Showing posts with label Rachel Gillig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rachel Gillig. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2026

Tuesday Tomorrow

The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rachel Gillig, the queen of gothic romantasy, returns with higher stakes, darker mysteries, and deeper longings in this gorgeous sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling sensation The Knight and the Moth.

Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew, and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead - and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquish him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom's faith - and herself - in the process.

But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the tournament lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil's ticket to undoing Benji's power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom's faith is to save it."

Anyone else have the Barnes and Noble signed special edition on order for months? 

Hawk and Sparrow by Ayana Gray
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sparks fly in this Gilded Age novel of mystery, magic, and romance by the author of the New York Times-bestselling Beasts of Prey.

Vesper Evans has always resented Basalton's high society, and the sorcery that provides them with a luxurious life unimaginable to most. Orphaned as a child and rescued by the editor of The Basalton Globe, Vesper is now an ambitious reporter determined to keep her newspaper afloat.

While covering a lavish society gala, Vesper happens upon a shocking scene: the murdered body of a man she had spoken with just minutes before. Several of the powerful magical elite may want the man dead, but the prime suspect is wealthy industrialist Maximilian Kite.

Max soon makes Vesper a tempting offer: Find the culprit and restore his reputation in exchange for a substantial fee. Despite her distaste for Max's world, Vesper agrees - the money would save the Globe, and the story would be the scoop of a lifetime. There's only one catch: In order for her to infiltrate society, the two must pose as a courting couple.

Their investigation takes them from the highest echelons of privilege to the seediest backstreets of Basalton. As they unearth the city's secrets and scandals, Vesper finds herself in grave danger - while falling for one of the most infuriating, arrogant, handsome men she has ever met..."

Just the right level of forced proximity crime solving I love.

The Wolf Queen's Curse by Kaylee Archer
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In The Wolf Queen's Curse, the much anticipated sequel to Witch of the Wolves, Cordelia and Bishop must seek alliances with other packs and confront their Alphas in order to restore their beloved Trevelyan, no matter the cost.

The previously quiet life of Cordelia Levine, half-werewolf, all witch, has been turned upside down. Both of her parents are now dead, and her grandmother's vicious attack on Trevelyan, her pack's home, has left the Albion Pack fleeing and severely reduced in number.

As they recover and strategize a path forward, Cordelia is navigating her role in the pack as well as her feelings for her new husband, the Alpha. But even as their love grows stronger, the fate of the pack lies in their hands, and they must focus on finding a way to survive.

The pack decides that the only way to defeat the cabal and forge a path back home is to rekindle old alliances. The journey proves complicated, however, as each Alpha they encounter has an agenda of his own. But Cordelia and Bishop will stop at nothing to protect their pack - and reclaim their rightful home."

Anyone who reads about werewolves knows, Alphas do not play nice with each other. Begrudgingly so when they have to.

Rider of Dragons by A.T. Qureshi
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Genevieve's family forbids her from joining the deadly dragon races. But she won't let them stop her.

He's the trainer she doesn't want, but needs.

Without her family's money, nobody will train her. Desperate for help, she agrees to a terrible deal: Qais, an alleged member of a dragon poaching gang, will train her to win the races, if she agrees to give him her prize money.

Every race could be their last.

The dragon races aren't just about being the fastest. There will be sabotage, attacks and all out violence. The devastatingly handsome Qais will teach her to be cunning and cruel, and Genevieve will be forced to answer a ruinous question: to win, is she willing to lose everything?"

Will the dragon help you stay safe? Because I think making an alliance with a dragon would be a deal breaker. 

An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A debut Gothic horror set in 1870s Brazil - a tale of creeping suspense in which a young pregnant woman finds herself unable to escape her lover's isolated family home, and a family's deal with the devil goes terribly wrong.

1877, Pernambuco, Brazil: Raised in a deeply religious household, Madalena knows Dante's Inferno by heart and fears her mother's reaction as much as she fears God. When she falls pregnant with a child conceived in sin, her mother issues a threat: marry or surrender the baby. Madalena is confident that the father, the dashing Leandro Neves, will do right by her and propose. But just as she is about to tell him about the baby, a violent storm sends their carriage careening off the road.

Madalena awakens in Leandro's sprawling, secluded home, under the care of the mysterious and larger-than-life Doctor Lobo. Leandro is there...but he is no longer the charming poet she knew. He's silent. Obsessed. Always watching.

