Tuesday Tomorrow
Mona of the Manor by Armistead Maupin
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Set in the early 1990s, the long-awaited tenth novel in Armistead Maupin's beloved and enduring Tales of the City series follows the adventures of Mona Ramsey, now the widowed Lady of a glorious old manor in Britain's golden Cotswolds, and her fabulous adopted son Wilfred, as they come to the aid of an American visitor with a troubling secret.
When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa - allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfill his wildest dreams - she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, Teddy's grand, romantic country manor in the UK. She also didn't imagine that she'd need to open the manor's doors to paying guests to afford the electric bill and repair the leaking roof. Yet somehow she and her young friend Wilfred - whom guests assume is serving as Easley's charming-but-clumsy butler - and the loopy old gardener Mr. Hargis, are making it work.
This delicate equilibrium is upended when Americans Rhonda and Ernie Blaylock arrive for a weekend vacation at Easley, and Wilfred stumbles onto their terrible secret. Now, instead of being able to focus on the imminent arrival of her old friend Michael Tolliver and beloved parent Anna Madrigal, Mona will need to focus all of her considerable charm, willpower, and wiles - and the help of Wilfred and Mona's girlfriend Poppy, the town's postmistress and local calligraphy whiz - to set things right before the Midsummer ceremony when the whole town will descend on Easley's historic grounds"
I knew that Mona was too iconic a character to just die of Breast Cancer offstage. Here she finally takes center stage in a book I've longed!
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death.
Who gets to leave a legacy?
1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten - certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.
But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.
Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite."
Having been a bit in this world I'm fascinated to get a different and real point of view.
Death and Fromage by Ian Moore
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A laugh-out-loud mystery perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club.
Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B and B in the Val de Follet. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that's the way he likes it. Until scandal erupts in the nearby town of Saint-Sauver, when its famous restaurant is downgraded from three Michelin stars to two. The restaurant is shamed, the town is in shock, and the leading goat cheese supplier drowns himself in one of his own pasteurization tanks. Or does he?
Valérie d'Orçay, who is staying at the B and B while house-hunting in the area, isn't convinced that it's a suicide. Despite his misgivings, Richard is drawn into Valérie's investigation, and finds himself becoming a major player in solving the crime. After all, the French do take their cheese quite seriously and it's quite clear there's nothing gouda happening in the close-knit, small village that Richard calls home."
Was it that the number one thing I took away from looking up this author is that he likes to make chutney? This isn't a slight, I think we need more author blurbs like this.
Murder Road by Simone St. James
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.
July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They're looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.
When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all."
First, just never pick up hitchhikers, second, avoid the supernatural.
The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the author of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets and They're Watching You, a compelling new thriller!
Last summer, they searched for Audrey Covington.
This summer, they'll search for the truth.
Paige Redmond has always felt lucky to spend her summers in Clearwater Ridge, with lazy days sunning at the waterfalls and nights partying at the sprawling houses of the rich families who vacation there. The Covingtons are one of these families, and beautiful, brilliant Audrey Covington is Paige's best friend. And last year, when Audrey's crush-worthy brother Dylan finally started noticing Paige, she was sure it would be the best summer ever.
Except Audrey didn't seem quite like herself. Then one night, she didn't come home. Though Audrey wasn't the first girl to disappear in Clearwater Ridge, she left behind more lies than clues. Now, one summer later, her case has gone cold, and nobody, least of all Paige, can make sense of what happened.
When Paige stumbles across a secret hidden in Audrey's room, however, it changes everything she thought she knew about last summer. She and Dylan set out on their own investigation, discovering things even the police don't know about the people of Clearwater Ridge. But tracking down missing girls - girls who might be beyond saving by now - means entering a world far darker than Paige has ever imagined. And if she isn't careful, she'll become the next girl to vanish."
I love the Lolitaness of the cover.
The Hunter by Tana French
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher and "one of the greatest crime novelists writing today" (Vox), a spellbinding new novel set in the Irish countryside.
It's a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.
Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He's found it, more or less: he's built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he's gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey's long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn't want protecting. What she wants is revenge.
From the writer who is "in a class by herself," (The New York Times), a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we'll do for our loved ones, what we'll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide."
It's a good day where there's a new Tana French, which are too few and far between.
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Published by: Celadon Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?
After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy's blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It's been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can't remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy's murder for the show's second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend's murder, even if she is the one that did it.
