strange and random happenstance

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

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

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

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

A seance!?! Oh, be still my heart! 

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

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

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

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

Tracy Grant and Regency London are my jam.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Send Help meets Westworld. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But does a tech bro even have a soul?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is it imaginary? Is it real?

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

What to do? She phones her sister.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Hope Diamond.

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

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

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

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

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

Don't open your eyes...

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

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

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

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

I like the hints of Bluebeard as well.

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

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

A rebellious young woman desperate to escape her predetermined life.

The handsome but married priest who has caught her eye.

And the resolute schoolteacher who values science above all.

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

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

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

Windswept and Gothic, two things I crave.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everything's coming up Capote these days!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A time slip with a twist!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big old chateau and murder? Yes and yes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Damn I love Stacey Abrams.

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

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

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

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

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

What about fans of Enemy Mine?

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

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

Legends don't always live up to reality.

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

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

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

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

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

Luckily, Excalibur lies within reach.

But who will be fit to wield it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's the story that helps in the understanding.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

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