Strange perfume haunts a locked room. Pages vanish from books. Jewels lie untouched in a forgotten wardrobe. And mirrors begin disappearing after Madalena sees something - or someone - ghastly in the reflection.

Leandro is unraveling. Doctor Lobo may be hiding something even darker. Trapped in a decaying house of secrets, Madalena must uncover the truth before the men around her destroy her, and before the hell she fears becomes the one she’s living in."

Well this wants to be Silvia Moreno-Garcia meets Isabel Cañas. Perhaps skeewing towards Cañas with that cover...

The Other Life of Mary English by GD Harper
Published by: Ginger Cat
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 386 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two different women. One shared destiny.

Mary English, a dockworker's daughter from Faversham, England, travels to South America to escape a scandal from her past. She ends up running a cacao plantation in Colombia, at a time when women were not legally allowed to own businesses there.

Manuela Sáenz, tempestuous lover of Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar, serves as a colonel in his army. She joins him in battle to fight the Spanish and twice saves his life from assassination attempts.

This is the story of two remarkable real-life women, both fighting oppression, hardship and danger in 1820s Colombia, who come together to change the course of a nation's history."

Women changing history? Hells yes!

Pomegranate Seed and Other Ghostly Tales by Edith Wharton
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"PENGUIN HORROR: A celebration of the very best literary horror, a series of terrifying novels and tales that for generations have thrilled, captivated and kept readers wide awake at night.

Known for writing some of the most incisive and elegant novels of the early twentieth century, Edith Wharton was also a master practitioner of the ghost story, producing dozens of frightful fictions throughout her lifetime. Combining pristine prose with strange, suffocating atmospheres and a profound sense of the uncanny, Pomegranate Seed and Other Ghostly Tales, a collection of Wharton's very best haunting narratives, detail spectral handwriting, isolated houses in lonely landscapes, and a husband with a terrible secret..."

I need something uncanny for this time of year.

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Part ghost story, part love story and steeped in magical realism, Paper Ghosts will transport you to a place where old secrets echo through the years and love finds a way of bringing us home.

Every family has its secrets...The Wester women live inside theirs.

For decades, the women of Wester House have unsettled and fascinated their small, timeless North Carolina town. Their home is full of whispers, old griefs, and uncanny knowing. But when Willamena Wester reaches out to the granddaughter she once pushed away, long-buried truths begin to stir.

1976: Restless young Willamena falls for a stranded musician who brings freedom and the promise of another life to her carefully controlled world. Their brief, incandescent love story promises to escape the pull of the Wester legacy until Willamena makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.

Present day: Returning home is the last thing Bailey Wester wants. Yet as she reconnects with Willamena, the grandmother she feared, Bailey begins to understand the love, heartbreak, and impossible choices that shaped the women in her family and realizes the past may not have been trying to haunt them after all. A luminous novel filled with Sarah Addison Allen's stunning prose and signature blend of romance, Southern charm, and wonder, Paper Ghosts reminds us that in order to have the future we really want, sometimes we need to live with the past, and not let go of it."

I find it beyond tragic that when we finally want to get answers and listen to our elders it's often too late. Perhaps that's why we're drawn to these types of stories.

Divine Oaths by Elizabeth Agyemang
Published by: Requited
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ninth House meets Legendborn in this thrilling dark academia novel following a new student fueled by questions about her prestigious university and the haunting answers she uncovers as her heart pulls her in two different, dangerous directions.

Westfield University was supposed to be Sianna Adu's dream school. But just when she's on the cusp of attending the elite academic institution hidden in Virginia's swampland, an unexpected tragedy changes everything. In one day, Sianna loses her family and gains an extraordinary power - the ability to see lifelines and witness other people's pasts and futures.

With all she's lost, Sianna puts her college dreams on pause and spends her days navigating dead-end jobs and a not-so-secret crush on her coworker. But when Kasem Saint James, the undeniably handsome heir to Westfield, approaches her with a strange request, the future Sianna has long deferred becomes a dangerous new reality. Worried that her powers are now tied to Kasem, she has no choice. Fate has called her to Westfield.

At an academy where secret societies abound, connections are everything, and an ominous history - stretching back centuries - determines the future, Sianna and Kasem must piece together the past to undo a curse that binds them to each other.

With a swoony romance and jaw-dropping twists, this layered dark academia novel introduces a university where nothing is quite as it seems."