The truth is out there, if we just listen."
I love how the True Crime aspect works in the plot.
The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger
Published by: Park Row
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A couple inherits an apartment with a spine-tingling past in this unputdownable thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six.
Rosie and Chad Lowan are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news: Chad's late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in glamorous Murray Hill. With its prewar elegance and impeccably uniformed doorman, the building is the epitome of old New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade.
At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn't feel more welcoming. But as the Lowans settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there's more to the Windermere than meets the eye. Why is the doorman ever-present? Why are there cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the Windermere before she, too, falls under its dangerous spell."
Any book with Dakota vives is a must read for me.
The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 351 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil mines the subtle horrors of 1950s America in a gripping novel about a woman under pressure - from the living and the dead.
The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.
Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They're the picture of domestic tranquility - until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they're real - and frightening.
Defying Pete's demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse. With Dr. Hansen's help, Loretta's life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he's worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work.
As Loretta's powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself."
Parapsychologists are my catnip.
The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From Bram Stoker Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a chilling novel about three childhood friends who miraculously survive the night everyone in their suburban hometown turned into ghosts - perfect for fans of Yellowjackets.
The Velkwood Vicinity was the topic of occult theorists, tabloid one-hour documentaries, and even some pseudo-scientific investigations as the block of homes disappeared behind a near-impenetrable veil that only three survivors could enter - and only one has in the past twenty years, until now.
Talitha Velkwood has avoided anything to do with the tragedy that took her mother and eight-year-old sister, drifting from one job to another, never settling anywhere or with anyone, feeling as trapped by her past as if she was still there in the small town she so desperately wanted to escape from. When a new researcher tracks her down and offers to pay her to come back to enter the vicinity, Talitha claims she's just doing it for the money.
Of all the crackpot theories over the years, no one has discovered what happened the night Talitha, her estranged, former best friend Brett, and Grace, escaped their homes twenty years ago. Will she finally get the answers she's been looking for all these years, or is this just another dead end?
Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste has created a suburban ghost story about a small town that trapped three young women who must confront the past if they're going to have a future."
Yeah, so really it's own unique thing and not Yellowjackets at all...
Song of Carcosa by Josh Reynolds
Published by: Aconyte
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"An occult thief takes on a sinister society threatening to tear the fabric of this world apart, in this daring noir-thriller from the bestselling world of Arkham Horror.
Countess Alessandra Zorzi, reformed thief and acquirer of occult artifacts, faces her greatest challenge yet as she searches for an elusive artist in possession of the powerful Zanthu Tablet; the only thing that can stop the strange psychic malaise afflicting Alessandra's assistant, Pepper.
The countess's quest takes her to the crooked heart of Venice, where an eerie organization is planning a grand performance that will engulf the city in chaos. As Pepper slips into an inescapable alien world, Alessandra must defeat powerful forces to save her friend. One wrong move could bring the curtain down on them all."
I just love the ever expanding worlds of Arkham Horror.
Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 299 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that's exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, when the police and city pound ridicule Basil Rathbone and ask, "Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog?" Basil also hires the B. Norman Agency to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.
The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil's on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.
Jump into Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, Book One of the Babs Norman Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery series. Finalist in the Killer Nashville Claymore Awards for Comedy and First Prize winner in the Chanticleer Review's Mark Twain Awards for Comedy and Satire. Get ready for its sequel, Bye, Bye, Blackbird, featuring Humphrey Bogart and the cast of The Maltese Falcon."
I love this new twist on classic Hollywood, especially because Asta is here.
Trouble by Lex Croucher
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 3536 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A Regency-era romantic comedy with a deliciously feminist and queer twist, from the author of Reputation and Infamous.
There's a new governess at Fairmont House, and she's going to be nothing but trouble.
Emily Laurence is a liar. She is not polite, she's not polished, and she has never taught a child in her life. This position was meant to be her sister's - brilliant, kind Amy, who isn't perpetually angry, dangerously reckless, and who does (inexplicably) like children.
But Amy is unwell and needs a doctor, and their father is gone and their mother is useless, so here Emily is, pretending to be something she's not.
If she can get away with her deception for long enough to earn a few month's wages and slip some expensive trinkets into her pockets along the way, perhaps they'll be all right.
