice Newbury is bereft as his trusty assistant Veronica Hobbes lies dying with a wounded heart. Newbury and Veronica's sister Amelia must take a sleeper train across Europe to St. Petersberg to claim a clockwork heart that Newbury has commissioned from Faberge to save Veronica from a life trapped in limbo.

No sooner do they take off then sinister goings-on start to plague the train, and it is discovered that an old villain, thought dead, is also on board and seeking revenge. Can Newbury and Amelia defeat him and get the clockwork organ back to the Fixer in time to save Veronica? And can they do so without Newbury going so far into the dark side of occult magic that he can never return?

Meanwhile, Sir Charles Bainbridge is the only one of their team left in London to struggle with a case involving a series of horrific crimes. Someone is kidnapping prominent men and infecting them with the Revenant plague, leaving them chained in various locations around the city. But why?

It's a rousing chase to save both London and Veronica. Will these brave detectives be up to the task?"

FINALLY! With the way George jumps around in his storytelling we knew Veronica would survive... but it's been AGONY to find out how. Thankfully The Revenant Express has arrived at the station. 

Felicity Carrol and the Perilous Pursuit by Patricia Marcantonio
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Amidst the heraldry of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations, a string of brutal murders rocks Britain's upper crust - and could threaten the realm itself - in the spellbinding debut of Patricia Marcantonio's Felicity Carrol mysteries.

Felicity Carrol is interested in everything - except being a proper young matron of Victorian society. Brilliant and resourceful, Felicity took refuge in science and education after her mother died and her father abandoned her to servants. Now, all he wants is for her to marry into a family of status and money.

Felicity has other ambitions - but her plans shudder to a halt when her mentor is murdered at the British Museum and his priceless manuscript of King Arthur lore is stolen. Tapping into her photographic memory and the latest in the burgeoning field of forensic detection, Felicity launches an investigation. Handsome Scotland Yard Inspector Jackson Davies is also on the case, and finds Felicity as meddlesome as she is intelligent. But when more nobles are murdered and their King Arthur relics stolen, Felicity must journey on her own into the dark underworld of antiquity theft, where she uncovers a motive far more nefarious than simple profit.

As the killer sets his sights on a new victim - a charismatic duke who has captured Felicity’s imagination - the stakes rise to impossible heights. It’s a case that could shake the kingdom in Patricia Marcantonio’s series debut, Felicity Carrol and the Perilous Pursuit."

This sounds like a wonderful little cozy whodunit!

The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 353 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of The Tuscan Child comes a beautiful and heart-rending novel of a woman’s love and sacrifice during the First World War.

As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong twenty-one-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage.

When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a “land girl,” tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It’s here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden. The journals inspire Emily, and in the wake of devastating news, they are her saving grace. Emily’s lover has not only died a hero but has left her terrified—and with child. Since no one knows that Emily was never married, she adopts the charade of a war widow.

As Emily learns more about the volatile power of healing with herbs, the found journals will bring her to the brink of disaster, but may open a path to her destiny."

Land girls in Devonshire? Oh yes! 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone's invited... everyone's a suspect...

For fans of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a shivery, atmospheric, page-turning novel of psychological suspense in the tradition of Agatha Christie, in which a group of old college friends are snowed in at a hunting lodge...and murder and mayhem ensue.

All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?"

With all the buzz around this book I have literally had it preordered since day one. Plus it looks like another winter storm is on the way, so perhaps this week I'll just stay in a devour it!

Careless Love by Peter Robinson
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"His fans include Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Tess Gerritsen, Ian Rankin, and Louise Penney. He has won acclaim and numerous international prizes and awards, including the Edgar. Now, Peter Robinson, one of the world’s greatest suspense writers, returns with a powerful mystery in which his legendary Detective Superintendent Alan Banks must solve two perplexing crimes.

Two suspicious deaths challenge DS Alan Banks and his crack investigative team.

A young local student’s body is found in an abandoned car on a lonely country road. The death looks like suicide, but there are too many open questions for Banks and his team to rule out foul play. The victim didn’t own a car. She didn’t even drive. How did she get there? Where—and when—did she die? Did someone move her, and if so, why?

A man in his sixties is found dead in a gully up on the wild moorland. He is wearing an expensive suit and carrying no identification. Post mortem findings indicate that he died from injuries sustained during a fall. Was it an accident—did he slip and fall? Or was he pushed? Why was he up there? And why are there no signs of a vehicle near where he fell?