Centuries old? I'm intrigued. 

Goodnight Monsters by Suzanne Junered
Published by: She Writes Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Ariana Harwicz's Die, My Love and Ashley Audrain's The Push, a psychological horror novel that follows a woman obsessed with death who must decide if she's fit to bring new life into this world - especially after someone she's fantasized about killing turns up dead.

Southern suburban housewife Lia and her husband Evan have long dreamed of becoming parents - but when a pregnancy test shows positive, Lia questions whether she wants the child and keeps her pregnancy a secret.

As she's holding new life inside, she intentionally surrounds herself with death by blackmailing her way into a job at a forensic anthropology center endearingly called The Body Farm. At The Farm, monsters emerge from within Lia - the desire to kill - and she begins daydreaming about murder. Because fantasizing never hurt anyone. Or so she thinks.

Then a body donation to The Farm turns out to be someone she's imagined killing, and reality and fantasy begin to blur. As people around her begin to die, Lia loses trust in her loved ones and herself...and ultimately must put her monsters to bed."

Yes, put those monsters to bed before you put your baby to bed!

Tell the Ghosts I'm Gone by Kalynn Bayron
Published by: Bloomsbury YA
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron comes a new horror novel about a group of teens with unique - and potentially deadly - gifts.

Moll, Redd, Agnes, and Ossie are powerful - and dangerous. But they don't want people to fear them. They've spent their lives trying to understand and control their supernatural gifts, trying to help people instead of hurt them.

That's why they offer paranormal investigative services to anyone who needs them. But when the case of a missing young woman brings them to an old (and potentially haunted) Victorian mansion, soon it's the four teens who are in the greatest danger. The secrets they uncover about the paranormal forces inhabiting the house may shed light on the darkness that exists at the edge of their powers and finally help them gain control - if they can make it out alive."

I wonder if ghosts are like bees.

Cards on the Table by Lana Harper and Jilly Gagnon
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two witchy sisters find themselves framed for the disappearance of millions of dollars in this atmospheric locked room mystery - from the New York Times bestselling author of Payback's a Witch and the critically acclaimed author of All Dressed Up.

As descendants of a Salem witch, sisters Tori and Cassie Bishop have the occult credentials - but their trickle of tarot readings isn't paying the bills. On the brink of eviction, they accept a too-good-to-be-true offer: play "witches in residence" for a dying, wealthy widow in her secluded Berkshires mansion for the Fall season.

But from the minute they arrive at the gothic estate, it's clear: they've been dropped into a far riskier game than their smoke and mirrors can save them from. Rose, the widow, is desperate. Her family is conniving. The staff is ominous. And some guests in the house are drawn to the sisters in ways that lean more...personal. But just as the sisters are starting to settle into the mysterious home and their role in it, Rose dies after a séance - and her millions vanish overnight.

Trapped in a viper's nest of competing motives and twisted secrets, Tori and Cassie must untangle a web of greed and deception using every trick they have - magical or not - to clear their names. Because someone else in Berwyn House is running their own con...and they've set up the sisters to take the fall."

Imagine being so wealthy that you could have a witch in residence?

Buried in the Woods Below by Daniel G. Miller
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden's The Housemaid, Riley Sager's The Only One Left and Alice Feeney's My Husband's Wife, this addictive psychological suspense-thriller is a must-read for anyone who loves dark secrets, isolated settings, and jaw-dropping twists.

SOME MEMORIES WERE NEVER MEANT TO STAY BURIED.

When Charlotte Hoffman's picture-perfect career implodes overnight, she retreats to the one place she swore she'd never return: Big Island, Minnesota. Home to her childhood best friend, Olivia Parker, and the place where her life first fell apart.

Eighteen years ago, tragedy struck, and Charlotte's blamed herself for that bloody night ever since. Now she's back, staying with the Parkers in their isolated lakeside home, surrounded by dark woods shrouded in mist and the decaying remains of a long-abandoned amusement park.

But something isn't right.

The Parkers' young twin girls whisper about ghosts in the trees. Threatening notes appear on doors. An old carousel screams in the wind. And every night the island claims another victim.

As Charlotte wades ever-deeper into danger, she can't shake the feeling that someone brought her back to the isolated island for a reason.

Someone who wants to finish what was started all those years ago."

