strange and random happenstance

You Are the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper
Published by: Ten Speed Press
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
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The official patter:
"November 1933. London. Seven people receive mysterious letters. Someone knows their terrible secrets. They are summoned to a posh townhouse where one is stabbed right in front of the others, but somehow no one saw a thing. Can you help Scotland Yard solve the mystery?

A "delightfully witty interactive mystery packed with theatrical characters and exciting twists" (G.T. Karber, author of Murdle) from the bestselling author and illustrator of Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village.

Dear Detective,

Surely you have seen the papers and read about the dreadful murder of the American novelist - stabbed while in a room with six other people, and yet no one went near him or saw the murder occur. The crime is so devious, so logistically impossible, that it seems to have been committed not by a person but by a disembodied hand.

I must confess that we are at a loss. Who wrote the poison pen letters that lured these seven people to this deadly gathering? A poet, an earl, an actress, a cook, a telephone operator, and a lothario... What do they have in common? And how could a man be stabbed in a room full of suspects, even though no one went near him or saw a thing?

We have had our best people on the case, Detective, and we still can't make heads or tails of it. We are giving this case file to you. Can you decipher the clues, decode the witness statements, and identify the murderer? You are our last hope. Can you help us crack the Creeping Hand Murder?

Yours truly,
Detective Chief Inspector of the Metropolitan Police"

Follow the facts, not the motive.

Matching Minds with Sondheim by Barry Joseph
Published by: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
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The official patter:
"By near-universal consensus, Stephen Sondheim was the greatest musical theater composer of his generation - celebrated, among other things, for the wit, sophistication, and intricacy of shows from West Side Story to Sunday in the Park with George. But a less well-known avenue for his brilliance was his lifelong fascination with designing and constructing intricate puzzles and games, from treasure hunts to crosswords to parlor and board games.

Matching Minds with Sondheim is a journey into this rich but largely unmapped aspect of the composer's creative life, illuminating how Sondheim's playful designs delivered moments of clarity and connection for friends, colleagues, and anyone who's ever been captivated by his genius. This book opens, for the first time, the door into what Sondheim called his "puzzler's mind," helping readers to better understand the man, his work, and - if they accept the challenge - themselves. Gaming expert Barry Joseph draws from over eighty years of Sondheim's activities, including extremely rare and never-publicly-seen puzzles and game designs, scores of original interviews with the celebrity friends who played them, archival deep dives, and illuminating analysis from both puzzle designers and theater professionals from around the world. Packed with illustrations and insights, this book does more than describe Sondheim's life in puzzles: It allows readers to match minds with the maestro by attempting to solve his puzzles and bring Sondheimian games into their own homes."

If you've watched The Last of Sheila, you know how Sondheim loved to craft a conundrum. Even if that conundrum is they lined the people up in the wrong order next to the boat. I will never get over that. 

A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
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The official patter:
"A sharp, captivating historical mystery about two queer women in turn-of-the-century New York, for fans of Lavender House and A Most Agreeable Murder.

There can be a blurry line between what is ethical and what is legal.

Margot Baxter Harriman took the reins of B and H Foods after her father passed. It's not easy being a business woman in 1912, but she is determined to continue what her grandparents started decades ago, no matter what it takes.

So when Margot finds Mrs. Gilroy, her father's former assistant, dead in the office with a half-finished note confessing to nebulous misdeeds at B and H, she seeks out help from a very discreet, private investigator to figure out what's going on. Her company, and her good name, are at stake if scandal breaks...and she could lose everything, including her freedom.

Loretta "Rett" Mancini has run her father's investigation operation since he started becoming increasingly forgetful. When Margot offers her the chance to look into the potential scandal with B and H, she jumps at it.

But the more the two dig in, the more it becomes clear that Margot's company may be too far lost...and someone is willing to kill them both to keep things quiet.

Charming and witty, Cathy Pegau's A Murderous Business is perfect for fans of Lev A.C. Rosen, Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer, and the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries by Claudia Gray."

If you lose your company but gain love, can you really call that losing? 

The Cut of the Moon by Cynthia Ellingsen
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 395 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A startling mystery and a longing for love link two women, a century apart, in a haunting novel about family secrets by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Lost Letters of Aisling.

Jewelry designer Lindsey McKenna is thrilled to be working at an antique exhibit at a local landmark that has been her obsession: the Wind Thorne estate. During the 1920s, it roared. Until an unsolved murder shadowed its legacy. Today, restored as a museum, Wind Thorne draws crowds of visitors to upstate New York. When one of them approaches Lindsey with an old diary, Lindsey is drawn deeper into Wind Thorne's storied past.

It's 1925 when young Ruby Thornhill steals her beloved sister's engagement ring - a naive but heartfelt attempt to stall her upcoming wedding, which Ruby fears will tear the siblings apart. What the theft triggers thrusts Ruby into danger, and with it comes the realization that Wind Thorne is home to potentially inescapable secrets.

Aided by a charming gemologist, Lindsey gradually uncovers Wind Thorne's history - and to her surprise, her own history as well. Now two young women, nearly a century apart, are righting the wrongs of their family and putting the past, and all its heartbreaking mysteries, to rest."

Stealing a ring is a bit risky. It's a pricey item that can trigger extreme reactions...

A Very Bookish Murder by Dee MacDonald
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 271 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome back to the tiny Highland village of Locharran, where Ally McKinley - guesthouse owner and accidental detective - is about to stumble upon another dead body...and her next case.

When Ally McKinley hears that well-known novelist Jodi Jones is going to host a writers' retreat at the hotel just down the road, she's delighted to offer rooms at her little guesthouse for some of the attendees. Ally is thrilled to join the group for one of their first sessions - but the retreat has barely begun before she finds the famous writer strangled in the ladies' bathroom!

The cake tin and teapot come out at the little guesthouse in the Highlands as Ally begins to question her bookish guests. Accusations of plagiarism and infidelity start flying and it's clear that more than one of the retreat attendees had a grudge against Jodi. But could any of them have resorted to murder?

When Ally discovers a diary in Jodi's bedroom at the guesthouse with several pages ripped out of it, she thinks she's close to cracking the case. But the plot thickens when another of the aspiring writers is found dead, only hours after she said she knew the identity of Jodi's killer.