That is, as long as she doesn't get involved with the Edwards family's dramas. Emily refuses to care about her charges - Grace, who talks too much and loves too hard, and Aster, who is frankly terrifying but might just be the wittiest sixteen-year-old Emily has ever met - or the servants, who insist on acting as if they're each other's family. And she certainly hasn't noticed her employer, the brooding, taciturn Captain Edwards, no matter how good he might look without a shirt on...
As Fairmont House draws her in, Emily's lies start to come undone. Can she fix her mistakes before it's too late?"
Oh, you KNOW you need to read this Regency Romp!
An Unlikely Proposition by Rosalyn Eves
Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A standalone companion to An Improbable Season, this Regency romance - perfect for fans of Bridgerton - is about following your heart, pursuing your dreams, and falling head over heels in love.
Eleanor did not come to London to be proper and boring. After the death of her husband and a year of mourning, the seventeen year old wants nothing more than her independence and to have a little fun. She's hardly looking to remarry, despite pressures from her late husband's nephew, who is keen on obtaining her inheritance. Eleanor quickly devises a plan that includes a fake engagement. What's not a part of the plan? Falling for a dashing, quiet man outside of her social circle - a man who is not her betrothed. Can she survive the Season with her heart and her fortune intact?
Thalia is determined to begin afresh after a disastrous first Season in London. No romantic distractions, but only her work as a poet and newfound companion to Eleanor. Determined to get her poems published, she struggles to be taken seriously as a female writer. As the spring progresses, Thalia does not expect to take interest in a man from her past (a man who is engaged to her employer, no less!), but some feelings demand to be felt even if the timing isn't quite right.
Rosalyn Eves's An Unlikely Proposition is a transportive Regency drama that captures the sparkle of London, thrill of friendship, and swoon of new love."
So... Um... Eleanor was married at sixteen? Bit Lydia Bennet that...
An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright
Published by: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Complications arise when Marietta's secret love letters are accidentally found by the wrong man.
1828, the London countryside.
For years, Marietta Stone has harbored a secret infatuation for the handsome Frederick Finch and has poured out her deepest feelings in a series of passionate love letters that she keeps in a locked drawer. But when Marietta's private letters are accidentally delivered to Frederick's house, she must retrieve them immediately before they fall into the wrong hands. If the letters were read by anyone else, the resulting scandal could jeopardize her reputation.
Gerard Hartwell has no time for infatuations, courtship, or even love. He must find a wife with a substantial inheritance if he wishes to save his late father's bankrupt estate. When he accidentally discovers Marietta's love letters at his cousin Frederick's estate, he strikes a bargain with her. If she helps him court her older sister, Anne, he will return the letters and help Marietta win Frederick's heart.
Marietta agrees, and the two quickly pretend to be courting in order to spend time with their individual love interests. Yet, what appeared to be a straightforward bargain becomes complicated when Gerard realizes that the more time he spends with Marietta, the more he wishes he could court her for real. But can he persuade Marietta to give him a chance when her heart might belong to another man?"
Aww.
The Witch of New York by Alex Hortis
Published by: Pegasus Crime
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony - before even Lizzie Borden - there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation's debut media circus.
On Christmas night, December 25, 1843, in a serene village on Staten Island, shocked neighbors discovered the burnt remains of twenty-four-year-old mother Emeline Houseman and her infant daughter, Ann Eliza. In a perverse nativity, someone bludgeoned to death a mother and child in their home - and then covered up the crime with hellfire.
When an ambitious district attorney charges Polly Bodine (Emelin's sister-in-law) with a double homicide, the new "penny press" explodes. Polly is a perfect media villain: she's a separated wife who drinks gin, commits adultery, and has had multiple abortions. Between June 1844 and April 1846, the nation was enthralled by her three trials - in Staten Island, Manhattan, and Newburgh - for the "Christmas murders."
After Polly's legal dream team entered the fray, the press and the public debated not only her guilt, but her character and fate as a fallen woman in society. Public opinion split into different camps over her case. Edgar Allen Poe and Walt Whitman covered her case as young newsmen. P. T. Barnum made a circus out of it. James Fenimore Cooper's last novel was inspired by her trials.
The Witch of New York is the first narrative history about the dueling trial lawyers, ruthless newsmen, and shameless hucksters who turned the Polly Bodine case into America's formative tabloid trial. An origin story of how America became addicted to sensationalized reporting of criminal trials, The Witch of New York vividly reconstructs an epic mystery from Old New York - and uses the Bodine case to challenge our system of tabloid justice of today."