As the inconsistencies multiply and the mysteries surrounding these two cases proliferate, a source close to Annie reveals a piece of information that shocks the team and impacts the investigations. An old enemy has returned in a new guise—a nefarious foe who will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get what he wants.

With the stakes raised, the hunt is on. But will Banks be able to find the evidence to stop him in time?"

New DCI Banks! WHAT! WHAT!

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The new standalone novel from bestselling author Jasper Fforde.

Every Winter, the human population hibernates.

During those bitterly cold four months, the nation is a snow-draped landscape of desolate loneliness, devoid of human activity.

Well, not quite.

Your name is Charlie Worthing and it's your first season with the Winter Consuls, the committed but mildly unhinged group of misfits who are responsible for ensuring the hibernatory safe passage of the sleeping masses.

You are investigating an outbreak of viral dreams which you dismiss as nonsense; nothing more than a quirky artefact borne of the sleeping mind.

When the dreams start to kill people, it's unsettling.

When you get the dreams too, it's weird.

When they start to come true, you begin to doubt your sanity.

But teasing truth from the Winter is never easy: You have to avoid the Villains and their penchant for murder, kidnapping, and stamp collecting, ensure you aren't eaten by Nightwalkers, whose thirst for human flesh can only be satisfied by comfort food, and sidestep the increasingly less-than-mythical WinterVolk.

But so long as you remember to wrap up warmly, you'll be fine."

Jasper Fforde, in my mind, excels at standalones that have a hint of the apocalypse, so Early Riser is RIGHT up my alley. Terminal Uprising by Jim C. Hines
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Human civilization didn’t just fall. It was pushed.

The Krakau came to Earth in the year 2104. By 2105, humanity had been reduced to shambling, feral monsters. In the Krakau’s defense, it was an accident, and a century later, they did come back and try to fix us. Sort of.

It’s been four months since Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos learned the truth of that accident. Four months since she and her team of hygiene and sanitation specialists stole the EMCS Pufferfish and stopped a bioterrorism attack against the Krakau homeworld. Four months since she set out to find proof of what really happened on Earth all those years ago.

Between trying to protect their secrets and fighting the xenocidal Prodryans, who’ve been escalating their war against everyone who isn’t Prodryan, the Krakau have their tentacles full.

Mops’ mission changes when she learns of a secret Krakau laboratory on Earth. A small group under command of Fleet Admiral Belle-Bonne Sage is working to create a new weapon, one that could bring victory over the Prodryans … or drown the galaxy in chaos.

To discover the truth, Mops and her rogue cleaning crew will have to do the one thing she fears most: return to Earth, a world overrun by feral apes, wild dogs, savage humans, and worse. (After all, the planet hasn’t been cleaned in a century and a half!) What Mops finds in the filthy ruins of humanity could change everything, assuming she survives long enough to share it.

Perhaps humanity isn’t as dead as the galaxy thought."

Speaking of apocalypse... 

The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A luxuriously magical retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in seventeenth-century France - and told from the point of view of the Beast himself.

I am neither monster nor man - yet I am both.

I am the Beast.

He is a broken, wild thing, his heart’s nature exposed by his beastly form. Long ago cursed with a wretched existence, the Beast prowls the dusty hallways of his ruined château with only magical, unseen servants to keep him company - until a weary traveler disturbs his isolation.

Bewitched by the man’s dreams of his beautiful daughter, the Beast devises a plan to lure her to the château. There, Isabeau courageously exchanges her father’s life for her own and agrees to remain with the Beast for a year. But even as their time together weaves its own spell, the Beast finds winning Isabeau’s love is only the first impossible step in breaking free from the curse..."

I am a sucker for any Beauty and the Beast retelling. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beauty and the Beast, DCI Banks, Early Riser, Felicity Carrol, George Mann, Jasper Fforde, Jim C. Hines, Newbury and Hobbes, Peter Robinson, Rhys Bowen, The Hunting Party, The Revenant Express, The Victory Garden

The Revolution of Marina M. by Janet Fitch
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 816 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the mega-bestselling author of White Oleander and Paint It Black, a sweeping historical saga of the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of one young woman.

St. Petersburg, New Year's Eve, 1916. Marina Makarova is a young woman of privilege who aches to break free of the constraints of her genteel life, a life about to be violently upended by the vast forces of history. Swept up on these tides, Marina will join the marches for workers' rights, fall in love with a radical young poet, and betray everything she holds dear, before being betrayed in turn.