Not only is the murderer still in Locharran, they're desperate to stop Ally getting to the truth. With her faithful puppy Flora by her side, can Ally unravel the clues and solve the mystery before she's written out of the story for good?

A totally gripping and bookish cozy mystery set in the Scottish Highlands from bestselling author Dee MacDonald. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Clare Chase."

I mean, who doesn't love reading about writing retreats with an extra murderous treat?

Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
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The official patter:
"The new cozy crime novel from the bestselling author of The Marlow Murder Club, soon to be a major TV series on PBS Masterpiece.

Verity Beresford is worried about her husband. Oliver didn't come home last night, so of course Verity goes straight to Judith Potts, Marlow's resident amateur sleuth, for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had hired The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, for an exclusive party with the MADS committee but no one remembers seeing him disembark. And then Oliver's body washes up on the Thames with two bullet holes in him. It's time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action.

Oliver was, by all accounts, a rather complicated chap with a reputation for bullying children during nativity play rehearsals, and he wasn't short of enemies. Judith, Suzie, and Becks are convinced they'll find his killer in no time. But things are not as they seem in the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, and this case is not so clear-cut after all. The gang will need to keep their wits about them to solve this case - otherwise a killer will walk free..."

Soon to be a TV series? Then what have I been watching for the last two years? Someone needs to update their copy.

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets...or else.

Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.

But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game. The old friends are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.

It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out psychopaths: The Wasp Trap. This experiment and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.

Alternating between the past and present with a colorful ensemble of characters, The Wasp Trap is a fast-paced and twisty thrill ride that is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Alice Feeney."

In high school we did a early dating profile cupid thing, about three years before this book is set. That caused absolute chaos. I can only imagine this will be the same. 

The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A shocking murder in the New Zealand bush - and the witness who looks all too familiar - draws a woman back to the very place she swore she'd never return to in this breakneck debut thriller.

A child who ran from the forest.
A woman who must return to it.

Growing up with her younger siblings in the unforgiving New Zealand bush, Effie believed their parents had cut them off from civilization because they loved Nature. She never suspected that their reasons might be more menacing. After witnessing a terrifying episode of violence, she escaped the wilderness to forge a life for herself halfway across the globe.

Now, when she learns the only witness to a murder is a little girl who looks just like her, Effie is compelled to return to the scene of her troubled childhood, where the secrets of her upbringing and the terrors of her past come rushing back to the surface. In order to find out once and for all what became of her family - and possibly help this mysterious girl who could be her younger self - Effie must face her greatest fears once more."

For fans of Top of the Lake. 

Extremity by Nicholas Binge
Published by: Tordotcom
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A time-traveling, end-of-the-world police procedural, Extremity is True Detective if written by Philip K. Dick.

When once-renowned police detective Julia Torgrimsen is brought out of forced retirement to investigate the murder of Bruno Donaldson, a billionaire she worked with whilst undercover, she doesn't expect to find two bodies. Both are Bruno - identical down to the fingerprints - and both have been shot.

As the investigation sucks her back into the macabre world of London's rich elite, she finds herself on the hunt for a mysterious assassin who has been taking out the wealthy one by one. But when she finally catches up with her quarry, she unveils an entire world of secrets: impossible documents about future stock market crashes, photographs of dead clones, and a clandestine time-travelling conspiracy so insidious it might just mean the extinction of the entire human race.

If Julia is to have any chance of preventing this terrible future, she'll have to revisit her own past, the terrible choices she made undercover, and the brutal act that destroyed her once legendary career."

Oh so Philip K. Dick, with a little Altered Carbon thrown in. 

When We Spoke to the Dead by Ilise S. Carter
Published by: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ghosts spoke. Women listened. Everything changed.

It began with whispers in a dimly lit room. In the 1840s, the Fox Sisters - and the legions of mediums they inspired - ignited the Spiritualist movement that swept through Victorian parlors and presidential campaigns alike. Contacting the dead wasn't merely a parlor trick: It was a political statement, a declaration of self that still echoes. Séances attracted suffragists and scientists, skeptics and charlatans, giving women a voice in a society that often refused to hear them. But as Spiritualism surged, it also blurred the lines between faith, fraud, feminism, and financial opportunity, drawing figures as varied as Harry Houdini, Victoria Woodhull, and even modern self-help gurus into its ever-expanding orbit.

From wartime séances to the rise of televangelists, from Victorian ghosts to goop-approved wellness rituals, When We Spoke to the Dead unearths the forgotten roots of today's obsession with manifestation, mysticism, and the power of belief. Exploring America's deep-seated hunger for the unseen - whether through politics, personal empowerment, or grief - this book traces how the supernatural, once condemned as heresy, became the ultimate commodity.

Step inside the séance room. The spirits have been waiting."

Such an interesting angle to take on Spiritualism. It makes it more empowerment than exploitation. 

The Ghost of Merry Hall by Heather Davey
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A chilling ghost story in which a mother and daughter move into a crumbling house haunted by the ghost of a girl who performed in Victorian freak shows, through which wind whistles eerily, floorboards creak ominously and things go bump in the night. Ideal for fans of Laura Purcell.

In 2025, following the break-up of her marriage, cash-strapped single mother Nell moves into the crumbling Merry Hall with her teenage daughter, Fern, to housesit for its evasive owner. She's determined to make a new life in the gloomy Victorian mansion but the noises, moving objects and strange smells in her new home make her increasingly unsettled.

In the 1840s, showman Abel Wenham seduces Dolly, a talented albino girl and makes her the star of his performing collection of freaks. But after she becomes pregnant with his child, he discards her and imprisons her at Merry Hall, where her only solace is the company of fellow performers Ida the Bear Lady and the Jack the Posturer. They plan to escape with Dolly and her child and set up in business, but Wenham has other ideas.

Is Dolly, just one of the ghosts that haunt Merry Hall, reaching out across the centuries to right the wrongs of the past?"

I needed a book to tide me over until the new Laura Purcell comes out next month!

The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Scottish governess arrives in Singapore to take up her new post, only to find a host of problems await that require her very unique skills in this award-winning and incredibly entertaining historical fantasy novel.