Do. Not. Go. Near. Abandoned. Amusement. Parks. It's like rule number one in my book.

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A late-night mayday call drives a grieving man to embark on an unexpected journey along the wild Alaskan coast, unraveling a decades-old mystery of stolen gold, missing women, and murder in this atmospheric and propulsive debut novel, perfect for fans of William Kent Krueger and Peter Heller.

After the loss of his wife, Marconi Franco is content drifting alone on his boat through the isolated waters of Southeast Alaska with no real destination in mind. But when a mysterious distress signal cuts through the static on his radio one sleepless night, Marco feels an overwhelming pull to help the woman whose plea he heard - a pull he can't explain or ignore.

His search for the missing woman draws him to Radioville, an abandoned 1930s communication outpost now decaying on an uninhabited island off the coast of Alaska. There, Marco begins uncovering fragments of a story long forgotten: a Depression-era theft, a shattered marriage, and a disturbing pattern of disappearances. As he sifts through the past, his own grief starts to mirror the tragedies that echo across decades, and his search draws the attention of someone determined to keep the truth buried.

Told across three evocative timelines - a radio operator in 1938 collecting more than just telegrams, a young woman in the 1980s fighting to survive her abusive husband, and Marco in the present day searching for a voice in the static - Untamed Coast is a story of fierce determination, missed signals, loneliness and connection, and the unseen ripples that reverberate across generations, standing the test of time and the tides."

Alaska is all one big mystery to me, which is why I love reading about it.

The Filbert Steps by Lila Blake
Published by: Sutro House Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 311 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A body on the steps. A neighborhood that saw nothing.

Vivian Salvatore came back to Telegraph Hill with a cat, a divorce settlement, and a book she cannot seem to write.

At fifty-two, newly single and trying to rebuild her life, she has settled into the rhythms of San Francisco's most beautiful staircase: coffee at the corner café, morning walks on the Filbert Steps, old neighbors on three corners, and the comforting illusion that everyone knows everyone.

Then, on a bright October morning, Vivian finds one of the city's most ambitious developers dead on the third landing.

The police are ready to call it a fall. But Vivian spent twenty-seven years reading teenagers' faces for a living, and she knows when a story does not fit. A coat buttoned wrong. A cigarette ground out where it should not be. Storefronts quietly sold to a post-office box in Delaware. And a neighborhood full of people who had reason to want one man gone.

As Vivian begins asking questions, she discovers that Telegraph Hill has been keeping secrets for years - about money, loyalty, grief, and who really gets to call a place home.

The Filbert Steps introduces Vivian Salvatore, a sharp-eyed, warm-hearted sleuth who notices everything and forgives almost as much.

Perfect for readers who love older women sleuths, atmospheric San Francisco mysteries, neighborhood secrets, found community, and fair-play cozy mysteries with literary depth."

I adore everything about San Francisco. But what I adore even more, is a mystery set in my favorite literary city. 

Muriel and the Mystery by Charlotte Parent
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 56 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A little shrew encounters the unexpected in this charming picture book that explores change and the fear of the unknown. For fans of Little Witch Hazel and The Hidden World of Gnomes.

Muriel is having a perfectly ordinary day in the forest she knows by heart, when, while gathering snails in the underbrush, she encounters a mystery!

It's different from anything she's seen before, and it certainly doesn't belong in her well-ordered life. Though she tries to put it out of her mind, that becomes difficult when the mystery won't leave her alone...

Muriel will need to muster her courage to face the unknown and embrace the changes it brings to her forest. And maybe, just maybe, she will make a new friend along the way."

Even moles deal with mysteries! 

Goldie Vance Book One by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams
Published by: KaBOOM!
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Intrepid teen detective Goldie Vance is on the case in this acclaimed upper middle-grade graphic novel mystery that reads like Nancy Drew meets Only Murders in the Building.

Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad and dreams of one day becoming the hotel's in-house detective. Armed with endless curiosity and unstoppable determination, she's ready to prove she has what it takes to solve any mystery, big or small!

When the current Crossed Palms Resort detective encounters a case he can't quite crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help. Will this budding sleuth be the key to revealing the truth? Or is Goldie in over her head?

Uncover secrets and adventures around every corner with this double-length detective adventure full of retro flair from New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award-winning writer Hope Larson (All Summer Long) and fan-favorite artist Brittney Williams (Mixed-Up, Girl on Fire)!

Collects Goldie Vance #1-8."