I mean, let's just admit, we have always had an insatiable need for true crime...
Eliza Mace by Sarah Burton and Jem Poster
Published by: Duckworth
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Enola Holmes meets the novels of Laura Purcell in this Victorian mystery featuring quick-witted would-be detective Eliza Mace.
The Welsh borders, 1870s: on the cusp of adulthood, Eliza Mace is battling for her independence. Stuck in a crumbling manor house on the fringe of a small town, she is thwarted by powers that conspire to protect, control and deceive her. But when her father goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Eliza's determination to uncover the truth is unstoppable.
Joining forces with the charismatic new police constable, Dafydd Pritchard, she sets out to solve the case, but that's no easy task. Her father has run up debts in town and beyond, and there are many who bear him a grudge. As she searches for evidence, Eliza exposes dark secrets that threaten to tear her world apart..."
Oh yes, I need something to fill the void left by Enola Holmes!
The Queen of Thieves by Johan Rundberg
Published by: Amazon Crossing Kids
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 207 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Mika will do what it takes to uncover a string of thefts in the city - and keep her fellow orphans safe.
After a merciless winter, spring has sprung in 1880 Stockholm, and the city awaits the arrival of the SS Vega, the first ship to have sailed the Northeast Passage. Life is busy at the orphanage, but twelve-year-old Mika quickly notices that the older orphans are up to something - and it doesn't look good.
When Constable Hoff approaches her with information about thefts around the city, Mika becomes even more concerned about what the other kids are up to - and what they might be planning for the Vega celebration. The police will have no sympathy for orphans, and she'd hate to see her friends condemned to life in jail.
But Mika soon finds herself in a bind she can't get out of - one that could condemn her own life. Can Mika uncover who is really behind the thefts in the city and keep her friends safe, without getting caught? Find out in this breathless sequel to The Night Raven."
Personally I'm all for pickpocket orphans getting away with it...
The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov
Published by: Harpervia
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From Ukraine's most celebrated novelist, a perplexing mystery that introduces rookie detective Samson Kolechko in Kyiv as he is tackling his first case, set against real life details of the tumultuous early twentieth century.
Kyiv, 1919. World War I has ended in Western Europe, but to the East, six factions continue to vie for control of Ukraine. Amidst the political turmoil, young Samson Kolechko is forced to place his engineering career on hold. But in the city of Kyiv everything remains up for grabs and new opportunity lurks just around the corner...
When two Red Army soldiers commandeer his home, Samson's life is completely upended. But as Samson juggles his personal life - including a budding romance with the ingenious Nadezhda, a statistician helping run the city's census - with the soldiers' intrusion, he winds up overhearing their secret plans. Deciding to report them, Samson instead finds himself unwittingly recruited as an investigator for the city's new police force.
His first case involves two murders, a long bone made of pure silver, and a suit of decidedly unusual proportions tailored from fine English cloth. The odds stacked against him, Samson turns to Nadezhda, who proves to be more than his match. Inflected with Kurkov's signature humor and off kilter universe, The Silver Bone takes its inspiration from the archives of Kyiv's secret police, crafting a propulsive narrative bursting to life with rich historical detail."
We should all be learning and reading more about Ukraine, and that includes supporting it's authors who write wonderful mysteries.
The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A captivating historical novel set in post-war Casablanca about a young man marked by djinns who must decide where his loyalties lie as the fight for Moroccan independence erupts.
Hamou Badi is born in a village in the Anti-Atlas Mountains with the markings of the zouhry on his hands. In Morocco, the zouhry is a figure of legend, a child of both humans and djinns, capable of finding treasure, lost objects, and even water in the worst of droughts. But when young Hamou finds the body of a murdered woman, his life is forever changed.
Haunted by this unsolved murder and driven by the desire to do good in the world, Hamou leaves his village for Casablanca to become an officer of the law under the French Protectorate.
But Casablanca is not the shining beacon of modernity he was expecting. The forcible exile of Morocco's sultan by the French sparks a nationalist uprising led by violent dissident groups, none so fearsome as the Black Crescent. Torn between his heritage and his employers, Hamou will be caught in the crossfire.
The lines between right and wrong, past and future, the old world and the new, are not as clear as the magical lines on his palms. And as the danger grows, Hamou is forced to choose between all he knows and all he loves."