There has never yet been a crisis that Miss Leda Cassidy hasn't been able to fix, be it a lovelorn young charge, perpetually distracted students, or an unruly and malevolent ghost. When she arrives at her new employer's home and discovers the family is being terrorized by a vampiric spirit, she sets about righting the situation without delay.

But it seems that as soon as she puts one supernatural creature to rest, another appears to take its place. A woman's work is truly never done, is it?

When she meets Mr. Kay, a widower whose greatest worry appears to be making matches for his twin daughters, she is happy to take a post that might provide her a bit of respite from her more "spirited" friends. But she soon realizes that the Kays are in far more trouble than she realized - and that her presence in their home might have put the family she's grown to cherish in even more jeopardy. Will she be able to save them all before it's too late, or has she finally stumbled upon the one problem she isn't able to solve?"

Marry Poppins meets Supernatural! 

The Curious Case of the Midnight Specter by Moriah Chavis
Published by: Twenty Hills Publishing
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: eBook, 294 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"She can see ghosts, but can she catch a killer?

Stornshire, England - 1890

Leighanna Pauley barely escaped consumption. Now, she's claimed by both Life and Death. Fascinated by justice and why she survived when so many others haven't, she has a new obsession: the murder of a fellow socialite. But the police have no leads.

The investigation emboldens Leighanna to attend the first ball held at the Carmine Estate. When midnight strikes, the unimaginable takes place. Time stops for everyone but Leighanna. Before her stands the ghost of the dead girl, pleading with Leighanna to catch her killer before someone else is murdered.

In a race against time, Leighanna hunts for clues across Stornshire. Will she be able to solve the case before the murderer strikes again, or will she become just another forgotten victim?"

Coming so close to death has to have some benefit, too bad it's that Leighanna now has to solve crimes for the dead...

Livingston Girls by Briana Morgan
Published by: Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Kindle, 265 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There's a place for troublesome teenage girls: Livingston Academy. When 16-year-old Rose's relationship with her English teacher is exposed, her community mourns his reputation, and she's the one banished to boarding school.

Ashamed and hoping to keep her past under wraps, Rose is surprised to learn she's not the only one with a secret: Livingston Academy was founded by Salem witch trial survivors - and their successors still practice magic in secluded dorm rooms and the woods outside the school grounds. When Rose falls in with the strange and rebellious group of girls that make up the Livingston coven, Rose gets an offer to join that she can't refuse. Soon she's part of a hidden world of whispered spells, charms, summonings, and sisterhood.

But there's a darker side to becoming a witch - there will always be powerful men who resent and envy a witch's abilities. When the headmaster of the nearby boy's school is revealed to be a witch hunter eager to claim the power of the Livingston coven, Rose and her new friends must fight for their very survival.

And Rose might have an even bigger problem. She can't keep her eyes off her prickly coven sister and roommate Charlie. Will she master her power in time to save the school, or will her crush prove a deadly distraction?"

I say burn the next door school to the ground and have a make out session with your roommate. While you're at it go take vengeance on the English teacher too.

The Whistler by Nick Medina
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young man is haunted by a mythological specter bent on stealing everything he loves in this unsettling horror from the author of Indian Burial Ground and Sisters of the Lost Nation.

For fear of summoning evil spirits, Native superstition says you should never, ever whistle at night.

Henry Hotard was on the verge of fame, gaining a following and traction with his eerie ghost-hunting videos. Then his dreams came to a screeching halt. Now, he's learning to navigate a new life in a wheelchair, back on the reservation where he grew up, relying on his grandparents' care while he recovers.

And he's being haunted.

His girlfriend, Jade, insists he just needs time to adjust to his new reality as a quadriplegic, that it's his traumatized mind playing tricks on him, but Henry knows better. As the specter haunting him creeps closer each night, Henry battles to find a way to endure, to rid himself of the horror stalking him. Worried that this dread might plague him forever, he realizes the only way to exile his phantom is by confronting his troubled past and going back to the events that led to his injury.

It all started when he whistled at night...."

OK, I for one am no longer going to whistle at night.

No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With an expert hand, Rachel Louise Adams's debut No Rest for the Wicked reads like an edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie.

In one Halloween obsessed Midwestern town, everyone's on red alert after a local politician goes missing. Little do they know it's only the beginning.

It's been close to twenty years since forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. The town is famous for its Halloween celebrations, but also its history of violent deaths linked to the holiday. To Dolores, it's the place she fled, family, bad memories, and all. Until the FBI calls to tell her that her father - the former mayor turned US Senator - is missing under mysterious circumstances.

Some people count to ten to wake up from a nightmare. Dolores always counts the bones of her head instead: sphenoid, frontal, lacrimal. But no matter how many times she counts them, it doesn't change the fact that her father is missing, that his final words of warning to her were to trust no one, and that now, the rest of her family is giving Dolores a chilling welcome. With Halloween fast approaching, Dolores must face the past she left behind before it's too late."

I mean it's a book set in Wisconsin with cats on the cover, it was written for me, right? Though I think, as a Wisconsinite, that it would really depend on the politician if anyone actually cared...  

The Summer War by Naomi Novik
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this poignant, heartfelt novella from the New York Times bestselling author of Spinning Silver and the Scholomance trilogy, a young witch who has inadvertently cursed her brother to live a life without love must find a way to undo her spell.

Celia discovered her talent for magic on the day her beloved oldest brother, Argent, left home. Furious at him for abandoning her in a war-torn land, she lashed out, not realizing her childish, angry words would become imbued with the power of prophecy, dooming him to a life without love.

While Argent wanders the world, forced to seek only fame and glory instead of the love and belonging he truly desires, Celia attempts to undo the curse she placed on him. Yet even as she grows from a girl to a woman, she cannot find the solution - until she learns the truth about the centuries-old war between her own people and the summerlings, immortal beings who hold a relentless grudge against their mortal neighbors.

Now, with the aid of her unwanted middle brother, Celia may be able to both undo her eldest brother's curse and heal the lands so long torn apart by the Summer War."

After cursing her older brother you think she'd no refer to her middle brother as unwanted... 

Uncharmed by Lucy Jane Wood
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A "perfect" witch must learn to embrace imperfection and live for herself in this spellbinding cozy fantasy sprinkled with love, laughter, and magic, from the author of Rewitched.