This looks like it would be the perfect read for me. It sadly wasn't. Goldie Vance and her mid-century Florida conspiracies of Communists and cosmonauts left me cold.   

The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Set against the backdrop of post-WWII Oxford University, The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies is the irresistible debut from Kate Westbury that seamlessly layers mystery, romance, and a dash of academia to introduce the Crown's newest undercover operatives.

Oxford, England, 1951 - The Honorable Ginevra Bishop likes red lipstick, clever retorts, and earning top marks in her tutorials. She's following her mother's footsteps by studying at Oxford, eager to prove she's more than a debutante.

Sidney Braithwaite likes brooding, Latin, and ignoring his nightmares. He's determined to forge a new life for himself at Oxford, far from his childhood mining village and free from memories of the war.

Though Gin and Sidney have little in common, the British Security Service is keen to unite her charm with his espionage experience: there's a Soviet spy at the university, and the agent tracking them down was poisoned. MI5 wants Gin and Sidney to pick up the trail and identify the informant before more sensitive information is compromised. As a team, the pair of undergraduates clash in personality, upbringing, and taste - but have a connection neither can deny. Gin and Sidney must unite their respective talents to follow the clues before they're caught in the traitor's crosshairs...if the sparks flying between them don't blow up the operation first."

I wonder if I should take up brooding as a pastime. I'd be willing to solve crimes against Britain in my spare time.

An A-List for Murder by Amy Patricia Meade
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An irresistible historical cozy series featuring Evelyn Galloway, Hollywood script supervisor turned sleuth!

The list you'd die to be on...

March, 1940, and script supervisor Evelyn Galloway is enjoying being reunited with Alfred Hitchcock on his new film. Until twenty-three-year-old Phoebe Dillon, an aspiring actress hoping to be an extra in the movie, is found strangled in downtown L.A. Evelyn encountered Phoebe in the studio just hours before she died. Did she really have audition jitters as she claimed, or was she frightened of something - or someone?

When Evelyn learns that Phoebe attended a birthday party for film producer Monty Carpenter the previous weekend, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood's A-list, she quickly makes disturbing discoveries about some of the guests. It seems that powerful dark forces are at play in the film industry during war - and the reason for Phoebe's murder is more shocking than Evelyn could ever have imagined.

Effortlessly combining murder and glamour, the Evelyn Galloway mysteries are perfect for fans of Verity Bright and Nicola Upson's Shot With Crimson."

I love dark Hollywood and I love Hitchcock, so a perfect combo!

Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink
Published by: Love Inspired Trade
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 336Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this witty historical murder mystery set in a San Francisco hotel, an unlikely trio of amateur sleuths must uncover a killer before another guest checks out for good. This first book in the Murder Most Fowl Mysteries is perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building.

In 1905, the Grand Mallard Marquee is well known for its iconic style, as well as its daily duck parade. For Saul Niffler, a reformed jewel thief, working at the luxurious hotel offers a much-needed second chance. Staying out of trouble and in gainful employment is essential. Which makes seeing a body plummet from a penthouse window extra complicated.

Except...did he see it? There's no body to be found, and Saul knows he should concentrate on his new duties as "Duck Commandant" rather than meddle. If only Kitty Rossi, a persistent young guest yearning to be a Pinkerton detective, would leave well enough alone. Kitty has already roped in Henry, the elevator man, to investigate suspicious goings-on around the hotel. And against his better judgment, Saul feels compelled to join them.

Between the mystery of Saul's missing predecessor and a grisly discovery in a drain, all signs point to murder most fowl. And with a cold-blooded killer roaming the Marquee's lavish corridors, keeping his job may be the least of Saul's problems..."

A jewel thief named Niffler? I hope Dana Mentink has some good lawyers.

Murder in St. James's Park by Vanessa Riley
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for readers who love Bridgerton with a dark twist - a vibrant historical mystery series that embraces the true diversity of the Regency era.

Confessions from beyond the grave throw Lady Worthing into turmoil...

London, 1807. Lady Abigail Worthing's marriage of convenience to James Monroe, the Lord Worthing, is over. But James is out of her life quicker than Abigail anticipated when she finds his body in St. James's Park.

Shocked by her husband's brutal murder, Abigail is determined to catch his killer. But when she discovers that James's transgressions ran far deeper and darker than she thought possible, Abigail questions her own judgment. Did she make a terrible mistake when solving a past crime, and does the key to James's death lie in the letters he was writing shortly before his demise?