As her country goes through almost unimaginable upheaval, Marina's own coming-of-age unfolds, marked by deep passion and devastating loss, and the private heroism of an ordinary woman living through extraordinary times. This is the epic, mesmerizing story of one indomitable woman's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century."

With winter setting in who doesn't want to read a doorstop of a book about Russia?

Lord Edward's Mysterious Treasure by Lilian Marek
Published by: JOS
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Kindle, 323 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lord Edward Tremaine comes to the fog-shrouded Chateau Morvan on the coast of Brittany. In this ancient building, all the inhabitants have secrets. The old vicomte demands that his descendants find a lost treasure, but he offers only hints to help the three cousins in their search.

The charming Delphine seems to be a creature of gaiety and sunshine, but every now and then glimpses of something darker appear. Marguerite, the beautiful and brilliant pianist, is obviously afraid. What is it that threatens her? Antoine, who considers himself a modern man, ignores the swirling emotions, concentrating only on the money needed for him to build a steel factory. Lord Edward wants to help his friend Antoine--and more and more he wants to help Marguerite and protect her--but can he do so before tragedy strikes?"

Subtitled as "Victorian Adventures" that dress doesn't look very Victorian to me... 

Dark Asylum by E.S. Thomson
Published by: Pegasus Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set in a crumbling Victorian asylum where a gruesome murder is committed, this sequel to Beloved Poison explores the early science of brain study while giving chilling insight into an asylum's workings.

1851, Angel Meadow Asylum. Dr. Rutherford, principal physician to the insane, is found dead, his head bashed in, his ears cut off, his lips and eyes stitched closed. The police direct their attention towards Angel Meadow's inmates, but to Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain the crime is an act of calculated retribution, rather than of madness.

To discover the truth Jem and Will must pursue the story through the darkest corners of the city―from the depths of a notorious rookery, to the sordid rooms of London's brothels, the gallows, the graveyard, the convict fleet and then back to the asylum. In a world where guilt and innocence, crime and atonement, madness and reason, are bounded by hypocrisy, ambition and betrayal, Jem and Will soon find themselves caught up in a web of dark secrets and hidden identities."

Fog outside, a good Gothic read about an asylum? Yes please!

Unholy City by Carrie Smith
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 287 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Despite their rocky history, Detective Claire Codella and Precinct Detective Brian Haggerty come together when senior churchwarden Philip Graves’s bloody body is found lying in the herb garden of historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side just two days before Good Friday. Upon first glance, it looks like a random act of big city violence, but it soon becomes clear churchwarden Philip’s death was the result of a meticulously calculated ploy by someone who knew him.

There are five vestry members and a choir director in addition to the ten homeless men asleep in the church basement. Any one of them could have done it, but what did Philip Graves do to warrant such a merciless death? Struggling to share the case and salvage their personal relationship, Claire, Brian and trusted Detective Eduardo Muñoz work around the clock to uncloak the desires, secrets, and resentments that find home through the iron gates and into the hidden beauty of one historic Romanesque church in Unholy City, the haunting third installment in Carrie Smith’s Claire Codella mysteries."

A church, a murder, a certain time of year... yeah, it's must read. 

Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
Published by: Crown Archetype
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Can you ever outrun your past?

From actress, producer, and writer, Krysten Ritter, a psychological suspense novel about a woman forced to confront her past in the wake of small-town corruption.

It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands.

But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town's most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good.

Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as she tries desperately to find out what really happened to Kaycee, troubling memories begin to resurface and she begins to doubt her own observations. And when she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” it will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.

With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of what happens when your past and present collide."

Yeah, I like Krysten Ritter as an actress, so I'll give her a shot as an author...

Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Published by: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 576 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer, comes a high-stakes world of adventure, passion, danger, and betrayal.

Secret Identities.

Extraordinary Powers.

She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies―humans with extraordinary abilities―who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice―and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to the villains who have the power to end them both."

Where Marissa Meyer leads I follow.

Nanoshock by K.C. Alexander
Published by: Angry Robot
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Cyberpunk fallen angel Riko is back, in KC Alexander's outrageous sequel to the savage Necrotech.

Being a mercenary isn't all it's cracked up to be. Especially when Riko's hard-won reputation has taken a hard dive into fucked. Now she's fair game for every Tom, Dick and Blow looking to score some cred.

In this city, credibility means everything -- there's no room for excuses. She still doesn't know what she did to screw up so badly, and chasing every gone-cold lead is only making it worse. Without help and losing ground fast, Riko has a choice: break every rule of the street on her search for answers... or die trying."