Andromeda "Annie" Wildwood is the perfect witch. She is sugar, spice, and everything nice, each element of her life finely curated and polished to irresistibility by her nightly hex-laced potion routine. She loves to please and nothing makes her happier than when everyone else around her is completely happy.

When Annie's coven tasks her with guiding an orphan teenage witch through the process of getting her blossoming magical powers under control, Annie is excited for the chance to please and to prove herself. But the ramshackle cabin they'll be housed in isn't quite the staycation of Annie's dreams - and she and Maeve, the headstrong teen, couldn't be more different.

Just when they're starting to understand each other, the owner of the cabin unexpectedly returns - and this quietly gruff and handsome warlock is not pleased to find that the coven volunteered his house to a high-maintenance witch and her angsty teen companion.

As this seemingly unlikely trio develop a loyalty and fondness for one another, Annie slowly learns that her people-pleasing may have led her down an impossible, lonely path. If everything about her is so right - why does it all feel so wrong?"

Witchy found family! 

Hopelessly Teavoted by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After the deaths of his parents, a witch returns to his spooky family manor and joins forces with his former crush when his parents' spirits warn them of a sinister threat in this witty and lyrically unique rom-com in the vein of The Crescent Moon Tearoom and The Ex Hex.

Azrael Ashmedai Hart must be cursed. He's a witch twice named for the devil. He's making his way back to his family manor in Hallowcross after a failed screenwriting career. He's adopted a cat he's allergic to, and if all of that is not enough, he's also forced to come face-to-face with his childhood best friend and former crush.

Victoria Starnberger, the bubbly girl-next-door Az lost touch with after an awkward incident in college, has just been disowned by her parents for quitting business school and buying Azrael's late parents' Hopelessly Teavoted tea shop against their wishes. Being cut off financially is one thing. But, now Vickie also owes a lesser devil for the souls her parents promised him in exchange for her gift to summon the dead by touching something they treasured in life, destroying the object in the process.

When spirits all over town, including Az's parents, keeping warning her about a sinister threat, Vickie and Az are forced to combine their powers to save the Hallowcross. But to do so, they must prevent her magic from immolating him after Vickie's devil places a curse on them to keep them from touching until she repays her debt. As they race against the clock to find clever ways around their curse, they find it increasingly harder to deny that they've been hopelessly devoted to each other all along."

I like the Pushing Daisies curse of it all.

Love at First Fright by Nadia El-Fassi
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this paranormal spicy age-gap romance, a successful author - whose novel is being adapted into a movie - clashes with the actor cast as the male lead, all in a cozy mansion filled with friendly ghosts, from the author of Best Hex Ever.

Rosemary Shaw's ability to see the dead has never scared her. In fact, it's secretly inspired most of her horror novels. Now at twenty-nine, Rosemary is an acclaimed author, and her most successful book is about to be a blockbuster movie. The film set is in a beautiful manor house in the English countryside, and it's no surprise there are ghosts hanging around. But ghosts are something Rosemary can handle; she's not so sure how to deal with her infuriatingly handsome leading man, who is all wrong for the role.

Ellis Finch is a longtime Hollywood heartthrob with a secret of his own. He's tired of playing the action movie hero and would much rather be gardening with his sweet dog, Fig. Frankly, he's getting too old to maintain the industry's standards of what a man should look like. Starring in a historical horror movie will be perfect for his new image, until he finds out that the author tried to get him kicked off the project, but Ellis won't go down without a fight.

Amidst filming the movie and the chemistry-filled feuding between Rosemary and Ellis, Hallowvale manor comes alive, literally. Trying to balance the mayhem of her writing deadlines, an adorable ghostly dog, and a pair of Regency-era women who are definitely nothing more than friends, Rosemary is at risk of telling Ellis her secret, or worse - falling for him."

Wait, if I admit to seeing ghosts does that mean I can get a sexy aging Hollywood star?

The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut.

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It's not just the role of a lifetime, but it's also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it's her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess's way - well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don't quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry - and Tess's career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen's era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won't be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum."

Oddly I've often thought about how electricity could help with time travel... Not that I've tried it. Not even that once I was shocked so bad I was thrown backwards. Sadly not in time.

The Faerie Morgana by Louisa Morgan
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this atmospheric and bewitching novel, Louisa Morgan reimagines the story of Morgan Le Fay, one of the most enigmatic and powerful women in Arthurian legend.

To the other priestesses of the Nine, a powerful council at the Lady's Temple, Morgana is haughty and arrogant as she performs feats of magic no human should be capable of. Rumors start that she must be a fearsome fae.

To King Arthur, Morgana is a trusted and devoted advisor, but his court is wary of her and her prodigious talent at divination. But his wife sees Morgana as a rival and a malevolent witch.

To Braithe, Morgana's faithful acolyte, she is simply the most powerful priestess Camelot has seen.

Morgana doesn't know why she's so different from everyone else, and she doesn't much care. But when she aids Arthur to ascend the throne before his time, she sets off a series of events that will change everything Morgana believes about her power."

I am here for all things Arthurian. 

To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth pulls from Slavic folklore to explore family, duty, and what it means to be a monster in this sequel to the USA Today bestselling novella When Among Crows.

A funeral. A heist. A desperate mission.

When Dymitr is called back to the old country for the empty night, a funeral rite intended to keep evil at bay, it's the perfect opportunity for him to get his hands on his family's most guarded relic - a book of curses that could satisfy the debt he owes legendary witch Baba Jaga. But first he'll have to survive a night with his dangerous, monster-hunting kin.

As the sun sets, the line between enemies and allies becomes razor-thin, and Dymitr's new loyalties are pushed to their breaking point.

Family gatherings can be brutal. Dymitr's might just be fatal."

When Among Crows was a novella? Hmm. Filing this information away for later. You'll eventually see why.

I Killed the King by Rebecca Mix and Andrea Hannah
Published by: Storytide
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One of Us Is Lying meets Knives Out - with beasts, murder, and magic - in this first book in a thrilling locked-room whodunnit YA fantasy duology by Andrea Hannah and New York Times bestseller Rebecca Mix.

After a decade of war, the kingdoms of Avendell and Istellia have finally agreed to peace. As nobles and magic wielders from both countries arrive at remote Castle Avendell for a historic all-night masquerade to celebrate, King Costis summons an unlikely group to his chambers: the crown prince, his Istellian bride-to-be, his personal guard, a wild beast tamer, and the palace's questionable new healer. But before Costis can reveal why he has gathered them, the castle goes dark.

When the lights come back, the king is dead - murdered with the princess's knife, in a weak spot only his guard knew of, and with venom from one of the beast tamer's monsters lacing the blade.

With no clear killer - and everyone a suspect - they make a risky pact: Tell no one until the treaty is signed. But when a winter storm seals everyone inside and someone aware of the king's untimely death begins to pick off guests one by one, the six suspects must work together to discover who killed the king...before one of them is next."

Snowbound AND a seemingly impossible death? Yes and yes!

Wickedly Ever After by R. Lee Fryar
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this (delightfully screwball) fairy tale romp, even the most wicked deserve their happily-ever-after.

For almost a thousand years, Wicked Witch Hector West and Good Witch Ida North have maintained the balance of good and evil, preserving a magical Happily-Ever-After that keeps the realm from falling apart. But even Cardinal Witches need a hobby, and every spare moment they have is spent antagonizing each other. But when Ida's latest "harmless" hex goes too far, Hector retaliates with a curse that immediately backfires, making her choose the wrong princess for the year's big pantomime.

Which, if not corrected immediately, could have world-shaking consequences.

One reluctant prince and badly botched dragon kidnapping later, both Hector and Ida are determined to set things right. With love magic gone wild, the two best enemies set off on a quest to save the realm, their lovesick gnome chamberlains at their sides. Yet as they unravel what went wrong with their mixed-up magic, Hector and Ida will have to face a more daunting challenge than trying to avoid their own Wickedly-Ever-After:

Deciding whether a millennium worth of enmity might have been the biggest mistake of their very long lives."

For those who'd like some certain Cardinal Witches to get it on...

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With the awakening of fire-breathing dragons, Among the Burning Flowers sees the first sparks of danger that threaten to consume the world in The Priory of the Orange Tree.

Take your first steps into the epic.

Yscalin, land of sunshine and lavender, will soon be ablaze.

It has been centuries since the Draconic Army took wing, almost extinguishing humankind.

Marosa Vetalda is a prisoner in her own home, controlled by her cold father, King Sigoso. Over the mountains, her betrothed, Aubrecht Lievelyn, rules Mentendon in all but name. Together, they intend to usher in a better world.

A better world seems impossibly distant to Estina Melaugo, who hunts the Draconic beasts that have slept across the world for centuries.

And now the great wyrm Fýredel is stirring, and Yscalin will be the first to fall...

A story of human resilience in the face of dire circumstances, Among the Burning Flowers leads readers through the gripping and tragic events that pave the way for the opening of the million-copy bestseller The Priory of The Orange Tree."

Prequel wyrm time!

The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After a decade, acclaimed science fiction master John Scalzi returns to the galaxy of the Old Man's War series with the long awaited seventh book, The Shattering Peace.

THE PEACE IS SHATTERING

For a decade, peace has reigned in interstellar space. A tripartite agreement between the Colonial Union, the Earth, and the alien Conclave has kept the forces of war at bay, even when some would have preferred to return to the fighting and struggle of former times. For now, more sensible heads have prevailed - and have even championed unity.

But now, there is a new force that threatens the hard-maintained peace: The Consu, the most advanced intelligent species humans have ever met, are on the cusp of a species-defining civil war. This war is between Consu factions...but nothing the Consu ever do is just about them. The Colonial Union, the Earth and the Conclave have been unwillingly dragged into the conflict, in the most surprising of ways.

Gretchen Trujillo is a mid-level diplomat, working in an unimportant part of the Colonial Union bureaucracy. But when she is called to take part in a secret mission involving representatives from every powerful faction in space, what she finds there has the chance to redefine the destinies of humans and aliens alike...or destroy them forever."

I'm here for ALL the John Scalzi content I can take. And it's A LOT.

Watching Evil Dead by Josh Malerman
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of Bird Box and Incidents Around the House, an impassioned book about a night that changed the author's life and put into perspective the writing life - and how you too can be inspired to face the fears that might hold you back from doing your best work.

One night, bestselling author Josh Malerman - then just an aspiring writer - watched Sam Raimi's Evil Dead with his fiancée and two friends. It was a gathering that could've gone unnoticed, another date night with a movie, but for Malerman, it became a landmark. It changed the course of his life, and it will inspire you to reflect on your own journey and to discover existing triumphs that are within you already.

Describing the course of the night, Malerman reflects on his life, from his career as a musician to his stack of rough drafts, written prior to ever being published - and on how meeting the love of his life, a fellow creative, opened him to new experiences and new ways of viewing the world they now quest through together.

Malerman deploys his own story to help readers not only write their unwritten stories but celebrate their uncelebrated victories: to find their voice, their vision, and their joie de vivre. By simply describing an uncommon and uncanny night, he guides aspiring writers beyond the blank page to the immortal life of the writer."

Uncanny and Evil Dead? Yes please. Plus, I love reading about authors and their process. 

Annie Lennox: Retrospective by Annie Lennox
Published by: Rizzoli
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A long-awaited visual memoir from Annie Lennox, a legend of popular music and culture. This is the award-winning artist's first and only official book - destined to be the must-have title for music lovers and will command attention from the fashion and photography worlds.

Over a career spanning almost half a century, Annie Lennox has established herself as one of the true superstars of pop music and an icon of popular culture. With Dave Stewart as Eurythmics, and later as a solo artist, she is responsible for some of the best-selling records of all time, as well as some of the most memorable imagery created around music. Always recognized for her unique approach to style and performance - she has been described as "the singer whose powerful, androgynous look defied the male gaze."

Lennox has been filmed and photographed by all the great image-makers of our time, from Richard Avedon and Paolo Roversi to Bettina Rheims and Ellen von Unwerth. With Polaroids from her personal archives alongside iconic portraits, music video stills, and record covers, Annie Lennox: Retrospective collates more than two hundred images to create an illustrated memoir of a creative's life, both in and out of the spotlight.

Made in close collaboration with the artist, this highly anticipated volume moves chronologically through the entirety of Lennox's life and career - from the early 1970s when she first met Dave Stewart following through with Eurythmics in the 80s, and then as a solo artist starting in the 90s and onwards. Extracts of her lyrics accompany the photographs throughout. Engrossing captions and personal anecdotes shine light on periods of her life, to tell the stories behind the pictures.