With her neighbor and good friend Stapleton Henderson by her side, Abigail confronts jealousy, resentment, and stunning betrayal that will shake her to her core...

This sharply observed, captivating Regency mystery series featuring a smart and fearless mixed-race aristocrat heroine with a notorious family history is a must-read for historical mystery fans."

A touch of Tasha Alexander. 

The Case of Bingley's Missing Aphrodite by Emma Aubrey
Published by: Emma Aubrey
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Kindle, 374 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pride and Prejudice meets Sherlock Holmes in this sharp-witted Regency mystery, featuring a crime-solving Bennet/Darcy team-up in a Jane Austen variation where the Bennet sisters lost their estate before marriage saved them.

Fitzwilliam Darcy believes his worst problem is the mistake he made a year and a half ago, when he snubbed Miss Elizabeth Bennet and separated his friend Bingley from her sister Jane. That is, until a corrupt viscount is found murdered, just after Bingley's antique Aphrodite statue vanishes during a ball. The crimes appear to be linked - and Darcy's oldest adversary, Mr Wickham, may be trying to frame him for both.

They enlist an investigator, coincidentally the Miss Bennets' cousin, who has entirely the wrong impression of Darcy and Wickham's history. When Elizabeth Bennet finally re-enters the picture, Darcy must open up to her about the blackguard's lies - for in the end, they will need both her keen character observations and the investigator's cutting-edge methods to prove Darcy's innocence.

In a tangle of secrets and deceit, Darcy and his friends must race to uncover the true culprit - before he pays the ultimate price."

Here for all Pride and Prejudice variations! 

The Heiress of Northanger Abbey by Nancy Bilyeau
Published by: Admiral Road Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 260 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Steeped in the atmospheric charm of classic historical fiction, The Heiress of Northanger Abbey weaves a captivating Jane Austen sequel that breathes new life into Catherine Morland's world. Twenty-two years after her marriage to Henry Tilney, the imposing estate of Northanger Abbey passes to a new generation. When their spirited daughter Phoebe looks poised to inherit the grand estate, she inherits more than just wealth - she uncovers a web of long-buried secrets, hidden corridors, and a haunting legacy that refuses to stay buried. This spellbinding Gothic mystery masterfully balances Austen's signature wit and social commentary with the spine-tingling suspense of a classic Regency thriller.

Gloucestershire, 1820: Catherine Tilney receives a letter that resurrects her darkest fears. Her daughter Phoebe has fallen under the influence of the unscrupulous Thorpe family - the very figures who once nearly destroyed Catherine's happiness.

Determined to protect her child from dangerous fortune hunters, Catherine follows Phoebe to an isolated manor on Dartmoor. There, she finds a landscape of reckless passions, family secrets, and a dangerously charming aristocratic neighbor. It all feels eerily like the plot of the latest Gothic sensation, The Vampyre - but is Catherine once again letting her imagination run wild?

In this psychologically charged sequel to Jane Austen's classic, award-winning historical novelist Nancy Bilyeau transforms Catherine's youthful adventures into a mystery with the highest of stakes. The Heiress of Northanger Abbey is a story of mothers and daughters, deception and desire - and of a woman who must learn to trust her power of perception before it's too late.

For Austen fans who adore a high-spirited Regency tale, savor a hint of the Gothic - and long to be transported to the mist-shrouded moors."

But how would Catherine's daughter inherit? I have so many questions. I guess I just have to read the book!

Land of Oz edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"13 original stories of dark fantasy inspired by the classic tales of L. Frank Baum and the land of Oz, from the masters of fantasy and science fiction, including M.R. Carey, Christina Henry and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Journey beyond the yellow brick road, click your heels together and enter the dark heart of the tornado...if you dare.

Join the award-winning Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane as they bring together some of genre fiction's bestselling and acclaimed authors as they explore the wild imagination of L. Frank Baum and his wonderful Land of Oz.

Featuring stories by
Simon R. Green
Caitlin Rozakis
Louise Carey
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Ian Whates
M. R. Carey
Paul Magrs
Delilah S. Dawson
Robert Shearman
Stark Holborn
Christina Henry
Una McCormack
Jonathan Maberry"

My friend Paul has a story in this. I'm so excited for him! And me! And you! Because we all get to enjoy it!