No matter what name she's writing under, I'll follow her!

Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In his hilarious new sci-fi series, Jim C. Hines introduces the unlikely heroes that may just save the galaxy: a crew of space janitors.

The Krakau came to Earth to invite humanity into a growing alliance of sentient species. However, they happened to arrive after a mutated plague wiped out half the planet, turned the rest into shambling, near-unstoppable animals, and basically destroyed human civilization. You know—your standard apocalypse.

The Krakau’s first impulse was to turn around and go home. (After all, it’s hard to have diplomatic relations with mindless savages who eat your diplomats.) Their second impulse was to try to fix us. Now, a century later, human beings might not be what they once were, but at least they’re no longer trying to eat everyone. Mostly.

Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos is surprisingly bright (for a human). As a Lieutenant on the Earth Mercenary Corps Ship Pufferfish, she’s in charge of the Shipboard Hygiene and Sanitation team. When a bioweapon attack wipes out the Krakau command crew and reverts the rest of the humans to their feral state, only Mops and her team are left with their minds intact.

Escaping the attacking aliens—not to mention her shambling crewmates—is only the beginning. Sure, Mops and her team of space janitors and plumbers can clean the ship as well as anyone, but flying the damn thing is another matter.

As they struggle to keep the Pufferfish functioning and find a cure for their crew, they stumble onto a conspiracy that could threaten the entire alliance… a conspiracy born from the truth of what happened on Earth all those years ago.

Jim C. Hines has proven himself a master of humorous fantasy with his Jig the Goblin novels, and has turned the usual fantasy tropes sideways and upside down with his Princess and his Magic Ex Libris series. With Terminal Alliance, the debut novel in his humorous military science fiction series, Jim takes us into a brand-new universe of entertainment certain to appeal to fans of both Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett."

This sounds like Galaxy Quest meets Red Dwarf. I'm sold. 

A Spoonful of Magic by Irene Radford
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A delightful new urban fantasy about a kitchen witch and her magical family.

Daphne "Daffy" Rose Wallace Deschants has an ideal suburban life—three wonderful and talented children; a coffee shop and bakery, owned and run with her best friend; a nearly perfect husband, Gabriel, or "G" to his friends and family. Life could hardly be better.

But G's perfection hides dangerous secrets. When Daffy uncovers evidence of his infidelity, her perfect life seems to be in ruins. On their wedding anniversary, Daffy prepares to confront him, only to be stopped in her tracks when he foils a mugging attempt using wizard-level magic.

Suddenly, Daphne is part of a world she never imagined--where her husband is not a traveling troubleshooter for a software company, but the sheriff of the International Guild of Wizards, and her brilliant children are also budding magicians. Even she herself is not just a great baker and barista—she's actually a kitchen witch. And her discovery of her powers is only just beginning.

But even the midst of her chaotic new life, another problem is brewing. G's ex-wife, a dangerous witch, has escaped from her magical prison. Revenge-bent and blind, she needs the eyes of her son to restore her sight—the son Daffy has raised as her own since he was a year old. Now Daphne must find a way to harness her new powers and protect her family—or risk losing everything she holds dear."

Sounds like fun urban fantasy that is like Practical Magic! 

That Olde White Magick by Sharon Pape
Published by: Lyrical Underground
Publication Date: November 7th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
" It's time to work her crime-solving magic again...

Kailyn Wilde enjoys running her shop, Abracadabra, in the quaint New York hamlet of New Camel, where she lives with her six cats. Her family's been here for centuries, and she'd like to keep up the tradition. But the place may never be the same if a big hotel gets built, so she does her civic duty and attends a town meeting along with her aunt Tilly . . . and Merlin. Yes, that Merlin-though he gets introduced to folks as her "distant English cousin." The wizard is pretty grumpy about being transported here, but there are things about the modern world he doesn't mind-like pizza.

Kailyn was prepared for a heated debate about the hotel, but she wasn't expecting murder. When Tilly finds the body of a board member outside the schoolhouse, Kailyn doesn't want any suspicion cast on the wrong person. She plans to crack this case, even if she has to talk to every living soul in town-plus a few departed ones..."

Just look at that kitty on the cover! Look at it!!!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Carrie Smith, E.S. Thompson, Galaxy Quest, Irene Radford, Janet Fitch, Jim C. Hines, K.C. Alexander, Krysten Ritter, Lillian Marek, Marissa Meyer, Practical Magic, Red Dwarf, Renegades, Sharon Pape, Victorian