At once intimate, revelatory, and celebratory, this is a beautiful and compelling document of the woman behind one of the strongest voices in music."

I mean, if there's ONE ARTIST whose image is just as important an aspect of their art as their voice it's Annie Lennox. I can not wait for this one. 

Do Admit by Mimi Pond
Published by: Drawn and Quarterly
Publication Date: September 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 444 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mimi Pond crafts a gorgeous, dazzling biography of the Mitford Sisters.

Born with pedigrees but without the pocketbooks to match, The Mitfords were certainly no strangers to lies, intrigue, or scandal. Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. All six sisters were weaned on their family's well-documented upper class eccentricities: a ne'er do well would-be entrepreneur father; a stern, stiff-upper-lipped mother; a revolving door of governesses of varying propriety, all against the backdrop of a crumbling estate falling into disrepair.

The sisters grew from cloistered turn-of-the-century country girls into debutantes who would marry into political influence - for better or worse. Is it any wonder that a young, working class Mimi in Southern California becomes enamored with The Mitfords' downright fanciful rich-and-famous lifestyle? This charming, inventively cartooned, and lovingly researched biography captures the dramatic, over-the-top antics of high society's strongest personalities as they rubbed elbows with some of history's most infamous fascists and communists.

Pond's genius for classic cartooning in the vein of the Vanity Fair caricature and the satirical illustrations of Charles Addams brings the aesthetic decadence of the 1920s and 1930s to life with effortless aplomb, warts and all."

If you've devoured Outrageous and are in desperate need to know more about the Mitfords, might I suggest this delightful new book? And once you've read it you can come to me and we will dish on all the things Mitford! I have so much hot goss! 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andrea Hannah, Annie Lennox, Briana Morgan, John Scalzi, Josh Malerman, Louisa Morgan, Mark Edwards, Maureen Johnson, Mitfords, Naomi Novik, Nick Medina, Rebecca Mix, Robert Thorogood, Samantha Shannon, Stephen Sondheim

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the #1 bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club Series.

A brand new mystery. An iconic new detective duo. And a thrilling new murder to solve...

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him at home. His days of adventure are over. Adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy's job now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security, every day is dangerous. She's currently on a remote island protecting mega-bestselling author Rosie D'Antonio, until a dead body and a bag of money mean trouble in paradise. So she sends an SOS to the only person she trusts...

As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outsmart a killer?

Solving murders. It's a family business."

I already have it on hold at my library!

Bleeding Hearts by Erin Lark Maples
Published by: Lodestar Literary
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 227 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Declan takes aim at his first mystery...

Burnt out from his day job, Declan hangs up his past for a fresh start in the charming coastal town of Astoria, Oregon. He rents an apartment and opens a quaint shop downtown, hoping to blend into the human world. But Declan's plans for a peaceful new life are shattered when he discovers a lifeless body in his own backyard.

All fingers point to the new guy in town, and with the police watching his every move, Declan finds himself at the center of every target. Desperate to clear his name and get out of the spotlight, he enlists the help of a quirky group of locals. They dive into the mystery to uncover secrets - to uncover secrets about the victim, and each other - that Astoria's picturesque streets have long concealed.

As they unravel a web of intrigue, magic, and murder, Declan is running out of time. Will they solve the case before Declan's true identity is revealed, or will the killer strike again?

Join Declan and his motley crew in this heartwarming, humorous, and engaging cozy mystery series debut that will leave you eager for a trip to the coast!"

I mean, what kind of magical creature is Declan? Please say it's a cat!

Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A thrilling collection of thirteen short stories that span the worlds of the New York Times bestselling author of the Scholomance trilogy, including a sneak peek at the land where her next novel will be set.

From the dragon-filled Temeraire series and the Gothic magical halls of the Scholomance trilogy, through the realms next door to Spinning Silver and Uprooted, this stunning collection takes us from fairy tale to fantasy, myth to history, and mystery to science fiction as we travel through Naomi Novik's most beloved stories. Here, among many others, we encounter:

- A mushroom witch who learns that sometimes the worst thing in the Scholomance can be your roommate.
- The start of the Dragon Corps in ancient Rome, after Mark Antony hatches a dragon's egg and bonds with the hatchling.
- A young bride in the Middle Ages who finds herself gambling with Death for the highest of stakes.
- A delightful reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, in which Elizabeth Bennet captains a Longwing dragon.
- The first glimpse of the world of Abandon, the setting of Novik's upcoming epic fantasy series - a deserted continent populated only by silent and enigmatic architectural mysteries.

Though the stories are vastly different, there is a unifying theme: wrestling with destiny, and the lengths some will go to find their own and fulfill its promise."

AND REGENCY MAGIC! YAROO!

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor's murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.

Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she's only read about.

The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader - Lorelei's beloved mentor - is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are the five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again - and a coup begins in earnest.

But there are other dangers lurking in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.

As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth - and resist their growing feelings for each other - they discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all."

Yes, wonderful dark world, but you see there's also a locked room mystery at it's heart! Be still MY heart.

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
Published by: Ace Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A student will find that the hardest lessons sometimes come from outside the classroom in this stunning dark academia novel from the acclaimed author of The Year of the Witching and House of Hunger.

Lennon Carter's life is falling apart.

Then she gets a mysterious phone call inviting her to take the entrance exam for Drayton College, a school of magic hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah. Lennon has been chosen because - like everyone else at the school - she has the innate gift of persuasion, the ability to wield her will like a weapon, using it to control others and, in rare cases, matter itself.

After passing the test, Lennon begins to learn how to master her devastating and unsettling power. But despite persuasion's heavy toll on her body and mind, she is wholly captivated by her studies, by Drayton's lush, moss-draped campus, and by her brilliant classmates. But even more captivating is her charismatic adviser, Dante, who both intimidates and enthralls her.

As Lennon continues in her studies, her control grows, and she starts to uncover more about the secret world she has entered into, including the disquieting history of Drayton College. She is increasingly disturbed by what she learns, for it seems that the ultimate test is to embrace absolute power without succumbing to corruption...and it's a test she's terrified she's going to fail."

But to be among those like her that would level the playing field...

Bringer of Dust by J.M. Miro
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 608 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this highly anticipated second book in the Talents Trilogy, the world of the dead is closer than you think.

Agrigento, Sicily, 1883. With the orsine destroyed, Cairndale lies in ruins, and Marlowe has vanished. His only hope of rescue lies in a fabled second orsine - long-hidden, thought lost - which might not even exist.

But when a body is discovered in the shadow of Cairndale, a body wreathed in the corrupted dust of the drughr, Charlie and the Talents realize there is even more at stake than they'd feared. For a new drughr has arisen, ferocious, horned, seemingly able to move in their world at will - and it is not alone. A malevolent figure, known only as the Abbess, desires the dust for her own ends. And deep in the world of the dead, a terrible evil stirs - an evil that the corrupted dust just might hold the secret to reviving or destroying forever.

So the dark journey begun in Ordinary Monsters surges forward, from the sinister underworld of the London exiles, to the mysteries of a sunlit villa in nineteenth-century Sicily, to the deep catacombs hidden under Paris. Against bone witches, mud glyphics, and a house of twilight that exists in a netherworld all its own, the Talents must work together - if they are to have any hope of staving off the world of the dead, and saving their long-lost friend."

And so begins the supernatural grand tour, if you will.

A Pocketful of Diamonds by Pam Lecky
Published by: Storm Publishing Ltd
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 318 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lucy Lawrence smoothed her silk travelling gown and watched as darkness fell over the shimmering waters of Lake Como - her honeymoon bliss shattered in an instant by a telegram carrying deadly tidings...

Newlyweds Lucy Lawrence and Phineas Stone arrive at the glittering shores of Lake Como, Italy, not to enjoy a romantic honeymoon but to answer a frantic plea for help. Phin's brother-in-law - the charismatic Count Luca Carmosino - has vanished without a trace from his Belle Époque villa, and the couple find themselves thrust into a world of stolen diamonds and smuggling rings.

From the opulent Grand Hotel Bellagio with its crystal chandeliers to the misty mountain passes of the Swiss border, Lucy must solve the mystery of the Count's disappearance and navigate the treacherous waters of Italian high society, all while maintaining the decorum expected of a proper Victorian lady... But as Lucy edges closer to the truth about what happened to Count Carmosino, the stakes rise dramatically. When an attempt is made on her life while Phin is out of town, Lucy realizes they're both in grave danger. Can she unravel this conspiracy and save those she loves before it's too late?

The fourth in the beloved Lucy Lawrence mystery series! A gripping tale of stolen diamonds, family intrigue, and hard-won redemption set against the stunning backdrop of glamorous Italy."

I'm just saying, Lucy needs to embrace the ability to see things from both sides, sure, there may be danger, but at least their honeymoon is still in a beautiful locale...

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman
Published by: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bestselling author Alice Hoffman delivers a stunning novel about one of contemporary history's most acclaimed figures, exploring the little-known details of Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding.

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius.

With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family's life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence.

In the midst of impossible danger, Anne, audacious and creative and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she will become a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it.

Critically acclaimed author Alice Hoffman weaves a lyrical and heart-wrenching story of the way the world closes in on the Frank family from the moment the Nazis invade the Netherlands until they are forced into hiding, bringing Anne to bold, vivid life.

Based on extensive research and published in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, When We Flew Away is an extraordinary and moving tour de force.

Perfect for Alice Hoffman fans and readers of every age."

I'm glad that the story of Anne Frank is continuing to inspire and that this was done so thoughtfully.

Hampton Heights by Dan Kois
Published by: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of the Washington Post notable novel Vintage Contemporaries, something completely unexpected: a hair-raising and rollicking adventure set on one night in 1987, when six paperboys must confront a slew of monsters as well as their own personal demons in a haunted Midwestern neighborhood.

On a cold winter's evening in 1987, six middle-school paperboys wander an unfamiliar Milwaukee neighborhood, selling newspaper subscriptions, fueled by their manager Kevin's promises of cash bonuses and dinner at Burger King. But the freaks come out at night in Hampton Heights. Sent out into the neighborhood in pairs, the boys will encounter a host of primordial monsters - and triumph over them.

Sigmone, who is bussed to a white school, is stuck with Joel, a white kid who idolizes Black culture. Mark, who's wrestling with his sexuality, joins his secret crush, Ryan. Nishu and Al are outsiders; one is a second-generation immigrant, the other a poor kid in a rich school. Over the course of one eventful evening, the three pairs will encounter the wild things of Hampton Heights - werewolves, witches with a centuries-old story to tell, and a creepy, ancient monster who feeds on memories. Meanwhile, Kevin is having an adventure of his own, seducing a beautiful woman in the neighborhood's tavern...but who is actually in control?

Funny, thrilling, outrageous, and sneakily beautiful, Dan Kois's Hampton Heights captures without sentimentality the dreams and fears of teenage boys in a tender horror-comedy about camaraderie, bravery, vulnerability, and the terrifying prospect of growing up."

Paper Girls for those who prefer prose.

The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning
Published by: Tor Teen
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Knives Out meets The Inheritance Games with magic in this standalone supernatural thriller by Sarah Henning: thirteen witches, a locked-room murder, and two non-magical sisters trapped in a deadly whodunit.

Ruby and her sister, Wren, are normal, middle-class Colorado high school students working a summer job at the local Renaissance Fest to supplement their meager college savings.

So when an eccentric old lady asks them to impersonate her long-absent grandchildren at a fancy dinner party at the jaw-dropping rate of two grand - each - for a single night... Wren insists it's a no-brainer. Make some cash, have some fun, do a good deed.

But less than an hour into the evening at the mysterious Hegemony Manor, Ruby is sure she must have lost her mind to have agreed to this.

The hostess is dead, the gates are locked, and a magical curse ensures no one can leave until they solve both her murder and the riddles she left behind - in just three days. Because everyone else at this party is a powerful witch. And if the witches realize Ruby and Wren are imposters? The sisters won't make it out of Hegemony Manor alive."

Three things I love; magic, locked room mystery, and standalone. 

The Others: Book 1 by Evette Davis
Published by: Sparkpress
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"True Blood meets Supernatural in the kickoff of this urban paranormal fantasy series from an acclaimed author. Readers enter a dystopian San Francisco filled with empaths and vampires embroiled in political unrest - and Book 1 is just the beginning.

Much as she wishes otherwise, superstar political consultant Olivia Shepherd was born a powerful empath. It's a legacy she walked away from long ago - but when she wakes up one morning to find Elsa, a tenacious time-walker, standing in her kitchen, she realizes she can no longer ignore her gifts. She is quickly plunged into the hidden world of powerful "Others" and drafted to work for the Council, a shadowy organization that summons the fog to San Francisco to obscure their involvement in human affairs.

Complicating matters further is Olivia's new love interest, William. A centuries-old vampire, William is far too jaded to take an interest in human affairs - but Olivia no longer has the luxury of remaining impartial. As shocking details from Olivia's own past emerge and her role in the Council begins to take shape, will she rise to the challenge of her destiny?"

I will read anything set in San Francisco. Throw in a supernatural element and I am SO there.

Stage Fright by Wendy Parris
Published by: Random House Children's Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new locked room scary story about thirteen-year-old Avery, who plans a séance at a deserted theater to bond with her friends, only to realize they're locked inside with someone - or something - else. This spine tingling read is perfect for fans of Katherine Arden and Lindsay Currie!

When Avery returns to her hometown after moving away a year earlier, she is hoping to jump back into her friend group as if nothing's changed.

Unfortunately, new interests, secret crushes, and changing dynamics get in her way. To reunite her BFFs, she suggests they host a séance at an abandoned theater that was the site of a horrible tragedy.

What starts as a fun outing, soon becomes a fight for survival after the group gets locked in...and discovers they're not alone."

I adore that the cover has the theater's ghost light front and center.

The School for Wicked Witches by Will Taylor
Published by: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ava isn't ready to leave her home in Oz - especially not to become a witch. Then the worst thing that could possibly happen occurs - Ava's magic goes very wrong and she is banished to a school for wicked witches. Perfect for fans of Wicked, Witchlings, and The School for Good and Evil!

In Oz, most girls and boys with magical powers are sent from the north, south, east, and west to renowned witch academies, where they are elevated and taught all the finer ways to be a responsible witch. But if you misbehave? Or are thought to harbor darker magic? You're sent to the equivalent of witch reform school - The School for Wicked Witches. ONLY! Once you get there, you find that the witches running it are so powerful that they've managed to trick the rest of the outside world. Yes, it looks to outside like they are taming the wickedness out of the witches... but in truth, the school is run by wicked witches (who, incidentally, don't see themselves as wicked at all... although some of them really are.)

Ava Heartstraw has never even considered being wicked. But when she goes to take her entrance test for a witch academy, she doesn't get the reaction she's expecting - and is the first kid in memory from the west to be sent to the School for Wicked Witches."

This fall it's all about Oz!

Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
Published by: Ace Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this spellbinding warm and cozy debut novel, a burned-out witch will need to turn to her friends and trust in herself to find the magic in her own life again.

Belladonna Blackthorn hasn't lost her magical spark, precisely...but she hasn't seen it in a while either.

With her witchcraft under wraps and a toxic boss making her days miserable, Belle is struggling to keep her beloved Lunar Books afloat and just make it through the day. The last thing she has time for is perfecting her magic.

So when her thirtieth birthday brings a summons from her coven and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle fears the worst. With only the month of October left to prove herself or risk losing her magic forever, Belle will need all the help she can get - from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure and even from an infuriating coven watchman who's sworn to protect her..."

I swear, if I could move into the cover of a book it would be this one.

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nothing sucks more than fake dating a vampire in this paranormal romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of My Roommate Is a Vampire.

Amelia Collins is by definition successful. She would even go so far as to say successfully single. But not according to her family, and she's tired of the constant questions about her nonexistent dating life. When an invitation to yet another family wedding arrives, she decides to get everyone off her back once and for all by finding someone - anyone - to pose as her date.

After a chance encounter with Reginald Cleaves, Amelia decides he's perfect for her purposes. He's a bit strange, but that's fine; it'll discourage tough questions from her family. (And it certainly doesn't hurt that he's very handsome.) For centuries-old vampire Reggie, posing as her plus-one sounds like the ultimate fun. And if it helps his ruse of pretending to be human, so much the better.

As Amelia and Reggie practice their fauxmance, it becomes clear that Reggie is as loyal to her as the day is long, and that Amelia's first impressions could not have been more wrong. Suddenly, being in a real relationship with Reggie sounds pretty fang-tastic."

But what if the wedding is outside at noon?

Does This Taste Funny? by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: September 17th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Stephen and Evie Colbert invite you to pull up a chair as they share their favorite recipes from family and friends and offer a glimpse of food and fun in their South Carolina home.

"Hopefully reading this book and cooking these recipes will feel like hanging out with us at home. We basically live in the kitchen anyway." - Evie and Stephen Colbert

As Evie and Stephen explain it, Does This Taste Funny? had its beginnings in the Covid lockdown. "We were all stuck together and couldn't go out, so we cooked. We had all three kids back under one roof for the first time in a long time, and we had dinner each night as a family. Cooking together became a major source of entertainment."

Now, the Colberts invite us into their kitchen and around their dining room table. Sharing Stephen and Evie's favorite recipes, as well as those of their family and friends, this book offers everything from Party Food (called "party food" because "appetizers" implies something to follow when we all know that, often, this is the only course), to Seafood, to Poultry and Meat ("Evie and I have different relationships to meat. I like it. Evie can take it or leave it, and mostly she leaves it."), to Desserts ("This is one of the largest sections of the book. Evie always reminds me that desserts are a great way to postpone clearing up."), to Drinks ("I love cocktail hour. It feels like a reward for having gone so long without a cocktail."), all tied together with playful dialogue between Stephen and Evie and gorgeous shots of their food, family, and home."

Now THIS is the cookbook I've been waiting for. Plus, I mean, don't you love Stephen and Evie and that awesome cover?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexis Henderson, Alice Hoffman, Allison Saft, Erin Lark Maples, Evette Davis, J.M. Miro, Jenna Levine, Lucy Jane Wood, Naomi Novik, Pam Lecky, Richard Osman, Sarah Henning, Stephen Colbert, Will Taylor