The Snow Witch by Kirsty Ferry
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: eBook, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover the next enchanting, atmospheric read from Kirsty Ferry, perfect for fans of C.J. Cooke and Laura Purcell.

In the dead of winter, 1650...

As the Newcastle Witch Trials spread fear across the north, suspicion takes hold in Newbrough, near Hadrian's Wall. Meg Noble - healer, midwife, and the so-called 'Snow Witch' - finds solace at Coventina's Well. But when tragedy strikes, whispers of witchcraft begin to swirl, and something ancient is stirred - bound to a sacred dagger and a forgotten goddess.

Now, beneath the same well...

Historian Violet Marsh arrives at Hadrian's Wall to research the legend of the Snow Witch, but what begins as curiosity soon turns personal. As visions haunt her and the past bleeds into the present, Violet uncovers a story that was never laid to rest - and a presence that has been waiting centuries to reclaim what was taken.

The Snow Witch is a chilling, atmospheric tale of buried vengeance and unyielding female power - where the past doesn't die, it freezes and waits."

Because Witch Trials are nothing more than men trying to destroy powerful women, if they're witches or not...

A Time of Witches by Madeline Martin
Published by: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two women, bound by blood and betrayal, must break silence across centuries - or be silenced forever, in the dazzling new novel by New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin.

Lilith Legare's life is unraveling. Since her mother's death, strange things have been happening - plants turn toward her touch, animals linger in her path, and the birthmark on her arm has started tingling. Worse still is her recurring nightmare of being burned alive at the stake.

Her search for answers brings her from Savannah to England, to the decaying Brackenmere Manor where the past blurs with the present. There, Lilith discovers a legacy she never asked for and along with it, the threat of peril. History must be rewritten, or she too will die.

In 1645 Suffolk, Sybil Brantham stands accused as a witch. An educated, wealthy widow, she is branded a threat by men who fear her independence. As arrests begin and suspicion abounds, Sybil must protect her younger sister, even as betrayal takes root within her household.

Across centuries, Lilith and Sybil are bound by blood and by danger. To save themselves, and each other, they must confront the silence that has stolen women's power for generations - and dare to claim their voices before it's too late."

Take back your voice! It is you power!

The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona Buttercup
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 3652 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Shrek meets The Princess Bride in this cozy, low-stakes romantic fantasy. The Pumpkin Bride delivers all the autumnal feels, a dash of spice, and a guaranteed HEA!

Some curses just need a cozy fire, a little magic, and a second chance to break them.

A cursed knight.
Sir Bram Duncan was once a knight of legend in Harvest Hollow - until the whim of a jealous prince and the trickery of an autumn sprite turned him into the hulking orc Jask Bone-Cracker, and tethered him to Grimroot Farm. For three long, lonely years, he's hidden his monstrous form and the truth of what happened the night he lost everything, including his true love, Princess Marigold.

A runaway princess.
Fleeing an arranged marriage to the vain and intolerable Prince Crispin, Marigold finds a safe haven when she stumbles across Jask's charmed pumpkin farm deep in the forest. Sensing glimmers of gentleness - and a surprising talent for baking - beneath the grumpy orc's imposing exterior, she begins to feel a familiar longing she believed dead when her Bram disappeared.

One true love.
As magic stirs and pies are baked, truths about Jask's curse begin to surface. But curses don't break easily, and wronged princes don't capitulate. As their peace is threatened, Jask and Marigold must decide: cling to the lies that protect them, or risk everything for a love that could set them free."

I mean, who can resist an orc that can bake? Cursed true love or not.

The Hocus Pocus Handbook by Ann Aguirre
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From NYT bestselling author Ann Aguirre comes a cozy fae fantasy romance featuring a sunshine-shadow slow burn, a grumpy-but-secretly-tender love interest, an unforgettable found family, and a world lush with wildcraft magic. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries.

Thea Winter didn't choose to be a changeling - stolen from the mortal world as a baby, raised in the wildlands by a hobgoblin named Mudge who taught her everything worth knowing. How to read the weather in a crow's wing. How to barter with brownies. How to stay alive in a world of capricious fae courts. What Mudge couldn't teach her was how to stay out of trouble. Which is why she's entangled in a objectionable marriage of convenience.

Or would be, but her spouse bolted. Now she has to hunt down Devan J. Fenelon, but she's been saddled with a taciturn, humorless hunter known as Winter's Hound. He answers only to his cousin, and she's not looking forward to this quest at all.

Kerboros has survived the Winter Court by being exactly what they made him: relentless, invisible, and careful never to want anything at all. His life is an endless series of ceaseless commands from his reprehensible cousin, Lord Liskaal. Since his father's failed rebellion, Kerboros has been permitted to survive only as an example to others, an object lesson as to how far one may fall. But traveling with Thea - wild, warm, impossible Thea - is a glorious torment for an enforcer who has never known freedom.

She is sunshine. He is shadow.

Their love is forbidden, but when irresistible force sweeps up an immovable object, the resulting reaction might be magical..."

I mean, if the groom bolts it seems a shame to have to chase after him if you never wanted him in the first place...

Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Every wedding guest's worst nightmare is on repeat in this wild and twisty new horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of So Thirsty and Play Nice.

It's the picture-perfect wedding weekend: The venue is dreamy, the weather is beautiful, love is in the air - and Willa Sullivan is having a bad time. She's excited to celebrate her best friends' finally having the big wedding they've always wanted, but this is the first time she's seen her ex-fiancé in months, and he brought a date. Everything feels off, like she stumbled into an alternate universe. But things start to look up when Willa meets Danny, the groom's charming and single childhood best friend. When they sneak off together, their rendezvous is interrupted by a masked killer terrorizing the reception. Willa and Danny fight to save the ones they love and survive the night, but the killer is unrelenting. A final girl Willa is not.

Or is she? She wakes up and it's the morning of the wedding. She just had the most intense nightmare of her life. Only as the day unfolds, there are some uncanny coincidences that make her question whether it was really a dream, déjà vu, or something more sinister. After a horrifying turn of events, Willa comes to understand that she's stuck in a loop of carnage and terror that she must learn how to escape or else suffer a fate worse than death - being an eternal wedding guest."

I mean, as long as the cake is good and you can avoid the killer, things could be worse?

The Treasure House by Amy Matthews
Published by: Dell
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this tender-hearted novel, a single mom's fixer-upper may also open a new door to love - from the award-winning author of Someone Else's Bucket List.

Zoe Copeland and her daughter Florence need a new start. The only problem is, Zoe can't really afford one.

So when she stumbles across a listing for a charming cottage in Maine that is in her price range, she has no choice but to seize the opportunity. The catch? It's a treasure house - filled to the brim with junk, and being sold as is.

Eleven-year-old Florence, who's always longed for a room of her own, loves the old house full of cat figurines and other people's memories, but Zoe is daunted by the mess and the cost of fixing up the place. Their grumpy new neighbor, Jake, thinks Zoe's crazy for undertaking this task - though that doesn't stop him from lending a hand, and it's not long before Zoe starts daydreaming about the handsome handyman.

As the air turns crisp and fall sets in, Zoe becomes increasingly intrigued by the woman who lived in the house before them. Who was Marly, and how did her beloved home end up in such disrepair? As Zoe digs for more information, she can't help but draw parallels between herself and Marly...but what does it say about her future if she's still stuck in the past?

This was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to give Florence the security she never had. But as Zoe uncovers Marly's secrets and her own past comes crashing into the present, Zoe's life is quickly becoming even messier than the coastal house she's renovating. With her heart and her home on the line, can Zoe put all of the broken pieces of her life back together?"

How can I get a treasure house? Yes, I get it's a lot of work, but I'm up to the challenge!

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
Published by: David R. Godine Publisher
Publication Date: September 1st, 2026
Format: Paperback, 250 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sometimes a second chance comes in the most unexpected way....

Following the loss of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. She retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle - as though even for death there is a queue."

Then, one cold winter night, a chance encounter with a mouse sets Helen on a surprising journey. Over the course of two weeks in a small English town, this reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live.

Sipsworth is a reminder that there is always reason for hope. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes life has plans of its own. With profound compassion, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only a deep friendship forged between two lonely creatures, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from that unique bond."

The littlest thing can literally change everything. 

Monday, May 19, 2025

Tuesday Tomorrow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Masque of the Red Death meets Gideon the Ninth. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kill the groom! Long live the cats!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paradise hides a deadly secret.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Evil has a one track mind....

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

But Annie's year is about to get worse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And they live here now."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Will ye, too, become the...

Incarcerat..."

If you know you know.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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