You had me at djinns.
What Monstrous Gods by Rosamund Hodge
Published by: Balzer and Bray/Harperteen
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A rich and romantic new standalone fantasy loosely inspired by the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, from the New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Beauty! Perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and The Shadow Queen.
Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia's palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep - and silencing the kingdom's gods.
Born with a miraculous gift, Lia's destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god - or die.
To make matters even worse, Ruven's spirit is haunting her.
As discord grows between the old and new guards, the queen sends Lia and Prince Araunn, her betrothed, on a pilgrimage to awaken the gods. But the old gods are more dangerous than Lia ever knew - and Ruven may offer her only hope of survival.
As the two work together, Lia learns that they're more alike than she expected. And with tensions rising, Lia must choose between what she was raised to believe and what she knows is right - and between the prince she is bound to by duty...and the boy she killed."
The fairy tale Sleeping Beauty was one of my first obsessions.
The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black
Published by: Little Brown and Company
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.
Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he's always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign - even if it means ending Wren, too.
With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak's guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It's just a question of whom he will doom.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology."
I love Holly Black. I love duologies.
Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
Published by: Daw Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Seanan McGuire's New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated urban fantasy InCryptid series continues with the thirteenth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us.
Mary Dunlavy didn't intend to become a professional babysitter. Of course, she didn't intend to die, either, or to become a crossroads ghost. As a babysitting ghost, she's been caring for the Price family for four generations, and she's planning to keep doing the job for the better part of forever.
With her first charge finally back from her decades-long cross-dimensional field trip, with a long-lost husband and adopted daughter in tow, it's time for Mary to oversee the world's most chaotic family reunion. And that's before the Covenant of St. George launches a full scale strike against the cryptids of Manhattan, followed quickly by an attack on the Campbell Family Carnival.
It's going to take every advantage and every ally they have for the Prices to survive what's coming--and for Mary, to avoid finding out the answer to a question she's never wanted to know: what happens to a babysitting ghost if she loses the people she's promised to protect?"
It's March so this should easily be her third book of the year... How is she so productive without sacrificing quality?
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"When a spirited young woman with a penchant for adventure finds herself locked away in a dragon's tower, she realizes that fate has a peculiar sense of humor when it comes to her romantic prospects, in this laugh-out-loud fantasy rom-com.
All children are told fairytales. Some are epic adventures with high stakes and exciting twists, while others are tales of pitiful princesses trapped in boring towers pining for their Prince Charmings to come and rescue them. Growing up, Cherry always hated those stories. Why didn't the princesses just get up and rescue themselves? Little did she know that her own fate would take an ironically similar turn. Because now, here she is. Stuck. In a tower. Turns out, when a dragon holds you hostage, he doesn't just let you get up and leave.
Who knew?
And just when Cherry thinks she sees hope on the horizon, that hope is smashed to bits by - you guessed it - another damn dragon."
I just love the whole vibe of this series, it brings a smile to my face.
I Am Rome by Santiago Posteguillo
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 624 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Discover the runaway #1 international bestseller that has captured readers the world over - and reminds us all why we remember the name Julius Caesar.
Every legend has a beginning...
Rome, 77 B.C. The corrupt Senator Dolabella is about to go on trial for his crimes.
But Dolabella owns the jury. He's hired the best lawyers in the city. And he's very willing to use violence against those who oppose him.
In all of Rome, no man dares accept the role of prosecutor - until, against all odds, an unknown twenty-three-year-old steps out to lead the case, defend the people of the city, and defy the power of the ruling elite.
That lawyer's name is Gaius Julius Caesar.
So begins Santiago Posteguillo's acclaimed masterpiece of historical fiction - a tale as epic as Caesar's life itself. An irresistible page-turning novel of politics and betrayal, grand battles and impossible odds, shocking villainy and even greater acts of courage, I Am Rome brilliantly animates the moments that shaped this extraordinary young man's fate - and in so doing, changed the course of history itself."
After watching all of I, Claudius, I'm now obsessed with all things Roman.
An Imporbable Season by Rosalyn Eves
Penelope Goes to Portsmouth by M.C. Beaton
An American Beauty by Shana Abe 
Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley
The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths
The Notorious Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud
In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
A Sleight of Shadows by Kat Howard
That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams
